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-Project Gutenberg's Louise de la Valliere, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
-
-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: Louise de la Valliere
-
-Author: Alexandre Dumas, Pere
-
-Posting Date: August 12, 2008 [EBook #2710]
-Release Date: July, 2001
-[Last updated: November 17, 2011]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOUISE DE LA VALLIERE ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by John Bursey
-
-
-
-
-
-LOUISE DE LA VALLIERE
-
-by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
-
-
-Transcriber's Notes:
-
-As you may be aware, Project Gutenberg has been involved with the
-writings of both the Alexandre Dumases for some time now, and since we
-get a few questions about the order in which the books should be read,
-and in which they were published, these following comments should
-hopefully help most of our readers.
-
-***
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne is the final volume of D'Artagnan Romances:
-it is usually split into three or four parts, and the final portion
-is entitled The Man in the Iron Mask. The Man in the Iron Mask we're
-familiar with today is the last volume of the four-volume edition.
-[Not all the editions split them in the same manner, hence some of the
-confusion...but wait...there's yet more reason for confusion.]
-
-We intend to do ALL of The Vicomte de Bragelonne, split into four
-etexts entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la
-Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask; you WILL be getting The Man in
-the Iron Mask.
-
-One thing that may be causing confusion is that the etext we have now,
-entitled Ten Years Later, says it's the sequel to The Three Musketeers.
-While this is technically true, there's another book, Twenty Years
-After, that comes between. The confusion is generated by the two facts
-that we published Ten Years Later BEFORE we published Twenty Years
-After, and that many people see those titles as meaning Ten and Twenty
-Years "After" the original story...however, this is why the different
-words "After" and "Later"...the Ten Years "After" is ten years after
-the Twenty Years later.. .as per history. Also, the third book of the
-D'Artagnan Romances, while entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, has the
-subtitle Ten Years Later. These two titles are also given to different
-volumes: The Vicomte de Bragelonne can refer to the whole book, or the
-first volume of the three or four-volume editions. Ten Years Later
-can, similarly, refer to the whole book, or the second volume of the
-four-volume edition. To add to the confusion, in the case of our etexts,
-it refers to the first 104 chapters of the whole book, covering material
-in the first and second etexts in the new series. Here is a guide to the
-series which may prove helpful:
-
-The Three Musketeers: Etext 1257--First book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1625-1628.
-
-Twenty Years After: Etext 1259--Second book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1648-1649. [Third in the order that we published, but
-second in time sequence!!!]
-
-Ten Years Later: Etext 1258--First 104 chapters of the third book of the
-D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the years 1660-1661.
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Etext 2609 (first in the new series)--First
-75 chapters of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the
-year 1660.
-
-Ten Years Later: Etext 2681 (second in the new series)--Chapters
-76-140 of that third book of the D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the years
-1660-1661. [In this particular editing of it]
-
-Louise de la Valliere: Etext 2710 (our new text)--Chapters 141-208 of
-the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the year 1661.
-
-The Man in the Iron Mask: forthcoming (our next text)--Chapters
-209-269 of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances. Covers the years
-1661-1673.
-
-If we've calculated correctly, that fourth text SHOULD correspond to
-the modern editions of The Man in the Iron Mask, which is still
-widely circulated, and comprises about the last 1/4 of The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne.
-
-Here is a list of the other Dumas Etexts we have published so far:
-
-Sep 1999 La Tulipe Noire, by Alexandre
-Dumas[Pere#6/French][tlpnrxxx.xxx]1910 This is an abridged edition in
-French, also see our full length English Etext Jul 1997 The Black Tulip,
-by Alexandre Dumas[Pere][Dumas#1][tbtlpxxx.xxx] 965 Jan 1998 The Count
-of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas[Pere][crstoxxx.xxx]1184
-
-
-Many thanks to Dr. David Coward, whose editions of the D'Artagnan
-Romances have proved an invaluable source of information.
-
-Introduction: In the months of March-July in 1844, in the magazine Le
-Siecle, the first portion of a story appeared, penned by the celebrated
-playwright Alexandre Dumas. It was based, he claimed, on some
-manuscripts he had found a year earlier in the Bibliotheque Nationale
-while researching a history he planned to write on Louis XIV. They
-chronicled the adventures of a young man named D'Artagnan who, upon
-entering Paris, became almost immediately embroiled in court intrigues,
-international politics, and ill-fated affairs between royal lovers. Over
-the next six years, readers would enjoy the adventures of this youth and
-his three famous friends, Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, as their exploits
-unraveled behind the scenes of some of the most momentous events in
-French and even English history.
-
-Eventually these serialized adventures were published in novel form,
-and became the three D'Artagnan Romances known today. Here is a brief
-summary of the first two novels:
-
-The Three Musketeers (serialized March--July, 1844): The year is 1625.
-The young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris at the tender age of 18, and
-almost immediately offends three musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos.
-Instead of dueling, the four are attacked by five of the Cardinal's
-guards, and the courage of the youth is made apparent during the battle.
-The four become fast friends, and, when asked by D'Artagnan's landlord
-to find his missing wife, embark upon an adventure that takes them
-across both France and England in order to thwart the plans of the
-Cardinal Richelieu. Along the way, they encounter a beautiful young spy,
-named simply Milady, who will stop at nothing to disgrace Queen Anne of
-Austria before her husband, Louis XIII, and take her revenge upon the
-four friends.
-
-Twenty Years After (serialized January--August, 1845): The year is now
-1648, twenty years since the close of the last story. Louis XIII has
-died, as has Cardinal Richelieu, and while the crown of France may sit
-upon the head of Anne of Austria as Regent for the young Louis XIV,
-the real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, her secret husband.
-D'Artagnan is now a lieutenant of musketeers, and his three friends have
-retired to private life. Athos turned out to be a nobleman, the Comte de
-la Fere, and has retired to his home with his son, Raoul de Bragelonne.
-Aramis, whose real name is D'Herblay, has followed his intention of
-shedding the musketeer's cassock for the priest's robes, and Porthos has
-married a wealthy woman, who left him her fortune upon her death. But
-trouble is stirring in both France and England. Cromwell menaces the
-institution of royalty itself while marching against Charles I, and at
-home the Fronde is threatening to tear France apart. D'Artagnan brings
-his friends out of retirement to save the threatened English monarch,
-but Mordaunt, the son of Milady, who seeks to avenge his mother's death
-at the musketeers' hands, thwarts their valiant efforts. Undaunted, our
-heroes return to France just in time to help save the young Louis XIV,
-quiet the Fronde, and tweak the nose of Cardinal Mazarin.
-
-The third novel, The Vicomte de Bragelonne (serialized October,
-1847--January, 1850), has enjoyed a strange history in its English
-translation. It has been split into three, four, or five volumes at
-various points in its history. The five-volume edition generally does
-not give titles to the smaller portions, but the others do. In the
-three-volume edition, the novels are entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne,
-Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask. For the purposes of
-this etext, I have chosen to split the novel as the four-volume edition
-does, with these titles: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later,
-Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask. In the first two
-etexts:
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne (Etext 2609): It is the year 1660, and
-D'Artagnan, after thirty-five years of loyal service, has become
-disgusted with serving King Louis XIV while the real power resides with
-the Cardinal Mazarin, and has tendered his resignation. He embarks on
-his own project, that of restoring Charles II to the throne of England,
-and, with the help of Athos, succeeds, earning himself quite a fortune
-in the process. D'Artagnan returns to Paris to live the life of a rich
-citizen, and Athos, after negotiating the marriage of Philip, the king's
-brother, to Princess Henrietta of England, likewise retires to his own
-estate, La Fere. Meanwhile, Mazarin has finally died, and left Louis to
-assume the reigns of power, with the assistance of M. Colbert, formerly
-Mazarin's trusted clerk. Colbert has an intense hatred for M. Fouquet,
-the king's superintendent of finances, and has resolved to use any
-means necessary to bring about his fall. With the new rank of intendant
-bestowed on him by Louis, Colbert succeeds in having two of Fouquet's
-loyal friends tried and executed. He then brings to the king's attention
-that Fouquet is fortifying the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, and could
-possibly be planning to use it as a base for some military operation
-against the king. Louis calls D'Artagnan out of retirement and sends
-him to investigate the island, promising him a tremendous salary and his
-long-promised promotion to captain of the musketeers upon his return. At
-Belle-Isle, D'Artagnan discovers that the engineer of the fortifications
-is, in fact, Porthos, now the Baron du Vallon, and that's not all.
-The blueprints for the island, although in Porthos's handwriting,
-show evidence of another script that has been erased, that of Aramis.
-D'Artagnan later discovers that Aramis has become the bishop of Vannes,
-which is, coincidentally, a parish belonging to M. Fouquet. Suspecting
-that D'Artagnan has arrived on the king's behalf to investigate, Aramis
-tricks D'Artagnan into wandering around Vannes in search of Porthos,
-and sends Porthos on an heroic ride back to Paris to warn Fouquet of
-the danger. Fouquet rushes to the king, and gives him Belle-Isle as a
-present, thus allaying any suspicion, and at the same time humiliating
-Colbert, just minutes before the usher announces someone else seeking an
-audience with the king.
-
-Ten Years Later (Etext 2681): As 1661 approaches, Princess Henrietta of
-England arrives for her marriage, and throws the court of France into
-complete disorder. The jealousy of the Duke of Buckingham, who is
-in love with her, nearly occasions a war on the streets of Le Havre,
-thankfully prevented by Raoul's timely and tactful intervention. After
-the marriage, though, Monsieur Philip becomes horribly jealous of
-Buckingham, and has him exiled. Before leaving, however, the duke
-fights a duel with M. de Wardes at Calais. De Wardes is a malicious and
-spiteful man, the sworn enemy of D'Artagnan, and, by the same token,
-that of Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and Raoul as well. Both men are
-seriously wounded, and the duke is taken back to England to recover.
-Raoul's friend, the Comte de Guiche, is the next to succumb to
-Henrietta's charms, and Monsieur obtains his exile as well, though De
-Guiche soon effects a reconciliation. But then the king's eye falls on
-Madame Henrietta during the comte's absence, and this time Monsieur's
-jealousy has no recourse. Anne of Austria intervenes, and the king and
-his sister-in-law decide to pick a young lady with whom the king
-can pretend to be in love, the better to mask their own affair. They
-unfortunately select Louise de la Valliere, Raoul's fiancee. While the
-court is in residence at Fontainebleau, the king unwitting overhears
-Louise confessing her love for him while chatting with her friends
-beneath the royal oak, and the king promptly forgets his affection for
-Madame. That same night, Henrietta overhears, at the same oak, De
-Guiche confessing his love for her to Raoul. The two embark on their
-own affair. A few days later, during a rainstorm, Louis and Louise
-are trapped alone together, and the whole court begins to talk of the
-scandal while their love affair blossoms. Aware of Louise's attachment,
-the king arranges for Raoul to be sent to England for an indefinite
-period.
-
-Meanwhile, the struggle for power continues between Fouquet and Colbert.
-Although the Belle-Isle plot backfired, Colbert prompts the king to ask
-Fouquet for more and more money, and without his two friends to raise it
-for him, Fouquet is sorely pressed. The situation gets so bad that his
-new mistress, Madame de Belliere, must resort to selling all her jewels
-and her gold and silver plate. Aramis, while this is going on, has grown
-friendly with the governor of the Bastile, M. de Baisemeaux, a fact that
-Baisemeaux unwittingly reveals to D'Artagnan while inquiring of him
-as to Aramis's whereabouts. This further arouses the suspicions of the
-musketeer, who was made to look ridiculous by Aramis. He had ridden
-overnight at an insane pace, but arrived a few minutes after Fouquet
-had already presented Belle-Isle to the king. Aramis learns from the
-governor the location of a mysterious prisoner, who bears a remarkable
-resemblance to Louis XIV--in fact, the two are identical. He uses
-the existence of this secret to persuade a dying Franciscan monk, the
-general of the society of the Jesuits, to name him, Aramis, the new
-general of the order. On Aramis's advice, hoping to use Louise's
-influence with the king to counteract Colbert's influence, Fouquet also
-writes a love letter to La Valliere, unfortunately undated. It never
-reaches its destination, however, as the servant ordered to deliver it
-turns out to be an agent of Colbert's.
-
-Porthos, in the meantime, has been recovering from his midnight ride
-from Belle-Isle at Fouquet's residence at Saint-Mande. Athos has
-retired, once again to La Fere. D'Artagnan, little amused by the court's
-activities at Fontainebleau, and finding himself with nothing to do, has
-returned to Paris, and we find him again in Planchet's grocery shop.
-
-And so, the story continues in this, the third etext of The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne. Enjoy!
-
-John Bursey
-
-
-
-
-Chapter I. Malaga.
-
-During all these long and noisy debates between the opposite ambitions
-of politics and love, one of our characters, perhaps the one least
-deserving of neglect, was, however, very much neglected, very much
-forgotten, and exceedingly unhappy. In fact, D'Artagnan--D'Artagnan,
-we say, for we must call him by his name, to remind our readers of his
-existence--D'Artagnan, we repeat, had absolutely nothing whatever to do,
-amidst these brilliant butterflies of fashion. After following the king
-during two whole days at Fontainebleau, and critically observing
-the various pastoral fancies and heroi-comic transformations of his
-sovereign, the musketeer felt that he needed something more than this to
-satisfy the cravings of his nature. At every moment assailed by
-people asking him, "How do you think this costume suits me, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan?" he would reply to them in quiet, sarcastic tones, "Why,
-I think you are quite as well-dressed as the best-dressed monkey to
-be found in the fair at Saint-Laurent." It was just such a compliment
-D'Artagnan would choose where he did not feel disposed to pay any other:
-and, whether agreeable or not, the inquirer was obliged to be satisfied
-with it. Whenever any one asked him, "How do you intend to dress
-yourself this evening?" he replied, "I shall undress myself;" at which
-the ladies all laughed, and a few of them blushed. But after a couple
-of days passed in this manner, the musketeer, perceiving that nothing
-serious was likely to arise which would concern him, and that the king
-had completely, or, at least, appeared to have completely forgotten
-Paris, Saint-Mande, and Belle-Isle--that M. Colbert's mind was occupied
-with illuminations and fireworks--that for the next month, at least,
-the ladies had plenty of glances to bestow, and also to receive in
-exchange--D'Artagnan asked the king for leave of absence for a matter of
-private business. At the moment D'Artagnan made his request, his majesty
-was on the point of going to bed, quite exhausted from dancing.
-
-"You wish to leave me, Monsieur d'Artagnan?" inquired the king, with an
-air of astonishment; for Louis XIV. could never understand why any one
-who had the distinguished honor of being near him could wish to leave
-him.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "I leave you simply because I am not of the
-slightest service to you in anything. Ah! if I could only hold the
-balancing-pole while you were dancing, it would be a very different
-affair."
-
-"But, my dear Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, gravely, "people
-dance without balancing-poles."
-
-"Ah! indeed," said the musketeer, continuing his imperceptible tone of
-irony, "I had no idea such a thing was possible."
-
-"You have not seen me dance, then?" inquired the king.
-
-"Yes; but I always thought dancers went from easy to difficult acrobatic
-feats. I was mistaken; all the more greater reason, therefore, that I
-should leave for a time. Sire, I repeat, you have no present occasion
-for my services; besides, if your majesty should have any need of me,
-you would know where to find me."
-
-"Very well," said the king, and he granted him leave of absence.
-
-We shall not look for D'Artagnan, therefore, at Fontainebleau, for to do
-so would be useless; but, with the permission of our readers, follow him
-to the Rue des Lombards, where he was located at the sign of the Pilon
-d'Or, in the house of our old friend Planchet. It was about eight
-o'clock in the evening, and the weather was exceedingly warm; there
-was only one window open, and that one belonging to a room on the
-_entresol_. A perfume of spices, mingled with another perfume less
-exotic, but more penetrating, namely, that which arose from the street,
-ascended to salute the nostrils of the musketeer. D'Artagnan, reclining
-in an immense straight-backed chair, with his legs not stretched out,
-but simply placed upon a stool, formed an angle of the most obtuse form
-that could possibly be seen. Both his arms were crossed over his head,
-his head reclining upon his left shoulder, like Alexander the Great.
-His eyes, usually so quick and intelligent in their expression, were
-now half-closed, and seemed fastened, as it were, upon a small corner of
-blue sky that was visible behind the opening of the chimneys; there was
-just enough blue, and no more, to fill one of the sacks of lentils, or
-haricots, which formed the principal furniture of the shop on the
-ground floor. Thus extended at his ease, and sheltered in his place of
-observation behind the window, D'Artagnan seemed as if he had ceased
-to be a soldier, as if he were no longer an officer belonging to the
-palace, but was, on the contrary, a quiet, easy-going citizen in a state
-of stagnation between his dinner and supper, or between his supper and
-his bed; one of those strong, ossified brains, which have no more room
-for a single idea, so fiercely does animal matter keep watch at the
-doors of intelligence, narrowly inspecting the contraband trade which
-might result from the introduction into the brain of a symptom of
-thought. We have already said night was closing in, the shops were being
-lighted, while the windows of the upper apartments were being closed,
-and the rhythmic steps of a patrol of soldiers forming the night watch
-could be heard retreating. D'Artagnan continued, however, to think
-of nothing, except the blue corner of the sky. A few paces from him,
-completely in the shade, lying on his stomach, upon a sack of Indian
-corn, was Planchet, with both his arms under his chin, and his eyes
-fixed on D'Artagnan, who was either thinking, dreaming, or sleeping,
-with his eyes open. Planchet had been watching him for a tolerably long
-time, and, by way of interruption, he began by exclaiming, "Hum! hum!"
-But D'Artagnan did not stir. Planchet then saw that it was necessary
-to have recourse to more effectual means still: after a prolonged
-reflection on the subject, the most ingenious means that suggested
-itself to him under the present circumstances, was to let himself roll
-off the sack on to the floor, murmuring, at the same time, against
-himself, the word "stupid." But, notwithstanding the noise produced
-by Planchet's fall, D'Artagnan, who had in the course of his existence
-heard many other, and very different falls, did not appear to pay the
-least attention to the present one. Besides, an enormous cart, laden
-with stones, passing from the Rue Saint-Mederic, absorbed, in the noise
-of its wheels, the noise of Planchet's tumble. And yet Planchet fancied
-that, in token of tacit approval, he saw him imperceptibly smile at the
-word "stupid." This emboldened him to say, "Are you asleep, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan?"
-
-"No, Planchet, I am not _even_ asleep," replied the musketeer.
-
-"I am in despair," said Planchet, "to hear such a word as _even_."
-
-"Well, and why not; is it not a grammatical word, Monsieur Planchet?"
-
-"Of course, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"Well!"
-
-"Well, then, the word distresses me beyond measure."
-
-"Tell me why you are distressed, Planchet," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"If you say that you are not _even_ asleep, it is as much as to say that
-you have not even the consolation of being able to sleep; or, better
-still, it is precisely the same as telling me that you are getting bored
-to death."
-
-"Planchet, you know that I am never bored."
-
-"Except to-day, and the day before yesterday."
-
-"Bah!"
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, it is a week since you returned here from
-Fontainebleau; in other words, you have no longer your orders to issue,
-or your men to review and maneuver. You need the sound of guns, drums,
-and all that din and confusion; I, who have myself carried a musket, can
-easily believe that."
-
-"Planchet," replied D'Artagnan, "I assure you I am not bored in the
-least in the world."
-
-"In that case, what are you doing, lying there, as if you were dead?"
-
-"My dear Planchet, there was, once upon a time, at the siege of La
-Rochelle, when I was there, when you were there, when we both were
-there, a certain Arab, who was celebrated for the manner in which he
-adjusted culverins. He was a clever fellow, although of a very odd
-complexion, which was the same color as your olives. Well, this Arab,
-whenever he had done eating or working, used to sit down to rest
-himself, as I am resting myself now, and smoked I cannot tell you
-what sort of magical leaves, in a large amber-mouthed tube; and if any
-officers, happening to pass, reproached him for being always asleep, he
-used quietly to reply: 'Better to sit down than to stand up, to lie
-down than to sit down, to be dead than to lie down.' He was an acutely
-melancholy Arab, and I remember him perfectly well, form the color of
-his skin, and the style of his conversation. He used to cut off the
-heads of Protestants with the most singular gusto!"
-
-"Precisely; and then used to embalm them, when they were worth the
-trouble; and when he was thus engaged with his herbs and plants about
-him, he looked like a basket-maker making baskets."
-
-"You are quite right, Planchet, he did."
-
-"Oh! I can remember things very well, at times!"
-
-"I have no doubt of it; but what do you think of his mode of reasoning?"
-
-"I think it good in one sense, but very stupid in another."
-
-"Expound your meaning, M. Planchet."
-
-"Well, monsieur, in point of fact, then, 'better to sit down than to
-stand up,' is plain enough, especially when one may be fatigued," and
-Planchet smiled in a roguish way; "as for 'better to be lying down,'
-let that pass, but as for the last proposition, that it is 'better to
-be dead than alive,' it is, in my opinion, very absurd, my own undoubted
-preference being for my bed; and if you are not of my opinion, it is
-simply, as I have already had the honor of telling you, because you are
-boring yourself to death."
-
-"Planchet, do you know M. La Fontaine?"
-
-"The chemist at the corner of the Rue Saint-Mederic?"
-
-"No, the writer of fables."
-
-"Oh! _Maitre Corbeau!_"
-
-"Exactly; well, then, I am like his hare."
-
-"He has got a hare also, then?"
-
-"He has all sorts of animals."
-
-"Well, what does his hare do, then?"
-
-"M. La Fontaine's hare thinks."
-
-"Ah, ah!"
-
-"Planchet, I am like that hare--I am thinking."
-
-"You are thinking, you say?" said Planchet, uneasily.
-
-"Yes; your house is dull enough to drive people to think; you will admit
-that, I hope."
-
-"And yet, monsieur, you have a look-out upon the street."
-
-"Yes; and wonderfully interesting that is, of course."
-
-"But it is no less true, monsieur, that, if you were living at the back
-of the house, you would bore yourself--I mean, you would think--more
-than ever."
-
-"Upon my word, Planchet, I hardly know that."
-
-"Still," said the grocer, "if your reflections are at all like those
-which led you to restore King Charles II.--" and Planchet finished by a
-little laugh which was not without its meaning.
-
-"Ah! Planchet, my friend," returned D'Artagnan, "you are getting
-ambitious."
-
-"Is there no other king to be restored, M. d'Artagnan--no second Monk to
-be packed up, like a salted hog, in a deal box?"
-
-"No, my dear Planchet; all the kings are seated on their respective
-thrones; less comfortably so, perhaps, than I am upon this chair; but,
-at all events, there they are." And D'Artagnan sighed deeply.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Planchet, "you are making me very uneasy."
-
-"You are very good, Planchet."
-
-"I begin to suspect something."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, you are getting thin."
-
-"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, striking his chest which sounded like an empty
-cuirass, "it is impossible, Planchet."
-
-"Ah!" said Planchet, slightly overcome; "if you were to get thin in my
-house--"
-
-"Well?"
-
-"I should do something rash."
-
-"What would you do? Tell me."
-
-"I should look out for the man who was the cause of all your anxieties."
-
-"Ah! according to your account, I am anxious now."
-
-"Yes, you are anxious; and you are getting thin, visibly getting thin.
-_Malaga!_ if you go on getting thin, in this way, I will take my sword
-in my hand, and go straight to M. d'Herblay, and have it out with him."
-
-"What!" said M. d'Artagnan, starting in his chair; "what's that you say?
-And what has M. d'Herblay's name to do with your groceries?"
-
-"Just as you please. Get angry if you like, or call me names, if you
-prefer it; but, the deuce is in it. _I know what I know_."
-
-D'Artagnan had, during this second outburst of Planchet's, so placed
-himself as not to lose a single look of his face; that is, he sat with
-both his hands resting on both his knees, and his head stretched out
-towards the grocer. "Come, explain yourself," he said, "and tell me
-how you could possibly utter such a blasphemy. M. d'Herblay, your old
-master, my friend, an ecclesiastic, a musketeer turned bishop--do you
-mean to say you would raise your sword against him, Planchet?"
-
-"I could raise my sword against my own father, when I see you in such a
-state as you are now."
-
-"M. d'Herblay, a gentleman!"
-
-"It's all the same to me whether he's a gentleman or not. He gives you
-the blue devils, that is all I know. And the blue devils make people
-get thin. _Malaga!_ I have no notion of M. d'Artagnan leaving my house
-thinner than when he entered it."
-
-"How does he give me the blue devils, as you call it? Come, explain,
-explain."
-
-"You have had the nightmare during the last three nights."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes, you; and in your nightmare you called out, several times, 'Aramis,
-deceitful Aramis!'"
-
-"Ah! I said that, did I?" murmured D'Artagnan, uneasily.
-
-"Yes, those very words, upon my honor."
-
-"Well, what else? You know the saying, Planchet, 'dreams go by
-contraries.'"
-
-"Not so; for every time, during the last three days, when you went out,
-you have not once failed to ask me, on your return, 'Have you seen
-M. d'Herblay?' or else 'Have you received any letters for me from M.
-d'Herblay?'"
-
-"Well, it is very natural I should take an interest in my old friend,"
-said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Of course; but not to such an extent as to get thin on that account."
-
-"Planchet, I'll get fatter; I give you my word of honor I will."
-
-"Very well, monsieur, I accept it; for I know that when you give your
-word of honor, it is sacred."
-
-"I will not dream of Aramis any more; and I will never ask you again
-if there are any letters from M. d'Herblay; but on condition that you
-explain one thing to me."
-
-"Tell me what it is, monsieur?"
-
-"I am a great observer; and just now you made use of a very singular
-oath, which is unusual for you."
-
-"You mean _Malaga!_ I suppose?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"It is the oath I have used ever since I have been a grocer."
-
-"Very proper, too; it is the name of a dried grape, or raisin, I
-believe?"
-
-"It is my most ferocious oath; when I have once said _Malaga!_ I am a
-man no longer."
-
-"Still, I never knew you use that oath before."
-
-"Very likely not, monsieur. I had a present made me of it," said
-Planchet; and, as he pronounced these words, he winked his eye with a
-cunning expression, which thoroughly awakened D'Artagnan's attention.
-
-"Come, come, M. Planchet."
-
-"Why, I am not like you, monsieur," said Planchet. "I don't pass my life
-in thinking."
-
-"You do wrong, then."
-
-"I mean in boring myself to death. We have but a very short time to
-live--why not make the best of it?"
-
-"You are an Epicurean philosopher, I begin to think, Planchet."
-
-"Why not? My hand is still as steady as ever; I can write, and can weigh
-out my sugar and spices; my foot is firm; I can dance and walk about; my
-stomach has its teeth still, for I eat and digest very well; my heart is
-not quite hardened. Well, monsieur?"
-
-"Well, what, Planchet?"
-
-"Why, you see--" said the grocer, rubbing his hands together.
-
-D'Artagnan crossed one leg over the other, and said, "Planchet, my
-friend, I am unnerved with extreme surprise; for you are revealing
-yourself to me under a perfectly new light."
-
-Planchet, flattered in the highest degree by this remark, continued to
-rub his hands very hard together. "Ah, ah," he said, "because I happen
-to be only slow, you think me, perhaps, a positive fool."
-
-"Very good, Planchet; very well reasoned."
-
-"Follow my idea, monsieur, if you please. I said to myself," continued
-Planchet, "that, without enjoyment, there is no happiness on this
-earth."
-
-"Quite true, what you say, Planchet," interrupted D'Artagnan.
-
-"At all events, if we cannot obtain pleasure--for pleasure is not so
-common a thing, after all--let us, at least, get consolations of some
-kind or another."
-
-"And so you console yourself?"
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-"Tell me how you console yourself."
-
-"I put on a buckler for the purpose of confronting _ennui_. I place my
-time at the direction of patience; and on the very eve of feeling I am
-going to get bored, I amuse myself."
-
-"And you don't find any difficulty in that?"
-
-"None."
-
-"And you found it out quite by yourself?"
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"It is miraculous."
-
-"What do you say?"
-
-"I say, that your philosophy is not to be matched in the Christian or
-pagan world, in modern days or in antiquity!"
-
-"You think so?--follow my example, then."
-
-"It is a very tempting one."
-
-"Do as I do."
-
-"I could not wish for anything better; but all minds are not of the same
-stamp; and it might possibly happen that if I were required to amuse
-myself in the manner you do, I should bore myself horribly."
-
-"Bah! at least try first."
-
-"Well, tell me what you do."
-
-"Have you observed that I leave home occasionally?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"In any particular way?"
-
-"Periodically."
-
-"That's the very thing. You have noticed it, then?"
-
-"My dear Planchet, you must understand that when people see each other
-every day, and one of the two absents himself, the other misses him. Do
-you not feel the want of my society when I am in the country?"
-
-"Prodigiously; that is to say, I feel like a body without a soul."
-
-"That being understood then, proceed."
-
-"What are the periods when I absent myself?"
-
-"On the fifteenth and thirtieth of every month."
-
-"And I remain away?"
-
-"Sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes four days at a time."
-
-"Have you ever given it a thought, why I was absent?"
-
-"To look after your debts, I suppose."
-
-"And when I returned, how did you think I looked, as far as my face was
-concerned?"
-
-"Exceedingly self-satisfied."
-
-"You admit, you say, that I always look satisfied. And what have you
-attributed my satisfaction to?"
-
-"That your business was going on very well; that your purchases of rice,
-prunes, raw sugar, dried apples, pears, and treacle were advantageous.
-You were always very picturesque in your notions and ideas, Planchet;
-and I was not in the slightest degree surprised to find you had selected
-grocery as an occupation, which is of all trades the most varied, and
-the very pleasantest, as far as the character is concerned; inasmuch as
-one handles so many natural and perfumed productions."
-
-"Perfectly true, monsieur; but you are very greatly mistaken."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"In thinking that I leave here every fortnight, to collect my money or
-to make purchases. Ho, ho! how could you possibly have thought such
-a thing? Ho, ho, ho!" And Planchet began to laugh in a manner that
-inspired D'Artagnan with very serious misgivings as to his sanity.
-
-"I confess," said the musketeer, "that I do not precisely catch your
-meaning."
-
-"Very true, monsieur."
-
-"What do you mean by 'very true'?"
-
-"It must be true, since you say it; but pray, be assured that it in no
-way lessens my opinion of you."
-
-"Ah, that is lucky."
-
-"No; you are a man of genius; and whenever the question happens to be
-of war, tactics, surprises, or good honest blows to be dealt with, why,
-kings are marionettes, compared to you. But for the consolations of the
-mind, the proper care of the body, the agreeable things of like, if one
-may say so--ah! monsieur, don't talk to me about men of genius; they are
-nothing short of executioners."
-
-"Good," said D'Artagnan, really fidgety with curiosity, "upon my word
-you interest me in the highest degree."
-
-"You feel already less bored than you did just now, do you not?"
-
-"I was not bored; yet since you have been talking to me, I feel more
-animated."
-
-"Very good, then; that is not a bad beginning. I will cure you, rely
-upon that."
-
-"There is nothing I should like better."
-
-"Will you let me try, then?"
-
-"Immediately, if you like."
-
-"Very well. Have you any horses here?"
-
-"Yes; ten, twenty, thirty."
-
-"Oh, there is no occasion for so many as that, two will be quite
-sufficient."
-
-"They are quite at your disposal, Planchet."
-
-"Very good; then I shall carry you off with me."
-
-"When?"
-
-"To-morrow."
-
-"Where?"
-
-"Ah, you are asking too much."
-
-"You will admit, however, that it is important I should know where I am
-going."
-
-"Do you like the country?"
-
-"Only moderately, Planchet."
-
-"In that case you like town better?"
-
-"That is as may be."
-
-"Very well; I am going to take you to a place, half town and half
-country."
-
-"Good."
-
-"To a place where I am sure you will amuse yourself."
-
-"Is it possible?"
-
-"Yes; and more wonderful still, to a place from which you have just
-returned for the purpose only, it would seem, of getting bored here."
-
-"It is to Fontainebleau you are going, then?"
-
-"Exactly; to Fontainebleau."
-
-"And, in Heaven's name, what are you going to do at Fontainebleau?"
-
-Planchet answered D'Artagnan by a wink full of sly humor.
-
-"You have some property there, you rascal."
-
-"Oh, a very paltry affair; a little bit of a house--nothing more."
-
-"I understand you."
-
-"But it is tolerable enough, after all."
-
-"I am going to Planchet's country-seat!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Whenever you like."
-
-"Did we not fix to-morrow?"
-
-"Let us say to-morrow, if you like; and then, besides, to-morrow is the
-14th, that is to say, the day before the one when I am afraid of getting
-bored; so we will look upon it as an understood thing."
-
-"Agreed, by all means."
-
-"You will lend me one of your horses?"
-
-"The best I have."
-
-"No; I prefer the gentlest of all; I never was a very good rider, as
-you know, and in my grocery business I have got more awkward than ever;
-besides--"
-
-"Besides what?"
-
-"Why," added Planchet, "I do not wish to fatigue myself."
-
-"Why so?" D'Artagnan ventured to ask.
-
-"Because I should lose half the pleasure I expect to enjoy," replied
-Planchet. And thereupon he rose from his sack of Indian corn, stretching
-himself, and making all his bones crack, one after the other, with a
-sort of harmony.
-
-"Planchet! Planchet!" exclaimed D'Artagnan, "I do declare that there is
-no sybarite upon the face of the globe who can for a moment be compared
-to you. Oh, Planchet, it is very clear that we have never yet eaten a
-ton of salt together."
-
-"Why so, monsieur?"
-
-"Because, even now I can scarcely say I know you," said D'Artagnan, "and
-because, in point of fact, I return to the opinion which, for a moment,
-I had formed of you that day at Boulogne, when you strangled, or did so
-as nearly as possible, M. de Wardes's valet, Lubin; in plain language,
-Planchet, that you are a man of great resources."
-
-Planchet began to laugh with a laugh full of self-conceit; bade the
-musketeer good-night, and went down to his back shop, which he used as
-a bedroom. D'Artagnan resumed his original position upon his chair, and
-his brow, which had been unruffled for a moment, became more pensive
-than ever. He had already forgotten the whims and dreams of Planchet.
-"Yes," said he, taking up again the thread of his thoughts, which
-had been broken by the whimsical conversation in which we have just
-permitted our readers to participate. "Yes, yes, those three points
-include everything: First, to ascertain what Baisemeaux wanted with
-Aramis; secondly, to learn why Aramis does not let me hear from him; and
-thirdly, to ascertain where Porthos is. The whole mystery lies in these
-three points. Since, therefore," continued D'Artagnan, "our friends tell
-us nothing, we must have recourse to our own poor intelligence. I must
-do what I can, _mordioux_, or rather _Malaga_, as Planchet would say."
-
-
-
-Chapter II. A Letter from M. Baisemeaux.
-
-D'Artagnan, faithful to his plan, went the very next morning to pay
-a visit to M. de Baisemeaux. It was cleaning up or tidying day at the
-Bastile; the cannons were furbished up, the staircases scraped and
-cleaned; and the jailers seemed to be carefully engaged in polishing
-the very keys. As for the soldiers belonging to the garrison, they were
-walking about in different courtyards, under the pretense that they were
-clean enough. The governor, Baisemeaux, received D'Artagnan with more
-than ordinary politeness, but he behaved towards him with so marked a
-reserve of manner, that all D'Artagnan's tact and cleverness could not
-get a syllable out of him. The more he kept himself within bounds,
-the more D'Artagnan's suspicion increased. The latter even fancied he
-remarked that the governor was acting under the influence of a recent
-recommendation. Baisemeaux had not been at the Palais Royal with
-D'Artagnan the same cold and impenetrable man which the latter now found
-in the Baisemeaux of the Bastile. When D'Artagnan wished to make him
-talk about the urgent money matters which had brought Baisemeaux in
-search of D'Artagnan, and had rendered him expansive, notwithstanding
-what had passed on that evening, Baisemeaux pretended that he had some
-orders to give in the prison, and left D'Artagnan so long alone waiting
-for him, that our musketeer, feeling sure that he should not get another
-syllable out of him, left the Bastile without waiting until Baisemeaux
-returned from his inspection. But D'Artagnan's suspicions were aroused,
-and when once that was the case, D'Artagnan could not sleep or remain
-quiet for a moment. He was among men what the cat is among quadrupeds,
-the emblem of anxiety and impatience, at the same moment. A restless cat
-can no more remain the same place than a silk thread wafted idly to and
-fro with every breath of air. A cat on the watch is as motionless as
-death stationed at its place of observation, and neither hunger nor
-thirst can draw it from its meditations. D'Artagnan, who was burning
-with impatience, suddenly threw aside the feeling, like a cloak which
-he felt too heavy on his shoulders, and said to himself that that which
-they were concealing from him was the very thing it was important he
-should know; and, consequently, he reasoned that Baisemeaux would not
-fail to put Aramis on his guard, if Aramis had given him any particular
-recommendation, and this was, in fact, the very thing that happened.
-
-Baisemeaux had hardly had time to return from the donjon, than
-D'Artagnan placed himself in ambuscade close to the Rue de Petit-Musc,
-so as to see every one who might leave the gates of the Bastile. After
-he had spent an hour on the look-out from the "Golden Portcullis," under
-the pent-house of which he could keep himself a little in the shade,
-D'Artagnan observed a soldier leave the Bastile. This was, indeed, the
-surest indication he could possibly have wished for, as every jailer
-or warder has certain days, and even certain hours, for leaving the
-Bastile, since all are alike prohibited from having either wives or
-lodgings in the castle, and can accordingly leave without exciting any
-curiosity; but a soldier once in barracks is kept there for four and
-twenty hours when on duty,--and no one knew this better than D'Artagnan.
-The guardsman in question, therefore, was not likely to leave his
-regimentals, except on an express and urgent order. The soldier, we
-were saying, left the Bastile at a slow and lounging pace, like a happy
-mortal, in fact, who, instead of mounting sentry before a wearisome
-guard-house, or upon a bastion no less wearisome, has the good luck
-to get a little liberty, in addition to a walk--both pleasures being
-luckily reckoned as part of his time on duty. He bent his steps towards
-the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, enjoying the fresh air and the warmth of the
-sun, and looking at all the pretty faces he passed. D'Artagnan followed
-him at a distance; he had not yet arranged his ideas as what was to be
-done. "I must, first of all," he thought, "see the fellow's face. A man
-seen is a man judged." D'Artagnan increased his pace, and, which was not
-very difficult, by the by, soon got in advance of the soldier. Not only
-did he observe that his face showed a tolerable amount of intelligence
-and resolution, but he noticed also that his nose was a little red. "He
-has a weakness for brandy, I see," said D'Artagnan to himself. At the
-same moment that he remarked his red nose, he saw that the soldier had a
-white paper in his belt.
-
-"Good, he has a letter," added D'Artagnan. The only difficulty was to
-get hold of the letter. But a common soldier would, of course, be only
-too delighted at having been selected by M. de Baisemeaux as a special
-messenger, and would not be likely to sell his message. As D'Artagnan
-was biting his nails, the soldier continued to advance more and more
-into the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. "He is certainly going to Saint-Mande,"
-he said to himself, "and I shall not be able to learn what the letter
-contains." It was enough to drive him wild. "If I were in uniform," said
-D'Artagnan to himself, "I would have this fellow seized, and his letter
-with him. I could easily get assistance at the very first guard-house;
-but the devil take me if I mention my name in an affair of this kind.
-If I were to treat him to something to drink, his suspicions would be
-roused; and besides, he might drink me drunk. _Mordioux!_ my wits
-seem to have left me," said D'Artagnan; "it is all over with me. Yet,
-supposing I were to attack this poor devil, make him draw his sword
-and kill him for the sake of his letter? No harm in that, if it were
-a question of a letter from a queen to a nobleman, or a letter from a
-cardinal to a queen; but what miserable intrigues are those of Messieurs
-Aramis and Fouquet with M. Colbert. A man's life for that? No, no,
-indeed; not even ten crowns." As he philosophized in this manner, biting
-first his nails, and then his mustaches, he perceived a group of archers
-and a commissary of the police engaged in carrying away a man of very
-gentlemanly exterior, who was struggling with all his might against
-them. The archers had torn his clothes, and were dragging him roughly
-away. He begged they would lead him along more respectfully, asserting
-that he was a gentleman and a soldier. And observing our soldier walking
-in the street, he called out, "Help, comrade."
-
-The soldier walked on with the same step towards the man who had
-called out to him, followed by the crowd. An idea suddenly occurred to
-D'Artagnan; it was his first one, and we shall find it was not a bad one
-either. During the time the gentleman was relating to the soldier that
-he had just been seized in a house as a thief, when the truth was he
-was only there as a lover; and while the soldier was pitying him, and
-offering him consolation and advice with that gravity which a French
-soldier has always ready whenever his vanity or his _esprit de corps_ is
-concerned, D'Artagnan glided behind the soldier, who was closely hemmed
-in by the crowd, and with a rapid sweep, like a sabre slash, snatched
-the letter from his belt. As at this moment the gentleman with the torn
-clothes was pulling about the soldier, to show how the commissary of
-police had pulled him about, D'Artagnan effected his pillage of the
-letter without the slightest interference. He stationed himself about
-ten paces distant, behind the pillar of an adjoining house, and read
-on the address, "To Monsieur du Vallon, at Monsieur Fouquet's,
-Saint-Mande."
-
-"Good!" he said, and then he unsealed, without tearing the letter,
-drew out the paper, which was folded in four, from the inside; which
-contained only these words:
-
-"DEAR MONSIEUR DU VALLON,--Will you be good enough to tell Monsieur
-d'Herblay that _he_ has been to the Bastile, and has been making
-inquiries.
-
-"Your devoted
-
-"DE BAISEMEAUX."
-
-
-"Very good! all right!" exclaimed D'Artagnan; "it is clear enough now.
-Porthos is engaged in it." Being now satisfied of what he wished to
-know: "_Mordioux!_" thought the musketeer, "what is to be done with that
-poor devil of a soldier? That hot-headed, cunning fellow, De Baisemeaux,
-will make him pay dearly for my trick,--if he returns without the
-letter, what will they do to him? Besides, I don't want the letter;
-when the egg has been sucked, what is the good of the shell?" D'Artagnan
-perceived that the commissary and the archers had succeeded in
-convincing the soldier, and went on their way with the prisoner,
-the latter being still surrounded by the crowd, and continuing his
-complaints. D'Artagnan advanced into the very middle of the crowd, let
-the letter fall, without any one having observed him, and then retreated
-rapidly. The soldier resumed his route towards Saint-Mande, his mind
-occupied with the gentleman who had implored his protection. Suddenly
-he thought of his letter, and, looking at his belt, saw that it was no
-longer there. D'Artagnan derived no little satisfaction from his sudden,
-terrified cry. The poor soldier in the greatest anguish of mind looked
-round him on every side, and at last, about twenty paces behind him,
-he perceived the lucky envelope. He pounced on it like a falcon on its
-prey. The envelope was certainly a little dirty, and rather crumpled,
-but at all events the letter itself was found. D'Artagnan observed that
-the broken seal attracted the soldier's attention a good deal, but he
-finished apparently by consoling himself, and returned the letter to his
-belt. "Go on," said D'Artagnan, "I have plenty of time before me, so you
-may precede me. It appears that Aramis is not in Paris, since Baisemeaux
-writes to Porthos. Dear Porthos, how delighted I shall be to see him
-again, and to have some conversation with him!" said the Gascon. And,
-regulating his pace according to that of the soldier, he promised
-himself to arrive a quarter of an hour after him at M. Fouquet's.
-
-
-
-Chapter III. In Which the Reader will be Delighted to Find that Porthos
-Has Lost Nothing of His Muscularity.
-
-D'Artagnan had, according to his usual style, calculated that every hour
-is worth sixty minutes, and every minute worth sixty seconds. Thanks to
-this perfectly exact calculation of minutes and seconds, he reached the
-superintendent's door at the very moment the soldier was leaving it with
-his belt empty. D'Artagnan presented himself at the door, which a porter
-with a profusely embroidered livery held half opened for him. D'Artagnan
-would very much have liked to enter without giving his name, but this
-was impossible, and so he gave it. Notwithstanding this concession,
-which ought to have removed every difficulty in the way, at least
-D'Artagnan thought so, the _concierge_ hesitated; however, at the second
-repetition of the title, captain of the king's guards, the _concierge_,
-without quite leaving the passage clear for him, ceased to bar it
-completely. D'Artagnan understood that orders of the most positive
-character had been given. He decided, therefore, to tell a falsehood,--a
-circumstance, moreover, which did not seriously affect his peace of
-mind, when he saw that beyond the falsehood the safety of the state
-itself, or even purely and simply his own individual personal interest,
-might be at stake. He moreover added to the declarations he had already
-made, that the soldier sent to M. du Vallon was his own messenger,
-and that the only object that letter had in view was to announce his
-intended arrival. From that moment, no one opposed D'Artagnan's entrance
-any further, and he entered accordingly. A valet wished to accompany
-him, but he answered that it was useless to take that trouble on his
-account, inasmuch as he knew perfectly well where M. du Vallon was.
-There was nothing, of course, to say to a man so thoroughly and
-completely informed on all points, and D'Artagnan was permitted,
-therefore, to do as he liked. The terraces, the magnificent apartments,
-the gardens, were all reviewed and narrowly inspected by the musketeer.
-He walked for a quarter of an hour in this more than royal residence,
-which included as many wonders as articles of furniture, and as many
-servants as there were columns and doors. "Decidedly," he said to
-himself, "this mansion has no other limits than the pillars of the
-habitable world. Is it probable Porthos has taken it into his head to go
-back to Pierrefonds without even leaving M. Fouquet's house?" He finally
-reached a remote part of the chateau inclosed by a stone wall, which was
-covered with a profusion of thick plants, luxuriant in blossoms as large
-and solid as fruit. At equal distances on the top of this wall were
-placed various statues in timid or mysterious attitudes. These were
-vestals hidden beneath the long Greek peplum, with its thick, sinuous
-folds; agile nymphs, covered with their marble veils, and guarding the
-palace with their fugitive glances. A statue of Hermes, with his
-finger on his lips; one of Iris, with extended wings; another of Night,
-sprinkled all over with poppies, dominated the gardens and outbuildings,
-which could be seen through the trees. All these statues threw in white
-relief their profiles upon the dark ground of the tall cypresses, which
-darted their somber summits towards the sky. Around these cypresses were
-entwined climbing roses, whose flowering rings were fastened to every
-fork of the branches, and spread over the lower boughs and the various
-statues, showers of flowers of the rarest fragrance. These enchantments
-seemed to the musketeer the result of the greatest efforts of the human
-mind. He felt in a dreamy, almost poetical, frame of mind. The idea
-that Porthos was living in so perfect an Eden gave him a higher idea of
-Porthos, showing how tremendously true it is, that even the very highest
-orders of minds are not quite exempt from the influence of surroundings.
-D'Artagnan found the door, and on, or rather in the door, a kind
-of spring which he detected; having touched it, the door flew open.
-D'Artagnan entered, closed the door behind him, and advanced into a
-pavilion built in a circular form, in which no other sound could be
-heard but cascades and the songs of birds. At the door of the pavilion
-he met a lackey.
-
-"It is here, I believe," said D'Artagnan, without hesitation, "that M.
-le Baron du Vallon is staying?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur," answered the lackey.
-
-"Have the goodness to tell him that M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain
-of the king's musketeers, is waiting to see him."
-
-D'Artagnan was introduced into the _salon_, and had not long to remain
-in expectation: a well-remembered step shook the floor of the adjoining
-room, a door opened, or rather flew open, and Porthos appeared and threw
-himself into his friend's arms with a sort of embarrassment which did
-not ill become him. "You here?" he exclaimed.
-
-"And you?" replied D'Artagnan. "Ah, you sly fellow!"
-
-"Yes," said Porthos, with a somewhat embarrassed smile; "yes, you see
-I am staying in M. Fouquet's house, at which you are not a little
-surprised, I suppose?"
-
-"Not at all; why should you not be one of M. Fouquet's friends? M.
-Fouquet has a very large number, particularly among clever men."
-
-Porthos had the modesty not to take the compliment to himself.
-"Besides," he added, "you saw me at Belle-Isle."
-
-"A greater reason for my believing you to be one of M. Fouquet's
-friends."
-
-"The fact is, I am acquainted with him," said Porthos, with a certain
-embarrassment of manner.
-
-"Ah, friend Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how treacherously you have
-behaved towards me."
-
-"In what way?" exclaimed Porthos.
-
-"What! you complete so admirable a work as the fortifications of
-Belle-Isle, and you did not tell me of it!" Porthos colored. "Nay, more
-than that," continued D'Artagnan, "you saw me out yonder, you know I
-am in the king's service, and yet you could not guess that the king,
-jealously desirous of learning the name of the man whose abilities had
-wrought a work of which he heard the most wonderful accounts,--you could
-not guess, I say, that the king sent me to learn who this man was?"
-
-"What! the king sent you to learn--"
-
-"Of course; but don't let us speak of that any more."
-
-"Not speak of it!" said Porthos; "on the contrary, we will speak of it;
-and so the king knew that we were fortifying Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Of course; does not the king know everything?"
-
-"But he did not know who was fortifying it?"
-
-"No, he only suspected, from what he had been told of the nature of the
-works, that it was some celebrated soldier or another."
-
-"The devil!" said Porthos, "if I had only known that!"
-
-"You would not have run away from Vannes as you did, perhaps?"
-
-"No; what did you say when you couldn't find me?"
-
-"My dear fellow, I reflected."
-
-"Ah, indeed; you reflect, do you? Well, and what did that reflection
-lead to?"
-
-"It led me to guess the whole truth."
-
-"Come, then, tell me what did you guess after all?" said Porthos,
-settling himself into an armchair, and assuming the airs of a sphinx.
-
-"I guessed, in the first place, that you were fortifying Belle-Isle."
-
-"There was no great difficulty in that, for you saw me at work."
-
-"Wait a minute; I also guessed something else,--that you were fortifying
-Belle-Isle by M. Fouquet's orders."
-
-"That's true."
-
-"But even that is not all. Whenever I feel myself in trim for guessing,
-I do not stop on my road; and so I guessed that M. Fouquet wished to
-preserve the most absolute secrecy respecting these fortifications."
-
-"I believe that was his intention, in fact," said Porthos.
-
-"Yes, but do you know why he wished to keep it secret?"
-
-"In order it should not become known, perhaps," said Porthos.
-
-"That was his principal reason. But his wish was subservient to a bit of
-generosity--"
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "I have heard it said that M. Fouquet was a very
-generous man."
-
-"To a bit of generosity he wished to exhibit towards the king."
-
-"Oh, oh!"
-
-"You seem surprised at that?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And you didn't guess?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Well, I know it, then."
-
-"You are a wizard."
-
-"Not at all, I assure you."
-
-"How do you know it, then?"
-
-"By a very simple means. I heard M. Fouquet himself say so to the king."
-
-"Say what to the king?"
-
-"That he fortified Belle-Isle on his majesty's account, and that he had
-made him a present of Belle Isle."
-
-"And you heard M. Fouquet say that to the king?"
-
-"In those very words. He even added: 'Belle-Isle has been fortified by
-an engineer, one of my friends, a man of a great deal of merit, whom I
-shall ask your majesty's permission to present to you.'
-
-"'What is his name?' said the king.
-
-"'The Baron du Vallon,' M. Fouquet replied.
-
-"'Very well,' returned his majesty, 'you will present him to me.'"
-
-"The king said that?"
-
-"Upon the word of a D'Artagnan!"
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos. "Why have I not been presented, then?"
-
-"Have they not spoken to you about this presentation?"
-
-"Yes, certainly; but I am always kept waiting for it."
-
-"Be easy, it will be sure to come."
-
-"Humph! humph!" grumbled Porthos, which D'Artagnan pretended not to
-hear; and, changing the conversation, he said, "You seem to be living in
-a very solitary place here, my dear fellow?"
-
-"I always preferred retirement. I am of a melancholy disposition,"
-replied Porthos, with a sigh.
-
-"Really, that is odd," said D'Artagnan, "I never remarked that before."
-
-"It is only since I have taken to reading," said Porthos, with a
-thoughtful air.
-
-"But the labors of the mind have not affected the health of the body, I
-trust?"
-
-"Not in the slightest degree."
-
-"Your strength is as great as ever?"
-
-"Too great, my friend, too great."
-
-"Ah! I had heard that, for a short time after your arrival--"
-
-"That I could hardly move a limb, I suppose?"
-
-"How was it?" said D'Artagnan, smiling, "and why was it you could not
-move?"
-
-Porthos, perceiving that he had made a mistake, wished to correct it.
-"Yes, I came from Belle-Isle upon very hard horses," he said, "and that
-fatigued me."
-
-"I am no longer astonished, then, since I, who followed you, found seven
-or eight lying dead on the road."
-
-"I am very heavy, you know," said Porthos.
-
-"So that you were bruised all over."
-
-"My marrow melted, and that made me very ill."
-
-"Poor Porthos! But how did Aramis act towards you under those
-circumstances?"
-
-"Very well, indeed. He had me attended to by M. Fouquet's own doctor.
-But just imagine, at the end of a week I could not breathe any longer."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"The room was too small; I had absorbed every atom of air."
-
-"Indeed?"
-
-"I was told so, at least; and so I was removed into another apartment."
-
-"Where you were able to breathe, I hope and trust?"
-
-"Yes, more freely; but no exercise--nothing to do. The doctor pretended
-that I was not to stir; I, on the contrary, felt that I was stronger
-than ever; that was the cause of a very serious accident."
-
-"What accident?"
-
-"Fancy, my dear fellow, that I revolted against the directions of that
-ass of a doctor, and I resolved to go out, whether it suited him or
-not: and, consequently, I told the valet who waited on me to bring me my
-clothes."
-
-"You were quite naked, then?"
-
-"Oh, no! on the contrary, I had a magnificent dressing-gown to wear. The
-lackey obeyed; I dressed myself in my own clothes, which had become
-too large for me; but a strange circumstance had happened,--my feet had
-become too large."
-
-"Yes, I quite understand."
-
-"And my boots too small."
-
-"You mean your feet were still swollen?"
-
-"Exactly; you have hit it."
-
-"_Pardieu!_ And is that the accident you were going to tell me about?"
-
-"Oh, yes; I did not make the same reflection you have done. I said to
-myself: 'Since my feet have entered my boots ten times, there is no
-reason why they should not go in the eleventh.'"
-
-"Allow me to tell you, my dear Porthos, that on this occasion you failed
-in your logic."
-
-"In short, then, they placed me opposite to a part of the room which
-was partitioned; I tried to get my boot on; I pulled it with my hands,
-I pushed with all the strength of the muscles of my leg, making the most
-unheard-of efforts, when suddenly the two tags of my boot remained in my
-hands, and my foot struck out like a ballista."
-
-"How learned you are in fortification, dear Porthos."
-
-"My foot darted out like a ballista, and came against the partition,
-which it broke in; I really thought that, like Samson, I had demolished
-the temple. And the number of pictures, the quantity of china, vases
-of flowers, carpets, and window-panes that fell down were really
-wonderful."
-
-"Indeed!"
-
-"Without reckoning that on the other side of the partition was a small
-table laden with porcelain--"
-
-"Which you knocked over?"
-
-"Which I dashed to the other side of the room," said Porthos, laughing.
-
-"Upon my word, it is, as you say, astonishing," replied D'Artagnan,
-beginning to laugh also; whereupon Porthos laughed louder than ever.
-
-"I broke," said Porthos, in a voice half-choked from his increasing
-mirth, "more than three thousand francs worth of china--ha, ha, ha!"
-
-"Good!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I smashed more than four thousand francs worth of glass!--ho, ho, ho!"
-
-"Excellent."
-
-"Without counting a luster, which fell on my head and was broken into a
-thousand pieces--ha, ha, ha!"
-
-"Upon your head?" said D'Artagnan, holding his sides.
-
-"On top."
-
-"But your head was broken, I suppose?"
-
-"No, since I tell you, on the contrary, my dear fellow, that it was the
-luster which was broken, like glass, which, in point of fact, it was."
-
-"Ah! the luster was glass, you say."
-
-"Venetian glass! a perfect curiosity, quite matchless, indeed, and
-weighed two hundred pounds."
-
-"And it fell upon your head!"
-
-"Upon my head. Just imagine, a globe of crystal, gilded all over, the
-lower part beautifully encrusted, perfumes burning at the top, with jets
-from which flame issued when they were lighted."
-
-"I quite understand, but they were not lighted at the time, I suppose?"
-
-"Happily not, or I should have been grilled prematurely."
-
-"And you were only knocked down flat, instead?"
-
-"Not at all."
-
-"How, 'not at all?'"
-
-"Why, the luster fell on my skull. It appears that we have upon the top
-of our heads an exceedingly thick crust."
-
-"Who told you that, Porthos?"
-
-"The doctor. A sort of dome which would bear Notre-Dame."
-
-"Bah!"
-
-"Yes, it seems that our skulls are made in that manner."
-
-"Speak for yourself, my dear fellow, it is your own skull that is made
-in that manner, and not the skulls of other people."
-
-"Well, that may be so," said Porthos, conceitedly, "so much, however,
-was that the case, in my instance, that no sooner did the luster fall
-upon the dome which we have at the top of our head, than there was a
-report like a cannon, the crystal was broken to pieces, and I fell,
-covered from head to foot."
-
-"With blood, poor Porthos!"
-
-"Not at all; with perfumes, which smelt like rich creams; it was
-delicious, but the odor was too strong, and I felt quite giddy from it;
-perhaps you have experienced it sometimes yourself, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"Yes, in inhaling the scent of the lily of the valley; so that, my
-poor friend, you were knocked over by the shock and overpowered by the
-perfumes?"
-
-"Yes; but what is very remarkable, for the doctor told me he had never
-seen anything like it--"
-
-"You had a bump on your head I suppose?" interrupted D'Artagnan.
-
-"I had five."
-
-"Why five?"
-
-"I will tell you; the luster had, at its lower extremity, five gilt
-ornaments; excessively sharp."
-
-"Oh!"
-
-"Well, these five ornaments penetrated my hair, which, as you see, I
-wear very thick."
-
-"Fortunately so."
-
-"And they made a mark on my skin. But just notice the singularity of
-it, these things seem really only to happen to me! Instead of making
-indentations, they made bumps. The doctor could never succeed in
-explaining that to me satisfactorily."
-
-"Well, then, I will explain it to you."
-
-"You will do me a great service if you will," said Porthos, winking his
-eyes, which, with him, was sign of the profoundest attention.
-
-"Since you have been employing your brain in studies of an exalted
-character, in important calculations, and so on, the head has gained a
-certain advantage, so that your head is now too full of science."
-
-"Do you think so?"
-
-"I am sure of it. The result is, that, instead of allowing any foreign
-matter to penetrate the interior of the head, your bony box or skull,
-which is already too full, avails itself of the openings which are made
-in allowing this excess to escape."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, to whom this explanation appeared clearer than that
-of the doctor.
-
-"The five protuberances, caused by the five ornaments of the luster,
-must certainly have been scientific globules, brought to the surface by
-the force of circumstances."
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "the real truth is, that I felt far worse
-outside my head than inside. I will even confess, that when I put my hat
-upon my head, clapping it on my head with that graceful energy which we
-gentlemen of the sword possess, if my fist was not very gently applied,
-I experienced the most painful sensations."
-
-"I quite believe you, Porthos."
-
-"Therefore, my friend," said the giant, "M. Fouquet decided, seeing how
-slightly built the house was, to give me another lodging, and so they
-brought me here."
-
-"It is the private park, I think, is it not?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Where the rendezvous are made; that park, indeed, which is
-so celebrated in some of those mysterious stories about the
-superintendent?"
-
-"I don't know; I have had no rendezvous or heard mysterious stories
-myself, but they have authorized me to exercise my muscles, and I take
-advantage of the permission by rooting up some of the trees."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To keep my hand in, and also to take some birds' nests; I find it more
-convenient than climbing."
-
-"You are as pastoral as Tyrcis, my dear Porthos."
-
-"Yes, I like the small eggs; I like them very much better than larger
-ones. You have no idea how delicate an _omelette_ is, if made of four
-or five hundred eggs of linnets, chaffinches, starlings, blackbirds, and
-thrushes."
-
-"But five hundred eggs is perfectly monstrous!"
-
-"A salad-bowl will hold them easily enough," said Porthos.
-
-D'Artagnan looked at Porthos admiringly for full five minutes, as if
-he had seen him for the first time, while Porthos spread his chest
-out joyously and proudly. They remained in this state several minutes,
-Porthos smiling, and D'Artagnan looking at him. D'Artagnan was evidently
-trying to give the conversation a new turn. "Do you amuse yourself much
-here, Porthos?" he asked at last, very likely after he had found out
-what he was searching for.
-
-"Not always."
-
-"I can imagine that; but when you get thoroughly bored, by and by, what
-do you intend to do?"
-
-"Oh! I shall not be here for any length of time. Aramis is waiting until
-the last bump on my head disappears, in order to present me to the king,
-who I am told cannot endure the sight of a bump."
-
-"Aramis is still in Paris, then?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Whereabouts is he, then?"
-
-"At Fontainebleau."
-
-"Alone?"
-
-"With M. Fouquet."
-
-"Very good. But do you happen to know one thing?"
-
-"No, tell it me, and then I shall know."
-
-"Well, then, I think Aramis is forgetting you."
-
-"Do you really think so?"
-
-"Yes; for at Fontainebleau yonder, you must know, they are laughing,
-dancing, banqueting, and drawing the corks of M. de Mazarin's wine in
-fine style. Are you aware that they have a ballet every evening there?"
-
-"The deuce they have!"
-
-"I assure you that your dear Aramis is forgetting you."
-
-"Well, that is not at all unlikely, and I have myself thought so
-sometimes."
-
-"Unless he is playing you a trick, the sly fellow!"
-
-"Oh!"
-
-"You know that Aramis is as sly as a fox."
-
-"Yes, but to play _me_ a trick--"
-
-"Listen: in the first place, he puts you under a sort of sequestration."
-
-"He sequestrates me! Do you mean to say I am sequestrated?"
-
-"I think so."
-
-"I wish you would have the goodness to prove that to me."
-
-"Nothing easier. Do you ever go out?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Do you ever ride on horseback?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Are your friends allowed to come and see you?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Very well, then; never to go out, never to ride on horseback, never to
-be allowed to see your friends, that is called being sequestrated."
-
-"But why should Aramis sequestrate me?" inquired Porthos.
-
-"Come," said D'Artagnan, "be frank, Porthos."
-
-"As gold."
-
-"It was Aramis who drew the plan of the fortifications at Belle-Isle,
-was it not?"
-
-Porthos colored as he said, "Yes; but that was all he did."
-
-"Exactly, and my own opinion is that it was no very great affair after
-all."
-
-"That is mine, too."
-
-"Very good; I am delighted we are of the same opinion."
-
-"He never even came to Belle-Isle," said Porthos.
-
-"There now, you see."
-
-"It was I who went to Vannes, as you may have seen."
-
-"Say rather, as I did see. Well, that is precisely the state of the
-case, my dear Porthos. Aramis, who only drew the plans, wishes to pass
-himself off as the engineer, whilst you, who, stone by stone, built the
-wall, the citadel, and the bastions, he wishes to reduce to the rank of
-a mere builder."
-
-"By builder, you mean mason, perhaps?"
-
-"Mason; the very word."
-
-"Plasterer, in fact?"
-
-"Hodman?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Oh, oh! my dear Aramis, you seem to think you are only five and twenty
-years of age still."
-
-"Yes, and that is not all, for he believes you are fifty."
-
-"I should have amazingly liked to have seen him at work."
-
-"Yes, indeed."
-
-"A fellow who has got the gout?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Who has lost three of his teeth?"
-
-"Four."
-
-"While I, look at mine." And Porthos, opening his large mouth very wide,
-displayed two rows of teeth not quite as white as snow, but even, hard,
-and sound as ivory.
-
-"You can hardly believe, Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "what a fancy the
-king has for good teeth. Yours decide me; I will present you to the king
-myself."
-
-"You?"
-
-"Why not? Do you think I have less credit at court than Aramis?"
-
-"Oh, no!"
-
-"Do you think I have the slightest pretensions upon the fortifications
-at Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Certainly not."
-
-"It is your own interest alone which would induce me to do it."
-
-"I don't doubt it in the least."
-
-"Well, I am the intimate friend of the king; and a proof of that is,
-that whenever there is anything disagreeable to tell him, it is I who
-have to do it."
-
-"But, dear D'Artagnan, if you present me--"
-
-"Well!"
-
-"Aramis will be angry."
-
-"With me?"
-
-"No, with _me_."
-
-"Bah! whether he or I present you, since you are to be presented, what
-does it matter?"
-
-"They were going to get me some clothes made."
-
-"Your own are splendid."
-
-"Oh! those I had ordered were far more beautiful."
-
-"Take care: the king likes simplicity."
-
-"In that case, I will be simple. But what will M. Fouquet say, when he
-learns that I have left?"
-
-"Are you a prisoner, then, on parole?"
-
-"No, not quite that. But I promised him I would not leave without
-letting him know."
-
-"Wait a minute, we shall return to that presently. Have you anything to
-do here?"
-
-"I, nothing: nothing of any importance, at least."
-
-"Unless, indeed, you are Aramis's representative for something of
-importance."
-
-"By no means."
-
-"What I tell you--pray, understand that--is out of interest for you. I
-suppose, for instance, that you are commissioned to send messages and
-letters to him?"
-
-"Ah! letters--yes. I send certain letters to him."
-
-"Where?"
-
-"To Fontainebleau."
-
-"Have you any letters, then?"
-
-"But--"
-
-"Nay, let me speak. Have you any letters, I say?"
-
-"I have just received one for him."
-
-"Interesting?"
-
-"I suppose so."
-
-"You do not read them, then?"
-
-"I am not at all curious," said Porthos, as he drew out of his pocket
-the soldier's letter which Porthos had not read, but D'Artagnan had.
-
-"Do you know what to do with it?" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Of course; do as I always do, send it to him."
-
-"Not so."
-
-"Why not? Keep it, then?"
-
-"Did they not tell you that this letter was important?"
-
-"Very important."
-
-"Well, you must take it yourself to Fontainebleau."
-
-"To Aramis?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Very good."
-
-"And since the king is there--"
-
-"You will profit by that."
-
-"I shall profit by the opportunity to present you to the king."
-
-"Ah! D'Artagnan, there is no one like you for expedients."
-
-"Therefore, instead of forwarding to our friend any messages, which may
-or may not be faithfully delivered, we will ourselves be the bearers of
-the letter."
-
-"I had never even thought of that, and yet it is simple enough."
-
-"And therefore, because it is urgent, Porthos, we ought to set off at
-once."
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "the sooner we set off the less chance there is
-of Aramis's letter being delayed."
-
-"Porthos, your reasoning is always accurate, and, in your case, logic
-seems to serve as an auxiliary to the imagination."
-
-"Do you think so?" said Porthos.
-
-"It is the result of your hard reading," replied D'Artagnan. "So come
-along, let us be off."
-
-"But," said Porthos, "my promise to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Not to leave Saint-Mande without telling him of it."
-
-"Ah! Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how very young you still are."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"You are going to Fontainebleau, are you not, where you will find M.
-Fouquet?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Probably in the king's palace?"
-
-"Yes," repeated Porthos, with an air full of majesty.
-
-"Well, you will accost him with these words: 'M. Fouquet, I have the
-honor to inform you that I have just left Saint-Mande.'"
-
-"And," said Porthos, with the same majestic mien, "seeing me at
-Fontainebleau at the king's, M. Fouquet will not be able to tell me I am
-not speaking the truth."
-
-"My dear Porthos, I was just on the point of opening my lips to make
-the same remark, but you anticipate me in everything. Oh! Porthos, how
-fortunately you are gifted! Years have made not the slightest impression
-on you."
-
-"Not over-much, certainly."
-
-"Then there is nothing more to say?"
-
-"I think not."
-
-"All your scruples are removed?"
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"In that case I shall carry you off with me."
-
-"Exactly; and I will go and get my horse saddled."
-
-"You have horses here, then?"
-
-"I have five."
-
-"You had them sent from Pierrefonds, I suppose?"
-
-"No, M. Fouquet gave them to me."
-
-"My dear Porthos, we shall not want five horses for two persons;
-besides, I have already three in Paris, which would make eight, and that
-will be too many."
-
-"It would not be too many if I had some of my servants here; but, alas!
-I have not got them."
-
-"Do you regret them, then?"
-
-"I regret Mousqueton; I miss Mousqueton."
-
-"What a good-hearted fellow you are, Porthos," said D'Artagnan; "but
-the best thing you can do is to leave your horses here, as you have left
-Mousqueton out yonder."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because, by and by, it might turn out a very good thing if M. Fouquet
-had never given you anything at all."
-
-"I don't understand you," said Porthos.
-
-"It is not necessary you should understand."
-
-"But yet--"
-
-"I will explain to you later, Porthos."
-
-"I'll wager it is some piece of policy or other."
-
-"And of the most subtle character," returned D'Artagnan.
-
-Porthos nodded his head at this word policy; then, after a moment's
-reflection, he added, "I confess, D'Artagnan, that I am no politician."
-
-"I know that well."
-
-"Oh! no one knows what you told me yourself, you, the bravest of the
-brave."
-
-"What did I tell you, Porthos?"
-
-"That every man has his day. You told me so, and I have experienced it
-myself. There are certain days when one feels less pleasure than others
-in exposing one's self to a bullet or a sword-thrust."
-
-"Exactly my own idea."
-
-"And mine, too, although I can hardly believe in blows or thrusts that
-kill outright."
-
-"The deuce! and yet you have killed a few in your time."
-
-"Yes; but I have never been killed."
-
-"Your reason is a very good one."
-
-"Therefore, I do not believe I shall ever die from a thrust of a sword
-or a gun-shot."
-
-"In that case, then, you are afraid of nothing. Ah! water, perhaps?"
-
-"Oh! I swim like an otter."
-
-"Of a quartan fever, then?"
-
-"I have never had one yet, and I don't believe I ever shall; but there
-is one thing I will admit," and Porthos dropped his voice.
-
-"What is that?" asked D'Artagnan, adopting the same tone of voice as
-Porthos.
-
-"I must confess," repeated Porthos, "that I am horribly afraid of
-politics."
-
-"Ah, bah!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Upon my word, it's true," said Porthos, in a stentorian voice. "I have
-seen his eminence Monsieur le Cardinal de Richelieu, and his eminence
-Monsieur le Cardinal de Mazarin; the one was a red politician, the other
-a black politician; I never felt very much more satisfied with the one
-than with the other; the first struck off the heads of M. de Marillac,
-M. de Thou, M. de Cinq-Mars, M. Chalais, M. de Bouteville, and M. de
-Montmorency; the second got a whole crowd of Frondeurs cut in pieces,
-and we belonged to them."
-
-"On the contrary, we did not belong to them," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh! indeed, yes; for if I unsheathed my sword for the cardinal, I
-struck it for the king."
-
-"My good Porthos!"
-
-"Well, I have done. My dread of politics is such, that if there is any
-question of politics in the matter, I should greatly prefer to return to
-Pierrefonds."
-
-"You would be quite right, if that were the case. But with me, my dear
-Porthos, no politics at all, that is quite clear. You have labored hard
-in fortifying Belle-Isle; the king wished to know the name of the clever
-engineer under whose directions the works were carried out; you are
-modest, as all men of true genius are; perhaps Aramis wishes to put you
-under a bushel. But I happen to seize hold of you; I make it known
-who you are; I produce you; the king rewards you; and that is the only
-policy I have to do with."
-
-"And the only one I will have to do with either," said Porthos, holding
-out his hand to D'Artagnan.
-
-But D'Artagnan knew Porthos's grasp; he knew that, once imprisoned
-within the baron's five fingers, no hand ever left it without being
-half-crushed. He therefore held out, not his hand, but his fist, and
-Porthos did not even perceive the difference. The servants talked a
-little with each other in an undertone, and whispered a few words,
-which D'Artagnan understood, but which he took very good care not to let
-Porthos understand. "Our friend," he said to himself, "was really and
-truly Aramis's prisoner. Let us now see what the result will be of the
-liberation of the captive."
-
-
-
-Chapter IV. The Rat and the Cheese.
-
-D'Artagnan and Porthos returned on foot, as D'Artagnan had set out.
-When D'Artagnan, as he entered the shop of the Pilon d'Or, announced to
-Planchet that M. du Vallon would be one of the privileged travelers, and
-as the plume in Porthos's hat made the wooden candles suspended over the
-front jingle together, a melancholy presentiment seemed to eclipse the
-delight Planchet had promised himself for the morrow. But the grocer
-had a heart of gold, ever mindful of the good old times--a trait that
-carries youth into old age. So Planchet, notwithstanding a sort of
-internal shiver, checked as soon as experienced, received Porthos with
-respect, mingled with the tenderest cordiality. Porthos, who was a
-little cold and stiff in his manners at first, on account of the social
-difference existing at that period between a baron and a grocer, soon
-began to soften when he perceived so much good-feeling and so many kind
-attentions in Planchet. He was particularly touched by the liberty which
-was permitted him to plunge his great palms into the boxes of dried
-fruits and preserves, into the sacks of nuts and almonds, and into the
-drawers full of sweetmeats. So that, notwithstanding Planchet's pressing
-invitations to go upstairs to the _entresol_, he chose as his favorite
-seat, during the evening which he had to spend at Planchet's house, the
-shop itself, where his fingers could always fish up whatever his nose
-detected. The delicious figs from Provence, filberts from the forest,
-Tours plums, were subjects of his uninterrupted attention for five
-consecutive hours. His teeth, like millstones, cracked heaps of nuts,
-the shells of which were scattered all over the floor, where they were
-trampled by every one who went in and out of the shop; Porthos pulled
-from the stalk with his lips, at one mouthful, bunches of the rich
-Muscatel raisins with their beautiful bloom, half a pound of which
-passed at one gulp from his mouth to his stomach. In one of the corners
-of the shop, Planchet's assistants, huddled together, looked at each
-other without venturing to open their lips. They did not know who
-Porthos was, for they had never seen him before. The race of those
-Titans who had worn the cuirasses of Hugh Capet, Philip Augustus,
-and Francis I. had already begun to disappear. They could hardly help
-thinking he might be the ogre of the fairy tale, who was going to turn
-the whole contents of Planchet's shop into his insatiable stomach, and
-that, too, without in the slightest degree displacing the barrels and
-chests that were in it. Cracking, munching, chewing, nibbling, sucking,
-and swallowing, Porthos occasionally said to the grocer:
-
-"You do a very good business here, friend Planchet."
-
-"He will very soon have none at all to do, if this sort of thing
-continues," grumbled the foreman, who had Planchet's word that he should
-be his successor. In the midst of his despair, he approached Porthos,
-who blocked up the whole of the passage leading from the back shop to
-the shop itself. He hoped that Porthos would rise and that this movement
-would distract his devouring ideas.
-
-"What do you want, my man?" asked Porthos, affably.
-
-"I should like to pass you, monsieur, if it is not troubling you too
-much."
-
-"Very well," said Porthos, "it does not trouble me in the least."
-
-At the same moment he took hold of the young fellow by the waistband,
-lifted him off the ground, and placed him very gently on the other
-side, smiling all the while with the same affable expression. As soon as
-Porthos had placed him on the ground, the lad's legs so shook under him
-that he fell back upon some sacks of corks. But noticing the giant's
-gentleness of manner, he ventured again, and said:
-
-"Ah, monsieur! pray be careful."
-
-"What about?" inquired Porthos.
-
-"You are positively putting a fiery furnace into your body."
-
-"How is that, my good fellow?"
-
-"All those things are very heating to the system!"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Raisins, nuts, and almonds."
-
-"Yes; but if raisins, nuts, and almonds are heating--"
-
-"There is no doubt at all of it, monsieur."
-
-"Honey is very cooling," said Porthos, stretching out his hand toward
-a small barrel of honey which was open, and he plunged the scoop with
-which the wants of the customers were supplied into it, and swallowed a
-good half-pound at one gulp.
-
-"I must trouble you for some water now, my man," said Porthos.
-
-"In a pail, monsieur?" asked the lad, simply.
-
-"No, in a water-bottle; that will be quite enough;" and raising the
-bottle to his mouth, as a trumpeter does his trumpet, he emptied the
-bottle at a single draught.
-
-Planchet was agitated in every fibre of propriety and self-esteem.
-However, a worthy representative of the hospitality which prevailed in
-early days, he feigned to be talking very earnestly with D'Artagnan, and
-incessantly repeated:--"Ah! monsieur, what a happiness! what an honor!"
-
-"What time shall we have supper, Planchet?" inquired Porthos, "I feel
-hungry."
-
-The foreman clasped his hands together. The two others got under the
-counters, fearing Porthos might have a taste for human flesh.
-
-"We shall only take a sort of snack here," said D'Artagnan; "and when we
-get to Planchet's country-seat, we will have supper."
-
-"Ah, ah! so we are going to your country-house, Planchet," said Porthos;
-"so much the better."
-
-"You overwhelm me, monsieur le baron."
-
-The "monsieur le baron" had a great effect upon the men, who detected
-a personage of the highest quality in an appetite of that kind. This
-title, too, reassured them. They had never heard that an ogre was ever
-called "monsieur le baron".
-
-"I will take a few biscuits to eat on the road," said Porthos,
-carelessly; and he emptied a whole jar of aniseed biscuits into the huge
-pocket of his doublet.
-
-"My shop is saved!" exclaimed Planchet.
-
-"Yes, as the cheese was," whispered the foreman.
-
-"What cheese?"
-
-"The Dutch cheese, inside which a rat had made his way, and we found
-only the rind left."
-
-Planchet looked all round his shop, and observing the different articles
-which had escaped Porthos's teeth, he found the comparison somewhat
-exaggerated. The foreman, who remarked what was passing in his master's
-mind, said, "Take care; he is not gone yet."
-
-"Have you any fruit here?" said Porthos, as he went upstairs to the
-_entresol_, where it had just been announced that some refreshment was
-prepared.
-
-"Alas!" thought the grocer, addressing a look at D'Artagnan full of
-entreaty, which the latter half understood.
-
-As soon as they had finished eating they set off. It was late when the
-three riders, who had left Paris about six in the evening, arrived at
-Fontainebleau. The journey passed very agreeably. Porthos took a fancy
-to Planchet's society, because the latter was very respectful in his
-manners, and seemed delighted to talk to him about his meadows, his
-woods, and his rabbit-warrens. Porthos had all the taste and pride of
-a landed proprietor. When D'Artagnan saw his two companions in earnest
-conversation, he took the opposite side of the road, and letting his
-bridle drop upon his horse's neck, separated himself from the whole
-world, as he had done from Porthos and from Planchet. The moon shone
-softly through the foliage of the forest. The breezes of the open
-country rose deliciously perfumed to the horse's nostrils, and they
-snorted and pranced along delightedly. Porthos and Planchet began to
-talk about hay-crops. Planchet admitted to Porthos that in the advanced
-years of his life, he had certainly neglected agricultural pursuits
-for commerce, but that his childhood had been passed in Picardy in the
-beautiful meadows where the grass grew as high as the knees, and where
-he had played under the green apple-trees covered with red-cheeked
-fruit; he went on to say, that he had solemnly promised himself that as
-soon as he should have made his fortune, he would return to nature, and
-end his days, as he had begun them, as near as he possibly could to the
-earth itself, where all men must sleep at last.
-
-"Eh, eh!" said Porthos; "in that case, my dear Monsieur Planchet, your
-retirement is not far distant."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"Why, you seem to be in the way of making your fortune very soon."
-
-"Well, we are getting on pretty well, I must admit," replied Planchet.
-
-"Come, tell me what is the extent of your ambition, and what is the
-amount you intend to retire upon?"
-
-"There is one circumstance, monsieur," said Planchet, without answering
-the question, "which occasions me a good deal of anxiety."
-
-"What is it?" inquired Porthos, looking all round him as if in search of
-the circumstance that annoyed Planchet, and desirous of freeing him from
-it.
-
-"Why, formerly," said the grocer, "you used to call me Planchet quite
-short, and you would have spoken to me then in a much more familiar
-manner than you do now."
-
-"Certainly, certainly, I should have said so formerly," replied the
-good-natured Porthos, with an embarrassment full of delicacy; "but
-formerly--"
-
-"Formerly I was M. d'Artagnan's lackey; is not that what you mean?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well if I am not quite his lackey, I am as much as ever I was his
-devoted servant; and more than that, since that time--"
-
-"Well, Planchet?"
-
-"Since that time, I have had the honor of being in partnership with
-him."
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos. "What, has D'Artagnan gone into the grocery
-business?"
-
-"No, no," said D'Artagnan, whom these words had drawn out of his
-reverie, and who entered into the conversation with that readiness and
-rapidity which distinguished every operation of his mind and body. "It
-was not D'Artagnan who entered into the grocery business, but Planchet
-who entered into a political affair with me."
-
-"Yes," said Planchet, with mingled pride and satisfaction, "we
-transacted a little business which brought me in a hundred thousand
-francs and M. d'Artagnan two hundred thousand."
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos, with admiration.
-
-"So that, monsieur le baron," continued the grocer, "I again beg you to
-be kind enough to call me Planchet, as you used to do; and to speak
-to me as familiarly as in old times. You cannot possibly imagine the
-pleasure it would give me."
-
-"If that be the case, my dear Planchet, I will do so, certainly,"
-replied Porthos. And as he was quite close to Planchet, he raised
-his hand, as if to strike him on the shoulder, in token of friendly
-cordiality; but a fortunate movement of the horse made him miss his aim,
-so that his hand fell on the crupper of Planchet's horse, instead; which
-made the animal's legs almost give way.
-
-D'Artagnan burst out laughing, as he said, "Take care, Planchet; for
-if Porthos begins to like you so much, he will caress you, and if he
-caresses you he will knock you as flat as a pancake. Porthos is still as
-strong as ever, you know."
-
-"Oh," said Planchet, "Mousqueton is not dead, and yet monsieur le baron
-is very fond of him."
-
-"Certainly," said Porthos, with a sigh which made all the three horses
-rear; "and I was only saying, this very morning, to D'Artagnan, how much
-I regretted him. But tell me, Planchet?"
-
-"Thank you, monsieur le baron, thank you."
-
-"Good lad, good lad! How many acres of park have you got?"
-
-"Of park?"
-
-"Yes; we will reckon up the meadows presently, and the woods
-afterwards."
-
-"Whereabouts, monsieur?" "At your chateau."
-
-"Oh, monsieur le baron, I have neither chateau, nor park, nor meadows,
-nor woods."
-
-"What have you got, then?" inquired Porthos, "and why do you call it a
-country-seat?"
-
-"I did not call it a country-seat, monsieur le baron," replied Planchet,
-somewhat humiliated, "but a country-box."
-
-"Ah, ah! I understand. You are modest."
-
-"No, monsieur le baron, I speak the plain truth. I have rooms for a
-couple of friends, that's all."
-
-"But in that case, whereabouts do your friends walk?"
-
-"In the first place, they can walk about the king's forest, which is
-very beautiful."
-
-"Yes, I know the forest is very fine," said Porthos; "nearly as
-beautiful as my forest at Berry."
-
-Planchet opened his eyes very wide. "Have you a forest of the same kind
-as the forest at Fontainebleau, monsieur le baron?" he stammered out.
-
-"Yes; I have two, indeed, but the one at Berry is my favorite."
-
-"Why so?" asked Planchet.
-
-"Because I don't know where it ends; and, also, because it is full of
-poachers."
-
-"How can the poachers make the forest so agreeable to you?"
-
-"Because they hunt my game, and I hunt them--which, in these peaceful
-times, is for me a sufficiently pleasing picture of war on a small
-scale."
-
-They had reached this turn of conversation, when Planchet, looking up,
-perceived the houses at the commencement of Fontainebleau, the lofty
-outlines of which stood out strongly against the misty visage of the
-heavens; whilst, rising above the compact and irregularly formed mass
-of buildings, the pointed roofs of the chateau were clearly visible, the
-slates of which glistened beneath the light of the moon, like the scales
-of an immense fish. "Gentlemen," said Planchet, "I have the honor to
-inform you that we have arrived at Fontainebleau."
-
-
-
-Chapter V. Planchet's Country-House.
-
-The cavaliers looked up, and saw that what Planchet had announced to
-them was true. Ten minutes afterwards they were in the street called the
-Rue de Lyon, on the opposite side of the hostelry of the Beau Paon.
-A high hedge of bushy elders, hawthorn, and wild hops formed an
-impenetrable fence, behind which rose a white house, with a high tiled
-roof. Two of the windows, which were quite dark, looked upon the street.
-Between the two, a small door, with a porch supported by a couple of
-pillars, formed the entrance to the house. The door was gained by a step
-raised a little from the ground. Planchet got off his horse, as if he
-intended to knock at the door; but, on second thoughts, he took hold of
-his horse by the bridle, and led it about thirty paces further on, his
-two companions following him. He then advanced about another thirty
-paces, until he arrived at the door of a cart-house, lighted by an
-iron grating; and, lifting up a wooden latch, pushed open one of the
-folding-doors. He entered first, leading his horse after him by the
-bridle, into a small courtyard, where an odor met them which revealed
-their close vicinity to a stable. "That smells all right," said Porthos,
-loudly, getting off his horse, "and I almost begin to think I am near my
-own cows at Pierrefonds."
-
-"I have only one cow," Planchet hastened to say modestly.
-
-"And I have thirty," said Porthos; "or rather, I don't exactly know how
-many I have."
-
-When the two cavaliers had entered, Planchet fastened the door behind
-them. In the meantime, D'Artagnan, who had dismounted with his usual
-agility, inhaled the fresh perfumed air with the delight a Parisian
-feels at the sight of green fields and fresh foliage, plucked a piece
-of honeysuckle with one hand, and of sweet-briar with the other. Porthos
-clawed hold of some peas which were twined round poles stuck into
-the ground, and ate, or rather browsed upon them, shells and all: and
-Planchet was busily engaged trying to wake up an old and infirm peasant,
-who was fast asleep in a shed, lying on a bed of moss, and dressed in
-an old stable suit of clothes. The peasant, recognizing Planchet, called
-him "the master," to the grocer's great satisfaction. "Stable the horses
-well, old fellow, and you shall have something good for yourself," said
-Planchet.
-
-"Yes, yes; fine animals they are too," said the peasant. "Oh! they shall
-have as much as they like."
-
-"Gently, gently, my man," said D'Artagnan, "we are getting on a little
-too fast. A few oats and a good bed--nothing more."
-
-"Some bran and water for my horse," said Porthos, "for it is very warm,
-I think."
-
-"Don't be afraid, gentlemen," replied Planchet; "Daddy Celestin is an
-old gendarme, who fought at Ivry. He knows all about horses; so come
-into the house." And he led the way along a well-sheltered walk, which
-crossed a kitchen-garden, then a small paddock, and came out into a
-little garden behind the house, the principal front of which, as we have
-already noticed, faced the street. As they approached, they could
-see, through two open windows on the ground floor, which led into a
-sitting-room, the interior of Planchet's residence. This room, softly
-lighted by a lamp placed on the table, seemed, from the end of the
-garden, like a smiling image of repose, comfort, and happiness. In every
-direction where the rays of light fell, whether upon a piece of old
-china, or upon an article of furniture shining from excessive neatness,
-or upon the weapons hanging against the wall, the soft light was softly
-reflected; and its rays seemed to linger everywhere upon something or
-another, agreeable to the eye. The lamp which lighted the room, whilst
-the foliage of jasmine and climbing roses hung in masses from the
-window-frames, splendidly illuminated a damask table-cloth as white as
-snow. The table was laid for two persons. Amber-colored wine sparkled
-in a long cut-glass bottle; and a large jug of blue china, with a silver
-lid, was filled with foaming cider. Near the table, in a high-backed
-armchair, reclined, fast asleep, a woman of about thirty years of age,
-her face the very picture of health and freshness. Upon her knees lay
-a large cat, with her paws folded under her, and her eyes half-closed,
-purring in that significant manner which, according to feline habits,
-indicates perfect contentment. The two friends paused before the window
-in complete amazement, while Planchet, perceiving their astonishment,
-was in no little degree secretly delighted at it.
-
-"Ah! Planchet, you rascal," said D'Artagnan, "I now understand your
-absences."
-
-"Oh, oh! there is some white linen!" said Porthos, in his turn, in a
-voice of thunder. At the sound of this gigantic voice, the cat took
-flight, the housekeeper woke up with a start, and Planchet, assuming
-a gracious air, introduced his two companions into the room, where the
-table was already laid.
-
-"Permit me, my dear," he said, "to present to you Monsieur le Chevalier
-d'Artagnan, my patron." D'Artagnan took the lady's hand in his in the
-most courteous manner, and with precisely the same chivalrous air as he
-would have taken Madame's.
-
-"Monsieur le Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds," added
-Planchet. Porthos bowed with a reverence which Anne of Austria would
-have approved of.
-
-It was then Planchet's turn, and he unhesitatingly embraced the lady
-in question, not, however, until he had made a sign as if requesting
-D'Artagnan's and Porthos's permission, a permission as a matter of
-course frankly conceded. D'Artagnan complimented Planchet, and said,
-"You are indeed a man who knows how to make life agreeable."
-
-"Life, monsieur," said Planchet, laughing, "is capital which a man ought
-to invest as sensibly as he possibly can."
-
-"And you get very good interest for yours," said Porthos, with a burst
-of laughter like a peal of thunder.
-
-Planchet turned to his housekeeper. "You have before you," he said to
-her, "the two gentlemen who influenced the greatest, gayest, grandest
-portion of my life. I have spoken to you about them both very
-frequently."
-
-"And about two others as well," said the lady, with a very decided
-Flemish accent.
-
-"Madame is Dutch?" inquired D'Artagnan. Porthos curled his mustache, a
-circumstance which was not lost upon D'Artagnan, who noticed everything.
-
-"I am from Antwerp," said the lady.
-
-"And her name is Madame Getcher," said Planchet.
-
-"You should not call her madame," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Why not?" asked Planchet.
-
-"Because it would make her seem older every time you call her so."
-
-"Well, I call her Truchen."
-
-"And a very pretty name too," said Porthos.
-
-"Truchen," said Planchet, "came to me from Flanders with her virtue and
-two thousand florins. She ran away from a brute of a husband who was in
-the habit of beating her. Being myself a Picard born, I was always
-very fond of the Artesian women, and it is only a step from Artois to
-Flanders; she came crying bitterly to her godfather, my predecessor
-in the Rue des Lombards; she placed her two thousand florins in my
-establishment, which I have turned to very good account, and which have
-brought her in ten thousand."
-
-"Bravo, Planchet."
-
-"She is free and well off; she has a cow, a maid servant and old
-Celestin at her orders; she mends my linen, knits my winter stockings;
-she only sees me every fortnight, and seems to make herself in all
-things tolerably happy.
-
-"And indeed, gentlemen, I _am_ very happy and comfortable," said
-Truchen, with perfect ingenuousness.
-
-Porthos began to curl the other side of his mustache. "The deuce,"
-thought D'Artagnan, "can Porthos have any intentions in that quarter?"
-
-In the meantime Truchen had set her cook to work, had laid the table for
-two more, and covered it with every possible delicacy that could convert
-a light supper into a substantial meal, a meal into a regular feast.
-Fresh butter, salt beef, anchovies, tunny, a shopful of Planchet's
-commodities, fowls, vegetables, salad, fish from the pond and the
-river, game from the forest--all the produce, in fact, of the province.
-Moreover, Planchet returned from the cellar, laden with ten bottles of
-wine, the glass of which could hardly be seen for the thick coating of
-dust which covered them. Porthos's heart began to expand as he said, "I
-am hungry," and he sat himself beside Madame Truchen, whom he looked at
-in the most killing manner. D'Artagnan seated himself on the other side
-of her, while Planchet, discreetly and full of delight, took his seat
-opposite.
-
-"Do not trouble yourselves," he said, "if Truchen should leave the
-table now and then during supper; for she will have to look after your
-bedrooms."
-
-In fact, the housekeeper made her escape quite frequently, and they
-could hear, on the first floor above them, the creaking of the wooden
-bedsteads and the rolling of the castors on the floor. While this
-was going on, the three men, Porthos especially, ate and drank
-gloriously,--it was wonderful to see them. The ten full bottles were ten
-empty ones by the time Truchen returned with the cheese. D'Artagnan
-still preserved his dignity and self-possession, but Porthos had lost
-a portion of his; and the mirth soon began to grow somewhat uproarious.
-D'Artagnan recommended a new descent into the cellar, and, as Planchet
-no longer walked with the steadiness of a well-trained foot-soldier,
-the captain of the musketeers proposed to accompany him. They set off,
-humming songs wild enough to frighten anybody who might be listening.
-Truchen remained behind at table with Porthos. While the two
-wine-bibbers were looking behind the firewood for what they wanted, a
-sharp report was heard like the impact of a pair of lips on a lady's
-cheek.
-
-"Porthos fancies himself at La Rochelle," thought D'Artagnan, as they
-returned freighted with bottles. Planchet was singing so loudly that
-he was incapable of noticing anything. D'Artagnan, whom nothing ever
-escaped, remarked how much redder Truchen's left cheek was than her
-right. Porthos was sitting on Truchen's left, and was curling with both
-his hands both sides of his mustache at once, and Truchen was looking at
-him with a most bewitching smile. The sparkling wine of Anjou very soon
-produced a remarkable effect upon the three companions. D'Artagnan had
-hardly strength enough left to take a candlestick to light Planchet up
-his own staircase. Planchet was pulling Porthos along, who was following
-Truchen, who was herself jovial enough. It was D'Artagnan who found out
-the rooms and the beds. Porthos threw himself into the one destined for
-him, after his friend had undressed him. D'Artagnan got into his own
-bed, saying to himself, "_Mordioux!_ I had made up my mind never to
-touch that light-colored wine, which brings my early camp days back
-again. Fie! fie! if my musketeers were only to see their captain in such
-a state." And drawing the curtains of his bed, he added, "Fortunately
-enough, though, they will not see me."
-
-"The country is very amusing," said Porthos, stretching out his legs,
-which passed through the wooden footboard, and made a tremendous
-crash, of which, however, no one in the house was capable of taking
-the slightest notice. By two o'clock in the morning every one was fast
-asleep.
-
-
-
-Chapter VI. Showing What Could Be Seen from Planchet's House.
-
-The next morning found the three heroes sleeping soundly. Truchen had
-closed the outside blinds to keep the first rays of the sun from the
-leaden-lidded eyes of her guests, like a kind, good housekeeper. It
-was still perfectly dark, then, beneath Porthos's curtains and under
-Planchet's canopy, when D'Artagnan, awakened by an indiscreet ray of
-light which made its way through a peek-hole in the shutters, jumped
-hastily out of bed, as if he wished to be the first at a forlorn hope.
-He took by assault Porthos's room, which was next to his own. The worthy
-Porthos was sleeping with a noise like distant thunder; in the dim
-obscurity of the room his gigantic frame was prominently displayed, and
-his swollen fist hung down outside the bed upon the carpet. D'Artagnan
-awoke Porthos, who rubbed his eyes in a tolerably good humor. In the
-meantime Planchet was dressing himself, and met at their bedroom doors
-his two guests, who were still somewhat unsteady from their previous
-evening's entertainment. Although it was yet very early, the whole
-household was already up. The cook was mercilessly slaughtering in
-the poultry-yard; Celestin was gathering white cherries in the garden.
-Porthos, brisk and lively as ever, held out his hand to Planchet's, and
-D'Artagnan requested permission to embrace Madame Truchen. The latter,
-to show that she bore no ill-will, approached Porthos, upon whom she
-conferred the same favor. Porthos embraced Madame Truchen, heaving an
-enormous sigh. Planchet took both his friends by the hand.
-
-"I am going to show you over the house," he said; "when we arrived last
-night it was as dark as an oven, and we were unable to see anything;
-but in broad daylight, everything looks different, and you will be
-satisfied, I hope."
-
-"If we begin by the view you have here," said D'Artagnan, "that charms
-me beyond everything; I have always lived in royal mansions, you know,
-and royal personages have tolerably sound ideas upon the selection of
-points of view."
-
-"I am a great stickler for a good view myself," said Porthos. "At my
-Chateau de Pierrefonds, I have had four avenues laid out, and at the
-end of each is a landscape of an altogether different character from the
-others."
-
-"You shall see _my_ prospect," said Planchet; and he led his two guests
-to a window.
-
-"Ah!" said D'Artagnan, "this is the Rue de Lyon."
-
-"Yes, I have two windows on this side, a paltry, insignificant view,
-for there is always that bustling and noisy inn, which is a very
-disagreeable neighbor. I had four windows here, but I bricked up two."
-
-"Let us go on," said D'Artagnan.
-
-They entered a corridor leading to the bedrooms, and Planchet pushed
-open the outside blinds.
-
-"Hollo! what is that out yonder?" said Porthos.
-
-"The forest," said Planchet. "It is the horizon,--a thick line of green,
-which is yellow in the spring, green in the summer, red in the autumn,
-and white in the winter."
-
-"All very well, but it is like a curtain, which prevents one seeing a
-greater distance."
-
-"Yes," said Planchet; "still, one can see, at all events, everything
-that intervenes."
-
-"Ah, the open country," said Porthos. "But what is that I see out
-there,--crosses and stones?"
-
-"Ah, that is the cemetery," exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Precisely," said Planchet; "I assure you it is very curious. Hardly a
-day passes that some one is not buried there; for Fontainebleau is by no
-means an inconsiderable place. Sometimes we see young girls clothed in
-white carrying banners; at others, some of the town-council, or rich
-citizens, with choristers and all the parish authorities; and then, too,
-we see some of the officers of the king's household."
-
-"I should not like that," said Porthos.
-
-"There is not much amusement in it, at all events," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I assure you it encourages religious thoughts," replied Planchet.
-
-"Oh, I don't deny that."
-
-"But," continued Planchet, "we must all die one day or another, and
-I once met with a maxim somewhere which I have remembered, that the
-thought of death is a thought that will do us all good."
-
-"I am far from saying the contrary," said Porthos.
-
-"But," objected D'Artagnan, "the thought of green fields, flowers,
-rivers, blue horizons, extensive and boundless plains, is not likely to
-do us good."
-
-"If I had any, I should be far from rejecting them," said Planchet; "but
-possessing only this little cemetery, full of flowers, so moss-grown,
-shady, and quiet, I am contented with it, and I think of those who live
-in town, in the Rue des Lombards, for instance, and who have to listen
-to the rumbling of a couple of thousand vehicles every day, and to
-the soulless tramp, tramp, tramp of a hundred and fifty thousand
-foot-passengers."
-
-"But living," said Porthos; "living, remember that."
-
-"That is exactly the reason," said Planchet, timidly, "why I feel it
-does me good to contemplate a few dead."
-
-"Upon my word," said D'Artagnan, "that fellow Planchet is born a
-philosopher as well as a grocer."
-
-"Monsieur," said Planchet, "I am one of those good-humored sort of men
-whom Heaven created for the purpose of living a certain span of days,
-and of considering all good they meet with during their transitory stay
-on earth."
-
-D'Artagnan sat down close to the window, and as there seemed to be
-something substantial in Planchet's philosophy, he mused over it.
-
-"Ah, ah!" exclaimed Planchet, "if I am not mistaken, we are going to
-have a representation now, for I think I heard something like chanting."
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "I hear singing too."
-
-"Oh, it is only a burial of a very poor description," said Planchet,
-disdainfully; "the officiating priest, the beadle, and only one
-chorister boy, nothing more. You observe, messieurs, that the defunct
-lady or gentleman could not have been of very high rank."
-
-"No; no one seems to be following the coffin."
-
-"Yes," said Porthos; "I see a man."
-
-"You are right; a man wrapped in a cloak," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"It's not worth looking at," said Planchet.
-
-"I find it interesting," said D'Artagnan, leaning on the window-sill.
-
-"Come, come, you are beginning to take a fancy to the place already,"
-said Planchet, delightedly; "it is exactly my own case. I was so
-melancholy at first that I could do nothing but make the sign of the
-cross all day, and the chants were like so many nails being driven into
-my head; but now, they lull me to sleep, and no bird I have ever seen
-or heard can sing better than those which are to be met with in this
-cemetery."
-
-"Well," said Porthos, "this is beginning to get a little dull for me,
-and I prefer going downstairs."
-
-Planchet with one bound was beside his guest, whom he offered to lead
-into the garden.
-
-"What!" said Porthos to D'Artagnan, as he turned round, "are you going
-to remain here?"
-
-"Yes, I will join you presently."
-
-"Well, M. D'Artagnan is right, after all," said Planchet: "are they
-beginning to bury yet?"
-
-"Not yet."
-
-"Ah! yes, the grave-digger is waiting until the cords are fastened round
-the bier. But, see, a woman has just entered the cemetery at the other
-end."
-
-"Yes, yes, my dear Planchet," said D'Artagnan, quickly, "leave me,
-leave me; I feel I am beginning already to be much comforted by my
-meditations, so do not interrupt me."
-
-Planchet left, and D'Artagnan remained, devouring with his eager gaze
-from behind the half-closed blinds what was taking place just before
-him. The two bearers of the corpse had unfastened the straps by which
-they carried the litter, and were letting their burden glide gently into
-the open grave. At a few paces distant, the man with the cloak wrapped
-round him, the only spectator of this melancholy scene, was leaning
-with his back against a large cypress-tree, and kept his face and person
-entirely concealed from the grave-diggers and the priests; the corpse
-was buried in five minutes. The grave having been filled up, the priests
-turned away, and the grave-digger having addressed a few words to them,
-followed them as they moved away. The man in the mantle bowed as they
-passed him, and put a piece of gold into the grave-digger's hand.
-
-"_Mordioux!_" murmured D'Artagnan; "it is Aramis himself."
-
-Aramis, in fact, remained alone, on that side at least; for hardly had
-he turned his head when a woman's footsteps, and the rustling of her
-dress, were heard in the path close to him. He immediately turned round,
-and took off his hat with the most ceremonious respect; he led the lady
-under the shelter of some walnut and lime trees, which overshadowed a
-magnificent tomb.
-
-"Ah! who would have thought it," said D'Artagnan; "the bishop of
-Vannes at a rendezvous! He is still the same Abbe Aramis as he was
-at Noisy-le-Sec. Yes," he added, after a pause; "but as it is in a
-cemetery, the rendezvous is sacred." But he almost laughed.
-
-The conversation lasted for fully half an hour. D'Artagnan could not see
-the lady's face, for she kept her back turned towards him; but he saw
-perfectly well, by the erect attitude of both the speakers, by their
-gestures, by the measured and careful manner with which they glanced
-at each other, either by way of attack or defense, that they must be
-conversing about any other subject than of love. At the end of the
-conversation the lady rose, and bowed profoundly to Aramis.
-
-"Oh, oh," said D'Artagnan; "this rendezvous finishes like one of a very
-tender nature though. The cavalier kneels at the beginning, the
-young lady by and by gets tamed down, and then it is she who has to
-supplicate. Who is this lady? I would give anything to ascertain."
-
-This seemed impossible, however, for Aramis was the first to leave;
-the lady carefully concealed her head and face, and then immediately
-departed. D'Artagnan could hold out no longer; he ran to the window
-which looked out on the Rue de Lyon, and saw Aramis entering the inn.
-The lady was proceeding in quite an opposite direction, and seemed, in
-fact, to be about to rejoin an equipage, consisting of two led horses
-and a carriage, which he could see standing close to the borders of
-the forest. She was walking slowly, her head bent down, absorbed in the
-deepest meditation.
-
-"_Mordioux! Mordioux!_ I must and will learn who that woman is," said
-the musketeer again; and then, without further deliberation, he set off
-in pursuit of her. As he was going along, he tried to think how he could
-possibly contrive to make her raise her veil. "She is not young," he
-said, "and is a woman of high rank in society. I ought to know that
-figure and peculiar style of walk." As he ran, the sound of his spurs
-and of his boots upon the hard ground of the street made a strange
-jingling noise; a fortunate circumstance in itself, which he was far
-from reckoning upon. The noise disturbed the lady; she seemed to fancy
-she was being either followed or pursued, which was indeed the case, and
-turned round. D'Artagnan started as if he had received a charge of small
-shot in his legs, and then turning suddenly round as if he were going
-back the same way he had come, he murmured, "Madame de Chevreuse!"
-D'Artagnan would not go home until he had learnt everything. He asked
-Celestin to inquire of the grave-digger whose body it was they had
-buried that morning.
-
-"A poor Franciscan mendicant friar," replied the latter, "who had not
-even a dog to love him in this world, and to accompany him to his last
-resting-place."
-
-"If that were really the case," thought D'Artagnan, "we should not
-have found Aramis present at his funeral. The bishop of Vannes is not
-precisely a dog as far as devotion goes: his scent, however, is quite as
-keen, I admit."
-
-
-
-Chapter VII. How Porthos, Truchen, and Planchet Parted with Each Other
-on Friendly Terms, Thanks to D'Artagnan.
-
-There was good living in Planchet's house. Porthos broke a ladder and
-two cherry-trees, stripped the raspberry-bushes, and was only unable to
-succeed in reaching the strawberry-beds on account, as he said, of his
-belt. Truchen, who had become quite sociable with the giant, said that
-it was not the belt so much as his corporation; and Porthos, in a state
-of the highest delight, embraced Truchen, who gathered him a pailful of
-the strawberries, and made him eat them out of her hands. D'Artagnan,
-who arrived in the midst of these little innocent flirtations, scolded
-Porthos for his indolence, and silently pitied Planchet. Porthos
-breakfasted with a very good appetite, and when he had finished, he
-said, looking at Truchen, "I could make myself very happy here."
-Truchen smiled at his remark, and so did Planchet, but not without
-embarrassment.
-
-D'Artagnan then addressed Porthos: "You must not let the delights of
-Capua make you forget the real object of our journey to Fontainebleau."
-
-"My presentation to the king?"
-
-"Certainly. I am going to take a turn in the town to get everything
-ready for that. Do not think of leaving the house, I beg."
-
-"Oh, no!" exclaimed Porthos.
-
-Planchet looked at D'Artagnan nervously.
-
-"Will you be away long?" he inquired.
-
-"No, my friend; and this very evening I will release you from two
-troublesome guests."
-
-"Oh! Monsieur d'Artagnan! can you say--"
-
-"No, no; you are a noble-hearted fellow, but your house is very small.
-Such a house, with half a dozen acres of land, would be fit for a king,
-and make him very happy, too. But you were not born a great lord."
-
-"No more was M. Porthos," murmured Planchet.
-
-"But he has become so, my good fellow; his income has been a hundred
-thousand francs a year for the last twenty years, and for the last fifty
-years Porthos has been the owner of a couple of fists and a backbone,
-which are not to be matched throughout the whole realm of France.
-Porthos is a man of the very greatest consequence compared to you,
-and... well, I need say no more, for I know you are an intelligent
-fellow."
-
-"No, no, monsieur, explain what you mean."
-
-"Look at your orchard, how stripped it is, how empty your larder, your
-bedstead broken, your cellar almost exhausted, look too... at Madame
-Truchen--"
-
-"Oh! my goodness gracious!" said Planchet.
-
-"Madame Truchen is an excellent person," continued D'Artagnan, "but
-keep her for yourself, do you understand?" and he slapped him on the
-shoulder.
-
-Planchet at this moment perceived Porthos and Truchen sitting close
-together in an arbor; Truchen, with a grace of manner peculiarly
-Flemish, was making a pair of earrings for Porthos out of a double
-cherry, while Porthos was laughing as amorously as Samson in the company
-of Delilah. Planchet pressed D'Artagnan's hand, and ran towards the
-arbor. We must do Porthos the justice to say that he did not move as
-they approached, and, very likely, he did not think he was doing any
-harm. Nor indeed did Truchen move either, which rather put Planchet out;
-but he, too, had been so accustomed to see fashionable folk in his shop,
-that he found no difficulty in putting a good countenance on what seemed
-disagreeable or rude. Planchet seized Porthos by the arm, and proposed
-to go and look at the horses, but Porthos pretended he was tired.
-Planchet then suggested that the Baron du Vallon should taste some
-noyeau of his own manufacture, which was not to be equaled anywhere; an
-offer the baron immediately accepted; and, in this way, Planchet managed
-to engage his enemy's attention during the whole of the day, by dint of
-sacrificing his cellar, in preference to his _amour propre_. Two hours
-afterwards D'Artagnan returned.
-
-"Everything is arranged," he said; "I saw his majesty at the very moment
-he was setting off for the chase; the king expects us this evening."
-
-"The king expects _me!_" cried Porthos, drawing himself up. It is a sad
-thing to have to confess, but a man's heart is like an ocean billow;
-for, from that very moment Porthos ceased to look at Madame Truchen
-in that touching manner which had so softened her heart. Planchet
-encouraged these ambitious leanings as best as he could. He talked over,
-or rather gave exaggerated accounts of all the splendors of the last
-reign, its battles, sieges, and grand court ceremonies. He spoke of the
-luxurious display which the English made; the prizes the three brave
-companions carried off; and how D'Artagnan, who at the beginning had
-been the humblest of the four, finished by becoming the leader. He fired
-Porthos with a generous feeling of enthusiasm by reminding him of his
-early youth now passed away; he boasted as much as he could of the moral
-life this great lord had led, and how religiously he respected the ties
-of friendship; he was eloquent, and skillful in his choice of subjects.
-He tickled Porthos, frightened Truchen, and made D'Artagnan think. At
-six o'clock, the musketeer ordered the horses to be brought round, and
-told Porthos to get ready. He thanked Planchet for his kind hospitality,
-whispered a few words about a post he might succeed in obtaining for
-him at court, which immediately raised Planchet in Truchen's estimation,
-where the poor grocer--so good, so generous, so devoted--had become much
-lowered ever since the appearance and comparison with him of the two
-great gentlemen. Such, however, is a woman's nature; they are anxious
-to possess what they have not got, and disdain it as soon as it is
-acquired. After having rendered this service to his friend Planchet,
-D'Artagnan said in a low tone of voice to Porthos: "That is a very
-beautiful ring you have on your finger."
-
-"It is worth three hundred pistoles," said Porthos.
-
-"Madame Truchen will remember you better if you leave her that ring,"
-replied D'Artagnan, a suggestion which Porthos seemed to hesitate to
-adopt.
-
-"You think it is not beautiful enough, perhaps," said the musketeer. "I
-understand your feelings; a great lord such as you would not think of
-accepting the hospitality of an old servant without paying him most
-handsomely for it: but I am sure that Planchet is too good-hearted a
-fellow to remember that you have an income of a hundred thousand francs
-a year."
-
-"I have more than half a mind," said Porthos, flattered by the remark,
-"to make Madame Truchen a present of my little farm at Bracieux; it has
-twelve acres."
-
-"It is too much, my good Porthos, too much just at present... Keep it
-for a future occasion." He then took the ring off Porthos's finger, and
-approaching Truchen, said to her:--"Madame, monsieur le baron hardly
-knows how to entreat you, out of your regard for him, to accept this
-little ring. M. du Vallon is one of the most generous and discreet
-men of my acquaintance. He wished to offer you a farm that he has at
-Bracieux, but I dissuaded him from it."
-
-"Oh!" said Truchen, looking eagerly at the diamond.
-
-"Monsieur le baron!" exclaimed Planchet, quite overcome.
-
-"My good friend," stammered out Porthos, delighted at having been so
-well represented by D'Artagnan. These several exclamations, uttered at
-the same moment, made quite a pathetic winding-up of a day which might
-have finished in a very ridiculous manner. But D'Artagnan was there,
-and, on every occasion, wheresoever D'Artagnan exercised any control,
-matters ended only just in the very way he wished and willed. There were
-general embracings; Truchen, whom the baron's munificence had restored
-to her proper position, very timidly, and blushing all the while,
-presented her forehead to the great lord with whom she had been on such
-very pretty terms the evening before. Planchet himself was overcome by
-a feeling of genuine humility. Still, in the same generosity of
-disposition, Porthos would have emptied his pockets into the hands of
-the cook and of Celestin; but D'Artagnan stopped him.
-
-"No," he said, "it is now my turn." And he gave one pistole to the woman
-and two to the man; and the benedictions which were showered down
-upon them would have rejoiced the heart of Harpagon himself, and have
-rendered even him a prodigal.
-
-D'Artagnan made Planchet lead them to the chateau, and introduced
-Porthos into his own apartment, where he arrived safely without having
-been perceived by those he was afraid of meeting.
-
-
-
-Chapter VIII. The Presentation of Porthos at Court.
-
-At seven o'clock the same evening, the king gave an audience to an
-ambassador from the United Provinces, in the grand reception-room. The
-audience lasted a quarter of an hour. His majesty afterwards received
-those who had been recently presented, together with a few ladies, who
-paid their respects first. In one corner of the salon, concealed behind
-a column, Porthos and D'Artagnan were conversing together, waiting until
-their turn arrived.
-
-"Have you heard the news?" inquired the musketeer of his friend.
-
-"No!"
-
-"Well, look, then." Porthos raised himself on tiptoe, and saw M. Fouquet
-in full court dress, leading Aramis towards the king.
-
-"Aramis!" said Porthos.
-
-"Presented to the king by M. Fouquet."
-
-"Ah!" ejaculated Porthos.
-
-"For having fortified Belle-Isle," continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"And I?"
-
-"You--oh, you! as I have already had the honor of telling you, are the
-good-natured, kind-hearted Porthos; and so they begged you to take care
-of Saint-Mande a little."
-
-"Ah!" repeated Porthos.
-
-"But, happily, I was there," said D'Artagnan, "and presently it will be
-_my_ turn."
-
-At this moment Fouquet addressed the king.
-
-"Sire," he said, "I have a favor to solicit of your majesty. M.
-d'Herblay is not ambitious, but he knows when he can be of service. Your
-majesty needs a representative at Rome, who would be able to exercise
-a powerful influence there; may I request a cardinal's hat for M.
-d'Herblay?" The king started. "I do not often solicit anything of your
-majesty," said Fouquet.
-
-"That is a reason, certainly," replied the king, who always expressed
-any hesitation he might have in that manner, and to which remark there
-was nothing to say in reply.
-
-Fouquet and Aramis looked at each other. The king resumed: "M. d'Herblay
-can serve us equally well in France; an archbishopric, for instance."
-
-"Sire," objected Fouquet, with a grace of manner peculiarly his own,
-"your majesty overwhelms M. d'Herblay; the archbishopric may, in your
-majesty's extreme kindness, be conferred in addition to the hat; the one
-does not exclude the other."
-
-The king admired the readiness which he displayed, and smiled, saying:
-"D'Artagnan himself could not have answered better." He had no sooner
-pronounced the name than D'Artagnan appeared.
-
-"Did your majesty call me?" he said.
-
-Aramis and Fouquet drew back a step, as if they were about to retire.
-
-"Will your majesty allow me," said D'Artagnan quickly, as he led forward
-Porthos, "to present to your majesty M. le Baron du Vallon, one of the
-bravest gentlemen of France?"
-
-As soon as Aramis saw Porthos, he turned as pale as death, while Fouquet
-clenched his hands under his ruffles. D'Artagnan smiled blandly at
-both of them, while Porthos bowed, visibly overcome before the royal
-presence.
-
-"Porthos here?" murmured Fouquet in Aramis's ear.
-
-"Hush! deep treachery at work," hissed the latter.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "it is more than six years ago I ought to have
-presented M. du Vallon to your majesty; but certain men resemble stars,
-they move not one inch unless their satellites accompany them. The
-Pleiades are never disunited, and that is the reason I have selected,
-for the purpose of presenting him to you, the very moment when you would
-see M. d'Herblay by his side."
-
-Aramis almost lost countenance. He looked at D'Artagnan with a proud,
-haughty air, as though willing to accept the defiance the latter seemed
-to throw down.
-
-"Ah! these gentlemen are good friends, then?" said the king.
-
-"Excellent friends, sire; the one can answer for the other. Ask M. de
-Vannes now in what manner Belle-Isle was fortified?" Fouquet moved back
-a step.
-
-"Belle-Isle," said Aramis, coldly, "was fortified by that gentleman,"
-and he indicated Porthos with his hand, who bowed a second time.
-Louis could not withhold his admiration, though at the same time his
-suspicions were aroused.
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "but ask monsieur le baron whose assistance he
-had in carrying the works out?"
-
-"Aramis's," said Porthos, frankly; and he pointed to the bishop.
-
-"What the deuce does all this mean?" thought the bishop, "and what sort
-of a termination are we to expect to this comedy?"
-
-"What!" exclaimed the king, "is the cardinal's, I mean this bishop's,
-name _Aramis?_"
-
-"His _nom de guerre_," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"My nickname," said Aramis.
-
-"A truce to modesty!" exclaimed D'Artagnan; "beneath the priest's robe,
-sire, is concealed the most brilliant officer, a gentleman of the most
-unparalleled intrepidity, and the wisest theologian in your kingdom."
-
-Louis raised his head. "And an engineer, also, it appears," he said,
-admiring Aramis's calm, imperturbable self-possession.
-
-"An engineer for a particular purpose, sire," said the latter.
-
-"My companion in the musketeers, sire," said D'Artagnan, with great
-warmth of manner, "the man who has more than a hundred times aided your
-father's ministers by his advice--M. d'Herblay, in a word, who, with
-M. du Vallon, myself, and M. le Comte de la Fere, who is known to your
-majesty, formed that quartette which was a good deal talked about during
-the late king's reign, and during your majesty's minority."
-
-"And who fortified Belle-Isle?" the king repeated, in a significant
-tone.
-
-Aramis advanced and bowed: "In order to serve the son as I served the
-father."
-
-D'Artagnan looked very narrowly at Aramis while he uttered these words,
-which displayed so much true respect, so much warm devotion, such entire
-frankness and sincerity, that even he, D'Artagnan, the eternal doubter,
-he, the almost infallible in judgment, was deceived by it. "A man who
-lies cannot speak in such a tone as that," he said.
-
-Louis was overcome by it. "In that case," he said to Fouquet, who
-anxiously awaited the result of this proof, "the cardinal's hat is
-promised. Monsieur d'Herblay, I pledge you my honor that the first
-promotion shall be yours. Thank M. Fouquet for it." Colbert overheard
-these words; they stung him to the quick, and he left the salon
-abruptly. "And you, Monsieur du Vallon," said the king, "what have you
-to ask? I am truly pleased to have it in my power to acknowledge the
-services of those who were faithful to my father."
-
-"Sire--" began Porthos, but he was unable to proceed with what he was
-going to say.
-
-"Sire," exclaimed D'Artagnan, "this worthy gentleman is utterly
-overpowered by your majesty's presence, he who so valiantly sustained
-the looks and the fire of a thousand foes. But, knowing what his
-thoughts are, I--who am more accustomed to gaze upon the sun--can
-translate them: he needs nothing, absolutely nothing; his sole desire
-is to have the happiness of gazing upon your majesty for a quarter of an
-hour."
-
-"You shall sup with me this evening," said the king, saluting Porthos
-with a gracious smile.
-
-Porthos became crimson from delight and pride. The king dismissed him,
-and D'Artagnan pushed him into the adjoining apartment, after he had
-embraced him warmly.
-
-"Sit next to me at table," said Porthos in his ear.
-
-"Yes, my friend."
-
-"Aramis is annoyed with me, I think."
-
-"Aramis has never liked you so much as he does now. Fancy, it was I who
-was the means of his getting the cardinal's hat."
-
-"Of course," said Porthos. "By the by, does the king like his guests to
-eat much at his table?"
-
-"It is a compliment to himself if you do," said D'Artagnan, "for he
-himself possesses a royal appetite."
-
-
-
-Chapter IX. Explanations.
-
-Aramis cleverly managed to effect a diversion for the purpose of finding
-D'Artagnan and Porthos. He came up to the latter, behind one of the
-columns, and, as he pressed his hand, said, "So you have escaped from my
-prison?"
-
-"Do not scold him," said D'Artagnan; "it was I, dear Aramis, who set him
-free."
-
-"Ah! my friend," replied Aramis, looking at Porthos, "could you not have
-waited with a little more patience?"
-
-D'Artagnan came to the assistance of Porthos, who already began to
-breathe hard, in sore perplexity.
-
-"You see, you members of the Church are great politicians; we mere
-soldiers come at once to the point. The facts are these: I went to pay
-Baisemeaux a visit--"
-
-Aramis pricked up his ears at this announcement.
-
-"Stay!" said Porthos; "you make me remember that I have a letter from
-Baisemeaux for you, Aramis." And Porthos held out the bishop the letter
-we have already seen. Aramis begged to be allowed to read it, and read
-it without D'Artagnan feeling in the slightest degree embarrassed by
-the circumstance that he was so well acquainted with the contents of it.
-Besides, Aramis's face was so impenetrable, that D'Artagnan could not
-but admire him more than ever; after he had read it, he put the letter
-into his pocket with the calmest possible air.
-
-"You were saying, captain?" he observed.
-
-"I was saying," continued the musketeer, "that I had gone to pay
-Baisemeaux a visit on his majesty's service."
-
-"On his majesty's service?" said Aramis.
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "and, naturally enough, we talked about you and
-our friends. I must say that Baisemeaux received me coldly; so I soon
-took my leave of him. As I was returning, a soldier accosted me, and
-said (no doubt as he recognized me, notwithstanding I was in private
-clothes), 'Captain, will you be good enough to read me the name written
-on this envelope?' and I read, 'To Monsieur du Vallon, at M. Fouquet's
-house, Saint-Mande.' The deuce, I said to myself, Porthos has not
-returned, then, as I fancied, to Bell-Isle, or to Pierrefonds, but is
-at M. Fouquet's house, at Saint-Mande; and as M. Fouquet is not at
-Saint-Mande, Porthos must be quite alone, or, at all events, with
-Aramis; I will go and see Porthos, and I accordingly went to see
-Porthos."
-
-"Very good," said Aramis, thoughtfully.
-
-"You never told me that," said Porthos.
-
-"I had no time, my friend."
-
-"And you brought back Porthos with you to Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Yes, to Planchet's house."
-
-"Does Planchet live at Fontainebleau?" inquired Aramis.
-
-"Yes, near the cemetery," said Porthos, thoughtlessly.
-
-"What do you mean by 'near the cemetery?'" said Aramis, suspiciously.
-
-"Come," thought the musketeer, "since there is to be a squabble, let us
-take advantage of it."
-
-"Yes, the cemetery," said Porthos. "Planchet is a very excellent fellow,
-who makes very excellent preserves; but his house has windows which look
-out upon the cemetery. And a confoundedly melancholy prospect it is! So
-this morning--"
-
-"This morning?" said Aramis, more and more excited.
-
-D'Artagnan turned his back to them, and walked to the window, where he
-began to play a march upon one of the panes of glass.
-
-"Yes, this morning we saw a man buried there."
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"Very depressing, was it not? I should never be able to live in a house
-where burials can always be seen from the window. D'Artagnan, on the
-contrary, seems to like it very much."
-
-"So D'Artagnan saw it as well?"
-
-"Not simply _saw_ it; he literally never took his eyes off the whole
-time."
-
-Aramis started, and turned to look at the musketeer, but the latter was
-engaged in earnest conversation with Saint-Aignan. Aramis continued to
-question Porthos, and when he had squeezed all the juice out of this
-enormous lemon, he threw the peel aside. He turned towards his friend
-D'Artagnan, and clapping him on the shoulder, when Saint-Aignan had left
-him, the king's supper having been announced, said, "D'Artagnan."
-
-"Yes, my dear fellow," he replied.
-
-"We do not sup with his majesty, I believe?"
-
-"Well?--_we_ do."
-
-"Can you give me ten minutes' conversation?"
-
-"Twenty, if you like. His majesty will take quite that time to get
-properly seated at table."
-
-"Where shall we talk, then?"
-
-"Here, upon these seats if you like; the king has left, we can sit down,
-and the apartment is empty."
-
-"Let us sit down, then."
-
-They sat down, and Aramis took one of D'Artagnan's hands in his.
-
-"Tell me, candidly, my dear friend, whether you have not counseled
-Porthos to distrust me a little?"
-
-"I admit, I have, but not as you understand it. I saw that Porthos was
-bored to death, and I wished, by presenting him to the king, to do for
-him, and for you, what you would never do for yourselves."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"Speak in your own praise."
-
-"And you have done it most nobly; I thank you."
-
-"And I brought the cardinal's hat a little nearer, just as it seemed to
-be retreating from you."
-
-"Ah! I admit that," said Aramis, with a singular smile, "you are,
-indeed, not to be matched for making your friends' fortunes for them."
-
-"You see, then, that I only acted with the view of making Porthos's
-fortune for him."
-
-"I meant to have done that myself; but your arm reaches farther than
-ours."
-
-It was now D'Artagnan's turn to smile.
-
-"Come," said Aramis, "we ought to deal truthfully with each other. Do
-you still love me, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"The same as I used to do," replied D'Artagnan, without compromising
-himself too much by this reply.
-
-"In that case, thanks; and now, for the most perfect frankness," said
-Aramis; "you visited Belle-Isle on behalf of the king?"
-
-"_Pardieu!_"
-
-"You wished to deprive us of the pleasure of offering Bell-Isle
-completely fortified to the king."
-
-"But before I could deprive you of that pleasure, I ought to have been
-made acquainted with your intention of doing so."
-
-"You came to Belle-Isle without knowing anything?"
-
-"Of you! yes. How the devil could I imagine that Aramis had become
-so clever an engineer as to be able to fortify like Polybius, or
-Archimedes?"
-
-"True. And yet you smelt me out over yonder?"
-
-"Oh! yes."
-
-"And Porthos, too?"
-
-"I did not divine that Aramis was an engineer. I was only able to guess
-that Porthos might have become one. There is a saying, one becomes an
-orator, one is born a poet; but it has never been said, one is born
-Porthos, and one becomes an engineer."
-
-"Your wit is always amusing," said Aramis, coldly.
-
-"Well, I will go on."
-
-"Do. When you found out our secret, you made all the haste you could to
-communicate it to the king."
-
-"I certainly made as much haste as I could, since I saw that you were
-making still more. When a man weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, as
-Porthos does, rides post; when a gouty prelate--I beg your pardon, but
-you yourself told me you were so--when a prelate scours the highway--I
-naturally suppose that my two friends, who did not wish to be
-communicative with me, had certain matters of the highest importance
-to conceal from me, and so I made as much haste as my leanness and the
-absence of gout would allow."
-
-"Did it not occur to you, my dear friend, that you might be rendering
-Porthos and myself a very sad service?"
-
-"Yes, I thought it not unlikely; but you and Porthos made me play a very
-ridiculous part at Belle-Isle."
-
-"I beg your pardon," said Aramis.
-
-"Excuse me," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"So that," pursued Aramis, "you now know everything?"
-
-"No, indeed."
-
-"You know I was obliged to inform M. Fouquet of what had happened, in
-order that he would be able to anticipate what you might have to tell
-the king?"
-
-"That is rather obscure."
-
-"Not at all: M. Fouquet has his enemies--you will admit that, I
-suppose."
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"And one in particular."
-
-"A dangerous one?"
-
-"A mortal enemy. Well, in order to counteract that man's influence, it
-was necessary that M. Fouquet should give the king a proof of his great
-devotion to him, and of his readiness to make the greatest sacrifices.
-He surprised his majesty by offering him Belle-Isle. If you had been the
-first to reach Paris, the surprise would have been destroyed, it would
-have looked as if we had yielded to fear."
-
-"I understand."
-
-"That is the whole mystery," said Aramis, satisfied that he had at last
-quite convinced the musketeer.
-
-"Only," said the latter, "it would have been more simple to have
-taken me aside, and said to me, 'My dear D'Artagnan, we are fortifying
-Belle-Isle, and intend to offer it to the king. Tell us frankly, for
-whom you are acting. Are you a friend of M. Colbert, or of M. Fouquet?'
-Perhaps I should not have answered you, but you would have added,--'Are
-you my friend?' I should have said 'Yes.'" Aramis hung down his head.
-"In this way," continued D'Artagnan, "you would have paralyzed my
-movements, and I should have gone to the king, and said, 'Sire, M.
-Fouquet is fortifying Belle-Isle, and exceedingly well, too; but here is
-a note, which the governor of Belle-Isle gave me for your majesty;' or,
-'M. Fouquet is about to wait upon your majesty to explain his intentions
-with regard to it.' I should not have been placed in an absurd position;
-you would have enjoyed the surprise so long planned, and we should not
-have had any occasion to look askant at each other when we met."
-
-"While, on the contrary," replied Aramis, "you have acted altogether
-as one friendly to M. Colbert. And you really are a friend of his, I
-suppose?"
-
-"Certainly not, indeed!" exclaimed the captain. "M. Colbert is a mean
-fellow, and I hate him as I used to hate Mazarin, but without fearing
-him."
-
-"Well, then," said Aramis, "I love M. Fouquet, and his interests are
-mine. You know my position. I have no property or means whatever. M.
-Fouquet gave me several livings, a bishopric as well; M. Fouquet has
-served and obliged me like the generous-hearted man he is, and I know
-the world sufficiently well to appreciate a kindness when I meet with
-one. M. Fouquet has won my regard, and I have devoted myself to his
-service."
-
-"You could not possibly do better. You will find him a very liberal
-master."
-
-Aramis bit his lips; and then said, "The best a man could possibly
-have." He then paused for a minute, D'Artagnan taking good care not to
-interrupt him.
-
-"I suppose you know how Porthos got mixed up in all this?"
-
-"No," said D'Artagnan; "I am curious, of course, but I never question a
-friend when he wishes to keep a secret from me."
-
-"Well, then, I will tell you."
-
-"It is hardly worth the trouble, if the confidence is to bind me in any
-way."
-
-"Oh! do not be afraid.; there is no man whom I love better than
-Porthos, because he is so simple-minded and good-natured. Porthos is
-so straightforward in everything. Since I have become a bishop, I have
-looked for these primeval natures, which make me love truth and hate
-intrigue."
-
-D'Artagnan stroked his mustache, but said nothing.
-
-"I saw Porthos and again cultivated his acquaintance; his own time
-hanging idly on his hands, his presence recalled my earlier and better
-days without engaging me in any present evil. I sent for Porthos to come
-to Vannes. M. Fouquet, whose regard for me is very great, having
-learnt that Porthos and I were attached to each other by old ties of
-friendship, promised him increase of rank at the earliest promotion, and
-that is the whole secret."
-
-"I shall not abuse your confidence," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I am sure of that, my dear friend; no one has a finer sense of honor
-than yourself."
-
-"I flatter myself that you are right, Aramis."
-
-"And now"--and here the prelate looked searchingly and scrutinizingly
-at his friend--"now let us talk of ourselves and for ourselves; will you
-become one of M. Fouquet's friends? Do not interrupt me until you know
-what that means."
-
-"Well, I am listening."
-
-"Will you become a marechal of France, peer, duke, and the possessor of
-a duchy, with a million of francs?"
-
-"But, my friend," replied D'Artagnan, "what must one do to get all
-that?"
-
-"Belong to M. Fouquet."
-
-"But I already belong to the king."
-
-"Not exclusively, I suppose."
-
-"Oh! a D'Artagnan cannot be divided."
-
-"You have, I presume, ambitions, as noble hearts like yours have."
-
-"Yes, certainly I have."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Well! I wish to be a marechal; the king will make me marechal, duke,
-peer; the king will make me all that."
-
-Aramis fixed a searching look upon D'Artagnan.
-
-"Is not the king master?" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"No one disputes it; but Louis XIII. was master also."
-
-"Oh! my dear friend, between Richelieu and Louis XIII. stood no
-D'Artagnan," said the musketeer, very quietly.
-
-"There are many stumbling-blocks round the king," said Aramis.
-
-"Not for the king's feet."
-
-"Very likely not; still--"
-
-"One moment, Aramis; I observe that every one thinks of himself, and
-never of his poor prince; I will maintain myself maintaining him."
-
-"And if you meet with ingratitude?"
-
-"The weak alone are afraid of that."
-
-"You are quite certain of yourself?"
-
-"I think so."
-
-"Still, the king may some day have no further need for you!"
-
-"On the contrary, I think his need of me will soon be greater than ever;
-and hearken, my dear fellow, if it became necessary to arrest a new
-Conde, who would do it? This--this alone in France!" and D'Artagnan
-struck his sword, which clanked sullenly on the tesselated floor.
-
-"You are right," said Aramis, turning very pale; and then he rose and
-pressed D'Artagnan's hand.
-
-"That is the last summons for supper," said the captain of the
-musketeers; "will you excuse me?"
-
-Aramis threw his arm round the musketeer's neck, and said, "A
-friend like you is the brightest jewel in the royal crown." And they
-immediately separated.
-
-"I was right," mused D'Artagnan; "there is, indeed, something strangely
-serious stirring."
-
-"We must hasten the explosion," breathed the coming cardinal, "for
-D'Artagnan has discovered the existence of a plot."
-
-
-
-Chapter X. Madame and De Guiche.
-
-It will not be forgotten how Comte de Guiche left the queen-mother's
-apartments on the day when Louis XIV. presented La Valliere with the
-beautiful bracelets he had won in the lottery. The comte walked to and
-fro for some time outside the palace, in the greatest distress, from
-a thousand suspicions and anxieties with which his mind was beset.
-Presently he stopped and waited on the terrace opposite the grove of
-trees, watching for Madame's departure. More than half an hour passed
-away; and as he was at that moment quite alone, the comte could hardly
-have had any very diverting ideas at his command. He drew his tables
-from his pocket, and, after hesitating over and over again, determined
-to write these words:--"Madame, I implore you to grant me one moment's
-conversation. Do not be alarmed at this request, which contains nothing
-in any way opposed to the profound respect with which I subscribe
-myself, etc., etc." He had signed and folded this singular love-letter,
-when he suddenly observed several ladies leaving the chateau, and
-afterwards several courtiers too; in fact, almost every one that formed
-the queen's circle. He saw La Valliere herself, then Montalais talking
-with Malicorne; he watched the departure of the very last of the
-numerous guests that had a short time before thronged the queen-mother's
-cabinet.
-
-Madame herself had not yet passed; she would be obliged, however, to
-cross the courtyard in order to enter her own apartments; and, from the
-terrace where he was standing, De Guiche could see all that was going on
-in the courtyard. At last he saw Madame leave, attended by a couple
-of pages, who were carrying torches before her. She was walking very
-quickly; as soon as she reached the door, she said:
-
-"Let some one go and look for De Guiche: he has to render an account
-of a mission he had to discharge for me; if he should be disengaged,
-request him to be good enough to come to my apartment."
-
-De Guiche remained silent, hidden in the shade; but as soon as Madame
-had withdrawn, he darted from the terrace down the steps and assumed a
-most indifferent air, so that the pages who were hurrying towards his
-rooms might meet him.
-
-"Ah! it is Madame, then, who is seeking me!" he said to himself, quite
-overcome; and he crushed in his hand the now worse than useless letter.
-
-"M. le comte," said one of the pages, approaching him, "we are indeed
-most fortunate in meeting you."
-
-"Why so, messieurs?"
-
-"A command from Madame."
-
-"From Madame!" said De Guiche, looking surprised.
-
-"Yes, M. le comte, her royal highness has been asking for you; she
-expects to hear, she told us, the result of a commission you had to
-execute for her. Are you at liberty?"
-
-"I am quite at her royal highness's orders."
-
-"Will you have the goodness to follow us, then?"
-
-When De Guiche entered the princess's apartments, he found her pale and
-agitated. Montalais was standing at the door, evidently uneasy about
-what was passing in her mistress's mind. De Guiche appeared.
-
-"Ah! is that you, Monsieur de Guiche?" said Madame; "come in, I beg.
-Mademoiselle de Montalais, I do not require your attendance any longer."
-
-Montalais, more puzzled than ever, courtesied and withdrew. De Guiche
-and the princess were left alone. The comte had every advantage in his
-favor; it was Madame who had summoned him to a rendezvous. But how was
-it possible for the comte to make use of this advantage? Madame was so
-whimsical, and her disposition so changeable. She soon allowed this to
-be perceived, for, suddenly, opening the conversation, she said: "Well!
-have you nothing to say to me?"
-
-He imagined she must have guessed his thoughts; he fancied (for those
-who are in love are thus constituted, being as credulous and blind as
-poets or prophets), he fancied she knew how ardent was his desire to see
-her, and also the subject uppermost in his mind.
-
-"Yes, Madame," he said, "and I think it very singular."
-
-"The affair of the bracelets," she exclaimed, eagerly, "you mean that, I
-suppose?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"And you think the king is in love; do you not?"
-
-Guiche looked at her for some time; her eyes sank under his gaze, which
-seemed to read her very heart.
-
-"I think," he said, "that the king may possibly have had an idea of
-annoying some one; were it not for that, the king would hardly show
-himself so earnest in his attentions as he is; he would not run the risk
-of compromising, from mere thoughtlessness of disposition, a young girl
-against whom no one has been hitherto able to say a word."
-
-"Indeed! the bold, shameless girl," said the princess, haughtily.
-
-"I can positively assure your royal highness," said De Guiche, with a
-firmness marked by great respect, "that Mademoiselle de la Valliere
-is beloved by a man who merits every respect, for he is a brave and
-honorable gentleman."
-
-"Bragelonne?"
-
-"My friend; yes, Madame."
-
-"Well, and though he is your friend, what does that matter to the king?"
-
-"The king knows that Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere; and as Raoul has served the king most valiantly, the king will
-not inflict an irreparable injury upon him."
-
-Madame began to laugh in a manner that produced a sinister impression
-upon De Guiche.
-
-"I repeat, Madame, I do not believe the king is in love with
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere; and the proof that I do not believe it is,
-that I was about to ask you whose _amour propre_ it is likely the king
-is desirous of wounding? You, who are well acquainted with the whole
-court, can perhaps assist me in ascertaining that; and assuredly, with
-greater certainty, since it is everywhere said that your royal highness
-is on very friendly terms with the king."
-
-Madame bit her lips, and, unable to assign any good and sufficient
-reasons, changed the conversation. "Prove to me," she said, fixing on
-him one of those looks in which the whole soul seems to pass into the
-eyes, "prove to me, I say, that you intended to interrogate me at the
-very moment I sent for you."
-
-De Guiche gravely drew from his pocket the now crumpled note that he had
-written, and showed it to her.
-
-"Sympathy," she said.
-
-"Yes," said the comte, with an indescribable tenderness of tone,
-"sympathy. I have explained to you how and why I sought you; you,
-however, have yet to tell me, Madame, why you sent for me."
-
-"True," replied the princess. She hesitated, and then suddenly
-exclaimed, "Those bracelets will drive me mad."
-
-"You expected the king would offer them to you," replied De Guiche.
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"But before you, Madame, before you, his sister-in-law, was there not
-the queen herself to whom the king should have offered them?"
-
-"Before La Valliere," cried the princess, wounded to the quick, "could
-he not have presented them to me? Was there not the whole court, indeed,
-to choose from?"
-
-"I assure you, Madame," said the comte, respectfully, "that if any one
-heard you speak in this manner, if any one were to see how red your eyes
-are, and, Heaven forgive me, to see, too, that tear trembling on your
-eyelids, it would be said that your royal highness was jealous."
-
-"Jealous!" said the princess, haughtily, "jealous of La Valliere!"
-
-She expected to see De Guiche yield beneath her scornful gesture and her
-proud tone; but he simply and boldly replied, "Jealous of La Valliere;
-yes, Madame."
-
-"Am I to suppose, monsieur," she stammered out, "that your object is to
-insult me?"
-
-"It is not possible, Madame," replied the comte, slightly agitated, but
-resolved to master that fiery nature.
-
-"Leave the room!" said the princess, thoroughly exasperated, De Guiche's
-coolness and silent respect having made her completely lose her temper.
-
-De Guiche fell back a step, bowed slowly, but with great respect, drew
-himself up, looking as white as his lace cuffs, and, in a voice slightly
-trembling, said, "It was hardly worth while to have hurried here to be
-subjected to this unmerited disgrace." And he turned away with hasty
-steps.
-
-He had scarcely gone half a dozen paces when Madame darted like a
-tigress after him, seized him by the cuff, and making him turn round
-again, said, trembling with passion as she did so, "The respect you
-pretend to have is more insulting than the insult itself. Insult me, if
-you please, but at least speak."
-
-"Madame," said the comte, gently, as he drew his sword, "thrust this
-blade into my heart, rather than kill me by degrees."
-
-At the look he fixed upon her,--a look full of love, resolution, and
-despair, even,--she knew how readily the comte, so outwardly calm in
-appearance, would pass his sword through his own breast if she added
-another word. She tore the blade from his hands, and, pressing his arm
-with a feverish impatience, which might pass for tenderness, said, "Do
-not be too hard upon me, comte. You see how I am suffering, and yet you
-have no pity for me."
-
-Tears, the cries of this strange attack, stifled her voice. As soon as
-De Guiche saw her weep, he took her in his arms and carried her to an
-armchair; in another moment she would have been suffocated.
-
-"Oh, why," he murmured, as he knelt by her side, "why do you conceal
-your troubles from me? Do you love any one--tell me? It would kill me,
-I know, but not until I should have comforted, consoled, and served you
-even."
-
-"And do you love me to that extent?" she replied, completely conquered.
-
-"I do indeed love you to that extent, Madame."
-
-She placed both her hands in his. "My heart is indeed another's," she
-murmured in so low a tone that her voice could hardly be heard; but he
-heard it, and said, "Is it the king you love?"
-
-She gently shook her head, and her smile was like a clear bright streak
-in the clouds, through which after the tempest has passed one almost
-fancies Paradise is opening. "But," she added, "there are other passions
-in a high-born heart. Love is poetry; but the real life of the heart is
-pride. Comte, I was born on a throne, I am proud and jealous of my rank.
-Why does the king gather such unworthy objects round him?"
-
-"Once more, I repeat," said the comte, "you are acting unjustly towards
-that poor girl, who will one day be my friend's wife."
-
-"Are you simple enough to believe that, comte?"
-
-"If I did not believe it," he said, turning very pale, "Bragelonne
-should be informed of it to-morrow; indeed he should, if I thought that
-poor La Valliere had forgotten the vows she had exchanged with Raoul.
-But no, it would be cowardly to betray a woman's secret; it would be
-criminal to disturb a friend's peace of mind."
-
-"You think, then," said the princess, with a wild burst of laughter,
-"that ignorance is happiness?"
-
-"I believe it," he replied.
-
-"Prove it to me, then," she said, hurriedly.
-
-"It is easily done, Madame. It is reported through the whole court that
-the king loves you, and that you return his affection."
-
-"Well?" she said, breathing with difficulty.
-
-"Well; admit for a moment that Raoul, my friend, had come and said to
-me, 'Yes, the king loves Madame, and has made an impression upon her
-heart,' I possibly should have slain Raoul."
-
-"It would have been necessary," said the princess, with the obstinacy of
-a woman who feels herself not easily overcome, "for M. de Bragelonne to
-have had proofs before he ventured to speak to you in that manner."
-
-"Such, however, is the case," replied De Guiche, with a deep sigh,
-"that, not having been warned, I have never examined into the matter
-seriously; and I now find that my ignorance has saved my life."
-
-"So, then, you drive selfishness and coldness to that extent," said
-Madame, "that you would let this unhappy young man continue to love La
-Valliere?"
-
-"I would, until La Valliere's guilt were revealed."
-
-"But the bracelets?"
-
-"Well, Madame, since you yourself expected to receive them from the
-king, what can I possibly say?"
-
-The argument was a telling one, and the princess was overwhelmed by it,
-and from that moment her defeat was assured. But as her heart and
-mind were instinct with noble and generous feelings, she understood De
-Guiche's extreme delicacy. She saw that in his heart he really suspected
-that the king was in love with La Valliere, and that he did not wish
-to resort to the common expedient of ruining a rival in the mind of
-a woman, by giving the latter the assurance and certainty that this
-rival's affections were transferred to another woman. She guessed that
-his suspicions of La Valliere were aroused, and that, in order to leave
-himself time for his convictions to undergo a change, so as not to ruin
-Louise utterly, he was determined to pursue a certain straightforward
-line of conduct. She could read so much real greatness of character, and
-such true generosity of disposition in her lover, that her heart really
-warmed with affection towards him, whose passion for her was so pure and
-delicate. Despite his fear of incurring her displeasure, De Guiche, by
-retaining his position as a man of proud independence of feeling and
-deep devotion, became almost a hero in her estimation, and reduced her
-to the state of a jealous and little-minded woman. She loved him for
-this so tenderly, that she could not refuse to give him a proof of her
-affection.
-
-"See how many words we have wasted," she said, taking his hand,
-"suspicions, anxieties, mistrust, sufferings--I think we have enumerated
-all those words."
-
-"Alas! Madame, yes."
-
-"Efface them from your heart as I drive them from mine. Whether La
-Valliere does or does not love the king, and whether the king does
-or does not love La Valliere--from this moment you and I will draw a
-distinction in the two characters I have to perform. You open your eyes
-so wide that I am sure you hardly understand me."
-
-"You are so impetuous, Madame, that I always tremble at the fear of
-displeasing you."
-
-"And see how he trembles now, poor fellow," she said, with the most
-charming playfulness of manner. "Yes, monsieur, I have two characters
-to perform. I am the sister of the king, the sister-in-law of the
-king's wife. In this character ought I not to take an interest in these
-domestic intrigues? Come, tell me what you think?"
-
-"As little as possible, Madame."
-
-"Agreed, monsieur; but it is a question of dignity; and then, you
-know, I am the wife of the king's brother." De Guiche sighed. "A
-circumstance," she added, with an expression of great tenderness, "which
-will remind you that I am always to be treated with the profoundest
-respect." De Guiche fell at her feet, which he kissed, with the
-religious fervor of a worshipper. "And I begin to think that, really and
-truly, I have another character to perform. I was almost forgetting it."
-
-"Name it, oh! name it," said De Guiche.
-
-"I am a woman," she said, in a voice lower than ever, "and I love."
-He rose, she opened her arms, and their lips met. A footstep was heard
-behind the tapestry, and Mademoiselle de Montalais appeared.
-
-"What do you want?" said Madame.
-
-"M. de Guiche is wanted," replied Montalais, who was just in time to see
-the agitation of the actors of these four characters; for De Guiche had
-consistently carried out his part with heroism.
-
-
-
-Chapter XI. Montalais and Malicorne.
-
-Montalais was right. M. de Guiche, thus summoned in every direction, was
-very much exposed, from such a multiplication of business, to the
-risk of not attending to any. It so happened that, considering the
-awkwardness of the interruption, Madame, notwithstanding her wounded
-pride, and secret anger, could not, for the moment at least, reproach
-Montalais for having violated, in so bold a manner, the semi-royal order
-with which she had been dismissed on De Guiche's entrance. De Guiche,
-also, lost his presence of mind, or, it would be more correct to say,
-had already lost it, before Montalais's arrival, for, scarcely had he
-heard the young girl's voice, than, without taking leave of Madame, as
-the most ordinary politeness required, even between persons equal in
-rank and station, he fled from her presence, his heart tumultuously
-throbbing, and his brain on fire, leaving the princess with one hand
-raised, as though to bid him adieu. Montalais was at no loss, therefore,
-to perceive the agitation of the two lovers--the one who fled was
-agitated, and the one who remained was equally so.
-
-"Well," murmured the young girl, as she glanced inquisitively round her,
-"this time, at least, I think I know as much as the most curious
-woman could possibly wish to know." Madame felt so embarrassed by this
-inquisitorial look, that, as if she heard Montalais's muttered side
-remark, she did not speak a word to her maid of honor, but, casting down
-her eyes, retired at once to her bedroom. Montalais, observing this,
-stood listening for a moment, and then heard Madame lock and bolt her
-door. By this she knew that the rest of the evening was at her own
-disposal; and making, behind the door which had just been closed, a
-gesture which indicated but little real respect for the princess, she
-went down the staircase in search of Malicorne, who was very busily
-engaged at that moment in watching a courier, who, covered with dust,
-had just left the Comte de Guiche's apartments. Montalais knew that
-Malicorne was engaged in a matter of some importance; she therefore
-allowed him to look and stretch out his neck as much as he pleased; and
-it was only when Malicorne had resumed his natural position, that she
-touched him on the shoulder. "Well," said Montalais, "what is the latest
-intelligence you have?"
-
-"M. de Guiche is in love with Madame."
-
-"Fine news, truly! I know something more recent than that."
-
-"Well, what do you know?"
-
-"That Madame is in love with M. de Guiche."
-
-"The one is the consequence of the other."
-
-"Not always, my good monsieur."
-
-"Is that remark intended for me?"
-
-"Present company always excepted."
-
-"Thank you," said Malicorne. "Well, and in the other direction, what is
-stirring?"
-
-"The king wished, this evening, after the lottery, to see Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere."
-
-"Well, and he has seen her?"
-
-"No, indeed!"
-
-"What do you mean by that?"
-
-"The door was shut and locked."
-
-"So that--"
-
-"So that the king was obliged to go back again, looking very sheepish,
-like a thief who has forgotten his crowbar."
-
-"Good."
-
-"And in the third place?" inquired Montalais.
-
-"The courier who has just arrived for De Guiche came from M. de
-Bragelonne."
-
-"Excellent," said Montalais, clapping her hands together.
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because we have work to do. If we get weary now, something unlucky will
-be sure to happen."
-
-"We must divide the work, then," said Malicorne, "in order to avoid
-confusion."
-
-"Nothing easier," replied Montalais. "Three intrigues, carefully nursed,
-and carefully encouraged, will produce, one with another, and taking a
-low average, three love letters a day."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed Malicorne, shrugging his shoulders, "you cannot mean
-what you say, darling; three letters a day, that may do for sentimental
-common people. A musketeer on duty, a young girl in a convent, may
-exchange letters with their lovers once a day, perhaps, from the top
-of a ladder, or through a hole in the wall. A letter contains all the
-poetry their poor little hearts have to boast of. But the cases we have
-in hand require to be dealt with very differently."
-
-"Well, finish," said Montalais, out of patience with him. "Some one may
-come."
-
-"Finish! Why, I am only at the beginning. I have still three points as
-yet untouched."
-
-"Upon my word, he will be the death of me, with his Flemish
-indifference," exclaimed Montalais.
-
-"And you will drive me mad with your Italian vivacity. I was going to
-say that our lovers here will be writing volumes to each other. But what
-are you driving at?"
-
-"At this. Not one of our lady correspondents will be able to keep the
-letters they may receive."
-
-"Very likely."
-
-"M. de Guiche will not be able to keep his either."
-
-"That is probable."
-
-"Very well, then; I will take care of all that."
-
-"That is the very thing that is impossible," said Malicorne.
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because you are not your own mistress; your room is as much La
-Valliere's as yours; and there are certain persons who will think
-nothing of visiting and searching a maid of honor's room; so that I am
-terribly afraid of the queen, who is as jealous as a Spaniard; of the
-queen-mother, who is as jealous as a couple of Spaniards; and, last of
-all, of Madame herself, who has jealousy enough for ten Spaniards."
-
-"You forgot some one else."
-
-"Who?"
-
-"Monsieur."
-
-"I was only speaking of the women. Let us add them up, then: we will
-call Monsieur, No. 1."
-
-"De Guiche?"
-
-"No. 2."
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne?"
-
-"No. 3."
-
-"And the king, the king?"
-
-"No. 4. Of course the king, who not only will be more jealous, but more
-powerful than all the rest put together. Ah, my dear!"
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Into what a wasp's nest you have thrust yourself!"
-
-"And as yet not quite far enough, if you will follow me into it."
-
-"Most certainly I will follow you where you like. Yet--"
-
-"Well, yet--"
-
-"While we have time, I think it will be prudent to turn back."
-
-"But I, on the contrary, think the wisest course to take is to put
-ourselves at once at the head of all these intrigues."
-
-"You will never be able to do it."
-
-"With you, I could superintend ten of them. I am in my element, you must
-know. I was born to live at the court, as the salamander is made to live
-in the fire."
-
-"Your comparison does not reassure me in the slightest degree in the
-world, my dear Montalais. I have heard it said, and by learned men too,
-that, in the first place, there are no salamanders at all, and that, if
-there had been any, they would have been infallibly baked or roasted on
-leaving the fire."
-
-"Your learned men may be very wise as far as salamanders are concerned,
-but they would never tell you what I can tell you; namely, that Aure
-de Montalais is destined, before a month is over, to become the first
-diplomatist in the court of France."
-
-"Be it so, but on condition that I shall be the second."
-
-"Agreed; an offensive and defensive alliance, of course."
-
-"Only be very careful of any letters."
-
-"I will hand them to you as I receive them."
-
-"What shall we tell the king about Madame?"
-
-"That Madame is still in love with his majesty."
-
-"What shall we tell Madame about the king?"
-
-"That she would be exceedingly wrong not to humor him."
-
-"What shall we tell La Valliere about Madame?"
-
-"Whatever we choose, for La Valliere is in our power."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"Every way."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"In the first place, through the Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"Explain yourself."
-
-"You do not forget, I hope, that Monsieur de Bragelonne has written many
-letters to Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"I forget nothing."
-
-"Well, then, it was I who received, and I who intercepted those
-letters."
-
-"And, consequently, it is you who have them still?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Where,--here?"
-
-"Oh, no; I have them safe at Blois, in the little room you know well
-enough."
-
-"That dear little room,--that darling little room, the ante-chamber of
-the palace I intend you to live in one of these days. But, I beg your
-pardon, you said that all those letters are in that little room?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Did you not put them in a box?"
-
-"Of course; in the same box where I put all the letters I received from
-you, and where I put mine also when your business or your amusements
-prevented you from coming to our rendezvous."
-
-"Ah, very good," said Malicorne.
-
-"Why are you satisfied?"
-
-"Because I see there is a possibility of not having to run to Blois
-after the letters, for I have them here."
-
-"You have brought the box away?"
-
-"It was very dear to me, because it belonged to you."
-
-"Be sure and take care of it, for it contains original documents that
-will be of priceless value by and by."
-
-"I am perfectly well aware of that indeed, and that is the very reason
-why I laugh as I do, and with all my heart, too."
-
-"And now, one last word."
-
-"Why _last?_"
-
-"Do we need any one to assist us?"
-
-"No one."
-
-"Valets or maid-servants?"
-
-"Bad policy. You will give the letters,--you will receive them. Oh!
-we must have no pride in this affair, otherwise M. Malicorne and
-Mademoiselle Aure, not transacting their own affairs themselves, will
-have to make up their minds to see them done by others."
-
-"You are quite right; but what is going on yonder in M. de Guiche's
-room?"
-
-"Nothing; he is only opening his window."
-
-"Let us be gone." And they both immediately disappeared, all the terms
-of the contract being agreed on.
-
-The window just opened was, in fact, that of the Comte de Guiche. It
-was not alone with the hope of catching a glimpse of Madame through her
-curtains that he seated himself by the open window for his preoccupation
-of mind had at that time a different origin. He had just received, as
-we have already stated, the courier who had been dispatched to him by
-Bragelonne, the latter having written to De Guiche a letter which had
-made the deepest impression upon him, and which he had read over and
-over again. "Strange, strange!" he murmured. "How irresponsible are the
-means by which destiny hurries men onward to their fate!" Leaving the
-window in order to approach nearer to the light, he once more read the
-letter he had just received:--
-
-
-"CALAIS.
-
-"MY DEAR COUNT,--I found M. de Wardes at Calais; he has been
-seriously wounded in an affair with the Duke of Buckingham. De Wardes
-is, as you know, unquestionably brave, but full of malevolent and wicked
-feelings. He conversed with me about yourself, for whom, he says, he
-has a warm regard, also about Madame, whom he considers a beautiful and
-amiable woman. He has guessed your affection for a certain person. He
-also talked to me about the lady for whom I have so ardent a regard, and
-showed the greatest interest on my behalf in expressing a deep pity for
-me, accompanied, however, by dark hints which alarmed me at first, but
-which I at last looked upon as the result of his usual love of mystery.
-These are the facts: he had received news of the court; you will
-understand, however, that it was only through M. de Lorraine. The report
-goes, so says the news, that a change has taken place in the king's
-affections. You know whom that concerns. Afterwards, the news continues,
-people are talking about one of the maids of honor, respecting whom
-various slanderous reports are being circulated. These vague phrases
-have not allowed me to sleep. I have been deploring, ever
-since yesterday, that my diffidence and vacillation of purpose,
-notwithstanding a certain obstinacy of character I may possess, have
-left me unable to reply to these insinuations. In a word, M. de Wardes
-was setting off for Paris, and I did not delay his departure with
-explanations; for it seemed rather hard, I confess, to cross-examine a
-man whose wounds are hardly yet closed. In short, he travelled by short
-stages, as he was anxious to leave, he said, in order to be present at a
-curious spectacle the court cannot fail to offer within a short time.
-He added a few congratulatory words accompanied by vague sympathizing
-expressions. I could not understand the one any more than the other. I
-was bewildered by my own thoughts, and tormented by a mistrust of this
-man,--a mistrust which, you know better than any one else, I have never
-been able to overcome. As soon as he left, my perceptions seemed
-to become clearer. It is hardly possible that a man of De Wardes's
-character should not have communicated something of his own malicious
-nature to the statements he made to me. It is not unlikely, therefore,
-that in the strange hints De Wardes threw out in my presence, there may
-be a mysterious signification, which I might have some difficulty in
-applying either to myself or to some one with whom you are acquainted.
-Being compelled to leave as soon as possible, in obedience to the king's
-commands, the idea did not occur to me of running after De Wardes in
-order to ask him to explain his reserve; but I have dispatched a courier
-to you with this letter, which will explain in detail my various doubts.
-I regard you as myself; you have reflected and observed; it will be for
-you to act. M. de Wardes will arrive very shortly; endeavor to learn
-what he meant, if you do not already know. M. de Wardes, moreover,
-pretended that the Duke of Buckingham left Paris on the very best of
-terms with Madame. This was an affair which would have unhesitatingly
-made me draw my sword, had I not felt that I was under the necessity
-of dispatching the king's mission before undertaking any quarrel
-whatsoever. Burn this letter, which Olivain will hand you. Whatever
-Olivain says, you may confidently rely on. Will you have the goodness,
-my dear comte, to recall me to the remembrance of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, whose hands I kiss with the greatest respect.
-
-"Your devoted
-
-"DE BRAGELONNE.
-
-"P. S.--If anything serious should happen--we should be prepared for
-everything, dispatch a courier to me with this one single word, 'come,'
-and I will be in Paris within six and thirty hours after the receipt of
-your letter."
-
-
-De Guiche sighed, folded up the letter a third time, and, instead of
-burning it, as Raoul had recommended him to do, placed it in his pocket.
-He felt it needed reading over and over again.
-
-"How much distress of mind, yet what sublime confidence, he shows!"
-murmured the comte; "he has poured out his whole soul in this letter.
-He says nothing of the Comte de la Fere, and speaks of his respect for
-Louise. He cautions me on my own account, and entreats me on his. Ah!"
-continued De Guiche, with a threatening gesture, "you interfere in my
-affairs, Monsieur de Wardes, do you? Very well, then; I will shortly
-occupy myself with yours. As for you, poor Raoul,--you who intrust your
-heart to my keeping, be assured I will watch over it."
-
-With this promise, De Guiche begged Malicorne to come immediately to his
-apartments, if possible. Malicorne acknowledged the invitation with an
-activity which was the first result of his conversation with Montalais.
-And while De Guiche, who thought that his motive was undiscovered,
-cross-examined Malicorne, the latter, who appeared to be working in the
-dark, soon guessed his questioner's motives. The consequence was,
-that, after a quarter of an hour's conversation, during which De Guiche
-thought he had ascertained the whole truth with regard to La Valliere
-and the king, he had learned absolutely nothing more than his own eyes
-had already acquainted him with, while Malicorne learned, or guessed,
-that Raoul, who was absent, was fast becoming suspicious, and that De
-Guiche intended to watch over the treasure of the Hesperides. Malicorne
-accepted the office of dragon. De Guiche fancied he had done everything
-for his friend, and soon began to think of nothing but his personal
-affairs. The next evening, De Wardes's return and first appearance at
-the king's reception were announced. When that visit had been paid, the
-convalescent waited on Monsieur; De Guiche taking care, however, to be
-at Monsieur's apartments before the visit took place.
-
-
-
-Chapter XII. How De Wardes Was Received at Court.
-
-Monsieur had received De Wardes with that marked favor light and
-frivolous minds bestow on every novelty that comes in their way. De
-Wardes, who had been absent for a month, was like fresh fruit to him.
-To treat him with marked kindness was an infidelity to old friends, and
-there is always something fascinating in that; moreover, it was a sort
-of reparation to De Wardes himself. Nothing, consequently, could exceed
-the favorable notice Monsieur took of him. The Chevalier de Lorraine,
-who feared this rival but a little, but who respected a character and
-disposition only too parallel to his own in every particular, with the
-addition of a bull-dog courage he did not himself possess, received De
-Wardes with a greater display of regard and affection than even Monsieur
-had done. De Guiche, as we have said, was there also, but kept in the
-background, waiting very patiently until all these interchanges were
-over. De Wardes, while talking to the others, and even to Monsieur
-himself, had not for a moment lost sight of De Guiche, who, he
-instinctively felt, was there on his account. As soon as he had finished
-with the others, he went up to De Guiche. They exchanged the most
-courteous compliments, after which De Wardes returned to Monsieur and
-the other gentlemen.
-
-In the midst of these congratulations Madame was announced. She had
-been informed of De Wardes's arrival, and knowing all the details of his
-voyage and duel, she was not sorry to be present at the remarks she
-knew would be made, without delay, by one who, she felt assured, was her
-personal enemy. Two or three of her ladies accompanied her. De Wardes
-saluted Madame in the most graceful and respectful manner, and, as a
-commencement of hostilities, announced, in the first place, that he
-could furnish the Duke of Buckingham's friends with the latest news
-about him. This was a direct answer to the coldness with which Madame
-had received him. The attack was a vigorous one, and Madame felt the
-blow, but without appearing to have even noticed it. He rapidly cast a
-glance at Monsieur and at De Guiche,--the former colored, and the latter
-turned very pale. Madame alone preserved an unmoved countenance; but,
-as she knew how many unpleasant thoughts and feelings her enemy could
-awaken in the two persons who were listening to him, she smilingly
-bent forward towards the traveler, as if to listen to the news he had
-brought--but he was speaking of other matters. Madame was brave, even to
-imprudence; if she were to retreat, it would be inviting an attack; so,
-after the first disagreeable impression had passed away, she returned to
-the charge.
-
-"Have you suffered much from your wounds, Monsieur de Wardes?" she
-inquired, "for we have been told that you had the misfortune to get
-wounded."
-
-It was now De Wardes's turn to wince; he bit his lips, and replied, "No,
-Madame, hardly at all."
-
-"Indeed! and yet in this terribly hot weather--"
-
-"The sea-breezes were very fresh and cool, Madame, and then I had one
-consolation."
-
-"Indeed! What was it?"
-
-"The knowledge that my adversary's sufferings were still greater than my
-own."
-
-"Ah! you mean he was more seriously wounded than you were; I was not
-aware of that," said the princess, with utter indifference.
-
-"Oh, Madame, you are mistaken, or rather you pretend to misunderstand
-my remark. I did not say that he was a greater sufferer in body than
-myself; but his heart was very seriously affected."
-
-De Guiche comprehended instinctively from what direction the struggle
-was approaching; he ventured to make a sign to Madame, as if entreating
-her to retire from the contest. But she, without acknowledging De
-Guiche's gesture, without pretending to have noticed it even, and still
-smiling, continued:
-
-"Is it possible," she said, "that the Duke of Buckingham's heart was
-touched? I had no idea, until now, that a heart-wound could be cured."
-
-"Alas! Madame," replied De Wardes, politely, "every woman believes that;
-and it is this belief that gives them that superiority to man which
-confidence begets."
-
-"You misunderstand altogether, dearest," said the prince, impatiently;
-"M. de Wardes means that the Duke of Buckingham's heart had been
-touched, not by the sword, but by something sharper."
-
-"Ah! very good, very good!" exclaimed Madame. "It is a jest of M. de
-Wardes's. Very good; but I should like to know if the Duke of Buckingham
-would appreciate the jest. It is, indeed, a very great pity he is not
-here, M. de Wardes."
-
-The young man's eyes seemed to flash fire. "Oh!" he said, as he clenched
-his teeth, "there is nothing I should like better."
-
-De Guiche did not move. Madame seemed to expect that he would come to
-her assistance. Monsieur hesitated. The Chevalier de Lorraine advanced
-and continued the conversation.
-
-"Madame," he said, "De Wardes knows perfectly well that for a
-Buckingham's heart to be touched is nothing new, and what he has said
-has already taken place."
-
-"Instead of an ally, I have two enemies," murmured Madame; "two
-determined enemies, and in league with each other." And she changed the
-conversation. To change the conversation is, as every one knows, a
-right possessed by princes which etiquette requires all to respect. The
-remainder of the conversation was moderate enough in tone; the principal
-actors had rehearsed their parts. Madame withdrew easily, and Monsieur,
-who wished to question her on several matters, offered her his hand on
-leaving. The chevalier was seriously afraid that an understanding might
-be established between the husband and wife if he were to leave them
-quietly together. He therefore made his way to Monsieur's apartments, in
-order to surprise him on his return, and to destroy with a few words all
-the good impressions Madame might have been able to sow in his heart. De
-Guiche advanced towards De Wardes, who was surrounded by a large number
-of persons, and thereby indicated his wish to converse with him; De
-Wardes, at the same time, showing by his looks and by a movement of his
-head that he perfectly understood him. There was nothing in these signs
-to enable strangers to suppose they were otherwise than upon the most
-friendly footing. De Guiche could therefore turn away from him, and wait
-until he was at liberty. He had not long to wait; for De Wardes,
-freed from his questioners, approached De Guiche, and after a fresh
-salutation, they walked side by side together.
-
-"You have made a good impression since your return, my dear De Wardes,"
-said the comte.
-
-"Excellent, as you see."
-
-"And your spirits are just as lively as ever?"
-
-"Better."
-
-"And a very great happiness, too."
-
-"Why not? Everything is so ridiculous in this world, everything so
-absurd around us."
-
-"You are right."
-
-"You are of my opinion, then?"
-
-"I should think so! And what news do you bring us from yonder?"
-
-"I? None at all. I have come to look for news here."
-
-"But, tell me, you surely must have seen some people at Boulogne, one of
-our friends, for instance; it is no great time ago."
-
-"Some people--one of our friends--"
-
-"Your memory is short."
-
-"Ah! true; Bragelonne, you mean."
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-"Who was on his way to fulfil a mission, with which he was intrusted to
-King Charles II."
-
-"Precisely. Well, then, did he not tell you, or did not you tell him--"
-
-"I do not precisely know what I told him, I must confess: but I do know
-what I did _not_ tell him." De Wardes was _finesse_ itself. He
-perfectly well knew from De Guiche's tone and manner, which was cold
-and dignified, that the conversation was about to assume a disagreeable
-turn. He resolved to let it take what course it pleased, and to keep
-strictly on his guard.
-
-"May I ask you what you did not tell him?" inquired De Guiche.
-
-"All about La Valliere."
-
-"La Valliere... What is it? and what was that strange circumstance you
-seem to have known over yonder, which Bragelonne, who was here on the
-spot, was not acquainted with?"
-
-"Do you really ask me that in a serious manner?"
-
-"Nothing more so."
-
-"What! you, a member of the court, living in Madame's household, a
-friend of Monsieur's, a guest at their table, the favorite of our lovely
-princess?"
-
-Guiche colored violently from anger. "What princess are you alluding
-to?" he said.
-
-"I am only acquainted with one, my dear fellow. I am speaking of Madame
-herself. Are you devoted to another princess, then? Come, tell me."
-
-De Guiche was on the point of launching out, but he saw the drift of
-the remark. A quarrel was imminent between the two young men. De Wardes
-wished the quarrel to be only in Madame's name, while De Guiche would
-not accept it except on La Valliere's account. From this moment, it
-became a series of feigned attacks, which would have continued until one
-of the two had been touched home. De Guiche therefore resumed all the
-self-possession he could command.
-
-"There is not the slightest question in the world of Madame in this
-matter, my dear De Wardes." said Guiche, "but simply of what you were
-talking about just now."
-
-"What was I saying?"
-
-"That you had concealed certain things from Bragelonne."
-
-"Certain things which you know as well as I do," replied De Wardes.
-
-"No, upon my honor."
-
-"Nonsense."
-
-"If you tell me what they are, I shall know, but not otherwise, I
-swear."
-
-"What! I who have just arrived from a distance of sixty leagues, and you
-who have not stirred from this place, who have witnessed with your
-own eyes that which rumor informed me of at Calais! Do you now tell
-me seriously that you do not know what it is about? Oh! comte, this is
-hardly charitable of you."
-
-"As you like, De Wardes; but I again repeat, I know nothing."
-
-"You are truly discreet--well!--perhaps it is very prudent of you."
-
-"And so you will not tell me anything, will not tell me any more than
-you told Bragelonne?"
-
-"You are pretending to be deaf, I see. I am convinced that Madame could
-not possibly have more command over herself than _you_ have."
-
-"Double hypocrite," murmured Guiche to himself, "you are again returning
-to the old subject."
-
-"Very well, then," continued De Wardes, "since we find it so difficult
-to understand each other about La Valliere and Bragelonne let us speak
-about your own affairs."
-
-"Nay," said De Guiche, "I have no affairs of my own to talk about. You
-have not said anything about me, I suppose, to Bragelonne, which you
-cannot repeat to my face?"
-
-"No; but understand me, Guiche, that however much I may be ignorant of
-certain matters, I am quite as conversant with others. If, for instance,
-we were conversing about the intimacies of the Duke of Buckingham at
-Paris, as I did during my journey with the duke, I could tell you a
-great many interesting circumstances. Would you like me to mention
-them?"
-
-De Guiche passed his hand across his forehead, which was covered
-in perspiration. "No, no," he said, "a hundred times no! I have no
-curiosity for matters which do not concern me. The Duke of Buckingham
-is for me nothing more than a simple acquaintance, whilst Raoul is
-an intimate friend. I have not the slightest curiosity to learn what
-happened to the duke, while I have, on the contrary, the greatest
-interest in all that happened to Raoul."
-
-"In Paris?"
-
-"Yes, in Paris, or Boulogne. You understand I am on the spot; if
-anything should happen, I am here to meet it; whilst Raoul is absent,
-and has only myself to represent him; so, Raoul's affairs before my
-own."
-
-"But he will return?"
-
-"Not, however, until his mission is completed. In the meantime, you
-understand, evil reports cannot be permitted to circulate about him
-without my looking into them."
-
-"And for a better reason still, that he will remain some time in
-London," said De Wardes, chuckling.
-
-"You think so," said De Guiche, simply.
-
-"Think so, indeed! do you suppose he was sent to London for no other
-purpose than to go there and return again immediately? No, no; he was
-sent to London to remain there."
-
-"Ah! De Wardes," said De Guiche, grasping De Wardes's hand, "that is a
-very serious suspicion concerning Bragelonne, which completely confirms
-what he wrote to me from Boulogne."
-
-De Wardes resumed his former coldness of manner: his love of raillery
-had led him too far, and by his own imprudence, he had laid himself open
-to attack.
-
-"Well, tell me, what did he write to you about?" he inquired.
-
-"He told me that you had artfully insinuated some injurious remarks
-against La Valliere, and that you had seemed to laugh at his great
-confidence in that young girl."
-
-"Well, it is perfectly true I did so," said De Wardes, "and I was quite
-ready, at the time, to hear from the Vicomte de Bragelonne that which
-every man expects from another whenever anything may have been said
-to displease him. In the same way, for instance, if I were seeking a
-quarrel with you, I should tell you that Madame after having shown
-the greatest preference for the Duke of Buckingham, is at this moment
-supposed to have sent the handsome duke away for your benefit."
-
-"Oh! that would not wound me in the slightest degree, my dear De
-Wardes," said De Guiche, smiling, notwithstanding the shiver that
-ran through his whole frame. "Why, such a favor would be too great a
-happiness."
-
-"I admit that, but if I absolutely wished to quarrel with you, I should
-try and invent a falsehood, perhaps, and speak to you about a certain
-arbor, where you and that illustrious princess were together--I should
-speak also of certain gratifications, of certain kissings of the hand;
-and you who are so secret on all occasions, so hasty, so punctilious--"
-
-"Well," said De Guiche, interrupting him, with a smile upon his lips,
-although he almost felt as if he were going to die; "I swear I should
-not care for that, nor should I in any way contradict you; for you must
-know, my dear marquis, that for all matters which concern myself I am a
-block of ice; but it is a very different thing when an absent friend
-is concerned, a friend, who, on leaving, confided his interests to my
-safe-keeping; for such a friend, De Wardes, believe me, I am like fire
-itself."
-
-"I understand you, Monsieur de Guiche. In spite of what you say, there
-cannot be any question between us, just now, either of Bragelonne or of
-this insignificant girl, whose name is La Valliere."
-
-At this moment some of the younger courtiers were crossing the
-apartment, and having already heard the few words which had just been
-pronounced, were able also to hear those which were about to follow. De
-Wardes observed this, and continued aloud:--"Oh! if La Valliere were a
-coquette like Madame, whose innocent flirtations, I am sure, were, first
-of all, the cause of the Duke of Buckingham being sent back to England,
-and afterwards were the reason of your being sent into exile; for you
-will not deny, I suppose, that Madame's pretty ways really had a certain
-influence over you?"
-
-The courtiers drew nearer to the speakers, Saint-Aignan at their head,
-and then Manicamp.
-
-"But, my dear fellow, whose fault was that?" said De Guiche, laughing.
-"I am a vain, conceited fellow, I know, and everybody else knows it too.
-I took seriously that which was only intended as a jest, and got myself
-exiled for my pains. But I saw my error. I overcame my vanity, and I
-obtained my recall, by making the _amende honorable_, and by promising
-myself to overcome this defect; and the consequence is, that I am so
-thoroughly cured, that I now laugh at the very thing which, three or
-four days ago, would have almost broken my heart. But Raoul is in love,
-and is loved in return; he cannot laugh at the reports which disturb his
-happiness--reports which you seem to have undertaken to interpret, when
-you know, marquis, as I do, as these gentlemen do, as every one does in
-fact, that all such reports are pure calumny."
-
-"Calumny!" exclaimed De Wardes, furious at seeing himself caught in the
-snare by De Guiche's coolness of temper.
-
-"Certainly--calumny. Look at this letter from him, in which he tells me
-you have spoken ill of Mademoiselle de la Valliere; and where he asks
-me, if what you reported about this young girl is true or not. Do you
-wish me to appeal to these gentlemen, De Wardes, to decide?" And with
-admirable coolness, De Guiche read aloud the paragraph of the letter
-which referred to La Valliere. "And now," continued De Guiche, "there
-is no doubt in the world, as far as I am concerned, that you wished
-to disturb Bragelonne's peace of mind, and that your remarks were
-maliciously intended."
-
-De Wardes looked round him, to see if he could find support from any
-one; but, at the idea that De Wardes had insulted, either directly or
-indirectly, the idol of the day, every one shook his head; and De Wardes
-saw that he was in the wrong.
-
-"Messieurs," said De Guiche, intuitively divining the general feeling,
-"my discussion with Monsieur de Wardes refers to a subject so delicate
-in its nature, that it is most important no one should hear more than
-you have already heard. Close the doors, then, I beg you, and let us
-finish our conversation in the manner which becomes two gentlemen, one
-of whom has given the other the lie."
-
-"Messieurs, messieurs!" exclaimed those who were present.
-
-"Is it your opinion, then, that I was wrong in defending Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere?" said De Guiche. "In that case, I pass judgment upon
-myself, and am ready to withdraw the offensive words I may have used to
-Monsieur de Wardes."
-
-"The deuce! certainly not!" said Saint-Aignan. "Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere is an angel."
-
-"Virtue and purity itself," said Manicamp.
-
-"You see, Monsieur de Wardes," said De Guiche, "I am not the only one
-who undertakes the defense of that poor girl. I entreat you, therefore,
-messieurs, a second time, to leave us. You see, it is impossible we
-could be more calm and composed than we are."
-
-It was the very thing the courtiers wished; some went out at one door,
-and the rest at the other, and the two young men were left alone.
-
-"Well played," said De Wardes, to the comte.
-
-"Was it not?" replied the latter.
-
-"How can it be wondered at, my dear fellow; I have got quite rusty in
-the country, while the command you have acquired over yourself, comte,
-confounds me; a man always gains something in women's society; so, pray
-accept my congratulations."
-
-"I do accept them."
-
-"And I will make Madame a present of them."
-
-"And now, my dear Monsieur de Wardes, let us speak as loud as you
-please."
-
-"Do not defy me."
-
-"I do defy you, for you are known to be an evil-minded man; if you do
-that, you will be looked upon as a coward, too; and Monsieur would have
-you hanged, this evening, at his window-casement. Speak, my dear De
-Wardes, speak."
-
-"I have fought already."
-
-"But not quite enough, yet."
-
-"I see, you would not be sorry to fight with me while my wounds are
-still open."
-
-"No; better still."
-
-"The deuce! you are unfortunate in the moment you have chosen; a duel,
-after the one I have just fought, would hardly suit me; I have lost too
-much blood at Boulogne; at the slightest effort my wounds would open
-again, and you would really have too good a bargain."
-
-"True," said De Guiche; "and yet, on your arrival here, your looks and
-your arms showed there was nothing the matter with you."
-
-"Yes, my arms are all right, but my legs are weak; and then, I have not
-had a foil in my hand since that devil of a duel; and you, I am sure,
-have been fencing every day, in order to carry your little conspiracy
-against me to a successful issue."
-
-"Upon my honor, monsieur," replied De Guiche, "it is six months since I
-last practiced."
-
-"No, comte, after due reflection, I will not fight, at least, with you.
-I will await Bragelonne's return, since you say it is Bragelonne who
-finds fault with me."
-
-"Oh no, indeed! You shall not wait until Bragelonne's return," exclaimed
-the comte, losing all command over himself, "for you have said that
-Bragelonne might, possibly, be some time before he returns; and, in the
-meanwhile, your wicked insinuations would have had their effect."
-
-"Yet, I shall have my excuse. So take care."
-
-"I will give you a week to finish your recovery."
-
-"That is better. We will wait a week."
-
-"Yes, yes, I understand; a week will give time to my adversary to make
-his escape. No, no; I will not give you one day, even."
-
-"You are mad, monsieur," said De Wardes, retreating a step.
-
-"And you are a coward, if you do not fight willingly. Nay, what is
-more, I will denounce you to the king, as having refused to fight, after
-having insulted La Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" said De Wardes, "you are dangerously treacherous, though you pass
-for a man of honor."
-
-"There is nothing more dangerous than the treachery, as you term it, of
-the man whose conduct is always loyal and upright."
-
-"Restore me the use of my legs, then, or get yourself bled, till you are
-as white as I am, so as to equalize our chances."
-
-"No, no; I have something better than that to propose."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"We will fight on horseback, and will exchange three pistol-shots each.
-You are a first rate marksman. I have seen you bring down swallows with
-single balls, and at full gallop. Do not deny it, for I have seen you
-myself."
-
-"I believe you are right," said De Wardes; "and as that is the case, it
-is not unlikely I might kill you."
-
-"You would be rendering me a very great service, if you did."
-
-"I will do my best."
-
-"Is it agreed? Give me your hand upon it."
-
-"There it is: but on one condition, however."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"That not a word shall be said about it to the king."
-
-"Not a word, I swear."
-
-"I will go and get my horse, then."
-
-"And I, mine."
-
-"Where shall we meet?"
-
-"In the plain; I know an admirable place."
-
-"Shall we go together?"
-
-"Why not?"
-
-And both of them, on their way to the stables, passed beneath Madame's
-windows, which were faintly lighted; a shadow could be seen behind the
-lace curtains. "There is a woman," said De Wardes, smiling, "who
-does not suspect that we are going to fight--to die, perhaps, on her
-account."
-
-
-
-Chapter XIII. The Combat.
-
-De Wardes and De Guiche selected their horses, and saddled them with
-their own hands, with holster saddles. De Guiche, having two pairs of
-pistols, went to his apartments to get them; and after having loaded
-them, gave the choice to De Wardes, who selected the pair he had made
-use of twenty times before--the same, indeed, with which De Guiche had
-seen him kill swallows flying. "You will not be surprised," he said, "if
-I take every precaution. You know the weapons well, and, consequently, I
-am only making the chances equal."
-
-"Your remark was quite useless," replied De Guiche, "and you have done
-no more than you are entitled to do."
-
-"Now," said De Wardes, "I beg you to have the goodness to help me to
-mount; for I still experience a little difficulty in doing so."
-
-"In that case, we had better settle the matter on foot."
-
-"No; once in the saddle, I shall be all right."
-
-"Very good, then; we will not speak of it again," said De Guiche, as he
-assisted De Wardes to mount his horse.
-
-"And now," continued the young man, "in our eagerness to murder one
-another, we have neglected one circumstance."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That it is quite dark, and we shall almost be obliged to grope about,
-in order to kill."
-
-"Oh!" said De Guiche, "you are as anxious as I am that everything should
-be done in proper order."
-
-"Yes; but I do not wish people to say that you have assassinated me,
-any more than, supposing I were to kill you, I should myself like to be
-accused of such a crime."
-
-"Did any one make a similar remark about your duel with the Duke of
-Buckingham?" said De Guiche; "it took place precisely under the same
-conditions as ours."
-
-"Very true; but there was still light enough to see by; and we were up
-to our middles almost, in the water; besides, there were a good number
-of spectators on shore, looking at us."
-
-De Guiche reflected for a moment; and the thought which had already
-presented itself to him became more confirmed--that De Wardes wished to
-have witnesses present, in order to bring back the conversation about
-Madame, and to give a new turn to the combat. He avoided saying a
-word in reply, therefore; and, as De Wardes once more looked at him
-interrogatively, he replied, by a movement of the head, that it would be
-best to let things remain as they were. The two adversaries consequently
-set off, and left the chateau by the same gate, close to which we may
-remember to have seen Montalais and Malicorne together. The night, as
-if to counteract the extreme heat of the day, had gathered the clouds
-together in masses which were moving slowly along from the west to the
-east. The vault above, without a clear spot anywhere visible, or without
-the faintest indication of thunder, seemed to hang heavily over
-the earth, and soon began, by the force of the wind, to split into
-streamers, like a huge sheet torn to shreds. Large and warm drops of
-rain began to fall heavily, and gathered the dust into globules, which
-rolled along the ground. At the same time, the hedges, which seemed
-conscious of the approaching storm, the thirsty plants, the drooping
-branches of the trees, exhaled a thousand aromatic odors, which revived
-in the mind tender recollections, thoughts of youth, endless life,
-happiness, and love. "How fresh the earth smells," said De Wardes; "it
-is a piece of coquetry to draw us to her."
-
-"By the by," replied De Guiche, "several ideas have just occurred to me;
-and I wish to have your opinion upon them."
-
-"Relative to--"
-
-"Relative to our engagement."
-
-"It is quite some time, in fact, that we should begin to arrange
-matters."
-
-"Is it to be an ordinary combat, and conducted according to established
-custom?"
-
-"Let me first know what your established custom is."
-
-"That we dismount in any particular open space that may suit us, fasten
-our horses to the nearest object, meet, each without our pistols in our
-hands, and afterwards retire for a hundred and fifty paces, in order to
-advance on each other."
-
-"Very good; that is precisely the way in which I killed poor Follivent,
-three weeks ago, at Saint-Denis."
-
-"I beg your pardon, but you forgot one circumstance."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That in your duel with Follivent you advanced towards each other on
-foot, your swords between your teeth, and your pistols in your hands."
-
-"True."
-
-"While now, on the contrary, as you cannot walk, you yourself admit that
-we shall have to mount our horses again, and charge; and the first who
-wishes to fire will do so."
-
-"That is the best course, no doubt; but it is quite dark; we must make
-allowances for more missed shots than would be the case in the daytime."
-
-"Very well; each will fire three times; the pair of pistols already
-loaded, and one reload."
-
-"Excellent! Where shall our engagement take place?"
-
-"Have you any preference?"
-
-"No."
-
-"You see that small wood which lies before us?"
-
-"The wood which is called Rochin?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"You know it?"
-
-"Perfectly."
-
-"You know that there is an open glade in the center?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, this glade is admirably adapted for such a purpose, with a
-variety of roads, by-places, paths, ditches, windings, and avenues. We
-could not find a better spot."
-
-"I am perfectly satisfied, if you are so. We are at our destination, if
-I am not mistaken."
-
-"Yes. Look at the beautiful open space in the center. The faint light
-which the stars afford seems concentrated in this spot; the woods which
-surround it seem, with their barriers, to form its natural limits."
-
-"Very good. Do as you say."
-
-"Let us first settle the conditions."
-
-"These are mine; if you have any objection to make you will state it."
-
-"I am listening."
-
-"If the horse be killed, its rider will be obliged to fight on foot."
-
-"That is a matter of course, since we have no change of horses here."
-
-"But that does not oblige his adversary to dismount."
-
-"His adversary will, in fact, be free to act as he likes."
-
-"The adversaries, having once met in close contact, cannot quit each
-other under any circumstances, and may, consequently, fire muzzle to
-muzzle."
-
-"Agreed."
-
-"Three shots and no more will do, I suppose?"
-
-"Quite sufficient, I think. Here are powder and balls for your pistols;
-measure out three charges, take three balls, I will do the same; then we
-will throw the rest of the powder and balls away."
-
-"And we will solemnly swear," said De Wardes, "that we have neither
-balls nor powder about us?"
-
-"Agreed; and I swear it," said De Guiche, holding his hand towards
-heaven, a gesture which De Wardes imitated.
-
-"And now, my dear comte," said De Wardes, "allow me to tell you that I
-am in no way your dupe. You already are, or soon will be, the accepted
-lover of Madame. I have detected your secret, and you are afraid I shall
-tell others of it. You wish to kill me, to insure my silence; that is
-very clear; and in your place, I should do the same." De Guiche hung
-down his head. "Only," continued De Wardes, triumphantly, "was it
-really worth while, tell me, to throw this affair of Bragelonne's on my
-shoulders? But, take care, my dear fellow; in bringing the wild boar to
-bay, you enrage him to madness; in running down the fox, you endow him
-with the ferocity of the jaguar. The consequence is, that brought to bay
-by you, I shall defend myself to the very last."
-
-"You will be quite right to do so."
-
-"Yes; but take care; I shall work more harm than you think. In the first
-place, as a beginning, you will readily suppose that I have not been
-absurd enough to lock up my secret, or your secret rather, in my own
-breast. There is a friend of mine, who resembles me in every way, a
-man whom you know very well, who shares my secret with me; so, pray
-understand, that if you kill me, my death will not have been of much
-service to you; whilst, on the contrary, if I kill you--and everything
-is possible, you know--you understand?" De Guiche shuddered. "If I kill
-you," continued De Wardes, "you will have secured two mortal enemies to
-Madame, who will do their very utmost to ruin her."
-
-"Oh! monsieur," exclaimed De Guiche, furiously, "do not reckon upon my
-death so easily. Of the two enemies you speak of, I trust most
-heartily to dispose of one immediately, and the other at the earliest
-opportunity."
-
-The only reply De Wardes made was a burst of laughter, so diabolical in
-its sound, that a superstitious man would have been terrified. But De
-Guiche was not so impressionable as that. "I think," he said, "that
-everything is now settled, Monsieur de Wardes; so have the goodness to
-take your place first, unless you would prefer me to do so."
-
-"By no means," said De Wardes. "I shall be delighted to save you the
-slightest trouble." And spurring his horse to a gallop, he crossed the
-wide open space, and took his stand at that point of the circumference
-of the cross-road immediately opposite to where De Guiche was stationed.
-De Guiche remained motionless. At this distance of a hundred paces,
-the two adversaries were absolutely invisible to each other, being
-completely concealed by the thick shade of elms and chestnuts. A minute
-elapsed amidst the profoundest silence. At the end of the minute, each
-of them, in the deep shade in which he was concealed, heard the double
-click of the trigger, as they put the pistols on full cock. De Guiche,
-adopting the usual tactics, put his horse to a gallop, persuaded that he
-should render his safety doubly sure by the movement, as well as by the
-speed of the animal. He directed his course in a straight line towards
-the point where, in his opinion, De Wardes would be stationed; and he
-expected to meet De Wardes about half-way; but in this he was mistaken.
-He continued his course, presuming that his adversary was impatiently
-awaiting his approach. When, however, he had gone about two-thirds of
-the distance, he beheld the trees suddenly illuminated and a ball flew
-by, cutting the plume of his hat in two. Nearly at the same moment, and
-as if the flash of the first shot had served to indicate the direction
-of the other, a second report was heard, and a second ball passed
-through the head of De Guiche's horse, a little below the ear. The
-animal fell. These two reports, proceeding from the very opposite
-direction in which he expected to find De Wardes, surprised him a
-great deal; but as he was a man of amazing self-possession, he prepared
-himself for his horse falling, but not so completely, however, that the
-toe of his boot escaped being caught under the animal as it fell. Very
-fortunately the horse in its dying agonies moved so as to enable him to
-release the leg which was less entangled than the other. De Guiche rose,
-felt himself all over, and found that he was not wounded. At the very
-moment he had felt the horse tottering under him, he placed his pistols
-in the holsters, afraid that the force of the fall might explode one at
-least, if not both of them, by which he would have been disarmed, and
-left utterly without defense. Once on his feet, he took the pistols out
-of the holsters, and advanced towards the spot where, by the light of
-the flash, he had seen De Wardes appear. De Wardes had, at the first
-shot, accounted for the maneuver, than which nothing could have been
-simpler. Instead of advancing to meet De Guiche, or remaining in his
-place to await his approach, De Wardes had, for about fifteen paces,
-followed the circle of the shadow which hid him from his adversary's
-observation, and at the very moment when the latter presented his flank
-in his career, he had fired from the place where he stood, carefully
-taking aim, and assisted instead of being inconvenienced by the horse's
-gallop. It has been seen that, notwithstanding the darkness, the first
-ball passed hardly more than an inch above De Guiche's head. De Wardes
-had so confidently relied upon his aim, that he thought he had seen De
-Guiche fall; his astonishment was extreme when he saw he still remained
-erect in his saddle. He hastened to fire his second shot, but his hand
-trembled, and he killed the horse instead. It would be a most fortunate
-chance for him if De Guiche were to remain held fast under the animal.
-Before he could have freed himself, De Wardes would have loaded his
-pistol and had De Guiche at his mercy. But De Guiche, on the contrary,
-was up, and had three shots to fire. De Guiche immediately understood
-the position of affairs. It would be necessary to exceed De Wardes in
-rapidity of execution. He advanced, therefore, so as to reach him
-before he should have had time to reload his pistol. De Wardes saw him
-approaching like a tempest. The ball was rather tight, and offered some
-resistance to the ramrod. To load carelessly would be simply to lose
-his last chance; to take the proper care in loading meant fatal loss of
-time, or rather, throwing away his life. He made his horse bound on
-one side. De Guiche turned round also, and, at the moment the horse was
-quiet again, fired, and the ball carried off De Wardes's hat from
-his head. De Wardes now knew that he had a moment's time at his own
-disposal; he availed himself of it in order to finish loading his
-pistol. De Guiche, noticing that his adversary did not fall, threw the
-pistol he had just discharged aside, and walked straight towards
-De Wardes, elevating the second pistol as he did so. He had hardly
-proceeded more than two or three paces, when De Wardes took aim at him
-as he was walking, and fired. An exclamation of anger was De Guiche's
-answer; the comte's arm contracted and dropped motionless by his side,
-and the pistol fell from his grasp. His anxiety was excessive. "I am
-lost," murmured De Wardes, "he is not mortally wounded." At the very
-moment, however, De Guiche was about to raise his pistol against De
-Wardes, the head, shoulders, and limbs of the comte seemed to collapse.
-He heaved a deep-drawn sigh, tottered, and fell at the feet of De
-Wardes's horse.
-
-"That is all right," said De Wardes, and gathering up the reins, he
-struck his spurs into the horse's sides. The horse cleared the comte's
-motionless body, and bore De Wardes rapidly back to the chateau. When
-he arrived there, he remained a quarter of an hour deliberating within
-himself as to the proper course to be adopted. In his impatience to
-leave the field of battle, he had omitted to ascertain whether De Guiche
-were dead or not. A double hypothesis presented itself to De Wardes's
-agitated mind; either De Guiche was killed, or De Guiche was wounded
-only. If he were killed, why should he leave his body in that manner to
-the tender mercies of the wolves; it was a perfectly useless piece of
-cruelty, for if De Guiche were dead, he certainly could not breathe a
-syllable of what had passed; if he were not killed, why should he, De
-Wardes, in leaving him there uncared for, allow himself to be regarded
-as a savage, incapable of one generous feeling? This last consideration
-determined his line of conduct.
-
-De Wardes immediately instituted inquires after Manicamp. He was told
-that Manicamp had been looking after De Guiche, and, not knowing where
-to find him, had retired to bed. De Wardes went and awoke the sleeper,
-without any delay, and related the whole affair to him, which Manicamp
-listened to in perfect silence, but with an expression of momentarily
-increasing energy, of which his face could hardly have been supposed
-capable. It was only when De Wardes had finished, that Manicamp uttered
-the words, "Let us go."
-
-As they proceeded, Manicamp became more and more excited, and in
-proportion as De Wardes related the details of the affair to him, his
-countenance assumed every moment a darker expression. "And so," he said,
-when De Wardes had finished, "you think he is dead?"
-
-"Alas, I do."
-
-"And you fought in that manner, without witnesses?"
-
-"He insisted upon it."
-
-"It is very singular."
-
-"What do you mean by saying it is singular?"
-
-"That it is very unlike Monsieur de Guiche's disposition."
-
-"You do not doubt my word, I suppose?"
-
-"Hum! hum!"
-
-"You do doubt it, then?"
-
-"A little. But I shall doubt it more than ever, I warn you, if I find
-the poor fellow is really dead."
-
-"Monsieur Manicamp!"
-
-"Monsieur de Wardes!"
-
-"It seems you intend to insult me."
-
-"Just as you please. The fact is, I never did like people who come and
-say, 'I have killed such and such a gentleman in a corner; it is a great
-pity, but I killed him in a perfectly honorable manner.' It has an ugly
-appearance, M. de Wardes."
-
-"Silence! we have arrived."
-
-In fact, the glade could now be seen, and in the open space lay the
-motionless body of the dead horse. To the right of the horse, upon the
-dark grass, with his face against the ground, the poor comte lay, bathed
-in his blood. He had remained in the same spot, and did not even seem to
-have made the slightest movement. Manicamp threw himself on his knees,
-lifted the comte in his arms, and found him quite cold, and steeped in
-blood. He let him gently fall again. Then, stretching out his hand and
-feeling all over the ground close to where the comte lay, he sought
-until he found De Guiche's pistol.
-
-"By Heaven!" he said, rising to his feet, pale as death and with the
-pistol in his hand, "you are not mistaken, he is quite dead."
-
-"Dead!" repeated De Wardes.
-
-"Yes; and his pistol is still loaded," added Manicamp, looking into the
-pan.
-
-"But I told you that I took aim as he was walking towards me, and fired
-at him at the very moment he was going to fire at me."
-
-"Are you quite sure that you fought with him, Monsieur de Wardes? I
-confess that I am very much afraid it has been a foul assassination.
-Nay, nay, no exclamations! You have had your three shots, and his pistol
-is still loaded. You have killed his horse, and he, De Guiche, one of
-the best marksmen in France, has not touched even either your horse
-or yourself. Well, Monsieur de Wardes, you have been very unlucky in
-bringing me here; all the blood in my body seems to have mounted to my
-head; and I verily believe that since so good an opportunity presents
-itself, I shall blow your brains out on the spot. So, Monsieur de
-Wardes, recommend yourself to Heaven."
-
-"Monsieur Manicamp, you cannot think of such a thing!"
-
-"On the contrary, I am thinking of it very strongly."
-
-"Would you assassinate me?"
-
-"Without the slightest remorse, at least for the present."
-
-"Are you a gentleman?"
-
-"I have given a great many proofs of that."
-
-"Let me defend my life, then, at least."
-
-"Very likely; in order, I suppose, that you may do to me what you have
-done to poor De Guiche."
-
-And Manicamp slowly raised his pistol to the height of De Wardes's
-breast, and with arm stretched out, and a fixed, determined look on his
-face, took a careful aim.
-
-De Wardes did not attempt a flight; he was completely terrified. In the
-midst, however, of this horrible silence, which lasted about a second,
-but which seemed an age to De Wardes, a faint sigh was heard.
-
-"Oh," exclaimed De Wardes, "he still lives! Help, De Guiche, I am about
-to be assassinated!"
-
-Manicamp fell back a step or two, and the two young men saw the comte
-raise himself slowly and painfully upon one hand. Manicamp threw the
-pistol away a dozen paces, and ran to his friend, uttering a cry of
-delight. De Wardes wiped his forehead, which was covered with a cold
-perspiration.
-
-"It was just in time," he murmured.
-
-"Where are you hurt?" inquired Manicamp of De Guiche, "and whereabouts
-are you wounded?"
-
-De Guiche showed him his mutilated hand and his chest covered with
-blood.
-
-"Comte," exclaimed De Wardes, "I am accused of having assassinated you;
-speak, I implore you, and say that I fought loyally."
-
-"Perfectly so," said the wounded man; "Monsieur de Wardes fought quite
-loyally, and whoever says the contrary will make an enemy of me."
-
-"Then, sir," said Manicamp, "assist me, in the first place, to carry
-this gentleman home, and I will afterwards give you every satisfaction
-you please; or, if you are in a hurry, we can do better still; let
-us stanch the blood from the comte's wounds here, with your
-pocket-handkerchief and mine, and then, as there are two shots left, we
-can have them between us."
-
-"Thank you," said De Wardes. "Twice already, in one hour, I have seen
-death too close at hand to be agreeable; I don't like his look at all,
-and I prefer your apologies."
-
-Manicamp burst out laughing, and Guiche, too, in spite of his
-sufferings. The two young men wished to carry him, but he declared
-he felt quite strong enough to walk alone. The ball had broken his
-ring-finger and his little finger, and then had glanced along his side,
-but without penetrating deeply into his chest. It was the pain rather
-than the seriousness of the wound, therefore, which had overcome De
-Guiche. Manicamp passed his arm under one of the count's shoulders, and
-De Wardes did the same with the other, and in this way they brought
-him back to Fontainebleau, to the house of the same doctor who had been
-present at the death of the Franciscan, Aramis's predecessor.
-
-
-
-Chapter XIV. The King's Supper.
-
-The king, while these matters were being arranged, was sitting at the
-supper-table, and the not very large number of guests for that day had
-taken their seats too, after the usual gesture intimating the royal
-permission. At this period of Louis XIV.'s reign, although etiquette was
-not governed by the strict regulations subsequently adopted, the French
-court had entirely thrown aside the traditions of good-fellowship and
-patriarchal affability existing in the time of Henry IV., which the
-suspicious mind of Louis XIII. had gradually replaced with pompous state
-and ceremony, which he despaired of being able fully to realize.
-
-The king, therefore, was seated alone at a small separate table, which,
-like the desk of a president, overlooked the adjoining tables. Although
-we say a small table, we must not omit to add that this small table was
-the largest one there. Moreover, it was the one on which were placed the
-greatest number and quantity of dishes, consisting of fish, game, meat,
-fruit, vegetables, and preserves. The king was young and full of vigor
-and energy, very fond of hunting, addicted to all violent exercises
-of the body, possessing, besides, like all the members of the Bourbon
-family, a rapid digestion and an appetite speedily renewed. Louis XIV.
-was a formidable table-companion; he delighted in criticising his cooks;
-but when he honored them by praise and commendation, the honor was
-overwhelming. The king began by eating several kinds of soup, either
-mixed together or taken separately. He intermixed, or rather separated,
-each of the soups by a glass of old wine. He ate quickly and somewhat
-greedily. Porthos, who from the beginning had, out of respect, been
-waiting for a jog of D'Artagnan's arm, seeing the king make such rapid
-progress, turned to the musketeer and said in a low voice:
-
-"It seems as if one might go on now; his majesty is very encouraging,
-from the example he sets. Look."
-
-"The king eats," said D'Artagnan, "but he talks at the same time; try
-and manage matters in such a manner that, if he should happen to address
-a remark to you, he will not find you with your mouth full--which would
-be very disrespectful."
-
-"The best way, in that case," said Porthos, "is to eat no supper at all;
-and yet I am very hungry, I admit, and everything looks and smells most
-invitingly, as if appealing to all my senses at once."
-
-"Don't think of not eating for a moment," said D'Artagnan; "that would
-put his majesty out terribly. The king has a saying, 'that he who works
-well, eats well,' and he does not like people to eat indifferently at
-his table."
-
-"How can I avoid having my mouth full if I eat?" said Porthos.
-
-"All you have to do," replied the captain of the musketeers, "is simply
-to swallow what you have in it, whenever the king does you the honor to
-address a remark to you."
-
-"Very good," said Porthos; and from that moment he began to eat with a
-certain well-bred enthusiasm.
-
-The king occasionally looked at the different persons who were at
-table with him, and, _en connoisseur_, could appreciate the different
-dispositions of his guests.
-
-"Monsieur du Vallon!" he said.
-
-Porthos was enjoying a _salmi de lievre_, and swallowed half of the
-back. His name, pronounced in such a manner, made him start, and by a
-vigorous effort of his gullet he absorbed the whole mouthful.
-
-"Sire," replied Porthos, in a stifled voice, but sufficiently
-intelligible, nevertheless.
-
-"Let those _filets d'agneau_ be handed to Monsieur du Vallon," said the
-king; "do you like brown meats, M. du Vallon?"
-
-"Sire, I like everything," replied Porthos.
-
-D'Artagnan whispered: "Everything your majesty sends me."
-
-Porthos repeated: "Everything your majesty sends me," an observation
-which the king apparently received with great satisfaction.
-
-"People eat well who work well," replied the king, delighted to have _en
-tete-a-tete_ a guest who could eat as Porthos did. Porthos received the
-dish of lamb, and put a portion of it on his plate.
-
-"Well?" said the king.
-
-"Exquisite," said Porthos, calmly.
-
-"Have you as good mutton in your part of the country, Monsieur du
-Vallon?" continued the king.
-
-"Sire, I believe that from my own province, as everywhere else, the best
-of everything is sent to Paris for your majesty's use; but, on the other
-hand, I do not eat lamb in the same way your majesty does."
-
-"Ah, ah! and how do you eat it?"
-
-"Generally, I have a lamb dressed whole."
-
-"_Whole?_"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"In what manner, Monsieur du Vallon?"
-
-"In this, sire: my cook, who is a German, first stuffs the lamb in
-question with small sausages he procures from Strasburg, force-meat
-balls from Troyes, and larks from Pithiviers; by some means or other,
-which I am not acquainted with, he bones the lamb as he would do a fowl,
-leaving the skin on, however, which forms a brown crust all over the
-animal; when it is cut in beautiful slices, in the same way as an
-enormous sausage, a rose-colored gravy pours forth, which is as
-agreeable to the eye as it is exquisite to the palate." And Porthos
-finished by smacking his lips.
-
-The king opened his eyes with delight, and, while cutting some of the
-_faisan en daube_, which was being handed to him, he said:
-
-"That is a dish I should very much like to taste, Monsieur du Vallon. Is
-it possible! a whole lamb!"
-
-"Absolutely an entire lamb, sire."
-
-"Pass those pheasants to M. du Vallon; I perceive he is an amateur."
-
-The order was immediately obeyed. Then, continuing the conversation, he
-said: "And you do not find the lamb too fat?"
-
-"No, sire, the fat falls down at the same time as the gravy does, and
-swims on the surface; then the servant who carves removes the fat with a
-spoon, which I have had expressly made for that purpose."
-
-"Where do you reside?" inquired the king.
-
-"At Pierrefonds, sire."
-
-"At Pierrefonds; where is that, M. du Vallon--near Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Oh, no, sire! Pierrefonds is in the Soissonnais."
-
-"I thought you alluded to the lamb on account of the salt marshes."
-
-"No, sire, I have marshes which are not salt, it is true, but which are
-not the less valuable on that account."
-
-The king had now arrived at the _entrements_, but without losing sight
-of Porthos, who continued to play his part in the best manner.
-
-"You have an excellent appetite, M. du Vallon," said the king, "and you
-make an admirable guest at table."
-
-"Ah! sire, if your majesty were ever to pay a visit to Pierrefonds,
-we would both of us eat our lamb together; for your appetite is not an
-indifferent one by any means."
-
-D'Artagnan gave Porthos a kick under the table, which made Porthos color
-up.
-
-"At your majesty's present happy age," said Porthos, in order to repair
-the mistake he had made, "I was in the musketeers, and nothing could
-ever satisfy me then. Your majesty has an excellent appetite, as I have
-already had the honor of mentioning, but you select what you eat with
-quite too much refinement to be called for one moment a great eater."
-
-The king seemed charmed at his guest's politeness.
-
-"Will you try some of these creams?" he said to Porthos.
-
-"Sire, you majesty treats me with far too much kindness to prevent me
-speaking the whole truth."
-
-"Pray do so, M. du Vallon."
-
-"Will, sire, with regard to sweet dishes I only recognize pastry, and
-even that should be rather solid; all these frothy substances swell the
-stomach, and occupy a space which seems to me to be too precious to be
-so badly tenanted."
-
-"Ah! gentlemen," said the king, indicating Porthos by a gesture, "here
-is indeed a model of gastronomy. It was in such a manner that our
-fathers, who so well knew what good living was, used to _eat_, while
-we," added his majesty, "do nothing but tantalize with our stomachs."
-And as he spoke, he took the breast of a chicken with ham, while Porthos
-attacked a dish of partridges and quails. The cup-bearer filled his
-majesty's glass. "Give M. du Vallon some of my wine," said the king.
-This was one of the greatest honors of the royal table. D'Artagnan
-pressed his friend's knee. "If you could only manage to swallow the half
-of that boar's head I see yonder," said he to Porthos, "I shall believe
-you will be a duke and peer within the next twelvemonth."
-
-"Presently," said Porthos, phlegmatically; "I shall come to that by and
-by."
-
-In fact it was not long before it came to the boar's turn, for the king
-seemed to take pleasure in urging on his guest; he did not pass any
-of the dishes to Porthos until he had tasted them himself, and he
-accordingly took some of the boar's head. Porthos showed that he could
-keep pace with his sovereign; and, instead of eating the half, as
-D'Artagnan had told him, he ate three-fourths of it. "It is impossible,"
-said the king in an undertone, "that a gentleman who eats so good a
-supper every day, and who has such beautiful teeth, can be otherwise
-than the most straightforward, upright man in my kingdom."
-
-"Do you hear?" said D'Artagnan in his friend's ear.
-
-"Yes; I think I am rather in favor," said Porthos, balancing himself on
-his chair.
-
-"Oh! you are in luck's way."
-
-The king and Porthos continued to eat in the same manner, to the great
-satisfaction of the other guests, some of whom, from emulation, had
-attempted to follow them, but were obliged to give up half-way. The
-king soon began to get flushed and the reaction of the blood to his face
-announced that the moment of repletion had arrived. It was then that
-Louis XIV., instead of becoming gay and cheerful, as most good livers
-generally do, became dull, melancholy, and taciturn. Porthos, on the
-contrary, was lively and communicative. D'Artagnan's foot had more than
-once to remind him of this peculiarity of the king. The dessert now
-made its appearance. The king had ceased to think anything further of
-Porthos; he turned his eyes anxiously towards the entrance-door, and
-he was heard occasionally to inquire how it happened that Monsieur de
-Saint-Aignan was so long in arriving. At last, at the moment when
-his majesty was finishing a pot of preserved plums with a deep sigh,
-Saint-Aignan appeared. The king's eyes, which had become somewhat dull,
-immediately began to sparkle. The comte advanced towards the king's
-table, and Louis rose at his approach. Everybody got up at the same
-time, including Porthos, who was just finishing an almond-cake capable
-of making the jaws of a crocodile stick together. The supper was over.
-
-
-
-Chapter XV. After Supper.
-
-The king took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and passed into the adjoining
-apartment. "What has detained you, comte?" said the king.
-
-"I was bringing the answer, sire," replied the comte.
-
-"She has taken a long time to reply to what I wrote her."
-
-"Sire, your majesty deigned to write in verse, and Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere wished to repay your majesty in the same coin; that is to say,
-in gold."
-
-"Verses! Saint-Aignan," exclaimed the king in ecstasy. "Give them to
-me at once." And Louis broke the seal of a little letter, inclosing the
-verses which history has preserved entire for us, and which are more
-meritorious in invention than in execution. Such as they were, however,
-the king was enchanted with them, and exhibited his satisfaction by
-unequivocal transports of delight; but the universal silence which
-reigned in the rooms warned Louis, so sensitively particular with
-regard to good breeding, that his delight must give rise to various
-interpretations. He turned aside and put the note in his pocket, and
-then advancing a few steps, which brought him again to the threshold of
-the door close to his guests, he said, "M. du Vallon, I have seen you
-to-day with the greatest pleasure, and my pleasure will be equally great
-to see you again." Porthos bowed as the Colossus of Rhodes would have
-done, and retired from the room with his face towards the king. "M.
-d'Artagnan," continued the king, "you will await my orders in the
-gallery; I am obliged to you for having made me acquainted with M. du
-Vallon. Gentlemen," addressing himself to the other guests, "I return
-to Paris to-morrow on account of the departure of the Spanish and Dutch
-ambassadors. Until to-morrow then."
-
-The apartment was immediately cleared of the guests. The king took
-Saint-Aignan by the arm, made him read La Valliere's verses over again,
-and said, "What do you think of them?"
-
-"Charming, sire."
-
-"They charm me, in fact, and if they were known--"
-
-"Oh! the professional poets would be jealous of them; but it is not
-likely they will know anything about them."
-
-"Did you give her mine?"
-
-"Oh! sire, she positively devoured them."
-
-"They were very weak, I am afraid."
-
-"That is not what Mademoiselle de la Valliere said of them."
-
-"Do you think she was pleased with them?"
-
-"I am sure of it, sire."
-
-"I must answer, then."
-
-"Oh! sire, immediately after supper? Your majesty will fatigue
-yourself."
-
-"You are quite right; study after eating is notoriously injurious."
-
-"The labor of a poet especially so; and besides, there is great
-excitement prevailing at Mademoiselle de la Valliere's."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"With her as with all the ladies of the court."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"On account of poor De Guiche's accident."
-
-"Has anything serious happened to De Guiche, then?"
-
-"Yes, sire, he has one hand nearly destroyed, a hole in his breast; in
-fact, he is dying."
-
-"Good heavens! who told you that?"
-
-"Manicamp brought him back just now to the house of a doctor here in
-Fontainebleau, and the rumor soon reached us all."
-
-"Brought back! Poor De Guiche; and how did it happen?"
-
-"Ah! that is the very question,--how did it happen?"
-
-"You say that in a very singular manner, Saint-Aignan. Give me the
-details. What does he say himself?"
-
-"He says nothing, sire; but others do."
-
-"What others?"
-
-"Those who brought him back, sire."
-
-"Who are they?"
-
-"I do not know, sire; but M. de Manicamp knows. M. de Manicamp is one of
-his friends."
-
-"As everybody is, indeed," said the king.
-
-"Oh! no!" returned Saint-Aignan, "you are mistaken sire; every one is
-not precisely a friend of M. de Guiche."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"Does your majesty require me to explain myself?"
-
-"Certainly I do."
-
-"Well, sire, I believe I have heard something said about a quarrel
-between two gentlemen."
-
-"When?"
-
-"This very evening, before your majesty's supper was served."
-
-"That can hardly be. I have issued such stringent and severe ordinances
-with respect to duelling, that no one, I presume, would dare to disobey
-them."
-
-"In that case, Heaven preserve me from excusing any one!" exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan. "Your majesty commanded me to speak, and I spoke
-accordingly."
-
-"Tell me, then, in what way the Comte de Guiche has been wounded?"
-
-"Sire, it is said to have been at a boar-hunt."
-
-"This evening?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"One of his hands shattered, and a hole in his breast. Who was at the
-hunt with M. de Guiche?"
-
-"I do not know, sire; but M. de Manicamp knows, or ought to know."
-
-"You are concealing something from me, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Nothing, sire, I assure you."
-
-"Then, explain to me how the accident happened; was it a musket that
-burst?"
-
-"Very likely, sire. But yet, on reflection, it could hardly have been
-that, for De Guiche's pistol was found close by him still loaded."
-
-"His pistol? But a man does not go to a boar-hunt with a pistol, I
-should think."
-
-"Sire, it is also said that De Guiche's horse was killed and that the
-horse is still to be found in the wide open glade in the forest."
-
-"His horse?--Guiche go on horseback to a boar-hunt?--Saint-Aignan, I do
-not understand a syllable of what you have been telling me. Where did
-this affair happen?"
-
-"At the Rond-point, in that part of the forest called the Bois-Rochin."
-
-"That will do. Call M. d'Artagnan." Saint-Aignan obeyed, and the
-musketeer entered.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, "you will leave this place by the
-little door of the private staircase."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"You will mount your horse."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you will proceed to the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin. Do you know the
-spot?"
-
-"Yes, sire. I have fought there twice."
-
-"What!" exclaimed the king, amazed at the reply.
-
-"Under the edicts, sire, of Cardinal Richelieu," returned D'Artagnan,
-with his usual impassability.
-
-"That is very different, monsieur. You will, therefore, go there, and
-will examine the locality very carefully. A man has been wounded there,
-and you will find a horse lying dead. You will tell me what your opinion
-is upon the whole affair."
-
-"Very good, sire."
-
-"As a matter of course, it is your own opinion I require, and not that
-of any one else."
-
-"You shall have it in an hour's time, sire."
-
-"I prohibit your speaking with any one, whoever it may be."
-
-"Except with the person who must give me a lantern," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh! that is a matter of course," said the king, laughing at the
-liberty, which he tolerated in no one but his captain of the musketeers.
-D'Artagnan left by the little staircase.
-
-"Now, let my physician be sent for," said Louis. Ten minutes afterwards
-the king's physician arrived, quite out of breath.
-
-"You will go, monsieur," said the king to him, "and accompany M. de
-Saint-Aignan wherever he may take you; you will render me an account of
-the state of the person you may see in the house you will be taken to."
-The physician obeyed without a remark, as at that time people began to
-obey Louis XIV., and left the room preceding Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Do you, Saint-Aignan, send Manicamp to me, before the physician can
-possibly have spoken to him." And Saint-Aignan left in his turn.
-
-
-
-Chapter XVI. Showing in What Way D'Artagnan Discharged the Mission with
-Which the King Had Intrusted Him.
-
-While the king was engaged in making these last-mentioned arrangements
-in order to ascertain the truth, D'Artagnan, without losing a second,
-ran to the stable, took down the lantern, saddled his horse himself, and
-proceeded towards the place his majesty had indicated. According to
-the promise he had made, he had not accosted any one; and, as we have
-observed, he had carried his scruples so far as to do without the
-assistance of the stable-helpers altogether. D'Artagnan was one of those
-who in moments of difficulty pride themselves on increasing their own
-value. By dint of hard galloping, he in less than five minutes
-reached the wood, fastened his horse to the first tree he came to, and
-penetrated to the broad open space on foot. He then began to inspect
-most carefully, on foot and with his lantern in his hand, the whole
-surface of the Rond-point, went forward, turned back again, measured,
-examined, and after half an hour's minute inspection, he returned
-silently to where he had left his horse, and pursued his way in deep
-reflection and at a foot-pace to Fontainebleau. Louis was waiting in his
-cabinet; he was alone, and with a pencil was scribbling on paper certain
-lines which D'Artagnan at the first glance recognized as unequal and
-very much touched up. The conclusion he arrived at was, that they must
-be verses. The king raised his head and perceived D'Artagnan. "Well,
-monsieur," he said, "do you bring me any news?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"What have you seen?"
-
-"As far as probability goes, sire--" D'Artagnan began to reply.
-
-"It was certainty I requested of you."
-
-"I will approach it as near as I possibly can. The weather was very well
-adapted for investigations of the character I have just made; it has
-been raining this evening, and the roads were wet and muddy--"
-
-"Well, the result, M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Sire, your majesty told me that there was a horse lying dead in the
-cross-road of the Bois-Rochin, and I began, therefore, by studying the
-roads. I say the roads, because the center of the cross-road is reached
-by four separate roads. The one that I myself took was the only one that
-presented any fresh traces. Two horses had followed it side by side;
-their eight feet were marked very distinctly in the clay. One of the
-riders was more impatient than the other, for the footprints of the one
-were invariably in advance of the other about half a horse's length."
-
-"Are you quite sure they were traveling together?" said the king.
-
-"Yes sire. The horses are two rather large animals of equal
-pace,--horses well used to maneuvers of all kinds, for they wheeled
-round the barrier of the Rond-point together."
-
-"Well--and after?"
-
-"The two cavaliers paused there for a minute, no doubt to arrange the
-conditions of the engagement; the horses grew restless and impatient.
-One of the riders spoke, while the other listened and seemed to have
-contented himself by simply answering. His horse pawed the ground, which
-proves that his attention was so taken up by listening that he let the
-bridle fall from his hand."
-
-"A hostile meeting did take place then?"
-
-"Undoubtedly."
-
-"Continue; you are a very accurate observer."
-
-"One of the two cavaliers remained where he was standing, the one, in
-fact, who had been listening; the other crossed the open space, and at
-first placed himself directly opposite to his adversary. The one who
-had remained stationary traversed the Rond-point at a gallop, about
-two-thirds of its length, thinking that by this means he would gain
-upon his opponent; but the latter had followed the circumference of the
-wood."
-
-"You are ignorant of their names, I suppose?"
-
-"Completely so, sire. Only he who followed the circumference of the wood
-was mounted on a black horse."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"I found a few hairs of his tail among the brambles which bordered the
-sides of the ditch."
-
-"Go on."
-
-"As for the other horse, there can be no trouble in describing him,
-since he was left dead on the field of battle."
-
-"What was the cause of his death?"
-
-"A ball which had passed through his brain."
-
-"Was the ball that of a pistol or a gun?"
-
-"It was a pistol-bullet, sire. Besides, the manner in which the horse
-was wounded explained to me the tactics of the man who had killed it.
-He had followed the circumference of the wood in order to take his
-adversary in flank. Moreover, I followed his foot-tracks on the grass."
-
-"The tracks of the black horse, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Go on, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"As your majesty now perceives the position of the two adversaries, I
-will, for a moment, leave the cavalier who had remained stationary for
-the one who started off at a gallop."
-
-"Do so."
-
-"The horse of the cavalier who rode at full speed was killed on the
-spot."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"The cavalier had not time even to throw himself off his horse, and so
-fell with it. I observed the impression of his leg, which, with a great
-effort, he was enabled to extricate from under the horse. The spur,
-pressed down by the weight of the animal, had plowed up the ground."
-
-"Very good; and what did he do as soon as he rose up again?"
-
-"He walked straight up to his adversary."
-
-"Who still remained upon the verge of the forest?"
-
-"Yes, sire. Then, having reached a favorable distance, he stopped
-firmly, for the impression of both his heels are left in the ground
-quite close to each other, fired, and missed his adversary."
-
-"How do you know he did not hit him?"
-
-"I found a hat with a ball through it."
-
-"Ah, a proof, then!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"Insufficient, sire," replied D'Artagnan, coldly; "it is a hat without
-any letters indicating its ownership, without arms; a red feather, as
-all hats have; the lace, even, had nothing particular in it."
-
-"Did the man with the hat through which the bullet had passed fire a
-second time?"
-
-"Oh, sire, he had already fired twice."
-
-"How did you ascertain that?"
-
-"I found the waddings of the pistol."
-
-"And what became of the bullet which did not kill the horse?"
-
-"It cut in two the feather of the hat belonging to him against whom
-it was directed, and broke a small birch at the other end of the open
-glade."
-
-"In that case, then, the man on the black horse was disarmed, whilst his
-adversary had still one more shot to fire?"
-
-"Sire, while the dismounted rider was extricating himself from his
-horse, the other was reloading his pistol. Only, he was much agitated
-while he was loading it, and his hand trembled greatly."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"Half the charge fell to the ground, and he threw the ramrod aside, not
-having time to replace it in the pistol."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, this is marvellous you tell me."
-
-"It is only close observation, sire, and the commonest highwayman could
-tell as much."
-
-"The whole scene is before me from the manner in which you relate it."
-
-"I have, in fact, reconstructed it in my own mind, with merely a few
-alterations."
-
-"And now," said the king, "let us return to the dismounted cavalier. You
-were saying that he walked towards his adversary while the latter was
-loading his pistol."
-
-"Yes; but at the very moment he himself was taking aim, the other
-fired."
-
-"Oh!" said the king; "and the shot?"
-
-"The shot told terribly, sire; the dismounted cavalier fell upon his
-face, after having staggered forward three or four paces."
-
-"Where was he hit?"
-
-"In two places; in the first place, in his right hand, and then, by the
-same bullet, in his chest."
-
-"But how could you ascertain that?" inquired the king, full of
-admiration.
-
-"By a very simple means; the butt end of the pistol was covered with
-blood, and the trace of the bullet could be observed, with fragments of
-a broken ring. The wounded man, in all probability, had the ring-finger
-and the little finger carried off."
-
-"As far as the hand goes, I have nothing to say; but the chest?"
-
-"Sire, there were two small pools of blood, at a distance of about two
-feet and a half from each other. At one of these pools of blood the
-grass was torn up by the clenched hand; at the other, the grass was
-simply pressed down by the weight of the body."
-
-"Poor De Guiche!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"Ah! it was M. de Guiche, then?" said the musketeer, quietly. "I
-suspected it, but did not venture to mention it to your majesty."
-
-"And what made you suspect it?"
-
-"I recognized the De Gramont arms upon the holsters of the dead horse."
-
-"And you think he is seriously wounded?"
-
-"Very seriously, since he fell immediately, and remained a long time
-in the same place; however, he was able to walk, as he left the spot,
-supported by two friends."
-
-"You met him returning, then?"
-
-"No; but I observed the footprints of three men; the one on the right
-and the one on the left walked freely and easily, but the one in the
-middle dragged his feet as he walked; besides, he left traces of blood
-at every step he took."
-
-"Now, monsieur, since you saw the combat so distinctly that not a single
-detail seems to have escaped you, tell me something about De Guiche's
-adversary."
-
-"Oh, sire, I do not know him."
-
-"And yet you see everything very clearly."
-
-"Yes, sire, I see everything; but I do not tell all I see; and, since
-the poor devil has escaped, your majesty will permit me to say that I do
-not intend to denounce him."
-
-"And yet he is guilty, since he has fought a duel, monsieur."
-
-"Not guilty in my eyes, sire," said D'Artagnan, coldly.
-
-"Monsieur!" exclaimed the king, "are you aware of what you are saying?"
-
-"Perfectly, sire; but, according to my notions, a man who fights a duel
-is a brave man; such, at least, is my own opinion; but your majesty may
-have another, it is but natural, for you are master here."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, I ordered you, however--"
-
-D'Artagnan interrupted the king by a respectful gesture. "You ordered
-me, sire, to gather what particulars I could, respecting a hostile
-meeting that had taken place; those particulars you have. If you order
-me to arrest M. de Guiche's adversary, I will do so; but do not order me
-to denounce him to you, for in that case I will not obey."
-
-"Very well! Arrest him, then."
-
-"Give me his name, sire."
-
-The king stamped his foot angrily; but after a moment's reflection, he
-said, "You are right--ten times, twenty times, a hundred times right."
-
-"That is my opinion, sire: I am happy that, this time, it accords with
-your majesty's."
-
-"One word more. Who assisted Guiche?"
-
-"I do not know, sire."
-
-"But you speak of two men. There was a person present, then, as second."
-
-"There was no second, sire. Nay, more than that, when M. de Guiche fell,
-his adversary fled without giving him any assistance."
-
-"The miserable coward!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"The consequence of your ordinances, sire. If a man has fought well, and
-fairly, and has already escaped one chance of death, he naturally wishes
-to escape a second. M. de Bouteville cannot be forgotten very easily."
-
-"And so, men turn cowards."
-
-"No, they become prudent."
-
-"And he has fled, then, you say?"
-
-"Yes; and as fast as his horse could possibly carry him."
-
-"In what direction?"
-
-"In the direction of the chateau."
-
-"Well, and after that?"
-
-"Afterwards, as I have had the honor of telling your majesty, two men on
-foot arrived, who carried M. de Guiche back with them."
-
-"What proof have you that these men arrived after the combat?"
-
-"A very evident proof, sire; at the moment the encounter took place,
-the rain had just ceased, the ground had not had time to imbibe the
-moisture, and was, consequently, soaked; the footsteps sank in the
-ground; but while M. de Guiche was lying there in a fainting condition,
-the ground became firm again, and the footsteps made a less sensible
-impression."
-
-Louis clapped his hands together in sign of admiration. "Monsieur
-d'Artagnan," he said, "you are positively the cleverest man in my
-kingdom."
-
-"The identical thing M. de Richelieu thought, and M. de Mazarin said,
-sire."
-
-"And now, it remains for us to see if your sagacity is at fault."
-
-"Oh! sire, a man may be mistaken; _humanum est errare_," said the
-musketeer, philosophically. [1]
-
-"In that case, you are not human, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for I believe you
-are never mistaken."
-
-"Your majesty said that we were going to see whether such was the case,
-or not."
-
-"Yes."
-
-"In what way, may I venture to ask?"
-
-"I have sent for M. de Manicamp, and M. de Manicamp is coming."
-
-"And M. de Manicamp knows the secret?"
-
-"De Guiche has no secrets from M. de Manicamp."
-
-D'Artagnan shook his head. "No one was present at the combat, I repeat;
-and unless M. de Manicamp was one of the two men who brought him back--"
-
-"Hush!" said the king, "he is coming; remain, and listen attentively."
-
-"Very good, sire."
-
-And, at the very same moment, Manicamp and Saint-Aignan appeared at the
-threshold of the door.
-
-
-
-Chapter XVII. The Encounter.
-
-The king signified with an imperious gesture, first to the musketeer,
-then to Saint-Aignan, "On your lives, not a word." D'Artagnan withdrew,
-like a sentinel, to a corner of the room; Saint-Aignan, in his character
-of a favorite, leaned over the back of the king's chair. Manicamp, with
-his right foot properly advanced, a smile upon his lips, and his
-white and well-formed hands gracefully disposed, advanced to make his
-reverence to the king, who returned the salutation by a bow. "Good
-evening, M. de Manicamp," he said.
-
-"Your majesty did me the honor to send for me," said Manicamp.
-
-"Yes, in order to learn from you all the details of the unfortunate
-accident which has befallen the Comte de Guiche."
-
-"Oh! sire, it is grievous indeed."
-
-"You were there?"
-
-"Not precisely, sire."
-
-"But you arrived on the scene of the accident, a few minutes after it
-took place?"
-
-"Sire, about half an hour afterwards."
-
-"And where did the accident happen?"
-
-"I believe, sire, the place is called the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin."
-
-"Oh! the rendezvous of the hunt."
-
-"The very spot, sire."
-
-"Good; give me all the details you are acquainted with, respecting this
-unhappy affair, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Perhaps your majesty has already been informed of them, and I fear to
-fatigue you with useless repetition."
-
-"No, do not be afraid of that."
-
-Manicamp looked round him; he saw only D'Artagnan leaning with his
-back against the wainscot--D'Artagnan, calm, kind, and good-natured as
-usual--and Saint-Aignan whom he had accompanied, and who still leaned
-over the king's armchair with an expression of countenance equally full
-of good feeling. He determined, therefore, to speak out. "Your majesty
-is perfectly aware," he said, "that accidents are very frequent in
-hunting."
-
-"In hunting, do you say?"
-
-"I mean, sire, when an animal is brought to bay."
-
-"Ah, ah!" said the king, "it was when the animal was brought to bay,
-then, that the accident happened?"
-
-"Alas! sire, unhappily it was."
-
-The king paused for a moment before he said: "What animal was being
-hunted?"
-
-"A wild boar, sire."
-
-"And what could possibly have possessed De Guiche to go to a wild
-boar-hunt by himself; that is but a clownish idea of sport, only fit for
-that class of people who, unlike the Marechal de Gramont, have no dogs
-and huntsmen, to hunt as gentlemen should do."
-
-Manicamp shrugged his shoulders. "Youth is very rash," he said,
-sententiously.
-
-"Well, go on," said the king.
-
-"At all events," continued Manicamp, not venturing to be too precipitate
-and hasty, and letting his words fall very slowly one by one, "at all
-events, sire, poor De Guiche went hunting--all alone."
-
-"Quite alone? indeed?--What a sportsman! And is not M. de Guiche aware
-that the wild boar always stands at bay?"
-
-"That is the very thing that really happened, sire."
-
-"He had some idea, then, of the beast being there?"
-
-"Yes, sire, some peasants had seen it among their potatoes." [2]
-
-"And what kind of animal was it?"
-
-"A short, thick beast."
-
-"You may as well tell me, monsieur, that De Guiche had some idea of
-committing suicide; for I have seen him hunt, and he is an active and
-vigorous hunter. Whenever he fires at an animal brought to bay and held
-in check by the dogs, he takes every possible precaution, and yet he
-fires with a carbine, and on this occasion he seems to have faced the
-boar with pistols only."
-
-Manicamp started.
-
-"A costly pair of pistols, excellent weapons to fight a duel with a man
-and not a wild boar. What an absurdity!"
-
-"There are some things, sire, which are difficult of explanation."
-
-"You are quite right, and the event which we are now discussing is
-certainly one of them. Go on."
-
-During the recital, Saint-Aignan, who probably would have made a sign to
-Manicamp to be careful what he was about, found that the king's glance
-was constantly fixed upon himself, so that it was utterly impossible to
-communicate with Manicamp in any way. As for D'Artagnan, the statue of
-Silence at Athens was far more noisy and far more expressive than he.
-Manicamp, therefore, was obliged to continue in the same way he
-had begun, and so contrived to get more and more entangled in his
-explanation. "Sire," he said, "this is probably how the affair happened.
-Guiche was waiting to receive the boar as it rushed towards him."
-
-"On foot or on horseback?" inquired the king.
-
-"On horseback. He fired upon the brute and missed his aim, and then it
-dashed upon him."
-
-"And the horse was killed."
-
-"Ah! your majesty knows that, then."
-
-"I have been told that a horse has been found lying dead in the
-cross-roads of the Bois-Rochin, and I presume it was De Guiche's horse."
-
-"Perfectly true, sire, it was his."
-
-"Well, so much for the horse, and now for De Guiche?"
-
-"De Guiche, once down, was attacked and worried by the wild boar, and
-wounded in the hand and in the chest."
-
-"It is a horrible accident, but it must be admitted it was De Guiche's
-own fault. How could he possibly have gone to hunt such an animal merely
-armed with pistols; he must have forgotten the fable of Adonis?"
-
-Manicamp rubbed his ear in seeming perplexity. "Very true," he said, "it
-was very imprudent."
-
-"Can you explain it, Monsieur Manicamp?"
-
-"Sire, what is written is written!"
-
-"Ah! you are a fatalist."
-
-Manicamp looked very uncomfortable and ill at ease.
-
-"I am angry with you, Monsieur Manicamp," continued the king.
-
-"With me, sire?"
-
-"Yes. How was it that you, who are De Guiche's intimate friend, and
-who know that he is subject to such acts of folly, did not stop him in
-time?"
-
-Manicamp no longer knew what to do; the tone in which the king spoke
-was anything but that of a credulous man. On the other hand, it did
-not indicate any particular severity, nor did he seem to care very
-much about the cross-examination. There was more of raillery in it than
-menace. "And you say, then," continued the king, "that it was positively
-De Guiche's horse that was found dead?"
-
-"Quite positive, sire."
-
-"Did that astonish you?"
-
-"No, sire; for your majesty will remember that, at the last hunt, M. de
-Saint-Maure had a horse killed under him, and in the same way."
-
-"Yes, but that one was ripped open."
-
-"Of course, sire."
-
-"Had Guiche's horse been ripped open like M. de Saint-Maure's horse, I
-should not have been astonished."
-
-Manicamp opened his eyes very wide.
-
-"Am I mistaken," resumed the king, "was it not in the frontal bone that
-De Guiche's horse was struck? You must admit, Monsieur de Manicamp, that
-that is a very singular place for a wild boar to attack."
-
-"You are aware, sire, that the horse is a very intelligent animal, and
-he doubtless endeavoured to defend himself."
-
-"But a horse defends himself with his heels and not with his head."
-
-"In that case, the terrified horse may have slipped or fallen down,"
-said Manicamp, "and the boar, you understand sire, the boar--"
-
-"Oh! I understand that perfectly, as far as the horse is concerned; but
-how about his rider?"
-
-"Well! that, too, is simple enough; the boar left the horse and attacked
-the rider; and, as I have already had the honor of informing your
-majesty, shattered De Guiche's hand at the very moment he was about to
-discharge his second pistol at him, and then, with a gouge of his tusk,
-made that terrible hole in his chest."
-
-"Nothing is more likely; really, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are wrong in
-placing so little confidence in your own eloquence, and you can tell a
-story most admirably."
-
-"Your majesty is exceedingly kind," said Manicamp, saluting him in the
-most embarrassed manner.
-
-"From this day henceforth, I will prohibit any gentleman attached to my
-court going out to a similar encounter. Really, one might just as well
-permit duelling."
-
-Manicamp started, and moved as if he were about to withdraw. "Is your
-majesty satisfied?"
-
-"Delighted; but do not withdraw yet, Monsieur de Manicamp," said Louis,
-"I have something to say to you."
-
-"Well, well!" thought D'Artagnan, "there is another who is not up to the
-mark;" and he uttered a sigh which might signify, "Oh! the men of _our_
-stamp, where are they _now?_"
-
-At this moment an usher lifted up the curtain before the door, and
-announced the king's physician.
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Louis, "here comes Monsieur Valot, who has just been to
-see M. de Guiche. We shall now hear news of the man maltreated by the
-boar."
-
-Manicamp felt more uncomfortable than ever.
-
-"In this way, at least," added the king, "our conscience will be quite
-clear." And he looked at D'Artagnan, who did not seem in the slightest
-degree discomposed.
-
-
-
-Chapter XVIII. The Physician.
-
-M. Valot entered. The position of the different persons present was
-precisely the same: the king was seated, Saint-Aignan leaning over the
-back of his armchair, D'Artagnan with his back against the wall, and
-Manicamp still standing.
-
-"Well, M. Valot," said the king, "did you obey my directions?"
-
-"With the greatest alacrity, sire."
-
-"You went to the doctor's house in Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you found M. de Guiche there?"
-
-"I did, sire."
-
-"What state was he in?--speak unreservedly."
-
-"In a very sad state indeed, sire."
-
-"The wild boar did not quite devour him, however?"
-
-"Devour whom?"
-
-"De Guiche."
-
-"What wild boar?"
-
-"The boar that wounded him."
-
-"M. de Guiche wounded by a boar?"
-
-"So it is said, at least."
-
-"By a poacher, rather, or by a jealous husband, or an ill-used lover,
-who, in order to be revenged, fired upon him."
-
-"What is it that you say, Monsieur Valot? Were not M. de Guiche's wounds
-produced by defending himself against a wild boar?"
-
-"M. de Guiche's wounds are the result of a pistol-bullet that broke
-his ring-finger and the little finger of the right hand, and afterwards
-buried itself in the intercostal muscles of the chest."
-
-"A bullet! Are you sure Monsieur de Guiche was wounded by a _bullet?_"
-exclaimed the king, pretending to look much surprised.
-
-"Indeed, I am, sire; so sure, in fact, that here it is." And he
-presented to the king a half-flattened bullet, which the king looked at,
-but did not touch.
-
-"Did he have that in his chest, poor fellow?" he asked.
-
-"Not precisely. The ball did not penetrate, but was flattened, as you
-see, either upon the trigger of the pistol or upon the right side of the
-breast-bone."
-
-"Good heavens!" said the king, seriously, "you said nothing to me about
-this, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Sire--"
-
-"What does all this mean, then, this invention about hunting a wild boar
-at nightfall? Come, speak, monsieur."
-
-"Sire--"
-
-"It seems, then, that you are right," said the king, turning round
-towards his captain of musketeers, "and that a duel actually took
-place."
-
-The king possessed, to a greater extent than any one else, the faculty
-enjoyed by the great in power or position, of compromising and dividing
-those beneath him. Manicamp darted a look full of reproaches at the
-musketeer. D'Artagnan understood the look at once, and not wishing
-to remain beneath the weight of such an accusation, advanced a step
-forward, and said: "Sire, your majesty commanded me to go and explore
-the place where the cross-roads meet in the Bois-Rochin, and to report
-to you, according to my own ideas, what had taken place there. I
-submitted my observations to you, but without denouncing any one. It was
-your majesty yourself who was the first to name the Comte de Guiche."
-
-"Well, monsieur, well," said the king, haughtily; "you have done your
-duty, and I am satisfied with you. But you, Monsieur de Manicamp, have
-failed in yours, for you have told me a falsehood."
-
-"A falsehood, sire. The expression is a hard one."
-
-"Find a more accurate, then."
-
-"Sire, I will not attempt to do so. I have already been unfortunate
-enough to displease your majesty, and it will, in every respect, be far
-better for me to accept most humbly any reproaches you may think proper
-to address to me."
-
-"You are right, monsieur, whoever conceals the truth from me, risks my
-displeasure."
-
-"Sometimes, sire, one is ignorant of the truth."
-
-"No further falsehood, monsieur, or I double the punishment."
-
-Manicamp bowed and turned pale. D'Artagnan again made another step
-forward, determined to interfere, if the still increasing anger of the
-king attained certain limits.
-
-"You see, monsieur," continued the king, "that it is useless to deny the
-thing any longer. M. de Guiche has fought a duel."
-
-"I do not deny it, sire, and it would have been truly generous on your
-majesty's part not to have forced me to tell a falsehood."
-
-"Forced? Who forced you?"
-
-"Sire, M. de Guiche is my friend. Your majesty has forbidden duels under
-pain of death. A falsehood might save my friend's life, and I told it."
-
-"Good!" murmured D'Artagnan, "an excellent fellow, upon my word."
-
-"Instead of telling a falsehood, monsieur, you should have prevented him
-from fighting," said the king.
-
-"Oh! sire, your majesty, who is the most accomplished gentleman in
-France, knows quite as well as any of us other gentlemen that we have
-never considered M. de Bouteville dishonored for having suffered death
-on the Place de Greve. That which does in truth dishonor a man is to
-avoid meeting his enemy--not to avoid meeting his executioner!"
-
-"Well, monsieur, that may be so," said Louis XIV.; "I am desirous of
-suggesting a means of your repairing all."
-
-"If it be a means of which a gentleman may avail himself, I shall most
-eagerly seize the opportunity."
-
-"The name of M. de Guiche's adversary?"
-
-"Oh, oh!" murmured D'Artagnan, "are we going to take Louis XIII. as a
-model?"
-
-"Sire!" said Manicamp, with an accent of reproach.
-
-"You will not name him, then?" said the king.
-
-"Sire, I do not know him."
-
-"Bravo!" murmured D'Artagnan.
-
-"Monsieur de Manicamp, hand your sword to the captain."
-
-Manicamp bowed very gracefully, unbuckled his sword, smiling as he did
-so, and handed it for the musketeer to take. But Saint-Aignan advanced
-hurriedly between him and D'Artagnan. "Sire," he said, "will your
-majesty permit me to say a word?"
-
-"Do so," said the king, delighted, perhaps, at the bottom of his heart,
-for some one to step between him and the wrath he felt he had carried
-him too far.
-
-"Manicamp, you are a brave man, and the king will appreciate your
-conduct; but to wish to serve your friends too well, is to destroy them.
-Manicamp, you know the name the king asks you for?"
-
-"It is perfectly true--I do know it."
-
-"You will give it up then?"
-
-"If I felt I ought to have mentioned it, I should have already done so."
-
-"Then I will tell it, for I am not so extremely sensitive on such points
-of honor as you are."
-
-"You are at liberty to do so, but it seems to me, however--"
-
-"Oh! a truce to magnanimity; I will not permit you to go to the Bastile
-in that way. Do you speak; or I will."
-
-Manicamp was keen-witted enough, and perfectly understood that he had
-done quite sufficient to produce a good opinion of his conduct; it was
-now only a question of persevering in such a manner as to regain the
-good graces of the king. "Speak, monsieur," he said to Saint-Aignan; "I
-have on my own behalf done all that my conscience told me to do; and it
-must have been very importunate," he added, turning towards the king,
-"since its mandates led me to disobey your majesty's commands; but your
-majesty will forgive me, I hope, when you learn that I was anxious to
-preserve the honor of a lady."
-
-"Of a lady?" said the king, with some uneasiness.
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"A lady was the cause of this duel?"
-
-Manicamp bowed.
-
-"If the position of the lady in question warrants it," he said, "I shall
-not complain of your having acted with so much circumspection; on the
-contrary, indeed."
-
-"Sire, everything which concerns your majesty's household, or the
-household of your majesty's brother, is of importance in my eyes."
-
-"In my brother's household," repeated Louis XIV., with a slight
-hesitation. "The cause of the duel was a lady belonging to my brother's
-household, do you say?"
-
-"Or to Madame's."
-
-"Ah! to Madame's?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Well--and this lady?"
-
-"Is one of the maids of honor of her royal highness Madame la Duchesse
-d'Orleans."
-
-"For whom M. de Guiche fought--do you say?"
-
-"Yes, sire, and, this time, I tell no falsehood."
-
-Louis seemed restless and anxious. "Gentlemen," he said, turning towards
-the spectators of this scene, "will you have the goodness to retire for
-a moment. I wish to be alone with M. de Manicamp; I know he has some
-important communication to make for his own justification, and which
-he will not venture before witnesses.... Put up your sword, M. de
-Manicamp."
-
-Manicamp returned his sword to his belt.
-
-"The fellow decidedly has his wits about him," murmured the musketeer,
-taking Saint-Aignan by the arm, and withdrawing with him.
-
-"He will get out of it," said the latter in D'Artagnan's ear.
-
-"And with honor, too, comte."
-
-Manicamp cast a glance of recognition at Saint-Aignan and the captain,
-which luckily passed unnoticed by the king.
-
-"Come, come," said D'Artagnan, as he left the room, "I had an
-indifferent opinion of the new generation. Well, I was mistaken after
-all. There is some good in them, I perceive."
-
-Valot preceded the favorite and the captain, leaving the king and
-Manicamp alone in the cabinet.
-
-
-
-Chapter XIX. Wherein D'Artagnan Perceives that It Was He Who Was
-Mistaken, and Manicamp Who Was Right.
-
-The king, determined to be satisfied that no one was listening, went
-himself to the door, and then returned precipitately and placed himself
-opposite Manicamp.
-
-"And now we are alone, Monsieur de Manicamp, explain yourself."
-
-"With the greatest frankness, sire," replied the young man.
-
-"And in the first place, pray understand," added the king, "that there
-is nothing to which I personally attach a greater importance than the
-honor of _any_ lady."
-
-"That is the very reason, sire, why I endeavored to study your delicacy
-of sentiment and feeling."
-
-"Yes, I understand it all now. You say that it was one of the maids of
-honor of my sister-in-law who was the subject of dispute, and that the
-person in question, De Guiche's adversary, the man, in point of fact,
-whom you will not name--"
-
-"But whom M. de Saint-Aignan will name, monsieur."
-
-"Yes, you say, however, that this man insulted some one belonging to the
-household of Madame."
-
-"Yes, sire. Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" said the king, as if he had expected the name, and yet as if its
-announcement had caused him a sudden pang; "ah! it was Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere who was insulted."
-
-"I do not say precisely that she was insulted, sire."
-
-"But at all events--"
-
-"I merely say that she was spoken of in terms far enough from
-respectful."
-
-"A man dares to speak in disrespectful terms of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, and yet you refuse to tell me the name of the insulter?"
-
-"Sire, I thought it was quite understood that your majesty had abandoned
-the idea of making me denounce him."
-
-"Perfectly true, monsieur," returned the king, controlling his anger;
-"besides, I shall know in good time the name of this man whom I shall
-feel it my duty to punish."
-
-Manicamp perceived that they had returned to the question again. As for
-the king, he saw he had allowed himself to be hurried away a little too
-far, and therefore continued:--"And I will punish him--not because there
-is any question of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, although I esteem her
-very highly--but because a lady was the object of the quarrel. And I
-intend that ladies shall be respected at my court, and that quarrels
-shall be put a stop to altogether."
-
-Manicamp bowed.
-
-"And now, Monsieur de Manicamp," continued the king, "what was said
-about Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Cannot your majesty guess?"
-
-"I?"
-
-"Your majesty can imagine the character of the jest in which young men
-permit themselves to indulge."
-
-"They very probably said that she was in love with some one?" the king
-ventured to remark.
-
-"Probably so."
-
-"But Mademoiselle de la Valliere has a perfect right to love any one she
-pleases," said the king.
-
-"That is the very point De Guiche maintained."
-
-"And on account of which he fought, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes, sire, the sole and only cause."
-
-The king colored. "And you do not know anything more, then?"
-
-"In what respect, sire?"
-
-"In the very interesting respect which you are now referring to."
-
-"What does your majesty wish to know?"
-
-"Why, the name of the man with whom La Valliere is in love, and whom De
-Guiche's adversary disputed her right to love."
-
-"Sire, I know nothing--I have heard nothing--and have learnt nothing,
-even accidentally; but De Guiche is a noble-hearted fellow, and
-if, momentarily, he substituted himself in the place or stead of La
-Valliere's protector, it was because that protector was himself of too
-exalted a position to undertake her defense."
-
-These words were more than transparent; they made the king blush, but
-this time with pleasure. He struck Manicamp gently on the shoulder.
-"Well, well, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are not only a ready, witty
-fellow, but a brave gentleman besides, and your friend De Guiche is a
-paladin quite after my own heart; you will express that to him from me."
-
-"Your majesty forgives me, then?"
-
-"Completely."
-
-"And I am free?"
-
-The king smiled and held out his hand to Manicamp, which he took and
-kissed respectfully. "And then," added the king, "you relate stories so
-charmingly."
-
-"I, sire!"
-
-"You told me in the most admirable manner the particulars of the
-accident which happened to Guiche. I can see the wild boar rushing out
-of the wood--I can see the horse fall down fighting with his head, and
-the boar rush from the horse to the rider. You do not simply relate a
-story well: you positively paint its incidents."
-
-"Sire, I think your majesty condescends to laugh at my expense," said
-Manicamp.
-
-"On the contrary," said Louis, seriously, "I have so little intention of
-laughing, Monsieur de Manicamp, that I wish you to relate this adventure
-to every one."
-
-"The adventure of the hunt?"
-
-"Yes; in the same manner you told it to me, without changing a single
-word--_you understand?_"
-
-"Perfectly, sire."
-
-"And you will relate it, then?"
-
-"Without losing a minute."
-
-"Very well! and now summon M. d'Artagnan; I hope you are no longer
-afraid of him."
-
-"Oh, sire, from the very moment I am sure of your majesty's kind
-disposition, I no longer fear anything!"
-
-"Call him, then," said the king.
-
-Manicamp opened the door, and said, "Gentlemen, the king wishes you to
-return."
-
-D'Artagnan, Saint-Aignan, and Valot entered.
-
-"Gentlemen," said the king, "I summoned you for the purposes of saying
-that Monsieur de Manicamp's explanation has entirely satisfied me."
-
-D'Artagnan glanced at Valot and Saint-Aignan, as much as to say, "Well!
-did I not tell you so?"
-
-The king led Manicamp to the door, and then in a low tone of voice said:
-"See that M. de Guiche takes good care of himself, and particularly that
-he recovers as soon as possible; I am very desirous of thanking him in
-the name of every lady, but let him take special care that he does not
-begin again."
-
-"Were he to die a hundred times, sire, he would begin again if your
-majesty's honor were in any way called in question."
-
-This remark was direct enough. But we have already said that the incense
-of flattery was very pleasing to the king, and, provided he received it,
-he was not very particular as to its quality.
-
-"Very well, very well," he said, as he dismissed Manicamp, "I will see
-De Guiche myself, and make him listen to reason." And as Manicamp left
-the apartment, the king turned round towards the three spectators of
-this scene, and said, "Tell me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, how does it happen
-that your sight is so imperfect?--you, whose eyes are generally so very
-good."
-
-"My sight bad, sire?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"It must be the case since your majesty says so; but in what respect,
-may I ask?"
-
-"Why, with regard to what occurred in the Bois-Rochin."
-
-"Ah! ah!"
-
-"Certainly. You pretended to have seen the tracks of two horses, to have
-detected the footprints of two men; and have described the particulars
-of an engagement, which you assert took place. Nothing of the sort
-occurred; pure illusion on your part."
-
-"Ah! ah!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Exactly the same thing with the galloping to and fro of the horses, and
-the other indications of a struggle. It was the struggle of De Guiche
-against the wild boar, and absolutely nothing else; only the struggle
-was a long and a terrible one, it seems."
-
-"Ah! ah!" continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"And when I think that I almost believed it for a moment--but, then, you
-told it with such confidence."
-
-"I admit, sire, that I must have been very short-sighted," said
-D'Artagnan, with a readiness of humor which delighted the king.
-
-"You do admit it, then?"
-
-"Admit it, sire, most assuredly I do."
-
-"So now that you see the thing--"
-
-"In quite a different light from that in which I saw it half an hour
-ago."
-
-"And to what, then, do you attribute this difference in your opinion?"
-
-"Oh! a very simple thing, sire; half an hour ago I returned from
-Bois-Rochin, where I had nothing to light me but a stupid stable
-lantern--"
-
-"While now?"
-
-"While now I have all the wax-lights of your cabinet, and more than
-that, your majesty's own eyes, which illuminate everything, like the
-blazing sun at noonday."
-
-The king began to laugh; and Saint-Aignan broke out into convulsions of
-merriment.
-
-"It is precisely like M. Valot," said D'Artagnan, resuming the
-conversation where the king had left off; "he has been imagining all
-along, that not only was M. de Guiche wounded by a bullet, but still
-more, that he extracted it, even, from his chest."
-
-"Upon my word," said Valot, "I assure you--"
-
-"Now, did you not believe that?" continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes," said Valot; "not only did I believe it, but, at this very moment,
-I would swear it."
-
-"Well, my dear doctor, you have dreamt it."
-
-"I have dreamt it!"
-
-"M. de Guiche's wound--a mere dream; the bullet, a dream. So, take my
-advice, and prate no more about it."
-
-"Well said," returned the king, "M. d'Artagnan's advice is sound. Do not
-speak of your dream to any one, Monsieur Valot, and, upon the word of
-a gentleman, you will have no occasion to repent it. Good evening,
-gentlemen; a very sad affair, indeed, is a wild boar-hunt!"
-
-"A very serious thing, indeed," repeated D'Artagnan, in a loud voice,
-"is a wild boar-hunt!" and he repeated it in every room through which he
-passed; and left the chateau, taking Valot with him.
-
-"And now we are alone," said the king to Saint-Aignan, "what is the name
-of De Guiche's adversary?"
-
-Saint-Aignan looked at the king.
-
-"Oh! do not hesitate," said the king; "you know that I am bound
-beforehand to forgive."
-
-"De Wardes," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Very good," said Louis XIV.; and then, retiring to his own room, added
-to himself, "To forgive is not to forget."
-
-
-
-Chapter XX. Showing the Advantage of Having Two Strings to One's Bow.
-
-Manicamp quitted the king's apartment, delighted at having succeeded
-so well, when, just as he reached the bottom of the staircase and was
-passing a doorway, he felt that some one suddenly pulled him by the
-sleeve. He turned round and recognized Montalais, who was waiting for
-him in the passage, and who, in a very mysterious manner, with her
-body bent forward, and in a low tone of voice, said to him, "Follow me,
-monsieur, and without any delay, if you please."
-
-"Where to, mademoiselle?" inquired Manicamp.
-
-"In the first place, a true knight would not have asked such a question,
-but would have followed me without requiring any explanation."
-
-"Well, mademoiselle, I am quite ready to conduct myself as a true
-knight."
-
-"No; it is too late, and you cannot take the credit of it. We are going
-to Madame's apartment, so come at once."
-
-"Ah, ah!" said Manicamp. "Lead on, then."
-
-And he followed Montalais, who ran before him as light as Galatea.
-
-"This time," said Manicamp, as he followed his guide, "I do not think
-that stories about hunting expeditions would be acceptable. We will try,
-however, and if need be--well, if there should be any occasion for it,
-we must try something else."
-
-Montalais still ran on.
-
-"How fatiguing it is," thought Manicamp, "to have need of one's head and
-legs at the same time."
-
-At last, however, they arrived. Madame had just finished undressing, and
-was in a most elegant _deshabille_, but it must be understood that she
-had changed her dress before she had any idea of being subjected to
-the emotions now agitating her. She was waiting with the most restless
-impatience; and Montalais and Manicamp found her standing near the door.
-At the sound of their approaching footsteps, Madame came forward to meet
-them.
-
-"Ah!" she said, "at last!"
-
-"Here is M. Manicamp," replied Montalais.
-
-Manicamp bowed with the greatest respect; Madame signed to Montalais to
-withdraw, and she immediately obeyed. Madame followed her with her eyes,
-in silence, until the door closed behind her, and then, turning towards
-Manicamp, said, "What is the matter?--and is it true, as I am told,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, that some one is lying wounded in the chateau?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, unfortunately so--Monsieur de Guiche."
-
-"Yes, Monsieur de Guiche," repeated the princess. "I had, in fact,
-heard it rumored, but not confirmed. And so, in truth, it is Monsieur de
-Guiche who has been thus unfortunate?"
-
-"M. de Guiche himself, Madame."
-
-"Are you aware, M. de Manicamp," said the princess, hastily, "that the
-king has the strongest antipathy to duels?"
-
-"Perfectly so, Madame; but a duel with a wild beast is not answerable."
-
-"Oh, you will not insult me by supposing that I credit the absurd fable,
-with what object I cannot tell, respecting M. de Guiche having been
-wounded by a wild boar. No, no, monsieur; the real truth is known, and,
-in addition to the inconvenience of his wound, M. de Guiche runs the
-risk of losing his liberty if not his life."
-
-"Alas! Madame, I am well aware of that, but what is to be done?"
-
-"You have seen the king?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"What did you say to him?"
-
-"I told him how M. de Guiche went to the chase, and how a wild boar
-rushed forth out of the Bois-Rochin; how M. de Guiche fired at it, and
-how, in fact, the furious brute dashed at De Guiche, killed his horse,
-and grievously wounded himself."
-
-"And the king believed that?"
-
-"Implicitly."
-
-"Oh, you surprise me, Monsieur de Manicamp; you surprise me very much."
-
-And Madame walked up and down the room, casting a searching look from
-time to time at Manicamp, who remained motionless and impassible in the
-same place. At last she stopped.
-
-"And yet," she said, "every one here seems unanimous in giving another
-cause for this wound."
-
-"What cause, Madame?" said Manicamp; "may I be permitted, without
-indiscretion, to ask your highness?"
-
-"You ask such a question! You, M. de Guiche's intimate friend, his
-confidant, indeed!"
-
-"Oh, Madame! his intimate friend--yes; confidant--no. De Guiche is a man
-who can keep his own secrets, who has some of his own certainly, but who
-never breathes a syllable about them. De Guiche is discretion itself,
-Madame."
-
-"Very well, then; those secrets which M. de Guiche keeps so
-scrupulously, I shall have the pleasure of informing you of," said the
-princess, almost spitefully; "for the king may possibly question you a
-second time, and if, on the second occasion, you were to repeat the same
-story to him, he possibly might not be very well satisfied with it."
-
-"But, Madame, I think your highness is mistaken with regard to the king.
-His majesty was perfectly satisfied with me, I assure you."
-
-"In that case, permit me to assure you, Monsieur de Manicamp, it only
-proves one thing, which is, that his majesty is very easily satisfied."
-
-"I think your highness is mistaken in arriving at such an opinion; his
-majesty is well known not to be contented except with very good reason."
-
-"And do you suppose that he will thank you for your officious falsehood,
-when he will learn to-morrow that M. de Guiche had, on behalf of his
-friend M. de Bragelonne, a quarrel which ended in a hostile meeting?"
-
-"A quarrel on M. de Bragelonne's account," said Manicamp, with the most
-innocent expression in the world; "what does your royal highness do me
-the honor to tell me?"
-
-"What is there astonishing in that? M. de Guiche is susceptible,
-irritable, and easily loses his temper."
-
-"On the contrary, Madame, I know M. de Guiche to be very patient, and
-never susceptible or irritable except upon very good grounds."
-
-"But is not friendship a just ground?" said the princess.
-
-"Oh, certainly, Madame; and particularly for a heart like his."
-
-"Very good; you will not deny, I suppose, that M. de Bragelonne is M. de
-Guiche's good friend?"
-
-"A great friend."
-
-"Well, then, M. de Guiche has taken M. de Bragelonne's part; and as M.
-de Bragelonne was absent and could not fight, he fought for him."
-
-Manicamp began to smile, and moved his head and shoulders very slightly,
-as much as to say, "Oh, if you will positively have it so--"
-
-"But speak, at all events," said the princess, out of patience; "speak!"
-
-"I?"
-
-"Of course; it is quite clear you are not of my opinion, and that you
-have something to say."
-
-"I have only one thing to say, Madame."
-
-"Name it!"
-
-"That I do not understand a single word of what you have just been
-telling me."
-
-"What!--you do not understand a single word about M. de Guiche's quarrel
-with M. de Wardes," exclaimed the princess, almost out of temper.
-
-Manicamp remained silent.
-
-"A quarrel," she continued, "which arose out of a conversation
-scandalous in its tone and purport, and more or less well founded,
-respecting the virtue of a certain lady."
-
-"Ah! of a certain lady,--this is quite another thing," said Manicamp.
-
-"You begin to understand, do you not?"
-
-"Your highness will excuse me, but I dare not--"
-
-"You dare not," said Madame, exasperated; "very well, then, wait one
-moment, I will dare."
-
-"Madame, Madame!" exclaimed Manicamp, as if in great dismay, "be careful
-of what you are going to say."
-
-"It would seem, monsieur, that, if I happened to be a man, you would
-challenge me, notwithstanding his majesty's edicts, as Monsieur de
-Guiche challenged M. de Wardes; and that, too, on account of the virtue
-of Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Of Mademoiselle de la Valliere!" exclaimed Manicamp, starting
-backwards, as if that was the very last name he expected to hear
-pronounced.
-
-"What makes you start in that manner, Monsieur de Manicamp?" said
-Madame, ironically; "do you mean to say you would be impertinent enough
-to suspect that young lady's honor?"
-
-"Madame, in the whole course of this affair there has not been the
-slightest question of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's honor."
-
-"What! when two men have almost blown each other's brains out on a
-woman's behalf, do you mean to say she has had nothing to do with the
-affair, and that her name has not been called in question at all? I did
-not think you so good a courtier, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Pray forgive me, Madame," said the young man, "but we are very far from
-understanding one another. You do me the honor to speak one language
-while I am speaking altogether another."
-
-"I beg your pardon, but I do not understand your meaning."
-
-"Forgive me, then; but I fancied I understood your highness to remark
-that De Guiche and De Wardes had fought on Mademoiselle de la Valliere's
-account?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"On account of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, I think you said?" repeated
-Manicamp.
-
-"I do not say that M. de Guiche personally took an interest in
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere, but I say that he did so as representing or
-acting on behalf of another."
-
-"On behalf of another?"
-
-"Come, do not always assume such a bewildered look. Does not every
-one here know that M. de Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, and that before he went on the mission with which the king
-intrusted him, he charged his friend M. de Guiche to watch over that
-interesting young lady?"
-
-"There is nothing more for me to say, then. Your highness is
-well-informed."
-
-"Of everything. I beg you to understand that clearly."
-
-Manicamp began to laugh, which almost exasperated the princess, who was
-not, as we know, of a very patient disposition.
-
-"Madame," resumed the discreet Manicamp, saluting the princess, "let us
-bury this affair altogether in forgetfulness, for it will probably never
-be quite cleared up."
-
-"Oh, as far as that goes there is nothing more to do, and the
-information is complete. The king will learn that M. de Guiche has taken
-up the cause of this little adventuress, who gives herself all the
-airs of a grand lady; he will learn that Monsieur de Bragelonne, having
-nominated his friend M. de Guiche his guardian-in-ordinary, the latter
-immediately fastened, as he was required to do, upon the Marquis de
-Wardes, who ventured to trench upon his privileges. Moreover, you
-cannot pretend to deny, Monsieur Manicamp--you who know everything so
-well--that the king on his side casts a longing eye upon this famous
-treasure, and that he will bear no slight grudge against M. de Guiche
-for constituting himself its defender. Are you sufficiently well
-informed now, or do you require anything further? If so, speak,
-monsieur."
-
-"No, Madame, there is nothing more I wish to know."
-
-"Learn, however--for you ought to know it, Monsieur de Manicamp--learn
-that his majesty's indignation will be followed by terrible
-consequences. In princes of a similar temperament to that of his
-majesty, the passion which jealousy causes sweeps down like a
-whirlwind."
-
-"Which you will temper, Madame."
-
-"I!" exclaimed the princess, with a gesture of indescribable irony; "I!
-and by what title, may I ask?"
-
-"Because you detest injustice, Madame."
-
-"And according to your account, then, it would be an injustice to
-prevent the king arranging his love affairs as he pleases."
-
-"You will intercede, however, in M. de Guiche's favor?"
-
-"You are mad, monsieur," said the princess, in a haughty tone of voice.
-
-"On the contrary, I am in the most perfect possession of my senses; and
-I repeat, you will defend M. de Guiche before the king."
-
-"Why should I?"
-
-"Because the cause of M. de Guiche is your own, Madame," said Manicamp,
-with ardor kindling in his eyes.
-
-"What do you mean by that?"
-
-"I mean, Madame, that, with respect to the defense which Monsieur de
-Guiche undertook in M. de Bragelonne's absence, I am surprised that your
-highness has not detected a pretext in La Valliere's name having been
-brought forward."
-
-"A pretext? But a pretext for what?" repeated the princess,
-hesitatingly, for Manicamp's steady look had just revealed something of
-the truth to her.
-
-"I trust, Madame," said the young man, "I have said sufficient to induce
-your highness not to overwhelm before his majesty my poor friend, De
-Guiche, against whom all the malevolence of a party bitterly opposed to
-your own will now be directed."
-
-"You mean, on the contrary, I suppose, that all those who have no great
-affection for Mademoiselle de la Valliere, and even, perhaps, a few of
-those who have some regard for her, will be angry with the comte?"
-
-"Oh, Madame! why will you push your obstinacy to such an extent, and
-refuse to open your ears and listen to the counsel of one whose
-devotion to you is unbounded? Must I expose myself to the risk of your
-displeasure,--am I really to be called upon to name, contrary to my own
-wish, the person who was the real cause of this quarrel?"
-
-"The person?" said Madame, blushing.
-
-"Must I," continued Manicamp, "tell you how poor De Guiche became
-irritated, furious, exasperated beyond all control, at the different
-rumors now being circulated about this person? Must I, if you persist
-in this willful blindness, and if respect should continue to prevent me
-naming her,--must I, I repeat, recall to your recollection the
-various scenes which Monsieur had with the Duke of Buckingham, and the
-insinuations which were reported respecting the duke's exile? Must I
-remind you of the anxious care the comte always took in his efforts to
-please, to watch, to protect that person for whom alone he lives,--for
-whom alone he breathes? Well! I will do so; and when I shall have made
-you recall all the particulars I refer to, you will perhaps understand
-how it happened that the comte, having lost all control over himself,
-and having been for some time past almost harassed to death by De
-Wardes, became, at the first disrespectful expression which the latter
-pronounced respecting the person in question, inflamed with passion, and
-panted only for an opportunity of avenging the affront."
-
-The princess concealed her face with her hands. "Monsieur, monsieur!"
-she exclaimed; "do you know what you are saying, and to whom you are
-speaking?"
-
-"And so, Madame," pursued Manicamp, as if he had not heard the
-exclamations of the princess, "nothing will astonish you any
-longer,--neither the comte's ardor in seeking the quarrel, nor his
-wonderful address in transferring it to a quarter foreign to your own
-personal interests. That latter circumstance was, indeed, a marvelous
-instance of tact and perfect coolness, and if the person in whose
-behalf the comte so fought and shed his blood does, in reality, owe
-some gratitude to the poor wounded sufferer, it is not on account of the
-blood he has shed, or the agony he has suffered, but for the steps he
-has taken to preserve from comment or reflection an honor which is more
-precious to him than his own."
-
-"Oh!" cried Madame, as if she had been alone, "is it possible the
-quarrel was on my account!"
-
-Manicamp felt he could now breathe for a moment--and gallantly had he
-won the right to do so. Madame, on her side, remained for some time
-plunged in a painful reverie. Her agitation could be seen by her quick
-respiration, by her drooping eyelids, by the frequency with which she
-pressed her hand upon her heart. But, in her, coquetry was not so much
-a passive quality, as, on the contrary, a fire which sought for fuel to
-maintain itself, finding anywhere and everywhere what it required.
-
-"If it be as you assert," she said, "the comte will have obliged two
-persons at the same time; for Monsieur de Bragelonne also owes a deep
-debt of gratitude to M. de Guiche--and with far greater reason, indeed,
-because everywhere, and on every occasion, Mademoiselle de la Valliere
-will be regarded as having been defended by this generous champion."
-
-Manicamp perceived that there still remained some lingering doubt in the
-princess's heart. "A truly admirable service, indeed," he said, "is the
-one he has rendered to Mademoiselle de la Valliere! A truly admirable
-service to M. de Bragelonne! The duel has created a sensation which, in
-some respects, casts a dishonorable suspicion upon that young girl;
-a sensation, indeed, which will embroil her with the vicomte. The
-consequence is that De Wardes's pistol-bullet has had three results
-instead of one; it destroys at the same time the honor of a woman, the
-happiness of a man, and, perhaps, it has wounded to death one of
-the best gentlemen in France. Oh, Madame! your logic is cold--even
-calculating; it always condemns--it never absolves."
-
-Manicamp's concluding words scattered to the winds the last doubt which
-lingered, not in Madame's heart, but in her mind. She was no longer
-a princess full of scruples, nor a woman with her ever-returning
-suspicions, but one whose heart has just felt the mortal chill of a
-wound. "Wounded to death!" she murmured, in a faltering voice, "oh,
-Monsieur de Manicamp! did you not say, wounded to death?"
-
-Manicamp returned no other answer than a deep sigh.
-
-"And so you said that the comte is dangerously wounded?" continued the
-princess.
-
-"Yes, Madame; one of his hands is shattered, and he has a bullet lodged
-in his breast."
-
-"Gracious heavens!" resumed the princess, with a feverish excitement,
-"this is horrible! Monsieur de Manicamp! a hand shattered, do you say,
-and a bullet in his breast? And that coward! that wretch! that assassin,
-De Wardes, did it!"
-
-Manicamp seemed overcome by a violent emotion. He had, in fact,
-displayed no little energy in the latter part of his speech. As for
-Madame, she entirely threw aside all regard for the formal observances
-of propriety society imposes; for when, with her, passion spoke
-in accents either of anger or sympathy, nothing could restrain her
-impulses. Madame approached Manicamp, who had subsided in a chair, as if
-his grief were a sufficiently powerful excuse for his infraction of the
-laws of etiquette. "Monsieur," she said, seizing him by the hand, "be
-frank with me."
-
-Manicamp looked up.
-
-"Is M. de Guiche in danger of death?"
-
-"Doubly so, Madame," he replied; "in the first place on account of the
-hemorrhage which has taken place, an artery having been injured in the
-hand; and next, in consequence of the wound in his breast, which may,
-the doctor is afraid, at least, have injured some vital part."
-
-"He may die, then?"
-
-"Die, yes, Madame; and without even having had the consolation of
-knowing that you have been told of his devotion."
-
-"You will tell him."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes; are you not his friend?"
-
-"I? oh, no, Madame; I will only tell M. de Guiche--if, indeed, he is
-still in a condition to hear me--I will only tell him what I have seen;
-that is, your cruelty to him."
-
-"Oh, monsieur, you will not be guilty of such barbarity!"
-
-"Indeed, Madame, I shall speak the truth, for nature is very energetic
-in a man of his age. The physicians are clever men, and if, by chance,
-the poor comte should survive his wound, I should not wish him to die of
-a wound of the heart, after surviving one of the body." Manicamp rose,
-and with an expression of profoundest respect, seemed to be desirous of
-taking leave.
-
-"At least, monsieur," said Madame, stopping him with almost a suppliant
-air, "you will be kind enough to tell me in what state your wounded
-friend is, and who is the physician who attends him?"
-
-"As regards the state he is in, Madame, he is seriously ill; his
-physician is M. Valot, his majesty's private medical attendant. M. Valot
-is moreover assisted by a professional friend, to whose house M. de
-Guiche has been carried."
-
-"What! he is not in the chateau?" said Madame.
-
-"Alas, Madame! the poor fellow was so ill, that he could not even be
-conveyed thither."
-
-"Give me the address, monsieur," said the princess, hurriedly; "I will
-send to inquire after him."
-
-"Rue du Feurre; a brick-built house, with white outside blinds. The
-doctor's name is on the door."
-
-"You are returning to your wounded friend, Monsieur de Manicamp?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"You will be able, then, to do me a service."
-
-"I am at your highness's orders."
-
-"Do what you intended to do; return to M. de Guiche, send away all those
-whom you may find there, and have the kindness yourself to go away too."
-
-"Madame--"
-
-"Let us waste no time in useless explanations. Accept the fact as I
-present it to you; see nothing in it beyond what is really there, and
-ask nothing further than what I tell you. I am going to send one of my
-ladies, perhaps two, because it is now getting late; I do not wish them
-to see you, or rather I do not wish you to see them. These are scruples
-you can understand--you particularly, Monsieur de Manicamp, who seem
-capable of divining so much."
-
-"Oh, Madame, perfectly; I can even do better still,--I will precede, or
-rather walk, in advance of your attendants; it will, at the same time,
-be the means of showing them the way more accurately, and of protecting
-them, if occasion arises, though there is no probability of their
-needing protection."
-
-"And, by this means, then, they would be sure of entering without
-difficulty, would they not?"
-
-"Certainly, Madame; for as I should be the first to pass, I thus remove
-any difficulties that might chance to be in the way."
-
-"Very well. Go, go, Monsieur de Manicamp, and wait at the bottom of the
-staircase."
-
-"I go at once, Madame."
-
-"Stay."
-
-Manicamp paused.
-
-"When you hear the footsteps of two women descending the stairs, go out,
-and, without once turning round, take the road which leads to where the
-poor count is lying."
-
-"But if, by any mischance, two other persons were to descend, and I were
-to be mistaken?"
-
-"You will hear one of the two clap her hands together softly. Go."
-
-Manicamp turned round, bowed once more, and left the room, his heart
-overflowing with joy. In fact, he knew very well that the presence of
-Madame herself would be the best balm to apply to his friend's wounds. A
-quarter of an hour had hardly elapsed when he heard the sound of a door
-opened softly, and closed with like precaution. He listened to the light
-footfalls gliding down the staircase, and then heard the signal agreed
-upon. He immediately went out, and, faithful to his promise, bent
-his way, without once turning his head, through the streets of
-Fontainebleau, towards the doctor's dwelling.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXI. M. Malicorne the Keeper of the Records of France.
-
-Two women, their figures completely concealed by their mantles, and
-whose masks effectually hid the upper portion of their faces, timidly
-followed Manicamp's steps. On the first floor, behind curtains of
-red damask, the soft light of a lamp placed upon a low table faintly
-illumined the room, at the other extremity of which, on a large bedstead
-supported by spiral columns, around which curtains of the same color as
-those which deadened the rays of the lamp had been closely drawn, lay De
-Guiche, his head supported by pillows, his eyes looking as if the mists
-of death were gathering; his long black hair, scattered over the pillow,
-set off the young man's hollow temples. It was easy to see that fever
-was the chief tenant of the chamber. De Guiche was dreaming. His
-wandering mind was pursuing, through gloom and mystery, one of those
-wild creations delirium engenders. Two or three drops of blood, still
-liquid, stained the floor. Manicamp hurriedly ran up the stairs, but
-paused at the threshold of the door, looked into the room, and seeing
-that everything was perfectly quiet, he advanced towards the foot of the
-large leathern armchair, a specimen of furniture of the reign of Henry
-IV., and seeing that the nurse, as a matter of course, had dropped off
-to sleep, he awoke her, and begged her to pass into the adjoining room.
-
-Then, standing by the side of the bed, he remained for a moment
-deliberating whether it would be better to awaken Guiche, in order to
-acquaint him with the good news. But, as he began to hear behind the
-door the rustling of silk dresses and the hurried breathing of his two
-companions, and as he already saw that the curtain screening the doorway
-seemed on the point of being impatiently drawn aside, he passed round
-the bed and followed the nurse into the next room. As soon as he had
-disappeared the curtain was raised, and his two female companions
-entered the room he had just left. The one who entered first made a
-gesture to her companion, which riveted her to the spot where she stood,
-close to the door, and then resolutely advanced towards the bed, drew
-back the curtains along the iron rod, and threw them in thick folds
-behind the head of the bed. She gazed upon the comte's pallid face;
-remarked his right hand enveloped in linen whose dazzling whiteness was
-emphasized by the counterpane patterned with dark leaves thrown across
-the couch. She shuddered as she saw a stain of blood growing larger
-and larger upon the bandages. The young man's breast was uncovered,
-as though for the cool night air to assist his respiration. A narrow
-bandage fastened the dressings of the wound, around which a purplish
-circle of extravasated blood was gradually increasing in size. A deep
-sigh broke from her lips. She leaned against one of the columns of the
-bed, and gazed, through the apertures in her mask, upon the harrowing
-spectacle before her. A hoarse harsh groan passed like a death-rattle
-through the comte's clenched teeth. The masked lady seized his left
-hand, which scorched like burning coals. But at the very moment she
-placed her icy hand upon it, the action of the cold was such that De
-Guiche opened his eyes, and by a look in which revived intelligence
-was dawning, seemed as though struggling back again into existence. The
-first thing upon which he fixed his gaze was this phantom standing erect
-by his bedside. At that sight, his eyes became dilated, but without any
-appearance of consciousness in them. The lady thereupon made a sign to
-her companion, who had remained at the door; and in all probability the
-latter had already received her lesson, for in a clear tone of
-voice, and without any hesitation whatever, she pronounced these
-words:--"Monsieur le comte, her royal highness Madame is desirous of
-knowing how you are able to bear your wound, and to express to you, by
-my lips, her great regret at seeing you suffer."
-
-As she pronounced the word Madame, Guiche started; he had not as yet
-remarked the person to whom the voice belonged, and he naturally turned
-towards the direction whence it preceded. But, as he felt the cold hand
-still resting on his own, he again turned towards the motionless figure
-beside him. "Was it you who spoke, madame?" he asked, in a weak voice,
-"or is there another person in beside you in the room?"
-
-"Yes," replied the figure, in an almost unintelligible voice, as she
-bent down her head.
-
-"Well," said the wounded man, with a great effort, "I thank you. Tell
-Madame that I no longer regret to die, since she has remembered me."
-
-At the words "to die," pronounced by one whose life seemed to hang on a
-thread, the masked lady could not restrain her tears, which flowed under
-the mask, and appeared upon her cheeks just where the mask left her face
-bare. If De Guiche had been in fuller possession of his senses, he would
-have seen her tears roll like glistening pearls, and fall upon his bed.
-The lady, forgetting that she wore her mask, raised her hand as though
-to wipe her eyes, and meeting the rough velvet, she tore away her mask
-in anger, and threw it on the floor. At the unexpected apparition before
-him, which seemed to issue from a cloud, De Guiche uttered a cry and
-stretched his arms towards her; but every word perished on his lips, and
-his strength seemed utterly abandoning him. His right hand, which had
-followed his first impulse, without calculating the amount of strength
-he had left, fell back again upon the bed, and immediately afterwards
-the white linen was stained with a larger spot than before. In the
-meantime, the young man's eyes became dim, and closed, as if he were
-already struggling with the messenger of death; and then, after a few
-involuntary movements, his head fell back motionless on his pillow; his
-face grew livid. The lady was frightened; but on this occasion, contrary
-to what is usually the case, fear attracted. She leaned over the young
-man, gazed earnestly, fixedly at his pale, cold face, which she almost
-touched, then imprinted a rapid kiss upon De Guiche's left hand, who,
-trembling as if an electric shock had passed through him, awoke a second
-time, opened his large eyes, incapable of recognition, and again
-fell into a state of complete insensibility. "Come," she said to her
-companion, "we must not remain here any longer; I shall be committing
-some folly or other."
-
-"Madame, Madame, your highness is forgetting your mask!" said her
-vigilant companion.
-
-"Pick it up," replied her mistress, as she tottered almost senseless
-towards the staircase, and as the outer door had been left only
-half-closed, the two women, light as birds, passed through it, and
-with hurried steps returned to the palace. One of them ascended towards
-Madame's apartments, where she disappeared; the other entered the rooms
-belonging to the maids of honor, namely, on the _entresol_, and having
-reached her own room, she sat down before a table, and without giving
-herself time even to breathe, wrote the following letter:
-
-"This evening Madame has been to see M. de Guiche. Everything is going
-well on this side. See that your news is equally exemplary, and do not
-forget to burn this paper."
-
-She folded the letter, and leaving her room with every possible
-precaution, crossed a corridor which led to the apartments appropriated
-to the gentlemen attached to Monsieur's service. She stopped before a
-door, under which, having previously knocked twice in a short, quick
-manner, she thrust the paper, and fled. Then, returning to her own
-room, she removed every trace of her having gone out, and also of
-having written the letter. Amid the investigations she was so diligently
-pursuing she perceived on the table the mask which belonged to Madame,
-and which, according to her mistress's directions, she had brought back
-but had forgotten to restore to her. "Oh, oh!" she said, "I must not
-forget to do to-morrow what I have forgotten to-day."
-
-And she took hold of the velvet mask by that part which covered the
-cheeks, and feeling that her thumb was wet, looked at it. It was not
-only wet, but reddened. The mask had fallen upon one of the spots of
-blood which, we have already said, stained the floor, and from that
-black velvet outside which had accidentally come into contact with
-it, the blood had passed through to the inside, and stained the white
-cambric lining. "Oh, oh!" said Montalais, for doubtless our readers have
-already recognized her by these various maneuvers, "I shall not give
-back this mask; it is far too precious now."
-
-And rising from her seat, she ran towards a box made of maple wood,
-which inclosed different articles of toilette and perfumery. "No, not
-here," she said, "such a treasure must not be abandoned to the slightest
-chance of detection."
-
-Then, after a moment's silence, and with a smile that was peculiarly her
-own, she added:--"Beautiful mask, stained with the blood of that brave
-knight, you shall go and join that collection of wonders, La Valliere's
-and Raoul's letters, that loving collection, indeed, which will some day
-or other form part of the history of France, of European royalty. You
-shall be placed under M. Malicorne's care," said the laughing girl, as
-she began to undress herself, "under the protection of that worthy M.
-Malicorne," she said, blowing out the taper, "who thinks he was born
-only to become the chief usher of Monsieur's apartments, and whom I will
-make keeper of the records and historiographer of the house of Bourbon,
-and of the first houses in the kingdom. Let him grumble now, that
-discontented Malicorne," she added, as she drew the curtains and fell
-asleep.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXII. The Journey.
-
-The next day being agreed upon for the departure, the king, at eleven
-o'clock precisely, descended the grand staircase with the two queens and
-Madame, in order to enter his carriage drawn by six horses, that were
-pawing the ground in impatience at the foot of the staircase. The whole
-court awaited the royal appearance in the _Fer-a-cheval_ crescent,
-in their travelling costumes; the large number of saddled horses and
-carriages of ladies and gentlemen of the court, surrounded by their
-attendants, servants, and pages, formed a spectacle whose brilliancy
-could scarcely be equalled. The king entered his carriage with the two
-queens; Madame was in the same one with Monsieur. The maids of honor
-followed their example, and took their seats, two by two, in the
-carriages destined for them. The weather was exceedingly warm; a light
-breeze, which, early in the morning, all had thought would have proved
-sufficient to cool the air, soon became fiercely heated by the rays of
-the sun, although it was hidden behind the clouds, and filtered through
-the heated vapor which rose from the ground like a scorching wind,
-bearing particles of fine dust against the faces of the travelers.
-Madame was the first to complain of the heat. Monsieur's only reply was
-to throw himself back in the carriage as though about to faint, and to
-inundate himself with scents and perfumes, uttering the deepest sighs
-all the while; whereupon Madame said to him, with her most amiable
-expression:--"Really, Monsieur, I fancied that you would have been
-polite enough, on account of the terrible heat, to have left me my
-carriage to myself, and to have performed the journey yourself on
-horseback."
-
-"Ride on horseback!" cried the prince, with an accent of dismay which
-showed how little idea he had of adopting this unnatural advice; "you
-cannot suppose such a thing, Madame! My skin would peel off if I were to
-expose myself to such a burning breeze as this."
-
-Madame began to laugh.
-
-"You can take my parasol," she said.
-
-"But the trouble of holding it!" replied Monsieur, with the greatest
-coolness; "besides, I have no horse."
-
-"What, no horse?" replied the princess, who, if she did not secure the
-solitude she required, at least obtained the amusement of teasing.
-"No horse! You are mistaken, Monsieur; for I see your favorite bay out
-yonder."
-
-"My bay horse!" exclaimed the prince, attempting to lean forward to look
-out of the door; but the movement he was obliged to make cost him so
-much trouble that he soon hastened to resume his immobility.
-
-"Yes," said Madame; "your horse, led by M. de Malicorne."
-
-"Poor beast," replied the prince; "how warm it must be!"
-
-And with these words he closed his eyes, like a man on the point of
-death. Madame, on her side, reclined indolently in the other corner of
-the carriage, and closed her eyes also, not, however, to sleep, but to
-think more at her ease. In the meantime the king, seated in the front
-seat of his carriage, the back of which he had yielded up to the two
-queens, was a prey to that feverish contrariety experienced by anxious
-lovers, who, without being able to quench their ardent thirst, are
-ceaselessly desirous of seeing the loved object, and then go away
-partially satisfied, without perceiving they have acquired a more
-insatiable thirst than ever. The king, whose carriage headed the
-procession, could not from the place he occupied perceive the carriages
-of the ladies and maids of honor, which followed in a line behind it.
-Besides, he was obliged to answer the eternal questions of the young
-queen, who, happy to have with her "_her dear husband_," as she called
-him in utter forgetfulness of royal etiquette, invested him with all her
-affection, stifled him with her attentions, afraid that some one might
-come to take him from her, or that he himself might suddenly take a
-fancy to quit her society. Anne of Austria, whom nothing at that moment
-occupied except the occasional cruel throbbings in her bosom, looked
-pleased and delighted, and although she perfectly realized the king's
-impatience, tantalizingly prolonged his sufferings by unexpectedly
-resuming the conversation at the very moment the king, absorbed in his
-own reflections, began to muse over his secret attachment. Everything
-seemed to combine--not alone the little teasing attentions of the queen,
-but also the queen-mother's interruptions--to make the king's position
-almost insupportable; for he knew not how to control the restless
-longings of his heart. At first, he complained of the heat--a complaint
-merely preliminary to others, but with sufficient tact to prevent
-Maria Theresa guessing his real object. Understanding the king's remark
-literally, she began to fan him with her ostrich plumes. But the heat
-passed away, and the king then complained of cramps and stiffness in his
-legs, and as the carriages at that moment stopped to change horses, the
-queen said:--"Shall I get out with you? I too feel tired of sitting. We
-can walk on a little distance; the carriage will overtake us, and we can
-resume our places presently."
-
-The king frowned; it is a hard trial a jealous woman makes her husband
-submit to whose fidelity she suspects, when, although herself a prey
-to jealousy, she watches herself so narrowly that she avoids giving any
-pretext for an angry feeling. The king, therefore, in the present case,
-could not refuse; he accepted the offer, alighted from the carriage,
-gave his arm to the queen, and walked up and down with her while the
-horses were being changed. As he walked along, he cast an envious glance
-upon the courtiers, who were fortunate enough to be on horseback. The
-queen soon found out that the promenade she had suggested afforded
-the king as little pleasure as he had experienced from driving. She
-accordingly expressed a wish to return to her carriage, and the king
-conducted her to the door, but did not get in with her. He stepped back
-a few paces, and looked along the file of carriages for the purpose of
-recognizing the one in which he took so strong an interest. At the door
-of the sixth carriage he saw La Valliere's fair countenance. As the
-king thus stood motionless, wrapt in thought, without perceiving that
-everything was ready, and that he alone was causing the delay, he heard
-a voice close beside him, addressing him in the most respectful manner.
-It was M. Malicorne, in a complete costume of an equerry, holding over
-his left arm the bridles of a couple of horses.
-
-"Your majesty asked for a horse, I believe," he said.
-
-"A horse? Have you one of my horses here?" inquired the king, trying
-to remember the person who addressed him, and whose face was not as yet
-familiar to him.
-
-"Sire," replied Malicorne, "at all events I have a horse here which is
-at your majesty's service."
-
-And Malicorne pointed at Monsieur's bay horse, which Madame had
-observed. It was a beautiful creature royally caparisoned.
-
-"This is not one of my horses, monsieur," said the king.
-
-"Sire, it is a horse out of his royal highness's stables; but he does
-not ride when the weather is as hot as it is now."
-
-Louis did not reply, but approached the horse, which stood pawing the
-ground with its foot. Malicorne hastened to hold the stirrup for him,
-but the king was already in the saddle. Restored to good-humor by this
-lucky accident, the king hastened towards the queen's carriage, where he
-was anxiously expected; and notwithstanding Maria Theresa's thoughtful
-and preoccupied air, he said: "I have been fortunate enough to find
-this horse, and I intend to avail myself of it. I felt stifled in the
-carriage. Adieu, ladies."
-
-Then bending gracefully over the arched neck of his beautiful steed,
-he disappeared in a second. Anne of Austria leaned forward, in order
-to look after him as he rode away; he did not get very far, for when he
-reached the sixth carriage, he reined in his horse suddenly and took off
-his hat. He saluted La Valliere, who uttered a cry of surprise as
-she saw him, blushing at the same time with pleasure. Montalais, who
-occupied the other seat in the carriage, made the king a most respectful
-bow. And then, with all the tact of a woman, she pretended to be
-exceedingly interested in the landscape, and withdrew herself into the
-left-hand corner. The conversation between the king and La Valliere
-began, as all lovers' conversations generally do, namely, by eloquent
-looks and by a few words utterly devoid of common sense. The king
-explained how warm he had felt in his carriage, so much so indeed that
-he could almost regard the horse he then rode as a blessing thrown in
-his way. "And," he added, "my benefactor is an exceedingly intelligent
-man, for he seemed to guess my thoughts intuitively. I have now only
-one wish, that of learning the name of the gentleman who so cleverly
-assisted his king out of his dilemma, and extricated him from his cruel
-position."
-
-Montalais, during this colloquy, the first words of which had awakened
-her attention, had slightly altered her position, and contrived so as
-to meet the king's look as he finished his remark. It followed very
-naturally that the king looked inquiringly as much at her as at La
-Valliere; she had every reason to suppose that it was herself who
-was appealed to, and consequently might be permitted to answer. She
-therefore said: "Sire, the horse which your majesty is riding belongs to
-Monsieur, and was being led by one of his royal highness's gentlemen."
-
-"And what is that gentleman's name, may I ask, mademoiselle?"
-
-"M. de Malicorne, sire."
-
-The name produced its usual effect, for the king repeated it smilingly.
-
-"Yes, sire," replied Aure. "Stay, it is the gentleman who is galloping
-on my left hand;" and she pointed out Malicorne, who, with a very
-sanctified expression, was galloping by the side of the carriage,
-knowing perfectly well that they were talking of him at that very
-moment, but sitting in his saddle as if he were deaf and dumb.
-
-"Yes," said the king, "that is the gentleman; I remember his face, and
-will not forget his name;" and the king looked tenderly at La Valliere.
-
-Aure had now nothing further to do; she had let Malicorne's name fall;
-the soil was good; all that was now left to be done was to let the
-name take root, and the event would bear fruit in due season. She
-consequently threw herself back in her corner, feeling perfectly
-justified in making as many agreeable signs of recognition as she liked
-to Malicorne, since the latter had had the happiness of pleasing the
-king. As will readily be believed, Montalais was not mistaken; and
-Malicorne, with his quick ear and his sly look, seemed to interpret
-her remark as "All goes on well," the whole being accompanied by a
-pantomimic action, which he fancied conveyed something resembling a
-kiss.
-
-"Alas! mademoiselle," said the king, after a moment's pause, "the
-liberty and freedom of the country is soon about to cease; your
-attendance on Madame will be more strictly enforced, and we shall see
-each other no more."
-
-"Your majesty is too much attached to Madame," replied Louise, "not to
-come and see her very frequently; and whenever your majesty may chance
-to pass across the apartments--"
-
-"Ah!" said the king, in a tender voice, which was gradually lowered in
-its tone, "to perceive is not to see, and yet it seems that it would be
-quite sufficient for you."
-
-Louise did not answer a syllable; a sigh filled her heart almost to
-bursting, but she stifled it.
-
-"You exercise a great control over yourself," said the king to Louise,
-who smiled upon him with a melancholy expression. "Exert the strength
-you have in loving fondly," he continued, "and I will bless Heaven for
-having bestowed it on you."
-
-La Valliere still remained silent, but raised her eyes, brimful of
-affection, toward the king. Louis, as if overcome by this burning
-glance, passed his hand across his forehead, and pressing the sides
-of his horse with his knees, made him bound several paces forward. La
-Valliere, leaning back in her carriage, with her eyes half closed, gazed
-fixedly upon the king, whose plumes were floating in the air; she could
-not but admire his graceful carriage, his delicate and nervous limbs
-which pressed his horse's sides, and the regular outline of his
-features, which his beautiful curling hair set off to great advantage,
-revealing occasionally his small and well-formed ear. In fact the poor
-girl was in love, and she reveled in her innocent affection. In a few
-moments the king was again by her side.
-
-"Do you not perceive," he said, "how terribly your silence affects me?
-Oh! mademoiselle, how pitilessly inexorable you would become if you were
-ever to resolve to break off all acquaintance with any one; and then,
-too, I think you changeable; in fact--in fact, I dread this deep
-affection which fills my whole being."
-
-"Oh! sire, you are mistaken," said La Valliere; "if ever I love, it will
-be for all my life."
-
-"If you love, you say," exclaimed the king; "you do _not_ love now,
-then?"
-
-She hid her face in her hands.
-
-"You see," said the king, "that I am right in accusing you; you must
-admit you are changeable, capricious, a coquette, perhaps."
-
-"Oh, no! sire, be perfectly satisfied as to that. No, I say again; no,
-no!"
-
-"Promise me, then, that to me you will always be the same."
-
-"Oh! always, sire."
-
-"That you will never show any of that severity which would break my
-heart, none of that fickleness of manner which would be worse than death
-to me."
-
-"Oh! no, no."
-
-"Very well, then! but listen. I like promises, I like to place under
-the guarantee of an oath, under the protection of Heaven, in fact,
-everything which interests my heart and my affections. Promise me, or
-rather swear to me, that if in the life we are about to commence, a life
-which will be full of sacrifice, mystery, anxiety, disappointment, and
-misunderstanding; swear to me that if we should in any way deceive, or
-misunderstand each other, or should judge each other unjustly, for that
-indeed would be criminal in love such as ours; swear to me, Louise--"
-
-She trembled with agitation to the very depths of her heart; it was the
-first time she had heard her name pronounced in that manner by her
-royal lover. As for the king, taking off his glove, and placing his
-hand within the carriage, he continued:--"Swear, that never in all
-our quarrels will we allow one night even to pass by, if any
-misunderstanding should arise between us, without a visit, or at least
-a message, from either, in order to convey consolation and repose to the
-other."
-
-La Valliere took her lover's burning hand between her own cool palms,
-and pressed it softly, until a movement of the horse, frightened by the
-proximity of the wheels, obliged her to abandon her happiness. She had
-vowed as he desired.
-
-"Return, sire," she said, "return to the queen. I foresee a storm
-yonder, which threatens my peace of mind and yours."
-
-Louis obeyed, saluted Mademoiselle de Montalais, and set off at a gallop
-to rejoin the queen. As he passed Monsieur's carriage, he observed that
-he was fast asleep, although Madame, on her part, was wide awake. As
-the king passed her she said, "What a beautiful horse, sire! Is it not
-Monsieur's bay horse?"
-
-The young queen kindly asked, "Are you better now, sire?" [3]
-
-
-
-Chapter XXIII. Triumfeminate.
-
-On the king's arrival in Paris, he sat at the council which had been
-summoned, and worked for a certain portion of the day. The queen
-remained with the queen-mother, and burst into tears as soon as she had
-taken leave of the king. "Ah, madame!" she said, "the king no longer
-loves me! What will become of me?"
-
-"A husband always loves his wife when she is like you," replied Anne of
-Austria.
-
-"A time may come when he will love another woman instead of me."
-
-"What do you call loving?"
-
-"Always thinking of a person--always seeking her society."
-
-"Do you happen to have remarked," said Anne of Austria, "that the king
-has ever done anything of the sort?"
-
-"No, madame," said the young queen, hesitatingly.
-
-"What is there to complain of, then, Marie?"
-
-"You will admit that the king leaves me?"
-
-"The king, my daughter, belongs to his people."
-
-"And that is the very reason why he no longer belongs to me; and that is
-the reason, too, why I shall find myself, as so many queens before me,
-forsaken and forgotten, whilst glory and honors will be reserved for
-others. Oh, my mother! the king is so handsome! how often will others
-tell him that they love him, and how much, indeed, they must do so!"
-
-"It is very seldom, indeed, that women love the man in loving the king.
-But if such a thing happened, which I doubt, you would do better to
-wish, Marie, that such women should really love your husband. In the
-first place, the devoted love of a mistress is a rapid element of the
-dissolution of a lover's affection; and then, by dint of loving, the
-mistress loses all influence over her lover, whose power of wealth she
-does not covet, caring only for his affection. Wish, therefore, that the
-king should love but lightly, and that his mistress should love with all
-her heart."
-
-"Oh, my mother, what power may not a deep affection exercise over him!"
-
-"And yet you say you are resigned?"
-
-"Quite true, quite true; I speak absurdly. There is a feeling of
-anguish, however, which I can never control."
-
-"And that is?"
-
-"The king may make a happy choice--may find a home, with all the tender
-influences of home, not far from that we can offer him,--a home with
-children round him, the children of another woman. Oh, madame! I should
-die if I were but to see the king's children."
-
-"Marie, Marie," replied the queen-mother with a smile, and she took the
-young queen's hand in her own, "remember what I am going to say, and
-let it always be a consolation to you: the king cannot have a Dauphin
-without _you_."
-
-With this remark the queen-mother quitted her daughter-in-law, in
-order to meet Madame, whose arrival in the grand cabinet had just been
-announced by one of the pages. Madame had scarcely taken time to change
-her dress. Her face revealed her agitation, which betrayed a plan, the
-execution of which occupied, while the result disturbed, her mind.
-
-"I came to ascertain," she said, "if your majesties are suffering any
-fatigue from our journey."
-
-"None at all," said the queen-mother.
-
-"A little," replied Maria Theresa.
-
-"I have suffered from annoyance more than anything else," said Madame.
-
-"How was that?" inquired Anne of Austria.
-
-"The fatigue the king undergoes in riding about on horseback."
-
-"That does the king good."
-
-"And it was I who advised him," said Maria Theresa, turning pale.
-
-Madame said not a word in reply; but one of those smiles which were
-peculiarly her own flitted for a moment across her lips, without passing
-over the rest of her face; then, immediately changing the conversation,
-she continued, "We shall find Paris precisely the Paris we quitted; the
-same intrigues, plots, and flirtations going on."
-
-"Intrigues! What intrigues do you allude to?" inquired the queen-mother.
-
-"People are talking a good deal about M. Fouquet and Madame
-Plessis-Belliere."
-
-"Who makes up the number to about ten thousand," replied the
-queen-mother. "But what are the plots you speak of?"
-
-"We have, it seems, certain misunderstandings with Holland to settle."
-
-"What about?"
-
-"Monsieur has been telling me the story of the medals."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed the young queen, "you mean those medals struck in
-Holland, on which a cloud is seen passing across the sun, which is the
-king's device. You are wrong in calling that a plot--it is an insult."
-
-"But so contemptible that the king can well despise it," replied the
-queen-mother. "Well, what are the flirtations which are alluded to? Do
-you mean that of Madame d'Olonne?"
-
-"No, no; nearer ourselves than that."
-
-"_Casa de usted_," murmured the queen-mother, and without moving her
-lips, in her daughter-in-law's ear, without being overheard by Madame,
-who thus continued:--"You know the terrible news?" [4]
-
-"Oh, yes; M. de Guiche's wound."
-
-"And you attribute it, I suppose, as every one else does, to an accident
-which happened to him while hunting?"
-
-"Yes, of course," said both the queens together, their interest
-awakened.
-
-Madame drew closer to them, as she said, in a low tone of voice, "It was
-a duel."
-
-"Ah!" said Anne of Austria, in a severe tone; for, in her ears, the word
-"duel," which had been forbidden in France all the time she reigned over
-it, had a strange sound.
-
-"A most deplorable duel, which has nearly cost Monsieur two of his best
-friends, and the king two of his best servants."
-
-"What was the cause of the duel?" inquired the young queen, animated by
-a secret instinct.
-
-"Flirtation," repeated Madame, triumphantly. "The gentlemen in question
-were conversing about the virtue of a particular lady belonging to the
-court. One of them thought that Pallas was a very second-rate person
-compared to her; the other pretended that the lady in question was an
-imitation of Venus alluring Mars; and thereupon the two gentlemen fought
-as fiercely as Hector and Achilles."
-
-"Venus alluring Mars?" said the young queen in a low tone of voice
-without venturing to examine into the allegory very deeply.
-
-"Who is the lady?" inquired Anne of Austria abruptly. "You said, I
-believe, she was one of the ladies of honor?"
-
-"Did I say so?" replied Madame.
-
-"Yes; at least I thought I heard you mention it."
-
-"Are you not aware that such a woman is of ill-omen to a royal house?"
-
-"Is it not Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" said the queen-mother.
-
-"Yes, indeed, that plain-looking creature."
-
-"I thought she was affianced to a gentleman who certainly is not, at
-least so I have heard, either M. de Guiche or M. de Wardes?"
-
-"Very possibly, madame."
-
-The young queen took up a piece of tapestry, and began to broider with
-an affectation of tranquillity her trembling fingers contradicted.
-
-"What were you saying about Venus and Mars?" pursued the queen-mother.
-"Is there a Mars also?"
-
-"She boasts of that being the case."
-
-"Did you say she boasts of it?"
-
-"That was the cause of the duel."
-
-"And M. de Guiche upheld the cause of Mars?"
-
-"Yes, certainly; like the devoted servant he is."
-
-"The devoted servant of whom?" exclaimed the young queen, forgetting her
-reserve in allowing her jealous feeling to escape.
-
-"Mars, not to be defended except at the expense of Venus," replied
-Madame. "M. de Guiche maintained the perfect innocence of Mars, and no
-doubt affirmed that it was all a mere boast."
-
-"And M. de Wardes," said Anne of Austria, quietly, "spread the report
-that Venus was within her rights, I suppose?"
-
-"Oh, De Wardes," thought Madame, "you shall pay dearly for the wound you
-have given that noblest--best of men!" And she began to attack De Wardes
-with the greatest bitterness; thus discharging her own and De Guiche's
-debt, with the assurance that she was working the future ruin of her
-enemy. She said so much, in fact, that had Manicamp been there, he would
-have regretted he had shown such firm regard for his friend, inasmuch as
-it resulted in the ruin of his unfortunate foe.
-
-"I see nothing in the whole affair but _one_ cause of mischief, and that
-is La Valliere herself," said the queen-mother.
-
-The young queen resumed her work with perfect indifference of manner,
-while Madame listened eagerly.
-
-"I do not yet quite understand what you said just now about the danger
-of coquetry," resumed Anne of Austria.
-
-"It is quite true," Madame hastened to say, "that if the girl had not
-been a coquette, Mars would not have thought at all about her."
-
-The repetition of this word Mars brought a passing color to the queen's
-face; but she still continued her work.
-
-"I will not permit that, in my court, gentlemen should be set against
-each other in this manner," said Anne of Austria, calmly. "Such manners
-were useful enough, perhaps, in days when the divided nobility had no
-other rallying-point than mere gallantry. At that time women, whose sway
-was absolute and undivided, were privileged to encourage men's valor by
-frequent trials of their courage. But now, thank Heaven, there is but
-one master in France, and to him every instinct of the mind, every
-pulse of the body are due. I will not allow my son to be deprived of
-any single one of his servants." And she turned towards the young queen,
-saying, "What is to be done with this La Valliere?"
-
-"La Valliere?" said the queen, apparently surprised, "I do not even know
-the name;" and she accompanied this remark by one of those cold, fixed
-smiles only to be observed on royal lips.
-
-Madame was herself a princess great in every respect, great in
-intelligence, great by birth, by pride; the queen's reply, however,
-completely astonished her, and she was obliged to pause for a moment
-in order to recover herself. "She is one of my maids of honor," she
-replied, with a bow.
-
-"In that case," retorted Maria Theresa, in the same tone, "it is your
-affair, my sister, and not ours."
-
-"I beg your pardon," resumed Anne of Austria, "it is my affair. And
-I perfectly well understand," she pursued, addressing a look full of
-intelligence at Madame, "Madame's motive for saying what she has just
-said."
-
-"Everything which emanates from you, madame," said the English princess,
-"proceeds from the lips of Wisdom."
-
-"If we send this girl back to her own family," said Maria Theresa,
-gently, "we must bestow a pension upon her."
-
-"Which I will provide for out of my income," exclaimed Madame.
-
-"No, no," interrupted Anne of Austria, "no disturbance, I beg. The king
-dislikes that the slightest disrespectful remark should be made of
-any lady. Let everything be done quietly. Will you have the kindness,
-Madame, to send for this girl here; and you, my daughter, will have the
-goodness to retire to your own room."
-
-The dowager queen's entreaties were commands, and as Maria Theresa rose
-to return to her apartments, Madame rose in order to send a page to
-summon La Valliere.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXIV. The First Quarrel.
-
-La Valliere entered the queen-mother's apartments without in the least
-suspecting that a serious plot was being concerted against her. She
-thought it was for something connected with her duties, and never had
-the queen-mother been unkind to her when such was the case. Besides, not
-being immediately under the control or direction of Anne of Austria,
-she could only have an official connection with her, to which her own
-gentleness of disposition, and the rank of the august princess, made
-her yield on every occasion with the best possible grace. She therefore
-advanced towards the queen-mother with that soft and gentle smile
-which constituted her principal charm, and as she did not approach
-sufficiently close, Anne of Austria signed to her to come nearer. Madame
-then entered the room, and with a perfectly calm air took her seat
-beside her mother-in-law, and continued the work which Maria Theresa had
-begun. When La Valliere, instead of the direction which she expected to
-receive immediately on entering the room, perceived these preparations,
-she looked with curiosity, if not with uneasiness, at the two
-princesses. Anne seemed full of thought, while Madame maintained an
-affectation of indifference that would have alarmed a less timid person
-even than Louise.
-
-"Mademoiselle," said the queen-mother suddenly, without attempting to
-moderate or disguise her Spanish accent, which she never failed to do
-except when she was angry, "come closer; we were talking of you, as
-every one else seems to be doing."
-
-"Of me!" exclaimed La Valliere, turning pale.
-
-"Do you pretend to be ignorant of it; are you not aware of the duel
-between M. de Guiche and M. de Wardes?"
-
-"Oh, madame! I heard of it yesterday," said La Valliere, clasping her
-hands together.
-
-"And did you not foresee this quarrel?"
-
-"Why should I, madame?"
-
-"Because two men never fight without a motive, and because you must
-be aware of the motive which awakened the animosity of the two in
-question."
-
-"I am perfectly ignorant of it, madame."
-
-"A persevering denial is a very commonplace mode of defense, and you,
-who have great pretensions to be witty and clever, ought to avoid
-commonplaces. What else have you to say?"
-
-"Oh! madame, your majesty terrifies me with your cold severity
-of manner; but I do not understand how I can have incurred your
-displeasure, or in what respect people concern themselves about me."
-
-"Then I will tell you. M. de Guiche has been obliged to undertake your
-defense."
-
-"My defense?"
-
-"Yes. He is a gallant knight, and beautiful adventuresses like to see
-brave knights couch lances in their honor. But, for my part, I hate
-fields of battle, and above all I hate adventures, and--take my remark
-as you please."
-
-La Valliere sank at the queen's feet, who turned her back upon her.
-She stretched out her hands towards Madame, who laughed in her face. A
-feeling of pride made her rise to her feet.
-
-"I have begged your majesty to tell me what is the crime I am accused
-of--I can claim this at your hands; and I see I am condemned before I am
-even permitted to justify myself."
-
-"Eh! indeed," cried Anne of Austria, "listen to her beautiful phrases,
-Madame, and to her fine sentiments; she is an inexhaustible well of
-tenderness and heroic expressions. One can easily see, young lady, that
-you have cultivated your mind in the society of crowned heads."
-
-La Valliere felt struck to the heart; she became, not whiter, but as
-white as a lily, and all her strength forsook her.
-
-"I wished to inform you," interrupted the queen, disdainfully, "that if
-you continue to nourish such feelings, you will humiliate us to such a
-degree that we shall be ashamed of appearing before you. Be simple in
-your manners. By the by, I am informed that you are affianced; is it the
-case?"
-
-La Valliere pressed her hand over her heart, which was wrung with a
-fresh pang.
-
-"Answer when you are spoken to!"
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"To a gentleman?"
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"His name?"
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"Are you aware that it is an exceedingly fortunate circumstance for you,
-mademoiselle, that such is the case, and without fortune or position,
-as you are, or without any very great personal advantages, you ought
-to bless Heaven for having procured you such a future as seems to be in
-store for you?"
-
-La Valliere did not reply. "Where is the Vicomte de Bragelonne?" pursued
-the queen.
-
-"In England," said Madame, "where the report of this young lady's
-success will not fail to reach him."
-
-"Oh, Heaven!" murmured La Valliere in despair.
-
-"Very well, mademoiselle!" said Anne of Austria, "we will get this young
-gentleman to return, and send you away somewhere with him. If you are
-of a different opinion--for girls have strange views and fancies at
-times--trust to me, I will put you in a proper path again. I have done
-as much for girls who are not as good as you are, probably."
-
-La Valliere ceased to hear the queen, who pitilessly added: "I will
-send you somewhere, by yourself, where you will be able to indulge in a
-little serious reflection. Reflection calms the ardor of the blood, and
-swallows up the illusions of youth. I suppose you understand what I have
-been saying?"
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"Not a word?"
-
-"I am innocent of everything your majesty supposes. Oh, madame! you are
-a witness of my despair. I love, I respect your majesty so much."
-
-"It would be far better not to respect me at all," said the queen, with
-a chilling irony of manner. "It would be far better if you were not
-innocent. Do you presume to suppose that I should be satisfied simply to
-leave you unpunished if you had committed the fault?"
-
-"Oh, madame! you are killing me."
-
-"No acting, if you please, or I will precipitate the _denouement_ of
-this _play_; leave the room; return to your own apartment, and I trust
-my lesson may be of service to you."
-
-"Madame!" said La Valliere to the Duchess d'Orleans, whose hands she
-seized in her own, "do you, who are so good, intercede for me?"
-
-"I!" replied the latter, with an insulting joy, "I--good!--Ah,
-mademoiselle, you think nothing of the kind;" and with a rude, hasty
-gesture she repulsed the young girl's grasp.
-
-La Valliere, instead of giving way, as from her extreme pallor and her
-tears the two princesses possibly expected, suddenly resumed her calm
-and dignified air; she bowed profoundly, and left the room.
-
-"Well!" said Anne of Austria to Madame, "do you think she will begin
-again?"
-
-"I always suspect those gentle, patient characters," replied Madame.
-"Nothing is more full of courage than a patient heart, nothing more
-self-reliant than a gentle spirit."
-
-"I feel I may almost venture to assure you she will think twice before
-she looks at the god Mars again."
-
-"So long as she does not obtain the protection of his buckler I do not
-care," retorted Madame.
-
-A proud, defiant look of the queen-mother was the reply to this
-objection, which was by no means deficient in finesse; and both of them,
-almost sure of their victory, went to look for Maria Theresa, who had
-been waiting for them with impatience.
-
-It was about half-past six in the evening, and the king had just
-partaken of refreshment. He lost no time; but the repast finished, and
-business matters settled, he took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and desired
-him to lead the way to La Valliere's apartments. The courtier uttered an
-exclamation.
-
-"Well, what is that for? It is a habit you will have to adopt, and in
-order to adopt a habit, one must make a beginning."
-
-"Oh, sire!" said Saint-Aignan, "it is hardly possible: for every one can
-be seen entering or leaving those apartments. If, however, some pretext
-or other were made use of--if your majesty, for instance, would wait
-until Madame were in her own apartments--"
-
-"No pretext; no delays. I have had enough of these impediments and
-mysteries; I cannot perceive in what respect the king of France
-dishonors himself by conversing with an amiable and clever girl. Evil be
-to him who evil thinks."
-
-"Will your majesty forgive an excess of zeal on my part?"
-
-"Speak freely."
-
-"How about the queen?"
-
-"True, true; I always wish the most entire respect to be shown to her
-majesty. Well, then, this evening only will I pay Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere a visit, and after to-day I will make use of any pretext you
-like. To-morrow we will devise all sorts of means; to-night I have no
-time."
-
-Saint-Aignan made no reply; he descended the steps, preceding the king,
-and crossed the different courtyards with a feeling of shame, which the
-distinguished honor of accompanying the king did not remove. The reason
-was that Saint-Aignan wished to stand well with Madame, as well as
-with the queens, and also, that he did not, on the other hand, want to
-displease Mademoiselle de la Valliere: and in order to carry out so
-many promising affairs, it was difficult to avoid jostling against some
-obstacle or other. Besides, the windows of the young queen's rooms,
-those of the queen-mother's, and of Madame herself, looked out upon the
-courtyard of the maids of honor. To be seen, therefore, accompanying the
-king, would be effectually to quarrel with three great and influential
-princesses--whose authority was unbounded--for the purpose of supporting
-the ephemeral credit of a mistress. The unhappy Saint-Aignan, who had
-not displayed a very great amount of courage in taking La Valliere's
-part in the park of Fontainebleau, did not feel any braver in the broad
-day-light, and found a thousand defects in the poor girl which he was
-most eager to communicate to the king. But his trial soon finished,--the
-courtyards were crossed; not a curtain was drawn aside, nor a window
-opened. The king walked hastily, because of his impatience, and the
-long legs of Saint-Aignan, who preceded him. At the door, however,
-Saint-Aignan wished to retire, but the king desired him to remain; a
-delicate consideration, on the king's part, which the courtier could
-very well have dispensed with. He had to follow Louis into La Valliere's
-apartment. As soon as the king arrived the young girl dried her tears,
-but so precipitately that the king perceived it. He questioned her most
-anxiously and tenderly, and pressed her to tell him the cause of her
-emotion.
-
-"Nothing is the matter, sire," she said.
-
-"And yet you were weeping?"
-
-"Oh, no, indeed, sire."
-
-"Look, Saint-Aignan, and tell me if I am mistaken."
-
-Saint-Aignan ought to have answered, but he was too much embarrassed.
-
-"At all events your eyes are red, mademoiselle," said the king.
-
-"The dust of the road merely, sire."
-
-"No, no; you no longer possess the air of supreme contentment which
-renders you so beautiful and so attractive. You do not look at me. Why
-avoid my gaze?" he said, as she turned aside her head. "In Heaven's
-name, what is the matter?" he inquired, beginning to lose command over
-himself.
-
-"Nothing at all, sire; and I am perfectly ready to assure your majesty
-that my mind is as free from anxiety as you could possibly wish."
-
-"Your mind at ease, when I see you are embarrassed at the slightest
-thing. Has any one annoyed you?"
-
-"No, no, sire."
-
-"I insist upon knowing if such really be the case," said the prince, his
-eyes sparkling.
-
-"No one, sire, no one has in any way offended me."
-
-"In that case, pray resume your gentle air of gayety, or that sweet
-melancholy look which I so loved in you this morning; for pity's sake,
-do so."
-
-"Yes, sire, yes."
-
-The king tapped the floor impatiently with his foot, saying, "Such a
-change is positively inexplicable." And he looked at Saint-Aignan, who
-had also remarked La Valliere's peculiar lethargy, as well as the king's
-impatience.
-
-It was futile for the king to entreat, and as useless for him to try to
-overcome her depression: the poor girl was completely overwhelmed,--the
-appearance of an angel would hardly have awakened her from her torpor.
-
-The king saw in her repeated negative replies a mystery full of
-unkindness; he began to look round the apartment with a suspicious air.
-There happened to be in La Valliere's room a miniature of Athos.
-The king remarked that this portrait bore a strong resemblance to
-Bragelonne, for it had been taken when the count was quite a young man.
-He looked at it with a threatening air. La Valliere, in her misery far
-indeed from thinking of this portrait, could not conjecture the cause
-of the king's preoccupation. And yet the king's mind was occupied with
-a terrible remembrance, which had more than once taken possession of
-his mind, but which he had always driven away. He recalled the
-intimacy existing between the two young people from their birth, their
-engagement, and that Athos himself had come to solicit La Valliere's
-hand for Raoul. He therefore could not but suppose that on her return
-to Paris, La Valliere had found news from London awaiting her, and that
-this news had counterbalanced the influence he had been enabled to exert
-over her. He immediately felt himself stung, as it were, by feelings
-of the wildest jealousy; and again questioned her, with increased
-bitterness. La Valliere could not reply, unless she were to acknowledge
-everything, which would be to accuse the queen, and Madame also; and the
-consequence would be, that she would have to enter into an open warfare
-with these two great and powerful princesses. She thought within herself
-that as she made no attempt to conceal from the king what was passing in
-her own mind, the king ought to be able to read in her heart, in
-spite of her silence; and that, had he really loved her, he would have
-understood and guessed everything. What was sympathy, then, if not that
-divine flame which possesses the property of enlightening the heart, and
-of saving lovers the necessity of an expression of their thoughts and
-feelings? She maintained her silence, therefore, sighing, and concealing
-her face in her hands. These sighs and tears, which had at first
-distressed, then terrified Louis XIV., now irritated him. He could not
-bear opposition,--the opposition which tears and sighs exhibited, any
-more than opposition of any other kind. His remarks, therefore, became
-bitter, urgent, and openly aggressive in their nature. This was a
-fresh cause of distress for the poor girl. From that very circumstance,
-therefore, which she regarded as an injustice on her lover's part, she
-drew sufficient courage to bear, not only her other troubles, but this
-one also.
-
-The king next began to accuse her in direct terms. La Valliere did not
-even attempt to defend herself; she endured all his accusations without
-according any other reply than that of shaking her head; without any
-other remark than that which escapes the heart in deep distress--a
-prayerful appeal to Heaven for help. But this ejaculation, instead of
-calming the king's displeasure, rather increased it. He, moreover, saw
-himself seconded by Saint-Aignan, for Saint-Aignan, as we have observed,
-having seen the storm increasing, and not knowing the extent of the
-regard of which Louis XIV. was capable, felt, by anticipation, all the
-collected wrath of the three princesses, and the near approach of poor
-La Valliere's downfall, and he was not true knight enough to resist
-the fear that he himself might be dragged down in the impending ruin.
-Saint-Aignan did not reply to the king's questions except by short, dry
-remarks, pronounced half-aloud; and by abrupt gestures, whose object was
-to make things worse, and bring about a misunderstanding, the result
-of which would be to free him from the annoyance of having to cross the
-courtyards in open day, in order to follow his illustrious companion to
-La Valliere's apartments. In the meantime the king's anger momentarily
-increased; he made two or three steps towards the door as if to leave
-the room, but returned. The young girl did not, however, raise her head,
-although the sound of his footsteps might have warned her that her lover
-was leaving her. He drew himself up, for a moment, before her, with his
-arms crossed.
-
-"For the last time, mademoiselle," he said, "will you speak? Will you
-assign a reason for this change, this fickleness, for this caprice?"
-
-"What can I say?" murmured La Valliere. "Do you not see, sire, that I am
-completely overwhelmed at this moment; that I have no power of will, or
-thought, or speech?"
-
-"Is it so difficult, then, to speak the truth? You could have told me
-the whole truth in fewer words than those in which you have expressed
-yourself."
-
-"But the truth about what, sire?"
-
-"About everything."
-
-La Valliere was just on the point of revealing the truth to the king,
-her arms made a sudden movement as if they were about to open, but her
-lips remained silent, and her hands again fell listlessly by her side.
-The poor girl had not yet endured sufficient unhappiness to risk the
-necessary revelation. "I know nothing," she stammered out.
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed the king, "this is no longer mere coquetry, or caprice,
-it is treason."
-
-And this time nothing could restrain him. The impulse of his heart was
-not sufficient to induce him to turn back, and he darted out of the room
-with a gesture full of despair. Saint-Aignan followed him, wishing for
-nothing better than to quit the place.
-
-Louis XIV. did not pause until he reached the staircase, and grasping
-the balustrade, said: "You see how shamefully I have been duped."
-
-"How, sire?" inquired the favorite.
-
-"De Guiche fought on the Vicomte de Bragelonne's account, and this
-Bragelonne... oh! Saint-Aignan, she still loves him. I vow to you,
-Saint-Aignan, that if, in three days from now, there were to remain but
-an atom of affection for her in my heart, I should die from very shame."
-And the king resumed his way to his own apartments.
-
-"I told your majesty how it would be," murmured Saint-Aignan, continuing
-to follow the king, and timidly glancing up at the different windows.
-
-Unfortunately their return was not, like their arrival, unobserved. A
-curtain was suddenly drawn aside; Madame was behind it. She had seen
-the king leave the apartments of the maids of honor, and as soon as she
-observed that his majesty had passed, she left her own apartments with
-hurried steps, and ran up the staircase that led to the room the king
-had just left.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXV. Despair.
-
-As soon as the king was gone La Valliere raised herself from the ground,
-and stretched out her arms, as if to follow and detain him, but when,
-having violently closed the door, the sound of his retreating footsteps
-could be heard in the distance, she had hardly sufficient strength
-left to totter towards and fall at the foot of her crucifix. There
-she remained, broken-hearted, absorbed, and overwhelmed by her grief,
-forgetful and indifferent to everything but her profound sorrow;--a
-grief she only vaguely realized--as though by instinct. In the midst of
-this wild tumult of thoughts, La Valliere heard her door open again; she
-started, and turned round, thinking it was the king who had returned.
-She was deceived, however, for it was Madame who appeared at the
-door. What did she now care for Madame! Again she sank down, her head
-supported by her _prie-Dieu_ chair. It was Madame, agitated, angry,
-and threatening. But what was that to her? "Mademoiselle," said the
-princess, standing before La Valliere, "this is very fine, I admit,
-to kneel and pray, and make a pretense of being religious; but however
-submissive you may be in your address to Heaven, it is desirable that
-you should pay some little attention to the wishes of those who reign
-and rule here below."
-
-La Valliere raised her head painfully in token of respect.
-
-"Not long since," continued Madame, "a certain recommendation was
-addressed to you, I believe."
-
-La Valliere's fixed and wild gaze showed how complete her forgetfulness
-or ignorance was.
-
-"The queen recommended you," continued Madame, "to conduct yourself in
-such a manner that no one could be justified in spreading any reports
-about you."
-
-La Valliere darted an inquiring look towards her.
-
-"I will not," continued Madame, "allow my household, which is that of
-the first princess of the blood, to set an evil example to the court;
-you would be the cause of such an example. I beg you to understand,
-therefore, in the absence of any witness of your shame--for I do not
-wish to humiliate you--that you are from this moment at perfect liberty
-to leave, and that you can return to your mother at Blois."
-
-La Valliere could not sink lower, nor could she suffer more than she had
-already suffered. Her countenance did not even change, but she remained
-kneeling with her hands clasped, like the figure of the Magdalen.
-
-"Did you hear me?" said Madame.
-
-A shiver, which passed through her whole frame, was La Valliere's only
-reply. And as the victim gave no other signs of life, Madame left the
-room. And then, her very respiration suspended, and her blood almost
-congealed, as it were, in her veins, La Valliere by degrees felt that
-the pulsation of her wrists, her neck, and temples, began to throb more
-and more painfully. These pulsations, as they gradually increased, soon
-changed into a species of brain fever, and in her temporary delirium
-she saw the figures of her friends contending with her enemies, floating
-before her vision. She heard, too, mingled together in her deafened
-ears, words of menace and words of fond affection; she seemed raised out
-of her existence as though it were upon the wings of a mighty tempest,
-and in the dim horizon of the path along which her delirium hurried
-her, she saw the stone which covered her tomb upraised, and the grim,
-appalling texture of eternal night revealed to her distracted gaze. But
-the horror of the dream which possessed her senses faded away, and she
-was again restored to the habitual resignation of her character. A ray
-of hope penetrated her heart, as a ray of sunlight streams into the
-dungeon of some unhappy captive. Her mind reverted to the journey from
-Fontainebleau, she saw the king riding beside her carriage, telling
-her that he loved her, asking for her love in return, requiring her to
-swear, and himself to swear too, that never should an evening pass by,
-if ever a misunderstanding were to arise between them, without a visit,
-a letter, a sign of some kind, being sent, to replace the troubled
-anxiety of the evening with the calm repose of the night. It was the
-king who had suggested that, who had imposed a promise on her, and who
-had sworn to it himself. It was impossible, therefore, she reasoned,
-that the king should fail in keeping the promise which he had himself
-exacted from her, unless, indeed, Louis was a despot who enforced love
-as he enforced obedience; unless, too, the king were so indifferent
-that the first obstacle in his way was sufficient to arrest his further
-progress. The king, that kind protector, who by a word, a single
-word, could relieve her distress of mind, the king even joined her
-persecutors. Oh! his anger could not possibly last. Now that he was
-alone, he would be suffering all that she herself was a prey to. But he
-was not tied hand and foot as she was; he could act, could move about,
-could come to her, while she could do nothing but wait. And the poor
-girl waited and waited, with breathless anxiety--for she could not
-believe it possible that the king would not come.
-
-It was now about half-past ten. He would either come to her, or write to
-her, or send some kind word by M. de Saint-Aignan. If he were to come,
-oh! how she would fly to meet him; how she would thrust aside that
-excess of delicacy which she now discovered was misunderstood; how
-eagerly she would explain: "It is not I who do not love you--it is the
-fault of others who will not allow me to love you." And then it must be
-confessed that she reflected upon it, and also the more she reflected,
-Louis appeared to her to be less guilty. In fact, he was ignorant of
-everything. What must he have thought of the obstinacy with which she
-remained silent? Impatient and irritable as the king was known to be, it
-was extraordinary that he had been able to preserve his temper so long.
-And yet, had it been her own case, she undoubtedly would not have acted
-in such a manner; she would have understood--have guessed everything.
-Yes, but she was nothing but a poor simple-minded girl, and not a
-great and powerful monarch. Oh! if he would but come, if he would but
-come!--how eagerly she would forgive him for all he had just made her
-suffer! how much more tenderly she would love him because she had so
-cruelly suffered! And so she sat, with her head bent forward in eager
-expectation towards the door, her lips slightly parted, as if--and
-Heaven forgive her for the mental exclamation!--they were awaiting the
-kiss which the king's lips had in the morning so sweetly indicated, when
-he pronounced the word _love!_ If the king did not come, at least he
-would write; it was a second chance; a chance less delightful certainly
-than the other, but which would show an affection just as strong, only
-more timid in its nature. Oh! how she would devour his letter, how eager
-she would be to answer it! and when the messenger who had brought it had
-left her, how she would kiss it, read it over and over again, press to
-her heart the lucky paper which would have brought her ease of mind,
-tranquillity, and perfect happiness. At all events, if the king did not
-come, if the king did not write, he could not do otherwise than send
-Saint-Aignan, or Saint-Aignan could not do otherwise than come of his
-own accord. Even if it were a third person, how openly she would speak
-to him; the royal presence would not be there to freeze her words upon
-her tongue, and then no suspicious feeling would remain a moment longer
-in the king's heart.
-
-Everything with La Valliere, heart and look, body and mind, was
-concentrated in eager expectation. She said to herself that there was an
-hour left in which to indulge hope; that until midnight struck, the
-king might come, or write or send; that at midnight only would every
-expectation vanish, every hope be lost. Whenever she heard any stir in
-the palace, the poor girl fancied she was the cause of it; whenever
-she heard any one pass in the courtyard below she imagined they were
-messengers of the king coming to her. Eleven o'clock struck, then a
-quarter-past eleven; then half-past. The minutes dragged slowly on
-in this anxiety, and yet they seemed to pass too quickly. And now, it
-struck a quarter to twelve. Midnight--midnight was near, the last, the
-final hope that remained. With the last stroke of the clock, the last
-ray of light seemed to fade away; and with the last ray faded her final
-hope. And so, the king himself had deceived her; it was he who had been
-the first to fail in keeping the oath which he had sworn that very day;
-twelve hours only between his oath and his perjured vow; it was not long,
-alas! to have preserved the illusion. And so, not only did the king not
-love her, but he despised her whom every one ill-treated, he despised
-her to the extent even of abandoning her to the shame of an expulsion
-which was equivalent to having an ignominious sentence passed on her;
-and yet, it was he, the king himself, who was the first cause of this
-ignominy. A bitter smile, the only symptom of anger which during this
-long conflict had passed across the angelic face, appeared upon her
-lips. What, in fact, now remained on earth for her, after the king was
-lost to her? Nothing. But Heaven still remained, and her thoughts flew
-thither. She prayed that the proper course for her to follow might be
-suggested. "It is from Heaven," she thought, "that I expect everything;
-it is from Heaven I ought to expect everything." And she looked at her
-crucifix with a devotion full of tender love. "There," she said, "hangs
-before me a Master who never forgets and never abandons those who
-neither forget nor abandon Him; it is to Him alone that we must
-sacrifice ourselves." And, thereupon, could any one have gazed into the
-recesses of that chamber, they would have seen the poor despairing girl
-adopt a final resolution, and determine upon one last plan in her mind.
-Then, as her knees were no longer able to support her, she gradually
-sank down upon the _prie-Dieu_, and with her head pressed against the
-wooden cross, her eyes fixed, and her respiration short and quick, she
-watched for the earliest rays of approaching daylight. At two o'clock
-in the morning she was still in the same bewilderment of mind, or rather
-the same ecstasy of feeling. Her thoughts had almost ceased to hold
-communion with things of the world. And when she saw the pale violet
-tints of early dawn visible over the roofs of the palace, and vaguely
-revealing the outlines of the ivory crucifix which she held embraced,
-she rose from the ground with a new-born strength, kissed the feet of
-the divine martyr, descended the staircase leading from the room, and
-wrapped herself from head to foot in a mantle as she went along. She
-reached the wicket at the very moment the guard of the musketeers opened
-the gate to admit the first relief-guard belonging to one of the Swiss
-regiments. And then, gliding behind the soldiers, she reached the street
-before the officer in command of the patrol had even thought of asking
-who the young girl was who was making her escape from the palace at so
-early an hour.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXVI. The Flight.
-
-La Valliere followed the patrol as it left the courtyard. The
-patrol bent its steps towards the right, by the Rue St. Honore,
-and mechanically La Valliere turned to the left. Her resolution was
-taken--her determination fixed; she wished to betake herself to the
-convent of the Carmelites at Chaillot, the superior of which enjoyed
-a reputation for severity which made the worldly-minded people of the
-court tremble. La Valliere had never seen Paris, she had never gone out
-on foot, and so would have been unable to find her way even had she been
-in a calmer frame of mind than was then the case; and this may explain
-why she ascended, instead of descending, the Rue St. Honore. Her only
-thought was to get away from the Palais Royal, and this she was doing;
-she had heard it said that Chaillot looked out upon the Seine, and she
-accordingly directed her steps towards the Seine. She took the Rue de
-Coq, and not being able to cross the Louvre, bore towards the church of
-Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, proceeding along the site of the colonnade
-which was subsequently built there by Perrault. In a very short time she
-reached the quays. Her steps were rapid and agitated; she scarcely felt
-the weakness which reminded her of having sprained her foot when very
-young, and which obliged her to limp slightly. At any other hour in
-the day her countenance would have awakened the suspicions of the least
-clear-sighted, attracted the attention of the most indifferent. But at
-half-past two in the morning, the streets of Paris are almost, if not
-quite, deserted, and scarcely is any one to be seen but the hard-working
-artisan on his way to earn his daily bread or the roistering idlers of
-the streets, who are returning to their homes after a night of riot and
-debauchery; for the former the day was beginning, and for the latter
-it was just closing. La Valliere was afraid of both faces, in which her
-ignorance of Parisian types did not permit her to distinguish the type
-of probity from that of dishonesty. The appearance of misery alarmed
-her, and all she met seemed either vile or miserable. Her dress, which
-was the same she had worn during the previous evening, was elegant even
-in its careless disorder; for it was the one in which she had presented
-herself to the queen-mother; and, moreover, when she drew aside the
-mantle which covered her face, in order to enable her to see the way she
-was going, her pallor and her beautiful eyes spoke an unknown language
-to the men she met, and, unconsciously, the poor fugitive seemed
-to invite the brutal remarks of the one class, or to appeal to the
-compassion of the other. La Valliere still walked on in the same way,
-breathless and hurried, until she reached the top of the Place de Greve.
-She stopped from time to time, placed her hand upon her heart, leaned
-against a wall until she could breathe freely again, and then continued
-on her course more rapidly than before. On reaching the Place de Greve
-La Valliere suddenly came upon a group of three drunken men, reeling and
-staggering along, who were just leaving a boat which they had made fast
-to the quay; the boat was freighted with wines, and it was apparent that
-they had done ample justice to the merchandise. They were celebrating
-their convivial exploits in three different keys, when suddenly, as they
-reached the end of the railing leading down to the quay, they found an
-obstacle in their path, in the shape of this young girl. La Valliere
-stopped; while they, on their part, at the appearance of the young girl
-dressed in court costume, also halted, and seizing each other by the
-hand, they surrounded La Valliere, singing,--
-
-"Oh! all ye weary wights, who mope alone, Come drink, and sing and
-laugh, round Venus' throne."
-
-La Valliere at once understood that the men were insulting her, and
-wished to prevent her passing; she tried to do so several times, but
-her efforts were useless. Her limbs failed her; she felt she was on the
-point of falling, and uttered a cry of terror. At the same moment
-the circle which surrounded her was suddenly broken through in a most
-violent manner. One of her insulters was knocked to the left, another
-fell rolling over and over to the right, close to the water's edge,
-while the third could hardly keep his feet. An officer of the musketeers
-stood face to face with the young girl, with threatening brow and hand
-raised to carry out his threat. The drunken fellows, at sight of the
-uniform, made their escape with what speed their staggering limbs could
-lend them, all the more eagerly for the proof of strength which the
-wearer of the uniform had just afforded them.
-
-"Is it possible," exclaimed the musketeer, "that it can be Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere?"
-
-La Valliere, bewildered by what had just happened, and confounded by
-hearing her name pronounced, looked up and recognized D'Artagnan. "Oh,
-M. d'Artagnan! it is indeed I;" and at the same moment she seized
-his arm. "You will protect me, will you not?" she added, in a tone of
-entreaty.
-
-"Most certainly I will protect you; but, in Heaven's name, where are you
-going at this hour?"
-
-"I am going to Chaillot."
-
-"You are going to Chaillot by way of La Rapee! why, mademoiselle, you
-are turning your back upon it."
-
-"In that case, monsieur, be kind enough to put me in the right way, and
-to go with me a short distance."
-
-"Most willingly."
-
-"But how does it happen that I have found you here? By what merciful
-intervention were you sent to my assistance? I almost seem to be
-dreaming, or to be losing my senses."
-
-"I happened to be here, mademoiselle, because I have a house in the
-Place de Greve, at the sign of the Notre-Dame, the rent of which I went
-to receive yesterday, and where I, in fact, passed the night. And I
-also wished to be at the palace early, for the purposes of inspecting my
-posts."
-
-"Thank you," said La Valliere.
-
-"That is what _I_ was doing," said D'Artagnan to himself; "but what is
-_she_ doing, and why is she going to Chaillot at such an hour?" And he
-offered her his arm, which she took, and began to walk with increased
-precipitation, which ill-concealed, however, her weakness. D'Artagnan
-perceived it, and proposed to La Valliere that she should take a little
-rest, which she refused.
-
-"You are ignorant, perhaps, where Chaillot is?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"It is a great distance."
-
-"That matters very little."
-
-"It is at least a league."
-
-"I can walk it."
-
-D'Artagnan did not reply; he could tell, merely by the tone of a voice,
-when a resolution was real or not. He rather bore along rather than
-accompanied La Valliere, until they perceived the elevated ground of
-Chaillot.
-
-"What house are you going to, mademoiselle?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"To the Carmelites, monsieur."
-
-"To the Carmelites?" repeated D'Artagnan, in amazement.
-
-"Yes; and since Heaven has directed you towards me to give me your
-support on my road, accept both my thanks and my adieux."
-
-"To the Carmelites! Your adieux! Are you going to become a nun?"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes, monsieur."
-
-"What, you!!!" There was in this "you," which we have marked by
-three notes of exclamation in order to render it as expressive as
-possible,--there was, we repeat, in this "you" a complete poem; it
-recalled to La Valliere her old recollections of Blois, and her new
-recollections of Fontainebleau; it said to her, "_You_, who might be
-happy with Raoul; _you_, who might be powerful with Louis; _you_ about
-to become a nun!"
-
-"Yes, monsieur," she said, "I am going to devote myself to the service
-of Heaven; and to renounce the world entirely."
-
-"But are you not mistaken with regard to your vocation,--are you not
-mistaken in supposing it to be the will of Heaven?"
-
-"No, since Heaven has been pleased to throw you in my way. Had it not
-been for you, I should certainly have sunk from fatigue on the road, and
-since Heaven, I repeat, has thrown you in my way, it is because it has
-willed that I should carry out my intention."
-
-"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, doubtingly, "that is a rather subtle distinction,
-I think."
-
-"Whatever it may be," returned the young girl, "I have acquainted you
-with the steps I have taken, and with my fixed resolution. And, now, I
-have one last favor to ask of you, even while I return you my thanks.
-The king is entirely ignorant of my flight from the Palais Royal, and is
-ignorant also of what I am about to do."
-
-"The king ignorant, you say!" exclaimed D'Artagnan. "Take care,
-mademoiselle; you are not aware of what you are doing. No one ought to
-do anything with which the king is unacquainted, especially those who
-belong to the court."
-
-"I no longer belong to the court, monsieur."
-
-D'Artagnan looked at the young girl with increasing astonishment.
-
-"Do not be uneasy, monsieur," she continued: "I have well calculated
-everything; and were it not so, it would now be too late to reconsider
-my resolution,--all is decided."
-
-"Well, mademoiselle, what do you wish me to do?"
-
-"In the name of that sympathy which misfortune inspires, by your
-generous feeling, and by your honor as a gentleman, I entreat you to
-promise me one thing."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"Swear to me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, that you will not tell the king that
-you have seen me, and that I am at the Carmelites."
-
-"I will not swear that," said D'Artagnan, shaking his head.
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because I know the king, I know you, I know myself even, nay, the whole
-human race, too well; no, no, I will not swear that!"
-
-"In that case," cried La Valliere, with an energy of which one would
-hardly have thought her capable, "instead of the blessing which I should
-have implored for you until my dying day, I will invoke a curse, for you
-are rendering me the most miserable creature that ever lived."
-
-We have already observed that D'Artagnan could easily recognize the
-accents of truth and sincerity, and he could not resist this last
-appeal. He saw by her face how bitterly she suffered from a feeling of
-degradation, he remarked her trembling limbs, how her whole slight and
-delicate frame was violently agitated by some internal struggle, and
-clearly perceived that resistance might be fatal. "I will do as you
-wish, then," he said. "Be satisfied, mademoiselle, I will say nothing to
-the king."
-
-"Oh! thanks, thanks," exclaimed La Valliere, "you are the most generous
-man breathing."
-
-And in her extreme delight she seized hold of D'Artagnan's hands
-and pressed them between her own. D'Artagnan, who felt himself quite
-overcome, said: "This is touching, upon my word; she begins where others
-leave off."
-
-And La Valliere, who, in the bitterness of her distress, had sunk upon
-the ground, rose and walked towards the convent of the Carmelites,
-which could now, in the dawning light, be perceived just before them.
-D'Artagnan followed her at a distance. The entrance-door was half-open;
-she glided in like a shadow, and thanking D'Artagnan by a parting
-gesture, disappeared from his sight. When D'Artagnan found himself quite
-alone, he reflected very profoundly upon what had just taken place.
-"Upon my word," he said, "this looks very much like what is called a
-false position. To keep such a secret as that, is to keep a burning coal
-in one's breeches-pocket, and trust that it may not burn the stuff.
-And yet, not to keep it when I have sworn to do so is dishonorable. It
-generally happens that some bright idea or other occurs to me as I am
-going along; but I am very much mistaken if I shall not, now, have to go
-a long way in order to find the solution of this affair. Yes, but which
-way to go? Oh! towards Paris, of course; that is the best way, after
-all. Only one must make haste, and in order to make haste four legs are
-better than two, and I, unhappily, only have two. 'A horse, a horse,' as
-I heard them say at the theatre in London, 'my kingdom for a horse!'
-And now I think of it, it need not cost me so much as that, for at the
-Barriere de la Conference there is a guard of musketeers, and instead of
-the one horse I need, I shall find ten there."
-
-So, in pursuance of this resolution, which he adopted with his usual
-rapidity, D'Artagnan immediately turned his back upon the heights of
-Chaillot, reached the guard-house, took the fastest horse he could find
-there, and was at the palace in less than ten minutes. It was striking
-five as he reached the Palais Royal. The king, he was told, had gone to
-bed at his usual hour, having been long engaged with M. Colbert, and, in
-all probability, was still sound asleep. "Come," said D'Artagnan, "she
-spoke the truth; the king is ignorant of everything; if he only knew
-one-half of what has happened, the Palais Royal by this time would be
-turned upside down." [5]
-
-
-
-Chapter XXVII. Showing How Louis, on His Part, Had Passed the Time from
-Ten to Half-Past Twelve at Night.
-
-When the king left the apartments of the maids of honor, he found
-Colbert awaiting him to take directions for the next day's ceremony, as
-the king was then to receive the Dutch and Spanish ambassadors. Louis
-XIV. had serious causes of dissatisfaction with the Dutch; the States
-had already been guilty of many mean shifts and evasions with France,
-and without perceiving or without caring about the chances of a rupture,
-they again abandoned the alliance with his Most Christian Majesty, for
-the purpose of entering into all kinds of plots with Spain. Louis XIV.
-at his accession, that is to say, at the death of Cardinal Mazarin, had
-found this political question roughly sketched out; the solution was
-difficult for a young man, but as, at that time, the king represented
-the whole nation, anything that the head resolved upon, the body would
-be found ready to carry out. Any sudden impulse of anger, the reaction
-of young hot blood upon the brain, would be quite sufficient to change
-an old form of policy and create another system altogether. The part
-that diplomatists had to play in those days was that of arranging among
-themselves the different _coups-d'etat_ which their sovereign masters
-might wish to effect. Louis was not in that calm frame of mind which was
-necessary to enable him to determine on a wise course of policy. Still
-much agitated from the quarrel he had just had with La Valliere,
-he walked hastily into his cabinet, dimly desirous of finding an
-opportunity of producing an explosion after he had controlled himself
-for so long a time. Colbert, as he saw the king enter, knew the position
-of affairs at a glance, understood the king's intentions, and resolved
-therefore to maneuver a little. When Louis requested to be informed what
-it would be necessary to say on the morrow, Colbert began by expressing
-his surprise that his majesty had not been properly informed by M.
-Fouquet. "M. Fouquet," he said, "is perfectly acquainted with the whole
-of this Dutch affair--he received the dispatches himself direct."
-
-The king, who was accustomed to hear M. Colbert speak in not
-over-scrupulous terms of M. Fouquet, allowed this remark to pass
-unanswered, and merely listened. Colbert noticed the effect it had
-produced, and hastened to back out, saying that M. Fouquet was not on
-all occasions as blamable as at the first glance might seem to be the
-case, inasmuch as at that moment he was greatly occupied. The king
-looked up. "What do you allude to?" he said.
-
-"Sire, men are but men, and M. Fouquet has his defects as well as his
-great qualities."
-
-"Ah! defects, who is without them, M. Colbert?"
-
-"Your majesty, hardly," said Colbert, boldly; for he knew how to convey
-a good deal of flattery in a light amount of blame, like the arrow which
-cleaves the air notwithstanding its weight, thanks to the light feathers
-which bear it up.
-
-The king smiled. "What defect has M. Fouquet, then?" he said.
-
-"Still the same, sire; it is said he is in love."
-
-"In love! with whom?"
-
-"I am not quite sure, sire; I have very little to do with matters of
-gallantry."
-
-"At all events you know, since you speak of it."
-
-"I have heard a name mentioned."
-
-"Whose?"
-
-"I cannot now remember whose, but I think it is one of Madame's maids of
-honor."
-
-The king started. "You know more than you like to say, M. Colbert," he
-murmured.
-
-"I assure you, no, sire."
-
-"At all events, Madame's maids of honor are all known, and in mentioning
-their names to you, you will perhaps recollect the one you allude to."
-
-"No, sire."
-
-"At least, try."
-
-"It would be useless, sire. Whenever the name of any lady who runs the
-risk of being compromised is concerned, my memory is like a coffer of
-bronze, the key of which I have lost."
-
-A dark cloud seemed to pass over the mind as well as across the face
-of the king; then, wishing to appear as if he were perfect master of
-himself and his feelings, he said, "And now for the affair concerning
-Holland."
-
-"In the first place, sire, at what hour will your majesty receive the
-ambassadors?"
-
-"Early in the morning."
-
-"Eleven o'clock?"
-
-"That is too late--say nine o'clock."
-
-"That will be too early, sire."
-
-"For friends, that would be a matter of no importance; one does what one
-likes with one's friends; but for one's enemies, in that case nothing
-could be better than if they _were_ to feel hurt. I should not be sorry,
-I confess, to have to finish altogether with these marsh-birds, who
-annoy me with their cries."
-
-"It shall be precisely as your majesty desires. At nine o'clock,
-therefore--I will give the necessary orders. Is it to be a formal
-audience?"
-
-"No. I wish to have an explanation with them, and not to embitter
-matters, as is always the case when many persons are present, but, at
-the same time, I wish to clear up everything with them, in order not to
-have to begin over again."
-
-"Your majesty will inform me of the persons whom you wish to be present
-at the reception."
-
-"I will draw out a list. Let us speak of the ambassadors; what do they
-want?"
-
-"Allies with Spain, they gain nothing; allies with France, they lose
-much."
-
-"How is that?"
-
-"Allied with Spain, they see themselves bounded and protected by the
-possessions of their allies; they cannot touch them, however anxious
-they may be to do so. From Antwerp to Rotterdam is but a step, and that
-by the way of the Scheldt and the Meuse. If they wish to make a bite at
-the Spanish cake, you, sire, the son-in-law of the king of Spain, could
-with your cavalry sweep the earth from your dominions to Brussels in a
-couple of days. Their design is, therefore, only to quarrel so far with
-you, and only to make you suspect Spain so far, as will be sufficient to
-induce you not to interfere with their own affairs."
-
-"It would be far more simple, I should imagine," replied the king,
-"to form a solid alliance with me, by means of which I should gain
-something, while they would gain everything."
-
-"Not so; for if, by chance, they were to have you, or France rather, as
-a boundary, your majesty is not an agreeable neighbor. Young, ardent,
-warlike, the king of France might inflict some serious mischief on
-Holland, especially if he were to get near her."
-
-"I perfectly understand, M. Colbert, and you have explained it very
-clearly; but be good enough to tell me the conclusion you have arrived
-at."
-
-"Your majesty's own decisions are never deficient in wisdom."
-
-"What will these ambassadors say to me?"
-
-"They will tell your majesty that they are ardently desirous of forming
-an alliance with you, which will be a falsehood: they will tell Spain
-that the three powers ought to unite so as to check the prosperity
-of England, and that will equally be a falsehood; for at present, the
-natural ally of your majesty is England, who has ships while we have
-none; England, who can counteract Dutch influence in India; England, in
-fact, a monarchical country, to which your majesty is attached by ties
-of relationship."
-
-"Good; but how would you answer?"
-
-"I should answer, sire, with the greatest possible moderation of tone,
-that the disposition of Holland does not seem friendly towards the
-Court of France; that the symptoms of public feeling among the Dutch are
-alarming as regards your majesty; that certain medals have been struck
-with insulting devices."
-
-"Towards me?" exclaimed the young king, excitedly.
-
-"Oh, no! sire, no; insulting is not the word; I was mistaken, I ought to
-have said immeasurably flattering to the Dutch."
-
-"Oh! if that be so, the pride of the Dutch is a matter of indifference
-to me," said the king, sighing.
-
-"Your majesty is right, a thousand times right. However, it is never
-a mistake in politics, your majesty knows better than myself, to
-exaggerate a little in order to obtain a concession in your own
-favor. If your majesty were to complain as if your susceptibility were
-offended, you would stand in a far higher position with them."
-
-"What are these medals you speak of?" inquired Louis; "for if I allude
-to them, I ought to know what to say."
-
-"Upon my word, sire, I cannot very well tell you--some overweeningly
-conceited device--that is the sense of it; the words have little to do
-with the thing itself."
-
-"Very good! I will mention the word 'medal,' and they can understand it
-if they like."
-
-"Oh! they will understand without any difficulty. Your majesty can also
-slip in a few words about certain pamphlets which are being circulated."
-
-"Never! Pamphlets befoul those who write them much more than those
-against whom they are written. M. Colbert, I thank you. You can leave
-now. Do not forget the hour I have fixed, and be there yourself."
-
-"Sire, I await your majesty's list."
-
-"True," returned the king; and he began to meditate; he had not thought
-of the list in the least. The clock struck half-past eleven. The king's
-face revealed a violent conflict between pride and love. The political
-conversation had dispelled a good deal of the irritation which Louis had
-felt, and La Valliere's pale, worn features, in his imagination, spoke
-a very different language from that of the Dutch medals, or the Batavian
-pamphlets. He sat for ten minutes debating within himself whether he
-should or should not return to La Valliere; but Colbert having with some
-urgency respectfully requested that the list might be furnished him,
-the king was ashamed to be thinking of mere matters of affection where
-important state affairs required his attention. He therefore dictated:
-the queen-mother, the queen, Madame, Madame de Motteville, Madame de
-Chatillon, Madame de Navailles; and, for the men, M. le Prince, M. de
-Gramont, M. de Manicamp, M. de Saint-Aignan, and the officers on duty.
-
-"The ministers?" asked Colbert.
-
-"As a matter of course, and the secretaries also."
-
-"Sire, I will leave at once in order to get everything prepared; the
-orders will be at the different residences to-morrow."
-
-"Say rather to-day," replied Louis mournfully, as the clock struck
-twelve. It was the very hour when poor La Valliere was almost dying from
-anguish and bitter suffering. The king's attendants entered, it being
-the hour of his retirement to his chamber; the queen, indeed, had
-been waiting for more than an hour. Louis accordingly retreated to his
-bedroom with a sigh; but, as he sighed, he congratulated himself on his
-courage, and applauded himself for having been as firm in love as in
-affairs of state.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXVIII. The Ambassadors.
-
-D'Artagnan had, with very few exceptions, learned almost all of the
-particulars of what we have just been relating; for among his friends
-he reckoned all the useful, serviceable people in the royal
-household,--officious attendants who were proud of being recognized
-by the captain of the musketeers, for the captain's influence was
-very great; and then, in addition to any ambitious views they may have
-imagined he could promote, they were proud of being regarded as
-worth being spoken to by a man as brave as D'Artagnan. In this manner
-D'Artagnan learned every morning what he had not been able either to see
-or to ascertain the night before, from the simple fact of his not being
-ubiquitous; so that, with the information he had been able by his own
-means to pick up during the day, and with what he had gathered from
-others, he succeeded in making up a bundle of weapons, which he was in
-the prudent habit of using only when occasion required. In this way,
-D'Artagnan's two eyes rendered him the same service as the hundred eyes
-of Argus. Political secrets, bedside revelations, hints or scraps of
-conversation dropped by the courtiers on the threshold of the royal
-ante-chamber, in this way D'Artagnan managed to ascertain, and to store
-away everything in the vast and impenetrable mausoleum of his memory,
-by the side of those royal secrets so dearly bought and faithfully
-preserved. He therefore knew of the king's interview with Colbert,
-and of the appointment made for the ambassadors in the morning, and,
-consequently, that the question of the medals would be brought up for
-debate; and, while he was arranging and constructing the conversation
-upon a few chance words which had reached his ears, he returned to his
-post in the royal apartments, so as to be there at the very moment the
-king awoke. It happened that the king rose very early,--proving thereby
-that he, too, on his side, had slept but indifferently. Towards seven
-o'clock, he half-opened his door very gently. D'Artagnan was at his
-post. His majesty was pale, and seemed wearied; he had not, moreover,
-quite finished dressing.
-
-"Send for M. de Saint-Aignan," he said.
-
-Saint-Aignan was probably awaiting a summons, for the messenger, when he
-reached his apartment, found him already dressed. Saint-Aignan hastened
-to the king in obedience to the summons. A moment afterwards the king
-and Saint-Aignan passed by together--the king walking first. D'Artagnan
-went to the window which looked out upon the courtyard; he had no need
-to put himself to the trouble of watching in what direction the king
-went, for he had no difficulty in guessing beforehand where his majesty
-was going. The king, in fact, bent his steps towards the apartments
-of the maids of honor,--a circumstance which in no way astonished
-D'Artagnan, for he more than suspected, although La Valliere had not
-breathed a syllable on the subject, that the king had some kind of
-reparation to make. Saint-Aignan followed him as he had done the
-previous evening, rather less uneasy in his mind, though still slightly
-agitated, for he fervently trusted that at seven o'clock in the morning
-there might be only himself and the king awake amongst the august guests
-at the palace. D'Artagnan stood at the window, careless and perfectly
-calm in his manner. One could almost have sworn that he noticed nothing,
-and was utterly ignorant who were these two hunters after adventures,
-passing like shadows across the courtyard, wrapped up in their cloaks.
-And yet, all the while that D'Artagnan appeared not to be looking at
-them at all, he did not for one moment lose sight of them, and while
-he whistled that old march of the musketeers, which he rarely recalled
-except under great emergencies, he conjectured and prophesied how
-terrible would be the storm which would be raised on the king's return.
-In fact, when the king entered La Valliere's apartment and found the
-room empty and the bed untouched, he began to be alarmed, and called out
-to Montalais, who immediately answered the summons; but her astonishment
-was equal to the king's. All that she could tell his majesty was, that
-she had fancied she had heard La Valliere's weeping during a portion of
-the night, but, knowing that his majesty had paid her a visit, she had
-not dared to inquire what was the matter.
-
-"But," inquired the king, "where do you suppose she is gone?"
-
-"Sire," replied Montalais, "Louise is of a very sentimental disposition,
-and as I have often seen her rise at daybreak in order to go out into
-the garden, she may, perhaps, be there now."
-
-This appeared probable, and the king immediately ran down the staircase
-in search of the fugitive. D'Artagnan saw him grow very pale, and
-talking in an excited manner with his companion, as he went towards the
-gardens; Saint-Aignan following him, out of breath. D'Artagnan did
-not stir from the window, but went on whistling, looking as if he saw
-nothing, yet seeing everything. "Come, come," he murmured, when the king
-disappeared, "his majesty's passion is stronger than I thought; he is
-now doing, I think, what he never did for Mademoiselle de Mancini." [6]
-
-In a quarter of an hour the king again appeared: he had looked
-everywhere, was completely out of breath, and, as a matter of course,
-had not discovered anything. Saint-Aignan, who still followed him,
-was fanning himself with his hat, and in a gasping voice, asking for
-information about La Valliere from such of the servants as were about,
-in fact from every one he met. Among others he came across Manicamp,
-who had arrived from Fontainebleau by easy stages; for whilst others had
-performed the journey in six hours, he had taken four and twenty.
-
-"Have you seen Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" Saint-Aignan asked him.
-
-Whereupon Manicamp, dreamy and absent as usual, answered, thinking that
-some one was asking him about De Guiche, "Thank you, the comte is a
-little better."
-
-And he continued on his way until he reached the ante-chamber where
-D'Artagnan was, whom he asked to explain how it was that the king
-looked, as he thought, so bewildered; to which D'Artagnan replied that
-he was quite mistaken, that the king, on the contrary, was as lively and
-merry as he could possibly be.
-
-In the midst of all this, eight o'clock struck. It was usual for the
-king to take his breakfast at this hour, for the code of etiquette
-prescribed that the king should always be hungry at eight o'clock. His
-breakfast was laid upon a small table in his bedroom, and he ate very
-fast. Saint-Aignan, of whom he would not lose sight, waited on the
-king. He then disposed of several military audiences, during which
-he dispatched Saint-Aignan to see what he could find out. Then, still
-occupied, full of anxiety, still watching Saint-Aignan's return, who had
-sent out the servants in every direction, to make inquires, and who
-had also gone himself, the hour of nine struck, and the king forthwith
-passed into his large cabinet.
-
-As the clock was striking nine the ambassadors entered, and as it
-finished, the two queens and Madame made their appearance. There were
-three ambassadors from Holland, and two from Spain. The king glanced at
-them, and then bowed; and, at the same moment, Saint-Aignan entered,--an
-entrance which the king regarded as far more important, in a different
-sense, however, than that of ambassadors, however numerous they might
-be, and from whatever country they came; and so, setting everything
-aside, the king made a sign of interrogation to Saint-Aignan, which the
-latter answered by a most decisive negative. The king almost entirely
-lost his courage; but as the queens, the members of the nobility who
-were present, and the ambassadors, had their eyes fixed upon him, he
-overcame his emotion by a violent effort, and invited the latter to
-speak. Whereupon one of the Spanish deputies made a long oration, in
-which he boasted the advantages which the Spanish alliance would offer.
-
-The king interrupted him, saying, "Monsieur, I trust that whatever is
-best for France must be exceedingly advantageous for Spain."
-
-This remark, and particularly the peremptory tone in which it was
-pronounced, made the ambassadors pale, and brought the color into the
-cheeks of the two queens, who, being Spanish, felt wounded in their
-pride of relationship and nationality by this reply.
-
-The Dutch ambassador then began to address himself to the king, and
-complained of the injurious suspicions which the king exhibited against
-the government of his country.
-
-The king interrupted him, saying, "It is very singular, monsieur, that
-you should come with any complaint, when it is I rather who have reason
-to be dissatisfied; and yet, you see, I do not complain."
-
-"Complain, sire, and in what respect?"
-
-The king smiled bitterly. "Will you blame me, monsieur," he said, "if
-I should happen to entertain suspicions against a government which
-authorizes and protects international impertinence?"
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"I tell you," resumed the king, exciting himself by a recollection of
-his own personal annoyance, rather than from political grounds, "that
-Holland is a land of refuge for all who hate me, and especially for all
-who malign me."
-
-"Oh, sire!"
-
-"You wish for proofs, perhaps? Very good; they can be had easily enough.
-Whence proceed all those vile and insolent pamphlets which represent me
-as a monarch without glory and without authority? your printing-presses
-groan under their number. If my secretaries were here, I would mention
-the titles of the works as well as the names of the printers."
-
-"Sire," replied the ambassador, "a pamphlet can hardly be regarded as
-the work of a whole nation. Is it just, is it reasonable, that a great
-and powerful monarch like your majesty should render a whole nation
-responsible for the crime of a few madmen, who are, perhaps, only
-scribbling in a garret for a few sous to buy bread for their family?"
-
-"That may be the case, I admit. But when the mint itself, at Amsterdam,
-strikes off medals which reflect disgrace upon me, is that also the
-crime of a few madmen?"
-
-"Medals!" stammered out the ambassador.
-
-"Medals," repeated the king, looking at Colbert.
-
-"Your majesty," the ambassador ventured, "should be quite sure--"
-
-The king still looked at Colbert; but Colbert appeared not to understand
-him, and maintained an unbroken silence, notwithstanding the king's
-repeated hints. D'Artagnan then approached the king, and taking a piece
-of money out of his pocket, he placed it in the king's hands, saying,
-"_This_ is the medal your majesty alludes to."
-
-The king looked at it, and with a look which, ever since he had become
-his own master, was ever piercing as the eagle's, observed an insulting
-device representing Holland arresting the progress of the sun, with this
-inscription: "_In conspectu meo stetit sol_."
-
-"In my presence the sun stands still," exclaimed the king, furiously.
-"Ah! you will hardly deny it now, I suppose."
-
-"And the sun," said D'Artagnan, "is this," as he pointed to the panels
-of the cabinet, where the sun was brilliantly represented in every
-direction, with this motto, "_Nec pluribus impar_." [7]
-
-Louis's anger, increased by the bitterness of his own personal
-sufferings, hardly required this additional circumstance to foment it.
-Every one saw, from the kindling passion in the king's eyes, that an
-explosion was imminent. A look from Colbert kept postponed the bursting
-of the storm. The ambassador ventured to frame excuses by saying that
-the vanity of nations was a matter of little consequence; that Holland
-was proud that, with such limited resources, she had maintained her rank
-as a great nation, even against powerful monarchs, and that if a little
-smoke had intoxicated his countrymen, the king would be kindly disposed,
-and would even excuse this intoxication. The king seemed as if he
-would be glad of some suggestion; he looked at Colbert, who remained
-impassible; then at D'Artagnan, who simply shrugged his shoulders, a
-movement which was like the opening of the flood-gates, whereby the
-king's anger, which he had restrained for so long a period, now burst
-forth. As no one knew what direction his anger might take, all preserved
-a dead silence. The second ambassador took advantage of it to begin his
-excuses also. While he was speaking, and while the king, who had again
-gradually returned to his own personal reflections, was automatically
-listening to the voice, full of nervous anxiety, with the air of an
-absent man listening to the murmuring of a cascade, D'Artagnan, on whose
-left hand Saint-Aignan was standing, approached the latter, and, in a
-voice which was loud enough to reach the king's ears, said: "Have you
-heard the news?"
-
-"What news?" said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"About La Valliere."
-
-The king started, and advanced his head.
-
-"What has happened to La Valliere?" inquired Saint-Aignan, in a tone
-which can easily be imagined.
-
-"Ah! poor girl! she is going to take the veil."
-
-"The veil!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The veil!" cried the king, in the midst of the ambassador's discourse;
-but then, mindful of the rules of etiquette, he mastered himself, still
-listening, however, with rapt attention.
-
-"What order?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The Carmelites of Chaillot."
-
-"Who the deuce told you that?"
-
-"She did herself."
-
-"You have seen her, then?"
-
-"Nay, I even went with her to the Carmelites."
-
-The king did not lose a syllable of this conversation; and again he
-could hardly control his feelings.
-
-"But what was the cause of her flight?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Because the poor girl was driven away from the court yesterday,"
-replied D'Artagnan.
-
-He had no sooner said this, than the king, with an authoritative
-gesture, said to the ambassador, "Enough, monsieur, enough." Then,
-advancing towards the captain, he exclaimed:
-
-"Who says Mademoiselle de la Valliere is going to take the religious
-vows?"
-
-"M. d'Artagnan," answered the favorite.
-
-"Is it true what you say?" said the king, turning towards the musketeer.
-
-"As true as truth itself."
-
-The king clenched his hands, and turned pale.
-
-"You have something further to add, M. d'Artagnan?" he said.
-
-"I know nothing more, sire."
-
-"You added that Mademoiselle de la Valliere had been driven away from
-the court."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Is that true, also?"
-
-"Ascertain for yourself, sire."
-
-"And from whom?"
-
-"Ah!" sighed D'Artagnan, like a man who is declining to say anything
-further.
-
-The king almost bounded from his seat, regardless of ambassadors,
-ministers, courtiers, queens, and politics. The queen-mother rose;
-she had heard everything, or, if she had not heard everything, she had
-guessed it. Madame, almost fainting from anger and fear, endeavored
-to rise as the queen-mother had done; but she sank down again upon her
-chair, which by an instinctive movement she made roll back a few paces.
-
-"Gentlemen," said the king, "the audience is over; I will communicate my
-answer, or rather my will, to Spain and to Holland;" and with a proud,
-imperious gesture, he dismissed the ambassadors.
-
-"Take care, my son," said the queen-mother, indignantly, "you are hardly
-master of yourself, I think."
-
-"Ah! madame," returned the young lion, with a terrible gesture, "if I
-am not master of myself, I will be, I promise you, of those who do me a
-deadly injury; come with me, M. d'Artagnan, come." And he quitted the
-room in the midst of general stupefaction and dismay. The king hastily
-descended the staircase, and was about to cross the courtyard.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "your majesty mistakes the way."
-
-"No; I am going to the stables."
-
-"That is useless, sire, for I have horses ready for your majesty."
-
-The king's only answer was a look, but this look promised more than the
-ambition of three D'Artagnans could have dared to hope.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXIX. Chaillot.
-
-Although they had not been summoned, Manicamp and Malicorne had followed
-the king and D'Artagnan. They were both exceedingly intelligent men;
-except that Malicorne was too precipitate, owing to ambition, while
-Manicamp was frequently too tardy, owing to indolence. On this occasion,
-however, they arrived at precisely the proper moment. Five horses were
-in readiness. Two were seized upon by the king and D'Artagnan, two
-others by Manicamp and Malicorne, while a groom belonging to the stables
-mounted the fifth. The cavalcade set off at a gallop. D'Artagnan had
-been very careful in his selection of the horses; they were the very
-animals for distressed lovers--horses which did not simply run, but
-flew. Within ten minutes after their departure, the cavalcade, amidst a
-cloud of dust, arrived at Chaillot. The king literally threw himself off
-his horse; but notwithstanding the rapidity with which he accomplished
-this maneuver, he found D'Artagnan already holding his stirrup. With
-a sign of acknowledgement to the musketeer, he threw the bridle to the
-groom, and darted into the vestibule, violently pushed open the door,
-and entered the reception-room. Manicamp, Malicorne, and the groom
-remained outside, D'Artagnan alone following him. When he entered the
-reception-room, the first object which met his gaze was Louise herself,
-not simply on her knees, but lying at the foot of a large stone
-crucifix. The young girl was stretched upon the damp flag-stones,
-scarcely visible in the gloom of the apartment, which was lighted only
-by means of a narrow window, protected by bars and completely shaded by
-creeping plants. When the king saw her in this state, he thought she was
-dead, and uttered a loud cry, which made D'Artagnan hurry into the
-room. The king had already passed one of his arms round her body, and
-D'Artagnan assisted him in raising the poor girl, whom the torpor of
-death seemed already to have taken possession of. D'Artagnan seized hold
-of the alarm-bell and rang with all his might. The Carmelite sisters
-immediately hastened at the summons, and uttered loud exclamations of
-alarm and indignation at the sight of the two men holding a woman in
-their arms. The superior also hurried to the scene of action, but far
-more a creature of the world than any of the female members of the
-court, notwithstanding her austerity of manners, she recognized the king
-at the first glance, by the respect which those present exhibited for
-him, as well as by the imperious and authoritative way in which he had
-thrown the whole establishment into confusion. As soon as she saw the
-king, she retired to her own apartments, in order to avoid compromising
-her dignity. But by one of the nuns she sent various cordials, Hungary
-water, etc., etc., and ordered that all the doors should immediately be
-closed, a command which was just in time, for the king's distress was
-fast becoming of a most clamorous and despairing character. He had
-almost decided to send for his own physician, when La Valliere exhibited
-signs of returning animation. The first object which met her gaze, as
-she opened her eyes, was the king at her feet; in all probability she
-did not recognize him, for she uttered a deep sigh full of anguish and
-distress. Louis fixed his eyes devouringly upon her face; and when, in
-the course of a few moments, she recognized Louis, she endeavored to
-tear herself from his embrace.
-
-"Oh, heavens!" she murmured, "is not the sacrifice yet made?"
-
-"No, no!" exclaimed the king, "and it shall _not_ be made, I swear."
-
-Notwithstanding her weakness and utter despair, she rose from the
-ground, saying, "It must be made, however; it must be; so do not stay me
-in my purpose."
-
-"I leave you to sacrifice yourself! I! never, never!" exclaimed the
-king.
-
-"Well," murmured D'Artagnan, "I may as well go now. As soon as they
-begin to speak, we may as well prevent there being any listeners." And
-he quitted the room, leaving the lovers alone.
-
-"Sire," continued La Valliere, "not another word, I implore you. Do not
-destroy the only future I can hope for--my salvation; do not destroy the
-glory and brightness of your own future for a mere caprice."
-
-"A caprice?" cried the king.
-
-"Oh, sire! it is now, only, that I can see clearly into your heart."
-
-"You, Louise, what mean you?"
-
-"An inexplicable impulse, foolish and unreasonable in its nature, may
-ephemerally appear to offer a sufficient excuse for your conduct; but
-there are duties imposed upon you which are incompatible with your
-regard for a poor girl such as I am. So, forget me."
-
-"I forget you!"
-
-"You have already done so, once."
-
-"Rather would I die."
-
-"You cannot love one whose peace of mind you hold so lightly, and whom
-you so cruelly abandoned, last night, to the bitterness of death."
-
-"What can you mean? Explain yourself, Louise."
-
-"What did you ask me yesterday morning? To love you. What did you
-promise me in return? Never to let midnight pass without offering me an
-opportunity of reconciliation, if, by any chance, your anger should be
-roused against me."
-
-"Oh! forgive me, Louise, forgive me! I was mad from jealousy."
-
-"Jealousy is a sentiment unworthy of a king--a man. You may become
-jealous again, and will end by killing me. Be merciful, then, and leave
-me now to die."
-
-"Another word, mademoiselle, in that strain, and you will see me expire
-at your feet."
-
-"No, no, sire, I am better acquainted with my own demerits; and believe
-me, that to sacrifice yourself for one whom all despise, would be
-needless."
-
-"Give me the names of those you have cause to complain of."
-
-"I have no complaints, sire, to prefer against any one; no one but
-myself to accuse. Farewell, sire; you are compromising yourself in
-speaking to me in such a manner."
-
-"Oh! be careful, Louise, in what you say; for you are reducing me to the
-darkness of despair."
-
-"Oh! sire, sire, leave me at least the protection of Heaven, I implore
-you."
-
-"No, no; Heaven itself shall not tear you from me."
-
-"Save me, then," cried the poor girl, "from those determined and
-pitiless enemies who are thirsting to annihilate my life and honor too.
-If you have courage enough to love me, show at least that you have power
-enough to defend me. But no; she whom you say you love, others insult
-and mock, and drive shamelessly away." And the gentle-hearted girl,
-forced, by her own bitter distress to accuse others, wrung her hands in
-an uncontrollable agony of tears.
-
-"You have been driven away!" exclaimed the king. "This is the second
-time I have heard that said."
-
-"I have been driven away with shame and ignominy, sire. You see, then,
-that I have no other protector but Heaven, no consolation but prayer,
-and this cloister is my only refuge."
-
-"My palace, my whole court, shall be your park of peace. Oh! fear
-nothing further now, Louise; those--be they men or women--who yesterday
-drove you away, shall to-morrow tremble before you--to-morrow, do I say?
-nay, this very day I have already shown my displeasure--have already
-threatened. It is in my power, even now, to hurl the thunderbolt I have
-hitherto withheld. Louise, Louise, you shall be bitterly revenged; tears
-of blood shall repay you for the tears you have shed. Give me only the
-names of your enemies."
-
-"Never, never."
-
-"How can I show any anger, then?"
-
-"Sire, those upon whom your anger would be prepared to fall, would force
-you to draw back your hand upraised to punish."
-
-"Oh! you do not know me," cried the king, exasperated. "Rather than draw
-back, I would sacrifice my kingdom, and would abjure my family. Yes,
-I would strike until this arm had utterly destroyed all those who had
-ventured to make themselves the enemies of the gentlest and best of
-creatures." And, as he said these words, Louis struck his fist violently
-against the oaken wainscoting with a force which alarmed La Valliere;
-for his anger, owing to his unbounded power, had something imposing
-and threatening in it, like the lightning, which may at any time prove
-deadly. She, who thought that her own sufferings could not be surpassed,
-was overwhelmed by a suffering which revealed itself by menace and by
-violence.
-
-"Sire," she said, "for the last time I implore you to leave me; already
-do I feel strengthened by the calm seclusion of this asylum; and the
-protection of Heaven has reassured me; for all the pretty human meanness
-of this world are forgotten beneath the Divine protection. Once more,
-then, sire, and for the last time, I again implore you to leave me."
-
-"Confess, rather," cried Louis, "that you have never loved me; admit
-that my humility and my repentance are flattering to your pride, but
-that my distress affects you not; that the king of this wide realm is
-no longer regarded as a lover whose tenderness of devotion is capable
-of working out your happiness, but as a despot whose caprice has crushed
-your very heart beneath his iron heel. Do not say you are seeking
-Heaven, say rather you are fleeing from the king."
-
-Louise's heart was wrung within her, as she listened to his passionate
-utterance, which made the fever of hope course once more through her
-every vein.
-
-"But did you not hear me say that I have been driven away, scorned,
-despised?"
-
-"I will make you the most respected, and most adored, and the most
-envied of my whole court."
-
-"Prove to me that you have not ceased to love me."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"By leaving me."
-
-"I will prove it to you by never leaving you again."
-
-"But do you imagine, sire, that I shall allow that; do you imagine that
-I will let you come to an open rupture with every member of your family;
-do you imagine that, for my sake, you could abandon mother, wife and
-sister?"
-
-"Ah! you have named them, then, at last; it is they, then, who have
-wrought this grievous injury? By the heaven above us, then, upon them
-shall my anger fall."
-
-"That is the reason why the future terrifies me, why I refuse
-everything, why I do not wish you to revenge me. Tears enough have
-already been shed, sufficient sorrow and affliction have already
-been occasioned. I, at least, will never be the cause of sorrow, or
-affliction, or distress to whomsoever it may be, for I have mourned and
-suffered, and wept too much myself."
-
-"And do you count _my_ sufferings, _my_ tears, as nothing?"
-
-"In Heaven's name, sire, do not speak to me in that manner. I need all
-my courage to enable me to accomplish the sacrifice."
-
-"Louise, Louise, I implore you! whatever you desire, whatever you
-command, whether vengeance or forgiveness, your slightest wish shall be
-obeyed, but do not abandon me."
-
-"Alas! sire, we must part."
-
-"You do not love me, then!"
-
-"Heaven knows I do!"
-
-"It is false, Louise; it is false."
-
-"Oh! sire, if I did not love you, I should let you do what you please;
-I should let you revenge me, in return for the insult which has been
-inflicted on me; I should accept the brilliant triumph to my pride
-which you propose; and yet, you cannot deny that I reject even the sweet
-compensation which your affection affords, that affection which for me
-is life itself, for I wished to die when I thought that you loved me no
-longer."
-
-"Yes, yes; I now know, I now perceive it; you are the sweetest, best,
-and purest of women. There is no one so worthy as yourself, not alone of
-my respect and devotion, but also of the respect and devotion of all who
-surround me; and therefore no one shall be loved like yourself; no one
-shall ever possess the influence over me that you wield. You wish me to
-be calm, to forgive?--be it so, you shall find me perfectly unmoved. You
-wish to reign by gentleness and clemency?--I will be clement and
-gentle. Dictate for me the conduct you wish me to adopt, and I will obey
-blindly."
-
-"In Heaven's name, no, sire; what am I, a poor girl, to dictate to so
-great a monarch as yourself?"
-
-"You are my life, the very spirit and principle of my being. Is it not
-the spirit that rules the body?"
-
-"You love me, then, sire?"
-
-"On my knees, yes; with my hands upraised to you, yes; with all the
-strength and power of my being, yes; I love you so deeply, that I would
-lay down my life for you, gladly, at your merest wish."
-
-"Oh! sire, now I know you love me, I have nothing to wish for in the
-world. Give me your hand, sire; and then, farewell! I have enjoyed in
-this life all the happiness I was ever meant for."
-
-"Oh! no, no! your happiness is not a happiness of yesterday, it is of
-to-day, of to-morrow, ever enduring. The future is yours, everything
-which is mine is yours, too. Away with these ideas of separation, away
-with these gloomy, despairing thoughts. You will live for me, as I will
-live for you, Louise." And he threw himself at her feet, embracing her
-knees with the wildest transports of joy and gratitude.
-
-"Oh! sire, sire! all that is but a wild dream."
-
-"Why, a wild dream?"
-
-"Because I cannot return to the court. Exiled, how can I see you again?
-Would it not be far better to bury myself in a cloister for the rest of
-my life, with the rich consolation that your affection gives me, with
-the pulses of your heart beating for me, and your latest confession of
-attachment still ringing in my ears?"
-
-"Exiled, you!" exclaimed Louis XIV., "and who dares to exile, let me
-ask, when I recall?"
-
-"Oh! sire, something which is greater than and superior to the kings
-even--the world and public opinion. Reflect for a moment; you cannot
-love a woman who has been ignominiously driven away--love one whom your
-mother has stained with suspicions; one whom your sister has threatened
-with disgrace; such a woman, indeed, would be unworthy of you."
-
-"Unworthy! one who belongs to me?"
-
-"Yes, sire, precisely on that account; from the very moment she belongs
-to you, the character of your mistress renders her unworthy."
-
-"You are right, Louise; every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours.
-Very well, you shall not be exiled."
-
-"Ah! from the tone in which you speak, you have not heard Madame, that
-is very clear."
-
-"I will appeal from her to my mother."
-
-"Again, sire, you have not seen your mother."
-
-"She, too!--my poor Louise! every one's hand, then, is against you."
-
-"Yes, yes, poor Louise, who was already bending beneath the fury of
-the storm, when you arrived and crushed her beneath the weight of your
-displeasure."
-
-"Oh! forgive me."
-
-"You will not, I know, be able to make either of them yield; believe me,
-the evil cannot be repaired, for I will not allow you to use violence,
-or to exercise your authority."
-
-"Very well, Louise, to prove to you how fondly I love you, I will do one
-thing, I will see Madame; I will make her revoke her sentence, I will
-compel her to do so."
-
-"Compel? Oh! no, no!"
-
-"True; you are right. I will bend her."
-
-Louise shook her head.
-
-"I will entreat her, if it be necessary," said Louis. "Will you believe
-in my affection after that?"
-
-Louise drew herself up. "Oh, never, never shall you humiliate yourself
-on my account; sooner, a thousand times, would I die."
-
-Louis reflected; his features assumed a dark expression. "I will love
-you as much as you have loved; I will suffer as keenly as you have
-suffered; this shall be my expiation in your eyes. Come, mademoiselle,
-put aside these paltry considerations; let us show ourselves as great as
-our sufferings, as strong as our affection for each other." And, as he
-said this, he took her in his arms, and encircled her waist with both
-his hands, saying, "My own love! my own dearest and best beloved, follow
-me."
-
-She made a final effort, in which she concentrated, no longer all of
-her firmness of will, for that had long since been overcome, but all her
-physical strength. "No!" she replied, weakly, "no! no! I should die from
-shame."
-
-"No! you shall return like a queen. No one knows of your having
-left--except, indeed, D'Artagnan."
-
-"He has betrayed me, then?"
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"He promised faithfully--"
-
-"I promised not to say anything to the king," said D'Artagnan, putting
-his head through the half-opened door, "and I kept my word; I was
-speaking to M. de Saint-Aignan, and it was not my fault if the king
-overheard me; was it, sire?"
-
-"It is quite true," said the king; "forgive him."
-
-La Valliere smiled, and held out her small white hand to the musketeer.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, "be good enough to see if you can
-find a carriage for Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Sire," said the captain, "the carriage is waiting at the gate."
-
-"You are a magic mould of forethought," exclaimed the king.
-
-"You have taken a long time to find it out," muttered D'Artagnan,
-notwithstanding he was flattered by the praise bestowed upon him.
-
-La Valliere was overcome: after a little further hesitation, she allowed
-herself to be led away, half fainting, by her royal lover. But, as she
-was on the point of leaving the room, she tore herself from the king's
-grasp, and returned to the stone crucifix, which she kissed, saying,
-"Oh, Heaven! it was thou who drewest me hither! thou, who has rejected
-me; but thy grace is infinite. Whenever I shall again return, forget
-that I have ever separated myself from thee, for, when I return it will
-be--never to leave thee again."
-
-The king could not restrain his emotion, and D'Artagnan, even, was
-overcome. Louis led the young girl away, lifted her into the carriage,
-and directed D'Artagnan to seat himself beside her, while he,
-mounting his horse, spurred violently towards the Palais Royal, where,
-immediately on his arrival, he sent to request an audience of Madame.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXX. Madame.
-
-From the manner in which the king had dismissed the ambassadors, even
-the least clear-sighted persons belonging to the court imagined war
-would ensue. The ambassadors themselves, but slightly acquainted with
-the king's domestic disturbances, had interpreted as directed against
-themselves the celebrated sentence: "If I be not master of myself, I, at
-least, will be so of those who insult me." Happily for the destinies of
-France and Holland, Colbert had followed them out of the king's presence
-for the purpose of explaining matters to them; but the two queens and
-Madame, who were perfectly aware of every particular that had taken
-place in their several households, having heard the king's remark, so
-full of dark meaning, retired to their own apartments in no little fear
-and chagrin. Madame, especially, felt that the royal anger might fall
-upon her, and, as she was brave and exceedingly proud, instead of
-seeking support and encouragement from the queen-mother, she had
-returned to her own apartments, if not without some uneasiness, at least
-without any intention of avoiding an encounter. Anne of Austria, from
-time to time at frequent intervals, sent messages to learn if the king
-had returned. The silence which the whole palace preserved upon the
-matter, and upon Louise's disappearance, was indicative of a long train
-of misfortunes to all those who knew the haughty and irritable humor of
-the king. But Madame, unmoved in spite of all the flying rumors, shut
-herself up in her apartments, sent for Montalais, and, with a voice as
-calm as she could possibly command, desired her to relate all she knew
-about the event itself. At the moment that the eloquent Montalais
-was concluding, with all kinds of oratorical precautions, and was
-recommending, if not in actual language, at least in spirit, that she
-should show forbearance towards La Valliere, M. Malicorne made his
-appearance to beg an audience of Madame, on behalf of the king.
-Montalais's worthy friend bore upon his countenance all the signs of the
-very liveliest emotion. It was impossible to be mistaken; the interview
-which the king requested would be one of the most interesting chapters
-in the history of the hearts of kings and of men. Madame was disturbed
-by her brother-in-law's arrival; she did not expect it so soon, nor
-had she, indeed, expected any direct step on Louis's part. Besides,
-all women who wage war successfully by indirect means, are invariably
-neither very skillful nor very strong when it becomes a question of
-accepting a pitched battle. Madame, however, was not one who ever drew
-back; she had the very opposite defect or qualification, in whichever
-light it may be considered; she took an exaggerated view of what
-constituted real courage; and therefore the king's message, of which
-Malicorne had been the bearer, was regarded by her as the bugle-note
-proclaiming the commencement of hostilities. She, therefore, boldly
-accepted the gage of battle. Five minutes afterwards the king ascended
-the staircase. His color was heightened from having ridden hard. His
-dusty and disordered clothes formed a singular contrast with the fresh
-and perfectly arranged toilette of Madame, who, notwithstanding the
-rouge on her cheeks, turned pale as Louis entered the room. Louis
-lost no time in approaching the object of his visit; he sat down, and
-Montalais disappeared.
-
-"My dear sister," said the king, "you are aware that Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere fled from her own room this morning, and that she has retired
-to a cloister, overwhelmed by grief and despair." As he pronounced these
-words, the king's voice was singularly moved.
-
-"Your majesty is the first to inform me of it," replied Madame.
-
-"I should have thought that you might have learned it this morning,
-during the reception of the ambassadors," said the king.
-
-"From your emotion, sire, I imagined that something extraordinary had
-happened, but without knowing what."
-
-The king, with his usual frankness, went straight to the point. "Why did
-you send Mademoiselle de la Valliere away?"
-
-"Because I had reason to be dissatisfied with her conduct," she replied,
-dryly.
-
-The king became crimson, and his eyes kindled with a fire which it
-required all Madame's courage to support. He mastered his anger,
-however, and continued: "A stronger reason than that is surely
-requisite, for one so good and kind as you are, to turn away and
-dishonor, not only the young girl herself, but every member of her
-family as well. You know that the whole city has its eyes fixed upon the
-conduct of the female portion of the court. To dismiss a maid of honor
-is to attribute a crime to her--at the very least a fault. What crime,
-what fault has Mademoiselle de la Valliere been guilty of?"
-
-"Since you constitute yourself the protector of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere," replied Madame, coldly, "I will give you those explanations
-which I should have a perfect right to withhold from every one."
-
-"Even from the king!" exclaimed Louis, as, with a sudden gesture, he
-covered his head with his hat.
-
-"You have called me your sister," said Madame, "and I am in my own
-apartments."
-
-"It matters not," said the youthful monarch, ashamed at having been
-hurried away by his anger; "neither you, nor any one else in this
-kingdom, can assert a right to withhold an explanation in my presence."
-
-"Since that is the way you regard it," said Madame, in a hoarse, angry
-tone of voice, "all that remains for me to do is bow submission to your
-majesty, and to be silent."
-
-"Not so. Let there be no equivocation between us."
-
-"The protection with which you surround Mademoiselle de la Valliere does
-not impose any respect."
-
-"No equivocation, I repeat; you are perfectly aware that, as the head of
-the nobility in France, I am accountable to all for the honor of every
-family. You dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valliere, or whoever else it
-may be--" Madame shrugged her shoulders. "Or whoever else it may be, I
-repeat," continued the king; "and as, acting in that manner, you cast a
-dishonorable reflection upon that person, I ask you for an explanation,
-in order that I may confirm or annul the sentence."
-
-"Annul my sentence!" exclaimed Madame, haughtily. "What! when I have
-discharged one of my attendants, do you order me to take her back
-again?" The king remained silent.
-
-"This would be a sheer abuse of power, sire; it would be indecorous and
-unseemly."
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"As a woman, I should revolt against an abuse so insulting to me; I
-should no longer be able to regard myself as a princess of your blood,
-a daughter of a monarch; I should be the meanest of creatures, more
-humbled and disgraced than the servant I had sent away."
-
-The king rose from his seat with anger. "It cannot be a heart," he
-cried, "you have beating in your bosom; if you act in such a way with
-me, I may have reason to act with corresponding severity."
-
-It sometimes happens that in a battle a chance ball may reach its
-mark. The observation which the king had made without any particular
-intention, struck Madame home, and staggered her for a moment; some
-day or other she might indeed have reason to dread reprisals. "At all
-events, sire," she said, "explain what you require."
-
-"I ask, madame, what has Mademoiselle de la Valliere done to warrant
-your conduct toward her?"
-
-"She is the most cunning fomenter of intrigues I know; she was the
-occasion of two personal friends engaging in mortal combat; and has
-made people talk of her in such shameless terms that the whole court is
-indignant at the mere sound of her name."
-
-"She! she!" cried the king.
-
-"Under her soft and hypocritical manner," continued Madame, "she hides a
-disposition full of foul and dark conceit."
-
-"She!"
-
-"You may possibly be deceived, sire, but I know her right well; she
-is capable of creating dispute and misunderstanding between the most
-affectionate relatives and the most intimate friends. You see that she
-has already sown discord betwixt us two."
-
-"I do assure you--" said the king.
-
-"Sire, look well into the case as it stands; we were living on the
-most friendly understanding, and by the artfulness of her tales and
-complaints, she has set your majesty against me."
-
-"I swear to you," said the king, "that on no occasion has a bitter
-word ever passed her lips; I swear that, even in my wildest bursts of
-passion, she would not allow me to menace any one; and I swear, too,
-that you do not possess a more devoted and respectful friend than she
-is."
-
-"Friend!" said Madame, with an expression of supreme disdain.
-
-"Take care, Madame!" said the king; "you forget that you now understand
-me, and that from this moment everything is equalized. Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere will be whatever I may choose her to become; and to-morrow,
-if I were determined to do so, I could seat her on a throne."
-
-"She was not born to a throne, at least, and whatever you may do can
-affect the future alone, but cannot affect the past."
-
-"Madame, towards you I have shown every kind consideration, and every
-eager desire to please you; do not remind me that I am master."
-
-"It is the second time, sire, that you have made that remark, and I have
-already informed you I am ready to submit."
-
-"In that case, then, you will confer upon me the favor of receiving
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere back again."
-
-"For what purpose, sire, since you have a throne to bestow upon her? I
-am too insignificant to protect so exalted a personage."
-
-"Nay, a truce to this bitter and disdainful spirit. Grant me her
-forgiveness."
-
-"_Never!_"
-
-"You drive me, then, to open warfare in my own family."
-
-"I, too, have a family with whom I can find refuge."
-
-"Do you mean that as a threat, and could you forget yourself so far? Do
-you believe that, if you push the affront to that extent, your family
-would encourage you?"
-
-"I hope, sire, that you will not force me to take any step which would
-be unworthy of my rank."
-
-"I hoped that you would remember our recent friendship, and that you
-would treat me as a brother."
-
-Madame paused for a moment. "I do not disown you for a brother," she
-said, "in refusing your majesty an injustice."
-
-"An injustice!"
-
-"Oh, sire! if I informed others of La Valliere's conduct; if the queen
-knew--"
-
-"Come, come, Henrietta, let your heart speak; remember that, for however
-brief a time, you once loved me; remember, too, that human hearts should
-be as merciful as the heart of a sovereign Master. Do not be inflexible
-with others; forgive La Valliere."
-
-"I cannot; she has offended me."
-
-"But for my sake."
-
-"Sire, it is for your sake I would do anything in the world, except
-that."
-
-"You will drive me to despair--you compel me to turn to the last
-resource of weak people, and seek counsel of my angry and wrathful
-disposition."
-
-"I advise you to be reasonable."
-
-"Reasonable!--I can be so no longer."
-
-"Nay, sire! I pray you--"
-
-"For pity's sake, Henrietta; it is the first time I entreated any one,
-and I have no hope in any one but in you."
-
-"Oh, sire! you are weeping."
-
-"From rage, from humiliation. That I, the king, should have been obliged
-to descend to entreaty. I shall hate this moment during my whole life.
-You have made me suffer in one moment more distress and more degradation
-than I could have anticipated in the greatest extremity in life." And
-the king rose and gave free vent to his tears, which, in fact, were
-tears of anger and shame.
-
-Madame was not touched exactly--for the best women, when their pride is
-hurt, are without pity; but she was afraid that the tears the king was
-shedding might possibly carry away every soft and tender feeling in his
-heart.
-
-"Give what commands you please, sire," she said; "and since you prefer
-my humiliation to your own--although mine is public and yours has been
-witnessed but by myself alone--speak, I will obey your majesty."
-
-"No, no, Henrietta!" exclaimed Louis, transported with gratitude, "you
-will have yielded to a brother's wishes."
-
-"I no longer have any brother, since I obey."
-
-"All that I have would be too little in return."
-
-"How passionately you love, sire, when you do love!"
-
-Louis did not answer. He had seized upon Madame's hand and covered it
-with kisses. "And so you will receive this poor girl back again, and
-will forgive her; you will find how gentle and pure-hearted she is."
-
-"I will maintain her in my household."
-
-"No, you will give her your friendship, my sister."
-
-"I never liked her."
-
-"Well, for my sake, you will treat her kindly, will you not, Henrietta?"
-
-"I will treat her as your--_mistress_."
-
-The king rose suddenly to his feet. By this word, which had so
-infelicitously escaped her, Madame had destroyed the whole merit of her
-sacrifice. The king felt freed from all obligations. Exasperated beyond
-measure, and bitterly offended, he replied:
-
-"I thank you, Madame; I shall never forget the service you have rendered
-me." And, saluting her with an affectation of ceremony, he took his
-leave of her. As he passed before a glass, he saw that his eyes were
-red, and angrily stamped his foot on the ground. But it was too late,
-for Malicorne and D'Artagnan, who were standing at the door, had seen
-his eyes.
-
-"The king has been crying," thought Malicorne. D'Artagnan approached the
-king with a respectful air, and said in a low tone of voice:
-
-"Sire, it would be better to return to your own apartments by the small
-staircase."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because the dust of the road has left its traces on your face," said
-D'Artagnan. "By heavens!" he thought, "when the king has given way like
-a child, let those look to it who may make the lady weep for whom the
-king sheds tears."
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXI. Mademoiselle de la Valliere's Pocket-Handkerchief.
-
-Madame was not bad-hearted--she was only hasty and impetuous. The king
-was not imprudent--he was simply in love. Hardly had they entered into
-this compact, which terminated in La Valliere's recall, when they both
-sought to make as much as they could by their bargain. The king wished
-to see La Valliere every moment of the day, while Madame, who was
-sensible of the king's annoyance ever since he had so entreated her,
-would not relinquish her revenge on La Valliere without a contest. She
-planted every conceivable difficulty in the king's path; he was,
-in fact, obliged, in order to get a glimpse of La Valliere, to be
-exceedingly devoted in his attentions to his sister-in-law, and this,
-indeed, was Madame's plan of policy. As she had chosen some one to
-second her efforts, and as this person was our old friend Montalais,
-the king found himself completely hemmed in every time he paid Madame
-a visit; he was surrounded, and was never left a moment alone. Madame
-displayed in her conversation a charm of manner and brilliancy of wit
-which dazzled everybody. Montalais followed her, and soon rendered
-herself perfectly insupportable to the king, which was, in fact, the
-very thing she expected would happen. She then set Malicorne at the
-king, who found means of informing his majesty that there was a young
-person belonging to the court who was exceedingly miserable; and on
-the king inquiring who this person was, Malicorne replied that it
-was Mademoiselle de Montalais. To this the king answered that it was
-perfectly just that a person should be unhappy when she rendered others
-so. Whereupon Malicorne explained how matters stood; for he had received
-his directions from Montalais. The king began to open his eyes; he
-remarked that, as soon as he made his appearance, Madame made hers too;
-that she remained in the corridors until after he had left; that she
-accompanied him back to his own apartments, fearing that he might speak
-in the ante-chambers to one of her maids of honor. One evening she went
-further still. The king was seated, surrounded by the ladies who were
-present, and holding in his hand, concealed by his lace ruffle, a small
-note which he wished to slip into La Valliere's hand. Madame guessed
-both his intention and the letter too. It was difficult to prevent the
-king going wherever he pleased, and yet it was necessary to prevent his
-going near La Valliere, or speaking to her, as by so doing he could
-let the note fall into her lap behind her fan, or into her
-pocket-handkerchief. The king, who was also on the watch, suspected that
-a snare was being laid for him. He rose and pushed his chair, without
-affectation, near Mademoiselle de Chatillon, with whom he began to
-talk in a light tone. They were amusing themselves making rhymes; from
-Mademoiselle de Chatillon he went to Montalais, and then to Mademoiselle
-de Tonnay-Charente. And thus, by this skillful maneuver, he found
-himself seated opposite to La Valliere, whom he completely concealed.
-Madame pretended to be greatly occupied, altering a group of flowers
-that she was working in tapestry. The king showed the corner of his
-letter to La Valliere, and the latter held out her handkerchief with
-a look that signified, "Put the letter inside." Then, as the king had
-placed his own handkerchief upon his chair, he was adroit enough to let
-it fall on the ground, so that La Valliere slipped her handkerchief on
-the chair. The king took it up quietly, without any one observing what
-he did, placed the letter within it, and returned the handkerchief to
-the place he had taken it from. There was only just time for La Valliere
-to stretch out her hand to take hold of the handkerchief with its
-valuable contents.
-
-But Madame, who had observed everything that had passed, said to
-Mademoiselle de Chatillon, "Chatillon, be good enough to pick up the
-king's handkerchief, if you please; it has fallen on the carpet."
-
-The young girl obeyed with the utmost precipitation, the king having
-moved from his seat, and La Valliere being in no little degree nervous
-and confused.
-
-"Ah! I beg your majesty's pardon," said Mademoiselle de Chatillon; "you
-have two handkerchiefs, I perceive."
-
-And the king was accordingly obliged to put into his pocket La
-Valliere's handkerchief as well as his own. He certainly gained that
-souvenir of Louise, who lost, however, a copy of verses which had cost
-the king ten hours' hard labor, and which, as far as he was concerned,
-was perhaps as good as a long poem. It would be impossible to describe
-the king's anger and La Valliere's despair; but shortly afterwards a
-circumstance occurred which was more than remarkable. When the king
-left, in order to retire to his own apartments, Malicorne, informed
-of what had passed, one can hardly tell how, was waiting in the
-ante-chamber. The ante-chambers of the Palais Royal are naturally very
-dark, and, in the evening, they were but indifferently lighted. Nothing
-pleased the king more than this dim light. As a general rule, love,
-whose mind and heart are constantly in a blaze, contemns all light,
-except the sunshine of the soul. And so the ante-chamber was dark; a
-page carried a torch before the king, who walked on slowly, greatly
-annoyed at what had recently occurred. Malicorne passed close to the
-king, almost stumbled against him in fact, and begged his forgiveness
-with the profoundest humility; but the king, who was in an exceedingly
-ill-temper, was very sharp in his reproof to Malicorne, who disappeared
-as soon and as quietly as he possibly could. Louis retired to rest,
-having had a misunderstanding with the queen; and the next day, as soon
-as he entered the cabinet, he wished to have La Valliere's handkerchief
-in order to press his lips to it. He called his valet.
-
-"Fetch me," he said, "the coat I wore yesterday evening, but be very
-sure you do not touch anything it may contain."
-
-The order being obeyed, the king himself searched the pocket of the
-coat; he found only one handkerchief, and that his own; La Valliere's
-had disappeared. Whilst busied with all kinds of conjectures and
-suspicions, a letter was brought to him from La Valliere; it ran thus:
-
-"How good and kind of you to have sent me those beautiful verses; how
-full of ingenuity and perseverance your affection is; how is it possible
-to help loving you so dearly!"
-
-"What does this mean?" thought the king; "there must be some mistake.
-Look well about," said he to the valet, "for a pocket-handkerchief
-must be in one of my pockets; and if you do not find it, or if you have
-touched it--" He reflected for a moment. To make a state matter of the
-loss of the handkerchief would be to act absurdly, and he therefore
-added, "There was a letter of some importance inside the handkerchief,
-which had somehow got among the folds of it."
-
-"Sire," said the valet, "your majesty had only one handkerchief, and
-that is it."
-
-"True, true," replied the king, setting his teeth hard together. "Oh,
-poverty, how I envy you! Happy is the man who can empty his own pockets
-of letters and handkerchiefs!"
-
-He read La Valliere's letter over again, endeavoring to imagine in what
-conceivable way his verses could have reached their destination. There
-was a postscript to the letter:
-
-"I send you back by your messenger this reply, so unworthy of what you
-sent me."
-
-"So far so good; I shall find out something now," he said delightedly.
-"Who is waiting, and who brought me this letter?"
-
-"M. Malicorne," replied the _valet de chambre_, timidly.
-
-"Desire him to come in."
-
-Malicorne entered.
-
-"You come from Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" said the king, with a sigh.
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you took Mademoiselle de la Valliere something from me?"
-
-"I, sire?"
-
-"Yes, you."
-
-"Oh, no, sire."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere says so, distinctly."
-
-"Oh, sire, Mademoiselle de la Valliere is mistaken."
-
-The king frowned. "What jest is this?" he said; "explain yourself. Why
-does Mademoiselle de la Valliere call you my messenger? What did you
-take to that lady? Speak, monsieur, and quickly."
-
-"Sire, I merely took Mademoiselle de la Valliere a pocket-handkerchief,
-that was all."
-
-"A handkerchief,--what handkerchief?"
-
-"Sire, at the very moment when I had the misfortune to stumble against
-your majesty yesterday--a misfortune which I shall deplore to the
-last day of my life, especially after the dissatisfaction which you
-exhibited--I remained, sire, motionless with despair, your majesty being
-at too great a distance to hear my excuses, when I saw something white
-lying on the ground."
-
-"Ah!" said the king.
-
-"I stooped down,--it was a pocket-handkerchief. For a moment I had an
-idea that when I stumbled against your majesty I must have been the
-cause of the handkerchief falling from your pocket; but as I felt it all
-over very respectfully, I perceived a cipher at one of the corners,
-and, on looking at it closely, I found that it was Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere's cipher. I presumed that on her way to Madame's apartment in
-the earlier part of the evening she had let her handkerchief fall, and
-I accordingly hastened to restore it to her as she was leaving; and that
-is all I gave to Mademoiselle de la Valliere, I entreat your majesty to
-believe." Malicorne's manner was so simple, so full of contrition, and
-marked with such extreme humility, that the king was greatly amused in
-listening to him. He was as pleased with him for what he had done as if
-he had rendered him the greatest service.
-
-"This is the second fortunate meeting I have had with you, monsieur," he
-said; "you may count upon my good intentions."
-
-The plain and sober truth was, that Malicorne had picked the king's
-pocket of the handkerchief as dexterously as any of the pickpockets of
-the good city of Paris could have done. Madame never knew of this little
-incident, but Montalais gave La Valliere some idea of the manner in
-which it had really happened, and La Valliere afterwards told the king,
-who laughed exceedingly at it and pronounced Malicorne to be a first
-rate politician. Louis XIV. was right, and it is well known that he was
-tolerably well acquainted with human nature.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXII. Which Treats of Gardeners, of Ladders, and Maids of
-Honor.
-
-Miracles, unfortunately, could not be always happening, whilst Madame's
-ill-humor still continued. In a week's time, matters had reached such a
-point, that the king could no longer look at La Valliere without a look
-full of suspicion crossing his own. Whenever a promenade was proposed,
-Madame, in order to avoid the recurrence of similar scenes to that of
-the thunder-storm, or the royal oak, had a variety of indispositions
-ready prepared; and, thanks to them, she was unable to go out, and her
-maids of honor were obliged to remain indoors also. There was not the
-slightest chance of means of paying a nocturnal visit; for in this
-respect the king had, on the very first occasion, experienced a severe
-check, which happened in the following manner. As at Fontainebleau, he
-had taken Saint-Aignan with him one evening when he wished to pay
-La Valliere a visit; but he had found no one but Mademoiselle de
-Tonnay-Charente, who had begun to call out "Fire!" and "Thieves!" in
-such a manner that a perfect legion of chamber-maids, attendants, and
-pages, ran to her assistance; so that Saint-Aignan, who had remained
-behind in order to save the honor of his royal master, who had fled
-precipitately, was obliged to submit to a severe scolding from the
-queen-mother, as well as from Madame herself. In addition, he had, the
-next morning, received two challenges from the De Mortemart family, and
-the king had been obliged to interfere. This mistake had been owing
-to the circumstance of Madame having suddenly ordered a change in the
-apartments of her maids of honor, and directed La Valliere and Montalais
-to sleep in her own cabinet. No gateway, therefore, was any longer
-open--not even communication by letter; to write under the eyes of
-so ferocious an Argus as Madame, whose temper and disposition were so
-uncertain, was to run the risk of exposure to the greatest danger; and
-it can well be conceived into what a state of continuous irritation, and
-ever increasing anger, all these petty annoyances threw the young lion.
-The king almost tormented himself to death endeavoring to discover a
-means of communication; and, as he did not think proper to call in the
-aid of Malicorne or D'Artagnan, the means were not discovered at all.
-Malicorne had, indeed, occasional brilliant flashes of imagination, with
-which he tried to inspire the king with confidence; but, whether from
-shame or suspicion, the king, who had at first begun to nibble at the
-bait, soon abandoned the hook. In this way, for instance, one evening,
-while the king was crossing the garden, and looking up at Madame's
-windows, Malicorne stumbled over a ladder lying beside a border of box,
-and said to Manicamp, then walking with him behind the king, "Did you
-not see that I just now stumbled against a ladder, and was nearly thrown
-down?"
-
-"No," said Manicamp, as usual very absent-minded, "but it appears you
-did not fall."
-
-"That doesn't matter; but it is not on that account the less dangerous
-to leave ladders lying about in that manner."
-
-"True, one might hurt one's self, especially when troubled with fits of
-absence of mind."
-
-"I don't mean that; what I did mean, was that it is dangerous to allow
-ladders to lie about so near the windows of the maids of honor." Louis
-started imperceptibly.
-
-"Why so?" inquired Manicamp.
-
-"Speak louder," whispered Malicorne, as he touched him with his arm.
-
-"Why so?" said Manicamp, louder. The king listened.
-
-"Because, for instance," said Malicorne, "a ladder nineteen feet high is
-just the height of the cornice of those windows." Manicamp, instead of
-answering, was dreaming of something else.
-
-"Ask me, can't you, what windows I mean," whispered Malicorne.
-
-"But what windows are you referring to?" said Manicamp, aloud.
-
-"The windows of Madame's apartments."
-
-"Eh!"
-
-"Oh! I don't say that any one would ever venture to go up a ladder into
-Madame's room; but in Madame's cabinet, merely separated by a partition,
-sleep two exceedingly pretty girls, Mesdemoiselles de la Valliere and de
-Montalais."
-
-"By a partition?" said Manicamp.
-
-"Look; you see how brilliantly lighted Madame's apartments are--well, do
-you see those two windows?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And that window close to the others, but more dimly lighted?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, that is the room of the maids of honor. Look, there is
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere opening the window. Ah! how many soft things
-could an enterprising lover say to her, if he only suspected that there
-was lying here a ladder nineteen feet long, which would just reach the
-cornice."
-
-"But she is not alone; you said Mademoiselle de Montalais is with her."
-
-"Mademoiselle de Montalais counts for nothing; she is her oldest friend,
-and exceedingly devoted to her--a positive well, into which can be
-thrown all sorts of secrets one might wish to get rid of."
-
-The king did not lose a single syllable of this conversation. Malicorne
-even remarked that his majesty slackened his pace, in order to give him
-time to finish. So, when they arrived at the door, Louis dismissed every
-one, with the exception of Malicorne--a circumstance which excited no
-surprise, for it was known that the king was in love; and they suspected
-he was going to compose some verses by moonlight; and, although there
-was no moon that evening, the king might, nevertheless, have some verses
-to compose. Every one, therefore, took his leave; and, immediately
-afterwards, the king turned towards Malicorne, who respectfully waited
-until his majesty should address him. "What were you saying, just now,
-about a ladder, Monsieur Malicorne?" he asked.
-
-"Did I say anything about ladders, sire?" said Malicorne, looking up, as
-if in search of words which had flown away.
-
-"Yes, of a ladder nineteen feet long."
-
-"Oh, yes, sire, I remember; but I spoke to M. Manicamp, and I should not
-have said a word had I known your majesty was near enough to hear us."
-
-"And why would you not have said a word?"
-
-"Because I should not have liked to get the gardener into a scrape who
-left it there--poor fellow!"
-
-"Don't make yourself uneasy on that account. What is this ladder like?"
-
-"If your majesty wishes to see it, nothing is easier, for there it is."
-
-"In that box hedge?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Show it to me."
-
-Malicorne turned back, and led the king up to the ladder, saying, "This
-is it, sire."
-
-"Pull it this way a little."
-
-When Malicorne had brought the ladder on to the gravel walk, the king
-began to step its whole length. "Hum!" he said; "you say it is nineteen
-feet long?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Nineteen feet--that is rather long; I hardly believe it can be so long
-as that."
-
-"You cannot judge very correctly with the ladder in that position, sire.
-If it were upright, against a tree or a wall, for instance, you would
-be better able to judge, because the comparison would assist you a good
-deal."
-
-"Oh! it does not matter, M. Malicorne; but I can hardly believe that the
-ladder is nineteen feet high."
-
-"I know how accurate your majesty's glance is, and yet I would wager."
-
-The king shook his head. "There is one unanswerable means of verifying
-it," said Malicorne.
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"Every one knows, sire, that the ground-floor of the palace is eighteen
-feet high."
-
-"True, that is very well known."
-
-"Well, sire, if I place the ladder against the wall, we shall be able to
-ascertain."
-
-"True."
-
-Malicorne took up the ladder, like a feather, and placed it upright
-against the wall. And, in order to try the experiment, he chose, or
-chance, perhaps, directed him to choose, the very window of the cabinet
-where La Valliere was. The ladder just reached the edge of the cornice,
-that is to say, the sill of the window; so that, by standing upon the
-last round but one of the ladder, a man of about the middle height, as
-the king was, for instance, could easily talk with those who might be
-in the room. Hardly had the ladder been properly placed, when the king,
-dropping the assumed part he had been playing in the comedy, began to
-ascend the rounds of the ladder, which Malicorne held at the bottom. But
-hardly had he completed half the distance when a patrol of Swiss guards
-appeared in the garden, and advanced straight towards them. The king
-descended with the utmost precipitation, and concealed himself among
-the trees. Malicorne at once perceived that he must offer himself as
-a sacrifice; for if he, too, were to conceal himself, the guard would
-search everywhere until they had found either himself or the king,
-perhaps both. It would be far better, therefore, that he alone should be
-discovered. And, consequently, Malicorne hid himself so clumsily that
-he was the only one arrested. As soon as he was arrested, Malicorne
-was taken to the guard-house, and there he declared who he was, and was
-immediately recognized. In the meantime, by concealing himself first
-behind one clump of trees and then behind another, the king reached
-the side door of his apartment, very much humiliated, and still more
-disappointed. More than that, the noise made in arresting Malicorne had
-drawn La Valliere and Montalais to their window; and even Madame herself
-had appeared at her own, with a pair of wax candles, one in each hand,
-clamorously asking what was the matter.
-
-In the meantime, Malicorne sent for D'Artagnan, who did not lose a
-moment in hurrying to him. But it was in vain he attempted to make him
-understand his reasons, and in vain also that D'Artagnan did understand
-them; and, further, it was equally in vain that both their sharp and
-intuitive minds endeavored to give another turn to the adventure; there
-was no other resource left for Malicorne but to let it be supposed
-that he had wished to enter Mademoiselle de Montalais's apartment,
-as Saint-Aignan had passed for having wished to force Mademoiselle
-de Tonnay-Charente's door. Madame was inflexible; in the first place,
-because, if Malicorne had, in fact, wished to enter her apartment at
-night through the window, and by means of the ladder, in order to see
-Montalais, it was a punishable offense on Malicorne's part, and he must
-be punished accordingly; and, in the second place, if Malicorne, instead
-of acting in his own name, had acted as an intermediary between La
-Valliere and a person whose name it was superfluous to mention, his
-crime was in that case even greater, since love, which is an excuse for
-everything, did not exist in the case as an excuse. Madame therefore
-made the greatest possible disturbance about the matter, and obtained
-his dismissal from Monsieur's household, without reflecting, poor blind
-creature, that both Malicorne and Montalais held her fast in their
-clutches in consequence of her visit to De Guiche, and in a variety
-of other ways equally delicate. Montalais, who was perfectly furious,
-wished to revenge herself immediately, but Malicorne pointed out to her
-that the king's countenance would repay them for all the disgraces
-in the world, and that it was a great thing to have to suffer on his
-majesty's account.
-
-Malicorne was perfectly right, and, therefore, although Montalais had
-the spirit of ten women in her, he succeeded in bringing her round to
-his own opinion. And we must not omit to state that the king helped them
-to console themselves, for, in the first place, he presented Malicorne
-with fifty thousand francs as a compensation for the post he had lost,
-and, in the next place, he gave him an appointment in his own household,
-delighted to have an opportunity of revenging himself in such a manner
-upon Madame for all she had made him and La Valliere suffer. But as
-Malicorne could no longer carry significant handkerchiefs for him or
-plant convenient ladders, the royal lover was in a terrible state. There
-seemed to be no hope, therefore, of ever getting near La Valliere again,
-so long as she should remain at the Palais Royal. All the dignities and
-all the money in the world could not remedy that. Fortunately, however,
-Malicorne was on the lookout, and this so successfully that he met
-Montalais, who, to do her justice, it must be admitted, was doing her
-best to meet Malicorne. "What do you do during the night in Madame's
-apartment?" he asked the young girl.
-
-"Why, I go to sleep, of course," she replied.
-
-"But it is very wrong to sleep; it can hardly be possible that, with the
-pain you are suffering, you can manage to do so."
-
-"And what am I suffering from, may I ask?"
-
-"Are you not in despair at my absence?"
-
-"Of course not, since you have received fifty thousand francs and an
-appointment in the king's household."
-
-"That is a matter of no moment; you are exceedingly afflicted at not
-seeing me as you used to see me formerly, and more than all, you are
-in despair at my having lost Madame's confidence; come now, is not that
-true?"
-
-"Perfectly true."
-
-"Very good; your distress of mind prevents you sleeping at night, and so
-you sob, and sigh, and blow your nose ten times every minute as loud as
-possible."
-
-"But, my dear Malicorne, Madame cannot endure the slightest noise near
-her."
-
-"I know that perfectly well; of course she can't endure anything; and
-so, I tell you, when she hears your deep distress, she will turn you out
-of her rooms without a moment's delay."
-
-"I understand."
-
-"Very fortunate you _do_."
-
-"Well, and what will happen next?"
-
-"The next thing that will happen will be, that La Valliere, finding
-herself alone without you, will groan and utter such loud lamentations,
-that she will exhibit despair enough for two."
-
-"In that case she will be put into _another_ room, don't you see?"
-
-"Precisely so."
-
-"Yes, but which?"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Yes, that will puzzle you to say, Mr. Inventor-General."
-
-"Not at all; whenever and whatever the room may be, it will always be
-preferable to Madame's own room."
-
-"That is true."
-
-"Very good, so begin your lamentations to-night."
-
-"I certainly will not fail to do so."
-
-"And give La Valliere a hint also."
-
-"Oh! don't fear her, she cries quite enough already to herself."
-
-"Very well! all she has to do is cry out loudly."
-
-And they separated.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXIII. Which Treats of Carpentry Operations, and Furnishes
-Details upon the Mode of Constructing Staircases.
-
-The advice which had been given to Montalais was communicated by her
-to La Valliere, who could not but acknowledge that it was by no means
-deficient in judgment, and who, after a certain amount of resistance,
-rising rather from timidity than indifference to the project, resolved
-to put it into execution. This story of the two girls weeping, and
-filling Madame's bedroom with the noisiest lamentations, was Malicorne's
-_chef-d'oeuvre_. As nothing is so probable as improbability, so natural
-as romance, this kind of Arabian Nights story succeeded perfectly with
-Madame. The first thing she did was to send Montalais away, and then,
-three days, or rather three nights afterwards, she had La Valliere
-removed. She gave the latter one of the small rooms on the top story,
-situated immediately over the apartments allotted to the gentlemen
-of Monsieur's suite. One story only, that is to say, a mere flooring
-separated the maids of honor from the officers and gentlemen of her
-husband's household. A private staircase, which was placed under Madame
-de Navailles's surveillance, was the only means of communication. For
-greater safety, Madame de Navailles, who had heard of his majesty's
-previous attempts, had the windows of the rooms and the openings of the
-chimneys carefully barred. There was, therefore, every possible security
-provided for Mademoiselle de la Valliere, whose room now bore more
-resemblance to a cage than to anything else. When Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere was in her own room, and she was there very frequently, for
-Madame scarcely ever had any occasion for her services, since she once
-knew she was safe under Madame de Navailles's inspection, Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere had no better means of amusing herself than looking
-through the bars of her windows. It happened, therefore, that one
-morning, as she was looking out as usual, she perceived Malicorne at one
-of the windows exactly opposite to her own. He held a carpenter's rule
-in his hand, was surveying the buildings, and seemed to be adding up
-some figures on paper. La Valliere recognized Malicorne and nodded to
-him; Malicorne, in his turn, replied by a formal bow, and disappeared
-from the window. She was surprised at this marked coolness, so different
-from his usual unfailing good-humor, but she remembered that he had lost
-his appointment on her account, and that he could hardly be very amiably
-disposed towards her, since, in all probability, she would never be in
-a position to make him any recompense for what he had lost. She knew how
-to forgive offenses, and with still more readiness could she sympathize
-with misfortune. La Valliere would have asked Montalais her opinion, if
-she had been within hearing, but she was absent, it being the hour
-she commonly devoted to her own correspondence. Suddenly La Valliere
-observed something thrown from the window where Malicorne had been
-standing, pass across the open space which separated the iron bars, and
-roll upon the floor. She advanced with no little curiosity towards this
-object, and picked it up; it was a wooden reel for silk, only, in this
-instance, instead of silk, a piece of paper was rolled round it. La
-Valliere unrolled it and read as follows:
-
-"MADEMOISELLE,--I am exceedingly anxious to learn two things: the first
-is, to know if the flooring of your apartment is wood or brick; the
-second, to ascertain at what distance your bed is placed from the
-window. Forgive my importunity, and will you be good enough to send me
-an answer by the same way you receive this letter--that is to say, by
-means of the silk winder; only, instead of throwing into my room, as
-I have thrown it into yours, which will be too difficult for you
-to attempt, have the goodness merely to let it fall. Believe me,
-mademoiselle, your most humble, most respectful servant,
-
-"MALICORNE.
-
-"Write the reply, if you please, upon the letter itself."
-
-
-"Ah! poor fellow," exclaimed La Valliere, "he must have gone out of his
-mind;" and she directed towards her correspondent--of whom she caught
-but a faint glimpse, in consequence of the darkness of the room--a look
-full of compassionate consideration. Malicorne understood her, and shook
-his head, as if he meant to say, "No, no, I am not out of my mind; be
-quite satisfied."
-
-She smiled, as if still in doubt.
-
-"No, no," he signified by a gesture, "my head is right," and pointed
-to his head, then, after moving his hand like a man who writes very
-rapidly, he put his hands together as if entreating her to write.
-
-La Valliere, even if he were mad, saw no impropriety in doing what
-Malicorne requested her; she took a pencil and wrote "Wood," and then
-walked slowly from her window to her bed, and wrote, "Six paces," and
-having done this, she looked out again at Malicorne, who bowed to her,
-signifying that he was about to descend. La Valliere understood that
-it was to pick up the silk winder. She approached the window, and, in
-accordance with Malicorne's instructions, let it fall. The winder was
-still rolling along the flag-stones as Malicorne started after it,
-overtook and picked it up, and beginning to peel it as a monkey would
-do with a nut, he ran straight towards M. de Saint-Aignan's apartment.
-Saint-Aignan had chosen, or rather solicited, that his rooms might be
-as near the king as possible, as certain plants seek the sun's rays in
-order to develop themselves more luxuriantly. His apartment consisted of
-two rooms, in that portion of the palace occupied by Louis XIV. himself.
-M. de Saint-Aignan was very proud of this proximity, which afforded
-easy access to his majesty, and, more than that, the favor of occasional
-unexpected meetings. At the moment we are now referring to, he
-was engaged in having both his rooms magnificently carpeted, with
-expectation of receiving the honor of frequent visits from the king; for
-his majesty, since his passion for La Valliere, had chosen Saint-Aignan
-as his confidant, and could not, in fact, do without him, either night
-or day. Malicorne introduced himself to the comte, and met with no
-difficulties, because he had been favorably noticed by the king; and
-also, because the credit which one man may happen to enjoy is always a
-bait for others. Saint-Aignan asked his visitor if he brought any news
-with him.
-
-"Yes; great news," replied the latter.
-
-"Ah! ah!" said Saint-Aignan, "what is it?"
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere has changed her quarters."
-
-"What do you mean?" said Saint-Aignan, opening his eyes very wide. "She
-was living in the same apartments as Madame."
-
-"Precisely so; but Madame got tired of her proximity, and has installed
-her in a room which is situated exactly above your future apartment."
-
-"What! up there," exclaimed Saint-Aignan, with surprise, and pointing at
-the floor above him with his finger.
-
-"No," said Malicorne, "yonder," indicating the building opposite.
-
-"What do you mean, then, by saying that her room is above my apartment?"
-
-"Because I am sure that your apartment _ought_, providentially, to be
-under Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-Saint-Aignan, at this remark, gave poor Malicorne a look, similar to one
-of those La Valliere had already given a quarter of an hour before, that
-is to say, he thought he had lost his senses.
-
-"Monsieur," said Malicorne to him, "I wish to answer what you are
-thinking about."
-
-"What do you mean by 'what I am thinking about'?"
-
-"My reason is, that you have not clearly understood what I want to
-convey."
-
-"I admit it."
-
-"Well, then, you are aware that underneath the apartments set for
-Madame's maids of honor, the gentlemen in attendance on the king and on
-Monsieur are lodged."
-
-"Yes, I know that, since Manicamp, De Wardes, and others are living
-there."
-
-"Precisely. Well, monsieur, admire the singularity of the circumstance;
-the two rooms destined for M. de Guiche are exactly the very two
-rooms situated underneath those which Mademoiselle de Montalais and
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere occupy."
-
-"Well; what then?"
-
-"'What then,' do you say? Why, these two rooms are empty, since M. de
-Guiche is now lying wounded at Fontainebleau."
-
-"I assure you, my dear fellow, I cannot grasp your meaning."
-
-"Well! if I had the happiness to call myself Saint-Aignan, I should
-guess immediately."
-
-"And what would you do then?"
-
-"I should at once change the rooms I am occupying here, for those which
-M. de Guiche is not using yonder."
-
-"Can you suppose such a thing?" said Saint-Aignan, disdainfully. "What!
-abandon the chief post of honor, the proximity to the king, a privilege
-conceded only to princes of the blood, to dukes, and peers! Permit me
-to tell you, my dear Monsieur de Malicorne, that you must be out of your
-senses."
-
-"Monsieur," replied the young man, seriously, "you commit two mistakes.
-My name is Malicorne, simply; and I am in perfect possession of all my
-senses." Then, drawing a paper from his pocket, he said, "Listen to what
-I am going to say; and afterwards, I will show you this paper."
-
-"I am listening," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You know that Madame looks after La Valliere as carefully as Argus did
-after the nymph Io."
-
-"I do."
-
-"You know that the king has sought for an opportunity, but uselessly,
-of speaking to the prisoner, and that neither you nor myself have yet
-succeeded in procuring him this piece of good fortune."
-
-"You certainly ought to know something about the subject, my poor
-Malicorne," said Saint-Aignan, smiling.
-
-"Very good; what do you suppose would happen to the man whose
-imagination devised some means of bringing the lovers together?"
-
-"Oh! the king would set no bounds to his gratitude."
-
-"Let me ask you, then, M. de Saint-Aignan, whether you would not be
-curious to taste a little of this royal gratitude?"
-
-"Certainly," replied Saint-Aignan, "any favor of my master, as a
-recognition of the proper discharge of my duty, would assuredly be most
-precious."
-
-"In that case, look at this paper, monsieur le comte."
-
-"What is it--a plan?"
-
-"Yes; a plan of M. de Guiche's two rooms, which, in all probability,
-will soon be your two rooms."
-
-"Oh! no, whatever may happen."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because my rooms are the envy of too many gentlemen, to whom I
-certainly shall not give them up; M. de Roquelaure, for instance, M. de
-la Ferte, and M. de Dangeau, would all be anxious to get them."
-
-"In that case I shall leave you, monsieur le comte, and I shall go and
-offer to one of those gentlemen the plan I have just shown you, together
-with the advantages annexed to it."
-
-"But why do you not keep them for yourself?" inquired Saint-Aignan,
-suspiciously.
-
-"Because the king would never do me the honor of paying me a visit
-openly, whilst he would readily go and see any one of those gentlemen."
-
-"What! the king would go and see any one of those gentlemen?"
-
-"Go! most certainly he would ten times instead of once. Is it possible
-you can ask me if the king would go to an apartment which would bring
-him nearer to Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Yes, indeed, delightfully near her, with a floor between them."
-
-Malicorne unfolded the piece of paper which had been wrapped round the
-bobbin. "Monsieur le comte," he said, "have the goodness to observe that
-the flooring of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room is merely a wooden
-flooring."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Well! all you would have to do would be to get hold of a journeyman
-carpenter, lock him up in your apartments, without letting him know
-where you have taken him to, and let him make a hole in your ceiling,
-and consequently in the flooring of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-"Good heavens!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan, as if dazzled.
-
-"What is the matter?" said Malicorne.
-
-"Nothing, except that you have hit upon a singular, bold idea,
-monsieur."
-
-"It will seem a very trifling one to the king, I assure you."
-
-"Lovers never think of the risk they run."
-
-"What danger do you apprehend, monsieur le comte?"
-
-"Why, effecting such an opening as that will make a terrible noise: it
-could be heard all over the palace."
-
-"Oh! monsieur le comte, I am quite sure that the carpenter I shall
-select will not make the slightest noise in the world. He will saw an
-opening three feet square, with a saw covered with tow, and no one, not
-even those adjoining, will know that he is at work."
-
-"My dear Monsieur Malicorne, you astound, you positively bewilder me."
-
-"To continue," replied Malicorne, quietly, "in the room, the ceiling of
-which you will have cut through, you will put up a staircase, which will
-either allow Mademoiselle de la Valliere to descend into your room, or
-the king to ascend into Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-"But the staircase will be seen."
-
-"No; for in your room it will be hidden by a partition, over which
-you will throw a tapestry similar to that which covers the rest of the
-apartment; and in Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room it will not be
-seen, for the trapdoor, which will be a part of the flooring itself,
-will be made to open under the bed."
-
-"Of course," said Saint-Aignan, whose eyes began to sparkle with
-delight.
-
-"And now, monsieur le comte, there is no occasion to make you admit
-that the king will frequently come to the room where such a staircase is
-constructed. I think that M. Dangeau, particularly, will be struck by my
-idea, and I shall now go and explain to him."
-
-"But, my dear Monsieur Malicorne, you forget that you spoke to me about
-it the first, and that I have consequently the right of priority."
-
-"Do you wish for the preference?"
-
-"Do I wish it? Of course I do."
-
-"The fact is, Monsieur de Saint-Aignan, I am presenting you with a
-Jacob's ladder, which is better than the promise of an additional step
-in the peerage--perhaps, even with a good estate to accompany your
-dukedom."
-
-"At least," replied Saint-Aignan, "it will give me an opportunity of
-showing the king that he is not mistaken in occasionally calling me his
-friend; an opportunity, dear M. Malicorne, for which I am indebted to
-you."
-
-"And which you will not forget to remember?" inquired Malicorne,
-smiling.
-
-"Nothing will delight me more, monsieur."
-
-"But I am not the king's friend; I am simply his attendant."
-
-"Yes; and if you imagine that that staircase is as good as a dukedom for
-myself, I think there will certainly be letters of nobility at the top
-of it for you."
-
-Malicorne bowed.
-
-"All I have to do now," said Saint-Aignan, "is to move as soon as
-possible."
-
-"I do not think the king will object to it. Ask his permission,
-however."
-
-"I will go and see him this very moment."
-
-"And I will run and get the carpenter I was speaking of."
-
-"When will he be here?"
-
-"This very evening."
-
-"Do not forget your precautions."
-
-"He shall be brought with his eyes bandaged."
-
-"And I will send you one of my carriages."
-
-"Without arms."
-
-"And one of my servants without livery. But stay, what will La Valliere
-say if she sees what is going on?"
-
-"Oh! I can assure you she will be very much interested in the operation,
-and I am equally sure that if the king has not courage enough to ascend
-to her room, she will have sufficient curiosity to come down to him."
-
-"We will live in hope," said Saint-Aignan; "and now I am off to his
-majesty. At what time will the carpenter be here?"
-
-"At eight o'clock."
-
-"How long do you suppose he will take to make this opening?"
-
-"About a couple of hours; only afterwards he must have sufficient time
-to construct what may be called the hyphen between the two rooms. One
-night and a portion of the following day will do; we must not reckon
-upon less than two days, including putting up the staircase."
-
-"Two days, that is a very long time."
-
-"Nay; when one undertakes to open up communications with paradise
-itself, we must at least take care that the approaches are respectable."
-
-"Quite right; so farewell for a short time, dear M. Malicorne. I shall
-begin to remove the day after to-morrow, in the evening."
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXIV. The Promenade by Torchlight.
-
-Saint-Aignan, delighted with what he had just heard, and rejoiced at
-what the future foreshadowed for him, bent his steps towards De Guiche's
-two rooms. He who, a quarter of an hour previously, would hardly
-yield up his own rooms for a million francs, was now ready to expend
-a million, if it were necessary, upon the acquisition of the two happy
-rooms he coveted so eagerly. But he did not meet with so many obstacles.
-M. de Guiche did not yet know where he was to lodge, and, besides,
-was still too far ill to trouble himself about his lodgings; and so
-Saint-Aignan obtained De Guiche's two rooms without difficulty. As for
-M. Dangeau, he was so immeasurably delighted, that he did not even give
-himself the trouble to think whether Saint-Aignan had any particular
-reason for removing. Within an hour after Saint-Aignan's new resolution,
-he was in possession of the two rooms; and ten minutes later Malicorne
-entered, followed by the upholsterers. During this time, the king asked
-for Saint-Aignan; the valet ran to his late apartments and found M.
-Dangeau there; Dangeau sent him on to De Guiche's, and Saint-Aignan was
-found there; but a little delay had of course taken place, and the king
-had already exhibited once or twice evident signs of impatience, when
-Saint-Aignan entered his royal master's presence, quite out of breath.
-
-"You, too, abandon me, then," said Louis XIV., in a similar tone
-of lamentation to that with which Caesar, eighteen hundred years
-previously, had pronounced the _Et tu quoque_.
-
-"Sire, I am far from abandoning you, for, on the contrary, I am busily
-occupied in changing my lodgings."
-
-"What do you mean? I thought you had finished moving three days ago."
-
-"Yes, sire. But I don't find myself comfortable where I am, so I am
-going to change to the opposite side of the building."
-
-"Was I not right when I said you were abandoning me?" exclaimed the
-king. "Oh! this exceeds all endurance. But so it is: there was only
-one woman for whom my heart cared at all, and all my family is leagued
-together to tear her from me; and my friend, to whom I confided my
-distress, and who helped me to bear up under it, has become wearied
-of my complaints and is going to leave me without even asking my
-permission."
-
-Saint-Aignan began to laugh. The king at once guessed there must be some
-mystery in this want of respect. "What is it?" cried the king, full of
-hope.
-
-"This, sire, that the friend whom the king calumniates is going to try
-if he cannot restore to his sovereign the happiness he has lost."
-
-"Are you going to let me see La Valliere?" said Louis XIV.
-
-"I cannot say so, positively, but I hope so."
-
-"How--how?--tell me that, Saint-Aignan. I wish to know what your project
-is, and to help you with all my power."
-
-"Sire," replied Saint-Aignan, "I cannot, even myself, tell very well how
-I must set about attaining success; but I have every reason to believe
-that from to-morrow--"
-
-"To-morrow, do you say! What happiness! But why are you changing your
-rooms?"
-
-"In order to serve your majesty to better advantage."
-
-"How can your moving serve me?"
-
-"Do you happen to know where the two rooms destined for De Guiche are
-situated?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, your majesty now knows where I am going."
-
-"Very likely; but that does not help me."
-
-"What! is it possible that you do not understand, sire, that above
-De Guiche's lodgings are two rooms, one of which is Mademoiselle
-Montalais's, and the other--"
-
-"La Valliere's, is it not so, Saint-Aignan? Oh! yes, yes. It is a
-brilliant idea, Saint-Aignan, a true friend's idea, a poet's idea. By
-bringing me nearer her from whom the world seems to unite to separate
-me--you are far more than Pylades was for Orestes, or Patroclus for
-Achilles."
-
-"Sire," said Aignan, with a smile, "I question whether, if your majesty
-were to know my projects in their full extent, you would continue to
-pronounce such a pompous eulogium upon me. Ah! sire, I know how very
-different are the epithets which certain Puritans of the court will
-not fail to apply to me when they learn of what I intend to do for your
-majesty."
-
-"Saint-Aignan, I am dying with impatience; I am in a perfect fever; I
-shall never be able to wait until to-morrow--to-morrow! why, to-morrow
-is an eternity!"
-
-"And yet, sire, I shall require you, if you please, to go out presently
-and divert your impatience by a good walk."
-
-"With you--agreed; we will talk about your projects, we will talk of
-her."
-
-"Nay, sire; I remain here."
-
-"Whom shall I go out with, then?"
-
-"With the queen and all the ladies of the court."
-
-"Nothing shall induce me to do that, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"And yet, sire, you must."
-
-"_Must?_--no, no--a thousand times no! I will never again expose
-myself to the horrible torture of being close to her, of seeing her, of
-touching her dress as I pass by her, and yet not be able to say a
-word to her. No, I renounce a torture which you suppose will bring me
-happiness, but which consumes and eats away my very life; to see her in
-the presence of strangers, and not to tell her that I love her, when my
-whole being reveals my affection and betrays me to every one; no! I have
-sworn never to do it again, and I will keep my oath."
-
-"Yet, sire, pray listen to me for a moment."
-
-"I will listen to nothing, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"In that case, I will continue; it is most urgent, sire--pray understand
-me, it is of the greatest importance--that Madame and her maids of honor
-should be absent for two hours from the palace."
-
-"I cannot understand your meaning at all, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"It is hard for me to give my sovereign directions what to do; but under
-the circumstances I do give you directions, sire; and either a hunting
-or a promenade party must be got up."
-
-"But if I were to do what you wish, it would be a caprice, a mere whim.
-In displaying such an impatient humor I show my whole court that I have
-no control over my own feelings. Do not people already say that I am
-dreaming of the conquest of the world, but that I ought previously to
-begin by achieving a conquest over myself?"
-
-"Those who say so, sire, are as insolent as they would like to be
-thought facetious; but whomever they may be, if your majesty prefers
-to listen to them, I have nothing further to say. In such a case,
-that which we have fixed to take place to-morrow must be postponed
-indefinitely."
-
-"Nay, Saint-Aignan, I will go out this evening--I will go by torchlight
-to Saint-Germain: I will breakfast there to-morrow, and will return to
-Paris by three o'clock. Will that do?"
-
-"Admirably."
-
-"In that case I will set out this evening at eight o'clock."
-
-"Your majesty has fixed upon the exact minute."
-
-"And you positively will tell me nothing more?"
-
-"It is because I have nothing more to tell you. Industry counts for
-something in this world, sire; but still, chance plays so important
-a part in it that I have been accustomed to leave her the sidewalk,
-confident that she will manage so as to always take the street."
-
-"Well, I abandon myself entirely to you."
-
-"And you are quite right."
-
-Comforted in this manner, the king went immediately to Madame, to whom
-he announced the intended expedition. Madame fancied at the first moment
-that she saw in this unexpectedly arranged party a plot of the king's
-to converse with La Valliere, either on the road under cover of the
-darkness, or in some other way, but she took especial care not to show
-any of her fancies to her brother-in-law, and accepted the invitation
-with a smile upon her lips. She gave directions aloud that her maids of
-honor should accompany her, secretly intending in the evening to take
-the most effectual steps to interfere with his majesty's attachment.
-Then, when she was alone, and at the very moment the poor lover, who
-had issued orders for the departure, was reveling in the idea that
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere would form one of the party,--luxuriating in
-the sad happiness persecuted lovers enjoy of realizing through the
-sense of sight alone all the transports of possession,--Madame, who
-was surrounded by her maids of honor, was saying:--"Two ladies will
-be enough for me this evening, Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente and
-Mademoiselle de Montalais."
-
-La Valliere had anticipated her own omission, and was prepared for it:
-but persecution had rendered her courageous, and she did not give Madame
-the pleasure of seeing on her face the impression of the shock her heart
-received. On the contrary, smiling with that ineffable gentleness which
-gave an angelic expression to her features--"In that case, Madame, I
-shall be at liberty this evening, I suppose?" she said.
-
-"Of course."
-
-"I shall be able to employ it, then, in progressing with that piece of
-tapestry which your highness has been good enough to notice, and which I
-have already had the honor of offering to you."
-
-And having made a respectful obeisance she withdrew to her own
-apartment; Mesdemoiselles de Tonnay-Charente and de Montalais did the
-same. The rumor of the intended promenade soon spread all over the
-palace; ten minutes afterwards Malicorne learned Madame's resolution,
-and slipped under Montalais's door a note, in the following terms:
-
-"L. V. must positively pass the night the night with Madame."
-
-Montalais, in pursuance of the compact she had entered into, began by
-burning the letter, and then sat down to reflect. Montalais was a girl
-full of expedients, and so she very soon arranged her plan. Towards five
-o'clock, which was the hour for her to repair to Madame's apartment, she
-was running across the courtyard, and had reached within a dozen paces
-of a group of officers, when she uttered a cry, fell gracefully on
-one knee, rose again, with difficulty, and walked on limpingly. The
-gentlemen ran forward to her assistance; Montalais had sprained her
-foot. Faithful to the discharge of her duty, she insisted, however,
-notwithstanding her accident, upon going to Madame's apartments.
-
-"What is the matter, and why do you limp so?" she inquired; "I mistook
-you for La Valliere."
-
-Montalais related how it had happened, that in hurrying on, in order to
-arrive as quickly as possible, she had sprained her foot. Madame seemed
-to pity her, and wished to have a surgeon sent for immediately, but
-she, assuring her that there was nothing really serious in the accident,
-said: "My only regret, Madame, is, that it will preclude my attendance
-on you, and I should have begged Mademoiselle de la Valliere to take my
-place with your royal highness, but--" seeing that Madame frowned, she
-added--"I have not done so."
-
-"Why did you not do so?" inquired Madame.
-
-"Because poor La Valliere seemed so happy to have her liberty for a
-whole evening and night too, that I did not feel courageous enough to
-ask her to take my place."
-
-"What, is she so delighted as that?" inquired madame, struck by these
-words.
-
-"She is wild with delight; she, who is always so melancholy, was singing
-like a bird. Besides, your highness knows how much she detests going out,
-and also that her character has a spice of wildness in it."
-
-"So!" thought Madame, "this extreme delight hardly seems natural to me."
-
-"She has already made all her preparations for dining in her own room
-_tete-a-tete_ with one of her favorite books. And then, as your highness
-has six other young ladies who would be delighted to accompany you, I
-did not make my proposal to La Valliere." Madame did not say a word in
-reply.
-
-"Have I acted properly?" continued Montalais, with a slight fluttering
-of the heart, seeing the little success that seemed to attend the _ruse
-de guerre_ which she had relied upon with so much confidence that she
-had not thought it even necessary to try and find another. "Does Madame
-approve of what I have done?" she continued.
-
-Madame was reflecting that the king could very easily leave
-Saint-Germain during the night, and that, as it was only four leagues
-and a half from Paris to Saint-Germain, he might readily be in Paris
-in an hour's time. "Tell me," she said, "whether La Valliere, when she
-heard of your accident, offered at least to bear you company?"
-
-"Oh! she does not yet know of my accident; but even did she know of it,
-I most certainly should not ask her to do anything that might interfere
-with her own plans. I think she wishes this evening to realize quietly
-by herself that amusement of the late king, when he said to M. de
-Cinq-Mars, 'Let us amuse ourselves by doing nothing, and making
-ourselves miserable.'"
-
-Madame felt convinced that some mysterious love adventure lurked behind
-this strong desire for solitude. The secret _might_ be Louis's return
-during the night; it could not be doubted any longer La Valliere had
-been informed of his intended return, and that was the reason for her
-delight at having to remain behind at the Palais Royal. It was a plan
-settled and arranged beforehand.
-
-"I will not be their dupe though," said Madame, and she took a decisive
-step. "Mademoiselle de Montalais," she said, "will you have the
-goodness to inform your friend, Mademoiselle de la Valliere, that I
-am exceedingly sorry to disarrange her projects of solitude, but that
-instead of becoming _ennuyee_ by remaining behind alone as she wished,
-she will be good enough to accompany us to Saint-Germain and get
-_ennuyee_ there."
-
-"Ah! poor La Valliere," said Montalais, compassionately, but with her
-heart throbbing with delight; "oh, Madame, could there not be some
-means--"
-
-"Enough," said Madame; "I desire it. I prefer Mademoiselle la Baume le
-Blanc's society to that of any one else. Go, and send her to me, and
-take care of your foot."
-
-Montalais did not wait for the order to be repeated; she returned to her
-room, almost forgetting to feign lameness, wrote an answer to Malicorne,
-and slipped it under the carpet. The answer simply said: "She shall." A
-Spartan could not have written more laconically.
-
-"By this means," thought Madame, "I will look narrowly after all on the
-road; she shall sleep near me during the night, and his majesty must
-be very clever if he can exchange a single word with Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere."
-
-La Valliere received the order to set off with the same indifferent
-gentleness with which she had received the order to play Cinderella.
-But, inwardly, her delight was extreme, and she looked upon this change
-in the princess's resolution as a consolation which Providence had sent
-her. With less penetration than Madame possessed, she attributed all
-to chance. While every one, with the exception of those in disgrace,
-of those who were ill, and those who were suffering from sprains, were
-being driven towards Saint-Germain, Malicorne smuggled his workman into
-the palace in one of M. de Saint-Aignan's carriages, and led him into
-the room corresponding to La Valliere's. The man set to work with a
-will, tempted by the splendid reward which had been promised him. As the
-very best tools and implements had been selected from the reserve stock
-belonging to the engineers attached to the king's household--and among
-others, a saw with teeth so sharp and well tempered that it was able,
-under water even, to cut through oaken joists as hard as iron--the work
-in question advanced very rapidly, and a square portion of the ceiling,
-taken from between two of the joists, fell into the arms of the
-delighted Saint-Aignan, Malicorne, the workman, and a confidential
-valet, the latter being one brought into the world to see and hear
-everything, but to repeat nothing. In accordance with a new plan
-indicated by Malicorne, the opening was effected in an angle of the
-room--and for this reason. As there was no dressing-closet adjoining La
-Valliere's room, she had solicited, and had that very morning obtained,
-a large screen intended to serve as a partition. The screen that had
-been allotted her was perfectly sufficient to conceal the opening, which
-would, besides, be hidden by all the artifices skilled cabinet-makers
-would have at their command. The opening having been made, the workman
-glided between the joists, and found himself in La Valliere's room. When
-there, he cut a square opening in the flooring, and out of the boards he
-manufactured a trap so accurately fitting into the opening that the most
-practised eye could hardly detect the necessary interstices made by its
-lines of juncture with the floor. Malicorne had provided for everything:
-a ring and a couple of hinges which had been bought for the purpose,
-were affixed to the trap-door; and a small circular stair-case, packed
-in sections, had been bought ready made by the industrious Malicorne,
-who had paid two thousand francs for it. It was higher than what was
-required, but the carpenter reduced the number of steps, and it
-was found to suit exactly. This staircase, destined to receive so
-illustrious a burden, was merely fastened to the wall by a couple of
-iron clamps, and its base was fixed into the floor of the comte's room
-by two iron pegs screwed down tightly, so that the king, and all his
-cabinet councilors too, might pass up and down the staircase without any
-fear. Every blow of the hammer fell upon a thick pad or cushion, and
-the saw was not used until the handle had been wrapped in wool, and the
-blade steeped in oil. The noisiest part of the work, moreover, had taken
-place during the night and early in the morning, that is to say, when
-La Valliere and Madame were both absent. When, about two o'clock in the
-afternoon, the court returned to the Palais Royal, La Valliere went up
-into her own room. Everything was in its proper place--not the smallest
-particle of sawdust, not the smallest chip, was left to bear witness to
-the violation of her domicile. Saint-Aignan, however, wishing to do his
-utmost in forwarding the work, had torn his fingers and his shirt
-too, and had expended no ordinary amount of perspiration in the king's
-service. The palms of his hands were covered with blisters, occasioned
-by his having held the ladder for Malicorne. He had, moreover, brought
-up, one by one, the seven pieces of the staircase, each consisting of
-two steps. In fact, we can safely assert that, if the king had seen him
-so ardently at work, his majesty would have sworn an eternal gratitude
-towards his faithful attendant. As Malicorne anticipated, the workman
-had completely finished the job in twenty-four hours; he received
-twenty-four louis, and left, overwhelmed with delight, for he had gained
-in one day as much as six months' hard work would have procured him.
-No one had the slightest suspicion of what had taken place in the room
-under Mademoiselle de la Valliere's apartment. But in the evening of the
-second day, at the very moment La Valliere had just left Madame's circle
-and returned to her own room, she heard a slight creaking sound in one
-corner. Astonished, she looked to see whence it proceeded, and the noise
-began again. "Who is there?" she said, in a tone of alarm.
-
-"It is I, Louise," replied the well-known voice of the king.
-
-"You! you!" cried the young girl, who for a moment fancied herself under
-the influence of a dream. "But where? You, sire?"
-
-"Here," replied the king, opening one of the folds of the screen, and
-appearing like a ghost at the end of the room.
-
-La Valliere uttered a loud cry, and fell trembling into an armchair, as
-the king advanced respectfully towards her.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXV. The Apparition.
-
-La Valliere very soon recovered from her surprise, for, owing to his
-respectful bearing, the king inspired her with more confidence by his
-presence than his sudden appearance had deprived her of. But, as he
-noticed that which made La Valliere most uneasy was the means by which
-he had effected an entrance into her room, he explained to her the
-system of the staircase concealed by the screen, and strongly disavowed
-the notion of his being a supernatural appearance.
-
-"Oh, sire!" said La Valliere, shaking her fair head with a most engaging
-smile, "present or absent, you do not appear to my mind more at one time
-than at another."
-
-"Which means, Louise--"
-
-"Oh, what you know so well, sire; that there is not one moment in which
-the poor girl whose secret you surprised at Fontainebleau, and whom
-you came to snatch from the foot of the cross itself, does not think of
-you."
-
-"Louise, you overwhelm me with joy and happiness."
-
-La Valliere smiled mournfully, and continued: "But, sire, have you
-reflected that your ingenious invention could not be of the slightest
-service to us?"
-
-"Why so? Tell me,--I am waiting most anxiously."
-
-"Because this room may be subject to being searched at any moment of
-the day. Madame herself may, at any time, come here accidentally; my
-companions run in at any moment they please. To fasten the door on the
-inside, is to denounce myself as plainly as if I had written above, 'No
-admittance,--the king is within!' Even now, sire, at this very moment,
-there is nothing to prevent the door opening, and your majesty being
-seen here."
-
-"In that case," said the king, laughingly, "I should indeed be taken for
-a phantom, for no one can tell in what way I came here. Besides, it is
-only spirits that can pass through brick walls, or floors and ceilings."
-
-"Oh, sire, reflect for a moment how terrible the scandal would be!
-Nothing equal to it could ever have been previously said about the
-maids of honor, poor creatures! whom evil report, however, hardly ever
-spares."
-
-"And your conclusion from all this, my dear Louise,--come, explain
-yourself."
-
-"Alas! it is a hard thing to say--but your majesty must suppress
-staircase plots, surprises and all; for the evil consequences which
-would result from your being found here would be far greater than our
-happiness in seeing each other."
-
-"Well, Louise," replied the king, tenderly, "instead of removing this
-staircase by which I have ascended, there is a far more simple means, of
-which you have not thought."
-
-"A means--another means!"
-
-"Yes, another. Oh, you do not love me as I love you, Louise, since my
-invention is quicker than yours."
-
-She looked at the king, who held out his hand to her, which she took and
-gently pressed between her own.
-
-"You were saying," continued the king, "that I shall be detected coming
-here, where any one who pleases can enter."
-
-"Stay, sire; at this very moment, even while you are speaking about it,
-I tremble with dread of your being discovered."
-
-"But you would not be found out, Louise, if you were to descend the
-staircase which leads to the room underneath."
-
-"Oh, sire! what do you say?" cried Louise, in alarm.
-
-"You do not quite understand me, Louise, since you get offended at
-my very first word; first of all, do you know to whom the apartments
-underneath belong?"
-
-"To M. de Guiche, sire, I believe."
-
-"Not at all; they are M. de Saint-Aignan's."
-
-"Are you sure?" cried La Valliere; and this exclamation which escaped
-from the young girl's joyous heart made the king's heart throb with
-delight.
-
-"Yes, to Saint-Aignan, _our friend_," he said.
-
-"But, sire," returned La Valliere, "I cannot visit M. de
-Saint-Aignan's rooms any more than I could M. de Guiche's. It is
-impossible--impossible."
-
-"And yet, Louise, I should have thought that, under the safe-conduct of
-the king, you would venture anything."
-
-"Under the safe-conduct of the king," she said, with a look full of
-tenderness.
-
-"You have faith in my word, I hope, Louise?"
-
-"Yes, sire, when you are not present; but when you are present,--when
-you speak to me,--when I look upon you, I have faith in nothing."
-
-"What can possibly be done to reassure you?"
-
-"It is scarcely respectful, I know, to doubt the king, but--for me--you
-are _not_ the king."
-
-"Thank Heaven!--I, at least, hope so most devoutly; you see how
-anxiously I am trying to find or invent a means of removing all
-difficulty. Stay; would the presence of a third person reassure you?"
-
-"The presence of M. de Saint-Aignan would, certainly."
-
-"Really, Louise, you wound me by your suspicions."
-
-Louise did not answer, she merely looked steadfastly at him with that
-clear, piercing gaze which penetrates the very heart, and said softly to
-herself, "Alas! alas! it is not you of whom I am afraid,--it is not you
-upon whom my doubts would fall."
-
-"Well," said the king, sighing, "I agree; and M. de Saint-Aignan, who
-enjoys the inestimable privilege of reassuring you, shall always be
-present at our interviews, I promise you."
-
-"You promise that, sire?"
-
-"Upon my honor as a gentleman; and you, on your side--"
-
-"Oh, wait, sire, that is not all yet; for such conversations ought, at
-least, to have a reasonable motive of some kind for M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Dear Louise, every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours, and my only
-study is to equal you on that point. It shall be just as you wish:
-therefore our conversations shall have a reasonable motive, and I have
-already hit upon one; so that from to-morrow, if you like--"
-
-"To-morrow?"
-
-"Do you meant that that is not soon enough?" exclaimed the king,
-caressing La Valliere's hand between his own.
-
-At this moment the sound of steps was heard in the corridor.
-
-"Sire! sire!" cried La Valliere, "some one is coming; do you hear? Oh,
-fly! fly! I implore you."
-
-The king made but one bound from the chair where he was sitting to his
-hiding-place behind the screen. He had barely time; for as he drew
-one of the folds before him, the handle of the door was turned, and
-Montalais appeared at the threshold. As a matter of course she entered
-quite naturally, and without any ceremony, for she knew perfectly
-well that to knock at the door beforehand would be showing a suspicion
-towards La Valliere which would be displeasing to her. She accordingly
-entered, and after a rapid glance round the room, in the brief course of
-which she observed two chairs very close to each other, she was so long
-in shutting the door, which seemed to be difficult to close, one can
-hardly tell how or why, that the king had ample time to raise the
-trap-door, and to descend again to Saint-Aignan's room.
-
-"Louise," she said to her, "I want to talk to you, and seriously, too."
-
-"Good heavens! my dear Aure, what is the matter now?"
-
-"The matter is, that Madame suspects _everything_."
-
-"Explain yourself."
-
-"Is there any occasion for us to enter into explanations, and do you not
-understand what I mean? Come, you must have noticed the fluctuations in
-Madame's humor during several days past; you must have noticed how she
-first kept you close beside her, then dismissed you, and then sent for
-you again."
-
-"Yes, I have noticed it, of course."
-
-"Well, it seems Madame has now succeeded in obtaining sufficient
-information, for she has now gone straight to the point, as there is
-nothing further left in France to withstand the torrent which sweeps
-away all obstacles before it; you know what I mean by the torrent?"
-
-La Valliere hid her face in her hands.
-
-"I mean," continued Montalais, pitilessly, "that torrent which burst
-through the gates of the Carmelites of Chaillot, and overthrew all the
-prejudices of the court, as well at Fontainebleau as at Paris."
-
-"Alas! alas!" murmured La Valliere, her face still covered by her hands,
-and her tears streaming through her fingers.
-
-"Oh, don't distress yourself in that manner, or you have only heard half
-of your troubles."
-
-"In Heaven's name," exclaimed the young girl, in great anxiety, "what is
-the matter?"
-
-"Well, then, this is how the matter stands: Madame, who can no longer
-rely upon any further assistance in France; for she has, one after the
-other, made use of the two queens, of Monsieur, and the whole court,
-too, now bethinks herself of a certain person who has certain pretended
-rights over you."
-
-La Valliere became as white as a marble statue.
-
-"This person," continued Madame, "is not in Paris at this moment; but,
-if I am not mistaken, is, just now, in England."
-
-"Yes, yes," breathed La Valliere, almost overwhelmed with terror.
-
-"And is to be found, I think, at the court of Charles II.; am I right?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, this evening a letter has been dispatched by Madame to Saint
-James's, with directions for the courier to go straight to Hampton
-Court, which I believe is one of the royal residences, situated about a
-dozen miles from London."
-
-"Yes, well?"
-
-"Well; as Madame writes regularly to London once a fortnight, and as the
-ordinary courier left for London not more than three days ago, I have
-been thinking that some serious circumstance alone could have induced
-her to write again so soon, for you know she is a very indolent
-correspondent."
-
-"Yes."
-
-"This letter has been written, therefore, something tells me so, at
-least, on your account."
-
-"On my account?" repeated the unhappy girl, mechanically.
-
-"And I, who saw the letter lying on Madame's desk before she sealed it,
-fancied I could read--"
-
-"What did you fancy you could read?"
-
-"I might possibly have been mistaken, though--"
-
-"Tell me,--what was it?"
-
-"The name of Bragelonne."
-
-La Valliere rose hurriedly from her chair, a prey to the most painful
-agitation. "Montalais," she said, her voice broken by sobs, "all my
-smiling dreams of youth and innocence have fled already. I have nothing
-now to conceal, either from you or any one else. My life is exposed to
-every one's inspection, and can be opened like a book, in which all
-the world can read, from the king himself to the first passer-by. Aure,
-dearest Aure, what can I do--what will become of me?"
-
-Montalais approached close to her, and said, "Consult your own heart, of
-course."
-
-"Well; I do not love M. de Bragelonne; when I say I do not love him,
-understand that I love him as the most affectionate sister could love
-the best of brothers, but that is not what he requires, nor what I
-promised him."
-
-"In fact, you love the king," said Montalais, "and that is a
-sufficiently good excuse."
-
-"Yes, I do love the king," hoarsely murmured the young girl, "and I have
-paid dearly enough for pronouncing those words. And now, Montalais, tell
-me--what can you do either for me, or against me, in my position?"
-
-"You must speak more clearly still."
-
-"What am I to say, then?"
-
-"And so you have nothing very particular to tell me?"
-
-"No!" said Louise, in astonishment.
-
-"Very good; and so all you have to ask me is my advice respecting M.
-Raoul?"
-
-"Nothing else."
-
-"It is a very delicate subject," replied Montalais.
-
-"No, it is nothing of the kind. Ought I to marry him in order to keep
-the promise I made, or ought I continue to listen to the king?"
-
-"You have really placed me in a very difficult position," said
-Montalais, smiling; "you ask me if you ought to marry Raoul, whose
-friend I am, and whom I shall mortally offend in giving my opinion
-against him; and then, you ask me if you should cease to listen to the
-king, whose subject I am, and whom I should offend if I were to advise
-you in a particular way. Ah, Louise, you seem to hold a difficult
-position at a very cheap rate."
-
-"You have not understood me, Aure," said La Valliere, wounded by the
-slightly mocking tone of her companion; "if I were to marry M. de
-Bragelonne, I should be far from bestowing on him the happiness he
-deserves; but, for the same reason, if I listen to the king he would
-become the possessor of one indifferent in very many aspects, I admit,
-but one whom his affection confers an appearance of value. What I ask
-you, then, is to tell me some means of disengaging myself honorably
-either from the one or from the other; or rather, I ask you, from which
-side you think I can free myself most honorably."
-
-"My dear Louise," replied Montalais, after a pause, "I am not one of the
-seven wise men of Greece, and I have no perfectly invariable rules
-of conduct to govern me; but, on the other hand, I have a little
-experience, and I can assure you that no woman ever asks for advice of
-the nature which you have just asked me, without being in a terrible
-state of embarrassment. Besides, you have made a solemn promise, which
-every principle of honor requires you to fulfil; if, therefore, you are
-embarrassed, in consequence of having undertaken such an engagement, it
-is not a stranger's advice (every one is a stranger to a heart full of
-love), it is not my advice, I repeat, that can extricate you from your
-embarrassment. I shall not give it you, therefore; and for a greater
-reason still--because, were I in your place, I should feel much more
-embarrassed after the advice than before it. All I can do is, to repeat
-what I have already told you; shall I assist you?"
-
-"Yes, yes."
-
-"Very well; that is all. Tell me in what way you wish me to help
-you; tell me for and against whom,--in this way we shall not make any
-blunders."
-
-"But first of all," said La Valliere, pressing her companion's hand,
-"for whom or against whom do you decide?"
-
-"For you, if you are really and truly my friend."
-
-"Are you not Madame's confidant?"
-
-"A greater reason for being of service to you; if I were not to know
-what is going on in that direction I should not be of any service
-at all, and consequently you would not obtain any advantage from my
-acquaintance. Friendships live and thrive upon a system of reciprocal
-benefits."
-
-"The result is, then, that you will remain at the same time Madame's
-friend also?"
-
-"Evidently. Do you complain of that?"
-
-"I hardly know," sighed La Valliere, thoughtfully, for this cynical
-frankness appeared to her an offense both to the woman and the friend.
-
-"All well and good, then," said Montalais, "for if you did, you would be
-very foolish."
-
-"You wish to serve me, then?"
-
-"Devotedly--if you will serve me in return."
-
-"One would almost say that you do not know my heart," said La Valliere,
-looking at Montalais with her eyes wide open.
-
-"Why, the fact is, that since we have belonged to the court, my dear
-Louise, we are very much changed."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"It is very simple. Were you the second queen of France yonder, at
-Blois?"
-
-La Valliere hung down her head, and began to weep. Montalais looked
-at her in an indefinable manner, and murmured "Poor girl!" and then,
-adding, "Poor king!" she kissed Louise on the forehead, and returned to
-her apartment, where Malicorne was waiting for her.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXVI. The Portrait.
-
-In that malady which is termed love the paroxysms succeed each other
-at intervals, ever accelerating from the moment the disease declares
-itself. By and by, the paroxysms are less frequent, in proportion as
-the cure approaches. This being laid down as a general axiom, and as the
-leading article of a particular chapter, we will now proceed with
-our recital. The next day, the day fixed by the king for the first
-conversation in Saint-Aignan's room, La Valliere, on opening one of
-the folds of the screen, found upon the floor a letter in the king's
-handwriting. The letter had been passed, through a slit in the floor,
-from the lower apartment to her own. No indiscreet hand or curious gaze
-could have brought or did bring this single paper. This, too, was one of
-Malicorne's ideas. Having seen how very serviceable Saint-Aignan would
-become to the king on account of his apartment, he did not wish that the
-courtier should become still more indispensable as a messenger, and so
-he had, on his own private account, reserved this last post for himself.
-La Valliere most eagerly read the letter, which fixed two o'clock
-that same afternoon for the rendezvous, and which indicated the way of
-raising the trap-door which was constructed out of the flooring. "Make
-yourself look as beautiful as you can," added the postscript of the
-letter, words which astonished the young girl, but at the same time
-reassured her.
-
-The hours passed away very slowly, but the time fixed, however, arrived
-at last. As punctual as the priestess Hero, Louise lifted up the
-trap-door at the last stroke of the hour of two, and found the king on
-the steps, waiting for her with the greatest respect, in order to
-give her his hand to descend. The delicacy and deference shown in this
-attention affected her very powerfully. At the foot of the staircase
-the two lovers found the comte, who, with a smile and a low reverence
-distinguished by the best taste, expressed his thanks to La Valliere
-for the honor she conferred upon him. Then turning towards the king, he
-said:
-
-"Sire, our man is here." La Valliere looked at the king with some
-uneasiness.
-
-"Mademoiselle," said the king, "if I have begged you to do me the honor
-of coming down here, it was from an interested motive. I have procured
-a most admirable portrait painter, who is celebrated for the fidelity
-of his likenesses, and I wish you to be kind enough to authorize him
-to paint yours. Besides, if you positively wish it, the portrait shall
-remain in your own possession." La Valliere blushed. "You see," said
-the king to her, "we shall not be three as you wished, but four instead.
-And, so long as we are not alone, there can be as many present as you
-please." La Valliere gently pressed her royal lover's hand.
-
-"Shall we pass into the next room, sire?" said Saint-Aignan, opening the
-door to let his guests precede him. The king walked behind La Valliere,
-and fixed his eyes lingeringly and passionately upon that neck as white
-as snow, upon which her long fair ringlets fell in heavy masses. La
-Valliere was dressed in a thick silk robe of pearl gray color, with a
-tinge of rose, with jet ornaments, which displayed to greater effect
-the dazzling purity of her skin, holding in her slender and transparent
-hands a bouquet of heartsease, Bengal roses, and clematis, surrounded
-with leaves of the tenderest green, above which uprose, like a tiny
-goblet spilling magic influence a Haarlem tulip of gray and violet tints
-of a pure and beautiful species, which had cost the gardener five years'
-toil of combinations, and the king five thousand francs. Louis had
-placed this bouquet in La Valliere's hand as he saluted her. In the
-room, the door of which Saint-Aignan had just opened, a young man was
-standing, dressed in a purple velvet jacket, with beautiful black eyes
-and long brown hair. It was the painter; his canvas was quite ready, and
-his palette prepared for use.
-
-He bowed to La Valliere with the grave curiosity of an artist who
-is studying his model, saluted the king discreetly, as if he did not
-recognize him, and as he would, consequently, have saluted any other
-gentleman. Then, leading Mademoiselle de la Valliere to the seat he had
-arranged for her, he begged her to sit down.
-
-The young girl assumed an attitude graceful and unrestrained, her hands
-occupied and her limbs reclining on cushions; and in order that her gaze
-might not assume a vague or affected expression, the painter begged
-her to choose some kind of occupation, so as to engage her attention;
-whereupon Louis XIV., smiling, sat down on the cushions at La Valliere's
-feet; so that she, in the reclining posture she had assumed, leaning
-back in the armchair, holding her flowers in her hand, and he, with his
-eyes raised towards her and fixed devouringly on her face--they, both
-together, formed so charming a group, that the artist contemplated
-painting it with professional delight, while on his side, Saint-Aignan
-regarded them with feelings of envy. The painter sketched rapidly; and
-very soon, beneath the earliest touches of the brush, there started into
-life, out of the gray background, the gentle, poetry-breathing face,
-with its soft calm eyes and delicately tinted cheeks, enframed in the
-masses of hair which fell about her neck. The lovers, however, spoke
-but little, and looked at each other a great deal; sometimes their eyes
-became so languishing in their gaze, that the painter was obliged to
-interrupt his work in order to avoid representing an Erycina instead
-of La Valliere. It was on such occasions that Saint-Aignan came to the
-rescue, and recited verses, or repeated one of those little tales such
-as Patru related, and Tallemant des Reaux wrote so cleverly. Or, it
-might be that La Valliere was fatigued, and the sitting was, therefore,
-suspended for awhile; and, immediately, a tray of precious porcelain
-laden with the most beautiful fruits which could be obtained, and rich
-wines distilling their bright colors in silver goblets, beautifully
-chased, served as accessories to the picture of which the painter could
-but retrace the most ephemeral resemblance.
-
-Louis was intoxicated with love, La Valliere with happiness,
-Saint-Aignan with ambition, and the painter was storing up recollections
-for his old age. Two hours passed away in this manner, and four o'clock
-having struck, La Valliere rose, and made a sign to the king. Louis also
-rose, approached the picture, and addressed a few flattering remarks
-to the painter. Saint-Aignan also praised the picture, which, as he
-pretended, was already beginning to assume an accurate resemblance. La
-Valliere in her turn, blushingly thanked the painter and passed into the
-next room, where the king followed her, after having previously summoned
-Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Will you not come to-morrow?" he said to La Valliere.
-
-"Oh! sire, pray think that some one will be sure to come to my room, and
-will not find me there."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"What will become of me in that case?"
-
-"You are very apprehensive, Louise."
-
-"But at all events, suppose Madame were to send for me?"
-
-"Oh!" replied the king, "will the day never come when you yourself will
-tell me to brave everything so that I may not have to leave you again?"
-
-"On that day, sire, I shall be quite out of my mind, and you must not
-believe me."
-
-"To-morrow, Louise."
-
-La Valliere sighed, but, without the courage to oppose her royal lover's
-wish, she repeated, "To-morrow, then, since you desire it, sire," and
-with these words she ran lightly up the stairs, and disappeared from her
-lover's gaze.
-
-"Well, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan, when she had left.
-
-"Well, Saint-Aignan, yesterday I thought myself the happiest of men."
-
-"And does your majesty, then, regard yourself to-day," said the comte,
-smiling, "as the unhappiest of men?"
-
-"No; but my love for her is an unquenchable thirst; in vain do I drink,
-in vain do I swallow the drops of water which your industry procures for
-me; the more I drink, the more unquenchable it becomes."
-
-"Sire, that is in some degree your own fault, and your majesty alone has
-made the position such as it is."
-
-"You are right."
-
-"In that case, therefore, the means to be happy, is to fancy yourself
-satisfied, and to wait."
-
-"Wait! you know that word, then?"
-
-"There, there, sire--do not despair: I have already been at work on your
-behalf--I have still other resources in store." The king shook his head
-in a despairing manner.
-
-"What, sire! have you not been satisfied hitherto?"
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed, yes, my dear Saint-Aignan; but invent, for Heaven's
-sake, invent some further project yet."
-
-"Sire, I undertake to do my best, and that is all that any one can do."
-
-The king wished to see the portrait again, as he was unable to see the
-original. He pointed out several alterations to the painter and left the
-room, and then Saint-Aignan dismissed the artist. The easel, paints, and
-painter himself, had scarcely gone, when Malicorne showed his head in
-the doorway. He was received by Saint-Aignan with open arms, but still
-with a little sadness, for the cloud which had passed across the royal
-sun, veiled, in its turn, the faithful satellite, and Malicorne at a
-glance perceived the melancholy that brooded on Saint-Aignan's face.
-
-"Oh, monsieur le comte," he said, "how sad you seem!"
-
-"And good reason too, my dear Monsieur Malicorne. Will you believe that
-the king is still dissatisfied?"
-
-"With his staircase, do you mean?"
-
-"Oh, no; on the contrary, he is delighted with the staircase."
-
-"The decorations of the apartments, I suppose, don't please him."
-
-"Oh! he has not even thought of that. No, indeed, it seems that what has
-dissatisfied the king--"
-
-"I will tell you, monsieur le comte,--he is dissatisfied at finding
-himself the fourth person at a rendezvous of this kind. How is it
-possible you could not have guessed that?"
-
-"Why, how is it likely I could have done so, dear M. Malicorne, when I
-followed the king's instructions to the very letter?"
-
-"Did his majesty really insist on your being present?"
-
-"Positively."
-
-"And also required that the painter, whom I met downstairs just now,
-should be here, too?"
-
-"He insisted upon it."
-
-"In that case, I can easily understand why his majesty is dissatisfied."
-
-"What! dissatisfied that I have so punctually and so literally obeyed
-his orders? I don't understand you."
-
-Malicorne began to scratch his ear, as he asked, "What time did the king
-fix for the rendezvous in your apartments?"
-
-"Two o'clock."
-
-"And you were waiting for the king?"
-
-"Ever since half-past one; it would have been a fine thing, indeed, to
-have been unpunctual with his majesty."
-
-Malicorne, notwithstanding his respect for Saint-Aignan, could not help
-smiling. "And the painter," he said, "did the king wish him to be here
-at two o'clock, also?"
-
-"No; but I had him waiting here from midday. Far better, you know, for
-a painter to be kept waiting a couple of hours than the king a single
-minute."
-
-Malicorne began to laugh aloud. "Come, dear Monsieur Malicorne," said
-Saint-Aignan, "laugh less at me, and speak a little more freely, I beg."
-
-"Well, then, monsieur le comte, if you wish the king to be a little more
-satisfied the next time he comes--"
-
-"'_Ventre saint-gris!_' as his grandfather used to say; of course I wish
-it."
-
-"Well, all you have to do is, when the king comes to-morrow, to be
-obliged to go away on a most pressing matter of business, which cannot
-possibly be postponed, and stay away for twenty minutes."
-
-"What! leave the king alone for twenty minutes?" cried Saint-Aignan, in
-alarm.
-
-"Very well, do as you like; don't pay any attention to what I say," said
-Malicorne, moving towards the door.
-
-"Nay, nay, dear Monsieur Malicorne; on the contrary, go on--I begin to
-understand you. But the painter--"
-
-"Oh! the painter must be half an hour late."
-
-"Half an hour--do you really think so?"
-
-"Yes, I do, decidedly."
-
-"Very well, then, I will do as you tell me."
-
-"And my opinion is, that you will be doing perfectly right. Will you
-allow me to call upon you for the latest news to-morrow?"
-
-"Of course."
-
-"I have the honor to be your most respectful servant, M. de
-Saint-Aignan," said Malicorne, bowing profoundly and retiring from the
-room backwards.
-
-"There is no doubt that fellow has more invention than I have," said
-Saint-Aignan, as if compelled by his conviction to admit it.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXVII. Hampton Court.
-
-The revelation we have witnessed, that Montalais made to La Valliere,
-in a preceding chapter, very naturally makes us return to the principal
-hero of this tale, a poor wandering knight, roving about at the king's
-caprice. If our readers will be good enough to follow us, we will, in
-his company, cross that strait, more stormy than the Euripus, which
-separates Calais from Dover; we will speed across that green and fertile
-country, with its numerous little streams; through Maidstone, and many
-other villages and towns, each prettier than the other; and, finally,
-arrive at London. From thence, like bloodhounds following a track, after
-having ascertained that Raoul had made his first stay at Whitehall,
-his second at St. James's, and having learned that he had been warmly
-received by Monk, and introduced to the best society of Charles II.'s
-court, we will follow him to one of Charles II.'s summer residences near
-the lively little village of Kingston, at Hampton Court, situated on the
-Thames. The river is not, at that spot, the boastful highway which bears
-upon its broad bosom its thousands of travelers; nor are its waters
-black and troubled as those of Cocytus, as it boastfully asserts, "I,
-too, am cousin of the old ocean." No, at Hampton Court it is a soft
-and murmuring stream, with moss-fringed banks, reflecting, in its broad
-mirror, the willows and beeches which ornament its sides, and on which
-may occasionally be seen a light bark indolently reclining among the
-tall reeds, in a little creek formed of alders and forget-me-nots. The
-surrounding country on all sides smiled in happiness and wealth; the
-brick cottages from whose chimneys the blue smoke was slowly ascending
-in wreaths, peeped forth from the belts of green holly which environed
-them; children dressed in red frocks appeared and disappeared amidst
-the high grass, like poppies bowed by the gentler breath of the passing
-breeze. The sheep, ruminating with half-closed eyes, lay lazily about
-under the shadow of the stunted aspens, while, far and near, the
-kingfishers, plumed with emerald and gold, skimmed swiftly along the
-surface of the water, like a magic ball heedlessly touching, as he
-passed, the line of his brother angler, who sat watching in his boat
-the fish as they rose to the surface of the sparkling stream. High above
-this paradise of dark shadows and soft light, rose the palace of Hampton
-Court, built by Wolsey--a residence the haughty cardinal had been
-obliged, timid courtier that he was, to offer to his master, Henry
-VIII., who had glowered with envy and cupidity at the magnificent
-new home. Hampton Court, with its brick walls, its large windows, its
-handsome iron gates, as well as its curious bell turrets, its retired
-covered walks, and interior fountains, like those of the Alhambra, was
-a perfect bower of roses, jasmine, and clematis. Every sense, sight and
-smell particularly, was gratified, and the reception-rooms formed a very
-charming framework for the pictures of love which Charles II. unrolled
-among the voluptuous paintings of Titian, of Pordenone and of Van Dyck;
-the same Charles whose father's portrait--the martyr king--was hanging
-in his gallery, and who could show upon the wainscots of the various
-apartments the holes made by the balls of the puritanical followers of
-Cromwell, when on the 24th of August, 1648, at the time they had brought
-Charles I. prisoner to Hampton Court. There it was that the king,
-intoxicated with pleasure and adventure, held his court--he, who, a poet
-in feeling, thought himself justified in redeeming, by a whole day of
-voluptuousness, every minute which had been formerly passed in anguish
-and misery. It was not the soft green sward of Hampton Court--so soft
-that it almost resembled the richest velvet in the thickness of its
-texture--nor was it the beds of flowers, with their variegated hues
-which encircled the foot of every tree with rose-trees many feet in
-height, embracing most lovingly their trunks--nor even the enormous
-lime-trees, whose branches swept the earth like willows, offering a
-ready concealment for love or reflection beneath the shade of their
-foliage--it was none of these things for which Charles II. loved his
-palace of Hampton Court. Perhaps it might have been that beautiful sheet
-of water, which the cool breeze rippled like the wavy undulations of
-Cleopatra's hair, waters bedecked with cresses and white water-lilies,
-whose chaste bulbs coyly unfolding themselves beneath the sun's warm
-rays, reveal the golden gems which lie concealed within their milky
-petals--murmuring waters, on the bosom of which black swans majestically
-floated, and the graceful water-fowl, with their tender broods covered
-with silken down, darted restlessly in every direction, in pursuit
-of the insects among the reeds, or the fogs in their mossy retreats.
-Perhaps it might have been the enormous hollies, with their dark and
-tender green foliage; or the bridges uniting the banks of the canals in
-their embrace; or the fawns browsing in the endless avenues of the park;
-or the innumerable birds that hopped about the gardens, or flew from
-branch to branch, amidst the emerald foliage.
-
-It might well have been any of these charms--for Hampton Court had them
-all; and possessed, too, almost forests of white roses, which climbed
-and trailed along the lofty trellises, showering down upon the ground
-their snowy leaves rich with soft perfumery. But no, what Charles II.
-most loved in Hampton Court were the charming figures who, when midday
-was past, flitted to and fro along the broad terraces of the gardens;
-like Louis XIV., he had their wealth of beauties painted for his gallery
-by one of the great artists of the period--an artist who well knew the
-secret of transferring to canvas the rays of light which escaped from
-beaming eyes heavy laden with love and love's delights.
-
-The day of our arrival at Hampton Court is almost as clear and bright
-as a summer's day in France; the atmosphere is heavy with the delicious
-perfume of geraniums, sweet-peas, seringas, and heliotrope scattered in
-profusion around. It is past midday, and the king, having dined after
-his return from hunting, paid a visit to Lady Castlemaine, the lady who
-was reputed at the time to hold his heart in bondage; and this proof
-of his devotion discharged, he was readily permitted to pursue his
-infidelities until evening arrived. Love and amusement ruled the entire
-court; it was the period when ladies would seriously interrogate
-their ruder companions as to their opinions upon a foot more or
-less captivating, according to whether it wore a pink or lilac silk
-stocking--for it was the period when Charles II. had declared that there
-was no hope of safety for a woman who wore green silk stockings, because
-Miss Lucy Stewart wore them of that color. While the king is endeavoring
-in all directions to inculcate others with his preferences on this
-point, we will ourselves bend our steps towards an avenue of beech-trees
-opposite the terrace, and listen to the conversation of a young girl in
-a dark-colored dress, who is walking with another of about her own age
-dressed in blue. They crossed a beautiful lawn, from the center of which
-sprang a fountain, with the figure of a siren executed in bronze, and
-strolled on, talking as they went, towards the terrace, along which,
-looking out upon the park and interspersed at frequent intervals, were
-erected summer-houses, diverse in form and ornament; these summer-houses
-were nearly all occupied; the two young women passed on, the one
-blushing deeply, while the other seemed dreamily silent. At last, having
-reached the end of the terrace which looks on the river, and finding
-there a cool retreat, they sat down close to each other.
-
-"Where are we going?" said the younger to her companion.
-
-"My dear, we are going where you yourself led the way."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes, you; to the extremity of the palace, towards that seat yonder,
-where the young Frenchman is seated, wasting his time in sighs and
-lamentations."
-
-Miss Mary Grafton hurriedly said, "No, no; I am not going there."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Let us go back, Lucy."
-
-"Nay, on the contrary, let us go on, and have an explanation."
-
-"What about?"
-
-"About how it happens that the Vicomte de Bragelonne always accompanies
-you in all your walks, as you invariably accompany him in his."
-
-"And you conclude either that he loves me, or that I love him?"
-
-"Why not?--he is a most agreeable and charming companion.--No one hears
-me, I hope," said Lucy Stewart, as she turned round with a smile, which
-indicated, moreover, that her uneasiness on the subject was not extreme.
-
-"No, no," said Mary, "the king is engaged in his summer-house with the
-Duke of Buckingham."
-
-"Oh! _a propos_ of the duke, Mary, it seems he has shown you great
-attention since his return from France; how is your own heart in that
-direction?"
-
-Mary Grafton shrugged her shoulders with seeming indifference.
-
-"Well, well, I will ask Bragelonne about it," said Stewart, laughing;
-"let us go and find him at once."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"I wish to speak to him."
-
-"Not yet, one word before you do: come, come, you who know so many of
-the king's secrets, tell me why M. de Bragelonne is in England?"
-
-"Because he was sent as an envoy from one sovereign to another."
-
-"That may be; but, seriously, although politics do not much concern us,
-we know enough to be satisfied that M. de Bragelonne has no mission of
-serious import here."
-
-"Well, then, listen," said Stewart, with assumed gravity, "for your sake
-I am going to betray a state secret. Shall I tell you the nature of the
-letter which King Louis XIV. gave M. de Bragelonne for King Charles II.?
-I will; these are the very words: 'My brother, the bearer of this is a
-gentleman attached to my court, and the son of one whom you regard most
-warmly. Treat him kindly, I beg, and try and make him like England.'"
-
-"Did it say that!"
-
-"Word for word--or something very like it. I will not answer for the
-form, but the substance I am sure of."
-
-"Well, and what conclusion do you, or rather what conclusion does the
-king, draw from that?"
-
-"That the king of France has his own reasons for removing M. de
-Bragelonne, and for getting him married anywhere else than in France."
-
-"So that, then, in consequence of this letter--"
-
-"King Charles received M. de Bragelonne, as you are aware, in the
-most distinguished and friendly manner; the handsomest apartments in
-Whitehall were allotted to him; and as you are the most valuable
-and precious person in his court, inasmuch as you have rejected his
-heart,--nay, do not blush,--he wished you to take a fancy to this
-Frenchman, and he was desirous to confer upon him so costly a prize.
-And this is the reason why you, the heiress of three hundred thousand
-pounds, a future duchess, so beautiful, so good, have been thrown in
-Bragelonne's way, in all the promenades and parties of pleasure to which
-he was invited. In fact it was a plot,--a kind of conspiracy."
-
-Mary Grafton smiled with that charming expression which was habitual to
-her, and pressing her companion's arm, said: "Thank the king, Lucy."
-
-"Yes, yes, but the Duke of Buckingham is jealous, so take care."
-
-Hardly had she pronounced these words, when the duke appeared from one
-of the pavilions on the terrace, and, approaching the two girls, with
-a smile, said, "You are mistaken, Miss Lucy; I am not jealous; and the
-proof, Miss Mary, is yonder, in the person of M. de Bragelonne himself,
-who ought to be the cause of my jealousy, but who is dreaming in pensive
-solitude. Poor fellow! Allow me to leave you for a few minutes, while I
-avail myself of those few minutes to converse with Miss Lucy Stewart, to
-whom I have something to say." And then, bowing to Lucy, he added, "Will
-you do me the honor to accept my hand, in order that I may lead you to
-the king, who is waiting for us?" With these words, Buckingham, still
-smiling, took Miss Stewart's hand, and led her away. When by herself,
-Mary Grafton, her head gently inclined towards her shoulder, with that
-indolent gracefulness of action which distinguishes young English girls,
-remained for a moment with her eyes fixed on Raoul, but as if uncertain
-what to do. At last, after first blushing violently, and then turning
-deadly pale, thus revealing the internal combat which assailed her
-heart, she seemed to make up her mind to adopt a decided course, and
-with a tolerably firm step, advanced towards the seat on which Raoul
-was reclining, buried in the profoundest meditation, as we have already
-said. The sound of Miss Mary's steps, though they could hardly be heard
-upon the green sward, awakened Raoul from his musing attitude; he
-turned round, perceived the young girl, and walked forward to meet the
-companion whom his happy destiny had thrown in his way.
-
-"I have been sent to you, monsieur," said Mary Grafton; "will you take
-care of me?"
-
-"To whom is my gratitude due, for so great a happiness?" inquired Raoul.
-
-"To the Duke of Buckingham," replied Mary, affecting a gayety she did
-not really feel.
-
-"To the Duke of Buckingham, do you say?--he who so passionately
-seeks your charming society! Am I really to believe you are serious,
-mademoiselle?"
-
-"The fact is, monsieur, you perceive, that everything seems to conspire
-to make us pass the best, or rather the longest, part of our days
-together. Yesterday it was the king who desired me to beg you to seat
-yourself next to me at dinner; to-day, it is the Duke of Buckingham who
-begs me to come and place myself near you on this seat."
-
-"And he has gone away in order to leave us together?" asked Raoul, with
-some embarrassment.
-
-"Look yonder, at the turning of that path; he is just out of sight, with
-Miss Stewart. Are these polite attentions usual in France, monsieur le
-vicomte?"
-
-"I cannot very precisely say what people do in France, mademoiselle, for
-I can hardly be called a Frenchman. I have resided in many countries,
-and almost always as a soldier; and then, I have spent a long period of
-my life in the country. I am almost a savage."
-
-"You do not like your residence in England, I fear."
-
-"I scarcely know," said Raoul, inattentively, and sighing deeply at the
-same time.
-
-"What! you do not know?"
-
-"Forgive me," said Raoul, shaking his head, and collecting his thoughts,
-"I did not hear you."
-
-"Oh!" said the young girl, sighing in her turn, "how wrong the duke was
-to send me here!"
-
-"Wrong!" said Raoul, "perhaps so; for I am but a rude, uncouth
-companion, and my society annoys you. The duke did, indeed, very wrong
-to send you."
-
-"It is precisely," replied Mary Grafton, in a clear, calm voice,
-"because your society does not annoy me, that the duke was wrong to send
-me to you."
-
-It was now Raoul's turn to blush. "But," he resumed, "how happens it
-that the Duke of Buckingham should send you to me; and why did you come?
-the duke loves you, and you love him."
-
-"No," replied Mary, seriously, "the duke does not love me, because he
-is in love with the Duchesse d'Orleans; and, as for myself, I have no
-affection for the duke."
-
-Raoul looked at the young lady with astonishment.
-
-"Are you a friend of the Duke of Buckingham?" she inquired.
-
-"The duke has honored me by calling me so ever since we met in France."
-
-"You are simple acquaintances, then?"
-
-"No; for the duke is the most intimate friend of one whom I regard as a
-brother."
-
-"The Duc de Guiche?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"He who is in love with Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans?"
-
-"Oh! What is that you are saying?"
-
-"And who loves him in return," continued the young girl, quietly.
-
-Raoul bent down his head, and Mary Grafton, sighing deeply, continued,
-"They are very happy. But, leave me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, for the
-Duke of Buckingham has given you a very troublesome commission in
-offering me as a companion for your promenade. Your heart is elsewhere,
-and it is with the greatest difficulty you can be charitable enough to
-lend me your attention. Confess truly; it would be unfair on your part,
-vicomte, not to admit it."
-
-"Madame, I do confess it."
-
-She looked at him steadily. He was so noble and so handsome in his
-bearing, his eyes revealed so much gentleness, candor, and resolution,
-that the idea could not possibly enter her mind that he was either
-rudely discourteous, or a mere simpleton. She only perceived, clearly
-enough, that he loved another woman, and not herself, with the whole
-strength of his heart. "Ah! I now understand you," she said; "you have
-left your heart behind you in France." Raoul bowed. "The duke is aware
-of your affection?"
-
-"No one knows it," replied Raoul.
-
-"Why, therefore, do you tell me? Nay, answer me."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"It is for me, then, to anticipate an explanation; you do not wish to
-tell me anything, because you are now convinced that I do not love the
-duke; because you see that I possibly might have loved you; because you
-are a gentleman of noble and delicate sentiments; and because, instead
-of accepting, even were it for the mere amusement of the passing hour,
-a hand which is almost pressed upon you; and because, instead of meeting
-my smiles with a smiling lip, you, who are young, have preferred to tell
-me, whom men have called beautiful, 'My heart is over the sea--it is in
-France.' For this, I thank you, Monsieur de Bragelonne; you are, indeed,
-a noble-hearted, noble-minded man, and I regard you all the more for it,
-as a friend only. And now let us cease speaking of myself, and talk of
-your own affairs. Forget that I have ever spoken to you of myself, tell
-me why you are sad, and why you have become more than usually so during
-these past four days?"
-
-Raoul was deeply and sensibly moved by these sweet and melancholy tones;
-and as he could not, at the moment, find a word to say, the young girl
-again came to his assistance.
-
-"Pity me," she said. "My mother was born in France, and I can truly
-affirm that I, too, am French in blood, as well as in feeling; but the
-leaden atmosphere and characteristic gloom of England seem to weigh
-upon me. Sometimes my dreams are golden-hued and full of wonderful
-enjoyments, when suddenly a mist rises and overspreads my fancy,
-blotting them out forever. Such, indeed, is the case at the present
-moment. Forgive me; I have now said enough on that subject; give me your
-hand, and relate your griefs to me as a friend."
-
-"You say you are French in heart and soul?"
-
-"Yes, not only, I repeat it, that my mother was French, but, further, as
-my father, a friend of King Charles I., was exiled in France, I, during
-the trial of that prince, as well as during the Protector's life, was
-brought up in Paris; at the Restoration of King Charles II., my poor
-father returned to England, where he died almost immediately afterwards;
-and then the king created me a duchess, and has dowered me according to
-my rank.
-
-"Have you any relations in France?" Raoul inquired, with the deepest
-interest.
-
-"I have a sister there, my senior by seven or eight years, who was
-married in France, and was early left a widow; her name is Madame de
-Belliere. Do you know her?" she added, observing Raoul start suddenly.
-
-"I have heard her name."
-
-"She, too, loves with her whole heart; and her last letters inform me
-she is happy, and her affection is, I conclude, returned. I told you,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne, that although I possess half of her nature, I do
-not share her happiness. But let us now speak of yourself; whom do you
-love in France?"
-
-"A young girl, as soft and pure as a lily."
-
-"But if she loves you, why are you sad?"
-
-"I have been told that she ceases to love me."
-
-"You do not believe it, I trust?"
-
-"He who wrote me so does not sign his letter."
-
-"An anonymous denunciation! some treachery, be assured," said Miss
-Grafton.
-
-"Stay," said Raoul, showing the young girl a letter which he had read
-over a thousand times; she took it from his hand and read as follows:
-
-"VICOMTE,--You are perfectly right to amuse yourself yonder with the
-lovely faces of Charles II.'s court, for at Louis XIV.'s court, the
-castle in which your affections are enshrined is being besieged. Stay in
-London altogether, poor vicomte, or return without delay to Paris."
-
-"There is no signature," said Miss Mary.
-
-"None."
-
-"Believe it not, then."
-
-"Very good; but here is a second letter, from my friend De Guiche, which
-says, 'I am lying here wounded and ill. Return, Raoul, oh, return!'"
-
-"What do you intend doing?" inquired the young girl, with a feeling of
-oppression at her heart.
-
-"My intention, as soon as I received this letter, was immediately to
-take my leave of the king."
-
-"When did you receive it?"
-
-"The day before yesterday."
-
-"It is dated Fontainebleau."
-
-"A singular circumstance, do you not think, for the court is now at
-Paris? At all events, I would have set off; but when I mentioned my
-intention to the king, he began to laugh, and said to me, 'How comes
-it, monsieur l'amassadeur, that you think of leaving? Has your sovereign
-recalled you?' I colored, naturally enough, for I was confused by the
-question; for the fact is, the king himself sent me here, and I have
-received no order to return."
-
-Mary frowned in deep thought, and said, "Do you remain, then?"
-
-"I must, mademoiselle."
-
-"Do you ever receive any letters from her to whom you are so devoted?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Never, do you say? Does she not love you, then?"
-
-"At least, she has not written to me since my departure, although she
-used occasionally to write to me before. I trust she may have been
-prevented."
-
-"Hush! the duke is coming."
-
-And Buckingham at that moment was seen at the end of the walk,
-approaching towards them, alone and smiling; he advanced slowly, and
-held out his hands to them both. "Have you arrived at an understanding?"
-he said.
-
-"About what?"
-
-"About whatever might render you happy, dear Mary, and make Raoul less
-miserable."
-
-"I do not understand you, my lord," said Raoul.
-
-"That is my view of the subject, Miss Mary; do you wish me to mention it
-before M. de Bragelonne?" he added, with a smile.
-
-"If you mean," replied the young girl, haughtily, "that I was not
-indisposed to love M. de Bragelonne, that is useless, for I have told
-him so myself."
-
-Buckingham reflected for a moment, and, without seeming in any way
-discountenanced, as she expected, he said: "My reason for leaving you
-with M. de Bragelonne was, that I thoroughly knew your refined delicacy
-of feeling, no less than the perfect loyalty of your mind and heart, and
-I hoped that M. de Bragelonne's cure might be effected by the hands of a
-physician such as you are."
-
-"But, my lord, before you spoke of M. de Bragelonne's heart, you spoke
-to me of your own. Do you mean to effect the cure of two hearts at the
-same time?"
-
-"Perfectly true, madame; but you will do me the justice to admit that
-I have long discontinued a useless pursuit, acknowledging that my own
-wound is incurable."
-
-"My lord," said Mary, collecting herself for a moment before she spoke,
-"M. de Bragelonne is happy, for he loves and is beloved. He has no need
-of such a physician as I can be."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne," said Buckingham, "is on the very eve of experiencing
-a serious misfortune, and he has greater need than ever of sympathy and
-affection."
-
-"Explain yourself, my lord," inquired Raoul, anxiously.
-
-"No; gradually I will explain myself; but, if you desire it, I can tell
-Miss Grafton what you may not listen to yourself."
-
-"My lord, you are putting me to the torture; you know something you wish
-to conceal from me?"
-
-"I know that Miss Mary Grafton is the most charming object that a heart
-ill at ease could possibly meet with in its way through life."
-
-"I have already told you that the Vicomte de Bragelonne loves
-elsewhere," said the young girl.
-
-"He is wrong, then."
-
-"Do you assume to know, my lord, that _I_ am wrong?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Whom is it that he loves, then?" exclaimed the young girl.
-
-"He loves a lady who is unworthy of him," said Buckingham, with that
-calm, collected manner peculiar to Englishmen.
-
-Miss Grafton uttered a cry, which, together with the remark that
-Buckingham had that moment made, spread oover De Bragelonne's features a
-deadly paleness, arising from the sudden surprise, and also from a vague
-fear of impending misfortune. "My lord," he exclaimed, "you have just
-pronounced words which compel me, without a moment's delay, to seek
-their explanation in Paris."
-
-"You will remain here," said Buckingham, "because you have no right to
-leave; and no one has the right to quit the service of the king for that
-of any woman, even were she as worthy of being loved as Mary Grafton
-is."
-
-"You will tell me all, then?"
-
-"I will, on condition that you will remain."
-
-"I will remain, if you will promise to speak openly and without
-reserve."
-
-Thus far had their conversation proceeded, and Buckingham, in all
-probability, was on the point of revealing, not indeed all that had
-taken place, but at least all he was aware of, when one of the king's
-attendants appeared at the end of the terrace, and advanced towards the
-summer-house where the king was sitting with Lucy Stewart. A courier
-followed him, covered with dust from head to foot, and who seemed as if
-he had but a few moments before dismounted from his horse.
-
-"The courier from France! Madame's courier!" exclaimed Raoul,
-recognizing the princess's livery; and while the attendant and the
-courier advanced towards the king, Buckingham and Miss Grafton exchanged
-a look full of intelligence with each other.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXVIII. The Courier from Madame.
-
-Charles II. was busily engaged in proving, or in endeavoring to prove,
-to Miss Stewart that she was the only person for whom he cared at all,
-and consequently was avowing to her an affection similar to that which
-his ancestor Henry IV. had entertained for Gabrielle. Unfortunately for
-Charles II., he had hit upon an unlucky day, the very day Miss Stewart
-had taken it into her head to make him jealous, and therefore, instead
-of being touched by his offer, as the king had hoped, she laughed
-heartily.
-
-"Oh! sire, sire," she cried, laughing all the while; "if I were to be
-unfortunate enough to ask you for a proof of the affection you possess,
-how easy it would be to see that you are telling a falsehood."
-
-"Nay, listen to me," said Charles, "you know my cartoons by Raphael;
-you know whether I care for them or not; the whole world envies me their
-possession, as you well know also; my father commissioned Van Dyck to
-purchase them. Would you like me to send them to your house this very
-day?"
-
-"Oh, no!" replied the young girl; "pray keep them yourself, sire; my
-house is far too small to accommodate such visitors."
-
-"In that case you shall have Hampton Court to put the cartoons in."
-
-"Be less generous, sire, and learn to love a little while longer, that
-is all I have to ask you."
-
-"I shall never cease to love you; is not that enough?"
-
-"You are smiling, sire."
-
-"Do you wish me to weep?"
-
-"No; but I should like to see you a little more melancholy."
-
-"Thank Heaven, I have been so long enough; fourteen years of exile,
-poverty, and misery, I think I may well regard it as a debt discharged;
-besides, melancholy makes people look so plain."
-
-"Far from that--for look at the young Frenchman."
-
-"What! the Vicomte de Bragelonne? are you smitten too? By Heaven, they
-will all grow mad over him one after the other; but he, on the contrary,
-has a reason for being melancholy."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Oh, indeed! you wish me to betray state secrets, do you?"
-
-"If I wish it, you must do so, for you told me you were quite ready to
-do everything I wished."
-
-"Well, then, he is bored in his own country. Does that satisfy you?"
-
-"Bored?"
-
-"Yes, a proof that he is a simpleton; I allow him to fall in love with
-Miss Mary Grafton, and he feels bored. Can you believe it?"
-
-"Very good; it seems, then, that if you were to find Miss Lucy Stewart
-indifferent to you, you would console yourself by falling in love with
-Miss Mary Grafton."
-
-"I don't say that; in the first place, you know that Mary Grafton does
-not care for me; besides, a man can only console himself for a lost
-affection by the discovery of a new one. Again, however, I repeat, the
-question is not of myself, but of that young man. One might almost be
-tempted to call the girl he has left behind him a Helen--a Helen before
-the little ceremony she went through with Paris, of course."
-
-"He has left some one, then?"
-
-"That is to say, some one has left _him_."
-
-"Poor fellow! so much the worse!"
-
-"Why do you mean by 'so much the worse'?"
-
-"Why not? why did he leave?"
-
-"Do you think it was of his own wish or will that he left?"
-
-"Was he obliged to leave, then?"
-
-"He left Paris under orders, my dear Stewart; and prepare to be
-surprised--by express orders of the king."
-
-"Ah! I begin to see, now."
-
-"At least say nothing at all about it."
-
-"You know very well that I am just as discreet as anybody else. And so
-the king sent him away?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And during his absence he takes his sweetheart from him?"
-
-"Yes; and, will you believe it? the silly fellow, instead of thanking
-the king, is making himself miserable."
-
-"What! thank the king for depriving him of the woman he loves! Really,
-sire, yours is a most ungallant speech."
-
-"But, pray understand me. If she whom the king had run off with was
-either a Miss Grafton or a Miss Stewart, I should not be of his opinion;
-nay, I should even think him not half wretched enough; but she is a
-little, thin, lame thing. Deuce take such fidelity as that! Surely, one
-can hardly understand how a man can refuse a girl who is rich for one
-who is poverty itself--a girl who loves him for one who deceives and
-betrays him."
-
-"Do you think that Mary seriously wishes to please the vicomte, sire?"
-
-"I do, indeed."
-
-"Very good! the vicomte will settle down in England, for Mary has a
-clear head, and when she fixes her mind upon anything, she does so
-thoroughly."
-
-"Take care, my dear Miss Stewart; if the vicomte has any idea of
-adopting our country, he has not long to do so, for it was only the day
-before yesterday that he again asked me for permission to leave."
-
-"Which you refused him, I suppose?"
-
-"I should think so, indeed; my royal brother is far too anxious for his
-absence; and, for myself, my _amour propre_ is enlisted on his side, for
-I will never have it said that I had held out as a bait to this young
-man the noblest and gentlest creature in England--"
-
-"You are very gallant, sire," said Miss Stewart, with a pretty pout.
-
-"I do not allude to Miss Stewart, for she is worthy of a king's
-devotion; and since she has captivated me I trust that no one else will
-be caught by her; I say, therefore, finally, that the attention I have
-shown this young man will not have been thrown away; he will stay with
-us here, he will marry here, or I am very much mistaken."
-
-"And I hope that when he is once married and settled, instead of being
-angry with your majesty, he will be grateful to you, for every one tries
-his utmost to please him; even the Duke of Buckingham, whose brilliancy,
-which is incredible, seems to pale before that of this young Frenchman."
-
-"Including Miss Stewart even, who calls him the most finished gentleman
-she ever saw."
-
-"Stay, sire; you have spoken quite enough, and quite highly enough, of
-Miss Grafton, to overlook what I may have said about De Bragelonne. But,
-by the by, sire, your kindness for some time past astonishes me: you
-think of those who are absent, you forgive those who have done you a
-wrong, in fact, you are as nearly as possible, perfect. How does it
-happen--"
-
-"It is because you allow yourself to be loved," he said, beginning to
-laugh.
-
-"Oh! there must be some other reason."
-
-"Well, I am doing all I can to oblige my brother, Louis XIV."
-
-"Nay, I must have another reason."
-
-"Well, then, the true motive is that Buckingham strongly recommended the
-young man to me, saying: 'Sire, I begin by yielding up all claim to Miss
-Grafton; I pray you follow my example.'"
-
-"The duke is, indeed, a true gentleman."
-
-"Oh! of course, of course; it is Buckingham's turn now, I suppose, to
-turn your head. You seem determined to cross me in everything to-day."
-
-At this moment some one rapped at the door.
-
-"Who is it who presumes to interrupt us?" exclaimed Charles,
-impatiently.
-
-"Really, sire, you are extremely vain with your 'who is it who
-presumes?' and in order to punish you for it--"
-
-She went to the door and opened it.
-
-"It is a courier from France," said Miss Stewart.
-
-"A courier from France!" exclaimed Charles; "from my sister, perhaps?"
-
-"Yes, sire," said the usher, "a special messenger."
-
-"Let him come in at once," said Charles.
-
-"You have a letter for me," said the king to the courier as he entered,
-"from the Duchess of Orleans?"
-
-"Yes, sire," replied the courier, "and so urgent in its nature that I
-have only been twenty-six hours in bringing it to your majesty, and yet
-I lost three-quarters of an hour at Calais."
-
-"Your zeal shall not be forgotten," said the king, as he opened the
-letter. When he had read it he burst out laughing, and exclaimed, "Upon
-my word, I am at a loss to understand anything about it." He then read
-the letter a second time, Miss Stewart assuming a manner marked by the
-greatest reserve, and doing her utmost to restrain her ardent curiosity.
-
-"Francis," said the king to his valet, "see that this excellent fellow
-is well taken care of and sleeps soundly, and that on waking to-morrow
-he finds a purse of fifty sovereigns by his bedside."
-
-"Sire!" said the courier, amazed.
-
-"Begone, begone; my sister was perfectly right in desiring you to use
-the utmost diligence; the affair was most pressing." And he again began
-to laugh louder than ever. The courier, the valet, and Miss Stewart
-hardly knew what sort of countenance to assume. "Ah!" said the king,
-throwing himself back in his armchair: "When I think that you have
-knocked up--how many horses?"
-
-"Two!"
-
-"Two horses to bring this intelligence to me. That will do, you can
-leave us now."
-
-The courier retired with the valet. Charles went to the window, which he
-opened, and leaning forward, called out--"Duke! Buckingham! come here,
-there's a good fellow."
-
-The duke hurried to him, in obedience to the summons; but when he
-reached the door, and perceived Miss Stewart, he hesitated to enter.
-
-"Come in, and shut the door," said the king. The duke obeyed; and,
-perceiving in what an excellent humor the king was, he advanced,
-smiling, towards him. "Well, my dear duke, how do you get on with your
-Frenchman?"
-
-"Sire, I am in the most perfect state of utter despair about him."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because charming Miss Grafton is willing to marry him, but he is
-unwilling."
-
-"Why, he is a perfect Boeotian!" cried Miss Stewart. "Let him say either
-'Yes,' or No,' and let the affair end."
-
-"But," said Buckingham, seriously, "you know, or you ought to know,
-madame, that M. de Bragelonne is in love in another direction."
-
-"In that case," said the king, coming to Miss Stewart's help, "nothing
-is easier; let him say 'No,' then."
-
-"Very true; and I have proved to him he was wrong not to say 'Yes.'"
-
-"You told him candidly, I suppose, that La Valliere was deceiving him?"
-
-"Yes, without the slightest reserve; and, as soon as I had done so, he
-gave a start, as if he were going to clear the Channel at a bound."
-
-"At all events," said Miss Stewart, "he has done something; and a very
-good thing too, upon my word."
-
-"But," said Buckingham, "I stopped him; I have left him and Miss Mary in
-conversation together, and I sincerely trust that now he will not leave,
-as he seemed to have an idea of doing."
-
-"An idea of leaving England?" cried the king.
-
-"I, at one moment, hardly thought that any human power could have
-prevented him; but Miss Mary's eyes are now bent fully on him, and he
-will remain."
-
-"Well, that is the very thing which deceives you, Buckingham," said the
-king, with a peal of laughter; "the poor fellow is predestined."
-
-"Predestined to what?"
-
-"If it were to be simply deceived, that is nothing; but, to look at him,
-it is a great deal."
-
-"At a distance, and with Miss Grafton's aid, the blow will be warded
-off."
-
-"Far from it, far from it; neither distance nor Miss Grafton's help will
-be of the slightest avail. Bragelonne will set off for Paris within an
-hour's time."
-
-Buckingham started, and Miss Stewart opened her eyes very wide in
-astonishment.
-
-"But, sire," said the duke, "your majesty knows that it is impossible."
-
-"That is to say, my dear Buckingham, that it is impossible until it
-happens."
-
-"Do not forget, sire, that the young man is a perfect lion, and that his
-wrath is terrible."
-
-"I don't deny it, my dear duke."
-
-"And that if he sees that his misfortune is certain, so much the worse
-for the author of it."
-
-"I don't deny it; but what the deuce am I to do?"
-
-"Were it the king himself," cried Buckingham, "I would not answer for
-him."
-
-"Oh, the king has his musketeers to take care of him," said Charles,
-quietly; "I know that perfectly well, for I was kept dancing attendance
-in his ante-chamber at Blois. He has M. d'Artagnan, and what better
-guardian could the king have than M. d'Artagnan? I should make myself
-perfectly easy with twenty storms of passion, such as Bragelonne might
-display, if I had four guardians like D'Artagnan."
-
-"But I entreat your majesty, who is so good and kind, to reflect a
-little."
-
-"Stay," said Charles II., presenting the letter to the duke, "read, and
-answer yourself what you would do in my place."
-
-Buckingham slowly took hold of Madame's letter, and trembling with
-emotion, read the following words:
-
-"For your own sake, for mine, for the honor and safety of every one,
-send M. de Bragelonne back to France immediately. Your devoted sister,
-HENRIETTA."
-
-"Well, Villiers, what do you say?"
-
-"Really, sire, I have nothing to say," replied the duke, stupefied.
-
-"Nay, would you, of all persons," said the king, artfully, "advise me
-not to listen to my sister when she writes so urgently?"
-
-"Oh, no, no, sire; and yet--"
-
-"You have not read the postscript, Villiers; it is under the fold of the
-letter, and escaped me at first; read it." And as the duke turned down a
-fold of the letter, he read:
-
-"A thousand kind remembrances to those who love me."
-
-The duke's head sank gradually on his breast; the paper trembled in
-his fingers, as if it had been changed to lead. The king paused for a
-moment, and, seeing that Buckingham did not speak, "He must follow his
-destiny, as we ours," continued the king; "every man has his own share
-of grief in this world; I have had my own,--I have had that of
-others who belong to me,--and have thus had a double weight of woe to
-endure!--But the deuce take all my cares now! Go, and bring our friend
-here, Villiers."
-
-The duke opened the trellised door of the summer-house, and pointing at
-Raoul and Mary, who were walking together side by side, said, "What a
-cruel blow, sire, for poor Miss Grafton!"
-
-"Nonsense; call him," said Charles II., knitting his black brows
-together; "every one seems to be sentimental here. There, look at Miss
-Stewart, who is wiping her eyes,--now deuce take the French fellow!"
-
-The duke called to Raoul, and taking Miss Grafton by the hand, he led
-her towards the king.
-
-"Monsieur de Bragelonne," said Charles II., "did you not ask me the day
-before yesterday for permission to return to Paris?"
-
-"Yes, sire," replied Raoul, greatly puzzled by this address.
-
-"And I refused you, I think?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"For which you were angry with me?"
-
-"No, sire; your majesty had no doubt excellent reasons for withholding
-it; for you are so wise and so good that everything you do is well
-done."
-
-"I alleged, I believe, as a reason, that the king of France had not
-recalled you?"
-
-"Yes, sire, that was the reason you assigned."
-
-"Well, M. de Bragelonne, I have reflected over the matter since; if
-the king did not, in fact, fix your return, he begged me to render your
-sojourn in England as agreeable as possible; since, however, you ask my
-permission to return, it is because your longer residence in England is
-no longer agreeable to you."
-
-"I do not say that, sire."
-
-"No, but your request, at least," said the king, "signified that another
-place of residence would be more agreeable to you than this."
-
-At this moment Raoul turned towards the door, against which Miss Grafton
-was leaning, pale and sorrow-stricken; her other hand was passed through
-the duke's arm.
-
-"You do not reply," pursued Charles; "the proverb is plain enough, that
-'silence gives consent.' Very good, Monsieur de Bragelonne; I am now in
-a position to satisfy you; whenever you please, therefore, you can leave
-for Paris, for which you have my authority."
-
-"Sire!" exclaimed Raoul, while Mary stifled an exclamation of grief
-which rose to her lips, unconsciously pressing Buckingham's arm.
-
-"You can be at Dover this evening," continued the king, "the tide serves
-at two o'clock in the morning."
-
-Raoul, astounded, stammered out a few broken sentences, which equally
-answered the purpose both of thanks and of excuse.
-
-"I therefore bid you adieu, Monsieur de Bragelonne, and wish you every
-sort of prosperity," said the king, rising; "you will confer a pleasure
-on me by keeping this diamond in remembrance of me; I had intended it as
-a marriage gift."
-
-Miss Grafton felt her limbs almost giving way; and, as Raoul received
-the ring from the king's hand, he, too, felt his strength and courage
-failing him. He addressed a few respectful words to the king, a passing
-compliment to Miss Stewart, and looked for Buckingham to bid him adieu.
-The king profited by this moment to disappear. Raoul found the duke
-engaged in endeavoring to encourage Miss Grafton.
-
-"Tell him to remain, I implore you!" said Buckingham to Mary.
-
-"No, I will tell him to go," replied Miss Grafton, with returning
-animation; "I am not one of those women who have more pride than heart;
-if she whom he loves is in France, let him return thither and bless me
-for having advised him to go and seek his happiness there. If, on the
-contrary, she shall have ceased to love him, let him come back here
-again; I shall still love him, and his unhappiness will not have
-lessened him in my regard. In the arms of my house you will find that
-which Heaven has engraven on my heart--_Habenti parum, egenti cuncta_.
-'To the rich is accorded little, to the poor everything.'"
-
-"I do not believe, Bragelonne, that you will find yonder the equivalent
-of what you leave behind you here."
-
-"I think, or at least hope," said Raoul, with a gloomy air, "that she
-whom I love is worthy of my affection; but if it be true she is unworthy
-of me, as you have endeavored to make me believe, I will tear her image
-from my heart, duke, even if my heart breaks in the attempt."
-
-Mary Grafton gazed upon him with an expression of the most indefinable
-pity, and Raoul returned her look with a sweet, sorrowful smile, saying,
-"Mademoiselle, the diamond which the king has given me was destined
-for you,--give me leave to offer it for your acceptance: if I marry in
-France, you will send it me back; if I do not marry, keep it." And he
-bowed and left her.
-
-"What does he mean?" thought Buckingham, while Raoul pressed Mary's icy
-hand with marks of the most reverential respect.
-
-Mary understood the look that Buckingham fixed upon her.
-
-"If it were a wedding-ring, I would not accept it," she said.
-
-"And yet you were willing to ask him to return to you."
-
-"Oh! duke," cried the young girl in heart-broken accents, "a woman such
-as I am is never accepted as a consolation by a man like him."
-
-"You do not think he will return, then?"
-
-"Never," said Miss Grafton, in a choking voice.
-
-"And I grieve to tell you, Mary, that he will find yonder his happiness
-destroyed, his mistress lost to him. His honor even has not escaped.
-What will be left him, then, Mary, equal to your affection? Answer,
-Mary, you who know yourself so well."
-
-Miss Grafton placed her white hand on Buckingham's arm, and, while Raoul
-was hurrying away with headlong speed, she repeated in dying accents the
-line from Romeo and Juliet:
-
-"_I must be gone and live, or stay and die_."
-
-As she finished the last word, Raoul disappeared. Miss Grafton returned
-to her own apartments, paler than death. Buckingham availed himself of
-the arrival of the courier, who had brought the letter to the king,
-to write to Madame and to the Comte de Guiche. The king had not been
-mistaken, for at two in the morning the tide was at full flood, and
-Raoul had embarked for France.
-
-
-
-Chapter XXXIX. Saint-Aignan Follows Malicorne's Advice.
-
-The king most assiduously followed the progress which was made in La
-Valliere's portrait; and did so with a care and attention arising as
-much from a desire that it should resemble her as from the wish that the
-painter should prolong the period of its completion as much as possible.
-It was amusing to observe him follow the artist's brush, awaiting the
-completion of a particular plan, or the result of a combination of
-colors, and suggesting various modifications to the painter, which the
-latter consented to adopt with the most respectful docility. And again,
-when the artist, following Malicorne's advice, was a little late in
-arriving, and when Saint-Aignan had been obliged to be absent for some
-time, it was interesting to observe, though no one witnessed them, those
-moments of silence full of deep expression, which united in one sigh
-two souls most disposed to understand each other, and who by no means
-objected to the quiet meditation they enjoyed together. The minutes flew
-rapidly by, as if on wings, and as the king drew closer to Louise
-and bent his burning gaze upon her, a noise was suddenly heard in the
-ante-room. It was the artist, who had just arrived; Saint-Aignan, too,
-had returned, full of apologies; and the king began to talk and
-La Valliere to answer him very hurriedly, their eyes revealing to
-Saint-Aignan that they had enjoyed a century of happiness during his
-absence. In a word, Malicorne, philosopher that he was, though he knew
-it not, had learned how to inspire the king with an appetite in the
-midst of plenty, and with desire in the assurance of possession. La
-Valliere's fears of interruption had never been realized, and no one
-imagined she was absent from her apartment two or three hours every day;
-she pretended that her health was very uncertain; those who went to her
-room always knocked before entering, and Malicorne, the man of so many
-ingenious inventions, had constructed an acoustic piece of mechanism, by
-means of which La Valliere, when in Saint-Aignan's apartment, was
-always forewarned of any visits which were paid to the room she usually
-inhabited. In this manner, therefore, without leaving her room, and
-having no _confidante_, she was able to return to her apartment, thus
-removing by her appearance, a little tardy perhaps, the suspicions of
-the most determined skeptics. Malicorne having asked Saint-Aignan the
-next morning what news he had to report, the latter was obliged to
-confess that the quarter of an hour's liberty had made the king in most
-excellent humor. "We must double the dose," replied Malicorne, "but by
-insensible degrees; wait until they seem to wish it."
-
-They were so desirous for it, however, that on the evening of the fourth
-day, at the moment when the painter was packing up his implements,
-during Saint-Aignan's continued absence, Saint-Aignan on his return
-noticed upon La Valliere's face a shade of disappointment and vexation,
-which she could not conceal. The king was less reserved, and exhibited
-his annoyance by a very significant shrug of the shoulders, at which La
-Valliere could not help blushing. "Very good!" thought Saint-Aignan to
-himself; "M. Malicorne will be delighted this evening;" as he, in fact,
-was, when it was reported to him.
-
-"It is very evident," he remarked to the comte, "that Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere hoped that you would be at least ten minutes later."
-
-"And the king that I should be half an hour later, dear Monsieur
-Malicorne."
-
-"You would show but very indifferent devotion to the king," replied
-the latter, "if you were to refuse his majesty that half-hour's
-satisfaction."
-
-"But the painter," objected Saint-Aignan.
-
-"_I_ will take care of him," said Malicorne, "only I must study faces
-and circumstances a little better before I act; those are my magical
-inventions and contrivances; and while sorcerers are enabled by means of
-their astrolabe to take the altitude of the sun, moon, and stars, I
-am satisfied merely by looking into people's faces, in order to see if
-their eyes are encircled with dark lines, and if the mouth describes a
-convex or concave arc."
-
-And the cunning Malicorne had every opportunity of watching narrowly
-and closely, for the very same evening the king accompanied the queen
-to Madame's apartments, and made himself so remarked by his serious face
-and his deep sigh, and looked at La Valliere with such a languishing
-expression, that Malicorne said to Montalais during the evening:
-"To-morrow." And he went off to the painter's house in the street of
-the Jardins Saint-Paul to request him to postpone the next sitting for
-a couple of days. Saint-Aignan was not within, when La Valliere, who
-was now quite familiar with the lower story, lifted up the trap-door and
-descended. The king, as usual was waiting for her on the staircase,
-and held a bouquet in his hand; as soon as he saw her, he clasped her
-tenderly in his arms. La Valliere, much moved at the action, looked
-around the room, but as she saw the king was alone, she did not complain
-of it. They sat down, the king reclining near the cushions on which
-Louise was seated, with his head supported by her knees, placed there as
-in an asylum whence no one could banish him; he gazed ardently upon her,
-and as if the moment had arrived when nothing could interpose between
-their two hearts; she, too, gazed with similar passion upon him, and
-from her eyes, so softly pure, emanated a flame, whose rays first
-kindled and then inflamed the heart of the king, who, trembling with
-happiness as Louise's hand rested on his head, grew giddy from excess
-of joy, and momentarily awaited either the painter's or Saint-Aignan's
-return to break the sweet illusion. But the door remained closed, and
-neither Saint-Aignan nor the painter appeared, nor did the hangings even
-move. A deep mysterious silence reigned in the room--a silence which
-seemed to influence even the song-birds in their gilded prisons. The
-king, completely overcome, turned round his head and buried his burning
-lips in La Valliere's hands, who, herself faint, with excess of emotion,
-pressed her trembling hands against her lover's lips. Louis threw
-himself upon his knees, and as La Valliere did not move her head, the
-king's forehead being within reach of her lips, she furtively passed
-her lips across the perfumed locks which caressed her cheeks. The king
-seized her in his arms, and, unable to resist the temptation, they
-exchanged their first kiss, that burning kiss, which changes love into
-delirium. Suddenly, a noise upon the upper floor was heard, which had,
-in fact, continued, though it had remained unnoticed, for some time; it
-had at last aroused La Valliere's attention, though but slowly so. As
-the noise, however, continued, as it forced itself upon the attention,
-and recalled the poor girl from her dreams of happiness to the sad
-realities of life, she rose in a state of utter bewilderment, though
-beautiful in her disorder, saying:
-
-"Some one is waiting for me above. Louis, Louis, do you not hear?"
-
-"Well! and am I not waiting for you, also?" said the king, with infinite
-tenderness of tone. "Let others henceforth wait for you."
-
-But she gently shook her head, as she replied: "Happiness hidden...
-power concealed... my pride should be as silent as my heart."
-
-The noise was again resumed.
-
-"I hear Montalais's voice," she said, and she hurried up the staircase;
-the king followed her, unable to let her leave his sight, and covering
-her hand with his kisses. "Yes, yes," repeated La Valliere, who had
-passed half-way through the opening. "Yes, it is Montalais who is
-calling me; something important must have happened."
-
-"Go then, dearest love," said the king, "but return quickly."
-
-"No, no, not to-day, sire! Adieu! adieu!" she said, as she stooped down
-once more to embrace her lover--and escaped. Montalais was, in fact,
-waiting for her, very pale and agitated.
-
-"Quick, quick! _he_ is coming," she said.
-
-"Who--who is coming?"
-
-"Raoul," murmured Montalais.
-
-"It is I--I," said a joyous voice, upon the last steps of the grand
-staircase.
-
-La Valliere uttered a terrible shriek and threw herself back.
-
-"I am here, dear Louise," said Raoul, running towards her. "I knew but
-too well that you had not ceased to love me."
-
-La Valliere with a gesture, partly of extreme terror, and partly as if
-invoking a blessing, attempted to speak, but could not articulate one
-word. "No, no!" she said, as she fell into Montalais's arms, murmuring,
-"Do not touch me, do not come near me."
-
-Montalais made a sign to Raoul, who stood almost petrified at the door,
-and did not even attempt to advance another step into the room.
-Then, looking towards the side of the room where the screen was, she
-exclaimed: "Imprudent girl, she has not even closed the trap-door."
-
-And she advanced towards the corner of the room to close the screen, and
-also, behind the screen, the trap-door. But suddenly the king, who had
-heard Louise's exclamation, darted through the opening, and hurried
-forward to her assistance. He threw himself on his knees before her, as
-he overwhelmed Montalais with questions, who hardly knew where she was.
-At the moment, however, when the king threw himself on his knees, a cry
-of utter despair rang through the corridor, accompanied by the sound of
-retreating footsteps. The king wished to see who had uttered the cry and
-whose were the footsteps he had heard; and it was in vain that Montalais
-sought to retain him, for Louis, quitting his hold of La Valliere,
-hurried towards the door, too late, however, for Raoul was already at a
-distance, and the king only beheld a shadow that quickly vanished in the
-silent corridor. [8]
-
-
-
-Chapter XL: Two Old Friends.
-
-Whilst every one at court was busily engaged with his own affairs, a man
-mysteriously took up his post behind the Place de Greve, in the
-house which we once saw besieged by D'Artagnan on the occasion of the
-_emeute_. The principal entrance of the house was in the Place Baudoyer;
-it was tolerably large, surrounded by gardens, inclosed in the Rue
-Saint-Jean by the shops of toolmakers, which protected it from prying
-looks, and was walled in by a triple rampart of stone, noise, and
-verdure, like an embalmed mummy in its triple coffin. The man we have
-just alluded to walked along with a firm step, although he was no longer
-in his early prime. His dark cloak and long sword plainly revealed
-one who seemed in search of adventures; and, judging from his curling
-mustache, his fine smooth skin, which could be seen beneath his
-_sombrero_, it would not have been difficult to pronounce that gallantry
-had not a little share in his adventures. In fact, hardly had the
-cavalier entered the house, when the clock struck eight; and ten minutes
-afterwards a lady, followed by a servant armed to the teeth, approached
-and knocked at the same door, which an old woman immediately opened for
-her. The lady raised her veil as she entered; though no longer beautiful
-or young, she was still active and of an imposing carriage. She
-concealed, beneath a rich toilette and the most exquisite taste, an age
-which Ninon de l'Enclos alone could have smiled at with impunity. Hardly
-had she reached the vestibule, when the cavalier, whose features we have
-only roughly sketched, advanced towards her, holding out his hand.
-
-"Good day, my dear duchesse," he said.
-
-"How do you do, my dear Aramis?" replied the duchesse.
-
-He led her to a most elegantly furnished apartment, on whose high
-windows were reflected the expiring rays of the setting sun, which
-filtered gaudily through the dark green needles of the adjacent firs.
-They sat down side by side. Neither of them thought of asking for
-additional light in the room, and they buried themselves as it were in
-the shadow, as if they wished to bury themselves in forgetfulness.
-
-"Chevalier," said the duchesse, "you have never given me a single sign
-of life since our interview at Fontainebleau, and I confess that your
-presence there on the day of the Franciscan's death, and your initiation
-in certain secrets, caused me the liveliest astonishment I ever
-experienced in my whole life."
-
-"I can explain my presence there to you, as well as my initiation," said
-Aramis.
-
-"But let us, first of all," said the duchess, "talk a little of
-ourselves, for our friendship is by no means of recent date."
-
-"Yes, madame: and if Heaven wills it, we shall continue to be friends, I
-will not say for a long time, but forever."
-
-"That is quite certain, chevalier, and my visit is a proof of it."
-
-"Our interests, duchess, are no longer the same as they used to be,"
-said Aramis, smiling without apprehension in the growing gloom by which
-the room was overcast, for it could not reveal that his smile was less
-agreeable and not so bright as formerly.
-
-"No, chevalier, at the present day we have other interests. Every
-period of life brings its own; and, as we now understand each other in
-conversing, as perfectly as we formerly did without saying a word, let
-us talk, if you like."
-
-"I am at your orders, duchesse. Ah! I beg your pardon, how did you
-obtain my address, and what was your object?"
-
-"You ask me why? I have told you. Curiosity in the first place. I wished
-to know what you could have to do with the Franciscan, with whom I had
-certain business transactions, and who died so singularly. You know that
-on the occasion of our interview at Fontainebleau, in the cemetery, at
-the foot of the grave so recently closed, we were both so much overcome
-by our emotions that we omitted to confide to each other what we may
-have to say."
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"Well, then, I had no sooner left you than I repented, and have ever
-since been most anxious to ascertain the truth. You know that Madame de
-Longueville and myself are almost one, I suppose?"
-
-"I was not aware," said Aramis, discreetly.
-
-"I remembered, therefore," continued the duchesse, "that neither of us
-said anything to the other in the cemetery; that you did not speak of
-the relationship in which you stood to the Franciscan, whose burial you
-superintended, and that I did not refer to the position in which I
-stood to him; all which seemed very unworthy of two such old friends as
-ourselves, and I have sought an opportunity of an interview with you in
-order to give you some information that I have recently acquired, and to
-assure you that Marie Michon, now no more, has left behind her one who
-has preserved her recollection of events."
-
-Aramis bowed over the duchess's hand, and pressed his lips upon it. "You
-must have had some trouble to find me again," he said.
-
-"Yes," she answered, annoyed to find the subject taking a turn which
-Aramis wished to give it; "but I knew you were a friend of M. Fouquet's,
-and so I inquired in that direction."
-
-"A friend! oh!" exclaimed the chevalier, "I can hardly pretend to be
-_that_. A poor priest who has been favored by a generous protector, and
-whose heart is full of gratitude and devotion, is all that I pretend to
-be to M. Fouquet."
-
-"He made you a bishop?"
-
-"Yes, duchesse."
-
-"A very good retiring pension for so handsome a musketeer."
-
-"Yes; in the same way that political intrigue is for yourself," thought
-Aramis. "And so," he added, "you inquired after me at M. Fouquet's?"
-
-"Easily enough. You had been to Fontainebleau with him, and had
-undertaken a voyage to your diocese, which is Belle-Ile-en-Mer, I
-believe."
-
-"No, madame," said Aramis. "My diocese is Vannes."
-
-"I meant that. I only thought that Belle-Ile-en-Mer--"
-
-"Is a property belonging to M. Fouquet, nothing more."
-
-"Ah! I had been told that Belle-Isle was fortified; besides, I know how
-great the military knowledge is you possess."
-
-"I have forgotten everything of the kind since I entered the Church,"
-said Aramis, annoyed.
-
-"Suffice it to know that I learned you had returned from Vannes, and
-I sent off to one of our friends, M. le Comte de la Fere, who is
-discretion itself, in order to ascertain it, but he answered that he was
-not aware of your address."
-
-"So like Athos," thought the bishop; "the really good man never
-changes."
-
-"Well, then, you know that I cannot venture to show myself here, and
-that the queen-mother has always some grievance or other against me."
-
-"Yes, indeed, and I am surprised at it."
-
-"Oh! there are various reasons for it. But, to continue, being obliged
-to conceal myself, I was fortunate enough to meet with M. d'Artagnan,
-who was formerly one of your old friends, I believe?"
-
-"A friend of mine still, duchesse."
-
-"He gave me certain information, and sent me to M. Baisemeaux, the
-governor of the Bastile."
-
-Aramis was somewhat agitated at this remark, and a light flashed from
-his eyes in the darkness of the room, which he could not conceal
-from his keen-sighted friend. "M. de Baisemeaux!" he said, "why did
-D'Artagnan send you to M. de Baisemeaux?"
-
-"I cannot tell you."
-
-"What can this possibly mean?" said the bishop, summoning all the
-resources of his mind to his aid, in order to carry on the combat in a
-befitting manner.
-
-"M. de Baisemeaux is greatly indebted to you, D'Artagnan told me."
-
-"True, he is so."
-
-"And the address of a creditor is as easily ascertained as that of a
-debtor."
-
-"Very true; and so Baisemeaux indicated to you--"
-
-"Saint-Mande, where I forwarded a letter to you."
-
-"Which I have in my hand, and which is most precious to me," said
-Aramis, "because I am indebted to it for the pleasure of seeing you
-here." The duchesse, satisfied at having successfully overcome the
-various difficulties of so delicate an explanation, began to breathe
-freely again, which Aramis, however, could not succeed in doing. "We had
-got as far as your visit to M. Baisemeaux, I believe?"
-
-"Nay," she said, laughing, "farther than that."
-
-"In that case we must have been speaking about the grudge you have
-against the queen-mother."
-
-"Further still," she returned, "further still; we were talking of the
-connection--"
-
-"Which existed between you and the Franciscan," said Aramis,
-interrupting her eagerly, "well, I am listening to you very
-attentively."
-
-"It is easily explained," returned the duchesse. "You know that I am
-living at Brussels with M. de Laicques?"
-
-"I heard so."
-
-"You know that my children have ruined and stripped me of everything."
-
-"How terrible, dear duchesse."
-
-"Terrible indeed; this obliged me to resort to some means of obtaining a
-livelihood, and, particularly, to avoid vegetating for the remainder of
-my existence. I had old hatreds to turn to account, old friendships to
-make use of; I no longer had either credit or protectors."
-
-"_You_, who had extended protection towards so many persons," said
-Aramis, softly.
-
-"It is always the case, chevalier. Well, at the present time I am in the
-habit of seeing the king of Spain very frequently."
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"Who has just nominated a general of the Jesuits, according to the usual
-custom."
-
-"Is it usual, indeed?"
-
-"Were you not aware of it?"
-
-"I beg your pardon; I was inattentive."
-
-"You must be aware of that--you who were on such good terms with the
-Franciscan."
-
-"With the general of the Jesuits, you mean?"
-
-"Exactly. Well, then, I have seen the king of Spain, who wished to do
-me a service, but was unable. He gave me recommendations, however, to
-Flanders, both for myself and for Laicques too; and conferred a pension
-on me out of the funds belonging to the order."
-
-"Of Jesuits?"
-
-"Yes. The general--I mean the Franciscan--was sent to me; and, for the
-purpose of conforming with the requisitions of the statues of the order,
-and of entitling me to the pension, I was reputed to be in a position to
-render certain services. You are aware that that is the rule?"
-
-"No, I did not know it," said Aramis.
-
-Madame de Chevreuse paused to look at Aramis, but it was perfectly dark.
-"Well, such is the rule, however," she resumed. "I had, therefore, to
-appear to possess a power of usefulness of some kind or other, and
-I proposed to travel for the order, and I was placed on the list of
-affiliated travelers. You understand it was a formality, by means of
-which I received my pension, which was very convenient for me."
-
-"Good heavens! duchesse, what you tell me is like a dagger-thrust. _You_
-obliged to receive a pension from the Jesuits?"
-
-"No, chevalier! from Spain."
-
-"Except for a conscientious scruple, duchesse, you will admit that it is
-pretty nearly the same thing."
-
-"No, not at all."
-
-"But surely of your magnificent fortune there must remain--"
-
-"Dampierre is all that remains."
-
-"And that is handsome enough."
-
-"Yes; but Dampierre is burdened, mortgaged, and almost fallen to ruin,
-like its owner."
-
-"And can the queen-mother know and see all that, without shedding a
-tear?" said Aramis, with a penetrating look, which encountered nothing
-but darkness.
-
-"Yes. She has forgotten everything."
-
-"You, I believe, attempted to get restored to favor?"
-
-"Yes; but, most singularly, the young king inherits the antipathy his
-dear father had for me. You will, perhaps, tell me that I am indeed a
-woman to be hated, and that I am no longer one who can be loved."
-
-"Dear duchesse, pray come quickly to the cause that brought you here;
-for I think we can be of service to each other."
-
-"Such has been my own thought. I came to Fontainebleau with a double
-object in view. In the first place, I was summoned there by the
-Franciscan whom you knew. By the by, how did you know him?--for I have
-told you my story, and have not yet heard yours."
-
-"I knew him in a very natural way, duchesse. I studied theology with him
-at Parma. We became fast friends; and it happened, from time to time,
-that business, or travel, or war, separated us from each other."
-
-"You were, of course, aware that he was the general of the Jesuits?"
-
-"I suspected it."
-
-"But by what extraordinary chance did it happen that you were at the
-hotel when the affiliated travelers met together?"
-
-"Oh!" said Aramis, in a calm voice, "it was the merest chance in the
-world. I was going to Fontainebleau to see M. Fouquet, for the purpose
-of obtaining an audience of the king. I was passing by, unknown; I saw
-the poor dying monk in the road, and recognized him immediately. You
-know the rest--he died in my arms."
-
-"Yes; but bequeathing to you so vast a power that you issue your
-sovereign orders and directions like a monarch."
-
-"He certainly did leave me a few commissions to settle."
-
-"And what for me?"
-
-"I have told you--a sum of twelve thousand livres was to be paid to
-you. I thought I had given you the necessary signature to enable you to
-receive it. Did you not get the money?"
-
-"Oh! yes, yes. You give your orders, I am informed, with so much
-mystery, and such a majestic presence, that it is generally believed you
-are the successor of the defunct chief."
-
-Aramis colored impatiently, and the duchesse continued: "I have obtained
-my information," she said, "from the king of Spain himself; and he
-cleared up some of my doubts on the point. Every general of the Jesuits
-is nominated by him, and must be a Spaniard, according to the statutes
-of the order. You are not a Spaniard, nor have you been nominated by the
-king of Spain."
-
-Aramis did not reply to this remark, except to say, "You see, duchesse,
-how greatly you were mistaken, since the king of Spain told you that."
-
-"Yes, my dear Aramis; but there was something else which I have been
-thinking of."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"You know, I believe, something about most things, and it occurred to me
-that you know the Spanish language."
-
-"Every Frenchman who has been actively engaged in the Fronde knows
-Spanish."
-
-"You have lived in Flanders?"
-
-"Three years."
-
-"And have stayed at Madrid?"
-
-"Fifteen months."
-
-"You are in a position, then, to become a naturalized Spaniard, when you
-like."
-
-"Really?" said Aramis, with a frankness which deceived the duchesse.
-
-"Undoubtedly. Two years' residence and an acquaintance with the language
-are indispensable. You have upwards of four years--more than double the
-time necessary."
-
-"What are you driving at, duchesse?"
-
-"At this--I am on good terms with the king of Spain."
-
-"And I am not on bad terms," thought Aramis to himself.
-
-"Shall I ask the king," continued the duchesse, "to confer the
-succession to the Franciscan's post upon you?"
-
-"Oh, duchesse!"
-
-"You have it already, perhaps?" she said.
-
-"No, upon my honor."
-
-"Very well, then, I can render you that service."
-
-"Why did you not render the same service to M. de Laicques, duchesse? He
-is a very talented man, and one you love, besides."
-
-"Yes, no doubt; but, at all events, putting Laicques aside, will you
-have it?"
-
-"No, I thank you, duchesse."
-
-She paused. "He is nominated," she thought; and then resumed aloud,
-"If you refuse me in this manner, it is not very encouraging for me,
-supposing I should have something to ask of you."
-
-"Oh! ask, pray, ask."
-
-"Ask! I cannot do so, if you have not the power to grant what I want."
-
-"However limited my power and ability, ask all the same."
-
-"I need a sum of money, to restore Dampierre."
-
-"Ah!" replied Aramis, coldly--"money? Well, duchesse, how much would you
-require?"
-
-"Oh! a tolerably round sum."
-
-"So much the worse--you know I am not rich."
-
-"No, no; but the order is--and if you had been the general--"
-
-"You know I am not the general, I think."
-
-"In that case, you have a friend who must be very wealthy--M. Fouquet."
-
-"M. Fouquet! He is more than half ruined, madame."
-
-"So it is said, but I did not believe it."
-
-"Why, duchesse?"
-
-"Because I have, or rather Laicques has, certain letters in his
-possession from Cardinal Mazarin, which establish the existence of very
-strange accounts."
-
-"What accounts?"
-
-"Relative to various sums of money borrowed and disposed of. I cannot
-very distinctly remember what they are; but they establish the fact
-that the superintendent, according to these letters, which are signed by
-Mazarin, had taken thirteen millions of francs from the coffers of the
-state. The case is a very serious one."
-
-Aramis clenched his hands in anxiety and apprehension. "Is it possible,"
-he said, "that you have such letters as you speak of, and have not
-communicated them to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Ah!" replied the duchesse, "I keep such trifling matters as these in
-reserve. The day may come when they will be of service; and they can be
-withdrawn from the safe custody in which they now remain."
-
-"And that day has arrived?" said Aramis.
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And you are going to show those letters to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"I prefer to talk about them with you, instead."
-
-"You must be in sad want of money, my poor friend, to think of such
-things as these--you, too, who held M. de Mazarin's prose effusions in
-such indifferent esteem."
-
-"The fact is, I am in want of money."
-
-"And then," continued Aramis, in cold accents, "it must have been very
-distressing to you to be obliged to have recourse to such a means. It is
-cruel."
-
-"Oh! if had wished to do harm instead of good," said Madame de
-Chevreuse, "instead of asking the general of the order, or M. Fouquet,
-for the five hundred thousand francs I require, I--"
-
-"_Five hundred thousand francs!_"
-
-"Yes; no more. Do you think it much? I require at least as much as that
-to restore Dampierre."
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"I say, therefore, that instead of asking for this amount, I should
-have gone to see my old friend the queen-mother; the letters from her
-husband, Signor Mazarini, would have served me as an introduction, and
-I should have begged this mere trifle of her, saying to her, 'I wish,
-madame, to have the honor of receiving you at Dampierre. Permit me to
-put Dampierre in a fit state for that purpose.'"
-
-Aramis did not return a single word. "Well," she said, "what are you
-thinking about?"
-
-"I am making certain additions," said Aramis.
-
-"And M. Fouquet subtractions. I, on the other hand, am trying my hand at
-the art of multiplication. What excellent calculators we all three are!
-How well we might understand one another!"
-
-"Will you allow me to reflect?" said Aramis.
-
-"No, for with such an opening between people like ourselves, 'yes' or
-'no' is the only answer, and that an immediate one."
-
-"It is a snare," thought the bishop; "it is impossible that Anne of
-Austria would listen to such a woman as this."
-
-"Well?" said the duchesse.
-
-"Well, madame, I should be very much astonished if M. Fouquet had five
-hundred thousand francs at his disposal at the present moment."
-
-"It is no use speaking of it, then," said the duchesse, "and Dampierre
-must get restored how best it may."
-
-"Oh! you are not embarrassed to such an extent as that, I suppose."
-
-"No; I am never embarrassed."
-
-"And the queen," continued the bishop, "will certainly do for you what
-the superintendent is unable to do?"
-
-"Oh! certainly. But tell me, do you think it would be better that I
-should speak, myself, to M. Fouquet about these letters?"
-
-"Nay, duchesse, you will do precisely whatever you please in that
-respect. M. Fouquet either feels or does not feel himself to be guilty;
-if he really be so, I know he is proud enough not to confess it; if he
-be not so, he will be exceedingly offended at your menace."
-
-"As usual, you reason like an angel," said the duchesse, as she rose
-from her seat.
-
-"And so, you are now going to denounce M. Fouquet to the queen," said
-Aramis.
-
-"'Denounce!' Oh! what a disagreeable word. I shall not 'denounce' my
-dear friend; you know matters of policy too well to be ignorant how
-easily these affairs are arranged. I shall merely side against M.
-Fouquet, and nothing more; and, in a war of party against party, a
-weapon is always a weapon."
-
-"No doubt."
-
-"And once on friendly terms again with the queen-mother, I may be
-dangerous towards some persons."
-
-"You are at liberty to prove so, duchesse."
-
-"A liberty of which I shall avail myself."
-
-"You are not ignorant, I suppose, duchesse, that M. Fouquet is on the
-best terms with the king of Spain."
-
-"I suppose so."
-
-"If, therefore, you begin a party warfare against M. Fouquet, he will
-reply in the same way; for he, too, is at perfect liberty to do so, is
-he not?"
-
-"Oh! certainly."
-
-"And as he is on good terms with Spain, he will make use of that
-friendship as a weapon of attack."
-
-"You mean, that he is, naturally, on good terms with the general of the
-order of the Jesuits, my dear Aramis."
-
-"That may be the case, duchesse."
-
-"And that, consequently, the pension I have been receiving from the
-order will be stopped."
-
-"I am greatly afraid it might be."
-
-"Well; I must contrive to console myself in the best way I can; for
-after Richelieu, after the Fronde, after exile, what is there left for
-Madame de Chevreuse to be afraid of?"
-
-"The pension, you are aware, is forty-eight thousand francs."
-
-"Alas! I am quite aware of it."
-
-"Moreover, in party contests, you know, the friends of one's enemy do
-not escape."
-
-"Ah! you mean that poor Laicques will have to suffer."
-
-"I am afraid it is almost inevitable, duchesse."
-
-"Oh! he only receives twelve thousand francs pension."
-
-"Yes, but the king of Spain has some influence left; advised by M.
-Fouquet, he might get M. Laicques shut up in prison for a little while."
-
-"I am not very nervous on that point, my dear friend; because, once
-reconciled with Anne of Austria, I will undertake that France would
-insist upon M. Laicques's liberation."
-
-"True. In that case, you will have something else to apprehend."
-
-"What can that be?" said the duchesse, pretending to be surprised and
-terrified.
-
-"You will learn; indeed, you must know it already, that having once been
-an affiliated member of the order, it is not easy to leave it; for the
-secrets that any particular member may have acquired are unwholesome,
-and carry with them the germs of misfortune for whosoever may reveal
-them."
-
-The duchesse paused and reflected for a moment, and then said, "That is
-more serious: I will think it over."
-
-And notwithstanding the profound obscurity, Aramis seemed to feel a
-basilisk glance, like a white-hot iron, escape from his friend's eyes,
-and plunge into his heart.
-
-"Let us recapitulate," said Aramis, determined to keep himself on
-his guard, and gliding his hand into his breast where he had a dagger
-concealed.
-
-"Exactly, let us recapitulate; short accounts make long friends."
-
-"The suppression of your pension--"
-
-"Forty-eight thousand francs, and that of Laicques's twelve, make
-together sixty thousand francs; that is what you mean, I suppose?"
-
-"Precisely; and I was trying to find out what would be your equivalent
-for that."
-
-"Five hundred thousand francs, which I shall get from the queen."
-
-"Or, which you will _not_ get."
-
-"I know a means of procuring them," said the duchesse, thoughtlessly.
-
-This remark made the chevalier prick up his ears; and from the moment
-his adversary had committed this error, his mind was so thoroughly on
-its guard, that he seemed every moment to gain the advantage more and
-more; and she, consequently, to lose it. "I will admit, for argument's
-sake, that you obtain the money," he resumed; "you will lose twice as
-much, having a hundred thousand francs' pension to receive instead of
-sixty thousand, and that for a period of ten years."
-
-"Not so, for I shall only be subjected to this reduction of my income
-during the period of M. Fouquet's remaining in power, a period which I
-estimate at two months."
-
-"Ah!" said Aramis.
-
-"I am frank, you see."
-
-"I thank you for it, duchesse; but you would be wrong to suppose that
-after M. Fouquet's disgrace the order would resume the payment of your
-pension."
-
-"I know a means of making the order pay, as I know a means of forcing
-the queen-mother to concede what I require."
-
-"In that case, duchesse, we are all obliged to strike our flags to you.
-The victory is yours, and the triumph also. Be clement, I entreat you."
-
-"But is it possible," resumed the duchesse, without taking notice of the
-irony, "that you really draw back from a miserable sum of five hundred
-thousand francs, when it is a question of sparing you--I mean your
-friend--I beg your pardon, I ought rather to say your protector--the
-disagreeable consequences which a party contest produces?"
-
-"Duchesse, I tell you why; supposing the five hundred thousand francs
-were to be given you, M. Laicques will require his share, which will be
-another five hundred thousand francs, I presume? and then, after M. de
-Laicques's and your own portions have been arranged, the portions which
-your children, your poor pensioners, and various other persons will
-require, will start up as fresh claims, and these letters, however
-compromising they may be in their nature, are not worth from three
-to four millions. Can you have forgotten the queen of France's
-diamonds?--they were surely worth more than these bits of waste paper
-signed by Mazarin, and yet their recovery did not cost a fourth part of
-what you ask for yourself."
-
-"Yes, that is true; but the merchant values his goods at his own price,
-and it is for the purchaser to buy or refuse."
-
-"Stay a moment, duchesse; would you like me to tell you why I will not
-buy your letters?"
-
-"Pray tell me."
-
-"Because the letters you claim to be Mazarin's are false."
-
-"What an absurdity."
-
-"I have no doubt of it, for it would, to say the least, be very
-singular, that after you had quarreled with the queen through M.
-Mazarin's means, you should have kept up any intimate acquaintance with
-the latter; it would look as if you had been acting as a spy; and upon
-my word, I do not like to make use of the word."
-
-"Oh! pray do."
-
-"You great complacence would seem suspicions, at all events."
-
-"That is quite true; but the contents of the letters are even more so."
-
-"I pledge you my word, duchesse, that you will not be able to make use
-of it with the queen."
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed; I can make use of everything with the queen."
-
-"Very good," thought Aramis. "Croak on, old owl--hiss, beldame-viper."
-
-But the duchesse had said enough, and advanced a few steps towards the
-door. Aramis, however, had reserved one exposure which she did _not_
-expect.
-
-He rang the bell, candles immediately appeared in the adjoining room,
-and the bishop found himself completely encircled by lights, which shone
-upon the worn, haggard face of the duchesse, revealing every feature
-but too clearly. Aramis fixed a long ironical look upon her pale, thin,
-withered cheeks--her dim, dull eyes--and upon her lips, which she kept
-carefully closed over her discolored scanty teeth. He, however,
-had thrown himself into a graceful attitude, with his haughty and
-intelligent head thrown back; he smiled so as to reveal teeth still
-brilliant and dazzling. The antiquated coquette understood the trick
-that had been played her. She was standing immediately before a large
-mirror, in which her decrepitude, so carefully concealed, was only made
-more manifest. And, thereupon, without even saluting Aramis, who bowed
-with the ease and grace of the musketeer of early days, she hurried
-away with trembling steps, which her very precipitation only the more
-impeded. Aramis sprang across the room, like a zephyr, to lead her to
-the door. Madame de Chevreuse made a sign to her servant, who resumed
-his musket, and she left the house where such tender friends had not
-been able to understand each other only because they had understood each
-other too well.
-
-
-
-Chapter XLI. Wherein May Be Seen that a Bargain Which Cannot Be Made
-with One Person, Can Be Carried Out with Another.
-
-Aramis had been perfectly correct in his supposition; for hardly had she
-left the house in the Place Baudoyer than Madame de Chevreuse proceeded
-homeward. She was doubtless afraid of being followed, and by this means
-thought she might succeed in throwing those who might be following her
-off their guard; but scarcely had she arrived within the door of the
-hotel, and hardly had assured herself that no one who could cause her
-any uneasiness was on her track, when she opened the door of the garden,
-leading into another street, and hurried towards the Rue Croix des
-Petits-Champs, where M. Colbert resided.
-
-We have already said that evening, or rather night, had closed in; it
-was a dark, thick night, besides; Paris had once more sunk into its
-calm, quiescent state, enshrouding alike within its indulgent mantle the
-high-born duchesse carrying out her political intrigue, and the simple
-citizen's wife, who, having been detained late by a supper in the city,
-was making her way slowly homewards, hanging on the arm of a lover,
-by the shortest possible route. Madame de Chevreuse had been too well
-accustomed to nocturnal political intrigues to be ignorant that a
-minister never denies himself, even at his own private residence, to
-any young and beautiful woman who may chance to object to the dust and
-confusion of a public office, or to old women, as full of experience
-as of years, who dislike the indiscreet echo of official residences. A
-valet received the duchesse under the peristyle, and received her, it
-must be admitted, with some indifference of manner; he intimated, after
-having looked at her face, that it was hardly at such an hour that one
-so advanced in years as herself could be permitted to disturb Monsieur
-Colbert's important occupations. But Madame de Chevreuse, without
-looking or appearing to be annoyed, wrote her name upon a leaf of her
-tablets--a name which had but too frequently sounded so disagreeably in
-the ears of Louis XIII. and of the great cardinal. She wrote her name in
-the large, ill-formed characters of the higher classes of that period,
-handed it to the valet, without uttering a word, but with so haughty and
-imperious a gesture, that the fellow, well accustomed to judge of people
-from their manners and appearance, perceived at once the quality of the
-person before him, bowed his head, and ran to M. Colbert's room. The
-minister could not control a sudden exclamation as he opened the paper;
-and the valet, gathering from it the interest with which his master
-regarded the mysterious visitor, returned as fast as he could to beg the
-duchesse to follow him. She ascended to the first floor of the beautiful
-new house very slowly, rested herself on the landing-place, in order not
-to enter the apartment out of breath, and appeared before M. Colbert,
-who, with his own hands, held both the folding doors open. The duchesse
-paused at the threshold, for the purpose of well studying the character
-of the man with whom she was about to converse. At the first glance,
-the round, large, heavy head, thick brows, and ill-favored features of
-Colbert, who wore, thrust low down on his head, a cap like a priest's
-_calotte_, seemed to indicate that but little difficulty was likely
-to be met with in her negotiations with him, but also that she was to
-expect as little interest in the discussion of particulars; for there
-was scarcely any indication that the rough and uncouth nature of the man
-was susceptible to the impulses of a refined revenge, or of an exalted
-ambition. But when, on closer inspection, the duchesse perceived the
-small, piercingly black eyes, the longitudinal wrinkles of his high and
-massive forehead, the imperceptible twitching of the lips, on which were
-apparent traces of rough good-humor, Madame de Chevreuse altered her
-opinion of him, and felt she could say to herself: "I have found the man
-I want."
-
-"What is the subject, madame, which procures me the honor of a visit
-from you?" he inquired.
-
-"The need I have of you, monsieur," returned the duchesse, "as well
-as that which you have of me."
-
-"I am delighted, madame, with the first portion of your sentence; but,
-as far as the second portion is concerned--"
-
-Madame de Chevreuse sat down in the armchair which M. Colbert advanced
-towards her. "Monsieur Colbert, you are the intendant of finances, and
-are ambitious of becoming the superintendent?"
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"Nay, do not deny it; that would only unnecessarily prolong our
-conversation, and that is useless."
-
-"And yet, madame, however well-disposed and inclined to show politeness
-I may be towards a lady of your position and merit, nothing will make
-me confess that I have ever entertained the idea of supplanting my
-superior."
-
-"I said nothing about supplanting, Monsieur Colbert. Could I
-accidentally have made use of that word? I hardly think that likely.
-The word 'replace' is less aggressive in its signification, and
-more grammatically suitable, as M. de Voiture would say. I presume,
-therefore, that you are ambitious of replacing M. Fouquet."
-
-"M. Fouquet's fortune, madame, enables him to withstand all attempts.
-The superintendent in this age plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes;
-the vessels pass beneath him and do not overthrow him."
-
-"I ought to have availed myself precisely of that very comparison. It
-is true, M. Fouquet plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes; but I
-remember to have heard it said by M. Conrart, a member of the academy, I
-believe, that when the Colossus of Rhodes fell from its lofty position,
-the merchant who had cast it down--a merchant, nothing more, M.
-Colbert--loaded four hundred camels with the ruins. A merchant! and that
-is considerably less than an intendant of finances."
-
-"Madame, I can assure you that I shall never overthrow M. Fouquet."
-
-"Very good, Monsieur Colbert, since you persist in showing so much
-sensitiveness with me, as if you were ignorant that I am Madame de
-Chevreuse, and also that I am somewhat advanced in years; in other
-words, that you have to do with a woman who has had political dealings
-with the Cardinal Richelieu, and who has no time to lose; as, I repeat,
-you do not hesitate to commit such an imprudence, I shall go and find
-others who are more intelligent and more desirous of making their
-fortunes."
-
-"How, madame, how?"
-
-"You give me a very poor idea of negotiations of the present day.
-I assure you that if, in my earlier days, a woman had gone to M.
-de Cinq-Mars, who was not, moreover, a man of a very high order of
-intellect, and had said to him about the cardinal what I have just said
-to you of M. Fouquet, M. de Cinq-Mars would by this time have already
-set actively to work."
-
-"Nay, madame, show a little indulgence, I entreat you."
-
-"Well, then, do you really consent to replace M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Certainly, I do, if the king dismisses M. Fouquet."
-
-"Again, a word too much; it is quite evident that, if you have not yet
-succeeded in driving M. Fouquet from his post, it is because you have
-not been able to do so. Therefore, I should be the greatest simpleton
-possible if, in coming to you, I did not bring the very thing you
-require."
-
-"I am distressed to be obliged to persist, madame," said Colbert,
-after a silence which enabled the duchesse to sound the depths of
-his dissimulation, "but I must warn you that, for the last six years,
-denunciation after denunciation has been made against M. Fouquet, and he
-has remained unshaken and unaffected by them."
-
-"There is a time for everything, Monsieur Colbert; those who were the
-authors of those denunciations were not called Madame de Chevreuse, and
-they had no proofs equal to the six letters from M. de Mazarin which
-establish the offense in question."
-
-"The offense!"
-
-"The crime, if you like it better."
-
-"The crime! committed by M. Fouquet!"
-
-"Nothing less. It is rather strange, M. Colbert, but your face, which
-just now was cold and indifferent, is now positively the very reverse."
-
-"A crime!"
-
-"I am delighted to see that it makes an impression upon you."
-
-"It is because that word, madame, embraces so many things."
-
-"It embraces the post of superintendent of finance for yourself, and a
-letter of exile, or the Bastile, for M. Fouquet."
-
-"Forgive me, madame la duchesse, but it is almost impossible that M.
-Fouquet can be exiled; to be imprisoned or disgraced, that is already a
-great deal."
-
-"Oh, I am perfectly aware of what I am saying," returned Madame de
-Chevreuse, coldly. "I do not live at such a distance from Paris as not
-to know what takes place there. The king does not like M. Fouquet, and
-he would willingly sacrifice M. Fouquet if an opportunity were only
-given him."
-
-"It must be a good one, though."
-
-"Good enough, and one I estimate to be worth five hundred thousand
-francs."
-
-"In what way?" said Colbert.
-
-"I mean, monsieur, that holding this opportunity in my own hands, I will
-not allow it to be transferred to yours except for a sum of five hundred
-thousand francs."
-
-"I understand you perfectly, madame. But since you have fixed a price
-for the sale, let me now see the value of the articles to be sold."
-
-"Oh, a mere trifle; six letters, as I have already told you, from M. de
-Mazarin; and the autographs will most assuredly not be regarded as too
-highly priced, if they establish, in an irrefutable manner, that
-M. Fouquet has embezzled large sums of money from the treasury and
-appropriated them to his own purposes."
-
-"In an irrefutable manner, do you say?" observed Colbert, whose eyes
-sparkled with delight.
-
-"Perfectly so; would you like to read the letters?"
-
-"With all my heart! Copies, of course?"
-
-"Of course, the copies," said the duchesse, as she drew from her bosom a
-small packet of papers flattened by her velvet bodice. "Read," she said.
-
-Colbert eagerly snatched the papers and devoured them. "Excellent!" he
-said.
-
-"It is clear enough, is it not?"
-
-"Yes, madame, yes; M. Mazarin must have handed the money to M. Fouquet,
-who must have kept it for his own purposes; but the question is, what
-money?"
-
-"Exactly,--what money; if we come to terms I will join to these six
-letters a seventh, which will supply you with the fullest particulars."
-
-Colbert reflected. "And the originals of these letters?"
-
-"A useless question to ask; exactly as if I were to ask you, Monsieur
-Colbert, whether the money-bags you will give me will be full or empty."
-
-"Very good, madame."
-
-"Is it concluded?"
-
-"No; for there is one circumstance to which neither of us has given any
-attention."
-
-"Name it!"
-
-"M. Fouquet can be utterly ruined, under the legal circumstances you
-have detailed, only by means of legal proceedings."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"A public scandal, for instance; and yet neither the legal proceedings
-nor the scandal can be commenced against him."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Because he is procureur-general of the parliament; because, too,
-in France, all public administrators, the army, justice itself, and
-commerce, are intimately connected by ties of good-fellowship, which
-people call _esprit de corps_. In such a case, madame, the parliament
-will never permit its chief to be dragged before a public tribunal; and
-never, even if he be dragged there by royal authority, never, I say,
-will he be condemned."
-
-"Well, Monsieur Colbert, I do not see what I have to do with that."
-
-"I am aware of that, madame; but I have to do with it, and it
-consequently diminishes the value of what you have brought to show me.
-What good can a proof of a crime be to me, without the possibility of
-obtaining a condemnation?"
-
-"Even if he be only suspected, M. Fouquet will lose his post of
-superintendent."
-
-"Is that all?" exclaimed Colbert, whose dark, gloomy features were
-momentarily lighted up by an expression of hate and vengeance.
-
-"Ah! ah! Monsieur Colbert," said the duchesse, "forgive me, but I did
-not think you were so impressionable. Very good; in that case, since you
-need more than I have to give you, there is no occasion to speak of the
-matter at all."
-
-"Yes, madame, we will go on talking of it; only, as the value of your
-commodities had decreased, you must lower your pretensions."
-
-"You are bargaining, then?"
-
-"Every man who wishes to deal loyally is obliged to do so."
-
-"How much will you offer me?"
-
-"Two hundred thousand francs," said Colbert.
-
-The duchesse laughed in his face, and then said, suddenly, "Wait a
-moment, I have another arrangement to propose; will you give me three
-hundred thousand francs?"
-
-"No, no."
-
-"Oh, you can either accept or refuse my terms; besides, that is not
-all."
-
-"More still! you are becoming too impracticable to deal with, madame."
-
-"Less so than you think, perhaps, for it is not money I am going to ask
-you for."
-
-"What is it, then?"
-
-"A service; you know that I have always been most affectionately
-attached to the queen, and I am desirous of having an interview with her
-majesty."
-
-"With the queen?"
-
-"Yes, Monsieur Colbert, with the queen, who is, I admit, no longer my
-friend, and who has ceased to be so for a long time past, but who may
-again become so if the opportunity be only given her."
-
-"Her majesty has ceased to receive any one, madame. She is a great
-sufferer, and you may be aware that the paroxysms of her disease occur
-with greater frequency than ever."
-
-"That is the very reason why I wish to have an interview with her
-majesty; for in Flanders there is a great variety of these kinds of
-complaints."
-
-"What, cancers--a fearful, incurable disorder?"
-
-"Do not believe that, Monsieur Colbert. The Flemish peasant is somewhat
-a man of nature, and his companion for life is not alone a wife, but a
-female laborer also; for while he is smoking his pipe, the woman works:
-it is she who draws the water from the well; she who loads the mule
-or the ass, and even bears herself a portion of the burden. Taking but
-little care of herself, she gets knocked about first in one direction,
-and then in another, and very often is beaten by her husband, and
-cancers frequently rise from contusions."
-
-"True, true," said Colbert.
-
-"The Flemish women do not die the sooner on that account. When they are
-great sufferers from this disease they go in search of remedies, and the
-Beguines of Bruges are excellent doctors for every kind of disease. They
-have precious waters of one sort or another; specifics of various kinds;
-and they give a bottle of it and a wax candle to the sufferer, whereby
-the priests are gainers, and Heaven is served by the disposal of both
-their wares. I will take the queen some of this holy water, which I will
-procure from the Beguines of Bruges; her majesty will recover, and will
-burn as many wax candles as she may see fit. You see, Monsieur Colbert,
-to prevent my seeing the queen is almost as bad as committing the crime
-of regicide."
-
-"You are undoubtedly, madame la duchesse, a woman of exceedingly great
-abilities, and I am more than astounded at their display; still I cannot
-but suppose that this charitable consideration towards the queen in some
-measure covers a slight personal interest for yourself."
-
-"I have not given myself the trouble to conceal it, that I am aware
-of, Monsieur Colbert. You said, I believe, that I had a slight personal
-interest? On the contrary, it is a very great interest, and I will prove
-it to you, by resuming what I was saying. If you procure me a personal
-interview with her majesty, I will be satisfied with the three hundred
-thousand francs I have claimed; if not, I shall keep my letters, unless,
-indeed, you give me, on the spot, five hundred thousand francs."
-
-And rising from her seat with this decisive remark, the old duchesse
-plunged M. Colbert into a disagreeable perplexity. To bargain any
-further was out of the question; and not to bargain was to pay a great
-deal too dearly for them. "Madame," he said, "I shall have the pleasure
-of handing over a hundred thousand crowns; but how shall I get the
-actual letters themselves?"
-
-"In the simplest manner in the world, my dear Monsieur Colbert--whom
-will you trust?"
-
-The financier began to laugh, silently, so that his large eyebrows went
-up and down like the wings of a bat, upon the deep lines of his yellow
-forehead. "No one," he said.
-
-"You surely will make an exception in your own favor, Monsieur Colbert?"
-
-"In what way, madame?"
-
-"I mean that, if you would take the trouble to accompany me to the place
-where the letters are, they would be delivered into your own hands, and
-you would be able to verify and check them."
-
-"Quite true."
-
-"You would bring the hundred thousand crowns with you at the same time,
-for I, too, do not trust any one."
-
-Colbert colored to the tips of his ears. Like all eminent men in the art
-of figures, he was of an insolent and mathematical probity. "I will
-take with me, madame," he said, "two orders for the amount agreed upon,
-payable at my treasury. Will that satisfy you?"
-
-"Would that the orders on your treasury were for two millions, monsieur
-l'intendant! I shall have the pleasure of showing you the way, then?"
-
-"Allow me to order my carriage?"
-
-"I have a carriage below, monsieur."
-
-Colbert coughed like an irresolute man. He imagined, for a moment, that
-the proposition of the duchesse was a snare; that perhaps some one was
-waiting at the door; and that she whose secret had just been sold to
-Colbert for a hundred thousand crowns, had already offered it to Fouquet
-for the same sum. As he still hesitated, the duchesse looked at him full
-in the face.
-
-"You prefer your own carriage?" she said.
-
-"I admit I _do_."
-
-"You suppose I am going to lead you into a snare or trap of some sort or
-other?"
-
-"Madame la duchesse, you have the character of being somewhat
-inconsiderate at times, as I am reputed a sober, solemn character, a
-jest or practical joke might compromise me."
-
-"Yes; the fact is, you are afraid. Well, then, take your own carriage,
-as many servants as you like, only think well of what I am going to say.
-What we two may arrange between ourselves, we are the only persons who
-will know--if a third person is present we might as well tell the whole
-world about it. After all, I do not make a point of it; my carriage
-shall follow yours, and I shall be satisfied to accompany you in your
-own carriage to the queen."
-
-"To the queen?"
-
-"Have you forgotten that already? Is it possible that one of the clauses
-of the agreement of so much importance to me, can have escaped you so
-soon? How trifling it seems to you, indeed; if I had known it I should
-have asked double what I have done."
-
-"I have reflected, madame, and I shall not accompany you."
-
-"Really--and why not?"
-
-"Because I have the most perfect confidence in you."
-
-"You overpower me. But--provided I receive the hundred thousand crowns?"
-
-"Here they are, madame," said Colbert, scribbling a few lines on a piece
-of paper, which he handed to the duchesse, adding, "You are paid."
-
-"The trait is a fine one, Monsieur Colbert, and I will reward you for
-it," she said, beginning to laugh.
-
-Madame de Chevreuse's laugh was a very sinister sound; a man with youth,
-faith, love, life itself, throbbing in his heart, would prefer a sob to
-such a lamentable laugh. The duchesse opened the front of her dress and
-drew forth from her bosom, somewhat less white than it once had been,
-a small packet of papers, tied with a flame-colored ribbon, and, still
-laughing, she said, "There, Monsieur Colbert, are the originals of
-Cardinal Mazarin's letters; they are now your own property," she added,
-refastening the body of her dress; "your fortune is secured. And now
-accompany me to the queen."
-
-"No, madame; if you are again about to run the chance of her majesty's
-displeasure, and it were known at the Palais Royal that I had been the
-means of introducing you there, the queen would never forgive me while
-she lived. No; there are certain persons at the palace who are devoted
-to me, who will procure you an admission without my being compromised."
-
-"Just as you please, provided I enter."
-
-"What do you term those religious women at Bruges who cure disorders?"
-
-"Beguines."
-
-"Good; are you one?"
-
-"As you please,--but I must soon cease to be one."
-
-"That is your affair."
-
-"Excuse me, but I do not wish to be exposed to a refusal."
-
-"That is again your own affair, madame. I am going to give directions
-to the head valet of the gentleman in waiting on the queen to allow
-admission to a Beguine, who brings an effectual remedy for her majesty's
-sufferings. You are the bearer of my letter, you will undertake to
-be provided with the remedy, and will give every explanation on the
-subject. I admit a knowledge of a Beguine, but I deny all knowledge
-of Madame de Chevreuse. Here, madame, then, is your letter of
-introduction."
-
-
-
-Chapter XLII. The Skin of the Bear.
-
-Colbert handed the duchesse the letter, and gently drew aside the chair
-behind which she was standing; Madame de Chevreuse, with a very slight
-bow, immediately left the room. Colbert, who had recognized Mazarin's
-handwriting, and had counted the letters, rang to summon his secretary,
-whom he enjoined to go in immediate search of M. Vanel, a counselor
-of the parliament. The secretary replied that, according to his usual
-practice, M. Vanel had just that moment entered the house, in order to
-give the intendant an account of the principal details of the business
-which had been transacted during the day in parliament. Colbert
-approached one of the lamps, read the letters of the deceased cardinal
-over again, smiled repeatedly as he recognized the great value of the
-papers Madame de Chevreuse had just delivered--and burying his head in
-his hands for a few minutes, reflected profoundly. In the meantime, a
-tall, loosely-made man entered the room; his spare, thin face, steady
-look, and hooked nose, as he entered Colbert's cabinet, with a
-modest assurance of manner, revealed a character at once supple and
-decided,--supple towards the master who could throw him the prey,
-firm towards the dogs who might possibly be disposed to dispute its
-possession. M. Vanel carried a voluminous bundle of papers under his
-arm, and placed it on the desk on which Colbert was leaning both his
-elbows, as he supported his head.
-
-"Good day, M. Vanel," said the latter, rousing himself from his
-meditation.
-
-"Good day, monseigneur," said Vanel, naturally.
-
-"You should say monsieur, and not monseigneur," replied Colbert, gently.
-
-"We give the title of monseigneur to ministers," returned Vanel, with
-extreme self-possession, "and you are a minister."
-
-"Not yet."
-
-"You are so in point of fact, and I call you monseigneur accordingly;
-besides you are seigneur for _me_, and that is sufficient; if you
-dislike my calling you monseigneur before others, allow me, at least, to
-call you so in private."
-
-Colbert raised his head as if to read, or try to read, upon Vanel's
-face how much or how little sincerity entered into this protestation
-of devotion. But the counselor knew perfectly well how to sustain the
-weight of such a look, even backed with the full authority of the title
-he had conferred. Colbert sighed; he could not read anything in Vanel's
-face, and Vanel might possibly be honest in his professions, but Colbert
-recollected that this man, inferior to himself in every other respect,
-was actually his master in virtue of the fact of his having a wife.
-As he was pitying this man's lot, Vanel coldly drew from his pocket a
-perfumed letter, sealed with Spanish wax, and held it towards Colbert,
-saying, "A letter from my wife, monseigneur."
-
-Colbert coughed, took, opened and read the letter, and then put it
-carefully away in his pocket, while Vanel turned over the leaves of
-the papers he had brought with him with an unmoved and unconcerned air.
-"Vanel," he said suddenly to his _protege_, "you are a hard-working man,
-I know; would twelve hours' daily labor frighten you?"
-
-"I work fifteen hours every day."
-
-"Impossible. A counselor need not work more than three hours a day in
-parliament."
-
-"Oh! I am working up some returns for a friend of mine in the department
-of accounts, and, as I still have spare time on my hands, I am studying
-Hebrew."
-
-"Your reputation stands high in the parliament, Vanel."
-
-"I believe so, monseigneur."
-
-"You must not grow rusty in your post of counselor."
-
-"What must I do to avoid it?"
-
-"Purchase a high place. Mean and low ambitions are very difficult to
-satisfy."
-
-"Small purses are the most difficult ones to fill, monseigneur."
-
-"What post have you in view?" said Colbert.
-
-"I see none--not one."
-
-"There is one, certainly, but one need be almost the king himself to be
-able to buy it without inconvenience; and the king will not be inclined,
-I suppose, to purchase the post of procureur-general."
-
-At these words, Vanel fixed his peculiar, humble, dull look upon
-Colbert, who could hardly tell whether Vanel comprehended him or not.
-"Why do you speak to me, monseigneur," said Vanel, "of the post of
-procureur-general to the parliament; I know no other post than the one
-M. Fouquet fills."
-
-"Exactly so, my dear counselor."
-
-"You are not over fastidious, monseigneur; but before the post can be
-bought, it must be offered for sale."
-
-"I believe, Monsieur Vanel, that it will be for sale before long."
-
-"For sale! What! M. Fouquet's post of procureur-general?"
-
-"So it is _said_."
-
-"The post which renders him so perfectly invincible, for sale! Ha, ha!"
-said Vanel, beginning to laugh.
-
-"Would you be afraid, then, of the post?" said Colbert, gravely.
-
-"Afraid! no; but--"
-
-"Are you desirous of obtaining it?"
-
-"You are laughing at me, monseigneur," replied Vanel. "Is it likely
-that a counselor of the parliament would not be desirous of becoming
-procureur-general?"
-
-"Well, Monsieur Vanel, since I tell you that the post, as report goes,
-will be shortly for sale--"
-
-"I cannot help repeating, monseigneur, that it is impossible; a man
-never throws away the buckler, behind which he maintains his honor, his
-fortune, his very life."
-
-"There are certain men mad enough, Vanel, to fancy themselves out of the
-reach of all mischances."
-
-"Yes, monseigneur; but such men never commit their mad acts for the
-advantage of the poor Vanels of the world."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"For the very reason that those Vanels are poor."
-
-"It is true that M. Fouquet's post might cost a good round sum. What
-would you bid for it, Monsieur Vanel?"
-
-"Everything I am worth."
-
-"Which means?"
-
-"Three or four hundred thousand francs."
-
-"And the post is worth--"
-
-"A million and a half, at the very lowest. I know persons who have
-offered one million seven hundred thousand francs, without being able to
-persuade M. Fouquet to sell. Besides, supposing it were to happen that
-M. Fouquet wished to sell, which I do not believe, in spite of what I
-have been told--"
-
-"Ah! you have heard something about it, then; who told you?"
-
-"M. de Gourville, M. Pelisson, and others."
-
-"Very good; if, therefore, M. Fouquet did wish to sell--"
-
-"I could not buy it just yet, since the superintendent will only sell
-for ready money, and no one has a million and a half to put down at
-once."
-
-Colbert suddenly interrupted the counselor by an imperious gesture; he
-had begun to meditate. Observing his superior's serious attitude, and
-his perseverance in continuing the conversation on this subject, Vanel
-awaited the solution without venturing to precipitate it.
-
-"Explain to me the privileges which this post confers."
-
-"The right of impeaching every French subject who is not a prince of
-the blood; the right of quashing all proceedings taken against any
-Frenchman, who is neither king nor prince. The procureur-general is the
-king's right hand to punish the guilty; the office is the means whereby
-also he can evade the administration of justice. M. Fouquet, therefore,
-would be able, by stirring up parliament, to maintain himself even
-against the king; and the king could as easily, by humoring M. Fouquet,
-get his edicts registered in spite of every opposition and objection.
-The procureur-general can be made a very useful or a very dangerous
-instrument."
-
-"Vanel, would you like to be procureur-general?" said Colbert, suddenly,
-softening both his look and his voice.
-
-"I!" exclaimed the latter; "I have already had the honor to represent
-to you that I want about eleven hundred thousand francs to make up the
-amount."
-
-"Borrow that sum from your friends."
-
-"I have no friends richer than myself."
-
-"You are an honest and honorable man, Vanel."
-
-"Ah! monseigneur, if the world would only think as you do!"
-
-"I think so, and that is quite enough; and if it should be needed, I
-will be your security."
-
-"Do not forget the proverb, monseigneur."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"That he who becomes responsible for another has to pay for his fancy."
-
-"Let that make no difference."
-
-Vanel rose, bewildered by this offer which had been so suddenly and
-unexpectedly made to him. "You are not trifling with me, monseigneur?"
-he said.
-
-"Stay; you say that M. Gourville has spoken to you about M. Fouquet's
-post?"
-
-"Yes; and M. Pelisson, also."
-
-"Officially so, or only through their own suggestion?"
-
-"These were their very words: 'The parliament members are as proud as
-they are wealthy; they ought to club together two or three millions
-among themselves, to present to their protector and leader, M.
-Fouquet.'"
-
-"And what did you reply?"
-
-"I said that, for my own part, I would give ten thousand francs if
-necessary."
-
-"Ah! you like M. Fouquet, then!" exclaimed Colbert, with a look of
-hatred.
-
-"No; but M. Fouquet is our chief. He is in debt--is on the high road
-to ruin; and we ought to save the honor of the body of which we are
-members."
-
-"Exactly; and that explains why M. Fouquet will be always safe and
-sound, so long as he occupies his present post," replied Colbert.
-
-"Thereupon," said Vanel, "M. Gourville added, 'If we were to do anything
-out of charity to M. Fouquet, it could not be otherwise than most
-humiliating to him; and he would be sure to refuse it. Let the
-parliament subscribe among themselves to purchase, in a proper manner,
-the post of procureur-general; in that case, all would go well; the
-honor of our body would be saved, and M. Fouquet's pride spared.'"
-
-"That is an opening."
-
-"I considered it so, monseigneur."
-
-"Well, Monsieur Vanel, you will go at once, and find out either M.
-Gourville or M. Pelisson. Do you know any other friend of M. Fouquet?"
-
-"I know M. de la Fontaine very well."
-
-"La Fontaine, the rhymester?"
-
-"Yes; he used to write verses to my wife, when M. Fouquet was one of our
-friends."
-
-"Go to him, then, and try and procure an interview with the
-superintendent."
-
-"Willingly--but the sum itself?"
-
-"On the day and hour you arrange to settle the matter, Monsieur Vanel,
-you shall be supplied with the money, so do not make yourself uneasy on
-_that_ account."
-
-"Monseigneur, such munificence! You eclipse kings even--you surpass M.
-Fouquet himself."
-
-"Stay a moment--do not let us mistake each other: I do not make you a
-present of fourteen hundred thousand francs, Monsieur Vanel; for I have
-children to provide for--but I will _lend_ you that sum."
-
-"Ask whatever interest, whatever security you please, monseigneur; I am
-quite ready. And when all your requisitions are satisfied, I will still
-repeat, that you surpass kings and M. Fouquet in munificence. What
-conditions do you impose?"
-
-"The repayment in eight years, and a mortgage upon the appointment
-itself."
-
-"Certainly. Is that all?"
-
-"Wait a moment. I reserve to myself the right of purchasing the post
-from you at one hundred and fifty thousand francs profit for yourself,
-if, in your mode of filling the office, you do not follow out a line
-of conduct in conformity with the interests of the king and with my
-projects."
-
-"Ah-h!" said Vanel, in an altered tone.
-
-"Is there anything in that which can possibly be objectionable to you,
-Monsieur Vanel?" said Colbert, coldly.
-
-"Oh! no, no," replied Vanel, nervously.
-
-"Very good. We will sign an agreement to that effect whenever you like.
-And now go as quickly as you can to M. Fouquet's friend, obtain an
-interview with the superintendent; do not be too difficult in making
-whatever concessions may be required of you; and when once the
-arrangements are all made--"
-
-"I will press him to sign."
-
-"Be most careful to do nothing of the kind; do not speak of signatures
-with M. Fouquet, nor of deeds, nor even ask him to pass his word.
-Understand this: otherwise you will lose everything. All you have to do
-is to get M. Fouquet to give you his hand on the matter. Go, go."
-
-
-
-Chapter XLIII. An Interview with the Queen-Mother.
-
-The queen-mother was in the bedroom at the Palais Royal, with Madame
-de Motteville and Senora Molina. King Louis, who had been impatiently
-expected the whole day, had not made his appearance; and the queen, who
-was growing impatient, had often sent to inquire about him. The moral
-atmosphere of the court seemed to indicate an approaching storm;
-the courtiers and the ladies of the court avoided meeting in the
-ante-chambers and the corridors in order not to converse on compromising
-subjects. Monsieur had joined the king early in the morning for a
-hunting-party; Madame remained in her own apartment, cool and distant
-to every one; and the queen-mother, after she had said her prayers
-in Latin, talked of domestic matters with her two friends in pure
-Castilian. Madame de Motteville, who understood the language perfectly,
-answered her in French. When the three ladies had exhausted every form
-of dissimulation and of politeness, as a circuitous mode of expressing
-that the king's conduct was making the queen and the queen-mother pine
-away through sheer grief and vexation, and when, in the most guarded
-and polished phrases, they had fulminated every variety of imprecation
-against Mademoiselle de la Valliere, the queen-mother terminated
-her attack by an exclamation indicative of her own reflections and
-character. "_Estos hijos!_" said she to Molina--which means, "These
-children!" words full of meaning on a mother's lips--words full of
-terrible significance in the mouth of a queen who, like Anne of Austria,
-hid many curious secrets in her soul.
-
-"Yes," said Molina, "children, children! for whom every mother becomes a
-sacrifice."
-
-"Yes," replied the queen; "a mother sacrifices everything, certainly."
-She did not finish her phrase; for she fancied, when she raised her eyes
-towards the full-length portrait of the pale Louis XIII., that light
-once more flashed from her husband's dull eyes, and his nostrils
-grew livid with wrath. The portrait seemed animated by a living
-expression--speak it did not, but it seemed to threaten. A profound
-silence succeeded the queen's last remark. La Molina began to turn over
-ribbons and laces on a large work-table. Madame de Motteville, surprised
-at the look of mutual intelligence which had been exchanged between the
-confidant and her mistress, cast down her eyes like a discreet woman,
-and pretending to be observant of nothing that was passing, listened
-with the utmost attention to every word. She heard nothing, however, but
-a very insignificant "hum" on the part of the Spanish duenna, who was
-the incarnation of caution--and a profound sigh on that of the queen.
-She looked up immediately.
-
-"You are suffering?" she said.
-
-"No, Motteville, no; why do you say that?"
-
-"Your majesty almost groaned just now."
-
-"You are right; I did sigh, in truth."
-
-"Monsieur Valot is not far off; I believe he is in Madame's apartment."
-
-"Why is he with Madame?"
-
-"Madame is troubled with nervous attacks."
-
-"A very fine disorder, indeed! There is little good in M. Valot being
-there, when a very different physician would quickly cure Madame."
-
-Madame de Motteville looked up with an air of great surprise, as she
-replied, "Another doctor instead of M. Valot?--whom do you mean?"
-
-"Occupation, Motteville, occupation. If any one is really ill, it is my
-poor daughter."
-
-"And your majesty, too."
-
-"Less so this evening, though."
-
-"Do not believe that too confidently, madame," said De Motteville. And,
-as if to justify her caution, a sharp, acute pain seized the queen,
-who turned deadly pale, and threw herself back in the chair, with
-every symptom of a sudden fainting fit. Molina ran to a richly gilded
-tortoise-shell cabinet, from which she took a large rock-crystal bottle
-of scented salts, and held it to the queen's nostrils, who inhaled it
-wildly for a few minutes, and murmured:
-
-"It is hastening my death--but Heaven's will be done!"
-
-"Your majesty's death is not so near at hand," added Molina, replacing
-the smelling-bottle in the cabinet.
-
-"Does your majesty feel better now?" inquired Madame de Motteville.
-
-"Much better," returned the queen, placing her finger on her lips, to
-impose silence on her favorite.
-
-"It is very strange," remarked Madame de Motteville, after a pause.
-
-"What is strange?" said the queen.
-
-"Does your majesty remember the day when this pain attacked you for the
-first time?"
-
-"I remember only that it was a grievously sad day for me, Motteville."
-
-"But your majesty did not always regard that day as a sad one."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because three and twenty years ago, on that very day, his present
-majesty, your own glorious son, was born at the very same hour."
-
-The queen uttered a loud cry, buried her face in her hands, and seemed
-utterly prostrated for some minutes; but whether from recollections
-which arose in her mind, or from reflection, or even with sheer pain,
-was doubtful. La Molina darted a look at Madame de Motteville, so full
-of bitter reproach, that the poor woman, perfectly ignorant of
-its meaning, was in her own exculpation on the point of asking an
-explanation, when, suddenly, Anne of Austria arose and said, "Yes, the
-5th of September; my sorrow began on the 5th of September. The greatest
-joy, one day; the deepest sorrow the next;--the sorrow," she added, "the
-bitter expiation of a too excessive joy."
-
-And, from that moment, Anne of Austria, whose memory and reason seemed
-to be suspended for the time, remained impenetrable, with vacant look,
-mind almost wandering, and hands hanging heavily down, as if life had
-almost departed.
-
-"We must put her to bed," said La Molina.
-
-"Presently, Molina."
-
-"Let us leave the queen alone," added the Spanish attendant.
-
-Madame de Motteville rose; large tears were rolling down the queen's
-pallid face; and Molina, having observed this sign of weakness, fixed
-her black vigilant eyes upon her.
-
-"Yes, yes," replied the queen. "Leave us, Motteville; go."
-
-The word "us" produced a disagreeable effect upon the ears of the
-French favorite; for it signified that an interchange of secrets, or of
-revelations of the past, was about to be made, and that one person was
-_de trop_ in the conversation which seemed likely to take place.
-
-"Will Molina, alone, be sufficient for your majesty to-night?" inquired
-the French woman.
-
-"Yes," replied the queen. Madame de Motteville bowed in submission, and
-was about to withdraw, when suddenly an old female attendant, dressed
-as if she had belonged to the Spanish court of the year 1620, opened
-the door, and surprised the queen in her tears. "The remedy!" she cried,
-delightedly, to the queen, as she unceremoniously approached the group.
-
-"What remedy?" said Anne of Austria.
-
-"For your majesty's sufferings," the former replied.
-
-"Who brings it?" asked Madame de Motteville, eagerly; "Monsieur Valot?"
-
-"No; a lady from Flanders."
-
-"From Flanders? Is she Spanish?" inquired the queen.
-
-"I don't know."
-
-"Who sent her?"
-
-"M. Colbert."
-
-"Her name?"
-
-"She did not mention it."
-
-"Her position in life?"
-
-"She will answer that herself."
-
-"Who is she?"
-
-"She is masked."
-
-"Go, Molina; go and see!" cried the queen.
-
-"It is needless," suddenly replied a voice, at once firm and gentle in
-its tone, which proceeded from the other side of the tapestry hangings;
-a voice which made the attendants start, and the queen tremble
-excessively. At the same moment, a masked female appeared through the
-hangings, and, before the queen could speak a syllable she added, "I
-am connected with the order of the Beguines of Bruges, and do, indeed,
-bring with me the remedy which is certain to effect a cure of your
-majesty's complaint." No one uttered a sound, and the Beguine did not
-move a step.
-
-"Speak," said the queen.
-
-"I will, when we are alone," was the answer.
-
-Anne of Austria looked at her attendants, who immediately withdrew. The
-Beguine, thereupon, advanced a few steps towards the queen, and bowed
-reverently before her. The queen gazed with increasing mistrust at
-this woman, who, in her turn, fixed a pair of brilliant eyes upon her,
-through her mask.
-
-"The queen of France must, indeed, be very ill," said Anne of Austria,
-"if it is known at the Beguinage of Bruges that she stands in need of
-being cured."
-
-"Your majesty is not irremediably ill."
-
-"But tell me how you happen to know I am suffering?"
-
-"Your majesty has friends in Flanders."
-
-"Since these friends, then, sent you, mention their names."
-
-"Impossible, madame, since your majesty's memory has not been awakened
-by your heart."
-
-Anne of Austria looked up, endeavoring to discover through the
-mysterious mask, and this ambiguous language, the name of her companion,
-who expressed herself with such familiarity and freedom; then, suddenly,
-wearied by a curiosity which wounded every feeling of pride in her
-nature, she said, "You are ignorant, perhaps, that royal personages are
-never spoken to with the face masked."
-
-"Deign to excuse me, madame," replied the Beguine, humbly.
-
-"I cannot excuse you. I may, possibly, forgive you, if you throw your
-mask aside."
-
-"I have made a vow, madame, to attend and aid all afflicted and
-suffering persons, without ever permitting them to behold my face. I
-might have been able to administer some relief to your body and to your
-mind, too; but since your majesty forbids me, I will take my leave.
-Adieu, madame, adieu!"
-
-These words were uttered with a harmony of tone and respect of manner
-that disarmed the queen of all anger and suspicion, but did not remove
-her feeling of curiosity. "You are right," she said; "it ill-becomes
-those who are suffering to reject the means of relief Heaven sends them.
-Speak, then; and may you, indeed, be able, as you assert, to administer
-relief to my body--"
-
-"Let us first speak a little of the mind, if you please," said the
-Beguine--"of the mind, which, I am sure, must also suffer."
-
-"My mind?"
-
-"There are cancers so insidious in their nature that their very
-pulsations cannot be felt. Such cancers, madame, leave the ivory
-whiteness of the skin unblemished, and putrefy not the firm, fair flesh,
-with their blue tints; the physician who bends over the patient's
-chest hears not, though he listens, the insatiable teeth of the disease
-grinding onward through the muscles, and the blood flows freely on; the
-knife has never been able to destroy, and rarely, even temporarily, to
-disarm the rage of these mortal scourges,--their home is in the mind,
-which they corrupt,--they gnaw the whole heart until it breaks. Such,
-madame, are the cancers fatal to queens; are you, too, free from their
-scourge?"
-
-Anne slowly raised her arm, dazzling in its perfect whiteness, and pure
-in its rounded outlines as it was in the time of her earlier days.
-
-"The evils to which you allude," she said, "are the condition of the
-lives of the high in rank upon earth, to whom Heaven has imparted mind.
-When those evils become too heavy to be borne, Heaven lightens their
-burdens by penitence and confession. Thus, only, we lay down our burden
-and the secrets that oppress us. But, forget not that the same gracious
-Heaven, in its mercy, apportions to their trials the strength of the
-feeble creatures of its hand; and my strength has enabled me to bear my
-burden. For the secrets of others, the silence of Heaven is more than
-sufficient; for my own secrets, that of my confessor is enough."
-
-"You are as courageous, madame, I see, as ever, against your enemies.
-You do not acknowledge your confidence in your friends?"
-
-"Queens have no friends; if you have nothing further to say to me,--if
-you feel yourself inspired by Heaven as a prophetess--leave me, I pray,
-for I dread the future."
-
-"I should have supposed," said the Beguine, resolutely, "that you would
-rather have dreaded the past."
-
-Hardly had these words escaped her lips, than the queen rose up proudly.
-"Speak," she cried, in a short, imperious tone of voice; "explain
-yourself briefly, quickly, entirely; or, if not--"
-
-"Nay, do not threaten me, your majesty," said the Beguine, gently; "I
-came here to you full of compassion and respect. I came here on the part
-of a friend."
-
-"Prove that to me! Comfort, instead of irritating me."
-
-"Easily enough, and your majesty will see who is friendly to you. What
-misfortune has happened to your majesty during these three and twenty
-years past--"
-
-"Serious misfortunes, indeed; have I not lost the king?"
-
-"I speak not of misfortunes of _that_ kind. I wish to ask you, if, since
-the birth of the king, any indiscretion on a friend's part has caused
-your majesty the slightest serious anxiety, or distress?"
-
-"I do not understand you," replied the queen, clenching her teeth in
-order to conceal her emotion.
-
-"I will make myself understood, then. Your majesty remembers that the
-king was born on the 5th of September, 1638, at a quarter past eleven
-o'clock."
-
-"Yes," stammered out the queen.
-
-"At half-past twelve," continued the Beguine, "the dauphin, who had been
-baptized by Monseigneur de Meaux in the king's and your own presence,
-was acknowledged as the heir of the crown of France. The king then went
-to the chapel of the old Chateau de Saint-Germain, to hear the _Te Deum_
-chanted."
-
-"Quite true, quite true," murmured the queen.
-
-"Your majesty's conferment took place in the presence of Monsieur, his
-majesty's late uncle, of the princes, and of the ladies attached to
-the court. The king's physician, Bouvard, and Honore, the surgeon, were
-stationed in the ante-chamber; your majesty slept from three o'clock
-until seven, I believe."
-
-"Yes, yes; but you tell me no more than every one else knows as well as
-you and myself."
-
-"I am now, madame, approaching that which very few persons are
-acquainted with. Very few persons, did I say, alas! I might say two
-only, for formerly there were but five in all, and, for many years
-past, the secret has been well preserved by the deaths of the principal
-participators in it. The late king sleeps now with his ancestors;
-Perronnette, the midwife, soon followed him; Laporte is already
-forgotten."
-
-The queen opened her lips as though to reply; she felt, beneath her
-icy hand, with which she kept her face half concealed, the beads of
-perspiration on her brow.
-
-"It was eight o'clock," pursued the Beguine; "the king was seated at
-supper, full of joy and happiness; around him on all sides arose wild
-cries of delight and drinking of healths; the people cheered beneath
-the balconies; the Swiss guards, the musketeers, and the royal guards
-wandered through the city, borne about in triumph by the drunken
-students. Those boisterous sounds of general joy disturbed the dauphin,
-the future king of France, who was quietly lying in the arms of Madame
-de Hausac, his nurse, and whose eyes, as he opened them, and stared
-about, might have observed two crowns at the foot of his cradle.
-Suddenly your majesty uttered a piercing cry, and Dame Perronnette
-immediately flew to your bedside. The doctors were dining in a room at
-some distance from your chamber; the palace, deserted from the frequency
-of the irruptions made into it, was without either sentinels or guards.
-The midwife, having questioned and examined your majesty, gave a sudden
-exclamation as if in wild astonishment, and taking you in her arms,
-bewildered almost out of her senses from sheer distress of mind,
-dispatched Laporte to inform the king that her majesty the queen-mother
-wished to see him in her room. Laporte, you are aware, madame, was a man
-of the most admirable calmness and presence of mind. He did not approach
-the king as if he were the bearer of alarming intelligence and wished
-to inspire the terror he himself experienced; besides, it was not a
-very terrifying intelligence which awaited the king. Therefore, Laporte
-appeared with a smile upon his lips, and approached the king's chair,
-saying to him--'Sire, the queen is very happy, and would be still more
-so to see your majesty.' On that day, Louis XIII. would have given
-his crown away to the veriest beggar for a 'God bless you.' Animated,
-light-hearted, and full of gayety, the king rose from the table,
-and said to those around him, in a tone that Henry IV. might have
-adopted,--'Gentlemen, I am going to see my wife.' He came to your
-beside, madame, at the very moment Dame Perronnette presented to him a
-second prince, as beautiful and healthy as the former, and said--'Sire,
-Heaven will not allow the kingdom of France to fall into the female
-line.' The king, yielding to a first impulse, clasped the child in his
-arms, and cried, 'Oh, Heaven, I thank Thee!'"
-
-At this part of her recital, the Beguine paused, observing how intensely
-the queen was suffering; she had thrown herself back in her chair, and
-with her head bent forward and her eyes fixed, listened without seeming
-to hear, and her lips moving convulsively, either breathing a prayer to
-Heaven or imprecations on the woman standing before her.
-
-"Ah! I do not believe that, if, because there could be but one dauphin
-in France," exclaimed the Beguine, "the queen allowed that child to
-vegetate, banished from his royal parents' presence, she was on that
-account an unfeeling mother. Oh, no, no; there are those alive who have
-known and witnessed the passionate kisses she imprinted on that innocent
-creature in exchange for a life of misery and gloom to which state
-policy condemned the twin brother of Louis XIV."
-
-"Oh! Heaven!" murmured the queen feebly.
-
-"It is admitted," continued the Beguine, quickly, "that when the king
-perceived the effect which would result from the existence of two sons,
-equal in age and pretensions, he trembled for the welfare of France,
-for the tranquillity of the state; and it is equally well known that
-Cardinal de Richelieu, by the direction of Louis XIII., thought over
-the subject with deep attention, and after an hour's meditation in his
-majesty's cabinet, he pronounced the following sentence:--'One prince
-means peace and safety for the state; two competitors, civil war and
-anarchy.'"
-
-The queen rose suddenly from her seat, pale as death, and her hands
-clenched together:
-
-"You know too much," she said, in a hoarse, thick voice, "since you
-refer to secrets of state. As for the friends from whom you have
-acquired this secret, they are false and treacherous. You are their
-accomplice in the crime which is being now committed. Now, throw aside
-your mask, or I will have you arrested by my captain of the guards. Do
-not think that this secret terrifies me! You have obtained it, you shall
-restore it to me. Never shall it leave your bosom, for neither your
-secret nor your own life belong to you from this moment."
-
-Anne of Austria, joining gesture to the threat, advanced a couple of
-steps towards the Beguine.
-
-"Learn," said the latter, "to know and value the fidelity, the honor,
-and secrecy of the friends you have abandoned." And, then, suddenly she
-threw aside her mask.
-
-"Madame de Chevreuse!" exclaimed the queen.
-
-"With your majesty, the sole living _confidante_ of the secret."
-
-"Ah!" murmured Anne of Austria; "come and embrace me, duchesse. Alas!
-you kill your friend in thus trifling with her terrible distress."
-
-And the queen, leaning her head upon the shoulder of the old duchesse,
-burst into a flood of bitter tears. "How young you are--still!" said the
-latter, in a hollow voice; "you can weep!"
-
-
-
-Chapter XLIV. Two Friends.
-
-The queen looked steadily at Madame de Chevreuse, and said: "I believe
-you just now made use of the word 'happy' in speaking of me. Hitherto,
-duchesse, I had thought it impossible that a human creature could
-anywhere be found more miserable than the queen of France."
-
-"Your afflictions, madame, have indeed been terrible enough. But by the
-side of those great and grand misfortunes to which we, two old friends,
-separated by men's malice, were just now alluding, you possess sources
-of pleasure, slight enough in themselves it may be, but greatly envied
-by the world."
-
-"What are they?" said Anne of Austria, bitterly. "What can induce you
-to pronounce the word 'pleasure,' duchesse--you who, just now, admitted
-that my body and my mind both stood in need of remedies?"
-
-Madame de Chevreuse collected herself for a moment, and then murmured,
-"How far removed kings are from other people!"
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"I mean that they are so far removed from the vulgar herd that they
-forget that others often stand in need of the bare necessities of life.
-They are like the inhabitant of the African mountains, who, gazing from
-the verdant tableland, refreshed by the rills of melted snow, cannot
-comprehend that the dwellers in the plains below are perishing from
-hunger and thirst in the midst of the desert, burnt up by the heat of
-the sun."
-
-The queen colored, for she now began to perceive the drift of her
-friend's remark. "It was very wrong," she said, "to have neglected you."
-
-"Oh! madame, I know the king has inherited the hatred his father bore
-me. The king would exile me if he knew I were in the Palais Royal."
-
-"I cannot say that the king is very well disposed towards you,
-duchesse," replied the queen; "but I could--secretly, you know--"
-
-The duchesse's disdainful smile produced a feeling of uneasiness in the
-queen's mind. "Duchesse," she hastened to add, "you did perfectly
-right to come here, even were it only to give us the happiness of
-contradicting the report of your death."
-
-"Has it been rumored, then, that I was dead?"
-
-"Everywhere."
-
-"And yet my children did not go into mourning."
-
-"Ah! you know, duchesse, the court is very frequently moving about from
-place to place; we see M. Albert de Luynes but seldom, and many things
-escape our minds in the midst of the preoccupations that constantly
-beset us."
-
-"Your majesty ought not to have believed the report of my death."
-
-"Why not? Alas! we are all mortal; and you may perceive how rapidly
-I, your younger sister, as we used formerly to say, am approaching the
-tomb."
-
-"If your majesty believed me dead, you ought, in that case, to have been
-astonished not to have received the news."
-
-"Death not unfrequently takes us by surprise, duchesse."
-
-"Oh! your majesty, those who are burdened with secrets such as we have
-just now discussed must, as a necessity of their nature, satisfy their
-craving desire to divulge them, and they feel they must gratify that
-desire before they die. Among the various preparations for their final
-journey, the task of placing their papers in order is not omitted."
-
-The queen started.
-
-"Your majesty will be sure to learn, in a particular manner, the day of
-my death."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"Because your majesty will receive the next day, under several
-coverings, everything connected with our mysterious correspondence of
-former times."
-
-"Did you not burn them?" cried Anne, in alarm.
-
-"Traitors only," replied the duchesse, "destroy a royal correspondence."
-
-"Traitors, do you say?"
-
-"Yes, certainly, or rather they pretend to destroy, instead of which
-they keep or sell it. Faithful friends, on the contrary, most carefully
-secrete such treasures, for it may happen that some day or other they
-would wish to seek out their queen in order to say to her: 'Madame, I am
-getting old; my health is fast failing me; in the presence of the danger
-of death, for there is the risk for your majesty that this secret may
-be revealed, take, therefore, this paper, so fraught with menace for
-yourself, and trust not to another to burn it for you.'"
-
-"What paper do you refer to?"
-
-"As far as I am concerned, I have but one, it is true, but that is
-indeed most dangerous in its nature."
-
-"Oh! duchesse, tell me what it is."
-
-"A letter, dated Tuesday, the 2d of August, 1644, in which you beg me to
-go to Noisy-le-Sec, to see that unhappy child. In your own handwriting,
-madame, there are those words, 'that unhappy child!'"
-
-A profound silence ensued; the queen's mind was busy in the past; Madame
-de Chevreuse was watching the progress of her scheme. "Yes, unhappy,
-most unhappy!" murmured Anne of Austria; "how sad the existence he led,
-poor child, to finish it in so cruel a manner."
-
-"Is he dead?" cried the duchesse suddenly, with a curiosity whose
-genuine accents the queen instinctively detected.
-
-"He died of consumption, died forgotten, died withered and blighted like
-the flowers a lover has given to his mistress, which she leaves to die
-secreted in a drawer where she had hid them from the gaze of others."
-
-"Died!" repeated the duchesse with an air of discouragement, which would
-have afforded the queen the most unfeigned delight, had it not
-been tempered in some measure with a mixture of doubt--"Died--at
-Noisy-le-Sec?"
-
-"Yes, in the arms of his tutor, a poor, honest man, who did not long
-survive him."
-
-"That can easily be understood; it is so difficult to bear up under the
-weight of such a loss and such a secret," said Madame de Chevreuse,--the
-irony of which reflection the queen pretended not to perceive. Madame
-de Chevreuse continued: "Well, madame, I inquired some years ago at
-Noisy-le-Sec about this unhappy child. I was told that it was not
-believed he was dead, and that was my reason for not having at first
-condoled with your majesty; for, most certainly, if I could have thought
-it were true, never should I have made the slightest allusion to so
-deplorable an event, and thus have re-awakened your majesty's most
-natural distress."
-
-"You say that it is not believed the child died at Noisy?"
-
-"No, madame."
-
-"What did they say about him, then?"
-
-"They said--but, no doubt, they were mistaken--"
-
-"Nay, speak, speak!"
-
-"They said, that one evening, about the year 1645, a lady, beautiful and
-majestic in her bearing, which was observed notwithstanding the mask and
-the mantle that concealed her figure--a lady of rank, of very high rank,
-no doubt--came in a carriage to the place where the road branches off;
-the very same spot, you know, where I awaited news of the young prince
-when your majesty was graciously pleased to send me there."
-
-"Well, well?"
-
-"That the boy's tutor, or guardian, took the child to this lady."
-
-"Well, what next?"
-
-"That both the child and his tutor left that part of the country the
-very next day."
-
-"There, you see there is some truth in what you relate, since, in point
-of fact, the poor child died from a sudden attack of illness, which
-makes the lives of all children, as doctors say, suspended as it were by
-a thread."
-
-"What your majesty says is quite true; no one knows it better than
-yourself--no one believes it more strongly than myself. But yet, how
-strange it is--"
-
-"What can it now be?" thought the queen.
-
-"The person who gave me these details, who was sent to inquire after the
-child's health--"
-
-"Did you confide such a charge to any one else? Oh, duchesse!"
-
-"Some one as dumb as your majesty, as dumb as myself; we will suppose
-it was myself, Madame; this some one, some months after, passing through
-Touraine--"
-
-"Touraine!"
-
-"Recognized both the tutor and the child, too! I am wrong, thought he
-recognized them, both living, cheerful, happy, and flourishing, the one
-in a green old age, the other in the flower of his youth. Judge after
-that what truth can be attributed to the rumors which are circulated, or
-what faith, after that, placed in anything that may happen in the world!
-But I am fatiguing your majesty; it was not my intention, however, to do
-so, and I will take my leave of you, after renewing to you the assurance
-of my most respectful devotion."
-
-"Stay, duchesse; let us first talk a little about yourself."
-
-"Of myself, madame! I am not worthy that you should bend your looks upon
-me."
-
-"Why not, indeed? Are you not the oldest friend I have? Are you angry
-with me, duchesse?"
-
-"I, indeed! what motive could I have? If I had reason to be angry with
-your majesty, should I have come here?"
-
-"Duchesse, age is fast creeping on us both; we should be united against
-that death whose approach cannot be far off."
-
-"You overpower me, madame, with the kindness of your language."
-
-"No one has ever loved or served me as you have done, duchesse."
-
-"Your majesty is too kind in remembering it."
-
-"Not so. Give me a proof of your friendship, duchesse."
-
-"My whole being is devoted to you, madame."
-
-"The proof I require is, that you should ask something of me."
-
-"Ask--"
-
-"Oh, I know you well,--no one is more disinterested, more noble, and
-truly loyal."
-
-"Do not praise me too highly, madame," said the duchesse, somewhat
-anxiously.
-
-"I could never praise you as much as you deserve to be praised."
-
-"And yet, age and misfortune effect a terrible change in people,
-madame."
-
-"So much the better; for the beautiful, the haughty, the adored duchesse
-of former days might have answered me ungratefully, 'I do not wish for
-anything from you.' Heaven be praised! The misfortunes you speak of have
-indeed worked a change in you, for you will now, perhaps, answer me, 'I
-accept.'"
-
-The duchesse's look and smile soon changed at this conclusion, and she
-no longer attempted to act a false part.
-
-"Speak, dearest, what do you want?"
-
-"I must first explain to you--"
-
-"Do so unhesitatingly."
-
-"Well, then, your majesty can confer the greatest, the most ineffable
-pleasure upon me."
-
-"What is it?" said the queen, a little distant in her manner, from an
-uneasiness of feeling produced by this remark. "But do not forget, my
-good Chevreuse, that I am quite as much under my son's influence as I
-was formerly under my husband's."
-
-"I will not be too hard, madame."
-
-"Call me as you used to do; it will be a sweet echo of our happy youth."
-
-"Well, then, my dear mistress, my darling Anne--"
-
-"Do you know Spanish, still?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Ask me in Spanish, then."
-
-"Will your majesty do me the honor to pass a few days with me at
-Dampierre?"
-
-"Is that all?" said the queen, stupefied. "Nothing more than that?"
-
-"Good heavens! can you possibly imagine that, in asking you that, I am
-not asking you the greatest conceivable favor? If that really be the
-case, you do not know me. Will you accept?"
-
-"Yes, gladly. And I shall be happy," continued the queen, with some
-suspicion, "if my presence can in any way be useful to you."
-
-"Useful!" exclaimed the duchesse, laughing; "oh, no, no,
-agreeable--delightful, if you like; and you promise me, then?"
-
-"I swear it," said the queen, whereupon the duchesse seized her
-beautiful hand, and covered it with kisses. The queen could not help
-murmuring to herself, "She is a good-hearted woman, and very generous,
-too."
-
-"Will your majesty consent to wait a fortnight before you come?"
-
-"Certainly; but why?"
-
-"Because," said the duchesse, "knowing me to be in disgrace, no one
-would lend me the hundred thousand francs, which I require to put
-Dampierre into a state of repair. But when it is known that I require
-that sum for the purpose of receiving your majesty at Dampierre
-properly, all the money in Paris will be at my disposal."
-
-"Ah!" said the queen, gently nodding her head in sign of intelligence,
-"a hundred thousand francs! you want a hundred thousand francs to put
-Dampierre into repair?"
-
-"Quite as much as that."
-
-"And no one will lend you them?"
-
-"No one."
-
-"I will lend them to you, if you like, duchesse."
-
-"Oh, I hardly dare accept such a sum."
-
-"You would be wrong if you did _not_. Besides, a hundred thousand francs
-is really not much. I know but too well that you never set a right value
-upon your silence and secrecy. Push that table a little towards me,
-duchesse, and I will write you an order on M. Colbert; no, on M.
-Fouquet, who is a far more courteous and obliging man."
-
-"Will he pay it, though?"
-
-"If he will not pay it, I will; but it will be the first time he will
-have refused me."
-
-The queen wrote and handed the duchesse the order, and afterwards
-dismissed her with a warm embrace.
-
-
-
-Chapter XLV. How Jean de La Fontaine Came to Write His First Tale.
-
-All these intrigues are exhausted; the human mind, so variously
-complicated, has been enabled to develop itself at its ease in the three
-outlines with which our recital has supplied it. It is not unlikely
-that, in the future we are now preparing, a question of politics and
-intrigues may still arise, but the springs by which they work will be
-so carefully concealed that no one will be able to see aught but flowers
-and paintings, just as at a theater, where a colossus appears upon the
-scene, walking along moved by the small legs and slender arms of a child
-concealed within the framework.
-
-We now return to Saint-Mande, where the superintendent was in the habit
-of receiving his select confederacy of epicureans. For some time past
-the host had met with nothing but trouble. Every one in the house was
-aware of and felt for the minister's distress. No more magnificent or
-recklessly improvident _reunions_. Money had been the pretext assigned
-by Fouquet, and never _was_ any pretext, as Gourville said, more
-fallacious, for there was not even a shadow of money to be seen.
-
-M. Vatel was resolutely painstaking in keeping up the reputation of the
-house, and yet the gardeners who supplied the kitchens complained of
-ruinous delays. The agents for the supply of Spanish wines sent drafts
-which no one honored; fishermen, whom the superintendent engaged on the
-coast of Normandy, calculated that if they were paid all that was due to
-them, the amount would enable them to retire comfortably for life; fish,
-which, at a later period, was the cause of Vatel's death, did not arrive
-at all. However, on the ordinary reception days, Fouquet's friends
-flocked in more numerously than ever. Gourville and the Abbe Fouquet
-talked over money matters--that is to say, the abbe borrowed a few
-pistoles from Gourville; Pelisson, seated with his legs crossed, was
-engaged in finishing the peroration of a speech with which Fouquet
-was to open the parliament; and this speech was a masterpiece, because
-Pelisson wrote it for his friend--that is to say, he inserted all kinds
-of clever things the latter would most certainly never have taken the
-trouble to say of his own accord. Presently Loret and La Fontaine would
-enter from the garden, engaged in a dispute about the art of making
-verses. The painters and musicians, in their turn, were hovering near
-the dining-room. As soon as eight o'clock struck the supper would be
-announced, for the superintendent never kept any one waiting. It was
-already half-past seven, and the appetites of the guests were beginning
-to declare themselves in an emphatic manner. As soon as all the guests
-were assembled, Gourville went straight up to Pelisson, awoke him out
-of his reverie, and led him into the middle of a room, and closed the
-doors. "Well," he said, "anything new?"
-
-Pelisson raised his intelligent and gentle face, and said: "I have
-borrowed five and twenty thousand francs of my aunt, and I have them
-here in good sterling money."
-
-"Good," replied Gourville; "we only what one hundred and ninety-five
-thousand livres for the first payment."
-
-"The payment of what?" asked La Fontaine.
-
-"What! absent-minded as usual! Why, it was you who told us the small
-estate at Corbeli was going to be sold by one of M. Fouquet's creditors;
-and you, also, who proposed that all his friends should subscribe--more
-than that, it was you who said that you would sell a corner of your
-house at Chateau-Thierry, in order to furnish your own proportion, and
-you come and ask--'_The payment of what?_'"
-
-This remark was received with a general laugh, which made La Fontaine
-blush. "I beg your pardon," he said, "I had not forgotten it; oh, no!
-only--"
-
-"Only you remembered nothing about it," replied Loret.
-
-"That is the truth, and the fact is, he is quite right, there is a great
-difference between forgetting and not remembering."
-
-"Well, then," added Pelisson, "you bring your mite in the shape of the
-price of the piece of land you have sold?"
-
-"Sold? no!"
-
-"Have you not sold the field, then?" inquired Gourville, in
-astonishment, for he knew the poet's disinterestedness.
-
-"My wife would not let me," replied the latter, at which there were
-fresh bursts of laughter.
-
-"And yet you went to Chateau-Thierry for that purpose," said some one.
-
-"Certainly I did, and on horseback."
-
-"Poor fellow!"
-
-"I had eight different horses, and I was almost bumped to death."
-
-"You are an excellent fellow! And you rested yourself when you arrived
-there?"
-
-"Rested! Oh! of course I did, for I had an immense deal of work to do."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"My wife had been flirting with the man to whom I wished to sell the
-land. The fellow drew back from his bargain, and so I challenged him."
-
-"Very good, and you fought?"
-
-"It seems not."
-
-"You know nothing about it, I suppose?"
-
-"No, my wife and her relations interfered in the matter. I was kept a
-quarter of an hour with my sword in my hand; but I was not wounded."
-
-"And your adversary?"
-
-"Oh! he wasn't wounded either, for he never came on the field."
-
-"Capital!" cried his friends from all sides, "you must have been
-terribly angry."
-
-"Exceedingly so; I caught cold; I returned home and then my wife began
-to quarrel with me."
-
-"In real earnest?"
-
-"Yes, in real earnest. She threw a loaf of bread at my head, a large
-loaf."
-
-"And what did you do?"
-
-"Oh! I upset the table over her and her guests; and then I got on my
-horse again, and here I am."
-
-Every one had great difficulty in keeping his countenance at the
-exposure of this heroi-comedy, and when the laughter had subsided, one
-of the guests present said to La Fontaine: "Is that all you have brought
-back?"
-
-"Oh, no! I have an excellent idea in my head."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"Have you noticed that there is a good deal of sportive, jesting poetry
-written in France?"
-
-"Yes, of course," replied every one.
-
-"And," pursued La Fontaine, "only a very small portion of it is
-printed."
-
-"The laws are strict, you know."
-
-"That may be; but a rare article is a dear article, and that is the
-reason why I have written a small poem, excessively free in its style,
-very broad, and extremely cynical in its tone."
-
-"The deuce you have!"
-
-"Yes," continued the poet, with assumed indifference, "and I have
-introduced the greatest freedom of language I could possibly employ."
-
-Peals of laughter again broke forth, while the poet was thus announcing
-the quality of his wares. "And," he continued, "I have tried to excel
-everything that Boccaccio, Aretin, and other masters of their craft have
-written in the same style."
-
-"Its fate is clear," said Pelisson; "it will be suppressed and
-forbidden."
-
-"Do you think so?" said La Fontaine, simply. "I assure you I did not do
-it on my own account so much as M. Fouquet's."
-
-This wonderful conclusion again raised the mirth of all present.
-
-"And I have sold the first edition of this little book for eight hundred
-livres," exclaimed La Fontaine, rubbing his hands together. "Serious and
-religions books sell at about half that rate."
-
-"It would have been better," said Gourville, "to have written two
-religious books instead."
-
-"It would have been too long, and not amusing enough," replied La
-Fontaine tranquilly; "my eight hundred livres are in this little bag,
-and I beg to offer them as _my_ contribution."
-
-As he said this, he placed his offering in the hands of their treasurer;
-it was then Loret's turn, who gave a hundred and fifty livres; the
-others stripped themselves in the same way; and the total sum in the
-purse amounted to forty thousand livres. The money was still being
-counted over when the superintendent noiselessly entered the room;
-he had heard everything; and then this man, who had possessed so many
-millions, who had exhausted all the pleasures and honors the world had
-to bestow, this generous heart, this inexhaustible brain, which had,
-like two burning crucibles, devoured the material and moral substance of
-the first kingdom in Europe, was seen to cross the threshold with tears
-in his eyes, and pass his fingers through the gold and silver which the
-bag contained.
-
-"Poor offering," he said, in a softened and affected tone of voice, "you
-will disappear into the smallest corner of my empty purse, but you have
-filled to overflowing that which no one can ever exhaust, my heart.
-Thank you, my friends--thank you." And as he could not embrace every
-one present, who were all tearful, too, philosophers as they were, he
-embraced La Fontaine, saying to him, "Poor fellow! so you have, on my
-account, been beaten by your wife and censured by your confessor."
-
-"Oh! it is a mere nothing," replied the poet; "if your creditors will
-only wait a couple of years, I shall have written a hundred other tales,
-which, at two editions each, will pay off the debt."
-
-
-
-Chapter XLVI. La Fontaine in the Character of a Negotiator.
-
-Fouquet pressed La Fontaine's hand most warmly, saying to him, "My dear
-poet, write a hundred other tales, not only for the eighty pistoles
-which each of them will produce you, but, still more, to enrich our
-language with a hundred new masterpieces of composition."
-
-"Oh!" said La Fontaine, with a little air of pride, "you must not
-suppose that I have only brought this idea and the eighty pistoles to
-the superintendent."
-
-"Oh! indeed," was the general acclamation from all parts of the room,
-"M. de la Fontaine is in funds to-day."
-
-"Exactly," replied La Fontaine.
-
-"Quick, quick!" cried the assembly.
-
-"Take care," said Pelisson in La Fontaine's ear; "you have had a most
-brilliant success up to the present moment; do not go beyond your
-depth."
-
-"Not at all, Monsieur Pelisson; and you, who are a man of decided taste,
-will be the first to approve of what I have done."
-
-"We are talking of millions, remember," said Gourville.
-
-"I have fifteen hundred thousand francs here, Monsieur Gourville," he
-replied, striking himself on the chest.
-
-"The deuce take this Gascon from Chateau-Thierry!" cried Loret.
-
-"It is not the pocket you must tap--but the brain," said Fouquet.
-
-"Stay a moment, monsieur le surintendant," added La Fontaine; "you are
-not procureur-general--you are a poet."
-
-"True, true!" cried Loret, Conrart, and every person present connected
-with literature.
-
-"You are, I repeat, a poet and a painter, a sculptor, a friend of the
-arts and sciences; but, acknowledge that you are no lawyer."
-
-"Oh! I do acknowledge it," replied M. Fouquet, smiling.
-
-"If you were to be nominated at the Academy, you would refuse, I think."
-
-"I think I should, with all due deference to the academicians."
-
-"Very good; if, therefore, you do not wish to belong to the Academy, why
-do you allow yourself to form one of the parliament?"
-
-"Oh!" said Pelisson, "we are talking politics."
-
-"I wish to know whether the barrister's gown does or does not become M.
-Fouquet."
-
-"There is no question of the gown at all," retorted Pelisson, annoyed at
-the laughter of those who were present.
-
-"On the contrary, it is the gown," said Loret.
-
-"Take the gown away from the procureur-general," said Conrart, "and we
-have M. Fouquet left us still, of whom we have no reason to complain;
-but, as he is no procureur-general without his gown, we agree with M. de
-la Fontaine and pronounce the gown to be nothing but a bugbear."
-
-"_Fugiunt risus leporesque_," said Loret.
-
-"The smiles and the graces," said some one present.
-
-"That is not the way," said Pelisson, gravely, "that I translate
-_lepores_."
-
-"How do you translate it?" said La Fontaine.
-
-"Thus: The hares run away as soon as they see M. Fouquet." A burst of
-laughter, in which the superintendent joined, followed this sally.
-
-"But why hares?" objected Conrart, vexed.
-
-"Because the hare will be the very one who will not be over pleased to
-see M. Fouquet surrounded by all the attributes which his parliamentary
-strength and power confer on him."
-
-"Oh! oh!" murmured the poets.
-
-"_Quo non ascendam_," said Conrart, "seems impossible to me, when one is
-fortunate enough to wear the gown of the procureur-general." [9]
-
-"On the contrary, it seems so to me without that gown," said the
-obstinate Pelisson; "what is your opinion, Gourville?"
-
-"I think the gown in question is a very good thing," replied the latter;
-"but I equally think that a million and a half is far better than the
-gown."
-
-"And I am of Gourville's opinion," exclaimed Fouquet, stopping the
-discussion by the expression of his own opinion, which would necessarily
-bear down all the others.
-
-"A million and a half," Pelisson grumbled out; "now I happen to know an
-Indian fable--"
-
-"Tell it to me," said La Fontaine; "I ought to know it too."
-
-"Tell it, tell it," said the others.
-
-"There was a tortoise, which was, as usual, well protected by its
-shell," said Pelisson; "whenever its enemies threatened it, it took
-refuge within its covering. One day some one said to it, 'You must feel
-very hot in such a house as that in the summer, and you are altogether
-prevented showing off your graces; there is a snake here, who will give
-you a million and a half for your shell.'"
-
-"Good!" said the superintendent, laughing.
-
-"Well, what next?" said La Fontaine, more interested in the apologue
-than in the moral.
-
-"The tortoise sold his shell and remained naked and defenseless. A
-vulture happened to see him, and being hungry, broke the tortoise's back
-with a blow of his beak and devoured it. The moral is, that M. Fouquet
-should take very good care to keep his gown."
-
-La Fontaine understood the moral seriously. "You forget Aeschylus," he
-said, to his adversary.
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"Aeschylus was bald-headed, and a vulture--your vulture, probably--who
-was a great amateur in tortoises, mistook at a distance his head for a
-block of stone, and let a tortoise, which was shrunk up in his shell,
-fall upon it."
-
-"Yes, yes, La Fontaine is right," resumed Fouquet, who had become very
-thoughtful; "whenever a vulture wishes to devour a tortoise, he well
-knows how to break his shell; but happy is that tortoise a snake pays
-a million and a half for his envelope. If any one were to bring me a
-generous-hearted snake like the one in your fable, Pelisson, I would
-give him my shell."
-
-"_Rara avis in terres!_" cried Conrart. [10]
-
-"And like a black swan, is he not?" added La Fontaine; "well, then, the
-bird in question, black and rare, is already found."
-
-"Do you mean to say that you have found a purchaser for my post of
-procureur-general?" exclaimed Fouquet.
-
-"I have, monsieur."
-
-"But the superintendent never said that he wished to sell," resumed
-Pelisson.
-
-"I beg your pardon," said Conrart, "you yourself spoke about it, even--"
-
-"Yes, I am a witness to that," said Gourville.
-
-"He seems very tenacious about his brilliant idea," said Fouquet,
-laughing. "Well, La Fontaine, who is the purchaser?"
-
-"A perfect blackbird, for he is a counselor belonging to the parliament,
-an excellent fellow."
-
-"What is his name?"
-
-"Vanel."
-
-"Vanel!" exclaimed Fouquet. "Vanel the husband of--"
-
-"Precisely, her husband; yes, monsieur."
-
-"Poor fellow!" said Fouquet, with an expression of great interest.
-
-"He wishes to be everything that you have been, monsieur," said
-Gourville, "and to do everything that you have done."
-
-"It is very agreeable; tell us all about it, La Fontaine."
-
-"It is very simple. I see him occasionally, and a short time ago I met
-him, walking about on the Place de la Bastile, at the very moment when I
-was about to take the small carriage to come down here to Saint-Mande."
-
-"He must have been watching his wife," interrupted Loret.
-
-"Oh, no!" said La Fontaine, "he is far from being jealous. He accosted
-me, embraced me, and took me to the inn called L'Image Saint-Fiacre, and
-told me all about his troubles."
-
-"He has his troubles, then?"
-
-"Yes; his wife wants to make him ambitious."
-
-"Well, and he told you--"
-
-"That some one had spoken to him about a post in parliament; that M.
-Fouquet's name had been mentioned; that ever since, Madame Vanel dreams
-of nothing else than being called madame la procureur-generale, and that
-it makes her ill and kills her every night she does not dream about it."
-
-"The deuce!"
-
-"Poor woman!" said Fouquet.
-
-"Wait a moment. Conrart is always telling me that I do not know how to
-conduct matters of business; you will see how I managed this one."
-
-"Well, go on."
-
-"'I suppose you know,' said I to Vanel, 'that the value of a post such
-as that which M. Fouquet holds is by no means trifling.'
-
-"'How much do you imagine it to be?' he said.
-
-"'M. Fouquet, I know, has refused seventeen hundred thousand francs.'
-
-"'My wife,' replied Vanel, 'had estimated it at about fourteen hundred
-thousand.'
-
-"'Ready money?' I said.
-
-"'Yes; she has sold some property of hers in Guienne, and has received
-the purchase money.'"
-
-"That's a pretty sum to touch all at once," said the Abbe Fouquet, who
-had not hitherto said a word.
-
-"Poor Madame Vanel!" murmured Fouquet.
-
-Pelisson shrugged his shoulders, as he whispered in Fouquet's ear, "That
-woman is a perfect fiend."
-
-"That may be; and it will be delightful to make use of this fiend's
-money to repair the injury which an angel has done herself for me."
-
-Pelisson looked with a surprised air at Fouquet, whose thoughts were
-from that moment fixed upon a fresh object in view.
-
-"Well!" inquired La Fontaine, "what about my negotiation?"
-
-"Admirable, my dear poet."
-
-"Yes," said Gourville; "but there are some people who are anxious to
-have the steed who have not even money enough to pay for the bridle."
-
-"And Vanel would draw back from his offer if he were to be taken at his
-word," continued the Abbe Fouquet.
-
-"I do not believe it," said La Fontaine.
-
-"What do you know about it?"
-
-"Why, you have not yet heard the _denouement_ of my story."
-
-"If there is a _denouement_, why do you beat about the bush so much?"
-
-"_Semper ad eventum_. Is that correct?" said Fouquet, with the air of a
-nobleman who condescends to barbarisms. To which the Latinists present
-answered with loud applause. [11]
-
-"My _denouement_," cried La Fontaine, "is that Vanel, that determined
-blackbird, knowing that I was coming to Saint-Mande, implored me to
-bring him with me, and, if possible, to present him to M. Fouquet."
-
-"So that--"
-
-"So that he is here; I left him in that part of the ground called
-Bel-Air. Well, M. Fouquet, what is your reply?"
-
-"Well, it is not respectful towards Madame Vanel that her husband
-should run the risk of catching cold outside my house; send for him, La
-Fontaine, since you know where he is."
-
-"I will go myself."
-
-"And I will accompany you," said the Abbe Fouquet; "I will carry the
-money bags."
-
-"No jesting," said Fouquet, seriously; "let the business be a serious
-one, if it is to be one at all. But first of all, let us show we are
-hospitable. Make my apologies, La Fontaine, to M. Vanel, and tell him
-how distressed I am to have kept him waiting, but that I was not
-aware he was there."
-
-La Fontaine set off at once, fortunately accompanied by Gourville,
-for, absorbed in his own calculations, the poet would have mistaken
-the route, and was hurrying as fast as he could towards the village
-of Saint-Mande. Within a quarter of an hour afterwards, M. Vanel was
-introduced into the superintendent's cabinet, a description of which has
-already been given at the beginning of this story. When Fouquet saw him
-enter, he called to Pelisson, and whispered a few words in his ear. "Do
-not lose a single word of what I am going to say: let all the silver and
-gold plate, together with my jewels of every description, be packed
-up in the carriage. You will take the black horses: the jeweler
-will accompany you; and you will postpone the supper until Madame de
-Belliere's arrival."
-
-"Will it be necessary to inform Madame de Belliere of it?" said
-Pelisson.
-
-"No; that will be useless; I will do that. So, away with you, my dear
-friend."
-
-Pelisson set off, not quite clear as to his friend's meaning or
-intention, but confident, like every true friend, in the judgment of the
-man he was blindly obeying. It is that which constitutes the strength of
-such men; distrust only arises in the minds of inferior natures.
-
-Vanel bowed lowly to the superintendent, and was about to begin a
-speech.
-
-"Do not trouble yourself, monsieur," said Fouquet, politely; "I am told
-you wish to purchase a post I hold. How much can you give me for it?"
-
-"It is for you, monseigneur, to fix the amount you require. I know that
-offers of purchase have already been made to you for it."
-
-"Madame Vanel, I have been told, values it at fourteen hundred thousand
-livres."
-
-"That is all we have."
-
-"Can you give me the money immediately?"
-
-"I have not the money with me," said Vanel, frightened almost by the
-unpretending simplicity, amounting to greatness, of the man, for he had
-expected disputes, difficulties, opposition of every kind.
-
-"When will you be able to bring it?"
-
-"Whenever you please, monseigneur;" for he began to be afraid that
-Fouquet was trifling with him.
-
-"If it were not for the trouble you would have in returning to Paris,
-I would say at once; but we will arrange that the payment and the
-signature shall take place at six o'clock to-morrow morning."
-
-"Very good," said Vanel, as cold as ice, and feeling quite bewildered.
-
-"Adieu, Monsieur Vanel, present my humblest respects to Madame Vanel,"
-said Fouquet, as he rose; upon which Vanel, who felt the blood rushing
-to his head, for he was quite confounded by his success, said seriously
-to the superintendent, "Will you give me your word, monseigneur, upon
-this affair?"
-
-Fouquet turned round his head, saying, "_Pardieu_, and you, monsieur?"
-
-Vanel hesitated, trembled all over, and at last finished by hesitatingly
-holding out his hand. Fouquet opened and nobly extended his own; this
-loyal hand lay for a moment in Vanel's most hypocritical palm, and he
-pressed it in his own, in order the better to convince himself of the
-compact. The superintendent gently disengaged his hand, as he again
-said, "Adieu." And then Vanel ran hastily to the door, hurried along the
-vestibule, and fled as quickly as he could.
-
-
-
-Chapter XLVII. Madame de Belliere's Plate and Diamonds.
-
-Fouquet had no sooner dismissed Vanel than he began to reflect for a few
-moments--"A man never can do too much for the woman he has once loved.
-Marguerite wishes to be the wife of a procureur-general--and why not
-confer this pleasure upon her? And, now that the most scrupulous and
-sensitive conscience will be unable to reproach me with anything, let
-my thoughts be bestowed on her who has shown so much devotion for me.
-Madame de Belliere ought to be there by this time," he said, as he
-turned towards the secret door.
-
-After he had locked himself in, he opened the subterranean passage, and
-rapidly hastened towards the means of communicating between the house at
-Vincennes and his own residence. He had neglected to apprise his friend
-of his approach, by ringing the bell, perfectly assured that she would
-never fail to be exact at the rendezvous; as, indeed, was the case, for
-she was already waiting. The noise the superintendent made aroused her;
-she ran to take from under the door the letter he had thrust there, and
-which simply said, "Come, marquise; we are waiting supper for you." With
-her heart filled with happiness Madame de Belliere ran to her carriage
-in the Avenue de Vincennes, and in a few minutes she was holding out her
-hand to Gourville, who was standing at the entrance, where, in order
-the better to please his master, he had stationed himself to watch her
-arrival. She had not observed that Fouquet's black horse arrived at the
-same time, all steaming and foam-flaked, having returned to Saint-Mande
-with Pelisson and the very jeweler to whom Madame de Belliere had sold
-her plate and her jewels. Pelisson introduced the goldsmith into the
-cabinet, which Fouquet had not yet left. The superintendent thanked him
-for having been good enough to regard as a simple deposit in his hands,
-the valuable property which he had every right to sell; and he cast his
-eyes on the total of the account, which amounted to thirteen hundred
-thousand francs. Then, going for a few moments to his desk, he wrote
-an order for fourteen hundred thousand francs, payable at sight, at his
-treasury, before twelve o'clock the next day.
-
-"A hundred thousand francs profit!" cried the goldsmith. "Oh,
-monseigneur, what generosity!"
-
-"Nay, nay, not so, monsieur," said Fouquet, touching him on the
-shoulder; "there are certain kindnesses which can never be repaid. This
-profit is only what you have earned; but the interest of your money
-still remains to be arranged." And, saying this, he unfastened from his
-sleeve a diamond button, which the goldsmith himself had often valued
-at three thousand pistoles. "Take this," he said to the goldsmith, "in
-remembrance of me. Farewell; you are an honest man."
-
-"And you, monseigneur," cried the goldsmith, completely overcome, "are
-the noblest man that ever lived."
-
-Fouquet let the worthy goldsmith pass out of the room by a secret door,
-and then went to receive Madame de Belliere, who was already surrounded
-by all the guests. The marquise was always beautiful, but now her
-loveliness was more dazzling than ever. "Do you not think, gentlemen,"
-said Fouquet, "that madame is more than usually beautiful this evening?
-And do you happen to know why?"
-
-"Because madame is really the most beautiful of all women," said some
-one present.
-
-"No; but because she is the best. And yet--"
-
-"Yet?" said the marquise, smiling.
-
-"And yet, all the jewels which madame is wearing this evening are
-nothing but false stones." At this remark the marquise blushed most
-painfully.
-
-"Oh, oh!" exclaimed all the guests, "that can very well be said of one
-who has the finest diamonds in Paris."
-
-"Well?" said Fouquet to Pelisson, in a low tone.
-
-"Well, at last I have understood you," returned the latter; "and you
-have done exceedingly well."
-
-"Supper is ready, monseigneur," said Vatel, with majestic air and tone.
-
-The crowd of guests hurried, more quickly than is usually the case
-with ministerial entertainments, towards the banqueting-room, where
-a magnificent spectacle presented itself. Upon the buffets, upon the
-side-tables, upon the supper-table itself, in the midst of flowers and
-light, glittered most dazzlingly the richest and most costly gold
-and silver plate that could possibly be seen--relics of those ancient
-magnificent productions the Florentine artists, whom the Medici family
-patronized, sculptured, chased, and moulded for the purpose of holding
-flowers, at a time when gold existed still in France. These hidden
-marvels, which had been buried during the civil wars, timidly reappeared
-during the intervals of that war of good taste called La Fronde; at a
-time when noblemen fighting against nobleman killed, but did not pillage
-each other. All the plate present had Madame de Belliere's arms engraved
-upon it. "Look," cried La Fontaine, "here is a P and a B."
-
-But the most remarkable object present was the cover which Fouquet had
-assigned to the marquise. Near her was a pyramid of diamonds, sapphires,
-emeralds, antique cameos, sardonyx stones, carved by the old Greeks of
-Asia Minor, with mountings of Mysian gold; curious mosaics of ancient
-Alexandria, set in silver; massive Egyptian bracelets lay heaped on
-a large plate of Palissy ware, supported by a tripod of gilt bronze,
-sculptured by Benvenuto Cellini. The marquise turned pale, as she
-recognized what she had never expected to see again. A profound silence
-fell on every one of the restless and excited guests. Fouquet did
-not even make a sign in dismissal of the richly liveried servants who
-crowded like bees round the huge buffets and other tables in the room.
-"Gentlemen," he said, "all this plate which you behold once belonged
-to Madame de Belliere, who, having observed one of her friends in great
-distress, sent all this gold and silver, together with the heap of
-jewels now before her, to her goldsmith. This noble conduct of a devoted
-friend can well be understood by such friends as you. Happy indeed is
-that man who sees himself loved in such a manner. Let us drink to the
-health of Madame de Belliere."
-
-A tremendous burst of applause followed his words, and made poor Madame
-de Belliere sink back dumb and breathless in her seat. "And then,"
-added Pelisson, who was always affected by a noble action, as he was
-invariably impressed by beauty, "let us also drink to the health of him
-who inspired madame's noble conduct; for such a man is worthy of being
-worthily loved."
-
-It was now the marquise's turn. She rose, pale and smiling; and as she
-held out her glass with a faltering hand, and her trembling fingers
-touched those of Fouquet, her look, full of love, found its mirror in
-that of her ardent and generous-hearted lover. Begun in this manner, the
-supper soon became a _fete_; no one tried to be witty, but no one failed
-in being so. La Fontaine forgot his Gorgny wine, and allowed Vatel to
-reconcile him to the wines of the Rhone, and those from the shores of
-Spain. The Abbe Fouquet became so kind and good-natured, that Gourville
-said to him, "Take care, monsieur l'abbe; if you are so tender, you will
-be carved and eaten."
-
-The hours passed away so joyously, that, contrary to his usual custom,
-the superintendent did not leave the table before the end of the
-dessert. He smiled upon his friends, delighted as a man is whose heart
-becomes intoxicated before his head--and, for the first time, looked at
-the clock. Suddenly a carriage rolled into the courtyard, and, strange
-to say, it was heard high above the noise of the mirth which prevailed.
-Fouquet listened attentively, and then turned his eyes towards the
-ante-chamber. It seemed as if he could hear a step passing across it,
-a step that, instead of pressing the ground, weighed heavily upon
-his heart. "M. d'Herblay, bishop of Vannes," the usher announced. And
-Aramis's grave and thoughtful face appeared upon the threshold of the
-door, between the remains of two garlands, of which the flame of a lamp
-had just burnt the thread that once united them.
-
-
-
-Chapter XLVIII. M. de Mazarin's Receipt.
-
-Fouquet would have uttered an exclamation of delight on seeing another
-friend arrive, if the cold air and averted aspect of Aramis had not
-restored all his reserve. "Are you going to join us at dessert?" he
-asked. "And yet you would be frightened, perhaps, at the noise which our
-wild friends here are making?"
-
-"Monseigneur," replied Aramis, respectfully, "I will begin by begging
-you to excuse me for having interrupted this merry meeting; and then,
-I will beg you to give me, as soon as your pleasure is attended to, a
-moment's audience on matters of business."
-
-As the word "business" had aroused the attention of some of the
-epicureans present, Fouquet rose, saying: "Business first of all,
-Monsieur d'Herblay; we are too happy when matters of business arrive
-only at the end of a meal."
-
-As he said this, he took the hand of Madame de Belliere, who looked at
-him with a kind of uneasiness, and then led her to an adjoining _salon_,
-after having recommended her to the most reasonable of his guests. And
-then, taking Aramis by the arm, he led him towards his cabinet. As soon
-as Aramis was there, throwing aside the respectful air he had assumed,
-he threw himself into a chair, saying: "Guess whom I have seen this
-evening?"
-
-"My dear chevalier, every time you begin in that manner, I am sure to
-hear you announce something disagreeable."
-
-"Well, and this time you will not be mistaken, either, my dear friend,"
-replied Aramis.
-
-"Do not keep me in suspense," added Fouquet, phlegmatically.
-
-"Well, then, I have seen Madame de Chevreuse."
-
-"The old duchesse, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Her ghost, perhaps?"
-
-"No, no; the old she-wolf herself."
-
-"Without teeth?"
-
-"Possibly, but not without claws."
-
-"Well! what harm can she meditate against me? I am no miser with women
-who are not prudes. A quality always prized, even by the woman who no
-longer presumes to look for love."
-
-"Madame de Chevreuse knows very well that you are not avaricious, since
-she wishes to draw some money of you."
-
-"Indeed! under what pretext?"
-
-"Oh! pretexts are never wanting with _her_. Let me tell you what it is:
-it seems that the duchesse has a good many letters of M. de Mazarin's in
-her possession."
-
-"I am not surprised at that, for the prelate was gallant enough."
-
-"Yes, but these letters have nothing whatever to do with the prelate's
-love affairs. They concern, it is said, financial matters rather."
-
-"And accordingly they are less interesting."
-
-"Do you not suspect what I mean?"
-
-"Not at all."
-
-"Have you never heard speak of a prosecution being instituted for an
-embezzlement, or appropriation rather, of public funds?"
-
-"Yes, a hundred, nay, a thousand times. Ever since I have been engaged
-in public matters I have hardly heard of anything else. It is precisely
-your own case, when, as a bishop, people reproach you for impiety; or,
-as a musketeer, for your cowardice; the very thing of which they are
-always accusing ministers of finance is the embezzlement of public
-funds."
-
-"Very good; but take a particular instance, for the duchesse asserts
-that M. de Mazarin alludes to certain particular instances."
-
-"What are they?"
-
-"Something like a sum of thirteen millions of francs, of which it
-would be very difficult for you to define the precise nature of the
-employment."
-
-"Thirteen millions!" said the superintendent, stretching himself in his
-armchair, in order to enable him the more comfortably to look up towards
-the ceiling. "Thirteen millions--I am trying to remember out of all
-those I have been accused of having stolen."
-
-"Do not laugh, my dear monsieur, for it is very serious. It is positive
-that the duchesse has certain letters in her possession, and that these
-letters must be as she represents them, since she wished to sell them to
-me for five hundred thousand francs."
-
-"Oh! one can have a very tolerable calumny got up for such a sum as
-that," replied Fouquet. "Ah! now I know what you mean," and he began to
-laugh very heartily.
-
-"So much the better," said Aramis, a little reassured.
-
-"I remember the story of those thirteen millions now. Yes, yes, I
-remember them quite well."
-
-"I am delighted to hear it; tell me about them."
-
-"Well, then, one day Signor Mazarin, Heaven rest his soul! made a profit
-of thirteen millions upon a concession of lands in the Valtelline; he
-canceled them in the registry of receipts, sent them to me, and then
-made me advance them to him for war expenses."
-
-"Very good; then there is no doubt of their proper destination."
-
-"No; the cardinal made me invest them in my own name, and gave me a
-receipt."
-
-"You have the receipt?"
-
-"Of course," said Fouquet, as he quietly rose from his chair, and went
-to his large ebony bureau inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold.
-
-"What I most admire in you," said Aramis, with an air of great
-satisfaction, "is, your memory in the first place, then your
-self-possession, and, finally, the perfect order which prevails in your
-administration; you, of all men, too, who are by nature a poet."
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet, "I am orderly out of a spirit of idleness, to save
-myself the trouble of looking after things, and so I know that Mazarin's
-receipt is in the third drawer under the letter M; I open the drawer,
-and place my hand upon the very paper I need. In the night, without a
-light, I could find it."
-
-And with a confident hand he felt the bundle of papers which were piled
-up in the open drawer. "Nay, more than that," he continued, "I remember
-the paper as if I saw it; it is thick, somewhat crumpled, with gilt
-edges; Mazarin had made a blot upon the figure of the date. Ah!" he
-said, "the paper knows we are talking about it, and that we want it very
-much, and so it hides itself out of the way."
-
-And as the superintendent looked into the drawer, Aramis rose from his
-seat.
-
-"This is very singular," said Fouquet.
-
-"Your memory is treacherous, my dear monseigneur; look in another
-drawer."
-
-Fouquet took out the bundle of papers, and turned them over once more;
-he then grew very pale.
-
-"Don't confine your search to that drawer," said Aramis; "look
-elsewhere."
-
-"Quite useless; I have never made a mistake; no one but myself arranges
-any papers of mine of this nature; no one but myself ever opens this
-drawer, of which, besides, no one, myself excepted, is aware of the
-secret."
-
-"What do you conclude, then?" said Aramis, agitated.
-
-"That Mazarin's receipt has been stolen from me; Madame de Chevreuse was
-right, chevalier; I have appropriated the public funds, I have robbed
-the state coffers of thirteen millions of money; I am a thief, Monsieur
-d'Herblay."
-
-"Nay, nay, do not get irritated--do not get excited."
-
-"And why not, chevalier? surely there is every reason for it. If legal
-proceedings are well arranged, and a judgment given in accordance with
-them, your friend the superintendent will soon follow Montfaucon, his
-colleague Enguerrand de Marigny, and his predecessor, Semblancay."
-
-"Oh!" said Aramis, smiling, "not so fast as that."
-
-"And why not? why not so fast? What do you suppose Madame de Chevreuse
-has done with those letters--for you refused them, I suppose?"
-
-"Yes; at once. I suppose that she went and sold them to M. Colbert."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"I said I supposed so; I might have said I was sure of it, for I had her
-followed, and, when she left me, she returned to her own house, went out
-by a back door, and proceeded straight to the intendant's house in the
-Rue Croix des Petits-Champs."
-
-"Legal proceedings will be instituted, then, scandal and dishonor
-will follow; and all will fall upon me like a thunderbolt, blindly,
-pitilessly."
-
-Aramis approached Fouquet, who sat trembling in his chair, close to the
-open drawers; he placed his hand on his shoulder, and in an affectionate
-tone of voice, said: "Do not forget that the position of M. Fouquet can
-in no way be compared to that of Semblancay or of Marigny."
-
-"And why not, in Heaven's name?"
-
-"Because the proceedings against those ministers were determined,
-completed, and the sentence carried out, whilst in your case the same
-thing cannot take place."
-
-"Another blow, why not? A peculator is, under any circumstances, a
-criminal."
-
-"Criminals who know how to find a safe asylum are never in danger."
-
-"What! make my escape? Fly?"
-
-"No, I do not mean that; you forget that all such proceedings originate
-in the parliament, that they are instituted by the procureur-general,
-and that you are the procureur-general. You see that, unless you wish to
-condemn yourself--"
-
-"Oh!" cried Fouquet, suddenly, dashing his fist upon the table.
-
-"Well! what? what is the matter?"
-
-"I am procureur-general no longer."
-
-Aramis, at this reply, became as livid as death; he pressed his hands
-together convulsively, and with a wild, haggard look, which almost
-annihilated Fouquet, he said, laying a stress on every distinct
-syllable, "You are procureur-general no longer, do you say?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Since when?"
-
-"Since the last four or five hours."
-
-"Take care," interrupted Aramis, coldly; "I do not think you are in the
-full possession of your senses, my friend; collect yourself."
-
-"I tell you," returned Fouquet, "that a little while ago, some one came
-to me, brought by my friends, to offer me fourteen hundred thousand
-francs for the appointment, and that I sold it."
-
-Aramis looked as though he had been struck by lightning; the intelligent
-and mocking expression of his countenance assumed an aspect of
-such profound gloom and terror, that it had more effect upon the
-superintendent than all the exclamations and speeches in the world. "You
-had need of money, then?" he said, at last.
-
-"Yes; to discharge a debt of honor." And in a few words, he gave Aramis
-an account of Madame de Belliere's generosity, and the manner in which
-he had thought it but right to discharge that act of generosity.
-
-"Yes," said Aramis, "that is, indeed, a fine trait. What has it cost?"
-
-"Exactly the fourteen hundred thousand francs--the price of my
-appointment."
-
-"Which you received in that manner, without reflection. Oh, imprudent
-man!"
-
-"I have not yet received the amount, but I shall to-morrow."
-
-"It is not yet completed, then?"
-
-"It must be carried out, though; for I have given the goldsmith, for
-twelve o'clock to-morrow, an order upon my treasury, into which the
-purchaser's money will be paid at six or seven o'clock."
-
-"Heaven be praised!" cried Aramis, clapping his hands together, "nothing
-is yet completed, since you have not yet been paid."
-
-"But the goldsmith?"
-
-"You shall receive the fourteen hundred thousand francs from me, at a
-quarter before twelve."
-
-"Stay a moment; it is at six o'clock, this very morning, that I am to
-sign."
-
-"Oh! I will answer that you do not sign."
-
-"I have given my word, chevalier."
-
-"If you have given it, you will take it back again, that is all."
-
-"Can I believe what I hear?" cried Fouquet, in a most expressive tone.
-"Fouquet recall his word, after it has once been pledged!"
-
-Aramis replied to the almost stern look of the minister by a look full
-of anger. "Monsieur," he said, "I believe I have deserved to be called a
-man of honor? As a soldier, I have risked my life five hundred times; as
-a priest I have rendered still greater services, both to the state and
-to my friends. The value of a word, once passed, is estimated according
-to the worth of the man who gives it. So long as it is in his own
-keeping, it is of the purest, finest gold; when his wish to keep it
-has passed away, it is a two-edged sword. With that word, therefore, he
-defends himself as with an honorable weapon, considering that, when he
-disregards his word, he endangers his life and incurs an amount of risk
-far greater than that which his adversary is likely to derive of profit.
-In such a case, monsieur, he appeals to Heaven and to justice."
-
-Fouquet bent down his head, as he replied, "I am a poor, self-determined
-man, a true Breton born; my mind admires and fears yours. I do not say
-that I keep my word from a proper feeling only; I keep it, if you like,
-from custom, practice, pride, or what you will; but, at all events, the
-ordinary run of men are simple enough to admire this custom of mine; it
-is my sole good quality--leave me such honor as it confers."
-
-"And so you are determined to sign the sale of the very appointment
-which can alone defend you against all your enemies."
-
-"Yes, I shall sign."
-
-"You will deliver yourself up, then, bound hand and foot, from a false
-notion of honor, which the most scrupulous casuists would disdain?"
-
-"I shall sign," repeated Fouquet.
-
-Aramis sighed deeply, and looked all round him with the impatient
-gesture of a man who would gladly dash something to pieces, as a relief
-to his feelings. "We have still one means left," he said; "and I trust
-you will not refuse me to make use of that."
-
-"Certainly not, if it be loyal and honorable; as everything is, in fact,
-which you propose."
-
-"I know nothing more loyal than the renunciation of your purchaser. Is
-he a friend of yours?"
-
-"Certainly: but--"
-
-"'But!'--if you allow me to manage the affair, I do not despair."
-
-"Oh! you shall be absolutely master to do what you please."
-
-"Whom are you in treaty with? What manner of man is it?"
-
-"I am not aware whether you know the parliament."
-
-"Most of its members. One of the presidents, perhaps?"
-
-"No; only a counselor, of the name of Vanel."
-
-Aramis became perfectly purple. "Vanel!" he cried, rising abruptly from
-his seat; "Vanel! the husband of Marguerite Vanel?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Of your former mistress?"
-
-"Yes, my dear fellow; she is anxious to be the wife of the
-procureur-general. I certainly owed poor Vanel that slight concession,
-and I am a gainer by it; since I, at the same time, can confer a
-pleasure on his wife."
-
-Aramis walked straight up to Fouquet, and took hold of his hand. "Do you
-know," he said, very calmly, "the name of Madame Vanel's new lover?"
-
-"Ah! she has a new lover, then? I was not aware of it; no, I have no
-idea what his name is."
-
-"His name is M. Jean-Baptiste Colbert; he is intendant of the finances:
-he lives in the Rue Croix des Petits-Champs, where Madame de Chevreuse
-has been this evening to take him Mazarin's letters, which she wishes to
-sell."
-
-"Gracious Heaven!" murmured Fouquet, passing his hand across his
-forehead, from which the perspiration was starting.
-
-"You now begin to understand, do you not?"
-
-"That I am utterly lost!--yes."
-
-"Do you now think it worth while to be so scrupulous with regard to
-keeping your word?"
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet.
-
-"These obstinate people always contrive matters in such a way, that one
-cannot but admire them all the while," murmured Aramis.
-
-Fouquet held out his hand to him, and, at the very moment, a richly
-ornamented tortoise-shell clock, supported by golden figures, which was
-standing on a console table opposite to the fireplace, struck six. The
-sound of a door being opened in the vestibule was heard, and Gourville
-came to the door of the cabinet to inquire if Fouquet would received M.
-Vanel. Fouquet turned his eyes from the gaze of Aramis, and then desired
-that M. Vanel should be shown in.
-
-
-
-Chapter XLIX. Monsieur Colbert's Rough Draft.
-
-Vanel, who entered at this stage of the conversation, was nothing less
-for Aramis and Fouquet than the full stop which completes a phrase.
-But, for Vanel, Aramis's presence in Fouquet's cabinet had quite another
-signification; and, therefore, at his first step into the room, he
-paused as he looked at the delicate yet firm features of the bishop of
-Vannes, and his look of astonishment soon became one of scrutinizing
-attention. As for Fouquet, a perfect politician, that is to say,
-complete master of himself, he had already, by the energy of his own
-resolute will, contrived to remove from his face all traces of the
-emotion which Aramis's revelation had occasioned. He was no longer,
-therefore, a man overwhelmed by misfortune and reduced to resort to
-expedients; he held his head proudly erect, and indicated by a gesture
-that Vanel could enter. He was now the first minister of the state, and
-in his own palace. Aramis knew the superintendent well; the delicacy of
-the feelings of his heart and the exalted nature of his mind no longer
-surprised him. He confined himself, then, for the moment--intending to
-resume later an active part in the conversation--to the performance of
-the difficult part of a man who looks on and listens, in order to learn
-and understand. Vanel was visibly overcome, and advanced into the middle
-of the cabinet, bowing to everything and everybody. "I am here," he
-said.
-
-"You are punctual, Monsieur Vanel," returned Fouquet.
-
-"In matters of business, monseigneur," replied Vanel, "I look upon
-exactitude as a virtue."
-
-"No doubt, monsieur."
-
-"I beg your pardon," interrupted Aramis, indicating Vanel with his
-finger, but addressing himself to Fouquet; "this is the gentleman, I
-believe, who has come about the purchase of your appointment?"
-
-"Yes, I am," replied Vanel, astonished at the extremely haughty tone in
-which Aramis had put the question; "but in what way am I to address you,
-who do me the honor--"
-
-"Call me monseigneur," replied Aramis, dryly. Vanel bowed.
-
-"Come, gentlemen, a truce to these ceremonies; let us proceed to the
-matter itself."
-
-"Monseigneur sees," said Vanel, "that I am waiting your pleasure."
-
-"On the contrary, I am waiting," replied Fouquet.
-
-"What for, may I be permitted to ask, monseigneur?"
-
-"I thought that you had perhaps something to say."
-
-"Oh," said Vanel to himself, "he has reflected on the matter and I
-am lost." But resuming his courage, he continued, "No, monseigneur,
-nothing, absolutely nothing more than what I said to you yesterday, and
-which I am again ready to repeat to you now."
-
-"Come, now, tell me frankly, Monsieur Vanel, is not the affair rather a
-burdensome one for you?"
-
-"Certainly, monseigneur; fourteen hundred thousand francs is an
-important sum."
-
-"So important, indeed," said Fouquet, "that I have reflected--"
-
-"You have been reflecting, do you say, monseigneur?" exclaimed Vanel,
-anxiously.
-
-"Yes; that you might not yet be in a position to purchase."
-
-"Oh, monseigneur!"
-
-"Do not make yourself uneasy on that score, Monsieur Vanel; I shall not
-blame you for a failure in your word, which evidently may arise from
-inability on your part."
-
-"Oh, yes, monseigneur, you would blame me, and you would be right in
-doing so," said Vanel; "for a man must either be very imprudent, or a
-fool, to undertake engagements which he cannot keep; and I, at least,
-have always regarded a thing agreed on as a thing actually carried out."
-
-Fouquet colored, while Aramis uttered a "Hum!" of impatience.
-
-"You would be wrong to exaggerate such notions as those, monsieur," said
-the superintendent; "for a man's mind is variable, and full of these
-very excusable caprices, which are, however, sometimes estimable enough;
-and a man may have wished for something yesterday of which he repents
-to-day."
-
-Vanel felt a cold sweat trickle down his face. "Monseigneur!" he
-muttered.
-
-Aramis, who was delighted to find the superintendent carry on the debate
-with such clearness and precision, stood leaning his arm upon the marble
-top of a console table and began to play with a small gold knife, with a
-malachite handle. Fouquet did not hasten to reply; but after a moment's
-pause, "Come, my dear Monsieur Vanel," he said, "I will explain to you
-how I am situated." Vanel began to tremble.
-
-"Yesterday I wished to sell--"
-
-"Monseigneur did more than wish to sell, he actually sold."
-
-"Well, well, that may be so; but to-day I ask you the favor to restore
-me my word which I pledged you."
-
-"I received your _word_ as a satisfactory assurance that it would be
-kept."
-
-"I know that, and that is the reason why I now entreat you; do you
-understand me? I entreat you to restore it to me."
-
-Fouquet suddenly paused. The words "I entreat you," the effect of
-which he did not immediately perceive, seemed almost to choke him as
-he uttered it. Aramis, still playing with his knife, fixed a look upon
-Vanel which seemed as if he wished to penetrate the recesses of his
-heart. Vanel simply bowed, as he said, "I am overcome, monseigneur, at
-the honor you do me to consult me upon a matter of business which is
-already completed; but--"
-
-"Nay, do not say _but_, dear Monsieur Vanel."
-
-"Alas! monseigneur, you see," he said, as he opened a large pocket-book,
-"I have brought the money with me,--the whole sum, I mean. And here,
-monseigneur, is the contract of sale which I have just effected of
-a property belonging to my wife. The order is authentic in every
-particular, the necessary signatures have been attached to it, and it is
-made payable at sight; it is ready money, in fact, and, in one word, the
-whole affair is complete."
-
-"My dear Monsieur Vanel, there is not a matter of business in this
-world, however important it may be, which cannot be postponed in order
-to oblige a man, who, by that means, might and would be made a devoted
-friend."
-
-"Certainly," said Vanel, awkwardly.
-
-"And much more justly acquired would that friend become, Monsieur
-Vanel, since the value of the service he had received would have been so
-considerable. Well, what do you say? what do you decide?"
-
-Vanel preserved a perfect silence. In the meantime, Aramis had continued
-his close observation of the man. Vanel's narrow face, his deeply sunken
-eyes, his arched eyebrows, had revealed to the bishop of Vannes the type
-of an avaricious and ambitious character. Aramis's method was to oppose
-one passion by another. He saw that M. Fouquet was defeated--morally
-subdued--and so he came to his rescue with fresh weapons in his hands.
-"Excuse me, monseigneur," he said; "you forgot to show M. Vanel that
-his own interests are diametrically opposed to this renunciation of the
-sale."
-
-Vanel looked at the bishop with astonishment; he had hardly expected to
-find an auxiliary in him. Fouquet also paused to listen to the bishop.
-
-"Do you not see," continued Aramis, "that M. Vanel, in order to purchase
-your appointment, has been obliged to sell a property belonging to his
-wife; well, that is no slight matter; for one cannot displace, as he
-has done, fourteen or fifteen hundred thousand francs without some
-considerable loss, and very serious inconvenience."
-
-"Perfectly true," said Vanel, whose secret Aramis had, with keen-sighted
-gaze, wrung from the bottom of his heart.
-
-"Inconveniences such as these are matters of great expense and
-calculation, and whenever a man has money matters to deal with, the
-expenses are generally the very first thing thought of."
-
-"Yes, yes," said Fouquet, who began to understand Aramis's meaning.
-
-Vanel remained perfectly silent; he, too, had understood him. Aramis
-observed his coldness of manner and his silence. "Very good," he said to
-himself, "you are waiting, I see, until you know the amount; but do
-not fear, I shall send you such a flight of crowns that you cannot but
-capitulate on the spot."
-
-"We must offer M. Vanel a hundred thousand crowns at once," said
-Fouquet, carried away by his generous feelings.
-
-The sum was a good one. A prince, even, would have been satisfied with
-such a bonus. A hundred thousand crowns at that period was the dowry of
-a king's daughter. Vanel, however, did not move.
-
-"He is a perfect rascal!" thought the bishop, "well, we must offer the
-five hundred thousand francs at once," and he made a sign to Fouquet
-accordingly.
-
-"You seem to have spent more than that, dear Monsieur Vanel," said the
-superintendent. "The price of ready money is enormous. You must have
-made a great sacrifice in selling your wife's property. Well, what can I
-have been thinking of? I ought to have offered to sign you an order for
-five hundred thousand francs; and even in that case I shall feel that I
-am greatly indebted to you."
-
-There was not a gleam of delight or desire on Vanel's face, which
-remained perfectly impassible; not a muscle of it changed in the
-slightest degree. Aramis cast a look almost of despair at Fouquet, and
-then, going straight up to Vanel and taking hold of him by the coat,
-in a familiar manner, he said, "Monsieur Vanel, it is neither the
-inconvenience, nor the displacement of your money, nor the sale of your
-wife's property even, that you are thinking of at this moment; it
-is something more important still. I can well understand it; so pay
-particular attention to what I am going to say."
-
-"Yes, monseigneur," Vanel replied, beginning to tremble in every limb,
-as the prelate's eyes seemed almost ready to devour him.
-
-"I offer you, therefore, in the superintendent's name, not three hundred
-thousand livres, nor five hundred thousand, but a million. A million--do
-you understand me?" he added, as he shook him nervously.
-
-"A million!" repeated Vanel, as pale as death.
-
-"A million; in other words, at the present rate of interest, an income
-of seventy thousand francs."
-
-"Come, monsieur," said Fouquet, "you can hardly refuse that. Answer--do
-you accept?"
-
-"Impossible," murmured Vanel.
-
-Aramis bit his lips, and something like a cloud seemed to pass over his
-face. The thunder behind this cloud could easily be imagined. He still
-kept his hold on Vanel. "You have purchased the appointment for fifteen
-hundred thousand francs, I think. Well, you will receive these fifteen
-hundred thousand francs back again; by paying M. Fouquet a visit, and
-shaking hands with him on the bargain, you will have become a gainer
-of a million and a half. You get honor and profit at the same time,
-Monsieur Vanel."
-
-"I cannot do it," said Vanel, hoarsely.
-
-"Very well," replied Aramis, who had grasped Vanel so tightly by the
-coat that, when he let go his hold, Vanel staggered back a few paces,
-"very well; one can now see clearly enough your object in coming here."
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet, "one can easily see that."
-
-"But--" said Vanel, attempting to stand erect before the weakness of
-these two men of honor.
-
-"Does the fellow presume to speak?" said Aramis, with the tone of an
-emperor.
-
-"Fellow!" repeated Vanel.
-
-"The scoundrel, I meant to say," added Aramis, who had now resumed his
-usual self-possession. "Come, monsieur, produce your deed of sale,--you
-have it about you, I suppose, in one of your pockets, already prepared,
-as an assassin holds his pistol or his dagger concealed under his cloak."
-
-Vanel began to mutter something.
-
-"Enough!" cried Fouquet. "Where is this deed?"
-
-Vanel tremblingly searched in his pockets, and as he drew out his
-pocket-book, a paper fell out of it, while Vanel offered the other to
-Fouquet. Aramis pounced upon the paper which had fallen out, as soon as
-he recognized the handwriting. "I beg your pardon," said Vanel, "that is
-a rough draft of the deed."
-
-"I see that very clearly," retorted Aramis, with a smile more cutting
-than a lash of a whip; "and what I admire most is, that this draft is in
-M. Colbert's handwriting. Look, monseigneur, look."
-
-And he handed the draft to Fouquet, who recognized the truth of the
-fact; for, covered with erasures, with inserted words, the margins
-filled with additions, this deed--a living proof of Colbert's plot--had
-just revealed everything to its unhappy victim. "Well!" murmured
-Fouquet.
-
-Vanel, completely humiliated, seemed as if he were looking for some hole
-wherein to hide himself.
-
-"Well!" said Aramis, "if your name were not Fouquet, and if your enemy's
-name were not Colbert--if you had not this mean thief before you, I
-should say to you, 'Repudiate it;' such a proof as this absolves you
-from your word; but these fellows would think you were afraid; they
-would fear you less than they do; therefore sign the deed at once." And
-he held out a pen towards him.
-
-Fouquet pressed Aramis's hand; but, instead of the deed which Vanel
-handed to him, he took the rough draft of it.
-
-"No, not that paper," said Aramis, hastily; "this is the one. The other
-is too precious a document for you to part with."
-
-"No, no!" replied Fouquet; "I will sign under M. Colbert's own
-handwriting even; and I write, 'The handwriting is approved of.'" He
-then signed, and said, "Here it is, Monsieur Vanel." And the latter
-seized the paper, dashed down the money, and was about to make his
-escape.
-
-"One moment," said Aramis. "Are you quite sure the exact amount is
-there? It ought to be counted over, Monsieur Vanel; particularly since
-M. Colbert makes presents of money to ladies, I see. Ah, that worthy M.
-Colbert is not so generous as M. Fouquet." And Aramis, spelling every
-word, every letter of the order to pay, distilled his wrath and his
-contempt, drop by drop, upon the miserable wretch, who had to submit
-to this torture for a quarter of an hour. He was then dismissed, not in
-words, but by a gesture, as one dismisses or discharges a beggar or a
-menial.
-
-As soon as Vanel had gone, the minister and the prelate, their eyes
-fixed on each other, remained silent for a few moments.
-
-"Well," said Aramis, the first to break the silence; "to what can that
-man be compared, who, at the very moment he is on the point of entering
-into a conflict with an enemy armed from head to foot, panting for his
-life, presents himself for the contest utterly defenseless, throws down
-his arms, and smiles and kisses his hands to his adversary in the most
-gracious manner? Good faith, M. Fouquet, is a weapon which scoundrels
-frequently make use of against men of honor, and it answers their
-purpose. Men of honor, ought, in their turn, also, to make use of
-dishonest means against such scoundrels. You would soon see how strong
-they would become, without ceasing to be men of honor."
-
-"What they did would be termed the acts of a scoundrel," replied
-Fouquet.
-
-"Far from that; it would be merely coquetting or playing with the truth.
-At all events, since you have finished with this Vanel; since you have
-deprived yourself of the happiness of confounding him by repudiating
-your word; and since you have given up, for the purpose of being used
-against yourself, the only weapon which can ruin you--"
-
-"My dear friend," said Fouquet, mournfully, "you are like the teacher of
-philosophy whom La Fontaine was telling us about the other day; he saw
-a child drowning, and began to read him a lecture divided into three
-heads."
-
-Aramis smiled as he said, "Philosophy--yes; teacher--yes; a drowning
-child--yes; but a child can be saved--you shall see. But first of all
-let us talk about business. Did you not some time ago," he continued, as
-Fouquet looked at him with a bewildered air, "speak to me about an idea
-you had of giving a _fete_ at Vaux?"
-
-"Oh!" said Fouquet, "that was when affairs were flourishing."
-
-"A _fete_, I believe, to which the king invited himself of his own
-accord?"
-
-"No, no, my dear prelate; a _fete_ to which M. Colbert advised the king
-to invite himself."
-
-"Ah--exactly; as it would be a _fete_ of so costly a character that you
-would be ruined in giving it."
-
-"Precisely so. In happier days, as I said just now, I had a kind of
-pride in showing my enemies how inexhaustible my resources were; I felt
-it a point of honor to strike them with amazement, by creating millions
-under circumstances where they imagined nothing but bankruptcies and
-failures would follow. But, at present, I am arranging my accounts with
-the state, with the king, with myself; and I must now become a mean,
-stingy man; I shall be able to prove to the world that I can act or
-operate with my deniers as I used to do with my bags of pistoles, and
-from to-morrow my equipages shall be sold, my mansions mortgaged, my
-expenses curtailed."
-
-"From to-morrow," interrupted Aramis, quietly, "you will occupy
-yourself, without the slightest delay, with your _fete_ at Vaux, which
-must hereafter be spoken of as one of the most magnificent productions
-of your most prosperous days."
-
-"Are you mad, Chevalier d'Herblay?"
-
-"I! do you think so?"
-
-"What do you mean, then? Do you not know that a _fete_ at Vaux, one of
-the very simplest possible character, would cost four or five millions?"
-
-"I do not speak of a _fete_ of the very simplest possible character, my
-dear superintendent."
-
-"But, since the _fete_ is to be given to the king," replied Fouquet, who
-misunderstood Aramis's idea, "it cannot be simple."
-
-"Just so: it ought to be on a scale of the most unbounded magnificence."
-
-"In that case, I shall have to spend ten or twelve millions."
-
-"You shall spend twenty, if you require it," said Aramis, in a perfectly
-calm voice.
-
-"Where shall I get them?" exclaimed Fouquet.
-
-"That is my affair, monsieur le surintendant; and do not be uneasy for a
-moment about it. The money shall be placed at once at your disposal, the
-moment you have arranged the plans of your _fete_."
-
-"Chevalier! chevalier!" said Fouquet, giddy with amazement, "whither are
-you hurrying me?"
-
-"Across the gulf into which you were about to fall," replied the bishop
-of Vannes. "Take hold of my cloak, and throw fear aside."
-
-"Why did you not tell me that sooner, Aramis? There was a day when, with
-one million only, you could have saved me; whilst to-day--"
-
-"Whilst to-day I can give you twenty," said the prelate. "Such is the
-case, however--the reason is very simple. On the day you speak of, I had
-not the million which you had need of at my disposal, whilst now I can
-easily procure the twenty millions we require."
-
-"May Heaven hear you, and save me!"
-
-Aramis resumed his usual smile, the expression of which was so singular.
-"Heaven never fails to hear me," he said.
-
-"I abandon myself to you unreservedly," Fouquet murmured.
-
-"No, no; I do not understand it in that manner. I am unreservedly
-devoted to you. Therefore, as you have the clearest, the most delicate,
-and the most ingenious mind of the two, you shall have entire control
-over the _fete_, even to the very smallest details. Only--"
-
-"Only?" said Fouquet, as a man accustomed to understand and appreciate
-the value of a parenthesis.
-
-"Well, then, leaving the entire invention of the details to you, I shall
-reserve to myself a general superintendence over the execution."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"I mean, that you will make of me, on that day, a major-domo, a sort of
-inspector-general, or factotum--something between a captain of the guard
-and manager or steward. I will look after the people, and will keep the
-keys of the doors. You will give your orders, of course: but will give
-them to no one but me. They will pass through my lips, to reach those
-for whom they are intended--you understand?"
-
-"No, I am very far from understanding."
-
-"But you agree?"
-
-"Of course, of course, my friend."
-
-"That is all I care about, then. Thanks; and now go and prepare your
-list of invitations."
-
-"Whom shall I invite?"
-
-"Everybody you know."
-
-
-
-Chapter L: In Which the Author Thinks It Is High Time to Return to the
-Vicomte de Bragelonne.
-
-Our readers will have observed in this story, the adventures of the new
-and of the past generation being detailed, as it were, side by side. He
-will have noticed in the former, the reflection of the glory of earlier
-years, the experience of the bitter things of this world; in the former,
-also, that peace which takes possession of the heart, and that healing
-of the scars which were formerly deep and painful wounds. In the latter,
-the conflicts of love and vanity; bitter disappointments, ineffable
-delights; life instead of memory. If, therefore, any variety has been
-presented to the reader in the different episodes of this tale, it is
-to be attributed to the numerous shades of color which are presented on
-this double tablet, where two pictures are seen side by side, mingling
-and harmonizing their severe and pleasing tones. The repose of
-the emotions of one is found in harmonious contrast with the fiery
-sentiments of the other. After having talked reason with older heads,
-one loves to talk nonsense with youth. Therefore, if the threads of
-the story do not seem very intimately to connect the chapter we are
-now writing with the one we have just written, we do not intend to give
-ourselves any more thought or trouble about it than Ruysdael took in
-painting an autumn sky, after having finished a spring-time scene. We
-accordingly resume Raoul de Bragelonne's story at the very place where
-our last sketch left him.
-
-In a state of frenzy and dismay, or rather without power or will of
-his own,--hardly knowing what he was doing,--he fled swiftly, after the
-scene in La Valliere's chamber, that strange exclusion, Louise's grief,
-Montalais's terror, the king's wrath--all seemed to indicate some
-misfortune. But what? He had arrived from London because he had been
-told of the existence of a danger; and almost on his arrival this
-appearance of danger was manifest. Was not this sufficient for a lover?
-Certainly it was, but it was insufficient for a pure and upright heart
-such as his. And yet Raoul did not seek for explanations in the very
-quarter where more jealous or less timid lovers would have done. He did
-not go straightaway to his mistress, and say, "Louise, is it true
-that you love me no longer? Is it true that you love another?" Full of
-courage, full of friendship as he was full of love; a religious observer
-of his word, and believing blindly the word of others, Raoul said within
-himself, "Guiche wrote to put me on my guard, Guiche knows something;
-I will go and ask Guiche what he knows, and tell him what I have seen."
-The journey was not a long one. Guiche, who had been brought from
-Fontainebleau to Paris within the last two days, was beginning to
-recover from his wounds, and to walk about a little in his room. He
-uttered a cry of joy as he saw Raoul, with the eagerness of friendship,
-enter the apartment. Raoul was unable to refrain from a cry of grief,
-when he saw De Guiche, so pale, so thin, so melancholy. A very few
-words, and a simple gesture which De Guiche made to put aside Raoul's
-arm, were sufficient to inform the latter of the truth.
-
-"Ah! so it is," said Raoul, seating himself beside his friend; "one
-loves and dies."
-
-"No, no, not dies," replied Guiche, smiling, "since I am now recovering,
-and since, too, I can press you in my arms."
-
-"Ah! I understand."
-
-"And I understand you, too. You fancy I am unhappy, Raoul?"
-
-"Alas!"
-
-"No; I am the happiest of men. My body suffers, but not my mind or my
-heart. If you only knew--Oh! I am, indeed, the very happiest of men."
-
-"So much the better," said Raoul; "so much the better, provided it
-lasts."
-
-"It is over. I have had enough happiness to last me to my dying day,
-Raoul."
-
-"I have no doubt you have had; but she--"
-
-"Listen; I love her, because--but you are not listening to me."
-
-"I beg your pardon."
-
-"Your mind is preoccupied."
-
-"Yes, your health, in the first place--"
-
-"It is not that, I know."
-
-"My dear friend, you would be wrong. I think, to ask me any
-questions--_you_ of all persons in the world;" and he laid so much
-weight upon the "you," that he completely enlightened his friend upon
-the nature of the evil, and the difficulty of remedying it.
-
-"You say that, Raoul, on account of what I wrote to you."
-
-"Certainly. We will talk over that matter a little, when you have
-finished telling me of all your own pleasures and your pains."
-
-"My dear friend, I am entirely at your service."
-
-"Thank you; I have hurried, I have flown here; I came in half the time
-the government couriers usually take. Now, tell me, my dear friend, what
-did you want?"
-
-"Nothing whatever, but to make you come."
-
-"Well, then, I am here."
-
-"All is quite right, then."
-
-"There must have been something else, I suppose?"
-
-"No, indeed."
-
-"De Guiche!"
-
-"Upon my honor!"
-
-"You cannot possibly have crushed all my hopes so violently, or have
-exposed me to being disgraced by the king for my return, which is in
-disobedience of his orders--you cannot, I say, have planted jealousy in
-my heart, merely to say to me, 'It is all right, be perfectly easy.'"
-
-"I do not say to you, Raoul, 'Be perfectly easy;' but pray understand
-me; I never will, nor can I, indeed, tell you anything else."
-
-"What sort of person do you take me for?"
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"If you know anything, why conceal it from me? If you do not know
-anything, why did you write so warningly?"
-
-"True, true, I was very wrong, and I regret having done so, Raoul. It
-seems nothing to write to a friend and say 'Come;' but to have this
-friend face to face, to feel him tremble, and breathlessly and anxiously
-wait to hear what one hardly dare tell him, is very difficult."
-
-"Dare! I have courage enough, if you have not," exclaimed Raoul, in
-despair.
-
-"See how unjust you are, and how soon you forget you have to do with a
-poor wounded fellow such as your unhappy friend is. So, calm yourself,
-Raoul. I said to you, 'Come'--you are here, so ask me nothing further."
-
-"Your object in telling me to come was your hope that I should see with
-my own eyes, was it not? Nay, do not hesitate, for I have seen all."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed De Guiche.
-
-"Or at least I thought--"
-
-"There, now, you see you are not sure. But if you have any doubt, my
-poor friend, what remains for me to do?"
-
-"I saw Louise much agitated--Montalais in a state of bewilderment--the
-king--"
-
-"The king?"
-
-"Yes. You turn your head aside. The danger is there, the evil is there;
-tell me, is it not so, is it not the king?"
-
-"I say nothing."
-
-"Oh! you say a thousand times more than nothing. Give me facts,
-for pity's sake, give me proofs. My friend, the only friend I have,
-speak--tell me all. My heart is crushed, wounded to death; I am dying
-from despair."
-
-"If that really be so, as I see it is, indeed, dear Raoul," replied De
-Guiche, "you relieve me from my difficulty, and I will tell you all,
-perfectly sure that I can tell you nothing but what is consoling,
-compared to the despair from which I see you suffering."
-
-"Go on,--go on; I am listening."
-
-"Well, then, I can only tell you what you might learn from every one you
-meet."
-
-"From every one, do you say? It is talked about, then!"
-
-"Before you say people talk about it, learn what it is that people have
-to talk about. I assure you solemnly, that people only talk about what
-may, in truth, be very innocent; perhaps a walk--"
-
-"Ah! a walk with the king?"
-
-"Yes, certainly, a walk with the king; and I believe the king has
-already very frequently before taken walks with ladies, without on that
-account--"
-
-"You would not have written to me, shall I say again, if there had been
-nothing unusual in this promenade."
-
-"I know that while the storm lasted, it would have been far better if
-the king had taken shelter somewhere else, than to have remained with
-his head uncovered before La Valliere; but the king is so very courteous
-and polite."
-
-"Oh! De Guiche, De Guiche, you are killing me!"
-
-"Do not let us talk any more, then."
-
-"Nay, let us continue. This walk was followed by others, I suppose?"
-
-"No--I mean yes: there was the adventure of the oak, I think. But I know
-nothing about the matter at all." Raoul rose; De Guiche endeavored to
-imitate him, notwithstanding his weakness. "Well, I will not add another
-word: I have said either too much or not enough. Let others give you
-further information if they will, or if they can; my duty was to warn
-you, and _that_ I have done. Watch over your own affairs now, yourself."
-
-"Question others! Alas! you are no true friend to speak to me in that
-manner," said the young man, in utter distress. "The first man I meet
-may be either evilly disposed or a fool,--if the former, he will tell
-me a lie to make me suffer more than I do now; if the latter, he will
-do worse still. Ah! De Guiche, De Guiche, before two hours are over, I
-shall have been told ten falsehoods, and shall have as many duels on my
-hands. Save me, then; is it not best to know the worst always?"
-
-"But I know nothing, I tell you; I was wounded, attacked by fever: out
-of my senses; and I have only a very faint recollection of it all. But
-there is no reason why we should search very far, when the very man we
-want is close at hand. Is not D'Artagnan your friend?"
-
-"Oh! true, true!"
-
-"Got to him, then. He will be able to throw sufficient light upon the
-subject." At this moment a lackey entered the room. "What is it?" said
-De Guiche.
-
-"Some one is waiting for monseigneur in the Cabinet des Porcelaines."
-
-"Very well. Will you excuse me, my dear Raoul? I am so proud since I
-have been able to walk again."
-
-"I would offer you my arm, De Guiche, if I did not guess that the person
-in question is a lady."
-
-"I believe so," said De Guiche, smiling as he quitted Raoul.
-
-Raoul remained motionless, absorbed in grief, overwhelmed, like the
-miner upon whom a vault has just fallen in, who, wounded, his life-blood
-welling fast, his thoughts confused, endeavors to recover himself, to
-save his life and to retain his reason. A few minutes were all Raoul
-needed to dissipate the bewildering sensations occasioned by these two
-revelations. He had already recovered the thread of his ideas, when,
-suddenly, through the door, he fancied he recognized Montalais's voice
-in the Cabinet des Porcelaines. "She!" he cried. "Yes, it is indeed her
-voice! She will be able to tell me the whole truth; but shall I question
-her here? She conceals herself even from me; she is coming, no doubt,
-from Madame. I will see her in her own apartment. She will explain her
-alarm, her flight, the strange manner in which I was driven out; she
-will tell me all that--after M. d'Artagnan, who knows everything, shall
-have given me a fresh strength and courage. Madame, a coquette I fear,
-and yet a coquette who is herself in love, has her moments of kindness;
-a coquette who is as capricious and uncertain as life or death, but who
-tells De Guiche that he is the happiest of men. He at least is lying on
-roses." And so he hastily quitted the comte's apartments, reproaching
-himself as he went for having talked of nothing but his own affairs to
-De Guiche, and soon reached D'Artagnan's quarters.
-
-
-
-Chapter LI. Bragelonne Continues His Inquiries.
-
-The captain, sitting buried in his leathern armchair, his spurs fixed in
-the floor, his sword between his legs, was reading a number of letters,
-as he twisted his mustache. D'Artagnan uttered a welcome full of
-pleasure when he perceived his friend's son. "Raoul, my boy," he said,
-"by what lucky accident does it happen that the king has recalled you?"
-
-These words did not sound agreeably in the young man's ears, who, as
-he seated himself, replied, "Upon my word I cannot tell you; all that I
-know is--I have come back."
-
-"Hum!" said D'Artagnan, folding up his letters and directing a look
-full of meaning at him; "what do you say, my boy? that the king has not
-recalled you, and you have returned? I do not understand that at all."
-
-Raoul was already pale enough; and he now began to turn his hat round
-and round in his hand.
-
-"What the deuce is the matter that you look as you do, and what makes
-you so dumb?" said the captain. "Do people nowadays assume that sort of
-airs in England? I have been in England, and came here again as lively
-as a chaffinch. Will you not say something?"
-
-"I have too much to say."
-
-"Ah! how is your father?"
-
-"Forgive me, my dear friend, I was going to ask you that."
-
-D'Artagnan increased the sharpness of his penetrating gaze, which no
-secret was capable of resisting. "You are unhappy about something," he
-said.
-
-"I am, indeed; and you know the reason very well, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Of course. Nay, do not pretend to be astonished."
-
-"I am not pretending to be astonished, my friend."
-
-"Dear captain, I know very well that in all trials of _finesse_, as well
-as in all trials of strength, I shall be beaten by you. You can see that
-at the present moment I am an idiot, an absolute noodle. I have neither
-head nor arm; do not despise, but help me. In two words, I am the most
-wretched of living beings."
-
-"Oh, oh! why that?" inquired D'Artagnan, unbuckling his belt and thawing
-the asperity of his smile.
-
-"Because Mademoiselle de la Valliere is deceiving me."
-
-"She is deceiving you," said D'Artagnan, not a muscle of whose face had
-moved; "those are big words. Who makes use of them?"
-
-"Every one."
-
-"Ah! if every one says so, there must be some truth in it. I begin to
-believe there is fire when I see smoke. It is ridiculous, perhaps, but
-it is so."
-
-"Therefore you _do_ believe me?" exclaimed Bragelonne, quickly.
-
-"I never mix myself up in affairs of that kind; you know that very
-well."
-
-"What! not for a friend, for a son!"
-
-"Exactly. If you were a stranger, I should tell you--I will tell _you_
-nothing at all. How is Porthos, do you know?"
-
-"Monsieur," cried Raoul, pressing D'Artagnan's hand, "I entreat you in
-the name of the friendship you vowed my father!"
-
-"The deuce take it, you are really ill--from curiosity."
-
-"No, it is not from curiosity, it is from love."
-
-"Good. Another big word. If you were really in love, my dear Raoul, you
-would be very different."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"I mean that if you were really so deeply in love that I could believe I
-was addressing myself to your heart--but it is impossible."
-
-"I tell you I love Louise to distraction."
-
-D'Artagnan could read to the very bottom of the young man's heart.
-
-"Impossible, I tell you," he said. "You are like all young men; you are
-not in love, you are out of your senses."
-
-"Well! suppose it were only that?"
-
-"No sensible man ever succeeded in making much of a brain when the head
-was turned. I have completely lost my senses in the same way a hundred
-times in my life. You would listen to me, but you would not hear me! you
-would hear, but you would not understand me; you would understand, but
-you would not obey me."
-
-"Oh! try, try."
-
-"I go far. Even if I were unfortunate enough to know something, and
-foolish enough to communicate it to you--You are my friend, you say?"
-
-"Indeed, yes."
-
-"Very good. I should quarrel with you. You would never forgive me for
-having destroyed your illusion, as people say in love affairs."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, you know all; and yet you plunge me in perplexity
-and despair, in death itself."
-
-"There, there now."
-
-"I never complain, as you know; but as Heaven and my father would never
-forgive me for blowing out my brains, I will go and get the first person
-I meet to give me the information which you withhold; I will tell him he
-lies, and--"
-
-"And you would kill him. And a fine affair that would be. So much the
-better. What should I care? Kill any one you please, my boy, if it gives
-you any pleasure. It is exactly like a man with a toothache, who keeps
-on saying, 'Oh! what torture I am suffering. I could bite a piece of
-iron in half.' My answer always is, 'Bite, my friend, bite; the tooth
-will remain all the same.'"
-
-"I shall not kill any one, monsieur," said Raoul, gloomily.
-
-"Yes, yes! you now assume a different tone: instead of killing, you will
-get killed yourself, I suppose you mean? Very fine, indeed! How much
-I should regret you! Of course I should go about all day, saying, 'Ah!
-what a fine stupid fellow that Bragelonne was! as great a stupid as I
-ever met with. I have passed my whole life almost in teaching him how
-to hold and use his sword properly, and the silly fellow has got himself
-spitted like a lark.' Go, then, Raoul, go and get yourself disposed of,
-if you like. I hardly know who can have taught you logic, but deuce take
-me if your father has not been regularly robbed of his money."
-
-Raoul buried his face in his hands, murmuring: "No, no; I have not a
-single friend in the world."
-
-"Oh! bah!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I meet with nothing but raillery or indifference."
-
-"Idle fancies, monsieur. I do not laugh at you, although I am a Gascon.
-And, as for being indifferent, if I were so, I should have sent you
-about your business a quarter of an hour ago, for you would make a man
-who was out of his senses with delight as dull as possible, and would be
-the death of one who was out of spirits. How now, young man! do you wish
-me to disgust you with the girl you are attached to, and to teach you to
-execrate the whole sex who constitute the honor and happiness of human
-life?"
-
-"Oh! tell me, monsieur, and I will bless you."
-
-"Do you think, my dear fellow, that I can have crammed into my brain all
-about the carpenter, and the painter, and the staircase, and a hundred
-other similar tales of the same kind?"
-
-"A carpenter! what do you mean?"
-
-"Upon my word I don't know; some one told me there was a carpenter who
-made an opening through a certain flooring."
-
-"In La Valliere's room!"
-
-"Oh! I don't know where."
-
-"In the king's apartment, perhaps?"
-
-"Of course, if it were in the king's apartment, I should tell you, I
-suppose."
-
-"In whose room, then?"
-
-"I have told you for the last hour that I know nothing of the whole
-affair."
-
-"But the painter, then? the portrait--"
-
-"It seems that the king wished to have the portrait of one of the ladies
-belonging to the court."
-
-"La Valliere?"
-
-"Why, you seem to have only that name in your mouth. Who spoke to you of
-La Valliere?"
-
-"If it be not her portrait, then, why do you suppose it would concern
-me?"
-
-"I do not suppose it will concern you. But you ask me all sorts of
-questions, and I answer you. You positively will learn all the scandal
-of the affair, and I tell you--make the best you can of it."
-
-Raoul struck his forehead with his hand in utter despair. "It will kill
-me!" he said.
-
-"So you have said already."
-
-"Yes, you are right," and he made a step or two, as if he were going to
-leave.
-
-"Where are you going?"
-
-"To look for some one who will tell me the truth."
-
-"Who is that?"
-
-"A woman."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere herself, I suppose you mean?" said
-D'Artagnan, with a smile. "Ah! a famous idea that! You wish to be
-consoled by some one, and you will be so at once. She will tell you
-nothing ill of herself, of course. So be off."
-
-"You are mistaken, monsieur," replied Raoul; "the woman I mean will tell
-me all the evil she possibly can."
-
-"You allude to Montalais, I suppose--her friend; a woman who, on that
-account, will exaggerate all that is either bad or good in the matter.
-Do not talk to Montalais, my good fellow."
-
-"You have some reasons for wishing me not to talk with Montalais?"
-
-"Well, I admit it. And, in point of fact, why should I play with you as
-a cat does with a poor mouse? You distress me, you do, indeed. And if I
-wish you not to speak to Montalais just now, it is because you will be
-betraying your secret, and people will take advantage of it. Wait, if
-you can."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"So much the worse. Why, you see, Raoul, if I had an idea,--but I have
-not got one."
-
-"Promise me that you will pity me, my friend, that is all I need, and
-leave me to get out of the affair by myself."
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed, in order that you may get deeper into the mire! A
-capital idea, truly! go and sit down at that table and take a pen in
-your hand."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To write and ask Montalais to give you an interview."
-
-"Ah!" said Raoul, snatching eagerly at the pen which the captain held
-out to him.
-
-Suddenly the door opened, and one of the musketeers, approaching
-D'Artagnan, said, "Captain, Mademoiselle de Montalais is here, and
-wishes to speak to you."
-
-"To me?" murmured D'Artagnan. "Ask her to come in; I shall soon see," he
-said to himself, "whether she wishes to speak to me or not."
-
-The cunning captain was quite right in his suspicions; for as soon as
-Montalais entered she exclaimed, "Oh, monsieur! monsieur! I beg your
-pardon, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"Oh! I forgive you, mademoiselle," said D'Artagnan; "I know that, at
-my age, those who are looking for me generally need me for something or
-another."
-
-"I was looking for M. de Bragelonne," replied Montalais.
-
-"How very fortunate that is; he was looking for you, too. Raoul, will
-you accompany Mademoiselle de Montalais?"
-
-"Oh! certainly."
-
-"Go along, then," he said, as he gently pushed Raoul out of the cabinet;
-and then, taking hold of Montalais's hand, he said, in a low voice, "Be
-kind towards him; spare him, and spare her, too, if you can."
-
-"Ah!" she said, in the same tone of voice, "it is not I who am going to
-speak to him."
-
-"Who, then?"
-
-"It is Madame who has sent for him."
-
-"Very good," cried D'Artagnan, "it is Madame, is it? In an hour's time,
-then, the poor fellow will be cured."
-
-"Or else dead," said Montalais, in a voice full of compassion. "Adieu,
-Monsieur d'Artagnan," she said; and she ran to join Raoul, who was
-waiting for her at a little distance from the door, very much puzzled
-and thoroughly uneasy at the dialogue, which promised no good augury for
-him.
-
-
-
-Chapter LII. Two Jealousies.
-
-Lovers are tender towards everything that forms part of the daily life
-of the object of their affection. Raoul no sooner found himself alone
-with Montalais, than he kissed her hand with rapture. "There, there,"
-said the young girl, sadly, "you are throwing your kisses away; I will
-guarantee that they will not bring you back any interest."
-
-"How so?--Why?--Will you explain to me, my dear Aure?"
-
-"Madame will explain everything to you. I am going to take you to her
-apartments.
-
-"_What!_"
-
-"Silence! and throw away your dark and savage looks. The windows here
-have eyes, the walls have ears. Have the kindness not to look at me any
-longer; be good enough to speak to me aloud of the rain, of the fine
-weather, and of the charms of England."
-
-"At all events--" interrupted Raoul.
-
-"I tell you, I warn you, that wherever people may be, I know not how,
-Madame is sure to have eyes and ears open. I am not very desirous, you
-can easily believe, of being dismissed or thrown in to the Bastile. Let
-us talk, I tell you, or rather, do not let us talk at all."
-
-Raoul clenched his hands, and tried to assume the look and gait of a
-man of courage, it is true, but of a man of courage on his way to the
-torture chamber. Montalais, glancing in every direction, walking along
-with an easy swinging gait, and holding up her head pertly in the air,
-preceded him to Madame's apartments, where he was at once introduced.
-"Well," he thought, "this day will pass away without my learning
-anything. Guiche showed too much consideration for my feelings; he had
-no doubt come to an understanding with Madame, and both of them, by a
-friendly plot, agreed to postpone the solution of the problem. Why
-have I not a determined, inveterate enemy--that serpent, De Wardes, for
-instance; that he would bite, is very likely; but I should not hesitate
-any more. To hesitate, to doubt--better, far, to die."
-
-The next moment Raoul was in Madame's presence. Henrietta, more charming
-than ever, was half lying, half reclining in her armchair, her small
-feet upon an embroidered velvet cushion; she was playing with a kitten
-with long silky fur, which was biting her fingers and hanging by the
-lace of her collar.
-
-Madame seemed plunged in deep thought, so deep, indeed, that it required
-both Montalais and Raoul's voice to disturb her from her reverie.
-
-"Your highness sent for me?" repeated Raoul.
-
-Madame shook her head as if she were just awakening, and then said,
-"Good morning, Monsieur de Bragelonne; yes, I sent for you; so you have
-returned from England?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, and am at your royal highness's commands."
-
-"Thank you; leave us, Montalais," and the latter immediately left the
-room.
-
-"You have a few minutes to give me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, have you
-not?"
-
-"My life is at your royal highness's disposal," Raoul returned with
-respect, guessing that there was something serious in these unusual
-courtesies; nor was he displeased, indeed, to observe the seriousness
-of her manner, feeling persuaded that there was some sort of affinity
-between Madame's sentiments and his own. In fact, every one at court,
-of any perception at all, knew perfectly well the capricious fancy and
-absurd despotism of the princess's singular character. Madame had
-been flattered beyond all bounds by the king's attention; she had
-made herself talked about; she had inspired the queen with that mortal
-jealousy which is the stinging scorpion at the heel of every woman's
-happiness; Madame, in a word, in her attempts to cure a wounded pride,
-found that her heart had become deeply and passionately attached. We
-know what Madame had done to recall Raoul, who had been sent out of
-the way by Louis XIV. Raoul did not know of her letter to Charles II.,
-although D'Artagnan had guessed its contents. Who will undertake to
-account for that seemingly inexplicable mixture of love and vanity, that
-passionate tenderness of feeling, that prodigious duplicity of conduct?
-No one can, indeed; not even the bad angel who kindles the love of
-coquetry in the heart of a woman. "Monsieur de Bragelonne," said the
-princess, after a moment's pause, "have you returned satisfied?"
-
-Bragelonne looked at Madame Henrietta, and seeing how pale she was, not
-alone from what she was keeping back, but also from what she was burning
-to say, said: "Satisfied! what is there for me to be satisfied or
-dissatisfied about, Madame?"
-
-"But what are those things with which a man of your age, and of your
-appearance, is usually either satisfied or dissatisfied?"
-
-"How eager she is," thought Raoul, almost terrified; "what venom is it
-she is going to distil into my heart?" and then, frightened at what
-she might possibly be going to tell him, and wishing to put off the
-opportunity of having everything explained, which he had hitherto so
-ardently wished for, yet had dreaded so much, he replied: "I left,
-Madame, a dear friend in good health, and on my return I find him very
-ill."
-
-"You refer to M. de Guiche," replied Madame Henrietta, with
-imperturbable self-possession; "I _have_ heard he is a very dear friend
-of yours."
-
-"He is, indeed, Madame."
-
-"Well, it is quite true he has been wounded; but he is better now.
-Oh! M. de Guiche is not to be pitied," she said hurriedly; and then,
-recovering herself, added, "But has he anything to complain of? Has he
-complained of anything? Is there any cause of grief or sorrow that we
-are not acquainted with?"
-
-"I allude only to his wound, Madame."
-
-"So much the better, then, for, in other respects, M. de Guiche seems
-to be very happy; he is always in very high spirits. I am sure that you,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne, would far prefer to be, like him, wounded only
-in the body... for what, in deed, is such a wound, after all!"
-
-Raoul started. "Alas!" he said to himself, "she is returning to it."
-
-"What did you say?" she inquired.
-
-"I did not say anything Madame."
-
-"You did not say anything; you disapprove of my observation, then? you
-are perfectly satisfied, I suppose?"
-
-Raoul approached closer to her. "Madame," he said, "your royal highness
-wishes to say something to me, and your instinctive kindness and
-generosity of disposition induce you to be careful and considerate as
-to your manner of conveying it. Will your royal highness throw this kind
-forbearance aside? I am able to bear everything; and I am listening."
-
-"Ah!" replied Henrietta, "what do you understand, then?"
-
-"That which your royal highness wishes me to understand," said Raoul,
-trembling, notwithstanding his command over himself, as he pronounced
-these words.
-
-"In point of fact," murmured the princess... "it seems cruel, but since I
-have begun--"
-
-"Yes, Madame, once your highness has deigned to begin, will you
-condescend to finish--"
-
-Henrietta rose hurriedly and walked a few paces up and down her room.
-"What did M. de Guiche tell you?" she said, suddenly.
-
-"Nothing, Madame."
-
-"Nothing! Did he say nothing? Ah! how well I recognize him in that."
-
-"No doubt he wished to spare me."
-
-"And that is what friends call friendship. But surely, M. d'Artagnan,
-whom you have just left, must have told you."
-
-"No more than De Guiche, Madame."
-
-Henrietta made a gesture full of impatience, as she said, "At least, you
-know all the court knows."
-
-"I know nothing at all, Madame."
-
-"Not the scene in the storm?"
-
-"No, Madame."
-
-"Not the _tete-a-tete_ in the forest?"
-
-"No, Madame."
-
-"Nor the flight to Chaillot?"
-
-Raoul, whose head dropped like a blossom cut down by the reaper, made
-an almost superhuman effort to smile, as he replied with the greatest
-gentleness: "I have had the honor of telling your royal highness that
-I am absolutely ignorant of everything, that I am a poor unremembered
-outcast, who has this moment arrived from England. There have rolled so
-many stormy waves between myself and those I left behind me here, that
-the rumor of none of the circumstances your highness refers to, has been
-able to reach me."
-
-Henrietta was affected by his extreme pallor, his gentleness, and his
-great courage. The principal feeling in her heart at that moment was an
-eager desire to hear the nature of the remembrance which the poor lover
-retained of the woman who had made him suffer so much. "Monsieur de
-Bragelonne," she said, "that which your friends have refused to do, I
-will do for you, whom I like and esteem very much. I will be your friend
-on this occasion. You hold your head high, as a man of honor should; and
-I deeply regret that you may have to bow before ridicule, and in a few
-days, it might be, contempt."
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Raoul, perfectly livid. "It is as bad as that, then?"
-
-"If you do not know," said the princess, "I see that you guess; you were
-affianced, I believe, to Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"By that right, you deserve to be warned about her, as some day or
-another I shall be obliged to dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valliere from
-my service--"
-
-"Dismiss La Valliere!" cried Bragelonne.
-
-"Of course. Do you suppose I shall always be amenable to the tears and
-protestations of the king? No, no! my house shall no longer be made a
-convenience for such practices; but you tremble, you cannot stand--"
-
-"No, Madame, no," said Bragelonne, making an effort over himself; "I
-thought I should have died just now, that was all. Your royal highness
-did me the honor to say that the king wept and implored you--"
-
-"Yes, but in vain," returned the princess; who then related to Raoul the
-scene that took place at Chaillot, and the king's despair on his return;
-she told him of his indulgence to herself and the terrible word with
-which the outraged princess, the humiliated coquette, had quashed the
-royal anger.
-
-Raoul stood with his head bent down.
-
-"What do you think of it all?" she said.
-
-"The king loves her," he replied.
-
-"But you seem to think she does not love him!"
-
-"Alas, Madame, I was thinking of the time when she loved _me_."
-
-Henrietta was for a moment struck with admiration at this sublime
-disbelief: and then, shrugging her shoulders, she said, "You do not
-believe me, I see. How deeply you must love her. And you doubt if she
-loves the king?"
-
-"I do, until I have a proof of it. Forgive me, Madame, but she has
-given me her word; and her mind and heart are too upright to tell a
-falsehood."
-
-"You require a proof! Be it so. Come with me, then."
-
-
-
-Chapter LIII. A Domiciliary Visit.
-
-The princess, preceding Raoul, led him through the courtyard towards
-that part of the building La Valliere inhabited, and, ascending the same
-staircase which Raoul himself had ascended that very morning, she paused
-at the door of the room in which the young man had been so strangely
-received by Montalais. The opportunity was remarkably well chosen to
-carry out the project Madame Henrietta had conceived, for the chateau
-was empty. The king, the courtiers, and the ladies of the court, had
-set off for Saint-Germain; Madame Henrietta was the only one who knew
-of Bragelonne's return, and thinking over the advantages which might be
-drawn from this return, she had feigned indisposition in order to remain
-behind. Madame was therefore confident of finding La Valliere's room and
-Saint-Aignan's apartment perfectly empty. She took a pass-key from
-her pocket and opened the door of her maid of honor's apartment.
-Bragelonne's gaze was immediately fixed upon the interior of the room,
-which he recognized at once; and the impression which the sight of
-it produced upon him was torture. The princess looked at him, and her
-practiced eye at once detected what was passing in the young man's
-heart.
-
-"You asked for proofs," she said; "do not be astonished, then, if I give
-you them. But if you do not think you have courage enough to confront
-them, there is still time to withdraw."
-
-"I thank you, Madame," said Bragelonne; "but I came here to be
-convinced. You promised to convince me,--do so."
-
-"Enter, then," said Madame, "and shut the door behind you."
-
-Bragelonne obeyed, and then turned towards the princess, whom he
-interrogated by a look.
-
-"You know where you are, I suppose?" inquired Madame Henrietta.
-
-"Everything leads me to believe I am in Mademoiselle de la Valliere's
-room."
-
-"You are."
-
-"But I would observe to your highness, that this room is a room, and is
-not a proof."
-
-"Wait," said the princess, as she walked to the foot of the bed, folded
-up the screen into its several compartments, and stooped down towards
-the floor. "Look here," she continued; "stoop down and lift up this
-trap-door yourself."
-
-"A trap-door!" said Raoul, astonished; for D'Artagnan's words began
-to return to his memory, and he had an indistinct recollection that
-D'Artagnan had made use of the same word. He looked, but uselessly,
-for some cleft or crevice which might indicate an opening or a ring to
-assist in lifting up the planking.
-
-"Ah, I forgot," said Madame Henrietta, "I forgot the secret spring; the
-fourth plank of the flooring,--press on the spot where you will observe
-a knot in the wood. Those are the instructions; press, vicomte! press, I
-say, yourself."
-
-Raoul, pale as death, pressed his finger on the spot which had been
-indicated to him; at the same moment the spring began to work, and the
-trap rose of its own accord.
-
-"It is ingenious enough, certainly," said the princess; "and one can see
-that the architect foresaw that a woman's hand only would have to make
-use of this spring, for see how easily the trap-door opened without
-assistance."
-
-"A staircase!" cried Raoul.
-
-"Yes, and a very pretty one, too," said Madame Henrietta. "See, vicomte,
-the staircase has a balustrade, intended to prevent the falling of timid
-persons, who might be tempted to descend the staircase; and I will risk
-myself on it accordingly. Come, vicomte, follow me!"
-
-"But before following you, madame, may I ask where this staircase leads
-to?"
-
-"Ah, true; I forgot to tell you. You know, perhaps, that formerly M. de
-Saint-Aignan lived in the very next apartment to the king?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, I am aware of that; that was the arrangement, at least,
-before I left; and more than once I had the honor of visiting his
-rooms."
-
-"Well, he obtained the king's leave to change his former convenient
-and beautiful apartment for the two rooms to which this staircase will
-conduct us, and which together form a lodging for him half the size, and
-at ten times greater the distance from the king,--a close proximity to
-whom is by no means disdained, in general, by the gentlemen belonging to
-the court."
-
-"Very good, Madame," returned Raoul; "but go on, I beg, for I do not
-understand yet."
-
-"Well, then it accidentally happened," continued the princess, "that M.
-de Saint-Aignan's apartment is situated underneath the apartments of
-my maids of honor, and by a further coincidence, exactly underneath the
-room of La Valliere."
-
-"But what was the motive of this trap-door and this staircase?"
-
-"That I cannot tell you. Would you like to go down to Monsieur de
-Saint-Aignan's rooms? Perhaps we shall be able to find the solution of
-the enigma there."
-
-And Madame set the example by going down herself, while Raoul, sighing
-deeply, followed her. At every step Bragelonne took, he advanced further
-into that mysterious apartment which had witnessed La Valliere's sighs
-and still retained the perfume of her presence. Bragelonne fancied he
-perceived, as he inhaled the atmosphere, that the young girl must have
-passed through. Then succeeded to these emanations of herself, which he
-regarded as invisible though certain proofs, flowers she preferred to
-all others--books of her own selection. If Raoul retained a single doubt
-on the subject, it would have vanished at the secret harmony of tastes
-and connection of the mind with the ordinary objects of life. La
-Valliere, in Bragelonne's eyes, was present there in each article of
-furniture, in the color of the hangings, in all that surrounded him.
-Dumb, and now completely overwhelmed, there was nothing further for him
-now to learn, and he followed his pitiless conductress as blindly as
-the culprit follows the executioner; while Madame, as cruel as women of
-overstrung temperaments generally are, did not spare him the slightest
-detail. But it must be admitted that, notwithstanding the kind of apathy
-into which he had fallen, none of these details, even had he been left
-alone, would have escaped him. The happiness of the woman who loves,
-when that happiness is derived from a rival, is a living torture for
-a jealous man; but for a jealous man such as Raoul was, for one whose
-heart for the first time in its existence was being steeped in gall and
-bitterness, Louise's happiness was in reality an ignominious death, a
-death of body and soul. He guessed all; he fancied he could see them,
-with their hands clasped in each other's, their faces drawn close
-together, and reflected, side by side, in loving proximity, and they
-gazed upon the mirrors around them--so sweet an occupation for lovers,
-who, as they thus see themselves twice over, imprint the picture still
-more deeply on their memories. He could guess, too, the stolen kiss
-snatched as they separated from each other's loved society. The luxury,
-the studied elegance, eloquent of the perfection of indolence, of
-ease; the extreme care shown, either to spare the loved object every
-annoyance, or to occasion her a delightful surprise; that might and
-majesty of love multiplied by the majesty and might of royalty itself,
-seemed like a death-blow to Raoul. If there be anything which can in any
-way assuage or mitigate the tortures of jealousy, it is the inferiority
-of the man who is preferred to yourself; whilst, on the very contrary,
-if there be one anguish more bitter than another, a misery for which
-language lacks a word, it is the superiority of the man preferred to
-yourself, superior, perhaps, in youth, beauty, grace. It is in such
-moments as these that Heaven almost seems to have taken part against the
-disdained and rejected lover.
-
-One final pang was reserved for poor Raoul. Madame Henrietta lifted up a
-silk curtain, and behind the canvas he perceived La Valliere's portrait.
-Not only the portrait of La Valliere, but of La Valliere radiant with
-youth, beauty, and happiness, inhaling life and enjoyment at every pore,
-because at eighteen years of age love itself is life.
-
-"Louise!" murmured Bragelonne,--"Louise! is it true, then? Oh, you have
-never loved me, for never have you looked at me in that manner." And he
-felt as if his heart were crushed within his bosom.
-
-Madame Henrietta looked at him, almost envious of his extreme grief,
-although she well knew there was nothing to envy in it, and that she
-herself was as passionately loved by De Guiche as Louise by Bragelonne.
-Raoul interpreted Madame Henrietta's look.
-
-"Oh, forgive me, forgive me, Madame; in your presence I know I ought to
-have greater self-control. But Heaven grant that you may never be struck
-by similar misery to that which crushes me at this moment, for you are
-but a woman, and would not be able to endure so terrible an affliction.
-Forgive me, I again entreat you, Madame; I am but a man without rank or
-position, while you belong to a race whose happiness knows no bounds,
-whose power acknowledges no limit."
-
-"Monsieur de Bragelonne," replied Henrietta, "a mind such as your merits
-all the consideration and respect which a queen's heart even can bestow.
-Regard me as your friend, monsieur; and as such, indeed, I would not
-allow your whole life to be poisoned by perfidy, and covered with
-ridicule. It was I, indeed, who, with more courage than any of your
-pretended friends,--I except M. de Guiche,--was the cause of your return
-from London; it is I, also, who now give you the melancholy proofs,
-necessary, however, for your cure if you are a lover with courage in his
-heart, and not a weeping Amadis. Do not thank me; pity me, even, and do
-not serve the king less faithfully than you have done."
-
-Raoul smiled bitterly. "Ah! true, true; I was forgetting that; the king
-is my master."
-
-"Your liberty, nay, your very life, is in danger."
-
-A steady, penetrating look informed Madame Henrietta that she was
-mistaken, and that her last argument was not a likely one to affect the
-young man. "Take care, Monsieur de Bragelonne," she said, "for if you do
-not weigh well all your actions, you might throw into an extravagance
-of wrath a prince whose passions, once aroused, exceed the bounds of
-reason, and you would thereby involve your friends and family in the
-deepest distress; you must bend, you must submit, and you must cure
-yourself."
-
-"I thank you, Madame; I appreciate the advice your royal highness is
-good enough to give me, and I will endeavor to follow it; but one final
-word, I beg."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"Should I be indiscreet in asking you the secret of this staircase, of
-this trap-door; a secret, which, it seems, you have discovered?"
-
-"Nothing more simple. For the purpose of exercising a surveillance over
-the young girls who are attached to my service, I have duplicate keys of
-their doors. It seemed very strange to me that M. de Saint-Aignan should
-change his apartments. It seemed very strange that the king should
-come to see M. de Saint-Aignan every day, and, finally, it seemed very
-strange that so many things should be done during your absence, that the
-very habits and customs of the court appeared changed. I do not wish
-to be trifled with by the king, nor to serve as a cloak for his love
-affairs; for after La Valliere, who weeps incessantly, he will take a
-fancy to Montalais, who is always laughing; and then to Tonnay-Charente,
-who does nothing but sing all day; to act such a part as that would be
-unworthy of me. I thrust aside the scruples which my friendship for
-you suggested. I discovered the secret. I have wounded your feelings, I
-know, and I again entreat you to pardon me; but I had a duty to fulfil.
-I have discharged it. You are now forewarned; the tempest will soon
-burst; protect yourself accordingly."
-
-"You naturally expect, however, that a result of some kind must follow,"
-replied Bragelonne, with firmness; "for you do not suppose I shall
-silently accept the shame thus thrust upon me, or the treachery which
-has been practiced against me?"
-
-"You will take whatever steps in the matter you please, Monsieur Raoul,
-only do not betray the source whence you derived the truth. That is all
-I have to ask,--the only price I require for the service I have rendered
-you."
-
-"Fear nothing, Madame," said Bragelonne, with a bitter smile.
-
-"I bribed the locksmith, in whom the lovers confided. You can just as
-well have done so as myself, can you not?"
-
-"Yes, Madame. Your royal highness, however, has no other advice or
-caution to give me, except that of not betraying you?"
-
-"None."
-
-"I am about, therefore, to beg your royal highness to allow me to remain
-here for one moment."
-
-"Without me?"
-
-"Oh! no, Madame. It matters very little; for what I have to do can be
-done in your presence. I only ask one moment to write a line to some
-one."
-
-"It is dangerous, Monsieur de Bragelonne. Take care."
-
-"No one can possibly know that your royal highness has done me the
-honor to conduct me here. Besides, I shall sign the letter I am going to
-write."
-
-"Do as you please, then."
-
-Raoul drew out his tablet, and wrote rapidly on one of the leaves the
-following words:
-
-"MONSIEUR LE COMTE,--Do not be surprised to find this paper signed by
-me; the friend I shall very shortly send to call on you will have the
-honor to explain the object of my visit.
-
-"VICOMTE RAOUL DE BRAGELONNE."
-
-
-He rolled up the paper, slipped it into the lock of the door which
-communicated with the room set apart for the two lovers, and satisfied
-himself that the missive was so apparent that Saint-Aignan could not but
-see it as he entered; he rejoined the princess, who had already reached
-the top of the staircase. They then separated, Raoul pretending to thank
-her highness; Henrietta pitying, or seeming to pity, with all her heart,
-the wretched young man she had just condemned to such fearful torture.
-"Oh!" she said, as she saw him disappear, pale as death, and his eyes
-bursting with blood, "if I had foreseen this, I would have hid the truth
-from that poor gentleman."
-
-
-
-Chapter LIV. Porthos's Plan of Action.
-
-The great number of individuals we have introduced into this long story
-is the reason why each of them has been forced to appear only in turn,
-according to the exigencies of the recital. The result is, that our
-readers have had no opportunity of meeting our friend Porthos since his
-return from Fontainebleau. The honors which he had received from
-the king had not changed the easy, affectionate character of that
-excellent-hearted man; he may, perhaps, have held up his head a little
-higher than usual, and a majesty of demeanor, as it were, may have
-betrayed itself since the honor of dining at the king's table had been
-accorded him. His majesty's banqueting-room had produced a certain
-effect on Porthos. Le Seigneur de Bracieux et de Pierrefonds delighted
-to remember that, during that memorable dinner, the numerous array of
-servants, and the large number of officials in attendance on the guests,
-gave a certain tone and effect to the repast, and seemed, as it were, to
-furnish the room. Porthos undertook to confer upon Mouston a position of
-some kind or other, in order to establish a sort of hierarchy among
-his other domestics, and to create a military household, which was not
-unusual among the great captains of the age, since, in the preceding
-century, this luxury had been greatly encouraged by Messieurs de
-Treville, de Schomberg, de la Vieuville, without alluding to M. de
-Richelieu, M. de Conde, and de Bouillon-Turenne. And, therefore, why
-should not he, Porthos, the friend of the king, and of M. Fouquet, a
-baron, and engineer, etc., why should not he, indeed, enjoy all
-the delightful privileges which large possessions and unusual merit
-invariably confer? Somewhat neglected by Aramis, who, we know, was
-greatly occupied with M. Fouquet; neglected, also, on account of his
-being on duty, by D'Artagnan; tired of Truchen and Planchet, Porthos was
-surprised to find himself dreaming, without precisely knowing why; but
-if any one had said to him, "Do you want anything, Porthos?" he would
-most certainly have replied, "Yes." After one of those dinners, during
-which Porthos attempted to recall to his recollection all the details of
-the royal banquet, gently joyful, thanks to the excellence of the wines;
-gently melancholy, thanks to his ambitious ideas, Porthos was gradually
-falling off into a placid doze, when his servant entered to announce
-that M. de Bragelonne wished to speak to him. Porthos passed into an
-adjoining room, where he found his young friend in the disposition of
-mind we are already aware of. Raoul advanced towards Porthos, and
-shook him by the hand; Porthos, surprised at his seriousness of aspect,
-offered him a seat. "Dear M. du Vallon," said Raoul, "I have a service
-to ask of you."
-
-"Nothing could happen more fortunately, my young friend," replied
-Porthos; "I have eight thousand livres sent me this morning from
-Pierrefonds; and if you want any money--"
-
-"No, I thank you; it is not money."
-
-"So much the worse, then. I have always heard it said that that is the
-rarest service, but the easiest to render. The remark struck me; I like
-to cite remarks that strike me."
-
-"Your heart is as good as your mind is sound and true."
-
-"You are much too kind, I declare. You will dine here, of course?"
-
-"No; I am not hungry."
-
-"Eh! not dine? What a dreadful country England is!"
-
-"Not too much so, indeed--but--"
-
-"Well, if such excellent fish and meat were not to be procured there, it
-would hardly be endurable."
-
-"Yes, I came to--"
-
-"I am listening. Only just allow me to take a little sip. One gets
-thirsty in Paris;" and he ordered a bottle of champagne to be brought;
-and, having first filled Raoul's glass, he filled his own, drank it down
-at a gulp, and then resumed: "I needed that, in order to listen to you
-with proper attention. I am now entirely at your service. What do you
-wish to ask me, dear Raoul? What do you want?"
-
-"Give me your opinion on quarrels in general, my dear friend."
-
-"My opinion! Well--but--Explain your idea a little more coherently,"
-replied Porthos, rubbing his forehead.
-
-"I mean--you are generally good-humored, good-tempered, whenever any
-misunderstanding arises between a friend of yours and a stranger, for
-instance?"
-
-"Oh! in the best of tempers."
-
-"Very good; but what do you do, in such a case?"
-
-"Whenever any friend of mine gets into a quarrel, I always act on one
-principle."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That lost time is irreparable, and one never arranges an affair so well
-as when everything has been done to embroil the disputants as much as
-possible."
-
-"Ah! indeed, is that the principle on which you proceed?"
-
-"Precisely; so, as soon as a quarrel takes place, I bring the two
-parties together."
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"You understand that by this means it is impossible for an affair not to
-be arranged."
-
-"I should have thought that, treated in this manner, an affair would, on
-the contrary--"
-
-"Oh! not the least in the world. Just fancy, now, I have had in my life
-something like a hundred and eighty to a hundred and ninety regular
-duels, without reckoning hasty encounters, or chance meetings."
-
-"It is a very handsome aggregate," said Raoul, unable to resist a smile.
-
-"A mere nothing; but I am so gentle. D'Artagnan reckons his duels by
-hundreds. It is very true he is a little too hard and sharp--I have
-often told him so."
-
-"And so," resumed Raoul, "you generally arrange the affairs of honor
-your friends confide to you."
-
-"There is not a single instance in which I have not finished by
-arranging every one of them," said Porthos, with a gentleness and
-confidence that surprised Raoul.
-
-"But the way in which you settle them is at least honorable, I suppose?"
-
-"Oh! rely upon that; and at this stage, I will explain my other
-principle to you. As soon as my friend has intrusted his quarrel to
-me, this is what I do; I go to his adversary at once, armed with
-a politeness and self-possession absolutely requisite under such
-circumstances."
-
-"That is the way, then," said Raoul, bitterly, "that you arrange affairs
-so safely."
-
-"I believe you. I go to the adversary, then, and say to him: 'It is
-impossible, monsieur, that you are ignorant of the extent to which you
-have insulted my friend.'" Raoul frowned at this remark.
-
-"It sometimes happens--very often, indeed," pursued Porthos--"that my
-friend has not been insulted at all; he has even been the first to give
-offense; you can imagine, therefore, whether my language is or is not
-well chosen." And Porthos burst into a peal of laughter.
-
-"Decidedly," said Raoul to himself while the merry thunder of Porthos's
-laughter was resounding in his ears, "I am very unfortunate. De Guiche
-treats me with coolness, D'Artagnan with ridicule, Porthos is too tame;
-no one will settle this affair in the only way I wish it to be settled.
-And I came to Porthos because I wanted to find a sword instead of cold
-reasoning at my service. My ill-luck dogs me."
-
-Porthos, who had recovered himself, continued: "By one simple
-expression, I leave my adversary without an excuse."
-
-"That is as it may happen," said Raoul, absently.
-
-"Not at all, it is quite certain. I have not left him an excuse; and
-then it is that I display all my courtesy, in order to attain the
-happy issue of my project. I advance, therefore, with an air of great
-politeness, and taking my adversary by the hand, I say to him: 'Now
-that you are convinced of having given the offense, we are sure of
-reparation; between my friend and yourself, the future can only offer an
-exchange of mutual courtesies of conduct, and consequently, my mission
-now is to acquaint you with the length of my friend's sword.'"
-
-"What!" said Raoul.
-
-"Wait a minute. 'The length of my friend's sword. My horse is waiting
-below; my friend is in such and such a spot and is impatiently awaiting
-your agreeable society; I will take you with me; we can call upon your
-second as we go along:' and the affair is arranged."
-
-"And so," said Raoul, pale with vexation, "you reconcile the two
-adversaries on the ground."
-
-"I beg your pardon," interrupted Porthos. "Reconcile! What for?"
-
-"You said that the affair was arranged."
-
-"Of course! since my friend is waiting for him."
-
-"Well! what then? If he is waiting--"
-
-"Well! if he is waiting, it is merely to stretch his legs a little. The
-adversary, on the contrary, is stiff from riding; they place themselves
-in proper order, and my friend kills the opponent, and the affair is
-ended."
-
-"Ah! he kills him, then?" cried Raoul.
-
-"I should think so," said Porthos. "Is it likely I should ever have as a
-friend a man who allows himself to get killed? I have a hundred and
-one friends; at the head of the list stand your father, Aramis, and
-D'Artagnan, all of whom are living and well, I believe?"
-
-"Oh, my dear baron," exclaimed Raoul, as he embraced Porthos.
-
-"You approve of my method, then?" said the giant.
-
-"I approve of it so thoroughly, that I shall have recourse to it this
-very day, without a moment's delay,--at once, in fact. You are the very
-man I have been looking for."
-
-"Good; here I am, then; you want to fight, I suppose?"
-
-"Absolutely."
-
-"It is very natural. With whom?"
-
-"With M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"I know him--a most agreeable man, who was exceedingly polite to me
-the day I had the honor of dining with the king. I shall certainly
-acknowledge his politeness in return, even if it had not happened to be
-my usual custom. So, he has given you an offense?"
-
-"A mortal offense."
-
-"The deuce! I can say so, I suppose?"
-
-"More than that, even, if you like."
-
-"That is a very great convenience."
-
-"I may look upon it as one of your arranged affairs, may I not?" said
-Raoul, smiling.
-
-"As a matter of course. Where will you be waiting for him?"
-
-"Ah! I forgot; it is a very delicate matter. M. de Saint-Aignan is a
-very great friend of the king's."
-
-"So I have heard it said."
-
-"So that if I kill him--"
-
-"Oh! you will kill him, certainly; you must take every precaution to do
-so. But there is no difficulty in these matters now; if you had lived in
-our early days,--ah, those were days worth living for!"
-
-"My dear friend, you do not quite understand me. I mean, that M.
-de Saint-Aignan being a friend of the king, the affair will be more
-difficult to manage, since the king might learn beforehand--"
-
-"Oh! no; that is not likely. You know my method: 'Monsieur, you have
-just injured my friend, and--'"
-
-"Yes, I know it."
-
-"And then: 'Monsieur, I have horses below.' I carry him off before he
-can have spoken to any one."
-
-"Will he allow himself to be carried off like that?"
-
-"I should think so! I should like to see it fail. It would be the first
-time, if it did. It is true, though, that the young men of the present
-day--Bah! I would carry him off bodily, if that were all," and Porthos,
-adding gesture to speech, lifted Raoul and the chair he was sitting on
-off the ground, and carried them round the room.
-
-"Very good," said Raoul, laughing. "All we have to do is to state the
-grounds of the quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Well, but that is done, it seems."
-
-"No, my dear M. du Vallon, the usage of the present day requires that
-the cause of the quarrel should be explained."
-
-"Very good. Tell me what it is, then."
-
-"The fact is--"
-
-"Deuce take it! how troublesome all this is! In former days we had no
-occasion to say anything about the matter. People fought for the sake of
-fighting; and I, for one, know no better reason than that."
-
-"You are quite right, M. du Vallon."
-
-"However, tell me what the cause is."
-
-"It is too long a story to tell; only, as one must particularize to
-a certain extent, and as, on the other hand, the affair is full of
-difficulties, and requires the most absolute secrecy, you will have the
-kindness merely to tell M. de Saint-Aignan that he has, in the first
-place, insulted me by changing his lodgings."
-
-"By changing his lodgings? Good," said Porthos, who began to count on
-his fingers; "next?"
-
-"Then in getting a trap-door made in his new apartments."
-
-"I understand," said Porthos; "a trap-door: upon my word, that is very
-serious; you ought to be furious at that. What the deuce does the
-fellow mean by getting trap-doors made without first consulting you?
-Trap-doors! _mordioux!_ I haven't got any, except in my dungeons at
-Bracieux."
-
-"And you will please add," said Raoul, "that my last motive for
-considering myself insulted is, the existence of the portrait that M. de
-Saint-Aignan well knows."
-
-"Is it possible? A portrait, too! A change of residence, a trap-door,
-and a portrait! Why, my dear friend, with but one of these causes of
-complaint there is enough, and more than enough, for all the gentlemen
-in France and Spain to cut each other's throats, and that is saying but
-very little."
-
-"Well, my dear friend, you are furnished with all you need, I suppose?"
-
-"I shall take a second horse with me. Select your own rendezvous, and
-while you are waiting there, you can practice some of the best passes,
-so as to get your limbs as elastic as possible."
-
-"Thank you. I shall be waiting for you in the wood of Vincennes, close
-to Minimes."
-
-"All goes well, then. Where am I to find this M. de Saint-Aignan?"
-
-"At the Palais Royal."
-
-Porthos ran a huge hand-bell. "My court suit," he said to the servant
-who answered the summons, "my horse, and a led horse to accompany me."
-Then turning to Raoul, as soon as the servant had quitted the room, he
-said: "Does your father know anything about this?"
-
-"No; I am going to write to him."
-
-"And D'Artagnan?"
-
-"No, nor D'Artagnan either. He is very cautious, you know, and might
-have diverted me from my purpose."
-
-"D'Artagnan is a sound adviser, though," said Porthos, astonished that,
-in his own loyal faith in D'Artagnan, any one could have thought of
-himself, so long as there was a D'Artagnan in the world.
-
-"Dear M. du Vallon," said Raoul, "do not question me any more, I implore
-you. I have told you all that I had to say; it is prompt action I now
-expect, sharp and decided as you know how to arrange it. That, indeed,
-is my reason for having chosen you."
-
-"You will be satisfied with me," replied Porthos.
-
-"Do not forget, either, that, except ourselves, no one must know
-anything of this meeting."
-
-"People generally find these things out," said Porthos, dryly, "when
-a dead body is discovered in a wood. But I promise everything, my dear
-friend, except the concealment of the dead body. There it is, and it
-must be seen, as a matter of course. It is a principle of mine, not to
-bury bodies. That has a smack of the assassin about it. Every risk has
-its peculiarities."
-
-"To work, then, my dear friend."
-
-"Rely upon me," said the giant, finishing the bottle, while a servant
-spread out upon a sofa the gorgeously decorated dress trimmed with lace.
-
-Raoul left the room, saying to himself, with a secret delight,
-"Perfidious king! traitorous monarch! I cannot reach thee. I do not wish
-it; for kings are sacred objects. But your friend, your accomplice, your
-panderer--the coward who represents you--shall pay for your crime. I
-will kill him in thy name, and, afterwards, we will bethink ourselves
-of--_Louise_."
-
-
-
-Chapter LV. The Change of Residence, the Trap-Door, and the Portrait.
-
-Porthos, intrusted, to his great delight, with this mission, which made
-him feel young again, took half an hour less than his usual time to put
-on his court suit. To show that he was a man acquainted with the usages
-of high society, he had begun by sending his lackey to inquire if
-Monsieur de Saint-Aignan were at home, and heard, in answer, that M.
-le Comte de Saint-Aignan had had the honor of accompanying the king to
-Saint-Germain, as well as the whole court; but that monsieur le comte
-had just that moment returned. Immediately upon this reply, Porthos made
-as much haste as possible, and reached Saint-Aignan's apartments just
-as the latter was having his boots taken off. The promenade had been
-delightful. The king, who was in love more than ever, and of course
-happier than ever, behaved in the most charming manner to every one.
-Nothing could possibly equal his kindness. M. de Saint-Aignan, it may
-be remembered, was a poet, and fancied that he had proved that he was
-so under too many a memorable circumstance to allow the title to be
-disputed by any one. An indefatigable rhymester, he had, during
-the whole of the journey, overwhelmed with quatrains, sextains, and
-madrigals, first the king, and then La Valliere. The king, on his side,
-was in a similarly poetical mood, and had made a distich; while La
-Valliere, delighting in poetry, as most women do who are in love, had
-composed two sonnets. The day, then, had not been a bad one for Apollo;
-and so, as soon as he had returned to Paris, Saint-Aignan, who knew
-beforehand that his verse would be sure to be extensively circulated in
-court circles, occupied himself, with a little more attention than he
-had been able to bestow during the promenade, with the composition, as
-well as with the idea itself. Consequently, with all the tenderness of
-a father about to start his children in life, he candidly interrogated
-himself whether the public would find these offsprings of his
-imagination sufficiently elegant and graceful; and in order to make
-his mind easy on the subject, M. de Saint-Aignan recited to himself the
-madrigal he had composed, and which he had repeated from memory to the
-king, and had promised to write out for him on his return. All the
-time he was committing these words to memory, the comte was engaged in
-undressing himself more completely. He had just taken off his coat, and
-was putting on his dressing-gown, when he was informed that Monsieur le
-Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds was waiting to be received.
-
-"Eh!" he said, "what does that bunch of names mean? I don't know
-anything about him."
-
-"It is the same gentleman," replied the lackey, "who had the honor of
-dining with you, monseigneur, at the king's table, when his majesty was
-staying at Fontainebleau."
-
-"Introduce him, then, at once," cried Saint-Aignan.
-
-Porthos, in a few minutes, entered the room. M. de Saint-Aignan had
-an excellent recollection of persons, and, at the first glance, he
-recognized the gentleman from the country, who enjoyed so singular
-a reputation, and whom the king had received so favorably at
-Fontainebleau, in spite of the smiles of some of those who were present.
-He therefore advanced towards Porthos with all the outward signs of
-consideration of manner which Porthos thought but natural, considering
-that he himself, whenever he called upon an adversary, hoisted a
-standard of the most refined politeness. Saint-Aignan desired the
-servant to give Porthos a chair; and the latter, who saw nothing unusual
-in this act of politeness, sat down gravely and coughed. The ordinary
-courtesies having been exchanged between the two gentlemen, the comte,
-to whom the visit was paid, said, "May I ask, monsieur le baron, to what
-happy circumstance I am indebted for the favor of a visit from you?"
-
-"The very thing I am about to have the honor of explaining to you,
-monsieur le comte; but, I beg your pardon--"
-
-"What is the matter, monsieur?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"I regret to say that I have broken your chair."
-
-"Not at all, monsieur," said Saint-Aignan; "not at all."
-
-"It is the fact, though, monsieur le comte; I have broken it--so much
-so, indeed, that if I do not move, I shall fall down, which would be an
-exceedingly disagreeable position for me in the discharge of the very
-serious mission which has been intrusted to me with regard to yourself."
-
-Porthos rose; and but just in time, for the chair had given way several
-inches. Saint-Aignan looked about him for something more solid for his
-guest to sit upon.
-
-"Modern articles of furniture," said Porthos, while the comte was
-looking about, "are constructed in a ridiculously flimsy manner. In my
-early days, when I used to sit down with far more energy than is now the
-case, I do not remember ever to have broken a chair, except in taverns,
-with my arms."
-
-Saint-Aignan smiled at this remark. "But," said Porthos, as he settled
-himself down on a couch, which creaked, but did not give way beneath his
-weight, "that unfortunately has nothing whatever to do with my present
-visit."
-
-"Why unfortunately? Are you the bearer of a message of ill-omen,
-monsieur le baron?"
-
-"Of ill-omen--for a gentleman? Certainly not, monsieur le comte,"
-replied Porthos, nobly. "I have simply come to say that you have
-seriously insulted a friend of mine."
-
-"I, monsieur?" exclaimed Saint-Aignan--"I have insulted a friend of
-yours, do you say? May I ask his name?"
-
-"M. Raoul de Bragelonne."
-
-"I have insulted M. Raoul de Bragelonne!" cried Saint-Aignan. "I really
-assure you, monsieur, that it is quite impossible; for M. de Bragelonne,
-whom I know but very slightly,--nay, whom I know hardly at all--is in
-England, and, as I have not seen him for a long time past, I cannot
-possibly have insulted him."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne is in Paris, monsieur le comte," said Porthos,
-perfectly unmoved; "and I repeat, it is quite certain you have insulted
-him, since he himself told me you had. Yes, monsieur, you have seriously
-insulted him, mortally insulted him, I repeat."
-
-"It is impossible, monsieur le baron, I swear, quite impossible."
-
-"Besides," added Porthos, "you cannot be ignorant of the circumstance,
-since M. de Bragelonne informed me that he had already apprised you of
-it by a note."
-
-"I give you my word of honor, monsieur, that I have received no note
-whatever."
-
-"This is most extraordinary," replied Porthos.
-
-"I will convince you," said Saint-Aignan, "that have received nothing
-in any way from him." And he rang the bell. "Basque," he said to the
-servant who entered, "how many letters or notes were sent here
-during my absence?"
-
-"Three, monsieur le comte--a note from M. de Fiesque, one from Madame de
-Laferte, and a letter from M. de las Fuentes."
-
-"Is that all?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur le comte."
-
-"Speak the truth before this gentleman--the truth, you understand. I
-will take care you are not blamed."
-
-"There was a note, also, from--from--"
-
-"Well, from whom?"
-
-"From Mademoiselle--de--"
-
-"Out with it!"
-
-"De Laval."
-
-"That is quite sufficient," interrupted Porthos. "I believe you,
-monsieur le comte."
-
-Saint-Aignan dismissed the valet, and followed him to the door, in order
-to close it after him; and when he had done so, looking straight before
-him, he happened to see in the keyhole of the adjoining apartment the
-paper which Bragelonne had slipped in there as he left. "What is this?"
-he said.
-
-Porthos, who was sitting with his back to the room, turned round. "Aha!"
-he said.
-
-"A note in the keyhole!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan.
-
-"That is not unlikely to be the missing letter, monsieur le comte," said
-Porthos.
-
-Saint-Aignan took out the paper. "A note from M. de Bragelonne!" he
-exclaimed.
-
-"You see, monsieur, I was right. Oh, when I say a thing--"
-
-"Brought here by M. de Bragelonne himself," the comte murmured, turning
-pale. "This is infamous! How could he possibly have come here?" And the
-comte rang again.
-
-"Who has been here during my absence with the king?"
-
-"No one, monsieur."
-
-"That is impossible! Some one must have been here."
-
-"No one could possibly have entered, monsieur, since the keys have never
-left my pocket."
-
-"And yet I find the letter in yonder lock; some one must have put it
-there; it could not have come here of its own accord."
-
-Basque opened his arms as if signifying the most absolute ignorance on
-the subject.
-
-"Probably it was M. de Bragelonne himself who placed it there," said
-Porthos.
-
-"In that case he must have entered here."
-
-"How could that have been, since I have the key in my own pocket?"
-returned Basque, perseveringly.
-
-Saint-Aignan crumpled the letter in his palm, after having read it.
-"There is something mysterious about this," he murmured, absorbed in
-thought. Porthos left him to his reflections; but after a while returned
-to the mission he had undertaken.
-
-"Shall we return to our little affair?" Porthos resumed, addressing
-Saint-Aignan after a brief pause.
-
-"I think I can now understand it, from this note, which has arrived here
-in so singular a manner. Monsieur de Bragelonne says that a friend will
-call."
-
-"I am his friend. I am the person he alludes to."
-
-"For the purpose of giving me a challenge?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"And he complains that I have insulted him?"
-
-"Mortally."
-
-"In what way, may I ask; for his conduct is so mysterious, that, at
-least, it needs some explanation?"
-
-"Monsieur," replied Porthos, "my friend cannot but be right; and, as far
-as his conduct is concerned, if it be mysterious, as you say, you have
-only yourself to blame for it." Porthos pronounced these words with an
-amount of confidence which, for a man who was unaccustomed to his ways,
-must have revealed an infinity of sense.
-
-"Mystery, so be it; but what is all the mystery about?" said
-Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You will think it the best, perhaps," Porthos replied, with a low bow,
-"if I do not enter in to particulars."
-
-"Oh, I perfectly understand. We will touch very lightly upon it, then,
-so speak, monsieur, I am listening."
-
-"In the first place, monsieur," said Porthos, "you have changed your
-apartments."
-
-"Yes, that is quite true," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You admit it," said Porthos, with an air of satisfaction.
-
-"Admit it! of course I admit it. Why should I not admit it, do you
-suppose?"
-
-"You have admitted it. Very good," said Porthos, lifting up one finger.
-
-"But how can my having moved my lodgings have done M. de Bragelonne
-any harm? Have the goodness to tell me that, for I positively do not
-comprehend a word of what you are saying."
-
-Porthos stopped him, and then said, with great gravity, "Monsieur, this
-is the first of M. de Bragelonne's complaints against you. If he makes a
-complaint, it is because he feels himself insulted."
-
-Saint-Aignan began to beat his foot impatiently on the ground. "This
-looks like a spurious quarrel," he said.
-
-"No one can possibly have a spurious quarrel with the Vicomte de
-Bragelonne," returned Porthos; "but, at all events, you have nothing to
-add on the subject of your changing your apartments, I suppose?"
-
-"Nothing. And what is the next point?"
-
-"Ah, the next! You will observe, monsieur, that the one I have already
-mentioned is a most serious injury, to which you have given no answer,
-or rather, have answered very indifferently. Is it possible, monsieur,
-that you have changed your lodgings? M. de Bragelonne feels insulted at
-your having done so, and you do not attempt to excuse yourself."
-
-"What!" cried Saint-Aignan, who was getting annoyed at the perfect
-coolness of his visitor--"what! am I to consult M. de Bragelonne whether
-I am to move or not? You can hardly be serious, monsieur."
-
-"I am. And it is absolutely necessary, monsieur; but under any
-circumstances, you will admit that it is nothing in comparison with the
-second ground of complaint."
-
-"Well, what is that?"
-
-Porthos assumed a very solemn expression as he said: "How about the
-trap-door, monsieur?"
-
-Saint-Aignan turned exceedingly pale. He pushed back his chair so
-abruptly, that Porthos, simple as he was, perceived that the blow had
-told. "The trap-door," murmured Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Yes, monsieur, explain that if you can," said Porthos, shaking his
-head.
-
-Saint-Aignan held down his head, as he murmured: "I have been betrayed,
-everything is known!"
-
-"Everything," replied Porthos, who knew nothing.
-
-"You see me perfectly overwhelmed," pursued Saint-Aignan, "overwhelmed
-to a degree that I hardly know what I am about."
-
-"A guilty conscience, monsieur. Your affair is a bad one, and when the
-public learns all about it, it will judge--"
-
-"Oh, monsieur!" exclaimed the count, hurriedly, "such a secret ought not
-to be known even by one's confessor."
-
-"That we will think about," said Porthos; "the secret will not go far,
-in fact."
-
-"Surely, monsieur," returned Saint-Aignan, "since M. de Bragelonne has
-penetrated the secret, he must be aware of the danger he as well as
-others run the risk of incurring."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne runs no danger, monsieur, nor does he fear any either,
-as you, if it please Heaven, will find out very soon."
-
-"This fellow is a perfect madman," thought Saint-Aignan. "What, in
-Heaven's name, does he want?" He then said aloud: "Come, monsieur, let
-us hush up this affair."
-
-"You forget the portrait," said Porthos, in a voice of thunder, which
-made the comte's blood freeze in his veins.
-
-As the portrait in question was La Valliere's portrait, and no mistake
-could any longer exist on the subject, Saint-Aignan's eyes were
-completely opened. "Ah!" he exclaimed--"ah! monsieur, I remember now
-that M. de Bragelonne was engaged to be married to her."
-
-Porthos assumed an imposing air, all the majesty of ignorance, in fact,
-as he said: "It matters nothing whatever to me, nor to yourself, indeed,
-whether or not my friend was, as you say, engaged to be married. I am
-even astonished that you should have made use of so indiscreet a remark.
-It may possibly do your cause harm, monsieur."
-
-"Monsieur," replied Saint-Aignan, "you are the incarnation of
-intelligence, delicacy, and loyalty of feeling united. I see the whole
-matter now clearly enough."
-
-"So much the better," said Porthos.
-
-"And," pursued Saint-Aignan, "you have made me comprehend it in the most
-ingenious and the most delicate manner possible. I beg you to accept my
-best thanks." Porthos drew himself up, unable to resist the flattery of
-the remark. "Only, now that I know everything, permit me to explain--"
-
-Porthos shook his head, as a man who does not wish to hear, but
-Saint-Aignan continued: "I am in despair, I assure you, at all that
-has happened; but how would you have acted in my place? Come, between
-ourselves, tell me what you would have done?"
-
-Porthos drew himself up as he answered: "There is now no question at
-all of what I should have done, young man; you have been made acquainted
-with the three causes of complaint against you, I believe?"
-
-"As for the first, my change of rooms, and I now address myself to you
-as a man of honor and of great intelligence, could I, when the desire
-of so august a personage was so urgently expressed that I should move,
-ought I to have disobeyed?"
-
-Porthos was about to speak, but Saint-Aignan did not give him time to
-answer. "Ah! my frankness, I see, convinces you," he said, interpreting
-the movement according to his own fancy. "You feel that I am right."
-
-Porthos did not reply, and so Saint-Aignan continued: "I pass by that
-unfortunate trap-door," he said, placing his hand on Porthos's arm,
-"that trap-door, the occasion and means of so much unhappiness, and
-which was constructed for--you know what. Well, then, in plain truth, do
-you suppose that it was I who, of my own accord, in such a place, too,
-had that trap-door made?--Oh, no!--you do not believe it; and here,
-again, you feel, you guess, you understand the influence of a will
-superior to my own. You can conceive the infatuation, the blind,
-irresistible passion which has been at work. But, thank Heaven! I am
-fortunate in speaking to a man who has so much sensitiveness of feeling;
-and if it were not so, indeed, what an amount of misery and scandal
-would fall upon her, poor girl! and upon him--whom I will not name."
-
-Porthos, confused and bewildered by the eloquence and gestures of
-Saint-Aignan, made a thousand efforts to stem this torrent of words,
-of which, by the by, he did not understand a single one; he remained
-upright and motionless on his seat, and that was all he could do.
-Saint-Aignan continued, and gave a new inflection to his voice, and an
-increasing vehemence to his gesture: "As for the portrait, for I readily
-believe the portrait is the principal cause of complaint, tell me
-candidly if you think me to blame?--Who was it who wished to have her
-portrait? Was it I?--Who is in love with her? Is it I?--Who wishes to
-gain her affection? Again, is it I?--Who took her likeness? I, do you
-think? No! a thousand times no! I know M. de Bragelonne must be in a
-state of despair; I know these misfortunes are most cruel. But I, too,
-am suffering as well; and yet there is no possibility of offering any
-resistance. Suppose we were to fight? we would be laughed at. If he
-obstinately persist in his course, he is lost. You will tell me, I know,
-that despair is ridiculous, but then you are a sensible man. You have
-understood me. I perceived by your serious, thoughtful, embarrassed
-air, even, that the importance of the situation we are placed in has
-not escaped you. Return, therefore, to M. de Bragelonne; thank him--as I
-have indeed reason to thank him--for having chosen as an intermediary a
-man of your high merit. Believe me that I shall, on my side, preserve
-an eternal gratitude for the man who has so ingeniously, so cleverly
-arranged the misunderstanding between us. And since ill luck would have
-it that the secret should be known to four instead of three, why,
-this secret, which might make the most ambitious man's fortune, I am
-delighted to share with you, monsieur, from the bottom of my heart I
-am delighted at it. From this very moment you can make use of me as you
-please, I place myself entirely at your mercy. What can I possibly do
-for you? What can I solicit, nay, require even? You have only to speak,
-monsieur, only to speak."
-
-And, according to the familiarly friendly fashion of that period,
-Saint-Aignan threw his arms round Porthos, and clasped him tenderly
-in his embrace. Porthos allowed him to do this with the most perfect
-indifference. "Speak," resumed Saint-Aignan, "what do you require?"
-
-"Monsieur," said Porthos, "I have a horse below: be good enough to mount
-him; he is a very good one and will play you no tricks."
-
-"Mount on horseback! what for?" inquired Saint-Aignan, with no little
-curiosity.
-
-"To accompany me to where M. de Bragelonne is waiting us."
-
-"Ah! he wishes to speak to me, I suppose? I can well believe that; he
-wishes to have the details, very likely; alas! it is a very delicate
-matter; but at the present moment I cannot, for the king is waiting for
-me."
-
-"The king must wait, then," said Porthos.
-
-"What do you say? the king must wait!" interrupted the finished
-courtier, with a smile of utter amazement, for he could not understand
-that the king could under any circumstances be supposed to have to wait.
-
-"It is merely the affair of a very short hour," returned Porthos.
-
-"But where is M. de Bragelonne waiting for me?"
-
-"At the Minimes, at Vincennes."
-
-"Ah, indeed! but are we going to laugh over the affair when we get
-there?"
-
-"I don't think it likely," said Porthos, as his face assumed a look of
-utter hardness.
-
-"But the Minimes is a rendezvous where duels take place, and what can I
-have to do at the Minimes?"
-
-Porthos slowly drew his sword, and said: "That is the length of my
-friend's sword."
-
-"Why, the man is mad!" cried Saint-Aignan.
-
-The color mounted to Porthos's face, as he replied: "If I had not the
-honor of being in your own apartment, monsieur, and of representing M.
-de Bragelonne's interests, I would throw you out of the window. It will
-be merely a pleasure postponed, and you will lose nothing by waiting.
-Will you come with me to the Minimes, monsieur, of your own free will?"
-
-"But--"
-
-"Take care, I will carry you if you do not come quickly."
-
-"Basque!" cried Saint-Aignan. As soon as Basque appeared, he said, "The
-king wishes to see monsieur le comte."
-
-"That is very different," said Porthos; "the king's service before
-anything else. We will wait until this evening, monsieur."
-
-And saluting Saint-Aignan with his usual courtesy, Porthos left the
-room, delighted at having arranged another affair. Saint-Aignan looked
-after him as he left; and then hastily putting on his court dress
-again, he ran off, arranging his costume as he went along, muttering to
-himself, "The Minimes! the Minimes! We shall see how the king will fancy
-this challenge; for it is for him after all, that is certain."
-
-
-
-Chapter LVI. Rivals in Politics.
-
-On his return from the promenade, which had been so prolific in poetical
-effusions, and in which every one had paid his or her tribute to the
-Muses, as the poets of the period used to say, the king found M. Fouquet
-waiting for an audience. M. Colbert had lain in wait for his majesty in
-the corridor, and followed him like a jealous and watchful shadow;
-M. Colbert, with his square head, his vulgar and untidy, though rich
-costume, somewhat resembled a Flemish gentleman after he had been
-over-indulging in his national drink--beer. Fouquet, at sight of his
-enemy, remained perfectly unmoved, and during the whole of the scene
-which followed scrupulously resolved to observe a line of conduct
-particularly difficult to the man of superior mind, who does not even
-wish to show his contempt, for fear of doing his adversary too much
-honor. Colbert made no attempt to conceal his insolent expression of the
-vulgar joy he felt. In his opinion, M. Fouquet's was a game very badly
-played and hopelessly lost, although not yet finished. Colbert belonged
-to that school of politicians who think cleverness alone worthy of
-their admiration, and success the only thing worth caring for. Colbert,
-moreover, who was not simply an envious and jealous man, but who had the
-king's interest really at heart, because he was thoroughly imbued with
-the highest sense of probity in all matters of figures and accounts,
-could well afford to assign as a pretext for his conduct, that in hating
-and doing his utmost to ruin M. Fouquet, he had nothing in view but the
-welfare of the state and the dignity of the crown. None of these details
-escaped Fouquet's observation; through his enemy's thick, bushy brows,
-and despite the restless movement of his eyelids, he could, by merely
-looking at his eyes, penetrate to the very bottom of Colbert's heart,
-and he read to what an unbounded extent hate towards himself and triumph
-at his approaching fall existed there. But as, in observing everything,
-he wished to remain himself impenetrable, he composed his features,
-smiled with the charmingly sympathetic smile that was peculiarly his
-own, and saluted the king with the most dignified and graceful ease and
-elasticity of manner. "Sire," he said, "I perceive by your majesty's
-joyous air that you have been gratified with the promenade."
-
-"Most gratified, indeed, monsieur le surintendant, most gratified. You
-were very wrong not to come with us, as I invited you to do."
-
-"I was working, sire," replied the superintendent, who did not even
-seem to take the trouble to turn aside his head in merest respect of
-Colbert's presence.
-
-"Ah! M. Fouquet," cried the king, "there is nothing like the country. I
-should be delighted to live in the country always, in the open air and
-under the trees."
-
-"I should hope that your majesty is not yet weary of the throne," said
-Fouquet.
-
-"No; but thrones of soft turf are very pleasant."
-
-"Your majesty gratifies my utmost wishes in speaking in that manner, for
-I have a request to submit to you."
-
-"On whose behalf, monsieur?"
-
-"Oh behalf of the nymphs of Vaux, sire."
-
-"Ah! ah!" said Louis XIV.
-
-"Your majesty, too, once deigned to make me a promise," said Fouquet.
-
-"Yes, I remember it."
-
-"The _fete_ at Vaux, the celebrated _fete_, I think, it was, sire,"
-said Colbert, endeavoring to show his importance by taking part in the
-conversation.
-
-Fouquet, with the profoundest contempt, did not take the slightest
-notice of the remark, as if, as far as he was concerned, Colbert had not
-even thought or said a word.
-
-"Your majesty is aware," he said, "that I destine my estate at Vaux to
-receive the most amiable of princes, the most powerful of monarchs."
-
-"I have given you my promise, monsieur," said Louis XIV., smiling; "and
-a king never departs from his word."
-
-"And I have come now, sire, to inform your majesty that I am ready to
-obey your orders in every respect."
-
-"Do you promise me many wonders, monsieur le surintendant?" said Louis,
-looking at Colbert.
-
-"Wonders? Oh! no, sire. I do not undertake that. I hope to be able
-to procure your majesty a little pleasure, perhaps even a little
-forgetfulness of the cares of state."
-
-"Nay, nay, M. Fouquet," returned the king; "I insist upon the word
-'wonders.' You are a magician, I believe; we all know the power you
-wield; we also know that you can find gold even when there is none to be
-found elsewhere; so much so, indeed, that people say you coin it."
-
-Fouquet felt that the shot was discharged from a double quiver, and
-that the king had launched an arrow from his own bow as well as one from
-Colbert's. "Oh!" said he, laughingly, "the people know perfectly well
-out of what mine I procure the gold; and they know it only too well,
-perhaps; besides," he added, "I can assure your majesty that the gold
-destined to pay the expenses of the _fete_ at Vaux will cost neither
-blood nor tears; hard labor it may, perhaps, but that can be paid for."
-
-Louis paused quite confused. He wished to look at Colbert; Colbert, too,
-wished to reply to him; a glance as swift as an eagle's, a king-like
-glance, indeed, which Fouquet darted at the latter, arrested the
-words upon his lips. The king, who had by this time recovered his
-self-possession, turned towards Fouquet, saying, "I presume, therefore,
-I am now to consider myself formally invited?"
-
-"Yes, sire, if your majesty will condescend so far as to accept my
-invitation."
-
-"What day have you fixed?"
-
-"Any day your majesty may find most convenient."
-
-"You speak like an enchanter who has but to conjure up in actuality
-the wildest fancies, Monsieur Fouquet. I could not say so much, indeed,
-myself."
-
-"Your majesty will do, whenever you please, everything that a monarch
-can and ought to do. The king of France has servants at his bidding
-who are able to do anything on his behalf, to accomplish everything to
-gratify his pleasures."
-
-Colbert tried to look at the superintendent, in order to see whether
-this remark was an approach to less hostile sentiments on his part; but
-Fouquet had not even looked at his enemy, and Colbert hardly seemed
-to exist as far as he was concerned. "Very good, then," said the king.
-"Will a week hence suit you?"
-
-"Perfectly well, sire."
-
-"This is Tuesday; if I give you until next Sunday week, will that be
-sufficient?"
-
-"The delay which your majesty deigns to accord me will greatly aid the
-various works which my architects have in hand for the purpose of adding
-to the amusement of your majesty and your friends."
-
-"By the by, speaking of my friends," resumed the king; "how do you
-intend to treat them?"
-
-"The king is master everywhere, sire; your majesty will draw up your own
-list and give your own orders. All those you may deign to invite will be
-my guests, my honored guests, indeed."
-
-"I thank you!" returned the king, touched by the noble thought expressed
-in so noble a tone.
-
-Fouquet, therefore, took leave of Louis XIV., after a few words had been
-added with regard to the details of certain matters of business. He felt
-that Colbert would remain behind with the king, that they would both
-converse about him, and that neither of them would spare him in the
-least degree. The satisfaction of being able to give a last and
-terrible blow to his enemy seemed to him almost like a compensation
-for everything they were about to subject him to. He turned back again
-immediately, as soon, indeed, as he had reached the door, and addressing
-the king, said, "I was forgetting that I had to crave your majesty's
-forgiveness."
-
-"In what respect?" said the king, graciously.
-
-"For having committed a serious fault without perceiving it."
-
-"A fault! You! Ah! Monsieur Fouquet, I shall be unable to do otherwise
-than forgive you. In what way or against whom have you been found
-wanting?"
-
-"Against every sense of propriety, sire. I forgot to inform your majesty
-of a circumstance that has lately occurred of some little importance."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-Colbert trembled; he fancied that he was about to frame a denunciation
-against him. His conduct had been unmasked. A single syllable from
-Fouquet, a single proof formally advanced, and before the youthful
-loyalty of feeling which guided Louis XIV., Colbert's favor would
-disappear at once; the latter trembled, therefore, lest so daring a blow
-might overthrow his whole scaffold; in point of fact, the opportunity
-was so admirably suited to be taken advantage of, that a skillful,
-practiced player like Aramis would not have let it slip. "Sire," said
-Fouquet, with an easy, unconcerned air, "since you have had the kindness
-to forgive me, I am perfectly indifferent about my confession; this
-morning I sold one of the official appointments I hold."
-
-"One of your appointments," said the king, "which?"
-
-Colbert turned perfectly livid. "That which conferred upon me, sire,
-a grand gown, and a stern air of gravity; the appointment of
-procureur-general."
-
-The king involuntarily uttered a loud exclamation and looked at Colbert,
-who, with his face bedewed with perspiration, felt almost on the point
-of fainting. "To whom have you sold this department, Monsieur Fouquet?"
-inquired the king.
-
-Colbert was obliged to lean against a column of the fireplace. "To a
-councilor belonging to the parliament, sire, whose name is Vanel."
-
-"Vanel?"
-
-"Yes, sire, a particular friend of the intendant Colbert," added
-Fouquet; letting every word fall from his lips with the most inimitable
-nonchalance, and with an admirably assumed expression of forgetfulness
-and ignorance. And having finished, and having overwhelmed Colbert
-beneath the weight of this superiority, the superintendent again saluted
-the king and quitted the room, partially revenged by the stupefaction of
-the king and the humiliation of the favorite.
-
-"Is it really possible," said the king, as soon as Fouquet had
-disappeared, "that he has sold that office?"
-
-"Yes, sire," said Colbert, meaningly.
-
-"He must be mad," the king added.
-
-Colbert this time did not reply; he had penetrated the king's thought,
-a thought which amply revenged him for the humiliation he had just been
-made to suffer; his hatred was augmented by a feeling of bitter jealousy
-of Fouquet; and a threat of disgrace was now added to the plan he had
-arranged for his ruin. Colbert felt perfectly assured that for the
-future, between Louis XIV. and himself, their hostile feelings and ideas
-would meet with no obstacles, and that at the first fault committed by
-Fouquet, which could be laid hold of as a pretext, the chastisement
-so long impending would be precipitated. Fouquet had thrown aside his
-weapons of defense, and hate and jealousy had picked them up. Colbert
-was invited by the king to the _fete_ at Vaux; he bowed like a man
-confident in himself, and accepted the invitation with the air of
-one who almost confers a favor. The king was about writing down
-Saint-Aignan's name on his list of royal commands, when the usher
-announced the Comte de Saint-Aignan. As soon as the royal "Mercury"
-entered, Colbert discreetly withdrew.
-
-
-
-Chapter LVII. Rivals in Love.
-
-Saint-Aignan had quitted Louis XIV. hardly a couple of hours before; but
-in the first effervescence of his affection, whenever Louis XIV. was out
-of sight of La Valliere, he was obliged to talk about her. Besides,
-the only person with whom he could speak about her at his ease was
-Saint-Aignan, and thus Saint-Aignan had become an indispensable.
-
-"Ah, is that you, comte?" he exclaimed, as soon as he perceived him,
-doubly delighted, not only to see him again, but also to get rid of
-Colbert, whose scowling face always put him out of humor. "So much
-the better, I am very glad to see you. You will make one of the best
-traveling party, I suppose?"
-
-"Of what traveling part are you speaking, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The one we are making up to go to the _fete_ the superintendent is
-about to give at Vaux. Ah! Saint-Aignan, you will, at last, see a
-_fete_, a royal _fete_, by the side of which all our amusements at
-Fontainebleau are petty, contemptible affairs."
-
-"At Vaux! the superintendent going to give a _fete_ in your majesty's
-honor? Nothing more than that!"
-
-"'Nothing more than that,' do you say? It is very diverting to find
-you treating it with so much disdain. Are you who express such an
-indifference on the subject, aware, that as soon as it is known that M.
-Fouquet is going to receive me at Vaux next Sunday week, people will
-be striving their very utmost to get invited to the _fete?_ I repeat,
-Saint-Aignan, you shall be one of the invited guests."
-
-"Very well, sire; unless I shall, in the meantime, have undertaken a
-longer and a less agreeable journey."
-
-"What journey do you allude to?"
-
-"The one across the Styx, sire."
-
-"Bah!" said Louis XIV., laughing.
-
-"No, seriously, sire," replied Saint-Aignan, "I am invited; and in such
-a way, in truth, that I hardly know what to say, or how to act, in order
-to refuse the invitation."
-
-"I do not understand you. I know that you are in a poetical vein; but
-try not to sink from Apollo to Phoebus."
-
-"Very well; if your majesty will deign to listen to me, I will not keep
-your mind on the rack a moment longer."
-
-"Speak."
-
-"Your majesty knows the Baron du Vallon?"
-
-"Yes, indeed; a good servant to my father, the late king, and an
-admirable companion at table; for, I think, you are referring to the
-gentleman who dined with us at Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Precisely so; but you have omitted to add to his other qualifications,
-sire, that he is a most charming polisher-off of other people."
-
-"What! Does M. du Vallon wish to polish you off?"
-
-"Or to get me killed, which is much the same thing."
-
-"The deuce!"
-
-"Do not laugh, sire, for I am not saying one word beyond the exact
-truth."
-
-"And you say he wishes to get you killed."
-
-"Such is that excellent person's present idea."
-
-"Be easy; I will defend you, if he be in the wrong."
-
-"Ah! There is an 'if'!"
-
-"Of course; answer me as candidly as if it were some one else's affair
-instead of your own, my poor Saint-Aignan; is he right or wrong?"
-
-"Your majesty shall be the judge."
-
-"What have you done to him?"
-
-"To him, personally, nothing at all; but, it seems, to one of his
-friends, I have."
-
-"It is all the same. Is his friend one of the celebrated 'four'?"
-
-"No. It is the son of one of the celebrated 'four,' though."
-
-"What have you done to the son? Come, tell me."
-
-"Why, it seems that I have helped some one to take his mistress from
-him."
-
-"You confess it, then?"
-
-"I cannot help confessing it, for it is true."
-
-"In that case, you are wrong; and if he were to kill you, he would be
-doing perfectly right."
-
-"Ah! that is your majesty's way of reasoning, then!"
-
-"Do you think it a bad way?"
-
-"It is a very expeditious way, at all events."
-
-"'Good justice is prompt;' so my grandfather Henry IV. used to say."
-
-"In that case, your majesty will, perhaps, be good enough to sign my
-adversary's pardon, for he is now waiting for me at the Minimes, for the
-purpose of putting me out of my misery."
-
-"His name, and a parchment!"
-
-"There is a parchment upon your majesty's table; and for his name--"
-
-"Well, what is it?"
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne, sire."
-
-"'The Vicomte de Bragelonne!'" exclaimed the king; changing from a fit
-of laughter to the most profound stupor, and then, after a moment's
-silence, while he wiped his forehead, which was bedewed with
-perspiration, he again murmured, "Bragelonne!"
-
-"No other, sire."
-
-"Bragelonne, who was affianced to--"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"But--he has been in London."
-
-"Yes; but I can assure you, sire, he is there no longer."
-
-"Is he in Paris, then?"
-
-"He is at Minimes, sire, where he is waiting for me, as I have already
-had the honor of telling you."
-
-"Does he know all?"
-
-"Yes; and many things besides. Perhaps your majesty would like to look
-at the letter I have received from him;" and Saint-Aignan drew from his
-pocket the note we are already acquainted with. "When your majesty has
-read the letter, I will tell you how it reached me."
-
-The king read it in a great agitation, and immediately said, "Well?"
-
-"Well, sire; your majesty knows a certain carved lock, closing a certain
-door of carved ebony, which separates a certain apartment from a certain
-blue and white sanctuary?"
-
-"Of course; Louise's boudoir."
-
-"Yes, sire. Well, it was in the keyhole of that lock that I found yonder
-note."
-
-"Who placed it there?"
-
-"Either M. de Bragelonne, or the devil himself; but, inasmuch as the
-note smells of musk and not of sulphur, I conclude that it must be, not
-the devil, but M. de Bragelonne."
-
-Louis bent his head, and seemed absorbed in sad and bitter thought.
-Perhaps something like remorse was at that moment passing through his
-heart. "The secret is discovered," he said.
-
-"Sire, I shall do my utmost that the secret dies in the breast of the
-man who possesses it!" said Saint-Aignan, in a tone of bravado, as he
-moved towards the door; but a gesture of the king made him pause.
-
-"Where are you going?" he inquired.
-
-"Where they await me, sire."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To fight, in all probability."
-
-"_You_ fight!" exclaimed the king. "One moment, if you please, monsieur
-le comte!"
-
-Saint-Aignan shook his head, as a rebellious child does, whenever any
-one interferes to prevent him throwing himself into a well, or playing
-with a knife. "But, sire," he said.
-
-"In the first place," continued the king. "I want to be enlightened a
-little further."
-
-"Upon all points, if your majesty will be pleased to interrogate me,"
-replied Saint-Aignan, "I will throw what light I can."
-
-"Who told you that M. de Bragelonne had penetrated into that room?"
-
-"The letter which I found in the keyhole told me."
-
-"Who told you that it was De Bragelonne who put it there?"
-
-"Who but himself would have dared to undertake such a mission?"
-
-"You are right. How was he able to get into your rooms?"
-
-"Ah! that is very serious, inasmuch as all the doors were closed, and my
-lackey, Basque, had the keys in his pocket."
-
-"Your lackey must have been bribed."
-
-"Impossible, sire; for if he had been bribed, those who did so would not
-have sacrificed the poor fellow, whom, it is not unlikely, they might
-want to turn to further use by and by, in showing so clearly that it was
-he whom they had made use of."
-
-"Quite true. And now I can only form one conjecture."
-
-"Tell me what it is, sire, and we shall see if it is the same that has
-presented itself to my mind."
-
-"That he effected an entrance by means of the staircase."
-
-"Alas, sire, that seems to me more than probable."
-
-"There is no doubt that some one must have sold the secret of the
-trap-door."
-
-"Either sold it or given it."
-
-"Why do you make that distinction?"
-
-"Because there are certain persons, sire, who, being above the price of
-treason, give, and do not sell."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"Oh, sire! Your majesty's mind is too clear-sighted not to guess what
-I mean, and you will save me the embarrassment of naming the person I
-allude to."
-
-"You are right: you mean Madame; I suppose her suspicions were aroused
-by your changing your lodgings."
-
-"Madame has keys of the apartments of her maids of honor, and she is
-powerful enough to discover what no one but yourself could do, or she
-would not be able to discover anything."
-
-"And you suppose, then, that my sister must have entered into an
-alliance with Bragelonne, and has informed him of all the details of the
-affair."
-
-"Possibly even better still, for she perhaps accompanied him there."
-
-"Which way? through your own apartments?"
-
-"You think it impossible, sire? Well, listen to me. Your majesty knows
-that Madame is very fond of perfumes?"
-
-"Yes, she acquired that taste from my mother."
-
-"Vervain, particularly."
-
-"Yes, it is the scent she prefers to all others."
-
-"Very good, sire! my apartments happen to smell very strongly of
-vervain."
-
-The king remained silent and thoughtful for a few moments, and then
-resumed: "But why should Madame take Bragelonne's part against me?"
-
-Saint-Aignan could very easily have replied: "A woman's jealousy!" The
-king probed his friend to the bottom of his heart to ascertain if he
-had learned the secret of his flirtation with his sister-in-law. But
-Saint-Aignan was not an ordinary courtier; he did not lightly run the
-risk of finding out family secrets; and he was too a friend of the Muses
-not to think very frequently of poor Ovidius Naso, whose eyes shed so
-many tears in expiation of his crime for having once beheld something,
-one hardly knows what, in the palace of Augustus. He therefore passed
-by Madame's secret very skillfully. But as he had shown no ordinary
-sagacity in indicating Madame's presence in his rooms in company with
-Bragelonne, it was necessary, of course, for him to repay with interest
-the king's _amour propre_, and reply plainly to the question which had
-been put to him of: "Why has Madame taken Bragelonne's part against me?"
-
-"Why?" replied Saint-Aignan. "Your majesty forgets, I presume, that the
-Comte de Guiche is the intimate friend of the Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"I do not see the connection, however," said the king.
-
-"Ah! I beg your pardon, then, sire; but I thought the Comte de Guiche
-was a very great friend of Madame's."
-
-"Quite true," the king returned; "there is no occasion to search any
-further, the blow came from that direction."
-
-"And is not your majesty of opinion that, in order to ward it off, it
-will be necessary to deal another blow?"
-
-"Yes, but not one of the kind given in the Bois de Vincennes," replied
-the king.
-
-"You forget, sire," said Saint-Aignan, "that I am a gentleman, and that
-I have been challenged."
-
-"The challenge neither concerns nor was it intended for you."
-
-"But I am the man, sire, who has been expected at the Minimes, sire,
-during the last hour and more; and I shall be dishonored if I do not
-go."
-
-"The first honor and duty of a gentleman is obedience to his sovereign."
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"I order you to remain."
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"Obey, monsieur!"
-
-"As your majesty pleases."
-
-"Besides, I wish to have the whole of this affair explained; I wish to
-know how it is that I have been so insolently trifled with, as to have
-the sanctuary of my affections pried into. It is not you, Saint-Aignan,
-whose business it is to punish those who have acted in this manner, for
-it is not your honor they have attacked, but my own."
-
-"I implore your majesty not to overwhelm M. de Bragelonne with your
-wrath, for although in the whole of this affair he may have shown
-himself deficient in prudence, he has not been so in his feelings of
-loyalty."
-
-"Enough! I shall know how to decide between the just and the unjust,
-even in the height of my anger. But take care that not a word of this is
-breathed to Madame."
-
-"But what am I to do with regard to M. de Bragelonne? He will be seeking
-me in every direction, and--"
-
-"I shall either have spoken to him, or taken care that he has been
-spoken to, before the evening is over."
-
-"Let me once more entreat your majesty to be indulgent towards him."
-
-"I have been indulgent long enough, comte," said Louis XIV., frowning
-severely; "it is now quite time to show certain persons that I am master
-in my own palace."
-
-The king had hardly pronounced these words, which betokened that a fresh
-feeling of irritation was mingling with the recollections of old, when
-an usher appeared at the door of the cabinet. "What is the matter?"
-inquired the king, "and why do you presume to come when I have not
-summoned you?"
-
-"Sire," said the usher, "your majesty desired me to permit M. le Comte
-de la Fere to pass freely on any and every occasion, when he might wish
-to speak to your majesty."
-
-"Well, monsieur?"
-
-"M. le Comte de la Fere is now waiting to see your majesty."
-
-The king and Saint-Aignan at this reply exchanged a look which betrayed
-more uneasiness than surprise. Louis hesitated for a moment, but
-immediately afterwards, seeming to make up his mind, he said:
-
-"Go, Saint-Aignan, and find Louise; inform her of the plot against us;
-do not let her be ignorant that Madame will return to her system of
-persecutions against her, and that she has set those to work who would
-have found it far safer to remain neuter."
-
-"Sire--"
-
-"If Louise gets nervous and frightened, reassure her as much as you can;
-tell her that the king's affection is an impenetrable shield over her;
-if, which I suspect is the case, she already knows everything, or if she
-has already been herself subjected to an attack of some kind or other
-from any quarter, tell her, be sure to tell her, Saint-Aignan," added
-the king, trembling with passion, "tell her, I say, that this time,
-instead of defending her, I will avenge her, and that too so terribly
-that no one will in future even dare to raise his eyes towards her."
-
-"Is that all, sire?"
-
-"Yes, all. Go as quickly as you can, and remain faithful; for, you who
-live in the midst of this stake of infernal torments, have not, like
-myself, the hope of the paradise beyond it."
-
-Saint-Aignan exhausted himself in protestations of devotion, took the
-king's hand, kissed it, and left the room radiant with delight.
-
-
-
-Chapter LVIII. King and Noble.
-
-The king endeavored to recover his self-possession as quickly as
-possible, in order to meet M. de la Fere with an untroubled countenance.
-He clearly saw it was not mere chance that had induced the comte's
-visit, he had some vague impression of its importance; but he felt
-that to a man of Athos's tone of mind, to one of such a high order of
-intellect, his first reception ought not to present anything either
-disagreeable or otherwise than kind and courteous. As soon as the king
-had satisfied himself that, as far as appearances went, he was perfectly
-calm again, he gave directions to the ushers to introduce the comte. A
-few minutes afterwards Athos, in full court dress, and with his breast
-covered with the orders that he alone had the right to wear at the court
-of France, presented himself with so grave and solemn an air that the
-king perceived, at the first glance, that he was not deceived in his
-anticipations. Louis advanced a step towards the comte, and, with a
-smile, held out his hand to him, over which Athos bowed with the air of
-the deepest respect.
-
-"Monsieur le Comte de la Fere," said the king rapidly, "you are so
-seldom here, that it is a real piece of good fortune to see you."
-
-Athos bowed and replied, "I should wish always to enjoy the happiness of
-being near your majesty."
-
-The tone, however, in which this reply was conveyed, evidently
-signified, "I should wish to be one of your majesty's advisers, to save
-you the commission of faults." The king felt it so, and determined
-in this man's presence to preserve all the advantages which could be
-derived from his command over himself, as well as from his rank and
-position.
-
-"I see you have something to say to me," he said.
-
-"Had it not been so, I should not have presumed to present myself before
-your majesty."
-
-"Speak quickly, I am anxious to satisfy you," returned the king, seating
-himself.
-
-"I am persuaded," replied Athos, in a somewhat agitated tone of voice,
-"that your majesty will give me every satisfaction."
-
-"Ah!" said the king, with a certain haughtiness of manner, "you have
-come to lodge a complaint here, then?"
-
-"It would be a complaint," returned Athos, "only in the event of your
-majesty--but if you will deign to permit me, sire, I will begin the
-conversation from the very commencement."
-
-"Do so, I am listening."
-
-"Your majesty will remember that at the period of the Duke of
-Buckingham's departure, I had the honor of an interview with you."
-
-"At or about that period, I think I remember you did; only, with regard
-to the subject of the conversation, I have quite forgotten it."
-
-Athos started, as he replied. "I shall have the honor to remind your
-majesty of it. It was with regard to a formal demand I had addressed to
-you respecting a marriage which M. de Bragelonne wished to contract with
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" thought the king, "we have come to it now.--I remember," he said,
-aloud.
-
-"At that period," pursued Athos, "your majesty was so kind and generous
-towards M. de Bragelonne and myself, that not a single word which
-then fell from your lips has escaped my memory; and, when I asked
-your majesty to accord me Mademoiselle de la Valliere's hand for M. de
-Bragelonne, you refused."
-
-"Quite true," said Louis, dryly.
-
-"Alleging," Athos hastened to say, "that the young lady had no position
-in society."
-
-Louis could hardly force himself to listen with an appearance of royal
-propriety.
-
-"That," added Athos, "she had but little fortune."
-
-The king threw himself back in his armchair.
-
-"That her extraction was indifferent."
-
-A renewed impatience on the part of the king.
-
-"And little beauty," added Athos, pitilessly.
-
-This last bolt buried itself deep in the king's heart, and made him
-almost bound from his seat.
-
-"You have a good memory, monsieur," he said.
-
-"I invariably have, on occasions when I have had the distinguished honor
-of an interview with your majesty," retorted the comte, without being in
-the least disconcerted.
-
-"Very good: it is admitted that I said all that."
-
-"And I thanked your majesty for your remarks at the time, because they
-testified an interest in M. de Bragelonne which did him much honor."
-
-"And you may possibly remember," said the king, very deliberately, "that
-you had the greatest repugnance for this marriage."
-
-"Quite true, sire."
-
-"And that you solicited my permission, much against your own
-inclination?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And finally, I remember, for I have a memory nearly as good as your
-own; I remember, I say, that you observed at the time: 'I do not believe
-that Mademoiselle de la Valliere loves M. de Bragelonne.' Is that true?"
-
-The blow told well, but Athos did not draw back. "Sire," he said, "I
-have already begged your majesty's forgiveness; but there are certain
-particulars in that conversation which are only intelligible from the
-_denouement_."
-
-"Well, what is the _denouement_, monsieur?"
-
-"This: that your majesty then said, 'that you would defer the marriage
-out of regard for M. de Bragelonne's own interests.'"
-
-The king remained silent. "M. de Bragelonne is now so exceedingly
-unhappy that he cannot any longer defer asking your majesty for a
-solution of the matter."
-
-The king turned pale; Athos looked at him with fixed attention.
-
-"And what," said the king, with considerable hesitation, "does M. de
-Bragelonne request?"
-
-"Precisely the very thing that I came to ask your majesty for at my last
-audience, namely, your majesty's consent to his marriage."
-
-The king remained perfectly silent. "The questions which referred to
-the different obstacles in the way are all now quite removed for us,"
-continued Athos. "Mademoiselle de la Valliere, without fortune, birth,
-or beauty, is not the less on that account the only good match in the
-world for M. de Bragelonne, since he loves this young girl."
-
-The king pressed his hands impatiently together. "Does your majesty
-hesitate?" inquired the comte, without losing a particle of either his
-firmness of his politeness.
-
-"I do not hesitate--I refuse," replied the king.
-
-Athos paused a moment, as if to collect himself: "I have had the honor,"
-he said, in a mild tone, "to observe to your majesty that no obstacle
-now interferes with M. de Bragelonne's affections, and that his
-determination seems unalterable."
-
-"There is my will--and that is an obstacle, I should imagine!"
-
-"That is the most serious of all," Athos replied quickly.
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"And may we, therefore, be permitted to ask your majesty, with the
-greatest humility, your reason for this refusal?"
-
-"The reason!--A question to me!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"A demand, sire!"
-
-The king, leaning with both his hands upon the table, said, in a deep
-tone of concentrated passion: "You have lost all recollection of what is
-usual at court. At court, please to remember, no one ventures to put a
-question to the king."
-
-"Very true, sire; but if men do not question, they conjecture."
-
-"Conjecture! What may that mean, monsieur?"
-
-"Very frequently, sire, conjecture with regard to a particular subject
-implies a want of frankness on the part of the king--"
-
-"Monsieur!"
-
-"And a want of confidence on the part of the subject," pursued Athos,
-intrepidly.
-
-"You forget yourself," said the king, hurried away by anger in spite of
-all his self-control.
-
-"Sire, I am obliged to seek elsewhere for what I thought I should find
-in your majesty. Instead of obtaining a reply from you, I am compelled
-to make one for myself."
-
-The king rose. "Monsieur le comte," he said, "I have now given you all
-the time I had at my disposal." This was a dismissal.
-
-"Sire," replied the comte, "I have not yet had time to tell your majesty
-what I came with the express object of saying, and I so rarely see your
-majesty that I ought to avail myself of the opportunity."
-
-"Just now you spoke rudely of conjectures; you are now becoming
-offensive, monsieur."
-
-"Oh, sire! offend your majesty! I?--never! All my life through I have
-maintained that kings are above all other men, not only from their rank
-and power, but from their nobleness of heart and their true dignity
-of mind. I never can bring myself to believe that my sovereign, he who
-passed his word to me, did so with a mental reservation."
-
-"What do you mean? what mental reservation do you allude to?"
-
-"I will explain my meaning," said Athos, coldly. "If, in refusing
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere to Monsieur de Bragelonne, your majesty
-had some other object in view than the happiness and fortune of the
-vicomte--"
-
-"You perceive, monsieur, that you are offending me."
-
-"If, in requiring the vicomte to delay his marriage, your majesty's only
-object was to remove the gentleman to whom Mademoiselle de la Valliere
-was engaged--"
-
-"Monsieur! monsieur!"
-
-"I have heard it said so in every direction, sire. Your majesty's
-affection for Mademoiselle de la Valliere is spoken of on all sides."
-
-The king tore his gloves, which he had been biting for some time. "Woe
-to those," he cried, "who interfere in my affairs. I have made up
-my mind to take a particular course, and I will break through every
-obstacle in my way."
-
-"What obstacle?" said Athos.
-
-The king stopped short, like a horse which, having taken the bit between
-his teeth and run away, finds it has slipped it back again, and that
-his career is checked. "I love Mademoiselle de la Valliere," he said
-suddenly, with mingled nobleness of feeling and passion.
-
-"But," interrupted Athos, "that does not preclude your majesty from
-allowing M. de Bragelonne to marry Mademoiselle de la Valliere. The
-sacrifice is worthy of so great a monarch; it is fully merited by M. de
-Bragelonne, who has already rendered great service to your majesty,
-and who may well be regarded as a brave and worthy man. Your majesty,
-therefore, in renouncing the affection you entertain, offers a proof at
-once of generosity, gratitude, and good policy."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere does not love M. de Bragelonne," said the
-king, hoarsely.
-
-"Does your majesty know that to be the case?" remarked Athos, with a
-searching look.
-
-"I do know it."
-
-"Since a very short time, then; for doubtless, had your majesty known it
-when I first preferred my request, you would have taken the trouble to
-inform me of it."
-
-"Since a very short time, it is true, monsieur."
-
-Athos remained silent for a moment, and then resumed: "In that case, I
-do not understand why your majesty should have sent M. de Bragelonne
-to London. That exile, and most properly so, too, is a matter of
-astonishment to every one who regards your majesty's honor with sincere
-affection."
-
-"Who presumes to impugn my honor, Monsieur de la Fere?"
-
-"The king's honor, sire, is made up of the honor of his whole nobility.
-Whenever the king offends one of his gentlemen, that is, whenever he
-deprives him of the smallest particle of his honor, it is from him, from
-the king himself, that that portion of honor is stolen."
-
-"Monsieur de la Fere!" said the king, haughtily.
-
-"Sire, you sent M. de Bragelonne to London either before you were
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere's lover, or since you have become so."
-
-The king, irritated beyond measure, especially because he felt that he
-was being mastered, endeavored to dismiss Athos by a gesture.
-
-"Sire," replied the comte, "I will tell you all; I will not leave your
-presence until I have been satisfied by your majesty or by myself;
-satisfied if you prove to me that you are right,--satisfied if I prove
-to you that you are wrong. Nay, sire, you can but listen to me. I am
-old now, and I am attached to everything that is really great and really
-powerful in your kingdom. I am of those who have shed their blood for
-your father and for yourself, without ever having asked a single favor
-either from yourself or from your father. I have never inflicted the
-slightest wrong or injury on any one in this world, and even kings are
-still my debtors. You can but listen to me, I repeat. I have come to ask
-you for an account of the honor of one of your servants whom you have
-deceived by a falsehood, or betrayed by want of heart of judgment. I
-know that these words irritate your majesty, but the facts themselves
-are killing us. I know that you are endeavoring to find some
-means whereby to chastise me for my frankness; but I know also the
-chastisement I will implore God to inflict upon you when I relate to Him
-your perjury and my son's unhappiness."
-
-The king during these remarks was walking hurriedly to and fro, his hand
-thrust into the breast of his coat, his head haughtily raised, his eyes
-blazing with wrath. "Monsieur," he cried, suddenly, "if I acted towards
-you as a king, you would be already punished; but I am only a man, and
-I have the right to love in this world every one who loves me,--a
-happiness which is so rarely found."
-
-"You cannot pretend to such a right as a man any more than as a king,
-sire; or if you intend to exercise that right in a loyal manner, you
-should have told M. de Bragelonne so, and not have exiled him."
-
-"It is too great a condescension, monsieur, to discuss these things with
-you," interrupted Louis XIV., with that majesty of air and manner he
-alone seemed able to give his look and his voice.
-
-"I was hoping that you would reply to me," said the comte.
-
-"You shall know my reply, monsieur."
-
-"You already know my thoughts on the subject," was the Comte de la
-Fere's answer.
-
-"You have forgotten you are speaking to the king, monsieur. It is a
-crime."
-
-"You have forgotten you are destroying the lives of two men, sire. It is
-a mortal sin."
-
-"Leave the room!"
-
-"Not until I have said this: 'Son of Louis XIII., you begin your reign
-badly, for you begin it by abduction and disloyalty! My race--myself
-too--are now freed from all that affection and respect towards you,
-which I made my son swear to observe in the vaults of Saint-Denis, in
-the presence of the relics of your noble forefathers. You are now become
-our enemy, sire, and henceforth we have nothing to do save with Heaven
-alone, our sole master. Be warned, be warned, sire.'"
-
-"What! do you threaten?"
-
-"Oh, no," said Athos, sadly, "I have as little bravado as fear in my
-soul. The God of whom I spoke to you is now listening to me; He knows
-that for the safety and honor of your crown I would even yet shed every
-drop of blood twenty years of civil and foreign warfare have left in
-my veins. I can well say, then, that I threaten the king as little as I
-threaten the man; but I tell you, sire, you lose two servants; for you
-have destroyed faith in the heart of the father, and love in the heart
-of the son; the one ceases to believe in the royal word, the other no
-longer believes in the loyalty of the man, or the purity of woman: the
-one is dead to every feeling of respect, the other to obedience. Adieu!"
-
-Thus saying, Athos broke his sword across his knee, slowly placed the
-two pieces upon the floor, and saluting the king, who was almost choking
-from rage and shame, he quitted the cabinet. Louis, who sat near the
-table, completely overwhelmed, was several minutes before he could
-collect himself; but he suddenly rose and rang the bell violently. "Tell
-M. d'Artagnan to come here," he said to the terrified ushers.
-
-
-
-Chapter LIX. After the Storm.
-
-Our readers will doubtlessly have been asking themselves how it happened
-that Athos, of whom not a word has been said for some time past, arrived
-so very opportunely at court. We will, without delay, endeavor to
-satisfy their curiosity.
-
-Porthos, faithful to his duty as an arranger of affairs, had,
-immediately after leaving the Palais Royal, set off to join Raoul at the
-Minimes in the Bois de Vincennes, and had related everything, even to
-the smallest details, which had passed between Saint-Aignan and himself.
-He finished by saying that the message which the king had sent to his
-favorite would probably not occasion more than a short delay, and that
-Saint-Aignan, as soon as he could leave the king, would not lose a
-moment in accepting the invitation Raoul had sent him.
-
-But Raoul, less credulous than his old friend, had concluded from
-Porthos's recital that if Saint-Aignan was going to the king,
-Saint-Aignan would tell the king everything, and that the king would
-most assuredly forbid Saint-Aignan to obey the summons he had received
-to the hostile meeting. The consequence of his reflections was, that he
-had left Porthos to remain at the place appointed for the meeting, in
-the very improbable case that Saint-Aignan would come there; having
-endeavored to make Porthos promise that he would not remain there
-more than an hour or an hour and a half at the very longest. Porthos,
-however, formally refused to do anything of the kind, but, on the
-contrary, installed himself in the Minimes as if he were going to
-take root there, making Raoul promise that when he had been to see his
-father, he would return to his own apartments, in order that Porthos's
-servant might know where to find him in case M. de Saint-Aignan should
-happen to come to the rendezvous.
-
-Bragelonne had left Vincennes, and proceeded at once straight to the
-apartments of Athos, who had been in Paris during the last two days, the
-comte having been already informed of what had taken place, by a letter
-from D'Artagnan. Raoul arrived at his father's; Athos, after having held
-out his hand to him, and embraced him most affectionately, made a sign
-for him to sit down.
-
-"I know you come to me as a man would go to a friend, vicomte, whenever
-he is suffering; tell me, therefore, what is it that brings you now."
-
-The young man bowed, and began his recital; more than once in the course
-of it his tears almost choked his utterance, and a sob, checked in his
-throat, compelled him to suspend his narrative for a few minutes. Athos
-most probably already knew how matters stood, as we have just now
-said D'Artagnan had already written to him; but, preserving until the
-conclusion that calm, unruffled composure of manner which constituted
-the almost superhuman side of his character, he replied, "Raoul, I do
-not believe there is a word of truth in these rumors; I do not believe
-in the existence of what you fear, although I do not deny that persons
-best entitled to the fullest credit have already conversed with me on
-the subject. In my heart and soul I think it utterly impossible that the
-king could be guilty of such an outrage on a gentleman. I will answer
-for the king, therefore, and will soon bring you back the proof of what
-I say."
-
-Raoul, wavering like a drunken man between what he had seen with his own
-eyes and the imperturbable faith he had in a man who had never told a
-falsehood, bowed and simply answered, "Go, then, monsieur le comte; I
-will await your return." And he sat down, burying his face in his hands.
-Athos dressed, and then left him, in order to wait upon the king; the
-result of that interview is already known to our readers.
-
-When he returned to his lodgings, Raoul, pale and dejected, had not
-quitted his attitude of despair. At the sound, however, of the opening
-doors, and of his father's footsteps as he approached him, the young man
-raised his head. Athos's face was very pale, his head uncovered, and
-his manner full of seriousness; he gave his cloak and hat to the lackey,
-dismissed him with a gesture, and sat down near Raoul.
-
-"Well, monsieur," inquired the young man, "are you convinced yet?"
-
-"I am, Raoul; the king loves Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"He confesses it, then?" cried Raoul.
-
-"Yes," replied Athos.
-
-"And she?"
-
-"I have not seen her."
-
-"No; but the king spoke to you about her. What did he say?"
-
-"He says that she loves him."
-
-"Oh, you see--you see, monsieur!" said the young man, with a gesture of
-despair.
-
-"Raoul," resumed the comte, "I told the king, believe me, all that you
-yourself could possibly have urged, and I believe I did so in becoming
-language, though sufficiently firm."
-
-"And what did you say to him, monsieur?"
-
-"I told him, Raoul, that everything was now at an end between him and
-ourselves; that you would never serve him again. I told him that I, too,
-should remain aloof. Nothing further remains for me, then, but to be
-satisfied of one thing."
-
-"What is that, monsieur?"
-
-"Whether you have determined to adopt any steps."
-
-"Any steps? Regarding what?"
-
-"With reference to your disappointed affection, and--your ideas of
-vengeance."
-
-"Oh, monsieur, with regard to my affection, I shall, perhaps, some day
-or other, succeed in tearing it from my heart; I trust I shall do so,
-aided by Heaven's merciful help, and your own wise exhortations. As
-far as vengeance is concerned, it occurred to me only when under the
-influence of an evil thought, for I could not revenge myself upon the
-one who is actually guilty; I have, therefore, already renounced every
-idea of revenge."
-
-"And you no longer think of seeking a quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan?"
-
-"No, monsieur; I sent him a challenge: if M. de Saint-Aignan accepts it,
-I will maintain it; if he does not take it up, I will leave things as
-they are."
-
-"And La Valliere?"
-
-"You cannot, I know, have seriously thought that I should dream of
-revenging myself upon a woman!" replied Raoul, with a smile so sad that
-a tear started even to the eyes of his father, who had so many times
-in the course of his life bowed beneath his own sorrows and those of
-others.
-
-He held out his hand to Raoul, which the latter seized most eagerly.
-
-"And so, monsieur le comte, you are quite satisfied that the misfortune
-is one beyond all remedy?" inquired the young man.
-
-"Poor boy!" he murmured.
-
-"You think that I still live in hope," said Raoul, "and you pity me. Oh,
-it is indeed horrible suffering for me to despise, as I am bound to
-do, the one I have loved so devotedly. If I had but some real cause of
-complaint against her, I should be happy, I should be able to forgive
-her."
-
-Athos looked at his son with a profoundly sorrowful air, for the words
-Raoul had just pronounced seemed to have issued out of his own heart. At
-this moment the servant announced M. d'Artagnan. This name sounded very
-differently to the ears of Athos and Raoul. The musketeer entered the
-room with a vague smile on his lips. Raoul paused. Athos walked towards
-his friend with an expression of face that did not escape Bragelonne.
-D'Artagnan answered Athos's look by an imperceptible movement of the
-eyelid; and then, advancing towards Raoul, whom he took by the hand, he
-said, addressing both father and son, "Well, you are trying to console
-this poor boy, it seems."
-
-"And you, kind and good as usual, have come to help me in my difficult
-task."
-
-As he said this, Athos pressed D'Artagnan's hand between both his own.
-Raoul fancied he observed in this pressure something beyond the sense
-his mere words conveyed.
-
-"Yes," replied the musketeer, smoothing his mustache with the hand that
-Athos had left free, "yes, I have come too."
-
-"You are most welcome, chevalier; not for the consolation you bring with
-you, but on your own account. I am already consoled," said Raoul; and
-he attempted to smile, but the effort was more sad than any tears
-D'Artagnan had ever seen shed.
-
-"That is all well and good, then," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Only," continued Raoul, "you have arrived just as the comte was about
-to give me the details of his interview with the king. You will allow
-the comte to continue?" added the young man, as, with his eyes fixed on
-the musketeer, he seemed to read the very depths of his heart.
-
-"His interview with the king?" said D'Artagnan, in a tone so natural and
-unassumed that there was no means of suspecting that his astonishment
-was feigned. "You have seen the king, then, Athos?"
-
-Athos smiled as he said, "Yes, I have seen him."
-
-"Ah, indeed; you were unaware, then, that the comte had seen his
-majesty?" inquired Raoul, half reassured.
-
-"Yes, indeed, quite so."
-
-"In that case, I am less uneasy," said Raoul.
-
-"Uneasy--and about what?" inquired Athos.
-
-"Forgive me, monsieur," said Raoul, "but knowing so well the regard
-and affection you have for me, I was afraid you might possibly have
-expressed somewhat plainly to his majesty my own sufferings and your
-indignation, and that the king had consequently--"
-
-"And that the king had consequently?" repeated D'Artagnan; "well, go on,
-finish what you were going to say."
-
-"I have now to ask you to forgive me, Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Raoul.
-"For a moment, and I cannot help confessing it, I trembled lest you had
-come here, not as M. d'Artagnan, but as captain of the musketeers."
-
-"You are mad, my poor boy," cried D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter,
-in which an exact observer might perhaps have wished to have heard a
-little more frankness.
-
-"So much the better," said Raoul.
-
-"Yes, mad; and do you know what I would advise you to do?"
-
-"Tell me, monsieur, for the advice is sure to be good, as it comes from
-you."
-
-"Very good, then; I advise you, after your long journey from England,
-after your visit to M. de Guiche, after your visit to Madame, after your
-visit to Porthos, after your journey to Vincennes, I advise you, I say,
-to take a few hours' rest; go and lie down, sleep for a dozen hours, and
-when you wake up, go and ride one of my horses until you have tired him
-to death."
-
-And drawing Raoul towards him, he embraced him as he would have done his
-own child. Athos did the like; only it was very visible that the kiss
-was still more affectionate, and the pressure of his lips even warmer
-with the father than with the friend. The young man again looked at both
-his companions, endeavoring to penetrate their real meaning or their
-real feelings with the utmost strength of his intelligence; but his look
-was powerless upon the smiling countenance of the musketeer or upon
-the calm and composed features of the Comte de la Fere. "Where are you
-going, Raoul?" inquired the latter, seeing that Bragelonne was preparing
-to go out.
-
-"To my own apartments," replied the latter, in his soft, sad voice.
-
-"We shall be sure to find you there, then, if we should have anything to
-say to you?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur; but do you suppose it likely you will have something to
-say to me?"
-
-"How can I tell?" said Athos.
-
-"Yes, something fresh to console you with," said D'Artagnan, pushing him
-towards the door.
-
-Raoul, observing the perfect composure which marked every gesture of his
-two friends, quitted the comte's room, carrying away with him nothing
-but the individual feeling of his own particular distress.
-
-"Thank Heaven," he said, "since that is the case, I need only think of
-myself."
-
-And wrapping himself up in his cloak, in order to conceal from the
-passers-by in the streets his gloomy and sorrowful face, he quitted
-them, for the purpose of returning to his own rooms, as he had promised
-Porthos. The two friends watched the young man as he walked away with
-a feeling of genuine disinterested pity; only each expressed it in a
-different way.
-
-"Poor Raoul!" said Athos, sighing deeply.
-
-"Poor Raoul!" said D'Artagnan, shrugging his shoulders.
-
-
-
-Chapter LX. Heu! Miser!
-
-"Poor Raoul!" had said Athos. "Poor Raoul!" had said D'Artagnan: and,
-in point of fact, to be pitied by both these men, Raoul must indeed have
-been most unhappy. And therefore, when he found himself alone, face to
-face, as it were, with his own troubles, leaving behind him the intrepid
-friend and the indulgent father; when he recalled the avowal of the
-king's affection, which had robbed him of Louise de la Valliere, whom
-he loved so deeply, he felt his heart almost breaking, as indeed we all
-have at least once in our lives, at the first illusion destroyed, the
-first affection betrayed. "Oh!" he murmured, "all is over, then. Nothing
-is now left me in this world. Nothing to look forward to, nothing to
-hope for. Guiche has told me so, my father has told me so, M. d'Artagnan
-has told me so. All life is but an idle dream. The future which I have
-been hopelessly pursuing for the last ten years is a dream! the union of
-hearts, a dream! a life of love and happiness, a dream! Poor fool that
-I am," he continued, after a pause, "to dream away my existence aloud,
-publicly, and in the face of others, friends and enemies--and for what
-purpose, too? in order that my friends may be saddened by my troubles,
-and my enemies may laugh at my sorrows. And so my unhappiness will soon
-become a notorious disgrace, a public scandal; and who knows but that
-to-morrow I may even be a public laughing-stock?"
-
-And, despite the composure which he had promised his father and
-D'Artagnan to observe, Raoul could not resist uttering a few words of
-darkest menace. "And yet," he continued, "if my name were De Wardes, and
-if I had the pliancy of character and strength of will of M. d'Artagnan,
-I should laugh, with my lips at least; I should convince other women
-that this perfidious girl, honored by the affection I have wasted on
-her, leaves me only one regret, that of having been abused and deceived
-by her seemingly modest and irreproachable conduct; a few might perhaps
-fawn on the king by jesting at my expense; I should put myself on
-the track of some of those buffoons; I should chastise a few of them,
-perhaps; the men would fear me, and by the time I had laid three dying
-or dead at my feet, I should be adored by the women. Yes, yes, that,
-indeed, would be the proper course to adopt, and the Comte de la Fere
-himself would not object to it. Has not he also been tried, in his
-earlier days, in the same manner as I have just been tried myself? Did
-he not replace affection by intoxication? He has often told me so. Why
-should I not replace love by pleasure? He must have suffered as much as
-I suffer, even more--if that is possible. The history of one man is the
-history of all, a dragging trial, more or less prolonged, more or less
-bitter--sorrowful. The note of human nature is nothing but one sustained
-cry. But what are the sufferings of others compared to those from which
-I am now suffering? Does the open wound in another's breast soften the
-anguish of the gaping ulcer in our own? Does the blood which is welling
-from another man's side stanch that which is pouring from our own? Does
-the general grief of our fellow-creatures lessen our own private and
-particular woe? No, no, each suffers on his own account, each struggles
-with his own grief, each sheds his own tears. And besides," he went on,
-"what has my life been up to the present moment? A cold, barren, sterile
-arena, in which I have always fought for others, never for myself.
-Sometimes for a king, sometimes for a woman. The king has betrayed, the
-woman disdained me. Miserable, unlucky wretch that I am! Women! Can I
-not make all expiate the crime of one of their sex? What does that
-need? To have a heart no longer, or to forget that I ever had one; to
-be strong, even against weakness itself; to lean always, even when
-one feels that the support is giving way. What is needed to attain, or
-succeed in all that? To be young, handsome, strong, valiant, rich. I
-am, or shall be, all that. But honor?" he still continued, "and what is
-honor after all? A theory which every man understands in his own way. My
-father tells me: 'Honor is the consideration of what is due to others,
-and particularly what is due to oneself.' But Guiche, and Manicamp,
-and Saint-Aignan particularly, would say to me: 'What's honor? Honor
-consists in studying and yielding to the passions and pleasures of one's
-king.' Honor such as that indeed, is easy and productive enough. With
-honor like that, I can keep my post at the court, become a gentleman of
-the chamber, and accept the command of a regiment, which may at any time
-be presented to me. With honor such as that, I can be duke and peer.
-
-"The stain which that woman has stamped upon me, the grief that has
-broken my heart, the heart of the friend and playmate of her childhood,
-in no way affects M. de Bragelonne, an excellent officer, a courageous
-leader, who will cover himself with glory at the first encounter, and
-who will become a hundred times greater than Mademoiselle de la Valliere
-is to-day, the mistress of the king--for the king will not marry
-her--and the more publicly he will proclaim her as his mistress, the
-more opaque will grow the shadow of shame he casts upon her face, in the
-guise of a crown; and in proportion as others despise, as I despise her,
-I shall be gleaning honors in the field. Alas! we had walked together
-side by side, she and I, during the earliest, the brightest, the most
-angelic portion of our existence, hand in hand along the charming path
-of life, covered with the blossoms of youth; and then, alas! we reach
-a cross-road, where she separates herself from me, in which we have
-to follow a different route, whereby we become more and more widely
-separated from each other. And to attain the end of this path, oh,
-Heaven! I am now alone, in utter despair, and crushed to the very
-earth."
-
-Such were the sinister reflections in which Raoul indulged, when his
-foot mechanically paused at the door of his own dwelling. He had reached
-it without remarking the streets through which he passed, without
-knowing how he had come; he pushed open the door, continued to advance,
-and ascended the staircase. The staircase, as in most of the houses at
-that period, was very dark, and the landings most obscure. Raoul lived
-on the first floor; he paused in order to ring. Olivain appeared, took
-his sword and cloak from his hands; Raoul himself opened the door which,
-from the ante-chamber, led into a small _salon_, richly furnished enough
-for the _salon_ of a young man, and completely filled with flowers by
-Olivain, who, knowing his master's tastes, had shown himself studiously
-attentive in gratifying them, without caring whether his master
-perceived his attention or not. There was a portrait of La Valliere in
-the _salon_, which had been drawn by herself and given by her to Raoul.
-This portrait, fastened above a large easy chair covered with dark
-colored damask, was the first point towards which Raoul bent his
-steps--the first object on which he fixed his eyes. It was, moreover,
-Raoul's usual habit to do so; every time he entered his room, this
-portrait, before anything else, attracted his attention. This time, as
-usual, he walked straight up to the portrait, placed his knees upon the
-arm chair, and paused to look at it sadly. His arms were crossed upon
-his breast, his head slightly thrown back, his eyes filled with tears,
-his mouth worked into a bitter smile. He looked at the portrait of
-the one he had so tenderly loved; and then all that he had said passed
-before his mind again, all that he had suffered seemed again to assail
-his heart; and, after a long silence, he murmured for the third time,
-"Miserable, unhappy wretch that I am!"
-
-He had hardly pronounced these words, when he heard the sound of a sigh
-and a groan behind him. He turned sharply round and perceived, in the
-angle of the _salon_, standing up, a bending veiled female figure, which
-he had been the means of concealing behind the door as he opened it,
-and which he had not perceived as he entered. He advanced towards the
-figure, whose presence in his room had not been announced to him; and
-as he bowed, and inquired at the same moment who she was, she suddenly
-raised her head, and removed the veil from her face, revealing her pale
-and sorrow-stricken features. Raoul staggered back as if he had seen a
-ghost.
-
-"Louise!" he cried, in a tone of such absolute despair, one could hardly
-have thought the human voice was capable of so desponding a cry, without
-the snapping of the human heart.
-
-
-
-
-Chapter LXI. Wounds within Wounds.
-
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere--for it was indeed she--advanced a few steps
-towards him. "Yes--Louise," she murmured.
-
-But this interval, short as it had been, was quite sufficient for Raoul
-to recover himself. "You, mademoiselle?" he said; and then added, in an
-indefinable tone, "You here!"
-
-"Yes, Raoul," the young girl replied, "I have been waiting for you."
-
-"I beg your pardon. When I came into the room I was not aware--"
-
-"I know--but I entreated Olivain not to tell you--" She hesitated; and
-as Raoul did not attempt to interrupt her, a moment's silence ensued,
-during which the sound of their throbbing hearts might have been heard,
-not in unison with each other, but the one beating as violently as the
-other. It was for Louise to speak, and she made an effort to do so.
-
-"I wished to speak to you," she said. "It was absolutely necessary that
-I should see you--myself--alone. I have not hesitated to adopt a step
-which must remain secret; for no one, except yourself, could understand
-my motive, Monsieur de Bragelonne."
-
-"In fact, mademoiselle," Raoul stammered out, almost breathless from
-emotion, "as far as I am concerned, and despite the good opinion you
-have of me, I confess--"
-
-"Will you do me the great kindness to sit down and listen to me?" said
-Louise, interrupting him with her soft, sweet voice.
-
-Bragelonne looked at her for a moment; then mournfully shaking his head,
-he sat, or rather fell down on a chair. "Speak," he said.
-
-She cast a glance all round her. This look was a timid entreaty, and
-implored secrecy far more effectually than her expressed words had
-done a few minutes before. Raoul rouse, and went to the door, which he
-opened. "Olivain," he said, "I am not within for any one." And then,
-turning towards Louise, he added, "Is not that what you wished?"
-
-Nothing could have produced a greater effect upon Louise than these few
-words, which seemed to signify, "You see that I still understand
-you." She passed a handkerchief across her eyes, in order to remove a
-rebellious tear which she could not restrain; and then, having collected
-herself for a moment, she said, "Raoul, do not turn your kind, frank
-look away from me. You are not one of those men who despise a woman
-for having given her heart to another, even though her affection might
-render him unhappy, or might wound his pride." Raoul did not reply.
-
-"Alas!" continued La Valliere, "it is only too true, my cause is a bad
-one, and I cannot tell in what way to begin. It will be better for me,
-I think, to relate to you, very simply, everything that has befallen me.
-As I shall speak but the pure and simple truth, I shall always find my
-path clear before me in spite of the obscurity and obstacles I have to
-brave in order to solace my heart, which is full to overflowing, and
-wishes to pour itself out at your feet."
-
-Raoul continued to preserve the same unbroken silence. La Valliere
-looked at him with an air that seemed to say, "Encourage me; for pity's
-sake, but a single word!" But Raoul did not open his lips; and the young
-girl was obliged to continue:
-
-"Just now," she said, "M. de Saint-Aignan came to me by the king's
-directions." She cast down her eyes as she said this; while Raoul, on
-his side, turned his away, in order to avoid looking at her. "M. de
-Saint-Aignan came to me from the king," she repeated, "and told me
-that you knew all;" and she attempted to look Raoul in the face, after
-inflicting this further wound upon him, in addition to the many others
-he had already received; but it was impossible to meet Raoul's eyes.
-
-"He told me you were incensed with me--and justly so, I admit."
-
-This time Raoul looked at the young girl, and a smile full of disdain
-passed across his lips.
-
-"Oh!" she continued, "I entreat you, do not say that you have had any
-other feeling against me than that of anger merely. Raoul, wait until
-I have told you all--wait until I have said to you all that I had to
-say--all that I came to say."
-
-Raoul, by the strength of his iron will, forced his features to assume a
-calmer expression, and the disdainful smile upon his lip passed away.
-
-"In the first place," said La Valliere, "in the first place, with my
-hands raised in entreaty towards you, with my forehead bowed to the
-ground before you, I entreat you, as the most generous, as the noblest
-of men, to pardon, to forgive me. If I have left you in ignorance
-of what was passing in my own bosom, never, at least, would I have
-consented to deceive you. Oh! I entreat you, Raoul--I implore you on my
-knees--answer me one word, even though you wrong me in doing so. Better,
-far better, an injurious word from your lips, than suspicion resting in
-your heart."
-
-"I admire your subtlety of expression, mademoiselle," said Raoul, making
-an effort to remain calm. "To leave another in ignorance that you are
-deceiving him, is loyal; but to deceive him--it seems that would be very
-wrong, and that you would not do it."
-
-"Monsieur, for a long time I thought that I loved you better than
-anything else; and so long as I believed in my affection for you, I told
-you that loved you. I could have sworn it on the altar; but a day came
-when I was undeceived."
-
-"Well, on that day, mademoiselle, knowing that I still continued to love
-you, true loyalty of conduct should have forced you to inform me you had
-ceased to love me."
-
-"But on that day, Raoul--on that day, when I read in the depths of my
-own heart, when I confessed to myself that you no longer filled my mind
-entirely, when I saw another future before me than that of being your
-friend, your life-long companion, your wife--on that day, Raoul, you
-were not, alas! any more beside me."
-
-"But you knew where I was, mademoiselle; you could have written to me."
-
-"Raoul, I did not dare to do so. Raoul, I have been weak and cowardly.
-I knew you so thoroughly--I knew how devotedly you loved me, that I
-trembled at the bare idea of the grief I was about to cause you; and
-that is so true, Raoul, that this very moment I am now speaking to you,
-bending thus before you, my heart crushed in my bosom, my voice full of
-sighs, my eyes full of tears, it is so perfectly true, that I have no
-other defense than my frankness, I have no other sorrow greater than
-that which I read in your eyes."
-
-Raoul attempted to smile.
-
-"No!" said the young girl, with a profound conviction, "no, no; you will
-not do me so foul a wrong as to disguise your feelings before me now!
-You loved me; you were sure of your affection for me; you did not
-deceive yourself; you do not lie to your own heart--whilst I--I--" And
-pale as death, her arms thrown despairingly above her head, she fell
-upon her knees.
-
-"Whilst you," said Raoul, "you told me you loved me, and yet you loved
-another."
-
-"Alas, yes!" cried the poor girl; "alas, yes! I do love another; and
-that other--oh! for Heaven's sake let me say it, Raoul, for it is my
-only excuse--that other I love better than my own life, better than my
-own soul even. Forgive my fault, or punish my treason, Raoul. I came
-here in no way to defend myself, but merely to say to you: 'You know
-what it is to love!'--in such a case am I! I love to that degree, that
-I would give my life, my very soul, to the man I love. If he should ever
-cease to love me, I shall die of grief and despair, unless Heaven come
-to my assistance, unless Heaven does show pity upon me. Raoul, I came
-here to submit myself to your will, whatever it might be--to die, if it
-were your wish I should die. Kill me, then, Raoul! if in your heart you
-believe I deserve death."
-
-"Take care, mademoiselle," said Raoul: "the woman who invites death is
-one who has nothing but her heart's blood to offer to her deceived and
-betrayed lover."
-
-"You are right," she said.
-
-Raoul uttered a deep sigh, as he exclaimed, "And you love without being
-able to forget?"
-
-"I love without a wish to forget; without a wish ever to love any one
-else," replied La Valliere.
-
-"Very well," said Raoul. "You have said to me, in fact, all you had to
-say; all I could possibly wish to know. And now, mademoiselle, it is I
-who ask your forgiveness, for it is I who have almost been an obstacle
-in your life; I, too, who have been wrong, for, in deceiving myself, I
-helped to deceive you."
-
-"Oh!" said La Valliere, "I do not ask you so much as that, Raoul."
-
-"I only am to blame, mademoiselle," continued Raoul, "better informed
-than yourself of the difficulties of this life, I should have
-enlightened you. I ought not to have relied upon uncertainty; I ought to
-have extracted an answer from your heart, whilst I hardly even sought an
-acknowledgement from your lips. Once more, mademoiselle, it is I who ask
-your forgiveness."
-
-"Impossible, impossible!" she cried, "you are mocking me."
-
-"How, impossible?"
-
-"Yes, it is impossible to be so good, and kind, ah! perfect to such a
-degree as that."
-
-"Take care!" said Raoul, with a bitter smile, "for presently you may say
-perhaps I did not love you."
-
-"Oh! you love me like an affectionate brother; let me hope that, Raoul."
-
-"As a brother! undeceive yourself, Louise. I love you as a lover--as a
-husband, with the deepest, the truest, the fondest affection."
-
-"Raoul, Raoul!"
-
-"As a brother! Oh, Louise! I love you so deeply, that I would have
-shed my blood for you, drop by drop; I would, oh! how willingly, have
-suffered myself to be torn to pieces for your sake, have sacrificed my
-very future for you. I love you so deeply, Louise, that my heart feels
-dead and crushed within me,--my faith in human nature all is gone,--my
-eyes have lost their light; I loved you so deeply, that I now no longer
-see, think of, care for, anything, either in this world or the next."
-
-"Raoul--dear Raoul! spare me, I implore you!" cried La Valliere. "Oh! if
-I had but known--"
-
-"It is too late, Louise; you love, you are happy in your affection;
-I read your happiness through your tears--behind the tears which the
-loyalty of your nature makes you shed; I feel the sighs your affection
-breathes forth. Louise, Louise, you have made me the most abjectly
-wretched man living; leave me, I entreat you. Adieu! adieu!"
-
-"Forgive me! oh, forgive me, Raoul, for what I have done."
-
-"Have I not done much, much more? _Have I not told you that I love you
-still?_" She buried her face in her hands.
-
-"And to tell you that--do you hear me, Louise?--to tell you that, at
-such a moment as this, to tell you that, as I have told you, is to
-pronounce my own sentence of death. Adieu!" La Valliere held out her
-hands to him in vain.
-
-"We ought not to see each other again in this world," he said, and as
-she was on the point of crying out in bitter agony at this remark, he
-placed his hand on her mouth to stifle the exclamation. She pressed her
-lips upon it, and fell fainting to the ground. "Olivain," said Raoul,
-"take this young lady and bear her to the carriage which is waiting for
-her at the door." As Olivain lifted her up, Raoul made a movement as if
-to dart towards La Valliere, in order to give her a first and last kiss,
-but, stopping abruptly, he said, "No! she is not mine. I am no thief--as
-is the king of France." And he returned to his room, whilst the lackey
-carried La Valliere, still fainting, to the carriage.
-
-
-
-Chapter LXII. What Raoul Had Guessed.
-
-As soon as Raoul had quitted Athos and D'Artagnan, as the two
-exclamations that had followed his departure escaped their lips, they
-found themselves face to face alone. Athos immediately resumed the
-earnest air that he had assumed at D'Artagnan's arrival.
-
-"Well," he said, "what have you come to announce to me, my friend?"
-
-"I?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes; I do not see you in this way without some reason for it," said
-Athos, smiling.
-
-"The deuce!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I will place you at your ease. The king is furious, I suppose?"
-
-"Well, I must say he is not altogether pleased."
-
-"And you have come to arrest me, then?"
-
-"My dear friend, you have hit the very mark."
-
-"Oh, I expected it. I am quite ready to go with you."
-
-"Deuce take it!" said D'Artagnan, "what a hurry you are in."
-
-"I am afraid of delaying you," said Athos, smiling.
-
-"I have plenty of time. Are you not curious, besides, to know how things
-went on between the king and me?"
-
-"If you will be good enough to tell me, I will listen with the greatest
-of pleasure," said Athos, pointing out to D'Artagnan a large chair, into
-which the latter threw himself, assuming the easiest possible attitude.
-
-"Well, I will do so willingly enough," continued D'Artagnan, "for the
-conversation is rather curious, I must say. In the first place the king
-sent for me."
-
-"As soon as I had left?"
-
-"You were just going down the last steps of the staircase, as the
-musketeers told me. I arrived. My dear Athos, he was not red in the face
-merely, he was positively purple. I was not aware, of course, of what
-had passed; only, on the ground, lying on the floor, I saw a sword
-broken in two."
-
-"'Captain d'Artagnan,' cried the king, as soon as he saw me.
-
-"'Sire,' I replied.
-
-"'M. de la Fere has just left me; he is an insolent man.'
-
-"'An insolent man!' I exclaimed, in such a tone that the king stopped
-suddenly short.
-
-"'Captain d'Artagnan,' resumed the king, with his teeth clenched, 'you
-will be good enough to listen to and hear me.'
-
-"'That is my duty, sire.'
-
-"'I have, out of consideration for M. de la Fere, wished to spare
-him--he is a man of whom I still retain some kind recollections--the
-discredit of being arrested in my palace. You will therefore take a
-carriage.' At this I made a slight movement.
-
-"'If you object to arrest him yourself,' continued the king, 'send me my
-captain of the guards.'
-
-"'Sire,' I replied, 'there is no necessity for the captain of the
-guards, since I am on duty.'
-
-"'I should not like to annoy you,' said the king, kindly, 'for you have
-always served me well, Monsieur D'Artagnan.'
-
-"'You do not "annoy" me, sire,' I replied; 'I am on duty, that is all.'
-
-"'But,' said the king, in astonishment, 'I believe the comte is your
-friend?'
-
-"'If he were my father, sire, it would not make me less on duty than I
-am.'
-
-"The king looked at me; he saw how unmoved my face was, and seemed
-satisfied. 'You will arrest M. le Comte de la Fere, then?' he inquired.
-
-"'Most certainly, sire, if you give me the order to do so.'
-
-"'Very well; I order you to do so.'
-
-"I bowed, and replied, 'Where is the comte, sire?'
-
-"'You will look for him.'
-
-"'And am I to arrest him, wherever he may be?'
-
-"'Yes; but try that he may be at his own house. If he should have
-started for his own estate, leave Paris at once, and arrest him on his
-way thither.'
-
-"I bowed; but as I did not move, he said, 'Well, what are you waiting
-for?'
-
-"'For the order to arrest the comte, signed by yourself.'
-
-"The king seemed annoyed; for, in point of fact, it was the exercise of
-a fresh act of authority, a repetition of the arbitrary act, if, indeed,
-it is to be considered as such. He took hold of his pen slowly, and
-evidently in no very good temper; and then he wrote, 'Order for M. le
-Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain of my musketeers, to arrest M. le Comte de
-la Fere, wherever he is to be found.' He then turned towards me; but I
-was looking on without moving a muscle of my face. In all probability he
-thought he perceived something like bravado in my tranquil manner,
-for he signed hurriedly, and then handing me the order, he said, 'Go,
-monsieur!' I obeyed; and here I am."
-
-Athos pressed his friend's hand. "Well, let us set off," he said.
-
-"Oh! surely," said D'Artagnan, "you must have some trifling matters to
-arrange before you leave your apartments in this manner."
-
-"I?--not at all."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Why, you know, D'Artagnan, that I have always been a very simple
-traveler on this earth, ready to go to the end of the world by the order
-of my sovereign; ready to quit it at the summons of my Maker. What does
-a man who is thus prepared require in such a case?--a portmanteau, or
-a shroud. I am ready at this moment, as I have always been, my dear
-friend, and can accompany you at once."
-
-"But, Bragelonne--"
-
-"I have brought him up in the same principles I laid down for my
-own guidance; and you observed that, as soon as he perceived you, he
-guessed, that very moment, the motive of your visit. We have thrown him
-off his guard for a moment; but do not be uneasy, he is sufficiently
-prepared for my disgrace not to be too much alarmed at it. So, let us
-go."
-
-"Very well, let us go," said D'Artagnan, quietly.
-
-"As I broke my sword in the king's presence, and threw the pieces at his
-feet, I presume that will dispense with the necessity of delivering it
-over to you."
-
-"You are quite right; and besides that, what the deuce do you suppose I
-could do with your sword?"
-
-"Am I to walk behind, or before you?" inquired Athos, laughing.
-
-"You will walk arm in arm with me," replied D'Artagnan, as he took the
-comte's arm to descend the staircase; and in this manner they arrived at
-the landing. Grimaud, whom they had met in the ante-room, looked at them
-as they went out together in this manner, with some little uneasiness;
-his experience of affairs was quite sufficient to give him good reason
-to suspect that there was something wrong.
-
-"Ah! is that you, Grimaud?" said Athos, kindly. "We are going--"
-
-"To take a turn in my carriage," interrupted D'Artagnan, with a friendly
-nod of the head.
-
-Grimaud thanked D'Artagnan by a grimace, which was evidently intended
-for a smile, and accompanied both the friends to the door. Athos entered
-first into the carriage; D'Artagnan followed him without saying a word
-to the coachman. The departure had taken place so quietly, that it
-excited no disturbance or attention even in the neighborhood. When the
-carriage had reached the quays, "You are taking me to the Bastile, I
-perceive," said Athos.
-
-"I?" said D'Artagnan, "I take you wherever you may choose to go; nowhere
-else, I can assure you."
-
-"What do you mean?" said the comte, surprised.
-
-"Why, surely, my dear friend," said D'Artagnan, "you quite understand
-that I undertook the mission with no other object in view than that of
-carrying it out exactly as you liked. You surely did not expect that I
-was going to get you thrown into prison like that, brutally, and without
-any reflection. If I had anticipated that, I should have let the captain
-of the guards undertake it."
-
-"And so--?" said Athos.
-
-"And so, I repeat again, we will go wherever you may choose."
-
-"My dear friend," said Athos, embracing D'Artagnan, "how like you that
-is!"
-
-"Well, it seems simple enough to me. The coachman will take you to the
-barrier of the Cours-la-Reine; you will find a horse there which I have
-ordered to be kept ready for you; with that horse you will be able to do
-three posts without stopping; and I, on my side, will take care not to
-return to the king, to tell him that you have gone away, until the very
-moment it will be impossible to overtake you. In the meantime you will
-have reached Le Havre, and from Le Havre across to England, where you
-will find the charming residence of which M. Monk made me a present,
-without speaking of the hospitality which King Charles will not fail to
-show you. Well, what do you think of this project?"
-
-Athos shook his head, and then said, smiling as he did so, "No, no, take
-me to the Bastile."
-
-"You are an obstinate fellow, my dear Athos," returned D'Artagnan,
-"reflect for a few moments."
-
-"On what subject?"
-
-"That you are no longer twenty years of age. Believe me, I speak
-according to my own knowledge and experience. A prison is certain death
-for men who are at our time of life. No, no; I will never allow you to
-languish in prison in such a way. Why, the very thought of it makes my
-head turn giddy."
-
-"Dear D'Artagnan," Athos replied, "Heaven most fortunately made my body
-as strong, powerful, and enduring as my mind; and, rely upon it, I shall
-retain my strength up to the very last moment."
-
-"But this is not strength of mind or character; it is sheer madness."
-
-"No, D'Artagnan, it is the highest order of reasoning. Do not suppose
-that I should in the slightest degree in the world discuss the question
-with you, whether you would not be ruined in endeavoring to save me. I
-should have done precisely as you propose if flight had been part of
-my plan of action; I should, therefore, have accepted from you what,
-without any doubt, you would have accepted from me. No! I know you too
-well even to breathe a word upon the subject."
-
-"Ah! if you would only let me do it," said D'Artagnan, "what a dance we
-would give his most gracious majesty!"
-
-"Still he is the king; do not forget that, my dear friend."
-
-"Oh! that is all the same to me; and king though he be, I would plainly
-tell him, 'Sire, imprison, exile, kill every one in France and Europe;
-order me to arrest and poniard even whom you like--even were it
-Monsieur, your own brother; but do not touch one of the four musketeers,
-or if so, _mordioux!_'"
-
-"My dear friend," replied Athos, with perfect calmness, "I should like
-to persuade you of one thing; namely, that I wish to be arrested; that I
-desire above all things that my arrest should take place."
-
-D'Artagnan made a slight movement of his shoulders.
-
-"Nay, I wish it, I repeat, more than anything; if you were to let me
-escape, it would be only to return of my own accord, and constitute
-myself a prisoner. I wish to prove to this young man, who is dazzled
-by the power and splendor of his crown, that he can be regarded as the
-first and chiefest among men only on the one condition of his proving
-himself to be the most generous and the wisest. He may punish me,
-imprison, torture me, it matters not. He abuses his opportunities, and
-I wish him to learn the bitterness of remorse, while Heaven teaches him
-what chastisement is."
-
-"Well, well," replied D'Artagnan, "I know only too well that, when you
-have once said, 'no,' you mean 'no.' I do not insist any longer; you
-wish to go to the Bastile?"
-
-"I do wish to go there."
-
-"Let us go, then! To the Bastile!" cried D'Artagnan to the coachman.
-And throwing himself back in the carriage, he gnawed the ends of his
-mustache with a fury which, for Athos, who knew him well, signified a
-resolution either already taken or in course of formation. A profound
-silence ensued in the carriage, which continued to roll on, but neither
-faster nor slower than before. Athos took the musketeer by the hand.
-
-"You are not angry with me, D'Artagnan?" he said.
-
-"I!--oh, no! certainly not; of course not. What you do for heroism, I
-should have done from obstinacy."
-
-"But you are quite of opinion, are you not, that Heaven will avenge me,
-D'Artagnan?"
-
-"And I know one or two on earth who will not fail to lend a helping
-hand," said the captain.
-
-
-
-Chapter LXIII. Three Guests Astonished to Find Themselves at Supper
-Together.
-
-The carriage arrived at the outside of the gate of the Bastile. A
-soldier on guard stopped it, but D'Artagnan had only to utter a single
-word to procure admittance, and the carriage passed on without further
-difficulty. Whilst they were proceeding along the covered way which led
-to the courtyard of the governor's residence, D'Artagnan, whose lynx
-eyes saw everything, even through the walls, suddenly cried out, "What
-is that out yonder?"
-
-"Well," said Athos, quietly; "what is it?"
-
-"Look yonder, Athos."
-
-"In the courtyard?"
-
-"Yes, yes; make haste!"
-
-"Well, a carriage; very likely conveying a prisoner like myself."
-
-"That would be too droll."
-
-"I do not understand you."
-
-"Make haste and look again, and look at the man who is just getting out
-of that carriage."
-
-At that very moment a second sentinel stopped D'Artagnan, and while the
-formalities were being gone through, Athos could see at a hundred paces
-from him the man whom his friend had pointed out to him. He was, in
-fact, getting out of the carriage at the door of the governor's house.
-"Well," inquired D'Artagnan, "do you see him?"
-
-"Yes; he is a man in a gray suit."
-
-"What do you say of him?"
-
-"I cannot very well tell; he is, as I have just now told you, a man in a
-gray suit, who is getting out of a carriage; that is all."
-
-"Athos, I will wager anything that it is he."
-
-"He, who?"
-
-"Aramis."
-
-"Aramis arrested? Impossible!"
-
-"I do not say he is arrested, since we see him alone in his carriage."
-
-"Well, then, what is he doing here?"
-
-"Oh! he knows Baisemeaux, the governor," replied the musketeer, slyly;
-"so we have arrived just in time."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"In order to see what we can see."
-
-"I regret this meeting exceedingly. When Aramis sees me, he will be very
-much annoyed, in the first place, at seeing me, and in the next at being
-seen."
-
-"Very well reasoned."
-
-"Unfortunately, there is no remedy for it; whenever any one meets
-another in the Bastile, even if he wished to draw back to avoid him, it
-would be impossible."
-
-"Athos, I have an idea; the question is, to spare Aramis the annoyance
-you were speaking of, is it not?"
-
-"What is to be done?"
-
-"I will tell you; or in order to explain myself in the best possible
-way, let me relate the affair in my own manner; I will not recommend you
-to tell a falsehood, for that would be impossible for you to do; but I
-will tell falsehoods enough for both; it is easy to do that when one is
-born to the nature and habits of a Gascon."
-
-Athos smiled. The carriage stopped where the one we have just now
-pointed out had stopped; namely, at the door of the governor's house.
-"It is understood, then?" said D'Artagnan, in a low voice to his friend.
-Athos consented by a gesture. They ascended the staircase. There will
-be no occasion for surprise at the facility with which they had entered
-into the Bastile, if it be remembered that, before passing the first
-gate, in fact, the most difficult of all, D'Artagnan had announced that
-he had brought a prisoner of state. At the third gate, on the contrary,
-that is to say, when he had once fairly entered the prison, he merely
-said to the sentinel, "To M. Baisemeaux;" and they both passed on. In a
-few minutes they were in the governor's dining-room, and the first face
-which attracted D'Artagnan's observation was that of Aramis, who was
-seated side by side with Baisemeaux, awaiting the announcement of a
-meal whose odor impregnated the whole apartment. If D'Artagnan pretended
-surprise, Aramis did not pretend at all; he started when he saw his
-two friends, and his emotion was very apparent. Athos and D'Artagnan,
-however, complimented him as usual, and Baisemeaux, amazed, completely
-stupefied by the presence of his three guests, began to perform a few
-evolutions around them.
-
-"By what lucky accident--"
-
-"We were just going to ask you," retorted D'Artagnan.
-
-"Are we going to give ourselves up as prisoners?" cried Aramis, with an
-affection of hilarity.
-
-"Ah! ah!" said D'Artagnan; "it is true the walls smell deucedly like a
-prison. Monsieur de Baisemeaux, you know you invited me to sup with you
-the other day."
-
-"I?" cried Baisemeaux.
-
-"Yes, of course you did, although you now seem so struck with amazement.
-Don't you remember it?"
-
-Baisemeaux turned pale and then red, looked at Aramis, who looked at
-him, and finished by stammering out, "Certainly--I am delighted--but,
-upon my honor--I have not the slightest--Ah! I have such a wretched
-memory."
-
-"Well! I am wrong, I see," said D'Artagnan, as if he were offended.
-
-"Wrong, what for?"
-
-"Wrong to remember anything about it, it seems."
-
-Baisemeaux hurried towards him. "Do not stand on ceremony, my dear
-captain," he said; "I have the worst memory in the world. I no sooner
-leave off thinking of my pigeons and their pigeon-house, than I am no
-better than the rawest recruit."
-
-"At all events, you remember it now," said D'Artagnan, boldly.
-
-"Yes, yes," replied the governor, hesitating; "I think I do remember."
-
-"It was when you came to the palace to see me; you told me some story or
-other about your accounts with M. de Louviere and M. de Tremblay."
-
-"Oh, yes! perfectly."
-
-"And about M. d'Herblay's kindness towards you."
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Aramis, looking at the unhappy governor full in
-the face, "and yet you just now said you had no memory, Monsieur de
-Baisemeaux."
-
-Baisemeaux interrupted the musketeer in the middle of his revelations.
-"Yes, yes; you're quite right; how could I have forgotten; I remember it
-now as well as possible; I beg you a thousand pardons. But now, once for
-all, my dear M. d'Artagnan, be sure that at this present time, as at any
-other, whether invited or not, you are perfectly at home here, you and
-M. d'Herblay, your friend," he said, turning towards Aramis; "and this
-gentleman, too," he added, bowing to Athos.
-
-"Well, I thought it would be sure to turn out so," replied D'Artagnan,
-"and that is the reason I came. Having nothing to do this evening at the
-Palais Royal, I wished to judge for myself what your ordinary style of
-living was like; and as I was coming along, I met the Comte de la Fere."
-
-Athos bowed. "The comte, who had just left his majesty, handed me an
-order which required immediate attention. We were close by here; I
-wished to call in, even if it were for no other object than that of
-shaking hands with you and of presenting the comte to you, of whom you
-spoke so highly that evening at the palace when--"
-
-"Certainly, certainly--M. le Comte de la Fere?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"The comte is welcome, I am sure."
-
-"And he will sup with you two, I suppose, whilst I, unfortunate dog that
-I am, must run off on a matter of duty. Oh! what happy beings you are,
-compared to myself," he added, sighing as loud as Porthos might have
-done.
-
-"And so you are going away, then?" said Aramis and Baisemeaux together,
-with the same expression of delighted surprise, the tone of which was
-immediately noticed by D'Artagnan.
-
-"I leave you in my place," he said, "a noble and excellent guest." And
-he touched Athos gently on the shoulder, who, astonished also, could not
-help exhibiting his surprise a little; which was noticed by Aramis only,
-for M. de Baisemeaux was not quite equal to the three friends in point
-of intelligence.
-
-"What, are you going to leave us?" resumed the governor.
-
-"I shall only be about an hour, or an hour and a half. I will return in
-time for dessert."
-
-"Oh! we will wait for you," said Baisemeaux.
-
-"No, no; that would be really disobliging me."
-
-"You will be sure to return, though?" said Athos, with an expression of
-doubt.
-
-"Most certainly," he said, pressing his friend's hand confidently; and
-he added, in a low voice, "Wait for me, Athos; be cheerful and lively
-as possible, and above all, don't allude even to business affairs, for
-Heaven's sake."
-
-And with a renewed pressure of the hand, he seemed to warn the comte of
-the necessity of keeping perfectly discreet and impenetrable. Baisemeaux
-led D'Artagnan to the gate. Aramis, with many friendly protestations
-of delight, sat down by Athos, determined to make him speak; but Athos
-possessed every virtue and quality to the very highest degree. If
-necessity had required it, he would have been the finest orator in the
-world, but on other occasions he would rather have died than have opened
-his lips.
-
-Ten minutes after D'Artagnan's departure, the three gentlemen sat
-down to table, which was covered with the most substantial display
-of gastronomic luxury. Large joints, exquisite dishes, preserves, the
-greatest variety of wines, appeared successively upon the table, which
-was served at the king's expense, and of which expense M. Colbert would
-have found no difficulty in saving two thirds, without any one in the
-Bastile being the worse for it. Baisemeaux was the only one who ate and
-drank with gastronomic resolution. Aramis allowed nothing to pass by
-him, but merely touched everything he took; Athos, after the soup and
-three _hors d'oeuvres_, ate nothing more. The style of conversation was
-such as might have been anticipated between three men so opposite
-in temper and ideas. Aramis was incessantly asking himself by what
-extraordinary chance Athos was there at Baisemeaux's when D'Artagnan was
-no longer there, and why D'Artagnan did not remain when Athos was there.
-Athos sounded all the depths of the mind of Aramis, who lived in the
-midst of subterfuge, evasion, and intrigue; he studied his man well and
-thoroughly, and felt convinced that he was engaged upon some important
-project. And then he too began to think of his own personal affair, and
-to lose himself in conjectures as to D'Artagnan's reason for having left
-the Bastile so abruptly, and for leaving behind him a prisoner so badly
-introduced and so badly looked after by the prison authorities. But
-we shall not pause to examine into the thoughts and feelings of these
-personages, but will leave them to themselves, surrounded by the remains
-of poultry, game, and fish, which Baisemeaux's generous knife and
-fork had so mutilated. We are going to follow D'Artagnan instead, who,
-getting into the carriage which had brought him, said to the coachman,
-"Return to the palace, as fast as the horses can gallop."
-
-
-
-Chapter LXIV. What Took Place at the Louvre During the Supper at the
-Bastile.
-
-M. de Saint-Aignan had executed the commission with which the king had
-intrusted him for La Valliere--as we have already seen in one of the
-preceding chapters; but, whatever his eloquence, he did not succeed in
-persuading the young girl that she had in the king a protector powerful
-enough for her under any combination of circumstances, and that she had
-no need of any one else in the world when the king was on her side. In
-point of fact, at the very first word which the favorite mentioned
-of the discovery of the famous secret, Louise, in a passion of tears,
-abandoned herself in utter despair to a sorrow which would have been far
-from flattering for the king, if he had been a witness of it from one of
-the corners of the room. Saint-Aignan, in his character of ambassador,
-felt almost as greatly offended at it as his master himself would have
-been, and returned to inform the king what he had seen and heard; and it
-is thus we find him, in a state of great agitation, in the presence of
-the king, who was, if possible, in a state of even greater flurry than
-himself.
-
-"But," said the king to the courtier, when the latter had finished his
-report, "what did she decide to do? Shall I at least see her presently
-before supper? Will she come to me, or shall I be obliged to go to her
-room?"
-
-"I believe, sire, that if your majesty wishes to see her, you will not
-only have to take the first step in advance, but will have to go the
-whole way."
-
-"That I do not mind. Do you think she has yet a secret fancy for young
-Bragelonne?" muttered the king between his teeth.
-
-"Oh! sire, that is not possible; for it is you alone, I am convinced,
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere loves, and that, too, with all her heart.
-But you know that De Bragelonne belongs to that proud race who play the
-part of Roman heroes."
-
-The king smiled feebly; he knew how true the illustration was, for Athos
-had just left him.
-
-"As for Mademoiselle de la Valliere," Saint-Aignan continued, "she was
-brought up under the care of the Dowager Madame, that is to say, in
-the greatest austerity and formality. This young engaged couple coldly
-exchanged their little vows in the prim presence of the moon and stars;
-and now, when they find they have to break those vows asunder, it plays
-the very deuce with them."
-
-Saint-Aignan thought to have made the king laugh; but on the contrary,
-from a mere smile Louis passed to the greatest seriousness of manner.
-He already began to experience that remorse which the comte had promised
-D'Artagnan he would inflict upon him. He reflected that, in fact, these
-young persons had loved and sworn fidelity to each other; that one of
-the two had kept his word, and that the other was too conscientious
-not to feel her perjury most bitterly. And his remorse was not
-unaccompanied; for bitter pangs of jealousy began to beset the king's
-heart. He did not say another word, and instead of going to pay a visit
-to his mother, or the queen, or Madame, in order to amuse himself a
-little, and make the ladies laugh, as he himself used to say, he threw
-himself into the huge armchair in which his august father Louis XIII.
-had passed so many weary days and years in company with Barradat and
-Cinq-Mars. Saint-Aignan perceived the king was not to be amused at that
-moment; he tried a last resource, and pronounced Louise's name, which
-made the king look up immediately. "What does your majesty intend to
-do this evening--shall Mademoiselle de la Valliere be informed of your
-intention to see her?"
-
-"It seems she is already aware of that," replied the king. "No, no,
-Saint-Aignan," he continued, after a moment's pause, "we will both of us
-pass our time in thinking, and musing, and dreaming; when Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere shall have sufficiently regretted what she now regrets,
-she will deign, perhaps, to give us some news of herself."
-
-"Ah! sire, is it possible you can so misunderstand her heart, which is
-so full of devotion?"
-
-The king rose, flushed from vexation and annoyance; he was a prey to
-jealousy as well as to remorse. Saint-Aignan was just beginning to feel
-that his position was becoming awkward, when the curtain before the door
-was raised. The king turned hastily round; his first idea was that a
-letter from Louise had arrived; but, instead of a letter of love, he
-only saw his captain of musketeers, standing upright, and perfectly
-silent in the doorway. "M. d'Artagnan," he said, "ah! Well, monsieur?"
-
-D'Artagnan looked at Saint-Aignan; the king's eyes took the same
-direction as those of his captain; these looks would have been clear to
-any one, and for a still greater reason they were so for Saint-Aignan.
-The courtier bowed and quitted the room, leaving the king and D'Artagnan
-alone.
-
-"Is it done?" inquired the king.
-
-"Yes, sire," replied the captain of the musketeers, in a grave voice,
-"it is done."
-
-The king was unable to say another word. Pride, however, obliged him
-not to pause at what he had done; whenever a sovereign has adopted a
-decisive course, even though it be unjust, he is compelled to prove
-to all witnesses, and particularly to prove it to himself, that he was
-quite right all through. A good means for effecting that--an almost
-infallible means, indeed--is, to try and prove his victim to be in the
-wrong. Louis, brought up by Mazarin and Anne of Austria, knew better
-than any one else his vocation as a monarch; he therefore endeavored to
-prove it on the present occasion. After a few moment's pause, which he
-had employed in making silently to himself the same reflections which
-we have just expressed aloud, he said, in an indifferent tone: "What did
-the comte say?"
-
-"Nothing at all, sire."
-
-"Surely he did not allow himself to be arrested without saying
-something?"
-
-"He said he expected to be arrested, sire."
-
-The king raised his head haughtily. "I presume," he said, "that M. le
-Comte de la Fere has not continued to play his obstinate and rebellious
-part."
-
-"In the first place, sire, what do you wish to signify by _rebellious?_"
-quietly asked the musketeer. "A rebel, in the eyes of the king, is a
-man who not only allows himself to be shut up in the Bastile, but still
-more, who opposes those who do not wish to take him there."
-
-"Who do not wish to take him there!" exclaimed the king. "What do you
-say, captain! Are you mad?"
-
-"I believe not, sire."
-
-"You speak of persons who did not wish to arrest M. de la Fere! Who are
-those persons, may I ask?"
-
-"I should say those whom your majesty intrusted with that duty."
-
-"But it was you whom I intrusted with it," exclaimed the king.
-
-"Yes, sire; it was I."
-
-"And yet you say that, despite my orders, you had the intention of not
-arresting the man who had insulted me!"
-
-"Yes, sire--that was really my intention. I even proposed to the comte
-to mount a horse that I had prepared for him at the Barriere de la
-Conference."
-
-"And what was your object in getting this horse ready?"
-
-"Why, sire, in order that M. le Comte de la Fere might be able to reach
-Le Havre, and from that place make his escape to England."
-
-"You betrayed me, then, monsieur?" cried the king, kindling with a wild
-pride.
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-There was nothing to say in answer to statements made in such a tone;
-the king was astounded at such an obstinate and open resistance on the
-part of D'Artagnan. "At least you had a reason, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for
-acting as you did?" said the king, proudly.
-
-"I have always a reason for everything, sire."
-
-"Your reason cannot be your friendship for the comte, at all
-events,--the only one that can be of any avail, the only one that could
-possibly excuse you,--for I placed you perfectly at your ease in that
-respect."
-
-"Me, sire?"
-
-"Did I not give you the choice to arrest, or not to arrest M. le Comte
-de la Fere?"
-
-"Yes, sire, but--"
-
-"But what?" exclaimed the king, impatiently.
-
-"But you warned me, sire, that if I did not arrest him, your captain of
-the guard should do so."
-
-"Was I not considerate enough towards you, from the very moment I did
-not compel you to obey me?"
-
-"To me, sire, you were, but not to my friend, for my friend would
-be arrested all the same, whether by myself or by the captain of the
-guards."
-
-"And this is your devotion, monsieur! a devotion which argues and
-reasons. You are no soldier, monsieur!"
-
-"I wait for your majesty to tell me what I am."
-
-"Well, then--you are a Frondeur."
-
-"And since there is no longer any Fronde, sire, in that case--"
-
-"But if what you say is true--"
-
-"What I say is always true, sire."
-
-"What have you come to say to me, monsieur?"
-
-"I have come to say to your majesty, 'Sire, M. de la Fere is in the
-Bastile.'"
-
-"That is not your fault, it would seem."
-
-"That is true, sire; but at all events he is there; and since he is
-there, it is important that your majesty should know it."
-
-"Ah! Monsieur d'Artagnan, so you set your king at defiance."
-
-"Sire--"
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan! I warn you that you are abusing my patience."
-
-"On the contrary, sire."
-
-"What do you mean by 'on the contrary'?"
-
-"I have come to get myself arrested, too."
-
-"To get yourself arrested,--you!"
-
-"Of course. My friend will get wearied to death in the Bastile by
-himself; and I have come to propose to your majesty to permit me to bear
-him company; if your majesty will but give me the word, I will arrest
-myself; I shall not need the captain of the guards for that, I assure
-you."
-
-The king darted towards the table and seized hold of a pen to write the
-order for D'Artagnan's imprisonment. "Pay attention, monsieur, that this
-is forever," cried the king, in tones of sternest menace.
-
-"I can quite believe that," returned the musketeer; "for when you have
-once done such an act as that, you will never be able to look me in the
-face again."
-
-The king dashed down his pen violently. "Leave the room, monsieur!" he
-said.
-
-"Not so, if it please your majesty."
-
-"What is that you say?"
-
-"Sire, I came to speak gently and temperately to your majesty; your
-majesty got into a passion with me; that is a misfortune; but I shall
-not the less on that account say what I had to say to you."
-
-"Your resignation, monsieur,--your resignation!" cried the king.
-
-"Sire, you know whether I care about my resignation or not, since at
-Blois, on the very day when you refused King Charles the million which
-my friend the Comte de la Fere gave him, I then tendered my resignation
-to your majesty."
-
-"Very well, monsieur--do it at once!"
-
-"No, sire; for there is no question of my resignation at the present
-moment. Your majesty took up your pen just now to send me to the
-Bastile,--why should you change your intention?"
-
-"D'Artagnan! Gascon that you are! who is king, allow me to ask,--you or
-myself?"
-
-"You, sire, unfortunately."
-
-"What do you mean by 'unfortunately'?"
-
-"Yes, sire; for if it were I--"
-
-"If it were you, you would approve of M. d'Artagnan's rebellious
-conduct, I suppose?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"Really!" said the king, shrugging his shoulders.
-
-"And I should tell my captain of the musketeers," continued D'Artagnan,
-"I should tell him, looking at him all the while with human eyes, and
-not with eyes like coals of fire, 'M. d'Artagnan, I had forgotten that
-I was the king, for I descended from my throne in order to insult a
-gentleman.'"
-
-"Monsieur," said the king, "do you think you can excuse your friend by
-exceeding him in insolence?"
-
-"Oh! sire! I should go much further than he did," said D'Artagnan; "and
-it would be your own fault. I should tell you what he, a man full of
-the finest sense of delicacy, did not tell you; I should say--'Sire,
-you have sacrificed his son, and he defended his son--you sacrificed
-himself; he addressed you in the name of honor, of religion, of
-virtue--you repulsed, drove him away, imprisoned him.' I should be
-harder than he was, for I should say to you--'Sire; it is for you
-to choose. Do you wish to have friends or lackeys--soldiers or
-slaves--great men or mere puppets? Do you wish men to serve you, or to
-bend and crouch before you? Do you wish men to love you, or to be afraid
-of you? If you prefer baseness, intrigue, cowardice, say so at once,
-sire, and we will leave you,--we who are the only individuals who are
-left,--nay, I will say more, the only models of the valor of former
-times; we who have done our duty, and have exceeded, perhaps, in courage
-and in merit, the men already great for posterity. Choose, sire! and
-that, too, without delay. Whatever relics remain to you of the great
-nobility, guard them with a jealous eye; you will never be deficient in
-courtiers. Delay not--and send me to the Bastile with my friend; for, if
-you did not know how to listen to the Comte de la Fere, whose voice is
-the sweetest and noblest in all the world when honor is the theme; if
-you do not know how to listen to D'Artagnan, the frankest and honestest
-voice of sincerity, you are a bad king, and to-morrow will be a poor
-king. And learn from me, sire, that bad kings are hated by their people,
-and poor kings are driven ignominiously away.' That is what I had to say
-to you, sire; you were wrong to drive me to say it."
-
-The king threw himself back in his chair, cold as death, and as livid as
-a corpse. Had a thunderbolt fallen at his feet, he could not have been
-more astonished; he seemed as if his respiration had utterly ceased,
-and that he was at the point of death. The honest voice of sincerity,
-as D'Artagnan had called it, had pierced through his heart like a
-sword-blade.
-
-D'Artagnan had said all he had to say. Comprehending the king's anger,
-he drew his sword, and, approaching Louis XIV. respectfully, he placed
-it on the table. But the king, with a furious gesture, thrust aside
-the sword, which fell on the ground and rolled to D'Artagnan's feet.
-Notwithstanding the perfect mastery which D'Artagnan exercised over
-himself, he, too, in his turn, became pale, and, trembling with
-indignation, said: "A king may disgrace a soldier,--he may exile him,
-and may even condemn him to death; but were he a hundred times a king,
-he has no right to insult him by casting a dishonor upon his sword!
-Sire, a king of France has never repulsed with contempt the sword of
-a man such as I am! Stained with disgrace as this sword now is, it has
-henceforth no other sheath than either your heart or my own! I choose
-my own, sire; and you have to thank Heaven and my own patience that I
-do so." Then snatching up his sword, he cried, "My blood be upon your
-head!" and, with a rapid gesture, he placed the hilt upon the floor and
-directed the point of the blade towards his breast. The king, however,
-with a movement far more rapid than that of D'Artagnan, threw his right
-arm around the musketeer's neck, and with his left hand seized hold
-of the blade by the middle, and returned it silently to the scabbard.
-D'Artagnan, upright, pale, and still trembling, let the king do all to
-the very end. Louis, overcome and softened by gentler feelings, returned
-to the table, took a pen in his hand, wrote a few lines, signed them,
-and then held it out to D'Artagnan.
-
-"What is this paper, sire?" inquired the captain.
-
-"An order for M. d'Artagnan to set the Comte de la Fere at liberty
-immediately."
-
-D'Artagnan seized the king's hand, and imprinted a kiss upon it; he then
-folded the order, placed it in his belt, and quitted the room. Neither
-the king nor the captain had uttered a syllable.
-
-"Oh, human heart! thou guide and director of kings," murmured Louis,
-when alone, "when shall I learn to read in your inmost recesses, as in
-the leaves of a book! Oh, I am not a bad king--nor am I a poor king; I am
-but still a child, when all is said and done."
-
-
-
-Chapter LXV. Political Rivals.
-
-D'Artagnan had promised M. de Baisemeaux to return in time for dessert,
-and he kept his word. They had just reached the finer and more delicate
-class of wines and liqueurs with which the governor's cellar had the
-reputation of being most admirably stocked, when the silver spurs of
-the captain resounded in the corridor, and he himself appeared at the
-threshold. Athos and Aramis had played a close game; neither of the two
-had been able to gain the slightest advantage over the other. They had
-supped, talked a good deal about the Bastile, of the last journey to
-Fontainebleau, of the intended _fete_ that M. Fouquet was about to give
-at Vaux; they had generalized on every possible subject; and no one,
-excepting Baisemeaux, had in the slightest degree alluded to private
-matters. D'Artagnan arrived in the very midst of the conversation,
-still pale and much disturbed by his interview with the king. Baisemeaux
-hastened to give him a chair; D'Artagnan accepted a glass of wine, and
-set it down empty. Athos and Aramis both remarked his emotion; as
-for Baisemeaux, he saw nothing more than the captain of the king's
-musketeers, to whom he endeavored to show every possible attention. But,
-although Aramis had remarked his emotion, he had not been able to guess
-the cause of it. Athos alone believed he had detected it. For him,
-D'Artagnan's return, and particularly the manner in which he, usually
-so impassible, seemed overcome, signified, "I have just asked the king
-something which the king has refused me." Thoroughly convinced that his
-conjecture was correct, Athos smiled, rose from the table, and made a
-sign to D'Artagnan, as if to remind him that they had something else
-to do than to sup together. D'Artagnan immediately understood him,
-and replied by another sign. Aramis and Baisemeaux watched this silent
-dialogue, and looked inquiringly at each other. Athos felt that he was
-called upon to give an explanation of what was passing.
-
-"The truth is, my friend," said the Comte de la Fere, with a smile,
-"that you, Aramis, have been supping with a state criminal, and you,
-Monsieur de Baisemeaux, with your prisoner."
-
-Baisemeaux uttered an exclamation of surprise, and almost of delight;
-for he was exceedingly proud and vain of his fortress, and for his own
-individual profit, the more prisoners he had, the happier he was, and
-the higher in rank the prisoners happened to be, the prouder he felt.
-Aramis assumed the expression of countenance he thought the position
-justified, and said, "Well, dear Athos, forgive me, but I almost
-suspected what has happened. Some prank of Raoul and La Valliere, I
-suppose?"
-
-"Alas!" said Baisemeaux.
-
-"And," continued Aramis, "you, a high and powerful nobleman as you
-are, forgetful that courtiers now exist--you have been to the king, I
-suppose, and told him what you thought of his conduct?"
-
-"Yes, you have guessed right."
-
-"So that," said Baisemeaux, trembling at having supped so familiarly
-with a man who had fallen into disgrace with the king; "so that,
-monsieur le comte--"
-
-"So that, my dear governor," said Athos, "my friend D'Artagnan will
-communicate to you the contents of the paper which I perceived just
-peeping out of his belt, and which assuredly can be nothing else than
-the order for my incarceration."
-
-Baisemeaux held out his hand with his accustomed eagerness. D'Artagnan
-drew two papers from his belt, and presented one of them to the
-governor, who unfolded it, and then read, in a low tone of voice,
-looking at Athos over the paper, as he did so, and pausing from time to
-time: "'Order to detain, in my chateau of the Bastile, Monsieur le Comte
-de la Fere.' Oh, monsieur! this is indeed a very melancholy day for me."
-
-"You will have a patient prisoner, monsieur," said Athos, in his calm,
-soft voice.
-
-"A prisoner, too, who will not remain a month with you, my dear
-governor," said Aramis; while Baisemeaux, still holding the order in his
-hand, transcribed it upon the prison registry.
-
-"Not a day, or rather not even a night," said D'Artagnan, displaying the
-second order of the king, "for now, dear M. de Baisemeaux, you will
-have the goodness to transcribe also this order for setting the comte
-immediately at liberty."
-
-"Ah!" said Aramis, "it is a labor that you have deprived me of,
-D'Artagnan;" and he pressed the musketeer's hand in a significant
-manner, at the same moment as that of Athos.
-
-"What!" said the latter in astonishment, "the king sets me at liberty!"
-
-"Read, my dear friend," returned D'Artagnan.
-
-Athos took the order and read it. "It is quite true," he said.
-
-"Are you sorry for it?" asked D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh, no, on the contrary. I wish the king no harm; and the greatest evil
-or misfortune that any one can wish kings, is that they should commit an
-act of injustice. But you have had a difficult and painful task, I know.
-Tell me, have you not, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"I? not at all," said the musketeer, laughing: "the king does everything
-I wish him to do."
-
-Aramis looked fixedly at D'Artagnan, and saw that he was not speaking
-the truth. But Baisemeaux had eyes for nothing but D'Artagnan, so great
-was his admiration for a man who seemed to make the king do all he
-wished.
-
-"And does the king exile Athos?" inquired Aramis.
-
-"No, not precisely; the king did not explain himself upon that subject,"
-replied D'Artagnan; "but I think the comte could not well do better
-unless, indeed, he wishes particularly to thank the king--"
-
-"No, indeed," replied Athos, smiling.
-
-"Well, then, I think," resumed D'Artagnan, "that the comte cannot do
-better than to retire to his _own_ chateau. However, my dear Athos, you
-have only to speak, to tell me what you want. If any particular place
-of residence is more agreeable to you than another, I am influential
-enough, perhaps, to obtain it for you."
-
-"No, thank you," said Athos; "nothing can be more agreeable to me, my
-dear friend, than to return to my solitude beneath my noble trees on the
-banks of the Loire. If Heaven be the overruling physician of the evils
-of the mind, nature is a sovereign remedy. And so, monsieur," continued
-Athos, turning again towards Baisemeaux, "I am now free, I suppose?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur le comte, I think so--at least, I hope so," said the
-governor, turning over and over the two papers in question, "unless,
-however, M. d'Artagnan has a third order to give me."
-
-"No, my dear Baisemeaux, no," said the musketeer; "the second is quite
-enough: we will stop there--if you please."
-
-"Ah! monsieur le comte," said Baisemeaux addressing Athos, "you do
-not know what you are losing. I should have placed you among the
-thirty-franc prisoners, like the generals--what am I saying?--I mean
-among the fifty-francs, like the princes, and you would have supped
-every evening as you have done to-night."
-
-"Allow me, monsieur," said Athos, "to prefer my own simpler fare." And
-then, turning to D'Artagnan, he said, "Let us go, my dear friend. Shall
-I have that greatest of all pleasures for me--that of having you as my
-companion?"
-
-"To the city gate only," replied D'Artagnan, "after which I will tell
-you what I told the king: 'I am on duty.'"
-
-"And you, my dear Aramis," said Athos, smiling; "will you accompany me?
-La Fere is on the road to Vannes."
-
-"Thank you, my dear friend," said Aramis, "but I have an appointment in
-Paris this evening, and I cannot leave without very serious interests
-suffering by my absence."
-
-"In that case," said Athos, "I must say adieu, and take my leave of you.
-My dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux, I have to thank you exceedingly for
-your kind and friendly disposition towards me, and particularly for
-the enjoyable specimen you have given me of the ordinary fare of the
-Bastile." And, having embraced Aramis, and shaken hands with M. de
-Baisemeaux, and having received best wishes for a pleasant journey from
-them both, Athos set off with D'Artagnan.
-
-Whilst the _denouement_ of the scene of the Palais Royal was taking
-place at the Bastile, let us relate what was going on at the lodgings
-of Athos and Bragelonne. Grimaud, as we have seen, had accompanied his
-master to Paris; and, as we have said, he was present when Athos went
-out; he had observed D'Artagnan gnaw the corners of his mustache; he
-had seen his master get into the carriage; he had narrowly examined both
-their countenances, and he had known them both for a sufficiently long
-period to read and understand, through the mask of their impassibility,
-that something serious was the matter. As soon as Athos had gone, he
-began to reflect; he then, and then only, remembered the strange manner
-in which Athos had taken leave of him, the embarrassment--imperceptible
-as it would have been to any but himself--of the master whose ideas
-were, to him, so clear and defined, and the expression of whose wishes
-was so precise. He knew that Athos had taken nothing with him but the
-clothes he had on him at the time; and yet he seemed to fancy that Athos
-had not left for an hour merely; or even for a day. A long absence was
-signified by the manner in which he pronounced the word "Adieu."
-All these circumstances recurred to his mind, with feelings of deep
-affection for Athos, with that horror of isolation and solitude which
-invariably besets the minds of those who love; and all these combined
-rendered poor Grimaud very melancholy, and particularly uneasy. Without
-being able to account to himself for what he did since his master's
-departure, he wandered about the room, seeking, as it were, for some
-traces of him, like a faithful dog, who is not exactly uneasy about his
-absent master, but at least is restless. Only as, in addition to the
-instinct of the animal, Grimaud subjoined the reasoning faculties of the
-man, Grimaud therefore felt uneasy and restless too. Not having found
-any indication which could serve as a guide, and having neither seen
-nor discovered anything which could satisfy his doubts, Grimaud began
-to wonder what could possibly have happened. Besides, imagination is
-the resource, or rather the plague of gentle and affectionate hearts. In
-fact, never does a feeling heart represent its absent friend to itself
-as being happy or cheerful. Never does the dove that wings its flight in
-search of adventures inspire anything but terror at home.
-
-Grimaud soon passed from uneasiness to terror; he carefully went over,
-in his own mind, everything that had taken place: D'Artagnan's letter
-to Athos, the letter which had seemed to distress Athos so much after
-he had read it; then Raoul's visit to Athos, which resulted in Athos
-desiring him (Grimaud) to get his various orders and his court dress
-ready to put on; then his interview with the king, at the end of which
-Athos had returned home so unusually gloomy; then the explanation
-between the father and the son, at the termination of which Athos had
-embraced Raoul with such sadness of expression, while Raoul himself went
-away equally weary and melancholy; and finally, D'Artagnan's arrival,
-biting, as if he were vexed, the end of his mustache, and leaving again
-in the carriage, accompanied by the Comte de la Fere. All this composed
-a drama in five acts very clearly, particularly for so analytical an
-observer as Grimaud.
-
-The first step he took was to search in his master's coat for M.
-d'Artagnan's letter; he found the letter still there, and its contents
-were found to run as follows:
-
-"MY DEAR FRIEND,--Raoul has been to ask me for some particulars about
-the conduct of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, during our young friend's
-residence in London. I am a poor captain of musketeers, and I am
-sickened to death every day by hearing all the scandal of the barracks
-and bedside conversations. If I had told Raoul all I believe, I know the
-poor fellow would have died of it; but I am in the king's service, and
-cannot relate all I hear about the king's affairs. If your heart tells
-you to do it, set off at once; the matter concerns you more than it does
-myself, and almost as much as Raoul."
-
-Grimaud tore, not a handful, but a finger-and-thumbful of hair out of
-his head; he would have done more if his head of hair had been in a more
-flourishing condition.
-
-"Yes," he said, "that is the key of the whole enigma. The young girl has
-been playing her pranks; what people say about her and the king is true,
-then; our young master has been deceived; he ought to know it. Monsieur
-le comte has been to see the king, and has told him a piece of his mind;
-and then the king sent M. d'Artagnan to arrange the affair. Ah! gracious
-goodness!" continued Grimaud, "monsieur le comte, I now remember,
-returned without his sword."
-
-This discovery made the perspiration break out all over poor Grimaud's
-face. He did not waste any more time in useless conjecture, but clapped
-his hat on his head, and ran to Raoul's lodgings.
-
-Raoul, after Louise had left him, had mastered his grief, if not his
-affection; and, compelled to look forward on that perilous road over
-which madness and revulsion were hurrying him, he had seen, from the
-very first glance, his father exposed to the royal obstinacy, since
-Athos had himself been the first to oppose any resistance to the royal
-will. At this moment, from a very natural sequence of feeling, the
-unhappy young man remembered the mysterious signs which Athos had made,
-and the unexpected visit of D'Artagnan; the result of the conflict
-between a sovereign and a subject revealed itself to his terrified
-vision. As D'Artagnan was on duty, that is, a fixture at his post
-without the possibility of leaving it, it was certainly not likely that
-he had come to pay Athos a visit merely for the pleasure of seeing him.
-He must have come to say something to him. This something in the
-midst of such painful conjectures must have been the news of either a
-misfortune or a danger. Raoul trembled at having been so selfish as
-to have forgotten his father for his affection; at having, in a word,
-passed his time in idle dreams, or in an indulgence of despair, at a
-time when a necessity existed for repelling such an imminent attack on
-Athos. The very idea nearly drove him frantic; he buckled on his sword
-and ran towards his father's lodgings. On his way there he encountered
-Grimaud, who, having set off from the opposite pole, was running with
-equal eagerness in search of the truth. The two men embraced each other
-most warmly.
-
-"Grimaud," exclaimed Raoul, "is the comte well?"
-
-"Have you seen him?"
-
-"No; where is he?"
-
-"I am trying to find out."
-
-"And M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Went out with him."
-
-"When?"
-
-"Ten minutes after you did."
-
-"In what way did they go out?"
-
-"In a carriage."
-
-"Where did they go?"
-
-"I have no idea at all."
-
-"Did my father take any money with him?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Or his sword?"
-
-"No."
-
-"I have an idea, Grimaud, that M. d'Artagnan came in order to--"
-
-"Arrest monsieur le comte, do you not think, monsieur?"
-
-"Yes, Grimaud."
-
-"I could have sworn it."
-
-"What road did they take?"
-
-"The way leading towards the quay."
-
-"To the Bastile, then?"
-
-"Yes, yes."
-
-"Quick, quick; let us run."
-
-"Yes, let us not lose a moment."
-
-"But where are we to go?" said Raoul, overwhelmed.
-
-"We will go to M. d'Artagnan's first, we may perhaps learn something
-there."
-
-"No; if they keep me in ignorance at my father's, they will do the same
-everywhere. Let us go to--Oh, good heavens! why, I must be mad to-day,
-Grimaud; I have forgotten M. du Vallon, who is waiting for and expecting
-me still."
-
-"Where is he, then?"
-
-"At the Minimes of Vincennes."
-
-"Thank goodness, that is on the same side as the Bastile. I will run and
-saddle the horses, and we will go at once," said Grimaud.
-
-"Do, my friend, do."
-
-
-
-Chapter LXVI. In Which Porthos Is Convinced without Having Understood
-Anything.
-
-The good and worthy Porthos, faithful to all the laws of ancient
-chivalry, had determined to wait for M. de Saint-Aignan until sunset;
-and as Saint-Aignan did not come, as Raoul had forgotten to communicate
-with his second, and as he found that waiting so long was very
-wearisome, Porthos had desired one of the gate-keepers to fetch him a
-few bottles of good wine and a good joint of meat,--so that, at least,
-he might pass away the time by means of a glass or two and a mouthful of
-something to eat. He had just finished when Raoul arrived, escorted by
-Grimaud, both of them riding at full speed. As soon as Porthos saw the
-two cavaliers riding at such a pace along the road, he did not for a
-moment doubt but that they were the men he was expecting, and he rose
-from the grass upon which he had been indolently reclining and began to
-stretch his legs and arms, saying, "See what it is to have good habits.
-The fellow has finished by coming, after all. If I had gone away he
-would have found no one here and would have taken advantage of that." He
-then threw himself into a martial attitude, and drew himself up to the
-full height of his gigantic stature. But instead of Saint-Aignan, he
-only saw Raoul, who, with the most despairing gestures, accosted him by
-crying out, "Pray forgive me, my dear friend, I am most wretched."
-
-"Raoul!" cried Porthos, surprised.
-
-"You have been angry with me?" said Raoul, embracing Porthos.
-
-"I? What for?"
-
-"For having forgotten you. But I assure you my head seems utterly lost.
-If you only knew!"
-
-"You have killed him?"
-
-"Who?"
-
-"Saint-Aignan; or, if that is not the case, what is the matter?"
-
-"The matter is, that Monsieur le Comte de la Fere has by this time been
-arrested."
-
-Porthos gave a start that would have thrown down a wall.
-
-"Arrested!" he cried out; "by whom?"
-
-"By D'Artagnan."
-
-"It is impossible," said Porthos.
-
-"My dear friend, it is perfectly true."
-
-Porthos turned towards Grimaud, as if he needed a second confirmation of
-the intelligence.
-
-Grimaud nodded his head. "And where have they taken him?"
-
-"Probably to the Bastile."
-
-"What makes you think that?"
-
-"As we came along we questioned some persons, who saw the carriage pass;
-and others who saw it enter the Bastile."
-
-"Oh!" muttered Porthos.
-
-"What do you intend to do?" inquired Raoul.
-
-"I? Nothing; only I will not have Athos remain at the Bastile."
-
-"Do you know," said Raoul, advancing nearer to Porthos, "that the arrest
-was made by order of the king?"
-
-Porthos looked at the young man, as if to say, "What does that matter to
-me?" This dumb language seemed so eloquent of meaning to Raoul that he
-did not ask any other question. He mounted his horse again; and Porthos,
-assisted by Grimaud, had already done the same.
-
-"Let us arrange our plan of action," said Raoul.
-
-"Yes," returned Porthos, "that is the best thing we can do."
-
-Raoul sighed deeply, and then paused suddenly.
-
-"What is the matter?" asked Porthos; "are you faint?"
-
-"No, only I feel how utterly helpless our position is. Can we three
-pretend to go and take the Bastile?"
-
-"Well, if D'Artagnan were only here," replied Porthos, "I am not so very
-certain we would fail."
-
-Raoul could not resist a feeling of admiration at the sight of such
-perfect confidence, heroic in its simplicity. These were truly the
-celebrated men who, by three or four, attacked armies and assaulted
-castles! Men who had terrified death itself, who had survived the wrecks
-of a tempestuous age, and still stood, stronger than the most robust of
-the young.
-
-"Monsieur," said he to Porthos, "you have just given me an idea; we
-absolutely must see M. d'Artagnan."
-
-"Undoubtedly."
-
-"He ought by this time to have returned home, after having taken my
-father to the Bastile. Let us go to his house."
-
-"First inquire at the Bastile," said Grimaud, who was in the habit of
-speaking little, but that to the purpose.
-
-Accordingly, they hastened towards the fortress, when one of those
-chances which Heaven bestows on men of strong will caused Grimaud
-suddenly to perceive the carriage, which was entering by the great gate
-of the drawbridge. This was the moment that D'Artagnan was, as we have
-seen, returning from his visit to the king. In vain was it that Raoul
-urged on his horse in order to join the carriage, and to see whom it
-contained. The horses had already gained the other side of the great
-gate, which again closed, while one of the sentries struck the nose of
-Raoul's horse with his musket; Raoul turned about, only too happy to
-find he had ascertained something respecting the carriage which had
-contained his father.
-
-"We have him," said Grimaud.
-
-"If we wait a little it is certain he will leave; don't you think so, my
-friend?"
-
-"Unless, indeed, D'Artagnan also be a prisoner," replied Porthos, "in
-which case everything is lost."
-
-Raoul returned no answer, for any hypothesis was admissible.
-He instructed Grimaud to lead the horses to the little street
-Jean-Beausire, so as to give rise to less suspicion, and himself with
-his piercing gaze watched for the exit either of D'Artagnan or the
-carriage. Nor had he decided wrongly; for twenty minutes had not elapsed
-before the gate reopened and the carriage reappeared. A dazzling of
-the eyes prevented Raoul from distinguishing what figures occupied the
-interior. Grimaud averred that he had seen two persons, and that one of
-them was his master. Porthos kept looking at Raoul and Grimaud by turns,
-in the hope of understanding their idea.
-
-"It is clear," said Grimaud, "that if the comte is in the carriage,
-either he is set at liberty or they are taking him to another prison."
-
-"We shall soon see that by the road he takes," answered Porthos.
-
-"If he is set at liberty," said Grimaud, "they will conduct him home."
-
-"True," rejoined Porthos.
-
-"The carriage does not take that way," cried Raoul; and indeed the
-horses were just disappearing down the Faubourg St. Antoine.
-
-"Let us hasten," said Porthos; "we will attack the carriage on the road
-and tell Athos to flee."
-
-"Rebellion," murmured Raoul.
-
-Porthos darted a second glance at Raoul, quite worthy of the first.
-Raoul replied only by spurring the flanks of his steed. In a few moments
-the three cavaliers had overtaken the carriage, and followed it so
-closely that their horses' breath moistened the back of it. D'Artagnan,
-whose senses were ever on the alert, heard the trot of the horses, at
-the moment when Raoul was telling Porthos to pass the chariot, so as to
-see who was the person accompanying Athos. Porthos complied, but could
-not see anything, for the blinds were lowered. Rage and impatience were
-gaining mastery over Raoul. He had just noticed the mystery preserved by
-Athos's companion, and determined on proceeding to extremities. On his
-part D'Artagnan had perfectly recognized Porthos, and Raoul also, from
-under the blinds, and had communicated to the comte the result of his
-observation. They were desirous only of seeing whether Raoul and Porthos
-would push the affair to the uttermost. And this they speedily did, for
-Raoul, presenting his pistol, threw himself on the leader, commanding
-the coachmen to stop. Porthos seized the coachman, and dragged him from
-his seat. Grimaud already had hold of the carriage door. Raoul threw
-open his arms, exclaiming, "M. le comte! M. le comte!"
-
-"Ah! is it you, Raoul?" said Athos, intoxicated with joy.
-
-"Not bad, indeed!" added D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter, and they
-both embraced the young man and Porthos, who had taken possession of
-them.
-
-"My brave Porthos! best of friends," cried Athos, "it is still the same
-old way with you."
-
-"He is still only twenty," said D'Artagnan, "brave Porthos!"
-
-"Confound it," answered Porthos, slightly confused, "we thought that you
-were being arrested."
-
-"While," rejoined Athos, "the matter in question was nothing but my
-taking a drive in M. d'Artagnan's carriage."
-
-"But we followed you from the Bastile," returned Raoul, with a tone of
-suspicion and reproach.
-
-"Where we had been to take supper with our friend M. Baisemeaux. Do you
-recollect Baisemeaux, Porthos?"
-
-"Very well, indeed."
-
-"And there we saw Aramis."
-
-"In the Bastile?"
-
-"At supper."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, again breathing freely.
-
-"He gave us a thousand messages to you."
-
-"And where is M. le comte going?" asked Grimaud, already recompensed by
-a smile from his master.
-
-"We were going home to Blois."
-
-"How can that be?"
-
-"At once?" said Raoul.
-
-"Yes, right forward."
-
-"Without any luggage?"
-
-"Oh! Raoul would have been instructed to forward me mine, or to bring it
-with him on his return, _if_ he returns."
-
-"If nothing detains him longer in Paris," said D'Artagnan, with a glance
-firm and cutting as steel, and as painful (for it reopened the poor
-young fellow's wounds), "he will do well to follow you, Athos."
-
-"There is nothing to keep me any longer in Paris," said Raoul.
-
-"Then we will go immediately."
-
-"And M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Oh! as for me, I was only accompanying Athos as far as the barrier, and
-I return with Porthos."
-
-"Very good," said the latter.
-
-"Come, my son," added the comte, gently passing his arm around Raoul's
-neck to draw him into the carriage, and again embracing him. "Grimaud,"
-continued the comte, "you will return quietly to Paris with your horse
-and M. du Vallon's, for Raoul and I will mount here and give up the
-carriage to these two gentlemen to return to Paris in; and then, as
-soon as you arrive, you will take my clothes and letters and forward the
-whole to me at home."
-
-"But," observed Raoul, who was anxious to make the comte converse,
-"when you return to Paris, there will not be a single thing there for
-you--which will be very inconvenient."
-
-"I think it will be a very long time, Raoul, ere I return to Paris. The
-last sojourn we have made there has not been of a nature to encourage me
-to repeat it."
-
-Raoul hung down his head and said not a word more. Athos descended from
-the carriage and mounted the horse which had brought Porthos, and
-which seemed no little pleased at the exchange. Then they embraced,
-and clasped each other's hands, and interchanged a thousand pledges of
-eternal friendship. Porthos promised to spend a month with Athos at the
-first opportunity. D'Artagnan engaged to take advantage of his first
-leave of absence; and then, having embraced Raoul for the last time: "To
-you, my boy," said he, "I will write." Coming from D'Artagnan, who he
-knew wrote very seldom, these words expressed everything. Raoul was
-moved even to tears. He tore himself away from the musketeer and
-departed.
-
-D'Artagnan rejoined Porthos in the carriage: "Well," said he, "my dear
-friend, what a day we have had!"
-
-"Indeed we have," answered Porthos.
-
-"You must be quite worn out."
-
-"Not quite; however, I shall retire early to rest, so as to be ready for
-to-morrow."
-
-"And wherefore?"
-
-"Why! to complete what I have begun."
-
-"You make me shudder, my friend, you seem to me quite angry. What the
-devil _have_ you begun which is not finished?"
-
-"Listen; Raoul has not fought, but _I_ must fight!"
-
-"With whom? with the king?"
-
-"How!" exclaimed Porthos, astounded, "with the king?"
-
-"Yes, I say, you great baby, with the king."
-
-"I assure you it is with M. Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Look now, this is what I mean; you draw your sword against the king in
-fighting with this gentleman."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, staring; "are you sure of it?"
-
-"Indeed I am."
-
-"What in the world are we to do, then?"
-
-"We must try and make a good supper, Porthos. The captain of the
-musketeers keeps a tolerable table. There you will see the handsome
-Saint-Aignan, and will drink his health."
-
-"I?" cried Porthos, horrified.
-
-"What!" said D'Artagnan, "you refuse to drink the king's health?"
-
-"But, body alive! I am not talking to you about the king at all; I am
-speaking of M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"But when I repeat that it is the same thing?"
-
-"Ah, well, well!" said Porthos, overcome.
-
-"You understand, don't you?"
-
-"No," answered Porthos, "but 'tis all the same."
-
-
-
-Chapter LXVII. M. de Baisemeaux's "Society."
-
-The reader has not forgotten that, on quitting the Bastile, D'Artagnan
-and the Comte de la Fere had left Aramis in close confabulation with
-Baisemeaux. When once these two guests had departed, Baisemeaux did not
-in the least perceive that the conversation suffered by their absence.
-He used to think that wine after supper, and that of the Bastile
-in particular, was excellent, and that it was a stimulation quite
-sufficient to make any honest man talkative. But he little knew
-his Greatness, who was never more impenetrable than at dessert. His
-Greatness, however, perfectly understood M. de Baisemeaux, when he
-reckoned on making the governor discourse by the means which the latter
-regarded as efficacious. The conversation, therefore, without flagging
-in appearance, flagged in reality; for Baisemeaux not only had it nearly
-all to himself, but further, kept speaking only of that singular event,
-the incarceration of Athos, followed by so prompt an order to set him
-again at liberty. Nor, moreover, had Baisemeaux failed to observe that
-the two orders of arrest and of liberation, were both in the king's
-hand. But then, the king would not take the trouble to write similar
-orders except under pressing circumstances. All this was very
-interesting, and, above all, very puzzling to Baisemeaux; but as, on the
-other hand, all this was very clear to Aramis, the latter did not
-attach to the occurrence the same importance as did the worthy governor.
-Besides, Aramis rarely put himself out of the way for anything, and he
-had not yet told M. de Baisemeaux for what reason he had now done so.
-And so at the very climax of Baisemeaux's dissertation, Aramis suddenly
-interrupted him.
-
-"Tell me, my dear Baisemeaux," said he, "have you never had any other
-diversions at the Bastile than those at which I assisted during the two
-or three visits I have had the honor to pay you?"
-
-This address was so unexpected that the governor, like a vane which
-suddenly receives an impulsion opposed to that of the wind, was quite
-dumbfounded at it. "Diversions!" said he; "but I take them continually,
-monseigneur."
-
-"Oh, to be sure! And these diversions?"
-
-"Are of every kind."
-
-"Visits, no doubt?"
-
-"No, not visits. Visits are not frequent at the Bastile."
-
-"What, are visits rare, then?"
-
-"Very much so."
-
-"Even on the part of your society?"
-
-"What do you term my society--the prisoners?"
-
-"Oh, no!--your prisoners, indeed! I know well it is you who visit them,
-and not they you. By your society, I mean, my dear Baisemeaux, the
-society of which you are a member."
-
-Baisemeaux looked fixedly at Aramis, and then, as if the idea which had
-flashed across his mind were impossible, "Oh," he said, "I have very
-little society at present. If I must own it to you, dear M. d'Herblay,
-the fact is, to stay at the Bastile appears, for the most part,
-distressing and distasteful to persons of the gay world. As for the
-ladies, it is never without a certain dread, which costs me infinite
-trouble to allay, that they succeed in reaching my quarters. And,
-indeed, how should they avoid trembling a little, poor things, when
-they see those gloomy dungeons, and reflect that they are inhabited
-by prisoners who--" And in proportion as the eyes of Baisemeaux
-concentrated their gaze on the face of Aramis, the worthy governor's
-tongue faltered more and more until it ended by stopping altogether.
-
-"No, you don't understand me, my dear M. Baisemeaux; you don't
-understand me. I do not at all mean to speak of society in general, but
-of a particular society--of _the_ society, in a word--to which you are
-affiliated."
-
-Baisemeaux nearly dropped the glass of muscat which he was in the act of
-raising to his lips. "Affiliated," cried he, "affiliated!"
-
-"Yes, affiliated, undoubtedly," repeated Aramis, with the greatest
-self-possession. "Are you not a member of a secret society, my dear M.
-Baisemeaux?"
-
-"Secret?"
-
-"Secret or mysterious."
-
-"Oh, M. d'Herblay!"
-
-"Consider, now, don't deny it."
-
-"But believe me."
-
-"I believe what I know."
-
-"I swear to you."
-
-"Listen to me, my dear M. Baisemeaux; I say yes, you say no; one of us
-two necessarily says what is true, and the other, it inevitably follows,
-what is false."
-
-"Well, and then?"
-
-"Well, we shall come to an understanding presently."
-
-"Let us see," said Baisemeaux; "let us see."
-
-"Now drink your glass of muscat, dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," said
-Aramis. "What the devil! you look quite scared."
-
-"No, no; not the least in the world; oh, no."
-
-"Drink then." Baisemeaux drank, but he swallowed the wrong way.
-
-"Well," resumed Aramis, "if, I say, you are not a member of a secret
-or mysterious society, which you like to call it--the epithet is of no
-consequence--if, I say, you are not a member of a society similar to
-that I wish to designate, well, then, you will not understand a word of
-what I am going to say. That is all."
-
-"Oh! be sure beforehand that I shall not understand anything."
-
-"Well, well!"
-
-"Try, now; let us see!"
-
-"That is what I am going to do."
-
-"If, on the contrary, you are one of the members of this society, you
-will immediately answer me--yes or no."
-
-"Begin your questions," continued Baisemeaux, trembling.
-
-"You will agree, dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," continued Aramis, with
-the same impassibility, "that it is evident a man cannot be a member of
-a society, it is evident that he cannot enjoy the advantages it offers
-to the affiliated, without being himself bound to certain little
-services."
-
-"In short," stammered Baisemeaux, "that would be intelligible, if--"
-
-"Well," resumed Aramis, "there is in the society of which I speak, and
-of which, as it seems you are not a member--"
-
-"Allow me," said Baisemeaux. "I should not like to say absolutely."
-
-"There is an engagement entered into by all the governors and captains
-of fortresses affiliated to the order." Baisemeaux grew pale.
-
-"Now the engagement," continued Aramis firmly, "is of this nature."
-
-Baisemeaux rose, manifesting unspeakable emotion: "Go on, dear M.
-d'Herblay: go on," said he.
-
-Aramis then spoke, or rather recited the following paragraph, in the
-same tone as if he had been reading it from a book: "The aforesaid
-captain or governor of a fortress shall allow to enter, when need shall
-arise, and on demand of the prisoner, a confessor affiliated to the
-order." He stopped. Baisemeaux was quite distressing to look at,
-being so wretchedly pale and trembling. "Is not that the text of the
-agreement?" quietly asked Aramis.
-
-"Monseigneur!" began Baisemeaux.
-
-"Ah! well, you begin to understand, I think."
-
-"Monseigneur," cried Baisemeaux, "do not trifle so with my unhappy mind!
-I find myself as nothing in your hands, if you have the malignant desire
-to draw from me the little secrets of my administration."
-
-"Oh! by no means; pray undeceive yourself, dear M. Baisemeaux; it is not
-the little secrets of your administration, but those of your conscience
-that I aim at."
-
-"Well, then, my conscience be it, dear M. d'Herblay. But have some
-consideration for the situation I am in, which is no ordinary one."
-
-"It is no ordinary one, my dear monsieur," continued the inflexible
-Aramis, "if you are a member of this society; but it is a quite natural
-one if free from all engagement. You are answerable only to the king."
-
-"Well, monsieur, well! I obey only the king, and whom else would you
-have a French nobleman obey?"
-
-Aramis did not yield an inch, but with that silvery voice of his
-continued: "It is very pleasant," said he, "for a French nobleman, for
-a prelate of France, to hear a man of your mark express himself so
-loyally, dear De Baisemeaux, and having heard you to believe no more
-than you do."
-
-"Have you doubted, monsieur?"
-
-"I? oh, no!"
-
-"And so you doubt no longer?"
-
-"I have no longer any doubt that such a man as you, monsieur," said
-Aramis, gravely, "does not faithfully serve the masters whom he
-voluntarily chose for himself."
-
-"Masters!" cried Baisemeaux.
-
-"Yes, masters, I said."
-
-"Monsieur d'Herblay, you are still jesting, are you not?"
-
-"Oh, yes! I understand that it is a more difficult position to have
-several masters than one; but the embarrassment is owing to you, my dear
-Baisemeaux, and I am not the cause of it."
-
-"Certainly not," returned the unfortunate governor, more embarrassed
-than ever; "but what are you doing? You are leaving the table?"
-
-"Assuredly."
-
-"Are you going?"
-
-"Yes, I am going."
-
-"But you are behaving very strangely towards me, monseigneur."
-
-"I am behaving strangely--how do you make that out?"
-
-"Have you sworn, then, to put me to the torture?"
-
-"No, I should be sorry to do so."
-
-"Remain, then."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"And why?"
-
-"Because I have no longer anything to do here; and, indeed, I have
-duties to fulfil elsewhere."
-
-"Duties, so late as this?"
-
-"Yes; understand me now, my dear De Baisemeaux: they told me at the
-place whence I came, 'The aforesaid governor or captain will allow
-to enter, as need shall arise, on the prisoner's demand, a confessor
-affiliated with the order.' I came; you do not know what I mean, and so
-I shall return to tell them that they are mistaken, and that they must
-send me elsewhere."
-
-"What! you are--" cried Baisemeaux, looking at Aramis almost in terror.
-
-"The confessor affiliated to the order," said Aramis, without changing
-his voice.
-
-But, gentle as the words were, they had the same effect on the unhappy
-governor as a clap of thunder. Baisemeaux became livid, and it seemed to
-him as if Aramis's beaming eyes were two forks of flame, piercing to
-the very bottom of his soul. "The confessor!" murmured he; "you,
-monseigneur, the confessor of the order!"
-
-"Yes, I; but we have nothing to unravel together, seeing that you are
-not one of the affiliated."
-
-"Monseigneur!"
-
-"And I understand that, not being so, you refuse to comply with its
-command."
-
-"Monseigneur, I beseech you, condescend to hear me."
-
-"And wherefore?"
-
-"Monseigneur, I do not say that I have nothing to do with the society."
-
-"Ah! ah!"
-
-"I say not that I refuse to obey."
-
-"Nevertheless, M. de Baisemeaux, what has passed wears very much the air
-of resistance."
-
-"Oh, no! monseigneur, no; I only wished to be certain."
-
-"To be certain of what?" said Aramis, in a tone of supreme contempt.
-
-"Of nothing at all, monseigneur." Baisemeaux lowered his voice, and
-bending before the prelate, said, "I am at all times and in all places
-at the disposal of my superiors, but--"
-
-"Very good. I like you better thus, monsieur," said Aramis, as he
-resumed his seat, and put out his glass to Baisemeaux, whose hand
-trembled so that he could not fill it. "You were saying 'but'--"
-continued Aramis.
-
-"But," replied the unhappy man, "having received no notice, I was very
-far from expecting it."
-
-"Does not the Gospel say, 'Watch, for the moment is known only of God?'
-Do not the rules of the order say, 'Watch, for that which I will, you
-ought always to will also.' And what pretext will serve you now that you
-did not expect the confessor, M. de Baisemeaux?"
-
-"Because, monseigneur, there is at present in the Bastile no prisoner
-ill."
-
-Aramis shrugged his shoulders. "What do you know about that?" said he.
-
-"But, nevertheless, it appears to me--"
-
-"M. de Baisemeaux," said Aramis, turning round in his chair, "here is
-your servant, who wishes to speak with you;" and at this moment, De
-Baisemeaux's servant appeared at the threshold of the door.
-
-"What is it?" asked Baisemeaux, sharply.
-
-"Monsieur," said the man, "they are bringing you the doctor's return."
-
-Aramis looked at De Baisemeaux with a calm and confident eye.
-
-"Well," said he, "let the messenger enter."
-
-The messenger entered, saluted, and handed in the report. Baisemeaux
-ran his eye over it, and raising his head, said in surprise, "No. 12 is
-ill!"
-
-"How was it, then," said Aramis, carelessly, "that you told me everybody
-was well in your hotel, M. de Baisemeaux?" And he emptied his glass
-without removing his eyes from Baisemeaux.
-
-The governor then made a sign to the messenger, and when he had quitted
-the room, said, still trembling, "I think that there is in the article,
-'on the prisoner's demand.'"
-
-"Yes, it is so," answered Aramis. "But see what it is they want with you
-now."
-
-And that moment a sergeant put his head in at the door. "What do you
-want now?" cried Baisemeaux. "Can you not leave me in peace for ten
-minutes?"
-
-"Monsieur," said the sergeant, "the sick man, No. 12, has commissioned
-the turnkey to request you to send him a confessor."
-
-Baisemeaux very nearly sank on the floor; but Aramis disdained to
-reassure him, just as he had disdained to terrify him. "What must I
-answer?" inquired Baisemeaux.
-
-"Just what you please," replied Aramis, compressing his lips; "that is
-your business. _I_ am not the governor of the Bastile."
-
-"Tell the prisoner," cried Baisemeaux, quickly,--"tell the prisoner that
-his request is granted." The sergeant left the room. "Oh! monseigneur,
-monseigneur," murmured Baisemeaux, "how could I have suspected!--how
-could I have foreseen this!"
-
-"Who requested you to suspect, and who besought you to foresee?"
-contemptuously answered Aramis. "The order suspects; the order knows;
-the order foresees--is that not enough?"
-
-"What is it you command?" added Baisemeaux.
-
-"I?--nothing at all. I am nothing but a poor priest, a simple confessor.
-Have I your orders to go and see the sufferer?"
-
-"Oh, monseigneur, I do not order; I pray you to go."
-
-"'Tis well; conduct me to him."
-
-End of Louise de la Valliere. The last text in the series is The Man in
-the Iron Mask.
-
-
-
-
-Footnotes:
-
-[Footnote 1: "To err is human."]
-
-[Footnote 2: Potatoes were not grown in France at that time. La Siecle insists
-that the error is theirs, and that Dumas meant "tomatoes."]
-
-[Footnote 3: In the five-volume edition, Volume 3 ends here.]
-
-[Footnote 4: "In your house."]
-
-[Footnote 5: This alternate translation of the verse in this chapter:
-
-     "Oh! you who sadly are wandering alone,
-     Come, come, and laugh with us."
-
-    ---is closer to the original meaning.]
-
-[Footnote 6: Marie de Mancini was a former love of the king's. He had to abandon
-her for the political advantages which the marriage to the Spanish
-Infanta, Maria Theresa, afforded. See The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Chapter
-XIII.]
-
-[Footnote 7: "[A sun] not eclipsed by many suns." Louis's device was the sun.]
-
-[Footnote 8: In the three-volume edition, Volume 2, entitled Louise de la
-Valliere, ends here.]
-
-[Footnote 9: "To what heights may he not aspire?" Fouquet's motto.]
-
-[Footnote 10: "A creature rare on earth."]
-
-[Footnote 11: "With an eye always to the climax."]
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's Louise de la Valliere, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
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-Project Gutenberg's Louise de la Valliere, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
-#9 in our series by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
-
-Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check
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-Title:  Louise de la Valliere
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-Author:  Alexandre Dumas, Pere
-
-July, 2001  [Etext #2710]
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-As you may be aware, Project Gutenberg has been involved with
-the writings of both the Alexandre Dumases for some time now,
-and since we get a few questions about the order in which the
-books should be read, and in which they were published, these
-following comments should hopefully help most of our readers.
-
-***
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne is the final volume of D'Artagnan Romances:
-it is usually split into three or four parts, and the final portion
-is entitled The Man in the Iron Mask.  The Man in the Iron Mask we're
-familiar with today is the last volume of the four-volume edition.
-[Not all the editions split them in the same manner, hence some of
-the confusion. . .but wait. . .there's yet more reason for confusion.]
-
-We intend to do ALL of The Vicomte de Bragelonne, split into four the texts
-entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Valliere,
-and The Man in the Iron Mask; you WILL be getting The Man in the Iron Mask.
-
-One thing that may be causing confusion is that the etext we have now,
-entitled Ten Years Later, says it's the sequel to The Three Musketeers.
-While this is technically true, there's another book, Twenty Years After,
-that comes between.  The confusion is generated by the two facts that we
-published Ten Years Later BEFORE we published Twenty Years After, and
-that many people see those titles as meaning Ten and Twenty Years "After"
-the original story. . .however, this is why the different words "After" and
-"Later". . .the Ten Years "After" is ten years after the Twenty Years later. .
-.as per history.  Also, the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances, while
-entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, has the subtitle Ten Years Later.  These
-two titles are also given to different volumes: The Vicomte de Bragelonne can
-refer to the whole book, or the first volume of the three or four-volume
-editions.  Ten Years Later can, similarly, refer to the whole book, or the
-second volume of the four-volume edition.  To add to the confusion, in
-the case of our etexts, it refers to the first 104 chapters of the whole book,
-covering material in the first and second etexts in the new series.  Here is a
-guide to the series which may prove helpful:
-
-The Three Musketeers: Etext 1257 - First book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1625-1628.
-
-Twenty Years After: Etext 1259 - Second book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1648-1649.
-[Third in the order that we published, but second in time sequence!!!]
-
-Ten Years Later: Etext 1258 - First 104 chapters of the third book of the
-D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1660-1661.
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Etext 2609 (first in the new series) - First 75
-chapters
-of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the year 1660.
-
-Ten Years Later: Etext 2681 (second in the new series) - Chapters 76-140 of
-that third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1660-1661.
-[In this particular editing of it]
-
-Louise de la Valliere: Etext 2710 (our new text) - Chapters 141-208 of the
-third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the year 1661.
-
-The Man in the Iron Mask: forthcoming (our next text) - Chapters 209-269 of
-the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1661-1673.
-
-If we've calculated correctly, that fourth text SHOULD correspond to the
-modern editions of The Man in the Iron Mask, which is still widely
-circulated, and comprises about the last 1/4 of The Vicomte de Bragelonne.
-
-Here is a list of the other Dumas Etexts we have published so far:
-
-Sep 1999 La Tulipe Noire, by Alexandre Dumas[Pere#6/French][tlpnrxxx.xxx]1910
-This is an abridged edition in French, also see our full length English Etext
-Jul 1997 The Black Tulip, by Alexandre Dumas[Pere][Dumas#1][tbtlpxxx.xxx] 965
-Jan 1998 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas[Pere][crstoxxx.xxx]1184
-
-
-Many thanks to Dr. David Coward, whose editions of the D'Artagnan Romances have
-proved an invaluable source of information.
-
-Introduction:
-In the months of March-July in 1844, in the magazine Le Siecle, the first
-portion of a story appeared, penned by the celebrated playwright
-Alexandre Dumas.  It was based, he claimed, on some manuscripts he had
-found a year earlier in the Bibliotheque Nationale while researching a
-history he planned to write on Louis XIV.  They chronicled the adventures
-of a young man named D'Artagnan who, upon entering Paris, became almost
-immediately embroiled in court intrigues, international politics, and
-ill-fated affairs between royal lovers.  Over the next six years, readers
-would enjoy the adventures of this youth and his three famous friends,
-Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, as their exploits unraveled behind the scenes
-of some of the most momentous events in French and even English history.
-
-Eventually these serialized adventures were published in novel form, and
-became the three D'Artagnan Romances known today.  Here is a brief
-summary of the first two novels:
-
-The Three Musketeers (serialized March - July, 1844): The year is 1625.
-The young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris at the tender age of 18, and almost
-immediately offends three musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos.
-Instead of dueling, the four are attacked by five of the Cardinal's
-guards, and the courage of the youth is made apparent during the battle.
-The four become fast friends, and, when asked by D'Artagnan's landlord to
-find his missing wife, embark upon an adventure that takes them across
-both France and England in order to thwart the plans of the Cardinal
-Richelieu.  Along the way, they encounter a beautiful young spy, named
-simply Milady, who will stop at nothing to disgrace Queen Anne of Austria
-before her husband, Louis XIII, and take her revenge upon the four
-friends.
-
-Twenty Years After (serialized January - August, 1845): The year is now
-1648, twenty years since the close of the last story.  Louis XIII has
-died, as has Cardinal Richelieu, and while the crown of France may sit
-upon the head of Anne of Austria as Regent for the young Louis XIV, the
-real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, her secret husband.
-D'Artagnan is now a lieutenant of musketeers, and his three friends have
-retired to private life.  Athos turned out to be a nobleman, the Comte de
-la Fere, and has retired to his home with his son, Raoul de Bragelonne.
-Aramis, whose real name is D'Herblay, has followed his intention of
-shedding the musketeer's cassock for the priest's robes, and Porthos has
-married a wealthy woman, who left him her fortune upon her death.  But
-trouble is stirring in both France and England.  Cromwell menaces the
-institution of royalty itself while marching against Charles I, and at
-home the Fronde is threatening to tear France apart.  D'Artagnan brings
-his friends out of retirement to save the threatened English monarch, but
-Mordaunt, the son of Milady, who seeks to avenge his mother's death at
-the musketeers' hands, thwarts their valiant efforts.  Undaunted, our
-heroes return to France just in time to help save the young Louis XIV,
-quiet the Fronde, and tweak the nose of Cardinal Mazarin.
-
-The third novel, The Vicomte de Bragelonne (serialized October, 1847 –
-January, 1850), has enjoyed a strange history in its English
-translation.  It has been split into three, four, or five volumes at
-various points in its history.  The five-volume edition generally does
-not give titles to the smaller portions, but the others do.  In the three-
-volume edition, the novels are entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise
-de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.  For the purposes of this
-etext, I have chosen to split the novel as the four-volume edition does,
-with these titles: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de
-la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.  In the first two etexts:
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne (Etext 2609): It is the year 1660, and
-D'Artagnan, after thirty-five years of loyal service, has become
-disgusted with serving King Louis XIV while the real power resides with
-the Cardinal Mazarin, and has tendered his resignation.  He embarks on
-his own project, that of restoring Charles II to the throne of England,
-and, with the help of Athos, succeeds, earning himself quite a fortune in
-the process.  D'Artagnan returns to Paris to live the life of a rich
-citizen, and Athos, after negotiating the marriage of Philip, the king's
-brother, to Princess Henrietta of England, likewise retires to his own
-estate, La Fere.  Meanwhile, Mazarin has finally died, and left Louis to
-assume the reigns of power, with the assistance of M. Colbert, formerly
-Mazarin's trusted clerk.  Colbert has an intense hatred for M. Fouquet,
-the king's superintendent of finances, and has resolved to use any means
-necessary to bring about his fall.  With the new rank of intendant
-bestowed on him by Louis, Colbert succeeds in having two of Fouquet's
-loyal friends tried and executed.  He then brings to the king's attention
-that Fouquet is fortifying the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, and could
-possibly be planning to use it as a base for some military operation
-against the king.  Louis calls D'Artagnan out of retirement and sends him
-to investigate the island, promising him a tremendous salary and his long-
-promised promotion to captain of the musketeers upon his return.  At
-Belle-Isle, D'Artagnan discovers that the engineer of the fortifications
-is, in fact, Porthos, now the Baron du Vallon, and that's not all.  The
-blueprints for the island, although in Porthos's handwriting, show
-evidence of another script that has been erased, that of Aramis.
-D'Artagnan later discovers that Aramis has become the bishop of Vannes,
-which is, coincidentally, a parish belonging to M. Fouquet.  Suspecting
-that D'Artagnan has arrived on the king's behalf to investigate, Aramis
-tricks D'Artagnan into wandering around Vannes in search of Porthos, and
-sends Porthos on an heroic ride back to Paris to warn Fouquet of the
-danger.  Fouquet rushes to the king, and gives him Belle-Isle as a
-present, thus allaying any suspicion, and at the same time humiliating
-Colbert, just minutes before the usher announces someone else seeking an
-audience with the king.
-
-Ten Years Later (Etext 2681): As 1661 approaches, Princess Henrietta of
-England arrives for her marriage, and throws the court of France into
-complete disorder.  The jealousy of the Duke of Buckingham, who is in
-love with her, nearly occasions a war on the streets of Le Havre,
-thankfully prevented by Raoul's timely and tactful intervention.  After
-the marriage, though, Monsieur Philip becomes horribly jealous of
-Buckingham, and has him exiled.  Before leaving, however, the duke fights
-a duel with M. de Wardes at Calais.  De Wardes is a malicious and
-spiteful man, the sworn enemy of D'Artagnan, and, by the same token, that
-of Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and Raoul as well.  Both men are seriously
-wounded, and the duke is taken back to England to recover.  Raoul's
-friend, the Comte de Guiche, is the next to succumb to Henrietta's
-charms, and Monsieur obtains his exile as well, though De Guiche soon
-effects a reconciliation.  But then the king's eye falls on Madame
-Henrietta during the comte's absence, and this time Monsieur's jealousy
-has no recourse.  Anne of Austria intervenes, and the king and his sister-
-in-law decide to pick a young lady with whom the king can pretend to be
-in love, the better to mask their own affair.  They unfortunately select
-Louise de la Valliere, Raoul's fiancee.  While the court is in residence
-at Fontainebleau, the king unwitting overhears Louise confessing her love
-for him while chatting with her friends beneath the royal oak, and the
-king promptly forgets his affection for Madame.  That same night,
-Henrietta overhears, at the same oak, De Guiche confessing his love for
-her to Raoul.  The two embark on their own affair.  A few days later,
-during a rainstorm, Louis and Louise are trapped alone together, and the
-whole court begins to talk of the scandal while their love affair
-blossoms.  Aware of Louise's attachment, the king arranges for Raoul to
-be sent to England for an indefinite period.
-
-Meanwhile, the struggle for power continues between Fouquet and Colbert.
-Although the Belle-Isle plot backfired, Colbert prompts the king to ask
-Fouquet for more and more money, and without his two friends to raise it
-for him, Fouquet is sorely pressed.  The situation gets so bad that his
-new mistress, Madame de Belliere, must resort to selling all her jewels
-and her gold and silver plate.  Aramis, while this is going on, has grown
-friendly with the governor of the Bastile, M. de Baisemeaux, a fact that
-Baisemeaux unwittingly reveals to D'Artagnan while inquiring of him as to
-Aramis's whereabouts.  This further arouses the suspicions of the
-musketeer, who was made to look ridiculous by Aramis.  He had ridden
-overnight at an insane pace, but arrived a few minutes after Fouquet had
-already presented Belle-Isle to the king.  Aramis learns from the
-governor the location of a mysterious prisoner, who bears a remarkable
-resemblance to Louis XIV - in fact, the two are identical.  He uses the
-existence of this secret to persuade a dying Franciscan monk, the general
-of the society of the Jesuits, to name him, Aramis, the new general of
-the order.  On Aramis's advice, hoping to use Louise's influence with the
-king to counteract Colbert's influence, Fouquet also writes a love letter
-to La Valliere, unfortunately undated.  It never reaches its destination,
-however, as the servant ordered to deliver it turns out to be an agent of
-Colbert's.
-
-Porthos, in the meantime, has been recovering from his midnight ride from
-Belle-Isle at Fouquet's residence at Saint-Mande.  Athos has retired,
-once again to La Fere.  D'Artagnan, little amused by the court's
-activities at Fontainebleau, and finding himself with nothing to do, has
-returned to Paris, and we find him again in Planchet's grocery shop.
-
-And so, the story continues in this, the third etext of The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne.  Enjoy!
-
-John Bursey
-Mordaunt@aol.com
-July, 2000
-
-
-Louise de la Valliere
-by Alexandre Dumas
-
-Chapter I:
-Malaga.
-
-During all these long and noisy debates between the opposite ambitions of
-politics and love, one of our characters, perhaps the one least deserving
-of neglect, was, however, very much neglected, very much forgotten, and
-exceedingly unhappy.  In fact, D'Artagnan - D'Artagnan, we say, for we
-must call him by his name, to remind our readers of his existence -
-D'Artagnan, we repeat, had absolutely nothing whatever to do, amidst
-these brilliant butterflies of fashion.  After following the king during
-two whole days at Fontainebleau, and critically observing the various
-pastoral fancies and heroi-comic transformations of his sovereign, the
-musketeer felt that he needed something more than this to satisfy the
-cravings of his nature.  At every moment assailed by people asking him,
-"How do you think this costume suits me, Monsieur d'Artagnan?" he would
-reply to them in quiet, sarcastic tones, "Why, I think you are quite as
-well-dressed as the best-dressed monkey to be found in the fair at Saint-
-Laurent."  It was just such a compliment D'Artagnan would choose where he
-did not feel disposed to pay any other: and, whether agreeable or not,
-the inquirer was obliged to be satisfied with it.  Whenever any one asked
-him, "How do you intend to dress yourself this evening?" he replied, "I
-shall undress myself;" at which the ladies all laughed, and a few of them
-blushed.  But after a couple of days passed in this manner, the
-musketeer, perceiving that nothing serious was likely to arise which
-would concern him, and that the king had completely, or, at least,
-appeared to have completely forgotten Paris, Saint-Mande, and Belle-Isle
-- that M. Colbert's mind was occupied with illuminations and fireworks -
-that for the next month, at least, the ladies had plenty of glances to
-bestow, and also to receive in exchange - D'Artagnan asked the king for
-leave of absence for a matter of private business.  At the moment
-D'Artagnan made his request, his majesty was on the point of going to
-bed, quite exhausted from dancing.
-
-"You wish to leave me, Monsieur d'Artagnan?" inquired the king, with an
-air of astonishment; for Louis XIV. could never understand why any one
-who had the distinguished honor of being near him could wish to leave him.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "I leave you simply because I am not of the
-slightest service to you in anything.  Ah! if I could only hold the
-balancing-pole while you were dancing, it would be a very different
-affair."
-
-"But, my dear Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, gravely, "people dance
-without balancing-poles."
-
-"Ah! indeed," said the musketeer, continuing his imperceptible tone of
-irony, "I had no idea such a thing was possible."
-
-"You have not seen me dance, then?" inquired the king.
-
-"Yes; but I always thought dancers went from easy to difficult acrobatic
-feats.  I was mistaken; all the more greater reason, therefore, that I
-should leave for a time.  Sire, I repeat, you have no present occasion
-for my services; besides, if your majesty should have any need of me, you
-would know where to find me."
-
-"Very well," said the king, and he granted him leave of absence.
-
-We shall not look for D'Artagnan, therefore, at Fontainebleau, for to do
-so would be useless; but, with the permission of our readers, follow him
-to the Rue des Lombards, where he was located at the sign of the Pilon
-d'Or, in the house of our old friend Planchet.  It was about eight
-o'clock in the evening, and the weather was exceedingly warm; there was
-only one window open, and that one belonging to a room on the
-_entresol_.  A perfume of spices, mingled with another perfume less
-exotic, but more penetrating, namely, that which arose from the street,
-ascended to salute the nostrils of the musketeer.  D'Artagnan, reclining
-in an immense straight-backed chair, with his legs not stretched out, but
-simply placed upon a stool, formed an angle of the most obtuse form that
-could possibly be seen.  Both his arms were crossed over his head, his
-head reclining upon his left shoulder, like Alexander the Great.  His
-eyes, usually so quick and intelligent in their expression, were now half-
-closed, and seemed fastened, as it were, upon a small corner of blue sky
-that was visible behind the opening of the chimneys; there was just
-enough blue, and no more, to fill one of the sacks of lentils, or
-haricots, which formed the principal furniture of the shop on the ground
-floor.  Thus extended at his ease, and sheltered in his place of
-observation behind the window, D'Artagnan seemed as if he had ceased to
-be a soldier, as if he were no longer an officer belonging to the palace,
-but was, on the contrary, a quiet, easy-going citizen in a state of
-stagnation between his dinner and supper, or between his supper and his
-bed; one of those strong, ossified brains, which have no more room for a
-single idea, so fiercely does animal matter keep watch at the doors of
-intelligence, narrowly inspecting the contraband trade which might result
-from the introduction into the brain of a symptom of thought.  We have
-already said night was closing in, the shops were being lighted, while
-the windows of the upper apartments were being closed, and the rhythmic
-steps of a patrol of soldiers forming the night watch could be heard
-retreating.  D'Artagnan continued, however, to think of nothing, except
-the blue corner of the sky.  A few paces from him, completely in the
-shade, lying on his stomach, upon a sack of Indian corn, was Planchet,
-with both his arms under his chin, and his eyes fixed on D'Artagnan, who
-was either thinking, dreaming, or sleeping, with his eyes open.  Planchet
-had been watching him for a tolerably long time, and, by way of
-interruption, he began by exclaiming, "Hum! hum!"  But D'Artagnan did not
-stir.  Planchet then saw that it was necessary to have recourse to more
-effectual means still: after a prolonged reflection on the subject, the
-most ingenious means that suggested itself to him under the present
-circumstances, was to let himself roll off the sack on to the floor,
-murmuring, at the same time, against himself, the word "stupid."  But,
-notwithstanding the noise produced by Planchet's fall, D'Artagnan, who
-had in the course of his existence heard many other, and very different
-falls, did not appear to pay the least attention to the present one.
-Besides, an enormous cart, laden with stones, passing from the Rue Saint-
-Mederic, absorbed, in the noise of its wheels, the noise of Planchet's
-tumble.  And yet Planchet fancied that, in token of tacit approval, he
-saw him imperceptibly smile at the word "stupid."  This emboldened him to
-say, "Are you asleep, Monsieur d'Artagnan?"
-
-"No, Planchet, I am not _even_ asleep," replied the musketeer.
-
-"I am in despair," said Planchet, "to hear such a word as _even_."
-
-"Well, and why not; is it not a grammatical word, Monsieur Planchet?"
-
-"Of course, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"Well!"
-
-"Well, then, the word distresses me beyond measure."
-
-"Tell me why you are distressed, Planchet," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"If you say that you are not _even_ asleep, it is as much as to say that
-you have not even the consolation of being able to sleep; or, better
-still, it is precisely the same as telling me that you are getting bored
-to death."
-
-"Planchet, you know that I am never bored."
-
-"Except to-day, and the day before yesterday."
-
-"Bah!"
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, it is a week since you returned here from
-Fontainebleau; in other words, you have no longer your orders to issue,
-or your men to review and maneuver.  You need the sound of guns, drums,
-and all that din and confusion; I, who have myself carried a musket, can
-easily believe that."
-
-"Planchet," replied D'Artagnan, "I assure you I am not bored in the least
-in the world."
-
-"In that case, what are you doing, lying there, as if you were dead?"
-
-"My dear Planchet, there was, once upon a time, at the siege of La
-Rochelle, when I was there, when you were there, when we both were there,
-a certain Arab, who was celebrated for the manner in which he adjusted
-culverins.  He was a clever fellow, although of a very odd complexion,
-which was the same color as your olives.  Well, this Arab, whenever he
-had done eating or working, used to sit down to rest himself, as I am
-resting myself now, and smoked I cannot tell you what sort of magical
-leaves, in a large amber-mouthed tube; and if any officers, happening to
-pass, reproached him for being always asleep, he used quietly to reply:
-'Better to sit down than to stand up, to lie down than to sit down, to be
-dead than to lie down.'  He was an acutely melancholy Arab, and I
-remember him perfectly well, form the color of his skin, and the style of
-his conversation.  He used to cut off the heads of Protestants with the
-most singular gusto!"
-
-"Precisely; and then used to embalm them, when they were worth the
-trouble; and when he was thus engaged with his herbs and plants about
-him, he looked like a basket-maker making baskets."
-
-"You are quite right, Planchet, he did."
-
-"Oh!  I can remember things very well, at times!"
-
-"I have no doubt of it; but what do you think of his mode of reasoning?"
-
-"I think it good in one sense, but very stupid in another."
-
-"Expound your meaning, M. Planchet."
-
-"Well, monsieur, in point of fact, then, 'better to sit down than to
-stand up,' is plain enough, especially when one may be fatigued," and
-Planchet smiled in a roguish way; "as for 'better to be lying down,' let
-that pass, but as for the last proposition, that it is 'better to be dead
-than alive,' it is, in my opinion, very absurd, my own undoubted
-preference being for my bed; and if you are not of my opinion, it is
-simply, as I have already had the honor of telling you, because you are
-boring yourself to death."
-
-"Planchet, do you know M. La Fontaine?"
-
-"The chemist at the corner of the Rue Saint-Mederic?"
-
-"No, the writer of fables."
-
-"Oh!  _Maitre Corbeau!_"
-
-"Exactly; well, then, I am like his hare."
-
-"He has got a hare also, then?"
-
-"He has all sorts of animals."
-
-"Well, what does his hare do, then?"
-
-"M. La Fontaine's hare thinks."
-
-"Ah, ah!"
-
-"Planchet, I am like that hare - I am thinking."
-
-"You are thinking, you say?" said Planchet, uneasily.
-
-"Yes; your house is dull enough to drive people to think; you will admit
-that, I hope."
-
-"And yet, monsieur, you have a look-out upon the street."
-
-"Yes; and wonderfully interesting that is, of course."
-
-"But it is no less true, monsieur, that, if you were living at the back
-of the house, you would bore yourself - I mean, you would think - more
-than ever."
-
-"Upon my word, Planchet, I hardly know that."
-
-"Still," said the grocer, "if your reflections are at all like those
-which led you to restore King Charles II. - " and Planchet finished by a
-little laugh which was not without its meaning.
-
-"Ah!  Planchet, my friend," returned D'Artagnan, "you are getting
-ambitious."
-
-"Is there no other king to be restored, M. d'Artagnan - no second Monk to
-be packed up, like a salted hog, in a deal box?"
-
-"No, my dear Planchet; all the kings are seated on their respective
-thrones; less comfortably so, perhaps, than I am upon this chair; but, at
-all events, there they are."  And D'Artagnan sighed deeply.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Planchet, "you are making me very uneasy."
-
-"You are very good, Planchet."
-
-"I begin to suspect something."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, you are getting thin."
-
-"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, striking his chest which sounded like an empty
-cuirass, "it is impossible, Planchet."
-
-"Ah!" said Planchet, slightly overcome; "if you were to get thin in my
-house - "
-
-"Well?"
-
-"I should do something rash."
-
-"What would you do?  Tell me."
-
-"I should look out for the man who was the cause of all your anxieties."
-
-"Ah! according to your account, I am anxious now."
-
-"Yes, you are anxious; and you are getting thin, visibly getting thin.
-_Malaga!_ if you go on getting thin, in this way, I will take my sword in
-my hand, and go straight to M. d'Herblay, and have it out with him."
-
-"What!" said M. d'Artagnan, starting in his chair; "what's that you say?
-And what has M. d'Herblay's name to do with your groceries?"
-
-"Just as you please.  Get angry if you like, or call me names, if you
-prefer it; but, the deuce is in it.  _I know what I know_."
-
-D'Artagnan had, during this second outburst of Planchet's, so placed
-himself as not to lose a single look of his face; that is, he sat with
-both his hands resting on both his knees, and his head stretched out
-towards the grocer.  "Come, explain yourself," he said, "and tell me how
-you could possibly utter such a blasphemy.  M. d'Herblay, your old
-master, my friend, an ecclesiastic, a musketeer turned bishop - do you
-mean to say you would raise your sword against him, Planchet?"
-
-"I could raise my sword against my own father, when I see you in such a
-state as you are now."
-
-"M. d'Herblay, a gentleman!"
-
-"It's all the same to me whether he's a gentleman or not.  He gives you
-the blue devils, that is all I know.  And the blue devils make people get
-thin.  _Malaga!_  I have no notion of M. d'Artagnan leaving my house
-thinner than when he entered it."
-
-"How does he give me the blue devils, as you call it?  Come, explain,
-explain."
-
-"You have had the nightmare during the last three nights."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes, you; and in your nightmare you called out, several times, 'Aramis,
-deceitful Aramis!'"
-
-"Ah!  I said that, did I?" murmured D'Artagnan, uneasily.
-
-"Yes, those very words, upon my honor."
-
-"Well, what else?  You know the saying, Planchet, 'dreams go by
-contraries.'"
-
-"Not so; for every time, during the last three days, when you went out,
-you have not once failed to ask me, on your return, 'Have you seen M.
-d'Herblay?' or else 'Have you received any letters for me from M.
-d'Herblay?'"
-
-"Well, it is very natural I should take an interest in my old friend,"
-said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Of course; but not to such an extent as to get thin on that account."
-
-"Planchet, I'll get fatter; I give you my word of honor I will."
-
-"Very well, monsieur, I accept it; for I know that when you give your
-word of honor, it is sacred."
-
-"I will not dream of Aramis any more; and I will never ask you again if
-there are any letters from M. d'Herblay; but on condition that you
-explain one thing to me."
-
-"Tell me what it is, monsieur?"
-
-"I am a great observer; and just now you made use of a very singular
-oath, which is unusual for you."
-
-"You mean _Malaga!_ I suppose?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"It is the oath I have used ever since I have been a grocer."
-
-"Very proper, too; it is the name of a dried grape, or raisin, I believe?"
-
-"It is my most ferocious oath; when I have once said _Malaga!_ I am a man
-no longer."
-
-"Still, I never knew you use that oath before."
-
-"Very likely not, monsieur.  I had a present made me of it," said
-Planchet; and, as he pronounced these words, he winked his eye with a
-cunning expression, which thoroughly awakened D'Artagnan's attention.
-
-"Come, come, M. Planchet."
-
-"Why, I am not like you, monsieur," said Planchet.  "I don't pass my life
-in thinking."
-
-"You do wrong, then."
-
-"I mean in boring myself to death.  We have but a very short time to live
-- why not make the best of it?"
-
-"You are an Epicurean philosopher, I begin to think, Planchet."
-
-"Why not?  My hand is still as steady as ever; I can write, and can weigh
-out my sugar and spices; my foot is firm; I can dance and walk about; my
-stomach has its teeth still, for I eat and digest very well; my heart is
-not quite hardened.  Well, monsieur?"
-
-"Well, what, Planchet?"
-
-"Why, you see - " said the grocer, rubbing his hands together.
-
-D'Artagnan crossed one leg over the other, and said, "Planchet, my
-friend, I am unnerved with extreme surprise; for you are revealing
-yourself to me under a perfectly new light."
-
-Planchet, flattered in the highest degree by this remark, continued to
-rub his hands very hard together.  "Ah, ah," he said, "because I happen
-to be only slow, you think me, perhaps, a positive fool."
-
-"Very good, Planchet; very well reasoned."
-
-"Follow my idea, monsieur, if you please.  I said to myself," continued
-Planchet, "that, without enjoyment, there is no happiness on this earth."
-
-"Quite true, what you say, Planchet," interrupted D'Artagnan.
-
-"At all events, if we cannot obtain pleasure - for pleasure is not so
-common a thing, after all - let us, at least, get consolations of some
-kind or another."
-
-"And so you console yourself?"
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-"Tell me how you console yourself."
-
-"I put on a buckler for the purpose of confronting _ennui_.  I place my
-time at the direction of patience; and on the very eve of feeling I am
-going to get bored, I amuse myself."
-
-"And you don't find any difficulty in that?"
-
-"None."
-
-"And you found it out quite by yourself?"
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"It is miraculous."
-
-"What do you say?"
-
-"I say, that your philosophy is not to be matched in the Christian or
-pagan world, in modern days or in antiquity!"
-
-"You think so? - follow my example, then."
-
-"It is a very tempting one."
-
-"Do as I do."
-
-"I could not wish for anything better; but all minds are not of the same
-stamp; and it might possibly happen that if I were required to amuse
-myself in the manner you do, I should bore myself horribly."
-
-"Bah! at least try first."
-
-"Well, tell me what you do."
-
-"Have you observed that I leave home occasionally?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"In any particular way?"
-
-"Periodically."
-
-"That's the very thing.  You have noticed it, then?"
-
-"My dear Planchet, you must understand that when people see each other
-every day, and one of the two absents himself, the other misses him.  Do
-you not feel the want of my society when I am in the country?"
-
-"Prodigiously; that is to say, I feel like a body without a soul."
-
-"That being understood then, proceed."
-
-"What are the periods when I absent myself?"
-
-"On the fifteenth and thirtieth of every month."
-
-"And I remain away?"
-
-"Sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes four days at a time."
-
-"Have you ever given it a thought, why I was absent?"
-
-"To look after your debts, I suppose."
-
-"And when I returned, how did you think I looked, as far as my face was
-concerned?"
-
-"Exceedingly self-satisfied."
-
-"You admit, you say, that I always look satisfied.  And what have you
-attributed my satisfaction to?"
-
-"That your business was going on very well; that your purchases of rice,
-prunes, raw sugar, dried apples, pears, and treacle were advantageous.
-You were always very picturesque in your notions and ideas, Planchet; and
-I was not in the slightest degree surprised to find you had selected
-grocery as an occupation, which is of all trades the most varied, and the
-very pleasantest, as far as the character is concerned; inasmuch as one
-handles so many natural and perfumed productions."
-
-"Perfectly true, monsieur; but you are very greatly mistaken."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"In thinking that I heave here every fortnight, to collect my money or to
-make purchases.  Ho, ho! how could you possibly have thought such a
-thing?  Ho, ho, ho!"  And Planchet began to laugh in a manner that
-inspired D'Artagnan with very serious misgivings as to his sanity.
-
-"I confess," said the musketeer, "that I do not precisely catch your
-meaning."
-
-"Very true, monsieur."
-
-"What do you mean by 'very true'?"
-
-"It must be true, since you say it; but pray, be assured that it in no
-way lessens my opinion of you."
-
-"Ah, that is lucky."
-
-"No; you are a man of genius; and whenever the question happens to be of
-war, tactics, surprises, or good honest blows to be dealt with, why,
-kings are marionettes, compared to you.  But for the consolations of the
-mind, the proper care of the body, the agreeable things of like, if one
-may say so - ah! monsieur, don't talk to me about men of genius; they are
-nothing short of executioners."
-
-"Good," said D'Artagnan, really fidgety with curiosity, "upon my word you
-interest me in the highest degree."
-
-"You feel already less bored than you did just now, do you not?"
-
-"I was not bored; yet since you have been talking to me, I feel more
-animated."
-
-"Very good, then; that is not a bad beginning.  I will cure you, rely
-upon that."
-
-"There is nothing I should like better."
-
-"Will you let me try, then?"
-
-"Immediately, if you like."
-
-"Very well.  Have you any horses here?"
-
-"Yes; ten, twenty, thirty."
-
-"Oh, there is no occasion for so many as that, two will be quite
-sufficient."
-
-"They are quite at your disposal, Planchet."
-
-"Very good; then I shall carry you off with me."
-
-"When?"
-
-"To-morrow."
-
-"Where?"
-
-"Ah, you are asking too much."
-
-"You will admit, however, that it is important I should know where I am
-going."
-
-"Do you like the country?"
-
-"Only moderately, Planchet."
-
-"In that case you like town better?"
-
-"That is as may be."
-
-"Very well; I am going to take you to a place, half town and half
-country."
-
-"Good."
-
-"To a place where I am sure you will amuse yourself."
-
-"Is it possible?"
-
-"Yes; and more wonderful still, to a place from which you have just
-returned for the purpose only, it would seem, of getting bored here."
-
-"It is to Fontainebleau you are going, then?"
-
-"Exactly; to Fontainebleau."
-
-"And, in Heaven's name, what are you going to do at Fontainebleau?"
-
-Planchet answered D'Artagnan by a wink full of sly humor.
-
-"You have some property there, you rascal."
-
-"Oh, a very paltry affair; a little bit of a house - nothing more."
-
-"I understand you."
-
-"But it is tolerable enough, after all."
-
-"I am going to Planchet's country-seat!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Whenever you like."
-
-"Did we not fix to-morrow?"
-
-"Let us say to-morrow, if you like; and then, besides, to-morrow is the
-14th, that is to say, the day before the one when I am afraid of getting
-bored; so we will look upon it as an understood thing."
-
-"Agreed, by all means."
-
-"You will lend me one of your horses?"
-
-"The best I have."
-
-"No; I prefer the gentlest of all; I never was a very good rider, as you
-know, and in my grocery business I have got more awkward than ever;
-besides - "
-
-"Besides what?"
-
-"Why," added Planchet, "I do not wish to fatigue myself."
-
-"Why so?" D'Artagnan ventured to ask.
-
-"Because I should lose half the pleasure I expect to enjoy," replied
-Planchet.  And thereupon he rose from his sack of Indian corn, stretching
-himself, and making all his bones crack, one after the other, with a sort
-of harmony.
-
-"Planchet!  Planchet!" exclaimed D'Artagnan, "I do declare that there is
-no sybarite upon the face of the globe who can for a moment be compared
-to you.  Oh, Planchet, it is very clear that we have never yet eaten a
-ton of salt together."
-
-"Why so, monsieur?"
-
-"Because, even now I can scarcely say I know you," said D'Artagnan, "and
-because, in point of fact, I return to the opinion which, for a moment, I
-had formed of you that day at Boulogne, when you strangled, or did so as
-nearly as possible, M. de Wardes's valet, Lubin; in plain language,
-Planchet, that you are a man of great resources."
-
-Planchet began to laugh with a laugh full of self-conceit; bade the
-musketeer good-night, and went down to his back shop, which he used as a
-bedroom.  D'Artagnan resumed his original position upon his chair, and
-his brow, which had been unruffled for a moment, became more pensive than
-ever.  He had already forgotten the whims and dreams of Planchet.  "Yes,"
-said he, taking up again the thread of his thoughts, which had been
-broken by the whimsical conversation in which we have just permitted our
-readers to participate.  "Yes, yes, those three points include
-everything: First, to ascertain what Baisemeaux wanted with Aramis;
-secondly, to learn why Aramis does not let me hear from him; and thirdly,
-to ascertain where Porthos is.  The whole mystery lies in these three
-points.  Since, therefore," continued D'Artagnan, "our friends tell us
-nothing, we must have recourse to our own poor intelligence.  I must do
-what I can, _mordioux_, or rather _Malaga_, as Planchet would say."
-
-
-Chapter II:
-A Letter from M. Baisemeaux.
-
-D'Artagnan, faithful to his plan, went the very next morning to pay a
-visit to M. de Baisemeaux.  It was cleaning up or tidying day at the
-Bastile; the cannons were furbished up, the staircases scraped and
-cleaned; and the jailers seemed to be carefully engaged in polishing the
-very keys.  As for the soldiers belonging to the garrison, they were
-walking about in different courtyards, under the pretense that they were
-clean enough.  The governor, Baisemeaux, received D'Artagnan with more
-than ordinary politeness, but he behaved towards him with so marked a
-reserve of manner, that all D'Artagnan's tact and cleverness could not
-get a syllable out of him.  The more he kept himself within bounds, the
-more D'Artagnan's suspicion increased.  The latter even fancied he
-remarked that the governor was acting under the influence of a recent
-recommendation.  Baisemeaux had not been at the Palais Royal with
-D'Artagnan the same cold and impenetrable man which the latter now found
-in the Baisemeaux of the Bastile.  When D'Artagnan wished to make him
-talk about the urgent money matters which had brought Baisemeaux in
-search of D'Artagnan, and had rendered him expansive, notwithstanding
-what had passed on that evening, Baisemeaux pretended that he had some
-orders to give in the prison, and left D'Artagnan so long alone waiting
-for him, that our musketeer, feeling sure that he should not get another
-syllable out of him, left the Bastile without waiting until Baisemeaux
-returned from his inspection.  But D'Artagnan's suspicions were aroused,
-and when once that was the case, D'Artagnan could not sleep or remain
-quiet for a moment.  He was among men what the cat is among quadrupeds,
-the emblem of anxiety and impatience, at the same moment.  A restless cat
-can no more remain the same place than a silk thread wafted idly to and
-fro with every breath of air.  A cat on the watch is as motionless as
-death stationed at is place of observation, and neither hunger nor thirst
-can draw it from its meditations.  D'Artagnan, who was burning with
-impatience, suddenly threw aside the feeling, like a cloak which he felt
-too heavy on his shoulders, and said to himself that that which they were
-concealing from him was the very thing it was important he should know;
-and, consequently, he reasoned that Baisemeaux would not fail to put
-Aramis on his guard, if Aramis had given him any particular
-recommendation, and this was, in fact, the very thing that happened.
-
-Baisemeaux had hardly had time to return from the donjon, than D'Artagnan
-placed himself in ambuscade close to the Rue de Petit-Musc, so as to see
-every one who might leave the gates of the Bastile.  After he had spent
-an hour on the look-out from the "Golden Portcullis," under the pent-
-house of which he could keep himself a little in the shade, D'Artagnan
-observed a soldier leave the Bastile.  This was, indeed, the surest
-indication he could possibly have wished for, as every jailer or warder
-has certain days, and even certain hours, for leaving the Bastile, since
-all are alike prohibited from having either wives or lodgings in the
-castle, and can accordingly leave without exciting any curiosity; but a
-soldier once in barracks is kept there for four and twenty hours when on
-duty, - and no one knew this better than D'Artagnan.  The guardsman in
-question, therefore, was not likely to leave his regimentals, except on
-an express and urgent order.  The soldier, we were saying, left the
-Bastile at a slow and lounging pace, like a happy mortal, in fact, who,
-instead of mounting sentry before a wearisome guard-house, or upon a
-bastion no less wearisome, has the good luck to get a little liberty, in
-addition to a walk - both pleasures being luckily reckoned as part of his
-time on duty.  He bent his steps towards the Faubourg Saint-Antoine,
-enjoying the fresh air and the warmth of the sun, and looking at all the
-pretty faces he passed.  D'Artagnan followed him at a distance; he had
-not yet arranged his ideas as what was to be done.  "I must, first of
-all," he thought, "see the fellow's face.  A man seen is a man judged."
-D'Artagnan increased his pace, and, which was not very difficult, by the
-by, soon got in advance of the soldier.  Not only did he observe that his
-face showed a tolerable amount of intelligence and resolution, but he
-noticed also that his nose was a little red.  "He has a weakness for
-brandy, I see," said D'Artagnan to himself.  At the same moment that he
-remarked his red nose, he saw that the soldier had a white paper in his
-belt.
-
-"Good, he has a letter," added D'Artagnan.  The only difficulty was to
-get hold of the letter.  But a common soldier would, of course, be only
-too delighted at having been selected by M. de Baisemeaux as a special
-messenger, and would not be likely to sell his message.  As D'Artagnan
-was biting his nails, the soldier continued to advance more and more into
-the Faubourg Saint-Antoine.  "He is certainly going to Saint-Mande," he
-said to himself, "and I shall not be able to learn what the letter
-contains."  It was enough to drive him wild.  "If I were in uniform,"
-said D'Artagnan to himself, "I would have this fellow seized, and his
-letter with him.  I could easily get assistance at the very first guard-
-house; but the devil take me if I mention my name in an affair of this
-kind.  If I were to treat him to something to drink, his suspicions would
-be roused; and besides, he might drink me drunk.  _Mordioux!_ my wits
-seem to have left me," said D'Artagnan; "it is all over with me.  Yet,
-supposing I were to attack this poor devil, make him draw his sword and
-kill him for the sake of his letter?  No harm in that, if it were a
-question of a letter from a queen to a nobleman, or a letter from a
-cardinal to a queen; but what miserable intrigues are those of Messieurs
-Aramis and Fouquet with M. Colbert.  A man's life for that?  No, no,
-indeed; not even ten crowns."  As he philosophized in this manner, biting
-first his nails, and then his mustaches, he perceived a group of archers
-and a commissary of the police engaged in carrying away a man of very
-gentlemanly exterior, who was struggling with all his might against
-them.  The archers had torn his clothes, and were dragging him roughly
-away.  He begged they would lead him along more respectfully, asserting
-that he was a gentleman and a soldier.  And observing our soldier walking
-in the street, he called out, "Help, comrade."
-
-The soldier walked on with the same step towards the man who had called
-out to him, followed by the crowd.  An idea suddenly occurred to
-D'Artagnan; it was his first one, and we shall find it was not a bad one
-either.  During the time the gentleman was relating to the soldier that
-he had just been seized in a house as a thief, when the truth was he was
-only there as a lover; and while the soldier was pitying him, and
-offering him consolation and advice with that gravity which a French
-soldier has always ready whenever his vanity or his _esprit de corps_ is
-concerned, D'Artagnan glided behind the soldier, who was closely hemmed
-in by the crowd, and with a rapid sweep, like a sabre slash, snatched the
-letter from his belt.  As at this moment the gentleman with the torn
-clothes was pulling about the soldier, to show how the commissary of
-police had pulled him about, D'Artagnan effected his pillage of the
-letter without the slightest interference.  He stationed himself about
-ten paces distant, behind the pillar of an adjoining house, and read on
-the address, "To Monsieur du Vallon, at Monsieur Fouquet's, Saint-Mande."
-
-"Good!" he said, and then he unsealed, without tearing the letter, drew
-out the paper, which was folded in four, from the inside; which contained
-only these words:
-
-"DEAR MONSIEUR DU VALLON, - Will you be good enough to tell Monsieur
-d'Herblay that _he_ has been to the Bastile, and has been making
-inquiries.
-"Your devoted
-"DE BAISEMEAUX."
-
-"Very good! all right!" exclaimed D'Artagnan; "it is clear enough now.
-Porthos is engaged in it."  Being now satisfied of what he wished to
-know: "_Mordioux!_" thought the musketeer, "what is to be done with that
-poor devil of a soldier?  That hot-headed, cunning fellow, De Baisemeaux,
-will make him pay dearly for my trick, - if he returns without the
-letter, what will they do to him?  Besides, I don't want the letter; when
-the egg has been sucked, what is the good of the shell?"  D'Artagnan
-perceived that the commissary and the archers had succeeded in convincing
-the soldier, and went on their way with the prisoner, the latter being
-still surrounded by the crowd, and continuing his complaints.  D'Artagnan
-advanced into the very middle of the crowd, let the letter fall, without
-any one having observed him, and then retreated rapidly.  The soldier
-resumed his route towards Saint-Mande, his mind occupied with the
-gentleman who had implored his protection.  Suddenly he thought of his
-letter, and, looking at his belt, saw that it was no longer there.
-D'Artagnan derived no little satisfaction from his sudden, terrified
-cry.  The poor soldier in the greatest anguish of mind looked round him
-on every side, and at last, about twenty paces behind him, he perceived
-the lucky envelope.  He pounced on it like a falcon on its prey.  The
-envelope was certainly a little dirty, and rather crumpled, but at all
-events the letter itself was found.  D'Artagnan observed that the broken
-seal attracted the soldier's attention a good deal, but he finished
-apparently by consoling himself, and returned the letter to his belt.
-"Go on," said D'Artagnan, "I have plenty of time before me, so you may
-precede me.  It appears that Aramis is not in Paris, since Baisemeaux
-writes to Porthos.  Dear Porthos, how delighted I shall be to see him
-again, and to have some conversation with him!" said the Gascon.  And,
-regulating his pace according to that of the soldier, he promised himself
-to arrive a quarter of an hour after him at M. Fouquet's.
-
-
-Chapter III:
-In Which the Reader will be Delighted to Find that Porthos Has Lost
-Nothing of His Muscularity.
-
-D'Artagnan had, according to his usual style, calculated that every hour
-is worth sixty minutes, and every minute worth sixty seconds.  Thanks to
-this perfectly exact calculation of minutes and seconds, he reached the
-superintendent's door at the very moment the soldier was leaving it with
-his belt empty.  D'Artagnan presented himself at the door, which a porter
-with a profusely embroidered livery held half opened for him.  D'Artagnan
-would very much have liked to enter without giving his name, but this was
-impossible, and so he gave it.  Notwithstanding this concession, which
-ought to have removed every difficulty in the way, at least D'Artagnan
-thought so, the _concierge_ hesitated; however, at the second repetition
-of the title, captain of the king's guards, the _concierge_, without
-quite leaving the passage clear for him, ceased to bar it completely.
-D'Artagnan understood that orders of the most positive character had
-been given.  He decided, therefore, to tell a falsehood, - a
-circumstance, moreover, which did not seriously affect his peace of mind,
-when he saw that beyond the falsehood the safety of the state itself, or
-even purely and simply his own individual personal interest, might be at
-stake.  He moreover added to the declarations he had already made, that
-the soldier sent to M. du Vallon was his own messenger, and that the only
-object that letter had in view was to announce his intended arrival.
-From that moment, no one opposed D'Artagnan's entrance any further, and
-he entered accordingly.  A valet wished to accompany him, but he answered
-that it was useless to take that trouble on his account, inasmuch as he
-knew perfectly well where M. du Vallon was.  There was nothing, of
-course, to say to a man so thoroughly and completely informed on all
-points, and D'Artagnan was permitted, therefore, to do as he liked.  The
-terraces, the magnificent apartments, the gardens, were all reviewed and
-narrowly inspected by the musketeer.  He walked for a quarter of an hour
-in this more than royal residence, which included as many wonders as
-articles of furniture, and as many servants as there were columns and
-doors.  "Decidedly," he said to himself, "this mansion has no other
-limits than the pillars of the habitable world.  Is it probable Porthos
-has taken it into his head to go back to Pierrefonds without even leaving
-M. Fouquet's house?"  He finally reached a remote part of the chateau
-inclosed by a stone wall, which was covered with a profusion of thick
-plants, luxuriant in blossoms as large and solid as fruit.  At equal
-distances on the top of this wall were placed various statues in timid or
-mysterious attitudes.  These were vestals hidden beneath the long Greek
-peplum, with its thick, sinuous folds; agile nymphs, covered with their
-marble veils, and guarding the palace with their fugitive glances.  A
-statue of Hermes, with his finger on his lips; one of Iris, with extended
-wings; another of Night, sprinkled all over with poppies, dominated the
-gardens and outbuildings, which could be seen through the trees.  All
-these statues threw in white relief their profiles upon the dark ground
-of the tall cypresses, which darted their somber summits towards the
-sky.  Around these cypresses were entwined climbing roses, whose
-flowering rings were fastened to every fork of the branches, and spread
-over the lower boughs and the various statues, showers of flowers of the
-rarest fragrance.  These enchantments seemed to the musketeer the result
-of the greatest efforts of the human mind.  He felt in a dreamy, almost
-poetical, frame of mind.  The idea that Porthos was living in so perfect
-an Eden gave him a higher idea of Porthos, showing how tremendously true
-it is, that even the very highest orders of minds are not quite exempt
-from the influence of surroundings.  D'Artagnan found the door, and on,
-or rather in the door, a kind of spring which he detected; having touched
-it, the door flew open.  D'Artagnan entered, closed the door behind him,
-and advanced into a pavilion built in a circular form, in which no other
-sound could be heard but cascades and the songs of birds.  At the door of
-the pavilion he met a lackey.
-
-"It is here, I believe," said D'Artagnan, without hesitation, "that M. le
-Baron du Vallon is staying?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur," answered the lackey.
-
-"Have the goodness to tell him that M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain
-of the king's musketeers, is waiting to see him."
-
-D'Artagnan was introduced into the _salon_, and had not long to remain in
-expectation: a well-remembered step shook the floor of the adjoining
-room, a door opened, or rather flew open, and Porthos appeared and threw
-himself into his friend's arms with a sort of embarrassment which did not
-ill become him.  "You here?" he exclaimed.
-
-"And you?" replied D'Artagnan.  "Ah, you sly fellow!"
-
-"Yes," said Porthos, with a somewhat embarrassed smile; "yes, you see I
-am staying in M. Fouquet's house, at which you are not a little
-surprised, I suppose?"
-
-"Not at all; why should you not be one of M. Fouquet's friends?  M.
-Fouquet has a very large number, particularly among clever men."
-
-Porthos had the modesty not to take the compliment to himself.
-"Besides," he added, "you saw me at Belle-Isle."
-
-"A greater reason for my believing you to be one of M. Fouquet's friends."
-
-"The fact is, I am acquainted with him," said Porthos, with a certain
-embarrassment of manner.
-
-"Ah, friend Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how treacherously you have
-behaved towards me."
-
-"In what way?" exclaimed Porthos.
-
-"What! you complete so admirable a work as the fortifications of Belle-
-Isle, and you did not tell me of it!"  Porthos colored.  "Nay, more than
-that," continued D'Artagnan, "you saw me out yonder, you know I am in the
-king's service, and yet you could not guess that the king, jealously
-desirous of learning the name of the man whose abilities had wrought a
-work of which he heard the most wonderful accounts, - you could not
-guess, I say, that the king sent me to learn who this man was?"
-
-"What! the king sent you to learn - "
-
-"Of course; but don't let us speak of that any more."
-
-"Not speak of it!" said Porthos; "on the contrary, we will speak of it;
-and so the king knew that we were fortifying Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Of course; does not the king know everything?"
-
-"But he did not know who was fortifying it?"
-
-"No, he only suspected, from what he had been told of the nature of the
-works, that it was some celebrated soldier or another."
-
-"The devil!" said Porthos, "if I had only known that!"
-
-"You would not have run away from Vannes as you did, perhaps?"
-
-"No; what did you say when you couldn't find me?"
-
-"My dear fellow, I reflected."
-
-"Ah, indeed; you reflect, do you?  Well, and what did that reflection
-lead to?"
-
-"It led me to guess the whole truth."
-
-"Come, then, tell me what did you guess after all?" said Porthos,
-settling himself into an armchair, and assuming the airs of a sphinx.
-
-"I guessed, in the first place, that you were fortifying Belle-Isle."
-
-"There was no great difficulty in that, for you saw me at work."
-
-"Wait a minute; I also guessed something else, - that you were fortifying
-Belle-Isle by M. Fouquet's orders."
-
-"That's true."
-
-"But even that is not all.  Whenever I feel myself in trim for guessing,
-I do not stop on my road; and so I guessed that M. Fouquet wished to
-preserve the most absolute secrecy respecting these fortifications."
-
-"I believe that was his intention, in fact," said Porthos.
-
-"Yes, but do you know why he wished to keep it secret?"
-
-"In order it should not become known, perhaps," said Porthos.
-
-"That was his principal reason.  But his wish was subservient to a bit of
-generosity - "
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "I have head it said that M. Fouquet was a very
-generous man."
-
-"To a bit of generosity he wished to exhibit towards the king."
-
-"Oh, oh!"
-
-"You seem surprised at that?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And you didn't guess?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Well, I know it, then."
-
-"You are a wizard."
-
-"Not at all, I assure you."
-
-"How do you know it, then?"
-
-"By a very simple means.  I heard M. Fouquet himself say so to the king."
-
-"Say what to the king?"
-
-"That he fortified Belle-Isle on his majesty's account, and that he had
-made him a present of Belle Isle."
-
-"And you heard M. Fouquet say that to the king?"
-
-"In those very words.  He even added: 'Belle-Isle has been fortified by
-an engineer, one of my friends, a man of a great deal of merit, whom I
-shall ask your majesty's permission to present to you.'
-
-"'What is his name?' said the king.
-
-"'The Baron du Vallon,' M. Fouquet replied.
-
-"'Very well,' returned his majesty, 'you will present him to me.'"
-
-"The king said that?"
-
-"Upon the word of a D'Artagnan!"
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos.  "Why have I not been presented, then?"
-
-"Have they not spoken to you about this presentation?"
-
-"Yes, certainly; but I am always kept waiting for it."
-
-"Be easy, it will be sure to come."
-
-"Humph! humph!" grumbled Porthos, which D'Artagnan pretended not to hear;
-and, changing the conversation, he said, "You seem to be living in a very
-solitary place here, my dear fellow?"
-
-"I always preferred retirement.  I am of a melancholy disposition,"
-replied Porthos, with a sigh.
-
-"Really, that is odd," said D'Artagnan, "I never remarked that before."
-
-"It is only since I have taken to reading, "said Porthos, with a
-thoughtful air.
-
-"But the labors of the mind have not affected the health of the body, I
-trust?"
-
-"Not in the slightest degree."
-
-"Your strength is as great as ever?"
-
-"Too great, my friend, too great."
-
-"Ah!  I had heard that, for a short time after your arrival - "
-
-"That I could hardly move a limb, I suppose?"
-
-"How was it?" said D'Artagnan, smiling, "and why was it you could not
-move?"
-
-Porthos, perceiving that he had made a mistake, wished to correct it.
-"Yes, I came from Belle-Isle upon very hard horses," he said, "and that
-fatigued me."
-
-"I am no longer astonished, then, since I, who followed you, found seven
-or eight lying dead on the road."
-
-"I am very heavy, you know," said Porthos.
-
-"So that you were bruised all over."
-
-"My marrow melted, and that made me very ill."
-
-"Poor Porthos!  But how did Aramis act towards you under those
-circumstances?"
-
-"Very well, indeed.  He had me attended to by M. Fouquet's own doctor.
-But just imagine, at the end of a week I could not breathe any longer."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"The room was too small; I had absorbed every atom of air."
-
-"Indeed?"
-
-"I was told so, at least; and so I was removed into another apartment."
-
-"Where you were able to breathe, I hope and trust?"
-
-"Yes, more freely; but no exercise - nothing to do.  The doctor pretended
-that I was not to stir; I, on the contrary, felt that I was stronger than
-ever; that was the cause of a very serious accident."
-
-"What accident?"
-
-"Fancy, my dear fellow, that I revolted against the directions of that
-ass of a doctor, and I resolved to go out, whether it suited him or not:
-and, consequently, I told the valet who waited on me to bring me my
-clothes."
-
-"You were quite naked, then?"
-
-"Oh, no! on the contrary, I had a magnificent dressing-gown to wear.  The
-lackey obeyed; I dressed myself in my own clothes, which had become too
-large for me; but a strange circumstance had happened, - my feet had
-become too large."
-
-"Yes, I quite understand."
-
-"And my boots too small."
-
-"You mean your feet were still swollen?"
-
-"Exactly; you have hit it."
-
-"_Pardieu!_  And is that the accident you were going to tell me about?"
-
-"Oh, yes; I did not make the same reflection you have done.  I said to
-myself: 'Since my feet have entered my boots ten times, there is no
-reason why they should not go in the eleventh.'"
-
-"Allow me to tell you, my dear Porthos, that on this occasion you failed
-in your logic."
-
-"In short, then, they placed me opposite to a part of the room which was
-partitioned; I tried to get my boot on; I pulled it with my hands, I
-pushed with all the strength of the muscles of my leg, making the most
-unheard-of efforts, when suddenly the two tags of my boot remained in my
-hands, and my foot struck out like a ballista."
-
-"How learned you are in fortification, dear Porthos."
-
-"My foot darted out like a ballista, and came against the partition,
-which it broke in; I really thought that, like Samson, I had demolished
-the temple.  And the number of pictures, the quantity of china, vases of
-flowers, carpets, and window-panes that fell down were really wonderful."
-
-"Indeed!"
-
-"Without reckoning that on the other side of the partition was a small
-table laden with porcelain - "
-
-"Which you knocked over?"
-
-"Which I dashed to the other side of the room," said Porthos,
-laughing.
-
-"Upon my word, it is, as you say, astonishing," replied D'Artagnan,
-beginning to laugh also; whereupon Porthos laughed louder than ever.
-
-"I broke," said Porthos, in a voice half-choked from his increasing
-mirth, "more than three thousand francs worth of china - ha, ha, ha!"
-
-"Good!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I smashed more than four thousand francs worth of glass! - ho, ho, ho!"
-
-"Excellent."
-
-"Without counting a luster, which fell on my head and was broken into a
-thousand pieces - ha, ha, ha!"
-
-"Upon your head?" said D'Artagnan, holding his sides.
-
-"On top."
-
-"But your head was broken, I suppose?"
-
-"No, since I tell you, on the contrary, my dear fellow, that it was the
-luster which was broken, like glass, which, in point of fact, it was."
-
-"Ah! the luster was glass, you say."
-
-"Venetian glass! a perfect curiosity, quite matchless, indeed, and
-weighed two hundred pounds."
-
-"And it fell upon your head!"
-
-"Upon my head.  Just imagine, a globe of crystal, gilded all over, the
-lower part beautifully encrusted, perfumes burning at the top, with jets
-from which flame issued when they were lighted."
-
-"I quite understand, but they were not lighted at the time, I suppose?"
-
-"Happily not, or I should have been grilled prematurely."
-
-"And you were only knocked down flat, instead?"
-
-"Not at all."
-
-"How, 'not at all?'"
-
-"Why, the luster fell on my skull.  It appears that we have upon the top
-of our heads an exceedingly thick crust."
-
-"Who told you that, Porthos?"
-
-"The doctor.  A sort of dome which would bear Notre-Dame."
-
-"Bah!"
-
-"Yes, it seems that our skulls are made in that manner."
-
-"Speak for yourself, my dear fellow, it is your own skull that is made in
-that manner, and not the skulls of other people."
-
-"Well, that may be so," said Porthos, conceitedly, "so much, however, was
-that the case, in my instance, that no sooner did the luster fall upon
-the dome which we have at the top of our head, than there was a report
-like a cannon, the crystal was broken to pieces, and I fell, covered from
-head to foot."
-
-"With blood, poor Porthos!"
-
-"Not at all; with perfumes, which smelt like rich creams; it was
-delicious, but the odor was too strong, and I felt quite giddy from it;
-perhaps you have experienced it sometimes yourself, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"Yes, in inhaling the scent of the lily of the valley; so that, my poor
-friend, you were knocked over by the shock and overpowered by the
-perfumes?"
-
-"Yes; but what is very remarkable, for the doctor told me he had never
-seen anything like it - "
-
-"You had a bump on your head I suppose?" interrupted D'Artagnan.
-
-"I had five."
-
-"Why five?"
-
-"I will tell you; the luster had, at its lower extremity, five gilt
-ornaments; excessively sharp."
-
-"Oh!"
-
-"Well, these five ornaments penetrated my hair, which, as you see, I wear
-very thick."
-
-"Fortunately so."
-
-"And they made a mark on my skin.  But just notice the singularity of it,
-these things seem really only to happen to me!  Instead of making
-indentations, they made bumps.  The doctor could never succeed in
-explaining that to me satisfactorily."
-
-"Well, then, I will explain it to you."
-
-"You will do me a great service if you will," said Porthos, winking his
-eyes, which, with him, was sign of the profoundest attention.
-
-"Since you have been employing your brain in studies of an exalted
-character, in important calculations, and so on, the head has gained a
-certain advantage, so that your head is now too full of science."
-
-"Do you think so?"
-
-"I am sure of it.  The result is, that, instead of allowing any foreign
-matter to penetrate the interior of the head, your bony box or skull,
-which is already too full, avails itself of the openings which are made
-in allowing this excess to escape."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, to whom this explanation appeared clearer than that
-of the doctor.
-
-"The five protuberances, caused by the five ornaments of the luster, must
-certainly have been scientific globules, brought to the surface by the
-force of circumstances."
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "the real truth is, that I felt far worse
-outside my head than inside.  I will even confess, that when I put my hat
-upon my head, clapping it on my head with that graceful energy which we
-gentlemen of the sword possess, if my fist was not very gently applied, I
-experienced the most painful sensations."
-
-"I quite believe you, Porthos."
-
-"Therefore, my friend," said the giant, "M. Fouquet decided, seeing how
-slightly built the house was, to give me another lodging, and so they
-brought me here."
-
-"It is the private park, I think, is it not?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Where the rendezvous are made; that park, indeed, which is so celebrated
-in some of those mysterious stories about the superintendent?"
-
-"I don't know; I have had no rendezvous or heard mysterious stories
-myself, but they have authorized me to exercise my muscles, and I take
-advantage of the permission by rooting up some of the trees."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To keep my hand in, and also to take some birds' nests; I find it more
-convenient than climbing."
-
-"You are as pastoral as Tyrcis, my dear Porthos."
-
-"Yes, I like the small eggs; I like them very much better than larger
-ones.  You have no idea how delicate an _omelette_ is, if made of four or
-five hundred eggs of linnets, chaffinches, starlings, blackbirds, and
-thrushes."
-
-"But five hundred eggs is perfectly monstrous!"
-
-"A salad-bowl will hold them easily enough," said Porthos.
-
-D'Artagnan looked at Porthos admiringly for full five minutes, as if he
-had seen him for the first time, while Porthos spread his chest out
-joyously and proudly.  They remained in this state several minutes,
-Porthos smiling, and D'Artagnan looking at him.  D'Artagnan was evidently
-trying to give the conversation a new turn.  "Do you amuse yourself much
-here, Porthos?" he asked at last, very likely after he had found out what
-he was searching for.
-
-"Not always."
-
-"I can imagine that; but when you get thoroughly bored, by and by, what
-do you intend to do?"
-
-"Oh!  I shall not be here for any length of time.  Aramis is waiting
-until the last bump on my head disappears, in order to present me to the
-king, who I am told cannot endure the sight of a bump."
-
-"Aramis is still in Paris, then?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Whereabouts is he, then?"
-
-"At Fontainebleau."
-
-"Alone?"
-
-"With M. Fouquet."
-
-"Very good.  But do you happen to know one thing?"
-
-"No, tell it me, and then I shall know."
-
-"Well, then, I think Aramis is forgetting you."
-
-"Do you really think so?"
-
-"Yes; for at Fontainebleau yonder, you must know, they are laughing,
-dancing, banqueting, and drawing the corks of M. de Mazarin's wine in
-fine style.  Are you aware that they have a ballet every evening there?"
-
-"The deuce they have!"
-
-"I assure you that your dear Aramis is forgetting you."
-
-"Well, that is not at all unlikely, and I have myself thought so
-sometimes."
-
-"Unless he is playing you a trick, the sly fellow!"
-
-"Oh!"
-
-"You know that Aramis is as sly as a fox."
-
-"Yes, but to play _me_ a trick - "
-
-"Listen: in the first place, he puts you under a sort of sequestration."
-
-"He sequestrates me!  Do you mean to say I am sequestrated?"
-
-"I think so."
-
-"I wish you would have the goodness to prove that to me."
-
-"Nothing easier.  Do you ever go out?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Do you ever ride on horseback?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Are your friends allowed to come and see you?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Very well, then; never to go out, never to ride on horseback, never to
-be allowed to see your friends, that is called being sequestrated."
-
-"But why should Aramis sequestrate me?" inquired Porthos.
-
-"Come," said D'Artagnan, "be frank, Porthos."
-
-"As gold."
-
-"It was Aramis who drew the plan of the fortifications at Belle-Isle, was
-it not?"
-
-Porthos colored as he said, "Yes; but that was all he did."
-
-"Exactly, and my own opinion is that it was no very great affair after
-all."
-
-"That is mine, too."
-
-"Very good; I am delighted we are of the same opinion."
-
-"He never even came to Belle-Isle," said Porthos.
-
-"There now, you see."
-
-"It was I who went to Vannes, as you may have seen."
-
-"Say rather, as I did see.  Well, that is precisely the state of the
-case, my dear Porthos.  Aramis, who only drew the plans, wishes to pass
-himself off as the engineer, whilst you, who, stone by stone, built the
-wall, the citadel, and the bastions, he wishes to reduce to the rank of a
-mere builder."
-
-"By builder, you mean mason, perhaps?"
-
-"Mason; the very word."
-
-"Plasterer, in fact?"
-
-"Hodman?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Oh, oh! my dear Aramis, you seem to think you are only five and twenty
-years of age still."
-
-"Yes, and that is not all, for believes you are fifty."
-
-"I should have amazingly liked to have seen him at work."
-
-"Yes, indeed."
-
-"A fellow who has got the gout?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Who has lost three of his teeth?"
-
-"Four."
-
-"While I, look at mine."  And Porthos, opening his large mouth very wide,
-displayed two rows of teeth not quite as white as snow, but even, hard,
-and sound as ivory.
-
-"You can hardly believe, Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "what a fancy the
-king has for good teeth.  Yours decide me; I will present you to the king
-myself."
-
-"You?"
-
-"Why not?  Do you think I have less credit at court than Aramis?"
-
-"Oh, no!"
-
-"Do you think I have the slightest pretensions upon the fortifications at
-Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Certainly not."
-
-"It is your own interest alone which would induce me to do it."
-
-"I don't doubt it in the least."
-
-"Well, I am the intimate friend of the king; and a proof of that is, that
-whenever there is anything disagreeable to tell him, it is I who have to
-do it."
-
-"But, dear D'Artagnan, if you present me - "
-
-"Well!"
-
-"Aramis will be angry."
-
-"With me?"
-
-"No, with _me_."
-
-"Bah! whether he or I present you, since you are to be presented, what
-does it matter?"
-
-"They were going to get me some clothes made."
-
-"Your own are splendid."
-
-"Oh! those I had ordered were far more beautiful."
-
-"Take care: the king likes simplicity."
-
-"In that case, I will be simple.  But what will M. Fouquet say, when he
-learns that I have left?"
-
-"Are you a prisoner, then, on parole?"
-
-"No, not quite that.  But I promised him I would not leave without
-letting him know."
-
-"Wait a minute, we shall return to that presently.  Have you anything to
-do here?"
-
-"I, nothing: nothing of any importance, at least."
-
-"Unless, indeed, you are Aramis's representative for something of
-importance."
-
-"By no means."
-
-"What I tell you - pray, understand that - is out of interest for you.  I
-suppose, for instance, that you are commissioned to send messages and
-letters to him?"
-
-"Ah! letters -yes.  I send certain letters to him."
-
-"Where?"
-
-"To Fontainebleau."
-
-"Have you any letters, then?"
-
-"But - "
-
-"Nay, let me speak.  Have you any letters, I say?"
-
-"I have just received one for him."
-
-"Interesting?"
-
-"I suppose so."
-
-"You do not read them, then?"
-
-"I am not at all curious," said Porthos, as he drew out of his pocket the
-soldier's letter which Porthos had not read, but D'Artagnan had.
-
-"Do you know what to do with it?" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Of course; do as I always do, send it to him."
-
-"Not so."
-
-"Why not?  Keep it, then?"
-
-"Did they not tell you that this letter was important?"
-
-"Very important."
-
-"Well, you must take it yourself to Fontainebleau."
-
-"To Aramis?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Very good."
-
-"And since the king is there - "
-
-"You will profit by that."
-
-"I shall profit by the opportunity to present you to the king."
-
-"Ah!  D'Artagnan, there is no one like you for expedients."
-
-"Therefore, instead of forwarding to our friend any messages, which may
-or may not be faithfully delivered, we will ourselves be the bearers of
-the letter."
-
-"I had never even thought of that, and yet it is simple enough."
-
-"And therefore, because it is urgent, Porthos, we ought to set off at
-once."
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "the sooner we set off the less chance there is
-of Aramis's letter being delayed."
-
-"Porthos, your reasoning is always accurate, and, in your case, logic
-seems to serve as an auxiliary to the imagination."
-
-"Do you think so?" said Porthos.
-
-"It is the result of your hard reading," replied D'Artagnan.  "So come
-along, let us be off."
-
-"But," said Porthos, "my promise to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Not to leave Saint-Mande without telling him of it."
-
-"Ah!  Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how very young you still are."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"You are going to Fontainebleau, are you not, where you will find M.
-Fouquet?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Probably in the king's palace?"
-
-"Yes," repeated Porthos, with an air full of majesty.
-
-"Well, you will accost him with these words: 'M. Fouquet, I have the
-honor to inform you that I have just left Saint-Mande.'"
-
-"And," said Porthos, with the same majestic mien, "seeing me at
-Fontainebleau at the king's, M. Fouquet will not be able to tell me I am
-not speaking the truth."
-
-"My dear Porthos, I was just on the point of opening my lips to make the
-same remark, but you anticipate me in everything.  Oh!  Porthos, how
-fortunately you are gifted!  Years have made not the slightest impression
-on you."
-
-"Not over-much, certainly."
-
-"Then there is nothing more to say?"
-
-"I think not."
-
-"All your scruples are removed?"
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"In that case I shall carry you off with me."
-
-"Exactly; and I will go and get my horse saddled."
-
-"You have horses here, then?"
-
-"I have five."
-
-"You had them sent from Pierrefonds, I suppose?"
-
-"No, M. Fouquet gave them to me."
-
-"My dear Porthos, we shall not want five horses for two persons; besides,
-I have already three in Paris, which would make eight, and that will be
-too many."
-
-"It would not be too many if I had some of my servants here; but, alas! I
-have not got them."
-
-"Do you regret them, then?"
-
-"I regret Mousqueton; I miss Mousqueton."
-
-"What a good-hearted fellow you are, Porthos," said D'Artagnan; "but the
-best thing you can do is to leave your horses here, as you have left
-Mousqueton out yonder."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because, by and by, it might turn out a very good thing if M. Fouquet
-had never given you anything at all."
-
-"I don't understand you," said Porthos.
-
-"It is not necessary you should understand."
-
-"But yet - "
-
-"I will explain to you later, Porthos."
-
-"I'll wager it is some piece of policy or other."
-
-"And of the most subtle character," returned D'Artagnan.
-
-Porthos nodded his head at this word policy; then, after a moment's
-reflection, he added, "I confess, D'Artagnan, that I am no politician."
-
-"I know that well."
-
-"Oh! no one knows what you told me yourself, you, the bravest of the
-brave."
-
-"What did I tell you, Porthos?"
-
-"That every man has his day.  You told me so, and I have experienced it
-myself.  There are certain days when one feels less pleasure than others
-in exposing one's self to a bullet or a sword-thrust."
-
-"Exactly my own idea."
-
-"And mine, too, although I can hardly believe in blows or thrusts that
-kill outright."
-
-"The deuce! and yet you have killed a few in your time."
-
-"Yes; but I have never been killed."
-
-"Your reason is a very good one."
-
-"Therefore, I do not believe I shall ever die from a thrust of a sword or
-a gun-shot."
-
-"In that case, then, you are afraid of nothing.  Ah! water, perhaps?"
-
-"Oh!  I swim like an otter."
-
-"Of a quartan fever, then?"
-
-"I have never had one yet, and I don't believe I ever shall; but there is
-one thing I will admit," and Porthos dropped his voice.
-
-"What is that?" asked D'Artagnan, adopting the same tone of voice as
-Porthos.
-
-"I must confess," repeated Porthos, "that I am horribly afraid of
-politics."
-
-"Ah, bah!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Upon my word, it's true," said Porthos, in a stentorian voice.  "I have
-seen his eminence Monsieur le Cardinal de Richelieu, and his eminence
-Monsieur le Cardinal de Mazarin; the one was a red politician, the other
-a black politician; I never felt very much more satisfied with the one
-than with the other; the first struck off the heads of M. de Marillac, M.
-de Thou, M. de Cinq-Mars, M. Chalais, M. de Bouteville, and M. de
-Montmorency; the second got a whole crowd of Frondeurs cut in pieces, and
-we belonged to them."
-
-"On the contrary, we did not belong to them," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh! indeed, yes; for if I unsheathed my sword for the cardinal, I struck
-it for the king."
-
-"My good Porthos!"
-
-"Well, I have done.  My dread of politics is such, that if there is any
-question of politics in the matter, I should greatly prefer to return to
-Pierrefonds."
-
-"You would be quite right, if that were the case.  But with me, my dear
-Porthos, no politics at all, that is quite clear.  You have labored hard
-in fortifying Belle-Isle; the king wished to know the name of the clever
-engineer under whose directions the works were carried out; you are
-modest, as all men of true genius are; perhaps Aramis wishes to put you
-under a bushel.  But I happen to seize hold of you; I make it known who
-you are; I produce you; the king rewards you; and that is the only policy
-I have to do with."
-
-"And the only one I will have to do with either," said Porthos, holding
-out his hand to D'Artagnan.
-
-But D'Artagnan knew Porthos's grasp; he knew that, once imprisoned within
-the baron's five fingers, no hand ever left it without being half-
-crushed.  He therefore held out, not his hand, but his fist, and Porthos
-did not even perceive the difference.  The servants talked a little with
-each other in an undertone, and whispered a few words, which D'Artagnan
-understood, but which he took very good care not to let Porthos
-understand.  "Our friend," he said to himself, "was really and truly
-Aramis's prisoner.  Let us now see what the result will be of the
-liberation of the captive."
-
-
-Chapter IV:
-The Rat and the Cheese.
-
-D'Artagnan and Porthos returned on foot, as D'Artagnan had set out.  When
-D'Artagnan, as he entered the shop of the Pilon d'Or, announced to
-Planchet that M. du Vallon would be one of the privileged travelers, and
-as the plume in Porthos's hat made the wooden candles suspended over the
-front jingle together, a melancholy presentiment seemed to eclipse the
-delight Planchet had promised himself for the morrow.  But the grocer had
-a heart of gold, ever mindful of the good old times - a trait that
-carries youth into old age.  So Planchet, notwithstanding a sort of
-internal shiver, checked as soon as experienced, received Porthos with
-respect, mingled with the tenderest cordiality.  Porthos, who was a
-little cold and stiff in his manners at first, on account of the social
-difference existing at that period between a baron and a grocer, soon
-began to soften when he perceived so much good-feeling and so many kind
-attentions in Planchet.  He was particularly touched by the liberty which
-was permitted him to plunge his great palms into the boxes of dried
-fruits and preserves, into the sacks of nuts and almonds, and into the
-drawers full of sweetmeats.  So that, notwithstanding Planchet's pressing
-invitations to go upstairs to the _entresol_, he chose as his favorite
-seat, during the evening which he had to spend at Planchet's house, the
-shop itself, where his fingers could always fish up whatever his nose
-detected.  The delicious figs from Provence, filberts from the forest,
-Tours plums, were subjects of his uninterrupted attention for five
-consecutive hours.  His teeth, like millstones, cracked heaps of nuts,
-the shells of which were scattered all over the floor, where they were
-trampled by every one who went in and out of the shop; Porthos pulled
-from the stalk with his lips, at one mouthful, bunches of the rich
-Muscatel raisins with their beautiful bloom, half a pound of which passed
-at one gulp from his mouth to his stomach.  In one of the corners of the
-shop, Planchet's assistants, huddled together, looked at each other
-without venturing to open their lips.  They did not know who Porthos was,
-for they had never seen him before.  The race of those Titans who had
-worn the cuirasses of Hugh Capet, Philip Augustus, and Francis I. had
-already begun to disappear.  They could hardly help thinking he might be
-the ogre of the fairy tale, who was going to turn the whole contents of
-Planchet's shop into his insatiable stomach, and that, too, without in
-the slightest degree displacing the barrels and chests that were in it.
-Cracking, munching, chewing, nibbling, sucking, and swallowing, Porthos
-occasionally said to the grocer:
-
-"You do a very good business here, friend Planchet."
-
-"He will very soon have none at all to do, if this sort of thing
-continues," grumbled the foreman, who had Planchet's word that he should
-be his successor.  In the midst of his despair, he approached Porthos,
-who blocked up the whole of the passage leading from the back shop to the
-shop itself.  He hoped that Porthos would rise and that this movement
-would distract his devouring ideas.
-
-"What do you want, my man?" asked Porthos, affably.
-
-"I should like to pass you, monsieur, if it is not troubling you too
-much."
-
-"Very well," said Porthos, "it does not trouble me in the least."
-
-At the same moment he took hold of the young fellow by the waistband,
-lifted him off the ground, and placed him very gently on the other side,
-smiling all the while with the same affable expression.  As soon as
-Porthos had placed him on the ground, the lad's legs so shook under him
-that he fell back upon some sacks of corks.  But noticing the giant's
-gentleness of manner, he ventured again, and said:
-
-"Ah, monsieur! pray be careful."
-
-"What about?" inquired Porthos.
-
-"You are positively putting a fiery furnace into your body."
-
-"How is that, my good fellow?"
-
-"All those things are very heating to the system!"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Raisins, nuts, and almonds."
-
-"Yes; but if raisins, nuts, and almonds are heating - "
-
-"There is no doubt at all of it, monsieur."
-
-"Honey is very cooling," said Porthos, stretching out his hand toward a
-small barrel of honey which was open, and he plunged the scoop with which
-the wants of the customers were supplied into it, and swallowed a good
-half-pound at one gulp.
-
-"I must trouble you for some water now, my man," said Porthos.
-
-"In a pail, monsieur?" asked the lad, simply.
-
-"No, in a water-bottle; that will be quite enough;" and raising the
-bottle to his mouth, as a trumpeter does his trumpet, he emptied the
-bottle at a single draught.
-
-Planchet was agitated in every fibre of propriety and self-esteem.
-However, a worthy representative of the hospitality which prevailed in
-early days, he feigned to be talking very earnestly with D'Artagnan, and
-incessantly repeated: - "Ah! monsieur, what a happiness! what an honor!"
-
-"What time shall we have supper, Planchet?" inquired Porthos, "I feel
-hungry."
-
-The foreman clasped his hands together.  The two others got under the
-counters, fearing Porthos might have a taste for human flesh.
-
-"We shall only take a sort of snack here," said D'Artagnan; "and when we
-get to Planchet's country-seat, we will have supper."
-
-"Ah, ah! so we are going to your country-house, Planchet," said Porthos;
-"so much the better."
-
-"You overwhelm me, monsieur le baron."
-
-The "monsieur le baron" had a great effect upon the men, who detected a
-personage of the highest quality in an appetite of that kind.  This
-title, too, reassured them.  They had never heard that an ogre was ever
-called "monsieur le baron".
-
-"I will take a few biscuits to eat on the road," said Porthos,
-carelessly; and he emptied a whole jar of aniseed biscuits into the huge
-pocket of his doublet.
-
-"My shop is saved!" exclaimed Planchet.
-
-"Yes, as the cheese was," whispered the foreman.
-
-"What cheese?"
-
-"The Dutch cheese, inside which a rat had made his way, and we found only
-the rind left."
-
-Planchet looked all round his shop, and observing the different articles
-which had escaped Porthos's teeth, he found the comparison somewhat
-exaggerated.  The foreman, who remarked what was passing in his master's
-mind, said, "Take care; he is not gone yet."
-
-"Have you any fruit here?" said Porthos, as he went upstairs to the
-_entresol_, where it had just been announced that some refreshment was
-prepared.
-
-"Alas!" thought the grocer, addressing a look at D'Artagnan full of
-entreaty, which the latter half understood.
-
-As soon as they had finished eating they set off.  It was late when the
-three riders, who had left Paris about six in the evening, arrived at
-Fontainebleau.  The journey passed very agreeably.  Porthos took a fancy
-to Planchet's society, because the latter was very respectful in his
-manners, and seemed delighted to talk to him about his meadows, his
-woods, and his rabbit-warrens.  Porthos had all the taste and pride of a
-landed proprietor.  When D'Artagnan saw his two companions in earnest
-conversation, he took the opposite side of the road, and letting his
-bridle drop upon his horse's neck, separated himself from the whole
-world, as he had done from Porthos and from Planchet.  The moon shone
-softly through the foliage of the forest.  The breezes of the open
-country rose deliciously perfumed to the horse's nostrils, and they
-snorted and pranced along delightedly.  Porthos and Planchet began to
-talk about hay-crops.  Planchet admitted to Porthos that in the advanced
-years of his life, he had certainly neglected agricultural pursuits for
-commerce, but that his childhood had been passed in Picardy in the
-beautiful meadows where the grass grew as high as the knees, and where he
-had played under the green apple-trees covered with red-cheeked fruit; he
-went on to say, that he had solemnly promised himself that as soon as he
-should have made his fortune, he would return to nature, and end his
-days, as he had begun them, as near as he possibly could to the earth
-itself, where all men must sleep at last.
-
-"Eh, eh!" said Porthos; "in that case, my dear Monsieur Planchet, your
-retirement is not far distant."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"Why, you seem to be in the way of making your fortune very soon."
-
-"Well, we are getting on pretty well, I must admit," replied Planchet.
-
-"Come, tell me what is the extent of your ambition, and what is the
-amount you intend to retire upon?"
-
-"There is one circumstance, monsieur," said Planchet, without answering
-the question, "which occasions me a good deal of anxiety."
-
-"What is it?" inquired Porthos, looking all round him as if in search of
-the circumstance that annoyed Planchet, and desirous of freeing him from
-it.
-
-"Why, formerly," said the grocer, "you used to call me Planchet quite
-short, and you would have spoken to me then in a much more familiar
-manner than you do now."
-
-"Certainly, certainly, I should have said so formerly," replied the good-
-natured Porthos, with an embarrassment full of delicacy; "but formerly - "
-
-"Formerly I was M. d'Artagnan's lackey; is not that what you mean?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well if I am not quite his lackey, I am as much as ever I was his
-devoted servant; and more than that, since that time - "
-
-"Well, Planchet?"
-
-"Since that time, I have had the honor of being in partnership with him."
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos.  "What, has D'Artagnan gone into the grocery
-business?"
-
-"No, no," said D'Artagnan, whom these words had drawn out of his reverie,
-and who entered into the conversation with that readiness and rapidity
-which distinguished every operation of his mind and body.  "It was not
-D'Artagnan who entered into the grocery business, but Planchet who
-entered into a political affair with me."
-
-"Yes," said Planchet, with mingled pride and satisfaction, "we transacted
-a little business which brought me in a hundred thousand francs and M.
-d'Artagnan two hundred thousand."
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos, with admiration.
-
-"So that, monsieur le baron," continued the grocer, "I again beg you to
-be kind enough to call me Planchet, as you used to do; and to speak to me
-as familiarly as in old times.  You cannot possibly imagine the pleasure
-it would give me."
-
-"If that be the case, my dear Planchet, I will do so, certainly," replied
-Porthos.  And as he was quite close to Planchet, he raised his hand, as
-if to strike him on the shoulder, in token of friendly cordiality; but a
-fortunate movement of the horse made him miss his aim, so that his hand
-fell on the crupper of Planchet's horse, instead; which made the animal's
-legs almost give way.
-
-D'Artagnan burst out laughing, as he said, "Take care, Planchet; for if
-Porthos begins to like you so much, he will caress you, and if he
-caresses you he will knock you as flat as a pancake.  Porthos is still
-as strong as every, you know."
-
-"Oh," said Planchet, "Mousqueton is not dead, and yet monsieur le baron
-is very fond of him."
-
-"Certainly," said Porthos, with a sigh which made all the three horses
-rear; "and I was only saying, this very morning, to D'Artagnan, how much
-I regretted him.  But tell me, Planchet?"
-
-"Thank you, monsieur le baron, thank you."
-
-"Good lad, good lad!  How many acres of park have you got?"
-
-"Of park?"
-
-"Yes; we will reckon up the meadows presently, and the woods afterwards."
-
-"Whereabouts, monsieur?"
-"At your chateau."
-
-"Oh, monsieur le baron, I have neither chateau, nor park, nor meadows,
-nor woods."
-
-"What have you got, then?" inquired Porthos, "and why do you call it a
-country-seat?"
-
-"I did not call it a country-seat, monsieur le baron," replied Planchet,
-somewhat humiliated, "but a country-box."
-
-"Ah, ah!  I understand.  You are modest."
-
-"No, monsieur le baron, I speak the plain truth.  I have rooms for a
-couple of friends, that's all."
-
-"But in that case, whereabouts do your friends walk?"
-
-"In the first place, they can walk about the king's forest, which is very
-beautiful."
-
-"Yes, I know the forest is very fine," said Porthos; "nearly as beautiful
-as my forest at Berry."
-
-Planchet opened his eyes very wide.  "Have you a forest of the same kind
-as the forest at Fontainebleau, monsieur le baron?" he stammered out.
-
-"Yes; I have two, indeed, but the one at Berry is my favorite."
-
-"Why so?" asked Planchet.
-
-"Because I don't know where it ends; and, also, because it is full of
-poachers."
-
-"How can the poachers make the forest so agreeable to you?"
-
-"Because they hunt my game, and I hunt them - which, in these peaceful
-times, is for me a sufficiently pleasing picture of war on a small scale."
-
-They had reached this turn of conversation, when Planchet, looking up,
-perceived the houses at the commencement of Fontainebleau, the lofty
-outlines of which stood out strongly against the misty visage of the
-heavens; whilst, rising above the compact and irregularly formed mass of
-buildings, the pointed roofs of the chateau were clearly visible, the
-slates of which glistened beneath the light of the moon, like the scales
-of an immense fish.  "Gentlemen," said Planchet, "I have the honor to
-inform you that we have arrived at Fontainebleau."
-
-
-Chapter V:
-Planchet's Country-House.
-
-The cavaliers looked up, and saw that what Planchet had announced to them
-was true.  Ten minutes afterwards they were in the street called the Rue
-de Lyon, on the opposite side of the hostelry of the Beau Paon.  A high
-hedge of bushy elders, hawthorn, and wild hops formed an impenetrable
-fence, behind which rose a white house, with a high tiled roof.  Two of
-the windows, which were quite dark, looked upon the street.  Between the
-two, a small door, with a porch supported by a couple of pillars, formed
-the entrance to the house.  The door was gained by a step raised a little
-from the ground.  Planchet got off his horse, as if he intended to knock
-at the door; but, on second thoughts, he took hold of his horse by the
-bridle, and led it about thirty paces further on, his two companions
-following him.  He then advanced about another thirty paces, until he
-arrived at the door of a cart-house, lighted by an iron grating; and,
-lifting up a wooden latch, pushed open one of the folding-doors.  He
-entered first, leading his horse after him by the bridle, into a small
-courtyard, where an odor met them which revealed their close vicinity to
-a stable.  "That smells all right," said Porthos, loudly, getting off his
-horse, "and I almost begin to think I am near my own cows at Pierrefonds."
-
-"I have only one cow," Planchet hastened to say modestly.
-
-"And I have thirty," said Porthos; "or rather, I don't exactly know how
-many I have."
-
-When the two cavaliers had entered, Planchet fastened the door behind
-them.  In the meantime, D'Artagnan, who had dismounted with his usual
-agility, inhaled the fresh perfumed air with the delight a Parisian feels
-at the sight of green fields and fresh foliage, plucked a piece of
-honeysuckle with one hand, and of sweet-briar with the other.  Porthos
-clawed hold of some peas which were twined round poles stuck into the
-ground, and ate, or rather browsed upon them, shells and all: and
-Planchet was busily engaged trying to wake up an old and infirm peasant,
-who was fast asleep in a shed, lying on a bed of moss, and dressed in an
-old stable suit of clothes.  The peasant, recognizing Planchet, called
-him "the master," to the grocer's great satisfaction.  "Stable the horses
-well, old fellow, and you shall have something good for yourself," said
-Planchet.
-
-"Yes, yes; fine animals they are too," said the peasant.  "Oh! they shall
-have as much as they like."
-
-"Gently, gently, my man," said D'Artagnan, "we are getting on a little
-too fast.  A few oats and a good bed - nothing more."
-
-"Some bran and water for my horse," said Porthos, "for it is very warm, I
-think."
-
-"Don't be afraid, gentlemen," replied Planchet; "Daddy Celestin is an old
-gendarme, who fought at Ivry.  He knows all about horses; so come into
-the house."  And he led the way along a well-sheltered walk, which
-crossed a kitchen-garden, then a small paddock, and came out into a
-little garden behind the house, the principal front of which, as we have
-already noticed, faced the street.  As they approached, they could see,
-through two open windows on the ground floor, which led into a sitting-
-room, the interior of Planchet's residence.  This room, softly lighted by
-a lamp placed on the table, seemed, from the end of the garden, like a
-smiling image of repose, comfort, and happiness.  In every direction
-where the rays of light fell, whether upon a piece of old china, or upon
-an article of furniture shining from excessive neatness, or upon the
-weapons hanging against the wall, the soft light was softly reflected;
-and its rays seemed to linger everywhere upon something or another,
-agreeable to the eye.  The lamp which lighted the room, whilst the
-foliage of jasmine and climbing roses hung in masses from the window-
-frames, splendidly illuminated a damask table-cloth as white as snow.
-The table was laid for two persons.  Amber-colored wine sparkled in a
-long cut-glass bottle; and a large jug of blue china, with a silver lid,
-was filled with foaming cider.  Near the table, in a high-backed
-armchair, reclined, fast asleep, a woman of about thirty years of age,
-her face the very picture of health and freshness.  Upon her knees lay a
-large cat, with her paws folded under her, and her eyes half-closed,
-purring in that significant manner which, according to feline habits,
-indicates perfect contentment.  The two friends paused before the window
-in complete amazement, while Planchet, perceiving their astonishment, was
-in no little degree secretly delighted at it.
-
-"Ah!  Planchet, you rascal," said D'Artagnan, "I now understand your
-absences."
-
-"Oh, oh! there is some white linen!" said Porthos, in his turn, in a
-voice of thunder.  At the sound of this gigantic voice, the cat took
-flight, the housekeeper woke up with a start, and Planchet, assuming a
-gracious air, introduced his two companions into the room, where the
-table was already laid.
-
-"Permit me, my dear," he said, "to present to you Monsieur le Chevalier
-d'Artagnan, my patron."  D'Artagnan took the lady's hand in his in the
-most courteous manner, and with precisely the same chivalrous air as he
-would have taken Madame's.
-
-"Monsieur le Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds," added
-Planchet.  Porthos bowed with a reverence which Anne of Austria would
-have approved of.
-
-It was then Planchet's turn, and he unhesitatingly embraced the lady in
-question, not, however, until he had made a sign as if requesting
-D'Artagnan's and Porthos's permission, a permission as a matter of course
-frankly conceded.  D'Artagnan complimented Planchet, and said, "You are
-indeed a man who knows how to make life agreeable."
-
-"Life, monsieur," said Planchet, laughing, "is capital which a man ought
-to invest as sensibly as he possibly can."
-
-"And you get very good interest for yours," said Porthos, with a burst of
-laughter like a peal of thunder.
-
-Planchet turned to his housekeeper.  "You have before you," he said to
-her, "the two gentlemen who influenced the greatest, gayest, grandest
-portion of my life.  I have spoken to you about them both very
-frequently."
-
-"And about two others as well," said the lady, with a very decided
-Flemish accent.
-
-"Madame is Dutch?" inquired D'Artagnan.  Porthos curled his mustache, a
-circumstance which was not lost upon D'Artagnan, who noticed everything.
-
-"I am from Antwerp," said the lady.
-
-"And her name is Madame Getcher," said Planchet.
-
-"You should not call her madame," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Why not?" asked Planchet.
-
-"Because it would make her seem older every time you call her so."
-
-"Well, I call her Truchen."
-
-"And a very pretty name too," said Porthos.
-
-"Truchen," said Planchet, "came to me from Flanders with her virtue and
-two thousand florins.  She ran away from a brute of a husband who was in
-the habit of beating her.  Being myself a Picard born, I was always very
-fond of the Artesian women, and it is only a step from Artois to
-Flanders; she came crying bitterly to her godfather, my predecessor in
-the Rue des Lombards; she placed her two thousand florins in my
-establishment, which I have turned to very good account, and which have
-brought her in ten thousand."
-
-"Bravo, Planchet."
-
-"She is free and well off; she has a cow, a maid servant and old Celestin
-at her orders; she mends my linen, knits my winter stockings; she only
-sees me every fortnight, and seems to make herself in all things
-tolerably happy.
-
-"And indeed, gentlemen, I _am_ very happy and comfortable," said Truchen,
-with perfect ingenuousness.
-
-Porthos began to curl the other side of his mustache.  "The deuce,"
-thought D'Artagnan, "can Porthos have any intentions in that quarter?"
-
-In the meantime Truchen had set her cook to work, had laid the table for
-two more, and covered it with every possible delicacy that could convert
-a light supper into a substantial meal, a meal into a regular feast.
-Fresh butter, salt beef, anchovies, tunny, a shopful of Planchet's
-commodities, fowls, vegetables, salad, fish from the pond and the river,
-game from the forest - all the produce, in fact, of the province.
-Moreover, Planchet returned from the cellar, laden with ten bottles of
-wine, the glass of which could hardly be seen for the thick coating of
-dust which covered them.  Porthos's heart began to expand as he said, "I
-am hungry," and he sat himself beside Madame Truchen, whom he looked at
-in the most killing manner.  D'Artagnan seated himself on the other side
-of her, while Planchet, discreetly and full of delight, took his seat
-opposite.
-
-"Do not trouble yourselves," he said, "if Truchen should leave the table
-now and then during supper; for she will have to look after your bedrooms."
-
-In fact, the housekeeper made her escape quite frequently, and they could
-hear, on the first floor above them, the creaking of the wooden bedsteads
-and the rolling of the castors on the floor.  While this was going on,
-the three men, Porthos especially, ate and drank gloriously, - it was
-wonderful to see them.  The ten full bottles were ten empty one by the
-time Truchen returned with the cheese.  D'Artagnan still preserved his
-dignity and self-possession, but Porthos had lost a portion of his; and
-the mirth soon began to grow somewhat uproarious.  D'Artagnan recommended
-a new descent into the cellar, and, as Planchet no longer walked with the
-steadiness of a well-trained foot-soldier, the captain of the musketeers
-proposed to accompany him.  They set off, humming songs wild enough to
-frighten anybody who might be listening.  Truchen remained behind at
-table with Porthos.  While the two wine-bibbers were looking behind the
-firewood for what they wanted, a sharp report was heard like the impact
-of a pair of lips on a lady's cheek.
-
-"Porthos fancies himself at La Rochelle," thought D'Artagnan, as they
-returned freighted with bottles.  Planchet was singing so loudly that he
-was incapable of noticing anything.  D'Artagnan, whom nothing ever
-escaped, remarked how much redder Truchen's left cheek was than her
-right.  Porthos was sitting on Truchen's left, and was curling with both
-his hands both sides of his mustache at once, and Truchen was looking at
-him with a most bewitching smile.  The sparkling wine of Anjou very soon
-produced a remarkable effect upon the three companions.  D'Artagnan had
-hardly strength enough left to take a candlestick to light Planchet up
-his own staircase.  Planchet was pulling Porthos along, who was following
-Truchen, who was herself jovial enough.  It was D'Artagnan who found out
-the rooms and the beds.  Porthos threw himself into the one destined for
-him, after his friend had undressed him.  D'Artagnan got into his own
-bed, saying to himself, "_Mordioux!_  I had made up my mind never to
-touch that light-colored wine, which brings my early camp days back
-again.  Fie! fie! if my musketeers were only to see their captain in such
-a state."  And drawing the curtains of his bed, he added, "Fortunately
-enough, though, they will not see me."
-
-"The country is very amusing," said Porthos, stretching out his legs,
-which passed through the wooden footboard, and made a tremendous crash,
-of which, however, no one in the house was capable of taking the
-slightest notice.  By two o'clock in the morning every one was fast
-asleep.
-
-
-Chapter VI:
-Showing What Could Be Seen from Planchet's House.
-
-The next morning found the three heroes sleeping soundly.  Truchen had
-closed the outside blinds to keep the first rays of the sun from the
-leaden-lidded eyes of her guests, like a kind, good housekeeper.  It was
-still perfectly dark, then, beneath Porthos's curtains and under
-Planchet's canopy, when D'Artagnan, awakened by an indiscreet ray of
-light which made its way through a peek-hole in the shutters, jumped
-hastily out of bed, as if he wished to be the first at a forlorn hope.
-He took by assault Porthos's room, which was next to his own.  The worthy
-Porthos was sleeping with a noise like distant thunder; in the dim
-obscurity of the room his gigantic frame was prominently displayed, and
-his swollen fist hung down outside the bed upon the carpet.  D'Artagnan
-awoke Porthos, who rubbed his eyes in a tolerably good humor.  In the
-meantime Planchet was dressing himself, and met at their bedroom doors
-his two guests, who were still somewhat unsteady from their previous
-evening's entertainment.  Although it was yet very early, the whole
-household was already up.  The cook was mercilessly slaughtering in the
-poultry-yard; Celestin was gathering white cherries in the garden.
-Porthos, brisk and lively as ever, held out his hand to Planchet's, and
-D'Artagnan requested permission to embrace Madame Truchen.  The latter,
-to show that she bore no ill-will, approached Porthos, upon whom she
-conferred the same favor.  Porthos embraced Madame Truchen, heaving an
-enormous sigh.  Planchet took both his friends by the hand.
-
-"I am going to show you over the house," he said; "when we arrived last
-night it was as dark as an oven, and we were unable to see anything; but
-in broad daylight, everything looks different, and you will be satisfied,
-I hope."
-
-"If we begin by the view you have here," said D'Artagnan, "that charms me
-beyond everything; I have always lived in royal mansions, you know, and
-royal personages have tolerably sound ideas upon the selection of points
-of view."
-
-"I am a great stickler for a good view myself," said Porthos.  "At my
-Chateau de Pierrefonds, I have had four avenues laid out, and at the end
-of each is a landscape of an altogether different character from the
-others."
-
-"You shall see _my_ prospect," said Planchet; and he led his two guests
-to a window.
-
-"Ah!" said D'Artagnan, "this is the Rue de Lyon."
-
-"Yes, I have two windows on this side, a paltry, insignificant view, for
-there is always that bustling and noisy inn, which is a very disagreeable
-neighbor.  I had four windows here, but I bricked up two."
-
-"Let us go on," said D'Artagnan.
-
-They entered a corridor leading to the bedrooms, and Planchet pushed open
-the outside blinds.
-
-"Hollo! what is that out yonder?" said Porthos.
-
-"The forest," said Planchet.  "It is the horizon, - a thick line of
-green, which is yellow in the spring, green in the summer, red in the
-autumn, and white in the winter."
-
-"All very well, but it is like a curtain, which prevents one seeing a
-greater distance."
-
-"Yes," said Planchet; "still, one can see, at all events, everything that
-intervenes."
-
-"Ah, the open country," said Porthos.  "But what is that I see out there,
-- crosses and stones?"
-
-"Ah, that is the cemetery," exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Precisely," said Planchet; "I assure you it is very curious.  Hardly a
-day passes that some one is not buried there; for Fontainebleau is by no
-means an inconsiderable place.  Sometimes we see young girls clothed in
-white carrying banners; at others, some of the town-council, or rich
-citizens, with choristers and all the parish authorities; and then, too,
-we see some of the officers of the king's household."
-
-"I should not like that," said Porthos.
-
-"There is not much amusement in it, at all events," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I assure you it encourages religious thoughts," replied Planchet.
-
-"Oh, I don't deny that."
-
-"But," continued Planchet, "we must all die one day or another, and I
-once met with a maxim somewhere which I have remembered, that the thought
-of death is a thought that will do us all good."
-
-"I am far from saying the contrary," said Porthos.
-
-"But," objected D'Artagnan, "the thought of green fields, flowers,
-rivers, blue horizons, extensive and boundless plains, is no likely to do
-us good."
-
-"If I had any, I should be far from rejecting them," said Planchet; "but
-possessing only this little cemetery, full of flowers, so moss-grown,
-shady, and quiet, I am contented with it, and I think of those who live
-in town, in the Rue des Lombards, for instance, and who have to listen to
-the rumbling of a couple of thousand vehicles every day, and to the
-soulless tramp, tramp, tramp of a hundred and fifty thousand foot-
-passengers."
-
-"But living," said Porthos; "living, remember that."
-
-"That is exactly the reason," said Planchet, timidly, "why I feel it does
-me good to contemplate a few dead."
-
-"Upon my word," said D'Artagnan, "that fellow Planchet is born a
-philosopher as well as a grocer."
-
-"Monsieur," said Planchet, "I am one of those good-humored sort of men
-whom Heaven created for the purpose of living a certain span of days, and
-of considering all good they meet with during their transitory stay on
-earth."
-
-D'Artagnan sat down close to the window, and as there seemed to be
-something substantial in Planchet's philosophy, he mused over it.
-
-"Ah, ah!" exclaimed Planchet, "if I am not mistaken, we are going to have
-a representation now, for I think I heard something like chanting."
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "I hear singing too."
-
-"Oh, it is only a burial of a very poor description," said Planchet,
-disdainfully; "the officiating priest, the beadle, and only one chorister
-boy, nothing more.  You observe, messieurs, that the defunct lady or
-gentleman could not have been of very high rank."
-
-"No; no one seems to be following the coffin."
-
-"Yes," said Porthos; "I see a man."
-
-"You are right; a man wrapped in a cloak," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"It's not worth looking at," said Planchet.
-
-"I find it interesting," said D'Artagnan, leaning on the window-sill.
-
-"Come, come, you are beginning to take a fancy to the place already,"
-said Planchet, delightedly; "it is exactly my own case.  I was so
-melancholy at first that I could do nothing but make the sign of the
-cross all day, and the chants were like so many nails being driven into
-my head; but now, they lull me to sleep, and no bird I have ever seen or
-heard can sing better than those which are to be met with in this
-cemetery."
-
-"Well," said Porthos, "this is beginning to get a little dull for me, and
-I prefer going downstairs."
-
-Planchet with one bound was beside his guest, whom he offered to lead
-into the garden.
-
-"What!" said Porthos to D'Artagnan, as he turned round, "are you going to
-remain here?"
-
-"Yes, I will join you presently."
-
-"Well, M. D'Artagnan is right, after all," said Planchet: "are they
-beginning to bury yet?"
-
-"Not yet."
-
-"Ah! yes, the grave-digger is waiting until the cords are fastened round
-the bier.  But, see, a woman has just entered the cemetery at the other
-end."
-
-"Yes, yes, my dear Planchet," said D'Artagnan, quickly, "leave me, leave
-me; I feel I am beginning already to be much comforted by my meditations,
-so do not interrupt me."
-
-Planchet left, and D'Artagnan remained, devouring with his eager gaze
-from behind the half-closed blinds what was taking place just before
-him.  The two bearers of the corpse had unfastened the straps by which
-they carried the litter, and were letting their burden glide gently into
-the open grave.  At a few paces distant, the man with the cloak wrapped
-round him, the only spectator of this melancholy scene, was leaning with
-his back against a large cypress-tree, and kept his face and person
-entirely concealed from the grave-diggers and the priests; the corpse was
-buried in five minutes.  The grave having been filled up, the priests
-turned away, and the grave-digger having addressed a few words to them,
-followed them as they moved away.  The man in the mantle bowed as they
-passed him, and put a piece of gold into the grave-digger's hand.
-
-"_Mordioux!_" murmured D'Artagnan; "it is Aramis himself."
-
-Aramis, in fact, remained alone, on that side at least; for hardly had he
-turned his head when a woman's footsteps, and the rustling of her dress,
-were heard in the path close to him.  He immediately turned round, and
-took off his hat with the most ceremonious respect; he led the lady under
-the shelter of some walnut and lime trees, which overshadowed a
-magnificent tomb.
-
-"Ah! who would have thought it," said D'Artagnan; "the bishop of Vannes
-at a rendezvous!  He is still the same Abbe Aramis as he was at Noisy-le-
-Sec.  Yes," he added, after a pause; "but as it is in a cemetery, the
-rendezvous is sacred."  But he almost laughed.
-
-The conversation lasted for fully half an hour.  D'Artagnan could not see
-the lady's face, for she kept her back turned towards him; but he saw
-perfectly well, by the erect attitude of both the speakers, by their
-gestures, by the measured and careful manner with which they glanced at
-each other, either by way of attack or defense, that they must be
-conversing about any other subject than of love.  At the end of the
-conversation the lady rose, and bowed profoundly to Aramis.
-
-"Oh, oh," said D'Artagnan; "this rendezvous finishes like one of a very
-tender nature though.  The cavalier kneels at the beginning, the young
-lady by and by gets tamed down, and then it is she who has to
-supplicate.  Who is this lady?  I would give anything to ascertain."
-
-This seemed impossible, however, for Aramis was the first to leave; the
-lady carefully concealed her head and face, and then immediately
-departed.  D'Artagnan could hold out no longer; he ran to the window
-which looked out on the Rue de Lyon, and saw Aramis entering the inn.
-The lady was proceeding in quite an opposite direction, and seemed, in
-fact, to be about to rejoin an equipage, consisting of two led horses and
-a carriage, which he could see standing close to the borders of the
-forest.  She was walking slowly, her head bent down, absorbed in the
-deepest meditation.
-
-"_Mordioux!  Mordioux!_  I must and will learn who that woman is," said
-the musketeer again; and then, without further deliberation, he set off
-in pursuit of her.  As he was going along, he tried to think how he could
-possibly contrive to make her raise her veil.  "She is not young," he
-said, "and is a woman of high rank in society.  I ought to know that
-figure and peculiar style of walk."  As he ran, the sound of his spurs
-and of his boots upon the hard ground of the street made a strange
-jingling noise; a fortunate circumstance in itself, which he was far
-from reckoning upon.  The noise disturbed the lady; she seemed to fancy
-she was being either followed or pursued, which was indeed the case, and
-turned round.  D'Artagnan started as if he had received a charge of small
-shot in his legs, and then turning suddenly round as if he were going
-back the same way he had come, he murmured, "Madame de Chevreuse!"
-D'Artagnan would not go home until he had learnt everything.  He asked
-Celestin to inquire of the grave-digger whose body it was they had buried
-that morning.
-
-"A poor Franciscan mendicant friar," replied the latter, "who had not
-even a dog to love him in this world, and to accompany him to his last
-resting-place."
-
-"If that were really the case," thought D'Artagnan, "we should not have
-found Aramis present at his funeral.  The bishop of Vannes is not
-precisely a dog as far as devotion goes: his scent, however, is quite as
-keen, I admit."
-
-
-Chapter VII:
-How Porthos, Truchen, and Planchet Parted with Each Other on Friendly
-Terms, Thanks to D'Artagnan.
-
-There was good living in Planchet's house.  Porthos broke a ladder and
-two cherry-trees, stripped the raspberry-bushes, and was only unable to
-succeed in reaching the strawberry-beds on account, as he said, of his
-belt.  Truchen, who had become quite sociable with the giant, said that
-it was not the belt so much as his corporation; and Porthos, in a state
-of the highest delight, embraced Truchen, who gathered him a pailful of
-the strawberries, and made him eat them out of her hands.  D'Artagnan,
-who arrived in the midst of these little innocent flirtations, scolded
-Porthos for his indolence, and silently pitied Planchet.  Porthos
-breakfasted with a very good appetite, and when he had finished, he said,
-looking at Truchen, "I could make myself very happy here."  Truchen
-smiled at his remark, and so did Planchet, but not without embarrassment.
-
-D'Artagnan then addressed Porthos: "You must not let the delights of
-Capua make you forget the real object of our journey to Fontainebleau."
-
-"My presentation to the king?"
-
-"Certainly.  I am going to take a turn in the town to get everything
-ready for that.  Do not think of leaving the house, I beg."
-
-"Oh, no!" exclaimed Porthos.
-
-Planchet looked at D'Artagnan nervously.
-
-"Will you be away long?" he inquired.
-
-"No, my friend; and this very evening I will release you from two
-troublesome guests."
-
-"Oh!  Monsieur d'Artagnan! can you say - "
-
-"No, no; you are a noble-hearted fellow, but your house is very small.
-Such a house, with half a dozen acres of land, would be fit for a king,
-and make him very happy, too.  But you were not born a great lord."
-
-"No more was M. Porthos," murmured Planchet.
-
-"But he has become so, my good fellow; his income has been a hundred
-thousand francs a year for the last twenty years, and for the last fifty
-years Porthos has been the owner of a couple of fists and a backbone,
-which are not to be matched throughout the whole realm of France.
-Porthos is a man of the very greatest consequence compared to you, and...
-well, I need say no more, for I know you are an intelligent fellow."
-
-"No, no, monsieur, explain what you mean."
-
-"Look at your orchard, how stripped it is, how empty your larder, your
-bedstead broken, your cellar almost exhausted, look too… at Madame
-Truchen - "
-
-"Oh! my goodness gracious!" said Planchet.
-
-"Madame Truchen is an excellent person," continued D'Artagnan, "but keep
-her for yourself, do you understand?" and he slapped him on the shoulder.
-
-Planchet at this moment perceived Porthos and Truchen sitting close
-together in an arbor; Truchen, with a grace of manner peculiarly Flemish,
-was making a pair of earrings for Porthos out of a double cherry, while
-Porthos was laughing as amorously as Samson in the company of Delilah.
-Planchet pressed D'Artagnan's hand, and ran towards the arbor.  We must
-do Porthos the justice to say that he did not move as they approached,
-and, very likely, he did not think he was doing any harm.  Nor indeed did
-Truchen move either, which rather put Planchet out; but he, too, had been
-so accustomed to see fashionable folk in his shop, that he found no
-difficulty in putting a good countenance on what seemed disagreeable or
-rude.  Planchet seized Porthos by the arm, and proposed to go and look at
-the horses, but Porthos pretended he was tired.  Planchet then suggested
-that the Baron du Vallon should taste some noyeau of his own manufacture,
-which was not to be equaled anywhere; an offer the baron immediately
-accepted; and, in this way, Planchet managed to engage his enemy's
-attention during the whole of the day, by dint of sacrificing his cellar,
-in preference to his _amour propre_.  Two hours afterwards D'Artagnan
-returned.
-
-"Everything is arranged," he said; "I saw his majesty at the very moment
-he was setting off for the chase; the king expects us this evening."
-
-"The king expects _me!_" cried Porthos, drawing himself up.  It is a sad
-thing to have to confess, but a man's heart is like an ocean billow; for,
-from that very moment Porthos ceased to look at Madame Truchen in that
-touching manner which had so softened her heart.  Planchet encouraged
-these ambitious leanings as best as he could.  He talked over, or rather
-gave exaggerated accounts of all the splendors of the last reign, its
-battles, sieges, and grand court ceremonies.  He spoke of the luxurious
-display which the English made; the prizes the three brave companions
-carried off; and how D'Artagnan, who at the beginning had been the
-humblest of the four, finished by becoming the leader.  He fired Porthos
-with a generous feeling of enthusiasm by reminding him of his early youth
-now passed away; he boasted as much as he could of the moral life this
-great lord had led, and how religiously he respected the ties of
-friendship; he was eloquent, and skillful in his choice of subjects.  He
-tickled Porthos, frightened Truchen, and made D'Artagnan think.  At six
-o'clock, the musketeer ordered the horses to be brought round, and told
-Porthos to get ready.  He thanked Planchet for his kind hospitality,
-whispered a few words about a post he might succeed in obtaining for him
-at court, which immediately raised Planchet in Truchen's estimation,
-where the poor grocer - so good, so generous, so devoted - had become
-much lowered ever since the appearance and comparison with him of the two
-great gentlemen.  Such, however, is a woman's nature; they are anxious to
-possess what they have not got, and disdain it as soon as it is
-acquired.  After having rendered this service to his friend Planchet,
-D'Artagnan said in a low tone of voice to Porthos: "That is a very
-beautiful ring you have on your finger."
-
-"It is worth three hundred pistoles," said Porthos.
-
-"Madame Truchen will remember you better if you leave her that ring,"
-replied D'Artagnan, a suggestion which Porthos seemed to hesitate to
-adopt.
-
-"You think it is not beautiful enough, perhaps," said the musketeer.  "I
-understand your feelings; a great lord such as you would not think of
-accepting the hospitality of an old servant without paying him most
-handsomely for it: but I am sure that Planchet is too good-hearted a
-fellow to remember that you have an income of a hundred thousand francs a
-year."
-
-"I have more than half a mind," said Porthos, flattered by the remark,
-"to make Madame Truchen a present of my little farm at Bracieux; it has
-twelve acres."
-
-"It is too much, my good Porthos, too much just at present...  Keep it
-for a future occasion."  He then took the ring off Porthos's finger, and
-approaching Truchen, said to her: - "Madame, monsieur le baron hardly
-knows how to entreat you, out of your regard for him, to accept this
-little ring.  M. du Vallon is one of the most generous and discreet men
-of my acquaintance.  He wished to offer you a farm that he has at
-Bracieux, but I dissuaded him from it."
-
-"Oh!" said Truchen, looking eagerly at the diamond.
-
-"Monsieur le baron!" exclaimed Planchet, quite overcome.
-
-"My good friend," stammered out Porthos, delighted at having been so well
-represented by D'Artagnan.  These several exclamations, uttered at the
-same moment, made quite a pathetic winding-up of a day which might have
-finished in a very ridiculous manner.  But D'Artagnan was there, and, on
-every occasion, wheresoever D'Artagnan exercised any control, matters
-ended only just in the very way he wished and willed.  There were general
-embracings; Truchen, whom the baron's munificence had restored to her
-proper position, very timidly, and blushing all the while, presented her
-forehead to the great lord with whom she had been on such very pretty
-terms the evening before.  Planchet himself was overcome by a feeling of
-genuine humility.  Still, in the same generosity of disposition, Porthos
-would have emptied his pockets into the hands of the cook and of
-Celestin; but D'Artagnan stopped him.
-
-"No," he said, "it is now my turn."  And he gave one pistole to the woman
-and two to the man; and the benedictions which were showered down upon
-them would have rejoiced the heart of Harpagon himself, and have rendered
-even him a prodigal.
-
-D'Artagnan made Planchet lead them to the chateau, and introduced Porthos
-into his own apartment, where he arrived safely without having been
-perceived by those he was afraid of meeting.
-
-
-Chapter VIII:
-The Presentation of Porthos at Court.
-
-At seven o'clock the same evening, the king gave an audience to an
-ambassador from the United Provinces, in the grand reception-room.  The
-audience lasted a quarter of an hour.  His majesty afterwards received
-those who had been recently presented, together with a few ladies, who
-paid their respects first.  In one corner of the salon, concealed behind
-a column, Porthos and D'Artagnan were conversing together, waiting until
-their turn arrived.
-
-"Have you heard the news?" inquired the musketeer of his friend.
-
-"No!"
-
-"Well, look, then."  Porthos raised himself on tiptoe, and saw M. Fouquet
-in full court dress, leading Aramis towards the king.
-
-"Aramis!" said Porthos.
-
-"Presented to the king by M. Fouquet."
-
-"Ah!" ejaculated Porthos.
-
-"For having fortified Belle-Isle," continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"And I?"
-
-"You - oh, you! as I have already had the honor of telling you, are the
-good-natured, kind-hearted Porthos; and so they begged you to take care
-of Saint-Mande a little."
-
-"Ah!" repeated Porthos.
-
-"But, happily, I was there," said D'Artagnan, "and presently it will be
-_my_ turn."
-
-At this moment Fouquet addressed the king.
-
-"Sire," he said, "I have a favor to solicit of your majesty.  M.
-d'Herblay is not ambitious, but he knows when he can be of service.  Your
-majesty needs a representative at Rome, who would be able to exercise a
-powerful influence there; may I request a cardinal's hat for M.
-d'Herblay?"  The king started.  "I do not often solicit anything of your
-majesty," said Fouquet.
-
-"That is a reason, certainly," replied the king, who always expressed any
-hesitation he might have in that manner, and to which remark there was
-nothing to say in reply.
-
-Fouquet and Aramis looked at each other.  The king resumed: "M. d'Herblay
-can serve us equally well in France; an archbishopric, for instance."
-
-"Sire," objected Fouquet, with a grace of manner peculiarly his own,
-"your majesty overwhelms M. d'Herblay; the archbishopric may, in your
-majesty's extreme kindness, be conferred in addition to the hat; the one
-does not exclude the other."
-
-The king admired the readiness which he displayed, and smiled, saying:
-"D'Artagnan himself could not have answered better."  He had no sooner
-pronounced the name than D'Artagnan appeared.
-
-"Did your majesty call me?" he said.
-
-Aramis and Fouquet drew back a step, as if they were about to retire.
-
-"Will your majesty allow me," said D'Artagnan quickly, as he led forward
-Porthos, "to present to your majesty M. le Baron du Vallon, one of the
-bravest gentlemen of  France?"
-
-As soon as Aramis saw Porthos, he turned as pale as death, while Fouquet
-clenched his hands under his ruffles.  D'Artagnan smiled blandly at both
-of them, while Porthos bowed, visibly overcome before the royal presence.
-
-"Porthos here?" murmured Fouquet in Aramis's ear.
-
-"Hush! deep treachery at work," hissed the latter.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "it is more than six years ago I ought to have
-presented M. du Vallon to your majesty; but certain men resemble stars,
-they move not one inch unless their satellites accompany them.  The
-Pleiades are never disunited, and that is the reason I have selected, for
-the purpose of presenting him to you, the very moment when you would see
-M. d'Herblay by his side."
-
-Aramis almost lost countenance.  He looked at D'Artagnan with a proud,
-haughty air, as though willing to accept the defiance the latter seemed
-to throw down.
-
-"Ah! these gentlemen are good friends, then?" said the king.
-
-"Excellent friends, sire; the one can answer for the other.  Ask M. de
-Vannes now in what manner Belle-Isle was fortified?"  Fouquet moved back
-a step.
-
-"Belle-Isle," said Aramis, coldly, "was fortified by that gentleman," and
-he indicated Porthos with his hand, who bowed a second time.  Louis could
-not withhold his admiration, though at the same time his suspicions were
-aroused.
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "but ask monsieur le baron whose assistance he
-had in carrying the works out?"
-
-"Aramis's," said Porthos, frankly; and he pointed to the bishop.
-
-"What the deuce does all this mean?" thought the bishop, "and what sort
-of a termination are we to expect to this comedy?"
-
-"What!" exclaimed the king, "is the cardinal's, I mean this bishop's,
-name _Aramis?_"
-
-"His _nom de guerre_," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"My nickname," said Aramis.
-
-"A truce to modesty!" exclaimed D'Artagnan; "beneath the priest's robe,
-sire, is concealed the most brilliant officer, a gentleman of the most
-unparalleled intrepidity, and the wisest theologian in your kingdom."
-
-Louis raised his head.  "And an engineer, also, it appears," he said,
-admiring Aramis's calm, imperturbable self-possession.
-
-"An engineer for a particular purpose, sire," said the latter.
-
-"My companion in the musketeers, sire," said D'Artagnan, with great
-warmth of manner, "the man who has more than a hundred times aided your
-father's ministers by his advice - M. d'Herblay, in a word, who, with M.
-du Vallon, myself, and M. le Comte de la Fere, who is known to your
-majesty, formed that quartette which was a good deal talked about during
-the late king's reign, and during your majesty's minority."
-
-"And who fortified Belle-Isle?" the king repeated, in a significant tone.
-
-Aramis advanced and bowed: "In order to serve the son as I served the
-father."
-
-D'Artagnan looked very narrowly at Aramis while he uttered these words,
-which displayed so much true respect, so much warm devotion, such entire
-frankness and sincerity, that even he, D'Artagnan, the eternal doubter,
-he, the almost infallible in judgment, was deceived by it.  "A man who
-lies cannot speak in such a tone as that," he said.
-
-Louis was overcome by it.  "In that case," he said to Fouquet, who
-anxiously awaited the result of this proof, "the cardinal's hat is
-promised.  Monsieur d'Herblay, I pledge you my honor that the first
-promotion shall be yours.  Thank M. Fouquet for it."  Colbert overheard
-these words; they stung him to the quick, and he left the salon
-abruptly.  "And you, Monsieur du Vallon," said the king, "what have you
-to ask?  I am truly pleased to have it in my power to acknowledge the
-services of those who were faithful to my father."
-
-"Sire - " began Porthos, but he was unable to proceed with what he was
-going to say.
-
-"Sire," exclaimed D'Artagnan, "this worthy gentleman is utterly
-overpowered by your majesty's presence, he who so valiantly sustained the
-looks and the fire of a thousand foes.  But, knowing what his thoughts
-are, I - who am more accustomed to gaze upon the sun - can translate
-them: he needs nothing, absolutely nothing; his sole desire is to have
-the happiness of gazing upon your majesty for a quarter of an hour."
-
-"You shall sup with me this evening," said the king, saluting Porthos
-with a gracious smile.
-
-Porthos became crimson from delight and pride.  The king dismissed him,
-and D'Artagnan pushed him into the adjoining apartment, after he had
-embraced him warmly.
-
-"Sit next to me at table," said Porthos in his ear.
-
-"Yes, my friend."
-
-"Aramis is annoyed with me, I think."
-
-"Aramis has never liked you so much as he does now.  Fancy, it was I who
-was the means of his getting the cardinal's hat."
-
-"Of course," said Porthos.  "By the by, does the king like his guests to
-eat much at his table?"
-
-"It is a compliment to himself if you do," said D'Artagnan, "for he
-himself possesses a royal appetite."
-
-
-Chapter IX:
-Explanations.
-
-Aramis cleverly managed to effect a diversion for the purpose of finding
-D'Artagnan and Porthos.  He came up to the latter, behind one of the
-columns, and, as he pressed his hand, said, "So you have escaped from my
-prison?"
-
-"Do not scold him," said D'Artagnan; "it was I, dear Aramis, who set him
-free."
-
-"Ah! my friend," replied Aramis, looking at Porthos, "could you not have
-waited with a little more patience?"
-
-D'Artagnan came to the assistance of Porthos, who already began to
-breathe hard, in sore perplexity.
-
-"You see, you members of the Church are great politicians; we mere
-soldiers come at once to the point.  The facts are these: I went to pay
-Baisemeaux a visit - "
-
-Aramis pricked up his ears at this announcement.
-
-"Stay!" said Porthos; "you make me remember that I have a letter from
-Baisemeaux for you, Aramis."  And Porthos held out the bishop the letter
-we have already seen.  Aramis begged to be allowed to read it, and read
-it without D'Artagnan feeling in the slightest degree embarrassed by the
-circumstance that he was so well acquainted with the contents of it.
-Besides, Aramis's face was so impenetrable, that D'Artagnan could not but
-admire him more than ever; after he had read it, he put the letter into
-his pocket with the calmest possible air.
-
-"You were saying, captain?" he observed.
-
-"I was saying," continued the musketeer, "that I had gone to pay
-Baisemeaux a visit on his majesty's service."
-
-"On his majesty's service?" said Aramis.
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "and, naturally enough, we talked about you and
-our friends.  I must say that Baisemeaux received me coldly; so I soon
-took my leave of him.  As I was returning, a soldier accosted me, and
-said (no doubt as he recognized me, notwithstanding I was in private
-clothes), 'Captain, will you be good enough to read me the name written
-on this envelope?' and I read, 'To Monsieur du Vallon, at M. Fouquet's
-house, Saint-Mande.'  The deuce, I said to myself, Porthos has not
-returned, then, as I fancied, to Bell-Isle, or to Pierrefonds, but is at
-M. Fouquet's house, at Saint-Mande; and as M. Fouquet is not at Saint-
-Mande, Porthos must be quite alone, or, at all events, with Aramis; I
-will go and see Porthos, and I accordingly went to see Porthos."
-
-"Very good," said Aramis, thoughtfully.
-
-"You never told me that," said Porthos.
-
-"I had no time, my friend."
-
-"And you brought back Porthos with you to Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Yes, to Planchet's house."
-
-"Does Planchet live at Fontainebleau?" inquired Aramis.
-
-"Yes, near the cemetery," said Porthos, thoughtlessly.
-
-"What do you mean by 'near the cemetery?'" said Aramis, suspiciously.
-
-"Come," thought the musketeer, "since there is to be a squabble, let us
-take advantage of it."
-
-"Yes, the cemetery," said Porthos.  "Planchet is a very excellent fellow,
-who makes very excellent preserves; but his house has windows which look
-out upon the cemetery.  And a confoundedly melancholy prospect it is!  So
-this morning - "
-
-"This morning?" said Aramis, more and more excited.
-
-D'Artagnan turned his back to them, and walked to the window, where he
-began to play a march upon one of the panes of glass.
-
-"Yes, this morning we saw a man buried there."
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"Very depressing, was it not?  I should never be able to live in a house
-where burials can always be seen from the window.  D'Artagnan, on the
-contrary, seems to like it very much."
-
-"So D'Artagnan saw it as well?"
-
-"Not simply _saw_ it; he literally never took his eyes off the whole
-time."
-
-Aramis started, and turned to look at the musketeer, but the latter was
-engaged in earnest conversation with Saint-Aignan.  Aramis continued to
-question Porthos, and when he had squeezed all the juice out of this
-enormous lemon, he threw the peel aside.  He turned towards his friend
-D'Artagnan, and clapping him on the shoulder, when Saint-Aignan had left
-him, the king's supper having been announced, said, "D'Artagnan."
-
-"Yes, my dear fellow," he replied.
-
-"We do not sup with his majesty, I believe?"
-
-"Well? - _we_ do."
-
-"Can you give me ten minutes' conversation?"
-
-"Twenty, if you like.  His majesty will take quite that time to get
-properly seated at table."
-
-"Where shall we talk, then?"
-
-"Here, upon these seats if you like; the king has left, we can sit down,
-and the apartment is empty."
-
-"Let us sit down, then."
-
-They sat down, and Aramis took one of D'Artagnan's hands in his.
-
-"Tell me, candidly, my dear friend, whether you have not counseled
-Porthos to distrust me a little?"
-
-"I admit, I have, but not as you understand it.  I saw that Porthos was
-bored to death, and I wished, by presenting him to the king, to do for
-him, and for you, what you would never do for yourselves."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"Speak in your own praise."
-
-"And you have done it most nobly; I thank you."
-
-"And I brought the cardinal's hat a little nearer, just as it seemed to
-be retreating from you."
-
-"Ah! I admit that," said Aramis, with a singular smile, "you are, indeed,
-not to be matched for making your friends' fortunes for them."
-
-"You see, then, that I only acted with the view of making Porthos's
-fortune for him."
-
-"I meant to have done that myself; but your arm reaches farther than
-ours."
-
-It was now D'Artagnan's turn to smile.
-
-"Come," said Aramis, "we ought to deal truthfully with each other.  Do
-you still love me, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"The same as I used to do," replied D'Artagnan, without compromising
-himself too much by this reply.
-
-"In that case, thanks; and now, for the most perfect frankness," said
-Aramis; "you visited Belle-Isle on behalf of the king?"
-
-"_Pardieu!_"
-
-"You wished to deprive us of the pleasure of offering Bell-Isle
-completely fortified to the king."
-
-"But before I could deprive you of that pleasure, I ought to have been
-made acquainted with your intention of doing so."
-
-"You came to Belle-Isle without knowing anything?"
-
-"Of you! yes.  How the devil could I imagine that Aramis had become so
-clever an engineer as to be able to fortify like Polybius, or Archimedes?"
-
-"True.  And yet you smelt me out over yonder?"
-
-"Oh! yes."
-
-"And Porthos, too?"
-
-"I did not divine that Aramis was an engineer.  I was only able to guess
-that Porthos might have become one.  There is a saying, one becomes an
-orator, one is born a poet; but it has never been said, one is born
-Porthos, and one becomes an engineer."
-
-"Your wit is always amusing," said Aramis, coldly.
-
-"Well, I will go on."
-
-"Do.  When you found out our secret, you made all the haste you could to
-communicate it to the king."
-
-"I certainly made as much haste as I could, since I saw that you were
-making still more.  When a man weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, as
-Porthos does, rides post; when a gouty prelate - I beg your pardon, but
-you yourself told me you were so - when a prelate scours the highway - I
-naturally suppose that my two friends, who did not wish to be
-communicative with me, had certain matters of the highest importance to
-conceal from me, and so I made as much haste as my leanness and the
-absence of gout would allow."
-
-"Did it not occur to you, my dear friend, that you might be rendering
-Porthos and myself a very sad service?"
-
-"Yes, I thought it not unlikely; but you and Porthos made me play a very
-ridiculous part at Belle-Isle."
-
-"I beg your pardon," said Aramis.
-
-"Excuse me," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"So that," pursued Aramis, "you now know everything?"
-
-"No, indeed."
-
-"You know I was obliged to inform M. Fouquet of what had happened, in
-order that he would be able to anticipate what you might have to tell the
-king?"
-
-"That is rather obscure."
-
-"Not at all: M. Fouquet has his enemies - you will admit that, I suppose."
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"And one in particular."
-
-"A dangerous one?"
-
-"A mortal enemy.  Well, in order to counteract that man's influence, it
-was necessary that M. Fouquet should give the king a proof of his great
-devotion to him, and of his readiness to make the greatest sacrifices.
-He surprised his majesty by offering him Belle-Isle.  If you had been the
-first to reach Paris, the surprise would have been destroyed, it would
-have looked as if we had yielded to fear."
-
-"I understand."
-
-"That is the whole mystery," said Aramis, satisfied that he had at last
-quite convinced the musketeer.
-
-"Only," said the latter, "it would have been more simple to have taken me
-aside, and said to me, 'My dear D'Artagnan, we are fortifying Belle-Isle,
-and intend to offer it to the king.  Tell us frankly, for whom you are
-acting.  Are you a friend of M. Colbert, or of M. Fouquet?'  Perhaps I
-should not have answered you, but you would have added, - 'Are you my
-friend?'  I should have said 'Yes.'"  Aramis hung down his head.  "In
-this way," continued D'Artagnan, "you would have paralyzed my movements,
-and I should have gone to the king, and said, 'Sire, M. Fouquet is
-fortifying Belle-Isle, and exceedingly well, too; but here is a note,
-which the governor of Belle-Isle gave me for your majesty;' or, 'M.
-Fouquet is about to wait upon your majesty to explain his intentions with
-regard to it.'  I should not have been placed in an absurd position; you
-would have enjoyed the surprise so long planned, and we should not have
-had any occasion to look askant at each other when we met."
-
-"While, on the contrary," replied Aramis, "you have acted altogether as
-one friendly to M. Colbert.  And you really are a friend of his, I
-suppose?"
-
-"Certainly not, indeed!" exclaimed the captain.  "M. Colbert is a mean
-fellow, and I hate him as I used to hate Mazarin, but without fearing
-him."
-
-"Well, then," said Aramis, "I love M. Fouquet, and his interests are
-mine.  You know my position.  I have no property or means whatever.  M.
-Fouquet gave me several livings, a bishopric as well; M. Fouquet has
-served and obliged me like the generous-hearted man he is, and I know the
-world sufficiently well to appreciate a kindness when I meet with one.
-M. Fouquet has won my regard, and I have devoted myself to his service."
-
-"You could not possibly do better.  You will find him a very liberal
-master."
-
-Aramis bit his lips; and then said, "The best a man could possibly
-have."  He then paused for a minute, D'Artagnan taking good care not to
-interrupt him.
-
-"I suppose you know how Porthos got mixed up in all this?"
-
-"No," said D'Artagnan; "I am curious, of course, but I never question a
-friend when he wishes to keep a secret from me."
-
-"Well, then, I will tell you."
-
-"It is hardly worth the trouble, if the confidence is to bind me in any
-way."
-
-"Oh! do not be afraid.; there is no man whom I love better than Porthos,
-because he is so simple-minded and good-natured.  Porthos is so
-straightforward in everything.  Since I have become a bishop, I have
-looked for these primeval natures, which make me love truth and hate
-intrigue."
-
-D'Artagnan stroked his mustache, but said nothing.
-
-"I saw Porthos and again cultivated his acquaintance; his own time
-hanging idly on his hands, his presence recalled my earlier and better
-days without engaging me in any present evil.  I sent for Porthos to come
-to Vannes.  M. Fouquet, whose regard for me is very great, having learnt
-that Porthos and I were attached to each other by old ties of friendship,
-promised him increase of rank at the earliest promotion, and that is the
-whole secret."
-
-"I shall not abuse your confidence," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I am sure of that, my dear friend; no one has a finer sense of honor
-than yourself."
-
-"I flatter myself that you are right, Aramis."
-
-"And now" - and here the prelate looked searchingly and scrutinizingly at
-his friend - "now let us talk of ourselves and for ourselves; will you
-become one of M. Fouquet's friends?  Do not interrupt me until you know
-what that means."
-
-"Well, I am listening."
-
-"Will you become a marechal of France, peer, duke, and the possessor of a
-duchy, with a million of francs?"
-
-"But, my friend," replied D'Artagnan, "what must one do to get all that?"
-
-"Belong to M. Fouquet."
-
-"But I already belong to the king."
-
-"Not exclusively, I suppose."
-
-"Oh! a D'Artagnan cannot be divided."
-
-"You have, I presume, ambitions, as noble hearts like yours have."
-
-"Yes, certainly I have."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Well!  I wish to be a marechal; the king will make me marechal, duke,
-peer; the king will make me all that."
-
-Aramis fixed a searching look upon D'Artagnan.
-
-"Is not the king master?" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"No one disputes it; but Louis XIII. was master also."
-
-"Oh! my dear friend, between Richelieu and Louis XIII. stood no
-D'Artagnan," said the musketeer, very quietly.
-
-"There are many stumbling-blocks round the king," said Aramis.
-
-"Not for the king's feet."
-
-"Very likely not; still - "
-
-"One moment, Aramis; I observe that every one thinks of himself, and
-never of his poor prince; I will maintain myself maintaining him."
-
-"And if you meet with ingratitude?"
-
-"The weak alone are afraid of that."
-
-"You are quite certain of yourself?"
-
-"I think so."
-
-"Still, the king may some day have no further need for you!"
-
-"On the contrary, I think his need of me will soon be greater than ever;
-and hearken, my dear fellow, if it became necessary to arrest a new
-Conde, who would do it?  This - this alone in France!" and D'Artagnan
-struck his sword, which clanked sullenly on the tesselated floor.
-
-"You are right," said Aramis, turning very pale; and then he rose and
-pressed D'Artagnan's hand.
-
-"That is the last summons for supper," said the captain of the
-musketeers; "will you excuse me?"
-
-Aramis threw his arm round the musketeer's neck, and said, "A friend like
-you is the brightest jewel in the royal crown."  And they immediately
-separated.
-
-"I was right," mused D'Artagnan; "there is, indeed, something strangely
-serious stirring."
-
-"We must hasten the explosion," breathed the coming cardinal, "for
-D'Artagnan has discovered
-the existence of a plot."
-
-
-Chapter X:
-Madame and De Guiche.
-
-It will not be forgotten how Comte de Guiche left the queen-mother's
-apartments on the day when Louis XIV. presented La Valliere with the
-beautiful bracelets he had won in the lottery.  The comte walked to and
-fro for some time outside the palace, in the greatest distress, from a
-thousand suspicions and anxieties with which his mind was beset.
-Presently he stopped and waited on the terrace opposite the grove of
-trees, watching for Madame's departure.  More than half an hour passed
-away; and as he was at that moment quite alone, the comte could hardly
-have had any very diverting ideas at his command.  He drew his tables
-from his pocket, and, after hesitating over and over again, determined to
-write these words: - "Madame, I implore you to grant me one moment's
-conversation.  Do not be alarmed at this request, which contains nothing
-in any way opposed to the profound respect with which I subscribe myself,
-etc., etc."  He had signed and folded this singular love-letter, when he
-suddenly observed several ladies leaving the chateau, and afterwards
-several courtiers too; in fact, almost every one that formed the queen's
-circle.  He saw La Valliere herself, then Montalais talking with
-Malicorne; he watched the departure of the very last of the numerous
-guests that had a short time before thronged the queen-mother's cabinet.
-
-Madame herself had not yet passed; she would be obliged, however, to
-cross the courtyard in order to enter her own apartments; and, from the
-terrace where he was standing, De Guiche could see all that was going on
-in the courtyard.  At last he saw Madame leave, attended by a couple of
-pages, who were carrying torches before her.  She was walking very
-quickly; as soon as she reached the door, she said:
-
-"Let some one go and look for De Guiche: he has to render an account of a
-mission he had to discharge for me; if he should be disengaged, request
-him to be good enough to come to my apartment."
-
-De Guiche remained silent, hidden in the shade; but as soon as Madame had
-withdrawn, he darted from the terrace down the steps and assumed a most
-indifferent air, so that the pages who were hurrying towards his rooms
-might meet him.
-
-"Ah! it is Madame, then, who is seeking me!" he said to himself, quite
-overcome; and he crushed in his hand the now worse than useless letter.
-
-"M. le comte," said one of the pages, approaching him, "we are indeed
-most fortunate in meeting you."
-
-"Why so, messieurs?"
-
-"A command from Madame."
-
-"From Madame!" said De Guiche, looking surprised.
-
-"Yes, M. le comte, her royal highness has been asking for you; she
-expects to hear, she told us, the result of a commission you had to
-execute for her.  Are you at liberty?"
-
-"I am quite at her royal highness's orders."
-
-"Will you have the goodness to follow us, then?"
-
-When De Guiche entered the princess's apartments, he found her pale and
-agitated.  Montalais was standing at the door, evidently uneasy about
-what was passing in her mistress's mind.  De Guiche appeared.
-
-"Ah! is that you, Monsieur de Guiche?" said Madame; "come in, I beg.
-Mademoiselle de Montalais, I do not require your attendance any longer."
-
-Montalais, more puzzled than ever, courtesied and withdrew.  De Guiche
-and the princess were left alone.  The come had every advantage in his
-favor; it was Madame who had summoned him to a rendezvous.  But how was
-it possible for the comte to make use of this advantage?  Madame was so
-whimsical, and her disposition so changeable.  She soon allowed this to
-be perceived, for, suddenly, opening the conversation, she said: "Well!
-have you nothing to say to me?"
-
-He imagined she must have guessed his thoughts; he fancied (for those who
-are in love are thus constituted, being as credulous and blind as poets
-or prophets), he fancied she knew how ardent was his desire to see her,
-and also the subject uppermost in his mind.
-
-"Yes, Madame," he said, "and I think it very singular."
-
-"The affair of the bracelets," she exclaimed, eagerly, "you mean that, I
-suppose?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"And you think the king is in love; do you not?"
-
-Guiche looked at her for some time; her eyes sank under his gaze, which
-seemed to read her very heart.
-
-"I think," he said, "that the king may possibly have had an idea of
-annoying some one; were it not for that, the king would hardly show
-himself so earnest in his attentions as he is; he would not run the risk
-of compromising, from mere thoughtlessness of disposition, a young girl
-against whom no one has been hitherto able to say a word."
-
-"Indeed! the bold, shameless girl," said the princess, haughtily.
-
-"I can positively assure your royal highness," said De Guiche, with a
-firmness marked by great respect, "that Mademoiselle de la Valliere is
-beloved by a man who merits every respect, for he is a brave and
-honorable gentleman."
-
-"Bragelonne?"
-
-"My friend; yes, Madame."
-
-"Well, and though he is your friend, what does that matter to the king?"
-
-"The king knows that Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere; and as Raoul has served the king most valiantly, the king will
-not inflict an irreparable injury upon him."
-
-Madame began to laugh in a manner that produced a sinister impression
-upon De Guiche.
-
-"I repeat, Madame, I do not believe the king is in love with Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere; and the proof that I do not believe it is, that I was
-about to ask you whose _amour propre_ it is likely the king is desirous
-of wounding?  You, who are well acquainted with the whole court, can
-perhaps assist me in ascertaining that; and assuredly, with greater
-certainty, since it is everywhere said that your royal highness is on
-very friendly terms with the king."
-
-Madame bit her lips, and, unable to assign any good and sufficient
-reasons, changed the conversation.  "Prove to me," she said, fixing on
-him one of those looks in which the whole soul seems to pass into the
-eyes, "prove to me, I say, that you intended to interrogate me at the
-very moment I sent for you."
-
-De Guiche gravely drew from his pocket the now crumpled note that he had
-written, and showed it to her.
-
-"Sympathy," she said.
-
-"Yes," said the comte, with an indescribable tenderness of tone,
-"sympathy.  I have explained to you how and why I sought you; you,
-however, have yet to tell me, Madame, why you sent for me."
-
-"True," replied the princess.  She hesitated, and then suddenly
-exclaimed, "Those bracelets will drive me mad."
-
-"You expected the king would offer them to you," replied De Guiche.
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"But before you, Madame, before you, his sister-in-law, was there not the
-queen herself to whom the king should have offered them?"
-
-"Before La Valliere," cried the princess, wounded to the quick, "could he
-not have presented them to me?  Was there not the whole court, indeed, to
-choose from?"
-
-"I assure you, Madame," said the comte, respectfully, "that if any one
-heard you speak in this manner, if any one were to see how red your eyes
-are, and, Heaven forgive me, to see, too, that tear trembling on your
-eyelids, it would be said that your royal highness was jealous."
-
-"Jealous!" said the princess, haughtily, "jealous of La Valliere!"
-
-She expected to see De Guiche yield beneath her scornful gesture and her
-proud tone; but he simply and boldly replied, "Jealous of La Valliere;
-yes, Madame."
-
-"Am I to suppose, monsieur," she stammered out, "that your object is to
-insult me?"
-
-"It is not possible, Madame," replied the comte, slightly agitated, but
-resolved to master that fiery nature.
-
-"Leave the room!" said the princess, thoroughly exasperated, De Guiche's
-coolness and silent respect having made her completely lose her temper.
-
-De Guiche fell back a step, bowed slowly, but with great respect, drew
-himself up, looking as white as his lace cuffs, and, in a voice slightly
-trembling, said, "It was hardly worth while to have hurried here to be
-subjected to this unmerited disgrace."  And he turned away with hasty
-steps.
-
-He had scarcely gone half a dozen paces when Madame darted like a tigress
-after him, seized him by the cuff, and making him turn round again, said,
-trembling with passion as she did so, "The respect you pretend to have is
-more insulting than the insult itself.  Insult me, if you please, but at
-least speak."
-
-"Madame," said the comte, gently, as he drew his sword, "thrust this
-blade into my heart, rather than kill me by degrees."
-
-At the look he fixed upon her, - a look full of love, resolution, and
-despair, even, - she knew how readily the comte, so outwardly calm in
-appearance, would pass his sword through his own breast if she added
-another word.  She tore the blade from his hands, and, pressing his arm
-with a  feverish impatience, which might pass for tenderness, said, "Do
-not be too hard upon me, comte.  You see how I am suffering, and yet you
-have no pity for me."
-
-Tears, the cries of this strange attack, stifled her voice.  As soon as
-De Guiche saw her weep, he took her in his arms and carried her to an
-armchair; in another moment she would have been suffocated.
-
-"Oh, why," he murmured, as he knelt by her side, "why do you conceal your
-troubles from me?  Do you love any one - tell me?  It would kill me, I
-know, but not until I should have comforted, consoled, and served you
-even."
-
-"And do you love me to that extent?" she replied, completely conquered.
-
-"I do indeed love you to that extent, Madame."
-
-She placed both her hands in his.  "My heart is indeed another's," she
-murmured in so low a tone that her voice could hardly be heard; but he
-heard it, and said, "Is it the king you love?"
-
-She gently shook her head, and her smile was like a clear bright streak
-in the clouds, through which after the tempest has passed one almost
-fancies Paradise is opening.  "But," she added, "there are other passions
-in a high-born heart.  Love is poetry; but the real life of the heart is
-pride.  Comte, I was born on a throne, I am proud and jealous of my
-rank.  Why does the king gather such unworthy objects round him?"
-
-"Once more, I repeat," said the comte, "you are acting unjustly towards
-that poor girl, who will one day be my friend's wife."
-
-"Are you simple enough to believe that, comte?"
-
-"If I did not believe it," he said, turning very pale, "Bragelonne should
-be informed of it to-morrow; indeed he should, if I thought that poor La
-Valliere had forgotten the vows she had exchanged with Raoul.  But no, it
-would be cowardly to betray a woman's secret; it would be criminal to
-disturb a friend's peace of mind."
-
-"You think, then," said the princess, with a wild burst of laughter,
-"that ignorance is happiness?"
-
-"I believe it," he replied.
-
-"Prove it to me, then," she said, hurriedly.
-
-"It is easily done, Madame.  It is reported through the whole court that
-the king loves you, and that you return his affection."
-
-"Well?" she said, breathing with difficulty.
-
-"Well; admit for a moment that Raoul, my friend, had come and said to me,
-'Yes, the king loves Madame, and has made an impression upon her heart,'
-I possibly should have slain Raoul."
-
-"It would have been necessary," said the princess, with the obstinacy of
-a woman who feels herself not easily overcome, "for M. de Bragelonne to
-have had proofs before he ventured to speak to you in that manner."
-
-"Such, however, is the case," replied De Guiche, with a deep sigh, "that,
-not having been warned, I have never examined into the matter seriously;
-and I now find that my ignorance has saved my life."
-
-"So, then, you drive selfishness and coldness to that extent," said
-Madame, "that you would let this unhappy young man continue to love La
-Valliere?"
-
-"I would, until La Valliere's guilt were revealed."
-
-"But the bracelets?"
-
-"Well, Madame, since you yourself expected to receive them from the king,
-what can I possibly say?"
-
-The argument was a telling one, and the princess was overwhelmed by it,
-and from that moment her defeat was assured.  But as her heart and mind
-were instinct with noble and generous feelings, she understood De
-Guiche's extreme delicacy.  She saw that in his heart he really suspected
-that the king was in love with La Valliere, and that he did not wish to
-resort to the common expedient of ruining a rival in the mind of a woman,
-by giving the latter the assurance and certainty that this rival's
-affections were transferred to another woman.  She guessed that his
-suspicions of La Valliere were aroused, and that, in order to leave
-himself time for his convictions to undergo a change, so as not to ruin
-Louise utterly, he was determined to pursue a certain straightforward
-line of conduct.  She could read so much real greatness of character, and
-such true generosity of disposition in her lover, that her heart really
-warmed with affection towards him, whose passion for her was so pure and
-delicate.  Despite his fear of incurring her displeasure, De Guiche, by
-retaining his position as a man of proud independence of feeling and deep
-devotion, became almost a hero in her estimation, and reduced her to the
-state of a jealous and little-minded woman.  She loved him for this so
-tenderly, that she could not refuse to give him a proof of her affection.
-
-"See how many words we have wasted," she said, taking his hand,
-"suspicions, anxieties, mistrust, sufferings - I think we have enumerated
-all those words."
-
-"Alas!  Madame, yes."
-
-"Efface them from your heart as I drive them from mine.  Whether La
-Valliere does or does not love the king, and whether the king does or
-does not love La Valliere - from this moment you and I will draw a
-distinction in the two characters I have to perform.  You open your eyes
-so wide that I am sure you hardly understand me."
-
-"You are so impetuous, Madame, that I always tremble at the fear of
-displeasing you."
-
-"And see how he trembles now, poor fellow," she said, with the most
-charming playfulness of manner.  "Yes, monsieur, I have two characters to
-perform.  I am the sister of the king, the sister-in-law of the king's
-wife.  In this character ought I not to take an interest in these
-domestic intrigues?  Come, tell me what you think?"
-
-"As little as possible, Madame."
-
-"Agreed, monsieur; but it is a question of dignity; and then, you know, I
-am the wife of the king's brother."  De Guiche sighed.  "A circumstance,"
-she added, with an expression of great tenderness, "which will remind you
-that I am always to be treated with the profoundest respect."  De Guiche
-fell at her feet, which he kissed, with the religious fervor of a
-worshipper.  "And I begin to think that, really and truly, I have another
-character to perform.  I was almost forgetting it."
-
-"Name it, oh! name it," said De Guiche.
-
-"I am a woman," she said, in a voice lower than ever, "and I love."  He
-rose, she opened her arms, and their lips met.  A footstep was heard
-behind the tapestry, and Mademoiselle de Montalais appeared.
-
-"What do you want?" said Madame.
-
-"M. de Guiche is wanted," replied Montalais, who was just in time to see
-the agitation of the actors of these four characters; for De Guiche had
-consistently carried out his part with heroism.
-
-
-Chapter XI:
-Montalais and Malicorne.
-
-Montalais was right.  M. de Guiche, thus summoned in every direction, was
-very much exposed, from such a multiplication of business, to the risk of
-not attending to any.  It so happened that, considering the awkwardness
-of the interruption, Madame, notwithstanding her wounded pride, and
-secret anger, could not, for the moment at least, reproach Montalais for
-having violated, in so bold a manner, the semi-royal order with which she
-had been dismissed on De Guiche's entrance.  De Guiche, also, lost his
-presence of mind, or, it would be more correct to say, had already lost
-it, before Montalais's arrival, for, scarcely had he heard the young
-girl's voice, than, without taking leave of Madame, as the most ordinary
-politeness required, even between persons equal in rank and station, he
-fled from her presence, his heart tumultuously throbbing, and his brain
-on fire, leaving the princess with one hand raised, as though to bid him
-adieu.  Montalais was at no loss, therefore, to perceive the agitation of
-the two lovers - the one who fled was agitated, and the one who remained
-was equally so.
-
-"Well," murmured the young girl, as she glanced inquisitively round her,
-"this time, at least, I think I know as much as the most curious woman
-could possibly wish to know."  Madame felt so embarrassed by this
-inquisitorial look, that, as if she heard Montalais's muttered side
-remark, she did not speak a word to her maid of honor, but, casting down
-her eyes, retired at once to her bedroom.  Montalais, observing this,
-stood listening for a moment, and then heard Madame lock and bolt her
-door.  By this she knew that the rest of the evening was at her own
-disposal; and making, behind the door which had just been closed, a
-gesture which indicated but little real respect for the princess, she
-went down the staircase in search of Malicorne, who was very busily
-engaged at that moment in watching a courier, who, covered with dust, had
-just left the Comte de Guiche's apartments.  Montalais knew that
-Malicorne was engaged in a matter of some importance; she therefore
-allowed him to look and stretch out his neck as much as he pleased; and
-it was only when Malicorne had resumed his natural position, that she
-touched him on the shoulder.  "Well," said Montalais, "what is the latest
-intelligence you have?"
-
-"M. de Guiche is in love with Madame."
-
-"Fine news, truly!  I know something more recent than that."
-
-"Well, what do you know?"
-
-"That Madame is in love with M. de Guiche."
-
-"The one is the consequence of the other."
-
-"Not always, my good monsieur."
-
-"Is that remark intended for me?"
-
-"Present company always excepted."
-
-"Thank you," said Malicorne.  "Well, and in the other direction, what is
-stirring?"
-
-"The king wished, this evening, after the lottery, to see Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere."
-
-"Well, and he has seen her?"
-
-"No, indeed!"
-
-"What do you mean by that?"
-
-"The door was shut and locked."
-
-"So that - "
-
-"So that the king was obliged to go back again, looking very sheepish,
-like a thief who has forgotten his crowbar."
-
-"Good."
-
-"And in the third place?" inquired Montalais.
-
-"The courier who has just arrived for De Guiche came from M. de
-Bragelonne."
-
-"Excellent," said Montalais, clapping her hands together.
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because we have work to do.  If we get weary now, something unlucky will
-be sure to happen."
-
-"We must divide the work, then," said Malicorne, "in order to avoid
-confusion."
-
-"Nothing easier," replied Montalais.  "Three intrigues, carefully nursed,
-and carefully encouraged, will produce, one with another, and taking a
-low average, three love letters a day."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed Malicorne, shrugging his shoulders, "you cannot mean what
-you say, darling; three letters a day, that may do for sentimental common
-people.  A musketeer on duty, a young girl in a convent, may exchange
-letters with their lovers once a day, perhaps, from the top of a ladder,
-or through a hole in the wall.  A letter contains all the poetry their
-poor little hearts have to boast of.  But the cases we have in hand
-require to be dealt with very differently."
-
-"Well, finish," said Montalais, out of patience with him.  "Some one may
-come."
-
-"Finish!  Why, I am only at the beginning.  I have still three points as
-yet untouched."
-
-"Upon my word, he will be the death of me, with his Flemish
-indifference," exclaimed Montalais.
-
-"And you will drive me mad with your Italian vivacity.  I was going to
-say that our lovers here will be writing volumes to each other.  But what
-are you driving at?"
-
-"At this.  Not one of our lady correspondents will be able to keep the
-letters they may receive."
-
-"Very likely."
-
-"M. de Guiche will not be able to keep his either."
-
-"That is probable."
-
-"Very well, then; I will take care of all that."
-
-"That is the very thing that is impossible," said Malicorne.
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because you are not your own mistress; your room is as much La
-Valliere's as yours; and there are certain persons who will think nothing
-of visiting and searching a maid of honor's room; so that I am terribly
-afraid of the queen, who is as jealous as a Spaniard; of the queen-
-mother, who is as jealous as a couple of Spaniards; and, last of all, of
-Madame herself, who has jealousy enough for ten Spaniards."
-
-"You forgot some one else."
-
-"Who?"
-
-"Monsieur."
-
-"I was only speaking of the women.  Let us add them up, then: we will
-call Monsieur, No. 1."
-
-"De Guiche?"
-
-"No. 2."
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne?"
-
-"No. 3."
-
-"And the king, the king?"
-
-"No. 4.  Of course the king, who not only will be more jealous, but more
-powerful than all the rest put together.  Ah, my dear!"
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Into what a wasp's nest you have thrust yourself!"
-
-"And as yet not quite far enough, if you will follow me into it."
-
-"Most certainly I will follow you where you like.  Yet - "
-
-"Well, yet - "
-
-"While we have time, I think it will be prudent to turn back."
-
-"But I, on the contrary, think the wisest course to take is to put
-ourselves at once at the head of all these intrigues."
-
-"You will never be able to do it."
-
-"With you, I could superintend ten of them.  I am in my element, you must
-know.  I was born to live at the court, as the salamander is made to live
-in the fire."
-
-"Your comparison does not reassure me in the slightest degree in the
-world, my dear Montalais.  I have heard it said, and by learned men too,
-that, in the first place, there are no salamanders at all, and that, if
-there had been any, they would have been infallibly baked or roasted on
-leaving the fire."
-
-"Your learned men may be very wise as far as salamanders are concerned,
-but they would never tell you what I can tell you; namely, that Aure de
-Montalais is destined, before a month is over, to become the first
-diplomatist in the court of France."
-
-"Be it so, but on condition that I shall be the second."
-
-"Agreed; an offensive and defensive alliance, of course."
-
-"Only be very careful of any letters."
-
-"I will hand them to you as I receive them."
-
-"What shall we tell the king about Madame?"
-
-"That Madame is still in love with his majesty."
-
-"What shall we tell Madame about the king?"
-
-"That she would be exceedingly wrong not to humor him."
-
-"What shall we tell La Valliere about Madame?"
-
-"Whatever we choose, for La Valliere is in our power."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"Every way."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"In the first place, through the Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"Explain yourself."
-
-"You do not forget, I hope, that Monsieur de Bragelonne has written many
-letters to Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"I forget nothing."
-
-"Well, then, it was I who received, and I who intercepted those letters."
-
-"And, consequently, it is you who have them still?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Where, - here?"
-
-"Oh, no; I have them safe at Blois, in the little room you know well enough."
-
-"That dear little room, - that darling little room, the ante-chamber of
-the palace I intend you to live in one of these days.  But, I beg your
-pardon, you said that all those letters are in that little room?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Did you not put them in a box?"
-
-"Of course; in the same box where I put all the letters I received from
-you, and where I put mine also when your business or your amusements
-prevented you from coming to our rendezvous."
-
-"Ah, very good," said Malicorne.
-
-"Why are you satisfied?"
-
-"Because I see there is a possibility of not having to run to Blois after
-the letters, for I have them here."
-
-"You have brought the box away?"
-
-"It was very dear to me, because it belonged to you."
-
-"Be sure and take care of it, for it contains original documents that
-will be of priceless value by and by."
-
-"I am perfectly well aware of that indeed, and that is the very reason
-why I laugh as I do, and with all my heart, too."
-
-"And now, one last word."
-
-"Why _last?_"
-
-"Do we need any one to assist us?"
-
-"No one."
-
-"Valets or maid-servants?"
-
-"Bad policy.  You will give the letters, - you will receive them.  Oh! we
-must have no pride in this affair, otherwise M. Malicorne and
-Mademoiselle Aure, not transacting their own affairs themselves, will
-have to make up their minds to see them done by others."
-
-"You are quite right; but what is going on yonder in M. de Guiche's room?"
-
-"Nothing; he is only opening his window."
-
-"Let us be gone."  And they both immediately disappeared, all the terms
-of the contract being agreed on.
-
-The window just opened was, in fact, that of the Comte de Guiche.  It was
-not alone with the hope of catching a glimpse of Madame through her
-curtains that he seated himself by the open window for his preoccupation
-of mind had at that time a different origin.  He had just received, as we
-have already stated, the courier who had been dispatched to him by
-Bragelonne, the latter having written to De Guiche a letter which had
-made the deepest impression upon him, and which he had read over and over
-again.  "Strange, strange!" he murmured.  "How irresponsible are the
-means by which destiny hurries men onward to their fate!"  Leaving the
-window in order to approach nearer to the light, he once more read the
-letter he had just received: -
-
-"CALAIS.
-"MY DEAR COUNT, - I found M. de Wardes at Calais; he has been seriously
-wounded in an affair with the Duke of Buckingham.  De Wardes is, as you
-know, unquestionably brave, but full of malevolent and wicked feelings.
-He conversed with me about yourself, for whom, he says, he has a warm
-regard, also about Madame, whom he considers a beautiful and amiable
-woman.  He has guessed your affection for a certain person.  He also
-talked to me about the lady for whom I have so ardent a regard, and
-showed the greatest interest on my behalf in expressing a deep pity for
-me, accompanied, however, by dark hints which alarmed me at first, but
-which I at last looked upon as the result of his usual love of mystery.
-These are the facts: he had received news of the court; you will
-understand, however, that it was only through M. de Lorraine.  The report
-goes, so says the news, that a change has taken place in the king's
-affections.  You know whom that concerns.  Afterwards, the news
-continues, people are talking about one of the maids of honor, respecting
-whom various slanderous reports are being circulated.  These vague
-phrases have not allowed me to sleep.  I have been deploring, ever since
-yesterday, that my diffidence and vacillation of purpose,
-notwithstanding a certain obstinacy of character I may possess, have left
-me unable to reply to these insinuations.  In a word, M. de Wardes was
-setting off for Paris, and I did not delay his departure with
-explanations; for it seemed rather hard, I confess, to cross-examine a
-man whose wounds are hardly yet closed.  In short, he travelled by short
-stages, as he was anxious to leave, he said, in order to be present at a
-curious spectacle the court cannot fail to offer within a short time.  He
-added a few congratulatory words accompanied by vague sympathizing
-expressions.  I could not understand the one any more than the other.  I
-was bewildered by my own thoughts, and tormented by a mistrust of this
-man, - a mistrust which, you know better than any one else, I have never
-been able to overcome.  As soon as he left, my perceptions seemed to
-become clearer.  It is hardly possible that a man of De Wardes's
-character should not have communicated something of his own malicious
-nature to the statements he made to me.  It is not unlikely, therefore,
-that in the strange hints De Wardes threw out in my presence, there may
-be a mysterious signification, which I might have some difficulty in
-applying either to myself or to some one with whom you are acquainted.
-Being compelled to leave as soon as possible, in obedience to the king's
-commands, the idea did not occur to me of running after De Wardes in
-order to ask him to explain his reserve; but I have dispatched a courier
-to you with this letter, which will explain in detail my various doubts.
-I regard you as myself; you have reflected and observed; it will be for
-you to act.  M. de Wardes will arrive very shortly; endeavor to learn
-what he meant, if you do not already know.  M. de Wardes, moreover,
-pretended that the Duke of Buckingham left Paris on the very best of
-terms with Madame.  This was an affair which would have unhesitatingly
-made me draw my sword, had I not felt that I was under the necessity of
-dispatching the king's mission before undertaking any quarrel
-whatsoever.  Burn this letter, which Olivain will hand you.  Whatever
-Olivain says, you may confidently rely on.  Will you have the goodness,
-my dear comte, to recall me to the remembrance of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, whose hands I kiss with the greatest respect.
-"Your devoted
-"DE BRAGELONNE.
-
-"P. S. - If anything serious should happen - we should be prepared for
-everything, dispatch a courier to me with this one single word, 'come,'
-and I will be in Paris within six and thirty hours after the receipt of
-your letter."
-
-De Guiche sighed, folded up the letter a third time, and, instead of
-burning it, as Raoul had recommended him to do, placed it in his pocket.
-He felt it needed reading over and over again.
-
-"How much distress of mind, yet what sublime confidence, he shows!"
-murmured the comte; "he has poured out his whole soul in this letter.  He
-says nothing of the Comte de la Fere, and speaks of his respect for
-Louise.  He cautions me on my own account, and entreats me on his.  Ah!"
-continued De Guiche, with a threatening gesture, "you interfere in my
-affairs, Monsieur de Wardes, do you?  Very well, then; I will shortly
-occupy myself with yours.  As for you, poor Raoul, - you who intrust your
-heart to my keeping, be assured I will watch over it."
-
-With this promise, De Guiche begged Malicorne to come immediately to his
-apartments, if possible.  Malicorne acknowledged the invitation with an
-activity which was the first result of his conversation with Montalais.
-And while De Guiche, who thought that his motive was undiscovered, cross-
-examined Malicorne, the latter, who appeared to be working in the dark,
-soon guessed his questioner's motives.  The consequence was, that, after
-a quarter of an hour's conversation, during which De Guiche thought he
-had ascertained the whole truth with regard to La Valliere and the king,
-he had learned absolutely nothing more than his own eyes had already
-acquainted him with, while Malicorne learned, or guessed, that Raoul, who
-was absent, was fast becoming suspicious, and that De Guiche intended to
-watch over the treasure of the Hesperides.  Malicorne accepted the office
-of dragon.  De Guiche fancied he had done everything for his friend, and
-soon began to think of nothing but his personal affairs.  The next
-evening, De Wardes's return and first appearance at the king's reception
-were announced.  When that visit had been paid, the convalescent waited
-on Monsieur; De Guiche taking care, however, to be at Monsieur's
-apartments before the visit took place.
-
-
-Chapter XII:
-How De Wardes Was Received at Court.
-
-Monsieur had received De Wardes with that marked favor light and
-frivolous minds bestow on every novelty that comes in their way.  De
-Wardes, who had been absent for a month, was like fresh fruit to him.  To
-treat him with marked kindness was an infidelity to old friends, and
-there is always something fascinating in that; moreover, it was a sort of
-reparation to De Wardes himself.  Nothing, consequently, could exceed the
-favorable notice Monsieur took of him.  The Chevalier de Lorraine, who
-feared this rival but a little, but who respected a character and
-disposition only too parallel to his own in every particular, with the
-addition of a bull-dog courage he did not himself possess, received De
-Wardes with a greater display of regard and affection than even Monsieur
-had done.  De Guiche, as we have said, was there also, but kept in the
-background, waiting very patiently until all these interchanges were
-over.  De Wardes, while talking to the others, and even to Monsieur
-himself, had not for a moment lost sight of De Guiche, who, he
-instinctively felt, was there on his account.  As soon as he had finished
-with the others, he went up to De Guiche.  They exchanged the most
-courteous compliments, after which De Wardes returned to Monsieur and the
-other gentlemen.
-
-In the midst of these congratulations Madame was announced.  She had been
-informed of De Wardes's arrival, and knowing all the details of his
-voyage and duel, she was not sorry to be present at the remarks she knew
-would be made, without delay, by one who, she felt assured, was her
-personal enemy.  Two or three of her ladies accompanied her.  De Wardes
-saluted Madame in the most graceful and respectful manner, and, as a
-commencement of hostilities, announced, in the first place, that he could
-furnish the Duke of Buckingham's friends with the latest news about him.
-This was a direct answer to the coldness with which Madame had received
-him.  The attack was a vigorous one, and Madame felt the blow, but
-without appearing to have even noticed it.  He rapidly cast a glance at
-Monsieur and at De Guiche, - the former colored, and the latter turned
-very pale.  Madame alone preserved an unmoved countenance; but, as she
-knew how many unpleasant thoughts and feelings her enemy could awaken in
-the two persons who were listening to him, she smilingly bent forward
-towards the traveler, as if to listen to the news he had brought - but he
-was speaking of other matters.  Madame was brave, even to imprudence; if
-she were to retreat, it would be inviting an attack; so, after the first
-disagreeable impression had
-passed away, she returned to the charge.
-
-"Have you suffered much from your wounds, Monsieur de Wardes?" she
-inquired, "for we have been told that you had the misfortune to get
-wounded."
-
-It was now De Wardes's turn to wince; he bit his lips, and replied, "No,
-Madame, hardly at all."
-
-"Indeed! and yet in this terribly hot weather - "
-
-"The sea-breezes were very fresh and cool, Madame, and then I had one
-consolation."
-
-"Indeed!  What was it?"
-
-"The knowledge that my adversary's sufferings were still greater than my
-own."
-
-"Ah! you mean he was more seriously wounded than you were; I was not
-aware of that," said the princess, with utter indifference.
-
-"Oh, Madame, you are mistaken, or rather you pretend to misunderstand my
-remark.  I did not say that he was a greater sufferer in body than
-myself; but his heart was very seriously affected."
-
-De Guiche comprehended instinctively from what direction the struggle was
-approaching; he ventured to
-make a sign to Madame, as if entreating her
-to retire from the contest.  But she, without acknowledging De Guiche's
-gesture, without pretending to have noticed it even, and still smiling,
-continued:
-
-"Is it possible," she said, "that the Duke of Buckingham's heart was
-touched?  I had no idea, until now, that a heart-wound could be cured."
-
-"Alas!  Madame," replied De Wardes, politely, "every woman believes that;
-and it is this belief that gives them that superiority to man which
-confidence begets."
-
-"You misunderstand altogether, dearest," said the prince, impatiently;
-"M. de Wardes means that the Duke of Buckingham's heart had been touched,
-not by the sword, but by something sharper."
-
-"Ah! very good, very good!" exclaimed Madame.  "It is a jest of M. de
-Wardes's.  Very good; but I should like to know if the Duke of Buckingham
-would appreciate the jest.  It is, indeed, a very great pity he is not
-here, M. de Wardes."
-
-The young man's eyes seemed to flash fire.  "Oh!" he said, as he clenched
-his teeth, "there is nothing I should like better."
-
-De Guiche did not move.  Madame seemed to expect that he would come to
-her assistance.  Monsieur hesitated.  The Chevalier de Lorraine advanced
-and continued the conversation.
-
-"Madame," he said, "De Wardes knows perfectly well that for a
-Buckingham's heart to be touched is nothing new, and what he has said has
-already taken place."
-
-"Instead of an ally, I have two enemies," murmured Madame; "two
-determined enemies, and in league with each other."  And she changed the
-conversation.  To change the conversation is, as every one knows, a right
-possessed by princes which etiquette requires all to respect.  The
-remainder of the conversation was moderate enough in tone; the principal
-actors had rehearsed their parts.  Madame withdrew easily, and Monsieur,
-who wished to question her on several matters, offered her his hand on
-leaving.  The chevalier was seriously afraid that an understanding might
-be established between the husband and wife if he were to leave them
-quietly together.  He therefore made his way to Monsieur's apartments, in
-order to surprise him on his return, and to destroy with a few words all
-the good impressions Madame might have been able to sow in his heart.  De
-Guiche advanced towards De Wardes, who was surrounded by a large number
-of persons, and thereby indicated his wish to converse with him; De
-Wardes, at the same time, showing by his looks and by a movement of his
-head that he perfectly understood him.  There was nothing in these signs
-to enable strangers to suppose they were otherwise than upon the most
-friendly footing.  De Guiche could therefore turn away from him, and wait
-until he was at liberty.  He had not long to wait; for De Wardes, freed
-from his questioners, approached De Guiche, and after a fresh salutation,
-they walked side by side together.
-
-"You have made a good impression since your return, my dear De Wardes,"
-said the comte.
-
-"Excellent, as you see."
-
-"And your spirits are just as lively as ever?"
-
-"Better."
-
-"And a very great happiness, too."
-
-"Why not?  Everything is so ridiculous in this world, everything so
-absurd around us."
-
-"You are right."
-
-"You are of my opinion, then?"
-
-"I should think so!  And what news do you bring us from yonder?"
-
-"I?  None at all.  I have come to look for news here."
-
-"But, tell me, you surely must have seen some people at Boulogne, one of
-our friends, for instance; it is no great time ago."
-
-"Some people - one of our friends - "
-
-"Your memory is short."
-
-"Ah! true; Bragelonne, you mean."
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-"Who was on his way to fulfil a mission, with which he was intrusted to
-King Charles II."
-
-"Precisely.  Well, then, did he not tell you, or did not you tell him - "
-
-"I do not precisely know what I told him, I must confess: but I do know
-what I did _not_ tell him."  De Wardes was _finesse_ itself.  He
-perfectly well knew from De Guiche's tone and manner, which was cold and
-dignified, that the conversation was about to assume a disagreeable
-turn.  He resolved to let it take what course it pleased, and to keep
-strictly on his guard.
-
-"May I ask you what you did not tell him?" inquired De Guiche.
-
-"All about La Valliere."
-
-"La Valliere...  What is it? and what was that strange circumstance you
-seem to have known over yonder, which Bragelonne, who was here on the
-spot, was not acquainted with?"
-
-"Do you really ask me that in a serious manner?"
-
-"Nothing more so."
-
-"What! you, a member of the court, living in Madame's household, a friend
-of Monsieur's, a guest at their table, the favorite of our lovely
-princess?"
-
-Guiche colored violently from anger.  "What princess are you alluding
-to?" he said.
-
-"I am only acquainted with one, my dear fellow.  I am speaking of Madame
-herself.  Are you devoted to
-another princess, then?  Come, tell me."
-
-De Guiche was on the point of launching out, but he saw the drift of the
-remark.  A quarrel was imminent between the two young men.  De Wardes
-wished the quarrel to be only in Madame's name, while De Guiche would not
-accept it except on La Valliere's account.  From this moment, it became a
-series of feigned attacks, which would have continued until one of the
-two had been touched home.  De Guiche therefore resumed all the self-
-possession he could command.
-
-"There is not the slightest question in the world of Madame in this
-matter, my dear De Wardes." said Guiche, "but simply of what you were
-talking about just now."
-
-"What was I saying?"
-
-"That you had concealed certain things from Bragelonne."
-
-"Certain things which you know as well as I do," replied De Wardes.
-
-"No, upon my honor."
-
-"Nonsense."
-
-"If you tell me what they are, I shall know, but not otherwise, I swear."
-
-"What!  I who have just arrived from a distance of sixty leagues, and you
-who have not stirred from this place, who have witnessed with your own
-eyes that which rumor informed me of at Calais!  Do you now tell me
-seriously that you do not know what it is about?  Oh! comte, this is
-hardly charitable of you."
-
-"As you like, De Wardes; but I again repeat, I know nothing."
-
-"You are truly discreet - well! - perhaps it is very prudent of you."
-
-"And so you will not tell me anything, will not tell me any more than you
-told Bragelonne?"
-
-"You are pretending to be deaf, I see.  I am convinced that Madame could
-not possibly have more command over herself than _you_ have."
-
-"Double hypocrite," murmured Guiche to himself, "you are again returning
-to the old subject."
-
-"Very well, then," continued De Wardes, "since we find it so difficult to
-understand each other about
-La Valliere and Bragelonne let us speak about
-your own affairs."
-
-"Nay," said De Guiche, "I have no affairs of my own to talk about.  You
-have not said anything about me, I suppose, to Bragelonne, which you
-cannot repeat to my face?"
-
-"No; but understand me, Guiche, that however much I may be ignorant of
-certain matters, I am quite as conversant with others.  If, for instance,
-we were conversing about the intimacies of the Duke of Buckingham at
-Paris, as I did during my journey with the duke, I could tell you a great
-many interesting circumstances.  Would you like me to mention them?"
-
-De Guiche passed his hand across his forehead, which was covered in
-perspiration.  "No, no," he said, "a hundred times no!  I have no
-curiosity for matters which do not concern me.  The Duke of Buckingham is
-for me nothing more than a simple acquaintance, whilst Raoul is an
-intimate friend.  I have not the slightest curiosity to learn what
-happened to the duke, while I have, on the contrary, the greatest
-interest in all that happened to Raoul."
-
-"In Paris?"
-
-"Yes, in Paris, or Boulogne.  You understand I am on the spot; if
-anything should happen, I am here to meet it; whilst Raoul is absent, and
-has only myself to represent him; so, Raoul's affairs before my own."
-
-"But he will return?"
-
-"Not, however, until his mission is completed.  In the meantime, you
-understand, evil reports cannot be permitted to circulate about him
-without my looking into them."
-
-"And for a better reason still, that he will remain some time in London,"
-said De Wardes, chuckling.
-
-"You think so," said De Guiche, simply.
-
-"Think so, indeed! do you suppose he was sent to London for no other
-purpose than to go there and return again immediately?  No, no; he was
-sent to London to remain there."
-
-"Ah!  De Wardes," said De Guiche, grasping De Wardes's hand, "that is a
-very serious suspicion concerning Bragelonne, which completely confirms
-what he wrote to me from Boulogne."
-
-De Wardes resumed his former coldness of manner: his love of raillery had
-led him too far, and by his own imprudence, he had laid himself open to
-attack.
-
-"Well, tell me, what did he write to you about?" he inquired.
-
-"He told me that you had artfully insinuated some injurious remarks
-against La Valliere, and that you had seemed to laugh at his great
-confidence in that young girl."
-
-"Well, it is perfectly true I did so," said De Wardes, "and I was quite
-ready, at the time, to hear from the Vicomte de Bragelonne that which
-every man expects from another whenever anything may have been said to
-displease him.  In the same way, for instance, if I were seeking a
-quarrel with you, I should tell you that Madame after having shown the
-greatest preference for the Duke of Buckingham, is at this moment
-supposed to have sent the handsome duke away for your benefit."
-
-"Oh! that would not wound me in the slightest degree, my dear De Wardes,"
-said De Guiche, smiling, notwithstanding the shiver that ran through his
-whole frame.  "Why, such a favor would be too great a happiness."
-
-"I admit that, but if I absolutely wished to quarrel with you, I should
-try and invent a falsehood, perhaps, and speak to you about a certain
-arbor, where you and that illustrious princess were together - I should
-speak also of certain gratifications, of certain kissings of the hand;
-and you who are so secret on all occasions, so hasty, so punctilious - "
-
-"Well," said De Guiche, interrupting him, with a smile upon his lips,
-although he almost felt as if he were going to die; "I swear I should not
-care for that, nor should I in any way contradict you; for you must know,
-my dear marquis, that for all matters which concern myself I am a block
-of ice; but it is a very different thing when an absent friend is
-concerned, a friend, who, on leaving, confided his interests to my safe-
-keeping; for such a friend, De Wardes, believe me, I am like fire itself."
-
-"I understand you, Monsieur de Guiche.  In spite of what you say, there
-cannot be any question between us, just now, either of Bragelonne or of
-this insignificant girl, whose name is La Valliere."
-
-At this moment some of the younger courtiers were crossing the apartment,
-and having already heard the few words which had just been pronounced,
-were able also to hear those which were about to follow.  De Wardes
-observed this, and continued aloud: - "Oh! if La Valliere were a coquette
-like Madame, whose innocent flirtations, I am sure, were, first of all,
-the cause of the Duke of Buckingham being sent back to England, and
-afterwards were the reason of  your being sent into exile; for you will
-not deny, I suppose, that Madame's pretty ways really had a certain
-influence over you?"
-
-The courtiers drew nearer to the speakers, Saint-Aignan at their head,
-and then Manicamp.
-
-"But, my dear fellow, whose fault was that?" said De Guiche, laughing.
-"I am a vain, conceited fellow, I know, and everybody else knows it too.
-I took seriously that which was only intended as a jest, and got myself
-exiled for my pains.  But I saw my error.  I overcame my vanity, and I
-obtained my recall, by making the _amende honorable_, and by promising
-myself to overcome this defect; and the consequence is, that I am so
-thoroughly cured, that I now laugh at the very thing which, three or four
-days ago, would have almost broken my heart.  But Raoul is in love, and
-is loved in return; he cannot laugh at the reports which disturb his
-happiness - reports which you seem to have undertaken to interpret, when
-you know, marquis, as I do, as these gentlemen do, as every one does in
-fact, that all such reports are pure calumny."
-
-"Calumny!" exclaimed De Wardes, furious at seeing himself caught in the
-snare by De Guiche's coolness of temper.
-
-"Certainly - calumny.  Look at this letter from him, in which he tell me
-you have spoken ill of Mademoiselle de la Valliere; and where he asks me,
-if what you reported about this young girl is true or not.  Do you wish
-me to appeal to these gentlemen, De Wardes, to decide?"  And with
-admirable coolness, De Guiche read aloud the paragraph of the letter
-which referred to La Valliere.  "And now," continued De Guiche, "there is
-no doubt in the world, as far as I am concerned, that you wished to
-disturb Bragelonne's peace of mind, and that your remarks were
-maliciously intended."
-
-De Wardes looked round him, to see if he could find support from any one;
-but, at the idea that De Wardes had insulted, either directly or
-indirectly, the idol of the day, every one shook his head; and De Wardes
-saw that he was in the wrong.
-
-"Messieurs," said De Guiche, intuitively divining the general feeling,
-"my discussion with Monsieur de Wardes refers to a subject so delicate in
-its nature, that it is most important no one should hear more than you
-have already heard.  Close the doors, then, I beg you, and let us finish
-our conversation in the manner which becomes two gentlemen, one of whom
-has given the other the lie."
-
-"Messieurs, messieurs!" exclaimed those who were present.
-
-"Is it your opinion, then, that I was wrong in defending Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere?" said De Guiche.  "In that case, I pass judgment upon
-myself, and am ready to withdraw the offensive words I may have used to
-Monsieur de Wardes."
-
-"The deuce! certainly not!" said Saint-Aignan.  "Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere is an angel."
-
-"Virtue and purity itself," said Manicamp.
-
-"You see, Monsieur de Wardes," said De Guiche, "I am not the only one who
-undertakes the defense of
-that poor girl.  I entreat you, therefore,
-messieurs, a second time, to leave us.  You see, it is impossible we
-could be more calm and composed than we are."
-
-It was the very thing the courtiers wished; some went out at one door,
-and the rest at the other, and the two young men were left alone.
-
-"Well played," said De Wardes, to the comte.
-
-"Was it not?" replied the latter.
-
-"How can it be wondered at, my dear fellow; I have got quite rusty in the
-country, while the command you have acquired over yourself, comte,
-confounds me; a man always gains something in women's society; so, pray
-accept my congratulations."
-
-"I do accept them."
-
-"And I will make Madame a present of them."
-
-"And now, my dear Monsieur de Wardes, let us speak as loud as you please."
-
-"Do not defy me."
-
-"I do defy you, for you are known to be an evil-minded man; if you do
-that, you will be looked upon as a coward, too; and Monsieur would have
-you hanged, this evening, at his window-casement.  Speak, my dear De
-Wardes, speak."
-
-"I have fought already."
-
-"But not quite enough, yet."
-
-"I see, you would not be sorry to fight with me while my wounds are still
-open."
-
-"No; better still."
-
-"The deuce! you are unfortunate in the moment you have chosen; a duel,
-after the one I have just fought, would hardly suit me; I have lost too
-much blood at Boulogne; at the slightest effort my wounds would open
-again, and you would really have too good a bargain."
-
-"True," said De Guiche; "and yet, on your arrival here, your looks and
-your arms showed there was nothing the matter with you."
-
-"Yes, my arms are all right, but my legs are weak; and then, I have not
-had a foil in my hand since that devil of a duel; and you, I am sure,
-have been fencing every day, in order to carry your little conspiracy
-against me to a successful issue."
-
-"Upon my honor, monsieur," replied De Guiche, "it is six months since I
-last practiced."
-
-"No, comte, after due reflection, I will not fight, at least, with you.
-I will await Bragelonne's return, since you say it is Bragelonne who
-finds fault with me."
-
-"Oh no, indeed!  You shall not wait until Bragelonne's return," exclaimed
-the comte, losing all command over himself, "for you have said that
-Bragelonne might, possibly, be some time before he returns; and, in the
-meanwhile, your wicked insinuations would have had their effect."
-
-"Yet, I shall have my excuse.  So take care."
-
-"I will give you a week to finish your recovery."
-
-"That is better.  We will wait a week."
-
-"Yes, yes, I understand; a week will give time to my adversary to make
-his escape.  No, no; I will not give you one day, even."
-
-"You are mad, monsieur," said De Wardes, retreating a step.
-
-"And you are a coward, if you do not fight willingly.  Nay, what is more,
-I will denounce you to the king, as having refused to fight, after having
-insulted La Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" said De Wardes, "you are dangerously treacherous, though you pass
-for a man of honor."
-
-"There is nothing more dangerous than the treachery, as you term it, of
-the man whose conduct is always loyal and upright."
-
-"Restore me the use of my legs, then, or get yourself bled, till you are
-as white as I am, so as to equalize our chances."
-
-"No, no; I have something better than that to propose."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"We will fight on horseback, and will exchange three pistol-shots each.
-You are a first rate marksman.  I have seen you bring down swallows with
-single balls, and at full gallop.  Do not deny it, for I have seen you
-myself."
-
-"I believe you are right," said De Wardes; "and as that is the case, it
-is not unlikely I might kill you."
-
-"You would be rendering me a very great service, if you did."
-
-"I will do my best."
-
-"Is it agreed?  Give me your hand upon it."
-
-"There it is: but on one condition, however."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"That not a word shall be said about it to the king."
-
-"Not a word, I swear."
-
-"I will go and get my horse, then."
-
-"And I, mine."
-
-"Where shall we meet?"
-
-"In the plain; I know an admirable place."
-
-"Shall we go together?"
-
-"Why not?"
-
-And both of them, on their way to the stables, passed beneath Madame's
-windows, which were faintly lighted; a shadow could be seen behind the
-lace curtains.  "There is a woman," said De Wardes, smiling, "who does
-not suspect that we are going to fight - to die, perhaps, on her account."
-
-
-Chapter XIII:
-The Combat.
-
-De Wardes and De Guiche selected their horses, and saddled them with
-their own hands, with holster saddles.  De Guiche, having two pairs of
-pistols, went to his apartments to get them; and after having loaded
-them, gave the choice to De Wardes, who selected the pair he had made use
-of twenty times before - the same, indeed, with which De Guiche had seen
-him kill swallows flying.  "You will not be surprised," he said, "if I
-take every precaution.  You know the weapons well, and, consequently, I
-am only making the chances equal."
-
-"Your remark was quite useless," replied De Guiche, "and you have done no
-more than you are entitled to do."
-
-"Now," said De Wardes, "I beg you to have the goodness to help me to
-mount; for I still experience a little difficulty in doing so."
-
-"In that case, we had better settle the matter on foot."
-
-"No; once in the saddle, I shall be all right."
-
-"Very good, then; we will not speak of it again," said De Guiche, as he
-assisted De Wardes to mount his horse.
-
-"And now," continued the young man, "in our eagerness to murder one
-another, we have neglected one circumstance."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That it is quite dark, and we shall almost be obliged to grope about, in
-order to kill."
-
-"Oh!" said De Guiche, "you are as anxious as I am that everything should
-be done in proper order."
-
-"Yes; but I do not wish people to say that you have assassinated me, any
-more than, supposing I were to kill you, I should myself like to be
-accused of such a crime."
-
-"Did any one make a similar remark about your duel with the Duke of
-Buckingham?" said De Guiche; "it took place precisely under the same
-conditions as ours."
-
-"Very true; but there was still light enough to see by; and we were up to
-our middles almost, in the water; besides, there were a good number of
-spectators on shore, looking at
-us."
-
-De Guiche reflected for a moment; and the thought which had already
-presented itself to him became more confirmed - that De Wardes wished to
-have witnesses present, in order to bring back the conversation about
-Madame, and to give a new turn to the combat.  He avoided saying a word
-in reply, therefore; and, as De Wardes once more looked at him
-interrogatively, he replied, by a movement of the head, that it would be
-best to let things remain as they were.  The two adversaries consequently
-set off, and left the chateau by the same gate, close to which we may
-remember to have seen Montalais and Malicorne together.  The night, as if
-to counteract the extreme heat of the day, had gathered the clouds
-together in masses which were moving slowly along from the west to the
-east.  The vault above, without a clear spot anywhere visible, or without
-the faintest indication of thunder, seemed to hang heavily over the
-earth, and soon began, by the force of the wind, to split into streamers,
-like a huge sheet torn to shreds.  Large and warm drops of rain began to
-fall heavily, and gathered the dust into globules, which rolled along the
-ground.  At the same time, the hedges, which seemed conscious of the
-approaching storm, the thirsty plants, the drooping branches of the
-trees, exhaled a thousand aromatic odors, which revived in the mind
-tender recollections, thoughts of youth, endless life, happiness, and
-love.  "How fresh the earth smells," said De Wardes; "it is a piece of
-coquetry to draw us to her."
-
-"By the by," replied De Guiche, "several ideas have just occurred to me;
-and I wish to have your opinion upon them."
-
-"Relative to - "
-
-"Relative to our engagement."
-
-"It is quite some time, in fact, that we should begin to arrange matters."
-
-"Is it to be an ordinary combat, and conducted according to established
-custom?"
-
-"Let me first know what your established custom is."
-
-"That we dismount in any particular open space that may suit us, fasten
-our horses to the nearest object, meet, each without our pistols in our
-hands, and afterwards retire for a hundred and fifty paces, in order to
-advance on each other."
-
-"Very good; that is precisely the way in which I killed poor Follivent,
-three weeks ago, at Saint-Denis."
-
-"I beg your pardon, but you forgot one circumstance."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That in your duel with Follivent you advanced towards each other on
-foot, your swords between your teeth, and your pistols in your hands."
-
-"True."
-
-"While now, on the contrary, as you cannot walk, you yourself admit that
-we shall have to mount our horses again, and charge; and the first who
-wishes to fire will do so."
-
-"That is the best course, no doubt; but it is quite dark; we must make
-allowances for more missed
-shots than would be the case in the daytime."
-
-"Very well; each will fire three times; the pair of pistols already
-loaded, and one reload."
-
-"Excellent!  Where shall our engagement take place?"
-
-"Have you any preference?"
-
-"No."
-
-"You see that small wood which lies before us?"
-
-"The wood which is called Rochin?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"You know it?"
-
-"Perfectly."
-
-"You know that there is an open glade in the center?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, this glade is admirably adapted for such a purpose, with a variety
-of roads, by-places, paths, ditches, windings, and avenues.  We could not
-find a better spot."
-
-"I am perfectly satisfied, if you are so.  We are at our destination, if
-I am not mistaken."
-
-"Yes.  Look at the beautiful open space in the center.  The faint light
-which the stars afford seems concentrated in this spot; the woods which
-surround it seem, with their barriers, to form its natural limits."
-
-"Very good.  Do as you say."
-
-"Let us first settle the conditions."
-
-"These are mine; if you have any objection to make you will state it."
-
-"I am listening."
-
-"If the horse be killed, its rider will be obliged to fight on foot."
-
-"That is a matter of course, since we have no change of horses here."
-
-"But that does not oblige his adversary to dismount."
-
-"His adversary will, in fact, be free to act as he likes."
-
-"The adversaries, having once met in close contact, cannot quit each
-other under any circumstances, and may, consequently, fire muzzle to
-muzzle."
-
-"Agreed."
-
-"Three shots and no more will do, I suppose?"
-
-"Quite sufficient, I think.  Here are powder and balls for your pistols;
-measure out three charges, take three balls, I will do the same; then we
-will throw the rest of the powder and balls away."
-
-"And we will solemnly swear," said De Wardes, "that we have neither balls
-nor powder about us?"
-
-"Agreed; and I swear it," said De Guiche, holding his hand towards
-heaven, a gesture which De Wardes imitated.
-
-"And now, my dear comte," said De Wardes, "allow me to tell you that I am
-in no way your dupe.  You already are, or soon will be, the accepted
-lover of Madame.  I have detected your secret, and you are afraid I shall
-tell others of it.  You wish to kill me, to insure my silence; that is
-very clear; and in your place, I should do the same."  De Guiche hung
-down his head.  "Only," continued De Wardes, triumphantly, "was it really
-worth while, tell me, to throw this affair of Bragelonne's on my
-shoulders?  But, take care, my dear fellow; in bringing the wild boar to
-bay, you enrage him to madness; in running down the fox, you endow him
-with the ferocity of the jaguar.  The consequence is, that brought to bay
-by you, I shall defend myself to the very last."
-
-"You will be quite right to do so."
-
-"Yes; but take care; I shall work more harm than you think.  In the first
-place, as a beginning, you will readily suppose that I have not been
-absurd enough to lock up my secret, or your secret rather, in my own
-breast.  There is a friend of mine, who resembles me in every way, a man
-whom you know very well, who shares my secret with me; so, pray
-understand, that if you kill me, my death will not have been of much
-service to you; whilst, on the contrary, if I kill you - and everything
-is possible, you know - you understand?"  De Guiche shuddered.  "If I
-kill you," continued De Wardes, "you will have secured two mortal enemies
-to Madame, who will do their very utmost to ruin her."
-
-"Oh! monsieur," exclaimed De Guiche, furiously, "do not reckon upon my
-death so easily.  Of the two enemies you speak of, I trust most heartily
-to dispose of one immediately, and the other at the earliest opportunity."
-
-The only reply De Wardes made was a burst of laughter, so diabolical in
-its sound, that a superstitious man would have been terrified.  But De
-Guiche was not so impressionable as that.  "I think," he said, "that
-everything is now settled, Monsieur de Wardes; so have the goodness to
-take your place first, unless you would prefer me to do so."
-
-"By no means," said De Wardes.  "I shall be delighted to save you the
-slightest trouble."  And spurring his horse to a gallop, he crossed the
-wide open space, and took his stand at that point of the circumference of
-the cross-road immediately opposite to where De Guiche was stationed.  De
-Guiche remained motionless.  At this distance of a hundred paces, the two
-adversaries were absolutely invisible to each other, being completely
-concealed by the thick shade of elms and chestnuts.  A minute elapsed
-amidst the profoundest silence.  At the end of the minute, each of them,
-in the deep shade in which he was concealed, heard the double click of
-the trigger, as they put the pistols on full cock.  De Guiche, adopting
-the usual tactics, put his horse to a gallop, persuaded that he should
-render his safety doubly sure by the movement, as well as by the speed of
-the animal.  He directed his course in a straight line towards the point
-where, in his opinion, De Wardes would be stationed; and he expected to
-meet De Wardes about half-way; but in this he was mistaken.  He continued
-his course, presuming that his adversary was impatiently awaiting his
-approach.  When, however, he had gone about two-thirds of the distance,
-he beheld the trees suddenly illuminated and a ball flew by, cutting the
-plume of his hat in two.  Nearly at the same moment, and as if the flash
-of the first shot had served to indicate the direction of the other, a
-second report was heard, and a second ball passed through the head of De
-Guiche's horse, a little below the ear.  The animal fell.  These two
-reports, proceeding from the very opposite direction in which he expected
-to find De Wardes, surprised him a great deal; but as he was a man of
-amazing self-possession, he prepared himself for his horse falling, but
-not so completely, however, that the toe of his boot escaped being caught
-under the animal as it fell.  Very fortunately the horse in its dying
-agonies moved so as to enable him to release the leg which was less
-entangled than the other.  De Guiche rose, felt himself all over, and
-found that he was not wounded.  At the very moment he had felt the horse
-tottering under him, he placed his pistols in the holsters, afraid that
-the force of the fall might explode one at least, if not both of them, by
-which he would have been disarmed, and left utterly without defense.
-Once on his feet, he took the pistols out of the holsters, and advanced
-towards the spot where, by the light of the flash, he had seen De Wardes
-appear.  De Wardes had, at the first shot, accounted for the maneuver,
-than which nothing could have been simpler.  Instead of advancing to meet
-De Guiche, or remaining in his place to await his approach, De Wardes
-had, for about fifteen paces, followed the circle of the shadow which hid
-him from his adversary's observation, and at the very moment when the
-latter presented his flank in his career, he had fired from the place
-where he stood, carefully taking aim, and assisted instead of being
-inconvenienced by the horse's gallop.  It has been seen that,
-notwithstanding the darkness, the first ball passed hardly more than an
-inch above De Guiche's head.  De Wardes had so confidently relied upon
-his aim, that he thought he had seen De Guiche fall; his astonishment was
-extreme when he saw he still remained erect in his saddle.  He hastened
-to fire his second shot, but his hand trembled, and he killed the horse
-instead.  It would be a most fortunate chance for him if De Guiche were
-to remain held fast under the animal.  Before he could have freed
-himself, De Wardes would have loaded his pistol and had De Guiche at his
-mercy.  But De Guiche, on the contrary, was up, and had three shots to
-fire.  De Guiche immediately understood the position of affairs.  It
-would be necessary to exceed De Wardes in rapidity of execution.  He
-advanced, therefore, so as to reach him before he should have had time to
-reload his pistol.  De Wardes saw him approaching like a tempest.  The
-ball was rather tight, and offered some resistance to the ramrod.  To
-load carelessly would be simply to lose his last chance; to take the
-proper care in loading meant fatal loss of time, or rather, throwing away
-his life.  He made his horse bound on one side.  De Guiche turned round
-also, and, at the moment the horse was quiet again, fired, and the ball
-carried off De Wardes's hat from his head.  De Wardes now knew that he
-had a moment's time at his own disposal; he availed himself of it in
-order to finish loading his pistol.  De Guiche, noticing that his
-adversary did not fall, threw the pistol he had just discharged aside,
-and walked straight towards De Wardes, elevating the second pistol as he
-did so.  He had hardly proceeded more than two or three paces, when De
-Wardes took aim at him as he was walking, and fired.  An exclamation of
-anger was De Guiche's answer; the comte's arm contracted and dropped
-motionless by his side, and the pistol fell from his grasp.  His anxiety
-was excessive.  "I am lost," murmured De Wardes, "he is not mortally
-wounded."  At the very moment, however, De Guiche was about to raise his
-pistol against De Wardes, the head, shoulders, and limbs of the comte
-seemed to collapse.  He heaved a deep-drawn sigh, tottered, and fell at
-the feet of De Wardes's horse.
-
-"That is all right," said De Wardes, and gathering up the reins, he
-struck his spurs into the horse's sides.  The horse cleared the comte's
-motionless body, and bore De Wardes rapidly back to the chateau.  When he
-arrived there, he remained a quarter of an hour deliberating within
-himself as to the proper course to be adopted.  In his impatience to
-leave the field of battle, he had omitted to ascertain whether De Guiche
-were dead or not.  A double hypothesis presented itself to De Wardes's
-agitated mind; either De Guiche was killed, or De Guiche was wounded
-only.  If he were killed, why should he leave his body in that manner to
-the tender mercies of the wolves; it was a perfectly useless piece of
-cruelty, for if De Guiche were dead, he certainly could not breathe a
-syllable of what had passed; if he were not killed, why should he, De
-Wardes, in leaving him there uncared for, allow himself to be regarded as
-a savage, incapable of one generous feeling?  This last consideration
-determined his line of conduct.
-
-De Wardes immediately instituted inquires after Manicamp.  He was told
-that Manicamp had been looking after De Guiche, and, not knowing where to
-find him, had retired to bed.  De Wardes went and awoke the sleeper,
-without any delay, and related the whole affair to him, which Manicamp
-listened to in perfect silence, but with an expression of momentarily
-increasing energy, of which his face could hardly have been supposed
-capable.  It was only when De Wardes had finished, that Manicamp uttered
-the words, "Let us go."
-
-As they proceeded, Manicamp became more and more excited, and in
-proportion as De Wardes related the details of the affair to him, his
-countenance assumed every moment a darker expression.  "And so," he said,
-when De Wardes had finished, "you think he is dead?"
-
-"Alas, I do."
-
-"And you fought in that manner, without witnesses?"
-
-"He insisted upon it."
-
-"It is very singular."
-
-"What do you mean by saying it is singular?"
-
-"That it is very unlike Monsieur de Guiche's disposition."
-
-"You do not doubt my word, I suppose?"
-
-"Hum! hum!"
-
-"You do doubt it, then?"
-
-"A little.  But I shall doubt it more than ever, I warn you, if I find
-the poor fellow is really dead."
-
-"Monsieur Manicamp!"
-
-"Monsieur de Wardes!"
-
-"It seems you intend to insult me."
-
-"Just as you please.  The fact is, I never did like people who come and
-say, 'I have killed such and such a gentleman in a corner; it is a great
-pity, but I killed him in a perfectly honorable manner.'  It has an ugly
-appearance, M. de Wardes."
-
-"Silence! we have arrived."
-
-In fact, the glade could now be seen, and in the open space lay the
-motionless body of the dead horse.  To the right of the horse, upon the
-dark grass, with his face against the ground, the poor comte lay, bathed
-in his blood.  He had remained in the same spot, and did not even seem to
-have made the slightest movement.  Manicamp threw himself on his knees,
-lifted the comte in his arms, and found him quite cold, and steeped in
-blood.  He let him gently fall again.  Then, stretching out his hand and
-feeling all over the ground close to where the comte lay, he sought until
-he found De Guiche's pistol.
-
-"By Heaven!" he said, rising to his feet, pale as death and with the
-pistol in his hand, "you are not mistaken, he is quite dead."
-
-"Dead!" repeated De Wardes.
-
-"Yes; and his pistol is still loaded," added Manicamp, looking into the
-pan.
-
-"But I told you that I took aim as he was walking towards me, and fired
-at him at the very moment he was going to fire at me."
-
-"Are you quite sure that you fought with him, Monsieur de Wardes?  I
-confess that I am very much afraid it has been a foul assassination.
-Nay, nay, no exclamations!  You have had your three shots, and his
-pistol is still loaded.  You have killed his horse, and he, De Guiche,
-one of the best marksmen in France, has not touched even either your
-horse or yourself.  Well, Monsieur de Wardes, you have been very unlucky
-in bringing me here; all the blood in my body seems to have mounted to my
-head; and I verily believe that since so good an opportunity presents
-itself, I shall blow your brains out on the spot.  So, Monsieur de
-Wardes, recommend yourself to Heaven."
-
-"Monsieur Manicamp, you cannot think of such a thing!"
-
-"On the contrary, I am thinking of it very strongly."
-
-"Would you assassinate me?"
-
-"Without the slightest remorse, at least for the present."
-
-"Are you a gentleman?"
-
-"I have given a great many proofs of that."
-
-"Let me defend my life, then, at least."
-
-"Very likely; in order, I suppose, that you may do to me what you have
-done to poor De Guiche."
-
-And Manicamp slowly raised his pistol to the height of De Wardes's
-breast, and with arm stretched out, and a fixed, determined look on his
-face, took a careful aim.
-
-De Wardes did not attempt a flight; he was completely terrified.  In the
-midst, however, of this horrible silence, which lasted about a second,
-but which seemed an age to De Wardes, a faint sigh was heard.
-
-"Oh," exclaimed De Wardes, "he still lives!  Help, De Guiche, I am about
-to be assassinated!"
-
-Manicamp fell back a step or two, and the two young men saw the comte
-raise himself slowly and painfully upon one hand.  Manicamp threw the
-pistol away a dozen paces, and ran to his friend, uttering a cry of
-delight.  De Wardes wiped his forehead, which was covered with a cold
-perspiration.
-
-"It was just in time," he murmured.
-
-"Where are you hurt?" inquired Manicamp of De Guiche, "and whereabouts
-are you wounded?"
-
-De Guiche showed him his mutilated hand and his chest covered with blood.
-
-"Comte," exclaimed De Wardes, "I am accused of having assassinated you;
-speak, I implore you, and say that I fought loyally."
-
-"Perfectly so," said the wounded man; "Monsieur de Wardes fought quite
-loyally, and whoever says the contrary will make an enemy of me."
-
-"Then, sir," said Manicamp, "assist me, in the first place, to carry this
-gentleman home, and I will afterwards give you every satisfaction you
-please; or, if you are in a hurry, we can do better still; let us stanch
-the blood from the comte's wounds here, with your pocket-handkerchief and
-mine, and then, as there are two shots left, we can have them between us."
-
-"Thank you," said De Wardes.  "Twice already, in one hour, I have seen
-death too close at hand to be agreeable; I don't like his look at all,
-and I prefer your apologies."
-
-Manicamp burst out laughing, and Guiche, too, in spite of his
-sufferings.  The two young men wished to carry him, but he declared he
-felt quite strong enough to walk alone.  The ball had broken his ring-
-finger and his little finger, and then had glanced along his side, but
-without penetrating deeply into his chest.  It was the pain rather than
-the seriousness of the wound, therefore, which had overcome De Guiche.
-Manicamp passed his arm under one of the count's shoulders, and De Wardes
-did the same with the other, and in this way they brought him back to
-Fontainebleau, to the house of the same doctor who had been present at
-the death of the Franciscan, Aramis's predecessor.
-
-
-Chapter XIV:
-The King's Supper.
-
-The king, while these matters were being arranged, was sitting at the
-supper-table, and the not very large number of guests for that day had
-taken their seats too, after the usual gesture intimating the royal
-permission.  At this period of Louis XIV.'s reign, although etiquette was
-not governed by the strict regulations subsequently adopted, the French
-court had entirely thrown aside the traditions of good-fellowship and
-patriarchal affability existing in the time of Henry IV., which the
-suspicious mind of Louis XIII. had gradually replaced with pompous state
-and ceremony, which he despaired of being able fully to realize.
-
-The king, therefore, was seated alone at a small separate table, which,
-like the desk of a president, overlooked the adjoining tables.  Although
-we say a small table, we must not omit to add that this small table was
-the largest one there.  Moreover, it was the one on which were placed the
-greatest number and quantity of dishes, consisting of fish, game, meat,
-fruit, vegetables, and preserves.  The king was young and full of vigor
-and energy, very fond of hunting, addicted to all violent exercises of
-the body, possessing, besides, like all the members of the Bourbon
-family, a rapid digestion and an appetite speedily renewed.  Louis XIV.
-was a formidable table-companion; he delighted in criticising his cooks;
-but when he honored them by praise and commendation, the honor was
-overwhelming.  The king began by eating several kinds of soup, either
-mixed together or taken separately.  He intermixed, or rather separated,
-each of the soups by a glass of old wine.  He ate quickly and somewhat
-greedily.  Porthos, who from the beginning had, out of respect, been
-waiting for a jog of D'Artagnan's arm, seeing the king make such rapid
-progress, turned to the musketeer and said in a low voice:
-
-"It seems as if one might go on now; his majesty is very encouraging,
-from the example he sets.  Look."
-
-"The king eats," said D'Artagnan, "but he talks at the same time; try and
-manage matters in such a manner that, if he should happen to address a
-remark to you, he will not find you with your mouth full - which would be
-very disrespectful."
-
-"The best way, in that case," said Porthos, "is to eat no supper at all;
-and yet I am very hungry, I admit, and everything looks and smells most
-invitingly, as if appealing to all my senses at once."
-
-"Don't think of not eating for a moment," said D'Artagnan; "that would
-put his majesty out terribly.  The king has a saying, 'that he who works
-well, eats well,' and he does not like people to eat indifferently at his
-table."
-
-"How can I avoid having my mouth full if I eat?" said Porthos.
-
-"All you have to do," replied the captain of the musketeers, "is simply
-to swallow what you have in it, whenever the king does you the honor to
-address a remark to you."
-
-"Very good," said Porthos; and from that moment he began to eat with a
-certain well-bred enthusiasm.
-
-The king occasionally looked at the different persons who were at table
-with him, and, _en connoisseur_, could appreciate the different
-dispositions of his guests.
-
-"Monsieur du Vallon!" he said.
-
-Porthos was enjoying a _salmi de lievre_, and swallowed half of the
-back.  His name, pronounced in such a manner, made him start, and by a
-vigorous effort of his gullet he absorbed the whole mouthful.
-
-"Sire," replied Porthos, in a stifled voice, but sufficiently
-intelligible, nevertheless.
-
-"Let those _filets d'agneau_ be handed to Monsieur du Vallon," said the
-king; "do you like brown meats, M. du Vallon?"
-
-"Sire, I like everything," replied Porthos.
-
-D'Artagnan whispered: "Everything your majesty sends me."
-
-Porthos repeated: "Everything your majesty sends me," an observation
-which the king apparently received with great satisfaction.
-
-"People eat well who work well," replied the king, delighted to have _en
-tete-a-tete_ a guest who could eat as Porthos did.  Porthos received the
-dish of lamb, and put a portion of it on his plate.
-
-"Well?" said the king.
-
-"Exquisite," said Porthos, calmly.
-
-"Have you as good mutton in your part of the country, Monsieur du
-Vallon?" continued the king.
-
-"Sire, I believe that from my own province, as everywhere else, the best
-of everything is sent to Paris for your majesty's use; but, on the other
-hand, I do not eat lamb in the same way your majesty does."
-
-"Ah, ah! and how do you eat it?"
-
-"Generally, I have a lamb dressed whole."
-
-"_Whole?_"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"In what manner, Monsieur du Vallon?"
-
-"In this, sire: my cook, who is a German, first stuffs the lamb in
-question with small sausages he procures from Strasburg, force-meat balls
-from Troyes, and larks from Pithiviers; by some means or other, which I
-am not acquainted with, he bones the lamb as he would do a fowl, leaving
-the skin on, however, which forms a brown crust all over the animal; when
-it is cut in beautiful slices, in the same way as an enormous sausage, a
-rose-colored gravy pours forth, which is as agreeable to the eye as it is
-exquisite to the palate."  And Porthos finished by smacking his lips.
-
-The king opened his eyes with delight, and, while cutting some of the
-_faisan en daube_, which was being handed to him, he said:
-
-"That is a dish I should very much like to taste, Monsieur du Vallon.  Is
-it possible! a whole lamb!"
-
-"Absolutely an entire lamb, sire."
-
-"Pass those pheasants to M. du Vallon; I perceive he is an amateur."
-
-The order was immediately obeyed.  Then, continuing the conversation, he
-said: "And you do not find the lamb too fat?"
-
-"No, sire, the fat falls down at the same time as the gravy does, and
-swims on the surface; then the servant who carves removes the fat with a
-spoon, which I have had expressly made for that purpose."
-
-"Where do you reside?" inquired the king.
-
-"At Pierrefonds, sire."
-
-"At Pierrefonds; where is that, M. du Vallon - near Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Oh, no, sire!  Pierrefonds is in the Soissonnais."
-
-"I thought you alluded to the lamb on account of the salt marshes."
-
-"No, sire, I have marshes which are not salt, it is true, but which are
-not the less valuable on that account."
-
-The king had now arrived at the _entrements_, but without losing sight of
-Porthos, who continued to play his part in the best manner.
-
-"You have an excellent appetite, M. du Vallon," said the king, "and you
-make an admirable guest at table."
-
-"Ah! sire, if your majesty were ever to pay a visit to Pierrefonds, we
-would both of us eat our lamb together; for your appetite is not an
-indifferent one by any means."
-
-D'Artagnan gave Porthos a kick under the table, which made Porthos color
-up.
-
-"At your majesty's present happy age," said Porthos, in order to repair
-the mistake he had made, "I was in the musketeers, and nothing could ever
-satisfy me then.  Your majesty has an excellent appetite, as I have
-already had the honor of mentioning, but you select what you eat with
-quite too much refinement to be called for one moment a great eater."
-
-The king seemed charmed at his guest's politeness.
-
-"Will you try some of these creams?" he said to Porthos.
-
-"Sire, you majesty treats me with far too much kindness to prevent me
-speaking the whole truth."
-
-"Pray do so, M. du Vallon."
-
-"Will, sire, with regard to sweet dishes I only recognize pastry, and
-even that should be rather solid; all these frothy substances swell the
-stomach, and occupy a space which seems to me to be too precious to be so
-badly tenanted."
-
-"Ah! gentlemen," said the king, indicating Porthos by a gesture, "here is
-indeed a model of gastronomy.  It was in such a manner that our fathers,
-who so well knew what good living was, used to _eat_, while we," added
-his majesty, "do nothing but tantalize with our stomachs."  And as he
-spoke, he took the breast of a chicken with ham, while Porthos attacked a
-dish of partridges and quails.  The cup-bearer filled his majesty's
-glass.  "Give M. du Vallon some of my wine," said the king.  This was one
-of the greatest honors of the royal table.  D'Artagnan pressed his
-friend's knee.  "If  you could only manage to swallow the half of that
-boar's head I see yonder," said he to Porthos, "I shall believe you will
-be a duke and peer within the next twelvemonth."
-
-"Presently," said Porthos, phlegmatically; "I shall come to that by and
-by."
-
-In fact it was not long before it came to the boar's turn, for the king
-seemed to take pleasure in urging on his guest; he did not pass any of
-the dishes to Porthos until he had tasted them himself, and he
-accordingly took some of the boar's head.  Porthos showed that he could
-keep pace with his sovereign; and, instead of eating the half, as
-D'Artagnan had told him, he ate three-fourths of it.  "It is impossible,"
-said the king in an undertone, "that a gentleman who eats so good a
-supper every day, and who has such beautiful teeth, can be otherwise than
-the most straightforward, upright man in my kingdom."
-
-"Do you hear?" said D'Artagnan in his friend's ear.
-
-"Yes; I think I am rather in favor," said Porthos, balancing himself on
-his chair.
-
-"Oh! you are in luck's way."
-
-The king and Porthos continued to eat in the same manner, to the great
-satisfaction of the other guests, some of whom, from emulation, had
-attempted to follow them, but were obliged to give up half-way.  The king
-soon began to get flushed and the reaction of the blood to his face
-announced that the moment of repletion had arrived.  It was then that
-Louis XIV., instead of becoming gay and cheerful, as most good livers
-generally do, became dull, melancholy, and taciturn.  Porthos, on the
-contrary, was lively and communicative.  D'Artagnan's foot had more than
-once to remind him of this peculiarity of the king.  The dessert now made
-its appearance.  The king had ceased to think anything further of
-Porthos; he turned his eyes anxiously towards the entrance-door, and he
-was heard occasionally to inquire how it happened that Monsieur de Saint-
-Aignan was so long in arriving.  At last, at the moment when his majesty
-was finishing a pot of preserved plums with a deep sigh, Saint-Aignan
-appeared.  The king's eyes, which had become somewhat dull, immediately
-began to sparkle.  The comte advanced towards the king's table, and Louis
-rose at his approach.  Everybody got up at the same time, including
-Porthos, who was just finishing an almond-cake capable of making the jaws
-of a crocodile stick together.  The supper was over.
-
-
-Chapter XV:
-After Supper.
-
-The king took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and passed into the adjoining
-apartment.  "What has detained you, comte?" said the king.
-
-"I was bringing the answer, sire," replied the comte.
-
-"She has taken a long time to reply to what I wrote her."
-
-"Sire, your majesty deigned to write in verse, and Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere wished to repay your majesty in the same coin; that is to say,
-in gold."
-
-"Verses!  Saint-Aignan," exclaimed the king in ecstasy.  "Give them to me
-at once."  And Louis broke the seal of a little letter, inclosing the
-verses which history has preserved entire for us, and which are more
-meritorious in invention than in execution.  Such as they were, however,
-the king was enchanted with them, and exhibited his satisfaction by
-unequivocal transports of delight; but the universal silence which
-reigned in the rooms warned Louis, so sensitively particular with regard
-to good breeding, that his delight must give rise to various
-interpretations.  He turned aside and put the note in his pocket, and
-then advancing a few steps, which brought him again to the threshold of
-the door close to his guests, he said, "M. du Vallon, I have seen you to-
-day with the greatest pleasure, and my pleasure will be equally great to
-see you again."  Porthos bowed as the Colossus of Rhodes would have done,
-and retired from the room with his face towards the king.  "M.
-d'Artagnan," continued the king, "you will await my orders in the
-gallery; I am obliged to you for having made me acquainted with M. du
-Vallon.  Gentlemen," addressing himself to the other guests, "I return to
-Paris to-morrow on account of the departure of the Spanish and Dutch
-ambassadors.  Until to-morrow then."
-
-The apartment was immediately cleared of the guests.  The king took Saint-
-Aignan by the arm, made him read La Valliere's verses over again, and
-said, "What do you think of them?"
-
-"Charming, sire."
-
-"They charm me, in fact, and if they were known - "
-
-"Oh! the professional poets would be jealous of them; but it is not
-likely they will know anything about them."
-
-"Did you give her mine?"
-
-"Oh! sire, she positively devoured them."
-
-"They were very weak, I am afraid."
-
-"That is not what Mademoiselle de la Valliere said of them."
-
-"Do you think she was pleased with them?"
-
-"I am sure of it, sire."
-
-"I must answer, then."
-
-"Oh! sire, immediately after supper?  Your majesty will fatigue yourself."
-
-"You are quite right; study after eating is notoriously injurious."
-
-"The labor of a poet especially so; and besides, there is great
-excitement prevailing at Mademoiselle de la Valliere's."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"With her as with all the ladies of the court."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"On account of poor De Guiche's accident."
-
-"Has anything serious happened to De Guiche, then?"
-
-"Yes, sire, he has one hand nearly destroyed, a hole in his breast; in
-fact, he is dying."
-
-"Good heavens! who told you that?"
-
-"Manicamp brought him back just now to the house of a doctor here in
-Fontainebleau, and the rumor soon reached us all."
-
-"Brought back!  Poor De Guiche; and how did it happen?"
-
-"Ah! that is the very question, - how did it happen?"
-
-"You say that in a very singular manner, Saint-Aignan.  Give me the
-details.  What does he say himself?"
-
-"He says nothing, sire; but others do."
-
-"What others?"
-
-"Those who brought him back, sire."
-
-"Who are they?"
-
-"I do not know, sire; but M. de Manicamp knows.  M. de Manicamp is one of
-his friends."
-
-"As everybody is, indeed," said the king.
-
-"Oh! no!" returned Saint-Aignan, "you are mistaken sire; every one is not
-precisely a friend of M. de Guiche."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"Does your majesty require me to explain myself?"
-
-"Certainly I do."
-
-"Well, sire, I believe I have heard something said about a quarrel
-between two gentlemen."
-
-"When?"
-
-"This very evening, before your majesty's supper was served."
-
-"That can hardly be.  I have issued such stringent and severe ordinances
-with respect to duelling, that no one, I presume, would dare to disobey
-them."
-
-"In that case, Heaven preserve me from excusing any one!" exclaimed Saint-
-Aignan.  "Your majesty commanded me to speak, and I spoke accordingly."
-
-"Tell me, then, in what way the Comte de Guiche has been wounded?"
-
-"Sire, it is said to have been at a boar-hunt."
-
-"This evening?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"One of his hands shattered, and a hole in his breast.  Who was at the
-hunt with M. de Guiche?"
-
-"I do not know, sire; but M. de Manicamp knows, or ought to know."
-
-"You are concealing something from me, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Nothing, sire, I assure you."
-
-"Then, explain to me how the accident happened; was it a musket that
-burst?"
-
-"Very likely, sire.  But yet, on reflection, it could hardly have been
-that, for De Guiche's pistol was found close by him still loaded."
-
-"His pistol?  But a man does not go to a boar-hunt with a pistol, I
-should think."
-
-"Sire, it is also said that De Guiche's horse was killed and that the
-horse is still to be found in the wide open glade in the forest."
-
-"His horse? - Guiche go on horseback to a boar-hunt? - Saint-Aignan, I do
-not understand a syllable of what you have been telling me.  Where did
-this affair happen?"
-
-"At the Rond-point, in that part of the forest called the Bois-Rochin."
-
-"That will do.  Call M. d'Artagnan."  Saint-Aignan obeyed, and the
-musketeer entered.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, "you will leave this place by the
-little door of the private staircase."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"You will mount your horse."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you will proceed to the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin.  Do you know the
-spot?"
-
-"Yes, sire.  I have fought there twice."
-
-"What!" exclaimed the king, amazed at the reply.
-
-"Under the edicts, sire, of Cardinal Richelieu," returned D'Artagnan,
-with his usual impassability.
-
-"That is very different, monsieur.  You will, therefore, go there, and
-will examine the locality very carefully.  A man has been wounded there,
-and you will find a horse lying dead.  You will tell me what your opinion
-is upon the whole affair."
-
-"Very good, sire."
-
-"As a matter of course, it is your own opinion I require, and not that of
-any one else."
-
-"You shall have it in an hour's time, sire."
-
-"I prohibit your speaking with any one, whoever it may be."
-
-"Except with the person who must give me a lantern," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh! that is a matter of course," said the king, laughing at the liberty,
-which he tolerated in no one but his captain of the musketeers.
-D'Artagnan left by the little staircase.
-
-"Now, let my physician be sent for," said Louis.  Ten minutes afterwards
-the king's physician arrived, quite out of breath.
-
-"You will go, monsieur," said the king to him, "and accompany M. de Saint-
-Aignan wherever he may take you; you will render me an account of the
-state of the person you may see in the house you will be taken to."  The
-physician obeyed without a remark, as at that time people began to obey
-Louis XIV., and left the room preceding Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Do you, Saint-Aignan, send Manicamp to me, before the physician can
-possibly have spoken to him."  And Saint-Aignan left in his turn.
-
-
-Chapter XVI:
-Showing in What Way D'Artagnan Discharged the Mission with Which the King
-Had Intrusted Him.
-
-While the king was engaged in making these last-mentioned arrangements in
-order to ascertain the truth, D'Artagnan, without losing a second, ran to
-the stable, took down the lantern, saddled his horse himself, and
-proceeded towards the place his majesty had indicated.  According to the
-promise he had made, he had not accosted any one; and, as we have
-observed, he had carried his scruples so far as to do without the
-assistance of the stable-helpers altogether.  D'Artagnan was one of those
-who in moments of difficulty pride themselves on increasing their own
-value.  By dint of hard galloping, he in less than five minutes reached
-the wood, fastened his horse to the first tree he came to, and penetrated
-to the broad open space on foot.  He then began to inspect most
-carefully, on foot and with his lantern in his hand, the whole surface of
-the Rond-point, went forward, turned back again, measured, examined, and
-after half an hour's minute inspection, he returned silently to where he
-had left his horse, and pursued his way in deep reflection and at a foot-
-pace to Fontainebleau.  Louis was waiting in his cabinet; he was alone,
-and with a pencil was scribbling on paper certain lines which D'Artagnan
-at the first glance recognized as unequal and very much touched up.  The
-conclusion he arrived at was, that they must be verses.  The king raised
-his head and perceived D'Artagnan.  "Well, monsieur," he said, "do you
-bring me any news?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"What have you seen?"
-
-"As far as probability goes, sire - " D'Artagnan began to reply.
-
-"It was certainty I requested of you."
-
-"I will approach it as near as I possibly can.  The weather was very well
-adapted for investigations of the character I have just made; it has been
-raining this evening, and the roads were wet and muddy - "
-
-"Well, the result, M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Sire, your majesty told me that there was a horse lying dead in the
-cross-road of the Bois-Rochin, and I began, therefore, by studying the
-roads.  I say the roads, because the center of the cross-road is reached
-by four separate roads.  The one that I myself took was the only one that
-presented any fresh traces.  Two horses had followed it side by side;
-their eight feet were marked very distinctly in the clay.  One of the
-riders was more impatient than the other, for the footprints of the one
-were invariably in advance of the other about half a horse's length."
-
-"Are you quite sure they were traveling together?" said the king.
-
-"Yes sire.  The horses are two rather large animals of equal pace, -
-horses well used to maneuvers of all kinds, for they wheeled round the
-barrier of the Rond-point together."
-
-"Well - and after?"
-
-"The two cavaliers paused there for a minute, no doubt to arrange the
-conditions of the engagement; the horses grew restless and impatient.
-One of the riders spoke, while the other listened and seemed to have
-contented himself by simply answering.  His horse pawed the ground, which
-proves that his attention was so taken up by listening that he let the
-bridle fall from his hand."
-
-"A hostile meeting did take place then?"
-
-"Undoubtedly."
-
-"Continue; you are a very accurate observer."
-
-"One of the two cavaliers remained where he was standing, the one, in
-fact, who had been listening; the other crossed the open space, and at
-first placed himself directly opposite to his adversary.  The one who had
-remained stationary traversed the Rond-point at a gallop, about two-
-thirds of its length, thinking that by this means he would gain upon his
-opponent; but the latter had followed the circumference of the wood."
-
-"You are ignorant of their names, I suppose?"
-
-"Completely so, sire.  Only he who followed the circumference of the wood
-was mounted on a black horse."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"I found a few hairs of his tail among the brambles which bordered the
-sides of the ditch."
-
-"Go on."
-
-"As for the other horse, there can be no trouble in describing him, since
-he was left dead on the field of battle."
-
-"What was the cause of his death?"
-
-"A ball which had passed through his brain."
-
-"Was the ball that of a pistol or a gun?"
-
-"It was a pistol-bullet, sire.  Besides, the manner in which the horse
-was wounded explained to me the tactics of the man who had killed it.  He
-had followed the circumference of the wood in order to take his adversary
-in flank.  Moreover, I followed his foot-tracks on the grass."
-
-"The tracks of the black horse, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Go on, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"As your majesty now perceives the position of the two adversaries, I
-will, for a moment, leave the cavalier who had remained stationary for
-the one who started off at a gallop."
-
-"Do so."
-
-"The horse of the cavalier who rode at full speed was killed on the spot."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"The cavalier had not time even to throw himself off his horse, and so
-fell with it.  I observed the impression of his leg, which, with a great
-effort, he was enabled to extricate from under the horse.  The spur,
-pressed down by the weight of the animal, had plowed up the ground."
-
-"Very good; and what did he do as soon as he rose up again?"
-
-"He walked straight up to his adversary."
-
-"Who still remained upon the verge of the forest?"
-
-"Yes, sire.  Then, having reached a favorable distance, he stopped
-firmly, for the impression of both his heels are left in the ground quite
-close to each other, fired, and missed his adversary."
-
-"How do you know he did not hit him?"
-
-"I found a hat with a ball through it."
-
-"Ah, a proof, then!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"Insufficient, sire," replied D'Artagnan, coldly; "it is a hat without
-any letters indicating its ownership, without arms; a red feather, as all
-hats have; the lace, even, had nothing particular in it."
-
-"Did the man with the hat through which the bullet had passed fire a
-second time?"
-
-"Oh, sire, he had already fired twice."
-
-"How did you ascertain that?"
-
-"I found the waddings of the pistol."
-
-"And what became of the bullet which did not kill the horse?"
-
-"It cut in two the feather of the hat belonging to him against whom it
-was directed, and broke a small birch at the other end of the open glade."
-
-"In that case, then, the man on the black horse was disarmed, whilst his
-adversary had still one more shot to fire?"
-
-"Sire, while the dismounted rider was extricating himself from his horse,
-the other was reloading his pistol.  Only, he was much agitated while he
-was loading it, and his hand trembled greatly."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"Half the charge fell to the ground, and he threw the ramrod aside, not
-having time to replace it in the pistol."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, this is marvellous you tell me."
-
-"It is only close observation, sire, and the commonest highwayman could
-tell as much."
-
-"The whole scene is before me from the manner in which you relate it."
-
-"I have, in fact, reconstructed it in my own mind, with merely a few
-alterations."
-
-"And now," said the king, "let us return to the dismounted cavalier.  You
-were saying that he walked towards his adversary while the latter was
-loading his pistol."
-
-"Yes; but at the very moment he himself was taking aim, the other fired."
-
-"Oh!" said the king; "and the shot?"
-
-"The shot told terribly, sire; the dismounted cavalier fell upon his
-face, after having staggered forward three or four paces."
-
-"Where was he hit?"
-
-"In two places; in the first place, in his right hand, and then, by the
-same bullet, in his chest."
-
-"But how could you ascertain that?" inquired the king, full of admiration.
-
-"By a very simple means; the butt end of the pistol was covered with
-blood, and the trace of the bullet could be observed, with fragments of a
-broken ring.  The wounded man, in all probability, had the ring-finger
-and the little finger carried off."
-
-"As far as the hand goes, I have nothing to say; but the chest?"
-
-"Sire, there were two small pools of blood, at a distance of about two
-feet and a half from each other.  At one of these pools of blood the
-grass was torn up by the clenched hand; at the other, the grass was
-simply pressed down by the weight of the body."
-
-"Poor De Guiche!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"Ah! it was M. de Guiche, then?" said the musketeer, quietly.  "I
-suspected it, but did not venture to mention it to your majesty."
-
-"And what made you suspect it?"
-
-"I recognized the De Gramont arms upon the holsters of the dead horse."
-
-"And you think he is seriously wounded?"
-
-"Very seriously, since he fell immediately, and remained a long time in
-the same place; however, he was able to walk, as he left the spot,
-supported by two friends."
-
-"You met him returning, then?"
-
-"No; but I observed the footprints of three men; the one on the right and
-the one on the left walked freely and easily, but the one in the middle
-dragged his feet as he walked; besides, he left traces of blood at every
-step he took."
-
-"Now, monsieur, since you saw the combat so distinctly that not a single
-detail seems to have escaped you, tell me something about De Guiche's
-adversary."
-
-"Oh, sire, I do not know him."
-
-"And yet you see everything very clearly."
-
-"Yes, sire, I see everything; but I do not tell all I see; and, since the
-poor devil has escaped, your majesty will permit me to say that I do not
-intend to denounce him."
-
-"And yet he is guilty, since he has fought a duel, monsieur."
-
-"Not guilty in my eyes, sire," said D'Artagnan, coldly.
-
-"Monsieur!" exclaimed the king, "are you aware of what you are saying?"
-
-"Perfectly, sire; but, according to my notions, a man who fights a duel
-is a brave man; such, at least, is my own opinion; but your majesty may
-have another, it is but natural, for you are master here."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, I ordered you, however - "
-
-D'Artagnan interrupted the king by a respectful gesture.  "You ordered
-me, sire, to gather what particulars I could, respecting a hostile
-meeting that had taken place; those particulars you have.  If you order
-me to arrest M. de Guiche's adversary, I will do so; but do not order me
-to denounce him to you, for in that case I will not obey."
-
-"Very well!  Arrest him, then."
-
-"Give me his name, sire."
-
-The king stamped his foot angrily; but after a moment's reflection, he
-said, "You are right - ten times, twenty times, a hundred times right."
-
-"That is my opinion, sire: I am happy that, this time, it accords with
-your majesty's."
-
-"One word more.  Who assisted Guiche?"
-
-"I do not know, sire."
-
-"But you speak of two men.  There was a person present, then, as second."
-
-"There was no second, sire.  Nay, more than that, when M. de Guiche fell,
-his adversary fled without giving him any assistance."
-
-"The miserable coward!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"The consequence of your ordinances, sire.  If a man has fought well, and
-fairly, and has already escaped one chance of death, he naturally wishes
-to escape a second.  M. de Bouteville cannot be forgotten very easily."
-
-"And so, men turn cowards."
-
-"No, they become prudent."
-
-"And he has fled, then, you say?"
-
-"Yes; and as fast as his horse could possibly carry him."
-
-"In what direction?"
-
-"In the direction of the chateau."
-
-"Well, and after that?"
-
-"Afterwards, as I have had the honor of telling your majesty, two men on
-foot arrived, who carried M. de Guiche back with them."
-
-"What proof have you that these men arrived after the combat?"
-
-"A very evident proof, sire; at the moment the encounter took place, the
-rain had just ceased, the ground had not had time to imbibe the moisture,
-and was, consequently, soaked; the footsteps sank in the ground; but
-while M. de Guiche was lying there in a fainting condition, the ground
-became firm again, and the footsteps made a less sensible impression."
-
-Louis clapped his hands together in sign of admiration.  "Monsieur
-d'Artagnan," he said, "you are positively the cleverest man in my
-kingdom."
-
-"The identical thing M. de Richelieu thought, and M. de Mazarin said,
-sire."
-
-"And now, it remains for us to see if your sagacity is at fault."
-
-"Oh! sire, a man may be mistaken; _humanum est errare_," said the
-musketeer, philosophically.
-
-Transcriber's note: "To err is human." - JB
-
-"In that case, you are not human, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for I believe you
-are never mistaken."
-
-"Your majesty said that we were going to see whether such was the case,
-or not."
-
-"Yes."
-
-"In what way, may I venture to ask?"
-
-"I have sent for M. de Manicamp, and M. de Manicamp is coming."
-
-"And M. de Manicamp knows the secret?"
-
-"De Guiche has no secrets from M. de Manicamp."
-
-D'Artagnan shook his head.  "No one was present at the combat, I repeat;
-and unless M. de Manicamp was one of the two men who brought him back - "
-
-"Hush!" said the king, "he is coming; remain, and listen attentively."
-
-"Very good, sire."
-
-And, at the very same moment, Manicamp and Saint-Aignan appeared at the
-threshold of the door.
-
-
-Chapter XVII:
-The Encounter.
-
-The king signified with an imperious gesture, first to the musketeer,
-then to Saint-Aignan, "On your lives, not a word."  D'Artagnan withdrew,
-like a sentinel, to a corner of the room; Saint-Aignan, in his character
-of a favorite, leaned over the back of the king's chair.  Manicamp, with
-his right foot properly advanced, a smile upon his lips, and his white
-and well-formed hands gracefully disposed, advanced to make his reverence
-to the king, who returned the salutation by a bow.  "Good evening, M. de
-Manicamp," he said.
-
-"Your majesty did me the honor to send for me," said Manicamp.
-
-"Yes, in order to learn from you all the details of the unfortunate
-accident which has befallen the Comte de Guiche."
-
-"Oh! sire, it is grievous indeed."
-
-"You were there?"
-
-"Not precisely, sire."
-
-"But you arrived on the scene of the accident, a few minutes after it
-took place?"
-
-"Sire, about half an hour afterwards."
-
-"And where did the accident happen?"
-
-"I believe, sire, the place is called the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin."
-
-"Oh! the rendezvous of the hunt."
-
-"The very spot, sire."
-
-"Good; give me all the details you are acquainted with, respecting this
-unhappy affair, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Perhaps your majesty has already been informed of them, and I fear to
-fatigue you with useless repetition."
-
-"No, do not be afraid of that."
-
-Manicamp looked round him; he saw only D'Artagnan leaning with his back
-against the wainscot - D'Artagnan, calm, kind, and good-natured as usual
-- and Saint-Aignan whom he had accompanied, and who still leaned over the
-king's armchair with an expression of countenance equally full of good
-feeling.  He determined, therefore, to speak out.  "Your majesty is
-perfectly aware," he said, "that accidents are very frequent in hunting."
-
-"In hunting, do you say?"
-
-"I mean, sire, when an animal is brought to bay."
-
-"Ah, ah!" said the king, "it was when the animal was brought to bay,
-then, that the accident happened?"
-
-"Alas! sire, unhappily it was."
-
-The king paused for a moment before he said: "What animal was being
-hunted?"
-
-"A wild boar, sire."
-
-"And what could possibly have possessed De Guiche to go to a wild boar-
-hunt by himself; that is but a clownish idea of sport, only fit for that
-class of people who, unlike the Marechal de Gramont, have no dogs and
-huntsmen, to hunt as gentlemen should do."
-
-Manicamp shrugged his shoulders.  "Youth is very rash," he said,
-sententiously.
-
-"Well, go on," said the king.
-
-"At all events," continued Manicamp, not venturing to be too precipitate
-and hasty, and letting his words fall very slowly one by one, "at all
-events, sire, poor De Guiche went hunting - all alone."
-
-"Quite alone? indeed? - What a sportsman!  And is not M. de Guiche aware
-that the wild boar always stands at bay?"
-
-"That is the very thing that really happened, sire."
-
-"He had some idea, then, of the beast being there?"
-
-"Yes, sire, some peasants had seen it among their potatoes."
-
-Transcriber's note: Potatoes were not grown in France at this time.  Le
-Siecle insists that the error is theirs, and that Dumas meant
-tomatoes. - JB
-
-"And what kind of animal was it?"
-
-"A short, thick beast."
-
-"You may as well tell me, monsieur, that De Guiche had some idea of
-committing suicide; for I have seen him hunt, and he is an active and
-vigorous hunter.  Whenever he fires at an animal brought to bay and held
-in check by the dogs, he takes every possible precaution, and yet he
-fires with a carbine, and on this occasion he seems to have faced the
-boar with pistols only."
-
-Manicamp started.
-
-"A costly pair of pistols, excellent weapons to fight a duel with a man
-and not a wild boar.  What an absurdity!"
-
-"There are some things, sire, which are difficult of explanation."
-
-"You are quite right, and the event which we are now discussing is
-certainly one of them.  Go on."
-
-During the recital, Saint-Aignan, who probably would have made a sign to
-Manicamp to be careful what he was about, found that the king's glance
-was constantly fixed upon himself, so that it was utterly impossible to
-communicate with Manicamp in any way.  As for D'Artagnan, the statue of
-Silence at Athens was far more noisy and far more expressive than he.
-Manicamp, therefore, was obliged to continue in the same way he had
-begun, and so contrived to get more and more entangled in his
-explanation.  "Sire," he said, "this is probably how the affair
-happened.  Guiche was waiting to receive the boar as it rushed towards
-him."
-
-"On foot or on horseback?" inquired the king.
-
-"On horseback.  He fired upon the brute and missed his aim, and then it
-dashed upon him."
-
-"And the horse was killed."
-
-"Ah! your majesty knows that, then."
-
-"I have been told that a horse has been found lying dead in the cross-
-roads of the Bois-Rochin, and I presume it was De Guiche's horse."
-
-"Perfectly true, sire, it was his."
-
-"Well, so much for the horse, and now for De Guiche?"
-
-"De Guiche, once down, was attacked and worried by the wild boar, and
-wounded in the hand and in the chest."
-
-"It is a horrible accident, but it must be admitted it was De Guiche's
-own fault.  How could he possibly have gone to hunt such an animal merely
-armed with pistols; he must have forgotten the fable of Adonis?"
-
-Manicamp rubbed his ear in seeming perplexity.  "Very true," he said, "it
-was very imprudent."
-
-"Can you explain it, Monsieur Manicamp?"
-
-"Sire, what is written is written!"
-
-"Ah! you are a fatalist."
-
-Manicamp looked very uncomfortable and ill at ease.
-
-"I am angry with you, Monsieur Manicamp," continued the king.
-
-"With me, sire?"
-
-"Yes.  How was it that you, who are De Guiche's intimate friend, and who
-know that he is subject to such acts of folly, did not stop him in time?"
-
-Manicamp no longer knew what to do; the tone in which the king spoke was
-anything but that of a credulous man.  On the other hand, it did not
-indicate any particular severity, nor did he seem to care very much about
-the cross-examination.  There was more of raillery in it than menace.
-"And you say, then," continued the king, "that it was positively De
-Guiche's horse that was found dead?"
-
-"Quite positive, sire."
-
-"Did that astonish you?"
-
-"No, sire; for your majesty will remember that, at the last hunt, M. de
-Saint-Maure had a horse killed under him, and in the same way."
-
-"Yes, but that one was ripped open."
-
-"Of course, sire."
-
-"Had Guiche's horse been ripped open like M. de Saint-Maure's horse, I
-should not have been astonished."
-
-Manicamp opened his eyes very wide.
-
-"Am I mistaken," resumed the king, "was it not in the frontal bone that
-De Guiche's horse was struck?  You must admit, Monsieur de Manicamp, that
-that is a very singular place for a wild boar to attack."
-
-"You are aware, sire, that the horse is a very intelligent animal, and he
-doubtless endeavoured to defend himself."
-
-"But a horse defends himself with his heels and not with his head."
-
-"In that case, the terrified horse may have slipped or fallen down," said
-Manicamp, "and the boar, you understand sire, the boar - "
-
-"Oh!  I understand that perfectly, as far as the horse is concerned; but
-how about his rider?"
-
-"Well! that, too, is simple enough; the boar left the horse and attacked
-the rider; and, as I have already had the honor of informing your
-majesty, shattered De Guiche's hand at the very moment he was about to
-discharge his second pistol at him, and then, with a gouge of his tusk,
-made that terrible hole in his chest."
-
-"Nothing is more likely; really, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are wrong in
-placing so little confidence in your own eloquence, and you can tell a
-story most admirably."
-
-"Your majesty is exceedingly kind," said Manicamp, saluting him in the
-most embarrassed manner.
-
-"From this day henceforth, I will prohibit any gentleman attached to my
-court going out to a similar encounter.  Really, one might just as well
-permit duelling."
-
-Manicamp started, and moved as if he were about to withdraw.  "Is your
-majesty satisfied?"
-
-"Delighted; but do not withdraw yet, Monsieur de Manicamp," said Louis,
-"I have something to say to you."
-
-"Well, well!" thought D'Artagnan, "there is another who is not up to the
-mark;" and he uttered a sigh which might signify, "Oh! the men of _our_
-stamp, where are they _now?_"
-
-At this moment an usher lifted up the curtain before the door, and
-announced the king's physician.
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Louis, "here comes Monsieur Valot, who has just been to
-see M. de Guiche.  We shall now hear news of the man maltreated by the
-boar."
-
-Manicamp felt more uncomfortable than ever.
-
-"In this way, at least," added the king, "our conscience will be quite
-clear."  And he looked at D'Artagnan, who did not seem in the slightest
-degree discomposed.
-
-
-Chapter XVIII:
-The Physician.
-
-M. Valot entered.  The position of the different persons present was
-precisely the same: the king was seated, Saint-Aignan leaning over the
-back of his armchair, D'Artagnan with his back against the wall, and
-Manicamp still standing.
-
-"Well, M. Valot," said the king, "did you obey my directions?"
-
-"With the greatest alacrity, sire."
-
-"You went to the doctor's house in Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you found M. de Guiche there?"
-
-"I did, sire."
-
-"What state was he in? - speak unreservedly."
-
-"In a very sad state indeed, sire."
-
-"The wild boar did not quite devour him, however?"
-
-"Devour whom?"
-
-"De Guiche."
-
-"What wild boar?"
-
-"The boar that wounded him."
-
-"M. de Guiche wounded by a boar?"
-
-"So it is said, at least."
-
-"By a poacher, rather, or by a jealous husband, or an ill-used lover,
-who, in order to be revenged, fired upon him."
-
-"What is it that you say, Monsieur Valot?  Were not M. de Guiche's wounds
-produced by defending himself against a wild boar?"
-
-"M. de Guiche's wounds are the result of a pistol-bullet that broke his
-ring-finger and the little finger of the right hand, and afterwards
-buried itself in the intercostal muscles of the chest."
-
-"A bullet!  Are you sure Monsieur de Guiche was wounded by a _bullet?_"
-exclaimed the king, pretending to look much surprised.
-
-"Indeed, I am, sire; so sure, in fact, that here it is."  And he
-presented to the king a half-flattened bullet, which the king looked at,
-but did not touch.
-
-"Did he have that in his chest, poor fellow?" he asked.
-
-"Not precisely.  The ball did not penetrate, but was flattened, as you
-see, either upon the trigger of the pistol or upon the right side of the
-breast-bone."
-
-"Good heavens!" said the king, seriously, "you said nothing to me about
-this, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Sire - "
-
-"What does all this mean, then, this invention about hunting a wild boar
-at nightfall?  Come, speak, monsieur."
-
-"Sire - "
-
-"It seems, then, that you are right," said the king, turning round
-towards his captain of musketeers, "and that a duel actually took place."
-
-The king possessed, to a greater extent than any one else, the faculty
-enjoyed by the great in power or position, of compromising and dividing
-those beneath him.  Manicamp darted a look full of reproaches at the
-musketeer.  D'Artagnan understood the look at once, and not wishing to
-remain beneath the weight of such an accusation, advanced a step forward,
-and said: "Sire, your majesty commanded me to go and explore the place
-where the cross-roads meet in the Bois-Rochin, and to report to you,
-according to my own ideas, what had taken place there.  I submitted my
-observations to you, but without denouncing any one.  It was your majesty
-yourself who was the first to name the Comte de Guiche."
-
-"Well, monsieur, well," said the king, haughtily; "you have done your
-duty, and I am satisfied with you.  But you, Monsieur de Manicamp, have
-failed in yours, for you have told me a falsehood."
-
-"A falsehood, sire.  The expression is a hard one."
-
-"Find a more accurate, then."
-
-"Sire, I will not attempt to do so.  I have already been unfortunate
-enough to displease your majesty, and it will, in every respect, be far
-better for me to accept most humbly any reproaches you may think proper
-to address to me."
-
-"You are right, monsieur, whoever conceals the truth from me, risks my
-displeasure."
-
-"Sometimes, sire, one is ignorant of the truth."
-
-"No further falsehood, monsieur, or I double the punishment."
-
-Manicamp bowed and turned pale.  D'Artagnan again made another step
-forward, determined to interfere, if the still increasing anger of the
-king attained certain limits.
-
-"You see, monsieur," continued the king, "that it is useless to deny the
-thing any longer.  M. de Guiche has fought a duel."
-
-"I do not deny it, sire, and it would have been truly generous on your
-majesty's part not to have forced me to tell a falsehood."
-
-"Forced?  Who forced you?"
-
-"Sire, M. de Guiche is my friend.  Your majesty has forbidden duels under
-pain of death.  A falsehood might save my friend's life, and I told it."
-
-"Good!" murmured D'Artagnan, "an excellent fellow, upon my word."
-
-"Instead of telling a falsehood, monsieur, you should have prevented him
-from fighting," said the king.
-
-"Oh! sire, your majesty, who is the most accomplished gentleman in
-France, knows quite as well as any of us other gentlemen that we have
-never considered M. de Bouteville dishonored for having suffered death on
-the Place de Greve.  That which does in truth dishonor a man is to avoid
-meeting his enemy - not to avoid meeting his executioner!"
-
-"Well, monsieur, that may be so," said Louis XIV.; "I am desirous of
-suggesting a means of your repairing all."
-
-"If it be a means of which a gentleman may avail himself, I shall most
-eagerly seize the opportunity."
-
-"The name of M. de Guiche's adversary?"
-
-"Oh, oh!" murmured D'Artagnan, "are we going to take Louis XIII. as a
-model?"
-
-"Sire!" said Manicamp, with an accent of reproach.
-
-"You will not name him, then?" said the king.
-
-"Sire, I do not know him."
-
-"Bravo!" murmured D'Artagnan.
-
-"Monsieur de Manicamp, hand your sword to the captain."
-
-Manicamp bowed very gracefully, unbuckled his sword, smiling as he did
-so, and handed it for the musketeer to take.  But Saint-Aignan advanced
-hurriedly between him and D'Artagnan.  "Sire," he said, "will your
-majesty permit me to say a word?"
-
-"Do so," said the king, delighted, perhaps, at the bottom of his heart,
-for some one to step between him and the wrath he felt he had carried him
-too far.
-
-"Manicamp, you are a brave man, and the king will appreciate your
-conduct; but to wish to serve your friends too well, is to destroy them.
-Manicamp, you know the name the king asks you for?"
-
-"It is perfectly true - I do know it."
-
-"You will give it up then?"
-
-"If I felt I ought to have mentioned it, I should have already done so."
-
-"Then I will tell it, for I am not so extremely sensitive on such points
-of honor as you are."
-
-"You are at liberty to do so, but it seems to me, however - "
-
-"Oh! a truce to magnanimity; I will not permit you to go to the Bastile
-in that way.  Do you speak; or I will."
-
-Manicamp was keen-witted enough, and perfectly understood that he had
-done quite sufficient to produce a good opinion of his conduct; it was
-now only a question of persevering in such a manner as to regain the good
-graces of the king.  "Speak, monsieur," he said to Saint-Aignan; "I have
-on my own behalf done all that my conscience told me to do; and it must
-have been very importunate," he added, turning towards the king, "since
-its mandates led me to disobey your majesty's commands; but your majesty
-will forgive me, I hope, when you learn that I was anxious to preserve
-the honor of a lady."
-
-"Of a lady?" said the king, with some uneasiness.
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"A lady was the cause of this duel?"
-
-Manicamp bowed.
-
-"If the position of the lady in question warrants it," he said, "I shall
-not complain of your having acted with so much circumspection; on the
-contrary, indeed."
-
-"Sire, everything which concerns your majesty's household, or the
-household of your majesty's brother, is of importance in my eyes."
-
-"In my brother's household," repeated Louis XIV., with a slight
-hesitation.  "The cause of the duel was a lady belonging to my brother's
-household, do you say?"
-
-"Or to Madame's."
-
-"Ah! to Madame's?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Well - and this lady?"
-
-"Is one of the maids of honor of her royal highness Madame la Duchesse
-d'Orleans."
-
-"For whom M. de Guiche fought - do you say?"
-
-"Yes, sire, and, this time, I tell no falsehood."
-
-Louis seemed restless and anxious.  "Gentlemen," he said, turning towards
-the spectators of this scene, "will you have the goodness to retire for a
-moment.  I wish to be alone with M. de Manicamp; I know he has some
-important communication to make for his own justification, and which he
-will not venture before witnesses....  Put up your sword, M. de Manicamp."
-
-Manicamp returned his sword to his belt.
-
-"The fellow decidedly has his wits about him," murmured the musketeer,
-taking Saint-Aignan by the arm, and withdrawing with him.
-
-"He will get out of it," said the latter in D'Artagnan's ear.
-
-"And with honor, too, comte."
-
-Manicamp cast a glance of recognition at Saint-Aignan and the captain,
-which luckily passed unnoticed by the king.
-
-"Come, come," said D'Artagnan, as he left the room, "I had an indifferent
-opinion of the new generation.  Well, I was mistaken after all.  There is
-some good in them, I perceive."
-
-Valot preceded the favorite and the captain, leaving the king and
-Manicamp alone in the cabinet.
-
-
-Chapter XIX:
-Wherein D'Artagnan Perceives that It Was He Who Was Mistaken, and
-Manicamp Who Was Right.
-
-The king, determined to be satisfied that no one was listening, went
-himself to the door, and then returned precipitately and placed himself
-opposite Manicamp.
-
-"And now we are alone, Monsieur de Manicamp, explain yourself."
-
-"With the greatest frankness, sire," replied the young man.
-
-"And in the first place, pray understand," added the king, "that there is
-nothing to which I personally attach a greater importance than the honor
-of _any_ lady."
-
-"That is the very reason, sire, why I endeavored to study your delicacy
-of sentiment and feeling."
-
-"Yes, I understand it all now.  You say that it was one of the maids of
-honor of my sister-in-law who was the subject of dispute, and that the
-person in question, De Guiche's adversary, the man, in point of fact,
-whom you will not name - "
-
-"But whom M. de Saint-Aignan will name, monsieur."
-
-"Yes, you say, however, that this man insulted some one belonging to the
-household of Madame."
-
-"Yes, sire.  Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" said the king, as if he had expected the name, and yet as if its
-announcement had caused him a sudden pang; "ah! it was Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere who was insulted."
-
-"I do not say precisely that she was insulted, sire."
-
-"But at all events - "
-
-"I merely say that she was spoken of in terms far enough from respectful."
-
-"A man dares to speak in disrespectful terms of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, and yet you refuse to tell me the name of the insulter?"
-
-"Sire, I thought it was quite understood that your majesty had abandoned
-the idea of making me denounce him."
-
-"Perfectly true, monsieur," returned the king, controlling his anger;
-"besides, I shall know in good time the name of this man whom I shall
-feel it my duty to punish."
-
-Manicamp perceived that they had returned to the question again.  As for
-the king, he saw he had allowed himself to be hurried away a little too
-far, and therefore continued: - "And I will punish him - not because
-there is any question of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, although I esteem
-her very highly - but because a lady was the object of the quarrel.  And
-I intend that ladies shall be respected at my court, and that quarrels
-shall be put a stop to altogether."
-
-Manicamp bowed.
-
-"And now, Monsieur de Manicamp," continued the king, "what was said about
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Cannot your majesty guess?"
-
-"I?"
-
-"Your majesty can imagine the character of the jest in which young men
-permit themselves to indulge."
-
-"They very probably said that she was in love with some one?" the king
-ventured to remark.
-
-"Probably so."
-
-"But Mademoiselle de la Valliere has a perfect right to love any one she
-pleases," said the king.
-
-"That is the very point De Guiche maintained."
-
-"And on account of which he fought, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes, sire, the sole and only cause."
-
-The king colored.  "And you do not know anything more, then?"
-
-"In what respect, sire?"
-
-"In the very interesting respect which you are now referring to."
-
-"What does your majesty wish to know?"
-
-"Why, the name of the man with whom La Valliere is in love, and whom De
-Guiche's adversary disputed her right to love."
-
-"Sire, I know nothing - I have heard nothing - and have learnt nothing,
-even accidentally; but De Guiche is a noble-hearted fellow, and if,
-momentarily, he substituted himself in the place or stead of La
-Valliere's protector, it was because that protector was himself of too
-exalted a position to undertake her defense."
-
-These words were more than transparent; they made the king blush, but
-this time with pleasure.  He struck Manicamp gently on the shoulder.
-"Well, well, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are not only a ready, witty
-fellow, but a brave gentleman besides, and your friend De Guiche is a
-paladin quite after my own heart; you will express that to him from me."
-
-"Your majesty forgives me, then?"
-
-"Completely."
-
-"And I am free?"
-
-The king smiled and held out his hand to Manicamp, which he took and
-kissed respectfully.  "And then," added the king, "you relate stories so
-charmingly."
-
-"I, sire!"
-
-"You told me in the most admirable manner the particulars of the accident
-which happened to Guiche.  I can see the wild boar rushing out of the
-wood - I can see the horse fall down fighting with his head, and the boar
-rush from the horse to the rider.  You do not simply relate a story well:
-you positively paint its incidents."
-
-"Sire, I think your majesty condescends to laugh at my expense," said
-Manicamp.
-
-"On the contrary," said Louis, seriously, "I have so little intention of
-laughing, Monsieur de Manicamp, that I wish you to relate this adventure
-to every one."
-
-"The adventure of the hunt?"
-
-"Yes; in the same manner you told it to me, without changing a single
-word - _you understand?_"
-
-"Perfectly, sire."
-
-"And you will relate it, then?"
-
-"Without losing a minute."
-
-"Very well! and now summon M. d'Artagnan; I hope you are no longer afraid
-of him."
-
-"Oh, sire, from the very moment I am sure of your majesty's kind
-disposition, I no longer fear anything!"
-
-"Call him, then," said the king.
-
-Manicamp opened the door, and said, "Gentlemen, the king wishes you to
-return."
-
-D'Artagnan, Saint-Aignan, and Valot entered.
-
-"Gentlemen," said the king, "I summoned you for the purposes of saying
-that Monsieur de Manicamp's explanation has entirely satisfied me."
-
-D'Artagnan glanced at Valot and Saint-Aignan, as much as to say, "Well!
-did I not tell you so?"
-
-The king led Manicamp to the door, and then in a low tone of voice said:
-"See that M. de Guiche takes good care of himself, and particularly that
-he recovers as soon as possible; I am very desirous of thanking him in
-the name of every lady, but let him take special care that he does not
-begin again."
-
-"Were he to die a hundred times, sire, he would begin again if your
-majesty's honor were in any way called in question."
-
-This remark was direct enough.  But we have already said that the incense
-of flattery was very pleasing to the king, and, provided he received it,
-he was not very particular as to its quality.
-
-"Very well, very well," he said, as he dismissed Manicamp, "I will see De
-Guiche myself, and make him listen to reason."  And as Manicamp left the
-apartment, the king turned round towards the three spectators of this
-scene, and said, "Tell me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, how does it happen that
-your sight is so imperfect? - you, whose eyes are generally so very good."
-
-"My sight bad, sire?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"It must be the case since your majesty says so; but in what respect, may
-I ask?"
-
-"Why, with regard to what occurred in the Bois-Rochin."
-
-"Ah! ah!"
-
-"Certainly.  You pretended to have seen the tracks of two horses, to have
-detected the footprints of two men; and have described the particulars of
-an engagement, which you assert took place.  Nothing of the sort
-occurred; pure illusion on your part."
-
-"Ah! ah!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Exactly the same thing with the galloping to and fro of the horses, and
-the other indications of a struggle.  It was the struggle of De Guiche
-against the wild boar, and absolutely nothing else; only the struggle was
-a long and a terrible one, it seems."
-
-"Ah! ah!" continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"And when I think that I almost believed it for a moment - but, then, you
-told it with such confidence."
-
-"I admit, sire, that I must have been very short-sighted," said
-D'Artagnan, with a readiness of humor which delighted the king.
-
-"You do admit it, then?"
-
-"Admit it, sire, most assuredly I do."
-
-"So now that you see the thing - "
-
-"In quite a different light from that in which I saw it half an hour ago."
-
-"And to what, then, do you attribute this difference in your opinion?"
-
-"Oh! a very simple thing, sire; half an hour ago I returned from Bois-
-Rochin, where I had nothing to light me but a stupid stable lantern - "
-
-"While now?"
-
-"While now I have all the wax-lights of your cabinet, and more than that,
-your majesty's own eyes, which illuminate everything, like the blazing
-sun at noonday."
-
-The king began to laugh; and Saint-Aignan broke out into convulsions of
-merriment.
-
-"It is precisely like M. Valot," said D'Artagnan, resuming the
-conversation where the king had left off; "he has been imagining all
-along, that not only was M. de Guiche wounded by a bullet, but still
-more, that he extracted it, even, from his chest."
-
-"Upon my word," said Valot, "I assure you - "
-
-"Now, did you not believe that?" continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes," said Valot; "not only did I believe it, but, at this very moment,
-I would swear it."
-
-"Well, my dear doctor, you have dreamt it."
-
-"I have dreamt it!"
-
-"M. de Guiche's wound - a mere dream; the bullet, a dream.  So, take my
-advice, and prate no more about it."
-
-"Well said," returned the king, "M. d'Artagnan's advice is sound.  Do not
-speak of your dream to any one, Monsieur Valot, and, upon the word of a
-gentleman, you will have no occasion to repent it.  Good evening,
-gentlemen; a very sad affair, indeed, is a wild boar-hunt!"
-
-"A very serious thing, indeed," repeated D'Artagnan, in a loud voice, "is
-a wild boar-hunt!" and he repeated it in every room through which he
-passed; and left the chateau, taking Valot with him.
-
-"And now we are alone," said the king to Saint-Aignan, "what is the name
-of De Guiche's adversary?"
-
-Saint-Aignan looked at the king.
-
-"Oh! do not hesitate," said the king; "you know that I am bound
-beforehand to forgive."
-
-"De Wardes," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Very good," said Louis XIV.; and then, retiring to his own room, added
-to himself, "To forgive is not to forget."
-
-
-Chapter XX:
-Showing the Advantage of Having Two Strings to One's Bow.
-
-Manicamp quitted the king's apartment, delighted at having succeeded so
-well, when, just as he reached the bottom of the staircase and was
-passing a doorway, he felt that some one suddenly pulled him by the
-sleeve.  He turned round and recognized Montalais, who was waiting for
-him in the passage, and who, in a very mysterious manner, with her body
-bent forward, and in a low tone of voice, said to him, "Follow me,
-monsieur, and without any delay, if you please."
-
-"Where to, mademoiselle?" inquired Manicamp.
-
-"In the first place, a true knight would not have asked such a question,
-but would have followed me without requiring any explanation."
-
-"Well, mademoiselle, I am quite ready to conduct myself as a true knight."
-
-"No; it is too late, and you cannot take the credit of it.  We are going
-to Madame's apartment, so come at once."
-
-"Ah, ah!" said Manicamp.  "Lead on, then."
-
-And he followed Montalais, who ran before him as light as Galatea.
-
-"This time," said Manicamp, as he followed his guide, "I do not think
-that stories about hunting expeditions would be acceptable.  We will try,
-however, and if need be - well, if there should be any occasion for it,
-we must try something else."
-
-Montalais still ran on.
-
-"How fatiguing it is," thought Manicamp, "to have need of one's head and
-legs at the same time."
-
-At last, however, they arrived.  Madame had just finished undressing, and
-was in a most elegant _deshabille_, but it must be understood that she
-had changed her dress before she had any idea of being subjected to the
-emotions now agitating her.  She was waiting with the most restless
-impatience; and Montalais and Manicamp found her standing near the door.
-At the sound of their approaching footsteps, Madame came forward to meet
-them.
-
-"Ah!" she said, "at last!"
-
-"Here is M. Manicamp," replied Montalais.
-
-Manicamp bowed with the greatest respect; Madame signed to Montalais to
-withdraw, and she immediately obeyed.  Madame followed her with her eyes,
-in silence, until the door closed behind her, and then, turning towards
-Manicamp, said, "What is the matter? - and is it true, as I am told,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, that some one is lying wounded in the chateau?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, unfortunately so - Monsieur de Guiche."
-
-"Yes, Monsieur de Guiche," repeated the princess.  "I had, in fact, heard
-it rumored, but not confirmed.  And so, in truth, it is Monsieur de
-Guiche who has been thus unfortunate?"
-
-"M. de Guiche himself, Madame."
-
-"Are you aware, M. de Manicamp," said the princes, hastily, "that the
-king has the strongest antipathy to duels?"
-
-"Perfectly so, Madame; but a duel with a wild beast is not answerable."
-
-"Oh, you will not insult me by supposing that I credit the absurd fable,
-with what object I cannot tell, respecting M. de Guiche having been
-wounded by a wild boar.  No, no, monsieur; the real truth is known, and,
-in addition to the inconvenience of his wound, M. de Guiche runs the risk
-of losing his liberty if not his life."
-
-"Alas!  Madame, I am well aware of that, but what is to be done?"
-
-"You have seen the king?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"What did you say to him?"
-
-"I told him how M. de Guiche went to the chase, and how a wild boar
-rushed forth out of the Bois-Rochin; how M. de Guiche fired at it, and
-how, in fact, the furious brute dashed at De Guiche, killed his horse,
-and grievously wounded himself."
-
-"And the king believed that?"
-
-"Implicitly."
-
-"Oh, you surprise me, Monsieur de Manicamp; you surprise me very much."
-
-And Madame walked up and down the room, casting a searching look from
-time to time at Manicamp, who remained motionless and impassible in the
-same place.  At last she stopped.
-
-"And yet," she said, "every one here seems unanimous in giving another
-cause for this wound."
-
-"What cause, Madame?" said Manicamp; "may I be permitted, without
-indiscretion, to ask your highness?"
-
-"You ask such a question!  You, M. de Guiche's intimate friend, his
-confidant, indeed!"
-
-"Oh, Madame! his intimate friend - yes; confidant - no.  De Guiche is a
-man who can keep his own secrets, who has some of his own certainly, but
-who never breathes a syllable about them.  De Guiche is discretion
-itself, Madame."
-
-"Very well, then; those secrets which M. de Guiche keeps so scrupulously,
-I shall have the pleasure of informing you of," said the princess, almost
-spitefully; "for the king may possibly question you a second time, and
-if, on the second occasion, you were to repeat the same story to him, he
-possibly might not be very well satisfied with it."
-
-"But, Madame, I think your highness is mistaken with regard to the king.
-His majesty was perfectly satisfied with me, I assure you."
-
-"In that case, permit me to assure you, Monsieur de Manicamp, it only
-proves one thing, which is, that his majesty is very easily satisfied."
-
-"I think your highness is mistaken in arriving at such an opinion; his
-majesty is well known not to be contented except with very good reason."
-
-"And do you suppose that he will thank you for your officious falsehood,
-when he will learn to-morrow that M. de Guiche had, on behalf of his
-friend M. de Bragelonne, a quarrel which ended in a hostile meeting?"
-
-"A quarrel on M. de Bragelonne's account," said Manicamp, with the most
-innocent expression in the world; "what does your royal highness do me
-the honor to tell me?"
-
-"What is there astonishing in that?  M. de Guiche is susceptible,
-irritable, and easily loses his temper."
-
-"On the contrary, Madame, I know M. de Guiche to be very patient, and
-never susceptible or irritable except upon very good grounds."
-
-"But is not friendship a just ground?" said the princess.
-
-"Oh, certainly, Madame; and particularly for a heart like his."
-
-"Very good; you will not deny, I suppose, that M. de Bragelonne is M. de
-Guiche's good friend?"
-
-"A great friend."
-
-"Well, then, M. de Guiche has taken M. de Bragelonne's part; and as M. de
-Bragelonne was absent and could not fight, he fought for him."
-
-Manicamp began to smile, and moved his head and shoulders very slightly,
-as much as to say, "Oh, if you will positively have it so - "
-
-"But speak, at all events," said the princess, out of patience; "speak!"
-
-"I?"
-
-"Of course; it is quite clear you are not of my opinion, and that you
-have something to say."
-
-"I have only one thing to say, Madame."
-
-"Name it!"
-
-"That I do not understand a single word of what you have just been
-telling me."
-
-"What! - you do not understand a single word about M. de Guiche's quarrel
-with M. de Wardes," exclaimed the princess, almost out of temper.
-
-Manicamp remained silent.
-
-"A quarrel," she continued, "which arose out of a conversation scandalous
-in its tone and purport, and more or less well founded, respecting the
-virtue of a certain lady."
-
-"Ah! of a certain lady, - this is quite another thing," said Manicamp.
-
-"You begin to understand, do you not?"
-
-"Your highness will excuse me, but I dare not - "
-
-"You dare not," said Madame, exasperated; "very well, then, wait one
-moment, I will dare."
-
-"Madame, Madame!" exclaimed Manicamp, as if in great dismay, "be careful
-of what you are going to say."
-
-"It would seem, monsieur, that, if I happened to be a man, you would
-challenge me, notwithstanding his majesty's edicts, as Monsieur de Guiche
-challenged M. de Wardes; and that, too, on account of the virtue of
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Of Mademoiselle de la Valliere!" exclaimed Manicamp, starting backwards,
-as if that was the very last name he expected to hear pronounced.
-
-"What makes you start in that manner, Monsieur de Manicamp?" said Madame,
-ironically; "do you mean to say you would be impertinent enough to
-suspect that young lady's honor?"
-
-"Madame, in the whole course of this affair there has not been the
-slightest question of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's honor."
-
-"What! when two men have almost blown each other's brains out on a
-woman's behalf, do you mean to say she has had nothing to do with the
-affair, and that her name has not been called in question at all?  I did
-not think you so good a courtier, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Pray forgive me, Madame," said the young man, "but we are very far from
-understanding one another.  You do me the honor to speak one language
-while I am speaking altogether another."
-
-"I beg your pardon, but I do not understand your meaning."
-
-"Forgive me, then; but I fancied I understood your highness to remark
-that De Guiche and De Wardes had fought on Mademoiselle de la Valliere's
-account?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"On account of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, I think you said?" repeated
-Manicamp.
-
-"I do not say that M. de Guiche personally took an interest in
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere, but I say that he did so as representing or
-acting on behalf of another."
-
-"On behalf of another?"
-
-"Come, do not always assume such a bewildered look.  Does not every one
-here know that M. de Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, and that before he went on the mission with which the king
-intrusted him, he charged his friend M. de Guiche to watch over that
-interesting young lady?"
-
-"There is nothing more for me to say, then.  Your highness is well-
-informed."
-
-"Of everything.  I beg you to understand that clearly."
-
-Manicamp began to laugh, which almost exasperated the princess, who was
-not, as we know, of a very patient disposition.
-
-"Madame," resumed the discreet Manicamp, saluting the princess, "let us
-bury this affair altogether in forgetfulness, for it will probably never
-be quite cleared up."
-
-"Oh, as far as that goes there is nothing more to do, and the information
-is complete.  The king will learn that M. de Guiche has taken up the
-cause of this little adventuress, who gives herself all the airs of a
-grand lady; he will learn that Monsieur de Bragelonne, having nominated
-his friend M. de Guiche his guardian-in-ordinary, the latter immediately
-fastened, as he was required to do, upon the Marquis de Wardes, who
-ventured to trench upon his privileges.  Moreover, you cannot pretend to
-deny, Monsieur Manicamp - you who know everything so well - that the king
-on his side casts a longing eye upon this famous treasure, and that he
-will bear no slight grudge against M. de Guiche for constituting himself
-its defender.  Are you sufficiently well informed now, or do you require
-anything further?  If so, speak, monsieur."
-
-"No, Madame, there is nothing more I wish to know."
-
-"Learn, however - for you ought to know it, Monsieur de Manicamp - learn
-that his majesty's indignation will be followed by terrible
-consequences.  In princes of a similar temperament to that of his
-majesty, the passion which jealousy causes sweeps down like a whirlwind."
-
-"Which you will temper, Madame."
-
-"I!" exclaimed the princess, with a gesture of indescribable irony; "I!
-and by what title, may I ask?"
-
-"Because you detest injustice, Madame."
-
-"And according to your account, then, it would be an injustice to prevent
-the king arranging his love affairs as he pleases."
-
-"You will intercede, however, in M. de Guiche's favor?"
-
-"You are mad, monsieur," said the princess, in a haughty tone of voice.
-
-"On the contrary, I am in the most perfect possession of my senses; and I
-repeat, you will defend M. de Guiche before the king."
-
-"Why should I?"
-
-"Because the cause of M. de Guiche is your own, Madame," said Manicamp,
-with ardor kindling in his eyes.
-
-"What do you mean by that?"
-
-"I mean, Madame, that, with respect to the defense which Monsieur de
-Guiche undertook in M. de Bragelonne's absence, I am surprised that your
-highness has not detected a pretext in La Valliere's name having been
-brought forward."
-
-"A pretext?  But a pretext for what?" repeated the princess,
-hesitatingly, for Manicamp's steady look had just revealed something of
-the truth to her.
-
-"I trust, Madame," said the young man, "I have said sufficient to induce
-your highness not to overwhelm before his majesty my poor friend, De
-Guiche, against whom all the malevolence of a party bitterly opposed to
-your own will now be directed."
-
-"You mean, on the contrary, I suppose, that all those who have no great
-affection for Mademoiselle de la Valliere, and even, perhaps, a few of
-those who have some regard for her, will be angry with the comte?"
-
-"Oh, Madame! why will you push your obstinacy to such an extent, and
-refuse to open your ears and listen to the counsel of one whose devotion
-to you is unbounded?  Must I expose myself to the risk of your
-displeasure, - am I really to be called upon to name, contrary to my own
-wish, the person who was the real cause of this quarrel?"
-
-"The person?" said Madame, blushing.
-
-"Must I," continued Manicamp, "tell you how poor De Guiche became
-irritated, furious, exasperated beyond all control, at the different
-rumors now being circulated about this person?  Must I, if you persist in
-this willful blindness, and if respect should continue to prevent me
-naming her, - must I, I repeat, recall to your recollection the various
-scenes which Monsieur had with the Duke of Buckingham, and the
-insinuations which were reported respecting the duke's exile?  Must I
-remind you of the anxious care the comte always took in his efforts to
-please, to watch, to protect that person for whom alone he lives, - for
-whom alone he breathes?  Well!  I will do so; and when I shall have made
-you recall all the particulars I refer to, you will perhaps understand
-how it happened that the comte, having lost all control over himself, and
-having been for some time past almost harassed to death by De Wardes,
-became, at the first disrespectful expression which the latter pronounced
-respecting the person in question, inflamed with passion, and panted only
-for an opportunity of avenging the affront."
-
-The princess concealed her face with her hands.  "Monsieur, monsieur!"
-she exclaimed; "do you know what you are saying, and to whom you are
-speaking?"
-
-"And so, Madame," pursued Manicamp, as if he had not heard the
-exclamations of the princess, "nothing will astonish you any longer, -
-neither the comte's ardor in seeking the quarrel, nor his wonderful
-address in transferring it to an quarter foreign to your own personal
-interests.  That latter circumstance was, indeed, a marvelous instance of
-tact and perfect coolness, and if the person in whose behalf the comte so
-fought and shed his blood does, in reality, owe some gratitude to the
-poor wounded sufferer, it is not on account of the blood he has shed, or
-the agony he has suffered, but for the steps he has taken to preserve
-from comment or reflection an honor which is more precious to him than
-his own."
-
-"Oh!" cried Madame, as if she had been alone, "is it possible the quarrel
-was on my account!"
-
-Manicamp felt he could now breathe for a moment - and gallantly had he
-won the right to do so.  Madame, on her side, remained for some time
-plunged in a painful reverie.  Her agitation could be seen by her quick
-respiration, by her drooping eyelids, by the frequency with which she
-pressed her hand upon her heart.  But, in her, coquetry was not so much a
-passive quality, as, on the contrary, a fire which sought for fuel to
-maintain itself, finding anywhere and everywhere what it required.
-
-"If it be as you assert," she said, "the comte will have obliged two
-persons at the same time; for Monsieur de Bragelonne also owes a deep
-debt of gratitude to M. de Guiche - and with far greater reason, indeed,
-because everywhere, and on every occasion, Mademoiselle de la Valliere
-will be regarded as having been defended by this generous champion."
-
-Manicamp perceived that there still remained some lingering doubt in the
-princess's heart.  "A truly admirable service, indeed," he said, "is the
-one he has rendered to Mademoiselle de la Valliere!  A truly admirable
-service to M. de Bragelonne!  The duel has created a sensation which, in
-some respects, casts a dishonorable suspicion upon that young girl; a
-sensation, indeed, which will embroil her with the vicomte.  The
-consequence is that De Wardes's pistol-bullet has had three results
-instead of one; it destroys at the same time the honor of a woman, the
-happiness of a man, and, perhaps, it has wounded to death one of the best
-gentlemen in France.  Oh, Madame! your logic is cold - even calculating;
-it always condemns - it never absolves."
-
-Manicamp's concluding words scattered to the winds the last doubt which
-lingered, not in Madame's heart, but in her mind.  She was no longer a
-princess full of scruples, nor a woman with her ever-returning
-suspicions, but one whose heart has just felt the mortal chill of a
-wound.  "Wounded to death!" she murmured, in a faltering voice, "oh,
-Monsieur de Manicamp! did you not say, wounded to death?"
-
-Manicamp returned no other answer than a deep sigh.
-
-"And so you said that the comte is dangerously wounded?" continued the
-princess.
-
-"Yes, Madame; one of his hands is shattered, and he has a bullet lodged
-in his breast."
-
-"Gracious heavens!" resumed the princess, with a feverish excitement,
-"this is horrible!  Monsieur de Manicamp! a hand shattered, do you say,
-and a bullet in his breast?  And that coward! that wretch! that assassin,
-De Wardes, did it!"
-
-Manicamp seemed overcome by a violent emotion.  He had, in fact,
-displayed no little energy in the latter part of his speech.  As for
-Madame, she entirely threw aside all regard for the formal observances of
-propriety society imposes; for when, with her, passion spoke in accents
-either of anger or sympathy, nothing could restrain her impulses.  Madame
-approached Manicamp, who had subsided in a chair, as if his grief were a
-sufficiently powerful excuse for his infraction of the laws of
-etiquette.  "Monsieur," she said, seizing him by the hand, "be frank with
-me."
-
-Manicamp looked up.
-
-"Is M. de Guiche in danger of death?"
-
-"Doubly so, Madame," he replied; "in the first place on account of the
-hemorrhage which has taken place, an artery having been injured in the
-hand; and next, in consequence of the wound in his breast, which may, the
-doctor is afraid, at least, have injured some vital part."
-
-"He may die, then?"
-
-"Die, yes, Madame; and without even having had the consolation of knowing
-that you have been told of his devotion."
-
-"You will tell him."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes; are you not his friend?"
-
-"I? oh, no, Madame; I will only tell M. de Guiche - if, indeed, he is
-still in a condition to hear me - I will only tell him what I have seen;
-that is, your cruelty to him."
-
-"Oh, monsieur, you will not be guilty of such barbarity!"
-
-"Indeed, Madame, I shall speak the truth, for nature is very energetic in
-a man of his age.  The physicians are clever men, and if, by chance, the
-poor comte should survive his wound, I should not wish him to die of a
-wound of the heart, after surviving one of the body."  Manicamp rose, and
-with an expression of profoundest respect, seemed to be desirous of
-taking leave.
-
-"At least, monsieur," said Madame, stopping him with almost a suppliant
-air, "you will be kind enough to tell me in what state your wounded
-friend is, and who is the physician who attends him?"
-
-"As regards the state he is in, Madame, he is seriously ill; his
-physician is M. Valot, his majesty's private medical attendant.  M. Valot
-is moreover assisted by a professional friend, to whose house M. de
-Guiche has been carried."
-
-"What! he is not in the chateau?" said Madame.
-
-"Alas, Madame! the poor fellow was so ill, that he could not even be
-conveyed thither."
-
-"Give me the address, monsieur," said the princess, hurriedly; "I will
-send to inquire after him."
-
-"Rue du Feurre; a brick-built house, with white outside blinds.  The
-doctor's name is on the door."
-
-"You are returning to your wounded friend, Monsieur de Manicamp?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"You will be able, then, to do me a service."
-
-"I am at your highness's orders."
-
-"Do what you intended to do; return to M. de Guiche, send away all those
-whom you may find there, and have the kindness yourself to go away too."
-
-"Madame - "
-
-"Let us waste no time in useless explanations.  Accept the fact as I
-present it to you; see nothing in it beyond what is really there, and ask
-nothing further than what I tell you.  I am going to send one of my
-ladies, perhaps two, because it is now getting late; I do not wish them
-to see you, or rather I do not wish you to see them.  These are scruples
-you can understand - you particularly, Monsieur de Manicamp, who seem
-capable of divining so much."
-
-"Oh, Madame, perfectly; I can even do better still, - I will precede, or
-rather walk, in advance of your attendants; it will, at the same time, be
-the means of showing them the way more accurately, and of protecting
-them, if occasion arises, though there is no probability of their needing
-protection."
-
-"And, by this means, then, they would be sure of entering without
-difficulty, would they not?"
-
-"Certainly, Madame; for as I should be the first to pass, I thus remove
-any difficulties that might chance to be in the way."
-
-"Very well.  Go, go, Monsieur de Manicamp, and wait at the bottom of the
-staircase."
-
-"I go at once, Madame."
-
-"Stay."
-
-Manicamp paused.
-
-"When you hear the footsteps of two women descending the stairs, go out,
-and, without once turning round, take the road which leads to where the
-poor count is lying."
-
-"But if, by any mischance, two other persons were to descend, and I were
-to be mistaken?"
-
-"You will hear one of the two clap her hands together softly.  Go."
-
-Manicamp turned round, bowed once more, and left the room, his heart
-overflowing with joy.  In fact, he knew very well that the presence of
-Madame herself would be the best balm to apply to his friend's wounds.  A
-quarter of an hour had hardly elapsed when he heard the sound of a door
-opened softly, and closed with like precaution.  He listened to the light
-footfalls gliding down the staircase, and then hard the signal agreed
-upon.  He immediately went out, and, faithful to his promise, bent his
-way, without once turning his head, through the streets of Fontainebleau,
-towards the doctor's dwelling.
-
-
-Chapter XXI:
-M. Malicorne the Keeper of the Records of France.
-
-Two women, their figures completely concealed by their mantles, and whose
-masks effectually hid the upper portion of their faces, timidly followed
-Manicamp's steps.  On the first floor, behind curtains of red damask, the
-soft light of a lamp placed upon a low table faintly illumined the room,
-at the other extremity of which, on a large bedstead supported by spiral
-columns, around which curtains of the same color as those which deadened
-the rays of the lamp had been closely drawn, lay De Guiche, his head
-supported by pillows, his eyes looking as if the mists of death were
-gathering; his long black hair, scattered over the pillow, set off the
-young man's hollow temples.  It was easy to see that fever was the chief
-tenant of the chamber.  De Guiche was dreaming.  His wandering mind was
-pursuing, through gloom and mystery, one of those wild creations delirium
-engenders.  Two or three drops of blood, still liquid, stained the
-floor.  Manicamp hurriedly ran up the stairs, but paused at the threshold
-of the door, looked into the room, and seeing that everything was
-perfectly quiet, he advanced towards the foot of the large leathern
-armchair, a specimen of furniture of the reign of Henry IV., and seeing
-that the nurse, as a matter of course, had dropped off to sleep, he awoke
-her, and begged her to pass into the adjoining room.
-
-Then, standing by the side of the bed, he remained for a moment
-deliberating whether it would be better to awaken Guiche, in order to
-acquaint him with the good news.  But, as he began to hear behind the
-door the rustling of silk dresses and the hurried breathing of his two
-companions, and as he already saw that the curtain screening the doorway
-seemed on the point of being impatiently drawn aside, he passed round the
-bed and followed the nurse into the next room.  As soon as he had
-disappeared the curtain was raised, and his two female companions entered
-the room he had just left.  The one who entered first made a gesture to
-her companion, which riveted her to the spot where she stood, close to
-the door, and then resolutely advanced towards the bed, drew back the
-curtains along the iron rod, and threw them in thick folds behind the
-head of the bed.  She gazed upon the comte's pallid face; remarked his
-right hand enveloped in linen whose dazzling whiteness was emphasized by
-the counterpane patterned with dark leaves thrown across the couch.  She
-shuddered as she saw a stain of blood growing larger and larger upon the
-bandages.  The young man's breast was uncovered, as though for the cool
-night air to assist his respiration.  A narrow bandage fastened the
-dressings of the wound, around which a purplish circle of extravasated
-blood was gradually increasing in size.  A deep sigh broke from her
-lips.  She leaned against one of the columns of the bed, and gazed,
-through the apertures in her mask, upon the harrowing spectacle before
-her.  A hoarse harsh groan passed like a death-rattle through the comte's
-clenched teeth.  The masked lady seized his left hand, which scorched
-like burning coals.  But at the very moment she placed her icy hand upon
-it, the action of the cold was such that De Guiche opened his eyes, and
-by a look in which revived intelligence was dawning, seemed as though
-struggling back again into existence.  The first thing upon which he
-fixed his gaze was this phantom standing erect by his bedside.  At that
-sight, his eyes became dilated, but without any appearance of
-consciousness in them.  The lady thereupon made a sign to her companion,
-who had remained at the door; and in all probability the latter had
-already received her lesson, for in a clear tone of voice, and without
-any hesitation whatever, she pronounced these words: - "Monsieur le
-comte, her royal highness Madame is desirous of knowing how you are able
-to bear your wound, and to express to you, by my lips, her great regret
-at seeing you suffer."
-
-As she pronounced the word Madame, Guiche started; he had not as yet
-remarked the person to whom the voice belonged, and he naturally turned
-towards the direction whence it preceded.  But, as he felt the cold hand
-still resting on his own, he again turned towards the motionless figure
-beside him.  "Was it you who spoke, madame?" he asked, in a weak voice,
-"or is there another person in beside you in the room?"
-
-"Yes," replied the figure, in an almost unintelligible voice, as she bent
-down her head.
-
-"Well," said the wounded man, with a great effort, "I thank you.  Tell
-Madame that I no longer regret to die, since she has remembered me."
-
-At the words "to die," pronounced by one whose life seemed to hang on a
-thread, the masked lady could not restrain her tears, which flowed under
-the mask, and appeared upon her cheeks just where the mask left her face
-bare.  If De Guiche had been in fuller possession of his senses, he would
-have seen her tears roll like glistening pearls, and fall upon his bed.
-The lady, forgetting that she wore her mask, raised her hand as though to
-wipe her eyes, and meeting the rough velvet, she tore away her mask in
-anger, and threw it on the floor.  At the unexpected apparition before
-him, which seemed to issue from a cloud, De Guiche uttered a cry and
-stretched his arms towards her; but every word perished on his lips, and
-his strength seemed utterly abandoning him.  His right hand, which had
-followed his first impulse, without calculating the amount of strength he
-had left, fell back again upon the bed, and immediately afterwards the
-white linen was stained with a larger spot than before.  In the meantime,
-the young man's eyes became dim, and closed, as if he were already
-struggling with the messenger of death; and then, after a few involuntary
-movements, his head fell back motionless on his pillow; his face grew
-livid.  The lady was frightened; but on this occasion, contrary to what
-is usually the case, fear attracted.  She leaned over the young man,
-gazed earnestly, fixedly at his pale, cold face, which she almost
-touched, then imprinted a rapid kiss upon De Guiche's left hand, who,
-trembling as if an electric shock had passed through him, awoke a second
-time, opened his large eyes, incapable of recognition, and again fell
-into a state of complete insensibility.  "Come," she said to her
-companion, "we must not remain here any longer; I shall be committing
-some folly or other."
-
-"Madame, Madame, your highness is forgetting your mask!" said her
-vigilant companion.
-
-"Pick it up," replied her mistress, as she tottered almost senseless
-towards the staircase, and as the outer door had been left only half-
-closed, the two women, light as birds, passed through it, and with
-hurried steps returned to the palace.  One of the ascended towards
-Madame's apartments, where she disappeared; the other entered the rooms
-belonging to the maids of honor, namely, on the _entresol_, and having
-reached her own room, she sat down before a table, and without giving
-herself time even to breathe, wrote the following letter:
-
-"This evening Madame has been to see M. de Guiche.  Everything is going
-well on this side.  See that your news is equally exemplary, and do not
-forget to burn this paper."
-
-She folded the letter, and leaving her room with every possible
-precaution, crossed a corridor which led to the apartments appropriated
-to the gentlemen attached to Monsieur's service.  She stopped before a
-door, under which, having previously knocked twice in a short, quick
-manner, she thrust the paper, and fled.  Then, returning to her own room,
-she removed every trace of her having gone out, and also of having
-written the letter.  Amid the investigations she was so diligently
-pursuing she perceived on the table the mask which belonged to Madame,
-and which, according to her mistress's directions, she had brought back
-but had forgotten to restore to her.  "Oh, oh!" she said, "I must not
-forget to do to-morrow what I have forgotten to-day."
-
-And she took hold of the velvet mask by that part which covered the
-cheeks, and feeling that her thumb was wet, looked at it.  It was not
-only wet, but reddened.  The mask had fallen upon one of the spots of
-blood which, we have already said, stained the floor, and from that black
-velvet outside which had accidentally come into contact with it, the
-blood had passed through to the inside, and stained the white cambric
-lining.  "Oh, oh!" said Montalais, for doubtless our readers have already
-recognized her by these various maneuvers, "I shall not give back this
-mask; it is far too precious now."
-
-And rising from her seat, she ran towards a box made of maple wood, which
-inclosed different articles of toilette and perfumery.  "No, not here,"
-she said, "such a treasure must not be abandoned to the slightest chance
-of detection."
-
-Then, after a moment's silence, and with a smile that was peculiarly her
-own, she added: - "Beautiful mask, stained with the blood of that brave
-knight, you shall go and join that collection of wonders, La Valliere's
-and Raoul's letters, that loving collection, indeed, which will some day
-or other form part of the history of France, of European royalty.  You
-shall be placed under M. Malicorne's care," said the laughing girl, as
-she began to undress herself, "under the protection of that worthy M.
-Malicorne," she said, blowing out the taper, "who thinks he was born only
-to become the chief usher of Monsieur's apartments, and whom I will make
-keeper of the records and historiographer of the house of Bourbon, and of
-the first houses in the kingdom.  Let him grumble now, that discontented
-Malicorne," she added, as she drew the curtains and fell asleep.
-
-
-Chapter XXII:
-The Journey.
-
-The next day being agreed upon for the departure, the king, at eleven
-o'clock precisely, descended the grand staircase with the two queens and
-Madame, in order to enter his carriage drawn by six horses, that were
-pawing the ground in impatience at the foot of the staircase.  The whole
-court awaited the royal appearance in the _Fer-a-cheval_ crescent, in
-their travelling costumes; the large number of saddled horses and
-carriages of ladies and gentlemen of the court, surrounded by their
-attendants, servants, and pages, formed a spectacle whose brilliancy
-could scarcely be equalled.  The king entered his carriage with the two
-queens; Madame was in the same one with Monsieur.  The maids of honor
-followed their example, and took their seats, two by two, in the
-carriages destined for them.  The weather was exceedingly warm; a light
-breeze, which, early in the morning, all had thought would have proved
-sufficient to cool the air, soon became fiercely heated by the rays of
-the sun, although it was hidden behind the clouds, and filtered through
-the heated vapor which rose from the ground like a scorching wind,
-bearing particles of fine dust against the faces of the travelers.
-Madame was the first to complain of the heat.  Monsieur's only reply was
-to throw himself back in the carriage as though about to faint, and to
-inundate himself with scents and perfumes, uttering the deepest sighs all
-the while; whereupon Madame said to him, with her most amiable
-expression: - "Really, Monsieur, I fancied that you would have been
-polite enough, on account of the terrible heart, to have left me my
-carriage to myself, and to have performed the journey yourself on
-horseback."
-
-"Ride on horseback!" cried the prince, with an accent of dismay which
-showed how little idea he had of adopting this unnatural advice; "you
-cannot suppose such a thing, Madame!  My skin would peel off if I were to
-expose myself to such a burning breeze as this."
-
-Madame began to laugh.
-
-"You can take my parasol," she said.
-
-"But the trouble of holding it!" replied Monsieur, with the greatest
-coolness; "besides, I have no horse."
-
-"What, no horse?" replied the princess, who, if she did not secure the
-solitude she required, at least obtained the amusement of teasing.  "No
-horse!  You are mistaken, Monsieur; for I see your favorite bay out
-yonder."
-
-"My bay horse!" exclaimed the prince, attempting to lean forward to look
-out of the door; but the movement he was obliged to make cost him so much
-trouble that he soon hastened to resume his immobility.
-
-"Yes," said Madame; "your horse, led by M. de Malicorne."
-
-"Poor beast," replied the prince; "how warm it must be!"
-
-And with these words he closed his eyes, like a man on the point of
-death.  Madame, on her side, reclined indolently in the other corner of
-the carriage, and closed her eyes also, not, however, to sleep, but to
-think more at her ease.  In the meantime the king, seated in the front
-seat of his carriage, the back of which he had yielded up to the two
-queens, was a prey to that feverish contrariety experienced by anxious
-lovers, who, without being able to quench their ardent thirst, are
-ceaselessly desirous of seeing the loved object, and then go away
-partially satisfied, without perceiving they have acquired a more
-insatiable thirst than ever.  The king, whose carriage headed the
-procession, could not from the place he occupied perceive the carriages
-of the ladies and maids of honor, which followed in a line behind it.
-Besides, he was obliged to answer the eternal questions of the young
-queen, who, happy to have with her "_her dear husband_," as she called
-him in utter forgetfulness of royal etiquette, invested him with all her
-affection, stifled him with her attentions, afraid that some one might
-come to take him from her, or that he himself might suddenly take a fancy
-to quit her society.  Anne of Austria, whom nothing at that moment
-occupied except the occasional cruel throbbings in her bosom, looked
-pleased and delighted, and although she perfectly realized the king's
-impatience, tantalizingly prolonged his sufferings by unexpectedly
-resuming the conversation at the very moment the king, absorbed in his
-own reflections, began to muse over his secret attachment.  Everything
-seemed to combine - not alone the little teasing attentions of the queen,
-but also the queen-mother's interruptions - to make the king's position
-almost insupportable; for he knew not how to control the restless
-longings of his heart.  At first, he complained of the heat - a complaint
-merely preliminary to others, but with sufficient tact to prevent Maria
-Theresa guessing his real object.  Understanding the king's remark
-literally, she began to fan him with her ostrich plumes.  But the heat
-passed away, and the king then complained of cramps and stiffness in his
-legs, and as the carriages at that moment stopped to change horses, the
-queen said: - "Shall I get out with you?  I too feel tired of sitting.
-We can walk on a little distance; the carriage will overtake us, and we
-can resume our places presently."
-
-The king frowned; it is a hard trial a jealous woman makes her husband
-submit to whose fidelity she suspects, when, although herself a prey to
-jealousy, she watches herself so narrowly that she avoids giving any
-pretext for an angry feeling.  The king, therefore, in the present case,
-could not refuse; he accepted the offer, alighted from the carriage, gave
-his arm to the queen, and walked up and down with her while the horses
-were being changed.  As he walked along, he cast an envious glance upon
-the courtiers, who were fortunate enough to be on horseback.  The queen
-soon found out that the promenade she had suggested afforded the king as
-little pleasure as he had experienced from driving.  She accordingly
-expressed a wish to return to her carriage, and the king conducted her to
-the door, but did not get in with her.  He stepped back a few paces, and
-looked along the file of carriages for the purpose of recognizing the one
-in which he took so strong an interest.  At the door of the sixth
-carriage he saw La Valliere's fair countenance.  As the king thus stood
-motionless, wrapt in thought, without perceiving that everything was
-ready, and that he alone was causing the delay, he heard a voice close
-beside him, addressing him in the most respectful manner.  It was M.
-Malicorne, in a complete costume of an equerry, holding over his left arm
-the bridles of a couple of horses.
-
-"Your majesty asked for a horse, I believe," he said.
-
-"A horse?  Have you one of my horses here?" inquired the king, trying to
-remember the person who addressed him, and whose face was not as yet
-familiar to him.
-
-"Sire," replied Malicorne, "at all events I have a horse here which is at
-your majesty's service."
-
-And Malicorne pointed at Monsieur's bay horse, which Madame had
-observed.  It was a beautiful creature royally caparisoned.
-
-"This is not one of my horses, monsieur," said the king.
-
-"Sire, it is a horse out of his royal highness's stables; but he does not
-ride when the weather is as hot as it is now."
-
-Louis did not reply, but approached the horse, which stood pawing the
-ground with its foot.  Malicorne hastened to hold the stirrup for him,
-but the king was already in the saddle.  Restored to good-humor by this
-lucky accident, the king hastened towards the queen's carriage, where he
-was anxiously expected; and notwithstanding Maria Theresa's thoughtful
-and preoccupied air, he said: "I have been fortunate enough to find this
-horse, and I intend to avail myself of it.  I felt stifled in the
-carriage.  Adieu, ladies."
-
-Then bending gracefully over the arched neck of his beautiful steed, he
-disappeared in a second.  Anne of Austria leaned forward, in order to
-look after him as he rode away; he did not get very far, for when he
-reached the sixth carriage, he reined in his horse suddenly and took off
-his hat.  He saluted La Valliere, who uttered a cry of surprise as she
-saw him, blushing at the same time with pleasure.  Montalais, who
-occupied the other seat in the carriage, made the king a most respectful
-bow.  And then, with all the tact of a woman, she pretended to be
-exceedingly interested in the landscape, and withdrew herself into the
-left-hand corner.  The conversation between the king and La Valliere
-began, as all lovers' conversations generally do, namely, by eloquent
-looks and by a few words utterly devoid of common sense.  The king
-explained how warm he had felt in his carriage, so much so indeed that he
-could almost regard the horse he then rode as a blessing thrown in his
-way.  "And," he added, "my benefactor is an exceedingly intelligent man,
-for he seemed to guess my thoughts intuitively.  I have now only one
-wish, that of learning the name of the gentleman who so cleverly assisted
-his king out of his dilemma, and extricated him from his cruel position."
-
-Montalais, during this colloquy, the first words of which had awakened
-her attention, had slightly altered her position, and contrived so as to
-meet the king's look as he finished his remark.  It followed very
-naturally that the king looked inquiringly as much at her as at La
-Valliere; she had every reason to suppose that it was herself who was
-appealed to, and consequently might be permitted to answer.  She
-therefore said: "Sire, the horse which your majesty is riding belongs to
-Monsieur, and was being led by one of his royal highness's gentlemen."
-
-"And what is that gentleman's name, may I ask, mademoiselle?"
-
-"M. de Malicorne, sire."
-
-The name produced its usual effect, for the king repeated it smilingly.
-
-"Yes, sire," replied Aure.  "Stay, it is the gentleman who is galloping
-on my left hand;" and she pointed out Malicorne, who, with a very
-sanctified expression, was galloping by the side of the carriage, knowing
-perfectly well that they were talking of him at that very moment, but
-sitting in his saddle as if he were deaf and dumb.
-
-"Yes," said the king, "that is the gentleman; I remember his face, and
-will not forget his name;" and the king looked tenderly at La Valliere.
-
-Aure had now nothing further to do; she had let Malicorne's name fall;
-the soil was good; all that was now left to be done was to let the name
-take root, and the event would bear fruit in due season.  She
-consequently threw herself back in her corner, feeling perfectly
-justified in making as many agreeable signs of recognition as she liked
-to Malicorne, since the latter had had the happiness of pleasing the
-king.  As will readily be believed, Montalais was not mistaken; and
-Malicorne, with his quick ear and his sly look, seemed to interpret her
-remark as "All goes on well," the whole being accompanied by a pantomimic
-action, which he fancied conveyed something resembling a kiss.
-
-"Alas! mademoiselle," said the king, after a moment's pause, "the liberty
-and freedom of the country is soon about to cease; your attendance on
-Madame will be more strictly enforced, and we shall see each other no
-more."
-
-"Your majesty is too much attached to Madame," replied Louise, "not to
-come and see her very frequently; and whenever your majesty may chance to
-pass across the apartments - "
-
-"Ah!" said the king, in a tender voice, which was gradually lowered in
-its tone, "to perceive is not to see, and yet it seems that it would be
-quite sufficient for you."
-
-Louise did not answer a syllable; a sigh filled her heart almost to
-bursting, but she stifled it.
-
-"You exercise a great control over yourself," said the king to Louise,
-who smiled upon him with a melancholy expression.  "Exert the strength
-you have in loving fondly," he continued, "and I will bless Heaven for
-having bestowed it on you."
-
-La Valliere still remained silent, but raised her eyes, brimful of
-affection, toward the king.  Louis, as if overcome by this burning
-glance, passed his hand across his forehead, and pressing the sides of
-his horse with his knees, made him bound several paces forward.  La
-Valliere, leaning back in her carriage, with her eyes half closed, gazed
-fixedly upon the king, whose plumes were floating in the air; she could
-not but admire his graceful carriage, his delicate and nervous limbs
-which pressed his horse's sides, and the regular outline of his features,
-which his beautiful curling hair set off to great advantage, revealing
-occasionally his small and well-formed ear.  In fact the poor girl was in
-love, and she reveled in her innocent affection.  In a few moments the
-king was again by her side.
-
-"Do you not perceive," he said, "how terribly your silence affects me?
-Oh! mademoiselle, how pitilessly inexorable you would become if you were
-ever to resolve to break off all acquaintance with any one; and then,
-too, I think you changeable; in fact - in fact, I dread this deep
-affection which fills my whole being."
-
-"Oh! sire, you are mistaken," said La Valliere; "if ever I love, it will
-be for all my life."
-
-"If you love, you say," exclaimed the king; "you do _not_ love now, then?"
-
-She hid her face in her hands.
-
-"You see," said the king, "that I am right in accusing you; you must
-admit you are changeable, capricious, a coquette, perhaps."
-
-"Oh, no! sire, be perfectly satisfied as to that.  No, I say again; no,
-no!"
-
-"Promise me, then, that to me you will always be the same."
-
-"Oh! always, sire."
-
-"That you will never show any of that severity which would break my
-heart, none of that fickleness of manner which would be worse than death
-to me."
-
-"Oh! no, no."
-
-"Very well, then! but listen.  I like promises, I like to place under the
-guarantee of an oath, under the protection of Heaven, in fact, everything
-which interests my heart and my affections.  Promise me, or rather swear
-to me, that if in the life we are about to commence, a life which will be
-full of sacrifice, mystery, anxiety, disappointment, and
-misunderstanding; swear to me that if we should in any way deceive, or
-misunderstand each other, or should judge each other unjustly, for that
-indeed would be criminal in love such as ours; swear to me, Louise - "
-
-She trembled with agitation to the very depths of her heart; it was the
-first time she had heard her name pronounced in that manner by her royal
-lover.  As for the king, taking off his glove, and placing his hand
-within the carriage, he continued: - "Swear, that never in all our
-quarrels will we allow one night even to pass by, if any misunderstanding
-should arise between us, without a visit, or at least a message, from
-either, in order to convey consolation and repose to the other."
-
-La Valliere took her lover's burning hand between her own cool palms, and
-pressed it softly, until a movement of the horse, frightened by the
-proximity of the wheels, obliged her to abandon her happiness.  She had
-vowed as he desired.
-
-"Return, sire," she said, "return to the queen.  I foresee a storm
-yonder, which threatens my peace of mind and yours."
-
-Louis obeyed, saluted Mademoiselle de Montalais, and set off at a gallop
-to rejoin the queen.  As he passed Monsieur's carriage, he observed that
-he was fast asleep, although Madame, on her part, was wide awake.  As the
-king passed her she said, "What a beautiful horse, sire!  Is it not
-Monsieur's bay horse?"
-
-The young queen kindly asked, "Are you better now, sire?"
-
-Transcriber's note: In the five-volume edition, Volume 3 ends here. - JB
-
-
-Chapter XXIII:
-Triumfeminate.
-
-On the king's arrival in Paris, he sat at the council which had been
-summoned, and worked for a certain portion of the day.  The queen
-remained with the queen-mother, and burst into tears as soon as she had
-taken leave of the king.  "Ah, madame!" she said, "the king no longer
-loves me!  What will become of me?"
-
-"A husband always loves his wife when she is like you," replied Anne of
-Austria.
-
-"A time may come when he will love another woman instead of me."
-
-"What do you call loving?"
-
-"Always thinking of a person - always seeking her society."
-
-"Do you happen to have remarked," said Anne of Austria, "that the king
-has ever done anything of the sort?"
-
-"No, madame," said the young queen, hesitatingly.
-
-"What is there to complain of, then, Marie?"
-
-"You will admit that the king leaves me?"
-
-"The king, my daughter, belongs to his people."
-
-"And that is the very reason why he no longer belongs to me; and that is
-the reason, too, why I shall find myself, as so many queens before me,
-forsaken and forgotten, whilst glory and honors will be reserved for
-others.  Oh, my mother! the king is so handsome! how often will others
-tell him that they love him, and how much, indeed, they must do so!"
-
-"It is very seldom, indeed, that women love the man in loving the king.
-But if such a thing happened, which I doubt, you would do better to wish,
-Marie, that such women should really love your husband.  In the first
-place, the devoted love of a mistress is a rapid element of the
-dissolution of a lover's affection; and then, by dint of loving, the
-mistress loses all influence over her lover, whose power of wealth she
-does not covet, caring only for his affection.  Wish, therefore, that the
-king should love but lightly, and that his mistress should love with all
-her heart."
-
-"Oh, my mother, what power may not a deep affection exercise over him!"
-
-"And yet you say you are resigned?"
-
-"Quite true, quite true; I speak absurdly.  There is a feeling of
-anguish, however, which I can never control."
-
-"And that is?"
-
-"The king may make a happy choice - may find a home, with all the tender
-influences of home, not far from that we can offer him, - a home with
-children round him, the children of another woman.  Oh, madame!  I should
-die if I were but to see the king's children."
-
-"Marie, Marie," replied the queen-mother with a smile, and she took the
-young queen's hand in her own, "remember what I am going to say, and let
-it always be a consolation to you: the king cannot have a Dauphin without
-_you_."
-
-With this remark the queen-mother quitted her daughter-in-law, in order
-to meet Madame, whose arrival in the grand cabinet had just been
-announced by one of the pages.  Madame had scarcely taken time to change
-her dress.  Her face revealed her agitation, which betrayed a plan, the
-execution of which occupied, while the result disturbed, her mind.
-
-"I came to ascertain," she said, "if your majesties are suffering any
-fatigue from our journey."
-
-"None at all," said the queen-mother.
-
-"A little," replied Maria Theresa.
-
-"I have suffered from annoyance more than anything else," said Madame.
-
-"How was that?" inquired Anne of Austria.
-
-"The fatigue the king undergoes in riding about on horseback."
-
-"That does the king good."
-
-"And it was I who advised him," said Maria Theresa, turning pale.
-
-Madame said not a word in reply; but one of those smiles which were
-peculiarly her own flitted for a moment across her lips, without passing
-over the rest of her face; then, immediately changing the conversation,
-she continued, "We shall find Paris precisely the Paris we quitted; the
-same intrigues, plots, and flirtations going on."
-
-"Intrigues!  What intrigues do you allude to?" inquired the queen-mother.
-
-"People are talking a good deal about M. Fouquet and Madame Plessis-
-Belliere."
-
-"Who makes up the number to about ten thousand," replied the queen-
-mother.  "But what are the plots you speak of?"
-
-"We have, it seems, certain misunderstandings with Holland to settle."
-
-"What about?"
-
-"Monsieur has been telling me the story of the medals."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed the young queen, "you mean those medals struck in
-Holland, on which a cloud is seen passing across the sun, which is the
-king's device.  You are wrong in calling that a plot - it is an insult."
-
-"But so contemptible that the king can well despise it," replied the
-queen-mother.  "Well, what are the flirtations which are alluded to?  Do
-you mean that of Madame d'Olonne?"
-
-"No, no; nearer ourselves than that."
-
-"_Casa de usted_," murmured the queen-mother, and without moving her
-lips, in her daughter-in-law's ear, without being overheard by Madame,
-who thus continued: - "You know the terrible news?"
-
-Transcriber's note: "In your house." - JB
-
-"Oh, yes; M. de Guiche's wound."
-
-"And you attribute it, I suppose, as every one else does, to an accident
-which happened to him while hunting?"
-
-"Yes, of course," said both the queens together, their interest awakened.
-
-Madame drew closer to them, as she said, in a low tone of voice, "It was
-a duel."
-
-"Ah!" said Anne of Austria, in a severe tone; for, in her ears, the word
-"duel," which had been forbidden in France all the time she reigned over
-it, had a strange sound.
-
-"A most deplorable duel, which has nearly cost Monsieur two of his best
-friends, and the king two of his best servants."
-
-"What was the cause of the duel?" inquired the young queen, animated by a
-secret instinct.
-
-"Flirtation," repeated Madame, triumphantly.  "The gentlemen in question
-were conversing about the virtue of a particular lady belonging to the
-court.  One of them thought that Pallas was a very second-rate person
-compared to her; the other pretended that the lady in question was an
-imitation of Venus alluring Mars; and thereupon the two gentlemen fought
-as fiercely as Hector and Achilles."
-
-"Venus alluring Mars?" said the young queen in a low tone of voice
-without venturing to examine into the allegory very deeply.
-
-"Who is the lady?" inquired Anne of Austria abruptly.  "You said, I
-believe, she was one of the ladies of honor?"
-
-"Did I say so?" replied Madame.
-
-"Yes; at least I thought I heard you mention it."
-
-"Are you not aware that such a woman is of ill-omen to a royal house?"
-
-"Is it not Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" said the queen-mother.
-
-"Yes, indeed, that plain-looking creature."
-
-"I thought she was affianced to a gentleman who certainly is not, at
-least so I have heard, either M. de Guiche or M. de Wardes?"
-
-"Very possibly, madame."
-
-The young queen took up a piece of tapestry, and began to broider with an
-affectation of tranquillity her trembling fingers contradicted.
-
-"What were you saying about Venus and Mars?" pursued the queen-mother.
-"Is there a Mars also?"
-
-"She boasts of that being the case."
-
-"Did you say she boasts of it?"
-
-"That was the cause of the duel."
-
-"And M. de Guiche upheld the cause of Mars?"
-
-"Yes, certainly; like the devoted servant he is."
-
-"The devoted servant of whom?" exclaimed the young queen, forgetting her
-reserve in allowing her jealous feeling to escape.
-
-"Mars, not to be defended except at the expense of Venus," replied
-Madame.  "M. de Guiche maintained the perfect innocence of Mars, and no
-doubt affirmed that it was all a mere boast."
-
-"And M. de Wardes," said Anne of Austria, quietly, "spread the report
-that Venus was within her rights, I suppose?"
-
-"Oh, De Wardes," thought Madame, "you shall pay dearly for the wound you
-have given that noblest - best of men!"  And she began to attack De
-Wardes with the greatest bitterness; thus discharging her own and De
-Guiche's debt, with the assurance that she was working the future ruin of
-her enemy.  She said so much, in fact, that had Manicamp been there, he
-would have regretted he had shown such firm regard for his friend,
-inasmuch as it resulted in the ruin of his unfortunate foe.
-
-"I see nothing in the whole affair but _one_ cause of mischief, and that
-is La Valliere herself," said the queen-mother.
-
-The young queen resumed her work with perfect indifference of manner,
-while Madame listened eagerly.
-
-"I do not yet quite understand what you said just now about the danger of
-coquetry," resumed Anne of Austria.
-
-"It is quite true," Madame hastened to say, "that if the girl had not
-been a coquette, Mars would not have thought at all about her."
-
-The repetition of this word Mars brought a passing color to the queen's
-face; but she still continued her work.
-
-"I will not permit that, in my court, gentlemen should be set against
-each other in this manner," said Anne of Austria, calmly.  "Such manners
-were useful enough, perhaps, in days when the divided nobility had no
-other rallying-point than mere gallantry.  At that time women, whose sway
-was absolute and undivided, were privileged to encourage men's valor by
-frequent trials of their courage.  But now, thank Heaven, there is but
-one master in France, and to him every instinct of the mind, every pulse
-of the body are due.  I will not allow my son to be deprived of any
-single one of his servants."  And she turned towards the young queen,
-saying, "What is to be done with this La Valliere?"
-
-"La Valliere?" said the queen, apparently surprised, "I do not even know
-the name;" and she accompanied this remark by one of those cold, fixed
-smiles only to be observed on royal lips.
-
-Madame was herself a princess great in every respect, great in
-intelligence, great by birth, by pride; the queen's reply, however,
-completely astonished her, and she was obliged to pause for a moment
-in order to recover herself.  "She is one of my maids of honor," she
-replied, with a bow.
-
-"In that case," retorted Maria Theresa, in the same tone, "it is your
-affair, my sister, and not ours."
-
-"I beg your pardon," resumed Anne of Austria, "it is my affair.  And I
-perfectly well understand," she pursued, addressing a look full of
-intelligence at Madame, "Madame's motive for saying what she has just
-said."
-
-"Everything which emanates from you, madame," said the English princess,
-"proceeds from the lips of Wisdom."
-
-"If we send this girl back to her own family," said Maria Theresa,
-gently, "we must bestow a pension upon her."
-
-"Which I will provide for out of my income," exclaimed Madame.
-
-"No, no," interrupted Anne of Austria, "no disturbance, I beg.  The king
-dislikes that the slightest disrespectful remark should be made of any
-lady.  Let everything be done quietly.  Will you have the kindness,
-Madame, to send for this girl here; and you, my daughter, will have the
-goodness to retire to your own room."
-
-The dowager queen's entreaties were commands, and as Maria Theresa rose
-to return to her apartments, Madame rose in order to send a page to
-summon La Valliere.
-
-
-Chapter XXIV:
-The First Quarrel.
-
-La Valliere entered the queen-mother's apartments without in the least
-suspecting that a serious plot was being concerted against her.  She
-thought it was for something connected with her duties, and never had the
-queen-mother been unkind to her when such was the case.  Besides, not
-being immediately under the control or direction of Anne of Austria, she
-could only have an official connection with her, to which her own
-gentleness of disposition, and the rank of the august princess, made her
-yield on every occasion with the best possible grace.  She therefore
-advanced towards the queen-mother with that soft and gentle smile which
-constituted her principal charm, and as she did not approach sufficiently
-close, Anne of Austria signed to her to come nearer.  Madame then entered
-the room, and with a perfectly calm air took her seat beside her mother-
-in-law, and continued the work which Maria Theresa had begun.  When La
-Valliere, instead of the direction which she expected to receive
-immediately on entering the room, perceived these preparations, she
-looked with curiosity, if not with uneasiness, at the two princesses.
-Anne seemed full of thought, while Madame maintained an affectation of
-indifference that would have alarmed a less timid person even than Louise.
-
-"Mademoiselle," said the queen-mother suddenly, without attempting to
-moderate or disguise her Spanish accent, which she never failed to do
-except when she was angry, "come closer; we were talking of you, as every
-one else seems to be doing."
-
-"Of me!" exclaimed La Valliere, turning pale.
-
-"Do you pretend to be ignorant of it; are you not aware of the duel
-between M. de Guiche and M. de Wardes?"
-
-"Oh, madame!  I heard of it yesterday," said La Valliere, clasping her
-hands together.
-
-"And did you not foresee this quarrel?"
-
-"Why should I, madame?"
-
-"Because two men never fight without a motive, and because you must be
-aware of the motive which awakened the animosity of the two in question."
-
-"I am perfectly ignorant of it, madame."
-
-"A persevering denial is a very commonplace mode of defense, and you, who
-have great pretensions to be witty and clever, ought to avoid
-commonplaces.  What else have you to say?"
-
-"Oh! madame, your majesty terrifies me with your cold severity of manner;
-but I do not understand how I can have incurred your displeasure, or in
-what respect people concern themselves about me."
-
-"Then I will tell you.  M. de Guiche has been obliged to undertake your
-defense."
-
-"My defense?"
-
-"Yes.  He is a gallant knight, and beautiful adventuresses like to see
-brave knights couch lances in their honor.  But, for my part, I hate
-fields of battle, and above all I hate adventures, and - take my remark
-as you please."
-
-La Valliere sank at the queen's feet, who turned her back upon her.  She
-stretched out her hands towards Madame, who laughed in her face.  A
-feeling of pride made her rise to her feet.
-
-"I have begged your majesty to tell me what is the crime I am accused of
-- I can claim this at your hands; and I see I am condemned before I am
-even permitted to justify myself."
-
-"Eh! indeed," cried Anne of Austria, "listen to her beautiful phrases,
-Madame, and to her fine sentiments; she is an inexhaustible well of
-tenderness and heroic expressions.  One can easily see, young lady, that
-you have cultivated your mind in the society of crowned heads."
-
-La Valliere felt struck to the heart; she became, not whiter, but as
-white as a lily, and all her strength forsook her.
-
-"I wished to inform you," interrupted the queen, disdainfully, "that if
-you continue to nourish such feelings, you will humiliate us to such a
-degree that we shall be ashamed of appearing before you.  Be simple in
-your manners.  By the by, I am informed that you are affianced; is it the
-case?"
-
-La Valliere pressed her hand over her heart, which was wrung with a fresh
-pang.
-
-"Answer when you are spoken to!"
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"To a gentleman?"
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"His name?"
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"Are you aware that it is an exceedingly fortunate circumstance for you,
-mademoiselle, that such is the case, and without fortune or position, as
-you are, or without any very great personal advantages, you ought to
-bless Heaven for having procured you such a future as seems to be in
-store for you?"
-
-La Valliere did not reply.  "Where is the Vicomte de Bragelonne?" pursued
-the queen.
-
-"In England," said Madame, "where the report of this young lady's success
-will not fail to reach him."
-
-"Oh, Heaven!" murmured La Valliere in despair.
-
-"Very well, mademoiselle!" said Anne of Austria, "we will get this young
-gentleman to return, and send you away somewhere with him.  If you are of
-a different opinion - for girls have strange views and fancies at times -
-trust to me, I will put you in a proper path again.  I have done as much
-for girls who are not as good as you are, probably."
-
-La Valliere ceased to hear the queen, who pitilessly added: "I will send
-you somewhere, by yourself, where you will be able to indulge in a little
-serious reflection.  Reflection calms the ardor of the blood, and
-swallows up the illusions of youth.  I suppose you understand what I have
-been saying?"
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"Not a word?"
-
-"I am innocent of everything your majesty supposes.  Oh, madame! you are
-a witness of my despair.  I love, I respect your majesty so much."
-
-"It would be far better not to respect me at all," said the queen, with a
-chilling irony of manner.  "It would be far better if you were not
-innocent.  Do you presume to suppose that I should be satisfied simply to
-leave you unpunished if you had committed the fault?"
-
-"Oh, madame! you are killing me."
-
-"No acting, if you please, or I will precipitate the _denouement_ of this
-_play_; leave the room; return to your own apartment, and I trust my
-lesson may be of service to you."
-
-"Madame!" said La Valliere to the Duchess d'Orleans, whose hands she
-seized in her own, "do you, who are so good, intercede for me?"
-
-"I!" replied the latter, with an insulting joy, "I - good! - Ah,
-mademoiselle, you think nothing of the kind;" and with a rude, hasty
-gesture she repulsed the young girl's grasp.
-
-La Valliere, instead of giving way, as from her extreme pallor and her
-tears the two princesses possibly expected, suddenly resumed her calm and
-dignified air; she bowed profoundly, and left the room.
-
-"Well!" said Anne of Austria to Madame, "do you think she will begin
-again?"
-
-"I always suspect those gentle, patient characters," replied Madame.
-"Nothing is more full of courage than a patient heart, nothing more self-
-reliant than a gentle spirit."
-
-"I feel I may almost venture to assure you she will think twice before
-she looks at the god Mars again."
-
-"So long as she does not obtain the protection of his buckler I do not
-care," retorted Madame.
-
-A proud, defiant look of the queen-mother was the reply to this
-objection, which was by no means deficient in finesse; and both of them,
-almost sure of their victory, went to look for Maria Theresa, who had
-been waiting for them with impatience.
-
-It was about half-past six in the evening, and the king had just partaken
-of refreshment.  He lost no time; but the repast finished, and business
-matters settled, he took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and desired him to lead
-the way to La Valliere's apartments.  The courtier uttered an exclamation.
-
-"Well, what is that for?  It is a habit you will have to adopt, and in
-order to adopt a habit, one must make a beginning."
-
-"Oh, sire!" said Saint-Aignan, "it is hardly possible: for every one can
-be seen entering or leaving those apartments.  If, however, some pretext
-or other were made use of - if your majesty, for instance, would wait
-until Madame were in her own apartments - "
-
-"No pretext; no delays.  I have had enough of these impediments and
-mysteries; I cannot perceive in what respect the king of France dishonors
-himself by conversing with an amiable and clever girl.  Evil be to him
-who evil thinks."
-
-"Will your majesty forgive an excess of zeal on my part?"
-
-"Speak freely."
-
-"How about the queen?"
-
-"True, true; I always wish the most entire respect to be shown to her
-majesty.  Well, then, this evening only will I pay Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere a visit, and after to-day I will make use of any pretext you
-like.  To-morrow we will devise all sorts of means; to-night I have no
-time."
-
-Saint-Aignan made no reply; he descended the steps, preceding the king,
-and crossed the different courtyards with a feeling of shame, which the
-distinguished honor of accompanying the king did not remove.  The reason
-was that Saint-Aignan wished to stand well with Madame, as well as with
-the queens, and also, that he did not, on the other hand, want to
-displease Mademoiselle de la Valliere: and in order to carry out so many
-promising affairs, it was difficult to avoid jostling against some
-obstacle or other.  Besides, the windows of the young queen's rooms,
-those of the queen-mother's, and of Madame herself, looked out upon the
-courtyard of the maids of honor.  To be seen, therefore, accompanying the
-king, would be effectually to quarrel with three great and influential
-princesses - whose authority was unbounded - for the purpose of
-supporting the ephemeral credit of a mistress.  The unhappy Saint-Aignan,
-who had not displayed a very great amount of courage in taking La
-Valliere's part in the park of Fontainebleau, did not feel any braver in
-the broad day-light, and found a thousand defects in the poor girl which
-he was most eager to communicate to the king.  But his trial soon
-finished, - the courtyards were crossed; not a curtain was drawn aside,
-nor a window opened.  The king walked hastily, because of his impatience,
-and the long legs of Saint-Aignan, who preceded him.  At the door,
-however, Saint-Aignan wished to retire, but the king desired him to
-remain; a delicate consideration, on the king's part, which the courtier
-could very well have dispensed with.  He had to follow Louis into La
-Valliere's apartment.  As soon as the king arrived the young girl dried
-her tears, but so precipitately that the king perceived it.  He
-questioned her most anxiously and tenderly, and pressed her to tell him
-the cause of her emotion.
-
-"Nothing is the matter, sire," she said.
-
-"And yet you were weeping?"
-
-"Oh, no, indeed, sire."
-
-"Look, Saint-Aignan, and tell me if I am mistaken."
-
-Saint-Aignan ought to have answered, but he was too much embarrassed.
-
-"At all events your eyes are red, mademoiselle," said the king.
-
-"The dust of the road merely, sire."
-
-"No, no; you no longer possess the air of supreme contentment which
-renders you so beautiful and so attractive.  You do not look at me.  Why
-avoid my gaze?" he said, as she turned aside her head.  "In Heaven's
-name, what is the matter?" he inquired, beginning to lose command over
-himself.
-
-"Nothing at all, sire; and I am perfectly ready to assure your majesty
-that my mind is as free form anxiety as you could possibly wish."
-
-"Your mind at ease, when I see you are embarrassed at the slightest
-thing.  Has any one annoyed you?"
-
-"No, no, sire."
-
-"I insist upon knowing if such really be the case," said the prince, his
-eyes sparkling.
-
-"No one, sire, no one has in any way offended me."
-
-"In that case, pray resume your gentle air of gayety, or that sweet
-melancholy look which I so loved in you this morning; for pity's sake, do
-so."
-
-"Yes, sire, yes."
-
-The king tapped the floor impatiently with his foot, saying, "Such a
-change is positively inexplicable."  And he looked at Saint-Aignan, who
-had also remarked La Valliere's peculiar lethargy, as well as the king's
-impatience.
-
-It was futile for the king to entreat, and as useless for him to try to
-overcome her depression: the poor girl was completely overwhelmed, - the
-appearance of an angel would hardly have awakened her from her torpor.
-
-The king saw in her repeated negative replies a mystery full of
-unkindness; he began to look round the apartment with a suspicious air.
-There happened to be in La Valliere's room a miniature of Athos.  The
-king remarked that this portrait bore a strong resemblance to Bragelonne,
-for it had been taken when the count was quite a young man.  He looked at
-it with a threatening air.  La Valliere, in her misery far indeed from
-thinking of this portrait, could not conjecture the cause of the king's
-preoccupation.  And yet the king's mind was occupied with a terrible
-remembrance, which had more than once taken possession of his mind, but
-which he had always driven away.  He recalled the intimacy existing
-between the two young people from their birth, their engagement, and that
-Athos himself had come to solicit La Valliere's hand for Raoul.  He
-therefore could not but suppose that on her return to Paris, La Valliere
-had found news from London awaiting her, and that this news had
-counterbalanced the influence he had been enabled to exert over her.  He
-immediately felt himself stung, as it were, by feelings of the wildest
-jealousy; and again questioned her, with increased bitterness.  La
-Valliere could not reply, unless she were to acknowledge everything,
-which would be to accuse the queen, and Madame also; and the consequence
-would be, that she would have to enter into an open warfare with these
-two great and powerful princesses.  She thought within herself that as
-she made no attempt to conceal from the king what was passing in her own
-mind, the king ought to be able to read in her heart, in spite of her
-silence; and that, had he really loved her, he would have understood and
-guessed everything.  What was sympathy, then, if not that divine flame
-which possesses the property of enlightening the heart, and of saving
-lovers the necessity of an expression of their thoughts and feelings?
-She maintained her silence, therefore, sighing, and concealing her face
-in her hands.  These sighs and tears, which had at first distressed, then
-terrified Louis XIV., now irritated him.  He could not bear opposition, -
-the opposition which tears and sighs exhibited, any more than opposition
-of any other kind.  His remarks, therefore, became bitter, urgent, and
-openly aggressive in their nature.  This was a fresh cause of distress
-for the poor girl.  From that very circumstance, therefore, which she
-regarded as an injustice on her lover's part, she drew sufficient courage
-to bear, not only her other troubles, but this one also.
-
-The king next began to accuse her in direct terms.  La Valliere did not
-even attempt to defend herself; she endured all his accusations without
-according any other reply than that of shaking her head; without any
-other remark than that which escapes the heart in deep distress - a
-prayerful appeal to Heaven for help.  But this ejaculation, instead of
-calming the king's displeasure, rather increased it.  He, moreover, saw
-himself seconded by Saint-Aignan, for Saint-Aignan, as we have observed,
-having seen the storm increasing, and not knowing the extent of the
-regard of which Louis XIV. was capable, felt, by anticipation, all the
-collected wrath of the three princesses, and the near approach of poor La
-Valliere's downfall, and he was not true knight enough to resist the fear
-that he himself might be dragged down in the impending ruin.  Saint-
-Aignan did not reply to the king's questions except by short, dry
-remarks, pronounced half-aloud; and by abrupt gestures, whose object was
-to make things worse, and bring about a misunderstanding, the result of
-which would be to free him from the annoyance of having to cross the
-courtyards in open day, in order to follow his illustrious companion to
-La Valliere's apartments.  In the meantime the king's anger momentarily
-increased; he made two or three steps towards the door as if to leave the
-room, but returned.  The young girl did not, however, raise her head,
-although the sound of his footsteps might have warned her that her lover
-was leaving her.  He drew himself up, for a moment, before her, with his
-arms crossed.
-
-"For the last time, mademoiselle," he said, "will you speak?  Will you
-assign a reason for this change, this fickleness, for this caprice?"
-
-"What can I say?" murmured La Valliere.  "Do you not see, sire, that I am
-completely overwhelmed at this moment; that I have no power of will, or
-thought, or speech?"
-
-"Is it so difficult, then, to speak the truth?  You could have told me
-the whole truth in fewer words than those in which you have expressed
-yourself."
-
-"But the truth about what, sire?"
-
-"About everything."
-
-La Valliere was just on the point of revealing the truth to the king, her
-arms made a sudden movement as if they were about to open, but her lips
-remained silent, and her hands again fell listlessly by her side.  The
-poor girl had not yet endured sufficient unhappiness to risk the
-necessary revelation.  "I know nothing," she stammered out.
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed the king, "this is no longer mere coquetry, or caprice,
-it is treason."
-
-And this time nothing could restrain him.  The impulse of his heart was
-not sufficient to induce him to turn back, and he darted out of the room
-with a gesture full of despair.  Saint-Aignan followed him, wishing for
-nothing better than to quit the place.
-
-Louis XIV. did not pause until he reached the staircase, and grasping the
-balustrade, said: "You see how shamefully I have been duped."
-
-"How, sire?" inquired the favorite.
-
-"De Guiche fought on the Vicomte de Bragelonne's account, and this
-Bragelonne… oh!  Saint-Aignan, she still loves him.  I vow to you, Saint-
-Aignan, that if, in three days from now, there were to remain but an atom
-of affection for her in my heart, I should die from very shame."  And the
-king resumed his way to his own apartments.
-
-"I told your majesty how it would be," murmured Saint-Aignan, continuing
-to follow the king, and timidly glancing up at the different windows.
-
-Unfortunately their return was not, like their arrival, unobserved.  A
-curtain was suddenly drawn aside; Madame was behind it.  She had seen the
-king leave the apartments of the maids of honor, and as soon as she
-observed that his majesty had passed, she left her own apartments with
-hurried steps, and ran up the staircase that led to the room the king had
-just left.
-
-
-Chapter XXV:
-Despair.
-
-As soon as the king was gone La Valliere raised herself from the ground,
-and stretched out her arms, as if to follow and detain him, but when,
-having violently closed the door, the sound of his retreating footsteps
-could be heard in the distance, she had hardly sufficient strength left
-to totter towards and fall at the foot of her crucifix.  There she
-remained, broken-hearted, absorbed, and overwhelmed by her grief,
-forgetful and indifferent to everything but her profound sorrow; - a
-grief she only vaguely realized - as though by instinct.  In the midst of
-this wild tumult of thoughts, La Valliere heard her door open again; she
-started, and turned round, thinking it was the king who had returned.
-She was deceived, however, for it was Madame who appeared at the door.
-What did she now care for Madame!  Again she sank down, her head
-supported by her _prie-Dieu_ chair.  It was Madame, agitated, angry, and
-threatening.  But what was that to her?  "Mademoiselle," said the
-princess, standing before La Valliere, "this is very fine, I admit, to
-kneel and pray, and make a pretense of being religious; but however
-submissive you may be in your address to Heaven, it is desirable that you
-should pay some little attention to the wishes of those who reign and
-rule here below."
-
-La Valliere raised her head painfully in token of respect.
-
-"Not long since," continued Madame, "a certain recommendation was
-addressed to you, I believe."
-
-La Valliere's fixed and wild gaze showed how complete her forgetfulness
-or ignorance was.
-
-"The queen recommended you," continued Madame, "to conduct yourself in
-such a manner that no one could be justified in spreading any reports
-about you."
-
-La Valliere darted an inquiring look towards her.
-
-"I will not," continued Madame, "allow my household, which is that of the
-first princess of the blood, to set an evil example to the court; you
-would be the cause of such an example.  I beg you to understand,
-therefore, in the absence of any witness of your shame - for I do not
-wish to humiliate you - that you are from this moment at perfect liberty
-to leave, and that you can return to  your mother at Blois."
-
-La Valliere could not sink lower, nor could she suffer more than she had
-already suffered.  Her countenance did not even change, but she remained
-kneeling with her hands clasped, like the figure of the Magdalen.
-
-"Did you hear me?" said Madame.
-
-A shiver, which passed through her whole frame, was La Valliere's only
-reply.  And as the victim gave no other signs of life, Madame left the
-room.  And then, her very respiration suspended, and her blood almost
-congealed, as it were, in her veins, La Valliere by degrees felt that the
-pulsation of her wrists, her neck, and temples, began to throb more and
-more painfully.  These pulsations, as they gradually increased, soon
-changed into a species of brain fever, and in her temporary delirium she
-saw the figures of her friends contending with her enemies, floating
-before her vision.  She heard, too, mingled together in her deafened
-ears, words of menace and words of fond affection; she seemed raised out
-of her existence as though it were upon the wings of a mighty tempest,
-and in the dim horizon of the path along which her delirium hurried her,
-she saw the stone which covered her tomb upraised, and the grim,
-appalling texture of eternal night revealed to her distracted gaze.  But
-the horror of the dream which possessed her senses faded away, and she
-was again restored to the habitual resignation of her character.  A ray
-of hope penetrated her heart, as a ray of sunlight streams into the
-dungeon of some unhappy captive.  Her mind reverted to the journey from
-Fontainebleau, she saw the king riding beside her carriage, telling her
-that he loved her, asking for her love in return, requiring her to swear,
-and himself to swear too, that never should an evening pass by, if ever a
-misunderstanding were to arise between them, without a visit, a letter, a
-sign of some kind, being sent, to replace the troubled anxiety of the
-evening with the calm repose of the night.  It was the king who had
-suggested that, who had imposed a promise on her, and who had sworn to it
-himself.  It was impossible, therefore, she reasoned, that the king
-should fail in keeping the promise which he had himself exacted from her,
-unless, indeed, Louis was a despot who enforced love as he enforced
-obedience; unless, too, the king were so indifferent that the first
-obstacle in his way was sufficient to arrest his further progress.  The
-king, that kind protector, who by a word, a single word, could relieve
-her distress of mind, the king even joined her persecutors.  Oh! his
-anger could not possibly last.  Now that he was alone, he would be
-suffering all that she herself was a prey to.  But he was not tied hand
-and foot as she was; he could act, could move about, could come to her,
-while she could do nothing but wait.  And the poor girl waited and
-waited, with breathless anxiety - for she could not believe it possible
-that the king would not come.
-
-It was now about half-past ten.  He would either come to her, or write to
-her, or send some kind word by M. de Saint-Aignan.  If he were to come,
-oh! how she would fly to meet him; how she would thrust aside that excess
-of delicacy which she now discovered was misunderstood; how eagerly she
-would explain: "It is not I who do not love you - it is the fault of
-others who will not allow me to love you."  And then it must be confessed
-that she reflected upon it, and also the more she reflected, Louis
-appeared to her to be less guilty.  In fact, he was ignorant of
-everything.  What must he have thought of the obstinacy with which she
-remained silent?  Impatient and irritable as the king was known to be, it
-was extraordinary that he had been able to preserve his temper so long.
-And yet, had it been her own case, she undoubtedly would not have acted
-in such a manner; she would have understood - have guessed everything.
-Yes, but she was nothing but a poor simple-minded girl, and not a great
-and powerful monarch.  Oh! if he would but come, if he would but come! -
-how eagerly she would forgive him for all he had just made her suffer!
-how much more tenderly she would love him because she had so cruelly
-suffered!  And so she sat, with her head bent forward in eager
-expectation towards the door, her lips slightly parted, as if - and
-Heaven forgive her for the mental exclamation! - they were awaiting the
-kiss which the king's lips had in the morning so sweetly indicated, when
-he pronounced the word _love!_  If the king did not come, at least he
-would write; it was a second chance; a chance less delightful certainly
-than the other, but which would show an affection just as strong, only
-more timid in its nature.  Oh! how she would devour his letter, how eager
-she would be to answer it! and when the messenger who had brought it had
-left her, how she would kiss it, read it over and over again, press to
-her heart the lucky paper which would have brought her ease of mind,
-tranquillity, and perfect happiness.  At all events, if the king did not
-come, if the king did not write, he could not do otherwise than send
-Saint-Aignan, or Saint-Aignan could not do otherwise than come of his own
-accord.  Even if it were a third person, how openly she would speak to
-him; the royal presence would not be there to freeze her words upon her
-tongue, and then no suspicious feeling would remain a moment longer in
-the king's heart.
-
-Everything with La Valliere, heart and look, body and mind, was
-concentrated in eager expectation.  She said to herself that there was an
-hour left in which to indulge hope; that until midnight struck, the king
-might come, or write or send; that at midnight only would every
-expectation vanish, every hope be lost.  Whenever she heard any stir in
-the palace, the poor girl fancied she was the cause of it; whenever she
-heard any one pass in the courtyard below she imagined they were
-messengers of the king coming to her.  Eleven o'clock struck, then a
-quarter-past eleven; then half-past.  The minutes dragged slowly on in
-this anxiety, and yet they seemed to pass too quickly.  And now, it
-struck a quarter to twelve.  Midnight - midnight was near, the last, the
-final hope that remained.  With the last stroke of the clock, the last
-ray of light seemed to fade away; and with the last ray faded her final
-hope.  And so, the king himself had deceived her; it was he who had been
-the first to fail in keeping the oath which he had sworn that very day;
-twelve hours only between his oath and his perjured vow; it as not long,
-alas! to have preserved the illusion.  And so, not only did the king not
-love her, but he despised her whom every one ill-treated, he despised her
-to the extent even of abandoning her to the shame of an expulsion which
-was equivalent to having an ignominious sentence passed on her; and yet,
-it was he, the king himself, who was the first cause of this ignominy.  A
-bitter smile, the only symptom of anger which during this long conflict
-had passed across the angelic face, appeared upon her lips.  What, in
-fact, now remained on earth for her, after the king was lost to her?
-Nothing.  But Heaven still remained, and her thoughts flew thither.  She
-prayed that the proper course for her to follow might be suggested.  "It
-is from Heaven," she thought, "that I expect everything; it is from
-Heaven I ought to expect everything."  And she looked at her crucifix
-with a devotion full of tender love.  "There," she said, "hangs before me
-a Master who never forgets and never abandons those who neither forget
-nor abandon Him; it is to Him alone that we must sacrifice ourselves."
-And, thereupon, could any one have gazed into the recesses of that
-chamber, they would have seen the poor despairing girl adopt a final
-resolution, and determine upon one last plan in her mind.  Then, as her
-knees were no longer able to support her, she gradually sank down upon
-the _prie-Dieu_, and with her head pressed against the wooden cross, her
-eyes fixed, and her respiration short and quick, she watched for the
-earliest rays of approaching daylight.  At two o'clock in the morning she
-was still in the same bewilderment of mind, or rather the same ecstasy of
-feeling.  Her thoughts had almost ceased to hold communion with things of
-the world.  And when she saw the pale violet tints of early dawn visible
-over the roofs of the palace, and vaguely revealing the outlines of the
-ivory crucifix which she held embraced, she rose from the ground with a
-new-born strength, kissed the feet of the divine martyr, descended the
-staircase leading from the room, and wrapped herself from head to foot in
-a mantle as she went along.  She reached the wicket at the very moment
-the guard of the musketeers opened the gate to admit the first relief-
-guard belonging to one of the Swiss regiments.  And then, gliding behind
-the soldiers, she reached the street before the officer in command of the
-patrol had even thought of asking who the young girl was who was making
-her escape from the palace at so early an hour.
-
-
-Chapter XXVI:
-The Flight.
-
-La Valliere followed the patrol as it left the courtyard.  The patrol
-bent its steps towards the right, by the Rue St. Honore, and mechanically
-La Valliere turned to the left.  Her resolution was taken - her
-determination fixed; she wished to betake herself to the convent of the
-Carmelites at Chaillot, the superior of which enjoyed a reputation for
-severity which made the worldly-minded people of the court tremble.  La
-Valliere had never seen Paris, she had never gone out on foot, and so
-would have been unable to find her way even had she been in a calmer
-frame of mind than was then the case; and this may explain why she
-ascended, instead of descending, the Rue St. Honore.  Her only thought
-was to get away from the Palais Royal, and this she was doing; she had
-heard it said that Chaillot looked out upon the Seine, and she
-accordingly directed her steps towards the Seine.  She took the Rue de
-Coq, and not being able to cross the Louvre, bore towards the church of
-Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, proceeding along the site of the colonnade
-which was subsequently built there by Perrault.  In a very short time she
-reached the quays.  Her steps were rapid and agitated; she scarcely felt
-the weakness which reminded her of having sprained her foot when very
-young, and which obliged her to limp slightly.  At any other hour in the
-day her countenance would have awakened the suspicions of the least clear-
-sighted, attracted the attention of the most indifferent.  But at half-
-past two in the morning, the streets of Paris are almost, if not quite,
-deserted, and scarcely is any one to be seen but the hard-working artisan
-on his way to earn his daily bread or the roistering idlers of the
-streets, who are returning to their homes after a night of riot and
-debauchery; for the former the day was beginning, and for the latter it
-was just closing.  La Valliere was afraid of both faces, in which her
-ignorance of Parisian types did not permit her to distinguish the type of
-probity from that of dishonesty.  The appearance of misery alarmed her,
-and all she met seemed either vile or miserable.  Her dress, which was
-the same she had worn during the previous evening, was elegant even in
-its careless disorder; for it was the one in which she had presented
-herself to the queen-mother; and, moreover, when she drew aside the
-mantle which covered her face, in order to enable her to see the way she
-was going, her pallor and her beautiful eyes spoke an unknown language to
-the men she met, and, unconsciously, the poor fugitive seemed to invite
-the brutal remarks of the one class, or to appeal to the compassion of
-the other.  La Valliere still walked on in the same way, breathless and
-hurried, until she reached the top of the Place de Greve.  She stopped
-from time to time, placed her hand upon her heart, leaned against a wall
-until she could breathe freely again, and then continued on her course
-more rapidly than before.  On reaching the Place de Greve La Valliere
-suddenly came upon a group of three drunken men, reeling and staggering
-along, who were just leaving a boat which they had made fast to the quay;
-the boat was freighted with wines, and it was apparent that they had done
-ample justice to the merchandise.  They were celebrating their convivial
-exploits in three different keys, when suddenly, as they reached the end
-of the railing leading down to the quay, they found an obstacle in their
-path, in the shape of this young girl.  La Valliere stopped; while they,
-on their part, at the appearance of the young girl dressed in court
-costume, also halted, and seizing each other by the hand, they surrounded
-La Valliere, singing, -
-
-"Oh! all ye weary wights, who mope alone,
-Come drink, and sing and laugh, round Venus' throne."
-
-La Valliere at once understood that the men were insulting her, and
-wished to prevent her passing; she tried to do so several times, but her
-efforts were useless.  Her limbs failed her; she felt she was on the
-point of falling, and uttered a cry of terror.  At the same moment the
-circle which surrounded her was suddenly broken through in a most
-violent manner.  One of her insulters was knocked to the left, another
-fell rolling over and over to the right, close to the water's edge, while
-the third could hardly keep his feet.  An officer of the musketeers stood
-face to face with the young girl, with threatening brow and hand raised
-to carry out his threat.  The drunken fellows, at sight of the uniform,
-made their escape with what speed their staggering limbs could lend them,
-all the more eagerly for the proof of strength which the wearer of the
-uniform had just afforded them.
-
-"Is it possible," exclaimed the musketeer, "that it can be Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere?"
-
-La Valliere, bewildered by what had just happened, and confounded by
-hearing her name pronounced, looked up and recognized D'Artagnan.  "Oh,
-M. d'Artagnan! it is indeed I;" and at the same moment she seized his
-arm.  "You will protect me, will you not?" she added, in a tone of
-entreaty.
-
-"Most certainly I will protect you; but, in Heaven's name, where are you
-going at this hour?"
-
-"I am going to Chaillot."
-
-"You are going to Chaillot by way of La Rapee! why, mademoiselle, you are
-turning your back upon it."
-
-"In that case, monsieur, be kind enough to put me in the right way, and
-to go with me a short distance."
-
-"Most willingly."
-
-"But how does it happen that I have found you here?  By what merciful
-intervention were you sent to my assistance?  I almost seem to be
-dreaming, or to be losing my senses."
-
-"I happened to be here, mademoiselle, because I have a house in the Place
-de Greve, at the sign of the Notre-Dame, the rent of which I went to
-receive yesterday, and where I, in fact, passed the night.  And I also
-wished to be at the palace early, for the purposes of inspecting my
-posts."
-
-"Thank you," said La Valliere.
-
-"That is what _I_ was doing," said D'Artagnan to himself; "but what is
-_she_ doing, and why is she going to Chaillot at such an hour?"  And he
-offered her his arm, which she took, and began to walk with increased
-precipitation, which ill-concealed, however, her weakness.  D'Artagnan
-perceived it, and proposed to La Valliere that she should take a little
-rest, which she refused.
-
-"You are ignorant, perhaps, where Chaillot is?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"It is a great distance."
-
-"That matters very little."
-
-"It is at least a league."
-
-"I can walk it."
-
-D'Artagnan did not reply; he could tell, merely by the tone of a voice,
-when a resolution was real or not.  He rather bore along rather than
-accompanied La Valliere, until they perceived the elevated ground of
-Chaillot.
-
-"What house are you going to, mademoiselle?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"To the Carmelites, monsieur."
-
-"To the Carmelites?" repeated D'Artagnan, in amazement.
-
-"Yes; and since Heaven has directed you towards me to give me your
-support on my road, accept both my thanks and my adieux."
-
-"To the Carmelites!  Your adieux!  Are you going to become a nun?"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes, monsieur."
-
-"What, you!!!"  There was in this "you," which we have marked by three
-notes of exclamation in order to render it as expressive as possible, -
-there was, we repeat, in this "you" a complete poem; it recalled to La
-Valliere her old recollections of Blois, and her new recollections of
-Fontainebleau; it said to her, "_You_, who might be happy with Raoul;
-_you_, who might be powerful with Louis; _you_ about to become a nun!"
-
-"Yes, monsieur," she said, "I am going to devote myself to the service of
-Heaven; and to renounce the world entirely."
-
-"But are you not mistaken with regard to your vocation, - are you not
-mistaken in supposing it to be the will of Heaven?"
-
-"No, since Heaven has been pleased to throw you in my way.  Had it not
-been for you, I should certainly have sunk from fatigue on the road, and
-since Heaven, I repeat, has thrown you in my way, it is because it has
-willed that I should carry out my intention."
-
-"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, doubtingly, "that is a rather subtle distinction,
-I think."
-
-"Whatever it may be," returned the young girl, "I have acquainted you
-with the steps I have taken, and with my fixed resolution.  And, now, I
-have one last favor to ask of you, even while I return you my thanks.
-The king is entirely ignorant of my flight from the Palais Royal, and is
-ignorant also of what I am about to do."
-
-"The king ignorant, you say!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.  "Take care,
-mademoiselle; you are not aware of what you are doing.  No one ought to
-do anything with which the king is unacquainted, especially those who
-belong to the court."
-
-"I no longer belong to the court, monsieur."
-
-D'Artagnan looked at the young girl with increasing astonishment.
-
-"Do not be uneasy, monsieur," she continued: "I have well calculated
-everything; and were it not so, it would now be too late to reconsider my
-resolution, - all is decided."
-
-"Well, mademoiselle, what do you wish me to do?"
-
-"In the name of that sympathy which misfortune inspires, by your generous
-feeling, and by your honor as a gentleman, I entreat you to promise me
-one thing."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"Swear to me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, that you will not tell the king that
-you have seen me, and that I am at the Carmelites."
-
-"I will not swear that," said D'Artagnan, shaking his head.
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because I know the king, I know you, I know myself even, nay, the whole
-human race, too well; no, no, I will not swear that!"
-
-"In that case," cried La Valliere, with an energy of which one would
-hardly have thought her capable, "instead of the blessing which I should
-have implored for you until my dying day, I will invoke a curse, for you
-are rendering me the most miserable creature that ever lived."
-
-We have already observed that D'Artagnan could easily recognize the
-accents of truth and sincerity, and he could not resist this last
-appeal.  He saw by her face how bitterly she suffered from a feeling of
-degradation, he remarked her trembling limbs, how her whole slight and
-delicate frame was violently agitated by some internal struggle, and
-clearly perceived that resistance might be fatal.  "I will do as you
-wish, then," he said.  "Be satisfied, mademoiselle, I will say nothing to
-the king."
-
-"Oh! thanks, thanks," exclaimed La Valliere, "you are the most generous
-man breathing."
-
-And in her extreme delight she seized hold of D'Artagnan's hands and
-pressed them between her own.  D'Artagnan, who felt himself quite
-overcome, said: "This is touching, upon my word; she begins where others
-leave off."
-
-And La Valliere, who, in the bitterness of her distress, had sunk upon
-the ground, rose and walked towards the convent of the Carmelites, which
-could now, in the dawning light, be perceived just before them.
-D'Artagnan followed her at a distance.  The entrance-door was half-open;
-she glided in like a shadow, and thanking D'Artagnan by a parting
-gesture, disappeared from his sight.  When D'Artagnan found himself quite
-alone, he reflected very profoundly upon what had just taken place.
-"Upon my word," he said, "this looks very much like what is called a
-false position.  To keep such a secret as that, is to keep a burning coal
-in one's breeches-pocket, and trust that it may not burn the stuff.  And
-yet, not to keep it when I have sworn to do so is dishonorable.  It
-generally happens that some bright idea or other occurs to me as I am
-going along; but I am very much mistaken if I shall not, now, have to go
-a long way in order to find the solution of this affair.  Yes, but which
-way to go?  Oh! towards Paris, of course; that is the best way, after
-all.  Only one must make haste, and in order to make haste four legs are
-better than two, and I, unhappily, only have two.  'A horse, a horse,' as
-I heard them say at the theatre in London, 'my kingdom for a horse!'  And
-now I think of it, it need not cost me so much as that, for at the
-Barriere de la Conference there is a guard of musketeers, and instead of
-the one horse I need, I shall find ten there."
-
-So, in pursuance of this resolution, which he adopted with his usual
-rapidity, D'Artagnan immediately turned his back upon the heights of
-Chaillot, reached the guard-house, took the fastest horse he could find
-there, and was at the palace in less than ten minutes.  It was striking
-five as he reached the Palais Royal.  The king, he was told, had gone to
-bed at his usual hour, having been long engaged with M. Colbert, and, in
-all probability, was still sound asleep.  "Come," said D'Artagnan, "she
-spoke the truth; the king is ignorant of everything; if he only knew one-
-half of what has happened, the Palais Royal by this time would be turned
-upside down."
-
-Transcriber's note: This alternate translation of the verse in this
-chapter:
-
-"Oh! you who sadly are wandering alone,
-Come, come, and laugh with us."
-
-- is closer to the original meaning. - JB
-
-
-Chapter XXVII:
-Showing How Louis, on His Part, Had Passed the Time from Ten to Half-Past
-Twelve at Night.
-
-When the king left the apartments of the maids of honor, he found Colbert
-awaiting him to take directions for the next day's ceremony, as the king
-was then to receive the Dutch and Spanish ambassadors.  Louis XIV. had
-serious causes of dissatisfaction with the Dutch; the States had already
-been guilty of many mean shifts and evasions with France, and without
-perceiving or without caring about the chances of a rupture, they again
-abandoned the alliance with his Most Christian Majesty, for the purpose
-of entering into all kinds of plots with Spain.  Louis XIV. at his
-accession, that is to say, at the death of Cardinal Mazarin, had found
-this political question roughly sketched out; the solution was difficult
-for a young man, but as, at that time, the king represented the whole
-nation, anything that the head resolved upon, the body would be found
-ready to carry out.  Any sudden impulse of anger, the reaction of young
-hot blood upon the brain, would be quite sufficient to change an old form
-of policy and create another system altogether.  The part that
-diplomatists had to play in those days was that of arranging among
-themselves the different _coups-d'etat_ which their sovereign masters
-might wish to effect.  Louis was not in that calm frame of mind which was
-necessary to enable him to determine on a wise course of policy.  Still
-much agitated from the quarrel he had just had with La Valliere, he
-walked hastily into his cabinet, dimly desirous of finding an opportunity
-of producing an explosion after he had controlled himself for so long a
-time.  Colbert, as he saw the king enter, knew the position of affairs at
-a glance, understood the king's intentions, and resolved therefore to
-maneuver a little.  When Louis requested to be informed what it would be
-necessary to say on the morrow, Colbert began by expressing his surprise
-that his majesty had not been properly informed by M. Fouquet.  "M.
-Fouquet," he said, "is perfectly acquainted with the whole of this Dutch
-affair - he received the dispatches himself direct."
-
-The king, who was accustomed to hear M. Colbert speak in not over-
-scrupulous terms of M. Fouquet, allowed this remark to pass unanswered,
-and merely listened.  Colbert noticed the effect it had produced, and
-hastened to back out, saying that M. Fouquet was not on all occasions as
-blamable as at the first glance might seem to be the case, inasmuch as at
-that moment he was greatly occupied.  The king looked up.  "What do you
-allude to?" he said.
-
-"Sire, men are but men, and M. Fouquet has his defects as well as his
-great qualities."
-
-"Ah! defects, who is without them, M. Colbert?"
-
-"Your majesty, hardly," said Colbert, boldly; for he knew how to convey a
-good deal of flattery in a light amount of blame, like the arrow which
-cleaves the air notwithstanding its weight, thanks to the light feathers
-which bear it up.
-
-The king smiled.  "What defect has M. Fouquet, then?" he said.
-
-"Still the same, sire; it is said he is in love."
-
-"In love! with whom?"
-
-"I am not quite sure, sire; I have very little to do with matters of
-gallantry."
-
-"At all events you know, since you speak of it."
-
-"I have heard a name mentioned."
-
-"Whose?"
-
-"I cannot now remember whose, but I think it is one of Madame's maids of
-honor."
-
-The king started.  "You know more than you like to say, M. Colbert," he
-murmured.
-
-"I assure you, no, sire."
-
-"At all events, Madame's maids of honor are all known, and in mentioning
-their names to you, you will perhaps recollect the one you allude to."
-
-"No, sire."
-
-"At least, try."
-
-"It would be useless, sire.  Whenever the name of any lady who runs the
-risk of being compromised is concerned, my memory is like a coffer of
-bronze, the key of which I have lost."
-
-A dark cloud seemed to pass over the mind as well as across the face of
-the king; then, wishing to appear as if he were perfect master of himself
-and his feelings, he said, "And now for the affair concerning Holland."
-
-"In the first place, sire, at what hour will your majesty receive the
-ambassadors?"
-
-"Early in the morning."
-
-"Eleven o'clock?"
-
-"That is too late - say nine o'clock."
-
-"That will be too early, sire."
-
-"For friends, that would be a matter of no importance; one does what one
-likes with one's friends; but for one's enemies, in that case nothing
-could be better than if they _were_ to feel hurt.  I should not be sorry,
-I confess, to have to finish altogether with these marsh-birds, who annoy
-me with their cries."
-
-"It shall be precisely as your majesty desires.  At nine o'clock,
-therefore - I will give the necessary orders.  Is it to be a formal
-audience?"
-
-"No.  I wish to have an explanation with them, and not to embitter
-matters, as is always the case when many persons are present, but, at the
-same time, I wish to clear  up everything with them, in order not to have
-to begin over again."
-
-"Your majesty will inform me of the persons whom you wish to be present
-at the reception."
-
-"I will draw out a list.  Let us speak of the ambassadors; what do they
-want?"
-
-"Allies with Spain, they gain nothing; allies with France, they lose
-much."
-
-"How is that?"
-
-"Allied with Spain, they see themselves bounded and protected by the
-possessions of their allies; they cannot touch them, however anxious they
-may be to do so.  From Antwerp to Rotterdam is but a step, and that by
-the way of the Scheldt and the Meuse.  If they wish to make a bite at the
-Spanish cake, you, sire, the son-in-law of the king of Spain, could with
-your cavalry sweep the earth from your dominions to Brussels in a couple
-of days.  Their design is, therefore, only to quarrel so far with you,
-and only to make you suspect Spain so far, as will be sufficient to
-induce you not to interfere with their own affairs."
-
-"It would be far more simple, I should imagine," replied the king, "to
-form a solid alliance with me, by means of which I should gain something,
-while they would gain everything."
-
-"Not so; for if, by chance, they were to have you, or France rather, as a
-boundary, your majesty is not an agreeable neighbor.  Young, ardent,
-warlike, the king of France might inflict some serious mischief on
-Holland, especially if he were to get near her."
-
-"I perfectly understand, M. Colbert, and you have explained it very
-clearly; but be good enough to tell me the conclusion you have arrived
-at."
-
-"Your majesty's own decisions are never deficient in wisdom."
-
-"What will these ambassadors say to me?"
-
-"They will tell your majesty that they are ardently desirous of forming
-an alliance with you, which will be a falsehood: they will tell Spain
-that the three powers ought to unite so as to check the prosperity of
-England, and that will equally be a falsehood; for at present, the
-natural ally of your majesty is England, who has ships while we have
-none; England, who can counteract Dutch influence in India; England, in
-fact, a monarchical country, to which your majesty is attached by ties of
-relationship."
-
-"Good; but how would you answer?"
-
-"I should answer, sire, with the greatest possible moderation of tone,
-that the disposition of Holland does not seem friendly towards the Court
-of France; that the symptoms of public feeling among the Dutch are
-alarming as regards your majesty; that certain medals have been struck
-with insulting devices."
-
-"Towards me?" exclaimed the young king, excitedly.
-
-"Oh, no! sire, no; insulting is not the word; I was mistaken, I ought to
-have said immeasurably flattering to the Dutch."
-
-"Oh! if that be so, the pride of the Dutch is a matter of indifference to
-me," said the king, sighing.
-
-"Your majesty is right, a thousand times right.  However, it is never a
-mistake in politics, your majesty knows better than myself, to exaggerate
-a little in order to obtain a concession in your own favor.  If your
-majesty were to complain as if your susceptibility were offended, you
-would stand in a far higher position with them."
-
-"What are these medals you speak of?" inquired Louis; "for if I allude to
-them, I ought to know what to say."
-
-"Upon my word, sire, I cannot very well tell you - some overweeningly
-conceited device - that is the sense of it; the words have little to do
-with the thing itself."
-
-"Very good!  I will mention the word 'medal,' and they can understand it
-if they like."
-
-"Oh! they will understand without any difficulty.  Your majesty can also
-slip in a few words about certain pamphlets which are being circulated."
-
-"Never!  Pamphlets befoul those who write them much more than those
-against whom they are written.  M. Colbert, I thank you.  You can leave
-now.  Do not forget the hour I have fixed, and be there yourself."
-
-"Sire, I await your majesty's list."
-
-"True," returned the king; and he began to meditate; he had not thought
-of the list in the least.  The clock struck half-past eleven.  The king's
-face revealed a violent conflict between pride and love.  The political
-conversation had dispelled a good deal of the irritation which Louis had
-felt, and La Valliere's pale, worn features, in his imagination, spoke a
-very different language from that of the Dutch medals, or the Batavian
-pamphlets.  He sat for ten minutes debating within himself whether he
-should or should not return to La Valliere; but Colbert having with some
-urgency respectfully requested that the list might be furnished him, the
-king was ashamed to be thinking of mere matters of affection where
-important state affairs required his attention.  He therefore dictated:
-the queen-mother, the queen, Madame, Madame de Motteville, Madame de
-Chatillon, Madame de Navailles; and, for the men, M. le Prince, M. de
-Gramont, M. de Manicamp, M. de Saint-Aignan, and the officers on duty.
-
-"The ministers?" asked Colbert.
-
-"As a matter of course, and the secretaries also."
-
-"Sire, I will leave at once in order to get everything prepared; the
-orders will be at the different residences to-morrow."
-
-"Say rather to-day," replied Louis mournfully, as the clock struck
-twelve.  It was the very hour when poor La Valliere was almost dying from
-anguish and bitter suffering.  The king's attendants entered, it being
-the hour of his retirement to his chamber; the queen, indeed, had been
-waiting for more than an hour.  Louis accordingly retreated to his
-bedroom with a sigh; but, as he sighed, he congratulated himself on his
-courage, and applauded himself for having been as firm in love as in
-affairs of state.
-
-
-Chapter XXVIII:
-The Ambassadors.
-
-D'Artagnan had, with very few exceptions, learned almost all of the
-particulars of what we have just been relating; for among his friends he
-reckoned all the useful, serviceable people in the royal household, -
-officious attendants who were proud of being recognized by the captain of
-the musketeers, for the captain's influence was very great; and then, in
-addition to any ambitious vies they may have imagined he could promote,
-they were proud of being regarded as worth being spoken to by a man as
-brave as D'Artagnan.  In this manner D'Artagnan learned every morning
-what he had not been able either to see or to ascertain the night before,
-from the simple fact of his not being ubiquitous; so that, with the
-information he had been able by his own means to pick up during the day,
-and with what he had gathered from others, he succeeded in making up a
-bundle of weapons, which he was in the prudent habit of using only when
-occasion required.  In this way, D'Artagnan's two eyes rendered him the
-same service as the hundred eyes of Argus.  Political secrets, bedside
-revelations, hints or scraps of conversation dropped by the courtiers on
-the threshold of the royal ante-chamber, in this way D'Artagnan managed
-to ascertain, and to store away everything in the vast and impenetrable
-mausoleum of his memory, by the side of those royal secrets so dearly
-bought and faithfully preserved.  He therefore knew of the king's
-interview with Colbert, and of the appointment made for the ambassadors
-in the morning, and, consequently, that the question of the medals would
-be brought up for debate; and, while he was arranging and constructing
-the conversation upon a few chance words which had reached his ears, he
-returned to his post in the royal apartments, so as to be there at the
-very moment the king awoke.  It happened that the king rose very early, -
-proving thereby that he, too, on his side, had slept but indifferently.
-Towards seven o'clock, he half-opened his door very gently.  D'Artagnan
-was at his post.  His majesty was pale, and seemed wearied; he had not,
-moreover, quite finished dressing.
-
-"Send for M. de Saint-Aignan," he said.
-
-Saint-Aignan was probably awaiting a summons, for the messenger, when he
-reached his apartment, found him already dressed.  Saint-Aignan hastened
-to the king in obedience to the summons.  A moment afterwards the king
-and Saint-Aignan passed by together - the king walking first.  D'Artagnan
-went to the window which looked out upon the courtyard; he had no need to
-put himself to the trouble of watching in what direction the king went,
-for he had no difficulty in guessing beforehand where his majesty was
-going.  The king, in fact, bent his steps towards the apartments of the
-maids of honor, - a circumstance which in no way astonished D'Artagnan,
-for he more than suspected, although La Valliere had not breathed a
-syllable on the subject, that the king had some kind of reparation to
-make.  Saint-Aignan followed him as he had done the previous evening,
-rather less uneasy in his mind, though still slightly agitated, for he
-fervently trusted that at seven o'clock in the morning there might be
-only himself and the king awake amongst the august guests at the palace.
-D'Artagnan stood at the window, careless and perfectly calm in his
-manner.  One could almost have sworn that he noticed nothing, and was
-utterly ignorant who were these two hunters after adventures, passing
-like shadows across the courtyard, wrapped up in their cloaks.  And yet,
-all the while that D'Artagnan appeared not to be looking at them at all,
-he did not for one moment lose sight of them, and while he whistled that
-old march of the musketeers, which he rarely recalled except under great
-emergencies, he conjectured and prophesied how terrible would be the
-storm which would be raised on the king's return.  In fact, when the king
-entered La Valliere's apartment and found the room empty and the bed
-untouched, he began to be alarmed, and called out to Montalais, who
-immediately answered the summons; but her astonishment was equal to the
-king's.  All that she could tell his majesty was, that she had fancied
-she had heard La Valliere's weeping during a portion of the night, but,
-knowing that his majesty had paid her a visit, she had not dared to
-inquire what was the matter.
-
-"But," inquired the king, "where do you suppose she is gone?"
-
-"Sire," replied Montalais, "Louise is of a very sentimental disposition,
-and as I have often seen her rise at daybreak in order to go out into the
-garden, she may, perhaps, be there now."
-
-This appeared probable, and the king immediately ran down the staircase
-in search of the fugitive.  D'Artagnan saw him grow very pale, and
-talking in an excited manner with his companion, as he went towards the
-gardens; Saint-Aignan following him, out of breath.  D'Artagnan did not
-stir from the window, but went on whistling, looking as if he saw
-nothing, yet seeing everything.  "Come, come," he murmured, when the king
-disappeared, "his majesty's passion is stronger than I thought; he is now
-doing, I think, what he never did for Mademoiselle de Mancini."
-
-Transcriber's note: Marie de Mancini was a former love of the king's.  He
-had to abandon her for the political advantages which the marriage to the
-Spanish Infanta, Maria Theresa, afforded.  See The Vicomte de Bragelonne,
-Chapter XIII. - JB
-
-In a quarter of an hour the king again appeared: he had looked
-everywhere, was completely out of breath, and, as a matter of course, had
-not discovered anything.  Saint-Aignan, who still followed him, was
-fanning himself with his hat, and in a gasping voice, asking for
-information about La Valliere from such of the servants as were about, in
-fact from every one he met.  Among others he came across Manicamp, who
-had arrived from Fontainebleau by easy stages; for whilst others had
-performed the journey in six hours, he had taken four and twenty.
-
-"Have you seen Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" Saint-Aignan asked him.
-
-Whereupon Manicamp, dreamy and absent as usual, answered, thinking that
-some one was asking him about De Guiche, "Thank you, the comte is a
-little better."
-
-And he continued on his way until he reached the ante-chamber where
-D'Artagnan was, whom he asked to explain how it was that the king looked,
-as he thought, so bewildered; to which D'Artagnan replied that he was
-quite mistaken, that the king, on the contrary, was as lively and merry
-as he could possibly be.
-
-In the midst of all this, eight o'clock struck.  It was usual for the
-king to take his breakfast at this hour, for the code of etiquette
-prescribed that the king should always be hungry at eight o'clock.  His
-breakfast was laid upon a small table in his bedroom, and he ate very
-fast.  Saint-Aignan, of whom he would not lose sight, waited on the
-king.  He then disposed of several military audiences, during which he
-dispatched Saint-Aignan to see what he could find out.  Then, still
-occupied, full of anxiety, still watching Saint-Aignan's return, who had
-sent out the servants in every direction, to make inquires, and who had
-also gone himself, the hour of nine struck, and the king forthwith passed
-into his large cabinet.
-
-As the clock was striking nine the ambassadors entered, and as it
-finished, the two queens and Madame made their appearance.  There were
-three ambassadors from Holland, and two from Spain.  The king glanced at
-them, and then bowed; and, at the same moment, Saint-Aignan entered, - an
-entrance which the king regarded as far more important, in a different
-sense, however, than that of ambassadors, however numerous they might be,
-and from whatever country they came; and so, setting everything aside,
-the king made a sign of interrogation to Saint-Aignan, which the latter
-answered by a most decisive negative.  The king almost entirely lost his
-courage; but as the queens, the members of the nobility who were present,
-and the ambassadors, had their eyes fixed upon him, he overcame his
-emotion by a violent effort, and invited the latter to speak.  Whereupon
-one of the Spanish deputies made a long oration, in which he boasted the
-advantages which the Spanish alliance would offer.
-
-The king interrupted him, saying, "Monsieur, I trust that whatever is
-best for France must be exceedingly advantageous for Spain."
-
-This remark, and particularly the peremptory tone in which it was
-pronounced, made the ambassadors pale, and brought the color into the
-cheeks of the two queens, who, being Spanish, felt wounded in their pride
-of relationship and nationality by this reply.
-
-The Dutch ambassador then began to address himself to the king, and
-complained of the injurious suspicions which the king exhibited against
-the government of his country.
-
-The king interrupted him, saying, "It is very singular, monsieur, that
-you should come with any complaint, when it is I rather who have reason
-to be dissatisfied; and yet, you see, I do not complain."
-
-"Complain, sire, and in what respect?"
-
-The king smiled bitterly.  "Will you blame me, monsieur," he said, "if I
-should happen to entertain suspicions against a government which
-authorizes and protects international impertinence?"
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"I tell you," resumed the king, exciting himself by a recollection of his
-own personal annoyance, rather than from political grounds, "that Holland
-is a land of refuge for all who hate me, and especially for all who
-malign me."
-
-"Oh, sire!"
-
-"You wish for proofs, perhaps?  Very good; they can be had easily
-enough.  Whence proceed all those vile and insolent pamphlets which
-represent me as a monarch without glory and without authority? your
-printing-presses groan under their number.  If my secretaries were here,
-I would mention the titles of the works as well as the names of the
-printers."
-
-"Sire," replied the ambassador, "a pamphlet can hardly be regarded as the
-work of a whole nation.  Is it just, is it reasonable, that a great and
-powerful monarch like your majesty should render a whole nation
-responsible for the crime of a few madmen, who are, perhaps, only
-scribbling in a garret for a few sous to buy bread for their family?"
-
-"That may be the case, I admit.  But when the mint itself, at Amsterdam,
-strikes off medals which reflect disgrace upon me, is that also the crime
-of a few madmen?"
-
-"Medals!" stammered out the ambassador.
-
-"Medals," repeated the king, looking at Colbert.
-
-"Your majesty," the ambassador ventured, "should be quite sure - "
-
-The king still looked at Colbert; but Colbert appeared not to understand
-him, and maintained an unbroken silence, notwithstanding the king's
-repeated hints.  D'Artagnan then approached the king, and taking a piece
-of money out of his pocket, he placed it in the king's hands, saying,
-"_This_ is the medal your majesty alludes to."
-
-The king looked at it, and with a look which, ever since he had become
-his own master, was ever piercing as the eagle's, observed an insulting
-device representing Holland arresting the progress of the sun, with this
-inscription: "_In conspectu meo stetit sol_."
-
-"In my presence the sun stands still," exclaimed the king, furiously.
-"Ah! you will hardly deny it now, I suppose."
-
-"And the sun," said D'Artagnan, "is this," as he pointed to the panels of
-the cabinet, where the sun was brilliantly represented in every direction,
-with this motto, "_Nec pluribus impar_."
-
-Transcriber's note: "[A sun] not eclipsed by many suns."  Louis's
-device. - JB
-
-Louis's anger, increased by the bitterness of his own personal
-sufferings, hardly required this additional circumstance to foment it.
-Every one saw, from the kindling passion in the king's eyes, that an
-explosion was imminent.  A look from Colbert kept postponed the bursting
-of the storm.  The ambassador ventured to frame excuses by saying that
-the vanity of nations was a matter of little consequence; that Holland
-was proud that, with such limited resources, she had maintained her rank
-as a great nation, even against powerful monarchs, and that if a little
-smoke had intoxicated his countrymen, the king would be kindly disposed,
-and would even excuse this intoxication.  The king seemed as if he would
-be glad of some suggestion; he looked at Colbert, who remained
-impassible; then at D'Artagnan, who simply shrugged his shoulders, a
-movement which was like the opening of the flood-gates, whereby the
-king's anger, which he had restrained for so long a period, now burst
-forth.  As no one knew what direction his anger might take, all preserved
-a dead silence.  The second ambassador took advantage of it to begin his
-excuses also.  While he was speaking, and while the king, who had again
-gradually returned to his own personal reflections, was automatically
-listening to the voice, full of nervous anxiety, with the air of an
-absent man listening to the murmuring of a cascade, D'Artagnan, on whose
-left hand Saint-Aignan was standing, approached the latter, and, in a
-voice which was loud enough to reach the king's ears, said: "Have you
-heard the news?"
-
-"What news?" said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"About La Valliere."
-
-The king started, and advanced his head.
-
-"What has happened to La Valliere?" inquired Saint-Aignan, in a tone
-which can easily be imagined.
-
-"Ah! poor girl! she is going to take the veil."
-
-"The veil!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The veil!" cried the king, in the midst of the ambassador's discourse;
-but then, mindful of the rules of etiquette, he mastered himself, still
-listening, however, with rapt attention.
-
-"What order?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The Carmelites of Chaillot."
-
-"Who the deuce told you that?"
-
-"She did herself."
-
-"You have seen her, then?"
-
-"Nay, I even went with her to the Carmelites."
-
-The king did not lose a syllable of this conversation; and again he could
-hardly control his feelings.
-
-"But what was the cause of her flight?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Because the poor girl was driven away from the court yesterday," replied
-D'Artagnan.
-
-He had no sooner said this, than the king, with an authoritative gesture,
-said to the ambassador, "Enough, monsieur, enough."  Then, advancing
-towards the captain, he exclaimed:
-
-"Who says Mademoiselle de la Valliere is going to take the religious
-vows?"
-
-"M. d'Artagnan," answered the favorite.
-
-"Is it true what you say?" said the king, turning towards the musketeer.
-
-"As true as truth itself."
-
-The king clenched his hands, and turned pale.
-
-"You have something further to add, M. d'Artagnan?" he said.
-
-"I know nothing more, sire."
-
-"You added that Mademoiselle de la Valliere had been driven away from the
-court."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Is that true, also?"
-
-"Ascertain for yourself, sire."
-
-"And from whom?"
-
-"Ah!" sighed D'Artagnan, like a man who is declining to say anything
-further.
-
-The king almost bounded from his seat, regardless of ambassadors,
-ministers, courtiers, queens, and politics.  The queen-mother rose; she
-had heard everything, or, if she had not heard everything, she had
-guessed it.  Madame, almost fainting from anger and fear, endeavored to
-rise as the queen-mother had done; but she sank down again upon her
-chair, which by an instinctive movement she made roll back a few paces.
-
-"Gentlemen," said the king, "the audience is over; I will communicate my
-answer, or rather my will, to Spain and to Holland;" and with a proud,
-imperious gesture, he dismissed the ambassadors.
-
-"Take care, my son," said the queen-mother, indignantly, "you are hardly
-master of yourself, I think."
-
-"Ah! madame," returned the young lion, with a terrible gesture, "if I am
-not mater of myself, I will be, I promise you, of those who do me a
-deadly injury; come with me, M. d'Artagnan, come."  And he quitted the
-room in the midst of general stupefaction and dismay.  The king hastily
-descended the staircase, and was about to cross the courtyard.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "your majesty mistakes the way."
-
-"No; I am going to the stables."
-
-"That is useless, sire, for I have horses ready for your majesty."
-
-The king's only answer was a look, but this look promised more than the
-ambition of three D'Artagnans could have dared to hope.
-
-
-Chapter XXIX:
-Chaillot.
-
-Although they had not been summoned, Manicamp and Malicorne had followed
-the king and D'Artagnan.  They were both exceedingly intelligent men;
-except that Malicorne was too precipitate, owing to ambition, while
-Manicamp was frequently too tardy, owing to indolence.  On this occasion,
-however, they arrived at precisely the proper moment.  Five horses were
-in readiness.  Two were seized upon by the king and D'Artagnan, two
-others by Manicamp and Malicorne, while a groom belonging to the stables
-mounted the fifth.  The cavalcade set off at a gallop.  D'Artagnan had
-been very careful in his selection of the horses; they were the very
-animals for distressed lovers - horses which did not simply run, but
-flew.  Within ten minutes after their departure, the cavalcade, amidst a
-cloud of dust, arrived at Chaillot.  The king literally threw himself off
-his horse; but notwithstanding the rapidity with which he accomplished
-this maneuver, he found D'Artagnan already holding his stirrup.  With a
-sign of acknowledgement to the musketeer, he threw the bridle to the
-groom, and darted into the vestibule, violently pushed open the door, and
-entered the reception-room.  Manicamp, Malicorne, and the groom remained
-outside, D'Artagnan alone following him.  When he entered the reception-
-room, the first object which met his gaze was Louise herself, not simply
-on her knees, but lying at the foot of a large stone crucifix.  The young
-girl was stretched upon the damp flag-stones, scarcely visible in the
-gloom of the apartment, which was lighted only by means of a narrow
-window, protected by bars and completely shaded by creeping plants.  When
-the king saw her in this state, he thought she was dead, and uttered a
-loud cry, which made D'Artagnan hurry into the room.  The king had
-already passed one of his arms round her body, and D'Artagnan assisted
-him in raising the poor girl, whom the torpor of death seemed already to
-have taken possession of.  D'Artagnan seized hold of the alarm-bell and
-rang with all his might.  The Carmelite sisters immediately hastened at
-the summons, and uttered loud exclamations of alarm and indignation at
-the sight of the two men holding a woman in their arms.  The superior
-also hurried to the scene of action, but far more a creature of the world
-than any of the female members of the court, notwithstanding her
-austerity of manners, she recognized the king at the first glance, by the
-respect which those present exhibited for him, as well as by the
-imperious and authoritative way in which he had thrown the whole
-establishment into confusion.  As soon as she saw the king, she retired
-to her own apartments, in order to avoid compromising her dignity.  But
-by one of the nuns she sent various cordials, Hungary water, etc., etc.,
-and ordered that all the doors should immediately be closed, a command
-which was just in time, for the king's distress was fast becoming of a
-most clamorous and despairing character.  He had almost decided to send
-for his own physician, when La Valliere exhibited signs of returning
-animation.  The first object which met her gaze, as she opened her eyes,
-was the king at her feet; in all probability she did not recognize him,
-for she uttered a deep sigh full of anguish and distress.  Louis fixed
-his eyes devouringly upon her face; and when, in the course of a few
-moments, she recognized Louis, she endeavored to tear herself from his
-embrace.
-
-"Oh, heavens!" she murmured, "is not the sacrifice yet made?"
-
-"No, no!" exclaimed the king, "and it shall _not_ be made, I swear."
-
-Notwithstanding her weakness and utter despair, she rose from the ground,
-saying, "It must be made, however; it must be; so do not stay me in my
-purpose."
-
-"I leave you to sacrifice yourself!  I! never, never!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"Well," murmured D'Artagnan, "I may as well go now.  As soon as they
-begin to speak, we may as well prevent there being any listeners."  And
-he quitted the room, leaving the lovers alone.
-
-"Sire," continued La Valliere, "not another word, I implore you.  Do not
-destroy the only future I can hope for - my salvation; do not destroy the
-glory and brightness of your own future for a mere caprice."
-
-"A caprice?" cried the king.
-
-"Oh, sire! it is now, only, that I can see clearly into your heart."
-
-"You, Louise, what mean you?"
-
-"An inexplicable impulse, foolish and unreasonable in its nature, may
-ephemerally appear to offer a sufficient excuse for your conduct; but
-there are duties imposed upon you which are incompatible with your regard
-for a poor girl such as I am.  So, forget me."
-
-"I forget you!"
-
-"You have already done so, once."
-
-"Rather would I die."
-
-"You cannot love one whose peace of mind you hold so lightly, and whom
-you so cruelly abandoned, last night, to the bitterness of death."
-
-"What can you mean?  Explain yourself, Louise."
-
-"What did you ask me yesterday morning?  To love you.  What did you
-promise me in return?  Never to let midnight pass without offering me an
-opportunity of reconciliation, if, by any chance, your anger should be
-roused against me."
-
-"Oh! forgive me, Louise, forgive me!  I was mad from jealousy."
-
-"Jealousy is a sentiment unworthy of a king - a man.  You may become
-jealous again, and will end by killing me.  Be merciful, then, and leave
-me now to die."
-
-"Another word, mademoiselle, in that strain, and you will see me expire
-at your feet."
-
-"No, no, sire, I am better acquainted with my own demerits; and believe
-me, that to sacrifice yourself for one whom all despise, would be
-needless."
-
-"Give me the names of those you have cause to complain of."
-
-"I have no complaints, sire, to prefer against any one; no one but myself
-to accuse.  Farewell, sire; you are compromising yourself in speaking to
-me in such a manner."
-
-"Oh! be careful, Louise, in what you say; for you are reducing me to the
-darkness of despair."
-
-"Oh! sire, sire, leave me at least the protection of Heaven, I implore
-you."
-
-"No, no; Heaven itself shall not tear you from me."
-
-"Save me, then," cried the poor girl, "from those determined and pitiless
-enemies who are thirsting to annihilate my life and honor too.  If you
-have courage enough to love me, show at least that you have power enough
-to defend me.  But no; she whom you say you love, others insult and mock,
-and drive shamelessly away."  And the gentle-hearted girl, forced, by her
-own bitter distress to accuse others, wrung her hands in an
-uncontrollable agony of tears.
-
-"You have been driven away!" exclaimed the king.  "This is the second
-time I have heard that said."
-
-"I have been driven away with shame and ignominy, sire.  You see, then,
-that I have no other protector but Heaven, no consolation but prayer, and
-this cloister is my only refuge."
-
-"My palace, my whole court, shall be your park of peace.  Oh! fear
-nothing further now, Louise; those - be they men or women - who yesterday
-drove you away, shall to-morrow tremble before you - to-morrow, do I say?
-nay, this very day I have already shown my displeasure - have already
-threatened.  It is in my power, even now, to hurl the thunderbolt I have
-hitherto withheld.  Louise, Louise, you shall be bitterly revenged; tears
-of blood shall repay you for the tears you have shed.  Give me only the
-names of your enemies."
-
-"Never, never."
-
-"How can I show any anger, then?"
-
-"Sire, those upon whom your anger would be prepared to fall, would force
-you to draw back your hand upraised to punish."
-
-"Oh! you do not know me," cried the king, exasperated.  "Rather than draw
-back, I would sacrifice my kingdom, and would abjure my family.  Yes, I
-would strike until this arm had utterly destroyed all those who had
-ventured to make themselves the enemies of the gentlest and best of
-creatures."  And, as he said these words, Louis struck his fist violently
-against the oaken wainscoting with a force which alarmed La Valliere; for
-his anger, owing to his unbounded power, had something imposing and
-threatening in it, like the lightning, which may at any time prove
-deadly.  She, who thought that her own sufferings could not be surpassed,
-was overwhelmed by a suffering which revealed itself by menace and by
-violence.
-
-"Sire," she said, "for the last time I implore you to leave me; already
-do I feel strengthened by the calm seclusion of this asylum; and the
-protection of Heaven has reassured me; for all the pretty human meanness
-of this world are forgotten beneath the Divine protection.  Once more,
-then, sire, and for the last time, I again implore you to leave me."
-
-"Confess, rather," cried Louis, "that you have never loved me; admit that
-my humility and my repentance are flattering to your pride, but that my
-distress affects you not; that the king of this wide realm is no longer
-regarded as a lover whose tenderness of devotion is capable of working
-out your happiness, but as a despot whose caprice has crushed your very
-heart beneath his iron heel.  Do not say you are seeking Heaven, say
-rather you are fleeing from the king."
-
-Louise's heart was wrung within her, as she listened to his passionate
-utterance, which made the fever of hope course once more through her
-every vein.
-
-"But did you not hear me say that I have been driven away, scorned,
-despised?"
-
-"I will make you the most respected, and most adored, and the most envied
-of my whole court."
-
-"Prove to me that you have not ceased to love me."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"By leaving me."
-
-"I will prove it to you by never leaving you again."
-
-"But do you imagine, sire, that I shall allow that; do you imagine that I
-will let you come to an open rupture with every member of your family; do
-you imagine that, for my sake, you could abandon mother, wife and sister?"
-
-"Ah! you have named them, then, at last; it is they, then, who have
-wrought this grievous injury?  By the heaven above us, then, upon them
-shall my anger fall."
-
-"That is the reason why the future terrifies me, why I refuse everything,
-why I do not wish you to revenge me.  Tears enough have already been
-shed, sufficient sorrow and affliction have already been occasioned.  I,
-at least, will never be the cause of sorrow, or affliction, or distress
-to whomsoever it may be, for I have mourned and suffered, and wept too
-much myself."
-
-"And do you count _my_ sufferings, _my_ tears, as nothing?"
-
-"In Heaven's name, sire, do not speak to me in that manner.  I need all
-my courage to enable me to accomplish the sacrifice."
-
-"Louise, Louise, I implore you! whatever you desire, whatever you
-command, whether vengeance or forgiveness, your slightest wish shall be
-obeyed, but do not abandon me."
-
-"Alas! sire, we must part."
-
-"You do not love me, then!"
-
-"Heaven knows I do!"
-
-"It is false, Louise; it is false."
-
-"Oh! sire, if I did not love you, I should let you do what you please; I
-should let you revenge me, in return for the insult which has been
-inflicted on me; I should accept the brilliant triumph to my pride which
-you propose; and yet, you cannot deny that I reject even the sweet
-compensation which your affection affords, that affection which for me is
-life itself, for I wished to die when I thought that you loved me no
-longer."
-
-"Yes, yes; I now know, I now perceive it; you are the sweetest, best, and
-purest of women.  There is no one so worthy as yourself, not alone of my
-respect and devotion, but also of the respect and devotion of all who
-surround me; and therefore no one shall be loved like yourself; no one
-shall ever possess the influence over me that you wield.  You wish me to
-be calm, to forgive? - be it so, you shall find me perfectly unmoved.
-You wish to reign by gentleness and clemency? - I will be clement and
-gentle.  Dictate for me the conduct you wish me to adopt, and I will obey
-blindly."
-
-"In Heaven's name, no, sire; what am I, a poor girl, to dictate to so
-great a monarch as yourself?"
-
-"You are my life, the very spirit and principle of my being.  Is it not
-the spirit that rules the body?"
-
-"You love me, then, sire?"
-
-"On my knees, yes; with my hands upraised to you, yes; with all the
-strength and power of my being, yes; I love you so deeply, that I would
-lay down my life for you, gladly, at your merest wish."
-
-"Oh! sire, now I know you love me, I have nothing to wish for in the
-world.  Give me your hand, sire; and then, farewell!  I have enjoyed in
-this life all the happiness I was ever meant for."
-
-"Oh! no, no! your happiness is not a happiness of yesterday, it is of to-
-day, of to-morrow, ever enduring.  The future is yours, everything which
-is mine is yours, too.  Away with these ideas of separation, away with
-these gloomy, despairing thoughts.  You will live for me, as I will live
-for you, Louise."  And he threw himself at her feet, embracing her knees
-with the wildest transports of joy and gratitude.
-
-"Oh! sire, sire! all that is but a wild dream."
-
-"Why, a wild dream?"
-
-"Because I cannot return to the court.  Exiled, how can I see you again?
-Would it not be far better to bury myself in a cloister for the rest of
-my life, with the rich consolation that your affection gives me, with the
-pulses of your heart beating for me, and your latest confession of
-attachment still ringing in my ears?"
-
-"Exiled, you!" exclaimed Louis XIV., "and who dares to exile, let me ask,
-when I recall?"
-
-"Oh! sire, something which is greater than and superior to the kings even
-- the world and public opinion.  Reflect for a moment; you cannot love a
-woman who has been ignominiously driven away - love one whom your mother
-has stained with suspicions; one whom your sister has threatened with
-disgrace; such a woman, indeed, would be unworthy of you."
-
-"Unworthy! one who belongs to me?"
-
-"Yes, sire, precisely on that account; from the very moment she belongs
-to you, the character of your mistress renders her unworthy."
-
-"You are right, Louise; every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours.
-Very well, you shall not be exiled."
-
-"Ah! from the tone in which you speak, you have not heard Madame, that is
-very clear."
-
-"I will appeal from her to my mother."
-
-"Again, sire, you have not seen your mother."
-
-"She, too! - my poor Louise! every one's hand, then, is against you."
-
-"Yes, yes, poor Louise, who was already bending beneath the fury of the
-storm, when you arrived and crushed her beneath the weight of your
-displeasure."
-
-"Oh! forgive me."
-
-"You will not, I know, be able to make either of them yield; believe me,
-the evil cannot be repaired, for I will not allow you to use violence, or
-to exercise your authority."
-
-"Very well, Louise, to prove to you how fondly I love you, I will do one
-thing, I will see Madame; I will make her revoke her sentence, I will
-compel her to do so."
-
-"Compel?  Oh! no, no!"
-
-"True; you are right.  I will bend her."
-
-Louise shook her head.
-
-"I will entreat her, if it be necessary," said Louis.  "Will you believe
-in my affection after that?"
-
-Louise drew herself up.  "Oh, never, never shall you humiliate yourself
-on my account; sooner, a thousand times, would I die."
-
-Louis reflected; his features assumed a dark expression.  "I will love
-you as much as you have loved; I will suffer as keenly as you have
-suffered; this shall be my expiation in your eyes.  Come, mademoiselle,
-put aside these paltry considerations; let us show ourselves as great as
-our sufferings, as strong as our affection for each other."  And, as he
-said this, he took her in his arms, and encircled her waist with both his
-hands, saying, "My own love! my own dearest and best beloved, follow me."
-
-She made a final effort, in which she concentrated, no longer all of her
-firmness of will, for that had long since been overcome, but all her
-physical strength.  "No!" she replied, weakly, "no! no!  I should die
-from shame."
-
-"No! you shall return like a queen.  No one knows of your having left –
-except, indeed, D'Artagnan."
-
-"He has betrayed me, then?"
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"He promised faithfully - "
-
-"I promised not to say anything to the king," said D'Artagnan, putting
-his head through the half-opened door, "and I kept my word; I was
-speaking to M. de Saint-Aignan, and it was not my fault if the king
-overheard me; was it, sire?"
-
-"It is quite true," said the king; "forgive him."
-
-La Valliere smiled, and held out her small white hand to the musketeer.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, "be good enough to see if you can
-find a carriage for Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Sire," said the captain, "the carriage is waiting at the gate."
-
-"You are a magic mould of forethought," exclaimed the king.
-
-"You have taken a long time to find it out," muttered D'Artagnan,
-notwithstanding he was flattered by the praise bestowed upon him.
-
-La Valliere was overcome: after a little further hesitation, she allowed
-herself to be led away, half fainting, by her royal lover.  But, as she
-was on the point of leaving the room, she tore herself from the king's
-grasp, and returned to the stone crucifix, which she kissed, saying, "Oh,
-Heaven! it was thou who drewest me hither! thou, who has rejected me; but
-thy grace is infinite.  Whenever I shall again return, forget that I have
-ever separated myself from thee, for, when I return it will be - never to
-leave thee again."
-
-The king could not restrain his emotion, and D'Artagnan, even, was
-overcome.  Louis led the young girl away, lifted her into the carriage,
-and directed D'Artagnan to seat himself beside her, while he, mounting
-his horse, spurred violently towards the Palais Royal, where, immediately
-on his arrival, he sent to request an audience of Madame.
-
-
-Chapter XXX:
-Madame.
-
-From the manner in which the king had dismissed the ambassadors, even the
-least clear-sighted persons belonging to the court imagined war would
-ensue.  The ambassadors themselves, but slightly acquainted with the
-king's domestic disturbances, had interpreted as directed against
-themselves the celebrated sentence: "If I be not master of myself, I, at
-least, will be so of those who insult me."  Happily for the destinies of
-France and Holland, Colbert had followed them out of the king's presence
-for the purpose of explaining matters to them; but the two queens and
-Madame, who were perfectly aware of every particular that had taken place
-in their several households, having heard the king's remark, so full of
-dark meaning, retired to their own apartments in no little fear and
-chagrin.  Madame, especially, felt that the royal anger might fall upon
-her, and, as she was brave and exceedingly proud, instead of seeking
-support and encouragement from the queen-mother, she had returned to her
-own apartments, if not without some uneasiness, at least without any
-intention of avoiding an encounter.  Anne of Austria, from time to time
-at frequent intervals, sent messages to learn if the king had returned.
-The silence which the whole palace preserved upon the matter, and upon
-Louise's disappearance, was indicative of a long train of misfortunes to
-all those who knew the haughty and irritable humor of the king.  But
-Madame, unmoved in spite of all the flying rumors, shut herself up in her
-apartments, sent for Montalais, and, with a voice as calm as she could
-possibly command, desired her to relate all she knew about the event
-itself.  At the moment that the eloquent Montalais was concluding, with
-all kinds of oratorical precautions, and was recommending, if not in
-actual language, at least in spirit, that she should show forbearance
-towards La Valliere, M. Malicorne made his appearance to beg an audience
-of Madame, on behalf of the king.  Montalais's worthy friend bore upon
-his countenance all the signs of the very liveliest emotion.  It was
-impossible to be mistaken; the interview which the king requested would
-be one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the hearts of
-kings and of men.  Madame was disturbed by her brother-in-law's arrival;
-she did not expect it so soon, nor had she, indeed, expected any direct
-step on Louis's part.  Besides, all women who wage war successfully by
-indirect means, are invariably neither very skillful nor very strong when
-it becomes a question of accepting a pitched battle.  Madame, however,
-was not one who ever drew back; she had the very opposite defect or
-qualification, in whichever light it may be considered; she took an
-exaggerated view of what constituted real courage; and therefore the
-king's message, of which Malicorne had been the bearer, was regarded by
-her as the bugle-note proclaiming the commencement of hostilities.  She,
-therefore, boldly accepted the gage of battle.  Five minutes afterwards
-the king ascended the staircase.  His color was heightened from having
-ridden hard.  His dusty and disordered clothes formed a singular contrast
-with the fresh and perfectly arranged toilette of Madame, who,
-notwithstanding the rouge on her cheeks, turned pale as Louis entered the
-room.  Louis lost no time in approaching the object of his visit; he sat
-down, and Montalais disappeared.
-
-"My dear sister," said the king, "you are aware that Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere fled from her own room this morning, and that she has retired to
-a cloister, overwhelmed by grief and despair."  As he pronounced these
-words, the king's voice was singularly moved.
-
-"Your majesty is the first to inform me of it," replied Madame.
-
-"I should have thought that you might have learned it this morning,
-during the reception of the ambassadors," said the king.
-
-"From your emotion, sire, I imagined that something extraordinary had
-happened, but without knowing what."
-
-The king, with his usual frankness, went straight to the point.  "Why did
-you send Mademoiselle de la Valliere away?"
-
-"Because I had reason to be dissatisfied with her conduct," she replied,
-dryly.
-
-The king became crimson, and his eyes kindled with a fire which it
-required all Madame's courage to support.  He mastered his anger,
-however, and continued: "A stronger reason than that is surely requisite,
-for one so good and kind as you are, to turn away and dishonor, not only
-the young girl herself, but every member of her family as well.  You know
-that the whole city has its eyes fixed upon the conduct of the female
-portion of the court.  To dismiss a maid of honor is to attribute a crime
-to her - at the very least a fault.  What crime, what fault has
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere been guilty of?"
-
-"Since you constitute yourself the protector of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere," replied Madame, coldly, "I will give you those explanations
-which I should have a perfect right to withhold from every one."
-
-"Even from the king!" exclaimed Louis, as, with a sudden gesture, he
-covered his head with his hat.
-
-"You have called me your sister," said Madame, "and I am in my own
-apartments."
-
-"It matters not," said the youthful monarch, ashamed at having been
-hurried away by his anger; "neither you, nor any one else in this
-kingdom, can assert a right to withhold an explanation in my presence."
-
-"Since that is the way you regard it," said Madame, in a hoarse, angry
-tone of voice, "all that remains for me to do is bow submission to your
-majesty, and to be silent."
-
-"Not so.  Let there be no equivocation between us."
-
-"The protection with which you surround Mademoiselle de la Valliere does
-not impose any respect."
-
-"No equivocation, I repeat; you are perfectly aware that, as the head of
-the nobility in France, I am accountable to all for the honor of every
-family.  You dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valliere, or whoever else it may
-be - "  Madame shrugged her shoulders.  "Or whoever else it may be, I
-repeat," continued the king; "and as, acting in that manner, you cast a
-dishonorable reflection upon that person, I ask you for an explanation,
-in order that I may confirm or annul the sentence."
-
-"Annul my sentence!" exclaimed Madame, haughtily.  "What! when I have
-discharged one of my attendants, do you order me to take her back
-again?"  The king remained silent.
-
-"This would be a sheer abuse of power, sire; it would be indecorous and
-unseemly."
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"As a woman, I should revolt against an abuse so insulting to me; I
-should no longer be able to regard myself as a princess of your blood, a
-daughter of a monarch; I should be the meanest of creatures, more humbled
-and disgraced than the servant I had sent away."
-
-The king rose from his seat with anger.  "It cannot be a heart," he
-cried, "you have beating in your bosom; if you act in such a way with me,
-I may have reason to act with corresponding severity."
-
-It sometimes happens that in a battle a chance ball may reach its mark.
-The observation which the king had made without any particular intention,
-struck Madame home, and staggered her for a moment; some day or other she
-might indeed have reason to dread reprisals.  "At all events, sire," she
-said, "explain what you require."
-
-"I ask, madame, what has Mademoiselle de la Valliere done to warrant your
-conduct toward her?"
-
-"She is the most cunning fomenter of intrigues I know; she was the
-occasion of two personal friends engaging in mortal combat; and has made
-people talk of her in such shameless terms that the whole court is
-indignant at the mere sound of her name."
-
-"She! she!" cried the king.
-
-"Under her soft and hypocritical manner," continued Madame, "she hides a
-disposition full of foul and dark conceit."
-
-"She!"
-
-"You may possibly be deceived, sire, but I know her right well; she is
-capable of creating dispute and misunderstanding between the most
-affectionate relatives and the most intimate friends.  You see that she
-has already sown discord betwixt us two."
-
-"I do assure you - " said the king.
-
-"Sire, look well into the case as it stands; we were living on the most
-friendly understanding, and by the artfulness of her tales and
-complaints, she has set your majesty against me."
-
-"I swear to you," said the king, "that on no occasion has a bitter word
-ever passed her lips; I swear that, even in my wildest bursts of passion,
-she would not allow me to menace any one; and I swear, too, that you do
-not possess a more devoted and respectful friend than she is."
-
-"Friend!" said Madame, with an expression of supreme disdain.
-
-"Take care, Madame!" said the king; "you forget that you now understand
-me, and that from this moment everything is equalized.  Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere will be whatever I may choose her to become; and to-morrow,
-if I were determined to do so, I could seat her on a throne."
-
-"She was not born to a throne, at least, and whatever you may do can
-affect the future alone, but cannot affect the past."
-
-"Madame, towards you I have shown every kind consideration, and every
-eager desire to please you; do not remind me that I am master."
-
-"It is the second time, sire, that you have made that remark, and I have
-already informed you I am ready to submit."
-
-"In that case, then, you will confer upon me the favor of receiving
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere back again."
-
-"For what purpose, sire, since you have a throne to bestow upon her?  I
-am too insignificant to protect so exalted a personage."
-
-"Nay, a truce to this bitter and disdainful spirit.  Grant me her
-forgiveness."
-
-"_Never!_"
-
-"You drive me, then, to open warfare in my own family."
-
-"I, too, have a family with whom I can find refuge."
-
-"Do you mean that as a threat, and could you forget yourself so far?  Do
-you believe that, if you push the affront to that extent, your family
-would encourage you?"
-
-"I hope, sire, that you will not force me to take any step which would be
-unworthy of my rank."
-
-"I hoped that you would remember our recent friendship, and that you
-would treat me as a brother."
-
-Madame paused for a moment.  "I do not disown you for a brother," she
-said, "in refusing you majesty an injustice."
-
-"An injustice!"
-
-"Oh, sire! if I informed others of La Valliere's conduct; if the queen
-knew - "
-
-"Come, come, Henrietta, let your heart speak; remember that, for however
-brief a time, you once loved me; remember, too, that human hearts should
-be as merciful as the heart of a sovereign Master.  Do not be inflexible
-with others; forgive La Valliere."
-
-"I cannot; she has offended me."
-
-"But for my sake."
-
-"Sire, it is for your sake I would do anything in the world, except that."
-
-"You will drive me to despair - you compel me to turn to the last
-resource of weak people, and seek counsel of my angry and wrathful
-disposition."
-
-"I advise you to be reasonable."
-
-"Reasonable! - I can be so no longer."
-
-"Nay, sire!  I pray you - "
-
-"For pity's sake, Henrietta; it is the first time I entreated any one,
-and I have no hope in any one but in you."
-
-"Oh, sire! you are weeping."
-
-"From rage, from humiliation.  That I, the king, should have been obliged
-to descend to entreaty.  I shall hate this moment during my whole life.
-You have made me suffer in one moment more distress and more degradation
-than I could have anticipated in the greatest extremity in life."  And
-the king rose and gave free vent to his tears, which, in fact, were tears
-of anger and shame.
-
-Madame was not touched exactly - for the best women, when their pride is
-hurt, are without pity; but she was afraid that the tears the king was
-shedding might possibly carry away every soft and tender feeling in his
-heart.
-
-"Give what commands you please, sire," she said; "and since you prefer my
-humiliation to your own - although mine is public and yours has been
-witnessed but by myself alone - speak, I will obey your majesty."
-
-"No, no, Henrietta!" exclaimed Louis, transported with gratitude, "you
-will have yielded to a brother's wishes."
-
-"I no longer have any brother, since I obey."
-
-"All that I have would be too little in return."
-
-"How passionately you love, sire, when you do love!"
-
-Louis did not answer.  He had seized upon Madame's hand and covered it
-with kisses.  "And so you will receive this poor girl back again, and
-will forgive her; you will find how gentle and pure-hearted she is."
-
-"I will maintain her in my household."
-
-"No, you will give her your friendship, my sister."
-
-"I never liked her."
-
-"Well, for my sake, you will treat her kindly, will you not, Henrietta?"
-
-"I will treat her as your - _mistress_."
-
-The king rose suddenly to his feet.  By this word, which had so
-infelicitously escaped her, Madame had destroyed the whole merit of her
-sacrifice.  The king felt freed from all obligations.  Exasperated beyond
-measure, and bitterly offended, he replied:
-
-"I thank you, Madame; I shall never forget the service you have rendered
-me."  And, saluting her with an affectation of ceremony, he took his
-leave of her.  As he passed before a glass, he saw that his eyes were
-red, and angrily stamped his foot on the ground.  But it was too late,
-for Malicorne and D'Artagnan, who were standing at the door, had seen his
-eyes.
-
-"The king has been crying," thought Malicorne.  D'Artagnan approached the
-king with a respectful air, and said in a low tone of voice:
-
-"Sire, it would be better to return to your own apartments by the small
-staircase."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because the dust of the road has left its traces on your face," said
-D'Artagnan.  "By heavens!" he thought, "when the king has given way like
-a child, let those look to it who may make the lady weep for whom the
-king sheds tears."
-
-
-Chapter XXXI:
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere's Pocket-Handkerchief.
-
-Madame was not bad-hearted - she was only hasty and impetuous.  The king
-was not imprudent - he was simply in love.  Hardly had they entered into
-this compact, which terminated in La Valliere's recall, when they both
-sought to make as much as they could by their bargain.  The king wished
-to see La Valliere every moment of the day, while Madame, who was
-sensible of the king's annoyance ever since he had so entreated her,
-would not relinquish her revenge on La Valliere without a contest.  She
-planted every conceivable difficulty in the king's path; he was, in fact,
-obliged, in order to get a glimpse of La Valliere, to be exceedingly
-devoted in his attentions to his sister-in-law, and this, indeed, was
-Madame's plan of policy.  As she had chosen some one to second her
-efforts, and as this person was our old friend Montalais, the king found
-himself completely hemmed in every time he paid Madame a visit; he was
-surrounded, and was never left a moment alone.  Madame displayed in her
-conversation a charm of manner and brilliancy of wit which dazzled
-everybody.  Montalais followed her, and soon rendered herself perfectly
-insupportable to the king, which was, in fact, the very thing she
-expected would happen.  She then set Malicorne at the king, who found
-means of informing his majesty that there was a young person belonging to
-the court who was exceedingly miserable; and on the king inquiring who
-this person was, Malicorne replied that it was Mademoiselle de
-Montalais.  To this the king answered that it was perfectly just that a
-person should be unhappy when she rendered others so.  Whereupon
-Malicorne explained how matters stood; for he had received his directions
-from Montalais.  The king began to open his eyes; he remarked that, as
-soon as he made his appearance, Madame made hers too; that she remained
-in the corridors until after he had left; that she accompanied him back
-to his own apartments, fearing that he might speak in the ante-chambers
-to one of her maids of honor.  One evening she went further still.  The
-king was seated, surrounded by the ladies who were present, and holding
-in his hand, concealed by his lace ruffle, a small note which he wished
-to slip into La Valliere's hand.  Madame guessed both his intention and
-the letter too.  It was difficult to prevent the king going wherever he
-pleased, and yet it was necessary to prevent his going near La Valliere,
-or speaking to her, as by so doing he could let the note fall into her
-lap behind her fan, or into her pocket-handkerchief.  The king, who was
-also on the watch, suspected that a snare was being laid for him.  He
-rose and pushed his chair, without affectation, near Mademoiselle de
-Chatillon, with whom he began to talk in a light tone.  They were amusing
-themselves making rhymes; from Mademoiselle de Chatillon he went to
-Montalais, and then to Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente.  And thus, by
-this skillful maneuver, he found himself seated opposite to La Valliere,
-whom he completely concealed.  Madame pretended to be greatly occupied,
-altering a group of flowers that she was working in tapestry.  The king
-showed the corner of his letter to La Valliere, and the latter held out
-her handkerchief with a look that signified, "Put the letter inside."
-Then, as the king had placed his own handkerchief upon his chair, he was
-adroit enough to let it fall on the ground, so that La Valliere slipped
-her handkerchief on the chair.  The king took it up quietly, without any
-one observing what he did, placed the letter within it, and returned the
-handkerchief to the place he had taken it from.  There was only just time
-for La Valliere to stretch out her hand to take hold of the handkerchief
-with its valuable contents.
-
-But Madame, who had observed everything that had passed, said to
-Mademoiselle de Chatillon, "Chatillon, be good enough to pick up the
-king's handkerchief, if you please; it has fallen on the carpet."
-
-The young girl obeyed with the utmost precipitation, the king having
-moved from his seat, and La Valliere being in no little degree nervous
-and confused.
-
-"Ah!  I beg your majesty's pardon," said Mademoiselle de Chatillon; "you
-have two handkerchiefs, I perceive."
-
-And the king was accordingly obliged to put into his pocket La Valliere's
-handkerchief as well as his own.  He certainly gained that souvenir of
-Louise, who lost, however, a copy of verses which had cost the king ten
-hours' hard labor, and which, as far as he was concerned, was perhaps as
-good as a long poem.  It would be impossible to describe the king's anger
-and La Valliere's despair; but shortly afterwards a circumstance occurred
-which was more than remarkable.  When the king left, in order to retire
-to his own apartments, Malicorne, informed of what had passed, one can
-hardly tell how, was waiting in the ante-chamber.  The ante-chambers of
-the Palais Royal are naturally very dark, and, in the evening, they were
-but indifferently lighted.  Nothing pleased the king more than this dim
-light.  As a general rule, love, whose mind and heart are constantly in a
-blaze, contemns all light, except the sunshine of the soul.  And so the
-ante-chamber was dark; a page carried a torch before the king, who walked
-on slowly, greatly annoyed at what had recently occurred.  Malicorne
-passed close to the king, almost stumbled against him in fact, and begged
-his forgiveness with the profoundest humility; but the king, who was in
-an exceedingly ill-temper, was very sharp in his reproof to Malicorne,
-who disappeared as soon and as quietly as he possibly could.  Louis
-retired to rest, having had a misunderstanding with the queen; and the
-next day, as soon as he entered the cabinet, he wished to have La
-Valliere's handkerchief in order to press his lips to it.  He called his
-valet.
-
-"Fetch me," he said, "the coat I wore yesterday evening, but be very sure
-you do not touch anything it may contain."
-
-The order being obeyed, the king himself searched the pocket of the coat;
-he found only one handkerchief, and that his own; La Valliere's had
-disappeared.  Whilst busied with all kinds of conjectures and suspicions,
-a letter was brought to him from La Valliere; it ran thus:
-
-"How good and kind of you to have sent me those beautiful verses; how
-full of ingenuity and perseverance your affection is; how is it possible
-to help loving you so dearly!"
-
-"What does this mean?" thought the king; "there must be some mistake.
-Look well about," said he to the valet, "for a pocket-handkerchief must
-be in one of my pockets; and if you do not find it, or if you have
-touched it - "  He reflected for a moment.  To make a state matter of the
-loss of the handkerchief would be to act absurdly, and he therefore
-added, "There was a letter of some importance inside the handkerchief,
-which had somehow got among the folds of it."
-
-"Sire," said the valet, "your majesty had only one handkerchief, and that
-is it."
-
-"True, true," replied the king, setting his teeth hard together.  "Oh,
-poverty, how I envy you!  Happy is the man who can empty his own pockets
-of letters and handkerchiefs!"
-
-He read La Valliere's letter over again, endeavoring to imagine in what
-conceivable way his verses could have reached their destination.  There
-was a postscript to the letter:
-
-"I send you back by your messenger this reply, so unworthy of what you
-sent me."
-
-"So far so good; I shall find out something now," he said delightedly.
-"Who is waiting, and who brought me this letter?"
-
-"M. Malicorne," replied the _valet de chambre_, timidly.
-
-"Desire him to come in."
-
-Malicorne entered.
-
-"You come from Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" said the king, with a sigh.
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you took Mademoiselle de la Valliere something from me?"
-
-"I, sire?"
-
-"Yes, you."
-
-"Oh, no, sire."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere says so, distinctly."
-
-"Oh, sire, Mademoiselle de la Valliere is mistaken."
-
-The king frowned.  "What jest is this?" he said; "explain yourself.  Why
-does Mademoiselle de la Valliere call you my messenger?  What did you
-take to that lady?  Speak, monsieur, and quickly."
-
-"Sire, I merely took Mademoiselle de la Valliere a pocket-handkerchief,
-that was all."
-
-"A handkerchief, - what handkerchief?"
-
-"Sire, at the very moment when I had the misfortune to stumble against
-your majesty yesterday - a misfortune which I shall deplore to the last
-day of my life, especially after the dissatisfaction which you exhibited
-- I remained, sire, motionless with despair, your majesty being at too
-great a distance to hear my excuses, when I saw something white lying on
-the ground."
-
-"Ah!" said the king.
-
-"I stooped down, - it was a pocket-handkerchief.  For a moment I had an
-idea that when I stumbled against your majesty I must have been the cause
-of the handkerchief falling from your pocket; but as I felt it all over
-very respectfully, I perceived a cipher at one of the corners, and, on
-looking at it closely, I found that it was Mademoiselle de la Valliere's
-cipher.  I presumed that on her way to Madame's apartment in the earlier
-part of the evening she had let her handkerchief fall, and I accordingly
-hastened to restore it to her as she was leaving; and that is all I gave
-to Mademoiselle de la Valliere, I entreat your majesty to believe."
-Malicorne's manner was so simple, so full of contrition, and marked with
-such extreme humility, that the king was greatly amused in listening to
-him.  He was as pleased with him for what he had done as if he had
-rendered him the greatest service.
-
-"This is the second fortunate meeting I have had with you, monsieur," he
-said; "you may count upon my good intentions."
-
-The plain and sober truth was, that Malicorne had picked the king's
-pocket of the handkerchief as dexterously as any of the pickpockets of
-the good city of Paris could have done.  Madame never knew of this little
-incident, but Montalais gave La Valliere some idea of the manner in which
-it had really happened, and La Valliere afterwards told the king, who
-laughed exceedingly at it and pronounced Malicorne to be a first rate
-politician.  Louis XIV. was right, and it is well known that he was
-tolerably well acquainted with human nature.
-
-
-Chapter XXXII:
-Which Treats of Gardeners, of Ladders, and Maids of Honor.
-
-Miracles, unfortunately, could not be always happening, whilst Madame's
-ill-humor still continued.  In a week's time, matters had reached such a
-point, that the king could no longer look at La Valliere without a look
-full of suspicion crossing his own.  Whenever a promenade was proposed,
-Madame, in order to avoid the recurrence of similar scenes to that of the
-thunder-storm, or the royal oak, had a variety of indispositions ready
-prepared; and, thanks to them, she was unable to go out, and her maids of
-honor were obliged to remain indoors also.  There was not the slightest
-chance of means of paying a nocturnal visit; for in this respect the king
-had, on the very first occasion, experienced a severe check, which
-happened in the following manner.  As at Fontainebleau, he had taken
-Saint-Aignan with him one evening when he wished to pay La Valliere a
-visit; but he had found no one but Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente, who
-had begun to call out "Fire!" and "Thieves!" in such a manner that a
-perfect legion of chamber-maids, attendants, and pages, ran to her
-assistance; so that Saint-Aignan, who had remained behind in order to
-save the honor of his royal master, who had fled precipitately, was
-obliged to submit to a severe scolding from the queen-mother, as well as
-from Madame herself.  In addition, he had, the next morning, received two
-challenges from the De Mortemart family, and the king had been obliged to
-interfere.  This mistake had been owing to the circumstance of Madame
-having suddenly ordered a change in the apartments of her maids of honor,
-and directed La Valliere and Montalais to sleep in her own cabinet.  No
-gateway, therefore, was any longer open - not even communication by
-letter; to write under the eyes of so ferocious an Argus as Madame, whose
-temper and disposition were so uncertain, was to run the risk of exposure
-to the greatest danger; and it can well be conceived into what a state of
-continuous irritation, and ever increasing anger, all these petty
-annoyances threw the young lion.  The king almost tormented himself to
-death endeavoring to discover a means of communication; and, as he did
-not think proper to call in the aid of Malicorne or D'Artagnan, the means
-were not discovered at all.  Malicorne had, indeed, occasional brilliant
-flashes of imagination, with which he tried to inspire the king with
-confidence; but, whether from shame or suspicion, the king, who had at
-first begun to nibble at the bait, soon abandoned the hook.  In this way,
-for instance, one evening, while the king was crossing the garden, and
-looking up at Madame's windows, Malicorne stumbled over a ladder lying
-beside a border of box, and said to Manicamp, then walking with him
-behind the king, "Did you not see that I just now stumbled against a
-ladder, and was nearly thrown down?"
-
-"No," said Manicamp, as usual very absent-minded, "but it appears you did
-not fall."
-
-"That doesn't matter; but it is not on that account the less dangerous to
-leave ladders lying about in that manner."
-
-"True, one might hurt one's self, especially when troubled with fits of
-absence of mind."
-
-"I don't mean that; what I did mean, was that it is dangerous to allow
-ladders to lie about so near the windows of the maids of honor."  Louis
-started imperceptibly.
-
-"Why so?" inquired Manicamp.
-
-"Speak louder," whispered Malicorne, as he touched him with his arm.
-
-"Why so?" said Manicamp, louder.  The king listened.
-
-"Because, for instance," said Malicorne, "a ladder nineteen feet high is
-just the height of the cornice of those windows."  Manicamp, instead of
-answering, was dreaming of something else.
-
-"Ask me, can't you, what windows I mean," whispered Malicorne.
-
-"But what windows are you referring to?" said Manicamp, aloud.
-
-"The windows of Madame's apartments."
-
-"Eh!"
-
-"Oh!  I don't say that any one would ever venture to go up a ladder into
-Madame's room; but in Madame's cabinet, merely separated by a partition,
-sleep two exceedingly pretty girls, Mesdemoiselles de la Valliere and de
-Montalais."
-
-"By a partition?" said Manicamp.
-
-"Look; you see how brilliantly lighted Madame's apartments are - well, do
-you see those two windows?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And that window close to the others, but more dimly lighted?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, that is the room of the maids of honor.  Look, there is
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere opening the window.  Ah! how many soft things
-could an enterprising lover say to her, if he only suspected that there
-was lying here a ladder nineteen feet long, which would just reach the
-cornice."
-
-"But she is not alone; you said Mademoiselle de Montalais is with her."
-
-"Mademoiselle de Montalais counts for nothing; she is her oldest friend,
-and exceedingly devoted to her - a positive well, into which can be
-thrown all sorts of secrets one might wish to get rid of."
-
-The king did not lose a single syllable of this conversation.  Malicorne
-even remarked that his majesty slackened his pace, in order to give him
-time to finish.  So, when they arrived at the door, Louis dismissed every
-one, with the exception of Malicorne - a circumstance which excited no
-surprise, for it was known that the king was in love; and they suspected
-he was going to compose some verses by moonlight; and, although there was
-no moon that evening, the king might, nevertheless, have some verses to
-compose.  Every one, therefore, took his leave; and, immediately
-afterwards, the king turned towards Malicorne, who respectfully waited
-until his majesty should address him.  "What were you saying, just now,
-about a ladder, Monsieur Malicorne?" he asked.
-
-"Did I say anything about ladders, sire?" said Malicorne, looking up, as
-if in search of words which had flown away.
-
-"Yes, of a ladder nineteen feet long."
-
-"Oh, yes, sire, I remember; but I spoke to M. Manicamp, and I should not
-have said a word had I known your majesty was near enough to hear us."
-
-"And why would you not have said a word?"
-
-"Because I should not have liked to get the gardener into a scrape who
-left it there - poor fellow!"
-
-"Don't make yourself uneasy on that account.  What is this ladder like?"
-
-"If your majesty wishes to see it, nothing is easier, for there it is."
-
-"In that box hedge?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Show it to me."
-
-Malicorne turned back, and led the king up to the ladder, saying, "This
-is it, sire."
-
-"Pull it this way a little."
-
-When Malicorne had brought the ladder on to the gravel walk, the king
-began to step its whole length.  "Hum!" he said; "you say it is nineteen
-feet long?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Nineteen feet - that is rather long; I hardly believe it can be so long
-as that."
-
-"You cannot judge very correctly with the ladder in that position, sire.
-If it were upright, against a tree or a wall, for instance, you would be
-better able to judge, because the comparison would assist you a good
-deal."
-
-"Oh! it does not matter, M. Malicorne; but I can hardly believe that the
-ladder is nineteen feet high."
-
-"I know how accurate your majesty's glance is, and yet I would wager."
-
-The king shook his head.  "There is one unanswerable means of verifying
-it," said Malicorne.
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"Every one knows, sire, that the ground-floor of the palace is eighteen
-feet high."
-
-"True, that is very well known."
-
-"Well, sire, if I place the ladder against the wall, we shall be able to
-ascertain."
-
-"True."
-
-Malicorne took up the ladder, like a feather, and placed it upright
-against the wall.  And, in order to try the experiment, he chose, or
-chance, perhaps, directed him to choose, the very window of the cabinet
-where La Valliere was.  The ladder just reached the edge of the cornice,
-that is to say, the sill of the window; so that, by standing upon the
-last round but one of the ladder, a man of about the middle height, as
-the king was, for instance, could easily talk with those who might be in
-the room.  Hardly had the ladder been properly placed, when the king,
-dropping the assumed part he had been playing in the comedy, began to
-ascend the rounds of the ladder, which Malicorne held at the bottom.  But
-hardly had he completed half the distance when a patrol of Swiss guards
-appeared in the garden, and advanced straight towards them.  The king
-descended with the utmost precipitation, and concealed himself among the
-trees.  Malicorne at once perceived that he must offer himself as a
-sacrifice; for if he, too, were to conceal himself, the guard would
-search everywhere until they had found either himself or the king,
-perhaps both.  It would be far better, therefore, that he alone should be
-discovered.  And, consequently, Malicorne hid himself so clumsily that he
-was the only one arrested.  As soon as he was arrested, Malicorne was
-taken to the guard-house, and there he declared who he was, and was
-immediately recognized.  In the meantime, by concealing himself first
-behind one clump of trees and then behind another, the king reached the
-side door of his apartment, very much humiliated, and still more
-disappointed.  More than that, the noise made in arresting Malicorne had
-drawn La Valliere and Montalais to their window; and even Madame herself
-had appeared at her own, with a pair of wax candles, one in each hand,
-clamorously asking what was the matter.
-
-In the meantime, Malicorne sent for D'Artagnan, who did not lose a moment
-in hurrying to him.  But it was in vain he attempted to make him
-understand his reasons, and in vain also that D'Artagnan did understand
-them; and, further, it was equally in vain that both their sharp and
-intuitive minds endeavored to give another turn to the adventure; there
-was no other resource left for Malicorne but to let it be supposed that
-he had wished to enter Mademoiselle de Montalais's apartment, as Saint-
-Aignan had passed for having wished to force Mademoiselle de Tonnay-
-Charente's door.  Madame was inflexible; in the first place, because, if
-Malicorne had, in fact, wished to enter her apartment at night through
-the window, and by means of the ladder, in order to see Montalais, it was
-a punishable offense on Malicorne's part, and he must be punished
-accordingly; and, in the second place, if Malicorne, instead of acting in
-his own name, had acted as an intermediary between La Valliere and a
-person whose name it was superfluous to mention, his crime was in that
-case even greater, since love, which is an excuse for everything, did not
-exist in the case as an excuse.  Madame therefore made the greatest
-possible disturbance about the matter, and obtained his dismissal from
-Monsieur's household, without reflecting, poor blind creature, that both
-Malicorne and Montalais held her fast in their clutches in consequence of
-her visit to De Guiche, and in a variety of other ways equally delicate.
-Montalais, who was perfectly furious, wished to revenge herself
-immediately, but Malicorne pointed out to her that the king's countenance
-would repay them for all the disgraces in the world, and that it was a
-great thing to have to suffer on his majesty's account.
-
-Malicorne was perfectly right, and, therefore, although Montalais had the
-spirit of ten women in her, he succeeded in bringing her round to his own
-opinion.  And we must not omit to state that the king helped them to
-console themselves, for, in the first place, he presented Malicorne with
-fifty thousand francs as a compensation for the post he had lost, and, in
-the next place, he gave him an appointment in his own household,
-delighted to have an opportunity of revenging himself in such a manner
-upon Madame for all she had made him and La Valliere suffer.  But as
-Malicorne could no longer carry significant handkerchiefs for him or
-plant convenient ladders, the royal lover was in a terrible state.  There
-seemed to be no hope, therefore, of ever getting near La Valliere again,
-so long as she should remain at the Palais Royal.  All the dignities and
-all the money in the world could not remedy that.  Fortunately, however,
-Malicorne was on the lookout, and this so successfully that he met
-Montalais, who, to do her justice, it must be admitted, was doing her
-best to meet Malicorne.  "What do you do during the night in Madame's
-apartment?" he asked the young girl.
-
-"Why, I go to sleep, of course," she replied.
-
-"But it is very wrong to sleep; it can hardly be possible that, with the
-pain you are suffering, you can manage to do so."
-
-"And what am I suffering from, may I ask?"
-
-"Are you not in despair at my absence?"
-
-"Of course not, since you have received fifty thousand francs and an
-appointment in the king's household."
-
-"That is a matter of no moment; you are exceedingly afflicted at not
-seeing me as you used to see me formerly, and more than all, you are in
-despair at my having lost Madame's confidence; come now, is not that
-true?"
-
-"Perfectly true."
-
-"Very good; your distress of mind prevents you sleeping at night, and so
-you sob, and sigh, and blow your nose ten times every minute as loud as
-possible."
-
-"But, my dear Malicorne, Madame cannot endure the slightest noise near
-her."
-
-"I know that perfectly well; of course she can't endure anything; and so,
-I tell you, when she hears your deep distress, she will turn you out of
-her rooms without a moment's delay."
-
-"I understand."
-
-"Very fortunate you _do_."
-
-"Well, and what will happen next?"
-
-"The next thing that will happen will be, that La Valliere, finding
-herself alone without you, will groan and utter such loud lamentations,
-that she will exhibit despair enough for two."
-
-"In that case she will be put into _another_ room, don't you see?"
-
-"Precisely so."
-
-"Yes, but which?"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Yes, that will puzzle you to say, Mr. Inventor-General."
-
-"Not at all; whenever and whatever the room may be, it will always be
-preferable to Madame's own room."
-
-"That is true."
-
-"Very good, so begin your lamentations to-night."
-
-"I certainly will not fail to do so."
-
-"And give La Valliere a hint also."
-
-"Oh! don't fear her, she cries quite enough already to herself."
-
-"Very well! all she has to do is cry out loudly."
-
-And they separated.
-
-
-Chapter XXXIII:
-Which Treats of Carpentry Operations, and Furnishes Details upon the Mode
-of Constructing Staircases.
-
-The advice which had been given to Montalais was communicated by her to
-La Valliere, who could not but acknowledge that it was by no means
-deficient in judgment, and who, after a certain amount of resistance,
-rising rather from timidity than indifference to the project, resolved to
-put it into execution.  This story of the two girls weeping, and filling
-Madame's bedroom with the noisiest lamentations, was Malicorne's _chef-
-d'oeuvre_.  As nothing is so probable as improbability, so natural as
-romance, this kind of Arabian Nights story succeeded perfectly with
-Madame.  The first thing she did was to send Montalais away, and then,
-three days, or rather three nights afterwards, she had La Valliere
-removed.  She gave the latter one of the small rooms on the top story,
-situated immediately over the apartments allotted to the gentlemen of
-Monsieur's suite.  One story only, that is to say, a mere flooring
-separated the maids of honor from the officers and gentlemen of her
-husband's household.  A private staircase, which was placed under Madame
-de Navailles's surveillance, was the only means of communication.  For
-greater safety, Madame de Navailles, who had heard of his majesty's
-previous attempts, had the windows of the rooms and the openings of the
-chimneys carefully barred.  There was, therefore, every possible security
-provided for Mademoiselle de la Valliere, whose room now bore more
-resemblance to a cage than to anything else.  When Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere was in her own room, and she was there very frequently, for
-Madame scarcely ever had any occasion for her services, since she once
-knew she was safe under Madame de Navailles's inspection, Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere had no better means of amusing herself than looking through
-the bars of her windows.  It happened, therefore, that one morning, as
-she was looking out as usual, she perceived Malicorne at one of the
-windows exactly opposite to her own.  He held a carpenter's rule in his
-hand, was surveying the buildings, and seemed to be adding up some
-figures on paper.  La Valliere recognized Malicorne and nodded to him;
-Malicorne, in his turn, replied by a formal bow, and disappeared from the
-window.  She was surprised at this marked coolness, so different from his
-usual unfailing good-humor, but she remembered that he had lost his
-appointment on her account, and that he could hardly be very amiably
-disposed towards her, since, in all probability, she would never be in a
-position to make him any recompense for what he had lost.  She knew how
-to forgive offenses, and with still more readiness could she sympathize
-with misfortune.  La Valliere would have asked Montalais her opinion, if
-she had been within hearing, but she was absent, it being the hour she
-commonly devoted to her own correspondence.  Suddenly La Valliere
-observed something thrown from the window where Malicorne had been
-standing, pass across the open space which separated the iron bars, and
-roll upon the floor.  She advanced with no little curiosity towards this
-object, and picked it up; it was a wooden reel for silk, only, in this
-instance, instead of silk, a piece of paper was rolled round it.  La
-Valliere unrolled it and read as follows:
-
-"MADEMOISELLE, - I am exceedingly anxious to learn two things: the first
-is, to know if the flooring of your apartment is wood or brick; the
-second, to ascertain at what distance your bed is placed from the
-window.  Forgive my importunity, and will you be good enough to send me
-an answer by the same way you receive this letter - that is to say, by
-means of the silk winder; only, instead of throwing into my room, as I
-have thrown it into yours, which will be too difficult for you to
-attempt, have the goodness merely to let it fall.  Believe me,
-mademoiselle, your most humble, most respectful servant,
-"MALICORNE.
-"Write the reply, if you please, upon the letter itself."
-
-"Ah! poor fellow," exclaimed La Valliere, "he must have gone out of his
-mind;" and she directed towards her correspondent - of whom she caught
-but a faint glimpse, in consequence of the darkness of the room - a look
-full of compassionate consideration.  Malicorne understood her, and shook
-his head, as if he meant to say, "No, no, I am not out of my mind; be
-quite satisfied."
-
-She smiled, as if still in doubt.
-
-"No, no," he signified by a gesture, "my head is right," and pointed to
-his head, then, after moving his hand like a man who writes very rapidly,
-he put his hands together as if entreating her to write.
-
-La Valliere, even if he were mad, saw no impropriety in doing what
-Malicorne requested her; she took a pencil and wrote "Wood," and then
-walked slowly from her window to her bed, and wrote, "Six paces," and
-having done this, she looked out again at Malicorne, who bowed to her,
-signifying that he was about to descend.  La Valliere understood that it
-was to pick up the silk winder.  She approached the window, and, in
-accordance with Malicorne's instructions, let it fall.  The winder was
-still rolling along the flag-stones as Malicorne started after it,
-overtook and picked it up, and beginning to peel it as a monkey would do
-with a nut, he ran straight towards M. de Saint-Aignan's apartment.
-Saint-Aignan had chosen, or rather solicited, that his rooms might be as
-near the king as possible, as certain plants seek the sun's rays in order
-to develop themselves more luxuriantly.  His apartment consisted of two
-rooms, in that portion of the palace occupied by Louis XIV. himself.  M.
-de Saint-Aignan was very proud of this proximity, which afforded easy
-access to his majesty, and, more than that, the favor of occasional
-unexpected meetings.  At the moment we are now referring to, he was
-engaged in having both his rooms magnificently carpeted, with expectation
-of receiving the honor of frequent visits from the king; for his majesty,
-since his passion for La Valliere, had chosen Saint-Aignan as his
-confidant, and could not, in fact, do without him, either night or day.
-Malicorne introduced himself to the comte, and met with no difficulties,
-because he had been favorably noticed by the king; and also, because the
-credit which one man may happen to enjoy is always a bait for others.
-Saint-Aignan asked his visitor if he brought any news with him.
-
-"Yes; great news," replied the latter.
-
-"Ah! ah!" said Saint-Aignan, "what is it?"
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere has changed her quarters."
-
-"What do you mean?" said Saint-Aignan, opening his eyes very wide.  "She
-was living in the same apartments as Madame."
-
-"Precisely so; but Madame got tired of her proximity, and has installed
-her in a room which is situated exactly above your future apartment."
-
-"What! up there," exclaimed Saint-Aignan, with surprise, and pointing at
-the floor above him with his finger.
-
-"No," said Malicorne, "yonder," indicating the building opposite.
-
-"What do you mean, then, by saying that her room is above my apartment?"
-
-"Because I am sure that your apartment _ought_, providentially, to be
-under Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-Saint-Aignan, at this remark, gave poor Malicorne a look, similar to one
-of those La Valliere had already given a quarter of an hour before, that
-is to say, he thought he had lost his senses.
-
-"Monsieur," said Malicorne to him, "I wish to answer what you are
-thinking about."
-
-"What do you mean by 'what I am thinking about'?"
-
-"My reason is, that you have not clearly understood what I want to
-convey."
-
-"I admit it."
-
-"Well, then, you are aware that underneath the apartments set for
-Madame's maids of honor, the gentlemen in attendance on the king and on
-Monsieur are lodged."
-
-"Yes, I know that, since Manicamp, De Wardes, and others are living
-there."
-
-"Precisely.  Well, monsieur, admire the singularity of the circumstance;
-the two rooms destined for M. de Guiche are exactly the very two rooms
-situated underneath those which Mademoiselle de Montalais and
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere occupy."
-
-"Well; what then?"
-
-"'What then,' do you say?  Why, these two rooms are empty, since M. de
-Guiche is now lying wounded at Fontainebleau."
-
-"I assure you, my dear fellow, I cannot grasp your meaning."
-
-"Well! if I had the happiness to call myself Saint-Aignan, I should guess
-immediately."
-
-"And what would you do then?"
-
-"I should at once change the rooms I am occupying here, for those which
-M. de Guiche is not using yonder."
-
-"Can you suppose such a thing?" said Saint-Aignan, disdainfully.  "What!
-abandon the chief post of honor, the proximity to the king, a privilege
-conceded only to princes of the blood, to dukes, and peers!  Permit me to
-tell you, my dear Monsieur de Malicorne, that you must be out of your
-senses."
-
-"Monsieur," replied the young man, seriously, "you commit two mistakes.
-My name is Malicorne, simply; and I am in perfect possession of all my
-senses."  Then, drawing a paper from his pocket, he said, "Listen to what
-I am going to say; and afterwards, I will show you this paper."
-
-"I am listening," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You know that Madame looks after La Valliere as carefully as Argus did
-after the nymph Io."
-
-"I do."
-
-"You know that the king has sought for an opportunity, but uselessly, of
-speaking to the prisoner, and that neither you nor myself have yet
-succeeded in procuring him this piece of good fortune."
-
-"You certainly ought to know something about the subject, my poor
-Malicorne," said Saint-Aignan, smiling.
-
-"Very good; what do you suppose would happen to the man whose imagination
-devised some means of bringing the lovers together?"
-
-"Oh! the king would set no bounds to his gratitude."
-
-"Let me ask you, then, M. de Saint-Aignan, whether you would not be
-curious to taste a little of this royal gratitude?"
-
-"Certainly," replied Saint-Aignan, "any favor of my master, as a
-recognition of the proper discharge of my duty, would assuredly be most
-precious."
-
-"In that case, look at this paper, monsieur le comte."
-
-"What is it - a plan?"
-
-"Yes; a plan of M. de Guiche's two rooms, which, in all probability, will
-soon be your two rooms."
-
-"Oh! no, whatever may happen."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because my rooms are the envy of too many gentlemen, to whom I certainly
-shall not give them up; M. de Roquelaure, for instance, M. de la Ferte,
-and M. de Dangeau, would all be anxious to get them."
-
-"In that case I shall leave you, monsieur le comte, and I shall go and
-offer to one of those gentlemen the plan I have just shown you, together
-with the advantages annexed to it."
-
-"But why do you not keep them for yourself?" inquired Saint-Aignan,
-suspiciously.
-
-"Because the king would never do me the honor of paying me a visit
-openly, whilst he would readily go and see any one of those gentlemen."
-
-"What! the king would go and see any one of those gentlemen?"
-
-"Go! most certainly he would ten times instead of once.  Is it possible
-you can ask me if the king would go to an apartment which would bring him
-nearer to Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Yes, indeed, delightfully near her, with a floor between them."
-
-Malicorne unfolded the piece of paper which had been wrapped round the
-bobbin.  "Monsieur le comte," he said, "have the goodness to observe that
-the flooring of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room is merely a wooden
-flooring."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Well! all you would have to do would be to get hold of a journeyman
-carpenter, lock him up in your apartments, without letting him know where
-you have taken him to, and let him make a hole in your ceiling, and
-consequently in the flooring of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-"Good heavens!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan, as if dazzled.
-
-"What is the matter?" said Malicorne.
-
-"Nothing, except that you have hit upon a singular, bold idea, monsieur."
-
-"It will seem a very trifling one to the king, I assure you."
-
-"Lovers never think of the risk they run."
-
-"What danger do you apprehend, monsieur le comte?"
-
-"Why, effecting such an opening as that will make a terrible noise: it
-could be heard all over the palace."
-
-"Oh! monsieur le comte, I am quite sure that the carpenter I shall select
-will not make the slightest noise in the world.  He will saw an opening
-three feet square, with a saw covered with tow, and no one, not even
-those adjoining, will know that he is at work."
-
-"My dear Monsieur Malicorne, you astound, you positively bewilder me."
-
-"To continue," replied Malicorne, quietly, "in the room, the ceiling of
-which you will have cut through, you will put up a staircase, which will
-either allow Mademoiselle de la Valliere to descend into your room, or
-the king to ascend into Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-"But the staircase will be seen."
-
-"No; for in your room it will be hidden by a partition, over which you
-will throw a tapestry similar to that which covers the rest of the
-apartment; and in Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room it will not be seen,
-for the trapdoor, which will be a part of the flooring itself, will be
-made to open under the bed."
-
-"Of course," said Saint-Aignan, whose eyes began to sparkle with delight.
-
-"And now, monsieur le comte, there is no occasion to make you admit that
-the king will frequently come to the room where such a staircase is
-constructed.  I think that M. Dangeau, particularly, will be struck by my
-idea, and I shall now go and explain to him."
-
-"But, my dear Monsieur Malicorne, you forget that you spoke to me about
-it the first, and that I have consequently the right of priority."
-
-"Do you wish for the preference?"
-
-"Do I wish it?  Of course I do."
-
-"The fact is, Monsieur de Saint-Aignan, I am presenting you with a
-Jacob's ladder, which is better than the promise of an additional step in
-the peerage - perhaps, even with a good estate to accompany your dukedom."
-
-"At least," replied Saint-Aignan, "it will give me an opportunity of
-showing the king that he is not mistaken in occasionally calling me his
-friend; an opportunity, dear M. Malicorne, for which I am indebted to
-you."
-
-"And which you will not forget to remember?" inquired Malicorne, smiling.
-
-"Nothing will delight me more, monsieur."
-
-"But I am not the king's friend; I am simply his attendant."
-
-"Yes; and if you imagine that that staircase is as good as a dukedom for
-myself, I think there will certainly be letters of nobility at the top of
-it for you."
-
-Malicorne bowed.
-
-"All I have to do now," said Saint-Aignan, "is to move as soon as
-possible."
-
-"I do not think the king will object to it.  Ask his permission, however."
-
-"I will go and see him this very moment."
-
-"And I will run and get the carpenter I was speaking of."
-
-"When will he be here?"
-
-"This very evening."
-
-"Do not forget your precautions."
-
-"He shall be brought with his eyes bandaged."
-
-"And I will send you one of my carriages."
-
-"Without arms."
-
-"And one of my servants without livery.  But stay, what will La Valliere
-say if she sees what is going on?"
-
-"Oh!  I can assure you she will be very much interested in the operation,
-and I am equally sure that if the king has not courage enough to ascend
-to her room, she will have sufficient curiosity to come down to him."
-
-"We will live in hope," said Saint-Aignan; "and now I am off to his
-majesty.  At what time will the carpenter be here?"
-
-"At eight o'clock."
-
-"How long do you suppose he will take to make this opening?"
-
-"About a couple of hours; only afterwards he must have sufficient time to
-construct what may be called the hyphen between the two rooms.  One night
-and a portion of the following day will do; we must not reckon upon less
-than two days, including putting up the staircase."
-
-"Two days, that is a very long time."
-
-"Nay; when one undertakes to open up communications with paradise itself,
-we must at least take care that the approaches are respectable."
-
-"Quite right; so farewell for a short time, dear M. Malicorne.  I shall
-begin to remove the day after to-morrow, in the evening."
-
-
-Chapter XXXIV:
-The Promenade by Torchlight.
-
-Saint-Aignan, delighted with what he had just heard, and rejoiced at what
-the future foreshadowed for him, bent his steps towards De Guiche's two
-rooms.  He who, a quarter of an hour previously, would hardly yield up
-his own rooms for a million francs, was now ready to expend a million, if
-it were necessary, upon the acquisition of the two happy rooms he coveted
-so eagerly.  But he did not meet with so many obstacles.  M. de Guiche
-did not yet know where he was to lodge, and, besides, was still too far
-ill to trouble himself about his lodgings; and so Saint-Aignan obtained
-De Guiche's two rooms without difficulty.  As for M. Dangeau, he was so
-immeasurably delighted, that he did not even give himself the trouble to
-think whether Saint-Aignan had any particular reason for removing.
-Within an hour after Saint-Aignan's new resolution, he was in possession
-of the two rooms; and ten minutes later Malicorne entered, followed by
-the upholsterers.  During this time, the king asked for Saint-Aignan; the
-valet ran to his late apartments and found M. Dangeau there; Dangeau sent
-him on to De Guiche's, and Saint-Aignan was found there; but a little
-delay had of course taken place, and the king had already exhibited once
-or twice evident signs of impatience, when Saint-Aignan entered his royal
-master's presence, quite out of breath.
-
-"You, too, abandon me, then," said Louis XIV., in a similar tone of
-lamentation to that with which Caesar, eighteen hundred years previously,
-had pronounced the _Et tu quoque_.
-
-"Sire, I am far from abandoning you, for, on the contrary, I am busily
-occupied in changing my lodgings."
-
-"What do you mean?  I thought you had finished moving three days ago."
-
-"Yes, sire.  But I don't find myself comfortable where I am, so I am
-going to change to the opposite side of the building."
-
-"Was I not right when I said you were abandoning me?" exclaimed the
-king.  "Oh! this exceeds all endurance.  But so it is: there was only one
-woman for whom my heart cared at all, and all my family is leagued
-together to tear her from me; and my friend, to whom I confided my
-distress, and who helped me to bear up under it, has become wearied of my
-complaints and is going to leave me without even asking my permission."
-
-Saint-Aignan began to laugh.  The king at once guessed there must be some
-mystery in this want of respect.  "What is it?" cried the king, full of
-hope.
-
-"This, sire, that the friend whom the king calumniates is going to try if
-he cannot restore to his sovereign the happiness he has lost."
-
-"Are you going to let me see La Valliere?" said Louis XIV.
-
-"I cannot say so, positively, but I hope so."
-
-"How - how? - tell me that, Saint-Aignan.  I wish to know what your
-project is, and to help you with all my power."
-
-"Sire," replied Saint-Aignan, "I cannot, even myself, tell very well how
-I must set about attaining success; but I have every reason to believe
-that from to-morrow - "
-
-"To-morrow, do you say!  What happiness!  But why are you changing your
-rooms?"
-
-"In order to serve your majesty to better advantage."
-
-"How can your moving serve me?"
-
-"Do you happen to know where the two rooms destined for De Guiche are
-situated?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, your majesty now knows where I am going."
-
-"Very likely; but that does not help me."
-
-"What! is it possible that you do not understand, sire, that above De
-Guiche's lodgings are two rooms, one of which is Mademoiselle
-Montalais's, and the other - "
-
-"La Valliere's, is it not so, Saint-Aignan?  Oh! yes, yes.  It is a
-brilliant idea, Saint-Aignan, a true friend's idea, a poet's idea.  By
-bringing me nearer her from whom the world seems to unite to separate me
-- you are far more than Pylades was for Orestes, or Patroclus for
-Achilles."
-
-"Sire," said Aignan, with a smile, "I question whether, if your majesty
-were to know my projects in their full extent, you would continue to
-pronounce such a pompous eulogium upon me.  Ah! sire, I know how very
-different are the epithets which certain Puritans of the court will not
-fail to apply to me when they learn of what I intend to do for your
-majesty."
-
-"Saint-Aignan, I am dying with impatience; I am in a perfect fever; I
-shall never be able to wait until to-morrow - to-morrow! why, to-morrow
-is an eternity!"
-
-"And yet, sire, I shall require you, if you please, to go out presently
-and divert your impatience by a good walk."
-
-"With you - agreed; we will talk about your projects, we will talk of
-her."
-
-"Nay, sire; I remain here."
-
-"Whom shall I go out with, then?"
-
-"With the queen and all the ladies of the court."
-
-"Nothing shall induce me to do that, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"And yet, sire, you must."
-
-"_Must?_ - no, no - a thousand times no!  I will never again expose
-myself to the horrible torture of being close to her, of seeing her, of
-touching her dress as I pass by her, and yet not be able to say a word to
-her.  No, I renounce a torture which you suppose will bring me happiness,
-but which consumes and eats away my very life; to see her in the presence
-of strangers, and not to tell her that I love her, when my whole being
-reveals my affection and betrays me to every one; no!  I have sworn never
-to do it again, and I will keep my oath."
-
-"Yet, sire, pray listen to me for a moment."
-
-"I will listen to nothing, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"In that case, I will continue; it is most urgent, sire - pray understand
-me, it is of the greatest importance - that Madame and her maids of honor
-should be absent for two hours from the palace."
-
-"I cannot understand your meaning at all, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"It is hard for me to give my sovereign directions what to do; but under
-the circumstances I do give you directions, sire; and either a hunting or
-a promenade party must be got up."
-
-"But if I were to do what you wish, it would be a caprice, a mere whim.
-In displaying such an impatient humor I show my whole court that I have
-no control over my own feelings.  Do not people already say that I am
-dreaming of the conquest of the world, but that I ought previously to
-begin by achieving a conquest over myself?"
-
-"Those who say so, sire, are as insolent as they would like to be thought
-facetious; but whomever they may be, if your majesty prefers to listen to
-them, I have nothing further to say.  In such a case, that which we have
-fixed to take place to-morrow must be postponed indefinitely."
-
-"Nay, Saint-Aignan, I will go out this evening - I will go by torchlight
-to Saint-Germain: I will breakfast there to-morrow, and will return to
-Paris by three o'clock.  Will that do?"
-
-"Admirably."
-
-"In that case I will set out this evening at eight o'clock."
-
-"Your majesty has fixed upon the exact minute."
-
-"And you positively will tell me nothing more?"
-
-"It is because I have nothing more to tell you.  Industry counts for
-something in this world, sire; but still, chance plays so important a
-part in it that I have been accustomed to leave her the sidewalk,
-confident that she will manage so as to always take the street."
-
-"Well, I abandon myself entirely to you."
-
-"And you are quite right."
-
-Comforted in this manner, the king went immediately to Madame, to whom he
-announced the intended expedition.  Madame fancied at the first moment
-that she saw in this unexpectedly arranged party a plot of the king's to
-converse with La Valliere, either on the road under cover of the
-darkness, or in some other way, but she took especial care not to show
-any of her fancies to her brother-in-law, and accepted the invitation
-with a smile upon her lips.  She gave directions aloud that her maids of
-honor should accompany her, secretly intending in the evening to take the
-most effectual steps to interfere with his majesty's attachment.  Then,
-when she was alone, and at the very moment the poor lover, who had issued
-orders for the departure, was reveling in the idea that Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere would form one of the party, - luxuriating in the sad
-happiness persecuted lovers enjoy of realizing through the sense of sight
-alone all the transports of possession, - Madame, who was surrounded by
-her maids of honor, was saying: - "Two ladies will be enough for me this
-evening, Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente and Mademoiselle de Montalais."
-
-La Valliere had anticipated her own omission, and was prepared for it:
-but persecution had rendered her courageous, and she did not give Madame
-the pleasure of seeing on her face the impression of the shock her heart
-received.  On the contrary, smiling with that ineffable gentleness which
-gave an angelic expression to her features - "In that case, Madame, I
-shall be at liberty this evening, I suppose?" she said.
-
-"Of course."
-
-"I shall be able to employ it, then, in progressing with that piece of
-tapestry which your highness has been good enough to notice, and which I
-have already had the honor of offering to you."
-
-And having made a respectful obeisance she withdrew to her own apartment;
-Mesdemoiselles de Tonnay-Charente and de Montalais did the same.  The
-rumor of the intended promenade soon spread all over the palace; ten
-minutes afterwards Malicorne learned Madame's resolution, and slipped
-under Montalais's door a note, in the following terms:
-
-"L. V. must positively pass the night the night with Madame."
-
-Montalais, in pursuance of the compact she had entered into, began by
-burning the letter, and then sat down to reflect.  Montalais was a girl
-full of expedients, and so she very soon arranged her plan.  Towards five
-o'clock, which was the hour for her to repair to Madame's apartment, she
-was running across the courtyard, and had reached within a dozen paces of
-a group of officers, when she uttered a cry, fell gracefully on one knee,
-rose again, with difficulty, and walked on limpingly.  The gentlemen ran
-forward to her assistance; Montalais had sprained her foot.  Faithful to
-the discharge of her duty, she insisted, however, notwithstanding her
-accident, upon going to Madame's apartments.
-
-"What is the matter, and why do you limp so?" she inquired; "I mistook
-you for La Valliere."
-
-Montalais related how it had happened, that in hurrying on, in order to
-arrive as quickly as possible, she had sprained her foot.  Madame seemed
-to pity her, and wished to have a surgeon sent for immediately, but she,
-assuring her that there was nothing really serious in the accident, said:
-"My only regret, Madame, is, that it will preclude my attendance on you,
-and I should have begged Mademoiselle de la Valliere to take my place
-with your royal highness, but - " seeing that Madame frowned, she added –
-"I have not done so."
-
-"Why did you not do so?" inquired Madame.
-
-"Because poor La Valliere seemed so happy to have her liberty for a whole
-evening and night too, that I did not feel courageous enough to ask her
-to take my place."
-
-"What, is she so delighted as that?" inquired madame, struck by these
-words.
-
-"She is wild with delight; she, who is always so melancholy, was singing
-like a bird.  Besides, you highness knows how much she detests going out,
-and also that her character has a spice of wildness in it."
-
-"So!" thought Madame, "this extreme delight hardly seems natural to me."
-
-"She has already made all her preparations for dining in her own room
-_tete-a-tete_ with one of her favorite books.  And then, as your highness
-has six other young ladies who would be delighted to accompany you, I did
-not make my proposal to La Valliere."  Madame did not say a word in reply.
-
-"Have I acted properly?" continued Montalais, with a slight fluttering of
-the heart, seeing the little success that seemed to attend the _ruse de
-guerre_ which she had relied upon with so much confidence that she had
-not thought it even necessary to try and find another.  "Does Madame
-approve of what I have done?" she continued.
-
-Madame was reflecting that the king could very easily leave Saint-Germain
-during the night, and that, as it was only four leagues and a half from
-Paris to Saint-Germain, he might readily be in Paris in an hour's time.
-"Tell me," she said, "whether La Valliere, when she heard of your
-accident, offered at least to bear you company?"
-
-"Oh! she does not yet know of my accident; but even did she know of it, I
-most certainly should not ask her to do anything that might interfere
-with her own plans.  I think she wishes this evening to realize quietly
-by herself that amusement of the late king, when he said to M. de Cinq-
-Mars, 'Let us amuse ourselves by doing nothing, and making ourselves
-miserable.'"
-
-Madame felt convinced that some mysterious love adventure lurked behind
-this strong desire for solitude.  The secret _might_ be Louis's return
-during the night; it could not be doubted any longer La Valliere had been
-informed of his intended return, and that was the reason for her delight
-at having to remain behind at the Palais Royal.  It was a plan settled
-and arranged beforehand.
-
-"I will not be their dupe though," said Madame, and she took a decisive
-step.  "Mademoiselle de Montalais," she said, "will you have the goodness
-to inform your friend, Mademoiselle de la Valliere, that I am exceedingly
-sorry to disarrange her projects of solitude, but that instead of
-becoming _ennuyee_ by remaining behind alone as she wished, she will be
-good enough to accompany us to Saint-Germain and get _ennuyee_ there."
-
-"Ah! poor La Valliere," said Montalais, compassionately, but with her
-heart throbbing with delight; "oh, Madame, could there not be some
-means - "
-
-"Enough," said Madame; "I desire it.  I prefer Mademoiselle la Baume le
-Blanc's society to that of any one else.  Go, and send her to me, and
-take care of your foot."
-
-Montalais did not wait for the order to be repeated; she returned to her
-room, almost forgetting to feign lameness, wrote an answer to Malicorne,
-and slipped it under the carpet.  The answer simply said: "She shall."  A
-Spartan could not have written more laconically.
-
-"By this means," thought Madame, "I will look narrowly after all on the
-road; she shall sleep near me during the night, and his majesty must be
-very clever if he can exchange a single word with Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere."
-
-La Valliere received the order to set off with the same indifferent
-gentleness with which she had received the order to play Cinderella.
-But, inwardly, her delight was extreme, and she looked upon this change
-in the princess's resolution as a consolation which Providence had sent
-her.  With less penetration than Madame possessed, she attributed all to
-chance.  While every one, with the exception of those in disgrace, of
-those who were ill, and those who were suffering from sprains, were being
-driven towards Saint-Germain, Malicorne smuggled his workman into the
-palace in one of M. de Saint-Aignan's carriages, and led him into the
-room corresponding to La Valliere's.  The man set to work with a will,
-tempted by the splendid reward which had been promised him.  As the very
-best tools and implements had been selected from the reserve stock
-belonging to the engineers attached to the king's household - and among
-others, a saw with teeth so sharp and well tempered that it was able,
-under water even, to cut through oaken joists as hard as iron - the work
-in question advanced very rapidly, and a square portion of the ceiling,
-taken from between two of the joists, fell into the arms of the delighted
-Saint-Aignan, Malicorne, the workman, and a confidential valet, the
-latter being one brought into the world to see and hear everything, but
-to repeat nothing.  In accordance with a new plan indicated by Malicorne,
-the opening was effected in an angle of the room - and for this reason.
-As there was no dressing-closet adjoining La Valliere's room, she had
-solicited, and had that very morning obtained, a large screen intended to
-serve as a partition.  The screen that had been allotted her was
-perfectly sufficient to conceal the opening, which would, besides, be
-hidden by all the artifices skilled cabinet-makers would have at their
-command.  The opening having been made, the workman glided between the
-joists, and found himself in La Valliere's room.  When there, he cut a
-square opening in the flooring, and out of the boards he manufactured a
-trap so accurately fitting into the opening that the most practised eye
-could hardly detect the necessary interstices made by its lines of
-juncture with the floor.  Malicorne had provided for everything: a ring
-and a couple of hinges which had been bought for the purpose, were
-affixed to the trap-door; and a small circular stair-case, packed in
-sections, had been bought ready made by the industrious Malicorne, who
-had paid two thousand francs for it.  It was higher than what was
-required, but the carpenter reduced the number of steps, and it was found
-to suit exactly.  This staircase, destined to receive so illustrious a
-burden, was merely fastened to the wall by a couple of iron clamps, and
-its base was fixed into the floor of the comte's room by two iron pegs
-screwed down tightly, so that the king, and all his cabinet councilors
-too, might pass up and down the staircase without any fear.  Every blow
-of the hammer fell upon a thick pad or cushion, and the saw was not used
-until the handle had been wrapped in wool, and the blade steeped in oil.
-The noisiest part of the work, moreover, had taken place during the night
-and early in the morning, that is to say, when La Valliere and Madame
-were both absent.  When, about two o'clock in the afternoon, the court
-returned to the Palais Royal, La Valliere went up into her own room.
-Everything was in its proper place - not the smallest particle of
-sawdust, not the smallest chip, was left to bear witness to the violation
-of her domicile.  Saint-Aignan, however, wishing to do his utmost in
-forwarding the work, had torn his fingers and his shirt too, and had
-expended no ordinary amount of perspiration in the king's service.  The
-palms of his hands were covered with blisters, occasioned by his having
-held the ladder for Malicorne.  He had, moreover, brought up, one by one,
-the seven pieces of the staircase, each consisting of two steps.  In
-fact, we can safely assert that, if the king had seen him so ardently at
-work, his majesty would have sworn an eternal gratitude towards his
-faithful attendant.  As Malicorne anticipated, the workman had completely
-finished the job in twenty-four hours; he received twenty-four louis, and
-left, overwhelmed with delight, for he had gained in one day as much as
-six months' hard work would have procured him.  No one had the slightest
-suspicion of what had taken place in the room under Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere's apartment.  But in the evening of the second day, at the very
-moment La Valliere had just left Madame's circle and returned to her own
-room, she heard a slight creaking sound in one corner.  Astonished, she
-looked to see whence it proceeded, and the noise began again.  "Who is
-there?" she said, in a tone of alarm.
-
-"It is I, Louise," replied the well-known voice of the king.
-
-"You! you!" cried the young girl, who for a moment fancied herself under
-the influence of a dream.  "But where?  You, sire?"
-
-"Here," replied the king, opening one of the folds of the screen, and
-appearing like a ghost at the end of the room.
-
-La Valliere uttered a loud cry, and fell trembling into an armchair, as
-the king advanced respectfully towards her.
-
-
-Chapter XXXV:
-The Apparition.
-
-La Valliere very soon recovered from her surprise, for, owing to his
-respectful bearing, the king inspired her with more confidence by his
-presence than his sudden appearance had deprived her of.  But, as he
-noticed that which made La Valliere most uneasy was the means by which he
-had effected an entrance into her room, he explained to her the system of
-the staircase concealed by the screen, and strongly disavowed the notion
-of his being a supernatural appearance.
-
-"Oh, sire!" said La Valliere, shaking her fair head with a most engaging
-smile, "present or absent, you do not appear to my mind more at one time
-than at another."
-
-"Which means, Louise - "
-
-"Oh, what you know so well, sire; that there is not one moment in which
-the poor girl whose secret you surprised at Fontainebleau, and whom you
-came to snatch from the foot of the cross itself, does not think of you."
-
-"Louise, you overwhelm me with joy and happiness."
-
-La Valliere smiled mournfully, and continued: "But, sire, have you
-reflected that your ingenious invention could not be of the slightest
-service to us?"
-
-"Why so?  Tell me, - I am waiting most anxiously."
-
-"Because this room may be subject to being searched at any moment of the
-day.  Madame herself may, at any time, come here accidentally; my
-companions run in at any moment they please.  To fasten the door on the
-inside, is to denounce myself as plainly as if I had written above, 'No
-admittance, - the king is within!'  Even now, sire, at this very moment,
-there is nothing to prevent the door opening, and your majesty being seen
-here."
-
-"In that case," said the king, laughingly, "I should indeed be taken for
-a phantom, for no one can tell in what way I came here.  Besides, it is
-only spirits that can pass through brick walls, or floors and ceilings."
-
-"Oh, sire, reflect for a moment how terrible the scandal would be!
-Nothing equal to it could ever have been previously said about the maids
-of honor, poor creatures! whom evil report, however, hardly ever spares."
-
-"And your conclusion from all this, my dear Louise, - come, explain
-yourself."
-
-"Alas! it is a hard thing to say - but your majesty must suppress
-staircase plots, surprises and all; for the evil consequences which would
-result from your being found here would be far greater than our happiness
-in seeing each other."
-
-"Well, Louise," replied the king, tenderly, "instead of removing this
-staircase by which I have ascended, there is a far more simple means, of
-which you have not thought."
-
-"A means - another means!"
-
-"Yes, another.  Oh, you do not love me as I love you, Louise, since my
-invention is quicker than yours."
-
-She looked at the king, who held out his hand to her, which she took and
-gently pressed between her own.
-
-"You were saying," continued the king, "that I shall be detected coming
-here, where any one who pleases can enter."
-
-"Stay, sire; at this very moment, even while you are speaking about it, I
-tremble with dread of your being discovered."
-
-"But you would not be found out, Louise, if you were to descend the
-staircase which leads to the room underneath."
-
-"Oh, sire! what do you say?" cried Louise, in alarm.
-
-"You do not quite understand me, Louise, since you get offended at my
-very first word; first of all, do you know to whom the apartments
-underneath belong?"
-
-"To M. de Guiche, sire, I believe."
-
-"Not at all; they are M. de Saint-Aignan's."
-
-"Are you sure?" cried La Valliere; and this exclamation which escaped
-from the young girl's joyous heart made the king's heart throb with
-delight.
-
-"Yes, to Saint-Aignan, _our friend_," he said.
-
-"But, sire," returned La Valliere, "I cannot visit M. de Saint-Aignan's
-rooms any more than I could M. de Guiche's.  It is impossible –
-impossible."
-
-"And yet, Louise, I should have thought that, under the safe-conduct of
-the king, you would venture anything."
-
-"Under the safe-conduct of the king," she said, with a look full of
-tenderness.
-
-"You have faith in my word, I hope, Louise?"
-
-"Yes, sire, when you are not present; but when you are present, - when
-you speak to me, - when I look upon you, I have faith in nothing."
-
-"What can possibly be done to reassure you?"
-
-"It is scarcely respectful, I know, to doubt the king, but - for me - you
-are _not_ the king."
-
-"Thank Heaven! - I, at least, hope so most devoutly; you see how
-anxiously I am trying to find or invent a means of removing all
-difficulty.  Stay; would the presence of a third person reassure you?"
-
-"The presence of M. de Saint-Aignan would, certainly."
-
-"Really, Louise, you wound me by your suspicions."
-
-Louise did not answer, she merely looked steadfastly at him with that
-clear, piercing gaze which penetrates the very heart, and said softly to
-herself, "Alas! alas! it is not you of whom I am afraid, - it is not you
-upon whom my doubts would fall."
-
-"Well," said the king, sighing, "I agree; and M. de Saint-Aignan, who
-enjoys the inestimable privilege of reassuring you, shall always be
-present at our interviews, I promise you."
-
-"You promise that, sire?"
-
-"Upon my honor as a gentleman; and you, on your side - "
-
-"Oh, wait, sire, that is not all yet; for such conversations ought, at
-least, to have a reasonable motive of some kind for M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Dear Louise, every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours, and my only
-study is to equal you on that point.  It shall be just as you wish:
-therefore our conversations shall have a reasonable motive, and I have
-already hit upon one; so that from to-morrow, if you like - "
-
-"To-morrow?"
-
-"Do you meant that that is not soon enough?" exclaimed the king,
-caressing La Valliere's hand between his own."
-
-At this moment the sound of steps was heard in the corridor.
-
-"Sire! sire!" cried La Valliere, "some one is coming; do you hear?  Oh,
-fly! fly!  I implore you."
-
-The king made but one bound from the chair where he was sitting to his
-hiding-place behind the screen.  He had barely time; for as he drew one
-of the folds before him, the handle of the door was turned, and Montalais
-appeared at the threshold.  As a matter of course she entered quite
-naturally, and without any ceremony, for she knew perfectly well that to
-knock at the door beforehand would be showing a suspicion towards La
-Valliere which would be displeasing to her.  She accordingly entered, and
-after a rapid glance round the room, in the brief course of which she
-observed two chairs very close to each other, she was so long in shutting
-the door, which seemed to be difficult to close, one can hardly tell how
-or why, that the king had ample time to raise the trap-door, and to
-descend again to Saint-Aignan's room.
-
-"Louise," she said to her, "I want to talk to you, and seriously, too."
-
-"Good heavens! my dear Aure, what is the matter now?"
-
-"The matter is, that Madame suspects _everything_."
-
-"Explain yourself."
-
-"Is there any occasion for us to enter into explanations, and do you not
-understand what I mean?  Come, you must have noticed the fluctuations in
-Madame's humor during several days past; you must have noticed how she
-first kept you close beside her, then dismissed you, and then sent for
-you again."
-
-"Yes, I have noticed it, of course."
-
-"Well, it seems Madame has now succeeded in obtaining sufficient
-information, for she has now gone straight to the point, as there is
-nothing further left in France to withstand the torrent which sweeps
-away all obstacles before it; you know what I mean by the torrent?"
-
-La Valliere hid her face in her hands.
-
-"I mean," continued Montalais, pitilessly, "that torrent which burst
-through the gates of the Carmelites of Chaillot, and overthrew all the
-prejudices of the court, as well at Fontainebleau as at Paris."
-
-"Alas! alas!" murmured La Valliere, her face still covered by her hands,
-and her tears streaming through her fingers.
-
-"Oh, don't distress yourself in that manner, or you have only heard half
-of your troubles."
-
-"In Heaven's name," exclaimed the young girl, in great anxiety, "what is
-the matter?"
-
-"Well, then, this is how the matter stands: Madame, who can no longer
-rely upon any further assistance in France; for she has, one after the
-other, made use of the two queens, of Monsieur, and the whole court, too,
-now bethinks herself of a certain person who has certain pretended rights
-over you."
-
-La Valliere became as white as a marble statue.
-
-"This person," continued Madame, "is not in Paris at this moment; but, if
-I am not mistaken, is, just now, in England."
-
-"Yes, yes," breathed La Valliere, almost overwhelmed with terror.
-
-"And is to be found, I think, at the court of Charles II.; am I right?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, this evening a letter has been dispatched by Madame to Saint
-James's, with directions for the courier to go straight to Hampton Court,
-which I believe is one of the royal residences, situated about a dozen
-miles from London."
-
-"Yes, well?"
-
-"Well; as Madame writes regularly to London once a fortnight, and as the
-ordinary courier left for London not more than three days ago, I have
-been thinking that some serious circumstance alone could have induced her
-to write again so soon, for you know she is a very indolent
-correspondent."
-
-"Yes."
-
-"This letter has been written, therefore, something tells me so, at
-least, on your account."
-
-"On my account?" repeated the unhappy girl, mechanically.
-
-"And I, who saw the letter lying on Madame's desk before she sealed it,
-fancied I could read - "
-
-"What did you fancy you could read?"
-
-"I might possibly have been mistaken, though - "
-
-"Tell me, - what was it?"
-
-"The name of Bragelonne."
-
-La Valliere rose hurriedly from her chair, a prey to the most painful
-agitation.  "Montalais," she said, her voice broken by sobs, "all my
-smiling dreams of youth and innocence have fled already.  I have nothing
-now to conceal, either from you or any one else.  My life is exposed to
-every one's inspection, and can be opened like a book, in which all the
-world can read, from the king himself to the first passer-by.  Aure,
-dearest Aure, what can I do - what will become of me?"
-
-Montalais approached close to her, and said, "Consult your own heart, of
-course."
-
-"Well; I do not love M. de Bragelonne; when I say I do not love him,
-understand that I love him as the most affectionate sister could love the
-best of brothers, but that is not what he requires, nor what I promised
-him."
-
-"In fact, you love the king," said Montalais, "and that is a sufficiently
-good excuse."
-
-"Yes, I do love the king," hoarsely murmured the young girl, "and I have
-paid dearly enough for pronouncing those words.  And now, Montalais, tell
-me - what can you do either for me, or against me, in my position?"
-
-"You must speak more clearly still."
-
-"What am I to say, then?"
-
-"And so you have nothing very particular to tell me?"
-
-"No!" said Louise, in astonishment.
-
-"Very good; and so all you have to ask me is my advice respecting M.
-Raoul?"
-
-"Nothing else."
-
-"It is a very delicate subject," replied Montalais.
-
-"No, it is nothing of the kind.  Ought I to marry him in order to keep
-the promise I made, or ought I continue to listen to the king?"
-
-"You have really placed me in a very difficult position," said Montalais,
-smiling; "you ask me if you ought to marry Raoul, whose friend I am, and
-whom I shall mortally offend in giving my opinion against him; and then,
-you ask me if you should cease to listen to the king, whose subject I am,
-and whom I should offend if I were to advise you in a particular way.
-Ah, Louise, you seem to hold a difficult position at a very cheap rate."
-
-"You have not understood me, Aure," said La Valliere, wounded by the
-slightly mocking tone of her companion; "if I were to marry M. de
-Bragelonne, I should be far from bestowing on him the happiness he
-deserves; but, for the same reason, if I listen to the king he would
-become the possessor of one indifferent in very many aspects, I admit,
-but one whom his affection confers an appearance of value.  What I ask
-you, then, is to tell me some means of disengaging myself honorably
-either from the one or from the other; or rather, I ask you, from which
-side you think I can free myself most honorably."
-
-"My dear Louise," replied Montalais, after a pause, "I am not one of the
-seven wise men of Greece, and I have no perfectly invariable rules of
-conduct to govern me; but, on the other hand, I have a little experience,
-and I can assure you that no woman ever asks for advice of the nature
-which you have just asked me, without being in a terrible state of
-embarrassment.  Besides, you have made a solemn promise, which every
-principle of honor requires you to fulfil; if, therefore, you are
-embarrassed, in consequence of having undertaken such an engagement, it
-is not a stranger's advice (every one is a stranger to a heart full of
-love), it is not my advice, I repeat, that can extricate you from your
-embarrassment.  I shall not give it you, therefore; and for a greater
-reason still - because, were I in your place, I should feel much more
-embarrassed after the advice than before it.  All I can do is, to repeat
-what I have already told you; shall I assist you?"
-
-"Yes, yes."
-
-"Very well; that is all.  Tell me in what way you wish me to help you;
-tell me for and against whom, - in this way we shall not make any
-blunders."
-
-"But first of all," said La Valliere, pressing her companion's hand, "for
-whom or against whom do you decide?"
-
-"For you, if you are really and truly my friend."
-
-"Are you not Madame's confidant?"
-
-"A greater reason for being of service to you; if I were not to know what
-is going on in that direction I should not be of any service at all, and
-consequently you would not obtain any advantage from my acquaintance.
-Friendships live and thrive upon a system of reciprocal benefits."
-
-"The result is, then, that you will remain at the same time Madame's
-friend also?"
-
-"Evidently.  Do you complain of that?"
-
-"I hardly know," sighed La Valliere, thoughtfully, for this cynical
-frankness appeared to her an offense both to the woman and the friend.
-
-"All well and good, then," said Montalais, "for if you did, you would be
-very foolish."
-
-"You wish to serve me, then?"
-
-"Devotedly - if you will serve me in return."
-
-"One would almost say that you do not know my heart," said La Valliere,
-looking at Montalais with her eyes wide open.
-
-"Why, the fact is, that since we have belonged to the court, my dear
-Louise, we are very much changed."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"It is very simple.  Were you the second queen of France yonder, at
-Blois?"
-
-La Valliere hung down her head, and began to weep.  Montalais looked at
-her in an indefinable manner, and murmured "Poor girl!" and then, adding,
-"Poor king!" she kissed Louise on the forehead, and returned to her
-apartment, where Malicorne was waiting for her.
-
-
-Chapter XXXVI:
-The Portrait.
-
-In that malady which is termed love the paroxysms succeed each other at
-intervals, ever accelerating from the moment the disease declares
-itself.  By and by, the paroxysms are less frequent, in proportion as the
-cure approaches.  This being laid down as a general axiom, and as the
-leading article of a particular chapter, we will now proceed with our
-recital.  The next day, the day fixed by the king for the first
-conversation in Saint-Aignan's room, La Valliere, on opening one of the
-folds of the screen, found upon the floor a letter in the king's
-handwriting.  The letter had been passed, through a slit in the floor,
-from the lower apartment to her own.  No indiscreet hand or curious gaze
-could have brought or did bring this single paper.  This, too, was one of
-Malicorne's ideas.  Having seen how very serviceable Saint-Aignan would
-become to the king on account of his apartment, he did not wish that the
-courtier should become still more indispensable as a messenger, and so he
-had, on his own private account, reserved this last post for himself.  La
-Valliere most eagerly read the letter, which fixed two o'clock that same
-afternoon for the rendezvous, and which indicated the way of raising the
-trap-door which was constructed out of the flooring.  "Make yourself look
-as beautiful as you can," added the postscript of the letter, words which
-astonished the young girl, but at the same time reassured her.
-
-The hours passed away very slowly, but the time fixed, however, arrived
-at last.  As punctual as the priestess Hero, Louise lifted up the trap-
-door at the last stroke of the hour of two, and found the king on the
-steps, waiting for her with the greatest respect, in order to give her
-his hand to descend.  The delicacy and deference shown in this attention
-affected her very powerfully.  At the foot of the staircase the two
-lovers found the comte, who, with a smile and a low reverence
-distinguished by the best taste, expressed his thanks to La Valliere for
-the honor she conferred upon him.  Then turning towards the king, he said:
-
-"Sire, our man is here."  La Valliere looked at the king with some
-uneasiness.
-
-"Mademoiselle," said the king, "if I have begged you to do me the honor
-of coming down here, it was from an interested motive.  I have procured a
-most admirable portrait painter, who is celebrated for the fidelity of
-his likenesses, and I wish you to be kind enough to authorize him to
-paint yours.  Besides, if you positively wish it, the portrait shall
-remain in your own possession."  La Valliere blushed.  "You see," said
-the king to her, "we shall not be three as you wished, but four instead.
-And, so long as we are not alone, there can be as many present as you
-please."  La Valliere gently pressed her royal lover's hand.
-
-"Shall we pass into the next room, sire?" said Saint-Aignan, opening the
-door to let his guests precede him.  The king walked behind La Valliere,
-and fixed his eyes lingeringly and passionately upon that neck as white
-as snow, upon which her long fair ringlets fell in heavy masses.  La
-Valliere was dressed in a thick silk robe of pearl gray color, with a
-tinge of rose, with jet ornaments, which displayed to greater effect the
-dazzling purity of her skin, holding in her slender and transparent hands
-a bouquet of heartsease, Bengal roses, and clematis, surrounded with
-leaves of the tenderest green, above which uprose, like a tiny goblet
-spilling magic influence a Haarlem tulip of gray and violet tints of a
-pure and beautiful species, which had cost the gardener five years' toil
-of combinations, and the king five thousand francs.  Louis had placed
-this bouquet in La Valliere's hand as he saluted her.  In the room, the
-door of which Saint-Aignan had just opened, a young man was standing,
-dressed in a purple velvet jacket, with beautiful black eyes and long
-brown hair.  It was the painter; his canvas was quite ready, and his
-palette prepared for use.
-
-He bowed to La Valliere with the grave curiosity of an artist who is
-studying his model, saluted the king discreetly, as if he did not
-recognize him, and as he would, consequently, have saluted any other
-gentleman.  Then, leading Mademoiselle de la Valliere to the seat he had
-arranged for her, he begged her to sit down.
-
-The young girl assumed an attitude graceful and unrestrained, her hands
-occupied and her limbs reclining on cushions; and in order that her gaze
-might not assume a vague or affected expression, the painter begged her
-to choose some kind of occupation, so as to engage her attention;
-whereupon Louis XIV., smiling, sat down on the cushions at La Valliere's
-feet; so that she, in the reclining posture she had assumed, leaning back
-in the armchair, holding her flowers in her hand, and he, with his eyes
-raised towards her and fixed devouringly on her face - they, both
-together, formed so charming a group, that the artist contemplated
-painting it with professional delight, while on his side, Saint-Aignan
-regarded them with feelings of envy.  The painter sketched rapidly; and
-very soon, beneath the earliest touches of the brush, there started into
-life, out of the gray background, the gentle, poetry-breathing face, with
-its soft calm eyes and delicately tinted cheeks, enframed in the masses
-of hair which fell about her neck.  The lovers, however, spoke but
-little, and looked at each other a great deal; sometimes their eyes
-became so languishing in their gaze, that the painter was obliged to
-interrupt his work in order to avoid representing an Erycina instead of
-La Valliere.  It was on such occasions that Saint-Aignan came to the
-rescue, and recited verses, or repeated one of those little tales such as
-Patru related, and Tallemant des Reaux wrote so cleverly.  Or, it might
-be that La Valliere was fatigued, and the sitting was, therefore,
-suspended for awhile; and, immediately, a tray of precious porcelain
-laden with the most beautiful fruits which could be obtained, and rich
-wines distilling their bright colors in silver goblets, beautifully
-chased, served as accessories to the picture of which the painter could
-but retrace the most ephemeral resemblance.
-
-Louis was intoxicated with love, La Valliere with happiness, Saint-Aignan
-with ambition, and the painter was storing up recollections for his old
-age.  Two hours passed away in this manner, and four o'clock having
-struck, La Valliere rose, and made a sign to the king.  Louis also rose,
-approached the picture, and addressed a few flattering remarks to the
-painter.  Saint-Aignan also praised the picture, which, as he pretended,
-was already beginning to assume an accurate resemblance.  La Valliere in
-her turn, blushingly thanked the painter and passed into the next room,
-where the king followed her, after having previously summoned Saint-
-Aignan.
-
-"Will you not come to-morrow?" he said to La Valliere.
-
-"Oh! sire, pray think that some one will be sure to come to my room, and
-will not find me there."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"What will become of me in that case?"
-
-"You are very apprehensive, Louise."
-
-"But at all events, suppose Madame were to send for me?"
-
-"Oh!" replied the king, "will the day never come when you yourself will
-tell me to brave everything so that I may not have to leave you again?"
-
-"On that day, sire, I shall be quite out of my mind, and you must not
-believe me."
-
-"To-morrow, Louise."
-
-La Valliere sighed, but, without the courage to oppose her royal lover's
-wish, she repeated, "To-morrow, then, since you desire it, sire," and
-with these words she ran lightly up the stairs, and disappeared from her
-lover's gaze.
-
-"Well, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan, when she had left.
-
-"Well, Saint-Aignan, yesterday I thought myself the happiest of men."
-
-"And does your majesty, then, regard yourself to-day," said the comte,
-smiling, "as the unhappiest of men?"
-
-"No; but my love for her is an unquenchable thirst; in vain do I drink,
-in vain do I swallow the drops of water which your industry procures for
-me; the more I drink, the more unquenchable it becomes."
-
-"Sire, that is in some degree your own fault, and your majesty alone has
-made the position such as it is."
-
-"You are right."
-
-"In that case, therefore, the means to be happy, is to fancy yourself
-satisfied, and to wait."
-
-"Wait! you know that word, then?"
-
-"There, there, sire - do not despair: I have already been at work on your
-behalf - I have still other resources in store."  The king shook his head
-in a despairing manner.
-
-"What, sire! have you not been satisfied hitherto?"
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed, yes, my dear Saint-Aignan; but invent, for Heaven's
-sake, invent some further project yet."
-
-"Sire, I undertake to do my best, and that is all that any one can do."
-
-The king wished to see the portrait again, as he was unable to see the
-original.  He pointed out several alterations to the painter and left the
-room, and then Saint-Aignan dismissed the artist.  The easel, paints, and
-painter himself, had scarcely gone, when Malicorne showed his head in the
-doorway.  He was received by Saint-Aignan with open arms, but still with
-a little sadness, for the cloud which had passed across the royal sun,
-veiled, in its turn, the faithful satellite, and Malicorne at a glance
-perceived the melancholy that brooded on Saint-Aignan's face.
-
-"Oh, monsieur le comte," he said, "how sad you seem!"
-
-"And good reason too, my dear Monsieur Malicorne.  Will you believe that
-the king is still dissatisfied?"
-
-"With his staircase, do you mean?"
-
-"Oh, no; on the contrary, he is delighted with the staircase."
-
-"The decorations of the apartments, I suppose, don't please him."
-
-"Oh! he has not even thought of that.  No, indeed, it seems that what has
-dissatisfied the king - "
-
-"I will tell you, monsieur le comte, - he is dissatisfied at finding
-himself the fourth person at a rendezvous of this kind.  How is it
-possible you could not have guessed that?"
-
-"Why, how is it likely I could have done so, dear M. Malicorne, when I
-followed the king's instructions to the very letter?"
-
-"Did his majesty really insist on your being present?"
-
-"Positively."
-
-"And also required that the painter, whom I met downstairs just now,
-should be here, too?"
-
-"He insisted upon it."
-
-"In that case, I can easily understand why his majesty is dissatisfied."
-
-"What! dissatisfied that I have so punctually and so literally obeyed his
-orders?  I don't understand you."
-
-Malicorne began to scratch his ear, as he asked, "What time did the king
-fix for the rendezvous in your apartments?"
-
-"Two o'clock."
-
-"And you were waiting for the king?"
-
-"Ever since half-past one; it would have been a fine thing, indeed, to
-have been unpunctual with his majesty."
-
-Malicorne, notwithstanding his respect for Saint-Aignan, could not help
-smiling.  "And the painter," he said, "did the king wish him to be here
-at two o'clock, also?"
-
-"No; but I had him waiting here from midday.  Far better, you know, for a
-painter to be kept waiting a couple of hours than the king a single
-minute."
-
-Malicorne began to laugh aloud.  "Come, dear Monsieur Malicorne," said
-Saint-Aignan, "laugh less at me, and speak a little more freely, I beg."
-
-"Well, then, monsieur le comte, if you wish the king to be a little more
-satisfied the next time he comes - "
-
-"'_Ventre saint-gris!_' as his grandfather used to say; of course I wish
-it."
-
-"Well, all you have to do is, when the king comes to-morrow, to be
-obliged to go away on a most pressing matter of business, which cannot
-possibly be postponed, and stay away for twenty minutes."
-
-"What! leave the king alone for twenty minutes?" cried Saint-Aignan, in
-alarm.
-
-"Very well, do as you like; don't pay any attention to what I say," said
-Malicorne, moving towards the door.
-
-"Nay, nay, dear Monsieur Malicorne; on the contrary, go on - I begin to
-understand you.  But the painter - "
-
-"Oh! the painter must be half an hour late."
-
-"Half an hour - do you really think so?"
-
-"Yes, I do, decidedly."
-
-"Very well, then, I will do as you tell me."
-
-"And my opinion is, that you will be doing perfectly right.  Will you
-allow me to call upon you for the latest news to-morrow?"
-
-"Of course."
-
-"I have the honor to be your most respectful servant, M. de Saint-
-Aignan," said Malicorne, bowing profoundly and retiring from the room
-backwards.
-
-"There is no doubt that fellow has more invention than I have," said
-Saint-Aignan, as if compelled by his conviction to admit it.
-
-
-Chapter XXXVII:
-Hampton Court.
-
-The revelation we have witnessed, that Montalais made to La Valliere, in
-a preceding chapter, very naturally makes us return to the principal hero
-of this tale, a poor wandering knight, roving about at the king's
-caprice.  If our readers will be good enough to follow us, we will, in
-his company, cross that strait, more stormy than the Euripus, which
-separates Calais from Dover; we will speed across that green and fertile
-country, with its numerous little streams; through Maidstone, and many
-other villages and towns, each prettier than the other; and, finally,
-arrive at London.  From thence, like bloodhounds following a track, after
-having ascertained that Raoul had made his first stay at Whitehall, his
-second at St. James's, and having learned that he had been warmly
-received by Monk, and introduced to the best society of Charles II.'s
-court, we will follow him to one of Charles II.'s summer residences near
-the lively little village of Kingston, at Hampton Court, situated on the
-Thames.  The river is not, at that spot, the boastful highway which bears
-upon its broad bosom its thousands of travelers; nor are its waters black
-and troubled as those of Cocytus, as it boastfully asserts, "I, too, am
-cousin of the old ocean."  No, at Hampton Court it is a soft and
-murmuring stream, with moss-fringed banks, reflecting, in its broad
-mirror, the willows and beeches which ornament its sides, and on which
-may occasionally be seen a light bark indolently reclining among the tall
-reeds, in a little creek formed of alders and forget-me-nots.  The
-surrounding country on all sides smiled in happiness and wealth; the
-brick cottages from whose chimneys the blue smoke was slowly ascending in
-wreaths, peeped forth from the belts of green holly which environed them;
-children dressed in red frocks appeared and disappeared amidst the high
-grass, like poppies bowed by the gentler breath of the passing breeze.
-The sheep, ruminating with half-closed eyes, lay lazily about under the
-shadow of the stunted aspens, while, far and near, the kingfishers,
-plumed with emerald and gold, skimmed swiftly along the surface of the
-water, like a magic ball heedlessly touching, as he passed, the line of
-his brother angler, who sat watching in his boat the fish as they rose to
-the surface of the sparkling stream.  High above this paradise of dark
-shadows and soft light, rose the palace of Hampton Court, built by Wolsey
-- a residence the haughty cardinal had been obliged, timid courtier that
-he was, to offer to his master, Henry VIII., who had glowered with envy
-and cupidity at the magnificent new home.  Hampton Court, with its brick
-walls, its large windows, its handsome iron gates, as well as its curious
-bell turrets, its retired covered walks, and interior fountains, like
-those of the Alhambra, was a perfect bower of roses, jasmine, and
-clematis.  Every sense, sight and smell particularly, was gratified, and
-the reception-rooms formed a very charming framework for the pictures of
-love which Charles II. unrolled among the voluptuous paintings of Titian,
-of Pordenone and of Van Dyck; the same Charles whose father's portrait –
-the martyr king - was hanging in his gallery, and who could show upon the
-wainscots of the various apartments the holes made by the balls of the
-puritanical followers of Cromwell, when on the 24th of August, 1648, at
-the time they had brought Charles I. prisoner to Hampton Court.  There it
-was that the king, intoxicated with pleasure and adventure, held his
-court - he, who, a poet in feeling, thought himself justified in
-redeeming, by a whole day of voluptuousness, every minute which had been
-formerly passed in anguish and misery.  It was not the soft green sward
-of Hampton Court - so soft that it almost resembled the richest velvet in
-the thickness of its texture - nor was it the beds of flowers, with their
-variegated hues which encircled the foot of every tree with rose-trees
-many feet in height, embracing most lovingly their trunks - nor even the
-enormous lime-trees, whose branches swept the earth like willows,
-offering a ready concealment for love or reflection beneath the shade of
-their foliage - it was none of these things for which Charles II. loved
-his palace of Hampton Court.  Perhaps it might have been that beautiful
-sheet of water, which the cool breeze rippled like the wavy undulations
-of Cleopatra's hair, waters bedecked with cresses and white water-lilies,
-whose chaste bulbs coyly unfolding themselves beneath the sun's warm
-rays, reveal the golden gems which lie concealed within their milky
-petals - murmuring waters, on the bosom of which black swans majestically
-floated, and the graceful water-fowl, with their tender broods covered
-with silken down, darted restlessly in every direction, in pursuit of the
-insects among the reeds, or the fogs in their mossy retreats.  Perhaps it
-might have been the enormous hollies, with their dark and tender green
-foliage; or the bridges uniting the banks of the canals in their embrace;
-or the fawns browsing in the endless avenues of the park; or the
-innumerable birds that hopped about the gardens, or flew from branch to
-branch, amidst the emerald foliage.
-
-It might well have been any of these charms - for Hampton Court had them
-all; and possessed, too, almost forests of white roses, which climbed and
-trailed along the lofty trellises, showering down upon the ground their
-snowy leaves rich with soft perfumery.  But no, what Charles II. most
-loved in Hampton Court were the charming figures who, when midday was
-past, flitted to and fro along the broad terraces of the gardens; like
-Louis XIV., he had their wealth of beauties painted for his gallery by
-one of the great artists of the period - an artist who well knew the
-secret of transferring to canvas the rays of light which escaped from
-beaming eyes heavy laden with love and love's delights.
-
-The day of our arrival at Hampton Court is almost as clear and bright as
-a summer's day in France; the atmosphere is heavy with the delicious
-perfume of geraniums, sweet-peas, seringas, and heliotrope scattered in
-profusion around.  It is past midday, and the king, having dined after
-his return from hunting, paid a visit to Lady Castlemaine, the lady who
-was reputed at the time to hold his heart in bondage; and this proof of
-his devotion discharged, he was readily permitted to pursue his
-infidelities until evening arrived.  Love and amusement ruled the entire
-court; it was the period when ladies would seriously interrogate their
-ruder companions as to their opinions upon a foot more or less
-captivating, according to whether it wore a pink or lilac silk stocking –
-for it was the period when Charles II. had declared that there was no
-hope of safety for a woman who wore green silk stockings, because Miss
-Lucy Stewart wore them of that color.  While the king is endeavoring in
-all directions to inculcate others with his preferences on this point, we
-will ourselves bend our steps towards an avenue of beech-trees opposite
-the terrace, and listen to the conversation of a young girl in a dark-
-colored dress, who is walking with another of about her own age dressed
-in blue.  They crossed a beautiful lawn, from the center of which sprang
-a fountain, with the figure of a siren executed in bronze, and strolled
-on, talking as they went, towards the terrace, along which, looking out
-upon the park and interspersed at frequent intervals, were erected summer-
-houses, diverse in form and ornament; these summer-houses were nearly all
-occupied; the two young women passed on, the one blushing deeply, while
-the other seemed dreamily silent.  At last, having reached the end of the
-terrace which looks on the river, and finding there a cool retreat, they
-sat down close to each other.
-
-"Where are we going?" said the younger to her companion.
-
-"My dear, we are going where you yourself led the way."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes, you; to the extremity of the palace, towards that seat yonder,
-where the young Frenchman is seated, wasting his time in sighs and
-lamentations."
-
-Miss Mary Grafton hurriedly said, "No, no; I am not going there."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Let us go back, Lucy."
-
-"Nay, on the contrary, let us go on, and have an explanation."
-
-"What about?"
-
-"About how it happens that the Vicomte de Bragelonne always accompanies
-you in all your walks, as you invariably accompany him in his."
-
-"And you conclude either that he loves me, or that I love him?"
-
-"Why not? - he is a most agreeable and charming companion. - No one hears
-me, I hope," said Lucy Stewart, as she turned round with a smile, which
-indicated, moreover, that her uneasiness on the subject was not extreme.
-
-"No, no," said Mary, "the king is engaged in his summer-house with the
-Duke of Buckingham."
-
-"Oh! _a propos_ of the duke, Mary, it seems he has shown you great
-attention since his return from France; how is your own heart in that
-direction?"
-
-Mary Grafton shrugged her shoulders with seeming indifference.
-
-"Well, well, I will ask Bragelonne about it," said Stewart, laughing;
-"let us go and find him at once."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"I wish to speak to him."
-
-"Not yet, one word before you do: come, come, you who know so many of the
-king's secrets, tell me why M. de Bragelonne is in England?"
-
-"Because he was sent as an envoy from one sovereign to another."
-
-"That may be; but, seriously, although politics do not much concern us,
-we know enough to be satisfied that M. de Bragelonne has no mission of
-serious import here."
-
-"Well, then, listen," said Stewart, with assumed gravity, "for your sake
-I am going to betray a state secret.  Shall I tell you the nature of the
-letter which King Louis XIV. gave M. de Bragelonne for King Charles II.?
-I will; these are the very words: 'My brother, the bearer of this is a
-gentleman attached to my court, and the son of one whom you regard most
-warmly.  Treat him kindly, I beg, and try and make him like England.'"
-
-"Did it say that!"
-
-"Word for word - or something very like it.  I will not answer for the
-form, but the substance I am sure of."
-
-"Well, and what conclusion do you, or rather what conclusion does the
-king, draw from that?"
-
-"That the king of France has his own reasons for removing M. de
-Bragelonne, and for getting him married anywhere else than in France."
-
-"So that, then, in consequence of this letter - "
-
-"King Charles received M. de Bragelonne, as you are aware, in the most
-distinguished and friendly manner; the handsomest apartments in Whitehall
-were allotted to him; and as you are the most valuable and precious
-person in his court, inasmuch as you have rejected his heart, - nay, do
-not blush, - he wished you to take a fancy to this Frenchman, and he was
-desirous to confer upon him so costly a prize.  And this is the reason
-why you, the heiress of three hundred thousand pounds, a future duchess,
-so beautiful, so good, have been thrown in Bragelonne's way, in all the
-promenades and parties of pleasure to which he was invited.  In fact it
-was a plot, - a kind of conspiracy."
-
-Mary Grafton smiled with that charming expression which was habitual to
-her, and pressing her companion's arm, said: "Thank the king, Lucy."
-
-"Yes, yes, but the Duke of Buckingham is jealous, so take care."
-
-Hardly had she pronounced these words, when the duke appeared from one of
-the pavilions on the terrace, and, approaching the two girls, with a
-smile, said, "You are mistaken, Miss Lucy; I am not jealous; and the
-proof, Miss Mary, is yonder, in the person of M. de Bragelonne himself,
-who ought to be the cause of my jealousy, but who is dreaming in pensive
-solitude.  Poor fellow!  Allow me to leave you for a few minutes, while I
-avail myself of those few minutes to converse with Miss Lucy Stewart, to
-whom I have something to say."  And then, bowing to Lucy, he added, "Will
-you do me the honor to accept my hand, in order that I may lead you to
-the king, who is waiting for us?"  With these words, Buckingham, still
-smiling, took Miss Stewart's hand, and led her away.  When by herself,
-Mary Grafton, her head gently inclined towards her shoulder, with that
-indolent gracefulness of action which distinguishes young English girls,
-remained for a moment with her eyes fixed on Raoul, but as if uncertain
-what to do.  At last, after first blushing violently, and then turning
-deadly pale, thus revealing the internal combat which assailed her heart,
-she seemed to make up her mind to adopt a decided course, and with a
-tolerably firm step, advanced towards the seat on which Raoul was
-reclining, buried in the profoundest meditation, as we have already
-said.  The sound of Miss Mary's steps, though they could hardly be heard
-upon the green sward, awakened Raoul from his musing attitude; he turned
-round, perceived the young girl, and walked forward to meet the companion
-whom his happy destiny had thrown in his way.
-
-"I have been sent to you, monsieur," said Mary Grafton; "will you take
-care of me?"
-
-"To whom is my gratitude due, for so great a happiness?" inquired Raoul.
-
-"To the Duke of Buckingham," replied Mary, affecting a gayety she did not
-really feel.
-
-"To the Duke of Buckingham, do you say? - he who so passionately seeks
-your charming society!  Am I really to believe you are serious,
-mademoiselle?"
-
-"The fact is, monsieur, you perceive, that everything seems to conspire
-to make us pass the best, or rather the longest, part of our days
-together.  Yesterday it was the king who desired me to beg you to seat
-yourself next to me at dinner; to-day, it is the Duke of Buckingham who
-begs me to come and place myself near you on this seat."
-
-"And he has gone away in order to leave us together?" asked Raoul, with
-some embarrassment.
-
-"Look yonder, at the turning of that path; he is just out of sight, with
-Miss Stewart.  Are these polite attentions usual in France, monsieur le
-vicomte?"
-
-"I cannot very precisely say what people do in France, mademoiselle, for
-I can hardly be called a Frenchman.  I have resided in many countries,
-and almost always as a solider; and then, I have spent a long period of
-my life in the country.  I am almost a savage."
-
-"You do not like your residence in England, I fear."
-
-"I scarcely know," said Raoul, inattentively, and sighing deeply at the
-same time.
-
-"What! you do not know?"
-
-"Forgive me," said Raoul, shaking his head, and collecting his thoughts,
-"I did not hear you."
-
-"Oh!" said the young girl, sighing in her turn, "how wrong the duke was
-to send me here!"
-
-"Wrong!" said Raoul, "perhaps so; for I am but a rude, uncouth companion,
-and my society annoys you.  The duke did, indeed, very wrong to send you."
-
-"It is precisely," replied Mary Grafton, in a clear, calm voice, "because
-your society does not annoy me, that the duke was wrong to send me to
-you."
-
-It was now Raoul's turn to blush.  "But," he resumed, "how happens it
-that the Duke of Buckingham should send you to me; and why did you come?
-the duke loves you, and you love him."
-
-"No," replied Mary, seriously, "the duke does not love me, because he is
-in love with the Duchesse d'Orleans; and, as for myself, I have no
-affection for the duke."
-
-Raoul looked at the young lady with astonishment.
-
-"Are you a friend of the Duke of Buckingham?" she inquired.
-
-"The duke has honored me by calling me so ever since we met in France."
-
-"You are simple acquaintances, then?"
-
-"No; for the duke is the most intimate friend of one whom I regard as a
-brother."
-
-"The Duc de Guiche?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"He who is in love with Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans?"
-
-"Oh!  What is that you are saying?"
-
-"And who loves him in return," continued the young girl, quietly.
-
-Raoul bent down his head, and Mary Grafton, sighing deeply, continued,
-"They are very happy.  But, leave me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, for the
-Duke of Buckingham has given you a very troublesome commission in
-offering me as a companion for your promenade.  Your heart is elsewhere,
-and it is with the greatest difficulty you can be charitable enough to
-lend me your attention.  Confess truly; it would be unfair on your part,
-vicomte, not to admit it."
-
-"Madame, I do confess it."
-
-She looked at him steadily.  He was so noble and so handsome in his
-bearing, his eyes revealed so much gentleness, candor, and resolution,
-that the idea could not possibly enter her mind that he was either rudely
-discourteous, or a mere simpleton.  She only perceived, clearly enough,
-that he loved another woman, and not herself, with the whole strength of
-his heart.  "Ah!  I now understand you," she said; "you have left your
-heart behind you in France."  Raoul bowed.  "The duke is aware of your
-affection?"
-
-"No one knows it," replied Raoul.
-
-"Why, therefore, do you tell me?  Nay, answer me."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"It is for me, then, to anticipate an explanation; you do not wish to
-tell me anything, because you are now convinced that I do not love the
-duke; because you see that I possibly might have loved you; because you
-are a gentleman of noble and delicate sentiments; and because, instead of
-accepting, even were it for the mere amusement of the passing hour, a
-hand which is almost pressed upon you; and because, instead of meeting my
-smiles with a smiling lip, you, who are young, have preferred to tell me,
-whom men have called beautiful, 'My heart is over the sea - it is in
-France.'  For this, I thank you, Monsieur de Bragelonne; you are, indeed,
-a noble-hearted, noble-minded man, and I regard you all the more for it,
-as a friend only.  And now let us cease speaking of myself, and talk of
-your own affairs.  Forget that I have ever spoken to you of myself, tell
-me why you are sad, and why you have become more than usually so during
-these past four days?"
-
-Raoul was deeply and sensibly moved by these sweet and melancholy tones;
-and as he could not, at the moment, find a word to say, the young girl
-again came to his assistance.
-
-"Pity me," she said.  "My mother was born in France, and I can truly
-affirm that I, too, am French in blood, as well as in feeling; but the
-leaden atmosphere and characteristic gloom of England seem to weigh upon
-me.  Sometimes my dreams are golden-hued and full of wonderful
-enjoyments, when suddenly a mist rises and overspreads my fancy, blotting
-them out forever.  Such, indeed, is the case at the present moment.
-Forgive me; I have now said enough on that subject; give me your hand,
-and relate you griefs to me as a friend."
-
-"You say you are French in heart and soul?"
-
-"Yes, not only, I repeat it, that my mother was French, but, further, as
-my father, a friend of King Charles I., was exiled in France, I, during
-the trial of that prince, as well as during the Protector's life, was
-brought up in Paris; at the Restoration of King Charles II., my poor
-father returned to England, where he died almost immediately afterwards;
-and then the king created me a duchess, and has dowered me according to
-my rank.
-
-"Have you any relations in France?" Raoul inquired, with the deepest
-interest.
-
-"I have a sister there, my senior by seven or eight years, who was
-married in France, and was early left a widow; her name is Madame de
-Belliere.  Do you know her?" she added, observing Raoul start suddenly.
-
-"I have heard her name."
-
-"She, too, loves with her whole heart; and her last letters inform me she
-is happy, and her affection is, I conclude, returned.  I told you,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne, that although I possess half of her nature, I do
-not share her happiness.  But let us now speak of yourself; whom do you
-love in France?"
-
-"A young girl, as soft and pure as a lily."
-
-"But if she loves you, why are you sad?"
-
-"I have been told that she ceases to love me."
-
-"You do not believe it, I trust?"
-
-"He who wrote me so does not sign his letter."
-
-"An anonymous denunciation! some treachery, be assured," said Miss
-Grafton.
-
-"Stay," said Raoul, showing the young girl a letter which he had read
-over a thousand times; she took it from his hand and read as follows:
-
-"VICOMTE, - You are perfectly right to amuse yourself yonder with the
-lovely faces of Charles II.'s court, for at Louis XIV.'s court, the
-castle in which your affections are enshrined is being besieged.  Stay in
-London altogether, poor vicomte, or return without delay to Paris."
-
-"There is no signature," said Miss Mary.
-
-"None."
-
-"Believe it not, then."
-
-"Very good; but here is a second letter, from my friend De Guiche, which
-says, 'I am lying here wounded and ill.  Return, Raoul, oh, return!'"
-
-"What do you intend doing?" inquired the young girl, with a feeling of
-oppression at her heart.
-
-"My intention, as soon as I received this letter, was immediately to take
-my leave of the king."
-
-"When did you receive it?"
-
-"The day before yesterday."
-
-"It is dated Fontainebleau."
-
-"A singular circumstance, do you not think, for the court is now at
-Paris?  At all events, I would have set off; but when I mentioned my
-intention to the king, he began to laugh, and said to me, 'How comes it,
-monsieur l'amassadeur, that you think of leaving?  Has your sovereign
-recalled you?'  I colored, naturally enough, for I was confused by the
-question; for the fact is, the king himself sent me here, and I have
-received no order to return."
-
-Mary frowned in deep thought, and said, "Do you remain, then?"
-
-"I must, mademoiselle."
-
-"Do you ever receive any letters from her to whom you are so devoted?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Never, do you say?  Does she not love you, then?"
-
-"At least, she has not written to me since my departure, although she
-used occasionally to write to me before.  I trust she may have been
-prevented."
-
-"Hush! the duke is coming."
-
-And Buckingham at that moment was seen at the end of the walk,
-approaching towards them, alone and smiling; he advanced slowly, and held
-out his hands to them both.  "Have you arrived at an understanding?" he
-said.
-
-"About what?"
-
-"About whatever might render you happy, dear Mary, and make Raoul less
-miserable."
-
-"I do not understand you, my lord," said Raoul.
-
-"That is my view of the subject, Miss Mary; do you wish me to mention it
-before M. de Bragelonne?" he added, with a smile.
-
-"If you mean," replied the young girl, haughtily, "that I was not
-indisposed to love M. de Bragelonne, that is useless, for I have told him
-so myself."
-
-Buckingham reflected for a moment, and, without seeming in any way
-discountenanced, as she expected, he said:  "My reason for leaving you
-with M. de Bragelonne was, that I thoroughly knew your refined delicacy
-of feeling, no less than the perfect loyalty of your mind and heart, and
-I hoped that M. de Bragelonne's cure might be effected by the hands of a
-physician such as you are."
-
-"But, my lord, before you spoke of M. de Bragelonne's heart, you spoke to
-me of your own.  Do you mean to effect the cure of two hearts at the same
-time?"
-
-"Perfectly true, madame; but you will do me the justice to admit that I
-have long discontinued a useless pursuit, acknowledging that my own wound
-is incurable."
-
-"My lord," said Mary, collecting herself for a moment before she spoke,
-"M. de Bragelonne is happy, for he loves and is beloved.  He has no need
-of such a physician as I can be."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne," said Buckingham, "is on the very eve of experiencing
-a serious misfortune, and he has greater need than ever of sympathy and
-affection."
-
-"Explain yourself, my lord," inquired Raoul, anxiously.
-
-"No; gradually I will explain myself; but, if you desire it, I can tell
-Miss Grafton what you may not listen to yourself."
-
-"My lord, you are putting me to the torture; you know something you wish
-to conceal from me?"
-
-"I know that Miss Mary Grafton is the most charming object that a heart
-ill at ease could possibly meet with in its way through life."
-
-"I have already told you that the Vicomte de Bragelonne loves elsewhere,"
-said the young girl.
-
-"He is wrong, then."
-
-"Do you assume to know, my lord, that _I_ am wrong?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Whom is it that he loves, then?" exclaimed the young girl.
-
-"He loves a lady who is unworthy of him," said Buckingham, with that
-calm, collected manner peculiar to Englishmen.
-
-Miss Grafton uttered a cry, which, together with the remark that
-Buckingham had that moment made, spread of De Bragelonne's features a
-deadly paleness, arising from the sudden surprise, and also from a vague
-fear of impending misfortune.  "My lord," he exclaimed, "you have just
-pronounced words which compel me, without a moment's delay, to seek their
-explanation in Paris."
-
-"You will remain here," said Buckingham, "because you have no right to
-leave; and no one has the right to quit the service of the king for that
-of any woman, even were she as worthy of being loved as Mary Grafton is."
-
-"You will tell me all, then?"
-
-"I will, on condition that you will remain."
-
-"I will remain, if you will promise to speak openly and without reserve."
-
-Thus far had their conversation proceeded, and Buckingham, in all
-probability, was on the point of revealing, not indeed all that had taken
-place, but at least all he was aware of, when one of the king's
-attendants appeared at the end of the terrace, and advanced towards the
-summer-house where the king was sitting with Lucy Stewart.  A courier
-followed him, covered with dust from head to foot, and who seemed as if
-he had but a few moments before dismounted from his horse.
-
-"The courier from France!  Madame's courier!" exclaimed Raoul,
-recognizing the princess's livery; and while the attendant and the
-courier advanced towards the king, Buckingham and Miss Grafton exchanged
-a look full of intelligence with each other.
-
-
-Chapter XXXVIII:
-The Courier from Madame.
-
-Charles II. was busily engaged in proving, or in endeavoring to prove, to
-Miss Stewart that she was the only person for whom he cared at all, and
-consequently was avowing to her an affection similar to that which his
-ancestor Henry IV. had entertained for Gabrielle.  Unfortunately for
-Charles II., he had hit upon an unlucky day, the very day Miss Stewart
-had taken it into her head to make him jealous, and therefore, instead of
-being touched by his offer, as the king had hoped, she laughed heartily.
-
-"Oh! sire, sire," she cried, laughing all the while; "if I were to be
-unfortunate enough to ask you for a proof of the affection you possess,
-how easy it would be to see that you are telling a falsehood."
-
-"Nay, listen to me," said Charles, "you know my cartoons by Raphael; you
-know whether I care for them or not; the whole world envies me their
-possession, as you well know also; my father commissioned Van Dyck to
-purchase them.  Would you like me to send them to your house this very
-day?"
-
-"Oh, no!" replied the young girl; "pray keep them yourself, sire; my
-house is far too small to accommodate such visitors."
-
-"In that case you shall have Hampton Court to put the cartoons in."
-
-"Be less generous, sire, and learn to love a little while longer, that is
-all I have to ask you."
-
-"I shall never cease to love you; is not that enough?"
-
-"You are smiling, sire."
-
-"Do you wish me to weep?"
-
-"No; but I should like to see you a  little more melancholy."
-
-"Thank Heaven, I have been so long enough; fourteen years of exile,
-poverty, and misery, I think I may well regard it as a debt discharged;
-besides, melancholy makes people look so plain."
-
-"Far from that - for look at the young Frenchman."
-
-"What! the Vicomte de Bragelonne? are you smitten too?  By Heaven, they
-will all grow mad over him one after the other; but he, on the contrary,
-has a reason for being melancholy."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Oh, indeed! you wish me to betray state secrets, do you?"
-
-"If I wish it, you must do so, for you told me you were quite ready to do
-everything I wished."
-
-"Well, then, he is bored in his own country.  Does that satisfy you?"
-
-"Bored?"
-
-"Yes, a proof that he is a simpleton; I allow him to fall in love with
-Miss Mary Grafton, and he feels bored.  Can you believe it?"
-
-"Very good; it seems, then, that if you were to find Miss Lucy Stewart
-indifferent to you, you would console yourself by falling in love with
-Miss Mary Grafton."
-
-"I don't say that; in the first place, you know that Mary Grafton does
-not care for me; besides, a man can only console himself for a lost
-affection by the discovery of a new one.  Again, however, I repeat, the
-question is not of myself, but of that young man.  One might almost be
-tempted to call the girl he has left behind him a Helen - a Helen before
-the little ceremony she went through with Paris, of course."
-
-"He has left some one, then?"
-
-"That is to say, some one has left _him_."
-
-"Poor fellow! so much the worse!"
-
-"Why do you mean by 'so much the worse'?"
-
-"Why not? why did he leave?"
-
-"Do you think it was of his own wish or will that he left?"
-
-"Was he obliged to leave, then?"
-
-"He left Paris under orders, my dear Stewart; and prepare to be surprised
-- by express orders of the king."
-
-"Ah! I begin to see, now."
-
-"At least say nothing at all about it."
-
-"You know very well that I am just as discreet as anybody else.  And so
-the king sent him away?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And during his absence he takes his sweetheart from him?"
-
-"Yes; and, will you believe it? the silly fellow, instead of thanking the
-king, is making himself miserable."
-
-"What! thank the king for depriving him of the woman he loves!  Really,
-sire, yours is a most ungallant speech."
-
-"But, pray understand me.  If she whom the king had run off with was
-either a Miss Grafton or a Miss Stewart, I should not be of his opinion;
-nay, I should even think him not half wretched enough; but she is a
-little, thin, lame thing.  Deuce take such fidelity as that!  Surely, one
-can hardly understand how a man can refuse a girl who is rich for one who
-is poverty itself - a girl who loves him for one who deceives and betrays
-him."
-
-"Do you think that Mary seriously wishes to please the vicomte, sire?"
-
-"I do, indeed."
-
-"Very good! the vicomte will settle down in England, for Mary has a clear
-head, and when she fixes her mind upon anything, she does so thoroughly."
-
-"Take care, my dear Miss Stewart; if the vicomte has any idea of adopting
-our country, he has not long to do so, for it was only the day before
-yesterday that he again asked me for permission to leave."
-
-"Which you refused him, I suppose?"
-
-"I should think so, indeed; my royal brother is far too anxious for his
-absence; and, for myself, my _amour propre_ is enlisted on his side, for
-I will never have it said that I had held out as a bait to this young man
-the noblest and gentlest creature in England - "
-
-"You are very gallant, sire," said Miss Stewart, with a pretty pout.
-
-"I do not allude to Miss Stewart, for she is worthy of a king's devotion;
-and since she has captivated me I trust that no one else will be caught
-by her; I say, therefore, finally, that the attention I have shown this
-young man will not have been thrown away; he will stay with us here, he
-will marry here, or I am very much mistaken."
-
-"And I hope that when he is once married and settled, instead of being
-angry with your majesty, he will be grateful to you, for every one tries
-his utmost to please him; even the Duke of Buckingham, whose brilliancy,
-which is incredible, seems to pale before that of this young Frenchman."
-
-"Including Miss Stewart even, who calls him the most finished gentleman
-she ever saw."
-
-"Stay, sire; you have spoken quite enough, and quite highly enough, of
-Miss Grafton, to overlook what I may have said about De Bragelonne.  But,
-by the by, sire, your kindness for some time past astonishes me: you
-think of those who are absent, you forgive those who have done you a
-wrong, in fact, you are as nearly as possible, perfect.  How does it
-happen - "
-
-"It is because you allow yourself to be loved," he said, beginning to
-laugh.
-
-"Oh! there must be some other reason."
-
-"Well, I am doing all I can to oblige my brother, Louis XIV."
-
-"Nay, I must have another reason."
-
-"Well, then, the true motive is that Buckingham strongly recommended the
-young man to me, saying: 'Sire, I begin by yielding up all claim to Miss
-Grafton; I pray you follow my example.'"
-
-"The duke is, indeed, a true gentleman."
-
-"Oh! of course, of course; it is Buckingham's turn now, I suppose, to
-turn your head.  You seem determined to cross me in everything to-day."
-
-At this moment some one rapped at the door.
-
-"Who is it who presumes to interrupt us?" exclaimed Charles, impatiently.
-
-"Really, sire, you are extremely vain with your 'who is it who presumes?'
-and in order to punish you for it - "
-
-She went to the door and opened it.
-
-"It is a courier from France," said Miss Stewart.
-
-"A courier from France!" exclaimed Charles; "from my sister, perhaps?"
-
-"Yes, sire," said the usher, "a special messenger."
-
-"Let him come in at once," said Charles.
-
-"You have a letter for me," said the king to the courier as he entered,
-"from the Duchess of Orleans?"
-
-"Yes, sire," replied the courier, "and so urgent in its nature that I
-have only been twenty-six hours in bringing it to your majesty, and yet I
-lost three-quarters of an hour at Calais."
-
-"Your zeal shall not be forgotten," said the king, as he opened the
-letter.  When he had read it he burst out laughing, and exclaimed, "Upon
-my word, I am at a loss to understand anything about it."  He then read
-the letter a second time, Miss Stewart assuming a manner marked by the
-greatest reserve, and doing her utmost to restrain her ardent curiosity.
-
-"Francis," said the king to his valet, "see that this excellent fellow is
-well taken care of and sleeps soundly, and that on waking to-morrow he
-finds a purse of fifty sovereigns by his bedside."
-
-"Sire!" said the courier, amazed.
-
-"Begone, begone; my sister was perfectly right in desiring you to use the
-utmost diligence; the affair was most pressing."  And he again began to
-laugh louder than ever.  The courier, the valet, and Miss Stewart hardly
-knew what sort of countenance to assume.  "Ah!" said the king, throwing
-himself back in his armchair: "When I think that you have knocked up –
-how many horses?"
-
-"Two!"
-
-"Two horses to bring this intelligence to me.  That will do, you can
-leave us now."
-
-The courier retired with the valet.  Charles went to the window, which he
-opened, and leaning forward, called out - "Duke!  Buckingham! come here,
-there's a good fellow."
-
-The duke hurried to him, in obedience to the summons; but when he reached
-the door, and perceived Miss Stewart, he hesitated to enter.
-
-"Come in, and shut the door," said the king.  The duke obeyed; and,
-perceiving in what an excellent humor the king was, he advanced, smiling,
-towards him.  "Well, my dear duke, how do you get on with your Frenchman?"
-
-"Sire, I am in the most perfect state of utter despair about him."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because charming Miss Grafton is willing to marry him, but he is unwilling."
-
-"Why, he is a perfect Boeotian!" cried Miss Stewart.  "Let him say either
-'Yes,' or No,' and let the affair end."
-
-"But," said Buckingham, seriously, "you know, or you ought to know,
-madame, that M. de Bragelonne is in love in another direction."
-
-"In that case," said the king, coming to Miss Stewart's help, "nothing is
-easier; let him say 'No,' then."
-
-"Very true; and I have proved to him he was wrong not to say 'Yes.'"
-
-"You told him candidly, I suppose, that La Valliere was deceiving him?"
-
-"Yes, without the slightest reserve; and, as soon as I had done so, he
-gave a start, as if he were going to clear the Channel at a bound."
-
-"At all events," said Miss Stewart, "he has done something; and a very
-good thing too, upon my word."
-
-"But," said Buckingham, "I stopped him; I have left him and Miss Mary in
-conversation together, and I sincerely trust that now he will not leave,
-as he seemed to have an idea of doing."
-
-"An idea of leaving England?" cried the king.
-
-"I, at one moment, hardly thought that any human power could have
-prevented him; but Miss Mary's eyes are now bent fully on him, and he
-will remain."
-
-"Well, that is the very thing which deceives you, Buckingham," said the
-king, with a peal of laughter; "the poor fellow is predestined."
-
-"Predestined to what?"
-
-"If it were to be simply deceived, that is nothing; but, to look at him,
-it is a great deal."
-
-"At a distance, and with Miss Grafton's aid, the blow will be warded off."
-
-"Far from it, far from it; neither distance nor Miss Grafton's help will
-be of the slightest avail.  Bragelonne will set off for Paris within an
-hour's time."
-
-Buckingham started, and Miss Stewart opened her eyes very wide in
-astonishment.
-
-"But, sire," said the duke, "your majesty knows that it is impossible."
-
-"That is to say, my dear Buckingham, that it is impossible until it
-happens."
-
-"Do not forget, sire, that the young man is a perfect lion, and that his
-wrath is terrible."
-
-"I don't deny it, my dear duke."
-
-"And that if he sees that his misfortune is certain, so much the worse
-for the author of it."
-
-"I don't deny it; but what the deuce am I to do?"
-
-"Were it the king himself," cried Buckingham, "I would not answer for
-him."
-
-"Oh, the king has his musketeers to take care of him," said Charles,
-quietly; "I know that perfectly well, for I was kept dancing attendance
-in his ante-chamber at Blois.  He has M. d'Artagnan, and what better
-guardian could the king have than M. d'Artagnan?  I should make myself
-perfectly easy with twenty storms of passion, such as Bragelonne might
-display, if I had four guardians like D'Artagnan."
-
-"But I entreat your majesty, who is so good and kind, to reflect a
-little."
-
-"Stay," said Charles II., presenting the letter to the duke, "read, and
-answer yourself what you would do in my place."
-
-Buckingham slowly took hold of Madame's letter, and trembling with
-emotion, read the following words:
-
-"For your own sake, for mine, for the honor and safety of every one, send
-M. de Bragelonne back to France immediately.  Your devoted sister,
-HENRIETTA."
-
-"Well, Villiers, what do you say?"
-
-"Really, sire, I have nothing to say," replied the duke, stupefied.
-
-"Nay, would you, of all persons," said the king, artfully, "advise me not
-to listen to my sister when she writes so urgently?"
-
-"Oh, no, no, sire; and yet - "
-
-"You have not read the postscript, Villiers; it is under the fold of the
-letter, and escaped me at first; read it."  And as the duke turned down a
-fold of the letter, he read:
-
-"A thousand kind remembrances to those who love me."
-
-The duke's head sank gradually on his breast; the paper trembled in his
-fingers, as if it had been changed to lead.  The king paused for a
-moment, and, seeing that Buckingham did not speak, "He must follow his
-destiny, as we ours," continued the king; "every man has his own share of
-grief in this world; I have had my own, - I have had that of others who
-belong to me, - and have thus had a double weight of woe to endure! - But
-the deuce take all my cares now!  Go, and bring our friend here,
-Villiers."
-
-The duke opened the trellised door of the summer-house, and pointing at
-Raoul and Mary, who were walking together side by side, said, "What a
-cruel blow, sire, for poor Miss Grafton!"
-
-"Nonsense; call him," said Charles II., knitting his black brows
-together; "every one seems to be sentimental here.  There, look at Miss
-Stewart, who is wiping her eyes, - now deuce take the French fellow!"
-
-The duke called to Raoul, and taking Miss Grafton by the hand, he led her
-towards the king.
-
-"Monsieur de Bragelonne," said Charles II., "did you not ask me the day
-before yesterday for permission to return to Paris?"
-
-"Yes, sire," replied Raoul, greatly puzzled by this address.
-
-"And I refused you, I think?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"For which you were angry with me?"
-
-"No, sire; your majesty had no doubt excellent reasons for withholding
-it; for you are so wise and so good that everything you do is well done."
-
-"I alleged, I believe, as a reason, that the king of France had not
-recalled you?"
-
-"Yes, sire, that was the reason you assigned."
-
-"Well, M. de Bragelonne, I have reflected over the matter since; if the
-king did not, in fact, fix your return, he begged me to render your
-sojourn in England as agreeable as possible; since, however, you ask my
-permission to return, it is because your longer residence in England is
-no longer agreeable to you."
-
-"I do not say that, sire."
-
-"No, but your request, at least," said the king, "signified that another
-place of residence would be more agreeable to you than this."
-
-At this moment Raoul turned towards the door, against which Miss Grafton
-was leaning, pale and sorrow-stricken; her other hand was passed through
-the duke's arm.
-
-"You do not reply," pursued Charles; "the proverb is plain enough, that
-'silence gives consent.'  Very good, Monsieur de Bragelonne; I am now in
-a position to satisfy you; whenever you please, therefore, you can leave
-for Paris, for which you have my authority."
-
-"Sire!" exclaimed Raoul, while Mary stifled an exclamation of grief which
-rose to her lips, unconsciously pressing Buckingham's arm.
-
-"You can be at Dover this evening," continued the king, "the tide serves
-at two o'clock in the morning."
-
-Raoul, astounded, stammered out a few broken sentences, which equally
-answered the purpose both of thanks and of excuse.
-
-"I therefore bid you adieu, Monsieur de Bragelonne, and wish you every
-sort of prosperity," said the king, rising; "you will confer a pleasure
-on me by keeping this diamond in remembrance of me; I had intended it as
-a marriage gift."
-
-Miss Grafton felt her limbs almost giving way; and, as Raoul received the
-ring from the king's hand, he, too, felt his strength and courage failing
-him.  He addressed a few respectful words to the king, a passing
-compliment to Miss Stewart, and looked for Buckingham to bid him adieu.
-The king profited by this moment to disappear.  Raoul found the duke
-engaged in endeavoring to encourage Miss Grafton.
-
-"Tell him to remain, I implore you!" said Buckingham to Mary.
-
-"No, I will tell him to go," replied Miss Grafton, with returning
-animation; "I am not one of those women who have more pride than heart;
-if she whom he loves is in France, let him return thither and bless me
-for having advised him to go and seek his happiness there.  If, on the
-contrary, she shall have ceased to love him, let him come back here
-again; I shall still love him, and his unhappiness will not have lessened
-him in my regard.  In the arms of my house you will find that which
-Heaven has engraven on my heart - _Habenti parum, egenti cuncta_.  'To
-the rich is accorded little, to the poor everything.'"
-
-"I do not believe, Bragelonne, that you will find yonder the equivalent
-of what you leave behind you here."
-
-"I think, or at least hope," said Raoul, with a gloomy air, "that she
-whom I love is worthy of my affection; but if it be true she is unworthy
-of me, as you have endeavored to make me believe, I will tear her image
-from my heart, duke, even if my heart breaks in the attempt."
-
-Mary Grafton gazed upon him with an expression of the most indefinable
-pity, and Raoul returned her look with a sweet, sorrowful smile, saying,
-"Mademoiselle, the diamond which the king has given me was destined for
-you, - give me leave to offer it for your acceptance: if I marry in
-France, you will send it me back; if I do not marry, keep it."  And he
-bowed and left her.
-
-"What does he mean?" thought Buckingham, while Raoul pressed Mary's icy
-hand with marks of the most reverential respect.
-
-Mary understood the look that Buckingham fixed upon her.
-
-"If it were a wedding-ring, I would not accept it," she said.
-
-"And yet you were willing to ask him to return to you."
-
-"Oh! duke," cried the young girl in heart-broken accents, "a woman such
-as I am is never accepted as a consolation by a man like him."
-
-"You do not think he will return, then?"
-
-"Never," said Miss Grafton, in a choking voice.
-
-"And I grieve to tell you, Mary, that he will find yonder his happiness
-destroyed, his mistress lost to him.  His honor even has not escaped.
-What will be left him, then, Mary, equal to your affection?  Answer,
-Mary, you who know yourself so well."
-
-Miss Grafton placed her white hand on Buckingham's arm, and, while Raoul
-was hurrying away with headlong speed, she repeated in dying accents the
-line from Romeo and Juliet:
-
-"_I must be gone and live, or stay and die_."
-
-As she finished the last word, Raoul disappeared.  Miss Grafton returned
-to her own apartments, paler than death.  Buckingham availed himself of
-the arrival of the courier, who had brought the letter to the king, to
-write to Madame and to the Comte de Guiche.  The king had not been
-mistaken, for at two in the morning the tide was at full flood, and Raoul
-had embarked for France.
-
-
-Chapter XXXIX:
-Saint-Aignan Follows Malicorne's Advice.
-
-The king most assiduously followed the progress which was made in La
-Valliere's portrait; and did so with a care and attention arising as much
-from a desire that it should resemble her as from the wish that the
-painter should prolong the period of its completion as much as possible.
-It was amusing to observe him follow the artist's brush, awaiting the
-completion of a particular plan, or the result of a combination of
-colors, and suggesting various modifications to the painter, which the
-latter consented to adopt with the most respectful docility.  And again,
-when the artist, following Malicorne's advice, was a little late in
-arriving, and when Saint-Aignan had been obliged to be absent for some
-time, it was interesting to observe, though no one witnessed them, those
-moments of silence full of deep expression, which united in one sigh two
-souls most disposed to understand each other, and who by no means
-objected to the quiet meditation they enjoyed together.  The minutes flew
-rapidly by, as if on wings, and as the king drew closer to Louise and
-bent his burning gaze upon her, a noise was suddenly heard in the ante-
-room.  It was the artist, who had just arrived; Saint-Aignan, too, had
-returned, full of apologies; and the king began to talk and La Valliere
-to answer him very hurriedly, their eyes revealing to Saint-Aignan that
-they had enjoyed a century of happiness during his absence.  In a word,
-Malicorne, philosopher that he was, though he knew it not, had learned
-how to inspire the king with an appetite in the midst of plenty, and with
-desire in the assurance of possession.  La Valliere's fears of
-interruption had never been realized, and no one imagined she was absent
-from her apartment two or three hours every day; she pretended that her
-health was very uncertain; those who went to her room always knocked
-before entering, and Malicorne, the man of so many ingenious inventions,
-had constructed an acoustic piece of mechanism, by means of which La
-Valliere, when in Saint-Aignan's apartment, was always forewarned of any
-visits which were paid to the room she usually inhabited.  In this
-manner, therefore, without leaving her room, and having no _confidante_,
-she was able to return to her apartment, thus removing by her appearance,
-a little tardy perhaps, the suspicions of the most determined skeptics.
-Malicorne having asked Saint-Aignan the next morning what news he had to
-report, the latter was obliged to confess that the quarter of an hour's
-liberty had made the king in most excellent humor.  "We must double the
-dose," replied Malicorne, "but by insensible degrees; wait until they
-seem to wish it."
-
-They were so desirous for it, however, that on the evening of the fourth
-day, at the moment when the painter was packing up his implements, during
-Saint-Aignan's continued absence, Saint-Aignan on his return noticed upon
-La Valliere's face a shade of disappointment and vexation, which she
-could not conceal.  The king was less reserved, and exhibited his
-annoyance by a very significant shrug of the shoulders, at which La
-Valliere could not help blushing.  "Very good!" thought Saint-Aignan to
-himself; "M. Malicorne will be delighted this evening;" as he, in fact,
-was, when it was reported to him.
-
-"It is very evident," he remarked to the comte, "that Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere hoped that you would be at least ten minutes later."
-
-"And the king that I should be half an hour later, dear Monsieur
-Malicorne."
-
-"You would show but very indifferent devotion to the king," replied the
-latter, "if you were to refuse his majesty that half-hour's satisfaction."
-
-"But the painter," objected Saint-Aignan.
-
-"_I_ will take care of him," said Malicorne, "only I must study faces and
-circumstances a little better before I act; those are my magical
-inventions and contrivances; and while sorcerers are enabled by means of
-their astrolabe to take the altitude of the sun, moon, and stars, I am
-satisfied merely by looking into people's faces, in order to see if their
-eyes are encircled with dark lines, and if the mouth describes a convex
-or concave arc."
-
-And the cunning Malicorne had every opportunity of watching narrowly and
-closely, for the very same evening the king accompanied the queen to
-Madame's apartments, and made himself so remarked by his serious face and
-his deep sigh, and looked at La Valliere with such a languishing
-expression, that Malicorne said to Montalais during the evening: "To-
-morrow."  And he went off to the painter's house in the street of the
-Jardins Saint-Paul to request him to postpone the next sitting for a
-couple of days.  Saint-Aignan was not within, when La Valliere, who was
-now quite familiar with the lower story, lifted up the trap-door and
-descended.  The king, as usual was waiting for her on the staircase, and
-held a bouquet in his hand; as soon as he saw her, he clasped her
-tenderly in his arms.  La Valliere, much moved at the action, looked
-around the room, but as she saw the king was alone, she did not complain
-of it.  They sat down, the king reclining near the cushions on which
-Louise was seated, with his head supported by her knees, placed there as
-in an asylum whence no one could banish him; he gazed ardently upon her,
-and as if the moment had arrived when nothing could interpose between
-their two hearts; she, too, gazed with similar passion upon him, and from
-her eyes, so softly pure, emanated a flame, whose rays first kindled and
-then inflamed the heart of the king, who, trembling with happiness as
-Louise's hand rested on his head, grew giddy from excess of joy, and
-momentarily awaited either the painter's or Saint-Aignan's return to
-break the sweet illusion.  But the door remained closed, and neither
-Saint-Aignan nor the painter appeared, nor did the hangings even move.  A
-deep mysterious silence reigned in the room - a silence which seemed to
-influence even the song-birds in their gilded prisons.  The king,
-completely overcome, turned round his head and buried his burning lips in
-La Valliere's hands, who, herself faint, with excess of emotion, pressed
-her trembling hands against her lover's lips.  Louis threw himself upon
-his knees, and as La Valliere did not move her head, the king's forehead
-being within reach of her lips, she furtively passed her lips across the
-perfumed locks which caressed her cheeks.  The king seized her in his
-arms, and, unable to resist the temptation, they exchanged their first
-kiss, that burning kiss, which changes love into delirium.  Suddenly, a
-noise upon the upper floor was heard, which had, in fact, continued,
-though it had remained unnoticed, for some time; it had at last aroused
-La Valliere's attention, though but slowly so.  As the noise, however,
-continued, as it forced itself upon the attention, and recalled the poor
-girl from her dreams of happiness to the sad realities of life, she rose
-in a state of utter bewilderment, though beautiful in her disorder,
-saying:
-
-"Some one is waiting for me above.  Louis, Louis, do you not hear?"
-
-"Well! and am I not waiting for you, also?" said the king, with infinite
-tenderness of tone.  "Let others henceforth wait for you."
-
-But she gently shook her head, as she replied: "Happiness hidden... power
-concealed... my pride should be as silent as my heart."
-
-The noise was again resumed.
-
-"I hear Montalais's voice," she said, and she hurried up the staircase;
-the king followed her, unable to let her leave his sight, and covering
-her hand with his kisses.  "Yes, yes," repeated La Valliere, who had
-passed half-way through the opening.  "Yes, it is Montalais who is
-calling me; something important must have happened."
-
-"Go then, dearest love," said the king, "but return quickly."
-
-"No, no, not to-day, sire!  Adieu! adieu!" she said, as she stooped down
-once more to embrace her lover - and escaped.  Montalais was, in fact,
-waiting for her, very pale and agitated.
-
-"Quick, quick! _he_ is coming," she said.
-
-"Who - who is coming?"
-
-"Raoul," murmured Montalais.
-
-"It is I - I," said a joyous voice, upon the last steps of the grand
-staircase.
-
-La Valliere uttered a terrible shriek and threw herself back.
-
-"I am here, dear Louise," said Raoul, running towards her.  "I knew but
-too well that you had not ceased to love me."
-
-La Valliere with a gesture, partly of extreme terror, and partly as if
-invoking a blessing, attempted to speak, but could not articulate one
-word.  "No, no!" she said, as she fell into Montalais's arms, murmuring,
-"Do not touch me, do not come near me."
-
-Montalais made a sign to Raoul, who stood almost petrified at the door,
-and did not even attempt to advance another step into the room.  Then,
-looking towards the side of the room where the screen was, she exclaimed:
-"Imprudent girl, she has not even closed the trap-door."
-
-And she advanced towards the corner of the room to close the screen, and
-also, behind the screen, the trap-door.  But suddenly the king, who had
-heard Louise's exclamation, darted through the opening, and hurried
-forward to her assistance.  He threw himself on his knees before her, as
-he overwhelmed Montalais with questions, who hardly knew where she was.
-At the moment, however, when the king threw himself on his knees, a cry
-of utter despair rang through the corridor, accompanied by the sound of
-retreating footsteps.  The king wished to see who had uttered the cry and
-whose were the footsteps he had heard; and it was in vain that Montalais
-sought to retain him, for Louis, quitting his hold of La Valliere,
-hurried towards the door, too late, however, for Raoul was already at a
-distance, and the king only beheld a shadow that quickly vanished in the
-silent corridor.
-
-Transcriber's note: In the three-volume edition, Volume 2, entitled
-Louise de la Valliere, ends here. - JB
-
-
-Chapter XL:
-Two Old Friends.
-
-Whilst every one at court was busily engaged with his own affairs, a man
-mysteriously took up his post behind the Place de Greve, in the house
-which we once saw besieged by D'Artagnan on the occasion of the
-_emeute_.  The principal entrance of the house was in the Place Baudoyer;
-it was tolerably large, surrounded by gardens, inclosed in the Rue Saint-
-Jean by the shops of toolmakers, which protected it from prying looks,
-and was walled in by a triple rampart of stone, noise, and verdure, like
-an embalmed mummy in its triple coffin.  The man we have just alluded to
-walked along with a firm step, although he was no longer in his early
-prime.  His dark cloak and long sword plainly revealed one who seemed in
-search of adventures; and, judging from his curling mustache, his fine
-smooth skin, which could be seen beneath his _sombrero_, it would not
-have been difficult to pronounce that gallantry had not a little share in
-his adventures.  In fact, hardly had the cavalier entered the house, when
-the clock struck eight; and ten minutes afterwards a lady, followed by a
-servant armed to the teeth, approached and knocked at the same door,
-which an old woman immediately opened for her.  The lady raised her veil
-as she entered; though no longer beautiful or young, she was still active
-and of an imposing carriage.  She concealed, beneath a rich toilette and
-the most exquisite taste, an age which Ninon de l'Enclos alone could have
-smiled at with impunity.  Hardly had she reached the vestibule, when the
-cavalier, whose features we have only roughly sketched, advanced towards
-her, holding out his hand.
-
-"God day, my dear duchesse," he said.
-
-"How do you do, my dear Aramis?" replied the duchesse.
-
-He led her to a most elegantly furnished apartment, on whose high windows
-were reflected the expiring rays of the setting sun, which filtered
-gaudily through the dark green needles of the adjacent firs.  They sat
-down side by side.  Neither of them thought of asking for additional
-light in the room, and they buried themselves as it were in the shadow,
-as if they wished to bury themselves in forgetfulness.
-
-"Chevalier," said the duchesse, "you have never given me a single sign of
-life since our interview at Fontainebleau, and I confess that your
-presence there on the day of the Franciscan's death, and your initiation
-in certain secrets, caused me the liveliest astonishment I ever
-experienced in my whole life."
-
-"I can explain my presence there to you, as well as my initiation," said
-Aramis.
-
-"But let us, first of all," said the duchess, "talk a little of
-ourselves, for our friendship is by no means of recent date."
-
-"Yes, madame: and if Heaven wills it, we shall continue to be friends, I
-will not say for a long time, but forever."
-
-"That is quite certain, chevalier, and my visit is a proof of it."
-
-"Our interests, duchess, are no longer the same as they used to be," said
-Aramis, smiling without apprehension in the growing gloom by which the
-room was overcast, for it could not reveal that his smile was less
-agreeable and not so bright as formerly.
-
-"No, chevalier, at the present day we have other interests.  Every period
-of life brings its own; and, as we now understand each other in
-conversing, as perfectly as we formerly did without saying a word, let us
-talk, if you like."
-
-"I am at your orders, duchesse.  Ah!  I beg your pardon, how did you
-obtain my address, and what was your object?"
-
-"You ask me why?  I have told you.  Curiosity in the first place.  I
-wished to know what you could have to do with the Franciscan, with whom I
-had certain business transactions, and who died so singularly.  You know
-that on the occasion of our interview at Fontainebleau, in the cemetery,
-at the foot of the grave so recently closed, we were both so much
-overcome by our emotions that we omitted to confide to each other what we
-may have to say."
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"Well, then, I had no sooner left you than I repented, and have ever
-since been most anxious to ascertain the truth.  You know that Madame de
-Longueville and myself are almost one, I suppose?"
-
-"I was not aware," said Aramis, discreetly.
-
-"I remembered, therefore," continued the duchesse, "that neither of us
-said anything to the other in the cemetery; that you did not speak of the
-relationship in which you stood to the Franciscan, whose burial you
-superintended, and that I did not refer to the position in which I stood
-to him; all which seemed very unworthy of two such old friends as
-ourselves, and I have sought an opportunity of an interview with you in
-order to give you some information that I have recently acquired, and to
-assure you that Marie Michon, now no more, has left behind her one who
-has preserved her recollection of events."
-
-Aramis bowed over the duchess's hand, and pressed his lips upon it.  "You
-must have had some trouble to find me again," he said.
-
-"Yes," she answered, annoyed to find the subject taking a turn which
-Aramis wished to give it; "but I knew you were a friend of M. Fouquet's,
-and so I inquired in that direction."
-
-"A friend! oh!" exclaimed the chevalier, "I can hardly pretend to be
-_that_.  A poor priest who has been favored by a generous protector, and
-whose heart is full of gratitude and devotion, is all that I pretend to
-be to M. Fouquet."
-
-"He made you a bishop?"
-
-"Yes, duchesse."
-
-"A very good retiring pension for so handsome a musketeer."
-
-"Yes; in the same way that political intrigue is for yourself," thought
-Aramis.  "And so," he added, "you inquired after me at M. Fouquet's?"
-
-"Easily enough.  You had been to Fontainebleau with him, and had
-undertaken a voyage to your diocese, which is Belle-Ile-en-Mer, I
-believe."
-
-"No, madame," said Aramis.  "My diocese is Vannes."
-
-"I meant that.  I only thought that Belle-Ile-en-Mer - "
-
-"Is a property belonging to M. Fouquet, nothing more."
-
-"Ah!  I had been told that Belle-Isle was fortified; besides, I know how
-great the military knowledge is you possess."
-
-"I have forgotten everything of the kind since I entered the Church,"
-said Aramis, annoyed.
-
-"Suffice it to know that I learned you had returned from Vannes, and I
-sent off to one of our friends, M. le Comte de la Fere, who is discretion
-itself, in order to ascertain it, but he answered that he was not aware
-of your address."
-
-"So like Athos," thought the bishop; "the really good man never changes."
-
-"Well, then, you know that I cannot venture to show myself here, and that
-the queen-mother has always some grievance or other against me."
-
-"Yes, indeed, and I am surprised at it."
-
-"Oh! there are various reasons for it.  But, to continue, being obliged
-to conceal myself, I was fortunate enough to meet with M. d'Artagnan, who
-was formerly one of your old friends, I believe?"
-
-"A friend of mine still, duchesse."
-
-"He gave me certain information, and sent me to M. Baisemeaux, the
-governor of the Bastile."
-
-Aramis was somewhat agitated at this remark, and a light flashed from his
-eyes in the darkness of the room, which he could not conceal from his
-keen-sighted friend.  "M. de Baisemeaux!" he said, "why did D'Artagnan
-send you to M. de Baisemeaux?"
-
-"I cannot tell you."
-
-"What can this possibly mean?" said the bishop, summoning all the
-resources of his mind to his aid, in order to carry on the combat in a
-befitting manner.
-
-"M. de Baisemeaux is greatly indebted to you, D'Artagnan told me."
-
-"True, he is so."
-
-"And the address of a creditor is as easily ascertained as that of a
-debtor."
-
-"Very true; and so Baisemeaux indicated to you - "
-
-"Saint-Mande, where I forwarded a letter to you."
-
-"Which I have in my hand, and which is most precious to me," said Aramis,
-"because I am indebted to it for the pleasure of seeing you here."  The
-duchesse, satisfied at having successfully overcome the various
-difficulties of so delicate an explanation, began to breathe freely
-again, which Aramis, however, could not succeed in doing.  "We had got as
-far as your visit to M. Baisemeaux, I believe?"
-
-"Nay," she said, laughing, "farther than that."
-
-"In that case we must have been speaking about the grudge you have
-against the queen-mother."
-
-"Further still," she returned, "further still; we were talking of the
-connection - "
-
-"Which existed between you and the Franciscan," said Aramis, interrupting
-her eagerly, "well, I am listening to you very attentively."
-
-"It is easily explained," returned the duchesse.  "You know that I am
-living at Brussels with M. de Laicques?"
-
-"I heard so."
-
-"You know that my children have ruined and stripped me of everything."
-
-"How terrible, dear duchesse."
-
-"Terrible indeed; this obliged me to resort to some means of obtaining a
-livelihood, and, particularly, to avoid vegetating for the remainder of
-my existence.  I had old hatreds to turn to account, old friendships to
-make use of; I no longer had either credit or protectors."
-
-"_You_, who had extended protection towards so many persons," said
-Aramis, softly.
-
-"It is always the case, chevalier.  Well, at the present time I am in the
-habit of seeing the king of Spain very frequently."
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"Who has just nominated a general of the Jesuits, according to the usual
-custom."
-
-"Is it usual, indeed?"
-
-"Were you not aware of it?"
-
-"I beg your pardon; I was inattentive."
-
-"You must be aware of that - you who were on such good terms with the
-Franciscan."
-
-"With the general of the Jesuits, you mean?"
-
-"Exactly.  Well, then, I have seen the king of Spain, who wished me to do
-a service, but was unable.  He gave me recommendations, however, to
-Flanders, both for myself and for Laicques too; and conferred a pension
-on me out of the funds belonging to the order."
-
-"Of Jesuits?"
-
-"Yes.  The general - I mean the Franciscan - was sent to me; and, for the
-purpose of conforming with the requisitions of the statues of the order,
-and of entitling me to the pension, I was reputed to be in a position to
-render certain services.  You are aware that that is the rule?"
-
-"No, I did not know it," said Aramis.
-
-Madame de Chevreuse paused to look at Aramis, but it was perfectly dark.
-"Well, such is the rule, however," she resumed.  "I had, therefore, to
-appear to possess a power of usefulness of some kind or other, and I
-proposed to travel for the order, and I was placed on the list of
-affiliated travelers.  You understand it was a formality, by means of
-which I received my pension, which was very convenient for me."
-
-"Good heavens! duchesse, what you tell me is like a dagger-thrust.  _You_
-obliged to receive a pension from the Jesuits?"
-
-"No, chevalier! from Spain."
-
-"Except for a conscientious scruple, duchesse, you will admit that it is
-pretty nearly the same thing."
-
-"No, not at all."
-
-"But surely of your magnificent fortune there must remain - "
-
-"Dampierre is all that remains."
-
-"And that is handsome enough."
-
-"Yes; but Dampierre is burdened, mortgaged, and almost fallen to ruin,
-like its owner."
-
-"And can the queen-mother know and see all that, without shedding a
-tear?" said Aramis, with a penetrating look, which encountered nothing
-but darkness.
-
-"Yes.  She has forgotten everything."
-
-"You, I believe, attempted to get restored to favor?"
-
-"Yes; but, most singularly, the young king inherits the antipathy his
-dear father had for me.  You will, perhaps, tell me that I am indeed a
-woman to be hated, and that I am no longer one who can be loved."
-
-"Dear duchesse, pray come quickly to the cause that brought you here; for
-I think we can be of service to each other."
-
-"Such has been my own thought.  I came to Fontainebleau with a double
-object in view.  In the first place, I was summoned there by the
-Franciscan whom you knew.  By the by, how did you know him? - for I have
-told you my story, and have not yet heard yours."
-
-"I knew him in a very natural way, duchesse.  I studied theology with him
-at Parma.  We became fast friends; and it happened, from time to time,
-that business, or travel, or war, separated us from each other."
-
-"You were, of course, aware that he was the general of the Jesuits?"
-
-"I suspected it."
-
-"But by what extraordinary chance did it happen that you were at the
-hotel when the affiliated travelers met together?"
-
-"Oh!" said Aramis, in a calm voice, "it was the merest chance in the
-world.  I was going to Fontainebleau to see M. Fouquet, for the purpose
-of obtaining an audience of the king.  I was passing by, unknown; I saw
-the poor dying monk in the road, and recognized him immediately.  You
-know the rest - he died in my arms."
-
-"Yes; but bequeathing to you so vast a power that you issue your
-sovereign orders and directions like a monarch."
-
-"He certainly did leave me a few commissions to settle."
-
-"And what for me?"
-
-"I have told you - a sum of twelve thousand livres was to be paid to
-you.  I thought I had given you the necessary signature to enable you to
-receive it.  Did you not get the money?"
-
-"Oh! yes, yes.  You give your orders, I am informed, with so much
-mystery, and such a majestic presence, that it is generally believed you
-are the successor of the defunct chief."
-
-Aramis colored impatiently, and the duchesse continued: "I have obtained
-my information," she said, "from the king of Spain himself; and he
-cleared up some of my doubts on the point.  Every general of the Jesuits
-is nominated by him, and must be a Spaniard, according to the statutes of
-the order.  You are not a Spaniard, nor have you been nominated by the
-king of Spain."
-
-Aramis did not reply to this remark, except to say, "You see, duchesse,
-how greatly you were mistaken, since the king of Spain told you that."
-
-"Yes, my dear Aramis; but there was something else which I have been
-thinking of."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"You know, I believe, something about most things, and it occurred to me
-that you know the Spanish language."
-
-"Every Frenchman who has been actively engaged in the Fronde knows
-Spanish."
-
-"You have lived in Flanders?"
-
-"Three years."
-
-"And have stayed at Madrid?"
-
-"Fifteen months."
-
-"You are in a position, then, to become a naturalized Spaniard, when you
-like."
-
-"Really?" said Aramis, with a frankness which deceived the duchesse.
-
-"Undoubtedly.  Two years' residence and an acquaintance with the language
-are indispensable.  You have upwards of four years - more than double the
-time necessary."
-
-"What are you driving at, duchesse?"
-
-"At this - I am on good terms with the king of Spain."
-
-"And I am not on bad terms," thought Aramis to himself.
-
-"Shall I ask the king," continued the duchesse, "to confer the succession
-to the Franciscan's post upon you?"
-
-"Oh, duchesse!"
-
-"You have it already, perhaps?" she said.
-
-"No, upon my honor."
-
-"Very well, then, I can render you that service."
-
-"Why did you not render the same service to M. de Laicques, duchesse?  He
-is a very talented man, and one you love, besides."
-
-"Yes, no doubt; but, at all events, putting Laicques aside, will you have
-it?"
-
-"No, I thank you, duchesse."
-
-She paused.  "He is nominated," she thought; and then resumed aloud, "If
-you refuse me in this manner, it is not very encouraging for me,
-supposing I should have something to ask of you."
-
-"Oh! ask, pray, ask."
-
-"Ask!  I cannot do so, if you have not the power to grant what I want."
-
-"However limited my power and ability, ask all the same."
-
-"I need a sum of money, to restore Dampierre."
-
-"Ah!" replied Aramis, coldly - "money?  Well, duchesse, how much would
-you require?"
-
-"Oh! a tolerably round sum."
-
-"So much the worse - you know I am not rich."
-
-"No, no; but the order is - and if you had been the general - "
-
-"You know I am not the general, I think."
-
-"In that case, you have a friend who must be very wealthy - M. Fouquet."
-
-"M. Fouquet!  He is more than half ruined, madame."
-
-"So it is said, but I did not believe it."
-
-"Why, duchesse?"
-
-"Because I have, or rather Laicques has, certain letters in his
-possession from Cardinal Mazarin, which establish the existence of very
-strange accounts."
-
-"What accounts?"
-
-"Relative to various sums of money borrowed and disposed of.  I cannot
-very distinctly remember what they are; but they establish the fact that
-the superintendent, according to these letters, which are signed by
-Mazarin, had taken thirteen millions of francs from the coffers of the
-state.  The case is a very serious one."
-
-Aramis clenched his hands in anxiety and apprehension.  "Is it possible,"
-he said, "that you have such letters as you speak of, and have not
-communicated them to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Ah!" replied the duchesse, "I keep such trifling matters as these in
-reserve.  The day may come when they will be of service; and they can be
-withdrawn from the safe custody in which they now remain."
-
-"And that day has arrived?" said Aramis.
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And you are going to show those letters to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"I prefer to talk about them with you, instead."
-
-"You must be in sad want of money, my poor friend, to think of such
-things as these - you, too, who held M. de Mazarin's prose effusions in
-such indifferent esteem."
-
-"The fact is, I am in want of money."
-
-"And then," continued Aramis, in cold accents, "it must have been very
-distressing to you to be obliged to have recourse to such a means.  It is
-cruel."
-
-"Oh! if had wished to do harm instead of good," said Madame de Chevreuse,
-"instead of asking the general of the order, or M. Fouquet, for the five
-hundred thousand francs I require, I - "
-
-"_Five hundred thousand francs!_"
-
-"Yes; no more.  Do you think it much?  I require at least as much as that
-to restore Dampierre."
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"I say, therefore, that instead of asking for this amount, I should have
-gone to see my old friend the queen-mother; the letters from her husband,
-Signor Mazarini, would have served me as an introduction, and I should
-have begged this mere trifle of her, saying to her, 'I wish, madame, to
-have the honor of receiving you at Dampierre.  Permit me to put Dampierre
-in a fit state for that purpose.'"
-
-Aramis did not return a single word.  "Well," she said, "what are you
-thinking about?"
-
-"I am making certain additions," said Aramis.
-
-"And M. Fouquet subtractions.  I, on the other hand, am trying my hand at
-the art of multiplication.  What excellent calculators we all three are!
-How well we might understand one another!"
-
-"Will you allow me to reflect?" said Aramis.
-
-"No, for with such an opening between people like ourselves, 'yes' or
-'no' is the only answer, and that an immediate one."
-
-"It is a snare," thought the bishop; "it is impossible that Anne of
-Austria would listen to such a woman as this."
-
-"Well?" said the duchesse.
-
-"Well, madame, I should be very much astonished if M. Fouquet had five
-hundred thousand francs at his disposal at the present moment."
-
-"It is no use speaking of it, then," said the duchesse, "and Dampierre
-must get restored how best it may."
-
-"Oh! you are not embarrassed to such an extent as that, I suppose."
-
-"No; I am never embarrassed."
-
-"And the queen," continued the bishop, "will certainly do for you what
-the superintendent is unable to do?"
-
-"Oh! certainly.  But tell me, do you think it would be better that I
-should speak, myself, to M. Fouquet about these letters?"
-
-"Nay, duchesse, you will do precisely whatever you please in that
-respect.  M. Fouquet either feels or does not feel himself to be guilty;
-if he really be so, I know he is proud enough not to confess it; if he be
-not so, he will be exceedingly offended at your menace."
-
-"As usual, you reason like an angel," said the duchesse, as she rose from
-her seat.
-
-"And so, you are now going to denounce M. Fouquet to the queen," said
-Aramis.
-
-"'Denounce!'  Oh! what a disagreeable word.  I shall not 'denounce' my
-dear friend; you know matters of policy too well to be ignorant how
-easily these affairs are arranged.  I shall merely side against M.
-Fouquet, and nothing more; and, in a war of party against party, a weapon
-is always a weapon."
-
-"No doubt."
-
-"And once on friendly terms again with the queen-mother, I may be
-dangerous towards some persons."
-
-"You are at liberty to prove so, duchesse."
-
-"A liberty of which I shall avail myself."
-
-"You are not ignorant, I suppose, duchesse, that M. Fouquet is on the
-best terms with the king of Spain."
-
-"I suppose so."
-
-"If, therefore, you begin a party warfare against M. Fouquet, he will
-reply in the same way; for he, too, is at perfect liberty to do so, is he
-not?"
-
-"Oh! certainly."
-
-"And as he is on good terms with Spain, he will make use of that
-friendship as a weapon of attack."
-
-"You mean, that he is, naturally, on good terms with the general of the
-order of the Jesuits, my dear Aramis."
-
-"That may be the case, duchesse."
-
-"And that, consequently, the pension I have been receiving from the order
-will be stopped."
-
-"I am greatly afraid it might be."
-
-"Well; I must contrive to console myself in the best way I can; for after
-Richelieu, after the Fronde, after exile, what is there left for Madame
-de Chevreuse to be afraid of?"
-
-"The pension, you are aware, is forty-eight thousand francs."
-
-"Alas!  I am quite aware of it."
-
-"Moreover, in party contests, you know, the friends of one's enemy do not
-escape."
-
-"Ah! you mean that poor Laicques will have to suffer."
-
-"I am afraid it is almost inevitable, duchesse."
-
-"Oh! he only receives twelve thousand francs pension."
-
-"Yes, but the king of Spain has some influence left; advised by M.
-Fouquet, he might get M. Laicques shut up in prison for a little while."
-
-"I am not very nervous on that point, my dear friend; because, once
-reconciled with Anne of Austria, I will undertake that France would
-insist upon M. Laicques's liberation."
-
-"True.  In that case, you will have something else to apprehend."
-
-"What can that be?" said the duchesse, pretending to be surprised and
-terrified.
-
-"You will learn; indeed, you must know it already, that having once been
-an affiliated member of the order, it is not easy to leave it; for the
-secrets that any particular member may have acquired are unwholesome, and
-carry with them the germs of misfortune for whosoever may reveal them."
-
-The duchesse paused and reflected for a moment, and then said, "That is
-more serious: I will think it over."
-
-And notwithstanding the profound obscurity, Aramis seemed to feel a
-basilisk glance, like a white-hot iron, escape from his friend's eyes,
-and plunge into his heart.
-
-"Let us recapitulate," said Aramis, determined to keep himself on his
-guard, and gliding his hand into his breast where he had a dagger
-concealed.
-
-"Exactly, let us recapitulate; short accounts make long friends."
-
-"The suppression of your pension - "
-
-"Forty-eight thousand francs, and that of Laicques's twelve, make
-together sixty thousand francs; that is what you mean, I suppose?"
-
-"Precisely; and I was trying to find out what would be your equivalent
-for that."
-
-"Five hundred thousand francs, which I shall get from the queen."
-
-"Or, which you will _not_ get."
-
-"I know a means of procuring them," said the duchesse, thoughtlessly.
-
-This remark made the chevalier prick up his ears; and from the moment his
-adversary had committed this error, his mind was so thoroughly on its
-guard, that he seemed every moment to gain the advantage more and more;
-and she, consequently, to lose it.  "I will admit, for argument's sake,
-that you obtain the money," he resumed; "you will lose twice as much,
-having a hundred thousand francs' pension to receive instead of sixty
-thousand, and that for a  period of ten years."
-
-"Not so, for I shall only be subjected to this reduction of my income
-during the period of M. Fouquet's remaining in power, a period which I
-estimate at two months."
-
-"Ah!" said Aramis.
-
-"I am frank, you see."
-
-"I thank you for it, duchesse; but you would be wrong to suppose that
-after M. Fouquet's disgrace the order would resume the payment of your
-pension."
-
-"I know a means of making the order pay, as I know a means of forcing the
-queen-mother to concede what I require."
-
-"In that case, duchesse, we are all obliged to strike our flags to you.
-The victory is yours, and the triumph also.  Be clement, I entreat you."
-
-"But is it possible," resumed the duchesse, without taking notice of the
-irony, "that you really draw back from a miserable sum of five hundred
-thousand francs, when it is a question of sparing you - I mean your
-friend - I beg your pardon, I ought rather to say your protector - the
-disagreeable consequences which a party contest produces?"
-
-"Duchesse, I tell you why; supposing the five hundred thousand francs
-were to be given you, M. Laicques will require his share, which will be
-another five hundred thousand francs, I presume? and then, after M. de
-Laicques's and your own portions have been arranged, the portions which
-your children, your poor pensioners, and various other persons will
-require, will start up as fresh claims, and these letters, however
-compromising they may be in their nature, are not worth from three to
-four millions.  Can you have forgotten the queen of France's diamonds? –
-they were surely worth more than these bits of waste paper signed by
-Mazarin, and yet their recovery did not cost a fourth part of what you
-ask for yourself."
-
-"Yes, that is true; but the merchant values his goods at his own price,
-and it is for the purchaser to buy or refuse."
-
-"Stay a moment, duchesse; would you like me to tell you why I will not
-buy your letters?"
-
-"Pray tell me."
-
-"Because the letters you claim to be Mazarin's are false."
-
-"What an absurdity."
-
-"I have no doubt of it, for it would, to say the least, be very singular,
-that after you had quarreled with the queen through M. Mazarin's means,
-you should have kept up any intimate acquaintance with the latter; it
-would look as if you had been acting as a spy; and upon my word, I do not
-like to make use of the word."
-
-"Oh! pray do."
-
-"You great complacence would seem suspicions, at all events."
-
-"That is quite true; but the contents of the letters are even more so."
-
-"I pledge you my word, duchesse, that you will not be able to make use of
-it with the queen."
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed; I can make use of everything with the queen."
-
-"Very good," thought Aramis.  "Croak on, old owl - hiss, beldame-viper."
-
-But the duchesse had said enough, and advanced a few steps towards the
-door.  Aramis, however, had reserved one exposure which she did _not_
-expect.
-
-He rang the bell, candles immediately appeared in the adjoining room, and
-the bishop found himself completely encircled by lights, which shone upon
-the worn, haggard face of the duchesse, revealing every feature but too
-clearly.  Aramis fixed a long ironical look upon her pale, thin, withered
-cheeks - her dim, dull eyes - and upon her lips, which she kept carefully
-closed over her discolored scanty teeth.  He, however, had thrown himself
-into a graceful attitude, with his haughty and intelligent head thrown
-back; he smiled so as to reveal teeth still brilliant and dazzling.  The
-antiquated coquette understood the trick that had been played her.  She
-was standing immediately before a large mirror, in which her decrepitude,
-so carefully concealed, was only made more manifest.  And, thereupon,
-without even saluting Aramis, who bowed with the ease and grace of the
-musketeer of early days, she hurried away with trembling steps, which her
-very precipitation only the more impeded.  Aramis sprang across the room,
-like a zephyr, to lead her to the door.  Madame de Chevreuse made a sign
-to her servant, who resumed his musket, and she left the house where such
-tender friends had not been able to understand each other only because
-they had understood each other too well.
-
-
-Chapter XLI:
-Wherein May Be Seen that a Bargain Which Cannot Be Made with One Person,
-Can Be Carried Out with Another.
-
-Aramis had been perfectly correct in his supposition; for hardly had she
-left the house in the Place Baudoyer than Madame de Chevreuse proceeded
-homeward.  She was doubtless afraid of being followed, and by this means
-thought she might succeed in throwing those who might be following her
-off their guard; but scarcely had she arrived within the door of the
-hotel, and hardly had assured herself that no one who could cause her any
-uneasiness was on her track, when she opened the door of the garden,
-leading into another street, and hurried towards the Rue Croix des Petits-
-Champs, where M. Colbert resided.
-
-We have already said that evening, or rather night, had closed in; it was
-a dark, thick night, besides; Paris had once more sunk into its calm,
-quiescent state, enshrouding alike within its indulgent mantle the high-
-born duchesse carrying out her political intrigue, and the simple
-citizen's wife, who, having been detained late by a supper in the city,
-was making her way slowly homewards, hanging on the arm of a lover, by
-the shortest possible route.  Madame de Chevreuse had been too well
-accustomed to nocturnal political intrigues to be ignorant that a
-minister never denies himself, even at his own private residence, to any
-young and beautiful woman who may chance to object to the dust and
-confusion of a public office, or to old women, as full of experience as
-of years, who dislike the indiscreet echo of official residences.  A
-valet received the duchesse under the peristyle, and received her, it
-must be admitted, with some indifference of manner; he intimated, after
-having looked at her face, that it was hardly at such an hour that one so
-advanced in years as herself could be permitted to disturb Monsieur
-Colbert's important occupations.  But Madame de Chevreuse, without
-looking or appearing to be annoyed, wrote her name upon a leaf of her
-tablets - a name which had but too frequently sounded so disagreeably in
-the ears of Louis XIII. and of the great cardinal.  She wrote her name in
-the large, ill-formed characters of the higher classes of that period,
-handed it to the valet, without uttering a word, but with so haughty and
-imperious a gesture, that the fellow, well accustomed to judge of people
-from their manners and appearance, perceived at once the quality of the
-person before him, bowed his head, and ran to M. Colbert's room.  The
-minister could not control a sudden exclamation as he opened the paper;
-and the valet, gathering from it the interest with which his master
-regarded the mysterious visitor, returned as fast as he could to beg the
-duchesse to follow him.  She ascended to the first floor of the beautiful
-new house very slowly, rested herself on the landing-place, in order not
-to enter the apartment out of breath, and appeared before M. Colbert,
-who, with his own hands, held both the folding doors open.  The duchesse
-paused at the threshold, for the purpose of well studying the character
-of the man with whom she was about to converse.  At the first glance, the
-round, large, heavy head, thick brows, and ill-favored features of
-Colbert, who wore, thrust low down on his head, a cap like a priest's
-_calotte_, seemed to indicate that but little difficulty was likely to be
-met with in her negotiations with him, but also that she was to expect as
-little interest in the discussion of particulars; for there was scarcely
-any indication that the rough and uncouth nature of the man was
-susceptible to the impulses of a refined revenge, or of an exalted
-ambition.  But when, on closer inspection, the duchesse perceived the
-small, piercingly black eyes, the longitudinal wrinkles of his high and
-massive forehead, the imperceptible twitching of the lips, on which were
-apparent traces of rough good-humor, Madame de Chevreuse altered her
-opinion of him, and felt she could say to herself: "I have found the man
-I want."
-
-"What is the subject, madame, which procures me the honor of a visit from
-you?" he inquired.
-
-"The need I have you of you, monsieur," returned the duchesse, "as well
-as that which you have of me."
-
-"I am delighted, madame, with the first portion of your sentence; but, as
-far as the second portion is concerned - "
-
-Madame de Chevreuse sat down in the armchair which M. Colbert advanced
-towards her.  "Monsieur Colbert, you are the intendant of finances, and
-are ambitious of becoming the superintendent?"
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"Nay, do not deny it; that would only unnecessarily prolong our
-conversation, and that is useless."
-
-"And yet, madame, however well-disposed and inclined to show politeness I
-may be towards a lady of your position and merit, nothing will make me
-confess that I have ever entertained the idea of supplanting my superior."
-
-"I said nothing about supplanting, Monsieur Colbert.  Could I
-accidentally have made use of that word?  I hardly think that likely.
-The word 'replace' is less aggressive in its signification, and more
-grammatically suitable, as M. de Voiture would say.  I presume,
-therefore, that you are ambitious of replacing M. Fouquet."
-
-"M. Fouquet's fortune, madame, enables him to withstand all attempts.
-The superintendent in this age plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes;
-the vessels pass beneath him and do not overthrow him."
-
-"I ought to have availed myself precisely of that very comparison.  It is
-true, M. Fouquet plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes; but I remember
-to have heard it said by M. Conrart, a member of the academy, I believe,
-that when the Colossus of Rhodes fell from its lofty position, the
-merchant who had cast it down - a merchant, nothing more, M. Colbert –
-loaded four hundred camels with the ruins.  A merchant! and that is
-considerably less than an intendant of finances."
-
-"Madame, I can assure you that I shall never overthrow M. Fouquet."
-
-"Very good, Monsieur Colbert, since you persist in showing so much
-sensitiveness with me, as if you were ignorant that I am Madame de
-Chevreuse, and also that I am somewhat advanced in years; in other words,
-that you have to do with a woman who has had political dealings with the
-Cardinal Richelieu, and who has no time to lose; as, I repeat, you do not
-hesitate to commit such an imprudence, I shall go and find others who are
-more intelligent and more desirous of making their fortunes."
-
-"How, madame, how?"
-
-"You give me a very poor idea of negotiations of the present day.  I
-assure you that if, in my earlier days, a woman had gone to M. de Cinq-
-Mars, who was not, moreover, a man of a very high order of intellect, and
-had said to him about the cardinal what I have just said to you of M.
-Fouquet, M. de Cinq-Mars would by this time have already set actively to
-work."
-
-"Nay, madame, show a little indulgence, I entreat you."
-
-"Well, then, do you really consent to replace M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Certainly, I do, if the king dismisses M. Fouquet."
-
-"Again, a word too much; it is quite evident that, if you have not yet
-succeeded in driving M. Fouquet from his post, it is because you have not
-been able to do so.  Therefore, I should be the greatest simpleton
-possible if, in coming to you, I did not bring the very thing you
-require."
-
-"I am distressed to be obliged to persist, madame," said Colbert, after a
-silence which enabled the duchesse to sound the depths of his
-dissimulation, "but I must warn you that, for the last six years,
-denunciation after denunciation has been made against M. Fouquet, and he
-has remained unshaken and unaffected by them."
-
-"There is a time for everything, Monsieur Colbert; those who were the
-authors of those denunciations were not called Madame de Chevreuse, and
-they had no proofs equal to the six letters from M. de Mazarin which
-establish the offense in question."
-
-"The offense!"
-
-"The crime, if you like it better."
-
-"The crime! committed by M. Fouquet!"
-
-"Nothing less.  It is rather strange, M. Colbert, but your face, which
-just now was cold and indifferent, is now positively the very reverse."
-
-"A crime!"
-
-"I am delighted to see that it makes an impression upon you."
-
-"It is because that word, madame, embraces so many things."
-
-"It embraces the post of superintendent of finance for yourself, and a
-letter of exile, or the Bastile, for M. Fouquet."
-
-"Forgive me, madame la duchesse, but it is almost impossible that M.
-Fouquet can be exiled; to be imprisoned or disgraced, that is already a
-great deal."
-
-"Oh, I am perfectly aware of what I am saying," returned Madame de
-Chevreuse, coldly.  "I do not live at such a distance from Paris as not
-to know what takes place there.  The king does not like M. Fouquet, and
-he would willingly sacrifice M. Fouquet if an opportunity were only given
-him."
-
-"It must be a good one, though."
-
-"Good enough, and one I estimate to be worth five hundred thousand
-francs."
-
-"In what way?" said Colbert.
-
-"I mean, monsieur, that holding this opportunity in my own hands, I will
-not allow it to be transferred to yours except for a sum of five hundred
-thousand francs."
-
-"I understand you perfectly, madame.  But since you have fixed a price
-for the sale, let me now see the value of the articles to be sold."
-
-"Oh, a mere trifle; six letters, as I have already told you, from M. de
-Mazarin; and the autographs will most assuredly not be regarded as too
-highly priced, if they establish, in an irrefutable manner, that M.
-Fouquet has embezzled large sums of money from the treasury and
-appropriated them to his own purposes."
-
-"In an irrefutable manner, do you say?" observed Colbert, whose eyes
-sparkled with delight.
-
-"Perfectly so; would you like to read the letters?"
-
-"With all my heart!  Copies, of course?"
-
-"Of course, the copies," said the duchesse, as she drew from her bosom a
-small packet of papers flattened by her velvet bodice.  "Read," she said.
-
-Colbert eagerly snatched the papers and devoured them.  "Excellent!" he
-said.
-
-"It is clear enough, is it not?"
-
-"Yes, madame, yes; M. Mazarin must have handed the money to M. Fouquet,
-who must have kept it for his own purposes; but the question is, what
-money?"
-
-"Exactly, - what money; if we come to terms I will join to these six
-letters a seventh, which will supply you with the fullest particulars."
-
-Colbert reflected.  "And the originals of these letters?"
-
-"A useless question to ask; exactly as if I were to ask you, Monsieur
-Colbert, whether the money-bags you will give me will be full or empty."
-
-"Very good, madame."
-
-"Is it concluded?"
-
-"No; for there is one circumstance to which neither of us has given any
-attention."
-
-"Name it!"
-
-"M. Fouquet can be utterly ruined, under the legal circumstances you have
-detailed, only by means of legal proceedings."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"A public scandal, for instance; and yet neither the legal proceedings
-nor the scandal can be commenced against him."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Because he is procureur-general of the parliament; because, too, in
-France, all public administrators, the army, justice itself, and
-commerce, are intimately connected by ties of good-fellowship, which
-people call _espirit de corps_.  In such a case, madame, the parliament
-will never permit its chief to be dragged before a public tribunal; and
-never, even if he be dragged there by royal authority, never, I say, will
-he be condemned."
-
-"Well, Monsieur Colbert, I do not see what I have to do with that."
-
-"I am aware of that, madame; but I have to do with it, and it
-consequently diminishes the value of what you have brought to show me.
-What good can a proof of a crime be to me, without the possibility of
-obtaining a condemnation?"
-
-"Even if he be only suspected, M. Fouquet will lose his post of
-superintendent."
-
-"Is that all?" exclaimed Colbert, whose dark, gloomy features were
-momentarily lighted up by an expression of hate and vengeance."
-
-"Ah! ah!  Monsieur Colbert," said the duchesse, "forgive me, but I did
-not think you were so impressionable.  Very good; in that case, since you
-need more than I have to give you, there is no occasion to speak of the
-matter at all."
-
-"Yes, madame, we will go on talking of it; only, as the value of your
-commodities had decreased, you must lower your pretensions."
-
-"You are bargaining, then?"
-
-"Every man who wishes to deal loyally is obliged to do so."
-
-"How much will you offer me?"
-
-"Two hundred thousand francs," said Colbert.
-
-The duchesse laughed in his face, and then said, suddenly, "Wait a
-moment, I have another arrangement to propose; will you give me three
-hundred thousand francs?"
-
-"No, no."
-
-"Oh, you can either accept or refuse my terms; besides, that is not all."
-
-"More still! you are becoming too impracticable to deal with, madame."
-
-"Less so than you think, perhaps, for it is not money I am going to ask
-you for."
-
-"What is it, then?"
-
-"A service; you know that I have always been most affectionately attached
-to the queen, and I am desirous of having an interview with her majesty."
-
-"With the queen?"
-
-"Yes, Monsieur Colbert, with the queen, who is, I admit, no longer my
-friend, and who has ceased to be so for a long time past, but who may
-again become so if the opportunity be only given her."
-
-"Her majesty has ceased to receive any one, madame.  She is a great
-sufferer, and you may be aware that the paroxysms of her disease occur
-with greater frequency than ever."
-
-"That is the very reason why I wish to have an interview with her
-majesty; for in Flanders there is a great variety of these kinds of
-complaints."
-
-"What, cancers - a fearful, incurable disorder?"
-
-"Do not believe that, Monsieur Colbert.  The Flemish peasant is somewhat
-a man of nature, and his companion for life is not alone a wife, but a
-female laborer also; for while he is smoking his pipe, the woman works:
-it is she who draws the water from the well; she who loads the mule or
-the ass, and even bears herself a portion of the burden.  Taking but
-little care of herself, she gets knocked about first in one direction,
-and then in another, and very often is beaten by her husband, and cancers
-frequently rise from contusions."
-
-"True, true," said Colbert.
-
-"The Flemish women do not die the sooner on that account.  When they are
-great sufferers from this disease they go in search of remedies, and the
-Beguines of Bruges are excellent doctors for every kind of disease.  They
-have precious waters of one sort or another; specifics of various kinds;
-and they give a bottle of it and a wax candle to the sufferer, whereby
-the priests are gainers, and Heaven is served by the disposal of both
-their wares.  I will take the queen some of this holy water, which I will
-procure from the Beguines of Bruges; her majesty will recover, and will
-burn as many wax candles as she may see fit.  You see, Monsieur Colbert,
-to prevent my seeing the queen is almost as bad as committing the crime
-of regicide."
-
-"You are undoubtedly, madame la duchesse, a woman of exceedingly great
-abilities, and I am more than astounded at their display; still I cannot
-but suppose that this charitable consideration towards the queen in some
-measure covers a slight personal interest for yourself."
-
-"I have not given myself the trouble to conceal it, that I am aware of,
-Monsieur Colbert.  You said, I believe, that I had a slight personal
-interest?  On the contrary, it is a very great interest, and I will prove
-it to you, by resuming what I was saying.  If you procure me a personal
-interview with her majesty, I will be satisfied with the three hundred
-thousand francs I have claimed; if not, I shall keep my letters, unless,
-indeed, you give me, on the spot, five hundred thousand francs."
-
-And rising from her seat with this decisive remark, the old duchesse
-plunged M. Colbert into a disagreeable perplexity.  To bargain any
-further was out of the question; and not to bargain was to pay a great
-deal too dearly for them.  "Madame," he said, "I shall have the pleasure
-of handing over a hundred thousand crowns; but how shall I get the actual
-letters themselves?"
-
-"In the simplest manner in the world, my dear Monsieur Colbert - whom
-will you trust?"
-
-The financier began to laugh, silently, so that his large eyebrows went
-up and down like the wings of a bat, upon the deep lines of his yellow
-forehead.  "No one," he said.
-
-"You surely will make an exception in your own favor, Monsieur Colbert?"
-
-"In what way, madame?"
-
-"I mean that, if you would take the trouble to accompany me to the place
-where the letters are, they would be delivered into your own hands, and
-you would be able to verify and check them."
-
-"Quite true."
-
-"You would bring the hundred thousand crowns with you at the same time,
-for I, too, do not trust any one."
-
-Colbert colored to the tips of his ears.  Like all eminent men in the art
-of figures, he was of an insolent and mathematical probity.  "I will take
-with me, madame," he said, "two orders for the amount agreed upon,
-payable at my treasury.  Will that satisfy you?"
-
-"Would that the orders on your treasury were for two millions, monsieur
-l'intendant!  I shall have the pleasure of showing you the way, then?"
-
-"Allow me to order my carriage?"
-
-"I have a carriage below, monsieur."
-
-Colbert coughed like an irresolute man.  He imagined, for a moment, that
-the proposition of the duchesse was a snare; that perhaps some one was
-waiting at the door; and that she whose secret had just been sold to
-Colbert for a hundred thousand crowns, had already offered it to Fouquet
-for the same sum.  As he still hesitated, the duchesse looked at him full
-in the face.
-
-"You prefer your own carriage?" she said.
-
-"I admit I _do_."
-
-"You suppose I am going to lead you into a snare or trap of some sort or
-other?"
-
-"Madame la duchesse, you have the character of being somewhat
-inconsiderate at times, as I am reputed a sober, solemn character, a jest
-or practical joke might compromise me."
-
-"Yes; the fact is, you are afraid.  Well, then, take your own carriage,
-as many servants as you like, only think well of what I am going to say.
-What we two may arrange between ourselves, we are the only persons who
-will know - if a third person is present we might as well tell the whole
-world about it.  After all, I do not make a point of it; my carriage
-shall follow yours, and I shall be satisfied to accompany you in your own
-carriage to the queen."
-
-"To the queen?"
-
-"Have you forgotten that already?  Is it possible that one of the clauses
-of the agreement of so much importance to me, can have escaped you so
-soon?  How trifling it seems to you, indeed; if I had known it I should
-have asked double what I have done."
-
-"I have reflected, madame, and I shall not accompany you."
-
-"Really - and why not?"
-
-"Because I have the most perfect confidence in you."
-
-"You overpower me.  But - provided I receive the hundred thousand crowns?"
-
-"Here they are, madame," said Colbert, scribbling a few lines on a piece
-of paper, which he handed to the duchesse, adding, "You are paid."
-
-"The trait is a fine one, Monsieur Colbert, and I will reward you for
-it," she said, beginning to laugh.
-
-Madame de Chevreuse's laugh was a very sinister sound; a man with youth,
-faith, love, life itself, throbbing in his heart, would prefer a sob to
-such a lamentable laugh.  The duchesse opened the front of her dress and
-drew forth from her bosom, somewhat less white than it once had been, a
-small packet of papers, tied with a flame-colored ribbon, and, still
-laughing, she said, "There, Monsieur Colbert, are the originals of
-Cardinal Mazarin's letters; they are now your own property," she added,
-refastening the body of her dress; "your fortune is secured.  And now
-accompany me to the queen."
-
-"No, madame; if you are again about to run the chance of her majesty's
-displeasure, and it were known at the Palais Royal that I had been the
-means of introducing you there, the queen would never forgive me while
-she lived.  No; there are certain persons at the palace who are devoted
-to me, who will procure you an admission without my being compromised."
-
-"Just as you please, provided I enter."
-
-"What do you term those religions women at Bruges who cure disorders?"
-
-"Beguines."
-
-"Good; are you one?"
-
-"As you please, - but I must soon cease to be one."
-
-"That is your affair."
-
-"Excuse me, but I do not wish to be exposed to a refusal."
-
-"That is again your own affair, madame.  I am going to give directions to
-the head valet of the gentleman in waiting on the queen to allow
-admission to a Beguine, who brings an effectual remedy for her majesty's
-sufferings.  You are the bearer of my letter, you will undertake to be
-provided with the remedy, and will give every explanation on the
-subject.  I admit a knowledge of a Beguine, but I deny all knowledge of
-Madame de Chevreuse.  Here, madame, then, is your letter of introduction."
-
-
-Chapter XLII:
-The Skin of the Bear.
-
-Colbert handed the duchesse the letter, and gently drew aside the chair
-behind which she was standing; Madame de Chevreuse, with a very slight
-bow, immediately left the room.  Colbert, who had recognized Mazarin's
-handwriting, and had counted the letters, rang to summon his secretary,
-whom he enjoined to go in immediate search of M. Vanel, a counselor of
-the parliament.  The secretary replied that, according to his usual
-practice, M. Vanel had just that moment entered the house, in order to
-give the intendant an account of the principal details of the business
-which had been transacted during the day in parliament.  Colbert
-approached one of the lamps, read the letters of the deceased cardinal
-over again, smiled repeatedly as he recognized the great value of the
-papers Madame de Chevreuse had just delivered - and burying his head in
-his hands for a few minutes, reflected profoundly.  In the meantime, a
-tall, loosely-made man entered the room; his spare, thin face, steady
-look, and hooked nose, as he entered Colbert's cabinet, with a modest
-assurance of manner, revealed a character at once supple and decided, -
-supple towards the master who could throw him the prey, firm towards the
-dogs who might possibly be disposed to dispute its possession.  M. Vanel
-carried a voluminous bundle of papers under his arm, and placed it on the
-desk on which Colbert was leaning both his elbows, as he supported his
-head.
-
-"Good day, M. Vanel," said the latter, rousing himself from his
-meditation.
-
-"Good day, monseigneur," said Vanel, naturally.
-
-"You should say monsieur, and not monseigneur," replied Colbert, gently.
-
-"We give the title of monseigneur to ministers," returned Vanel, with
-extreme self-possession, "and you are a minister."
-
-"Not yet."
-
-"You are so in point of fact, and I call you monseigneur accordingly;
-besides you are seigneur for _me_, and that is sufficient; if you dislike
-my calling you monseigneur before others, allow me, at least, to call you
-so in private."
-
-Colbert raised his head as if to read, or try to read, upon Vanel's face
-how much or how little sincerity entered into this protestation of
-devotion.  But the counselor knew perfectly well how to sustain the
-weight of such a look, even backed with the full authority of the title
-he had conferred.  Colbert sighed; he could not read anything in Vanel's
-face, and Vanel might possibly be honest in his professions, but Colbert
-recollected that this man, inferior to himself in every other respect,
-was actually his master in virtue of the fact of his having a wife.  As
-he was pitying this man's lot, Vanel coldly drew from his pocket a
-perfumed letter, sealed with Spanish wax, and held it towards Colbert,
-saying, "A letter from my wife, monseigneur."
-
-Colbert coughed, took, opened and read the letter, and then put it
-carefully away in his pocket, while Vanel turned over the leaves of the
-papers he had brought with him with an unmoved and unconcerned air.
-"Vanel," he said suddenly to his _protege_, "you are a hard-working man,
-I know; would twelve hours' daily labor frighten you?"
-
-"I work fifteen hours every day."
-
-"Impossible.  A counselor need not work more than three hours a day in
-parliament."
-
-"Oh!  I am working up some returns for a friend of mine in the department
-of accounts, and, as I still have spare time on my hands, I am studying
-Hebrew."
-
-"Your reputation stands high in the parliament, Vanel."
-
-"I believe so, monseigneur."
-
-"You must not grow rusty in your post of counselor."
-
-"What must I do to avoid it?"
-
-"Purchase a high place.  Mean and low ambitions are very difficult to
-satisfy."
-
-"Small purses are the most difficult ones to fill, monseigneur."
-
-"What post have you in view?" said Colbert.
-
-"I see none - not one."
-
-"There is one, certainly, but one need be almost the king himself to be
-able to buy it without inconvenience; and the king will not be inclined,
-I suppose, to purchase the post of procureur-general."
-
-At these words, Vanel fixed his peculiar, humble, dull look upon Colbert,
-who could hardly tell whether Vanel comprehended him or not.  "Why do you
-speak to me, monseigneur," said Vanel, "of the post of procureur-general
-to the parliament; I know no other post than the one M. Fouquet fills."
-
-"Exactly so, my dear counselor."
-
-"You are not over fastidious, monseigneur; but before the post can be
-bought, it must be offered for sale."
-
-"I believe, Monsieur Vanel, that it will be for sale before long."
-
-"For sale!  What!  M. Fouquet's post of procureur-general?"
-
-"So it is _said_."
-
-"The post which renders him so perfectly invincible, for sale!  Ha, ha!"
-said Vanel, beginning to laugh.
-
-"Would you be afraid, then, of the post?" said Colbert, gravely.
-
-"Afraid! no; but - "
-
-"Are you desirous of obtaining it?"
-
-"You are laughing at me, monseigneur," replied Vanel.  "Is it likely that
-a counselor of the parliament would not be desirous of becoming procureur-
-general?"
-
-"Well, Monsieur Vanel, since I tell you that the post, as report goes,
-will be shortly for sale - "
-
-"I cannot help repeating, monseigneur, that it is impossible; a man never
-throws away the buckler, behind which he maintains his honor, his
-fortune, his very life."
-
-"There are certain men mad enough, Vanel, to fancy themselves out of the
-reach of all mischances."
-
-"Yes, monseigneur; but such men never commit their mad acts for the
-advantage of the poor Vanels of the world."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"For the very reason that those Vanels are poor."
-
-"It is true that M. Fouquet's post might cost a good round sum.  What
-would you bid for it, Monsieur Vanel?"
-
-"Everything I am worth."
-
-"Which means?"
-
-"Three or four hundred thousand francs."
-
-"And the post is worth - "
-
-"A million and a half, at the very lowest.  I know persons who have
-offered one million seven hundred thousand francs, without being able to
-persuade M. Fouquet to sell.  Besides, supposing it were to happen that
-M. Fouquet wished to sell, which I do not believe, in spite of what I
-have been told - "
-
-"Ah! you have heard something about it, then; who told you?"
-
-"M. de Gourville, M. Pelisson, and others."
-
-"Very good; if, therefore, M. Fouquet did wish to sell - "
-
-"I could not buy it just yet, since the superintendent will only sell for
-ready money, and no one has a million and a half to put down at once."
-
-Colbert suddenly interrupted the counselor by an imperious gesture; he
-had begun to meditate.  Observing his superior's serious attitude, and
-his perseverance in continuing the conversation on this subject, Vanel
-awaited the solution without venturing to precipitate it.
-
-"Explain to me the privileges which this post confers."
-
-"The right of impeaching every French subject who is not a prince of the
-blood; the right of quashing all proceedings taken against any Frenchman,
-who is neither king nor prince.  The procureur-general is the king's
-right hand to punish the guilty; the office is the means whereby also he
-can evade the administration of justice.  M. Fouquet, therefore, would be
-able, by stirring up parliament, to maintain himself even against the
-king; and the king could as easily, by humoring M. Fouquet, get his
-edicts registered in spite of every opposition and objection.  The
-procureur-general can be made a very useful or a very dangerous
-instrument."
-
-"Vanel, would you like to be procureur-general?" said Colbert, suddenly,
-softening both his look and his voice."
-
-"I!" exclaimed the latter; "I have already had the honor to represent to
-you that I want about eleven hundred thousand francs to make up the
-amount."
-
-"Borrow that sum from your friends."
-
-"I have no friends richer than myself."
-
-"You are an honest and honorable man, Vanel."
-
-"Ah! monseigneur, if the world would only think as you do!"
-
-"I think so, and that is quite enough; and if it should be needed, I will
-be your security."
-
-"Do not forget the proverb, monseigneur."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"That he who becomes responsible for another has to pay for his fancy."
-
-"Let that make no difference."
-
-Vanel rose, bewildered by this offer which had been so suddenly and
-unexpectedly made to him.  "You are not trifling with me, monseigneur?"
-he said.
-
-"Stay; you say that M. Gourville has spoken to you about M. Fouquet's
-post?"
-
-"Yes; and M. Pelisson, also."
-
-"Officially so, or only through their own suggestion?"
-
-"These were their very words: 'The parliament members are as proud as
-they are wealthy; they ought to club together two or three millions among
-themselves, to present to their protector and leader, M. Fouquet.'"
-
-"And what did you reply?"
-
-"I said that, for my own part, I would give ten thousand francs if
-necessary."
-
-"Ah! you like M. Fouquet, then!" exclaimed Colbert, with a look of hatred.
-
-"No; but M. Fouquet is our chief.  He is in debt - is on the high road to
-ruin; and we ought to save the honor of the body of which we are members."
-
-"Exactly; and that explains why M. Fouquet will be always safe and sound,
-so long as he occupies his present post," replied Colbert.
-
-"Thereupon," said Vanel, "M. Gourville added, 'If we were to do anything
-out of charity to M. Fouquet, it could not be otherwise than most
-humiliating to him; and he would be sure to refuse it.  Let the
-parliament subscribe among themselves to purchase, in a proper manner,
-the post of procureur-general; in that case, all would go well; the honor
-of our body would be saved, and M. Fouquet's pride spared.'"
-
-"That is an opening."
-
-"I considered it so, monseigneur."
-
-"Well, Monsieur Vanel, you will go at once, and find out either M.
-Gourville or M. Pelisson.  Do you know any other friend of M. Fouquet?"
-
-"I know M. de la Fontaine very well."
-
-"La Fontaine, the rhymester?"
-
-"Yes; he used to write verses to my wife, when M. Fouquet was one of our
-friends."
-
-"Go to him, then, and try and procure an interview with the
-superintendent."
-
-"Willingly - but the sum itself?"
-
-"On the day and hour you arrange to settle the matter, Monsieur Vanel,
-you shall be supplied with the money, so do not make yourself uneasy on
-_that_ account."
-
-"Monseigneur, such munificence!  You eclipse kings even - you surpass M.
-Fouquet himself."
-
-"Stay a moment - do not let us mistake each other: I do not make you a
-present of fourteen hundred thousand francs, Monsieur Vanel; for I have
-children to provide for - but I will _lend_ you that sum."
-
-"Ask whatever interest, whatever security you please, monseigneur; I am
-quite ready.  And when all your requisitions are satisfied, I will still
-repeat, that you surpass kings and M. Fouquet in munificence.  What
-conditions do you impose?"
-
-"The repayment in eight years, and a mortgage upon the appointment
-itself."
-
-"Certainly.  Is that all?"
-
-"Wait a moment.  I reserve to myself the right of purchasing the post
-from you at one hundred and fifty thousand francs profit for yourself,
-if, in your mode of filling the office, you do not follow out a line of
-conduct in conformity with the interests of the king and with my
-projects."
-
-"Ah-h!" said Vanel, in an altered tone.
-
-"Is there anything in that which can possibly be objectionable to you,
-Monsieur Vanel?" said Colbert, coldly.
-
-"Oh! no, no," replied Vanel, nervously.
-
-"Very good.  We will sign an agreement to that effect whenever you like.
-And now go as quickly as you can to M. Fouquet's friend, obtain an
-interview with the superintendent; do not be too difficult in making
-whatever concessions may be required of you; and when once the
-arrangements are all made - "
-
-"I will press him to sign."
-
-"Be most careful to do nothing of the kind; do not speak of signatures
-with M. Fouquet, nor of deeds, nor even ask him to pass his word.
-Understand this: otherwise you will lose everything.  All you have to do
-is to get M. Fouquet to give you his hand on the matter.  Go, go."
-
-
-Chapter XLIII:
-An Interview with the Queen-Mother.
-
-The queen-mother was in the bedroom at the Palais Royal, with Madame de
-Motteville and Senora Molina.  King Louis, who had been impatiently
-expected the whole day, had not made his appearance; and the queen, who
-was growing impatient, had often sent to inquire about him.  The moral
-atmosphere of the court seemed to indicate an approaching storm; the
-courtiers and the ladies of the court avoided meeting in the ante-
-chambers and the corridors in order not to converse on compromising
-subjects.  Monsieur had joined the king early in the morning for a
-hunting-party; Madame remained in her own apartment, cool and distant to
-every one; and the queen-mother, after she had said her prayers in Latin,
-talked of domestic matters with her two friends in pure Castilian.
-Madame de Motteville, who understood the language perfectly, answered her
-in French.  When the three ladies had exhausted every form of
-dissimulation and of politeness, as a circuitous mode of expressing that
-the king's conduct was making the queen and the queen-mother pine away
-through sheer grief and vexation, and when, in the most guarded and
-polished phrases, they had fulminated every variety of imprecation
-against Mademoiselle de la Valliere, the queen-mother terminated her
-attack by an exclamation indicative of her own reflections and
-character.  "_Estos hijos!_" said she to Molina - which means, "These
-children!" words full of meaning on a mother's lips - words full of
-terrible significance in the mouth of a queen who, like Anne of Austria,
-hid many curious secrets in her soul.
-
-"Yes," said Molina, "children, children! for whom every mother becomes a
-sacrifice."
-
-"Yes," replied the queen; "a mother sacrifices everything, certainly."
-She did not finish her phrase; for she fancied, when she raised her eyes
-towards the full-length portrait of the pale Louis XIII., that light once
-more flashed from her husband's dull eyes, and his nostrils grew livid
-with wrath.  The portrait seemed animated by a living expression - speak
-it did not, but it seemed to threaten.  A profound silence succeeded the
-queen's last remark.  La Molina began to turn over ribbons and laces on a
-large work-table.  Madame de Motteville, surprised at the look of mutual
-intelligence which had been exchanged between the confidant and her
-mistress, cast down her eyes like a discreet woman, and pretending to be
-observant of nothing that was passing, listened with the utmost attention
-to every word.  She heard nothing, however, but a very insignificant
-"hum" on the part of the Spanish duenna, who was the incarnation of
-caution - and a profound sigh on that of the queen.  She looked up
-immediately.
-
-"You are suffering?" she said.
-
-"No, Motteville, no; why do you say that?"
-
-"Your majesty almost groaned just now."
-
-"You are right; I did sigh, in truth."
-
-"Monsieur Valot is not far off; I believe he is in Madame's apartment."
-
-"Why is he with Madame?"
-
-"Madame is troubled with nervous attacks."
-
-"A very fine disorder, indeed!  There is little good in M. Valot being
-there, when a very different physician would quickly cure Madame."
-
-Madame de Motteville looked up with an air of great surprise, as she
-replied, "Another doctor instead of M. Valot? - whom do you mean?"
-
-"Occupation, Motteville, occupation.  If any one is really ill, it is my
-poor daughter."
-
-"And your majesty, too."
-
-"Less so this evening, though."
-
-"Do not believe that too confidently, madame," said De Motteville.  And,
-as if to justify her caution, a sharp, acute pain seized the queen, who
-turned deadly pale, and threw herself back in the chair, with every
-symptom of a sudden fainting fit.  Molina ran to a richly gilded tortoise-
-shell cabinet, from which she took a large rock-crystal bottle of scented
-salts, and held it to the queen's nostrils, who inhaled it wildly for a
-few minutes, and murmured:
-
-"It is hastening my death - but Heaven's will be done!"
-
-"Your majesty's death is not so near at hand," added Molina, replacing
-the smelling-bottle in the cabinet.
-
-"Does your majesty feel better now?" inquired Madame de Motteville.
-
-"Much better," returned the queen, placing her finger on her lips, to
-impose silence on her favorite.
-
-"It is very strange," remarked Madame de Motteville, after a pause.
-
-"What is strange?" said the queen.
-
-"Does your majesty remember the day when this pain attacked you for the
-first time?"
-
-"I remember only that it was a grievously sad day for me, Motteville."
-
-"But your majesty did not always regard that day as a sad one."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because three and twenty years ago, on that very day, his present
-majesty, your own glorious son, was born at the very same hour."
-
-The queen uttered a loud cry, buried her face in her hands, and seemed
-utterly prostrated for some minutes; but whether from recollections which
-arose in her mind, or from reflection, or even with sheer pain, was
-doubtful.  La Molina darted a look at Madame de Motteville, so full of
-bitter reproach, that the poor woman, perfectly ignorant of its meaning,
-was in her own exculpation on the point of asking an explanation, when,
-suddenly, Anne of Austria arose and said, "Yes, the 5th of September; my
-sorrow began on the 5th of September.  The greatest joy, one day; the
-deepest sorrow the next; - the sorrow," she added, "the bitter expiation
-of a too excessive joy."
-
-And, from that moment, Anne of Austria, whose memory and reason seemed to
-be suspended for the time, remained impenetrable, with vacant look, mind
-almost wandering, and hands hanging heavily down, as if life had almost
-departed.
-
-"We must put her to bed," said La Molina.
-
-"Presently, Molina."
-
-"Let us leave the queen alone," added the Spanish attendant.
-
-Madame de Motteville rose; large tears were rolling down the queen's
-pallid face; and Molina, having observed this sign of weakness, fixed her
-black vigilant eyes upon her.
-
-"Yes, yes," replied the queen.  "Leave us, Motteville; go."
-
-The word "us" produced a disagreeable effect upon the ears of the French
-favorite; for it signified that an interchange of secrets, or of
-revelations of the past, was about to be made, and that one person was
-_de trop_ in the conversation which seemed likely to take place.
-
-"Will Molina, alone, be sufficient for your majesty to-night?" inquired
-the French woman.
-
-"Yes," replied the queen.  Madame de Motteville bowed in submission, and
-was about to withdraw, when suddenly an old female attendant, dressed as
-if she had belonged to the Spanish court of the year 1620, opened the
-door, and surprised the queen in her tears.  "The remedy!" she cried,
-delightedly, to the queen, as she unceremoniously approached the group.
-
-"What remedy?" said Anne of Austria.
-
-"For your majesty's sufferings," the former replied.
-
-"Who brings it?" asked Madame de Motteville, eagerly; "Monsieur Valot?"
-
-"No; a lady from Flanders."
-
-"From Flanders?  Is she Spanish?" inquired the queen.
-
-"I don't know."
-
-"Who sent her?"
-
-"M. Colbert."
-
-"Her name?"
-
-"She did not mention it."
-
-"Her position in life?"
-
-"She will answer that herself."
-
-"Who is she?"
-
-"She is masked."
-
-"Go, Molina; go and see!" cried the queen.
-
-"It is needless," suddenly replied a voice, at once firm and gentle in
-its tone, which proceeded from the other side of the tapestry hangings; a
-voice which made the attendants start, and the queen tremble
-excessively.  At the same moment, a masked female appeared through the
-hangings, and, before the queen could speak a syllable she added, "I am
-connected with the order of the Beguines of Bruges, and do, indeed, bring
-with me the remedy which is certain to effect a cure of your majesty's
-complaint."  No one uttered a sound, and the Beguine did not move a step.
-
-"Speak," said the queen.
-
-"I will, when we are alone," was the answer.
-
-Anne of Austria looked at her attendants, who immediately withdrew.  The
-Beguine, thereupon, advanced a few steps towards the queen, and bowed
-reverently before her.  The queen gazed with increasing mistrust at this
-woman, who, in her turn, fixed a pair of brilliant eyes upon her, through
-her mask.
-
-"The queen of France must, indeed, be very ill," said Anne of Austria,
-"if it is known at the Beguinage of Bruges that she stands in need of
-being cured."
-
-"Your majesty is not irremediably ill."
-
-"But tell me how you happen to know I am suffering?"
-
-"Your majesty has friends in Flanders."
-
-"Since these friends, then, sent you, mention their names."
-
-"Impossible, madame, since your majesty's memory has not been awakened by
-your heart."
-
-Anne of Austria looked up, endeavoring to discover through the mysterious
-mask, and this ambiguous language, the name of her companion, who
-expressed herself with such familiarity and freedom; then, suddenly,
-wearied by a curiosity which wounded every feeling of pride in her
-nature, she said, "You are ignorant, perhaps, that royal personages are
-never spoken to with the face masked."
-
-"Deign to excuse me, madame," replied the Beguine, humbly.
-
-"I cannot excuse you.  I may, possibly, forgive you, if you throw your
-mask aside."
-
-"I have made a vow, madame, to attend and aid all afflicted and suffering
-persons, without ever permitting them to behold my face.  I might have
-been able to administer some relief to your body and to your mind, too;
-but since your majesty forbids me, I will take my leave.  Adieu, madame,
-adieu!"
-
-These words were uttered with a harmony of tone and respect of manner
-that disarmed the queen of all anger and suspicion, but did not remove
-her feeling of curiosity.  "You are right, "she said; "it ill-becomes
-those who are suffering to reject the means of relief Heaven sends them.
-Speak, then; and may you, indeed, be able, as you assert, to administer
-relief to my body - "
-
-"Let us first speak a little of the mind, if you please," said the
-Beguine - "of the mind, which, I am sure, must also suffer."
-
-"My mind?"
-
-"There are cancers so insidious in their nature that their very
-pulsations cannot be felt.  Such cancers, madame, leave the ivory
-whiteness of the skin unblemished, and putrefy not the firm, fair flesh,
-with their blue tints; the physician who bends over the patient's chest
-hears not, though he listens, the insatiable teeth of the disease
-grinding onward through the muscles, and the blood flows freely on; the
-knife has never been able to destroy, and rarely, even temporarily, to
-disarm the rage of these mortal scourges, - their home is in the mind,
-which they corrupt, - they gnaw the whole heart until it breaks.  Such,
-madame, are the cancers fatal to queens; are you, too, free from their
-scourge?"
-
-Anne slowly raised her arm, dazzling in its perfect whiteness, and pure
-in its rounded outlines as it was in the time of her earlier days.
-
-"The evils to which you allude," she said, "are the condition of the
-lives of the high in rank upon earth, to whom Heaven has imparted mind.
-When those evils become too heavy to be borne, Heaven lightens their
-burdens by penitence and confession.  Thus, only, we lay down our burden
-and the secrets that oppress us.  But, forget not that the same gracious
-Heaven, in its mercy, apportions to their trials the strength of the
-feeble creatures of its hand; and my strength has enabled me to bear my
-burden.  For the secrets of others, the silence of Heaven is more than
-sufficient; for my own secrets, that of my confessor is enough."
-
-"You are as courageous, madame, I see, as ever, against your enemies.
-You do not acknowledge your confidence in your friends?"
-
-"Queens have no friends; if you have nothing further to say to me, - if
-you feel yourself inspired by Heaven as a prophetess - leave me, I pray,
-for I dread the future."
-
-"I should have supposed," said the Beguine, resolutely, "that you would
-rather have dreaded the past."
-
-Hardly had these words escaped her lips, than the queen rose up proudly.
-"Speak," she cried, in a short, imperious tone of voice; "explain
-yourself briefly, quickly, entirely; or, if not - "
-
-"Nay, do not threaten me, your majesty," said the Beguine, gently; "I
-came here to you full of compassion and respect.  I came here on the part
-of a friend."
-
-"Prove that to me!  Comfort, instead of irritating me."
-
-"Easily enough, and your majesty will see who is friendly to you.  What
-misfortune has happened to your majesty during these three and twenty
-years past - "
-
-"Serious misfortunes, indeed; have I not lost the king?"
-
-"I speak not of misfortunes of _that_ kind.  I wish to ask you, if, since
-the birth of the king, any indiscretion on a friend's part has caused
-your majesty the slightest serious anxiety, or distress?"
-
-"I do not understand you," replied the queen, clenching her teeth in
-order to conceal her emotion.
-
-"I will make myself understood, then.  Your majesty remembers that the
-king was born on the 5th of September, 1638, at a quarter past eleven
-o'clock."
-
-"Yes," stammered out the queen.
-
-"At half-past twelve," continued the Beguine, "the dauphin, who had been
-baptized by Monseigneur de Meaux in the king's and your own presence, was
-acknowledged as the heir of the crown of France.  The king then went to
-the chapel of the old Chateau de Saint-Germain, to hear the _Te Deum_
-chanted."
-
-"Quite true, quite true," murmured the queen.
-
-"Your majesty's conferment took place in the presence of Monsieur, his
-majesty's late uncle, of the princes, and of the ladies attached to the
-court.  The king's physician, Bouvard, and Honore, the surgeon, were
-stationed in the ante-chamber; your majesty slept from three o'clock
-until seven, I believe."
-
-"Yes, yes; but you tell me no more than every one else knows as well as
-you and myself."
-
-"I am now, madame, approaching that which very few persons are acquainted
-with.  Very few persons, did I say, alas!  I might say two only, for
-formerly there were but five in all, and, for many years past, the secret
-has been well preserved by the deaths of the principal participators in
-it.  The late king sleeps now with his ancestors; Peronne, the midwife,
-soon followed him; Laporte is already forgotten."
-
-The queen opened her lips as though to reply; she felt, beneath her icy
-hand, with which she kept her face half concealed, the beads of
-perspiration on her brow.
-
-"It was eight o'clock," pursued the Beguine; "the king was seated at
-supper, full of joy and happiness; around him on all sides arose wild
-cries of delight and drinking of healths; the people cheered beneath the
-balconies; the Swiss guards, the musketeers, and the royal guards
-wandered through the city, borne about in triumph by the drunken
-students.  Those boisterous sounds of general joy disturbed the dauphin,
-the future king of France, who was quietly lying in the arms of Madame de
-Hausac, his nurse, and whose eyes, as he opened them, and stared about,
-might have observed two crowns at the foot of his cradle.  Suddenly your
-majesty uttered a piercing cry, and Dame Peronne immediately flew to your
-beside.  The doctors were dining in a room at some distance from your
-chamber; the palace, deserted from the frequency of the irruptions made
-into it, was without either sentinels or guards.  The midwife, having
-questioned and examined your majesty, gave a sudden exclamation as if in
-wild astonishment, and taking you in her arms, bewildered almost out of
-her senses from sheer distress of mind, dispatched Laporte to inform the
-king that her majesty the queen-mother wished to see him in her room.
-Laporte, you are aware, madame, was a man of the most admirable calmness
-and presence of mind.  He did not approach the king as if he were the
-bearer of alarming intelligence and wished to inspire the terror he
-himself experienced; besides, it was not a very terrifying intelligence
-which awaited the king.  Therefore, Laporte appeared with a smile upon
-his lips, and approached the king's chair, saying to him - 'Sire, the
-queen is very happy, and would be still more so to see your majesty.'  On
-that day, Louis XIII. would have given his crown away to the veriest
-beggar for a 'God bless you.'  Animated, light-hearted, and full of
-gayety, the king rose from the table, and said to those around him, in a
-tone that Henry IV. might have adopted, - 'Gentlemen, I am going to see
-my wife.'  He came to your beside, madame, at the very moment Dame
-Peronne presented to him a second prince, as beautiful and healthy as the
-former, and said - 'Sire, Heaven will not allow the kingdom of France to
-fall into the female line.'  The king, yielding to a first impulse,
-clasped the child in his arms, and cried, 'Oh, Heaven, I thank Thee!'"
-
-At this part of her recital, the Beguine paused, observing how intensely
-the queen was suffering; she had thrown herself back in her chair, and
-with her head bent forward and her eyes fixed, listened without seeming
-to hear, and her lips moving convulsively, either breathing a prayer to
-Heaven or imprecations on the woman standing before her.
-
-"Ah!  I do not believe that, if, because there could be but one dauphin
-in France, "exclaimed the Beguine, "the queen allowed that child to
-vegetate, banished from his royal parents' presence, she was on that
-account an unfeeling mother.  Oh, no, no; there are those alive who have
-known and witnessed the passionate kisses she imprinted on that innocent
-creature in exchange for a life of misery and gloom to which state policy
-condemned the twin brother of Louis XIV."
-
-"Oh!  Heaven!" murmured the queen feebly.
-
-"It is admitted," continued the Beguine, quickly, "that when the king
-perceived the effect which would result from the existence of two sons,
-equal in age and pretensions, he trembled for the welfare of France, for
-the tranquillity of the state; and it is equally well known that Cardinal
-de Richelieu, by the direction of Louis XIII., thought over the subject
-with deep attention, and after an hour's meditation in his majesty's
-cabinet, he pronounced the following sentence: - 'One prince means peace
-and safety for the state; two competitors, civil war and anarchy.'"
-
-The queen rose suddenly from her seat, pale as death, and her hands
-clenched together:
-
-"You know too much," she said, in a hoarse, thick voice, "since you refer
-to secrets of state.  As for the friends from whom you have acquired this
-secret, they are false and treacherous.  You are their accomplice in the
-crime which is being now committed.  Now, throw aside your mask, or I
-will have you arrested by my captain of the guards.  Do not think that
-this secret terrifies me!  You have obtained it, you shall restore it to
-me.  Never shall it leave your bosom, for neither your secret nor your
-own life belong to you from this moment."
-
-Anne of Austria, joining gesture to the threat, advanced a couple of
-steps towards the Beguine.
-
-"Learn," said the latter, "to know and value the fidelity, the honor, and
-secrecy of the friends you have abandoned."  And, then, suddenly she
-threw aside her mask.
-
-"Madame de Chevreuse!" exclaimed the queen.
-
-"With your majesty, the sole living _confidante_ of the secret."
-
-"Ah!" murmured Anne of Austria; "come and embrace me, duchesse.  Alas!
-you kill your friend in thus trifling with her terrible distress."
-
-And the queen, leaning her head upon the shoulder of the old duchesse,
-burst into a flood of bitter tears.  "How young you are - still!" said
-the latter, in a hollow voice; "you can weep!"
-
-
-Chapter XLIV:
-Two Friends.
-
-The queen looked steadily at Madame de Chevreuse, and said: "I believe
-you just now made use of the word 'happy' in speaking of me.  Hitherto,
-duchesse, I had thought it impossible that a human creature could
-anywhere be found more miserable than the queen of France."
-
-"Your afflictions, madame, have indeed been terrible enough.  But by the
-side of those great and grand misfortunes to which we, two old friends,
-separated by men's malice, were just now alluding, you possess sources of
-pleasure, slight enough in themselves it may be, but greatly envied by
-the world."
-
-"What are they?" said Anne of Austria, bitterly.  "What can induce you to
-pronounce the word 'pleasure,' duchesse - you who, just now, admitted
-that my body and my mind both stood in need of remedies?"
-
-Madame de Chevreuse collected herself for a moment, and then murmured,
-"How far removed kings are from other people!"
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"I mean that they are so far removed from the vulgar herd that they
-forget that others often stand in need of the bare necessities of life.
-They are like the inhabitant of the African mountains, who, gazing from
-the verdant tableland, refreshed by the rills of melted snow, cannot
-comprehend that the dwellers in the plains below are perishing from
-hunger and thirst in the midst of the desert, burnt up by the heat of the
-sun."
-
-The queen colored, for she now began to perceive the drift of her
-friend's remark.  "It was very wrong," she said, "to have neglected you."
-
-"Oh! madame, I know the king has inherited the hatred his father bore
-me.  The king would exile me if he knew I were in the Palais Royal."
-
-"I cannot say that the king is very well disposed towards you, duchesse,"
-replied the queen; "but I could - secretly, you know - "
-
-The duchesse's disdainful smile produced a feeling of uneasiness in the
-queen's mind.  "Duchesse," she hastened to add, "you did perfectly right
-to come here, even were it only to give us the happiness of contradicting
-the report of your death."
-
-"Has it been rumored, then, that I was dead?"
-
-"Everywhere."
-
-"And yet my children did not go into mourning."
-
-"Ah! you know, duchesse, the court is very frequently moving about from
-place to place; we see M. Albert de Luynes but seldom, and many things
-escape our minds in the midst of the preoccupations that constantly beset
-us."
-
-"Your majesty ought not to have believed the report of my death."
-
-"Why not?  Alas! we are all mortal; and you may perceive how rapidly I,
-your younger sister, as we used formerly to say, am approaching the tomb."
-
-"If your majesty believed me dead, you ought, in that case, to have been
-astonished not to have received the news."
-
-"Death not unfrequently takes us by surprise, duchesse."
-
-"Oh! your majesty, those who are burdened with secrets such as we have
-just now discussed must, as a necessity of their nature, satisfy their
-craving desire to divulge them, and they feel they must gratify that
-desire before they die.  Among the various preparations for their final
-journey, the task of placing their papers in order is not omitted."
-
-The queen started.
-
-"Your majesty will be sure to learn, in a particular manner, the day of
-my death."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"Because your majesty will receive the next day, under several coverings,
-everything connected with our mysterious correspondence of former times."
-
-"Did you not burn them?" cried Anne, in alarm.
-
-"Traitors only," replied the duchesse, "destroy a royal correspondence."
-
-"Traitors, do you say?"
-
-"Yes, certainly, or rather they pretend to destroy, instead of which they
-keep or sell it.  Faithful friends, on the contrary, most carefully
-secrete such treasures, for it may happen that some day or other they
-would wish to seek out their queen in order to say to her: 'Madame, I am
-getting old; my health is fast failing me; in the presence of the danger
-of death, for there is the risk for your majesty that this secret may be
-revealed, take, therefore, this paper, so fraught with menace for
-yourself, and trust not to another to burn it for you.'"
-
-"What paper do you refer to?"
-
-"As far as I am concerned, I have but one, it is true, but that is indeed
-most dangerous in its nature."
-
-"Oh! duchesse, tell me what it is."
-
-"A letter, dated Tuesday, the 2d of August, 1644, in which you beg me to
-go to Noisy-le-Sec, to see that unhappy child.  In your own handwriting,
-madame, there are those words, 'that unhappy child!'"
-
-A profound silence ensued; the queen's mind was busy in the past; Madame
-de Chevreuse was watching the progress of her scheme.  "Yes, unhappy,
-most unhappy!" murmured Anne of Austria; "how sad the existence he led,
-poor child, to finish it in so cruel a manner."
-
-"Is he dead?" cried the duchesse suddenly, with a curiosity whose genuine
-accents the queen instinctively detected.
-
-"He died of consumption, died forgotten, died withered and blighted like
-the flowers a lover has given to his mistress, which she leaves to die
-secreted in a drawer where she had hid them from the gaze of others."
-
-"Died!" repeated the duchesse with an air of discouragement, which would
-have afforded the queen the most unfeigned delight, had it not been
-tempered in some measure with a mixture of doubt - "Died - at Noisy-le-
-Sec?"
-
-"Yes, in the arms of his tutor, a poor, honest man, who did not long
-survive him."
-
-"That can easily be understood; it is so difficult to bear up under the
-weight of such a loss and such a secret," said Madame de Chevreuse, - the
-irony of which reflection the queen pretended not to perceive.  Madame de
-Chevreuse continued: "Well, madame, I inquired some years ago at Noisy-le-
-Sec about this unhappy child.  I was told that it was not believed he was
-dead, and that was my reason for not having at first condoled with your
-majesty; for, most certainly, if I could have thought it were true, never
-should I have made the slightest allusion to so deplorable an event, and
-thus have re-awakened your majesty's most natural distress."
-
-"You say that it is not believed the child died at Noisy?"
-
-"No, madame."
-
-"What did they say about him, then?"
-
-"They said - but, no doubt, they were mistaken - "
-
-"Nay, speak, speak!"
-
-"They said, that one evening, about the year 1645, a lady, beautiful and
-majestic in her bearing, which was observed notwithstanding the mask and
-the mantle that concealed her figure - a lady of rank, of very high rank,
-no doubt - came in a carriage to the place where the road branches off;
-the very same spot, you know, where I awaited news of the young prince
-when your majesty was graciously pleased to send me there."
-
-"Well, well?"
-
-"That the boy's tutor, or guardian, took the child to this lady."
-
-"Well, what next?"
-
-"That both the child and his tutor left that part of the country the very
-next day."
-
-"There, you see there is some truth in what you relate, since, in point
-of fact, the poor child died from a sudden attack of illness, which makes
-the lives of all children, as doctors say, suspended as it were by a
-thread."
-
-"What your majesty says is quite true; no one knows it better than
-yourself - no one believes it more strongly than myself.  But yet, how
-strange it is - "
-
-"What can it now be?" thought the queen.
-
-"The person who gave me these details, who was sent to inquire after the
-child's health - "
-
-"Did you confide such a charge to any one else?  Oh, duchesse!"
-
-"Some one as dumb as your majesty, as dumb as myself; we will suppose it
-was myself, Madame; this some one, some months after, passing through
-Touraine - "
-
-"Touraine!"
-
-"Recognized both the tutor and the child, too!  I am wrong, thought he
-recognized them, both living, cheerful, happy, and flourishing, the one
-in a green old age, the other in the flower of his youth.  Judge after
-that what truth can be attributed to the rumors which are circulated, or
-what faith, after that, placed in anything that may happen in the world!
-But I am fatiguing your majesty; it was not my intention, however, to do
-so, and I will take my leave of you, after renewing to you the assurance
-of my most respectful devotion."
-
-"Stay, duchesse; let us first talk a little about yourself."
-
-"Of myself, madame!  I am not worthy that you should bend your looks upon
-me."
-
-"Why not, indeed?  Are you not the oldest friend I have?  Are you angry
-with me, duchesse?"
-
-"I, indeed! what motive could I have?  If I had reason to be angry with
-your majesty, should I have come here?"
-
-"Duchesse, age is fast creeping on us both; we should be united against
-that death whose approach cannot be far off."
-
-"You overpower me, madame, with the kindness of your language."
-
-"No one has ever loved or served me as you have done, duchesse."
-
-"Your majesty is too kind in remembering it."
-
-"Not so.  Give me a proof of your friendship, duchesse."
-
-"My whole being is devoted to you, madame."
-
-"The proof I require is, that you should ask something of me."
-
-"Ask - "
-
-"Oh, I know you well, - no one is more disinterested, more noble, and
-truly loyal."
-
-"Do not praise me too highly, madame," said the duchesse, somewhat
-anxiously.
-
-"I could never praise you as much as you deserve to be praised."
-
-"And yet, age and misfortune effect a terrible change in people, madame."
-
-"So much the better; for the beautiful, the haughty, the adored duchesse
-of former days might have answered me ungratefully, 'I do not wish for
-anything from you.'  Heaven be praised!  The misfortunes you speak of
-have indeed worked a change in you, for you will now, perhaps, answer me,
-'I accept.'"
-
-The duchesse's look and smile soon changed at this conclusion, and she no
-longer attempted to act a false part.
-
-"Speak, dearest, what do you want?"
-
-"I must first explain to you - "
-
-"Do so unhesitatingly."
-
-"Well, then, your majesty can confer the greatest, the most ineffable
-pleasure upon me."
-
-"What is it?" said the queen, a little distant in her manner, from an
-uneasiness of feeling produced by this remark.  "But do not forget, my
-good Chevreuse, that I am quite as much under my son's influence as I was
-formerly under my husband's."
-
-"I will not be too hard, madame."
-
-"Call me as you used to do; it will be a sweet echo of our happy youth."
-
-"Well, then, my dear mistress, my darling Anne - "
-
-"Do you know Spanish, still?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Ask me in Spanish, then."
-
-"Will your majesty do me the honor to pass a few days with me at
-Dampierre?"
-
-"Is that all?" said the queen, stupefied.  "Nothing more than that?"
-
-"Good heavens! can you possibly imagine that, in asking you that, I am
-not asking you the greatest conceivable favor?  If that really be the
-case, you do not know me.  Will you accept?"
-
-"Yes, gladly.  And I shall be happy," continued the queen, with some
-suspicion, "if my presence can in any way be useful to you."
-
-"Useful!" exclaimed the duchesse, laughing; "oh, no, no, agreeable –
-delightful, if you like; and you promise me, then?"
-
-"I swear it," said the queen, whereupon the duchesse seized her beautiful
-hand, and covered it with kisses.  The queen could not help murmuring to
-herself, "She is a good-hearted woman, and very generous, too."
-
-"Will your majesty consent to wait a fortnight before you come?"
-
-"Certainly; but why?"
-
-"Because," said the duchesse, "knowing me to be in disgrace, no one would
-lend me the hundred thousand francs, which I require to put Dampierre
-into a state of repair.  But when it is known that I require that sum for
-the purpose of receiving your majesty at Dampierre properly, all the
-money in Paris will be at my disposal."
-
-"Ah!" said the queen, gently nodding her head in sign of intelligence, "a
-hundred thousand francs! you want a hundred thousand francs to put
-Dampierre into repair?"
-
-"Quite as much as that."
-
-"And no one will lend you them?"
-
-"No one."
-
-"I will lend them to you, if you like, duchesse."
-
-"Oh, I hardly dare accept such a sum."
-
-"You would be wrong if you did _not_.  Besides, a hundred thousand francs
-is really not much.  I know but too well that you never set a right value
-upon your silence and secrecy.  Push that table a little towards me,
-duchesse, and I will write you an order on M. Colbert; no, on M. Fouquet,
-who is a far more courteous and obliging man."
-
-"Will he pay it, though?"
-
-"If he will not pay it, I will; but it will be the first time he will
-have refused me."
-
-The queen wrote and handed the duchesse the order, and afterwards
-dismissed her with a warm embrace.
-
-
-Chapter XLV:
-How Jean de La Fontaine Came to Write His First Tale.
-
-All these intrigues are exhausted; the human mind, so variously
-complicated, has been enabled to develop itself at its ease in the three
-outlines with which our recital has supplied it.  It is not unlikely
-that, in the future we are now preparing, a question of politics and
-intrigues may still arise, but the springs by which they work will be so
-carefully concealed that no one will be able to see aught but flowers and
-paintings, just as at a theater, where a colossus appears upon the scene,
-walking along moved by the small legs and slender arms of a child
-concealed within the framework.
-
-We now return to Saint-Mande, where the superintendent was in the habit
-of receiving his select confederacy of epicureans.  For some time past
-the host had met with nothing but trouble.  Every one in the house was
-aware of and felt for the minister's distress.  No more magnificent or
-recklessly improvident _reunions_.  Money had been the pretext assigned
-by Fouquet, and never _was_ any pretext, as Gourville said, more
-fallacious, for there was not even a shadow of money to be seen.
-
-M. Vatel was resolutely painstaking in keeping up the reputation of the
-house, and yet the gardeners who supplied the kitchens complained of
-ruinous delays.  The agents for the supply of Spanish wines sent drafts
-which no one honored; fishermen, whom the superintendent engaged on the
-coast of Normandy, calculated that if they were paid all that was due to
-them, the amount would enable them to retire comfortably for life; fish,
-which, at a later period, was the cause of Vatel's death, did not arrive
-at all.  However, on the ordinary reception days, Fouquet's friends
-flocked in more numerously than ever.  Gourville and the Abbe Fouquet
-talked over money matters - that is to say, the abbe borrowed a few
-pistoles from Gourville; Pelisson, seated with his legs crossed, was
-engaged in finishing the peroration of a speech with which Fouquet was to
-open the parliament; and this speech was a masterpiece, because Pelisson
-wrote it for his friend - that is to say, he inserted all kinds of clever
-things the latter would most certainly never have taken the trouble to
-say of his own accord.  Presently Loret and La Fontaine would enter from
-the garden, engaged in a dispute about the art of making verses.  The
-painters and musicians, in their turn, were hovering near the dining-
-room.  As soon as eight o'clock struck the supper would be announced, for
-the superintendent never kept any one waiting.  It was already half-past
-seven, and the appetites of the guests were beginning to declare
-themselves in an emphatic manner.  As soon as all the guests were
-assembled, Gourville went straight up to Pelisson, awoke him out of his
-reverie, and led him into the middle of a room, and closed the doors.
-"Well," he said, "anything new?"
-
-Pelisson raised his intelligent and gentle face, and said: "I have
-borrowed five and twenty thousand francs of my aunt, and I have them here
-in good sterling money."
-
-"Good," replied Gourville; "we only what one hundred and ninety-five
-thousand livres for the first payment."
-
-"The payment of what?" asked La Fontaine.
-
-"What! absent-minded as usual!  Why, it was you who told us the small
-estate at Corbeli was going to be sold by one of M. Fouquet's creditors;
-and you, also, who proposed that all his friends should subscribe - more
-than that, it was you who said that you would sell a corner of your house
-at Chateau-Thierry, in order to furnish your own proportion, and you come
-and ask - '_The payment of what?_'"
-
-This remark was received with a general laugh, which made La Fontaine
-blush.  "I beg your pardon," he said, "I had not forgotten it; oh, no!
-only - "
-
-"Only you remembered nothing about it," replied Loret.
-
-"That is the truth, and the fact is, he is quite right, there is a great
-difference between forgetting and not remembering."
-
-"Well, then," added Pelisson, "you bring your mite in the shape of the
-price of the piece of land you have sold?"
-
-"Sold? no!"
-
-"Have you not sold the field, then?" inquired Gourville, in astonishment,
-for he knew the poet's disinterestedness.
-
-"My wife would not let me," replied the latter, at which there were fresh
-bursts of laughter.
-
-"And yet you went to Chateau-Thierry for that purpose," said some one.
-
-"Certainly I did, and on horseback."
-
-"Poor fellow!"
-
-"I had eight different horses, and I was almost bumped to death."
-
-"You are an excellent fellow!  And you rested yourself when you arrived
-there?"
-
-"Rested!  Oh! of course I did, for I had an immense deal of work to do."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"My wife had been flirting with the man to whom I wished to sell the
-land.  The fellow drew back form his bargain, and so I challenged him."
-
-"Very good, and you fought?"
-
-"It seems not."
-
-"You know nothing about it, I suppose?"
-
-"No, my wife and her relations interfered in the matter.  I was kept a
-quarter of an hour with my sword in my hand; but I was not wounded."
-
-"And your adversary?"
-
-"Oh! he wasn't wounded either, for he never came on the field."
-
-"Capital!" cried his friends from all sides, "you must have been terribly
-angry."
-
-"Exceedingly so; I caught cold; I returned home and then my wife began to
-quarrel with me."
-
-"In real earnest?"
-
-"Yes, in real earnest.  She threw a loaf of bread at my head, a large
-loaf."
-
-"And what did you do?"
-
-"Oh!  I upset the table over her and her guests; and then I got on my
-horse again, and here I am."
-
-Every one had great difficulty in keeping his countenance at the exposure
-of this heroi-comedy, and when the laughter had subsided, one of the
-guests present said to La Fontaine: "Is that all you have brought back?"
-
-"Oh, no!  I have an excellent idea in my head."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"Have you noticed that there is a good deal of sportive, jesting poetry
-written in France?"
-
-"Yes, of course," replied every one.
-
-"And," pursued La Fontaine, "only a very small portion of it is printed."
-
-"The laws are strict, you know."
-
-"That may be; but a rare article is a dear article, and that is the
-reason why I have written a small poem, excessively free in its style,
-very broad, and extremely cynical in its tone."
-
-"The deuce you have!"
-
-"Yes," continued the poet, with assumed indifference, "and I have
-introduced the greatest freedom of language I could possibly employ."
-
-Peals of laughter again broke forth, while the poet was thus announcing
-the quality of his wares.  "And," he continued, "I have tried to excel
-everything that Boccaccio, Aretin, and other masters of their craft have
-written in the same style."
-
-"Its fate is clear," said Pelisson; "it will be suppressed and forbidden."
-
-"Do you think so?" said La Fontaine, simply.  "I assure you I did not do
-it on my own account so much as M. Fouquet's."
-
-This wonderful conclusion again raised the mirth of all present.
-
-"And I have sold the first edition of this little book for eight hundred
-livres," exclaimed La Fontaine, rubbing his hands together.  "Serious and
-religions books sell at about half that rate."
-
-"It would have been better," said Gourville, "to have written two
-religious books instead."
-
-"It would have been too long, and not amusing enough," replied La
-Fontaine tranquilly; "my eight hundred livres are in this little bag, and
-I beg to offer them as _my_ contribution."
-
-As he said this, he placed his offering in the hands of their treasurer;
-it was then Loret's turn, who gave a hundred and fifty livres; the others
-stripped themselves in the same way; and the total sum in the purse
-amounted to forty thousand livres.  The money was still being counted
-over when the superintendent noiselessly entered the room; he had heard
-everything; and then this man, who had possessed so many millions, who
-had exhausted all the pleasures and honors the world had to bestow, this
-generous heart, this inexhaustible brain, which had, like two burning
-crucibles, devoured the material and moral substance of the first kingdom
-in Europe, was seen to cross the threshold with tears in his eyes, and
-pass his fingers through the gold and silver which the bag contained.
-
-"Poor offering," he said, in a softened and affected tone of voice, "you
-will disappear into the smallest corner of my empty purse, but you have
-filled to overflowing that which no one can ever exhaust, my heart.
-Thank you, my friends - thank you."  And as he could not embrace every
-one present, who were all tearful, too, philosophers as they were, he
-embraced La Fontaine, saying to him, "Poor fellow! so you have, on my
-account, been beaten by your wife and censured by your confessor."
-
-"Oh! it is a mere nothing," replied the poet; "if your creditors will
-only wait a couple of years, I shall have written a hundred other tales,
-which, at two editions each, will pay off the debt."
-
-
-Chapter XLVI:
-La Fontaine in the Character of a Negotiator.
-
-Fouquet pressed La Fontaine's hand most warmly, saying to him, "My dear
-poet, write a hundred other tales, not only for the eighty pistoles which
-each of them will produce you, but, still more, to enrich our language
-with a hundred new masterpieces of composition."
-
-"Oh!" said La Fontaine, with a little air of pride, "you must not suppose
-that I have only brought this idea and the eighty pistoles to the
-superintendent."
-
-"Oh! indeed," was the general acclimation from all parts of the room, "M.
-de la Fontaine is in funds to-day."
-
-"Exactly," replied La Fontaine.
-
-"Quick, quick!" cried the assembly.
-
-"Take care," said Pelisson in La Fontaine's ear; "you have had a most
-brilliant success up to the present moment; do not go beyond your depth."
-
-"Not at all, Monsieur Pelisson; and you, who are a man of decided taste,
-will be the first to approve of what I have done."
-
-"We are talking of millions, remember," said Gourville.
-
-"I have fifteen hundred thousand francs here, Monsieur Gourville," he
-replied, striking himself on the chest.
-
-"The deuce take this Gascon from Chateau-Thierry!" cried Loret.
-
-"It is not the pocket you must tap - but the brain," said Fouquet.
-
-"Stay a moment, monsieur le surintendant," added La Fontaine; "you are
-not procureur-general - you are a poet."
-
-"True, true!" cried Loret, Conrart, and every person present connected
-with literature.
-
-"You are, I repeat, a poet and a painter, a sculptor, a friend of the
-arts and sciences; but, acknowledge that you are no lawyer."
-
-"Oh!  I do acknowledge it," replied M. Fouquet, smiling.
-
-"If you were to be nominated at the Academy, you would refuse, I think."
-
-"I think I should, with all due deference to the academicians."
-
-"Very good; if, therefore, you do not wish to belong to the Academy, why
-do you allow yourself to form one of the parliament?"
-
-"Oh!" said Pelisson, "we are talking politics."
-
-"I wish to know whether the barrister's gown does or does not become M.
-Fouquet."
-
-"There is no question of the gown at all," retorted Pelisson, annoyed at
-the laughter of those who were present.
-
-"On the contrary, it is the gown," said Loret.
-
-"Take the gown away from the procureur-general," said Conrart, "and we
-have M. Fouquet left us still, of whom we have no reason to complain;
-but, as he is no procureur-general without his gown, we agree with M. de
-la Fontaine and pronounce the gown to be nothing but a bugbear."
-
-"_Fugiunt risus leporesque_," said Loret.
-
-"The smiles and the graces," said some one present.
-
-"That is not the way," said Pelisson, gravely, "that I translate
-_lepores_."
-
-"How do you translate it?" said La Fontaine.
-
-"Thus: The hares run away as soon as they see M. Fouquet."  A burst of
-laughter, in which the superintendent joined, followed this sally.
-
-"But why hares?" objected Conrart, vexed.
-
-"Because the hare will be the very one who will not be over pleased to
-see M. Fouquet surrounded by all the attributes which his parliamentary
-strength and power confer on him."
-
-"Oh! oh!" murmured the poets.
-
-"_Quo non ascendam_," said Conrart, "seems impossible to me, when one is
-fortunate enough to wear the gown of the procureur-general."
-
-Transcriber's note: "To what heights may he not aspire?"  Fouquet's
-motto. - JB
-
-"On the contrary, it seems so to me without that gown," said the
-obstinate Pelisson; "what is your opinion, Gourville?"
-
-"I think the gown in question is a very good thing," replied the latter;
-"but I equally think that a million and a half is far better than the
-gown."
-
-"And I am of Gourville's opinion," exclaimed Fouquet, stopping the
-discussion by the expression of his own opinion, which would necessarily
-bear down all the others.
-
-"A million and a half," Pelisson grumbled out; "now I happen to know an
-Indian fable - "
-
-"Tell it to me," said La Fontaine; "I ought to know it too."
-
-"Tell it, tell it," said the others.
-
-"There was a tortoise, which was, as usual, well protected by its shell,"
-said Pelisson; "whenever its enemies threatened it, it took refuge
-within its covering.  One day some one said to it, 'You must feel very
-hot in such a house as that in the summer, and you are altogether
-prevented showing off your graces; there is a snake here, who will give
-you a million and a half for your shell.'"
-
-"Good!" said the superintendent, laughing.
-
-"Well, what next?" said La Fontaine, more interested in the apologue than
-in the moral.
-
-"The tortoise sold his shell and remained naked and defenseless.  A
-vulture happened to see him, and being hungry, broke the tortoise's back
-with a blow of his beak and devoured it.  The moral is, that M. Fouquet
-should take very good care to keep his gown."
-
-La Fontaine understood the moral seriously.  "You forget Aeschylus," he
-said, to his adversary.
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"Aeschylus was bald-headed, and a vulture - your vulture, probably - who
-was a great amateur in tortoises, mistook at a distance his head for a
-block of stone, and let a tortoise, which was shrunk up in his shell,
-fall upon it."
-
-"Yes, yes, La Fontaine is right," resumed Fouquet, who had become very
-thoughtful; "whenever a vulture wishes to devour a tortoise, he well
-knows how to break his shell; but happy is that tortoise a snake pays a
-million and a half for his envelope.  If any one were to bring me a
-generous-hearted snake like the one in your fable, Pelisson, I would give
-him my shell."
-
-"_Rara avis in terres!_" cried Conrart.
-
-Transcriber's note: "A creature rare on earth." - JB
-
-"And like a black swan, is he not?" added La Fontaine; "well, then, the
-bird in question, black and rare, is already found."
-
-"Do you mean to say that you have found a purchaser for my post of
-procureur-general?" exclaimed Fouquet.
-
-"I have, monsieur."
-
-"But the superintendent never said that he wished to sell," resumed
-Pelisson.
-
-"I beg your pardon," said Conrart, "you yourself spoke about it, even - "
-
-"Yes, I am a witness to that," said Gourville.
-
-"He seems very tenacious about his brilliant idea," said Fouquet,
-laughing.  "Well, La Fontaine, who is the purchaser?"
-
-"A perfect blackbird, for he is a counselor belonging to the parliament,
-an excellent fellow."
-
-"What is his name?"
-
-"Vanel."
-
-"Vanel!" exclaimed Fouquet.  "Vanel the husband of - "
-
-"Precisely, her husband; yes, monsieur."
-
-"Poor fellow!" said Fouquet, with an expression of great interest.
-
-"He wishes to be everything that you have been, monsieur," said
-Gourville, "and to do everything that you have done."
-
-"It is very agreeable; tell us all about it, La Fontaine."
-
-"It is very simple.  I see him occasionally, and a short time ago I met
-him, walking about on the Place de la Bastile, at the very moment when I
-was about to take the small carriage to come down here to Saint-Mande."
-
-"He must have been watching his wife," interrupted Loret.
-
-"Oh, no!" said La Fontaine, "he is far from being jealous.  He accosted
-me, embraced me, and took me to the inn called L'Image Saint-Fiacre, and
-told me all about his troubles."
-
-"He has his troubles, then?"
-
-"Yes; his wife wants to make him ambitious."
-
-"Well, and he told you - "
-
-"That some one had spoken to him about a post in parliament; that M.
-Fouquet's name had been mentioned; that ever since, Madame Vanel dreams
-of nothing else than being called madame la procureur-generale, and that
-it makes her ill and kills her every night she does not dream about it."
-
-"The deuce!"
-
-"Poor woman!" said Fouquet.
-
-"Wait a moment.  Conrart is always telling me that I do not know how to
-conduct matters of business; you will see how I managed this one."
-
-"Well, go on."
-
-"'I suppose you know,' said I to Vanel, 'that the value of a post such as
-that which M. Fouquet holds is by no means trifling.'
-
-"'How much do you imagine it to be?' he said.
-
-"'M. Fouquet, I know, has refused seventeen hundred thousand francs.'
-
-"'My wife,' replied Vanel, 'had estimated it at about fourteen hundred
-thousand.'
-
-"'Ready money?' I said.
-
-"'Yes; she has sold some property of hers in Guienne, and has received
-the purchase money.'"
-
-"That's a pretty sum to touch all at once," said the Abbe Fouquet, who
-had not hitherto said a word.
-
-"Poor Madame Vanel!" murmured Fouquet.
-
-Pelisson shrugged his shoulders, as he whispered in Fouquet's ear, "That
-woman is a perfect fiend."
-
-"That may be; and it will be delightful to make use of this fiend's money
-to repair the injury which an angel has done herself for me."
-
-Pelisson looked with a surprised air at Fouquet, whose thoughts were from
-that moment fixed upon a fresh object in view.
-
-"Well!" inquired La Fontaine, "what about my negotiation?"
-
-"Admirable, my dear poet."
-
-"Yes," said Gourville; "but there are some people who are anxious to have
-the steed who have not even money enough to pay for the bridle."
-
-"And Vanel would draw back from his offer if he were to be taken at his
-word," continued the Abbe Fouquet.
-
-"I do not believe it," said La Fontaine.
-
-"What do you know about it?"
-
-"Why, you have not yet heard the _denouement_ of my story."
-
-"If there is a _denouement_, why do you beat about the bush so much?"
-
-"_Semper ad eventum_.  Is that correct?" said Fouquet, with the air of a
-nobleman who condescends to barbarisms.  To which the Latinists present
-answered with loud applause.
-
-Transcriber's note: "With always an eye to the climax." - JB
-
-"My _denouement_," cried La Fontaine, "is that Vanel, that determined
-blackbird, knowing that I was coming to Saint-Mande, implored me to bring
-him with me, and, if possible, to present him to M. Fouquet."
-
-"So that - "
-
-"So that he is here; I left him in that part of the ground called Bel-
-Air.  Well, M. Fouquet, what is your reply?"
-
-"Well, it is not respectful towards Madame Vanel that her husband should
-run the risk of catching cold outside my house; send for him, La
-Fontaine, since you know where he is."
-
-"I will go myself."
-
-"And I will accompany you," said the Abbe Fouquet; "I will carry the
-money bags."
-
-"No jesting," said Fouquet, seriously; "let the business be a serious
-one, if it is to be one at all.  But first of all, let us show we are
-hospitable.  Make my apologies, La Fontaine, to M. Vanel, and tell him
-how distressed I am to have kept him waiting, but that I was not was not
-aware he was there."
-
-La Fontaine set off at once, fortunately accompanied by Gourville, for,
-absorbed in his own calculations, the poet would have mistaken the route,
-and was hurrying as fast as he could towards the village of Saint-Mande.
-Within a quarter of an hour afterwards, M. Vanel was introduced into the
-superintendent's cabinet, a description of which has already been given
-at the beginning of this story.  When Fouquet saw him enter, he called to
-Pelisson, and whispered a few words in his ear.  "Do not lose a single
-word of what I am going to say: let all the silver and gold plate,
-together with my jewels of every description, be packed up in the
-carriage.  You will take the black horses: the jeweler will accompany
-you; and you will postpone the supper until Madame de Belliere's arrival."
-
-"Will it be necessary to inform Madame de Belliere of it?" said Pelisson.
-
-"No; that will be useless; I will do that.  So, away with you, my dear
-friend."
-
-Pelisson set off, not quite clear as to his friend's meaning or
-intention, but confident, like every true friend, in the judgment of the
-man he was blindly obeying.  It is that which constitutes the strength of
-such men; distrust only arises in the minds of inferior natures.
-
-Vanel bowed lowly to the superintendent, and was about to begin a speech.
-
-"Do not trouble yourself, monsieur," said Fouquet, politely; "I am told
-you wish to purchase a post I hold.  How much can you give me for it?"
-
-"It is for you, monseigneur, to fix the amount you require.  I know that
-offers of purchase have already been made to you for it."
-
-"Madame Vanel, I have been told, values it at fourteen hundred thousand
-livres."
-
-"That is all we have."
-
-"Can you give me the money immediately?"
-
-"I have not the money with me," said Vanel, frightened almost by the
-unpretending simplicity, amounting to greatness, of the man, for he had
-expected disputes, difficulties, opposition of every kind.
-
-"When will you be able to bring it?"
-
-"Whenever you please, monseigneur;" for he began to be afraid that
-Fouquet was trifling with him.
-
-"If it were not for the trouble you would have in returning to Paris, I
-would say at once; but we will arrange that the payment and the signature
-shall take place at six o'clock to-morrow morning."
-
-"Very good," said Vanel, as cold as ice, and feeling quite bewildered.
-
-"Adieu, Monsieur Vanel, present my humblest respects to Madame Vanel,"
-said Fouquet, as he rose; upon which Vanel, who felt the blood rushing to
-his head, for he was quite confounded by his success, said seriously to
-the superintendent, "Will you give me your word, monseigneur, upon this
-affair?"
-
-Fouquet turned round his head, saying, "_Pardieu_, and you, monsieur?"
-
-Vanel hesitated, trembled all over, and at last finished by hesitatingly
-holding out his hand.  Fouquet opened and nobly extended his own; this
-loyal hand lay for a moment in Vanel's most hypocritical palm, and he
-pressed it in his own, in order the better to convince himself of the
-compact.  The superintendent gently disengaged his hand, as he again
-said, "Adieu."  And then Vanel ran hastily to the door, hurried along the
-vestibule, and fled as quickly as he could.
-
-
-Chapter XLVII:
-Madame de Belliere's Plate and Diamonds.
-
-Fouquet had no sooner dismissed Vanel than he began to reflect for a few
-moments - "A man never can do too much for the woman he has once loved.
-Marguerite wishes to be the wife of a procureur-general - and why not
-confer this pleasure upon her?  And, now that the most scrupulous and
-sensitive conscience will be unable to reproach me with anything, let my
-thoughts be bestowed on her who has shown so much devotion for me.
-Madame de Belliere ought to be there by this time," he said, as he turned
-towards the secret door.
-
-After he had locked himself in, he opened the subterranean passage, and
-rapidly hastened towards the means of communicating between the house at
-Vincennes and his own residence.  He had neglected to apprise his friend
-of his approach, by ringing the bell, perfectly assured that she would
-never fail to be exact at the rendezvous; as, indeed, was the case, for
-she was already waiting.  The noise the superintendent made aroused her;
-she ran to take from under the door the letter he had thrust there, and
-which simply said, "Come, marquise; we are waiting supper for you."  With
-her heart filled with happiness Madame de Belliere ran to her carriage in
-the Avenue de Vincennes, and in a few minutes she was holding out her
-hand to Gourville, who was standing at the entrance, where, in order the
-better to please his master, he had stationed himself to watch her
-arrival.  She had not observed that Fouquet's black horse arrived at the
-same time, all steaming and foam-flaked, having returned to Saint-Mande
-with Pelisson and the very jeweler to whom Madame de Belliere had sold
-her plate and her jewels.  Pelisson introduced the goldsmith into the
-cabinet, which Fouquet had not yet left.  The superintendent thanked him
-for having been good enough to regard as a simple deposit in his hands,
-the valuable property which he had every right to sell; and he cast his
-eyes on the total of the account, which amounted to thirteen hundred
-thousand francs.  Then, going for a few moments to his desk, he wrote an
-order for fourteen hundred thousand francs, payable at sight, at his
-treasury, before twelve o'clock the next day.
-
-"A hundred thousand francs profit!" cried the goldsmith.  "Oh,
-monseigneur, what generosity!"
-
-"Nay, nay, not so, monsieur," said Fouquet, touching him on the shoulder;
-"there are certain kindnesses which can never be repaid.  This profit is
-only what you have earned; but the interest of your money still remains
-to be arranged."  And, saying this, he unfastened from his sleeve a
-diamond button, which the goldsmith himself had often valued at three
-thousand pistoles.  "Take this," he said to the goldsmith, "in
-remembrance of me.  Farewell; you are an honest man."
-
-"And you, monseigneur," cried the goldsmith, completely overcome, "are
-the noblest man that ever lived."
-
-Fouquet let the worthy goldsmith pass out of the room by a secret door,
-and then went to receive Madame de Belliere, who was already surrounded
-by all the guests.  The marquise was always beautiful, but now her
-loveliness was more dazzling than ever.  "Do you not think, gentlemen,"
-said Fouquet, "that madame is more than usually beautiful this evening?
-And do you happen to know why?"
-
-"Because madame is really the most beautiful of all women," said some one
-present.
-
-"No; but because she is the best.  And yet - "
-
-"Yet?" said the marquise, smiling.
-
-"And yet, all the jewels which madame is wearing this evening are nothing
-but false stones."  At this remark the marquise blushed most painfully.
-
-"Oh, oh!" exclaimed all the guests, "that can very well be said of one
-who has the finest diamonds in Paris."
-
-"Well?" said Fouquet to Pelisson, in a low tone.
-
-"Well, at last I have understood you," returned the latter; "and you have
-done exceedingly well."
-
-"Supper is ready, monseigneur," said Vatel, with majestic air and tone.
-
-The crowd of guests hurried, more quickly than is usually the case with
-ministerial entertainments, towards the banqueting-room, where a
-magnificent spectacle presented itself.  Upon the buffets, upon the side-
-tables, upon the supper-table itself, in the midst of flowers and light,
-glittered most dazzlingly the richest and most costly gold and silver
-plate that could possibly be seen - relics of those ancient magnificent
-productions the Florentine artists, whom the Medici family patronized,
-sculptured, chased, and moulded for the purpose of holding flowers, at a
-time when gold existed still in France.  These hidden marvels, which had
-been buried during the civil wars, timidly reappeared during the
-intervals of that war of good taste called La Fronde; at a time when
-noblemen fighting against nobleman killed, but did not pillage each
-other.  All the plate present had Madame de Belliere's arms engraved upon
-it.  "Look," cried La Fontaine, "here is a P and a B."
-
-But the most remarkable object present was the cover which Fouquet had
-assigned to the marquise.  Near her was a pyramid of diamonds, sapphires,
-emeralds, antique cameos, sardonyx stones, carved by the old Greeks of
-Asia Minor, with mountings of Mysian gold; curious mosaics of ancient
-Alexandria, set in silver; massive Egyptian bracelets lay heaped on a
-large plate of Palissy ware, supported by a tripod of gilt bronze,
-sculptured by Benvenuto Cellini.  The marquise turned pale, as she
-recognized what she had never expected to see again.  A profound silence
-fell on every one of the restless and excited guests.  Fouquet did not
-even make a sign in dismissal of the richly liveried servants who crowded
-like bees round the huge buffets and other tables in the room.
-"Gentlemen," he said, "all this plate which you behold once belonged to
-Madame de Belliere, who, having observed one of her friends in great
-distress, sent all this gold and silver, together with the heap of jewels
-now before her, to her goldsmith.  This noble conduct of a devoted friend
-can well be understood by such friends as you.  Happy indeed is that man
-who sees himself loved in such a manner.  Let us drink to the health of
-Madame de Belliere."
-
-A tremendous burst of applause followed his words, and made poor Madame
-de Belliere sink back dumb and breathless in her seat.  "And then," added
-Pelisson, who was always affected by a noble action, as he was invariably
-impressed by beauty, "let us also drink to the health of him who inspired
-madame's noble conduct; for such a man is worthy of being worthily loved."
-
-It was now the marquise's turn.  She rose, pale and smiling; and as she
-held out her glass with a faltering hand, and her trembling fingers
-touched those of Fouquet, her look, full of love, found its mirror in
-that of her ardent and generous-hearted lover.  Begun in this manner, the
-supper soon became a _fete_; no one tried to be witty, but no one failed
-in being so.  La Fontaine forgot his Gorgny wine, and allowed Vatel to
-reconcile him to the wines of the Rhone, and those from the shores of
-Spain.  The Abbe Fouquet became so kind and good-natured, that Gourville
-said to him, "Take care, monsieur l'abbe; if you are so tender, you will
-be carved and eaten."
-
-The hours passed away so joyously, that, contrary to his usual custom,
-the superintendent did not leave the table before the end of the
-dessert.  He smiled upon his friends, delighted as a man is whose heart
-becomes intoxicated before his head - and, for the first time, looked at
-the clock.  Suddenly a carriage rolled into the courtyard, and, strange
-to say, it was heard high above the noise of the mirth which prevailed.
-Fouquet listened attentively, and then turned his eyes towards the ante-
-chamber.  It seemed as if he could hear a step passing across it, a step
-that, instead of pressing the ground, weighed heavily upon his heart.
-"M. d'Herblay, bishop of Vannes," the usher announced.  And Aramis's
-grave and thoughtful face appeared upon the threshold of the door,
-between the remains of two garlands, of which the flame of a lamp had
-just burnt the thread that once united them.
-
-
-Chapter XLVIII:
-M. de Mazarin's Receipt.
-
-Fouquet would have uttered an exclamation of delight on seeing another
-friend arrive, if the cold air and averted aspect of Aramis had not
-restored all his reserve.  "Are you going to join us at dessert?" he
-asked.  "And yet you would be frightened, perhaps, at the noise which our
-wild friends here are making?"
-
-"Monseigneur," replied Aramis, respectfully, "I will begin by begging you
-to excuse me for having interrupted this merry meeting; and then, I will
-beg you to give me, as soon as your pleasure is attended to, a moment's
-audience on matters of business."
-
-As the word "business" had aroused the attention of some of the
-epicureans present, Fouquet rose, saying: "Business first of all,
-Monsieur d'Herblay; we are too happy when matters of business arrive only
-at the end of a meal."
-
-As he said this, he took the hand of Madame de Belliere, who looked at
-him with a kind of uneasiness, and then led her to an adjoining _salon_,
-after having recommended her to the most reasonable of his guests.  And
-then, taking Aramis by the arm, he led him towards his cabinet.  As soon
-as Aramis was there, throwing aside the respectful air he had assumed, he
-threw himself into a chair, saying: "Guess whom I have seen this evening?"
-
-"My dear chevalier, every time you begin in that manner, I am sure to
-hear you announce something disagreeable."
-
-"Well, and this time you will not be mistaken, either, my dear friend,"
-replied Aramis.
-
-"Do not keep me in suspense," added Fouquet, phlegmatically.
-
-"Well, then, I have seen Madame de Chevreuse."
-
-"The old duchesse, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes. "
-
-"Her ghost, perhaps?"
-
-"No, no; the old she-wolf herself."
-
-"Without teeth?"
-
-"Possibly, but not without claws."
-
-"Well! what harm can she meditate against me?  I am no miser with women
-who are not prudes.  A quality always prized, even by the woman who no
-longer presumes to look for love."
-
-"Madame de Chevreuse knows very well that you are not avaricious, since
-she wishes to draw some money of you."
-
-"Indeed! under what pretext?"
-
-"Oh! pretexts are never wanting with _her_.  Let me tell you what it is:
-it seems that the duchesse has a good many letters of M. de Mazarin's in
-her possession."
-
-"I am not surprised at that, for the prelate was gallant enough."
-
-"Yes, but these letters have nothing whatever to do with the prelate's
-love affairs.  They concern, it is said, financial matters rather."
-
-"And accordingly they are less interesting."
-
-"Do you not suspect what I mean?"
-
-"Not at all."
-
-"Have you never heard speak of a prosecution being instituted for an
-embezzlement, or appropriation rather, of public funds?"
-
-"Yes, a hundred, nay, a thousand times.  Ever since I have been engaged
-in public matters I have hardly heard of anything else.  It is precisely
-your own case, when, as a bishop, people reproach you for impiety; or, as
-a musketeer, for your cowardice; the very thing of which they are always
-accusing ministers of finance is the embezzlement of public funds."
-
-"Very good; but take a particular instance, for the duchesse asserts that
-M. de Mazarin alludes to certain particular instances."
-
-"What are they?"
-
-"Something like a sum of thirteen millions of francs, of which it would
-be very difficult for you to define the precise nature of the employment."
-
-"Thirteen millions!" said the superintendent, stretching himself in his
-armchair, in order to enable him the more comfortably to look up towards
-the ceiling.  "Thirteen millions - I am trying to remember out of all
-those I have been accused of having stolen."
-
-"Do not laugh, my dear monsieur, for it is very serious.  It is positive
-that the duchesse has certain letters in her possession, and that these
-letters must be as she represents them, since she wished to sell them to
-me for five hundred thousand francs."
-
-"Oh! one can have a very tolerable calumny got up for such a sum as
-that," replied Fouquet.  "Ah! now I know what you mean," and he began to
-laugh very heartily.
-
-"So much the better," said Aramis, a little reassured.
-
-"I remember the story of those thirteen millions now.  Yes, yes, I
-remember them quite well."
-
-"I am delighted to hear it; tell me about them."
-
-"Well, then, one day Signor Mazarin, Heaven rest his soul! made a profit
-of thirteen millions upon a concession of lands in the Valtelline; he
-canceled them in the registry of receipts, sent them to me, and then made
-me advance them to him for war expenses."
-
-"Very good; then there is no doubt of their proper destination."
-
-"No; the cardinal made me invest them in my own name, and gave me a
-receipt."
-
-"You have the receipt?"
-
-"Of course," said Fouquet, as he quietly rose from his chair, and went to
-his large ebony bureau inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold.
-
-"What I most admire in you," said Aramis, with an air of great
-satisfaction, "is, your memory in the first place, then your self-
-possession, and, finally, the perfect order which prevails in your
-administration; you, of all men, too, who are by nature a poet."
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet, "I am orderly out of a spirit of idleness, to save
-myself the trouble of looking after things, and so I know that Mazarin's
-receipt is in the third drawer under the letter M; I open the drawer, and
-place my hand upon the very paper I need.  In the night, without a light,
-I could find it."
-
-And with a confident hand he felt the bundle of papers which were piled
-up in the open drawer.  "Nay, more than that," he continued, "I remember
-the paper as if I saw it; it is thick, somewhat crumpled, with gilt
-edges; Mazarin had made a blot upon the figure of the date.  Ah!" he
-said, "the paper knows we are talking about it, and that we want it very
-much, and so it hides itself out of the way."
-
-And as the superintendent looked into the drawer, Aramis rose from his
-seat.
-
-"This is very singular," said Fouquet.
-
-"Your memory is treacherous, my dear monseigneur; look in another drawer."
-
-Fouquet took out the bundle of papers, and turned them over once more; he
-then grew very pale.
-
-"Don't confine your search to that drawer," said Aramis; "look elsewhere."
-
-"Quite useless; I have never made a mistake; no one but myself arranges
-any papers of mine of this nature; no one but myself ever opens this
-drawer, of which, besides, no one, myself excepted, is aware of the
-secret."
-
-"What do you conclude, then?" said Aramis, agitated.
-
-"That Mazarin's receipt has been stolen from me; Madame de Chevreuse was
-right, chevalier; I have appropriated the public funds, I have robbed the
-state coffers of thirteen millions of money; I am a thief, Monsieur
-d'Herblay."
-
-"Nay, nay, do not get irritated - do not get excited."
-
-"And why not, chevalier? surely there is every reason for it.  If legal
-proceedings are well arranged, and a judgment given in accordance with
-them, your friend the superintendent will soon follow Montfaucon, his
-colleague Enguerrand de Marigny, and his predecessor, Semblancay."
-
-"Oh!" said Aramis, smiling, "not so fast as that."
-
-"And why not? why not so fast?  What do you suppose Madame de Chevreuse
-has done with those letters - for you refused them, I suppose?"
-
-"Yes; at once.  I suppose that she went and sold them to M. Colbert."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"I said I supposed so; I might have said I was sure of it, for I had her
-followed, and, when she left me, she returned to her own house, went out
-by a back door, and proceeded straight to the intendant's house in the
-Rue Croix des Petits-Champs."
-
-"Legal proceedings will be instituted, then, scandal and dishonor will
-follow; and all will fall upon me like a thunderbolt, blindly,
-pitilessly."
-
-Aramis approached Fouquet, who sat trembling in his chair, close to the
-open drawers; he placed his hand on his shoulder, and in an affectionate
-tone of voice, said: "Do not forget that the position of M. Fouquet can
-in no way be compared to that of Semblancay or of Marigny."
-
-"And why not, in Heaven's name?"
-
-"Because the proceedings against those ministers were determined,
-completed, and the sentence carried out, whilst in your case the same
-thing cannot take place."
-
-"Another blow, why not?  A peculator is, under any circumstances, a
-criminal."
-
-"Criminals who know how to find a safe asylum are never in danger."
-
-"What! make my escape?  Fly?"
-
-"No, I do not mean that; you forget that all such proceedings originate
-in the parliament, that they are instituted by the procureur-general, and
-that you are the procureur-general.  You see that, unless you wish to
-condemn yourself - "
-
-"Oh!" cried Fouquet, suddenly, dashing his fist upon the table.
-
-"Well! what? what is the matter?"
-
-"I am procureur-general no longer."
-
-Aramis, at this reply, became as livid as death; he pressed his hands
-together convulsively, and with a wild, haggard look, which almost
-annihilated Fouquet, he said, laying a stress on every distinct syllable,
-"You are procureur-general no longer, do you say?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Since when?"
-
-"Since the last four or five hours."
-
-"Take care," interrupted Aramis, coldly; "I do not think you are in the
-full possession of your senses, my friend; collect yourself."
-
-"I tell you," returned Fouquet, "that a little while ago, some one came
-to me, brought by my friends, to offer me fourteen hundred thousand
-francs for the appointment, and that I sold it."
-
-Aramis looked as though he had been struck by lightning; the intelligent
-and mocking expression of his countenance assumed an aspect of such
-profound gloom and terror, that it had more effect upon the
-superintendent than all the exclamations and speeches in the world.  "You
-had need of money, then?" he said, at last.
-
-"Yes; to discharge a debt of honor."  And in a few words, he gave Aramis
-an account of Madame de Belliere's generosity, and the manner in which he
-had thought it but right to discharge that act of generosity.
-
-"Yes," said Aramis, "that is, indeed, a fine trait.  What has it cost?"
-
-"Exactly the fourteen hundred thousand francs - the price of my
-appointment."
-
-"Which you received in that manner, without reflection.  Oh, imprudent
-man!"
-
-"I have not yet received the amount, but I shall to-morrow."
-
-"It is not yet completed, then?"
-
-"It must be carried out, though; for I have given the goldsmith, for
-twelve o'clock to-morrow, an order upon my treasury, into which the
-purchaser's money will be paid at six or seven o'clock."
-
-"Heaven be praised!" cried Aramis, clapping his hands together, "nothing
-is yet completed, since you have not yet been paid."
-
-"But the goldsmith?"
-
-"You shall receive the fourteen hundred thousand francs from me, at a
-quarter before twelve."
-
-"Stay a moment; it is at six o'clock, this very morning, that I am to
-sign."
-
-"Oh!  I will answer that you do not sign."
-
-"I have given my word, chevalier."
-
-"If you have given it, you will take it back again, that is all."
-
-"Can I believe what I hear?" cried Fouquet, in a most expressive tone.
-"Fouquet recall his word, after it has once been pledged!"
-
-Aramis replied to the almost stern look of the minister by a look full of
-anger.  "Monsieur," he said, "I believe I have deserved to be called a
-man of honor?  As a soldier, I have risked my life five hundred times; as
-a priest I have rendered still greater services, both to the state and to
-my friends.  The value of a word, once passed, is estimated according to
-the worth of the man who gives it.  So long as it is in his own keeping,
-it is of the purest, finest gold; when his wish to keep it has passed
-away, it is a two-edged sword.  With that word, therefore, he defends
-himself as with an honorable weapon, considering that, when he disregards
-his word, he endangers his life and incurs an amount of risk far greater
-than that which his adversary is likely to derive of profit.  In such a
-case, monsieur, he appeals to Heaven and to justice."
-
-Fouquet bent down his head, as he replied, "I am a poor, self-determined
-man, a true Breton born; my mind admires and fears yours.  I do not say
-that I keep my word from a proper feeling only; I keep it, if you like,
-from custom, practice, pride, or what you will; but, at all events, the
-ordinary run of men are simple enough to admire this custom of mine; it
-is my sole good quality - leave me such honor as it confers."
-
-"And so you are determined to sign the sale of the very appointment which
-can alone defend you against all your enemies."
-
-"Yes, I shall sign."
-
-"You will deliver yourself up, then, bound hand and foot, from a false
-notion of honor, which the most scrupulous casuists would disdain?"
-
-"I shall sign," repeated Fouquet.
-
-Aramis sighed deeply, and looked all round him with the impatient gesture
-of a man who would gladly dash something to pieces, as a relief to his
-feelings.  "We have still one means left," he said; "and I trust you will
-not refuse me to make use of that."
-
-"Certainly not, if it be loyal and honorable; as everything is, in fact,
-which you propose."
-
-"I know nothing more loyal than the renunciation of your purchaser.  Is
-he a friend of yours?"
-
-"Certainly: but - "
-
-"'But!' - if you allow me to manage the affair, I do not despair."
-
-"Oh! you shall be absolutely master to do what you please."
-
-"Whom are you in treaty with?  What manner of man is it?"
-
-"I am not aware whether you know the parliament."
-
-"Most of its members.  One of the presidents, perhaps?"
-
-"No; only a counselor, of the name of Vanel."
-
-Aramis became perfectly purple.  "Vanel!" he cried, rising abruptly from
-his seat; "Vanel! the husband of Marguerite Vanel?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Of your former mistress?"
-
-"Yes, my dear fellow; she is anxious to be the wife of the procureur-
-general.  I certainly owed poor Vanel that slight concession, and I am a
-gainer by it; since I, at the same time, can confer a pleasure on his
-wife."
-
-Aramis walked straight up to Fouquet, and took hold of his hand.  "Do you
-know," he said, very calmly, "the name of Madame Vanel's new lover?"
-
-"Ah! she has a new lover, then?  I was not aware of it; no, I have no
-idea what his name is."
-
-"His name is M. Jean-Baptiste Colbert; he is intendant of the finances:
-he lives in the Rue Croix des Petits-Champs, where Madame de Chevreuse
-has been this evening to take him Mazarin's letters, which she wishes to
-sell."
-
-"Gracious Heaven!" murmured Fouquet, passing his hand across his
-forehead, from which the perspiration was starting.
-
-"You now begin to understand, do you not?"
-
-"That I am utterly lost! - yes."
-
-"Do you now think it worth while to be so scrupulous with regard to
-keeping your word?"
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet.
-
-"These obstinate people always contrive matters in such a way, that one
-cannot but admire them all the while," murmured Aramis.
-
-Fouquet held out his hand to him, and, at the very moment, a richly
-ornamented tortoise-shell clock, supported by golden figures, which was
-standing on a console table opposite to the fireplace, struck six.  The
-sound of a door being opened in the vestibule was heard, and Gourville
-came to the door of the cabinet to inquire if Fouquet would received M.
-Vanel.  Fouquet turned his eyes from the gaze of Aramis, and then desired
-that M. Vanel should be shown in.
-
-
-Chapter XLIX:
-Monsieur Colbert's Rough Draft.
-
-Vanel, who entered at this stage of the conversation, was nothing less
-for Aramis and Fouquet than the full stop which completes a phrase.  But,
-for Vanel, Aramis's presence in Fouquet's cabinet had quite another
-signification; and, therefore, at his first step into the room, he paused
-as he looked at the delicate yet firm features of the bishop of Vannes,
-and his look of astonishment soon became one of scrutinizing attention.
-As for Fouquet, a perfect politician, that is to say, complete master of
-himself, he had already, by the energy of his own resolute will,
-contrived to remove from his face all traces of the emotion which
-Aramis's revelation had occasioned.  He was no longer, therefore, a man
-overwhelmed by misfortune and reduced to resort to expedients; he held
-his head proudly erect, and indicated by a gesture that Vanel could
-enter.  He was now the first minister of the state, and in his own
-palace.  Aramis knew the superintendent well; the delicacy of the
-feelings of his heart and the exalted nature of his mind no longer
-surprised him.  He confined himself, then, for the moment - intending to
-resume later an active part in the conversation - to the performance of
-the difficult part of a man who looks on and listens, in order to learn
-and understand.  Vanel was visibly overcome, and advanced into the middle
-of the cabinet, bowing to everything and everybody.  "I am here," he said.
-
-"You are punctual, Monsieur Vanel," returned Fouquet.
-
-"In matters of business, monseigneur," replied Vanel, "I look upon
-exactitude as a virtue."
-
-"No doubt, monsieur."
-
-"I beg your pardon," interrupted Aramis, indicating Vanel with his
-finger, but addressing himself to Fouquet; "this is the gentleman, I
-believe, who has come about the purchase of your appointment?"
-
-"Yes, I am," replied Vanel, astonished at the extremely haughty tone in
-which Aramis had put the question; "but in what way am I to address you,
-who do me the honor - "
-
-"Call me monseigneur," replied Aramis, dryly.  Vanel bowed.
-
-"Come, gentlemen, a truce to these ceremonies; let us proceed to the
-matter itself."
-
-"Monseigneur sees," said Vanel, "that I am waiting your pleasure."
-
-"On the contrary, I am waiting," replied Fouquet.
-
-"What for, may I be permitted to ask, monseigneur?"
-
-"I thought that you had perhaps something to say."
-
-"Oh," said Vanel to himself, "he has reflected on the matter and I am
-lost."  But resuming his courage, he continued, "No, monseigneur,
-nothing, absolutely nothing more than what I said to you yesterday, and
-which I am again ready to repeat to you now."
-
-"Come, now, tell me frankly, Monsieur Vanel, is not the affair rather a
-burdensome one for you?"
-
-"Certainly, monseigneur; fourteen hundred thousand francs is an important
-sum."
-
-"So important, indeed," said Fouquet, "that I have reflected - "
-
-"You have been reflecting, do you say, monseigneur?" exclaimed Vanel,
-anxiously.
-
-"Yes; that you might not yet be in a position to purchase."
-
-"Oh, monseigneur!"
-
-"Do not make yourself uneasy on that score, Monsieur Vanel; I shall not
-blame you for a failure in your word, which evidently may arise from
-inability on your part."
-
-"Oh, yes, monseigneur, you would blame me, and you would be right in
-doing so," said Vanel; "for a man must either be very imprudent, or a
-fool, to undertake engagements which he cannot keep; and I, at least,
-have always regarded a thing agreed on as a thing actually carried out."
-
-Fouquet colored, while Aramis uttered a "Hum!" of impatience.
-
-"You would be wrong to exaggerate such notions as those, monsieur," said
-the superintendent; "for a man's mind is variable, and full of these very
-excusable caprices, which are, however, sometimes estimable enough; and a
-man may have wished for something yesterday of which he repents to-day."
-
-Vanel felt a cold sweat trickle down his face.  "Monseigneur!" he
-muttered.
-
-Aramis, who was delighted to find the superintendent carry on the debate
-with such clearness and precision, stood leaning his arm upon the marble
-top of a console table and began to play with a small gold knife, with a
-malachite handle.  Fouquet did not hasten to reply; but after a moment's
-pause, "Come, my dear Monsieur Vanel," he said, "I will explain to you
-how I am situated."  Vanel began to tremble.
-
-"Yesterday I wished to sell - "
-
-"Monseigneur did more than wish to sell, he actually sold."
-
-"Well, well, that may be so; but to-day I ask you the favor to restore me
-my word which I pledged you."
-
-"I received your _word_ as a satisfactory assurance that it would be
-kept."
-
-"I know that, and that is the reason why I now entreat you; do you
-understand me?  I entreat you to restore it to me."
-
-Fouquet suddenly paused.  The words "I entreat you," the effect of which
-he did not immediately perceive, seemed almost to choke him as he uttered
-it.  Aramis, still playing with his knife, fixed a look upon Vanel which
-seemed as if he wished to penetrate the recesses of his heart.  Vanel
-simply bowed, as he said, "I am overcome, monseigneur, at the honor you
-do me to consult me upon a matter of business which is already completed;
-but - "
-
-"Nay, do not say _but_, dear Monsieur Vanel."
-
-"Alas! monseigneur, you see," he said, as he opened a large pocket-book,
-"I have brought the money with me, - the whole sum, I mean.  And here,
-monseigneur, is the contract of sale which I have just effected of a
-property belonging to my wife.  The order is authentic in every
-particular, the necessary signatures have been attached to it, and it is
-made payable at sight; it is ready money, in fact, and, in one word, the
-whole affair is complete."
-
-"My dear Monsieur Vanel, there is not a matter of business in this world,
-however important it may be, which cannot be postponed in order to oblige
-a man, who, by that means, might and would be made a devoted friend."
-
-"Certainly," said Vanel, awkwardly.
-
-"And much more justly acquired would that friend become, Monsieur Vanel,
-since the value of the service he had received would have been so
-considerable.  Well, what do you say? what do you decide?"
-
-Vanel preserved a perfect silence.  In the meantime, Aramis had continued
-his close observation of the man.  Vanel's narrow face, his deeply sunken
-eyes, his arched eyebrows, had revealed to the bishop of Vannes the type
-of an avaricious and ambitious character.  Aramis's method was to oppose
-one passion by another.  He saw that M. Fouquet was defeated - morally
-subdued - and so he came to his rescue with fresh weapons in his hands.
-"Excuse me, monseigneur," he said; "you forgot to show M. Vanel that his
-own interests are diametrically opposed to this renunciation of the sale."
-
-Vanel looked at the bishop with astonishment; he had hardly expected to
-find an auxiliary in him.  Fouquet also paused to listen to the bishop.
-
-"Do you not see," continued Aramis, "that M. Vanel, in order to purchase
-your appointment, has been obliged to sell a property belonging to his
-wife; well, that is no slight matter; for one cannot displace, as he has
-done, fourteen or fifteen hundred thousand francs without some
-considerable loss, and very serious inconvenience."
-
-"Perfectly true," said Vanel, whose secret Aramis had, with keen-sighted
-gaze, wrung from the bottom of his heart.
-
-"Inconveniences such as these are matters of great expense and
-calculation, and whenever a man has money matters to deal with, the
-expenses are generally the very first thing thought of."
-
-"Yes, yes," said Fouquet, who began to understand Aramis's meaning.
-
-Vanel remained perfectly silent; he, too, had understood him.  Aramis
-observed his coldness of manner and his silence.  "Very good," he said to
-himself, "you are waiting, I see, until you know the amount; but do not
-fear, I shall send you such a flight of crowns that you cannot but
-capitulate on the spot."
-
-"We must offer M. Vanel a hundred thousand crowns at once," said Fouquet,
-carried away by his generous feelings.
-
-The sum was a good one.  A prince, even, would have been satisfied with
-such a bonus.  A hundred thousand crowns at that period was the dowry of
-a king's daughter.  Vanel, however, did not move.
-
-"He is a perfect rascal!" thought the bishop, "well, we must offer the
-five hundred thousand francs at once," and he made a sign to Fouquet
-accordingly.
-
-"You seem to have spent more than that, dear Monsieur Vanel," said the
-superintendent.  "The price of ready money is enormous.  You must have
-made a great sacrifice in selling your wife's property.  Well, what can I
-have been thinking of?  I ought to have offered to sign you an order for
-five hundred thousand francs; and even in that case I shall feel that I
-am greatly indebted to you."
-
-There was not a gleam of delight or desire on Vanel's face, which
-remained perfectly impassible; not a muscle of it changed in the
-slightest degree.  Aramis cast a look almost of despair at Fouquet, and
-then, going straight up to Vanel and taking hold of him by the coat, in
-a familiar manner, he said, "Monsieur Vanel, it is neither the
-inconvenience, nor the displacement of your money, nor the sale of your
-wife's property even, that you are thinking of at this moment; it is
-something more important still.  I can well understand it; so pay
-particular attention to what I am going to say."
-
-"Yes, monseigneur," Vanel replied, beginning to tremble in every limb, as
-the prelate's eyes seemed almost ready to devour him.
-
-"I offer you, therefore, in the superintendent's name, not three hundred
-thousand livres, nor five hundred thousand, but a million.  A million –
-do you understand me?" he added, as he shook him nervously.
-
-"A million!" repeated Vanel, as pale as death.
-
-"A million; in other words, at the present rate of interest, an income of
-seventy thousand francs."
-
-"Come, monsieur," said Fouquet, "you can hardly refuse that.  Answer - do
-you accept?"
-
-"Impossible," murmured Vanel.
-
-Aramis bit his lips, and something like a cloud seemed to pass over his
-face.  The thunder behind this cloud could easily be imagined.  He still
-kept his hold on Vanel.  "You have purchased the appointment for fifteen
-hundred thousand francs, I think.  Well, you will receive these fifteen
-hundred thousand francs back again; by paying M. Fouquet a visit, and
-shaking hands with him on the bargain, you will have become a gainer of a
-million and a half.  You get honor and profit at the same time, Monsieur
-Vanel."
-
-"I cannot do it," said Vanel, hoarsely.
-
-"Very well," replied Aramis, who had grasped Vanel so tightly by the coat
-that, when he let go his hold, Vanel staggered back a few paces, "very
-well; one can now see clearly enough your object in coming here."
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet, "one can easily see that."
-
-"But - " said Vanel, attempting to stand erect before the weakness of
-these two men of honor.
-
-"Does the fellow presume to speak?" said Aramis, with the tone of an
-emperor.
-
-"Fellow!" repeated Vanel.
-
-"The scoundrel, I meant to say," added Aramis, who had now resumed his
-usual self-possession.  "Come, monsieur, produce your deed of sale, - you
-have it about you, I suppose, in one of your pockets, already prepared,
-as an assassin holds his pistol or his dagger concealed under his cloak.
-
-Vanel began to mutter something.
-
-"Enough!" cried Fouquet.  "Where is this deed?"
-
-Vanel tremblingly searched in his pockets, and as he drew out his pocket-
-book, a paper fell out of it, while Vanel offered the other to Fouquet.
-Aramis pounced upon the paper which had fallen out, as soon as he
-recognized the handwriting.  "I beg your pardon," said Vanel, "that is a
-rough draft of the deed."
-
-"I see that very clearly," retorted Aramis, with a smile more cutting
-than a lash of a whip; "and what I admire most is, that this draft is in
-M. Colbert's handwriting.  Look, monseigneur, look."
-
-And he handed the draft to Fouquet, who recognized the truth of the fact;
-for, covered with erasures, with inserted words, the margins filled with
-additions, this deed - a living proof of Colbert's plot - had just
-revealed everything to its unhappy victim.  "Well!" murmured Fouquet.
-
-Vanel, completely humiliated, seemed as if he were looking for some hole
-wherein to hide himself.
-
-"Well!" said Aramis, "if your name were not Fouquet, and if your enemy's
-name were not Colbert - if you had not this mean thief before you, I
-should say to you, 'Repudiate it;' such a proof as this absolves you from
-your word; but these fellows would think you were afraid; they would fear
-you less than they do; therefore sign the deed at once."  And he held out
-a pen towards him.
-
-Fouquet pressed Aramis's hand; but, instead of the deed which Vanel
-handed to him, he took the rough draft of it.
-
-"No, not that paper," said Aramis, hastily; "this is the one.  The other
-is too precious a document for you to part with."
-
-"No, no!" replied Fouquet; "I will sign under M. Colbert's own
-handwriting even; and I write, 'The handwriting is approved of.'"  He
-then signed, and said, "Here it is, Monsieur Vanel."  And the latter
-seized the paper, dashed down the money, and was about to make his
-escape.
-
-"One moment," said Aramis.  "Are you quite sure the exact amount is
-there?  It ought to be counted over, Monsieur Vanel; particularly since
-M. Colbert makes presents of money to ladies, I see.  Ah, that worthy M.
-Colbert is not so generous as M. Fouquet."  And Aramis, spelling every
-word, every letter of the order to pay, distilled his wrath and his
-contempt, drop by drop, upon the miserable wretch, who had to submit to
-this torture for a quarter of an hour.  He was then dismissed, not in
-words, but by a gesture, as one dismisses or discharges a beggar or a
-menial.
-
-As soon as Vanel had gone, the minister and the prelate, their eyes fixed
-on each other, remained silent for a few moments.
-
-"Well," said Aramis, the first to break the silence; "to what can that
-man be compared, who, at the very moment he is on the point of entering
-into a conflict with an enemy armed from head to foot, panting for his
-life, presents himself for the contest utterly defenseless, throws down
-his arms, and smiles and kisses his hands to his adversary in the most
-gracious manner?  Good faith, M. Fouquet, is a weapon which scoundrels
-frequently make use of against men of honor, and it answers their
-purpose.  Men of honor, ought, in their turn, also, to make use of
-dishonest means against such scoundrels.  You would soon see how strong
-they would become, without ceasing to be men of honor."
-
-"What they did would be termed the acts of a scoundrel," replied Fouquet.
-
-"Far from that; it would be merely coquetting or playing with the truth.
-At all events, since you have finished with this Vanel; since you have
-deprived yourself of the happiness of confounding him by repudiating your
-word; and since you have given up, for the purpose of being used against
-yourself, the only weapon which can ruin you - "
-
-"My dear friend," said Fouquet, mournfully, "you are like the teacher of
-philosophy whom La Fontaine was telling us about the other day; he saw a
-child drowning, and began to read him a lecture divided into three heads."
-
-Aramis smiled as he said, "Philosophy - yes; teacher - yes; a drowning
-child - yes; but a child can be saved - you shall see.  But first of all
-let us talk about business.  Did you not some time ago," he continued, as
-Fouquet looked at him with a bewildered air, "speak to me about an idea
-you had of giving a _fete_ at Vaux?"
-
-"Oh!" said Fouquet, "that was when affairs were flourishing."
-
-"A _fete_, I believe, to which the king invited himself of his own
-accord?"
-
-"No, no, my dear prelate; a _fete_ to which M. Colbert advised the king
-to invite himself."
-
-"Ah - exactly; as it would be a _fete_ of so costly a character that you
-would be ruined in giving it."
-
-"Precisely so.  In happier days, as I said just now, I had a kind of
-pride in showing my enemies how inexhaustible my resources were; I felt
-it a point of honor to strike them with amazement, by creating millions
-under circumstances where they imagined nothing but bankruptcies and
-failures would follow.  But, at present, I am arranging my accounts with
-the state, with the king, with myself; and I must now become a mean,
-stingy man; I shall be able to prove to the world that I can act or
-operate with my deniers as I used to do with my bags of pistoles, and
-from to-morrow my equipages shall be sold, my mansions mortgaged, my
-expenses curtailed."
-
-"From to-morrow," interrupted Aramis, quietly, "you will occupy yourself,
-without the slightest delay, with your _fete_ at Vaux, which must
-hereafter be spoken of as one of the most magnificent productions of your
-most prosperous days."
-
-"Are you mad, Chevalier d'Herblay?"
-
-"I! do you think so?"
-
-"What do you mean, then?  Do you not know that a _fete_ at Vaux, one of
-the very simplest possible character, would cost four or five millions?"
-
-"I do not speak of a _fete_ of the very simplest possible character, my
-dear superintendent."
-
-"But, since the _fete_ is to be given to the king," replied Fouquet, who
-misunderstood Aramis's idea, "it cannot be simple."
-
-"Just so: it ought to be on a scale of the most unbounded magnificence."
-
-"In that case, I shall have to spend ten or twelve millions."
-
-"You shall spend twenty, if you require it," said Aramis, in a perfectly
-calm voice.
-
-"Where shall I get them?" exclaimed Fouquet.
-
-"That is my affair, monsieur le surintendant; and do not be uneasy for a
-moment about it.  The money shall be placed at once at your disposal, the
-moment you have arranged the plans of your _fete_."
-
-"Chevalier! chevalier!" said Fouquet, giddy with amazement, "whither are
-you hurrying me?"
-
-"Across the gulf into which you were about to fall," replied the bishop
-of Vannes.  "Take hold of my cloak, and throw fear aside."
-
-"Why did you not tell me that sooner, Aramis?  There was a day when, with
-one million only, you could have saved me; whilst to-day - "
-
-"Whilst to-day I can give you twenty," said the prelate.  "Such is the
-case, however - the reason is very simple.  On the day you speak of, I
-had not the million which you had need of at my disposal, whilst now I
-can easily procure the twenty millions we require."
-
-"May Heaven hear you, and save me!"
-
-Aramis resumed his usual smile, the expression of which was so singular.
-"Heaven never fails to hear me," he said.
-
-"I abandon myself to your unreservedly," Fouquet murmured.
-
-"No, no; I do not understand it in that manner.  I am unreservedly
-devoted to you.  Therefore, as you have the clearest, the most delicate,
-and the most ingenious mind of the two, you shall have entire control
-over the _fete_, even to the very smallest details.  Only - "
-
-"Only?" said Fouquet, as a man accustomed to understand and appreciate
-the value of a parenthesis.
-
-"Well, then, leaving the entire invention of the details to you, I shall
-reserve to myself a general superintendence over the execution."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"I mean, that you will make of me, on that day, a major-domo, a sort of
-inspector-general, or factotum - something between a captain of the guard
-and manager or steward.  I will look after the people, and will keep the
-keys of the doors.  You will give your orders, of course: but will give
-them to no one but me.  They will pass through my lips, to reach those
-for whom they are intended - you understand?"
-
-"No, I am very far from understanding."
-
-"But you agree?"
-
-"Of course, of course, my friend."
-
-"That is all I care about, then.  Thanks; and now go and prepare your
-list of invitations."
-
-"Whom shall I invite?"
-
-"Everybody you know."
-
-
-Chapter L:
-In Which the Author Thinks It Is High Time to Return to the Vicomte de
-Bragelonne.
-
-Our readers will have observed in this story, the adventures of the new
-and of the past generation being detailed, as it were, side by side.  He
-will have noticed in the former, the reflection of the glory of earlier
-years, the experience of the bitter things of this world; in the former,
-also, that peace which takes possession of the heart, and that healing of
-the scars which were formerly deep and painful wounds.  In the latter,
-the conflicts of love and vanity; bitter disappointments, ineffable
-delights; life instead of memory.  If, therefore, any variety has been
-presented to the reader in the different episodes of this tale, it is to
-be attributed to the numerous shades of color which are presented on this
-double tablet, where two pictures are seen side by side, mingling and
-harmonizing their severe and pleasing tones.  The repose of the emotions
-of one is found in harmonious contrast with the fiery sentiments of the
-other.  After having talked reason with older heads, one loves to talk
-nonsense with youth.  Therefore, if the threads of the story do not seem
-very intimately to connect the chapter we are now writing with the one we
-have just written, we do not intend to give ourselves any more thought or
-trouble about it than Ruysdael took in painting an autumn sky, after
-having finished a spring-time scene.  We accordingly resume Raoul de
-Bragelonne's story at the very place where our last sketch left him.
-
-In a state of frenzy and dismay, or rather without power or will of his
-own, - hardly knowing what he was doing, - he fled swiftly, after the
-scene in La Valliere's chamber, that strange exclusion, Louise's grief,
-Montalais's terror, the king's wrath - all seemed to indicate some
-misfortune.  But what?  He had arrived from London because he had been
-told of the existence of a danger; and almost on his arrival this
-appearance of danger was manifest.  Was not this sufficient for a lover?
-Certainly it was, but it was insufficient for a pure and upright heart
-such as his.  And yet Raoul did not seek for explanations in the very
-quarter where more jealous or less timid lovers would have done.  He did
-not go straightaway to his mistress, and say, "Louise, is it true that
-you love me no longer?  Is it true that you love another?"  Full of
-courage, full of friendship as he was full of love; a religious observer
-of his word, and believing blindly the word of others, Raoul said within
-himself, "Guiche wrote to put me on my guard, Guiche knows something; I
-will go and ask Guiche what he knows, and tell him what I have seen."
-The journey was not a long one.  Guiche, who had been brought from
-Fontainebleau to Paris within the last two days, was beginning to recover
-from his wounds, and to walk about a little in his room.  He uttered a
-cry of joy as he saw Raoul, with the eagerness of friendship, enter the
-apartment.  Raoul was unable to refrain from a cry of grief, when he saw
-De Guiche, so pale, so thin, so melancholy.  A very few words, and a
-simple gesture which De Guiche made to put aside Raoul's arm, were
-sufficient to inform the latter of the truth.
-
-"Ah! so it is," said Raoul, seating himself beside his friend; "one loves
-and dies."
-
-"No, no, not dies," replied Guiche, smiling, "since I am now recovering,
-and since, too, I can press you in my arms."
-
-"Ah!  I understand."
-
-"And I understand you, too.  You fancy I am unhappy, Raoul?"
-
-"Alas!"
-
-"No; I am the happiest of men.  My body suffers, but not my mind or my
-heart.  If you only knew - Oh!  I am, indeed, the very happiest of men."
-
-"So much the better," said Raoul; "so much the better, provided it lasts."
-
-"It is over.  I have had enough happiness to last me to my dying day,
-Raoul."
-
-"I have no doubt you have had; but she - "
-
-"Listen; I love her, because - but you are not listening to me."
-
-"I beg your pardon."
-
-"Your mind is preoccupied."
-
-"Yes, your health, in the first place - "
-
-"It is not that, I know."
-
-"My dear friend, you would be wrong.  I think, to ask me any questions –
-_you_ of all persons in the world;" and he laid so much weight upon the
-"you," that he completely enlightened his friend upon the nature of the
-evil, and the difficulty of remedying it.
-
-"You say that, Raoul, on account of what I wrote to you."
-
-"Certainly.  We will talk over that matter a little, when you have
-finished telling me of all your own pleasures and your pains."
-
-"My dear friend, I am entirely at your service."
-
-"Thank you; I have hurried, I have flown here; I came in half the time
-the government couriers usually take.  Now, tell me, my dear friend, what
-did you want?"
-
-"Nothing whatever, but to make you come."
-
-"Well, then, I am here."
-
-"All is quite right, then."
-
-"There must have been something else, I suppose?"
-
-"No, indeed."
-
-"De Guiche!"
-
-"Upon my honor!"
-
-"You cannot possibly have crushed all my hopes so violently, or have
-exposed me to being disgraced by the king for my return, which is in
-disobedience of his orders - you cannot, I say, have planted jealousy in
-my heart, merely to say to me, 'It is all right, be perfectly easy.'"
-
-"I do not say to you, Raoul, 'Be perfectly easy;' but pray understand me;
-I never will, nor can I, indeed, tell you anything else."
-
-"What sort of person do you take me for?"
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"If you know anything, why conceal it from me?  If you do not know
-anything, why did you write so warningly?"
-
-"True, true, I was very wrong, and I regret having done so, Raoul.  It
-seems nothing to write to a friend and say 'Come;' but to have this
-friend face to face, to feel him tremble, and breathlessly and anxiously
-wait to hear what one hardly dare tell him, is very difficult."
-
-"Dare!  I have courage enough, if you have not," exclaimed Raoul, in
-despair.
-
-"See how unjust you are, and how soon you forget you have to do with a
-poor wounded fellow such as your unhappy friend is.  So, calm yourself,
-Raoul.  I said to you, 'Come' - you are here, so ask me nothing further."
-
-"Your object in telling me to come was your hope that I should see with
-my own eyes, was it not?  Nay, do not hesitate, for I have seen all."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed De Guiche.
-
-"Or at least I thought - "
-
-"There, now, you see you are not sure.  But if you have any doubt, my
-poor friend, what remains for me to do?"
-
-"I saw Louise much agitated - Montalais in a state of bewilderment - the
-king - "
-
-"The king?"
-
-"Yes.  You turn your head aside.  The danger is there, the evil is there;
-tell me, is it not so, is it not the king?"
-
-"I say nothing."
-
-"Oh! you say a thousand times more than nothing.  Give me facts, for
-pity's sake, give me proofs.  My friend, the only friend I have, speak –
-tell me all.  My heart is crushed, wounded to death; I am dying from
-despair."
-
-"If that really be so, as I see it is, indeed, dear Raoul," replied De
-Guiche, "you relieve me from my difficulty, and I will tell you all,
-perfectly sure that I can tell you nothing but what is consoling,
-compared to the despair from which I see you suffering."
-
-"Go on, - go on; I am listening."
-
-"Well, then, I can only tell you what you might learn from every one you
-meet."
-
-"From every one, do you say?  It is talked about, then!"
-
-"Before you say people talk about it, learn what it is that people have
-to talk about.  I assure you solemnly, that people only talk about what
-may, in truth, be very innocent; perhaps a walk - "
-
-"Ah! a walk with the king?"
-
-"Yes, certainly, a walk with the king; and I believe the king has already
-very frequently before taken walks with ladies, without on that account
-- "
-
-"You would not have written to me, shall I say again, if there had been
-nothing unusual in this promenade."
-
-"I know that while the storm lasted, it would have been far better if the
-king had taken shelter somewhere else, than to have remained with his
-head uncovered before La Valliere; but the king is so very courteous and
-polite."
-
-"Oh!  De Guiche, De Guiche, you are killing me!"
-
-"Do not let us talk any more, then."
-
-"Nay, let us continue.  This walk was followed by others, I suppose?"
-
-"No - I mean yes: there was the adventure of the oak, I think.  But I
-know nothing about the matter at all."  Raoul rose; De Guiche endeavored
-to imitate him, notwithstanding his weakness.  "Well, I will not add
-another word: I have said either too much or not enough.  Let others give
-you further information if they will, or if they can; my duty was to warn
-you, and _that_ I have done.  Watch over your own affairs now, yourself."
-
-"Question others!  Alas! you are no true friend to speak to me in that
-manner," said the young man, in utter distress.  "The first man I meet
-may be either evilly disposed or a fool, - if the former, he will tell me
-a lie to make me suffer more than I do now; if the latter, he will do
-worse still.  Ah!  De Guiche, De Guiche, before two hours are over, I
-shall have been told ten falsehoods, and shall have as many duels on my
-hands.  Save me, then; is it not best to know the worst always?"
-
-"But I know nothing, I tell you; I was wounded, attacked by fever: out
-of my senses; and I have only a very faint recollection of it all.  But
-there is on reason why we should search very far, when the very man we
-want is close at hand.  Is not D'Artagnan your friend?"
-
-"Oh! true, true!"
-
-"Got to him, then.  He will be able to throw sufficient light upon the
-subject."  At this moment a lackey entered the room.  "What is it?" said
-De Guiche.
-
-"Some one is waiting for monseigneur in the Cabinet des Porcelaines."
-
-"Very well.  Will you excuse me, my dear Raoul?  I am so proud since I have
-been able to walk again."
-
-"I would offer you my arm, De Guiche, if I did not guess that the person
-in question is a lady."
-
-"I believe so," said De Guiche, smiling as he quitted Raoul.
-
-Raoul remained motionless, absorbed in grief, overwhelmed, like the miner
-upon whom a vault has just fallen in, who, wounded, his life-blood
-welling fast, his thoughts confused, endeavors to recover himself, to
-save his life and to retain his reason.  A few minutes were all Raoul
-needed to dissipate the bewildering sensations occasioned by these two
-revelations.  He had already recovered the thread of his ideas, when,
-suddenly, through the door, he fancied he recognized Montalais's voice in
-the Cabinet des Porcelaines.  "She!" he cried.  "Yes, it is indeed her
-voice!  She will be able to tell me the whole truth; but shall I question
-her here?  She conceals herself even from me; she is coming, no doubt,
-from Madame.  I will see her in her own apartment.  She will explain her
-alarm, her flight, the strange manner in which I was driven out; she will
-tell me all that - after M. d'Artagnan, who knows everything, shall have
-given me a fresh strength and courage.  Madame, a coquette I fear, and
-yet a coquette who is herself in love, has her moments of kindness; a
-coquette who is as capricious and uncertain as life or death, but who
-tells De Guiche that he is the happiest of men.  He at least is lying on
-roses."  And so he hastily quitted the comte's apartments, reproaching
-himself as he went for having talked of nothing but his own affairs to De
-Guiche, and soon reached D'Artagnan's quarters.
-
-
-Chapter LI:
-Bragelonne Continues His Inquiries.
-
-The captain, sitting buried in his leathern armchair, his spurs fixed in
-the floor, his sword between his legs, was reading a number of letters,
-as he twisted his mustache.  D'Artagnan uttered a welcome full of
-pleasure when he perceived his friend's son.  "Raoul, my boy, " he said,
-"by what lucky accident does it happen that the king has recalled you?"
-
-These words did not sound agreeably in the young man's ears, who, as he
-seated himself, replied, "Upon my word I cannot tell you; all that I know
-is - I have come back."
-
-"Hum!" said D'Artagnan, folding up his letters and directing a look full
-of meaning at him; "what do you say, my boy? that the king has not
-recalled you, and you have returned?  I do not understand that at all."
-
-Raoul was already pale enough; and he now began to turn his hat round and
-round in his hand.
-
-"What the deuce is the matter that you look as you do, and what makes you
-so dumb?" said the captain.  "Do people nowadays assume that sort of airs
-in England?  I have been in England, and came here again as lively as a
-chaffinch.  Will you not say something?"
-
-"I have too much to say."
-
-"Ah! how is your father?"
-
-"Forgive me, my dear friend, I was going to ask you that."
-
-D'Artagnan increased the sharpness of his penetrating gaze, which no
-secret was capable of resisting.  "You are unhappy about something," he
-said.
-
-"I am, indeed; and you know the reason very well, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Of course.  Nay, do not pretend to be astonished."
-
-"I am not pretending to be astonished, my friend."
-
-"Dear captain, I know very well that in all trials of _finesse_, as well
-as in all trials of strength, I shall be beaten by you.  You can see that
-at the present moment I am an idiot, an absolute noodle.  I have neither
-head nor arm; do not despise, but help me.  In two words, I am the most
-wretched of living beings."
-
-"Oh, oh! why that?" inquired D'Artagnan, unbuckling his belt and thawing
-the asperity of his smile.
-
-"Because Mademoiselle de la Valliere is deceiving me."
-
-"She is deceiving you," said D'Artagnan, not a muscle of whose face had
-moved; "those are big words.  Who makes use of them?"
-
-"Every one."
-
-"Ah! if every one says so, there must be some truth in it.  I begin to
-believe there is fire when I see smoke.  It is ridiculous, perhaps, but
-it is so."
-
-"Therefore you _do_ believe me?" exclaimed Bragelonne, quickly.
-
-"I never mix myself up in affairs of that kind; you know that very well."
-
-"What! not for a friend, for a son!"
-
-"Exactly.  If you were a stranger, I should tell you - I will tell _you_
-nothing at all.  How is Porthos, do you know?"
-
-"Monsieur," cried Raoul, pressing D'Artagnan's hand, "I entreat you in
-the name of the friendship you vowed my father!"
-
-"The deuce take it, you are really ill - from curiosity."
-
-"No, it is not from curiosity, it is from love."
-
-"Good.  Another big word.  If you were really in love, my dear Raoul, you
-would be very different."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"I mean that if you were really so deeply in love that I could believe I
-was addressing myself to your heart - but it is impossible."
-
-"I tell you I love Louise to distraction."
-
-D'Artagnan could read to the very bottom of the young man's heart.
-
-"Impossible, I tell you," he said.  "You are like all young men; you are
-not in love, you are out of your senses."
-
-"Well! suppose it were only that?"
-
-"No sensible man ever succeeded in making much of a brain when the head
-was turned.  I have completely lost my senses in the same way a hundred
-times in my life.  You would listen to me, but you would not hear me! you
-would hear, but you would not understand me; you would understand, but
-you would not obey me."
-
-"Oh! try, try."
-
-"I go far.  Even if I were unfortunate enough to know something, and
-foolish enough to communicate it to you - You are my friend, you say?"
-
-"Indeed, yes."
-
-"Very good.  I should quarrel with you.  You would never forgive me for
-having destroyed your illusion, as people say in love affairs."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, you know all; and yet you plunge me in perplexity
-and despair, in death itself."
-
-"There, there now."
-
-"I never complain, as you know; but as Heaven and my father would never
-forgive me for blowing out my brains, I will go and get the first person
-I meet to give me the information which you withhold; I will tell him he
-lies, and - "
-
-"And you would kill him.  And a fine affair that would be.  So much the
-better.  What should I care?  Kill any one you please, my boy, if it
-gives you any pleasure.  It is exactly like a man with a toothache, who
-keeps on saying, "Oh! what torture I am suffering.  I could bite a piece
-of iron in half.'  My answer always is, 'Bite, my friend, bite; the tooth
-will remain all the same.'"
-
-"I shall not kill any one, monsieur," said Raoul, gloomily.
-
-"Yes, yes! you now assume a different tone: instead of killing, you will
-get killed yourself, I suppose you mean?  Very fine, indeed!  How much I
-should regret you!  Of course I should go about all day, saying, 'Ah!
-what a fine stupid fellow that Bragelonne was! as great a stupid as I
-ever met with.  I have passed my whole life almost in teaching him how to
-hold and use his sword properly, and the silly fellow has got himself
-spitted like a lark.'  Go, then, Raoul, go and get yourself disposed of,
-if you like.  I hardly know who can have taught you logic, but deuce take
-me if your father has not been regularly robbed of his money."
-
-Raoul buried his face in his hands, murmuring: "No, no; I have not a
-single friend in the world."
-
-"Oh! bah!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I meet with nothing but raillery or indifference."
-
-"Idle fancies, monsieur.  I do not laugh at you, although I am a Gascon.
-And, as for being indifferent, if I were so, I should have sent you about
-your business a quarter of an hour ago, for you would make a man who was
-out of his senses with delight as dull as possible, and would be the
-death of one who was out of spirits.  How now, young man! do you wish me
-to disgust you with the girl you are attached to, and to teach you to
-execrate the whole sex who constitute the honor and happiness of human
-life?"
-
-"Oh! tell me, monsieur, and I will bless you."
-
-"Do you think, my dear fellow, that I can have crammed into my brain all
-about the carpenter, and the painter, and the staircase, and a hundred
-other similar tales of the same kind?"
-
-"A carpenter! what do you mean?"
-
-"Upon my word I don't know; some one told me there was a carpenter who
-made an opening through a certain flooring."
-
-"In La Valliere's room!"
-
-"Oh!  I don't know where."
-
-"In the king's apartment, perhaps?"
-
-"Of course, if it were in the king's apartment, I should tell you, I
-suppose."
-
-"In whose room, then?"
-
-"I have told you for the last hour that I know nothing of the whole
-affair."
-
-"But the painter, then? the portrait - "
-
-"It seems that the king wished to have the portrait of one of the ladies
-belonging to the court."
-
-"La Valliere?"
-
-"Why, you seem to have only that name in your mouth.  Who spoke to you of
-La Valliere?"
-
-"If it be not her portrait, then, why do you suppose it would concern me?"
-
-"I do not suppose it will concern you.  But you ask me all sorts of
-questions, and I answer you.  You positively will learn all the scandal
-of the affair, and I tell you - make the best you can of it."
-
-Raoul struck his forehead with his hand in utter despair.  "It will kill
-me!" he said.
-
-"So you have said already."
-
-"Yes, you are right," and he made a step or two, as if he were going to
-leave.
-
-"Where are you going?"
-
-"To look for some one who will tell me the truth."
-
-"Who is that?"
-
-"A woman."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere herself, I suppose you mean?" said
-D'Artagnan, with a smile.  "Ah! a famous idea that!  You wish to be
-consoled by some one, and you will be so at once.  She will tell you
-nothing ill of herself, of course.  So be off."
-
-"You are mistaken, monsieur," replied Raoul; "the woman I mean will tell
-me all the evil she possibly can."
-
-"You allude to Montalais, I suppose - her friend; a woman who, on that
-account, will exaggerate all that is either bad or good in the matter.
-Do not talk to Montalais, my good fellow."
-
-"You have some reasons for wishing me not to talk with Montalais?"
-
-"Well, I admit it.  And, in point of fact, why should I play with you as
-a cat does with a poor mouse?  You distress me, you do, indeed.  And if I
-wish you not to speak to Montalais just now, it is because you will be
-betraying your secret, and people will take advantage of it.  Wait, if
-you can."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"So much the worse.  Why, you see, Raoul, if I had an idea, - but I have
-not got one."
-
-"Promise me that you will pity me, my friend, that is all I need, and
-leave me to get out of the affair by myself."
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed, in order that you may get deeper into the mire!  A
-capital idea, truly! go and sit down at that table and take a pen in your
-hand."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To write and ask Montalais to give you an interview."
-
-"Ah!" said Raoul, snatching eagerly at the pen which the captain held out
-to him.
-
-Suddenly the door opened, and one of the musketeers, approaching
-D'Artagnan, said, "Captain, Mademoiselle de Montalais is here, and wishes
-to speak to you."
-
-"To me?" murmured D'Artagnan.  "Ask her to come in; I shall soon see," he
-said to himself, "whether she wishes to speak to me or not."
-
-The cunning captain was quite right in his suspicions; for as soon as
-Montalais entered she exclaimed, "Oh, monsieur! monsieur!  I beg your
-pardon, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"Oh!  I forgive you, mademoiselle," said D'Artagnan; "I know that, at my
-age, those who are looking for me generally need me for something or
-another."
-
-"I was looking for M. de Bragelonne," replied Montalais.
-
-"How very fortunate that is; he was looking for you, too.  Raoul, will
-you accompany Mademoiselle de Montalais?"
-
-"Oh! certainly."
-
-"Go along, then," he said, as he gently pushed Raoul out of the cabinet;
-and then, taking hold of Montalais's hand, he said, in a low voice, "Be
-kind towards him; spare him, and spare her, too, if you can."
-
-"Ah!" she said, in the same tone of voice, "it is not I who am going to
-speak to him."
-
-"Who, then?"
-
-"It is Madame who has sent for him."
-
-"Very good," cried D'Artagnan, "it is Madame, is it?  In an hour's time,
-then, the poor fellow will be cured."
-
-"Or else dead," said Montalais, in a voice full of compassion.  "Adieu,
-Monsieur d'Artagnan," she said; and she ran to join Raoul, who was
-waiting for her at a little distance from the door, very much puzzled and
-thoroughly uneasy at the dialogue, which promised no good augury for him.
-
-
-Chapter LII:
-Two Jealousies.
-
-Lovers are tender towards everything that forms part of the daily life of
-the object of their affection.  Raoul no sooner found himself alone with
-Montalais, than he kissed her hand with rapture.  "There, there," said
-the young girl, sadly, "you are throwing your kisses away; I will
-guarantee that they will not bring you back any interest."
-
-"How so? - Why? - Will you explain to me, my dear Aure?"
-
-"Madame will explain everything to you.  I am going to take you to her
-apartments.
-
-"_What!_"
-
-"Silence! and throw away your dark and savage looks.  The windows here
-have eyes, the walls have ears.  Have the kindness not to look at me any
-longer; be good enough to speak to me aloud of the rain, of the fine
-weather, and of the charms of England."
-
-"At all events - " interrupted Raoul.
-
-"I tell you, I warn you, that wherever people may be, I know not how,
-Madame is sure to have eyes and ears open.  I am not very desirous, you
-can easily believe, of being dismissed or thrown in to the Bastile.  Let
-us talk, I tell you, or rather, do not let us talk at all."
-
-Raoul clenched his hands, and tried to assume the look and gait of a man
-of courage, it is true, but of a man of courage on his way to the torture
-chamber.  Montalais, glancing in every direction, walking along with an
-easy swinging gait, and holding up her head pertly in the air, preceded
-him to Madame's apartments, where he was at once introduced.  "Well," he
-thought, "this day will pass away without my learning anything.  Guiche
-showed too much consideration for my feelings; he had no doubt come to an
-understanding with Madame, and both of them, by a friendly plot, agreed
-to postpone the solution of the problem.  Why have I not a determined,
-inveterate enemy - that serpent, De Wardes, for instance; that he would
-bite, is very likely; but I should not hesitate any more.  To hesitate,
-to doubt - better, far, to die."
-
-The next moment Raoul was in Madame's presence.  Henrietta, more charming
-than ever, was half lying, half reclining in her armchair, her small feet
-upon an embroidered velvet cushion; she was playing with a kitten with
-long silky fur, which was biting her fingers and hanging by the lace of
-her collar.
-
-Madame seemed plunged in deep thought, so deep, indeed, that it required
-both Montalais and Raoul's voice to disturb her from her reverie.
-
-"Your highness sent for me?" repeated Raoul.
-
-Madame shook her head as if she were just awakening, and then said, "Good
-morning, Monsieur de Bragelonne; yes, I sent for you; so you have
-returned from England?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, and am at your royal highness's commands."
-
-"Thank you; leave us, Montalais," and the latter immediately left the
-room.
-
-"You have a few minutes to give me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, have you not?"
-
-"My life is at your royal highness's disposal," Raoul returned with
-respect, guessing that there was something serious in these unusual
-courtesies; nor was he displeased, indeed, to observe the seriousness of
-her manner, feeling persuaded that there was some sort of affinity
-between Madame's sentiments and his own.  In fact, every one at court, of
-any perception at all, knew perfectly well the capricious fancy and
-absurd despotism of the princess's singular character.  Madame had been
-flattered beyond all bounds by the king's attention; she had made herself
-talked about; she had inspired the queen with that mortal jealousy which
-is the stinging scorpion at the heel of every woman's happiness; Madame,
-in a word, in her attempts to cure a wounded pride, found that her heart
-had become deeply and passionately attached.  We know what Madame had
-done to recall Raoul, who had been sent out of the way by Louis XIV.
-Raoul did not know of her letter to Charles II., although D'Artagnan had
-guessed its contents.  Who will undertake to account for that seemingly
-inexplicable mixture of love and vanity, that passionate tenderness of
-feeling, that prodigious duplicity of conduct?  No one can, indeed; not
-even the bad angel who kindles the love of coquetry in the heart of a
-woman.  "Monsieur de Bragelonne," said the princess, after a moment's
-pause, "have you returned satisfied?"
-
-Bragelonne looked at Madame Henrietta, and seeing how pale she was, not
-alone from what she was keeping back, but also from what she was burning
-to say, said: "Satisfied! what is there for me to be satisfied or
-dissatisfied about, Madame?"
-
-"But what are those things with which a man of your age, and of your
-appearance, is usually either satisfied or dissatisfied?"
-
-"How eager she is," thought Raoul, almost terrified; "what venom is it
-she is going to distil into my heart?" and then, frightened at what she
-might possibly be going to tell him, and wishing to put off the
-opportunity of having everything explained, which he had hitherto so
-ardently wished for, yet had dreaded so much, he replied: "I left,
-Madame, a dear friend in good health, and on my return I find him very
-ill."
-
-"You refer to M. de Guiche," replied Madame Henrietta, with imperturbable
-self-possession; "I _have_ heard he is a very dear friend of yours."
-
-"He is, indeed, Madame."
-
-"Well, it is quite true he has been wounded; but he is better now.  Oh!
-M. de Guiche is not to be pitied," she said hurriedly; and then,
-recovering herself, added, "But has he anything to complain of?  Has he
-complained of anything?  Is there any cause of grief or sorrow that we
-are not acquainted with?"
-
-"I allude only to his wound, Madame."
-
-"So much the better, then, for, in other respects, M. de Guiche seems to
-be very happy; he is always in very high spirits.  I am sure that you,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne, would far prefer to be, like him, wounded only in
-the body... for what, in deed, is such a wound, after all!"
-
-Raoul started.  "Alas!" he said to himself, "she is returning to it."
-
-"What did you say?" she inquired.
-
-"I did not say anything Madame."
-
-"You did not say anything; you disapprove of my observation, then? you
-are perfectly satisfied, I suppose?"
-
-Raoul approached closer to her.  "Madame," he said, "your royal highness
-wishes to say something to me, and your instinctive kindness and
-generosity of disposition induce you to be careful and considerate as to
-your manner of conveying it.  Will your royal highness throw this kind
-forbearance aside?  I am able to bear everything; and I am listening."
-
-"Ah!" replied Henrietta, "what do you understand, then?"
-
-"That which your royal highness wishes me to understand," said Raoul,
-trembling, notwithstanding his command over himself, as he pronounced
-these words.
-
-"In point of fact," murmured the princess… "it seems cruel, but since I
-have begun - "
-
-"Yes, Madame, once your highness has deigned to begin, will you
-condescend to finish - "
-
-Henrietta rose hurriedly and walked a few paces up and down her room.
-"What did M. de Guiche tell you?" she said, suddenly.
-
-"Nothing, Madame."
-
-"Nothing!  Did he say nothing?  Ah! how well I recognize him in that."
-
-"No doubt he wished to spare me."
-
-"And that is what friends call friendship.  But surely, M. d'Artagnan,
-whom you have just left, must have told you."
-
-"No more than De Guiche, Madame."
-
-Henrietta made a gesture full of impatience, as she said, "At least, you
-know all the court knows."
-
-"I know nothing at all, Madame."
-
-"Not the scene in the storm?"
-
-"No, Madame."
-
-"Not the _tete-a-tete_ in the forest?"
-
-"No, Madame."
-
-"Nor the flight to Chaillot?"
-
-Raoul, whose head dropped like a blossom cut down by the reaper, made an
-almost superhuman effort to smile, as he replied with the greatest
-gentleness: "I have had the honor of telling your royal highness that I
-am absolutely ignorant of everything, that I am a poor unremembered
-outcast, who has this moment arrived from England.  There have rolled so
-many stormy waves between myself and those I left behind me here, that
-the rumor of none of the circumstances your highness refers to, has been
-able to reach me."
-
-Henrietta was affected by his extreme pallor, his gentleness, and his
-great courage.  The principal feeling in her heart at that moment was an
-eager desire to hear the nature of the remembrance which the poor lover
-retained of the woman who had made him suffer so much.  "Monsieur de
-Bragelonne," she said, "that which your friends have refused to do, I
-will do for you, whom I like and esteem very much.  I will be your friend
-on this occasion.  You hold your head high, as a man of honor should; and
-I deeply regret that you may have to bow before ridicule, and in a few
-days, it might be, contempt."
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Raoul, perfectly livid.  "It is as bad as that, then?"
-
-"If you do not know," said the princess, "I see that you guess; you were
-affianced, I believe, to Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"By that right, you deserve to be warned about her, as some day or
-another I shall be obliged to dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valliere from my
-service - "
-
-"Dismiss La Valliere!" cried Bragelonne.
-
-"Of course.  Do you suppose I shall always be amenable to the tears and
-protestations of the king?  No, no! my house shall no longer be made a
-convenience for such practices; but you tremble, you cannot stand - "
-
-"No, Madame, no," said Bragelonne, making an effort over himself; "I
-thought I should have died just now, that was all.  Your royal highness
-did me the honor to say that the king wept and implored you - "
-
-"Yes, but in vain," returned the princess; who then related to Raoul the
-scene that took place at Chaillot, and the king's despair on his return;
-she told him of his indulgence to herself and the terrible word with
-which the outraged princess, the humiliated coquette, had quashed the
-royal anger.
-
-Raoul stood with his head bent down.
-
-"What do you think of it all?" she said.
-
-"The king loves her," he replied.
-
-"But you seem to think she does not love him!"
-
-"Alas, Madame, I was thinking of the time when she loved _me_."
-
-Henrietta was for a moment struck with admiration at this sublime
-disbelief: and then, shrugging her shoulders, she said, "You do not
-believe me, I see.  How deeply you must love her.  And you doubt if she
-loves the king?"
-
-"I do, until I have a proof of it.  Forgive me, Madame, but she has given
-me her word; and her mind and heart are too upright to tell a falsehood."
-
-"You require a proof!  Be it so.  Come with me, then."
-
-
-Chapter LIII:
-A Domiciliary Visit.
-
-The princess, preceding Raoul, led him through the courtyard towards that
-part of the building La Valliere inhabited, and, ascending the same
-staircase which Raoul himself had ascended that very morning, she paused
-at the door of the room in which the young man had been so strangely
-received by Montalais.  The opportunity was remarkably well chosen to
-carry out the project Madame Henrietta had conceived, for the chateau was
-empty.  The king, the courtiers, and the ladies of the court, had set off
-for Saint-Germain; Madame Henrietta was the only one who knew of
-Bragelonne's return, and thinking over the advantages which might be
-drawn from this return, she had feigned indisposition in order to remain
-behind.  Madame was therefore confident of finding La Valliere's room and
-Saint-Aignan's apartment perfectly empty.  She took a pass-key from her
-pocket and opened the door of her maid of honor's apartment.
-Bragelonne's gaze was immediately fixed upon the interior of the room,
-which he recognized at once; and the impression which the sight of it
-produced upon him was torture.  The princess looked at him, and her
-practiced eye at once detected what was passing in the young man's heart.
-
-"You asked for proofs," she said; "do not be astonished, then, if I give
-you them.  But if you do not think you have courage enough to confront
-them, there is still time to withdraw."
-
-"I thank you, Madame," said Bragelonne; "but I came here to be
-convinced.  You promised to convince me, - do so."
-
-"Enter, then," said Madame, "and shut the door behind you."
-
-Bragelonne obeyed, and then turned towards the princess, whom he
-interrogated by a look.
-
-"You know where you are, I suppose?" inquired Madame Henrietta.
-
-"Everything leads me to believe I am in Mademoiselle de la Valliere's
-room."
-
-"You are."
-
-"But I would observe to your highness, that this room is a room, and is
-not a proof."
-
-"Wait," said the princess, as she walked to the foot of the bed, folded
-up the screen into its several compartments, and stooped down towards the
-floor.  "Look here," she continued; "stoop down and lift up this trap-
-door yourself."
-
-"A trap-door!" said Raoul, astonished; for D'Artagnan's words began to
-return to his memory, and he had an indistinct recollection that
-D'Artagnan had made use of the same word.  He looked, but uselessly, for
-some cleft or crevice which might indicate an opening or a ring to assist
-in lifting up the planking.
-
-"Ah, I forgot," said Madame Henrietta, "I forgot the secret spring; the
-fourth plank of the flooring, - press on the spot where you will observe
-a knot in the wood.  Those are the instructions; press, vicomte! press, I
-say, yourself."
-
-Raoul, pale as death, pressed his finger on the spot which had been
-indicated to him; at the same moment the spring began to work, and the
-trap rose of its own accord.
-
-"It is ingenious enough, certainly," said the princess; "and one can see
-that the architect foresaw that a woman's hand only would have to make
-use of this spring, for see how easily the trap-door opened without
-assistance."
-
-"A staircase!" cried Raoul.
-
-"Yes, and a very pretty one, too," said Madame Henrietta.  "See, vicomte,
-the staircase has a balustrade, intended to prevent the falling of timid
-persons, who might be tempted to descend the staircase; and I will risk
-myself on it accordingly.  Come, vicomte, follow me!"
-
-"But before following you, madame, may I ask where this staircase leads
-to?"
-
-"Ah, true; I forgot to tell you.  You know, perhaps, that formerly M. de
-Saint-Aignan lived in the very next apartment to the king?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, I am aware of that; that was the arrangement, at least,
-before I left; and more than once I had the honor of visiting his rooms."
-
-"Well, he obtained the king's leave to change his former convenient and
-beautiful apartment for the two rooms to which this staircase will
-conduct us, and which together form a lodging for him half the size, and
-at ten times greater the distance from the king, - a close proximity to
-whom is by no means disdained, in general, by the gentlemen belonging to
-the court."
-
-"Very good, Madame," returned Raoul; "but go on, I beg, for I do not
-understand yet."
-
-"Well, then it accidentally happened," continued the princess, "that M.
-de Saint-Aignan's apartment is situated underneath the apartments of my
-maids of honor, and by a further coincidence, exactly underneath the room
-of La Valliere."
-
-"But what was the motive of this trap-door and this staircase?"
-
-"That I cannot tell you.  Would you like to go down to Monsieur de Saint-
-Aignan's rooms?  Perhaps we shall be able to find the solution of the
-enigma there."
-
-And Madame set the example by going down herself, while Raoul, sighing
-deeply, followed her.  At every step Bragelonne took, he advanced further
-into that mysterious apartment which had witnessed La Valliere's sighs
-and still retained the perfume of her presence.  Bragelonne fancied he
-perceived, as he inhaled the atmosphere, that the young girl must have
-passed through.  Then succeeded to these emanations of herself, which he
-regarded as invisible though certain proofs, flowers she preferred to all
-others - books of her own selection.  If Raoul retained a single doubt on
-the subject, it would have vanished at the secret harmony of tastes and
-connection of the mind with the ordinary objects of life.  La Valliere,
-in Bragelonne's eyes, was present there in each article of furniture, in
-the color of the hangings, in all that surrounded him.  Dumb, and now
-completely overwhelmed, there was nothing further for him now to learn,
-and he followed his pitiless conductress as blindly as the culprit
-follows the executioner; while Madame, as cruel as women of overstrung
-temperaments generally are, did not spare him the slightest detail.  But
-it must be admitted that, notwithstanding the kind of apathy into which
-he had fallen, none of these details, even had he been left alone, would
-have escaped him.  The happiness of the woman who loves, when that
-happiness is derived from a rival, is a living torture for a jealous man;
-but for a jealous man such as Raoul was, for one whose heart for the
-first time in its existence was being steeped in gall and bitterness,
-Louise's happiness was in reality an ignominious death, a death of body
-and soul.  He guessed all; he fancied he could see them, with their hands
-clasped in each other's, their faces drawn close together, and reflected,
-side by side, in loving proximity, and they gazed upon the mirrors around
-them - so sweet an occupation for lovers, who, as they thus see
-themselves twice over, imprint the picture still more deeply on their
-memories.  He could guess, too, the stolen kiss snatched as they
-separated from each other's loved society.  The luxury, the studied
-elegance, eloquent of the perfection of indolence, of ease; the extreme
-care shown, either to spare the loved object every annoyance, or to
-occasion her a delightful surprise; that might and majesty of love
-multiplied by the majesty and might of royalty itself, seemed like a
-death-blow to Raoul.  If there be anything which can in any way assuage
-or mitigate the tortures of jealousy, it is the inferiority of the man
-who is preferred to yourself; whilst, on the very contrary, if there be
-one anguish more bitter than another, a misery for which language lacks a
-word, it is the superiority of the man preferred to yourself, superior,
-perhaps, in youth, beauty, grace.  It is in such moments as these that
-Heaven almost seems to have taken part against the disdained and rejected
-lover.
-
-One final pang was reserved for poor Raoul.  Madame Henrietta lifted up a
-silk curtain, and behind the canvas he perceived La Valliere's portrait.
-Not only the portrait of La Valliere, but of La Valliere radiant with
-youth, beauty, and happiness, inhaling life and enjoyment at every pore,
-because at eighteen years of age love itself is life.
-
-"Louise!" murmured Bragelonne, - "Louise! is it true, then?  Oh, you have
-never loved me, for never have you looked at me in that manner."  And he
-felt as if his heart were crushed within his bosom.
-
-Madame Henrietta looked at him, almost envious of his extreme grief,
-although she well knew there was nothing to envy in it, and that she
-herself was as passionately loved by De Guiche as Louise by Bragelonne.
-Raoul interpreted Madame Henrietta's look.
-
-"Oh, forgive me, forgive me, Madame; in your presence I know I ought to
-have greater self-control.  But Heaven grant that you may never be struck
-by similar misery to that which crushes me at this moment, for you are
-but a woman, and would not be able to endure so terrible an affliction.
-Forgive me, I again entreat you, Madame; I am but a man without rank or
-position, while you belong to a race whose happiness knows no bounds,
-whose power acknowledges no limit."
-
-"Monsieur de Bragelonne," replied Henrietta, "a mind such as your merits
-all the consideration and respect which a queen's heart even can bestow.
-Regard me as your friend, monsieur; and as such, indeed, I would not
-allow your whole life to be poisoned by perfidy, and covered with
-ridicule.  It was I, indeed, who, with more courage than any of your
-pretended friends, - I except M. de Guiche, - was the cause of your
-return from London; it is I, also, who now give you the melancholy
-proofs, necessary, however, for your cure if you are a lover with courage
-in his heart, and not a weeping Amadis.  Do not thank me; pity me, even,
-and do not serve the king less faithfully than you have done."
-
-Raoul smiled bitterly.  "Ah! true, true; I was forgetting that; the king
-is my master."
-
-"Your liberty, nay, your very life, is in danger."
-
-A steady, penetrating look informed Madame Henrietta that she was
-mistaken, and that her last argument was not a likely one to affect the
-young man.  "Take care, Monsieur de Bragelonne," she said, "for if you do
-not weigh well all your actions, you might throw into an extravagance of
-wrath a prince whose passions, once aroused, exceed the bounds of reason,
-and you would thereby involve your friends and family in the deepest
-distress; you must bend, you must submit, and you must cure yourself."
-
-"I thank you, Madame; I appreciate the advice your royal highness is good
-enough to give me, and I will endeavor to follow it; but one final word,
-I beg."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"Should I be indiscreet in asking you the secret of this staircase, of
-this trap-door; a secret, which, it seems, you have discovered?"
-
-"Nothing more simple.  For the purpose of exercising a surveillance over
-the young girls who are attached to my service, I have duplicate keys of
-their doors.  It seemed very strange to me that M. de Saint-Aignan should
-change his apartments.  It seemed very strange that the king should come
-to see M. de Saint-Aignan every day, and, finally, it seemed very strange
-that so many things should be done during your absence, that the very
-habits and customs of the court appeared changed.  I do not wish to be
-trifled with by the king, nor to serve as a cloak for his love affairs;
-for after La Valliere, who weeps incessantly, he will take a fancy to
-Montalais, who is always laughing; and then to Tonnay-Charente, who does
-nothing but sing all day; to act such a part as that would be unworthy of
-me.  I thrust aside the scruples which my friendship for you suggested.
-I discovered the secret.  I have wounded your feelings, I know, and I
-again entreat you to pardon me; but I had a duty to fulfil.  I have
-discharged it.  You are now forewarned; the tempest will soon burst;
-protect yourself accordingly."
-
-"You naturally expect, however, that a result of some kind must follow,"
-replied Bragelonne, with firmness; "for you do not suppose I shall
-silently accept the shame thus thrust upon me, or the treachery which has
-been practiced against me?"
-
-"You will take whatever steps in the matter you please, Monsieur Raoul,
-only do not betray the source whence you derived the truth.  That is all
-I have to ask, - the only price I require for the service I have rendered
-you."
-
-"Fear nothing, Madame," said Bragelonne, with a bitter smile.
-
-"I bribed the locksmith, in whom the lovers confided.  You can just as
-well have done so as myself, can you not?"
-
-"Yes, Madame.  Your royal highness, however, has no other advice or
-caution to give me, except that of not betraying you?"
-
-"None."
-
-"I am about, therefore, to beg your royal highness to allow me to remain
-here for one moment."
-
-"Without me?"
-
-"Oh! no, Madame.  It matters very little; for what I have to do can be
-done in your presence.  I only ask one moment to write a line to some
-one."
-
-"It is dangerous, Monsieur de Bragelonne.  Take care."
-
-"No one can possibly know that your royal highness has done me the honor
-to conduct me here.  Besides, I shall sign the letter I am going to
-write."
-
-"Do as you please, then."
-
-Raoul drew out his tablet, and wrote rapidly on one of the leaves the
-following words:
-
-"MONSIEUR LE COMTE, - Do not be surprised to find this paper signed by
-me; the friend I shall very shortly send to call on you will have the
-honor to explain the object of my visit.
-"VICOMTE RAOUL DE BRAGELONNE."
-
-He rolled up the paper, slipped it into the lock of the door which
-communicated with the room set apart for the two lovers, and satisfied
-himself that the missive was so apparent that Saint-Aignan could not but
-see it as he entered; he rejoined the princess, who had already reached
-the top of the staircase.  They then separated, Raoul pretending to thank
-her highness; Henrietta pitying, or seeming to pity, with all her heart,
-the wretched young man she had just condemned to such fearful torture.
-"Oh!" she said, as she saw him disappear, pale as death, and his eyes
-bursting with blood, "if I had foreseen this, I would have hid the truth
-from that poor gentleman."
-
-
-Chapter LIV:
-Porthos's Plan of Action.
-
-The great number of individuals we have introduced into this long story
-is the reason why each of them has been forced to appear only in turn,
-according to the exigencies of the recital.  The result is, that our
-readers have had no opportunity of meeting our friend Porthos since his
-return from Fontainebleau.  The honors which he had received from the
-king had not changed the easy, affectionate character of that excellent-
-hearted man; he may, perhaps, have held up his head a little higher than
-usual, and a majesty of demeanor, as it were, may have betrayed itself
-since the honor of dining at the king's table had been accorded him.  His
-majesty's banqueting-room had produced a certain effect on Porthos.  Le
-Seigneur de Bracieux et de Pierrefonds delighted to remember that, during
-that memorable dinner, the numerous array of servants, and the large
-number of officials in attendance on the guests, gave a certain tone and
-effect to the repast, and seemed, as it were, to furnish the room.
-Porthos undertook to confer upon Mouston a position of some kind or
-other, in order to establish a sort of hierarchy among his other
-domestics, and to create a military household, which was not unusual
-among the great captains of the age, since, in the preceding century,
-this luxury had been greatly encouraged by Messieurs de Treville, de
-Schomberg, de la Vieuville, without alluding to M. de Richelieu, M. de
-Conde, and de Bouillon-Turenne.  And, therefore, why should not he,
-Porthos, the friend of the king, and of M. Fouquet, a baron, and
-engineer, etc., why should not he, indeed, enjoy all the delightful
-privileges which large possessions and unusual merit invariably confer?
-Somewhat neglected by Aramis, who, we know, was greatly occupied with M.
-Fouquet; neglected, also, on account of his being on duty, by D'Artagnan;
-tired of Truchen and Planchet, Porthos was surprised to find himself
-dreaming, without precisely knowing why; but if any one had said to him,
-"Do you want anything, Porthos?" he would most certainly have replied,
-"Yes."  After one of those dinners, during which Porthos attempted to
-recall to his recollection all the details of the royal banquet, gently
-joyful, thanks to the excellence of the wines; gently melancholy, thanks
-to his ambitions ideas, Porthos was gradually falling off into a placid
-doze, when his servant entered to announce that M. de Bragelonne wished
-to speak to him.  Porthos passed into an adjoining room, where he found
-his young friend in the disposition of mind we are already aware of.
-Raoul advanced towards Porthos, and shook him by the hand; Porthos,
-surprised at his seriousness of aspect, offered him a seat.  "Dear M. du
-Vallon," said Raoul, "I have a service to ask of you."
-
-"Nothing could happen more fortunately, my young friend," replied
-Porthos; "I have eight thousand livres sent me this morning from
-Pierrefonds; and if you want any money - "
-
-"No, I thank you; it is not money."
-
-"So much the worse, then.  I have always heard it said that that is the
-rarest service, but the easiest to render.  The remark struck me; I like
-to cite remarks that strike me."
-
-"Your heart is as good as your mind is sound and true."
-
-"You are much too kind, I declare.  You will dine here, of course?"
-
-"No; I am not hungry."
-
-"Eh! not dine?  What a dreadful country England is!"
-
-"Not too much so, indeed - but - "
-
-"Well, if such excellent fish and meat were not to be procured there, it
-would hardly be endurable."
-
-"Yes, I came to - "
-
-"I am listening.  Only just allow me to take a little sip.  One gets
-thirsty in Paris;" and he ordered a bottle of champagne to be brought;
-and, having first filled Raoul's glass, he filled his own, drank it down
-at a gulp, and then resumed: "I needed that, in order to listen to you
-with proper attention.  I am now entirely at your service.  What do you
-wish to ask me, dear Raoul?  What do you want?"
-
-"Give me your opinion on quarrels in general, my dear friend."
-
-"My opinion!  Well - but - Explain your idea a little more coherently,"
-replied Porthos, rubbing his forehead.
-
-"I mean - you are generally good-humored, good-tempered, whenever any
-misunderstanding arises between a friend of yours and a stranger, for
-instance?"
-
-"Oh! in the best of tempers."
-
-"Very good; but what do you do, in such a case?"
-
-"Whenever any friend of mine gets into a quarrel, I always act on one
-principle."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That lost time is irreparable, and one never arranges an affair so well
-as when everything has been done to embroil the disputants as much as
-possible."
-
-"Ah! indeed, is that the principle on which you proceed?"
-
-"Precisely; so, as soon as a quarrel takes place, I bring the two parties
-together."
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"You understand that by this means it is impossible for an affair not to
-be arranged."
-
-"I should have thought that, treated in this manner, an affair would, on
-the contrary - "
-
-"Oh! not the least in the world.  Just fancy, now, I have had in my life
-something like a hundred and eighty to a hundred and ninety regular
-duels, without reckoning hasty encounters, or chance meetings."
-
-"It is a very handsome aggregate," said Raoul, unable to resist a smile.
-
-"A mere nothing; but I am so gentle.  D'Artagnan reckons his duels by
-hundreds.  It is very true he is a little too hard and sharp - I have
-often told him so."
-
-"And so," resumed Raoul, "you generally arrange the affairs of honor your
-friends confide to you."
-
-"There is not a single instance in which I have not finished by arranging
-every one of them," said Porthos, with a gentleness and confidence that
-surprised Raoul.
-
-"But the way in which you settle them is at least honorable, I suppose?"
-
-"Oh! rely upon that; and at this stage, I will explain my other principle
-to you.  As soon as my friend has intrusted his quarrel to me, this is
-what I do; I go to his adversary at once, armed with a politeness and
-self-possession absolutely requisite under such circumstances."
-
-"That is the way, then," said Raoul, bitterly, "that you arrange affairs
-so safely."
-
-"I believe you.  I go to the adversary, then, and say to him: 'It is
-impossible, monsieur, that you are ignorant of the extent to which you
-have insulted my friend.'"  Raoul frowned at this remark.
-
-"It sometimes happens - very often, indeed," pursued Porthos - "that my
-friend has not been insulted at all; he has even been the first to give
-offense; you can imagine, therefore, whether my language is or is not
-well chosen."  And Porthos burst into a peal of laughter.
-
-"Decidedly," said Raoul to himself while the merry thunder of Porthos's
-laughter was resounding in his ears, "I am very unfortunate.  De Guiche
-treats me with coolness, D'Artagnan with ridicule, Porthos is too tame;
-no one will settle this affair in the only way I wish it to be settled.
-And I came to Porthos because I wanted to find a sword instead of cold
-reasoning at my service.  My ill-luck dogs me."
-
-Porthos, who had recovered himself, continued: "By one simple expression,
-I leave my adversary without an excuse."
-
-"That is as it may happen," said Raoul, absently.
-
-"Not at all, it is quite certain.  I have not left him an excuse; and
-then it is that I display all my courtesy, in order to attain the happy
-issue of my project.  I advance, therefore, with an air of great
-politeness, and taking my adversary by the hand, I say to him: 'Now that
-you are convinced of having given the offense, we are sure of reparation;
-between my friend and yourself, the future can only offer an exchange of
-mutual courtesies of conduct, and consequently, my mission now is to
-acquaint you with the length of my friend's sword.'"
-
-"What!" said Raoul.
-
-"Wait a minute.  'The length of my friend's sword.  My horse is waiting
-below; my friend is in such and such a spot and is impatiently awaiting
-your agreeable society; I will take you with me; we can call upon your
-second as we go along:' and the affair is arranged."
-
-"And so," said Raoul, pale with vexation, "you reconcile the two
-adversaries on the ground."
-
-"I beg your pardon," interrupted Porthos.  "Reconcile!  What for?"
-
-"You said that the affair was arranged."
-
-"Of course! since my friend is waiting for him."
-
-"Well! what then?  If he is waiting - "
-
-"Well! if he is waiting, it is merely to stretch his legs a little.  The
-adversary, on the contrary, is stiff from riding; they place themselves
-in proper order, and my friend kills the opponent, and the affair is
-ended."
-
-"Ah! he kills him, then?" cried Raoul.
-
-"I should think so," said Porthos.  "Is it likely I should ever have as a
-friend a man who allows himself to get killed?  I have a hundred and one
-friends; at the head of the list stand your father, Aramis, and
-D'Artagnan, all of whom are living and well, I believe?"
-
-"Oh, my dear baron," exclaimed Raoul, as he embraced Porthos.
-
-"You approve of my method, then?" said the giant.
-
-"I approve of it so thoroughly, that I shall have recourse to it this
-very day, without a moment's delay, - at once, in fact.  You are the very
-man I have been looking for."
-
-"Good; here I am, then; you want to fight, I suppose?"
-
-"Absolutely."
-
-"It is very natural.  With whom?"
-
-"With M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"I know him - a most agreeable man, who was exceedingly polite to me the
-day I had the honor of dining with the king.  I shall certainly
-acknowledge his politeness in return, even if it had not happened to be
-my usual custom.  So, he has given you an offense?"
-
-"A mortal offense."
-
-"The deuce!  I can say so, I suppose?"
-
-"More than that, even, if you like."
-
-"That is a very great convenience."
-
-"I may look upon it as one of your arranged affairs, may I not?" said
-Raoul, smiling.
-
-"As a matter of course.  Where will you be waiting for him?"
-
-"Ah!  I forgot; it is a very delicate matter.  M. de Saint-Aignan is a
-very great friend of the king's."
-
-"So I have heard it said."
-
-"So that if I kill him - "
-
-"Oh! you will kill him, certainly; you must take every precaution to do
-so.  But there is no difficulty in these matters now; if you had lived in
-our early days, - ah, those were days worth living for!"
-
-"My dear friend, you do not quite understand me.  I mean, that M. de
-Saint-Aignan being a friend of the king, the affair will be more
-difficult to manage, since the king might learn beforehand - "
-
-"Oh! no; that is not likely.  You know my method: 'Monsieur, you have
-just injured my friend, and - '"
-
-"Yes, I know it."
-
-"And then: 'Monsieur, I have horses below.'  I carry him off before he
-can have spoken to any one."
-
-"Will he allow himself to be carried off like that?"
-
-"I should think so!  I should like to see it fail.  It would be the first
-time, if it did.  It is true, though, that the young men of the present
-day - Bah!  I would carry him off bodily, if that were all," and Porthos,
-adding gesture to speech, lifted Raoul and the chair he was sitting on
-off the ground, and carried them round the room.
-
-"Very good," said Raoul, laughing.  "All we have to do is to state the
-grounds of the quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Well, but that is done, it seems."
-
-"No, my dear M. du Vallon, the usage of the present day requires that the
-cause of the quarrel should be explained."
-
-"Very good.  Tell me what it is, then."
-
-"The fact is - "
-
-"Deuce take it! how troublesome all this is!  In former days we had no
-occasion to say anything about the matter.  People fought for the sake of
-fighting; and I, for one, know no better reason than that."
-
-"You are quite right, M. du Vallon."
-
-"However, tell me what  the cause is."
-
-"It is too long a story to tell; only, as one must particularize to a
-certain extent, and as, on the other hand, the affair is full of
-difficulties, and requires the most absolute secrecy, you will have the
-kindness merely to tell M. de Saint-Aignan that he has, in the first
-place, insulted me by changing his lodgings."
-
-"By changing his lodgings?  Good," said Porthos, who began to count on
-his fingers; "next?"
-
-"Then in getting a trap-door made in his new apartments."
-
-"I understand," said Porthos; "a trap-door: upon my word, that is very
-serious; you ought to be furious at that.  What the deuce does the fellow
-mean by getting trap-doors made without first consulting you?  Trap-
-doors! _mordioux!_  I haven't got any, except in my dungeons at Bracieux."
-
-"And you will please add," said Raoul, "that my last motive for
-considering myself insulted is, the existence of the portrait that M. de
-Saint-Aignan well knows."
-
-"Is it possible?  A portrait, too!  A change of residence, a trap-door,
-and a portrait!  Why, my dear friend, with but one of these causes of
-complaint there is enough, and more than enough, for all the gentlemen in
-France and Spain to cut each other's throats, and that is saying but very
-little."
-
-"Well, my dear friend, you are furnished with all you need, I suppose?"
-
-"I shall take a second horse with me.  Select your own rendezvous, and
-while you are waiting there, you can practice some of the best passes, so
-as to get your limbs as elastic as possible."
-
-"Thank you.  I shall be waiting for you in the wood of Vincennes, close
-to Minimes."
-
-"All goes well, then.  Where am I to find this M. de Saint-Aignan?"
-
-"At the Palais Royal."
-
-Porthos ran a huge hand-bell.  "My court suit," he said to the servant
-who answered the summons, "my horse, and a led horse to accompany me."
-Then turning to Raoul, as soon as the servant had quitted the room, he
-said: "Does your father know anything about this?"
-
-"No; I am going to write to him."
-
-"And D'Artagnan?"
-
-"No, nor D'Artagnan either.  He is very cautions, you know, and might
-have diverted me from my purpose."
-
-"D'Artagnan is a sound adviser, though," said Porthos, astonished that,
-in his own loyal faith in D'Artagnan, any one could have thought of
-himself, so long as there was a D'Artagnan in the world.
-
-"Dear M. du Vallon," said Raoul, "do not question me any more, I implore
-you.  I have told you all that I had to say; it is prompt action I now
-expect, sharp and decided as you know how to arrange it.  That, indeed,
-is my reason for having chosen you."
-
-"You will be satisfied with me," replied Porthos.
-
-"Do not forget, either, that, except ourselves, no one must know anything
-of this meeting."
-
-"People generally find these things out," said Porthos, dryly, "when a
-dead body is discovered in a wood.  But I promise everything, my dear
-friend, except the concealment of the dead body.  There it is, and it
-must be seen, as a matter of course.  It is a principle of mine, not to
-bury bodies.  That has a smack of the assassin about it.  Every risk has
-its peculiarities."
-
-"To work, then, my dear friend."
-
-"Rely upon me," said the giant, finishing the bottle, while a servant
-spread out upon a sofa the gorgeously decorated dress trimmed with lace.
-
-Raoul left the room, saying to himself, with a secret delight,
-"Perfidious king! traitorous monarch!  I cannot reach thee.  I do not
-wish it; for kings are sacred objects.  But your friend, your accomplice,
-your panderer - the coward who represents you - shall pay for your
-crime.  I will kill him in thy name, and, afterwards, we will bethink
-ourselves of - _Louise_."
-
-
-Chapter LV:
-The Change of Residence, the Trap-Door, and the Portrait.
-
-Porthos, intrusted, to his great delight, with this mission, which made
-him feel young again, took half an hour less than his usual time to put
-on his court suit.  To show that he was a man acquainted with the usages
-of high society, he had begun by sending his lackey to inquire if
-Monsieur de Saint-Aignan were at home, and heard, in answer, that M. le
-Comte de Saint-Aignan had had the honor of accompanying the king to Saint-
-Germain, as well as the whole court; but that monsieur le comte had just
-that moment returned.  Immediately upon this reply, Porthos made as much
-haste as possible, and reached Saint-Aignan's apartments just as the
-latter was having his boots taken off.  The promenade had been
-delightful.  The king, who was in love more than ever, and of course
-happier than ever, behaved in the most charming manner to every one.
-Nothing could possibly equal his kindness.  M. de Saint-Aignan, it may be
-remembered, was a poet, and fancied that he had proved that he was so
-under too many a memorable circumstance to allow the title to be disputed
-by any one.  An indefatigable rhymester, he had, during the whole of the
-journey, overwhelmed with quatrains, sextains, and madrigals, first the
-king, and then La Valliere.  The king, on his side, was in a similarly
-poetical mood, and had made a distich; while La Valliere, delighting in
-poetry, as most women do who are in love, had composed two sonnets.  The
-day, then, had not been a bad one for Apollo; and so, as soon as he had
-returned to Paris, Saint-Aignan, who knew beforehand that his verse would
-be sure to be extensively circulated in court circles, occupied himself,
-with a little more attention than he had been able to bestow during the
-promenade, with the composition, as well as with the idea itself.
-Consequently, with all the tenderness of a father about to start his
-children in life, he candidly interrogated himself whether the public
-would find these offsprings of his imagination sufficiently elegant and
-graceful; and in order to make his mind easy on the subject, M. de Saint-
-Aignan recited to himself the madrigal he had composed, and which he had
-repeated from memory to the king, and had promised to write out for him
-on his return.  All the time he was committing these words to memory, the
-comte was engaged in undressing himself more completely.  He had just
-taken off his coat, and was putting on his dressing-gown, when he was
-informed that Monsieur le Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds was
-waiting to be received.
-
-"Eh!" he said, "what does that bunch of names mean?  I don't know
-anything about him."
-
-"It is the same gentleman," replied the lackey, "who had the honor of
-dining with you, monseigneur, at the king's table, when his majesty was
-staying at Fontainebleau."
-
-"Introduce him, then, at once," cried Saint-Aignan.
-
-Porthos, in a few minutes, entered the room.  M. de Saint-Aignan had an
-excellent recollection of persons, and, at the first glance, he
-recognized the gentleman from the country, who enjoyed so singular a
-reputation, and whom the king had received so favorably at Fontainebleau,
-in spite of the smiles of some of those who were present.  He therefore
-advanced towards Porthos with all the outward signs of consideration of
-manner which Porthos thought but natural, considering that he himself,
-whenever he called upon an adversary, hoisted a standard of the most
-refined politeness.  Saint-Aignan desired the servant to give Porthos a
-chair; and the latter, who saw nothing unusual in this act of politeness,
-sat down gravely and coughed.  The ordinary courtesies having been
-exchanged between the two gentlemen, the comte, to whom the visit was
-paid, said, "May I ask, monsieur le baron, to what happy circumstance I
-am indebted for the favor of a visit from you?"
-
-"The very thing I am about to have the honor of explaining to you,
-monsieur le comte; but, I beg your pardon - "
-
-"What is the matter, monsieur?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"I regret to say that I have broken your chair."
-
-"Not at all, monsieur," said Saint-Aignan; "not at all."
-
-"It is the fact, though, monsieur le comte; I have broken it - so much
-so, indeed, that if I do not move, I shall fall down, which would be an
-exceedingly disagreeable position for me in the discharge of the very
-serious mission which has been intrusted to me with regard to yourself."
-
-Porthos rose; and but just in time, for the chair had given way several
-inches.  Saint-Aignan looked about him for something more solid for his
-guest to sit upon.
-
-"Modern articles of furniture," said Porthos, while the comte was looking
-about, "are constructed in a ridiculously flimsy manner.  In my early
-days, when I used to sit down with far more energy than is now the case,
-I do not remember ever to have broken a chair, except in taverns, with my
-arms."
-
-Saint-Aignan smiled at this remark.  "But," said Porthos, as he settled
-himself down on a couch, which creaked, but did not give way beneath his
-weight, "that unfortunately has nothing whatever to do with my present
-visit."
-
-"Why unfortunately?  Are you the bearer of a message of ill-omen,
-monsieur le baron?"
-
-"Of ill-omen - for a gentleman?  Certainly not, monsieur le comte,"
-replied Porthos, nobly.  "I have simply come to say that you have
-seriously insulted a friend of mine."
-
-"I, monsieur?" exclaimed Saint-Aignan - "I have insulted a friend of
-yours, do you say?  May I ask his name?"
-
-"M. Raoul de Bragelonne."
-
-"I have insulted M. Raoul de Bragelonne!" cried Saint-Aignan.  "I really
-assure you, monsieur, that it is quite impossible; for M. de Bragelonne,
-whom I know but very slightly, - nay, whom I know hardly at all - is in
-England, and, as I have not seen him for a long time past, I cannot
-possibly have insulted him."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne is in Paris, monsieur le comte," said Porthos,
-perfectly unmoved; "and I repeat, it is quite certain you have insulted
-him, since he himself told me you had.  Yes, monsieur, you have seriously
-insulted him, mortally insulted him, I repeat."
-
-"It is impossible, monsieur le baron, I swear, quite impossible."
-
-"Besides," added Porthos, "you cannot be ignorant of the circumstance,
-since M. de Bragelonne informed me that he had already apprised you of it
-by a note."
-
-"I give you my word of honor, monsieur, that I have received no note
-whatever."
-
-"This is most extraordinary," replied Porthos.
-
-"I will convince you," said Saint-Aignan, "that  have received nothing in
-any way from him."  And he rang the bell.  "Basque," he said to the
-servant who entered, "how many letters have or notes were sent here
-during my absence?"
-
-"Three, monsieur le comte - a note from M. de Fiesque, one from Madame de
-Laferte, and a letter from M. de las Fuentes."
-
-"Is that all?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur le comte."
-
-"Speak the truth before this gentleman - the truth, you understand.  I
-will take care you are not blamed."
-
-"There was a note, also, from - from - "
-
-"Well, from whom?"
-
-"From Mademoiselle - de - "
-
-"Out with it!"
-
-"De Laval."
-
-"That is quite sufficient," interrupted Porthos.  "I believe you,
-monsieur le comte."
-
-Saint-Aignan dismissed the valet, and followed him to the door, in order
-to close it after him; and when he had done so, looking straight before
-him, he happened to see in the keyhole of the adjoining apartment the
-paper which Bragelonne had slipped in there as he left.  "What is this?"
-he said.
-
-Porthos, who was sitting with his back to the room, turned round.  "Aha!"
-he said.
-
-"A note in the keyhole!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan.
-
-"That is not unlikely to be the missing letter, monsieur le comte," said
-Porthos.
-
-Saint-Aignan took out the paper.  "A note from M. de Bragelonne!" he
-exclaimed.
-
-"You see, monsieur, I was right.  Oh, when I say a thing - "
-
-"Brought here by M. de Bragelonne himself," the comte murmured, turning
-pale.  "This is infamous!  How could he possibly have come here?"  And
-the comte rang again.
-
-"Who has been here during my absence with the king?"
-
-"No one, monsieur."
-
-"That is impossible!  Some one must have been here."
-
-"No one could possibly have entered, monsieur, since the keys have never
-left my pocket."
-
-"And yet I find the letter in yonder lock; some one must have put it
-there; it could not have come here of its own accord."
-
-Basque opened his arms as if signifying the most absolute ignorance on
-the subject.
-
-"Probably it was M. de Bragelonne himself who placed it there," said
-Porthos.
-
-"In that case he must have entered here."
-
-"How could that have been, since I have the key in my own pocket?"
-returned Basque, perseveringly.
-
-Saint-Aignan crumpled the letter in his palm, after having read it.
-"There is something mysterious about this," he murmured, absorbed in
-thought.  Porthos left him to his reflections; but after a while returned
-to the mission he had undertaken.
-
-"Shall we return to our little affair?" Porthos resumed, addressing Saint-
-Aignan after a brief pause.
-
-"I think I can now understand it, from this note, which has arrived here
-in so singular a manner.  Monsieur de Bragelonne says that a friend will
-call."
-
-"I am his friend.  I am the person he alludes to."
-
-"For the purpose of giving me a challenge?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"And he complains that I have insulted him?"
-
-"Mortally."
-
-"In what way, may I ask; for his conduct is so mysterious, that, at
-least, it needs some explanation?"
-
-"Monsieur," replied Porthos, "my friend cannot but be right; and, as far
-as his conduct is concerned, if it be mysterious, as you say, you have
-only yourself to blame for it."  Porthos pronounced these words with an
-amount of confidence which, for a man who was unaccustomed to his ways,
-must have revealed an infinity of sense.
-
-"Mystery, so be it; but what is all the mystery about?" said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You will think it the best, perhaps," Porthos replied, with a low bow,
-"if I do not enter in to particulars."
-
-"Oh, I perfectly understand.  We will touch very lightly upon it, then,
-so speak, monsieur, I am listening."
-
-"In the first place, monsieur," said Porthos, "you have changed your
-apartments."
-
-"Yes, that is quite true," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You admit it," said Porthos, with an air of satisfaction.
-
-"Admit it! of course I admit it.  Why should I not admit it, do you
-suppose?"
-
-"You have admitted it.  Very good," said Porthos, lifting up one finger.
-
-"But how can my having moved my lodgings have done M. de Bragelonne any
-harm?  Have the goodness to tell me that, for I positively do not
-comprehend a word of what you are saying."
-
-Porthos stopped him, and then said, with great gravity, "Monsieur, this
-is the first of M. de Bragelonne's complaints against you.  If he makes a
-complaint, it is because he feels himself insulted."
-
-Saint-Aignan began to beat his foot impatiently on the ground.  "This
-looks like a spurious quarrel," he said.
-
-"No one can possibly have a spurious quarrel with the Vicomte de
-Bragelonne," returned Porthos; "but, at all events, you have nothing to
-add on the subject of your changing your apartments, I suppose?"
-
-"Nothing.  And what is the next point?"
-
-"Ah, the next!  You will observe, monsieur, that the one I have already
-mentioned is a most serious injury, to which you have given no answer, or
-rather, have answered very indifferently.  Is it possible, monsieur, that
-you have changed your lodgings?  M. de Bragelonne feels insulted at your
-having done so, and you do not attempt to excuse yourself."
-
-"What!" cried Saint-Aignan, who was getting annoyed at the perfect
-coolness of his visitor - "what! am I to consult M. de Bragelonne whether
-I am to move or not?  You can hardly be serious, monsieur."
-
-"I am.  And it is absolutely necessary, monsieur; but under any
-circumstances, you will admit that it is nothing in comparison with the
-second ground of complaint."
-
-"Well, what is that?"
-
-Porthos assumed a very solemn expression as he said: "How about the trap-
-door, monsieur?"
-
-Saint-Aignan turned exceedingly pale.  He pushed back his chair so
-abruptly, that Porthos, simple as he was, perceived that the blow had
-told.  "The trap-door," murmured Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Yes, monsieur, explain that if you can," said Porthos, shaking his head.
-
-Saint-Aignan held down his head, as he murmured: "I have been betrayed,
-everything is known!"
-
-"Everything," replied Porthos, who knew nothing.
-
-"You see me perfectly overwhelmed," pursued Saint-Aignan, "overwhelmed
-to a degree that I hardly know what I am about."
-
-"A guilty conscience, monsieur.  Your affair is a bad one, and when the
-public learns all about it, it will judge - "
-
-"Oh, monsieur!" exclaimed the count, hurriedly, "such a secret ought not
-to be known even by one's confessor."
-
-"That we will think about," said Porthos; "the secret will not go far, in
-fact."
-
-"Surely, monsieur," returned Saint-Aignan, "since M. de Bragelonne has
-penetrated the secret, he must be aware of the danger he as well as
-others run the risk of incurring."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne runs no danger, monsieur, nor does he fear any either,
-as you, if it please Heaven, will find out very soon."
-
-"This fellow is a perfect madman," thought Saint-Aignan.  "What, in
-Heaven's name, does he want?"  He then said aloud: "Come, monsieur, let
-us hush up this affair."
-
-"You forget the portrait," said Porthos, in a voice of thunder, which
-made the comte's blood freeze in his veins.
-
-As the portrait in question was La Valliere's portrait, and no mistake
-could any longer exist on the subject, Saint-Aignan's eyes were
-completely opened.  "Ah!" he exclaimed - "ah! monsieur, I remember now
-that M. de Bragelonne was engaged to be married to her."
-
-Porthos assumed an imposing air, all the majesty of ignorance, in fact,
-as he said: "It matters nothing whatever to me, nor to yourself, indeed,
-whether or not my friend was, as you say, engaged to be married.  I am
-even astonished that you should have made use of so indiscreet a remark.
-It may possibly do your cause harm, monsieur."
-
-"Monsieur," replied Saint-Aignan, "you are the incarnation of
-intelligence, delicacy, and loyalty of feeling united.  I see the whole
-matter now clearly enough."
-
-"So much the better," said Porthos.
-
-"And," pursued Saint-Aignan, "you have made me comprehend it in the most
-ingenious and the most delicate manner possible.  I beg you to accept my
-best thanks."  Porthos drew himself up, unable to resist the flattery of
-the remark.  "Only, now that I know everything, permit me to explain - "
-
-Porthos shook his head, as a an who does not wish to hear, but Saint-
-Aignan continued: "I am in despair, I assure you, at all that has
-happened; but how would you have acted in my place?  Come, between
-ourselves, tell me what you would have done?"
-
-Porthos drew himself up as he answered: "There is now no question of all
-of what I should have done, young man; you have been made acquainted with
-the three causes of complaint against you, I believe?"
-
-"As for the first, my change of rooms, and I now address myself to you as
-a man of honor and of great intelligence, could I, when the desire of so
-august a personage was so urgently expressed that I should move, ought I
-to have disobeyed?"
-
-Porthos was about to speak, but Saint-Aignan did not give him time to
-answer.  "Ah! my frankness, I see, convinces you," he said, interpreting
-the movement according to his own fancy.  "You feel that I am right."
-
-Porthos did not reply, and so Saint-Aignan continued: "I pass by that
-unfortunate trap-door," he said, placing his hand on Porthos's arm, "that
-trap-door, the occasion and means of so much unhappiness, and which was
-constructed for - you know what.  Well, then, in plain truth, do you
-suppose that  it was I who, of my own accord, in such a place, too, had
-that trap-door made? - Oh, no! - you do not believe it; and here, again,
-you feel, you guess, you understand the influence of a will superior to
-my own.  You can conceive the infatuation, the blind, irresistible
-passion which has been at work.  But, thank Heaven!  I am fortunate in
-speaking to a man who has so much sensitiveness of feeling; and if it
-were not so, indeed, what an amount of misery and scandal would fall upon
-her, poor girl! and upon him - whom I will not name."
-
-Porthos, confused and bewildered by the eloquence and gestures of Saint-
-Aignan, made a thousand efforts to stem this torrent of words, of which,
-by the by, he did not understand a single one; he remained upright and
-motionless on his seat, and that was all he could do.  Saint-Aignan
-continued, and gave a new inflection to his voice, and an increasing
-vehemence to his gesture: "As for the portrait, for I readily believe the
-portrait is the principal cause of complaint, tell me candidly if you
-think me to blame? - Who was it who wished to have her portrait?  Was it
-I? - Who is in love with her?  Is it I? - Who wishes to gain her
-affection?  Again, is it I? - Who took her likeness?  I, do you think?
-No! a thousand times no!  I know M. de Bragelonne must be in a state of
-despair; I know these misfortunes are most cruel.  But I, too, am
-suffering as well; and yet there is no possibility of offering any
-resistance.  Suppose we were to fight? we would be laughed at.  If he
-obstinately persist in his course, he is lost.  You will tell me, I know,
-that despair is ridiculous, but then you are a sensible man.  You have
-understood me.  I perceived by your serious, thoughtful, embarrassed air,
-even, that the importance of the situation we are placed in has not
-escaped you.  Return, therefore, to M. de Bragelonne; thank him - as I
-have indeed reason to thank him - for having chosen as an intermediary a
-man of your high merit.  Believe me that I shall, on my side, preserve an
-eternal gratitude for the man who has so ingeniously, so cleverly
-arranged the misunderstanding between us.  And since ill luck would have
-it that the secret should be known to four instead of three, why, this
-secret, which might make the most ambitious man's fortune, I am delighted
-to share with you, monsieur, from the bottom of my heart I am delighted
-at it.  From this very moment you can make use of me as you please, I
-place myself entirely at your mercy.  What can I possibly do for you?
-What can I solicit, nay, require even?  You have only to speak, monsieur,
-only to speak."
-
-And, according to the familiarly friendly fashion of that period, Saint-
-Aignan threw his arms round Porthos, and clasped him tenderly in his
-embrace.  Porthos allowed him to do this with the most perfect
-indifference.  "Speak," resumed Saint-Aignan, "what do you require?"
-
-"Monsieur," said Porthos, "I have a horse below: be good enough to mount
-him; he is a very good one and will play you no tricks."
-
-"Mount on horseback! what for?" inquired Saint-Aignan, with no little
-curiosity.
-
-"To accompany me to where M. de Bragelonne is waiting us."
-
-"Ah! he wishes to speak to me, I suppose?  I can well believe that; he
-wishes to have the details, very likely; alas! it is a very delicate
-matter; but at the present moment I cannot, for the king is waiting for
-me."
-
-"The king must wait, then" said Porthos.
-
-"What do you say? the king must wait!" interrupted the finished courtier,
-with a smile of utter amazement, for he could not understand that the
-king could under any circumstances be supposed to have to wait.
-
-"It is merely the affair of a very short hour," returned Porthos.
-
-"But where is M. de Bragelonne waiting for me?"
-
-"At the Minimes, at Vincennes."
-
-"Ah, indeed! but are we going to laugh over the affair when we get there?"
-
-"I don't think it likely," said Porthos, as his face assumed a look of
-utter hardness.
-
-"But the Minimes is a rendezvous where duels take place, and what can I
-have to do at the Minimes?"
-
-Porthos slowly drew his sword, and said: "That is the length of my
-friend's sword."
-
-"Why, the man is mad!" cried Saint-Aignan.
-
-The color mounted to Porthos's face, as he replied: "If I had not the
-honor of being in your own apartment, monsieur, and of representing M. de
-Bragelonne's interests, I would throw you out of the window.  It will be
-merely a pleasure postponed, and you will lose nothing by waiting.  Will
-you come with me to the Minimes, monsieur, of your own free will?"
-
-"But - "
-
-"Take care, I will carry you if you do not come quickly."
-
-"Basque!" cried Saint-Aignan.  As soon as Basque appeared, he said, "The
-king wishes to see monsieur le comte."
-
-"That is very different," said Porthos; "the king's service before
-anything else.  We will wait until this evening, monsieur."
-
-And saluting Saint-Aignan with his usual courtesy, Porthos left the room,
-delighted at having arranged another affair.  Saint-Aignan looked after
-him as he left; and then hastily putting on his court dress again, he ran
-off, arranging his costume as he went along, muttering to himself, "The
-Minimes! the Minimes!  We shall see how the king will fancy this
-challenge; for it is for him after all, that is certain."
-
-
-Chapter LVI:
-Rivals in Politics.
-
-On his return from the promenade, which had been so prolific in poetical
-effusions, and in which every one had paid his or her tribute to the
-Muses, as the poets of the period used to say, the king found M. Fouquet
-waiting for an audience.  M. Colbert had lain in wait for his majesty in
-the corridor, and followed him like a jealous and watchful shadow; M.
-Colbert, with his square head, his vulgar and untidy, though rich
-costume, somewhat resembled a Flemish gentleman after he had been over-
-indulging in his national drink - beer.  Fouquet, at sight of his enemy,
-remained perfectly unmoved, and during the whole of the scene which
-followed scrupulously resolved to observe a line of conduct particularly
-difficult to the man of superior mind, who does not even wish to show his
-contempt, for fear of doing his adversary too much honor.  Colbert made
-no attempt to conceal his insolent expression of the vulgar joy he felt.
-In his opinion, M. Fouquet's was a game very badly played and hopelessly
-lost, although not yet finished.  Colbert belonged to that school of
-politicians who think cleverness alone worthy of their admiration, and
-success the only thing worth caring for.  Colbert, moreover, who was not
-simply an envious and jealous man, but who had the king's interest really
-at heart, because he was thoroughly imbued with the highest sense of
-probity in all matters of figures and accounts, could well afford to
-assign as a pretext for his conduct, that in hating and doing his utmost
-to ruin M. Fouquet, he had nothing in view but the welfare of the state
-and the dignity of the crown.  None of these details escaped Fouquet's
-observation; through his enemy's thick, bushy brows, and despite the
-restless movement of his eyelids, he could, by merely looking at his
-eyes, penetrate to the very bottom of Colbert's heart, and he read to
-what an unbounded extent hate towards himself and triumph at his
-approaching fall existed there.  But as, in observing everything, he
-wished to remain himself impenetrable, he composed his features, smiled
-with the charmingly sympathetic smile that was peculiarly his own, and
-saluted the king with the most dignified and graceful ease and elasticity
-of manner.  "Sire," he said, "I perceive by your majesty's joyous air
-that you have been gratified with the promenade."
-
-"Most gratified, indeed, monsieur le surintendant, most gratified.  You
-were very wrong not to come with us, as I invited you to do."
-
-"I was working, sire," replied the superintendent, who did not even seem
-to take the trouble to turn aside his head in merest respect of Colbert's
-presence.
-
-"Ah!  M. Fouquet," cried the king, "there is nothing like the country.  I
-should be delighted to live in the country always, in the open air and
-under the trees."
-
-"I should hope that your majesty is not yet weary of the throne," said
-Fouquet.
-
-"No; but thrones of soft turf are very pleasant."
-
-"Your majesty gratifies my utmost wishes in speaking in that manner, for
-I have a request to submit to you."
-
-"On whose behalf, monsieur?"
-
-"Oh behalf of the nymphs of Vaux, sire."
-
-"Ah! ah!" said Louis XIV.
-
-"Your majesty, too, once deigned to make me a promise," said Fouquet.
-
-"Yes, I remember it."
-
-"The _fete_ at Vaux, the celebrated _fete_, I think, it was, sire," said
-Colbert, endeavoring to show his importance by taking part in the
-conversation.
-
-Fouquet, with the profoundest contempt, did not take the slightest notice
-of the remark, as if, as far as he was concerned, Colbert had not even
-thought or said a word.
-
-"Your majesty is aware," he said, "that I destine my estate at Vaux to
-receive the most amiable of princes, the most powerful of monarchs."
-
-"I have given you my promise, monsieur," said Louis XIV., smiling; "and a
-king never departs from his word."
-
-"And I have come now, sire, to inform your majesty that I am ready to
-obey your orders in every respect."
-
-"Do you promise me many wonders, monsieur le surintendant?" said Louis,
-looking at Colbert.
-
-"Wonders?  Oh! no, sire.  I do not undertake that.  I hope to be able to
-procure your majesty a little pleasure, perhaps even a little
-forgetfulness of the cares of state."
-
-"Nay, nay, M. Fouquet," returned the king; "I insist upon the word
-'wonders.'  You are a magician, I believe; we all know the power you
-wield; we also know that you can find gold even when there is none to be
-found elsewhere; so much so, indeed, that people say you coin it."
-
-Fouquet felt that the shot was discharged from a double quiver, and that
-the king had launched an arrow from his own bow as well as one from
-Colbert's.  "Oh!" said he, laughingly, "the people know perfectly well
-out of what mine I procure the gold; and they know it only too well,
-perhaps; besides," he added, "I can assure your majesty that the gold
-destined to pay the expenses of the _fete_ at Vaux will cost neither
-blood nor tears; hard labor it may, perhaps, but that can be paid for."
-
-Louis paused quite confused.  He wished to look at Colbert; Colbert, too,
-wished to reply to him; a glance as swift as an eagle's, a king-like
-glance, indeed, which Fouquet darted at the latter, arrested the words
-upon his lips.  The king, who had by this time recovered his self-
-possession, turned towards Fouquet, saying, "I presume, therefore, I am
-now to consider myself formally invited?"
-
-"Yes, sire, if your majesty will condescend so far as to accept my
-invitation."
-
-"What day have you fixed?"
-
-"Any day your majesty may find most convenient."
-
-"You speak like an enchanter who has but to conjure up in actuality the
-wildest fancies, Monsieur Fouquet.  I could not say so much, indeed,
-myself."
-
-"Your majesty will do, whenever you please, everything that a monarch can
-and ought to do.  The king of France has servants at his bidding who are
-able to do anything on his behalf, to accomplish everything to gratify
-his pleasures."
-
-Colbert tried to look at the superintendent, in order to see whether this
-remark was an approach to less hostile sentiments on his part; but
-Fouquet had not even looked at his enemy, and Colbert hardly seemed to
-exist as far as he was concerned.  "Very good, then," said the king.
-"Will a week hence suit you?"
-
-"Perfectly well, sire."
-
-"This is Tuesday; if I give you until next Sunday week, will that be
-sufficient?"
-
-"The delay which your majesty deigns to accord me will greatly aid the
-various works which my architects have in hand for the purpose of adding
-to the amusement of your majesty and your friends."
-
-"By the by, speaking of my friends," resumed the king; "how do you intend
-to treat them?"
-
-"The king is master everywhere, sire; your majesty will draw up your own
-list and give your own orders.  All those you may deign to invite will be
-my guests, my honored guests, indeed."
-
-"I thank you!" returned the king, touched by the noble thought expressed
-in so noble a tone.
-
-Fouquet, therefore, took leave of Louis XIV., after a few words had been
-added with regard to the details of certain matters of business.  He felt
-that Colbert would remain behind with the king, that they would both
-converse about him, and that neither of them would spare him in the least
-degree.  The satisfaction of being able to give a last and terrible blow
-to his enemy seemed to him almost like a compensation for everything they
-were about to subject him to.  He turned back again immediately, as soon,
-indeed, as he had reached the door, and addressing the king, said, "I was
-forgetting that I had to crave your majesty's forgiveness."
-
-"In what respect?" said the king, graciously.
-
-"For having committed a serious fault without perceiving it."
-
-"A fault!  You!  Ah!  Monsieur Fouquet, I shall be unable to do otherwise
-than forgive you.  In what way or against whom have you been found
-wanting?"
-
-"Against every sense of propriety, sire.  I forgot to inform your majesty
-of a circumstance that has lately occurred of some little importance."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-Colbert trembled; he fancied that he was about to frame a denunciation
-against him.  His conduct had been unmasked.  A single syllable from
-Fouquet, a single proof formally advanced, and before the youthful
-loyalty of feeling which guided Louis XIV., Colbert's favor would
-disappear at once; the latter trembled, therefore, lest so daring a blow
-might overthrow his whole scaffold; in point of fact, the opportunity was
-so admirably suited to be taken advantage of, that a skillful, practiced
-player like Aramis would not have let it slip.  "Sire," said Fouquet,
-with an easy, unconcerned air, "since you have had the kindness to
-forgive me, I am perfectly indifferent about my confession; this morning
-I sold one of the official appointments I hold."
-
-"One of your appointments," said the king, "which?"
-
-Colbert turned perfectly livid.  "That which conferred upon me, sire, a
-grand gown, and a stern air of gravity; the appointment of procureur-
-general."
-
-The king involuntarily uttered a loud exclamation and looked at Colbert,
-who, with his face bedewed with perspiration, felt almost on the point of
-fainting.  "To whom have you sold this department, Monsieur Fouquet?"
-inquired the king.
-
-Colbert was obliged to lean against a column of the fireplace.  "To a
-councilor belonging to the parliament, sire, whose name is Vanel."
-
-"Vanel?"
-
-"Yes, sire, a particular friend of the intendant Colbert," added Fouquet;
-letting every word fall from his lips with the most inimitable
-nonchalance, and with an admirably assumed expression of forgetfulness
-and ignorance.  And having finished, and having overwhelmed Colbert
-beneath the weight of this superiority, the superintendent again saluted
-the king and quitted the room, partially revenged by the stupefaction of
-the king and the humiliation of the favorite.
-
-"Is it really possible," said the king, as soon as Fouquet had
-disappeared, "that he has sold that office?"
-
-"Yes, sire," said Colbert, meaningly.
-
-"He must be mad," the king added.
-
-Colbert this time did not reply; he had penetrated the king's thought, a
-thought which amply revenged him for the humiliation he had just been
-made to suffer; his hatred was augmented by a feeling of bitter jealousy
-of Fouquet; and a threat of disgrace was now added to the plan he had
-arranged for his ruin.  Colbert felt perfectly assured that for the
-future, between Louis XIV. and himself, their hostile feelings and ideas
-would meet with no obstacles, and that at the first fault committed by
-Fouquet, which could be laid hold of as a pretext, the chastisement so
-long impending would be precipitated.  Fouquet had thrown aside his
-weapons of defense, and hate and jealousy had picked them up.  Colbert
-was invited by the king to the _fete_ at Vaux; he bowed like a man
-confident in himself, and accepted the invitation with the air of one who
-almost confers a favor.  The king was about writing down Saint-Aignan's
-name on his list of royal commands, when the usher announced the Comte de
-Saint-Aignan.  As soon as the royal "Mercury" entered, Colbert discreetly
-withdrew.
-
-
-Chapter LVII:
-Rivals in Love.
-
-Saint-Aignan had quitted Louis XIV. hardly a couple of hours before; but
-in the first effervescence of his affection, whenever Louis XIV. was out
-of sight of La Valliere, he was obliged to talk about her.  Besides, the
-only person with whom he could speak about her at his ease was Saint-
-Aignan, and thus Saint-Aignan had become an indispensable.
-
-"Ah, is that you, comte?" he exclaimed, as soon as he perceived him,
-doubly delighted, not only to see him again, but also to get rid of
-Colbert, whose scowling face always put him out of humor.  "So much the
-better, I am very glad to see you.  You will make one of the best
-traveling party, I suppose?"
-
-"Of what traveling part are you speaking, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The one we are making up to go to the _fete_ the superintendent is about
-to give at Vaux.  Ah!  Saint-Aignan, you will, at last, see a _fete_, a
-royal _fete_, by the side of which all our amusements at Fontainebleau
-are petty, contemptible affairs."
-
-"At Vaux! the superintendent going to give a _fete_ in your majesty's
-honor?  Nothing more than that!"
-
-"'Nothing more than that,' do you say?  It is very diverting to find you
-treating it with so much disdain.  Are you who express such an
-indifference on the subject, aware, that as soon as it is known that M.
-Fouquet is going to receive me at Vaux next Sunday week, people will be
-striving their very utmost to get invited to the _fete?_  I repeat, Saint-
-Aignan, you shall be one of the invited guests."
-
-"Very well, sire; unless I shall, in the meantime, have undertaken a
-longer and a less agreeable journey."
-
-"What journey do you allude to?"
-
-"The one across the Styx, sire."
-
-"Bah!" said Louis XIV., laughing.
-
-"No, seriously, sire," replied Saint-Aignan, "I am invited; and in such a
-way, in truth, that I hardly know what to say, or how to act, in order to
-refuse the invitation."
-
-"I do not understand you.  I know that you are in a poetical vein; but
-try not to sink from Apollo to Phoebus."
-
-"Very well; if your majesty will deign to listen to me, I will not keep
-your mind on the rack a moment longer."
-
-"Speak."
-
-"Your majesty knows the Baron du Vallon?"
-
-"Yes, indeed; a good servant to my father, the late king, and an
-admirable companion at table; for, I think, you are referring to the
-gentleman who dined with us at Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Precisely so; but you have omitted to add to his other qualifications,
-sire, that he is a most charming polisher-off of other people."
-
-"What!  Does M. du Vallon wish to polish you off?"
-
-"Or to get me killed, which is much the same thing."
-
-"The deuce!"
-
-"Do not laugh, sire, for I am not saying one word beyond the exact truth."
-
-"And you say he wishes to get you killed."
-
-"Such is that excellent person's present idea."
-
-"Be easy; I will defend you, if he be in the wrong."
-
-"Ah!  There is an 'if'!"
-
-"Of course; answer me as candidly as if it were some one else's affair
-instead of your own, my poor Saint-Aignan; is he right or wrong?"
-
-"Your majesty shall be the judge."
-
-"What have you done to him?"
-
-"To him, personally, nothing at all; but, it seems, to one of his
-friends, I have."
-
-"It is all the same.  Is his friend one of the celebrated 'four'?"
-
-"No.  It is the son of one of the celebrated 'four,' though."
-
-"What have you done to the son?  Come, tell me."
-
-"Why, it seems that I have helped some one to take his mistress from him."
-
-"You confess it, then?"
-
-"I cannot help confessing it, for it is true."
-
-"In that case, you are wrong; and if he were to kill you, he would be
-doing perfectly right."
-
-"Ah! that is your majesty's way of reasoning, then!"
-
-"Do you think it a bad way?"
-
-"It is a very expeditious way, at all events."
-
-"'Good justice is prompt;' so my grandfather Henry IV. used to say."
-
-"In that case, your majesty will, perhaps, be good enough to sign my
-adversary's pardon, for he is now waiting for me at the Minimes, for the
-purpose of putting me out of my misery."
-
-"His name, and a parchment!"
-
-"There is a parchment upon your majesty's table; and for his name - "
-
-"Well, what is it?"
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne, sire."
-
-"'The Vicomte de Bragelonne!'" exclaimed the king; changing from a fit of
-laughter to the most profound stupor, and then, after a moment's silence,
-while he wiped his forehead, which was bedewed with perspiration, he
-again murmured, "Bragelonne!"
-
-"No other, sire."
-
-"Bragelonne, who was affianced to - "
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"But - he has been in London."
-
-"Yes; but I can assure you, sire, he is there no longer."
-
-"Is he in Paris, then?"
-
-"He is at Minimes, sire, where he is waiting for me, as I have already
-had the honor of telling you."
-
-"Does he know all?"
-
-"Yes; and many things besides.  Perhaps your majesty would like to look
-at the letter I have received from him;" and Saint-Aignan drew from his
-pocket the note we are already acquainted with.  "When your majesty has
-read the letter, I will tell you how it reached me."
-
-The king read it in a great agitation, and immediately said, "Well?"
-
-"Well, sire; your majesty knows a certain carved lock, closing a certain
-door of carved ebony, which separates a certain apartment from a certain
-blue and white sanctuary?"
-
-"Of course; Louise's boudoir."
-
-"Yes, sire.  Well, it was in the keyhole of that lock that I found yonder
-note."
-
-"Who placed it there?"
-
-"Either M. de Bragelonne, or the devil himself; but, inasmuch as the note
-smells of musk and not of sulphur, I conclude that it must be, not the
-devil, but M. de Bragelonne."
-
-Louis bent his head, and seemed absorbed in sad and bitter thought.
-Perhaps something like remorse was at that moment passing through his
-heart.  "The secret is discovered," he said.
-
-"Sire, I shall do my utmost that the secret dies in the breast of the man
-who possesses it!" said Saint-Aignan, in a tone of bravado, as he moved
-towards the door; but a gesture of the king made him pause.
-
-"Where are you going?" he inquired.
-
-"Where they await me, sire."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To fight, in all probability."
-
-"_You_ fight!" exclaimed the king.  "One moment, if you please, monsieur
-le comte!"
-
-Saint-Aignan shook his head, as a rebellious child does, whenever any one
-interferes to prevent him throwing himself into a well, or playing with a
-knife.  "But, sire," he said.
-
-"In the first place," continued the king.  "I want to be enlightened a
-little further."
-
-"Upon all points, if your majesty will be pleased to interrogate me,"
-replied Saint-Aignan, "I will throw what light I can."
-
-"Who told you that M. de Bragelonne had penetrated into that room?"
-
-"The letter which I found in the keyhole told me."
-
-"Who told you that it was De Bragelonne who put it there?"
-
-"Who but himself would have dared to undertake such a mission?"
-
-"You are right.  How was he able to get into your rooms?"
-
-"Ah! that is very serious, inasmuch as all the doors were closed, and my
-lackey, Basque, had the keys in his pocket."
-
-"Your lackey must have been bribed."
-
-"Impossible, sire; for if he had been bribed, those who did so would not
-have sacrificed the poor fellow, whom, it is not unlikely, they might
-want to turn to further use by and by, in showing so clearly that it was
-he whom they had made use of."
-
-"Quite true.  And now I can only form one conjecture."
-
-"Tell me what it is, sire, and we shall see if it is the same that has
-presented itself to my mind."
-
-"That he effected an entrance by means of the staircase."
-
-"Alas, sire, that seems to me more than probable."
-
-"There is no doubt that some one must have sold the secret of the trap-
-door."
-
-"Either sold it or given it."
-
-"Why do you make that distinction?"
-
-"Because there are certain persons, sire, who, being above the price of
-treason, give, and do not sell."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"Oh, sire!  Your majesty's mind is too clear-sighted not to guess what I
-mean, and you will save me the embarrassment of naming the person I
-allude to."
-
-"You are right: you mean Madame; I suppose her suspicions were aroused by
-your changing your lodgings."
-
-"Madame has keys of the apartments of her maids of honor, and she is
-powerful enough to discover what no one but yourself could do, or she
-would not be able to discover anything."
-
-"And you suppose, then, that my sister must have entered into an alliance
-with Bragelonne, and has informed him of all the details of the affair."
-
-"Possibly even better still, for she perhaps accompanied him there."
-
-"Which way? through your own apartments?"
-
-"You think it impossible, sire?  Well, listen to me.  Your majesty knows
-that Madame is very fond of perfumes?"
-
-"Yes, she acquired that taste from my mother."
-
-"Vervain, particularly."
-
-"Yes, it is the scent she prefers to all others."
-
-"Very good, sire! my apartments happen to smell very strongly of vervain."
-
-The king remained silent and thoughtful for a few moments, and then
-resumed: "But why should Madame take Bragelonne's part against me?"
-
-Saint-Aignan could very easily have replied: "A woman's jealousy!"  The
-king probed his friend to the bottom of his heart to ascertain if he had
-learned the secret of his flirtation with his sister-in-law.  But Saint-
-Aignan was not an ordinary courtier; he did not lightly run the risk of
-finding out family secrets; and he was too a friend of the Muses not to
-think very frequently of poor Ovidius Naso, whose eyes shed so many tears
-in expiation of his crime for having once beheld something, one hardly
-knows what, in the palace of Augustus.  He therefore passed by Madame's
-secret very skillfully.  But as he had shown no ordinary sagacity in
-indicating Madame's presence in his rooms in company with Bragelonne, it
-was necessary, of course, for him to repay with interest the king's
-_amour propre_, and reply plainly to the question which had been put to
-him of: "Why has Madame taken Bragelonne's part against me?"
-
-"Why?" replied Saint-Aignan.  "Your majesty forgets, I presume, that the
-Comte de Guiche is the intimate friend of the Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"I do not see the connection, however," said the king.
-
-"Ah!  I beg your pardon, then, sire; but I thought the Comte de Guiche
-was a very great friend of Madame's."
-
-"Quite true," the king returned; "there is no occasion to search any
-further, the blow came from that direction."
-
-"And is not your majesty of opinion that, in order to ward it off, it
-will be necessary to deal another blow?"
-
-"Yes, but not one of the kind given in the Bois de Vincennes," replied
-the king.
-
-"You forget, sire," said Saint-Aignan, "that I am a gentleman, and that I
-have been challenged."
-
-"The challenge neither concerns nor was it intended for you."
-
-"But I am the man, sire, who has been expected at the Minimes, sire,
-during the last hour and more; and I shall be dishonored if I do not go."
-
-"The first honor and duty of a gentleman is obedience to his sovereign."
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"I order you to remain."
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"Obey, monsieur!"
-
-"As your majesty pleases."
-
-"Besides, I wish to have the whole of this affair explained; I wish to
-know how it is that I have been so insolently trifled with, as to have
-the sanctuary of my affections pried into.  It is not you, Saint-Aignan,
-whose business it is to punish those who have acted in this manner, for
-it is not your honor they have attacked, but my own."
-
-"I implore your majesty not to overwhelm M. de Bragelonne with your
-wrath, for although in the whole of this affair he may have shown himself
-deficient in prudence, he has not been so in his feelings of loyalty."
-
-"Enough!  I shall know how to decide between the just and the unjust,
-even in the height of my anger.  But take care that not a word of this is
-breathed to Madame."
-
-"But what am I to do with regard to M. de Bragelonne?  He will be seeking
-me in every direction, and - "
-
-"I shall either have spoken to him, or taken care that he has been spoken
-to, before the evening is over."
-
-"Let me once more entreat your majesty to be indulgent towards him."
-
-"I have been indulgent long enough, comte," said Louis XIV., frowning
-severely; "it is now quite time to show certain persons that I am master
-in my own palace."
-
-The king had hardly pronounced these words, which betokened that a fresh
-feeling of irritation was mingling with the recollections of old, when an
-usher appeared at the door of the cabinet.  "What is the matter?"
-inquired the king, "and why do you presume to come when I have not
-summoned you?"
-
-"Sire," said the usher, "your majesty desired me to permit M. le Comte de
-la Fere to pass freely on any and every occasion, when he might wish to
-speak to your majesty."
-
-"Well, monsieur?"
-
-"M. le Comte de la Fere is now waiting to see your majesty."
-
-The king and Saint-Aignan at this reply exchanged a look which betrayed
-more uneasiness than surprise.  Louis hesitated for a moment, but
-immediately afterwards, seeming to make up his mind, he said:
-
-"Go, Saint-Aignan, and find Louise; inform her of the plot against us; do
-not let her be ignorant that Madame will return to her system of
-persecutions against her, and that she has set those to work who would
-have found it far safer to remain neuter."
-
-"Sire - "
-
-"If Louise gets nervous and frightened, reassure her as much as you can;
-tell her that the king's affection is an impenetrable shield over her;
-if, which I suspect is the case, she already knows everything, or if she
-has already been herself subjected to an attack of some kind or other
-from any quarter, tell her, be sure to tell her, Saint-Aignan," added the
-king, trembling with passion, "tell her, I say, that this time, instead
-of defending her, I will avenge her, and that too so terribly that no one
-will in future even dare to raise his eyes towards her."
-
-"Is that all, sire?"
-
-"Yes, all.  Go as quickly as you can, and remain faithful; for, you who
-live in the midst of this stake of infernal torments, have not, like
-myself, the hope of the paradise beyond it."
-
-Saint-Aignan exhausted himself in protestations of  devotion, took the
-king's hand, kissed it, and left the room radiant with delight.
-
-
-Chapter LVIII:
-King and Noble.
-
-The king endeavored to recover his self-possession as quickly as
-possible, in order to meet M. de la Fere with an untroubled countenance.
-He clearly saw it was not mere chance that had induced the comte's visit,
-he had some vague impression of its importance; but he felt that to a man
-of Athos's tone of mind, to one of such a high order of intellect, his
-first reception ought not to present anything either disagreeable or
-otherwise than kind and courteous.  As soon as the king had satisfied
-himself that, as far as appearances went, he was perfectly calm again, he
-gave directions to the ushers to introduce the comte.  A few minutes
-afterwards Athos, in full court dress, and with his breast covered with
-the orders that he alone had the right to wear at the court of France,
-presented himself with so grave and solemn an air that the king
-perceived, at the first glance, that he was not deceived in his
-anticipations.  Louis advanced a step towards the comte, and, with a
-smile, held out his hand to him, over which Athos bowed with the air of
-the deepest respect.
-
-"Monsieur le Comte de la Fere," said the king rapidly, "you are so seldom
-here, that it is a real piece of good fortune to see you."
-
-Athos bowed and replied, "I should wish always to enjoy the happiness of
-being near your majesty."
-
-The tone, however, in which this reply was conveyed, evidently signified,
-"I should wish to be one of your majesty's advisers, to save you the
-commission of faults."  The king felt it so, and determined in this man's
-presence to preserve all the advantages which could be derived from his
-command over himself, as well as from his rank and position.
-
-"I see you have something to say to me," he said.
-
-"Had it not been so, I should not have presumed to present myself before
-your majesty."
-
-"Speak quickly, I am anxious to satisfy you," returned the king, seating
-himself.
-
-"I am persuaded," replied Athos, in a somewhat agitated tone of voice,
-"that your majesty will give me every satisfaction."
-
-"Ah!" said the king, with a certain haughtiness of manner, "you have come
-to lodge a complaint here, then?"
-
-"It would be a complaint," returned Athos, "only in the event of your
-majesty - but if you will deign to permit me, sire, I will begin the
-conversation from the very commencement."
-
-"Do so, I am listening."
-
-"Your majesty will remember that at the period of the Duke of
-Buckingham's departure, I had the honor of an interview with you."
-
-"At or about that period, I think I remember you did; only, with regard
-to the subject of the conversation, I have quite forgotten it."
-
-Athos started, as he replied.  "I shall have the honor to remind your
-majesty of it.  It was with regard to a formal demand I had addressed to
-you respecting a marriage which M. de Bragelonne wished to contract with
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" thought the king, "we have come to it now. - I remember," he said,
-aloud.
-
-"At that period," pursued Athos, "your majesty was so kind and generous
-towards M. de Bragelonne and myself, that not a single word which then
-fell from your lips has escaped my memory; and, when I asked your majesty
-to accord me Mademoiselle de la Valliere's hand for M. de Bragelonne, you
-refused."
-
-"Quite true," said Louis, dryly.
-
-"Alleging," Athos hastened to say, "that the young lady had no position
-in society."
-
-Louis could hardly force himself to listen with an appearance of royal
-propriety.
-
-"That," added Athos, "she had but little fortune."
-
-The king threw himself back in his armchair.
-
-"That her extraction was indifferent."
-
-A renewed impatience on the part of the king.
-
-"And little beauty," added Athos, pitilessly.
-
-This last bolt buried itself deep in the king's heart, and made him
-almost bound from his seat.
-
-"You have a good memory, monsieur," he said.
-
-"I invariably have, on occasions when I have had the distinguished honor
-of an interview with your majesty," retorted the comte, without being in
-the least disconcerted.
-
-"Very good: it is admitted that I said all that."
-
-"And I thanked your majesty for your remarks at the time, because they
-testified an interest in M. de Bragelonne which did him much honor."
-
-"And you may possibly remember," said the king, very deliberately, "that
-you had the greatest repugnance for this marriage."
-
-"Quite true, sire."
-
-"And that you solicited my permission, much against your own inclination?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And finally, I remember, for I have a memory nearly as good as your own;
-I remember, I say, that you observed at the time: 'I do not believe that
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere loves M. de Bragelonne.'  Is that true?"
-
-The blow told well, but Athos did not draw back.  "Sire," he said, "I
-have already begged your majesty's forgiveness; but there are certain
-particulars in that conversation which are only intelligible from the
-_denouement_."
-
-"Well, what is the _denouement_, monsieur?"
-
-"This: that your majesty then said, 'that you would defer the marriage
-out of regard for M. de Bragelonne's own interests.'"
-
-The king remained silent.  "M. de Bragelonne is now so exceedingly
-unhappy that he cannot any longer defer asking your majesty for a
-solution of the matter."
-
-The king turned pale; Athos looked at him with fixed attention.
-
-"And what," said the king, with considerable hesitation, "does M. de
-Bragelonne request?"
-
-"Precisely the very thing that I came to ask your majesty for at my last
-audience, namely, your majesty's consent to his marriage."
-
-The king remained perfectly silent.  "The questions which referred to the
-different obstacles in the way are all now quite removed for us,"
-continued Athos.  "Mademoiselle de la Valliere, without fortune, birth,
-or beauty, is not the less on that account the only good match in the
-world for M. de Bragelonne, since he loves this young girl."
-
-The king pressed his hands impatiently together.  "Does your majesty
-hesitate?" inquired the comte, without losing a particle of either his
-firmness of his politeness.
-
-"I do not hesitate - I refuse," replied the king.
-
-Athos paused a moment, as if to collect himself: "I have had the honor,"
-he said, in a mild tone, "to observe to your majesty that no obstacle now
-interferes with M. de Bragelonne's affections, and that his determination
-seems unalterable."
-
-"There is my will - and that is an obstacle, I should imagine!"
-
-"That is the most serious of all," Athos replied quickly.
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"And may we, therefore, be permitted to ask your majesty, with the
-greatest humility, your reason for this refusal?"
-
-"The reason! - A question to me!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"A demand, sire!"
-
-The king, leaning with both his hands upon the table, said, in a deep
-tone of concentrated passion: "You have lost all recollection of what is
-usual at court.  At court, please to remember, no one ventures to put a
-question to the king."
-
-"Very true, sire; but if men do not question, they conjecture."
-
-"Conjecture!  What may that mean, monsieur?"
-
-"Very frequently, sire, conjecture with regard to a particular subject
-implies a want of frankness on the part of the king - "
-
-"Monsieur!"
-
-"And a want of confidence on the part of the subject," pursued Athos,
-intrepidly.
-
-"You forget yourself," said the king, hurried away by anger in spite of
-all his self-control.
-
-"Sire, I am obliged to seek elsewhere for what I thought I should find in
-your majesty.  Instead of obtaining a reply from you, I am compelled to
-make one for myself."
-
-The king rose.  "Monsieur le comte," he said, "I have now given you all
-the time I had at my disposal."  This was a dismissal.
-
-"Sire," replied the comte, "I have not yet had time to tell your majesty
-what I came with the express object of saying, and I so rarely see your
-majesty that I ought to avail myself of the opportunity."
-
-"Just now you spoke rudely of conjectures; you are now becoming
-offensive, monsieur."
-
-"Oh, sire! offend your majesty!  I? - never!  All my life through I have
-maintained that kings are above all other men, not only from their rank
-and power, but from their nobleness of heart and their true dignity of
-mind.  I never can bring myself to believe that my sovereign, he who
-passed his word to me, did so with a mental reservation."
-
-"What do you mean? what mental reservation do you allude to?"
-
-"I will explain my meaning," said Athos, coldly.  "If, in refusing
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere to Monsieur de Bragelonne, your majesty had
-some other object in view than the happiness and fortune of the vicomte
-- "
-
-"You perceive, monsieur, that you are offending me."
-
-"If, in requiring the vicomte to delay his marriage, your majesty's only
-object was to remove the gentleman to whom Mademoiselle de la Valliere
-was engaged - "
-
-"Monsieur! monsieur!"
-
-"I have heard it said so in every direction, sire.  Your majesty's
-affection for Mademoiselle de la Valliere is spoken of on all sides."
-
-The king tore his gloves, which he had been biting for some time.  "Woe
-to those," he cried, "who interfere in my affairs.  I have made up my
-mind to take a particular course, and I will break through every obstacle
-in my way."
-
-"What obstacle?" said Athos.
-
-The king stopped short, like a horse which, having taken the bit between
-his teeth and run away, finds it has slipped it back again, and that his
-career is checked.  "I love Mademoiselle de la Valliere," he said
-suddenly, with mingled nobleness of feeling and passion.
-
-"But," interrupted Athos, "that does not preclude your majesty from
-allowing M. de Bragelonne to marry Mademoiselle de la Valliere.  The
-sacrifice is worthy of so great a monarch; it is fully merited by M. de
-Bragelonne, who has already rendered great service to your majesty, and
-who may well be regarded as a brave and worthy man.  Your majesty,
-therefore, in renouncing the affection you entertain, offers a proof at
-once of generosity, gratitude, and good policy."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere does not love M. de Bragelonne," said the
-king, hoarsely.
-
-"Does your majesty know that to be the case?" remarked Athos, with a
-searching look.
-
-"I do know it."
-
-"Since a very short time, then; for doubtless, had your majesty known it
-when I first preferred my request, you would have taken the trouble to
-inform me of it."
-
-"Since a very short time, it is true, monsieur."
-
-Athos remained silent for a moment, and then resumed: "In that case, I do
-not understand why your majesty should have sent M. de Bragelonne to
-London.  That exile, and most properly so, too, is a matter of
-astonishment to every one who regards your majesty's honor with sincere
-affection."
-
-"Who presumes to impugn my honor, Monsieur de la Fere?"
-
-"The king's honor, sire, is made up of the honor of his whole nobility.
-Whenever the king offends one of his gentlemen, that is, whenever he
-deprives him of the smallest particle of his honor, it is from him, from
-the king himself, that that portion of honor is stolen."
-
-"Monsieur de la Fere!" said the king, haughtily.
-
-"Sire, you sent M. de Bragelonne to London either before you were
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere's lover, or since you have become so."
-
-The king, irritated beyond measure, especially because he felt that he
-was being mastered, endeavored to dismiss Athos by a gesture.
-
-"Sire," replied the comte, "I will tell you all; I will not leave your
-presence until I have been satisfied by your majesty or by myself;
-satisfied if you prove to me that you are right, - satisfied if I prove
-to you that you are wrong.  Nay, sire, you can but listen to me.  I am
-old now, and I am attached to everything that is really great and really
-powerful in your kingdom.  I am of those who have shed their blood for
-your father and for yourself, without ever having asked a single favor
-either from yourself or from your father.  I have never inflicted the
-slightest wrong or injury on any one in this world, and even kings are
-still my debtors.  You can but listen to me, I repeat.  I have come to
-ask you for an account of the honor of one of your servants whom you have
-deceived by a falsehood, or betrayed by want of heart of judgment.  I
-know that these words irritate your majesty, but the facts themselves are
-killing us.  I know that you are endeavoring to find some means whereby
-to chastise me for my frankness; but I know also the chastisement I will
-implore God to inflict upon you when I relate to Him your perjury and my
-son's unhappiness."
-
-The king during these remarks was walking hurriedly to and fro, his hand
-thrust into the breast of his coat, his head haughtily raised, his eyes
-blazing with wrath.  "Monsieur," he cried, suddenly, "if I acted towards
-you as a king, you would be already punished; but I am only a man, and I
-have the right to love in this world every one who loves me, - a
-happiness which is so rarely found."
-
-"You cannot pretend to such a right as a man any more than as a king,
-sire; or if you intend to exercise that right in a loyal manner, you
-should have told M. de Bragelonne so, and not have exiled him."
-
-"It is too great a condescension, monsieur, to discuss these things with
-you," interrupted Louis XIV., with that majesty of air and manner he
-alone seemed able to give his look and his voice.
-
-"I was hoping that you would reply to me," said the comte.
-
-"You shall know my reply, monsieur."
-
-"You already know my thoughts on the subject," was the Comte de la Fere's
-answer.
-
-"You have forgotten you are speaking to the king, monsieur.  It is a
-crime."
-
-"You have forgotten you are destroying the lives of two men, sire.  It is
-a mortal sin."
-
-"Leave the room!"
-
-"Not until I have said this: 'Son of Louis XIII., you begin your reign
-badly, for you begin it by abduction and disloyalty!  My race - myself
-too - are now freed from all that affection and respect towards you,
-which I made my son swear to observe in the vaults of Saint-Denis, in the
-presence of the relics of your noble forefathers.  You are now become our
-enemy, sire, and henceforth we have nothing to do save with Heaven alone,
-our sole master.  Be warned, be warned, sire.'"
-
-"What! do you threaten?"
-
-"Oh, no," said Athos, sadly, "I have as little bravado as fear in my
-soul.  The God of whom I spoke to you is now listening to me; He knows
-that for the safety and honor of your crown I would even yet shed every
-drop of blood twenty years of civil and foreign warfare have left in my
-veins.  I can well say, then, that I threaten the king as little as I
-threaten the man; but I tell you, sire, you lose two servants; for you
-have destroyed faith in the heart of the father, and love in the heart of
-the son; the one ceases to believe in the royal word, the other no longer
-believes in the loyalty of the man, or the purity of woman: the one is
-dead to every feeling of respect, the other to obedience.  Adieu!"
-
-Thus saying, Athos broke his sword across his knee, slowly placed the two
-pieces upon the floor, and saluting the king, who was almost choking from
-rage and shame, he quitted the cabinet.  Louis, who sat near the table,
-completely overwhelmed, was several minutes before he could collect
-himself; but he suddenly rose and rang the bell violently.  "Tell M.
-d'Artagnan to come here," he said to the terrified ushers.
-
-
-Chapter LIX:
-After the Storm.
-
-Our readers will doubtlessly have been asking themselves how it happened
-that Athos, of whom not a word has been said for some time past, arrived
-so very opportunely at court.  We will, without delay, endeavor to
-satisfy their curiosity.
-
-Porthos, faithful to his duty as an arranger of affairs, had, immediately
-after leaving the Palais Royal, set off to join Raoul at the Minimes in
-the Bois de Vincennes, and had related everything, even to the smallest
-details, which had passed between Saint-Aignan and himself.  He finished
-by saying that the message which the king had sent to his favorite would
-probably not occasion more than a short delay, and that Saint-Aignan, as
-soon as he could leave the king, would not lose a moment in accepting the
-invitation Raoul had sent him.
-
-But Raoul, less credulous than his old friend, had concluded from
-Porthos's recital that if Saint-Aignan was going to the king, Saint-
-Aignan would tell the king everything, and that the king would most
-assuredly forbid Saint-Aignan to obey the summons he had received to the
-hostile meeting.  The consequence of his reflections was, that he had
-left Porthos to remain at the place appointed for the meeting, in the
-very improbable case that Saint-Aignan would come there; having
-endeavored to make Porthos promise that he would not remain there more
-than an hour or an hour and a half at the very longest.  Porthos,
-however, formally refused to do anything of the kind, but, on the
-contrary, installed himself in the Minimes as if he were going to take
-root there, making Raoul promise that when he had been to see his father,
-he would return to his own apartments, in order that Porthos's servant
-might know where to find him in case M. de Saint-Aignan should happen to
-come to the rendezvous.
-
-Bragelonne had left Vincennes, and proceeded at once straight to the
-apartments of Athos, who had been in Paris during the last two days, the
-comte having been already informed of what had taken place, by a letter
-from D'Artagnan.  Raoul arrived at his father's; Athos, after having held
-out his hand to him, and embraced him most affectionately, made a sign
-for him to sit down.
-
-"I know you come to me as a man would go to a friend, vicomte, whenever
-he is suffering; tell me, therefore, what is it that brings you now."
-
-The young man bowed, and began his recital; more than once in the course
-of it his tears almost choked his utterance, and a sob, checked in his
-throat, compelled him to suspend his narrative for a few minutes.  Athos
-most probably already knew how matters stood, as we have just now said
-D'Artagnan had already written to him; but, preserving until the
-conclusion that calm, unruffled composure of manner which constituted the
-almost superhuman side of his character, he replied, "Raoul, I do not
-believe there is a word of truth in these rumors; I do not believe in the
-existence of what you fear, although I do not deny that persons best
-entitled to the fullest credit have already conversed with me on the
-subject.  In my heart and soul I think it utterly impossible that the
-king could be guilty of such an outrage on a gentleman.  I will answer
-for the king, therefore, and will soon bring you back the proof of what I
-say."
-
-Raoul, wavering like a drunken man between what he had seen with his own
-eyes and the imperturbable faith he had in a man who had never told a
-falsehood, bowed and simply answered, "Go, then, monsieur le comte; I
-will await your return."  And he sat down, burying his face in his
-hands.  Athos dressed, and then left him, in order to wait upon the king;
-the result of that interview is already known to our readers.
-
-When he returned to his lodgings, Raoul, pale and dejected, had not
-quitted his attitude of despair.  At the sound, however, of the opening
-doors, and of his father's footsteps as he approached him, the young man
-raised his head.  Athos's face was very pale, his head uncovered, and his
-manner full of seriousness; he gave his cloak and hat to the lackey,
-dismissed him with a gesture, and sat down near Raoul.
-
-"Well, monsieur," inquired the young man, "are you convinced yet?"
-
-"I am, Raoul; the king loves Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"He confesses it, then?" cried Raoul.
-
-"Yes," replied Athos.
-
-"And she?"
-
-"I have not seen her."
-
-"No; but the king spoke to you about her.  What did he say?"
-
-"He says that she loves him."
-
-"Oh, you see - you see, monsieur!" said the young man, with a gesture of
-despair.
-
-"Raoul," resumed the comte, "I told the king, believe me, all that you
-yourself could possibly have urged, and I believe I did so in becoming
-language, though sufficiently firm."
-
-"And what did you say to him, monsieur?"
-
-"I told him, Raoul, that everything was now at an end between him and
-ourselves; that you would never serve him again.  I told him that I, too,
-should remain aloof.  Nothing further remains for me, then, but to be
-satisfied of one thing."
-
-"What is that, monsieur?"
-
-"Whether you have determined to adopt any steps."
-
-"Any steps?  Regarding what?"
-
-"With reference to your disappointed affection, and - your ideas of
-vengeance."
-
-"Oh, monsieur, with regard to my affection, I shall, perhaps, some day or
-other, succeed in tearing it from my heart; I trust I shall do so, aided
-by Heaven's merciful help, and your own wise exhortations.  As far as
-vengeance is concerned, it occurred to me only when under the influence
-of an evil thought, for I could not revenge myself upon the one who is
-actually guilty; I have, therefore, already renounced every idea of
-revenge."
-
-"And you no longer think of seeking a quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan?"
-
-"No, monsieur; I sent him a challenge: if M. de Saint-Aignan accepts it,
-I will maintain it; if he does not take it up, I will leave things as
-they are."
-
-"And La Valliere?"
-
-"You cannot, I know, have seriously thought that I should dream of
-revenging myself upon a woman!" replied Raoul, with a smile so sad that a
-tear started even to the eyes of his father, who had so many times in the
-course of his life bowed beneath his own sorrows and those of others.
-
-He held out his hand to Raoul, which the latter seized most eagerly.
-
-"And so, monsieur le comte, you are quite satisfied that the misfortune
-is one beyond all remedy?" inquired the young man.
-
-"Poor boy!" he murmured.
-
-"You think that I still live in hope," said Raoul, "and you pity me.  Oh,
-it is indeed horrible suffering for me to despise, as I am bound to do,
-the one I have loved so devotedly.  If I had but some real cause of
-complaint against her, I should be happy, I should be able to forgive
-her."
-
-Athos looked at his son with a profoundly sorrowful air, for the words
-Raoul had just pronounced seemed to have issued out of his own heart.  At
-this moment the servant announced M. d'Artagnan.  This name sounded very
-differently to the ears of Athos and Raoul.  The musketeer entered the
-room with a vague smile on his lips.  Raoul paused.  Athos walked towards
-his friend with an expression of face that did not escape Bragelonne.
-D'Artagnan answered Athos's look by an imperceptible movement of the
-eyelid; and then, advancing towards Raoul, whom he took by the hand, he
-said, addressing both father and son, "Well, you are trying to console
-this poor boy, it seems."
-
-"And you, kind and good as usual, have come to help me in my difficult
-task."
-
-As he said this, Athos pressed D'Artagnan's hand between both his own.
-Raoul fancied he observed in this pressure something beyond the sense his
-mere words conveyed.
-
-"Yes," replied the musketeer, smoothing his mustache with the hand that
-Athos had left free, "yes, I have come too."
-
-"You are most welcome, chevalier; not for the consolation you bring with
-you, but on your own account.  I am already consoled," said Raoul; and he
-attempted to smile, but the effort was more sad than any tears D'Artagnan
-had ever seen shed.
-
-"That is all well and good, then," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Only," continued Raoul, "you have arrived just as the comte was about to
-give me the details of his interview with the king.  You will allow the
-comte to continue?" added the young man, as, with his eyes fixed on the
-musketeer, he seemed to read the very depths of his heart.
-
-"His interview with the king?" said D'Artagnan, in a tone so natural and
-unassumed that there was no means of suspecting that his astonishment was
-feigned.  "You have seen the king, then, Athos?"
-
-Athos smiled as he said, "Yes, I have seen him."
-
-"Ah, indeed; you were unaware, then, that the comte had seen his
-majesty?" inquired Raoul, half reassured.
-
-"Yes, indeed, quite so."
-
-"In that case, I am less uneasy," said Raoul.
-
-"Uneasy - and about what?" inquired Athos.
-
-"Forgive me, monsieur," said Raoul, "but knowing so well the regard and
-affection you have for me, I was afraid you might possibly have expressed
-somewhat plainly to his majesty my own sufferings and your indignation,
-and that the king had consequently - "
-
-"And that the king had consequently?" repeated D'Artagnan; "well, go on,
-finish what you were going to say."
-
-"I have now to ask you to forgive me, Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Raoul.
-"For a moment, and I cannot help confessing it, I trembled lest you had
-come here, not as M. d'Artagnan, but as captain of the musketeers."
-
-"You are mad, my poor boy," cried D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter,
-in which an exact observer might perhaps have wished to have heard a
-little more frankness.
-
-"So much the better," said Raoul.
-
-"Yes, mad; and do you know what I would advise you to do?"
-
-"Tell me, monsieur, for the advice is sure to be good, as it comes from
-you."
-
-"Very good, then; I advise you, after your long journey from England,
-after your visit to M. de Guiche, after your visit to Madame, after your
-visit to Porthos, after your journey to Vincennes, I advise you, I say,
-to take a few hours' rest; go and lie down, sleep for a dozen hours, and
-when you wake up, go and ride one of my horses until you have tired him
-to death."
-
-And drawing Raoul towards him, he embraced him as he would have done his
-own child.  Athos did the like; only it was very visible that the kiss
-was still more affectionate, and the pressure of his lips even warmer
-with the father than with the friend.  The young man again looked at both
-his companions, endeavoring to penetrate their real meaning or their real
-feelings with the utmost strength of his intelligence; but his look was
-powerless upon the smiling countenance of the musketeer or upon the calm
-and composed features of the Comte de la Fere.  "Where are you going,
-Raoul?" inquired the latter, seeing that Bragelonne was preparing to go
-out.
-
-"To my own apartments," replied the latter, in his soft, sad voice.
-
-"We shall be sure to find you there, then, if we should have anything to
-say to you?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur; but do you suppose it likely you will have something to
-say to me?"
-
-"How can I tell?" said Athos.
-
-"Yes, something fresh to console you with," said D'Artagnan, pushing him
-towards the door.
-
-Raoul, observing the perfect composure which marked every gesture of his
-two friends, quitted the comte's room, carrying away with him nothing but
-the individual feeling of his own particular distress.
-
-"Thank Heaven," he said, "since that is the case, I need only think of
-myself."
-
-And wrapping himself up in his cloak, in order to conceal from the
-passers-by in the streets his gloomy and sorrowful face, he quitted them,
-for the purpose of returning to his own rooms, as he had promised
-Porthos.  The two friends watched the young man as he walked away with a
-feeling of genuine disinterested pity; only each expressed it in a
-different way.
-
-"Poor Raoul!" said Athos, sighing deeply.
-
-"Poor Raoul!" said D'Artagnan, shrugging his shoulders.
-
-
-Chapter LX:
-Heu!  Miser!
-
-"Poor Raoul!" had said Athos.  "Poor Raoul!" had said D'Artagnan: and, in
-point of fact, to be pitied by both these men, Raoul must indeed have
-been most unhappy.  And therefore, when he found himself alone, face to
-face, as it were, with his own troubles, leaving behind him the intrepid
-friend and the indulgent father; when he recalled the avowal of the
-king's affection, which had robbed him of Louise de la Valliere, whom he
-loved so deeply, he felt his heart almost breaking, as indeed we all have
-at least once in our lives, at the first illusion destroyed, the first
-affection betrayed.  "Oh!" he murmured, "all is over, then.  Nothing is
-now left me in this world.  Nothing to look forward to, nothing to hope
-for.  Guiche has told me so, my father has told me so, M. d'Artagnan has
-told me so.  All life is but an idle dream.  The future which I have been
-hopelessly pursuing for the last ten years is a dream! the union of
-hearts, a dream! a life of love and happiness, a dream!  Poor fool that I
-am," he continued, after a pause, "to dream away my existence aloud,
-publicly, and in the face of others, friends and enemies - and for what
-purpose, too? in order that my friends may be saddened by my troubles,
-and my enemies may laugh at my sorrows.  And so my unhappiness will soon
-become a notorious disgrace, a public scandal; and who knows but that to-
-morrow I may even be a public laughing-stock?"
-
-And, despite the composure which he had promised his father and
-D'Artagnan to observe, Raoul could not resist uttering a few words of
-darkest menace.  "And yet," he continued, "if my name were De Wardes, and
-if I had the pliancy of character and strength of will of M. d'Artagnan,
-I should laugh, with my lips at least; I should convince other women that
-this perfidious girl, honored by the affection I have wasted on her,
-leaves me only one regret, that of having been abused and deceived by her
-seemingly modest and irreproachable conduct; a few might perhaps fawn on
-the king by jesting at my expense; I should put myself on the track of
-some of those buffoons; I should chastise a few of them, perhaps; the men
-would fear me, and by the time I had laid three dying or dead at my feet,
-I should be adored by the women.  Yes, yes, that, indeed, would be the
-proper course to adopt, and the Comte de la Fere himself would not object
-to it.  Has not he also been tried, in his earlier days, in the same
-manner as I have just been tried myself?  Did he not replace affection by
-intoxication?  He has often told me so.  Why should I not replace love by
-pleasure?  He must have suffered as much as I suffer, even more - if that
-is possible.  The history of one man is the history of all, a dragging
-trial, more or less prolonged, more or less bitter - sorrowful.  The note
-of human nature is nothing but one sustained cry.  But what are the
-sufferings of others compared to those from which I am now suffering?
-Does the open wound in another's breast soften the anguish of the gaping
-ulcer in our own?  Does the blood which is welling from another man's
-side stanch that which is pouring from our own?  Does the general grief
-of our fellow-creatures lessen our own private and particular woe?  No,
-no, each suffers on his own account, each struggles with his own grief,
-each sheds his own tears.  And besides," he went on, "what has my life
-been up to the present moment?  A cold, barren, sterile arena, in which I
-have always fought for others, never for myself.  Sometimes for a king,
-sometimes for a woman.  The king has betrayed, the woman disdained me.
-Miserable, unlucky wretch that I am!  Women!  Can I not make all expiate
-the crime of one of their sex?  What does that need?  To have a heart no
-longer, or to forget that I ever had one; to be strong, even against
-weakness itself; to lean always, even when one feels that the support is
-giving way.  What is needed to attain, or succeed in all that?  To be
-young, handsome, strong, valiant, rich.  I am, or shall be, all that.
-But honor?" he still continued, "and what is honor after all?  A theory
-which every man understands in his own way.  My father tells me: 'Honor
-is the consideration of what is due to others, and particularly what is
-due to oneself.'  But Guiche, and Manicamp, and Saint-Aignan
-particularly, would say to me: 'What's honor?  Honor consists in studying
-and yielding to the passions and pleasures of one's king.'  Honor such as
-that indeed, is easy and productive enough.  With honor like that, I can
-keep my post at the court, become a gentleman of the chamber, and accept
-the command of a regiment, which may at any time be presented to me.
-With honor such as that, I can be duke and peer.
-
-"The stain which that woman has stamped upon me, the grief that has
-broken my heart, the heart of the friend and playmate of her childhood,
-in no way affects M. de Bragelonne, an excellent officer, a courageous
-leader, who will cover himself with glory at the first encounter, and who
-will become a hundred times greater than Mademoiselle de la Valliere is
-to-day, the mistress of the king - for the king will not marry her - and
-the more publicly he will proclaim her as his mistress, the more opaque
-will grow the shadow of shame he casts upon her face, in the guise of a
-crown; and in proportion as others despise, as I despise her, I shall be
-gleaning honors in the field.  Alas! we had walked together side by side,
-she and I, during the earliest, the brightest, the most angelic portion
-of our existence, hand in hand along the charming path of life, covered
-with the blossoms of youth; and then, alas! we reach a cross-road, where
-she separates herself from me, in which we have to follow a different
-route, whereby we become more and more widely separated from each other.
-And to attain the end of this path, oh, Heaven!  I am now alone, in utter
-despair, and crushed to the very earth."
-
-Such were the sinister reflections in which Raoul indulged, when his foot
-mechanically paused at the door of his own dwelling.  He had reached it
-without remarking the streets through which he passed, without knowing
-how he had come; he pushed open the door, continued to advance, and
-ascended the staircase.  The staircase, as in most of the houses at that
-period, was very dark, and the landings most obscure.  Raoul lived on the
-first floor; he paused in order to ring.  Olivain appeared, took his
-sword and cloak from his hands; Raoul himself opened the door which, from
-the ante-chamber, led into a small _salon_, richly furnished enough for
-the _salon_ of a young man, and completely filled with flowers by
-Olivain, who, knowing his master's tastes, had shown himself studiously
-attentive in gratifying them, without caring whether his master perceived
-his attention or not.  There was a portrait of La Valliere in the
-_salon_, which had been drawn by herself and given by her to Raoul.  This
-portrait, fastened above a large easy chair covered with dark colored
-damask, was the first point towards which Raoul bent his steps - the
-first object on which he fixed his eyes.  It was, moreover, Raoul's usual
-habit to do so; every time he entered his room, this portrait, before
-anything else, attracted his attention.  This time, as usual, he walked
-straight up to the portrait, placed his knees upon the arm chair, and
-paused to look at it sadly.  His arms were crossed upon his breast, his
-head slightly thrown back, his eyes filled with tears, his mouth worked
-into a bitter smile.  He looked at the portrait of the one he had so
-tenderly loved; and then all that he had said passed before his mind
-again, all that he had suffered seemed again to assail his heart; and,
-after a long silence, he murmured for the third time, "Miserable, unhappy
-wretch that I am!"
-
-He had hardly pronounced these words, when he heard the sound of a sigh
-and a groan behind him.  He turned sharply round and perceived, in the
-angle of the _salon_, standing up, a bending veiled female figure, which
-he had been the means of concealing behind the door as he opened it, and
-which he had not perceived as he entered.  He advanced towards the
-figure, whose presence in his room had not been announced to him; and as
-he bowed, and inquired at the same moment who she was, she suddenly
-raised her head, and removed the veil from her face, revealing her pale
-and sorrow-stricken features.  Raoul staggered back as if he had seen a
-ghost.
-
-"Louise!" he cried, in a tone of such absolute despair, one could hardly
-have thought the human voice was capable of so desponding a cry, without
-the snapping of the human heart.
-
-
-
-Chapter LXI:
-Wounds within Wounds.
-
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere - for it was indeed she - advanced a few
-steps towards him.  "Yes - Louise," she murmured.
-
-But this interval, short as it had been, was quite sufficient for Raoul
-to recover himself.  "You, mademoiselle?" he said; and then added, in an
-indefinable tone, "You here!"
-
-"Yes, Raoul," the young girl replied, "I have been waiting for you."
-
-"I beg your pardon.  When I came into the room I was not aware - "
-
-"I know - but I entreated Olivain not to tell you - "  She hesitated; and
-as Raoul did not attempt to interrupt her, a moment's silence ensued,
-during which the sound of their throbbing hearts might have been heard,
-not in unison with each other, but the one beating as violently as the
-other.  It was for Louise to speak, and she made an effort to do so.
-
-"I wished to speak to you," she said.  "It was absolutely necessary that
-I should see you - myself - alone.  I have not hesitated to adopt a step
-which must remain secret; for no one, except yourself, could understand
-my motive, Monsieur de Bragelonne."
-
-"In fact, mademoiselle," Raoul stammered out, almost breathless from
-emotion, "as far as I am concerned, and despite the good opinion you
-have of me, I confess - "
-
-"Will you do me the great kindness to sit down and listen to me?" said
-Louise, interrupting him with her soft, sweet voice.
-
-Bragelonne looked at her for a moment; then mournfully shaking his head,
-he sat, or rather fell down on a chair.  "Speak," he said.
-
-She cast a glance all round her.  This look was a timid entreaty, and
-implored secrecy far more effectually than her expressed words had done a
-few minutes before.  Raoul rouse, and went to the door, which he opened.
-"Olivain," he said, "I am not within for any one."  And then, turning
-towards Louise, he added, "Is not that what you wished?"
-
-Nothing could have produced a greater effect upon Louise than these few
-words, which seemed to signify, "You see that I still understand you."
-She passed a handkerchief across her eyes, in order to remove a
-rebellious tear which she could not restrain; and then, having collected
-herself for a moment, she said, "Raoul, do not turn your kind, frank look
-away from me.  You are not one of those men who despise a woman for
-having given her heart to another, even though her affection might render
-him unhappy, or might wound his pride."  Raoul did not reply.
-
-"Alas!" continued La Valliere, "it is only too true, my cause is a bad
-one, and I cannot tell in what way to begin.  It will be better for me, I
-think, to relate to you, very simply, everything that has befallen me.
-As I shall speak but the pure and simple truth, I shall always find my
-path clear before me in spite of the obscurity and obstacles I have to
-brave in order to solace my heart, which is full to overflowing, and
-wishes to pour itself out at your feet."
-
-Raoul continued to preserve the same unbroken silence.  La Valliere
-looked at him with an air that seemed to say, "Encourage me; for pity's
-sake, but a single word!"  But Raoul did not open his lips; and the young
-girl was obliged to continue:
-
-"Just now," she said, "M. de Saint-Aignan came to me by the king's
-directions."  She cast down her eyes as she said this; while Raoul, on
-his side, turned his away, in order to avoid looking at her.  "M. de
-Saint-Aignan came to me from the king," she repeated, "and told me that
-you knew all;" and she attempted to look Raoul in the face, after
-inflicting this further wound upon him, in addition to the many others he
-had already received; but it was impossible to meet Raoul's eyes.
-
-"He told me you were incensed with me - and justly so, I admit."
-
-This time Raoul looked at the young girl, and a smile full of disdain
-passed across his lips.
-
-"Oh!" she continued, "I entreat you, do not say that you have had any
-other feeling against me than that of anger merely.  Raoul, wait until I
-have told you all - wait until I have said to you all that I had to say –
-all that I came to say."
-
-Raoul, by the strength of his iron will, forced his features to assume a
-calmer expression, and the disdainful smile upon his lip passed away.
-
-"In the first place," said La Valliere, "in the first place, with my
-hands raised in entreaty towards you, with my forehead bowed to the
-ground before you, I entreat you, as the most generous, as the noblest
-of men, to pardon, to forgive me.  If I have left you in ignorance of
-what was passing in my own bosom, never, at least, would I have consented
-to deceive you.  Oh!  I entreat you, Raoul - I implore you on my knees –
-answer me one word, even though you wrong me in doing so.  Better, far
-better, an injurious word from your lips, than suspicion resting in your
-heart."
-
-"I admire your subtlety of expression, mademoiselle," said Raoul, making
-an effort to remain calm.  "To leave another in ignorance that you are
-deceiving him, is loyal; but to deceive him - it seems that would be very
-wrong, and that you would not do it."
-
-"Monsieur, for a long time I thought that I loved you better than
-anything else; and so long as I believed in my affection for you, I told
-you that loved you.  I could have sworn it on the altar; but a day came
-when I was undeceived."
-
-"Well, on that day, mademoiselle, knowing that I still continued to love
-you, true loyalty of conduct should have forced you to inform me you had
-ceased to love me."
-
-"But on that day, Raoul - on that day, when I read in the depths of my
-own heart, when I confessed to myself that you no longer filled my mind
-entirely, when I saw another future before me than that of being your
-friend, your life-long companion, your wife - on that day, Raoul, you
-were not, alas! any more beside me."
-
-"But you knew where I was, mademoiselle; you could have written to me."
-
-"Raoul, I did not dare to do so.  Raoul, I have been weak and cowardly.
-I knew you so thoroughly - I knew how devotedly you loved me, that I
-trembled at the bare idea of the grief I was about to cause you; and that
-is so true, Raoul, that this very moment I am now speaking to you,
-bending thus before you, my heart crushed in my bosom, my voice full of
-sighs, my eyes full of tears, it is so perfectly true, that I have no
-other defense than my frankness, I have no other sorrow greater than that
-which I read in your eyes."
-
-Raoul attempted to smile.
-
-"No!" said the young girl, with a profound conviction, "no, no; you will
-not do me so foul a wrong as to disguise your feelings before me now!
-You loved me; you were sure of your affection for me; you did not deceive
-yourself; you do not lie to your own heart - whilst I - I - "  And pale
-as death, her arms thrown despairingly above her head, she fell upon her
-knees.
-
-"Whilst you," said Raoul, "you told me you loved me, and yet you loved
-another."
-
-"Alas, yes!" cried the poor girl; "alas, yes!  I do love another; and
-that other - oh! for Heaven's sake let me say it, Raoul, for it is my
-only excuse - that other I love better than my own life, better than my
-own soul even.  Forgive my fault, or punish my treason, Raoul.  I came
-here in no way to defend myself, but merely to say to you: 'You know what
-it is to love!' - in such a case am I!  I love to that degree, that I
-would give my life, my very soul, to the man I love.  If he should ever
-cease to love me, I shall die of grief and despair, unless Heaven come to
-my assistance, unless Heaven does show pity upon me.  Raoul, I came here
-to submit myself to your will, whatever it might be - to die, if it were
-your wish I should die.  Kill me, then, Raoul! if in your heart you
-believe I deserve death."
-
-"Take care, mademoiselle," said Raoul: "the woman who invites death is
-one who has nothing but her heart's blood to offer to her deceived and
-betrayed lover."
-
-"You are right," she said.
-
-Raoul uttered a deep sigh, as he exclaimed, "And you love without being
-able to forget?"
-
-"I love without a wish to forget; without a wish ever to love any one
-else," replied La Valliere.
-
-"Very well," said Raoul.  "You have said to me, in fact, all you had to
-say; all I could possibly wish to know.  And now, mademoiselle, it is I
-who ask your forgiveness, for it is I who have almost been an obstacle in
-your life; I, too, who have been wrong, for, in deceiving myself, I
-helped to deceive you."
-
-"Oh!" said La Valliere, "I do not ask you so much as that, Raoul."
-
-"I only am to blame, mademoiselle," continued Raoul, "better informed
-than yourself of the difficulties of this life, I should have enlightened
-you.  I ought not to have relied upon uncertainty; I ought to have
-extracted an answer from your heart, whilst I hardly even sought an
-acknowledgement from your lips.  Once more, mademoiselle, it is I who ask
-your forgiveness."
-
-"Impossible, impossible!" she cried, "you are mocking me."
-
-"How, impossible?"
-
-"Yes, it is impossible to be so good, and kind, ah! perfect to such a
-degree as that."
-
-"Take care!' said Raoul, with a bitter smile, "for presently you may say
-perhaps I did not love you."
-
-"Oh! you love me like an affectionate brother; let me hope that, Raoul."
-
-"As a brother! undeceive yourself, Louise.  I love you as a lover - as a
-husband, with the deepest, the truest, the fondest affection."
-
-"Raoul, Raoul!"
-
-"As a brother!  Oh, Louise!  I love you so deeply, that I would have shed
-my blood for you, drop by drop; I would, oh! how willingly, have suffered
-myself to be torn to pieces for your sake, have sacrificed my very future
-for you.  I love you so deeply, Louise, that my heart feels dead and
-crushed within me, - my faith in human nature all is gone, - my eyes have
-lost their light; I loved you so deeply, that I now no longer see, think
-of, care for, anything, either in this world or the next."
-
-"Raoul - dear Raoul! spare me, I implore you!" cried La Valliere.  "Oh!
-if I had but known - "
-
-"It is too late, Louise; you love, you are happy in your affection; I
-read your happiness through your tears - behind the tears which the
-loyalty of your nature makes you shed; I feel the sighs your affection
-breathes forth.  Louise, Louise, you have made me the most abjectly
-wretched man living; leave me, I entreat you.  Adieu! adieu!"
-
-"Forgive me! oh, forgive me, Raoul, for what I have done."
-
-"Have I not done much, much more?  _Have I not told you that I love you
-still?_"  She buried her face in her hands.
-
-"And to tell you that - do you hear me, Louise? - to tell you that, at
-such a moment as this, to tell you that, as I have told you, is to
-pronounce my own sentence of death.  Adieu!"  La Valliere held out her
-hands to him in vain.
-
-"We ought not to see each other again in this world," he said, and as she
-was on the point of crying out in bitter agony at this remark, he placed
-his hand on her mouth to stifle the exclamation.  She pressed her lips
-upon it, and fell fainting to the ground.  "Olivain," said Raoul, "take
-this young lady and bear her to the carriage which is waiting for her at
-the door."  As Olivain lifted her up, Raoul made a movement as if to dart
-towards La Valliere, in order to give her a first and last kiss, but,
-stopping abruptly, he said, "No! she is not mine.  I am no thief - as is
-the king of France."  And he returned to his room, whilst the lackey
-carried La Valliere, still fainting, to the carriage.
-
-
-Chapter LXII:
-What Raoul Had Guessed.
-
-As soon as Raoul had quitted Athos and D'Artagnan, as the two
-exclamations that had followed his departure escaped their lips, they
-found themselves face to face alone.  Athos immediately resumed the
-earnest air that he had assumed at D'Artagnan's arrival.
-
-"Well," he said, "what have you come to announce to me, my friend?"
-
-"I?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes; I do not see you in this way without some reason for it," said
-Athos, smiling.
-
-"The deuce!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I will place you at your ease.  The king is furious, I suppose?"
-
-"Well, I must say he is not altogether pleased."
-
-"And you have come to arrest me, then?"
-
-"My dear friend, you have hit the very mark."
-
-"Oh, I expected it.  I am quite ready to go with you."
-
-"Deuce take it!" said D'Artagnan, "what a hurry you are in."
-
-"I am afraid of delaying you," said Athos, smiling.
-
-"I have plenty of time.  Are you not curious, besides, to know how things
-went on between the king and me?"
-
-"If you will be good enough to tell me, I will listen with the greatest
-of pleasure," said Athos, pointing out to D'Artagnan a large chair, into
-which the latter threw himself, assuming the easiest possible attitude.
-
-"Well, I will do so willingly enough," continued D'Artagnan, "for the
-conversation is rather curious, I must say.  In the first place the king
-sent for me."
-
-"As soon as I had left?"
-
-"You were just going down the last steps of the staircase, as the
-musketeers told me.  I arrived.  My dear Athos, he was not red in the
-face merely, he was positively purple.  I was not aware, of course, of
-what had passed; only, on the ground, lying on the floor, I saw a sword
-broken in two."
-
-"'Captain d'Artagnan,' cried the king, as soon as he saw me.
-
-"'Sire,' I replied.
-
-"'M. de la Fere has just left me; he is an insolent man.'
-
-"'An insolent man!' I exclaimed, in such a tone that the king stopped
-suddenly short.
-
-"'Captain d'Artagnan,' resumed the king, with his teeth clenched, 'you
-will be good enough to listen to and hear me.'
-
-"'That is my duty, sire.'
-
-"'I have, out of consideration for M. de la Fere, wished to spare him –
-he is a man of whom I still retain some kind recollections - the
-discredit of being arrested in my palace.  You will therefore take a
-carriage.'  At this I made a slight movement.
-
-"'If you object to arrest him yourself,' continued the king, 'send me my
-captain of the guards.'
-
-"'Sire,' I replied, 'there is no necessity for the captain of the guards,
-since I am on duty.'
-
-"'I should not like to annoy you,' said the king, kindly, 'for you have
-always served me well, Monsieur D'Artagnan.'
-
-"'You do not "annoy" me, sire,' I replied; 'I am on duty, that is all.'
-
-"'But,' said the king, in astonishment, 'I believe the comte is your
-friend?'
-
-"'If he were my father, sire, it would not make me less on duty than I
-am.'
-
-"The king looked at me; he saw how unmoved my face was, and seemed
-satisfied.  'You will arrest M. le Comte de la Fere, then?' he inquired.
-
-"'Most certainly, sire, if you give me the order to do so.'
-
-"'Very well; I order you to do so.'
-
-"I bowed, and replied, 'Where is the comte, sire?'
-
-"'You will look for him.'
-
-"'And am I to arrest him, wherever he may be?'
-
-"'Yes; but try that he may be at his own house.  If he should have
-started for his own estate, leave Paris at once, and arrest him on his
-way thither.'
-
-"I bowed; but as I did not move, he said, 'Well, what are you waiting
-for?'
-
-"'For the order to arrest the comte, signed by yourself.'
-
-"The king seemed annoyed; for, in point of fact, it was the exercise of a
-fresh act of authority, a repetition of the arbitrary act, if, indeed, it
-is to be considered as such.  He took hold of his pen slowly, and
-evidently in no very good temper; and then he wrote, 'Order for M. le
-Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain of my musketeers, to arrest M. le Comte de
-la Fere, wherever he is to be found.'  He then turned towards me; but I
-was looking on without moving a muscle of my face.  In all probability he
-thought he perceived something like bravado in my tranquil manner, for he
-signed hurriedly, and then handing me the order, he said, 'Go,
-monsieur!'  I obeyed; and here I am."
-
-Athos pressed his friend's hand.  "Well, let us set off," he said.
-
-"Oh! surely," said D'Artagnan, "you must have some trifling matters to
-arrange before you leave your apartments in this manner."
-
-"I? - not at all."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Why, you know, D'Artagnan, that I have always been a very simple
-traveler on this earth, ready to go to the end of the world by the order
-of my sovereign; ready to quit it at the summons of my Maker.  What does
-a man who is thus prepared require in such a case? - a portmanteau, or a
-shroud.  I am ready at this moment, as I have always been, my dear
-friend, and can accompany you at once."
-
-"But, Bragelonne - "
-
-"I have brought him up in the same principles I laid down for my own
-guidance; and you observed that, as soon as he perceived you, he guessed,
-that very moment, the motive of your visit.  We have thrown him off his
-guard for a moment; but do not be uneasy, he is sufficiently prepared for
-my disgrace not to be too much alarmed at it.  So, let us go."
-
-"Very well, let us go," said D'Artagnan, quietly.
-
-"As I broke my sword in the king's presence, and threw the pieces at his
-feet, I presume that will dispense with the necessity of delivering it
-over to you."
-
-"You are quite right; and besides that, what the deuce do you suppose I
-could do with your sword?"
-
-"Am I to walk behind, or before you?" inquired Athos, laughing.
-
-"You will walk arm in arm with me," replied D'Artagnan, as he took the
-comte's arm to descend the staircase; and in this manner they arrived at
-the landing.  Grimaud, whom they had met in the ante-room, looked at them
-as they went out together in this manner, with some little uneasiness;
-his experience of affairs was quite sufficient to give him good reason to
-suspect that there was something wrong.
-
-"Ah! is that you, Grimaud?" said Athos, kindly.  "We are going - "
-
-"To take a turn in my carriage," interrupted D'Artagnan, with a friendly
-nod of the head.
-
-Grimaud thanked D'Artagnan by a grimace, which was evidently intended for
-a smile, and accompanied both the friends to the door.  Athos entered
-first into the carriage; D'Artagnan followed him without saying a word to
-the coachman.  The departure had taken place so quietly, that it excited
-no disturbance or attention even in the neighborhood.  When the carriage
-had reached the quays, "You are taking me to the Bastile, I perceive,"
-said Athos.
-
-"I?" said D'Artagnan, "I take you wherever you may choose to go; nowhere
-else, I can assure you."
-
-"What do you mean?" said the comte, surprised.
-
-"Why, surely, my dear friend," said D'Artagnan, "you quite understand
-that I undertook the mission with no other object in view than that of
-carrying it out exactly as you liked.  You surely did not expect that I
-was going to get you thrown into prison like that, brutally, and without
-any reflection.  If I had anticipated that, I should have let the captain
-of the guards undertake it."
-
-"And so - ?" said Athos.
-
-"And so, I repeat again, we will go wherever you may choose."
-
-"My dear friend," said Athos, embracing D'Artagnan, "how like you that
-is!"
-
-"Well, it seems simple enough to me.  The coachman will take you to the
-barrier of the Cours-la-Reine; you will find a horse there which I have
-ordered to be kept ready for you; with that horse you will be able to do
-three posts without stopping; and I, on my side, will take care not to
-return to the king, to tell him that you have gone away, until the very
-moment it will be impossible to overtake you.  In the meantime you will
-have reached Le Havre, and from Le Havre across to England, where you
-will find the charming residence of which M. Monk made me a present,
-without speaking of the hospitality which King Charles will not fail to
-show you.  Well, what do you think of this project?"
-
-Athos shook his head, and then said, smiling as he did so, "No, no, take
-me to the Bastile."
-
-"You are an obstinate fellow, my dear Athos," returned D'Artagnan,
-"reflect for a few moments."
-
-"On what subject?"
-
-"That you are no longer twenty years of age.  Believe me, I speak
-according to my own knowledge and experience.  A prison is certain death
-for men who are at our time of life.  No, no; I will never allow you to
-languish in prison in such a way.  Why, the very thought of it makes my
-head turn giddy."
-
-"Dear D'Artagnan," Athos replied, "Heaven most fortunately made my body
-as strong, powerful, and enduring as my mind; and, rely upon it, I shall
-retain my strength up to the very last moment."
-
-"But this is not strength of mind or character; it is sheer madness."
-
-"No, D'Artagnan, it is the highest order of reasoning.  Do not suppose
-that I should in the slightest degree in the world discuss the question
-with you, whether you would not be ruined in endeavoring to save me.  I
-should have done precisely as you propose if flight had been part of my
-plan of action; I should, therefore, have accepted from you what, without
-any doubt, you would have accepted from me.  No!  I know you too well
-even to breathe a word upon the subject."
-
-"Ah! if you would only let me do it," said D'Artagnan, "what a dance we
-would give his most gracious majesty!"
-
-"Still he is the king; do not forget that, my dear friend."
-
-"Oh! that is all the same to me; and king though he be, I would plainly
-tell him, 'Sire, imprison, exile, kill every one in France and Europe;
-order me to arrest and poniard even whom you like - even were it
-Monsieur, your own brother; but do not touch one of the four musketeers,
-or if so, _mordioux!_'"
-
-"My dear friend," replied Athos, with perfect calmness, "I should like to
-persuade you of one thing; namely, that I wish to be arrested; that I
-desire above all things that my arrest should take place."
-
-D'Artagnan made a slight movement of his shoulders.
-
-"Nay, I wish it, I repeat, more than anything; if you were to let me
-escape, it would be only to return of my own accord, and constitute
-myself a prisoner.  I wish to prove to this young man, who is dazzled by
-the power and splendor of his crown, that he can be regarded as the first
-and chiefest among men only on the one condition of his proving himself
-to be the most generous and the wisest.  He may punish me, imprison,
-torture me, it matters not.  He abuses his opportunities, and I wish him
-to learn the bitterness of remorse, while Heaven teaches him what
-chastisement is."
-
-"Well, well," replied D'Artagnan, "I know only too well that, when you
-have once said, 'no,' you mean 'no.'  I do not insist any longer; you
-wish to go to the Bastile?"
-
-"I do wish to go there."
-
-"Let us go, then!  To the Bastile!" cried D'Artagnan to the coachman.
-And throwing himself back in the carriage, he gnawed the ends of his
-mustache with a fury which, for Athos, who knew him well, signified a
-resolution either already taken or in course of formation.  A profound
-silence ensued in the carriage, which continued to roll on, but neither
-faster nor slower than before.  Athos took the musketeer by the hand.
-
-"You are not angry with me, D'Artagnan?" he said.
-
-"I! - oh, no! certainly not; of course not.  What you do for heroism, I
-should have done from obstinacy."
-
-"But you are quite of opinion, are you not, that Heaven will avenge me,
-D'Artagnan?"
-
-"And I know one or two on earth who will not fail to lend a helping
-hand," said the captain.
-
-
-Chapter LXIII:
-Three Guests Astonished to Find Themselves at Supper Together.
-
-The carriage arrived at the outside of the gate of the Bastile.  A
-soldier on guard stopped it, but D'Artagnan had only to utter a single
-word to procure admittance, and the carriage passed on without further
-difficulty.  Whilst they were proceeding along the covered way which led
-to the courtyard of the governor's residence, D'Artagnan, whose lynx eyes
-saw everything, even through the walls, suddenly cried out, "What is that
-out yonder?"
-
-"Well," said Athos, quietly; "what is it?"
-
-"Look yonder, Athos."
-
-"In the courtyard?"
-
-"Yes, yes; make haste!"
-
-"Well, a carriage; very likely conveying a prisoner like myself."
-
-"That would be too droll."
-
-"I do not understand you."
-
-"Make haste and look again, and look at the man who is just getting out
-of that carriage."
-
-At that very moment a second sentinel stopped D'Artagnan, and while the
-formalities were being gone through, Athos could see at a hundred paces
-from him the man whom his friend had pointed out to him.  He was, in
-fact, getting out of the carriage at the door of the governor's house.
-"Well," inquired D'Artagnan, "do you see him?"
-
-"Yes; he is a man in a gray suit."
-
-"What do you say of him?"
-
-"I cannot very well tell; he is, as I have just now told you, a man in a
-gray suit, who is getting out of a carriage; that is all."
-
-"Athos, I will wager anything that it is he."
-
-"He, who?"
-
-"Aramis."
-
-"Aramis arrested?  Impossible!"
-
-"I do not say he is arrested, since we see him alone in his carriage."
-
-"Well, then, what is he doing here?"
-
-"Oh! he knows Baisemeaux, the governor," replied the musketeer, slyly;
-"so we have arrived just in time."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"In order to see what we can see."
-
-"I regret this meeting exceedingly.  When Aramis sees me, he will be very
-much annoyed, in the first place, at seeing me, and in the next at being
-seen."
-
-"Very well reasoned."
-
-"Unfortunately, there is no remedy for it; whenever any one meets another
-in the Bastile, even if he wished to draw back to avoid him, it would be
-impossible."
-
-"Athos, I have an idea; the question is, to spare Aramis the annoyance
-you were speaking of, is it not?"
-
-"What is to be done?"
-
-"I will tell you; or in order to explain myself in the best possible way,
-let me relate the affair in my own manner; I will not recommend you to
-tell a falsehood, for that would be impossible for you to do; but I will
-tell falsehoods enough for both; it is easy to do that when one is born
-to the nature and habits of a Gascon."
-
-Athos smiled.  The carriage stopped where the one we have just now
-pointed out had stopped; namely, at the door of the governor's house.
-"It is understood, then?" said D'Artagnan, in a low voice to his friend.
-Athos consented by a gesture.  They ascended the staircase.  There will
-be no occasion for surprise at the facility with which they had entered
-into the Bastile, if it be remembered that, before passing the first
-gate, in fact, the most difficult of all, D'Artagnan had announced that
-he had brought a prisoner of state.  At the third gate, on the contrary,
-that is to say, when he had once fairly entered the prison, he merely
-said to the sentinel, "To M. Baisemeaux;" and they both passed on.  In a
-few minutes they were in the governor's dining-room, and the first face
-which attracted D'Artagnan's observation was that of Aramis, who was
-seated side by side with Baisemeaux, awaiting the announcement of a meal
-whose odor impregnated the whole apartment.  If D'Artagnan pretended
-surprise, Aramis did not pretend at all; he started when he saw his two
-friends, and his emotion was very apparent.  Athos and D'Artagnan,
-however, complimented him as usual, and Baisemeaux, amazed, completely
-stupefied by the presence of his three guests, began to perform a few
-evolutions around them.
-
-"By what lucky accident - "
-
-"We were just going to ask you," retorted D'Artagnan.
-
-"Are we going to give ourselves up as prisoners?" cried Aramis, with an
-affection of hilarity.
-
-"Ah! ah!" said D'Artagnan; "it is true the walls smell deucedly like a
-prison.  Monsieur de Baisemeaux, you know you invited me to sup with you
-the other day."
-
-"I?" cried Baisemeaux.
-
-"Yes, of course you did, although you now seem so struck with amazement.
-Don't you remember it?"
-
-Baisemeaux turned pale and then red, looked at Aramis, who looked at him,
-and finished by stammering out, "Certainly - I am delighted - but, upon
-my honor - I have not the slightest - Ah!  I have such a wretched memory."
-
-"Well!  I am wrong, I see," said D'Artagnan, as if he were offended.
-
-"Wrong, what for?"
-
-"Wrong to remember anything about it, it seems."
-
-Baisemeaux hurried towards him.  "Do not stand on ceremony, my dear
-captain," he said; "I have the worst memory in the world.  I no sooner
-leave off thinking of my pigeons and their pigeon-house, than I am no
-better than the rawest recruit."
-
-"At all events, you remember it now," said D'Artagnan, boldly.
-
-"Yes, yes," replied the governor, hesitating; "I think I do remember."
-
-"It was when you came to the palace to see me; you told me some story or
-other about your accounts with M. de Louviere and M. de Tremblay."
-
-"Oh, yes! perfectly."
-
-"And about M. d'Herblay's kindness towards you."
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Aramis, looking at the unhappy governor full in the face,
-"and yet you just now said you had no memory, Monsieur de Baisemeaux."
-
-Baisemeaux interrupted the musketeer in the middle of his revelations.
-"Yes, yes; you're quite right; how could I have forgotten; I remember it
-now as well as possible; I beg you a thousand pardons.  But now, once for
-all, my dear M. d'Artagnan, be sure that at this present time, as at any
-other, whether invited or not, you are perfectly at home here, you and M.
-d'Herblay, your friend," he said, turning towards Aramis; "and this
-gentleman, too," he added, bowing to Athos.
-
-"Well, I thought it would be sure to turn out so," replied D'Artagnan,
-"and that is the reason I came.  Having nothing to do this evening at the
-Palais Royal, I wished to judge for myself what your ordinary style of
-living was like; and as I was coming along, I met the Comte de la Fere."
-
-Athos bowed.  "The comte, who had just left his majesty, handed me an
-order which required immediate attention.  We were close by here; I
-wished to call in, even if it were for no other object than that of
-shaking hands with you and of presenting the comte to you, of whom you
-spoke so highly that evening at the palace when - "
-
-"Certainly, certainly - M. le Comte de la Fere?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"The comte is welcome, I am sure."
-
-"And he will sup with you two, I suppose, whilst I, unfortunate dog that
-I am, must run off on a matter of duty.  Oh! what happy beings you are,
-compared to myself," he added, sighing as loud as Porthos might have done.
-
-"And so you are going away, then?" said Aramis and Baisemeaux together,
-with the same expression of delighted surprised, the tone of which was
-immediately noticed by D'Artagnan.
-
-"I leave you in my place," he said, "a noble and excellent guest."  And
-he touched Athos gently on the shoulder, who, astonished also, could not
-help exhibiting his surprise a little; which was noticed by Aramis only,
-for M. de Baisemeaux was not quite equal to the three friends in point of
-intelligence.
-
-"What, are you going to leave us?" resumed the governor.
-
-"I shall only be about an hour, or an hour and a half.  I will return in
-time for dessert."
-
-"Oh! we will wait for you," said Baisemeaux.
-
-"No, no; that would be really disobliging me."
-
-"You will be sure to return, though?" said Athos, with an expression of
-doubt.
-
-"Most certainly," he said, pressing his friend's hand confidently; and he
-added, in a low voice, "Wait for me, Athos; be cheerful and lively as
-possible, and above all, don't allude even to business affairs, for
-Heaven's sake."
-
-And with a renewed pressure of the hand, he seemed to warn the comte of
-the necessity of keeping perfectly discreet and impenetrable.  Baisemeaux
-led D'Artagnan to the gate.  Aramis, with many friendly protestations of
-delight, sat down by Athos, determined to make him speak; but Athos
-possessed every virtue and quality to the very highest degree.  If
-necessity had required it, he would have been the finest orator in the
-world, but on other occasions he would rather have died than have opened
-his lips.
-
-Ten minutes after D'Artagnan's departure, the three gentlemen sat down to
-table, which was covered with the most substantial display of gastronomic
-luxury.  Large joints, exquisite dishes, preserves, the greatest variety
-of wines, appeared successively upon the table, which was served at the
-king's expense, and of which expense M. Colbert would have found no
-difficulty in saving two thirds, without any one in the Bastile being the
-worse for it.  Baisemeaux was the only one who ate and drank with
-gastronomic resolution.  Aramis allowed nothing to pass by him, but
-merely touched everything he took; Athos, after the soup and three _hors
-d'oeuvres_, ate nothing more.  The style of conversation was such as
-might have been anticipated between three men so opposite in temper and
-ideas.  Aramis was incessantly asking himself by what extraordinary
-chance Athos was there at Baisemeaux's when D'Artagnan was no longer
-there, and why D'Artagnan did not remain when Athos was there.  Athos
-sounded all the depths of the mind of Aramis, who lived in the midst of
-subterfuge, evasion, and intrigue; he studied his man well and
-thoroughly, and felt convinced that he was engaged upon some important
-project.  And then he too began to think of his own personal affair, and
-to lose himself in conjectures as to D'Artagnan's reason for having left
-the Bastile so abruptly, and for leaving behind him a prisoner so badly
-introduced and so badly looked after by the prison authorities.  But we
-shall not pause to examine into the thoughts and feelings of these
-personages, but will leave them to themselves, surrounded by the remains
-of poultry, game, and fish, which Baisemeaux's generous knife and fork
-had so mutilated.  We are going to follow D'Artagnan instead, who,
-getting into the carriage which had brought him, said to the coachman,
-"Return to the palace, as fast as the horses can gallop."
-
-
-Chapter LXIV:
-What Took Place at the Louvre During the Supper at the Bastile.
-
-M. de Saint-Aignan had executed the commission with which the king had
-intrusted him for La Valliere - as we have already seen in one of the
-preceding chapters; but, whatever his eloquence, he did not succeed in
-persuading the young girl that she had in the king a protector powerful
-enough for her under any combination of circumstances, and that she had
-no need of any one else in the world when the king was on her side.  In
-point of fact, at the very first word which the favorite mentioned of the
-discovery of the famous secret, Louise, in a passion of tears, abandoned
-herself in utter despair to a sorrow which would have been far from
-flattering for the king, if he had been a witness of it from one of the
-corners of the room.  Saint-Aignan, in his character of ambassador, felt
-almost as greatly offended at it as his master himself would have been,
-and returned to inform the king what he had seen and heard; and it is
-thus we find him, in a state of great agitation, in the presence of the
-king, who was, if possible, in a state of even greater flurry than himself.
-
-"But," said the king to the courtier, when the latter had finished his
-report, "what did she decide to do?  Shall I at least see her presently
-before supper?  Will she come to me, or shall I be obliged to go to her
-room?"
-
-"I believe, sire, that if your majesty wishes to see her, you will not
-only have to take the first step in advance, but will have to go the
-whole way."
-
-"That I do not mind.  Do you think she has yet a secret fancy for young
-Bragelonne?" muttered the king between his teeth.
-
-"Oh! sire, that is not possible; for it is you alone, I am convinced,
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere loves, and that, too, with all her heart.
-But you know that De Bragelonne belongs to that proud race who play the
-part of Roman heroes."
-
-The king smiled feebly; he knew how true the illustration was, for Athos
-had just left him.
-
-"As for Mademoiselle de la Valliere," Saint-Aignan continued, "she was
-brought up under the care of the Dowager Madame, that is to say, in the
-greatest austerity and formality.  This young engaged couple coldly
-exchanged their little vows in the prim presence of the moon and stars;
-and now, when they find they have to break those vows asunder, it plays
-the very deuce with them."
-
-Saint-Aignan thought to have made the king laugh; but on the contrary,
-from a mere smile Louis passed to the greatest seriousness of manner.  He
-already began to experience that remorse which the comte had promised
-D'Artagnan he would inflict upon him.  He reflected that, in fact, these
-young persons had loved and sworn fidelity to each other; that one of the
-two had kept his word, and that the other was too conscientious not to
-feel her perjury most bitterly.  And his remorse was not unaccompanied;
-for bitter pangs of jealousy began to beset the king's heart.  He did not
-say another word, and instead of going to pay a visit to his mother, or
-the queen, or Madame, in order to amuse himself a little, and make the
-ladies laugh, as he himself used to say, he threw himself into the huge
-armchair in which his august father Louis XIII. had passed so many weary
-days and years in company with Barradat and Cinq-Mars.  Saint-Aignan
-perceived the king was not to be amused at that moment; he tried a last
-resource, and pronounced Louise's name, which made the king look up
-immediately.  "What does your majesty intend to do this evening - shall
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere be informed of your intention to see her?"
-
-"It seems she is already aware of that," replied the king.  "No, no,
-Saint-Aignan," he continued, after a moment's pause, "we will both of us
-pass our time in thinking, and musing, and dreaming; when Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere shall have sufficiently regretted what she now regrets, she
-will deign, perhaps, to give us some news of herself."
-
-"Ah! sire, is it possible you can so misunderstand her heart, which is so
-full of devotion?"
-
-The king rose, flushed from vexation and annoyance; he was a prey to
-jealousy as well as to remorse.  Saint-Aignan was just beginning to feel
-that his position was becoming awkward, when the curtain before the door
-was raised.  The king turned hastily round; his first idea was that a
-letter from Louise had arrived; but, instead of a letter of love, he only
-saw his captain of musketeers, standing upright, and perfectly silent in
-the doorway.  "M. d'Artagnan," he said, "ah!  Well, monsieur?"
-
-D'Artagnan looked at Saint-Aignan; the king's eyes took the same
-direction as those of his captain; these looks would have been clear to
-any one, and for a still greater reason they were so for Saint-Aignan.
-The courtier bowed and quitted the room, leaving the king and D'Artagnan
-alone.
-
-"Is it done?" inquired the king.
-
-"Yes, sire," replied the captain of the musketeers, in a grave voice, "it
-is done."
-
-The king was unable to say another word.  Pride, however, obliged him not
-to pause at what he had done; whenever a sovereign has adopted a decisive
-course, even though it be unjust, he is compelled to prove to all
-witnesses, and particularly to prove it to himself, that he was quite
-right all through.  A good means for effecting that - an almost
-infallible means, indeed - is, to try and prove his victim to be in the
-wrong.  Louis, brought up by Mazarin and Anne of Austria, knew better
-than any one else his vocation as a monarch; he therefore endeavored to
-prove it on the present occasion.  After a few moment's pause, which he
-had employed in making silently to himself the same reflections which we
-have just expressed aloud, he said, in an indifferent tone: "What did the
-comte say?"
-
-"Nothing at all, sire."
-
-"Surely he did not allow himself to be arrested without saying something?"
-
-"He said he expected to be arrested, sire."
-
-The king raised his head haughtily.  "I presume," he said, "that M. le
-Comte de la Fere has not continued to play his obstinate and rebellious
-part."
-
-"In the first place, sire, what do you wish to signify by _rebellious?_"
-quietly asked the musketeer.  "A rebel, in the eyes of the king, is a man
-who not only allows himself to be shut up in the Bastile, but still more,
-who opposes those who do not wish to take him there."
-
-"Who do not wish to take him there!" exclaimed the king.  "What do you
-say, captain!  Are you mad?"
-
-"I believe not, sire."
-
-"You speak of persons who did not wish to arrest M. de la Fere!  Who are
-those persons, may I ask?"
-
-"I should say those whom your majesty intrusted with that duty."
-
-"But it was you whom I intrusted with it," exclaimed the king.
-
-"Yes, sire; it was I."
-
-"And yet you say that, despite my orders, you had the intention of not
-arresting the man who had insulted me!"
-
-"Yes, sire - that was really my intention.  I even proposed to the comte
-to mount a horse that I had prepared for him at the Barriere de la
-Conference."
-
-"And what was your object in getting this horse ready?"
-
-"Why, sire, in order that M. le Comte de la Fere might be able to reach
-Le Havre, and from that place make his escape to England."
-
-"You betrayed me, then, monsieur?" cried the king, kindling with a wild
-pride.
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-There was nothing to say in answer to statements made in such a tone; the
-king was astounded at such an obstinate and open resistance on the part
-of D'Artagnan.  "At least you had a reason, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for
-acting as you did?" said the king, proudly.
-
-"I have always a reason for everything, sire."
-
-"Your reason cannot be your friendship for the comte, at all events, -
-the only one that can be of any avail, the only one that could possibly
-excuse you, - for I placed you perfectly at your ease in that respect."
-
-"Me, sire?"
-
-"Did I not give you the choice to arrest, or not to arrest M. le Comte de
-la Fere?"
-
-"Yes, sire, but - "
-
-"But what?" exclaimed the king, impatiently.
-
-"But you warned me, sire, that if I did not arrest him, your captain of
-the guard should do so."
-
-"Was I not considerate enough towards you, from the very moment I did not
-compel you to obey me?"
-
-"To me, sire, you were, but not to my friend, for my friend would be
-arrested all the same, whether by myself or by the captain of the guards."
-
-"And this is your devotion, monsieur! a devotion which argues and
-reasons.  You are no soldier, monsieur!"
-
-"I wait for your majesty to tell me what I am."
-
-"Well, then - you are a Frondeur."
-
-"And since there is no longer any Fronde, sire, in that case - "
-
-"But if what you say is true - "
-
-"What I say is always true, sire."
-
-"What have you come to say to me, monsieur?"
-
-"I have come to say to your majesty, 'Sire, M. de la Fere is in the
-Bastile.'"
-
-"That is not your fault, it would seem."
-
-"That is true, sire; but at all events he is there; and since he is
-there, it is important that your majesty should know it."
-
-"Ah!  Monsieur d'Artagnan, so you set your king at defiance."
-
-"Sire - "
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan!  I warn you that you are abusing my patience."
-
-"On the contrary, sire."
-
-"What do you mean by 'on the contrary'?"
-
-"I have come to get myself arrested, too."
-
-"To get yourself arrested, - you!"
-
-"Of course.  My friend will get wearied to death in the Bastile by
-himself; and I have come to propose to your majesty to permit me to bear
-him company; if your majesty will but give me the word, I will arrest
-myself; I shall not need the captain of the guards for that, I assure
-you."
-
-The king darted towards the table and seized hold of a pen to write the
-order for D'Artagnan's imprisonment.  "Pay attention, monsieur, that this
-is forever," cried the king, in tones of sternest menace.
-
-"I can quite believe that," returned the musketeer; "for when you have
-once done such an act as that, you will never be able to look me in the
-face again."
-
-The king dashed down his pen violently.  "Leave the room, monsieur!" he
-said.
-
-"Not so, if it please your majesty."
-
-"What is that you say?"
-
-"Sire, I came to speak gently and temperately to your majesty; your
-majesty got into a passion with me; that is a misfortune; but I shall not
-the less on that account say what I had to say to you."
-
-"Your resignation, monsieur, - your resignation!" cried the king.
-
-"Sire, you know whether I care about my resignation or not, since at
-Blois, on the very day when you refused King Charles the million which my
-friend the Comte de la Fere gave him, I then tendered my resignation to
-your majesty."
-
-"Very well, monsieur - do it at once!"
-
-"No, sire; for there is no question of my resignation at the present
-moment.  Your majesty took up your pen just now to send me to the
-Bastile, - why should you change your intention?"
-
-"D'Artagnan!  Gascon that you are! who is king, allow me to ask, - you or
-myself?"
-
-"You, sire, unfortunately."
-
-"What do you mean by 'unfortunately'?"
-
-"Yes, sire; for if it were I - "
-
-"If it were you, you would approve of M. d'Artagnan's rebellious conduct,
-I suppose?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"Really!" said the king, shrugging his shoulders.
-
-"And I should tell my captain of the musketeers," continued D'Artagnan,
-"I should tell him, looking at him all the while with human eyes, and not
-with eyes like coals of fire, 'M. d'Artagnan, I had forgotten that I was
-the king, for I descended from my throne in order to insult a gentleman.'"
-
-"Monsieur," said the king, "do you think you can excuse your friend by
-exceeding him in insolence?"
-
-"Oh! sire!  I should go much further than he did," said D'Artagnan; "and
-it would be your own fault.  I should tell you what he, a man full of the
-finest sense of delicacy, did not tell you; I should say - 'Sire, you
-have sacrificed his son, and he defended his son - you sacrificed
-himself; he addressed you in the name of honor, of religion, of virtue –
-you repulsed, drove him away, imprisoned him.'  I should be harder than
-he was, for I should say to you - 'Sire; it is for you to choose.  Do you
-wish to have friends or lackeys - soldiers or slaves - great men or mere
-puppets?  Do you wish men to serve you, or to bend and crouch before
-you?  Do you wish men to love you, or to be afraid of you?  If you prefer
-baseness, intrigue, cowardice, say so at once, sire, and we will leave
-you, - we who are the only individuals who are left, - nay, I will say
-more, the only models of the valor of former times; we who have done our
-duty, and have exceeded, perhaps, in courage and in merit, the men
-already great for posterity.  Choose, sire! and that, too, without
-delay.  Whatever relics remain to you of the great nobility, guard them
-with a jealous eye; you will never be deficient in courtiers.  Delay not
-- and send me to the Bastile with my friend; for, if you did not know how
-to listen to the Comte de la Fere, whose voice is the sweetest and
-noblest in all the world when honor is the theme; if you do not know how
-to listen to D'Artagnan, the frankest and honestest voice of sincerity,
-you are a bad king, and to-morrow will be a poor king.  And learn from
-me, sire, that bad kings are hated by their people, and poor kings are
-driven ignominiously away.'  That is what I had to say to you, sire; you
-were wrong to drive me to say it."
-
-The king threw himself back in his chair, cold as death, and as livid as
-a corpse.  Had a thunderbolt fallen at his feet, he could not have been
-more astonished; he seemed as if his respiration had utterly ceased, and
-that he was at the point of death.  The honest voice of sincerity, as
-D'Artagnan had called it, had pierced through his heart like a sword-
-blade.
-
-D'Artagnan had said all he had to say.  Comprehending the king's anger,
-he drew his sword, and, approaching Louis XIV. respectfully, he placed it
-on the table.  But the king, with a furious gesture, thrust aside the
-sword, which fell on the ground and rolled to D'Artagnan's feet.
-Notwithstanding the perfect mastery which D'Artagnan exercised over
-himself, he, too, in his turn, became pale, and, trembling with
-indignation, said: "A king may disgrace a soldier, - he may exile him,
-and may even condemn him to death; but were he a hundred times a king, he
-has no right to insult him by casting a dishonor upon his sword!  Sire, a
-king of France has never repulsed with contempt the sword of a man such
-as I am!  Stained with disgrace as this sword now is, it has henceforth
-no other sheath than either your heart or my own!  I choose my own, sire;
-and you have to thank Heaven and my own patience that I do so."  Then
-snatching up his sword, he cried, "My blood be upon your head!" and, with
-a rapid gesture, he placed the hilt upon the floor and directed the point
-of the blade towards his breast.  The king, however, with a movement far
-more rapid than that of D'Artagnan, threw his right arm around the
-musketeer's neck, and with his left hand seized hold of the blade by the
-middle, and returned it silently to the scabbard.  D'Artagnan, upright,
-pale, and still trembling, let the king do all to the very end.  Louis,
-overcome and softened by gentler feelings, returned to the table, took a
-pen in his hand, wrote a few lines, signed them, and then held it out
-to D'Artagnan.
-
-"What is this paper, sire?" inquired the captain.
-
-"An order for M. d'Artagnan to set the Comte de la Fere at liberty
-immediately."
-
-D'Artagnan seized the king's hand, and imprinted a kiss upon it; he then
-folded the order, placed it in his belt, and quitted the room. Neither
-the king nor the captain had uttered a syllable.
-
-"Oh, human heart! thou guide and director of kings," murmured Louis, when
-alone, "when shall I learn to read in your inmost recesses, as in the
-leaves of a book!  Oh, I am not a bad king - nor am I poor king; I am but
-still a child, when all is said and done."
-
-
-Chapter LXV:
-Political Rivals.
-
-D'Artagnan had promised M. de Baisemeaux to return in time for dessert,
-and he kept his word.  They had just reached the finer and more delicate
-class of wines and liqueurs with which the governor's cellar had the
-reputation of being most admirably stocked, when the silver spurs of the
-captain resounded in the corridor, and he himself appeared at the
-threshold.  Athos and Aramis had played a close game; neither of the two
-had been able to gain the slightest advantage over the other.  They had
-supped, talked a good deal about the Bastile, of the last journey to
-Fontainebleau, of the intended _fete_ that M. Fouquet was about to give
-at Vaux; they had generalized on every possible subject; and no one,
-excepting Baisemeaux, had in the slightest degree alluded to private
-matters.  D'Artagnan arrived in the very midst of the conversation, still
-pale and much disturbed by his interview with the king.  Baisemeaux
-hastened to give him a chair; D'Artagnan accepted a glass of wine, and
-set it down empty.  Athos and Aramis both remarked his emotion; as for
-Baisemeaux, he saw nothing more than the captain of the king's
-musketeers, to whom he endeavored to show every possible attention.  But,
-although Aramis had remarked his emotion, he had not been able to guess
-the cause of it.  Athos alone believed he had detected it.  For him,
-D'Artagnan's return, and particularly the manner in which he, usually so
-impassible, seemed overcome, signified, "I have just asked the king
-something which the king has refused me."  Thoroughly convinced that his
-conjecture was correct, Athos smiled, rose from the table, and made a
-sign to D'Artagnan, as if to remind him that they had something else to
-do than to sup together.  D'Artagnan immediately understood him, and
-replied by another sign.  Aramis and Baisemeaux watched this silent
-dialogue, and looked inquiringly at each other.  Athos felt that he was
-called upon to give an explanation of what was passing.
-
-"The truth is, my friend," said the Comte de la Fere, with a smile, "that
-you, Aramis, have been supping with a state criminal, and you, Monsieur
-de Baisemeaux, with your prisoner."
-
-Baisemeaux uttered an exclamation of surprise, and almost of delight; for
-he was exceedingly proud and vain of his fortress, and for his own
-individual profit, the more prisoners he had, the happier he was, and the
-higher in rank the prisoners happened to be, the prouder he felt.  Aramis
-assumed the expression of countenance he thought the position justified,
-and said, "Well, dear Athos, forgive me, but I almost suspected what has
-happened.  Some prank of Raoul and La Valliere, I suppose?"
-
-"Alas!" said Baisemeaux.
-
-"And," continued Aramis, "you, a high and powerful nobleman as you are,
-forgetful that courtiers now exist - you have been to the king, I
-suppose, and told him what you thought of his conduct?"
-
-"Yes, you have guessed right."
-
-"So that," said Baisemeaux, trembling at having supped so familiarly with
-a man who had fallen into disgrace with the king; "so that, monsieur le
-comte - "
-
-"So that, my dear governor," said Athos, "my friend D'Artagnan will
-communicate to you the contents of the paper which I perceived just
-peeping out of his belt, and which assuredly can be nothing else than the
-order for my incarceration."
-
-Baisemeaux held out his hand with his accustomed eagerness.  D'Artagnan
-drew two papers from his belt, and presented one of them to the governor,
-who unfolded it, and then read, in a low tone of voice, looking at Athos
-over the paper, as he did so, and pausing from time to time: "'Order to
-detain, in my chateau of the Bastile, Monsieur le Comte de la Fere.'  Oh,
-monsieur! this is indeed a very melancholy day for me."
-
-"You will have a patient prisoner, monsieur," said Athos, in his calm,
-soft voice.
-
-"A prisoner, too, who will not remain a month with you, my dear
-governor," said Aramis; while Baisemeaux, still holding the order in his
-hand, transcribed it upon the prison registry.
-
-"Not a day, or rather not even a night," said D'Artagnan, displaying the
-second order of the king, "for now, dear M. de Baisemeaux, you will have
-the goodness to transcribe also this order for setting the comte
-immediately at liberty."
-
-"Ah!" said Aramis, "it is a labor that you have deprived me of,
-D'Artagnan;" and he pressed the musketeer's hand in a significant manner,
-at the same moment as that of Athos.
-
-"What!" said the latter in astonishment, "the king sets me at liberty!"
-
-"Read, my dear friend," returned D'Artagnan.
-
-Athos took the order and read it.  "It is quite true," he said.
-
-"Are you sorry for it?" asked D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh, no, on the contrary.  I wish the king no harm; and the greatest evil
-or misfortune that any one can wish kings, is that they should commit an
-act of injustice.  But you have had a difficult and painful task, I
-know.  Tell me, have you not, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"I? not at all," said the musketeer, laughing: "the king does everything
-I wish him to do."
-
-Aramis looked fixedly at D'Artagnan, and saw that he was not speaking the
-truth.  But Baisemeaux had eyes for nothing but D'Artagnan, so great was
-his admiration for a man who seemed to make the king do all he wished.
-
-"And does the king exile Athos?" inquired Aramis.
-
-"No, not precisely; the king did not explain himself upon that subject,"
-replied D'Artagnan; "but I think the comte could not well do better
-unless, indeed, he wishes particularly to thank the king - "
-
-"No, indeed," replied Athos, smiling.
-
-"Well, then, I think," resumed D'Artagnan, "that the comte cannot do
-better than to retire to his _own_ chateau.  However, my dear Athos, you
-have only to speak, to tell me what you want.  If any particular place of
-residence is more agreeable to you than another, I am influential enough,
-perhaps, to obtain it for you."
-
-"No, thank you," said Athos; "nothing can be more agreeable to me, my
-dear friend, than to return to my solitude beneath my noble trees on the
-banks of the Loire.  If Heaven be the overruling physician of the evils
-of the mind, nature is a sovereign remedy.  And so, monsieur," continued
-Athos, turning again towards Baisemeaux, "I am now free, I suppose?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur le comte, I think so - at least, I hope so," said the
-governor, turning over and over the two papers in question, "unless,
-however, M. d'Artagnan has a third order to give me."
-
-"No, my dear Baisemeaux, no," said the musketeer; "the second is quite
-enough: we will stop there - if you please."
-
-"Ah! monsieur le comte," said Baisemeaux addressing Athos, "you do not
-know what you are losing.  I should have placed you among the thirty-
-franc prisoners, like the generals - what am I saying? - I mean among the
-fifty-francs, like the princes, and you would have supped every evening
-as you have done to-night."
-
-"Allow me, monsieur," said Athos, "to prefer my own simpler fare."  And
-then, turning to D'Artagnan, he said, "Let us go, my dear friend.  Shall
-I have that greatest of all pleasures for me - that of having you as my
-companion?"
-
-"To the city gate only," replied D'Artagnan, "after which I will tell you
-what I told the king: 'I am on duty.'"
-
-"And you, my dear Aramis," said Athos, smiling; "will you accompany me?
-La Fere is on the road to Vannes."
-
-"Thank you, my dear friend," said Aramis, "but I have an appointment in
-Paris this evening, and I cannot leave without very serious interests
-suffering by my absence."
-
-"In that case," said Athos, "I must say adieu, and take my leave of you.
-My dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux, I have to thank you exceedingly for your
-kind and friendly disposition towards me, and particularly for the
-enjoyable specimen you have given me of the ordinary fare of the
-Bastile."  And, having embraced Aramis, and shaken hands with M. de
-Baisemeaux, and having received best wishes for a pleasant journey from
-them both, Athos set off with D'Artagnan.
-
-Whilst the _denouement_ of the scene of the Palais Royal was taking place
-at the Bastile, let us relate what was going on at the lodgings of Athos
-and Bragelonne.  Grimaud, as we have seen, had accompanied his master to
-Paris; and, as we have said, he was present when Athos went out; he had
-observed D'Artagnan gnaw the corners of his mustache; he had seen his
-master get into the carriage; he had narrowly examined both their
-countenances, and he had known them both for a sufficiently long period
-to read and understand, through the mask of their impassibility, that
-something serious was the matter.  As soon as Athos had gone, he began to
-reflect; he then, and then only, remembered the strange manner in which
-Athos had taken leave of him, the embarrassment - imperceptible as it
-would have been to any but himself - of the master whose ideas were, to
-him, so clear and defined, and the expression of whose wishes was so
-precise.  He knew that Athos had taken nothing with him but the clothes
-he had on him at the time; and yet he seemed to fancy that Athos had not
-left for an hour merely; or even for a day.  A long absence was signified
-by the manner in which he pronounced the word "Adieu."  All these
-circumstances recurred to his mind, with feelings of deep affection for
-Athos, with that horror of isolation and solitude which invariably besets
-the minds of those who love; and all these combined rendered poor Grimaud
-very melancholy, and particularly uneasy.  Without being able to account
-to himself for what he did since his master's departure, he wandered
-about the room, seeking, as it were, for some traces of him, like a
-faithful dog, who is not exactly uneasy about his absent master, but at
-least is restless.  Only as, in addition to the instinct of the animal,
-Grimaud subjoined the reasoning faculties of the man, Grimaud therefore
-felt uneasy and restless too.  Not having found any indication which
-could serve as a guide, and having neither seen nor discovered anything
-which could satisfy his doubts, Grimaud began to wonder what could
-possibly have happened.  Besides, imagination is the resource, or rather
-the plague of gentle and affectionate hearts.  In fact, never does a
-feeling heart represent its absent friend to itself as being happy or
-cheerful.  Never does the dove that wings its flight in search of
-adventures inspire anything but terror at home.
-
-Grimaud soon passed from uneasiness to terror; he carefully went over, in
-his own mind, everything that had taken place: D'Artagnan's letter to
-Athos, the letter which had seemed to distress Athos so much after he had
-read it; then Raoul's visit to Athos, which resulted in Athos desiring
-him (Grimaud) to get his various orders and his court dress ready to put
-on; then his interview with the king, at the end of which Athos had
-returned home so unusually gloomy; then the explanation between the
-father and the son, at the termination of which Athos had embraced Raoul
-with such sadness of expression, while Raoul himself went away equally
-weary and melancholy; and finally, D'Artagnan's arrival, biting, as if he
-were vexed, the end of his mustache, and leaving again in the carriage,
-accompanied by the Comte de la Fere.  All this composed a drama in five
-acts very clearly, particularly for so analytical an observer as Grimaud.
-
-The first step he took was to search in his master's coat for M.
-d'Artagnan's letter; he found the letter still there, and its contents
-were found to run as follows:
-
-"MY DEAR FRIEND, - Raoul has been to ask me for some particulars about
-the conduct of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, during our young friend's
-residence in London.  I am a poor captain of musketeers, and I am
-sickened to death every day by hearing all the scandal of the barracks
-and bedside conversations.  If I had told Raoul all I believe, I know the
-poor fellow would have died of it; but I am in the king's service, and
-cannot relate all I hear about the king's affairs.  If your heart tells
-you to do it, set off at once; the matter concerns you more than it does
-myself, and almost as much as Raoul."
-
-Grimaud tore, not a handful, but a finger-and-thumbful of hair out of his
-head; he would have done more if his head of hair had been in a more
-flourishing condition.
-
-"Yes," he said, "that is the key of the whole enigma.  The young girl has
-been playing her pranks; what people say about her and the king is true,
-then; our young master has been deceived; he ought to know it.  Monsieur
-le comte has been to see the king, and has told him a piece of his mind;
-and then the king sent M. d'Artagnan to arrange the affair.  Ah! gracious
-goodness!" continued Grimaud, "monsieur le comte, I now remember,
-returned without his sword."
-
-This discovery made the perspiration break out all over poor Grimaud's
-face.  He did not waste any more time in useless conjecture, but clapped
-his hat on his head, and ran to Raoul's lodgings.
-
-Raoul, after Louise had left him, had mastered his grief, if not his
-affection; and, compelled to look forward on that perilous road over
-which madness and revulsion were hurrying him, he had seen, from the very
-first glance, his father exposed to the royal obstinacy, since Athos had
-himself been the first to oppose any resistance to the royal will.  At
-this moment, from a very natural sequence of feeling, the unhappy young
-man remembered the mysterious signs which Athos had made, and the
-unexpected visit of D'Artagnan; the result of the conflict between a
-sovereign and a subject revealed itself to his terrified vision.  As
-D'Artagnan was on duty, that is, a fixture at his post without the
-possibility of leaving it, it was certainly not likely that he had come
-to pay Athos a visit merely for the pleasure of seeing him.  He must
-have come to say something to him.  This something in the midst of such
-painful conjectures must have been the news of either a misfortune or a
-danger.  Raoul trembled at having been so selfish as to have forgotten
-his father for his affection; at having, in a word, passed his time in
-idle dreams, or in an indulgence of despair, at a time when a necessity
-existed for repelling such an imminent attack on Athos.  The very idea
-nearly drove him frantic; he buckled on his sword and ran towards his
-father's lodgings.  On his way there he encountered Grimaud, who, having
-set off from the opposite pole, was running with equal eagerness in
-search of the truth.  The two men embraced each other most warmly.
-
-"Grimaud," exclaimed Raoul, "is the comte well?"
-
-"Have you seen him?"
-
-"No; where is he?"
-
-"I am trying to find out."
-
-"And M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Went out with him."
-
-"When?"
-
-"Ten minutes after you did."
-
-"In what way did they go out?"
-
-"In a carriage."
-
-"Where did they go?"
-
-"I have no idea at all."
-
-"Did my father take any money with him?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Or his sword?"
-
-"No."
-
-"I have an idea, Grimaud, that M. d'Artagnan came in order to - "
-
-"Arrest monsieur le comte, do you not think, monsieur?"
-
-"Yes, Grimaud."
-
-"I could have sworn it."
-
-"What road did they take?"
-
-"The way leading towards the quay."
-
-"To the Bastile, then?"
-
-"Yes, yes."
-
-"Quick, quick; let us run."
-
-"Yes, let us not lose a moment."
-
-"But where are we to go?" said Raoul, overwhelmed.
-
-"We will go to M. d'Artagnan's first, we may perhaps learn something
-there."
-
-"No; if they keep me in ignorance at my father's, they will do the same
-everywhere.  Let us go to - Oh, good heavens! why, I must be mad to-day,
-Grimaud; I have forgotten M. du Vallon, who is waiting for and expecting
-me still."
-
-"Where is he, then?"
-
-"At the Minimes of Vincennes."
-
-"Thank goodness, that is on the same side as the Bastile.  I will run and
-saddle the horses, and we will go at once," said Grimaud.
-
-"Do, my friend, do."
-
-
-Chapter LXVI:
-In Which Porthos Is Convinced without Having Understood Anything.
-
-The good and worthy Porthos, faithful to all the laws of ancient
-chivalry, had determined to wait for M. de Saint-Aignan until sunset; and
-as Saint-Aignan did not come, as Raoul had forgotten to communicate with
-his second, and as he found that waiting so long was very wearisome,
-Porthos had desired one of the gate-keepers to fetch him a few bottles of
-good wine and a good joint of meat, - so that, at least, he might pass
-away the time by means of a glass or two and a mouthful of something to
-eat.  He had just finished when Raoul arrived, escorted by Grimaud, both
-of them riding at full speed.  As soon as Porthos saw the two cavaliers
-riding at such a pace along the road, he did not for a moment doubt but
-that they were the men he was expecting, and he rose from the grass upon
-which he had been indolently reclining and began to stretch his legs and
-arms, saying, "See what it is to have good habits.  The fellow has
-finished by coming, after all.  If I had gone away he would have found no
-one here and would have taken advantage of that."  He then threw himself
-into a martial attitude, and drew himself up to the full height of his
-gigantic stature.  But instead of Saint-Aignan, he only saw Raoul, who,
-with the most despairing gestures, accosted him by crying out, "Pray
-forgive me, my dear friend, I am most wretched."
-
-"Raoul!" cried Porthos, surprised.
-
-"You have been angry with me?" said Raoul, embracing Porthos.
-
-"I?  What for?"
-
-"For having forgotten you.  But I assure you my head seems utterly lost.
-If you only knew!"
-
-"You have killed him?"
-
-"Who?"
-
-"Saint-Aignan; or, if that is not the case, what is the matter?"
-
-"The matter is, that Monsieur le Comte de la Fere has by this time been
-arrested."
-
-Porthos gave a start that would have thrown down a wall.
-
-"Arrested!" he cried out; "by whom?"
-
-"By D'Artagnan."
-
-"It is impossible," said Porthos.
-
-"My dear friend, it is perfectly true."
-
-Porthos turned towards Grimaud, as if he needed a second confirmation of
-the intelligence.
-
-Grimaud nodded his head.  "And where have they taken him?"
-
-"Probably to the Bastile."
-
-"What makes you think that?"
-
-"As we came along we questioned some persons, who saw the carriage pass;
-and others who saw it enter the Bastile."
-
-"Oh!" muttered Porthos.
-
-"What do you intend to do?" inquired Raoul.
-
-"I?  Nothing; only I will not have Athos remain at the Bastile."
-
-"Do you know," said Raoul, advancing nearer to Porthos, "that the arrest
-was made by order of the king?"
-
-Porthos looked at the young man, as if to say, "What does that matter to
-me?"  This dumb language seemed so eloquent of meaning to Raoul that he
-did not ask any other question.  He mounted his horse again; and Porthos,
-assisted by Grimaud, had already done the same.
-
-"Let us arrange our plan of action," said Raoul.
-
-"Yes," returned Porthos, "that is the best thing we can do."
-
-Raoul sighed deeply, and then paused suddenly.
-
-"What is the matter?" asked Porthos; "are you faint?"
-
-"No, only I feel how utterly helpless our position is.  Can we three
-pretend to go and take the Bastile?"
-
-"Well, if D'Artagnan were only here," replied Porthos, "I am not so very
-certain we would fail."
-
-Raoul could not resist a feeling of admiration at the sight of such
-perfect confidence, heroic in its simplicity.  These were truly the
-celebrated men who, by three or four, attacked armies and assaulted
-castles!  Men who had terrified death itself, who had survived the wrecks
-of a tempestuous age, and still stood, stronger than the most robust of
-the young.
-
-"Monsieur," said he to Porthos, "you have just given me an idea; we
-absolutely must see M. d'Artagnan."
-
-"Undoubtedly."
-
-"He ought by this time to have returned home, after having taken my
-father to the Bastile.  Let us go to his house."
-
-"First inquire at the Bastile," said Grimaud, who was in the habit of
-speaking little, but that to the purpose.
-
-Accordingly, they hastened towards the fortress, when one of those
-chances which Heaven bestows on men of strong will caused Grimaud
-suddenly to perceive the carriage, which was entering by the great gate
-of the drawbridge.  This was the moment that D'Artagnan was, as we have
-seen, returning from his visit to the king.  In vain was it that Raoul
-urged on his horse in order to join the carriage, and to see whom it
-contained.  The horses had already gained the other side of the great
-gate, which again closed, while one of the sentries struck the nose of
-Raoul's horse with his musket; Raoul turned about, only too happy to find
-he had ascertained something respecting the carriage which had contained
-his father.
-
-"We have him," said Grimaud.
-
-"If we wait a little it is certain he will leave; don't you think so, my
-friend?"
-
-"Unless, indeed, D'Artagnan also be a prisoner," replied Porthos, "in
-which case everything is lost."
-
-Raoul returned no answer, for any hypothesis was admissible.  He
-instructed Grimaud to lead the horses to the little street Jean-Beausire,
-so as to give rise to less suspicion, and himself with his piercing gaze
-watched for the exit either of D'Artagnan or the carriage.  Nor had he
-decided wrongly; for twenty minutes had not elapsed before the gate
-reopened and the carriage reappeared.  A dazzling of the eyes prevented
-Raoul from distinguishing what figures occupied the interior.  Grimaud
-averred that he had seen two persons, and that one of them was his
-master.  Porthos kept looking at Raoul and Grimaud by turns, in the hope
-of understanding their idea.
-
-"It is clear," said Grimaud, "that if the comte is in the carriage,
-either he is set at liberty or they are taking him to another prison."
-
-"We shall soon see that by the road he takes," answered Porthos.
-
-"If he is set at liberty," said Grimaud, "they will conduct him home."
-
-"True," rejoined Porthos.
-
-"The carriage does not take that way," cried Raoul; and indeed the horses
-were just disappearing down the Faubourg St. Antoine.
-
-"Let us hasten," said Porthos; "we will attack the carriage on the road
-and tell Athos to flee."
-
-"Rebellion," murmured Raoul.
-
-Porthos darted a second glance at Raoul, quite worthy of the first.
-Raoul replied only by spurring the flanks of his steed.  In a few moments
-the three cavaliers had overtaken the carriage, and followed it so
-closely that their horses' breath moistened the back of it.  D'Artagnan,
-whose senses were ever on the alert, heard the trot of the horses, at the
-moment when Raoul was telling Porthos to pass the chariot, so as to see
-who was the person accompanying Athos.  Porthos complied, but could not
-see anything, for the blinds were lowered.  Rage and impatience were
-gaining mastery over Raoul.  He had just noticed the mystery preserved by
-Athos's companion, and determined on proceeding to extremities.  On his
-part D'Artagnan had perfectly recognized Porthos, and Raoul also, from
-under the blinds, and had communicated to the comte the result of his
-observation.  They were desirous only of seeing whether Raoul and Porthos
-would push the affair to the uttermost.  And this they speedily did, for
-Raoul, presenting his pistol, threw himself on the leader, commanding the
-coachmen to stop.  Porthos seized the coachman, and dragged him from his
-seat.  Grimaud already had hold of the carriage door.  Raoul threw open
-his arms, exclaiming, "M. le comte! M. le comte!"
-
-"Ah! is it you, Raoul?" said Athos, intoxicated with joy.
-
-"Not bad, indeed!" added D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter, and they
-both embraced the young man and Porthos, who had taken possession of them.
-
-"My brave Porthos! best of friends," cried Athos, "it is still the same
-old way with you."
-
-"He is still only twenty," said D'Artagnan, "brave Porthos!"
-
-"Confound it," answered Porthos, slightly confused, "we thought that you
-were being arrested."
-
-"While," rejoined Athos, "the matter in question was nothing but my
-taking a drive in M. d'Artagnan's carriage."
-
-"But we followed you from the Bastile," returned Raoul, with a tone of
-suspicion and reproach.
-
-"Where we had been to take supper with our friend M. Baisemeaux.  Do you
-recollect Baisemeaux, Porthos?"
-
-"Very well, indeed."
-
-"And there we saw Aramis."
-
-"In the Bastile?"
-
-"At supper."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, again breathing freely.
-
-"He gave us a thousand messages to you."
-
-"And where is M. le comte going?" asked Grimaud, already recompensed by a
-smile from his master.
-
-"We were going home to Blois."
-
-"How can that be?"
-
-"At once?" said Raoul.
-
-"Yes, right forward."
-
-"Without any luggage?"
-
-"Oh!  Raoul would have been instructed to forward me mine, or to bring it
-with him on his return, _if_ he returns."
-
-"If nothing detains him longer in Paris," said D'Artagnan, with a glance
-firm and cutting as steel, and as painful (for it reopened the poor young
-fellow's wounds), "he will do well to follow you, Athos."
-
-"There is nothing to keep me any longer in Paris," said Raoul.
-
-"Then we will go immediately."
-
-"And M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Oh! as for me, I was only accompanying Athos as far as the barrier, and
-I return with Porthos."
-
-"Very good," said the latter.
-
-"Come, my son," added the comte, gently passing his arm around Raoul's
-neck to draw him into the carriage, and again embracing him.  "Grimaud,"
-continued the comte, "you will return quietly to Paris with your horse
-and M. du Vallon's, for Raoul and I will mount here and give up the
-carriage to these two gentlemen to return to Paris in; and then, as soon
-as you arrive, you will take my clothes and letters and forward the whole
-to me at home."
-
-"But," observed Raoul, who was anxious to make the comte converse, "when
-you return to Paris, there will not be a single thing there for you –
-which will be very inconvenient."
-
-"I think it will be a very long time, Raoul, ere I return to Paris.  The
-last sojourn we have made there has not been of a nature to encourage me
-to repeat it."
-
-Raoul hung down his head and said not a word more.  Athos descended from
-the carriage and mounted the horse which had brought Porthos, and which
-seemed no little pleased at the exchange.  Then they embraced, and
-clasped each other's hands, and interchanged a thousand pledges of
-eternal friendship.  Porthos promised to spend a month with Athos at the
-first opportunity.  D'Artagnan engaged to take advantage of his first
-leave of absence; and then, having embraced Raoul for the last time: "To
-you, my boy," said he, "I will write."  Coming from D'Artagnan, who he
-knew wrote very seldom, these words expressed everything.  Raoul was
-moved even to tears.  He tore himself away from the musketeer and
-departed.
-
-D'Artagnan rejoined Porthos in the carriage: "Well," said he, "my dear
-friend, what a day we have had!"
-
-"Indeed we have," answered Porthos.
-
-"You must be quite worn out."
-
-"Not quite; however, I shall retire early to rest, so as to be ready for
-to-morrow."
-
-"And wherefore?"
-
-"Why! to complete what I have begun."
-
-"You make me shudder, my friend, you seem to me quite angry.  What the
-devil _have_ you begun which is not finished?"
-
-"Listen; Raoul has not fought, but _I_ must fight!"
-
-"With whom? with the king?"
-
-"How!" exclaimed Porthos, astounded, "with the king?"
-
-"Yes, I say, you great baby, with the king."
-
-"I assure you it is with M. Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Look now, this is what I mean; you draw your sword against the king in
-fighting with this gentleman."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, staring; "are you sure of it?"
-
-"Indeed I am."
-
-"What in the world are we to do, then?"
-
-"We must try and make a good supper, Porthos.  The captain of the
-musketeers keeps a tolerable table.  There you will see the handsome
-Saint-Aignan, and will drink his health."
-
-"I?" cried Porthos, horrified.
-
-"What!" said D'Artagnan, "you refuse to drink the king's health?"
-
-"But, body alive!  I am not talking to you about the king at all; I am
-speaking of M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"But when I repeat that it is the same thing?"
-
-"Ah, well, well!" said Porthos, overcome.
-
-"You understand, don't you?"
-
-"No," answered Porthos, "but 'tis all the same."
-
-
-Chapter LXVII:
-M. de Baisemeaux's "Society."
-
-The reader has not forgotten that, on quitting the Bastile, D'Artagnan
-and the Comte de la Fere had left Aramis in close confabulation with
-Baisemeaux.  When once these two guests had departed, Baisemeaux did not
-in the least perceive that the conversation suffered by their absence.
-He used to think that wine after supper, and that of the Bastile in
-particular, was excellent, and that it was a stimulation quite sufficient
-to make any honest man talkative.  But he little knew his Greatness, who
-was never more impenetrable that at dessert.  His Greatness, however,
-perfectly understood M. de Baisemeaux, when he reckoned on making the
-governor discourse by the means which the latter regarded as
-efficacious.  The conversation, therefore, without flagging in
-appearance, flagged in reality; for Baisemeaux not only had it nearly all
-to himself, but further, kept speaking only of that singular event, the
-incarceration of Athos, followed by so prompt an order to set him again
-at liberty.  Nor, moreover, had Baisemeaux failed to observe that the two
-orders of arrest and of liberation, were both in the king's hand.  But
-then, the king would not take the trouble to write similar orders except
-under pressing circumstances.  All this was very interesting, and, above
-all, very puzzling to Baisemeaux; but as, on the other hand, all this was
-very clear to Aramis, the latter did not attach to the occurrence the
-same importance as did the worthy governor.  Besides, Aramis rarely put
-himself out of the way for anything, and he had not yet told M. de
-Baisemeaux for what reason he had now done so.  And so at the very climax
-of Baisemeaux's dissertation, Aramis suddenly interrupted him.
-
-"Tell me, my dear Baisemeaux," said he, "have you never had any other
-diversions at the Bastile than those at which I assisted during the two
-or three visits I have had the honor to pay you?"
-
-This address was so unexpected that the governor, like a vane which
-suddenly receives an impulsion opposed to that of the wind, was quite
-dumbfounded at it.  "Diversions!" said he; "but I take them continually,
-monseigneur."
-
-"Oh, to be sure!  And these diversions?"
-
-"Are of every kind."
-
-"Visits, no doubt?"
-
-"No, not visits.  Visits are not frequent at the Bastile."
-
-"What, are visits rare, then?"
-
-"Very much so."
-
-"Even on the part of your society?"
-
-"What do you term my society - the prisoners?"
-
-"Oh, no! - your prisoners, indeed!  I know well it is you who visit them,
-and not they you.  By your society, I mean, my dear Baisemeaux, the
-society of which you are a member."
-
-Baisemeaux looked fixedly at Aramis, and then, as if the idea which had
-flashed across his mind were impossible, "Oh," he said, "I have very
-little society at present.  If I must own it to you, dear M. d'Herblay,
-the fact is, to stay at the Bastile appears, for the most part,
-distressing and distasteful to persons of the gay world.  As for the
-ladies, it is never without a certain dread, which costs me infinite
-trouble to allay, that they succeed in reaching my quarters.  And,
-indeed, how should they avoid trembling a little, poor things, when they
-see those gloomy dungeons, and reflect that they are inhabited by
-prisoners who - "  And in proportion as the eyes of Baisemeaux
-concentrated their gaze on the face of Aramis, the worthy governor's
-tongue faltered more and more until it ended by stopping altogether.
-
-"No, you don't understand me, my dear M. Baisemeaux; you don't understand
-me.  I do not at all mean to speak of society in general, but of a
-particular society - of _the_ society, in a word - to which you are
-affiliated."
-
-Baisemeaux nearly dropped the glass of muscat which he was in the act of
-raising to his lips.  "Affiliated," cried he, "affiliated!"
-
-"Yes, affiliated, undoubtedly," repeated Aramis, with the greatest self-
-possession.  "Are you not a member of a secret society, my dear M.
-Baisemeaux?"
-
-"Secret?"
-
-"Secret or mysterious."
-
-"Oh, M. d'Herblay!"
-
-"Consider, now, don't deny it."
-
-"But believe me."
-
-"I believe what I know."
-
-"I swear to you."
-
-"Listen to me, my dear M. Baisemeaux; I say yes, you say no; one of us
-two necessarily says what is true, and the other, it inevitably follows,
-what is false."
-
-"Well, and then?"
-
-"Well, we shall come to an understanding presently."
-
-"Let us see," said Baisemeaux; "let us see."
-
-"Now drink your glass of muscat, dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," said
-Aramis.  "What the devil! you look quite scared."
-
-"No, no; not the least in the world; oh, no."
-
-"Drink then."  Baisemeaux drank, but he swallowed the wrong way.
-
-"Well," resumed Aramis, "if, I say, you are not a member of a secret or
-mysterious society, which you like to call it - the epithet is of no
-consequence - if, I say, you are not a member of a society similar to
-that I wish to designate, well, then, you will not understand a word of
-what I am going to say.  That is all."
-
-"Oh! be sure beforehand that I shall not understand anything."
-
-"Well, well!"
-
-"Try, now; let us see!"
-
-"That is what I am going to do."
-
-"If, on the contrary, you are one of the members of this society, you
-will immediately answer me - yes or no."
-
-"Begin your questions," continued Baisemeaux, trembling.
-
-"You will agree, dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," continued Aramis, with the
-same impassibility, "that it is evident a man cannot be a member of a
-society, it is evident that he cannot enjoy the advantages it offers to
-the affiliated, without being himself bound to certain little services."
-
-"In short," stammered Baisemeaux, "that would be intelligible, if - "
-
-"Well," resumed Aramis, "there is in the society of which I speak, and of
-which, as it seems you are not a member - "
-
-"Allow me," said Baisemeaux.  "I should not like to say absolutely."
-
-"There is an engagement entered into by all the governors and captains of
-fortresses affiliated to the order."  Baisemeaux grew pale.
-
-"Now the engagement," continued Aramis firmly, "is of this nature."
-
-Baisemeaux rose, manifesting unspeakable emotion: "Go on, dear M.
-d'Herblay: go on," said he.
-
-Aramis then spoke, or rather recited the following paragraph, in the same
-tone as if he had been reading it from a book: "The aforesaid captain or
-governor of a fortress shall allow to enter, when need shall arise, and
-on demand of the prisoner, a confessor affiliated to the order."  He
-stopped.  Baisemeaux was quite distressing to look at, being so
-wretchedly pale and trembling.  "Is not that the text of the agreement?"
-quietly asked Aramis.
-
-"Monseigneur!" began Baisemeaux.
-
-"Ah! well, you begin to understand, I think."
-
-"Monseigneur," cried Baisemeaux, "do not trifle so with my unhappy mind!
-I find myself as nothing in your hands, if you have the malignant desire
-to draw from me the little secrets of my administration."
-
-"Oh! by no means; pray undeceive yourself, dear M. Baisemeaux; it is not
-the little secrets of your administration, but those of your conscience
-that I aim at."
-
-"Well, then, my conscience be it, dear M. d'Herblay.  But have some
-consideration for the situation I am in, which is no ordinary one."
-
-"It is no ordinary one, my dear monsieur," continued the inflexible
-Aramis, "if you are a member of this society; but it is a quite natural
-one if free from all engagement.  You are answerable only to the king."
-
-"Well, monsieur, well!  I obey only the king, and whom else would you
-have a French nobleman obey?"
-
-Aramis did not yield an inch, but with that silvery voice of his
-continued: "It is very pleasant," said he, "for a French nobleman, for a
-prelate of France, to hear a man of your mark express himself so loyally,
-dear De Baisemeaux, and having heard you to believe no more than you do."
-
-"Have you doubted, monsieur?"
-
-"I? oh, no!"
-
-"And so you doubt no longer?"
-
-"I have no longer any doubt that such a man as you, monsieur," said
-Aramis, gravely, "does not faithfully serve the masters whom he
-voluntarily chose for himself."
-
-"Masters!" cried Baisemeaux.
-
-"Yes, masters, I said."
-
-"Monsieur d'Herblay, you are still jesting, are you not?"
-
-"Oh, yes!  I understand that it is a more difficult position to have
-several masters than one; but the embarrassment is owing to you, my dear
-Baisemeaux, and I am not the cause of it."
-
-"Certainly not," returned the unfortunate governor, more embarrassed than
-ever; "but what are you doing?  You are leaving the table?"
-
-"Assuredly."
-
-"Are you going?"
-
-"Yes, I am going."
-
-"But you are behaving very strangely towards me, monseigneur."
-
-"I am behaving strangely - how do you make that out?"
-
-"Have you sworn, then, to put me to the torture?"
-
-"No, I should be sorry to do so."
-
-"Remain, then."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"And why?"
-
-"Because I have no longer anything to do here; and, indeed, I have duties
-to fulfil elsewhere."
-
-"Duties, so late as this?"
-
-"Yes; understand me now, my dear De Baisemeaux: they told me at the place
-whence I came, 'The aforesaid governor or captain will allow to enter, as
-need shall arise, on the prisoner's demand, a confessor affiliated with
-the order.'  I came; you do not know what I mean, and so I shall return
-to tell them that they are mistaken, and that they must send me
-elsewhere."
-
-"What! you are - " cried Baisemeaux, looking at Aramis almost in terror.
-
-"The confessor affiliated to the order," said Aramis, without changing
-his voice.
-
-But, gentle as the words were, they had the same effect on the unhappy
-governor as a clap of thunder.  Baisemeaux became livid, and it seemed to
-him as if Aramis's beaming eyes were two forks of flame, piercing to the
-very bottom of his soul.  "The confessor!" murmured he; "you,
-monseigneur, the confessor of the order!"
-
-"Yes, I; but we have nothing to unravel together, seeing that you are not
-one of the affiliated."
-
-"Monseigneur!"
-
-"And I understand that, not being so, you refuse to comply with its
-command."
-
-"Monseigneur, I beseech you, condescend to hear me."
-
-"And wherefore?"
-
-"Monseigneur, I do not say that I have nothing to do with the society."
-
-"Ah! ah!"
-
-"I say not that I refuse to obey."
-
-"Nevertheless, M. de Baisemeaux, what has passed wears very much the air
-of resistance."
-
-"Oh, no! monseigneur, no; I only wished to be certain."
-
-"To be certain of what?" said Aramis, in a tone of supreme contempt.
-
-"Of nothing at all, monseigneur."  Baisemeaux lowered his voice, and
-bending before the prelate, said, "I am at all times and in all places at
-the disposal of my superiors, but - "
-
-"Very good.  I like you better thus, monsieur," said Aramis, as he
-resumed his seat, and put out his glass to Baisemeaux, whose hand
-trembled so that he could not fill it.  "You were saying 'but' - "
-continued Aramis.
-
-"But," replied the unhappy man, "having received no notice, I was very
-far from expecting it."
-
-"Does not the Gospel say, 'Watch, for the moment is known only of God?'
-Do not the rules of the order say, 'Watch, for that which I will, you
-ought always to will also.'  And what pretext will serve you now that you
-did not expect the confessor, M. de Baisemeaux?"
-
-"Because, monseigneur, there is at present in the Bastile no prisoner
-ill."
-
-Aramis shrugged his shoulders.  "What do you know about that?" said he.
-
-"But, nevertheless, it appears to me - "
-
-"M. de Baisemeaux," said Aramis, turning round in his chair, "here is
-your servant, who wishes to speak with you;" and at this moment, De
-Baisemeaux's servant appeared at the threshold of the door.
-
-"What is it?" asked Baisemeaux, sharply.
-
-"Monsieur," said the man, "they are bringing you the doctor's return."
-
-Aramis looked at De Baisemeaux with a calm and confident eye.
-
-"Well," said he, "let the messenger enter."
-
-The messenger entered, saluted, and handed in the report.  Baisemeaux ran
-his eye over it, and raising his head, said in surprise, "No. 12 is ill!"
-
-"How was it, then," said Aramis, carelessly, "that you told me everybody
-was well in your hotel, M. de Baisemeaux?"  And he emptied his glass
-without removing his eyes from Baisemeaux.
-
-The governor then made a sign to the messenger, and when he had quitted
-the room, said, still trembling, "I think that there is in the article,
-'on the prisoner's demand.'"
-
-"Yes, it is so," answered Aramis.  "But see what it is they want with you
-now."
-
-And that moment a sergeant put his head in at the door.  "What do you
-want now?" cried Baisemeaux.  "Can you not leave me in peace for ten
-minutes?"
-
-"Monsieur," said the sergeant, "the sick man, No. 12, has commissioned
-the turnkey to request you to send him a confessor."
-
-Baisemeaux very nearly sank on the floor; but Aramis disdained to
-reassure him, just as he had disdained to terrify him.  "What must I
-answer?" inquired Baisemeaux.
-
-"Just what you please," replied Aramis, compressing his lips; "that is
-your business.  _I_ am not the governor of the Bastile."
-
-"Tell the prisoner," cried Baisemeaux, quickly, - "tell the prisoner that
-his request is granted."  The sergeant left the room.  "Oh! monseigneur,
-monseigneur," murmured Baisemeaux, "how could I have suspected! - how
-could I have foreseen this!"
-
-"Who requested you to suspect, and who besought you to foresee?"
-contemptuously answered Aramis.  "The order suspects; the order knows;
-the order foresees - is that not enough?"
-
-"What is it you command?" added Baisemeaux.
-
-"I? - nothing at all.  I am nothing but a poor priest, a simple
-confessor.  Have I your orders to go and see the sufferer?"
-
-"Oh, monseigneur, I do not order; I pray you to go."
-
-"'Tis well; conduct me to him."
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's Louise de la Valliere, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
-The next, and last, Etext in this series is The Man in the Iron Mask
-
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-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes">    </span> "Small Print!"
-statement.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>[3]<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Pay a trademark license fee to
-the Project of 20% of the</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes">    </span> gross profits you derive
-calculated using the method you</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes">    </span> already use to calculate
-your applicable taxes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If
-you</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes">    </span> don't derive profits, no
-royalty is due.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Royalties
-are</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes">    </span> payable to "Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes">   </span> the 60 days following each date
-you prepare (or were</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes">    </span> legally required to
-prepare) your annual (or equivalent</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes">    </span> periodic) tax return.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Please contact us beforehand
-to</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes">    </span> let us know your plans and
-to work out the details.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>WHAT IF YOU
-*WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO?</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>The Project
-gratefully accepts contributions of money, time,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>public
-domain etexts, and royalty free copyright licenses.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>If you are
-interested in contributing scanning equipment or</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>software or
-other items, please contact Michael Hart at:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>
-hart@pobox.com</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>*END THE
-SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.07.00*END*</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>As you
-may be aware, Project Gutenberg has been involved with</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>the
-writings of both the Alexandre Dumases for some time
-now,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>and since
-we get a few questions about the order in which the</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>books
-should be read, and in which they were published,
-these</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>following
-comments should hopefully help most of our readers.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>***</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>The
-Vicomte de Bragelonne</span></u> <span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>is the
-final volume of D'Artagnan Romances:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>it is
-usually split into three or four parts, and the final
-portion</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>is
-entitled <u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>
-we're</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>familiar
-with today is the last volume of the four-volume
-edition.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>[Not all
-the editions split them in the same manner, hence some
-of</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>the
-confusion. . .but wait. . .there's yet more reason for
-confusion.]</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>We intend
-to do ALL of <u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>, split into four
-etexts</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>entitled
-<u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>, <u>Ten Years Later</u>,
-<u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>and
-<u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>; you WILL be getting <u>The Man
-in the Iron Mask</u>.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>One thing
-that may be causing confusion is that the etext we have
-now,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>entitled
-<u>Ten Years Later</u>, says it's the sequel to <u>The Three
-Musketeers</u>.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>While
-this is technically true, there's another book, <u>Twenty Years
-After</u>,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>that
-comes between.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-confusion is generated by the two facts that we</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>published
-<u>Ten Years Later</u> BEFORE we published <u>Twenty Years
-After</u>, and</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>that many
-people see those titles as meaning Ten and Twenty Years
-"After"</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>the
-original story. . .however, this is why the different words
-"After" and</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>"Later".
-. .the Ten Years "After" is ten years after the Twenty Years
-later. . .as</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>per
-history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Also, the third
-book of the D'Artagnan Romances, while entitled</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>The
-Vicomte de Bragelonne</span></u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>, has the
-subtitle <u>Ten Years Later</u>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These two</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>titles
-are also given to different volumes: <u>The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne</u> can</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>refer to
-the whole book, or the first volume of the three or
-four-volume</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>editions.<span
- style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <u>Ten Years Later</u> can,
-similarly, refer to the whole book, or the</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>second
-volume of the four-volume edition.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To add to the confusion,
-in</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>the case
-of our etexts, it refers to the first 104 chapters of the whole
-book,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>covering
-material in the first and second etexts in the new series.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Here is a</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>guide to
-the series which may prove helpful:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>The Three
-Musketeers</span></u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold; mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>: Etext
-1257 - First book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Covers
-the years 1625-1628.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Twenty
-Years After</span></u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold; mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>: Etext
-1259 - Second book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Covers
-the years 1648-1649.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>[Third in
-the order that we published, but second in time
-sequence!!!]</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Ten Years
-Later</span></u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold; mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>: Etext
-1258 - First 104 chapters of the third book of the</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>D'Artagnan
-Romances.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Covers
-the years 1660-1661.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>The
-Vicomte de Bragelonne</span></u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>: Etext
-2609 (first in the new series) - First 75 chapters</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>of the
-third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Covers
-the year 1660.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Ten Years
-Later</span></u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold; mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>: Etext
-2681 (second in the new series) - Chapters 76-140 of
-that</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>third
-book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Covers
-the years 1660-1661.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>[In this
-particular editing of it]</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Louise de
-la Valli&egrave;re</span></u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold; mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>: Etext
-2710 (our new text) - Chapters 141-208 of the</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>third
-book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Covers
-the year 1661.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>The Man
-in the Iron Mask</span></u><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>:
-forthcoming (our next text) - Chapters 209-269 of</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>the third
-book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Covers
-the years 1661-1673.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>If we've
-calculated correctly, that fourth text SHOULD correspond to
-the</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>modern
-editions of <u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>, which is still
-widely</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>circulated,
-and comprises about the last 1/4 of <u>The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne</u>.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Here is a
-list of the other Dumas Etexts we have published so
-far:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Sep 1999
-La Tulipe Noire, by Alexandre
-Dumas[Pere#6/French][tlpnrxxx.xxx]1910</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>This is
-an abridged edition in French, also see our full length English
-Etext</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Jul 1997
-The Black Tulip, by Alexandre Dumas[Pere][Dumas#1][tbtlpxxx.xxx]
-965</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Jan 1998
-The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre
-Dumas[Pere][crstoxxx.xxx]1184</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style: italic'>Many
-thanks to Dr. David Coward, whose editions of the D'Artagnan
-Romances have proved an invaluable source of
-information.</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style=
-'mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>Introduction:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>In the months of
-March-July in 1844, in the magazine <i>Le Si&egrave;cle</i>, the
-first portion of a story appeared, penned by the celebrated
-playwright Alexandre Dumas.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was based, he claimed, on some
-manuscripts he had found a year earlier in the Bibliotheque
-Nationale while researching a history he planned to write on
-Louis XIV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They
-chronicled the adventures of a young man named D'Artagnan who,
-upon entering Paris, became almost immediately embroiled in court
-intrigues, international politics, and ill-fated affairs between
-royal lovers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Over the
-next six years, readers would enjoy the adventures of this youth
-and his three famous friends, Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, as
-their exploits unraveled behind the scenes of some of the most
-momentous events in French and even English history.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Eventually these
-serialized adventures were published in novel form, and became
-the three D'Artagnan Romances known today.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Here is a brief summary of the first
-two novels:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Three Musketeers</u> (serialized
-March - July, 1844): The year is 1625.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The young D'Artagnan arrives in
-Paris at the tender age of 18, and almost immediately offends
-three musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Instead of dueling, the four are
-attacked by five of the Cardinal's guards, and the courage of the
-youth is made apparent during the battle.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The four become fast friends, and,
-when asked by D'Artagnan's landlord to find his missing wife,
-embark upon an adventure that takes them across both France and
-England in order to thwart the plans of the Cardinal
-Richelieu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Along the way,
-they encounter a beautiful young spy, named simply Milady, who
-will stop at nothing to disgrace Queen Anne of Austria before her
-husband, Louis XIII, and take her revenge upon the four
-friends.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Twenty Years After</u> (serialized
-January - August, 1845): The year is now 1648, twenty years since
-the close of the last story.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis XIII has died, as has Cardinal
-Richelieu, and while the crown of France may sit upon the head of
-Anne of Austria as Regent for the young Louis XIV, the real power
-resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, her secret husband.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan is now a lieutenant
-of musketeers, and his three friends have retired to private
-life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos turned out to
-be a nobleman, the Comte de la F&egrave;re, and has retired to
-his home with his son, Raoul de Bragelonne.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis, whose real name is
-D'Herblay, has followed his intention of shedding the musketeer's
-cassock for the priest's robes, and Porthos has married a wealthy
-woman, who left him her fortune upon her death.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But trouble is stirring in both
-France and England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Cromwell menaces the institution of royalty itself while marching
-against Charles I, and at home the Fronde is threatening to tear
-France apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-brings his friends out of retirement to save the threatened
-English monarch, but Mordaunt, the son of Milady, who seeks to
-avenge his mother's death at the musketeers' hands, thwarts their
-valiant efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Undaunted, our heroes return to France just in time to help save
-the young Louis XIV, quiet the Fronde, and tweak the nose of
-Cardinal Mazarin.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The third novel, <u>The
-Vicomte de Bragelonne</u> (serialized October, 1847 - January,
-1850), has enjoyed a strange history in its English
-translation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It has been
-split into three, four, or five volumes at various points in its
-history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The five-volume
-edition generally does not give titles to the smaller portions,
-but the others do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the
-three-volume edition, the novels are entitled <u>The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne</u>, <u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>, and <u>The
-Man in the Iron Mask</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-For the purposes of this etext, I have chosen to split the novel
-as the four-volume edition does, with these titles: <u>The
-Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>, <u>Ten Years Later</u>, <u>Louise de
-la Valli&egrave;re</u>, and <u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the first two etexts:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u> (Etext
-2609): It is the year 1660, and D'Artagnan, after thirty-five
-years of loyal service, has become disgusted with serving King
-Louis XIV while the real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin,
-and has tendered his resignation.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He embarks on his own project, that
-of restoring Charles II to the throne of England, and, with the
-help of Athos, succeeds, earning himself quite a fortune in the
-process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-returns to Paris to live the life of a rich citizen, and Athos,
-after negotiating the marriage of Philip, the king's brother, to
-Princess Henrietta of England, likewise retires to his own
-estate, La F&egrave;re.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Meanwhile, Mazarin has finally died, and left Louis to assume the
-reigns of power, with the assistance of M. Colbert, formerly
-Mazarin's trusted clerk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Colbert has an intense hatred for M. Fouquet, the king's
-superintendent of finances, and has resolved to use any means
-necessary to bring about his fall.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> With the new rank of intendant
-bestowed on him by Louis, Colbert succeeds in having two of
-Fouquet's loyal friends tried and executed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then brings to the king's
-attention that Fouquet is fortifying the island of
-Belle-&Icirc;le-en-Mer, and could possibly be planning to use it
-as a base for some military operation against the king.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis calls D'Artagnan out of
-retirement and sends him to investigate the island, promising him
-a tremendous salary and his long-promised promotion to captain of
-the musketeers upon his return.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At Belle-Isle, D'Artagnan discovers
-that the engineer of the fortifications is, in fact, Porthos, now
-the Baron du Vallon, and that's not all.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The blueprints for the island,
-although in Porthos's handwriting, show evidence of another
-script that has been erased, that of Aramis.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan later discovers that
-Aramis has become the bishop of Vannes, which is, coincidentally,
-a parish belonging to M. Fouquet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Suspecting that D'Artagnan has
-arrived on the king's behalf to investigate, Aramis tricks
-D'Artagnan into wandering around Vannes in search of Porthos, and
-sends Porthos on an heroic ride back to Paris to warn Fouquet of
-the danger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet
-rushes to the king, and gives him Belle-Isle as a present, thus
-allaying any suspicion, and at the same time humiliating Colbert,
-just minutes before the usher announces someone else seeking an
-audience with the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Ten Years Later</u> (Etext 2681): As 1661
-approaches, Princess Henrietta of England arrives for her
-marriage, and throws the court of France into complete
-disorder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The jealousy of
-the Duke of Buckingham, who is in love with her, nearly occasions
-a war on the streets of Le Havre, thankfully prevented by Raoul's
-timely and tactful intervention.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> After the marriage, though, Monsieur
-Philip becomes horribly jealous of Buckingham, and has him
-exiled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Before leaving,
-however, the duke fights a duel with M. de Wardes at Calais.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes is a malicious and
-spiteful man, the sworn enemy of D'Artagnan, and, by the same
-token, that of Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and Raoul as well.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Both men are seriously
-wounded, and the duke is taken back to England to recover.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul's friend, the comte de
-Guiche, is the next to succumb to Henrietta's charms, and
-Monsieur obtains his exile as well, though De Guiche soon effects
-a reconciliation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But
-then the king's eye falls on Madame Henrietta during the comte's
-absence, and this time Monsieur's jealousy has no recourse.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Anne of Austria intervenes,
-and the king and his sister-in-law decide to pick a young lady
-with whom the king can pretend to be in love, the better to mask
-their own affair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They
-unfortunately select Louise de la Valli&egrave;re, Raoul's
-fianc&eacute;e.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> While the
-court is in residence at Fontainebleau, the king unwitting
-overhears Louise confessing her love for him while chatting with
-her friends beneath the royal oak, and the king promptly forgets
-his affection for Madame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-That same night, Henrietta overhears, at the same oak, De Guiche
-confessing his love for her to Raoul.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The two embark on their own
-affair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A few days later,
-during a rainstorm, Louis and Louise are trapped alone together,
-and the whole court begins to talk of the scandal while their
-love affair blossoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Aware of Louise's attachment, the king arranges for Raoul to be
-sent to England for an indefinite period.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Meanwhile, the struggle
-for power continues between Fouquet and Colbert.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Although the Belle-Isle plot
-backfired, Colbert prompts the king to ask Fouquet for more and
-more money, and without his two friends to raise it for him,
-Fouquet is sorely pressed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The situation gets so bad that his
-new mistress, Madame de Belli&egrave;re, must resort to selling
-all her jewels and her gold and silver plate.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis, while this is going on, has
-grown friendly with the governor of the Bastile, M. de
-Baisemeaux, a fact that Baisemeaux unwittingly reveals to
-D'Artagnan while inquiring of him as to Aramis's
-whereabouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This further
-arouses the suspicions of the musketeer, who was made to look
-ridiculous by Aramis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-had ridden overnight at an insane pace, but arrived a few minutes
-after Fouquet had already presented Belle-Isle to the king.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis learns from the
-governor the location of a mysterious prisoner, who bears a
-remarkable resemblance to Louis XIV - in fact, the two are
-identical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He uses the
-existence of this secret to persuade a dying Franciscan monk, the
-general of the society of the Jesuits, to name him, Aramis, the
-new general of the order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-On Aramis's advice, hoping to use Louise's influence with the
-king to counteract Colbert's influence, Fouquet also writes a
-love letter to La Valli&egrave;re, unfortunately undated.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It never reaches its
-destination, however, as the servant ordered to deliver it turns
-out to be an agent of Colbert's.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos, in the
-meantime, has been recovering from his midnight ride from
-Belle-Isle at Fouquet's residence at Saint-Mand&eacute;.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos has retired, once again
-to La F&egrave;re.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan, little amused by the court's activities at
-Fontainebleau, and finding himself with nothing to do, has
-returned to Paris, and we find him again in Planchet's grocery
-shop.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">And so, the story continues in this, the
-third etext of <u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Enjoy!</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>John
-Bursey</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>
-Mordaunt@aol.com</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>July,
-2000</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><u><span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt'>Louise de la
-Valli&egrave;re</span></u></i></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'><i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style: normal'><span style=
-'font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>by Alexandre
-Dumas</span></i></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Malaga.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-D</span>uring all these long and noisy debates between the
-opposite ambitions of politics and love, one of our characters,
-perhaps the one least deserving of neglect, was, however, very
-much neglected, very much forgotten, and exceedingly
-unhappy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In fact,
-D'Artagnan - D'Artagnan, we say, for we must call him by his
-name, to remind our readers of his existence - D'Artagnan, we
-repeat, had absolutely nothing whatever to do, amidst these
-brilliant butterflies of fashion.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> After following the king during two
-whole days at Fontainebleau, and critically observing the various
-pastoral fancies and heroi-comic transformations of his
-sovereign, the musketeer felt that he needed something more than
-this to satisfy the cravings of his nature.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At every moment assailed by people
-asking him, "How do you think this costume suits me, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan?" he would reply to them in quiet, sarcastic tones,
-"Why, I think you are quite as well-dressed as the best-dressed
-monkey to be found in the fair at Saint-Laurent."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was just such a compliment
-D'Artagnan would choose where he did not feel disposed to pay any
-other: and, whether agreeable or not, the inquirer was obliged to
-be satisfied with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Whenever any one asked him, "How do you intend to dress yourself
-this evening?" he replied, "I shall undress myself;" at which the
-ladies all laughed, and a few of them blushed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But after a couple of days passed in
-this manner, the musketeer, perceiving that nothing serious was
-likely to arise which would concern him, and that the king had
-completely, or, at least, appeared to have completely forgotten
-Paris, Saint-Mand&eacute;, and Belle-Isle - that M. Colbert's
-mind was occupied with illuminations and fireworks - that for the
-next month, at least, the ladies had plenty of glances to bestow,
-and also to receive in exchange - D'Artagnan asked the king for
-leave of absence for a matter of private business.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the moment D'Artagnan made his
-request, his majesty was on the point of going to bed, quite
-exhausted from dancing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You wish to leave me,
-Monsieur d'Artagnan?" inquired the king, with an air of
-astonishment; for Louis XIV. could never understand why any one
-who had the distinguished honor of being near him could wish to
-leave him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," said D'Artagnan,
-"I leave you simply because I am not of the slightest service to
-you in anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah! if I
-could only hold the balancing-pole while you were dancing, it
-would be a very different affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, my dear Monsieur
-d'Artagnan," said the king, gravely, "people dance without
-balancing-poles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! indeed," said the
-musketeer, continuing his imperceptible tone of irony, "I had no
-idea such a thing was possible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have not seen me
-dance, then?" inquired the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; but I always
-thought dancers went from easy to difficult acrobatic feats.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was mistaken; all the more
-greater reason, therefore, that I should leave for a time.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Sire, I repeat, you have no
-present occasion for my services; besides, if your majesty should
-have any need of me, you would know where to find me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well," said the
-king, and he granted him leave of absence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> We shall not look for
-D'Artagnan, therefore, at Fontainebleau, for to do so would be
-useless; but, with the permission of our readers, follow him to
-the Rue des Lombards, where he was located at the sign of the
-Pilon d'Or, in the house of our old friend Planchet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was about eight o'clock in the
-evening, and the weather was exceedingly warm; there was only one
-window open, and that one belonging to a room on the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>entresol</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A perfume of spices, mingled with
-another perfume less exotic, but more penetrating, namely, that
-which arose from the street, ascended to salute the nostrils of
-the musketeer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan, reclining in an immense straight-backed chair, with
-his legs not stretched out, but simply placed upon a stool,
-formed an angle of the most obtuse form that could possibly be
-seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Both his arms were
-crossed over his head, his head reclining upon his left shoulder,
-like Alexander the Great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-His eyes, usually so quick and intelligent in their expression,
-were now half-closed, and seemed fastened, as it were, upon a
-small corner of blue sky that was visible behind the opening of
-the chimneys; there was just enough blue, and no more, to fill
-one of the sacks of lentils, or haricots, which formed the
-principal furniture of the shop on the ground floor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Thus extended at his ease, and
-sheltered in his place of observation behind the window,
-D'Artagnan seemed as if he had ceased to be a soldier, as if he
-were no longer an officer belonging to the palace, but was, on
-the contrary, a quiet, easy-going citizen in a state of
-stagnation between his dinner and supper, or between his supper
-and his bed; one of those strong, ossified brains, which have no
-more room for a single idea, so fiercely does animal matter keep
-watch at the doors of intelligence, narrowly inspecting the
-contraband trade which might result from the introduction into
-the brain of a symptom of thought.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We have already said night was
-closing in, the shops were being lighted, while the windows of
-the upper apartments were being closed, and the rhythmic steps of
-a patrol of soldiers forming the night watch could be heard
-retreating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-continued, however, to think of nothing, except the blue corner
-of the sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A few paces
-from him, completely in the shade, lying on his stomach, upon a
-sack of Indian corn, was Planchet, with both his arms under his
-chin, and his eyes fixed on D'Artagnan, who was either thinking,
-dreaming, or sleeping, with his eyes open.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet had been watching him for a
-tolerably long time, and, by way of interruption, he began by
-exclaiming, "Hum! hum!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But D'Artagnan did not stir.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet then saw that it was
-necessary to have recourse to more effectual means still: after a
-prolonged reflection on the subject, the most ingenious means
-that suggested itself to him under the present circumstances, was
-to let himself roll off the sack on to the floor, murmuring, at
-the same time, against himself, the word "stupid."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, notwithstanding the noise
-produced by Planchet's fall, D'Artagnan, who had in the course of
-his existence heard many other, and very different falls, did not
-appear to pay the least attention to the present one.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, an enormous cart, laden
-with stones, passing from the Rue Saint-M&eacute;d&eacute;ric,
-absorbed, in the noise of its wheels, the noise of Planchet's
-tumble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And yet Planchet
-fancied that, in token of tacit approval, he saw him
-imperceptibly smile at the word "stupid."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This emboldened him to say, "Are you
-asleep, Monsieur d'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, Planchet, I am not
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>even</i> asleep," replied
-the musketeer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am in despair," said
-Planchet, "to hear such a word as <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>even</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, and why not; is
-it not a grammatical word, Monsieur Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, the word
-distresses me beyond measure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell me why you are
-distressed, Planchet," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If you say that you are
-not <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>even</i> asleep, it is
-as much as to say that you have not even the consolation of being
-able to sleep; or, better still, it is precisely the same as
-telling me that you are getting bored to death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Planchet, you know that
-I am never bored."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Except to-day, and the
-day before yesterday."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Bah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur d'Artagnan, it
-is a week since you returned here from Fontainebleau; in other
-words, you have no longer your orders to issue, or your men to
-review and maneuver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You
-need the sound of guns, drums, and all that din and confusion; I,
-who have myself carried a musket, can easily believe that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Planchet," replied
-D'Artagnan, "I assure you I am not bored in the least in the
-world."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, what are
-you doing, lying there, as if you were dead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear Planchet, there
-was, once upon a time, at the siege of La Rochelle, when I was
-there, when you were there, when we both were there, a certain
-Arab, who was celebrated for the manner in which he adjusted
-culverins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was a
-clever fellow, although of a very odd complexion, which was the
-same color as your olives.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, this Arab, whenever he had
-done eating or working, used to sit down to rest himself, as I am
-resting myself now, and smoked I cannot tell you what sort of
-magical leaves, in a large amber-mouthed tube; and if any
-officers, happening to pass, reproached him for being always
-asleep, he used quietly to reply: 'Better to sit down than to
-stand up, to lie down than to sit down, to be dead than to lie
-down.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was an acutely
-melancholy Arab, and I remember him perfectly well, form the
-color of his skin, and the style of his conversation.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He used to cut off the heads of
-Protestants with the most singular gusto!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely; and then
-used to embalm them, when they were worth the trouble; and when
-he was thus engaged with his herbs and plants about him, he
-looked like a basket-maker making baskets."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are quite right,
-Planchet, he did."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I can remember things very well, at
-times!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have no doubt of it;
-but what do you think of his mode of reasoning?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I think it good in one
-sense, but very stupid in another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Expound your meaning,
-M. Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, monsieur, in
-point of fact, then, 'better to sit down than to stand up,' is
-plain enough, especially when one may be fatigued," and Planchet
-smiled in a roguish way; "as for 'better to be lying down,' let
-that pass, but as for the last proposition, that it is 'better to
-be dead than alive,' it is, in my opinion, very absurd, my own
-undoubted preference being for my bed; and if you are not of my
-opinion, it is simply, as I have already had the honor of telling
-you, because you are boring yourself to death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Planchet, do you know
-M. La Fontaine?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The chemist at the
-corner of the Rue Saint-M&eacute;d&eacute;ric?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, the writer of
-fables."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Ma&icirc;tre Corbeau!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exactly; well, then, I
-am like his hare."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He has got a hare also,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He has all sorts of
-animals."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, what does his
-hare do, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. La Fontaine's hare
-thinks."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Planchet, I am like
-that hare - I am thinking."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are thinking, you
-say?" said Planchet, uneasily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; your house is dull
-enough to drive people to think; you will admit that, I
-hope."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet, monsieur, you
-have a look-out upon the street."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; and wonderfully
-interesting that is, of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But it is no less true,
-monsieur, that, if you were living at the back of the house, you
-would bore yourself - I mean, you would think - more than
-ever."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon my word, Planchet,
-I hardly know that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Still," said the
-grocer, "if your reflections are at all like those which led you
-to restore King Charles II. - " and Planchet finished by a little
-laugh which was not without its meaning.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet, my friend," returned
-D'Artagnan, "you are getting ambitious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is there no other king
-to be restored, M. d'Artagnan - no second Monk to be packed up,
-like a salted hog, in a deal box?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, my dear Planchet;
-all the kings are seated on their respective thrones; less
-comfortably so, perhaps, than I am upon this chair; but, at all
-events, there they are."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-And D'Artagnan sighed deeply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur d'Artagnan,"
-said Planchet, "you are making me very uneasy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are very good,
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I begin to suspect
-something."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur d'Artagnan,
-you are getting thin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said D'Artagnan,
-striking his chest which sounded like an empty cuirass, "it is
-impossible, Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said Planchet,
-slightly overcome; "if you were to get thin in my house - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should do something
-rash."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What would you do?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should look out for
-the man who was the cause of all your anxieties."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! according to your
-account, I am anxious now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, you are anxious;
-and you are getting thin, visibly getting thin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Malaga!</i> if you go on getting
-thin, in this way, I will take my sword in my hand, and go
-straight to M. d'Herblay, and have it out with him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What!" said M.
-d'Artagnan, starting in his chair; "what's that you say?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And what has M. d'Herblay's
-name to do with your groceries?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Just as you
-please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Get angry if you
-like, or call me names, if you prefer it; but, the deuce is in
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>I</i> <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>know what I know</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan had, during
-this second outburst of Planchet's, so placed himself as not to
-lose a single look of his face; that is, he sat with both his
-hands resting on both his knees, and his head stretched out
-towards the grocer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Come, explain yourself," he said, "and tell me how you could
-possibly utter such a blasphemy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. d'Herblay, your old master, my
-friend, an ecclesiastic, a musketeer turned bishop - do you mean
-to say you would raise your sword against him, Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I could raise my sword
-against my own father, when I see you in such a state as you are
-now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. d'Herblay, a
-gentleman!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It's all the same to me
-whether he's a gentleman or not.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He gives you the blue devils, that
-is all I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And the
-blue devils make people get thin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Malaga!</i><span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have no notion of M. d'Artagnan
-leaving my house thinner than when he entered it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How does he give me the
-blue devils, as you call it?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come, explain, explain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have had the
-nightmare during the last three nights."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, you; and in your
-nightmare you called out, several times, 'Aramis, deceitful
-Aramis!'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I said that, did I?" murmured
-D'Artagnan, uneasily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, those very words,
-upon my honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, what else?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know the saying, Planchet,
-'dreams go by contraries.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not so; for every time,
-during the last three days, when you went out, you have not once
-failed to ask me, on your return, 'Have you seen M. d'Herblay?'
-or else 'Have you received any letters for me from M.
-d'Herblay?'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, it is very
-natural I should take an interest in my old friend," said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course; but not to
-such an extent as to get thin on that account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Planchet, I'll get
-fatter; I give you my word of honor I will."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well, monsieur, I
-accept it; for I know that when you give your word of honor, it
-is sacred."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will not dream of
-Aramis any more; and I will never ask you again if there are any
-letters from M. d'Herblay; but on condition that you explain one
-thing to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell me what it is,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am a great observer;
-and just now you made use of a very singular oath, which is
-unusual for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You mean <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Malaga!</i> I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is the oath I have
-used ever since I have been a grocer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very proper, too; it is
-the name of a dried grape, or raisin, I believe?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is my most ferocious
-oath; when I have once said <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Malaga!</i> I am a man no
-longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Still, I never knew you
-use that oath before."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very likely not,
-monsieur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I had a present
-made me of it," said Planchet; and, as he pronounced these words,
-he winked his eye with a cunning expression, which thoroughly
-awakened D'Artagnan's attention.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come, come, M.
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, I am not like you,
-monsieur," said Planchet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"I don't pass my life in thinking."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You do wrong,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I mean in boring myself
-to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We have but a
-very short time to live - why not make the best of it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are an Epicurean
-philosopher, I begin to think, Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why not?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My hand is still as steady as ever;
-I can write, and can weigh out my sugar and spices; my foot is
-firm; I can dance and walk about; my stomach has its teeth still,
-for I eat and digest very well; my heart is not quite
-hardened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, what,
-Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, you see - " said
-the grocer, rubbing his hands together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan crossed one
-leg over the other, and said, "Planchet, my friend, I am unnerved
-with extreme surprise; for you are revealing yourself to me under
-a perfectly new light."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Planchet, flattered in
-the highest degree by this remark, continued to rub his hands
-very hard together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah,
-ah," he said, "because I happen to be only slow, you think me,
-perhaps, a positive fool."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good, Planchet;
-very well reasoned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Follow my idea,
-monsieur, if you please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I said to myself," continued Planchet, "that, without enjoyment,
-there is no happiness on this earth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite true, what you
-say, Planchet," interrupted D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At all events, if we
-cannot obtain pleasure - for pleasure is not so common a thing,
-after all - let us, at least, get consolations of some kind or
-another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so you console
-yourself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exactly so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell me how you console
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I put on a buckler for
-the purpose of confronting <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>ennui</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I place my time at the direction of
-patience; and on the very eve of feeling I am going to get bored,
-I amuse myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you don't find any
-difficulty in that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "None."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you found it out
-quite by yourself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is miraculous."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I say, that your
-philosophy is not to be matched in the Christian or pagan world,
-in modern days or in antiquity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You think so? - follow
-my example, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a very tempting
-one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do as I do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I could not wish for
-anything better; but all minds are not of the same stamp; and it
-might possibly happen that if I were required to amuse myself in
-the manner you do, I should bore myself horribly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Bah! at least try
-first."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, tell me what you
-do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have you observed that
-I leave home occasionally?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In any particular
-way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Periodically."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That's the
-very thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have
-noticed it, then?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear
-Planchet, you must understand that when people see each other
-every day, and one of the two absents himself, the other misses
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you not feel the
-want of my society when I am in the country?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Prodigiously; that is
-to say, I feel like a body without a soul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That being understood
-then, proceed."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What are
-the periods when I absent myself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On the fifteenth and
-thirtieth of every month."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I remain away?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sometimes
-two, sometimes three, and sometimes four days at a time."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have you
-ever given it a thought, why I was absent?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To look after your
-debts, I suppose."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And when I
-returned, how did you think I looked, as far as my face was
-concerned?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exceedingly
-self-satisfied."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You admit,
-you say, that I always look satisfied.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And what have you attributed my
-satisfaction to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That your business was
-going on very well; that your purchases of rice, prunes, raw
-sugar, dried apples, pears, and treacle were advantageous.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You were always very
-picturesque in your notions and ideas, Planchet; and I was not in
-the slightest degree surprised to find you had selected grocery
-as an occupation, which is of all trades the most varied, and the
-very pleasantest, as far as the character is concerned; inasmuch
-as one handles so many natural and perfumed productions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Perfectly true,
-monsieur; but you are very greatly mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In thinking that I
-heave here every fortnight, to collect my money or to make
-purchases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ho, ho! how
-could you possibly have thought such a thing?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ho, ho, ho!"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And Planchet began to laugh in a
-manner that inspired D'Artagnan with very serious misgivings as
-to his sanity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I confess," said the
-musketeer, "that I do not precisely catch your meaning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very true,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean by
-'very true'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It must be true, since
-you say it; but pray, be assured that it in no way lessens my
-opinion of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, that is lucky."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; you are a man of
-genius; and whenever the question happens to be of war, tactics,
-surprises, or good honest blows to be dealt with, why, kings are
-marionettes, compared to you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But for the consolations of the
-mind, the proper care of the body, the agreeable things of like,
-if one may say so - ah! monsieur, don't talk to me about men of
-genius; they are nothing short of executioners."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good," said D'Artagnan,
-really fidgety with curiosity, "upon my word you interest me in
-the highest degree."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You feel already less
-bored than you did just now, do you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I was not bored; yet
-since you have been talking to me, I feel more animated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good, then; that
-is not a bad beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-will cure you, rely upon that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is nothing I
-should like better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will you let me try,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Immediately, if you
-like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Have you any horses here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; ten, twenty,
-thirty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, there is no
-occasion for so many as that, two will be quite sufficient."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "They are quite at your
-disposal, Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; then I shall
-carry you off with me."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "When?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To-morrow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, you are asking too
-much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will admit,
-however, that it is important I should know where I am
-going."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you like the
-country?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Only moderately,
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case you like
-town better?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is as
-may be."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well;
-I am going to take you to a place, half town and half
-country."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To a place where I am
-sure you will amuse yourself."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it
-possible?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; and
-more wonderful still, to a place from which you have just
-returned for the purpose only, it would seem, of getting bored
-here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is to Fontainebleau
-you are going, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exactly; to
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And, in Heaven's name,
-what are you going to do at Fontainebleau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Planchet answered
-D'Artagnan by a wink full of sly humor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have some property
-there, you rascal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, a very paltry
-affair; a little bit of a house - nothing more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I understand you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But it is tolerable
-enough, after all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am going to
-Planchet's country-seat!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Whenever you like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did we not fix
-to-morrow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let us say to-morrow,
-if you like; and then, besides, to-morrow is the 14th, that is to
-say, the day before the one when I am afraid of getting bored; so
-we will look upon it as an understood thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Agreed, by all
-means."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will lend me one of
-your horses?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The best I have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; I prefer the
-gentlest of all; I never was a very good rider, as you know, and
-in my grocery business I have got more awkward than ever; besides
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Besides what?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why," added Planchet,
-"I do not wish to fatigue myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?" D'Artagnan
-ventured to ask.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because I should lose
-half the pleasure I expect to enjoy," replied Planchet.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And thereupon he rose from his
-sack of Indian corn, stretching himself, and making all his bones
-crack, one after the other, with a sort of harmony.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Planchet!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet!" exclaimed D'Artagnan, "I
-do declare that there is no sybarite upon the face of the globe
-who can for a moment be compared to you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, Planchet, it is very clear that
-we have never yet eaten a ton of salt together."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so, monsieur?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because,
-even now I can scarcely say I know you," said D'Artagnan, "and
-because, in point of fact, I return to the opinion which, for a
-moment, I had formed of you that day at Boulogne, when you
-strangled, or did so as nearly as possible, M. de Wardes's valet,
-Lubin; in plain language, Planchet, that you are a man of great
-resources."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Planchet began to laugh
-with a laugh full of self-conceit; bade the musketeer good-night,
-and went down to his back shop, which he used as a bedroom.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan resumed his
-original position upon his chair, and his brow, which had been
-unruffled for a moment, became more pensive than ever.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had already forgotten the
-whims and dreams of Planchet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Yes," said he, taking up again the
-thread of his thoughts, which had been broken by the whimsical
-conversation in which we have just permitted our readers to
-participate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Yes, yes,
-those three points include everything: First, to ascertain what
-Baisemeaux wanted with Aramis; secondly, to learn why Aramis does
-not let me hear from him; and thirdly, to ascertain where Porthos
-is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The whole mystery
-lies in these three points.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Since, therefore," continued
-D'Artagnan, "our friends tell us nothing, we must have recourse
-to our own poor intelligence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I must do what I can, <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>mordioux</i>, or rather <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Malaga</i>, as Planchet would
-say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-II:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>A
-Letter from M. Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-D</span>'Artagnan, faithful to his plan, went the very next
-morning to pay a visit to M. de Baisemeaux.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was cleaning up or tidying day at
-the Bastile; the cannons were furbished up, the staircases
-scraped and cleaned; and the jailers seemed to be carefully
-engaged in polishing the very keys.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for the soldiers belonging to the
-garrison, they were walking about in different courtyards, under
-the pretense that they were clean enough.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The governor, Baisemeaux, received
-D'Artagnan with more than ordinary politeness, but he behaved
-towards him with so marked a reserve of manner, that all
-D'Artagnan's tact and cleverness could not get a syllable out of
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The more he kept
-himself within bounds, the more D'Artagnan's suspicion
-increased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The latter
-even fancied he remarked that the governor was acting under the
-influence of a recent recommendation.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Baisemeaux had not been at the
-Palais Royal with D'Artagnan the same cold and impenetrable man
-which the latter now found in the Baisemeaux of the Bastile.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When D'Artagnan wished to make
-him talk about the urgent money matters which had brought
-Baisemeaux in search of D'Artagnan, and had rendered him
-expansive, notwithstanding what had passed on that evening,
-Baisemeaux pretended that he had some orders to give in the
-prison, and left D'Artagnan so long alone waiting for him, that
-our musketeer, feeling sure that he should not get another
-syllable out of him, left the Bastile without waiting until
-Baisemeaux returned from his inspection.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But D'Artagnan's suspicions were
-aroused, and when once that was the case, D'Artagnan could not
-sleep or remain quiet for a moment.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was among men what the cat is
-among quadrupeds, the emblem of anxiety and impatience, at the
-same moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A restless
-cat can no more remain the same place than a silk thread wafted
-idly to and fro with every breath of air.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A cat on the watch is as motionless
-as death stationed at is place of observation, and neither hunger
-nor thirst can draw it from its meditations.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan, who was burning with
-impatience, suddenly threw aside the feeling, like a cloak which
-he felt too heavy on his shoulders, and said to himself that that
-which they were concealing from him was the very thing it was
-important he should know; and, consequently, he reasoned that
-Baisemeaux would not fail to put Aramis on his guard, if Aramis
-had given him any particular recommendation, and this was, in
-fact, the very thing that happened.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Baisemeaux had hardly
-had time to return from the donjon, than D'Artagnan placed
-himself in ambuscade close to the Rue de Petit-Musc, so as to see
-every one who might leave the gates of the Bastile.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> After he had spent an hour on the
-look-out from the "Golden Portcullis," under the pent-house of
-which he could keep himself a little in the shade, D'Artagnan
-observed a soldier leave the Bastile.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This was, indeed, the surest
-indication he could possibly have wished for, as every jailer or
-warder has certain days, and even certain hours, for leaving the
-Bastile, since all are alike prohibited from having either wives
-or lodgings in the castle, and can accordingly leave without
-exciting any curiosity; but a soldier once in barracks is kept
-there for four and twenty hours when on duty, - and no one knew
-this better than D'Artagnan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The guardsman in question,
-therefore, was not likely to leave his regimentals, except on an
-express and urgent order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The soldier, we were saying, left the Bastile at a slow and
-lounging pace, like a happy mortal, in fact, who, instead of
-mounting sentry before a wearisome guard-house, or upon a bastion
-no less wearisome, has the good luck to get a little liberty, in
-addition to a walk - both pleasures being luckily reckoned as
-part of his time on duty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-He bent his steps towards the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, enjoying
-the fresh air and the warmth of the sun, and looking at all the
-pretty faces he passed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan followed him at a distance; he had not yet arranged
-his ideas as what was to be done.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I must, first of all," he thought,
-"see the fellow's face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A
-man seen is a man judged."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan increased his pace, and,
-which was not very difficult, by the by, soon got in advance of
-the soldier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Not only did
-he observe that his face showed a tolerable amount of
-intelligence and resolution, but he noticed also that his nose
-was a little red.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "He has
-a weakness for brandy, I see," said D'Artagnan to himself.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the same moment that he
-remarked his red nose, he saw that the soldier had a white paper
-in his belt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good, he has a letter,"
-added D'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-only difficulty was to get hold of the letter.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But a common soldier would, of
-course, be only too delighted at having been selected by M. de
-Baisemeaux as a special messenger, and would not be likely to
-sell his message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As
-D'Artagnan was biting his nails, the soldier continued to advance
-more and more into the Faubourg Saint-Antoine.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "He is certainly going to
-Saint-Mand&eacute;," he said to himself, "and I shall not be able
-to learn what the letter contains."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was enough to drive him
-wild.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "If I were in
-uniform," said D'Artagnan to himself, "I would have this fellow
-seized, and his letter with him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I could easily get assistance at the
-very first guard-house; but the devil take me if I mention my
-name in an affair of this kind.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If I were to treat him to something
-to drink, his suspicions would be roused; and besides, he might
-drink me drunk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mordioux!</i> my wits seem to have
-left me," said D'Artagnan; "it is all over with me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yet, supposing I were to attack this
-poor devil, make him draw his sword and kill him for the sake of
-his letter?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No harm in
-that, if it were a question of a letter from a queen to a
-nobleman, or a letter from a cardinal to a queen; but what
-miserable intrigues are those of Messieurs Aramis and Fouquet
-with M. Colbert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A man's
-life for that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, no,
-indeed; not even ten crowns."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As he philosophized in this manner,
-biting first his nails, and then his mustaches, he perceived a
-group of archers and a commissary of the police engaged in
-carrying away a man of very gentlemanly exterior, who was
-struggling with all his might against them.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The archers had torn his clothes,
-and were dragging him roughly away.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He begged they would lead him along
-more respectfully, asserting that he was a gentleman and a
-soldier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And observing
-our soldier walking in the street, he called out, "Help,
-comrade."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The soldier walked on
-with the same step towards the man who had called out to him,
-followed by the crowd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> An
-idea suddenly occurred to D'Artagnan; it was his first one, and
-we shall find it was not a bad one either.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> During the time the gentleman was
-relating to the soldier that he had just been seized in a house
-as a thief, when the truth was he was only there as a lover; and
-while the soldier was pitying him, and offering him consolation
-and advice with that gravity which a French soldier has always
-ready whenever his vanity or his <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>esprit de corps</i> is concerned,
-D'Artagnan glided behind the soldier, who was closely hemmed in
-by the crowd, and with a rapid sweep, like a sabre slash,
-snatched the letter from his belt.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As at this moment the gentleman with
-the torn clothes was pulling about the soldier, to show how the
-commissary of police had pulled him about, D'Artagnan effected
-his pillage of the letter without the slightest
-interference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-stationed himself about ten paces distant, behind the pillar of
-an adjoining house, and read on the address, "To Monsieur du
-Vallon, at Monsieur Fouquet's, Saint-Mand&eacute;."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good!" he said, and
-then he unsealed, without tearing the letter, drew out the paper,
-which was folded in four, from the inside; which contained only
-these words:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in'>
-"DEAR MONSIEUR DU VALLON, - Will you be good enough to tell
-Monsieur d'Herblay that <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>he</i> has been to the Bastile, and
-has been making inquiries.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in'>
-<span style=
-'mso-tab-count:4'>                                                               </span>
-"Your devoted</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style=
-'margin-left:1.0in;text-align:right; text-indent:.5in'>"DE
-BAISEMEAUX."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good! all right!"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan; "it is clear enough now.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos is engaged in it."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Being now satisfied of what he
-wished to know: "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mordioux!</i>" thought the
-musketeer, "what is to be done with that poor devil of a
-soldier?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That hot-headed,
-cunning fellow, De Baisemeaux, will make him pay dearly for my
-trick, - if he returns without the letter, what will they do to
-him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, I don't
-want the letter; when the egg has been sucked, what is the good
-of the shell?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-perceived that the commissary and the archers had succeeded in
-convincing the soldier, and went on their way with the prisoner,
-the latter being still surrounded by the crowd, and continuing
-his complaints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan advanced into the very middle of the crowd, let the
-letter fall, without any one having observed him, and then
-retreated rapidly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-soldier resumed his route towards Saint-Mand&eacute;, his mind
-occupied with the gentleman who had implored his protection.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Suddenly he thought of his
-letter, and, looking at his belt, saw that it was no longer
-there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan derived
-no little satisfaction from his sudden, terrified cry.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The poor soldier in the
-greatest anguish of mind looked round him on every side, and at
-last, about twenty paces behind him, he perceived the lucky
-envelope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He pounced on
-it like a falcon on its prey.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The envelope was certainly a little
-dirty, and rather crumpled, but at all events the letter itself
-was found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-observed that the broken seal attracted the soldier's attention a
-good deal, but he finished apparently by consoling himself, and
-returned the letter to his belt.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Go on," said D'Artagnan, "I have
-plenty of time before me, so you may precede me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It appears that Aramis is not in
-Paris, since Baisemeaux writes to Porthos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Dear Porthos, how delighted I shall
-be to see him again, and to have some conversation with him!"
-said the Gascon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And,
-regulating his pace according to that of the soldier, he promised
-himself to arrive a quarter of an hour after him at M.
-Fouquet's.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-III:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>In
-Which the Reader will be Delighted to Find that Porthos Has Lost
-Nothing of His Muscularity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-D</span>'Artagnan had, according to his usual style, calculated
-that every hour is worth sixty minutes, and every minute worth
-sixty seconds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Thanks to
-this perfectly exact calculation of minutes and seconds, he
-reached the superintendent's door at the very moment the soldier
-was leaving it with his belt empty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan presented himself at the
-door, which a porter with a profusely embroidered livery held
-half opened for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan would very much have liked to enter without giving his
-name, but this was impossible, and so he gave it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Notwithstanding this concession,
-which ought to have removed every difficulty in the way, at least
-D'Artagnan thought so, the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>concierge</i> hesitated; however,
-at the second repetition of the title, captain of the king's
-guards, the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>concierge</i>,
-without quite leaving the passage clear for him, ceased to bar it
-completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-understood that orders of the most positive character had been
-given.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He decided,
-therefore, to tell a falsehood, - a circumstance, moreover, which
-did not seriously affect his peace of mind, when he saw that
-beyond the falsehood the safety of the state itself, or even
-purely and simply his own individual personal interest, might be
-at stake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He moreover
-added to the declarations he had already made, that the soldier
-sent to M. du Vallon was his own messenger, and that the only
-object that letter had in view was to announce his intended
-arrival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> From that
-moment, no one opposed D'Artagnan's entrance any further, and he
-entered accordingly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A
-valet wished to accompany him, but he answered that it was
-useless to take that trouble on his account, inasmuch as he knew
-perfectly well where M. du Vallon was.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There was nothing, of course, to say
-to a man so thoroughly and completely informed on all points, and
-D'Artagnan was permitted, therefore, to do as he liked.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The terraces, the magnificent
-apartments, the gardens, were all reviewed and narrowly inspected
-by the musketeer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-walked for a quarter of an hour in this more than royal
-residence, which included as many wonders as articles of
-furniture, and as many servants as there were columns and
-doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Decidedly," he
-said to himself, "this mansion has no other limits than the
-pillars of the habitable world.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it probable Porthos has taken it
-into his head to go back to Pierrefonds without even leaving M.
-Fouquet's house?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-finally reached a remote part of the ch&acirc;teau inclosed by a
-stone wall, which was covered with a profusion of thick plants,
-luxuriant in blossoms as large and solid as fruit.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At equal distances on the top of
-this wall were placed various statues in timid or mysterious
-attitudes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These were
-vestals hidden beneath the long Greek peplum, with its thick,
-sinuous folds; agile nymphs, covered with their marble veils, and
-guarding the palace with their fugitive glances.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A statue of Hermes, with his finger
-on his lips; one of Iris, with extended wings; another of Night,
-sprinkled all over with poppies, dominated the gardens and
-outbuildings, which could be seen through the trees.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All these statues threw in white
-relief their profiles upon the dark ground of the tall cypresses,
-which darted their somber summits towards the sky.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Around these cypresses were entwined
-climbing roses, whose flowering rings were fastened to every fork
-of the branches, and spread over the lower boughs and the various
-statues, showers of flowers of the rarest fragrance.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These enchantments seemed to the
-musketeer the result of the greatest efforts of the human
-mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He felt in a
-dreamy, almost poetical, frame of mind.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The idea that Porthos was living in
-so perfect an Eden gave him a higher idea of Porthos, showing how
-tremendously true it is, that even the very highest orders of
-minds are not quite exempt from the influence of
-surroundings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-found the door, and on, or rather in the door, a kind of spring
-which he detected; having touched it, the door flew open.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan entered, closed the
-door behind him, and advanced into a pavilion built in a circular
-form, in which no other sound could be heard but cascades and the
-songs of birds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the
-door of the pavilion he met a lackey.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is here, I believe,"
-said D'Artagnan, without hesitation, "that M. le Baron du Vallon
-is staying?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, monsieur,"
-answered the lackey.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have the goodness to
-tell him that M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain of the king's
-musketeers, is waiting to see him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan was
-introduced into the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>salon</i>, and had not long to
-remain in expectation: a well-remembered step shook the floor of
-the adjoining room, a door opened, or rather flew open, and
-Porthos appeared and threw himself into his friend's arms with a
-sort of embarrassment which did not ill become him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You here?" he exclaimed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you?" replied
-D'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah, you sly
-fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said Porthos,
-with a somewhat embarrassed smile; "yes, you see I am staying in
-M. Fouquet's house, at which you are not a little surprised, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not at all; why should
-you not be one of M. Fouquet's friends?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Fouquet has a very large number,
-particularly among clever men."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos had the modesty
-not to take the compliment to himself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Besides," he added, "you saw me at
-Belle-Isle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A greater reason for my
-believing you to be one of M. Fouquet's friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The fact is, I am
-acquainted with him," said Porthos, with a certain embarrassment
-of manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, friend Porthos,"
-said D'Artagnan, "how treacherously you have behaved towards
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what way?" exclaimed
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! you complete so
-admirable a work as the fortifications of Belle-Isle, and you did
-not tell me of it!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Porthos colored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Nay,
-more than that," continued D'Artagnan, "you saw me out yonder,
-you know I am in the king's service, and yet you could not guess
-that the king, jealously desirous of learning the name of the man
-whose abilities had wrought a work of which he heard the most
-wonderful accounts, - you could not guess, I say, that the king
-sent me to learn who this man was?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! the king sent you
-to learn - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course; but don't
-let us speak of that any more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not speak of it!" said
-Porthos; "on the contrary, we will speak of it; and so the king
-knew that we were fortifying Belle-Isle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course; does not the
-king know everything?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But he did not know who
-was fortifying it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, he only suspected,
-from what he had been told of the nature of the works, that it
-was some celebrated soldier or another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The devil!" said
-Porthos, "if I had only known that!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You would not have run
-away from Vannes as you did, perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; what did you say
-when you couldn't find me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear fellow, I
-reflected."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, indeed; you
-reflect, do you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well,
-and what did that reflection lead to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It led me to guess the
-whole truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come, then, tell me
-what did you guess after all?" said Porthos, settling himself
-into an armchair, and assuming the airs of a sphinx.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I guessed, in the first
-place, that you were fortifying Belle-Isle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There was no great
-difficulty in that, for you saw me at work."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Wait a
-minute; I also guessed something else, - that you were fortifying
-Belle-Isle by M. Fouquet's orders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That's true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But even that is not
-all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whenever I feel
-myself in trim for guessing, I do not stop on my road; and so I
-guessed that M. Fouquet wished to preserve the most absolute
-secrecy respecting these fortifications."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe that was his
-intention, in fact," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, but do you know
-why he wished to keep it secret?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In order it should not
-become known, perhaps," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That was his principal
-reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But his wish was
-subservient to a bit of generosity - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In fact," said Porthos,
-"I have head it said that M. Fouquet was a very generous
-man."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To a bit of generosity
-he wished to exhibit towards the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, oh!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You seem surprised at
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you didn't
-guess?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, I know it,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"You are a
-wizard."<br>
-"Not at all, I assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"How do you know
-it, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"By a very simple
-means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I heard M. Fouquet
-himself say so to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Say what to the
-king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That he fortified
-Belle-Isle on his majesty's account, and that he had made him a
-present of Belle Isle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you heard M.
-Fouquet say that to the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In those very
-words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He even added:
-'Belle-Isle has been fortified by an engineer, one of my friends,
-a man of a great deal of merit, whom I shall ask your majesty's
-permission to present to you.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'What is his
-name?' said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'The Baron du
-Vallon,' M. Fouquet replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Very well,'
-returned his majesty, 'you will present him to me.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king said
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon the word of a
-D'Artagnan!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh!" said
-Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Why have I not
-been presented, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have they not
-spoken to you about this presentation?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, certainly;
-but I am always kept waiting for it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Be easy, it will
-be sure to come."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Humph! humph!"
-grumbled Porthos, which D'Artagnan pretended not to hear; and,
-changing the conversation, he said, "You seem to be living in a
-very solitary place here, my dear fellow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I always preferred
-retirement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am of a
-melancholy disposition," replied Porthos, with a sigh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Really, that is
-odd," said D'Artagnan, "I never remarked that before."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is only since I
-have taken to reading, "said Porthos, with a thoughtful air.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But the labors of
-the mind have not affected the health of the body, I trust?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Not in the
-slightest degree."<br>
-"Your strength is as great as ever?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Too great, my
-friend, too great."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I had heard that, for a short time
-after your arrival - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That I could
-hardly move a limb, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"How was it?" said
-D'Artagnan, smiling, "and why was it you could not move?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos, perceiving
-that he had made a mistake, wished to correct it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Yes, I came from Belle-Isle upon
-very hard horses," he said, "and that fatigued me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am no longer
-astonished, then, since I, who followed you, found seven or eight
-lying dead on the road."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am very heavy,
-you know," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that you were
-bruised all over."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My marrow melted,
-and that made me very ill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor Porthos!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But how did Aramis act towards
-you under those circumstances?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well,
-indeed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had me
-attended to by M. Fouquet's own doctor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But just imagine, at the end of a
-week I could not breathe any longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The room was too
-small; I had absorbed every atom of air."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I was told so, at
-least; and so I was removed into another apartment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where you were
-able to breathe, I hope and trust?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, more freely;
-but no exercise - nothing to do.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The doctor pretended that I was not
-to stir; I, on the contrary, felt that I was stronger than ever;
-that was the cause of a very serious accident."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What
-accident?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Fancy, my dear
-fellow, that I revolted against the directions of that ass of a
-doctor, and I resolved to go out, whether it suited him or not:
-and, consequently, I told the valet who waited on me to bring me
-my clothes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You were quite
-naked, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no! on the
-contrary, I had a magnificent dressing-gown to wear.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The lackey obeyed; I dressed myself
-in my own clothes, which had become too large for me; but a
-strange circumstance had happened, - my feet had become too
-large."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I quite
-understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And my boots too
-small."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You mean your feet
-were still swollen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly; you have
-hit it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Pardieu!</i><span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And is that the accident you were
-going to tell me about?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, yes; I did not
-make the same reflection you have done.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I said to myself: 'Since my feet
-have entered my boots ten times, there is no reason why they
-should not go in the eleventh.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Allow me to tell
-you, my dear Porthos, that on this occasion you failed in your
-logic."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In short, then,
-they placed me opposite to a part of the room which was
-partitioned; I tried to get my boot on; I pulled it with my
-hands, I pushed with all the strength of the muscles of my leg,
-making the most unheard-of efforts, when suddenly the two tags of
-my boot remained in my hands, and my foot struck out like a
-ballista."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How learned you
-are in fortification, dear Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My foot darted out
-like a ballista, and came against the partition, which it broke
-in; I really thought that, like Samson, I had demolished the
-temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And the number of
-pictures, the quantity of china, vases of flowers, carpets, and
-window-panes that fell down were really wonderful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without reckoning
-that on the other side of the partition was a small table laden
-with porcelain - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which you knocked
-over?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which I dashed to
-the other side of the room," said Porthos, laughing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon my word, it
-is, as you say, astonishing," replied D'Artagnan, beginning to
-laugh also; whereupon Porthos laughed louder than ever.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I broke," said
-Porthos, in a voice half-choked from his increasing mirth, "more
-than three thousand francs worth of china - ha, ha, ha!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good!" said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I smashed more
-than four thousand francs worth of glass! - ho, ho, ho!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Excellent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without counting a
-luster, which fell on my head and was broken into a thousand
-pieces - ha, ha, ha!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon your head?"
-said D'Artagnan, holding his sides.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On top."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But your head was
-broken, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, since I tell
-you, on the contrary, my dear fellow, that it was the luster
-which was broken, like glass, which, in point of fact, it
-was."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! the luster was
-glass, you say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Venetian glass! a
-perfect curiosity, quite matchless, indeed, and weighed two
-hundred pounds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And it fell upon
-your head!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon my head.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Just imagine, a globe of
-crystal, gilded all over, the lower part beautifully encrusted,
-perfumes burning at the top, with jets from which flame issued
-when they were lighted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I quite
-understand, but they were not lighted at the time, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Happily not, or I
-should have been grilled prematurely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you were only
-knocked down flat, instead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How, 'not at
-all?'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, the luster
-fell on my skull.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It
-appears that we have upon the top of our heads an exceedingly
-thick crust."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who told you that,
-Porthos?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The doctor.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A sort of dome which would
-bear Notre-Dame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Bah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, it seems that
-our skulls are made in that manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Speak for
-yourself, my dear fellow, it is your own skull that is made in
-that manner, and not the skulls of other people."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, that may be
-so," said Porthos, conceitedly, "so much, however, was that the
-case, in my instance, that no sooner did the luster fall upon the
-dome which we have at the top of our head, than there was a
-report like a cannon, the crystal was broken to pieces, and I
-fell, covered from head to foot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With blood, poor
-Porthos!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not at all; with
-perfumes, which smelt like rich creams; it was delicious, but the
-odor was too strong, and I felt quite giddy from it; perhaps you
-have experienced it sometimes yourself, D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, in inhaling
-the scent of the lily of the valley; so that, my poor friend, you
-were knocked over by the shock and overpowered by the
-perfumes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; but what is
-very remarkable, for the doctor told me he had never seen
-anything like it - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You had a bump on
-your head I suppose?" interrupted D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I had five."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why five?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will tell you;
-the luster had, at its lower extremity, five gilt ornaments;
-excessively sharp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, these five
-ornaments penetrated my hair, which, as you see, I wear very
-thick."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Fortunately
-so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And they made a
-mark on my skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But just
-notice the singularity of it, these things seem really only to
-happen to me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Instead of
-making indentations, they made bumps.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The doctor could never succeed in
-explaining that to me satisfactorily."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, I will
-explain it to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will do me a
-great service if you will," said Porthos, winking his eyes,
-which, with him, was sign of the profoundest attention.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since you have
-been employing your brain in studies of an exalted character, in
-important calculations, and so on, the head has gained a certain
-advantage, so that your head is now too full of science."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think
-so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am sure of
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The result is, that,
-instead of allowing any foreign matter to penetrate the interior
-of the head, your bony box or skull, which is already too full,
-avails itself of the openings which are made in allowing this
-excess to escape."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said Porthos,
-to whom this explanation appeared clearer than that of the
-doctor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The five
-protuberances, caused by the five ornaments of the luster, must
-certainly have been scientific globules, brought to the surface
-by the force of circumstances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In fact," said
-Porthos, "the real truth is, that I felt far worse outside my
-head than inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will
-even confess, that when I put my hat upon my head, clapping it on
-my head with that graceful energy which we gentlemen of the sword
-possess, if my fist was not very gently applied, I experienced
-the most painful sensations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I quite believe
-you, Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Therefore, my
-friend," said the giant, "M. Fouquet decided, seeing how slightly
-built the house was, to give me another lodging, and so they
-brought me here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is the private
-park, I think, is it not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where the
-rendezvous are made; that park, indeed, which is so celebrated in
-some of those mysterious stories about the superintendent?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I don't know; I
-have had no rendezvous or heard mysterious stories myself, but
-they have authorized me to exercise my muscles, and I take
-advantage of the permission by rooting up some of the trees."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To keep my hand
-in, and also to take some birds' nests; I find it more convenient
-than climbing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are as
-pastoral as Tyrcis, my dear Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I like the
-small eggs; I like them very much better than larger ones.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have no idea how delicate
-an <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>omelette</i> is, if made
-of four or five hundred eggs of linnets, chaffinches, starlings,
-blackbirds, and thrushes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But five hundred
-eggs is perfectly monstrous!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A salad-bowl will
-hold them easily enough," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan looked
-at Porthos admiringly for full five minutes, as if he had seen
-him for the first time, while Porthos spread his chest out
-joyously and proudly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-They remained in this state several minutes, Porthos smiling, and
-D'Artagnan looking at him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan was evidently trying to
-give the conversation a new turn.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Do you amuse yourself much here,
-Porthos?" he asked at last, very likely after he had found out
-what he was searching for.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not always."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I can imagine
-that; but when you get thoroughly bored, by and by, what do you
-intend to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall not be here for any length
-of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis is
-waiting until the last bump on my head disappears, in order to
-present me to the king, who I am told cannot endure the sight of
-a bump."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Aramis is still in
-Paris, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whereabouts is he,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alone?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With M.
-Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But do you happen to know one
-thing?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, tell it me,
-and then I shall know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, I
-think Aramis is forgetting you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you really
-think so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; for at
-Fontainebleau yonder, you must know, they are laughing, dancing,
-banqueting, and drawing the corks of M. de Mazarin's wine in fine
-style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you aware that
-they have a ballet every evening there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce they
-have!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I assure you that
-your dear Aramis is forgetting you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, that is not
-at all unlikely, and I have myself thought so sometimes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Unless he is
-playing you a trick, the sly fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know that
-Aramis is as sly as a fox."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, but to play
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>me</i> a trick - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Listen: in the
-first place, he puts you under a sort of sequestration."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He sequestrates
-me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you mean to say I
-am sequestrated?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I wish you would
-have the goodness to prove that to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing
-easier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you ever go
-out?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Never."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you ever ride
-on horseback?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Never."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are your friends
-allowed to come and see you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Never."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, then;
-never to go out, never to ride on horseback, never to be allowed
-to see your friends, that is called being sequestrated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But why should
-Aramis sequestrate me?" inquired Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come," said
-D'Artagnan, "be frank, Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As gold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was Aramis who
-drew the plan of the fortifications at Belle-Isle, was it
-not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos colored as
-he said, "Yes; but that was all he did."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly, and my
-own opinion is that it was no very great affair after all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is mine,
-too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; I am
-delighted we are of the same opinion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He never even came
-to Belle-Isle," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There now, you
-see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was I who went
-to Vannes, as you may have seen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Say rather, as I
-did see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, that is
-precisely the state of the case, my dear Porthos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis, who only drew the plans,
-wishes to pass himself off as the engineer, whilst you, who,
-stone by stone, built the wall, the citadel, and the bastions, he
-wishes to reduce to the rank of a mere builder."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By builder, you
-mean mason, perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mason; the very
-word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Plasterer, in
-fact?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Hodman?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh! my dear
-Aramis, you seem to think you are only five and twenty years of
-age still."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, and that is
-not all, for believes you are fifty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I should have
-amazingly liked to have seen him at work."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A fellow who has
-got the gout?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who has lost three
-of his teeth?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Four."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While I, look at
-mine."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And Porthos,
-opening his large mouth very wide, displayed two rows of teeth
-not quite as white as snow, but even, hard, and sound as
-ivory.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You can hardly
-believe, Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "what a fancy the king has
-for good teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yours
-decide me; I will present you to the king myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you think I have less
-credit at court than Aramis?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think I
-have the slightest pretensions upon the fortifications at
-Belle-Isle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly
-not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is your own
-interest alone which would induce me to do it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I don't doubt it
-in the least."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I am the
-intimate friend of the king; and a proof of that is, that
-whenever there is anything disagreeable to tell him, it is I who
-have to do it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But, dear
-D'Artagnan, if you present me - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well!"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Aramis will
-be angry."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, with <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>me</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Bah! whether he or
-I present you, since you are to be presented, what does it
-matter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They were going to
-get me some clothes made."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your own are
-splendid."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! those I had
-ordered were far more beautiful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take care: the
-king likes simplicity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case, I
-will be simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But what
-will M. Fouquet say, when he learns that I have left?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you a
-prisoner, then, on parole?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, not quite
-that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I promised him
-I would not leave without letting him know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wait a minute, we
-shall return to that presently.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Have you anything to do here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I, nothing:
-nothing of any importance, at least."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Unless, indeed,
-you are Aramis's representative for something of importance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By no means."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What I tell you -
-pray, understand that - is out of interest for you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I suppose, for instance, that you
-are commissioned to send messages and letters to him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! letters
--yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I send certain
-letters to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you any
-letters, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, let me
-speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Have you any
-letters, I say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have just
-received one for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Interesting?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I suppose so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You do not read
-them, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am not at all
-curious," said Porthos, as he drew out of his pocket the
-soldier's letter which Porthos had not read, but D'Artagnan
-had.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you know what
-to do with it?" said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course; do as I
-always do, send it to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Keep it, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did they not tell
-you that this letter was important?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very
-important."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, you must
-take it yourself to Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To Aramis?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Yes."<br>
-"Very good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"And since the king
-is there - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"You will profit by
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"I shall profit by
-the opportunity to present you to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan, there is no one like you
-for expedients."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Therefore, instead
-of forwarding to our friend any messages, which may or may not be
-faithfully delivered, we will ourselves be the bearers of the
-letter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I had never even
-thought of that, and yet it is simple enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And therefore,
-because it is urgent, Porthos, we ought to set off at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In fact," said
-Porthos, "the sooner we set off the less chance there is of
-Aramis's letter being delayed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Porthos, your
-reasoning is always accurate, and, in your case, logic seems to
-serve as an auxiliary to the imagination."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think so?"
-said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is the result
-of your hard reading," replied D'Artagnan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "So come along, let us be off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But," said
-Porthos, "my promise to M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not to leave
-Saint-Mand&eacute; without telling him of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how very
-young you still are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are going to
-Fontainebleau, are you not, where you will find M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Probably in the
-king's palace?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," repeated
-Porthos, with an air full of majesty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, you will
-accost him with these words: 'M. Fouquet, I have the honor to
-inform you that I have just left Saint-Mand&eacute;.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And," said
-Porthos, with the same majestic mien, "seeing me at Fontainebleau
-at the king's, M. Fouquet will not be able to tell me I am not
-speaking the truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear Porthos, I
-was just on the point of opening my lips to make the same remark,
-but you anticipate me in everything.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos, how fortunately you are
-gifted!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Years have made
-not the slightest impression on you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not over-much,
-certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then there is
-nothing more to say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"All your scruples
-are removed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case I
-shall carry you off with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly; and I
-will go and get my horse saddled."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have horses
-here, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have five."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You had them sent
-from Pierrefonds, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, M. Fouquet
-gave them to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear Porthos,
-we shall not want five horses for two persons; besides, I have
-already three in Paris, which would make eight, and that will be
-too many."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It would not be
-too many if I had some of my servants here; but, alas! I have not
-got them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you regret
-them, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I regret
-Mousqueton; I miss Mousqueton."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What a
-good-hearted fellow you are, Porthos," said D'Artagnan; "but the
-best thing you can do is to leave your horses here, as you have
-left Mousqueton out yonder."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because, by and
-by, it might turn out a very good thing if M. Fouquet had never
-given you anything at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I don't understand
-you," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is not
-necessary you should understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will explain to
-you later, Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I'll wager it is
-some piece of policy or other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And of the most
-subtle character," returned D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos nodded his
-head at this word policy; then, after a moment's reflection, he
-added, "I confess, D'Artagnan, that I am no politician."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know that
-well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! no one knows
-what you told me yourself, you, the bravest of the brave."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What did I tell
-you, Porthos?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That every man has
-his day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You told me so,
-and I have experienced it myself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There are certain days when one
-feels less pleasure than others in exposing one's self to a
-bullet or a sword-thrust."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly my own
-idea."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And mine, too,
-although I can hardly believe in blows or thrusts that kill
-outright."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce! and yet
-you have killed a few in your time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; but I have
-never been killed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your reason is a
-very good one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Therefore, I do
-not believe I shall ever die from a thrust of a sword or a
-gun-shot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case,
-then, you are afraid of nothing.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah! water, perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I swim like an otter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of a quartan
-fever, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have never had
-one yet, and I don't believe I ever shall; but there is one thing
-I will admit," and Porthos dropped his voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is that?"
-asked D'Artagnan, adopting the same tone of voice as Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I must confess,"
-repeated Porthos, "that I am horribly afraid of politics."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, bah!"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon my word, it's
-true," said Porthos, in a stentorian voice.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I have seen his eminence Monsieur
-le Cardinal de Richelieu, and his eminence Monsieur le Cardinal
-de Mazarin; the one was a red politician, the other a black
-politician; I never felt very much more satisfied with the one
-than with the other; the first struck off the heads of M. de
-Marillac, M. de Thou, M. de Cinq-Mars, M. Ch&acirc;lais, M. de
-Bouteville, and M. de Montmorency; the second got a whole crowd
-of Frondeurs cut in pieces, and we belonged to them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,
-we did not belong to them," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! indeed, yes;
-for if I unsheathed my sword for the cardinal, I struck it for
-the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My good
-Porthos!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I have
-done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My dread of
-politics is such, that if there is any question of politics in
-the matter, I should greatly prefer to return to
-Pierrefonds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You would be quite
-right, if that were the case.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But with me, my dear Porthos, no
-politics at all, that is quite clear.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have labored hard in fortifying
-Belle-Isle; the king wished to know the name of the clever
-engineer under whose directions the works were carried out; you
-are modest, as all men of true genius are; perhaps Aramis wishes
-to put you under a bushel.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I happen to seize hold of you; I
-make it known who you are; I produce you; the king rewards you;
-and that is the only policy I have to do with."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And the only one I
-will have to do with either," said Porthos, holding out his hand
-to D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>But D'Artagnan knew
-Porthos's grasp; he knew that, once imprisoned within the baron's
-five fingers, no hand ever left it without being
-half-crushed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-therefore held out, not his hand, but his fist, and Porthos did
-not even perceive the difference.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The servants talked a little with
-each other in an undertone, and whispered a few words, which
-D'Artagnan understood, but which he took very good care not to
-let Porthos understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Our friend," he said to himself, "was really and truly Aramis's
-prisoner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let us now see
-what the result will be of the liberation of the captive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-IV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Rat and the Cheese.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-D</span>'Artagnan and Porthos returned on foot, as D'Artagnan had
-set out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When D'Artagnan,
-as he entered the shop of the Pilon d'Or, announced to Planchet
-that M. du Vallon would be one of the privileged travelers, and
-as the plume in Porthos's hat made the wooden candles suspended
-over the front jingle together, a melancholy presentiment seemed
-to eclipse the delight Planchet had promised himself for the
-morrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But the grocer
-had a heart of gold, ever mindful of the good old times - a trait
-that carries youth into old age.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So Planchet, notwithstanding a sort
-of internal shiver, checked as soon as experienced, received
-Porthos with respect, mingled with the tenderest cordiality.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos, who was a little cold
-and stiff in his manners at first, on account of the social
-difference existing at that period between a baron and a grocer,
-soon began to soften when he perceived so much good-feeling and
-so many kind attentions in Planchet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was particularly touched by the
-liberty which was permitted him to plunge his great palms into
-the boxes of dried fruits and preserves, into the sacks of nuts
-and almonds, and into the drawers full of sweetmeats.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So that, notwithstanding Planchet's
-pressing invitations to go upstairs to the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>entresol</i>, he chose as his
-favorite seat, during the evening which he had to spend at
-Planchet's house, the shop itself, where his fingers could always
-fish up whatever his nose detected.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The delicious figs from Provence,
-filberts from the forest, Tours plums, were subjects of his
-uninterrupted attention for five consecutive hours.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His teeth, like millstones, cracked
-heaps of nuts, the shells of which were scattered all over the
-floor, where they were trampled by every one who went in and out
-of the shop; Porthos pulled from the stalk with his lips, at one
-mouthful, bunches of the rich Muscatel raisins with their
-beautiful bloom, half a pound of which passed at one gulp from
-his mouth to his stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-In one of the corners of the shop, Planchet's assistants, huddled
-together, looked at each other without venturing to open their
-lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They did not know
-who Porthos was, for they had never seen him before.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The race of those Titans who had
-worn the cuirasses of Hugh Capet, Philip Augustus, and Francis I.
-had already begun to disappear.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They could hardly help thinking he
-might be the ogre of the fairy tale, who was going to turn the
-whole contents of Planchet's shop into his insatiable stomach,
-and that, too, without in the slightest degree displacing the
-barrels and chests that were in it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Cracking, munching, chewing,
-nibbling, sucking, and swallowing, Porthos occasionally said to
-the grocer:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You do a very good
-business here, friend Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He will very soon have
-none at all to do, if this sort of thing continues," grumbled the
-foreman, who had Planchet's word that he should be his
-successor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the midst
-of his despair, he approached Porthos, who blocked up the whole
-of the passage leading from the back shop to the shop
-itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He hoped that
-Porthos would rise and that this movement would distract his
-devouring ideas.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you want, my
-man?" asked Porthos, affably.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should like to pass
-you, monsieur, if it is not troubling you too much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well," said
-Porthos, "it does not trouble me in the least."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>At the same moment
-he took hold of the young fellow by the waistband, lifted him off
-the ground, and placed him very gently on the other side, smiling
-all the while with the same affable expression.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as Porthos had placed him on
-the ground, the lad's legs so shook under him that he fell back
-upon some sacks of corks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But noticing the giant's gentleness of manner, he ventured again,
-and said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, monsieur! pray
-be careful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What about?"
-inquired Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are positively
-putting a fiery furnace into your body."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How is that, my
-good fellow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"All those things
-are very heating to the system!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Raisins, nuts, and
-almonds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; but if
-raisins, nuts, and almonds are heating - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is no doubt
-at all of it, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Honey is very
-cooling," said Porthos, stretching out his hand toward a small
-barrel of honey which was open, and he plunged the scoop with
-which the wants of the customers were supplied into it, and
-swallowed a good half-pound at one gulp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I must trouble you
-for some water now, my man," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In a pail,
-monsieur?" asked the lad, simply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, in a
-water-bottle; that will be quite enough;" and raising the bottle
-to his mouth, as a trumpeter does his trumpet, he emptied the
-bottle at a single draught.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Planchet was
-agitated in every fibre of propriety and self-esteem.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> However, a worthy representative of
-the hospitality which prevailed in early days, he feigned to be
-talking very earnestly with D'Artagnan, and incessantly repeated:
-- "Ah! monsieur, what a happiness! what an honor!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What time shall we
-have supper, Planchet?" inquired Porthos, "I feel hungry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The foreman clasped
-his hands together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-two others got under the counters, fearing Porthos might have a
-taste for human flesh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We shall only take
-a sort of snack here," said D'Artagnan; "and when we get to
-Planchet's country-seat, we will have supper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, ah! so we are
-going to your country-house, Planchet," said Porthos; "so much
-the better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You overwhelm me,
-monsieur le baron."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The "monsieur le
-baron" had a great effect upon the men, who detected a personage
-of the highest quality in an appetite of that kind.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This title, too, reassured
-them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They had never
-heard that an ogre was ever called "monsieur le baron".</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will take a few
-biscuits to eat on the road," said Porthos, carelessly; and he
-emptied a whole jar of aniseed biscuits into the huge pocket of
-his doublet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My shop is saved!"
-exclaimed Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, as the cheese
-was," whispered the foreman.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What cheese?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The Dutch cheese,
-inside which a rat had made his way, and we found only the rind
-left."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Planchet looked all
-round his shop, and observing the different articles which had
-escaped Porthos's teeth, he found the comparison somewhat
-exaggerated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The foreman,
-who remarked what was passing in his master's mind, said, "Take
-care; he is not gone yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you any fruit
-here?" said Porthos, as he went upstairs to the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>entresol</i>, where it had just
-been announced that some refreshment was prepared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alas!" thought the
-grocer, addressing a look at D'Artagnan full of entreaty, which
-the latter half understood.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As soon as they had
-finished eating they set off.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was late when the three riders,
-who had left Paris about six in the evening, arrived at
-Fontainebleau.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-journey passed very agreeably.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos took a fancy to Planchet's
-society, because the latter was very respectful in his manners,
-and seemed delighted to talk to him about his meadows, his woods,
-and his rabbit-warrens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Porthos had all the taste and pride of a landed proprietor.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When D'Artagnan saw his two
-companions in earnest conversation, he took the opposite side of
-the road, and letting his bridle drop upon his horse's neck,
-separated himself from the whole world, as he had done from
-Porthos and from Planchet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The moon shone softly through the
-foliage of the forest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The breezes of the open country rose deliciously perfumed to the
-horse's nostrils, and they snorted and pranced along
-delightedly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos and
-Planchet began to talk about hay-crops.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet admitted to Porthos that in
-the advanced years of his life, he had certainly neglected
-agricultural pursuits for commerce, but that his childhood had
-been passed in Picardy in the beautiful meadows where the grass
-grew as high as the knees, and where he had played under the
-green apple-trees covered with red-cheeked fruit; he went on to
-say, that he had solemnly promised himself that as soon as he
-should have made his fortune, he would return to nature, and end
-his days, as he had begun them, as near as he possibly could to
-the earth itself, where all men must sleep at last.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Eh, eh!" said
-Porthos; "in that case, my dear Monsieur Planchet, your
-retirement is not far distant."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, you seem to
-be in the way of making your fortune very soon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, we are
-getting on pretty well, I must admit," replied Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, tell me what
-is the extent of your ambition, and what is the amount you intend
-to retire upon?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is one
-circumstance, monsieur," said Planchet, without answering the
-question, "which occasions me a good deal of anxiety."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?"
-inquired Porthos, looking all round him as if in search of the
-circumstance that annoyed Planchet, and desirous of freeing him
-from it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, formerly,"
-said the grocer, "you used to call me Planchet quite short, and
-you would have spoken to me then in a much more familiar manner
-than you do now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly,
-certainly, I should have said so formerly," replied the
-good-natured Porthos, with an embarrassment full of delicacy;
-"but formerly - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Formerly I was M.
-d'Artagnan's lackey; is not that what you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well if I am not
-quite his lackey, I am as much as ever I was his devoted servant;
-and more than that, since that time - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well,
-Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since that time, I
-have had the honor of being in partnership with him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh!" said
-Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What, has
-D'Artagnan gone into the grocery business?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no," said
-D'Artagnan, whom these words had drawn out of his reverie, and
-who entered into the conversation with that readiness and
-rapidity which distinguished every operation of his mind and
-body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It was not
-D'Artagnan who entered into the grocery business, but Planchet
-who entered into a political affair with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Planchet, with mingled pride and satisfaction, "we transacted a
-little business which brought me in a hundred thousand francs and
-M. d'Artagnan two hundred thousand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh!" said
-Porthos, with admiration.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that, monsieur
-le baron," continued the grocer, "I again beg you to be kind
-enough to call me Planchet, as you used to do; and to speak to me
-as familiarly as in old times.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You cannot possibly imagine the
-pleasure it would give me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If that be the
-case, my dear Planchet, I will do so, certainly," replied
-Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And as he was
-quite close to Planchet, he raised his hand, as if to strike him
-on the shoulder, in token of friendly cordiality; but a fortunate
-movement of the horse made him miss his aim, so that his hand
-fell on the crupper of Planchet's horse, instead; which made the
-animal's legs almost give way.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan burst
-out laughing, as he said, "Take care, Planchet; for if Porthos
-begins to like you so much, he will caress you, and if he
-caresses you he will knock you as flat as a pancake.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos is still as strong as every,
-you know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh," said
-Planchet, "Mousqueton is not dead, and yet monsieur le baron is
-very fond of him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly," said
-Porthos, with a sigh which made all the three horses rear; "and I
-was only saying, this very morning, to D'Artagnan, how much I
-regretted him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But tell
-me, Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank you,
-monsieur le baron, thank you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good lad, good
-lad!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How many acres of
-park have you got?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of park?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; we will
-reckon up the meadows presently, and the woods afterwards."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whereabouts,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At your
-ch&acirc;teau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, monsieur le
-baron, I have neither ch&acirc;teau, nor park, nor meadows, nor
-woods."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What have you got,
-then?" inquired Porthos, "and why do you call it a
-country-seat?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I did not call it
-a country-seat, monsieur le baron," replied Planchet, somewhat
-humiliated, "but a country-box."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, ah!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I understand.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are modest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, monsieur le
-baron, I speak the plain truth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have rooms for a couple of
-friends, that's all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But in that case,
-whereabouts do your friends walk?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the first
-place, they can walk about the king's forest, which is very
-beautiful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I know the
-forest is very fine," said Porthos; "nearly as beautiful as my
-forest at Berry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Planchet opened his
-eyes very wide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Have you
-a forest of the same kind as the forest at Fontainebleau,
-monsieur le baron?" he stammered out.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; I have two,
-indeed, but the one at Berry is my favorite."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why so?" asked
-Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because I don't
-know where it ends; and, also, because it is full of
-poachers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How can the
-poachers make the forest so agreeable to you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because they hunt
-my game, and I hunt them - which, in these peaceful times, is for
-me a sufficiently pleasing picture of war on a small scale."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>They had reached
-this turn of conversation, when Planchet, looking up, perceived
-the houses at the commencement of Fontainebleau, the lofty
-outlines of which stood out strongly against the misty visage of
-the heavens; whilst, rising above the compact and irregularly
-formed mass of buildings, the pointed roofs of the ch&acirc;teau
-were clearly visible, the slates of which glistened beneath the
-light of the moon, like the scales of an immense fish.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Gentlemen," said Planchet, "I
-have the honor to inform you that we have arrived at
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-V:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Planchet's Country-House.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he cavaliers looked up, and saw that what Planchet had
-announced to them was true.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ten minutes afterwards they were in
-the street called the Rue de Lyon, on the opposite side of the
-hostelry of the Beau Paon.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A high hedge of bushy elders,
-hawthorn, and wild hops formed an impenetrable fence, behind
-which rose a white house, with a high tiled roof.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Two of the windows, which were quite
-dark, looked upon the street.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Between the two, a small door, with
-a porch supported by a couple of pillars, formed the entrance to
-the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The door was
-gained by a step raised a little from the ground.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet got off his horse, as if he
-intended to knock at the door; but, on second thoughts, he took
-hold of his horse by the bridle, and led it about thirty paces
-further on, his two companions following him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then advanced about another
-thirty paces, until he arrived at the door of a cart-house,
-lighted by an iron grating; and, lifting up a wooden latch,
-pushed open one of the folding-doors.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He entered first, leading his horse
-after him by the bridle, into a small courtyard, where an odor
-met them which revealed their close vicinity to a stable.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "That smells all right," said
-Porthos, loudly, getting off his horse, "and I almost begin to
-think I am near my own cows at Pierrefonds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have only one cow,"
-Planchet hastened to say modestly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I have
-thirty," said Porthos; "or rather, I don't exactly know how many
-I have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>When the two
-cavaliers had entered, Planchet fastened the door behind
-them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the meantime,
-D'Artagnan, who had dismounted with his usual agility, inhaled
-the fresh perfumed air with the delight a Parisian feels at the
-sight of green fields and fresh foliage, plucked a piece of
-honeysuckle with one hand, and of sweet-briar with the
-other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos clawed
-hold of some peas which were twined round poles stuck into the
-ground, and ate, or rather browsed upon them, shells and all: and
-Planchet was busily engaged trying to wake up an old and infirm
-peasant, who was fast asleep in a shed, lying on a bed of moss,
-and dressed in an old stable suit of clothes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The peasant, recognizing Planchet,
-called him "the master," to the grocer's great satisfaction.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Stable the horses well, old
-fellow, and you shall have something good for yourself," said
-Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes; fine
-animals they are too," said the peasant.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh! they shall have as much as they
-like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Gently, gently, my
-man," said D'Artagnan, "we are getting on a little too fast.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A few oats and a good bed -
-nothing more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Some bran and
-water for my horse," said Porthos, "for it is very warm, I
-think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Don't be afraid,
-gentlemen," replied Planchet; "Daddy Celestin is an old gendarme,
-who fought at Ivry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-knows all about horses; so come into the house."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he led the way along a
-well-sheltered walk, which crossed a kitchen-garden, then a small
-paddock, and came out into a little garden behind the house, the
-principal front of which, as we have already noticed, faced the
-street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As they
-approached, they could see, through two open windows on the
-ground floor, which led into a sitting-room, the interior of
-Planchet's residence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-This room, softly lighted by a lamp placed on the table, seemed,
-from the end of the garden, like a smiling image of repose,
-comfort, and happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-In every direction where the rays of light fell, whether upon a
-piece of old china, or upon an article of furniture shining from
-excessive neatness, or upon the weapons hanging against the wall,
-the soft light was softly reflected; and its rays seemed to
-linger everywhere upon something or another, agreeable to the
-eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The lamp which
-lighted the room, whilst the foliage of jasmine and climbing
-roses hung in masses from the window-frames, splendidly
-illuminated a damask table-cloth as white as snow.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The table was laid for two
-persons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Amber-colored
-wine sparkled in a long cut-glass bottle; and a large jug of blue
-china, with a silver lid, was filled with foaming cider.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Near the table, in a
-high-backed armchair, reclined, fast asleep, a woman of about
-thirty years of age, her face the very picture of health and
-freshness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Upon her knees
-lay a large cat, with her paws folded under her, and her eyes
-half-closed, purring in that significant manner which, according
-to feline habits, indicates perfect contentment.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The two friends paused before the
-window in complete amazement, while Planchet, perceiving their
-astonishment, was in no little degree secretly delighted at
-it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet, you rascal," said
-D'Artagnan, "I now understand your absences."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh! there is
-some white linen!" said Porthos, in his turn, in a voice of
-thunder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the sound of
-this gigantic voice, the cat took flight, the housekeeper woke up
-with a start, and Planchet, assuming a gracious air, introduced
-his two companions into the room, where the table was already
-laid.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Permit me, my
-dear," he said, "to present to you Monsieur le Chevalier
-d'Artagnan, my patron."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan took the lady's hand in his in the most courteous
-manner, and with precisely the same chivalrous air as he would
-have taken Madame's.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur le Baron
-du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds," added Planchet.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos bowed with a reverence
-which Anne of Austria would have approved of.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>It was then
-Planchet's turn, and he unhesitatingly embraced the lady in
-question, not, however, until he had made a sign as if requesting
-D'Artagnan's and Porthos's permission, a permission as a matter
-of course frankly conceded.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan complimented Planchet,
-and said, "You are indeed a man who knows how to make life
-agreeable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Life, monsieur,"
-said Planchet, laughing, "is capital which a man ought to invest
-as sensibly as he possibly can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you get very
-good interest for yours," said Porthos, with a burst of laughter
-like a peal of thunder.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Planchet turned to
-his housekeeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You
-have before you," he said to her, "the two gentlemen who
-influenced the greatest, gayest, grandest portion of my
-life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have spoken to
-you about them both very frequently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And about two
-others as well," said the lady, with a very decided Flemish
-accent.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame is Dutch?"
-inquired D'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Porthos curled his mustache, a circumstance which was not lost
-upon D'Artagnan, who noticed everything.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am from
-Antwerp," said the lady.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And her name is
-Madame Getcher," said Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You should not
-call her madame," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?" asked
-Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because it would
-make her seem older every time you call her so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I call her
-Tr&uuml;chen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And a very pretty
-name too," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tr&uuml;chen,"
-said Planchet, "came to me from Flanders with her virtue and two
-thousand florins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She ran
-away from a brute of a husband who was in the habit of beating
-her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Being myself a
-Picard born, I was always very fond of the Artesian women, and it
-is only a step from Artois to Flanders; she came crying bitterly
-to her godfather, my predecessor in the Rue des Lombards; she
-placed her two thousand florins in my establishment, which I have
-turned to very good account, and which have brought her in ten
-thousand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Bravo,
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"She is free and
-well off; she has a cow, a maid servant and old Celestin at her
-orders; she mends my linen, knits my winter stockings; she only
-sees me every fortnight, and seems to make herself in all things
-tolerably happy.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And indeed,
-gentlemen, I <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>am</i> very
-happy and comfortable," said Tr&uuml;chen, with perfect
-ingenuousness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos began to
-curl the other side of his mustache.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The deuce," thought D'Artagnan,
-"can Porthos have any intentions in that quarter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>In the meantime
-Tr&uuml;chen had set her cook to work, had laid the table for two
-more, and covered it with every possible delicacy that could
-convert a light supper into a substantial meal, a meal into a
-regular feast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fresh
-butter, salt beef, anchovies, tunny, a shopful of Planchet's
-commodities, fowls, vegetables, salad, fish from the pond and the
-river, game from the forest - all the produce, in fact, of the
-province.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Moreover,
-Planchet returned from the cellar, laden with ten bottles of
-wine, the glass of which could hardly be seen for the thick
-coating of dust which covered them.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos's heart began to expand as
-he said, "I am hungry," and he sat himself beside Madame
-Tr&uuml;chen, whom he looked at in the most killing manner.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan seated himself on
-the other side of her, while Planchet, discreetly and full of
-delight, took his seat opposite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not trouble
-yourselves," he said, "if Tr&uuml;chen should leave the table now
-and then during supper; for she will have to look after your
-bedrooms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>In fact, the
-housekeeper made her escape quite frequently, and they could
-hear, on the first floor above them, the creaking of the wooden
-bedsteads and the rolling of the castors on the floor.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> While this was going on, the
-three men, Porthos especially, ate and drank gloriously, - it was
-wonderful to see them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The ten full bottles were ten empty one by the time Tr&uuml;chen
-returned with the cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan still preserved his dignity and self-possession, but
-Porthos had lost a portion of his; and the mirth soon began to
-grow somewhat uproarious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan recommended a new descent into the cellar, and, as
-Planchet no longer walked with the steadiness of a well-trained
-foot-soldier, the captain of the musketeers proposed to accompany
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They set off,
-humming songs wild enough to frighten anybody who might be
-listening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tr&uuml;chen
-remained behind at table with Porthos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> While the two wine-bibbers were
-looking behind the firewood for what they wanted, a sharp report
-was heard like the impact of a pair of lips on a lady's
-cheek.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Porthos fancies
-himself at La Rochelle," thought D'Artagnan, as they returned
-freighted with bottles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Planchet was singing so loudly that he was incapable of noticing
-anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan,
-whom nothing ever escaped, remarked how much redder
-Tr&uuml;chen's left cheek was than her right.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos was sitting on
-Tr&uuml;chen's left, and was curling with both his hands both
-sides of his mustache at once, and Tr&uuml;chen was looking at
-him with a most bewitching smile.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The sparkling wine of Anjou very
-soon produced a remarkable effect upon the three companions.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan had hardly strength
-enough left to take a candlestick to light Planchet up his own
-staircase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet was
-pulling Porthos along, who was following Tr&uuml;chen, who was
-herself jovial enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It
-was D'Artagnan who found out the rooms and the beds.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos threw himself into the one
-destined for him, after his friend had undressed him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan got into his own bed,
-saying to himself, "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mordioux!</i><span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I had made up my mind never to touch
-that light-colored wine, which brings my early camp days back
-again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fie! fie! if my
-musketeers were only to see their captain in such a state."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And drawing the curtains of
-his bed, he added, "Fortunately enough, though, they will not see
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The country is
-very amusing," said Porthos, stretching out his legs, which
-passed through the wooden footboard, and made a tremendous crash,
-of which, however, no one in the house was capable of taking the
-slightest notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By two
-o'clock in the morning every one was fast asleep.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-VI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Showing What Could Be Seen from Planchet's House.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he next morning found the three heroes sleeping
-soundly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tr&uuml;chen had
-closed the outside blinds to keep the first rays of the sun from
-the leaden-lidded eyes of her guests, like a kind, good
-housekeeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was still
-perfectly dark, then, beneath Porthos's curtains and under
-Planchet's canopy, when D'Artagnan, awakened by an indiscreet ray
-of light which made its way through a peek-hole in the shutters,
-jumped hastily out of bed, as if he wished to be the first at a
-forlorn hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He took by
-assault Porthos's room, which was next to his own.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The worthy Porthos was sleeping with
-a noise like distant thunder; in the dim obscurity of the room
-his gigantic frame was prominently displayed, and his swollen
-fist hung down outside the bed upon the carpet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan awoke Porthos, who rubbed
-his eyes in a tolerably good humor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the meantime Planchet was
-dressing himself, and met at their bedroom doors his two guests,
-who were still somewhat unsteady from their previous evening's
-entertainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Although
-it was yet very early, the whole household was already up.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The cook was mercilessly
-slaughtering in the poultry-yard; Celestin was gathering white
-cherries in the garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Porthos, brisk and lively as ever, held out his hand to
-Planchet's, and D'Artagnan requested permission to embrace Madame
-Tr&uuml;chen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The latter,
-to show that she bore no ill-will, approached Porthos, upon whom
-she conferred the same favor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos embraced Madame
-Tr&uuml;chen, heaving an enormous sigh.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet took both his friends by
-the hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am going to show you
-over the house," he said; "when we arrived last night it was as
-dark as an oven, and we were unable to see anything; but in broad
-daylight, everything looks different, and you will be satisfied,
-I hope."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If we begin by the view
-you have here," said D'Artagnan, "that charms me beyond
-everything; I have always lived in royal mansions, you know, and
-royal personages have tolerably sound ideas upon the selection of
-points of view."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am a great stickler
-for a good view myself," said Porthos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "At my Ch&acirc;teau de Pierrefonds,
-I have had four avenues laid out, and at the end of each is a
-landscape of an altogether different character from the
-others."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You shall see <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>my</i> prospect," said Planchet; and
-he led his two guests to a window.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said D'Artagnan,
-"this is the Rue de Lyon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I have two windows
-on this side, a paltry, insignificant view, for there is always
-that bustling and noisy inn, which is a very disagreeable
-neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I had four
-windows here, but I bricked up two."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let us go on," said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> They entered a corridor
-leading to the bedrooms, and Planchet pushed open the outside
-blinds.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Hollo! what is that out
-yonder?" said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The forest," said
-Planchet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It is the
-horizon, - a thick line of green, which is yellow in the spring,
-green in the summer, red in the autumn, and white in the
-winter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "All very well, but it
-is like a curtain, which prevents one seeing a greater
-distance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said Planchet;
-"still, one can see, at all events, everything that
-intervenes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, the open country,"
-said Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "But what
-is that I see out there, - crosses and stones?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, that is the
-cemetery," exclaimed D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely," said
-Planchet; "I assure you it is very curious.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Hardly a day passes that some one is
-not buried there; for Fontainebleau is by no means an
-inconsiderable place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Sometimes we see young girls clothed in white carrying banners;
-at others, some of the town-council, or rich citizens, with
-choristers and all the parish authorities; and then, too, we see
-some of the officers of the king's household."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should not like
-that," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is not much
-amusement in it, at all events," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I assure you it
-encourages religious thoughts," replied Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, I don't deny
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But," continued
-Planchet, "we must all die one day or another, and I once met
-with a maxim somewhere which I have remembered, that the thought
-of death is a thought that will do us all good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am far from saying
-the contrary," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But," objected
-D'Artagnan, "the thought of green fields, flowers, rivers, blue
-horizons, extensive and boundless plains, is no likely to do us
-good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If I had any, I should
-be far from rejecting them," said Planchet; "but possessing only
-this little cemetery, full of flowers, so moss-grown, shady, and
-quiet, I am contented with it, and I think of those who live in
-town, in the Rue des Lombards, for instance, and who have to
-listen to the rumbling of a couple of thousand vehicles every
-day, and to the soulless tramp, tramp, tramp of a hundred and
-fifty thousand foot-passengers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But living," said
-Porthos; "living, remember that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is exactly the
-reason," said Planchet, timidly, "why I feel it does me good to
-contemplate a few dead."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon my word," said
-D'Artagnan, "that fellow Planchet is born a philosopher as well
-as a grocer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur," said
-Planchet, "I am one of those good-humored sort of men whom Heaven
-created for the purpose of living a certain span of days, and of
-considering all good they meet with during their transitory stay
-on earth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan sat down
-close to the window, and as there seemed to be something
-substantial in Planchet's philosophy, he mused over it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, ah!" exclaimed
-Planchet, "if I am not mistaken, we are going to have a
-representation now, for I think I heard something like
-chanting."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said D'Artagnan,
-"I hear singing too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, it is only a burial
-of a very poor description," said Planchet, disdainfully; "the
-officiating priest, the beadle, and only one chorister boy,
-nothing more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You
-observe, messieurs, that the defunct lady or gentleman could not
-have been of very high rank."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; no one seems to be
-following the coffin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said Porthos; "I
-see a man."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right; a man
-wrapped in a cloak," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It's not worth looking
-at," said Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I find it interesting,"
-said D'Artagnan, leaning on the window-sill.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come, come, you are
-beginning to take a fancy to the place already," said Planchet,
-delightedly; "it is exactly my own case.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was so melancholy at first that I
-could do nothing but make the sign of the cross all day, and the
-chants were like so many nails being driven into my head; but
-now, they lull me to sleep, and no bird I have ever seen or heard
-can sing better than those which are to be met with in this
-cemetery."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well," said Porthos,
-"this is beginning to get a little dull for me, and I prefer
-going downstairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Planchet with one bound
-was beside his guest, whom he offered to lead into the
-garden.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What!" said Porthos to
-D'Artagnan, as he turned round, "are you going to remain
-here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I will join you
-presently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>              </span> "Well, M.
-D'Artagnan is right, after all," said Planchet: "are they
-beginning to bury yet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! yes, the
-grave-digger is waiting until the cords are fastened round the
-bier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, see, a woman
-has just entered the cemetery at the other end."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes, my dear
-Planchet," said D'Artagnan, quickly, "leave me, leave me; I feel
-I am beginning already to be much comforted by my meditations, so
-do not interrupt me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Planchet left, and
-D'Artagnan remained, devouring with his eager gaze from behind
-the half-closed blinds what was taking place just before
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The two bearers of
-the corpse had unfastened the straps by which they carried the
-litter, and were letting their burden glide gently into the open
-grave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At a few paces
-distant, the man with the cloak wrapped round him, the only
-spectator of this melancholy scene, was leaning with his back
-against a large cypress-tree, and kept his face and person
-entirely concealed from the grave-diggers and the priests; the
-corpse was buried in five minutes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The grave having been filled up, the
-priests turned away, and the grave-digger having addressed a few
-words to them, followed them as they moved away.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The man in the mantle bowed as they
-passed him, and put a piece of gold into the grave-digger's
-hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mordioux!</i>" murmured D'Artagnan;
-"it is Aramis himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis, in fact,
-remained alone, on that side at least; for hardly had he turned
-his head when a woman's footsteps, and the rustling of her dress,
-were heard in the path close to him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He immediately turned round, and
-took off his hat with the most ceremonious respect; he led the
-lady under the shelter of some walnut and lime trees, which
-overshadowed a magnificent tomb.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! who would have
-thought it," said D'Artagnan; "the bishop of Vannes at a
-rendezvous!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He is still
-the same Abb&eacute; Aramis as he was at Noisy-le-Sec.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yes," he added, after a pause;
-"but as it is in a cemetery, the rendezvous is sacred."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But he almost laughed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The conversation lasted
-for fully half an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan could not see the lady's face, for she kept her back
-turned towards him; but he saw perfectly well, by the erect
-attitude of both the speakers, by their gestures, by the measured
-and careful manner with which they glanced at each other, either
-by way of attack or defense, that they must be conversing about
-any other subject than of love.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the end of the conversation the
-lady rose, and bowed profoundly to Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, oh," said
-D'Artagnan; "this rendezvous finishes like one of a very tender
-nature though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-cavalier kneels at the beginning, the young lady by and by gets
-tamed down, and then it is she who has to supplicate.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Who is this lady?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I would give anything to
-ascertain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> This seemed impossible,
-however, for Aramis was the first to leave; the lady carefully
-concealed her head and face, and then immediately departed.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan could hold out no
-longer; he ran to the window which looked out on the Rue de Lyon,
-and saw Aramis entering the inn.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The lady was proceeding in quite an
-opposite direction, and seemed, in fact, to be about to rejoin an
-equipage, consisting of two led horses and a carriage, which he
-could see standing close to the borders of the forest.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She was walking slowly, her
-head bent down, absorbed in the deepest meditation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mordioux!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Mordioux!</i><span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I must and will learn who that woman
-is," said the musketeer again; and then, without further
-deliberation, he set off in pursuit of her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As he was going along, he tried to
-think how he could possibly contrive to make her raise her
-veil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "She is not young,"
-he said, "and is a woman of high rank in society.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I ought to know that figure and
-peculiar style of walk."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-As he ran, the sound of his spurs and of his boots upon the hard
-ground of the street made a strange jingling noise; a fortunate
-circumstance in itself, which he was far from reckoning
-upon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The noise disturbed
-the lady; she seemed to fancy she was being either followed or
-pursued, which was indeed the case, and turned round.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan started as if he had
-received a charge of small shot in his legs, and then turning
-suddenly round as if he were going back the same way he had come,
-he murmured, "Madame de Chevreuse!"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan would not go home until
-he had learnt everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-He asked Celestin to inquire of the grave-digger whose body it
-was they had buried that morning.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A poor Franciscan
-mendicant friar," replied the latter, "who had not even a dog to
-love him in this world, and to accompany him to his last
-resting-place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If that were really the
-case," thought D'Artagnan, "we should not have found Aramis
-present at his funeral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The bishop of Vannes is not precisely a dog as far as devotion
-goes: his scent, however, is quite as keen, I admit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-VII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>How
-Porthos, Tr&uuml;chen, and Planchet Parted with Each Other on
-Friendly Terms, Thanks to D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>here was good living in Planchet's house.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos broke a ladder and two
-cherry-trees, stripped the raspberry-bushes, and was only unable
-to succeed in reaching the strawberry-beds on account, as he
-said, of his belt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Tr&uuml;chen, who had become quite sociable with the giant, said
-that it was not the belt so much as his corporation; and Porthos,
-in a state of the highest delight, embraced Tr&uuml;chen, who
-gathered him a pailful of the strawberries, and made him eat them
-out of her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan, who arrived in the midst of these little innocent
-flirtations, scolded Porthos for his indolence, and silently
-pitied Planchet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos
-breakfasted with a very good appetite, and when he had finished,
-he said, looking at Tr&uuml;chen, "I could make myself very happy
-here."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tr&uuml;chen
-smiled at his remark, and so did Planchet, but not without
-embarrassment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan then
-addressed Porthos: "You must not let the delights of Capua make
-you forget the real object of our journey to Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My presentation to the
-king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am going to take a turn in the
-town to get everything ready for that.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not think of leaving the house, I
-beg."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no!" exclaimed
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Planchet looked at
-D'Artagnan nervously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will you be away long?"
-he inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, my friend; and this
-very evening I will release you from two troublesome guests."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur d'Artagnan! can you say -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no; you are a
-noble-hearted fellow, but your house is very small.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Such a house, with half a dozen
-acres of land, would be fit for a king, and make him very happy,
-too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But you were not
-born a great lord."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No more was M.
-Porthos," murmured Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But he has become so,
-my good fellow; his income has been a hundred thousand francs a
-year for the last twenty years, and for the last fifty years
-Porthos has been the owner of a couple of fists and a backbone,
-which are not to be matched throughout the whole realm of
-France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos is a man
-of the very greatest consequence compared to you, and&hellip;
-well, I need say no more, for I know you are an intelligent
-fellow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no, monsieur,
-explain what you mean."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Look at your orchard,
-how stripped it is, how empty your larder, your bedstead broken,
-your cellar almost exhausted, look too&hellip; at Madame
-Tr&uuml;chen - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! my goodness
-gracious!" said Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame Tr&uuml;chen is
-an excellent person," continued D'Artagnan, "but keep her for
-yourself, do you understand?" and he slapped him on the
-shoulder.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Planchet at this moment
-perceived Porthos and Tr&uuml;chen sitting close together in an
-arbor; Tr&uuml;chen, with a grace of manner peculiarly Flemish,
-was making a pair of earrings for Porthos out of a double cherry,
-while Porthos was laughing as amorously as Samson in the company
-of Delilah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet
-pressed D'Artagnan's hand, and ran towards the arbor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We must do Porthos the justice to
-say that he did not move as they approached, and, very likely, he
-did not think he was doing any harm.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nor indeed did Tr&uuml;chen move
-either, which rather put Planchet out; but he, too, had been so
-accustomed to see fashionable folk in his shop, that he found no
-difficulty in putting a good countenance on what seemed
-disagreeable or rude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Planchet seized Porthos by the arm, and proposed to go and look
-at the horses, but Porthos pretended he was tired.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet then suggested that the
-Baron du Vallon should taste some noyeau of his own manufacture,
-which was not to be equaled anywhere; an offer the baron
-immediately accepted; and, in this way, Planchet managed to
-engage his enemy's attention during the whole of the day, by dint
-of sacrificing his cellar, in preference to his <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>amour propre.</i><span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Two hours afterwards D'Artagnan
-returned.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Everything is
-arranged," he said; "I saw his majesty at the very moment he was
-setting off for the chase; the king expects us this evening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king expects <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>me!</i>" cried Porthos,
-drawing himself up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is
-a sad thing to have to confess, but a man's heart is like an
-ocean billow; for, from that very moment Porthos ceased to look
-at Madame Tr&uuml;chen in that touching manner which had so
-softened her heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Planchet encouraged these ambitious leanings as best as he
-could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He talked over, or
-rather gave exaggerated accounts of all the splendors of the last
-reign, its battles, sieges, and grand court ceremonies.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He spoke of the luxurious
-display which the English made; the prizes the three brave
-companions carried off; and how D'Artagnan, who at the beginning
-had been the humblest of the four, finished by becoming the
-leader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He fired Porthos
-with a generous feeling of enthusiasm by reminding him of his
-early youth now passed away; he boasted as much as he could of
-the moral life this great lord had led, and how religiously he
-respected the ties of friendship; he was eloquent, and skillful
-in his choice of subjects.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He tickled Porthos, frightened
-Tr&uuml;chen, and made D'Artagnan think.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At six o'clock, the musketeer
-ordered the horses to be brought round, and told Porthos to get
-ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He thanked
-Planchet for his kind hospitality, whispered a few words about a
-post he might succeed in obtaining for him at court, which
-immediately raised Planchet in Tr&uuml;chen's estimation, where
-the poor grocer - so good, so generous, so devoted - had become
-much lowered ever since the appearance and comparison with him of
-the two great gentlemen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Such, however, is a woman's nature; they are anxious to possess
-what they have not got, and disdain it as soon as it is
-acquired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> After having
-rendered this service to his friend Planchet, D'Artagnan said in
-a low tone of voice to Porthos: "That is a very beautiful ring
-you have on your finger."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is worth three
-hundred pistoles," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame Tr&uuml;chen
-will remember you better if you leave her that ring," replied
-D'Artagnan, a suggestion which Porthos seemed to hesitate to
-adopt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You think it is not
-beautiful enough, perhaps," said the musketeer.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I understand your feelings; a great
-lord such as you would not think of accepting the hospitality of
-an old servant without paying him most handsomely for it: but I
-am sure that Planchet is too good-hearted a fellow to remember
-that you have an income of a hundred thousand francs a year."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have more than half a
-mind," said Porthos, flattered by the remark, "to make Madame
-Tr&uuml;chen a present of my little farm at Bracieux; it has
-twelve acres."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is too much, my good
-Porthos, too much just at present&hellip;<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Keep it for a future occasion."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then took the ring off
-Porthos's finger, and approaching Tr&uuml;chen, said to her: -
-"Madame, monsieur le baron hardly knows how to entreat you, out
-of your regard for him, to accept this little ring.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. du Vallon is one of the most
-generous and discreet men of my acquaintance.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He wished to offer you a farm that
-he has at Bracieux, but I dissuaded him from it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said Tr&uuml;chen,
-looking eagerly at the diamond.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur le baron!"
-exclaimed Planchet, quite overcome.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My good friend,"
-stammered out Porthos, delighted at having been so well
-represented by D'Artagnan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These several exclamations, uttered
-at the same moment, made quite a pathetic winding-up of a day
-which might have finished in a very ridiculous manner.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But D'Artagnan was there, and,
-on every occasion, wheresoever D'Artagnan exercised any control,
-matters ended only just in the very way he wished and
-willed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There were
-general embracings; Tr&uuml;chen, whom the baron's munificence
-had restored to her proper position, very timidly, and blushing
-all the while, presented her forehead to the great lord with whom
-she had been on such very pretty terms the evening before.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Planchet himself was overcome
-by a feeling of genuine humility.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Still, in the same generosity of
-disposition, Porthos would have emptied his pockets into the
-hands of the cook and of Celestin; but D'Artagnan stopped
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No," he said, "it is
-now my turn."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he gave
-one pistole to the woman and two to the man; and the benedictions
-which were showered down upon them would have rejoiced the heart
-of Harpagon himself, and have rendered even him a prodigal.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan made Planchet
-lead them to the ch&acirc;teau, and introduced Porthos into his
-own apartment, where he arrived safely without having been
-perceived by those he was afraid of meeting.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-VIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Presentation of Porthos at Court.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-A</span>t seven o'clock the same evening, the king gave an
-audience to an ambassador from the United Provinces, in the grand
-reception-room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-audience lasted a quarter of an hour.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His majesty afterwards received
-those who had been recently presented, together with a few
-ladies, who paid their respects first.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In one corner of the salon,
-concealed behind a column, Porthos and D'Artagnan were conversing
-together, waiting until their turn arrived.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have you heard the
-news?" inquired the musketeer of his friend.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, look, then."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos raised himself on
-tiptoe, and saw M. Fouquet in full court dress, leading Aramis
-towards the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Aramis!" said
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Presented to the king
-by M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" ejaculated
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For having fortified
-Belle-Isle," continued D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You - oh, you! as I
-have already had the honor of telling you, are the good-natured,
-kind-hearted Porthos; and so they begged you to take care of
-Saint-Mand&eacute; a little."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" repeated
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, happily, I was
-there," said D'Artagnan, "and presently it will be <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>my</i> turn."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At this moment Fouquet
-addressed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," he said, "I have
-a favor to solicit of your majesty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. d'Herblay is not ambitious, but
-he knows when he can be of service.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your majesty needs a representative
-at Rome, who would be able to exercise a powerful influence
-there; may I request a cardinal's hat for M. d'Herblay?"<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king started.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I do not often solicit anything of
-your majesty," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is a reason,
-certainly," replied the king, who always expressed any hesitation
-he might have in that manner, and to which remark there was
-nothing to say in reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Fouquet and Aramis
-looked at each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king resumed: "M. d'Herblay can serve us equally well in France;
-an archbishopric, for instance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," objected
-Fouquet, with a grace of manner peculiarly his own, "your majesty
-overwhelms M. d'Herblay; the archbishopric may, in your majesty's
-extreme kindness, be conferred in addition to the hat; the one
-does not exclude the other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king admired the
-readiness which he displayed, and smiled, saying: "D'Artagnan
-himself could not have answered better."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had no sooner pronounced the name
-than D'Artagnan appeared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did your majesty call
-me?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis and Fouquet drew
-back a step, as if they were about to retire.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will your majesty allow
-me," said D'Artagnan quickly, as he led forward Porthos, "to
-present to your majesty M. le Baron du Vallon, one of the bravest
-gentlemen of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> France?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> As soon as Aramis saw
-Porthos, he turned as pale as death, while Fouquet clenched his
-hands under his ruffles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan smiled blandly at both of them, while Porthos bowed,
-visibly overcome before the royal presence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Porthos here?" murmured
-Fouquet in Aramis's ear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Hush! deep treachery at
-work," hissed the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," said D'Artagnan,
-"it is more than six years ago I ought to have presented M. du
-Vallon to your majesty; but certain men resemble stars, they move
-not one inch unless their satellites accompany them.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The Pleiades are never disunited,
-and that is the reason I have selected, for the purpose of
-presenting him to you, the very moment when you would see M.
-d'Herblay by his side."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis almost lost
-countenance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He looked at
-D'Artagnan with a proud, haughty air, as though willing to accept
-the defiance the latter seemed to throw down.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! these gentlemen are
-good friends, then?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Excellent friends,
-sire; the one can answer for the other.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ask M. de Vannes now in what manner
-Belle-Isle was fortified?"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet moved back a step.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Belle-Isle," said
-Aramis, coldly, "was fortified by that gentleman," and he
-indicated Porthos with his hand, who bowed a second time.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis could not withhold his
-admiration, though at the same time his suspicions were
-aroused.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said D'Artagnan,
-"but ask monsieur le baron whose assistance he had in carrying
-the works out?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Aramis's," said
-Porthos, frankly; and he pointed to the bishop.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What the deuce does all
-this mean?" thought the bishop, "and what sort of a termination
-are we to expect to this comedy?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What!" exclaimed the
-king, "is the cardinal's, I mean this bishop's, name <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Aramis?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "His <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>nom de guerre</i>," said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My nickname," said
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A truce to modesty!"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan; "beneath the priest's robe, sire, is
-concealed the most brilliant officer, a gentleman of the most
-unparalleled intrepidity, and the wisest theologian in your
-kingdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis raised his
-head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And an engineer,
-also, it appears," he said, admiring Aramis's calm, imperturbable
-self-possession.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "An engineer for a
-particular purpose, sire," said the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My companion in the
-musketeers, sire," said D'Artagnan, with great warmth of manner,
-"the man who has more than a hundred times aided your father's
-ministers by his advice - M. d'Herblay, in a word, who, with M.
-du Vallon, myself, and M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re, who is
-known to your majesty, formed that quartette which was a good
-deal talked about during the late king's reign, and during your
-majesty's minority."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And who fortified
-Belle-Isle?" the king repeated, in a significant tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis advanced and
-bowed: "In order to serve the son as I served the father."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan looked very
-narrowly at Aramis while he uttered these words, which displayed
-so much true respect, so much warm devotion, such entire
-frankness and sincerity, that even he, D'Artagnan, the eternal
-doubter, he, the almost infallible in judgment, was deceived by
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "A man who lies
-cannot speak in such a tone as that," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis was overcome by
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "In that case," he
-said to Fouquet, who anxiously awaited the result of this proof,
-"the cardinal's hat is promised.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur d'Herblay, I pledge you my
-honor that the first promotion shall be yours.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Thank M. Fouquet for it."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert overheard these words;
-they stung him to the quick, and he left the salon abruptly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And you, Monsieur du Vallon,"
-said the king, "what have you to ask?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am truly pleased to have it in my
-power to acknowledge the services of those who were faithful to
-my father."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire - " began Porthos,
-but he was unable to proceed with what he was going to say.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," exclaimed
-D'Artagnan, "this worthy gentleman is utterly overpowered by your
-majesty's presence, he who so valiantly sustained the looks and
-the fire of a thousand foes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, knowing what his thoughts are,
-I - who am more accustomed to gaze upon the sun - can translate
-them: he needs nothing, absolutely nothing; his sole desire is to
-have the happiness of gazing upon your majesty for a quarter of
-an hour."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You shall sup with me
-this evening," said the king, saluting Porthos with a gracious
-smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos became crimson
-from delight and pride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The king dismissed him, and D'Artagnan pushed him into the
-adjoining apartment, after he had embraced him warmly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sit next to me at
-table," said Porthos in his ear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, my friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Aramis is annoyed with
-me, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Aramis has never liked
-you so much as he does now.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fancy, it was I who was the means of
-his getting the cardinal's hat."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course," said
-Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "By the by, does
-the king like his guests to eat much at his table?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a compliment to
-himself if you do," said D'Artagnan, "for he himself possesses a
-royal appetite."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-IX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Explanations.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-A</span>ramis cleverly managed to effect a diversion for the
-purpose of finding D'Artagnan and Porthos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He came up to the latter, behind one
-of the columns, and, as he pressed his hand, said, "So you have
-escaped from my prison?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not scold him," said
-D'Artagnan; "it was I, dear Aramis, who set him free."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! my friend," replied
-Aramis, looking at Porthos, "could you not have waited with a
-little more patience?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan came to the
-assistance of Porthos, who already began to breathe hard, in sore
-perplexity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You see, you members of
-the Church are great politicians; we mere soldiers come at once
-to the point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The facts
-are these: I went to pay Baisemeaux a visit - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis pricked up his
-ears at this announcement.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Stay!" said Porthos;
-"you make me remember that I have a letter from Baisemeaux for
-you, Aramis."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And Porthos
-held out the bishop the letter we have already seen.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis begged to be allowed to read
-it, and read it without D'Artagnan feeling in the slightest
-degree embarrassed by the circumstance that he was so well
-acquainted with the contents of it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, Aramis's face was so
-impenetrable, that D'Artagnan could not but admire him more than
-ever; after he had read it, he put the letter into his pocket
-with the calmest possible air.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You were saying,
-captain?" he observed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I was saying,"
-continued the musketeer, "that I had gone to pay Baisemeaux a
-visit on his majesty's service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On his majesty's
-service?" said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said D'Artagnan,
-"and, naturally enough, we talked about you and our friends.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I must say that Baisemeaux
-received me coldly; so I soon took my leave of him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As I was returning, a soldier
-accosted me, and said (no doubt as he recognized me,
-notwithstanding I was in private clothes), 'Captain, will you be
-good enough to read me the name written on this envelope?' and I
-read, 'To Monsieur du Vallon, at M. Fouquet's house,
-Saint-Mand&eacute;.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-deuce, I said to myself, Porthos has not returned, then, as I
-fancied, to Bell-Isle, or to Pierrefonds, but is at M. Fouquet's
-house, at Saint-Mand&eacute;; and as M. Fouquet is not at
-Saint-Mand&eacute;, Porthos must be quite alone, or, at all
-events, with Aramis; I will go and see Porthos, and I accordingly
-went to see Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good," said
-Aramis, thoughtfully.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You never told me
-that," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I had no time, my
-friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you brought back
-Porthos with you to Fontainebleau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, to Planchet's
-house."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Does Planchet live at
-Fontainebleau?" inquired Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, near the
-cemetery," said Porthos, thoughtlessly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean by
-'near the cemetery?'" said Aramis, suspiciously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come," thought the
-musketeer, "since there is to be a squabble, let us take
-advantage of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, the cemetery,"
-said Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Planchet
-is a very excellent fellow, who makes very excellent preserves;
-but his house has windows which look out upon the cemetery.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And a confoundedly melancholy
-prospect it is!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So this
-morning - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This morning?" said
-Aramis, more and more excited.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan turned his
-back to them, and walked to the window, where he began to play a
-march upon one of the panes of glass.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, this morning we
-saw a man buried there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very depressing, was it
-not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should never be
-able to live in a house where burials can always be seen from the
-window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan, on
-the contrary, seems to like it very much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So D'Artagnan saw it as
-well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not simply <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>saw</i> it; he literally never took
-his eyes off the whole time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis started, and
-turned to look at the musketeer, but the latter was engaged in
-earnest conversation with Saint-Aignan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis continued to question
-Porthos, and when he had squeezed all the juice out of this
-enormous lemon, he threw the peel aside.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He turned towards his friend
-D'Artagnan, and clapping him on the shoulder, when Saint-Aignan
-had left him, the king's supper having been announced, said,
-"D'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, my dear fellow,"
-he replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We do not sup with his
-majesty, I believe?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well? - <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>we</i> do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Can you give me ten
-minutes' conversation?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Twenty, if
-you like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His majesty
-will take quite that time to get properly seated at table."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where shall we talk,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Here, upon these seats
-if you like; the king has left, we can sit down, and the
-apartment is empty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let us sit down,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> They sat down, and
-Aramis took one of D'Artagnan's hands in his.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell me, candidly, my
-dear friend, whether you have not counseled Porthos to distrust
-me a little?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I admit, I have, but
-not as you understand it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I saw that Porthos was bored to death, and I wished, by
-presenting him to the king, to do for him, and for you, what you
-would never do for yourselves."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Speak in your own
-praise."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you have done it
-most nobly; I thank you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I brought the
-cardinal's hat a little nearer, just as it seemed to be
-retreating from you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! I admit that," said
-Aramis, with a singular smile, "you are, indeed, not to be
-matched for making your friends' fortunes for them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You see, then, that I
-only acted with the view of making Porthos's fortune for
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I meant to have done
-that myself; but your arm reaches farther than ours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It was now D'Artagnan's
-turn to smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come," said Aramis, "we
-ought to deal truthfully with each other.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you still love me,
-D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The same as I used to
-do," replied D'Artagnan, without compromising himself too much by
-this reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, thanks;
-and now, for the most perfect frankness," said Aramis; "you
-visited Belle-Isle on behalf of the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Pardieu!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You wished to deprive
-us of the pleasure of offering Bell-Isle completely fortified to
-the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But before I could
-deprive you of that pleasure, I ought to have been made
-acquainted with your intention of doing so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You came to Belle-Isle
-without knowing anything?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of you! yes.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How the devil could I imagine
-that Aramis had become so clever an engineer as to be able to
-fortify like Polybius, or Archimedes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And yet you smelt me out over
-yonder?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! yes."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And
-Porthos, too?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I did not divine that
-Aramis was an engineer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-was only able to guess that Porthos might have become one.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There is a saying, one becomes
-an orator, one is born a poet; but it has never been said, one is
-born Porthos, and one becomes an engineer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your wit is always
-amusing," said Aramis, coldly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, I will go
-on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When you found out our secret, you
-made all the haste you could to communicate it to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I certainly made as
-much haste as I could, since I saw that you were making still
-more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When a man weighing
-two hundred and fifty pounds, as Porthos does, rides post; when a
-gouty prelate - I beg your pardon, but you yourself told me you
-were so - when a prelate scours the highway - I naturally suppose
-that my two friends, who did not wish to be communicative with
-me, had certain matters of the highest importance to conceal from
-me, and so I made as much haste as my leanness and the absence of
-gout would allow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did it not occur to
-you, my dear friend, that you might be rendering Porthos and
-myself a very sad service?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I thought it not
-unlikely; but you and Porthos made me play a very ridiculous part
-at Belle-Isle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I beg your pardon,"
-said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Excuse me," said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So that," pursued
-Aramis, "you now know everything?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, indeed."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You know I
-was obliged to inform M. Fouquet of what had happened, in order
-that he would be able to anticipate what you might have to tell
-the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is rather
-obscure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not at all: M. Fouquet
-has his enemies - you will admit that, I suppose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And one in
-particular."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A dangerous one?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A mortal
-enemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, in order to
-counteract that man's influence, it was necessary that M. Fouquet
-should give the king a proof of his great devotion to him, and of
-his readiness to make the greatest sacrifices.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He surprised his majesty by offering
-him Belle-Isle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If you
-had been the first to reach Paris, the surprise would have been
-destroyed, it would have looked as if we had yielded to
-fear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is the whole
-mystery," said Aramis, satisfied that he had at last quite
-convinced the musketeer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Only," said the latter,
-"it would have been more simple to have taken me aside, and said
-to me, 'My dear D'Artagnan, we are fortifying Belle-Isle, and
-intend to offer it to the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tell us frankly, for whom you are
-acting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you a friend
-of M. Colbert, or of M. Fouquet?'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Perhaps I should not have answered
-you, but you would have added, - 'Are you my friend?'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should have said 'Yes.'"<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis hung down his
-head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "In this way,"
-continued D'Artagnan, "you would have paralyzed my movements, and
-I should have gone to the king, and said, 'Sire, M. Fouquet is
-fortifying Belle-Isle, and exceedingly well, too; but here is a
-note, which the governor of Belle-Isle gave me for your majesty;'
-or, 'M. Fouquet is about to wait upon your majesty to explain his
-intentions with regard to it.'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should not have been placed in an
-absurd position; you would have enjoyed the surprise so long
-planned, and we should not have had any occasion to look askant
-at each other when we met."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "While, on the
-contrary," replied Aramis, "you have acted altogether as one
-friendly to M. Colbert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-And you really are a friend of his, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly not, indeed!"
-exclaimed the captain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"M. Colbert is a mean fellow, and I hate him as I used to hate
-Mazarin, but without fearing him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then," said
-Aramis, "I love M. Fouquet, and his interests are mine.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know my position.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have no property or means
-whatever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Fouquet gave
-me several livings, a bishopric as well; M. Fouquet has served
-and obliged me like the generous-hearted man he is, and I know
-the world sufficiently well to appreciate a kindness when I meet
-with one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Fouquet has
-won my regard, and I have devoted myself to his service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You could not possibly
-do better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will find
-him a very liberal master."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis bit his lips; and
-then said, "The best a man could possibly have."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then paused for a minute,
-D'Artagnan taking good care not to interrupt him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I suppose you know how
-Porthos got mixed up in all this?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No," said D'Artagnan;
-"I am curious, of course, but I never question a friend when he
-wishes to keep a secret from me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, I will tell
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is hardly worth the
-trouble, if the confidence is to bind me in any way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! do not be afraid.;
-there is no man whom I love better than Porthos, because he is so
-simple-minded and good-natured.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos is so straightforward in
-everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Since I have
-become a bishop, I have looked for these primeval natures, which
-make me love truth and hate intrigue."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan stroked his
-mustache, but said nothing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I saw Porthos and again
-cultivated his acquaintance; his own time hanging idly on his
-hands, his presence recalled my earlier and better days without
-engaging me in any present evil.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I sent for Porthos to come to
-Vannes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Fouquet, whose
-regard for me is very great, having learnt that Porthos and I
-were attached to each other by old ties of friendship, promised
-him increase of rank at the earliest promotion, and that is the
-whole secret."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I shall not abuse your
-confidence," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am sure of that, my
-dear friend; no one has a finer sense of honor than
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I flatter myself that
-you are right, Aramis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And now" - and here the
-prelate looked searchingly and scrutinizingly at his friend -
-"now let us talk of ourselves and for ourselves; will you become
-one of M. Fouquet's friends?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not interrupt me until you know
-what that means."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, I am
-listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will you become a
-mar&eacute;chal of France, peer, duke, and the possessor of a
-duchy, with a million of francs?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, my friend,"
-replied D'Artagnan, "what must one do to get all that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Belong to M.
-Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But I already belong to
-the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not exclusively, I
-suppose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! a D'Artagnan cannot
-be divided."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have, I presume,
-ambitions, as noble hearts like yours have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, certainly I
-have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I wish to be a mar&eacute;chal; the
-king will make me mar&eacute;chal, duke, peer; the king will make
-me all that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis fixed a searching
-look upon D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is not the king
-master?" said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No one disputes it; but
-Louis XIII. was master also."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! my dear friend,
-between Richelieu and Louis XIII. stood no D'Artagnan," said the
-musketeer, very quietly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There are many
-stumbling-blocks round the king," said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not for the king's
-feet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very likely not; still
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "One moment, Aramis; I
-observe that every one thinks of himself, and never of his poor
-prince; I will maintain myself maintaining him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And if you meet with
-ingratitude?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The weak alone are
-afraid of that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are quite certain
-of yourself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I think so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Still, the king may
-some day have no further need for you!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On the contrary, I
-think his need of me will soon be greater than ever; and hearken,
-my dear fellow, if it became necessary to arrest a new
-Cond&eacute;, who would do it?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This - this alone in France!" and
-D'Artagnan struck his sword, which clanked sullenly on the
-tesselated floor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right," said
-Aramis, turning very pale; and then he rose and pressed
-D'Artagnan's hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is the last
-summons for supper," said the captain of the musketeers; "will
-you excuse me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis threw his arm
-round the musketeer's neck, and said, "A friend like you is the
-brightest jewel in the royal crown."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And they immediately separated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I was right," mused
-D'Artagnan; "there is, indeed, something strangely serious
-stirring."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We must hasten the
-explosion," breathed the coming cardinal, "for D'Artagnan has
-discovered the existence of a plot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-X:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Madame and De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-I</span>t will not be forgotten how Comte de Guiche left the
-queen-mother's apartments on the day when Louis XIV. presented La
-Valli&egrave;re with the beautiful bracelets he had won in the
-lottery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The comte walked
-to and fro for some time outside the palace, in the greatest
-distress, from a thousand suspicions and anxieties with which his
-mind was beset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Presently
-he stopped and waited on the terrace opposite the grove of trees,
-watching for Madame's departure.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> More than half an hour passed away;
-and as he was at that moment quite alone, the comte could hardly
-have had any very diverting ideas at his command.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He drew his tables from his pocket,
-and, after hesitating over and over again, determined to write
-these words: - "Madame, I implore you to grant me one moment's
-conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not be
-alarmed at this request, which contains nothing in any way
-opposed to the profound respect with which I subscribe myself,
-etc., etc."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had signed
-and folded this singular love-letter, when he suddenly observed
-several ladies leaving the ch&acirc;teau, and afterwards several
-courtiers too; in fact, almost every one that formed the queen's
-circle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He saw La
-Valli&egrave;re herself, then Montalais talking with Malicorne;
-he watched the departure of the very last of the numerous guests
-that had a short time before thronged the queen-mother's
-cabinet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame herself had not
-yet passed; she would be obliged, however, to cross the courtyard
-in order to enter her own apartments; and, from the terrace where
-he was standing, De Guiche could see all that was going on in the
-courtyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At last he saw
-Madame leave, attended by a couple of pages, who were carrying
-torches before her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She
-was walking very quickly; as soon as she reached the door, she
-said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let some one go and
-look for De Guiche: he has to render an account of a mission he
-had to discharge for me; if he should be disengaged, request him
-to be good enough to come to my apartment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Guiche remained
-silent, hidden in the shade; but as soon as Madame had withdrawn,
-he darted from the terrace down the steps and assumed a most
-indifferent air, so that the pages who were hurrying towards his
-rooms might meet him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! it is Madame, then,
-who is seeking me!" he said to himself, quite overcome; and he
-crushed in his hand the now worse than useless letter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. le comte," said one
-of the pages, approaching him, "we are indeed most fortunate in
-meeting you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so, messieurs?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A command from
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "From Madame!" said De
-Guiche, looking surprised.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, M. le comte, her
-royal highness has been asking for you; she expects to hear, she
-told us, the result of a commission you had to execute for
-her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you at
-liberty?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am quite at her royal
-highness's orders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will you have the
-goodness to follow us, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> When De Guiche entered
-the princess's apartments, he found her pale and agitated.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais was standing at the
-door, evidently uneasy about what was passing in her mistress's
-mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche
-appeared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! is that you,
-Monsieur de Guiche?" said Madame; "come in, I beg.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Mademoiselle de Montalais, I do not
-require your attendance any longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Montalais, more puzzled
-than ever, courtesied and withdrew.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche and the princess were left
-alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The come had every
-advantage in his favor; it was Madame who had summoned him to a
-rendezvous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But how was
-it possible for the comte to make use of this advantage?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame was so whimsical, and
-her disposition so changeable.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She soon allowed this to be
-perceived, for, suddenly, opening the conversation, she said:
-"Well! have you nothing to say to me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He imagined she must
-have guessed his thoughts; he fancied (for those who are in love
-are thus constituted, being as credulous and blind as poets or
-prophets), he fancied she knew how ardent was his desire to see
-her, and also the subject uppermost in his mind.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame," he said,
-"and I think it very singular."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The affair of the
-bracelets," she exclaimed, eagerly, "you mean that, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you think the king
-is in love; do you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Guiche looked at her for
-some time; her eyes sank under his gaze, which seemed to read her
-very heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I think," he said,
-"that the king may possibly have had an idea of annoying some
-one; were it not for that, the king would hardly show himself so
-earnest in his attentions as he is; he would not run the risk of
-compromising, from mere thoughtlessness of disposition, a young
-girl against whom no one has been hitherto able to say a
-word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Indeed! the bold,
-shameless girl," said the princess, haughtily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I can positively assure
-your royal highness," said De Guiche, with a firmness marked by
-great respect, "that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re is
-beloved by a man who merits every respect, for he is a brave and
-honorable gentleman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Bragelonne?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My friend; yes,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, and though he is
-your friend, what does that matter to the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king knows that
-Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re;
-and as Raoul has served the king most valiantly, the king will
-not inflict an irreparable injury upon him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame began to laugh in
-a manner that produced a sinister impression upon De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I repeat, Madame, I do
-not believe the king is in love with Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re; and the proof that I do not believe it is, that
-I was about to ask you whose <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>amour propre</i> it is likely the
-king is desirous of wounding?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You, who are well acquainted with
-the whole court, can perhaps assist me in ascertaining that; and
-assuredly, with greater certainty, since it is everywhere said
-that your royal highness is on very friendly terms with the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame bit her lips,
-and, unable to assign any good and sufficient reasons, changed
-the conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Prove
-to me," she said, fixing on him one of those looks in which the
-whole soul seems to pass into the eyes, "prove to me, I say, that
-you intended to interrogate me at the very moment I sent for
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Guiche gravely drew
-from his pocket the now crumpled note that he had written, and
-showed it to her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sympathy," she
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said the comte,
-with an indescribable tenderness of tone, "sympathy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have explained to you how and why
-I sought you; you, however, have yet to tell me, Madame, why you
-sent for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True," replied the
-princess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She hesitated,
-and then suddenly exclaimed, "Those bracelets will drive me
-mad."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You expected the king
-would offer them to you," replied De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But before you, Madame,
-before you, his sister-in-law, was there not the queen herself to
-whom the king should have offered them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Before La
-Valli&egrave;re," cried the princess, wounded to the quick,
-"could he not have presented them to me?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Was there not the whole court,
-indeed, to choose from?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I assure you, Madame,"
-said the comte, respectfully, "that if any one heard you speak in
-this manner, if any one were to see how red your eyes are, and,
-Heaven forgive me, to see, too, that tear trembling on your
-eyelids, it would be said that your royal highness was
-jealous."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Jealous!" said the
-princess, haughtily, "jealous of La Valli&egrave;re!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She expected to see De
-Guiche yield beneath her scornful gesture and her proud tone; but
-he simply and boldly replied, "Jealous of La Valli&egrave;re;
-yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Am I to suppose,
-monsieur," she stammered out, "that your object is to insult
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is not possible,
-Madame," replied the comte, slightly agitated, but resolved to
-master that fiery nature.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Leave the room!" said
-the princess, thoroughly exasperated, De Guiche's coolness and
-silent respect having made her completely lose her temper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Guiche fell back a
-step, bowed slowly, but with great respect, drew himself up,
-looking as white as his lace cuffs, and, in a voice slightly
-trembling, said, "It was hardly worth while to have hurried here
-to be subjected to this unmerited disgrace."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he turned away with hasty
-steps.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He had scarcely gone
-half a dozen paces when Madame darted like a tigress after him,
-seized him by the cuff, and making him turn round again, said,
-trembling with passion as she did so, "The respect you pretend to
-have is more insulting than the insult itself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Insult me, if you please, but at
-least speak."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame," said the
-comte, gently, as he drew his sword, "thrust this blade into my
-heart, rather than kill me by degrees."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At the look he fixed
-upon her, - a look full of love, resolution, and despair, even, -
-she knew how readily the comte, so outwardly calm in appearance,
-would pass his sword through his own breast if she added another
-word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She tore the blade
-from his hands, and, pressing his arm with a<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> feverish impatience, which might
-pass for tenderness, said, "Do not be too hard upon me,
-comte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You see how I am
-suffering, and yet you have no pity for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Tears, the cries of this
-strange attack, stifled her voice.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as De Guiche saw her weep,
-he took her in his arms and carried her to an armchair; in
-another moment she would have been suffocated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, why," he murmured,
-as he knelt by her side, "why do you conceal your troubles from
-me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you love any one -
-tell me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It would kill
-me, I know, but not until I should have comforted, consoled, and
-served you even."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And do you love me to
-that extent?" she replied, completely conquered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do indeed love you to
-that extent, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She placed both her
-hands in his.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "My heart
-is indeed another's," she murmured in so low a tone that her
-voice could hardly be heard; but he heard it, and said, "Is it
-the king you love?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She gently shook her
-head, and her smile was like a clear bright streak in the clouds,
-through which after the tempest has passed one almost fancies
-Paradise is opening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"But," she added, "there are other passions in a high-born
-heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Love is poetry;
-but the real life of the heart is pride.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Comte, I was born on a throne, I am
-proud and jealous of my rank.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why does the king gather such
-unworthy objects round him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Once more, I repeat,"
-said the comte, "you are acting unjustly towards that poor girl,
-who will one day be my friend's wife."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you simple enough
-to believe that, comte?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If I did not believe
-it," he said, turning very pale, "Bragelonne should be informed
-of it to-morrow; indeed he should, if I thought that poor La
-Valli&egrave;re had forgotten the vows she had exchanged with
-Raoul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But no, it would
-be cowardly to betray a woman's secret; it would be criminal to
-disturb a friend's peace of mind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You think, then," said
-the princess, with a wild burst of laughter, "that ignorance is
-happiness?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe it," he
-replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Prove it to me, then,"
-she said, hurriedly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is easily done,
-Madame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is reported
-through the whole court that the king loves you, and that you
-return his affection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?" she said,
-breathing with difficulty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well; admit for a
-moment that Raoul, my friend, had come and said to me, 'Yes, the
-king loves Madame, and has made an impression upon her heart,' I
-possibly should have slain Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It would have been
-necessary," said the princess, with the obstinacy of a woman who
-feels herself not easily overcome, "for M. de Bragelonne to have
-had proofs before he ventured to speak to you in that
-manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Such, however, is the
-case," replied De Guiche, with a deep sigh, "that, not having
-been warned, I have never examined into the matter seriously; and
-I now find that my ignorance has saved my life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So, then, you drive
-selfishness and coldness to that extent," said Madame, "that you
-would let this unhappy young man continue to love La
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I would, until La
-Valli&egrave;re's guilt were revealed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But the bracelets?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, Madame, since you
-yourself expected to receive them from the king, what can I
-possibly say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The argument was a
-telling one, and the princess was overwhelmed by it, and from
-that moment her defeat was assured.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But as her heart and mind were
-instinct with noble and generous feelings, she understood De
-Guiche's extreme delicacy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She saw that in his heart he really
-suspected that the king was in love with La Valli&egrave;re, and
-that he did not wish to resort to the common expedient of ruining
-a rival in the mind of a woman, by giving the latter the
-assurance and certainty that this rival's affections were
-transferred to another woman.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She guessed that his suspicions of
-La Valli&egrave;re were aroused, and that, in order to leave
-himself time for his convictions to undergo a change, so as not
-to ruin Louise utterly, he was determined to pursue a certain
-straightforward line of conduct.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She could read so much real
-greatness of character, and such true generosity of disposition
-in her lover, that her heart really warmed with affection towards
-him, whose passion for her was so pure and delicate.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Despite his fear of incurring her
-displeasure, De Guiche, by retaining his position as a man of
-proud independence of feeling and deep devotion, became almost a
-hero in her estimation, and reduced her to the state of a jealous
-and little-minded woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-She loved him for this so tenderly, that she could not refuse to
-give him a proof of her affection.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "See how many words we
-have wasted," she said, taking his hand, "suspicions, anxieties,
-mistrust, sufferings - I think we have enumerated all those
-words."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame, yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Efface them from your
-heart as I drive them from mine.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whether La Valli&egrave;re does or
-does not love the king, and whether the king does or does not
-love La Valli&egrave;re - from this moment you and I will draw a
-distinction in the two characters I have to perform.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You open your eyes so wide that I am
-sure you hardly understand me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are so impetuous,
-Madame, that I always tremble at the fear of displeasing
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And see how he trembles
-now, poor fellow," she said, with the most charming playfulness
-of manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Yes,
-monsieur, I have two characters to perform.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am the sister of the king, the
-sister-in-law of the king's wife.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In this character ought I not to
-take an interest in these domestic intrigues?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come, tell me what you think?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As little as possible,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Agreed, monsieur; but
-it is a question of dignity; and then, you know, I am the wife of
-the king's brother."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De
-Guiche sighed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "A
-circumstance," she added, with an expression of great tenderness,
-"which will remind you that I am always to be treated with the
-profoundest respect."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De
-Guiche fell at her feet, which he kissed, with the religious
-fervor of a worshipper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"And I begin to think that, really and truly, I have another
-character to perform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-was almost forgetting it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Name it, oh! name it,"
-said De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am a woman," she
-said, in a voice lower than ever, "and I love."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He rose, she opened her arms, and
-their lips met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A
-footstep was heard behind the tapestry, and Mademoiselle de
-Montalais appeared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you want?" said
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Guiche is
-wanted," replied Montalais, who was just in time to see the
-agitation of the actors of these four characters; for De Guiche
-had consistently carried out his part with heroism.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Montalais and Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-M</span>ontalais was right.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Guiche, thus summoned in every
-direction, was very much exposed, from such a multiplication of
-business, to the risk of not attending to any.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It so happened that, considering the
-awkwardness of the interruption, Madame, notwithstanding her
-wounded pride, and secret anger, could not, for the moment at
-least, reproach Montalais for having violated, in so bold a
-manner, the semi-royal order with which she had been dismissed on
-De Guiche's entrance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De
-Guiche, also, lost his presence of mind, or, it would be more
-correct to say, had already lost it, before Montalais's arrival,
-for, scarcely had he heard the young girl's voice, than, without
-taking leave of Madame, as the most ordinary politeness required,
-even between persons equal in rank and station, he fled from her
-presence, his heart tumultuously throbbing, and his brain on
-fire, leaving the princess with one hand raised, as though to bid
-him adieu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais was
-at no loss, therefore, to perceive the agitation of the two
-lovers - the one who fled was agitated, and the one who remained
-was equally so.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well," murmured the
-young girl, as she glanced inquisitively round her, "this time,
-at least, I think I know as much as the most curious woman could
-possibly wish to know."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Madame felt so embarrassed by this inquisitorial look, that, as
-if she heard Montalais's muttered side remark, she did not speak
-a word to her maid of honor, but, casting down her eyes, retired
-at once to her bedroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Montalais, observing this, stood listening for a moment, and then
-heard Madame lock and bolt her door.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By this she knew that the rest of
-the evening was at her own disposal; and making, behind the door
-which had just been closed, a gesture which indicated but little
-real respect for the princess, she went down the staircase in
-search of Malicorne, who was very busily engaged at that moment
-in watching a courier, who, covered with dust, had just left the
-Comte de Guiche's apartments.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais knew that Malicorne was
-engaged in a matter of some importance; she therefore allowed him
-to look and stretch out his neck as much as he pleased; and it
-was only when Malicorne had resumed his natural position, that
-she touched him on the shoulder.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well," said Montalais, "what is the
-latest intelligence you have?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Guiche is in love
-with Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Fine news, truly!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know something more recent
-than that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, what do you
-know?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That Madame is in love
-with M. de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The one is the
-consequence of the other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not always, my good
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is that remark intended
-for me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Present company always
-excepted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Thank you," said
-Malicorne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well, and in
-the other direction, what is stirring?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king wished, this
-evening, after the lottery, to see Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, and he has seen
-her?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, indeed!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean by
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The door was shut and
-locked."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So that - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So that the king was
-obliged to go back again, looking very sheepish, like a thief who
-has forgotten his crowbar."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And in the third
-place?" inquired Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The courier who has
-just arrived for De Guiche came from M. de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Excellent," said
-Montalais, clapping her hands together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because we have work to
-do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If we get weary now,
-something unlucky will be sure to happen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We must divide the
-work, then," said Malicorne, "in order to avoid confusion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing easier,"
-replied Montalais.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Three
-intrigues, carefully nursed, and carefully encouraged, will
-produce, one with another, and taking a low average, three love
-letters a day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" exclaimed
-Malicorne, shrugging his shoulders, "you cannot mean what you
-say, darling; three letters a day, that may do for sentimental
-common people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A
-musketeer on duty, a young girl in a convent, may exchange
-letters with their lovers once a day, perhaps, from the top of a
-ladder, or through a hole in the wall.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A letter contains all the poetry
-their poor little hearts have to boast of.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But the cases we have in hand
-require to be dealt with very differently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, finish," said
-Montalais, out of patience with him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Some one may come."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Finish!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why, I am only at the
-beginning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have still
-three points as yet untouched."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon my word, he will
-be the death of me, with his Flemish indifference," exclaimed
-Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you will drive me
-mad with your Italian vivacity.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was going to say that our lovers
-here will be writing volumes to each other.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But what are you driving at?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At this.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Not one of our lady correspondents
-will be able to keep the letters they may receive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very likely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Guiche will not
-be able to keep his either."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is probable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well, then; I will
-take care of all that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is the very thing
-that is impossible," said Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because you are not
-your own mistress; your room is as much La Valli&egrave;re's as
-yours; and there are certain persons who will think nothing of
-visiting and searching a maid of honor's room; so that I am
-terribly afraid of the queen, who is as jealous as a Spaniard; of
-the queen-mother, who is as jealous as a couple of Spaniards;
-and, last of all, of Madame herself, who has jealousy enough for
-ten Spaniards."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You forgot some one
-else."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I was only speaking of
-the women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let us add
-them up, then: we will call Monsieur, No. 1."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "De Guiche?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No. 2."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No. 3."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And the king, the
-king?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No. 4.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Of course the king, who not
-only will be more jealous, but more powerful than all the rest
-put together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah, my
-dear!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Into what a wasp's nest
-you have thrust yourself!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And as yet not quite
-far enough, if you will follow me into it."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Most
-certainly I will follow you where you like.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "While we have time, I
-think it will be prudent to turn back."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But I, on the contrary,
-think the wisest course to take is to put ourselves at once at
-the head of all these intrigues."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will never be able
-to do it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With you, I could
-superintend ten of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I am in my element, you must know.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was born to live at the court, as
-the salamander is made to live in the fire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your comparison does
-not reassure me in the slightest degree in the world, my dear
-Montalais.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have heard
-it said, and by learned men too, that, in the first place, there
-are no salamanders at all, and that, if there had been any, they
-would have been infallibly baked or roasted on leaving the
-fire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your learned men may be
-very wise as far as salamanders are concerned, but they would
-never tell you what I can tell you; namely, that Aure de
-Montalais is destined, before a month is over, to become the
-first diplomatist in the court of France."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Be it so, but on
-condition that I shall be the second."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Agreed; an offensive
-and defensive alliance, of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Only be very careful of
-any letters."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will hand them to you
-as I receive them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What shall we tell
-the king about Madame?"<br>
-"That Madame is still in love with his majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What shall we tell
-Madame about the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That she would be
-exceedingly wrong not to humor him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What shall we tell
-La Valli&egrave;re about Madame?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Whatever we
-choose, for La Valli&egrave;re is in our power."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"How so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Every way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"In the first
-place, through the Vicomte de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Explain
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You do not forget,
-I hope, that Monsieur de Bragelonne has written many letters to
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I forget
-nothing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, it was
-I who received, and I who intercepted those letters."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And, consequently,
-it is you who have them still?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where, -
-here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no; I have
-them safe at Blois, in the little room you know well enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That dear little
-room, - that darling little room, the ante-chamber of the palace
-I intend you to live in one of these days.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, I beg your pardon, you said
-that all those letters are in that little room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did you not put
-them in a box?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course; in the
-same box where I put all the letters I received from you, and
-where I put mine also when your business or your amusements
-prevented you from coming to our rendezvous."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, very good,"
-said Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why are you
-satisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because I see
-there is a possibility of not having to run to Blois after the
-letters, for I have them here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have brought
-the box away?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was very dear
-to me, because it belonged to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Be sure and take
-care of it, for it contains original documents that will be of
-priceless value by and by."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am perfectly
-well aware of that indeed, and that is the very reason why I
-laugh as I do, and with all my heart, too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And now, one last
-word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>last?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do we need any one
-to assist us?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Valets or
-maid-servants?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Bad policy.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will give the letters, -
-you will receive them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Oh! we must have no pride in this affair, otherwise M. Malicorne
-and Mademoiselle Aure, not transacting their own affairs
-themselves, will have to make up their minds to see them done by
-others."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are quite
-right; but what is going on yonder in M. de Guiche's room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing; he is
-only opening his window."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us be
-gone."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And they both
-immediately disappeared, all the terms of the contract being
-agreed on.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The window just
-opened was, in fact, that of the Comte de Guiche.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was not alone with the hope of
-catching a glimpse of Madame through her curtains that he seated
-himself by the open window for his preoccupation of mind had at
-that time a different origin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had just received, as we have
-already stated, the courier who had been dispatched to him by
-Bragelonne, the latter having written to De Guiche a letter which
-had made the deepest impression upon him, and which he had read
-over and over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Strange, strange!" he murmured.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "How irresponsible are the means by
-which destiny hurries men onward to their fate!"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Leaving the window in order to
-approach nearer to the light, he once more read the letter he had
-just received: -</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style=
-'text-align:right;text-indent:.5in'>"CALAIS.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"MY DEAR COUNT, - I
-found M. de Wardes at Calais; he has been seriously wounded in an
-affair with the Duke of Buckingham.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes is, as you know,
-unquestionably brave, but full of malevolent and wicked
-feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He conversed
-with me about yourself, for whom, he says, he has a warm regard,
-also about Madame, whom he considers a beautiful and amiable
-woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He has guessed
-your affection for a certain person.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He also talked to me about the lady
-for whom I have so ardent a regard, and showed the greatest
-interest on my behalf in expressing a deep pity for me,
-accompanied, however, by dark hints which alarmed me at first,
-but which I at last looked upon as the result of his usual love
-of mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These are the
-facts: he had received news of the court; you will understand,
-however, that it was only through M. de Lorraine.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The report goes, so says the news,
-that a change has taken place in the king's affections.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know whom that
-concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Afterwards, the
-news continues, people are talking about one of the maids of
-honor, respecting whom various slanderous reports are being
-circulated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These vague
-phrases have not allowed me to sleep.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have been deploring, ever since
-yesterday, that my diffidence and vacillation of purpose,
-notwithstanding a certain obstinacy of character I may possess,
-have left me unable to reply to these insinuations.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In a word, M. de Wardes was setting
-off for Paris, and I did not delay his departure with
-explanations; for it seemed rather hard, I confess, to
-cross-examine a man whose wounds are hardly yet closed.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In short, he travelled by
-short stages, as he was anxious to leave, he said, in order to be
-present at a curious spectacle the court cannot fail to offer
-within a short time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-added a few congratulatory words accompanied by vague
-sympathizing expressions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I could not understand the one any more than the other.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was bewildered by my own
-thoughts, and tormented by a mistrust of this man, - a mistrust
-which, you know better than any one else, I have never been able
-to overcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as
-he left, my perceptions seemed to become clearer.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is hardly possible that a man of
-De Wardes's character should not have communicated something of
-his own malicious nature to the statements he made to me.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is not unlikely, therefore,
-that in the strange hints De Wardes threw out in my presence,
-there may be a mysterious signification, which I might have some
-difficulty in applying either to myself or to some one with whom
-you are acquainted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Being
-compelled to leave as soon as possible, in obedience to the
-king's commands, the idea did not occur to me of running after De
-Wardes in order to ask him to explain his reserve; but I have
-dispatched a courier to you with this letter, which will explain
-in detail my various doubts.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I regard you as myself; you have
-reflected and observed; it will be for you to act.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Wardes will arrive very
-shortly; endeavor to learn what he meant, if you do not already
-know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Wardes,
-moreover, pretended that the Duke of Buckingham left Paris on the
-very best of terms with Madame.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This was an affair which would have
-unhesitatingly made me draw my sword, had I not felt that I was
-under the necessity of dispatching the king's mission before
-undertaking any quarrel whatsoever.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Burn this letter, which Olivain will
-hand you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whatever
-Olivain says, you may confidently rely on.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will you have the goodness, my dear
-comte, to recall me to the remembrance of Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re, whose hands I kiss with the greatest
-respect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:11'>                                                                                                                                                                               </span>
-"Your devoted</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:5.5in;text-indent:.5in'>
-"DE BRAGELONNE.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"P. S. - If
-anything serious should happen - we should be prepared for
-everything, dispatch a courier to me with this one single word,
-'come,' and I will be in Paris within six and thirty hours after
-the receipt of your letter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>De Guiche sighed,
-folded up the letter a third time, and, instead of burning it, as
-Raoul had recommended him to do, placed it in his pocket.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He felt it needed reading over
-and over again.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How much distress
-of mind, yet what sublime confidence, he shows!" murmured the
-comte; "he has poured out his whole soul in this letter.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He says nothing of the Comte
-de la F&egrave;re, and speaks of his respect for Louise.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He cautions me on my own
-account, and entreats me on his.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah!" continued De Guiche, with a
-threatening gesture, "you interfere in my affairs, Monsieur de
-Wardes, do you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very
-well, then; I will shortly occupy myself with yours.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for you, poor Raoul, - you who
-intrust your heart to my keeping, be assured I will watch over
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>With this promise,
-De Guiche begged Malicorne to come immediately to his apartments,
-if possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne
-acknowledged the invitation with an activity which was the first
-result of his conversation with Montalais.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And while De Guiche, who thought
-that his motive was undiscovered, cross-examined Malicorne, the
-latter, who appeared to be working in the dark, soon guessed his
-questioner's motives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-consequence was, that, after a quarter of an hour's conversation,
-during which De Guiche thought he had ascertained the whole truth
-with regard to La Valli&egrave;re and the king, he had learned
-absolutely nothing more than his own eyes had already acquainted
-him with, while Malicorne learned, or guessed, that Raoul, who
-was absent, was fast becoming suspicious, and that De Guiche
-intended to watch over the treasure of the Hesperides.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne accepted the office
-of dragon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche
-fancied he had done everything for his friend, and soon began to
-think of nothing but his personal affairs.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The next evening, De Wardes's return
-and first appearance at the king's reception were announced.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When that visit had been paid,
-the convalescent waited on Monsieur; De Guiche taking care,
-however, to be at Monsieur's apartments before the visit took
-place.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>How
-De Wardes Was Received at Court.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-M</span>onsieur had received De Wardes with that marked favor
-light and frivolous minds bestow on every novelty that comes in
-their way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes, who
-had been absent for a month, was like fresh fruit to him.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To treat him with marked
-kindness was an infidelity to old friends, and there is always
-something fascinating in that; moreover, it was a sort of
-reparation to De Wardes himself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing, consequently, could exceed
-the favorable notice Monsieur took of him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The Chevalier de Lorraine, who
-feared this rival but a little, but who respected a character and
-disposition only too parallel to his own in every particular,
-with the addition of a bull-dog courage he did not himself
-possess, received De Wardes with a greater display of regard and
-affection than even Monsieur had done.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche, as we have said, was
-there also, but kept in the background, waiting very patiently
-until all these interchanges were over.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes, while talking to the
-others, and even to Monsieur himself, had not for a moment lost
-sight of De Guiche, who, he instinctively felt, was there on his
-account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as he
-had finished with the others, he went up to De Guiche.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They exchanged the most
-courteous compliments, after which De Wardes returned to Monsieur
-and the other gentlemen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> In the midst of these
-congratulations Madame was announced.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She had been informed of De Wardes's
-arrival, and knowing all the details of his voyage and duel, she
-was not sorry to be present at the remarks she knew would be
-made, without delay, by one who, she felt assured, was her
-personal enemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Two or
-three of her ladies accompanied her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes saluted Madame in the most
-graceful and respectful manner, and, as a commencement of
-hostilities, announced, in the first place, that he could furnish
-the Duke of Buckingham's friends with the latest news about
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This was a direct
-answer to the coldness with which Madame had received him.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The attack was a vigorous one,
-and Madame felt the blow, but without appearing to have even
-noticed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He rapidly
-cast a glance at Monsieur and at De Guiche, - the former colored,
-and the latter turned very pale.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame alone preserved an unmoved
-countenance; but, as she knew how many unpleasant thoughts and
-feelings her enemy could awaken in the two persons who were
-listening to him, she smilingly bent forward towards the
-traveler, as if to listen to the news he had brought - but he was
-speaking of other matters.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame was brave, even to
-imprudence; if she were to retreat, it would be inviting an
-attack; so, after the first disagreeable impression had passed
-away, she returned to the charge.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have you suffered much
-from your wounds, Monsieur de Wardes?" she inquired, "for we have
-been told that you had the misfortune to get wounded."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It was now De Wardes's
-turn to wince; he bit his lips, and replied, "No, Madame, hardly
-at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Indeed! and yet in this
-terribly hot weather - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The sea-breezes were
-very fresh and cool, Madame, and then I had one consolation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Indeed!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What was it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The knowledge that my
-adversary's sufferings were still greater than my own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! you mean he was
-more seriously wounded than you were; I was not aware of that,"
-said the princess, with utter indifference.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, Madame, you are
-mistaken, or rather you pretend to misunderstand my remark.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I did not say that he was a
-greater sufferer in body than myself; but his heart was very
-seriously affected."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Guiche comprehended
-instinctively from what direction the struggle was approaching;
-he ventured to make a sign to Madame, as if entreating her to
-retire from the contest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But she, without acknowledging De Guiche's gesture, without
-pretending to have noticed it even, and still smiling,
-continued:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it possible," she
-said, "that the Duke of Buckingham's heart was touched?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I had no idea, until now, that
-a heart-wound could be cured."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame," replied De Wardes,
-politely, "every woman believes that; and it is this belief that
-gives them that superiority to man which confidence begets."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You misunderstand
-altogether, dearest," said the prince, impatiently; "M. de Wardes
-means that the Duke of Buckingham's heart had been touched, not
-by the sword, but by something sharper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! very good, very
-good!" exclaimed Madame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"It is a jest of M. de Wardes's.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very good; but I should like to know
-if the Duke of Buckingham would appreciate the jest.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is, indeed, a very great pity he
-is not here, M. de Wardes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The young man's eyes
-seemed to flash fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Oh!" he said, as he clenched his teeth, "there is nothing I
-should like better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Guiche did not
-move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame seemed to
-expect that he would come to her assistance.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur hesitated.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The Chevalier de Lorraine advanced
-and continued the conversation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame," he said, "De
-Wardes knows perfectly well that for a Buckingham's heart to be
-touched is nothing new, and what he has said has already taken
-place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Instead of an ally, I
-have two enemies," murmured Madame; "two determined enemies, and
-in league with each other."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And she changed the
-conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To change
-the conversation is, as every one knows, a right possessed by
-princes which etiquette requires all to respect.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The remainder of the conversation
-was moderate enough in tone; the principal actors had rehearsed
-their parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame
-withdrew easily, and Monsieur, who wished to question her on
-several matters, offered her his hand on leaving.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The chevalier was seriously afraid
-that an understanding might be established between the husband
-and wife if he were to leave them quietly together.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He therefore made his way to
-Monsieur's apartments, in order to surprise him on his return,
-and to destroy with a few words all the good impressions Madame
-might have been able to sow in his heart.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche advanced towards De
-Wardes, who was surrounded by a large number of persons, and
-thereby indicated his wish to converse with him; De Wardes, at
-the same time, showing by his looks and by a movement of his head
-that he perfectly understood him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There was nothing in these signs to
-enable strangers to suppose they were otherwise than upon the
-most friendly footing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De
-Guiche could therefore turn away from him, and wait until he was
-at liberty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had not
-long to wait; for De Wardes, freed from his questioners,
-approached De Guiche, and after a fresh salutation, they walked
-side by side together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have made a good
-impression since your return, my dear De Wardes," said the
-comte.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Excellent, as you
-see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And your spirits are
-just as lively as ever?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And a very great
-happiness, too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why not?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Everything is so ridiculous in this
-world, everything so absurd around us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are of my opinion,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should think so!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And what news do you bring us
-from yonder?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> None at all.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have come to look for news
-here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, tell me, you
-surely must have seen some people at Boulogne, one of our
-friends, for instance; it is no great time ago."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Some people - one of
-our friends - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your memory is
-short."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! true; Bragelonne,
-you mean."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exactly so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who was on his way to
-fulfil a mission, with which he was intrusted to King Charles
-II."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, then, did he not tell you, or
-did not you tell him - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not precisely know
-what I told him, I must confess: but I do know what I did <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>not</i> tell him."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes was <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>finesse</i> itself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He perfectly well knew from De
-Guiche's tone and manner, which was cold and dignified, that the
-conversation was about to assume a disagreeable turn.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He resolved to let it take what
-course it pleased, and to keep strictly on his guard.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "May I ask you what you
-did not tell him?" inquired De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "All about La
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "La
-Valli&egrave;re&hellip;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-What is it? and what was that strange circumstance you seem to
-have known over yonder, which Bragelonne, who was here on the
-spot, was not acquainted with?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you really ask me
-that in a serious manner?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing more so."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! you,
-a member of the court, living in Madame's household, a friend of
-Monsieur's, a guest at their table, the favorite of our lovely
-princess?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Guiche colored violently
-from anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What
-princess are you alluding to?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am only acquainted
-with one, my dear fellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I am speaking of Madame herself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you devoted to another princess,
-then?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come, tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Guiche was on the
-point of launching out, but he saw the drift of the remark.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A quarrel was imminent between
-the two young men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De
-Wardes wished the quarrel to be only in Madame's name, while De
-Guiche would not accept it except on La Valli&egrave;re's
-account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> From this
-moment, it became a series of feigned attacks, which would have
-continued until one of the two had been touched home.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche therefore resumed all the
-self-possession he could command.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is not the
-slightest question in the world of Madame in this matter, my dear
-De Wardes." said Guiche, "but simply of what you were talking
-about just now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What was I saying?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That you had concealed
-certain things from Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certain things which
-you know as well as I do," replied De Wardes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, upon my honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nonsense."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If you tell me what
-they are, I shall know, but not otherwise, I swear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I who have just arrived from a
-distance of sixty leagues, and you who have not stirred from this
-place, who have witnessed with your own eyes that which rumor
-informed me of at Calais!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Do you now tell me seriously that you do not know what it is
-about?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! comte, this is
-hardly charitable of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As you like, De Wardes;
-but I again repeat, I know nothing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are truly discreet
-- well! - perhaps it is very prudent of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so you will not
-tell me anything, will not tell me any more than you told
-Bragelonne?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are pretending to
-be deaf, I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am
-convinced that Madame could not possibly have more command over
-herself than <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>you</i>
-have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Double hypocrite,"
-murmured Guiche to himself, "you are again returning to the old
-subject."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well, then,"
-continued De Wardes, "since we find it so difficult to understand
-each other about La Valli&egrave;re and Bragelonne let us speak
-about your own affairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay," said De Guiche,
-"I have no affairs of my own to talk about.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have not said anything about me,
-I suppose, to Bragelonne, which you cannot repeat to my
-face?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; but understand me,
-Guiche, that however much I may be ignorant of certain matters, I
-am quite as conversant with others.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If, for instance, we were conversing
-about the intimacies of the Duke of Buckingham at Paris, as I did
-during my journey with the duke, I could tell you a great many
-interesting circumstances.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Would you like me to mention
-them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Guiche passed his
-hand across his forehead, which was covered in perspiration.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "No, no," he said, "a hundred
-times no!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have no
-curiosity for matters which do not concern me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The Duke of Buckingham is for me
-nothing more than a simple acquaintance, whilst Raoul is an
-intimate friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have
-not the slightest curiosity to learn what happened to the duke,
-while I have, on the contrary, the greatest interest in all that
-happened to Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In Paris?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, in
-Paris, or Boulogne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You
-understand I am on the spot; if anything should happen, I am here
-to meet it; whilst Raoul is absent, and has only myself to
-represent him; so, Raoul's affairs before my own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But he will
-return?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not, however, until his
-mission is completed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-the meantime, you understand, evil reports cannot be permitted to
-circulate about him without my looking into them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And for a better reason
-still, that he will remain some time in London," said De Wardes,
-chuckling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You think so," said De
-Guiche, simply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Think so, indeed! do
-you suppose he was sent to London for no other purpose than to go
-there and return again immediately?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, no; he was sent to London to
-remain there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes," said De Guiche, grasping
-De Wardes's hand, "that is a very serious suspicion concerning
-Bragelonne, which completely confirms what he wrote to me from
-Boulogne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Wardes resumed his
-former coldness of manner: his love of raillery had led him too
-far, and by his own imprudence, he had laid himself open to
-attack.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, tell me, what did
-he write to you about?" he inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He told me that you had
-artfully insinuated some injurious remarks against La
-Valli&egrave;re, and that you had seemed to laugh at his great
-confidence in that young girl."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, it is perfectly
-true I did so," said De Wardes, "and I was quite ready, at the
-time, to hear from the Vicomte de Bragelonne that which every man
-expects from another whenever anything may have been said to
-displease him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the
-same way, for instance, if I were seeking a quarrel with you, I
-should tell you that Madame after having shown the greatest
-preference for the Duke of Buckingham, is at this moment supposed
-to have sent the handsome duke away for your benefit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! that would not
-wound me in the slightest degree, my dear De Wardes," said De
-Guiche, smiling, notwithstanding the shiver that ran through his
-whole frame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Why, such a
-favor would be too great a happiness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I admit that, but if I
-absolutely wished to quarrel with you, I should try and invent a
-falsehood, perhaps, and speak to you about a certain arbor, where
-you and that illustrious princess were together - I should speak
-also of certain gratifications, of certain kissings of the hand;
-and you who are so secret on all occasions, so hasty, so
-punctilious - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well," said De Guiche,
-interrupting him, with a smile upon his lips, although he almost
-felt as if he were going to die; "I swear I should not care for
-that, nor should I in any way contradict you; for you must know,
-my dear marquis, that for all matters which concern myself I am a
-block of ice; but it is a very different thing when an absent
-friend is concerned, a friend, who, on leaving, confided his
-interests to my safe-keeping; for such a friend, De Wardes,
-believe me, I am like fire itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I understand you,
-Monsieur de Guiche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-spite of what you say, there cannot be any question between us,
-just now, either of Bragelonne or of this insignificant girl,
-whose name is La Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At this moment some of
-the younger courtiers were crossing the apartment, and having
-already heard the few words which had just been pronounced, were
-able also to hear those which were about to follow.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes observed this, and
-continued aloud: - "Oh! if La Valli&egrave;re were a coquette
-like Madame, whose innocent flirtations, I am sure, were, first
-of all, the cause of the Duke of Buckingham being sent back to
-England, and afterwards were the reason of<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> your being sent into exile; for you
-will not deny, I suppose, that Madame's pretty ways really had a
-certain influence over you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The courtiers drew
-nearer to the speakers, Saint-Aignan at their head, and then
-Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, my dear fellow,
-whose fault was that?" said De Guiche, laughing.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I am a vain, conceited fellow, I
-know, and everybody else knows it too.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I took seriously that which was only
-intended as a jest, and got myself exiled for my pains.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I saw my error.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I overcame my vanity, and I
-obtained my recall, by making the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>amende honorable</i>, and by
-promising myself to overcome this defect; and the consequence is,
-that I am so thoroughly cured, that I now laugh at the very thing
-which, three or four days ago, would have almost broken my
-heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But Raoul is in
-love, and is loved in return; he cannot laugh at the reports
-which disturb his happiness - reports which you seem to have
-undertaken to interpret, when you know, marquis, as I do, as
-these gentlemen do, as every one does in fact, that all such
-reports are pure calumny."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Calumny!" exclaimed De
-Wardes, furious at seeing himself caught in the snare by De
-Guiche's coolness of temper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly -
-calumny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Look at this
-letter from him, in which he tell me you have spoken ill of
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re; and where he asks me, if what
-you reported about this young girl is true or not.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you wish me to appeal to these
-gentlemen, De Wardes, to decide?"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And with admirable coolness, De
-Guiche read aloud the paragraph of the letter which referred to
-La Valli&egrave;re.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And
-now," continued De Guiche, "there is no doubt in the world, as
-far as I am concerned, that you wished to disturb Bragelonne's
-peace of mind, and that your remarks were maliciously
-intended."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Wardes looked round
-him, to see if he could find support from any one; but, at the
-idea that De Wardes had insulted, either directly or indirectly,
-the idol of the day, every one shook his head; and De Wardes saw
-that he was in the wrong.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Messieurs," said De
-Guiche, intuitively divining the general feeling, "my discussion
-with Monsieur de Wardes refers to a subject so delicate in its
-nature, that it is most important no one should hear more than
-you have already heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Close the doors, then, I beg you, and let us finish our
-conversation in the manner which becomes two gentlemen, one of
-whom has given the other the lie."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Messieurs, messieurs!"
-exclaimed those who were present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it your opinion,
-then, that I was wrong in defending Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re?" said De Guiche.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "In that case, I pass judgment upon
-myself, and am ready to withdraw the offensive words I may have
-used to Monsieur de Wardes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The deuce! certainly
-not!" said Saint-Aignan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re is an angel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Virtue and purity
-itself," said Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You see, Monsieur de
-Wardes," said De Guiche, "I am not the only one who undertakes
-the defense of that poor girl.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I entreat you, therefore, messieurs,
-a second time, to leave us.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You see, it is impossible we could
-be more calm and composed than we are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It was the very thing
-the courtiers wished; some went out at one door, and the rest at
-the other, and the two young men were left alone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well played," said De
-Wardes, to the comte.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Was it not?" replied
-the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How can it be wondered
-at, my dear fellow; I have got quite rusty in the country, while
-the command you have acquired over yourself, comte, confounds me;
-a man always gains something in women's society; so, pray accept
-my congratulations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do accept them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I will make Madame
-a present of them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And now, my dear
-Monsieur de Wardes, let us speak as loud as you please."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not defy
-me."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do defy
-you, for you are known to be an evil-minded man; if you do that,
-you will be looked upon as a coward, too; and Monsieur would have
-you hanged, this evening, at his window-casement.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Speak, my dear De Wardes,
-speak."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have fought
-already."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But not
-quite enough, yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I see, you would not be
-sorry to fight with me while my wounds are still open."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; better
-still."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The deuce!
-you are unfortunate in the moment you have chosen; a duel, after
-the one I have just fought, would hardly suit me; I have lost too
-much blood at Boulogne; at the slightest effort my wounds would
-open again, and you would really have too good a bargain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True," said De Guiche;
-"and yet, on your arrival here, your looks and your arms showed
-there was nothing the matter with you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, my arms are all
-right, but my legs are weak; and then, I have not had a foil in
-my hand since that devil of a duel; and you, I am sure, have been
-fencing every day, in order to carry your little conspiracy
-against me to a successful issue."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon my honor,
-monsieur," replied De Guiche, "it is six months since I last
-practiced."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, comte, after due
-reflection, I will not fight, at least, with you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will await Bragelonne's return,
-since you say it is Bragelonne who finds fault with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh no, indeed!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You shall not wait until
-Bragelonne's return," exclaimed the comte, losing all command
-over himself, "for you have said that Bragelonne might, possibly,
-be some time before he returns; and, in the meanwhile, your
-wicked insinuations would have had their effect."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yet, I shall have my
-excuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So take
-care."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will give you a week
-to finish your recovery."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is better.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We will wait a week."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes, I understand;
-a week will give time to my adversary to make his escape.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, no; I will not give you
-one day, even."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are mad, monsieur,"
-said De Wardes, retreating a step.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you are a coward,
-if you do not fight willingly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nay, what is more, I will denounce
-you to the king, as having refused to fight, after having
-insulted La Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said De Wardes,
-"you are dangerously treacherous, though you pass for a man of
-honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is nothing more
-dangerous than the treachery, as you term it, of the man whose
-conduct is always loyal and upright."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Restore me the use of
-my legs, then, or get yourself bled, till you are as white as I
-am, so as to equalize our chances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no; I have
-something better than that to propose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We will fight on
-horseback, and will exchange three pistol-shots each.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are a first rate marksman.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have seen you bring down
-swallows with single balls, and at full gallop.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not deny it, for I have seen you
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe you are
-right," said De Wardes; "and as that is the case, it is not
-unlikely I might kill you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You would be rendering
-me a very great service, if you did."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will do my best."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it agreed?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Give me your hand upon
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There it is: but on one
-condition, however."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Name it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That not a word shall
-be said about it to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not a word, I
-swear."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will go
-and get my horse, then."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I,
-mine."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where shall
-we meet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the plain; I know an
-admirable place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Shall we go
-together?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why
-not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And both of them, on
-their way to the stables, passed beneath Madame's windows, which
-were faintly lighted; a shadow could be seen behind the lace
-curtains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "There is a
-woman," said De Wardes, smiling, "who does not suspect that we
-are going to fight - to die, perhaps, on her account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Combat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-D</span>e Wardes and De Guiche selected their horses, and saddled
-them with their own hands, with holster saddles.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche, having two pairs of
-pistols, went to his apartments to get them; and after having
-loaded them, gave the choice to De Wardes, who selected the pair
-he had made use of twenty times before - the same, indeed, with
-which De Guiche had seen him kill swallows flying.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You will not be surprised," he
-said, "if I take every precaution.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know the weapons well, and,
-consequently, I am only making the chances equal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your remark was quite
-useless," replied De Guiche, "and you have done no more than you
-are entitled to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Now," said De Wardes,
-"I beg you to have the goodness to help me to mount; for I still
-experience a little difficulty in doing so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, we had
-better settle the matter on foot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; once in the saddle,
-I shall be all right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good, then; we
-will not speak of it again," said De Guiche, as he assisted De
-Wardes to mount his horse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And now," continued the
-young man, "in our eagerness to murder one another, we have
-neglected one circumstance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That it is quite dark,
-and we shall almost be obliged to grope about, in order to
-kill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said De Guiche,
-"you are as anxious as I am that everything should be done in
-proper order."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; but I do not wish
-people to say that you have assassinated me, any more than,
-supposing I were to kill you, I should myself like to be accused
-of such a crime."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did any one make a
-similar remark about your duel with the Duke of Buckingham?" said
-De Guiche; "it took place precisely under the same conditions as
-ours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very true; but there
-was still light enough to see by; and we were up to our middles
-almost, in the water; besides, there were a good number of
-spectators on shore, looking at us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> De Guiche reflected for
-a moment; and the thought which had already presented itself to
-him became more confirmed - that De Wardes wished to have
-witnesses present, in order to bring back the conversation about
-Madame, and to give a new turn to the combat.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He avoided saying a word in reply,
-therefore; and, as De Wardes once more looked at him
-interrogatively, he replied, by a movement of the head, that it
-would be best to let things remain as they were.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The two adversaries consequently set
-off, and left the ch&acirc;teau by the same gate, close to which
-we may remember to have seen Montalais and Malicorne
-together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The night, as
-if to counteract the extreme heat of the day, had gathered the
-clouds together in masses which were moving slowly along from the
-west to the east.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-vault above, without a clear spot anywhere visible, or without
-the faintest indication of thunder, seemed to hang heavily over
-the earth, and soon began, by the force of the wind, to split
-into streamers, like a huge sheet torn to shreds.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Large and warm drops of rain began
-to fall heavily, and gathered the dust into globules, which
-rolled along the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-At the same time, the hedges, which seemed conscious of the
-approaching storm, the thirsty plants, the drooping branches of
-the trees, exhaled a thousand aromatic odors, which revived in
-the mind tender recollections, thoughts of youth, endless life,
-happiness, and love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "How
-fresh the earth smells," said De Wardes; "it is a piece of
-coquetry to draw us to her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "By the by," replied De
-Guiche, "several ideas have just occurred to me; and I wish to
-have your opinion upon them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Relative to - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Relative to our
-engagement."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"It is quite some
-time, in fact, that we should begin to arrange matters."<br>
-"Is it to be an ordinary combat, and conducted according to
-established custom?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let me first know
-what your established custom is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That we dismount
-in any particular open space that may suit us, fasten our horses
-to the nearest object, meet, each without our pistols in our
-hands, and afterwards retire for a hundred and fifty paces, in
-order to advance on each other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; that is
-precisely the way in which I killed poor Follivent, three weeks
-ago, at Saint-Denis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I beg your pardon,
-but you forgot one circumstance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is that?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That in
-your duel with Follivent you advanced towards each other on foot,
-your swords between your teeth, and your pistols in your
-hands."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While now, on the
-contrary, as you cannot walk, you yourself admit that we shall
-have to mount our horses again, and charge; and the first who
-wishes to fire will do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is the best
-course, no doubt; but it is quite dark; we must make allowances
-for more missed shots than would be the case in the daytime."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well; each
-will fire three times; the pair of pistols already loaded, and
-one reload."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Excellent!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Where shall our engagement
-take place?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you any
-preference?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You see that small
-wood which lies before us?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The wood which is
-called Rochin?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know that
-there is an open glade in the center?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, this glade
-is admirably adapted for such a purpose, with a variety of roads,
-by-places, paths, ditches, windings, and avenues.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We could not find a better
-spot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am perfectly
-satisfied, if you are so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-We are at our destination, if I am not mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Look at the beautiful open space in
-the center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The faint
-light which the stars afford seems concentrated in this spot; the
-woods which surround it seem, with their barriers, to form its
-natural limits."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do as you say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us first
-settle the conditions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"These are mine; if
-you have any objection to make you will state it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am
-listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If the horse be
-killed, its rider will be obliged to fight on foot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is a matter
-of course, since we have no change of horses here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But that does not
-oblige his adversary to dismount."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"His adversary
-will, in fact, be free to act as he likes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The adversaries,
-having once met in close contact, cannot quit each other under
-any circumstances, and may, consequently, fire muzzle to
-muzzle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Agreed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Three shots and no
-more will do, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite sufficient,
-I think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Here are powder
-and balls for your pistols; measure out three charges, take three
-balls, I will do the same; then we will throw the rest of the
-powder and balls away."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And we will
-solemnly swear," said De Wardes, "that we have neither balls nor
-powder about us?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Agreed; and I
-swear it," said De Guiche, holding his hand towards heaven, a
-gesture which De Wardes imitated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And now, my dear
-comte," said De Wardes, "allow me to tell you that I am in no way
-your dupe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You already
-are, or soon will be, the accepted lover of Madame.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have detected your secret, and you
-are afraid I shall tell others of it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You wish to kill me, to insure my
-silence; that is very clear; and in your place, I should do the
-same."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche hung
-down his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Only,"
-continued De Wardes, triumphantly, "was it really worth while,
-tell me, to throw this affair of Bragelonne's on my
-shoulders?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, take
-care, my dear fellow; in bringing the wild boar to bay, you
-enrage him to madness; in running down the fox, you endow him
-with the ferocity of the jaguar.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The consequence is, that brought to
-bay by you, I shall defend myself to the very last."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will be quite
-right to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; but take
-care; I shall work more harm than you think.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the first place, as a beginning,
-you will readily suppose that I have not been absurd enough to
-lock up my secret, or your secret rather, in my own breast.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There is a friend of mine, who
-resembles me in every way, a man whom you know very well, who
-shares my secret with me; so, pray understand, that if you kill
-me, my death will not have been of much service to you; whilst,
-on the contrary, if I kill you - and everything is possible, you
-know - you understand?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-De Guiche shuddered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "If
-I kill you," continued De Wardes, "you will have secured two
-mortal enemies to Madame, who will do their very utmost to ruin
-her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! monsieur,"
-exclaimed De Guiche, furiously, "do not reckon upon my death so
-easily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Of the two
-enemies you speak of, I trust most heartily to dispose of one
-immediately, and the other at the earliest opportunity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The only reply De
-Wardes made was a burst of laughter, so diabolical in its sound,
-that a superstitious man would have been terrified.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But De Guiche was not so
-impressionable as that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"I think," he said, "that everything is now settled, Monsieur de
-Wardes; so have the goodness to take your place first, unless you
-would prefer me to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By no means," said
-De Wardes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I shall be
-delighted to save you the slightest trouble."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And spurring his horse to a gallop,
-he crossed the wide open space, and took his stand at that point
-of the circumference of the cross-road immediately opposite to
-where De Guiche was stationed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche remained motionless.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At this distance of a hundred
-paces, the two adversaries were absolutely invisible to each
-other, being completely concealed by the thick shade of elms and
-chestnuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A minute
-elapsed amidst the profoundest silence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the end of the minute, each of
-them, in the deep shade in which he was concealed, heard the
-double click of the trigger, as they put the pistols on full
-cock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche, adopting
-the usual tactics, put his horse to a gallop, persuaded that he
-should render his safety doubly sure by the movement, as well as
-by the speed of the animal.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He directed his course in a straight
-line towards the point where, in his opinion, De Wardes would be
-stationed; and he expected to meet De Wardes about half-way; but
-in this he was mistaken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-He continued his course, presuming that his adversary was
-impatiently awaiting his approach.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When, however, he had gone about
-two-thirds of the distance, he beheld the trees suddenly
-illuminated and a ball flew by, cutting the plume of his hat in
-two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nearly at the same
-moment, and as if the flash of the first shot had served to
-indicate the direction of the other, a second report was heard,
-and a second ball passed through the head of De Guiche's horse, a
-little below the ear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-animal fell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These two
-reports, proceeding from the very opposite direction in which he
-expected to find De Wardes, surprised him a great deal; but as he
-was a man of amazing self-possession, he prepared himself for his
-horse falling, but not so completely, however, that the toe of
-his boot escaped being caught under the animal as it fell.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very fortunately the horse in
-its dying agonies moved so as to enable him to release the leg
-which was less entangled than the other.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche rose, felt himself all
-over, and found that he was not wounded.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the very moment he had felt the
-horse tottering under him, he placed his pistols in the holsters,
-afraid that the force of the fall might explode one at least, if
-not both of them, by which he would have been disarmed, and left
-utterly without defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Once on his feet, he took the pistols out of the holsters, and
-advanced towards the spot where, by the light of the flash, he
-had seen De Wardes appear.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes had, at the first shot,
-accounted for the maneuver, than which nothing could have been
-simpler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Instead of
-advancing to meet De Guiche, or remaining in his place to await
-his approach, De Wardes had, for about fifteen paces, followed
-the circle of the shadow which hid him from his adversary's
-observation, and at the very moment when the latter presented his
-flank in his career, he had fired from the place where he stood,
-carefully taking aim, and assisted instead of being
-inconvenienced by the horse's gallop.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It has been seen that,
-notwithstanding the darkness, the first ball passed hardly more
-than an inch above De Guiche's head.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes had so confidently relied
-upon his aim, that he thought he had seen De Guiche fall; his
-astonishment was extreme when he saw he still remained erect in
-his saddle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He hastened
-to fire his second shot, but his hand trembled, and he killed the
-horse instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It would
-be a most fortunate chance for him if De Guiche were to remain
-held fast under the animal.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Before he could have freed himself,
-De Wardes would have loaded his pistol and had De Guiche at his
-mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But De Guiche, on
-the contrary, was up, and had three shots to fire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche immediately understood the
-position of affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It
-would be necessary to exceed De Wardes in rapidity of
-execution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He advanced,
-therefore, so as to reach him before he should have had time to
-reload his pistol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De
-Wardes saw him approaching like a tempest.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The ball was rather tight, and
-offered some resistance to the ramrod.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To load carelessly would be simply
-to lose his last chance; to take the proper care in loading meant
-fatal loss of time, or rather, throwing away his life.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He made his horse bound on one
-side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche turned
-round also, and, at the moment the horse was quiet again, fired,
-and the ball carried off De Wardes's hat from his head.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes now knew that he had
-a moment's time at his own disposal; he availed himself of it in
-order to finish loading his pistol.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche, noticing that his
-adversary did not fall, threw the pistol he had just discharged
-aside, and walked straight towards De Wardes, elevating the
-second pistol as he did so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had hardly proceeded more than
-two or three paces, when De Wardes took aim at him as he was
-walking, and fired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> An
-exclamation of anger was De Guiche's answer; the comte's arm
-contracted and dropped motionless by his side, and the pistol
-fell from his grasp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His
-anxiety was excessive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I
-am lost," murmured De Wardes, "he is not mortally wounded."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the very moment, however,
-De Guiche was about to raise his pistol against De Wardes, the
-head, shoulders, and limbs of the comte seemed to collapse.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He heaved a deep-drawn sigh,
-tottered, and fell at the feet of De Wardes's horse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is all
-right," said De Wardes, and gathering up the reins, he struck his
-spurs into the horse's sides.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The horse cleared the comte's
-motionless body, and bore De Wardes rapidly back to the
-ch&acirc;teau.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When he
-arrived there, he remained a quarter of an hour deliberating
-within himself as to the proper course to be adopted.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In his impatience to leave the field
-of battle, he had omitted to ascertain whether De Guiche were
-dead or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A double
-hypothesis presented itself to De Wardes's agitated mind; either
-De Guiche was killed, or De Guiche was wounded only.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If he were killed, why should he
-leave his body in that manner to the tender mercies of the
-wolves; it was a perfectly useless piece of cruelty, for if De
-Guiche were dead, he certainly could not breathe a syllable of
-what had passed; if he were not killed, why should he, De Wardes,
-in leaving him there uncared for, allow himself to be regarded as
-a savage, incapable of one generous feeling?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This last consideration determined
-his line of conduct.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>De Wardes
-immediately instituted inquires after Manicamp.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was told that Manicamp had been
-looking after De Guiche, and, not knowing where to find him, had
-retired to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes
-went and awoke the sleeper, without any delay, and related the
-whole affair to him, which Manicamp listened to in perfect
-silence, but with an expression of momentarily increasing energy,
-of which his face could hardly have been supposed capable.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was only when De Wardes had
-finished, that Manicamp uttered the words, "Let us go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As they proceeded,
-Manicamp became more and more excited, and in proportion as De
-Wardes related the details of the affair to him, his countenance
-assumed every moment a darker expression.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And so," he said, when De Wardes
-had finished, "you think he is dead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Alas, I do."<br>
-"And you fought in that manner, without witnesses?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"He insisted upon
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"It is very
-singular."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What do you mean
-by saying it is singular?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That it is very
-unlike Monsieur de Guiche's disposition."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"You do not doubt
-my word, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Hum! hum!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"You do doubt it,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"A little.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I shall doubt it more than
-ever, I warn you, if I find the poor fellow is really dead."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Monsieur
-Manicamp!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Monsieur de
-Wardes!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"It seems you
-intend to insult me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Just as you
-please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The fact is, I
-never did like people who come and say, 'I have killed such and
-such a gentleman in a corner; it is a great pity, but I killed
-him in a perfectly honorable manner.'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It has an ugly appearance, M. de
-Wardes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Silence! we have
-arrived."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>In fact, the glade
-could now be seen, and in the open space lay the motionless body
-of the dead horse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To the
-right of the horse, upon the dark grass, with his face against
-the ground, the poor comte lay, bathed in his blood.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had remained in the same spot,
-and did not even seem to have made the slightest movement.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp threw himself on his
-knees, lifted the comte in his arms, and found him quite cold,
-and steeped in blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-let him gently fall again.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, stretching out his hand and
-feeling all over the ground close to where the comte lay, he
-sought until he found De Guiche's pistol.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By Heaven!" he
-said, rising to his feet, pale as death and with the pistol in
-his hand, "you are not mistaken, he is quite dead."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Dead!" repeated De
-Wardes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; and his
-pistol is still loaded," added Manicamp, looking into the
-pan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But I told you
-that I took aim as he was walking towards me, and fired at him at
-the very moment he was going to fire at me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you quite sure
-that you fought with him, Monsieur de Wardes?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I confess that I am very much afraid
-it has been a foul assassination.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nay, nay, no exclamations!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have had your three shots,
-and his pistol is still loaded.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have killed his horse, and he,
-De Guiche, one of the best marksmen in France, has not touched
-even either your horse or yourself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, Monsieur de Wardes, you have
-been very unlucky in bringing me here; all the blood in my body
-seems to have mounted to my head; and I verily believe that since
-so good an opportunity presents itself, I shall blow your brains
-out on the spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So,
-Monsieur de Wardes, recommend yourself to Heaven."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur Manicamp,
-you cannot think of such a thing!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary, I
-am thinking of it very strongly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Would you
-assassinate me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without the
-slightest remorse, at least for the present."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you a
-gentleman?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have given a
-great many proofs of that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let me defend my
-life, then, at least."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very likely; in
-order, I suppose, that you may do to me what you have done to
-poor De Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And Manicamp slowly
-raised his pistol to the height of De Wardes's breast, and with
-arm stretched out, and a fixed, determined look on his face, took
-a careful aim.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>De Wardes did not
-attempt a flight; he was completely terrified.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the midst, however, of this
-horrible silence, which lasted about a second, but which seemed
-an age to De Wardes, a faint sigh was heard.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh," exclaimed De
-Wardes, "he still lives!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Help, De Guiche, I am about to be assassinated!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Manicamp fell back
-a step or two, and the two young men saw the comte raise himself
-slowly and painfully upon one hand.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp threw the pistol away a
-dozen paces, and ran to his friend, uttering a cry of
-delight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Wardes wiped
-his forehead, which was covered with a cold perspiration.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was just in
-time," he murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where are you
-hurt?" inquired Manicamp of De Guiche, "and whereabouts are you
-wounded?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>De Guiche showed
-him his mutilated hand and his chest covered with blood.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Comte," exclaimed
-De Wardes, "I am accused of having assassinated you; speak, I
-implore you, and say that I fought loyally."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly so,"
-said the wounded man; "Monsieur de Wardes fought quite loyally,
-and whoever says the contrary will make an enemy of me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then, sir," said
-Manicamp, "assist me, in the first place, to carry this gentleman
-home, and I will afterwards give you every satisfaction you
-please; or, if you are in a hurry, we can do better still; let us
-stanch the blood from the comte's wounds here, with your
-pocket-handkerchief and mine, and then, as there are two shots
-left, we can have them between us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank you," said
-De Wardes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Twice
-already, in one hour, I have seen death too close at hand to be
-agreeable; I don't like his look at all, and I prefer your
-apologies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Manicamp burst out
-laughing, and Guiche, too, in spite of his sufferings.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The two young men wished to
-carry him, but he declared he felt quite strong enough to walk
-alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The ball had
-broken his ring-finger and his little finger, and then had
-glanced along his side, but without penetrating deeply into his
-chest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was the pain
-rather than the seriousness of the wound, therefore, which had
-overcome De Guiche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Manicamp passed his arm under one of the count's shoulders, and
-De Wardes did the same with the other, and in this way they
-brought him back to Fontainebleau, to the house of the same
-doctor who had been present at the death of the Franciscan,
-Aramis's predecessor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-King's Supper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he king, while these matters were being arranged, was
-sitting at the supper-table, and the not very large number of
-guests for that day had taken their seats too, after the usual
-gesture intimating the royal permission.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At this period of Louis XIV.'s
-reign, although etiquette was not governed by the strict
-regulations subsequently adopted, the French court had entirely
-thrown aside the traditions of good-fellowship and patriarchal
-affability existing in the time of Henry IV., which the
-suspicious mind of Louis XIII. had gradually replaced with
-pompous state and ceremony, which he despaired of being able
-fully to realize.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king, therefore, was
-seated alone at a small separate table, which, like the desk of a
-president, overlooked the adjoining tables.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Although we say a small table, we
-must not omit to add that this small table was the largest one
-there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Moreover, it was
-the one on which were placed the greatest number and quantity of
-dishes, consisting of fish, game, meat, fruit, vegetables, and
-preserves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king was
-young and full of vigor and energy, very fond of hunting,
-addicted to all violent exercises of the body, possessing,
-besides, like all the members of the Bourbon family, a rapid
-digestion and an appetite speedily renewed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis XIV. was a formidable
-table-companion; he delighted in criticising his cooks; but when
-he honored them by praise and commendation, the honor was
-overwhelming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king
-began by eating several kinds of soup, either mixed together or
-taken separately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-intermixed, or rather separated, each of the soups by a glass of
-old wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He ate quickly
-and somewhat greedily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Porthos, who from the beginning had, out of respect, been waiting
-for a jog of D'Artagnan's arm, seeing the king make such rapid
-progress, turned to the musketeer and said in a low voice:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It seems as if one
-might go on now; his majesty is very encouraging, from the
-example he sets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Look."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king eats," said
-D'Artagnan, "but he talks at the same time; try and manage
-matters in such a manner that, if he should happen to address a
-remark to you, he will not find you with your mouth full - which
-would be very disrespectful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The best way, in that
-case," said Porthos, "is to eat no supper at all; and yet I am
-very hungry, I admit, and everything looks and smells most
-invitingly, as if appealing to all my senses at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Don't think of not
-eating for a moment," said D'Artagnan; "that would put his
-majesty out terribly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king has a saying, 'that he who works well, eats well,' and he
-does not like people to eat indifferently at his table."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How can I avoid having
-my mouth full if I eat?" said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "All you have to do,"
-replied the captain of the musketeers, "is simply to swallow what
-you have in it, whenever the king does you the honor to address a
-remark to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good," said
-Porthos; and from that moment he began to eat with a certain
-well-bred enthusiasm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king occasionally
-looked at the different persons who were at table with him, and,
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>en connoisseur</i>, could
-appreciate the different dispositions of his guests.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur du Vallon!" he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos was enjoying a
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>salmi de li&egrave;vre</i>,
-and swallowed half of the back.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His name, pronounced in such a
-manner, made him start, and by a vigorous effort of his gullet he
-absorbed the whole mouthful.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," replied Porthos,
-in a stifled voice, but sufficiently intelligible,
-nevertheless.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let those <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>filets d'agneau</i> be handed to
-Monsieur du Vallon," said the king; "do you like brown meats, M.
-du Vallon?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I like
-everything," replied Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan whispered:
-"Everything your majesty sends me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos repeated:
-"Everything your majesty sends me," an observation which the king
-apparently received with great satisfaction.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "People eat well who
-work well," replied the king, delighted to have <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>en
-t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i> a guest who could eat as
-Porthos did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos
-received the dish of lamb, and put a portion of it on his
-plate.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?" said the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exquisite," said
-Porthos, calmly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have you as good mutton
-in your part of the country, Monsieur du Vallon?" continued the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I believe that
-from my own province, as everywhere else, the best of everything
-is sent to Paris for your majesty's use; but, on the other hand,
-I do not eat lamb in the same way your majesty does."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, ah! and how do you
-eat it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Generally, I have a
-lamb dressed whole."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Whole?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what manner,
-Monsieur du Vallon?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In this, sire: my cook,
-who is a German, first stuffs the lamb in question with small
-sausages he procures from Strasburg, force-meat balls from
-Troyes, and larks from Pithiviers; by some means or other, which
-I am not acquainted with, he bones the lamb as he would do a
-fowl, leaving the skin on, however, which forms a brown crust all
-over the animal; when it is cut in beautiful slices, in the same
-way as an enormous sausage, a rose-colored gravy pours forth,
-which is as agreeable to the eye as it is exquisite to the
-palate."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And Porthos
-finished by smacking his lips.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king opened his eyes
-with delight, and, while cutting some of the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>faisan en daube</i>, which was being
-handed to him, he said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is a dish I should
-very much like to taste, Monsieur du Vallon.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it possible! a whole lamb!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Absolutely an entire
-lamb, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Pass those pheasants to
-M. du Vallon; I perceive he is an amateur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The order was
-immediately obeyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then,
-continuing the conversation, he said: "And you do not find the
-lamb too fat?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, sire, the fat falls
-down at the same time as the gravy does, and swims on the
-surface; then the servant who carves removes the fat with a
-spoon, which I have had expressly made for that purpose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where do you reside?"
-inquired the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At Pierrefonds,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At Pierrefonds; where
-is that, M. du Vallon - near Belle-Isle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no, sire!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Pierrefonds is in the
-Soissonnais."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I thought you alluded
-to the lamb on account of the salt marshes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, sire, I have
-marshes which are not salt, it is true, but which are not the
-less valuable on that account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king had now arrived
-at the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>entrements</i>, but
-without losing sight of Porthos, who continued to play his part
-in the best manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have an excellent
-appetite, M. du Vallon," said the king, "and you make an
-admirable guest at table."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! sire, if your
-majesty were ever to pay a visit to Pierrefonds, we would both of
-us eat our lamb together; for your appetite is not an indifferent
-one by any means."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan gave Porthos
-a kick under the table, which made Porthos color up.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At your majesty's
-present happy age," said Porthos, in order to repair the mistake
-he had made, "I was in the musketeers, and nothing could ever
-satisfy me then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your
-majesty has an excellent appetite, as I have already had the
-honor of mentioning, but you select what you eat with quite too
-much refinement to be called for one moment a great eater."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king seemed charmed
-at his guest's politeness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will you try some of
-these creams?" he said to Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, you majesty
-treats me with far too much kindness to prevent me speaking the
-whole truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Pray do so, M. du
-Vallon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will, sire, with regard
-to sweet dishes I only recognize pastry, and even that should be
-rather solid; all these frothy substances swell the stomach, and
-occupy a space which seems to me to be too precious to be so
-badly tenanted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! gentlemen," said
-the king, indicating Porthos by a gesture, "here is indeed a
-model of gastronomy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It
-was in such a manner that our fathers, who so well knew what good
-living was, used to <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>eat</i>, while we," added his
-majesty, "do nothing but tantalize with our stomachs."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And as he spoke, he took the
-breast of a chicken with ham, while Porthos attacked a dish of
-partridges and quails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The cup-bearer filled his majesty's glass.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Give M. du Vallon some of my wine,"
-said the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This was
-one of the greatest honors of the royal table.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan pressed his friend's
-knee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "If<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> you could only manage to swallow the
-half of that boar's head I see yonder," said he to Porthos, "I
-shall believe you will be a duke and peer within the next
-twelvemonth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Presently," said
-Porthos, phlegmatically; "I shall come to that by and by."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> In fact it was not long
-before it came to the boar's turn, for the king seemed to take
-pleasure in urging on his guest; he did not pass any of the
-dishes to Porthos until he had tasted them himself, and he
-accordingly took some of the boar's head.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos showed that he could keep
-pace with his sovereign; and, instead of eating the half, as
-D'Artagnan had told him, he ate three-fourths of it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It is impossible," said the king in
-an undertone, "that a gentleman who eats so good a supper every
-day, and who has such beautiful teeth, can be otherwise than the
-most straightforward, upright man in my kingdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you hear?" said
-D'Artagnan in his friend's ear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; I think I am
-rather in favor," said Porthos, balancing himself on his
-chair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! you are in luck's
-way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king and Porthos
-continued to eat in the same manner, to the great satisfaction of
-the other guests, some of whom, from emulation, had attempted to
-follow them, but were obliged to give up half-way.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king soon began to get flushed
-and the reaction of the blood to his face announced that the
-moment of repletion had arrived.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was then that Louis XIV., instead
-of becoming gay and cheerful, as most good livers generally do,
-became dull, melancholy, and taciturn.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos, on the contrary, was lively
-and communicative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan's foot had more than once to remind him of this
-peculiarity of the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The dessert now made its appearance.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king had ceased to think
-anything further of Porthos; he turned his eyes anxiously towards
-the entrance-door, and he was heard occasionally to inquire how
-it happened that Monsieur de Saint-Aignan was so long in
-arriving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At last, at the
-moment when his majesty was finishing a pot of preserved plums
-with a deep sigh, Saint-Aignan appeared.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king's eyes, which had become
-somewhat dull, immediately began to sparkle.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The comte advanced towards the
-king's table, and Louis rose at his approach.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Everybody got up at the same time,
-including Porthos, who was just finishing an almond-cake capable
-of making the jaws of a crocodile stick together.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The supper was over.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-After Supper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he king took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and passed into the
-adjoining apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"What has detained you, comte?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I was bringing the
-answer, sire," replied the comte.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"She has taken a
-long time to reply to what I wrote her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, your majesty
-deigned to write in verse, and Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re
-wished to repay your majesty in the same coin; that is to say, in
-gold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Verses!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan," exclaimed the
-king in ecstasy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Give
-them to me at once."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And
-Louis broke the seal of a little letter, inclosing the verses
-which history has preserved entire for us, and which are more
-meritorious in invention than in execution.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Such as they were, however, the king
-was enchanted with them, and exhibited his satisfaction by
-unequivocal transports of delight; but the universal silence
-which reigned in the rooms warned Louis, so sensitively
-particular with regard to good breeding, that his delight must
-give rise to various interpretations.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He turned aside and put the note in
-his pocket, and then advancing a few steps, which brought him
-again to the threshold of the door close to his guests, he said,
-"M. du Vallon, I have seen you to-day with the greatest pleasure,
-and my pleasure will be equally great to see you again."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos bowed as the Colossus
-of Rhodes would have done, and retired from the room with his
-face towards the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"M. d'Artagnan," continued the king, "you will await my orders in
-the gallery; I am obliged to you for having made me acquainted
-with M. du Vallon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Gentlemen," addressing himself to the other guests, "I return to
-Paris to-morrow on account of the departure of the Spanish and
-Dutch ambassadors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Until
-to-morrow then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The apartment was
-immediately cleared of the guests.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king took Saint-Aignan by the
-arm, made him read La Valli&egrave;re's verses over again, and
-said, "What do you think of them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Charming,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They charm me, in
-fact, and if they were known - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! the
-professional poets would be jealous of them; but it is not likely
-they will know anything about them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did you give her
-mine?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! sire, she
-positively devoured them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They were very
-weak, I am afraid."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is not what
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re said of them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think she
-was pleased with them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am sure of it,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I must answer,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! sire,
-immediately after supper?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Your majesty will fatigue yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are quite
-right; study after eating is notoriously injurious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The labor of a
-poet especially so; and besides, there is great excitement
-prevailing at Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With her as with
-all the ladies of the court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On account of poor
-De Guiche's accident."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Has anything
-serious happened to De Guiche, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire, he has
-one hand nearly destroyed, a hole in his breast; in fact, he is
-dying."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good heavens! who
-told you that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Manicamp brought
-him back just now to the house of a doctor here in Fontainebleau,
-and the rumor soon reached us all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Brought back!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Poor De Guiche; and how did it
-happen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! that is the
-very question, - how did it happen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You say that in a
-very singular manner, Saint-Aignan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Give me the details.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What does he say himself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He says nothing,
-sire; but others do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What others?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Those who brought
-him back, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who are they?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not know,
-sire; but M. de Manicamp knows.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Manicamp is one of his
-friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As everybody is,
-indeed," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! no!" returned
-Saint-Aignan, "you are mistaken sire; every one is not precisely
-a friend of M. de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How do you know
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Does your majesty
-require me to explain myself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly I
-do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, sire, I
-believe I have heard something said about a quarrel between two
-gentlemen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"When?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This very evening,
-before your majesty's supper was served."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That can hardly
-be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have issued such
-stringent and severe ordinances with respect to duelling, that no
-one, I presume, would dare to disobey them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case,
-Heaven preserve me from excusing any one!" exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Your
-majesty commanded me to speak, and I spoke accordingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tell me, then, in
-what way the Comte de Guiche has been wounded?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, it is said
-to have been at a boar-hunt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This evening?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"One of his hands
-shattered, and a hole in his breast.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Who was at the hunt with M. de
-Guiche?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not know,
-sire; but M. de Manicamp knows, or ought to know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are concealing
-something from me, Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing, sire, I
-assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then, explain to
-me how the accident happened; was it a musket that burst?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very likely,
-sire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But yet, on
-reflection, it could hardly have been that, for De Guiche's
-pistol was found close by him still loaded."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"His pistol?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But a man does not go to a
-boar-hunt with a pistol, I should think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, it is also
-said that De Guiche's horse was killed and that the horse is
-still to be found in the wide open glade in the forest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"His horse? -
-Guiche go on horseback to a boar-hunt? - Saint-Aignan, I do not
-understand a syllable of what you have been telling me.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Where did this affair
-happen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At the Rond-point,
-in that part of the forest called the Bois-Rochin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That will do.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Call M. d'Artagnan."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan obeyed, and the
-musketeer entered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur
-d'Artagnan," said the king, "you will leave this place by the
-little door of the private staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will mount
-your horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you will
-proceed to the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you know the spot?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have fought there
-twice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!" exclaimed
-the king, amazed at the reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Under the edicts,
-sire, of Cardinal Richelieu," returned D'Artagnan, with his usual
-impassability.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is very
-different, monsieur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You
-will, therefore, go there, and will examine the locality very
-carefully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A man has been
-wounded there, and you will find a horse lying dead.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will tell me what your opinion
-is upon the whole affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As a matter of
-course, it is your own opinion I require, and not that of any one
-else."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You shall have it
-in an hour's time, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I prohibit your
-speaking with any one, whoever it may be."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Except with the
-person who must give me a lantern," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! that is a
-matter of course," said the king, laughing at the liberty, which
-he tolerated in no one but his captain of the musketeers.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan left by the little
-staircase.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Now, let my
-physician be sent for," said Louis.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ten minutes afterwards the king's
-physician arrived, quite out of breath.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will go,
-monsieur," said the king to him, "and accompany M. de
-Saint-Aignan wherever he may take you; you will render me an
-account of the state of the person you may see in the house you
-will be taken to."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-physician obeyed without a remark, as at that time people began
-to obey Louis XIV., and left the room preceding Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you,
-Saint-Aignan, send Manicamp to me, before the physician can
-possibly have spoken to him."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And Saint-Aignan left in his
-turn.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Showing in What Way D'Artagnan Discharged the Mission with Which
-the King Had Intrusted Him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-W</span>hile the king was engaged in making these last-mentioned
-arrangements in order to ascertain the truth, D'Artagnan, without
-losing a second, ran to the stable, took down the lantern,
-saddled his horse himself, and proceeded towards the place his
-majesty had indicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-According to the promise he had made, he had not accosted any
-one; and, as we have observed, he had carried his scruples so far
-as to do without the assistance of the stable-helpers
-altogether.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-was one of those who in moments of difficulty pride themselves on
-increasing their own value.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By dint of hard galloping, he in
-less than five minutes reached the wood, fastened his horse to
-the first tree he came to, and penetrated to the broad open space
-on foot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then began to
-inspect most carefully, on foot and with his lantern in his hand,
-the whole surface of the Rond-point, went forward, turned back
-again, measured, examined, and after half an hour's minute
-inspection, he returned silently to where he had left his horse,
-and pursued his way in deep reflection and at a foot-pace to
-Fontainebleau.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis was
-waiting in his cabinet; he was alone, and with a pencil was
-scribbling on paper certain lines which D'Artagnan at the first
-glance recognized as unequal and very much touched up.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The conclusion he arrived at
-was, that they must be verses.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king raised his head and
-perceived D'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Well, monsieur," he said, "do you bring me any news?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What have you
-seen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As far as probability
-goes, sire - " D'Artagnan began to reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It was certainty I
-requested of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will approach it as
-near as I possibly can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The weather was very well adapted for investigations of the
-character I have just made; it has been raining this evening, and
-the roads were wet and muddy - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, the result, M.
-d'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, your majesty told
-me that there was a horse lying dead in the cross-road of the
-Bois-Rochin, and I began, therefore, by studying the roads.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I say the roads, because the
-center of the cross-road is reached by four separate roads.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The one that I myself took was
-the only one that presented any fresh traces.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Two horses had followed it side by
-side; their eight feet were marked very distinctly in the
-clay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One of the riders
-was more impatient than the other, for the footprints of the one
-were invariably in advance of the other about half a horse's
-length."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you quite sure they
-were traveling together?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The horses are two rather large
-animals of equal pace, - horses well used to maneuvers of all
-kinds, for they wheeled round the barrier of the Rond-point
-together."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well - and after?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The two cavaliers
-paused there for a minute, no doubt to arrange the conditions of
-the engagement; the horses grew restless and impatient.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One of the riders spoke, while
-the other listened and seemed to have contented himself by simply
-answering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His horse
-pawed the ground, which proves that his attention was so taken up
-by listening that he let the bridle fall from his hand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A hostile meeting did
-take place then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Undoubtedly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Continue; you are a
-very accurate observer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "One of the two
-cavaliers remained where he was standing, the one, in fact, who
-had been listening; the other crossed the open space, and at
-first placed himself directly opposite to his adversary.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The one who had remained
-stationary traversed the Rond-point at a gallop, about two-thirds
-of its length, thinking that by this means he would gain upon his
-opponent; but the latter had followed the circumference of the
-wood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are ignorant of
-their names, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Completely so,
-sire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Only he who
-followed the circumference of the wood was mounted on a black
-horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How do you know
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I found a few hairs of
-his tail among the brambles which bordered the sides of the
-ditch."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Go on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As for the other horse,
-there can be no trouble in describing him, since he was left dead
-on the field of battle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What was the cause of
-his death?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A ball which had passed
-through his brain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Was the ball that of a
-pistol or a gun?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It was a pistol-bullet,
-sire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, the manner
-in which the horse was wounded explained to me the tactics of the
-man who had killed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-had followed the circumference of the wood in order to take his
-adversary in flank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Moreover, I followed his foot-tracks on the grass."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The tracks of the black
-horse, do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Go on, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As your majesty now
-perceives the position of the two adversaries, I will, for a
-moment, leave the cavalier who had remained stationary for the
-one who started off at a gallop."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The horse of the
-cavalier who rode at full speed was killed on the spot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How do you know
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The cavalier had not
-time even to throw himself off his horse, and so fell with
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I observed the
-impression of his leg, which, with a great effort, he was enabled
-to extricate from under the horse.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The spur, pressed down by the weight
-of the animal, had plowed up the ground."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; and what did
-he do as soon as he rose up again?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He walked straight up
-to his adversary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who still remained upon
-the verge of the forest?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, having reached a favorable
-distance, he stopped firmly, for the impression of both his heels
-are left in the ground quite close to each other, fired, and
-missed his adversary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How do you know he did
-not hit him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I found a hat with a
-ball through it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, a proof, then!"
-exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Insufficient, sire,"
-replied D'Artagnan, coldly; "it is a hat without any letters
-indicating its ownership, without arms; a red feather, as all
-hats have; the lace, even, had nothing particular in it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did the man with the
-hat through which the bullet had passed fire a second time?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire, he had
-already fired twice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How did you ascertain
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I found the waddings of
-the pistol."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what became of the
-bullet which did not kill the horse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It cut in two the
-feather of the hat belonging to him against whom it was directed,
-and broke a small birch at the other end of the open glade."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, then, the
-man on the black horse was disarmed, whilst his adversary had
-still one more shot to fire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, while the
-dismounted rider was extricating himself from his horse, the
-other was reloading his pistol.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Only, he was much agitated while he
-was loading it, and his hand trembled greatly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How do you know
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Half the charge fell to
-the ground, and he threw the ramrod aside, not having time to
-replace it in the pistol."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur d'Artagnan,
-this is marvellous you tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is only close
-observation, sire, and the commonest highwayman could tell as
-much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The whole scene is
-before me from the manner in which you relate it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have, in fact,
-reconstructed it in my own mind, with merely a few
-alterations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And now," said the
-king, "let us return to the dismounted cavalier.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You were saying that he walked
-towards his adversary while the latter was loading his
-pistol."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; but at the very
-moment he himself was taking aim, the other fired."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said the king;
-"and the shot?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The shot told terribly,
-sire; the dismounted cavalier fell upon his face, after having
-staggered forward three or four paces."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where was he hit?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In two places; in the
-first place, in his right hand, and then, by the same bullet, in
-his chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But how could you
-ascertain that?" inquired the king, full of admiration.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "By a very simple means;
-the butt end of the pistol was covered with blood, and the trace
-of the bullet could be observed, with fragments of a broken
-ring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The wounded man, in
-all probability, had the ring-finger and the little finger
-carried off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As far as the hand
-goes, I have nothing to say; but the chest?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, there were two
-small pools of blood, at a distance of about two feet and a half
-from each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At one
-of these pools of blood the grass was torn up by the clenched
-hand; at the other, the grass was simply pressed down by the
-weight of the body."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Poor De Guiche!"
-exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! it was M. de
-Guiche, then?" said the musketeer, quietly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I suspected it, but did not venture
-to mention it to your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what made you
-suspect it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I recognized the De
-Gramont arms upon the holsters of the dead horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you think he is
-seriously wounded?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very
-seriously, since he fell immediately, and remained a long time in
-the same place; however, he was able to walk, as he left the
-spot, supported by two friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You met him returning,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; but I observed the
-footprints of three men; the one on the right and the one on the
-left walked freely and easily, but the one in the middle dragged
-his feet as he walked; besides, he left traces of blood at every
-step he took."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Now, monsieur, since
-you saw the combat so distinctly that not a single detail seems
-to have escaped you, tell me something about De Guiche's
-adversary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire, I do not know
-him."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet you
-see everything very clearly."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire,
-I see everything; but I do not tell all I see; and, since the
-poor devil has escaped, your majesty will permit me to say that I
-do not intend to denounce him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet he is guilty,
-since he has fought a duel, monsieur."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not guilty
-in my eyes, sire," said D'Artagnan, coldly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur!" exclaimed
-the king, "are you aware of what you are saying?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Perfectly, sire; but,
-according to my notions, a man who fights a duel is a brave man;
-such, at least, is my own opinion; but your majesty may have
-another, it is but natural, for you are master here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur d'Artagnan, I
-ordered you, however - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan interrupted
-the king by a respectful gesture.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You ordered me, sire, to gather
-what particulars I could, respecting a hostile meeting that had
-taken place; those particulars you have.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If you order me to arrest M. de
-Guiche's adversary, I will do so; but do not order me to denounce
-him to you, for in that case I will not obey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Arrest him, then."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Give me his
-name, sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king
-stamped his foot angrily; but after a moment's reflection, he
-said, "You are right - ten times, twenty times, a hundred times
-right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is my opinion,
-sire: I am happy that, this time, it accords with your
-majesty's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "One word more.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Who assisted Guiche?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not
-know, sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But you
-speak of two men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There
-was a person present, then, as second."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There was no second,
-sire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nay, more than
-that, when M. de Guiche fell, his adversary fled without giving
-him any assistance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The miserable coward!"
-exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The consequence of your
-ordinances, sire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If a
-man has fought well, and fairly, and has already escaped one
-chance of death, he naturally wishes to escape a second.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Bouteville cannot be
-forgotten very easily."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so, men turn
-cowards."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, they become
-prudent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And he has fled, then,
-you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; and as fast as his
-horse could possibly carry him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what direction?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the
-direction of the ch&acirc;teau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, and after
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Afterwards, as I have
-had the honor of telling your majesty, two men on foot arrived,
-who carried M. de Guiche back with them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What proof have you
-that these men arrived after the combat?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A very
-evident proof, sire; at the moment the encounter took place, the
-rain had just ceased, the ground had not had time to imbibe the
-moisture, and was, consequently, soaked; the footsteps sank in
-the ground; but while M. de Guiche was lying there in a fainting
-condition, the ground became firm again, and the footsteps made a
-less sensible impression."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis clapped his hands
-together in sign of admiration.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Monsieur d'Artagnan," he said, "you
-are positively the cleverest man in my kingdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The identical thing M.
-de Richelieu thought, and M. de Mazarin said, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And now, it remains for
-us to see if your sagacity is at fault."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, a man may be
-mistaken; <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>humanum est
-errare</i>," said the musketeer, philosophically.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: "To err is human." -
-JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, you are
-not human, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for I believe you are never
-mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty said that
-we were going to see whether such was the case, or not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what way, may I
-venture to ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have sent for M. de
-Manicamp, and M. de Manicamp is coming."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"And M. de Manicamp
-knows the secret?"<br>
-"De Guiche has no secrets from M. de Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan shook
-his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "No one was
-present at the combat, I repeat; and unless M. de Manicamp was
-one of the two men who brought him back - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Hush!" said the
-king, "he is coming; remain, and listen attentively."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And, at the very
-same moment, Manicamp and Saint-Aignan appeared at the threshold
-of the door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Encounter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he king signified with an imperious gesture, first to the
-musketeer, then to Saint-Aignan, "On your lives, not a
-word."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-withdrew, like a sentinel, to a corner of the room; Saint-Aignan,
-in his character of a favorite, leaned over the back of the
-king's chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp,
-with his right foot properly advanced, a smile upon his lips, and
-his white and well-formed hands gracefully disposed, advanced to
-make his reverence to the king, who returned the salutation by a
-bow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Good evening, M. de
-Manicamp," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty did me the
-honor to send for me," said Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, in order to learn
-from you all the details of the unfortunate accident which has
-befallen the Comte de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, it is
-grievous indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You were there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not precisely,
-sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But you
-arrived on the scene of the accident, a few minutes after it took
-place?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, about half an
-hour afterwards."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And where
-did the accident happen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe, sire, the
-place is called the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! the rendezvous of
-the hunt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The very spot,
-sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good; give
-me all the details you are acquainted with, respecting this
-unhappy affair, Monsieur de Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Perhaps your majesty
-has already been informed of them, and I fear to fatigue you with
-useless repetition."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, do not be afraid of
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp looked round
-him; he saw only D'Artagnan leaning with his back against the
-wainscot - D'Artagnan, calm, kind, and good-natured as usual -
-and Saint-Aignan whom he had accompanied, and who still leaned
-over the king's armchair with an expression of countenance
-equally full of good feeling.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He determined, therefore, to speak
-out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Your majesty is
-perfectly aware," he said, "that accidents are very frequent in
-hunting."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In hunting, do you
-say?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I mean,
-sire, when an animal is brought to bay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, ah!" said the king,
-"it was when the animal was brought to bay, then, that the
-accident happened?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas! sire, unhappily
-it was."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king paused for a
-moment before he said: "What animal was being hunted?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A wild
-boar, sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what
-could possibly have possessed De Guiche to go to a wild boar-hunt
-by himself; that is but a clownish idea of sport, only fit for
-that class of people who, unlike the Mar&eacute;chal de Gramont,
-have no dogs and huntsmen, to hunt as gentlemen should do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp shrugged his
-shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Youth is very
-rash," he said, sententiously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, go on," said the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At all events,"
-continued Manicamp, not venturing to be too precipitate and
-hasty, and letting his words fall very slowly one by one, "at all
-events, sire, poor De Guiche went hunting - all alone."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite alone? indeed? -
-What a sportsman!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And is
-not M. de Guiche aware that the wild boar always stands at
-bay?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is the very thing
-that really happened, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He had some idea, then,
-of the beast being there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire, some
-peasants had seen it among their potatoes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: Potatoes were not grown
-in France at this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-<i>Le Si&egrave;cle</i> insists that the error is theirs, and
-that Dumas meant tomatoes. - JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what kind of animal
-was it?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A short,
-thick beast."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You may as
-well tell me, monsieur, that De Guiche had some idea of
-committing suicide; for I have seen him hunt, and he is an active
-and vigorous hunter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Whenever he fires at an animal brought to bay and held in check
-by the dogs, he takes every possible precaution, and yet he fires
-with a carbine, and on this occasion he seems to have faced the
-boar with pistols only."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp started.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A costly pair of
-pistols, excellent weapons to fight a duel with a man and not a
-wild boar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What an
-absurdity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There are some things,
-sire, which are difficult of explanation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are quite right,
-and the event which we are now discussing is certainly one of
-them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Go on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> During the recital,
-Saint-Aignan, who probably would have made a sign to Manicamp to
-be careful what he was about, found that the king's glance was
-constantly fixed upon himself, so that it was utterly impossible
-to communicate with Manicamp in any way.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for D'Artagnan, the statue of
-Silence at Athens was far more noisy and far more expressive than
-he.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp, therefore,
-was obliged to continue in the same way he had begun, and so
-contrived to get more and more entangled in his explanation.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Sire," he said, "this is
-probably how the affair happened.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Guiche was waiting to receive the
-boar as it rushed towards him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On foot or on
-horseback?" inquired the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On horseback.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He fired upon the brute and
-missed his aim, and then it dashed upon him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And the horse was
-killed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! your majesty knows
-that, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have been told that a
-horse has been found lying dead in the cross-roads of the
-Bois-Rochin, and I presume it was De Guiche's horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Perfectly true, sire,
-it was his."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, so
-much for the horse, and now for De Guiche?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "De Guiche,
-once down, was attacked and worried by the wild boar, and wounded
-in the hand and in the chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a horrible
-accident, but it must be admitted it was De Guiche's own
-fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How could he
-possibly have gone to hunt such an animal merely armed with
-pistols; he must have forgotten the fable of Adonis?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp rubbed his ear
-in seeming perplexity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Very true," he said, "it was very imprudent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Can you explain it,
-Monsieur Manicamp?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, what
-is written is written!"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! you are
-a fatalist."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp looked very
-uncomfortable and ill at ease.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am angry with you,
-Monsieur Manicamp," continued the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With me, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How was it that you, who are De
-Guiche's intimate friend, and who know that he is subject to such
-acts of folly, did not stop him in time?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp no
-longer knew what to do; the tone in which the king spoke was
-anything but that of a credulous man.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On the other hand, it did not
-indicate any particular severity, nor did he seem to care very
-much about the cross-examination.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There was more of raillery in it
-than menace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And you
-say, then," continued the king, "that it was positively De
-Guiche's horse that was found dead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite positive,
-sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did that
-astonish you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, sire; for your
-majesty will remember that, at the last hunt, M. de Saint-Maure
-had a horse killed under him, and in the same way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, but that one was
-ripped open."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Had Guiche's horse been
-ripped open like M. de Saint-Maure's horse, I should not have
-been astonished."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp opened his eyes
-very wide.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Am I mistaken," resumed
-the king, "was it not in the frontal bone that De Guiche's horse
-was struck?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You must
-admit, Monsieur de Manicamp, that that is a very singular place
-for a wild boar to attack."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are aware, sire,
-that the horse is a very intelligent animal, and he doubtless
-endeavoured to defend himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But a horse defends
-himself with his heels and not with his head."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, the
-terrified horse may have slipped or fallen down," said Manicamp,
-"and the boar, you understand sire, the boar - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I understand that perfectly, as far
-as the horse is concerned; but how about his rider?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well! that, too, is
-simple enough; the boar left the horse and attacked the rider;
-and, as I have already had the honor of informing your majesty,
-shattered De Guiche's hand at the very moment he was about to
-discharge his second pistol at him, and then, with a gouge of his
-tusk, made that terrible hole in his chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing is more likely;
-really, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are wrong in placing so little
-confidence in your own eloquence, and you can tell a story most
-admirably."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty is
-exceedingly kind," said Manicamp, saluting him in the most
-embarrassed manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "From this day
-henceforth, I will prohibit any gentleman attached to my court
-going out to a similar encounter.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Really, one might just as well
-permit duelling."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp started, and
-moved as if he were about to withdraw.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Is your majesty satisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Delighted; but do not
-withdraw yet, Monsieur de Manicamp," said Louis, "I have
-something to say to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, well!" thought
-D'Artagnan, "there is another who is not up to the mark;" and he
-uttered a sigh which might signify, "Oh! the men of <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>our</i> stamp, where are they <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>now?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At this moment an usher
-lifted up the curtain before the door, and announced the king's
-physician.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" exclaimed Louis,
-"here comes Monsieur Valot, who has just been to see M. de
-Guiche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We shall now hear
-news of the man maltreated by the boar."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp felt more
-uncomfortable than ever.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In this way, at least,"
-added the king, "our conscience will be quite clear."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he looked at D'Artagnan, who did
-not seem in the slightest degree discomposed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Physician.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-M</span>. Valot entered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The position of the different persons present was precisely the
-same: the king was seated, Saint-Aignan leaning over the back of
-his armchair, D'Artagnan with his back against the wall, and
-Manicamp still standing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, M. Valot," said
-the king, "did you obey my directions?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With the greatest
-alacrity, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You went to the
-doctor's house in Fontainebleau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you found M. de
-Guiche there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I did, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What state was he in? -
-speak unreservedly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In a very sad state
-indeed, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The wild boar did not
-quite devour him, however?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Devour whom?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "De
-Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What wild boar?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The boar that wounded
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Guiche wounded by
-a boar?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So it is
-said, at least."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "By a
-poacher, rather, or by a jealous husband, or an ill-used lover,
-who, in order to be revenged, fired upon him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is it that you
-say, Monsieur Valot?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Were
-not M. de Guiche's wounds produced by defending himself against a
-wild boar?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Guiche's wounds
-are the result of a pistol-bullet that broke his ring-finger and
-the little finger of the right hand, and afterwards buried itself
-in the intercostal muscles of the chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A bullet!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you sure Monsieur de Guiche was
-wounded by a <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>bullet?</i>"
-exclaimed the king, pretending to look much surprised.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Indeed, I am, sire; so
-sure, in fact, that here it is."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he presented to the king a
-half-flattened bullet, which the king looked at, but did not
-touch.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did he have that in his
-chest, poor fellow?" he asked.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not precisely.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The ball did not penetrate,
-but was flattened, as you see, either upon the trigger of the
-pistol or upon the right side of the breast-bone."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good heavens!" said the
-king, seriously, "you said nothing to me about this, Monsieur de
-Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What does all this
-mean, then, this invention about hunting a wild boar at
-nightfall?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come, speak,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It seems, then, that
-you are right," said the king, turning round towards his captain
-of musketeers, "and that a duel actually took place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king possessed, to a
-greater extent than any one else, the faculty enjoyed by the
-great in power or position, of compromising and dividing those
-beneath him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp
-darted a look full of reproaches at the musketeer.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan understood the look at
-once, and not wishing to remain beneath the weight of such an
-accusation, advanced a step forward, and said: "Sire, your
-majesty commanded me to go and explore the place where the
-cross-roads meet in the Bois-Rochin, and to report to you,
-according to my own ideas, what had taken place there.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I submitted my observations to
-you, but without denouncing any one.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was your majesty yourself who was
-the first to name the Comte de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, monsieur, well,"
-said the king, haughtily; "you have done your duty, and I am
-satisfied with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But
-you, Monsieur de Manicamp, have failed in yours, for you have
-told me a falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A falsehood, sire.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The expression is a hard
-one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Find a more accurate,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I will not
-attempt to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have
-already been unfortunate enough to displease your majesty, and it
-will, in every respect, be far better for me to accept most
-humbly any reproaches you may think proper to address to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right,
-monsieur, whoever conceals the truth from me, risks my
-displeasure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sometimes, sire, one is
-ignorant of the truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No further falsehood,
-monsieur, or I double the punishment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp bowed and
-turned pale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-again made another step forward, determined to interfere, if the
-still increasing anger of the king attained certain limits.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You see, monsieur,"
-continued the king, "that it is useless to deny the thing any
-longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Guiche has
-fought a duel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not deny it, sire,
-and it would have been truly generous on your majesty's part not
-to have forced me to tell a falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Forced?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Who forced you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, M. de Guiche is
-my friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your majesty
-has forbidden duels under pain of death.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A falsehood might save my friend's
-life, and I told it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good!" murmured
-D'Artagnan, "an excellent fellow, upon my word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Instead of telling a
-falsehood, monsieur, you should have prevented him from
-fighting," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, your majesty,
-who is the most accomplished gentleman in France, knows quite as
-well as any of us other gentlemen that we have never considered
-M. de Bouteville dishonored for having suffered death on the
-Place de Gr&egrave;ve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-That which does in truth dishonor a man is to avoid meeting his
-enemy - not to avoid meeting his executioner!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, monsieur, that
-may be so," said Louis XIV.; "I am desirous of suggesting a means
-of your repairing all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If it be a means of
-which a gentleman may avail himself, I shall most eagerly seize
-the opportunity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The name of M. de
-Guiche's adversary?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, oh!" murmured
-D'Artagnan, "are we going to take Louis XIII. as a model?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire!" said Manicamp,
-with an accent of reproach.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will not name him,
-then?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I do not know
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Bravo!" murmured
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur de Manicamp,
-hand your sword to the captain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp bowed very
-gracefully, unbuckled his sword, smiling as he did so, and handed
-it for the musketeer to take.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But Saint-Aignan advanced hurriedly
-between him and D'Artagnan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Sire," he said, "will your majesty
-permit me to say a word?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do so," said the king,
-delighted, perhaps, at the bottom of his heart, for some one to
-step between him and the wrath he felt he had carried him too
-far.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Manicamp, you are a
-brave man, and the king will appreciate your conduct; but to wish
-to serve your friends too well, is to destroy them.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp, you know the name the king
-asks you for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is perfectly true -
-I do know it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will give it up
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If I felt I ought to
-have mentioned it, I should have already done so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Then I will tell it,
-for I am not so extremely sensitive on such points of honor as
-you are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are at liberty to
-do so, but it seems to me, however - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! a truce to
-magnanimity; I will not permit you to go to the Bastile in that
-way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you speak; or I
-will."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp was keen-witted
-enough, and perfectly understood that he had done quite
-sufficient to produce a good opinion of his conduct; it was now
-only a question of persevering in such a manner as to regain the
-good graces of the king. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Speak, monsieur," he said to Saint-Aignan; "I have on my own
-behalf done all that my conscience told me to do; and it must
-have been very importunate," he added, turning towards the king,
-"since its mandates led me to disobey your majesty's commands;
-but your majesty will forgive me, I hope, when you learn that I
-was anxious to preserve the honor of a lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of a lady?" said the
-king, with some uneasiness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A lady was the cause of
-this duel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp bowed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If the position of the
-lady in question warrants it," he said, "I shall not complain of
-your having acted with so much circumspection; on the contrary,
-indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, everything which
-concerns your majesty's household, or the household of your
-majesty's brother, is of importance in my eyes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In my brother's
-household," repeated Louis XIV., with a slight hesitation.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The cause of the duel was a
-lady belonging to my brother's household, do you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Or to Madame's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! to Madame's?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well - and this
-lady?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is one of the maids of
-honor of her royal highness Madame la Duchesse
-d'Orl&eacute;ans."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For whom M. de Guiche
-fought - do you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire, and, this
-time, I tell no falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis seemed restless
-and anxious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Gentlemen,"
-he said, turning towards the spectators of this scene, "will you
-have the goodness to retire for a moment.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I wish to be alone with M. de
-Manicamp; I know he has some important communication to make for
-his own justification, and which he will not venture before
-witnesses&hellip;.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Put up
-your sword, M. de Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp returned his
-sword to his belt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The fellow decidedly
-has his wits about him," murmured the musketeer, taking
-Saint-Aignan by the arm, and withdrawing with him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He will get out of it,"
-said the latter in D'Artagnan's ear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And with honor, too,
-comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp cast a glance
-of recognition at Saint-Aignan and the captain, which luckily
-passed unnoticed by the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come, come," said
-D'Artagnan, as he left the room, "I had an indifferent opinion of
-the new generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well,
-I was mistaken after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-There is some good in them, I perceive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Valot preceded the
-favorite and the captain, leaving the king and Manicamp alone in
-the cabinet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Wherein D'Artagnan Perceives that It Was He Who Was Mistaken, and
-Manicamp Who Was Right.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he king, determined to be satisfied that no one was
-listening, went himself to the door, and then returned
-precipitately and placed himself opposite Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And now we are alone,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, explain yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With the greatest
-frankness, sire," replied the young man.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And in the first place,
-pray understand," added the king, "that there is nothing to which
-I personally attach a greater importance than the honor of <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>any</i> lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is the very
-reason, sire, why I endeavored to study your delicacy of
-sentiment and feeling."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I understand it
-all now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You say that it
-was one of the maids of honor of my sister-in-law who was the
-subject of dispute, and that the person in question, De Guiche's
-adversary, the man, in point of fact, whom you will not name -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But whom M. de
-Saint-Aignan will name, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, you say, however,
-that this man insulted some one belonging to the household of
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said the king, as
-if he had expected the name, and yet as if its announcement had
-caused him a sudden pang; "ah! it was Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re who was insulted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not say precisely
-that she was insulted, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But at all events -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I merely say that she
-was spoken of in terms far enough from respectful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A man dares to speak in
-disrespectful terms of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, and
-yet you refuse to tell me the name of the insulter?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I
-thought it was quite understood that your majesty had abandoned
-the idea of making me denounce him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Perfectly true,
-monsieur," returned the king, controlling his anger; "besides, I
-shall know in good time the name of this man whom I shall feel it
-my duty to punish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp perceived that
-they had returned to the question again.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for the king, he saw he had
-allowed himself to be hurried away a little too far, and
-therefore continued: - "And I will punish him - not because there
-is any question of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, although I
-esteem her very highly - but because a lady was the object of the
-quarrel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And I intend
-that ladies shall be respected at my court, and that quarrels
-shall be put a stop to altogether."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp bowed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And now, Monsieur de
-Manicamp," continued the king, "what was said about Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Cannot your majesty
-guess?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your
-majesty can imagine the character of the jest in which young men
-permit themselves to indulge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "They very probably said
-that she was in love with some one?" the king ventured to
-remark.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Probably so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re has a perfect right to love any one she pleases,"
-said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is the very point
-De Guiche maintained."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And on account of which
-he fought, do you mean?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire,
-the sole and only cause."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king colored.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And you do not know anything
-more, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what respect,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the very interesting
-respect which you are now referring to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What does your majesty
-wish to know?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, the name of the
-man with whom La Valli&egrave;re is in love, and whom De Guiche's
-adversary disputed her right to love."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I know nothing -
-I have heard nothing - and have learnt nothing, even
-accidentally; but De Guiche is a noble-hearted fellow, and if,
-momentarily, he substituted himself in the place or stead of La
-Valli&egrave;re's protector, it was because that protector was
-himself of too exalted a position to undertake her defense."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> These words were more
-than transparent; they made the king blush, but this time with
-pleasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He struck
-Manicamp gently on the shoulder.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well, well, Monsieur de Manicamp,
-you are not only a ready, witty fellow, but a brave gentleman
-besides, and your friend De Guiche is a paladin quite after my
-own heart; you will express that to him from me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty forgives
-me, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Completely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I am free?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king smiled and held
-out his hand to Manicamp, which he took and kissed
-respectfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And then,"
-added the king, "you relate stories so charmingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"I, sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You told me in the
-most admirable manner the particulars of the accident which
-happened to Guiche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I can
-see the wild boar rushing out of the wood - I can see the horse
-fall down fighting with his head, and the boar rush from the
-horse to the rider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You
-do not simply relate a story well: you positively paint its
-incidents."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, I think your
-majesty condescends to laugh at my expense," said Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,"
-said Louis, seriously, "I have so little intention of laughing,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, that I wish you to relate this adventure to
-every one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The adventure of
-the hunt?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; in the same
-manner you told it to me, without changing a single word - <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>you understand?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you will
-relate it, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without losing a
-minute."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well! and now
-summon M. d'Artagnan; I hope you are no longer afraid of
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, sire, from the
-very moment I am sure of your majesty's kind disposition, I no
-longer fear anything!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Call him, then,"
-said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Manicamp opened the
-door, and said, "Gentlemen, the king wishes you to return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan,
-Saint-Aignan, and Valot entered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Gentlemen," said
-the king, "I summoned you for the purposes of saying that
-Monsieur de Manicamp's explanation has entirely satisfied
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan glanced
-at Valot and Saint-Aignan, as much as to say, "Well! did I not
-tell you so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king led
-Manicamp to the door, and then in a low tone of voice said: "See
-that M. de Guiche takes good care of himself, and particularly
-that he recovers as soon as possible; I am very desirous of
-thanking him in the name of every lady, but let him take special
-care that he does not begin again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Were he to die a
-hundred times, sire, he would begin again if your majesty's honor
-were in any way called in question."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This remark was
-direct enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But we
-have already said that the incense of flattery was very pleasing
-to the king, and, provided he received it, he was not very
-particular as to its quality.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, very
-well," he said, as he dismissed Manicamp, "I will see De Guiche
-myself, and make him listen to reason."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And as Manicamp left the apartment,
-the king turned round towards the three spectators of this scene,
-and said, "Tell me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, how does it happen that
-your sight is so imperfect? - you, whose eyes are generally so
-very good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My sight bad,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It must be the
-case since your majesty says so; but in what respect, may I
-ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, with regard
-to what occurred in the Bois-Rochin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You pretended to have seen the
-tracks of two horses, to have detected the footprints of two men;
-and have described the particulars of an engagement, which you
-assert took place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Nothing of the sort occurred; pure illusion on your part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!" said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly the same
-thing with the galloping to and fro of the horses, and the other
-indications of a struggle.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was the struggle of De Guiche
-against the wild boar, and absolutely nothing else; only the
-struggle was a long and a terrible one, it seems."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!" continued
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And when I think
-that I almost believed it for a moment - but, then, you told it
-with such confidence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I admit, sire,
-that I must have been very short-sighted," said D'Artagnan, with
-a readiness of humor which delighted the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You do admit it,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Admit it, sire,
-most assuredly I do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So now that you
-see the thing - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In quite a
-different light from that in which I saw it half an hour
-ago."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And to what, then,
-do you attribute this difference in your opinion?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! a very simple
-thing, sire; half an hour ago I returned from Bois-Rochin, where
-I had nothing to light me but a stupid stable lantern - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While now?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While now I have
-all the wax-lights of your cabinet, and more than that, your
-majesty's own eyes, which illuminate everything, like the blazing
-sun at noonday."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king began to
-laugh; and Saint-Aignan broke out into convulsions of
-merriment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is precisely
-like M. Valot," said D'Artagnan, resuming the conversation where
-the king had left off; "he has been imagining all along, that not
-only was M. de Guiche wounded by a bullet, but still more, that
-he extracted it, even, from his chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon my word,"
-said Valot, "I assure you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Now, did you not
-believe that?" continued D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said Valot;
-"not only did I believe it, but, at this very moment, I would
-swear it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, my dear
-doctor, you have dreamt it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have dreamt
-it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. de Guiche's
-wound - a mere dream; the bullet, a dream.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So, take my advice, and prate no
-more about it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well said,"
-returned the king, "M. d'Artagnan's advice is sound.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not speak of your dream to any
-one, Monsieur Valot, and, upon the word of a gentleman, you will
-have no occasion to repent it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Good evening, gentlemen; a very sad
-affair, indeed, is a wild boar-hunt!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A very serious
-thing, indeed," repeated D'Artagnan, in a loud voice, "is a wild
-boar-hunt!" and he repeated it in every room through which he
-passed; and left the ch&acirc;teau, taking Valot with him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And now we are
-alone," said the king to Saint-Aignan, "what is the name of De
-Guiche's adversary?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan looked
-at the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! do not
-hesitate," said the king; "you know that I am bound beforehand to
-forgive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"De Wardes," said
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good," said
-Louis XIV.; and then, retiring to his own room, added to himself,
-"To forgive is not to forget."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Showing the Advantage of Having Two Strings to One's Bow.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-M</span>anicamp quitted the king's apartment, delighted at having
-succeeded so well, when, just as he reached the bottom of the
-staircase and was passing a doorway, he felt that some one
-suddenly pulled him by the sleeve.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He turned round and recognized
-Montalais, who was waiting for him in the passage, and who, in a
-very mysterious manner, with her body bent forward, and in a low
-tone of voice, said to him, "Follow me, monsieur, and without any
-delay, if you please."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where to,
-mademoiselle?" inquired Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the first place, a
-true knight would not have asked such a question, but would have
-followed me without requiring any explanation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, mademoiselle, I
-am quite ready to conduct myself as a true knight."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; it is too late, and
-you cannot take the credit of it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We are going to Madame's apartment,
-so come at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, ah!" said
-Manicamp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Lead on,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And he followed
-Montalais, who ran before him as light as Galatea.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This time," said
-Manicamp, as he followed his guide, "I do not think that stories
-about hunting expeditions would be acceptable.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We will try, however, and if need be
-- well, if there should be any occasion for it, we must try
-something else."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Montalais still ran
-on.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How fatiguing it is,"
-thought Manicamp, "to have need of one's head and legs at the
-same time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At last, however, they
-arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame had just
-finished undressing, and was in a most elegant <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>d&eacute;shabille</i>, but it must
-be understood that she had changed her dress before she had any
-idea of being subjected to the emotions now agitating her.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She was waiting with the most
-restless impatience; and Montalais and Manicamp found her
-standing near the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-At the sound of their approaching footsteps, Madame came forward
-to meet them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" she said, "at
-last!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Here is M. Manicamp,"
-replied Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp bowed with the
-greatest respect; Madame signed to Montalais to withdraw, and she
-immediately obeyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Madame followed her with her eyes, in silence, until the door
-closed behind her, and then, turning towards Manicamp, said,
-"What is the matter? - and is it true, as I am told, Monsieur de
-Manicamp, that some one is lying wounded in the
-ch&acirc;teau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame,
-unfortunately so - Monsieur de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Monsieur de
-Guiche," repeated the princess.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I had, in fact, heard it rumored,
-but not confirmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And
-so, in truth, it is Monsieur de Guiche who has been thus
-unfortunate?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Guiche himself,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you aware, M. de
-Manicamp," said the princes, hastily, "that the king has the
-strongest antipathy to duels?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Perfectly so, Madame;
-but a duel with a wild beast is not answerable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, you will not insult
-me by supposing that I credit the absurd fable, with what object
-I cannot tell, respecting M. de Guiche having been wounded by a
-wild boar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, no,
-monsieur; the real truth is known, and, in addition to the
-inconvenience of his wound, M. de Guiche runs the risk of losing
-his liberty if not his life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame, I am well aware of that, but
-what is to be done?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have seen the
-king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What did you say to
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I told him how M. de
-Guiche went to the chase, and how a wild boar rushed forth out of
-the Bois-Rochin; how M. de Guiche fired at it, and how, in fact,
-the furious brute dashed at De Guiche, killed his horse, and
-grievously wounded himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And the king believed
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Implicitly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, you surprise me,
-Monsieur de Manicamp; you surprise me very much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And Madame walked up and
-down the room, casting a searching look from time to time at
-Manicamp, who remained motionless and impassible in the same
-place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At last she
-stopped.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet," she said,
-"every one here seems unanimous in giving another cause for this
-wound."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What cause, Madame?"
-said Manicamp; "may I be permitted, without indiscretion, to ask
-your highness?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You ask such a
-question!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You, M. de
-Guiche's intimate friend, his confidant, indeed!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, Madame! his
-intimate friend - yes; confidant - no.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche is a man who can keep his
-own secrets, who has some of his own certainly, but who never
-breathes a syllable about them.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche is discretion itself,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well, then; those
-secrets which M. de Guiche keeps so scrupulously, I shall have
-the pleasure of informing you of," said the princess, almost
-spitefully; "for the king may possibly question you a second
-time, and if, on the second occasion, you were to repeat the same
-story to him, he possibly might not be very well satisfied with
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, Madame, I think
-your highness is mistaken with regard to the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His majesty was perfectly satisfied
-with me, I assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, permit me
-to assure you, Monsieur de Manicamp, it only proves one thing,
-which is, that his majesty is very easily satisfied."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I think your highness
-is mistaken in arriving at such an opinion; his majesty is well
-known not to be contented except with very good reason."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And do you suppose that
-he will thank you for your officious falsehood, when he will
-learn to-morrow that M. de Guiche had, on behalf of his friend M.
-de Bragelonne, a quarrel which ended in a hostile meeting?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A quarrel on M. de
-Bragelonne's account," said Manicamp, with the most innocent
-expression in the world; "what does your royal highness do me the
-honor to tell me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is there
-astonishing in that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M.
-de Guiche is susceptible, irritable, and easily loses his
-temper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On the contrary,
-Madame, I know M. de Guiche to be very patient, and never
-susceptible or irritable except upon very good grounds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But is not friendship a
-just ground?" said the princess.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, certainly, Madame;
-and particularly for a heart like his."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; you will not
-deny, I suppose, that M. de Bragelonne is M. de Guiche's good
-friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A great friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, M. de
-Guiche has taken M. de Bragelonne's part; and as M. de Bragelonne
-was absent and could not fight, he fought for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp began to smile,
-and moved his head and shoulders very slightly, as much as to
-say, "Oh, if you will positively have it so - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But speak, at all
-events," said the princess, out of patience; "speak!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course; it is quite
-clear you are not of my opinion, and that you have something to
-say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have only one thing
-to say, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Name it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That I do not
-understand a single word of what you have just been telling
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! - you do not
-understand a single word about M. de Guiche's quarrel with M. de
-Wardes," exclaimed the princess, almost out of temper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp remained
-silent.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A quarrel," she
-continued, "which arose out of a conversation scandalous in its
-tone and purport, and more or less well founded, respecting the
-virtue of a certain lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! of a certain lady,
-- this is quite another thing," said Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You begin to
-understand, do you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your highness will
-excuse me, but I dare not - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You dare not," said
-Madame, exasperated; "very well, then, wait one moment, I will
-dare."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame, Madame!"
-exclaimed Manicamp, as if in great dismay, "be careful of what
-you are going to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It would seem,
-monsieur, that, if I happened to be a man, you would challenge
-me, notwithstanding his majesty's edicts, as Monsieur de Guiche
-challenged M. de Wardes; and that, too, on account of the virtue
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re!" exclaimed Manicamp, starting backwards, as if
-that was the very last name he expected to hear pronounced.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What makes you start in
-that manner, Monsieur de Manicamp?" said Madame, ironically; "do
-you mean to say you would be impertinent enough to suspect that
-young lady's honor?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame, in the whole
-course of this affair there has not been the slightest question
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! when two men have
-almost blown each other's brains out on a woman's behalf, do you
-mean to say she has had nothing to do with the affair, and that
-her name has not been called in question at all?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I did not think you so good a
-courtier, Monsieur de Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Pray forgive me,
-Madame," said the young man, "but we are very far from
-understanding one another.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You do me the honor to speak one
-language while I am speaking altogether another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I beg your pardon, but
-I do not understand your meaning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Forgive me, then; but I
-fancied I understood your highness to remark that De Guiche and
-De Wardes had fought on Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's
-account?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On account
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, I think you said?"
-repeated Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not say that M. de
-Guiche personally took an interest in Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re, but I say that he did so as representing or
-acting on behalf of another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On behalf of
-another?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come, do not always
-assume such a bewildered look.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Does not every one here know that M.
-de Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re,
-and that before he went on the mission with which the king
-intrusted him, he charged his friend M. de Guiche to watch over
-that interesting young lady?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is nothing more
-for me to say, then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your
-highness is well-informed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of everything.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I beg you to understand that
-clearly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp began to laugh,
-which almost exasperated the princess, who was not, as we know,
-of a very patient disposition.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame," resumed the
-discreet Manicamp, saluting the princess, "let us bury this
-affair altogether in forgetfulness, for it will probably never be
-quite cleared up."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, as far as that goes
-there is nothing more to do, and the information is
-complete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king will
-learn that M. de Guiche has taken up the cause of this little
-adventuress, who gives herself all the airs of a grand lady; he
-will learn that Monsieur de Bragelonne, having nominated his
-friend M. de Guiche his guardian-in-ordinary, the latter
-immediately fastened, as he was required to do, upon the Marquis
-de Wardes, who ventured to trench upon his privileges.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Moreover, you cannot pretend
-to deny, Monsieur Manicamp - you who know everything so well -
-that the king on his side casts a longing eye upon this famous
-treasure, and that he will bear no slight grudge against M. de
-Guiche for constituting himself its defender.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you sufficiently well informed
-now, or do you require anything further?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If so, speak, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, Madame, there is
-nothing more I wish to know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Learn, however - for
-you ought to know it, Monsieur de Manicamp - learn that his
-majesty's indignation will be followed by terrible
-consequences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In princes
-of a similar temperament to that of his majesty, the passion
-which jealousy causes sweeps down like a whirlwind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which you will temper,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I!" exclaimed the
-princess, with a gesture of indescribable irony; "I! and by what
-title, may I ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because you detest
-injustice, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And according to your
-account, then, it would be an injustice to prevent the king
-arranging his love affairs as he pleases."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will intercede,
-however, in M. de Guiche's favor?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are mad, monsieur,"
-said the princess, in a haughty tone of voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On the contrary, I am
-in the most perfect possession of my senses; and I repeat, you
-will defend M. de Guiche before the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why should I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because the cause of M.
-de Guiche is your own, Madame," said Manicamp, with ardor
-kindling in his eyes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean by
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I mean, Madame, that,
-with respect to the defense which Monsieur de Guiche undertook in
-M. de Bragelonne's absence, I am surprised that your highness has
-not detected a pretext in La Valli&egrave;re's name having been
-brought forward."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A pretext?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But a pretext for what?" repeated
-the princess, hesitatingly, for Manicamp's steady look had just
-revealed something of the truth to her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I trust, Madame," said
-the young man, "I have said sufficient to induce your highness
-not to overwhelm before his majesty my poor friend, De Guiche,
-against whom all the malevolence of a party bitterly opposed to
-your own will now be directed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You mean, on the
-contrary, I suppose, that all those who have no great affection
-for Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, and even, perhaps, a few
-of those who have some regard for her, will be angry with the
-comte?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, Madame! why will
-you push your obstinacy to such an extent, and refuse to open
-your ears and listen to the counsel of one whose devotion to you
-is unbounded?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Must I
-expose myself to the risk of your displeasure, - am I really to
-be called upon to name, contrary to my own wish, the person who
-was the real cause of this quarrel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The person?" said
-Madame, blushing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Must I," continued
-Manicamp, "tell you how poor De Guiche became irritated, furious,
-exasperated beyond all control, at the different rumors now being
-circulated about this person?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Must I, if you persist in this
-willful blindness, and if respect should continue to prevent me
-naming her, - must I, I repeat, recall to your recollection the
-various scenes which Monsieur had with the Duke of Buckingham,
-and the insinuations which were reported respecting the duke's
-exile?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Must I remind you
-of the anxious care the comte always took in his efforts to
-please, to watch, to protect that person for whom alone he lives,
-- for whom alone he breathes?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will do so; and when I shall have
-made you recall all the particulars I refer to, you will perhaps
-understand how it happened that the comte, having lost all
-control over himself, and having been for some time past almost
-harassed to death by De Wardes, became, at the first
-disrespectful expression which the latter pronounced respecting
-the person in question, inflamed with passion, and panted only
-for an opportunity of avenging the affront."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The princess concealed
-her face with her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Monsieur, monsieur!" she exclaimed; "do you know what you are
-saying, and to whom you are speaking?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so, Madame,"
-pursued Manicamp, as if he had not heard the exclamations of the
-princess, "nothing will astonish you any longer, - neither the
-comte's ardor in seeking the quarrel, nor his wonderful address
-in transferring it to an quarter foreign to your own personal
-interests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That latter
-circumstance was, indeed, a marvelous instance of tact and
-perfect coolness, and if the person in whose behalf the comte so
-fought and shed his blood does, in reality, owe some gratitude to
-the poor wounded sufferer, it is not on account of the blood he
-has shed, or the agony he has suffered, but for the steps he has
-taken to preserve from comment or reflection an honor which is
-more precious to him than his own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" cried Madame, as
-if she had been alone, "is it possible the quarrel was on my
-account!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp felt he could
-now breathe for a moment - and gallantly had he won the right to
-do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame, on her
-side, remained for some time plunged in a painful reverie.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her agitation could be seen by
-her quick respiration, by her drooping eyelids, by the frequency
-with which she pressed her hand upon her heart.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, in her, coquetry was not so
-much a passive quality, as, on the contrary, a fire which sought
-for fuel to maintain itself, finding anywhere and everywhere what
-it required.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If it be as you
-assert," she said, "the comte will have obliged two persons at
-the same time; for Monsieur de Bragelonne also owes a deep debt
-of gratitude to M. de Guiche - and with far greater reason,
-indeed, because everywhere, and on every occasion, Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re will be regarded as having been defended by
-this generous champion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp perceived that
-there still remained some lingering doubt in the princess's
-heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "A truly admirable
-service, indeed," he said, "is the one he has rendered to
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A truly admirable service to M. de
-Bragelonne!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The duel has
-created a sensation which, in some respects, casts a dishonorable
-suspicion upon that young girl; a sensation, indeed, which will
-embroil her with the vicomte.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The consequence is that De Wardes's
-pistol-bullet has had three results instead of one; it destroys
-at the same time the honor of a woman, the happiness of a man,
-and, perhaps, it has wounded to death one of the best gentlemen
-in France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, Madame!
-your logic is cold - even calculating; it always condemns - it
-never absolves."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp's concluding
-words scattered to the winds the last doubt which lingered, not
-in Madame's heart, but in her mind.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She was no longer a princess full of
-scruples, nor a woman with her ever-returning suspicions, but one
-whose heart has just felt the mortal chill of a wound.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Wounded to death!" she
-murmured, in a faltering voice, "oh, Monsieur de Manicamp! did
-you not say, wounded to death?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp returned no
-other answer than a deep sigh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so you said that
-the comte is dangerously wounded?" continued the princess.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame; one of his
-hands is shattered, and he has a bullet lodged in his
-breast."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Gracious heavens!"
-resumed the princess, with a feverish excitement, "this is
-horrible!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur de
-Manicamp! a hand shattered, do you say, and a bullet in his
-breast?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And that coward!
-that wretch! that assassin, De Wardes, did it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp seemed overcome
-by a violent emotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-had, in fact, displayed no little energy in the latter part of
-his speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for
-Madame, she entirely threw aside all regard for the formal
-observances of propriety society imposes; for when, with her,
-passion spoke in accents either of anger or sympathy, nothing
-could restrain her impulses.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame approached Manicamp, who had
-subsided in a chair, as if his grief were a sufficiently powerful
-excuse for his infraction of the laws of etiquette.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Monsieur," she said, seizing him by
-the hand, "be frank with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp looked up.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is M. de Guiche in
-danger of death?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Doubly so, Madame," he
-replied; "in the first place on account of the hemorrhage which
-has taken place, an artery having been injured in the hand; and
-next, in consequence of the wound in his breast, which may, the
-doctor is afraid, at least, have injured some vital part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He may die, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Die, yes, Madame; and
-without even having had the consolation of knowing that you have
-been told of his devotion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will tell him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; are you not his
-friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I? oh, no, Madame; I
-will only tell M. de Guiche - if, indeed, he is still in a
-condition to hear me - I will only tell him what I have seen;
-that is, your cruelty to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, monsieur, you will
-not be guilty of such barbarity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Indeed, Madame, I shall
-speak the truth, for nature is very energetic in a man of his
-age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The physicians are
-clever men, and if, by chance, the poor comte should survive his
-wound, I should not wish him to die of a wound of the heart,
-after surviving one of the body."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp rose, and with an
-expression of profoundest respect, seemed to be desirous of
-taking leave.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At least, monsieur,"
-said Madame, stopping him with almost a suppliant air, "you will
-be kind enough to tell me in what state your wounded friend is,
-and who is the physician who attends him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As regards the state he
-is in, Madame, he is seriously ill; his physician is M. Valot,
-his majesty's private medical attendant.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Valot is moreover assisted by a
-professional friend, to whose house M. de Guiche has been
-carried."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! he is not in the
-ch&acirc;teau?" said Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas, Madame! the poor
-fellow was so ill, that he could not even be conveyed
-thither."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Give me the address,
-monsieur," said the princess, hurriedly; "I will send to inquire
-after him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Rue du Feurre; a
-brick-built house, with white outside blinds.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The doctor's name is on the
-door."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are returning to
-your wounded friend, Monsieur de Manicamp?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will be able, then,
-to do me a service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am at your highness's
-orders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do what you intended to
-do; return to M. de Guiche, send away all those whom you may find
-there, and have the kindness yourself to go away too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let us waste no time in
-useless explanations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Accept the fact as I present it to you; see nothing in it beyond
-what is really there, and ask nothing further than what I tell
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am going to send
-one of my ladies, perhaps two, because it is now getting late; I
-do not wish them to see you, or rather I do not wish you to see
-them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These are scruples
-you can understand - you particularly, Monsieur de Manicamp, who
-seem capable of divining so much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, Madame, perfectly;
-I can even do better still, - I will precede, or rather walk, in
-advance of your attendants; it will, at the same time, be the
-means of showing them the way more accurately, and of protecting
-them, if occasion arises, though there is no probability of their
-needing protection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And, by this means,
-then, they would be sure of entering without difficulty, would
-they not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly, Madame; for
-as I should be the first to pass, I thus remove any difficulties
-that might chance to be in the way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Go, go, Monsieur de Manicamp, and
-wait at the bottom of the staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I go at once,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Stay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp paused.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "When you hear the
-footsteps of two women descending the stairs, go out, and,
-without once turning round, take the road which leads to where
-the poor count is lying."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But if, by any
-mischance, two other persons were to descend, and I were to be
-mistaken?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will
-hear one of the two clap her hands together softly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Manicamp turned round,
-bowed once more, and left the room, his heart overflowing with
-joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In fact, he knew
-very well that the presence of Madame herself would be the best
-balm to apply to his friend's wounds.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A quarter of an hour had hardly
-elapsed when he heard the sound of a door opened softly, and
-closed with like precaution.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He listened to the light footfalls
-gliding down the staircase, and then hard the signal agreed
-upon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He immediately went
-out, and, faithful to his promise, bent his way, without once
-turning his head, through the streets of Fontainebleau, towards
-the doctor's dwelling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>M.
-Malicorne the Keeper of the Records of France.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>wo women, their figures completely concealed by their
-mantles, and whose masks effectually hid the upper portion of
-their faces, timidly followed Manicamp's steps.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On the first floor, behind curtains
-of red damask, the soft light of a lamp placed upon a low table
-faintly illumined the room, at the other extremity of which, on a
-large bedstead supported by spiral columns, around which curtains
-of the same color as those which deadened the rays of the lamp
-had been closely drawn, lay De Guiche, his head supported by
-pillows, his eyes looking as if the mists of death were
-gathering; his long black hair, scattered over the pillow, set
-off the young man's hollow temples.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was easy to see that fever was
-the chief tenant of the chamber.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche was dreaming.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His wandering mind was pursuing,
-through gloom and mystery, one of those wild creations delirium
-engenders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Two or three
-drops of blood, still liquid, stained the floor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp hurriedly ran up the
-stairs, but paused at the threshold of the door, looked into the
-room, and seeing that everything was perfectly quiet, he advanced
-towards the foot of the large leathern armchair, a specimen of
-furniture of the reign of Henry IV., and seeing that the nurse,
-as a matter of course, had dropped off to sleep, he awoke her,
-and begged her to pass into the adjoining room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Then, standing by the
-side of the bed, he remained for a moment deliberating whether it
-would be better to awaken Guiche, in order to acquaint him with
-the good news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, as he
-began to hear behind the door the rustling of silk dresses and
-the hurried breathing of his two companions, and as he already
-saw that the curtain screening the doorway seemed on the point of
-being impatiently drawn aside, he passed round the bed and
-followed the nurse into the next room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as he had disappeared the
-curtain was raised, and his two female companions entered the
-room he had just left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The one who entered first made a gesture to her companion, which
-riveted her to the spot where she stood, close to the door, and
-then resolutely advanced towards the bed, drew back the curtains
-along the iron rod, and threw them in thick folds behind the head
-of the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She gazed
-upon the comte's pallid face; remarked his right hand enveloped
-in linen whose dazzling whiteness was emphasized by the
-counterpane patterned with dark leaves thrown across the
-couch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She shuddered as
-she saw a stain of blood growing larger and larger upon the
-bandages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The young man's
-breast was uncovered, as though for the cool night air to assist
-his respiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A narrow
-bandage fastened the dressings of the wound, around which a
-purplish circle of extravasated blood was gradually increasing in
-size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A deep sigh broke
-from her lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She leaned
-against one of the columns of the bed, and gazed, through the
-apertures in her mask, upon the harrowing spectacle before
-her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A hoarse harsh groan
-passed like a death-rattle through the comte's clenched
-teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The masked lady
-seized his left hand, which scorched like burning coals.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But at the very moment she
-placed her icy hand upon it, the action of the cold was such that
-De Guiche opened his eyes, and by a look in which revived
-intelligence was dawning, seemed as though struggling back again
-into existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The first
-thing upon which he fixed his gaze was this phantom standing
-erect by his bedside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At
-that sight, his eyes became dilated, but without any appearance
-of consciousness in them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The lady thereupon made a sign to her companion, who had remained
-at the door; and in all probability the latter had already
-received her lesson, for in a clear tone of voice, and without
-any hesitation whatever, she pronounced these words: - "Monsieur
-le comte, her royal highness Madame is desirous of knowing how
-you are able to bear your wound, and to express to you, by my
-lips, her great regret at seeing you suffer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> As she pronounced the
-word Madame, Guiche started; he had not as yet remarked the
-person to whom the voice belonged, and he naturally turned
-towards the direction whence it preceded.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, as he felt the cold hand still
-resting on his own, he again turned towards the motionless figure
-beside him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Was it you
-who spoke, madame?" he asked, in a weak voice, "or is there
-another person in beside you in the room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," replied the
-figure, in an almost unintelligible voice, as she bent down her
-head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well," said the wounded
-man, with a great effort, "I thank you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tell Madame that I no longer regret
-to die, since she has remembered me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At the words "to die,"
-pronounced by one whose life seemed to hang on a thread, the
-masked lady could not restrain her tears, which flowed under the
-mask, and appeared upon her cheeks just where the mask left her
-face bare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If De Guiche
-had been in fuller possession of his senses, he would have seen
-her tears roll like glistening pearls, and fall upon his
-bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The lady, forgetting
-that she wore her mask, raised her hand as though to wipe her
-eyes, and meeting the rough velvet, she tore away her mask in
-anger, and threw it on the floor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the unexpected apparition before
-him, which seemed to issue from a cloud, De Guiche uttered a cry
-and stretched his arms towards her; but every word perished on
-his lips, and his strength seemed utterly abandoning him.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His right hand, which had
-followed his first impulse, without calculating the amount of
-strength he had left, fell back again upon the bed, and
-immediately afterwards the white linen was stained with a larger
-spot than before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the
-meantime, the young man's eyes became dim, and closed, as if he
-were already struggling with the messenger of death; and then,
-after a few involuntary movements, his head fell back motionless
-on his pillow; his face grew livid.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The lady was frightened; but on this
-occasion, contrary to what is usually the case, fear
-attracted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She leaned
-over the young man, gazed earnestly, fixedly at his pale, cold
-face, which she almost touched, then imprinted a rapid kiss upon
-De Guiche's left hand, who, trembling as if an electric shock had
-passed through him, awoke a second time, opened his large eyes,
-incapable of recognition, and again fell into a state of complete
-insensibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Come,"
-she said to her companion, "we must not remain here any longer; I
-shall be committing some folly or other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame, Madame, your
-highness is forgetting your mask!" said her vigilant
-companion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Pick it up," replied
-her mistress, as she tottered almost senseless towards the
-staircase, and as the outer door had been left only half-closed,
-the two women, light as birds, passed through it, and with
-hurried steps returned to the palace.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One of the ascended towards Madame's
-apartments, where she disappeared; the other entered the rooms
-belonging to the maids of honor, namely, on the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>entresol</i>, and having reached
-her own room, she sat down before a table, and without giving
-herself time even to breathe, wrote the following letter:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This evening Madame has
-been to see M. de Guiche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Everything is going well on this side.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> See that your news is equally
-exemplary, and do not forget to burn this paper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She folded the letter,
-and leaving her room with every possible precaution, crossed a
-corridor which led to the apartments appropriated to the
-gentlemen attached to Monsieur's service.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She stopped before a door, under
-which, having previously knocked twice in a short, quick manner,
-she thrust the paper, and fled.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, returning to her own room, she
-removed every trace of her having gone out, and also of having
-written the letter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Amid
-the investigations she was so diligently pursuing she perceived
-on the table the mask which belonged to Madame, and which,
-according to her mistress's directions, she had brought back but
-had forgotten to restore to her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh, oh!" she said, "I must not
-forget to do to-morrow what I have forgotten to-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And she took hold of the
-velvet mask by that part which covered the cheeks, and feeling
-that her thumb was wet, looked at it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was not only wet, but
-reddened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The mask had
-fallen upon one of the spots of blood which, we have already
-said, stained the floor, and from that black velvet outside which
-had accidentally come into contact with it, the blood had passed
-through to the inside, and stained the white cambric lining.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh, oh!" said Montalais, for
-doubtless our readers have already recognized her by these
-various maneuvers, "I shall not give back this mask; it is far
-too precious now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And rising from her
-seat, she ran towards a box made of maple wood, which inclosed
-different articles of toilette and perfumery.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "No, not here," she said, "such a
-treasure must not be abandoned to the slightest chance of
-detection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Then, after a moment's
-silence, and with a smile that was peculiarly her own, she added:
-- "Beautiful mask, stained with the blood of that brave knight,
-you shall go and join that collection of wonders, La
-Valli&egrave;re's and Raoul's letters, that loving collection,
-indeed, which will some day or other form part of the history of
-France, of European royalty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You shall be placed under M.
-Malicorne's care," said the laughing girl, as she began to
-undress herself, "under the protection of that worthy M.
-Malicorne," she said, blowing out the taper, "who thinks he was
-born only to become the chief usher of Monsieur's apartments, and
-whom I will make keeper of the records and historiographer of the
-house of Bourbon, and of the first houses in the kingdom.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let him grumble now, that
-discontented Malicorne," she added, as she drew the curtains and
-fell asleep.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Journey.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he next day being agreed upon for the departure, the
-king, at eleven o'clock precisely, descended the grand staircase
-with the two queens and Madame, in order to enter his carriage
-drawn by six horses, that were pawing the ground in impatience at
-the foot of the staircase.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The whole court awaited the royal
-appearance in the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Fer-&agrave;-cheval</i> crescent,
-in their travelling costumes; the large number of saddled horses
-and carriages of ladies and gentlemen of the court, surrounded by
-their attendants, servants, and pages, formed a spectacle whose
-brilliancy could scarcely be equalled.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king entered his carriage with
-the two queens; Madame was in the same one with Monsieur.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The maids of honor followed
-their example, and took their seats, two by two, in the carriages
-destined for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-weather was exceedingly warm; a light breeze, which, early in the
-morning, all had thought would have proved sufficient to cool the
-air, soon became fiercely heated by the rays of the sun, although
-it was hidden behind the clouds, and filtered through the heated
-vapor which rose from the ground like a scorching wind, bearing
-particles of fine dust against the faces of the travelers.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame was the first to
-complain of the heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Monsieur's only reply was to throw himself back in the carriage
-as though about to faint, and to inundate himself with scents and
-perfumes, uttering the deepest sighs all the while; whereupon
-Madame said to him, with her most amiable expression: - "Really,
-Monsieur, I fancied that you would have been polite enough, on
-account of the terrible heart, to have left me my carriage to
-myself, and to have performed the journey yourself on
-horseback."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ride on horseback!"
-cried the prince, with an accent of dismay which showed how
-little idea he had of adopting this unnatural advice; "you cannot
-suppose such a thing, Madame!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My skin would peel off if I were to
-expose myself to such a burning breeze as this."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame began to
-laugh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You can take my
-parasol," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But the trouble of
-holding it!" replied Monsieur, with the greatest coolness;
-"besides, I have no horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What, no horse?"
-replied the princess, who, if she did not secure the solitude she
-required, at least obtained the amusement of teasing.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "No horse!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are mistaken, Monsieur; for I
-see your favorite bay out yonder."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My bay horse!"
-exclaimed the prince, attempting to lean forward to look out of
-the door; but the movement he was obliged to make cost him so
-much trouble that he soon hastened to resume his immobility.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said Madame;
-"your horse, led by M. de Malicorne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Poor beast," replied
-the prince; "how warm it must be!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And with these words he
-closed his eyes, like a man on the point of death.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame, on her side, reclined
-indolently in the other corner of the carriage, and closed her
-eyes also, not, however, to sleep, but to think more at her
-ease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the meantime the
-king, seated in the front seat of his carriage, the back of which
-he had yielded up to the two queens, was a prey to that feverish
-contrariety experienced by anxious lovers, who, without being
-able to quench their ardent thirst, are ceaselessly desirous of
-seeing the loved object, and then go away partially satisfied,
-without perceiving they have acquired a more insatiable thirst
-than ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king,
-whose carriage headed the procession, could not from the place he
-occupied perceive the carriages of the ladies and maids of honor,
-which followed in a line behind it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, he was obliged to answer
-the eternal questions of the young queen, who, happy to have with
-her "<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>her dear husband</i>,"
-as she called him in utter forgetfulness of royal etiquette,
-invested him with all her affection, stifled him with her
-attentions, afraid that some one might come to take him from her,
-or that he himself might suddenly take a fancy to quit her
-society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Anne of Austria,
-whom nothing at that moment occupied except the occasional cruel
-throbbings in her bosom, looked pleased and delighted, and
-although she perfectly realized the king's impatience,
-tantalizingly prolonged his sufferings by unexpectedly resuming
-the conversation at the very moment the king, absorbed in his own
-reflections, began to muse over his secret attachment.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Everything seemed to combine -
-not alone the little teasing attentions of the queen, but also
-the queen-mother's interruptions - to make the king's position
-almost insupportable; for he knew not how to control the restless
-longings of his heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At
-first, he complained of the heat - a complaint merely preliminary
-to others, but with sufficient tact to prevent Maria Theresa
-guessing his real object.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Understanding the king's remark literally, she began to fan him
-with her ostrich plumes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But the heat passed away, and the king then complained of cramps
-and stiffness in his legs, and as the carriages at that moment
-stopped to change horses, the queen said: - "Shall I get out with
-you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I too feel tired of
-sitting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We can walk on a
-little distance; the carriage will overtake us, and we can resume
-our places presently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king frowned; it is
-a hard trial a jealous woman makes her husband submit to whose
-fidelity she suspects, when, although herself a prey to jealousy,
-she watches herself so narrowly that she avoids giving any
-pretext for an angry feeling.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king, therefore, in the present
-case, could not refuse; he accepted the offer, alighted from the
-carriage, gave his arm to the queen, and walked up and down with
-her while the horses were being changed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As he walked along, he cast an
-envious glance upon the courtiers, who were fortunate enough to
-be on horseback.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-queen soon found out that the promenade she had suggested
-afforded the king as little pleasure as he had experienced from
-driving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She accordingly
-expressed a wish to return to her carriage, and the king
-conducted her to the door, but did not get in with her.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He stepped back a few paces,
-and looked along the file of carriages for the purpose of
-recognizing the one in which he took so strong an interest.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the door of the sixth
-carriage he saw La Valli&egrave;re's fair countenance.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As the king thus stood
-motionless, wrapt in thought, without perceiving that everything
-was ready, and that he alone was causing the delay, he heard a
-voice close beside him, addressing him in the most respectful
-manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was M.
-Malicorne, in a complete costume of an equerry, holding over his
-left arm the bridles of a couple of horses.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty asked for
-a horse, I believe," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A horse?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Have you one of my horses here?"
-inquired the king, trying to remember the person who addressed
-him, and whose face was not as yet familiar to him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," replied
-Malicorne, "at all events I have a horse here which is at your
-majesty's service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And Malicorne pointed at
-Monsieur's bay horse, which Madame had observed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was a beautiful creature royally
-caparisoned.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This is not one of my
-horses, monsieur," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, it is a horse out
-of his royal highness's stables; but he does not ride when the
-weather is as hot as it is now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis did not reply, but
-approached the horse, which stood pawing the ground with its
-foot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne hastened
-to hold the stirrup for him, but the king was already in the
-saddle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Restored to
-good-humor by this lucky accident, the king hastened towards the
-queen's carriage, where he was anxiously expected; and
-notwithstanding Maria Theresa's thoughtful and preoccupied air,
-he said: "I have been fortunate enough to find this horse, and I
-intend to avail myself of it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I felt stifled in the carriage.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Adieu, ladies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Then bending gracefully
-over the arched neck of his beautiful steed, he disappeared in a
-second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Anne of Austria
-leaned forward, in order to look after him as he rode away; he
-did not get very far, for when he reached the sixth carriage, he
-reined in his horse suddenly and took off his hat.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He saluted La Valli&egrave;re, who
-uttered a cry of surprise as she saw him, blushing at the same
-time with pleasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Montalais, who occupied the other seat in the carriage, made the
-king a most respectful bow.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then, with all the tact of a
-woman, she pretended to be exceedingly interested in the
-landscape, and withdrew herself into the left-hand corner.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The conversation between the
-king and La Valli&egrave;re began, as all lovers' conversations
-generally do, namely, by eloquent looks and by a few words
-utterly devoid of common sense.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king explained how warm he had
-felt in his carriage, so much so indeed that he could almost
-regard the horse he then rode as a blessing thrown in his
-way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And," he added, "my
-benefactor is an exceedingly intelligent man, for he seemed to
-guess my thoughts intuitively.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have now only one wish, that of
-learning the name of the gentleman who so cleverly assisted his
-king out of his dilemma, and extricated him from his cruel
-position."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Montalais, during this
-colloquy, the first words of which had awakened her attention,
-had slightly altered her position, and contrived so as to meet
-the king's look as he finished his remark.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It followed very naturally that the
-king looked inquiringly as much at her as at La Valli&egrave;re;
-she had every reason to suppose that it was herself who was
-appealed to, and consequently might be permitted to answer.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She therefore said: "Sire, the
-horse which your majesty is riding belongs to Monsieur, and was
-being led by one of his royal highness's gentlemen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what is that
-gentleman's name, may I ask, mademoiselle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Malicorne,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The name produced its
-usual effect, for the king repeated it smilingly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire," replied
-Aure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Stay, it is the
-gentleman who is galloping on my left hand;" and she pointed out
-Malicorne, who, with a very sanctified expression, was galloping
-by the side of the carriage, knowing perfectly well that they
-were talking of him at that very moment, but sitting in his
-saddle as if he were deaf and dumb.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said the king,
-"that is the gentleman; I remember his face, and will not forget
-his name;" and the king looked tenderly at La
-Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aure had now nothing
-further to do; she had let Malicorne's name fall; the soil was
-good; all that was now left to be done was to let the name take
-root, and the event would bear fruit in due season.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She consequently threw herself back
-in her corner, feeling perfectly justified in making as many
-agreeable signs of recognition as she liked to Malicorne, since
-the latter had had the happiness of pleasing the king.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As will readily be believed,
-Montalais was not mistaken; and Malicorne, with his quick ear and
-his sly look, seemed to interpret her remark as "All goes on
-well," the whole being accompanied by a pantomimic action, which
-he fancied conveyed something resembling a kiss.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas! mademoiselle,"
-said the king, after a moment's pause, "the liberty and freedom
-of the country is soon about to cease; your attendance on Madame
-will be more strictly enforced, and we shall see each other no
-more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty is too
-much attached to Madame," replied Louise, "not to come and see
-her very frequently; and whenever your majesty may chance to pass
-across the apartments - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said the king, in
-a tender voice, which was gradually lowered in its tone, "to
-perceive is not to see, and yet it seems that it would be quite
-sufficient for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louise did not answer a
-syllable; a sigh filled her heart almost to bursting, but she
-stifled it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You exercise a great
-control over yourself," said the king to Louise, who smiled upon
-him with a melancholy expression.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Exert the strength you have in
-loving fondly," he continued, "and I will bless Heaven for having
-bestowed it on you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re still
-remained silent, but raised her eyes, brimful of affection,
-toward the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis,
-as if overcome by this burning glance, passed his hand across his
-forehead, and pressing the sides of his horse with his knees,
-made him bound several paces forward.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re, leaning back in
-her carriage, with her eyes half closed, gazed fixedly upon the
-king, whose plumes were floating in the air; she could not but
-admire his graceful carriage, his delicate and nervous limbs
-which pressed his horse's sides, and the regular outline of his
-features, which his beautiful curling hair set off to great
-advantage, revealing occasionally his small and well-formed
-ear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In fact the poor
-girl was in love, and she reveled in her innocent affection.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In a few moments the king was
-again by her side.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you not perceive,"
-he said, "how terribly your silence affects me?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! mademoiselle, how pitilessly
-inexorable you would become if you were ever to resolve to break
-off all acquaintance with any one; and then, too, I think you
-changeable; in fact - in fact, I dread this deep affection which
-fills my whole being."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, you are
-mistaken," said La Valli&egrave;re; "if ever I love, it will be
-for all my life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If you love, you say,"
-exclaimed the king; "you do <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>not</i> love now, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She hid her face in her
-hands.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You see," said the
-king, "that I am right in accusing you; you must admit you are
-changeable, capricious, a coquette, perhaps."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no! sire, be
-perfectly satisfied as to that.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, I say again; no, no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Promise me, then, that
-to me you will always be the same."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! always, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That you will never
-show any of that severity which would break my heart, none of
-that fickleness of manner which would be worse than death to
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! no, no."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well, then! but
-listen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I like promises,
-I like to place under the guarantee of an oath, under the
-protection of Heaven, in fact, everything which interests my
-heart and my affections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Promise me, or rather swear to me, that if in the life we are
-about to commence, a life which will be full of sacrifice,
-mystery, anxiety, disappointment, and misunderstanding; swear to
-me that if we should in any way deceive, or misunderstand each
-other, or should judge each other unjustly, for that indeed would
-be criminal in love such as ours; swear to me, Louise - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She trembled with
-agitation to the very depths of her heart; it was the first time
-she had heard her name pronounced in that manner by her royal
-lover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for the king,
-taking off his glove, and placing his hand within the carriage,
-he continued: - "Swear, that never in all our quarrels will we
-allow one night even to pass by, if any misunderstanding should
-arise between us, without a visit, or at least a message, from
-either, in order to convey consolation and repose to the
-other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re took
-her lover's burning hand between her own cool palms, and pressed
-it softly, until a movement of the horse, frightened by the
-proximity of the wheels, obliged her to abandon her
-happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She had vowed
-as he desired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Return, sire," she
-said, "return to the queen.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I foresee a storm yonder, which
-threatens my peace of mind and yours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis obeyed, saluted
-Mademoiselle de Montalais, and set off at a gallop to rejoin the
-queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As he passed
-Monsieur's carriage, he observed that he was fast asleep,
-although Madame, on her part, was wide awake.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As the king passed her she said,
-"What a beautiful horse, sire!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it not Monsieur's bay horse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The young queen kindly
-asked, "Are you better now, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: In the five-volume
-edition, Volume 3 ends here. - JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Triumfeminate.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-O</span>n the king's arrival in Paris, he sat at the council
-which had been summoned, and worked for a certain portion of the
-day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The queen remained
-with the queen-mother, and burst into tears as soon as she had
-taken leave of the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Ah, madame!" she said, "the king no longer loves me!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What will become of me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A husband always loves
-his wife when she is like you," replied Anne of Austria.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A time may come when he
-will love another woman instead of me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you call
-loving?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Always thinking of a
-person - always seeking her society."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you happen to have
-remarked," said Anne of Austria, "that the king has ever done
-anything of the sort?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, madame," said the
-young queen, hesitatingly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is there to
-complain of, then, Marie?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will admit that the
-king leaves me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king, my daughter,
-belongs to his people."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And that is the very
-reason why he no longer belongs to me; and that is the reason,
-too, why I shall find myself, as so many queens before me,
-forsaken and forgotten, whilst glory and honors will be reserved
-for others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, my
-mother! the king is so handsome! how often will others tell him
-that they love him, and how much, indeed, they must do so!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is very seldom,
-indeed, that women love the man in loving the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But if such a thing happened, which
-I doubt, you would do better to wish, Marie, that such women
-should really love your husband.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the first place, the devoted love
-of a mistress is a rapid element of the dissolution of a lover's
-affection; and then, by dint of loving, the mistress loses all
-influence over her lover, whose power of wealth she does not
-covet, caring only for his affection.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Wish, therefore, that the king
-should love but lightly, and that his mistress should love with
-all her heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, my mother, what
-power may not a deep affection exercise over him!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet you say you are
-resigned?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite true, quite true;
-I speak absurdly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There
-is a feeling of anguish, however, which I can never control."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And that is?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king may make a
-happy choice - may find a home, with all the tender influences of
-home, not far from that we can offer him, - a home with children
-round him, the children of another woman.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, madame!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should die if I were but to see
-the king's children."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Marie, Marie," replied
-the queen-mother with a smile, and she took the young queen's
-hand in her own, "remember what I am going to say, and let it
-always be a consolation to you: the king cannot have a Dauphin
-without <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>you</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> With this remark the
-queen-mother quitted her daughter-in-law, in order to meet
-Madame, whose arrival in the grand cabinet had just been
-announced by one of the pages.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame had scarcely taken time to
-change her dress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her
-face revealed her agitation, which betrayed a plan, the execution
-of which occupied, while the result disturbed, her mind.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I came to ascertain,"
-she said, "if your majesties are suffering any fatigue from our
-journey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "None at all," said the
-queen-mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A little," replied
-Maria Theresa.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have suffered from
-annoyance more than anything else," said Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How was that?" inquired
-Anne of Austria.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The fatigue the king
-undergoes in riding about on horseback."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That does the king
-good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And it was I who
-advised him," said Maria Theresa, turning pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame said not a word
-in reply; but one of those smiles which were peculiarly her own
-flitted for a moment across her lips, without passing over the
-rest of her face; then, immediately changing the conversation,
-she continued, "We shall find Paris precisely the Paris we
-quitted; the same intrigues, plots, and flirtations going
-on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Intrigues!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What intrigues do you allude to?"
-inquired the queen-mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "People are talking a
-good deal about M. Fouquet and Madame
-Plessis-Belli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who makes up the number
-to about ten thousand," replied the queen-mother.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "But what are the plots you speak
-of?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We have, it seems,
-certain misunderstandings with Holland to settle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What about?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur has been
-telling me the story of the medals."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" exclaimed the
-young queen, "you mean those medals struck in Holland, on which a
-cloud is seen passing across the sun, which is the king's
-device.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are wrong in
-calling that a plot - it is an insult."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But so contemptible
-that the king can well despise it," replied the
-queen-mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well, what
-are the flirtations which are alluded to?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you mean that of Madame
-d'Olonne?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no; nearer
-ourselves than that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Casa de usted</i>," murmured the
-queen-mother, and without moving her lips, in her
-daughter-in-law's ear, without being overheard by Madame, who
-thus continued: - "You know the terrible news?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: "In your house." -
-JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, yes; M. de Guiche's
-wound."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you attribute it, I
-suppose, as every one else does, to an accident which happened to
-him while hunting?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, of course," said
-both the queens together, their interest awakened.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame drew closer to
-them, as she said, in a low tone of voice, "It was a duel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said Anne of
-Austria, in a severe tone; for, in her ears, the word "duel,"
-which had been forbidden in France all the time she reigned over
-it, had a strange sound.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A most deplorable duel,
-which has nearly cost Monsieur two of his best friends, and the
-king two of his best servants."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What was the cause of
-the duel?" inquired the young queen, animated by a secret
-instinct.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Flirtation," repeated
-Madame, triumphantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"The gentlemen in question were conversing about the virtue of a
-particular lady belonging to the court.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One of them thought that Pallas was
-a very second-rate person compared to her; the other pretended
-that the lady in question was an imitation of Venus alluring
-Mars; and thereupon the two gentlemen fought as fiercely as
-Hector and Achilles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Venus alluring Mars?"
-said the young queen in a low tone of voice without venturing to
-examine into the allegory very deeply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who is the lady?"
-inquired Anne of Austria abruptly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You said, I believe, she was one of
-the ladies of honor?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did I say so?" replied
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; at least I thought
-I heard you mention it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you not aware that
-such a woman is of ill-omen to a royal house?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it not Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re?" said the queen-mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, indeed, that
-plain-looking creature."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I thought she was
-affianced to a gentleman who certainly is not, at least so I have
-heard, either M. de Guiche or M. de Wardes?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very
-possibly, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The young queen took up
-a piece of tapestry, and began to broider with an affectation of
-tranquillity her trembling fingers contradicted.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What were you saying
-about Venus and Mars?" pursued the queen-mother.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Is there a Mars also?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She boasts of that
-being the case."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did you say she boasts
-of it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That was the cause of
-the duel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And M. de Guiche upheld
-the cause of Mars?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, certainly; like
-the devoted servant he is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The devoted servant of
-whom?" exclaimed the young queen, forgetting her reserve in
-allowing her jealous feeling to escape.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Mars, not to be
-defended except at the expense of Venus," replied Madame.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "M. de Guiche maintained the
-perfect innocence of Mars, and no doubt affirmed that it was all
-a mere boast."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And M. de Wardes," said
-Anne of Austria, quietly, "spread the report that Venus was
-within her rights, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, De Wardes," thought
-Madame, "you shall pay dearly for the wound you have given that
-noblest - best of men!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-And she began to attack De Wardes with the greatest bitterness;
-thus discharging her own and De Guiche's debt, with the assurance
-that she was working the future ruin of her enemy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She said so much, in fact, that had
-Manicamp been there, he would have regretted he had shown such
-firm regard for his friend, inasmuch as it resulted in the ruin
-of his unfortunate foe.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I see nothing in the
-whole affair but <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>one</i>
-cause of mischief, and that is La Valli&egrave;re herself," said
-the queen-mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The young queen resumed
-her work with perfect indifference of manner, while Madame
-listened eagerly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not yet quite
-understand what you said just now about the danger of coquetry,"
-resumed Anne of Austria.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is quite true,"
-Madame hastened to say, "that if the girl had not been a
-coquette, Mars would not have thought at all about her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The repetition of this
-word Mars brought a passing color to the queen's face; but she
-still continued her work.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will not permit that,
-in my court, gentlemen should be set against each other in this
-manner," said Anne of Austria, calmly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Such manners were useful enough,
-perhaps, in days when the divided nobility had no other
-rallying-point than mere gallantry.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At that time women, whose sway was
-absolute and undivided, were privileged to encourage men's valor
-by frequent trials of their courage.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But now, thank Heaven, there is but
-one master in France, and to him every instinct of the mind,
-every pulse of the body are due.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will not allow my son to be
-deprived of any single one of his servants."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And she turned towards the young
-queen, saying, "What is to be done with this La
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "La Valli&egrave;re?"
-said the queen, apparently surprised, "I do not even know the
-name;" and she accompanied this remark by one of those cold,
-fixed smiles only to be observed on royal lips.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame was herself a
-princess great in every respect, great in intelligence, great by
-birth, by pride; the queen's reply, however, completely
-astonished her, and she was obliged to pause for a moment in
-order to recover herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"She is one of my maids of honor," she replied, with a bow.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case," retorted
-Maria Theresa, in the same tone, "it is your affair, my sister,
-and not ours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I beg your pardon,"
-resumed Anne of Austria, "it is my affair.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And I perfectly well understand,"
-she pursued, addressing a look full of intelligence at Madame,
-"Madame's motive for saying what she has just said."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Everything which
-emanates from you, madame," said the English princess, "proceeds
-from the lips of Wisdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If we send this girl
-back to her own family," said Maria Theresa, gently, "we must
-bestow a pension upon her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which I will provide
-for out of my income," exclaimed Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no," interrupted
-Anne of Austria, "no disturbance, I beg.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king dislikes that the slightest
-disrespectful remark should be made of any lady.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let everything be done quietly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will you have the kindness,
-Madame, to send for this girl here; and you, my daughter, will
-have the goodness to retire to your own room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The dowager queen's
-entreaties were commands, and as Maria Theresa rose to return to
-her apartments, Madame rose in order to send a page to summon La
-Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-First Quarrel.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-L</span>a Valli&egrave;re entered the queen-mother's apartments
-without in the least suspecting that a serious plot was being
-concerted against her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-She thought it was for something connected with her duties, and
-never had the queen-mother been unkind to her when such was the
-case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, not being
-immediately under the control or direction of Anne of Austria,
-she could only have an official connection with her, to which her
-own gentleness of disposition, and the rank of the august
-princess, made her yield on every occasion with the best possible
-grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She therefore
-advanced towards the queen-mother with that soft and gentle smile
-which constituted her principal charm, and as she did not
-approach sufficiently close, Anne of Austria signed to her to
-come nearer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame then
-entered the room, and with a perfectly calm air took her seat
-beside her mother-in-law, and continued the work which Maria
-Theresa had begun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When
-La Valli&egrave;re, instead of the direction which she expected
-to receive immediately on entering the room, perceived these
-preparations, she looked with curiosity, if not with uneasiness,
-at the two princesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Anne seemed full of thought, while Madame maintained an
-affectation of indifference that would have alarmed a less timid
-person even than Louise.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Mademoiselle," said the
-queen-mother suddenly, without attempting to moderate or disguise
-her Spanish accent, which she never failed to do except when she
-was angry, "come closer; we were talking of you, as every one
-else seems to be doing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of me!" exclaimed La
-Valli&egrave;re, turning pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you pretend to be
-ignorant of it; are you not aware of the duel between M. de
-Guiche and M. de Wardes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, madame!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I heard of it yesterday," said La
-Valli&egrave;re, clasping her hands together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And did you not foresee
-this quarrel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why should I,
-madame?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because two men never
-fight without a motive, and because you must be aware of the
-motive which awakened the animosity of the two in question."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am perfectly ignorant
-of it, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A persevering denial is
-a very commonplace mode of defense, and you, who have great
-pretensions to be witty and clever, ought to avoid
-commonplaces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What else
-have you to say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! madame, your
-majesty terrifies me with your cold severity of manner; but I do
-not understand how I can have incurred your displeasure, or in
-what respect people concern themselves about me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Then I will tell
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Guiche has
-been obliged to undertake your defense."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My defense?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He is a gallant knight, and
-beautiful adventuresses like to see brave knights couch lances in
-their honor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, for my
-part, I hate fields of battle, and above all I hate adventures,
-and - take my remark as you please."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re sank
-at the queen's feet, who turned her back upon her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She stretched out her hands towards
-Madame, who laughed in her face.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A feeling of pride made her rise to
-her feet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have begged your
-majesty to tell me what is the crime I am accused of - I can
-claim this at your hands; and I see I am condemned before I am
-even permitted to justify myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Eh! indeed," cried Anne
-of Austria, "listen to her beautiful phrases, Madame, and to her
-fine sentiments; she is an inexhaustible well of tenderness and
-heroic expressions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One
-can easily see, young lady, that you have cultivated your mind in
-the society of crowned heads."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re felt
-struck to the heart; she became, not whiter, but as white as a
-lily, and all her strength forsook her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I wished to inform
-you," interrupted the queen, disdainfully, "that if you continue
-to nourish such feelings, you will humiliate us to such a degree
-that we shall be ashamed of appearing before you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Be simple in your manners.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By the by, I am informed that
-you are affianced; is it the case?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-pressed her hand over her heart, which was wrung with a fresh
-pang.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Answer when you are
-spoken to!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, madame."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To a
-gentleman?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes,
-madame."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "His
-name?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you aware that it
-is an exceedingly fortunate circumstance for you, mademoiselle,
-that such is the case, and without fortune or position, as you
-are, or without any very great personal advantages, you ought to
-bless Heaven for having procured you such a future as seems to be
-in store for you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re did
-not reply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Where is the
-Vicomte de Bragelonne?" pursued the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In England," said
-Madame, "where the report of this young lady's success will not
-fail to reach him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, Heaven!" murmured
-La Valli&egrave;re in despair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well,
-mademoiselle!" said Anne of Austria, "we will get this young
-gentleman to return, and send you away somewhere with him.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If you are of a different
-opinion - for girls have strange views and fancies at times -
-trust to me, I will put you in a proper path again.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have done as much for girls who
-are not as good as you are, probably."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-ceased to hear the queen, who pitilessly added: "I will send you
-somewhere, by yourself, where you will be able to indulge in a
-little serious reflection.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Reflection calms the ardor of the
-blood, and swallows up the illusions of youth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I suppose you understand what I have
-been saying?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not a word?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am innocent of
-everything your majesty supposes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, madame! you are a witness of my
-despair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I love, I
-respect your majesty so much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It would be far better
-not to respect me at all," said the queen, with a chilling irony
-of manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It would be
-far better if you were not innocent.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you presume to suppose that I
-should be satisfied simply to leave you unpunished if you had
-committed the fault?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, madame! you are
-killing me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No acting, if you
-please, or I will precipitate the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>d&eacute;nouement</i> of this <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>play</i>; leave the room;
-return to your own apartment, and I trust my lesson may be of
-service to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame!" said La
-Valli&egrave;re to the Duchess d'Orl&eacute;ans, whose hands she
-seized in her own, "do you, who are so good, intercede for
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I!" replied the latter,
-with an insulting joy, "I - good! - Ah, mademoiselle, you think
-nothing of the kind;" and with a rude, hasty gesture she repulsed
-the young girl's grasp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re,
-instead of giving way, as from her extreme pallor and her tears
-the two princesses possibly expected, suddenly resumed her calm
-and dignified air; she bowed profoundly, and left the room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well!" said Anne of
-Austria to Madame, "do you think she will begin again?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I always suspect those
-gentle, patient characters," replied Madame.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Nothing is more full of courage
-than a patient heart, nothing more self-reliant than a gentle
-spirit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I feel I may almost
-venture to assure you she will think twice before she looks at
-the god Mars again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So long as she does not
-obtain the protection of his buckler I do not care," retorted
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> A proud, defiant look of
-the queen-mother was the reply to this objection, which was by no
-means deficient in <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>finesse</i>; and both of them,
-almost sure of their victory, went to look for Maria Theresa, who
-had been waiting for them with impatience.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It was about half-past
-six in the evening, and the king had just partaken of
-refreshment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He lost no
-time; but the repast finished, and business matters settled, he
-took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and desired him to lead the way to
-La Valli&egrave;re's apartments.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The courtier uttered an
-exclamation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, what is that
-for?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is a habit you
-will have to adopt, and in order to adopt a habit, one must make
-a beginning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire!" said
-Saint-Aignan, "it is hardly possible: for every one can be seen
-entering or leaving those apartments.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If, however, some pretext or other
-were made use of - if your majesty, for instance, would wait
-until Madame were in her own apartments - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No pretext; no
-delays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have had enough
-of these impediments and mysteries; I cannot perceive in what
-respect the king of France dishonors himself by conversing with
-an amiable and clever girl.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Evil be to him who evil thinks."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will your majesty
-forgive an excess of zeal on my part?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Speak freely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How about the
-queen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True, true; I always
-wish the most entire respect to be shown to her majesty.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, then, this evening only
-will I pay Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re a visit, and after
-to-day I will make use of any pretext you like.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To-morrow we will devise all sorts
-of means; to-night I have no time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Saint-Aignan made no
-reply; he descended the steps, preceding the king, and crossed
-the different courtyards with a feeling of shame, which the
-distinguished honor of accompanying the king did not remove.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The reason was that
-Saint-Aignan wished to stand well with Madame, as well as with
-the queens, and also, that he did not, on the other hand, want to
-displease Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re: and in order to
-carry out so many promising affairs, it was difficult to avoid
-jostling against some obstacle or other.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, the windows of the young
-queen's rooms, those of the queen-mother's, and of Madame
-herself, looked out upon the courtyard of the maids of
-honor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To be seen,
-therefore, accompanying the king, would be effectually to quarrel
-with three great and influential princesses - whose authority was
-unbounded - for the purpose of supporting the ephemeral credit of
-a mistress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The unhappy
-Saint-Aignan, who had not displayed a very great amount of
-courage in taking La Valli&egrave;re's part in the park of
-Fontainebleau, did not feel any braver in the broad day-light,
-and found a thousand defects in the poor girl which he was most
-eager to communicate to the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But his trial soon finished, - the
-courtyards were crossed; not a curtain was drawn aside, nor a
-window opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king
-walked hastily, because of his impatience, and the long legs of
-Saint-Aignan, who preceded him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the door, however, Saint-Aignan
-wished to retire, but the king desired him to remain; a delicate
-consideration, on the king's part, which the courtier could very
-well have dispensed with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-He had to follow Louis into La Valli&egrave;re's apartment.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as the king arrived
-the young girl dried her tears, but so precipitately that the
-king perceived it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-questioned her most anxiously and tenderly, and pressed her to
-tell him the cause of her emotion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing is the matter,
-sire," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet you were
-weeping?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no,
-indeed, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Look, Saint-Aignan, and
-tell me if I am mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Saint-Aignan ought to
-have answered, but he was too much embarrassed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At all events your eyes
-are red, mademoiselle," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The dust of the road
-merely, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no; you no longer
-possess the air of supreme contentment which renders you so
-beautiful and so attractive.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You do not look at me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why avoid my gaze?" he said, as she
-turned aside her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"In Heaven's name, what is the matter?" he inquired, beginning to
-lose command over himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing at all, sire;
-and I am perfectly ready to assure your majesty that my mind is
-as free form anxiety as you could possibly wish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your mind at ease, when
-I see you are embarrassed at the slightest thing.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Has any one annoyed you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I insist upon knowing
-if such really be the case," said the prince, his eyes
-sparkling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No one, sire, no one
-has in any way offended me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, pray
-resume your gentle air of gayety, or that sweet melancholy look
-which I so loved in you this morning; for pity's sake, do
-so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire, yes."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king
-tapped the floor impatiently with his foot, saying, "Such a
-change is positively inexplicable."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he looked at Saint-Aignan, who
-had also remarked La Valli&egrave;re's peculiar lethargy, as well
-as the king's impatience.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It was futile for the
-king to entreat, and as useless for him to try to overcome her
-depression: the poor girl was completely overwhelmed, - the
-appearance of an angel would hardly have awakened her from her
-torpor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king saw in her
-repeated negative replies a mystery full of unkindness; he began
-to look round the apartment with a suspicious air.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There happened to be in La
-Valli&egrave;re's room a miniature of Athos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king remarked that this portrait
-bore a strong resemblance to Bragelonne, for it had been taken
-when the count was quite a young man.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He looked at it with a threatening
-air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re,
-in her misery far indeed from thinking of this portrait, could
-not conjecture the cause of the king's preoccupation.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And yet the king's mind was occupied
-with a terrible remembrance, which had more than once taken
-possession of his mind, but which he had always driven away.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He recalled the intimacy
-existing between the two young people from their birth, their
-engagement, and that Athos himself had come to solicit La
-Valli&egrave;re's hand for Raoul.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He therefore could not but suppose
-that on her return to Paris, La Valli&egrave;re had found news
-from London awaiting her, and that this news had counterbalanced
-the influence he had been enabled to exert over her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He immediately felt himself stung,
-as it were, by feelings of the wildest jealousy; and again
-questioned her, with increased bitterness.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re could not reply,
-unless she were to acknowledge everything, which would be to
-accuse the queen, and Madame also; and the consequence would be,
-that she would have to enter into an open warfare with these two
-great and powerful princesses.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She thought within herself that as
-she made no attempt to conceal from the king what was passing in
-her own mind, the king ought to be able to read in her heart, in
-spite of her silence; and that, had he really loved her, he would
-have understood and guessed everything.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What was sympathy, then, if not that
-divine flame which possesses the property of enlightening the
-heart, and of saving lovers the necessity of an expression of
-their thoughts and feelings?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She maintained her silence,
-therefore, sighing, and concealing her face in her hands.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These sighs and tears, which
-had at first distressed, then terrified Louis XIV., now irritated
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He could not bear
-opposition, - the opposition which tears and sighs exhibited, any
-more than opposition of any other kind.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His remarks, therefore, became
-bitter, urgent, and openly aggressive in their nature.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This was a fresh cause of
-distress for the poor girl.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> From that very circumstance,
-therefore, which she regarded as an injustice on her lover's
-part, she drew sufficient courage to bear, not only her other
-troubles, but this one also.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king next began to
-accuse her in direct terms.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re did not even
-attempt to defend herself; she endured all his accusations
-without according any other reply than that of shaking her head;
-without any other remark than that which escapes the heart in
-deep distress - a prayerful appeal to Heaven for help.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But this ejaculation, instead
-of calming the king's displeasure, rather increased it.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He, moreover, saw himself
-seconded by Saint-Aignan, for Saint-Aignan, as we have observed,
-having seen the storm increasing, and not knowing the extent of
-the regard of which Louis XIV. was capable, felt, by
-anticipation, all the collected wrath of the three princesses,
-and the near approach of poor La Valli&egrave;re's downfall, and
-he was not true knight enough to resist the fear that he himself
-might be dragged down in the impending ruin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan did not reply to the
-king's questions except by short, dry remarks, pronounced
-half-aloud; and by abrupt gestures, whose object was to make
-things worse, and bring about a misunderstanding, the result of
-which would be to free him from the annoyance of having to cross
-the courtyards in open day, in order to follow his illustrious
-companion to La Valli&egrave;re's apartments.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the meantime the king's anger
-momentarily increased; he made two or three steps towards the
-door as if to leave the room, but returned.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The young girl did not, however,
-raise her head, although the sound of his footsteps might have
-warned her that her lover was leaving her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He drew himself up, for a moment,
-before her, with his arms crossed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For the last time,
-mademoiselle," he said, "will you speak?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will you assign a reason for this
-change, this fickleness, for this caprice?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What can I say?"
-murmured La Valli&egrave;re.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Do you not see, sire, that I am
-completely overwhelmed at this moment; that I have no power of
-will, or thought, or speech?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it so difficult,
-then, to speak the truth?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-You could have told me the whole truth in fewer words than those
-in which you have expressed yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But the truth about
-what, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "About everything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re was
-just on the point of revealing the truth to the king, her arms
-made a sudden movement as if they were about to open, but her
-lips remained silent, and her hands again fell listlessly by her
-side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The poor girl had
-not yet endured sufficient unhappiness to risk the necessary
-revelation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I know
-nothing," she stammered out.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" exclaimed the
-king, "this is no longer mere coquetry, or caprice, it is
-treason."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And this time nothing
-could restrain him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-impulse of his heart was not sufficient to induce him to turn
-back, and he darted out of the room with a gesture full of
-despair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan
-followed him, wishing for nothing better than to quit the
-place.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis XIV. did not pause
-until he reached the staircase, and grasping the balustrade,
-said: "You see how shamefully I have been duped."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How, sire?" inquired
-the favorite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "De Guiche fought on the
-Vicomte de Bragelonne's account, and this Bragelonne&hellip;
-oh!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan, she
-still loves him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I vow to
-you, Saint-Aignan, that if, in three days from now, there were to
-remain but an atom of affection for her in my heart, I should die
-from very shame."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And the
-king resumed his way to his own apartments.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I told your majesty how
-it would be," murmured Saint-Aignan, continuing to follow the
-king, and timidly glancing up at the different windows.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Unfortunately their
-return was not, like their arrival, unobserved.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A curtain was suddenly drawn aside;
-Madame was behind it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She
-had seen the king leave the apartments of the maids of honor, and
-as soon as she observed that his majesty had passed, she left her
-own apartments with hurried steps, and ran up the staircase that
-led to the room the king had just left.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Despair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-A</span>s soon as the king was gone La Valli&egrave;re raised
-herself from the ground, and stretched out her arms, as if to
-follow and detain him, but when, having violently closed the
-door, the sound of his retreating footsteps could be heard in the
-distance, she had hardly sufficient strength left to totter
-towards and fall at the foot of her crucifix.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There she remained, broken-hearted,
-absorbed, and overwhelmed by her grief, forgetful and indifferent
-to everything but her profound sorrow; - a grief she only vaguely
-realized - as though by instinct.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the midst of this wild tumult of
-thoughts, La Valli&egrave;re heard her door open again; she
-started, and turned round, thinking it was the king who had
-returned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She was
-deceived, however, for it was Madame who appeared at the
-door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What did she now
-care for Madame!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Again
-she sank down, her head supported by her <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>prie-Dieu</i> chair.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was Madame, agitated, angry, and
-threatening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But what was
-that to her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Mademoiselle," said the princess, standing before La
-Valli&egrave;re, "this is very fine, I admit, to kneel and pray,
-and make a pretense of being religious; but however submissive
-you may be in your address to Heaven, it is desirable that you
-should pay some little attention to the wishes of those who reign
-and rule here below."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-raised her head painfully in token of respect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not long since,"
-continued Madame, "a certain recommendation was addressed to you,
-I believe."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re's
-fixed and wild gaze showed how complete her forgetfulness or
-ignorance was.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The queen recommended
-you," continued Madame, "to conduct yourself in such a manner
-that no one could be justified in spreading any reports about
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-darted an inquiring look towards her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will not," continued
-Madame, "allow my household, which is that of the first princess
-of the blood, to set an evil example to the court; you would be
-the cause of such an example.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I beg you to understand, therefore,
-in the absence of any witness of your shame - for I do not wish
-to humiliate you - that you are from this moment at perfect
-liberty to leave, and that you can return to<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> your mother at Blois."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re could
-not sink lower, nor could she suffer more than she had already
-suffered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her countenance
-did not even change, but she remained kneeling with her hands
-clasped, like the figure of the Magdalen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did you hear me?" said
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> A shiver, which passed
-through her whole frame, was La Valli&egrave;re's only
-reply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And as the victim
-gave no other signs of life, Madame left the room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then, her very respiration
-suspended, and her blood almost congealed, as it were, in her
-veins, La Valli&egrave;re by degrees felt that the pulsation of
-her wrists, her neck, and temples, began to throb more and more
-painfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These
-pulsations, as they gradually increased, soon changed into a
-species of brain fever, and in her temporary delirium she saw the
-figures of her friends contending with her enemies, floating
-before her vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She
-heard, too, mingled together in her deafened ears, words of
-menace and words of fond affection; she seemed raised out of her
-existence as though it were upon the wings of a mighty tempest,
-and in the dim horizon of the path along which her delirium
-hurried her, she saw the stone which covered her tomb upraised,
-and the grim, appalling texture of eternal night revealed to her
-distracted gaze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But the
-horror of the dream which possessed her senses faded away, and
-she was again restored to the habitual resignation of her
-character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A ray of hope
-penetrated her heart, as a ray of sunlight streams into the
-dungeon of some unhappy captive.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her mind reverted to the journey
-from Fontainebleau, she saw the king riding beside her carriage,
-telling her that he loved her, asking for her love in return,
-requiring her to swear, and himself to swear too, that never
-should an evening pass by, if ever a misunderstanding were to
-arise between them, without a visit, a letter, a sign of some
-kind, being sent, to replace the troubled anxiety of the evening
-with the calm repose of the night.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was the king who had suggested
-that, who had imposed a promise on her, and who had sworn to it
-himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was
-impossible, therefore, she reasoned, that the king should fail in
-keeping the promise which he had himself exacted from her,
-unless, indeed, Louis was a despot who enforced love as he
-enforced obedience; unless, too, the king were so indifferent
-that the first obstacle in his way was sufficient to arrest his
-further progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king, that kind protector, who by a word, a single word, could
-relieve her distress of mind, the king even joined her
-persecutors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! his
-anger could not possibly last.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Now that he was alone, he would be
-suffering all that she herself was a prey to.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But he was not tied hand and foot as
-she was; he could act, could move about, could come to her, while
-she could do nothing but wait.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And the poor girl waited and waited,
-with breathless anxiety - for she could not believe it possible
-that the king would not come.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It was now about
-half-past ten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He would
-either come to her, or write to her, or send some kind word by M.
-de Saint-Aignan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If he
-were to come, oh! how she would fly to meet him; how she would
-thrust aside that excess of delicacy which she now discovered was
-misunderstood; how eagerly she would explain: "It is not I who do
-not love you - it is the fault of others who will not allow me to
-love you."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then it
-must be confessed that she reflected upon it, and also the more
-she reflected, Louis appeared to her to be less guilty.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In fact, he was ignorant of
-everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What must he
-have thought of the obstinacy with which she remained
-silent?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Impatient and
-irritable as the king was known to be, it was extraordinary that
-he had been able to preserve his temper so long.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And yet, had it been her own case,
-she undoubtedly would not have acted in such a manner; she would
-have understood - have guessed everything.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yes, but she was nothing but a poor
-simple-minded girl, and not a great and powerful monarch.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! if he would but come, if
-he would but come! - how eagerly she would forgive him for all he
-had just made her suffer! how much more tenderly she would love
-him because she had so cruelly suffered!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so she sat, with her head bent
-forward in eager expectation towards the door, her lips slightly
-parted, as if - and Heaven forgive her for the mental
-exclamation! - they were awaiting the kiss which the king's lips
-had in the morning so sweetly indicated, when he pronounced the
-word <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>love!</i><span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If the king did not come, at least
-he would write; it was a second chance; a chance less delightful
-certainly than the other, but which would show an affection just
-as strong, only more timid in its nature.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! how she would devour his letter,
-how eager she would be to answer it! and when the messenger who
-had brought it had left her, how she would kiss it, read it over
-and over again, press to her heart the lucky paper which would
-have brought her ease of mind, tranquillity, and perfect
-happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At all events,
-if the king did not come, if the king did not write, he could not
-do otherwise than send Saint-Aignan, or Saint-Aignan could not do
-otherwise than come of his own accord.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Even if it were a third person, how
-openly she would speak to him; the royal presence would not be
-there to freeze her words upon her tongue, and then no suspicious
-feeling would remain a moment longer in the king's heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Everything with La
-Valli&egrave;re, heart and look, body and mind, was concentrated
-in eager expectation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She
-said to herself that there was an hour left in which to indulge
-hope; that until midnight struck, the king might come, or write
-or send; that at midnight only would every expectation vanish,
-every hope be lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Whenever she heard any stir in the palace, the poor girl fancied
-she was the cause of it; whenever she heard any one pass in the
-courtyard below she imagined they were messengers of the king
-coming to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Eleven
-o'clock struck, then a quarter-past eleven; then half-past.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The minutes dragged slowly on
-in this anxiety, and yet they seemed to pass too quickly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And now, it struck a quarter
-to twelve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Midnight -
-midnight was near, the last, the final hope that remained.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> With the last stroke of the
-clock, the last ray of light seemed to fade away; and with the
-last ray faded her final hope.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so, the king himself had
-deceived her; it was he who had been the first to fail in keeping
-the oath which he had sworn that very day; twelve hours only
-between his oath and his perjured vow; it as not long, alas! to
-have preserved the illusion.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so, not only did the king not
-love her, but he despised her whom every one ill-treated, he
-despised her to the extent even of abandoning her to the shame of
-an expulsion which was equivalent to having an ignominious
-sentence passed on her; and yet, it was he, the king himself, who
-was the first cause of this ignominy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A bitter smile, the only symptom of
-anger which during this long conflict had passed across the
-angelic face, appeared upon her lips.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What, in fact, now remained on earth
-for her, after the king was lost to her?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But Heaven still remained, and her
-thoughts flew thither.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-She prayed that the proper course for her to follow might be
-suggested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It is from
-Heaven," she thought, "that I expect everything; it is from
-Heaven I ought to expect everything."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And she looked at her crucifix with
-a devotion full of tender love.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "There," she said, "hangs before me
-a Master who never forgets and never abandons those who neither
-forget nor abandon Him; it is to Him alone that we must sacrifice
-ourselves."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And,
-thereupon, could any one have gazed into the recesses of that
-chamber, they would have seen the poor despairing girl adopt a
-final resolution, and determine upon one last plan in her
-mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, as her knees
-were no longer able to support her, she gradually sank down upon
-the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>prie-Dieu</i>, and with
-her head pressed against the wooden cross, her eyes fixed, and
-her respiration short and quick, she watched for the earliest
-rays of approaching daylight.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At two o'clock in the morning she
-was still in the same bewilderment of mind, or rather the same
-ecstasy of feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her
-thoughts had almost ceased to hold communion with things of the
-world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And when she saw
-the pale violet tints of early dawn visible over the roofs of the
-palace, and vaguely revealing the outlines of the ivory crucifix
-which she held embraced, she rose from the ground with a new-born
-strength, kissed the feet of the divine martyr, descended the
-staircase leading from the room, and wrapped herself from head to
-foot in a mantle as she went along.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She reached the wicket at the very
-moment the guard of the musketeers opened the gate to admit the
-first relief-guard belonging to one of the Swiss regiments.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then, gliding behind the
-soldiers, she reached the street before the officer in command of
-the patrol had even thought of asking who the young girl was who
-was making her escape from the palace at so early an hour.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Flight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-L</span>a Valli&egrave;re followed the patrol as it left the
-courtyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The patrol
-bent its steps towards the right, by the Rue St. Honor&eacute;,
-and mechanically La Valli&egrave;re turned to the left.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her resolution was taken - her
-determination fixed; she wished to betake herself to the convent
-of the Carmelites at Chaillot, the superior of which enjoyed a
-reputation for severity which made the worldly-minded people of
-the court tremble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La
-Valli&egrave;re had never seen Paris, she had never gone out on
-foot, and so would have been unable to find her way even had she
-been in a calmer frame of mind than was then the case; and this
-may explain why she ascended, instead of descending, the Rue St.
-Honor&eacute;.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her only
-thought was to get away from the Palais Royal, and this she was
-doing; she had heard it said that Chaillot looked out upon the
-Seine, and she accordingly directed her steps towards the
-Seine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She took the Rue
-de Coq, and not being able to cross the Louvre, bore towards the
-church of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, proceeding along the site of
-the colonnade which was subsequently built there by
-Perrault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In a very short
-time she reached the quays.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her steps were rapid and agitated;
-she scarcely felt the weakness which reminded her of having
-sprained her foot when very young, and which obliged her to limp
-slightly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At any other
-hour in the day her countenance would have awakened the
-suspicions of the least clear-sighted, attracted the attention of
-the most indifferent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But
-at half-past two in the morning, the streets of Paris are almost,
-if not quite, deserted, and scarcely is any one to be seen but
-the hard-working artisan on his way to earn his daily bread or
-the roistering idlers of the streets, who are returning to their
-homes after a night of riot and debauchery; for the former the
-day was beginning, and for the latter it was just closing.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re was afraid
-of both faces, in which her ignorance of Parisian types did not
-permit her to distinguish the type of probity from that of
-dishonesty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-appearance of misery alarmed her, and all she met seemed either
-vile or miserable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her
-dress, which was the same she had worn during the previous
-evening, was elegant even in its careless disorder; for it was
-the one in which she had presented herself to the queen-mother;
-and, moreover, when she drew aside the mantle which covered her
-face, in order to enable her to see the way she was going, her
-pallor and her beautiful eyes spoke an unknown language to the
-men she met, and, unconsciously, the poor fugitive seemed to
-invite the brutal remarks of the one class, or to appeal to the
-compassion of the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-La Valli&egrave;re still walked on in the same way, breathless
-and hurried, until she reached the top of the Place de
-Gr&egrave;ve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She stopped
-from time to time, placed her hand upon her heart, leaned against
-a wall until she could breathe freely again, and then continued
-on her course more rapidly than before.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On reaching the Place de
-Gr&egrave;ve La Valli&egrave;re suddenly came upon a group of
-three drunken men, reeling and staggering along, who were just
-leaving a boat which they had made fast to the quay; the boat was
-freighted with wines, and it was apparent that they had done
-ample justice to the merchandise.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They were celebrating their
-convivial exploits in three different keys, when suddenly, as
-they reached the end of the railing leading down to the quay,
-they found an obstacle in their path, in the shape of this young
-girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-stopped; while they, on their part, at the appearance of the
-young girl dressed in court costume, also halted, and seizing
-each other by the hand, they surrounded La Valli&egrave;re,
-singing, -</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>"Oh! all ye weary
-wights, who mope alone,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Come drink, and sing and
-laugh, round Venus' throne."</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span></span> La
-Valli&egrave;re at once understood that the men were insulting
-her, and wished to prevent her passing; she tried to do so
-several times, but her efforts were useless.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Her limbs failed her; she felt she
-was on the point of falling, and uttered a cry of terror.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the same moment the circle
-which surrounded her was suddenly broken through in a most
-violent manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One of
-her insulters was knocked to the left, another fell rolling over
-and over to the right, close to the water's edge, while the third
-could hardly keep his feet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> An officer of the musketeers stood
-face to face with the young girl, with threatening brow and hand
-raised to carry out his threat.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The drunken fellows, at sight of the
-uniform, made their escape with what speed their staggering limbs
-could lend them, all the more eagerly for the proof of strength
-which the wearer of the uniform had just afforded them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it possible,"
-exclaimed the musketeer, "that it can be Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re,
-bewildered by what had just happened, and confounded by hearing
-her name pronounced, looked up and recognized D'Artagnan.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh, M. d'Artagnan! it is
-indeed I;" and at the same moment she seized his arm.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You will protect me, will you not?"
-she added, in a tone of entreaty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Most certainly I will
-protect you; but, in Heaven's name, where are you going at this
-hour?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am going to
-Chaillot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are going to
-Chaillot by way of La Rap&eacute;e! why, mademoiselle, you are
-turning your back upon it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, monsieur,
-be kind enough to put me in the right way, and to go with me a
-short distance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Most willingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But how does it happen
-that I have found you here?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By what merciful intervention were
-you sent to my assistance?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I almost seem to be dreaming, or to
-be losing my senses."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I happened to be here,
-mademoiselle, because I have a house in the Place de
-Gr&egrave;ve, at the sign of the Notre-Dame, the rent of which I
-went to receive yesterday, and where I, in fact, passed the
-night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And I also wished
-to be at the palace early, for the purposes of inspecting my
-posts."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Thank you," said La
-Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is what <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>I</i> was doing," said D'Artagnan to
-himself; "but what is <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>she</i> doing, and why is she going
-to Chaillot at such an hour?"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he offered her his arm, which
-she took, and began to walk with increased precipitation, which
-ill-concealed, however, her weakness.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan perceived it, and
-proposed to La Valli&egrave;re that she should take a little
-rest, which she refused.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are ignorant,
-perhaps, where Chaillot is?" inquired D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a great
-distance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That matters very
-little."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is at least a
-league."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I can walk it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan did not
-reply; he could tell, merely by the tone of a voice, when a
-resolution was real or not.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He rather bore along rather than
-accompanied La Valli&egrave;re, until they perceived the elevated
-ground of Chaillot.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What house are you
-going to, mademoiselle?" inquired D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To the Carmelites,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To the Carmelites?"
-repeated D'Artagnan, in amazement.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; and since Heaven
-has directed you towards me to give me your support on my road,
-accept both my thanks and my adieux."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To the Carmelites!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your adieux!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you going to become a nun?"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What, you!!!"<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There was in this "you," which
-we have marked by three notes of exclamation in order to render
-it as expressive as possible, - there was, we repeat, in this
-"you" a complete poem; it recalled to La Valli&egrave;re her old
-recollections of Blois, and her new recollections of
-Fontainebleau; it said to her, "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>You</i>, who might be happy with
-Raoul; <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>you</i>, who might
-be powerful with Louis; <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>you</i> about to become a nun!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, monsieur," she
-said, "I am going to devote myself to the service of Heaven; and
-to renounce the world entirely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But are you not
-mistaken with regard to your vocation, - are you not mistaken in
-supposing it to be the will of Heaven?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, since Heaven has
-been pleased to throw you in my way.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Had it not been for you, I should
-certainly have sunk from fatigue on the road, and since Heaven, I
-repeat, has thrown you in my way, it is because it has willed
-that I should carry out my intention."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said D'Artagnan,
-doubtingly, "that is a rather subtle distinction, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Whatever it may be,"
-returned the young girl, "I have acquainted you with the steps I
-have taken, and with my fixed resolution.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, now, I have one last favor to
-ask of you, even while I return you my thanks.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king is entirely ignorant of my
-flight from the Palais Royal, and is ignorant also of what I am
-about to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king ignorant, you
-say!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Take care, mademoiselle; you are
-not aware of what you are doing.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No one ought to do anything with
-which the king is unacquainted, especially those who belong to
-the court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I no longer belong to
-the court, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan looked at the
-young girl with increasing astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not be uneasy,
-monsieur," she continued: "I have well calculated everything; and
-were it not so, it would now be too late to reconsider my
-resolution, - all is decided."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, mademoiselle,
-what do you wish me to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the name of that
-sympathy which misfortune inspires, by your generous feeling, and
-by your honor as a gentleman, I entreat you to promise me one
-thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Name it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Swear to me, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan, that you will not tell the king that you have seen
-me, and that I am at the Carmelites."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will not swear that,"
-said D'Artagnan, shaking his head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because I know the
-king, I know you, I know myself even, nay, the whole human race,
-too well; no, no, I will not swear that!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case," cried La
-Valli&egrave;re, with an energy of which one would hardly have
-thought her capable, "instead of the blessing which I should have
-implored for you until my dying day, I will invoke a curse, for
-you are rendering me the most miserable creature that ever
-lived."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> We have already observed
-that D'Artagnan could easily recognize the accents of truth and
-sincerity, and he could not resist this last appeal.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He saw by her face how bitterly she
-suffered from a feeling of degradation, he remarked her trembling
-limbs, how her whole slight and delicate frame was violently
-agitated by some internal struggle, and clearly perceived that
-resistance might be fatal.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I will do as you wish, then," he
-said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Be satisfied,
-mademoiselle, I will say nothing to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! thanks, thanks,"
-exclaimed La Valli&egrave;re, "you are the most generous man
-breathing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And in her extreme
-delight she seized hold of D'Artagnan's hands and pressed them
-between her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan, who felt himself quite overcome, said: "This is
-touching, upon my word; she begins where others leave off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And La Valli&egrave;re,
-who, in the bitterness of her distress, had sunk upon the ground,
-rose and walked towards the convent of the Carmelites, which
-could now, in the dawning light, be perceived just before
-them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan followed
-her at a distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-entrance-door was half-open; she glided in like a shadow, and
-thanking D'Artagnan by a parting gesture, disappeared from his
-sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When D'Artagnan
-found himself quite alone, he reflected very profoundly upon what
-had just taken place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Upon my word," he said, "this looks very much like what is
-called a false position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-To keep such a secret as that, is to keep a burning coal in one's
-breeches-pocket, and trust that it may not burn the stuff.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And yet, not to keep it when I
-have sworn to do so is dishonorable.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It generally happens that some
-bright idea or other occurs to me as I am going along; but I am
-very much mistaken if I shall not, now, have to go a long way in
-order to find the solution of this affair.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yes, but which way to go?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! towards Paris, of course;
-that is the best way, after all.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Only one must make haste, and in
-order to make haste four legs are better than two, and I,
-unhappily, only have two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-'A horse, a horse,' as I heard them say at the theatre in London,
-'my kingdom for a horse!'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-And now I think of it, it need not cost me so much as that, for
-at the Barri&egrave;re de la Conf&eacute;rence there is a guard
-of musketeers, and instead of the one horse I need, I shall find
-ten there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> So, in pursuance of this
-resolution, which he adopted with his usual rapidity, D'Artagnan
-immediately turned his back upon the heights of Chaillot, reached
-the guard-house, took the fastest horse he could find there, and
-was at the palace in less than ten minutes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was striking five as he reached
-the Palais Royal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king, he was told, had gone to bed at his usual hour, having been
-long engaged with M. Colbert, and, in all probability, was still
-sound asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Come,"
-said D'Artagnan, "she spoke the truth; the king is ignorant of
-everything; if he only knew one-half of what has happened, the
-Palais Royal by this time would be turned upside down."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: This alternate
-translation of the verse in this chapter:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>"Oh! you who sadly
-are wandering alone,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Come, come, and laugh
-with us."</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">- is closer to the original meaning. -
-JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Showing How Louis, on His Part, Had Passed the Time from Ten to
-Half-Past Twelve at Night.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-W</span>hen the king left the apartments of the maids of honor,
-he found Colbert awaiting him to take directions for the next
-day's ceremony, as the king was then to receive the Dutch and
-Spanish ambassadors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Louis XIV. had serious causes of dissatisfaction with the Dutch;
-the States had already been guilty of many mean shifts and
-evasions with France, and without perceiving or without caring
-about the chances of a rupture, they again abandoned the alliance
-with his Most Christian Majesty, for the purpose of entering into
-all kinds of plots with Spain.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis XIV. at his accession, that is
-to say, at the death of Cardinal Mazarin, had found this
-political question roughly sketched out; the solution was
-difficult for a young man, but as, at that time, the king
-represented the whole nation, anything that the head resolved
-upon, the body would be found ready to carry out.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Any sudden impulse of anger, the
-reaction of young hot blood upon the brain, would be quite
-sufficient to change an old form of policy and create another
-system altogether.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-part that diplomatists had to play in those days was that of
-arranging among themselves the different <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>coups-d'&eacute;tat</i> which their
-sovereign masters might wish to effect.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis was not in that calm frame of
-mind which was necessary to enable him to determine on a wise
-course of policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Still
-much agitated from the quarrel he had just had with La
-Valli&egrave;re, he walked hastily into his cabinet, dimly
-desirous of finding an opportunity of producing an explosion
-after he had controlled himself for so long a time.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert, as he saw the king enter,
-knew the position of affairs at a glance, understood the king's
-intentions, and resolved therefore to maneuver a little.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When Louis requested to be
-informed what it would be necessary to say on the morrow, Colbert
-began by expressing his surprise that his majesty had not been
-properly informed by M. Fouquet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "M. Fouquet," he said, "is perfectly
-acquainted with the whole of this Dutch affair - he received the
-dispatches himself direct."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king, who was
-accustomed to hear M. Colbert speak in not over-scrupulous terms
-of M. Fouquet, allowed this remark to pass unanswered, and merely
-listened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert noticed
-the effect it had produced, and hastened to back out, saying that
-M. Fouquet was not on all occasions as blamable as at the first
-glance might seem to be the case, inasmuch as at that moment he
-was greatly occupied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king looked up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What do
-you allude to?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, men are but men,
-and M. Fouquet has his defects as well as his great
-qualities."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! defects, who is
-without them, M. Colbert?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty, hardly,"
-said Colbert, boldly; for he knew how to convey a good deal of
-flattery in a light amount of blame, like the arrow which cleaves
-the air notwithstanding its weight, thanks to the light feathers
-which bear it up.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king smiled.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What defect has M. Fouquet,
-then?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Still the same, sire;
-it is said he is in love."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In love! with
-whom?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am not
-quite sure, sire; I have very little to do with matters of
-gallantry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At all events you know,
-since you speak of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have heard a name
-mentioned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Whose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot now remember
-whose, but I think it is one of Madame's maids of honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king started.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You know more than you like
-to say, M. Colbert," he murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I assure you, no,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At all events, Madame's
-maids of honor are all known, and in mentioning their names to
-you, you will perhaps recollect the one you allude to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At least, try."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It would be useless,
-sire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whenever the name
-of any lady who runs the risk of being compromised is concerned,
-my memory is like a coffer of bronze, the key of which I have
-lost."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> A dark cloud seemed to
-pass over the mind as well as across the face of the king; then,
-wishing to appear as if he were perfect master of himself and his
-feelings, he said, "And now for the affair concerning
-Holland."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the first place,
-sire, at what hour will your majesty receive the
-ambassadors?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Early in the
-morning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Eleven o'clock?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is too late - say
-nine o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That will be too early,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For friends, that would
-be a matter of no importance; one does what one likes with one's
-friends; but for one's enemies, in that case nothing could be
-better than if they <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>were</i> to feel hurt.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should not be sorry, I confess, to
-have to finish altogether with these marsh-birds, who annoy me
-with their cries."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It shall be precisely
-as your majesty desires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-At nine o'clock, therefore - I will give the necessary
-orders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it to be a
-formal audience?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I wish to have an explanation with
-them, and not to embitter matters, as is always the case when
-many persons are present, but, at the same time, I wish to
-clear<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> up everything with
-them, in order not to have to begin over again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty will
-inform me of the persons whom you wish to be present at the
-reception."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will draw out a
-list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let us speak of the
-ambassadors; what do they want?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Allies with Spain, they
-gain nothing; allies with France, they lose much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How is that?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Allied with
-Spain, they see themselves bounded and protected by the
-possessions of their allies; they cannot touch them, however
-anxious they may be to do so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> From Antwerp to Rotterdam is but a
-step, and that by the way of the Scheldt and the Meuse.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If they wish to make a bite at
-the Spanish cake, you, sire, the son-in-law of the king of Spain,
-could with your cavalry sweep the earth from your dominions to
-Brussels in a couple of days.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Their design is, therefore, only to
-quarrel so far with you, and only to make you suspect Spain so
-far, as will be sufficient to induce you not to interfere with
-their own affairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It would be far more
-simple, I should imagine," replied the king, "to form a solid
-alliance with me, by means of which I should gain something,
-while they would gain everything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not so; for if, by
-chance, they were to have you, or France rather, as a boundary,
-your majesty is not an agreeable neighbor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Young, ardent, warlike, the king of
-France might inflict some serious mischief on Holland, especially
-if he were to get near her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I perfectly understand,
-M. Colbert, and you have explained it very clearly; but be good
-enough to tell me the conclusion you have arrived at."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty's own
-decisions are never deficient in wisdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What will these
-ambassadors say to me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "They will tell your
-majesty that they are ardently desirous of forming an alliance
-with you, which will be a falsehood: they will tell Spain that
-the three powers ought to unite so as to check the prosperity of
-England, and that will equally be a falsehood; for at present,
-the natural ally of your majesty is England, who has ships while
-we have none; England, who can counteract Dutch influence in
-India; England, in fact, a monarchical country, to which your
-majesty is attached by ties of relationship."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good; but how would you
-answer?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should answer, sire,
-with the greatest possible moderation of tone, that the
-disposition of Holland does not seem friendly towards the Court
-of France; that the symptoms of public feeling among the Dutch
-are alarming as regards your majesty; that certain medals have
-been struck with insulting devices."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Towards me?" exclaimed
-the young king, excitedly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no! sire, no;
-insulting is not the word; I was mistaken, I ought to have said
-immeasurably flattering to the Dutch."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! if that be so, the
-pride of the Dutch is a matter of indifference to me," said the
-king, sighing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty is right,
-a thousand times right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-However, it is never a mistake in politics, your majesty knows
-better than myself, to exaggerate a little in order to obtain a
-concession in your own favor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If your majesty were to complain as
-if your susceptibility were offended, you would stand in a far
-higher position with them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What are these medals
-you speak of?" inquired Louis; "for if I allude to them, I ought
-to know what to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon my word, sire, I
-cannot very well tell you - some overweeningly conceited device -
-that is the sense of it; the words have little to do with the
-thing itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will mention the word 'medal,' and
-they can understand it if they like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! they will
-understand without any difficulty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your majesty can also slip in a few
-words about certain pamphlets which are being circulated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Never!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Pamphlets befoul those who write
-them much more than those against whom they are written.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Colbert, I thank you.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You can leave now.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not forget the hour I have fixed,
-and be there yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I await your
-majesty's list."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True," returned the
-king; and he began to meditate; he had not thought of the list in
-the least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The clock
-struck half-past eleven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The king's face revealed a violent conflict between pride and
-love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The political
-conversation had dispelled a good deal of the irritation which
-Louis had felt, and La Valli&egrave;re's pale, worn features, in
-his imagination, spoke a very different language from that of the
-Dutch medals, or the Batavian pamphlets.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He sat for ten minutes debating
-within himself whether he should or should not return to La
-Valli&egrave;re; but Colbert having with some urgency
-respectfully requested that the list might be furnished him, the
-king was ashamed to be thinking of mere matters of affection
-where important state affairs required his attention.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He therefore dictated: the
-queen-mother, the queen, Madame, Madame de Motteville, Madame de
-Ch&acirc;tillon, Madame de Navailles; and, for the men, M. le
-Prince, M. de Gramont, M. de Manicamp, M. de Saint-Aignan, and
-the officers on duty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The ministers?" asked
-Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As a matter of course,
-and the secretaries also."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I will leave at
-once in order to get everything prepared; the orders will be at
-the different residences to-morrow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Say rather to-day,"
-replied Louis mournfully, as the clock struck twelve.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was the very hour when poor La
-Valli&egrave;re was almost dying from anguish and bitter
-suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king's
-attendants entered, it being the hour of his retirement to his
-chamber; the queen, indeed, had been waiting for more than an
-hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis accordingly
-retreated to his bedroom with a sigh; but, as he sighed, he
-congratulated himself on his courage, and applauded himself for
-having been as firm in love as in affairs of state.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Ambassadors.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-D</span>'Artagnan had, with very few exceptions, learned almost
-all of the particulars of what we have just been relating; for
-among his friends he reckoned all the useful, serviceable people
-in the royal household, - officious attendants who were proud of
-being recognized by the captain of the musketeers, for the
-captain's influence was very great; and then, in addition to any
-ambitious vies they may have imagined he could promote, they were
-proud of being regarded as worth being spoken to by a man as
-brave as D'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-this manner D'Artagnan learned every morning what he had not been
-able either to see or to ascertain the night before, from the
-simple fact of his not being ubiquitous; so that, with the
-information he had been able by his own means to pick up during
-the day, and with what he had gathered from others, he succeeded
-in making up a bundle of weapons, which he was in the prudent
-habit of using only when occasion required.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In this way, D'Artagnan's two eyes
-rendered him the same service as the hundred eyes of Argus.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Political secrets, bedside
-revelations, hints or scraps of conversation dropped by the
-courtiers on the threshold of the royal ante-chamber, in this way
-D'Artagnan managed to ascertain, and to store away everything in
-the vast and impenetrable mausoleum of his memory, by the side of
-those royal secrets so dearly bought and faithfully
-preserved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He therefore
-knew of the king's interview with Colbert, and of the appointment
-made for the ambassadors in the morning, and, consequently, that
-the question of the medals would be brought up for debate; and,
-while he was arranging and constructing the conversation upon a
-few chance words which had reached his ears, he returned to his
-post in the royal apartments, so as to be there at the very
-moment the king awoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It
-happened that the king rose very early, - proving thereby that
-he, too, on his side, had slept but indifferently.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Towards seven o'clock, he
-half-opened his door very gently.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan was at his post.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His majesty was pale, and
-seemed wearied; he had not, moreover, quite finished
-dressing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Send for M. de
-Saint-Aignan," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Saint-Aignan was
-probably awaiting a summons, for the messenger, when he reached
-his apartment, found him already dressed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan hastened to the king in
-obedience to the summons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-A moment afterwards the king and Saint-Aignan passed by together
-- the king walking first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan went to the window which looked out upon the
-courtyard; he had no need to put himself to the trouble of
-watching in what direction the king went, for he had no
-difficulty in guessing beforehand where his majesty was
-going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king, in fact,
-bent his steps towards the apartments of the maids of honor, - a
-circumstance which in no way astonished D'Artagnan, for he more
-than suspected, although La Valli&egrave;re had not breathed a
-syllable on the subject, that the king had some kind of
-reparation to make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Saint-Aignan followed him as he had done the previous evening,
-rather less uneasy in his mind, though still slightly agitated,
-for he fervently trusted that at seven o'clock in the morning
-there might be only himself and the king awake amongst the august
-guests at the palace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan stood at the window, careless and perfectly calm in
-his manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One could
-almost have sworn that he noticed nothing, and was utterly
-ignorant who were these two hunters after adventures, passing
-like shadows across the courtyard, wrapped up in their
-cloaks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And yet, all the
-while that D'Artagnan appeared not to be looking at them at all,
-he did not for one moment lose sight of them, and while he
-whistled that old march of the musketeers, which he rarely
-recalled except under great emergencies, he conjectured and
-prophesied how terrible would be the storm which would be raised
-on the king's return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-fact, when the king entered La Valli&egrave;re's apartment and
-found the room empty and the bed untouched, he began to be
-alarmed, and called out to Montalais, who immediately answered
-the summons; but her astonishment was equal to the king's.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All that she could tell his
-majesty was, that she had fancied she had heard La
-Valli&egrave;re's weeping during a portion of the night, but,
-knowing that his majesty had paid her a visit, she had not dared
-to inquire what was the matter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But," inquired the
-king, "where do you suppose she is gone?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," replied
-Montalais, "Louise is of a very sentimental disposition, and as I
-have often seen her rise at daybreak in order to go out into the
-garden, she may, perhaps, be there now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> This appeared probable,
-and the king immediately ran down the staircase in search of the
-fugitive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan saw
-him grow very pale, and talking in an excited manner with his
-companion, as he went towards the gardens; Saint-Aignan following
-him, out of breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan did not stir from the window, but went on whistling,
-looking as if he saw nothing, yet seeing everything.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Come, come," he murmured, when the
-king disappeared, "his majesty's passion is stronger than I
-thought; he is now doing, I think, what he never did for
-Mademoiselle de Mancini."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: Marie de Mancini was a
-former love of the king's.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had to abandon her for the
-political advantages which the marriage to the Spanish Infanta,
-Maria Theresa, afforded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-See <u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>, Chapter XIII. - JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> In a quarter of an hour
-the king again appeared: he had looked everywhere, was completely
-out of breath, and, as a matter of course, had not discovered
-anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan,
-who still followed him, was fanning himself with his hat, and in
-a gasping voice, asking for information about La Valli&egrave;re
-from such of the servants as were about, in fact from every one
-he met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Among others he
-came across Manicamp, who had arrived from Fontainebleau by easy
-stages; for whilst others had performed the journey in six hours,
-he had taken four and twenty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have you seen
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re?" Saint-Aignan asked him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Whereupon Manicamp,
-dreamy and absent as usual, answered, thinking that some one was
-asking him about De Guiche, "Thank you, the comte is a little
-better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And he continued on his
-way until he reached the ante-chamber where D'Artagnan was, whom
-he asked to explain how it was that the king looked, as he
-thought, so bewildered; to which D'Artagnan replied that he was
-quite mistaken, that the king, on the contrary, was as lively and
-merry as he could possibly be.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> In the midst of all
-this, eight o'clock struck.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was usual for the king to take
-his breakfast at this hour, for the code of etiquette prescribed
-that the king should always be hungry at eight o'clock.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His breakfast was laid upon a
-small table in his bedroom, and he ate very fast.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan, of whom he would not
-lose sight, waited on the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then disposed of several military
-audiences, during which he dispatched Saint-Aignan to see what he
-could find out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then,
-still occupied, full of anxiety, still watching Saint-Aignan's
-return, who had sent out the servants in every direction, to make
-inquires, and who had also gone himself, the hour of nine struck,
-and the king forthwith passed into his large cabinet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> As the clock was
-striking nine the ambassadors entered, and as it finished, the
-two queens and Madame made their appearance.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There were three ambassadors from
-Holland, and two from Spain.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king glanced at them, and then
-bowed; and, at the same moment, Saint-Aignan entered, - an
-entrance which the king regarded as far more important, in a
-different sense, however, than that of ambassadors, however
-numerous they might be, and from whatever country they came; and
-so, setting everything aside, the king made a sign of
-interrogation to Saint-Aignan, which the latter answered by a
-most decisive negative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The king almost entirely lost his courage; but as the queens, the
-members of the nobility who were present, and the ambassadors,
-had their eyes fixed upon him, he overcame his emotion by a
-violent effort, and invited the latter to speak.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whereupon one of the Spanish
-deputies made a long oration, in which he boasted the advantages
-which the Spanish alliance would offer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king interrupted
-him, saying, "Monsieur, I trust that whatever is best for France
-must be exceedingly advantageous for Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> This remark, and
-particularly the peremptory tone in which it was pronounced, made
-the ambassadors pale, and brought the color into the cheeks of
-the two queens, who, being Spanish, felt wounded in their pride
-of relationship and nationality by this reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The Dutch ambassador
-then began to address himself to the king, and complained of the
-injurious suspicions which the king exhibited against the
-government of his country.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king interrupted
-him, saying, "It is very singular, monsieur, that you should come
-with any complaint, when it is I rather who have reason to be
-dissatisfied; and yet, you see, I do not complain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Complain, sire, and in
-what respect?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king smiled
-bitterly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Will you blame
-me, monsieur," he said, "if I should happen to entertain
-suspicions against a government which authorizes and protects
-international impertinence?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I tell you," resumed
-the king, exciting himself by a recollection of his own personal
-annoyance, rather than from political grounds, "that Holland is a
-land of refuge for all who hate me, and especially for all who
-malign me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You wish for proofs,
-perhaps?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very good; they
-can be had easily enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Whence proceed all those vile and insolent pamphlets which
-represent me as a monarch without glory and without authority?
-your printing-presses groan under their number.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If my secretaries were here, I would
-mention the titles of the works as well as the names of the
-printers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," replied the
-ambassador, "a pamphlet can hardly be regarded as the work of a
-whole nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it just,
-is it reasonable, that a great and powerful monarch like your
-majesty should render a whole nation responsible for the crime of
-a few madmen, who are, perhaps, only scribbling in a garret for a
-few sous to buy bread for their family?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That may be the case, I
-admit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But when the mint
-itself, at Amsterdam, strikes off medals which reflect disgrace
-upon me, is that also the crime of a few madmen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Medals!" stammered out
-the ambassador.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Medals," repeated the
-king, looking at Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty," the
-ambassador ventured, "should be quite sure - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king still looked at
-Colbert; but Colbert appeared not to understand him, and
-maintained an unbroken silence, notwithstanding the king's
-repeated hints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan then approached the king, and taking a piece of money
-out of his pocket, he placed it in the king's hands, saying, "<i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>This</i> is the medal your
-majesty alludes to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king looked at it,
-and with a look which, ever since he had become his own master,
-was ever piercing as the eagle's, observed an insulting device
-representing Holland arresting the progress of the sun, with this
-inscription: "<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>In conspectu
-meo stetit sol</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In my presence the sun
-stands still," exclaimed the king, furiously.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah! you will hardly deny it now, I
-suppose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And the sun," said
-D'Artagnan, "is this," as he pointed to the panels of the
-cabinet, where the sun was brilliantly represented in every
-direction, with this motto, "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Nec pluribus impar</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: "[A sun] not eclipsed by
-many suns."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis's
-device. - JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis's anger, increased
-by the bitterness of his own personal sufferings, hardly required
-this additional circumstance to foment it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Every one saw, from the kindling
-passion in the king's eyes, that an explosion was imminent.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A look from Colbert kept
-postponed the bursting of the storm.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The ambassador ventured to frame
-excuses by saying that the vanity of nations was a matter of
-little consequence; that Holland was proud that, with such
-limited resources, she had maintained her rank as a great nation,
-even against powerful monarchs, and that if a little smoke had
-intoxicated his countrymen, the king would be kindly disposed,
-and would even excuse this intoxication.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king seemed as if he would be
-glad of some suggestion; he looked at Colbert, who remained
-impassible; then at D'Artagnan, who simply shrugged his
-shoulders, a movement which was like the opening of the
-flood-gates, whereby the king's anger, which he had restrained
-for so long a period, now burst forth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As no one knew what direction his
-anger might take, all preserved a dead silence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The second ambassador took advantage
-of it to begin his excuses also.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> While he was speaking, and while the
-king, who had again gradually returned to his own personal
-reflections, was automatically listening to the voice, full of
-nervous anxiety, with the air of an absent man listening to the
-murmuring of a cascade, D'Artagnan, on whose left hand
-Saint-Aignan was standing, approached the latter, and, in a voice
-which was loud enough to reach the king's ears, said: "Have you
-heard the news?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What news?" said
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "About La
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king started, and
-advanced his head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What has happened to La
-Valli&egrave;re?" inquired Saint-Aignan, in a tone which can
-easily be imagined.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! poor girl! she is
-going to take the veil."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The veil!" exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The veil!" cried the
-king, in the midst of the ambassador's discourse; but then,
-mindful of the rules of etiquette, he mastered himself, still
-listening, however, with rapt attention.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What order?" inquired
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The Carmelites of
-Chaillot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who the deuce told you
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She did herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have seen her,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, I even went with
-her to the Carmelites."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king did not lose a
-syllable of this conversation; and again he could hardly control
-his feelings.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But what was the cause
-of her flight?" inquired Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because the poor girl
-was driven away from the court yesterday," replied
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He had no sooner said
-this, than the king, with an authoritative gesture, said to the
-ambassador, "Enough, monsieur, enough."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, advancing towards the captain,
-he exclaimed:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who says Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re is going to take the religious vows?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. d'Artagnan,"
-answered the favorite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it true what you
-say?" said the king, turning towards the musketeer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As true as truth
-itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king clenched his
-hands, and turned pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have something
-further to add, M. d'Artagnan?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know nothing more,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You added that
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re had been driven away from the
-court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is that true,
-also?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ascertain for yourself,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And from whom?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" sighed D'Artagnan,
-like a man who is declining to say anything further.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king almost bounded
-from his seat, regardless of ambassadors, ministers, courtiers,
-queens, and politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-queen-mother rose; she had heard everything, or, if she had not
-heard everything, she had guessed it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame, almost fainting from anger
-and fear, endeavored to rise as the queen-mother had done; but
-she sank down again upon her chair, which by an instinctive
-movement she made roll back a few paces.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Gentlemen," said the
-king, "the audience is over; I will communicate my answer, or
-rather my will, to Spain and to Holland;" and with a proud,
-imperious gesture, he dismissed the ambassadors.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Take care, my son,"
-said the queen-mother, indignantly, "you are hardly master of
-yourself, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! madame," returned
-the young lion, with a terrible gesture, "if I am not mater of
-myself, I will be, I promise you, of those who do me a deadly
-injury; come with me, M. d'Artagnan, come."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he quitted the room in the midst
-of general stupefaction and dismay.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king hastily descended the
-staircase, and was about to cross the courtyard.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," said D'Artagnan,
-"your majesty mistakes the way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; I am going to the
-stables."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is useless, sire,
-for I have horses ready for your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king's only answer
-was a look, but this look promised more than the ambition of
-three D'Artagnans could have dared to hope.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Chaillot.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-A</span>lthough they had not been summoned, Manicamp and
-Malicorne had followed the king and D'Artagnan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They were both exceedingly
-intelligent men; except that Malicorne was too precipitate, owing
-to ambition, while Manicamp was frequently too tardy, owing to
-indolence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On this
-occasion, however, they arrived at precisely the proper
-moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Five horses were
-in readiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Two were
-seized upon by the king and D'Artagnan, two others by Manicamp
-and Malicorne, while a groom belonging to the stables mounted the
-fifth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The cavalcade set
-off at a gallop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan had been very careful in his selection of the horses;
-they were the very animals for distressed lovers - horses which
-did not simply run, but flew.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Within ten minutes after their
-departure, the cavalcade, amidst a cloud of dust, arrived at
-Chaillot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king
-literally threw himself off his horse; but notwithstanding the
-rapidity with which he accomplished this maneuver, he found
-D'Artagnan already holding his stirrup.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> With a sign of acknowledgement to
-the musketeer, he threw the bridle to the groom, and darted into
-the vestibule, violently pushed open the door, and entered the
-reception-room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp,
-Malicorne, and the groom remained outside, D'Artagnan alone
-following him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When he
-entered the reception-room, the first object which met his gaze
-was Louise herself, not simply on her knees, but lying at the
-foot of a large stone crucifix.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The young girl was stretched upon
-the damp flag-stones, scarcely visible in the gloom of the
-apartment, which was lighted only by means of a narrow window,
-protected by bars and completely shaded by creeping plants.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When the king saw her in this
-state, he thought she was dead, and uttered a loud cry, which
-made D'Artagnan hurry into the room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king had already passed one of
-his arms round her body, and D'Artagnan assisted him in raising
-the poor girl, whom the torpor of death seemed already to have
-taken possession of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-D'Artagnan seized hold of the alarm-bell and rang with all his
-might.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The Carmelite
-sisters immediately hastened at the summons, and uttered loud
-exclamations of alarm and indignation at the sight of the two men
-holding a woman in their arms.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The superior also hurried to the
-scene of action, but far more a creature of the world than any of
-the female members of the court, notwithstanding her austerity of
-manners, she recognized the king at the first glance, by the
-respect which those present exhibited for him, as well as by the
-imperious and authoritative way in which he had thrown the whole
-establishment into confusion.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as she saw the king, she
-retired to her own apartments, in order to avoid compromising her
-dignity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But by one of
-the nuns she sent various cordials, Hungary water, etc., etc.,
-and ordered that all the doors should immediately be closed, a
-command which was just in time, for the king's distress was fast
-becoming of a most clamorous and despairing character.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had almost decided to send
-for his own physician, when La Valli&egrave;re exhibited signs of
-returning animation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-first object which met her gaze, as she opened her eyes, was the
-king at her feet; in all probability she did not recognize him,
-for she uttered a deep sigh full of anguish and distress.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis fixed his eyes
-devouringly upon her face; and when, in the course of a few
-moments, she recognized Louis, she endeavored to tear herself
-from his embrace.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, heavens!" she
-murmured, "is not the sacrifice yet made?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no!" exclaimed the
-king, "and it shall <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>not</i> be made, I swear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Notwithstanding her
-weakness and utter despair, she rose from the ground, saying, "It
-must be made, however; it must be; so do not stay me in my
-purpose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I leave you to
-sacrifice yourself!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I!
-never, never!" exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well," murmured
-D'Artagnan, "I may as well go now.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as they begin to speak, we
-may as well prevent there being any listeners."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he quitted the room, leaving the
-lovers alone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," continued La
-Valli&egrave;re, "not another word, I implore you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not destroy the only future I can
-hope for - my salvation; do not destroy the glory and brightness
-of your own future for a mere caprice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A caprice?" cried the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire! it is now,
-only, that I can see clearly into your heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You, Louise, what mean
-you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "An inexplicable
-impulse, foolish and unreasonable in its nature, may ephemerally
-appear to offer a sufficient excuse for your conduct; but there
-are duties imposed upon you which are incompatible with your
-regard for a poor girl such as I am.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So, forget me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I forget you!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have already done
-so, once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Rather would I
-die."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You cannot love one
-whose peace of mind you hold so lightly, and whom you so cruelly
-abandoned, last night, to the bitterness of death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What can you mean?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Explain yourself, Louise."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What did you ask me
-yesterday morning?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To
-love you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What did you
-promise me in return?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Never to let midnight pass without offering me an opportunity of
-reconciliation, if, by any chance, your anger should be roused
-against me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! forgive me, Louise,
-forgive me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was mad
-from jealousy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Jealousy is a sentiment
-unworthy of a king - a man.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You may become jealous again, and
-will end by killing me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Be merciful, then, and leave me now to die."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Another word,
-mademoiselle, in that strain, and you will see me expire at your
-feet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no, sire, I am
-better acquainted with my own demerits; and believe me, that to
-sacrifice yourself for one whom all despise, would be
-needless."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Give me the names of
-those you have cause to complain of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have no complaints,
-sire, to prefer against any one; no one but myself to
-accuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Farewell, sire;
-you are compromising yourself in speaking to me in such a
-manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! be careful, Louise,
-in what you say; for you are reducing me to the darkness of
-despair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, sire, leave
-me at least the protection of Heaven, I implore you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no; Heaven itself
-shall not tear you from me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Save me, then," cried
-the poor girl, "from those determined and pitiless enemies who
-are thirsting to annihilate my life and honor too.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If you have courage enough to love
-me, show at least that you have power enough to defend me.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But no; she whom you say you
-love, others insult and mock, and drive shamelessly away."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And the gentle-hearted girl,
-forced, by her own bitter distress to accuse others, wrung her
-hands in an uncontrollable agony of tears.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have been driven
-away!" exclaimed the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "This is the second time I have
-heard that said."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have been driven away
-with shame and ignominy, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You see, then, that I have no other
-protector but Heaven, no consolation but prayer, and this
-cloister is my only refuge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My palace, my whole
-court, shall be your park of peace.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! fear nothing further now,
-Louise; those - be they men or women - who yesterday drove you
-away, shall to-morrow tremble before you - to-morrow, do I say?
-nay, this very day I have already shown my displeasure - have
-already threatened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is
-in my power, even now, to hurl the thunderbolt I have hitherto
-withheld.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louise, Louise,
-you shall be bitterly revenged; tears of blood shall repay you
-for the tears you have shed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Give me only the names of your
-enemies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Never, never."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How can I show any
-anger, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, those upon whom
-your anger would be prepared to fall, would force you to draw
-back your hand upraised to punish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! you do not know
-me," cried the king, exasperated.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Rather than draw back, I would
-sacrifice my kingdom, and would abjure my family.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yes, I would strike until this arm
-had utterly destroyed all those who had ventured to make
-themselves the enemies of the gentlest and best of
-creatures."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, as he
-said these words, Louis struck his fist violently against the
-oaken wainscoting with a force which alarmed La Valli&egrave;re;
-for his anger, owing to his unbounded power, had something
-imposing and threatening in it, like the lightning, which may at
-any time prove deadly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-She, who thought that her own sufferings could not be surpassed,
-was overwhelmed by a suffering which revealed itself by menace
-and by violence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," she said, "for
-the last time I implore you to leave me; already do I feel
-strengthened by the calm seclusion of this asylum; and the
-protection of Heaven has reassured me; for all the pretty human
-meanness of this world are forgotten beneath the Divine
-protection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Once more,
-then, sire, and for the last time, I again implore you to leave
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Confess, rather," cried
-Louis, "that you have never loved me; admit that my humility and
-my repentance are flattering to your pride, but that my distress
-affects you not; that the king of this wide realm is no longer
-regarded as a lover whose tenderness of devotion is capable of
-working out your happiness, but as a despot whose caprice has
-crushed your very heart beneath his iron heel.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not say you are seeking Heaven,
-say rather you are fleeing from the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louise's heart was wrung
-within her, as she listened to his passionate utterance, which
-made the fever of hope course once more through her every
-vein.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But did you not hear me
-say that I have been driven away, scorned, despised?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will make you the
-most respected, and most adored, and the most envied of my whole
-court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Prove to me that you
-have not ceased to love me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "By leaving me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will prove it to you
-by never leaving you again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But do you imagine,
-sire, that I shall allow that; do you imagine that I will let you
-come to an open rupture with every member of your family; do you
-imagine that, for my sake, you could abandon mother, wife and
-sister?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! you have named
-them, then, at last; it is they, then, who have wrought this
-grievous injury?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By the
-heaven above us, then, upon them shall my anger fall."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is the reason why
-the future terrifies me, why I refuse everything, why I do not
-wish you to revenge me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Tears enough have already been shed, sufficient sorrow and
-affliction have already been occasioned.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I, at least, will never be the cause
-of sorrow, or affliction, or distress to whomsoever it may be,
-for I have mourned and suffered, and wept too much myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And do you count <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>my</i> sufferings, <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>my</i> tears, as nothing?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In Heaven's name, sire,
-do not speak to me in that manner.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I need all my courage to enable me
-to accomplish the sacrifice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Louise, Louise, I
-implore you! whatever you desire, whatever you command, whether
-vengeance or forgiveness, your slightest wish shall be obeyed,
-but do not abandon me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas! sire, we must
-part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You do not love me,
-then!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Heaven knows I do!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is false, Louise; it
-is false."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, if I did not
-love you, I should let you do what you please; I should let you
-revenge me, in return for the insult which has been inflicted on
-me; I should accept the brilliant triumph to my pride which you
-propose; and yet, you cannot deny that I reject even the sweet
-compensation which your affection affords, that affection which
-for me is life itself, for I wished to die when I thought that
-you loved me no longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes; I now know, I
-now perceive it; you are the sweetest, best, and purest of
-women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There is no one so
-worthy as yourself, not alone of my respect and devotion, but
-also of the respect and devotion of all who surround me; and
-therefore no one shall be loved like yourself; no one shall ever
-possess the influence over me that you wield.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You wish me to be calm, to forgive?
-- be it so, you shall find me perfectly unmoved.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You wish to reign by gentleness and
-clemency? - I will be clement and gentle.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Dictate for me the conduct you wish
-me to adopt, and I will obey blindly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In Heaven's name, no,
-sire; what am I, a poor girl, to dictate to so great a monarch as
-yourself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are my life, the
-very spirit and principle of my being.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it not the spirit that rules the
-body?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You love me, then,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On my knees, yes; with
-my hands upraised to you, yes; with all the strength and power of
-my being, yes; I love you so deeply, that I would lay down my
-life for you, gladly, at your merest wish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, now I know
-you love me, I have nothing to wish for in the world.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Give me your hand, sire; and then,
-farewell!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have enjoyed
-in this life all the happiness I was ever meant for."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! no, no! your
-happiness is not a happiness of yesterday, it is of to-day, of
-to-morrow, ever enduring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The future is yours, everything which is mine is yours, too.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Away with these ideas of
-separation, away with these gloomy, despairing thoughts.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will live for me, as I
-will live for you, Louise."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he threw himself at her feet,
-embracing her knees with the wildest transports of joy and
-gratitude.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, sire! all
-that is but a wild dream."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, a wild dream?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because I cannot return
-to the court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Exiled, how
-can I see you again?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Would it not be far better to bury myself in a cloister for the
-rest of my life, with the rich consolation that your affection
-gives me, with the pulses of your heart beating for me, and your
-latest confession of attachment still ringing in my ears?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exiled, you!" exclaimed
-Louis XIV., "and who dares to exile, let me ask, when I
-recall?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, something
-which is greater than and superior to the kings even - the world
-and public opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Reflect for a moment; you cannot love a woman who has been
-ignominiously driven away - love one whom your mother has stained
-with suspicions; one whom your sister has threatened with
-disgrace; such a woman, indeed, would be unworthy of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Unworthy! one who
-belongs to me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire, precisely on
-that account; from the very moment she belongs to you, the
-character of your mistress renders her unworthy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right, Louise;
-every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very well, you shall not be
-exiled."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! from the tone in
-which you speak, you have not heard Madame, that is very
-clear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will appeal from her
-to my mother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Again, sire, you have
-not seen your mother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She, too! - my poor
-Louise! every one's hand, then, is against you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes, poor Louise,
-who was already bending beneath the fury of the storm, when you
-arrived and crushed her beneath the weight of your
-displeasure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! forgive me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will not, I know,
-be able to make either of them yield; believe me, the evil cannot
-be repaired, for I will not allow you to use violence, or to
-exercise your authority."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well, Louise, to
-prove to you how fondly I love you, I will do one thing, I will
-see Madame; I will make her revoke her sentence, I will compel
-her to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Compel?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! no, no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True; you are
-right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will bend
-her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louise shook her
-head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will entreat her, if
-it be necessary," said Louis.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Will you believe in my affection
-after that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louise drew herself
-up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh, never, never
-shall you humiliate yourself on my account; sooner, a thousand
-times, would I die."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis reflected; his
-features assumed a dark expression.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I will love you as much as you have
-loved; I will suffer as keenly as you have suffered; this shall
-be my expiation in your eyes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come, mademoiselle, put aside these
-paltry considerations; let us show ourselves as great as our
-sufferings, as strong as our affection for each other."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, as he said this, he took
-her in his arms, and encircled her waist with both his hands,
-saying, "My own love! my own dearest and best beloved, follow
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She made a final effort,
-in which she concentrated, no longer all of her firmness of will,
-for that had long since been overcome, but all her physical
-strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "No!" she
-replied, weakly, "no! no!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I should die from shame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No! you shall return
-like a queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No one
-knows of your having left - except, indeed, D'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He has betrayed me,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He promised faithfully
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I promised not to say
-anything to the king," said D'Artagnan, putting his head through
-the half-opened door, "and I kept my word; I was speaking to M.
-de Saint-Aignan, and it was not my fault if the king overheard
-me; was it, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is quite true," said
-the king; "forgive him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-smiled, and held out her small white hand to the musketeer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur d'Artagnan,"
-said the king, "be good enough to see if you can find a carriage
-for Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," said the
-captain, "the carriage is waiting at the gate."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are a magic mould
-of forethought," exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have taken a long
-time to find it out," muttered D'Artagnan, notwithstanding he was
-flattered by the praise bestowed upon him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re was
-overcome: after a little further hesitation, she allowed herself
-to be led away, half fainting, by her royal lover.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, as she was on the point of
-leaving the room, she tore herself from the king's grasp, and
-returned to the stone crucifix, which she kissed, saying, "Oh,
-Heaven! it was thou who drewest me hither! thou, who has rejected
-me; but thy grace is infinite.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whenever I shall again return,
-forget that I have ever separated myself from thee, for, when I
-return it will be - never to leave thee again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king could not
-restrain his emotion, and D'Artagnan, even, was overcome.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis led the young girl away,
-lifted her into the carriage, and directed D'Artagnan to seat
-himself beside her, while he, mounting his horse, spurred
-violently towards the Palais Royal, where, immediately on his
-arrival, he sent to request an audience of Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-F</span>rom the manner in which the king had dismissed the
-ambassadors, even the least clear-sighted persons belonging to
-the court imagined war would ensue.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The ambassadors themselves, but
-slightly acquainted with the king's domestic disturbances, had
-interpreted as directed against themselves the celebrated
-sentence: &ldquo;If I be not master of myself, I, at least, will
-be so of those who insult me.&rdquo;<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Happily for the destinies of France
-and Holland, Colbert had followed them out of the king's presence
-for the purpose of explaining matters to them; but the two queens
-and Madame, who were perfectly aware of every particular that had
-taken place in their several households, having heard the king's
-remark, so full of dark meaning, retired to their own apartments
-in no little fear and chagrin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame, especially, felt that the
-royal anger might fall upon her, and, as she was brave and
-exceedingly proud, instead of seeking support and encouragement
-from the queen-mother, she had returned to her own apartments, if
-not without some uneasiness, at least without any intention of
-avoiding an encounter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Anne of Austria, from time to time at frequent intervals, sent
-messages to learn if the king had returned.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The silence which the whole palace
-preserved upon the matter, and upon Louise's disappearance, was
-indicative of a long train of misfortunes to all those who knew
-the haughty and irritable humor of the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But Madame, unmoved in spite of all
-the flying rumors, shut herself up in her apartments, sent for
-Montalais, and, with a voice as calm as she could possibly
-command, desired her to relate all she knew about the event
-itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the moment
-that the eloquent Montalais was concluding, with all kinds of
-oratorical precautions, and was recommending, if not in actual
-language, at least in spirit, that she should show forbearance
-towards La Valli&egrave;re, M. Malicorne made his appearance to
-beg an audience of Madame, on behalf of the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais's worthy friend bore upon
-his countenance all the signs of the very liveliest emotion.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was impossible to be
-mistaken; the interview which the king requested would be one of
-the most interesting chapters in the history of the hearts of
-kings and of men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame
-was disturbed by her brother-in-law's arrival; she did not expect
-it so soon, nor had she, indeed, expected any direct step on
-Louis's part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides,
-all women who wage war successfully by indirect means, are
-invariably neither very skillful nor very strong when it becomes
-a question of accepting a pitched battle.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame, however, was not one who
-ever drew back; she had the very opposite defect or
-qualification, in whichever light it may be considered; she took
-an exaggerated view of what constituted real courage; and
-therefore the king's message, of which Malicorne had been the
-bearer, was regarded by her as the bugle-note proclaiming the
-commencement of hostilities.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She, therefore, boldly accepted the
-gage of battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Five
-minutes afterwards the king ascended the staircase.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His color was heightened from having
-ridden hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His dusty
-and disordered clothes formed a singular contrast with the fresh
-and perfectly arranged toilette of Madame, who, notwithstanding
-the rouge on her cheeks, turned pale as Louis entered the
-room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis lost no time
-in approaching the object of his visit; he sat down, and
-Montalais disappeared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear sister," said
-the king, "you are aware that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re
-fled from her own room this morning, and that she has retired to
-a cloister, overwhelmed by grief and despair."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As he pronounced these words, the
-king's voice was singularly moved.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty is the
-first to inform me of it," replied Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should have thought
-that you might have learned it this morning, during the reception
-of the ambassadors," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "From your emotion,
-sire, I imagined that something extraordinary had happened, but
-without knowing what."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king, with his usual
-frankness, went straight to the point.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Why did you send Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re away?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because I had reason to
-be dissatisfied with her conduct," she replied, dryly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king became crimson,
-and his eyes kindled with a fire which it required all Madame's
-courage to support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-mastered his anger, however, and continued: "A stronger reason
-than that is surely requisite, for one so good and kind as you
-are, to turn away and dishonor, not only the young girl herself,
-but every member of her family as well.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know that the whole city has its
-eyes fixed upon the conduct of the female portion of the
-court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To dismiss a maid
-of honor is to attribute a crime to her - at the very least a
-fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What crime, what
-fault has Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re been guilty of?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Since you constitute
-yourself the protector of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re,"
-replied Madame, coldly, "I will give you those explanations which
-I should have a perfect right to withhold from every one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Even from the king!"
-exclaimed Louis, as, with a sudden gesture, he covered his head
-with his hat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have called me your
-sister," said Madame, "and I am in my own apartments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It matters not," said
-the youthful monarch, ashamed at having been hurried away by his
-anger; "neither you, nor any one else in this kingdom, can assert
-a right to withhold an explanation in my presence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Since that is the way
-you regard it," said Madame, in a hoarse, angry tone of voice,
-"all that remains for me to do is bow submission to your majesty,
-and to be silent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let there be no equivocation between
-us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The protection with
-which you surround Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re does not
-impose any respect."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No equivocation, I
-repeat; you are perfectly aware that, as the head of the nobility
-in France, I am accountable to all for the honor of every
-family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You dismiss
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, or whoever else it may be -
-"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame shrugged her
-shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Or whoever
-else it may be, I repeat," continued the king; "and as, acting in
-that manner, you cast a dishonorable reflection upon that person,
-I ask you for an explanation, in order that I may confirm or
-annul the sentence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Annul my sentence!"
-exclaimed Madame, haughtily.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What! when I have discharged one of
-my attendants, do you order me to take her back again?"<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king remained silent.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This would be a sheer
-abuse of power, sire; it would be indecorous and unseemly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As a woman, I should
-revolt against an abuse so insulting to me; I should no longer be
-able to regard myself as a princess of your blood, a daughter of
-a monarch; I should be the meanest of creatures, more humbled and
-disgraced than the servant I had sent away."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king rose from his
-seat with anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It
-cannot be a heart," he cried, "you have beating in your bosom; if
-you act in such a way with me, I may have reason to act with
-corresponding severity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It sometimes happens
-that in a battle a chance ball may reach its mark.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The observation which the king had
-made without any particular intention, struck Madame home, and
-staggered her for a moment; some day or other she might indeed
-have reason to dread reprisals.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "At all events, sire," she said,
-"explain what you require."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I ask, madame, what has
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re done to warrant your conduct
-toward her?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She is the most cunning
-fomenter of intrigues I know; she was the occasion of two
-personal friends engaging in mortal combat; and has made people
-talk of her in such shameless terms that the whole court is
-indignant at the mere sound of her name."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She! she!" cried the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Under her soft and
-hypocritical manner," continued Madame, "she hides a disposition
-full of foul and dark conceit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You may possibly be
-deceived, sire, but I know her right well; she is capable of
-creating dispute and misunderstanding between the most
-affectionate relatives and the most intimate friends.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You see that she has already sown
-discord betwixt us two."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do assure you - "
-said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, look well into
-the case as it stands; we were living on the most friendly
-understanding, and by the artfulness of her tales and complaints,
-she has set your majesty against me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I swear to you," said
-the king, "that on no occasion has a bitter word ever passed her
-lips; I swear that, even in my wildest bursts of passion, she
-would not allow me to menace any one; and I swear, too, that you
-do not possess a more devoted and respectful friend than she
-is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Friend!" said Madame,
-with an expression of supreme disdain.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Take care, Madame!"
-said the king; "you forget that you now understand me, and that
-from this moment everything is equalized.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re
-will be whatever I may choose her to become; and to-morrow, if I
-were determined to do so, I could seat her on a throne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She was not born to a
-throne, at least, and whatever you may do can affect the future
-alone, but cannot affect the past."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame, towards you I
-have shown every kind consideration, and every eager desire to
-please you; do not remind me that I am master."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is the second time,
-sire, that you have made that remark, and I have already informed
-you I am ready to submit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, then, you
-will confer upon me the favor of receiving Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re back again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For what purpose, sire,
-since you have a throne to bestow upon her?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am too insignificant to protect so
-exalted a personage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, a truce to this
-bitter and disdainful spirit.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Grant me her forgiveness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Never!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You drive me, then, to
-open warfare in my own family."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I, too, have a family
-with whom I can find refuge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you mean that as a
-threat, and could you forget yourself so far?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you believe that, if you push the
-affront to that extent, your family would encourage you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I hope, sire, that you
-will not force me to take any step which would be unworthy of my
-rank."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I hoped that you would
-remember our recent friendship, and that you would treat me as a
-brother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame paused for a
-moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I do not disown
-you for a brother," she said, "in refusing you majesty an
-injustice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "An injustice!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire! if I informed
-others of La Valli&egrave;re's conduct; if the queen knew - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come, come, Henrietta,
-let your heart speak; remember that, for however brief a time,
-you once loved me; remember, too, that human hearts should be as
-merciful as the heart of a sovereign Master.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not be inflexible with others;
-forgive La Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot; she has
-offended me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But for my sake."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, it is for your
-sake I would do anything in the world, except that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will drive me to
-despair - you compel me to turn to the last resource of weak
-people, and seek counsel of my angry and wrathful
-disposition."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I advise you to be
-reasonable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Reasonable! - I can be
-so no longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, sire!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I pray you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For pity's sake,
-Henrietta; it is the first time I entreated any one, and I have
-no hope in any one but in you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire! you are
-weeping."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "From rage, from
-humiliation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That I, the
-king, should have been obliged to descend to entreaty.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall hate this moment
-during my whole life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You
-have made me suffer in one moment more distress and more
-degradation than I could have anticipated in the greatest
-extremity in life."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And
-the king rose and gave free vent to his tears, which, in fact,
-were tears of anger and shame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame was not touched
-exactly - for the best women, when their pride is hurt, are
-without pity; but she was afraid that the tears the king was
-shedding might possibly carry away every soft and tender feeling
-in his heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Give what commands you
-please, sire," she said; "and since you prefer my humiliation to
-your own - although mine is public and yours has been witnessed
-but by myself alone - speak, I will obey your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no, Henrietta!"
-exclaimed Louis, transported with gratitude, "you will have
-yielded to a brother's wishes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I no longer have any
-brother, since I obey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "All that I have would
-be too little in return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How passionately you
-love, sire, when you do love!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis did not
-answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had seized
-upon Madame's hand and covered it with kisses.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And so you will receive this poor
-girl back again, and will forgive her; you will find how gentle
-and pure-hearted she is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will maintain her in
-my household."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, you will give her
-your friendship, my sister."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I never liked her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, for my sake, you
-will treat her kindly, will you not, Henrietta?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will treat her as
-your - <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>mistress</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king rose suddenly
-to his feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By this
-word, which had so infelicitously escaped her, Madame had
-destroyed the whole merit of her sacrifice.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king felt freed from all
-obligations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Exasperated
-beyond measure, and bitterly offended, he replied:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I thank you, Madame; I
-shall never forget the service you have rendered me."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, saluting her with an
-affectation of ceremony, he took his leave of her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As he passed before a glass, he saw
-that his eyes were red, and angrily stamped his foot on the
-ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But it was too
-late, for Malicorne and D'Artagnan, who were standing at the
-door, had seen his eyes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king has been
-crying," thought Malicorne.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan approached the king with
-a respectful air, and said in a low tone of voice:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, it would be
-better to return to your own apartments by the small
-staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because the dust of the
-road has left its traces on your face," said D'Artagnan.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "By heavens!" he thought,
-"when the king has given way like a child, let those look to it
-who may make the lady weep for whom the king sheds tears."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's Pocket-Handkerchief.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-M</span>adame was not bad-hearted - she was only hasty and
-impetuous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king was
-not imprudent - he was simply in love.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Hardly had they entered into this
-compact, which terminated in La Valli&egrave;re's recall, when
-they both sought to make as much as they could by their
-bargain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king wished
-to see La Valli&egrave;re every moment of the day, while Madame,
-who was sensible of the king's annoyance ever since he had so
-entreated her, would not relinquish her revenge on La
-Valli&egrave;re without a contest.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She planted every conceivable
-difficulty in the king's path; he was, in fact, obliged, in order
-to get a glimpse of La Valli&egrave;re, to be exceedingly devoted
-in his attentions to his sister-in-law, and this, indeed, was
-Madame's plan of policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-As she had chosen some one to second her efforts, and as this
-person was our old friend Montalais, the king found himself
-completely hemmed in every time he paid Madame a visit; he was
-surrounded, and was never left a moment alone.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame displayed in her conversation
-a charm of manner and brilliancy of wit which dazzled
-everybody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais
-followed her, and soon rendered herself perfectly insupportable
-to the king, which was, in fact, the very thing she expected
-would happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She then
-set Malicorne at the king, who found means of informing his
-majesty that there was a young person belonging to the court who
-was exceedingly miserable; and on the king inquiring who this
-person was, Malicorne replied that it was Mademoiselle de
-Montalais.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To this the
-king answered that it was perfectly just that a person should be
-unhappy when she rendered others so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whereupon Malicorne explained how
-matters stood; for he had received his directions from
-Montalais.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king began
-to open his eyes; he remarked that, as soon as he made his
-appearance, Madame made hers too; that she remained in the
-corridors until after he had left; that she accompanied him back
-to his own apartments, fearing that he might speak in the
-ante-chambers to one of her maids of honor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One evening she went further
-still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king was
-seated, surrounded by the ladies who were present, and holding in
-his hand, concealed by his lace ruffle, a small note which he
-wished to slip into La Valli&egrave;re's hand.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame guessed both his intention
-and the letter too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It
-was difficult to prevent the king going wherever he pleased, and
-yet it was necessary to prevent his going near La
-Valli&egrave;re, or speaking to her, as by so doing he could let
-the note fall into her lap behind her fan, or into her
-pocket-handkerchief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king, who was also on the watch, suspected that a snare was being
-laid for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He rose and
-pushed his chair, without affectation, near Mademoiselle de
-Ch&acirc;tillon, with whom he began to talk in a light tone.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They were amusing themselves
-making rhymes; from Mademoiselle de Ch&acirc;tillon he went to
-Montalais, and then to Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And thus, by this skillful
-maneuver, he found himself seated opposite to La Valli&egrave;re,
-whom he completely concealed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame pretended to be greatly
-occupied, altering a group of flowers that she was working in
-tapestry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king showed
-the corner of his letter to La Valli&egrave;re, and the latter
-held out her handkerchief with a look that signified, "Put the
-letter inside."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, as
-the king had placed his own handkerchief upon his chair, he was
-adroit enough to let it fall on the ground, so that La
-Valli&egrave;re slipped her handkerchief on the chair.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king took it up quietly,
-without any one observing what he did, placed the letter within
-it, and returned the handkerchief to the place he had taken it
-from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There was only just
-time for La Valli&egrave;re to stretch out her hand to take hold
-of the handkerchief with its valuable contents.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> But Madame, who had
-observed everything that had passed, said to Mademoiselle de
-Ch&acirc;tillon, "Ch&acirc;tillon, be good enough to pick up the
-king's handkerchief, if you please; it has fallen on the
-carpet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The young girl obeyed
-with the utmost precipitation, the king having moved from his
-seat, and La Valli&egrave;re being in no little degree nervous
-and confused.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I beg your majesty's pardon," said
-Mademoiselle de Ch&acirc;tillon; "you have two handkerchiefs, I
-perceive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And the king was
-accordingly obliged to put into his pocket La Valli&egrave;re's
-handkerchief as well as his own.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He certainly gained that souvenir of
-Louise, who lost, however, a copy of verses which had cost the
-king ten hours' hard labor, and which, as far as he was
-concerned, was perhaps as good as a long poem.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It would be impossible to describe
-the king's anger and La Valli&egrave;re's despair; but shortly
-afterwards a circumstance occurred which was more than
-remarkable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When the king
-left, in order to retire to his own apartments, Malicorne,
-informed of what had passed, one can hardly tell how, was waiting
-in the ante-chamber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-ante-chambers of the Palais Royal are naturally very dark, and,
-in the evening, they were but indifferently lighted.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing pleased the king more than
-this dim light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As a
-general rule, love, whose mind and heart are constantly in a
-blaze, contemns all light, except the sunshine of the soul.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so the ante-chamber was
-dark; a page carried a torch before the king, who walked on
-slowly, greatly annoyed at what had recently occurred.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne passed close to the
-king, almost stumbled against him in fact, and begged his
-forgiveness with the profoundest humility; but the king, who was
-in an exceedingly ill-temper, was very sharp in his reproof to
-Malicorne, who disappeared as soon and as quietly as he possibly
-could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis retired to
-rest, having had a misunderstanding with the queen; and the next
-day, as soon as he entered the cabinet, he wished to have La
-Valli&egrave;re's handkerchief in order to press his lips to
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He called his
-valet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Fetch me," he said,
-"the coat I wore yesterday evening, but be very sure you do not
-touch anything it may contain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The order being obeyed,
-the king himself searched the pocket of the coat; he found only
-one handkerchief, and that his own; La Valli&egrave;re's had
-disappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whilst
-busied with all kinds of conjectures and suspicions, a letter was
-brought to him from La Valli&egrave;re; it ran thus:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How good and kind of
-you to have sent me those beautiful verses; how full of ingenuity
-and perseverance your affection is; how is it possible to help
-loving you so dearly!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What does this mean?"
-thought the king; "there must be some mistake.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Look well about," said he to the
-valet, "for a pocket-handkerchief must be in one of my pockets;
-and if you do not find it, or if you have touched it - "<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He reflected for a
-moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To make a state
-matter of the loss of the handkerchief would be to act absurdly,
-and he therefore added, "There was a letter of some importance
-inside the handkerchief, which had somehow got among the folds of
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," said the valet,
-"your majesty had only one handkerchief, and that is it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True, true," replied
-the king, setting his teeth hard together.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh, poverty, how I envy you!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Happy is the man who can empty
-his own pockets of letters and handkerchiefs!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He read La
-Valli&egrave;re's letter over again, endeavoring to imagine in
-what conceivable way his verses could have reached their
-destination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There was a
-postscript to the letter:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I send you back by your
-messenger this reply, so unworthy of what you sent me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So far so good; I shall
-find out something now," he said delightedly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Who is waiting, and who brought me
-this letter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. Malicorne," replied
-the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>valet de chambre</i>,
-timidly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Desire him to come
-in."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Malicorne entered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You come from
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re?" said the king, with a
-sigh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you took
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re something from me?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, you."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re says so, distinctly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire, Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re is mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king frowned.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What jest is this?" he said;
-"explain yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why
-does Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re call you my
-messenger?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What did you
-take to that lady?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Speak,
-monsieur, and quickly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I merely took
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re a pocket-handkerchief, that
-was all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A handkerchief, - what
-handkerchief?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, at the very
-moment when I had the misfortune to stumble against your majesty
-yesterday - a misfortune which I shall deplore to the last day of
-my life, especially after the dissatisfaction which you exhibited
-- I remained, sire, motionless with despair, your majesty being
-at too great a distance to hear my excuses, when I saw something
-white lying on the ground."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I stooped down, - it
-was a pocket-handkerchief.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> For a moment I had an idea that when
-I stumbled against your majesty I must have been the cause of the
-handkerchief falling from your pocket; but as I felt it all over
-very respectfully, I perceived a cipher at one of the corners,
-and, on looking at it closely, I found that it was Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re's cipher.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I presumed that on her way to
-Madame's apartment in the earlier part of the evening she had let
-her handkerchief fall, and I accordingly hastened to restore it
-to her as she was leaving; and that is all I gave to Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re, I entreat your majesty to believe."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne's manner was so
-simple, so full of contrition, and marked with such extreme
-humility, that the king was greatly amused in listening to
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was as pleased
-with him for what he had done as if he had rendered him the
-greatest service.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This is the second
-fortunate meeting I have had with you, monsieur," he said; "you
-may count upon my good intentions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The plain and sober
-truth was, that Malicorne had picked the king's pocket of the
-handkerchief as dexterously as any of the pickpockets of the good
-city of Paris could have done.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame never knew of this little
-incident, but Montalais gave La Valli&egrave;re some idea of the
-manner in which it had really happened, and La Valli&egrave;re
-afterwards told the king, who laughed exceedingly at it and
-pronounced Malicorne to be a first rate politician.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis XIV. was right, and it is well
-known that he was tolerably well acquainted with human
-nature.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Which Treats of Gardeners, of Ladders, and Maids of Honor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'><span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-M</span>iracles, unfortunately, could not be always happening,
-whilst Madame's ill-humor still continued.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In a week's time, matters had
-reached such a point, that the king could no longer look at La
-Valli&egrave;re without a look full of suspicion crossing his
-own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whenever a promenade
-was proposed, Madame, in order to avoid the recurrence of similar
-scenes to that of the thunder-storm, or the royal oak, had a
-variety of indispositions ready prepared; and, thanks to them,
-she was unable to go out, and her maids of honor were obliged to
-remain indoors also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-There was not the slightest chance of means of paying a nocturnal
-visit; for in this respect the king had, on the very first
-occasion, experienced a severe check, which happened in the
-following manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As at
-Fontainebleau, he had taken Saint-Aignan with him one evening
-when he wished to pay La Valli&egrave;re a visit; but he had
-found no one but Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente, who had begun
-to call out "Fire!" and "Thieves!" in such a manner that a
-perfect legion of chamber-maids, attendants, and pages, ran to
-her assistance; so that Saint-Aignan, who had remained behind in
-order to save the honor of his royal master, who had fled
-precipitately, was obliged to submit to a severe scolding from
-the queen-mother, as well as from Madame herself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In addition, he had, the next
-morning, received two challenges from the De Mortemart family,
-and the king had been obliged to interfere.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This mistake had been owing to the
-circumstance of Madame having suddenly ordered a change in the
-apartments of her maids of honor, and directed La Valli&egrave;re
-and Montalais to sleep in her own cabinet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No gateway, therefore, was any
-longer open - not even communication by letter; to write under
-the eyes of so ferocious an Argus as Madame, whose temper and
-disposition were so uncertain, was to run the risk of exposure to
-the greatest danger; and it can well be conceived into what a
-state of continuous irritation, and ever increasing anger, all
-these petty annoyances threw the young lion.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king almost tormented himself to
-death endeavoring to discover a means of communication; and, as
-he did not think proper to call in the aid of Malicorne or
-D'Artagnan, the means were not discovered at all.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne had, indeed, occasional
-brilliant flashes of imagination, with which he tried to inspire
-the king with confidence; but, whether from shame or suspicion,
-the king, who had at first begun to nibble at the bait, soon
-abandoned the hook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-this way, for instance, one evening, while the king was crossing
-the garden, and looking up at Madame's windows, Malicorne
-stumbled over a ladder lying beside a border of box, and said to
-Manicamp, then walking with him behind the king, "Did you not see
-that I just now stumbled against a ladder, and was nearly thrown
-down?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No," said Manicamp, as
-usual very absent-minded, "but it appears you did not fall."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That doesn't matter;
-but it is not on that account the less dangerous to leave ladders
-lying about in that manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True, one might hurt
-one's self, especially when troubled with fits of absence of
-mind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I don't mean that; what
-I did mean, was that it is dangerous to allow ladders to lie
-about so near the windows of the maids of honor."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis started imperceptibly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?" inquired
-Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Speak louder,"
-whispered Malicorne, as he touched him with his arm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?" said Manicamp,
-louder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king
-listened.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because, for instance,"
-said Malicorne, "a ladder nineteen feet high is just the height
-of the cornice of those windows."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Manicamp, instead of answering, was
-dreaming of something else.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ask me, can't you, what
-windows I mean," whispered Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But what windows are
-you referring to?" said Manicamp, aloud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The windows of Madame's
-apartments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Eh!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I don't say that any one would ever
-venture to go up a ladder into Madame's room; but in Madame's
-cabinet, merely separated by a partition, sleep two exceedingly
-pretty girls, Mesdemoiselles de la Valli&egrave;re and de
-Montalais."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "By a partition?" said
-Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Look; you see how
-brilliantly lighted Madame's apartments are - well, do you see
-those two windows?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And that window close
-to the others, but more dimly lighted?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, that is the room
-of the maids of honor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Look, there is Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re opening the
-window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah! how many soft
-things could an enterprising lover say to her, if he only
-suspected that there was lying here a ladder nineteen feet long,
-which would just reach the cornice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But she is not alone;
-you said Mademoiselle de Montalais is with her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Mademoiselle de
-Montalais counts for nothing; she is her oldest friend, and
-exceedingly devoted to her - a positive well, into which can be
-thrown all sorts of secrets one might wish to get rid of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king did not lose a
-single syllable of this conversation.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne even remarked that his
-majesty slackened his pace, in order to give him time to
-finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So, when they
-arrived at the door, Louis dismissed every one, with the
-exception of Malicorne - a circumstance which excited no
-surprise, for it was known that the king was in love; and they
-suspected he was going to compose some verses by moonlight; and,
-although there was no moon that evening, the king might,
-nevertheless, have some verses to compose.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Every one, therefore, took his
-leave; and, immediately afterwards, the king turned towards
-Malicorne, who respectfully waited until his majesty should
-address him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What were
-you saying, just now, about a ladder, Monsieur Malicorne?" he
-asked.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did I say anything
-about ladders, sire?" said Malicorne, looking up, as if in search
-of words which had flown away.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, of a ladder
-nineteen feet long."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, yes, sire, I
-remember; but I spoke to M. Manicamp, and I should not have said
-a word had I known your majesty was near enough to hear us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And why would you not
-have said a word?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because I should not
-have liked to get the gardener into a scrape who left it there -
-poor fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Don't make yourself
-uneasy on that account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-What is this ladder like?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If your majesty wishes
-to see it, nothing is easier, for there it is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that box hedge?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span>
-"Exactly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Show it to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Malicorne turned back,
-and led the king up to the ladder, saying, "This is it,
-sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Pull it
-this way a little."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> When
-Malicorne had brought the ladder on to the gravel walk, the king
-began to step its whole length.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Hum!" he said; "you say it is
-nineteen feet long?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nineteen feet - that is
-rather long; I hardly believe it can be so long as that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You cannot judge very
-correctly with the ladder in that position, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If it were upright, against a tree
-or a wall, for instance, you would be better able to judge,
-because the comparison would assist you a good deal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! it does not matter,
-M. Malicorne; but I can hardly believe that the ladder is
-nineteen feet high."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know how accurate
-your majesty's glance is, and yet I would wager."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king shook his
-head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "There is one
-unanswerable means of verifying it," said Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Every one knows, sire,
-that the ground-floor of the palace is eighteen feet high."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True, that is very well
-known."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, sire, if I place
-the ladder against the wall, we shall be able to ascertain."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Malicorne took up the
-ladder, like a feather, and placed it upright against the
-wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, in order to
-try the experiment, he chose, or chance, perhaps, directed him to
-choose, the very window of the cabinet where La Valli&egrave;re
-was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The ladder just
-reached the edge of the cornice, that is to say, the sill of the
-window; so that, by standing upon the last round but one of the
-ladder, a man of about the middle height, as the king was, for
-instance, could easily talk with those who might be in the
-room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Hardly had the
-ladder been properly placed, when the king, dropping the assumed
-part he had been playing in the comedy, began to ascend the
-rounds of the ladder, which Malicorne held at the bottom.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But hardly had he completed
-half the distance when a patrol of Swiss guards appeared in the
-garden, and advanced straight towards them.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king descended with the utmost
-precipitation, and concealed himself among the trees.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne at once perceived that he
-must offer himself as a sacrifice; for if he, too, were to
-conceal himself, the guard would search everywhere until they had
-found either himself or the king, perhaps both.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It would be far better, therefore,
-that he alone should be discovered.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, consequently, Malicorne hid
-himself so clumsily that he was the only one arrested.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as he was arrested,
-Malicorne was taken to the guard-house, and there he declared who
-he was, and was immediately recognized.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the meantime, by concealing
-himself first behind one clump of trees and then behind another,
-the king reached the side door of his apartment, very much
-humiliated, and still more disappointed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> More than that, the noise made in
-arresting Malicorne had drawn La Valli&egrave;re and Montalais to
-their window; and even Madame herself had appeared at her own,
-with a pair of wax candles, one in each hand, clamorously asking
-what was the matter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> In the meantime,
-Malicorne sent for D'Artagnan, who did not lose a moment in
-hurrying to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But it
-was in vain he attempted to make him understand his reasons, and
-in vain also that D'Artagnan did understand them; and, further,
-it was equally in vain that both their sharp and intuitive minds
-endeavored to give another turn to the adventure; there was no
-other resource left for Malicorne but to let it be supposed that
-he had wished to enter Mademoiselle de Montalais's apartment, as
-Saint-Aignan had passed for having wished to force Mademoiselle
-de Tonnay-Charente's door.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame was inflexible; in the first
-place, because, if Malicorne had, in fact, wished to enter her
-apartment at night through the window, and by means of the
-ladder, in order to see Montalais, it was a punishable offense on
-Malicorne's part, and he must be punished accordingly; and, in
-the second place, if Malicorne, instead of acting in his own
-name, had acted as an intermediary between La Valli&egrave;re and
-a person whose name it was superfluous to mention, his crime was
-in that case even greater, since love, which is an excuse for
-everything, did not exist in the case as an excuse.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame therefore made the greatest
-possible disturbance about the matter, and obtained his dismissal
-from Monsieur's household, without reflecting, poor blind
-creature, that both Malicorne and Montalais held her fast in
-their clutches in consequence of her visit to De Guiche, and in a
-variety of other ways equally delicate.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais, who was perfectly
-furious, wished to revenge herself immediately, but Malicorne
-pointed out to her that the king's countenance would repay them
-for all the disgraces in the world, and that it was a great thing
-to have to suffer on his majesty's account.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Malicorne was perfectly
-right, and, therefore, although Montalais had the spirit of ten
-women in her, he succeeded in bringing her round to his own
-opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And we must not
-omit to state that the king helped them to console themselves,
-for, in the first place, he presented Malicorne with fifty
-thousand francs as a compensation for the post he had lost, and,
-in the next place, he gave him an appointment in his own
-household, delighted to have an opportunity of revenging himself
-in such a manner upon Madame for all she had made him and La
-Valli&egrave;re suffer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But as Malicorne could no longer carry significant handkerchiefs
-for him or plant convenient ladders, the royal lover was in a
-terrible state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There
-seemed to be no hope, therefore, of ever getting near La
-Valli&egrave;re again, so long as she should remain at the Palais
-Royal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All the dignities
-and all the money in the world could not remedy that.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fortunately, however, Malicorne was
-on the lookout, and this so successfully that he met Montalais,
-who, to do her justice, it must be admitted, was doing her best
-to meet Malicorne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What
-do you do during the night in Madame's apartment?" he asked the
-young girl.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, I go to sleep, of
-course," she replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But it is very wrong to
-sleep; it can hardly be possible that, with the pain you are
-suffering, you can manage to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what am I suffering
-from, may I ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you not in despair
-at my absence?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course not, since
-you have received fifty thousand francs and an appointment in the
-king's household."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is a matter of no
-moment; you are exceedingly afflicted at not seeing me as you
-used to see me formerly, and more than all, you are in despair at
-my having lost Madame's confidence; come now, is not that
-true?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Perfectly true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; your
-distress of mind prevents you sleeping at night, and so you sob,
-and sigh, and blow your nose ten times every minute as loud as
-possible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, my dear Malicorne,
-Madame cannot endure the slightest noise near her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know that perfectly
-well; of course she can't endure anything; and so, I tell you,
-when she hears your deep distress, she will turn you out of her
-rooms without a moment's delay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very fortunate you <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>do</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, and what will
-happen next?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The next thing that
-will happen will be, that La Valli&egrave;re, finding herself
-alone without you, will groan and utter such loud lamentations,
-that she will exhibit despair enough for two."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case she will
-be put into <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>another</i>
-room, don't you see?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, but which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, that will puzzle
-you to say, Mr. Inventor-General."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not at all; whenever
-and whatever the room may be, it will always be preferable to
-Madame's own room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good, so begin
-your lamentations to-night."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I certainly will not
-fail to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And give La
-Valli&egrave;re a hint also."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! don't fear her, she
-cries quite enough already to herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well! all she has
-to do is cry out loudly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And they separated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Which Treats of Carpentry Operations, and Furnishes Details upon
-the Mode of Constructing Staircases.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he advice which had been given to Montalais was
-communicated by her to La Valli&egrave;re, who could not but
-acknowledge that it was by no means deficient in judgment, and
-who, after a certain amount of resistance, rising rather from
-timidity than indifference to the project, resolved to put it
-into execution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This
-story of the two girls weeping, and filling Madame's bedroom with
-the noisiest lamentations, was Malicorne's <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>chef-d'&oelig;uvre</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As nothing is so probable as
-improbability, so natural as romance, this kind of Arabian Nights
-story succeeded perfectly with Madame.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The first thing she did was to send
-Montalais away, and then, three days, or rather three nights
-afterwards, she had La Valli&egrave;re removed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She gave the latter one of the small
-rooms on the top story, situated immediately over the apartments
-allotted to the gentlemen of Monsieur's suite.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One story only, that is to say, a
-mere flooring separated the maids of honor from the officers and
-gentlemen of her husband's household.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A private staircase, which was
-placed under Madame de Navailles's surveillance, was the only
-means of communication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-For greater safety, Madame de Navailles, who had heard of his
-majesty's previous attempts, had the windows of the rooms and the
-openings of the chimneys carefully barred.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There was, therefore, every possible
-security provided for Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, whose
-room now bore more resemblance to a cage than to anything
-else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re was in her own room, and she was there very
-frequently, for Madame scarcely ever had any occasion for her
-services, since she once knew she was safe under Madame de
-Navailles's inspection, Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re had no
-better means of amusing herself than looking through the bars of
-her windows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It happened,
-therefore, that one morning, as she was looking out as usual, she
-perceived Malicorne at one of the windows exactly opposite to her
-own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He held a
-carpenter's rule in his hand, was surveying the buildings, and
-seemed to be adding up some figures on paper.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re recognized
-Malicorne and nodded to him; Malicorne, in his turn, replied by a
-formal bow, and disappeared from the window.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She was surprised at this marked
-coolness, so different from his usual unfailing good-humor, but
-she remembered that he had lost his appointment on her account,
-and that he could hardly be very amiably disposed towards her,
-since, in all probability, she would never be in a position to
-make him any recompense for what he had lost.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She knew how to forgive offenses,
-and with still more readiness could she sympathize with
-misfortune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La
-Valli&egrave;re would have asked Montalais her opinion, if she
-had been within hearing, but she was absent, it being the hour
-she commonly devoted to her own correspondence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Suddenly La Valli&egrave;re observed
-something thrown from the window where Malicorne had been
-standing, pass across the open space which separated the iron
-bars, and roll upon the floor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She advanced with no little
-curiosity towards this object, and picked it up; it was a wooden
-reel for silk, only, in this instance, instead of silk, a piece
-of paper was rolled round it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re unrolled it and
-read as follows:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "MADEMOISELLE, - I am
-exceedingly anxious to learn two things: the first is, to know if
-the flooring of your apartment is wood or brick; the second, to
-ascertain at what distance your bed is placed from the
-window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Forgive my
-importunity, and will you be good enough to send me an answer by
-the same way you receive this letter - that is to say, by means
-of the silk winder; only, instead of throwing into my room, as I
-have thrown it into yours, which will be too difficult for you to
-attempt, have the goodness merely to let it fall.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Believe me, mademoiselle, your most
-humble, most respectful servant,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>
-"MALICORNE.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Write the reply, if you
-please, upon the letter itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! poor fellow,"
-exclaimed La Valli&egrave;re, "he must have gone out of his
-mind;" and she directed towards her correspondent - of whom she
-caught but a faint glimpse, in consequence of the darkness of the
-room - a look full of compassionate consideration.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne understood her, and shook
-his head, as if he meant to say, "No, no, I am not out of my
-mind; be quite satisfied."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She smiled, as if still
-in doubt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no," he signified
-by a gesture, "my head is right," and pointed to his head, then,
-after moving his hand like a man who writes very rapidly, he put
-his hands together as if entreating her to write.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re, even
-if he were mad, saw no impropriety in doing what Malicorne
-requested her; she took a pencil and wrote "Wood," and then
-walked slowly from her window to her bed, and wrote, "Six paces,"
-and having done this, she looked out again at Malicorne, who
-bowed to her, signifying that he was about to descend.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re understood
-that it was to pick up the silk winder.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She approached the window, and, in
-accordance with Malicorne's instructions, let it fall.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The winder was still rolling
-along the flag-stones as Malicorne started after it, overtook and
-picked it up, and beginning to peel it as a monkey would do with
-a nut, he ran straight towards M. de Saint-Aignan's
-apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan
-had chosen, or rather solicited, that his rooms might be as near
-the king as possible, as certain plants seek the sun's rays in
-order to develop themselves more luxuriantly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His apartment consisted of two
-rooms, in that portion of the palace occupied by Louis XIV.
-himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de
-Saint-Aignan was very proud of this proximity, which afforded
-easy access to his majesty, and, more than that, the favor of
-occasional unexpected meetings.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the moment we are now referring
-to, he was engaged in having both his rooms magnificently
-carpeted, with expectation of receiving the honor of frequent
-visits from the king; for his majesty, since his passion for La
-Valli&egrave;re, had chosen Saint-Aignan as his confidant, and
-could not, in fact, do without him, either night or day.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne introduced himself
-to the comte, and met with no difficulties, because he had been
-favorably noticed by the king; and also, because the credit which
-one man may happen to enjoy is always a bait for others.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan asked his visitor
-if he brought any news with him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; great news,"
-replied the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! ah!" said
-Saint-Aignan, "what is it?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span>
-"Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re has changed her
-quarters."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean?" said
-Saint-Aignan, opening his eyes very wide.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "She was living in the same
-apartments as Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely so; but
-Madame got tired of her proximity, and has installed her in a
-room which is situated exactly above your future apartment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! up there,"
-exclaimed Saint-Aignan, with surprise, and pointing at the floor
-above him with his finger.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No," said Malicorne,
-"yonder," indicating the building opposite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean, then,
-by saying that her room is above my apartment?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because I am sure that
-your apartment <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>ought</i>,
-providentially, to be under Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's
-room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Saint-Aignan, at this
-remark, gave poor Malicorne a look, similar to one of those La
-Valli&egrave;re had already given a quarter of an hour before,
-that is to say, he thought he had lost his senses.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur," said
-Malicorne to him, "I wish to answer what you are thinking
-about."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean by
-'what I am thinking about'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My reason is, that you
-have not clearly understood what I want to convey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I admit it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, you are
-aware that underneath the apartments set for Madame's maids of
-honor, the gentlemen in attendance on the king and on Monsieur
-are lodged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I know that, since
-Manicamp, De Wardes, and others are living there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, monsieur, admire the
-singularity of the circumstance; the two rooms destined for M. de
-Guiche are exactly the very two rooms situated underneath those
-which Mademoiselle de Montalais and Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re occupy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well; what then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "'What then,' do you
-say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why, these two rooms
-are empty, since M. de Guiche is now lying wounded at
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I assure you, my dear
-fellow, I cannot grasp your meaning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well! if I had the
-happiness to call myself Saint-Aignan, I should guess
-immediately."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what would you do
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should at once change
-the rooms I am occupying here, for those which M. de Guiche is
-not using yonder."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Can you suppose such a
-thing?" said Saint-Aignan, disdainfully.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What! abandon the chief post of
-honor, the proximity to the king, a privilege conceded only to
-princes of the blood, to dukes, and peers!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Permit me to tell you, my dear
-Monsieur de Malicorne, that you must be out of your senses."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur," replied the
-young man, seriously, "you commit two mistakes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My name is Malicorne, simply; and I
-am in perfect possession of all my senses."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, drawing a paper from his
-pocket, he said, "Listen to what I am going to say; and
-afterwards, I will show you this paper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am listening," said
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You know that Madame
-looks after La Valli&egrave;re as carefully as Argus did after
-the nymph Io."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You know that the king
-has sought for an opportunity, but uselessly, of speaking to the
-prisoner, and that neither you nor myself have yet succeeded in
-procuring him this piece of good fortune."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You certainly ought to
-know something about the subject, my poor Malicorne," said
-Saint-Aignan, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; what do you
-suppose would happen to the man whose imagination devised some
-means of bringing the lovers together?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! the
-king would set no bounds to his gratitude."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let me ask you, then,
-M. de Saint-Aignan, whether you would not be curious to taste a
-little of this royal gratitude?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "any favor of my master, as a recognition of the
-proper discharge of my duty, would assuredly be most
-precious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, look at
-this paper, monsieur le comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is it - a
-plan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; a plan of M. de
-Guiche's two rooms, which, in all probability, will soon be your
-two rooms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! no, whatever may
-happen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because my rooms are
-the envy of too many gentlemen, to whom I certainly shall not
-give them up; M. de Roquelaure, for instance, M. de la
-Fert&eacute;, and M. de Dangeau, would all be anxious to get
-them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case I shall
-leave you, monsieur le comte, and I shall go and offer to one of
-those gentlemen the plan I have just shown you, together with the
-advantages annexed to it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But why do you not keep
-them for yourself?" inquired Saint-Aignan, suspiciously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>           </span></span> "Because the king
-would never do me the honor of paying me a visit openly, whilst
-he would readily go and see any one of those gentlemen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! the king would go
-and see any one of those gentlemen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Go! most certainly he
-would ten times instead of once.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it possible you can ask me if the
-king would go to an apartment which would bring him nearer to
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, indeed,
-delightfully near her, with a floor between them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Malicorne unfolded the
-piece of paper which had been wrapped round the bobbin.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Monsieur le comte," he said,
-"have the goodness to observe that the flooring of Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re's room is merely a wooden flooring."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well! all you would
-have to do would be to get hold of a journeyman carpenter, lock
-him up in your apartments, without letting him know where you
-have taken him to, and let him make a hole in your ceiling, and
-consequently in the flooring of Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re's room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good heavens!"
-exclaimed Saint-Aignan, as if dazzled.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is the matter?"
-said Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing, except that
-you have hit upon a singular, bold idea, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It will seem a very
-trifling one to the king, I assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Lovers never think of
-the risk they run."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What danger do you
-apprehend, monsieur le comte?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, effecting such an
-opening as that will make a terrible noise: it could be heard all
-over the palace."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! monsieur le comte,
-I am quite sure that the carpenter I shall select will not make
-the slightest noise in the world.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He will saw an opening three feet
-square, with a saw covered with tow, and no one, not even those
-adjoining, will know that he is at work."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear Monsieur
-Malicorne, you astound, you positively bewilder me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To continue," replied
-Malicorne, quietly, "in the room, the ceiling of which you will
-have cut through, you will put up a staircase, which will either
-allow Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re to descend into your
-room, or the king to ascend into Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re's room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But the staircase will
-be seen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; for in your room it
-will be hidden by a partition, over which you will throw a
-tapestry similar to that which covers the rest of the apartment;
-and in Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's room it will not be
-seen, for the trapdoor, which will be a part of the flooring
-itself, will be made to open under the bed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course," said
-Saint-Aignan, whose eyes began to sparkle with delight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And now, monsieur le
-comte, there is no occasion to make you admit that the king will
-frequently come to the room where such a staircase is
-constructed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I think that
-M. Dangeau, particularly, will be struck by my idea, and I shall
-now go and explain to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, my dear Monsieur
-Malicorne, you forget that you spoke to me about it the first,
-and that I have consequently the right of priority."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you wish for the
-preference?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do I wish it?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Of course I do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The fact is, Monsieur
-de Saint-Aignan, I am presenting you with a Jacob's ladder, which
-is better than the promise of an additional step in the peerage -
-perhaps, even with a good estate to accompany your dukedom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At least," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "it will give me an opportunity of showing the king
-that he is not mistaken in occasionally calling me his friend; an
-opportunity, dear M. Malicorne, for which I am indebted to
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And which you will not
-forget to remember?" inquired Malicorne, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing will delight me
-more, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But I am not the king's
-friend; I am simply his attendant."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; and if you imagine
-that that staircase is as good as a dukedom for myself, I think
-there will certainly be letters of nobility at the top of it for
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Malicorne bowed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "All I have to do now,"
-said Saint-Aignan, "is to move as soon as possible."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not
-think the king will object to it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ask his permission, however."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will go and see him
-this very moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I will run and get
-the carpenter I was speaking of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "When will he be
-here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This very evening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not forget your
-precautions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He shall be brought
-with his eyes bandaged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I will send you one
-of my carriages."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Without arms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And one of my servants
-without livery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But stay,
-what will La Valli&egrave;re say if she sees what is going
-on?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I can assure you she will be very
-much interested in the operation, and I am equally sure that if
-the king has not courage enough to ascend to her room, she will
-have sufficient curiosity to come down to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We will live in hope,"
-said Saint-Aignan; "and now I am off to his majesty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At what time will the carpenter be
-here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At eight o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How long do you suppose
-he will take to make this opening?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "About a couple of
-hours; only afterwards he must have sufficient time to construct
-what may be called the hyphen between the two rooms.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One night and a portion of the
-following day will do; we must not reckon upon less than two
-days, including putting up the staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Two days, that is a
-very long time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay; when one
-undertakes to open up communications with paradise itself, we
-must at least take care that the approaches are respectable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite right; so
-farewell for a short time, dear M. Malicorne.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall begin to remove the day
-after to-morrow, in the evening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Promenade by Torchlight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-S</span>aint-Aignan, delighted with what he had just heard, and
-rejoiced at what the future foreshadowed for him, bent his steps
-towards De Guiche's two rooms.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He who, a quarter of an hour
-previously, would hardly yield up his own rooms for a million
-francs, was now ready to expend a million, if it were necessary,
-upon the acquisition of the two happy rooms he coveted so
-eagerly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But he did not
-meet with so many obstacles.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Guiche did not yet know where
-he was to lodge, and, besides, was still too far ill to trouble
-himself about his lodgings; and so Saint-Aignan obtained De
-Guiche's two rooms without difficulty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for M. Dangeau, he was so
-immeasurably delighted, that he did not even give himself the
-trouble to think whether Saint-Aignan had any particular reason
-for removing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Within an
-hour after Saint-Aignan's new resolution, he was in possession of
-the two rooms; and ten minutes later Malicorne entered, followed
-by the upholsterers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-During this time, the king asked for Saint-Aignan; the valet ran
-to his late apartments and found M. Dangeau there; Dangeau sent
-him on to De Guiche's, and Saint-Aignan was found there; but a
-little delay had of course taken place, and the king had already
-exhibited once or twice evident signs of impatience, when
-Saint-Aignan entered his royal master's presence, quite out of
-breath.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You, too, abandon me,
-then," said Louis XIV., in a similar tone of lamentation to that
-with which C&aelig;sar, eighteen hundred years previously, had
-pronounced the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Et tu
-quoque.</i></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I am far from
-abandoning you, for, on the contrary, I am busily occupied in
-changing my lodgings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I thought you had finished
-moving three days ago."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I don't find myself comfortable
-where I am, so I am going to change to the opposite side of the
-building."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Was I not right when I
-said you were abandoning me?" exclaimed the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh! this exceeds all
-endurance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But so it is:
-there was only one woman for whom my heart cared at all, and all
-my family is leagued together to tear her from me; and my friend,
-to whom I confided my distress, and who helped me to bear up
-under it, has become wearied of my complaints and is going to
-leave me without even asking my permission."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Saint-Aignan began to
-laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king at once
-guessed there must be some mystery in this want of respect.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What is it?" cried the king,
-full of hope.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This, sire, that the
-friend whom the king calumniates is going to try if he cannot
-restore to his sovereign the happiness he has lost."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you going to let me
-see La Valli&egrave;re?" said Louis XIV.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot say so,
-positively, but I hope so."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How - how?
-- tell me that, Saint-Aignan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I wish to know what your project is,
-and to help you with all my power."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "I cannot, even myself, tell very well how I must
-set about attaining success; but I have every reason to believe
-that from to-morrow - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To-morrow, do you
-say!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What happiness!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But why are you changing your
-rooms?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In order to serve your
-majesty to better advantage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How can your moving
-serve me?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you
-happen to know where the two rooms destined for De Guiche are
-situated?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, your majesty now
-knows where I am going."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very likely; but that
-does not help me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! is it possible
-that you do not understand, sire, that above De Guiche's lodgings
-are two rooms, one of which is Mademoiselle Montalais's, and the
-other - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "La Valli&egrave;re's,
-is it not so, Saint-Aignan?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! yes, yes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is a brilliant idea,
-Saint-Aignan, a true friend's idea, a poet's idea.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By bringing me nearer her from whom
-the world seems to unite to separate me - you are far more than
-Pylades was for Orestes, or Patroclus for Achilles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire," said Aignan,
-with a smile, "I question whether, if your majesty were to know
-my projects in their full extent, you would continue to pronounce
-such a pompous eulogium upon me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah! sire, I know how very different
-are the epithets which certain Puritans of the court will not
-fail to apply to me when they learn of what I intend to do for
-your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Saint-Aignan, I am
-dying with impatience; I am in a perfect fever; I shall never be
-able to wait until to-morrow - to-morrow! why, to-morrow is an
-eternity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet, sire, I shall
-require you, if you please, to go out presently and divert your
-impatience by a good walk."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With you - agreed; we
-will talk about your projects, we will talk of her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, sire; I remain
-here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Whom shall I go out
-with, then?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With the
-queen and all the ladies of the court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing shall induce me
-to do that, Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet, sire, you
-must."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Must?</i> - no, no - a thousand
-times no!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will never
-again expose myself to the horrible torture of being close to
-her, of seeing her, of touching her dress as I pass by her, and
-yet not be able to say a word to her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, I renounce a torture which you
-suppose will bring me happiness, but which consumes and eats away
-my very life; to see her in the presence of strangers, and not to
-tell her that I love her, when my whole being reveals my
-affection and betrays me to every one; no!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have sworn never to do it again,
-and I will keep my oath."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yet, sire, pray listen
-to me for a moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will listen to
-nothing, Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, I will
-continue; it is most urgent, sire - pray understand me, it is of
-the greatest importance - that Madame and her maids of honor
-should be absent for two hours from the palace."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot understand
-your meaning at all, Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is hard for me to
-give my sovereign directions what to do; but under the
-circumstances I do give you directions, sire; and either a
-hunting or a promenade party must be got up."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But if I were to do
-what you wish, it would be a caprice, a mere whim.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In displaying such an impatient
-humor I show my whole court that I have no control over my own
-feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not people
-already say that I am dreaming of the conquest of the world, but
-that I ought previously to begin by achieving a conquest over
-myself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Those who say so, sire,
-are as insolent as they would like to be thought facetious; but
-whomever they may be, if your majesty prefers to listen to them,
-I have nothing further to say.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In such a case, that which we have
-fixed to take place to-morrow must be postponed
-indefinitely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, Saint-Aignan, I
-will go out this evening - I will go by torchlight to
-Saint-Germain: I will breakfast there to-morrow, and will return
-to Paris by three o'clock.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will that do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Admirably."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case I will set
-out this evening at eight o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty has fixed
-upon the exact minute."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you positively will
-tell me nothing more?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is because I have
-nothing more to tell you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Industry counts for something in this world, sire; but still,
-chance plays so important a part in it that I have been
-accustomed to leave her the sidewalk, confident that she will
-manage so as to always take the street."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, I abandon myself
-entirely to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you are quite
-right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Comforted in this
-manner, the king went immediately to Madame, to whom he announced
-the intended expedition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Madame fancied at the first moment that she saw in this
-unexpectedly arranged party a plot of the king's to converse with
-La Valli&egrave;re, either on the road under cover of the
-darkness, or in some other way, but she took especial care not to
-show any of her fancies to her brother-in-law, and accepted the
-invitation with a smile upon her lips.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She gave directions aloud that her
-maids of honor should accompany her, secretly intending in the
-evening to take the most effectual steps to interfere with his
-majesty's attachment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Then, when she was alone, and at the very moment the poor lover,
-who had issued orders for the departure, was reveling in the idea
-that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re would form one of the
-party, - luxuriating in the sad happiness persecuted lovers enjoy
-of realizing through the sense of sight alone all the transports
-of possession, - Madame, who was surrounded by her maids of
-honor, was saying: - "Two ladies will be enough for me this
-evening, Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente and Mademoiselle de
-Montalais."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re had
-anticipated her own omission, and was prepared for it: but
-persecution had rendered her courageous, and she did not give
-Madame the pleasure of seeing on her face the impression of the
-shock her heart received.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-On the contrary, smiling with that ineffable gentleness which
-gave an angelic expression to her features - "In that case,
-Madame, I shall be at liberty this evening, I suppose?" she
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I shall be able to
-employ it, then, in progressing with that piece of tapestry which
-your highness has been good enough to notice, and which I have
-already had the honor of offering to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And having made a
-respectful obeisance she withdrew to her own apartment;
-Mesdemoiselles de Tonnay-Charente and de Montalais did the
-same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The rumor of the
-intended promenade soon spread all over the palace; ten minutes
-afterwards Malicorne learned Madame's resolution, and slipped
-under Montalais's door a note, in the following terms:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "L. V. must positively
-pass the night the night with Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Montalais, in pursuance
-of the compact she had entered into, began by burning the letter,
-and then sat down to reflect.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais was a girl full of
-expedients, and so she very soon arranged her plan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Towards five o'clock, which was the
-hour for her to repair to Madame's apartment, she was running
-across the courtyard, and had reached within a dozen paces of a
-group of officers, when she uttered a cry, fell gracefully on one
-knee, rose again, with difficulty, and walked on limpingly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The gentlemen ran forward to
-her assistance; Montalais had sprained her foot.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Faithful to the discharge of her
-duty, she insisted, however, notwithstanding her accident, upon
-going to Madame's apartments.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is the matter, and
-why do you limp so?" she inquired; "I mistook you for La
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Montalais related how it
-had happened, that in hurrying on, in order to arrive as quickly
-as possible, she had sprained her foot.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame seemed to pity her, and
-wished to have a surgeon sent for immediately, but she, assuring
-her that there was nothing really serious in the accident, said:
-"My only regret, Madame, is, that it will preclude my attendance
-on you, and I should have begged Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re to take my place with your royal highness, but -
-" seeing that Madame frowned, she added - "I have not done
-so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why did you not do so?"
-inquired Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because poor La
-Valli&egrave;re seemed so happy to have her liberty for a whole
-evening and night too, that I did not feel courageous enough to
-ask her to take my place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What, is she so
-delighted as that?" inquired madame, struck by these words.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She is wild with
-delight; she, who is always so melancholy, was singing like a
-bird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, you
-highness knows how much she detests going out, and also that her
-character has a spice of wildness in it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So!" thought Madame,
-"this extreme delight hardly seems natural to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She has already made
-all her preparations for dining in her own room <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i>
-with one of her favorite books.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then, as your highness has six
-other young ladies who would be delighted to accompany you, I did
-not make my proposal to La Valli&egrave;re."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame did not say a word in
-reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have I acted properly?"
-continued Montalais, with a slight fluttering of the heart,
-seeing the little success that seemed to attend the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>ruse de guerre</i> which she had
-relied upon with so much confidence that she had not thought it
-even necessary to try and find another.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Does Madame approve of what I have
-done?" she continued.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame was reflecting
-that the king could very easily leave Saint-Germain during the
-night, and that, as it was only four leagues and a half from
-Paris to Saint-Germain, he might readily be in Paris in an hour's
-time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Tell me," she
-said, "whether La Valli&egrave;re, when she heard of your
-accident, offered at least to bear you company?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! she does not yet
-know of my accident; but even did she know of it, I most
-certainly should not ask her to do anything that might interfere
-with her own plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-think she wishes this evening to realize quietly by herself that
-amusement of the late king, when he said to M. de Cinq-Mars, 'Let
-us amuse ourselves by doing nothing, and making ourselves
-miserable.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame felt convinced
-that some mysterious love adventure lurked behind this strong
-desire for solitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-secret <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>might</i> be Louis's
-return during the night; it could not be doubted any longer La
-Valli&egrave;re had been informed of his intended return, and
-that was the reason for her delight at having to remain behind at
-the Palais Royal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was
-a plan settled and arranged beforehand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will not be their
-dupe though," said Madame, and she took a decisive step.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Mademoiselle de Montalais,"
-she said, "will you have the goodness to inform your friend,
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, that I am exceedingly sorry
-to disarrange her projects of solitude, but that instead of
-becoming <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>ennuy&eacute;e</i> by remaining
-behind alone as she wished, she will be good enough to accompany
-us to Saint-Germain and get <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>ennuy&eacute;e</i> there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! poor La
-Valli&egrave;re," said Montalais, compassionately, but with her
-heart throbbing with delight; "oh, Madame, could there not be
-some means - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Enough," said Madame;
-"I desire it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I prefer
-Mademoiselle la Baume le Blanc's society to that of any one
-else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Go, and send her to
-me, and take care of your foot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Montalais did not wait
-for the order to be repeated; she returned to her room, almost
-forgetting to feign lameness, wrote an answer to Malicorne, and
-slipped it under the carpet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The answer simply said: "She
-shall."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A Spartan could
-not have written more laconically.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "By this means," thought
-Madame, "I will look narrowly after all on the road; she shall
-sleep near me during the night, and his majesty must be very
-clever if he can exchange a single word with Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-received the order to set off with the same indifferent
-gentleness with which she had received the order to play
-Cinderella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But,
-inwardly, her delight was extreme, and she looked upon this
-change in the princess's resolution as a consolation which
-Providence had sent her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-With less penetration than Madame possessed, she attributed all
-to chance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> While every
-one, with the exception of those in disgrace, of those who were
-ill, and those who were suffering from sprains, were being driven
-towards Saint-Germain, Malicorne smuggled his workman into the
-palace in one of M. de Saint-Aignan's carriages, and led him into
-the room corresponding to La Valli&egrave;re's.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The man set to work with a will,
-tempted by the splendid reward which had been promised him.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As the very best tools and
-implements had been selected from the reserve stock belonging to
-the engineers attached to the king's household - and among
-others, a saw with teeth so sharp and well tempered that it was
-able, under water even, to cut through oaken joists as hard as
-iron - the work in question advanced very rapidly, and a square
-portion of the ceiling, taken from between two of the joists,
-fell into the arms of the delighted Saint-Aignan, Malicorne, the
-workman, and a confidential valet, the latter being one brought
-into the world to see and hear everything, but to repeat
-nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In accordance
-with a new plan indicated by Malicorne, the opening was effected
-in an angle of the room - and for this reason. <span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As there was no dressing-closet
-adjoining La Valli&egrave;re's room, she had solicited, and had
-that very morning obtained, a large screen intended to serve as a
-partition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The screen
-that had been allotted her was perfectly sufficient to conceal
-the opening, which would, besides, be hidden by all the artifices
-skilled cabinet-makers would have at their command.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The opening having been made, the
-workman glided between the joists, and found himself in La
-Valli&egrave;re's room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-When there, he cut a square opening in the flooring, and out of
-the boards he manufactured a trap so accurately fitting into the
-opening that the most practised eye could hardly detect the
-necessary interstices made by its lines of juncture with the
-floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne had
-provided for everything: a ring and a couple of hinges which had
-been bought for the purpose, were affixed to the trap-door; and a
-small circular stair-case, packed in sections, had been bought
-ready made by the industrious Malicorne, who had paid two
-thousand francs for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-It was higher than what was required, but the carpenter reduced
-the number of steps, and it was found to suit exactly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This staircase, destined to
-receive so illustrious a burden, was merely fastened to the wall
-by a couple of iron clamps, and its base was fixed into the floor
-of the comte's room by two iron pegs screwed down tightly, so
-that the king, and all his cabinet councilors too, might pass up
-and down the staircase without any fear.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Every blow of the hammer fell upon a
-thick pad or cushion, and the saw was not used until the handle
-had been wrapped in wool, and the blade steeped in oil.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The noisiest part of the work,
-moreover, had taken place during the night and early in the
-morning, that is to say, when La Valli&egrave;re and Madame were
-both absent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When, about
-two o'clock in the afternoon, the court returned to the Palais
-Royal, La Valli&egrave;re went up into her own room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Everything was in its proper place -
-not the smallest particle of sawdust, not the smallest chip, was
-left to bear witness to the violation of her domicile.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan, however, wishing
-to do his utmost in forwarding the work, had torn his fingers and
-his shirt too, and had expended no ordinary amount of
-perspiration in the king's service.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The palms of his hands were covered
-with blisters, occasioned by his having held the ladder for
-Malicorne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had,
-moreover, brought up, one by one, the seven pieces of the
-staircase, each consisting of two steps.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In fact, we can safely assert that,
-if the king had seen him so ardently at work, his majesty would
-have sworn an eternal gratitude towards his faithful
-attendant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As Malicorne
-anticipated, the workman had completely finished the job in
-twenty-four hours; he received twenty-four louis, and left,
-overwhelmed with delight, for he had gained in one day as much as
-six months' hard work would have procured him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No one had the slightest suspicion
-of what had taken place in the room under Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re's apartment.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But in the evening of the second
-day, at the very moment La Valli&egrave;re had just left Madame's
-circle and returned to her own room, she heard a slight creaking
-sound in one corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Astonished, she looked to see whence it proceeded, and the noise
-began again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Who is
-there?" she said, in a tone of alarm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is I, Louise,"
-replied the well-known voice of the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You! you!" cried the
-young girl, who for a moment fancied herself under the influence
-of a dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "But
-where?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Here," replied the
-king, opening one of the folds of the screen, and appearing like
-a ghost at the end of the room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-uttered a loud cry, and fell trembling into an armchair, as the
-king advanced respectfully towards her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Apparition.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-L</span>a Valli&egrave;re very soon recovered from her surprise,
-for, owing to his respectful bearing, the king inspired her with
-more confidence by his presence than his sudden appearance had
-deprived her of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, as
-he noticed that which made La Valli&egrave;re most uneasy was the
-means by which he had effected an entrance into her room, he
-explained to her the system of the staircase concealed by the
-screen, and strongly disavowed the notion of his being a
-supernatural appearance.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire!" said La
-Valli&egrave;re, shaking her fair head with a most engaging
-smile, "present or absent, you do not appear to my mind more at
-one time than at another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which means, Louise -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, what you know so
-well, sire; that there is not one moment in which the poor girl
-whose secret you surprised at Fontainebleau, and whom you came to
-snatch from the foot of the cross itself, does not think of
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Louise, you overwhelm
-me with joy and happiness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-smiled mournfully, and continued: "But, sire, have you reflected
-that your ingenious invention could not be of the slightest
-service to us?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tell me, - I am waiting most
-anxiously."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because this room may
-be subject to being searched at any moment of the day.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame herself may, at any
-time, come here accidentally; my companions run in at any moment
-they please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To fasten
-the door on the inside, is to denounce myself as plainly as if I
-had written above, 'No admittance, - the king is within!'<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Even now, sire, at this very
-moment, there is nothing to prevent the door opening, and your
-majesty being seen here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case," said the
-king, laughingly, "I should indeed be taken for a phantom, for no
-one can tell in what way I came here.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, it is only spirits that can
-pass through brick walls, or floors and ceilings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire, reflect for a
-moment how terrible the scandal would be!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing equal to it could ever have
-been previously said about the maids of honor, poor creatures!
-whom evil report, however, hardly ever spares."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And your conclusion
-from all this, my dear Louise, - come, explain yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas! it is a hard
-thing to say - but your majesty must suppress staircase plots,
-surprises and all; for the evil consequences which would result
-from your being found here would be far greater than our
-happiness in seeing each other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, Louise," replied
-the king, tenderly, "instead of removing this staircase by which
-I have ascended, there is a far more simple means, of which you
-have not thought."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A means - another
-means!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, another.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, you do not love me as I
-love you, Louise, since my invention is quicker than yours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She looked at the king,
-who held out his hand to her, which she took and gently pressed
-between her own.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You were saying,"
-continued the king, "that I shall be detected coming here, where
-any one who pleases can enter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Stay, sire; at this
-very moment, even while you are speaking about it, I tremble with
-dread of your being discovered."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But you would not be
-found out, Louise, if you were to descend the staircase which
-leads to the room underneath."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire! what do you
-say?" cried Louise, in alarm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You do not quite
-understand me, Louise, since you get offended at my very first
-word; first of all, do you know to whom the apartments underneath
-belong?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To M. de Guiche, sire,
-I believe."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not at all; they are M.
-de Saint-Aignan's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you sure?" cried La
-Valli&egrave;re; and this exclamation which escaped from the
-young girl's joyous heart made the king's heart throb with
-delight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, to Saint-Aignan,
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>our friend</i>," he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, sire," returned La
-Valli&egrave;re, "I cannot visit M. de Saint-Aignan's rooms any
-more than I could M. de Guiche's.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is impossible - impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet, Louise, I
-should have thought that, under the safe-conduct of the king, you
-would venture anything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Under the safe-conduct
-of the king," she said, with a look full of tenderness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have faith in my
-word, I hope, Louise?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire, when you are
-not present; but when you are present, - when you speak to me, -
-when I look upon you, I have faith in nothing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What can possibly be
-done to reassure you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is scarcely
-respectful, I know, to doubt the king, but - for me - you are <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>not</i> the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Thank Heaven! - I, at
-least, hope so most devoutly; you see how anxiously I am trying
-to find or invent a means of removing all difficulty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Stay; would the presence of a third
-person reassure you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The presence of M. de
-Saint-Aignan would, certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Really, Louise, you
-wound me by your suspicions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louise did not answer,
-she merely looked steadfastly at him with that clear, piercing
-gaze which penetrates the very heart, and said softly to herself,
-"Alas! alas! it is not you of whom I am afraid, - it is not you
-upon whom my doubts would fall."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well," said the king,
-sighing, "I agree; and M. de Saint-Aignan, who enjoys the
-inestimable privilege of reassuring you, shall always be present
-at our interviews, I promise you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You promise that,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon my honor as a
-gentleman; and you, on your side - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, wait, sire, that is
-not all yet; for such conversations ought, at least, to have a
-reasonable motive of some kind for M. de Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Dear Louise, every
-shade of delicacy of feeling is yours, and my only study is to
-equal you on that point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-It shall be just as you wish: therefore our conversations shall
-have a reasonable motive, and I have already hit upon one; so
-that from to-morrow, if you like - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To-morrow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you meant that that
-is not soon enough?" exclaimed the king, caressing La
-Valli&egrave;re's hand between his own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At this moment the sound
-of steps was heard in the corridor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire! sire!" cried La
-Valli&egrave;re, "some one is coming; do you hear?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, fly! fly!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I implore you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king made but one
-bound from the chair where he was sitting to his hiding-place
-behind the screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had
-barely time; for as he drew one of the folds before him, the
-handle of the door was turned, and Montalais appeared at the
-threshold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As a matter of
-course she entered quite naturally, and without any ceremony, for
-she knew perfectly well that to knock at the door beforehand
-would be showing a suspicion towards La Valli&egrave;re which
-would be displeasing to her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She accordingly entered, and after a
-rapid glance round the room, in the brief course of which she
-observed two chairs very close to each other, she was so long in
-shutting the door, which seemed to be difficult to close, one can
-hardly tell how or why, that the king had ample time to raise the
-trap-door, and to descend again to Saint-Aignan's room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Louise," she said to
-her, "I want to talk to you, and seriously, too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good heavens! my dear
-Aure, what is the matter now?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The matter is, that
-Madame suspects <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>everything</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Explain yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is there any occasion
-for us to enter into explanations, and do you not understand what
-I mean?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come, you must
-have noticed the fluctuations in Madame's humor during several
-days past; you must have noticed how she first kept you close
-beside her, then dismissed you, and then sent for you again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I have noticed it,
-of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, it seems Madame
-has now succeeded in obtaining sufficient information, for she
-has now gone straight to the point, as there is nothing further
-left in France to withstand the torrent which sweeps away all
-obstacles before it; you know what I mean by the torrent?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re hid
-her face in her hands.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I mean," continued
-Montalais, pitilessly, "that torrent which burst through the
-gates of the Carmelites of Chaillot, and overthrew all the
-prejudices of the court, as well at Fontainebleau as at
-Paris."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas! alas!" murmured
-La Valli&egrave;re, her face still covered by her hands, and her
-tears streaming through her fingers.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, don't distress
-yourself in that manner, or you have only heard half of your
-troubles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In Heaven's name,"
-exclaimed the young girl, in great anxiety, "what is the
-matter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, this is how
-the matter stands: Madame, who can no longer rely upon any
-further assistance in France; for she has, one after the other,
-made use of the two queens, of Monsieur, and the whole court,
-too, now bethinks herself of a certain person who has certain
-pretended rights over you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-became as white as a marble statue.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This person," continued
-Madame, "is not in Paris at this moment; but, if I am not
-mistaken, is, just now, in England."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes," breathed La
-Valli&egrave;re, almost overwhelmed with terror.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And is to be found, I
-think, at the court of Charles II.; am I right?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, this
-evening a letter has been dispatched by Madame to Saint James's,
-with directions for the courier to go straight to Hampton Court,
-which I believe is one of the royal residences, situated about a
-dozen miles from London."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well; as Madame writes
-regularly to London once a fortnight, and as the ordinary courier
-left for London not more than three days ago, I have been
-thinking that some serious circumstance alone could have induced
-her to write again so soon, for you know she is a very indolent
-correspondent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This letter has been
-written, therefore, something tells me so, at least, on your
-account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On my account?"
-repeated the unhappy girl, mechanically.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I, who saw the
-letter lying on Madame's desk before she sealed it, fancied I
-could read - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What did you fancy you
-could read?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I might
-possibly have been mistaken, though - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell me, - what was
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The name of
-Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re rose
-hurriedly from her chair, a prey to the most painful
-agitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Montalais,"
-she said, her voice broken by sobs, "all my smiling dreams of
-youth and innocence have fled already.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have nothing now to conceal,
-either from you or any one else.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My life is exposed to every one's
-inspection, and can be opened like a book, in which all the world
-can read, from the king himself to the first passer-by.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aure, dearest Aure, what can I
-do - what will become of me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Montalais approached
-close to her, and said, "Consult your own heart, of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well; I do not love M.
-de Bragelonne; when I say I do not love him, understand that I
-love him as the most affectionate sister could love the best of
-brothers, but that is not what he requires, nor what I promised
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In fact, you love the
-king," said Montalais, "and that is a sufficiently good
-excuse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I do love the
-king," hoarsely murmured the young girl, "and I have paid dearly
-enough for pronouncing those words.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And now, Montalais, tell me - what
-can you do either for me, or against me, in my position?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You must speak more
-clearly still."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What am I to say,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so you have nothing
-very particular to tell me?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No!" said
-Louise, in astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; and so all
-you have to ask me is my advice respecting M. Raoul?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing else."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a
-very delicate subject," replied Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, it is nothing of
-the kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ought I to
-marry him in order to keep the promise I made, or ought I
-continue to listen to the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have really placed
-me in a very difficult position," said Montalais, smiling; "you
-ask me if you ought to marry Raoul, whose friend I am, and whom I
-shall mortally offend in giving my opinion against him; and then,
-you ask me if you should cease to listen to the king, whose
-subject I am, and whom I should offend if I were to advise you in
-a particular way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah,
-Louise, you seem to hold a difficult position at a very cheap
-rate."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have not understood
-me, Aure," said La Valli&egrave;re, wounded by the slightly
-mocking tone of her companion; "if I were to marry M. de
-Bragelonne, I should be far from bestowing on him the happiness
-he deserves; but, for the same reason, if I listen to the king he
-would become the possessor of one indifferent in very many
-aspects, I admit, but one whom his affection confers an
-appearance of value.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What
-I ask you, then, is to tell me some means of disengaging myself
-honorably either from the one or from the other; or rather, I ask
-you, from which side you think I can free myself most
-honorably."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear Louise,"
-replied Montalais, after a pause, "I am not one of the seven wise
-men of Greece, and I have no perfectly invariable rules of
-conduct to govern me; but, on the other hand, I have a little
-experience, and I can assure you that no woman ever asks for
-advice of the nature which you have just asked me, without being
-in a terrible state of embarrassment.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, you have made a solemn
-promise, which every principle of honor requires you to fulfil;
-if, therefore, you are embarrassed, in consequence of having
-undertaken such an engagement, it is not a stranger's advice
-(every one is a stranger to a heart full of love), it is not my
-advice, I repeat, that can extricate you from your
-embarrassment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall
-not give it you, therefore; and for a greater reason still -
-because, were I in your place, I should feel much more
-embarrassed after the advice than before it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All I can do is, to repeat what I
-have already told you; shall I assist you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well;
-that is all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tell me in
-what way you wish me to help you; tell me for and against whom, -
-in this way we shall not make any blunders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But first of all," said
-La Valli&egrave;re, pressing her companion's hand, "for whom or
-against whom do you decide?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For you, if you are
-really and truly my friend."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you not
-Madame's confidant?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A greater reason for
-being of service to you; if I were not to know what is going on
-in that direction I should not be of any service at all, and
-consequently you would not obtain any advantage from my
-acquaintance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Friendships
-live and thrive upon a system of reciprocal benefits."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The result is, then,
-that you will remain at the same time Madame's friend also?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Evidently.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you complain of that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I hardly know," sighed
-La Valli&egrave;re, thoughtfully, for this cynical frankness
-appeared to her an offense both to the woman and the friend.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "All well and good,
-then," said Montalais, "for if you did, you would be very
-foolish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You wish to serve me,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Devotedly - if you will
-serve me in return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "One would almost say
-that you do not know my heart," said La Valli&egrave;re, looking
-at Montalais with her eyes wide open.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, the fact is, that
-since we have belonged to the court, my dear Louise, we are very
-much changed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is very simple.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Were you the second queen of
-France yonder, at Blois?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re hung
-down her head, and began to weep.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais looked at her in an
-indefinable manner, and murmured "Poor girl!" and then, adding,
-"Poor king!" she kissed Louise on the forehead, and returned to
-her apartment, where Malicorne was waiting for her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Portrait.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-I</span>n that malady which is termed love the paroxysms succeed
-each other at intervals, ever accelerating from the moment the
-disease declares itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-By and by, the paroxysms are less frequent, in proportion as the
-cure approaches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This
-being laid down as a general axiom, and as the leading article of
-a particular chapter, we will now proceed with our recital.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The next day, the day fixed by
-the king for the first conversation in Saint-Aignan's room, La
-Valli&egrave;re, on opening one of the folds of the screen, found
-upon the floor a letter in the king's handwriting.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The letter had been passed, through
-a slit in the floor, from the lower apartment to her own.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No indiscreet hand or curious
-gaze could have brought or did bring this single paper.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This, too, was one of
-Malicorne's ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Having
-seen how very serviceable Saint-Aignan would become to the king
-on account of his apartment, he did not wish that the courtier
-should become still more indispensable as a messenger, and so he
-had, on his own private account, reserved this last post for
-himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La
-Valli&egrave;re most eagerly read the letter, which fixed two
-o'clock that same afternoon for the rendezvous, and which
-indicated the way of raising the trap-door which was constructed
-out of the flooring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Make yourself look as beautiful as you can," added the
-postscript of the letter, words which astonished the young girl,
-but at the same time reassured her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The hours passed away
-very slowly, but the time fixed, however, arrived at last.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As punctual as the priestess
-Hero, Louise lifted up the trap-door at the last stroke of the
-hour of two, and found the king on the steps, waiting for her
-with the greatest respect, in order to give her his hand to
-descend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The delicacy and
-deference shown in this attention affected her very
-powerfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the foot
-of the staircase the two lovers found the comte, who, with a
-smile and a low reverence distinguished by the best taste,
-expressed his thanks to La Valli&egrave;re for the honor she
-conferred upon him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then
-turning towards the king, he said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, our man is
-here."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-looked at the king with some uneasiness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Mademoiselle," said the
-king, "if I have begged you to do me the honor of coming down
-here, it was from an interested motive.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have procured a most admirable
-portrait painter, who is celebrated for the fidelity of his
-likenesses, and I wish you to be kind enough to authorize him to
-paint yours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, if
-you positively wish it, the portrait shall remain in your own
-possession."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La
-Valli&egrave;re blushed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"You see," said the king to her, "we shall not be three as you
-wished, but four instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-And, so long as we are not alone, there can be as many present as
-you please."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La
-Valli&egrave;re gently pressed her royal lover's hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Shall we pass into the
-next room, sire?" said Saint-Aignan, opening the door to let his
-guests precede him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king walked behind La Valli&egrave;re, and fixed his eyes
-lingeringly and passionately upon that neck as white as snow,
-upon which her long fair ringlets fell in heavy masses.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re was dressed
-in a thick silk robe of pearl gray color, with a tinge of rose,
-with jet ornaments, which displayed to greater effect the
-dazzling purity of her skin, holding in her slender and
-transparent hands a bouquet of heartsease, Bengal roses, and
-clematis, surrounded with leaves of the tenderest green, above
-which uprose, like a tiny goblet spilling magic influence a
-Haarlem tulip of gray and violet tints of a pure and beautiful
-species, which had cost the gardener five years' toil of
-combinations, and the king five thousand francs.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis had placed this bouquet in La
-Valli&egrave;re's hand as he saluted her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the room, the door of which
-Saint-Aignan had just opened, a young man was standing, dressed
-in a purple velvet jacket, with beautiful black eyes and long
-brown hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was the
-painter; his canvas was quite ready, and his palette prepared for
-use.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He bowed to La
-Valli&egrave;re with the grave curiosity of an artist who is
-studying his model, saluted the king discreetly, as if he did not
-recognize him, and as he would, consequently, have saluted any
-other gentleman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then,
-leading Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re to the seat he had
-arranged for her, he begged her to sit down.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The young girl assumed
-an attitude graceful and unrestrained, her hands occupied and her
-limbs reclining on cushions; and in order that her gaze might not
-assume a vague or affected expression, the painter begged her to
-choose some kind of occupation, so as to engage her attention;
-whereupon Louis XIV., smiling, sat down on the cushions at La
-Valli&egrave;re's feet; so that she, in the reclining posture she
-had assumed, leaning back in the armchair, holding her flowers in
-her hand, and he, with his eyes raised towards her and fixed
-devouringly on her face - they, both together, formed so charming
-a group, that the artist contemplated painting it with
-professional delight, while on his side, Saint-Aignan regarded
-them with feelings of envy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The painter sketched rapidly; and
-very soon, beneath the earliest touches of the brush, there
-started into life, out of the gray background, the gentle,
-poetry-breathing face, with its soft calm eyes and delicately
-tinted cheeks, enframed in the masses of hair which fell about
-her neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The lovers,
-however, spoke but little, and looked at each other a great deal;
-sometimes their eyes became so languishing in their gaze, that
-the painter was obliged to interrupt his work in order to avoid
-representing an Erycina instead of La Valli&egrave;re.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was on such occasions that
-Saint-Aignan came to the rescue, and recited verses, or repeated
-one of those little tales such as Patru related, and Tallemant
-des R&eacute;aux wrote so cleverly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Or, it might be that La
-Valli&egrave;re was fatigued, and the sitting was, therefore,
-suspended for awhile; and, immediately, a tray of precious
-porcelain laden with the most beautiful fruits which could be
-obtained, and rich wines distilling their bright colors in silver
-goblets, beautifully chased, served as accessories to the picture
-of which the painter could but retrace the most ephemeral
-resemblance.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis was intoxicated
-with love, La Valli&egrave;re with happiness, Saint-Aignan with
-ambition, and the painter was storing up recollections for his
-old age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Two hours passed
-away in this manner, and four o'clock having struck, La
-Valli&egrave;re rose, and made a sign to the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis also rose, approached the
-picture, and addressed a few flattering remarks to the
-painter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan
-also praised the picture, which, as he pretended, was already
-beginning to assume an accurate resemblance.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re in her turn,
-blushingly thanked the painter and passed into the next room,
-where the king followed her, after having previously summoned
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will you not come
-to-morrow?" he said to La Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, pray think
-that some one will be sure to come to my room, and will not find
-me there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What will become of me
-in that case?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are
-very apprehensive, Louise."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But at all events,
-suppose Madame were to send for me?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!"
-replied the king, "will the day never come when you yourself will
-tell me to brave everything so that I may not have to leave you
-again?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On that
-day, sire, I shall be quite out of my mind, and you must not
-believe me."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To-morrow,
-Louise."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La
-Valli&egrave;re sighed, but, without the courage to oppose her
-royal lover's wish, she repeated, "To-morrow, then, since you
-desire it, sire," and with these words she ran lightly up the
-stairs, and disappeared from her lover's gaze.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, sire?" inquired
-Saint-Aignan, when she had left.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, Saint-Aignan,
-yesterday I thought myself the happiest of men."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And does your majesty,
-then, regard yourself to-day," said the comte, smiling, "as the
-unhappiest of men?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; but my love for her
-is an unquenchable thirst; in vain do I drink, in vain do I
-swallow the drops of water which your industry procures for me;
-the more I drink, the more unquenchable it becomes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, that is in some
-degree your own fault, and your majesty alone has made the
-position such as it is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case,
-therefore, the means to be happy, is to fancy yourself satisfied,
-and to wait."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Wait! you know that
-word, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There, there, sire - do
-not despair: I have already been at work on your behalf - I have
-still other resources in store."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king shook his head in a
-despairing manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What, sire! have you
-not been satisfied hitherto?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! yes, indeed, yes,
-my dear Saint-Aignan; but invent, for Heaven's sake, invent some
-further project yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I undertake to do
-my best, and that is all that any one can do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king wished to see
-the portrait again, as he was unable to see the original.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He pointed out several
-alterations to the painter and left the room, and then
-Saint-Aignan dismissed the artist.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The easel, paints, and painter
-himself, had scarcely gone, when Malicorne showed his head in the
-doorway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was received
-by Saint-Aignan with open arms, but still with a little sadness,
-for the cloud which had passed across the royal sun, veiled, in
-its turn, the faithful satellite, and Malicorne at a glance
-perceived the melancholy that brooded on Saint-Aignan's face.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, monsieur le comte,"
-he said, "how sad you seem!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And good reason too, my
-dear Monsieur Malicorne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Will you believe that the king is still dissatisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With his staircase, do
-you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no; on the
-contrary, he is delighted with the staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The decorations of the
-apartments, I suppose, don't please him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! he has not even
-thought of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No,
-indeed, it seems that what has dissatisfied the king - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will tell you,
-monsieur le comte, - he is dissatisfied at finding himself the
-fourth person at a rendezvous of this kind.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How is it possible you could not
-have guessed that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, how is it likely I
-could have done so, dear M. Malicorne, when I followed the king's
-instructions to the very letter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did his majesty really
-insist on your being present?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Positively."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And also required that
-the painter, whom I met downstairs just now, should be here,
-too?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He insisted upon
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case, I
-can easily understand why his majesty is dissatisfied."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! dissatisfied
-that I have so punctually and so literally obeyed his
-orders?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I don't
-understand you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Malicorne began to
-scratch his ear, as he asked, "What time did the king fix for the
-rendezvous in your apartments?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Two o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you were
-waiting for the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ever since
-half-past one; it would have been a fine thing, indeed, to have
-been unpunctual with his majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Malicorne,
-notwithstanding his respect for Saint-Aignan, could not help
-smiling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And the
-painter," he said, "did the king wish him to be here at two
-o'clock, also?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; but I had him
-waiting here from midday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Far better, you know, for a painter to be kept waiting a couple
-of hours than the king a single minute."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Malicorne began to
-laugh aloud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Come, dear
-Monsieur Malicorne," said Saint-Aignan, "laugh less at me, and
-speak a little more freely, I beg."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then,
-monsieur le comte, if you wish the king to be a little more
-satisfied the next time he comes - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Ventre saint-gris!</i>' as his
-grandfather used to say; of course I wish it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, all you have
-to do is, when the king comes to-morrow, to be obliged to go away
-on a most pressing matter of business, which cannot possibly be
-postponed, and stay away for twenty minutes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! leave the
-king alone for twenty minutes?" cried Saint-Aignan, in alarm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, do as
-you like; don't pay any attention to what I say," said Malicorne,
-moving towards the door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, nay, dear
-Monsieur Malicorne; on the contrary, go on - I begin to
-understand you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But the
-painter - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! the painter
-must be half an hour late."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Half an hour - do
-you really think so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I do,
-decidedly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, then, I
-will do as you tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And my opinion is,
-that you will be doing perfectly right.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will you allow me to call upon you
-for the latest news to-morrow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have the honor
-to be your most respectful servant, M. de Saint-Aignan," said
-Malicorne, bowing profoundly and retiring from the room
-backwards.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is no doubt
-that fellow has more invention than I have," said Saint-Aignan,
-as if compelled by his conviction to admit it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Hampton Court.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he revelation we have witnessed, that Montalais made to
-La Valli&egrave;re, in a preceding chapter, very naturally makes
-us return to the principal hero of this tale, a poor wandering
-knight, roving about at the king's caprice.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If our readers will be good enough
-to follow us, we will, in his company, cross that strait, more
-stormy than the Euripus, which separates Calais from Dover; we
-will speed across that green and fertile country, with its
-numerous little streams; through Maidstone, and many other
-villages and towns, each prettier than the other; and, finally,
-arrive at London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> From
-thence, like bloodhounds following a track, after having
-ascertained that Raoul had made his first stay at Whitehall, his
-second at St. James's, and having learned that he had been warmly
-received by Monk, and introduced to the best society of Charles
-II.'s court, we will follow him to one of Charles II.'s summer
-residences near the lively little village of Kingston, at Hampton
-Court, situated on the Thames.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The river is not, at that spot, the
-boastful highway which bears upon its broad bosom its thousands
-of travelers; nor are its waters black and troubled as those of
-Cocytus, as it boastfully asserts, "I, too, am cousin of the old
-ocean."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, at Hampton
-Court it is a soft and murmuring stream, with moss-fringed banks,
-reflecting, in its broad mirror, the willows and beeches which
-ornament its sides, and on which may occasionally be seen a light
-bark indolently reclining among the tall reeds, in a little creek
-formed of alders and forget-me-nots.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The surrounding country on all sides
-smiled in happiness and wealth; the brick cottages from whose
-chimneys the blue smoke was slowly ascending in wreaths, peeped
-forth from the belts of green holly which environed them;
-children dressed in red frocks appeared and disappeared amidst
-the high grass, like poppies bowed by the gentler breath of the
-passing breeze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-sheep, ruminating with half-closed eyes, lay lazily about under
-the shadow of the stunted aspens, while, far and near, the
-kingfishers, plumed with emerald and gold, skimmed swiftly along
-the surface of the water, like a magic ball heedlessly touching,
-as he passed, the line of his brother angler, who sat watching in
-his boat the fish as they rose to the surface of the sparkling
-stream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> High above this
-paradise of dark shadows and soft light, rose the palace of
-Hampton Court, built by Wolsey - a residence the haughty cardinal
-had been obliged, timid courtier that he was, to offer to his
-master, Henry VIII., who had glowered with envy and cupidity at
-the magnificent new home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Hampton Court, with its brick walls, its large windows, its
-handsome iron gates, as well as its curious bell turrets, its
-retired covered walks, and interior fountains, like those of the
-Alhambra, was a perfect bower of roses, jasmine, and
-clematis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Every sense,
-sight and smell particularly, was gratified, and the
-reception-rooms formed a very charming framework for the pictures
-of love which Charles II. unrolled among the voluptuous paintings
-of Titian, of Pordenone and of Van Dyck; the same Charles whose
-father's portrait - the martyr king - was hanging in his gallery,
-and who could show upon the wainscots of the various apartments
-the holes made by the balls of the puritanical followers of
-Cromwell, when on the 24th of August, 1648, at the time they had
-brought Charles I. prisoner to Hampton Court.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There it was that the king,
-intoxicated with pleasure and adventure, held his court - he,
-who, a poet in feeling, thought himself justified in redeeming,
-by a whole day of voluptuousness, every minute which had been
-formerly passed in anguish and misery.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was not the soft green sward of
-Hampton Court - so soft that it almost resembled the richest
-velvet in the thickness of its texture - nor was it the beds of
-flowers, with their variegated hues which encircled the foot of
-every tree with rose-trees many feet in height, embracing most
-lovingly their trunks - nor even the enormous lime-trees, whose
-branches swept the earth like willows, offering a ready
-concealment for love or reflection beneath the shade of their
-foliage - it was none of these things for which Charles II. loved
-his palace of Hampton Court.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Perhaps it might have been that
-beautiful sheet of water, which the cool breeze rippled like the
-wavy undulations of Cleopatra's hair, waters bedecked with
-cresses and white water-lilies, whose chaste bulbs coyly
-unfolding themselves beneath the sun's warm rays, reveal the
-golden gems which lie concealed within their milky petals -
-murmuring waters, on the bosom of which black swans majestically
-floated, and the graceful water-fowl, with their tender broods
-covered with silken down, darted restlessly in every direction,
-in pursuit of the insects among the reeds, or the fogs in their
-mossy retreats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Perhaps
-it might have been the enormous hollies, with their dark and
-tender green foliage; or the bridges uniting the banks of the
-canals in their embrace; or the fawns browsing in the endless
-avenues of the park; or the innumerable birds that hopped about
-the gardens, or flew from branch to branch, amidst the emerald
-foliage.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It might well have been
-any of these charms - for Hampton Court had them all; and
-possessed, too, almost forests of white roses, which climbed and
-trailed along the lofty trellises, showering down upon the ground
-their snowy leaves rich with soft perfumery.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But no, what Charles II. most loved
-in Hampton Court were the charming figures who, when midday was
-past, flitted to and fro along the broad terraces of the gardens;
-like Louis XIV., he had their wealth of beauties painted for his
-gallery by one of the great artists of the period - an artist who
-well knew the secret of transferring to canvas the rays of light
-which escaped from beaming eyes heavy laden with love and love's
-delights.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The day of our arrival
-at Hampton Court is almost as clear and bright as a summer's day
-in France; the atmosphere is heavy with the delicious perfume of
-geraniums, sweet-peas, seringas, and heliotrope scattered in
-profusion around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is
-past midday, and the king, having dined after his return from
-hunting, paid a visit to Lady Castlemaine, the lady who was
-reputed at the time to hold his heart in bondage; and this proof
-of his devotion discharged, he was readily permitted to pursue
-his infidelities until evening arrived.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Love and amusement ruled the entire
-court; it was the period when ladies would seriously interrogate
-their ruder companions as to their opinions upon a foot more or
-less captivating, according to whether it wore a pink or lilac
-silk stocking - for it was the period when Charles II. had
-declared that there was no hope of safety for a woman who wore
-green silk stockings, because Miss Lucy Stewart wore them of that
-color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> While the king is
-endeavoring in all directions to inculcate others with his
-preferences on this point, we will ourselves bend our steps
-towards an avenue of beech-trees opposite the terrace, and listen
-to the conversation of a young girl in a dark-colored dress, who
-is walking with another of about her own age dressed in
-blue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They crossed a
-beautiful lawn, from the center of which sprang a fountain, with
-the figure of a siren executed in bronze, and strolled on,
-talking as they went, towards the terrace, along which, looking
-out upon the park and interspersed at frequent intervals, were
-erected summer-houses, diverse in form and ornament; these
-summer-houses were nearly all occupied; the two young women
-passed on, the one blushing deeply, while the other seemed
-dreamily silent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At last,
-having reached the end of the terrace which looks on the river,
-and finding there a cool retreat, they sat down close to each
-other.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where are we going?"
-said the younger to her companion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear, we are going
-where you yourself led the way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, you; to the
-extremity of the palace, towards that seat yonder, where the
-young Frenchman is seated, wasting his time in sighs and
-lamentations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Miss Mary Grafton
-hurriedly said, "No, no; I am not going there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why not?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let us go
-back, Lucy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, on the contrary,
-let us go on, and have an explanation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What about?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "About how it happens
-that the Vicomte de Bragelonne always accompanies you in all your
-walks, as you invariably accompany him in his."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you conclude either
-that he loves me, or that I love him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why not? - he is a most
-agreeable and charming companion. - No one hears me, I hope,"
-said Lucy Stewart, as she turned round with a smile, which
-indicated, moreover, that her uneasiness on the subject was not
-extreme.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no," said Mary,
-"the king is engaged in his summer-house with the Duke of
-Buckingham."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>&agrave; propos</i> of the duke,
-Mary, it seems he has shown you great attention since his return
-from France; how is your own heart in that direction?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Mary Grafton shrugged
-her shoulders with seeming indifference.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, well, I will ask
-Bragelonne about it," said Stewart, laughing; "let us go and find
-him at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What for?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I wish to
-speak to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not yet, one word
-before you do: come, come, you who know so many of the king's
-secrets, tell me why M. de Bragelonne is in England?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because he
-was sent as an envoy from one sovereign to another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That may be; but,
-seriously, although politics do not much concern us, we know
-enough to be satisfied that M. de Bragelonne has no mission of
-serious import here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, listen,"
-said Stewart, with assumed gravity, "for your sake I am going to
-betray a state secret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Shall I tell you the nature of the letter which King Louis XIV.
-gave M. de Bragelonne for King Charles II.?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will; these are the very words:
-'My brother, the bearer of this is a gentleman attached to my
-court, and the son of one whom you regard most warmly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Treat him kindly, I beg, and
-try and make him like England.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Did it say that!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Word for word - or
-something very like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-will not answer for the form, but the substance I am sure
-of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, and what
-conclusion do you, or rather what conclusion does the king, draw
-from that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That the king of France
-has his own reasons for removing M. de Bragelonne, and for
-getting him married anywhere else than in France."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So that, then, in
-consequence of this letter - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "King Charles received
-M. de Bragelonne, as you are aware, in the most distinguished and
-friendly manner; the handsomest apartments in Whitehall were
-allotted to him; and as you are the most valuable and precious
-person in his court, inasmuch as you have rejected his heart, -
-nay, do not blush, - he wished you to take a fancy to this
-Frenchman, and he was desirous to confer upon him so costly a
-prize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And this is the
-reason why you, the heiress of three hundred thousand pounds, a
-future duchess, so beautiful, so good, have been thrown in
-Bragelonne's way, in all the promenades and parties of pleasure
-to which he was invited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-In fact it was a plot, - a kind of conspiracy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Mary Grafton smiled with
-that charming expression which was habitual to her, and pressing
-her companion's arm, said: "Thank the king, Lucy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes, but the Duke
-of Buckingham is jealous, so take care."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Hardly had she
-pronounced these words, when the duke appeared from one of the
-pavilions on the terrace, and, approaching the two girls, with a
-smile, said, "You are mistaken, Miss Lucy; I am not jealous; and
-the proof, Miss Mary, is yonder, in the person of M. de
-Bragelonne himself, who ought to be the cause of my jealousy, but
-who is dreaming in pensive solitude.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Poor fellow!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Allow me to leave you for a few
-minutes, while I avail myself of those few minutes to converse
-with Miss Lucy Stewart, to whom I have something to say."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then, bowing to Lucy, he
-added, "Will you do me the honor to accept my hand, in order that
-I may lead you to the king, who is waiting for us?"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> With these words, Buckingham, still
-smiling, took Miss Stewart's hand, and led her away.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When by herself, Mary Grafton, her
-head gently inclined towards her shoulder, with that indolent
-gracefulness of action which distinguishes young English girls,
-remained for a moment with her eyes fixed on Raoul, but as if
-uncertain what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At
-last, after first blushing violently, and then turning deadly
-pale, thus revealing the internal combat which assailed her
-heart, she seemed to make up her mind to adopt a decided course,
-and with a tolerably firm step, advanced towards the seat on
-which Raoul was reclining, buried in the profoundest meditation,
-as we have already said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The sound of Miss Mary's steps, though they could hardly be heard
-upon the green sward, awakened Raoul from his musing attitude; he
-turned round, perceived the young girl, and walked forward to
-meet the companion whom his happy destiny had thrown in his
-way.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have been sent to
-you, monsieur," said Mary Grafton; "will you take care of
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To whom is my gratitude
-due, for so great a happiness?" inquired Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To the Duke of
-Buckingham," replied Mary, affecting a gayety she did not really
-feel.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To the Duke of
-Buckingham, do you say? - he who so passionately seeks your
-charming society!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Am I
-really to believe you are serious, mademoiselle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The fact is, monsieur,
-you perceive, that everything seems to conspire to make us pass
-the best, or rather the longest, part of our days together.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yesterday it was the king who
-desired me to beg you to seat yourself next to me at dinner;
-to-day, it is the Duke of Buckingham who begs me to come and
-place myself near you on this seat."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And he has gone away in
-order to leave us together?" asked Raoul, with some
-embarrassment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Look yonder, at the
-turning of that path; he is just out of sight, with Miss
-Stewart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are these polite
-attentions usual in France, monsieur le vicomte?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot very precisely
-say what people do in France, mademoiselle, for I can hardly be
-called a Frenchman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-have resided in many countries, and almost always as a solider;
-and then, I have spent a long period of my life in the
-country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am almost a
-savage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You do not like your
-residence in England, I fear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I scarcely know," said
-Raoul, inattentively, and sighing deeply at the same time.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! you do not
-know?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Forgive me," said
-Raoul, shaking his head, and collecting his thoughts, "I did not
-hear you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said the young
-girl, sighing in her turn, "how wrong the duke was to send me
-here!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Wrong!" said Raoul,
-"perhaps so; for I am but a rude, uncouth companion, and my
-society annoys you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-duke did, indeed, very wrong to send you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is precisely,"
-replied Mary Grafton, in a clear, calm voice, "because your
-society does not annoy me, that the duke was wrong to send me to
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It was now Raoul's turn
-to blush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "But," he
-resumed, "how happens it that the Duke of Buckingham should send
-you to me; and why did you come? the duke loves you, and you love
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No," replied Mary,
-seriously, "the duke does not love me, because he is in love with
-the Duchesse d'Orl&eacute;ans; and, as for myself, I have no
-affection for the duke."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul looked at the
-young lady with astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you a friend of the
-Duke of Buckingham?" she inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The duke has honored me
-by calling me so ever since we met in France."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are simple
-acquaintances, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; for the duke is the
-most intimate friend of one whom I regard as a brother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The Duc de Guiche?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He who is
-in love with Madame la Duchesse d'Orl&eacute;ans?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What is that you are saying?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And who
-loves him in return," continued the young girl, quietly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul bent down his
-head, and Mary Grafton, sighing deeply, continued, "They are very
-happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, leave me,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne, for the Duke of Buckingham has given you
-a very troublesome commission in offering me as a companion for
-your promenade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your
-heart is elsewhere, and it is with the greatest difficulty you
-can be charitable enough to lend me your attention.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Confess truly; it would be unfair on
-your part, vicomte, not to admit it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame, I do confess
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She looked at him
-steadily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was so noble
-and so handsome in his bearing, his eyes revealed so much
-gentleness, candor, and resolution, that the idea could not
-possibly enter her mind that he was either rudely discourteous,
-or a mere simpleton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She
-only perceived, clearly enough, that he loved another woman, and
-not herself, with the whole strength of his heart.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I now understand you," she said;
-"you have left your heart behind you in France."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul bowed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The duke is aware of your
-affection?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No one knows it,"
-replied Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, therefore, do you
-tell me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nay, answer
-me."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I
-cannot."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is for
-me, then, to anticipate an explanation; you do not wish to tell
-me anything, because you are now convinced that I do not love the
-duke; because you see that I possibly might have loved you;
-because you are a gentleman of noble and delicate sentiments; and
-because, instead of accepting, even were it for the mere
-amusement of the passing hour, a hand which is almost pressed
-upon you; and because, instead of meeting my smiles with a
-smiling lip, you, who are young, have preferred to tell me, whom
-men have called beautiful, 'My heart is over the sea - it is in
-France.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> For this, I
-thank you, Monsieur de Bragelonne; you are, indeed, a
-noble-hearted, noble-minded man, and I regard you all the more
-for it, as a friend only.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-And now let us cease speaking of myself, and talk of your own
-affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Forget that I
-have ever spoken to you of myself, tell me why you are sad, and
-why you have become more than usually so during these past four
-days?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul was deeply and
-sensibly moved by these sweet and melancholy tones; and as he
-could not, at the moment, find a word to say, the young girl
-again came to his assistance.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Pity me," she
-said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "My mother was born
-in France, and I can truly affirm that I, too, am French in
-blood, as well as in feeling; but the leaden atmosphere and
-characteristic gloom of England seem to weigh upon me.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Sometimes my dreams are
-golden-hued and full of wonderful enjoyments, when suddenly a
-mist rises and overspreads my fancy, blotting them out
-forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Such, indeed, is
-the case at the present moment.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Forgive me; I have now said enough
-on that subject; give me your hand, and relate you griefs to me
-as a friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You say you are French
-in heart and soul?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, not only, I repeat
-it, that my mother was French, but, further, as my father, a
-friend of King Charles I., was exiled in France, I, during the
-trial of that prince, as well as during the Protector's life, was
-brought up in Paris; at the Restoration of King Charles II., my
-poor father returned to England, where he died almost immediately
-afterwards; and then the king created me a duchess, and has
-dowered me according to my rank.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Have you any relations
-in France?" Raoul inquired, with the deepest interest.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have a sister there,
-my senior by seven or eight years, who was married in France, and
-was early left a widow; her name is Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you
-know her?" she added, observing Raoul start suddenly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have heard her
-name."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She, too, loves with
-her whole heart; and her last letters inform me she is happy, and
-her affection is, I conclude, returned.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I told you, Monsieur de Bragelonne,
-that although I possess half of her nature, I do not share her
-happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But let us now
-speak of yourself; whom do you love in France?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A young girl, as soft
-and pure as a lily."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But if she loves you,
-why are you sad?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have been told that
-she ceases to love me."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You do not
-believe it, I trust?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He who
-wrote me so does not sign his letter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "An anonymous
-denunciation! some treachery, be assured," said Miss Grafton.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Stay," said Raoul,
-showing the young girl a letter which he had read over a thousand
-times; she took it from his hand and read as follows:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "VICOMTE, - You are
-perfectly right to amuse yourself yonder with the lovely faces of
-Charles II.'s court, for at Louis XIV.'s court, the castle in
-which your affections are enshrined is being besieged.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Stay in London altogether,
-poor vicomte, or return without delay to Paris."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is no signature,"
-said Miss Mary.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "None."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Believe it not,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; but here is
-a second letter, from my friend De Guiche, which says, 'I am
-lying here wounded and ill.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Return, Raoul, oh, return!'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you intend
-doing?" inquired the young girl, with a feeling of oppression at
-her heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My intention, as soon
-as I received this letter, was immediately to take my leave of
-the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "When did you receive
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The day before
-yesterday."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is dated
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A singular
-circumstance, do you not think, for the court is now at
-Paris?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At all events, I
-would have set off; but when I mentioned my intention to the
-king, he began to laugh, and said to me, 'How comes it, monsieur
-l'amassadeur, that you think of leaving?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Has your sovereign recalled
-you?'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I colored,
-naturally enough, for I was confused by the question; for the
-fact is, the king himself sent me here, and I have received no
-order to return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Mary frowned in deep
-thought, and said, "Do you remain, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I must,
-mademoiselle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you ever receive any
-letters from her to whom you are so devoted?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Never."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Never, do
-you say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Does she not
-love you, then?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At least,
-she has not written to me since my departure, although she used
-occasionally to write to me before.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I trust she may have been
-prevented."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Hush! the duke is
-coming."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And Buckingham at that
-moment was seen at the end of the walk, approaching towards them,
-alone and smiling; he advanced slowly, and held out his hands to
-them both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Have you
-arrived at an understanding?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "About what?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "About whatever might
-render you happy, dear Mary, and make Raoul less miserable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not understand
-you, my lord," said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is my view of the
-subject, Miss Mary; do you wish me to mention it before M. de
-Bragelonne?" he added, with a smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If you mean," replied
-the young girl, haughtily, "that I was not indisposed to love M.
-de Bragelonne, that is useless, for I have told him so
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Buckingham reflected for
-a moment, and, without seeming in any way discountenanced, as she
-expected, he said:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "My
-reason for leaving you with M. de Bragelonne was, that I
-thoroughly knew your refined delicacy of feeling, no less than
-the perfect loyalty of your mind and heart, and I hoped that M.
-de Bragelonne's cure might be effected by the hands of a
-physician such as you are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, my lord, before
-you spoke of M. de Bragelonne's heart, you spoke to me of your
-own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you mean to
-effect the cure of two hearts at the same time?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Perfectly true, madame;
-but you will do me the justice to admit that I have long
-discontinued a useless pursuit, acknowledging that my own wound
-is incurable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My lord," said Mary,
-collecting herself for a moment before she spoke, "M. de
-Bragelonne is happy, for he loves and is beloved.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He has no need of such a physician
-as I can be."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Bragelonne," said
-Buckingham, "is on the very eve of experiencing a serious
-misfortune, and he has greater need than ever of sympathy and
-affection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Explain yourself, my
-lord," inquired Raoul, anxiously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; gradually I will
-explain myself; but, if you desire it, I can tell Miss Grafton
-what you may not listen to yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My lord, you are
-putting me to the torture; you know something you wish to conceal
-from me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know that Miss Mary
-Grafton is the most charming object that a heart ill at ease
-could possibly meet with in its way through life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have already told you
-that the Vicomte de Bragelonne loves elsewhere," said the young
-girl.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He is wrong, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you assume to know,
-my lord, that <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>I</i> am
-wrong?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Whom is it that he
-loves, then?" exclaimed the young girl.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He loves a lady who is
-unworthy of him," said Buckingham, with that calm, collected
-manner peculiar to Englishmen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Miss Grafton uttered a
-cry, which, together with the remark that Buckingham had that
-moment made, spread of De Bragelonne's features a deadly
-paleness, arising from the sudden surprise, and also from a vague
-fear of impending misfortune.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "My lord," he exclaimed, "you have
-just pronounced words which compel me, without a moment's delay,
-to seek their explanation in Paris."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will remain here,"
-said Buckingham, "because you have no right to leave; and no one
-has the right to quit the service of the king for that of any
-woman, even were she as worthy of being loved as Mary Grafton
-is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will tell me all,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will, on condition
-that you will remain."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will
-remain, if you will promise to speak openly and without
-reserve."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Thus far had
-their conversation proceeded, and Buckingham, in all probability,
-was on the point of revealing, not indeed all that had taken
-place, but at least all he was aware of, when one of the king's
-attendants appeared at the end of the terrace, and advanced
-towards the summer-house where the king was sitting with Lucy
-Stewart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A courier
-followed him, covered with dust from head to foot, and who seemed
-as if he had but a few moments before dismounted from his
-horse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The courier from
-France!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame's
-courier!" exclaimed Raoul, recognizing the princess's livery; and
-while the attendant and the courier advanced towards the king,
-Buckingham and Miss Grafton exchanged a look full of intelligence
-with each other.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Courier from Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-C</span>harles II. was busily engaged in proving, or in
-endeavoring to prove, to Miss Stewart that she was the only
-person for whom he cared at all, and consequently was avowing to
-her an affection similar to that which his ancestor Henry IV. had
-entertained for Gabrielle.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Unfortunately for Charles II., he
-had hit upon an unlucky day, the very day Miss Stewart had taken
-it into her head to make him jealous, and therefore, instead of
-being touched by his offer, as the king had hoped, she laughed
-heartily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, sire," she
-cried, laughing all the while; "if I were to be unfortunate
-enough to ask you for a proof of the affection you possess, how
-easy it would be to see that you are telling a falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, listen to me,"
-said Charles, "you know my cartoons by Raphael; you know whether
-I care for them or not; the whole world envies me their
-possession, as you well know also; my father commissioned Van
-Dyck to purchase them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Would you like me to send them to your house this very day?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no!" replied the
-young girl; "pray keep them yourself, sire; my house is far too
-small to accommodate such visitors."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case you shall
-have Hampton Court to put the cartoons in."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Be less generous, sire,
-and learn to love a little while longer, that is all I have to
-ask you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I shall never cease to
-love you; is not that enough?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are smiling,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you wish me to
-weep?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; but I should like
-to see you a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> little more
-melancholy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Thank Heaven, I have
-been so long enough; fourteen years of exile, poverty, and
-misery, I think I may well regard it as a debt discharged;
-besides, melancholy makes people look so plain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Far from that - for
-look at the young Frenchman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! the Vicomte de
-Bragelonne? are you smitten too?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By Heaven, they will all grow mad
-over him one after the other; but he, on the contrary, has a
-reason for being melancholy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, indeed! you wish me
-to betray state secrets, do you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If I wish it, you must
-do so, for you told me you were quite ready to do everything I
-wished."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, he is bored
-in his own country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Does
-that satisfy you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Bored?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, a
-proof that he is a simpleton; I allow him to fall in love with
-Miss Mary Grafton, and he feels bored.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Can you believe it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; it seems,
-then, that if you were to find Miss Lucy Stewart indifferent to
-you, you would console yourself by falling in love with Miss Mary
-Grafton."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I don't say that; in
-the first place, you know that Mary Grafton does not care for me;
-besides, a man can only console himself for a lost affection by
-the discovery of a new one.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Again, however, I repeat, the
-question is not of myself, but of that young man.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One might almost be tempted to call
-the girl he has left behind him a Helen - a Helen before the
-little ceremony she went through with Paris, of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He has left some one,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is to say, some
-one has left <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>him</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Poor fellow! so much
-the worse!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why do you mean by 'so
-much the worse'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why not? why did he
-leave?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you
-think it was of his own wish or will that he left?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Was he
-obliged to leave, then?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He left
-Paris under orders, my dear Stewart; and prepare to be surprised
-- by express orders of the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! I begin to see,
-now."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At least
-say nothing at all about it."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You know
-very well that I am just as discreet as anybody else.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so the king sent him away?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And during his absence
-he takes his sweetheart from him?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; and,
-will you believe it? the silly fellow, instead of thanking the
-king, is making himself miserable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! thank the king
-for depriving him of the woman he loves!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Really, sire, yours is a most
-ungallant speech."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, pray understand
-me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If she whom the king
-had run off with was either a Miss Grafton or a Miss Stewart, I
-should not be of his opinion; nay, I should even think him not
-half wretched enough; but she is a little, thin, lame thing.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Deuce take such fidelity as
-that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Surely, one can
-hardly understand how a man can refuse a girl who is rich for one
-who is poverty itself - a girl who loves him for one who deceives
-and betrays him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you think that Mary
-seriously wishes to please the vicomte, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do, indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good! the vicomte
-will settle down in England, for Mary has a clear head, and when
-she fixes her mind upon anything, she does so thoroughly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Take care, my dear Miss
-Stewart; if the vicomte has any idea of adopting our country, he
-has not long to do so, for it was only the day before yesterday
-that he again asked me for permission to leave."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which you refused him,
-I suppose?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should
-think so, indeed; my royal brother is far too anxious for his
-absence; and, for myself, my <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>amour propre</i> is enlisted on his
-side, for I will never have it said that I had held out as a bait
-to this young man the noblest and gentlest creature in England -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are very gallant,
-sire," said Miss Stewart, with a pretty pout.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not allude to Miss
-Stewart, for she is worthy of a king's devotion; and since she
-has captivated me I trust that no one else will be caught by her;
-I say, therefore, finally, that the attention I have shown this
-young man will not have been thrown away; he will stay with us
-here, he will marry here, or I am very much mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I hope that when he
-is once married and settled, instead of being angry with your
-majesty, he will be grateful to you, for every one tries his
-utmost to please him; even the Duke of Buckingham, whose
-brilliancy, which is incredible, seems to pale before that of
-this young Frenchman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Including Miss Stewart
-even, who calls him the most finished gentleman she ever
-saw."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Stay, sire; you have
-spoken quite enough, and quite highly enough, of Miss Grafton, to
-overlook what I may have said about De Bragelonne.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, by the by, sire, your kindness
-for some time past astonishes me: you think of those who are
-absent, you forgive those who have done you a wrong, in fact, you
-are as nearly as possible, perfect.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How does it happen - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is because you allow
-yourself to be loved," he said, beginning to laugh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! there must be some
-other reason."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, I am doing all I
-can to oblige my brother, Louis XIV."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, I must have
-another reason."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, the true
-motive is that Buckingham strongly recommended the young man to
-me, saying: 'Sire, I begin by yielding up all claim to Miss
-Grafton; I pray you follow my example.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The duke is, indeed, a
-true gentleman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! of course, of
-course; it is Buckingham's turn now, I suppose, to turn <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>your</i> head.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You seem determined to cross me in
-everything to-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At this moment some one
-rapped at the door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who is it who presumes
-to interrupt us?" exclaimed Charles, impatiently.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Really, sire, you are
-extremely vain with your 'who is it who presumes?' and in order
-to punish you for it - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She went to the door and
-opened it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a courier from
-France," said Miss Stewart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A courier from France!"
-exclaimed Charles; "from my sister, perhaps?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire,"
-said the usher, "a special messenger."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let him
-come in at once," said Charles.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have a letter for
-me," said the king to the courier as he entered, "from the
-Duchess of Orl&eacute;ans?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire,"
-replied the courier, "and so urgent in its nature that I have
-only been twenty-six hours in bringing it to your majesty, and
-yet I lost three-quarters of an hour at Calais."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your zeal shall not be
-forgotten," said the king, as he opened the letter.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When he had read it he burst out
-laughing, and exclaimed, "Upon my word, I am at a loss to
-understand anything about it."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then read the letter a second
-time, Miss Stewart assuming a manner marked by the greatest
-reserve, and doing her utmost to restrain her ardent
-curiosity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Francis," said the king
-to his valet, "see that this excellent fellow is well taken care
-of and sleeps soundly, and that on waking to-morrow he finds a
-purse of fifty sovereigns by his bedside."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire!" said the
-courier, amazed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Begone, begone; my
-sister was perfectly right in desiring you to use the utmost
-diligence; the affair was most pressing."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he again began to laugh louder
-than ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The courier,
-the valet, and Miss Stewart hardly knew what sort of countenance
-to assume.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah!" said the
-king, throwing himself back in his armchair: "When I think that
-you have knocked up - how many horses?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Two!"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Two horses
-to bring this intelligence to me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That will do, you can leave us
-now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The courier retired with
-the valet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Charles went
-to the window, which he opened, and leaning forward, called out -
-"Duke!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Buckingham! come
-here, there's a good fellow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The duke hurried to him,
-in obedience to the summons; but when he reached the door, and
-perceived Miss Stewart, he hesitated to enter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Come in, and shut the
-door," said the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-duke obeyed; and, perceiving in what an excellent humor the king
-was, he advanced, smiling, towards him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well, my dear duke, how do you get
-on with your Frenchman?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I am in the most
-perfect state of utter despair about him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because charming Miss
-Grafton is willing to marry him, but he is unwilling."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, he is a perfect
-B&oelig;otian!" cried Miss Stewart.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Let him say either 'Yes,' or No,'
-and let the affair end."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But," said Buckingham,
-seriously, "you know, or you ought to know, madame, that M. de
-Bragelonne is in love in another direction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case," said the
-king, coming to Miss Stewart's help, "nothing is easier; let him
-say 'No,' then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very true; and I have
-proved to him he was wrong not to say 'Yes.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You told him candidly,
-I suppose, that La Valli&egrave;re was deceiving him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, without the
-slightest reserve; and, as soon as I had done so, he gave a
-start, as if he were going to clear the Channel at a bound."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At all events," said
-Miss Stewart, "he has done something; and a very good thing too,
-upon my word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But," said Buckingham,
-"I stopped him; I have left him and Miss Mary in conversation
-together, and I sincerely trust that now he will not leave, as he
-seemed to have an idea of doing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "An idea of leaving
-England?" cried the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I, at one moment,
-hardly thought that any human power could have prevented him; but
-Miss Mary's eyes are now bent fully on him, and he will
-remain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, that is the very
-thing which deceives you, Buckingham," said the king, with a peal
-of laughter; "the poor fellow is predestined."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Predestined to
-what?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If it were to be simply
-deceived, that is nothing; but, to look at him, it is a great
-deal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At a distance, and with
-Miss Grafton's aid, the blow will be warded off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Far from it, far from
-it; neither distance nor Miss Grafton's help will be of the
-slightest avail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Bragelonne will set off for Paris within an hour's time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Buckingham started, and
-Miss Stewart opened her eyes very wide in astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, sire," said the
-duke, "your majesty knows that it is impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is to say, my dear
-Buckingham, that it is impossible until it happens."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not forget, sire,
-that the young man is a perfect lion, and that his wrath is
-terrible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I don't deny it, my
-dear duke."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And that if he sees
-that his misfortune is certain, so much the worse for the author
-of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I don't deny it; but
-what the deuce am I to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Were it the king
-himself," cried Buckingham, "I would not answer for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, the king has his
-musketeers to take care of him," said Charles, quietly; "I know
-that perfectly well, for I was kept dancing attendance in his
-ante-chamber at Blois.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-has M. d'Artagnan, and what better guardian could the king have
-than M. d'Artagnan?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-should make myself perfectly easy with twenty storms of passion,
-such as Bragelonne might display, if I had four guardians like
-D'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But I entreat your
-majesty, who is so good and kind, to reflect a little."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Stay," said Charles
-II., presenting the letter to the duke, "read, and answer
-yourself what you would do in my place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Buckingham slowly took
-hold of Madame's letter, and trembling with emotion, read the
-following words:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For your own sake, for
-mine, for the honor and safety of every one, send M. de
-Bragelonne back to France immediately.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your devoted sister,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>
-HENRIETTA."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, Villiers, what do
-you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Really, sire, I have
-nothing to say," replied the duke, stupefied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, would you, of all
-persons," said the king, artfully, "advise me not to listen to my
-sister when she writes so urgently?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, no, no, sire; and
-yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have not read the
-postscript, Villiers; it is under the fold of the letter, and
-escaped me at first; read it."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And as the duke turned down a fold
-of the letter, he read:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A thousand kind
-remembrances to those who love me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The duke's head sank
-gradually on his breast; the paper trembled in his fingers, as if
-it had been changed to lead. <span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king paused for a moment, and,
-seeing that Buckingham did not speak, "He must follow his
-destiny, as we ours," continued the king; "every man has his own
-share of grief in this world; I have had my own, - I have had
-that of others who belong to me, - and have thus had a double
-weight of woe to endure! - But the deuce take all my cares
-now!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Go, and bring our
-friend here, Villiers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The duke opened the
-trellised door of the summer-house, and pointing at Raoul and
-Mary, who were walking together side by side, said, "What a cruel
-blow, sire, for poor Miss Grafton!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nonsense; call him,"
-said Charles II., knitting his black brows together; "every one
-seems to be sentimental here.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There, look at Miss Stewart, who is
-wiping her eyes, - now deuce take the French fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The duke called to
-Raoul, and taking Miss Grafton by the hand, he led her towards
-the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur de
-Bragelonne," said Charles II., "did you not ask me the day before
-yesterday for permission to return to Paris?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire," replied
-Raoul, greatly puzzled by this address.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I refused you, I
-think?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For which
-you were angry with me?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, sire;
-your majesty had no doubt excellent reasons for withholding it;
-for you are so wise and so good that everything you do is well
-done."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I alleged,
-I believe, as a reason, that the king of France had not recalled
-you?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire,
-that was the reason you assigned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, M. de Bragelonne,
-I have reflected over the matter since; if the king did not, in
-fact, fix your return, he begged me to render your sojourn in
-England as agreeable as possible; since, however, you ask my
-permission to return, it is because your longer residence in
-England is no longer agreeable to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not say that,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, but your request,
-at least," said the king, "signified that another place of
-residence would be more agreeable to you than this."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At this
-moment Raoul turned towards the door, against which Miss Grafton
-was leaning, pale and sorrow-stricken; her other hand was passed
-through the duke's arm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You do not reply,"
-pursued Charles; "the proverb is plain enough, that 'silence
-gives consent.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very
-good, Monsieur de Bragelonne; I am now in a position to satisfy
-you; whenever you please, therefore, you can leave for Paris, for
-which you have my authority."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire!" exclaimed Raoul,
-while Mary stifled an exclamation of grief which rose to her
-lips, unconsciously pressing Buckingham's arm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You can be at Dover
-this evening," continued the king, "the tide serves at two
-o'clock in the morning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul, astounded,
-stammered out a few broken sentences, which equally answered the
-purpose both of thanks and of excuse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I therefore bid you
-adieu, Monsieur de Bragelonne, and wish you every sort of
-prosperity," said the king, rising; "you will confer a pleasure
-on me by keeping this diamond in remembrance of me; I had
-intended it as a marriage gift."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Miss Grafton felt her
-limbs almost giving way; and, as Raoul received the ring from the
-king's hand, he, too, felt his strength and courage failing
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He addressed a few
-respectful words to the king, a passing compliment to Miss
-Stewart, and looked for Buckingham to bid him adieu.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king profited by this moment to
-disappear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul found
-the duke engaged in endeavoring to encourage Miss Grafton.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell him to remain, I
-implore you!" said Buckingham to Mary.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, I will tell him to
-go," replied Miss Grafton, with returning animation; "I am not
-one of those women who have more pride than heart; if she whom he
-loves is in France, let him return thither and bless me for
-having advised him to go and seek his happiness there.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If, on the contrary, she shall
-have ceased to love him, let him come back here again; I shall
-still love him, and his unhappiness will not have lessened him in
-my regard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the arms of
-my house you will find that which Heaven has engraven on my heart
-- <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Habenti parum, egenti
-cuncta</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> 'To the rich
-is accorded little, to the poor everything.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not believe,
-Bragelonne, that you will find yonder the equivalent of what you
-leave behind you here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I think, or at least
-hope," said Raoul, with a gloomy air, "that she whom I love is
-worthy of my affection; but if it be true she is unworthy of me,
-as you have endeavored to make me believe, I will tear her image
-from my heart, duke, even if my heart breaks in the attempt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Mary Grafton gazed upon
-him with an expression of the most indefinable pity, and Raoul
-returned her look with a sweet, sorrowful smile, saying,
-"Mademoiselle, the diamond which the king has given me was
-destined for you, - give me leave to offer it for your
-acceptance: if I marry in France, you will send it me back; if I
-do not marry, keep it."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-And he bowed and left her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What does he mean?"
-thought Buckingham, while Raoul pressed Mary's icy hand with
-marks of the most reverential respect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Mary understood the look
-that Buckingham fixed upon her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If it were a
-wedding-ring, I would not accept it," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet you were
-willing to ask him to return to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! duke," cried the
-young girl in heart-broken accents, "a woman such as I am is
-never accepted as a consolation by a man like him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You do not think he
-will return, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Never," said Miss
-Grafton, in a choking voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I grieve to tell
-you, Mary, that he will find yonder his happiness destroyed, his
-mistress lost to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His
-honor even has not escaped.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What will be left him, then, Mary,
-equal to your affection?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Answer, Mary, you who know yourself so well."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Miss Grafton
-placed her white hand on Buckingham's arm, and, while Raoul was
-hurrying away with headlong speed, she repeated in dying accents
-the line from Romeo and Juliet:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>I must be gone and live, or stay and
-die.</i>"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> As she
-finished the last word, Raoul disappeared.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Miss Grafton returned to her own
-apartments, paler than death.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Buckingham availed himself of the
-arrival of the courier, who had brought the letter to the king,
-to write to Madame and to the Comte de Guiche.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king had not been mistaken, for
-at two in the morning the tide was at full flood, and Raoul had
-embarked for France.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XXXIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Saint-Aignan Follows Malicorne's Advice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he king most assiduously followed the progress which was
-made in La Valli&egrave;re's portrait; and did so with a care and
-attention arising as much from a desire that it should resemble
-her as from the wish that the painter should prolong the period
-of its completion as much as possible.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was amusing to observe him follow
-the artist's brush, awaiting the completion of a particular plan,
-or the result of a combination of colors, and suggesting various
-modifications to the painter, which the latter consented to adopt
-with the most respectful docility.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And again, when the artist,
-following Malicorne's advice, was a little late in arriving, and
-when Saint-Aignan had been obliged to be absent for some time, it
-was interesting to observe, though no one witnessed them, those
-moments of silence full of deep expression, which united in one
-sigh two souls most disposed to understand each other, and who by
-no means objected to the quiet meditation they enjoyed
-together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The minutes
-flew rapidly by, as if on wings, and as the king drew closer to
-Louise and bent his burning gaze upon her, a noise was suddenly
-heard in the ante-room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-It was the artist, who had just arrived; Saint-Aignan, too, had
-returned, full of apologies; and the king began to talk and La
-Valli&egrave;re to answer him very hurriedly, their eyes
-revealing to Saint-Aignan that they had enjoyed a century of
-happiness during his absence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In a word, Malicorne, philosopher
-that he was, though he knew it not, had learned how to inspire
-the king with an appetite in the midst of plenty, and with desire
-in the assurance of possession.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re's fears of
-interruption had never been realized, and no one imagined she was
-absent from her apartment two or three hours every day; she
-pretended that her health was very uncertain; those who went to
-her room always knocked before entering, and Malicorne, the man
-of so many ingenious inventions, had constructed an acoustic
-piece of mechanism, by means of which La Valli&egrave;re, when in
-Saint-Aignan's apartment, was always forewarned of any visits
-which were paid to the room she usually inhabited.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In this manner, therefore, without
-leaving her room, and having no <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>confidante</i>, she was able to
-return to her apartment, thus removing by her appearance, a
-little tardy perhaps, the suspicions of the most determined
-skeptics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Malicorne
-having asked Saint-Aignan the next morning what news he had to
-report, the latter was obliged to confess that the quarter of an
-hour's liberty had made the king in most excellent humor.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "We must double the dose,"
-replied Malicorne, "but by insensible degrees; wait until they
-seem to wish it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> They were so desirous
-for it, however, that on the evening of the fourth day, at the
-moment when the painter was packing up his implements, during
-Saint-Aignan's continued absence, Saint-Aignan on his return
-noticed upon La Valli&egrave;re's face a shade of disappointment
-and vexation, which she could not conceal.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king was less reserved, and
-exhibited his annoyance by a very significant shrug of the
-shoulders, at which La Valli&egrave;re could not help
-blushing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Very good!"
-thought Saint-Aignan to himself; "M. Malicorne will be delighted
-this evening;" as he, in fact, was, when it was reported to
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is very evident," he
-remarked to the comte, "that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re
-hoped that you would be at least ten minutes later."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And the king that I
-should be half an hour later, dear Monsieur Malicorne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You would show but very
-indifferent devotion to the king," replied the latter, "if you
-were to refuse his majesty that half-hour's satisfaction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But the painter,"
-objected Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>I</i> will take care of him," said
-Malicorne, "only I must study faces and circumstances a little
-better before I act; those are my magical inventions and
-contrivances; and while sorcerers are enabled by means of their
-astrolabe to take the altitude of the sun, moon, and stars, I am
-satisfied merely by looking into people's faces, in order to see
-if their eyes are encircled with dark lines, and if the mouth
-describes a convex or concave arc."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And the cunning
-Malicorne had every opportunity of watching narrowly and closely,
-for the very same evening the king accompanied the queen to
-Madame's apartments, and made himself so remarked by his serious
-face and his deep sigh, and looked at La Valli&egrave;re with
-such a languishing expression, that Malicorne said to Montalais
-during the evening: "To-morrow."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he went off to the painter's
-house in the street of the Jardins Saint-Paul to request him to
-postpone the next sitting for a couple of days.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan was not within, when La
-Valli&egrave;re, who was now quite familiar with the lower story,
-lifted up the trap-door and descended.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king, as usual was waiting for
-her on the staircase, and held a bouquet in his hand; as soon as
-he saw her, he clasped her tenderly in his arms.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re, much moved at
-the action, looked around the room, but as she saw the king was
-alone, she did not complain of it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They sat down, the king reclining
-near the cushions on which Louise was seated, with his head
-supported by her knees, placed there as in an asylum whence no
-one could banish him; he gazed ardently upon her, and as if the
-moment had arrived when nothing could interpose between their two
-hearts; she, too, gazed with similar passion upon him, and from
-her eyes, so softly pure, emanated a flame, whose rays first
-kindled and then inflamed the heart of the king, who, trembling
-with happiness as Louise's hand rested on his head, grew giddy
-from excess of joy, and momentarily awaited either the painter's
-or Saint-Aignan's return to break the sweet illusion.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But the door remained closed, and
-neither Saint-Aignan nor the painter appeared, nor did the
-hangings even move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A
-deep mysterious silence reigned in the room - a silence which
-seemed to influence even the song-birds in their gilded
-prisons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king,
-completely overcome, turned round his head and buried his burning
-lips in La Valli&egrave;re's hands, who, herself faint, with
-excess of emotion, pressed her trembling hands against her
-lover's lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis threw
-himself upon his knees, and as La Valli&egrave;re did not move
-her head, the king's forehead being within reach of her lips, she
-furtively passed her lips across the perfumed locks which
-caressed her cheeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king seized her in his arms, and, unable to resist the
-temptation, they exchanged their first kiss, that burning kiss,
-which changes love into delirium.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Suddenly, a noise upon the upper
-floor was heard, which had, in fact, continued, though it had
-remained unnoticed, for some time; it had at last aroused La
-Valli&egrave;re's attention, though but slowly so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As the noise, however, continued, as
-it forced itself upon the attention, and recalled the poor girl
-from her dreams of happiness to the sad realities of life, she
-rose in a state of utter bewilderment, though beautiful in her
-disorder, saying:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Some one is waiting for
-me above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis, Louis,
-do you not hear?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well! and am I not
-waiting for you, also?" said the king, with infinite tenderness
-of tone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Let others
-henceforth wait for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> But she gently shook her
-head, as she replied: "Happiness hidden&hellip; power
-concealed&hellip; my pride should be as silent as my heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The noise was again
-resumed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I hear Montalais's
-voice," she said, and she hurried up the staircase; the king
-followed her, unable to let her leave his sight, and covering her
-hand with his kisses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Yes, yes," repeated La Valli&egrave;re, who had passed half-way
-through the opening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Yes, it is Montalais who is calling me; something important must
-have happened."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Go then, dearest love,"
-said the king, "but return quickly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no, not to-day,
-sire!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Adieu! adieu!" she
-said, as she stooped down once more to embrace her lover - and
-escaped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais was,
-in fact, waiting for her, very pale and agitated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quick, quick! <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>he</i> is coming," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who - who is
-coming?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Raoul,"
-murmured Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is I - I," said a
-joyous voice, upon the last steps of the grand staircase.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re
-uttered a terrible shriek and threw herself back.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am here, dear
-Louise," said Raoul, running towards her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I knew but too well that you had
-not ceased to love me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re with
-a gesture, partly of extreme terror, and partly as if invoking a
-blessing, attempted to speak, but could not articulate one
-word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "No, no!" she said,
-as she fell into Montalais's arms, murmuring, "Do not touch me,
-do not come near me."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Montalais
-made a sign to Raoul, who stood almost petrified at the door, and
-did not even attempt to advance another step into the room.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, looking towards the side
-of the room where the screen was, she exclaimed: "Imprudent girl,
-she has not even closed the trap-door."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And she advanced towards
-the corner of the room to close the screen, and also, behind the
-screen, the trap-door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But suddenly the king, who had heard Louise's exclamation, darted
-through the opening, and hurried forward to her assistance.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He threw himself on his knees
-before her, as he overwhelmed Montalais with questions, who
-hardly knew where she was.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the moment, however, when the
-king threw himself on his knees, a cry of utter despair rang
-through the corridor, accompanied by the sound of retreating
-footsteps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king
-wished to see who had uttered the cry and whose were the
-footsteps he had heard; and it was in vain that Montalais sought
-to retain him, for Louis, quitting his hold of La
-Valli&egrave;re, hurried towards the door, too late, however, for
-Raoul was already at a distance, and the king only beheld a
-shadow that quickly vanished in the silent corridor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: In the three-volume
-edition, Volume 2, entitled <u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>,
-ends here. &ndash; JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XL:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>Two
-Old Friends.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-W</span>hilst every one at court was busily engaged with his own
-affairs, a man mysteriously took up his post behind the Place de
-Gr&egrave;ve, in the house which we once saw besieged by
-D'Artagnan on the occasion of the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>&eacute;meute</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The principal entrance of the house
-was in the Place Baudoyer; it was tolerably large, surrounded by
-gardens, inclosed in the Rue Saint-Jean by the shops of
-toolmakers, which protected it from prying looks, and was walled
-in by a triple rampart of stone, noise, and verdure, like an
-embalmed mummy in its triple coffin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The man we have just alluded to
-walked along with a firm step, although he was no longer in his
-early prime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His dark
-cloak and long sword plainly revealed one who seemed in search of
-adventures; and, judging from his curling mustache, his fine
-smooth skin, which could be seen beneath his <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>sombrero</i>, it would not have been
-difficult to pronounce that gallantry had not a little share in
-his adventures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In fact,
-hardly had the cavalier entered the house, when the clock struck
-eight; and ten minutes afterwards a lady, followed by a servant
-armed to the teeth, approached and knocked at the same door,
-which an old woman immediately opened for her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The lady raised her veil as she
-entered; though no longer beautiful or young, she was still
-active and of an imposing carriage.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She concealed, beneath a rich
-toilette and the most exquisite taste, an age which Ninon de
-l'Enclos alone could have smiled at with impunity.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Hardly had she reached the
-vestibule, when the cavalier, whose features we have only roughly
-sketched, advanced towards her, holding out his hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "God day, my dear
-duchesse," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How do you do, my dear
-Aramis?" replied the duchesse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He led her to a most
-elegantly furnished apartment, on whose high windows were
-reflected the expiring rays of the setting sun, which filtered
-gaudily through the dark green needles of the adjacent firs.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They sat down side by
-side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Neither of them
-thought of asking for additional light in the room, and they
-buried themselves as it were in the shadow, as if they wished to
-bury themselves in forgetfulness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Chevalier," said the
-duchesse, "you have never given me a single sign of life since
-our interview at Fontainebleau, and I confess that your presence
-there on the day of the Franciscan's death, and your initiation
-in certain secrets, caused me the liveliest astonishment I ever
-experienced in my whole life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I can explain my
-presence there to you, as well as my initiation," said
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But let us, first of
-all," said the duchess, "talk a little of ourselves, for our
-friendship is by no means of recent date."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, madame: and if
-Heaven wills it, we shall continue to be friends, I will not say
-for a long time, but forever."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is quite certain,
-chevalier, and my visit is a proof of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Our interests, duchess,
-are no longer the same as they used to be," said Aramis, smiling
-without apprehension in the growing gloom by which the room was
-overcast, for it could not reveal that his smile was less
-agreeable and not so bright as formerly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, chevalier, at the
-present day we have other interests.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Every period of life brings its own;
-and, as we now understand each other in conversing, as perfectly
-as we formerly did without saying a word, let us talk, if you
-like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am at your orders,
-duchesse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I beg your pardon, how did you
-obtain my address, and what was your object?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You ask me why?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have told you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Curiosity in the first place.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I wished to know what you
-could have to do with the Franciscan, with whom I had certain
-business transactions, and who died so singularly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know that on the occasion of our
-interview at Fontainebleau, in the cemetery, at the foot of the
-grave so recently closed, we were both so much overcome by our
-emotions that we omitted to confide to each other what we may
-have to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, I had no
-sooner left you than I repented, and have ever since been most
-anxious to ascertain the truth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know that Madame de Longueville
-and myself are almost one, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I was not aware," said
-Aramis, discreetly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I remembered,
-therefore," continued the duchesse, "that neither of us said
-anything to the other in the cemetery; that you did not speak of
-the relationship in which you stood to the Franciscan, whose
-burial you superintended, and that I did not refer to the
-position in which I stood to him; all which seemed very unworthy
-of two such old friends as ourselves, and I have sought an
-opportunity of an interview with you in order to give you some
-information that I have recently acquired, and to assure you that
-Marie Michon, now no more, has left behind her one who has
-preserved her recollection of events."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis bowed over the
-duchess's hand, and pressed his lips upon it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You must have had some trouble to
-find me again," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," she answered,
-annoyed to find the subject taking a turn which Aramis wished to
-give it; "but I knew you were a friend of M. Fouquet's, and so I
-inquired in that direction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A friend! oh!"
-exclaimed the chevalier, "I can hardly pretend to be <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>that</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A poor priest who has been favored
-by a generous protector, and whose heart is full of gratitude and
-devotion, is all that I pretend to be to M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He made you a
-bishop?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A very good retiring
-pension for so handsome a musketeer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; in the same way
-that political intrigue is for yourself," thought Aramis.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And so," he added, "you
-inquired after me at M. Fouquet's?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Easily enough.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You had been to Fontainebleau
-with him, and had undertaken a voyage to your diocese, which is
-Belle-&Icirc;le-en-Mer, I believe."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, madame," said
-Aramis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "My diocese is
-Vannes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I meant that.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I only thought that
-Belle-&Icirc;le-en-Mer - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is a property belonging
-to M. Fouquet, nothing more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I had been told that Belle-Isle was
-fortified; besides, I know how great the military knowledge is
-you possess."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have forgotten
-everything of the kind since I entered the Church," said Aramis,
-annoyed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Suffice it to know that
-I learned you had returned from Vannes, and I sent off to one of
-our friends, M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re, who is discretion
-itself, in order to ascertain it, but he answered that he was not
-aware of your address."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So like Athos," thought
-the bishop; "the really good man never changes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, you know
-that I cannot venture to show myself here, and that the
-queen-mother has always some grievance or other against me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, indeed, and I am
-surprised at it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! there are various
-reasons for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, to
-continue, being obliged to conceal myself, I was fortunate enough
-to meet with M. d'Artagnan, who was formerly one of your old
-friends, I believe?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A friend of mine still,
-duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He gave me certain
-information, and sent me to M. Baisemeaux, the governor of the
-Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis was somewhat
-agitated at this remark, and a light flashed from his eyes in the
-darkness of the room, which he could not conceal from his
-keen-sighted friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "M.
-de Baisemeaux!" he said, "why did D'Artagnan send you to M. de
-Baisemeaux?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot
-tell you."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What can
-this possibly mean?" said the bishop, summoning all the resources
-of his mind to his aid, in order to carry on the combat in a
-befitting manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Baisemeaux is
-greatly indebted to you, D'Artagnan told me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True, he is so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And the address of a
-creditor is as easily ascertained as that of a debtor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very true; and so
-Baisemeaux indicated to you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Saint-Mand&eacute;,
-where I forwarded a letter to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which I have in my
-hand, and which is most precious to me," said Aramis, "because I
-am indebted to it for the pleasure of seeing you here."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The duchesse, satisfied at
-having successfully overcome the various difficulties of so
-delicate an explanation, began to breathe freely again, which
-Aramis, however, could not succeed in doing.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "We had got as far as your visit to
-M. Baisemeaux, I believe?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay," she
-said, laughing, "farther than that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case we must
-have been speaking about the grudge you have against the
-queen-mother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Further still," she
-returned, "further still; we were talking of the connection -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which existed between
-you and the Franciscan," said Aramis, interrupting her eagerly,
-"well, I am listening to you very attentively."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is easily
-explained," returned the duchesse.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You know that I am living at
-Brussels with M. de Laicques?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I heard so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You know that my
-children have ruined and stripped me of everything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How terrible, dear
-duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Terrible indeed; this
-obliged me to resort to some means of obtaining a livelihood,
-and, particularly, to avoid vegetating for the remainder of my
-existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I had old
-hatreds to turn to account, old friendships to make use of; I no
-longer had either credit or protectors."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>You</i>, who had extended protection
-towards so many persons," said Aramis, softly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is always the case,
-chevalier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, at the
-present time I am in the habit of seeing the king of Spain very
-frequently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who has just nominated
-a general of the Jesuits, according to the usual custom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it usual,
-indeed?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Were you
-not aware of it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I beg your pardon; I
-was inattentive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You must be aware of
-that - you who were on such good terms with the Franciscan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With the general of the
-Jesuits, you mean?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span>
-"Exactly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, then, I
-have seen the king of Spain, who wished me to do a service, but
-was unable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He gave me
-recommendations, however, to Flanders, both for myself and for
-Laicques too; and conferred a pension on me out of the funds
-belonging to the order."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of Jesuits?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The general - I mean the
-Franciscan - was sent to me; and, for the purpose of conforming
-with the requisitions of the statues of the order, and of
-entitling me to the pension, I was reputed to be in a position to
-render certain services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-You are aware that that is the rule?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, I did not know it,"
-said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame de Chevreuse
-paused to look at Aramis, but it was perfectly dark.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well, such is the rule, however,"
-she resumed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I had,
-therefore, to appear to possess a power of usefulness of some
-kind or other, and I proposed to travel for the order, and I was
-placed on the list of affiliated travelers.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You understand it was a formality,
-by means of which I received my pension, which was very
-convenient for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good heavens! duchesse,
-what you tell me is like a dagger-thrust.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>You</i> obliged to receive a pension
-from the Jesuits?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, chevalier! from
-Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Except for a
-conscientious scruple, duchesse, you will admit that it is pretty
-nearly the same thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, not at all."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But surely
-of your magnificent fortune there must remain - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Dampierre is all that
-remains."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And that is handsome
-enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; but Dampierre is
-burdened, mortgaged, and almost fallen to ruin, like its
-owner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And can the
-queen-mother know and see all that, without shedding a tear?"
-said Aramis, with a penetrating look, which encountered nothing
-but darkness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She has forgotten everything."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You, I
-believe, attempted to get restored to favor?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; but, most
-singularly, the young king inherits the antipathy his dear father
-had for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will,
-perhaps, tell me that I am indeed a woman to be hated, and that I
-am no longer one who can be loved."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Dear duchesse, pray
-come quickly to the cause that brought you here; for I think we
-can be of service to each other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Such has been my own
-thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I came to
-Fontainebleau with a double object in view.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the first place, I was summoned
-there by the Franciscan whom you knew.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By the by, how did you know him? -
-for I have told you my story, and have not yet heard yours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I knew him in a very
-natural way, duchesse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-studied theology with him at Parma.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We became fast friends; and it
-happened, from time to time, that business, or travel, or war,
-separated us from each other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You were, of course,
-aware that he was the general of the Jesuits?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I suspected it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But by what
-extraordinary chance did it happen that you were at the hotel
-when the affiliated travelers met together?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said Aramis, in a
-calm voice, "it was the merest chance in the world.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was going to Fontainebleau to see
-M. Fouquet, for the purpose of obtaining an audience of the
-king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was passing by,
-unknown; I saw the poor dying monk in the road, and recognized
-him immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know
-the rest - he died in my arms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; but bequeathing to
-you so vast a power that you issue your sovereign orders and
-directions like a monarch."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He certainly did leave
-me a few commissions to settle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what for me?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have told
-you - a sum of twelve thousand livres was to be paid to you.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I thought I had given you the
-necessary signature to enable you to receive it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Did you not get the money?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! yes,
-yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You give your
-orders, I am informed, with so much mystery, and such a majestic
-presence, that it is generally believed you are the successor of
-the defunct chief."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis colored
-impatiently, and the duchesse continued: "I have obtained my
-information," she said, "from the king of Spain himself; and he
-cleared up some of my doubts on the point.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Every general of the Jesuits is
-nominated by him, and must be a Spaniard, according to the
-statutes of the order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-You are not a Spaniard, nor have you been nominated by the king
-of Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis did not reply to
-this remark, except to say, "You see, duchesse, how greatly you
-were mistaken, since the king of Spain told you that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, my dear Aramis;
-but there was something else which I have been thinking of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You know, I believe,
-something about most things, and it occurred to me that you know
-the Spanish language."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Every Frenchman who has
-been actively engaged in the Fronde knows Spanish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have lived in
-Flanders?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Three
-years."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And have
-stayed at Madrid?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Fifteen months."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are in a position,
-then, to become a naturalized Spaniard, when you like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Really?" said Aramis,
-with a frankness which deceived the duchesse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Undoubtedly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Two years' residence and an
-acquaintance with the language are indispensable.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have upwards of four years -
-more than double the time necessary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What are you driving
-at, duchesse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At this - I am on good
-terms with the king of Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I am not on bad
-terms," thought Aramis to himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Shall I ask the king,"
-continued the duchesse, "to confer the succession to the
-Franciscan's post upon you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, duchesse!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have it already,
-perhaps?" she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, upon my honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well, then, I can
-render you that service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why did you not render
-the same service to M. de Laicques, duchesse?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He is a very talented man, and one
-you love, besides."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, no doubt; but, at
-all events, putting Laicques aside, will you have it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, I thank you,
-duchesse."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She
-paused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "He is
-nominated," she thought; and then resumed aloud, "If you refuse
-me in this manner, it is not very encouraging for me, supposing I
-should have something to ask of you."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! ask,
-pray, ask."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ask!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I cannot do so, if you have not the
-power to grant what I want."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "However limited my
-power and ability, ask all the same."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I need a
-sum of money, to restore Dampierre."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" replied Aramis,
-coldly - "money?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well,
-duchesse, how much would you require?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! a tolerably round
-sum."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So much the worse - you
-know I am not rich."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no; but the order
-is - and if you had been the general - "<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You know I
-am not the general, I think."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that
-case, you have a friend who must be very wealthy - M.
-Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. Fouquet!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He is more than half ruined,
-madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So it is said, but I
-did not believe it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, duchesse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because I have, or
-rather Laicques has, certain letters in his possession from
-Cardinal Mazarin, which establish the existence of very strange
-accounts."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What
-accounts?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Relative to various
-sums of money borrowed and disposed of.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I cannot very distinctly remember
-what they are; but they establish the fact that the
-superintendent, according to these letters, which are signed by
-Mazarin, had taken thirteen millions of francs from the coffers
-of the state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The case is
-a very serious one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis clenched his
-hands in anxiety and apprehension.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Is it possible," he said, "that you
-have such letters as you speak of, and have not communicated them
-to M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" replied the
-duchesse, "I keep such trifling matters as these in reserve.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The day may come when they
-will be of service; and they can be withdrawn from the safe
-custody in which they now remain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And that day has
-arrived?" said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you are going to
-show those letters to M. Fouquet?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I prefer to
-talk about them with you, instead."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You must be
-in sad want of money, my poor friend, to think of such things as
-these - you, too, who held M. de Mazarin's prose effusions in
-such indifferent esteem."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The fact is, I <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>am</i> in want of money."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And then,"
-continued Aramis, in cold accents, "it must have been very
-distressing to you to be obliged to have recourse to such a
-means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is cruel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! if had wished to do
-harm instead of good," said Madame de Chevreuse, "instead of
-asking the general of the order, or M. Fouquet, for the five
-hundred thousand francs I require, I - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Five hundred thousand
-francs!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; no more.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you think it much?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I require at least as much as
-that to restore Dampierre."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I say, therefore, that
-instead of asking for this amount, I should have gone to see my
-old friend the queen-mother; the letters from her husband, Signor
-Mazarini, would have served me as an introduction, and I should
-have begged this mere trifle of her, saying to her, 'I wish,
-madame, to have the honor of receiving you at Dampierre.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Permit me to put Dampierre in
-a fit state for that purpose.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Aramis did not return a
-single word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well," she
-said, "what are you thinking about?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am making certain
-additions," said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And M. Fouquet
-subtractions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I, on the
-other hand, am trying my hand at the art of multiplication.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What excellent calculators we
-all three are!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How well
-we might understand one another!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will you allow me to
-reflect?" said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, for with such an
-opening between people like ourselves, 'yes' or 'no' is the only
-answer, and that an immediate one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a snare," thought
-the bishop; "it is impossible that Anne of Austria would listen
-to such a woman as this."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?" said the
-duchesse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, madame, I should
-be very much astonished if M. Fouquet had five hundred thousand
-francs at his disposal at the present moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is no use speaking
-of it, then," said the duchesse, "and Dampierre must get restored
-how best it may."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! you are not
-embarrassed to such an extent as that, I suppose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; I am never
-embarrassed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And the queen,"
-continued the bishop, "will certainly do for you what the
-superintendent is unable to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!
-certainly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But tell me,
-do you think it would be better that I should speak, myself, to
-M. Fouquet about these letters?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, duchesse, you
-will do precisely whatever you please in that respect.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Fouquet either feels or
-does not feel himself to be guilty; if he really be so, I know he
-is proud enough not to confess it; if he be not so, he will be
-exceedingly offended at your menace."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As usual, you
-reason like an angel," said the duchesse, as she rose from her
-seat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so, you are
-now going to denounce M. Fouquet to the queen," said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Denounce!'<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! what a disagreeable
-word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall not
-'denounce' my dear friend; you know matters of policy too well to
-be ignorant how easily these affairs are arranged.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall merely side against M.
-Fouquet, and nothing more; and, in a war of party against party,
-a weapon is always a weapon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No doubt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And once on
-friendly terms again with the queen-mother, I may be dangerous
-towards some persons."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are at liberty
-to prove so, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A liberty of which
-I shall avail myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are not
-ignorant, I suppose, duchesse, that M. Fouquet is on the best
-terms with the king of Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I suppose so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If, therefore, you
-begin a party warfare against M. Fouquet, he will reply in the
-same way; for he, too, is at perfect liberty to do so, is he
-not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!
-certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And as he is on
-good terms with Spain, he will make use of that friendship as a
-weapon of attack."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You mean, that he
-is, naturally, on good terms with the general of the order of the
-Jesuits, my dear Aramis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That may be the
-case, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And that,
-consequently, the pension I have been receiving from the order
-will be stopped."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am greatly
-afraid it might be."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well; I must
-contrive to console myself in the best way I can; for after
-Richelieu, after the Fronde, after exile, what is there left for
-Madame de Chevreuse to be afraid of?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The pension, you
-are aware, is forty-eight thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alas!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am quite aware of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Moreover, in party
-contests, you know, the friends of one's enemy do not
-escape."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Ah! you mean that
-poor Laicques will have to suffer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"I am afraid it is
-almost inevitable, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Oh! he only
-receives twelve thousand francs pension."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, but the king
-of Spain has some influence left; advised by M. Fouquet, he might
-get M. Laicques shut up in prison for a little while."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am not very
-nervous on that point, my dear friend; because, once reconciled
-with Anne of Austria, I will undertake that France would insist
-upon M. Laicques's liberation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In that case, you will have
-something else to apprehend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What can that be?"
-said the duchesse, pretending to be surprised and terrified.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will learn;
-indeed, you must know it already, that having once been an
-affiliated member of the order, it is not easy to leave it; for
-the secrets that any particular member may have acquired are
-unwholesome, and carry with them the germs of misfortune for
-whosoever may reveal them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The duchesse paused
-and reflected for a moment, and then said, "That is more serious:
-I will think it over."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And notwithstanding
-the profound obscurity, Aramis seemed to feel a basilisk glance,
-like a white-hot iron, escape from his friend's eyes, and plunge
-into his heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us
-recapitulate," said Aramis, determined to keep himself on his
-guard, and gliding his hand into his breast where he had a dagger
-concealed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly, let us
-recapitulate; short accounts make long friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The suppression of
-your pension - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Forty-eight
-thousand francs, and that of Laicques's twelve, make together
-sixty thousand francs; that is what you mean, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely; and I
-was trying to find out what would be your equivalent for
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Five hundred
-thousand francs, which I shall get from the queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Or, which you will
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>not</i> get."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know a means of
-procuring them," said the duchesse, thoughtlessly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This remark made
-the chevalier prick up his ears; and from the moment his
-adversary had committed this error, his mind was so thoroughly on
-its guard, that he seemed every moment to gain the advantage more
-and more; and she, consequently, to lose it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I will admit, for argument's sake,
-that you obtain the money," he resumed; "you will lose twice as
-much, having a hundred thousand francs' pension to receive
-instead of sixty thousand, and that for a<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> period of ten years."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not so, for I
-shall only be subjected to this reduction of my income during the
-period of M. Fouquet's remaining in power, a period which I
-estimate at two months."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am frank, you
-see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I thank you for
-it, duchesse; but you would be wrong to suppose that after M.
-Fouquet's disgrace the order would resume the payment of your
-pension."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know a means of
-making the order pay, as I know a means of forcing the
-queen-mother to concede what I require."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case,
-duchesse, we are all obliged to strike our flags to you.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The victory is yours, and the
-triumph also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Be clement,
-I entreat you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But is it
-possible," resumed the duchesse, without taking notice of the
-irony, "that you really draw back from a miserable sum of five
-hundred thousand francs, when it is a question of sparing you - I
-mean your friend - I beg your pardon, I ought rather to say your
-protector - the disagreeable consequences which a party contest
-produces?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Duchesse, I tell
-you why; supposing the five hundred thousand francs were to be
-given you, M. Laicques will require his share, which will be
-another five hundred thousand francs, I presume? and then, after
-M. de Laicques's and your own portions have been arranged, the
-portions which your children, your poor pensioners, and various
-other persons will require, will start up as fresh claims, and
-these letters, however compromising they may be in their nature,
-are not worth from three to four millions.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Can you have forgotten the queen of
-France's diamonds? - they were surely worth more than these bits
-of waste paper signed by Mazarin, and yet their recovery did not
-cost a fourth part of what you ask for yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, that is true;
-but the merchant values his goods at his own price, and it is for
-the purchaser to buy or refuse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Stay a moment,
-duchesse; would you like me to tell you why I will not buy your
-letters?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Pray tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because the
-letters you claim to be Mazarin's are false."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What an
-absurdity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have no doubt of
-it, for it would, to say the least, be very singular, that after
-you had quarreled with the queen through M. Mazarin's means, you
-should have kept up any intimate acquaintance with the latter; it
-would look as if you had been acting as a spy; and upon my word,
-I do not like to make use of the word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! pray do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You great
-complacence would seem suspicions, at all events."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is quite
-true; but the contents of the letters are even more so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I pledge you my
-word, duchesse, that you will not be able to make use of it with
-the queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! yes, indeed; I
-can make use of everything with the queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good,"
-thought Aramis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Croak
-on, old owl - hiss, beldame-viper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>But the duchesse
-had said enough, and advanced a few steps towards the door.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis, however, had reserved
-one exposure which she did <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>not</i> expect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>He rang the bell,
-candles immediately appeared in the adjoining room, and the
-bishop found himself completely encircled by lights, which shone
-upon the worn, haggard face of the duchesse, revealing every
-feature but too clearly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Aramis fixed a long ironical look upon her pale, thin, withered
-cheeks - her dim, dull eyes - and upon her lips, which she kept
-carefully closed over her discolored scanty teeth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He, however, had thrown himself into
-a graceful attitude, with his haughty and intelligent head thrown
-back; he smiled so as to reveal teeth still brilliant and
-dazzling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The antiquated
-coquette understood the trick that had been played her.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She was standing immediately
-before a large mirror, in which her decrepitude, so carefully
-concealed, was only made more manifest.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, thereupon, without even
-saluting Aramis, who bowed with the ease and grace of the
-musketeer of early days, she hurried away with trembling steps,
-which her very precipitation only the more impeded.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis sprang across the room, like
-a zephyr, to lead her to the door.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame de Chevreuse made a sign to
-her servant, who resumed his musket, and she left the house where
-such tender friends had not been able to understand each other
-only because they had understood each other too well.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Wherein May Be Seen that a Bargain Which Cannot Be Made with One
-Person, Can Be Carried Out with Another.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-A</span>ramis had been perfectly correct in his supposition; for
-hardly had she left the house in the Place Baudoyer than Madame
-de Chevreuse proceeded homeward.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She was doubtless afraid of being
-followed, and by this means thought she might succeed in throwing
-those who might be following her off their guard; but scarcely
-had she arrived within the door of the hotel, and hardly had
-assured herself that no one who could cause her any uneasiness
-was on her track, when she opened the door of the garden, leading
-into another street, and hurried towards the Rue Croix des
-Petits-Champs, where M. Colbert resided.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> We have already said
-that evening, or rather night, had closed in; it was a dark,
-thick night, besides; Paris had once more sunk into its calm,
-quiescent state, enshrouding alike within its indulgent mantle
-the high-born duchesse carrying out her political intrigue, and
-the simple citizen's wife, who, having been detained late by a
-supper in the city, was making her way slowly homewards, hanging
-on the arm of a lover, by the shortest possible route.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame de Chevreuse had been
-too well accustomed to nocturnal political intrigues to be
-ignorant that a minister never denies himself, even at his own
-private residence, to any young and beautiful woman who may
-chance to object to the dust and confusion of a public office, or
-to old women, as full of experience as of years, who dislike the
-indiscreet echo of official residences.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A valet received the duchesse under
-the peristyle, and received her, it must be admitted, with some
-indifference of manner; he intimated, after having looked at her
-face, that it was hardly at such an hour that one so advanced in
-years as herself could be permitted to disturb Monsieur Colbert's
-important occupations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But Madame de Chevreuse, without looking or appearing to be
-annoyed, wrote her name upon a leaf of her tablets - a name which
-had but too frequently sounded so disagreeably in the ears of
-Louis XIII. and of the great cardinal.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She wrote her name in the large,
-ill-formed characters of the higher classes of that period,
-handed it to the valet, without uttering a word, but with so
-haughty and imperious a gesture, that the fellow, well accustomed
-to judge of people from their manners and appearance, perceived
-at once the quality of the person before him, bowed his head, and
-ran to M. Colbert's room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The minister could not control a sudden exclamation as he opened
-the paper; and the valet, gathering from it the interest with
-which his master regarded the mysterious visitor, returned as
-fast as he could to beg the duchesse to follow him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She ascended to the first floor of
-the beautiful new house very slowly, rested herself on the
-landing-place, in order not to enter the apartment out of breath,
-and appeared before M. Colbert, who, with his own hands, held
-both the folding doors open.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The duchesse paused at the
-threshold, for the purpose of well studying the character of the
-man with whom she was about to converse.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the first glance, the round,
-large, heavy head, thick brows, and ill-favored features of
-Colbert, who wore, thrust low down on his head, a cap like a
-priest's <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>calotte</i>,
-seemed to indicate that but little difficulty was likely to be
-met with in her negotiations with him, but also that she was to
-expect as little interest in the discussion of particulars; for
-there was scarcely any indication that the rough and uncouth
-nature of the man was susceptible to the impulses of a refined
-revenge, or of an exalted ambition.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But when, on closer inspection, the
-duchesse perceived the small, piercingly black eyes, the
-longitudinal wrinkles of his high and massive forehead, the
-imperceptible twitching of the lips, on which were apparent
-traces of rough good-humor, Madame de Chevreuse altered her
-opinion of him, and felt she could say to herself: "I have found
-the man I want."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is the subject,
-madame, which procures me the honor of a visit from you?" he
-inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The need I have you of
-you, monsieur," returned the duchesse, "as well as that which you
-have of me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am delighted, madame,
-with the first portion of your sentence; but, as far as the
-second portion is concerned - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame de Chevreuse sat
-down in the armchair which M. Colbert advanced towards her.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Monsieur Colbert, you are the
-intendant of finances, and are ambitious of becoming the
-superintendent?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, do not deny it;
-that would only unnecessarily prolong our conversation, and that
-is useless."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet, madame,
-however well-disposed and inclined to show politeness I may be
-towards a lady of your position and merit, nothing will make me
-confess that I have ever entertained the idea of supplanting my
-superior."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I said nothing about
-supplanting, Monsieur Colbert.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Could I accidentally have made use
-of that word?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I hardly
-think that likely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-word 'replace' is less aggressive in its signification, and more
-grammatically suitable, as M. de Voiture would say.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I presume, therefore, that you are
-ambitious of replacing M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. Fouquet's fortune,
-madame, enables him to withstand all attempts.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The superintendent in this age plays
-the part of the Colossus of Rhodes; the vessels pass beneath him
-and do not overthrow him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I ought to have availed
-myself precisely of that very comparison.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is true, M. Fouquet plays the
-part of the Colossus of Rhodes; but I remember to have heard it
-said by M. Conrart, a member of the academy, I believe, that when
-the Colossus of Rhodes fell from its lofty position, the merchant
-who had cast it down - a merchant, nothing more, M. Colbert -
-loaded four hundred camels with the ruins.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A merchant! and that is considerably
-less than an intendant of finances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame, I can assure
-you that I shall never overthrow M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good, Monsieur
-Colbert, since you persist in showing so much sensitiveness with
-me, as if you were ignorant that I am Madame de Chevreuse, and
-also that I am somewhat advanced in years; in other words, that
-you have to do with a woman who has had political dealings with
-the Cardinal Richelieu, and who has no time to lose; as, I
-repeat, you do not hesitate to commit such an imprudence, I shall
-go and find others who are more intelligent and more desirous of
-making their fortunes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How, madame, how?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You give me a very poor
-idea of negotiations of the present day.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I assure you that if, in my earlier
-days, a woman had gone to M. de Cinq-Mars, who was not, moreover,
-a man of a very high order of intellect, and had said to him
-about the cardinal what I have just said to you of M. Fouquet, M.
-de Cinq-Mars would by this time have already set actively to
-work."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, madame, show a
-little indulgence, I entreat you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, do you
-really consent to replace M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly, I do, if the
-king dismisses M. Fouquet."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Again, a
-word too much; it is quite evident that, if you have not yet
-succeeded in driving M. Fouquet from his post, it is because you
-have not been able to do so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Therefore, I should be the greatest
-simpleton possible if, in coming to you, I did not bring the very
-thing you require."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am distressed to be
-obliged to persist, madame," said Colbert, after a silence which
-enabled the duchesse to sound the depths of his dissimulation,
-"but I must warn you that, for the last six years, denunciation
-after denunciation has been made against M. Fouquet, and he has
-remained unshaken and unaffected by them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is a time for
-everything, Monsieur Colbert; those who were the authors of those
-denunciations were not called Madame de Chevreuse, and they had
-no proofs equal to the six letters from M. de Mazarin which
-establish the offense in question."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The offense!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"The crime, if you
-like it better."<br>
-"The crime! committed by M. Fouquet!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing less.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is rather strange, M.
-Colbert, but your face, which just now was cold and indifferent,
-is now positively the very reverse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A crime!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am delighted to
-see that it makes an impression upon you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is because that
-word, madame, embraces so many things."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It embraces the
-post of superintendent of finance for yourself, and a letter of
-exile, or the Bastile, for M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Forgive me, madame
-la duchesse, but it is almost impossible that M. Fouquet can be
-exiled; to be imprisoned or disgraced, that is already a great
-deal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I am perfectly
-aware of what I am saying," returned Madame de Chevreuse,
-coldly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I do not live at
-such a distance from Paris as not to know what takes place
-there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king does not
-like M. Fouquet, and he would willingly sacrifice M. Fouquet if
-an opportunity were only given him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It must be a good
-one, though."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good enough, and
-one I estimate to be worth five hundred thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way?" said
-Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I mean, monsieur,
-that holding this opportunity in my own hands, I will not allow
-it to be transferred to yours except for a sum of five hundred
-thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I understand you
-perfectly, madame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But
-since you have fixed a price for the sale, let me now see the
-value of the articles to be sold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, a mere trifle;
-six letters, as I have already told you, from M. de Mazarin; and
-the autographs will most assuredly not be regarded as too highly
-priced, if they establish, in an irrefutable manner, that M.
-Fouquet has embezzled large sums of money from the treasury and
-appropriated them to his own purposes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In an irrefutable
-manner, do you say?" observed Colbert, whose eyes sparkled with
-delight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly so;
-would you like to read the letters?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With all my
-heart!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Copies, of
-course?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course, the
-copies," said the duchesse, as she drew from her bosom a small
-packet of papers flattened by her velvet bodice.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Read," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert eagerly
-snatched the papers and devoured them.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Excellent!" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is clear
-enough, is it not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, madame, yes;
-M. Mazarin must have handed the money to M. Fouquet, who must
-have kept it for his own purposes; but the question is, what
-money?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly, - what
-money; if we come to terms I will join to these six letters a
-seventh, which will supply you with the fullest particulars."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert
-reflected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And the
-originals of these letters?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A useless question
-to ask; exactly as if I were to ask you, Monsieur Colbert,
-whether the money-bags you will give me will be full or
-empty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good,
-madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Is it
-concluded?"<br>
-"No; for there is one circumstance to which neither of us has
-given any attention."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Name it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. Fouquet can be
-utterly ruined, under the legal circumstances you have detailed,
-only by means of legal proceedings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A public scandal,
-for instance; and yet neither the legal proceedings nor the
-scandal can be commenced against him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because he is
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral of the parliament; because, too,
-in France, all public administrators, the army, justice itself,
-and commerce, are intimately connected by ties of
-good-fellowship, which people call <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>espirit de corps</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In such a case, madame, the
-parliament will never permit its chief to be dragged before a
-public tribunal; and never, even if he be dragged there by royal
-authority, never, I say, will he be condemned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, Monsieur
-Colbert, I do not see what I have to do with that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am aware of
-that, madame; but I have to do with it, and it consequently
-diminishes the value of what you have brought to show me.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What good can a proof of a
-crime be to me, without the possibility of obtaining a
-condemnation?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Even if he be only
-suspected, M. Fouquet will lose his post of superintendent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is that all?"
-exclaimed Colbert, whose dark, gloomy features were momentarily
-lighted up by an expression of hate and vengeance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur Colbert," said the
-duchesse, "forgive me, but I did not think you were so
-impressionable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very
-good; in that case, since you need more than I have to give you,
-there is no occasion to speak of the matter at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, madame, we
-will go on talking of it; only, as the value of your commodities
-had decreased, you must lower your pretensions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are
-bargaining, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Every man who
-wishes to deal loyally is obliged to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How much will you
-offer me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Two hundred
-thousand francs," said Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The duchesse
-laughed in his face, and then said, suddenly, "Wait a moment, I
-have another arrangement to propose; will you give me three
-hundred thousand francs?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, you can either
-accept or refuse my terms; besides, that is not all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"More still! you
-are becoming too impracticable to deal with, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Less so than you
-think, perhaps, for it is not money I am going to ask you
-for."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A service; you
-know that I have always been most affectionately attached to the
-queen, and I am desirous of having an interview with her
-majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With the
-queen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, Monsieur
-Colbert, with the queen, who is, I admit, no longer my friend,
-and who has ceased to be so for a long time past, but who may
-again become so if the opportunity be only given her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Her majesty has
-ceased to receive any one, madame.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She is a great sufferer, and you may
-be aware that the paroxysms of her disease occur with greater
-frequency than ever."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is the very
-reason why I wish to have an interview with her majesty; for in
-Flanders there is a great variety of these kinds of
-complaints."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What, cancers - a
-fearful, incurable disorder?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not believe
-that, Monsieur Colbert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The Flemish peasant is somewhat a man of nature, and his
-companion for life is not alone a wife, but a female laborer
-also; for while he is smoking his pipe, the woman works: it is
-she who draws the water from the well; she who loads the mule or
-the ass, and even bears herself a portion of the burden.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Taking but little care of
-herself, she gets knocked about first in one direction, and then
-in another, and very often is beaten by her husband, and cancers
-frequently rise from contusions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True, true," said
-Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The Flemish women
-do not die the sooner on that account.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When they are great sufferers from
-this disease they go in search of remedies, and the
-B&eacute;guines of Bruges are excellent doctors for every kind of
-disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They have
-precious waters of one sort or another; specifics of various
-kinds; and they give a bottle of it and a wax candle to the
-sufferer, whereby the priests are gainers, and Heaven is served
-by the disposal of both their wares.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will take the queen some of this
-holy water, which I will procure from the B&eacute;guines of
-Bruges; her majesty will recover, and will burn as many wax
-candles as she may see fit.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You see, Monsieur Colbert, to
-prevent my seeing the queen is almost as bad as committing the
-crime of regicide."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are
-undoubtedly, madame la duchesse, a woman of exceedingly great
-abilities, and I am more than astounded at their display; still I
-cannot but suppose that this charitable consideration towards the
-queen in some measure covers a slight personal interest for
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have not given
-myself the trouble to conceal it, that I am aware of, Monsieur
-Colbert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You said, I
-believe, that I had a slight personal interest?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On the contrary, it is a very great
-interest, and I will prove it to you, by resuming what I was
-saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If you procure me
-a personal interview with her majesty, I will be satisfied with
-the three hundred thousand francs I have claimed; if not, I shall
-keep my letters, unless, indeed, you give me, on the spot, five
-hundred thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And rising from her
-seat with this decisive remark, the old duchesse plunged M.
-Colbert into a disagreeable perplexity.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To bargain any further was out of
-the question; and not to bargain was to pay a great deal too
-dearly for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Madame," he said, "I shall have the pleasure of handing over a
-hundred thousand crowns; but how shall I get the actual letters
-themselves?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the simplest
-manner in the world, my dear Monsieur Colbert - whom will you
-trust?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The financier began
-to laugh, silently, so that his large eyebrows went up and down
-like the wings of a bat, upon the deep lines of his yellow
-forehead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "No one," he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You surely will
-make an exception in your own favor, Monsieur Colbert?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way,
-madame?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I mean that, if
-you would take the trouble to accompany me to the place where the
-letters are, they would be delivered into your own hands, and you
-would be able to verify and check them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You would bring
-the hundred thousand crowns with you at the same time, for I,
-too, do not trust any one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert colored to
-the tips of his ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Like all eminent men in the art of figures, he was of an insolent
-and mathematical probity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"I will take with me, madame," he said, "two orders for the
-amount agreed upon, payable at my treasury.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will that satisfy you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Would that the
-orders on your treasury were for two millions, monsieur
-l'intendant!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall have
-the pleasure of showing you the way, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Allow me to order
-my carriage?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have a carriage
-below, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert coughed
-like an irresolute man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-He imagined, for a moment, that the proposition of the duchesse
-was a snare; that perhaps some one was waiting at the door; and
-that she whose secret had just been sold to Colbert for a hundred
-thousand crowns, had already offered it to Fouquet for the same
-sum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As he still
-hesitated, the duchesse looked at him full in the face.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You prefer your
-own carriage?" she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I admit I <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>do</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You suppose I am
-going to lead you into a snare or trap of some sort or
-other?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame la
-duchesse, you have the character of being somewhat inconsiderate
-at times, as I am reputed a sober, solemn character, a jest or
-practical joke might compromise me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; the fact is,
-you are afraid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well,
-then, take your own carriage, as many servants as you like, only
-think well of what I am going to say.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What we two may arrange between
-ourselves, we are the only persons who will know - if a third
-person is present we might as well tell the whole world about
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> After all, I do not
-make a point of it; my carriage shall follow yours, and I shall
-be satisfied to accompany you in your own carriage to the
-queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To the queen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you forgotten
-that already?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it
-possible that one of the clauses of the agreement of so much
-importance to me, can have escaped you so soon?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How trifling it seems to you,
-indeed; if I had known it I should have asked double what I have
-done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have reflected,
-madame, and I shall not accompany you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Really - and why
-not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because I have the
-most perfect confidence in you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You overpower
-me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But - provided I
-receive the hundred thousand crowns?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Here they are,
-madame," said Colbert, scribbling a few lines on a piece of
-paper, which he handed to the duchesse, adding, "You are
-paid."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The trait is a
-fine one, Monsieur Colbert, and I will reward you for it," she
-said, beginning to laugh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Madame de
-Chevreuse's laugh was a very sinister sound; a man with youth,
-faith, love, life itself, throbbing in his heart, would prefer a
-sob to such a lamentable laugh.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The duchesse opened the front of her
-dress and drew forth from her bosom, somewhat less white than it
-once had been, a small packet of papers, tied with a
-flame-colored ribbon, and, still laughing, she said, "There,
-Monsieur Colbert, are the originals of Cardinal Mazarin's
-letters; they are now your own property," she added, refastening
-the body of her dress; "your fortune is secured.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And now accompany me to the
-queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, madame; if you
-are again about to run the chance of her majesty's displeasure,
-and it were known at the Palais Royal that I had been the means
-of introducing you there, the queen would never forgive me while
-she lived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No; there are
-certain persons at the palace who are devoted to me, who will
-procure you an admission without my being compromised."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Just as you
-please, provided I enter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you term
-those religions women at Bruges who cure disorders?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>
-"B&eacute;guines."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good; are you
-one?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As you please, -
-but I must soon cease to be one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is your
-affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Excuse me, but I
-do not wish to be exposed to a refusal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is again your
-own affair, madame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am
-going to give directions to the head valet of the gentleman in
-waiting on the queen to allow admission to a B&eacute;guine, who
-brings an effectual remedy for her majesty's sufferings.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are the bearer of my
-letter, you will undertake to be provided with the remedy, and
-will give every explanation on the subject.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I admit a knowledge of a
-B&eacute;guine, but I deny all knowledge of Madame de
-Chevreuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Here, madame,
-then, is your letter of introduction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Skin of the Bear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-C</span>olbert handed the duchesse the letter, and gently drew
-aside the chair behind which she was standing; Madame de
-Chevreuse, with a very slight bow, immediately left the
-room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert, who had
-recognized Mazarin's handwriting, and had counted the letters,
-rang to summon his secretary, whom he enjoined to go in immediate
-search of M. Vanel, a counselor of the parliament.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The secretary replied that,
-according to his usual practice, M. Vanel had just that moment
-entered the house, in order to give the intendant an account of
-the principal details of the business which had been transacted
-during the day in parliament.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert approached one of the lamps,
-read the letters of the deceased cardinal over again, smiled
-repeatedly as he recognized the great value of the papers Madame
-de Chevreuse had just delivered - and burying his head in his
-hands for a few minutes, reflected profoundly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the meantime, a tall,
-loosely-made man entered the room; his spare, thin face, steady
-look, and hooked nose, as he entered Colbert's cabinet, with a
-modest assurance of manner, revealed a character at once supple
-and decided, - supple towards the master who could throw him the
-prey, firm towards the dogs who might possibly be disposed to
-dispute its possession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-M. Vanel carried a voluminous bundle of papers under his arm, and
-placed it on the desk on which Colbert was leaning both his
-elbows, as he supported his head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good day, M. Vanel,"
-said the latter, rousing himself from his meditation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good day, monseigneur,"
-said Vanel, naturally.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You should say
-monsieur, and not monseigneur," replied Colbert, gently.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We give the title of
-monseigneur to ministers," returned Vanel, with extreme
-self-possession, "and you are a minister."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are so in point of
-fact, and I call you monseigneur accordingly; besides you are
-seigneur for <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>me</i>, and
-that is sufficient; if you dislike my calling you monseigneur
-before others, allow me, at least, to call you so in
-private."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Colbert raised his head
-as if to read, or try to read, upon Vanel's face how much or how
-little sincerity entered into this protestation of devotion.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But the counselor knew
-perfectly well how to sustain the weight of such a look, even
-backed with the full authority of the title he had
-conferred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert
-sighed; he could not read anything in Vanel's face, and Vanel
-might possibly be honest in his professions, but Colbert
-recollected that this man, inferior to himself in every other
-respect, was actually his master in virtue of the fact of his
-having a wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As he was
-pitying this man's lot, Vanel coldly drew from his pocket a
-perfumed letter, sealed with Spanish wax, and held it towards
-Colbert, saying, "A letter from my wife, monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Colbert coughed, took,
-opened and read the letter, and then put it carefully away in his
-pocket, while Vanel turned over the leaves of the papers he had
-brought with him with an unmoved and unconcerned air.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Vanel," he said suddenly to his <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>prot&eacute;g&eacute;,</i>
-"you are a hard-working man, I know; would twelve hours' daily
-labor frighten you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I work fifteen hours
-every day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Impossible.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A counselor need not work more than
-three hours a day in parliament."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am working up some returns for a
-friend of mine in the department of accounts, and, as I still
-have spare time on my hands, I am studying Hebrew."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your reputation stands
-high in the parliament, Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe so,
-monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You must not grow rusty
-in your post of counselor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What must I do to avoid
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Purchase a high
-place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Mean and low
-ambitions are very difficult to satisfy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Small purses are the
-most difficult ones to fill, monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What post have you in
-view?" said Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I see none - not
-one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is one,
-certainly, but one need be almost the king himself to be able to
-buy it without inconvenience; and the king will not be inclined,
-I suppose, to purchase the post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> At these words, Vanel
-fixed his peculiar, humble, dull look upon Colbert, who could
-hardly tell whether Vanel comprehended him or not.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Why do you speak to me,
-monseigneur," said Vanel, "of the post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral to the parliament; I know no
-other post than the one M. Fouquet fills."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exactly so, my dear
-counselor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are not over
-fastidious, monseigneur; but before the post can be bought, it
-must be offered for sale."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe, Monsieur
-Vanel, that it will be for sale before long."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For sale!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Fouquet's post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So it is <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>said</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The post which renders
-him so perfectly invincible, for sale!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ha, ha!" said Vanel, beginning to
-laugh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Would you be afraid,
-then, of the post?" said Colbert, gravely.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Afraid! no; but - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you desirous of
-obtaining it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are laughing at me,
-monseigneur," replied Vanel.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Is it likely that a counselor of
-the parliament would not be desirous of becoming
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, Monsieur Vanel,
-since I tell you that the post, as report goes, will be shortly
-for sale - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot help
-repeating, monseigneur, that it is impossible; a man never throws
-away the buckler, behind which he maintains his honor, his
-fortune, his very life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There are certain men
-mad enough, Vanel, to fancy themselves out of the reach of all
-mischances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, monseigneur; but
-such men never commit their mad acts for the advantage of the
-poor Vanels of the world."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For the very reason
-that those Vanels are poor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is true that M.
-Fouquet's post might cost a good round sum.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What would you bid for it, Monsieur
-Vanel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Everything I am
-worth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which means?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Three or
-four hundred thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And the post is worth -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A million and a half,
-at the very lowest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-know persons who have offered one million seven hundred thousand
-francs, without being able to persuade M. Fouquet to sell.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, supposing it were to
-happen that M. Fouquet wished to sell, which I do not believe, in
-spite of what I have been told - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! you have heard
-something about it, then; who told you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Gourville, M.
-P&eacute;lisson, and others."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; if,
-therefore, M. Fouquet did wish to sell - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I could not buy it just
-yet, since the superintendent will only sell for ready money, and
-no one has a million and a half to put down at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Colbert suddenly
-interrupted the counselor by an imperious gesture; he had begun
-to meditate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Observing
-his superior's serious attitude, and his perseverance in
-continuing the conversation on this subject, Vanel awaited the
-solution without venturing to precipitate it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Explain to me the
-privileges which this post confers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The right of impeaching
-every French subject who is not a prince of the blood; the right
-of quashing all proceedings taken against any Frenchman, who is
-neither king nor prince.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral is the king's right hand to
-punish the guilty; the office is the means whereby also he can
-evade the administration of justice.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Fouquet, therefore, would be
-able, by stirring up parliament, to maintain himself even against
-the king; and the king could as easily, by humoring M. Fouquet,
-get his edicts registered in spite of every opposition and
-objection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral can be made a very useful or a
-very dangerous instrument."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Vanel, would you like
-to be procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral?" said Colbert, suddenly,
-softening both his look and his voice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I!" exclaimed the
-latter; "I have already had the honor to represent to you that I
-want about eleven hundred thousand francs to make up the
-amount."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Borrow that sum from
-your friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have no friends
-richer than myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are an honest and
-honorable man, Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! monseigneur, if the
-world would only think as you do!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I think so, and that is
-quite enough; and if it should be needed, I will be your
-security."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not forget the
-proverb, monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is it?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That he who
-becomes responsible for another has to pay for his fancy."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let that
-make no difference."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Vanel rose, bewildered
-by this offer which had been so suddenly and unexpectedly made to
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You are not
-trifling with me, monseigneur?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Stay; you say that M.
-Gourville has spoken to you about M. Fouquet's post?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; and M.
-P&eacute;lisson, also."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Officially so, or only
-through their own suggestion?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "These were
-their very words: 'The parliament members are as proud as they
-are wealthy; they ought to club together two or three millions
-among themselves, to present to their protector and leader, M.
-Fouquet.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what did you
-reply?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I said
-that, for my own part, I would give ten thousand francs if
-necessary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! you like M.
-Fouquet, then!" exclaimed Colbert, with a look of hatred.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; but M. Fouquet is
-our chief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He is in debt
-- is on the high road to ruin; and we ought to save the honor of
-the body of which we are members."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exactly; and that
-explains why M. Fouquet will be always safe and sound, so long as
-he occupies his present post," replied Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Thereupon," said Vanel,
-"M. Gourville added, 'If we were to do anything out of charity to
-M. Fouquet, it could not be otherwise than most humiliating to
-him; and he would be sure to refuse it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let the parliament subscribe among
-themselves to purchase, in a proper manner, the post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral; in that case, all would go well;
-the honor of our body would be saved, and M. Fouquet's pride
-spared.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is an
-opening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I considered it so,
-monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, Monsieur Vanel,
-you will go at once, and find out either M. Gourville or M.
-P&eacute;lisson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you
-know any other friend of M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know M. de la
-Fontaine very well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "La Fontaine, the
-rhymester?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; he used to write
-verses to my wife, when M. Fouquet was one of our friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Go to him, then, and
-try and procure an interview with the superintendent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Willingly - but the sum
-itself?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On the day
-and hour you arrange to settle the matter, Monsieur Vanel, you
-shall be supplied with the money, so do not make yourself uneasy
-on <i style='mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>that</i> account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monseigneur, such
-munificence!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You eclipse
-kings even - you surpass M. Fouquet himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Stay a moment - do not
-let us mistake each other: I do not make you a present of
-fourteen hundred thousand francs, Monsieur Vanel; for I have
-children to provide for - but I will <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>lend</i> you that sum."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ask whatever interest,
-whatever security you please, monseigneur; I am quite ready.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And when all your requisitions
-are satisfied, I will still repeat, that you surpass kings and M.
-Fouquet in munificence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-What conditions do you impose?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The
-repayment in eight years, and a mortgage upon the appointment
-itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is that all?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Wait a moment.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I reserve to myself the right
-of purchasing the post from you at one hundred and fifty thousand
-francs profit for yourself, if, in your mode of filling the
-office, you do not follow out a line of conduct in conformity
-with the interests of the king and with my projects."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah-h!" said Vanel, in
-an altered tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is there anything in
-that which can possibly be objectionable to you, Monsieur Vanel?"
-said Colbert, coldly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! no, no," replied
-Vanel, nervously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We will sign an agreement to that
-effect whenever you like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-And now go as quickly as you can to M. Fouquet's friend, obtain
-an interview with the superintendent; do not be too difficult in
-making whatever concessions may be required of you; and when once
-the arrangements are all made - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will press him to
-sign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Be most careful to do
-nothing of the kind; do not speak of signatures with M. Fouquet,
-nor of deeds, nor even ask him to pass his word.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Understand this: otherwise you will
-lose everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All you
-have to do is to get M. Fouquet to give you his hand on the
-matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Go, go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>An
-Interview with the Queen-Mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he queen-mother was in the bedroom at the Palais Royal,
-with Madame de Motteville and Se&ntilde;ora Molina.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> King Louis, who had been impatiently
-expected the whole day, had not made his appearance; and the
-queen, who was growing impatient, had often sent to inquire about
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The moral atmosphere
-of the court seemed to indicate an approaching storm; the
-courtiers and the ladies of the court avoided meeting in the
-ante-chambers and the corridors in order not to converse on
-compromising subjects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Monsieur had joined the king early in the morning for a
-hunting-party; Madame remained in her own apartment, cool and
-distant to every one; and the queen-mother, after she had said
-her prayers in Latin, talked of domestic matters with her two
-friends in pure Castilian.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame de Motteville, who understood
-the language perfectly, answered her in French.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When the three ladies had exhausted
-every form of dissimulation and of politeness, as a circuitous
-mode of expressing that the king's conduct was making the queen
-and the queen-mother pine away through sheer grief and vexation,
-and when, in the most guarded and polished phrases, they had
-fulminated every variety of imprecation against Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re, the queen-mother terminated her attack by an
-exclamation indicative of her own reflections and character.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Estos hijos!</i>" said she to Molina
-- which means, "These children!" words full of meaning on a
-mother's lips - words full of terrible significance in the mouth
-of a queen who, like Anne of Austria, hid many curious secrets in
-her soul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," said Molina,
-"children, children! for whom every mother becomes a
-sacrifice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," replied the
-queen; "a mother sacrifices everything, certainly."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She did not finish her phrase; for
-she fancied, when she raised her eyes towards the full-length
-portrait of the pale Louis XIII., that light once more flashed
-from her husband's dull eyes, and his nostrils grew livid with
-wrath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The portrait
-seemed animated by a living expression - speak it did not, but it
-seemed to threaten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A
-profound silence succeeded the queen's last remark.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Molina began to turn over ribbons
-and laces on a large work-table.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame de Motteville, surprised at
-the look of mutual intelligence which had been exchanged between
-the confidant and her mistress, cast down her eyes like a
-discreet woman, and pretending to be observant of nothing that
-was passing, listened with the utmost attention to every
-word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She heard nothing,
-however, but a very insignificant "hum" on the part of the
-Spanish duenna, who was the incarnation of caution - and a
-profound sigh on that of the queen.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She looked up immediately.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are suffering?" she
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, Motteville, no; why
-do you say that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty almost
-groaned just now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right; I did
-sigh, in truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur Valot is not
-far off; I believe he is in Madame's apartment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why is he with
-Madame?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame is
-troubled with nervous attacks."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A very fine
-disorder, indeed!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There
-is little good in M. Valot being there, when a very different
-physician would quickly cure Madame."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame de
-Motteville looked up with an air of great surprise, as she
-replied, "Another doctor instead of M. Valot? - whom do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Occupation, Motteville,
-occupation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If any one is
-really ill, it is my poor daughter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And your majesty,
-too."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Less so
-this evening, though."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not
-believe that too confidently, madame," said De Motteville.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, as if to justify her
-caution, a sharp, acute pain seized the queen, who turned deadly
-pale, and threw herself back in the chair, with every symptom of
-a sudden fainting fit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Molina ran to a richly gilded tortoise-shell cabinet, from which
-she took a large rock-crystal bottle of scented salts, and held
-it to the queen's nostrils, who inhaled it wildly for a few
-minutes, and murmured:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is hastening my
-death - but Heaven's will be done!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty's death is
-not so near at hand," added Molina, replacing the smelling-bottle
-in the cabinet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Does your majesty feel
-better now?" inquired Madame de Motteville.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Much better," returned
-the queen, placing her finger on her lips, to impose silence on
-her favorite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is very strange,"
-remarked Madame de Motteville, after a pause.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is strange?" said
-the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Does your majesty
-remember the day when this pain attacked you for the first
-time?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I remember only that it
-was a grievously sad day for me, Motteville."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But your majesty did
-not always regard that day as a sad one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because three and
-twenty years ago, on that very day, his present majesty, your own
-glorious son, was born at the very same hour."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The queen uttered a loud
-cry, buried her face in her hands, and seemed utterly prostrated
-for some minutes; but whether from recollections which arose in
-her mind, or from reflection, or even with sheer pain, was
-doubtful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Molina
-darted a look at Madame de Motteville, so full of bitter
-reproach, that the poor woman, perfectly ignorant of its meaning,
-was in her own exculpation on the point of asking an explanation,
-when, suddenly, Anne of Austria arose and said, "Yes, the 5th of
-September; my sorrow began on the 5th of September.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The greatest joy, one day; the
-deepest sorrow the next; - the sorrow," she added, "the bitter
-expiation of a too excessive joy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And, from that moment,
-Anne of Austria, whose memory and reason seemed to be suspended
-for the time, remained impenetrable, with vacant look, mind
-almost wandering, and hands hanging heavily down, as if life had
-almost departed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We must put her to
-bed," said La Molina.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Presently, Molina."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Let us leave the queen
-alone," added the Spanish attendant.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame de Motteville
-rose; large tears were rolling down the queen's pallid face; and
-Molina, having observed this sign of weakness, fixed her black
-vigilant eyes upon her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes," replied the
-queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Leave us,
-Motteville; go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The word "us" produced a
-disagreeable effect upon the ears of the French favorite; for it
-signified that an interchange of secrets, or of revelations of
-the past, was about to be made, and that one person was <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>de trop</i> in the conversation
-which seemed likely to take place.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will Molina, alone, be
-sufficient for your majesty to-night?" inquired the French
-woman.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," replied the
-queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame de
-Motteville bowed in submission, and was about to withdraw, when
-suddenly an old female attendant, dressed as if she had belonged
-to the Spanish court of the year 1620, opened the door, and
-surprised the queen in her tears.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The remedy!" she cried,
-delightedly, to the queen, as she unceremoniously approached the
-group.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What remedy?" said Anne
-of Austria.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For your majesty's
-sufferings," the former replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who brings it?" asked
-Madame de Motteville, eagerly; "Monsieur Valot?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; a lady
-from Flanders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "From Flanders?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is she Spanish?" inquired the
-queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I don't know."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who sent
-her?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M.
-Colbert."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Her name?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She did not
-mention it."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Her
-position in life?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She will answer that
-herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who is she?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She is
-masked."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Go, Molina; go and
-see!" cried the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is needless,"
-suddenly replied a voice, at once firm and gentle in its tone,
-which proceeded from the other side of the tapestry hangings; a
-voice which made the attendants start, and the queen tremble
-excessively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the same
-moment, a masked female appeared through the hangings, and,
-before the queen could speak a syllable she added, "I am
-connected with the order of the B&eacute;guines of Bruges, and
-do, indeed, bring with me the remedy which is certain to effect a
-cure of your majesty's complaint."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No one uttered a sound, and the
-B&eacute;guine did not move a step.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Speak," said the
-queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will, when we
-are alone," was the answer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Anne of Austria
-looked at her attendants, who immediately withdrew.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The B&eacute;guine, thereupon,
-advanced a few steps towards the queen, and bowed reverently
-before her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The queen
-gazed with increasing mistrust at this woman, who, in her turn,
-fixed a pair of brilliant eyes upon her, through her mask.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The queen of
-France must, indeed, be very ill," said Anne of Austria, "if it
-is known at the B&eacute;guinage of Bruges that she stands in
-need of being cured."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty is
-not irremediably ill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But tell me how
-you happen to know I am suffering?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty has
-friends in Flanders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since these
-friends, then, sent you, mention their names."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Impossible,
-madame, since your majesty's memory has not been awakened by your
-heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Anne of Austria
-looked up, endeavoring to discover through the mysterious mask,
-and this ambiguous language, the name of her companion, who
-expressed herself with such familiarity and freedom; then,
-suddenly, wearied by a curiosity which wounded every feeling of
-pride in her nature, she said, "You are ignorant, perhaps, that
-royal personages are never spoken to with the face masked."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Deign to excuse
-me, madame," replied the B&eacute;guine, humbly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot excuse
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I may, possibly,
-forgive you, if you throw your mask aside."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have made a vow,
-madame, to attend and aid all afflicted and suffering persons,
-without ever permitting them to behold my face.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I might have been able to administer
-some relief to your body and to your mind, too; but since your
-majesty forbids me, I will take my leave.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Adieu, madame, adieu!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>These words were
-uttered with a harmony of tone and respect of manner that
-disarmed the queen of all anger and suspicion, but did not remove
-her feeling of curiosity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"You are right, "she said; "it ill-becomes those who are
-suffering to reject the means of relief Heaven sends them.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Speak, then; and may you,
-indeed, be able, as you assert, to administer relief to my body -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us first speak
-a little of the mind, if you please," said the B&eacute;guine -
-"of the mind, which, I am sure, must also suffer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My mind?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There are cancers
-so insidious in their nature that their very pulsations cannot be
-felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Such cancers,
-madame, leave the ivory whiteness of the skin unblemished, and
-putrefy not the firm, fair flesh, with their blue tints; the
-physician who bends over the patient's chest hears not, though he
-listens, the insatiable teeth of the disease grinding onward
-through the muscles, and the blood flows freely on; the knife has
-never been able to destroy, and rarely, even temporarily, to
-disarm the rage of these mortal scourges, - their home is in the
-mind, which they corrupt, - they gnaw the whole heart until it
-breaks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Such, madame, are
-the cancers fatal to queens; are you, too, free from their
-scourge?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Anne slowly raised
-her arm, dazzling in its perfect whiteness, and pure in its
-rounded outlines as it was in the time of her earlier days.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The evils to which
-you allude," she said, "are the condition of the lives of the
-high in rank upon earth, to whom Heaven has imparted mind.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When those evils become too
-heavy to be borne, Heaven lightens their burdens by penitence and
-confession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Thus, only,
-we lay down our burden and the secrets that oppress us.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But, forget not that the same
-gracious Heaven, in its mercy, apportions to their trials the
-strength of the feeble creatures of its hand; and my strength has
-enabled me to bear my burden.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> For the secrets of others, the
-silence of Heaven is more than sufficient; for my own secrets,
-that of my confessor is enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are as
-courageous, madame, I see, as ever, against your enemies.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You do not acknowledge your
-confidence in your friends?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Queens have no
-friends; if you have nothing further to say to me, - if you feel
-yourself inspired by Heaven as a prophetess - leave me, I pray,
-for I dread the future."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I should have
-supposed," said the B&eacute;guine, resolutely, "that you would
-rather have dreaded the past."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Hardly had these
-words escaped her lips, than the queen rose up proudly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Speak," she cried, in a
-short, imperious tone of voice; "explain yourself briefly,
-quickly, entirely; or, if not - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, do not
-threaten me, your majesty," said the B&eacute;guine, gently; "I
-came here to you full of compassion and respect.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I came here on the part of a
-friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Prove that to
-me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Comfort, instead of
-irritating me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Easily enough, and
-your majesty will see who is friendly to you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What misfortune has happened to your
-majesty during these three and twenty years past - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Serious
-misfortunes, indeed; have I not lost the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I speak not of
-misfortunes of <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>that</i>
-kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I wish to ask you,
-if, since the birth of the king, any indiscretion on a friend's
-part has caused your majesty the slightest serious anxiety, or
-distress?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not
-understand you," replied the queen, clenching her teeth in order
-to conceal her emotion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will make myself
-understood, then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your
-majesty remembers that the king was born on the 5th of September,
-1638, at a quarter past eleven o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," stammered
-out the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At half-past
-twelve," continued the B&eacute;guine, "the dauphin, who had been
-baptized by Monseigneur de Meaux in the king's and your own
-presence, was acknowledged as the heir of the crown of
-France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king then
-went to the chapel of the old Ch&acirc;teau de Saint-Germain, to
-hear the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Te Deum</i>
-chanted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite true, quite
-true," murmured the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty's
-conferment took place in the presence of Monsieur, his majesty's
-late uncle, of the princes, and of the ladies attached to the
-court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king's
-physician, Bouvard, and Honor&eacute;, the surgeon, were
-stationed in the ante-chamber; your majesty slept from three
-o'clock until seven, I believe."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes; but you
-tell me no more than every one else knows as well as you and
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am now, madame,
-approaching that which very few persons are acquainted with.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very few persons, did I say,
-alas!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I might say two
-only, for formerly there were but five in all, and, for many
-years past, the secret has been well preserved by the deaths of
-the principal participators in it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The late king sleeps now with his
-ancestors; Perronnette, the midwife, soon followed him; Laporte
-is already forgotten."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen opened
-her lips as though to reply; she felt, beneath her icy hand, with
-which she kept her face half concealed, the beads of perspiration
-on her brow.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was eight
-o'clock," pursued the B&eacute;guine; "the king was seated at
-supper, full of joy and happiness; around him on all sides arose
-wild cries of delight and drinking of healths; the people cheered
-beneath the balconies; the Swiss guards, the musketeers, and the
-royal guards wandered through the city, borne about in triumph by
-the drunken students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Those boisterous sounds of general joy disturbed the dauphin, the
-future king of France, who was quietly lying in the arms of
-Madame de Hausac, his nurse, and whose eyes, as he opened them,
-and stared about, might have observed two crowns at the foot of
-his cradle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Suddenly your
-majesty uttered a piercing cry, and Dame Perronnette immediately
-flew to your beside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-doctors were dining in a room at some distance from your chamber;
-the palace, deserted from the frequency of the irruptions made
-into it, was without either sentinels or guards.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The midwife, having questioned and
-examined your majesty, gave a sudden exclamation as if in wild
-astonishment, and taking you in her arms, bewildered almost out
-of her senses from sheer distress of mind, dispatched Laporte to
-inform the king that her majesty the queen-mother wished to see
-him in her room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Laporte,
-you are aware, madame, was a man of the most admirable calmness
-and presence of mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-did not approach the king as if he were the bearer of alarming
-intelligence and wished to inspire the terror he himself
-experienced; besides, it was not a very terrifying intelligence
-which awaited the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Therefore, Laporte appeared with a smile upon his lips, and
-approached the king's chair, saying to him - 'Sire, the queen is
-very happy, and would be still more so to see your majesty.'<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On that day, Louis XIII. would
-have given his crown away to the veriest beggar for a 'God bless
-you.' <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Animated,
-light-hearted, and full of gayety, the king rose from the table,
-and said to those around him, in a tone that Henry IV. might have
-adopted, - 'Gentlemen, I am going to see my wife.'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He came to your beside, madame, at
-the very moment Dame Perronnette presented to him a second
-prince, as beautiful and healthy as the former, and said - 'Sire,
-Heaven will not allow the kingdom of France to fall into the
-female line.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king,
-yielding to a first impulse, clasped the child in his arms, and
-cried, 'Oh, Heaven, I thank Thee!'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>At this part of her
-recital, the B&eacute;guine paused, observing how intensely the
-queen was suffering; she had thrown herself back in her chair,
-and with her head bent forward and her eyes fixed, listened
-without seeming to hear, and her lips moving convulsively, either
-breathing a prayer to Heaven or imprecations on the woman
-standing before her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do not believe that, if, because
-there could be but one dauphin in France, "exclaimed the
-B&eacute;guine, "the queen allowed that child to vegetate,
-banished from his royal parents' presence, she was on that
-account an unfeeling mother.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, no, no; there are those alive
-who have known and witnessed the passionate kisses she imprinted
-on that innocent creature in exchange for a life of misery and
-gloom to which state policy condemned the twin brother of Louis
-XIV."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Heaven!" murmured the queen
-feebly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is admitted,"
-continued the B&eacute;guine, quickly, "that when the king
-perceived the effect which would result from the existence of two
-sons, equal in age and pretensions, he trembled for the welfare
-of France, for the tranquillity of the state; and it is equally
-well known that Cardinal de Richelieu, by the direction of Louis
-XIII., thought over the subject with deep attention, and after an
-hour's meditation in his majesty's cabinet, he pronounced the
-following sentence: - 'One prince means peace and safety for the
-state; two competitors, civil war and anarchy.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen rose
-suddenly from her seat, pale as death, and her hands clenched
-together:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know too
-much," she said, in a hoarse, thick voice, "since you refer to
-secrets of state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for
-the friends from whom you have acquired this secret, they are
-false and treacherous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-You are their accomplice in the crime which is being now
-committed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Now, throw
-aside your mask, or I will have you arrested by my captain of the
-guards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not think that
-this secret terrifies me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-You have obtained it, you shall restore it to me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Never shall it leave your bosom, for
-neither your secret nor your own life belong to you from this
-moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Anne of Austria,
-joining gesture to the threat, advanced a couple of steps towards
-the B&eacute;guine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Learn," said the
-latter, "to know and value the fidelity, the honor, and secrecy
-of the friends you have abandoned."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, then, suddenly she threw aside
-her mask.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame de
-Chevreuse!" exclaimed the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With your majesty,
-the sole living <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>confidante</i> of the secret."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" murmured Anne
-of Austria; "come and embrace me, duchesse.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Alas! you kill your friend in thus
-trifling with her terrible distress."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And the queen,
-leaning her head upon the shoulder of the old duchesse, burst
-into a flood of bitter tears.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "How young you are - still!" said
-the latter, in a hollow voice; "you can weep!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>Two
-Friends.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he queen looked steadily at Madame de Chevreuse, and
-said: "I believe you just now made use of the word 'happy' in
-speaking of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Hitherto,
-duchesse, I had thought it impossible that a human creature could
-anywhere be found more miserable than the queen of France."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your afflictions,
-madame, have indeed been terrible enough.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But by the side of those great and
-grand misfortunes to which we, two old friends, separated by
-men's malice, were just now alluding, you possess sources of
-pleasure, slight enough in themselves it may be, but greatly
-envied by the world."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What are they?" said
-Anne of Austria, bitterly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What can induce you to pronounce
-the word 'pleasure,' duchesse - you who, just now, admitted that
-my body and my mind both stood in need of remedies?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame de
-Chevreuse collected herself for a moment, and then murmured, "How
-far removed kings are from other people!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I mean that they
-are so far removed from the vulgar herd that they forget that
-others often stand in need of the bare necessities of life.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They are like the inhabitant
-of the African mountains, who, gazing from the verdant tableland,
-refreshed by the rills of melted snow, cannot comprehend that the
-dwellers in the plains below are perishing from hunger and thirst
-in the midst of the desert, burnt up by the heat of the sun."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen colored,
-for she now began to perceive the drift of her friend's
-remark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It was very
-wrong," she said, "to have neglected you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! madame, I know
-the king has inherited the hatred his father bore me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king would exile me if he knew I
-were in the Palais Royal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot say that
-the king is very well disposed towards you, duchesse," replied
-the queen; "but I could - secretly, you know - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The duchesse's
-disdainful smile produced a feeling of uneasiness in the queen's
-mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Duchesse," she
-hastened to add, "you did perfectly right to come here, even were
-it only to give us the happiness of contradicting the report of
-your death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Has it been
-rumored, then, that I was dead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Everywhere."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet my
-children did not go into mourning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! you know,
-duchesse, the court is very frequently moving about from place to
-place; we see M. Albert de Luynes but seldom, and many things
-escape our minds in the midst of the preoccupations that
-constantly beset us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty ought
-not to have believed the report of my death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Alas! we are all mortal; and
-you may perceive how rapidly I, your younger sister, as we used
-formerly to say, am approaching the tomb."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If your majesty
-believed me dead, you ought, in that case, to have been
-astonished not to have received the news."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Death not
-unfrequently takes us by surprise, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! your majesty,
-those who are burdened with secrets such as we have just now
-discussed must, as a necessity of their nature, satisfy their
-craving desire to divulge them, and they feel they must gratify
-that desire before they die.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Among the various preparations for
-their final journey, the task of placing their papers in order is
-not omitted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen
-started.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty will
-be sure to learn, in a particular manner, the day of my
-death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because your
-majesty will receive the next day, under several coverings,
-everything connected with our mysterious correspondence of former
-times."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did you not burn
-them?" cried Anne, in alarm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Traitors only,"
-replied the duchesse, "destroy a royal correspondence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Traitors, do you
-say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, certainly, or
-rather they pretend to destroy, instead of which they keep or
-sell it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Faithful
-friends, on the contrary, most carefully secrete such treasures,
-for it may happen that some day or other they would wish to seek
-out their queen in order to say to her: 'Madame, I am getting
-old; my health is fast failing me; in the presence of the danger
-of death, for there is the risk for your majesty that this secret
-may be revealed, take, therefore, this paper, so fraught with
-menace for yourself, and trust not to another to burn it for
-you.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What paper do you
-refer to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As far as I am
-concerned, I have but one, it is true, but that is indeed most
-dangerous in its nature."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! duchesse, tell
-me what it is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A letter, dated
-Tuesday, the 2d of August, 1644, in which you beg me to go to
-Noisy-le-Sec, to see that unhappy child.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In your own handwriting, madame,
-there are those words, 'that unhappy child!'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>A profound silence
-ensued; the queen's mind was busy in the past; Madame de
-Chevreuse was watching the progress of her scheme.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Yes, unhappy, most unhappy!"
-murmured Anne of Austria; "how sad the existence he led, poor
-child, to finish it in so cruel a manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is he dead?" cried
-the duchesse suddenly, with a curiosity whose genuine accents the
-queen instinctively detected.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He died of
-consumption, died forgotten, died withered and blighted like the
-flowers a lover has given to his mistress, which she leaves to
-die secreted in a drawer where she had hid them from the gaze of
-others."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Died!" repeated
-the duchesse with an air of discouragement, which would have
-afforded the queen the most unfeigned delight, had it not been
-tempered in some measure with a mixture of doubt - "Died - at
-Noisy-le-Sec?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, in the arms
-of his tutor, a poor, honest man, who did not long survive
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That can easily be
-understood; it is so difficult to bear up under the weight of
-such a loss and such a secret," said Madame de Chevreuse, - the
-irony of which reflection the queen pretended not to
-perceive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame de
-Chevreuse continued: "Well, madame, I inquired some years ago at
-Noisy-le-Sec about this unhappy child.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was told that it was not believed
-he was dead, and that was my reason for not having at first
-condoled with your majesty; for, most certainly, if I could have
-thought it were true, never should I have made the slightest
-allusion to so deplorable an event, and thus have re-awakened
-your majesty's most natural distress."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You say that it is
-not believed the child died at Noisy?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What did they say
-about him, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They said - but,
-no doubt, they were mistaken - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, speak,
-speak!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They said, that
-one evening, about the year 1645, a lady, beautiful and majestic
-in her bearing, which was observed notwithstanding the mask and
-the mantle that concealed her figure - a lady of rank, of very
-high rank, no doubt - came in a carriage to the place where the
-road branches off; the very same spot, you know, where I awaited
-news of the young prince when your majesty was graciously pleased
-to send me there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That the boy's
-tutor, or guardian, took the child to this lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, what
-next?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That both the
-child and his tutor left that part of the country the very next
-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There, you see
-there is some truth in what you relate, since, in point of fact,
-the poor child died from a sudden attack of illness, which makes
-the lives of all children, as doctors say, suspended as it were
-by a thread."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What your majesty
-says is quite true; no one knows it better than yourself - no one
-believes it more strongly than myself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But yet, how strange it is - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What can it now
-be?" thought the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The person who
-gave me these details, who was sent to inquire after the child's
-health - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did you confide
-such a charge to any one else?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, duchesse!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Some one as dumb
-as your majesty, as dumb as myself; we will suppose it was
-myself, Madame; this some one, some months after, passing through
-Touraine - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Touraine!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Recognized both
-the tutor and the child, too!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am wrong, thought he recognized
-them, both living, cheerful, happy, and flourishing, the one in a
-green old age, the other in the flower of his youth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Judge after that what truth can be
-attributed to the rumors which are circulated, or what faith,
-after that, placed in anything that may happen in the world!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I am fatiguing your
-majesty; it was not my intention, however, to do so, and I will
-take my leave of you, after renewing to you the assurance of my
-most respectful devotion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Stay, duchesse;
-let us first talk a little about yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of myself,
-madame!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am not worthy
-that you should bend your looks upon me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not,
-indeed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you not the
-oldest friend I have?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are
-you angry with me, duchesse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I, indeed! what
-motive could I have?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If I
-had reason to be angry with your majesty, should I have come
-here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Duchesse, age is
-fast creeping on us both; we should be united against that death
-whose approach cannot be far off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You overpower me,
-madame, with the kindness of your language."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one has ever
-loved or served me as you have done, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty is
-too kind in remembering it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not so.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Give me a proof of your
-friendship, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My whole being is
-devoted to you, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The proof I
-require is, that you should ask something of me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ask - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I know you
-well, - no one is more disinterested, more noble, and truly
-loyal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not praise me
-too highly, madame," said the duchesse, somewhat anxiously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I could never
-praise you as much as you deserve to be praised."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet, age and
-misfortune effect a terrible change in people, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So much the
-better; for the beautiful, the haughty, the adored duchesse of
-former days might have answered me ungratefully, 'I do not wish
-for anything from you.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Heaven be praised!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-misfortunes you speak of have indeed worked a change in you, for
-you will now, perhaps, answer me, 'I accept.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The duchesse's look
-and smile soon changed at this conclusion, and she no longer
-attempted to act a false part.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Speak, dearest,
-what do you want?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I must first
-explain to you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do so
-unhesitatingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, your
-majesty can confer the greatest, the most ineffable pleasure upon
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?" said
-the queen, a little distant in her manner, from an uneasiness of
-feeling produced by this remark.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "But do not forget, my good
-Chevreuse, that I am quite as much under my son's influence as I
-was formerly under my husband's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will not be too
-hard, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Call me as you
-used to do; it will be a sweet echo of our happy youth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, my
-dear mistress, my darling Anne - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you know
-Spanish, still?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ask me in Spanish,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will your majesty
-do me the honor to pass a few days with me at Dampierre?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is that all?" said
-the queen, stupefied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Nothing more than that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good heavens! can
-you possibly imagine that, in asking you that, I am not asking
-you the greatest conceivable favor?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If that really be the case, you do
-not know me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will you
-accept?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, gladly.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And I shall be happy,"
-continued the queen, with some suspicion, "if my presence can in
-any way be useful to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Useful!" exclaimed
-the duchesse, laughing; "oh, no, no, agreeable - delightful, if
-you like; and you promise me, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I swear it," said
-the queen, whereupon the duchesse seized her beautiful hand, and
-covered it with kisses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The queen could not help murmuring to herself, "She is a
-good-hearted woman, and very generous, too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will your majesty
-consent to wait a fortnight before you come?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly; but
-why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because," said the
-duchesse, "knowing me to be in disgrace, no one would lend me the
-hundred thousand francs, which I require to put Dampierre into a
-state of repair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But when
-it is known that I require that sum for the purpose of receiving
-your majesty at Dampierre properly, all the money in Paris will
-be at my disposal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said the
-queen, gently nodding her head in sign of intelligence, "a
-hundred thousand francs! you want a hundred thousand francs to
-put Dampierre into repair?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite as much as
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And no one will
-lend you them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will lend them
-to you, if you like, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I hardly dare
-accept such a sum."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You would be wrong
-if you did <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>not</i>.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, a hundred thousand
-francs is really not much.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know but too well that you never
-set a right value upon your silence and secrecy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Push that table a little towards me,
-duchesse, and I will write you an order on M. Colbert; no, on M.
-Fouquet, who is a far more courteous and obliging man."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will he pay it,
-though?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If he will not pay
-it, I will; but it will be the first time he will have refused
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen wrote and
-handed the duchesse the order, and afterwards dismissed her with
-a warm embrace.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>How
-Jean de La Fontaine Came to Write His First Tale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-A</span>ll these intrigues are exhausted; the human mind, so
-variously complicated, has been enabled to develop itself at its
-ease in the three outlines with which our recital has supplied
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is not unlikely
-that, in the future we are now preparing, a question of politics
-and intrigues may still arise, but the springs by which they work
-will be so carefully concealed that no one will be able to see
-aught but flowers and paintings, just as at a theater, where a
-colossus appears upon the scene, walking along moved by the small
-legs and slender arms of a child concealed within the
-framework.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> We now return to
-Saint-Mand&eacute;, where the superintendent was in the habit of
-receiving his select confederacy of epicureans.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> For some time past the host had met
-with nothing but trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Every one in the house was aware of and felt for the minister's
-distress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No more
-magnificent or recklessly improvident <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>r&eacute;unions</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Money had been the pretext assigned
-by Fouquet, and never <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>was</i> any pretext, as Gourville
-said, more fallacious, for there was not even a shadow of money
-to be seen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> M. Vatel was resolutely
-painstaking in keeping up the reputation of the house, and yet
-the gardeners who supplied the kitchens complained of ruinous
-delays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The agents for
-the supply of Spanish wines sent drafts which no one honored;
-fishermen, whom the superintendent engaged on the coast of
-Normandy, calculated that if they were paid all that was due to
-them, the amount would enable them to retire comfortably for
-life; fish, which, at a later period, was the cause of Vatel's
-death, did not arrive at all.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> However, on the ordinary reception
-days, Fouquet's friends flocked in more numerously than
-ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Gourville and the
-Abb&eacute; Fouquet talked over money matters - that is to say,
-the abb&eacute; borrowed a few pistoles from Gourville;
-P&eacute;lisson, seated with his legs crossed, was engaged in
-finishing the peroration of a speech with which Fouquet was to
-open the parliament; and this speech was a masterpiece, because
-P&eacute;lisson wrote it for his friend - that is to say, he
-inserted all kinds of clever things the latter would most
-certainly never have taken the trouble to say of his own
-accord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Presently Loret
-and La Fontaine would enter from the garden, engaged in a dispute
-about the art of making verses.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The painters and musicians, in their
-turn, were hovering near the dining-room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as eight o'clock struck the
-supper would be announced, for the superintendent never kept any
-one waiting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was
-already half-past seven, and the appetites of the guests were
-beginning to declare themselves in an emphatic manner.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as all the guests were
-assembled, Gourville went straight up to P&eacute;lisson, awoke
-him out of his reverie, and led him into the middle of a room,
-and closed the doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Well," he said, "anything new?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> P&eacute;lisson raised
-his intelligent and gentle face, and said: "I have borrowed five
-and twenty thousand francs of my aunt, and I have them here in
-good sterling money."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good," replied
-Gourville; "we only what one hundred and ninety-five thousand
-livres for the first payment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The payment of
-what?" asked La Fontaine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!
-absent-minded as usual!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Why, it was you who told us the small estate at Corbeli was going
-to be sold by one of M. Fouquet's creditors; and you, also, who
-proposed that all his friends should subscribe - more than that,
-it was you who said that you would sell a corner of your house at
-Ch&acirc;teau-Thierry, in order to furnish your own proportion,
-and you come and ask - '<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
-payment of what?</i>'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This remark was
-received with a general laugh, which made La Fontaine blush.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I beg your pardon," he said,
-"I had not forgotten it; oh, no! only - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Only you
-remembered nothing about it," replied Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is the truth,
-and the fact is, he is quite right, there is a great difference
-between forgetting and not remembering."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then," added
-P&eacute;lisson, "you bring your mite in the shape of the price
-of the piece of land you have sold?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sold? no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you not sold
-the field, then?" inquired Gourville, in astonishment, for he
-knew the poet's disinterestedness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My wife would not
-let me," replied the latter, at which there were fresh bursts of
-laughter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet you went
-to Ch&acirc;teau-Thierry for that purpose," said some one.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly I did,
-and on horseback."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I had eight
-different horses, and I was almost bumped to death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are an
-excellent fellow!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And you
-rested yourself when you arrived there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Rested!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! of course I did, for I had
-an immense deal of work to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My wife had been
-flirting with the man to whom I wished to sell the land.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The fellow drew back form his
-bargain, and so I challenged him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good, and you
-fought?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It seems not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know nothing
-about it, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, my wife and
-her relations interfered in the matter.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was kept a quarter of an hour with
-my sword in my hand; but I was not wounded."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And your
-adversary?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! he wasn't
-wounded either, for he never came on the field."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Capital!" cried
-his friends from all sides, "you must have been terribly
-angry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exceedingly so; I
-caught cold; I returned home and then my wife began to quarrel
-with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In real
-earnest?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, in real
-earnest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She threw a loaf
-of bread at my head, a large loaf."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And what did you
-do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I upset the table over her and her
-guests; and then I got on my horse again, and here I am."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Every one had great
-difficulty in keeping his countenance at the exposure of this
-heroi-comedy, and when the laughter had subsided, one of the
-guests present said to La Fontaine: "Is that all you have brought
-back?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have an excellent idea in my
-head."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you noticed
-that there is a good deal of sportive, jesting poetry written in
-France?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, of course,"
-replied every one.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And," pursued La
-Fontaine, "only a very small portion of it is printed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The laws are
-strict, you know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That may be; but a
-rare article is a dear article, and that is the reason why I have
-written a small poem, excessively free in its style, very broad,
-and extremely cynical in its tone."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce you
-have!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," continued
-the poet, with assumed indifference, "and I have introduced the
-greatest freedom of language I could possibly employ."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Peals of laughter
-again broke forth, while the poet was thus announcing the quality
-of his wares.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And," he
-continued, "I have tried to excel everything that Boccaccio,
-Ar&eacute;tin, and other masters of their craft have written in
-the same style."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Its fate is
-clear," said P&eacute;lisson; "it will be suppressed and
-forbidden."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think so?"
-said La Fontaine, simply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"I assure you I did not do it on my own account so much as M.
-Fouquet's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This wonderful
-conclusion again raised the mirth of all present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I have sold
-the first edition of this little book for eight hundred livres,"
-exclaimed La Fontaine, rubbing his hands together.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Serious and religions books sell at
-about half that rate."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It would have been
-better," said Gourville, "to have written two religious books
-instead."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It would have been
-too long, and not amusing enough," replied La Fontaine
-tranquilly; "my eight hundred livres are in this little bag, and
-I beg to offer them as <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>my</i> contribution."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As he said this, he
-placed his offering in the hands of their treasurer; it was then
-Loret's turn, who gave a hundred and fifty livres; the others
-stripped themselves in the same way; and the total sum in the
-purse amounted to forty thousand livres.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The money was still being counted
-over when the superintendent noiselessly entered the room; he had
-heard everything; and then this man, who had possessed so many
-millions, who had exhausted all the pleasures and honors the
-world had to bestow, this generous heart, this inexhaustible
-brain, which had, like two burning crucibles, devoured the
-material and moral substance of the first kingdom in Europe, was
-seen to cross the threshold with tears in his eyes, and pass his
-fingers through the gold and silver which the bag contained.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor offering," he
-said, in a softened and affected tone of voice, "you will
-disappear into the smallest corner of my empty purse, but you
-have filled to overflowing that which no one can ever exhaust, my
-heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Thank you, my
-friends - thank you."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And
-as he could not embrace every one present, who were all tearful,
-too, philosophers as they were, he embraced La Fontaine, saying
-to him, "Poor fellow! so you have, on my account, been beaten by
-your wife and censured by your confessor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! it is a mere
-nothing," replied the poet; "if your creditors will only wait a
-couple of years, I shall have written a hundred other tales,
-which, at two editions each, will pay off the debt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>La
-Fontaine in the Character of a Negotiator.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-F</span>ouquet pressed La Fontaine's hand most warmly, saying to
-him, "My dear poet, write a hundred other tales, not only for the
-eighty pistoles which each of them will produce you, but, still
-more, to enrich our language with a hundred new masterpieces of
-composition."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said La Fontaine,
-with a little air of pride, "you must not suppose that I have
-only brought this idea and the eighty pistoles to the
-superintendent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! indeed," was the
-general acclimation from all parts of the room, "M. de la
-Fontaine is in funds to-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly," replied
-La Fontaine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quick, quick!"
-cried the assembly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take care," said
-P&eacute;lisson in La Fontaine's ear; "you have had a most
-brilliant success up to the present moment; do not go beyond your
-depth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not at all,
-Monsieur P&eacute;lisson; and you, who are a man of decided
-taste, will be the first to approve of what I have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We are talking of
-millions, remember," said Gourville.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have fifteen
-hundred thousand francs here, Monsieur Gourville," he replied,
-striking himself on the chest.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce take
-this Gascon from Ch&acirc;teau-Thierry!" cried Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is not the
-pocket you must tap - but the brain," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Stay a moment,
-monsieur le surintendant," added La Fontaine; "you are not
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral - you are a poet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True, true!" cried
-Loret, Conrart, and every person present connected with
-literature.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are, I repeat,
-a poet and a painter, a sculptor, a friend of the arts and
-sciences; but, acknowledge that you are no lawyer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do acknowledge it," replied M.
-Fouquet, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If you were to be
-nominated at the Academy, you would refuse, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think I should,
-with all due deference to the academicians."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; if,
-therefore, you do not wish to belong to the Academy, why do you
-allow yourself to form one of the parliament?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" said
-P&eacute;lisson, "we are talking politics."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I wish to know
-whether the barrister's gown does or does not become M.
-Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is no
-question of the gown at all," retorted P&eacute;lisson, annoyed
-at the laughter of those who were present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,
-it <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>is</i> the gown," said
-Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take the gown away
-from the procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral," said Conrart, "and we
-have M. Fouquet left us still, of whom we have no reason to
-complain; but, as he is no procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral
-without his gown, we agree with M. de la Fontaine and pronounce
-the gown to be nothing but a bugbear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Fugiunt risus leporesque</i>," said
-Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The smiles and the
-graces," said some one present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is not the
-way," said P&eacute;lisson, gravely, "that I translate <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>lepores</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How do you
-translate it?" said La Fontaine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thus: The hares
-run away as soon as they see M. Fouquet."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A burst of laughter, in which the
-superintendent joined, followed this sally.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But why hares?"
-objected Conrart, vexed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because the hare
-will be the very one who will not be over pleased to see M.
-Fouquet surrounded by all the attributes which his parliamentary
-strength and power confer on him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! oh!" murmured
-the poets.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Quo non ascendam</i>," said
-Conrart, "seems impossible to me, when one is fortunate enough to
-wear the gown of the procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: "To what heights may he
-not aspire?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet's
-motto. - JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,
-it seems so to me without that gown," said the obstinate
-P&eacute;lisson; "what is your opinion, Gourville?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think the gown
-in question is a very good thing," replied the latter; "but I
-equally think that a million and a half is far better than the
-gown."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I am of
-Gourville's opinion," exclaimed Fouquet, stopping the discussion
-by the expression of his own opinion, which would necessarily
-bear down all the others.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A million and a
-half," P&eacute;lisson grumbled out; "now I happen to know an
-Indian fable - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tell it to me,"
-said La Fontaine; "I ought to know it too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tell it, tell it,"
-said the others.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There was a
-tortoise, which was, as usual, well protected by its shell," said
-P&eacute;lisson; "whenever its enemies threatened it, it took
-refuge within its covering.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One day some one said to it, 'You
-must feel very hot in such a house as that in the summer, and you
-are altogether prevented showing off your graces; there is a
-snake here, who will give you a million and a half for your
-shell.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good!" said the
-superintendent, laughing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, what next?"
-said La Fontaine, more interested in the apologue than in the
-moral.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The tortoise sold
-his shell and remained naked and defenseless.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A vulture happened to see him, and
-being hungry, broke the tortoise's back with a blow of his beak
-and devoured it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-moral is, that M. Fouquet should take very good care to keep his
-gown."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>La Fontaine
-understood the moral seriously.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You forget &AElig;schylus," he
-said, to his adversary.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"&AElig;schylus was
-bald-headed, and a vulture - your vulture, probably - who was a
-great amateur in tortoises, mistook at a distance his head for a
-block of stone, and let a tortoise, which was shrunk up in his
-shell, fall upon it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes, La
-Fontaine is right," resumed Fouquet, who had become very
-thoughtful; "whenever a vulture wishes to devour a tortoise, he
-well knows how to break his shell; but happy is that tortoise a
-snake pays a million and a half for his envelope.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If any one were to bring me a
-generous-hearted snake like the one in your fable,
-P&eacute;lisson, I would give him my shell."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Rara avis in terres!</i>" cried
-Conrart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: "A creature rare on
-earth." - JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And like a black
-swan, is he not?" added La Fontaine; "well, then, the bird in
-question, black and rare, is already found."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you mean to say
-that you have found a purchaser for my post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral?" exclaimed Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But the
-superintendent never said that he wished to sell," resumed
-P&eacute;lisson.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I beg your
-pardon," said Conrart, "you yourself spoke about it, even - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I am a
-witness to that," said Gourville.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He seems very
-tenacious about his brilliant idea," said Fouquet, laughing.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well, La Fontaine, who is the
-purchaser?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A perfect
-blackbird, for he is a counselor belonging to the parliament, an
-excellent fellow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is his
-name?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Vanel!" exclaimed
-Fouquet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Vanel the
-husband of - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely, her
-husband; yes, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor fellow!" said
-Fouquet, with an expression of great interest.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He wishes to be
-everything that you have been, monsieur," said Gourville, "and to
-do everything that you have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is very
-agreeable; tell us all about it, La Fontaine."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is very
-simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I see him
-occasionally, and a short time ago I met him, walking about on
-the Place de la Bastile, at the very moment when I was about to
-take the small carriage to come down here to
-Saint-Mand&eacute;."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He must have been
-watching his wife," interrupted Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no!" said La
-Fontaine, "he is far from being jealous.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He accosted me, embraced me, and
-took me to the inn called L'Image Saint-Fiacre, and told me all
-about his troubles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He has his
-troubles, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; his wife
-wants to make him ambitious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, and he told
-you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That some one had
-spoken to him about a post in parliament; that M. Fouquet's name
-had been mentioned; that ever since, Madame Vanel dreams of
-nothing else than being called madame la
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;rale, and that it makes her ill and
-kills her every night she does not dream about it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor woman!" said
-Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wait a
-moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Conrart is always
-telling me that I do not know how to conduct matters of business;
-you will see how I managed this one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, go on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'I suppose you
-know,' said I to Vanel, 'that the value of a post such as that
-which M. Fouquet holds is by no means trifling.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'How much do you
-imagine it to be?' he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'M. Fouquet, I
-know, has refused seventeen hundred thousand francs.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'My wife,' replied
-Vanel, 'had estimated it at about fourteen hundred thousand.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Ready money?' I
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Yes; she has sold
-some property of hers in Guienne, and has received the purchase
-money.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That's a pretty
-sum to touch all at once," said the Abb&eacute; Fouquet, who had
-not hitherto said a word.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor Madame
-Vanel!" murmured Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>P&eacute;lisson
-shrugged his shoulders, as he whispered in Fouquet's ear, "That
-woman is a perfect fiend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That may be; and
-it will be delightful to make use of this fiend's money to repair
-the injury which an angel has done herself for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>P&eacute;lisson
-looked with a surprised air at Fouquet, whose thoughts were from
-that moment fixed upon a fresh object in view.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well!" inquired La
-Fontaine, "what about my negotiation?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Admirable, my dear
-poet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Gourville; "but there are some people who are anxious to have the
-steed who have not even money enough to pay for the bridle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And Vanel would
-draw back from his offer if he were to be taken at his word,"
-continued the Abb&eacute; Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not believe
-it," said La Fontaine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you know
-about it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, you have not
-yet heard the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>d&eacute;nouement</i> of my
-story."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If there is a <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>d&eacute;nouement</i>, why do
-you beat about the bush so much?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Semper ad eventum</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is that correct?" said Fouquet, with
-the air of a nobleman who condescends to barbarisms.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To which the Latinists present
-answered with loud applause.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Transcriber's note: "With an eye always to
-the climax." - JB</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>d&eacute;nouement</i>," cried La
-Fontaine, "is that Vanel, that determined blackbird, knowing that
-I was coming to Saint-Mand&eacute;, implored me to bring him with
-me, and, if possible, to present him to M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So that he is here; I
-left him in that part of the ground called Bel-Air.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, M. Fouquet, what is your
-reply?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, it is not
-respectful towards Madame Vanel that her husband should run the
-risk of catching cold outside my house; send for him, La
-Fontaine, since you know where he is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will go
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I will
-accompany you," said the Abb&eacute; Fouquet; "I will carry the
-money bags."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No jesting," said
-Fouquet, seriously; "let the business be a serious one, if it is
-to be one at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But
-first of all, let us show we are hospitable.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Make my apologies, La Fontaine, to
-M. Vanel, and tell him how distressed I am to have kept him
-waiting, but that I was not was not aware he was there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>La Fontaine set off
-at once, fortunately accompanied by Gourville, for, absorbed in
-his own calculations, the poet would have mistaken the route, and
-was hurrying as fast as he could towards the village of
-Saint-Mand&eacute;.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Within a quarter of an hour afterwards, M. Vanel was introduced
-into the superintendent's cabinet, a description of which has
-already been given at the beginning of this story.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When Fouquet saw him enter, he
-called to P&eacute;lisson, and whispered a few words in his
-ear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Do not lose a
-single word of what I am going to say: let all the silver and
-gold plate, together with my jewels of every description, be
-packed up in the carriage.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will take the black horses: the
-jeweler will accompany you; and you will postpone the supper
-until Madame de Belli&egrave;re's arrival."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will it be
-necessary to inform Madame de Belli&egrave;re of it?" said
-P&eacute;lisson.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; that will be
-useless; I will do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-So, away with you, my dear friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>P&eacute;lisson set
-off, not quite clear as to his friend's meaning or intention, but
-confident, like every true friend, in the judgment of the man he
-was blindly obeying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It
-is that which constitutes the strength of such men; distrust only
-arises in the minds of inferior natures.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel bowed lowly
-to the superintendent, and was about to begin a speech.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not trouble
-yourself, monsieur," said Fouquet, politely; "I am told you wish
-to purchase a post I hold.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How much can you give me for
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is for you,
-monseigneur, to fix the amount you require.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know that offers of purchase have
-already been made to you for it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame Vanel, I
-have been told, values it at fourteen hundred thousand
-livres."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is all we
-have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Can you give me
-the money immediately?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have not the
-money with me," said Vanel, frightened almost by the unpretending
-simplicity, amounting to greatness, of the man, for he had
-expected disputes, difficulties, opposition of every kind.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"When will you be
-able to bring it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whenever you
-please, monseigneur;" for he began to be afraid that Fouquet was
-trifling with him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If it were not for
-the trouble you would have in returning to Paris, I would say at
-once; but we will arrange that the payment and the signature
-shall take place at six o'clock to-morrow morning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good," said
-Vanel, as cold as ice, and feeling quite bewildered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Adieu, Monsieur
-Vanel, present my humblest respects to Madame Vanel," said
-Fouquet, as he rose; upon which Vanel, who felt the blood rushing
-to his head, for he was quite confounded by his success, said
-seriously to the superintendent, "Will you give me your word,
-monseigneur, upon this affair?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet turned
-round his head, saying, "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Pardieu</i>, and you, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel hesitated,
-trembled all over, and at last finished by hesitatingly holding
-out his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet
-opened and nobly extended his own; this loyal hand lay for a
-moment in Vanel's most hypocritical palm, and he pressed it in
-his own, in order the better to convince himself of the
-compact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-superintendent gently disengaged his hand, as he again said,
-"Adieu."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then Vanel
-ran hastily to the door, hurried along the vestibule, and fled as
-quickly as he could.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Madame de Belli&egrave;re's Plate and Diamonds.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-F</span>ouquet had no sooner dismissed Vanel than he began to
-reflect for a few moments - "A man never can do too much for the
-woman he has once loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Marguerite wishes to be the wife of a
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral - and why not confer this
-pleasure upon her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And,
-now that the most scrupulous and sensitive conscience will be
-unable to reproach me with anything, let my thoughts be bestowed
-on her who has shown so much devotion for me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame de Belli&egrave;re ought to
-be there by this time," he said, as he turned towards the secret
-door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> After he had locked
-himself in, he opened the subterranean passage, and rapidly
-hastened towards the means of communicating between the house at
-Vincennes and his own residence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had neglected to apprise his
-friend of his approach, by ringing the bell, perfectly assured
-that she would never fail to be exact at the rendezvous; as,
-indeed, was the case, for she was already waiting.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The noise the superintendent made
-aroused her; she ran to take from under the door the letter he
-had thrust there, and which simply said, "Come, marquise; we are
-waiting supper for you."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-With her heart filled with happiness Madame de Belli&egrave;re
-ran to her carriage in the Avenue de Vincennes, and in a few
-minutes she was holding out her hand to Gourville, who was
-standing at the entrance, where, in order the better to please
-his master, he had stationed himself to watch her arrival.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She had not observed that
-Fouquet's black horse arrived at the same time, all steaming and
-foam-flaked, having returned to Saint-Mand&eacute; with
-P&eacute;lisson and the very jeweler to whom Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re had sold her plate and her jewels.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> P&eacute;lisson introduced the
-goldsmith into the cabinet, which Fouquet had not yet left.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The superintendent thanked him
-for having been good enough to regard as a simple deposit in his
-hands, the valuable property which he had every right to sell;
-and he cast his eyes on the total of the account, which amounted
-to thirteen hundred thousand francs.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then, going for a few moments to his
-desk, he wrote an order for fourteen hundred thousand francs,
-payable at sight, at his treasury, before twelve o'clock the next
-day.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A hundred thousand
-francs profit!" cried the goldsmith.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh, monseigneur, what
-generosity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, nay, not so,
-monsieur," said Fouquet, touching him on the shoulder; "there are
-certain kindnesses which can never be repaid.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This profit is only what you have
-earned; but the interest of your money still remains to be
-arranged."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, saying
-this, he unfastened from his sleeve a diamond button, which the
-goldsmith himself had often valued at three thousand
-pistoles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Take this," he
-said to the goldsmith, "in remembrance of me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Farewell; you are an honest
-man."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you, monseigneur,"
-cried the goldsmith, completely overcome, "are the noblest man
-that ever lived."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Fouquet let the worthy
-goldsmith pass out of the room by a secret door, and then went to
-receive Madame de Belli&egrave;re, who was already surrounded by
-all the guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-marquise was always beautiful, but now her loveliness was more
-dazzling than ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Do
-you not think, gentlemen," said Fouquet, "that madame is more
-than usually beautiful this evening?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And do you happen to know why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because madame is
-really the most beautiful of all women," said some one
-present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; but because she is
-the best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yet?" said the
-marquise, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And yet, all the jewels
-which madame is wearing this evening are nothing but false
-stones."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At this remark
-the marquise blushed most painfully.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, oh!" exclaimed all
-the guests, "that can very well be said of one who has the finest
-diamonds in Paris."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well?" said Fouquet to
-P&eacute;lisson, in a low tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, at last I have
-understood you," returned the latter; "and you have done
-exceedingly well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Supper is ready,
-monseigneur," said Vatel, with majestic air and tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The crowd of guests
-hurried, more quickly than is usually the case with ministerial
-entertainments, towards the banqueting-room, where a magnificent
-spectacle presented itself.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Upon the buffets, upon the
-side-tables, upon the supper-table itself, in the midst of
-flowers and light, glittered most dazzlingly the richest and most
-costly gold and silver plate that could possibly be seen - relics
-of those ancient magnificent productions the Florentine artists,
-whom the Medici family patronized, sculptured, chased, and
-moulded for the purpose of holding flowers, at a time when gold
-existed still in France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-These hidden marvels, which had been buried during the civil
-wars, timidly reappeared during the intervals of that war of good
-taste called La Fronde; at a time when noblemen fighting against
-nobleman killed, but did not pillage each other.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All the plate present had Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re's arms engraved upon it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Look," cried La Fontaine, "here is
-a P and a B."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> But the most remarkable
-object present was the cover which Fouquet had assigned to the
-marquise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Near her was a
-pyramid of diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, antique cameos,
-sardonyx stones, carved by the old Greeks of Asia Minor, with
-mountings of Mysian gold; curious mosaics of ancient Alexandria,
-set in silver; massive Egyptian bracelets lay heaped on a large
-plate of Palissy ware, supported by a tripod of gilt bronze,
-sculptured by Benvenuto Cellini.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The marquise turned pale, as she
-recognized what she had never expected to see again.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A profound silence fell on every one
-of the restless and excited guests.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet did not even make a sign in
-dismissal of the richly liveried servants who crowded like bees
-round the huge buffets and other tables in the room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Gentlemen," he said, "all this
-plate which you behold once belonged to Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re, who, having observed one of her friends in great
-distress, sent all this gold and silver, together with the heap
-of jewels now before her, to her goldsmith.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This noble conduct of a devoted
-friend can well be understood by such friends as you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Happy indeed is that man who sees
-himself loved in such a manner.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let us drink to the health of Madame
-de Belli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> A tremendous burst of
-applause followed his words, and made poor Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re sink back dumb and breathless in her seat.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And then," added
-P&eacute;lisson, who was always affected by a noble action, as he
-was invariably impressed by beauty, "let us also drink to the
-health of him who inspired madame's noble conduct; for such a man
-is worthy of being worthily loved."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> It was now the
-marquise's turn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She
-rose, pale and smiling; and as she held out her glass with a
-faltering hand, and her trembling fingers touched those of
-Fouquet, her look, full of love, found its mirror in that of her
-ardent and generous-hearted lover.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Begun in this manner, the supper
-soon became a <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i>; no one tried to be
-witty, but no one failed in being so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Fontaine forgot his Gorgny wine,
-and allowed Vatel to reconcile him to the wines of the
-Rh&ocirc;ne, and those from the shores of Spain.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The Abb&eacute; Fouquet became so
-kind and good-natured, that Gourville said to him, "Take care,
-monsieur l'abb&eacute;; if you are so tender, you will be carved
-and eaten."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The hours passed away so
-joyously, that, contrary to his usual custom, the superintendent
-did not leave the table before the end of the dessert.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He smiled upon his friends,
-delighted as a man is whose heart becomes intoxicated before his
-head - and, for the first time, looked at the clock.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Suddenly a carriage rolled into the
-courtyard, and, strange to say, it was heard high above the noise
-of the mirth which prevailed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet listened attentively, and
-then turned his eyes towards the ante-chamber.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It seemed as if he could hear a step
-passing across it, a step that, instead of pressing the ground,
-weighed heavily upon his heart.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "M. d'Herblay, bishop of Vannes,"
-the usher announced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And
-Aramis's grave and thoughtful face appeared upon the threshold of
-the door, between the remains of two garlands, of which the flame
-of a lamp had just burnt the thread that once united them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>M.
-de Mazarin's Receipt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-F</span>ouquet would have uttered an exclamation of delight on
-seeing another friend arrive, if the cold air and averted aspect
-of Aramis had not restored all his reserve.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Are you going to join us at
-dessert?" he asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And
-yet you would be frightened, perhaps, at the noise which our wild
-friends here are making?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monseigneur," replied
-Aramis, respectfully, "I will begin by begging you to excuse me
-for having interrupted this merry meeting; and then, I will beg
-you to give me, as soon as your pleasure is attended to, a
-moment's audience on matters of business."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> As the word "business"
-had aroused the attention of some of the epicureans present,
-Fouquet rose, saying: "Business first of all, Monsieur d'Herblay;
-we are too happy when matters of business arrive only at the end
-of a meal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> As he said this, he took
-the hand of Madame de Belli&egrave;re, who looked at him with a
-kind of uneasiness, and then led her to an adjoining <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>salon</i>, after having recommended
-her to the most reasonable of his guests.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then, taking Aramis by the arm,
-he led him towards his cabinet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as Aramis was there,
-throwing aside the respectful air he had assumed, he threw
-himself into a chair, saying: "Guess whom I have seen this
-evening?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear chevalier,
-every time you begin in that manner, I am sure to hear you
-announce something disagreeable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, and this time you
-will not be mistaken, either, my dear friend," replied
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not keep me in
-suspense," added Fouquet, phlegmatically.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, I have seen
-Madame de Chevreuse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The old duchesse, do
-you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes. "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Her ghost,
-perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no; the old
-she-wolf herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without
-teeth?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Possibly, but not
-without claws."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well! what harm
-can she meditate against me?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am no miser with women who are not
-prudes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A quality always
-prized, even by the woman who no longer presumes to look for
-love."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame de
-Chevreuse knows very well that you are not avaricious, since she
-wishes to draw some money of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed! under what
-pretext?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! pretexts are
-never wanting with <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>her</i>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let me tell you what it is: it seems
-that the duchesse has a good many letters of M. de Mazarin's in
-her possession."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am not surprised
-at that, for the prelate was gallant enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, but these
-letters have nothing whatever to do with the prelate's love
-affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They concern, it
-is said, financial matters rather."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And accordingly
-they are less interesting."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you not suspect
-what I mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you never
-heard speak of a prosecution being instituted for an
-embezzlement, or appropriation rather, of public funds?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, a hundred,
-nay, a thousand times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Ever since I have been engaged in public matters I have hardly
-heard of anything else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-It is precisely your own case, when, as a bishop, people reproach
-you for impiety; or, as a musketeer, for your cowardice; the very
-thing of which they are always accusing ministers of finance is
-the embezzlement of public funds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; but
-take a particular instance, for the duchesse asserts that M. de
-Mazarin alludes to certain particular instances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What are
-they?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Something like a
-sum of thirteen millions of francs, of which it would be very
-difficult for you to define the precise nature of the
-employment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thirteen
-millions!" said the superintendent, stretching himself in his
-armchair, in order to enable him the more comfortably to look up
-towards the ceiling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Thirteen millions - I am trying to remember out of all those I
-have been accused of having stolen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not laugh, my
-dear monsieur, for it is very serious.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is positive that the duchesse has
-certain letters in her possession, and that these letters must be
-as she represents them, since she wished to sell them to me for
-five hundred thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! one can have a
-very tolerable calumny got up for such a sum as that," replied
-Fouquet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah! now I know
-what you mean," and he began to laugh very heartily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So much the
-better," said Aramis, a little reassured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I remember the
-story of those thirteen millions now.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yes, yes, I remember them quite
-well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am delighted to
-hear it; tell me about them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, one
-day Signor Mazarin, Heaven rest his soul! made a profit of
-thirteen millions upon a concession of lands in the Valtelline;
-he canceled them in the registry of receipts, sent them to me,
-and then made me advance them to him for war expenses."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; then
-there is no doubt of their proper destination."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; the cardinal
-made me invest them in my own name, and gave me a receipt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have the
-receipt?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course," said
-Fouquet, as he quietly rose from his chair, and went to his large
-ebony bureau inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What I most admire
-in you," said Aramis, with an air of great satisfaction, "is,
-your memory in the first place, then your self-possession, and,
-finally, the perfect order which prevails in your administration;
-you, of all men, too, who are by nature a poet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Fouquet, "I am orderly out of a spirit of idleness, to save
-myself the trouble of looking after things, and so I know that
-Mazarin's receipt is in the third drawer under the letter M; I
-open the drawer, and place my hand upon the very paper I
-need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the night,
-without a light, I could find it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And with a
-confident hand he felt the bundle of papers which were piled up
-in the open drawer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Nay,
-more than that," he continued, "I remember the paper as if I saw
-it; it is thick, somewhat crumpled, with gilt edges; Mazarin had
-made a blot upon the figure of the date.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah!" he said, "the paper knows we
-are talking about it, and that we want it very much, and so it
-hides itself out of the way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And as the
-superintendent looked into the drawer, Aramis rose from his
-seat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This is very
-singular," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your memory is
-treacherous, my dear monseigneur; look in another drawer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet took out
-the bundle of papers, and turned them over once more; he then
-grew very pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Don't confine your
-search to that drawer," said Aramis; "look elsewhere."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite useless; I
-have never made a mistake; no one but myself arranges any papers
-of mine of this nature; no one but myself ever opens this drawer,
-of which, besides, no one, myself excepted, is aware of the
-secret."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you
-conclude, then?" said Aramis, agitated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That Mazarin's
-receipt has been stolen from me; Madame de Chevreuse was right,
-chevalier; I have appropriated the public funds, I have robbed
-the state coffers of thirteen millions of money; I am a thief,
-Monsieur d'Herblay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, nay, do not
-get irritated - do not get excited."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And why not,
-chevalier? surely there is every reason for it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If legal proceedings are well
-arranged, and a judgment given in accordance with them, your
-friend the superintendent will soon follow Montfau&ccedil;on, his
-colleague Enguerrand de Marigny, and his predecessor,
-Semblan&ccedil;ay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" said Aramis,
-smiling, "not so fast as that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And why not? why
-not so fast?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What do you
-suppose Madame de Chevreuse has done with those letters - for you
-refused them, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; at once.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I suppose that she went and
-sold them to M. Colbert."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I said I supposed
-so; I might have said I was sure of it, for I had her followed,
-and, when she left me, she returned to her own house, went out by
-a back door, and proceeded straight to the intendant's house in
-the Rue Croix des Petits-Champs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Legal proceedings
-will be instituted, then, scandal and dishonor will follow; and
-all will fall upon me like a thunderbolt, blindly,
-pitilessly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis approached
-Fouquet, who sat trembling in his chair, close to the open
-drawers; he placed his hand on his shoulder, and in an
-affectionate tone of voice, said: "Do not forget that the
-position of M. Fouquet can in no way be compared to that of
-Semblan&ccedil;ay or of Marigny."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And why not, in
-Heaven's name?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because the
-proceedings against those ministers were determined, completed,
-and the sentence carried out, whilst in your case the same thing
-cannot take place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Another blow, why
-not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A peculator is,
-under any circumstances, a criminal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Criminals who know
-how to find a safe asylum are never in danger."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! make my
-escape?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fly?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, I do not mean
-that; you forget that all such proceedings originate in the
-parliament, that they are instituted by the
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral, and that you are the
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You see that, unless you wish to
-condemn yourself - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" cried
-Fouquet, suddenly, dashing his fist upon the table.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well! what? what
-is the matter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral no longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis, at this
-reply, became as livid as death; he pressed his hands together
-convulsively, and with a wild, haggard look, which almost
-annihilated Fouquet, he said, laying a stress on every distinct
-syllable, "You are procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral no longer, do
-you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since when?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since the last
-four or five hours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take care,"
-interrupted Aramis, coldly; "I do not think you are in the full
-possession of your senses, my friend; collect yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I tell you,"
-returned Fouquet, "that a little while ago, some one came to me,
-brought by my friends, to offer me fourteen hundred thousand
-francs for the appointment, and that I sold it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis looked as
-though he had been struck by lightning; the intelligent and
-mocking expression of his countenance assumed an aspect of such
-profound gloom and terror, that it had more effect upon the
-superintendent than all the exclamations and speeches in the
-world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You had need of
-money, then?" he said, at last.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; to discharge
-a debt of honor."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And in
-a few words, he gave Aramis an account of Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re's generosity, and the manner in which he had
-thought it but right to discharge that act of generosity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said Aramis,
-"that is, indeed, a fine trait.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What has it cost?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly the
-fourteen hundred thousand francs - the price of my
-appointment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which you received
-in that manner, without reflection.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, imprudent man!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have not yet
-received the amount, but I shall to-morrow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is not yet
-completed, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It must be carried
-out, though; for I have given the goldsmith, for twelve o'clock
-to-morrow, an order upon my treasury, into which the purchaser's
-money will be paid at six or seven o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Heaven be
-praised!" cried Aramis, clapping his hands together, "nothing is
-yet completed, since you have not yet been paid."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But the
-goldsmith?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You shall receive
-the fourteen hundred thousand francs from me, at a quarter before
-twelve."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Stay a moment; it
-is at six o'clock, this very morning, that I am to sign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will answer that you do not
-sign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have given my
-word, chevalier."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If you have given
-it, you will take it back again, that is all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Can I believe what
-I hear?" cried Fouquet, in a most expressive tone.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Fouquet recall his word, after it
-has once been pledged!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis replied to
-the almost stern look of the minister by a look full of
-anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Monsieur," he
-said, "I believe I have deserved to be called a man of
-honor?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As a soldier, I
-have risked my life five hundred times; as a priest I have
-rendered still greater services, both to the state and to my
-friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The value of a
-word, once passed, is estimated according to the worth of the man
-who gives it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So long as
-it is in his own keeping, it is of the purest, finest gold; when
-his wish to keep it has passed away, it is a two-edged
-sword.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> With that word,
-therefore, he defends himself as with an honorable weapon,
-considering that, when he disregards his word, he endangers his
-life and incurs an amount of risk far greater than that which his
-adversary is likely to derive of profit.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In such a case, monsieur, he appeals
-to Heaven and to justice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet bent down
-his head, as he replied, "I am a poor, self-determined man, a
-true Breton born; my mind admires and fears yours.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do not say that I keep my word
-from a proper feeling only; I keep it, if you like, from custom,
-practice, pride, or what you will; but, at all events, the
-ordinary run of men are simple enough to admire this custom of
-mine; it is my sole good quality - leave me such honor as it
-confers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so you are
-determined to sign the sale of the very appointment which can
-alone defend you against all your enemies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I shall
-sign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will deliver
-yourself up, then, bound hand and foot, from a false notion of
-honor, which the most scrupulous casuists would disdain?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I shall sign,"
-repeated Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis sighed
-deeply, and looked all round him with the impatient gesture of a
-man who would gladly dash something to pieces, as a relief to his
-feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "We have still
-one means left," he said; "and I trust you will not refuse me to
-make use of that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly not, if
-it be loyal and honorable; as everything is, in fact, which you
-propose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know nothing
-more loyal than the renunciation of your purchaser.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is he a friend of yours?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly: but -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'But!' - if you
-allow me to manage the affair, I do not despair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! you shall be
-absolutely master to do what you please."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whom are you in
-treaty with?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What manner
-of man is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am not aware
-whether you know the parliament."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Most of its
-members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One of the
-presidents, perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; only a
-counselor, of the name of Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis became
-perfectly purple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Vanel!" he cried, rising abruptly from his seat; "Vanel! the
-husband of Marguerite Vanel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of your former
-mistress?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, my dear
-fellow; she is anxious to be the wife of the
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I certainly owed poor Vanel that
-slight concession, and I am a gainer by it; since I, at the same
-time, can confer a pleasure on his wife."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis walked
-straight up to Fouquet, and took hold of his hand.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Do you know," he said, very calmly,
-"the name of Madame Vanel's new lover?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! she has a new
-lover, then?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was not
-aware of it; no, I have no idea what his name is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"His name is M.
-Jean-Baptiste Colbert; he is intendant of the finances: he lives
-in the Rue Croix des Petits-Champs, where Madame de Chevreuse has
-been this evening to take him Mazarin's letters, which she wishes
-to sell."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Gracious Heaven!"
-murmured Fouquet, passing his hand across his forehead, from
-which the perspiration was starting.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You now begin to
-understand, do you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That I am utterly
-lost! - yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you now think
-it worth while to be so scrupulous with regard to keeping your
-word?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"These obstinate
-people always contrive matters in such a way, that one cannot but
-admire them all the while," murmured Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet held out
-his hand to him, and, at the very moment, a richly ornamented
-tortoise-shell clock, supported by golden figures, which was
-standing on a console table opposite to the fireplace, struck
-six.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The sound of a door
-being opened in the vestibule was heard, and Gourville came to
-the door of the cabinet to inquire if Fouquet would received M.
-Vanel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet turned his
-eyes from the gaze of Aramis, and then desired that M. Vanel
-should be shown in.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-XLIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Monsieur Colbert's Rough Draft.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-V</span>anel, who entered at this stage of the conversation, was
-nothing less for Aramis and Fouquet than the full stop which
-completes a phrase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But,
-for Vanel, Aramis's presence in Fouquet's cabinet had quite
-another signification; and, therefore, at his first step into the
-room, he paused as he looked at the delicate yet firm features of
-the bishop of Vannes, and his look of astonishment soon became
-one of scrutinizing attention.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for Fouquet, a perfect
-politician, that is to say, complete master of himself, he had
-already, by the energy of his own resolute will, contrived to
-remove from his face all traces of the emotion which Aramis's
-revelation had occasioned.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was no longer, therefore, a man
-overwhelmed by misfortune and reduced to resort to expedients; he
-held his head proudly erect, and indicated by a gesture that
-Vanel could enter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was
-now the first minister of the state, and in his own palace.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis knew the superintendent
-well; the delicacy of the feelings of his heart and the exalted
-nature of his mind no longer surprised him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He confined himself, then, for the
-moment - intending to resume later an active part in the
-conversation - to the performance of the difficult part of a man
-who looks on and listens, in order to learn and understand.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Vanel was visibly overcome,
-and advanced into the middle of the cabinet, bowing to everything
-and everybody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I am
-here," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are punctual,
-Monsieur Vanel," returned Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In matters of business,
-monseigneur," replied Vanel, "I look upon exactitude as a
-virtue."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No doubt,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I beg your
-pardon," interrupted Aramis, indicating Vanel with his finger,
-but addressing himself to Fouquet; "this is the gentleman, I
-believe, who has come about the purchase of your
-appointment?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I am,"
-replied Vanel, astonished at the extremely haughty tone in which
-Aramis had put the question; "but in what way am I to address
-you, who do me the honor - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Call me
-monseigneur," replied Aramis, dryly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Vanel bowed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, gentlemen, a
-truce to these ceremonies; let us proceed to the matter
-itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur sees,"
-said Vanel, "that I am waiting your pleasure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary, I
-am waiting," replied Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What for, may I be
-permitted to ask, monseigneur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I thought that you
-had perhaps something to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh," said Vanel to
-himself, "he has reflected on the matter and I am lost."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But resuming his courage, he
-continued, "No, monseigneur, nothing, absolutely nothing more
-than what I said to you yesterday, and which I am again ready to
-repeat to you now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, now, tell me
-frankly, Monsieur Vanel, is not the affair rather a burdensome
-one for you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly,
-monseigneur; fourteen hundred thousand francs is an important
-sum."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So important,
-indeed," said Fouquet, "that I have reflected - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have been
-reflecting, do you say, monseigneur?" exclaimed Vanel,
-anxiously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; that you
-might not yet be in a position to purchase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh,
-monseigneur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not make
-yourself uneasy on that score, Monsieur Vanel; I shall not blame
-you for a failure in your word, which evidently may arise from
-inability on your part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, yes,
-monseigneur, you would blame me, and you would be right in doing
-so," said Vanel; "for a man must either be very imprudent, or a
-fool, to undertake engagements which he cannot keep; and I, at
-least, have always regarded a thing agreed on as a thing actually
-carried out."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet colored,
-while Aramis uttered a "Hum!" of impatience.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You would be wrong
-to exaggerate such notions as those, monsieur," said the
-superintendent; "for a man's mind is variable, and full of these
-very excusable caprices, which are, however, sometimes estimable
-enough; and a man may have wished for something yesterday of
-which he repents to-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel felt a cold
-sweat trickle down his face.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Monseigneur!" he muttered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis, who was
-delighted to find the superintendent carry on the debate with
-such clearness and precision, stood leaning his arm upon the
-marble top of a console table and began to play with a small gold
-knife, with a malachite handle.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet did not hasten to reply; but
-after a moment's pause, "Come, my dear Monsieur Vanel," he said,
-"I will explain to you how I am situated."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Vanel began to tremble.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yesterday I wished
-to sell - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur did
-more than wish to sell, he actually sold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, well, that
-may be so; but to-day I ask you the favor to restore me my word
-which I pledged you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I received your <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>word</i> as a satisfactory
-assurance that it would be kept."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know that, and
-that is the reason why I now entreat you; do you understand
-me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I entreat you to
-restore it to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet suddenly
-paused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The words "I
-entreat you," the effect of which he did not immediately
-perceive, seemed almost to choke him as he uttered it.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis, still playing with his
-knife, fixed a look upon Vanel which seemed as if he wished to
-penetrate the recesses of his heart.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Vanel simply bowed, as he said, "I
-am overcome, monseigneur, at the honor you do me to consult me
-upon a matter of business which is already completed; but - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, do not say <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>but</i>, dear Monsieur
-Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alas! monseigneur,
-you see," he said, as he opened a large pocket-book, "I have
-brought the money with me, - the whole sum, I mean.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And here, monseigneur, is the
-contract of sale which I have just effected of a property
-belonging to my wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-order is authentic in every particular, the necessary signatures
-have been attached to it, and it is made payable at sight; it is
-ready money, in fact, and, in one word, the whole affair is
-complete."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear Monsieur
-Vanel, there is not a matter of business in this world, however
-important it may be, which cannot be postponed in order to oblige
-a man, who, by that means, might and would be made a devoted
-friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly," said
-Vanel, awkwardly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And much more
-justly acquired would that friend become, Monsieur Vanel, since
-the value of the service he had received would have been so
-considerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, what
-do you say? what do you decide?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel preserved a
-perfect silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the
-meantime, Aramis had continued his close observation of the
-man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Vanel's narrow face,
-his deeply sunken eyes, his arched eyebrows, had revealed to the
-bishop of Vannes the type of an avaricious and ambitious
-character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis's
-method was to oppose one passion by another.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He saw that M. Fouquet was defeated
-- morally subdued - and so he came to his rescue with fresh
-weapons in his hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Excuse me, monseigneur," he said; "you forgot to show M. Vanel
-that his own interests are diametrically opposed to this
-renunciation of the sale."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel looked at the
-bishop with astonishment; he had hardly expected to find an
-auxiliary in him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet
-also paused to listen to the bishop.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you not see,"
-continued Aramis, "that M. Vanel, in order to purchase your
-appointment, has been obliged to sell a property belonging to his
-wife; well, that is no slight matter; for one cannot displace, as
-he has done, fourteen or fifteen hundred thousand francs without
-some considerable loss, and very serious inconvenience."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly true,"
-said Vanel, whose secret Aramis had, with keen-sighted gaze,
-wrung from the bottom of his heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Inconveniences
-such as these are matters of great expense and calculation, and
-whenever a man has money matters to deal with, the expenses are
-generally the very first thing thought of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes," said
-Fouquet, who began to understand Aramis's meaning.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel remained
-perfectly silent; he, too, had understood him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis observed his coldness of
-manner and his silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Very good," he said to himself, "you are waiting, I see, until
-you know the amount; but do not fear, I shall send you such a
-flight of crowns that you cannot but capitulate on the spot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We must offer M.
-Vanel a hundred thousand crowns at once," said Fouquet, carried
-away by his generous feelings.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The sum was a good
-one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A prince, even,
-would have been satisfied with such a bonus.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A hundred thousand crowns at that
-period was the dowry of a king's daughter.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Vanel, however, did not move.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He is a perfect
-rascal!" thought the bishop, "well, we must offer the five
-hundred thousand francs at once," and he made a sign to Fouquet
-accordingly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You seem to have
-spent more than that, dear Monsieur Vanel," said the
-superintendent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The
-price of ready money is enormous.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You must have made a great sacrifice
-in selling your wife's property.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, what can I have been thinking
-of?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I ought to have
-offered to sign you an order for five hundred thousand francs;
-and even in that case I shall feel that I am greatly indebted to
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>There was not a
-gleam of delight or desire on Vanel's face, which remained
-perfectly impassible; not a muscle of it changed in the slightest
-degree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis cast a
-look almost of despair at Fouquet, and then, going straight up to
-Vanel and taking hold of him by the coat, in a familiar manner,
-he said, "Monsieur Vanel, it is neither the inconvenience, nor
-the displacement of your money, nor the sale of your wife's
-property even, that you are thinking of at this moment; it is
-something more important still.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I can well understand it; so pay
-particular attention to what I am going to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, monseigneur,"
-Vanel replied, beginning to tremble in every limb, as the
-prelate's eyes seemed almost ready to devour him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I offer you,
-therefore, in the superintendent's name, not three hundred
-thousand livres, nor five hundred thousand, but a million.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A million - do you understand
-me?" he added, as he shook him nervously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A million!"
-repeated Vanel, as pale as death.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A million; in
-other words, at the present rate of interest, an income of
-seventy thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, monsieur,"
-said Fouquet, "you can hardly refuse that.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Answer - do you accept?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Impossible,"
-murmured Vanel.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis bit his
-lips, and something like a cloud seemed to pass over his
-face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The thunder behind
-this cloud could easily be imagined.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He still kept his hold on
-Vanel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You have
-purchased the appointment for fifteen hundred thousand francs, I
-think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, you will
-receive these fifteen hundred thousand francs back again; by
-paying M. Fouquet a visit, and shaking hands with him on the
-bargain, you will have become a gainer of a million and a
-half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You get honor and
-profit at the same time, Monsieur Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot do it,"
-said Vanel, hoarsely.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well,"
-replied Aramis, who had grasped Vanel so tightly by the coat
-that, when he let go his hold, Vanel staggered back a few paces,
-"very well; one can now see clearly enough your object in coming
-here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Fouquet, "one can easily see that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But - " said
-Vanel, attempting to stand erect before the weakness of these two
-men of honor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Does the fellow
-presume to speak?" said Aramis, with the tone of an emperor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Fellow!" repeated
-Vanel.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The scoundrel, I
-meant to say," added Aramis, who had now resumed his usual
-self-possession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Come,
-monsieur, produce your deed of sale, - you have it about you, I
-suppose, in one of your pockets, already prepared, as an assassin
-holds his pistol or his dagger concealed under his cloak.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel began to
-mutter something.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Enough!" cried
-Fouquet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Where is this
-deed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel tremblingly
-searched in his pockets, and as he drew out his pocket-book, a
-paper fell out of it, while Vanel offered the other to
-Fouquet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis pounced
-upon the paper which had fallen out, as soon as he recognized the
-handwriting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I beg your
-pardon," said Vanel, "that is a rough draft of the deed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I see that very
-clearly," retorted Aramis, with a smile more cutting than a lash
-of a whip; "and what I admire most is, that this draft is in M.
-Colbert's handwriting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Look, monseigneur, look."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And he handed the
-draft to Fouquet, who recognized the truth of the fact; for,
-covered with erasures, with inserted words, the margins filled
-with additions, this deed - a living proof of Colbert's plot -
-had just revealed everything to its unhappy victim.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well!" murmured Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel, completely
-humiliated, seemed as if he were looking for some hole wherein to
-hide himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well!" said
-Aramis, "if your name were not Fouquet, and if your enemy's name
-were not Colbert - if you had not this mean thief before you, I
-should say to you, 'Repudiate it;' such a proof as this absolves
-you from your word; but these fellows would think you were
-afraid; they would fear you less than they do; therefore sign the
-deed at once."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he
-held out a pen towards him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet pressed
-Aramis's hand; but, instead of the deed which Vanel handed to
-him, he took the rough draft of it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, not that
-paper," said Aramis, hastily; "this is the one.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The other is too precious a document
-for you to part with."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no!" replied
-Fouquet; "I will sign under M. Colbert's own handwriting even;
-and I write, 'The handwriting is approved of.'"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then signed, and said, "Here it
-is, Monsieur Vanel."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And
-the latter seized the paper, dashed down the money, and was about
-to make his escape.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"One moment," said
-Aramis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Are you quite
-sure the exact amount is there?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It ought to be counted over,
-Monsieur Vanel; particularly since M. Colbert makes presents of
-money to ladies, I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Ah, that worthy M. Colbert is not so generous as M.
-Fouquet."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And Aramis,
-spelling every word, every letter of the order to pay, distilled
-his wrath and his contempt, drop by drop, upon the miserable
-wretch, who had to submit to this torture for a quarter of an
-hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was then
-dismissed, not in words, but by a gesture, as one dismisses or
-discharges a beggar or a menial.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As soon as Vanel
-had gone, the minister and the prelate, their eyes fixed on each
-other, remained silent for a few moments.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well," said
-Aramis, the first to break the silence; "to what can that man be
-compared, who, at the very moment he is on the point of entering
-into a conflict with an enemy armed from head to foot, panting
-for his life, presents himself for the contest utterly
-defenseless, throws down his arms, and smiles and kisses his
-hands to his adversary in the most gracious manner?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Good faith, M. Fouquet, is a weapon
-which scoundrels frequently make use of against men of honor, and
-it answers their purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Men of honor, ought, in their turn, also, to make use of
-dishonest means against such scoundrels.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You would soon see how strong they
-would become, without ceasing to be men of honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What they did
-would be termed the acts of a scoundrel," replied Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Far from that; it
-would be merely coquetting or playing with the truth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At all events, since you have
-finished with this Vanel; since you have deprived yourself of the
-happiness of confounding him by repudiating your word; and since
-you have given up, for the purpose of being used against
-yourself, the only weapon which can ruin you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear friend,"
-said Fouquet, mournfully, "you are like the teacher of philosophy
-whom La Fontaine was telling us about the other day; he saw a
-child drowning, and began to read him a lecture divided into
-three heads."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis smiled as he
-said, "Philosophy - yes; teacher - yes; a drowning child - yes;
-but a child can be saved - you shall see.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But first of all let us talk about
-business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Did you not
-some time ago," he continued, as Fouquet looked at him with a
-bewildered air, "speak to me about an idea you had of giving a <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" said Fouquet,
-"that was when affairs were flourishing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>f&ecirc;te</i>, I believe, to which
-the king invited himself of his own accord?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no, my dear
-prelate; a <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i>
-to which M. Colbert advised the king to invite himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah - exactly; as
-it would be a <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> of so costly a
-character that you would be ruined in giving it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely so.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In happier days, as I said
-just now, I had a kind of pride in showing my enemies how
-inexhaustible my resources were; I felt it a point of honor to
-strike them with amazement, by creating millions under
-circumstances where they imagined nothing but bankruptcies and
-failures would follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But, at present, I am arranging my accounts with the state, with
-the king, with myself; and I must now become a mean, stingy man;
-I shall be able to prove to the world that I can act or operate
-with my deniers as I used to do with my bags of pistoles, and
-from to-morrow my equipages shall be sold, my mansions mortgaged,
-my expenses curtailed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"From to-morrow,"
-interrupted Aramis, quietly, "you will occupy yourself, without
-the slightest delay, with your <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux, which must
-hereafter be spoken of as one of the most magnificent productions
-of your most prosperous days."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are you mad, Chevalier
-d'Herblay?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I! do you think
-so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean,
-then?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you not know
-that a <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> at
-Vaux, one of the very simplest possible character, would cost
-four or five millions?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not speak of a <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> of the very
-simplest possible character, my dear superintendent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But, since the <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> is to be given
-to the king," replied Fouquet, who misunderstood Aramis's idea,
-"it cannot be simple."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Just so: it ought to be
-on a scale of the most unbounded magnificence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, I shall
-have to spend ten or twelve millions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You shall spend
-twenty, if you require it," said Aramis, in a perfectly calm
-voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where shall I get
-them?" exclaimed Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is my affair,
-monsieur le surintendant; and do not be uneasy for a moment about
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The money shall be
-placed at once at your disposal, the moment you have arranged the
-plans of your <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>f&ecirc;te</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Chevalier!
-chevalier!" said Fouquet, giddy with amazement, "whither are you
-hurrying me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Across the gulf
-into which you were about to fall," replied the bishop of
-Vannes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Take hold of my
-cloak, and throw fear aside."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why did you not
-tell me that sooner, Aramis?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There was a day when, with one
-million only, you could have saved me; whilst to-day - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whilst to-day I
-can give you twenty," said the prelate.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Such is the case, however - the
-reason is very simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On
-the day you speak of, I had not the million which you had need of
-at my disposal, whilst now I can easily procure the twenty
-millions we require."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"May Heaven hear
-you, and save me!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis resumed his
-usual smile, the expression of which was so singular.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Heaven never fails to hear me," he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I abandon myself
-to your unreservedly," Fouquet murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no; I do not
-understand it in that manner.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am unreservedly devoted to
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Therefore, as you
-have the clearest, the most delicate, and the most ingenious mind
-of the two, you shall have entire control over the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i>, even to the very
-smallest details.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Only -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Only?" said
-Fouquet, as a man accustomed to understand and appreciate the
-value of a parenthesis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then,
-leaving the entire invention of the details to you, I shall
-reserve to myself a general superintendence over the
-execution."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I mean, that you
-will make of me, on that day, a major-domo, a sort of
-inspector-general, or factotum - something between a captain of
-the guard and manager or steward.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will look after the people, and
-will keep the keys of the doors.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will give your orders, of
-course: but will give them to no one but me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They will pass through my lips, to
-reach those for whom they are intended - you understand?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, I am very far
-from understanding."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But you
-agree?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course, of
-course, my friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is all I care
-about, then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Thanks; and
-now go and prepare your list of invitations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whom shall I
-invite?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Everybody you
-know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-L:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>In
-Which the Author Thinks It Is High Time to Return to the Vicomte
-de Bragelonne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-O</span>ur readers will have observed in this story, the
-adventures of the new and of the past generation being detailed,
-as it were, side by side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-He will have noticed in the former, the reflection of the glory
-of earlier years, the experience of the bitter things of this
-world; in the former, also, that peace which takes possession of
-the heart, and that healing of the scars which were formerly deep
-and painful wounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-the latter, the conflicts of love and vanity; bitter
-disappointments, ineffable delights; life instead of memory.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If, therefore, any variety has
-been presented to the reader in the different episodes of this
-tale, it is to be attributed to the numerous shades of color
-which are presented on this double tablet, where two pictures are
-seen side by side, mingling and harmonizing their severe and
-pleasing tones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-repose of the emotions of one is found in harmonious contrast
-with the fiery sentiments of the other.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> After having talked reason with
-older heads, one loves to talk nonsense with youth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Therefore, if the threads of the
-story do not seem very intimately to connect the chapter we are
-now writing with the one we have just written, we do not intend
-to give ourselves any more thought or trouble about it than
-Ruysda&euml;l took in painting an autumn sky, after having
-finished a spring-time scene.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We accordingly resume Raoul de
-Bragelonne's story at the very place where our last sketch left
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> In a state of frenzy and
-dismay, or rather without power or will of his own, - hardly
-knowing what he was doing, - he fled swiftly, after the scene in
-La Valli&egrave;re's chamber, that strange exclusion, Louise's
-grief, Montalais's terror, the king's wrath - all seemed to
-indicate some misfortune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had arrived
-from London because he had been told of the existence of a
-danger; and almost on his arrival this appearance of danger was
-manifest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Was not this
-sufficient for a lover?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Certainly it was, but it was insufficient for a pure and upright
-heart such as his.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And
-yet Raoul did not seek for explanations in the very quarter where
-more jealous or less timid lovers would have done.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He did not go straightaway to his
-mistress, and say, "Louise, is it true that you love me no
-longer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it true that
-you love another?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Full
-of courage, full of friendship as he was full of love; a
-religious observer of his word, and believing blindly the word of
-others, Raoul said within himself, "Guiche wrote to put me on my
-guard, Guiche knows something; I will go and ask Guiche what he
-knows, and tell him what I have seen."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The journey was not a long one.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Guiche, who had been brought
-from Fontainebleau to Paris within the last two days, was
-beginning to recover from his wounds, and to walk about a little
-in his room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He uttered a
-cry of joy as he saw Raoul, with the eagerness of friendship,
-enter the apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Raoul was unable to refrain from a cry of grief, when he saw De
-Guiche, so pale, so thin, so melancholy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A very few words, and a simple
-gesture which De Guiche made to put aside Raoul's arm, were
-sufficient to inform the latter of the truth.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! so it is," said
-Raoul, seating himself beside his friend; "one loves and
-dies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, no, not dies,"
-replied Guiche, smiling, "since I am now recovering, and since,
-too, I can press you in my arms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I understand you,
-too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You fancy I am
-unhappy, Raoul?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; I am the happiest
-of men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My body suffers,
-but not my mind or my heart.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If you only knew - Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am, indeed, the very happiest of
-men."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So much the better,"
-said Raoul; "so much the better, provided it lasts."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is over.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have had enough happiness to last
-me to my dying day, Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have no doubt you
-have had; but she - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Listen; I love her,
-because - but you are not listening to me."<span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>  </span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I beg your
-pardon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your mind is
-preoccupied."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, your health, in
-the first place - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is not that, I
-know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear friend, you
-would be wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I think,
-to ask me any questions - <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>you</i> of all persons in the
-world;" and he laid so much weight upon the "you," that he
-completely enlightened his friend upon the nature of the evil,
-and the difficulty of remedying it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You say that, Raoul, on
-account of what I wrote to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Certainly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We will talk over that matter a
-little, when you have finished telling me of all your own
-pleasures and your pains."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear friend, I am
-entirely at your service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Thank you; I have
-hurried, I have flown here; I came in half the time the
-government couriers usually take.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Now, tell me, my dear friend, what
-did you want?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing whatever, but
-to make you come."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, I am
-here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "All is quite right,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There must have been
-something else, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "De Guiche!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon my honor!"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You cannot
-possibly have crushed all my hopes so violently, or have exposed
-me to being disgraced by the king for my return, which is in
-disobedience of his orders - you cannot, I say, have planted
-jealousy in my heart, merely to say to me, 'It is all right, be
-perfectly easy.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not say to you,
-Raoul, 'Be perfectly easy;' but pray understand me; I never will,
-nor can I, indeed, tell you anything else."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What sort of person do
-you take me for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If you know anything,
-why conceal it from me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-If you do not know anything, why did you write so warningly?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "True, true, I was very
-wrong, and I regret having done so, Raoul.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It seems nothing to write to a
-friend and say 'Come;' but to have this friend face to face, to
-feel him tremble, and breathlessly and anxiously wait to hear
-what one hardly dare tell him, is very difficult."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Dare!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have courage enough, if you have
-not," exclaimed Raoul, in despair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "See how unjust you are,
-and how soon you forget you have to do with a poor wounded fellow
-such as your unhappy friend is.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So, calm yourself, Raoul.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I said to you, 'Come' - you
-are here, so ask me nothing further."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your object in telling
-me to come was your hope that I should see with my own eyes, was
-it not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nay, do not
-hesitate, for I have seen all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" exclaimed De
-Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Or at least I thought -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There, now, you see you
-are not sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But if you
-have any doubt, my poor friend, what remains for me to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I saw Louise much
-agitated - Montalais in a state of bewilderment - the king -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You turn your head aside.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The danger is there, the evil
-is there; tell me, is it not so, is it not the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I say nothing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! you say a thousand
-times more than nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Give me facts, for pity's sake, give me proofs.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My friend, the only friend I have,
-speak - tell me all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My
-heart is crushed, wounded to death; I am dying from despair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If that really be so,
-as I see it is, indeed, dear Raoul," replied De Guiche, "you
-relieve me from my difficulty, and I will tell you all, perfectly
-sure that I can tell you nothing but what is consoling, compared
-to the despair from which I see you suffering."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Go on, - go on; I am
-listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then, I can only
-tell you what you might learn from every one you meet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "From every one, do you
-say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is talked about,
-then!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Before you say people
-talk about it, learn what it is that people have to talk
-about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I assure you
-solemnly, that people only talk about what may, in truth, be very
-innocent; perhaps a walk - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! a walk with the
-king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, certainly, a walk
-with the king; and I believe the king has already very frequently
-before taken walks with ladies, without on that account - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You would not have
-written to me, shall I say again, if there had been nothing
-unusual in this promenade."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know that while the
-storm lasted, it would have been far better if the king had taken
-shelter somewhere else, than to have remained with his head
-uncovered before La Valli&egrave;re; but the king is so very
-courteous and polite."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche, De Guiche, you are
-killing me!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not let us talk any
-more, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, let us
-continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This walk was
-followed by others, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No - I mean yes: there
-was the adventure of the oak, I think.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I know nothing about the matter
-at all."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul rose; De
-Guiche endeavored to imitate him, notwithstanding his
-weakness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well, I will
-not add another word: I have said either too much or not
-enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let others give
-you further information if they will, or if they can; my duty was
-to warn you, and <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>that</i> I
-have done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Watch over
-your own affairs now, yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Question others!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Alas! you are no true friend
-to speak to me in that manner," said the young man, in utter
-distress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The first man
-I meet may be either evilly disposed or a fool, - if the former,
-he will tell me a lie to make me suffer more than I do now; if
-the latter, he will do worse still.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche, De Guiche, before two
-hours are over, I shall have been told ten falsehoods, and shall
-have as many duels on my hands.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Save me, then; is it not best to
-know the worst always?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But I know nothing, I
-tell you; I was wounded, attacked by fever: out of my senses; and
-I have only a very faint recollection of it all.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But there is on reason why we should
-search very far, when the very man we want is close at hand.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is not D'Artagnan your
-friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! true, true!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Got to him, then.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He will be able to throw
-sufficient light upon the subject."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At this moment a lackey entered the
-room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What is it?" said
-De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Some one is waiting for
-monseigneur in the Cabinet des Porcelaines."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will you excuse me, my dear
-Raoul?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am so proud
-since I have been able to walk again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I would offer you my
-arm, De Guiche, if I did not guess that the person in question is
-a lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe so," said De
-Guiche, smiling as he quitted Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul remained
-motionless, absorbed in grief, overwhelmed, like the miner upon
-whom a vault has just fallen in, who, wounded, his life-blood
-welling fast, his thoughts confused, endeavors to recover
-himself, to save his life and to retain his reason.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A few minutes were all Raoul needed
-to dissipate the bewildering sensations occasioned by these two
-revelations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had
-already recovered the thread of his ideas, when, suddenly,
-through the door, he fancied he recognized Montalais's voice in
-the Cabinet des Porcelaines.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "She!" he cried.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Yes, it is indeed her voice!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She will be able to tell me
-the whole truth; but shall I question her here?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She conceals herself even from me;
-she is coming, no doubt, from Madame.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will see her in her own
-apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She will
-explain her alarm, her flight, the strange manner in which I was
-driven out; she will tell me all that - after M. d'Artagnan, who
-knows everything, shall have given me a fresh strength and
-courage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame, a
-coquette I fear, and yet a coquette who is herself in love, has
-her moments of kindness; a coquette who is as capricious and
-uncertain as life or death, but who tells De Guiche that he is
-the happiest of men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-at least is lying on roses."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so he hastily quitted the
-comte's apartments, reproaching himself as he went for having
-talked of nothing but his own affairs to De Guiche, and soon
-reached D'Artagnan's quarters.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Bragelonne Continues His Inquiries.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he captain, sitting buried in his leathern armchair, his
-spurs fixed in the floor, his sword between his legs, was reading
-a number of letters, as he twisted his mustache.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan uttered a welcome full of
-pleasure when he perceived his friend's son.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Raoul, my boy, " he said, "by what
-lucky accident does it happen that the king has recalled
-you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> These words did not
-sound agreeably in the young man's ears, who, as he seated
-himself, replied, "Upon my word I cannot tell you; all that I
-know is - I have come back."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Hum!" said D'Artagnan,
-folding up his letters and directing a look full of meaning at
-him; "what do you say, my boy? that the king has not recalled
-you, and you have returned?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do not understand that at
-all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul was already pale
-enough; and he now began to turn his hat round and round in his
-hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What the deuce is the
-matter that you look as you do, and what makes you so dumb?" said
-the captain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Do people
-nowadays assume that sort of airs in England?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have been in England, and came
-here again as lively as a chaffinch.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will you not say something?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have too much to
-say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! how is your
-father?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Forgive me, my dear
-friend, I was going to ask you that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan increased the
-sharpness of his penetrating gaze, which no secret was capable of
-resisting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You are
-unhappy about something," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am, indeed; and you
-know the reason very well, Monsieur d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of
-course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nay, do not
-pretend to be astonished."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am not pretending to
-be astonished, my friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Dear captain, I know
-very well that in all trials of <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>finesse</i>, as well as in all
-trials of strength, I shall be beaten by you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You can see that at the present
-moment I am an idiot, an absolute noodle.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have neither head nor arm; do not
-despise, but help me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-two words, I am the most wretched of living beings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, oh! why that?"
-inquired D'Artagnan, unbuckling his belt and thawing the asperity
-of his smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re is deceiving me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "She is deceiving you,"
-said D'Artagnan, not a muscle of whose face had moved; "those are
-big words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Who makes use
-of them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Every one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! if every one says
-so, there must be some truth in it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I begin to believe there is fire
-when I see smoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is
-ridiculous, perhaps, but it is so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Therefore you <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>do</i> believe me?" exclaimed
-Bragelonne, quickly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I never mix myself up
-in affairs of that kind; you know that very well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What! not for a friend,
-for a son!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exactly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If you were a stranger, I should
-tell you - I will tell <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>you</i> nothing at all.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How is Porthos, do you know?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur," cried Raoul,
-pressing D'Artagnan's hand, "I entreat you in the name of the
-friendship you vowed my father!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The deuce take it, you
-are really ill - from curiosity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, it is not from
-curiosity, it is from love."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Another big word.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If you were really in love, my dear
-Raoul, you would be very different."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I mean that if you were
-really so deeply in love that I could believe I was addressing
-myself to your heart - but it is impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I tell you I love
-Louise to distraction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan could read to
-the very bottom of the young man's heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Impossible, I tell
-you," he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You are
-like all young men; you are not in love, you are out of your
-senses."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well! suppose it were
-only that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No sensible man ever
-succeeded in making much of a brain when the head was
-turned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have completely
-lost my senses in the same way a hundred times in my life.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You would listen to me, but
-you would not hear me! you would hear, but you would not
-understand me; you would understand, but you would not obey
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! try, try."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I go far.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Even if I were unfortunate enough to
-know something, and foolish enough to communicate it to you - You
-are my friend, you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Indeed, yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should quarrel with you.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You would never forgive me for
-having destroyed your illusion, as people say in love
-affairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur d'Artagnan,
-you know all; and yet you plunge me in perplexity and despair, in
-death itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There, there now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I never complain, as
-you know; but as Heaven and my father would never forgive me for
-blowing out my brains, I will go and get the first person I meet
-to give me the information which you withhold; I will tell him he
-lies, and - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you would kill
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And a fine affair
-that would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So much
-the better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What should I
-care?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Kill any one you
-please, my boy, if it gives you any pleasure.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is exactly like a man with a
-toothache, who keeps on saying, "Oh! what torture I am
-suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I could bite a
-piece of iron in half.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-My answer always is, 'Bite, my friend, bite; the tooth will
-remain all the same.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I shall not kill any
-one, monsieur," said Raoul, gloomily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes! you now
-assume a different tone: instead of killing, you will get killed
-yourself, I suppose you mean?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very fine, indeed!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How much I should regret you!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Of course I should go about
-all day, saying, 'Ah! what a fine stupid fellow that Bragelonne
-was! as great a stupid as I ever met with.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have passed my whole life almost
-in teaching him how to hold and use his sword properly, and the
-silly fellow has got himself spitted like a lark.'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Go, then, Raoul, go and get yourself
-disposed of, if you like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I hardly know who can have taught you logic, but deuce take me if
-your father has not been regularly robbed of his money."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul buried his face in
-his hands, murmuring: "No, no; I have not a single friend in the
-world."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! bah!" said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I meet with nothing but
-raillery or indifference."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Idle fancies,
-monsieur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do not laugh
-at you, although I am a Gascon.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, as for being indifferent, if I
-were so, I should have sent you about your business a quarter of
-an hour ago, for you would make a man who was out of his senses
-with delight as dull as possible, and would be the death of one
-who was out of spirits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-How now, young man! do you wish me to disgust you with the girl
-you are attached to, and to teach you to execrate the whole sex
-who constitute the honor and happiness of human life?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! tell me, monsieur,
-and I will bless you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you think, my dear
-fellow, that I can have crammed into my brain all about the
-carpenter, and the painter, and the staircase, and a hundred
-other similar tales of the same kind?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A carpenter! what do
-you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon my word I don't
-know; some one told me there was a carpenter who made an opening
-through a certain flooring."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In La Valli&egrave;re's
-room!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I don't know where."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the king's
-apartment, perhaps?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course,
-if it were in the king's apartment, I should tell you, I
-suppose."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In whose
-room, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have told you for the
-last hour that I know nothing of the whole affair."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But the
-painter, then? the portrait - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It seems that the king
-wished to have the portrait of one of the ladies belonging to the
-court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "La
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, you seem to have
-only that name in your mouth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Who spoke to you of La
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If it be not her
-portrait, then, why do you suppose it would concern me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not suppose it
-will concern you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But you
-ask me all sorts of questions, and I answer you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You positively will learn all the
-scandal of the affair, and I tell you - make the best you can of
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul struck his
-forehead with his hand in utter despair.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It will kill me!" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So you have said
-already."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, you are right,"
-and he made a step or two, as if he were going to leave.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where are you
-going?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To look for some one
-who will tell me the truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A woman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re herself, I suppose you mean?" said D'Artagnan,
-with a smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah! a
-famous idea that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You
-wish to be consoled by some one, and you will be so at once.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She will tell you nothing ill
-of herself, of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So
-be off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are mistaken,
-monsieur," replied Raoul; "the woman I mean will tell me all the
-evil she possibly can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You allude to
-Montalais, I suppose - her friend; a woman who, on that account,
-will exaggerate all that is either bad or good in the
-matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not talk to
-Montalais, my good fellow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have some reasons
-for wishing me not to talk with Montalais?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, I admit it.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, in point of fact, why
-should I play with you as a cat does with a poor mouse?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You distress me, you do,
-indeed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And if I wish you
-not to speak to Montalais just now, it is because you will be
-betraying your secret, and people will take advantage of it.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Wait, if you can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So much the worse.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why, you see, Raoul, if I had
-an idea, - but I have not got one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Promise me that you
-will pity me, my friend, that is all I need, and leave me to get
-out of the affair by myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! yes, indeed, in
-order that you may get deeper into the mire!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A capital idea, truly! go and sit
-down at that table and take a pen in your hand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What for?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To write
-and ask Montalais to give you an interview."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said
-Raoul, snatching eagerly at the pen which the captain held out to
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Suddenly the door
-opened, and one of the musketeers, approaching D'Artagnan, said,
-"Captain, Mademoiselle de Montalais is here, and wishes to speak
-to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To me?" murmured
-D'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ask her to
-come in; I shall soon see," he said to himself, "whether she
-wishes to speak to me or not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The cunning captain was
-quite right in his suspicions; for as soon as Montalais entered
-she exclaimed, "Oh, monsieur! monsieur!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I beg your pardon, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I forgive you, mademoiselle," said
-D'Artagnan; "I know that, at my age, those who are looking for me
-generally need me for something or another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I was looking for M. de
-Bragelonne," replied Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How very fortunate that
-is; he was looking for you, too.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul, will you accompany
-Mademoiselle de Montalais?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Go along, then," he
-said, as he gently pushed Raoul out of the cabinet; and then,
-taking hold of Montalais's hand, he said, in a low voice, "Be
-kind towards him; spare him, and spare her, too, if you can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" she said, in the
-same tone of voice, "it is not I who am going to speak to
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who, then?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is
-Madame who has sent for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good," cried
-D'Artagnan, "it is Madame, is it?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In an hour's time, then, the poor
-fellow will be cured."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Or else dead," said
-Montalais, in a voice full of compassion.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Adieu, Monsieur d'Artagnan," she
-said; and she ran to join Raoul, who was waiting for her at a
-little distance from the door, very much puzzled and thoroughly
-uneasy at the dialogue, which promised no good augury for
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>Two
-Jealousies.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-L</span>overs are tender towards everything that forms part of
-the daily life of the object of their affection.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul no sooner found himself alone
-with Montalais, than he kissed her hand with rapture.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "There, there," said the young girl,
-sadly, "you are throwing your kisses away; I will guarantee that
-they will not bring you back any interest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How so? - Why? - Will
-you explain to me, my dear Aure?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame will explain
-everything to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am
-going to take you to her apartments.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>What!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Silence! and throw away
-your dark and savage looks.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The windows here have eyes, the
-walls have ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Have the
-kindness not to look at me any longer; be good enough to speak to
-me aloud of the rain, of the fine weather, and of the charms of
-England."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At all events - "
-interrupted Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I tell you, I warn you,
-that wherever people may be, I know not how, Madame is sure to
-have eyes and ears open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I am not very desirous, you can easily believe, of being
-dismissed or thrown in to the Bastile.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let us talk, I tell you, or rather,
-do not let us talk at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul clenched his
-hands, and tried to assume the look and gait of a man of courage,
-it is true, but of a man of courage on his way to the torture
-chamber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Montalais,
-glancing in every direction, walking along with an easy swinging
-gait, and holding up her head pertly in the air, preceded him to
-Madame's apartments, where he was at once introduced.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well," he thought, "this day will
-pass away without my learning anything.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Guiche showed too much consideration
-for my feelings; he had no doubt come to an understanding with
-Madame, and both of them, by a friendly plot, agreed to postpone
-the solution of the problem.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why have I not a determined,
-inveterate enemy - that serpent, De Wardes, for instance; that he
-would bite, is very likely; but I should not hesitate any
-more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To hesitate, to
-doubt - better, far, to die."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The next moment Raoul
-was in Madame's presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Henrietta, more charming than ever, was half lying, half
-reclining in her armchair, her small feet upon an embroidered
-velvet cushion; she was playing with a kitten with long silky
-fur, which was biting her fingers and hanging by the lace of her
-collar.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame seemed plunged in
-deep thought, so deep, indeed, that it required both Montalais
-and Raoul's voice to disturb her from her reverie.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your highness sent for
-me?" repeated Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame shook her head as
-if she were just awakening, and then said, "Good morning,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne; yes, I sent for you; so you have returned
-from England?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame, and am at
-your royal highness's commands."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Thank you; leave us,
-Montalais," and the latter immediately left the room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have a few minutes
-to give me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, have you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My life is at your
-royal highness's disposal," Raoul returned with respect, guessing
-that there was something serious in these unusual courtesies; nor
-was he displeased, indeed, to observe the seriousness of her
-manner, feeling persuaded that there was some sort of affinity
-between Madame's sentiments and his own.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In fact, every one at court, of any
-perception at all, knew perfectly well the capricious fancy and
-absurd despotism of the princess's singular character.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame had been flattered
-beyond all bounds by the king's attention; she had made herself
-talked about; she had inspired the queen with that mortal
-jealousy which is the stinging scorpion at the heel of every
-woman's happiness; Madame, in a word, in her attempts to cure a
-wounded pride, found that her heart had become deeply and
-passionately attached.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We
-know what Madame had done to recall Raoul, who had been sent out
-of the way by Louis XIV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Raoul did not know of her letter to Charles II., although
-D'Artagnan had guessed its contents.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Who will undertake to account for
-that seemingly inexplicable mixture of love and vanity, that
-passionate tenderness of feeling, that prodigious duplicity of
-conduct?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No one can,
-indeed; not even the bad angel who kindles the love of coquetry
-in the heart of a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Monsieur de Bragelonne," said the princess, after a moment's
-pause, "have you returned satisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Bragelonne looked at
-Madame Henrietta, and seeing how pale she was, not alone from
-what she was keeping back, but also from what she was burning to
-say, said: "Satisfied! what is there for me to be satisfied or
-dissatisfied about, Madame?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But what are those
-things with which a man of your age, and of your appearance, is
-usually either satisfied or dissatisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How eager she is,"
-thought Raoul, almost terrified; "what venom is it she is going
-to distil into my heart?" and then, frightened at what she might
-possibly be going to tell him, and wishing to put off the
-opportunity of having everything explained, which he had hitherto
-so ardently wished for, yet had dreaded so much, he replied: "I
-left, Madame, a dear friend in good health, and on my return I
-find him very ill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You refer to M. de
-Guiche," replied Madame Henrietta, with imperturbable
-self-possession; "I <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>have</i> heard he is a very dear
-friend of yours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He is, indeed,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, it is quite true
-he has been wounded; but he is better now.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Guiche is not to be pitied,"
-she said hurriedly; and then, recovering herself, added, "But has
-he anything to complain of?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Has he complained of anything?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is there any cause of grief or
-sorrow that we are not acquainted with?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I allude only to his
-wound, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So much the better,
-then, for, in other respects, M. de Guiche seems to be very
-happy; he is always in very high spirits.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am sure that you, Monsieur de
-Bragelonne, would far prefer to be, like him, wounded only in the
-body&hellip; for what, in deed, is such a wound, after all!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul started.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Alas!" he said to himself,
-"she is returning to it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What did you say?" she
-inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I did not say anything
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You did not say
-anything; you disapprove of my observation, then? you are
-perfectly satisfied, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul approached closer
-to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Madame," he
-said, "your royal highness wishes to say something to me, and
-your instinctive kindness and generosity of disposition induce
-you to be careful and considerate as to your manner of conveying
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will your royal
-highness throw this kind forbearance aside?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am able to bear everything; and I
-am listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" replied Henrietta,
-"what do you understand, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That which your royal
-highness wishes me to understand," said Raoul, trembling,
-notwithstanding his command over himself, as he pronounced these
-words.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In point of fact,"
-murmured the princess&hellip; "it seems cruel, but since I have
-begun - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame, once your
-highness has deigned to begin, will you condescend to finish -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Henrietta rose hurriedly
-and walked a few paces up and down her room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What did M. de Guiche tell you?"
-she said, suddenly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Did he say nothing?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah! how well I recognize him in
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No doubt he wished to
-spare me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And that is what
-friends call friendship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But surely, M. d'Artagnan, whom you have just left, must have
-told you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No more than De Guiche,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Henrietta made a gesture
-full of impatience, as she said, "At least, you know all the
-court knows."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know nothing at all,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not the scene in the
-storm?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i>
-in the forest?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nor the flight to
-Chaillot?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul, whose head
-dropped like a blossom cut down by the reaper, made an almost
-superhuman effort to smile, as he replied with the greatest
-gentleness: "I have had the honor of telling your royal highness
-that I am absolutely ignorant of everything, that I am a poor
-unremembered outcast, who has this moment arrived from
-England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There have
-rolled so many stormy waves between myself and those I left
-behind me here, that the rumor of none of the circumstances your
-highness refers to, has been able to reach me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Henrietta was affected
-by his extreme pallor, his gentleness, and his great
-courage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The principal
-feeling in her heart at that moment was an eager desire to hear
-the nature of the remembrance which the poor lover retained of
-the woman who had made him suffer so much.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Monsieur de Bragelonne," she said,
-"that which your friends have refused to do, I will do for you,
-whom I like and esteem very much.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will be your friend on this
-occasion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You hold your
-head high, as a man of honor should; and I deeply regret that you
-may have to bow before ridicule, and in a few days, it might be,
-contempt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" exclaimed Raoul,
-perfectly livid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It is
-as bad as that, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "If you do not know,"
-said the princess, "I see that you guess; you were affianced, I
-believe, to Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "By that right, you
-deserve to be warned about her, as some day or another I shall be
-obliged to dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re from my
-service - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Dismiss La
-Valli&egrave;re!" cried Bragelonne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you suppose I shall always be
-amenable to the tears and protestations of the king?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, no! my house shall no longer be
-made a convenience for such practices; but you tremble, you
-cannot stand - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, Madame, no," said
-Bragelonne, making an effort over himself; "I thought I should
-have died just now, that was all.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your royal highness did me the honor
-to say that the king wept and implored you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, but in vain,"
-returned the princess; who then related to Raoul the scene that
-took place at Chaillot, and the king's despair on his return; she
-told him of his indulgence to herself and the terrible word with
-which the outraged princess, the humiliated coquette, had quashed
-the royal anger.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul stood with his
-head bent down.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you think of it
-all?" she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king loves her," he
-replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But you seem to think
-she does not love him!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas, Madame, I was
-thinking of the time when she loved <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>me</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Henrietta was for a
-moment struck with admiration at this sublime disbelief: and
-then, shrugging her shoulders, she said, "You do not believe me,
-I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How deeply you
-must love her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And you
-doubt if she loves the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do, until I have a
-proof of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Forgive me,
-Madame, but she has given me her word; and her mind and heart are
-too upright to tell a falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You require a
-proof!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Be it so.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come with me, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>A
-Domiciliary Visit.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he princess, preceding Raoul, led him through the
-courtyard towards that part of the building La Valli&egrave;re
-inhabited, and, ascending the same staircase which Raoul himself
-had ascended that very morning, she paused at the door of the
-room in which the young man had been so strangely received by
-Montalais.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-opportunity was remarkably well chosen to carry out the project
-Madame Henrietta had conceived, for the ch&acirc;teau was
-empty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king, the
-courtiers, and the ladies of the court, had set off for
-Saint-Germain; Madame Henrietta was the only one who knew of
-Bragelonne's return, and thinking over the advantages which might
-be drawn from this return, she had feigned indisposition in order
-to remain behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Madame
-was therefore confident of finding La Valli&egrave;re's room and
-Saint-Aignan's apartment perfectly empty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She took a pass-key from her pocket
-and opened the door of her maid of honor's apartment.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Bragelonne's gaze was immediately
-fixed upon the interior of the room, which he recognized at once;
-and the impression which the sight of it produced upon him was
-torture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The princess
-looked at him, and her practiced eye at once detected what was
-passing in the young man's heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You asked for proofs,"
-she said; "do not be astonished, then, if I give you them.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But if you do not think you
-have courage enough to confront them, there is still time to
-withdraw."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I thank you, Madame,"
-said Bragelonne; "but I came here to be convinced.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You promised to convince me, - do
-so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Enter, then," said
-Madame, "and shut the door behind you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Bragelonne obeyed, and
-then turned towards the princess, whom he interrogated by a
-look.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You know where you are,
-I suppose?" inquired Madame Henrietta.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Everything leads me to
-believe I am in Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"But I would
-observe to your highness, that this room is a room, and is not a
-proof."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wait," said the
-princess, as she walked to the foot of the bed, folded up the
-screen into its several compartments, and stooped down towards
-the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Look here,"
-she continued; "stoop down and lift up this trap-door
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A trap-door!" said
-Raoul, astonished; for D'Artagnan's words began to return to his
-memory, and he had an indistinct recollection that D'Artagnan had
-made use of the same word.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He looked, but uselessly, for some
-cleft or crevice which might indicate an opening or a ring to
-assist in lifting up the planking.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, I forgot,"
-said Madame Henrietta, "I forgot the secret spring; the fourth
-plank of the flooring, - press on the spot where you will observe
-a knot in the wood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Those
-are the instructions; press, vicomte! press, I say,
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul, pale as
-death, pressed his finger on the spot which had been indicated to
-him; at the same moment the spring began to work, and the trap
-rose of its own accord.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is ingenious
-enough, certainly," said the princess; "and one can see that the
-architect foresaw that a woman's hand only would have to make use
-of this spring, for see how easily the trap-door opened without
-assistance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A staircase!"
-cried Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, and a very pretty
-one, too," said Madame Henrietta.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "See, vicomte, the staircase has a
-balustrade, intended to prevent the falling of timid persons, who
-might be tempted to descend the staircase; and I will risk myself
-on it accordingly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come,
-vicomte, follow me!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But before following
-you, madame, may I ask where this staircase leads to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, true; I forgot to
-tell you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know,
-perhaps, that formerly M. de Saint-Aignan lived in the very next
-apartment to the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame, I am aware
-of that; that was the arrangement, at least, before I left; and
-more than once I had the honor of visiting his rooms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, he obtained the
-king's leave to change his former convenient and beautiful
-apartment for the two rooms to which this staircase will conduct
-us, and which together form a lodging for him half the size, and
-at ten times greater the distance from the king, - a close
-proximity to whom is by no means disdained, in general, by the
-gentlemen belonging to the court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good, Madame,"
-returned Raoul; "but go on, I beg, for I do not understand
-yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, then it
-accidentally happened," continued the princess, "that M. de
-Saint-Aignan's apartment is situated underneath the apartments of
-my maids of honor, and by a further coincidence, exactly
-underneath the room of La Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But what was the motive
-of this trap-door and this staircase?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That I cannot tell
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Would you like to go
-down to Monsieur de Saint-Aignan's rooms?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Perhaps we shall be able to find the
-solution of the enigma there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And Madame set the
-example by going down herself, while Raoul, sighing deeply,
-followed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At every
-step Bragelonne took, he advanced further into that mysterious
-apartment which had witnessed La Valli&egrave;re's sighs and
-still retained the perfume of her presence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Bragelonne fancied he perceived, as
-he inhaled the atmosphere, that the young girl must have passed
-through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then succeeded
-to these emanations of herself, which he regarded as invisible
-though certain proofs, flowers she preferred to all others -
-books of her own selection.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If Raoul retained a single doubt on
-the subject, it would have vanished at the secret harmony of
-tastes and connection of the mind with the ordinary objects of
-life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re,
-in Bragelonne's eyes, was present there in each article of
-furniture, in the color of the hangings, in all that surrounded
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Dumb, and now
-completely overwhelmed, there was nothing further for him now to
-learn, and he followed his pitiless conductress as blindly as the
-culprit follows the executioner; while Madame, as cruel as women
-of overstrung temperaments generally are, did not spare him the
-slightest detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But it
-must be admitted that, notwithstanding the kind of apathy into
-which he had fallen, none of these details, even had he been left
-alone, would have escaped him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The happiness of the woman who
-loves, when that happiness is derived from a rival, is a living
-torture for a jealous man; but for a jealous man such as Raoul
-was, for one whose heart for the first time in its existence was
-being steeped in gall and bitterness, Louise's happiness was in
-reality an ignominious death, a death of body and soul.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He guessed all; he fancied he
-could see them, with their hands clasped in each other's, their
-faces drawn close together, and reflected, side by side, in
-loving proximity, and they gazed upon the mirrors around them -
-so sweet an occupation for lovers, who, as they thus see
-themselves twice over, imprint the picture still more deeply on
-their memories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He could
-guess, too, the stolen kiss snatched as they separated from each
-other's loved society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The luxury, the studied elegance, eloquent of the perfection of
-indolence, of ease; the extreme care shown, either to spare the
-loved object every annoyance, or to occasion her a delightful
-surprise; that might and majesty of love multiplied by the
-majesty and might of royalty itself, seemed like a death-blow to
-Raoul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If there be
-anything which can in any way assuage or mitigate the tortures of
-jealousy, it is the inferiority of the man who is preferred to
-yourself; whilst, on the very contrary, if there be one anguish
-more bitter than another, a misery for which language lacks a
-word, it is the superiority of the man preferred to yourself,
-superior, perhaps, in youth, beauty, grace.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is in such moments as these that
-Heaven almost seems to have taken part against the disdained and
-rejected lover.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> One final pang was
-reserved for poor Raoul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Madame Henrietta lifted up a silk curtain, and behind the canvas
-he perceived La Valli&egrave;re's portrait.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Not only the portrait of La
-Valli&egrave;re, but of La Valli&egrave;re radiant with youth,
-beauty, and happiness, inhaling life and enjoyment at every pore,
-because at eighteen years of age love itself is life.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Louise!" murmured
-Bragelonne, - "Louise! is it true, then?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, you have never loved me, for
-never have you looked at me in that manner."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he felt as if his heart were
-crushed within his bosom.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Madame Henrietta looked
-at him, almost envious of his extreme grief, although she well
-knew there was nothing to envy in it, and that she herself was as
-passionately loved by De Guiche as Louise by Bragelonne.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul interpreted Madame
-Henrietta's look.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, forgive me, forgive
-me, Madame; in your presence I know I ought to have greater
-self-control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But Heaven
-grant that you may never be struck by similar misery to that
-which crushes me at this moment, for you are but a woman, and
-would not be able to endure so terrible an affliction.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Forgive me, I again entreat
-you, Madame; I am but a man without rank or position, while you
-belong to a race whose happiness knows no bounds, whose power
-acknowledges no limit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur de
-Bragelonne," replied Henrietta, "a mind such as your merits all
-the consideration and respect which a queen's heart even can
-bestow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Regard me as your
-friend, monsieur; and as such, indeed, I would not allow your
-whole life to be poisoned by perfidy, and covered with
-ridicule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was I,
-indeed, who, with more courage than any of your pretended
-friends, - I except M. de Guiche, - was the cause of your return
-from London; it is I, also, who now give you the melancholy
-proofs, necessary, however, for your cure if you are a lover with
-courage in his heart, and not a weeping Amadis.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not thank me; pity me, even, and
-do not serve the king less faithfully than you have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul smiled
-bitterly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah! true,
-true; I was forgetting that; the king is my master."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your liberty, nay, your
-very life, is in danger."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> A steady, penetrating
-look informed Madame Henrietta that she was mistaken, and that
-her last argument was not a likely one to affect the young
-man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Take care, Monsieur
-de Bragelonne," she said, "for if you do not weigh well all your
-actions, you might throw into an extravagance of wrath a prince
-whose passions, once aroused, exceed the bounds of reason, and
-you would thereby involve your friends and family in the deepest
-distress; you must bend, you must submit, and you must cure
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I thank you, Madame; I
-appreciate the advice your royal highness is good enough to give
-me, and I will endeavor to follow it; but one final word, I
-beg."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Name it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Should I be indiscreet
-in asking you the secret of this staircase, of this trap-door; a
-secret, which, it seems, you have discovered?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing more
-simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> For the purpose
-of exercising a surveillance over the young girls who are
-attached to my service, I have duplicate keys of their
-doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It seemed very
-strange to me that M. de Saint-Aignan should change his
-apartments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It seemed
-very strange that the king should come to see M. de Saint-Aignan
-every day, and, finally, it seemed very strange that so many
-things should be done during your absence, that the very habits
-and customs of the court appeared changed.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do not wish to be trifled with by
-the king, nor to serve as a cloak for his love affairs; for after
-La Valli&egrave;re, who weeps incessantly, he will take a fancy
-to Montalais, who is always laughing; and then to
-Tonnay-Charente, who does nothing but sing all day; to act such a
-part as that would be unworthy of me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I thrust aside the scruples which my
-friendship for you suggested.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I discovered the secret.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have wounded your feelings, I
-know, and I again entreat you to pardon me; but I had a duty to
-fulfil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have discharged
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are now
-forewarned; the tempest will soon burst; protect yourself
-accordingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You naturally expect,
-however, that a result of some kind must follow," replied
-Bragelonne, with firmness; "for you do not suppose I shall
-silently accept the shame thus thrust upon me, or the treachery
-which has been practiced against me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You will take whatever
-steps in the matter you please, Monsieur Raoul, only do not
-betray the source whence you derived the truth.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That is all I have to ask, - the
-only price I require for the service I have rendered you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Fear nothing, Madame,"
-said Bragelonne, with a bitter smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I bribed the locksmith,
-in whom the lovers confided.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You can just as well have done so as
-myself, can you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Madame.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your royal highness, however,
-has no other advice or caution to give me, except that of not
-betraying you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "None."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am about, therefore,
-to beg your royal highness to allow me to remain here for one
-moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Without me?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! no,
-Madame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It matters very
-little; for what I have to do can be done in your presence.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I only ask one moment to write
-a line to some one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is dangerous,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Take care."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No one can possibly
-know that your royal highness has done me the honor to conduct me
-here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, I shall
-sign the letter I am going to write."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do as you please,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul drew out his
-tablet, and wrote rapidly on one of the leaves the following
-words:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "MONSIEUR LE COMTE, - Do
-not be surprised to find this paper signed by me; the friend I
-shall very shortly send to call on you will have the honor to
-explain the object of my visit.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>
-"VICOMTE RAOUL DE BRAGELONNE."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He rolled up the paper,
-slipped it into the lock of the door which communicated with the
-room set apart for the two lovers, and satisfied himself that the
-missive was so apparent that Saint-Aignan could not but see it as
-he entered; he rejoined the princess, who had already reached the
-top of the staircase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-They then separated, Raoul pretending to thank her highness;
-Henrietta pitying, or seeming to pity, with all her heart, the
-wretched young man she had just condemned to such fearful
-torture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh!" she said,
-as she saw him disappear, pale as death, and his eyes bursting
-with blood, "if I had foreseen this, I would have hid the truth
-from that poor gentleman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Porthos's Plan of Action.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he great number of individuals we have introduced into
-this long story is the reason why each of them has been forced to
-appear only in turn, according to the exigencies of the
-recital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The result is,
-that our readers have had no opportunity of meeting our friend
-Porthos since his return from Fontainebleau.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The honors which he had received
-from the king had not changed the easy, affectionate character of
-that excellent-hearted man; he may, perhaps, have held up his
-head a little higher than usual, and a majesty of demeanor, as it
-were, may have betrayed itself since the honor of dining at the
-king's table had been accorded him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His majesty's banqueting-room had
-produced a certain effect on Porthos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Le Seigneur de Bracieux et de
-Pierrefonds delighted to remember that, during that memorable
-dinner, the numerous array of servants, and the large number of
-officials in attendance on the guests, gave a certain tone and
-effect to the repast, and seemed, as it were, to furnish the
-room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos undertook
-to confer upon Mouston a position of some kind or other, in order
-to establish a sort of hierarchy among his other domestics, and
-to create a military household, which was not unusual among the
-great captains of the age, since, in the preceding century, this
-luxury had been greatly encouraged by Messieurs de
-Tr&eacute;ville, de Schomberg, de la Vieuville, without alluding
-to M. de Richelieu, M. de Cond&eacute;, and de
-Bouillon-Turenne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And,
-therefore, why should not he, Porthos, the friend of the king,
-and of M. Fouquet, a baron, and engineer, etc., why should not
-he, indeed, enjoy all the delightful privileges which large
-possessions and unusual merit invariably confer?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Somewhat neglected by Aramis, who,
-we know, was greatly occupied with M. Fouquet; neglected, also,
-on account of his being on duty, by D'Artagnan; tired of
-Tr&uuml;chen and Planchet, Porthos was surprised to find himself
-dreaming, without precisely knowing why; but if any one had said
-to him, "Do you want anything, Porthos?" he would most certainly
-have replied, "Yes."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-After one of those dinners, during which Porthos attempted to
-recall to his recollection all the details of the royal banquet,
-gently joyful, thanks to the excellence of the wines; gently
-melancholy, thanks to his ambitions ideas, Porthos was gradually
-falling off into a placid doze, when his servant entered to
-announce that M. de Bragelonne wished to speak to him.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos passed into an
-adjoining room, where he found his young friend in the
-disposition of mind we are already aware of.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul advanced towards Porthos, and
-shook him by the hand; Porthos, surprised at his seriousness of
-aspect, offered him a seat.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Dear M. du Vallon," said Raoul, "I
-have a service to ask of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing could happen
-more fortunately, my young friend," replied Porthos; "I have
-eight thousand livres sent me this morning from Pierrefonds; and
-if you want any money - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, I thank you; it is
-not money."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So much the worse,
-then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have always heard
-it said that that is the rarest service, but the easiest to
-render.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The remark struck
-me; I like to cite remarks that strike me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your heart is as good
-as your mind is sound and true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are much too kind,
-I declare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will dine
-here, of course?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; I am
-not hungry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Eh! not dine?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What a dreadful country
-England is!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not too much so, indeed
-- but - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, if such excellent
-fish and meat were not to be procured there, it would hardly be
-endurable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I came to - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am listening.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Only just allow me to take a
-little sip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> One gets
-thirsty in Paris;" and he ordered a bottle of champagne to be
-brought; and, having first filled Raoul's glass, he filled his
-own, drank it down at a gulp, and then resumed: "I needed that,
-in order to listen to you with proper attention.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am now entirely at your
-service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What do you wish
-to ask me, dear Raoul?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-What do you want?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Give me your opinion on
-quarrels in general, my dear friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My opinion!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well - but - Explain your idea a
-little more coherently," replied Porthos, rubbing his
-forehead.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I mean - you are
-generally good-humored, good-tempered, whenever any
-misunderstanding arises between a friend of yours and a stranger,
-for instance?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! in the
-best of tempers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good; but what do
-you do, in such a case?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Whenever any friend of
-mine gets into a quarrel, I always act on one principle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That lost time is
-irreparable, and one never arranges an affair so well as when
-everything has been done to embroil the disputants as much as
-possible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! indeed, is that the
-principle on which you proceed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely; so, as soon
-as a quarrel takes place, I bring the two parties together."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Exactly."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You
-understand that by this means it is impossible for an affair not
-to be arranged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should have thought
-that, treated in this manner, an affair would, on the contrary -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! not the least in
-the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Just fancy,
-now, I have had in my life something like a hundred and eighty to
-a hundred and ninety regular duels, without reckoning hasty
-encounters, or chance meetings."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a
-very handsome aggregate," said Raoul, unable to resist a
-smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A mere nothing; but I
-am so gentle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-reckons his duels by hundreds.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is very true he is a little too
-hard and sharp - I have often told him so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so," resumed Raoul,
-"you generally arrange the affairs of honor your friends confide
-to you."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is
-not a single instance in which I have not finished by arranging
-every one of them," said Porthos, with a gentleness and
-confidence that surprised Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But the way in which
-you settle them is at least honorable, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! rely upon that; and
-at this stage, I will explain my other principle to you.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as my friend has
-intrusted his quarrel to me, this is what I do; I go to his
-adversary at once, armed with a politeness and self-possession
-absolutely requisite under such circumstances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is the way, then,"
-said Raoul, bitterly, "that you arrange affairs so safely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe you.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I go to the adversary, then,
-and say to him: 'It is impossible, monsieur, that you are
-ignorant of the extent to which you have insulted my
-friend.'"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul frowned
-at this remark.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It sometimes happens -
-very often, indeed," pursued Porthos - "that my friend has not
-been insulted at all; he has even been the first to give offense;
-you can imagine, therefore, whether my language is or is not well
-chosen."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And Porthos
-burst into a peal of laughter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Decidedly," said Raoul
-to himself while the merry thunder of Porthos's laughter was
-resounding in his ears, "I am very unfortunate.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> De Guiche treats me with coolness,
-D'Artagnan with ridicule, Porthos is too tame; no one will settle
-this affair in the only way I wish it to be settled.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And I came to Porthos because I
-wanted to find a sword instead of cold reasoning at my
-service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My ill-luck dogs
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos, who had
-recovered himself, continued: "By one simple expression, I leave
-my adversary without an excuse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is as it may
-happen," said Raoul, absently.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not at all, it is quite
-certain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have not left
-him an excuse; and then it is that I display all my courtesy, in
-order to attain the happy issue of my project.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I advance, therefore, with an air of
-great politeness, and taking my adversary by the hand, I say to
-him: 'Now that you are convinced of having given the offense, we
-are sure of reparation; between my friend and yourself, the
-future can only offer an exchange of mutual courtesies of
-conduct, and consequently, my mission now is to acquaint you with
-the length of my friend's sword.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What!" said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Wait a minute.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> 'The length of my friend's
-sword.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My horse is
-waiting below; my friend is in such and such a spot and is
-impatiently awaiting your agreeable society; I will take you with
-me; we can call upon your second as we go along:' and the affair
-is arranged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so," said Raoul,
-pale with vexation, "you reconcile the two adversaries on the
-ground."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I beg your pardon,"
-interrupted Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Reconcile!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What
-for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You said that the
-affair was arranged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course! since my
-friend is waiting for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well! what then?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If he is waiting - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well! if he is waiting,
-it is merely to stretch his legs a little.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The adversary, on the contrary, is
-stiff from riding; they place themselves in proper order, and my
-friend kills the opponent, and the affair is ended."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! he kills him,
-then?" cried Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should think so,"
-said Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Is it
-likely I should ever have as a friend a man who allows himself to
-get killed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have a
-hundred and one friends; at the head of the list stand your
-father, Aramis, and D'Artagnan, all of whom are living and well,
-I believe?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, my dear baron,"
-exclaimed Raoul, as he embraced Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You approve of my
-method, then?" said the giant.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I approve of it so
-thoroughly, that I shall have recourse to it this very day,
-without a moment's delay, - at once, in fact.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are the very man I have been
-looking for."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Good; here I am, then;
-you want to fight, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Absolutely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is very
-natural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> With whom?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With M. de
-Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know him - a most
-agreeable man, who was exceedingly polite to me the day I had the
-honor of dining with the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall certainly acknowledge his
-politeness in return, even if it had not happened to be my usual
-custom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So, he has given
-you an offense?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "A mortal
-offense."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The
-deuce!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I can say so, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "More than that, even,
-if you like."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is a
-very great convenience."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I may look upon it as
-one of your arranged affairs, may I not?" said Raoul,
-smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As a matter of
-course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Where will you be
-waiting for him?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I forgot; it is a very
-delicate matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de
-Saint-Aignan is a very great friend of the king's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So I have heard it
-said."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So that if
-I kill him - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! you will kill him,
-certainly; you must take every precaution to do so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But there is no difficulty in these
-matters now; if you had lived in our early days, - ah, those were
-days worth living for!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "My dear friend, you do
-not quite understand me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I mean, that M. de Saint-Aignan being a friend of the king, the
-affair will be more difficult to manage, since the king might
-learn beforehand - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! no; that is not
-likely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You know my
-method: 'Monsieur, you have just injured my friend, and - '"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I know it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And then: 'Monsieur, I
-have horses below.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-carry him off before he can have spoken to any one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will he allow himself
-to be carried off like that?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should
-think so!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should like
-to see it fail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It would
-be the first time, if it did.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is true, though, that the young
-men of the present day - Bah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I would carry him off bodily, if
-that were all," and Porthos, adding gesture to speech, lifted
-Raoul and the chair he was sitting on off the ground, and carried
-them round the room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good," said Raoul,
-laughing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "All we have to
-do is to state the grounds of the quarrel with M. de
-Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, but that is done,
-it seems."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, my dear M. du
-Vallon, the usage of the present day requires that the cause of
-the quarrel should be explained."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Tell me what it is, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The fact is - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Deuce take it! how
-troublesome all this is!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-In former days we had no occasion to say anything about the
-matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> People fought for
-the sake of fighting; and I, for one, know no better reason than
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are quite right, M.
-du Vallon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"However, tell me
-what<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> the cause
-is.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is too long a
-story to tell; only, as one must particularize to a certain
-extent, and as, on the other hand, the affair is full of
-difficulties, and requires the most absolute secrecy, you will
-have the kindness merely to tell M. de Saint-Aignan that he has,
-in the first place, insulted me by changing his lodgings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By changing his
-lodgings?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Good," said
-Porthos, who began to count on his fingers; "next?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then in getting a
-trap-door made in his new apartments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I understand,"
-said Porthos; "a trap-door: upon my word, that is very serious;
-you ought to be furious at that.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What the deuce does the fellow mean
-by getting trap-doors made without first consulting you?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Trap-doors! <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>mordioux!</i><span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I haven't got any, except in my
-dungeons at Bracieux."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you will
-please add," said Raoul, "that my last motive for considering
-myself insulted is, the existence of the portrait that M. de
-Saint-Aignan well knows."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is it
-possible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A portrait,
-too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A change of
-residence, a trap-door, and a portrait!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why, my dear friend, with but one of
-these causes of complaint there is enough, and more than enough,
-for all the gentlemen in France and Spain to cut each other's
-throats, and that is saying but very little."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, my dear
-friend, you are furnished with all you need, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I shall take a
-second horse with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Select your own rendezvous, and while you are waiting there, you
-can practice some of the best passes, so as to get your limbs as
-elastic as possible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank you.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall be waiting for you in
-the wood of Vincennes, close to Minimes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"All goes well,
-then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Where am I to find
-this M. de Saint-Aignan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At the Palais
-Royal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos ran a huge
-hand-bell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "My court
-suit," he said to the servant who answered the summons, "my
-horse, and a led horse to accompany me."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then turning to Raoul, as soon as
-the servant had quitted the room, he said: "Does your father know
-anything about this?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; I am going to
-write to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And
-D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, nor D'Artagnan
-either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He is very
-cautions, you know, and might have diverted me from my
-purpose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"D'Artagnan is a
-sound adviser, though," said Porthos, astonished that, in his own
-loyal faith in D'Artagnan, any one could have thought of himself,
-so long as there was a D'Artagnan in the world.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Dear M. du
-Vallon," said Raoul, "do not question me any more, I implore
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have told you all
-that I had to say; it is prompt action I now expect, sharp and
-decided as you know how to arrange it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That, indeed, is my reason for
-having chosen you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will be
-satisfied with me," replied Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not forget,
-either, that, except ourselves, no one must know anything of this
-meeting."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"People generally
-find these things out," said Porthos, dryly, "when a dead body is
-discovered in a wood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But
-I promise everything, my dear friend, except the concealment of
-the dead body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There it
-is, and it must be seen, as a matter of course.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is a principle of mine, not to
-bury bodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That has a
-smack of the assassin about it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Every risk has its
-peculiarities."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To work, then, my
-dear friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Rely upon me,"
-said the giant, finishing the bottle, while a servant spread out
-upon a sofa the gorgeously decorated dress trimmed with lace.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul left the
-room, saying to himself, with a secret delight, "Perfidious king!
-traitorous monarch!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-cannot reach thee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do
-not wish it; for kings are sacred objects.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But your friend, your accomplice,
-your panderer - the coward who represents you - shall pay for
-your crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will kill
-him in thy name, and, afterwards, we will bethink ourselves of -
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Louise</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Change of Residence, the Trap-Door, and the Portrait.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-P</span>orthos, intrusted, to his great delight, with this
-mission, which made him feel young again, took half an hour less
-than his usual time to put on his court suit.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To show that he was a man acquainted
-with the usages of high society, he had begun by sending his
-lackey to inquire if Monsieur de Saint-Aignan were at home, and
-heard, in answer, that M. le Comte de Saint-Aignan had had the
-honor of accompanying the king to Saint-Germain, as well as the
-whole court; but that monsieur le comte had just that moment
-returned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Immediately
-upon this reply, Porthos made as much haste as possible, and
-reached Saint-Aignan's apartments just as the latter was having
-his boots taken off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-promenade had been delightful.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king, who was in love more than
-ever, and of course happier than ever, behaved in the most
-charming manner to every one.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing could possibly equal his
-kindness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de
-Saint-Aignan, it may be remembered, was a poet, and fancied that
-he had proved that he was so under too many a memorable
-circumstance to allow the title to be disputed by any one.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> An indefatigable rhymester, he
-had, during the whole of the journey, overwhelmed with quatrains,
-sextains, and madrigals, first the king, and then La
-Valli&egrave;re.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-king, on his side, was in a similarly poetical mood, and had made
-a distich; while La Valli&egrave;re, delighting in poetry, as
-most women do who are in love, had composed two sonnets.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The day, then, had not been a
-bad one for Apollo; and so, as soon as he had returned to Paris,
-Saint-Aignan, who knew beforehand that his verse would be sure to
-be extensively circulated in court circles, occupied himself,
-with a little more attention than he had been able to bestow
-during the promenade, with the composition, as well as with the
-idea itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Consequently, with all the tenderness of a father about to start
-his children in life, he candidly interrogated himself whether
-the public would find these offsprings of his imagination
-sufficiently elegant and graceful; and in order to make his mind
-easy on the subject, M. de Saint-Aignan recited to himself the
-madrigal he had composed, and which he had repeated from memory
-to the king, and had promised to write out for him on his
-return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All the time he
-was committing these words to memory, the comte was engaged in
-undressing himself more completely.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had just taken off his coat, and
-was putting on his dressing-gown, when he was informed that
-Monsieur le Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds was
-waiting to be received.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Eh!" he said, "what
-does that bunch of names mean?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I don't know anything about
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is the same
-gentleman," replied the lackey, "who had the honor of dining with
-you, monseigneur, at the king's table, when his majesty was
-staying at Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Introduce him, then, at
-once," cried Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos, in a few
-minutes, entered the room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Saint-Aignan had an excellent
-recollection of persons, and, at the first glance, he recognized
-the gentleman from the country, who enjoyed so singular a
-reputation, and whom the king had received so favorably at
-Fontainebleau, in spite of the smiles of some of those who were
-present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He therefore
-advanced towards Porthos with all the outward signs of
-consideration of manner which Porthos thought but natural,
-considering that he himself, whenever he called upon an
-adversary, hoisted a standard of the most refined
-politeness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan
-desired the servant to give Porthos a chair; and the latter, who
-saw nothing unusual in this act of politeness, sat down gravely
-and coughed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The ordinary
-courtesies having been exchanged between the two gentlemen, the
-comte, to whom the visit was paid, said, "May I ask, monsieur le
-baron, to what happy circumstance I am indebted for the favor of
-a visit from you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The very thing I am
-about to have the honor of explaining to you, monsieur le comte;
-but, I beg your pardon - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is the matter,
-monsieur?" inquired Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I regret to say that I
-have broken your chair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Not at all, monsieur,"
-said Saint-Aignan; "not at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is the fact, though,
-monsieur le comte; I have broken it - so much so, indeed, that if
-I do not move, I shall fall down, which would be an exceedingly
-disagreeable position for me in the discharge of the very serious
-mission which has been intrusted to me with regard to
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos rose; and but
-just in time, for the chair had given way several inches.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan looked about him
-for something more solid for his guest to sit upon.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Modern articles of
-furniture," said Porthos, while the comte was looking about, "are
-constructed in a ridiculously flimsy manner.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In my early days, when I used to sit
-down with far more energy than is now the case, I do not remember
-ever to have broken a chair, except in taverns, with my
-arms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Saint-Aignan smiled at
-this remark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "But," said
-Porthos, as he settled himself down on a couch, which creaked,
-but did not give way beneath his weight, "that unfortunately has
-nothing whatever to do with my present visit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why unfortunately?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you the bearer of a
-message of ill-omen, monsieur le baron?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of ill-omen - for a
-gentleman?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Certainly not,
-monsieur le comte," replied Porthos, nobly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I have simply come to say that you
-have seriously insulted a friend of mine."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I, monsieur?" exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan - "I have insulted a friend of yours, do you
-say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> May I ask his
-name?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. Raoul de
-Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have insulted M.
-Raoul de Bragelonne!" cried Saint-Aignan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I really assure you, monsieur, that
-it is quite impossible; for M. de Bragelonne, whom I know but
-very slightly, - nay, whom I know hardly at all - is in England,
-and, as I have not seen him for a long time past, I cannot
-possibly have insulted him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "M. de Bragelonne is in
-Paris, monsieur le comte," said Porthos, perfectly unmoved; "and
-I repeat, it is quite certain you have insulted him, since he
-himself told me you had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Yes, monsieur, you have seriously insulted him, mortally insulted
-him, I repeat."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is impossible,
-monsieur le baron, I swear, quite impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Besides," added
-Porthos, "you cannot be ignorant of the circumstance, since M. de
-Bragelonne informed me that he had already apprised you of it by
-a note."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I give you my word of
-honor, monsieur, that I have received no note whatever."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This is most
-extraordinary," replied Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I will convince you,"
-said Saint-Aignan, "that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-have received nothing in any way from him."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he rang the bell.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Basque," he said to the servant who
-entered, "how many letters have or notes were sent here during my
-absence?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Three, monsieur le
-comte - a note from M. de Fiesque, one from Madame de
-Lafert&eacute;, and a letter from M. de las Fuent&egrave;s."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is that all?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, monsieur le
-comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Speak the truth before
-this gentleman - the truth, you understand.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will take care you are not
-blamed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There was a note, also,
-from - from - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Well, from
-whom?"<br>
-"From Mademoiselle - de - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Out with it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"De Laval."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That is quite
-sufficient," interrupted Porthos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I believe you, monsieur le
-comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan
-dismissed the valet, and followed him to the door, in order to
-close it after him; and when he had done so, looking straight
-before him, he happened to see in the keyhole of the adjoining
-apartment the paper which Bragelonne had slipped in there as he
-left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What is this?" he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos, who was
-sitting with his back to the room, turned round.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Aha!" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A note in the
-keyhole!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is not
-unlikely to be the missing letter, monsieur le comte," said
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan took
-out the paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "A note
-from M. de Bragelonne!" he exclaimed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You see, monsieur,
-I was right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, when I
-say a thing - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Brought here by M.
-de Bragelonne himself," the comte murmured, turning pale.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "This is infamous!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How could he possibly have come
-here?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And the comte rang
-again.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who has been here
-during my absence with the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is
-impossible!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Some one must
-have been here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one could
-possibly have entered, monsieur, since the keys have never left
-my pocket."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet I find the
-letter in yonder lock; some one must have put it there; it could
-not have come here of its own accord."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Basque opened his
-arms as if signifying the most absolute ignorance on the
-subject.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Probably it was M.
-de Bragelonne himself who placed it there," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case he
-must have entered here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How could that
-have been, since I have the key in my own pocket?" returned
-Basque, perseveringly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan
-crumpled the letter in his palm, after having read it.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "There is something mysterious
-about this," he murmured, absorbed in thought.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos left him to his reflections;
-but after a while returned to the mission he had undertaken.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Shall we return to
-our little affair?" Porthos resumed, addressing Saint-Aignan
-after a brief pause.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think I can now
-understand it, from this note, which has arrived here in so
-singular a manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Monsieur de Bragelonne says that a friend will call."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am his
-friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am the person
-he alludes to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"For the purpose of
-giving me a challenge?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And he complains
-that I have insulted him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mortally."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way, may I
-ask; for his conduct is so mysterious, that, at least, it needs
-some explanation?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," replied
-Porthos, "my friend cannot but be right; and, as far as his
-conduct is concerned, if it be mysterious, as you say, you have
-only yourself to blame for it."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos pronounced these words with
-an amount of confidence which, for a man who was unaccustomed to
-his ways, must have revealed an infinity of sense.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mystery, so be it;
-but what is all the mystery about?" said Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will think it
-the best, perhaps," Porthos replied, with a low bow, "if I do not
-enter in to particulars."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I perfectly
-understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We will touch
-very lightly upon it, then, so speak, monsieur, I am
-listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the first
-place, monsieur," said Porthos, "you have changed your
-apartments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, that is quite
-true," said Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You admit it,"
-said Porthos, with an air of satisfaction.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Admit it! of
-course I admit it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why
-should I not admit it, do you suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have admitted
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Very good," said
-Porthos, lifting up one finger.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But how can my
-having moved my lodgings have done M. de Bragelonne any
-harm?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Have the goodness
-to tell me that, for I positively do not comprehend a word of
-what you are saying."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos stopped
-him, and then said, with great gravity, "Monsieur, this is the
-first of M. de Bragelonne's complaints against you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If he makes a complaint, it is
-because he feels himself insulted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan began
-to beat his foot impatiently on the ground.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "This looks like a spurious
-quarrel," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one can
-possibly have a spurious quarrel with the Vicomte de Bragelonne,"
-returned Porthos; "but, at all events, you have nothing to add on
-the subject of your changing your apartments, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And what is the next
-point?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, the next!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will observe, monsieur,
-that the one I have already mentioned is a most serious injury,
-to which you have given no answer, or rather, have answered very
-indifferently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it
-possible, monsieur, that you have changed your lodgings?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. de Bragelonne feels
-insulted at your having done so, and you do not attempt to excuse
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!" cried
-Saint-Aignan, who was getting annoyed at the perfect coolness of
-his visitor - "what! am I to consult M. de Bragelonne whether I
-am to move or not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You
-can hardly be serious, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And it is absolutely necessary,
-monsieur; but under any circumstances, you will admit that it is
-nothing in comparison with the second ground of complaint."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, what is
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos assumed a
-very solemn expression as he said: "How about the trap-door,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan turned
-exceedingly pale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-pushed back his chair so abruptly, that Porthos, simple as he
-was, perceived that the blow had told.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The trap-door," murmured
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, monsieur,
-explain that if you can," said Porthos, shaking his head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan held
-down his head, as he murmured: "I have been betrayed, everything
-is known!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Everything,"
-replied Porthos, who knew nothing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You see me
-perfectly overwhelmed," pursued Saint-Aignan, "overwhelmed to a
-degree that I hardly know what I am about."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A guilty
-conscience, monsieur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Your affair is a bad one, and when the public learns all about
-it, it will judge - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, monsieur!"
-exclaimed the count, hurriedly, "such a secret ought not to be
-known even by one's confessor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That we will think
-about," said Porthos; "the secret will not go far, in fact."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Surely, monsieur,"
-returned Saint-Aignan, "since M. de Bragelonne has penetrated the
-secret, he must be aware of the danger he as well as others run
-the risk of incurring."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. de Bragelonne
-runs no danger, monsieur, nor does he fear any either, as you, if
-it please Heaven, will find out very soon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This fellow is a
-perfect madman," thought Saint-Aignan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What, in Heaven's name, does he
-want?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then said
-aloud: "Come, monsieur, let us hush up this affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You forget the
-portrait," said Porthos, in a voice of thunder, which made the
-comte's blood freeze in his veins.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As the portrait in
-question was La Valli&egrave;re's portrait, and no mistake could
-any longer exist on the subject, Saint-Aignan's eyes were
-completely opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah!"
-he exclaimed - "ah! monsieur, I remember now that M. de
-Bragelonne was engaged to be married to her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos assumed an
-imposing air, all the majesty of ignorance, in fact, as he said:
-"It matters nothing whatever to me, nor to yourself, indeed,
-whether or not my friend was, as you say, engaged to be
-married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am even
-astonished that you should have made use of so indiscreet a
-remark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It may possibly
-do your cause harm, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "you are the incarnation of intelligence, delicacy,
-and loyalty of feeling united.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I see the whole matter now clearly
-enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So much the
-better," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And," pursued
-Saint-Aignan, "you have made me comprehend it in the most
-ingenious and the most delicate manner possible.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I beg you to accept my best
-thanks."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos drew
-himself up, unable to resist the flattery of the remark.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Only, now that I know
-everything, permit me to explain - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos shook his
-head, as a an who does not wish to hear, but Saint-Aignan
-continued: "I am in despair, I assure you, at all that has
-happened; but how would you have acted in my place?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come, between ourselves, tell me
-what you would have done?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos drew
-himself up as he answered: "There is now no question of all of
-what I should have done, young man; you have been made acquainted
-with the three causes of complaint against you, I believe?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As for the first,
-my change of rooms, and I now address myself to you as a man of
-honor and of great intelligence, could I, when the desire of so
-august a personage was so urgently expressed that I should move,
-ought I to have disobeyed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos was about
-to speak, but Saint-Aignan did not give him time to answer.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Ah! my frankness, I see,
-convinces you," he said, interpreting the movement according to
-his own fancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You feel
-that I am right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos did not
-reply, and so Saint-Aignan continued: "I pass by that unfortunate
-trap-door," he said, placing his hand on Porthos's arm, "that
-trap-door, the occasion and means of so much unhappiness, and
-which was constructed for - you know what.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, then, in plain truth, do you
-suppose that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> it was I
-who, of my own accord, in such a place, too, had that trap-door
-made? - Oh, no! - you do not believe it; and here, again, you
-feel, you guess, you understand the influence of a will superior
-to my own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You can
-conceive the infatuation, the blind, irresistible passion which
-has been at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But,
-thank Heaven!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am
-fortunate in speaking to a man who has so much sensitiveness of
-feeling; and if it were not so, indeed, what an amount of misery
-and scandal would fall upon her, poor girl! and upon him - whom I
-will not name."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos, confused
-and bewildered by the eloquence and gestures of Saint-Aignan,
-made a thousand efforts to stem this torrent of words, of which,
-by the by, he did not understand a single one; he remained
-upright and motionless on his seat, and that was all he could
-do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan
-continued, and gave a new inflection to his voice, and an
-increasing vehemence to his gesture: "As for the portrait, for I
-readily believe the portrait is the principal cause of complaint,
-tell me candidly if you think me to blame? - Who was it who
-wished to have her portrait?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Was it I? - Who is in love with
-her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is it I? - Who
-wishes to gain her affection?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Again, is it I? - Who took her
-likeness?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I, do you
-think?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No! a thousand
-times no!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know M. de
-Bragelonne must be in a state of despair; I know these
-misfortunes are most cruel.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I, too, am suffering as well;
-and yet there is no possibility of offering any resistance.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Suppose we were to fight? we
-would be laughed at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If
-he obstinately persist in his course, he is lost.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will tell me, I know, that
-despair is ridiculous, but then you are a sensible man.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have understood me.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I perceived by your serious,
-thoughtful, embarrassed air, even, that the importance of the
-situation we are placed in has not escaped you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Return, therefore, to M. de
-Bragelonne; thank him - as I have indeed reason to thank him -
-for having chosen as an intermediary a man of your high
-merit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Believe me that I
-shall, on my side, preserve an eternal gratitude for the man who
-has so ingeniously, so cleverly arranged the misunderstanding
-between us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And since ill
-luck would have it that the secret should be known to four
-instead of three, why, this secret, which might make the most
-ambitious man's fortune, I am delighted to share with you,
-monsieur, from the bottom of my heart I am delighted at it.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> From this very moment you can
-make use of me as you please, I place myself entirely at your
-mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What can I
-possibly do for you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What
-can I solicit, nay, require even?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You have only to speak, monsieur,
-only to speak."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And, according to
-the familiarly friendly fashion of that period, Saint-Aignan
-threw his arms round Porthos, and clasped him tenderly in his
-embrace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos allowed
-him to do this with the most perfect indifference.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Speak," resumed Saint-Aignan, "what
-do you require?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said
-Porthos, "I have a horse below: be good enough to mount him; he
-is a very good one and will play you no tricks."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mount on
-horseback! what for?" inquired Saint-Aignan, with no little
-curiosity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To accompany me to
-where M. de Bragelonne is waiting us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! he wishes to
-speak to me, I suppose?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-can well believe that; he wishes to have the details, very
-likely; alas! it is a very delicate matter; but at the present
-moment I cannot, for the king is waiting for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king must
-wait, then" said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you say?
-the king must wait!" interrupted the finished courtier, with a
-smile of utter amazement, for he could not understand that the
-king could under any circumstances be supposed to have to
-wait.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is merely the
-affair of a very short hour," returned Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But where is M. de
-Bragelonne waiting for me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At the Minimes, at
-Vincennes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, indeed! but
-are we going to laugh over the affair when we get there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I don't think it
-likely," said Porthos, as his face assumed a look of utter
-hardness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But the Minimes is
-a rendezvous where duels take place, and what can I have to do at
-the Minimes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos slowly drew
-his sword, and said: "That is the length of my friend's
-sword."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, the man is
-mad!" cried Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The color mounted
-to Porthos's face, as he replied: "If I had not the honor of
-being in your own apartment, monsieur, and of representing M. de
-Bragelonne's interests, I would throw you out of the window.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It will be merely a pleasure
-postponed, and you will lose nothing by waiting.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will you come with me to the
-Minimes, monsieur, of your own free will?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take care, I will
-carry you if you do not come quickly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Basque!" cried
-Saint-Aignan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as
-Basque appeared, he said, "The king wishes to see monsieur le
-comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is very
-different," said Porthos; "the king's service before anything
-else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We will wait until
-this evening, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And saluting
-Saint-Aignan with his usual courtesy, Porthos left the room,
-delighted at having arranged another affair.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan looked after him as he
-left; and then hastily putting on his court dress again, he ran
-off, arranging his costume as he went along, muttering to
-himself, "The Minimes! the Minimes!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We shall see how the king will fancy
-this challenge; for it is for him after all, that is
-certain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Rivals in Politics.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-O</span>n his return from the promenade, which had been so
-prolific in poetical effusions, and in which every one had paid
-his or her tribute to the Muses, as the poets of the period used
-to say, the king found M. Fouquet waiting for an audience.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Colbert had lain in wait
-for his majesty in the corridor, and followed him like a jealous
-and watchful shadow; M. Colbert, with his square head, his vulgar
-and untidy, though rich costume, somewhat resembled a Flemish
-gentleman after he had been over-indulging in his national drink
-- beer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet, at sight
-of his enemy, remained perfectly unmoved, and during the whole of
-the scene which followed scrupulously resolved to observe a line
-of conduct particularly difficult to the man of superior mind,
-who does not even wish to show his contempt, for fear of doing
-his adversary too much honor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert made no attempt to conceal
-his insolent expression of the vulgar joy he felt.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In his opinion, M. Fouquet's was a
-game very badly played and hopelessly lost, although not yet
-finished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert
-belonged to that school of politicians who think cleverness alone
-worthy of their admiration, and success the only thing worth
-caring for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert,
-moreover, who was not simply an envious and jealous man, but who
-had the king's interest really at heart, because he was
-thoroughly imbued with the highest sense of probity in all
-matters of figures and accounts, could well afford to assign as a
-pretext for his conduct, that in hating and doing his utmost to
-ruin M. Fouquet, he had nothing in view but the welfare of the
-state and the dignity of the crown.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> None of these details escaped
-Fouquet's observation; through his enemy's thick, bushy brows,
-and despite the restless movement of his eyelids, he could, by
-merely looking at his eyes, penetrate to the very bottom of
-Colbert's heart, and he read to what an unbounded extent hate
-towards himself and triumph at his approaching fall existed
-there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But as, in
-observing everything, he wished to remain himself impenetrable,
-he composed his features, smiled with the charmingly sympathetic
-smile that was peculiarly his own, and saluted the king with the
-most dignified and graceful ease and elasticity of manner.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Sire," he said, "I perceive
-by your majesty's joyous air that you have been gratified with
-the promenade."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Most gratified, indeed,
-monsieur le surintendant, most gratified.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You were very wrong not to come with
-us, as I invited you to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I was working, sire,"
-replied the superintendent, who did not even seem to take the
-trouble to turn aside his head in merest respect of Colbert's
-presence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> M. Fouquet," cried the king, "there
-is nothing like the country.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should be delighted to live in the
-country always, in the open air and under the trees."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I should hope that your
-majesty is not yet weary of the throne," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; but thrones of soft
-turf are very pleasant."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty gratifies
-my utmost wishes in speaking in that manner, for I have a request
-to submit to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "On whose behalf,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh behalf of the nymphs
-of Vaux, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! ah!" said Louis
-XIV.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty, too, once
-deigned to make me a promise," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, I remember
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux, the
-celebrated <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i>,
-I think, it was, sire," said Colbert, endeavoring to show his
-importance by taking part in the conversation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Fouquet, with the
-profoundest contempt, did not take the slightest notice of the
-remark, as if, as far as he was concerned, Colbert had not even
-thought or said a word.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty is aware,"
-he said, "that I destine my estate at Vaux to receive the most
-amiable of princes, the most powerful of monarchs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have given you my
-promise, monsieur," said Louis XIV., smiling; "and a king never
-departs from his word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And I have come now,
-sire, to inform your majesty that I am ready to obey your orders
-in every respect."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you promise me many
-wonders, monsieur le surintendant?" said Louis, looking at
-Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Wonders?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! no, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do not undertake that.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I hope to be able to procure your
-majesty a little pleasure, perhaps even a little forgetfulness of
-the cares of state."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nay, nay, M. Fouquet,"
-returned the king; "I insist upon the word 'wonders.'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are a magician, I believe; we
-all know the power you wield; we also know that you can find gold
-even when there is none to be found elsewhere; so much so,
-indeed, that people say you coin it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Fouquet felt that the
-shot was discharged from a double quiver, and that the king had
-launched an arrow from his own bow as well as one from
-Colbert's.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh!" said he,
-laughingly, "the people know perfectly well out of what mine I
-procure the gold; and they know it only too well, perhaps;
-besides," he added, "I can assure your majesty that the gold
-destined to pay the expenses of the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux will cost
-neither blood nor tears; hard labor it may, perhaps, but that can
-be paid for."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis paused quite
-confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He wished to
-look at Colbert; Colbert, too, wished to reply to him; a glance
-as swift as an eagle's, a king-like glance, indeed, which Fouquet
-darted at the latter, arrested the words upon his lips.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king, who had by this time
-recovered his self-possession, turned towards Fouquet, saying, "I
-presume, therefore, I am now to consider myself formally
-invited?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire, if your
-majesty will condescend so far as to accept my invitation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What day have you
-fixed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Any day your majesty
-may find most convenient."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You speak like an
-enchanter who has but to conjure up in actuality the wildest
-fancies, Monsieur Fouquet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I could not say so much, indeed,
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty will do,
-whenever you please, everything that a monarch can and ought to
-do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king of France
-has servants at his bidding who are able to do anything on his
-behalf, to accomplish everything to gratify his pleasures."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert tried to
-look at the superintendent, in order to see whether this remark
-was an approach to less hostile sentiments on his part; but
-Fouquet had not even looked at his enemy, and Colbert hardly
-seemed to exist as far as he was concerned.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Very good, then," said the
-king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Will a week hence
-suit you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly well,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "This is Tuesday; if I
-give you until next Sunday week, will that be sufficient?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The delay which your
-majesty deigns to accord me will greatly aid the various works
-which my architects have in hand for the purpose of adding to the
-amusement of your majesty and your friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "By the by, speaking of
-my friends," resumed the king; "how do you intend to treat
-them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The king is master
-everywhere, sire; your majesty will draw up your own list and
-give your own orders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All
-those you may deign to invite will be my guests, my honored
-guests, indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I thank you!" returned
-the king, touched by the noble thought expressed in so noble a
-tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet, therefore,
-took leave of Louis XIV., after a few words had been added with
-regard to the details of certain matters of business.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He felt that Colbert would remain
-behind with the king, that they would both converse about him,
-and that neither of them would spare him in the least
-degree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The satisfaction
-of being able to give a last and terrible blow to his enemy
-seemed to him almost like a compensation for everything they were
-about to subject him to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-He turned back again immediately, as soon, indeed, as he had
-reached the door, and addressing the king, said, "I was
-forgetting that I had to crave your majesty's forgiveness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what respect?"
-said the king, graciously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"For having
-committed a serious fault without perceiving it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A fault!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur Fouquet, I shall be unable
-to do otherwise than forgive you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In what way or against whom have you
-been found wanting?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Against every
-sense of propriety, sire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I forgot to inform your majesty of a circumstance that has lately
-occurred of some little importance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert trembled;
-he fancied that he was about to frame a denunciation against
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His conduct had been
-unmasked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A single
-syllable from Fouquet, a single proof formally advanced, and
-before the youthful loyalty of feeling which guided Louis XIV.,
-Colbert's favor would disappear at once; the latter trembled,
-therefore, lest so daring a blow might overthrow his whole
-scaffold; in point of fact, the opportunity was so admirably
-suited to be taken advantage of, that a skillful, practiced
-player like Aramis would not have let it slip.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Sire," said Fouquet, with an easy,
-unconcerned air, "since you have had the kindness to forgive me,
-I am perfectly indifferent about my confession; this morning I
-sold one of the official appointments I hold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"One of your
-appointments," said the king, "which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert turned
-perfectly livid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "That
-which conferred upon me, sire, a grand gown, and a stern air of
-gravity; the appointment of procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king
-involuntarily uttered a loud exclamation and looked at Colbert,
-who, with his face bedewed with perspiration, felt almost on the
-point of fainting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "To
-whom have you sold this department, Monsieur Fouquet?" inquired
-the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert was obliged
-to lean against a column of the fireplace.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "To a councilor belonging to the
-parliament, sire, whose name is Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Vanel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire, a
-particular friend of the intendant Colbert," added Fouquet;
-letting every word fall from his lips with the most inimitable
-nonchalance, and with an admirably assumed expression of
-forgetfulness and ignorance.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And having finished, and having
-overwhelmed Colbert beneath the weight of this superiority, the
-superintendent again saluted the king and quitted the room,
-partially revenged by the stupefaction of the king and the
-humiliation of the favorite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is it really
-possible," said the king, as soon as Fouquet had disappeared,
-"that he has sold that office?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire," said
-Colbert, meaningly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He must be mad,"
-the king added.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert this time
-did not reply; he had penetrated the king's thought, a thought
-which amply revenged him for the humiliation he had just been
-made to suffer; his hatred was augmented by a feeling of bitter
-jealousy of Fouquet; and a threat of disgrace was now added to
-the plan he had arranged for his ruin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert felt perfectly assured that
-for the future, between Louis XIV. and himself, their hostile
-feelings and ideas would meet with no obstacles, and that at the
-first fault committed by Fouquet, which could be laid hold of as
-a pretext, the chastisement so long impending would be
-precipitated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Fouquet had
-thrown aside his weapons of defense, and hate and jealousy had
-picked them up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Colbert
-was invited by the king to the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux; he bowed
-like a man confident in himself, and accepted the invitation with
-the air of one who almost confers a favor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king was about writing down
-Saint-Aignan's name on his list of royal commands, when the usher
-announced the Comte de Saint-Aignan.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as the royal "Mercury"
-entered, Colbert discreetly withdrew.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Rivals in Love.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-S</span>aint-Aignan had quitted Louis XIV. hardly a couple of
-hours before; but in the first effervescence of his affection,
-whenever Louis XIV. was out of sight of La Valli&egrave;re, he
-was obliged to talk about her.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, the only person with whom
-he could speak about her at his ease was Saint-Aignan, and thus
-Saint-Aignan had become an indispensable.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, is that you,
-comte?" he exclaimed, as soon as he perceived him, doubly
-delighted, not only to see him again, but also to get rid of
-Colbert, whose scowling face always put him out of humor.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "So much the better, I am very
-glad to see you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will
-make one of the best traveling party, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of what traveling part
-are you speaking, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The one we are making
-up to go to the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> the superintendent is
-about to give at Vaux.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Ah!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan, you
-will, at last, see a <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i>, a royal <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i>, by the side of which
-all our amusements at Fontainebleau are petty, contemptible
-affairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At Vaux! the
-superintendent going to give a <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> in your majesty's
-honor?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing more than
-that!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "'Nothing more than
-that,' do you say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is
-very diverting to find you treating it with so much disdain.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you who express such an
-indifference on the subject, aware, that as soon as it is known
-that M. Fouquet is going to receive me at Vaux next Sunday week,
-people will be striving their very utmost to get invited to the
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te?</i><span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I repeat, Saint-Aignan, you shall be
-one of the invited guests."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well, sire; unless
-I shall, in the meantime, have undertaken a longer and a less
-agreeable journey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What journey do you
-allude to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The one across the
-Styx, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Bah!" said Louis XIV.,
-laughing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, seriously, sire,"
-replied Saint-Aignan, "I am invited; and in such a way, in truth,
-that I hardly know what to say, or how to act, in order to refuse
-the invitation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I do not understand
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know that you are
-in a poetical vein; but try not to sink from Apollo to
-Ph&oelig;bus."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well; if your
-majesty will deign to listen to me, I will not keep your mind on
-the rack a moment longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Speak."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty knows the
-Baron du Vallon?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, indeed; a good
-servant to my father, the late king, and an admirable companion
-at table; for, I think, you are referring to the gentleman who
-dined with us at Fontainebleau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Precisely so; but you
-have omitted to add to his other qualifications, sire, that he is
-a most charming polisher-off of other people."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Does M. du Vallon wish to polish you
-off?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Or to get me killed,
-which is much the same thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The deuce!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do not laugh, sire, for
-I am not saying one word beyond the exact truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you say he wishes
-to get you killed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Such is that excellent
-person's present idea."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Be easy; I will defend
-you, if he be in the wrong."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There is an 'if'!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course; answer me as
-candidly as if it were some one else's affair instead of your
-own, my poor Saint-Aignan; is he right or wrong?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty shall be
-the judge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What have you done to
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To him, personally,
-nothing at all; but, it seems, to one of his friends, I
-have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is all the
-same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is his friend one
-of the celebrated 'four'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is the son of one of the
-celebrated 'four,' though."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What have you done to
-the son?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Come, tell
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why, it seems that I
-have helped some one to take his mistress from him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You confess it,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I cannot help
-confessing it, for it is true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, you are
-wrong; and if he were to kill you, he would be doing perfectly
-right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! that is your
-majesty's way of reasoning, then!"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do you
-think it a bad way?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It is a
-very expeditious way, at all events."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "'Good justice is
-prompt;' so my grandfather Henry IV. used to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, your
-majesty will, perhaps, be good enough to sign my adversary's
-pardon, for he is now waiting for me at the Minimes, for the
-purpose of putting me out of my misery."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "His name, and a
-parchment!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is a parchment
-upon your majesty's table; and for his name - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, what is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne, sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "'The
-Vicomte de Bragelonne!'" exclaimed the king; changing from a fit
-of laughter to the most profound stupor, and then, after a
-moment's silence, while he wiped his forehead, which was bedewed
-with perspiration, he again murmured, "Bragelonne!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No other, sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Bragelonne,
-who was affianced to - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But - he
-has been in London."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; but I can assure
-you, sire, he is there no longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is he in Paris,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He is at Minimes, sire,
-where he is waiting for me, as I have already had the honor of
-telling you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Does he know all?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes; and
-many things besides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Perhaps your majesty would like to look at the letter I have
-received from him;" and Saint-Aignan drew from his pocket the
-note we are already acquainted with.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "When your majesty has read the
-letter, I will tell you how it reached me."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king
-read it in a great agitation, and immediately said, "Well?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, sire;
-your majesty knows a certain carved lock, closing a certain door
-of carved ebony, which separates a certain apartment from a
-certain blue and white sanctuary?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Of course; Louise's
-boudoir."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, it was in the keyhole of that
-lock that I found yonder note."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who placed it
-there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Either M. de
-Bragelonne, or the devil himself; but, inasmuch as the note
-smells of musk and not of sulphur, I conclude that it must be,
-not the devil, but M. de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis bent his head, and
-seemed absorbed in sad and bitter thought.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Perhaps something like remorse was
-at that moment passing through his heart.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The secret is discovered," he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Sire, I shall do my
-utmost that the secret dies in the breast of the man who
-possesses it!" said Saint-Aignan, in a tone of bravado, as he
-moved towards the door; but a gesture of the king made him
-pause.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where are you going?"
-he inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Where they await me,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What for?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To fight,
-in all probability."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "<i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>You</i> fight!" exclaimed the
-king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "One moment, if you
-please, monsieur le comte!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Saint-Aignan shook his
-head, as a rebellious child does, whenever any one interferes to
-prevent him throwing himself into a well, or playing with a
-knife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "But, sire," he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the first place,"
-continued the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I
-want to be enlightened a little further."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Upon all points, if
-your majesty will be pleased to interrogate me," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "I will throw what light I can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who told you that M. de
-Bragelonne had penetrated into that room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The letter which I
-found in the keyhole told me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who told you that it
-was De Bragelonne who put it there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Who but himself would
-have dared to undertake such a mission?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are
-right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> How was he able to
-get into your rooms?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! that is very
-serious, inasmuch as all the doors were closed, and my lackey,
-Basque, had the keys in his pocket."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your lackey must have
-been bribed."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Impossible,
-sire; for if he had been bribed, those who did so would not have
-sacrificed the poor fellow, whom, it is not unlikely, they might
-want to turn to further use by and by, in showing so clearly that
-it was he whom they had made use of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite true.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And now I can only form one
-conjecture."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell me what it is,
-sire, and we shall see if it is the same that has presented
-itself to my mind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That he effected an
-entrance by means of the staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas, sire, that seems
-to me more than probable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "There is no doubt that
-some one must have sold the secret of the trap-door."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Either sold it or given
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Why do you make that
-distinction?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Because there are
-certain persons, sire, who, being above the price of treason,
-give, and do not sell."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, sire!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your majesty's mind is too
-clear-sighted not to guess what I mean, and you will save me the
-embarrassment of naming the person I allude to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right: you mean
-Madame; I suppose her suspicions were aroused by your changing
-your lodgings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Madame has keys of the
-apartments of her maids of honor, and she is powerful enough to
-discover what no one but yourself could do, or she would not be
-able to discover anything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you suppose, then,
-that my sister must have entered into an alliance with
-Bragelonne, and has informed him of all the details of the
-affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Possibly even better
-still, for she perhaps accompanied him there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Which way? through your
-own apartments?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You think it
-impossible, sire?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well,
-listen to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your
-majesty knows that Madame is very fond of perfumes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, she acquired that
-taste from my mother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Vervain,
-particularly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Yes, it is the
-scent she prefers to all others."<br>
-"Very good, sire! my apartments happen to smell very strongly of
-vervain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king remained
-silent and thoughtful for a few moments, and then resumed: "But
-why should Madame take Bragelonne's part against me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan could
-very easily have replied: "A woman's jealousy!"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king probed his friend to the
-bottom of his heart to ascertain if he had learned the secret of
-his flirtation with his sister-in-law.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But Saint-Aignan was not an ordinary
-courtier; he did not lightly run the risk of finding out family
-secrets; and he was too a friend of the Muses not to think very
-frequently of poor Ovidius Naso, whose eyes shed so many tears in
-expiation of his crime for having once beheld something, one
-hardly knows what, in the palace of Augustus.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He therefore passed by Madame's
-secret very skillfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-But as he had shown no ordinary sagacity in indicating Madame's
-presence in his rooms in company with Bragelonne, it was
-necessary, of course, for him to repay with interest the king's
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>amour propre</i>, and reply
-plainly to the question which had been put to him of: "Why has
-Madame taken Bragelonne's part against me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why?" replied
-Saint-Aignan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Your
-majesty forgets, I presume, that the Comte de Guiche is the
-intimate friend of the Vicomte de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not see the
-connection, however," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I beg your pardon, then, sire; but I
-thought the Comte de Guiche was a very great friend of
-Madame's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite true," the
-king returned; "there is no occasion to search any further, the
-blow came from that direction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And is not your
-majesty of opinion that, in order to ward it off, it will be
-necessary to deal another blow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, but not one
-of the kind given in the Bois de Vincennes," replied the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You forget, sire,"
-said Saint-Aignan, "that I am a gentleman, and that I have been
-challenged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The challenge
-neither concerns nor was it intended for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But I am the man,
-sire, who has been expected at the Minimes, sire, during the last
-hour and more; and I shall be dishonored if I do not go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The first honor
-and duty of a gentleman is obedience to his sovereign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I order you to
-remain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Obey,
-monsieur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As your majesty
-pleases."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Besides, I wish to
-have the whole of this affair explained; I wish to know how it is
-that I have been so insolently trifled with, as to have the
-sanctuary of my affections pried into.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is not you, Saint-Aignan, whose
-business it is to punish those who have acted in this manner, for
-it is not your honor they have attacked, but my own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I implore your
-majesty not to overwhelm M. de Bragelonne with your wrath, for
-although in the whole of this affair he may have shown himself
-deficient in prudence, he has not been so in his feelings of
-loyalty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Enough!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I shall know how to decide
-between the just and the unjust, even in the height of my
-anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But take care that
-not a word of this is breathed to Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But what am I to
-do with regard to M. de Bragelonne?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He will be seeking me in every
-direction, and - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I shall either
-have spoken to him, or taken care that he has been spoken to,
-before the evening is over."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let me once more
-entreat your majesty to be indulgent towards him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have been
-indulgent long enough, comte," said Louis XIV., frowning
-severely; "it is now quite time to show certain persons that I am
-master in my own palace."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king had hardly
-pronounced these words, which betokened that a fresh feeling of
-irritation was mingling with the recollections of old, when an
-usher appeared at the door of the cabinet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What is the matter?" inquired the
-king, "and why do you presume to come when I have not summoned
-you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire," said the
-usher, "your majesty desired me to permit M. le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re to pass freely on any and every occasion, when he
-might wish to speak to your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re is now waiting to see your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king and
-Saint-Aignan at this reply exchanged a look which betrayed more
-uneasiness than surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Louis hesitated for a moment, but immediately afterwards, seeming
-to make up his mind, he said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Go, Saint-Aignan,
-and find Louise; inform her of the plot against us; do not let
-her be ignorant that Madame will return to her system of
-persecutions against her, and that she has set those to work who
-would have found it far safer to remain neuter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If Louise gets
-nervous and frightened, reassure her as much as you can; tell her
-that the king's affection is an impenetrable shield over her; if,
-which I suspect is the case, she already knows everything, or if
-she has already been herself subjected to an attack of some kind
-or other from any quarter, tell her, be sure to tell her,
-Saint-Aignan," added the king, trembling with passion, "tell her,
-I say, that this time, instead of defending her, I will avenge
-her, and that too so terribly that no one will in future even
-dare to raise his eyes towards her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is that all,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, all.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Go as quickly as you can, and
-remain faithful; for, you who live in the midst of this stake of
-infernal torments, have not, like myself, the hope of the
-paradise beyond it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan
-exhausted himself in protestations of<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> devotion, took the king's hand,
-kissed it, and left the room radiant with delight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-King and Noble.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he king endeavored to recover his self-possession as
-quickly as possible, in order to meet M. de la F&egrave;re with
-an untroubled countenance.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He clearly saw it was not mere
-chance that had induced the comte's visit, he had some vague
-impression of its importance; but he felt that to a man of
-Athos's tone of mind, to one of such a high order of intellect,
-his first reception ought not to present anything either
-disagreeable or otherwise than kind and courteous.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as the king had satisfied
-himself that, as far as appearances went, he was perfectly calm
-again, he gave directions to the ushers to introduce the
-comte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A few minutes
-afterwards Athos, in full court dress, and with his breast
-covered with the orders that he alone had the right to wear at
-the court of France, presented himself with so grave and solemn
-an air that the king perceived, at the first glance, that he was
-not deceived in his anticipations.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis advanced a step towards the
-comte, and, with a smile, held out his hand to him, over which
-Athos bowed with the air of the deepest respect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re," said the king rapidly, "you are so seldom here,
-that it is a real piece of good fortune to see you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Athos bowed and replied,
-"I should wish always to enjoy the happiness of being near your
-majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The tone, however, in
-which this reply was conveyed, evidently signified, "I should
-wish to be one of your majesty's advisers, to save you the
-commission of faults."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The king felt it so, and determined in this man's presence to
-preserve all the advantages which could be derived from his
-command over himself, as well as from his rank and position.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I see you have
-something to say to me," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Had it not been so, I
-should not have presumed to present myself before your
-majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Speak quickly, I am
-anxious to satisfy you," returned the king, seating himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am persuaded,"
-replied Athos, in a somewhat agitated tone of voice, "that your
-majesty will give me every satisfaction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" said the king,
-with a certain haughtiness of manner, "you have come to lodge a
-complaint here, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It would be a
-complaint," returned Athos, "only in the event of your majesty -
-but if you will deign to permit me, sire, I will begin the
-conversation from the very commencement."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Do so, I am
-listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Your majesty will
-remember that at the period of the Duke of Buckingham's
-departure, I had the honor of an interview with you."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At or about
-that period, I think I remember you did; only, with regard to the
-subject of the conversation, I have quite forgotten it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Athos started, as he
-replied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I shall have
-the honor to remind your majesty of it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was with regard to a formal
-demand I had addressed to you respecting a marriage which M. de
-Bragelonne wished to contract with Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah!" thought the king,
-"we have come to it now. - I remember," he said, aloud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "At that period,"
-pursued Athos, "your majesty was so kind and generous towards M.
-de Bragelonne and myself, that not a single word which then fell
-from your lips has escaped my memory; and, when I asked your
-majesty to accord me Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's hand
-for M. de Bragelonne, you refused."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Quite true," said
-Louis, dryly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alleging," Athos
-hastened to say, "that the young lady had no position in
-society."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Louis could hardly force
-himself to listen with an appearance of royal propriety.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That," added Athos,
-"she had but little fortune."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king threw himself
-back in his armchair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That her
-extraction was indifferent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>A renewed
-impatience on the part of the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And little
-beauty," added Athos, pitilessly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This last bolt
-buried itself deep in the king's heart, and made him almost bound
-from his seat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have a good
-memory, monsieur," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I invariably have,
-on occasions when I have had the distinguished honor of an
-interview with your majesty," retorted the comte, without being
-in the least disconcerted.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good: it is
-admitted that I said all that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I thanked your
-majesty for your remarks at the time, because they testified an
-interest in M. de Bragelonne which did him much honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you may
-possibly remember," said the king, very deliberately, "that you
-had the greatest repugnance for this marriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite true,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And that you
-solicited my permission, much against your own inclination?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And finally, I
-remember, for I have a memory nearly as good as your own; I
-remember, I say, that you observed at the time: 'I do not believe
-that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re loves M. de
-Bragelonne.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Is that
-true?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The blow told well,
-but Athos did not draw back.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Sire," he said, "I have already
-begged your majesty's forgiveness; but there are certain
-particulars in that conversation which are only intelligible from
-the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>d&eacute;nouement.</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, what is the
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>d&eacute;nouement</i>,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This: that your
-majesty then said, 'that you would defer the marriage out of
-regard for M. de Bragelonne's own interests.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king remained
-silent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "M. de Bragelonne
-is now so exceedingly unhappy that he cannot any longer defer
-asking your majesty for a solution of the matter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king turned
-pale; Athos looked at him with fixed attention.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And what," said
-the king, with considerable hesitation, "does M. de Bragelonne
-request?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely the very
-thing that I came to ask your majesty for at my last audience,
-namely, your majesty's consent to his marriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king remained
-perfectly silent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The
-questions which referred to the different obstacles in the way
-are all now quite removed for us," continued Athos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re,
-without fortune, birth, or beauty, is not the less on that
-account the only good match in the world for M. de Bragelonne,
-since he loves this young girl."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king pressed
-his hands impatiently together.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Does your majesty hesitate?"
-inquired the comte, without losing a particle of either his
-firmness of his politeness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not hesitate
-- I refuse," replied the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos paused a
-moment, as if to collect himself: "I have had the honor," he
-said, in a mild tone, "to observe to your majesty that no
-obstacle now interferes with M. de Bragelonne's affections, and
-that his determination seems unalterable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is my will -
-and that is an obstacle, I should imagine!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is the most
-serious of all," Athos replied quickly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And may we,
-therefore, be permitted to ask your majesty, with the greatest
-humility, your reason for this refusal?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The reason! - A
-question to me!" exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A demand,
-sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king, leaning
-with both his hands upon the table, said, in a deep tone of
-concentrated passion: "You have lost all recollection of what is
-usual at court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At court,
-please to remember, no one ventures to put a question to the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very true, sire;
-but if men do not question, they conjecture."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Conjecture!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What may that mean,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very frequently,
-sire, conjecture with regard to a particular subject implies a
-want of frankness on the part of the king - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And a want of
-confidence on the part of the subject," pursued Athos,
-intrepidly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You forget
-yourself," said the king, hurried away by anger in spite of all
-his self-control.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, I am obliged
-to seek elsewhere for what I thought I should find in your
-majesty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Instead of
-obtaining a reply from you, I am compelled to make one for
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king rose.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Monsieur le comte," he said,
-"I have now given you all the time I had at my disposal."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This was a dismissal.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire," replied the
-comte, "I have not yet had time to tell your majesty what I came
-with the express object of saying, and I so rarely see your
-majesty that I ought to avail myself of the opportunity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Just now you spoke
-rudely of conjectures; you are now becoming offensive,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, sire! offend
-your majesty!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I? -
-never!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All my life
-through I have maintained that kings are above all other men, not
-only from their rank and power, but from their nobleness of heart
-and their true dignity of mind.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I never can bring myself to believe
-that my sovereign, he who passed his word to me, did so with a
-mental reservation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you mean?
-what mental reservation do you allude to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will explain my
-meaning," said Athos, coldly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "If, in refusing Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re to Monsieur de Bragelonne, your majesty had some
-other object in view than the happiness and fortune of the
-vicomte - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You perceive,
-monsieur, that you are offending me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If, in requiring
-the vicomte to delay his marriage, your majesty's only object was
-to remove the gentleman to whom Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re was engaged - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur!
-monsieur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have heard it
-said so in every direction, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your majesty's affection for
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re is spoken of on all
-sides."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king tore his
-gloves, which he had been biting for some time.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Woe to those," he cried, "who
-interfere in my affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I have made up my mind to take a particular course, and I will
-break through every obstacle in my way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What obstacle?"
-said Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king stopped
-short, like a horse which, having taken the bit between his teeth
-and run away, finds it has slipped it back again, and that his
-career is checked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I
-love Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re," he said suddenly, with
-mingled nobleness of feeling and passion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But," interrupted
-Athos, "that does not preclude your majesty from allowing M. de
-Bragelonne to marry Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The sacrifice is worthy of so
-great a monarch; it is fully merited by M. de Bragelonne, who has
-already rendered great service to your majesty, and who may well
-be regarded as a brave and worthy man.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your majesty, therefore, in
-renouncing the affection you entertain, offers a proof at once of
-generosity, gratitude, and good policy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re does not love M. de Bragelonne," said the king,
-hoarsely.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Does your majesty
-know that to be the case?" remarked Athos, with a searching
-look.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do know it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since a very short
-time, then; for doubtless, had your majesty known it when I first
-preferred my request, you would have taken the trouble to inform
-me of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since a very short
-time, it is true, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos remained
-silent for a moment, and then resumed: "In that case, I do not
-understand why your majesty should have sent M. de Bragelonne to
-London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That exile, and
-most properly so, too, is a matter of astonishment to every one
-who regards your majesty's honor with sincere affection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who presumes to
-impugn my honor, Monsieur de la F&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king's honor,
-sire, is made up of the honor of his whole nobility.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whenever the king offends one of his
-gentlemen, that is, whenever he deprives him of the smallest
-particle of his honor, it is from him, from the king himself,
-that that portion of honor is stolen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur de la
-F&egrave;re!" said the king, haughtily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, you sent M.
-de Bragelonne to London either before you were Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re's lover, or since you have become so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king, irritated
-beyond measure, especially because he felt that he was being
-mastered, endeavored to dismiss Athos by a gesture.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire," replied the
-comte, "I will tell you all; I will not leave your presence until
-I have been satisfied by your majesty or by myself; satisfied if
-you prove to me that you are right, - satisfied if I prove to you
-that you are wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nay,
-sire, you can but listen to me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am old now, and I am attached to
-everything that is really great and really powerful in your
-kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am of those
-who have shed their blood for your father and for yourself,
-without ever having asked a single favor either from yourself or
-from your father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have
-never inflicted the slightest wrong or injury on any one in this
-world, and even kings are still my debtors.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You can but listen to me, I
-repeat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have come to
-ask you for an account of the honor of one of your servants whom
-you have deceived by a falsehood, or betrayed by want of heart of
-judgment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know that
-these words irritate your majesty, but the facts themselves are
-killing us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know that
-you are endeavoring to find some means whereby to chastise me for
-my frankness; but I know also the chastisement I will implore God
-to inflict upon you when I relate to Him your perjury and my
-son's unhappiness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king during
-these remarks was walking hurriedly to and fro, his hand thrust
-into the breast of his coat, his head haughtily raised, his eyes
-blazing with wrath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Monsieur," he cried, suddenly, "if I acted towards you as a
-king, you would be already punished; but I am only a man, and I
-have the right to love in this world every one who loves me, - a
-happiness which is so rarely found."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You cannot pretend
-to such a right as a man any more than as a king, sire; or if you
-intend to exercise that right in a loyal manner, you should have
-told M. de Bragelonne so, and not have exiled him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is too great a
-condescension, monsieur, to discuss these things with you,"
-interrupted Louis XIV., with that majesty of air and manner he
-alone seemed able to give his look and his voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I was hoping that
-you would reply to me," said the comte.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You shall know my
-reply, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You already know
-my thoughts on the subject," was the Comte de la F&egrave;re's
-answer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have forgotten
-you are speaking to the king, monsieur.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is a crime."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have forgotten
-you are destroying the lives of two men, sire.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It is a mortal sin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Leave the
-room!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not until I have
-said this: 'Son of Louis XIII., you begin your reign badly, for
-you begin it by abduction and disloyalty!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My race - myself too - are now freed
-from all that affection and respect towards you, which I made my
-son swear to observe in the vaults of Saint-Denis, in the
-presence of the relics of your noble forefathers.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are now become our enemy, sire,
-and henceforth we have nothing to do save with Heaven alone, our
-sole master.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Be warned,
-be warned, sire.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! do you
-threaten?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no," said
-Athos, sadly, "I have as little bravado as fear in my soul.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The God of whom I spoke to you
-is now listening to me; He knows that for the safety and honor of
-your crown I would even yet shed every drop of blood twenty years
-of civil and foreign warfare have left in my veins.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I can well say, then, that I
-threaten the king as little as I threaten the man; but I tell
-you, sire, you lose two servants; for you have destroyed faith in
-the heart of the father, and love in the heart of the son; the
-one ceases to believe in the royal word, the other no longer
-believes in the loyalty of the man, or the purity of woman: the
-one is dead to every feeling of respect, the other to
-obedience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Adieu!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Thus saying, Athos
-broke his sword across his knee, slowly placed the two pieces
-upon the floor, and saluting the king, who was almost choking
-from rage and shame, he quitted the cabinet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis, who sat near the table,
-completely overwhelmed, was several minutes before he could
-collect himself; but he suddenly rose and rang the bell
-violently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Tell M.
-d'Artagnan to come here," he said to the terrified ushers.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-After the Storm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-O</span>ur readers will doubtlessly have been asking themselves
-how it happened that Athos, of whom not a word has been said for
-some time past, arrived so very opportunely at court.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We will, without delay, endeavor to
-satisfy their curiosity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Porthos, faithful to his
-duty as an arranger of affairs, had, immediately after leaving
-the Palais Royal, set off to join Raoul at the Minimes in the
-Bois de Vincennes, and had related everything, even to the
-smallest details, which had passed between Saint-Aignan and
-himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He finished by
-saying that the message which the king had sent to his favorite
-would probably not occasion more than a short delay, and that
-Saint-Aignan, as soon as he could leave the king, would not lose
-a moment in accepting the invitation Raoul had sent him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> But Raoul, less
-credulous than his old friend, had concluded from Porthos's
-recital that if Saint-Aignan was going to the king, Saint-Aignan
-would tell the king everything, and that the king would most
-assuredly forbid Saint-Aignan to obey the summons he had received
-to the hostile meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The consequence of his reflections was, that he had left Porthos
-to remain at the place appointed for the meeting, in the very
-improbable case that Saint-Aignan would come there; having
-endeavored to make Porthos promise that he would not remain there
-more than an hour or an hour and a half at the very longest.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos, however, formally
-refused to do anything of the kind, but, on the contrary,
-installed himself in the Minimes as if he were going to take root
-there, making Raoul promise that when he had been to see his
-father, he would return to his own apartments, in order that
-Porthos's servant might know where to find him in case M. de
-Saint-Aignan should happen to come to the rendezvous.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Bragelonne had left
-Vincennes, and proceeded at once straight to the apartments of
-Athos, who had been in Paris during the last two days, the comte
-having been already informed of what had taken place, by a letter
-from D'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul
-arrived at his father's; Athos, after having held out his hand to
-him, and embraced him most affectionately, made a sign for him to
-sit down.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know you come to me
-as a man would go to a friend, vicomte, whenever he is suffering;
-tell me, therefore, what is it that brings you now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The young man bowed, and
-began his recital; more than once in the course of it his tears
-almost choked his utterance, and a sob, checked in his throat,
-compelled him to suspend his narrative for a few minutes.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos most probably already
-knew how matters stood, as we have just now said D'Artagnan had
-already written to him; but, preserving until the conclusion that
-calm, unruffled composure of manner which constituted the almost
-superhuman side of his character, he replied, "Raoul, I do not
-believe there is a word of truth in these rumors; I do not
-believe in the existence of what you fear, although I do not deny
-that persons best entitled to the fullest credit have already
-conversed with me on the subject.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In my heart and soul I think it
-utterly impossible that the king could be guilty of such an
-outrage on a gentleman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-will answer for the king, therefore, and will soon bring you back
-the proof of what I say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul, wavering like a
-drunken man between what he had seen with his own eyes and the
-imperturbable faith he had in a man who had never told a
-falsehood, bowed and simply answered, "Go, then, monsieur le
-comte; I will await your return."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he sat down, burying his face in
-his hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos dressed,
-and then left him, in order to wait upon the king; the result of
-that interview is already known to our readers.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> When he returned to his
-lodgings, Raoul, pale and dejected, had not quitted his attitude
-of despair. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the
-sound, however, of the opening doors, and of his father's
-footsteps as he approached him, the young man raised his
-head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos's face was
-very pale, his head uncovered, and his manner full of
-seriousness; he gave his cloak and hat to the lackey, dismissed
-him with a gesture, and sat down near Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, monsieur,"
-inquired the young man, "are you convinced yet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I am, Raoul; the king
-loves Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He confesses it, then?"
-cried Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," replied
-Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And she?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have not
-seen her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No; but the king spoke
-to you about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What
-did he say?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He says
-that she loves him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, you see - you see,
-monsieur!" said the young man, with a gesture of despair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Raoul," resumed the
-comte, "I told the king, believe me, all that you yourself could
-possibly have urged, and I believe I did so in becoming language,
-though sufficiently firm."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And what did you say to
-him, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I told him, Raoul, that
-everything was now at an end between him and ourselves; that you
-would never serve him again.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I told him that I, too, should
-remain aloof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing
-further remains for me, then, but to be satisfied of one
-thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "What is that,
-monsieur?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Whether you
-have determined to adopt any steps."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Any
-steps?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Regarding
-what?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "With reference to your
-disappointed affection, and - your ideas of vengeance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, monsieur, with
-regard to my affection, I shall, perhaps, some day or other,
-succeed in tearing it from my heart; I trust I shall do so, aided
-by Heaven's merciful help, and your own wise exhortations.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As far as vengeance is
-concerned, it occurred to me only when under the influence of an
-evil thought, for I could not revenge myself upon the one who is
-actually guilty; I have, therefore, already renounced every idea
-of revenge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you no longer think
-of seeking a quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No, monsieur; I sent
-him a challenge: if M. de Saint-Aignan accepts it, I will
-maintain it; if he does not take it up, I will leave things as
-they are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And La
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You cannot, I know,
-have seriously thought that I should dream of revenging myself
-upon a woman!" replied Raoul, with a smile so sad that a tear
-started even to the eyes of his father, who had so many times in
-the course of his life bowed beneath his own sorrows and those of
-others.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He held out his hand to
-Raoul, which the latter seized most eagerly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And so, monsieur le
-comte, you are quite satisfied that the misfortune is one beyond
-all remedy?" inquired the young man.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Poor boy!" he
-murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You think that I still
-live in hope," said Raoul, "and you pity me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, it is indeed horrible suffering
-for me to despise, as I am bound to do, the one I have loved so
-devotedly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If I had but
-some real cause of complaint against her, I should be happy, I
-should be able to forgive her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Athos looked at his son
-with a profoundly sorrowful air, for the words Raoul had just
-pronounced seemed to have issued out of his own heart.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At this moment the servant
-announced M. d'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-This name sounded very differently to the ears of Athos and
-Raoul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The musketeer
-entered the room with a vague smile on his lips.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul paused.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos walked towards his friend with
-an expression of face that did not escape Bragelonne.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan answered Athos's look by
-an imperceptible movement of the eyelid; and then, advancing
-towards Raoul, whom he took by the hand, he said, addressing both
-father and son, "Well, you are trying to console this poor boy,
-it seems."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And you, kind and good
-as usual, have come to help me in my difficult task."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> As he said
-this, Athos pressed D'Artagnan's hand between both his own.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul fancied he observed in
-this pressure something beyond the sense his mere words
-conveyed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes," replied the
-musketeer, smoothing his mustache with the hand that Athos had
-left free, "yes, I have come too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are most welcome,
-chevalier; not for the consolation you bring with you, but on
-your own account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am
-already consoled," said Raoul; and he attempted to smile, but the
-effort was more sad than any tears D'Artagnan had ever seen
-shed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That is all well and
-good, then," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Only," continued Raoul,
-"you have arrived just as the comte was about to give me the
-details of his interview with the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will allow the comte to
-continue?" added the young man, as, with his eyes fixed on the
-musketeer, he seemed to read the very depths of his heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "His interview with the
-king?" said D'Artagnan, in a tone so natural and unassumed that
-there was no means of suspecting that his astonishment was
-feigned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You have seen
-the king, then, Athos?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Athos smiled
-as he said, "Yes, I have seen him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah, indeed; you were
-unaware, then, that the comte had seen his majesty?" inquired
-Raoul, half reassured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, indeed, quite
-so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In that case, I am less
-uneasy," said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Uneasy - and about
-what?" inquired Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Forgive me, monsieur,"
-said Raoul, "but knowing so well the regard and affection you
-have for me, I was afraid you might possibly have expressed
-somewhat plainly to his majesty my own sufferings and your
-indignation, and that the king had consequently - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "And that the king had
-consequently?" repeated D'Artagnan; "well, go on, finish what you
-were going to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I have now to ask you
-to forgive me, Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Raoul.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "For a moment, and I cannot help
-confessing it, I trembled lest you had come here, not as M.
-d'Artagnan, but as captain of the musketeers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are mad, my poor
-boy," cried D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter, in which an
-exact observer might perhaps have wished to have heard a little
-more frankness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "So much the better,"
-said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, mad; and do you
-know what I would advise you to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell me, monsieur, for
-the advice is sure to be good, as it comes from you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very good, then; I
-advise you, after your long journey from England, after your
-visit to M. de Guiche, after your visit to Madame, after your
-visit to Porthos, after your journey to Vincennes, I advise you,
-I say, to take a few hours' rest; go and lie down, sleep for a
-dozen hours, and when you wake up, go and ride one of my horses
-until you have tired him to death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And drawing Raoul
-towards him, he embraced him as he would have done his own
-child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos did the
-like; only it was very visible that the kiss was still more
-affectionate, and the pressure of his lips even warmer with the
-father than with the friend.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The young man again looked at both
-his companions, endeavoring to penetrate their real meaning or
-their real feelings with the utmost strength of his intelligence;
-but his look was powerless upon the smiling countenance of the
-musketeer or upon the calm and composed features of the Comte de
-la F&egrave;re.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Where
-are you going, Raoul?" inquired the latter, seeing that
-Bragelonne was preparing to go out.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "To my own apartments,"
-replied the latter, in his soft, sad voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "We shall be sure to
-find you there, then, if we should have anything to say to
-you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, monsieur; but do
-you suppose it likely you will have something to say to me?"<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How can I
-tell?" said Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, something fresh to
-console you with," said D'Artagnan, pushing him towards the
-door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul, observing the
-perfect composure which marked every gesture of his two friends,
-quitted the comte's room, carrying away with him nothing but the
-individual feeling of his own particular distress.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Thank Heaven," he said,
-"since that is the case, I need only think of myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And wrapping himself up
-in his cloak, in order to conceal from the passers-by in the
-streets his gloomy and sorrowful face, he quitted them, for the
-purpose of returning to his own rooms, as he had promised
-Porthos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The two friends
-watched the young man as he walked away with a feeling of genuine
-disinterested pity; only each expressed it in a different
-way.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Poor Raoul!" said
-Athos, sighing deeply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Poor Raoul!" said
-D'Artagnan, shrugging his shoulders.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Heu!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Miser!</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-"P</span>oor Raoul!" had said Athos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Poor Raoul!" had said D'Artagnan:
-and, in point of fact, to be pitied by both these men, Raoul must
-indeed have been most unhappy.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And therefore, when he found himself
-alone, face to face, as it were, with his own troubles, leaving
-behind him the intrepid friend and the indulgent father; when he
-recalled the avowal of the king's affection, which had robbed him
-of Louise de la Valli&egrave;re, whom he loved so deeply, he felt
-his heart almost breaking, as indeed we all have at least once in
-our lives, at the first illusion destroyed, the first affection
-betrayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh!" he
-murmured, "all is over, then.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing is now left me in this
-world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing to look
-forward to, nothing to hope for.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Guiche has told me so, my father has
-told me so, M. d'Artagnan has told me so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All life is but an idle dream.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The future which I have been
-hopelessly pursuing for the last ten years is a dream! the union
-of hearts, a dream! a life of love and happiness, a dream!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Poor fool that I am," he
-continued, after a pause, "to dream away my existence aloud,
-publicly, and in the face of others, friends and enemies - and
-for what purpose, too? in order that my friends may be saddened
-by my troubles, and my enemies may laugh at my sorrows.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so my unhappiness will
-soon become a notorious disgrace, a public scandal; and who knows
-but that to-morrow I may even be a public laughing-stock?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> And, despite the
-composure which he had promised his father and D'Artagnan to
-observe, Raoul could not resist uttering a few words of darkest
-menace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And yet," he
-continued, "if my name were De Wardes, and if I had the pliancy
-of character and strength of will of M. d'Artagnan, I should
-laugh, with my lips at least; I should convince other women that
-this perfidious girl, honored by the affection I have wasted on
-her, leaves me only one regret, that of having been abused and
-deceived by her seemingly modest and irreproachable conduct; a
-few might perhaps fawn on the king by jesting at my expense; I
-should put myself on the track of some of those buffoons; I
-should chastise a few of them, perhaps; the men would fear me,
-and by the time I had laid three dying or dead at my feet, I
-should be adored by the women.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Yes, yes, that, indeed, would be the
-proper course to adopt, and the Comte de la F&egrave;re himself
-would not object to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Has not he also been tried, in his earlier days, in the same
-manner as I have just been tried myself?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Did he not replace affection by
-intoxication?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He has
-often told me so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why
-should I not replace love by pleasure?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He must have suffered as much as I
-suffer, even more - if that is possible.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The history of one man is the
-history of all, a dragging trial, more or less prolonged, more or
-less bitter - sorrowful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The note of human nature is nothing but one sustained cry.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But what are the sufferings of
-others compared to those from which I am now suffering?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Does the open wound in
-another's breast soften the anguish of the gaping ulcer in our
-own?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Does the blood which
-is welling from another man's side stanch that which is pouring
-from our own?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Does the
-general grief of our fellow-creatures lessen our own private and
-particular woe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, no,
-each suffers on his own account, each struggles with his own
-grief, each sheds his own tears.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And besides," he went on, "what has
-my life been up to the present moment?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A cold, barren, sterile arena, in
-which I have always fought for others, never for myself.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Sometimes for a king,
-sometimes for a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The king has betrayed, the woman disdained me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Miserable, unlucky wretch that I
-am!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Women!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Can I not make all expiate the crime
-of one of their sex?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What
-does that need?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To have a
-heart no longer, or to forget that I ever had one; to be strong,
-even against weakness itself; to lean always, even when one feels
-that the support is giving way.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What is needed to attain, or succeed
-in all that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To be young,
-handsome, strong, valiant, rich.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am, or shall be, all that.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But honor?" he still
-continued, "and what is honor after all?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A theory which every man understands
-in his own way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My father
-tells me: 'Honor is the consideration of what is due to others,
-and particularly what is due to oneself.'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But Guiche, and Manicamp, and
-Saint-Aignan particularly, would say to me: 'What's honor?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Honor consists in studying and
-yielding to the passions and pleasures of one's king.'<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Honor such as that indeed, is
-easy and productive enough.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> With honor like that, I can keep my
-post at the court, become a gentleman of the chamber, and accept
-the command of a regiment, which may at any time be presented to
-me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> With honor such as
-that, I can be duke and peer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The stain which that
-woman has stamped upon me, the grief that has broken my heart,
-the heart of the friend and playmate of her childhood, in no way
-affects M. de Bragelonne, an excellent officer, a courageous
-leader, who will cover himself with glory at the first encounter,
-and who will become a hundred times greater than Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re is to-day, the mistress of the king - for the
-king will not marry her - and the more publicly he will proclaim
-her as his mistress, the more opaque will grow the shadow of
-shame he casts upon her face, in the guise of a crown; and in
-proportion as others despise, as I despise her, I shall be
-gleaning honors in the field.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Alas! we had walked together side by
-side, she and I, during the earliest, the brightest, the most
-angelic portion of our existence, hand in hand along the charming
-path of life, covered with the blossoms of youth; and then, alas!
-we reach a cross-road, where she separates herself from me, in
-which we have to follow a different route, whereby we become more
-and more widely separated from each other.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And to attain the end of this path,
-oh, Heaven!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am now
-alone, in utter despair, and crushed to the very earth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Such were the sinister
-reflections in which Raoul indulged, when his foot mechanically
-paused at the door of his own dwelling.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had reached it without remarking
-the streets through which he passed, without knowing how he had
-come; he pushed open the door, continued to advance, and ascended
-the staircase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-staircase, as in most of the houses at that period, was very
-dark, and the landings most obscure.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul lived on the first floor; he
-paused in order to ring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Olivain appeared, took his sword and cloak from his hands; Raoul
-himself opened the door which, from the ante-chamber, led into a
-small <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>salon</i>, richly
-furnished enough for the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>salon</i> of a young man, and
-completely filled with flowers by Olivain, who, knowing his
-master's tastes, had shown himself studiously attentive in
-gratifying them, without caring whether his master perceived his
-attention or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There
-was a portrait of La Valli&egrave;re in the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>salon</i>, which had been drawn by
-herself and given by her to Raoul.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This portrait, fastened above a
-large easy chair covered with dark colored damask, was the first
-point towards which Raoul bent his steps - the first object on
-which he fixed his eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-It was, moreover, Raoul's usual habit to do so; every time he
-entered his room, this portrait, before anything else, attracted
-his attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This time,
-as usual, he walked straight up to the portrait, placed his knees
-upon the arm chair, and paused to look at it sadly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His arms were crossed upon his
-breast, his head slightly thrown back, his eyes filled with
-tears, his mouth worked into a bitter smile.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He looked at the portrait of the one
-he had so tenderly loved; and then all that he had said passed
-before his mind again, all that he had suffered seemed again to
-assail his heart; and, after a long silence, he murmured for the
-third time, "Miserable, unhappy wretch that I am!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> He had hardly pronounced
-these words, when he heard the sound of a sigh and a groan behind
-him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He turned sharply
-round and perceived, in the angle of the <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>salon</i>, standing up, a bending
-veiled female figure, which he had been the means of concealing
-behind the door as he opened it, and which he had not perceived
-as he entered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-advanced towards the figure, whose presence in his room had not
-been announced to him; and as he bowed, and inquired at the same
-moment who she was, she suddenly raised her head, and removed the
-veil from her face, revealing her pale and sorrow-stricken
-features.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul staggered
-back as if he had seen a ghost.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Louise!" he cried, in a
-tone of such absolute despair, one could hardly have thought the
-human voice was capable of so desponding a cry, without the
-snapping of the human heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LXI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Wounds within Wounds.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-M</span>ademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re - for it was indeed she
-- advanced a few steps towards him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Yes - Louise," she murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> But this interval, short
-as it had been, was quite sufficient for Raoul to recover
-himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You,
-mademoiselle?" he said; and then added, in an indefinable tone,
-"You here!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, Raoul," the young
-girl replied, "I have been waiting for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I beg your pardon.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When I came into the room I
-was not aware - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I know - but I
-entreated Olivain not to tell you - "<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She hesitated; and as Raoul did not
-attempt to interrupt her, a moment's silence ensued, during which
-the sound of their throbbing hearts might have been heard, not in
-unison with each other, but the one beating as violently as the
-other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It was for Louise
-to speak, and she made an effort to do so.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I wished to speak to
-you," she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It was
-absolutely necessary that I should see you - myself - alone.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have not hesitated to adopt
-a step which must remain secret; for no one, except yourself,
-could understand my motive, Monsieur de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In fact, mademoiselle,"
-Raoul stammered out, almost breathless from emotion, "as far as I
-am concerned, and despite the good opinion you have of me, I
-confess - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Will you do me the
-great kindness to sit down and listen to me?" said Louise,
-interrupting him with her soft, sweet voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Bragelonne looked at her
-for a moment; then mournfully shaking his head, he sat, or rather
-fell down on a chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Speak," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> She cast a glance all
-round her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This look was
-a timid entreaty, and implored secrecy far more effectually than
-her expressed words had done a few minutes before.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul rouse, and went to the door,
-which he opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Olivain," he said, "I am not within for any one."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then, turning towards Louise, he
-added, "Is not that what you wished?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Nothing could have
-produced a greater effect upon Louise than these few words, which
-seemed to signify, "You see that I still understand you."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She passed a handkerchief
-across her eyes, in order to remove a rebellious tear which she
-could not restrain; and then, having collected herself for a
-moment, she said, "Raoul, do not turn your kind, frank look away
-from me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are not one
-of those men who despise a woman for having given her heart to
-another, even though her affection might render him unhappy, or
-might wound his pride."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Raoul did not reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas!" continued La
-Valli&egrave;re, "it is only too true, my cause is a bad one, and
-I cannot tell in what way to begin.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> It will be better for me, I think,
-to relate to you, very simply, everything that has befallen
-me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As I shall speak but
-the pure and simple truth, I shall always find my path clear
-before me in spite of the obscurity and obstacles I have to brave
-in order to solace my heart, which is full to overflowing, and
-wishes to pour itself out at your feet."<br>
-<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul
-continued to preserve the same unbroken silence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re looked at him
-with an air that seemed to say, "Encourage me; for pity's sake,
-but a single word!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But
-Raoul did not open his lips; and the young girl was obliged to
-continue:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Just now," she said,
-"M. de Saint-Aignan came to me by the king's directions."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She cast down her eyes as she
-said this; while Raoul, on his side, turned his away, in order to
-avoid looking at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "M.
-de Saint-Aignan came to me from the king," she repeated, "and
-told me that you knew all;" and she attempted to look Raoul in
-the face, after inflicting this further wound upon him, in
-addition to the many others he had already received; but it was
-impossible to meet Raoul's eyes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "He told me you were
-incensed with me - and justly so, I admit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> This time Raoul looked
-at the young girl, and a smile full of disdain passed across his
-lips.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" she continued, "I
-entreat you, do not say that you have had any other feeling
-against me than that of anger merely.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul, wait until I have told you
-all - wait until I have said to you all that I had to say - all
-that I came to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul, by the strength
-of his iron will, forced his features to assume a calmer
-expression, and the disdainful smile upon his lip passed
-away.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the first place,"
-said La Valli&egrave;re, "in the first place, with my hands
-raised in entreaty towards you, with my forehead bowed to the
-ground before you, I entreat you, as the most generous, as the
-noblest of men, to pardon, to forgive me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If I have left you in ignorance of
-what was passing in my own bosom, never, at least, would I have
-consented to deceive you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Oh!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I entreat you, Raoul
-- I implore you on my knees - answer me one word, even though you
-wrong me in doing so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Better, far better, an injurious word from your lips, than
-suspicion resting in your heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I admire your subtlety
-of expression, mademoiselle," said Raoul, making an effort to
-remain calm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "To leave
-another in ignorance that you are deceiving him, is loyal; but to
-deceive him - it seems that would be very wrong, and that you
-would not do it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Monsieur, for a long
-time I thought that I loved you better than anything else; and so
-long as I believed in my affection for you, I told you that loved
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I could have sworn
-it on the altar; but a day came when I was undeceived."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, on that day,
-mademoiselle, knowing that I still continued to love you, true
-loyalty of conduct should have forced you to inform me you had
-ceased to love me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But on that day, Raoul
-- on that day, when I read in the depths of my own heart, when I
-confessed to myself that you no longer filled my mind entirely,
-when I saw another future before me than that of being your
-friend, your life-long companion, your wife - on that day, Raoul,
-you were not, alas! any more beside me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But you knew where I
-was, mademoiselle; you could have written to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Raoul, I did not dare
-to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul, I have
-been weak and cowardly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-knew you so thoroughly - I knew how devotedly you loved me, that
-I trembled at the bare idea of the grief I was about to cause
-you; and that is so true, Raoul, that this very moment I am now
-speaking to you, bending thus before you, my heart crushed in my
-bosom, my voice full of sighs, my eyes full of tears, it is so
-perfectly true, that I have no other defense than my frankness, I
-have no other sorrow greater than that which I read in your
-eyes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul attempted to
-smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "No!" said the young
-girl, with a profound conviction, "no, no; you will not do me so
-foul a wrong as to disguise your feelings before me now!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You loved me; you were sure of
-your affection for me; you did not deceive yourself; you do not
-lie to your own heart - whilst I - I - "<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And pale as death, her arms thrown
-despairingly above her head, she fell upon her knees.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Whilst you," said
-Raoul, "you told me you loved me, and yet you loved another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Alas, yes!" cried the
-poor girl; "alas, yes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I
-do love another; and that other - oh! for Heaven's sake let me
-say it, Raoul, for it is my only excuse - that other I love
-better than my own life, better than my own soul even.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Forgive my fault, or punish my
-treason, Raoul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I came
-here in no way to defend myself, but merely to say to you: 'You
-know what it is to love!' - in such a case am I!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I love to that degree, that I would
-give my life, my very soul, to the man I love.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If he should ever cease to love me,
-I shall die of grief and despair, unless Heaven come to my
-assistance, unless Heaven does show pity upon me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul, I came here to submit myself
-to your will, whatever it might be - to die, if it were your wish
-I should die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Kill me,
-then, Raoul! if in your heart you believe I deserve death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Take care,
-mademoiselle," said Raoul: "the woman who invites death is one
-who has nothing but her heart's blood to offer to her deceived
-and betrayed lover."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You are right," she
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Raoul uttered a deep
-sigh, as he exclaimed, "And you love without being able to
-forget?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I love without a wish
-to forget; without a wish ever to love any one else," replied La
-Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Very well," said
-Raoul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You have said to
-me, in fact, all you had to say; all I could possibly wish to
-know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And now,
-mademoiselle, it is I who ask your forgiveness, for it is I who
-have almost been an obstacle in your life; I, too, who have been
-wrong, for, in deceiving myself, I helped to deceive you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh!" said La
-Valli&egrave;re, "I do not ask you so much as that, Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I only am to blame,
-mademoiselle," continued Raoul, "better informed than yourself of
-the difficulties of this life, I should have enlightened
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I ought not to have
-relied upon uncertainty; I ought to have extracted an answer from
-your heart, whilst I hardly even sought an acknowledgement from
-your lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Once more,
-mademoiselle, it is I who ask your forgiveness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Impossible,
-impossible!" she cried, "you are mocking me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "How, impossible?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, it is impossible
-to be so good, and kind, ah! perfect to such a degree as
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Take care!' said Raoul,
-with a bitter smile, "for presently you may say perhaps I did not
-love you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! you love me like an
-affectionate brother; let me hope that, Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As a brother! undeceive
-yourself, Louise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I love
-you as a lover - as a husband, with the deepest, the truest, the
-fondest affection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Raoul, Raoul!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As a brother!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, Louise!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I love you so deeply, that I would
-have shed my blood for you, drop by drop; I would, oh! how
-willingly, have suffered myself to be torn to pieces for your
-sake, have sacrificed my very future for you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I love you so deeply, Louise, that
-my heart feels dead and crushed within me, - my faith in human
-nature all is gone, - my eyes have lost their light; I loved you
-so deeply, that I now no longer see, think of, care for,
-anything, either in this world or the next."<span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>      </span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Raoul - dear
-Raoul! spare me, I implore you!" cried La Valli&egrave;re.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh! if I had but known -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is too late,
-Louise; you love, you are happy in your affection; I read your
-happiness through your tears - behind the tears which the loyalty
-of your nature makes you shed; I feel the sighs your affection
-breathes forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louise,
-Louise, you have made me the most abjectly wretched man living;
-leave me, I entreat you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Adieu! adieu!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Forgive me! oh,
-forgive me, Raoul, for what I have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have I not done
-much, much more?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>Have I not told you that I
-love you still?</i>"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She
-buried her face in her hands.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And to tell you
-that - do you hear me, Louise? - to tell you that, at such a
-moment as this, to tell you that, as I have told you, is to
-pronounce my own sentence of death.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Adieu!"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La Valli&egrave;re held out her
-hands to him in vain.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We ought not to
-see each other again in this world," he said, and as she was on
-the point of crying out in bitter agony at this remark, he placed
-his hand on her mouth to stifle the exclamation.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> She pressed her lips upon it, and
-fell fainting to the ground.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Olivain," said Raoul, "take this
-young lady and bear her to the carriage which is waiting for her
-at the door."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As Olivain
-lifted her up, Raoul made a movement as if to dart towards La
-Valli&egrave;re, in order to give her a first and last kiss, but,
-stopping abruptly, he said, "No! she is not mine.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am no thief - as is the king of
-France."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he returned
-to his room, whilst the lackey carried La Valli&egrave;re, still
-fainting, to the carriage.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LXII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-What Raoul Had Guessed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-A</span>s soon as Raoul had quitted Athos and D'Artagnan, as the
-two exclamations that had followed his departure escaped their
-lips, they found themselves face to face alone.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos immediately resumed the
-earnest air that he had assumed at D'Artagnan's arrival.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well," he said, "what
-have you come to announce to me, my friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?" inquired
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; I do not see
-you in this way without some reason for it," said Athos,
-smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce!" said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will place you
-at your ease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king is
-furious, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I must say
-he is not altogether pleased."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you have come
-to arrest me, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear friend,
-you have hit the very mark."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I expected
-it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am quite ready to
-go with you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Deuce take it!"
-said D'Artagnan, "what a hurry you are in."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am afraid of
-delaying you," said Athos, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have plenty of
-time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you not
-curious, besides, to know how things went on between the king and
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If you will be
-good enough to tell me, I will listen with the greatest of
-pleasure," said Athos, pointing out to D'Artagnan a large chair,
-into which the latter threw himself, assuming the easiest
-possible attitude.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I will do so
-willingly enough," continued D'Artagnan, "for the conversation is
-rather curious, I must say.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the first place the king sent for
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As soon as I had
-left?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You were just
-going down the last steps of the staircase, as the musketeers
-told me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I arrived.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My dear Athos, he was not red
-in the face merely, he was positively purple.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I was not aware, of course, of what
-had passed; only, on the ground, lying on the floor, I saw a
-sword broken in two."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Captain
-d'Artagnan,' cried the king, as soon as he saw me.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Sire,' I
-replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'M. de la
-F&egrave;re has just left me; he is an insolent man.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'An insolent man!'
-I exclaimed, in such a tone that the king stopped suddenly
-short.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Captain
-d'Artagnan,' resumed the king, with his teeth clenched, 'you will
-be good enough to listen to and hear me.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'That is my duty,
-sire.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'I have, out of
-consideration for M. de la F&egrave;re, wished to spare him - he
-is a man of whom I still retain some kind recollections - the
-discredit of being arrested in my palace.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You will therefore take a
-carriage.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At this I made
-a slight movement.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'If you object to
-arrest him yourself,' continued the king, 'send me my captain of
-the guards.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Sire,' I replied,
-'there is no necessity for the captain of the guards, since I am
-on duty.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'I should not like
-to annoy you,' said the king, kindly, 'for you have always served
-me well, Monsieur D'Artagnan.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'You do not
-"annoy" me, sire,' I replied; 'I am on duty, that is all.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'But,' said the
-king, in astonishment, 'I believe the comte is your friend?'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'If he were my
-father, sire, it would not make me less on duty than I am.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king looked at
-me; he saw how unmoved my face was, and seemed satisfied.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> 'You will arrest M. le Comte
-de la F&egrave;re, then?' he inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Most certainly,
-sire, if you give me the order to do so.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Very well; I
-order you to do so.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I bowed, and
-replied, 'Where is the comte, sire?'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'You will look for
-him.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'And am I to
-arrest him, wherever he may be?'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Yes; but try that
-he may be at his own house.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If he should have started for his
-own estate, leave Paris at once, and arrest him on his way
-thither.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I bowed; but as I
-did not move, he said, 'Well, what are you waiting for?'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'For the order to
-arrest the comte, signed by yourself.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king seemed
-annoyed; for, in point of fact, it was the exercise of a fresh
-act of authority, a repetition of the arbitrary act, if, indeed,
-it is to be considered as such.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He took hold of his pen slowly, and
-evidently in no very good temper; and then he wrote, 'Order for
-M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain of my musketeers, to arrest
-M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re, wherever he is to be found.'<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He then turned towards me; but
-I was looking on without moving a muscle of my face.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In all probability he thought he
-perceived something like bravado in my tranquil manner, for he
-signed hurriedly, and then handing me the order, he said, 'Go,
-monsieur!'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I obeyed; and
-here I am."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos pressed his
-friend's hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well, let
-us set off," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! surely," said
-D'Artagnan, "you must have some trifling matters to arrange
-before you leave your apartments in this manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I? - not at
-all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, you know,
-D'Artagnan, that I have always been a very simple traveler on
-this earth, ready to go to the end of the world by the order of
-my sovereign; ready to quit it at the summons of my Maker.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What does a man who is thus
-prepared require in such a case? - a portmanteau, or a
-shroud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am ready at
-this moment, as I have always been, my dear friend, and can
-accompany you at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But, Bragelonne -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have brought him
-up in the same principles I laid down for my own guidance; and
-you observed that, as soon as he perceived you, he guessed, that
-very moment, the motive of your visit.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We have thrown him off his guard for
-a moment; but do not be uneasy, he is sufficiently prepared for
-my disgrace not to be too much alarmed at it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> So, let us go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, let us
-go," said D'Artagnan, quietly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As I broke my
-sword in the king's presence, and threw the pieces at his feet, I
-presume that will dispense with the necessity of delivering it
-over to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are quite
-right; and besides that, what the deuce do you suppose I could do
-with your sword?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Am I to walk
-behind, or before you?" inquired Athos, laughing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will walk arm
-in arm with me," replied D'Artagnan, as he took the comte's arm
-to descend the staircase; and in this manner they arrived at the
-landing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Grimaud, whom
-they had met in the ante-room, looked at them as they went out
-together in this manner, with some little uneasiness; his
-experience of affairs was quite sufficient to give him good
-reason to suspect that there was something wrong.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! is that you,
-Grimaud?" said Athos, kindly.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "We are going - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To take a turn in
-my carriage," interrupted D'Artagnan, with a friendly nod of the
-head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Grimaud thanked
-D'Artagnan by a grimace, which was evidently intended for a
-smile, and accompanied both the friends to the door.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos entered first into the
-carriage; D'Artagnan followed him without saying a word to the
-coachman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The departure
-had taken place so quietly, that it excited no disturbance or
-attention even in the neighborhood.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When the carriage had reached the
-quays, "You are taking me to the Bastile, I perceive," said
-Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I?" said
-D'Artagnan, "I take you wherever you may choose to go; nowhere
-else, I can assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you mean?"
-said the comte, surprised.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, surely, my
-dear friend," said D'Artagnan, "you quite understand that I
-undertook the mission with no other object in view than that of
-carrying it out exactly as you liked.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You surely did not expect that I was
-going to get you thrown into prison like that, brutally, and
-without any reflection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-If I had anticipated that, I should have let the captain of the
-guards undertake it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so - ?" said
-Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so, I repeat
-again, we will go wherever you may choose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear friend,"
-said Athos, embracing D'Artagnan, "how like you that is!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, it seems
-simple enough to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The
-coachman will take you to the barrier of the Cours-la-Reine; you
-will find a horse there which I have ordered to be kept ready for
-you; with that horse you will be able to do three posts without
-stopping; and I, on my side, will take care not to return to the
-king, to tell him that you have gone away, until the very moment
-it will be impossible to overtake you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In the meantime you will have
-reached Le Havre, and from Le Havre across to England, where you
-will find the charming residence of which M. Monk made me a
-present, without speaking of the hospitality which King Charles
-will not fail to show you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well, what do you think of this
-project?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos shook his
-head, and then said, smiling as he did so, "No, no, take me to
-the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are an
-obstinate fellow, my dear Athos," returned D'Artagnan, "reflect
-for a few moments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On what
-subject?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That you are no
-longer twenty years of age.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Believe me, I speak according to my
-own knowledge and experience.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A prison is certain death for men
-who are at our time of life.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No, no; I will never allow you to
-languish in prison in such a way.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Why, the very thought of it makes my
-head turn giddy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Dear D'Artagnan,"
-Athos replied, "Heaven most fortunately made my body as strong,
-powerful, and enduring as my mind; and, rely upon it, I shall
-retain my strength up to the very last moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But this is not
-strength of mind or character; it is sheer madness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, D'Artagnan, it
-is the highest order of reasoning.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not suppose that I should in the
-slightest degree in the world discuss the question with you,
-whether you would not be ruined in endeavoring to save me.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should have done precisely
-as you propose if flight had been part of my plan of action; I
-should, therefore, have accepted from you what, without any
-doubt, you would have accepted from me.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> No!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know you too well even to breathe
-a word upon the subject."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! if you would
-only let me do it," said D'Artagnan, "what a dance we would give
-his most gracious majesty!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Still he is the
-king; do not forget that, my dear friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! that is all
-the same to me; and king though he be, I would plainly tell him,
-'Sire, imprison, exile, kill every one in France and Europe;
-order me to arrest and poniard even whom you like - even were it
-Monsieur, your own brother; but do not touch one of the four
-musketeers, or if so, <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>mordioux!</i>'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear friend,"
-replied Athos, with perfect calmness, "I should like to persuade
-you of one thing; namely, that I wish to be arrested; that I
-desire above all things that my arrest should take place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan made a
-slight movement of his shoulders.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, I wish it, I
-repeat, more than anything; if you were to let me escape, it
-would be only to return of my own accord, and constitute myself a
-prisoner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I wish to prove
-to this young man, who is dazzled by the power and splendor of
-his crown, that he can be regarded as the first and chiefest
-among men only on the one condition of his proving himself to be
-the most generous and the wisest.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He may punish me, imprison, torture
-me, it matters not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-abuses his opportunities, and I wish him to learn the bitterness
-of remorse, while Heaven teaches him what chastisement is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, well,"
-replied D'Artagnan, "I know only too well that, when you have
-once said, 'no,' you mean 'no.'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do not insist any longer; you wish
-to go to the Bastile?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do wish to go
-there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us go,
-then!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> To the Bastile!"
-cried D'Artagnan to the coachman.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And throwing himself back in the
-carriage, he gnawed the ends of his mustache with a fury which,
-for Athos, who knew him well, signified a resolution either
-already taken or in course of formation.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A profound silence ensued in the
-carriage, which continued to roll on, but neither faster nor
-slower than before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos
-took the musketeer by the hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are not angry
-with me, D'Artagnan?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I! - oh, no!
-certainly not; of course not.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What you do for heroism, I should
-have done from obstinacy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But you are quite
-of opinion, are you not, that Heaven will avenge me,
-D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I know one or
-two on earth who will not fail to lend a helping hand," said the
-captain.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LXIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Three Guests Astonished to Find Themselves at Supper
-Together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he carriage arrived at the outside of the gate of the
-Bastile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A soldier on
-guard stopped it, but D'Artagnan had only to utter a single word
-to procure admittance, and the carriage passed on without further
-difficulty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whilst they
-were proceeding along the covered way which led to the courtyard
-of the governor's residence, D'Artagnan, whose lynx eyes saw
-everything, even through the walls, suddenly cried out, "What is
-that out yonder?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well," said Athos,
-quietly; "what is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Look yonder,
-Athos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "In the courtyard?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, yes; make
-haste!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Well, a carriage; very
-likely conveying a prisoner like myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That would be too
-droll."<br>
-"I do not understand you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Make haste and
-look again, and look at the man who is just getting out of that
-carriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>At that very moment
-a second sentinel stopped D'Artagnan, and while the formalities
-were being gone through, Athos could see at a hundred paces from
-him the man whom his friend had pointed out to him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He was, in fact, getting out of the
-carriage at the door of the governor's house.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Well," inquired D'Artagnan, "do you
-see him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; he is a man
-in a gray suit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you say of
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot very well
-tell; he is, as I have just now told you, a man in a gray suit,
-who is getting out of a carriage; that is all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Athos, I will
-wager anything that it is he."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He, who?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Aramis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Aramis
-arrested?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Impossible!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not say he is
-arrested, since we see him alone in his carriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, what
-is he doing here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! he knows
-Baisemeaux, the governor," replied the musketeer, slyly; "so we
-have arrived just in time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In order to see
-what we can see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I regret this
-meeting exceedingly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When
-Aramis sees me, he will be very much annoyed, in the first place,
-at seeing me, and in the next at being seen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well
-reasoned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Unfortunately,
-there is no remedy for it; whenever any one meets another in the
-Bastile, even if he wished to draw back to avoid him, it would be
-impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Athos, I have an
-idea; the question is, to spare Aramis the annoyance you were
-speaking of, is it not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is to be
-done?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will tell you;
-or in order to explain myself in the best possible way, let me
-relate the affair in my own manner; I will not recommend you to
-tell a falsehood, for that would be impossible for you to do; but
-I will tell falsehoods enough for both; it is easy to do that
-when one is born to the nature and habits of a Gascon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos smiled.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The carriage stopped where the
-one we have just now pointed out had stopped; namely, at the door
-of the governor's house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"It is understood, then?" said D'Artagnan, in a low voice to his
-friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos consented
-by a gesture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They
-ascended the staircase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-There will be no occasion for surprise at the facility with which
-they had entered into the Bastile, if it be remembered that,
-before passing the first gate, in fact, the most difficult of
-all, D'Artagnan had announced that he had brought a prisoner of
-state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At the third gate,
-on the contrary, that is to say, when he had once fairly entered
-the prison, he merely said to the sentinel, "To M. Baisemeaux;"
-and they both passed on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-In a few minutes they were in the governor's dining-room, and the
-first face which attracted D'Artagnan's observation was that of
-Aramis, who was seated side by side with Baisemeaux, awaiting the
-announcement of a meal whose odor impregnated the whole
-apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If D'Artagnan
-pretended surprise, Aramis did not pretend at all; he started
-when he saw his two friends, and his emotion was very
-apparent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos and
-D'Artagnan, however, complimented him as usual, and Baisemeaux,
-amazed, completely stupefied by the presence of his three guests,
-began to perform a few evolutions around them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By what lucky
-accident - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We were just going
-to ask you," retorted D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are we going to
-give ourselves up as prisoners?" cried Aramis, with an affection
-of hilarity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!" said
-D'Artagnan; "it is true the walls smell deucedly like a
-prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur de
-Baisemeaux, you know you invited me to sup with you the other
-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I?" cried
-Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, of course you
-did, although you now seem so struck with amazement.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Don't you remember it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux turned
-pale and then red, looked at Aramis, who looked at him, and
-finished by stammering out, "Certainly - I am delighted - but,
-upon my honor - I have not the slightest - Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I have such a wretched memory."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am wrong, I see," said D'Artagnan,
-as if he were offended.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wrong, what
-for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wrong to remember
-anything about it, it seems."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux hurried
-towards him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Do not
-stand on ceremony, my dear captain," he said; "I have the worst
-memory in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I no
-sooner leave off thinking of my pigeons and their pigeon-house,
-than I am no better than the rawest recruit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At all events, you
-remember it now," said D'Artagnan, boldly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes," replied
-the governor, hesitating; "I think I do remember."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was when you
-came to the palace to see me; you told me some story or other
-about your accounts with M. de Louvi&egrave;re and M. de
-Tremblay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, yes!
-perfectly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And about M.
-d'Herblay's kindness towards you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" exclaimed
-Aramis, looking at the unhappy governor full in the face, "and
-yet you just now said you had no memory, Monsieur de
-Baisemeaux."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux
-interrupted the musketeer in the middle of his revelations.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Yes, yes; you're quite right;
-how could I have forgotten; I remember it now as well as
-possible; I beg you a thousand pardons.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But now, once for all, my dear M.
-d'Artagnan, be sure that at this present time, as at any other,
-whether invited or not, you are perfectly at home here, you and
-M. d'Herblay, your friend," he said, turning towards Aramis; "and
-this gentleman, too," he added, bowing to Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I thought it
-would be sure to turn out so," replied D'Artagnan, "and that is
-the reason I came.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Having
-nothing to do this evening at the Palais Royal, I wished to judge
-for myself what your ordinary style of living was like; and as I
-was coming along, I met the Comte de la F&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos bowed.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The comte, who had just left
-his majesty, handed me an order which required immediate
-attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We were close
-by here; I wished to call in, even if it were for no other object
-than that of shaking hands with you and of presenting the comte
-to you, of whom you spoke so highly that evening at the palace
-when - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly,
-certainly - M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The comte is
-welcome, I am sure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And he will sup
-with you two, I suppose, whilst I, unfortunate dog that I am,
-must run off on a matter of duty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh! what happy beings you are,
-compared to myself," he added, sighing as loud as Porthos might
-have done.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so you are
-going away, then?" said Aramis and Baisemeaux together, with the
-same expression of delighted surprised, the tone of which was
-immediately noticed by D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I leave you in my
-place," he said, "a noble and excellent guest."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he touched Athos gently on the
-shoulder, who, astonished also, could not help exhibiting his
-surprise a little; which was noticed by Aramis only, for M. de
-Baisemeaux was not quite equal to the three friends in point of
-intelligence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What, are you
-going to leave us?" resumed the governor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I shall only be
-about an hour, or an hour and a half.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will return in time for
-dessert."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! we will wait
-for you," said Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no; that would
-be really disobliging me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will be sure
-to return, though?" said Athos, with an expression of doubt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Most certainly,"
-he said, pressing his friend's hand confidently; and he added, in
-a low voice, "Wait for me, Athos; be cheerful and lively as
-possible, and above all, don't allude even to business affairs,
-for Heaven's sake."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And with a renewed
-pressure of the hand, he seemed to warn the comte of the
-necessity of keeping perfectly discreet and impenetrable.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Baisemeaux led D'Artagnan to
-the gate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis, with
-many friendly protestations of delight, sat down by Athos,
-determined to make him speak; but Athos possessed every virtue
-and quality to the very highest degree.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If necessity had required it, he
-would have been the finest orator in the world, but on other
-occasions he would rather have died than have opened his
-lips.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Ten minutes after
-D'Artagnan's departure, the three gentlemen sat down to table,
-which was covered with the most substantial display of
-gastronomic luxury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Large
-joints, exquisite dishes, preserves, the greatest variety of
-wines, appeared successively upon the table, which was served at
-the king's expense, and of which expense M. Colbert would have
-found no difficulty in saving two thirds, without any one in the
-Bastile being the worse for it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Baisemeaux was the only one who ate
-and drank with gastronomic resolution.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis allowed nothing to pass by
-him, but merely touched everything he took; Athos, after the soup
-and three <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>hors
-d'&oelig;uvres</i>, ate nothing more.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The style of conversation was such
-as might have been anticipated between three men so opposite in
-temper and ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis
-was incessantly asking himself by what extraordinary chance Athos
-was there at Baisemeaux's when D'Artagnan was no longer there,
-and why D'Artagnan did not remain when Athos was there.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos sounded all the depths
-of the mind of Aramis, who lived in the midst of subterfuge,
-evasion, and intrigue; he studied his man well and thoroughly,
-and felt convinced that he was engaged upon some important
-project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then he too
-began to think of his own personal affair, and to lose himself in
-conjectures as to D'Artagnan's reason for having left the Bastile
-so abruptly, and for leaving behind him a prisoner so badly
-introduced and so badly looked after by the prison
-authorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But we shall
-not pause to examine into the thoughts and feelings of these
-personages, but will leave them to themselves, surrounded by the
-remains of poultry, game, and fish, which Baisemeaux's generous
-knife and fork had so mutilated.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> We are going to follow D'Artagnan
-instead, who, getting into the carriage which had brought him,
-said to the coachman, "Return to the palace, as fast as the
-horses can gallop."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LXIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-What Took Place at the Louvre During the Supper at the
-Bastile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-M</span>. de Saint-Aignan had executed the commission with which
-the king had intrusted him for La Valli&egrave;re - as we have
-already seen in one of the preceding chapters; but, whatever his
-eloquence, he did not succeed in persuading the young girl that
-she had in the king a protector powerful enough for her under any
-combination of circumstances, and that she had no need of any one
-else in the world when the king was on her side.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In point of fact, at the very first
-word which the favorite mentioned of the discovery of the famous
-secret, Louise, in a passion of tears, abandoned herself in utter
-despair to a sorrow which would have been far from flattering for
-the king, if he had been a witness of it from one of the corners
-of the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Saint-Aignan, in his character of ambassador, felt almost as
-greatly offended at it as his master himself would have been, and
-returned to inform the king what he had seen and heard; and it is
-thus we find him, in a state of great agitation, in the presence
-of the king, who was, if possible, in a state of even greater
-flurry than himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "But," said the king to
-the courtier, when the latter had finished his report, "what did
-she decide to do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Shall I
-at least see her presently before supper?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Will she come to me, or shall I be
-obliged to go to her room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I believe, sire, that
-if your majesty wishes to see her, you will not only have to take
-the first step in advance, but will have to go the whole
-way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "That I do not
-mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you think she
-has yet a secret fancy for young Bragelonne?" muttered the king
-between his teeth.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh! sire, that is not
-possible; for it is you alone, I am convinced, Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re loves, and that, too, with all her heart.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But you know that De
-Bragelonne belongs to that proud race who play the part of Roman
-heroes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king smiled feebly;
-he knew how true the illustration was, for Athos had just left
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "As for Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re," Saint-Aignan continued, "she was brought up
-under the care of the Dowager Madame, that is to say, in the
-greatest austerity and formality.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This young engaged couple coldly
-exchanged their little vows in the prim presence of the moon and
-stars; and now, when they find they have to break those vows
-asunder, it plays the very deuce with them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> Saint-Aignan thought to
-have made the king laugh; but on the contrary, from a mere smile
-Louis passed to the greatest seriousness of manner.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He already began to experience that
-remorse which the comte had promised D'Artagnan he would inflict
-upon him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He reflected
-that, in fact, these young persons had loved and sworn fidelity
-to each other; that one of the two had kept his word, and that
-the other was too conscientious not to feel her perjury most
-bitterly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And his remorse
-was not unaccompanied; for bitter pangs of jealousy began to
-beset the king's heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-He did not say another word, and instead of going to pay a visit
-to his mother, or the queen, or Madame, in order to amuse himself
-a little, and make the ladies laugh, as he himself used to say,
-he threw himself into the huge armchair in which his august
-father Louis XIII. had passed so many weary days and years in
-company with Barradat and Cinq-Mars.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan perceived the king was
-not to be amused at that moment; he tried a last resource, and
-pronounced Louise's name, which made the king look up
-immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What does
-your majesty intend to do this evening - shall Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re be informed of your intention to see her?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "It seems she is already
-aware of that," replied the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "No, no, Saint-Aignan," he
-continued, after a moment's pause, "we will both of us pass our
-time in thinking, and musing, and dreaming; when Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re shall have sufficiently regretted what she now
-regrets, she will deign, perhaps, to give us some news of
-herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Ah! sire, is it
-possible you can so misunderstand her heart, which is so full of
-devotion?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king rose, flushed
-from vexation and annoyance; he was a prey to jealousy as well as
-to remorse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Saint-Aignan
-was just beginning to feel that his position was becoming
-awkward, when the curtain before the door was raised.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king turned hastily round; his
-first idea was that a letter from Louise had arrived; but,
-instead of a letter of love, he only saw his captain of
-musketeers, standing upright, and perfectly silent in the
-doorway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "M. d'Artagnan,"
-he said, "ah!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Well,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> D'Artagnan looked at
-Saint-Aignan; the king's eyes took the same direction as those of
-his captain; these looks would have been clear to any one, and
-for a still greater reason they were so for Saint-Aignan.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The courtier bowed and quitted
-the room, leaving the king and D'Artagnan alone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Is it done?" inquired
-the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Yes, sire," replied the
-captain of the musketeers, in a grave voice, "it is done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> The king was unable to
-say another word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Pride,
-however, obliged him not to pause at what he had done; whenever a
-sovereign has adopted a decisive course, even though it be
-unjust, he is compelled to prove to all witnesses, and
-particularly to prove it to himself, that he was quite right all
-through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A good means for
-effecting that - an almost infallible means, indeed - is, to try
-and prove his victim to be in the wrong.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis, brought up by Mazarin and
-Anne of Austria, knew better than any one else his vocation as a
-monarch; he therefore endeavored to prove it on the present
-occasion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> After a few
-moment's pause, which he had employed in making silently to
-himself the same reflections which we have just expressed aloud,
-he said, in an indifferent tone: "What did the comte say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Nothing at all,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Surely he did not
-allow himself to be arrested without saying something?"<br>
-"He said he expected to be arrested, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king raised his
-head haughtily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I
-presume," he said, "that M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re has not
-continued to play his obstinate and rebellious part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the first
-place, sire, what do you wish to signify by <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>rebellious?</i>" quietly asked the
-musketeer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "A rebel, in
-the eyes of the king, is a man who not only allows himself to be
-shut up in the Bastile, but still more, who opposes those who do
-not wish to take him there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who do not wish to
-take him there!" exclaimed the king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What do you say, captain!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Are you mad?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I believe not,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You speak of
-persons who did not wish to arrest M. de la F&egrave;re!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Who are those persons, may I
-ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I should say those
-whom your majesty intrusted with that duty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But it was you
-whom I intrusted with it," exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire; it was
-I."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet you say
-that, despite my orders, you had the intention of not arresting
-the man who had insulted me!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire - that
-was really my intention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-I even proposed to the comte to mount a horse that I had prepared
-for him at the Barri&egrave;re de la Conf&eacute;rence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And what was your
-object in getting this horse ready?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, sire, in
-order that M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re might be able to reach
-Le Havre, and from that place make his escape to England."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You betrayed me,
-then, monsieur?" cried the king, kindling with a wild pride.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>There was nothing
-to say in answer to statements made in such a tone; the king was
-astounded at such an obstinate and open resistance on the part of
-D'Artagnan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "At least you
-had a reason, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for acting as you did?" said
-the king, proudly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have always a
-reason for everything, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your reason cannot
-be your friendship for the comte, at all events, - the only one
-that can be of any avail, the only one that could possibly excuse
-you, - for I placed you perfectly at your ease in that
-respect."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Me, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did I not give you
-the choice to arrest, or not to arrest M. le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire, but -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But what?"
-exclaimed the king, impatiently.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But you warned me,
-sire, that if I did not arrest him, your captain of the guard
-should do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Was I not
-considerate enough towards you, from the very moment I did not
-compel you to obey me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To me, sire, you
-were, but not to my friend, for my friend would be arrested all
-the same, whether by myself or by the captain of the guards."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And this is your
-devotion, monsieur! a devotion which argues and reasons.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> You are no soldier,
-monsieur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I wait for your
-majesty to tell me what I am."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then - you
-are a Frondeur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And since there is
-no longer any Fronde, sire, in that case - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But if what you
-say is true - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What I say is
-always true, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What have you come
-to say to me, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have come to say
-to your majesty, 'Sire, M. de la F&egrave;re is in the
-Bastile.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is not your
-fault, it would seem."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is true,
-sire; but at all events he is there; and since he is there, it is
-important that your majesty should know it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur d'Artagnan, so you set your
-king at defiance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur
-d'Artagnan!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I warn you
-that you are abusing my patience."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you mean
-by 'on the contrary'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have come to get
-myself arrested, too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To get yourself
-arrested, - you!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My friend will get wearied to
-death in the Bastile by himself; and I have come to propose to
-your majesty to permit me to bear him company; if your majesty
-will but give me the word, I will arrest myself; I shall not need
-the captain of the guards for that, I assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king darted
-towards the table and seized hold of a pen to write the order for
-D'Artagnan's imprisonment.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Pay attention, monsieur, that this
-is forever," cried the king, in tones of sternest menace.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I can quite
-believe that," returned the musketeer; "for when you have once
-done such an act as that, you will never be able to look me in
-the face again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king dashed
-down his pen violently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-"Leave the room, monsieur!" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not so, if it
-please your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is that you
-say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, I came to
-speak gently and temperately to your majesty; your majesty got
-into a passion with me; that is a misfortune; but I shall not the
-less on that account say what I had to say to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your resignation,
-monsieur, - your resignation!" cried the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, you know
-whether I care about my resignation or not, since at Blois, on
-the very day when you refused King Charles the million which my
-friend the Comte de la F&egrave;re gave him, I then tendered my
-resignation to your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well,
-monsieur - do it at once!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, sire; for
-there is no question of my resignation at the present
-moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Your majesty took
-up your pen just now to send me to the Bastile, - why should you
-change your intention?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"D'Artagnan!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Gascon that you are! who is
-king, allow me to ask, - you or myself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You, sire,
-unfortunately."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you mean
-by 'unfortunately'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire; for if
-it were I - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If it were you,
-you would approve of M. d'Artagnan's rebellious conduct, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Really!" said the
-king, shrugging his shoulders.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I should tell
-my captain of the musketeers," continued D'Artagnan, "I should
-tell him, looking at him all the while with human eyes, and not
-with eyes like coals of fire, 'M. d'Artagnan, I had forgotten
-that I was the king, for I descended from my throne in order to
-insult a gentleman.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said
-the king, "do you think you can excuse your friend by exceeding
-him in insolence?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! sire!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should go much further than
-he did," said D'Artagnan; "and it would be your own fault.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should tell you what he, a
-man full of the finest sense of delicacy, did not tell you; I
-should say - 'Sire, you have sacrificed his son, and he defended
-his son - you sacrificed himself; he addressed you in the name of
-honor, of religion, of virtue - you repulsed, drove him away,
-imprisoned him.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should
-be harder than he was, for I should say to you - 'Sire; it is for
-you to choose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you
-wish to have friends or lackeys - soldiers or slaves - great men
-or mere puppets?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you
-wish men to serve you, or to bend and crouch before you?<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you wish men to love you,
-or to be afraid of you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-If you prefer baseness, intrigue, cowardice, say so at once,
-sire, and we will leave you, - we who are the only individuals
-who are left, - nay, I will say more, the only models of the
-valor of former times; we who have done our duty, and have
-exceeded, perhaps, in courage and in merit, the men already great
-for posterity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Choose,
-sire! and that, too, without delay.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Whatever relics remain to you of the
-great nobility, guard them with a jealous eye; you will never be
-deficient in courtiers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Delay not - and send me to the Bastile with my friend; for, if
-you did not know how to listen to the Comte de la F&egrave;re,
-whose voice is the sweetest and noblest in all the world when
-honor is the theme; if you do not know how to listen to
-D'Artagnan, the frankest and honestest voice of sincerity, you
-are a bad king, and to-morrow will be a poor king.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And learn from me, sire, that bad
-kings are hated by their people, and poor kings are driven
-ignominiously away.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That
-is what I had to say to you, sire; you were wrong to drive me to
-say it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king threw
-himself back in his chair, cold as death, and as livid as a
-corpse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Had a thunderbolt
-fallen at his feet, he could not have been more astonished; he
-seemed as if his respiration had utterly ceased, and that he was
-at the point of death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The honest voice of sincerity, as D'Artagnan had called it, had
-pierced through his heart like a sword-blade.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan had said
-all he had to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Comprehending the king's anger, he drew his sword, and,
-approaching Louis XIV. respectfully, he placed it on the
-table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But the king, with
-a furious gesture, thrust aside the sword, which fell on the
-ground and rolled to D'Artagnan's feet.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Notwithstanding the perfect mastery
-which D'Artagnan exercised over himself, he, too, in his turn,
-became pale, and, trembling with indignation, said: "A king may
-disgrace a soldier, - he may exile him, and may even condemn him
-to death; but were he a hundred times a king, he has no right to
-insult him by casting a dishonor upon his sword!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Sire, a king of France has never
-repulsed with contempt the sword of a man such as I am!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Stained with disgrace as this
-sword now is, it has henceforth no other sheath than either your
-heart or my own!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I choose
-my own, sire; and you have to thank Heaven and my own patience
-that I do so."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then
-snatching up his sword, he cried, "My blood be upon your head!"
-and, with a rapid gesture, he placed the hilt upon the floor and
-directed the point of the blade towards his breast.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The king, however, with a movement
-far more rapid than that of D'Artagnan, threw his right arm
-around the musketeer's neck, and with his left hand seized hold
-of the blade by the middle, and returned it silently to the
-scabbard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan,
-upright, pale, and still trembling, let the king do all to the
-very end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Louis, overcome
-and softened by gentler feelings, returned to the table, took a
-pen in his hand, wrote a few lines, signed them, and then held it
-out to D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is this
-paper, sire?" inquired the captain.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"An order for M.
-d'Artagnan to set the Comte de la F&egrave;re at liberty
-immediately."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan seized
-the king's hand, and imprinted a kiss upon it; he then folded the
-order, placed it in his belt, and quitted the room. Neither the
-king nor the captain had uttered a syllable.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, human heart!
-thou guide and director of kings," murmured Louis, when alone,
-"when shall I learn to read in your inmost recesses, as in the
-leaves of a book!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh, I
-am not a bad king - nor am I poor king; I am but still a child,
-when all is said and done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LXV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Political Rivals.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-D</span>'Artagnan had promised M. de Baisemeaux to return in time
-for dessert, and he kept his word.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They had just reached the finer and
-more delicate class of wines and liqueurs with which the
-governor's cellar had the reputation of being most admirably
-stocked, when the silver spurs of the captain resounded in the
-corridor, and he himself appeared at the threshold.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos and Aramis had played a close
-game; neither of the two had been able to gain the slightest
-advantage over the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-They had supped, talked a good deal about the Bastile, of the
-last journey to Fontainebleau, of the intended <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>f&ecirc;te</i> that M. Fouquet was
-about to give at Vaux; they had generalized on every possible
-subject; and no one, excepting Baisemeaux, had in the slightest
-degree alluded to private matters.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan arrived in the very midst
-of the conversation, still pale and much disturbed by his
-interview with the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Baisemeaux hastened to give him a chair; D'Artagnan accepted a
-glass of wine, and set it down empty.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos and Aramis both remarked his
-emotion; as for Baisemeaux, he saw nothing more than the captain
-of the king's musketeers, to whom he endeavored to show every
-possible attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But,
-although Aramis had remarked his emotion, he had not been able to
-guess the cause of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Athos alone believed he had detected it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> For him, D'Artagnan's return, and
-particularly the manner in which he, usually so impassible,
-seemed overcome, signified, "I have just asked the king something
-which the king has refused me."<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Thoroughly convinced that his
-conjecture was correct, Athos smiled, rose from the table, and
-made a sign to D'Artagnan, as if to remind him that they had
-something else to do than to sup together.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan immediately understood
-him, and replied by another sign.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis and Baisemeaux watched this
-silent dialogue, and looked inquiringly at each other.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos felt that he was called
-upon to give an explanation of what was passing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "The truth is, my
-friend," said the Comte de la F&egrave;re, with a smile, "that
-you, Aramis, have been supping with a state criminal, and you,
-Monsieur de Baisemeaux, with your prisoner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux uttered
-an exclamation of surprise, and almost of delight; for he was
-exceedingly proud and vain of his fortress, and for his own
-individual profit, the more prisoners he had, the happier he was,
-and the higher in rank the prisoners happened to be, the prouder
-he felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Aramis assumed
-the expression of countenance he thought the position justified,
-and said, "Well, dear Athos, forgive me, but I almost suspected
-what has happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Some
-prank of Raoul and La Valli&egrave;re, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alas!" said
-Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And," continued
-Aramis, "you, a high and powerful nobleman as you are, forgetful
-that courtiers now exist - you have been to the king, I suppose,
-and told him what you thought of his conduct?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, you have
-guessed right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that," said
-Baisemeaux, trembling at having supped so familiarly with a man
-who had fallen into disgrace with the king; "so that, monsieur le
-comte - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that, my dear
-governor," said Athos, "my friend D'Artagnan will communicate to
-you the contents of the paper which I perceived just peeping out
-of his belt, and which assuredly can be nothing else than the
-order for my incarceration."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux held out
-his hand with his accustomed eagerness.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan drew two papers from his
-belt, and presented one of them to the governor, who unfolded it,
-and then read, in a low tone of voice, looking at Athos over the
-paper, as he did so, and pausing from time to time: "'Order to
-detain, in my ch&acirc;teau of the Bastile, Monsieur le Comte de
-la F&egrave;re.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Oh,
-monsieur! this is indeed a very melancholy day for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will have a
-patient prisoner, monsieur," said Athos, in his calm, soft
-voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A prisoner, too,
-who will not remain a month with you, my dear governor," said
-Aramis; while Baisemeaux, still holding the order in his hand,
-transcribed it upon the prison registry.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not a day, or
-rather not even a night," said D'Artagnan, displaying the second
-order of the king, "for now, dear M. de Baisemeaux, you will have
-the goodness to transcribe also this order for setting the comte
-immediately at liberty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said Aramis,
-"it is a labor that you have deprived me of, D'Artagnan;" and he
-pressed the musketeer's hand in a significant manner, at the same
-moment as that of Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!" said the
-latter in astonishment, "the king sets me at liberty!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Read, my dear
-friend," returned D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos took the
-order and read it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "It is
-quite true," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you sorry for
-it?" asked D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no, on the
-contrary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I wish the king
-no harm; and the greatest evil or misfortune that any one can
-wish kings, is that they should commit an act of injustice.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But you have had a difficult
-and painful task, I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Tell me, have you not, D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I? not at all,"
-said the musketeer, laughing: "the king does everything I wish
-him to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis looked
-fixedly at D'Artagnan, and saw that he was not speaking the
-truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But Baisemeaux had
-eyes for nothing but D'Artagnan, so great was his admiration for
-a man who seemed to make the king do all he wished.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And does the king
-exile Athos?" inquired Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, not precisely;
-the king did not explain himself upon that subject," replied
-D'Artagnan; "but I think the comte could not well do better
-unless, indeed, he wishes particularly to thank the king - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, indeed,"
-replied Athos, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, I
-think," resumed D'Artagnan, "that the comte cannot do better than
-to retire to his <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>own</i>
-ch&acirc;teau.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> However,
-my dear Athos, you have only to speak, to tell me what you
-want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If any particular
-place of residence is more agreeable to you than another, I am
-influential enough, perhaps, to obtain it for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, thank you,"
-said Athos; "nothing can be more agreeable to me, my dear friend,
-than to return to my solitude beneath my noble trees on the banks
-of the Loire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If Heaven
-be the overruling physician of the evils of the mind, nature is a
-sovereign remedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so,
-monsieur," continued Athos, turning again towards Baisemeaux, "I
-am now free, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, monsieur le
-comte, I think so - at least, I hope so," said the governor,
-turning over and over the two papers in question, "unless,
-however, M. d'Artagnan has a third order to give me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, my dear
-Baisemeaux, no," said the musketeer; "the second is quite enough:
-we will stop there - if you please."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! monsieur le
-comte," said Baisemeaux addressing Athos, "you do not know what
-you are losing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I should
-have placed you among the thirty-franc prisoners, like the
-generals - what am I saying? - I mean among the fifty-francs,
-like the princes, and you would have supped every evening as you
-have done to-night."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Allow me,
-monsieur," said Athos, "to prefer my own simpler fare."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And then, turning to
-D'Artagnan, he said, "Let us go, my dear friend.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Shall I have that greatest of all
-pleasures for me - that of having you as my companion?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To the city gate
-only," replied D'Artagnan, "after which I will tell you what I
-told the king: 'I am on duty.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you, my dear
-Aramis," said Athos, smiling; "will you accompany me?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> La F&egrave;re is on the road to
-Vannes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank you, my dear
-friend," said Aramis, "but I have an appointment in Paris this
-evening, and I cannot leave without very serious interests
-suffering by my absence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case,"
-said Athos, "I must say adieu, and take my leave of you.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> My dear Monsieur de
-Baisemeaux, I have to thank you exceedingly for your kind and
-friendly disposition towards me, and particularly for the
-enjoyable specimen you have given me of the ordinary fare of the
-Bastile."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, having
-embraced Aramis, and shaken hands with M. de Baisemeaux, and
-having received best wishes for a pleasant journey from them
-both, Athos set off with D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Whilst the <i
-style='mso-bidi-font-style: normal'>d&eacute;nouement</i> of the
-scene of the Palais Royal was taking place at the Bastile, let us
-relate what was going on at the lodgings of Athos and
-Bragelonne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Grimaud, as
-we have seen, had accompanied his master to Paris; and, as we
-have said, he was present when Athos went out; he had observed
-D'Artagnan gnaw the corners of his mustache; he had seen his
-master get into the carriage; he had narrowly examined both their
-countenances, and he had known them both for a sufficiently long
-period to read and understand, through the mask of their
-impassibility, that something serious was the matter.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as Athos had gone, he began
-to reflect; he then, and then only, remembered the strange manner
-in which Athos had taken leave of him, the embarrassment -
-imperceptible as it would have been to any but himself - of the
-master whose ideas were, to him, so clear and defined, and the
-expression of whose wishes was so precise.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He knew that Athos had taken nothing
-with him but the clothes he had on him at the time; and yet he
-seemed to fancy that Athos had not left for an hour merely; or
-even for a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A long
-absence was signified by the manner in which he pronounced the
-word "Adieu."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All these
-circumstances recurred to his mind, with feelings of deep
-affection for Athos, with that horror of isolation and solitude
-which invariably besets the minds of those who love; and all
-these combined rendered poor Grimaud very melancholy, and
-particularly uneasy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Without being able to account to himself for what he did since
-his master's departure, he wandered about the room, seeking, as
-it were, for some traces of him, like a faithful dog, who is not
-exactly uneasy about his absent master, but at least is
-restless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Only as, in
-addition to the instinct of the animal, Grimaud subjoined the
-reasoning faculties of the man, Grimaud therefore felt uneasy and
-restless too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Not having
-found any indication which could serve as a guide, and having
-neither seen nor discovered anything which could satisfy his
-doubts, Grimaud began to wonder what could possibly have
-happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides,
-imagination is the resource, or rather the plague of gentle and
-affectionate hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-fact, never does a feeling heart represent its absent friend to
-itself as being happy or cheerful.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Never does the dove that wings its
-flight in search of adventures inspire anything but terror at
-home.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Grimaud soon passed
-from uneasiness to terror; he carefully went over, in his own
-mind, everything that had taken place: D'Artagnan's letter to
-Athos, the letter which had seemed to distress Athos so much
-after he had read it; then Raoul's visit to Athos, which resulted
-in Athos desiring him (Grimaud) to get his various orders and his
-court dress ready to put on; then his interview with the king, at
-the end of which Athos had returned home so unusually gloomy;
-then the explanation between the father and the son, at the
-termination of which Athos had embraced Raoul with such sadness
-of expression, while Raoul himself went away equally weary and
-melancholy; and finally, D'Artagnan's arrival, biting, as if he
-were vexed, the end of his mustache, and leaving again in the
-carriage, accompanied by the Comte de la F&egrave;re.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> All this composed a drama in five
-acts very clearly, particularly for so analytical an observer as
-Grimaud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The first step he
-took was to search in his master's coat for M. d'Artagnan's
-letter; he found the letter still there, and its contents were
-found to run as follows:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"MY DEAR FRIEND, -
-Raoul has been to ask me for some particulars about the conduct
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, during our young friend's
-residence in London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am
-a poor captain of musketeers, and I am sickened to death every
-day by hearing all the scandal of the barracks and bedside
-conversations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If I had
-told Raoul all I believe, I know the poor fellow would have died
-of it; but I am in the king's service, and cannot relate all I
-hear about the king's affairs.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If your heart tells you to do it,
-set off at once; the matter concerns you more than it does
-myself, and almost as much as Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Grimaud tore, not a
-handful, but a finger-and-thumbful of hair out of his head; he
-would have done more if his head of hair had been in a more
-flourishing condition.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," he said,
-"that is the key of the whole enigma.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The young girl has been playing her
-pranks; what people say about her and the king is true, then; our
-young master has been deceived; he ought to know it.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Monsieur le comte has been to see
-the king, and has told him a piece of his mind; and then the king
-sent M. d'Artagnan to arrange the affair.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Ah! gracious goodness!" continued
-Grimaud, "monsieur le comte, I now remember, returned without his
-sword."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This discovery made
-the perspiration break out all over poor Grimaud's face.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He did not waste any more time
-in useless conjecture, but clapped his hat on his head, and ran
-to Raoul's lodgings.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul, after Louise
-had left him, had mastered his grief, if not his affection; and,
-compelled to look forward on that perilous road over which
-madness and revulsion were hurrying him, he had seen, from the
-very first glance, his father exposed to the royal obstinacy,
-since Athos had himself been the first to oppose any resistance
-to the royal will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> At
-this moment, from a very natural sequence of feeling, the unhappy
-young man remembered the mysterious signs which Athos had made,
-and the unexpected visit of D'Artagnan; the result of the
-conflict between a sovereign and a subject revealed itself to his
-terrified vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As
-D'Artagnan was on duty, that is, a fixture at his post without
-the possibility of leaving it, it was certainly not likely that
-he had come to pay Athos a visit merely for the pleasure of
-seeing him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He must have
-come to say something to him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This something in the midst of such
-painful conjectures must have been the news of either a
-misfortune or a danger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Raoul trembled at having been so selfish as to have forgotten his
-father for his affection; at having, in a word, passed his time
-in idle dreams, or in an indulgence of despair, at a time when a
-necessity existed for repelling such an imminent attack on
-Athos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The very idea
-nearly drove him frantic; he buckled on his sword and ran towards
-his father's lodgings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On
-his way there he encountered Grimaud, who, having set off from
-the opposite pole, was running with equal eagerness in search of
-the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The two men
-embraced each other most warmly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Grimaud,"
-exclaimed Raoul, "is the comte well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you seen
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; where is
-he?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am trying to
-find out."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And M.
-d'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Went out with
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"When?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ten minutes after
-you did."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way did
-they go out?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In a
-carriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where did they
-go?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have no idea at
-all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did my father take
-any money with him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Or his sword?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have an idea,
-Grimaud, that M. d'Artagnan came in order to - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Arrest monsieur le
-comte, do you not think, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, Grimaud."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I could have sworn
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What road did they
-take?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The way leading
-towards the quay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To the Bastile,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quick, quick; let
-us run."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, let us not
-lose a moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But where are we
-to go?" said Raoul, overwhelmed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We will go to M.
-d'Artagnan's first, we may perhaps learn something there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; if they keep
-me in ignorance at my father's, they will do the same
-everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let us go to
-- Oh, good heavens! why, I must be mad to-day, Grimaud; I have
-forgotten M. du Vallon, who is waiting for and expecting me
-still."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where is he,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At the Minimes of
-Vincennes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank goodness,
-that is on the same side as the Bastile.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I will run and saddle the horses,
-and we will go at once," said Grimaud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do, my friend,
-do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LXVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>In
-Which Porthos Is Convinced without Having Understood
-Anything.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he good and worthy Porthos, faithful to all the laws of
-ancient chivalry, had determined to wait for M. de Saint-Aignan
-until sunset; and as Saint-Aignan did not come, as Raoul had
-forgotten to communicate with his second, and as he found that
-waiting so long was very wearisome, Porthos had desired one of
-the gate-keepers to fetch him a few bottles of good wine and a
-good joint of meat, - so that, at least, he might pass away the
-time by means of a glass or two and a mouthful of something to
-eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He had just finished
-when Raoul arrived, escorted by Grimaud, both of them riding at
-full speed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As soon as
-Porthos saw the two cavaliers riding at such a pace along the
-road, he did not for a moment doubt but that they were the men he
-was expecting, and he rose from the grass upon which he had been
-indolently reclining and began to stretch his legs and arms,
-saying, "See what it is to have good habits.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The fellow has finished by coming,
-after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If I had gone
-away he would have found no one here and would have taken
-advantage of that."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-then threw himself into a martial attitude, and drew himself up
-to the full height of his gigantic stature.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But instead of Saint-Aignan, he only
-saw Raoul, who, with the most despairing gestures, accosted him
-by crying out, "Pray forgive me, my dear friend, I am most
-wretched."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Raoul!" cried Porthos,
-surprised.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have been angry
-with me?" said Raoul, embracing Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "I?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "For having forgotten
-you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But I assure you my
-head seems utterly lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-If you only knew!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "You have killed
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Who?"<br>
-"Saint-Aignan; or, if that is not the case, what is the
-matter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"The matter is,
-that Monsieur le Comte de la F&egrave;re has by this time been
-arrested."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>Porthos gave a
-start that would have thrown down a wall.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Arrested!" he
-cried out; "by whom?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"By
-D'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"It is impossible,"
-said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"My dear friend, it
-is perfectly true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos turned
-towards Grimaud, as if he needed a second confirmation of the
-intelligence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Grimaud
-nodded his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "And
-where have they taken him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Probably to the
-Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What makes you
-think that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As we came along
-we questioned some persons, who saw the carriage pass; and others
-who saw it enter the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" muttered
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you intend
-to do?" inquired Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I?<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nothing; only I will not have Athos
-remain at the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you know," said
-Raoul, advancing nearer to Porthos, "that the arrest was made by
-order of the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos looked at
-the young man, as if to say, "What does that matter to me?"<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This dumb language seemed so
-eloquent of meaning to Raoul that he did not ask any other
-question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He mounted his
-horse again; and Porthos, assisted by Grimaud, had already done
-the same.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us arrange our
-plan of action," said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," returned
-Porthos, "that is the best thing we can do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul sighed
-deeply, and then paused suddenly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is the
-matter?" asked Porthos; "are you faint?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, only I feel
-how utterly helpless our position is.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Can we three pretend to go and take
-the Bastile?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, if
-D'Artagnan were only here," replied Porthos, "I am not so very
-certain we would fail."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul could not
-resist a feeling of admiration at the sight of such perfect
-confidence, heroic in its simplicity.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> These were truly the celebrated men
-who, by three or four, attacked armies and assaulted
-castles!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Men who had
-terrified death itself, who had survived the wrecks of a
-tempestuous age, and still stood, stronger than the most robust
-of the young.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said he
-to Porthos, "you have just given me an idea; we absolutely must
-see M. d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Undoubtedly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He ought by this
-time to have returned home, after having taken my father to the
-Bastile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Let us go to his
-house."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"First inquire at
-the Bastile," said Grimaud, who was in the habit of speaking
-little, but that to the purpose.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Accordingly, they
-hastened towards the fortress, when one of those chances which
-Heaven bestows on men of strong will caused Grimaud suddenly to
-perceive the carriage, which was entering by the great gate of
-the drawbridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> This was
-the moment that D'Artagnan was, as we have seen, returning from
-his visit to the king.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In
-vain was it that Raoul urged on his horse in order to join the
-carriage, and to see whom it contained.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The horses had already gained the
-other side of the great gate, which again closed, while one of
-the sentries struck the nose of Raoul's horse with his musket;
-Raoul turned about, only too happy to find he had ascertained
-something respecting the carriage which had contained his
-father.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We have him," said
-Grimaud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If we wait a
-little it is certain he will leave; don't you think so, my
-friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Unless, indeed,
-D'Artagnan also be a prisoner," replied Porthos, "in which case
-everything is lost."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul returned no
-answer, for any hypothesis was admissible.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He instructed Grimaud to lead the
-horses to the little street Jean-Beausire, so as to give rise to
-less suspicion, and himself with his piercing gaze watched for
-the exit either of D'Artagnan or the carriage.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Nor had he decided wrongly; for
-twenty minutes had not elapsed before the gate reopened and the
-carriage reappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> A
-dazzling of the eyes prevented Raoul from distinguishing what
-figures occupied the interior.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Grimaud averred that he had seen two
-persons, and that one of them was his master.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos kept looking at Raoul and
-Grimaud by turns, in the hope of understanding their idea.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is clear," said
-Grimaud, "that if the comte is in the carriage, either he is set
-at liberty or they are taking him to another prison."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We shall soon see
-that by the road he takes," answered Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If he is set at
-liberty," said Grimaud, "they will conduct him home."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True," rejoined
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The carriage does
-not take that way," cried Raoul; and indeed the horses were just
-disappearing down the Faubourg St. Antoine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us hasten,"
-said Porthos; "we will attack the carriage on the road and tell
-Athos to flee."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Rebellion,"
-murmured Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos darted a
-second glance at Raoul, quite worthy of the first.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul replied only by spurring the
-flanks of his steed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> In a
-few moments the three cavaliers had overtaken the carriage, and
-followed it so closely that their horses' breath moistened the
-back of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan,
-whose senses were ever on the alert, heard the trot of the
-horses, at the moment when Raoul was telling Porthos to pass the
-chariot, so as to see who was the person accompanying Athos.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos complied, but could
-not see anything, for the blinds were lowered.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Rage and impatience were gaining
-mastery over Raoul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-had just noticed the mystery preserved by Athos's companion, and
-determined on proceeding to extremities.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> On his part D'Artagnan had perfectly
-recognized Porthos, and Raoul also, from under the blinds, and
-had communicated to the comte the result of his observation.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> They were desirous only of
-seeing whether Raoul and Porthos would push the affair to the
-uttermost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And this they
-speedily did, for Raoul, presenting his pistol, threw himself on
-the leader, commanding the coachmen to stop.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos seized the coachman, and
-dragged him from his seat.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Grimaud already had hold of the
-carriage door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul
-threw open his arms, exclaiming, "M. le comte! M. le comte!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! is it you,
-Raoul?" said Athos, intoxicated with joy.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not bad, indeed!"
-added D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter, and they both
-embraced the young man and Porthos, who had taken possession of
-them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My brave Porthos!
-best of friends," cried Athos, "it is still the same old way with
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He is still only
-twenty," said D'Artagnan, "brave Porthos!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Confound it,"
-answered Porthos, slightly confused, "we thought that you were
-being arrested."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While," rejoined
-Athos, "the matter in question was nothing but my taking a drive
-in M. d'Artagnan's carriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But we followed
-you from the Bastile," returned Raoul, with a tone of suspicion
-and reproach.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where we had been
-to take supper with our friend M. Baisemeaux.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do you recollect Baisemeaux,
-Porthos?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well,
-indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And there we saw
-Aramis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the
-Bastile?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At supper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said Porthos,
-again breathing freely.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He gave us a
-thousand messages to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And where is M. le
-comte going?" asked Grimaud, already recompensed by a smile from
-his master.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We were going home
-to Blois."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How can that
-be?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At once?" said
-Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, right
-forward."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without any
-luggage?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul would have been instructed to
-forward me mine, or to bring it with him on his return, <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>if</i> he returns."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If nothing detains
-him longer in Paris," said D'Artagnan, with a glance firm and
-cutting as steel, and as painful (for it reopened the poor young
-fellow's wounds), "he will do well to follow you, Athos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is nothing
-to keep me any longer in Paris," said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then we will go
-immediately."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And M.
-d'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! as for me, I
-was only accompanying Athos as far as the barrier, and I return
-with Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good," said
-the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, my son,"
-added the comte, gently passing his arm around Raoul's neck to
-draw him into the carriage, and again embracing him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Grimaud," continued the comte, "you
-will return quietly to Paris with your horse and M. du Vallon's,
-for Raoul and I will mount here and give up the carriage to these
-two gentlemen to return to Paris in; and then, as soon as you
-arrive, you will take my clothes and letters and forward the
-whole to me at home."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But," observed
-Raoul, who was anxious to make the comte converse, "when you
-return to Paris, there will not be a single thing there for you -
-which will be very inconvenient."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think it will be
-a very long time, Raoul, ere I return to Paris.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The last sojourn we have made there
-has not been of a nature to encourage me to repeat it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul hung down his
-head and said not a word more.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Athos descended from the carriage
-and mounted the horse which had brought Porthos, and which seemed
-no little pleased at the exchange.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Then they embraced, and clasped each
-other's hands, and interchanged a thousand pledges of eternal
-friendship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Porthos
-promised to spend a month with Athos at the first
-opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> D'Artagnan
-engaged to take advantage of his first leave of absence; and
-then, having embraced Raoul for the last time: "To you, my boy,"
-said he, "I will write."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Coming from D'Artagnan, who he knew wrote very seldom, these
-words expressed everything.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Raoul was moved even to tears.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He tore himself away from the
-musketeer and departed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan rejoined
-Porthos in the carriage: "Well," said he, "my dear friend, what a
-day we have had!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed we have,"
-answered Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You must be quite
-worn out."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not quite;
-however, I shall retire early to rest, so as to be ready for
-to-morrow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And
-wherefore?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why! to complete
-what I have begun."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You make me
-shudder, my friend, you seem to me quite angry.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> What the devil <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>have</i> you begun which is not
-finished?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Listen; Raoul has
-not fought, but <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>I</i> must
-fight!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With whom? with
-the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How!" exclaimed
-Porthos, astounded, "with the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I say, you
-great baby, with the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I assure you it is
-with M. Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Look now, this is
-what I mean; you draw your sword against the king in fighting
-with this gentleman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said Porthos,
-staring; "are you sure of it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed I am."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What in the world
-are we to do, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We must try and
-make a good supper, Porthos.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The captain of the musketeers keeps
-a tolerable table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> There
-you will see the handsome Saint-Aignan, and will drink his
-health."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I?" cried Porthos,
-horrified.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!" said
-D'Artagnan, "you refuse to drink the king's health?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But, body
-alive!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am not talking
-to you about the king at all; I am speaking of M. de
-Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But when I repeat
-that it is the same thing?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, well, well!"
-said Porthos, overcome.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You understand,
-don't you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No," answered
-Porthos, "but 'tis all the same."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Chapter
-LXVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>M.
-de Baisemeaux's "Society."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>
-T</span>he reader has not forgotten that, on quitting the
-Bastile, D'Artagnan and the Comte de la F&egrave;re had left
-Aramis in close confabulation with Baisemeaux.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> When once these two guests had
-departed, Baisemeaux did not in the least perceive that the
-conversation suffered by their absence.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He used to think that wine after
-supper, and that of the Bastile in particular, was excellent, and
-that it was a stimulation quite sufficient to make any honest man
-talkative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But he little
-knew his Greatness, who was never more impenetrable that at
-dessert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> His Greatness,
-however, perfectly understood M. de Baisemeaux, when he reckoned
-on making the governor discourse by the means which the latter
-regarded as efficacious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The conversation, therefore, without flagging in appearance,
-flagged in reality; for Baisemeaux not only had it nearly all to
-himself, but further, kept speaking only of that singular event,
-the incarceration of Athos, followed by so prompt an order to set
-him again at liberty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Nor, moreover, had Baisemeaux failed to observe that the two
-orders of arrest and of liberation, were both in the king's
-hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But then, the king
-would not take the trouble to write similar orders except under
-pressing circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-All this was very interesting, and, above all, very puzzling to
-Baisemeaux; but as, on the other hand, all this was very clear to
-Aramis, the latter did not attach to the occurrence the same
-importance as did the worthy governor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Besides, Aramis rarely put himself
-out of the way for anything, and he had not yet told M. de
-Baisemeaux for what reason he had now done so.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And so at the very climax of
-Baisemeaux's dissertation, Aramis suddenly interrupted him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Tell me, my dear
-Baisemeaux," said he, "have you never had any other diversions at
-the Bastile than those at which I assisted during the two or
-three visits I have had the honor to pay you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> This address was so
-unexpected that the governor, like a vane which suddenly receives
-an impulsion opposed to that of the wind, was quite dumbfounded
-at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Diversions!" said
-he; "but I take them continually, monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Oh, to be sure!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And these diversions?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'mso-tab-count:1'>               </span> "Are of every kind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Visits, no
-doubt?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, not
-visits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Visits are not
-frequent at the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What, are visits
-rare, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very much so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Even on the part
-of your society?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you term
-my society - the prisoners?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no! - your
-prisoners, indeed!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I know
-well it is you who visit them, and not they you.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> By your society, I mean, my dear
-Baisemeaux, the society of which you are a member."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux looked
-fixedly at Aramis, and then, as if the idea which had flashed
-across his mind were impossible, "Oh," he said, "I have very
-little society at present.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> If I must own it to you, dear M.
-d'Herblay, the fact is, to stay at the Bastile appears, for the
-most part, distressing and distasteful to persons of the gay
-world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> As for the ladies,
-it is never without a certain dread, which costs me infinite
-trouble to allay, that they succeed in reaching my quarters.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And, indeed, how should they
-avoid trembling a little, poor things, when they see those gloomy
-dungeons, and reflect that they are inhabited by prisoners who -
-"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And in proportion as
-the eyes of Baisemeaux concentrated their gaze on the face of
-Aramis, the worthy governor's tongue faltered more and more until
-it ended by stopping altogether.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, you don't
-understand me, my dear M. Baisemeaux; you don't understand
-me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I do not at all mean
-to speak of society in general, but of a particular society - of
-<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>the</i> society, in a word
-- to which you are affiliated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux nearly
-dropped the glass of muscat which he was in the act of raising to
-his lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Affiliated,"
-cried he, "affiliated!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, affiliated,
-undoubtedly," repeated Aramis, with the greatest
-self-possession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Are you
-not a member of a secret society, my dear M. Baisemeaux?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Secret?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Secret or
-mysterious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, M.
-d'Herblay!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Consider, now,
-don't deny it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But believe
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I believe what I
-know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I swear to
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Listen to me, my
-dear M. Baisemeaux; I say yes, you say no; one of us two
-necessarily says what is true, and the other, it inevitably
-follows, what is false."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, and
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, we shall
-come to an understanding presently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us see," said
-Baisemeaux; "let us see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Now drink your
-glass of muscat, dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," said Aramis.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What the devil! you look
-quite scared."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no; not the
-least in the world; oh, no."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Drink then."<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Baisemeaux drank, but he
-swallowed the wrong way.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well," resumed
-Aramis, "if, I say, you are not a member of a secret or
-mysterious society, which you like to call it - the epithet is of
-no consequence - if, I say, you are not a member of a society
-similar to that I wish to designate, well, then, you will not
-understand a word of what I am going to say.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> That is all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! be sure
-beforehand that I shall not understand anything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, well!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Try, now; let us
-see!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is what I am
-going to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If, on the
-contrary, you are one of the members of this society, you will
-immediately answer me - yes or no."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Begin your
-questions," continued Baisemeaux, trembling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will agree,
-dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," continued Aramis, with the same
-impassibility, "that it is evident a man cannot be a member of a
-society, it is evident that he cannot enjoy the advantages it
-offers to the affiliated, without being himself bound to certain
-little services."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In short,"
-stammered Baisemeaux, "that would be intelligible, if - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well," resumed
-Aramis, "there is in the society of which I speak, and of which,
-as it seems you are not a member - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Allow me," said
-Baisemeaux.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "I should not
-like to say absolutely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is an
-engagement entered into by all the governors and captains of
-fortresses affiliated to the order." <span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Baisemeaux grew pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Now the
-engagement," continued Aramis firmly, "is of this nature."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux rose,
-manifesting unspeakable emotion: "Go on, dear M. d'Herblay: go
-on," said he.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis then spoke,
-or rather recited the following paragraph, in the same tone as if
-he had been reading it from a book: "The aforesaid captain or
-governor of a fortress shall allow to enter, when need shall
-arise, and on demand of the prisoner, a confessor affiliated to
-the order."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> He
-stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Baisemeaux was
-quite distressing to look at, being so wretchedly pale and
-trembling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Is not that
-the text of the agreement?" quietly asked Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur!"
-began Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! well, you
-begin to understand, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur,"
-cried Baisemeaux, "do not trifle so with my unhappy mind!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I find myself as nothing in
-your hands, if you have the malignant desire to draw from me the
-little secrets of my administration."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! by no means;
-pray undeceive yourself, dear M. Baisemeaux; it is not the little
-secrets of your administration, but those of your conscience that
-I aim at."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, my
-conscience be it, dear M. d'Herblay.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> But have some consideration for the
-situation I am in, which is no ordinary one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is no ordinary
-one, my dear monsieur," continued the inflexible Aramis, "if you
-are a member of this society; but it is a quite natural one if
-free from all engagement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-You are answerable only to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, monsieur,
-well!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I obey only the
-king, and whom else would you have a French nobleman obey?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis did not
-yield an inch, but with that silvery voice of his continued: "It
-is very pleasant," said he, "for a French nobleman, for a prelate
-of France, to hear a man of your mark express himself so loyally,
-dear De Baisemeaux, and having heard you to believe no more than
-you do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you doubted,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I? oh, no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so you doubt
-no longer?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have no longer
-any doubt that such a man as you, monsieur," said Aramis,
-gravely, "does not faithfully serve the masters whom he
-voluntarily chose for himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Masters!" cried
-Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, masters, I
-said."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur
-d'Herblay, you are still jesting, are you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, yes!<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I understand that it is a more
-difficult position to have several masters than one; but the
-embarrassment is owing to you, my dear Baisemeaux, and I am not
-the cause of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly not,"
-returned the unfortunate governor, more embarrassed than ever;
-"but what are you doing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-You are leaving the table?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Assuredly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you
-going?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I am
-going."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But you are
-behaving very strangely towards me, monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am behaving
-strangely - how do you make that out?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you sworn,
-then, to put me to the torture?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, I should be
-sorry to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Remain, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because I have no
-longer anything to do here; and, indeed, I have duties to fulfil
-elsewhere."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Duties, so late as
-this?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; understand me
-now, my dear De Baisemeaux: they told me at the place whence I
-came, 'The aforesaid governor or captain will allow to enter, as
-need shall arise, on the prisoner's demand, a confessor
-affiliated with the order.'<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I came; you do not know what I mean,
-and so I shall return to tell them that they are mistaken, and
-that they must send me elsewhere."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! you are - "
-cried Baisemeaux, looking at Aramis almost in terror.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The confessor
-affiliated to the order," said Aramis, without changing his
-voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>But, gentle as the
-words were, they had the same effect on the unhappy governor as a
-clap of thunder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-Baisemeaux became livid, and it seemed to him as if Aramis's
-beaming eyes were two forks of flame, piercing to the very bottom
-of his soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The
-confessor!" murmured he; "you, monseigneur, the confessor of the
-order!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I; but we
-have nothing to unravel together, seeing that you are not one of
-the affiliated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I understand
-that, not being so, you refuse to comply with its command."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur, I
-beseech you, condescend to hear me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And
-wherefore?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur, I do
-not say that I have nothing to do with the society."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I say not that I
-refuse to obey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nevertheless, M.
-de Baisemeaux, what has passed wears very much the air of
-resistance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no!
-monseigneur, no; I only wished to be certain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To be certain of
-what?" said Aramis, in a tone of supreme contempt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of nothing at all,
-monseigneur."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Baisemeaux
-lowered his voice, and bending before the prelate, said, "I am at
-all times and in all places at the disposal of my superiors, but
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good.<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I like you better thus,
-monsieur," said Aramis, as he resumed his seat, and put out his
-glass to Baisemeaux, whose hand trembled so that he could not
-fill it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "You were saying
-'but' - " continued Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But," replied the
-unhappy man, "having received no notice, I was very far from
-expecting it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Does not the
-Gospel say, 'Watch, for the moment is known only of God?'<span
-style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Do not the rules of the order
-say, 'Watch, for that which I will, you ought always to will
-also.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And what pretext
-will serve you now that you did not expect the confessor, M. de
-Baisemeaux?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because,
-monseigneur, there is at present in the Bastile no prisoner
-ill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis shrugged his
-shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What do you
-know about that?" said he.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But, nevertheless,
-it appears to me - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. de Baisemeaux,"
-said Aramis, turning round in his chair, "here is your servant,
-who wishes to speak with you;" and at this moment, De
-Baisemeaux's servant appeared at the threshold of the door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?" asked
-Baisemeaux, sharply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said
-the man, "they are bringing you the doctor's return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis looked at De
-Baisemeaux with a calm and confident eye.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well," said he,
-"let the messenger enter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The messenger
-entered, saluted, and handed in the report.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Baisemeaux ran his eye over it, and
-raising his head, said in surprise, "No. 12 is ill!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How was it, then,"
-said Aramis, carelessly, "that you told me everybody was well in
-your h&ocirc;tel, M. de Baisemeaux?"<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> And he emptied his glass without
-removing his eyes from Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The governor then
-made a sign to the messenger, and when he had quitted the room,
-said, still trembling, "I think that there is in the article, 'on
-the prisoner's demand.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, it is so,"
-answered Aramis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "But see
-what it is they want with you now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And that moment a
-sergeant put his head in at the door.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What do you want now?" cried
-Baisemeaux.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Can you not
-leave me in peace for ten minutes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said
-the sergeant, "the sick man, No. 12, has commissioned the turnkey
-to request you to send him a confessor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux very
-nearly sank on the floor; but Aramis disdained to reassure him,
-just as he had disdained to terrify him.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "What must I answer?" inquired
-Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Just what you
-please," replied Aramis, compressing his lips; "that is your
-business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> <i style=
-'mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>I</i> am not the governor of the
-Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tell the
-prisoner," cried Baisemeaux, quickly, - "tell the prisoner that
-his request is granted."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>
-The sergeant left the room.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "Oh! monseigneur, monseigneur,"
-murmured Baisemeaux, "how could I have suspected! - how could I
-have foreseen this!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who requested you
-to suspect, and who besought you to foresee?" contemptuously
-answered Aramis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> "The
-order suspects; the order knows; the order foresees - is that not
-enough?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it you
-command?" added Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I? - nothing at
-all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> I am nothing but a
-poor priest, a simple confessor.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> Have I your orders to go and see the
-sufferer?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, monseigneur, I
-do not order; I pray you to go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Tis well; conduct
-me to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>End
-of <u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>.<span style=
-"mso-spacerun: yes"> </span> The last text in the series is
-<u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">End of Project Gutenberg Etext Louise de la
-Valli&egrave;re, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere</p>
-</div>
-</body>
-</html>
-
-
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-Project Gutenberg's Louise de la Valliere, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
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-Title:  Louise de la Valliere
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-Author:  Alexandre Dumas, Pere
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-Release Date:  July, 2001  [Etext #2710]
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-
-
-As you may be aware, Project Gutenberg has been involved with
-the writings of both the Alexandre Dumases for some time now,
-and since we get a few questions about the order in which the
-books should be read, and in which they were published, these
-following comments should hopefully help most of our readers.
-
-***
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne is the final volume of D'Artagnan Romances:
-it is usually split into three or four parts, and the final portion
-is entitled The Man in the Iron Mask.  The Man in the Iron Mask we're
-familiar with today is the last volume of the four-volume edition.
-[Not all the editions split them in the same manner, hence some of
-the confusion. . .but wait. . .there's yet more reason for confusion.]
-
-We intend to do ALL of The Vicomte de Bragelonne, split into four etexts
-entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Valliere,
-and The Man in the Iron Mask; you WILL be getting The Man in the Iron Mask.
-
-One thing that may be causing confusion is that the etext we have now,
-entitled Ten Years Later, says it's the sequel to The Three Musketeers.
-While this is technically true, there's another book, Twenty Years After,
-that comes between.  The confusion is generated by the two facts that we
-published Ten Years Later BEFORE we published Twenty Years After, and
-that many people see those titles as meaning Ten and Twenty Years "After"
-the original story. . .however, this is why the different words "After" and
-"Later". . .the Ten Years "After" is ten years after the Twenty Years later. .
-.as per history.  Also, the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances, while
-entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, has the subtitle Ten Years Later.  These
-two titles are also given to different volumes: The Vicomte de Bragelonne can
-refer to the whole book, or the first volume of the three or four-volume
-editions.  Ten Years Later can, similarly, refer to the whole book, or the
-second volume of the four-volume edition.  To add to the confusion, in
-the case of our etexts, it refers to the first 104 chapters of the whole book,
-covering material in the first and second etexts in the new series.  Here is a
-guide to the series which may prove helpful:
-
-The Three Musketeers: Etext 1257 - First book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1625-1628.
-
-Twenty Years After: Etext 1259 - Second book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1648-1649.
-[Third in the order that we published, but second in time sequence!!!]
-
-Ten Years Later: Etext 1258 - First 104 chapters of the third book of the
-D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1660-1661.
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Etext 2609 (first in the new series) - First 75
-chapters
-of the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the year 1660.
-
-Ten Years Later: Etext 2681 (second in the new series) - Chapters 76-140 of
-that third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1660-1661.
-[In this particular editing of it]
-
-Louise de la Valliere: Etext 2710 (our new text) - Chapters 141-208 of the
-third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the year 1661.
-
-The Man in the Iron Mask: forthcoming (our next text) - Chapters 209-269 of
-the third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.
-Covers the years 1661-1673.
-
-If we've calculated correctly, that fourth text SHOULD correspond to the
-modern editions of The Man in the Iron Mask, which is still widely
-circulated, and comprises about the last 1/4 of The Vicomte de Bragelonne.
-
-Here is a list of the other Dumas Etexts we have published so far:
-
-Sep 1999 La Tulipe Noire, by Alexandre Dumas[Pere#6/French][tlpnrxxx.xxx]1910
-This is an abridged edition in French, also see our full length English Etext
-Jul 1997 The Black Tulip, by Alexandre Dumas[Pere][Dumas#1][tbtlpxxx.xxx] 965
-Jan 1998 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas[Pere][crstoxxx.xxx]1184
-
-
-Many thanks to Dr. David Coward, whose editions of the D'Artagnan Romances have
-proved an invaluable source of information.
-
-Introduction:
-In the months of March-July in 1844, in the magazine Le Siecle, the first
-portion of a story appeared, penned by the celebrated playwright
-Alexandre Dumas.  It was based, he claimed, on some manuscripts he had
-found a year earlier in the Bibliotheque Nationale while researching a
-history he planned to write on Louis XIV.  They chronicled the adventures
-of a young man named D'Artagnan who, upon entering Paris, became almost
-immediately embroiled in court intrigues, international politics, and
-ill-fated affairs between royal lovers.  Over the next six years, readers
-would enjoy the adventures of this youth and his three famous friends,
-Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, as their exploits unraveled behind the scenes
-of some of the most momentous events in French and even English history.
-
-Eventually these serialized adventures were published in novel form, and
-became the three D'Artagnan Romances known today.  Here is a brief
-summary of the first two novels:
-
-The Three Musketeers (serialized March - July, 1844): The year is 1625.
-The young D'Artagnan arrives in Paris at the tender age of 18, and almost
-immediately offends three musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos.
-Instead of dueling, the four are attacked by five of the Cardinal's
-guards, and the courage of the youth is made apparent during the battle.
-The four become fast friends, and, when asked by D'Artagnan's landlord to
-find his missing wife, embark upon an adventure that takes them across
-both France and England in order to thwart the plans of the Cardinal
-Richelieu.  Along the way, they encounter a beautiful young spy, named
-simply Milady, who will stop at nothing to disgrace Queen Anne of Austria
-before her husband, Louis XIII, and take her revenge upon the four
-friends.
-
-Twenty Years After (serialized January - August, 1845): The year is now
-1648, twenty years since the close of the last story.  Louis XIII has
-died, as has Cardinal Richelieu, and while the crown of France may sit
-upon the head of Anne of Austria as Regent for the young Louis XIV, the
-real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, her secret husband.
-D'Artagnan is now a lieutenant of musketeers, and his three friends have
-retired to private life.  Athos turned out to be a nobleman, the Comte de
-la Fere, and has retired to his home with his son, Raoul de Bragelonne.
-Aramis, whose real name is D'Herblay, has followed his intention of
-shedding the musketeer's cassock for the priest's robes, and Porthos has
-married a wealthy woman, who left him her fortune upon her death.  But
-trouble is stirring in both France and England.  Cromwell menaces the
-institution of royalty itself while marching against Charles I, and at
-home the Fronde is threatening to tear France apart.  D'Artagnan brings
-his friends out of retirement to save the threatened English monarch, but
-Mordaunt, the son of Milady, who seeks to avenge his mother's death at
-the musketeers' hands, thwarts their valiant efforts.  Undaunted, our
-heroes return to France just in time to help save the young Louis XIV,
-quiet the Fronde, and tweak the nose of Cardinal Mazarin.
-
-The third novel, The Vicomte de Bragelonne (serialized October, 1847 –
-January, 1850), has enjoyed a strange history in its English
-translation.  It has been split into three, four, or five volumes at
-various points in its history.  The five-volume edition generally does
-not give titles to the smaller portions, but the others do.  In the three-
-volume edition, the novels are entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise
-de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.  For the purposes of this
-etext, I have chosen to split the novel as the four-volume edition does,
-with these titles: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de
-la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask.  In the first two etexts:
-
-The Vicomte de Bragelonne (Etext 2609): It is the year 1660, and
-D'Artagnan, after thirty-five years of loyal service, has become
-disgusted with serving King Louis XIV while the real power resides with
-the Cardinal Mazarin, and has tendered his resignation.  He embarks on
-his own project, that of restoring Charles II to the throne of England,
-and, with the help of Athos, succeeds, earning himself quite a fortune in
-the process.  D'Artagnan returns to Paris to live the life of a rich
-citizen, and Athos, after negotiating the marriage of Philip, the king's
-brother, to Princess Henrietta of England, likewise retires to his own
-estate, La Fere.  Meanwhile, Mazarin has finally died, and left Louis to
-assume the reigns of power, with the assistance of M. Colbert, formerly
-Mazarin's trusted clerk.  Colbert has an intense hatred for M. Fouquet,
-the king's superintendent of finances, and has resolved to use any means
-necessary to bring about his fall.  With the new rank of intendant
-bestowed on him by Louis, Colbert succeeds in having two of Fouquet's
-loyal friends tried and executed.  He then brings to the king's attention
-that Fouquet is fortifying the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, and could
-possibly be planning to use it as a base for some military operation
-against the king.  Louis calls D'Artagnan out of retirement and sends him
-to investigate the island, promising him a tremendous salary and his long-
-promised promotion to captain of the musketeers upon his return.  At
-Belle-Isle, D'Artagnan discovers that the engineer of the fortifications
-is, in fact, Porthos, now the Baron du Vallon, and that's not all.  The
-blueprints for the island, although in Porthos's handwriting, show
-evidence of another script that has been erased, that of Aramis.
-D'Artagnan later discovers that Aramis has become the bishop of Vannes,
-which is, coincidentally, a parish belonging to M. Fouquet.  Suspecting
-that D'Artagnan has arrived on the king's behalf to investigate, Aramis
-tricks D'Artagnan into wandering around Vannes in search of Porthos, and
-sends Porthos on an heroic ride back to Paris to warn Fouquet of the
-danger.  Fouquet rushes to the king, and gives him Belle-Isle as a
-present, thus allaying any suspicion, and at the same time humiliating
-Colbert, just minutes before the usher announces someone else seeking an
-audience with the king.
-
-Ten Years Later (Etext 2681): As 1661 approaches, Princess Henrietta of
-England arrives for her marriage, and throws the court of France into
-complete disorder.  The jealousy of the Duke of Buckingham, who is in
-love with her, nearly occasions a war on the streets of Le Havre,
-thankfully prevented by Raoul's timely and tactful intervention.  After
-the marriage, though, Monsieur Philip becomes horribly jealous of
-Buckingham, and has him exiled.  Before leaving, however, the duke fights
-a duel with M. de Wardes at Calais.  De Wardes is a malicious and
-spiteful man, the sworn enemy of D'Artagnan, and, by the same token, that
-of Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and Raoul as well.  Both men are seriously
-wounded, and the duke is taken back to England to recover.  Raoul's
-friend, the Comte de Guiche, is the next to succumb to Henrietta's
-charms, and Monsieur obtains his exile as well, though De Guiche soon
-effects a reconciliation.  But then the king's eye falls on Madame
-Henrietta during the comte's absence, and this time Monsieur's jealousy
-has no recourse.  Anne of Austria intervenes, and the king and his sister-
-in-law decide to pick a young lady with whom the king can pretend to be
-in love, the better to mask their own affair.  They unfortunately select
-Louise de la Valliere, Raoul's fiancee.  While the court is in residence
-at Fontainebleau, the king unwitting overhears Louise confessing her love
-for him while chatting with her friends beneath the royal oak, and the
-king promptly forgets his affection for Madame.  That same night,
-Henrietta overhears, at the same oak, De Guiche confessing his love for
-her to Raoul.  The two embark on their own affair.  A few days later,
-during a rainstorm, Louis and Louise are trapped alone together, and the
-whole court begins to talk of the scandal while their love affair
-blossoms.  Aware of Louise's attachment, the king arranges for Raoul to
-be sent to England for an indefinite period.
-
-Meanwhile, the struggle for power continues between Fouquet and Colbert.
-Although the Belle-Isle plot backfired, Colbert prompts the king to ask
-Fouquet for more and more money, and without his two friends to raise it
-for him, Fouquet is sorely pressed.  The situation gets so bad that his
-new mistress, Madame de Belliere, must resort to selling all her jewels
-and her gold and silver plate.  Aramis, while this is going on, has grown
-friendly with the governor of the Bastile, M. de Baisemeaux, a fact that
-Baisemeaux unwittingly reveals to D'Artagnan while inquiring of him as to
-Aramis's whereabouts.  This further arouses the suspicions of the
-musketeer, who was made to look ridiculous by Aramis.  He had ridden
-overnight at an insane pace, but arrived a few minutes after Fouquet had
-already presented Belle-Isle to the king.  Aramis learns from the
-governor the location of a mysterious prisoner, who bears a remarkable
-resemblance to Louis XIV - in fact, the two are identical.  He uses the
-existence of this secret to persuade a dying Franciscan monk, the general
-of the society of the Jesuits, to name him, Aramis, the new general of
-the order.  On Aramis's advice, hoping to use Louise's influence with the
-king to counteract Colbert's influence, Fouquet also writes a love letter
-to La Valliere, unfortunately undated.  It never reaches its destination,
-however, as the servant ordered to deliver it turns out to be an agent of
-Colbert's.
-
-Porthos, in the meantime, has been recovering from his midnight ride from
-Belle-Isle at Fouquet's residence at Saint-Mande.  Athos has retired,
-once again to La Fere.  D'Artagnan, little amused by the court's
-activities at Fontainebleau, and finding himself with nothing to do, has
-returned to Paris, and we find him again in Planchet's grocery shop.
-
-And so, the story continues in this, the third etext of The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne.  Enjoy!
-
-John Bursey
-Mordaunt@aol.com
-July, 2000
-
-
-Louise de la Valliere
-by Alexandre Dumas
-
-Chapter I:
-Malaga.
-
-During all these long and noisy debates between the opposite ambitions of
-politics and love, one of our characters, perhaps the one least deserving
-of neglect, was, however, very much neglected, very much forgotten, and
-exceedingly unhappy.  In fact, D'Artagnan - D'Artagnan, we say, for we
-must call him by his name, to remind our readers of his existence -
-D'Artagnan, we repeat, had absolutely nothing whatever to do, amidst
-these brilliant butterflies of fashion.  After following the king during
-two whole days at Fontainebleau, and critically observing the various
-pastoral fancies and heroi-comic transformations of his sovereign, the
-musketeer felt that he needed something more than this to satisfy the
-cravings of his nature.  At every moment assailed by people asking him,
-"How do you think this costume suits me, Monsieur d'Artagnan?" he would
-reply to them in quiet, sarcastic tones, "Why, I think you are quite as
-well-dressed as the best-dressed monkey to be found in the fair at Saint-
-Laurent."  It was just such a compliment D'Artagnan would choose where he
-did not feel disposed to pay any other: and, whether agreeable or not,
-the inquirer was obliged to be satisfied with it.  Whenever any one asked
-him, "How do you intend to dress yourself this evening?" he replied, "I
-shall undress myself;" at which the ladies all laughed, and a few of them
-blushed.  But after a couple of days passed in this manner, the
-musketeer, perceiving that nothing serious was likely to arise which
-would concern him, and that the king had completely, or, at least,
-appeared to have completely forgotten Paris, Saint-Mande, and Belle-Isle
-- that M. Colbert's mind was occupied with illuminations and fireworks -
-that for the next month, at least, the ladies had plenty of glances to
-bestow, and also to receive in exchange - D'Artagnan asked the king for
-leave of absence for a matter of private business.  At the moment
-D'Artagnan made his request, his majesty was on the point of going to
-bed, quite exhausted from dancing.
-
-"You wish to leave me, Monsieur d'Artagnan?" inquired the king, with an
-air of astonishment; for Louis XIV. could never understand why any one
-who had the distinguished honor of being near him could wish to leave him.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "I leave you simply because I am not of the
-slightest service to you in anything.  Ah! if I could only hold the
-balancing-pole while you were dancing, it would be a very different
-affair."
-
-"But, my dear Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, gravely, "people dance
-without balancing-poles."
-
-"Ah! indeed," said the musketeer, continuing his imperceptible tone of
-irony, "I had no idea such a thing was possible."
-
-"You have not seen me dance, then?" inquired the king.
-
-"Yes; but I always thought dancers went from easy to difficult acrobatic
-feats.  I was mistaken; all the more greater reason, therefore, that I
-should leave for a time.  Sire, I repeat, you have no present occasion
-for my services; besides, if your majesty should have any need of me, you
-would know where to find me."
-
-"Very well," said the king, and he granted him leave of absence.
-
-We shall not look for D'Artagnan, therefore, at Fontainebleau, for to do
-so would be useless; but, with the permission of our readers, follow him
-to the Rue des Lombards, where he was located at the sign of the Pilon
-d'Or, in the house of our old friend Planchet.  It was about eight
-o'clock in the evening, and the weather was exceedingly warm; there was
-only one window open, and that one belonging to a room on the
-_entresol_.  A perfume of spices, mingled with another perfume less
-exotic, but more penetrating, namely, that which arose from the street,
-ascended to salute the nostrils of the musketeer.  D'Artagnan, reclining
-in an immense straight-backed chair, with his legs not stretched out, but
-simply placed upon a stool, formed an angle of the most obtuse form that
-could possibly be seen.  Both his arms were crossed over his head, his
-head reclining upon his left shoulder, like Alexander the Great.  His
-eyes, usually so quick and intelligent in their expression, were now half-
-closed, and seemed fastened, as it were, upon a small corner of blue sky
-that was visible behind the opening of the chimneys; there was just
-enough blue, and no more, to fill one of the sacks of lentils, or
-haricots, which formed the principal furniture of the shop on the ground
-floor.  Thus extended at his ease, and sheltered in his place of
-observation behind the window, D'Artagnan seemed as if he had ceased to
-be a soldier, as if he were no longer an officer belonging to the palace,
-but was, on the contrary, a quiet, easy-going citizen in a state of
-stagnation between his dinner and supper, or between his supper and his
-bed; one of those strong, ossified brains, which have no more room for a
-single idea, so fiercely does animal matter keep watch at the doors of
-intelligence, narrowly inspecting the contraband trade which might result
-from the introduction into the brain of a symptom of thought.  We have
-already said night was closing in, the shops were being lighted, while
-the windows of the upper apartments were being closed, and the rhythmic
-steps of a patrol of soldiers forming the night watch could be heard
-retreating.  D'Artagnan continued, however, to think of nothing, except
-the blue corner of the sky.  A few paces from him, completely in the
-shade, lying on his stomach, upon a sack of Indian corn, was Planchet,
-with both his arms under his chin, and his eyes fixed on D'Artagnan, who
-was either thinking, dreaming, or sleeping, with his eyes open.  Planchet
-had been watching him for a tolerably long time, and, by way of
-interruption, he began by exclaiming, "Hum! hum!"  But D'Artagnan did not
-stir.  Planchet then saw that it was necessary to have recourse to more
-effectual means still: after a prolonged reflection on the subject, the
-most ingenious means that suggested itself to him under the present
-circumstances, was to let himself roll off the sack on to the floor,
-murmuring, at the same time, against himself, the word "stupid."  But,
-notwithstanding the noise produced by Planchet's fall, D'Artagnan, who
-had in the course of his existence heard many other, and very different
-falls, did not appear to pay the least attention to the present one.
-Besides, an enormous cart, laden with stones, passing from the Rue Saint-
-Mederic, absorbed, in the noise of its wheels, the noise of Planchet's
-tumble.  And yet Planchet fancied that, in token of tacit approval, he
-saw him imperceptibly smile at the word "stupid."  This emboldened him to
-say, "Are you asleep, Monsieur d'Artagnan?"
-
-"No, Planchet, I am not _even_ asleep," replied the musketeer.
-
-"I am in despair," said Planchet, "to hear such a word as _even_."
-
-"Well, and why not; is it not a grammatical word, Monsieur Planchet?"
-
-"Of course, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"Well!"
-
-"Well, then, the word distresses me beyond measure."
-
-"Tell me why you are distressed, Planchet," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"If you say that you are not _even_ asleep, it is as much as to say that
-you have not even the consolation of being able to sleep; or, better
-still, it is precisely the same as telling me that you are getting bored
-to death."
-
-"Planchet, you know that I am never bored."
-
-"Except to-day, and the day before yesterday."
-
-"Bah!"
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, it is a week since you returned here from
-Fontainebleau; in other words, you have no longer your orders to issue,
-or your men to review and maneuver.  You need the sound of guns, drums,
-and all that din and confusion; I, who have myself carried a musket, can
-easily believe that."
-
-"Planchet," replied D'Artagnan, "I assure you I am not bored in the least
-in the world."
-
-"In that case, what are you doing, lying there, as if you were dead?"
-
-"My dear Planchet, there was, once upon a time, at the siege of La
-Rochelle, when I was there, when you were there, when we both were there,
-a certain Arab, who was celebrated for the manner in which he adjusted
-culverins.  He was a clever fellow, although of a very odd complexion,
-which was the same color as your olives.  Well, this Arab, whenever he
-had done eating or working, used to sit down to rest himself, as I am
-resting myself now, and smoked I cannot tell you what sort of magical
-leaves, in a large amber-mouthed tube; and if any officers, happening to
-pass, reproached him for being always asleep, he used quietly to reply:
-'Better to sit down than to stand up, to lie down than to sit down, to be
-dead than to lie down.'  He was an acutely melancholy Arab, and I
-remember him perfectly well, form the color of his skin, and the style of
-his conversation.  He used to cut off the heads of Protestants with the
-most singular gusto!"
-
-"Precisely; and then used to embalm them, when they were worth the
-trouble; and when he was thus engaged with his herbs and plants about
-him, he looked like a basket-maker making baskets."
-
-"You are quite right, Planchet, he did."
-
-"Oh!  I can remember things very well, at times!"
-
-"I have no doubt of it; but what do you think of his mode of reasoning?"
-
-"I think it good in one sense, but very stupid in another."
-
-"Expound your meaning, M. Planchet."
-
-"Well, monsieur, in point of fact, then, 'better to sit down than to
-stand up,' is plain enough, especially when one may be fatigued," and
-Planchet smiled in a roguish way; "as for 'better to be lying down,' let
-that pass, but as for the last proposition, that it is 'better to be dead
-than alive,' it is, in my opinion, very absurd, my own undoubted
-preference being for my bed; and if you are not of my opinion, it is
-simply, as I have already had the honor of telling you, because you are
-boring yourself to death."
-
-"Planchet, do you know M. La Fontaine?"
-
-"The chemist at the corner of the Rue Saint-Mederic?"
-
-"No, the writer of fables."
-
-"Oh!  _Maitre Corbeau!_"
-
-"Exactly; well, then, I am like his hare."
-
-"He has got a hare also, then?"
-
-"He has all sorts of animals."
-
-"Well, what does his hare do, then?"
-
-"M. La Fontaine's hare thinks."
-
-"Ah, ah!"
-
-"Planchet, I am like that hare - I am thinking."
-
-"You are thinking, you say?" said Planchet, uneasily.
-
-"Yes; your house is dull enough to drive people to think; you will admit
-that, I hope."
-
-"And yet, monsieur, you have a look-out upon the street."
-
-"Yes; and wonderfully interesting that is, of course."
-
-"But it is no less true, monsieur, that, if you were living at the back
-of the house, you would bore yourself - I mean, you would think - more
-than ever."
-
-"Upon my word, Planchet, I hardly know that."
-
-"Still," said the grocer, "if your reflections are at all like those
-which led you to restore King Charles II. - " and Planchet finished by a
-little laugh which was not without its meaning.
-
-"Ah!  Planchet, my friend," returned D'Artagnan, "you are getting
-ambitious."
-
-"Is there no other king to be restored, M. d'Artagnan - no second Monk to
-be packed up, like a salted hog, in a deal box?"
-
-"No, my dear Planchet; all the kings are seated on their respective
-thrones; less comfortably so, perhaps, than I am upon this chair; but, at
-all events, there they are."  And D'Artagnan sighed deeply.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Planchet, "you are making me very uneasy."
-
-"You are very good, Planchet."
-
-"I begin to suspect something."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, you are getting thin."
-
-"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, striking his chest which sounded like an empty
-cuirass, "it is impossible, Planchet."
-
-"Ah!" said Planchet, slightly overcome; "if you were to get thin in my
-house - "
-
-"Well?"
-
-"I should do something rash."
-
-"What would you do?  Tell me."
-
-"I should look out for the man who was the cause of all your anxieties."
-
-"Ah! according to your account, I am anxious now."
-
-"Yes, you are anxious; and you are getting thin, visibly getting thin.
-_Malaga!_ if you go on getting thin, in this way, I will take my sword in
-my hand, and go straight to M. d'Herblay, and have it out with him."
-
-"What!" said M. d'Artagnan, starting in his chair; "what's that you say?
-And what has M. d'Herblay's name to do with your groceries?"
-
-"Just as you please.  Get angry if you like, or call me names, if you
-prefer it; but, the deuce is in it.  _I know what I know_."
-
-D'Artagnan had, during this second outburst of Planchet's, so placed
-himself as not to lose a single look of his face; that is, he sat with
-both his hands resting on both his knees, and his head stretched out
-towards the grocer.  "Come, explain yourself," he said, "and tell me how
-you could possibly utter such a blasphemy.  M. d'Herblay, your old
-master, my friend, an ecclesiastic, a musketeer turned bishop - do you
-mean to say you would raise your sword against him, Planchet?"
-
-"I could raise my sword against my own father, when I see you in such a
-state as you are now."
-
-"M. d'Herblay, a gentleman!"
-
-"It's all the same to me whether he's a gentleman or not.  He gives you
-the blue devils, that is all I know.  And the blue devils make people get
-thin.  _Malaga!_  I have no notion of M. d'Artagnan leaving my house
-thinner than when he entered it."
-
-"How does he give me the blue devils, as you call it?  Come, explain,
-explain."
-
-"You have had the nightmare during the last three nights."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes, you; and in your nightmare you called out, several times, 'Aramis,
-deceitful Aramis!'"
-
-"Ah!  I said that, did I?" murmured D'Artagnan, uneasily.
-
-"Yes, those very words, upon my honor."
-
-"Well, what else?  You know the saying, Planchet, 'dreams go by
-contraries.'"
-
-"Not so; for every time, during the last three days, when you went out,
-you have not once failed to ask me, on your return, 'Have you seen M.
-d'Herblay?' or else 'Have you received any letters for me from M.
-d'Herblay?'"
-
-"Well, it is very natural I should take an interest in my old friend,"
-said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Of course; but not to such an extent as to get thin on that account."
-
-"Planchet, I'll get fatter; I give you my word of honor I will."
-
-"Very well, monsieur, I accept it; for I know that when you give your
-word of honor, it is sacred."
-
-"I will not dream of Aramis any more; and I will never ask you again if
-there are any letters from M. d'Herblay; but on condition that you
-explain one thing to me."
-
-"Tell me what it is, monsieur?"
-
-"I am a great observer; and just now you made use of a very singular
-oath, which is unusual for you."
-
-"You mean _Malaga!_ I suppose?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"It is the oath I have used ever since I have been a grocer."
-
-"Very proper, too; it is the name of a dried grape, or raisin, I believe?"
-
-"It is my most ferocious oath; when I have once said _Malaga!_ I am a man
-no longer."
-
-"Still, I never knew you use that oath before."
-
-"Very likely not, monsieur.  I had a present made me of it," said
-Planchet; and, as he pronounced these words, he winked his eye with a
-cunning expression, which thoroughly awakened D'Artagnan's attention.
-
-"Come, come, M. Planchet."
-
-"Why, I am not like you, monsieur," said Planchet.  "I don't pass my life
-in thinking."
-
-"You do wrong, then."
-
-"I mean in boring myself to death.  We have but a very short time to live
-- why not make the best of it?"
-
-"You are an Epicurean philosopher, I begin to think, Planchet."
-
-"Why not?  My hand is still as steady as ever; I can write, and can weigh
-out my sugar and spices; my foot is firm; I can dance and walk about; my
-stomach has its teeth still, for I eat and digest very well; my heart is
-not quite hardened.  Well, monsieur?"
-
-"Well, what, Planchet?"
-
-"Why, you see - " said the grocer, rubbing his hands together.
-
-D'Artagnan crossed one leg over the other, and said, "Planchet, my
-friend, I am unnerved with extreme surprise; for you are revealing
-yourself to me under a perfectly new light."
-
-Planchet, flattered in the highest degree by this remark, continued to
-rub his hands very hard together.  "Ah, ah," he said, "because I happen
-to be only slow, you think me, perhaps, a positive fool."
-
-"Very good, Planchet; very well reasoned."
-
-"Follow my idea, monsieur, if you please.  I said to myself," continued
-Planchet, "that, without enjoyment, there is no happiness on this earth."
-
-"Quite true, what you say, Planchet," interrupted D'Artagnan.
-
-"At all events, if we cannot obtain pleasure - for pleasure is not so
-common a thing, after all - let us, at least, get consolations of some
-kind or another."
-
-"And so you console yourself?"
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-"Tell me how you console yourself."
-
-"I put on a buckler for the purpose of confronting _ennui_.  I place my
-time at the direction of patience; and on the very eve of feeling I am
-going to get bored, I amuse myself."
-
-"And you don't find any difficulty in that?"
-
-"None."
-
-"And you found it out quite by yourself?"
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"It is miraculous."
-
-"What do you say?"
-
-"I say, that your philosophy is not to be matched in the Christian or
-pagan world, in modern days or in antiquity!"
-
-"You think so? - follow my example, then."
-
-"It is a very tempting one."
-
-"Do as I do."
-
-"I could not wish for anything better; but all minds are not of the same
-stamp; and it might possibly happen that if I were required to amuse
-myself in the manner you do, I should bore myself horribly."
-
-"Bah! at least try first."
-
-"Well, tell me what you do."
-
-"Have you observed that I leave home occasionally?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"In any particular way?"
-
-"Periodically."
-
-"That's the very thing.  You have noticed it, then?"
-
-"My dear Planchet, you must understand that when people see each other
-every day, and one of the two absents himself, the other misses him.  Do
-you not feel the want of my society when I am in the country?"
-
-"Prodigiously; that is to say, I feel like a body without a soul."
-
-"That being understood then, proceed."
-
-"What are the periods when I absent myself?"
-
-"On the fifteenth and thirtieth of every month."
-
-"And I remain away?"
-
-"Sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes four days at a time."
-
-"Have you ever given it a thought, why I was absent?"
-
-"To look after your debts, I suppose."
-
-"And when I returned, how did you think I looked, as far as my face was
-concerned?"
-
-"Exceedingly self-satisfied."
-
-"You admit, you say, that I always look satisfied.  And what have you
-attributed my satisfaction to?"
-
-"That your business was going on very well; that your purchases of rice,
-prunes, raw sugar, dried apples, pears, and treacle were advantageous.
-You were always very picturesque in your notions and ideas, Planchet; and
-I was not in the slightest degree surprised to find you had selected
-grocery as an occupation, which is of all trades the most varied, and the
-very pleasantest, as far as the character is concerned; inasmuch as one
-handles so many natural and perfumed productions."
-
-"Perfectly true, monsieur; but you are very greatly mistaken."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"In thinking that I heave here every fortnight, to collect my money or to
-make purchases.  Ho, ho! how could you possibly have thought such a
-thing?  Ho, ho, ho!"  And Planchet began to laugh in a manner that
-inspired D'Artagnan with very serious misgivings as to his sanity.
-
-"I confess," said the musketeer, "that I do not precisely catch your
-meaning."
-
-"Very true, monsieur."
-
-"What do you mean by 'very true'?"
-
-"It must be true, since you say it; but pray, be assured that it in no
-way lessens my opinion of you."
-
-"Ah, that is lucky."
-
-"No; you are a man of genius; and whenever the question happens to be of
-war, tactics, surprises, or good honest blows to be dealt with, why,
-kings are marionettes, compared to you.  But for the consolations of the
-mind, the proper care of the body, the agreeable things of like, if one
-may say so - ah! monsieur, don't talk to me about men of genius; they are
-nothing short of executioners."
-
-"Good," said D'Artagnan, really fidgety with curiosity, "upon my word you
-interest me in the highest degree."
-
-"You feel already less bored than you did just now, do you not?"
-
-"I was not bored; yet since you have been talking to me, I feel more
-animated."
-
-"Very good, then; that is not a bad beginning.  I will cure you, rely
-upon that."
-
-"There is nothing I should like better."
-
-"Will you let me try, then?"
-
-"Immediately, if you like."
-
-"Very well.  Have you any horses here?"
-
-"Yes; ten, twenty, thirty."
-
-"Oh, there is no occasion for so many as that, two will be quite
-sufficient."
-
-"They are quite at your disposal, Planchet."
-
-"Very good; then I shall carry you off with me."
-
-"When?"
-
-"To-morrow."
-
-"Where?"
-
-"Ah, you are asking too much."
-
-"You will admit, however, that it is important I should know where I am
-going."
-
-"Do you like the country?"
-
-"Only moderately, Planchet."
-
-"In that case you like town better?"
-
-"That is as may be."
-
-"Very well; I am going to take you to a place, half town and half
-country."
-
-"Good."
-
-"To a place where I am sure you will amuse yourself."
-
-"Is it possible?"
-
-"Yes; and more wonderful still, to a place from which you have just
-returned for the purpose only, it would seem, of getting bored here."
-
-"It is to Fontainebleau you are going, then?"
-
-"Exactly; to Fontainebleau."
-
-"And, in Heaven's name, what are you going to do at Fontainebleau?"
-
-Planchet answered D'Artagnan by a wink full of sly humor.
-
-"You have some property there, you rascal."
-
-"Oh, a very paltry affair; a little bit of a house - nothing more."
-
-"I understand you."
-
-"But it is tolerable enough, after all."
-
-"I am going to Planchet's country-seat!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Whenever you like."
-
-"Did we not fix to-morrow?"
-
-"Let us say to-morrow, if you like; and then, besides, to-morrow is the
-14th, that is to say, the day before the one when I am afraid of getting
-bored; so we will look upon it as an understood thing."
-
-"Agreed, by all means."
-
-"You will lend me one of your horses?"
-
-"The best I have."
-
-"No; I prefer the gentlest of all; I never was a very good rider, as you
-know, and in my grocery business I have got more awkward than ever;
-besides - "
-
-"Besides what?"
-
-"Why," added Planchet, "I do not wish to fatigue myself."
-
-"Why so?" D'Artagnan ventured to ask.
-
-"Because I should lose half the pleasure I expect to enjoy," replied
-Planchet.  And thereupon he rose from his sack of Indian corn, stretching
-himself, and making all his bones crack, one after the other, with a sort
-of harmony.
-
-"Planchet!  Planchet!" exclaimed D'Artagnan, "I do declare that there is
-no sybarite upon the face of the globe who can for a moment be compared
-to you.  Oh, Planchet, it is very clear that we have never yet eaten a
-ton of salt together."
-
-"Why so, monsieur?"
-
-"Because, even now I can scarcely say I know you," said D'Artagnan, "and
-because, in point of fact, I return to the opinion which, for a moment, I
-had formed of you that day at Boulogne, when you strangled, or did so as
-nearly as possible, M. de Wardes's valet, Lubin; in plain language,
-Planchet, that you are a man of great resources."
-
-Planchet began to laugh with a laugh full of self-conceit; bade the
-musketeer good-night, and went down to his back shop, which he used as a
-bedroom.  D'Artagnan resumed his original position upon his chair, and
-his brow, which had been unruffled for a moment, became more pensive than
-ever.  He had already forgotten the whims and dreams of Planchet.  "Yes,"
-said he, taking up again the thread of his thoughts, which had been
-broken by the whimsical conversation in which we have just permitted our
-readers to participate.  "Yes, yes, those three points include
-everything: First, to ascertain what Baisemeaux wanted with Aramis;
-secondly, to learn why Aramis does not let me hear from him; and thirdly,
-to ascertain where Porthos is.  The whole mystery lies in these three
-points.  Since, therefore," continued D'Artagnan, "our friends tell us
-nothing, we must have recourse to our own poor intelligence.  I must do
-what I can, _mordioux_, or rather _Malaga_, as Planchet would say."
-
-
-Chapter II:
-A Letter from M. Baisemeaux.
-
-D'Artagnan, faithful to his plan, went the very next morning to pay a
-visit to M. de Baisemeaux.  It was cleaning up or tidying day at the
-Bastile; the cannons were furbished up, the staircases scraped and
-cleaned; and the jailers seemed to be carefully engaged in polishing the
-very keys.  As for the soldiers belonging to the garrison, they were
-walking about in different courtyards, under the pretense that they were
-clean enough.  The governor, Baisemeaux, received D'Artagnan with more
-than ordinary politeness, but he behaved towards him with so marked a
-reserve of manner, that all D'Artagnan's tact and cleverness could not
-get a syllable out of him.  The more he kept himself within bounds, the
-more D'Artagnan's suspicion increased.  The latter even fancied he
-remarked that the governor was acting under the influence of a recent
-recommendation.  Baisemeaux had not been at the Palais Royal with
-D'Artagnan the same cold and impenetrable man which the latter now found
-in the Baisemeaux of the Bastile.  When D'Artagnan wished to make him
-talk about the urgent money matters which had brought Baisemeaux in
-search of D'Artagnan, and had rendered him expansive, notwithstanding
-what had passed on that evening, Baisemeaux pretended that he had some
-orders to give in the prison, and left D'Artagnan so long alone waiting
-for him, that our musketeer, feeling sure that he should not get another
-syllable out of him, left the Bastile without waiting until Baisemeaux
-returned from his inspection.  But D'Artagnan's suspicions were aroused,
-and when once that was the case, D'Artagnan could not sleep or remain
-quiet for a moment.  He was among men what the cat is among quadrupeds,
-the emblem of anxiety and impatience, at the same moment.  A restless cat
-can no more remain the same place than a silk thread wafted idly to and
-fro with every breath of air.  A cat on the watch is as motionless as
-death stationed at is place of observation, and neither hunger nor thirst
-can draw it from its meditations.  D'Artagnan, who was burning with
-impatience, suddenly threw aside the feeling, like a cloak which he felt
-too heavy on his shoulders, and said to himself that that which they were
-concealing from him was the very thing it was important he should know;
-and, consequently, he reasoned that Baisemeaux would not fail to put
-Aramis on his guard, if Aramis had given him any particular
-recommendation, and this was, in fact, the very thing that happened.
-
-Baisemeaux had hardly had time to return from the donjon, than D'Artagnan
-placed himself in ambuscade close to the Rue de Petit-Musc, so as to see
-every one who might leave the gates of the Bastile.  After he had spent
-an hour on the look-out from the "Golden Portcullis," under the pent-
-house of which he could keep himself a little in the shade, D'Artagnan
-observed a soldier leave the Bastile.  This was, indeed, the surest
-indication he could possibly have wished for, as every jailer or warder
-has certain days, and even certain hours, for leaving the Bastile, since
-all are alike prohibited from having either wives or lodgings in the
-castle, and can accordingly leave without exciting any curiosity; but a
-soldier once in barracks is kept there for four and twenty hours when on
-duty, - and no one knew this better than D'Artagnan.  The guardsman in
-question, therefore, was not likely to leave his regimentals, except on
-an express and urgent order.  The soldier, we were saying, left the
-Bastile at a slow and lounging pace, like a happy mortal, in fact, who,
-instead of mounting sentry before a wearisome guard-house, or upon a
-bastion no less wearisome, has the good luck to get a little liberty, in
-addition to a walk - both pleasures being luckily reckoned as part of his
-time on duty.  He bent his steps towards the Faubourg Saint-Antoine,
-enjoying the fresh air and the warmth of the sun, and looking at all the
-pretty faces he passed.  D'Artagnan followed him at a distance; he had
-not yet arranged his ideas as what was to be done.  "I must, first of
-all," he thought, "see the fellow's face.  A man seen is a man judged."
-D'Artagnan increased his pace, and, which was not very difficult, by the
-by, soon got in advance of the soldier.  Not only did he observe that his
-face showed a tolerable amount of intelligence and resolution, but he
-noticed also that his nose was a little red.  "He has a weakness for
-brandy, I see," said D'Artagnan to himself.  At the same moment that he
-remarked his red nose, he saw that the soldier had a white paper in his
-belt.
-
-"Good, he has a letter," added D'Artagnan.  The only difficulty was to
-get hold of the letter.  But a common soldier would, of course, be only
-too delighted at having been selected by M. de Baisemeaux as a special
-messenger, and would not be likely to sell his message.  As D'Artagnan
-was biting his nails, the soldier continued to advance more and more into
-the Faubourg Saint-Antoine.  "He is certainly going to Saint-Mande," he
-said to himself, "and I shall not be able to learn what the letter
-contains."  It was enough to drive him wild.  "If I were in uniform,"
-said D'Artagnan to himself, "I would have this fellow seized, and his
-letter with him.  I could easily get assistance at the very first guard-
-house; but the devil take me if I mention my name in an affair of this
-kind.  If I were to treat him to something to drink, his suspicions would
-be roused; and besides, he might drink me drunk.  _Mordioux!_ my wits
-seem to have left me," said D'Artagnan; "it is all over with me.  Yet,
-supposing I were to attack this poor devil, make him draw his sword and
-kill him for the sake of his letter?  No harm in that, if it were a
-question of a letter from a queen to a nobleman, or a letter from a
-cardinal to a queen; but what miserable intrigues are those of Messieurs
-Aramis and Fouquet with M. Colbert.  A man's life for that?  No, no,
-indeed; not even ten crowns."  As he philosophized in this manner, biting
-first his nails, and then his mustaches, he perceived a group of archers
-and a commissary of the police engaged in carrying away a man of very
-gentlemanly exterior, who was struggling with all his might against
-them.  The archers had torn his clothes, and were dragging him roughly
-away.  He begged they would lead him along more respectfully, asserting
-that he was a gentleman and a soldier.  And observing our soldier walking
-in the street, he called out, "Help, comrade."
-
-The soldier walked on with the same step towards the man who had called
-out to him, followed by the crowd.  An idea suddenly occurred to
-D'Artagnan; it was his first one, and we shall find it was not a bad one
-either.  During the time the gentleman was relating to the soldier that
-he had just been seized in a house as a thief, when the truth was he was
-only there as a lover; and while the soldier was pitying him, and
-offering him consolation and advice with that gravity which a French
-soldier has always ready whenever his vanity or his _esprit de corps_ is
-concerned, D'Artagnan glided behind the soldier, who was closely hemmed
-in by the crowd, and with a rapid sweep, like a sabre slash, snatched the
-letter from his belt.  As at this moment the gentleman with the torn
-clothes was pulling about the soldier, to show how the commissary of
-police had pulled him about, D'Artagnan effected his pillage of the
-letter without the slightest interference.  He stationed himself about
-ten paces distant, behind the pillar of an adjoining house, and read on
-the address, "To Monsieur du Vallon, at Monsieur Fouquet's, Saint-Mande."
-
-"Good!" he said, and then he unsealed, without tearing the letter, drew
-out the paper, which was folded in four, from the inside; which contained
-only these words:
-
-"DEAR MONSIEUR DU VALLON, - Will you be good enough to tell Monsieur
-d'Herblay that _he_ has been to the Bastile, and has been making
-inquiries.
-"Your devoted
-"DE BAISEMEAUX."
-
-"Very good! all right!" exclaimed D'Artagnan; "it is clear enough now.
-Porthos is engaged in it."  Being now satisfied of what he wished to
-know: "_Mordioux!_" thought the musketeer, "what is to be done with that
-poor devil of a soldier?  That hot-headed, cunning fellow, De Baisemeaux,
-will make him pay dearly for my trick, - if he returns without the
-letter, what will they do to him?  Besides, I don't want the letter; when
-the egg has been sucked, what is the good of the shell?"  D'Artagnan
-perceived that the commissary and the archers had succeeded in convincing
-the soldier, and went on their way with the prisoner, the latter being
-still surrounded by the crowd, and continuing his complaints.  D'Artagnan
-advanced into the very middle of the crowd, let the letter fall, without
-any one having observed him, and then retreated rapidly.  The soldier
-resumed his route towards Saint-Mande, his mind occupied with the
-gentleman who had implored his protection.  Suddenly he thought of his
-letter, and, looking at his belt, saw that it was no longer there.
-D'Artagnan derived no little satisfaction from his sudden, terrified
-cry.  The poor soldier in the greatest anguish of mind looked round him
-on every side, and at last, about twenty paces behind him, he perceived
-the lucky envelope.  He pounced on it like a falcon on its prey.  The
-envelope was certainly a little dirty, and rather crumpled, but at all
-events the letter itself was found.  D'Artagnan observed that the broken
-seal attracted the soldier's attention a good deal, but he finished
-apparently by consoling himself, and returned the letter to his belt.
-"Go on," said D'Artagnan, "I have plenty of time before me, so you may
-precede me.  It appears that Aramis is not in Paris, since Baisemeaux
-writes to Porthos.  Dear Porthos, how delighted I shall be to see him
-again, and to have some conversation with him!" said the Gascon.  And,
-regulating his pace according to that of the soldier, he promised himself
-to arrive a quarter of an hour after him at M. Fouquet's.
-
-
-Chapter III:
-In Which the Reader will be Delighted to Find that Porthos Has Lost
-Nothing of His Muscularity.
-
-D'Artagnan had, according to his usual style, calculated that every hour
-is worth sixty minutes, and every minute worth sixty seconds.  Thanks to
-this perfectly exact calculation of minutes and seconds, he reached the
-superintendent's door at the very moment the soldier was leaving it with
-his belt empty.  D'Artagnan presented himself at the door, which a porter
-with a profusely embroidered livery held half opened for him.  D'Artagnan
-would very much have liked to enter without giving his name, but this was
-impossible, and so he gave it.  Notwithstanding this concession, which
-ought to have removed every difficulty in the way, at least D'Artagnan
-thought so, the _concierge_ hesitated; however, at the second repetition
-of the title, captain of the king's guards, the _concierge_, without
-quite leaving the passage clear for him, ceased to bar it completely.
-D'Artagnan understood that orders of the most positive character had
-been given.  He decided, therefore, to tell a falsehood, - a
-circumstance, moreover, which did not seriously affect his peace of mind,
-when he saw that beyond the falsehood the safety of the state itself, or
-even purely and simply his own individual personal interest, might be at
-stake.  He moreover added to the declarations he had already made, that
-the soldier sent to M. du Vallon was his own messenger, and that the only
-object that letter had in view was to announce his intended arrival.
-From that moment, no one opposed D'Artagnan's entrance any further, and
-he entered accordingly.  A valet wished to accompany him, but he answered
-that it was useless to take that trouble on his account, inasmuch as he
-knew perfectly well where M. du Vallon was.  There was nothing, of
-course, to say to a man so thoroughly and completely informed on all
-points, and D'Artagnan was permitted, therefore, to do as he liked.  The
-terraces, the magnificent apartments, the gardens, were all reviewed and
-narrowly inspected by the musketeer.  He walked for a quarter of an hour
-in this more than royal residence, which included as many wonders as
-articles of furniture, and as many servants as there were columns and
-doors.  "Decidedly," he said to himself, "this mansion has no other
-limits than the pillars of the habitable world.  Is it probable Porthos
-has taken it into his head to go back to Pierrefonds without even leaving
-M. Fouquet's house?"  He finally reached a remote part of the chateau
-inclosed by a stone wall, which was covered with a profusion of thick
-plants, luxuriant in blossoms as large and solid as fruit.  At equal
-distances on the top of this wall were placed various statues in timid or
-mysterious attitudes.  These were vestals hidden beneath the long Greek
-peplum, with its thick, sinuous folds; agile nymphs, covered with their
-marble veils, and guarding the palace with their fugitive glances.  A
-statue of Hermes, with his finger on his lips; one of Iris, with extended
-wings; another of Night, sprinkled all over with poppies, dominated the
-gardens and outbuildings, which could be seen through the trees.  All
-these statues threw in white relief their profiles upon the dark ground
-of the tall cypresses, which darted their somber summits towards the
-sky.  Around these cypresses were entwined climbing roses, whose
-flowering rings were fastened to every fork of the branches, and spread
-over the lower boughs and the various statues, showers of flowers of the
-rarest fragrance.  These enchantments seemed to the musketeer the result
-of the greatest efforts of the human mind.  He felt in a dreamy, almost
-poetical, frame of mind.  The idea that Porthos was living in so perfect
-an Eden gave him a higher idea of Porthos, showing how tremendously true
-it is, that even the very highest orders of minds are not quite exempt
-from the influence of surroundings.  D'Artagnan found the door, and on,
-or rather in the door, a kind of spring which he detected; having touched
-it, the door flew open.  D'Artagnan entered, closed the door behind him,
-and advanced into a pavilion built in a circular form, in which no other
-sound could be heard but cascades and the songs of birds.  At the door of
-the pavilion he met a lackey.
-
-"It is here, I believe," said D'Artagnan, without hesitation, "that M. le
-Baron du Vallon is staying?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur," answered the lackey.
-
-"Have the goodness to tell him that M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain
-of the king's musketeers, is waiting to see him."
-
-D'Artagnan was introduced into the _salon_, and had not long to remain in
-expectation: a well-remembered step shook the floor of the adjoining
-room, a door opened, or rather flew open, and Porthos appeared and threw
-himself into his friend's arms with a sort of embarrassment which did not
-ill become him.  "You here?" he exclaimed.
-
-"And you?" replied D'Artagnan.  "Ah, you sly fellow!"
-
-"Yes," said Porthos, with a somewhat embarrassed smile; "yes, you see I
-am staying in M. Fouquet's house, at which you are not a little
-surprised, I suppose?"
-
-"Not at all; why should you not be one of M. Fouquet's friends?  M.
-Fouquet has a very large number, particularly among clever men."
-
-Porthos had the modesty not to take the compliment to himself.
-"Besides," he added, "you saw me at Belle-Isle."
-
-"A greater reason for my believing you to be one of M. Fouquet's friends."
-
-"The fact is, I am acquainted with him," said Porthos, with a certain
-embarrassment of manner.
-
-"Ah, friend Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how treacherously you have
-behaved towards me."
-
-"In what way?" exclaimed Porthos.
-
-"What! you complete so admirable a work as the fortifications of Belle-
-Isle, and you did not tell me of it!"  Porthos colored.  "Nay, more than
-that," continued D'Artagnan, "you saw me out yonder, you know I am in the
-king's service, and yet you could not guess that the king, jealously
-desirous of learning the name of the man whose abilities had wrought a
-work of which he heard the most wonderful accounts, - you could not
-guess, I say, that the king sent me to learn who this man was?"
-
-"What! the king sent you to learn - "
-
-"Of course; but don't let us speak of that any more."
-
-"Not speak of it!" said Porthos; "on the contrary, we will speak of it;
-and so the king knew that we were fortifying Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Of course; does not the king know everything?"
-
-"But he did not know who was fortifying it?"
-
-"No, he only suspected, from what he had been told of the nature of the
-works, that it was some celebrated soldier or another."
-
-"The devil!" said Porthos, "if I had only known that!"
-
-"You would not have run away from Vannes as you did, perhaps?"
-
-"No; what did you say when you couldn't find me?"
-
-"My dear fellow, I reflected."
-
-"Ah, indeed; you reflect, do you?  Well, and what did that reflection
-lead to?"
-
-"It led me to guess the whole truth."
-
-"Come, then, tell me what did you guess after all?" said Porthos,
-settling himself into an armchair, and assuming the airs of a sphinx.
-
-"I guessed, in the first place, that you were fortifying Belle-Isle."
-
-"There was no great difficulty in that, for you saw me at work."
-
-"Wait a minute; I also guessed something else, - that you were fortifying
-Belle-Isle by M. Fouquet's orders."
-
-"That's true."
-
-"But even that is not all.  Whenever I feel myself in trim for guessing,
-I do not stop on my road; and so I guessed that M. Fouquet wished to
-preserve the most absolute secrecy respecting these fortifications."
-
-"I believe that was his intention, in fact," said Porthos.
-
-"Yes, but do you know why he wished to keep it secret?"
-
-"In order it should not become known, perhaps," said Porthos.
-
-"That was his principal reason.  But his wish was subservient to a bit of
-generosity - "
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "I have head it said that M. Fouquet was a very
-generous man."
-
-"To a bit of generosity he wished to exhibit towards the king."
-
-"Oh, oh!"
-
-"You seem surprised at that?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And you didn't guess?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Well, I know it, then."
-
-"You are a wizard."
-
-"Not at all, I assure you."
-
-"How do you know it, then?"
-
-"By a very simple means.  I heard M. Fouquet himself say so to the king."
-
-"Say what to the king?"
-
-"That he fortified Belle-Isle on his majesty's account, and that he had
-made him a present of Belle Isle."
-
-"And you heard M. Fouquet say that to the king?"
-
-"In those very words.  He even added: 'Belle-Isle has been fortified by
-an engineer, one of my friends, a man of a great deal of merit, whom I
-shall ask your majesty's permission to present to you.'
-
-"'What is his name?' said the king.
-
-"'The Baron du Vallon,' M. Fouquet replied.
-
-"'Very well,' returned his majesty, 'you will present him to me.'"
-
-"The king said that?"
-
-"Upon the word of a D'Artagnan!"
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos.  "Why have I not been presented, then?"
-
-"Have they not spoken to you about this presentation?"
-
-"Yes, certainly; but I am always kept waiting for it."
-
-"Be easy, it will be sure to come."
-
-"Humph! humph!" grumbled Porthos, which D'Artagnan pretended not to hear;
-and, changing the conversation, he said, "You seem to be living in a very
-solitary place here, my dear fellow?"
-
-"I always preferred retirement.  I am of a melancholy disposition,"
-replied Porthos, with a sigh.
-
-"Really, that is odd," said D'Artagnan, "I never remarked that before."
-
-"It is only since I have taken to reading, "said Porthos, with a
-thoughtful air.
-
-"But the labors of the mind have not affected the health of the body, I
-trust?"
-
-"Not in the slightest degree."
-
-"Your strength is as great as ever?"
-
-"Too great, my friend, too great."
-
-"Ah!  I had heard that, for a short time after your arrival - "
-
-"That I could hardly move a limb, I suppose?"
-
-"How was it?" said D'Artagnan, smiling, "and why was it you could not
-move?"
-
-Porthos, perceiving that he had made a mistake, wished to correct it.
-"Yes, I came from Belle-Isle upon very hard horses," he said, "and that
-fatigued me."
-
-"I am no longer astonished, then, since I, who followed you, found seven
-or eight lying dead on the road."
-
-"I am very heavy, you know," said Porthos.
-
-"So that you were bruised all over."
-
-"My marrow melted, and that made me very ill."
-
-"Poor Porthos!  But how did Aramis act towards you under those
-circumstances?"
-
-"Very well, indeed.  He had me attended to by M. Fouquet's own doctor.
-But just imagine, at the end of a week I could not breathe any longer."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"The room was too small; I had absorbed every atom of air."
-
-"Indeed?"
-
-"I was told so, at least; and so I was removed into another apartment."
-
-"Where you were able to breathe, I hope and trust?"
-
-"Yes, more freely; but no exercise - nothing to do.  The doctor pretended
-that I was not to stir; I, on the contrary, felt that I was stronger than
-ever; that was the cause of a very serious accident."
-
-"What accident?"
-
-"Fancy, my dear fellow, that I revolted against the directions of that
-ass of a doctor, and I resolved to go out, whether it suited him or not:
-and, consequently, I told the valet who waited on me to bring me my
-clothes."
-
-"You were quite naked, then?"
-
-"Oh, no! on the contrary, I had a magnificent dressing-gown to wear.  The
-lackey obeyed; I dressed myself in my own clothes, which had become too
-large for me; but a strange circumstance had happened, - my feet had
-become too large."
-
-"Yes, I quite understand."
-
-"And my boots too small."
-
-"You mean your feet were still swollen?"
-
-"Exactly; you have hit it."
-
-"_Pardieu!_  And is that the accident you were going to tell me about?"
-
-"Oh, yes; I did not make the same reflection you have done.  I said to
-myself: 'Since my feet have entered my boots ten times, there is no
-reason why they should not go in the eleventh.'"
-
-"Allow me to tell you, my dear Porthos, that on this occasion you failed
-in your logic."
-
-"In short, then, they placed me opposite to a part of the room which was
-partitioned; I tried to get my boot on; I pulled it with my hands, I
-pushed with all the strength of the muscles of my leg, making the most
-unheard-of efforts, when suddenly the two tags of my boot remained in my
-hands, and my foot struck out like a ballista."
-
-"How learned you are in fortification, dear Porthos."
-
-"My foot darted out like a ballista, and came against the partition,
-which it broke in; I really thought that, like Samson, I had demolished
-the temple.  And the number of pictures, the quantity of china, vases of
-flowers, carpets, and window-panes that fell down were really wonderful."
-
-"Indeed!"
-
-"Without reckoning that on the other side of the partition was a small
-table laden with porcelain - "
-
-"Which you knocked over?"
-
-"Which I dashed to the other side of the room," said Porthos,
-laughing.
-
-"Upon my word, it is, as you say, astonishing," replied D'Artagnan,
-beginning to laugh also; whereupon Porthos laughed louder than ever.
-
-"I broke," said Porthos, in a voice half-choked from his increasing
-mirth, "more than three thousand francs worth of china - ha, ha, ha!"
-
-"Good!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I smashed more than four thousand francs worth of glass! - ho, ho, ho!"
-
-"Excellent."
-
-"Without counting a luster, which fell on my head and was broken into a
-thousand pieces - ha, ha, ha!"
-
-"Upon your head?" said D'Artagnan, holding his sides.
-
-"On top."
-
-"But your head was broken, I suppose?"
-
-"No, since I tell you, on the contrary, my dear fellow, that it was the
-luster which was broken, like glass, which, in point of fact, it was."
-
-"Ah! the luster was glass, you say."
-
-"Venetian glass! a perfect curiosity, quite matchless, indeed, and
-weighed two hundred pounds."
-
-"And it fell upon your head!"
-
-"Upon my head.  Just imagine, a globe of crystal, gilded all over, the
-lower part beautifully encrusted, perfumes burning at the top, with jets
-from which flame issued when they were lighted."
-
-"I quite understand, but they were not lighted at the time, I suppose?"
-
-"Happily not, or I should have been grilled prematurely."
-
-"And you were only knocked down flat, instead?"
-
-"Not at all."
-
-"How, 'not at all?'"
-
-"Why, the luster fell on my skull.  It appears that we have upon the top
-of our heads an exceedingly thick crust."
-
-"Who told you that, Porthos?"
-
-"The doctor.  A sort of dome which would bear Notre-Dame."
-
-"Bah!"
-
-"Yes, it seems that our skulls are made in that manner."
-
-"Speak for yourself, my dear fellow, it is your own skull that is made in
-that manner, and not the skulls of other people."
-
-"Well, that may be so," said Porthos, conceitedly, "so much, however, was
-that the case, in my instance, that no sooner did the luster fall upon
-the dome which we have at the top of our head, than there was a report
-like a cannon, the crystal was broken to pieces, and I fell, covered from
-head to foot."
-
-"With blood, poor Porthos!"
-
-"Not at all; with perfumes, which smelt like rich creams; it was
-delicious, but the odor was too strong, and I felt quite giddy from it;
-perhaps you have experienced it sometimes yourself, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"Yes, in inhaling the scent of the lily of the valley; so that, my poor
-friend, you were knocked over by the shock and overpowered by the
-perfumes?"
-
-"Yes; but what is very remarkable, for the doctor told me he had never
-seen anything like it - "
-
-"You had a bump on your head I suppose?" interrupted D'Artagnan.
-
-"I had five."
-
-"Why five?"
-
-"I will tell you; the luster had, at its lower extremity, five gilt
-ornaments; excessively sharp."
-
-"Oh!"
-
-"Well, these five ornaments penetrated my hair, which, as you see, I wear
-very thick."
-
-"Fortunately so."
-
-"And they made a mark on my skin.  But just notice the singularity of it,
-these things seem really only to happen to me!  Instead of making
-indentations, they made bumps.  The doctor could never succeed in
-explaining that to me satisfactorily."
-
-"Well, then, I will explain it to you."
-
-"You will do me a great service if you will," said Porthos, winking his
-eyes, which, with him, was sign of the profoundest attention.
-
-"Since you have been employing your brain in studies of an exalted
-character, in important calculations, and so on, the head has gained a
-certain advantage, so that your head is now too full of science."
-
-"Do you think so?"
-
-"I am sure of it.  The result is, that, instead of allowing any foreign
-matter to penetrate the interior of the head, your bony box or skull,
-which is already too full, avails itself of the openings which are made
-in allowing this excess to escape."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, to whom this explanation appeared clearer than that
-of the doctor.
-
-"The five protuberances, caused by the five ornaments of the luster, must
-certainly have been scientific globules, brought to the surface by the
-force of circumstances."
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "the real truth is, that I felt far worse
-outside my head than inside.  I will even confess, that when I put my hat
-upon my head, clapping it on my head with that graceful energy which we
-gentlemen of the sword possess, if my fist was not very gently applied, I
-experienced the most painful sensations."
-
-"I quite believe you, Porthos."
-
-"Therefore, my friend," said the giant, "M. Fouquet decided, seeing how
-slightly built the house was, to give me another lodging, and so they
-brought me here."
-
-"It is the private park, I think, is it not?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Where the rendezvous are made; that park, indeed, which is so celebrated
-in some of those mysterious stories about the superintendent?"
-
-"I don't know; I have had no rendezvous or heard mysterious stories
-myself, but they have authorized me to exercise my muscles, and I take
-advantage of the permission by rooting up some of the trees."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To keep my hand in, and also to take some birds' nests; I find it more
-convenient than climbing."
-
-"You are as pastoral as Tyrcis, my dear Porthos."
-
-"Yes, I like the small eggs; I like them very much better than larger
-ones.  You have no idea how delicate an _omelette_ is, if made of four or
-five hundred eggs of linnets, chaffinches, starlings, blackbirds, and
-thrushes."
-
-"But five hundred eggs is perfectly monstrous!"
-
-"A salad-bowl will hold them easily enough," said Porthos.
-
-D'Artagnan looked at Porthos admiringly for full five minutes, as if he
-had seen him for the first time, while Porthos spread his chest out
-joyously and proudly.  They remained in this state several minutes,
-Porthos smiling, and D'Artagnan looking at him.  D'Artagnan was evidently
-trying to give the conversation a new turn.  "Do you amuse yourself much
-here, Porthos?" he asked at last, very likely after he had found out what
-he was searching for.
-
-"Not always."
-
-"I can imagine that; but when you get thoroughly bored, by and by, what
-do you intend to do?"
-
-"Oh!  I shall not be here for any length of time.  Aramis is waiting
-until the last bump on my head disappears, in order to present me to the
-king, who I am told cannot endure the sight of a bump."
-
-"Aramis is still in Paris, then?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Whereabouts is he, then?"
-
-"At Fontainebleau."
-
-"Alone?"
-
-"With M. Fouquet."
-
-"Very good.  But do you happen to know one thing?"
-
-"No, tell it me, and then I shall know."
-
-"Well, then, I think Aramis is forgetting you."
-
-"Do you really think so?"
-
-"Yes; for at Fontainebleau yonder, you must know, they are laughing,
-dancing, banqueting, and drawing the corks of M. de Mazarin's wine in
-fine style.  Are you aware that they have a ballet every evening there?"
-
-"The deuce they have!"
-
-"I assure you that your dear Aramis is forgetting you."
-
-"Well, that is not at all unlikely, and I have myself thought so
-sometimes."
-
-"Unless he is playing you a trick, the sly fellow!"
-
-"Oh!"
-
-"You know that Aramis is as sly as a fox."
-
-"Yes, but to play _me_ a trick - "
-
-"Listen: in the first place, he puts you under a sort of sequestration."
-
-"He sequestrates me!  Do you mean to say I am sequestrated?"
-
-"I think so."
-
-"I wish you would have the goodness to prove that to me."
-
-"Nothing easier.  Do you ever go out?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Do you ever ride on horseback?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Are your friends allowed to come and see you?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Very well, then; never to go out, never to ride on horseback, never to
-be allowed to see your friends, that is called being sequestrated."
-
-"But why should Aramis sequestrate me?" inquired Porthos.
-
-"Come," said D'Artagnan, "be frank, Porthos."
-
-"As gold."
-
-"It was Aramis who drew the plan of the fortifications at Belle-Isle, was
-it not?"
-
-Porthos colored as he said, "Yes; but that was all he did."
-
-"Exactly, and my own opinion is that it was no very great affair after
-all."
-
-"That is mine, too."
-
-"Very good; I am delighted we are of the same opinion."
-
-"He never even came to Belle-Isle," said Porthos.
-
-"There now, you see."
-
-"It was I who went to Vannes, as you may have seen."
-
-"Say rather, as I did see.  Well, that is precisely the state of the
-case, my dear Porthos.  Aramis, who only drew the plans, wishes to pass
-himself off as the engineer, whilst you, who, stone by stone, built the
-wall, the citadel, and the bastions, he wishes to reduce to the rank of a
-mere builder."
-
-"By builder, you mean mason, perhaps?"
-
-"Mason; the very word."
-
-"Plasterer, in fact?"
-
-"Hodman?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Oh, oh! my dear Aramis, you seem to think you are only five and twenty
-years of age still."
-
-"Yes, and that is not all, for believes you are fifty."
-
-"I should have amazingly liked to have seen him at work."
-
-"Yes, indeed."
-
-"A fellow who has got the gout?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Who has lost three of his teeth?"
-
-"Four."
-
-"While I, look at mine."  And Porthos, opening his large mouth very wide,
-displayed two rows of teeth not quite as white as snow, but even, hard,
-and sound as ivory.
-
-"You can hardly believe, Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "what a fancy the
-king has for good teeth.  Yours decide me; I will present you to the king
-myself."
-
-"You?"
-
-"Why not?  Do you think I have less credit at court than Aramis?"
-
-"Oh, no!"
-
-"Do you think I have the slightest pretensions upon the fortifications at
-Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Certainly not."
-
-"It is your own interest alone which would induce me to do it."
-
-"I don't doubt it in the least."
-
-"Well, I am the intimate friend of the king; and a proof of that is, that
-whenever there is anything disagreeable to tell him, it is I who have to
-do it."
-
-"But, dear D'Artagnan, if you present me - "
-
-"Well!"
-
-"Aramis will be angry."
-
-"With me?"
-
-"No, with _me_."
-
-"Bah! whether he or I present you, since you are to be presented, what
-does it matter?"
-
-"They were going to get me some clothes made."
-
-"Your own are splendid."
-
-"Oh! those I had ordered were far more beautiful."
-
-"Take care: the king likes simplicity."
-
-"In that case, I will be simple.  But what will M. Fouquet say, when he
-learns that I have left?"
-
-"Are you a prisoner, then, on parole?"
-
-"No, not quite that.  But I promised him I would not leave without
-letting him know."
-
-"Wait a minute, we shall return to that presently.  Have you anything to
-do here?"
-
-"I, nothing: nothing of any importance, at least."
-
-"Unless, indeed, you are Aramis's representative for something of
-importance."
-
-"By no means."
-
-"What I tell you - pray, understand that - is out of interest for you.  I
-suppose, for instance, that you are commissioned to send messages and
-letters to him?"
-
-"Ah! letters -yes.  I send certain letters to him."
-
-"Where?"
-
-"To Fontainebleau."
-
-"Have you any letters, then?"
-
-"But - "
-
-"Nay, let me speak.  Have you any letters, I say?"
-
-"I have just received one for him."
-
-"Interesting?"
-
-"I suppose so."
-
-"You do not read them, then?"
-
-"I am not at all curious," said Porthos, as he drew out of his pocket the
-soldier's letter which Porthos had not read, but D'Artagnan had.
-
-"Do you know what to do with it?" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Of course; do as I always do, send it to him."
-
-"Not so."
-
-"Why not?  Keep it, then?"
-
-"Did they not tell you that this letter was important?"
-
-"Very important."
-
-"Well, you must take it yourself to Fontainebleau."
-
-"To Aramis?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Very good."
-
-"And since the king is there - "
-
-"You will profit by that."
-
-"I shall profit by the opportunity to present you to the king."
-
-"Ah!  D'Artagnan, there is no one like you for expedients."
-
-"Therefore, instead of forwarding to our friend any messages, which may
-or may not be faithfully delivered, we will ourselves be the bearers of
-the letter."
-
-"I had never even thought of that, and yet it is simple enough."
-
-"And therefore, because it is urgent, Porthos, we ought to set off at
-once."
-
-"In fact," said Porthos, "the sooner we set off the less chance there is
-of Aramis's letter being delayed."
-
-"Porthos, your reasoning is always accurate, and, in your case, logic
-seems to serve as an auxiliary to the imagination."
-
-"Do you think so?" said Porthos.
-
-"It is the result of your hard reading," replied D'Artagnan.  "So come
-along, let us be off."
-
-"But," said Porthos, "my promise to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Not to leave Saint-Mande without telling him of it."
-
-"Ah!  Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how very young you still are."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"You are going to Fontainebleau, are you not, where you will find M.
-Fouquet?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Probably in the king's palace?"
-
-"Yes," repeated Porthos, with an air full of majesty.
-
-"Well, you will accost him with these words: 'M. Fouquet, I have the
-honor to inform you that I have just left Saint-Mande.'"
-
-"And," said Porthos, with the same majestic mien, "seeing me at
-Fontainebleau at the king's, M. Fouquet will not be able to tell me I am
-not speaking the truth."
-
-"My dear Porthos, I was just on the point of opening my lips to make the
-same remark, but you anticipate me in everything.  Oh!  Porthos, how
-fortunately you are gifted!  Years have made not the slightest impression
-on you."
-
-"Not over-much, certainly."
-
-"Then there is nothing more to say?"
-
-"I think not."
-
-"All your scruples are removed?"
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"In that case I shall carry you off with me."
-
-"Exactly; and I will go and get my horse saddled."
-
-"You have horses here, then?"
-
-"I have five."
-
-"You had them sent from Pierrefonds, I suppose?"
-
-"No, M. Fouquet gave them to me."
-
-"My dear Porthos, we shall not want five horses for two persons; besides,
-I have already three in Paris, which would make eight, and that will be
-too many."
-
-"It would not be too many if I had some of my servants here; but, alas! I
-have not got them."
-
-"Do you regret them, then?"
-
-"I regret Mousqueton; I miss Mousqueton."
-
-"What a good-hearted fellow you are, Porthos," said D'Artagnan; "but the
-best thing you can do is to leave your horses here, as you have left
-Mousqueton out yonder."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because, by and by, it might turn out a very good thing if M. Fouquet
-had never given you anything at all."
-
-"I don't understand you," said Porthos.
-
-"It is not necessary you should understand."
-
-"But yet - "
-
-"I will explain to you later, Porthos."
-
-"I'll wager it is some piece of policy or other."
-
-"And of the most subtle character," returned D'Artagnan.
-
-Porthos nodded his head at this word policy; then, after a moment's
-reflection, he added, "I confess, D'Artagnan, that I am no politician."
-
-"I know that well."
-
-"Oh! no one knows what you told me yourself, you, the bravest of the
-brave."
-
-"What did I tell you, Porthos?"
-
-"That every man has his day.  You told me so, and I have experienced it
-myself.  There are certain days when one feels less pleasure than others
-in exposing one's self to a bullet or a sword-thrust."
-
-"Exactly my own idea."
-
-"And mine, too, although I can hardly believe in blows or thrusts that
-kill outright."
-
-"The deuce! and yet you have killed a few in your time."
-
-"Yes; but I have never been killed."
-
-"Your reason is a very good one."
-
-"Therefore, I do not believe I shall ever die from a thrust of a sword or
-a gun-shot."
-
-"In that case, then, you are afraid of nothing.  Ah! water, perhaps?"
-
-"Oh!  I swim like an otter."
-
-"Of a quartan fever, then?"
-
-"I have never had one yet, and I don't believe I ever shall; but there is
-one thing I will admit," and Porthos dropped his voice.
-
-"What is that?" asked D'Artagnan, adopting the same tone of voice as
-Porthos.
-
-"I must confess," repeated Porthos, "that I am horribly afraid of
-politics."
-
-"Ah, bah!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Upon my word, it's true," said Porthos, in a stentorian voice.  "I have
-seen his eminence Monsieur le Cardinal de Richelieu, and his eminence
-Monsieur le Cardinal de Mazarin; the one was a red politician, the other
-a black politician; I never felt very much more satisfied with the one
-than with the other; the first struck off the heads of M. de Marillac, M.
-de Thou, M. de Cinq-Mars, M. Chalais, M. de Bouteville, and M. de
-Montmorency; the second got a whole crowd of Frondeurs cut in pieces, and
-we belonged to them."
-
-"On the contrary, we did not belong to them," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh! indeed, yes; for if I unsheathed my sword for the cardinal, I struck
-it for the king."
-
-"My good Porthos!"
-
-"Well, I have done.  My dread of politics is such, that if there is any
-question of politics in the matter, I should greatly prefer to return to
-Pierrefonds."
-
-"You would be quite right, if that were the case.  But with me, my dear
-Porthos, no politics at all, that is quite clear.  You have labored hard
-in fortifying Belle-Isle; the king wished to know the name of the clever
-engineer under whose directions the works were carried out; you are
-modest, as all men of true genius are; perhaps Aramis wishes to put you
-under a bushel.  But I happen to seize hold of you; I make it known who
-you are; I produce you; the king rewards you; and that is the only policy
-I have to do with."
-
-"And the only one I will have to do with either," said Porthos, holding
-out his hand to D'Artagnan.
-
-But D'Artagnan knew Porthos's grasp; he knew that, once imprisoned within
-the baron's five fingers, no hand ever left it without being half-
-crushed.  He therefore held out, not his hand, but his fist, and Porthos
-did not even perceive the difference.  The servants talked a little with
-each other in an undertone, and whispered a few words, which D'Artagnan
-understood, but which he took very good care not to let Porthos
-understand.  "Our friend," he said to himself, "was really and truly
-Aramis's prisoner.  Let us now see what the result will be of the
-liberation of the captive."
-
-
-Chapter IV:
-The Rat and the Cheese.
-
-D'Artagnan and Porthos returned on foot, as D'Artagnan had set out.  When
-D'Artagnan, as he entered the shop of the Pilon d'Or, announced to
-Planchet that M. du Vallon would be one of the privileged travelers, and
-as the plume in Porthos's hat made the wooden candles suspended over the
-front jingle together, a melancholy presentiment seemed to eclipse the
-delight Planchet had promised himself for the morrow.  But the grocer had
-a heart of gold, ever mindful of the good old times - a trait that
-carries youth into old age.  So Planchet, notwithstanding a sort of
-internal shiver, checked as soon as experienced, received Porthos with
-respect, mingled with the tenderest cordiality.  Porthos, who was a
-little cold and stiff in his manners at first, on account of the social
-difference existing at that period between a baron and a grocer, soon
-began to soften when he perceived so much good-feeling and so many kind
-attentions in Planchet.  He was particularly touched by the liberty which
-was permitted him to plunge his great palms into the boxes of dried
-fruits and preserves, into the sacks of nuts and almonds, and into the
-drawers full of sweetmeats.  So that, notwithstanding Planchet's pressing
-invitations to go upstairs to the _entresol_, he chose as his favorite
-seat, during the evening which he had to spend at Planchet's house, the
-shop itself, where his fingers could always fish up whatever his nose
-detected.  The delicious figs from Provence, filberts from the forest,
-Tours plums, were subjects of his uninterrupted attention for five
-consecutive hours.  His teeth, like millstones, cracked heaps of nuts,
-the shells of which were scattered all over the floor, where they were
-trampled by every one who went in and out of the shop; Porthos pulled
-from the stalk with his lips, at one mouthful, bunches of the rich
-Muscatel raisins with their beautiful bloom, half a pound of which passed
-at one gulp from his mouth to his stomach.  In one of the corners of the
-shop, Planchet's assistants, huddled together, looked at each other
-without venturing to open their lips.  They did not know who Porthos was,
-for they had never seen him before.  The race of those Titans who had
-worn the cuirasses of Hugh Capet, Philip Augustus, and Francis I. had
-already begun to disappear.  They could hardly help thinking he might be
-the ogre of the fairy tale, who was going to turn the whole contents of
-Planchet's shop into his insatiable stomach, and that, too, without in
-the slightest degree displacing the barrels and chests that were in it.
-Cracking, munching, chewing, nibbling, sucking, and swallowing, Porthos
-occasionally said to the grocer:
-
-"You do a very good business here, friend Planchet."
-
-"He will very soon have none at all to do, if this sort of thing
-continues," grumbled the foreman, who had Planchet's word that he should
-be his successor.  In the midst of his despair, he approached Porthos,
-who blocked up the whole of the passage leading from the back shop to the
-shop itself.  He hoped that Porthos would rise and that this movement
-would distract his devouring ideas.
-
-"What do you want, my man?" asked Porthos, affably.
-
-"I should like to pass you, monsieur, if it is not troubling you too
-much."
-
-"Very well," said Porthos, "it does not trouble me in the least."
-
-At the same moment he took hold of the young fellow by the waistband,
-lifted him off the ground, and placed him very gently on the other side,
-smiling all the while with the same affable expression.  As soon as
-Porthos had placed him on the ground, the lad's legs so shook under him
-that he fell back upon some sacks of corks.  But noticing the giant's
-gentleness of manner, he ventured again, and said:
-
-"Ah, monsieur! pray be careful."
-
-"What about?" inquired Porthos.
-
-"You are positively putting a fiery furnace into your body."
-
-"How is that, my good fellow?"
-
-"All those things are very heating to the system!"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Raisins, nuts, and almonds."
-
-"Yes; but if raisins, nuts, and almonds are heating - "
-
-"There is no doubt at all of it, monsieur."
-
-"Honey is very cooling," said Porthos, stretching out his hand toward a
-small barrel of honey which was open, and he plunged the scoop with which
-the wants of the customers were supplied into it, and swallowed a good
-half-pound at one gulp.
-
-"I must trouble you for some water now, my man," said Porthos.
-
-"In a pail, monsieur?" asked the lad, simply.
-
-"No, in a water-bottle; that will be quite enough;" and raising the
-bottle to his mouth, as a trumpeter does his trumpet, he emptied the
-bottle at a single draught.
-
-Planchet was agitated in every fibre of propriety and self-esteem.
-However, a worthy representative of the hospitality which prevailed in
-early days, he feigned to be talking very earnestly with D'Artagnan, and
-incessantly repeated: - "Ah! monsieur, what a happiness! what an honor!"
-
-"What time shall we have supper, Planchet?" inquired Porthos, "I feel
-hungry."
-
-The foreman clasped his hands together.  The two others got under the
-counters, fearing Porthos might have a taste for human flesh.
-
-"We shall only take a sort of snack here," said D'Artagnan; "and when we
-get to Planchet's country-seat, we will have supper."
-
-"Ah, ah! so we are going to your country-house, Planchet," said Porthos;
-"so much the better."
-
-"You overwhelm me, monsieur le baron."
-
-The "monsieur le baron" had a great effect upon the men, who detected a
-personage of the highest quality in an appetite of that kind.  This
-title, too, reassured them.  They had never heard that an ogre was ever
-called "monsieur le baron".
-
-"I will take a few biscuits to eat on the road," said Porthos,
-carelessly; and he emptied a whole jar of aniseed biscuits into the huge
-pocket of his doublet.
-
-"My shop is saved!" exclaimed Planchet.
-
-"Yes, as the cheese was," whispered the foreman.
-
-"What cheese?"
-
-"The Dutch cheese, inside which a rat had made his way, and we found only
-the rind left."
-
-Planchet looked all round his shop, and observing the different articles
-which had escaped Porthos's teeth, he found the comparison somewhat
-exaggerated.  The foreman, who remarked what was passing in his master's
-mind, said, "Take care; he is not gone yet."
-
-"Have you any fruit here?" said Porthos, as he went upstairs to the
-_entresol_, where it had just been announced that some refreshment was
-prepared.
-
-"Alas!" thought the grocer, addressing a look at D'Artagnan full of
-entreaty, which the latter half understood.
-
-As soon as they had finished eating they set off.  It was late when the
-three riders, who had left Paris about six in the evening, arrived at
-Fontainebleau.  The journey passed very agreeably.  Porthos took a fancy
-to Planchet's society, because the latter was very respectful in his
-manners, and seemed delighted to talk to him about his meadows, his
-woods, and his rabbit-warrens.  Porthos had all the taste and pride of a
-landed proprietor.  When D'Artagnan saw his two companions in earnest
-conversation, he took the opposite side of the road, and letting his
-bridle drop upon his horse's neck, separated himself from the whole
-world, as he had done from Porthos and from Planchet.  The moon shone
-softly through the foliage of the forest.  The breezes of the open
-country rose deliciously perfumed to the horse's nostrils, and they
-snorted and pranced along delightedly.  Porthos and Planchet began to
-talk about hay-crops.  Planchet admitted to Porthos that in the advanced
-years of his life, he had certainly neglected agricultural pursuits for
-commerce, but that his childhood had been passed in Picardy in the
-beautiful meadows where the grass grew as high as the knees, and where he
-had played under the green apple-trees covered with red-cheeked fruit; he
-went on to say, that he had solemnly promised himself that as soon as he
-should have made his fortune, he would return to nature, and end his
-days, as he had begun them, as near as he possibly could to the earth
-itself, where all men must sleep at last.
-
-"Eh, eh!" said Porthos; "in that case, my dear Monsieur Planchet, your
-retirement is not far distant."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"Why, you seem to be in the way of making your fortune very soon."
-
-"Well, we are getting on pretty well, I must admit," replied Planchet.
-
-"Come, tell me what is the extent of your ambition, and what is the
-amount you intend to retire upon?"
-
-"There is one circumstance, monsieur," said Planchet, without answering
-the question, "which occasions me a good deal of anxiety."
-
-"What is it?" inquired Porthos, looking all round him as if in search of
-the circumstance that annoyed Planchet, and desirous of freeing him from
-it.
-
-"Why, formerly," said the grocer, "you used to call me Planchet quite
-short, and you would have spoken to me then in a much more familiar
-manner than you do now."
-
-"Certainly, certainly, I should have said so formerly," replied the good-
-natured Porthos, with an embarrassment full of delicacy; "but formerly - "
-
-"Formerly I was M. d'Artagnan's lackey; is not that what you mean?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well if I am not quite his lackey, I am as much as ever I was his
-devoted servant; and more than that, since that time - "
-
-"Well, Planchet?"
-
-"Since that time, I have had the honor of being in partnership with him."
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos.  "What, has D'Artagnan gone into the grocery
-business?"
-
-"No, no," said D'Artagnan, whom these words had drawn out of his reverie,
-and who entered into the conversation with that readiness and rapidity
-which distinguished every operation of his mind and body.  "It was not
-D'Artagnan who entered into the grocery business, but Planchet who
-entered into a political affair with me."
-
-"Yes," said Planchet, with mingled pride and satisfaction, "we transacted
-a little business which brought me in a hundred thousand francs and M.
-d'Artagnan two hundred thousand."
-
-"Oh, oh!" said Porthos, with admiration.
-
-"So that, monsieur le baron," continued the grocer, "I again beg you to
-be kind enough to call me Planchet, as you used to do; and to speak to me
-as familiarly as in old times.  You cannot possibly imagine the pleasure
-it would give me."
-
-"If that be the case, my dear Planchet, I will do so, certainly," replied
-Porthos.  And as he was quite close to Planchet, he raised his hand, as
-if to strike him on the shoulder, in token of friendly cordiality; but a
-fortunate movement of the horse made him miss his aim, so that his hand
-fell on the crupper of Planchet's horse, instead; which made the animal's
-legs almost give way.
-
-D'Artagnan burst out laughing, as he said, "Take care, Planchet; for if
-Porthos begins to like you so much, he will caress you, and if he
-caresses you he will knock you as flat as a pancake.  Porthos is still
-as strong as every, you know."
-
-"Oh," said Planchet, "Mousqueton is not dead, and yet monsieur le baron
-is very fond of him."
-
-"Certainly," said Porthos, with a sigh which made all the three horses
-rear; "and I was only saying, this very morning, to D'Artagnan, how much
-I regretted him.  But tell me, Planchet?"
-
-"Thank you, monsieur le baron, thank you."
-
-"Good lad, good lad!  How many acres of park have you got?"
-
-"Of park?"
-
-"Yes; we will reckon up the meadows presently, and the woods afterwards."
-
-"Whereabouts, monsieur?"
-"At your chateau."
-
-"Oh, monsieur le baron, I have neither chateau, nor park, nor meadows,
-nor woods."
-
-"What have you got, then?" inquired Porthos, "and why do you call it a
-country-seat?"
-
-"I did not call it a country-seat, monsieur le baron," replied Planchet,
-somewhat humiliated, "but a country-box."
-
-"Ah, ah!  I understand.  You are modest."
-
-"No, monsieur le baron, I speak the plain truth.  I have rooms for a
-couple of friends, that's all."
-
-"But in that case, whereabouts do your friends walk?"
-
-"In the first place, they can walk about the king's forest, which is very
-beautiful."
-
-"Yes, I know the forest is very fine," said Porthos; "nearly as beautiful
-as my forest at Berry."
-
-Planchet opened his eyes very wide.  "Have you a forest of the same kind
-as the forest at Fontainebleau, monsieur le baron?" he stammered out.
-
-"Yes; I have two, indeed, but the one at Berry is my favorite."
-
-"Why so?" asked Planchet.
-
-"Because I don't know where it ends; and, also, because it is full of
-poachers."
-
-"How can the poachers make the forest so agreeable to you?"
-
-"Because they hunt my game, and I hunt them - which, in these peaceful
-times, is for me a sufficiently pleasing picture of war on a small scale."
-
-They had reached this turn of conversation, when Planchet, looking up,
-perceived the houses at the commencement of Fontainebleau, the lofty
-outlines of which stood out strongly against the misty visage of the
-heavens; whilst, rising above the compact and irregularly formed mass of
-buildings, the pointed roofs of the chateau were clearly visible, the
-slates of which glistened beneath the light of the moon, like the scales
-of an immense fish.  "Gentlemen," said Planchet, "I have the honor to
-inform you that we have arrived at Fontainebleau."
-
-
-Chapter V:
-Planchet's Country-House.
-
-The cavaliers looked up, and saw that what Planchet had announced to them
-was true.  Ten minutes afterwards they were in the street called the Rue
-de Lyon, on the opposite side of the hostelry of the Beau Paon.  A high
-hedge of bushy elders, hawthorn, and wild hops formed an impenetrable
-fence, behind which rose a white house, with a high tiled roof.  Two of
-the windows, which were quite dark, looked upon the street.  Between the
-two, a small door, with a porch supported by a couple of pillars, formed
-the entrance to the house.  The door was gained by a step raised a little
-from the ground.  Planchet got off his horse, as if he intended to knock
-at the door; but, on second thoughts, he took hold of his horse by the
-bridle, and led it about thirty paces further on, his two companions
-following him.  He then advanced about another thirty paces, until he
-arrived at the door of a cart-house, lighted by an iron grating; and,
-lifting up a wooden latch, pushed open one of the folding-doors.  He
-entered first, leading his horse after him by the bridle, into a small
-courtyard, where an odor met them which revealed their close vicinity to
-a stable.  "That smells all right," said Porthos, loudly, getting off his
-horse, "and I almost begin to think I am near my own cows at Pierrefonds."
-
-"I have only one cow," Planchet hastened to say modestly.
-
-"And I have thirty," said Porthos; "or rather, I don't exactly know how
-many I have."
-
-When the two cavaliers had entered, Planchet fastened the door behind
-them.  In the meantime, D'Artagnan, who had dismounted with his usual
-agility, inhaled the fresh perfumed air with the delight a Parisian feels
-at the sight of green fields and fresh foliage, plucked a piece of
-honeysuckle with one hand, and of sweet-briar with the other.  Porthos
-clawed hold of some peas which were twined round poles stuck into the
-ground, and ate, or rather browsed upon them, shells and all: and
-Planchet was busily engaged trying to wake up an old and infirm peasant,
-who was fast asleep in a shed, lying on a bed of moss, and dressed in an
-old stable suit of clothes.  The peasant, recognizing Planchet, called
-him "the master," to the grocer's great satisfaction.  "Stable the horses
-well, old fellow, and you shall have something good for yourself," said
-Planchet.
-
-"Yes, yes; fine animals they are too," said the peasant.  "Oh! they shall
-have as much as they like."
-
-"Gently, gently, my man," said D'Artagnan, "we are getting on a little
-too fast.  A few oats and a good bed - nothing more."
-
-"Some bran and water for my horse," said Porthos, "for it is very warm, I
-think."
-
-"Don't be afraid, gentlemen," replied Planchet; "Daddy Celestin is an old
-gendarme, who fought at Ivry.  He knows all about horses; so come into
-the house."  And he led the way along a well-sheltered walk, which
-crossed a kitchen-garden, then a small paddock, and came out into a
-little garden behind the house, the principal front of which, as we have
-already noticed, faced the street.  As they approached, they could see,
-through two open windows on the ground floor, which led into a sitting-
-room, the interior of Planchet's residence.  This room, softly lighted by
-a lamp placed on the table, seemed, from the end of the garden, like a
-smiling image of repose, comfort, and happiness.  In every direction
-where the rays of light fell, whether upon a piece of old china, or upon
-an article of furniture shining from excessive neatness, or upon the
-weapons hanging against the wall, the soft light was softly reflected;
-and its rays seemed to linger everywhere upon something or another,
-agreeable to the eye.  The lamp which lighted the room, whilst the
-foliage of jasmine and climbing roses hung in masses from the window-
-frames, splendidly illuminated a damask table-cloth as white as snow.
-The table was laid for two persons.  Amber-colored wine sparkled in a
-long cut-glass bottle; and a large jug of blue china, with a silver lid,
-was filled with foaming cider.  Near the table, in a high-backed
-armchair, reclined, fast asleep, a woman of about thirty years of age,
-her face the very picture of health and freshness.  Upon her knees lay a
-large cat, with her paws folded under her, and her eyes half-closed,
-purring in that significant manner which, according to feline habits,
-indicates perfect contentment.  The two friends paused before the window
-in complete amazement, while Planchet, perceiving their astonishment, was
-in no little degree secretly delighted at it.
-
-"Ah!  Planchet, you rascal," said D'Artagnan, "I now understand your
-absences."
-
-"Oh, oh! there is some white linen!" said Porthos, in his turn, in a
-voice of thunder.  At the sound of this gigantic voice, the cat took
-flight, the housekeeper woke up with a start, and Planchet, assuming a
-gracious air, introduced his two companions into the room, where the
-table was already laid.
-
-"Permit me, my dear," he said, "to present to you Monsieur le Chevalier
-d'Artagnan, my patron."  D'Artagnan took the lady's hand in his in the
-most courteous manner, and with precisely the same chivalrous air as he
-would have taken Madame's.
-
-"Monsieur le Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds," added
-Planchet.  Porthos bowed with a reverence which Anne of Austria would
-have approved of.
-
-It was then Planchet's turn, and he unhesitatingly embraced the lady in
-question, not, however, until he had made a sign as if requesting
-D'Artagnan's and Porthos's permission, a permission as a matter of course
-frankly conceded.  D'Artagnan complimented Planchet, and said, "You are
-indeed a man who knows how to make life agreeable."
-
-"Life, monsieur," said Planchet, laughing, "is capital which a man ought
-to invest as sensibly as he possibly can."
-
-"And you get very good interest for yours," said Porthos, with a burst of
-laughter like a peal of thunder.
-
-Planchet turned to his housekeeper.  "You have before you," he said to
-her, "the two gentlemen who influenced the greatest, gayest, grandest
-portion of my life.  I have spoken to you about them both very
-frequently."
-
-"And about two others as well," said the lady, with a very decided
-Flemish accent.
-
-"Madame is Dutch?" inquired D'Artagnan.  Porthos curled his mustache, a
-circumstance which was not lost upon D'Artagnan, who noticed everything.
-
-"I am from Antwerp," said the lady.
-
-"And her name is Madame Getcher," said Planchet.
-
-"You should not call her madame," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Why not?" asked Planchet.
-
-"Because it would make her seem older every time you call her so."
-
-"Well, I call her Truchen."
-
-"And a very pretty name too," said Porthos.
-
-"Truchen," said Planchet, "came to me from Flanders with her virtue and
-two thousand florins.  She ran away from a brute of a husband who was in
-the habit of beating her.  Being myself a Picard born, I was always very
-fond of the Artesian women, and it is only a step from Artois to
-Flanders; she came crying bitterly to her godfather, my predecessor in
-the Rue des Lombards; she placed her two thousand florins in my
-establishment, which I have turned to very good account, and which have
-brought her in ten thousand."
-
-"Bravo, Planchet."
-
-"She is free and well off; she has a cow, a maid servant and old Celestin
-at her orders; she mends my linen, knits my winter stockings; she only
-sees me every fortnight, and seems to make herself in all things
-tolerably happy.
-
-"And indeed, gentlemen, I _am_ very happy and comfortable," said Truchen,
-with perfect ingenuousness.
-
-Porthos began to curl the other side of his mustache.  "The deuce,"
-thought D'Artagnan, "can Porthos have any intentions in that quarter?"
-
-In the meantime Truchen had set her cook to work, had laid the table for
-two more, and covered it with every possible delicacy that could convert
-a light supper into a substantial meal, a meal into a regular feast.
-Fresh butter, salt beef, anchovies, tunny, a shopful of Planchet's
-commodities, fowls, vegetables, salad, fish from the pond and the river,
-game from the forest - all the produce, in fact, of the province.
-Moreover, Planchet returned from the cellar, laden with ten bottles of
-wine, the glass of which could hardly be seen for the thick coating of
-dust which covered them.  Porthos's heart began to expand as he said, "I
-am hungry," and he sat himself beside Madame Truchen, whom he looked at
-in the most killing manner.  D'Artagnan seated himself on the other side
-of her, while Planchet, discreetly and full of delight, took his seat
-opposite.
-
-"Do not trouble yourselves," he said, "if Truchen should leave the table
-now and then during supper; for she will have to look after your bedrooms."
-
-In fact, the housekeeper made her escape quite frequently, and they could
-hear, on the first floor above them, the creaking of the wooden bedsteads
-and the rolling of the castors on the floor.  While this was going on,
-the three men, Porthos especially, ate and drank gloriously, - it was
-wonderful to see them.  The ten full bottles were ten empty one by the
-time Truchen returned with the cheese.  D'Artagnan still preserved his
-dignity and self-possession, but Porthos had lost a portion of his; and
-the mirth soon began to grow somewhat uproarious.  D'Artagnan recommended
-a new descent into the cellar, and, as Planchet no longer walked with the
-steadiness of a well-trained foot-soldier, the captain of the musketeers
-proposed to accompany him.  They set off, humming songs wild enough to
-frighten anybody who might be listening.  Truchen remained behind at
-table with Porthos.  While the two wine-bibbers were looking behind the
-firewood for what they wanted, a sharp report was heard like the impact
-of a pair of lips on a lady's cheek.
-
-"Porthos fancies himself at La Rochelle," thought D'Artagnan, as they
-returned freighted with bottles.  Planchet was singing so loudly that he
-was incapable of noticing anything.  D'Artagnan, whom nothing ever
-escaped, remarked how much redder Truchen's left cheek was than her
-right.  Porthos was sitting on Truchen's left, and was curling with both
-his hands both sides of his mustache at once, and Truchen was looking at
-him with a most bewitching smile.  The sparkling wine of Anjou very soon
-produced a remarkable effect upon the three companions.  D'Artagnan had
-hardly strength enough left to take a candlestick to light Planchet up
-his own staircase.  Planchet was pulling Porthos along, who was following
-Truchen, who was herself jovial enough.  It was D'Artagnan who found out
-the rooms and the beds.  Porthos threw himself into the one destined for
-him, after his friend had undressed him.  D'Artagnan got into his own
-bed, saying to himself, "_Mordioux!_  I had made up my mind never to
-touch that light-colored wine, which brings my early camp days back
-again.  Fie! fie! if my musketeers were only to see their captain in such
-a state."  And drawing the curtains of his bed, he added, "Fortunately
-enough, though, they will not see me."
-
-"The country is very amusing," said Porthos, stretching out his legs,
-which passed through the wooden footboard, and made a tremendous crash,
-of which, however, no one in the house was capable of taking the
-slightest notice.  By two o'clock in the morning every one was fast
-asleep.
-
-
-Chapter VI:
-Showing What Could Be Seen from Planchet's House.
-
-The next morning found the three heroes sleeping soundly.  Truchen had
-closed the outside blinds to keep the first rays of the sun from the
-leaden-lidded eyes of her guests, like a kind, good housekeeper.  It was
-still perfectly dark, then, beneath Porthos's curtains and under
-Planchet's canopy, when D'Artagnan, awakened by an indiscreet ray of
-light which made its way through a peek-hole in the shutters, jumped
-hastily out of bed, as if he wished to be the first at a forlorn hope.
-He took by assault Porthos's room, which was next to his own.  The worthy
-Porthos was sleeping with a noise like distant thunder; in the dim
-obscurity of the room his gigantic frame was prominently displayed, and
-his swollen fist hung down outside the bed upon the carpet.  D'Artagnan
-awoke Porthos, who rubbed his eyes in a tolerably good humor.  In the
-meantime Planchet was dressing himself, and met at their bedroom doors
-his two guests, who were still somewhat unsteady from their previous
-evening's entertainment.  Although it was yet very early, the whole
-household was already up.  The cook was mercilessly slaughtering in the
-poultry-yard; Celestin was gathering white cherries in the garden.
-Porthos, brisk and lively as ever, held out his hand to Planchet's, and
-D'Artagnan requested permission to embrace Madame Truchen.  The latter,
-to show that she bore no ill-will, approached Porthos, upon whom she
-conferred the same favor.  Porthos embraced Madame Truchen, heaving an
-enormous sigh.  Planchet took both his friends by the hand.
-
-"I am going to show you over the house," he said; "when we arrived last
-night it was as dark as an oven, and we were unable to see anything; but
-in broad daylight, everything looks different, and you will be satisfied,
-I hope."
-
-"If we begin by the view you have here," said D'Artagnan, "that charms me
-beyond everything; I have always lived in royal mansions, you know, and
-royal personages have tolerably sound ideas upon the selection of points
-of view."
-
-"I am a great stickler for a good view myself," said Porthos.  "At my
-Chateau de Pierrefonds, I have had four avenues laid out, and at the end
-of each is a landscape of an altogether different character from the
-others."
-
-"You shall see _my_ prospect," said Planchet; and he led his two guests
-to a window.
-
-"Ah!" said D'Artagnan, "this is the Rue de Lyon."
-
-"Yes, I have two windows on this side, a paltry, insignificant view, for
-there is always that bustling and noisy inn, which is a very disagreeable
-neighbor.  I had four windows here, but I bricked up two."
-
-"Let us go on," said D'Artagnan.
-
-They entered a corridor leading to the bedrooms, and Planchet pushed open
-the outside blinds.
-
-"Hollo! what is that out yonder?" said Porthos.
-
-"The forest," said Planchet.  "It is the horizon, - a thick line of
-green, which is yellow in the spring, green in the summer, red in the
-autumn, and white in the winter."
-
-"All very well, but it is like a curtain, which prevents one seeing a
-greater distance."
-
-"Yes," said Planchet; "still, one can see, at all events, everything that
-intervenes."
-
-"Ah, the open country," said Porthos.  "But what is that I see out there,
-- crosses and stones?"
-
-"Ah, that is the cemetery," exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Precisely," said Planchet; "I assure you it is very curious.  Hardly a
-day passes that some one is not buried there; for Fontainebleau is by no
-means an inconsiderable place.  Sometimes we see young girls clothed in
-white carrying banners; at others, some of the town-council, or rich
-citizens, with choristers and all the parish authorities; and then, too,
-we see some of the officers of the king's household."
-
-"I should not like that," said Porthos.
-
-"There is not much amusement in it, at all events," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I assure you it encourages religious thoughts," replied Planchet.
-
-"Oh, I don't deny that."
-
-"But," continued Planchet, "we must all die one day or another, and I
-once met with a maxim somewhere which I have remembered, that the thought
-of death is a thought that will do us all good."
-
-"I am far from saying the contrary," said Porthos.
-
-"But," objected D'Artagnan, "the thought of green fields, flowers,
-rivers, blue horizons, extensive and boundless plains, is no likely to do
-us good."
-
-"If I had any, I should be far from rejecting them," said Planchet; "but
-possessing only this little cemetery, full of flowers, so moss-grown,
-shady, and quiet, I am contented with it, and I think of those who live
-in town, in the Rue des Lombards, for instance, and who have to listen to
-the rumbling of a couple of thousand vehicles every day, and to the
-soulless tramp, tramp, tramp of a hundred and fifty thousand foot-
-passengers."
-
-"But living," said Porthos; "living, remember that."
-
-"That is exactly the reason," said Planchet, timidly, "why I feel it does
-me good to contemplate a few dead."
-
-"Upon my word," said D'Artagnan, "that fellow Planchet is born a
-philosopher as well as a grocer."
-
-"Monsieur," said Planchet, "I am one of those good-humored sort of men
-whom Heaven created for the purpose of living a certain span of days, and
-of considering all good they meet with during their transitory stay on
-earth."
-
-D'Artagnan sat down close to the window, and as there seemed to be
-something substantial in Planchet's philosophy, he mused over it.
-
-"Ah, ah!" exclaimed Planchet, "if I am not mistaken, we are going to have
-a representation now, for I think I heard something like chanting."
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "I hear singing too."
-
-"Oh, it is only a burial of a very poor description," said Planchet,
-disdainfully; "the officiating priest, the beadle, and only one chorister
-boy, nothing more.  You observe, messieurs, that the defunct lady or
-gentleman could not have been of very high rank."
-
-"No; no one seems to be following the coffin."
-
-"Yes," said Porthos; "I see a man."
-
-"You are right; a man wrapped in a cloak," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"It's not worth looking at," said Planchet.
-
-"I find it interesting," said D'Artagnan, leaning on the window-sill.
-
-"Come, come, you are beginning to take a fancy to the place already,"
-said Planchet, delightedly; "it is exactly my own case.  I was so
-melancholy at first that I could do nothing but make the sign of the
-cross all day, and the chants were like so many nails being driven into
-my head; but now, they lull me to sleep, and no bird I have ever seen or
-heard can sing better than those which are to be met with in this
-cemetery."
-
-"Well," said Porthos, "this is beginning to get a little dull for me, and
-I prefer going downstairs."
-
-Planchet with one bound was beside his guest, whom he offered to lead
-into the garden.
-
-"What!" said Porthos to D'Artagnan, as he turned round, "are you going to
-remain here?"
-
-"Yes, I will join you presently."
-
-"Well, M. D'Artagnan is right, after all," said Planchet: "are they
-beginning to bury yet?"
-
-"Not yet."
-
-"Ah! yes, the grave-digger is waiting until the cords are fastened round
-the bier.  But, see, a woman has just entered the cemetery at the other
-end."
-
-"Yes, yes, my dear Planchet," said D'Artagnan, quickly, "leave me, leave
-me; I feel I am beginning already to be much comforted by my meditations,
-so do not interrupt me."
-
-Planchet left, and D'Artagnan remained, devouring with his eager gaze
-from behind the half-closed blinds what was taking place just before
-him.  The two bearers of the corpse had unfastened the straps by which
-they carried the litter, and were letting their burden glide gently into
-the open grave.  At a few paces distant, the man with the cloak wrapped
-round him, the only spectator of this melancholy scene, was leaning with
-his back against a large cypress-tree, and kept his face and person
-entirely concealed from the grave-diggers and the priests; the corpse was
-buried in five minutes.  The grave having been filled up, the priests
-turned away, and the grave-digger having addressed a few words to them,
-followed them as they moved away.  The man in the mantle bowed as they
-passed him, and put a piece of gold into the grave-digger's hand.
-
-"_Mordioux!_" murmured D'Artagnan; "it is Aramis himself."
-
-Aramis, in fact, remained alone, on that side at least; for hardly had he
-turned his head when a woman's footsteps, and the rustling of her dress,
-were heard in the path close to him.  He immediately turned round, and
-took off his hat with the most ceremonious respect; he led the lady under
-the shelter of some walnut and lime trees, which overshadowed a
-magnificent tomb.
-
-"Ah! who would have thought it," said D'Artagnan; "the bishop of Vannes
-at a rendezvous!  He is still the same Abbe Aramis as he was at Noisy-le-
-Sec.  Yes," he added, after a pause; "but as it is in a cemetery, the
-rendezvous is sacred."  But he almost laughed.
-
-The conversation lasted for fully half an hour.  D'Artagnan could not see
-the lady's face, for she kept her back turned towards him; but he saw
-perfectly well, by the erect attitude of both the speakers, by their
-gestures, by the measured and careful manner with which they glanced at
-each other, either by way of attack or defense, that they must be
-conversing about any other subject than of love.  At the end of the
-conversation the lady rose, and bowed profoundly to Aramis.
-
-"Oh, oh," said D'Artagnan; "this rendezvous finishes like one of a very
-tender nature though.  The cavalier kneels at the beginning, the young
-lady by and by gets tamed down, and then it is she who has to
-supplicate.  Who is this lady?  I would give anything to ascertain."
-
-This seemed impossible, however, for Aramis was the first to leave; the
-lady carefully concealed her head and face, and then immediately
-departed.  D'Artagnan could hold out no longer; he ran to the window
-which looked out on the Rue de Lyon, and saw Aramis entering the inn.
-The lady was proceeding in quite an opposite direction, and seemed, in
-fact, to be about to rejoin an equipage, consisting of two led horses and
-a carriage, which he could see standing close to the borders of the
-forest.  She was walking slowly, her head bent down, absorbed in the
-deepest meditation.
-
-"_Mordioux!  Mordioux!_  I must and will learn who that woman is," said
-the musketeer again; and then, without further deliberation, he set off
-in pursuit of her.  As he was going along, he tried to think how he could
-possibly contrive to make her raise her veil.  "She is not young," he
-said, "and is a woman of high rank in society.  I ought to know that
-figure and peculiar style of walk."  As he ran, the sound of his spurs
-and of his boots upon the hard ground of the street made a strange
-jingling noise; a fortunate circumstance in itself, which he was far
-from reckoning upon.  The noise disturbed the lady; she seemed to fancy
-she was being either followed or pursued, which was indeed the case, and
-turned round.  D'Artagnan started as if he had received a charge of small
-shot in his legs, and then turning suddenly round as if he were going
-back the same way he had come, he murmured, "Madame de Chevreuse!"
-D'Artagnan would not go home until he had learnt everything.  He asked
-Celestin to inquire of the grave-digger whose body it was they had buried
-that morning.
-
-"A poor Franciscan mendicant friar," replied the latter, "who had not
-even a dog to love him in this world, and to accompany him to his last
-resting-place."
-
-"If that were really the case," thought D'Artagnan, "we should not have
-found Aramis present at his funeral.  The bishop of Vannes is not
-precisely a dog as far as devotion goes: his scent, however, is quite as
-keen, I admit."
-
-
-Chapter VII:
-How Porthos, Truchen, and Planchet Parted with Each Other on Friendly
-Terms, Thanks to D'Artagnan.
-
-There was good living in Planchet's house.  Porthos broke a ladder and
-two cherry-trees, stripped the raspberry-bushes, and was only unable to
-succeed in reaching the strawberry-beds on account, as he said, of his
-belt.  Truchen, who had become quite sociable with the giant, said that
-it was not the belt so much as his corporation; and Porthos, in a state
-of the highest delight, embraced Truchen, who gathered him a pailful of
-the strawberries, and made him eat them out of her hands.  D'Artagnan,
-who arrived in the midst of these little innocent flirtations, scolded
-Porthos for his indolence, and silently pitied Planchet.  Porthos
-breakfasted with a very good appetite, and when he had finished, he said,
-looking at Truchen, "I could make myself very happy here."  Truchen
-smiled at his remark, and so did Planchet, but not without embarrassment.
-
-D'Artagnan then addressed Porthos: "You must not let the delights of
-Capua make you forget the real object of our journey to Fontainebleau."
-
-"My presentation to the king?"
-
-"Certainly.  I am going to take a turn in the town to get everything
-ready for that.  Do not think of leaving the house, I beg."
-
-"Oh, no!" exclaimed Porthos.
-
-Planchet looked at D'Artagnan nervously.
-
-"Will you be away long?" he inquired.
-
-"No, my friend; and this very evening I will release you from two
-troublesome guests."
-
-"Oh!  Monsieur d'Artagnan! can you say - "
-
-"No, no; you are a noble-hearted fellow, but your house is very small.
-Such a house, with half a dozen acres of land, would be fit for a king,
-and make him very happy, too.  But you were not born a great lord."
-
-"No more was M. Porthos," murmured Planchet.
-
-"But he has become so, my good fellow; his income has been a hundred
-thousand francs a year for the last twenty years, and for the last fifty
-years Porthos has been the owner of a couple of fists and a backbone,
-which are not to be matched throughout the whole realm of France.
-Porthos is a man of the very greatest consequence compared to you, and...
-well, I need say no more, for I know you are an intelligent fellow."
-
-"No, no, monsieur, explain what you mean."
-
-"Look at your orchard, how stripped it is, how empty your larder, your
-bedstead broken, your cellar almost exhausted, look too… at Madame
-Truchen - "
-
-"Oh! my goodness gracious!" said Planchet.
-
-"Madame Truchen is an excellent person," continued D'Artagnan, "but keep
-her for yourself, do you understand?" and he slapped him on the shoulder.
-
-Planchet at this moment perceived Porthos and Truchen sitting close
-together in an arbor; Truchen, with a grace of manner peculiarly Flemish,
-was making a pair of earrings for Porthos out of a double cherry, while
-Porthos was laughing as amorously as Samson in the company of Delilah.
-Planchet pressed D'Artagnan's hand, and ran towards the arbor.  We must
-do Porthos the justice to say that he did not move as they approached,
-and, very likely, he did not think he was doing any harm.  Nor indeed did
-Truchen move either, which rather put Planchet out; but he, too, had been
-so accustomed to see fashionable folk in his shop, that he found no
-difficulty in putting a good countenance on what seemed disagreeable or
-rude.  Planchet seized Porthos by the arm, and proposed to go and look at
-the horses, but Porthos pretended he was tired.  Planchet then suggested
-that the Baron du Vallon should taste some noyeau of his own manufacture,
-which was not to be equaled anywhere; an offer the baron immediately
-accepted; and, in this way, Planchet managed to engage his enemy's
-attention during the whole of the day, by dint of sacrificing his cellar,
-in preference to his _amour propre_.  Two hours afterwards D'Artagnan
-returned.
-
-"Everything is arranged," he said; "I saw his majesty at the very moment
-he was setting off for the chase; the king expects us this evening."
-
-"The king expects _me!_" cried Porthos, drawing himself up.  It is a sad
-thing to have to confess, but a man's heart is like an ocean billow; for,
-from that very moment Porthos ceased to look at Madame Truchen in that
-touching manner which had so softened her heart.  Planchet encouraged
-these ambitious leanings as best as he could.  He talked over, or rather
-gave exaggerated accounts of all the splendors of the last reign, its
-battles, sieges, and grand court ceremonies.  He spoke of the luxurious
-display which the English made; the prizes the three brave companions
-carried off; and how D'Artagnan, who at the beginning had been the
-humblest of the four, finished by becoming the leader.  He fired Porthos
-with a generous feeling of enthusiasm by reminding him of his early youth
-now passed away; he boasted as much as he could of the moral life this
-great lord had led, and how religiously he respected the ties of
-friendship; he was eloquent, and skillful in his choice of subjects.  He
-tickled Porthos, frightened Truchen, and made D'Artagnan think.  At six
-o'clock, the musketeer ordered the horses to be brought round, and told
-Porthos to get ready.  He thanked Planchet for his kind hospitality,
-whispered a few words about a post he might succeed in obtaining for him
-at court, which immediately raised Planchet in Truchen's estimation,
-where the poor grocer - so good, so generous, so devoted - had become
-much lowered ever since the appearance and comparison with him of the two
-great gentlemen.  Such, however, is a woman's nature; they are anxious to
-possess what they have not got, and disdain it as soon as it is
-acquired.  After having rendered this service to his friend Planchet,
-D'Artagnan said in a low tone of voice to Porthos: "That is a very
-beautiful ring you have on your finger."
-
-"It is worth three hundred pistoles," said Porthos.
-
-"Madame Truchen will remember you better if you leave her that ring,"
-replied D'Artagnan, a suggestion which Porthos seemed to hesitate to
-adopt.
-
-"You think it is not beautiful enough, perhaps," said the musketeer.  "I
-understand your feelings; a great lord such as you would not think of
-accepting the hospitality of an old servant without paying him most
-handsomely for it: but I am sure that Planchet is too good-hearted a
-fellow to remember that you have an income of a hundred thousand francs a
-year."
-
-"I have more than half a mind," said Porthos, flattered by the remark,
-"to make Madame Truchen a present of my little farm at Bracieux; it has
-twelve acres."
-
-"It is too much, my good Porthos, too much just at present...  Keep it
-for a future occasion."  He then took the ring off Porthos's finger, and
-approaching Truchen, said to her: - "Madame, monsieur le baron hardly
-knows how to entreat you, out of your regard for him, to accept this
-little ring.  M. du Vallon is one of the most generous and discreet men
-of my acquaintance.  He wished to offer you a farm that he has at
-Bracieux, but I dissuaded him from it."
-
-"Oh!" said Truchen, looking eagerly at the diamond.
-
-"Monsieur le baron!" exclaimed Planchet, quite overcome.
-
-"My good friend," stammered out Porthos, delighted at having been so well
-represented by D'Artagnan.  These several exclamations, uttered at the
-same moment, made quite a pathetic winding-up of a day which might have
-finished in a very ridiculous manner.  But D'Artagnan was there, and, on
-every occasion, wheresoever D'Artagnan exercised any control, matters
-ended only just in the very way he wished and willed.  There were general
-embracings; Truchen, whom the baron's munificence had restored to her
-proper position, very timidly, and blushing all the while, presented her
-forehead to the great lord with whom she had been on such very pretty
-terms the evening before.  Planchet himself was overcome by a feeling of
-genuine humility.  Still, in the same generosity of disposition, Porthos
-would have emptied his pockets into the hands of the cook and of
-Celestin; but D'Artagnan stopped him.
-
-"No," he said, "it is now my turn."  And he gave one pistole to the woman
-and two to the man; and the benedictions which were showered down upon
-them would have rejoiced the heart of Harpagon himself, and have rendered
-even him a prodigal.
-
-D'Artagnan made Planchet lead them to the chateau, and introduced Porthos
-into his own apartment, where he arrived safely without having been
-perceived by those he was afraid of meeting.
-
-
-Chapter VIII:
-The Presentation of Porthos at Court.
-
-At seven o'clock the same evening, the king gave an audience to an
-ambassador from the United Provinces, in the grand reception-room.  The
-audience lasted a quarter of an hour.  His majesty afterwards received
-those who had been recently presented, together with a few ladies, who
-paid their respects first.  In one corner of the salon, concealed behind
-a column, Porthos and D'Artagnan were conversing together, waiting until
-their turn arrived.
-
-"Have you heard the news?" inquired the musketeer of his friend.
-
-"No!"
-
-"Well, look, then."  Porthos raised himself on tiptoe, and saw M. Fouquet
-in full court dress, leading Aramis towards the king.
-
-"Aramis!" said Porthos.
-
-"Presented to the king by M. Fouquet."
-
-"Ah!" ejaculated Porthos.
-
-"For having fortified Belle-Isle," continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"And I?"
-
-"You - oh, you! as I have already had the honor of telling you, are the
-good-natured, kind-hearted Porthos; and so they begged you to take care
-of Saint-Mande a little."
-
-"Ah!" repeated Porthos.
-
-"But, happily, I was there," said D'Artagnan, "and presently it will be
-_my_ turn."
-
-At this moment Fouquet addressed the king.
-
-"Sire," he said, "I have a favor to solicit of your majesty.  M.
-d'Herblay is not ambitious, but he knows when he can be of service.  Your
-majesty needs a representative at Rome, who would be able to exercise a
-powerful influence there; may I request a cardinal's hat for M.
-d'Herblay?"  The king started.  "I do not often solicit anything of your
-majesty," said Fouquet.
-
-"That is a reason, certainly," replied the king, who always expressed any
-hesitation he might have in that manner, and to which remark there was
-nothing to say in reply.
-
-Fouquet and Aramis looked at each other.  The king resumed: "M. d'Herblay
-can serve us equally well in France; an archbishopric, for instance."
-
-"Sire," objected Fouquet, with a grace of manner peculiarly his own,
-"your majesty overwhelms M. d'Herblay; the archbishopric may, in your
-majesty's extreme kindness, be conferred in addition to the hat; the one
-does not exclude the other."
-
-The king admired the readiness which he displayed, and smiled, saying:
-"D'Artagnan himself could not have answered better."  He had no sooner
-pronounced the name than D'Artagnan appeared.
-
-"Did your majesty call me?" he said.
-
-Aramis and Fouquet drew back a step, as if they were about to retire.
-
-"Will your majesty allow me," said D'Artagnan quickly, as he led forward
-Porthos, "to present to your majesty M. le Baron du Vallon, one of the
-bravest gentlemen of  France?"
-
-As soon as Aramis saw Porthos, he turned as pale as death, while Fouquet
-clenched his hands under his ruffles.  D'Artagnan smiled blandly at both
-of them, while Porthos bowed, visibly overcome before the royal presence.
-
-"Porthos here?" murmured Fouquet in Aramis's ear.
-
-"Hush! deep treachery at work," hissed the latter.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "it is more than six years ago I ought to have
-presented M. du Vallon to your majesty; but certain men resemble stars,
-they move not one inch unless their satellites accompany them.  The
-Pleiades are never disunited, and that is the reason I have selected, for
-the purpose of presenting him to you, the very moment when you would see
-M. d'Herblay by his side."
-
-Aramis almost lost countenance.  He looked at D'Artagnan with a proud,
-haughty air, as though willing to accept the defiance the latter seemed
-to throw down.
-
-"Ah! these gentlemen are good friends, then?" said the king.
-
-"Excellent friends, sire; the one can answer for the other.  Ask M. de
-Vannes now in what manner Belle-Isle was fortified?"  Fouquet moved back
-a step.
-
-"Belle-Isle," said Aramis, coldly, "was fortified by that gentleman," and
-he indicated Porthos with his hand, who bowed a second time.  Louis could
-not withhold his admiration, though at the same time his suspicions were
-aroused.
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "but ask monsieur le baron whose assistance he
-had in carrying the works out?"
-
-"Aramis's," said Porthos, frankly; and he pointed to the bishop.
-
-"What the deuce does all this mean?" thought the bishop, "and what sort
-of a termination are we to expect to this comedy?"
-
-"What!" exclaimed the king, "is the cardinal's, I mean this bishop's,
-name _Aramis?_"
-
-"His _nom de guerre_," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"My nickname," said Aramis.
-
-"A truce to modesty!" exclaimed D'Artagnan; "beneath the priest's robe,
-sire, is concealed the most brilliant officer, a gentleman of the most
-unparalleled intrepidity, and the wisest theologian in your kingdom."
-
-Louis raised his head.  "And an engineer, also, it appears," he said,
-admiring Aramis's calm, imperturbable self-possession.
-
-"An engineer for a particular purpose, sire," said the latter.
-
-"My companion in the musketeers, sire," said D'Artagnan, with great
-warmth of manner, "the man who has more than a hundred times aided your
-father's ministers by his advice - M. d'Herblay, in a word, who, with M.
-du Vallon, myself, and M. le Comte de la Fere, who is known to your
-majesty, formed that quartette which was a good deal talked about during
-the late king's reign, and during your majesty's minority."
-
-"And who fortified Belle-Isle?" the king repeated, in a significant tone.
-
-Aramis advanced and bowed: "In order to serve the son as I served the
-father."
-
-D'Artagnan looked very narrowly at Aramis while he uttered these words,
-which displayed so much true respect, so much warm devotion, such entire
-frankness and sincerity, that even he, D'Artagnan, the eternal doubter,
-he, the almost infallible in judgment, was deceived by it.  "A man who
-lies cannot speak in such a tone as that," he said.
-
-Louis was overcome by it.  "In that case," he said to Fouquet, who
-anxiously awaited the result of this proof, "the cardinal's hat is
-promised.  Monsieur d'Herblay, I pledge you my honor that the first
-promotion shall be yours.  Thank M. Fouquet for it."  Colbert overheard
-these words; they stung him to the quick, and he left the salon
-abruptly.  "And you, Monsieur du Vallon," said the king, "what have you
-to ask?  I am truly pleased to have it in my power to acknowledge the
-services of those who were faithful to my father."
-
-"Sire - " began Porthos, but he was unable to proceed with what he was
-going to say.
-
-"Sire," exclaimed D'Artagnan, "this worthy gentleman is utterly
-overpowered by your majesty's presence, he who so valiantly sustained the
-looks and the fire of a thousand foes.  But, knowing what his thoughts
-are, I - who am more accustomed to gaze upon the sun - can translate
-them: he needs nothing, absolutely nothing; his sole desire is to have
-the happiness of gazing upon your majesty for a quarter of an hour."
-
-"You shall sup with me this evening," said the king, saluting Porthos
-with a gracious smile.
-
-Porthos became crimson from delight and pride.  The king dismissed him,
-and D'Artagnan pushed him into the adjoining apartment, after he had
-embraced him warmly.
-
-"Sit next to me at table," said Porthos in his ear.
-
-"Yes, my friend."
-
-"Aramis is annoyed with me, I think."
-
-"Aramis has never liked you so much as he does now.  Fancy, it was I who
-was the means of his getting the cardinal's hat."
-
-"Of course," said Porthos.  "By the by, does the king like his guests to
-eat much at his table?"
-
-"It is a compliment to himself if you do," said D'Artagnan, "for he
-himself possesses a royal appetite."
-
-
-Chapter IX:
-Explanations.
-
-Aramis cleverly managed to effect a diversion for the purpose of finding
-D'Artagnan and Porthos.  He came up to the latter, behind one of the
-columns, and, as he pressed his hand, said, "So you have escaped from my
-prison?"
-
-"Do not scold him," said D'Artagnan; "it was I, dear Aramis, who set him
-free."
-
-"Ah! my friend," replied Aramis, looking at Porthos, "could you not have
-waited with a little more patience?"
-
-D'Artagnan came to the assistance of Porthos, who already began to
-breathe hard, in sore perplexity.
-
-"You see, you members of the Church are great politicians; we mere
-soldiers come at once to the point.  The facts are these: I went to pay
-Baisemeaux a visit - "
-
-Aramis pricked up his ears at this announcement.
-
-"Stay!" said Porthos; "you make me remember that I have a letter from
-Baisemeaux for you, Aramis."  And Porthos held out the bishop the letter
-we have already seen.  Aramis begged to be allowed to read it, and read
-it without D'Artagnan feeling in the slightest degree embarrassed by the
-circumstance that he was so well acquainted with the contents of it.
-Besides, Aramis's face was so impenetrable, that D'Artagnan could not but
-admire him more than ever; after he had read it, he put the letter into
-his pocket with the calmest possible air.
-
-"You were saying, captain?" he observed.
-
-"I was saying," continued the musketeer, "that I had gone to pay
-Baisemeaux a visit on his majesty's service."
-
-"On his majesty's service?" said Aramis.
-
-"Yes," said D'Artagnan, "and, naturally enough, we talked about you and
-our friends.  I must say that Baisemeaux received me coldly; so I soon
-took my leave of him.  As I was returning, a soldier accosted me, and
-said (no doubt as he recognized me, notwithstanding I was in private
-clothes), 'Captain, will you be good enough to read me the name written
-on this envelope?' and I read, 'To Monsieur du Vallon, at M. Fouquet's
-house, Saint-Mande.'  The deuce, I said to myself, Porthos has not
-returned, then, as I fancied, to Bell-Isle, or to Pierrefonds, but is at
-M. Fouquet's house, at Saint-Mande; and as M. Fouquet is not at Saint-
-Mande, Porthos must be quite alone, or, at all events, with Aramis; I
-will go and see Porthos, and I accordingly went to see Porthos."
-
-"Very good," said Aramis, thoughtfully.
-
-"You never told me that," said Porthos.
-
-"I had no time, my friend."
-
-"And you brought back Porthos with you to Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Yes, to Planchet's house."
-
-"Does Planchet live at Fontainebleau?" inquired Aramis.
-
-"Yes, near the cemetery," said Porthos, thoughtlessly.
-
-"What do you mean by 'near the cemetery?'" said Aramis, suspiciously.
-
-"Come," thought the musketeer, "since there is to be a squabble, let us
-take advantage of it."
-
-"Yes, the cemetery," said Porthos.  "Planchet is a very excellent fellow,
-who makes very excellent preserves; but his house has windows which look
-out upon the cemetery.  And a confoundedly melancholy prospect it is!  So
-this morning - "
-
-"This morning?" said Aramis, more and more excited.
-
-D'Artagnan turned his back to them, and walked to the window, where he
-began to play a march upon one of the panes of glass.
-
-"Yes, this morning we saw a man buried there."
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"Very depressing, was it not?  I should never be able to live in a house
-where burials can always be seen from the window.  D'Artagnan, on the
-contrary, seems to like it very much."
-
-"So D'Artagnan saw it as well?"
-
-"Not simply _saw_ it; he literally never took his eyes off the whole
-time."
-
-Aramis started, and turned to look at the musketeer, but the latter was
-engaged in earnest conversation with Saint-Aignan.  Aramis continued to
-question Porthos, and when he had squeezed all the juice out of this
-enormous lemon, he threw the peel aside.  He turned towards his friend
-D'Artagnan, and clapping him on the shoulder, when Saint-Aignan had left
-him, the king's supper having been announced, said, "D'Artagnan."
-
-"Yes, my dear fellow," he replied.
-
-"We do not sup with his majesty, I believe?"
-
-"Well? - _we_ do."
-
-"Can you give me ten minutes' conversation?"
-
-"Twenty, if you like.  His majesty will take quite that time to get
-properly seated at table."
-
-"Where shall we talk, then?"
-
-"Here, upon these seats if you like; the king has left, we can sit down,
-and the apartment is empty."
-
-"Let us sit down, then."
-
-They sat down, and Aramis took one of D'Artagnan's hands in his.
-
-"Tell me, candidly, my dear friend, whether you have not counseled
-Porthos to distrust me a little?"
-
-"I admit, I have, but not as you understand it.  I saw that Porthos was
-bored to death, and I wished, by presenting him to the king, to do for
-him, and for you, what you would never do for yourselves."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"Speak in your own praise."
-
-"And you have done it most nobly; I thank you."
-
-"And I brought the cardinal's hat a little nearer, just as it seemed to
-be retreating from you."
-
-"Ah! I admit that," said Aramis, with a singular smile, "you are, indeed,
-not to be matched for making your friends' fortunes for them."
-
-"You see, then, that I only acted with the view of making Porthos's
-fortune for him."
-
-"I meant to have done that myself; but your arm reaches farther than
-ours."
-
-It was now D'Artagnan's turn to smile.
-
-"Come," said Aramis, "we ought to deal truthfully with each other.  Do
-you still love me, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"The same as I used to do," replied D'Artagnan, without compromising
-himself too much by this reply.
-
-"In that case, thanks; and now, for the most perfect frankness," said
-Aramis; "you visited Belle-Isle on behalf of the king?"
-
-"_Pardieu!_"
-
-"You wished to deprive us of the pleasure of offering Bell-Isle
-completely fortified to the king."
-
-"But before I could deprive you of that pleasure, I ought to have been
-made acquainted with your intention of doing so."
-
-"You came to Belle-Isle without knowing anything?"
-
-"Of you! yes.  How the devil could I imagine that Aramis had become so
-clever an engineer as to be able to fortify like Polybius, or Archimedes?"
-
-"True.  And yet you smelt me out over yonder?"
-
-"Oh! yes."
-
-"And Porthos, too?"
-
-"I did not divine that Aramis was an engineer.  I was only able to guess
-that Porthos might have become one.  There is a saying, one becomes an
-orator, one is born a poet; but it has never been said, one is born
-Porthos, and one becomes an engineer."
-
-"Your wit is always amusing," said Aramis, coldly.
-
-"Well, I will go on."
-
-"Do.  When you found out our secret, you made all the haste you could to
-communicate it to the king."
-
-"I certainly made as much haste as I could, since I saw that you were
-making still more.  When a man weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, as
-Porthos does, rides post; when a gouty prelate - I beg your pardon, but
-you yourself told me you were so - when a prelate scours the highway - I
-naturally suppose that my two friends, who did not wish to be
-communicative with me, had certain matters of the highest importance to
-conceal from me, and so I made as much haste as my leanness and the
-absence of gout would allow."
-
-"Did it not occur to you, my dear friend, that you might be rendering
-Porthos and myself a very sad service?"
-
-"Yes, I thought it not unlikely; but you and Porthos made me play a very
-ridiculous part at Belle-Isle."
-
-"I beg your pardon," said Aramis.
-
-"Excuse me," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"So that," pursued Aramis, "you now know everything?"
-
-"No, indeed."
-
-"You know I was obliged to inform M. Fouquet of what had happened, in
-order that he would be able to anticipate what you might have to tell the
-king?"
-
-"That is rather obscure."
-
-"Not at all: M. Fouquet has his enemies - you will admit that, I suppose."
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"And one in particular."
-
-"A dangerous one?"
-
-"A mortal enemy.  Well, in order to counteract that man's influence, it
-was necessary that M. Fouquet should give the king a proof of his great
-devotion to him, and of his readiness to make the greatest sacrifices.
-He surprised his majesty by offering him Belle-Isle.  If you had been the
-first to reach Paris, the surprise would have been destroyed, it would
-have looked as if we had yielded to fear."
-
-"I understand."
-
-"That is the whole mystery," said Aramis, satisfied that he had at last
-quite convinced the musketeer.
-
-"Only," said the latter, "it would have been more simple to have taken me
-aside, and said to me, 'My dear D'Artagnan, we are fortifying Belle-Isle,
-and intend to offer it to the king.  Tell us frankly, for whom you are
-acting.  Are you a friend of M. Colbert, or of M. Fouquet?'  Perhaps I
-should not have answered you, but you would have added, - 'Are you my
-friend?'  I should have said 'Yes.'"  Aramis hung down his head.  "In
-this way," continued D'Artagnan, "you would have paralyzed my movements,
-and I should have gone to the king, and said, 'Sire, M. Fouquet is
-fortifying Belle-Isle, and exceedingly well, too; but here is a note,
-which the governor of Belle-Isle gave me for your majesty;' or, 'M.
-Fouquet is about to wait upon your majesty to explain his intentions with
-regard to it.'  I should not have been placed in an absurd position; you
-would have enjoyed the surprise so long planned, and we should not have
-had any occasion to look askant at each other when we met."
-
-"While, on the contrary," replied Aramis, "you have acted altogether as
-one friendly to M. Colbert.  And you really are a friend of his, I
-suppose?"
-
-"Certainly not, indeed!" exclaimed the captain.  "M. Colbert is a mean
-fellow, and I hate him as I used to hate Mazarin, but without fearing
-him."
-
-"Well, then," said Aramis, "I love M. Fouquet, and his interests are
-mine.  You know my position.  I have no property or means whatever.  M.
-Fouquet gave me several livings, a bishopric as well; M. Fouquet has
-served and obliged me like the generous-hearted man he is, and I know the
-world sufficiently well to appreciate a kindness when I meet with one.
-M. Fouquet has won my regard, and I have devoted myself to his service."
-
-"You could not possibly do better.  You will find him a very liberal
-master."
-
-Aramis bit his lips; and then said, "The best a man could possibly
-have."  He then paused for a minute, D'Artagnan taking good care not to
-interrupt him.
-
-"I suppose you know how Porthos got mixed up in all this?"
-
-"No," said D'Artagnan; "I am curious, of course, but I never question a
-friend when he wishes to keep a secret from me."
-
-"Well, then, I will tell you."
-
-"It is hardly worth the trouble, if the confidence is to bind me in any
-way."
-
-"Oh! do not be afraid.; there is no man whom I love better than Porthos,
-because he is so simple-minded and good-natured.  Porthos is so
-straightforward in everything.  Since I have become a bishop, I have
-looked for these primeval natures, which make me love truth and hate
-intrigue."
-
-D'Artagnan stroked his mustache, but said nothing.
-
-"I saw Porthos and again cultivated his acquaintance; his own time
-hanging idly on his hands, his presence recalled my earlier and better
-days without engaging me in any present evil.  I sent for Porthos to come
-to Vannes.  M. Fouquet, whose regard for me is very great, having learnt
-that Porthos and I were attached to each other by old ties of friendship,
-promised him increase of rank at the earliest promotion, and that is the
-whole secret."
-
-"I shall not abuse your confidence," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I am sure of that, my dear friend; no one has a finer sense of honor
-than yourself."
-
-"I flatter myself that you are right, Aramis."
-
-"And now" - and here the prelate looked searchingly and scrutinizingly at
-his friend - "now let us talk of ourselves and for ourselves; will you
-become one of M. Fouquet's friends?  Do not interrupt me until you know
-what that means."
-
-"Well, I am listening."
-
-"Will you become a marechal of France, peer, duke, and the possessor of a
-duchy, with a million of francs?"
-
-"But, my friend," replied D'Artagnan, "what must one do to get all that?"
-
-"Belong to M. Fouquet."
-
-"But I already belong to the king."
-
-"Not exclusively, I suppose."
-
-"Oh! a D'Artagnan cannot be divided."
-
-"You have, I presume, ambitions, as noble hearts like yours have."
-
-"Yes, certainly I have."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Well!  I wish to be a marechal; the king will make me marechal, duke,
-peer; the king will make me all that."
-
-Aramis fixed a searching look upon D'Artagnan.
-
-"Is not the king master?" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"No one disputes it; but Louis XIII. was master also."
-
-"Oh! my dear friend, between Richelieu and Louis XIII. stood no
-D'Artagnan," said the musketeer, very quietly.
-
-"There are many stumbling-blocks round the king," said Aramis.
-
-"Not for the king's feet."
-
-"Very likely not; still - "
-
-"One moment, Aramis; I observe that every one thinks of himself, and
-never of his poor prince; I will maintain myself maintaining him."
-
-"And if you meet with ingratitude?"
-
-"The weak alone are afraid of that."
-
-"You are quite certain of yourself?"
-
-"I think so."
-
-"Still, the king may some day have no further need for you!"
-
-"On the contrary, I think his need of me will soon be greater than ever;
-and hearken, my dear fellow, if it became necessary to arrest a new
-Conde, who would do it?  This - this alone in France!" and D'Artagnan
-struck his sword, which clanked sullenly on the tesselated floor.
-
-"You are right," said Aramis, turning very pale; and then he rose and
-pressed D'Artagnan's hand.
-
-"That is the last summons for supper," said the captain of the
-musketeers; "will you excuse me?"
-
-Aramis threw his arm round the musketeer's neck, and said, "A friend like
-you is the brightest jewel in the royal crown."  And they immediately
-separated.
-
-"I was right," mused D'Artagnan; "there is, indeed, something strangely
-serious stirring."
-
-"We must hasten the explosion," breathed the coming cardinal, "for
-D'Artagnan has discovered
-the existence of a plot."
-
-
-Chapter X:
-Madame and De Guiche.
-
-It will not be forgotten how Comte de Guiche left the queen-mother's
-apartments on the day when Louis XIV. presented La Valliere with the
-beautiful bracelets he had won in the lottery.  The comte walked to and
-fro for some time outside the palace, in the greatest distress, from a
-thousand suspicions and anxieties with which his mind was beset.
-Presently he stopped and waited on the terrace opposite the grove of
-trees, watching for Madame's departure.  More than half an hour passed
-away; and as he was at that moment quite alone, the comte could hardly
-have had any very diverting ideas at his command.  He drew his tables
-from his pocket, and, after hesitating over and over again, determined to
-write these words: - "Madame, I implore you to grant me one moment's
-conversation.  Do not be alarmed at this request, which contains nothing
-in any way opposed to the profound respect with which I subscribe myself,
-etc., etc."  He had signed and folded this singular love-letter, when he
-suddenly observed several ladies leaving the chateau, and afterwards
-several courtiers too; in fact, almost every one that formed the queen's
-circle.  He saw La Valliere herself, then Montalais talking with
-Malicorne; he watched the departure of the very last of the numerous
-guests that had a short time before thronged the queen-mother's cabinet.
-
-Madame herself had not yet passed; she would be obliged, however, to
-cross the courtyard in order to enter her own apartments; and, from the
-terrace where he was standing, De Guiche could see all that was going on
-in the courtyard.  At last he saw Madame leave, attended by a couple of
-pages, who were carrying torches before her.  She was walking very
-quickly; as soon as she reached the door, she said:
-
-"Let some one go and look for De Guiche: he has to render an account of a
-mission he had to discharge for me; if he should be disengaged, request
-him to be good enough to come to my apartment."
-
-De Guiche remained silent, hidden in the shade; but as soon as Madame had
-withdrawn, he darted from the terrace down the steps and assumed a most
-indifferent air, so that the pages who were hurrying towards his rooms
-might meet him.
-
-"Ah! it is Madame, then, who is seeking me!" he said to himself, quite
-overcome; and he crushed in his hand the now worse than useless letter.
-
-"M. le comte," said one of the pages, approaching him, "we are indeed
-most fortunate in meeting you."
-
-"Why so, messieurs?"
-
-"A command from Madame."
-
-"From Madame!" said De Guiche, looking surprised.
-
-"Yes, M. le comte, her royal highness has been asking for you; she
-expects to hear, she told us, the result of a commission you had to
-execute for her.  Are you at liberty?"
-
-"I am quite at her royal highness's orders."
-
-"Will you have the goodness to follow us, then?"
-
-When De Guiche entered the princess's apartments, he found her pale and
-agitated.  Montalais was standing at the door, evidently uneasy about
-what was passing in her mistress's mind.  De Guiche appeared.
-
-"Ah! is that you, Monsieur de Guiche?" said Madame; "come in, I beg.
-Mademoiselle de Montalais, I do not require your attendance any longer."
-
-Montalais, more puzzled than ever, courtesied and withdrew.  De Guiche
-and the princess were left alone.  The come had every advantage in his
-favor; it was Madame who had summoned him to a rendezvous.  But how was
-it possible for the comte to make use of this advantage?  Madame was so
-whimsical, and her disposition so changeable.  She soon allowed this to
-be perceived, for, suddenly, opening the conversation, she said: "Well!
-have you nothing to say to me?"
-
-He imagined she must have guessed his thoughts; he fancied (for those who
-are in love are thus constituted, being as credulous and blind as poets
-or prophets), he fancied she knew how ardent was his desire to see her,
-and also the subject uppermost in his mind.
-
-"Yes, Madame," he said, "and I think it very singular."
-
-"The affair of the bracelets," she exclaimed, eagerly, "you mean that, I
-suppose?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"And you think the king is in love; do you not?"
-
-Guiche looked at her for some time; her eyes sank under his gaze, which
-seemed to read her very heart.
-
-"I think," he said, "that the king may possibly have had an idea of
-annoying some one; were it not for that, the king would hardly show
-himself so earnest in his attentions as he is; he would not run the risk
-of compromising, from mere thoughtlessness of disposition, a young girl
-against whom no one has been hitherto able to say a word."
-
-"Indeed! the bold, shameless girl," said the princess, haughtily.
-
-"I can positively assure your royal highness," said De Guiche, with a
-firmness marked by great respect, "that Mademoiselle de la Valliere is
-beloved by a man who merits every respect, for he is a brave and
-honorable gentleman."
-
-"Bragelonne?"
-
-"My friend; yes, Madame."
-
-"Well, and though he is your friend, what does that matter to the king?"
-
-"The king knows that Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere; and as Raoul has served the king most valiantly, the king will
-not inflict an irreparable injury upon him."
-
-Madame began to laugh in a manner that produced a sinister impression
-upon De Guiche.
-
-"I repeat, Madame, I do not believe the king is in love with Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere; and the proof that I do not believe it is, that I was
-about to ask you whose _amour propre_ it is likely the king is desirous
-of wounding?  You, who are well acquainted with the whole court, can
-perhaps assist me in ascertaining that; and assuredly, with greater
-certainty, since it is everywhere said that your royal highness is on
-very friendly terms with the king."
-
-Madame bit her lips, and, unable to assign any good and sufficient
-reasons, changed the conversation.  "Prove to me," she said, fixing on
-him one of those looks in which the whole soul seems to pass into the
-eyes, "prove to me, I say, that you intended to interrogate me at the
-very moment I sent for you."
-
-De Guiche gravely drew from his pocket the now crumpled note that he had
-written, and showed it to her.
-
-"Sympathy," she said.
-
-"Yes," said the comte, with an indescribable tenderness of tone,
-"sympathy.  I have explained to you how and why I sought you; you,
-however, have yet to tell me, Madame, why you sent for me."
-
-"True," replied the princess.  She hesitated, and then suddenly
-exclaimed, "Those bracelets will drive me mad."
-
-"You expected the king would offer them to you," replied De Guiche.
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"But before you, Madame, before you, his sister-in-law, was there not the
-queen herself to whom the king should have offered them?"
-
-"Before La Valliere," cried the princess, wounded to the quick, "could he
-not have presented them to me?  Was there not the whole court, indeed, to
-choose from?"
-
-"I assure you, Madame," said the comte, respectfully, "that if any one
-heard you speak in this manner, if any one were to see how red your eyes
-are, and, Heaven forgive me, to see, too, that tear trembling on your
-eyelids, it would be said that your royal highness was jealous."
-
-"Jealous!" said the princess, haughtily, "jealous of La Valliere!"
-
-She expected to see De Guiche yield beneath her scornful gesture and her
-proud tone; but he simply and boldly replied, "Jealous of La Valliere;
-yes, Madame."
-
-"Am I to suppose, monsieur," she stammered out, "that your object is to
-insult me?"
-
-"It is not possible, Madame," replied the comte, slightly agitated, but
-resolved to master that fiery nature.
-
-"Leave the room!" said the princess, thoroughly exasperated, De Guiche's
-coolness and silent respect having made her completely lose her temper.
-
-De Guiche fell back a step, bowed slowly, but with great respect, drew
-himself up, looking as white as his lace cuffs, and, in a voice slightly
-trembling, said, "It was hardly worth while to have hurried here to be
-subjected to this unmerited disgrace."  And he turned away with hasty
-steps.
-
-He had scarcely gone half a dozen paces when Madame darted like a tigress
-after him, seized him by the cuff, and making him turn round again, said,
-trembling with passion as she did so, "The respect you pretend to have is
-more insulting than the insult itself.  Insult me, if you please, but at
-least speak."
-
-"Madame," said the comte, gently, as he drew his sword, "thrust this
-blade into my heart, rather than kill me by degrees."
-
-At the look he fixed upon her, - a look full of love, resolution, and
-despair, even, - she knew how readily the comte, so outwardly calm in
-appearance, would pass his sword through his own breast if she added
-another word.  She tore the blade from his hands, and, pressing his arm
-with a  feverish impatience, which might pass for tenderness, said, "Do
-not be too hard upon me, comte.  You see how I am suffering, and yet you
-have no pity for me."
-
-Tears, the cries of this strange attack, stifled her voice.  As soon as
-De Guiche saw her weep, he took her in his arms and carried her to an
-armchair; in another moment she would have been suffocated.
-
-"Oh, why," he murmured, as he knelt by her side, "why do you conceal your
-troubles from me?  Do you love any one - tell me?  It would kill me, I
-know, but not until I should have comforted, consoled, and served you
-even."
-
-"And do you love me to that extent?" she replied, completely conquered.
-
-"I do indeed love you to that extent, Madame."
-
-She placed both her hands in his.  "My heart is indeed another's," she
-murmured in so low a tone that her voice could hardly be heard; but he
-heard it, and said, "Is it the king you love?"
-
-She gently shook her head, and her smile was like a clear bright streak
-in the clouds, through which after the tempest has passed one almost
-fancies Paradise is opening.  "But," she added, "there are other passions
-in a high-born heart.  Love is poetry; but the real life of the heart is
-pride.  Comte, I was born on a throne, I am proud and jealous of my
-rank.  Why does the king gather such unworthy objects round him?"
-
-"Once more, I repeat," said the comte, "you are acting unjustly towards
-that poor girl, who will one day be my friend's wife."
-
-"Are you simple enough to believe that, comte?"
-
-"If I did not believe it," he said, turning very pale, "Bragelonne should
-be informed of it to-morrow; indeed he should, if I thought that poor La
-Valliere had forgotten the vows she had exchanged with Raoul.  But no, it
-would be cowardly to betray a woman's secret; it would be criminal to
-disturb a friend's peace of mind."
-
-"You think, then," said the princess, with a wild burst of laughter,
-"that ignorance is happiness?"
-
-"I believe it," he replied.
-
-"Prove it to me, then," she said, hurriedly.
-
-"It is easily done, Madame.  It is reported through the whole court that
-the king loves you, and that you return his affection."
-
-"Well?" she said, breathing with difficulty.
-
-"Well; admit for a moment that Raoul, my friend, had come and said to me,
-'Yes, the king loves Madame, and has made an impression upon her heart,'
-I possibly should have slain Raoul."
-
-"It would have been necessary," said the princess, with the obstinacy of
-a woman who feels herself not easily overcome, "for M. de Bragelonne to
-have had proofs before he ventured to speak to you in that manner."
-
-"Such, however, is the case," replied De Guiche, with a deep sigh, "that,
-not having been warned, I have never examined into the matter seriously;
-and I now find that my ignorance has saved my life."
-
-"So, then, you drive selfishness and coldness to that extent," said
-Madame, "that you would let this unhappy young man continue to love La
-Valliere?"
-
-"I would, until La Valliere's guilt were revealed."
-
-"But the bracelets?"
-
-"Well, Madame, since you yourself expected to receive them from the king,
-what can I possibly say?"
-
-The argument was a telling one, and the princess was overwhelmed by it,
-and from that moment her defeat was assured.  But as her heart and mind
-were instinct with noble and generous feelings, she understood De
-Guiche's extreme delicacy.  She saw that in his heart he really suspected
-that the king was in love with La Valliere, and that he did not wish to
-resort to the common expedient of ruining a rival in the mind of a woman,
-by giving the latter the assurance and certainty that this rival's
-affections were transferred to another woman.  She guessed that his
-suspicions of La Valliere were aroused, and that, in order to leave
-himself time for his convictions to undergo a change, so as not to ruin
-Louise utterly, he was determined to pursue a certain straightforward
-line of conduct.  She could read so much real greatness of character, and
-such true generosity of disposition in her lover, that her heart really
-warmed with affection towards him, whose passion for her was so pure and
-delicate.  Despite his fear of incurring her displeasure, De Guiche, by
-retaining his position as a man of proud independence of feeling and deep
-devotion, became almost a hero in her estimation, and reduced her to the
-state of a jealous and little-minded woman.  She loved him for this so
-tenderly, that she could not refuse to give him a proof of her affection.
-
-"See how many words we have wasted," she said, taking his hand,
-"suspicions, anxieties, mistrust, sufferings - I think we have enumerated
-all those words."
-
-"Alas!  Madame, yes."
-
-"Efface them from your heart as I drive them from mine.  Whether La
-Valliere does or does not love the king, and whether the king does or
-does not love La Valliere - from this moment you and I will draw a
-distinction in the two characters I have to perform.  You open your eyes
-so wide that I am sure you hardly understand me."
-
-"You are so impetuous, Madame, that I always tremble at the fear of
-displeasing you."
-
-"And see how he trembles now, poor fellow," she said, with the most
-charming playfulness of manner.  "Yes, monsieur, I have two characters to
-perform.  I am the sister of the king, the sister-in-law of the king's
-wife.  In this character ought I not to take an interest in these
-domestic intrigues?  Come, tell me what you think?"
-
-"As little as possible, Madame."
-
-"Agreed, monsieur; but it is a question of dignity; and then, you know, I
-am the wife of the king's brother."  De Guiche sighed.  "A circumstance,"
-she added, with an expression of great tenderness, "which will remind you
-that I am always to be treated with the profoundest respect."  De Guiche
-fell at her feet, which he kissed, with the religious fervor of a
-worshipper.  "And I begin to think that, really and truly, I have another
-character to perform.  I was almost forgetting it."
-
-"Name it, oh! name it," said De Guiche.
-
-"I am a woman," she said, in a voice lower than ever, "and I love."  He
-rose, she opened her arms, and their lips met.  A footstep was heard
-behind the tapestry, and Mademoiselle de Montalais appeared.
-
-"What do you want?" said Madame.
-
-"M. de Guiche is wanted," replied Montalais, who was just in time to see
-the agitation of the actors of these four characters; for De Guiche had
-consistently carried out his part with heroism.
-
-
-Chapter XI:
-Montalais and Malicorne.
-
-Montalais was right.  M. de Guiche, thus summoned in every direction, was
-very much exposed, from such a multiplication of business, to the risk of
-not attending to any.  It so happened that, considering the awkwardness
-of the interruption, Madame, notwithstanding her wounded pride, and
-secret anger, could not, for the moment at least, reproach Montalais for
-having violated, in so bold a manner, the semi-royal order with which she
-had been dismissed on De Guiche's entrance.  De Guiche, also, lost his
-presence of mind, or, it would be more correct to say, had already lost
-it, before Montalais's arrival, for, scarcely had he heard the young
-girl's voice, than, without taking leave of Madame, as the most ordinary
-politeness required, even between persons equal in rank and station, he
-fled from her presence, his heart tumultuously throbbing, and his brain
-on fire, leaving the princess with one hand raised, as though to bid him
-adieu.  Montalais was at no loss, therefore, to perceive the agitation of
-the two lovers - the one who fled was agitated, and the one who remained
-was equally so.
-
-"Well," murmured the young girl, as she glanced inquisitively round her,
-"this time, at least, I think I know as much as the most curious woman
-could possibly wish to know."  Madame felt so embarrassed by this
-inquisitorial look, that, as if she heard Montalais's muttered side
-remark, she did not speak a word to her maid of honor, but, casting down
-her eyes, retired at once to her bedroom.  Montalais, observing this,
-stood listening for a moment, and then heard Madame lock and bolt her
-door.  By this she knew that the rest of the evening was at her own
-disposal; and making, behind the door which had just been closed, a
-gesture which indicated but little real respect for the princess, she
-went down the staircase in search of Malicorne, who was very busily
-engaged at that moment in watching a courier, who, covered with dust, had
-just left the Comte de Guiche's apartments.  Montalais knew that
-Malicorne was engaged in a matter of some importance; she therefore
-allowed him to look and stretch out his neck as much as he pleased; and
-it was only when Malicorne had resumed his natural position, that she
-touched him on the shoulder.  "Well," said Montalais, "what is the latest
-intelligence you have?"
-
-"M. de Guiche is in love with Madame."
-
-"Fine news, truly!  I know something more recent than that."
-
-"Well, what do you know?"
-
-"That Madame is in love with M. de Guiche."
-
-"The one is the consequence of the other."
-
-"Not always, my good monsieur."
-
-"Is that remark intended for me?"
-
-"Present company always excepted."
-
-"Thank you," said Malicorne.  "Well, and in the other direction, what is
-stirring?"
-
-"The king wished, this evening, after the lottery, to see Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere."
-
-"Well, and he has seen her?"
-
-"No, indeed!"
-
-"What do you mean by that?"
-
-"The door was shut and locked."
-
-"So that - "
-
-"So that the king was obliged to go back again, looking very sheepish,
-like a thief who has forgotten his crowbar."
-
-"Good."
-
-"And in the third place?" inquired Montalais.
-
-"The courier who has just arrived for De Guiche came from M. de
-Bragelonne."
-
-"Excellent," said Montalais, clapping her hands together.
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because we have work to do.  If we get weary now, something unlucky will
-be sure to happen."
-
-"We must divide the work, then," said Malicorne, "in order to avoid
-confusion."
-
-"Nothing easier," replied Montalais.  "Three intrigues, carefully nursed,
-and carefully encouraged, will produce, one with another, and taking a
-low average, three love letters a day."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed Malicorne, shrugging his shoulders, "you cannot mean what
-you say, darling; three letters a day, that may do for sentimental common
-people.  A musketeer on duty, a young girl in a convent, may exchange
-letters with their lovers once a day, perhaps, from the top of a ladder,
-or through a hole in the wall.  A letter contains all the poetry their
-poor little hearts have to boast of.  But the cases we have in hand
-require to be dealt with very differently."
-
-"Well, finish," said Montalais, out of patience with him.  "Some one may
-come."
-
-"Finish!  Why, I am only at the beginning.  I have still three points as
-yet untouched."
-
-"Upon my word, he will be the death of me, with his Flemish
-indifference," exclaimed Montalais.
-
-"And you will drive me mad with your Italian vivacity.  I was going to
-say that our lovers here will be writing volumes to each other.  But what
-are you driving at?"
-
-"At this.  Not one of our lady correspondents will be able to keep the
-letters they may receive."
-
-"Very likely."
-
-"M. de Guiche will not be able to keep his either."
-
-"That is probable."
-
-"Very well, then; I will take care of all that."
-
-"That is the very thing that is impossible," said Malicorne.
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because you are not your own mistress; your room is as much La
-Valliere's as yours; and there are certain persons who will think nothing
-of visiting and searching a maid of honor's room; so that I am terribly
-afraid of the queen, who is as jealous as a Spaniard; of the queen-
-mother, who is as jealous as a couple of Spaniards; and, last of all, of
-Madame herself, who has jealousy enough for ten Spaniards."
-
-"You forgot some one else."
-
-"Who?"
-
-"Monsieur."
-
-"I was only speaking of the women.  Let us add them up, then: we will
-call Monsieur, No. 1."
-
-"De Guiche?"
-
-"No. 2."
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne?"
-
-"No. 3."
-
-"And the king, the king?"
-
-"No. 4.  Of course the king, who not only will be more jealous, but more
-powerful than all the rest put together.  Ah, my dear!"
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Into what a wasp's nest you have thrust yourself!"
-
-"And as yet not quite far enough, if you will follow me into it."
-
-"Most certainly I will follow you where you like.  Yet - "
-
-"Well, yet - "
-
-"While we have time, I think it will be prudent to turn back."
-
-"But I, on the contrary, think the wisest course to take is to put
-ourselves at once at the head of all these intrigues."
-
-"You will never be able to do it."
-
-"With you, I could superintend ten of them.  I am in my element, you must
-know.  I was born to live at the court, as the salamander is made to live
-in the fire."
-
-"Your comparison does not reassure me in the slightest degree in the
-world, my dear Montalais.  I have heard it said, and by learned men too,
-that, in the first place, there are no salamanders at all, and that, if
-there had been any, they would have been infallibly baked or roasted on
-leaving the fire."
-
-"Your learned men may be very wise as far as salamanders are concerned,
-but they would never tell you what I can tell you; namely, that Aure de
-Montalais is destined, before a month is over, to become the first
-diplomatist in the court of France."
-
-"Be it so, but on condition that I shall be the second."
-
-"Agreed; an offensive and defensive alliance, of course."
-
-"Only be very careful of any letters."
-
-"I will hand them to you as I receive them."
-
-"What shall we tell the king about Madame?"
-
-"That Madame is still in love with his majesty."
-
-"What shall we tell Madame about the king?"
-
-"That she would be exceedingly wrong not to humor him."
-
-"What shall we tell La Valliere about Madame?"
-
-"Whatever we choose, for La Valliere is in our power."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"Every way."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"In the first place, through the Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"Explain yourself."
-
-"You do not forget, I hope, that Monsieur de Bragelonne has written many
-letters to Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"I forget nothing."
-
-"Well, then, it was I who received, and I who intercepted those letters."
-
-"And, consequently, it is you who have them still?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Where, - here?"
-
-"Oh, no; I have them safe at Blois, in the little room you know well enough."
-
-"That dear little room, - that darling little room, the ante-chamber of
-the palace I intend you to live in one of these days.  But, I beg your
-pardon, you said that all those letters are in that little room?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Did you not put them in a box?"
-
-"Of course; in the same box where I put all the letters I received from
-you, and where I put mine also when your business or your amusements
-prevented you from coming to our rendezvous."
-
-"Ah, very good," said Malicorne.
-
-"Why are you satisfied?"
-
-"Because I see there is a possibility of not having to run to Blois after
-the letters, for I have them here."
-
-"You have brought the box away?"
-
-"It was very dear to me, because it belonged to you."
-
-"Be sure and take care of it, for it contains original documents that
-will be of priceless value by and by."
-
-"I am perfectly well aware of that indeed, and that is the very reason
-why I laugh as I do, and with all my heart, too."
-
-"And now, one last word."
-
-"Why _last?_"
-
-"Do we need any one to assist us?"
-
-"No one."
-
-"Valets or maid-servants?"
-
-"Bad policy.  You will give the letters, - you will receive them.  Oh! we
-must have no pride in this affair, otherwise M. Malicorne and
-Mademoiselle Aure, not transacting their own affairs themselves, will
-have to make up their minds to see them done by others."
-
-"You are quite right; but what is going on yonder in M. de Guiche's room?"
-
-"Nothing; he is only opening his window."
-
-"Let us be gone."  And they both immediately disappeared, all the terms
-of the contract being agreed on.
-
-The window just opened was, in fact, that of the Comte de Guiche.  It was
-not alone with the hope of catching a glimpse of Madame through her
-curtains that he seated himself by the open window for his preoccupation
-of mind had at that time a different origin.  He had just received, as we
-have already stated, the courier who had been dispatched to him by
-Bragelonne, the latter having written to De Guiche a letter which had
-made the deepest impression upon him, and which he had read over and over
-again.  "Strange, strange!" he murmured.  "How irresponsible are the
-means by which destiny hurries men onward to their fate!"  Leaving the
-window in order to approach nearer to the light, he once more read the
-letter he had just received: -
-
-"CALAIS.
-"MY DEAR COUNT, - I found M. de Wardes at Calais; he has been seriously
-wounded in an affair with the Duke of Buckingham.  De Wardes is, as you
-know, unquestionably brave, but full of malevolent and wicked feelings.
-He conversed with me about yourself, for whom, he says, he has a warm
-regard, also about Madame, whom he considers a beautiful and amiable
-woman.  He has guessed your affection for a certain person.  He also
-talked to me about the lady for whom I have so ardent a regard, and
-showed the greatest interest on my behalf in expressing a deep pity for
-me, accompanied, however, by dark hints which alarmed me at first, but
-which I at last looked upon as the result of his usual love of mystery.
-These are the facts: he had received news of the court; you will
-understand, however, that it was only through M. de Lorraine.  The report
-goes, so says the news, that a change has taken place in the king's
-affections.  You know whom that concerns.  Afterwards, the news
-continues, people are talking about one of the maids of honor, respecting
-whom various slanderous reports are being circulated.  These vague
-phrases have not allowed me to sleep.  I have been deploring, ever since
-yesterday, that my diffidence and vacillation of purpose,
-notwithstanding a certain obstinacy of character I may possess, have left
-me unable to reply to these insinuations.  In a word, M. de Wardes was
-setting off for Paris, and I did not delay his departure with
-explanations; for it seemed rather hard, I confess, to cross-examine a
-man whose wounds are hardly yet closed.  In short, he travelled by short
-stages, as he was anxious to leave, he said, in order to be present at a
-curious spectacle the court cannot fail to offer within a short time.  He
-added a few congratulatory words accompanied by vague sympathizing
-expressions.  I could not understand the one any more than the other.  I
-was bewildered by my own thoughts, and tormented by a mistrust of this
-man, - a mistrust which, you know better than any one else, I have never
-been able to overcome.  As soon as he left, my perceptions seemed to
-become clearer.  It is hardly possible that a man of De Wardes's
-character should not have communicated something of his own malicious
-nature to the statements he made to me.  It is not unlikely, therefore,
-that in the strange hints De Wardes threw out in my presence, there may
-be a mysterious signification, which I might have some difficulty in
-applying either to myself or to some one with whom you are acquainted.
-Being compelled to leave as soon as possible, in obedience to the king's
-commands, the idea did not occur to me of running after De Wardes in
-order to ask him to explain his reserve; but I have dispatched a courier
-to you with this letter, which will explain in detail my various doubts.
-I regard you as myself; you have reflected and observed; it will be for
-you to act.  M. de Wardes will arrive very shortly; endeavor to learn
-what he meant, if you do not already know.  M. de Wardes, moreover,
-pretended that the Duke of Buckingham left Paris on the very best of
-terms with Madame.  This was an affair which would have unhesitatingly
-made me draw my sword, had I not felt that I was under the necessity of
-dispatching the king's mission before undertaking any quarrel
-whatsoever.  Burn this letter, which Olivain will hand you.  Whatever
-Olivain says, you may confidently rely on.  Will you have the goodness,
-my dear comte, to recall me to the remembrance of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, whose hands I kiss with the greatest respect.
-"Your devoted
-"DE BRAGELONNE.
-
-"P. S. - If anything serious should happen - we should be prepared for
-everything, dispatch a courier to me with this one single word, 'come,'
-and I will be in Paris within six and thirty hours after the receipt of
-your letter."
-
-De Guiche sighed, folded up the letter a third time, and, instead of
-burning it, as Raoul had recommended him to do, placed it in his pocket.
-He felt it needed reading over and over again.
-
-"How much distress of mind, yet what sublime confidence, he shows!"
-murmured the comte; "he has poured out his whole soul in this letter.  He
-says nothing of the Comte de la Fere, and speaks of his respect for
-Louise.  He cautions me on my own account, and entreats me on his.  Ah!"
-continued De Guiche, with a threatening gesture, "you interfere in my
-affairs, Monsieur de Wardes, do you?  Very well, then; I will shortly
-occupy myself with yours.  As for you, poor Raoul, - you who intrust your
-heart to my keeping, be assured I will watch over it."
-
-With this promise, De Guiche begged Malicorne to come immediately to his
-apartments, if possible.  Malicorne acknowledged the invitation with an
-activity which was the first result of his conversation with Montalais.
-And while De Guiche, who thought that his motive was undiscovered, cross-
-examined Malicorne, the latter, who appeared to be working in the dark,
-soon guessed his questioner's motives.  The consequence was, that, after
-a quarter of an hour's conversation, during which De Guiche thought he
-had ascertained the whole truth with regard to La Valliere and the king,
-he had learned absolutely nothing more than his own eyes had already
-acquainted him with, while Malicorne learned, or guessed, that Raoul, who
-was absent, was fast becoming suspicious, and that De Guiche intended to
-watch over the treasure of the Hesperides.  Malicorne accepted the office
-of dragon.  De Guiche fancied he had done everything for his friend, and
-soon began to think of nothing but his personal affairs.  The next
-evening, De Wardes's return and first appearance at the king's reception
-were announced.  When that visit had been paid, the convalescent waited
-on Monsieur; De Guiche taking care, however, to be at Monsieur's
-apartments before the visit took place.
-
-
-Chapter XII:
-How De Wardes Was Received at Court.
-
-Monsieur had received De Wardes with that marked favor light and
-frivolous minds bestow on every novelty that comes in their way.  De
-Wardes, who had been absent for a month, was like fresh fruit to him.  To
-treat him with marked kindness was an infidelity to old friends, and
-there is always something fascinating in that; moreover, it was a sort of
-reparation to De Wardes himself.  Nothing, consequently, could exceed the
-favorable notice Monsieur took of him.  The Chevalier de Lorraine, who
-feared this rival but a little, but who respected a character and
-disposition only too parallel to his own in every particular, with the
-addition of a bull-dog courage he did not himself possess, received De
-Wardes with a greater display of regard and affection than even Monsieur
-had done.  De Guiche, as we have said, was there also, but kept in the
-background, waiting very patiently until all these interchanges were
-over.  De Wardes, while talking to the others, and even to Monsieur
-himself, had not for a moment lost sight of De Guiche, who, he
-instinctively felt, was there on his account.  As soon as he had finished
-with the others, he went up to De Guiche.  They exchanged the most
-courteous compliments, after which De Wardes returned to Monsieur and the
-other gentlemen.
-
-In the midst of these congratulations Madame was announced.  She had been
-informed of De Wardes's arrival, and knowing all the details of his
-voyage and duel, she was not sorry to be present at the remarks she knew
-would be made, without delay, by one who, she felt assured, was her
-personal enemy.  Two or three of her ladies accompanied her.  De Wardes
-saluted Madame in the most graceful and respectful manner, and, as a
-commencement of hostilities, announced, in the first place, that he could
-furnish the Duke of Buckingham's friends with the latest news about him.
-This was a direct answer to the coldness with which Madame had received
-him.  The attack was a vigorous one, and Madame felt the blow, but
-without appearing to have even noticed it.  He rapidly cast a glance at
-Monsieur and at De Guiche, - the former colored, and the latter turned
-very pale.  Madame alone preserved an unmoved countenance; but, as she
-knew how many unpleasant thoughts and feelings her enemy could awaken in
-the two persons who were listening to him, she smilingly bent forward
-towards the traveler, as if to listen to the news he had brought - but he
-was speaking of other matters.  Madame was brave, even to imprudence; if
-she were to retreat, it would be inviting an attack; so, after the first
-disagreeable impression had
-passed away, she returned to the charge.
-
-"Have you suffered much from your wounds, Monsieur de Wardes?" she
-inquired, "for we have been told that you had the misfortune to get
-wounded."
-
-It was now De Wardes's turn to wince; he bit his lips, and replied, "No,
-Madame, hardly at all."
-
-"Indeed! and yet in this terribly hot weather - "
-
-"The sea-breezes were very fresh and cool, Madame, and then I had one
-consolation."
-
-"Indeed!  What was it?"
-
-"The knowledge that my adversary's sufferings were still greater than my
-own."
-
-"Ah! you mean he was more seriously wounded than you were; I was not
-aware of that," said the princess, with utter indifference.
-
-"Oh, Madame, you are mistaken, or rather you pretend to misunderstand my
-remark.  I did not say that he was a greater sufferer in body than
-myself; but his heart was very seriously affected."
-
-De Guiche comprehended instinctively from what direction the struggle was
-approaching; he ventured to
-make a sign to Madame, as if entreating her
-to retire from the contest.  But she, without acknowledging De Guiche's
-gesture, without pretending to have noticed it even, and still smiling,
-continued:
-
-"Is it possible," she said, "that the Duke of Buckingham's heart was
-touched?  I had no idea, until now, that a heart-wound could be cured."
-
-"Alas!  Madame," replied De Wardes, politely, "every woman believes that;
-and it is this belief that gives them that superiority to man which
-confidence begets."
-
-"You misunderstand altogether, dearest," said the prince, impatiently;
-"M. de Wardes means that the Duke of Buckingham's heart had been touched,
-not by the sword, but by something sharper."
-
-"Ah! very good, very good!" exclaimed Madame.  "It is a jest of M. de
-Wardes's.  Very good; but I should like to know if the Duke of Buckingham
-would appreciate the jest.  It is, indeed, a very great pity he is not
-here, M. de Wardes."
-
-The young man's eyes seemed to flash fire.  "Oh!" he said, as he clenched
-his teeth, "there is nothing I should like better."
-
-De Guiche did not move.  Madame seemed to expect that he would come to
-her assistance.  Monsieur hesitated.  The Chevalier de Lorraine advanced
-and continued the conversation.
-
-"Madame," he said, "De Wardes knows perfectly well that for a
-Buckingham's heart to be touched is nothing new, and what he has said has
-already taken place."
-
-"Instead of an ally, I have two enemies," murmured Madame; "two
-determined enemies, and in league with each other."  And she changed the
-conversation.  To change the conversation is, as every one knows, a right
-possessed by princes which etiquette requires all to respect.  The
-remainder of the conversation was moderate enough in tone; the principal
-actors had rehearsed their parts.  Madame withdrew easily, and Monsieur,
-who wished to question her on several matters, offered her his hand on
-leaving.  The chevalier was seriously afraid that an understanding might
-be established between the husband and wife if he were to leave them
-quietly together.  He therefore made his way to Monsieur's apartments, in
-order to surprise him on his return, and to destroy with a few words all
-the good impressions Madame might have been able to sow in his heart.  De
-Guiche advanced towards De Wardes, who was surrounded by a large number
-of persons, and thereby indicated his wish to converse with him; De
-Wardes, at the same time, showing by his looks and by a movement of his
-head that he perfectly understood him.  There was nothing in these signs
-to enable strangers to suppose they were otherwise than upon the most
-friendly footing.  De Guiche could therefore turn away from him, and wait
-until he was at liberty.  He had not long to wait; for De Wardes, freed
-from his questioners, approached De Guiche, and after a fresh salutation,
-they walked side by side together.
-
-"You have made a good impression since your return, my dear De Wardes,"
-said the comte.
-
-"Excellent, as you see."
-
-"And your spirits are just as lively as ever?"
-
-"Better."
-
-"And a very great happiness, too."
-
-"Why not?  Everything is so ridiculous in this world, everything so
-absurd around us."
-
-"You are right."
-
-"You are of my opinion, then?"
-
-"I should think so!  And what news do you bring us from yonder?"
-
-"I?  None at all.  I have come to look for news here."
-
-"But, tell me, you surely must have seen some people at Boulogne, one of
-our friends, for instance; it is no great time ago."
-
-"Some people - one of our friends - "
-
-"Your memory is short."
-
-"Ah! true; Bragelonne, you mean."
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-"Who was on his way to fulfil a mission, with which he was intrusted to
-King Charles II."
-
-"Precisely.  Well, then, did he not tell you, or did not you tell him - "
-
-"I do not precisely know what I told him, I must confess: but I do know
-what I did _not_ tell him."  De Wardes was _finesse_ itself.  He
-perfectly well knew from De Guiche's tone and manner, which was cold and
-dignified, that the conversation was about to assume a disagreeable
-turn.  He resolved to let it take what course it pleased, and to keep
-strictly on his guard.
-
-"May I ask you what you did not tell him?" inquired De Guiche.
-
-"All about La Valliere."
-
-"La Valliere...  What is it? and what was that strange circumstance you
-seem to have known over yonder, which Bragelonne, who was here on the
-spot, was not acquainted with?"
-
-"Do you really ask me that in a serious manner?"
-
-"Nothing more so."
-
-"What! you, a member of the court, living in Madame's household, a friend
-of Monsieur's, a guest at their table, the favorite of our lovely
-princess?"
-
-Guiche colored violently from anger.  "What princess are you alluding
-to?" he said.
-
-"I am only acquainted with one, my dear fellow.  I am speaking of Madame
-herself.  Are you devoted to
-another princess, then?  Come, tell me."
-
-De Guiche was on the point of launching out, but he saw the drift of the
-remark.  A quarrel was imminent between the two young men.  De Wardes
-wished the quarrel to be only in Madame's name, while De Guiche would not
-accept it except on La Valliere's account.  From this moment, it became a
-series of feigned attacks, which would have continued until one of the
-two had been touched home.  De Guiche therefore resumed all the self-
-possession he could command.
-
-"There is not the slightest question in the world of Madame in this
-matter, my dear De Wardes." said Guiche, "but simply of what you were
-talking about just now."
-
-"What was I saying?"
-
-"That you had concealed certain things from Bragelonne."
-
-"Certain things which you know as well as I do," replied De Wardes.
-
-"No, upon my honor."
-
-"Nonsense."
-
-"If you tell me what they are, I shall know, but not otherwise, I swear."
-
-"What!  I who have just arrived from a distance of sixty leagues, and you
-who have not stirred from this place, who have witnessed with your own
-eyes that which rumor informed me of at Calais!  Do you now tell me
-seriously that you do not know what it is about?  Oh! comte, this is
-hardly charitable of you."
-
-"As you like, De Wardes; but I again repeat, I know nothing."
-
-"You are truly discreet - well! - perhaps it is very prudent of you."
-
-"And so you will not tell me anything, will not tell me any more than you
-told Bragelonne?"
-
-"You are pretending to be deaf, I see.  I am convinced that Madame could
-not possibly have more command over herself than _you_ have."
-
-"Double hypocrite," murmured Guiche to himself, "you are again returning
-to the old subject."
-
-"Very well, then," continued De Wardes, "since we find it so difficult to
-understand each other about
-La Valliere and Bragelonne let us speak about
-your own affairs."
-
-"Nay," said De Guiche, "I have no affairs of my own to talk about.  You
-have not said anything about me, I suppose, to Bragelonne, which you
-cannot repeat to my face?"
-
-"No; but understand me, Guiche, that however much I may be ignorant of
-certain matters, I am quite as conversant with others.  If, for instance,
-we were conversing about the intimacies of the Duke of Buckingham at
-Paris, as I did during my journey with the duke, I could tell you a great
-many interesting circumstances.  Would you like me to mention them?"
-
-De Guiche passed his hand across his forehead, which was covered in
-perspiration.  "No, no," he said, "a hundred times no!  I have no
-curiosity for matters which do not concern me.  The Duke of Buckingham is
-for me nothing more than a simple acquaintance, whilst Raoul is an
-intimate friend.  I have not the slightest curiosity to learn what
-happened to the duke, while I have, on the contrary, the greatest
-interest in all that happened to Raoul."
-
-"In Paris?"
-
-"Yes, in Paris, or Boulogne.  You understand I am on the spot; if
-anything should happen, I am here to meet it; whilst Raoul is absent, and
-has only myself to represent him; so, Raoul's affairs before my own."
-
-"But he will return?"
-
-"Not, however, until his mission is completed.  In the meantime, you
-understand, evil reports cannot be permitted to circulate about him
-without my looking into them."
-
-"And for a better reason still, that he will remain some time in London,"
-said De Wardes, chuckling.
-
-"You think so," said De Guiche, simply.
-
-"Think so, indeed! do you suppose he was sent to London for no other
-purpose than to go there and return again immediately?  No, no; he was
-sent to London to remain there."
-
-"Ah!  De Wardes," said De Guiche, grasping De Wardes's hand, "that is a
-very serious suspicion concerning Bragelonne, which completely confirms
-what he wrote to me from Boulogne."
-
-De Wardes resumed his former coldness of manner: his love of raillery had
-led him too far, and by his own imprudence, he had laid himself open to
-attack.
-
-"Well, tell me, what did he write to you about?" he inquired.
-
-"He told me that you had artfully insinuated some injurious remarks
-against La Valliere, and that you had seemed to laugh at his great
-confidence in that young girl."
-
-"Well, it is perfectly true I did so," said De Wardes, "and I was quite
-ready, at the time, to hear from the Vicomte de Bragelonne that which
-every man expects from another whenever anything may have been said to
-displease him.  In the same way, for instance, if I were seeking a
-quarrel with you, I should tell you that Madame after having shown the
-greatest preference for the Duke of Buckingham, is at this moment
-supposed to have sent the handsome duke away for your benefit."
-
-"Oh! that would not wound me in the slightest degree, my dear De Wardes,"
-said De Guiche, smiling, notwithstanding the shiver that ran through his
-whole frame.  "Why, such a favor would be too great a happiness."
-
-"I admit that, but if I absolutely wished to quarrel with you, I should
-try and invent a falsehood, perhaps, and speak to you about a certain
-arbor, where you and that illustrious princess were together - I should
-speak also of certain gratifications, of certain kissings of the hand;
-and you who are so secret on all occasions, so hasty, so punctilious - "
-
-"Well," said De Guiche, interrupting him, with a smile upon his lips,
-although he almost felt as if he were going to die; "I swear I should not
-care for that, nor should I in any way contradict you; for you must know,
-my dear marquis, that for all matters which concern myself I am a block
-of ice; but it is a very different thing when an absent friend is
-concerned, a friend, who, on leaving, confided his interests to my safe-
-keeping; for such a friend, De Wardes, believe me, I am like fire itself."
-
-"I understand you, Monsieur de Guiche.  In spite of what you say, there
-cannot be any question between us, just now, either of Bragelonne or of
-this insignificant girl, whose name is La Valliere."
-
-At this moment some of the younger courtiers were crossing the apartment,
-and having already heard the few words which had just been pronounced,
-were able also to hear those which were about to follow.  De Wardes
-observed this, and continued aloud: - "Oh! if La Valliere were a coquette
-like Madame, whose innocent flirtations, I am sure, were, first of all,
-the cause of the Duke of Buckingham being sent back to England, and
-afterwards were the reason of  your being sent into exile; for you will
-not deny, I suppose, that Madame's pretty ways really had a certain
-influence over you?"
-
-The courtiers drew nearer to the speakers, Saint-Aignan at their head,
-and then Manicamp.
-
-"But, my dear fellow, whose fault was that?" said De Guiche, laughing.
-"I am a vain, conceited fellow, I know, and everybody else knows it too.
-I took seriously that which was only intended as a jest, and got myself
-exiled for my pains.  But I saw my error.  I overcame my vanity, and I
-obtained my recall, by making the _amende honorable_, and by promising
-myself to overcome this defect; and the consequence is, that I am so
-thoroughly cured, that I now laugh at the very thing which, three or four
-days ago, would have almost broken my heart.  But Raoul is in love, and
-is loved in return; he cannot laugh at the reports which disturb his
-happiness - reports which you seem to have undertaken to interpret, when
-you know, marquis, as I do, as these gentlemen do, as every one does in
-fact, that all such reports are pure calumny."
-
-"Calumny!" exclaimed De Wardes, furious at seeing himself caught in the
-snare by De Guiche's coolness of temper.
-
-"Certainly - calumny.  Look at this letter from him, in which he tell me
-you have spoken ill of Mademoiselle de la Valliere; and where he asks me,
-if what you reported about this young girl is true or not.  Do you wish
-me to appeal to these gentlemen, De Wardes, to decide?"  And with
-admirable coolness, De Guiche read aloud the paragraph of the letter
-which referred to La Valliere.  "And now," continued De Guiche, "there is
-no doubt in the world, as far as I am concerned, that you wished to
-disturb Bragelonne's peace of mind, and that your remarks were
-maliciously intended."
-
-De Wardes looked round him, to see if he could find support from any one;
-but, at the idea that De Wardes had insulted, either directly or
-indirectly, the idol of the day, every one shook his head; and De Wardes
-saw that he was in the wrong.
-
-"Messieurs," said De Guiche, intuitively divining the general feeling,
-"my discussion with Monsieur de Wardes refers to a subject so delicate in
-its nature, that it is most important no one should hear more than you
-have already heard.  Close the doors, then, I beg you, and let us finish
-our conversation in the manner which becomes two gentlemen, one of whom
-has given the other the lie."
-
-"Messieurs, messieurs!" exclaimed those who were present.
-
-"Is it your opinion, then, that I was wrong in defending Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere?" said De Guiche.  "In that case, I pass judgment upon
-myself, and am ready to withdraw the offensive words I may have used to
-Monsieur de Wardes."
-
-"The deuce! certainly not!" said Saint-Aignan.  "Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere is an angel."
-
-"Virtue and purity itself," said Manicamp.
-
-"You see, Monsieur de Wardes," said De Guiche, "I am not the only one who
-undertakes the defense of
-that poor girl.  I entreat you, therefore,
-messieurs, a second time, to leave us.  You see, it is impossible we
-could be more calm and composed than we are."
-
-It was the very thing the courtiers wished; some went out at one door,
-and the rest at the other, and the two young men were left alone.
-
-"Well played," said De Wardes, to the comte.
-
-"Was it not?" replied the latter.
-
-"How can it be wondered at, my dear fellow; I have got quite rusty in the
-country, while the command you have acquired over yourself, comte,
-confounds me; a man always gains something in women's society; so, pray
-accept my congratulations."
-
-"I do accept them."
-
-"And I will make Madame a present of them."
-
-"And now, my dear Monsieur de Wardes, let us speak as loud as you please."
-
-"Do not defy me."
-
-"I do defy you, for you are known to be an evil-minded man; if you do
-that, you will be looked upon as a coward, too; and Monsieur would have
-you hanged, this evening, at his window-casement.  Speak, my dear De
-Wardes, speak."
-
-"I have fought already."
-
-"But not quite enough, yet."
-
-"I see, you would not be sorry to fight with me while my wounds are still
-open."
-
-"No; better still."
-
-"The deuce! you are unfortunate in the moment you have chosen; a duel,
-after the one I have just fought, would hardly suit me; I have lost too
-much blood at Boulogne; at the slightest effort my wounds would open
-again, and you would really have too good a bargain."
-
-"True," said De Guiche; "and yet, on your arrival here, your looks and
-your arms showed there was nothing the matter with you."
-
-"Yes, my arms are all right, but my legs are weak; and then, I have not
-had a foil in my hand since that devil of a duel; and you, I am sure,
-have been fencing every day, in order to carry your little conspiracy
-against me to a successful issue."
-
-"Upon my honor, monsieur," replied De Guiche, "it is six months since I
-last practiced."
-
-"No, comte, after due reflection, I will not fight, at least, with you.
-I will await Bragelonne's return, since you say it is Bragelonne who
-finds fault with me."
-
-"Oh no, indeed!  You shall not wait until Bragelonne's return," exclaimed
-the comte, losing all command over himself, "for you have said that
-Bragelonne might, possibly, be some time before he returns; and, in the
-meanwhile, your wicked insinuations would have had their effect."
-
-"Yet, I shall have my excuse.  So take care."
-
-"I will give you a week to finish your recovery."
-
-"That is better.  We will wait a week."
-
-"Yes, yes, I understand; a week will give time to my adversary to make
-his escape.  No, no; I will not give you one day, even."
-
-"You are mad, monsieur," said De Wardes, retreating a step.
-
-"And you are a coward, if you do not fight willingly.  Nay, what is more,
-I will denounce you to the king, as having refused to fight, after having
-insulted La Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" said De Wardes, "you are dangerously treacherous, though you pass
-for a man of honor."
-
-"There is nothing more dangerous than the treachery, as you term it, of
-the man whose conduct is always loyal and upright."
-
-"Restore me the use of my legs, then, or get yourself bled, till you are
-as white as I am, so as to equalize our chances."
-
-"No, no; I have something better than that to propose."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"We will fight on horseback, and will exchange three pistol-shots each.
-You are a first rate marksman.  I have seen you bring down swallows with
-single balls, and at full gallop.  Do not deny it, for I have seen you
-myself."
-
-"I believe you are right," said De Wardes; "and as that is the case, it
-is not unlikely I might kill you."
-
-"You would be rendering me a very great service, if you did."
-
-"I will do my best."
-
-"Is it agreed?  Give me your hand upon it."
-
-"There it is: but on one condition, however."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"That not a word shall be said about it to the king."
-
-"Not a word, I swear."
-
-"I will go and get my horse, then."
-
-"And I, mine."
-
-"Where shall we meet?"
-
-"In the plain; I know an admirable place."
-
-"Shall we go together?"
-
-"Why not?"
-
-And both of them, on their way to the stables, passed beneath Madame's
-windows, which were faintly lighted; a shadow could be seen behind the
-lace curtains.  "There is a woman," said De Wardes, smiling, "who does
-not suspect that we are going to fight - to die, perhaps, on her account."
-
-
-Chapter XIII:
-The Combat.
-
-De Wardes and De Guiche selected their horses, and saddled them with
-their own hands, with holster saddles.  De Guiche, having two pairs of
-pistols, went to his apartments to get them; and after having loaded
-them, gave the choice to De Wardes, who selected the pair he had made use
-of twenty times before - the same, indeed, with which De Guiche had seen
-him kill swallows flying.  "You will not be surprised," he said, "if I
-take every precaution.  You know the weapons well, and, consequently, I
-am only making the chances equal."
-
-"Your remark was quite useless," replied De Guiche, "and you have done no
-more than you are entitled to do."
-
-"Now," said De Wardes, "I beg you to have the goodness to help me to
-mount; for I still experience a little difficulty in doing so."
-
-"In that case, we had better settle the matter on foot."
-
-"No; once in the saddle, I shall be all right."
-
-"Very good, then; we will not speak of it again," said De Guiche, as he
-assisted De Wardes to mount his horse.
-
-"And now," continued the young man, "in our eagerness to murder one
-another, we have neglected one circumstance."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That it is quite dark, and we shall almost be obliged to grope about, in
-order to kill."
-
-"Oh!" said De Guiche, "you are as anxious as I am that everything should
-be done in proper order."
-
-"Yes; but I do not wish people to say that you have assassinated me, any
-more than, supposing I were to kill you, I should myself like to be
-accused of such a crime."
-
-"Did any one make a similar remark about your duel with the Duke of
-Buckingham?" said De Guiche; "it took place precisely under the same
-conditions as ours."
-
-"Very true; but there was still light enough to see by; and we were up to
-our middles almost, in the water; besides, there were a good number of
-spectators on shore, looking at
-us."
-
-De Guiche reflected for a moment; and the thought which had already
-presented itself to him became more confirmed - that De Wardes wished to
-have witnesses present, in order to bring back the conversation about
-Madame, and to give a new turn to the combat.  He avoided saying a word
-in reply, therefore; and, as De Wardes once more looked at him
-interrogatively, he replied, by a movement of the head, that it would be
-best to let things remain as they were.  The two adversaries consequently
-set off, and left the chateau by the same gate, close to which we may
-remember to have seen Montalais and Malicorne together.  The night, as if
-to counteract the extreme heat of the day, had gathered the clouds
-together in masses which were moving slowly along from the west to the
-east.  The vault above, without a clear spot anywhere visible, or without
-the faintest indication of thunder, seemed to hang heavily over the
-earth, and soon began, by the force of the wind, to split into streamers,
-like a huge sheet torn to shreds.  Large and warm drops of rain began to
-fall heavily, and gathered the dust into globules, which rolled along the
-ground.  At the same time, the hedges, which seemed conscious of the
-approaching storm, the thirsty plants, the drooping branches of the
-trees, exhaled a thousand aromatic odors, which revived in the mind
-tender recollections, thoughts of youth, endless life, happiness, and
-love.  "How fresh the earth smells," said De Wardes; "it is a piece of
-coquetry to draw us to her."
-
-"By the by," replied De Guiche, "several ideas have just occurred to me;
-and I wish to have your opinion upon them."
-
-"Relative to - "
-
-"Relative to our engagement."
-
-"It is quite some time, in fact, that we should begin to arrange matters."
-
-"Is it to be an ordinary combat, and conducted according to established
-custom?"
-
-"Let me first know what your established custom is."
-
-"That we dismount in any particular open space that may suit us, fasten
-our horses to the nearest object, meet, each without our pistols in our
-hands, and afterwards retire for a hundred and fifty paces, in order to
-advance on each other."
-
-"Very good; that is precisely the way in which I killed poor Follivent,
-three weeks ago, at Saint-Denis."
-
-"I beg your pardon, but you forgot one circumstance."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That in your duel with Follivent you advanced towards each other on
-foot, your swords between your teeth, and your pistols in your hands."
-
-"True."
-
-"While now, on the contrary, as you cannot walk, you yourself admit that
-we shall have to mount our horses again, and charge; and the first who
-wishes to fire will do so."
-
-"That is the best course, no doubt; but it is quite dark; we must make
-allowances for more missed
-shots than would be the case in the daytime."
-
-"Very well; each will fire three times; the pair of pistols already
-loaded, and one reload."
-
-"Excellent!  Where shall our engagement take place?"
-
-"Have you any preference?"
-
-"No."
-
-"You see that small wood which lies before us?"
-
-"The wood which is called Rochin?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"You know it?"
-
-"Perfectly."
-
-"You know that there is an open glade in the center?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, this glade is admirably adapted for such a purpose, with a variety
-of roads, by-places, paths, ditches, windings, and avenues.  We could not
-find a better spot."
-
-"I am perfectly satisfied, if you are so.  We are at our destination, if
-I am not mistaken."
-
-"Yes.  Look at the beautiful open space in the center.  The faint light
-which the stars afford seems concentrated in this spot; the woods which
-surround it seem, with their barriers, to form its natural limits."
-
-"Very good.  Do as you say."
-
-"Let us first settle the conditions."
-
-"These are mine; if you have any objection to make you will state it."
-
-"I am listening."
-
-"If the horse be killed, its rider will be obliged to fight on foot."
-
-"That is a matter of course, since we have no change of horses here."
-
-"But that does not oblige his adversary to dismount."
-
-"His adversary will, in fact, be free to act as he likes."
-
-"The adversaries, having once met in close contact, cannot quit each
-other under any circumstances, and may, consequently, fire muzzle to
-muzzle."
-
-"Agreed."
-
-"Three shots and no more will do, I suppose?"
-
-"Quite sufficient, I think.  Here are powder and balls for your pistols;
-measure out three charges, take three balls, I will do the same; then we
-will throw the rest of the powder and balls away."
-
-"And we will solemnly swear," said De Wardes, "that we have neither balls
-nor powder about us?"
-
-"Agreed; and I swear it," said De Guiche, holding his hand towards
-heaven, a gesture which De Wardes imitated.
-
-"And now, my dear comte," said De Wardes, "allow me to tell you that I am
-in no way your dupe.  You already are, or soon will be, the accepted
-lover of Madame.  I have detected your secret, and you are afraid I shall
-tell others of it.  You wish to kill me, to insure my silence; that is
-very clear; and in your place, I should do the same."  De Guiche hung
-down his head.  "Only," continued De Wardes, triumphantly, "was it really
-worth while, tell me, to throw this affair of Bragelonne's on my
-shoulders?  But, take care, my dear fellow; in bringing the wild boar to
-bay, you enrage him to madness; in running down the fox, you endow him
-with the ferocity of the jaguar.  The consequence is, that brought to bay
-by you, I shall defend myself to the very last."
-
-"You will be quite right to do so."
-
-"Yes; but take care; I shall work more harm than you think.  In the first
-place, as a beginning, you will readily suppose that I have not been
-absurd enough to lock up my secret, or your secret rather, in my own
-breast.  There is a friend of mine, who resembles me in every way, a man
-whom you know very well, who shares my secret with me; so, pray
-understand, that if you kill me, my death will not have been of much
-service to you; whilst, on the contrary, if I kill you - and everything
-is possible, you know - you understand?"  De Guiche shuddered.  "If I
-kill you," continued De Wardes, "you will have secured two mortal enemies
-to Madame, who will do their very utmost to ruin her."
-
-"Oh! monsieur," exclaimed De Guiche, furiously, "do not reckon upon my
-death so easily.  Of the two enemies you speak of, I trust most heartily
-to dispose of one immediately, and the other at the earliest opportunity."
-
-The only reply De Wardes made was a burst of laughter, so diabolical in
-its sound, that a superstitious man would have been terrified.  But De
-Guiche was not so impressionable as that.  "I think," he said, "that
-everything is now settled, Monsieur de Wardes; so have the goodness to
-take your place first, unless you would prefer me to do so."
-
-"By no means," said De Wardes.  "I shall be delighted to save you the
-slightest trouble."  And spurring his horse to a gallop, he crossed the
-wide open space, and took his stand at that point of the circumference of
-the cross-road immediately opposite to where De Guiche was stationed.  De
-Guiche remained motionless.  At this distance of a hundred paces, the two
-adversaries were absolutely invisible to each other, being completely
-concealed by the thick shade of elms and chestnuts.  A minute elapsed
-amidst the profoundest silence.  At the end of the minute, each of them,
-in the deep shade in which he was concealed, heard the double click of
-the trigger, as they put the pistols on full cock.  De Guiche, adopting
-the usual tactics, put his horse to a gallop, persuaded that he should
-render his safety doubly sure by the movement, as well as by the speed of
-the animal.  He directed his course in a straight line towards the point
-where, in his opinion, De Wardes would be stationed; and he expected to
-meet De Wardes about half-way; but in this he was mistaken.  He continued
-his course, presuming that his adversary was impatiently awaiting his
-approach.  When, however, he had gone about two-thirds of the distance,
-he beheld the trees suddenly illuminated and a ball flew by, cutting the
-plume of his hat in two.  Nearly at the same moment, and as if the flash
-of the first shot had served to indicate the direction of the other, a
-second report was heard, and a second ball passed through the head of De
-Guiche's horse, a little below the ear.  The animal fell.  These two
-reports, proceeding from the very opposite direction in which he expected
-to find De Wardes, surprised him a great deal; but as he was a man of
-amazing self-possession, he prepared himself for his horse falling, but
-not so completely, however, that the toe of his boot escaped being caught
-under the animal as it fell.  Very fortunately the horse in its dying
-agonies moved so as to enable him to release the leg which was less
-entangled than the other.  De Guiche rose, felt himself all over, and
-found that he was not wounded.  At the very moment he had felt the horse
-tottering under him, he placed his pistols in the holsters, afraid that
-the force of the fall might explode one at least, if not both of them, by
-which he would have been disarmed, and left utterly without defense.
-Once on his feet, he took the pistols out of the holsters, and advanced
-towards the spot where, by the light of the flash, he had seen De Wardes
-appear.  De Wardes had, at the first shot, accounted for the maneuver,
-than which nothing could have been simpler.  Instead of advancing to meet
-De Guiche, or remaining in his place to await his approach, De Wardes
-had, for about fifteen paces, followed the circle of the shadow which hid
-him from his adversary's observation, and at the very moment when the
-latter presented his flank in his career, he had fired from the place
-where he stood, carefully taking aim, and assisted instead of being
-inconvenienced by the horse's gallop.  It has been seen that,
-notwithstanding the darkness, the first ball passed hardly more than an
-inch above De Guiche's head.  De Wardes had so confidently relied upon
-his aim, that he thought he had seen De Guiche fall; his astonishment was
-extreme when he saw he still remained erect in his saddle.  He hastened
-to fire his second shot, but his hand trembled, and he killed the horse
-instead.  It would be a most fortunate chance for him if De Guiche were
-to remain held fast under the animal.  Before he could have freed
-himself, De Wardes would have loaded his pistol and had De Guiche at his
-mercy.  But De Guiche, on the contrary, was up, and had three shots to
-fire.  De Guiche immediately understood the position of affairs.  It
-would be necessary to exceed De Wardes in rapidity of execution.  He
-advanced, therefore, so as to reach him before he should have had time to
-reload his pistol.  De Wardes saw him approaching like a tempest.  The
-ball was rather tight, and offered some resistance to the ramrod.  To
-load carelessly would be simply to lose his last chance; to take the
-proper care in loading meant fatal loss of time, or rather, throwing away
-his life.  He made his horse bound on one side.  De Guiche turned round
-also, and, at the moment the horse was quiet again, fired, and the ball
-carried off De Wardes's hat from his head.  De Wardes now knew that he
-had a moment's time at his own disposal; he availed himself of it in
-order to finish loading his pistol.  De Guiche, noticing that his
-adversary did not fall, threw the pistol he had just discharged aside,
-and walked straight towards De Wardes, elevating the second pistol as he
-did so.  He had hardly proceeded more than two or three paces, when De
-Wardes took aim at him as he was walking, and fired.  An exclamation of
-anger was De Guiche's answer; the comte's arm contracted and dropped
-motionless by his side, and the pistol fell from his grasp.  His anxiety
-was excessive.  "I am lost," murmured De Wardes, "he is not mortally
-wounded."  At the very moment, however, De Guiche was about to raise his
-pistol against De Wardes, the head, shoulders, and limbs of the comte
-seemed to collapse.  He heaved a deep-drawn sigh, tottered, and fell at
-the feet of De Wardes's horse.
-
-"That is all right," said De Wardes, and gathering up the reins, he
-struck his spurs into the horse's sides.  The horse cleared the comte's
-motionless body, and bore De Wardes rapidly back to the chateau.  When he
-arrived there, he remained a quarter of an hour deliberating within
-himself as to the proper course to be adopted.  In his impatience to
-leave the field of battle, he had omitted to ascertain whether De Guiche
-were dead or not.  A double hypothesis presented itself to De Wardes's
-agitated mind; either De Guiche was killed, or De Guiche was wounded
-only.  If he were killed, why should he leave his body in that manner to
-the tender mercies of the wolves; it was a perfectly useless piece of
-cruelty, for if De Guiche were dead, he certainly could not breathe a
-syllable of what had passed; if he were not killed, why should he, De
-Wardes, in leaving him there uncared for, allow himself to be regarded as
-a savage, incapable of one generous feeling?  This last consideration
-determined his line of conduct.
-
-De Wardes immediately instituted inquires after Manicamp.  He was told
-that Manicamp had been looking after De Guiche, and, not knowing where to
-find him, had retired to bed.  De Wardes went and awoke the sleeper,
-without any delay, and related the whole affair to him, which Manicamp
-listened to in perfect silence, but with an expression of momentarily
-increasing energy, of which his face could hardly have been supposed
-capable.  It was only when De Wardes had finished, that Manicamp uttered
-the words, "Let us go."
-
-As they proceeded, Manicamp became more and more excited, and in
-proportion as De Wardes related the details of the affair to him, his
-countenance assumed every moment a darker expression.  "And so," he said,
-when De Wardes had finished, "you think he is dead?"
-
-"Alas, I do."
-
-"And you fought in that manner, without witnesses?"
-
-"He insisted upon it."
-
-"It is very singular."
-
-"What do you mean by saying it is singular?"
-
-"That it is very unlike Monsieur de Guiche's disposition."
-
-"You do not doubt my word, I suppose?"
-
-"Hum! hum!"
-
-"You do doubt it, then?"
-
-"A little.  But I shall doubt it more than ever, I warn you, if I find
-the poor fellow is really dead."
-
-"Monsieur Manicamp!"
-
-"Monsieur de Wardes!"
-
-"It seems you intend to insult me."
-
-"Just as you please.  The fact is, I never did like people who come and
-say, 'I have killed such and such a gentleman in a corner; it is a great
-pity, but I killed him in a perfectly honorable manner.'  It has an ugly
-appearance, M. de Wardes."
-
-"Silence! we have arrived."
-
-In fact, the glade could now be seen, and in the open space lay the
-motionless body of the dead horse.  To the right of the horse, upon the
-dark grass, with his face against the ground, the poor comte lay, bathed
-in his blood.  He had remained in the same spot, and did not even seem to
-have made the slightest movement.  Manicamp threw himself on his knees,
-lifted the comte in his arms, and found him quite cold, and steeped in
-blood.  He let him gently fall again.  Then, stretching out his hand and
-feeling all over the ground close to where the comte lay, he sought until
-he found De Guiche's pistol.
-
-"By Heaven!" he said, rising to his feet, pale as death and with the
-pistol in his hand, "you are not mistaken, he is quite dead."
-
-"Dead!" repeated De Wardes.
-
-"Yes; and his pistol is still loaded," added Manicamp, looking into the
-pan.
-
-"But I told you that I took aim as he was walking towards me, and fired
-at him at the very moment he was going to fire at me."
-
-"Are you quite sure that you fought with him, Monsieur de Wardes?  I
-confess that I am very much afraid it has been a foul assassination.
-Nay, nay, no exclamations!  You have had your three shots, and his
-pistol is still loaded.  You have killed his horse, and he, De Guiche,
-one of the best marksmen in France, has not touched even either your
-horse or yourself.  Well, Monsieur de Wardes, you have been very unlucky
-in bringing me here; all the blood in my body seems to have mounted to my
-head; and I verily believe that since so good an opportunity presents
-itself, I shall blow your brains out on the spot.  So, Monsieur de
-Wardes, recommend yourself to Heaven."
-
-"Monsieur Manicamp, you cannot think of such a thing!"
-
-"On the contrary, I am thinking of it very strongly."
-
-"Would you assassinate me?"
-
-"Without the slightest remorse, at least for the present."
-
-"Are you a gentleman?"
-
-"I have given a great many proofs of that."
-
-"Let me defend my life, then, at least."
-
-"Very likely; in order, I suppose, that you may do to me what you have
-done to poor De Guiche."
-
-And Manicamp slowly raised his pistol to the height of De Wardes's
-breast, and with arm stretched out, and a fixed, determined look on his
-face, took a careful aim.
-
-De Wardes did not attempt a flight; he was completely terrified.  In the
-midst, however, of this horrible silence, which lasted about a second,
-but which seemed an age to De Wardes, a faint sigh was heard.
-
-"Oh," exclaimed De Wardes, "he still lives!  Help, De Guiche, I am about
-to be assassinated!"
-
-Manicamp fell back a step or two, and the two young men saw the comte
-raise himself slowly and painfully upon one hand.  Manicamp threw the
-pistol away a dozen paces, and ran to his friend, uttering a cry of
-delight.  De Wardes wiped his forehead, which was covered with a cold
-perspiration.
-
-"It was just in time," he murmured.
-
-"Where are you hurt?" inquired Manicamp of De Guiche, "and whereabouts
-are you wounded?"
-
-De Guiche showed him his mutilated hand and his chest covered with blood.
-
-"Comte," exclaimed De Wardes, "I am accused of having assassinated you;
-speak, I implore you, and say that I fought loyally."
-
-"Perfectly so," said the wounded man; "Monsieur de Wardes fought quite
-loyally, and whoever says the contrary will make an enemy of me."
-
-"Then, sir," said Manicamp, "assist me, in the first place, to carry this
-gentleman home, and I will afterwards give you every satisfaction you
-please; or, if you are in a hurry, we can do better still; let us stanch
-the blood from the comte's wounds here, with your pocket-handkerchief and
-mine, and then, as there are two shots left, we can have them between us."
-
-"Thank you," said De Wardes.  "Twice already, in one hour, I have seen
-death too close at hand to be agreeable; I don't like his look at all,
-and I prefer your apologies."
-
-Manicamp burst out laughing, and Guiche, too, in spite of his
-sufferings.  The two young men wished to carry him, but he declared he
-felt quite strong enough to walk alone.  The ball had broken his ring-
-finger and his little finger, and then had glanced along his side, but
-without penetrating deeply into his chest.  It was the pain rather than
-the seriousness of the wound, therefore, which had overcome De Guiche.
-Manicamp passed his arm under one of the count's shoulders, and De Wardes
-did the same with the other, and in this way they brought him back to
-Fontainebleau, to the house of the same doctor who had been present at
-the death of the Franciscan, Aramis's predecessor.
-
-
-Chapter XIV:
-The King's Supper.
-
-The king, while these matters were being arranged, was sitting at the
-supper-table, and the not very large number of guests for that day had
-taken their seats too, after the usual gesture intimating the royal
-permission.  At this period of Louis XIV.'s reign, although etiquette was
-not governed by the strict regulations subsequently adopted, the French
-court had entirely thrown aside the traditions of good-fellowship and
-patriarchal affability existing in the time of Henry IV., which the
-suspicious mind of Louis XIII. had gradually replaced with pompous state
-and ceremony, which he despaired of being able fully to realize.
-
-The king, therefore, was seated alone at a small separate table, which,
-like the desk of a president, overlooked the adjoining tables.  Although
-we say a small table, we must not omit to add that this small table was
-the largest one there.  Moreover, it was the one on which were placed the
-greatest number and quantity of dishes, consisting of fish, game, meat,
-fruit, vegetables, and preserves.  The king was young and full of vigor
-and energy, very fond of hunting, addicted to all violent exercises of
-the body, possessing, besides, like all the members of the Bourbon
-family, a rapid digestion and an appetite speedily renewed.  Louis XIV.
-was a formidable table-companion; he delighted in criticising his cooks;
-but when he honored them by praise and commendation, the honor was
-overwhelming.  The king began by eating several kinds of soup, either
-mixed together or taken separately.  He intermixed, or rather separated,
-each of the soups by a glass of old wine.  He ate quickly and somewhat
-greedily.  Porthos, who from the beginning had, out of respect, been
-waiting for a jog of D'Artagnan's arm, seeing the king make such rapid
-progress, turned to the musketeer and said in a low voice:
-
-"It seems as if one might go on now; his majesty is very encouraging,
-from the example he sets.  Look."
-
-"The king eats," said D'Artagnan, "but he talks at the same time; try and
-manage matters in such a manner that, if he should happen to address a
-remark to you, he will not find you with your mouth full - which would be
-very disrespectful."
-
-"The best way, in that case," said Porthos, "is to eat no supper at all;
-and yet I am very hungry, I admit, and everything looks and smells most
-invitingly, as if appealing to all my senses at once."
-
-"Don't think of not eating for a moment," said D'Artagnan; "that would
-put his majesty out terribly.  The king has a saying, 'that he who works
-well, eats well,' and he does not like people to eat indifferently at his
-table."
-
-"How can I avoid having my mouth full if I eat?" said Porthos.
-
-"All you have to do," replied the captain of the musketeers, "is simply
-to swallow what you have in it, whenever the king does you the honor to
-address a remark to you."
-
-"Very good," said Porthos; and from that moment he began to eat with a
-certain well-bred enthusiasm.
-
-The king occasionally looked at the different persons who were at table
-with him, and, _en connoisseur_, could appreciate the different
-dispositions of his guests.
-
-"Monsieur du Vallon!" he said.
-
-Porthos was enjoying a _salmi de lievre_, and swallowed half of the
-back.  His name, pronounced in such a manner, made him start, and by a
-vigorous effort of his gullet he absorbed the whole mouthful.
-
-"Sire," replied Porthos, in a stifled voice, but sufficiently
-intelligible, nevertheless.
-
-"Let those _filets d'agneau_ be handed to Monsieur du Vallon," said the
-king; "do you like brown meats, M. du Vallon?"
-
-"Sire, I like everything," replied Porthos.
-
-D'Artagnan whispered: "Everything your majesty sends me."
-
-Porthos repeated: "Everything your majesty sends me," an observation
-which the king apparently received with great satisfaction.
-
-"People eat well who work well," replied the king, delighted to have _en
-tete-a-tete_ a guest who could eat as Porthos did.  Porthos received the
-dish of lamb, and put a portion of it on his plate.
-
-"Well?" said the king.
-
-"Exquisite," said Porthos, calmly.
-
-"Have you as good mutton in your part of the country, Monsieur du
-Vallon?" continued the king.
-
-"Sire, I believe that from my own province, as everywhere else, the best
-of everything is sent to Paris for your majesty's use; but, on the other
-hand, I do not eat lamb in the same way your majesty does."
-
-"Ah, ah! and how do you eat it?"
-
-"Generally, I have a lamb dressed whole."
-
-"_Whole?_"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"In what manner, Monsieur du Vallon?"
-
-"In this, sire: my cook, who is a German, first stuffs the lamb in
-question with small sausages he procures from Strasburg, force-meat balls
-from Troyes, and larks from Pithiviers; by some means or other, which I
-am not acquainted with, he bones the lamb as he would do a fowl, leaving
-the skin on, however, which forms a brown crust all over the animal; when
-it is cut in beautiful slices, in the same way as an enormous sausage, a
-rose-colored gravy pours forth, which is as agreeable to the eye as it is
-exquisite to the palate."  And Porthos finished by smacking his lips.
-
-The king opened his eyes with delight, and, while cutting some of the
-_faisan en daube_, which was being handed to him, he said:
-
-"That is a dish I should very much like to taste, Monsieur du Vallon.  Is
-it possible! a whole lamb!"
-
-"Absolutely an entire lamb, sire."
-
-"Pass those pheasants to M. du Vallon; I perceive he is an amateur."
-
-The order was immediately obeyed.  Then, continuing the conversation, he
-said: "And you do not find the lamb too fat?"
-
-"No, sire, the fat falls down at the same time as the gravy does, and
-swims on the surface; then the servant who carves removes the fat with a
-spoon, which I have had expressly made for that purpose."
-
-"Where do you reside?" inquired the king.
-
-"At Pierrefonds, sire."
-
-"At Pierrefonds; where is that, M. du Vallon - near Belle-Isle?"
-
-"Oh, no, sire!  Pierrefonds is in the Soissonnais."
-
-"I thought you alluded to the lamb on account of the salt marshes."
-
-"No, sire, I have marshes which are not salt, it is true, but which are
-not the less valuable on that account."
-
-The king had now arrived at the _entrements_, but without losing sight of
-Porthos, who continued to play his part in the best manner.
-
-"You have an excellent appetite, M. du Vallon," said the king, "and you
-make an admirable guest at table."
-
-"Ah! sire, if your majesty were ever to pay a visit to Pierrefonds, we
-would both of us eat our lamb together; for your appetite is not an
-indifferent one by any means."
-
-D'Artagnan gave Porthos a kick under the table, which made Porthos color
-up.
-
-"At your majesty's present happy age," said Porthos, in order to repair
-the mistake he had made, "I was in the musketeers, and nothing could ever
-satisfy me then.  Your majesty has an excellent appetite, as I have
-already had the honor of mentioning, but you select what you eat with
-quite too much refinement to be called for one moment a great eater."
-
-The king seemed charmed at his guest's politeness.
-
-"Will you try some of these creams?" he said to Porthos.
-
-"Sire, you majesty treats me with far too much kindness to prevent me
-speaking the whole truth."
-
-"Pray do so, M. du Vallon."
-
-"Will, sire, with regard to sweet dishes I only recognize pastry, and
-even that should be rather solid; all these frothy substances swell the
-stomach, and occupy a space which seems to me to be too precious to be so
-badly tenanted."
-
-"Ah! gentlemen," said the king, indicating Porthos by a gesture, "here is
-indeed a model of gastronomy.  It was in such a manner that our fathers,
-who so well knew what good living was, used to _eat_, while we," added
-his majesty, "do nothing but tantalize with our stomachs."  And as he
-spoke, he took the breast of a chicken with ham, while Porthos attacked a
-dish of partridges and quails.  The cup-bearer filled his majesty's
-glass.  "Give M. du Vallon some of my wine," said the king.  This was one
-of the greatest honors of the royal table.  D'Artagnan pressed his
-friend's knee.  "If  you could only manage to swallow the half of that
-boar's head I see yonder," said he to Porthos, "I shall believe you will
-be a duke and peer within the next twelvemonth."
-
-"Presently," said Porthos, phlegmatically; "I shall come to that by and
-by."
-
-In fact it was not long before it came to the boar's turn, for the king
-seemed to take pleasure in urging on his guest; he did not pass any of
-the dishes to Porthos until he had tasted them himself, and he
-accordingly took some of the boar's head.  Porthos showed that he could
-keep pace with his sovereign; and, instead of eating the half, as
-D'Artagnan had told him, he ate three-fourths of it.  "It is impossible,"
-said the king in an undertone, "that a gentleman who eats so good a
-supper every day, and who has such beautiful teeth, can be otherwise than
-the most straightforward, upright man in my kingdom."
-
-"Do you hear?" said D'Artagnan in his friend's ear.
-
-"Yes; I think I am rather in favor," said Porthos, balancing himself on
-his chair.
-
-"Oh! you are in luck's way."
-
-The king and Porthos continued to eat in the same manner, to the great
-satisfaction of the other guests, some of whom, from emulation, had
-attempted to follow them, but were obliged to give up half-way.  The king
-soon began to get flushed and the reaction of the blood to his face
-announced that the moment of repletion had arrived.  It was then that
-Louis XIV., instead of becoming gay and cheerful, as most good livers
-generally do, became dull, melancholy, and taciturn.  Porthos, on the
-contrary, was lively and communicative.  D'Artagnan's foot had more than
-once to remind him of this peculiarity of the king.  The dessert now made
-its appearance.  The king had ceased to think anything further of
-Porthos; he turned his eyes anxiously towards the entrance-door, and he
-was heard occasionally to inquire how it happened that Monsieur de Saint-
-Aignan was so long in arriving.  At last, at the moment when his majesty
-was finishing a pot of preserved plums with a deep sigh, Saint-Aignan
-appeared.  The king's eyes, which had become somewhat dull, immediately
-began to sparkle.  The comte advanced towards the king's table, and Louis
-rose at his approach.  Everybody got up at the same time, including
-Porthos, who was just finishing an almond-cake capable of making the jaws
-of a crocodile stick together.  The supper was over.
-
-
-Chapter XV:
-After Supper.
-
-The king took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and passed into the adjoining
-apartment.  "What has detained you, comte?" said the king.
-
-"I was bringing the answer, sire," replied the comte.
-
-"She has taken a long time to reply to what I wrote her."
-
-"Sire, your majesty deigned to write in verse, and Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere wished to repay your majesty in the same coin; that is to say,
-in gold."
-
-"Verses!  Saint-Aignan," exclaimed the king in ecstasy.  "Give them to me
-at once."  And Louis broke the seal of a little letter, inclosing the
-verses which history has preserved entire for us, and which are more
-meritorious in invention than in execution.  Such as they were, however,
-the king was enchanted with them, and exhibited his satisfaction by
-unequivocal transports of delight; but the universal silence which
-reigned in the rooms warned Louis, so sensitively particular with regard
-to good breeding, that his delight must give rise to various
-interpretations.  He turned aside and put the note in his pocket, and
-then advancing a few steps, which brought him again to the threshold of
-the door close to his guests, he said, "M. du Vallon, I have seen you to-
-day with the greatest pleasure, and my pleasure will be equally great to
-see you again."  Porthos bowed as the Colossus of Rhodes would have done,
-and retired from the room with his face towards the king.  "M.
-d'Artagnan," continued the king, "you will await my orders in the
-gallery; I am obliged to you for having made me acquainted with M. du
-Vallon.  Gentlemen," addressing himself to the other guests, "I return to
-Paris to-morrow on account of the departure of the Spanish and Dutch
-ambassadors.  Until to-morrow then."
-
-The apartment was immediately cleared of the guests.  The king took Saint-
-Aignan by the arm, made him read La Valliere's verses over again, and
-said, "What do you think of them?"
-
-"Charming, sire."
-
-"They charm me, in fact, and if they were known - "
-
-"Oh! the professional poets would be jealous of them; but it is not
-likely they will know anything about them."
-
-"Did you give her mine?"
-
-"Oh! sire, she positively devoured them."
-
-"They were very weak, I am afraid."
-
-"That is not what Mademoiselle de la Valliere said of them."
-
-"Do you think she was pleased with them?"
-
-"I am sure of it, sire."
-
-"I must answer, then."
-
-"Oh! sire, immediately after supper?  Your majesty will fatigue yourself."
-
-"You are quite right; study after eating is notoriously injurious."
-
-"The labor of a poet especially so; and besides, there is great
-excitement prevailing at Mademoiselle de la Valliere's."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"With her as with all the ladies of the court."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"On account of poor De Guiche's accident."
-
-"Has anything serious happened to De Guiche, then?"
-
-"Yes, sire, he has one hand nearly destroyed, a hole in his breast; in
-fact, he is dying."
-
-"Good heavens! who told you that?"
-
-"Manicamp brought him back just now to the house of a doctor here in
-Fontainebleau, and the rumor soon reached us all."
-
-"Brought back!  Poor De Guiche; and how did it happen?"
-
-"Ah! that is the very question, - how did it happen?"
-
-"You say that in a very singular manner, Saint-Aignan.  Give me the
-details.  What does he say himself?"
-
-"He says nothing, sire; but others do."
-
-"What others?"
-
-"Those who brought him back, sire."
-
-"Who are they?"
-
-"I do not know, sire; but M. de Manicamp knows.  M. de Manicamp is one of
-his friends."
-
-"As everybody is, indeed," said the king.
-
-"Oh! no!" returned Saint-Aignan, "you are mistaken sire; every one is not
-precisely a friend of M. de Guiche."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"Does your majesty require me to explain myself?"
-
-"Certainly I do."
-
-"Well, sire, I believe I have heard something said about a quarrel
-between two gentlemen."
-
-"When?"
-
-"This very evening, before your majesty's supper was served."
-
-"That can hardly be.  I have issued such stringent and severe ordinances
-with respect to duelling, that no one, I presume, would dare to disobey
-them."
-
-"In that case, Heaven preserve me from excusing any one!" exclaimed Saint-
-Aignan.  "Your majesty commanded me to speak, and I spoke accordingly."
-
-"Tell me, then, in what way the Comte de Guiche has been wounded?"
-
-"Sire, it is said to have been at a boar-hunt."
-
-"This evening?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"One of his hands shattered, and a hole in his breast.  Who was at the
-hunt with M. de Guiche?"
-
-"I do not know, sire; but M. de Manicamp knows, or ought to know."
-
-"You are concealing something from me, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Nothing, sire, I assure you."
-
-"Then, explain to me how the accident happened; was it a musket that
-burst?"
-
-"Very likely, sire.  But yet, on reflection, it could hardly have been
-that, for De Guiche's pistol was found close by him still loaded."
-
-"His pistol?  But a man does not go to a boar-hunt with a pistol, I
-should think."
-
-"Sire, it is also said that De Guiche's horse was killed and that the
-horse is still to be found in the wide open glade in the forest."
-
-"His horse? - Guiche go on horseback to a boar-hunt? - Saint-Aignan, I do
-not understand a syllable of what you have been telling me.  Where did
-this affair happen?"
-
-"At the Rond-point, in that part of the forest called the Bois-Rochin."
-
-"That will do.  Call M. d'Artagnan."  Saint-Aignan obeyed, and the
-musketeer entered.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, "you will leave this place by the
-little door of the private staircase."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"You will mount your horse."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you will proceed to the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin.  Do you know the
-spot?"
-
-"Yes, sire.  I have fought there twice."
-
-"What!" exclaimed the king, amazed at the reply.
-
-"Under the edicts, sire, of Cardinal Richelieu," returned D'Artagnan,
-with his usual impassability.
-
-"That is very different, monsieur.  You will, therefore, go there, and
-will examine the locality very carefully.  A man has been wounded there,
-and you will find a horse lying dead.  You will tell me what your opinion
-is upon the whole affair."
-
-"Very good, sire."
-
-"As a matter of course, it is your own opinion I require, and not that of
-any one else."
-
-"You shall have it in an hour's time, sire."
-
-"I prohibit your speaking with any one, whoever it may be."
-
-"Except with the person who must give me a lantern," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh! that is a matter of course," said the king, laughing at the liberty,
-which he tolerated in no one but his captain of the musketeers.
-D'Artagnan left by the little staircase.
-
-"Now, let my physician be sent for," said Louis.  Ten minutes afterwards
-the king's physician arrived, quite out of breath.
-
-"You will go, monsieur," said the king to him, "and accompany M. de Saint-
-Aignan wherever he may take you; you will render me an account of the
-state of the person you may see in the house you will be taken to."  The
-physician obeyed without a remark, as at that time people began to obey
-Louis XIV., and left the room preceding Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Do you, Saint-Aignan, send Manicamp to me, before the physician can
-possibly have spoken to him."  And Saint-Aignan left in his turn.
-
-
-Chapter XVI:
-Showing in What Way D'Artagnan Discharged the Mission with Which the King
-Had Intrusted Him.
-
-While the king was engaged in making these last-mentioned arrangements in
-order to ascertain the truth, D'Artagnan, without losing a second, ran to
-the stable, took down the lantern, saddled his horse himself, and
-proceeded towards the place his majesty had indicated.  According to the
-promise he had made, he had not accosted any one; and, as we have
-observed, he had carried his scruples so far as to do without the
-assistance of the stable-helpers altogether.  D'Artagnan was one of those
-who in moments of difficulty pride themselves on increasing their own
-value.  By dint of hard galloping, he in less than five minutes reached
-the wood, fastened his horse to the first tree he came to, and penetrated
-to the broad open space on foot.  He then began to inspect most
-carefully, on foot and with his lantern in his hand, the whole surface of
-the Rond-point, went forward, turned back again, measured, examined, and
-after half an hour's minute inspection, he returned silently to where he
-had left his horse, and pursued his way in deep reflection and at a foot-
-pace to Fontainebleau.  Louis was waiting in his cabinet; he was alone,
-and with a pencil was scribbling on paper certain lines which D'Artagnan
-at the first glance recognized as unequal and very much touched up.  The
-conclusion he arrived at was, that they must be verses.  The king raised
-his head and perceived D'Artagnan.  "Well, monsieur," he said, "do you
-bring me any news?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"What have you seen?"
-
-"As far as probability goes, sire - " D'Artagnan began to reply.
-
-"It was certainty I requested of you."
-
-"I will approach it as near as I possibly can.  The weather was very well
-adapted for investigations of the character I have just made; it has been
-raining this evening, and the roads were wet and muddy - "
-
-"Well, the result, M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Sire, your majesty told me that there was a horse lying dead in the
-cross-road of the Bois-Rochin, and I began, therefore, by studying the
-roads.  I say the roads, because the center of the cross-road is reached
-by four separate roads.  The one that I myself took was the only one that
-presented any fresh traces.  Two horses had followed it side by side;
-their eight feet were marked very distinctly in the clay.  One of the
-riders was more impatient than the other, for the footprints of the one
-were invariably in advance of the other about half a horse's length."
-
-"Are you quite sure they were traveling together?" said the king.
-
-"Yes sire.  The horses are two rather large animals of equal pace, -
-horses well used to maneuvers of all kinds, for they wheeled round the
-barrier of the Rond-point together."
-
-"Well - and after?"
-
-"The two cavaliers paused there for a minute, no doubt to arrange the
-conditions of the engagement; the horses grew restless and impatient.
-One of the riders spoke, while the other listened and seemed to have
-contented himself by simply answering.  His horse pawed the ground, which
-proves that his attention was so taken up by listening that he let the
-bridle fall from his hand."
-
-"A hostile meeting did take place then?"
-
-"Undoubtedly."
-
-"Continue; you are a very accurate observer."
-
-"One of the two cavaliers remained where he was standing, the one, in
-fact, who had been listening; the other crossed the open space, and at
-first placed himself directly opposite to his adversary.  The one who had
-remained stationary traversed the Rond-point at a gallop, about two-
-thirds of its length, thinking that by this means he would gain upon his
-opponent; but the latter had followed the circumference of the wood."
-
-"You are ignorant of their names, I suppose?"
-
-"Completely so, sire.  Only he who followed the circumference of the wood
-was mounted on a black horse."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"I found a few hairs of his tail among the brambles which bordered the
-sides of the ditch."
-
-"Go on."
-
-"As for the other horse, there can be no trouble in describing him, since
-he was left dead on the field of battle."
-
-"What was the cause of his death?"
-
-"A ball which had passed through his brain."
-
-"Was the ball that of a pistol or a gun?"
-
-"It was a pistol-bullet, sire.  Besides, the manner in which the horse
-was wounded explained to me the tactics of the man who had killed it.  He
-had followed the circumference of the wood in order to take his adversary
-in flank.  Moreover, I followed his foot-tracks on the grass."
-
-"The tracks of the black horse, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Go on, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"As your majesty now perceives the position of the two adversaries, I
-will, for a moment, leave the cavalier who had remained stationary for
-the one who started off at a gallop."
-
-"Do so."
-
-"The horse of the cavalier who rode at full speed was killed on the spot."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"The cavalier had not time even to throw himself off his horse, and so
-fell with it.  I observed the impression of his leg, which, with a great
-effort, he was enabled to extricate from under the horse.  The spur,
-pressed down by the weight of the animal, had plowed up the ground."
-
-"Very good; and what did he do as soon as he rose up again?"
-
-"He walked straight up to his adversary."
-
-"Who still remained upon the verge of the forest?"
-
-"Yes, sire.  Then, having reached a favorable distance, he stopped
-firmly, for the impression of both his heels are left in the ground quite
-close to each other, fired, and missed his adversary."
-
-"How do you know he did not hit him?"
-
-"I found a hat with a ball through it."
-
-"Ah, a proof, then!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"Insufficient, sire," replied D'Artagnan, coldly; "it is a hat without
-any letters indicating its ownership, without arms; a red feather, as all
-hats have; the lace, even, had nothing particular in it."
-
-"Did the man with the hat through which the bullet had passed fire a
-second time?"
-
-"Oh, sire, he had already fired twice."
-
-"How did you ascertain that?"
-
-"I found the waddings of the pistol."
-
-"And what became of the bullet which did not kill the horse?"
-
-"It cut in two the feather of the hat belonging to him against whom it
-was directed, and broke a small birch at the other end of the open glade."
-
-"In that case, then, the man on the black horse was disarmed, whilst his
-adversary had still one more shot to fire?"
-
-"Sire, while the dismounted rider was extricating himself from his horse,
-the other was reloading his pistol.  Only, he was much agitated while he
-was loading it, and his hand trembled greatly."
-
-"How do you know that?"
-
-"Half the charge fell to the ground, and he threw the ramrod aside, not
-having time to replace it in the pistol."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, this is marvellous you tell me."
-
-"It is only close observation, sire, and the commonest highwayman could
-tell as much."
-
-"The whole scene is before me from the manner in which you relate it."
-
-"I have, in fact, reconstructed it in my own mind, with merely a few
-alterations."
-
-"And now," said the king, "let us return to the dismounted cavalier.  You
-were saying that he walked towards his adversary while the latter was
-loading his pistol."
-
-"Yes; but at the very moment he himself was taking aim, the other fired."
-
-"Oh!" said the king; "and the shot?"
-
-"The shot told terribly, sire; the dismounted cavalier fell upon his
-face, after having staggered forward three or four paces."
-
-"Where was he hit?"
-
-"In two places; in the first place, in his right hand, and then, by the
-same bullet, in his chest."
-
-"But how could you ascertain that?" inquired the king, full of admiration.
-
-"By a very simple means; the butt end of the pistol was covered with
-blood, and the trace of the bullet could be observed, with fragments of a
-broken ring.  The wounded man, in all probability, had the ring-finger
-and the little finger carried off."
-
-"As far as the hand goes, I have nothing to say; but the chest?"
-
-"Sire, there were two small pools of blood, at a distance of about two
-feet and a half from each other.  At one of these pools of blood the
-grass was torn up by the clenched hand; at the other, the grass was
-simply pressed down by the weight of the body."
-
-"Poor De Guiche!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"Ah! it was M. de Guiche, then?" said the musketeer, quietly.  "I
-suspected it, but did not venture to mention it to your majesty."
-
-"And what made you suspect it?"
-
-"I recognized the De Gramont arms upon the holsters of the dead horse."
-
-"And you think he is seriously wounded?"
-
-"Very seriously, since he fell immediately, and remained a long time in
-the same place; however, he was able to walk, as he left the spot,
-supported by two friends."
-
-"You met him returning, then?"
-
-"No; but I observed the footprints of three men; the one on the right and
-the one on the left walked freely and easily, but the one in the middle
-dragged his feet as he walked; besides, he left traces of blood at every
-step he took."
-
-"Now, monsieur, since you saw the combat so distinctly that not a single
-detail seems to have escaped you, tell me something about De Guiche's
-adversary."
-
-"Oh, sire, I do not know him."
-
-"And yet you see everything very clearly."
-
-"Yes, sire, I see everything; but I do not tell all I see; and, since the
-poor devil has escaped, your majesty will permit me to say that I do not
-intend to denounce him."
-
-"And yet he is guilty, since he has fought a duel, monsieur."
-
-"Not guilty in my eyes, sire," said D'Artagnan, coldly.
-
-"Monsieur!" exclaimed the king, "are you aware of what you are saying?"
-
-"Perfectly, sire; but, according to my notions, a man who fights a duel
-is a brave man; such, at least, is my own opinion; but your majesty may
-have another, it is but natural, for you are master here."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, I ordered you, however - "
-
-D'Artagnan interrupted the king by a respectful gesture.  "You ordered
-me, sire, to gather what particulars I could, respecting a hostile
-meeting that had taken place; those particulars you have.  If you order
-me to arrest M. de Guiche's adversary, I will do so; but do not order me
-to denounce him to you, for in that case I will not obey."
-
-"Very well!  Arrest him, then."
-
-"Give me his name, sire."
-
-The king stamped his foot angrily; but after a moment's reflection, he
-said, "You are right - ten times, twenty times, a hundred times right."
-
-"That is my opinion, sire: I am happy that, this time, it accords with
-your majesty's."
-
-"One word more.  Who assisted Guiche?"
-
-"I do not know, sire."
-
-"But you speak of two men.  There was a person present, then, as second."
-
-"There was no second, sire.  Nay, more than that, when M. de Guiche fell,
-his adversary fled without giving him any assistance."
-
-"The miserable coward!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"The consequence of your ordinances, sire.  If a man has fought well, and
-fairly, and has already escaped one chance of death, he naturally wishes
-to escape a second.  M. de Bouteville cannot be forgotten very easily."
-
-"And so, men turn cowards."
-
-"No, they become prudent."
-
-"And he has fled, then, you say?"
-
-"Yes; and as fast as his horse could possibly carry him."
-
-"In what direction?"
-
-"In the direction of the chateau."
-
-"Well, and after that?"
-
-"Afterwards, as I have had the honor of telling your majesty, two men on
-foot arrived, who carried M. de Guiche back with them."
-
-"What proof have you that these men arrived after the combat?"
-
-"A very evident proof, sire; at the moment the encounter took place, the
-rain had just ceased, the ground had not had time to imbibe the moisture,
-and was, consequently, soaked; the footsteps sank in the ground; but
-while M. de Guiche was lying there in a fainting condition, the ground
-became firm again, and the footsteps made a less sensible impression."
-
-Louis clapped his hands together in sign of admiration.  "Monsieur
-d'Artagnan," he said, "you are positively the cleverest man in my
-kingdom."
-
-"The identical thing M. de Richelieu thought, and M. de Mazarin said,
-sire."
-
-"And now, it remains for us to see if your sagacity is at fault."
-
-"Oh! sire, a man may be mistaken; _humanum est errare_," said the
-musketeer, philosophically. (1)
-
-"In that case, you are not human, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for I believe you
-are never mistaken."
-
-"Your majesty said that we were going to see whether such was the case,
-or not."
-
-"Yes."
-
-"In what way, may I venture to ask?"
-
-"I have sent for M. de Manicamp, and M. de Manicamp is coming."
-
-"And M. de Manicamp knows the secret?"
-
-"De Guiche has no secrets from M. de Manicamp."
-
-D'Artagnan shook his head.  "No one was present at the combat, I repeat;
-and unless M. de Manicamp was one of the two men who brought him back - "
-
-"Hush!" said the king, "he is coming; remain, and listen attentively."
-
-"Very good, sire."
-
-And, at the very same moment, Manicamp and Saint-Aignan appeared at the
-threshold of the door.
-
-
-Chapter XVII:
-The Encounter.
-
-The king signified with an imperious gesture, first to the musketeer,
-then to Saint-Aignan, "On your lives, not a word."  D'Artagnan withdrew,
-like a sentinel, to a corner of the room; Saint-Aignan, in his character
-of a favorite, leaned over the back of the king's chair.  Manicamp, with
-his right foot properly advanced, a smile upon his lips, and his white
-and well-formed hands gracefully disposed, advanced to make his reverence
-to the king, who returned the salutation by a bow.  "Good evening, M. de
-Manicamp," he said.
-
-"Your majesty did me the honor to send for me," said Manicamp.
-
-"Yes, in order to learn from you all the details of the unfortunate
-accident which has befallen the Comte de Guiche."
-
-"Oh! sire, it is grievous indeed."
-
-"You were there?"
-
-"Not precisely, sire."
-
-"But you arrived on the scene of the accident, a few minutes after it
-took place?"
-
-"Sire, about half an hour afterwards."
-
-"And where did the accident happen?"
-
-"I believe, sire, the place is called the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin."
-
-"Oh! the rendezvous of the hunt."
-
-"The very spot, sire."
-
-"Good; give me all the details you are acquainted with, respecting this
-unhappy affair, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Perhaps your majesty has already been informed of them, and I fear to
-fatigue you with useless repetition."
-
-"No, do not be afraid of that."
-
-Manicamp looked round him; he saw only D'Artagnan leaning with his back
-against the wainscot - D'Artagnan, calm, kind, and good-natured as usual
-- and Saint-Aignan whom he had accompanied, and who still leaned over the
-king's armchair with an expression of countenance equally full of good
-feeling.  He determined, therefore, to speak out.  "Your majesty is
-perfectly aware," he said, "that accidents are very frequent in hunting."
-
-"In hunting, do you say?"
-
-"I mean, sire, when an animal is brought to bay."
-
-"Ah, ah!" said the king, "it was when the animal was brought to bay,
-then, that the accident happened?"
-
-"Alas! sire, unhappily it was."
-
-The king paused for a moment before he said: "What animal was being
-hunted?"
-
-"A wild boar, sire."
-
-"And what could possibly have possessed De Guiche to go to a wild boar-
-hunt by himself; that is but a clownish idea of sport, only fit for that
-class of people who, unlike the Marechal de Gramont, have no dogs and
-huntsmen, to hunt as gentlemen should do."
-
-Manicamp shrugged his shoulders.  "Youth is very rash," he said,
-sententiously.
-
-"Well, go on," said the king.
-
-"At all events," continued Manicamp, not venturing to be too precipitate
-and hasty, and letting his words fall very slowly one by one, "at all
-events, sire, poor De Guiche went hunting - all alone."
-
-"Quite alone? indeed? - What a sportsman!  And is not M. de Guiche aware
-that the wild boar always stands at bay?"
-
-"That is the very thing that really happened, sire."
-
-"He had some idea, then, of the beast being there?"
-
-"Yes, sire, some peasants had seen it among their potatoes." (2)
-
-"And what kind of animal was it?"
-
-"A short, thick beast."
-
-"You may as well tell me, monsieur, that De Guiche had some idea of
-committing suicide; for I have seen him hunt, and he is an active and
-vigorous hunter.  Whenever he fires at an animal brought to bay and held
-in check by the dogs, he takes every possible precaution, and yet he
-fires with a carbine, and on this occasion he seems to have faced the
-boar with pistols only."
-
-Manicamp started.
-
-"A costly pair of pistols, excellent weapons to fight a duel with a man
-and not a wild boar.  What an absurdity!"
-
-"There are some things, sire, which are difficult of explanation."
-
-"You are quite right, and the event which we are now discussing is
-certainly one of them.  Go on."
-
-During the recital, Saint-Aignan, who probably would have made a sign to
-Manicamp to be careful what he was about, found that the king's glance
-was constantly fixed upon himself, so that it was utterly impossible to
-communicate with Manicamp in any way.  As for D'Artagnan, the statue of
-Silence at Athens was far more noisy and far more expressive than he.
-Manicamp, therefore, was obliged to continue in the same way he had
-begun, and so contrived to get more and more entangled in his
-explanation.  "Sire," he said, "this is probably how the affair
-happened.  Guiche was waiting to receive the boar as it rushed towards
-him."
-
-"On foot or on horseback?" inquired the king.
-
-"On horseback.  He fired upon the brute and missed his aim, and then it
-dashed upon him."
-
-"And the horse was killed."
-
-"Ah! your majesty knows that, then."
-
-"I have been told that a horse has been found lying dead in the cross-
-roads of the Bois-Rochin, and I presume it was De Guiche's horse."
-
-"Perfectly true, sire, it was his."
-
-"Well, so much for the horse, and now for De Guiche?"
-
-"De Guiche, once down, was attacked and worried by the wild boar, and
-wounded in the hand and in the chest."
-
-"It is a horrible accident, but it must be admitted it was De Guiche's
-own fault.  How could he possibly have gone to hunt such an animal merely
-armed with pistols; he must have forgotten the fable of Adonis?"
-
-Manicamp rubbed his ear in seeming perplexity.  "Very true," he said, "it
-was very imprudent."
-
-"Can you explain it, Monsieur Manicamp?"
-
-"Sire, what is written is written!"
-
-"Ah! you are a fatalist."
-
-Manicamp looked very uncomfortable and ill at ease.
-
-"I am angry with you, Monsieur Manicamp," continued the king.
-
-"With me, sire?"
-
-"Yes.  How was it that you, who are De Guiche's intimate friend, and who
-know that he is subject to such acts of folly, did not stop him in time?"
-
-Manicamp no longer knew what to do; the tone in which the king spoke was
-anything but that of a credulous man.  On the other hand, it did not
-indicate any particular severity, nor did he seem to care very much about
-the cross-examination.  There was more of raillery in it than menace.
-"And you say, then," continued the king, "that it was positively De
-Guiche's horse that was found dead?"
-
-"Quite positive, sire."
-
-"Did that astonish you?"
-
-"No, sire; for your majesty will remember that, at the last hunt, M. de
-Saint-Maure had a horse killed under him, and in the same way."
-
-"Yes, but that one was ripped open."
-
-"Of course, sire."
-
-"Had Guiche's horse been ripped open like M. de Saint-Maure's horse, I
-should not have been astonished."
-
-Manicamp opened his eyes very wide.
-
-"Am I mistaken," resumed the king, "was it not in the frontal bone that
-De Guiche's horse was struck?  You must admit, Monsieur de Manicamp, that
-that is a very singular place for a wild boar to attack."
-
-"You are aware, sire, that the horse is a very intelligent animal, and he
-doubtless endeavoured to defend himself."
-
-"But a horse defends himself with his heels and not with his head."
-
-"In that case, the terrified horse may have slipped or fallen down," said
-Manicamp, "and the boar, you understand sire, the boar - "
-
-"Oh!  I understand that perfectly, as far as the horse is concerned; but
-how about his rider?"
-
-"Well! that, too, is simple enough; the boar left the horse and attacked
-the rider; and, as I have already had the honor of informing your
-majesty, shattered De Guiche's hand at the very moment he was about to
-discharge his second pistol at him, and then, with a gouge of his tusk,
-made that terrible hole in his chest."
-
-"Nothing is more likely; really, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are wrong in
-placing so little confidence in your own eloquence, and you can tell a
-story most admirably."
-
-"Your majesty is exceedingly kind," said Manicamp, saluting him in the
-most embarrassed manner.
-
-"From this day henceforth, I will prohibit any gentleman attached to my
-court going out to a similar encounter.  Really, one might just as well
-permit duelling."
-
-Manicamp started, and moved as if he were about to withdraw.  "Is your
-majesty satisfied?"
-
-"Delighted; but do not withdraw yet, Monsieur de Manicamp," said Louis,
-"I have something to say to you."
-
-"Well, well!" thought D'Artagnan, "there is another who is not up to the
-mark;" and he uttered a sigh which might signify, "Oh! the men of _our_
-stamp, where are they _now?_"
-
-At this moment an usher lifted up the curtain before the door, and
-announced the king's physician.
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Louis, "here comes Monsieur Valot, who has just been to
-see M. de Guiche.  We shall now hear news of the man maltreated by the
-boar."
-
-Manicamp felt more uncomfortable than ever.
-
-"In this way, at least," added the king, "our conscience will be quite
-clear."  And he looked at D'Artagnan, who did not seem in the slightest
-degree discomposed.
-
-
-Chapter XVIII:
-The Physician.
-
-M. Valot entered.  The position of the different persons present was
-precisely the same: the king was seated, Saint-Aignan leaning over the
-back of his armchair, D'Artagnan with his back against the wall, and
-Manicamp still standing.
-
-"Well, M. Valot," said the king, "did you obey my directions?"
-
-"With the greatest alacrity, sire."
-
-"You went to the doctor's house in Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you found M. de Guiche there?"
-
-"I did, sire."
-
-"What state was he in? - speak unreservedly."
-
-"In a very sad state indeed, sire."
-
-"The wild boar did not quite devour him, however?"
-
-"Devour whom?"
-
-"De Guiche."
-
-"What wild boar?"
-
-"The boar that wounded him."
-
-"M. de Guiche wounded by a boar?"
-
-"So it is said, at least."
-
-"By a poacher, rather, or by a jealous husband, or an ill-used lover,
-who, in order to be revenged, fired upon him."
-
-"What is it that you say, Monsieur Valot?  Were not M. de Guiche's wounds
-produced by defending himself against a wild boar?"
-
-"M. de Guiche's wounds are the result of a pistol-bullet that broke his
-ring-finger and the little finger of the right hand, and afterwards
-buried itself in the intercostal muscles of the chest."
-
-"A bullet!  Are you sure Monsieur de Guiche was wounded by a _bullet?_"
-exclaimed the king, pretending to look much surprised.
-
-"Indeed, I am, sire; so sure, in fact, that here it is."  And he
-presented to the king a half-flattened bullet, which the king looked at,
-but did not touch.
-
-"Did he have that in his chest, poor fellow?" he asked.
-
-"Not precisely.  The ball did not penetrate, but was flattened, as you
-see, either upon the trigger of the pistol or upon the right side of the
-breast-bone."
-
-"Good heavens!" said the king, seriously, "you said nothing to me about
-this, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Sire - "
-
-"What does all this mean, then, this invention about hunting a wild boar
-at nightfall?  Come, speak, monsieur."
-
-"Sire - "
-
-"It seems, then, that you are right," said the king, turning round
-towards his captain of musketeers, "and that a duel actually took place."
-
-The king possessed, to a greater extent than any one else, the faculty
-enjoyed by the great in power or position, of compromising and dividing
-those beneath him.  Manicamp darted a look full of reproaches at the
-musketeer.  D'Artagnan understood the look at once, and not wishing to
-remain beneath the weight of such an accusation, advanced a step forward,
-and said: "Sire, your majesty commanded me to go and explore the place
-where the cross-roads meet in the Bois-Rochin, and to report to you,
-according to my own ideas, what had taken place there.  I submitted my
-observations to you, but without denouncing any one.  It was your majesty
-yourself who was the first to name the Comte de Guiche."
-
-"Well, monsieur, well," said the king, haughtily; "you have done your
-duty, and I am satisfied with you.  But you, Monsieur de Manicamp, have
-failed in yours, for you have told me a falsehood."
-
-"A falsehood, sire.  The expression is a hard one."
-
-"Find a more accurate, then."
-
-"Sire, I will not attempt to do so.  I have already been unfortunate
-enough to displease your majesty, and it will, in every respect, be far
-better for me to accept most humbly any reproaches you may think proper
-to address to me."
-
-"You are right, monsieur, whoever conceals the truth from me, risks my
-displeasure."
-
-"Sometimes, sire, one is ignorant of the truth."
-
-"No further falsehood, monsieur, or I double the punishment."
-
-Manicamp bowed and turned pale.  D'Artagnan again made another step
-forward, determined to interfere, if the still increasing anger of the
-king attained certain limits.
-
-"You see, monsieur," continued the king, "that it is useless to deny the
-thing any longer.  M. de Guiche has fought a duel."
-
-"I do not deny it, sire, and it would have been truly generous on your
-majesty's part not to have forced me to tell a falsehood."
-
-"Forced?  Who forced you?"
-
-"Sire, M. de Guiche is my friend.  Your majesty has forbidden duels under
-pain of death.  A falsehood might save my friend's life, and I told it."
-
-"Good!" murmured D'Artagnan, "an excellent fellow, upon my word."
-
-"Instead of telling a falsehood, monsieur, you should have prevented him
-from fighting," said the king.
-
-"Oh! sire, your majesty, who is the most accomplished gentleman in
-France, knows quite as well as any of us other gentlemen that we have
-never considered M. de Bouteville dishonored for having suffered death on
-the Place de Greve.  That which does in truth dishonor a man is to avoid
-meeting his enemy - not to avoid meeting his executioner!"
-
-"Well, monsieur, that may be so," said Louis XIV.; "I am desirous of
-suggesting a means of your repairing all."
-
-"If it be a means of which a gentleman may avail himself, I shall most
-eagerly seize the opportunity."
-
-"The name of M. de Guiche's adversary?"
-
-"Oh, oh!" murmured D'Artagnan, "are we going to take Louis XIII. as a
-model?"
-
-"Sire!" said Manicamp, with an accent of reproach.
-
-"You will not name him, then?" said the king.
-
-"Sire, I do not know him."
-
-"Bravo!" murmured D'Artagnan.
-
-"Monsieur de Manicamp, hand your sword to the captain."
-
-Manicamp bowed very gracefully, unbuckled his sword, smiling as he did
-so, and handed it for the musketeer to take.  But Saint-Aignan advanced
-hurriedly between him and D'Artagnan.  "Sire," he said, "will your
-majesty permit me to say a word?"
-
-"Do so," said the king, delighted, perhaps, at the bottom of his heart,
-for some one to step between him and the wrath he felt he had carried him
-too far.
-
-"Manicamp, you are a brave man, and the king will appreciate your
-conduct; but to wish to serve your friends too well, is to destroy them.
-Manicamp, you know the name the king asks you for?"
-
-"It is perfectly true - I do know it."
-
-"You will give it up then?"
-
-"If I felt I ought to have mentioned it, I should have already done so."
-
-"Then I will tell it, for I am not so extremely sensitive on such points
-of honor as you are."
-
-"You are at liberty to do so, but it seems to me, however - "
-
-"Oh! a truce to magnanimity; I will not permit you to go to the Bastile
-in that way.  Do you speak; or I will."
-
-Manicamp was keen-witted enough, and perfectly understood that he had
-done quite sufficient to produce a good opinion of his conduct; it was
-now only a question of persevering in such a manner as to regain the good
-graces of the king.  "Speak, monsieur," he said to Saint-Aignan; "I have
-on my own behalf done all that my conscience told me to do; and it must
-have been very importunate," he added, turning towards the king, "since
-its mandates led me to disobey your majesty's commands; but your majesty
-will forgive me, I hope, when you learn that I was anxious to preserve
-the honor of a lady."
-
-"Of a lady?" said the king, with some uneasiness.
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"A lady was the cause of this duel?"
-
-Manicamp bowed.
-
-"If the position of the lady in question warrants it," he said, "I shall
-not complain of your having acted with so much circumspection; on the
-contrary, indeed."
-
-"Sire, everything which concerns your majesty's household, or the
-household of your majesty's brother, is of importance in my eyes."
-
-"In my brother's household," repeated Louis XIV., with a slight
-hesitation.  "The cause of the duel was a lady belonging to my brother's
-household, do you say?"
-
-"Or to Madame's."
-
-"Ah! to Madame's?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Well - and this lady?"
-
-"Is one of the maids of honor of her royal highness Madame la Duchesse
-d'Orleans."
-
-"For whom M. de Guiche fought - do you say?"
-
-"Yes, sire, and, this time, I tell no falsehood."
-
-Louis seemed restless and anxious.  "Gentlemen," he said, turning towards
-the spectators of this scene, "will you have the goodness to retire for a
-moment.  I wish to be alone with M. de Manicamp; I know he has some
-important communication to make for his own justification, and which he
-will not venture before witnesses....  Put up your sword, M. de Manicamp."
-
-Manicamp returned his sword to his belt.
-
-"The fellow decidedly has his wits about him," murmured the musketeer,
-taking Saint-Aignan by the arm, and withdrawing with him.
-
-"He will get out of it," said the latter in D'Artagnan's ear.
-
-"And with honor, too, comte."
-
-Manicamp cast a glance of recognition at Saint-Aignan and the captain,
-which luckily passed unnoticed by the king.
-
-"Come, come," said D'Artagnan, as he left the room, "I had an indifferent
-opinion of the new generation.  Well, I was mistaken after all.  There is
-some good in them, I perceive."
-
-Valot preceded the favorite and the captain, leaving the king and
-Manicamp alone in the cabinet.
-
-
-Chapter XIX:
-Wherein D'Artagnan Perceives that It Was He Who Was Mistaken, and
-Manicamp Who Was Right.
-
-The king, determined to be satisfied that no one was listening, went
-himself to the door, and then returned precipitately and placed himself
-opposite Manicamp.
-
-"And now we are alone, Monsieur de Manicamp, explain yourself."
-
-"With the greatest frankness, sire," replied the young man.
-
-"And in the first place, pray understand," added the king, "that there is
-nothing to which I personally attach a greater importance than the honor
-of _any_ lady."
-
-"That is the very reason, sire, why I endeavored to study your delicacy
-of sentiment and feeling."
-
-"Yes, I understand it all now.  You say that it was one of the maids of
-honor of my sister-in-law who was the subject of dispute, and that the
-person in question, De Guiche's adversary, the man, in point of fact,
-whom you will not name - "
-
-"But whom M. de Saint-Aignan will name, monsieur."
-
-"Yes, you say, however, that this man insulted some one belonging to the
-household of Madame."
-
-"Yes, sire.  Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" said the king, as if he had expected the name, and yet as if its
-announcement had caused him a sudden pang; "ah! it was Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere who was insulted."
-
-"I do not say precisely that she was insulted, sire."
-
-"But at all events - "
-
-"I merely say that she was spoken of in terms far enough from respectful."
-
-"A man dares to speak in disrespectful terms of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, and yet you refuse to tell me the name of the insulter?"
-
-"Sire, I thought it was quite understood that your majesty had abandoned
-the idea of making me denounce him."
-
-"Perfectly true, monsieur," returned the king, controlling his anger;
-"besides, I shall know in good time the name of this man whom I shall
-feel it my duty to punish."
-
-Manicamp perceived that they had returned to the question again.  As for
-the king, he saw he had allowed himself to be hurried away a little too
-far, and therefore continued: - "And I will punish him - not because
-there is any question of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, although I esteem
-her very highly - but because a lady was the object of the quarrel.  And
-I intend that ladies shall be respected at my court, and that quarrels
-shall be put a stop to altogether."
-
-Manicamp bowed.
-
-"And now, Monsieur de Manicamp," continued the king, "what was said about
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Cannot your majesty guess?"
-
-"I?"
-
-"Your majesty can imagine the character of the jest in which young men
-permit themselves to indulge."
-
-"They very probably said that she was in love with some one?" the king
-ventured to remark.
-
-"Probably so."
-
-"But Mademoiselle de la Valliere has a perfect right to love any one she
-pleases," said the king.
-
-"That is the very point De Guiche maintained."
-
-"And on account of which he fought, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes, sire, the sole and only cause."
-
-The king colored.  "And you do not know anything more, then?"
-
-"In what respect, sire?"
-
-"In the very interesting respect which you are now referring to."
-
-"What does your majesty wish to know?"
-
-"Why, the name of the man with whom La Valliere is in love, and whom De
-Guiche's adversary disputed her right to love."
-
-"Sire, I know nothing - I have heard nothing - and have learnt nothing,
-even accidentally; but De Guiche is a noble-hearted fellow, and if,
-momentarily, he substituted himself in the place or stead of La
-Valliere's protector, it was because that protector was himself of too
-exalted a position to undertake her defense."
-
-These words were more than transparent; they made the king blush, but
-this time with pleasure.  He struck Manicamp gently on the shoulder.
-"Well, well, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are not only a ready, witty
-fellow, but a brave gentleman besides, and your friend De Guiche is a
-paladin quite after my own heart; you will express that to him from me."
-
-"Your majesty forgives me, then?"
-
-"Completely."
-
-"And I am free?"
-
-The king smiled and held out his hand to Manicamp, which he took and
-kissed respectfully.  "And then," added the king, "you relate stories so
-charmingly."
-
-"I, sire!"
-
-"You told me in the most admirable manner the particulars of the accident
-which happened to Guiche.  I can see the wild boar rushing out of the
-wood - I can see the horse fall down fighting with his head, and the boar
-rush from the horse to the rider.  You do not simply relate a story well:
-you positively paint its incidents."
-
-"Sire, I think your majesty condescends to laugh at my expense," said
-Manicamp.
-
-"On the contrary," said Louis, seriously, "I have so little intention of
-laughing, Monsieur de Manicamp, that I wish you to relate this adventure
-to every one."
-
-"The adventure of the hunt?"
-
-"Yes; in the same manner you told it to me, without changing a single
-word - _you understand?_"
-
-"Perfectly, sire."
-
-"And you will relate it, then?"
-
-"Without losing a minute."
-
-"Very well! and now summon M. d'Artagnan; I hope you are no longer afraid
-of him."
-
-"Oh, sire, from the very moment I am sure of your majesty's kind
-disposition, I no longer fear anything!"
-
-"Call him, then," said the king.
-
-Manicamp opened the door, and said, "Gentlemen, the king wishes you to
-return."
-
-D'Artagnan, Saint-Aignan, and Valot entered.
-
-"Gentlemen," said the king, "I summoned you for the purposes of saying
-that Monsieur de Manicamp's explanation has entirely satisfied me."
-
-D'Artagnan glanced at Valot and Saint-Aignan, as much as to say, "Well!
-did I not tell you so?"
-
-The king led Manicamp to the door, and then in a low tone of voice said:
-"See that M. de Guiche takes good care of himself, and particularly that
-he recovers as soon as possible; I am very desirous of thanking him in
-the name of every lady, but let him take special care that he does not
-begin again."
-
-"Were he to die a hundred times, sire, he would begin again if your
-majesty's honor were in any way called in question."
-
-This remark was direct enough.  But we have already said that the incense
-of flattery was very pleasing to the king, and, provided he received it,
-he was not very particular as to its quality.
-
-"Very well, very well," he said, as he dismissed Manicamp, "I will see De
-Guiche myself, and make him listen to reason."  And as Manicamp left the
-apartment, the king turned round towards the three spectators of this
-scene, and said, "Tell me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, how does it happen that
-your sight is so imperfect? - you, whose eyes are generally so very good."
-
-"My sight bad, sire?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"It must be the case since your majesty says so; but in what respect, may
-I ask?"
-
-"Why, with regard to what occurred in the Bois-Rochin."
-
-"Ah! ah!"
-
-"Certainly.  You pretended to have seen the tracks of two horses, to have
-detected the footprints of two men; and have described the particulars of
-an engagement, which you assert took place.  Nothing of the sort
-occurred; pure illusion on your part."
-
-"Ah! ah!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Exactly the same thing with the galloping to and fro of the horses, and
-the other indications of a struggle.  It was the struggle of De Guiche
-against the wild boar, and absolutely nothing else; only the struggle was
-a long and a terrible one, it seems."
-
-"Ah! ah!" continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"And when I think that I almost believed it for a moment - but, then, you
-told it with such confidence."
-
-"I admit, sire, that I must have been very short-sighted," said
-D'Artagnan, with a readiness of humor which delighted the king.
-
-"You do admit it, then?"
-
-"Admit it, sire, most assuredly I do."
-
-"So now that you see the thing - "
-
-"In quite a different light from that in which I saw it half an hour ago."
-
-"And to what, then, do you attribute this difference in your opinion?"
-
-"Oh! a very simple thing, sire; half an hour ago I returned from Bois-
-Rochin, where I had nothing to light me but a stupid stable lantern - "
-
-"While now?"
-
-"While now I have all the wax-lights of your cabinet, and more than that,
-your majesty's own eyes, which illuminate everything, like the blazing
-sun at noonday."
-
-The king began to laugh; and Saint-Aignan broke out into convulsions of
-merriment.
-
-"It is precisely like M. Valot," said D'Artagnan, resuming the
-conversation where the king had left off; "he has been imagining all
-along, that not only was M. de Guiche wounded by a bullet, but still
-more, that he extracted it, even, from his chest."
-
-"Upon my word," said Valot, "I assure you - "
-
-"Now, did you not believe that?" continued D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes," said Valot; "not only did I believe it, but, at this very moment,
-I would swear it."
-
-"Well, my dear doctor, you have dreamt it."
-
-"I have dreamt it!"
-
-"M. de Guiche's wound - a mere dream; the bullet, a dream.  So, take my
-advice, and prate no more about it."
-
-"Well said," returned the king, "M. d'Artagnan's advice is sound.  Do not
-speak of your dream to any one, Monsieur Valot, and, upon the word of a
-gentleman, you will have no occasion to repent it.  Good evening,
-gentlemen; a very sad affair, indeed, is a wild boar-hunt!"
-
-"A very serious thing, indeed," repeated D'Artagnan, in a loud voice, "is
-a wild boar-hunt!" and he repeated it in every room through which he
-passed; and left the chateau, taking Valot with him.
-
-"And now we are alone," said the king to Saint-Aignan, "what is the name
-of De Guiche's adversary?"
-
-Saint-Aignan looked at the king.
-
-"Oh! do not hesitate," said the king; "you know that I am bound
-beforehand to forgive."
-
-"De Wardes," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Very good," said Louis XIV.; and then, retiring to his own room, added
-to himself, "To forgive is not to forget."
-
-
-Chapter XX:
-Showing the Advantage of Having Two Strings to One's Bow.
-
-Manicamp quitted the king's apartment, delighted at having succeeded so
-well, when, just as he reached the bottom of the staircase and was
-passing a doorway, he felt that some one suddenly pulled him by the
-sleeve.  He turned round and recognized Montalais, who was waiting for
-him in the passage, and who, in a very mysterious manner, with her body
-bent forward, and in a low tone of voice, said to him, "Follow me,
-monsieur, and without any delay, if you please."
-
-"Where to, mademoiselle?" inquired Manicamp.
-
-"In the first place, a true knight would not have asked such a question,
-but would have followed me without requiring any explanation."
-
-"Well, mademoiselle, I am quite ready to conduct myself as a true knight."
-
-"No; it is too late, and you cannot take the credit of it.  We are going
-to Madame's apartment, so come at once."
-
-"Ah, ah!" said Manicamp.  "Lead on, then."
-
-And he followed Montalais, who ran before him as light as Galatea.
-
-"This time," said Manicamp, as he followed his guide, "I do not think
-that stories about hunting expeditions would be acceptable.  We will try,
-however, and if need be - well, if there should be any occasion for it,
-we must try something else."
-
-Montalais still ran on.
-
-"How fatiguing it is," thought Manicamp, "to have need of one's head and
-legs at the same time."
-
-At last, however, they arrived.  Madame had just finished undressing, and
-was in a most elegant _deshabille_, but it must be understood that she
-had changed her dress before she had any idea of being subjected to the
-emotions now agitating her.  She was waiting with the most restless
-impatience; and Montalais and Manicamp found her standing near the door.
-At the sound of their approaching footsteps, Madame came forward to meet
-them.
-
-"Ah!" she said, "at last!"
-
-"Here is M. Manicamp," replied Montalais.
-
-Manicamp bowed with the greatest respect; Madame signed to Montalais to
-withdraw, and she immediately obeyed.  Madame followed her with her eyes,
-in silence, until the door closed behind her, and then, turning towards
-Manicamp, said, "What is the matter? - and is it true, as I am told,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, that some one is lying wounded in the chateau?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, unfortunately so - Monsieur de Guiche."
-
-"Yes, Monsieur de Guiche," repeated the princess.  "I had, in fact, heard
-it rumored, but not confirmed.  And so, in truth, it is Monsieur de
-Guiche who has been thus unfortunate?"
-
-"M. de Guiche himself, Madame."
-
-"Are you aware, M. de Manicamp," said the princes, hastily, "that the
-king has the strongest antipathy to duels?"
-
-"Perfectly so, Madame; but a duel with a wild beast is not answerable."
-
-"Oh, you will not insult me by supposing that I credit the absurd fable,
-with what object I cannot tell, respecting M. de Guiche having been
-wounded by a wild boar.  No, no, monsieur; the real truth is known, and,
-in addition to the inconvenience of his wound, M. de Guiche runs the risk
-of losing his liberty if not his life."
-
-"Alas!  Madame, I am well aware of that, but what is to be done?"
-
-"You have seen the king?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"What did you say to him?"
-
-"I told him how M. de Guiche went to the chase, and how a wild boar
-rushed forth out of the Bois-Rochin; how M. de Guiche fired at it, and
-how, in fact, the furious brute dashed at De Guiche, killed his horse,
-and grievously wounded himself."
-
-"And the king believed that?"
-
-"Implicitly."
-
-"Oh, you surprise me, Monsieur de Manicamp; you surprise me very much."
-
-And Madame walked up and down the room, casting a searching look from
-time to time at Manicamp, who remained motionless and impassible in the
-same place.  At last she stopped.
-
-"And yet," she said, "every one here seems unanimous in giving another
-cause for this wound."
-
-"What cause, Madame?" said Manicamp; "may I be permitted, without
-indiscretion, to ask your highness?"
-
-"You ask such a question!  You, M. de Guiche's intimate friend, his
-confidant, indeed!"
-
-"Oh, Madame! his intimate friend - yes; confidant - no.  De Guiche is a
-man who can keep his own secrets, who has some of his own certainly, but
-who never breathes a syllable about them.  De Guiche is discretion
-itself, Madame."
-
-"Very well, then; those secrets which M. de Guiche keeps so scrupulously,
-I shall have the pleasure of informing you of," said the princess, almost
-spitefully; "for the king may possibly question you a second time, and
-if, on the second occasion, you were to repeat the same story to him, he
-possibly might not be very well satisfied with it."
-
-"But, Madame, I think your highness is mistaken with regard to the king.
-His majesty was perfectly satisfied with me, I assure you."
-
-"In that case, permit me to assure you, Monsieur de Manicamp, it only
-proves one thing, which is, that his majesty is very easily satisfied."
-
-"I think your highness is mistaken in arriving at such an opinion; his
-majesty is well known not to be contented except with very good reason."
-
-"And do you suppose that he will thank you for your officious falsehood,
-when he will learn to-morrow that M. de Guiche had, on behalf of his
-friend M. de Bragelonne, a quarrel which ended in a hostile meeting?"
-
-"A quarrel on M. de Bragelonne's account," said Manicamp, with the most
-innocent expression in the world; "what does your royal highness do me
-the honor to tell me?"
-
-"What is there astonishing in that?  M. de Guiche is susceptible,
-irritable, and easily loses his temper."
-
-"On the contrary, Madame, I know M. de Guiche to be very patient, and
-never susceptible or irritable except upon very good grounds."
-
-"But is not friendship a just ground?" said the princess.
-
-"Oh, certainly, Madame; and particularly for a heart like his."
-
-"Very good; you will not deny, I suppose, that M. de Bragelonne is M. de
-Guiche's good friend?"
-
-"A great friend."
-
-"Well, then, M. de Guiche has taken M. de Bragelonne's part; and as M. de
-Bragelonne was absent and could not fight, he fought for him."
-
-Manicamp began to smile, and moved his head and shoulders very slightly,
-as much as to say, "Oh, if you will positively have it so - "
-
-"But speak, at all events," said the princess, out of patience; "speak!"
-
-"I?"
-
-"Of course; it is quite clear you are not of my opinion, and that you
-have something to say."
-
-"I have only one thing to say, Madame."
-
-"Name it!"
-
-"That I do not understand a single word of what you have just been
-telling me."
-
-"What! - you do not understand a single word about M. de Guiche's quarrel
-with M. de Wardes," exclaimed the princess, almost out of temper.
-
-Manicamp remained silent.
-
-"A quarrel," she continued, "which arose out of a conversation scandalous
-in its tone and purport, and more or less well founded, respecting the
-virtue of a certain lady."
-
-"Ah! of a certain lady, - this is quite another thing," said Manicamp.
-
-"You begin to understand, do you not?"
-
-"Your highness will excuse me, but I dare not - "
-
-"You dare not," said Madame, exasperated; "very well, then, wait one
-moment, I will dare."
-
-"Madame, Madame!" exclaimed Manicamp, as if in great dismay, "be careful
-of what you are going to say."
-
-"It would seem, monsieur, that, if I happened to be a man, you would
-challenge me, notwithstanding his majesty's edicts, as Monsieur de Guiche
-challenged M. de Wardes; and that, too, on account of the virtue of
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Of Mademoiselle de la Valliere!" exclaimed Manicamp, starting backwards,
-as if that was the very last name he expected to hear pronounced.
-
-"What makes you start in that manner, Monsieur de Manicamp?" said Madame,
-ironically; "do you mean to say you would be impertinent enough to
-suspect that young lady's honor?"
-
-"Madame, in the whole course of this affair there has not been the
-slightest question of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's honor."
-
-"What! when two men have almost blown each other's brains out on a
-woman's behalf, do you mean to say she has had nothing to do with the
-affair, and that her name has not been called in question at all?  I did
-not think you so good a courtier, Monsieur de Manicamp."
-
-"Pray forgive me, Madame," said the young man, "but we are very far from
-understanding one another.  You do me the honor to speak one language
-while I am speaking altogether another."
-
-"I beg your pardon, but I do not understand your meaning."
-
-"Forgive me, then; but I fancied I understood your highness to remark
-that De Guiche and De Wardes had fought on Mademoiselle de la Valliere's
-account?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"On account of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, I think you said?" repeated
-Manicamp.
-
-"I do not say that M. de Guiche personally took an interest in
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere, but I say that he did so as representing or
-acting on behalf of another."
-
-"On behalf of another?"
-
-"Come, do not always assume such a bewildered look.  Does not every one
-here know that M. de Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere, and that before he went on the mission with which the king
-intrusted him, he charged his friend M. de Guiche to watch over that
-interesting young lady?"
-
-"There is nothing more for me to say, then.  Your highness is well-
-informed."
-
-"Of everything.  I beg you to understand that clearly."
-
-Manicamp began to laugh, which almost exasperated the princess, who was
-not, as we know, of a very patient disposition.
-
-"Madame," resumed the discreet Manicamp, saluting the princess, "let us
-bury this affair altogether in forgetfulness, for it will probably never
-be quite cleared up."
-
-"Oh, as far as that goes there is nothing more to do, and the information
-is complete.  The king will learn that M. de Guiche has taken up the
-cause of this little adventuress, who gives herself all the airs of a
-grand lady; he will learn that Monsieur de Bragelonne, having nominated
-his friend M. de Guiche his guardian-in-ordinary, the latter immediately
-fastened, as he was required to do, upon the Marquis de Wardes, who
-ventured to trench upon his privileges.  Moreover, you cannot pretend to
-deny, Monsieur Manicamp - you who know everything so well - that the king
-on his side casts a longing eye upon this famous treasure, and that he
-will bear no slight grudge against M. de Guiche for constituting himself
-its defender.  Are you sufficiently well informed now, or do you require
-anything further?  If so, speak, monsieur."
-
-"No, Madame, there is nothing more I wish to know."
-
-"Learn, however - for you ought to know it, Monsieur de Manicamp - learn
-that his majesty's indignation will be followed by terrible
-consequences.  In princes of a similar temperament to that of his
-majesty, the passion which jealousy causes sweeps down like a whirlwind."
-
-"Which you will temper, Madame."
-
-"I!" exclaimed the princess, with a gesture of indescribable irony; "I!
-and by what title, may I ask?"
-
-"Because you detest injustice, Madame."
-
-"And according to your account, then, it would be an injustice to prevent
-the king arranging his love affairs as he pleases."
-
-"You will intercede, however, in M. de Guiche's favor?"
-
-"You are mad, monsieur," said the princess, in a haughty tone of voice.
-
-"On the contrary, I am in the most perfect possession of my senses; and I
-repeat, you will defend M. de Guiche before the king."
-
-"Why should I?"
-
-"Because the cause of M. de Guiche is your own, Madame," said Manicamp,
-with ardor kindling in his eyes.
-
-"What do you mean by that?"
-
-"I mean, Madame, that, with respect to the defense which Monsieur de
-Guiche undertook in M. de Bragelonne's absence, I am surprised that your
-highness has not detected a pretext in La Valliere's name having been
-brought forward."
-
-"A pretext?  But a pretext for what?" repeated the princess,
-hesitatingly, for Manicamp's steady look had just revealed something of
-the truth to her.
-
-"I trust, Madame," said the young man, "I have said sufficient to induce
-your highness not to overwhelm before his majesty my poor friend, De
-Guiche, against whom all the malevolence of a party bitterly opposed to
-your own will now be directed."
-
-"You mean, on the contrary, I suppose, that all those who have no great
-affection for Mademoiselle de la Valliere, and even, perhaps, a few of
-those who have some regard for her, will be angry with the comte?"
-
-"Oh, Madame! why will you push your obstinacy to such an extent, and
-refuse to open your ears and listen to the counsel of one whose devotion
-to you is unbounded?  Must I expose myself to the risk of your
-displeasure, - am I really to be called upon to name, contrary to my own
-wish, the person who was the real cause of this quarrel?"
-
-"The person?" said Madame, blushing.
-
-"Must I," continued Manicamp, "tell you how poor De Guiche became
-irritated, furious, exasperated beyond all control, at the different
-rumors now being circulated about this person?  Must I, if you persist in
-this willful blindness, and if respect should continue to prevent me
-naming her, - must I, I repeat, recall to your recollection the various
-scenes which Monsieur had with the Duke of Buckingham, and the
-insinuations which were reported respecting the duke's exile?  Must I
-remind you of the anxious care the comte always took in his efforts to
-please, to watch, to protect that person for whom alone he lives, - for
-whom alone he breathes?  Well!  I will do so; and when I shall have made
-you recall all the particulars I refer to, you will perhaps understand
-how it happened that the comte, having lost all control over himself, and
-having been for some time past almost harassed to death by De Wardes,
-became, at the first disrespectful expression which the latter pronounced
-respecting the person in question, inflamed with passion, and panted only
-for an opportunity of avenging the affront."
-
-The princess concealed her face with her hands.  "Monsieur, monsieur!"
-she exclaimed; "do you know what you are saying, and to whom you are
-speaking?"
-
-"And so, Madame," pursued Manicamp, as if he had not heard the
-exclamations of the princess, "nothing will astonish you any longer, -
-neither the comte's ardor in seeking the quarrel, nor his wonderful
-address in transferring it to an quarter foreign to your own personal
-interests.  That latter circumstance was, indeed, a marvelous instance of
-tact and perfect coolness, and if the person in whose behalf the comte so
-fought and shed his blood does, in reality, owe some gratitude to the
-poor wounded sufferer, it is not on account of the blood he has shed, or
-the agony he has suffered, but for the steps he has taken to preserve
-from comment or reflection an honor which is more precious to him than
-his own."
-
-"Oh!" cried Madame, as if she had been alone, "is it possible the quarrel
-was on my account!"
-
-Manicamp felt he could now breathe for a moment - and gallantly had he
-won the right to do so.  Madame, on her side, remained for some time
-plunged in a painful reverie.  Her agitation could be seen by her quick
-respiration, by her drooping eyelids, by the frequency with which she
-pressed her hand upon her heart.  But, in her, coquetry was not so much a
-passive quality, as, on the contrary, a fire which sought for fuel to
-maintain itself, finding anywhere and everywhere what it required.
-
-"If it be as you assert," she said, "the comte will have obliged two
-persons at the same time; for Monsieur de Bragelonne also owes a deep
-debt of gratitude to M. de Guiche - and with far greater reason, indeed,
-because everywhere, and on every occasion, Mademoiselle de la Valliere
-will be regarded as having been defended by this generous champion."
-
-Manicamp perceived that there still remained some lingering doubt in the
-princess's heart.  "A truly admirable service, indeed," he said, "is the
-one he has rendered to Mademoiselle de la Valliere!  A truly admirable
-service to M. de Bragelonne!  The duel has created a sensation which, in
-some respects, casts a dishonorable suspicion upon that young girl; a
-sensation, indeed, which will embroil her with the vicomte.  The
-consequence is that De Wardes's pistol-bullet has had three results
-instead of one; it destroys at the same time the honor of a woman, the
-happiness of a man, and, perhaps, it has wounded to death one of the best
-gentlemen in France.  Oh, Madame! your logic is cold - even calculating;
-it always condemns - it never absolves."
-
-Manicamp's concluding words scattered to the winds the last doubt which
-lingered, not in Madame's heart, but in her mind.  She was no longer a
-princess full of scruples, nor a woman with her ever-returning
-suspicions, but one whose heart has just felt the mortal chill of a
-wound.  "Wounded to death!" she murmured, in a faltering voice, "oh,
-Monsieur de Manicamp! did you not say, wounded to death?"
-
-Manicamp returned no other answer than a deep sigh.
-
-"And so you said that the comte is dangerously wounded?" continued the
-princess.
-
-"Yes, Madame; one of his hands is shattered, and he has a bullet lodged
-in his breast."
-
-"Gracious heavens!" resumed the princess, with a feverish excitement,
-"this is horrible!  Monsieur de Manicamp! a hand shattered, do you say,
-and a bullet in his breast?  And that coward! that wretch! that assassin,
-De Wardes, did it!"
-
-Manicamp seemed overcome by a violent emotion.  He had, in fact,
-displayed no little energy in the latter part of his speech.  As for
-Madame, she entirely threw aside all regard for the formal observances of
-propriety society imposes; for when, with her, passion spoke in accents
-either of anger or sympathy, nothing could restrain her impulses.  Madame
-approached Manicamp, who had subsided in a chair, as if his grief were a
-sufficiently powerful excuse for his infraction of the laws of
-etiquette.  "Monsieur," she said, seizing him by the hand, "be frank with
-me."
-
-Manicamp looked up.
-
-"Is M. de Guiche in danger of death?"
-
-"Doubly so, Madame," he replied; "in the first place on account of the
-hemorrhage which has taken place, an artery having been injured in the
-hand; and next, in consequence of the wound in his breast, which may, the
-doctor is afraid, at least, have injured some vital part."
-
-"He may die, then?"
-
-"Die, yes, Madame; and without even having had the consolation of knowing
-that you have been told of his devotion."
-
-"You will tell him."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes; are you not his friend?"
-
-"I? oh, no, Madame; I will only tell M. de Guiche - if, indeed, he is
-still in a condition to hear me - I will only tell him what I have seen;
-that is, your cruelty to him."
-
-"Oh, monsieur, you will not be guilty of such barbarity!"
-
-"Indeed, Madame, I shall speak the truth, for nature is very energetic in
-a man of his age.  The physicians are clever men, and if, by chance, the
-poor comte should survive his wound, I should not wish him to die of a
-wound of the heart, after surviving one of the body."  Manicamp rose, and
-with an expression of profoundest respect, seemed to be desirous of
-taking leave.
-
-"At least, monsieur," said Madame, stopping him with almost a suppliant
-air, "you will be kind enough to tell me in what state your wounded
-friend is, and who is the physician who attends him?"
-
-"As regards the state he is in, Madame, he is seriously ill; his
-physician is M. Valot, his majesty's private medical attendant.  M. Valot
-is moreover assisted by a professional friend, to whose house M. de
-Guiche has been carried."
-
-"What! he is not in the chateau?" said Madame.
-
-"Alas, Madame! the poor fellow was so ill, that he could not even be
-conveyed thither."
-
-"Give me the address, monsieur," said the princess, hurriedly; "I will
-send to inquire after him."
-
-"Rue du Feurre; a brick-built house, with white outside blinds.  The
-doctor's name is on the door."
-
-"You are returning to your wounded friend, Monsieur de Manicamp?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"You will be able, then, to do me a service."
-
-"I am at your highness's orders."
-
-"Do what you intended to do; return to M. de Guiche, send away all those
-whom you may find there, and have the kindness yourself to go away too."
-
-"Madame - "
-
-"Let us waste no time in useless explanations.  Accept the fact as I
-present it to you; see nothing in it beyond what is really there, and ask
-nothing further than what I tell you.  I am going to send one of my
-ladies, perhaps two, because it is now getting late; I do not wish them
-to see you, or rather I do not wish you to see them.  These are scruples
-you can understand - you particularly, Monsieur de Manicamp, who seem
-capable of divining so much."
-
-"Oh, Madame, perfectly; I can even do better still, - I will precede, or
-rather walk, in advance of your attendants; it will, at the same time, be
-the means of showing them the way more accurately, and of protecting
-them, if occasion arises, though there is no probability of their needing
-protection."
-
-"And, by this means, then, they would be sure of entering without
-difficulty, would they not?"
-
-"Certainly, Madame; for as I should be the first to pass, I thus remove
-any difficulties that might chance to be in the way."
-
-"Very well.  Go, go, Monsieur de Manicamp, and wait at the bottom of the
-staircase."
-
-"I go at once, Madame."
-
-"Stay."
-
-Manicamp paused.
-
-"When you hear the footsteps of two women descending the stairs, go out,
-and, without once turning round, take the road which leads to where the
-poor count is lying."
-
-"But if, by any mischance, two other persons were to descend, and I were
-to be mistaken?"
-
-"You will hear one of the two clap her hands together softly.  Go."
-
-Manicamp turned round, bowed once more, and left the room, his heart
-overflowing with joy.  In fact, he knew very well that the presence of
-Madame herself would be the best balm to apply to his friend's wounds.  A
-quarter of an hour had hardly elapsed when he heard the sound of a door
-opened softly, and closed with like precaution.  He listened to the light
-footfalls gliding down the staircase, and then hard the signal agreed
-upon.  He immediately went out, and, faithful to his promise, bent his
-way, without once turning his head, through the streets of Fontainebleau,
-towards the doctor's dwelling.
-
-
-Chapter XXI:
-M. Malicorne the Keeper of the Records of France.
-
-Two women, their figures completely concealed by their mantles, and whose
-masks effectually hid the upper portion of their faces, timidly followed
-Manicamp's steps.  On the first floor, behind curtains of red damask, the
-soft light of a lamp placed upon a low table faintly illumined the room,
-at the other extremity of which, on a large bedstead supported by spiral
-columns, around which curtains of the same color as those which deadened
-the rays of the lamp had been closely drawn, lay De Guiche, his head
-supported by pillows, his eyes looking as if the mists of death were
-gathering; his long black hair, scattered over the pillow, set off the
-young man's hollow temples.  It was easy to see that fever was the chief
-tenant of the chamber.  De Guiche was dreaming.  His wandering mind was
-pursuing, through gloom and mystery, one of those wild creations delirium
-engenders.  Two or three drops of blood, still liquid, stained the
-floor.  Manicamp hurriedly ran up the stairs, but paused at the threshold
-of the door, looked into the room, and seeing that everything was
-perfectly quiet, he advanced towards the foot of the large leathern
-armchair, a specimen of furniture of the reign of Henry IV., and seeing
-that the nurse, as a matter of course, had dropped off to sleep, he awoke
-her, and begged her to pass into the adjoining room.
-
-Then, standing by the side of the bed, he remained for a moment
-deliberating whether it would be better to awaken Guiche, in order to
-acquaint him with the good news.  But, as he began to hear behind the
-door the rustling of silk dresses and the hurried breathing of his two
-companions, and as he already saw that the curtain screening the doorway
-seemed on the point of being impatiently drawn aside, he passed round the
-bed and followed the nurse into the next room.  As soon as he had
-disappeared the curtain was raised, and his two female companions entered
-the room he had just left.  The one who entered first made a gesture to
-her companion, which riveted her to the spot where she stood, close to
-the door, and then resolutely advanced towards the bed, drew back the
-curtains along the iron rod, and threw them in thick folds behind the
-head of the bed.  She gazed upon the comte's pallid face; remarked his
-right hand enveloped in linen whose dazzling whiteness was emphasized by
-the counterpane patterned with dark leaves thrown across the couch.  She
-shuddered as she saw a stain of blood growing larger and larger upon the
-bandages.  The young man's breast was uncovered, as though for the cool
-night air to assist his respiration.  A narrow bandage fastened the
-dressings of the wound, around which a purplish circle of extravasated
-blood was gradually increasing in size.  A deep sigh broke from her
-lips.  She leaned against one of the columns of the bed, and gazed,
-through the apertures in her mask, upon the harrowing spectacle before
-her.  A hoarse harsh groan passed like a death-rattle through the comte's
-clenched teeth.  The masked lady seized his left hand, which scorched
-like burning coals.  But at the very moment she placed her icy hand upon
-it, the action of the cold was such that De Guiche opened his eyes, and
-by a look in which revived intelligence was dawning, seemed as though
-struggling back again into existence.  The first thing upon which he
-fixed his gaze was this phantom standing erect by his bedside.  At that
-sight, his eyes became dilated, but without any appearance of
-consciousness in them.  The lady thereupon made a sign to her companion,
-who had remained at the door; and in all probability the latter had
-already received her lesson, for in a clear tone of voice, and without
-any hesitation whatever, she pronounced these words: - "Monsieur le
-comte, her royal highness Madame is desirous of knowing how you are able
-to bear your wound, and to express to you, by my lips, her great regret
-at seeing you suffer."
-
-As she pronounced the word Madame, Guiche started; he had not as yet
-remarked the person to whom the voice belonged, and he naturally turned
-towards the direction whence it preceded.  But, as he felt the cold hand
-still resting on his own, he again turned towards the motionless figure
-beside him.  "Was it you who spoke, madame?" he asked, in a weak voice,
-"or is there another person in beside you in the room?"
-
-"Yes," replied the figure, in an almost unintelligible voice, as she bent
-down her head.
-
-"Well," said the wounded man, with a great effort, "I thank you.  Tell
-Madame that I no longer regret to die, since she has remembered me."
-
-At the words "to die," pronounced by one whose life seemed to hang on a
-thread, the masked lady could not restrain her tears, which flowed under
-the mask, and appeared upon her cheeks just where the mask left her face
-bare.  If De Guiche had been in fuller possession of his senses, he would
-have seen her tears roll like glistening pearls, and fall upon his bed.
-The lady, forgetting that she wore her mask, raised her hand as though to
-wipe her eyes, and meeting the rough velvet, she tore away her mask in
-anger, and threw it on the floor.  At the unexpected apparition before
-him, which seemed to issue from a cloud, De Guiche uttered a cry and
-stretched his arms towards her; but every word perished on his lips, and
-his strength seemed utterly abandoning him.  His right hand, which had
-followed his first impulse, without calculating the amount of strength he
-had left, fell back again upon the bed, and immediately afterwards the
-white linen was stained with a larger spot than before.  In the meantime,
-the young man's eyes became dim, and closed, as if he were already
-struggling with the messenger of death; and then, after a few involuntary
-movements, his head fell back motionless on his pillow; his face grew
-livid.  The lady was frightened; but on this occasion, contrary to what
-is usually the case, fear attracted.  She leaned over the young man,
-gazed earnestly, fixedly at his pale, cold face, which she almost
-touched, then imprinted a rapid kiss upon De Guiche's left hand, who,
-trembling as if an electric shock had passed through him, awoke a second
-time, opened his large eyes, incapable of recognition, and again fell
-into a state of complete insensibility.  "Come," she said to her
-companion, "we must not remain here any longer; I shall be committing
-some folly or other."
-
-"Madame, Madame, your highness is forgetting your mask!" said her
-vigilant companion.
-
-"Pick it up," replied her mistress, as she tottered almost senseless
-towards the staircase, and as the outer door had been left only half-
-closed, the two women, light as birds, passed through it, and with
-hurried steps returned to the palace.  One of the ascended towards
-Madame's apartments, where she disappeared; the other entered the rooms
-belonging to the maids of honor, namely, on the _entresol_, and having
-reached her own room, she sat down before a table, and without giving
-herself time even to breathe, wrote the following letter:
-
-"This evening Madame has been to see M. de Guiche.  Everything is going
-well on this side.  See that your news is equally exemplary, and do not
-forget to burn this paper."
-
-She folded the letter, and leaving her room with every possible
-precaution, crossed a corridor which led to the apartments appropriated
-to the gentlemen attached to Monsieur's service.  She stopped before a
-door, under which, having previously knocked twice in a short, quick
-manner, she thrust the paper, and fled.  Then, returning to her own room,
-she removed every trace of her having gone out, and also of having
-written the letter.  Amid the investigations she was so diligently
-pursuing she perceived on the table the mask which belonged to Madame,
-and which, according to her mistress's directions, she had brought back
-but had forgotten to restore to her.  "Oh, oh!" she said, "I must not
-forget to do to-morrow what I have forgotten to-day."
-
-And she took hold of the velvet mask by that part which covered the
-cheeks, and feeling that her thumb was wet, looked at it.  It was not
-only wet, but reddened.  The mask had fallen upon one of the spots of
-blood which, we have already said, stained the floor, and from that black
-velvet outside which had accidentally come into contact with it, the
-blood had passed through to the inside, and stained the white cambric
-lining.  "Oh, oh!" said Montalais, for doubtless our readers have already
-recognized her by these various maneuvers, "I shall not give back this
-mask; it is far too precious now."
-
-And rising from her seat, she ran towards a box made of maple wood, which
-inclosed different articles of toilette and perfumery.  "No, not here,"
-she said, "such a treasure must not be abandoned to the slightest chance
-of detection."
-
-Then, after a moment's silence, and with a smile that was peculiarly her
-own, she added: - "Beautiful mask, stained with the blood of that brave
-knight, you shall go and join that collection of wonders, La Valliere's
-and Raoul's letters, that loving collection, indeed, which will some day
-or other form part of the history of France, of European royalty.  You
-shall be placed under M. Malicorne's care," said the laughing girl, as
-she began to undress herself, "under the protection of that worthy M.
-Malicorne," she said, blowing out the taper, "who thinks he was born only
-to become the chief usher of Monsieur's apartments, and whom I will make
-keeper of the records and historiographer of the house of Bourbon, and of
-the first houses in the kingdom.  Let him grumble now, that discontented
-Malicorne," she added, as she drew the curtains and fell asleep.
-
-
-Chapter XXII:
-The Journey.
-
-The next day being agreed upon for the departure, the king, at eleven
-o'clock precisely, descended the grand staircase with the two queens and
-Madame, in order to enter his carriage drawn by six horses, that were
-pawing the ground in impatience at the foot of the staircase.  The whole
-court awaited the royal appearance in the _Fer-a-cheval_ crescent, in
-their travelling costumes; the large number of saddled horses and
-carriages of ladies and gentlemen of the court, surrounded by their
-attendants, servants, and pages, formed a spectacle whose brilliancy
-could scarcely be equalled.  The king entered his carriage with the two
-queens; Madame was in the same one with Monsieur.  The maids of honor
-followed their example, and took their seats, two by two, in the
-carriages destined for them.  The weather was exceedingly warm; a light
-breeze, which, early in the morning, all had thought would have proved
-sufficient to cool the air, soon became fiercely heated by the rays of
-the sun, although it was hidden behind the clouds, and filtered through
-the heated vapor which rose from the ground like a scorching wind,
-bearing particles of fine dust against the faces of the travelers.
-Madame was the first to complain of the heat.  Monsieur's only reply was
-to throw himself back in the carriage as though about to faint, and to
-inundate himself with scents and perfumes, uttering the deepest sighs all
-the while; whereupon Madame said to him, with her most amiable
-expression: - "Really, Monsieur, I fancied that you would have been
-polite enough, on account of the terrible heart, to have left me my
-carriage to myself, and to have performed the journey yourself on
-horseback."
-
-"Ride on horseback!" cried the prince, with an accent of dismay which
-showed how little idea he had of adopting this unnatural advice; "you
-cannot suppose such a thing, Madame!  My skin would peel off if I were to
-expose myself to such a burning breeze as this."
-
-Madame began to laugh.
-
-"You can take my parasol," she said.
-
-"But the trouble of holding it!" replied Monsieur, with the greatest
-coolness; "besides, I have no horse."
-
-"What, no horse?" replied the princess, who, if she did not secure the
-solitude she required, at least obtained the amusement of teasing.  "No
-horse!  You are mistaken, Monsieur; for I see your favorite bay out
-yonder."
-
-"My bay horse!" exclaimed the prince, attempting to lean forward to look
-out of the door; but the movement he was obliged to make cost him so much
-trouble that he soon hastened to resume his immobility.
-
-"Yes," said Madame; "your horse, led by M. de Malicorne."
-
-"Poor beast," replied the prince; "how warm it must be!"
-
-And with these words he closed his eyes, like a man on the point of
-death.  Madame, on her side, reclined indolently in the other corner of
-the carriage, and closed her eyes also, not, however, to sleep, but to
-think more at her ease.  In the meantime the king, seated in the front
-seat of his carriage, the back of which he had yielded up to the two
-queens, was a prey to that feverish contrariety experienced by anxious
-lovers, who, without being able to quench their ardent thirst, are
-ceaselessly desirous of seeing the loved object, and then go away
-partially satisfied, without perceiving they have acquired a more
-insatiable thirst than ever.  The king, whose carriage headed the
-procession, could not from the place he occupied perceive the carriages
-of the ladies and maids of honor, which followed in a line behind it.
-Besides, he was obliged to answer the eternal questions of the young
-queen, who, happy to have with her "_her dear husband_," as she called
-him in utter forgetfulness of royal etiquette, invested him with all her
-affection, stifled him with her attentions, afraid that some one might
-come to take him from her, or that he himself might suddenly take a fancy
-to quit her society.  Anne of Austria, whom nothing at that moment
-occupied except the occasional cruel throbbings in her bosom, looked
-pleased and delighted, and although she perfectly realized the king's
-impatience, tantalizingly prolonged his sufferings by unexpectedly
-resuming the conversation at the very moment the king, absorbed in his
-own reflections, began to muse over his secret attachment.  Everything
-seemed to combine - not alone the little teasing attentions of the queen,
-but also the queen-mother's interruptions - to make the king's position
-almost insupportable; for he knew not how to control the restless
-longings of his heart.  At first, he complained of the heat - a complaint
-merely preliminary to others, but with sufficient tact to prevent Maria
-Theresa guessing his real object.  Understanding the king's remark
-literally, she began to fan him with her ostrich plumes.  But the heat
-passed away, and the king then complained of cramps and stiffness in his
-legs, and as the carriages at that moment stopped to change horses, the
-queen said: - "Shall I get out with you?  I too feel tired of sitting.
-We can walk on a little distance; the carriage will overtake us, and we
-can resume our places presently."
-
-The king frowned; it is a hard trial a jealous woman makes her husband
-submit to whose fidelity she suspects, when, although herself a prey to
-jealousy, she watches herself so narrowly that she avoids giving any
-pretext for an angry feeling.  The king, therefore, in the present case,
-could not refuse; he accepted the offer, alighted from the carriage, gave
-his arm to the queen, and walked up and down with her while the horses
-were being changed.  As he walked along, he cast an envious glance upon
-the courtiers, who were fortunate enough to be on horseback.  The queen
-soon found out that the promenade she had suggested afforded the king as
-little pleasure as he had experienced from driving.  She accordingly
-expressed a wish to return to her carriage, and the king conducted her to
-the door, but did not get in with her.  He stepped back a few paces, and
-looked along the file of carriages for the purpose of recognizing the one
-in which he took so strong an interest.  At the door of the sixth
-carriage he saw La Valliere's fair countenance.  As the king thus stood
-motionless, wrapt in thought, without perceiving that everything was
-ready, and that he alone was causing the delay, he heard a voice close
-beside him, addressing him in the most respectful manner.  It was M.
-Malicorne, in a complete costume of an equerry, holding over his left arm
-the bridles of a couple of horses.
-
-"Your majesty asked for a horse, I believe," he said.
-
-"A horse?  Have you one of my horses here?" inquired the king, trying to
-remember the person who addressed him, and whose face was not as yet
-familiar to him.
-
-"Sire," replied Malicorne, "at all events I have a horse here which is at
-your majesty's service."
-
-And Malicorne pointed at Monsieur's bay horse, which Madame had
-observed.  It was a beautiful creature royally caparisoned.
-
-"This is not one of my horses, monsieur," said the king.
-
-"Sire, it is a horse out of his royal highness's stables; but he does not
-ride when the weather is as hot as it is now."
-
-Louis did not reply, but approached the horse, which stood pawing the
-ground with its foot.  Malicorne hastened to hold the stirrup for him,
-but the king was already in the saddle.  Restored to good-humor by this
-lucky accident, the king hastened towards the queen's carriage, where he
-was anxiously expected; and notwithstanding Maria Theresa's thoughtful
-and preoccupied air, he said: "I have been fortunate enough to find this
-horse, and I intend to avail myself of it.  I felt stifled in the
-carriage.  Adieu, ladies."
-
-Then bending gracefully over the arched neck of his beautiful steed, he
-disappeared in a second.  Anne of Austria leaned forward, in order to
-look after him as he rode away; he did not get very far, for when he
-reached the sixth carriage, he reined in his horse suddenly and took off
-his hat.  He saluted La Valliere, who uttered a cry of surprise as she
-saw him, blushing at the same time with pleasure.  Montalais, who
-occupied the other seat in the carriage, made the king a most respectful
-bow.  And then, with all the tact of a woman, she pretended to be
-exceedingly interested in the landscape, and withdrew herself into the
-left-hand corner.  The conversation between the king and La Valliere
-began, as all lovers' conversations generally do, namely, by eloquent
-looks and by a few words utterly devoid of common sense.  The king
-explained how warm he had felt in his carriage, so much so indeed that he
-could almost regard the horse he then rode as a blessing thrown in his
-way.  "And," he added, "my benefactor is an exceedingly intelligent man,
-for he seemed to guess my thoughts intuitively.  I have now only one
-wish, that of learning the name of the gentleman who so cleverly assisted
-his king out of his dilemma, and extricated him from his cruel position."
-
-Montalais, during this colloquy, the first words of which had awakened
-her attention, had slightly altered her position, and contrived so as to
-meet the king's look as he finished his remark.  It followed very
-naturally that the king looked inquiringly as much at her as at La
-Valliere; she had every reason to suppose that it was herself who was
-appealed to, and consequently might be permitted to answer.  She
-therefore said: "Sire, the horse which your majesty is riding belongs to
-Monsieur, and was being led by one of his royal highness's gentlemen."
-
-"And what is that gentleman's name, may I ask, mademoiselle?"
-
-"M. de Malicorne, sire."
-
-The name produced its usual effect, for the king repeated it smilingly.
-
-"Yes, sire," replied Aure.  "Stay, it is the gentleman who is galloping
-on my left hand;" and she pointed out Malicorne, who, with a very
-sanctified expression, was galloping by the side of the carriage, knowing
-perfectly well that they were talking of him at that very moment, but
-sitting in his saddle as if he were deaf and dumb.
-
-"Yes," said the king, "that is the gentleman; I remember his face, and
-will not forget his name;" and the king looked tenderly at La Valliere.
-
-Aure had now nothing further to do; she had let Malicorne's name fall;
-the soil was good; all that was now left to be done was to let the name
-take root, and the event would bear fruit in due season.  She
-consequently threw herself back in her corner, feeling perfectly
-justified in making as many agreeable signs of recognition as she liked
-to Malicorne, since the latter had had the happiness of pleasing the
-king.  As will readily be believed, Montalais was not mistaken; and
-Malicorne, with his quick ear and his sly look, seemed to interpret her
-remark as "All goes on well," the whole being accompanied by a pantomimic
-action, which he fancied conveyed something resembling a kiss.
-
-"Alas! mademoiselle," said the king, after a moment's pause, "the liberty
-and freedom of the country is soon about to cease; your attendance on
-Madame will be more strictly enforced, and we shall see each other no
-more."
-
-"Your majesty is too much attached to Madame," replied Louise, "not to
-come and see her very frequently; and whenever your majesty may chance to
-pass across the apartments - "
-
-"Ah!" said the king, in a tender voice, which was gradually lowered in
-its tone, "to perceive is not to see, and yet it seems that it would be
-quite sufficient for you."
-
-Louise did not answer a syllable; a sigh filled her heart almost to
-bursting, but she stifled it.
-
-"You exercise a great control over yourself," said the king to Louise,
-who smiled upon him with a melancholy expression.  "Exert the strength
-you have in loving fondly," he continued, "and I will bless Heaven for
-having bestowed it on you."
-
-La Valliere still remained silent, but raised her eyes, brimful of
-affection, toward the king.  Louis, as if overcome by this burning
-glance, passed his hand across his forehead, and pressing the sides of
-his horse with his knees, made him bound several paces forward.  La
-Valliere, leaning back in her carriage, with her eyes half closed, gazed
-fixedly upon the king, whose plumes were floating in the air; she could
-not but admire his graceful carriage, his delicate and nervous limbs
-which pressed his horse's sides, and the regular outline of his features,
-which his beautiful curling hair set off to great advantage, revealing
-occasionally his small and well-formed ear.  In fact the poor girl was in
-love, and she reveled in her innocent affection.  In a few moments the
-king was again by her side.
-
-"Do you not perceive," he said, "how terribly your silence affects me?
-Oh! mademoiselle, how pitilessly inexorable you would become if you were
-ever to resolve to break off all acquaintance with any one; and then,
-too, I think you changeable; in fact - in fact, I dread this deep
-affection which fills my whole being."
-
-"Oh! sire, you are mistaken," said La Valliere; "if ever I love, it will
-be for all my life."
-
-"If you love, you say," exclaimed the king; "you do _not_ love now, then?"
-
-She hid her face in her hands.
-
-"You see," said the king, "that I am right in accusing you; you must
-admit you are changeable, capricious, a coquette, perhaps."
-
-"Oh, no! sire, be perfectly satisfied as to that.  No, I say again; no,
-no!"
-
-"Promise me, then, that to me you will always be the same."
-
-"Oh! always, sire."
-
-"That you will never show any of that severity which would break my
-heart, none of that fickleness of manner which would be worse than death
-to me."
-
-"Oh! no, no."
-
-"Very well, then! but listen.  I like promises, I like to place under the
-guarantee of an oath, under the protection of Heaven, in fact, everything
-which interests my heart and my affections.  Promise me, or rather swear
-to me, that if in the life we are about to commence, a life which will be
-full of sacrifice, mystery, anxiety, disappointment, and
-misunderstanding; swear to me that if we should in any way deceive, or
-misunderstand each other, or should judge each other unjustly, for that
-indeed would be criminal in love such as ours; swear to me, Louise - "
-
-She trembled with agitation to the very depths of her heart; it was the
-first time she had heard her name pronounced in that manner by her royal
-lover.  As for the king, taking off his glove, and placing his hand
-within the carriage, he continued: - "Swear, that never in all our
-quarrels will we allow one night even to pass by, if any misunderstanding
-should arise between us, without a visit, or at least a message, from
-either, in order to convey consolation and repose to the other."
-
-La Valliere took her lover's burning hand between her own cool palms, and
-pressed it softly, until a movement of the horse, frightened by the
-proximity of the wheels, obliged her to abandon her happiness.  She had
-vowed as he desired.
-
-"Return, sire," she said, "return to the queen.  I foresee a storm
-yonder, which threatens my peace of mind and yours."
-
-Louis obeyed, saluted Mademoiselle de Montalais, and set off at a gallop
-to rejoin the queen.  As he passed Monsieur's carriage, he observed that
-he was fast asleep, although Madame, on her part, was wide awake.  As the
-king passed her she said, "What a beautiful horse, sire!  Is it not
-Monsieur's bay horse?"
-
-The young queen kindly asked, "Are you better now, sire?" (3)
-
-
-Chapter XXIII:
-Triumfeminate.
-
-On the king's arrival in Paris, he sat at the council which had been
-summoned, and worked for a certain portion of the day.  The queen
-remained with the queen-mother, and burst into tears as soon as she had
-taken leave of the king.  "Ah, madame!" she said, "the king no longer
-loves me!  What will become of me?"
-
-"A husband always loves his wife when she is like you," replied Anne of
-Austria.
-
-"A time may come when he will love another woman instead of me."
-
-"What do you call loving?"
-
-"Always thinking of a person - always seeking her society."
-
-"Do you happen to have remarked," said Anne of Austria, "that the king
-has ever done anything of the sort?"
-
-"No, madame," said the young queen, hesitatingly.
-
-"What is there to complain of, then, Marie?"
-
-"You will admit that the king leaves me?"
-
-"The king, my daughter, belongs to his people."
-
-"And that is the very reason why he no longer belongs to me; and that is
-the reason, too, why I shall find myself, as so many queens before me,
-forsaken and forgotten, whilst glory and honors will be reserved for
-others.  Oh, my mother! the king is so handsome! how often will others
-tell him that they love him, and how much, indeed, they must do so!"
-
-"It is very seldom, indeed, that women love the man in loving the king.
-But if such a thing happened, which I doubt, you would do better to wish,
-Marie, that such women should really love your husband.  In the first
-place, the devoted love of a mistress is a rapid element of the
-dissolution of a lover's affection; and then, by dint of loving, the
-mistress loses all influence over her lover, whose power of wealth she
-does not covet, caring only for his affection.  Wish, therefore, that the
-king should love but lightly, and that his mistress should love with all
-her heart."
-
-"Oh, my mother, what power may not a deep affection exercise over him!"
-
-"And yet you say you are resigned?"
-
-"Quite true, quite true; I speak absurdly.  There is a feeling of
-anguish, however, which I can never control."
-
-"And that is?"
-
-"The king may make a happy choice - may find a home, with all the tender
-influences of home, not far from that we can offer him, - a home with
-children round him, the children of another woman.  Oh, madame!  I should
-die if I were but to see the king's children."
-
-"Marie, Marie," replied the queen-mother with a smile, and she took the
-young queen's hand in her own, "remember what I am going to say, and let
-it always be a consolation to you: the king cannot have a Dauphin without
-_you_."
-
-With this remark the queen-mother quitted her daughter-in-law, in order
-to meet Madame, whose arrival in the grand cabinet had just been
-announced by one of the pages.  Madame had scarcely taken time to change
-her dress.  Her face revealed her agitation, which betrayed a plan, the
-execution of which occupied, while the result disturbed, her mind.
-
-"I came to ascertain," she said, "if your majesties are suffering any
-fatigue from our journey."
-
-"None at all," said the queen-mother.
-
-"A little," replied Maria Theresa.
-
-"I have suffered from annoyance more than anything else," said Madame.
-
-"How was that?" inquired Anne of Austria.
-
-"The fatigue the king undergoes in riding about on horseback."
-
-"That does the king good."
-
-"And it was I who advised him," said Maria Theresa, turning pale.
-
-Madame said not a word in reply; but one of those smiles which were
-peculiarly her own flitted for a moment across her lips, without passing
-over the rest of her face; then, immediately changing the conversation,
-she continued, "We shall find Paris precisely the Paris we quitted; the
-same intrigues, plots, and flirtations going on."
-
-"Intrigues!  What intrigues do you allude to?" inquired the queen-mother.
-
-"People are talking a good deal about M. Fouquet and Madame Plessis-
-Belliere."
-
-"Who makes up the number to about ten thousand," replied the queen-
-mother.  "But what are the plots you speak of?"
-
-"We have, it seems, certain misunderstandings with Holland to settle."
-
-"What about?"
-
-"Monsieur has been telling me the story of the medals."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed the young queen, "you mean those medals struck in
-Holland, on which a cloud is seen passing across the sun, which is the
-king's device.  You are wrong in calling that a plot - it is an insult."
-
-"But so contemptible that the king can well despise it," replied the
-queen-mother.  "Well, what are the flirtations which are alluded to?  Do
-you mean that of Madame d'Olonne?"
-
-"No, no; nearer ourselves than that."
-
-"_Casa de usted_," murmured the queen-mother, and without moving her
-lips, in her daughter-in-law's ear, without being overheard by Madame,
-who thus continued: - "You know the terrible news?" (4)
-
-"Oh, yes; M. de Guiche's wound."
-
-"And you attribute it, I suppose, as every one else does, to an accident
-which happened to him while hunting?"
-
-"Yes, of course," said both the queens together, their interest awakened.
-
-Madame drew closer to them, as she said, in a low tone of voice, "It was
-a duel."
-
-"Ah!" said Anne of Austria, in a severe tone; for, in her ears, the word
-"duel," which had been forbidden in France all the time she reigned over
-it, had a strange sound.
-
-"A most deplorable duel, which has nearly cost Monsieur two of his best
-friends, and the king two of his best servants."
-
-"What was the cause of the duel?" inquired the young queen, animated by a
-secret instinct.
-
-"Flirtation," repeated Madame, triumphantly.  "The gentlemen in question
-were conversing about the virtue of a particular lady belonging to the
-court.  One of them thought that Pallas was a very second-rate person
-compared to her; the other pretended that the lady in question was an
-imitation of Venus alluring Mars; and thereupon the two gentlemen fought
-as fiercely as Hector and Achilles."
-
-"Venus alluring Mars?" said the young queen in a low tone of voice
-without venturing to examine into the allegory very deeply.
-
-"Who is the lady?" inquired Anne of Austria abruptly.  "You said, I
-believe, she was one of the ladies of honor?"
-
-"Did I say so?" replied Madame.
-
-"Yes; at least I thought I heard you mention it."
-
-"Are you not aware that such a woman is of ill-omen to a royal house?"
-
-"Is it not Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" said the queen-mother.
-
-"Yes, indeed, that plain-looking creature."
-
-"I thought she was affianced to a gentleman who certainly is not, at
-least so I have heard, either M. de Guiche or M. de Wardes?"
-
-"Very possibly, madame."
-
-The young queen took up a piece of tapestry, and began to broider with an
-affectation of tranquillity her trembling fingers contradicted.
-
-"What were you saying about Venus and Mars?" pursued the queen-mother.
-"Is there a Mars also?"
-
-"She boasts of that being the case."
-
-"Did you say she boasts of it?"
-
-"That was the cause of the duel."
-
-"And M. de Guiche upheld the cause of Mars?"
-
-"Yes, certainly; like the devoted servant he is."
-
-"The devoted servant of whom?" exclaimed the young queen, forgetting her
-reserve in allowing her jealous feeling to escape.
-
-"Mars, not to be defended except at the expense of Venus," replied
-Madame.  "M. de Guiche maintained the perfect innocence of Mars, and no
-doubt affirmed that it was all a mere boast."
-
-"And M. de Wardes," said Anne of Austria, quietly, "spread the report
-that Venus was within her rights, I suppose?"
-
-"Oh, De Wardes," thought Madame, "you shall pay dearly for the wound you
-have given that noblest - best of men!"  And she began to attack De
-Wardes with the greatest bitterness; thus discharging her own and De
-Guiche's debt, with the assurance that she was working the future ruin of
-her enemy.  She said so much, in fact, that had Manicamp been there, he
-would have regretted he had shown such firm regard for his friend,
-inasmuch as it resulted in the ruin of his unfortunate foe.
-
-"I see nothing in the whole affair but _one_ cause of mischief, and that
-is La Valliere herself," said the queen-mother.
-
-The young queen resumed her work with perfect indifference of manner,
-while Madame listened eagerly.
-
-"I do not yet quite understand what you said just now about the danger of
-coquetry," resumed Anne of Austria.
-
-"It is quite true," Madame hastened to say, "that if the girl had not
-been a coquette, Mars would not have thought at all about her."
-
-The repetition of this word Mars brought a passing color to the queen's
-face; but she still continued her work.
-
-"I will not permit that, in my court, gentlemen should be set against
-each other in this manner," said Anne of Austria, calmly.  "Such manners
-were useful enough, perhaps, in days when the divided nobility had no
-other rallying-point than mere gallantry.  At that time women, whose sway
-was absolute and undivided, were privileged to encourage men's valor by
-frequent trials of their courage.  But now, thank Heaven, there is but
-one master in France, and to him every instinct of the mind, every pulse
-of the body are due.  I will not allow my son to be deprived of any
-single one of his servants."  And she turned towards the young queen,
-saying, "What is to be done with this La Valliere?"
-
-"La Valliere?" said the queen, apparently surprised, "I do not even know
-the name;" and she accompanied this remark by one of those cold, fixed
-smiles only to be observed on royal lips.
-
-Madame was herself a princess great in every respect, great in
-intelligence, great by birth, by pride; the queen's reply, however,
-completely astonished her, and she was obliged to pause for a moment
-in order to recover herself.  "She is one of my maids of honor," she
-replied, with a bow.
-
-"In that case," retorted Maria Theresa, in the same tone, "it is your
-affair, my sister, and not ours."
-
-"I beg your pardon," resumed Anne of Austria, "it is my affair.  And I
-perfectly well understand," she pursued, addressing a look full of
-intelligence at Madame, "Madame's motive for saying what she has just
-said."
-
-"Everything which emanates from you, madame," said the English princess,
-"proceeds from the lips of Wisdom."
-
-"If we send this girl back to her own family," said Maria Theresa,
-gently, "we must bestow a pension upon her."
-
-"Which I will provide for out of my income," exclaimed Madame.
-
-"No, no," interrupted Anne of Austria, "no disturbance, I beg.  The king
-dislikes that the slightest disrespectful remark should be made of any
-lady.  Let everything be done quietly.  Will you have the kindness,
-Madame, to send for this girl here; and you, my daughter, will have the
-goodness to retire to your own room."
-
-The dowager queen's entreaties were commands, and as Maria Theresa rose
-to return to her apartments, Madame rose in order to send a page to
-summon La Valliere.
-
-
-Chapter XXIV:
-The First Quarrel.
-
-La Valliere entered the queen-mother's apartments without in the least
-suspecting that a serious plot was being concerted against her.  She
-thought it was for something connected with her duties, and never had the
-queen-mother been unkind to her when such was the case.  Besides, not
-being immediately under the control or direction of Anne of Austria, she
-could only have an official connection with her, to which her own
-gentleness of disposition, and the rank of the august princess, made her
-yield on every occasion with the best possible grace.  She therefore
-advanced towards the queen-mother with that soft and gentle smile which
-constituted her principal charm, and as she did not approach sufficiently
-close, Anne of Austria signed to her to come nearer.  Madame then entered
-the room, and with a perfectly calm air took her seat beside her mother-
-in-law, and continued the work which Maria Theresa had begun.  When La
-Valliere, instead of the direction which she expected to receive
-immediately on entering the room, perceived these preparations, she
-looked with curiosity, if not with uneasiness, at the two princesses.
-Anne seemed full of thought, while Madame maintained an affectation of
-indifference that would have alarmed a less timid person even than Louise.
-
-"Mademoiselle," said the queen-mother suddenly, without attempting to
-moderate or disguise her Spanish accent, which she never failed to do
-except when she was angry, "come closer; we were talking of you, as every
-one else seems to be doing."
-
-"Of me!" exclaimed La Valliere, turning pale.
-
-"Do you pretend to be ignorant of it; are you not aware of the duel
-between M. de Guiche and M. de Wardes?"
-
-"Oh, madame!  I heard of it yesterday," said La Valliere, clasping her
-hands together.
-
-"And did you not foresee this quarrel?"
-
-"Why should I, madame?"
-
-"Because two men never fight without a motive, and because you must be
-aware of the motive which awakened the animosity of the two in question."
-
-"I am perfectly ignorant of it, madame."
-
-"A persevering denial is a very commonplace mode of defense, and you, who
-have great pretensions to be witty and clever, ought to avoid
-commonplaces.  What else have you to say?"
-
-"Oh! madame, your majesty terrifies me with your cold severity of manner;
-but I do not understand how I can have incurred your displeasure, or in
-what respect people concern themselves about me."
-
-"Then I will tell you.  M. de Guiche has been obliged to undertake your
-defense."
-
-"My defense?"
-
-"Yes.  He is a gallant knight, and beautiful adventuresses like to see
-brave knights couch lances in their honor.  But, for my part, I hate
-fields of battle, and above all I hate adventures, and - take my remark
-as you please."
-
-La Valliere sank at the queen's feet, who turned her back upon her.  She
-stretched out her hands towards Madame, who laughed in her face.  A
-feeling of pride made her rise to her feet.
-
-"I have begged your majesty to tell me what is the crime I am accused of
-- I can claim this at your hands; and I see I am condemned before I am
-even permitted to justify myself."
-
-"Eh! indeed," cried Anne of Austria, "listen to her beautiful phrases,
-Madame, and to her fine sentiments; she is an inexhaustible well of
-tenderness and heroic expressions.  One can easily see, young lady, that
-you have cultivated your mind in the society of crowned heads."
-
-La Valliere felt struck to the heart; she became, not whiter, but as
-white as a lily, and all her strength forsook her.
-
-"I wished to inform you," interrupted the queen, disdainfully, "that if
-you continue to nourish such feelings, you will humiliate us to such a
-degree that we shall be ashamed of appearing before you.  Be simple in
-your manners.  By the by, I am informed that you are affianced; is it the
-case?"
-
-La Valliere pressed her hand over her heart, which was wrung with a fresh
-pang.
-
-"Answer when you are spoken to!"
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"To a gentleman?"
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"His name?"
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"Are you aware that it is an exceedingly fortunate circumstance for you,
-mademoiselle, that such is the case, and without fortune or position, as
-you are, or without any very great personal advantages, you ought to
-bless Heaven for having procured you such a future as seems to be in
-store for you?"
-
-La Valliere did not reply.  "Where is the Vicomte de Bragelonne?" pursued
-the queen.
-
-"In England," said Madame, "where the report of this young lady's success
-will not fail to reach him."
-
-"Oh, Heaven!" murmured La Valliere in despair.
-
-"Very well, mademoiselle!" said Anne of Austria, "we will get this young
-gentleman to return, and send you away somewhere with him.  If you are of
-a different opinion - for girls have strange views and fancies at times -
-trust to me, I will put you in a proper path again.  I have done as much
-for girls who are not as good as you are, probably."
-
-La Valliere ceased to hear the queen, who pitilessly added: "I will send
-you somewhere, by yourself, where you will be able to indulge in a little
-serious reflection.  Reflection calms the ardor of the blood, and
-swallows up the illusions of youth.  I suppose you understand what I have
-been saying?"
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"Not a word?"
-
-"I am innocent of everything your majesty supposes.  Oh, madame! you are
-a witness of my despair.  I love, I respect your majesty so much."
-
-"It would be far better not to respect me at all," said the queen, with a
-chilling irony of manner.  "It would be far better if you were not
-innocent.  Do you presume to suppose that I should be satisfied simply to
-leave you unpunished if you had committed the fault?"
-
-"Oh, madame! you are killing me."
-
-"No acting, if you please, or I will precipitate the _denouement_ of this
-_play_; leave the room; return to your own apartment, and I trust my
-lesson may be of service to you."
-
-"Madame!" said La Valliere to the Duchess d'Orleans, whose hands she
-seized in her own, "do you, who are so good, intercede for me?"
-
-"I!" replied the latter, with an insulting joy, "I - good! - Ah,
-mademoiselle, you think nothing of the kind;" and with a rude, hasty
-gesture she repulsed the young girl's grasp.
-
-La Valliere, instead of giving way, as from her extreme pallor and her
-tears the two princesses possibly expected, suddenly resumed her calm and
-dignified air; she bowed profoundly, and left the room.
-
-"Well!" said Anne of Austria to Madame, "do you think she will begin
-again?"
-
-"I always suspect those gentle, patient characters," replied Madame.
-"Nothing is more full of courage than a patient heart, nothing more self-
-reliant than a gentle spirit."
-
-"I feel I may almost venture to assure you she will think twice before
-she looks at the god Mars again."
-
-"So long as she does not obtain the protection of his buckler I do not
-care," retorted Madame.
-
-A proud, defiant look of the queen-mother was the reply to this
-objection, which was by no means deficient in finesse; and both of them,
-almost sure of their victory, went to look for Maria Theresa, who had
-been waiting for them with impatience.
-
-It was about half-past six in the evening, and the king had just partaken
-of refreshment.  He lost no time; but the repast finished, and business
-matters settled, he took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and desired him to lead
-the way to La Valliere's apartments.  The courtier uttered an exclamation.
-
-"Well, what is that for?  It is a habit you will have to adopt, and in
-order to adopt a habit, one must make a beginning."
-
-"Oh, sire!" said Saint-Aignan, "it is hardly possible: for every one can
-be seen entering or leaving those apartments.  If, however, some pretext
-or other were made use of - if your majesty, for instance, would wait
-until Madame were in her own apartments - "
-
-"No pretext; no delays.  I have had enough of these impediments and
-mysteries; I cannot perceive in what respect the king of France dishonors
-himself by conversing with an amiable and clever girl.  Evil be to him
-who evil thinks."
-
-"Will your majesty forgive an excess of zeal on my part?"
-
-"Speak freely."
-
-"How about the queen?"
-
-"True, true; I always wish the most entire respect to be shown to her
-majesty.  Well, then, this evening only will I pay Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere a visit, and after to-day I will make use of any pretext you
-like.  To-morrow we will devise all sorts of means; to-night I have no
-time."
-
-Saint-Aignan made no reply; he descended the steps, preceding the king,
-and crossed the different courtyards with a feeling of shame, which the
-distinguished honor of accompanying the king did not remove.  The reason
-was that Saint-Aignan wished to stand well with Madame, as well as with
-the queens, and also, that he did not, on the other hand, want to
-displease Mademoiselle de la Valliere: and in order to carry out so many
-promising affairs, it was difficult to avoid jostling against some
-obstacle or other.  Besides, the windows of the young queen's rooms,
-those of the queen-mother's, and of Madame herself, looked out upon the
-courtyard of the maids of honor.  To be seen, therefore, accompanying the
-king, would be effectually to quarrel with three great and influential
-princesses - whose authority was unbounded - for the purpose of
-supporting the ephemeral credit of a mistress.  The unhappy Saint-Aignan,
-who had not displayed a very great amount of courage in taking La
-Valliere's part in the park of Fontainebleau, did not feel any braver in
-the broad day-light, and found a thousand defects in the poor girl which
-he was most eager to communicate to the king.  But his trial soon
-finished, - the courtyards were crossed; not a curtain was drawn aside,
-nor a window opened.  The king walked hastily, because of his impatience,
-and the long legs of Saint-Aignan, who preceded him.  At the door,
-however, Saint-Aignan wished to retire, but the king desired him to
-remain; a delicate consideration, on the king's part, which the courtier
-could very well have dispensed with.  He had to follow Louis into La
-Valliere's apartment.  As soon as the king arrived the young girl dried
-her tears, but so precipitately that the king perceived it.  He
-questioned her most anxiously and tenderly, and pressed her to tell him
-the cause of her emotion.
-
-"Nothing is the matter, sire," she said.
-
-"And yet you were weeping?"
-
-"Oh, no, indeed, sire."
-
-"Look, Saint-Aignan, and tell me if I am mistaken."
-
-Saint-Aignan ought to have answered, but he was too much embarrassed.
-
-"At all events your eyes are red, mademoiselle," said the king.
-
-"The dust of the road merely, sire."
-
-"No, no; you no longer possess the air of supreme contentment which
-renders you so beautiful and so attractive.  You do not look at me.  Why
-avoid my gaze?" he said, as she turned aside her head.  "In Heaven's
-name, what is the matter?" he inquired, beginning to lose command over
-himself.
-
-"Nothing at all, sire; and I am perfectly ready to assure your majesty
-that my mind is as free form anxiety as you could possibly wish."
-
-"Your mind at ease, when I see you are embarrassed at the slightest
-thing.  Has any one annoyed you?"
-
-"No, no, sire."
-
-"I insist upon knowing if such really be the case," said the prince, his
-eyes sparkling.
-
-"No one, sire, no one has in any way offended me."
-
-"In that case, pray resume your gentle air of gayety, or that sweet
-melancholy look which I so loved in you this morning; for pity's sake, do
-so."
-
-"Yes, sire, yes."
-
-The king tapped the floor impatiently with his foot, saying, "Such a
-change is positively inexplicable."  And he looked at Saint-Aignan, who
-had also remarked La Valliere's peculiar lethargy, as well as the king's
-impatience.
-
-It was futile for the king to entreat, and as useless for him to try to
-overcome her depression: the poor girl was completely overwhelmed, - the
-appearance of an angel would hardly have awakened her from her torpor.
-
-The king saw in her repeated negative replies a mystery full of
-unkindness; he began to look round the apartment with a suspicious air.
-There happened to be in La Valliere's room a miniature of Athos.  The
-king remarked that this portrait bore a strong resemblance to Bragelonne,
-for it had been taken when the count was quite a young man.  He looked at
-it with a threatening air.  La Valliere, in her misery far indeed from
-thinking of this portrait, could not conjecture the cause of the king's
-preoccupation.  And yet the king's mind was occupied with a terrible
-remembrance, which had more than once taken possession of his mind, but
-which he had always driven away.  He recalled the intimacy existing
-between the two young people from their birth, their engagement, and that
-Athos himself had come to solicit La Valliere's hand for Raoul.  He
-therefore could not but suppose that on her return to Paris, La Valliere
-had found news from London awaiting her, and that this news had
-counterbalanced the influence he had been enabled to exert over her.  He
-immediately felt himself stung, as it were, by feelings of the wildest
-jealousy; and again questioned her, with increased bitterness.  La
-Valliere could not reply, unless she were to acknowledge everything,
-which would be to accuse the queen, and Madame also; and the consequence
-would be, that she would have to enter into an open warfare with these
-two great and powerful princesses.  She thought within herself that as
-she made no attempt to conceal from the king what was passing in her own
-mind, the king ought to be able to read in her heart, in spite of her
-silence; and that, had he really loved her, he would have understood and
-guessed everything.  What was sympathy, then, if not that divine flame
-which possesses the property of enlightening the heart, and of saving
-lovers the necessity of an expression of their thoughts and feelings?
-She maintained her silence, therefore, sighing, and concealing her face
-in her hands.  These sighs and tears, which had at first distressed, then
-terrified Louis XIV., now irritated him.  He could not bear opposition, -
-the opposition which tears and sighs exhibited, any more than opposition
-of any other kind.  His remarks, therefore, became bitter, urgent, and
-openly aggressive in their nature.  This was a fresh cause of distress
-for the poor girl.  From that very circumstance, therefore, which she
-regarded as an injustice on her lover's part, she drew sufficient courage
-to bear, not only her other troubles, but this one also.
-
-The king next began to accuse her in direct terms.  La Valliere did not
-even attempt to defend herself; she endured all his accusations without
-according any other reply than that of shaking her head; without any
-other remark than that which escapes the heart in deep distress - a
-prayerful appeal to Heaven for help.  But this ejaculation, instead of
-calming the king's displeasure, rather increased it.  He, moreover, saw
-himself seconded by Saint-Aignan, for Saint-Aignan, as we have observed,
-having seen the storm increasing, and not knowing the extent of the
-regard of which Louis XIV. was capable, felt, by anticipation, all the
-collected wrath of the three princesses, and the near approach of poor La
-Valliere's downfall, and he was not true knight enough to resist the fear
-that he himself might be dragged down in the impending ruin.  Saint-
-Aignan did not reply to the king's questions except by short, dry
-remarks, pronounced half-aloud; and by abrupt gestures, whose object was
-to make things worse, and bring about a misunderstanding, the result of
-which would be to free him from the annoyance of having to cross the
-courtyards in open day, in order to follow his illustrious companion to
-La Valliere's apartments.  In the meantime the king's anger momentarily
-increased; he made two or three steps towards the door as if to leave the
-room, but returned.  The young girl did not, however, raise her head,
-although the sound of his footsteps might have warned her that her lover
-was leaving her.  He drew himself up, for a moment, before her, with his
-arms crossed.
-
-"For the last time, mademoiselle," he said, "will you speak?  Will you
-assign a reason for this change, this fickleness, for this caprice?"
-
-"What can I say?" murmured La Valliere.  "Do you not see, sire, that I am
-completely overwhelmed at this moment; that I have no power of will, or
-thought, or speech?"
-
-"Is it so difficult, then, to speak the truth?  You could have told me
-the whole truth in fewer words than those in which you have expressed
-yourself."
-
-"But the truth about what, sire?"
-
-"About everything."
-
-La Valliere was just on the point of revealing the truth to the king, her
-arms made a sudden movement as if they were about to open, but her lips
-remained silent, and her hands again fell listlessly by her side.  The
-poor girl had not yet endured sufficient unhappiness to risk the
-necessary revelation.  "I know nothing," she stammered out.
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed the king, "this is no longer mere coquetry, or caprice,
-it is treason."
-
-And this time nothing could restrain him.  The impulse of his heart was
-not sufficient to induce him to turn back, and he darted out of the room
-with a gesture full of despair.  Saint-Aignan followed him, wishing for
-nothing better than to quit the place.
-
-Louis XIV. did not pause until he reached the staircase, and grasping the
-balustrade, said: "You see how shamefully I have been duped."
-
-"How, sire?" inquired the favorite.
-
-"De Guiche fought on the Vicomte de Bragelonne's account, and this
-Bragelonne… oh!  Saint-Aignan, she still loves him.  I vow to you, Saint-
-Aignan, that if, in three days from now, there were to remain but an atom
-of affection for her in my heart, I should die from very shame."  And the
-king resumed his way to his own apartments.
-
-"I told your majesty how it would be," murmured Saint-Aignan, continuing
-to follow the king, and timidly glancing up at the different windows.
-
-Unfortunately their return was not, like their arrival, unobserved.  A
-curtain was suddenly drawn aside; Madame was behind it.  She had seen the
-king leave the apartments of the maids of honor, and as soon as she
-observed that his majesty had passed, she left her own apartments with
-hurried steps, and ran up the staircase that led to the room the king had
-just left.
-
-
-Chapter XXV:
-Despair.
-
-As soon as the king was gone La Valliere raised herself from the ground,
-and stretched out her arms, as if to follow and detain him, but when,
-having violently closed the door, the sound of his retreating footsteps
-could be heard in the distance, she had hardly sufficient strength left
-to totter towards and fall at the foot of her crucifix.  There she
-remained, broken-hearted, absorbed, and overwhelmed by her grief,
-forgetful and indifferent to everything but her profound sorrow; - a
-grief she only vaguely realized - as though by instinct.  In the midst of
-this wild tumult of thoughts, La Valliere heard her door open again; she
-started, and turned round, thinking it was the king who had returned.
-She was deceived, however, for it was Madame who appeared at the door.
-What did she now care for Madame!  Again she sank down, her head
-supported by her _prie-Dieu_ chair.  It was Madame, agitated, angry, and
-threatening.  But what was that to her?  "Mademoiselle," said the
-princess, standing before La Valliere, "this is very fine, I admit, to
-kneel and pray, and make a pretense of being religious; but however
-submissive you may be in your address to Heaven, it is desirable that you
-should pay some little attention to the wishes of those who reign and
-rule here below."
-
-La Valliere raised her head painfully in token of respect.
-
-"Not long since," continued Madame, "a certain recommendation was
-addressed to you, I believe."
-
-La Valliere's fixed and wild gaze showed how complete her forgetfulness
-or ignorance was.
-
-"The queen recommended you," continued Madame, "to conduct yourself in
-such a manner that no one could be justified in spreading any reports
-about you."
-
-La Valliere darted an inquiring look towards her.
-
-"I will not," continued Madame, "allow my household, which is that of the
-first princess of the blood, to set an evil example to the court; you
-would be the cause of such an example.  I beg you to understand,
-therefore, in the absence of any witness of your shame - for I do not
-wish to humiliate you - that you are from this moment at perfect liberty
-to leave, and that you can return to  your mother at Blois."
-
-La Valliere could not sink lower, nor could she suffer more than she had
-already suffered.  Her countenance did not even change, but she remained
-kneeling with her hands clasped, like the figure of the Magdalen.
-
-"Did you hear me?" said Madame.
-
-A shiver, which passed through her whole frame, was La Valliere's only
-reply.  And as the victim gave no other signs of life, Madame left the
-room.  And then, her very respiration suspended, and her blood almost
-congealed, as it were, in her veins, La Valliere by degrees felt that the
-pulsation of her wrists, her neck, and temples, began to throb more and
-more painfully.  These pulsations, as they gradually increased, soon
-changed into a species of brain fever, and in her temporary delirium she
-saw the figures of her friends contending with her enemies, floating
-before her vision.  She heard, too, mingled together in her deafened
-ears, words of menace and words of fond affection; she seemed raised out
-of her existence as though it were upon the wings of a mighty tempest,
-and in the dim horizon of the path along which her delirium hurried her,
-she saw the stone which covered her tomb upraised, and the grim,
-appalling texture of eternal night revealed to her distracted gaze.  But
-the horror of the dream which possessed her senses faded away, and she
-was again restored to the habitual resignation of her character.  A ray
-of hope penetrated her heart, as a ray of sunlight streams into the
-dungeon of some unhappy captive.  Her mind reverted to the journey from
-Fontainebleau, she saw the king riding beside her carriage, telling her
-that he loved her, asking for her love in return, requiring her to swear,
-and himself to swear too, that never should an evening pass by, if ever a
-misunderstanding were to arise between them, without a visit, a letter, a
-sign of some kind, being sent, to replace the troubled anxiety of the
-evening with the calm repose of the night.  It was the king who had
-suggested that, who had imposed a promise on her, and who had sworn to it
-himself.  It was impossible, therefore, she reasoned, that the king
-should fail in keeping the promise which he had himself exacted from her,
-unless, indeed, Louis was a despot who enforced love as he enforced
-obedience; unless, too, the king were so indifferent that the first
-obstacle in his way was sufficient to arrest his further progress.  The
-king, that kind protector, who by a word, a single word, could relieve
-her distress of mind, the king even joined her persecutors.  Oh! his
-anger could not possibly last.  Now that he was alone, he would be
-suffering all that she herself was a prey to.  But he was not tied hand
-and foot as she was; he could act, could move about, could come to her,
-while she could do nothing but wait.  And the poor girl waited and
-waited, with breathless anxiety - for she could not believe it possible
-that the king would not come.
-
-It was now about half-past ten.  He would either come to her, or write to
-her, or send some kind word by M. de Saint-Aignan.  If he were to come,
-oh! how she would fly to meet him; how she would thrust aside that excess
-of delicacy which she now discovered was misunderstood; how eagerly she
-would explain: "It is not I who do not love you - it is the fault of
-others who will not allow me to love you."  And then it must be confessed
-that she reflected upon it, and also the more she reflected, Louis
-appeared to her to be less guilty.  In fact, he was ignorant of
-everything.  What must he have thought of the obstinacy with which she
-remained silent?  Impatient and irritable as the king was known to be, it
-was extraordinary that he had been able to preserve his temper so long.
-And yet, had it been her own case, she undoubtedly would not have acted
-in such a manner; she would have understood - have guessed everything.
-Yes, but she was nothing but a poor simple-minded girl, and not a great
-and powerful monarch.  Oh! if he would but come, if he would but come! -
-how eagerly she would forgive him for all he had just made her suffer!
-how much more tenderly she would love him because she had so cruelly
-suffered!  And so she sat, with her head bent forward in eager
-expectation towards the door, her lips slightly parted, as if - and
-Heaven forgive her for the mental exclamation! - they were awaiting the
-kiss which the king's lips had in the morning so sweetly indicated, when
-he pronounced the word _love!_  If the king did not come, at least he
-would write; it was a second chance; a chance less delightful certainly
-than the other, but which would show an affection just as strong, only
-more timid in its nature.  Oh! how she would devour his letter, how eager
-she would be to answer it! and when the messenger who had brought it had
-left her, how she would kiss it, read it over and over again, press to
-her heart the lucky paper which would have brought her ease of mind,
-tranquillity, and perfect happiness.  At all events, if the king did not
-come, if the king did not write, he could not do otherwise than send
-Saint-Aignan, or Saint-Aignan could not do otherwise than come of his own
-accord.  Even if it were a third person, how openly she would speak to
-him; the royal presence would not be there to freeze her words upon her
-tongue, and then no suspicious feeling would remain a moment longer in
-the king's heart.
-
-Everything with La Valliere, heart and look, body and mind, was
-concentrated in eager expectation.  She said to herself that there was an
-hour left in which to indulge hope; that until midnight struck, the king
-might come, or write or send; that at midnight only would every
-expectation vanish, every hope be lost.  Whenever she heard any stir in
-the palace, the poor girl fancied she was the cause of it; whenever she
-heard any one pass in the courtyard below she imagined they were
-messengers of the king coming to her.  Eleven o'clock struck, then a
-quarter-past eleven; then half-past.  The minutes dragged slowly on in
-this anxiety, and yet they seemed to pass too quickly.  And now, it
-struck a quarter to twelve.  Midnight - midnight was near, the last, the
-final hope that remained.  With the last stroke of the clock, the last
-ray of light seemed to fade away; and with the last ray faded her final
-hope.  And so, the king himself had deceived her; it was he who had been
-the first to fail in keeping the oath which he had sworn that very day;
-twelve hours only between his oath and his perjured vow; it as not long,
-alas! to have preserved the illusion.  And so, not only did the king not
-love her, but he despised her whom every one ill-treated, he despised her
-to the extent even of abandoning her to the shame of an expulsion which
-was equivalent to having an ignominious sentence passed on her; and yet,
-it was he, the king himself, who was the first cause of this ignominy.  A
-bitter smile, the only symptom of anger which during this long conflict
-had passed across the angelic face, appeared upon her lips.  What, in
-fact, now remained on earth for her, after the king was lost to her?
-Nothing.  But Heaven still remained, and her thoughts flew thither.  She
-prayed that the proper course for her to follow might be suggested.  "It
-is from Heaven," she thought, "that I expect everything; it is from
-Heaven I ought to expect everything."  And she looked at her crucifix
-with a devotion full of tender love.  "There," she said, "hangs before me
-a Master who never forgets and never abandons those who neither forget
-nor abandon Him; it is to Him alone that we must sacrifice ourselves."
-And, thereupon, could any one have gazed into the recesses of that
-chamber, they would have seen the poor despairing girl adopt a final
-resolution, and determine upon one last plan in her mind.  Then, as her
-knees were no longer able to support her, she gradually sank down upon
-the _prie-Dieu_, and with her head pressed against the wooden cross, her
-eyes fixed, and her respiration short and quick, she watched for the
-earliest rays of approaching daylight.  At two o'clock in the morning she
-was still in the same bewilderment of mind, or rather the same ecstasy of
-feeling.  Her thoughts had almost ceased to hold communion with things of
-the world.  And when she saw the pale violet tints of early dawn visible
-over the roofs of the palace, and vaguely revealing the outlines of the
-ivory crucifix which she held embraced, she rose from the ground with a
-new-born strength, kissed the feet of the divine martyr, descended the
-staircase leading from the room, and wrapped herself from head to foot in
-a mantle as she went along.  She reached the wicket at the very moment
-the guard of the musketeers opened the gate to admit the first relief-
-guard belonging to one of the Swiss regiments.  And then, gliding behind
-the soldiers, she reached the street before the officer in command of the
-patrol had even thought of asking who the young girl was who was making
-her escape from the palace at so early an hour.
-
-
-Chapter XXVI:
-The Flight.
-
-La Valliere followed the patrol as it left the courtyard.  The patrol
-bent its steps towards the right, by the Rue St. Honore, and mechanically
-La Valliere turned to the left.  Her resolution was taken - her
-determination fixed; she wished to betake herself to the convent of the
-Carmelites at Chaillot, the superior of which enjoyed a reputation for
-severity which made the worldly-minded people of the court tremble.  La
-Valliere had never seen Paris, she had never gone out on foot, and so
-would have been unable to find her way even had she been in a calmer
-frame of mind than was then the case; and this may explain why she
-ascended, instead of descending, the Rue St. Honore.  Her only thought
-was to get away from the Palais Royal, and this she was doing; she had
-heard it said that Chaillot looked out upon the Seine, and she
-accordingly directed her steps towards the Seine.  She took the Rue de
-Coq, and not being able to cross the Louvre, bore towards the church of
-Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, proceeding along the site of the colonnade
-which was subsequently built there by Perrault.  In a very short time she
-reached the quays.  Her steps were rapid and agitated; she scarcely felt
-the weakness which reminded her of having sprained her foot when very
-young, and which obliged her to limp slightly.  At any other hour in the
-day her countenance would have awakened the suspicions of the least clear-
-sighted, attracted the attention of the most indifferent.  But at half-
-past two in the morning, the streets of Paris are almost, if not quite,
-deserted, and scarcely is any one to be seen but the hard-working artisan
-on his way to earn his daily bread or the roistering idlers of the
-streets, who are returning to their homes after a night of riot and
-debauchery; for the former the day was beginning, and for the latter it
-was just closing.  La Valliere was afraid of both faces, in which her
-ignorance of Parisian types did not permit her to distinguish the type of
-probity from that of dishonesty.  The appearance of misery alarmed her,
-and all she met seemed either vile or miserable.  Her dress, which was
-the same she had worn during the previous evening, was elegant even in
-its careless disorder; for it was the one in which she had presented
-herself to the queen-mother; and, moreover, when she drew aside the
-mantle which covered her face, in order to enable her to see the way she
-was going, her pallor and her beautiful eyes spoke an unknown language to
-the men she met, and, unconsciously, the poor fugitive seemed to invite
-the brutal remarks of the one class, or to appeal to the compassion of
-the other.  La Valliere still walked on in the same way, breathless and
-hurried, until she reached the top of the Place de Greve.  She stopped
-from time to time, placed her hand upon her heart, leaned against a wall
-until she could breathe freely again, and then continued on her course
-more rapidly than before.  On reaching the Place de Greve La Valliere
-suddenly came upon a group of three drunken men, reeling and staggering
-along, who were just leaving a boat which they had made fast to the quay;
-the boat was freighted with wines, and it was apparent that they had done
-ample justice to the merchandise.  They were celebrating their convivial
-exploits in three different keys, when suddenly, as they reached the end
-of the railing leading down to the quay, they found an obstacle in their
-path, in the shape of this young girl.  La Valliere stopped; while they,
-on their part, at the appearance of the young girl dressed in court
-costume, also halted, and seizing each other by the hand, they surrounded
-La Valliere, singing, -
-
-"Oh! all ye weary wights, who mope alone,
-Come drink, and sing and laugh, round Venus' throne."
-
-La Valliere at once understood that the men were insulting her, and
-wished to prevent her passing; she tried to do so several times, but her
-efforts were useless.  Her limbs failed her; she felt she was on the
-point of falling, and uttered a cry of terror.  At the same moment the
-circle which surrounded her was suddenly broken through in a most
-violent manner.  One of her insulters was knocked to the left, another
-fell rolling over and over to the right, close to the water's edge, while
-the third could hardly keep his feet.  An officer of the musketeers stood
-face to face with the young girl, with threatening brow and hand raised
-to carry out his threat.  The drunken fellows, at sight of the uniform,
-made their escape with what speed their staggering limbs could lend them,
-all the more eagerly for the proof of strength which the wearer of the
-uniform had just afforded them.
-
-"Is it possible," exclaimed the musketeer, "that it can be Mademoiselle
-de la Valliere?"
-
-La Valliere, bewildered by what had just happened, and confounded by
-hearing her name pronounced, looked up and recognized D'Artagnan.  "Oh,
-M. d'Artagnan! it is indeed I;" and at the same moment she seized his
-arm.  "You will protect me, will you not?" she added, in a tone of
-entreaty.
-
-"Most certainly I will protect you; but, in Heaven's name, where are you
-going at this hour?"
-
-"I am going to Chaillot."
-
-"You are going to Chaillot by way of La Rapee! why, mademoiselle, you are
-turning your back upon it."
-
-"In that case, monsieur, be kind enough to put me in the right way, and
-to go with me a short distance."
-
-"Most willingly."
-
-"But how does it happen that I have found you here?  By what merciful
-intervention were you sent to my assistance?  I almost seem to be
-dreaming, or to be losing my senses."
-
-"I happened to be here, mademoiselle, because I have a house in the Place
-de Greve, at the sign of the Notre-Dame, the rent of which I went to
-receive yesterday, and where I, in fact, passed the night.  And I also
-wished to be at the palace early, for the purposes of inspecting my
-posts."
-
-"Thank you," said La Valliere.
-
-"That is what _I_ was doing," said D'Artagnan to himself; "but what is
-_she_ doing, and why is she going to Chaillot at such an hour?"  And he
-offered her his arm, which she took, and began to walk with increased
-precipitation, which ill-concealed, however, her weakness.  D'Artagnan
-perceived it, and proposed to La Valliere that she should take a little
-rest, which she refused.
-
-"You are ignorant, perhaps, where Chaillot is?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"Quite so."
-
-"It is a great distance."
-
-"That matters very little."
-
-"It is at least a league."
-
-"I can walk it."
-
-D'Artagnan did not reply; he could tell, merely by the tone of a voice,
-when a resolution was real or not.  He rather bore along rather than
-accompanied La Valliere, until they perceived the elevated ground of
-Chaillot.
-
-"What house are you going to, mademoiselle?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"To the Carmelites, monsieur."
-
-"To the Carmelites?" repeated D'Artagnan, in amazement.
-
-"Yes; and since Heaven has directed you towards me to give me your
-support on my road, accept both my thanks and my adieux."
-
-"To the Carmelites!  Your adieux!  Are you going to become a nun?"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes, monsieur."
-
-"What, you!!!"  There was in this "you," which we have marked by three
-notes of exclamation in order to render it as expressive as possible, -
-there was, we repeat, in this "you" a complete poem; it recalled to La
-Valliere her old recollections of Blois, and her new recollections of
-Fontainebleau; it said to her, "_You_, who might be happy with Raoul;
-_you_, who might be powerful with Louis; _you_ about to become a nun!"
-
-"Yes, monsieur," she said, "I am going to devote myself to the service of
-Heaven; and to renounce the world entirely."
-
-"But are you not mistaken with regard to your vocation, - are you not
-mistaken in supposing it to be the will of Heaven?"
-
-"No, since Heaven has been pleased to throw you in my way.  Had it not
-been for you, I should certainly have sunk from fatigue on the road, and
-since Heaven, I repeat, has thrown you in my way, it is because it has
-willed that I should carry out my intention."
-
-"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, doubtingly, "that is a rather subtle distinction,
-I think."
-
-"Whatever it may be," returned the young girl, "I have acquainted you
-with the steps I have taken, and with my fixed resolution.  And, now, I
-have one last favor to ask of you, even while I return you my thanks.
-The king is entirely ignorant of my flight from the Palais Royal, and is
-ignorant also of what I am about to do."
-
-"The king ignorant, you say!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.  "Take care,
-mademoiselle; you are not aware of what you are doing.  No one ought to
-do anything with which the king is unacquainted, especially those who
-belong to the court."
-
-"I no longer belong to the court, monsieur."
-
-D'Artagnan looked at the young girl with increasing astonishment.
-
-"Do not be uneasy, monsieur," she continued: "I have well calculated
-everything; and were it not so, it would now be too late to reconsider my
-resolution, - all is decided."
-
-"Well, mademoiselle, what do you wish me to do?"
-
-"In the name of that sympathy which misfortune inspires, by your generous
-feeling, and by your honor as a gentleman, I entreat you to promise me
-one thing."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"Swear to me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, that you will not tell the king that
-you have seen me, and that I am at the Carmelites."
-
-"I will not swear that," said D'Artagnan, shaking his head.
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because I know the king, I know you, I know myself even, nay, the whole
-human race, too well; no, no, I will not swear that!"
-
-"In that case," cried La Valliere, with an energy of which one would
-hardly have thought her capable, "instead of the blessing which I should
-have implored for you until my dying day, I will invoke a curse, for you
-are rendering me the most miserable creature that ever lived."
-
-We have already observed that D'Artagnan could easily recognize the
-accents of truth and sincerity, and he could not resist this last
-appeal.  He saw by her face how bitterly she suffered from a feeling of
-degradation, he remarked her trembling limbs, how her whole slight and
-delicate frame was violently agitated by some internal struggle, and
-clearly perceived that resistance might be fatal.  "I will do as you
-wish, then," he said.  "Be satisfied, mademoiselle, I will say nothing to
-the king."
-
-"Oh! thanks, thanks," exclaimed La Valliere, "you are the most generous
-man breathing."
-
-And in her extreme delight she seized hold of D'Artagnan's hands and
-pressed them between her own.  D'Artagnan, who felt himself quite
-overcome, said: "This is touching, upon my word; she begins where others
-leave off."
-
-And La Valliere, who, in the bitterness of her distress, had sunk upon
-the ground, rose and walked towards the convent of the Carmelites, which
-could now, in the dawning light, be perceived just before them.
-D'Artagnan followed her at a distance.  The entrance-door was half-open;
-she glided in like a shadow, and thanking D'Artagnan by a parting
-gesture, disappeared from his sight.  When D'Artagnan found himself quite
-alone, he reflected very profoundly upon what had just taken place.
-"Upon my word," he said, "this looks very much like what is called a
-false position.  To keep such a secret as that, is to keep a burning coal
-in one's breeches-pocket, and trust that it may not burn the stuff.  And
-yet, not to keep it when I have sworn to do so is dishonorable.  It
-generally happens that some bright idea or other occurs to me as I am
-going along; but I am very much mistaken if I shall not, now, have to go
-a long way in order to find the solution of this affair.  Yes, but which
-way to go?  Oh! towards Paris, of course; that is the best way, after
-all.  Only one must make haste, and in order to make haste four legs are
-better than two, and I, unhappily, only have two.  'A horse, a horse,' as
-I heard them say at the theatre in London, 'my kingdom for a horse!'  And
-now I think of it, it need not cost me so much as that, for at the
-Barriere de la Conference there is a guard of musketeers, and instead of
-the one horse I need, I shall find ten there."
-
-So, in pursuance of this resolution, which he adopted with his usual
-rapidity, D'Artagnan immediately turned his back upon the heights of
-Chaillot, reached the guard-house, took the fastest horse he could find
-there, and was at the palace in less than ten minutes.  It was striking
-five as he reached the Palais Royal.  The king, he was told, had gone to
-bed at his usual hour, having been long engaged with M. Colbert, and, in
-all probability, was still sound asleep.  "Come," said D'Artagnan, "she
-spoke the truth; the king is ignorant of everything; if he only knew one-
-half of what has happened, the Palais Royal by this time would be turned
-upside down." (5)
-
-
-Chapter XXVII:
-Showing How Louis, on His Part, Had Passed the Time from Ten to Half-Past
-Twelve at Night.
-
-When the king left the apartments of the maids of honor, he found Colbert
-awaiting him to take directions for the next day's ceremony, as the king
-was then to receive the Dutch and Spanish ambassadors.  Louis XIV. had
-serious causes of dissatisfaction with the Dutch; the States had already
-been guilty of many mean shifts and evasions with France, and without
-perceiving or without caring about the chances of a rupture, they again
-abandoned the alliance with his Most Christian Majesty, for the purpose
-of entering into all kinds of plots with Spain.  Louis XIV. at his
-accession, that is to say, at the death of Cardinal Mazarin, had found
-this political question roughly sketched out; the solution was difficult
-for a young man, but as, at that time, the king represented the whole
-nation, anything that the head resolved upon, the body would be found
-ready to carry out.  Any sudden impulse of anger, the reaction of young
-hot blood upon the brain, would be quite sufficient to change an old form
-of policy and create another system altogether.  The part that
-diplomatists had to play in those days was that of arranging among
-themselves the different _coups-d'etat_ which their sovereign masters
-might wish to effect.  Louis was not in that calm frame of mind which was
-necessary to enable him to determine on a wise course of policy.  Still
-much agitated from the quarrel he had just had with La Valliere, he
-walked hastily into his cabinet, dimly desirous of finding an opportunity
-of producing an explosion after he had controlled himself for so long a
-time.  Colbert, as he saw the king enter, knew the position of affairs at
-a glance, understood the king's intentions, and resolved therefore to
-maneuver a little.  When Louis requested to be informed what it would be
-necessary to say on the morrow, Colbert began by expressing his surprise
-that his majesty had not been properly informed by M. Fouquet.  "M.
-Fouquet," he said, "is perfectly acquainted with the whole of this Dutch
-affair - he received the dispatches himself direct."
-
-The king, who was accustomed to hear M. Colbert speak in not over-
-scrupulous terms of M. Fouquet, allowed this remark to pass unanswered,
-and merely listened.  Colbert noticed the effect it had produced, and
-hastened to back out, saying that M. Fouquet was not on all occasions as
-blamable as at the first glance might seem to be the case, inasmuch as at
-that moment he was greatly occupied.  The king looked up.  "What do you
-allude to?" he said.
-
-"Sire, men are but men, and M. Fouquet has his defects as well as his
-great qualities."
-
-"Ah! defects, who is without them, M. Colbert?"
-
-"Your majesty, hardly," said Colbert, boldly; for he knew how to convey a
-good deal of flattery in a light amount of blame, like the arrow which
-cleaves the air notwithstanding its weight, thanks to the light feathers
-which bear it up.
-
-The king smiled.  "What defect has M. Fouquet, then?" he said.
-
-"Still the same, sire; it is said he is in love."
-
-"In love! with whom?"
-
-"I am not quite sure, sire; I have very little to do with matters of
-gallantry."
-
-"At all events you know, since you speak of it."
-
-"I have heard a name mentioned."
-
-"Whose?"
-
-"I cannot now remember whose, but I think it is one of Madame's maids of
-honor."
-
-The king started.  "You know more than you like to say, M. Colbert," he
-murmured.
-
-"I assure you, no, sire."
-
-"At all events, Madame's maids of honor are all known, and in mentioning
-their names to you, you will perhaps recollect the one you allude to."
-
-"No, sire."
-
-"At least, try."
-
-"It would be useless, sire.  Whenever the name of any lady who runs the
-risk of being compromised is concerned, my memory is like a coffer of
-bronze, the key of which I have lost."
-
-A dark cloud seemed to pass over the mind as well as across the face of
-the king; then, wishing to appear as if he were perfect master of himself
-and his feelings, he said, "And now for the affair concerning Holland."
-
-"In the first place, sire, at what hour will your majesty receive the
-ambassadors?"
-
-"Early in the morning."
-
-"Eleven o'clock?"
-
-"That is too late - say nine o'clock."
-
-"That will be too early, sire."
-
-"For friends, that would be a matter of no importance; one does what one
-likes with one's friends; but for one's enemies, in that case nothing
-could be better than if they _were_ to feel hurt.  I should not be sorry,
-I confess, to have to finish altogether with these marsh-birds, who annoy
-me with their cries."
-
-"It shall be precisely as your majesty desires.  At nine o'clock,
-therefore - I will give the necessary orders.  Is it to be a formal
-audience?"
-
-"No.  I wish to have an explanation with them, and not to embitter
-matters, as is always the case when many persons are present, but, at the
-same time, I wish to clear  up everything with them, in order not to have
-to begin over again."
-
-"Your majesty will inform me of the persons whom you wish to be present
-at the reception."
-
-"I will draw out a list.  Let us speak of the ambassadors; what do they
-want?"
-
-"Allies with Spain, they gain nothing; allies with France, they lose
-much."
-
-"How is that?"
-
-"Allied with Spain, they see themselves bounded and protected by the
-possessions of their allies; they cannot touch them, however anxious they
-may be to do so.  From Antwerp to Rotterdam is but a step, and that by
-the way of the Scheldt and the Meuse.  If they wish to make a bite at the
-Spanish cake, you, sire, the son-in-law of the king of Spain, could with
-your cavalry sweep the earth from your dominions to Brussels in a couple
-of days.  Their design is, therefore, only to quarrel so far with you,
-and only to make you suspect Spain so far, as will be sufficient to
-induce you not to interfere with their own affairs."
-
-"It would be far more simple, I should imagine," replied the king, "to
-form a solid alliance with me, by means of which I should gain something,
-while they would gain everything."
-
-"Not so; for if, by chance, they were to have you, or France rather, as a
-boundary, your majesty is not an agreeable neighbor.  Young, ardent,
-warlike, the king of France might inflict some serious mischief on
-Holland, especially if he were to get near her."
-
-"I perfectly understand, M. Colbert, and you have explained it very
-clearly; but be good enough to tell me the conclusion you have arrived
-at."
-
-"Your majesty's own decisions are never deficient in wisdom."
-
-"What will these ambassadors say to me?"
-
-"They will tell your majesty that they are ardently desirous of forming
-an alliance with you, which will be a falsehood: they will tell Spain
-that the three powers ought to unite so as to check the prosperity of
-England, and that will equally be a falsehood; for at present, the
-natural ally of your majesty is England, who has ships while we have
-none; England, who can counteract Dutch influence in India; England, in
-fact, a monarchical country, to which your majesty is attached by ties of
-relationship."
-
-"Good; but how would you answer?"
-
-"I should answer, sire, with the greatest possible moderation of tone,
-that the disposition of Holland does not seem friendly towards the Court
-of France; that the symptoms of public feeling among the Dutch are
-alarming as regards your majesty; that certain medals have been struck
-with insulting devices."
-
-"Towards me?" exclaimed the young king, excitedly.
-
-"Oh, no! sire, no; insulting is not the word; I was mistaken, I ought to
-have said immeasurably flattering to the Dutch."
-
-"Oh! if that be so, the pride of the Dutch is a matter of indifference to
-me," said the king, sighing.
-
-"Your majesty is right, a thousand times right.  However, it is never a
-mistake in politics, your majesty knows better than myself, to exaggerate
-a little in order to obtain a concession in your own favor.  If your
-majesty were to complain as if your susceptibility were offended, you
-would stand in a far higher position with them."
-
-"What are these medals you speak of?" inquired Louis; "for if I allude to
-them, I ought to know what to say."
-
-"Upon my word, sire, I cannot very well tell you - some overweeningly
-conceited device - that is the sense of it; the words have little to do
-with the thing itself."
-
-"Very good!  I will mention the word 'medal,' and they can understand it
-if they like."
-
-"Oh! they will understand without any difficulty.  Your majesty can also
-slip in a few words about certain pamphlets which are being circulated."
-
-"Never!  Pamphlets befoul those who write them much more than those
-against whom they are written.  M. Colbert, I thank you.  You can leave
-now.  Do not forget the hour I have fixed, and be there yourself."
-
-"Sire, I await your majesty's list."
-
-"True," returned the king; and he began to meditate; he had not thought
-of the list in the least.  The clock struck half-past eleven.  The king's
-face revealed a violent conflict between pride and love.  The political
-conversation had dispelled a good deal of the irritation which Louis had
-felt, and La Valliere's pale, worn features, in his imagination, spoke a
-very different language from that of the Dutch medals, or the Batavian
-pamphlets.  He sat for ten minutes debating within himself whether he
-should or should not return to La Valliere; but Colbert having with some
-urgency respectfully requested that the list might be furnished him, the
-king was ashamed to be thinking of mere matters of affection where
-important state affairs required his attention.  He therefore dictated:
-the queen-mother, the queen, Madame, Madame de Motteville, Madame de
-Chatillon, Madame de Navailles; and, for the men, M. le Prince, M. de
-Gramont, M. de Manicamp, M. de Saint-Aignan, and the officers on duty.
-
-"The ministers?" asked Colbert.
-
-"As a matter of course, and the secretaries also."
-
-"Sire, I will leave at once in order to get everything prepared; the
-orders will be at the different residences to-morrow."
-
-"Say rather to-day," replied Louis mournfully, as the clock struck
-twelve.  It was the very hour when poor La Valliere was almost dying from
-anguish and bitter suffering.  The king's attendants entered, it being
-the hour of his retirement to his chamber; the queen, indeed, had been
-waiting for more than an hour.  Louis accordingly retreated to his
-bedroom with a sigh; but, as he sighed, he congratulated himself on his
-courage, and applauded himself for having been as firm in love as in
-affairs of state.
-
-
-Chapter XXVIII:
-The Ambassadors.
-
-D'Artagnan had, with very few exceptions, learned almost all of the
-particulars of what we have just been relating; for among his friends he
-reckoned all the useful, serviceable people in the royal household, -
-officious attendants who were proud of being recognized by the captain of
-the musketeers, for the captain's influence was very great; and then, in
-addition to any ambitious vies they may have imagined he could promote,
-they were proud of being regarded as worth being spoken to by a man as
-brave as D'Artagnan.  In this manner D'Artagnan learned every morning
-what he had not been able either to see or to ascertain the night before,
-from the simple fact of his not being ubiquitous; so that, with the
-information he had been able by his own means to pick up during the day,
-and with what he had gathered from others, he succeeded in making up a
-bundle of weapons, which he was in the prudent habit of using only when
-occasion required.  In this way, D'Artagnan's two eyes rendered him the
-same service as the hundred eyes of Argus.  Political secrets, bedside
-revelations, hints or scraps of conversation dropped by the courtiers on
-the threshold of the royal ante-chamber, in this way D'Artagnan managed
-to ascertain, and to store away everything in the vast and impenetrable
-mausoleum of his memory, by the side of those royal secrets so dearly
-bought and faithfully preserved.  He therefore knew of the king's
-interview with Colbert, and of the appointment made for the ambassadors
-in the morning, and, consequently, that the question of the medals would
-be brought up for debate; and, while he was arranging and constructing
-the conversation upon a few chance words which had reached his ears, he
-returned to his post in the royal apartments, so as to be there at the
-very moment the king awoke.  It happened that the king rose very early, -
-proving thereby that he, too, on his side, had slept but indifferently.
-Towards seven o'clock, he half-opened his door very gently.  D'Artagnan
-was at his post.  His majesty was pale, and seemed wearied; he had not,
-moreover, quite finished dressing.
-
-"Send for M. de Saint-Aignan," he said.
-
-Saint-Aignan was probably awaiting a summons, for the messenger, when he
-reached his apartment, found him already dressed.  Saint-Aignan hastened
-to the king in obedience to the summons.  A moment afterwards the king
-and Saint-Aignan passed by together - the king walking first.  D'Artagnan
-went to the window which looked out upon the courtyard; he had no need to
-put himself to the trouble of watching in what direction the king went,
-for he had no difficulty in guessing beforehand where his majesty was
-going.  The king, in fact, bent his steps towards the apartments of the
-maids of honor, - a circumstance which in no way astonished D'Artagnan,
-for he more than suspected, although La Valliere had not breathed a
-syllable on the subject, that the king had some kind of reparation to
-make.  Saint-Aignan followed him as he had done the previous evening,
-rather less uneasy in his mind, though still slightly agitated, for he
-fervently trusted that at seven o'clock in the morning there might be
-only himself and the king awake amongst the august guests at the palace.
-D'Artagnan stood at the window, careless and perfectly calm in his
-manner.  One could almost have sworn that he noticed nothing, and was
-utterly ignorant who were these two hunters after adventures, passing
-like shadows across the courtyard, wrapped up in their cloaks.  And yet,
-all the while that D'Artagnan appeared not to be looking at them at all,
-he did not for one moment lose sight of them, and while he whistled that
-old march of the musketeers, which he rarely recalled except under great
-emergencies, he conjectured and prophesied how terrible would be the
-storm which would be raised on the king's return.  In fact, when the king
-entered La Valliere's apartment and found the room empty and the bed
-untouched, he began to be alarmed, and called out to Montalais, who
-immediately answered the summons; but her astonishment was equal to the
-king's.  All that she could tell his majesty was, that she had fancied
-she had heard La Valliere's weeping during a portion of the night, but,
-knowing that his majesty had paid her a visit, she had not dared to
-inquire what was the matter.
-
-"But," inquired the king, "where do you suppose she is gone?"
-
-"Sire," replied Montalais, "Louise is of a very sentimental disposition,
-and as I have often seen her rise at daybreak in order to go out into the
-garden, she may, perhaps, be there now."
-
-This appeared probable, and the king immediately ran down the staircase
-in search of the fugitive.  D'Artagnan saw him grow very pale, and
-talking in an excited manner with his companion, as he went towards the
-gardens; Saint-Aignan following him, out of breath.  D'Artagnan did not
-stir from the window, but went on whistling, looking as if he saw
-nothing, yet seeing everything.  "Come, come," he murmured, when the king
-disappeared, "his majesty's passion is stronger than I thought; he is now
-doing, I think, what he never did for Mademoiselle de Mancini." (6)
-
-In a quarter of an hour the king again appeared: he had looked
-everywhere, was completely out of breath, and, as a matter of course, had
-not discovered anything.  Saint-Aignan, who still followed him, was
-fanning himself with his hat, and in a gasping voice, asking for
-information about La Valliere from such of the servants as were about, in
-fact from every one he met.  Among others he came across Manicamp, who
-had arrived from Fontainebleau by easy stages; for whilst others had
-performed the journey in six hours, he had taken four and twenty.
-
-"Have you seen Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" Saint-Aignan asked him.
-
-Whereupon Manicamp, dreamy and absent as usual, answered, thinking that
-some one was asking him about De Guiche, "Thank you, the comte is a
-little better."
-
-And he continued on his way until he reached the ante-chamber where
-D'Artagnan was, whom he asked to explain how it was that the king looked,
-as he thought, so bewildered; to which D'Artagnan replied that he was
-quite mistaken, that the king, on the contrary, was as lively and merry
-as he could possibly be.
-
-In the midst of all this, eight o'clock struck.  It was usual for the
-king to take his breakfast at this hour, for the code of etiquette
-prescribed that the king should always be hungry at eight o'clock.  His
-breakfast was laid upon a small table in his bedroom, and he ate very
-fast.  Saint-Aignan, of whom he would not lose sight, waited on the
-king.  He then disposed of several military audiences, during which he
-dispatched Saint-Aignan to see what he could find out.  Then, still
-occupied, full of anxiety, still watching Saint-Aignan's return, who had
-sent out the servants in every direction, to make inquires, and who had
-also gone himself, the hour of nine struck, and the king forthwith passed
-into his large cabinet.
-
-As the clock was striking nine the ambassadors entered, and as it
-finished, the two queens and Madame made their appearance.  There were
-three ambassadors from Holland, and two from Spain.  The king glanced at
-them, and then bowed; and, at the same moment, Saint-Aignan entered, - an
-entrance which the king regarded as far more important, in a different
-sense, however, than that of ambassadors, however numerous they might be,
-and from whatever country they came; and so, setting everything aside,
-the king made a sign of interrogation to Saint-Aignan, which the latter
-answered by a most decisive negative.  The king almost entirely lost his
-courage; but as the queens, the members of the nobility who were present,
-and the ambassadors, had their eyes fixed upon him, he overcame his
-emotion by a violent effort, and invited the latter to speak.  Whereupon
-one of the Spanish deputies made a long oration, in which he boasted the
-advantages which the Spanish alliance would offer.
-
-The king interrupted him, saying, "Monsieur, I trust that whatever is
-best for France must be exceedingly advantageous for Spain."
-
-This remark, and particularly the peremptory tone in which it was
-pronounced, made the ambassadors pale, and brought the color into the
-cheeks of the two queens, who, being Spanish, felt wounded in their pride
-of relationship and nationality by this reply.
-
-The Dutch ambassador then began to address himself to the king, and
-complained of the injurious suspicions which the king exhibited against
-the government of his country.
-
-The king interrupted him, saying, "It is very singular, monsieur, that
-you should come with any complaint, when it is I rather who have reason
-to be dissatisfied; and yet, you see, I do not complain."
-
-"Complain, sire, and in what respect?"
-
-The king smiled bitterly.  "Will you blame me, monsieur," he said, "if I
-should happen to entertain suspicions against a government which
-authorizes and protects international impertinence?"
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"I tell you," resumed the king, exciting himself by a recollection of his
-own personal annoyance, rather than from political grounds, "that Holland
-is a land of refuge for all who hate me, and especially for all who
-malign me."
-
-"Oh, sire!"
-
-"You wish for proofs, perhaps?  Very good; they can be had easily
-enough.  Whence proceed all those vile and insolent pamphlets which
-represent me as a monarch without glory and without authority? your
-printing-presses groan under their number.  If my secretaries were here,
-I would mention the titles of the works as well as the names of the
-printers."
-
-"Sire," replied the ambassador, "a pamphlet can hardly be regarded as the
-work of a whole nation.  Is it just, is it reasonable, that a great and
-powerful monarch like your majesty should render a whole nation
-responsible for the crime of a few madmen, who are, perhaps, only
-scribbling in a garret for a few sous to buy bread for their family?"
-
-"That may be the case, I admit.  But when the mint itself, at Amsterdam,
-strikes off medals which reflect disgrace upon me, is that also the crime
-of a few madmen?"
-
-"Medals!" stammered out the ambassador.
-
-"Medals," repeated the king, looking at Colbert.
-
-"Your majesty," the ambassador ventured, "should be quite sure - "
-
-The king still looked at Colbert; but Colbert appeared not to understand
-him, and maintained an unbroken silence, notwithstanding the king's
-repeated hints.  D'Artagnan then approached the king, and taking a piece
-of money out of his pocket, he placed it in the king's hands, saying,
-"_This_ is the medal your majesty alludes to."
-
-The king looked at it, and with a look which, ever since he had become
-his own master, was ever piercing as the eagle's, observed an insulting
-device representing Holland arresting the progress of the sun, with this
-inscription: "_In conspectu meo stetit sol_."
-
-"In my presence the sun stands still," exclaimed the king, furiously.
-"Ah! you will hardly deny it now, I suppose."
-
-"And the sun," said D'Artagnan, "is this," as he pointed to the panels of
-the cabinet, where the sun was brilliantly represented in every direction,
-with this motto, "_Nec pluribus impar_." (7)
-
-Louis's anger, increased by the bitterness of his own personal
-sufferings, hardly required this additional circumstance to foment it.
-Every one saw, from the kindling passion in the king's eyes, that an
-explosion was imminent.  A look from Colbert kept postponed the bursting
-of the storm.  The ambassador ventured to frame excuses by saying that
-the vanity of nations was a matter of little consequence; that Holland
-was proud that, with such limited resources, she had maintained her rank
-as a great nation, even against powerful monarchs, and that if a little
-smoke had intoxicated his countrymen, the king would be kindly disposed,
-and would even excuse this intoxication.  The king seemed as if he would
-be glad of some suggestion; he looked at Colbert, who remained
-impassible; then at D'Artagnan, who simply shrugged his shoulders, a
-movement which was like the opening of the flood-gates, whereby the
-king's anger, which he had restrained for so long a period, now burst
-forth.  As no one knew what direction his anger might take, all preserved
-a dead silence.  The second ambassador took advantage of it to begin his
-excuses also.  While he was speaking, and while the king, who had again
-gradually returned to his own personal reflections, was automatically
-listening to the voice, full of nervous anxiety, with the air of an
-absent man listening to the murmuring of a cascade, D'Artagnan, on whose
-left hand Saint-Aignan was standing, approached the latter, and, in a
-voice which was loud enough to reach the king's ears, said: "Have you
-heard the news?"
-
-"What news?" said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"About La Valliere."
-
-The king started, and advanced his head.
-
-"What has happened to La Valliere?" inquired Saint-Aignan, in a tone
-which can easily be imagined.
-
-"Ah! poor girl! she is going to take the veil."
-
-"The veil!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The veil!" cried the king, in the midst of the ambassador's discourse;
-but then, mindful of the rules of etiquette, he mastered himself, still
-listening, however, with rapt attention.
-
-"What order?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The Carmelites of Chaillot."
-
-"Who the deuce told you that?"
-
-"She did herself."
-
-"You have seen her, then?"
-
-"Nay, I even went with her to the Carmelites."
-
-The king did not lose a syllable of this conversation; and again he could
-hardly control his feelings.
-
-"But what was the cause of her flight?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Because the poor girl was driven away from the court yesterday," replied
-D'Artagnan.
-
-He had no sooner said this, than the king, with an authoritative gesture,
-said to the ambassador, "Enough, monsieur, enough."  Then, advancing
-towards the captain, he exclaimed:
-
-"Who says Mademoiselle de la Valliere is going to take the religious
-vows?"
-
-"M. d'Artagnan," answered the favorite.
-
-"Is it true what you say?" said the king, turning towards the musketeer.
-
-"As true as truth itself."
-
-The king clenched his hands, and turned pale.
-
-"You have something further to add, M. d'Artagnan?" he said.
-
-"I know nothing more, sire."
-
-"You added that Mademoiselle de la Valliere had been driven away from the
-court."
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Is that true, also?"
-
-"Ascertain for yourself, sire."
-
-"And from whom?"
-
-"Ah!" sighed D'Artagnan, like a man who is declining to say anything
-further.
-
-The king almost bounded from his seat, regardless of ambassadors,
-ministers, courtiers, queens, and politics.  The queen-mother rose; she
-had heard everything, or, if she had not heard everything, she had
-guessed it.  Madame, almost fainting from anger and fear, endeavored to
-rise as the queen-mother had done; but she sank down again upon her
-chair, which by an instinctive movement she made roll back a few paces.
-
-"Gentlemen," said the king, "the audience is over; I will communicate my
-answer, or rather my will, to Spain and to Holland;" and with a proud,
-imperious gesture, he dismissed the ambassadors.
-
-"Take care, my son," said the queen-mother, indignantly, "you are hardly
-master of yourself, I think."
-
-"Ah! madame," returned the young lion, with a terrible gesture, "if I am
-not mater of myself, I will be, I promise you, of those who do me a
-deadly injury; come with me, M. d'Artagnan, come."  And he quitted the
-room in the midst of general stupefaction and dismay.  The king hastily
-descended the staircase, and was about to cross the courtyard.
-
-"Sire," said D'Artagnan, "your majesty mistakes the way."
-
-"No; I am going to the stables."
-
-"That is useless, sire, for I have horses ready for your majesty."
-
-The king's only answer was a look, but this look promised more than the
-ambition of three D'Artagnans could have dared to hope.
-
-
-Chapter XXIX:
-Chaillot.
-
-Although they had not been summoned, Manicamp and Malicorne had followed
-the king and D'Artagnan.  They were both exceedingly intelligent men;
-except that Malicorne was too precipitate, owing to ambition, while
-Manicamp was frequently too tardy, owing to indolence.  On this occasion,
-however, they arrived at precisely the proper moment.  Five horses were
-in readiness.  Two were seized upon by the king and D'Artagnan, two
-others by Manicamp and Malicorne, while a groom belonging to the stables
-mounted the fifth.  The cavalcade set off at a gallop.  D'Artagnan had
-been very careful in his selection of the horses; they were the very
-animals for distressed lovers - horses which did not simply run, but
-flew.  Within ten minutes after their departure, the cavalcade, amidst a
-cloud of dust, arrived at Chaillot.  The king literally threw himself off
-his horse; but notwithstanding the rapidity with which he accomplished
-this maneuver, he found D'Artagnan already holding his stirrup.  With a
-sign of acknowledgement to the musketeer, he threw the bridle to the
-groom, and darted into the vestibule, violently pushed open the door, and
-entered the reception-room.  Manicamp, Malicorne, and the groom remained
-outside, D'Artagnan alone following him.  When he entered the reception-
-room, the first object which met his gaze was Louise herself, not simply
-on her knees, but lying at the foot of a large stone crucifix.  The young
-girl was stretched upon the damp flag-stones, scarcely visible in the
-gloom of the apartment, which was lighted only by means of a narrow
-window, protected by bars and completely shaded by creeping plants.  When
-the king saw her in this state, he thought she was dead, and uttered a
-loud cry, which made D'Artagnan hurry into the room.  The king had
-already passed one of his arms round her body, and D'Artagnan assisted
-him in raising the poor girl, whom the torpor of death seemed already to
-have taken possession of.  D'Artagnan seized hold of the alarm-bell and
-rang with all his might.  The Carmelite sisters immediately hastened at
-the summons, and uttered loud exclamations of alarm and indignation at
-the sight of the two men holding a woman in their arms.  The superior
-also hurried to the scene of action, but far more a creature of the world
-than any of the female members of the court, notwithstanding her
-austerity of manners, she recognized the king at the first glance, by the
-respect which those present exhibited for him, as well as by the
-imperious and authoritative way in which he had thrown the whole
-establishment into confusion.  As soon as she saw the king, she retired
-to her own apartments, in order to avoid compromising her dignity.  But
-by one of the nuns she sent various cordials, Hungary water, etc., etc.,
-and ordered that all the doors should immediately be closed, a command
-which was just in time, for the king's distress was fast becoming of a
-most clamorous and despairing character.  He had almost decided to send
-for his own physician, when La Valliere exhibited signs of returning
-animation.  The first object which met her gaze, as she opened her eyes,
-was the king at her feet; in all probability she did not recognize him,
-for she uttered a deep sigh full of anguish and distress.  Louis fixed
-his eyes devouringly upon her face; and when, in the course of a few
-moments, she recognized Louis, she endeavored to tear herself from his
-embrace.
-
-"Oh, heavens!" she murmured, "is not the sacrifice yet made?"
-
-"No, no!" exclaimed the king, "and it shall _not_ be made, I swear."
-
-Notwithstanding her weakness and utter despair, she rose from the ground,
-saying, "It must be made, however; it must be; so do not stay me in my
-purpose."
-
-"I leave you to sacrifice yourself!  I! never, never!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"Well," murmured D'Artagnan, "I may as well go now.  As soon as they
-begin to speak, we may as well prevent there being any listeners."  And
-he quitted the room, leaving the lovers alone.
-
-"Sire," continued La Valliere, "not another word, I implore you.  Do not
-destroy the only future I can hope for - my salvation; do not destroy the
-glory and brightness of your own future for a mere caprice."
-
-"A caprice?" cried the king.
-
-"Oh, sire! it is now, only, that I can see clearly into your heart."
-
-"You, Louise, what mean you?"
-
-"An inexplicable impulse, foolish and unreasonable in its nature, may
-ephemerally appear to offer a sufficient excuse for your conduct; but
-there are duties imposed upon you which are incompatible with your regard
-for a poor girl such as I am.  So, forget me."
-
-"I forget you!"
-
-"You have already done so, once."
-
-"Rather would I die."
-
-"You cannot love one whose peace of mind you hold so lightly, and whom
-you so cruelly abandoned, last night, to the bitterness of death."
-
-"What can you mean?  Explain yourself, Louise."
-
-"What did you ask me yesterday morning?  To love you.  What did you
-promise me in return?  Never to let midnight pass without offering me an
-opportunity of reconciliation, if, by any chance, your anger should be
-roused against me."
-
-"Oh! forgive me, Louise, forgive me!  I was mad from jealousy."
-
-"Jealousy is a sentiment unworthy of a king - a man.  You may become
-jealous again, and will end by killing me.  Be merciful, then, and leave
-me now to die."
-
-"Another word, mademoiselle, in that strain, and you will see me expire
-at your feet."
-
-"No, no, sire, I am better acquainted with my own demerits; and believe
-me, that to sacrifice yourself for one whom all despise, would be
-needless."
-
-"Give me the names of those you have cause to complain of."
-
-"I have no complaints, sire, to prefer against any one; no one but myself
-to accuse.  Farewell, sire; you are compromising yourself in speaking to
-me in such a manner."
-
-"Oh! be careful, Louise, in what you say; for you are reducing me to the
-darkness of despair."
-
-"Oh! sire, sire, leave me at least the protection of Heaven, I implore
-you."
-
-"No, no; Heaven itself shall not tear you from me."
-
-"Save me, then," cried the poor girl, "from those determined and pitiless
-enemies who are thirsting to annihilate my life and honor too.  If you
-have courage enough to love me, show at least that you have power enough
-to defend me.  But no; she whom you say you love, others insult and mock,
-and drive shamelessly away."  And the gentle-hearted girl, forced, by her
-own bitter distress to accuse others, wrung her hands in an
-uncontrollable agony of tears.
-
-"You have been driven away!" exclaimed the king.  "This is the second
-time I have heard that said."
-
-"I have been driven away with shame and ignominy, sire.  You see, then,
-that I have no other protector but Heaven, no consolation but prayer, and
-this cloister is my only refuge."
-
-"My palace, my whole court, shall be your park of peace.  Oh! fear
-nothing further now, Louise; those - be they men or women - who yesterday
-drove you away, shall to-morrow tremble before you - to-morrow, do I say?
-nay, this very day I have already shown my displeasure - have already
-threatened.  It is in my power, even now, to hurl the thunderbolt I have
-hitherto withheld.  Louise, Louise, you shall be bitterly revenged; tears
-of blood shall repay you for the tears you have shed.  Give me only the
-names of your enemies."
-
-"Never, never."
-
-"How can I show any anger, then?"
-
-"Sire, those upon whom your anger would be prepared to fall, would force
-you to draw back your hand upraised to punish."
-
-"Oh! you do not know me," cried the king, exasperated.  "Rather than draw
-back, I would sacrifice my kingdom, and would abjure my family.  Yes, I
-would strike until this arm had utterly destroyed all those who had
-ventured to make themselves the enemies of the gentlest and best of
-creatures."  And, as he said these words, Louis struck his fist violently
-against the oaken wainscoting with a force which alarmed La Valliere; for
-his anger, owing to his unbounded power, had something imposing and
-threatening in it, like the lightning, which may at any time prove
-deadly.  She, who thought that her own sufferings could not be surpassed,
-was overwhelmed by a suffering which revealed itself by menace and by
-violence.
-
-"Sire," she said, "for the last time I implore you to leave me; already
-do I feel strengthened by the calm seclusion of this asylum; and the
-protection of Heaven has reassured me; for all the pretty human meanness
-of this world are forgotten beneath the Divine protection.  Once more,
-then, sire, and for the last time, I again implore you to leave me."
-
-"Confess, rather," cried Louis, "that you have never loved me; admit that
-my humility and my repentance are flattering to your pride, but that my
-distress affects you not; that the king of this wide realm is no longer
-regarded as a lover whose tenderness of devotion is capable of working
-out your happiness, but as a despot whose caprice has crushed your very
-heart beneath his iron heel.  Do not say you are seeking Heaven, say
-rather you are fleeing from the king."
-
-Louise's heart was wrung within her, as she listened to his passionate
-utterance, which made the fever of hope course once more through her
-every vein.
-
-"But did you not hear me say that I have been driven away, scorned,
-despised?"
-
-"I will make you the most respected, and most adored, and the most envied
-of my whole court."
-
-"Prove to me that you have not ceased to love me."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"By leaving me."
-
-"I will prove it to you by never leaving you again."
-
-"But do you imagine, sire, that I shall allow that; do you imagine that I
-will let you come to an open rupture with every member of your family; do
-you imagine that, for my sake, you could abandon mother, wife and sister?"
-
-"Ah! you have named them, then, at last; it is they, then, who have
-wrought this grievous injury?  By the heaven above us, then, upon them
-shall my anger fall."
-
-"That is the reason why the future terrifies me, why I refuse everything,
-why I do not wish you to revenge me.  Tears enough have already been
-shed, sufficient sorrow and affliction have already been occasioned.  I,
-at least, will never be the cause of sorrow, or affliction, or distress
-to whomsoever it may be, for I have mourned and suffered, and wept too
-much myself."
-
-"And do you count _my_ sufferings, _my_ tears, as nothing?"
-
-"In Heaven's name, sire, do not speak to me in that manner.  I need all
-my courage to enable me to accomplish the sacrifice."
-
-"Louise, Louise, I implore you! whatever you desire, whatever you
-command, whether vengeance or forgiveness, your slightest wish shall be
-obeyed, but do not abandon me."
-
-"Alas! sire, we must part."
-
-"You do not love me, then!"
-
-"Heaven knows I do!"
-
-"It is false, Louise; it is false."
-
-"Oh! sire, if I did not love you, I should let you do what you please; I
-should let you revenge me, in return for the insult which has been
-inflicted on me; I should accept the brilliant triumph to my pride which
-you propose; and yet, you cannot deny that I reject even the sweet
-compensation which your affection affords, that affection which for me is
-life itself, for I wished to die when I thought that you loved me no
-longer."
-
-"Yes, yes; I now know, I now perceive it; you are the sweetest, best, and
-purest of women.  There is no one so worthy as yourself, not alone of my
-respect and devotion, but also of the respect and devotion of all who
-surround me; and therefore no one shall be loved like yourself; no one
-shall ever possess the influence over me that you wield.  You wish me to
-be calm, to forgive? - be it so, you shall find me perfectly unmoved.
-You wish to reign by gentleness and clemency? - I will be clement and
-gentle.  Dictate for me the conduct you wish me to adopt, and I will obey
-blindly."
-
-"In Heaven's name, no, sire; what am I, a poor girl, to dictate to so
-great a monarch as yourself?"
-
-"You are my life, the very spirit and principle of my being.  Is it not
-the spirit that rules the body?"
-
-"You love me, then, sire?"
-
-"On my knees, yes; with my hands upraised to you, yes; with all the
-strength and power of my being, yes; I love you so deeply, that I would
-lay down my life for you, gladly, at your merest wish."
-
-"Oh! sire, now I know you love me, I have nothing to wish for in the
-world.  Give me your hand, sire; and then, farewell!  I have enjoyed in
-this life all the happiness I was ever meant for."
-
-"Oh! no, no! your happiness is not a happiness of yesterday, it is of to-
-day, of to-morrow, ever enduring.  The future is yours, everything which
-is mine is yours, too.  Away with these ideas of separation, away with
-these gloomy, despairing thoughts.  You will live for me, as I will live
-for you, Louise."  And he threw himself at her feet, embracing her knees
-with the wildest transports of joy and gratitude.
-
-"Oh! sire, sire! all that is but a wild dream."
-
-"Why, a wild dream?"
-
-"Because I cannot return to the court.  Exiled, how can I see you again?
-Would it not be far better to bury myself in a cloister for the rest of
-my life, with the rich consolation that your affection gives me, with the
-pulses of your heart beating for me, and your latest confession of
-attachment still ringing in my ears?"
-
-"Exiled, you!" exclaimed Louis XIV., "and who dares to exile, let me ask,
-when I recall?"
-
-"Oh! sire, something which is greater than and superior to the kings even
-- the world and public opinion.  Reflect for a moment; you cannot love a
-woman who has been ignominiously driven away - love one whom your mother
-has stained with suspicions; one whom your sister has threatened with
-disgrace; such a woman, indeed, would be unworthy of you."
-
-"Unworthy! one who belongs to me?"
-
-"Yes, sire, precisely on that account; from the very moment she belongs
-to you, the character of your mistress renders her unworthy."
-
-"You are right, Louise; every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours.
-Very well, you shall not be exiled."
-
-"Ah! from the tone in which you speak, you have not heard Madame, that is
-very clear."
-
-"I will appeal from her to my mother."
-
-"Again, sire, you have not seen your mother."
-
-"She, too! - my poor Louise! every one's hand, then, is against you."
-
-"Yes, yes, poor Louise, who was already bending beneath the fury of the
-storm, when you arrived and crushed her beneath the weight of your
-displeasure."
-
-"Oh! forgive me."
-
-"You will not, I know, be able to make either of them yield; believe me,
-the evil cannot be repaired, for I will not allow you to use violence, or
-to exercise your authority."
-
-"Very well, Louise, to prove to you how fondly I love you, I will do one
-thing, I will see Madame; I will make her revoke her sentence, I will
-compel her to do so."
-
-"Compel?  Oh! no, no!"
-
-"True; you are right.  I will bend her."
-
-Louise shook her head.
-
-"I will entreat her, if it be necessary," said Louis.  "Will you believe
-in my affection after that?"
-
-Louise drew herself up.  "Oh, never, never shall you humiliate yourself
-on my account; sooner, a thousand times, would I die."
-
-Louis reflected; his features assumed a dark expression.  "I will love
-you as much as you have loved; I will suffer as keenly as you have
-suffered; this shall be my expiation in your eyes.  Come, mademoiselle,
-put aside these paltry considerations; let us show ourselves as great as
-our sufferings, as strong as our affection for each other."  And, as he
-said this, he took her in his arms, and encircled her waist with both his
-hands, saying, "My own love! my own dearest and best beloved, follow me."
-
-She made a final effort, in which she concentrated, no longer all of her
-firmness of will, for that had long since been overcome, but all her
-physical strength.  "No!" she replied, weakly, "no! no!  I should die
-from shame."
-
-"No! you shall return like a queen.  No one knows of your having left –
-except, indeed, D'Artagnan."
-
-"He has betrayed me, then?"
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"He promised faithfully - "
-
-"I promised not to say anything to the king," said D'Artagnan, putting
-his head through the half-opened door, "and I kept my word; I was
-speaking to M. de Saint-Aignan, and it was not my fault if the king
-overheard me; was it, sire?"
-
-"It is quite true," said the king; "forgive him."
-
-La Valliere smiled, and held out her small white hand to the musketeer.
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan," said the king, "be good enough to see if you can
-find a carriage for Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Sire," said the captain, "the carriage is waiting at the gate."
-
-"You are a magic mould of forethought," exclaimed the king.
-
-"You have taken a long time to find it out," muttered D'Artagnan,
-notwithstanding he was flattered by the praise bestowed upon him.
-
-La Valliere was overcome: after a little further hesitation, she allowed
-herself to be led away, half fainting, by her royal lover.  But, as she
-was on the point of leaving the room, she tore herself from the king's
-grasp, and returned to the stone crucifix, which she kissed, saying, "Oh,
-Heaven! it was thou who drewest me hither! thou, who has rejected me; but
-thy grace is infinite.  Whenever I shall again return, forget that I have
-ever separated myself from thee, for, when I return it will be - never to
-leave thee again."
-
-The king could not restrain his emotion, and D'Artagnan, even, was
-overcome.  Louis led the young girl away, lifted her into the carriage,
-and directed D'Artagnan to seat himself beside her, while he, mounting
-his horse, spurred violently towards the Palais Royal, where, immediately
-on his arrival, he sent to request an audience of Madame.
-
-
-Chapter XXX:
-Madame.
-
-From the manner in which the king had dismissed the ambassadors, even the
-least clear-sighted persons belonging to the court imagined war would
-ensue.  The ambassadors themselves, but slightly acquainted with the
-king's domestic disturbances, had interpreted as directed against
-themselves the celebrated sentence: "If I be not master of myself, I, at
-least, will be so of those who insult me."  Happily for the destinies of
-France and Holland, Colbert had followed them out of the king's presence
-for the purpose of explaining matters to them; but the two queens and
-Madame, who were perfectly aware of every particular that had taken place
-in their several households, having heard the king's remark, so full of
-dark meaning, retired to their own apartments in no little fear and
-chagrin.  Madame, especially, felt that the royal anger might fall upon
-her, and, as she was brave and exceedingly proud, instead of seeking
-support and encouragement from the queen-mother, she had returned to her
-own apartments, if not without some uneasiness, at least without any
-intention of avoiding an encounter.  Anne of Austria, from time to time
-at frequent intervals, sent messages to learn if the king had returned.
-The silence which the whole palace preserved upon the matter, and upon
-Louise's disappearance, was indicative of a long train of misfortunes to
-all those who knew the haughty and irritable humor of the king.  But
-Madame, unmoved in spite of all the flying rumors, shut herself up in her
-apartments, sent for Montalais, and, with a voice as calm as she could
-possibly command, desired her to relate all she knew about the event
-itself.  At the moment that the eloquent Montalais was concluding, with
-all kinds of oratorical precautions, and was recommending, if not in
-actual language, at least in spirit, that she should show forbearance
-towards La Valliere, M. Malicorne made his appearance to beg an audience
-of Madame, on behalf of the king.  Montalais's worthy friend bore upon
-his countenance all the signs of the very liveliest emotion.  It was
-impossible to be mistaken; the interview which the king requested would
-be one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the hearts of
-kings and of men.  Madame was disturbed by her brother-in-law's arrival;
-she did not expect it so soon, nor had she, indeed, expected any direct
-step on Louis's part.  Besides, all women who wage war successfully by
-indirect means, are invariably neither very skillful nor very strong when
-it becomes a question of accepting a pitched battle.  Madame, however,
-was not one who ever drew back; she had the very opposite defect or
-qualification, in whichever light it may be considered; she took an
-exaggerated view of what constituted real courage; and therefore the
-king's message, of which Malicorne had been the bearer, was regarded by
-her as the bugle-note proclaiming the commencement of hostilities.  She,
-therefore, boldly accepted the gage of battle.  Five minutes afterwards
-the king ascended the staircase.  His color was heightened from having
-ridden hard.  His dusty and disordered clothes formed a singular contrast
-with the fresh and perfectly arranged toilette of Madame, who,
-notwithstanding the rouge on her cheeks, turned pale as Louis entered the
-room.  Louis lost no time in approaching the object of his visit; he sat
-down, and Montalais disappeared.
-
-"My dear sister," said the king, "you are aware that Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere fled from her own room this morning, and that she has retired to
-a cloister, overwhelmed by grief and despair."  As he pronounced these
-words, the king's voice was singularly moved.
-
-"Your majesty is the first to inform me of it," replied Madame.
-
-"I should have thought that you might have learned it this morning,
-during the reception of the ambassadors," said the king.
-
-"From your emotion, sire, I imagined that something extraordinary had
-happened, but without knowing what."
-
-The king, with his usual frankness, went straight to the point.  "Why did
-you send Mademoiselle de la Valliere away?"
-
-"Because I had reason to be dissatisfied with her conduct," she replied,
-dryly.
-
-The king became crimson, and his eyes kindled with a fire which it
-required all Madame's courage to support.  He mastered his anger,
-however, and continued: "A stronger reason than that is surely requisite,
-for one so good and kind as you are, to turn away and dishonor, not only
-the young girl herself, but every member of her family as well.  You know
-that the whole city has its eyes fixed upon the conduct of the female
-portion of the court.  To dismiss a maid of honor is to attribute a crime
-to her - at the very least a fault.  What crime, what fault has
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere been guilty of?"
-
-"Since you constitute yourself the protector of Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere," replied Madame, coldly, "I will give you those explanations
-which I should have a perfect right to withhold from every one."
-
-"Even from the king!" exclaimed Louis, as, with a sudden gesture, he
-covered his head with his hat.
-
-"You have called me your sister," said Madame, "and I am in my own
-apartments."
-
-"It matters not," said the youthful monarch, ashamed at having been
-hurried away by his anger; "neither you, nor any one else in this
-kingdom, can assert a right to withhold an explanation in my presence."
-
-"Since that is the way you regard it," said Madame, in a hoarse, angry
-tone of voice, "all that remains for me to do is bow submission to your
-majesty, and to be silent."
-
-"Not so.  Let there be no equivocation between us."
-
-"The protection with which you surround Mademoiselle de la Valliere does
-not impose any respect."
-
-"No equivocation, I repeat; you are perfectly aware that, as the head of
-the nobility in France, I am accountable to all for the honor of every
-family.  You dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valliere, or whoever else it may
-be - "  Madame shrugged her shoulders.  "Or whoever else it may be, I
-repeat," continued the king; "and as, acting in that manner, you cast a
-dishonorable reflection upon that person, I ask you for an explanation,
-in order that I may confirm or annul the sentence."
-
-"Annul my sentence!" exclaimed Madame, haughtily.  "What! when I have
-discharged one of my attendants, do you order me to take her back
-again?"  The king remained silent.
-
-"This would be a sheer abuse of power, sire; it would be indecorous and
-unseemly."
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"As a woman, I should revolt against an abuse so insulting to me; I
-should no longer be able to regard myself as a princess of your blood, a
-daughter of a monarch; I should be the meanest of creatures, more humbled
-and disgraced than the servant I had sent away."
-
-The king rose from his seat with anger.  "It cannot be a heart," he
-cried, "you have beating in your bosom; if you act in such a way with me,
-I may have reason to act with corresponding severity."
-
-It sometimes happens that in a battle a chance ball may reach its mark.
-The observation which the king had made without any particular intention,
-struck Madame home, and staggered her for a moment; some day or other she
-might indeed have reason to dread reprisals.  "At all events, sire," she
-said, "explain what you require."
-
-"I ask, madame, what has Mademoiselle de la Valliere done to warrant your
-conduct toward her?"
-
-"She is the most cunning fomenter of intrigues I know; she was the
-occasion of two personal friends engaging in mortal combat; and has made
-people talk of her in such shameless terms that the whole court is
-indignant at the mere sound of her name."
-
-"She! she!" cried the king.
-
-"Under her soft and hypocritical manner," continued Madame, "she hides a
-disposition full of foul and dark conceit."
-
-"She!"
-
-"You may possibly be deceived, sire, but I know her right well; she is
-capable of creating dispute and misunderstanding between the most
-affectionate relatives and the most intimate friends.  You see that she
-has already sown discord betwixt us two."
-
-"I do assure you - " said the king.
-
-"Sire, look well into the case as it stands; we were living on the most
-friendly understanding, and by the artfulness of her tales and
-complaints, she has set your majesty against me."
-
-"I swear to you," said the king, "that on no occasion has a bitter word
-ever passed her lips; I swear that, even in my wildest bursts of passion,
-she would not allow me to menace any one; and I swear, too, that you do
-not possess a more devoted and respectful friend than she is."
-
-"Friend!" said Madame, with an expression of supreme disdain.
-
-"Take care, Madame!" said the king; "you forget that you now understand
-me, and that from this moment everything is equalized.  Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere will be whatever I may choose her to become; and to-morrow,
-if I were determined to do so, I could seat her on a throne."
-
-"She was not born to a throne, at least, and whatever you may do can
-affect the future alone, but cannot affect the past."
-
-"Madame, towards you I have shown every kind consideration, and every
-eager desire to please you; do not remind me that I am master."
-
-"It is the second time, sire, that you have made that remark, and I have
-already informed you I am ready to submit."
-
-"In that case, then, you will confer upon me the favor of receiving
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere back again."
-
-"For what purpose, sire, since you have a throne to bestow upon her?  I
-am too insignificant to protect so exalted a personage."
-
-"Nay, a truce to this bitter and disdainful spirit.  Grant me her
-forgiveness."
-
-"_Never!_"
-
-"You drive me, then, to open warfare in my own family."
-
-"I, too, have a family with whom I can find refuge."
-
-"Do you mean that as a threat, and could you forget yourself so far?  Do
-you believe that, if you push the affront to that extent, your family
-would encourage you?"
-
-"I hope, sire, that you will not force me to take any step which would be
-unworthy of my rank."
-
-"I hoped that you would remember our recent friendship, and that you
-would treat me as a brother."
-
-Madame paused for a moment.  "I do not disown you for a brother," she
-said, "in refusing you majesty an injustice."
-
-"An injustice!"
-
-"Oh, sire! if I informed others of La Valliere's conduct; if the queen
-knew - "
-
-"Come, come, Henrietta, let your heart speak; remember that, for however
-brief a time, you once loved me; remember, too, that human hearts should
-be as merciful as the heart of a sovereign Master.  Do not be inflexible
-with others; forgive La Valliere."
-
-"I cannot; she has offended me."
-
-"But for my sake."
-
-"Sire, it is for your sake I would do anything in the world, except that."
-
-"You will drive me to despair - you compel me to turn to the last
-resource of weak people, and seek counsel of my angry and wrathful
-disposition."
-
-"I advise you to be reasonable."
-
-"Reasonable! - I can be so no longer."
-
-"Nay, sire!  I pray you - "
-
-"For pity's sake, Henrietta; it is the first time I entreated any one,
-and I have no hope in any one but in you."
-
-"Oh, sire! you are weeping."
-
-"From rage, from humiliation.  That I, the king, should have been obliged
-to descend to entreaty.  I shall hate this moment during my whole life.
-You have made me suffer in one moment more distress and more degradation
-than I could have anticipated in the greatest extremity in life."  And
-the king rose and gave free vent to his tears, which, in fact, were tears
-of anger and shame.
-
-Madame was not touched exactly - for the best women, when their pride is
-hurt, are without pity; but she was afraid that the tears the king was
-shedding might possibly carry away every soft and tender feeling in his
-heart.
-
-"Give what commands you please, sire," she said; "and since you prefer my
-humiliation to your own - although mine is public and yours has been
-witnessed but by myself alone - speak, I will obey your majesty."
-
-"No, no, Henrietta!" exclaimed Louis, transported with gratitude, "you
-will have yielded to a brother's wishes."
-
-"I no longer have any brother, since I obey."
-
-"All that I have would be too little in return."
-
-"How passionately you love, sire, when you do love!"
-
-Louis did not answer.  He had seized upon Madame's hand and covered it
-with kisses.  "And so you will receive this poor girl back again, and
-will forgive her; you will find how gentle and pure-hearted she is."
-
-"I will maintain her in my household."
-
-"No, you will give her your friendship, my sister."
-
-"I never liked her."
-
-"Well, for my sake, you will treat her kindly, will you not, Henrietta?"
-
-"I will treat her as your - _mistress_."
-
-The king rose suddenly to his feet.  By this word, which had so
-infelicitously escaped her, Madame had destroyed the whole merit of her
-sacrifice.  The king felt freed from all obligations.  Exasperated beyond
-measure, and bitterly offended, he replied:
-
-"I thank you, Madame; I shall never forget the service you have rendered
-me."  And, saluting her with an affectation of ceremony, he took his
-leave of her.  As he passed before a glass, he saw that his eyes were
-red, and angrily stamped his foot on the ground.  But it was too late,
-for Malicorne and D'Artagnan, who were standing at the door, had seen his
-eyes.
-
-"The king has been crying," thought Malicorne.  D'Artagnan approached the
-king with a respectful air, and said in a low tone of voice:
-
-"Sire, it would be better to return to your own apartments by the small
-staircase."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because the dust of the road has left its traces on your face," said
-D'Artagnan.  "By heavens!" he thought, "when the king has given way like
-a child, let those look to it who may make the lady weep for whom the
-king sheds tears."
-
-
-Chapter XXXI:
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere's Pocket-Handkerchief.
-
-Madame was not bad-hearted - she was only hasty and impetuous.  The king
-was not imprudent - he was simply in love.  Hardly had they entered into
-this compact, which terminated in La Valliere's recall, when they both
-sought to make as much as they could by their bargain.  The king wished
-to see La Valliere every moment of the day, while Madame, who was
-sensible of the king's annoyance ever since he had so entreated her,
-would not relinquish her revenge on La Valliere without a contest.  She
-planted every conceivable difficulty in the king's path; he was, in fact,
-obliged, in order to get a glimpse of La Valliere, to be exceedingly
-devoted in his attentions to his sister-in-law, and this, indeed, was
-Madame's plan of policy.  As she had chosen some one to second her
-efforts, and as this person was our old friend Montalais, the king found
-himself completely hemmed in every time he paid Madame a visit; he was
-surrounded, and was never left a moment alone.  Madame displayed in her
-conversation a charm of manner and brilliancy of wit which dazzled
-everybody.  Montalais followed her, and soon rendered herself perfectly
-insupportable to the king, which was, in fact, the very thing she
-expected would happen.  She then set Malicorne at the king, who found
-means of informing his majesty that there was a young person belonging to
-the court who was exceedingly miserable; and on the king inquiring who
-this person was, Malicorne replied that it was Mademoiselle de
-Montalais.  To this the king answered that it was perfectly just that a
-person should be unhappy when she rendered others so.  Whereupon
-Malicorne explained how matters stood; for he had received his directions
-from Montalais.  The king began to open his eyes; he remarked that, as
-soon as he made his appearance, Madame made hers too; that she remained
-in the corridors until after he had left; that she accompanied him back
-to his own apartments, fearing that he might speak in the ante-chambers
-to one of her maids of honor.  One evening she went further still.  The
-king was seated, surrounded by the ladies who were present, and holding
-in his hand, concealed by his lace ruffle, a small note which he wished
-to slip into La Valliere's hand.  Madame guessed both his intention and
-the letter too.  It was difficult to prevent the king going wherever he
-pleased, and yet it was necessary to prevent his going near La Valliere,
-or speaking to her, as by so doing he could let the note fall into her
-lap behind her fan, or into her pocket-handkerchief.  The king, who was
-also on the watch, suspected that a snare was being laid for him.  He
-rose and pushed his chair, without affectation, near Mademoiselle de
-Chatillon, with whom he began to talk in a light tone.  They were amusing
-themselves making rhymes; from Mademoiselle de Chatillon he went to
-Montalais, and then to Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente.  And thus, by
-this skillful maneuver, he found himself seated opposite to La Valliere,
-whom he completely concealed.  Madame pretended to be greatly occupied,
-altering a group of flowers that she was working in tapestry.  The king
-showed the corner of his letter to La Valliere, and the latter held out
-her handkerchief with a look that signified, "Put the letter inside."
-Then, as the king had placed his own handkerchief upon his chair, he was
-adroit enough to let it fall on the ground, so that La Valliere slipped
-her handkerchief on the chair.  The king took it up quietly, without any
-one observing what he did, placed the letter within it, and returned the
-handkerchief to the place he had taken it from.  There was only just time
-for La Valliere to stretch out her hand to take hold of the handkerchief
-with its valuable contents.
-
-But Madame, who had observed everything that had passed, said to
-Mademoiselle de Chatillon, "Chatillon, be good enough to pick up the
-king's handkerchief, if you please; it has fallen on the carpet."
-
-The young girl obeyed with the utmost precipitation, the king having
-moved from his seat, and La Valliere being in no little degree nervous
-and confused.
-
-"Ah!  I beg your majesty's pardon," said Mademoiselle de Chatillon; "you
-have two handkerchiefs, I perceive."
-
-And the king was accordingly obliged to put into his pocket La Valliere's
-handkerchief as well as his own.  He certainly gained that souvenir of
-Louise, who lost, however, a copy of verses which had cost the king ten
-hours' hard labor, and which, as far as he was concerned, was perhaps as
-good as a long poem.  It would be impossible to describe the king's anger
-and La Valliere's despair; but shortly afterwards a circumstance occurred
-which was more than remarkable.  When the king left, in order to retire
-to his own apartments, Malicorne, informed of what had passed, one can
-hardly tell how, was waiting in the ante-chamber.  The ante-chambers of
-the Palais Royal are naturally very dark, and, in the evening, they were
-but indifferently lighted.  Nothing pleased the king more than this dim
-light.  As a general rule, love, whose mind and heart are constantly in a
-blaze, contemns all light, except the sunshine of the soul.  And so the
-ante-chamber was dark; a page carried a torch before the king, who walked
-on slowly, greatly annoyed at what had recently occurred.  Malicorne
-passed close to the king, almost stumbled against him in fact, and begged
-his forgiveness with the profoundest humility; but the king, who was in
-an exceedingly ill-temper, was very sharp in his reproof to Malicorne,
-who disappeared as soon and as quietly as he possibly could.  Louis
-retired to rest, having had a misunderstanding with the queen; and the
-next day, as soon as he entered the cabinet, he wished to have La
-Valliere's handkerchief in order to press his lips to it.  He called his
-valet.
-
-"Fetch me," he said, "the coat I wore yesterday evening, but be very sure
-you do not touch anything it may contain."
-
-The order being obeyed, the king himself searched the pocket of the coat;
-he found only one handkerchief, and that his own; La Valliere's had
-disappeared.  Whilst busied with all kinds of conjectures and suspicions,
-a letter was brought to him from La Valliere; it ran thus:
-
-"How good and kind of you to have sent me those beautiful verses; how
-full of ingenuity and perseverance your affection is; how is it possible
-to help loving you so dearly!"
-
-"What does this mean?" thought the king; "there must be some mistake.
-Look well about," said he to the valet, "for a pocket-handkerchief must
-be in one of my pockets; and if you do not find it, or if you have
-touched it - "  He reflected for a moment.  To make a state matter of the
-loss of the handkerchief would be to act absurdly, and he therefore
-added, "There was a letter of some importance inside the handkerchief,
-which had somehow got among the folds of it."
-
-"Sire," said the valet, "your majesty had only one handkerchief, and that
-is it."
-
-"True, true," replied the king, setting his teeth hard together.  "Oh,
-poverty, how I envy you!  Happy is the man who can empty his own pockets
-of letters and handkerchiefs!"
-
-He read La Valliere's letter over again, endeavoring to imagine in what
-conceivable way his verses could have reached their destination.  There
-was a postscript to the letter:
-
-"I send you back by your messenger this reply, so unworthy of what you
-sent me."
-
-"So far so good; I shall find out something now," he said delightedly.
-"Who is waiting, and who brought me this letter?"
-
-"M. Malicorne," replied the _valet de chambre_, timidly.
-
-"Desire him to come in."
-
-Malicorne entered.
-
-"You come from Mademoiselle de la Valliere?" said the king, with a sigh.
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And you took Mademoiselle de la Valliere something from me?"
-
-"I, sire?"
-
-"Yes, you."
-
-"Oh, no, sire."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere says so, distinctly."
-
-"Oh, sire, Mademoiselle de la Valliere is mistaken."
-
-The king frowned.  "What jest is this?" he said; "explain yourself.  Why
-does Mademoiselle de la Valliere call you my messenger?  What did you
-take to that lady?  Speak, monsieur, and quickly."
-
-"Sire, I merely took Mademoiselle de la Valliere a pocket-handkerchief,
-that was all."
-
-"A handkerchief, - what handkerchief?"
-
-"Sire, at the very moment when I had the misfortune to stumble against
-your majesty yesterday - a misfortune which I shall deplore to the last
-day of my life, especially after the dissatisfaction which you exhibited
-- I remained, sire, motionless with despair, your majesty being at too
-great a distance to hear my excuses, when I saw something white lying on
-the ground."
-
-"Ah!" said the king.
-
-"I stooped down, - it was a pocket-handkerchief.  For a moment I had an
-idea that when I stumbled against your majesty I must have been the cause
-of the handkerchief falling from your pocket; but as I felt it all over
-very respectfully, I perceived a cipher at one of the corners, and, on
-looking at it closely, I found that it was Mademoiselle de la Valliere's
-cipher.  I presumed that on her way to Madame's apartment in the earlier
-part of the evening she had let her handkerchief fall, and I accordingly
-hastened to restore it to her as she was leaving; and that is all I gave
-to Mademoiselle de la Valliere, I entreat your majesty to believe."
-Malicorne's manner was so simple, so full of contrition, and marked with
-such extreme humility, that the king was greatly amused in listening to
-him.  He was as pleased with him for what he had done as if he had
-rendered him the greatest service.
-
-"This is the second fortunate meeting I have had with you, monsieur," he
-said; "you may count upon my good intentions."
-
-The plain and sober truth was, that Malicorne had picked the king's
-pocket of the handkerchief as dexterously as any of the pickpockets of
-the good city of Paris could have done.  Madame never knew of this little
-incident, but Montalais gave La Valliere some idea of the manner in which
-it had really happened, and La Valliere afterwards told the king, who
-laughed exceedingly at it and pronounced Malicorne to be a first rate
-politician.  Louis XIV. was right, and it is well known that he was
-tolerably well acquainted with human nature.
-
-
-Chapter XXXII:
-Which Treats of Gardeners, of Ladders, and Maids of Honor.
-
-Miracles, unfortunately, could not be always happening, whilst Madame's
-ill-humor still continued.  In a week's time, matters had reached such a
-point, that the king could no longer look at La Valliere without a look
-full of suspicion crossing his own.  Whenever a promenade was proposed,
-Madame, in order to avoid the recurrence of similar scenes to that of the
-thunder-storm, or the royal oak, had a variety of indispositions ready
-prepared; and, thanks to them, she was unable to go out, and her maids of
-honor were obliged to remain indoors also.  There was not the slightest
-chance of means of paying a nocturnal visit; for in this respect the king
-had, on the very first occasion, experienced a severe check, which
-happened in the following manner.  As at Fontainebleau, he had taken
-Saint-Aignan with him one evening when he wished to pay La Valliere a
-visit; but he had found no one but Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente, who
-had begun to call out "Fire!" and "Thieves!" in such a manner that a
-perfect legion of chamber-maids, attendants, and pages, ran to her
-assistance; so that Saint-Aignan, who had remained behind in order to
-save the honor of his royal master, who had fled precipitately, was
-obliged to submit to a severe scolding from the queen-mother, as well as
-from Madame herself.  In addition, he had, the next morning, received two
-challenges from the De Mortemart family, and the king had been obliged to
-interfere.  This mistake had been owing to the circumstance of Madame
-having suddenly ordered a change in the apartments of her maids of honor,
-and directed La Valliere and Montalais to sleep in her own cabinet.  No
-gateway, therefore, was any longer open - not even communication by
-letter; to write under the eyes of so ferocious an Argus as Madame, whose
-temper and disposition were so uncertain, was to run the risk of exposure
-to the greatest danger; and it can well be conceived into what a state of
-continuous irritation, and ever increasing anger, all these petty
-annoyances threw the young lion.  The king almost tormented himself to
-death endeavoring to discover a means of communication; and, as he did
-not think proper to call in the aid of Malicorne or D'Artagnan, the means
-were not discovered at all.  Malicorne had, indeed, occasional brilliant
-flashes of imagination, with which he tried to inspire the king with
-confidence; but, whether from shame or suspicion, the king, who had at
-first begun to nibble at the bait, soon abandoned the hook.  In this way,
-for instance, one evening, while the king was crossing the garden, and
-looking up at Madame's windows, Malicorne stumbled over a ladder lying
-beside a border of box, and said to Manicamp, then walking with him
-behind the king, "Did you not see that I just now stumbled against a
-ladder, and was nearly thrown down?"
-
-"No," said Manicamp, as usual very absent-minded, "but it appears you did
-not fall."
-
-"That doesn't matter; but it is not on that account the less dangerous to
-leave ladders lying about in that manner."
-
-"True, one might hurt one's self, especially when troubled with fits of
-absence of mind."
-
-"I don't mean that; what I did mean, was that it is dangerous to allow
-ladders to lie about so near the windows of the maids of honor."  Louis
-started imperceptibly.
-
-"Why so?" inquired Manicamp.
-
-"Speak louder," whispered Malicorne, as he touched him with his arm.
-
-"Why so?" said Manicamp, louder.  The king listened.
-
-"Because, for instance," said Malicorne, "a ladder nineteen feet high is
-just the height of the cornice of those windows."  Manicamp, instead of
-answering, was dreaming of something else.
-
-"Ask me, can't you, what windows I mean," whispered Malicorne.
-
-"But what windows are you referring to?" said Manicamp, aloud.
-
-"The windows of Madame's apartments."
-
-"Eh!"
-
-"Oh!  I don't say that any one would ever venture to go up a ladder into
-Madame's room; but in Madame's cabinet, merely separated by a partition,
-sleep two exceedingly pretty girls, Mesdemoiselles de la Valliere and de
-Montalais."
-
-"By a partition?" said Manicamp.
-
-"Look; you see how brilliantly lighted Madame's apartments are - well, do
-you see those two windows?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And that window close to the others, but more dimly lighted?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, that is the room of the maids of honor.  Look, there is
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere opening the window.  Ah! how many soft things
-could an enterprising lover say to her, if he only suspected that there
-was lying here a ladder nineteen feet long, which would just reach the
-cornice."
-
-"But she is not alone; you said Mademoiselle de Montalais is with her."
-
-"Mademoiselle de Montalais counts for nothing; she is her oldest friend,
-and exceedingly devoted to her - a positive well, into which can be
-thrown all sorts of secrets one might wish to get rid of."
-
-The king did not lose a single syllable of this conversation.  Malicorne
-even remarked that his majesty slackened his pace, in order to give him
-time to finish.  So, when they arrived at the door, Louis dismissed every
-one, with the exception of Malicorne - a circumstance which excited no
-surprise, for it was known that the king was in love; and they suspected
-he was going to compose some verses by moonlight; and, although there was
-no moon that evening, the king might, nevertheless, have some verses to
-compose.  Every one, therefore, took his leave; and, immediately
-afterwards, the king turned towards Malicorne, who respectfully waited
-until his majesty should address him.  "What were you saying, just now,
-about a ladder, Monsieur Malicorne?" he asked.
-
-"Did I say anything about ladders, sire?" said Malicorne, looking up, as
-if in search of words which had flown away.
-
-"Yes, of a ladder nineteen feet long."
-
-"Oh, yes, sire, I remember; but I spoke to M. Manicamp, and I should not
-have said a word had I known your majesty was near enough to hear us."
-
-"And why would you not have said a word?"
-
-"Because I should not have liked to get the gardener into a scrape who
-left it there - poor fellow!"
-
-"Don't make yourself uneasy on that account.  What is this ladder like?"
-
-"If your majesty wishes to see it, nothing is easier, for there it is."
-
-"In that box hedge?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Show it to me."
-
-Malicorne turned back, and led the king up to the ladder, saying, "This
-is it, sire."
-
-"Pull it this way a little."
-
-When Malicorne had brought the ladder on to the gravel walk, the king
-began to step its whole length.  "Hum!" he said; "you say it is nineteen
-feet long?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"Nineteen feet - that is rather long; I hardly believe it can be so long
-as that."
-
-"You cannot judge very correctly with the ladder in that position, sire.
-If it were upright, against a tree or a wall, for instance, you would be
-better able to judge, because the comparison would assist you a good
-deal."
-
-"Oh! it does not matter, M. Malicorne; but I can hardly believe that the
-ladder is nineteen feet high."
-
-"I know how accurate your majesty's glance is, and yet I would wager."
-
-The king shook his head.  "There is one unanswerable means of verifying
-it," said Malicorne.
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"Every one knows, sire, that the ground-floor of the palace is eighteen
-feet high."
-
-"True, that is very well known."
-
-"Well, sire, if I place the ladder against the wall, we shall be able to
-ascertain."
-
-"True."
-
-Malicorne took up the ladder, like a feather, and placed it upright
-against the wall.  And, in order to try the experiment, he chose, or
-chance, perhaps, directed him to choose, the very window of the cabinet
-where La Valliere was.  The ladder just reached the edge of the cornice,
-that is to say, the sill of the window; so that, by standing upon the
-last round but one of the ladder, a man of about the middle height, as
-the king was, for instance, could easily talk with those who might be in
-the room.  Hardly had the ladder been properly placed, when the king,
-dropping the assumed part he had been playing in the comedy, began to
-ascend the rounds of the ladder, which Malicorne held at the bottom.  But
-hardly had he completed half the distance when a patrol of Swiss guards
-appeared in the garden, and advanced straight towards them.  The king
-descended with the utmost precipitation, and concealed himself among the
-trees.  Malicorne at once perceived that he must offer himself as a
-sacrifice; for if he, too, were to conceal himself, the guard would
-search everywhere until they had found either himself or the king,
-perhaps both.  It would be far better, therefore, that he alone should be
-discovered.  And, consequently, Malicorne hid himself so clumsily that he
-was the only one arrested.  As soon as he was arrested, Malicorne was
-taken to the guard-house, and there he declared who he was, and was
-immediately recognized.  In the meantime, by concealing himself first
-behind one clump of trees and then behind another, the king reached the
-side door of his apartment, very much humiliated, and still more
-disappointed.  More than that, the noise made in arresting Malicorne had
-drawn La Valliere and Montalais to their window; and even Madame herself
-had appeared at her own, with a pair of wax candles, one in each hand,
-clamorously asking what was the matter.
-
-In the meantime, Malicorne sent for D'Artagnan, who did not lose a moment
-in hurrying to him.  But it was in vain he attempted to make him
-understand his reasons, and in vain also that D'Artagnan did understand
-them; and, further, it was equally in vain that both their sharp and
-intuitive minds endeavored to give another turn to the adventure; there
-was no other resource left for Malicorne but to let it be supposed that
-he had wished to enter Mademoiselle de Montalais's apartment, as Saint-
-Aignan had passed for having wished to force Mademoiselle de Tonnay-
-Charente's door.  Madame was inflexible; in the first place, because, if
-Malicorne had, in fact, wished to enter her apartment at night through
-the window, and by means of the ladder, in order to see Montalais, it was
-a punishable offense on Malicorne's part, and he must be punished
-accordingly; and, in the second place, if Malicorne, instead of acting in
-his own name, had acted as an intermediary between La Valliere and a
-person whose name it was superfluous to mention, his crime was in that
-case even greater, since love, which is an excuse for everything, did not
-exist in the case as an excuse.  Madame therefore made the greatest
-possible disturbance about the matter, and obtained his dismissal from
-Monsieur's household, without reflecting, poor blind creature, that both
-Malicorne and Montalais held her fast in their clutches in consequence of
-her visit to De Guiche, and in a variety of other ways equally delicate.
-Montalais, who was perfectly furious, wished to revenge herself
-immediately, but Malicorne pointed out to her that the king's countenance
-would repay them for all the disgraces in the world, and that it was a
-great thing to have to suffer on his majesty's account.
-
-Malicorne was perfectly right, and, therefore, although Montalais had the
-spirit of ten women in her, he succeeded in bringing her round to his own
-opinion.  And we must not omit to state that the king helped them to
-console themselves, for, in the first place, he presented Malicorne with
-fifty thousand francs as a compensation for the post he had lost, and, in
-the next place, he gave him an appointment in his own household,
-delighted to have an opportunity of revenging himself in such a manner
-upon Madame for all she had made him and La Valliere suffer.  But as
-Malicorne could no longer carry significant handkerchiefs for him or
-plant convenient ladders, the royal lover was in a terrible state.  There
-seemed to be no hope, therefore, of ever getting near La Valliere again,
-so long as she should remain at the Palais Royal.  All the dignities and
-all the money in the world could not remedy that.  Fortunately, however,
-Malicorne was on the lookout, and this so successfully that he met
-Montalais, who, to do her justice, it must be admitted, was doing her
-best to meet Malicorne.  "What do you do during the night in Madame's
-apartment?" he asked the young girl.
-
-"Why, I go to sleep, of course," she replied.
-
-"But it is very wrong to sleep; it can hardly be possible that, with the
-pain you are suffering, you can manage to do so."
-
-"And what am I suffering from, may I ask?"
-
-"Are you not in despair at my absence?"
-
-"Of course not, since you have received fifty thousand francs and an
-appointment in the king's household."
-
-"That is a matter of no moment; you are exceedingly afflicted at not
-seeing me as you used to see me formerly, and more than all, you are in
-despair at my having lost Madame's confidence; come now, is not that
-true?"
-
-"Perfectly true."
-
-"Very good; your distress of mind prevents you sleeping at night, and so
-you sob, and sigh, and blow your nose ten times every minute as loud as
-possible."
-
-"But, my dear Malicorne, Madame cannot endure the slightest noise near
-her."
-
-"I know that perfectly well; of course she can't endure anything; and so,
-I tell you, when she hears your deep distress, she will turn you out of
-her rooms without a moment's delay."
-
-"I understand."
-
-"Very fortunate you _do_."
-
-"Well, and what will happen next?"
-
-"The next thing that will happen will be, that La Valliere, finding
-herself alone without you, will groan and utter such loud lamentations,
-that she will exhibit despair enough for two."
-
-"In that case she will be put into _another_ room, don't you see?"
-
-"Precisely so."
-
-"Yes, but which?"
-
-"Which?"
-
-"Yes, that will puzzle you to say, Mr. Inventor-General."
-
-"Not at all; whenever and whatever the room may be, it will always be
-preferable to Madame's own room."
-
-"That is true."
-
-"Very good, so begin your lamentations to-night."
-
-"I certainly will not fail to do so."
-
-"And give La Valliere a hint also."
-
-"Oh! don't fear her, she cries quite enough already to herself."
-
-"Very well! all she has to do is cry out loudly."
-
-And they separated.
-
-
-Chapter XXXIII:
-Which Treats of Carpentry Operations, and Furnishes Details upon the Mode
-of Constructing Staircases.
-
-The advice which had been given to Montalais was communicated by her to
-La Valliere, who could not but acknowledge that it was by no means
-deficient in judgment, and who, after a certain amount of resistance,
-rising rather from timidity than indifference to the project, resolved to
-put it into execution.  This story of the two girls weeping, and filling
-Madame's bedroom with the noisiest lamentations, was Malicorne's _chef-
-d'oeuvre_.  As nothing is so probable as improbability, so natural as
-romance, this kind of Arabian Nights story succeeded perfectly with
-Madame.  The first thing she did was to send Montalais away, and then,
-three days, or rather three nights afterwards, she had La Valliere
-removed.  She gave the latter one of the small rooms on the top story,
-situated immediately over the apartments allotted to the gentlemen of
-Monsieur's suite.  One story only, that is to say, a mere flooring
-separated the maids of honor from the officers and gentlemen of her
-husband's household.  A private staircase, which was placed under Madame
-de Navailles's surveillance, was the only means of communication.  For
-greater safety, Madame de Navailles, who had heard of his majesty's
-previous attempts, had the windows of the rooms and the openings of the
-chimneys carefully barred.  There was, therefore, every possible security
-provided for Mademoiselle de la Valliere, whose room now bore more
-resemblance to a cage than to anything else.  When Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere was in her own room, and she was there very frequently, for
-Madame scarcely ever had any occasion for her services, since she once
-knew she was safe under Madame de Navailles's inspection, Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere had no better means of amusing herself than looking through
-the bars of her windows.  It happened, therefore, that one morning, as
-she was looking out as usual, she perceived Malicorne at one of the
-windows exactly opposite to her own.  He held a carpenter's rule in his
-hand, was surveying the buildings, and seemed to be adding up some
-figures on paper.  La Valliere recognized Malicorne and nodded to him;
-Malicorne, in his turn, replied by a formal bow, and disappeared from the
-window.  She was surprised at this marked coolness, so different from his
-usual unfailing good-humor, but she remembered that he had lost his
-appointment on her account, and that he could hardly be very amiably
-disposed towards her, since, in all probability, she would never be in a
-position to make him any recompense for what he had lost.  She knew how
-to forgive offenses, and with still more readiness could she sympathize
-with misfortune.  La Valliere would have asked Montalais her opinion, if
-she had been within hearing, but she was absent, it being the hour she
-commonly devoted to her own correspondence.  Suddenly La Valliere
-observed something thrown from the window where Malicorne had been
-standing, pass across the open space which separated the iron bars, and
-roll upon the floor.  She advanced with no little curiosity towards this
-object, and picked it up; it was a wooden reel for silk, only, in this
-instance, instead of silk, a piece of paper was rolled round it.  La
-Valliere unrolled it and read as follows:
-
-"MADEMOISELLE, - I am exceedingly anxious to learn two things: the first
-is, to know if the flooring of your apartment is wood or brick; the
-second, to ascertain at what distance your bed is placed from the
-window.  Forgive my importunity, and will you be good enough to send me
-an answer by the same way you receive this letter - that is to say, by
-means of the silk winder; only, instead of throwing into my room, as I
-have thrown it into yours, which will be too difficult for you to
-attempt, have the goodness merely to let it fall.  Believe me,
-mademoiselle, your most humble, most respectful servant,
-"MALICORNE.
-"Write the reply, if you please, upon the letter itself."
-
-"Ah! poor fellow," exclaimed La Valliere, "he must have gone out of his
-mind;" and she directed towards her correspondent - of whom she caught
-but a faint glimpse, in consequence of the darkness of the room - a look
-full of compassionate consideration.  Malicorne understood her, and shook
-his head, as if he meant to say, "No, no, I am not out of my mind; be
-quite satisfied."
-
-She smiled, as if still in doubt.
-
-"No, no," he signified by a gesture, "my head is right," and pointed to
-his head, then, after moving his hand like a man who writes very rapidly,
-he put his hands together as if entreating her to write.
-
-La Valliere, even if he were mad, saw no impropriety in doing what
-Malicorne requested her; she took a pencil and wrote "Wood," and then
-walked slowly from her window to her bed, and wrote, "Six paces," and
-having done this, she looked out again at Malicorne, who bowed to her,
-signifying that he was about to descend.  La Valliere understood that it
-was to pick up the silk winder.  She approached the window, and, in
-accordance with Malicorne's instructions, let it fall.  The winder was
-still rolling along the flag-stones as Malicorne started after it,
-overtook and picked it up, and beginning to peel it as a monkey would do
-with a nut, he ran straight towards M. de Saint-Aignan's apartment.
-Saint-Aignan had chosen, or rather solicited, that his rooms might be as
-near the king as possible, as certain plants seek the sun's rays in order
-to develop themselves more luxuriantly.  His apartment consisted of two
-rooms, in that portion of the palace occupied by Louis XIV. himself.  M.
-de Saint-Aignan was very proud of this proximity, which afforded easy
-access to his majesty, and, more than that, the favor of occasional
-unexpected meetings.  At the moment we are now referring to, he was
-engaged in having both his rooms magnificently carpeted, with expectation
-of receiving the honor of frequent visits from the king; for his majesty,
-since his passion for La Valliere, had chosen Saint-Aignan as his
-confidant, and could not, in fact, do without him, either night or day.
-Malicorne introduced himself to the comte, and met with no difficulties,
-because he had been favorably noticed by the king; and also, because the
-credit which one man may happen to enjoy is always a bait for others.
-Saint-Aignan asked his visitor if he brought any news with him.
-
-"Yes; great news," replied the latter.
-
-"Ah! ah!" said Saint-Aignan, "what is it?"
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere has changed her quarters."
-
-"What do you mean?" said Saint-Aignan, opening his eyes very wide.  "She
-was living in the same apartments as Madame."
-
-"Precisely so; but Madame got tired of her proximity, and has installed
-her in a room which is situated exactly above your future apartment."
-
-"What! up there," exclaimed Saint-Aignan, with surprise, and pointing at
-the floor above him with his finger.
-
-"No," said Malicorne, "yonder," indicating the building opposite.
-
-"What do you mean, then, by saying that her room is above my apartment?"
-
-"Because I am sure that your apartment _ought_, providentially, to be
-under Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-Saint-Aignan, at this remark, gave poor Malicorne a look, similar to one
-of those La Valliere had already given a quarter of an hour before, that
-is to say, he thought he had lost his senses.
-
-"Monsieur," said Malicorne to him, "I wish to answer what you are
-thinking about."
-
-"What do you mean by 'what I am thinking about'?"
-
-"My reason is, that you have not clearly understood what I want to
-convey."
-
-"I admit it."
-
-"Well, then, you are aware that underneath the apartments set for
-Madame's maids of honor, the gentlemen in attendance on the king and on
-Monsieur are lodged."
-
-"Yes, I know that, since Manicamp, De Wardes, and others are living
-there."
-
-"Precisely.  Well, monsieur, admire the singularity of the circumstance;
-the two rooms destined for M. de Guiche are exactly the very two rooms
-situated underneath those which Mademoiselle de Montalais and
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere occupy."
-
-"Well; what then?"
-
-"'What then,' do you say?  Why, these two rooms are empty, since M. de
-Guiche is now lying wounded at Fontainebleau."
-
-"I assure you, my dear fellow, I cannot grasp your meaning."
-
-"Well! if I had the happiness to call myself Saint-Aignan, I should guess
-immediately."
-
-"And what would you do then?"
-
-"I should at once change the rooms I am occupying here, for those which
-M. de Guiche is not using yonder."
-
-"Can you suppose such a thing?" said Saint-Aignan, disdainfully.  "What!
-abandon the chief post of honor, the proximity to the king, a privilege
-conceded only to princes of the blood, to dukes, and peers!  Permit me to
-tell you, my dear Monsieur de Malicorne, that you must be out of your
-senses."
-
-"Monsieur," replied the young man, seriously, "you commit two mistakes.
-My name is Malicorne, simply; and I am in perfect possession of all my
-senses."  Then, drawing a paper from his pocket, he said, "Listen to what
-I am going to say; and afterwards, I will show you this paper."
-
-"I am listening," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You know that Madame looks after La Valliere as carefully as Argus did
-after the nymph Io."
-
-"I do."
-
-"You know that the king has sought for an opportunity, but uselessly, of
-speaking to the prisoner, and that neither you nor myself have yet
-succeeded in procuring him this piece of good fortune."
-
-"You certainly ought to know something about the subject, my poor
-Malicorne," said Saint-Aignan, smiling.
-
-"Very good; what do you suppose would happen to the man whose imagination
-devised some means of bringing the lovers together?"
-
-"Oh! the king would set no bounds to his gratitude."
-
-"Let me ask you, then, M. de Saint-Aignan, whether you would not be
-curious to taste a little of this royal gratitude?"
-
-"Certainly," replied Saint-Aignan, "any favor of my master, as a
-recognition of the proper discharge of my duty, would assuredly be most
-precious."
-
-"In that case, look at this paper, monsieur le comte."
-
-"What is it - a plan?"
-
-"Yes; a plan of M. de Guiche's two rooms, which, in all probability, will
-soon be your two rooms."
-
-"Oh! no, whatever may happen."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because my rooms are the envy of too many gentlemen, to whom I certainly
-shall not give them up; M. de Roquelaure, for instance, M. de la Ferte,
-and M. de Dangeau, would all be anxious to get them."
-
-"In that case I shall leave you, monsieur le comte, and I shall go and
-offer to one of those gentlemen the plan I have just shown you, together
-with the advantages annexed to it."
-
-"But why do you not keep them for yourself?" inquired Saint-Aignan,
-suspiciously.
-
-"Because the king would never do me the honor of paying me a visit
-openly, whilst he would readily go and see any one of those gentlemen."
-
-"What! the king would go and see any one of those gentlemen?"
-
-"Go! most certainly he would ten times instead of once.  Is it possible
-you can ask me if the king would go to an apartment which would bring him
-nearer to Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Yes, indeed, delightfully near her, with a floor between them."
-
-Malicorne unfolded the piece of paper which had been wrapped round the
-bobbin.  "Monsieur le comte," he said, "have the goodness to observe that
-the flooring of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room is merely a wooden
-flooring."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"Well! all you would have to do would be to get hold of a journeyman
-carpenter, lock him up in your apartments, without letting him know where
-you have taken him to, and let him make a hole in your ceiling, and
-consequently in the flooring of Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-"Good heavens!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan, as if dazzled.
-
-"What is the matter?" said Malicorne.
-
-"Nothing, except that you have hit upon a singular, bold idea, monsieur."
-
-"It will seem a very trifling one to the king, I assure you."
-
-"Lovers never think of the risk they run."
-
-"What danger do you apprehend, monsieur le comte?"
-
-"Why, effecting such an opening as that will make a terrible noise: it
-could be heard all over the palace."
-
-"Oh! monsieur le comte, I am quite sure that the carpenter I shall select
-will not make the slightest noise in the world.  He will saw an opening
-three feet square, with a saw covered with tow, and no one, not even
-those adjoining, will know that he is at work."
-
-"My dear Monsieur Malicorne, you astound, you positively bewilder me."
-
-"To continue," replied Malicorne, quietly, "in the room, the ceiling of
-which you will have cut through, you will put up a staircase, which will
-either allow Mademoiselle de la Valliere to descend into your room, or
-the king to ascend into Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room."
-
-"But the staircase will be seen."
-
-"No; for in your room it will be hidden by a partition, over which you
-will throw a tapestry similar to that which covers the rest of the
-apartment; and in Mademoiselle de la Valliere's room it will not be seen,
-for the trapdoor, which will be a part of the flooring itself, will be
-made to open under the bed."
-
-"Of course," said Saint-Aignan, whose eyes began to sparkle with delight.
-
-"And now, monsieur le comte, there is no occasion to make you admit that
-the king will frequently come to the room where such a staircase is
-constructed.  I think that M. Dangeau, particularly, will be struck by my
-idea, and I shall now go and explain to him."
-
-"But, my dear Monsieur Malicorne, you forget that you spoke to me about
-it the first, and that I have consequently the right of priority."
-
-"Do you wish for the preference?"
-
-"Do I wish it?  Of course I do."
-
-"The fact is, Monsieur de Saint-Aignan, I am presenting you with a
-Jacob's ladder, which is better than the promise of an additional step in
-the peerage - perhaps, even with a good estate to accompany your dukedom."
-
-"At least," replied Saint-Aignan, "it will give me an opportunity of
-showing the king that he is not mistaken in occasionally calling me his
-friend; an opportunity, dear M. Malicorne, for which I am indebted to
-you."
-
-"And which you will not forget to remember?" inquired Malicorne, smiling.
-
-"Nothing will delight me more, monsieur."
-
-"But I am not the king's friend; I am simply his attendant."
-
-"Yes; and if you imagine that that staircase is as good as a dukedom for
-myself, I think there will certainly be letters of nobility at the top of
-it for you."
-
-Malicorne bowed.
-
-"All I have to do now," said Saint-Aignan, "is to move as soon as
-possible."
-
-"I do not think the king will object to it.  Ask his permission, however."
-
-"I will go and see him this very moment."
-
-"And I will run and get the carpenter I was speaking of."
-
-"When will he be here?"
-
-"This very evening."
-
-"Do not forget your precautions."
-
-"He shall be brought with his eyes bandaged."
-
-"And I will send you one of my carriages."
-
-"Without arms."
-
-"And one of my servants without livery.  But stay, what will La Valliere
-say if she sees what is going on?"
-
-"Oh!  I can assure you she will be very much interested in the operation,
-and I am equally sure that if the king has not courage enough to ascend
-to her room, she will have sufficient curiosity to come down to him."
-
-"We will live in hope," said Saint-Aignan; "and now I am off to his
-majesty.  At what time will the carpenter be here?"
-
-"At eight o'clock."
-
-"How long do you suppose he will take to make this opening?"
-
-"About a couple of hours; only afterwards he must have sufficient time to
-construct what may be called the hyphen between the two rooms.  One night
-and a portion of the following day will do; we must not reckon upon less
-than two days, including putting up the staircase."
-
-"Two days, that is a very long time."
-
-"Nay; when one undertakes to open up communications with paradise itself,
-we must at least take care that the approaches are respectable."
-
-"Quite right; so farewell for a short time, dear M. Malicorne.  I shall
-begin to remove the day after to-morrow, in the evening."
-
-
-Chapter XXXIV:
-The Promenade by Torchlight.
-
-Saint-Aignan, delighted with what he had just heard, and rejoiced at what
-the future foreshadowed for him, bent his steps towards De Guiche's two
-rooms.  He who, a quarter of an hour previously, would hardly yield up
-his own rooms for a million francs, was now ready to expend a million, if
-it were necessary, upon the acquisition of the two happy rooms he coveted
-so eagerly.  But he did not meet with so many obstacles.  M. de Guiche
-did not yet know where he was to lodge, and, besides, was still too far
-ill to trouble himself about his lodgings; and so Saint-Aignan obtained
-De Guiche's two rooms without difficulty.  As for M. Dangeau, he was so
-immeasurably delighted, that he did not even give himself the trouble to
-think whether Saint-Aignan had any particular reason for removing.
-Within an hour after Saint-Aignan's new resolution, he was in possession
-of the two rooms; and ten minutes later Malicorne entered, followed by
-the upholsterers.  During this time, the king asked for Saint-Aignan; the
-valet ran to his late apartments and found M. Dangeau there; Dangeau sent
-him on to De Guiche's, and Saint-Aignan was found there; but a little
-delay had of course taken place, and the king had already exhibited once
-or twice evident signs of impatience, when Saint-Aignan entered his royal
-master's presence, quite out of breath.
-
-"You, too, abandon me, then," said Louis XIV., in a similar tone of
-lamentation to that with which Caesar, eighteen hundred years previously,
-had pronounced the _Et tu quoque_.
-
-"Sire, I am far from abandoning you, for, on the contrary, I am busily
-occupied in changing my lodgings."
-
-"What do you mean?  I thought you had finished moving three days ago."
-
-"Yes, sire.  But I don't find myself comfortable where I am, so I am
-going to change to the opposite side of the building."
-
-"Was I not right when I said you were abandoning me?" exclaimed the
-king.  "Oh! this exceeds all endurance.  But so it is: there was only one
-woman for whom my heart cared at all, and all my family is leagued
-together to tear her from me; and my friend, to whom I confided my
-distress, and who helped me to bear up under it, has become wearied of my
-complaints and is going to leave me without even asking my permission."
-
-Saint-Aignan began to laugh.  The king at once guessed there must be some
-mystery in this want of respect.  "What is it?" cried the king, full of
-hope.
-
-"This, sire, that the friend whom the king calumniates is going to try if
-he cannot restore to his sovereign the happiness he has lost."
-
-"Are you going to let me see La Valliere?" said Louis XIV.
-
-"I cannot say so, positively, but I hope so."
-
-"How - how? - tell me that, Saint-Aignan.  I wish to know what your
-project is, and to help you with all my power."
-
-"Sire," replied Saint-Aignan, "I cannot, even myself, tell very well how
-I must set about attaining success; but I have every reason to believe
-that from to-morrow - "
-
-"To-morrow, do you say!  What happiness!  But why are you changing your
-rooms?"
-
-"In order to serve your majesty to better advantage."
-
-"How can your moving serve me?"
-
-"Do you happen to know where the two rooms destined for De Guiche are
-situated?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, your majesty now knows where I am going."
-
-"Very likely; but that does not help me."
-
-"What! is it possible that you do not understand, sire, that above De
-Guiche's lodgings are two rooms, one of which is Mademoiselle
-Montalais's, and the other - "
-
-"La Valliere's, is it not so, Saint-Aignan?  Oh! yes, yes.  It is a
-brilliant idea, Saint-Aignan, a true friend's idea, a poet's idea.  By
-bringing me nearer her from whom the world seems to unite to separate me
-- you are far more than Pylades was for Orestes, or Patroclus for
-Achilles."
-
-"Sire," said Aignan, with a smile, "I question whether, if your majesty
-were to know my projects in their full extent, you would continue to
-pronounce such a pompous eulogium upon me.  Ah! sire, I know how very
-different are the epithets which certain Puritans of the court will not
-fail to apply to me when they learn of what I intend to do for your
-majesty."
-
-"Saint-Aignan, I am dying with impatience; I am in a perfect fever; I
-shall never be able to wait until to-morrow - to-morrow! why, to-morrow
-is an eternity!"
-
-"And yet, sire, I shall require you, if you please, to go out presently
-and divert your impatience by a good walk."
-
-"With you - agreed; we will talk about your projects, we will talk of
-her."
-
-"Nay, sire; I remain here."
-
-"Whom shall I go out with, then?"
-
-"With the queen and all the ladies of the court."
-
-"Nothing shall induce me to do that, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"And yet, sire, you must."
-
-"_Must?_ - no, no - a thousand times no!  I will never again expose
-myself to the horrible torture of being close to her, of seeing her, of
-touching her dress as I pass by her, and yet not be able to say a word to
-her.  No, I renounce a torture which you suppose will bring me happiness,
-but which consumes and eats away my very life; to see her in the presence
-of strangers, and not to tell her that I love her, when my whole being
-reveals my affection and betrays me to every one; no!  I have sworn never
-to do it again, and I will keep my oath."
-
-"Yet, sire, pray listen to me for a moment."
-
-"I will listen to nothing, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"In that case, I will continue; it is most urgent, sire - pray understand
-me, it is of the greatest importance - that Madame and her maids of honor
-should be absent for two hours from the palace."
-
-"I cannot understand your meaning at all, Saint-Aignan."
-
-"It is hard for me to give my sovereign directions what to do; but under
-the circumstances I do give you directions, sire; and either a hunting or
-a promenade party must be got up."
-
-"But if I were to do what you wish, it would be a caprice, a mere whim.
-In displaying such an impatient humor I show my whole court that I have
-no control over my own feelings.  Do not people already say that I am
-dreaming of the conquest of the world, but that I ought previously to
-begin by achieving a conquest over myself?"
-
-"Those who say so, sire, are as insolent as they would like to be thought
-facetious; but whomever they may be, if your majesty prefers to listen to
-them, I have nothing further to say.  In such a case, that which we have
-fixed to take place to-morrow must be postponed indefinitely."
-
-"Nay, Saint-Aignan, I will go out this evening - I will go by torchlight
-to Saint-Germain: I will breakfast there to-morrow, and will return to
-Paris by three o'clock.  Will that do?"
-
-"Admirably."
-
-"In that case I will set out this evening at eight o'clock."
-
-"Your majesty has fixed upon the exact minute."
-
-"And you positively will tell me nothing more?"
-
-"It is because I have nothing more to tell you.  Industry counts for
-something in this world, sire; but still, chance plays so important a
-part in it that I have been accustomed to leave her the sidewalk,
-confident that she will manage so as to always take the street."
-
-"Well, I abandon myself entirely to you."
-
-"And you are quite right."
-
-Comforted in this manner, the king went immediately to Madame, to whom he
-announced the intended expedition.  Madame fancied at the first moment
-that she saw in this unexpectedly arranged party a plot of the king's to
-converse with La Valliere, either on the road under cover of the
-darkness, or in some other way, but she took especial care not to show
-any of her fancies to her brother-in-law, and accepted the invitation
-with a smile upon her lips.  She gave directions aloud that her maids of
-honor should accompany her, secretly intending in the evening to take the
-most effectual steps to interfere with his majesty's attachment.  Then,
-when she was alone, and at the very moment the poor lover, who had issued
-orders for the departure, was reveling in the idea that Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere would form one of the party, - luxuriating in the sad
-happiness persecuted lovers enjoy of realizing through the sense of sight
-alone all the transports of possession, - Madame, who was surrounded by
-her maids of honor, was saying: - "Two ladies will be enough for me this
-evening, Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente and Mademoiselle de Montalais."
-
-La Valliere had anticipated her own omission, and was prepared for it:
-but persecution had rendered her courageous, and she did not give Madame
-the pleasure of seeing on her face the impression of the shock her heart
-received.  On the contrary, smiling with that ineffable gentleness which
-gave an angelic expression to her features - "In that case, Madame, I
-shall be at liberty this evening, I suppose?" she said.
-
-"Of course."
-
-"I shall be able to employ it, then, in progressing with that piece of
-tapestry which your highness has been good enough to notice, and which I
-have already had the honor of offering to you."
-
-And having made a respectful obeisance she withdrew to her own apartment;
-Mesdemoiselles de Tonnay-Charente and de Montalais did the same.  The
-rumor of the intended promenade soon spread all over the palace; ten
-minutes afterwards Malicorne learned Madame's resolution, and slipped
-under Montalais's door a note, in the following terms:
-
-"L. V. must positively pass the night the night with Madame."
-
-Montalais, in pursuance of the compact she had entered into, began by
-burning the letter, and then sat down to reflect.  Montalais was a girl
-full of expedients, and so she very soon arranged her plan.  Towards five
-o'clock, which was the hour for her to repair to Madame's apartment, she
-was running across the courtyard, and had reached within a dozen paces of
-a group of officers, when she uttered a cry, fell gracefully on one knee,
-rose again, with difficulty, and walked on limpingly.  The gentlemen ran
-forward to her assistance; Montalais had sprained her foot.  Faithful to
-the discharge of her duty, she insisted, however, notwithstanding her
-accident, upon going to Madame's apartments.
-
-"What is the matter, and why do you limp so?" she inquired; "I mistook
-you for La Valliere."
-
-Montalais related how it had happened, that in hurrying on, in order to
-arrive as quickly as possible, she had sprained her foot.  Madame seemed
-to pity her, and wished to have a surgeon sent for immediately, but she,
-assuring her that there was nothing really serious in the accident, said:
-"My only regret, Madame, is, that it will preclude my attendance on you,
-and I should have begged Mademoiselle de la Valliere to take my place
-with your royal highness, but - " seeing that Madame frowned, she added –
-"I have not done so."
-
-"Why did you not do so?" inquired Madame.
-
-"Because poor La Valliere seemed so happy to have her liberty for a whole
-evening and night too, that I did not feel courageous enough to ask her
-to take my place."
-
-"What, is she so delighted as that?" inquired madame, struck by these
-words.
-
-"She is wild with delight; she, who is always so melancholy, was singing
-like a bird.  Besides, you highness knows how much she detests going out,
-and also that her character has a spice of wildness in it."
-
-"So!" thought Madame, "this extreme delight hardly seems natural to me."
-
-"She has already made all her preparations for dining in her own room
-_tete-a-tete_ with one of her favorite books.  And then, as your highness
-has six other young ladies who would be delighted to accompany you, I did
-not make my proposal to La Valliere."  Madame did not say a word in reply.
-
-"Have I acted properly?" continued Montalais, with a slight fluttering of
-the heart, seeing the little success that seemed to attend the _ruse de
-guerre_ which she had relied upon with so much confidence that she had
-not thought it even necessary to try and find another.  "Does Madame
-approve of what I have done?" she continued.
-
-Madame was reflecting that the king could very easily leave Saint-Germain
-during the night, and that, as it was only four leagues and a half from
-Paris to Saint-Germain, he might readily be in Paris in an hour's time.
-"Tell me," she said, "whether La Valliere, when she heard of your
-accident, offered at least to bear you company?"
-
-"Oh! she does not yet know of my accident; but even did she know of it, I
-most certainly should not ask her to do anything that might interfere
-with her own plans.  I think she wishes this evening to realize quietly
-by herself that amusement of the late king, when he said to M. de Cinq-
-Mars, 'Let us amuse ourselves by doing nothing, and making ourselves
-miserable.'"
-
-Madame felt convinced that some mysterious love adventure lurked behind
-this strong desire for solitude.  The secret _might_ be Louis's return
-during the night; it could not be doubted any longer La Valliere had been
-informed of his intended return, and that was the reason for her delight
-at having to remain behind at the Palais Royal.  It was a plan settled
-and arranged beforehand.
-
-"I will not be their dupe though," said Madame, and she took a decisive
-step.  "Mademoiselle de Montalais," she said, "will you have the goodness
-to inform your friend, Mademoiselle de la Valliere, that I am exceedingly
-sorry to disarrange her projects of solitude, but that instead of
-becoming _ennuyee_ by remaining behind alone as she wished, she will be
-good enough to accompany us to Saint-Germain and get _ennuyee_ there."
-
-"Ah! poor La Valliere," said Montalais, compassionately, but with her
-heart throbbing with delight; "oh, Madame, could there not be some
-means - "
-
-"Enough," said Madame; "I desire it.  I prefer Mademoiselle la Baume le
-Blanc's society to that of any one else.  Go, and send her to me, and
-take care of your foot."
-
-Montalais did not wait for the order to be repeated; she returned to her
-room, almost forgetting to feign lameness, wrote an answer to Malicorne,
-and slipped it under the carpet.  The answer simply said: "She shall."  A
-Spartan could not have written more laconically.
-
-"By this means," thought Madame, "I will look narrowly after all on the
-road; she shall sleep near me during the night, and his majesty must be
-very clever if he can exchange a single word with Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere."
-
-La Valliere received the order to set off with the same indifferent
-gentleness with which she had received the order to play Cinderella.
-But, inwardly, her delight was extreme, and she looked upon this change
-in the princess's resolution as a consolation which Providence had sent
-her.  With less penetration than Madame possessed, she attributed all to
-chance.  While every one, with the exception of those in disgrace, of
-those who were ill, and those who were suffering from sprains, were being
-driven towards Saint-Germain, Malicorne smuggled his workman into the
-palace in one of M. de Saint-Aignan's carriages, and led him into the
-room corresponding to La Valliere's.  The man set to work with a will,
-tempted by the splendid reward which had been promised him.  As the very
-best tools and implements had been selected from the reserve stock
-belonging to the engineers attached to the king's household - and among
-others, a saw with teeth so sharp and well tempered that it was able,
-under water even, to cut through oaken joists as hard as iron - the work
-in question advanced very rapidly, and a square portion of the ceiling,
-taken from between two of the joists, fell into the arms of the delighted
-Saint-Aignan, Malicorne, the workman, and a confidential valet, the
-latter being one brought into the world to see and hear everything, but
-to repeat nothing.  In accordance with a new plan indicated by Malicorne,
-the opening was effected in an angle of the room - and for this reason.
-As there was no dressing-closet adjoining La Valliere's room, she had
-solicited, and had that very morning obtained, a large screen intended to
-serve as a partition.  The screen that had been allotted her was
-perfectly sufficient to conceal the opening, which would, besides, be
-hidden by all the artifices skilled cabinet-makers would have at their
-command.  The opening having been made, the workman glided between the
-joists, and found himself in La Valliere's room.  When there, he cut a
-square opening in the flooring, and out of the boards he manufactured a
-trap so accurately fitting into the opening that the most practised eye
-could hardly detect the necessary interstices made by its lines of
-juncture with the floor.  Malicorne had provided for everything: a ring
-and a couple of hinges which had been bought for the purpose, were
-affixed to the trap-door; and a small circular stair-case, packed in
-sections, had been bought ready made by the industrious Malicorne, who
-had paid two thousand francs for it.  It was higher than what was
-required, but the carpenter reduced the number of steps, and it was found
-to suit exactly.  This staircase, destined to receive so illustrious a
-burden, was merely fastened to the wall by a couple of iron clamps, and
-its base was fixed into the floor of the comte's room by two iron pegs
-screwed down tightly, so that the king, and all his cabinet councilors
-too, might pass up and down the staircase without any fear.  Every blow
-of the hammer fell upon a thick pad or cushion, and the saw was not used
-until the handle had been wrapped in wool, and the blade steeped in oil.
-The noisiest part of the work, moreover, had taken place during the night
-and early in the morning, that is to say, when La Valliere and Madame
-were both absent.  When, about two o'clock in the afternoon, the court
-returned to the Palais Royal, La Valliere went up into her own room.
-Everything was in its proper place - not the smallest particle of
-sawdust, not the smallest chip, was left to bear witness to the violation
-of her domicile.  Saint-Aignan, however, wishing to do his utmost in
-forwarding the work, had torn his fingers and his shirt too, and had
-expended no ordinary amount of perspiration in the king's service.  The
-palms of his hands were covered with blisters, occasioned by his having
-held the ladder for Malicorne.  He had, moreover, brought up, one by one,
-the seven pieces of the staircase, each consisting of two steps.  In
-fact, we can safely assert that, if the king had seen him so ardently at
-work, his majesty would have sworn an eternal gratitude towards his
-faithful attendant.  As Malicorne anticipated, the workman had completely
-finished the job in twenty-four hours; he received twenty-four louis, and
-left, overwhelmed with delight, for he had gained in one day as much as
-six months' hard work would have procured him.  No one had the slightest
-suspicion of what had taken place in the room under Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere's apartment.  But in the evening of the second day, at the very
-moment La Valliere had just left Madame's circle and returned to her own
-room, she heard a slight creaking sound in one corner.  Astonished, she
-looked to see whence it proceeded, and the noise began again.  "Who is
-there?" she said, in a tone of alarm.
-
-"It is I, Louise," replied the well-known voice of the king.
-
-"You! you!" cried the young girl, who for a moment fancied herself under
-the influence of a dream.  "But where?  You, sire?"
-
-"Here," replied the king, opening one of the folds of the screen, and
-appearing like a ghost at the end of the room.
-
-La Valliere uttered a loud cry, and fell trembling into an armchair, as
-the king advanced respectfully towards her.
-
-
-Chapter XXXV:
-The Apparition.
-
-La Valliere very soon recovered from her surprise, for, owing to his
-respectful bearing, the king inspired her with more confidence by his
-presence than his sudden appearance had deprived her of.  But, as he
-noticed that which made La Valliere most uneasy was the means by which he
-had effected an entrance into her room, he explained to her the system of
-the staircase concealed by the screen, and strongly disavowed the notion
-of his being a supernatural appearance.
-
-"Oh, sire!" said La Valliere, shaking her fair head with a most engaging
-smile, "present or absent, you do not appear to my mind more at one time
-than at another."
-
-"Which means, Louise - "
-
-"Oh, what you know so well, sire; that there is not one moment in which
-the poor girl whose secret you surprised at Fontainebleau, and whom you
-came to snatch from the foot of the cross itself, does not think of you."
-
-"Louise, you overwhelm me with joy and happiness."
-
-La Valliere smiled mournfully, and continued: "But, sire, have you
-reflected that your ingenious invention could not be of the slightest
-service to us?"
-
-"Why so?  Tell me, - I am waiting most anxiously."
-
-"Because this room may be subject to being searched at any moment of the
-day.  Madame herself may, at any time, come here accidentally; my
-companions run in at any moment they please.  To fasten the door on the
-inside, is to denounce myself as plainly as if I had written above, 'No
-admittance, - the king is within!'  Even now, sire, at this very moment,
-there is nothing to prevent the door opening, and your majesty being seen
-here."
-
-"In that case," said the king, laughingly, "I should indeed be taken for
-a phantom, for no one can tell in what way I came here.  Besides, it is
-only spirits that can pass through brick walls, or floors and ceilings."
-
-"Oh, sire, reflect for a moment how terrible the scandal would be!
-Nothing equal to it could ever have been previously said about the maids
-of honor, poor creatures! whom evil report, however, hardly ever spares."
-
-"And your conclusion from all this, my dear Louise, - come, explain
-yourself."
-
-"Alas! it is a hard thing to say - but your majesty must suppress
-staircase plots, surprises and all; for the evil consequences which would
-result from your being found here would be far greater than our happiness
-in seeing each other."
-
-"Well, Louise," replied the king, tenderly, "instead of removing this
-staircase by which I have ascended, there is a far more simple means, of
-which you have not thought."
-
-"A means - another means!"
-
-"Yes, another.  Oh, you do not love me as I love you, Louise, since my
-invention is quicker than yours."
-
-She looked at the king, who held out his hand to her, which she took and
-gently pressed between her own.
-
-"You were saying," continued the king, "that I shall be detected coming
-here, where any one who pleases can enter."
-
-"Stay, sire; at this very moment, even while you are speaking about it, I
-tremble with dread of your being discovered."
-
-"But you would not be found out, Louise, if you were to descend the
-staircase which leads to the room underneath."
-
-"Oh, sire! what do you say?" cried Louise, in alarm.
-
-"You do not quite understand me, Louise, since you get offended at my
-very first word; first of all, do you know to whom the apartments
-underneath belong?"
-
-"To M. de Guiche, sire, I believe."
-
-"Not at all; they are M. de Saint-Aignan's."
-
-"Are you sure?" cried La Valliere; and this exclamation which escaped
-from the young girl's joyous heart made the king's heart throb with
-delight.
-
-"Yes, to Saint-Aignan, _our friend_," he said.
-
-"But, sire," returned La Valliere, "I cannot visit M. de Saint-Aignan's
-rooms any more than I could M. de Guiche's.  It is impossible –
-impossible."
-
-"And yet, Louise, I should have thought that, under the safe-conduct of
-the king, you would venture anything."
-
-"Under the safe-conduct of the king," she said, with a look full of
-tenderness.
-
-"You have faith in my word, I hope, Louise?"
-
-"Yes, sire, when you are not present; but when you are present, - when
-you speak to me, - when I look upon you, I have faith in nothing."
-
-"What can possibly be done to reassure you?"
-
-"It is scarcely respectful, I know, to doubt the king, but - for me - you
-are _not_ the king."
-
-"Thank Heaven! - I, at least, hope so most devoutly; you see how
-anxiously I am trying to find or invent a means of removing all
-difficulty.  Stay; would the presence of a third person reassure you?"
-
-"The presence of M. de Saint-Aignan would, certainly."
-
-"Really, Louise, you wound me by your suspicions."
-
-Louise did not answer, she merely looked steadfastly at him with that
-clear, piercing gaze which penetrates the very heart, and said softly to
-herself, "Alas! alas! it is not you of whom I am afraid, - it is not you
-upon whom my doubts would fall."
-
-"Well," said the king, sighing, "I agree; and M. de Saint-Aignan, who
-enjoys the inestimable privilege of reassuring you, shall always be
-present at our interviews, I promise you."
-
-"You promise that, sire?"
-
-"Upon my honor as a gentleman; and you, on your side - "
-
-"Oh, wait, sire, that is not all yet; for such conversations ought, at
-least, to have a reasonable motive of some kind for M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Dear Louise, every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours, and my only
-study is to equal you on that point.  It shall be just as you wish:
-therefore our conversations shall have a reasonable motive, and I have
-already hit upon one; so that from to-morrow, if you like - "
-
-"To-morrow?"
-
-"Do you meant that that is not soon enough?" exclaimed the king,
-caressing La Valliere's hand between his own."
-
-At this moment the sound of steps was heard in the corridor.
-
-"Sire! sire!" cried La Valliere, "some one is coming; do you hear?  Oh,
-fly! fly!  I implore you."
-
-The king made but one bound from the chair where he was sitting to his
-hiding-place behind the screen.  He had barely time; for as he drew one
-of the folds before him, the handle of the door was turned, and Montalais
-appeared at the threshold.  As a matter of course she entered quite
-naturally, and without any ceremony, for she knew perfectly well that to
-knock at the door beforehand would be showing a suspicion towards La
-Valliere which would be displeasing to her.  She accordingly entered, and
-after a rapid glance round the room, in the brief course of which she
-observed two chairs very close to each other, she was so long in shutting
-the door, which seemed to be difficult to close, one can hardly tell how
-or why, that the king had ample time to raise the trap-door, and to
-descend again to Saint-Aignan's room.
-
-"Louise," she said to her, "I want to talk to you, and seriously, too."
-
-"Good heavens! my dear Aure, what is the matter now?"
-
-"The matter is, that Madame suspects _everything_."
-
-"Explain yourself."
-
-"Is there any occasion for us to enter into explanations, and do you not
-understand what I mean?  Come, you must have noticed the fluctuations in
-Madame's humor during several days past; you must have noticed how she
-first kept you close beside her, then dismissed you, and then sent for
-you again."
-
-"Yes, I have noticed it, of course."
-
-"Well, it seems Madame has now succeeded in obtaining sufficient
-information, for she has now gone straight to the point, as there is
-nothing further left in France to withstand the torrent which sweeps
-away all obstacles before it; you know what I mean by the torrent?"
-
-La Valliere hid her face in her hands.
-
-"I mean," continued Montalais, pitilessly, "that torrent which burst
-through the gates of the Carmelites of Chaillot, and overthrew all the
-prejudices of the court, as well at Fontainebleau as at Paris."
-
-"Alas! alas!" murmured La Valliere, her face still covered by her hands,
-and her tears streaming through her fingers.
-
-"Oh, don't distress yourself in that manner, or you have only heard half
-of your troubles."
-
-"In Heaven's name," exclaimed the young girl, in great anxiety, "what is
-the matter?"
-
-"Well, then, this is how the matter stands: Madame, who can no longer
-rely upon any further assistance in France; for she has, one after the
-other, made use of the two queens, of Monsieur, and the whole court, too,
-now bethinks herself of a certain person who has certain pretended rights
-over you."
-
-La Valliere became as white as a marble statue.
-
-"This person," continued Madame, "is not in Paris at this moment; but, if
-I am not mistaken, is, just now, in England."
-
-"Yes, yes," breathed La Valliere, almost overwhelmed with terror.
-
-"And is to be found, I think, at the court of Charles II.; am I right?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Well, this evening a letter has been dispatched by Madame to Saint
-James's, with directions for the courier to go straight to Hampton Court,
-which I believe is one of the royal residences, situated about a dozen
-miles from London."
-
-"Yes, well?"
-
-"Well; as Madame writes regularly to London once a fortnight, and as the
-ordinary courier left for London not more than three days ago, I have
-been thinking that some serious circumstance alone could have induced her
-to write again so soon, for you know she is a very indolent
-correspondent."
-
-"Yes."
-
-"This letter has been written, therefore, something tells me so, at
-least, on your account."
-
-"On my account?" repeated the unhappy girl, mechanically.
-
-"And I, who saw the letter lying on Madame's desk before she sealed it,
-fancied I could read - "
-
-"What did you fancy you could read?"
-
-"I might possibly have been mistaken, though - "
-
-"Tell me, - what was it?"
-
-"The name of Bragelonne."
-
-La Valliere rose hurriedly from her chair, a prey to the most painful
-agitation.  "Montalais," she said, her voice broken by sobs, "all my
-smiling dreams of youth and innocence have fled already.  I have nothing
-now to conceal, either from you or any one else.  My life is exposed to
-every one's inspection, and can be opened like a book, in which all the
-world can read, from the king himself to the first passer-by.  Aure,
-dearest Aure, what can I do - what will become of me?"
-
-Montalais approached close to her, and said, "Consult your own heart, of
-course."
-
-"Well; I do not love M. de Bragelonne; when I say I do not love him,
-understand that I love him as the most affectionate sister could love the
-best of brothers, but that is not what he requires, nor what I promised
-him."
-
-"In fact, you love the king," said Montalais, "and that is a sufficiently
-good excuse."
-
-"Yes, I do love the king," hoarsely murmured the young girl, "and I have
-paid dearly enough for pronouncing those words.  And now, Montalais, tell
-me - what can you do either for me, or against me, in my position?"
-
-"You must speak more clearly still."
-
-"What am I to say, then?"
-
-"And so you have nothing very particular to tell me?"
-
-"No!" said Louise, in astonishment.
-
-"Very good; and so all you have to ask me is my advice respecting M.
-Raoul?"
-
-"Nothing else."
-
-"It is a very delicate subject," replied Montalais.
-
-"No, it is nothing of the kind.  Ought I to marry him in order to keep
-the promise I made, or ought I continue to listen to the king?"
-
-"You have really placed me in a very difficult position," said Montalais,
-smiling; "you ask me if you ought to marry Raoul, whose friend I am, and
-whom I shall mortally offend in giving my opinion against him; and then,
-you ask me if you should cease to listen to the king, whose subject I am,
-and whom I should offend if I were to advise you in a particular way.
-Ah, Louise, you seem to hold a difficult position at a very cheap rate."
-
-"You have not understood me, Aure," said La Valliere, wounded by the
-slightly mocking tone of her companion; "if I were to marry M. de
-Bragelonne, I should be far from bestowing on him the happiness he
-deserves; but, for the same reason, if I listen to the king he would
-become the possessor of one indifferent in very many aspects, I admit,
-but one whom his affection confers an appearance of value.  What I ask
-you, then, is to tell me some means of disengaging myself honorably
-either from the one or from the other; or rather, I ask you, from which
-side you think I can free myself most honorably."
-
-"My dear Louise," replied Montalais, after a pause, "I am not one of the
-seven wise men of Greece, and I have no perfectly invariable rules of
-conduct to govern me; but, on the other hand, I have a little experience,
-and I can assure you that no woman ever asks for advice of the nature
-which you have just asked me, without being in a terrible state of
-embarrassment.  Besides, you have made a solemn promise, which every
-principle of honor requires you to fulfil; if, therefore, you are
-embarrassed, in consequence of having undertaken such an engagement, it
-is not a stranger's advice (every one is a stranger to a heart full of
-love), it is not my advice, I repeat, that can extricate you from your
-embarrassment.  I shall not give it you, therefore; and for a greater
-reason still - because, were I in your place, I should feel much more
-embarrassed after the advice than before it.  All I can do is, to repeat
-what I have already told you; shall I assist you?"
-
-"Yes, yes."
-
-"Very well; that is all.  Tell me in what way you wish me to help you;
-tell me for and against whom, - in this way we shall not make any
-blunders."
-
-"But first of all," said La Valliere, pressing her companion's hand, "for
-whom or against whom do you decide?"
-
-"For you, if you are really and truly my friend."
-
-"Are you not Madame's confidant?"
-
-"A greater reason for being of service to you; if I were not to know what
-is going on in that direction I should not be of any service at all, and
-consequently you would not obtain any advantage from my acquaintance.
-Friendships live and thrive upon a system of reciprocal benefits."
-
-"The result is, then, that you will remain at the same time Madame's
-friend also?"
-
-"Evidently.  Do you complain of that?"
-
-"I hardly know," sighed La Valliere, thoughtfully, for this cynical
-frankness appeared to her an offense both to the woman and the friend.
-
-"All well and good, then," said Montalais, "for if you did, you would be
-very foolish."
-
-"You wish to serve me, then?"
-
-"Devotedly - if you will serve me in return."
-
-"One would almost say that you do not know my heart," said La Valliere,
-looking at Montalais with her eyes wide open.
-
-"Why, the fact is, that since we have belonged to the court, my dear
-Louise, we are very much changed."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"It is very simple.  Were you the second queen of France yonder, at
-Blois?"
-
-La Valliere hung down her head, and began to weep.  Montalais looked at
-her in an indefinable manner, and murmured "Poor girl!" and then, adding,
-"Poor king!" she kissed Louise on the forehead, and returned to her
-apartment, where Malicorne was waiting for her.
-
-
-Chapter XXXVI:
-The Portrait.
-
-In that malady which is termed love the paroxysms succeed each other at
-intervals, ever accelerating from the moment the disease declares
-itself.  By and by, the paroxysms are less frequent, in proportion as the
-cure approaches.  This being laid down as a general axiom, and as the
-leading article of a particular chapter, we will now proceed with our
-recital.  The next day, the day fixed by the king for the first
-conversation in Saint-Aignan's room, La Valliere, on opening one of the
-folds of the screen, found upon the floor a letter in the king's
-handwriting.  The letter had been passed, through a slit in the floor,
-from the lower apartment to her own.  No indiscreet hand or curious gaze
-could have brought or did bring this single paper.  This, too, was one of
-Malicorne's ideas.  Having seen how very serviceable Saint-Aignan would
-become to the king on account of his apartment, he did not wish that the
-courtier should become still more indispensable as a messenger, and so he
-had, on his own private account, reserved this last post for himself.  La
-Valliere most eagerly read the letter, which fixed two o'clock that same
-afternoon for the rendezvous, and which indicated the way of raising the
-trap-door which was constructed out of the flooring.  "Make yourself look
-as beautiful as you can," added the postscript of the letter, words which
-astonished the young girl, but at the same time reassured her.
-
-The hours passed away very slowly, but the time fixed, however, arrived
-at last.  As punctual as the priestess Hero, Louise lifted up the trap-
-door at the last stroke of the hour of two, and found the king on the
-steps, waiting for her with the greatest respect, in order to give her
-his hand to descend.  The delicacy and deference shown in this attention
-affected her very powerfully.  At the foot of the staircase the two
-lovers found the comte, who, with a smile and a low reverence
-distinguished by the best taste, expressed his thanks to La Valliere for
-the honor she conferred upon him.  Then turning towards the king, he said:
-
-"Sire, our man is here."  La Valliere looked at the king with some
-uneasiness.
-
-"Mademoiselle," said the king, "if I have begged you to do me the honor
-of coming down here, it was from an interested motive.  I have procured a
-most admirable portrait painter, who is celebrated for the fidelity of
-his likenesses, and I wish you to be kind enough to authorize him to
-paint yours.  Besides, if you positively wish it, the portrait shall
-remain in your own possession."  La Valliere blushed.  "You see," said
-the king to her, "we shall not be three as you wished, but four instead.
-And, so long as we are not alone, there can be as many present as you
-please."  La Valliere gently pressed her royal lover's hand.
-
-"Shall we pass into the next room, sire?" said Saint-Aignan, opening the
-door to let his guests precede him.  The king walked behind La Valliere,
-and fixed his eyes lingeringly and passionately upon that neck as white
-as snow, upon which her long fair ringlets fell in heavy masses.  La
-Valliere was dressed in a thick silk robe of pearl gray color, with a
-tinge of rose, with jet ornaments, which displayed to greater effect the
-dazzling purity of her skin, holding in her slender and transparent hands
-a bouquet of heartsease, Bengal roses, and clematis, surrounded with
-leaves of the tenderest green, above which uprose, like a tiny goblet
-spilling magic influence a Haarlem tulip of gray and violet tints of a
-pure and beautiful species, which had cost the gardener five years' toil
-of combinations, and the king five thousand francs.  Louis had placed
-this bouquet in La Valliere's hand as he saluted her.  In the room, the
-door of which Saint-Aignan had just opened, a young man was standing,
-dressed in a purple velvet jacket, with beautiful black eyes and long
-brown hair.  It was the painter; his canvas was quite ready, and his
-palette prepared for use.
-
-He bowed to La Valliere with the grave curiosity of an artist who is
-studying his model, saluted the king discreetly, as if he did not
-recognize him, and as he would, consequently, have saluted any other
-gentleman.  Then, leading Mademoiselle de la Valliere to the seat he had
-arranged for her, he begged her to sit down.
-
-The young girl assumed an attitude graceful and unrestrained, her hands
-occupied and her limbs reclining on cushions; and in order that her gaze
-might not assume a vague or affected expression, the painter begged her
-to choose some kind of occupation, so as to engage her attention;
-whereupon Louis XIV., smiling, sat down on the cushions at La Valliere's
-feet; so that she, in the reclining posture she had assumed, leaning back
-in the armchair, holding her flowers in her hand, and he, with his eyes
-raised towards her and fixed devouringly on her face - they, both
-together, formed so charming a group, that the artist contemplated
-painting it with professional delight, while on his side, Saint-Aignan
-regarded them with feelings of envy.  The painter sketched rapidly; and
-very soon, beneath the earliest touches of the brush, there started into
-life, out of the gray background, the gentle, poetry-breathing face, with
-its soft calm eyes and delicately tinted cheeks, enframed in the masses
-of hair which fell about her neck.  The lovers, however, spoke but
-little, and looked at each other a great deal; sometimes their eyes
-became so languishing in their gaze, that the painter was obliged to
-interrupt his work in order to avoid representing an Erycina instead of
-La Valliere.  It was on such occasions that Saint-Aignan came to the
-rescue, and recited verses, or repeated one of those little tales such as
-Patru related, and Tallemant des Reaux wrote so cleverly.  Or, it might
-be that La Valliere was fatigued, and the sitting was, therefore,
-suspended for awhile; and, immediately, a tray of precious porcelain
-laden with the most beautiful fruits which could be obtained, and rich
-wines distilling their bright colors in silver goblets, beautifully
-chased, served as accessories to the picture of which the painter could
-but retrace the most ephemeral resemblance.
-
-Louis was intoxicated with love, La Valliere with happiness, Saint-Aignan
-with ambition, and the painter was storing up recollections for his old
-age.  Two hours passed away in this manner, and four o'clock having
-struck, La Valliere rose, and made a sign to the king.  Louis also rose,
-approached the picture, and addressed a few flattering remarks to the
-painter.  Saint-Aignan also praised the picture, which, as he pretended,
-was already beginning to assume an accurate resemblance.  La Valliere in
-her turn, blushingly thanked the painter and passed into the next room,
-where the king followed her, after having previously summoned Saint-
-Aignan.
-
-"Will you not come to-morrow?" he said to La Valliere.
-
-"Oh! sire, pray think that some one will be sure to come to my room, and
-will not find me there."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"What will become of me in that case?"
-
-"You are very apprehensive, Louise."
-
-"But at all events, suppose Madame were to send for me?"
-
-"Oh!" replied the king, "will the day never come when you yourself will
-tell me to brave everything so that I may not have to leave you again?"
-
-"On that day, sire, I shall be quite out of my mind, and you must not
-believe me."
-
-"To-morrow, Louise."
-
-La Valliere sighed, but, without the courage to oppose her royal lover's
-wish, she repeated, "To-morrow, then, since you desire it, sire," and
-with these words she ran lightly up the stairs, and disappeared from her
-lover's gaze.
-
-"Well, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan, when she had left.
-
-"Well, Saint-Aignan, yesterday I thought myself the happiest of men."
-
-"And does your majesty, then, regard yourself to-day," said the comte,
-smiling, "as the unhappiest of men?"
-
-"No; but my love for her is an unquenchable thirst; in vain do I drink,
-in vain do I swallow the drops of water which your industry procures for
-me; the more I drink, the more unquenchable it becomes."
-
-"Sire, that is in some degree your own fault, and your majesty alone has
-made the position such as it is."
-
-"You are right."
-
-"In that case, therefore, the means to be happy, is to fancy yourself
-satisfied, and to wait."
-
-"Wait! you know that word, then?"
-
-"There, there, sire - do not despair: I have already been at work on your
-behalf - I have still other resources in store."  The king shook his head
-in a despairing manner.
-
-"What, sire! have you not been satisfied hitherto?"
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed, yes, my dear Saint-Aignan; but invent, for Heaven's
-sake, invent some further project yet."
-
-"Sire, I undertake to do my best, and that is all that any one can do."
-
-The king wished to see the portrait again, as he was unable to see the
-original.  He pointed out several alterations to the painter and left the
-room, and then Saint-Aignan dismissed the artist.  The easel, paints, and
-painter himself, had scarcely gone, when Malicorne showed his head in the
-doorway.  He was received by Saint-Aignan with open arms, but still with
-a little sadness, for the cloud which had passed across the royal sun,
-veiled, in its turn, the faithful satellite, and Malicorne at a glance
-perceived the melancholy that brooded on Saint-Aignan's face.
-
-"Oh, monsieur le comte," he said, "how sad you seem!"
-
-"And good reason too, my dear Monsieur Malicorne.  Will you believe that
-the king is still dissatisfied?"
-
-"With his staircase, do you mean?"
-
-"Oh, no; on the contrary, he is delighted with the staircase."
-
-"The decorations of the apartments, I suppose, don't please him."
-
-"Oh! he has not even thought of that.  No, indeed, it seems that what has
-dissatisfied the king - "
-
-"I will tell you, monsieur le comte, - he is dissatisfied at finding
-himself the fourth person at a rendezvous of this kind.  How is it
-possible you could not have guessed that?"
-
-"Why, how is it likely I could have done so, dear M. Malicorne, when I
-followed the king's instructions to the very letter?"
-
-"Did his majesty really insist on your being present?"
-
-"Positively."
-
-"And also required that the painter, whom I met downstairs just now,
-should be here, too?"
-
-"He insisted upon it."
-
-"In that case, I can easily understand why his majesty is dissatisfied."
-
-"What! dissatisfied that I have so punctually and so literally obeyed his
-orders?  I don't understand you."
-
-Malicorne began to scratch his ear, as he asked, "What time did the king
-fix for the rendezvous in your apartments?"
-
-"Two o'clock."
-
-"And you were waiting for the king?"
-
-"Ever since half-past one; it would have been a fine thing, indeed, to
-have been unpunctual with his majesty."
-
-Malicorne, notwithstanding his respect for Saint-Aignan, could not help
-smiling.  "And the painter," he said, "did the king wish him to be here
-at two o'clock, also?"
-
-"No; but I had him waiting here from midday.  Far better, you know, for a
-painter to be kept waiting a couple of hours than the king a single
-minute."
-
-Malicorne began to laugh aloud.  "Come, dear Monsieur Malicorne," said
-Saint-Aignan, "laugh less at me, and speak a little more freely, I beg."
-
-"Well, then, monsieur le comte, if you wish the king to be a little more
-satisfied the next time he comes - "
-
-"'_Ventre saint-gris!_' as his grandfather used to say; of course I wish
-it."
-
-"Well, all you have to do is, when the king comes to-morrow, to be
-obliged to go away on a most pressing matter of business, which cannot
-possibly be postponed, and stay away for twenty minutes."
-
-"What! leave the king alone for twenty minutes?" cried Saint-Aignan, in
-alarm.
-
-"Very well, do as you like; don't pay any attention to what I say," said
-Malicorne, moving towards the door.
-
-"Nay, nay, dear Monsieur Malicorne; on the contrary, go on - I begin to
-understand you.  But the painter - "
-
-"Oh! the painter must be half an hour late."
-
-"Half an hour - do you really think so?"
-
-"Yes, I do, decidedly."
-
-"Very well, then, I will do as you tell me."
-
-"And my opinion is, that you will be doing perfectly right.  Will you
-allow me to call upon you for the latest news to-morrow?"
-
-"Of course."
-
-"I have the honor to be your most respectful servant, M. de Saint-
-Aignan," said Malicorne, bowing profoundly and retiring from the room
-backwards.
-
-"There is no doubt that fellow has more invention than I have," said
-Saint-Aignan, as if compelled by his conviction to admit it.
-
-
-Chapter XXXVII:
-Hampton Court.
-
-The revelation we have witnessed, that Montalais made to La Valliere, in
-a preceding chapter, very naturally makes us return to the principal hero
-of this tale, a poor wandering knight, roving about at the king's
-caprice.  If our readers will be good enough to follow us, we will, in
-his company, cross that strait, more stormy than the Euripus, which
-separates Calais from Dover; we will speed across that green and fertile
-country, with its numerous little streams; through Maidstone, and many
-other villages and towns, each prettier than the other; and, finally,
-arrive at London.  From thence, like bloodhounds following a track, after
-having ascertained that Raoul had made his first stay at Whitehall, his
-second at St. James's, and having learned that he had been warmly
-received by Monk, and introduced to the best society of Charles II.'s
-court, we will follow him to one of Charles II.'s summer residences near
-the lively little village of Kingston, at Hampton Court, situated on the
-Thames.  The river is not, at that spot, the boastful highway which bears
-upon its broad bosom its thousands of travelers; nor are its waters black
-and troubled as those of Cocytus, as it boastfully asserts, "I, too, am
-cousin of the old ocean."  No, at Hampton Court it is a soft and
-murmuring stream, with moss-fringed banks, reflecting, in its broad
-mirror, the willows and beeches which ornament its sides, and on which
-may occasionally be seen a light bark indolently reclining among the tall
-reeds, in a little creek formed of alders and forget-me-nots.  The
-surrounding country on all sides smiled in happiness and wealth; the
-brick cottages from whose chimneys the blue smoke was slowly ascending in
-wreaths, peeped forth from the belts of green holly which environed them;
-children dressed in red frocks appeared and disappeared amidst the high
-grass, like poppies bowed by the gentler breath of the passing breeze.
-The sheep, ruminating with half-closed eyes, lay lazily about under the
-shadow of the stunted aspens, while, far and near, the kingfishers,
-plumed with emerald and gold, skimmed swiftly along the surface of the
-water, like a magic ball heedlessly touching, as he passed, the line of
-his brother angler, who sat watching in his boat the fish as they rose to
-the surface of the sparkling stream.  High above this paradise of dark
-shadows and soft light, rose the palace of Hampton Court, built by Wolsey
-- a residence the haughty cardinal had been obliged, timid courtier that
-he was, to offer to his master, Henry VIII., who had glowered with envy
-and cupidity at the magnificent new home.  Hampton Court, with its brick
-walls, its large windows, its handsome iron gates, as well as its curious
-bell turrets, its retired covered walks, and interior fountains, like
-those of the Alhambra, was a perfect bower of roses, jasmine, and
-clematis.  Every sense, sight and smell particularly, was gratified, and
-the reception-rooms formed a very charming framework for the pictures of
-love which Charles II. unrolled among the voluptuous paintings of Titian,
-of Pordenone and of Van Dyck; the same Charles whose father's portrait –
-the martyr king - was hanging in his gallery, and who could show upon the
-wainscots of the various apartments the holes made by the balls of the
-puritanical followers of Cromwell, when on the 24th of August, 1648, at
-the time they had brought Charles I. prisoner to Hampton Court.  There it
-was that the king, intoxicated with pleasure and adventure, held his
-court - he, who, a poet in feeling, thought himself justified in
-redeeming, by a whole day of voluptuousness, every minute which had been
-formerly passed in anguish and misery.  It was not the soft green sward
-of Hampton Court - so soft that it almost resembled the richest velvet in
-the thickness of its texture - nor was it the beds of flowers, with their
-variegated hues which encircled the foot of every tree with rose-trees
-many feet in height, embracing most lovingly their trunks - nor even the
-enormous lime-trees, whose branches swept the earth like willows,
-offering a ready concealment for love or reflection beneath the shade of
-their foliage - it was none of these things for which Charles II. loved
-his palace of Hampton Court.  Perhaps it might have been that beautiful
-sheet of water, which the cool breeze rippled like the wavy undulations
-of Cleopatra's hair, waters bedecked with cresses and white water-lilies,
-whose chaste bulbs coyly unfolding themselves beneath the sun's warm
-rays, reveal the golden gems which lie concealed within their milky
-petals - murmuring waters, on the bosom of which black swans majestically
-floated, and the graceful water-fowl, with their tender broods covered
-with silken down, darted restlessly in every direction, in pursuit of the
-insects among the reeds, or the fogs in their mossy retreats.  Perhaps it
-might have been the enormous hollies, with their dark and tender green
-foliage; or the bridges uniting the banks of the canals in their embrace;
-or the fawns browsing in the endless avenues of the park; or the
-innumerable birds that hopped about the gardens, or flew from branch to
-branch, amidst the emerald foliage.
-
-It might well have been any of these charms - for Hampton Court had them
-all; and possessed, too, almost forests of white roses, which climbed and
-trailed along the lofty trellises, showering down upon the ground their
-snowy leaves rich with soft perfumery.  But no, what Charles II. most
-loved in Hampton Court were the charming figures who, when midday was
-past, flitted to and fro along the broad terraces of the gardens; like
-Louis XIV., he had their wealth of beauties painted for his gallery by
-one of the great artists of the period - an artist who well knew the
-secret of transferring to canvas the rays of light which escaped from
-beaming eyes heavy laden with love and love's delights.
-
-The day of our arrival at Hampton Court is almost as clear and bright as
-a summer's day in France; the atmosphere is heavy with the delicious
-perfume of geraniums, sweet-peas, seringas, and heliotrope scattered in
-profusion around.  It is past midday, and the king, having dined after
-his return from hunting, paid a visit to Lady Castlemaine, the lady who
-was reputed at the time to hold his heart in bondage; and this proof of
-his devotion discharged, he was readily permitted to pursue his
-infidelities until evening arrived.  Love and amusement ruled the entire
-court; it was the period when ladies would seriously interrogate their
-ruder companions as to their opinions upon a foot more or less
-captivating, according to whether it wore a pink or lilac silk stocking –
-for it was the period when Charles II. had declared that there was no
-hope of safety for a woman who wore green silk stockings, because Miss
-Lucy Stewart wore them of that color.  While the king is endeavoring in
-all directions to inculcate others with his preferences on this point, we
-will ourselves bend our steps towards an avenue of beech-trees opposite
-the terrace, and listen to the conversation of a young girl in a dark-
-colored dress, who is walking with another of about her own age dressed
-in blue.  They crossed a beautiful lawn, from the center of which sprang
-a fountain, with the figure of a siren executed in bronze, and strolled
-on, talking as they went, towards the terrace, along which, looking out
-upon the park and interspersed at frequent intervals, were erected summer-
-houses, diverse in form and ornament; these summer-houses were nearly all
-occupied; the two young women passed on, the one blushing deeply, while
-the other seemed dreamily silent.  At last, having reached the end of the
-terrace which looks on the river, and finding there a cool retreat, they
-sat down close to each other.
-
-"Where are we going?" said the younger to her companion.
-
-"My dear, we are going where you yourself led the way."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Yes, you; to the extremity of the palace, towards that seat yonder,
-where the young Frenchman is seated, wasting his time in sighs and
-lamentations."
-
-Miss Mary Grafton hurriedly said, "No, no; I am not going there."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Let us go back, Lucy."
-
-"Nay, on the contrary, let us go on, and have an explanation."
-
-"What about?"
-
-"About how it happens that the Vicomte de Bragelonne always accompanies
-you in all your walks, as you invariably accompany him in his."
-
-"And you conclude either that he loves me, or that I love him?"
-
-"Why not? - he is a most agreeable and charming companion. - No one hears
-me, I hope," said Lucy Stewart, as she turned round with a smile, which
-indicated, moreover, that her uneasiness on the subject was not extreme.
-
-"No, no," said Mary, "the king is engaged in his summer-house with the
-Duke of Buckingham."
-
-"Oh! _a propos_ of the duke, Mary, it seems he has shown you great
-attention since his return from France; how is your own heart in that
-direction?"
-
-Mary Grafton shrugged her shoulders with seeming indifference.
-
-"Well, well, I will ask Bragelonne about it," said Stewart, laughing;
-"let us go and find him at once."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"I wish to speak to him."
-
-"Not yet, one word before you do: come, come, you who know so many of the
-king's secrets, tell me why M. de Bragelonne is in England?"
-
-"Because he was sent as an envoy from one sovereign to another."
-
-"That may be; but, seriously, although politics do not much concern us,
-we know enough to be satisfied that M. de Bragelonne has no mission of
-serious import here."
-
-"Well, then, listen," said Stewart, with assumed gravity, "for your sake
-I am going to betray a state secret.  Shall I tell you the nature of the
-letter which King Louis XIV. gave M. de Bragelonne for King Charles II.?
-I will; these are the very words: 'My brother, the bearer of this is a
-gentleman attached to my court, and the son of one whom you regard most
-warmly.  Treat him kindly, I beg, and try and make him like England.'"
-
-"Did it say that!"
-
-"Word for word - or something very like it.  I will not answer for the
-form, but the substance I am sure of."
-
-"Well, and what conclusion do you, or rather what conclusion does the
-king, draw from that?"
-
-"That the king of France has his own reasons for removing M. de
-Bragelonne, and for getting him married anywhere else than in France."
-
-"So that, then, in consequence of this letter - "
-
-"King Charles received M. de Bragelonne, as you are aware, in the most
-distinguished and friendly manner; the handsomest apartments in Whitehall
-were allotted to him; and as you are the most valuable and precious
-person in his court, inasmuch as you have rejected his heart, - nay, do
-not blush, - he wished you to take a fancy to this Frenchman, and he was
-desirous to confer upon him so costly a prize.  And this is the reason
-why you, the heiress of three hundred thousand pounds, a future duchess,
-so beautiful, so good, have been thrown in Bragelonne's way, in all the
-promenades and parties of pleasure to which he was invited.  In fact it
-was a plot, - a kind of conspiracy."
-
-Mary Grafton smiled with that charming expression which was habitual to
-her, and pressing her companion's arm, said: "Thank the king, Lucy."
-
-"Yes, yes, but the Duke of Buckingham is jealous, so take care."
-
-Hardly had she pronounced these words, when the duke appeared from one of
-the pavilions on the terrace, and, approaching the two girls, with a
-smile, said, "You are mistaken, Miss Lucy; I am not jealous; and the
-proof, Miss Mary, is yonder, in the person of M. de Bragelonne himself,
-who ought to be the cause of my jealousy, but who is dreaming in pensive
-solitude.  Poor fellow!  Allow me to leave you for a few minutes, while I
-avail myself of those few minutes to converse with Miss Lucy Stewart, to
-whom I have something to say."  And then, bowing to Lucy, he added, "Will
-you do me the honor to accept my hand, in order that I may lead you to
-the king, who is waiting for us?"  With these words, Buckingham, still
-smiling, took Miss Stewart's hand, and led her away.  When by herself,
-Mary Grafton, her head gently inclined towards her shoulder, with that
-indolent gracefulness of action which distinguishes young English girls,
-remained for a moment with her eyes fixed on Raoul, but as if uncertain
-what to do.  At last, after first blushing violently, and then turning
-deadly pale, thus revealing the internal combat which assailed her heart,
-she seemed to make up her mind to adopt a decided course, and with a
-tolerably firm step, advanced towards the seat on which Raoul was
-reclining, buried in the profoundest meditation, as we have already
-said.  The sound of Miss Mary's steps, though they could hardly be heard
-upon the green sward, awakened Raoul from his musing attitude; he turned
-round, perceived the young girl, and walked forward to meet the companion
-whom his happy destiny had thrown in his way.
-
-"I have been sent to you, monsieur," said Mary Grafton; "will you take
-care of me?"
-
-"To whom is my gratitude due, for so great a happiness?" inquired Raoul.
-
-"To the Duke of Buckingham," replied Mary, affecting a gayety she did not
-really feel.
-
-"To the Duke of Buckingham, do you say? - he who so passionately seeks
-your charming society!  Am I really to believe you are serious,
-mademoiselle?"
-
-"The fact is, monsieur, you perceive, that everything seems to conspire
-to make us pass the best, or rather the longest, part of our days
-together.  Yesterday it was the king who desired me to beg you to seat
-yourself next to me at dinner; to-day, it is the Duke of Buckingham who
-begs me to come and place myself near you on this seat."
-
-"And he has gone away in order to leave us together?" asked Raoul, with
-some embarrassment.
-
-"Look yonder, at the turning of that path; he is just out of sight, with
-Miss Stewart.  Are these polite attentions usual in France, monsieur le
-vicomte?"
-
-"I cannot very precisely say what people do in France, mademoiselle, for
-I can hardly be called a Frenchman.  I have resided in many countries,
-and almost always as a solider; and then, I have spent a long period of
-my life in the country.  I am almost a savage."
-
-"You do not like your residence in England, I fear."
-
-"I scarcely know," said Raoul, inattentively, and sighing deeply at the
-same time.
-
-"What! you do not know?"
-
-"Forgive me," said Raoul, shaking his head, and collecting his thoughts,
-"I did not hear you."
-
-"Oh!" said the young girl, sighing in her turn, "how wrong the duke was
-to send me here!"
-
-"Wrong!" said Raoul, "perhaps so; for I am but a rude, uncouth companion,
-and my society annoys you.  The duke did, indeed, very wrong to send you."
-
-"It is precisely," replied Mary Grafton, in a clear, calm voice, "because
-your society does not annoy me, that the duke was wrong to send me to
-you."
-
-It was now Raoul's turn to blush.  "But," he resumed, "how happens it
-that the Duke of Buckingham should send you to me; and why did you come?
-the duke loves you, and you love him."
-
-"No," replied Mary, seriously, "the duke does not love me, because he is
-in love with the Duchesse d'Orleans; and, as for myself, I have no
-affection for the duke."
-
-Raoul looked at the young lady with astonishment.
-
-"Are you a friend of the Duke of Buckingham?" she inquired.
-
-"The duke has honored me by calling me so ever since we met in France."
-
-"You are simple acquaintances, then?"
-
-"No; for the duke is the most intimate friend of one whom I regard as a
-brother."
-
-"The Duc de Guiche?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"He who is in love with Madame la Duchesse d'Orleans?"
-
-"Oh!  What is that you are saying?"
-
-"And who loves him in return," continued the young girl, quietly.
-
-Raoul bent down his head, and Mary Grafton, sighing deeply, continued,
-"They are very happy.  But, leave me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, for the
-Duke of Buckingham has given you a very troublesome commission in
-offering me as a companion for your promenade.  Your heart is elsewhere,
-and it is with the greatest difficulty you can be charitable enough to
-lend me your attention.  Confess truly; it would be unfair on your part,
-vicomte, not to admit it."
-
-"Madame, I do confess it."
-
-She looked at him steadily.  He was so noble and so handsome in his
-bearing, his eyes revealed so much gentleness, candor, and resolution,
-that the idea could not possibly enter her mind that he was either rudely
-discourteous, or a mere simpleton.  She only perceived, clearly enough,
-that he loved another woman, and not herself, with the whole strength of
-his heart.  "Ah!  I now understand you," she said; "you have left your
-heart behind you in France."  Raoul bowed.  "The duke is aware of your
-affection?"
-
-"No one knows it," replied Raoul.
-
-"Why, therefore, do you tell me?  Nay, answer me."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"It is for me, then, to anticipate an explanation; you do not wish to
-tell me anything, because you are now convinced that I do not love the
-duke; because you see that I possibly might have loved you; because you
-are a gentleman of noble and delicate sentiments; and because, instead of
-accepting, even were it for the mere amusement of the passing hour, a
-hand which is almost pressed upon you; and because, instead of meeting my
-smiles with a smiling lip, you, who are young, have preferred to tell me,
-whom men have called beautiful, 'My heart is over the sea - it is in
-France.'  For this, I thank you, Monsieur de Bragelonne; you are, indeed,
-a noble-hearted, noble-minded man, and I regard you all the more for it,
-as a friend only.  And now let us cease speaking of myself, and talk of
-your own affairs.  Forget that I have ever spoken to you of myself, tell
-me why you are sad, and why you have become more than usually so during
-these past four days?"
-
-Raoul was deeply and sensibly moved by these sweet and melancholy tones;
-and as he could not, at the moment, find a word to say, the young girl
-again came to his assistance.
-
-"Pity me," she said.  "My mother was born in France, and I can truly
-affirm that I, too, am French in blood, as well as in feeling; but the
-leaden atmosphere and characteristic gloom of England seem to weigh upon
-me.  Sometimes my dreams are golden-hued and full of wonderful
-enjoyments, when suddenly a mist rises and overspreads my fancy, blotting
-them out forever.  Such, indeed, is the case at the present moment.
-Forgive me; I have now said enough on that subject; give me your hand,
-and relate you griefs to me as a friend."
-
-"You say you are French in heart and soul?"
-
-"Yes, not only, I repeat it, that my mother was French, but, further, as
-my father, a friend of King Charles I., was exiled in France, I, during
-the trial of that prince, as well as during the Protector's life, was
-brought up in Paris; at the Restoration of King Charles II., my poor
-father returned to England, where he died almost immediately afterwards;
-and then the king created me a duchess, and has dowered me according to
-my rank.
-
-"Have you any relations in France?" Raoul inquired, with the deepest
-interest.
-
-"I have a sister there, my senior by seven or eight years, who was
-married in France, and was early left a widow; her name is Madame de
-Belliere.  Do you know her?" she added, observing Raoul start suddenly.
-
-"I have heard her name."
-
-"She, too, loves with her whole heart; and her last letters inform me she
-is happy, and her affection is, I conclude, returned.  I told you,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne, that although I possess half of her nature, I do
-not share her happiness.  But let us now speak of yourself; whom do you
-love in France?"
-
-"A young girl, as soft and pure as a lily."
-
-"But if she loves you, why are you sad?"
-
-"I have been told that she ceases to love me."
-
-"You do not believe it, I trust?"
-
-"He who wrote me so does not sign his letter."
-
-"An anonymous denunciation! some treachery, be assured," said Miss
-Grafton.
-
-"Stay," said Raoul, showing the young girl a letter which he had read
-over a thousand times; she took it from his hand and read as follows:
-
-"VICOMTE, - You are perfectly right to amuse yourself yonder with the
-lovely faces of Charles II.'s court, for at Louis XIV.'s court, the
-castle in which your affections are enshrined is being besieged.  Stay in
-London altogether, poor vicomte, or return without delay to Paris."
-
-"There is no signature," said Miss Mary.
-
-"None."
-
-"Believe it not, then."
-
-"Very good; but here is a second letter, from my friend De Guiche, which
-says, 'I am lying here wounded and ill.  Return, Raoul, oh, return!'"
-
-"What do you intend doing?" inquired the young girl, with a feeling of
-oppression at her heart.
-
-"My intention, as soon as I received this letter, was immediately to take
-my leave of the king."
-
-"When did you receive it?"
-
-"The day before yesterday."
-
-"It is dated Fontainebleau."
-
-"A singular circumstance, do you not think, for the court is now at
-Paris?  At all events, I would have set off; but when I mentioned my
-intention to the king, he began to laugh, and said to me, 'How comes it,
-monsieur l'amassadeur, that you think of leaving?  Has your sovereign
-recalled you?'  I colored, naturally enough, for I was confused by the
-question; for the fact is, the king himself sent me here, and I have
-received no order to return."
-
-Mary frowned in deep thought, and said, "Do you remain, then?"
-
-"I must, mademoiselle."
-
-"Do you ever receive any letters from her to whom you are so devoted?"
-
-"Never."
-
-"Never, do you say?  Does she not love you, then?"
-
-"At least, she has not written to me since my departure, although she
-used occasionally to write to me before.  I trust she may have been
-prevented."
-
-"Hush! the duke is coming."
-
-And Buckingham at that moment was seen at the end of the walk,
-approaching towards them, alone and smiling; he advanced slowly, and held
-out his hands to them both.  "Have you arrived at an understanding?" he
-said.
-
-"About what?"
-
-"About whatever might render you happy, dear Mary, and make Raoul less
-miserable."
-
-"I do not understand you, my lord," said Raoul.
-
-"That is my view of the subject, Miss Mary; do you wish me to mention it
-before M. de Bragelonne?" he added, with a smile.
-
-"If you mean," replied the young girl, haughtily, "that I was not
-indisposed to love M. de Bragelonne, that is useless, for I have told him
-so myself."
-
-Buckingham reflected for a moment, and, without seeming in any way
-discountenanced, as she expected, he said:  "My reason for leaving you
-with M. de Bragelonne was, that I thoroughly knew your refined delicacy
-of feeling, no less than the perfect loyalty of your mind and heart, and
-I hoped that M. de Bragelonne's cure might be effected by the hands of a
-physician such as you are."
-
-"But, my lord, before you spoke of M. de Bragelonne's heart, you spoke to
-me of your own.  Do you mean to effect the cure of two hearts at the same
-time?"
-
-"Perfectly true, madame; but you will do me the justice to admit that I
-have long discontinued a useless pursuit, acknowledging that my own wound
-is incurable."
-
-"My lord," said Mary, collecting herself for a moment before she spoke,
-"M. de Bragelonne is happy, for he loves and is beloved.  He has no need
-of such a physician as I can be."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne," said Buckingham, "is on the very eve of experiencing
-a serious misfortune, and he has greater need than ever of sympathy and
-affection."
-
-"Explain yourself, my lord," inquired Raoul, anxiously.
-
-"No; gradually I will explain myself; but, if you desire it, I can tell
-Miss Grafton what you may not listen to yourself."
-
-"My lord, you are putting me to the torture; you know something you wish
-to conceal from me?"
-
-"I know that Miss Mary Grafton is the most charming object that a heart
-ill at ease could possibly meet with in its way through life."
-
-"I have already told you that the Vicomte de Bragelonne loves elsewhere,"
-said the young girl.
-
-"He is wrong, then."
-
-"Do you assume to know, my lord, that _I_ am wrong?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Whom is it that he loves, then?" exclaimed the young girl.
-
-"He loves a lady who is unworthy of him," said Buckingham, with that
-calm, collected manner peculiar to Englishmen.
-
-Miss Grafton uttered a cry, which, together with the remark that
-Buckingham had that moment made, spread of De Bragelonne's features a
-deadly paleness, arising from the sudden surprise, and also from a vague
-fear of impending misfortune.  "My lord," he exclaimed, "you have just
-pronounced words which compel me, without a moment's delay, to seek their
-explanation in Paris."
-
-"You will remain here," said Buckingham, "because you have no right to
-leave; and no one has the right to quit the service of the king for that
-of any woman, even were she as worthy of being loved as Mary Grafton is."
-
-"You will tell me all, then?"
-
-"I will, on condition that you will remain."
-
-"I will remain, if you will promise to speak openly and without reserve."
-
-Thus far had their conversation proceeded, and Buckingham, in all
-probability, was on the point of revealing, not indeed all that had taken
-place, but at least all he was aware of, when one of the king's
-attendants appeared at the end of the terrace, and advanced towards the
-summer-house where the king was sitting with Lucy Stewart.  A courier
-followed him, covered with dust from head to foot, and who seemed as if
-he had but a few moments before dismounted from his horse.
-
-"The courier from France!  Madame's courier!" exclaimed Raoul,
-recognizing the princess's livery; and while the attendant and the
-courier advanced towards the king, Buckingham and Miss Grafton exchanged
-a look full of intelligence with each other.
-
-
-Chapter XXXVIII:
-The Courier from Madame.
-
-Charles II. was busily engaged in proving, or in endeavoring to prove, to
-Miss Stewart that she was the only person for whom he cared at all, and
-consequently was avowing to her an affection similar to that which his
-ancestor Henry IV. had entertained for Gabrielle.  Unfortunately for
-Charles II., he had hit upon an unlucky day, the very day Miss Stewart
-had taken it into her head to make him jealous, and therefore, instead of
-being touched by his offer, as the king had hoped, she laughed heartily.
-
-"Oh! sire, sire," she cried, laughing all the while; "if I were to be
-unfortunate enough to ask you for a proof of the affection you possess,
-how easy it would be to see that you are telling a falsehood."
-
-"Nay, listen to me," said Charles, "you know my cartoons by Raphael; you
-know whether I care for them or not; the whole world envies me their
-possession, as you well know also; my father commissioned Van Dyck to
-purchase them.  Would you like me to send them to your house this very
-day?"
-
-"Oh, no!" replied the young girl; "pray keep them yourself, sire; my
-house is far too small to accommodate such visitors."
-
-"In that case you shall have Hampton Court to put the cartoons in."
-
-"Be less generous, sire, and learn to love a little while longer, that is
-all I have to ask you."
-
-"I shall never cease to love you; is not that enough?"
-
-"You are smiling, sire."
-
-"Do you wish me to weep?"
-
-"No; but I should like to see you a  little more melancholy."
-
-"Thank Heaven, I have been so long enough; fourteen years of exile,
-poverty, and misery, I think I may well regard it as a debt discharged;
-besides, melancholy makes people look so plain."
-
-"Far from that - for look at the young Frenchman."
-
-"What! the Vicomte de Bragelonne? are you smitten too?  By Heaven, they
-will all grow mad over him one after the other; but he, on the contrary,
-has a reason for being melancholy."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Oh, indeed! you wish me to betray state secrets, do you?"
-
-"If I wish it, you must do so, for you told me you were quite ready to do
-everything I wished."
-
-"Well, then, he is bored in his own country.  Does that satisfy you?"
-
-"Bored?"
-
-"Yes, a proof that he is a simpleton; I allow him to fall in love with
-Miss Mary Grafton, and he feels bored.  Can you believe it?"
-
-"Very good; it seems, then, that if you were to find Miss Lucy Stewart
-indifferent to you, you would console yourself by falling in love with
-Miss Mary Grafton."
-
-"I don't say that; in the first place, you know that Mary Grafton does
-not care for me; besides, a man can only console himself for a lost
-affection by the discovery of a new one.  Again, however, I repeat, the
-question is not of myself, but of that young man.  One might almost be
-tempted to call the girl he has left behind him a Helen - a Helen before
-the little ceremony she went through with Paris, of course."
-
-"He has left some one, then?"
-
-"That is to say, some one has left _him_."
-
-"Poor fellow! so much the worse!"
-
-"Why do you mean by 'so much the worse'?"
-
-"Why not? why did he leave?"
-
-"Do you think it was of his own wish or will that he left?"
-
-"Was he obliged to leave, then?"
-
-"He left Paris under orders, my dear Stewart; and prepare to be surprised
-- by express orders of the king."
-
-"Ah! I begin to see, now."
-
-"At least say nothing at all about it."
-
-"You know very well that I am just as discreet as anybody else.  And so
-the king sent him away?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And during his absence he takes his sweetheart from him?"
-
-"Yes; and, will you believe it? the silly fellow, instead of thanking the
-king, is making himself miserable."
-
-"What! thank the king for depriving him of the woman he loves!  Really,
-sire, yours is a most ungallant speech."
-
-"But, pray understand me.  If she whom the king had run off with was
-either a Miss Grafton or a Miss Stewart, I should not be of his opinion;
-nay, I should even think him not half wretched enough; but she is a
-little, thin, lame thing.  Deuce take such fidelity as that!  Surely, one
-can hardly understand how a man can refuse a girl who is rich for one who
-is poverty itself - a girl who loves him for one who deceives and betrays
-him."
-
-"Do you think that Mary seriously wishes to please the vicomte, sire?"
-
-"I do, indeed."
-
-"Very good! the vicomte will settle down in England, for Mary has a clear
-head, and when she fixes her mind upon anything, she does so thoroughly."
-
-"Take care, my dear Miss Stewart; if the vicomte has any idea of adopting
-our country, he has not long to do so, for it was only the day before
-yesterday that he again asked me for permission to leave."
-
-"Which you refused him, I suppose?"
-
-"I should think so, indeed; my royal brother is far too anxious for his
-absence; and, for myself, my _amour propre_ is enlisted on his side, for
-I will never have it said that I had held out as a bait to this young man
-the noblest and gentlest creature in England - "
-
-"You are very gallant, sire," said Miss Stewart, with a pretty pout.
-
-"I do not allude to Miss Stewart, for she is worthy of a king's devotion;
-and since she has captivated me I trust that no one else will be caught
-by her; I say, therefore, finally, that the attention I have shown this
-young man will not have been thrown away; he will stay with us here, he
-will marry here, or I am very much mistaken."
-
-"And I hope that when he is once married and settled, instead of being
-angry with your majesty, he will be grateful to you, for every one tries
-his utmost to please him; even the Duke of Buckingham, whose brilliancy,
-which is incredible, seems to pale before that of this young Frenchman."
-
-"Including Miss Stewart even, who calls him the most finished gentleman
-she ever saw."
-
-"Stay, sire; you have spoken quite enough, and quite highly enough, of
-Miss Grafton, to overlook what I may have said about De Bragelonne.  But,
-by the by, sire, your kindness for some time past astonishes me: you
-think of those who are absent, you forgive those who have done you a
-wrong, in fact, you are as nearly as possible, perfect.  How does it
-happen - "
-
-"It is because you allow yourself to be loved," he said, beginning to
-laugh.
-
-"Oh! there must be some other reason."
-
-"Well, I am doing all I can to oblige my brother, Louis XIV."
-
-"Nay, I must have another reason."
-
-"Well, then, the true motive is that Buckingham strongly recommended the
-young man to me, saying: 'Sire, I begin by yielding up all claim to Miss
-Grafton; I pray you follow my example.'"
-
-"The duke is, indeed, a true gentleman."
-
-"Oh! of course, of course; it is Buckingham's turn now, I suppose, to
-turn your head.  You seem determined to cross me in everything to-day."
-
-At this moment some one rapped at the door.
-
-"Who is it who presumes to interrupt us?" exclaimed Charles, impatiently.
-
-"Really, sire, you are extremely vain with your 'who is it who presumes?'
-and in order to punish you for it - "
-
-She went to the door and opened it.
-
-"It is a courier from France," said Miss Stewart.
-
-"A courier from France!" exclaimed Charles; "from my sister, perhaps?"
-
-"Yes, sire," said the usher, "a special messenger."
-
-"Let him come in at once," said Charles.
-
-"You have a letter for me," said the king to the courier as he entered,
-"from the Duchess of Orleans?"
-
-"Yes, sire," replied the courier, "and so urgent in its nature that I
-have only been twenty-six hours in bringing it to your majesty, and yet I
-lost three-quarters of an hour at Calais."
-
-"Your zeal shall not be forgotten," said the king, as he opened the
-letter.  When he had read it he burst out laughing, and exclaimed, "Upon
-my word, I am at a loss to understand anything about it."  He then read
-the letter a second time, Miss Stewart assuming a manner marked by the
-greatest reserve, and doing her utmost to restrain her ardent curiosity.
-
-"Francis," said the king to his valet, "see that this excellent fellow is
-well taken care of and sleeps soundly, and that on waking to-morrow he
-finds a purse of fifty sovereigns by his bedside."
-
-"Sire!" said the courier, amazed.
-
-"Begone, begone; my sister was perfectly right in desiring you to use the
-utmost diligence; the affair was most pressing."  And he again began to
-laugh louder than ever.  The courier, the valet, and Miss Stewart hardly
-knew what sort of countenance to assume.  "Ah!" said the king, throwing
-himself back in his armchair: "When I think that you have knocked up –
-how many horses?"
-
-"Two!"
-
-"Two horses to bring this intelligence to me.  That will do, you can
-leave us now."
-
-The courier retired with the valet.  Charles went to the window, which he
-opened, and leaning forward, called out - "Duke!  Buckingham! come here,
-there's a good fellow."
-
-The duke hurried to him, in obedience to the summons; but when he reached
-the door, and perceived Miss Stewart, he hesitated to enter.
-
-"Come in, and shut the door," said the king.  The duke obeyed; and,
-perceiving in what an excellent humor the king was, he advanced, smiling,
-towards him.  "Well, my dear duke, how do you get on with your Frenchman?"
-
-"Sire, I am in the most perfect state of utter despair about him."
-
-"Why so?"
-
-"Because charming Miss Grafton is willing to marry him, but he is unwilling."
-
-"Why, he is a perfect Boeotian!" cried Miss Stewart.  "Let him say either
-'Yes,' or No,' and let the affair end."
-
-"But," said Buckingham, seriously, "you know, or you ought to know,
-madame, that M. de Bragelonne is in love in another direction."
-
-"In that case," said the king, coming to Miss Stewart's help, "nothing is
-easier; let him say 'No,' then."
-
-"Very true; and I have proved to him he was wrong not to say 'Yes.'"
-
-"You told him candidly, I suppose, that La Valliere was deceiving him?"
-
-"Yes, without the slightest reserve; and, as soon as I had done so, he
-gave a start, as if he were going to clear the Channel at a bound."
-
-"At all events," said Miss Stewart, "he has done something; and a very
-good thing too, upon my word."
-
-"But," said Buckingham, "I stopped him; I have left him and Miss Mary in
-conversation together, and I sincerely trust that now he will not leave,
-as he seemed to have an idea of doing."
-
-"An idea of leaving England?" cried the king.
-
-"I, at one moment, hardly thought that any human power could have
-prevented him; but Miss Mary's eyes are now bent fully on him, and he
-will remain."
-
-"Well, that is the very thing which deceives you, Buckingham," said the
-king, with a peal of laughter; "the poor fellow is predestined."
-
-"Predestined to what?"
-
-"If it were to be simply deceived, that is nothing; but, to look at him,
-it is a great deal."
-
-"At a distance, and with Miss Grafton's aid, the blow will be warded off."
-
-"Far from it, far from it; neither distance nor Miss Grafton's help will
-be of the slightest avail.  Bragelonne will set off for Paris within an
-hour's time."
-
-Buckingham started, and Miss Stewart opened her eyes very wide in
-astonishment.
-
-"But, sire," said the duke, "your majesty knows that it is impossible."
-
-"That is to say, my dear Buckingham, that it is impossible until it
-happens."
-
-"Do not forget, sire, that the young man is a perfect lion, and that his
-wrath is terrible."
-
-"I don't deny it, my dear duke."
-
-"And that if he sees that his misfortune is certain, so much the worse
-for the author of it."
-
-"I don't deny it; but what the deuce am I to do?"
-
-"Were it the king himself," cried Buckingham, "I would not answer for
-him."
-
-"Oh, the king has his musketeers to take care of him," said Charles,
-quietly; "I know that perfectly well, for I was kept dancing attendance
-in his ante-chamber at Blois.  He has M. d'Artagnan, and what better
-guardian could the king have than M. d'Artagnan?  I should make myself
-perfectly easy with twenty storms of passion, such as Bragelonne might
-display, if I had four guardians like D'Artagnan."
-
-"But I entreat your majesty, who is so good and kind, to reflect a
-little."
-
-"Stay," said Charles II., presenting the letter to the duke, "read, and
-answer yourself what you would do in my place."
-
-Buckingham slowly took hold of Madame's letter, and trembling with
-emotion, read the following words:
-
-"For your own sake, for mine, for the honor and safety of every one, send
-M. de Bragelonne back to France immediately.  Your devoted sister,
-HENRIETTA."
-
-"Well, Villiers, what do you say?"
-
-"Really, sire, I have nothing to say," replied the duke, stupefied.
-
-"Nay, would you, of all persons," said the king, artfully, "advise me not
-to listen to my sister when she writes so urgently?"
-
-"Oh, no, no, sire; and yet - "
-
-"You have not read the postscript, Villiers; it is under the fold of the
-letter, and escaped me at first; read it."  And as the duke turned down a
-fold of the letter, he read:
-
-"A thousand kind remembrances to those who love me."
-
-The duke's head sank gradually on his breast; the paper trembled in his
-fingers, as if it had been changed to lead.  The king paused for a
-moment, and, seeing that Buckingham did not speak, "He must follow his
-destiny, as we ours," continued the king; "every man has his own share of
-grief in this world; I have had my own, - I have had that of others who
-belong to me, - and have thus had a double weight of woe to endure! - But
-the deuce take all my cares now!  Go, and bring our friend here,
-Villiers."
-
-The duke opened the trellised door of the summer-house, and pointing at
-Raoul and Mary, who were walking together side by side, said, "What a
-cruel blow, sire, for poor Miss Grafton!"
-
-"Nonsense; call him," said Charles II., knitting his black brows
-together; "every one seems to be sentimental here.  There, look at Miss
-Stewart, who is wiping her eyes, - now deuce take the French fellow!"
-
-The duke called to Raoul, and taking Miss Grafton by the hand, he led her
-towards the king.
-
-"Monsieur de Bragelonne," said Charles II., "did you not ask me the day
-before yesterday for permission to return to Paris?"
-
-"Yes, sire," replied Raoul, greatly puzzled by this address.
-
-"And I refused you, I think?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"For which you were angry with me?"
-
-"No, sire; your majesty had no doubt excellent reasons for withholding
-it; for you are so wise and so good that everything you do is well done."
-
-"I alleged, I believe, as a reason, that the king of France had not
-recalled you?"
-
-"Yes, sire, that was the reason you assigned."
-
-"Well, M. de Bragelonne, I have reflected over the matter since; if the
-king did not, in fact, fix your return, he begged me to render your
-sojourn in England as agreeable as possible; since, however, you ask my
-permission to return, it is because your longer residence in England is
-no longer agreeable to you."
-
-"I do not say that, sire."
-
-"No, but your request, at least," said the king, "signified that another
-place of residence would be more agreeable to you than this."
-
-At this moment Raoul turned towards the door, against which Miss Grafton
-was leaning, pale and sorrow-stricken; her other hand was passed through
-the duke's arm.
-
-"You do not reply," pursued Charles; "the proverb is plain enough, that
-'silence gives consent.'  Very good, Monsieur de Bragelonne; I am now in
-a position to satisfy you; whenever you please, therefore, you can leave
-for Paris, for which you have my authority."
-
-"Sire!" exclaimed Raoul, while Mary stifled an exclamation of grief which
-rose to her lips, unconsciously pressing Buckingham's arm.
-
-"You can be at Dover this evening," continued the king, "the tide serves
-at two o'clock in the morning."
-
-Raoul, astounded, stammered out a few broken sentences, which equally
-answered the purpose both of thanks and of excuse.
-
-"I therefore bid you adieu, Monsieur de Bragelonne, and wish you every
-sort of prosperity," said the king, rising; "you will confer a pleasure
-on me by keeping this diamond in remembrance of me; I had intended it as
-a marriage gift."
-
-Miss Grafton felt her limbs almost giving way; and, as Raoul received the
-ring from the king's hand, he, too, felt his strength and courage failing
-him.  He addressed a few respectful words to the king, a passing
-compliment to Miss Stewart, and looked for Buckingham to bid him adieu.
-The king profited by this moment to disappear.  Raoul found the duke
-engaged in endeavoring to encourage Miss Grafton.
-
-"Tell him to remain, I implore you!" said Buckingham to Mary.
-
-"No, I will tell him to go," replied Miss Grafton, with returning
-animation; "I am not one of those women who have more pride than heart;
-if she whom he loves is in France, let him return thither and bless me
-for having advised him to go and seek his happiness there.  If, on the
-contrary, she shall have ceased to love him, let him come back here
-again; I shall still love him, and his unhappiness will not have lessened
-him in my regard.  In the arms of my house you will find that which
-Heaven has engraven on my heart - _Habenti parum, egenti cuncta_.  'To
-the rich is accorded little, to the poor everything.'"
-
-"I do not believe, Bragelonne, that you will find yonder the equivalent
-of what you leave behind you here."
-
-"I think, or at least hope," said Raoul, with a gloomy air, "that she
-whom I love is worthy of my affection; but if it be true she is unworthy
-of me, as you have endeavored to make me believe, I will tear her image
-from my heart, duke, even if my heart breaks in the attempt."
-
-Mary Grafton gazed upon him with an expression of the most indefinable
-pity, and Raoul returned her look with a sweet, sorrowful smile, saying,
-"Mademoiselle, the diamond which the king has given me was destined for
-you, - give me leave to offer it for your acceptance: if I marry in
-France, you will send it me back; if I do not marry, keep it."  And he
-bowed and left her.
-
-"What does he mean?" thought Buckingham, while Raoul pressed Mary's icy
-hand with marks of the most reverential respect.
-
-Mary understood the look that Buckingham fixed upon her.
-
-"If it were a wedding-ring, I would not accept it," she said.
-
-"And yet you were willing to ask him to return to you."
-
-"Oh! duke," cried the young girl in heart-broken accents, "a woman such
-as I am is never accepted as a consolation by a man like him."
-
-"You do not think he will return, then?"
-
-"Never," said Miss Grafton, in a choking voice.
-
-"And I grieve to tell you, Mary, that he will find yonder his happiness
-destroyed, his mistress lost to him.  His honor even has not escaped.
-What will be left him, then, Mary, equal to your affection?  Answer,
-Mary, you who know yourself so well."
-
-Miss Grafton placed her white hand on Buckingham's arm, and, while Raoul
-was hurrying away with headlong speed, she repeated in dying accents the
-line from Romeo and Juliet:
-
-"_I must be gone and live, or stay and die_."
-
-As she finished the last word, Raoul disappeared.  Miss Grafton returned
-to her own apartments, paler than death.  Buckingham availed himself of
-the arrival of the courier, who had brought the letter to the king, to
-write to Madame and to the Comte de Guiche.  The king had not been
-mistaken, for at two in the morning the tide was at full flood, and Raoul
-had embarked for France.
-
-
-Chapter XXXIX:
-Saint-Aignan Follows Malicorne's Advice.
-
-The king most assiduously followed the progress which was made in La
-Valliere's portrait; and did so with a care and attention arising as much
-from a desire that it should resemble her as from the wish that the
-painter should prolong the period of its completion as much as possible.
-It was amusing to observe him follow the artist's brush, awaiting the
-completion of a particular plan, or the result of a combination of
-colors, and suggesting various modifications to the painter, which the
-latter consented to adopt with the most respectful docility.  And again,
-when the artist, following Malicorne's advice, was a little late in
-arriving, and when Saint-Aignan had been obliged to be absent for some
-time, it was interesting to observe, though no one witnessed them, those
-moments of silence full of deep expression, which united in one sigh two
-souls most disposed to understand each other, and who by no means
-objected to the quiet meditation they enjoyed together.  The minutes flew
-rapidly by, as if on wings, and as the king drew closer to Louise and
-bent his burning gaze upon her, a noise was suddenly heard in the ante-
-room.  It was the artist, who had just arrived; Saint-Aignan, too, had
-returned, full of apologies; and the king began to talk and La Valliere
-to answer him very hurriedly, their eyes revealing to Saint-Aignan that
-they had enjoyed a century of happiness during his absence.  In a word,
-Malicorne, philosopher that he was, though he knew it not, had learned
-how to inspire the king with an appetite in the midst of plenty, and with
-desire in the assurance of possession.  La Valliere's fears of
-interruption had never been realized, and no one imagined she was absent
-from her apartment two or three hours every day; she pretended that her
-health was very uncertain; those who went to her room always knocked
-before entering, and Malicorne, the man of so many ingenious inventions,
-had constructed an acoustic piece of mechanism, by means of which La
-Valliere, when in Saint-Aignan's apartment, was always forewarned of any
-visits which were paid to the room she usually inhabited.  In this
-manner, therefore, without leaving her room, and having no _confidante_,
-she was able to return to her apartment, thus removing by her appearance,
-a little tardy perhaps, the suspicions of the most determined skeptics.
-Malicorne having asked Saint-Aignan the next morning what news he had to
-report, the latter was obliged to confess that the quarter of an hour's
-liberty had made the king in most excellent humor.  "We must double the
-dose," replied Malicorne, "but by insensible degrees; wait until they
-seem to wish it."
-
-They were so desirous for it, however, that on the evening of the fourth
-day, at the moment when the painter was packing up his implements, during
-Saint-Aignan's continued absence, Saint-Aignan on his return noticed upon
-La Valliere's face a shade of disappointment and vexation, which she
-could not conceal.  The king was less reserved, and exhibited his
-annoyance by a very significant shrug of the shoulders, at which La
-Valliere could not help blushing.  "Very good!" thought Saint-Aignan to
-himself; "M. Malicorne will be delighted this evening;" as he, in fact,
-was, when it was reported to him.
-
-"It is very evident," he remarked to the comte, "that Mademoiselle de la
-Valliere hoped that you would be at least ten minutes later."
-
-"And the king that I should be half an hour later, dear Monsieur
-Malicorne."
-
-"You would show but very indifferent devotion to the king," replied the
-latter, "if you were to refuse his majesty that half-hour's satisfaction."
-
-"But the painter," objected Saint-Aignan.
-
-"_I_ will take care of him," said Malicorne, "only I must study faces and
-circumstances a little better before I act; those are my magical
-inventions and contrivances; and while sorcerers are enabled by means of
-their astrolabe to take the altitude of the sun, moon, and stars, I am
-satisfied merely by looking into people's faces, in order to see if their
-eyes are encircled with dark lines, and if the mouth describes a convex
-or concave arc."
-
-And the cunning Malicorne had every opportunity of watching narrowly and
-closely, for the very same evening the king accompanied the queen to
-Madame's apartments, and made himself so remarked by his serious face and
-his deep sigh, and looked at La Valliere with such a languishing
-expression, that Malicorne said to Montalais during the evening: "To-
-morrow."  And he went off to the painter's house in the street of the
-Jardins Saint-Paul to request him to postpone the next sitting for a
-couple of days.  Saint-Aignan was not within, when La Valliere, who was
-now quite familiar with the lower story, lifted up the trap-door and
-descended.  The king, as usual was waiting for her on the staircase, and
-held a bouquet in his hand; as soon as he saw her, he clasped her
-tenderly in his arms.  La Valliere, much moved at the action, looked
-around the room, but as she saw the king was alone, she did not complain
-of it.  They sat down, the king reclining near the cushions on which
-Louise was seated, with his head supported by her knees, placed there as
-in an asylum whence no one could banish him; he gazed ardently upon her,
-and as if the moment had arrived when nothing could interpose between
-their two hearts; she, too, gazed with similar passion upon him, and from
-her eyes, so softly pure, emanated a flame, whose rays first kindled and
-then inflamed the heart of the king, who, trembling with happiness as
-Louise's hand rested on his head, grew giddy from excess of joy, and
-momentarily awaited either the painter's or Saint-Aignan's return to
-break the sweet illusion.  But the door remained closed, and neither
-Saint-Aignan nor the painter appeared, nor did the hangings even move.  A
-deep mysterious silence reigned in the room - a silence which seemed to
-influence even the song-birds in their gilded prisons.  The king,
-completely overcome, turned round his head and buried his burning lips in
-La Valliere's hands, who, herself faint, with excess of emotion, pressed
-her trembling hands against her lover's lips.  Louis threw himself upon
-his knees, and as La Valliere did not move her head, the king's forehead
-being within reach of her lips, she furtively passed her lips across the
-perfumed locks which caressed her cheeks.  The king seized her in his
-arms, and, unable to resist the temptation, they exchanged their first
-kiss, that burning kiss, which changes love into delirium.  Suddenly, a
-noise upon the upper floor was heard, which had, in fact, continued,
-though it had remained unnoticed, for some time; it had at last aroused
-La Valliere's attention, though but slowly so.  As the noise, however,
-continued, as it forced itself upon the attention, and recalled the poor
-girl from her dreams of happiness to the sad realities of life, she rose
-in a state of utter bewilderment, though beautiful in her disorder,
-saying:
-
-"Some one is waiting for me above.  Louis, Louis, do you not hear?"
-
-"Well! and am I not waiting for you, also?" said the king, with infinite
-tenderness of tone.  "Let others henceforth wait for you."
-
-But she gently shook her head, as she replied: "Happiness hidden... power
-concealed... my pride should be as silent as my heart."
-
-The noise was again resumed.
-
-"I hear Montalais's voice," she said, and she hurried up the staircase;
-the king followed her, unable to let her leave his sight, and covering
-her hand with his kisses.  "Yes, yes," repeated La Valliere, who had
-passed half-way through the opening.  "Yes, it is Montalais who is
-calling me; something important must have happened."
-
-"Go then, dearest love," said the king, "but return quickly."
-
-"No, no, not to-day, sire!  Adieu! adieu!" she said, as she stooped down
-once more to embrace her lover - and escaped.  Montalais was, in fact,
-waiting for her, very pale and agitated.
-
-"Quick, quick! _he_ is coming," she said.
-
-"Who - who is coming?"
-
-"Raoul," murmured Montalais.
-
-"It is I - I," said a joyous voice, upon the last steps of the grand
-staircase.
-
-La Valliere uttered a terrible shriek and threw herself back.
-
-"I am here, dear Louise," said Raoul, running towards her.  "I knew but
-too well that you had not ceased to love me."
-
-La Valliere with a gesture, partly of extreme terror, and partly as if
-invoking a blessing, attempted to speak, but could not articulate one
-word.  "No, no!" she said, as she fell into Montalais's arms, murmuring,
-"Do not touch me, do not come near me."
-
-Montalais made a sign to Raoul, who stood almost petrified at the door,
-and did not even attempt to advance another step into the room.  Then,
-looking towards the side of the room where the screen was, she exclaimed:
-"Imprudent girl, she has not even closed the trap-door."
-
-And she advanced towards the corner of the room to close the screen, and
-also, behind the screen, the trap-door.  But suddenly the king, who had
-heard Louise's exclamation, darted through the opening, and hurried
-forward to her assistance.  He threw himself on his knees before her, as
-he overwhelmed Montalais with questions, who hardly knew where she was.
-At the moment, however, when the king threw himself on his knees, a cry
-of utter despair rang through the corridor, accompanied by the sound of
-retreating footsteps.  The king wished to see who had uttered the cry and
-whose were the footsteps he had heard; and it was in vain that Montalais
-sought to retain him, for Louis, quitting his hold of La Valliere,
-hurried towards the door, too late, however, for Raoul was already at a
-distance, and the king only beheld a shadow that quickly vanished in the
-silent corridor. (8)
-
-
-Chapter XL:
-Two Old Friends.
-
-Whilst every one at court was busily engaged with his own affairs, a man
-mysteriously took up his post behind the Place de Greve, in the house
-which we once saw besieged by D'Artagnan on the occasion of the
-_emeute_.  The principal entrance of the house was in the Place Baudoyer;
-it was tolerably large, surrounded by gardens, inclosed in the Rue Saint-
-Jean by the shops of toolmakers, which protected it from prying looks,
-and was walled in by a triple rampart of stone, noise, and verdure, like
-an embalmed mummy in its triple coffin.  The man we have just alluded to
-walked along with a firm step, although he was no longer in his early
-prime.  His dark cloak and long sword plainly revealed one who seemed in
-search of adventures; and, judging from his curling mustache, his fine
-smooth skin, which could be seen beneath his _sombrero_, it would not
-have been difficult to pronounce that gallantry had not a little share in
-his adventures.  In fact, hardly had the cavalier entered the house, when
-the clock struck eight; and ten minutes afterwards a lady, followed by a
-servant armed to the teeth, approached and knocked at the same door,
-which an old woman immediately opened for her.  The lady raised her veil
-as she entered; though no longer beautiful or young, she was still active
-and of an imposing carriage.  She concealed, beneath a rich toilette and
-the most exquisite taste, an age which Ninon de l'Enclos alone could have
-smiled at with impunity.  Hardly had she reached the vestibule, when the
-cavalier, whose features we have only roughly sketched, advanced towards
-her, holding out his hand.
-
-"God day, my dear duchesse," he said.
-
-"How do you do, my dear Aramis?" replied the duchesse.
-
-He led her to a most elegantly furnished apartment, on whose high windows
-were reflected the expiring rays of the setting sun, which filtered
-gaudily through the dark green needles of the adjacent firs.  They sat
-down side by side.  Neither of them thought of asking for additional
-light in the room, and they buried themselves as it were in the shadow,
-as if they wished to bury themselves in forgetfulness.
-
-"Chevalier," said the duchesse, "you have never given me a single sign of
-life since our interview at Fontainebleau, and I confess that your
-presence there on the day of the Franciscan's death, and your initiation
-in certain secrets, caused me the liveliest astonishment I ever
-experienced in my whole life."
-
-"I can explain my presence there to you, as well as my initiation," said
-Aramis.
-
-"But let us, first of all," said the duchess, "talk a little of
-ourselves, for our friendship is by no means of recent date."
-
-"Yes, madame: and if Heaven wills it, we shall continue to be friends, I
-will not say for a long time, but forever."
-
-"That is quite certain, chevalier, and my visit is a proof of it."
-
-"Our interests, duchess, are no longer the same as they used to be," said
-Aramis, smiling without apprehension in the growing gloom by which the
-room was overcast, for it could not reveal that his smile was less
-agreeable and not so bright as formerly.
-
-"No, chevalier, at the present day we have other interests.  Every period
-of life brings its own; and, as we now understand each other in
-conversing, as perfectly as we formerly did without saying a word, let us
-talk, if you like."
-
-"I am at your orders, duchesse.  Ah!  I beg your pardon, how did you
-obtain my address, and what was your object?"
-
-"You ask me why?  I have told you.  Curiosity in the first place.  I
-wished to know what you could have to do with the Franciscan, with whom I
-had certain business transactions, and who died so singularly.  You know
-that on the occasion of our interview at Fontainebleau, in the cemetery,
-at the foot of the grave so recently closed, we were both so much
-overcome by our emotions that we omitted to confide to each other what we
-may have to say."
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"Well, then, I had no sooner left you than I repented, and have ever
-since been most anxious to ascertain the truth.  You know that Madame de
-Longueville and myself are almost one, I suppose?"
-
-"I was not aware," said Aramis, discreetly.
-
-"I remembered, therefore," continued the duchesse, "that neither of us
-said anything to the other in the cemetery; that you did not speak of the
-relationship in which you stood to the Franciscan, whose burial you
-superintended, and that I did not refer to the position in which I stood
-to him; all which seemed very unworthy of two such old friends as
-ourselves, and I have sought an opportunity of an interview with you in
-order to give you some information that I have recently acquired, and to
-assure you that Marie Michon, now no more, has left behind her one who
-has preserved her recollection of events."
-
-Aramis bowed over the duchess's hand, and pressed his lips upon it.  "You
-must have had some trouble to find me again," he said.
-
-"Yes," she answered, annoyed to find the subject taking a turn which
-Aramis wished to give it; "but I knew you were a friend of M. Fouquet's,
-and so I inquired in that direction."
-
-"A friend! oh!" exclaimed the chevalier, "I can hardly pretend to be
-_that_.  A poor priest who has been favored by a generous protector, and
-whose heart is full of gratitude and devotion, is all that I pretend to
-be to M. Fouquet."
-
-"He made you a bishop?"
-
-"Yes, duchesse."
-
-"A very good retiring pension for so handsome a musketeer."
-
-"Yes; in the same way that political intrigue is for yourself," thought
-Aramis.  "And so," he added, "you inquired after me at M. Fouquet's?"
-
-"Easily enough.  You had been to Fontainebleau with him, and had
-undertaken a voyage to your diocese, which is Belle-Ile-en-Mer, I
-believe."
-
-"No, madame," said Aramis.  "My diocese is Vannes."
-
-"I meant that.  I only thought that Belle-Ile-en-Mer - "
-
-"Is a property belonging to M. Fouquet, nothing more."
-
-"Ah!  I had been told that Belle-Isle was fortified; besides, I know how
-great the military knowledge is you possess."
-
-"I have forgotten everything of the kind since I entered the Church,"
-said Aramis, annoyed.
-
-"Suffice it to know that I learned you had returned from Vannes, and I
-sent off to one of our friends, M. le Comte de la Fere, who is discretion
-itself, in order to ascertain it, but he answered that he was not aware
-of your address."
-
-"So like Athos," thought the bishop; "the really good man never changes."
-
-"Well, then, you know that I cannot venture to show myself here, and that
-the queen-mother has always some grievance or other against me."
-
-"Yes, indeed, and I am surprised at it."
-
-"Oh! there are various reasons for it.  But, to continue, being obliged
-to conceal myself, I was fortunate enough to meet with M. d'Artagnan, who
-was formerly one of your old friends, I believe?"
-
-"A friend of mine still, duchesse."
-
-"He gave me certain information, and sent me to M. Baisemeaux, the
-governor of the Bastile."
-
-Aramis was somewhat agitated at this remark, and a light flashed from his
-eyes in the darkness of the room, which he could not conceal from his
-keen-sighted friend.  "M. de Baisemeaux!" he said, "why did D'Artagnan
-send you to M. de Baisemeaux?"
-
-"I cannot tell you."
-
-"What can this possibly mean?" said the bishop, summoning all the
-resources of his mind to his aid, in order to carry on the combat in a
-befitting manner.
-
-"M. de Baisemeaux is greatly indebted to you, D'Artagnan told me."
-
-"True, he is so."
-
-"And the address of a creditor is as easily ascertained as that of a
-debtor."
-
-"Very true; and so Baisemeaux indicated to you - "
-
-"Saint-Mande, where I forwarded a letter to you."
-
-"Which I have in my hand, and which is most precious to me," said Aramis,
-"because I am indebted to it for the pleasure of seeing you here."  The
-duchesse, satisfied at having successfully overcome the various
-difficulties of so delicate an explanation, began to breathe freely
-again, which Aramis, however, could not succeed in doing.  "We had got as
-far as your visit to M. Baisemeaux, I believe?"
-
-"Nay," she said, laughing, "farther than that."
-
-"In that case we must have been speaking about the grudge you have
-against the queen-mother."
-
-"Further still," she returned, "further still; we were talking of the
-connection - "
-
-"Which existed between you and the Franciscan," said Aramis, interrupting
-her eagerly, "well, I am listening to you very attentively."
-
-"It is easily explained," returned the duchesse.  "You know that I am
-living at Brussels with M. de Laicques?"
-
-"I heard so."
-
-"You know that my children have ruined and stripped me of everything."
-
-"How terrible, dear duchesse."
-
-"Terrible indeed; this obliged me to resort to some means of obtaining a
-livelihood, and, particularly, to avoid vegetating for the remainder of
-my existence.  I had old hatreds to turn to account, old friendships to
-make use of; I no longer had either credit or protectors."
-
-"_You_, who had extended protection towards so many persons," said
-Aramis, softly.
-
-"It is always the case, chevalier.  Well, at the present time I am in the
-habit of seeing the king of Spain very frequently."
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"Who has just nominated a general of the Jesuits, according to the usual
-custom."
-
-"Is it usual, indeed?"
-
-"Were you not aware of it?"
-
-"I beg your pardon; I was inattentive."
-
-"You must be aware of that - you who were on such good terms with the
-Franciscan."
-
-"With the general of the Jesuits, you mean?"
-
-"Exactly.  Well, then, I have seen the king of Spain, who wished me to do
-a service, but was unable.  He gave me recommendations, however, to
-Flanders, both for myself and for Laicques too; and conferred a pension
-on me out of the funds belonging to the order."
-
-"Of Jesuits?"
-
-"Yes.  The general - I mean the Franciscan - was sent to me; and, for the
-purpose of conforming with the requisitions of the statues of the order,
-and of entitling me to the pension, I was reputed to be in a position to
-render certain services.  You are aware that that is the rule?"
-
-"No, I did not know it," said Aramis.
-
-Madame de Chevreuse paused to look at Aramis, but it was perfectly dark.
-"Well, such is the rule, however," she resumed.  "I had, therefore, to
-appear to possess a power of usefulness of some kind or other, and I
-proposed to travel for the order, and I was placed on the list of
-affiliated travelers.  You understand it was a formality, by means of
-which I received my pension, which was very convenient for me."
-
-"Good heavens! duchesse, what you tell me is like a dagger-thrust.  _You_
-obliged to receive a pension from the Jesuits?"
-
-"No, chevalier! from Spain."
-
-"Except for a conscientious scruple, duchesse, you will admit that it is
-pretty nearly the same thing."
-
-"No, not at all."
-
-"But surely of your magnificent fortune there must remain - "
-
-"Dampierre is all that remains."
-
-"And that is handsome enough."
-
-"Yes; but Dampierre is burdened, mortgaged, and almost fallen to ruin,
-like its owner."
-
-"And can the queen-mother know and see all that, without shedding a
-tear?" said Aramis, with a penetrating look, which encountered nothing
-but darkness.
-
-"Yes.  She has forgotten everything."
-
-"You, I believe, attempted to get restored to favor?"
-
-"Yes; but, most singularly, the young king inherits the antipathy his
-dear father had for me.  You will, perhaps, tell me that I am indeed a
-woman to be hated, and that I am no longer one who can be loved."
-
-"Dear duchesse, pray come quickly to the cause that brought you here; for
-I think we can be of service to each other."
-
-"Such has been my own thought.  I came to Fontainebleau with a double
-object in view.  In the first place, I was summoned there by the
-Franciscan whom you knew.  By the by, how did you know him? - for I have
-told you my story, and have not yet heard yours."
-
-"I knew him in a very natural way, duchesse.  I studied theology with him
-at Parma.  We became fast friends; and it happened, from time to time,
-that business, or travel, or war, separated us from each other."
-
-"You were, of course, aware that he was the general of the Jesuits?"
-
-"I suspected it."
-
-"But by what extraordinary chance did it happen that you were at the
-hotel when the affiliated travelers met together?"
-
-"Oh!" said Aramis, in a calm voice, "it was the merest chance in the
-world.  I was going to Fontainebleau to see M. Fouquet, for the purpose
-of obtaining an audience of the king.  I was passing by, unknown; I saw
-the poor dying monk in the road, and recognized him immediately.  You
-know the rest - he died in my arms."
-
-"Yes; but bequeathing to you so vast a power that you issue your
-sovereign orders and directions like a monarch."
-
-"He certainly did leave me a few commissions to settle."
-
-"And what for me?"
-
-"I have told you - a sum of twelve thousand livres was to be paid to
-you.  I thought I had given you the necessary signature to enable you to
-receive it.  Did you not get the money?"
-
-"Oh! yes, yes.  You give your orders, I am informed, with so much
-mystery, and such a majestic presence, that it is generally believed you
-are the successor of the defunct chief."
-
-Aramis colored impatiently, and the duchesse continued: "I have obtained
-my information," she said, "from the king of Spain himself; and he
-cleared up some of my doubts on the point.  Every general of the Jesuits
-is nominated by him, and must be a Spaniard, according to the statutes of
-the order.  You are not a Spaniard, nor have you been nominated by the
-king of Spain."
-
-Aramis did not reply to this remark, except to say, "You see, duchesse,
-how greatly you were mistaken, since the king of Spain told you that."
-
-"Yes, my dear Aramis; but there was something else which I have been
-thinking of."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"You know, I believe, something about most things, and it occurred to me
-that you know the Spanish language."
-
-"Every Frenchman who has been actively engaged in the Fronde knows
-Spanish."
-
-"You have lived in Flanders?"
-
-"Three years."
-
-"And have stayed at Madrid?"
-
-"Fifteen months."
-
-"You are in a position, then, to become a naturalized Spaniard, when you
-like."
-
-"Really?" said Aramis, with a frankness which deceived the duchesse.
-
-"Undoubtedly.  Two years' residence and an acquaintance with the language
-are indispensable.  You have upwards of four years - more than double the
-time necessary."
-
-"What are you driving at, duchesse?"
-
-"At this - I am on good terms with the king of Spain."
-
-"And I am not on bad terms," thought Aramis to himself.
-
-"Shall I ask the king," continued the duchesse, "to confer the succession
-to the Franciscan's post upon you?"
-
-"Oh, duchesse!"
-
-"You have it already, perhaps?" she said.
-
-"No, upon my honor."
-
-"Very well, then, I can render you that service."
-
-"Why did you not render the same service to M. de Laicques, duchesse?  He
-is a very talented man, and one you love, besides."
-
-"Yes, no doubt; but, at all events, putting Laicques aside, will you have
-it?"
-
-"No, I thank you, duchesse."
-
-She paused.  "He is nominated," she thought; and then resumed aloud, "If
-you refuse me in this manner, it is not very encouraging for me,
-supposing I should have something to ask of you."
-
-"Oh! ask, pray, ask."
-
-"Ask!  I cannot do so, if you have not the power to grant what I want."
-
-"However limited my power and ability, ask all the same."
-
-"I need a sum of money, to restore Dampierre."
-
-"Ah!" replied Aramis, coldly - "money?  Well, duchesse, how much would
-you require?"
-
-"Oh! a tolerably round sum."
-
-"So much the worse - you know I am not rich."
-
-"No, no; but the order is - and if you had been the general - "
-
-"You know I am not the general, I think."
-
-"In that case, you have a friend who must be very wealthy - M. Fouquet."
-
-"M. Fouquet!  He is more than half ruined, madame."
-
-"So it is said, but I did not believe it."
-
-"Why, duchesse?"
-
-"Because I have, or rather Laicques has, certain letters in his
-possession from Cardinal Mazarin, which establish the existence of very
-strange accounts."
-
-"What accounts?"
-
-"Relative to various sums of money borrowed and disposed of.  I cannot
-very distinctly remember what they are; but they establish the fact that
-the superintendent, according to these letters, which are signed by
-Mazarin, had taken thirteen millions of francs from the coffers of the
-state.  The case is a very serious one."
-
-Aramis clenched his hands in anxiety and apprehension.  "Is it possible,"
-he said, "that you have such letters as you speak of, and have not
-communicated them to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Ah!" replied the duchesse, "I keep such trifling matters as these in
-reserve.  The day may come when they will be of service; and they can be
-withdrawn from the safe custody in which they now remain."
-
-"And that day has arrived?" said Aramis.
-
-"Yes."
-
-"And you are going to show those letters to M. Fouquet?"
-
-"I prefer to talk about them with you, instead."
-
-"You must be in sad want of money, my poor friend, to think of such
-things as these - you, too, who held M. de Mazarin's prose effusions in
-such indifferent esteem."
-
-"The fact is, I am in want of money."
-
-"And then," continued Aramis, in cold accents, "it must have been very
-distressing to you to be obliged to have recourse to such a means.  It is
-cruel."
-
-"Oh! if had wished to do harm instead of good," said Madame de Chevreuse,
-"instead of asking the general of the order, or M. Fouquet, for the five
-hundred thousand francs I require, I - "
-
-"_Five hundred thousand francs!_"
-
-"Yes; no more.  Do you think it much?  I require at least as much as that
-to restore Dampierre."
-
-"Yes, madame."
-
-"I say, therefore, that instead of asking for this amount, I should have
-gone to see my old friend the queen-mother; the letters from her husband,
-Signor Mazarini, would have served me as an introduction, and I should
-have begged this mere trifle of her, saying to her, 'I wish, madame, to
-have the honor of receiving you at Dampierre.  Permit me to put Dampierre
-in a fit state for that purpose.'"
-
-Aramis did not return a single word.  "Well," she said, "what are you
-thinking about?"
-
-"I am making certain additions," said Aramis.
-
-"And M. Fouquet subtractions.  I, on the other hand, am trying my hand at
-the art of multiplication.  What excellent calculators we all three are!
-How well we might understand one another!"
-
-"Will you allow me to reflect?" said Aramis.
-
-"No, for with such an opening between people like ourselves, 'yes' or
-'no' is the only answer, and that an immediate one."
-
-"It is a snare," thought the bishop; "it is impossible that Anne of
-Austria would listen to such a woman as this."
-
-"Well?" said the duchesse.
-
-"Well, madame, I should be very much astonished if M. Fouquet had five
-hundred thousand francs at his disposal at the present moment."
-
-"It is no use speaking of it, then," said the duchesse, "and Dampierre
-must get restored how best it may."
-
-"Oh! you are not embarrassed to such an extent as that, I suppose."
-
-"No; I am never embarrassed."
-
-"And the queen," continued the bishop, "will certainly do for you what
-the superintendent is unable to do?"
-
-"Oh! certainly.  But tell me, do you think it would be better that I
-should speak, myself, to M. Fouquet about these letters?"
-
-"Nay, duchesse, you will do precisely whatever you please in that
-respect.  M. Fouquet either feels or does not feel himself to be guilty;
-if he really be so, I know he is proud enough not to confess it; if he be
-not so, he will be exceedingly offended at your menace."
-
-"As usual, you reason like an angel," said the duchesse, as she rose from
-her seat.
-
-"And so, you are now going to denounce M. Fouquet to the queen," said
-Aramis.
-
-"'Denounce!'  Oh! what a disagreeable word.  I shall not 'denounce' my
-dear friend; you know matters of policy too well to be ignorant how
-easily these affairs are arranged.  I shall merely side against M.
-Fouquet, and nothing more; and, in a war of party against party, a weapon
-is always a weapon."
-
-"No doubt."
-
-"And once on friendly terms again with the queen-mother, I may be
-dangerous towards some persons."
-
-"You are at liberty to prove so, duchesse."
-
-"A liberty of which I shall avail myself."
-
-"You are not ignorant, I suppose, duchesse, that M. Fouquet is on the
-best terms with the king of Spain."
-
-"I suppose so."
-
-"If, therefore, you begin a party warfare against M. Fouquet, he will
-reply in the same way; for he, too, is at perfect liberty to do so, is he
-not?"
-
-"Oh! certainly."
-
-"And as he is on good terms with Spain, he will make use of that
-friendship as a weapon of attack."
-
-"You mean, that he is, naturally, on good terms with the general of the
-order of the Jesuits, my dear Aramis."
-
-"That may be the case, duchesse."
-
-"And that, consequently, the pension I have been receiving from the order
-will be stopped."
-
-"I am greatly afraid it might be."
-
-"Well; I must contrive to console myself in the best way I can; for after
-Richelieu, after the Fronde, after exile, what is there left for Madame
-de Chevreuse to be afraid of?"
-
-"The pension, you are aware, is forty-eight thousand francs."
-
-"Alas!  I am quite aware of it."
-
-"Moreover, in party contests, you know, the friends of one's enemy do not
-escape."
-
-"Ah! you mean that poor Laicques will have to suffer."
-
-"I am afraid it is almost inevitable, duchesse."
-
-"Oh! he only receives twelve thousand francs pension."
-
-"Yes, but the king of Spain has some influence left; advised by M.
-Fouquet, he might get M. Laicques shut up in prison for a little while."
-
-"I am not very nervous on that point, my dear friend; because, once
-reconciled with Anne of Austria, I will undertake that France would
-insist upon M. Laicques's liberation."
-
-"True.  In that case, you will have something else to apprehend."
-
-"What can that be?" said the duchesse, pretending to be surprised and
-terrified.
-
-"You will learn; indeed, you must know it already, that having once been
-an affiliated member of the order, it is not easy to leave it; for the
-secrets that any particular member may have acquired are unwholesome, and
-carry with them the germs of misfortune for whosoever may reveal them."
-
-The duchesse paused and reflected for a moment, and then said, "That is
-more serious: I will think it over."
-
-And notwithstanding the profound obscurity, Aramis seemed to feel a
-basilisk glance, like a white-hot iron, escape from his friend's eyes,
-and plunge into his heart.
-
-"Let us recapitulate," said Aramis, determined to keep himself on his
-guard, and gliding his hand into his breast where he had a dagger
-concealed.
-
-"Exactly, let us recapitulate; short accounts make long friends."
-
-"The suppression of your pension - "
-
-"Forty-eight thousand francs, and that of Laicques's twelve, make
-together sixty thousand francs; that is what you mean, I suppose?"
-
-"Precisely; and I was trying to find out what would be your equivalent
-for that."
-
-"Five hundred thousand francs, which I shall get from the queen."
-
-"Or, which you will _not_ get."
-
-"I know a means of procuring them," said the duchesse, thoughtlessly.
-
-This remark made the chevalier prick up his ears; and from the moment his
-adversary had committed this error, his mind was so thoroughly on its
-guard, that he seemed every moment to gain the advantage more and more;
-and she, consequently, to lose it.  "I will admit, for argument's sake,
-that you obtain the money," he resumed; "you will lose twice as much,
-having a hundred thousand francs' pension to receive instead of sixty
-thousand, and that for a  period of ten years."
-
-"Not so, for I shall only be subjected to this reduction of my income
-during the period of M. Fouquet's remaining in power, a period which I
-estimate at two months."
-
-"Ah!" said Aramis.
-
-"I am frank, you see."
-
-"I thank you for it, duchesse; but you would be wrong to suppose that
-after M. Fouquet's disgrace the order would resume the payment of your
-pension."
-
-"I know a means of making the order pay, as I know a means of forcing the
-queen-mother to concede what I require."
-
-"In that case, duchesse, we are all obliged to strike our flags to you.
-The victory is yours, and the triumph also.  Be clement, I entreat you."
-
-"But is it possible," resumed the duchesse, without taking notice of the
-irony, "that you really draw back from a miserable sum of five hundred
-thousand francs, when it is a question of sparing you - I mean your
-friend - I beg your pardon, I ought rather to say your protector - the
-disagreeable consequences which a party contest produces?"
-
-"Duchesse, I tell you why; supposing the five hundred thousand francs
-were to be given you, M. Laicques will require his share, which will be
-another five hundred thousand francs, I presume? and then, after M. de
-Laicques's and your own portions have been arranged, the portions which
-your children, your poor pensioners, and various other persons will
-require, will start up as fresh claims, and these letters, however
-compromising they may be in their nature, are not worth from three to
-four millions.  Can you have forgotten the queen of France's diamonds? –
-they were surely worth more than these bits of waste paper signed by
-Mazarin, and yet their recovery did not cost a fourth part of what you
-ask for yourself."
-
-"Yes, that is true; but the merchant values his goods at his own price,
-and it is for the purchaser to buy or refuse."
-
-"Stay a moment, duchesse; would you like me to tell you why I will not
-buy your letters?"
-
-"Pray tell me."
-
-"Because the letters you claim to be Mazarin's are false."
-
-"What an absurdity."
-
-"I have no doubt of it, for it would, to say the least, be very singular,
-that after you had quarreled with the queen through M. Mazarin's means,
-you should have kept up any intimate acquaintance with the latter; it
-would look as if you had been acting as a spy; and upon my word, I do not
-like to make use of the word."
-
-"Oh! pray do."
-
-"You great complacence would seem suspicions, at all events."
-
-"That is quite true; but the contents of the letters are even more so."
-
-"I pledge you my word, duchesse, that you will not be able to make use of
-it with the queen."
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed; I can make use of everything with the queen."
-
-"Very good," thought Aramis.  "Croak on, old owl - hiss, beldame-viper."
-
-But the duchesse had said enough, and advanced a few steps towards the
-door.  Aramis, however, had reserved one exposure which she did _not_
-expect.
-
-He rang the bell, candles immediately appeared in the adjoining room, and
-the bishop found himself completely encircled by lights, which shone upon
-the worn, haggard face of the duchesse, revealing every feature but too
-clearly.  Aramis fixed a long ironical look upon her pale, thin, withered
-cheeks - her dim, dull eyes - and upon her lips, which she kept carefully
-closed over her discolored scanty teeth.  He, however, had thrown himself
-into a graceful attitude, with his haughty and intelligent head thrown
-back; he smiled so as to reveal teeth still brilliant and dazzling.  The
-antiquated coquette understood the trick that had been played her.  She
-was standing immediately before a large mirror, in which her decrepitude,
-so carefully concealed, was only made more manifest.  And, thereupon,
-without even saluting Aramis, who bowed with the ease and grace of the
-musketeer of early days, she hurried away with trembling steps, which her
-very precipitation only the more impeded.  Aramis sprang across the room,
-like a zephyr, to lead her to the door.  Madame de Chevreuse made a sign
-to her servant, who resumed his musket, and she left the house where such
-tender friends had not been able to understand each other only because
-they had understood each other too well.
-
-
-Chapter XLI:
-Wherein May Be Seen that a Bargain Which Cannot Be Made with One Person,
-Can Be Carried Out with Another.
-
-Aramis had been perfectly correct in his supposition; for hardly had she
-left the house in the Place Baudoyer than Madame de Chevreuse proceeded
-homeward.  She was doubtless afraid of being followed, and by this means
-thought she might succeed in throwing those who might be following her
-off their guard; but scarcely had she arrived within the door of the
-hotel, and hardly had assured herself that no one who could cause her any
-uneasiness was on her track, when she opened the door of the garden,
-leading into another street, and hurried towards the Rue Croix des Petits-
-Champs, where M. Colbert resided.
-
-We have already said that evening, or rather night, had closed in; it was
-a dark, thick night, besides; Paris had once more sunk into its calm,
-quiescent state, enshrouding alike within its indulgent mantle the high-
-born duchesse carrying out her political intrigue, and the simple
-citizen's wife, who, having been detained late by a supper in the city,
-was making her way slowly homewards, hanging on the arm of a lover, by
-the shortest possible route.  Madame de Chevreuse had been too well
-accustomed to nocturnal political intrigues to be ignorant that a
-minister never denies himself, even at his own private residence, to any
-young and beautiful woman who may chance to object to the dust and
-confusion of a public office, or to old women, as full of experience as
-of years, who dislike the indiscreet echo of official residences.  A
-valet received the duchesse under the peristyle, and received her, it
-must be admitted, with some indifference of manner; he intimated, after
-having looked at her face, that it was hardly at such an hour that one so
-advanced in years as herself could be permitted to disturb Monsieur
-Colbert's important occupations.  But Madame de Chevreuse, without
-looking or appearing to be annoyed, wrote her name upon a leaf of her
-tablets - a name which had but too frequently sounded so disagreeably in
-the ears of Louis XIII. and of the great cardinal.  She wrote her name in
-the large, ill-formed characters of the higher classes of that period,
-handed it to the valet, without uttering a word, but with so haughty and
-imperious a gesture, that the fellow, well accustomed to judge of people
-from their manners and appearance, perceived at once the quality of the
-person before him, bowed his head, and ran to M. Colbert's room.  The
-minister could not control a sudden exclamation as he opened the paper;
-and the valet, gathering from it the interest with which his master
-regarded the mysterious visitor, returned as fast as he could to beg the
-duchesse to follow him.  She ascended to the first floor of the beautiful
-new house very slowly, rested herself on the landing-place, in order not
-to enter the apartment out of breath, and appeared before M. Colbert,
-who, with his own hands, held both the folding doors open.  The duchesse
-paused at the threshold, for the purpose of well studying the character
-of the man with whom she was about to converse.  At the first glance, the
-round, large, heavy head, thick brows, and ill-favored features of
-Colbert, who wore, thrust low down on his head, a cap like a priest's
-_calotte_, seemed to indicate that but little difficulty was likely to be
-met with in her negotiations with him, but also that she was to expect as
-little interest in the discussion of particulars; for there was scarcely
-any indication that the rough and uncouth nature of the man was
-susceptible to the impulses of a refined revenge, or of an exalted
-ambition.  But when, on closer inspection, the duchesse perceived the
-small, piercingly black eyes, the longitudinal wrinkles of his high and
-massive forehead, the imperceptible twitching of the lips, on which were
-apparent traces of rough good-humor, Madame de Chevreuse altered her
-opinion of him, and felt she could say to herself: "I have found the man
-I want."
-
-"What is the subject, madame, which procures me the honor of a visit from
-you?" he inquired.
-
-"The need I have you of you, monsieur," returned the duchesse, "as well
-as that which you have of me."
-
-"I am delighted, madame, with the first portion of your sentence; but, as
-far as the second portion is concerned - "
-
-Madame de Chevreuse sat down in the armchair which M. Colbert advanced
-towards her.  "Monsieur Colbert, you are the intendant of finances, and
-are ambitious of becoming the superintendent?"
-
-"Madame!"
-
-"Nay, do not deny it; that would only unnecessarily prolong our
-conversation, and that is useless."
-
-"And yet, madame, however well-disposed and inclined to show politeness I
-may be towards a lady of your position and merit, nothing will make me
-confess that I have ever entertained the idea of supplanting my superior."
-
-"I said nothing about supplanting, Monsieur Colbert.  Could I
-accidentally have made use of that word?  I hardly think that likely.
-The word 'replace' is less aggressive in its signification, and more
-grammatically suitable, as M. de Voiture would say.  I presume,
-therefore, that you are ambitious of replacing M. Fouquet."
-
-"M. Fouquet's fortune, madame, enables him to withstand all attempts.
-The superintendent in this age plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes;
-the vessels pass beneath him and do not overthrow him."
-
-"I ought to have availed myself precisely of that very comparison.  It is
-true, M. Fouquet plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes; but I remember
-to have heard it said by M. Conrart, a member of the academy, I believe,
-that when the Colossus of Rhodes fell from its lofty position, the
-merchant who had cast it down - a merchant, nothing more, M. Colbert –
-loaded four hundred camels with the ruins.  A merchant! and that is
-considerably less than an intendant of finances."
-
-"Madame, I can assure you that I shall never overthrow M. Fouquet."
-
-"Very good, Monsieur Colbert, since you persist in showing so much
-sensitiveness with me, as if you were ignorant that I am Madame de
-Chevreuse, and also that I am somewhat advanced in years; in other words,
-that you have to do with a woman who has had political dealings with the
-Cardinal Richelieu, and who has no time to lose; as, I repeat, you do not
-hesitate to commit such an imprudence, I shall go and find others who are
-more intelligent and more desirous of making their fortunes."
-
-"How, madame, how?"
-
-"You give me a very poor idea of negotiations of the present day.  I
-assure you that if, in my earlier days, a woman had gone to M. de Cinq-
-Mars, who was not, moreover, a man of a very high order of intellect, and
-had said to him about the cardinal what I have just said to you of M.
-Fouquet, M. de Cinq-Mars would by this time have already set actively to
-work."
-
-"Nay, madame, show a little indulgence, I entreat you."
-
-"Well, then, do you really consent to replace M. Fouquet?"
-
-"Certainly, I do, if the king dismisses M. Fouquet."
-
-"Again, a word too much; it is quite evident that, if you have not yet
-succeeded in driving M. Fouquet from his post, it is because you have not
-been able to do so.  Therefore, I should be the greatest simpleton
-possible if, in coming to you, I did not bring the very thing you
-require."
-
-"I am distressed to be obliged to persist, madame," said Colbert, after a
-silence which enabled the duchesse to sound the depths of his
-dissimulation, "but I must warn you that, for the last six years,
-denunciation after denunciation has been made against M. Fouquet, and he
-has remained unshaken and unaffected by them."
-
-"There is a time for everything, Monsieur Colbert; those who were the
-authors of those denunciations were not called Madame de Chevreuse, and
-they had no proofs equal to the six letters from M. de Mazarin which
-establish the offense in question."
-
-"The offense!"
-
-"The crime, if you like it better."
-
-"The crime! committed by M. Fouquet!"
-
-"Nothing less.  It is rather strange, M. Colbert, but your face, which
-just now was cold and indifferent, is now positively the very reverse."
-
-"A crime!"
-
-"I am delighted to see that it makes an impression upon you."
-
-"It is because that word, madame, embraces so many things."
-
-"It embraces the post of superintendent of finance for yourself, and a
-letter of exile, or the Bastile, for M. Fouquet."
-
-"Forgive me, madame la duchesse, but it is almost impossible that M.
-Fouquet can be exiled; to be imprisoned or disgraced, that is already a
-great deal."
-
-"Oh, I am perfectly aware of what I am saying," returned Madame de
-Chevreuse, coldly.  "I do not live at such a distance from Paris as not
-to know what takes place there.  The king does not like M. Fouquet, and
-he would willingly sacrifice M. Fouquet if an opportunity were only given
-him."
-
-"It must be a good one, though."
-
-"Good enough, and one I estimate to be worth five hundred thousand
-francs."
-
-"In what way?" said Colbert.
-
-"I mean, monsieur, that holding this opportunity in my own hands, I will
-not allow it to be transferred to yours except for a sum of five hundred
-thousand francs."
-
-"I understand you perfectly, madame.  But since you have fixed a price
-for the sale, let me now see the value of the articles to be sold."
-
-"Oh, a mere trifle; six letters, as I have already told you, from M. de
-Mazarin; and the autographs will most assuredly not be regarded as too
-highly priced, if they establish, in an irrefutable manner, that M.
-Fouquet has embezzled large sums of money from the treasury and
-appropriated them to his own purposes."
-
-"In an irrefutable manner, do you say?" observed Colbert, whose eyes
-sparkled with delight.
-
-"Perfectly so; would you like to read the letters?"
-
-"With all my heart!  Copies, of course?"
-
-"Of course, the copies," said the duchesse, as she drew from her bosom a
-small packet of papers flattened by her velvet bodice.  "Read," she said.
-
-Colbert eagerly snatched the papers and devoured them.  "Excellent!" he
-said.
-
-"It is clear enough, is it not?"
-
-"Yes, madame, yes; M. Mazarin must have handed the money to M. Fouquet,
-who must have kept it for his own purposes; but the question is, what
-money?"
-
-"Exactly, - what money; if we come to terms I will join to these six
-letters a seventh, which will supply you with the fullest particulars."
-
-Colbert reflected.  "And the originals of these letters?"
-
-"A useless question to ask; exactly as if I were to ask you, Monsieur
-Colbert, whether the money-bags you will give me will be full or empty."
-
-"Very good, madame."
-
-"Is it concluded?"
-
-"No; for there is one circumstance to which neither of us has given any
-attention."
-
-"Name it!"
-
-"M. Fouquet can be utterly ruined, under the legal circumstances you have
-detailed, only by means of legal proceedings."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"A public scandal, for instance; and yet neither the legal proceedings
-nor the scandal can be commenced against him."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Because he is procureur-general of the parliament; because, too, in
-France, all public administrators, the army, justice itself, and
-commerce, are intimately connected by ties of good-fellowship, which
-people call _espirit de corps_.  In such a case, madame, the parliament
-will never permit its chief to be dragged before a public tribunal; and
-never, even if he be dragged there by royal authority, never, I say, will
-he be condemned."
-
-"Well, Monsieur Colbert, I do not see what I have to do with that."
-
-"I am aware of that, madame; but I have to do with it, and it
-consequently diminishes the value of what you have brought to show me.
-What good can a proof of a crime be to me, without the possibility of
-obtaining a condemnation?"
-
-"Even if he be only suspected, M. Fouquet will lose his post of
-superintendent."
-
-"Is that all?" exclaimed Colbert, whose dark, gloomy features were
-momentarily lighted up by an expression of hate and vengeance."
-
-"Ah! ah!  Monsieur Colbert," said the duchesse, "forgive me, but I did
-not think you were so impressionable.  Very good; in that case, since you
-need more than I have to give you, there is no occasion to speak of the
-matter at all."
-
-"Yes, madame, we will go on talking of it; only, as the value of your
-commodities had decreased, you must lower your pretensions."
-
-"You are bargaining, then?"
-
-"Every man who wishes to deal loyally is obliged to do so."
-
-"How much will you offer me?"
-
-"Two hundred thousand francs," said Colbert.
-
-The duchesse laughed in his face, and then said, suddenly, "Wait a
-moment, I have another arrangement to propose; will you give me three
-hundred thousand francs?"
-
-"No, no."
-
-"Oh, you can either accept or refuse my terms; besides, that is not all."
-
-"More still! you are becoming too impracticable to deal with, madame."
-
-"Less so than you think, perhaps, for it is not money I am going to ask
-you for."
-
-"What is it, then?"
-
-"A service; you know that I have always been most affectionately attached
-to the queen, and I am desirous of having an interview with her majesty."
-
-"With the queen?"
-
-"Yes, Monsieur Colbert, with the queen, who is, I admit, no longer my
-friend, and who has ceased to be so for a long time past, but who may
-again become so if the opportunity be only given her."
-
-"Her majesty has ceased to receive any one, madame.  She is a great
-sufferer, and you may be aware that the paroxysms of her disease occur
-with greater frequency than ever."
-
-"That is the very reason why I wish to have an interview with her
-majesty; for in Flanders there is a great variety of these kinds of
-complaints."
-
-"What, cancers - a fearful, incurable disorder?"
-
-"Do not believe that, Monsieur Colbert.  The Flemish peasant is somewhat
-a man of nature, and his companion for life is not alone a wife, but a
-female laborer also; for while he is smoking his pipe, the woman works:
-it is she who draws the water from the well; she who loads the mule or
-the ass, and even bears herself a portion of the burden.  Taking but
-little care of herself, she gets knocked about first in one direction,
-and then in another, and very often is beaten by her husband, and cancers
-frequently rise from contusions."
-
-"True, true," said Colbert.
-
-"The Flemish women do not die the sooner on that account.  When they are
-great sufferers from this disease they go in search of remedies, and the
-Beguines of Bruges are excellent doctors for every kind of disease.  They
-have precious waters of one sort or another; specifics of various kinds;
-and they give a bottle of it and a wax candle to the sufferer, whereby
-the priests are gainers, and Heaven is served by the disposal of both
-their wares.  I will take the queen some of this holy water, which I will
-procure from the Beguines of Bruges; her majesty will recover, and will
-burn as many wax candles as she may see fit.  You see, Monsieur Colbert,
-to prevent my seeing the queen is almost as bad as committing the crime
-of regicide."
-
-"You are undoubtedly, madame la duchesse, a woman of exceedingly great
-abilities, and I am more than astounded at their display; still I cannot
-but suppose that this charitable consideration towards the queen in some
-measure covers a slight personal interest for yourself."
-
-"I have not given myself the trouble to conceal it, that I am aware of,
-Monsieur Colbert.  You said, I believe, that I had a slight personal
-interest?  On the contrary, it is a very great interest, and I will prove
-it to you, by resuming what I was saying.  If you procure me a personal
-interview with her majesty, I will be satisfied with the three hundred
-thousand francs I have claimed; if not, I shall keep my letters, unless,
-indeed, you give me, on the spot, five hundred thousand francs."
-
-And rising from her seat with this decisive remark, the old duchesse
-plunged M. Colbert into a disagreeable perplexity.  To bargain any
-further was out of the question; and not to bargain was to pay a great
-deal too dearly for them.  "Madame," he said, "I shall have the pleasure
-of handing over a hundred thousand crowns; but how shall I get the actual
-letters themselves?"
-
-"In the simplest manner in the world, my dear Monsieur Colbert - whom
-will you trust?"
-
-The financier began to laugh, silently, so that his large eyebrows went
-up and down like the wings of a bat, upon the deep lines of his yellow
-forehead.  "No one," he said.
-
-"You surely will make an exception in your own favor, Monsieur Colbert?"
-
-"In what way, madame?"
-
-"I mean that, if you would take the trouble to accompany me to the place
-where the letters are, they would be delivered into your own hands, and
-you would be able to verify and check them."
-
-"Quite true."
-
-"You would bring the hundred thousand crowns with you at the same time,
-for I, too, do not trust any one."
-
-Colbert colored to the tips of his ears.  Like all eminent men in the art
-of figures, he was of an insolent and mathematical probity.  "I will take
-with me, madame," he said, "two orders for the amount agreed upon,
-payable at my treasury.  Will that satisfy you?"
-
-"Would that the orders on your treasury were for two millions, monsieur
-l'intendant!  I shall have the pleasure of showing you the way, then?"
-
-"Allow me to order my carriage?"
-
-"I have a carriage below, monsieur."
-
-Colbert coughed like an irresolute man.  He imagined, for a moment, that
-the proposition of the duchesse was a snare; that perhaps some one was
-waiting at the door; and that she whose secret had just been sold to
-Colbert for a hundred thousand crowns, had already offered it to Fouquet
-for the same sum.  As he still hesitated, the duchesse looked at him full
-in the face.
-
-"You prefer your own carriage?" she said.
-
-"I admit I _do_."
-
-"You suppose I am going to lead you into a snare or trap of some sort or
-other?"
-
-"Madame la duchesse, you have the character of being somewhat
-inconsiderate at times, as I am reputed a sober, solemn character, a jest
-or practical joke might compromise me."
-
-"Yes; the fact is, you are afraid.  Well, then, take your own carriage,
-as many servants as you like, only think well of what I am going to say.
-What we two may arrange between ourselves, we are the only persons who
-will know - if a third person is present we might as well tell the whole
-world about it.  After all, I do not make a point of it; my carriage
-shall follow yours, and I shall be satisfied to accompany you in your own
-carriage to the queen."
-
-"To the queen?"
-
-"Have you forgotten that already?  Is it possible that one of the clauses
-of the agreement of so much importance to me, can have escaped you so
-soon?  How trifling it seems to you, indeed; if I had known it I should
-have asked double what I have done."
-
-"I have reflected, madame, and I shall not accompany you."
-
-"Really - and why not?"
-
-"Because I have the most perfect confidence in you."
-
-"You overpower me.  But - provided I receive the hundred thousand crowns?"
-
-"Here they are, madame," said Colbert, scribbling a few lines on a piece
-of paper, which he handed to the duchesse, adding, "You are paid."
-
-"The trait is a fine one, Monsieur Colbert, and I will reward you for
-it," she said, beginning to laugh.
-
-Madame de Chevreuse's laugh was a very sinister sound; a man with youth,
-faith, love, life itself, throbbing in his heart, would prefer a sob to
-such a lamentable laugh.  The duchesse opened the front of her dress and
-drew forth from her bosom, somewhat less white than it once had been, a
-small packet of papers, tied with a flame-colored ribbon, and, still
-laughing, she said, "There, Monsieur Colbert, are the originals of
-Cardinal Mazarin's letters; they are now your own property," she added,
-refastening the body of her dress; "your fortune is secured.  And now
-accompany me to the queen."
-
-"No, madame; if you are again about to run the chance of her majesty's
-displeasure, and it were known at the Palais Royal that I had been the
-means of introducing you there, the queen would never forgive me while
-she lived.  No; there are certain persons at the palace who are devoted
-to me, who will procure you an admission without my being compromised."
-
-"Just as you please, provided I enter."
-
-"What do you term those religions women at Bruges who cure disorders?"
-
-"Beguines."
-
-"Good; are you one?"
-
-"As you please, - but I must soon cease to be one."
-
-"That is your affair."
-
-"Excuse me, but I do not wish to be exposed to a refusal."
-
-"That is again your own affair, madame.  I am going to give directions to
-the head valet of the gentleman in waiting on the queen to allow
-admission to a Beguine, who brings an effectual remedy for her majesty's
-sufferings.  You are the bearer of my letter, you will undertake to be
-provided with the remedy, and will give every explanation on the
-subject.  I admit a knowledge of a Beguine, but I deny all knowledge of
-Madame de Chevreuse.  Here, madame, then, is your letter of introduction."
-
-
-Chapter XLII:
-The Skin of the Bear.
-
-Colbert handed the duchesse the letter, and gently drew aside the chair
-behind which she was standing; Madame de Chevreuse, with a very slight
-bow, immediately left the room.  Colbert, who had recognized Mazarin's
-handwriting, and had counted the letters, rang to summon his secretary,
-whom he enjoined to go in immediate search of M. Vanel, a counselor of
-the parliament.  The secretary replied that, according to his usual
-practice, M. Vanel had just that moment entered the house, in order to
-give the intendant an account of the principal details of the business
-which had been transacted during the day in parliament.  Colbert
-approached one of the lamps, read the letters of the deceased cardinal
-over again, smiled repeatedly as he recognized the great value of the
-papers Madame de Chevreuse had just delivered - and burying his head in
-his hands for a few minutes, reflected profoundly.  In the meantime, a
-tall, loosely-made man entered the room; his spare, thin face, steady
-look, and hooked nose, as he entered Colbert's cabinet, with a modest
-assurance of manner, revealed a character at once supple and decided, -
-supple towards the master who could throw him the prey, firm towards the
-dogs who might possibly be disposed to dispute its possession.  M. Vanel
-carried a voluminous bundle of papers under his arm, and placed it on the
-desk on which Colbert was leaning both his elbows, as he supported his
-head.
-
-"Good day, M. Vanel," said the latter, rousing himself from his
-meditation.
-
-"Good day, monseigneur," said Vanel, naturally.
-
-"You should say monsieur, and not monseigneur," replied Colbert, gently.
-
-"We give the title of monseigneur to ministers," returned Vanel, with
-extreme self-possession, "and you are a minister."
-
-"Not yet."
-
-"You are so in point of fact, and I call you monseigneur accordingly;
-besides you are seigneur for _me_, and that is sufficient; if you dislike
-my calling you monseigneur before others, allow me, at least, to call you
-so in private."
-
-Colbert raised his head as if to read, or try to read, upon Vanel's face
-how much or how little sincerity entered into this protestation of
-devotion.  But the counselor knew perfectly well how to sustain the
-weight of such a look, even backed with the full authority of the title
-he had conferred.  Colbert sighed; he could not read anything in Vanel's
-face, and Vanel might possibly be honest in his professions, but Colbert
-recollected that this man, inferior to himself in every other respect,
-was actually his master in virtue of the fact of his having a wife.  As
-he was pitying this man's lot, Vanel coldly drew from his pocket a
-perfumed letter, sealed with Spanish wax, and held it towards Colbert,
-saying, "A letter from my wife, monseigneur."
-
-Colbert coughed, took, opened and read the letter, and then put it
-carefully away in his pocket, while Vanel turned over the leaves of the
-papers he had brought with him with an unmoved and unconcerned air.
-"Vanel," he said suddenly to his _protege_, "you are a hard-working man,
-I know; would twelve hours' daily labor frighten you?"
-
-"I work fifteen hours every day."
-
-"Impossible.  A counselor need not work more than three hours a day in
-parliament."
-
-"Oh!  I am working up some returns for a friend of mine in the department
-of accounts, and, as I still have spare time on my hands, I am studying
-Hebrew."
-
-"Your reputation stands high in the parliament, Vanel."
-
-"I believe so, monseigneur."
-
-"You must not grow rusty in your post of counselor."
-
-"What must I do to avoid it?"
-
-"Purchase a high place.  Mean and low ambitions are very difficult to
-satisfy."
-
-"Small purses are the most difficult ones to fill, monseigneur."
-
-"What post have you in view?" said Colbert.
-
-"I see none - not one."
-
-"There is one, certainly, but one need be almost the king himself to be
-able to buy it without inconvenience; and the king will not be inclined,
-I suppose, to purchase the post of procureur-general."
-
-At these words, Vanel fixed his peculiar, humble, dull look upon Colbert,
-who could hardly tell whether Vanel comprehended him or not.  "Why do you
-speak to me, monseigneur," said Vanel, "of the post of procureur-general
-to the parliament; I know no other post than the one M. Fouquet fills."
-
-"Exactly so, my dear counselor."
-
-"You are not over fastidious, monseigneur; but before the post can be
-bought, it must be offered for sale."
-
-"I believe, Monsieur Vanel, that it will be for sale before long."
-
-"For sale!  What!  M. Fouquet's post of procureur-general?"
-
-"So it is _said_."
-
-"The post which renders him so perfectly invincible, for sale!  Ha, ha!"
-said Vanel, beginning to laugh.
-
-"Would you be afraid, then, of the post?" said Colbert, gravely.
-
-"Afraid! no; but - "
-
-"Are you desirous of obtaining it?"
-
-"You are laughing at me, monseigneur," replied Vanel.  "Is it likely that
-a counselor of the parliament would not be desirous of becoming procureur-
-general?"
-
-"Well, Monsieur Vanel, since I tell you that the post, as report goes,
-will be shortly for sale - "
-
-"I cannot help repeating, monseigneur, that it is impossible; a man never
-throws away the buckler, behind which he maintains his honor, his
-fortune, his very life."
-
-"There are certain men mad enough, Vanel, to fancy themselves out of the
-reach of all mischances."
-
-"Yes, monseigneur; but such men never commit their mad acts for the
-advantage of the poor Vanels of the world."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"For the very reason that those Vanels are poor."
-
-"It is true that M. Fouquet's post might cost a good round sum.  What
-would you bid for it, Monsieur Vanel?"
-
-"Everything I am worth."
-
-"Which means?"
-
-"Three or four hundred thousand francs."
-
-"And the post is worth - "
-
-"A million and a half, at the very lowest.  I know persons who have
-offered one million seven hundred thousand francs, without being able to
-persuade M. Fouquet to sell.  Besides, supposing it were to happen that
-M. Fouquet wished to sell, which I do not believe, in spite of what I
-have been told - "
-
-"Ah! you have heard something about it, then; who told you?"
-
-"M. de Gourville, M. Pelisson, and others."
-
-"Very good; if, therefore, M. Fouquet did wish to sell - "
-
-"I could not buy it just yet, since the superintendent will only sell for
-ready money, and no one has a million and a half to put down at once."
-
-Colbert suddenly interrupted the counselor by an imperious gesture; he
-had begun to meditate.  Observing his superior's serious attitude, and
-his perseverance in continuing the conversation on this subject, Vanel
-awaited the solution without venturing to precipitate it.
-
-"Explain to me the privileges which this post confers."
-
-"The right of impeaching every French subject who is not a prince of the
-blood; the right of quashing all proceedings taken against any Frenchman,
-who is neither king nor prince.  The procureur-general is the king's
-right hand to punish the guilty; the office is the means whereby also he
-can evade the administration of justice.  M. Fouquet, therefore, would be
-able, by stirring up parliament, to maintain himself even against the
-king; and the king could as easily, by humoring M. Fouquet, get his
-edicts registered in spite of every opposition and objection.  The
-procureur-general can be made a very useful or a very dangerous
-instrument."
-
-"Vanel, would you like to be procureur-general?" said Colbert, suddenly,
-softening both his look and his voice."
-
-"I!" exclaimed the latter; "I have already had the honor to represent to
-you that I want about eleven hundred thousand francs to make up the
-amount."
-
-"Borrow that sum from your friends."
-
-"I have no friends richer than myself."
-
-"You are an honest and honorable man, Vanel."
-
-"Ah! monseigneur, if the world would only think as you do!"
-
-"I think so, and that is quite enough; and if it should be needed, I will
-be your security."
-
-"Do not forget the proverb, monseigneur."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"That he who becomes responsible for another has to pay for his fancy."
-
-"Let that make no difference."
-
-Vanel rose, bewildered by this offer which had been so suddenly and
-unexpectedly made to him.  "You are not trifling with me, monseigneur?"
-he said.
-
-"Stay; you say that M. Gourville has spoken to you about M. Fouquet's
-post?"
-
-"Yes; and M. Pelisson, also."
-
-"Officially so, or only through their own suggestion?"
-
-"These were their very words: 'The parliament members are as proud as
-they are wealthy; they ought to club together two or three millions among
-themselves, to present to their protector and leader, M. Fouquet.'"
-
-"And what did you reply?"
-
-"I said that, for my own part, I would give ten thousand francs if
-necessary."
-
-"Ah! you like M. Fouquet, then!" exclaimed Colbert, with a look of hatred.
-
-"No; but M. Fouquet is our chief.  He is in debt - is on the high road to
-ruin; and we ought to save the honor of the body of which we are members."
-
-"Exactly; and that explains why M. Fouquet will be always safe and sound,
-so long as he occupies his present post," replied Colbert.
-
-"Thereupon," said Vanel, "M. Gourville added, 'If we were to do anything
-out of charity to M. Fouquet, it could not be otherwise than most
-humiliating to him; and he would be sure to refuse it.  Let the
-parliament subscribe among themselves to purchase, in a proper manner,
-the post of procureur-general; in that case, all would go well; the honor
-of our body would be saved, and M. Fouquet's pride spared.'"
-
-"That is an opening."
-
-"I considered it so, monseigneur."
-
-"Well, Monsieur Vanel, you will go at once, and find out either M.
-Gourville or M. Pelisson.  Do you know any other friend of M. Fouquet?"
-
-"I know M. de la Fontaine very well."
-
-"La Fontaine, the rhymester?"
-
-"Yes; he used to write verses to my wife, when M. Fouquet was one of our
-friends."
-
-"Go to him, then, and try and procure an interview with the
-superintendent."
-
-"Willingly - but the sum itself?"
-
-"On the day and hour you arrange to settle the matter, Monsieur Vanel,
-you shall be supplied with the money, so do not make yourself uneasy on
-_that_ account."
-
-"Monseigneur, such munificence!  You eclipse kings even - you surpass M.
-Fouquet himself."
-
-"Stay a moment - do not let us mistake each other: I do not make you a
-present of fourteen hundred thousand francs, Monsieur Vanel; for I have
-children to provide for - but I will _lend_ you that sum."
-
-"Ask whatever interest, whatever security you please, monseigneur; I am
-quite ready.  And when all your requisitions are satisfied, I will still
-repeat, that you surpass kings and M. Fouquet in munificence.  What
-conditions do you impose?"
-
-"The repayment in eight years, and a mortgage upon the appointment
-itself."
-
-"Certainly.  Is that all?"
-
-"Wait a moment.  I reserve to myself the right of purchasing the post
-from you at one hundred and fifty thousand francs profit for yourself,
-if, in your mode of filling the office, you do not follow out a line of
-conduct in conformity with the interests of the king and with my
-projects."
-
-"Ah-h!" said Vanel, in an altered tone.
-
-"Is there anything in that which can possibly be objectionable to you,
-Monsieur Vanel?" said Colbert, coldly.
-
-"Oh! no, no," replied Vanel, nervously.
-
-"Very good.  We will sign an agreement to that effect whenever you like.
-And now go as quickly as you can to M. Fouquet's friend, obtain an
-interview with the superintendent; do not be too difficult in making
-whatever concessions may be required of you; and when once the
-arrangements are all made - "
-
-"I will press him to sign."
-
-"Be most careful to do nothing of the kind; do not speak of signatures
-with M. Fouquet, nor of deeds, nor even ask him to pass his word.
-Understand this: otherwise you will lose everything.  All you have to do
-is to get M. Fouquet to give you his hand on the matter.  Go, go."
-
-
-Chapter XLIII:
-An Interview with the Queen-Mother.
-
-The queen-mother was in the bedroom at the Palais Royal, with Madame de
-Motteville and Senora Molina.  King Louis, who had been impatiently
-expected the whole day, had not made his appearance; and the queen, who
-was growing impatient, had often sent to inquire about him.  The moral
-atmosphere of the court seemed to indicate an approaching storm; the
-courtiers and the ladies of the court avoided meeting in the ante-
-chambers and the corridors in order not to converse on compromising
-subjects.  Monsieur had joined the king early in the morning for a
-hunting-party; Madame remained in her own apartment, cool and distant to
-every one; and the queen-mother, after she had said her prayers in Latin,
-talked of domestic matters with her two friends in pure Castilian.
-Madame de Motteville, who understood the language perfectly, answered her
-in French.  When the three ladies had exhausted every form of
-dissimulation and of politeness, as a circuitous mode of expressing that
-the king's conduct was making the queen and the queen-mother pine away
-through sheer grief and vexation, and when, in the most guarded and
-polished phrases, they had fulminated every variety of imprecation
-against Mademoiselle de la Valliere, the queen-mother terminated her
-attack by an exclamation indicative of her own reflections and
-character.  "_Estos hijos!_" said she to Molina - which means, "These
-children!" words full of meaning on a mother's lips - words full of
-terrible significance in the mouth of a queen who, like Anne of Austria,
-hid many curious secrets in her soul.
-
-"Yes," said Molina, "children, children! for whom every mother becomes a
-sacrifice."
-
-"Yes," replied the queen; "a mother sacrifices everything, certainly."
-She did not finish her phrase; for she fancied, when she raised her eyes
-towards the full-length portrait of the pale Louis XIII., that light once
-more flashed from her husband's dull eyes, and his nostrils grew livid
-with wrath.  The portrait seemed animated by a living expression - speak
-it did not, but it seemed to threaten.  A profound silence succeeded the
-queen's last remark.  La Molina began to turn over ribbons and laces on a
-large work-table.  Madame de Motteville, surprised at the look of mutual
-intelligence which had been exchanged between the confidant and her
-mistress, cast down her eyes like a discreet woman, and pretending to be
-observant of nothing that was passing, listened with the utmost attention
-to every word.  She heard nothing, however, but a very insignificant
-"hum" on the part of the Spanish duenna, who was the incarnation of
-caution - and a profound sigh on that of the queen.  She looked up
-immediately.
-
-"You are suffering?" she said.
-
-"No, Motteville, no; why do you say that?"
-
-"Your majesty almost groaned just now."
-
-"You are right; I did sigh, in truth."
-
-"Monsieur Valot is not far off; I believe he is in Madame's apartment."
-
-"Why is he with Madame?"
-
-"Madame is troubled with nervous attacks."
-
-"A very fine disorder, indeed!  There is little good in M. Valot being
-there, when a very different physician would quickly cure Madame."
-
-Madame de Motteville looked up with an air of great surprise, as she
-replied, "Another doctor instead of M. Valot? - whom do you mean?"
-
-"Occupation, Motteville, occupation.  If any one is really ill, it is my
-poor daughter."
-
-"And your majesty, too."
-
-"Less so this evening, though."
-
-"Do not believe that too confidently, madame," said De Motteville.  And,
-as if to justify her caution, a sharp, acute pain seized the queen, who
-turned deadly pale, and threw herself back in the chair, with every
-symptom of a sudden fainting fit.  Molina ran to a richly gilded tortoise-
-shell cabinet, from which she took a large rock-crystal bottle of scented
-salts, and held it to the queen's nostrils, who inhaled it wildly for a
-few minutes, and murmured:
-
-"It is hastening my death - but Heaven's will be done!"
-
-"Your majesty's death is not so near at hand," added Molina, replacing
-the smelling-bottle in the cabinet.
-
-"Does your majesty feel better now?" inquired Madame de Motteville.
-
-"Much better," returned the queen, placing her finger on her lips, to
-impose silence on her favorite.
-
-"It is very strange," remarked Madame de Motteville, after a pause.
-
-"What is strange?" said the queen.
-
-"Does your majesty remember the day when this pain attacked you for the
-first time?"
-
-"I remember only that it was a grievously sad day for me, Motteville."
-
-"But your majesty did not always regard that day as a sad one."
-
-"Why?"
-
-"Because three and twenty years ago, on that very day, his present
-majesty, your own glorious son, was born at the very same hour."
-
-The queen uttered a loud cry, buried her face in her hands, and seemed
-utterly prostrated for some minutes; but whether from recollections which
-arose in her mind, or from reflection, or even with sheer pain, was
-doubtful.  La Molina darted a look at Madame de Motteville, so full of
-bitter reproach, that the poor woman, perfectly ignorant of its meaning,
-was in her own exculpation on the point of asking an explanation, when,
-suddenly, Anne of Austria arose and said, "Yes, the 5th of September; my
-sorrow began on the 5th of September.  The greatest joy, one day; the
-deepest sorrow the next; - the sorrow," she added, "the bitter expiation
-of a too excessive joy."
-
-And, from that moment, Anne of Austria, whose memory and reason seemed to
-be suspended for the time, remained impenetrable, with vacant look, mind
-almost wandering, and hands hanging heavily down, as if life had almost
-departed.
-
-"We must put her to bed," said La Molina.
-
-"Presently, Molina."
-
-"Let us leave the queen alone," added the Spanish attendant.
-
-Madame de Motteville rose; large tears were rolling down the queen's
-pallid face; and Molina, having observed this sign of weakness, fixed her
-black vigilant eyes upon her.
-
-"Yes, yes," replied the queen.  "Leave us, Motteville; go."
-
-The word "us" produced a disagreeable effect upon the ears of the French
-favorite; for it signified that an interchange of secrets, or of
-revelations of the past, was about to be made, and that one person was
-_de trop_ in the conversation which seemed likely to take place.
-
-"Will Molina, alone, be sufficient for your majesty to-night?" inquired
-the French woman.
-
-"Yes," replied the queen.  Madame de Motteville bowed in submission, and
-was about to withdraw, when suddenly an old female attendant, dressed as
-if she had belonged to the Spanish court of the year 1620, opened the
-door, and surprised the queen in her tears.  "The remedy!" she cried,
-delightedly, to the queen, as she unceremoniously approached the group.
-
-"What remedy?" said Anne of Austria.
-
-"For your majesty's sufferings," the former replied.
-
-"Who brings it?" asked Madame de Motteville, eagerly; "Monsieur Valot?"
-
-"No; a lady from Flanders."
-
-"From Flanders?  Is she Spanish?" inquired the queen.
-
-"I don't know."
-
-"Who sent her?"
-
-"M. Colbert."
-
-"Her name?"
-
-"She did not mention it."
-
-"Her position in life?"
-
-"She will answer that herself."
-
-"Who is she?"
-
-"She is masked."
-
-"Go, Molina; go and see!" cried the queen.
-
-"It is needless," suddenly replied a voice, at once firm and gentle in
-its tone, which proceeded from the other side of the tapestry hangings; a
-voice which made the attendants start, and the queen tremble
-excessively.  At the same moment, a masked female appeared through the
-hangings, and, before the queen could speak a syllable she added, "I am
-connected with the order of the Beguines of Bruges, and do, indeed, bring
-with me the remedy which is certain to effect a cure of your majesty's
-complaint."  No one uttered a sound, and the Beguine did not move a step.
-
-"Speak," said the queen.
-
-"I will, when we are alone," was the answer.
-
-Anne of Austria looked at her attendants, who immediately withdrew.  The
-Beguine, thereupon, advanced a few steps towards the queen, and bowed
-reverently before her.  The queen gazed with increasing mistrust at this
-woman, who, in her turn, fixed a pair of brilliant eyes upon her, through
-her mask.
-
-"The queen of France must, indeed, be very ill," said Anne of Austria,
-"if it is known at the Beguinage of Bruges that she stands in need of
-being cured."
-
-"Your majesty is not irremediably ill."
-
-"But tell me how you happen to know I am suffering?"
-
-"Your majesty has friends in Flanders."
-
-"Since these friends, then, sent you, mention their names."
-
-"Impossible, madame, since your majesty's memory has not been awakened by
-your heart."
-
-Anne of Austria looked up, endeavoring to discover through the mysterious
-mask, and this ambiguous language, the name of her companion, who
-expressed herself with such familiarity and freedom; then, suddenly,
-wearied by a curiosity which wounded every feeling of pride in her
-nature, she said, "You are ignorant, perhaps, that royal personages are
-never spoken to with the face masked."
-
-"Deign to excuse me, madame," replied the Beguine, humbly.
-
-"I cannot excuse you.  I may, possibly, forgive you, if you throw your
-mask aside."
-
-"I have made a vow, madame, to attend and aid all afflicted and suffering
-persons, without ever permitting them to behold my face.  I might have
-been able to administer some relief to your body and to your mind, too;
-but since your majesty forbids me, I will take my leave.  Adieu, madame,
-adieu!"
-
-These words were uttered with a harmony of tone and respect of manner
-that disarmed the queen of all anger and suspicion, but did not remove
-her feeling of curiosity.  "You are right, "she said; "it ill-becomes
-those who are suffering to reject the means of relief Heaven sends them.
-Speak, then; and may you, indeed, be able, as you assert, to administer
-relief to my body - "
-
-"Let us first speak a little of the mind, if you please," said the
-Beguine - "of the mind, which, I am sure, must also suffer."
-
-"My mind?"
-
-"There are cancers so insidious in their nature that their very
-pulsations cannot be felt.  Such cancers, madame, leave the ivory
-whiteness of the skin unblemished, and putrefy not the firm, fair flesh,
-with their blue tints; the physician who bends over the patient's chest
-hears not, though he listens, the insatiable teeth of the disease
-grinding onward through the muscles, and the blood flows freely on; the
-knife has never been able to destroy, and rarely, even temporarily, to
-disarm the rage of these mortal scourges, - their home is in the mind,
-which they corrupt, - they gnaw the whole heart until it breaks.  Such,
-madame, are the cancers fatal to queens; are you, too, free from their
-scourge?"
-
-Anne slowly raised her arm, dazzling in its perfect whiteness, and pure
-in its rounded outlines as it was in the time of her earlier days.
-
-"The evils to which you allude," she said, "are the condition of the
-lives of the high in rank upon earth, to whom Heaven has imparted mind.
-When those evils become too heavy to be borne, Heaven lightens their
-burdens by penitence and confession.  Thus, only, we lay down our burden
-and the secrets that oppress us.  But, forget not that the same gracious
-Heaven, in its mercy, apportions to their trials the strength of the
-feeble creatures of its hand; and my strength has enabled me to bear my
-burden.  For the secrets of others, the silence of Heaven is more than
-sufficient; for my own secrets, that of my confessor is enough."
-
-"You are as courageous, madame, I see, as ever, against your enemies.
-You do not acknowledge your confidence in your friends?"
-
-"Queens have no friends; if you have nothing further to say to me, - if
-you feel yourself inspired by Heaven as a prophetess - leave me, I pray,
-for I dread the future."
-
-"I should have supposed," said the Beguine, resolutely, "that you would
-rather have dreaded the past."
-
-Hardly had these words escaped her lips, than the queen rose up proudly.
-"Speak," she cried, in a short, imperious tone of voice; "explain
-yourself briefly, quickly, entirely; or, if not - "
-
-"Nay, do not threaten me, your majesty," said the Beguine, gently; "I
-came here to you full of compassion and respect.  I came here on the part
-of a friend."
-
-"Prove that to me!  Comfort, instead of irritating me."
-
-"Easily enough, and your majesty will see who is friendly to you.  What
-misfortune has happened to your majesty during these three and twenty
-years past - "
-
-"Serious misfortunes, indeed; have I not lost the king?"
-
-"I speak not of misfortunes of _that_ kind.  I wish to ask you, if, since
-the birth of the king, any indiscretion on a friend's part has caused
-your majesty the slightest serious anxiety, or distress?"
-
-"I do not understand you," replied the queen, clenching her teeth in
-order to conceal her emotion.
-
-"I will make myself understood, then.  Your majesty remembers that the
-king was born on the 5th of September, 1638, at a quarter past eleven
-o'clock."
-
-"Yes," stammered out the queen.
-
-"At half-past twelve," continued the Beguine, "the dauphin, who had been
-baptized by Monseigneur de Meaux in the king's and your own presence, was
-acknowledged as the heir of the crown of France.  The king then went to
-the chapel of the old Chateau de Saint-Germain, to hear the _Te Deum_
-chanted."
-
-"Quite true, quite true," murmured the queen.
-
-"Your majesty's conferment took place in the presence of Monsieur, his
-majesty's late uncle, of the princes, and of the ladies attached to the
-court.  The king's physician, Bouvard, and Honore, the surgeon, were
-stationed in the ante-chamber; your majesty slept from three o'clock
-until seven, I believe."
-
-"Yes, yes; but you tell me no more than every one else knows as well as
-you and myself."
-
-"I am now, madame, approaching that which very few persons are acquainted
-with.  Very few persons, did I say, alas!  I might say two only, for
-formerly there were but five in all, and, for many years past, the secret
-has been well preserved by the deaths of the principal participators in
-it.  The late king sleeps now with his ancestors; Perronnette, the
-midwife, soon followed him; Laporte is already forgotten."
-
-The queen opened her lips as though to reply; she felt, beneath her icy
-hand, with which she kept her face half concealed, the beads of
-perspiration on her brow.
-
-"It was eight o'clock," pursued the Beguine; "the king was seated at
-supper, full of joy and happiness; around him on all sides arose wild
-cries of delight and drinking of healths; the people cheered beneath the
-balconies; the Swiss guards, the musketeers, and the royal guards
-wandered through the city, borne about in triumph by the drunken
-students.  Those boisterous sounds of general joy disturbed the dauphin,
-the future king of France, who was quietly lying in the arms of Madame de
-Hausac, his nurse, and whose eyes, as he opened them, and stared about,
-might have observed two crowns at the foot of his cradle.  Suddenly your
-majesty uttered a piercing cry, and Dame Perronnette immediately flew to
-your beside.  The doctors were dining in a room at some distance from
-your chamber; the palace, deserted from the frequency of the irruptions
-made into it, was without either sentinels or guards.  The midwife,
-having questioned and examined your majesty, gave a sudden exclamation as
-if in wild astonishment, and taking you in her arms, bewildered almost
-out of her senses from sheer distress of mind, dispatched Laporte to
-inform the king that her majesty the queen-mother wished to see him in
-her room.  Laporte, you are aware, madame, was a man of the most
-admirable calmness and presence of mind.  He did not approach the king as
-if he were the bearer of alarming intelligence and wished to inspire the
-terror he himself experienced; besides, it was not a very terrifying
-intelligence which awaited the king.  Therefore, Laporte appeared with a
-smile upon his lips, and approached the king's chair, saying to him –
-'Sire, the queen is very happy, and would be still more so to see your
-majesty.'  On that day, Louis XIII. would have given his crown away to
-the veriest beggar for a 'God bless you.'  Animated, light-hearted, and
-full of gayety, the king rose from the table, and said to those around
-him, in a tone that Henry IV. might have adopted, - 'Gentlemen, I am
-going to see my wife.'  He came to your beside, madame, at the very
-moment Dame Perronnette presented to him a second prince, as beautiful
-and healthy as the former, and said - 'Sire, Heaven will not allow the
-kingdom of France to fall into the female line.'  The king, yielding to a
-first impulse, clasped the child in his arms, and cried, 'Oh, Heaven, I
-thank Thee!'"
-
-At this part of her recital, the Beguine paused, observing how intensely
-the queen was suffering; she had thrown herself back in her chair, and
-with her head bent forward and her eyes fixed, listened without seeming
-to hear, and her lips moving convulsively, either breathing a prayer to
-Heaven or imprecations on the woman standing before her.
-
-"Ah!  I do not believe that, if, because there could be but one dauphin
-in France, "exclaimed the Beguine, "the queen allowed that child to
-vegetate, banished from his royal parents' presence, she was on that
-account an unfeeling mother.  Oh, no, no; there are those alive who have
-known and witnessed the passionate kisses she imprinted on that innocent
-creature in exchange for a life of misery and gloom to which state policy
-condemned the twin brother of Louis XIV."
-
-"Oh!  Heaven!" murmured the queen feebly.
-
-"It is admitted," continued the Beguine, quickly, "that when the king
-perceived the effect which would result from the existence of two sons,
-equal in age and pretensions, he trembled for the welfare of France, for
-the tranquillity of the state; and it is equally well known that Cardinal
-de Richelieu, by the direction of Louis XIII., thought over the subject
-with deep attention, and after an hour's meditation in his majesty's
-cabinet, he pronounced the following sentence: - 'One prince means peace
-and safety for the state; two competitors, civil war and anarchy.'"
-
-The queen rose suddenly from her seat, pale as death, and her hands
-clenched together:
-
-"You know too much," she said, in a hoarse, thick voice, "since you refer
-to secrets of state.  As for the friends from whom you have acquired this
-secret, they are false and treacherous.  You are their accomplice in the
-crime which is being now committed.  Now, throw aside your mask, or I
-will have you arrested by my captain of the guards.  Do not think that
-this secret terrifies me!  You have obtained it, you shall restore it to
-me.  Never shall it leave your bosom, for neither your secret nor your
-own life belong to you from this moment."
-
-Anne of Austria, joining gesture to the threat, advanced a couple of
-steps towards the Beguine.
-
-"Learn," said the latter, "to know and value the fidelity, the honor, and
-secrecy of the friends you have abandoned."  And, then, suddenly she
-threw aside her mask.
-
-"Madame de Chevreuse!" exclaimed the queen.
-
-"With your majesty, the sole living _confidante_ of the secret."
-
-"Ah!" murmured Anne of Austria; "come and embrace me, duchesse.  Alas!
-you kill your friend in thus trifling with her terrible distress."
-
-And the queen, leaning her head upon the shoulder of the old duchesse,
-burst into a flood of bitter tears.  "How young you are - still!" said
-the latter, in a hollow voice; "you can weep!"
-
-
-Chapter XLIV:
-Two Friends.
-
-The queen looked steadily at Madame de Chevreuse, and said: "I believe
-you just now made use of the word 'happy' in speaking of me.  Hitherto,
-duchesse, I had thought it impossible that a human creature could
-anywhere be found more miserable than the queen of France."
-
-"Your afflictions, madame, have indeed been terrible enough.  But by the
-side of those great and grand misfortunes to which we, two old friends,
-separated by men's malice, were just now alluding, you possess sources of
-pleasure, slight enough in themselves it may be, but greatly envied by
-the world."
-
-"What are they?" said Anne of Austria, bitterly.  "What can induce you to
-pronounce the word 'pleasure,' duchesse - you who, just now, admitted
-that my body and my mind both stood in need of remedies?"
-
-Madame de Chevreuse collected herself for a moment, and then murmured,
-"How far removed kings are from other people!"
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"I mean that they are so far removed from the vulgar herd that they
-forget that others often stand in need of the bare necessities of life.
-They are like the inhabitant of the African mountains, who, gazing from
-the verdant tableland, refreshed by the rills of melted snow, cannot
-comprehend that the dwellers in the plains below are perishing from
-hunger and thirst in the midst of the desert, burnt up by the heat of the
-sun."
-
-The queen colored, for she now began to perceive the drift of her
-friend's remark.  "It was very wrong," she said, "to have neglected you."
-
-"Oh! madame, I know the king has inherited the hatred his father bore
-me.  The king would exile me if he knew I were in the Palais Royal."
-
-"I cannot say that the king is very well disposed towards you, duchesse,"
-replied the queen; "but I could - secretly, you know - "
-
-The duchesse's disdainful smile produced a feeling of uneasiness in the
-queen's mind.  "Duchesse," she hastened to add, "you did perfectly right
-to come here, even were it only to give us the happiness of contradicting
-the report of your death."
-
-"Has it been rumored, then, that I was dead?"
-
-"Everywhere."
-
-"And yet my children did not go into mourning."
-
-"Ah! you know, duchesse, the court is very frequently moving about from
-place to place; we see M. Albert de Luynes but seldom, and many things
-escape our minds in the midst of the preoccupations that constantly beset
-us."
-
-"Your majesty ought not to have believed the report of my death."
-
-"Why not?  Alas! we are all mortal; and you may perceive how rapidly I,
-your younger sister, as we used formerly to say, am approaching the tomb."
-
-"If your majesty believed me dead, you ought, in that case, to have been
-astonished not to have received the news."
-
-"Death not unfrequently takes us by surprise, duchesse."
-
-"Oh! your majesty, those who are burdened with secrets such as we have
-just now discussed must, as a necessity of their nature, satisfy their
-craving desire to divulge them, and they feel they must gratify that
-desire before they die.  Among the various preparations for their final
-journey, the task of placing their papers in order is not omitted."
-
-The queen started.
-
-"Your majesty will be sure to learn, in a particular manner, the day of
-my death."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"Because your majesty will receive the next day, under several coverings,
-everything connected with our mysterious correspondence of former times."
-
-"Did you not burn them?" cried Anne, in alarm.
-
-"Traitors only," replied the duchesse, "destroy a royal correspondence."
-
-"Traitors, do you say?"
-
-"Yes, certainly, or rather they pretend to destroy, instead of which they
-keep or sell it.  Faithful friends, on the contrary, most carefully
-secrete such treasures, for it may happen that some day or other they
-would wish to seek out their queen in order to say to her: 'Madame, I am
-getting old; my health is fast failing me; in the presence of the danger
-of death, for there is the risk for your majesty that this secret may be
-revealed, take, therefore, this paper, so fraught with menace for
-yourself, and trust not to another to burn it for you.'"
-
-"What paper do you refer to?"
-
-"As far as I am concerned, I have but one, it is true, but that is indeed
-most dangerous in its nature."
-
-"Oh! duchesse, tell me what it is."
-
-"A letter, dated Tuesday, the 2d of August, 1644, in which you beg me to
-go to Noisy-le-Sec, to see that unhappy child.  In your own handwriting,
-madame, there are those words, 'that unhappy child!'"
-
-A profound silence ensued; the queen's mind was busy in the past; Madame
-de Chevreuse was watching the progress of her scheme.  "Yes, unhappy,
-most unhappy!" murmured Anne of Austria; "how sad the existence he led,
-poor child, to finish it in so cruel a manner."
-
-"Is he dead?" cried the duchesse suddenly, with a curiosity whose genuine
-accents the queen instinctively detected.
-
-"He died of consumption, died forgotten, died withered and blighted like
-the flowers a lover has given to his mistress, which she leaves to die
-secreted in a drawer where she had hid them from the gaze of others."
-
-"Died!" repeated the duchesse with an air of discouragement, which would
-have afforded the queen the most unfeigned delight, had it not been
-tempered in some measure with a mixture of doubt - "Died - at Noisy-le-
-Sec?"
-
-"Yes, in the arms of his tutor, a poor, honest man, who did not long
-survive him."
-
-"That can easily be understood; it is so difficult to bear up under the
-weight of such a loss and such a secret," said Madame de Chevreuse, - the
-irony of which reflection the queen pretended not to perceive.  Madame de
-Chevreuse continued: "Well, madame, I inquired some years ago at Noisy-le-
-Sec about this unhappy child.  I was told that it was not believed he was
-dead, and that was my reason for not having at first condoled with your
-majesty; for, most certainly, if I could have thought it were true, never
-should I have made the slightest allusion to so deplorable an event, and
-thus have re-awakened your majesty's most natural distress."
-
-"You say that it is not believed the child died at Noisy?"
-
-"No, madame."
-
-"What did they say about him, then?"
-
-"They said - but, no doubt, they were mistaken - "
-
-"Nay, speak, speak!"
-
-"They said, that one evening, about the year 1645, a lady, beautiful and
-majestic in her bearing, which was observed notwithstanding the mask and
-the mantle that concealed her figure - a lady of rank, of very high rank,
-no doubt - came in a carriage to the place where the road branches off;
-the very same spot, you know, where I awaited news of the young prince
-when your majesty was graciously pleased to send me there."
-
-"Well, well?"
-
-"That the boy's tutor, or guardian, took the child to this lady."
-
-"Well, what next?"
-
-"That both the child and his tutor left that part of the country the very
-next day."
-
-"There, you see there is some truth in what you relate, since, in point
-of fact, the poor child died from a sudden attack of illness, which makes
-the lives of all children, as doctors say, suspended as it were by a
-thread."
-
-"What your majesty says is quite true; no one knows it better than
-yourself - no one believes it more strongly than myself.  But yet, how
-strange it is - "
-
-"What can it now be?" thought the queen.
-
-"The person who gave me these details, who was sent to inquire after the
-child's health - "
-
-"Did you confide such a charge to any one else?  Oh, duchesse!"
-
-"Some one as dumb as your majesty, as dumb as myself; we will suppose it
-was myself, Madame; this some one, some months after, passing through
-Touraine - "
-
-"Touraine!"
-
-"Recognized both the tutor and the child, too!  I am wrong, thought he
-recognized them, both living, cheerful, happy, and flourishing, the one
-in a green old age, the other in the flower of his youth.  Judge after
-that what truth can be attributed to the rumors which are circulated, or
-what faith, after that, placed in anything that may happen in the world!
-But I am fatiguing your majesty; it was not my intention, however, to do
-so, and I will take my leave of you, after renewing to you the assurance
-of my most respectful devotion."
-
-"Stay, duchesse; let us first talk a little about yourself."
-
-"Of myself, madame!  I am not worthy that you should bend your looks upon
-me."
-
-"Why not, indeed?  Are you not the oldest friend I have?  Are you angry
-with me, duchesse?"
-
-"I, indeed! what motive could I have?  If I had reason to be angry with
-your majesty, should I have come here?"
-
-"Duchesse, age is fast creeping on us both; we should be united against
-that death whose approach cannot be far off."
-
-"You overpower me, madame, with the kindness of your language."
-
-"No one has ever loved or served me as you have done, duchesse."
-
-"Your majesty is too kind in remembering it."
-
-"Not so.  Give me a proof of your friendship, duchesse."
-
-"My whole being is devoted to you, madame."
-
-"The proof I require is, that you should ask something of me."
-
-"Ask - "
-
-"Oh, I know you well, - no one is more disinterested, more noble, and
-truly loyal."
-
-"Do not praise me too highly, madame," said the duchesse, somewhat
-anxiously.
-
-"I could never praise you as much as you deserve to be praised."
-
-"And yet, age and misfortune effect a terrible change in people, madame."
-
-"So much the better; for the beautiful, the haughty, the adored duchesse
-of former days might have answered me ungratefully, 'I do not wish for
-anything from you.'  Heaven be praised!  The misfortunes you speak of
-have indeed worked a change in you, for you will now, perhaps, answer me,
-'I accept.'"
-
-The duchesse's look and smile soon changed at this conclusion, and she no
-longer attempted to act a false part.
-
-"Speak, dearest, what do you want?"
-
-"I must first explain to you - "
-
-"Do so unhesitatingly."
-
-"Well, then, your majesty can confer the greatest, the most ineffable
-pleasure upon me."
-
-"What is it?" said the queen, a little distant in her manner, from an
-uneasiness of feeling produced by this remark.  "But do not forget, my
-good Chevreuse, that I am quite as much under my son's influence as I was
-formerly under my husband's."
-
-"I will not be too hard, madame."
-
-"Call me as you used to do; it will be a sweet echo of our happy youth."
-
-"Well, then, my dear mistress, my darling Anne - "
-
-"Do you know Spanish, still?"
-
-"Yes."
-
-"Ask me in Spanish, then."
-
-"Will your majesty do me the honor to pass a few days with me at
-Dampierre?"
-
-"Is that all?" said the queen, stupefied.  "Nothing more than that?"
-
-"Good heavens! can you possibly imagine that, in asking you that, I am
-not asking you the greatest conceivable favor?  If that really be the
-case, you do not know me.  Will you accept?"
-
-"Yes, gladly.  And I shall be happy," continued the queen, with some
-suspicion, "if my presence can in any way be useful to you."
-
-"Useful!" exclaimed the duchesse, laughing; "oh, no, no, agreeable –
-delightful, if you like; and you promise me, then?"
-
-"I swear it," said the queen, whereupon the duchesse seized her beautiful
-hand, and covered it with kisses.  The queen could not help murmuring to
-herself, "She is a good-hearted woman, and very generous, too."
-
-"Will your majesty consent to wait a fortnight before you come?"
-
-"Certainly; but why?"
-
-"Because," said the duchesse, "knowing me to be in disgrace, no one would
-lend me the hundred thousand francs, which I require to put Dampierre
-into a state of repair.  But when it is known that I require that sum for
-the purpose of receiving your majesty at Dampierre properly, all the
-money in Paris will be at my disposal."
-
-"Ah!" said the queen, gently nodding her head in sign of intelligence, "a
-hundred thousand francs! you want a hundred thousand francs to put
-Dampierre into repair?"
-
-"Quite as much as that."
-
-"And no one will lend you them?"
-
-"No one."
-
-"I will lend them to you, if you like, duchesse."
-
-"Oh, I hardly dare accept such a sum."
-
-"You would be wrong if you did _not_.  Besides, a hundred thousand francs
-is really not much.  I know but too well that you never set a right value
-upon your silence and secrecy.  Push that table a little towards me,
-duchesse, and I will write you an order on M. Colbert; no, on M. Fouquet,
-who is a far more courteous and obliging man."
-
-"Will he pay it, though?"
-
-"If he will not pay it, I will; but it will be the first time he will
-have refused me."
-
-The queen wrote and handed the duchesse the order, and afterwards
-dismissed her with a warm embrace.
-
-
-Chapter XLV:
-How Jean de La Fontaine Came to Write His First Tale.
-
-All these intrigues are exhausted; the human mind, so variously
-complicated, has been enabled to develop itself at its ease in the three
-outlines with which our recital has supplied it.  It is not unlikely
-that, in the future we are now preparing, a question of politics and
-intrigues may still arise, but the springs by which they work will be so
-carefully concealed that no one will be able to see aught but flowers and
-paintings, just as at a theater, where a colossus appears upon the scene,
-walking along moved by the small legs and slender arms of a child
-concealed within the framework.
-
-We now return to Saint-Mande, where the superintendent was in the habit
-of receiving his select confederacy of epicureans.  For some time past
-the host had met with nothing but trouble.  Every one in the house was
-aware of and felt for the minister's distress.  No more magnificent or
-recklessly improvident _reunions_.  Money had been the pretext assigned
-by Fouquet, and never _was_ any pretext, as Gourville said, more
-fallacious, for there was not even a shadow of money to be seen.
-
-M. Vatel was resolutely painstaking in keeping up the reputation of the
-house, and yet the gardeners who supplied the kitchens complained of
-ruinous delays.  The agents for the supply of Spanish wines sent drafts
-which no one honored; fishermen, whom the superintendent engaged on the
-coast of Normandy, calculated that if they were paid all that was due to
-them, the amount would enable them to retire comfortably for life; fish,
-which, at a later period, was the cause of Vatel's death, did not arrive
-at all.  However, on the ordinary reception days, Fouquet's friends
-flocked in more numerously than ever.  Gourville and the Abbe Fouquet
-talked over money matters - that is to say, the abbe borrowed a few
-pistoles from Gourville; Pelisson, seated with his legs crossed, was
-engaged in finishing the peroration of a speech with which Fouquet was to
-open the parliament; and this speech was a masterpiece, because Pelisson
-wrote it for his friend - that is to say, he inserted all kinds of clever
-things the latter would most certainly never have taken the trouble to
-say of his own accord.  Presently Loret and La Fontaine would enter from
-the garden, engaged in a dispute about the art of making verses.  The
-painters and musicians, in their turn, were hovering near the dining-
-room.  As soon as eight o'clock struck the supper would be announced, for
-the superintendent never kept any one waiting.  It was already half-past
-seven, and the appetites of the guests were beginning to declare
-themselves in an emphatic manner.  As soon as all the guests were
-assembled, Gourville went straight up to Pelisson, awoke him out of his
-reverie, and led him into the middle of a room, and closed the doors.
-"Well," he said, "anything new?"
-
-Pelisson raised his intelligent and gentle face, and said: "I have
-borrowed five and twenty thousand francs of my aunt, and I have them here
-in good sterling money."
-
-"Good," replied Gourville; "we only what one hundred and ninety-five
-thousand livres for the first payment."
-
-"The payment of what?" asked La Fontaine.
-
-"What! absent-minded as usual!  Why, it was you who told us the small
-estate at Corbeli was going to be sold by one of M. Fouquet's creditors;
-and you, also, who proposed that all his friends should subscribe - more
-than that, it was you who said that you would sell a corner of your house
-at Chateau-Thierry, in order to furnish your own proportion, and you come
-and ask - '_The payment of what?_'"
-
-This remark was received with a general laugh, which made La Fontaine
-blush.  "I beg your pardon," he said, "I had not forgotten it; oh, no!
-only - "
-
-"Only you remembered nothing about it," replied Loret.
-
-"That is the truth, and the fact is, he is quite right, there is a great
-difference between forgetting and not remembering."
-
-"Well, then," added Pelisson, "you bring your mite in the shape of the
-price of the piece of land you have sold?"
-
-"Sold? no!"
-
-"Have you not sold the field, then?" inquired Gourville, in astonishment,
-for he knew the poet's disinterestedness.
-
-"My wife would not let me," replied the latter, at which there were fresh
-bursts of laughter.
-
-"And yet you went to Chateau-Thierry for that purpose," said some one.
-
-"Certainly I did, and on horseback."
-
-"Poor fellow!"
-
-"I had eight different horses, and I was almost bumped to death."
-
-"You are an excellent fellow!  And you rested yourself when you arrived
-there?"
-
-"Rested!  Oh! of course I did, for I had an immense deal of work to do."
-
-"How so?"
-
-"My wife had been flirting with the man to whom I wished to sell the
-land.  The fellow drew back form his bargain, and so I challenged him."
-
-"Very good, and you fought?"
-
-"It seems not."
-
-"You know nothing about it, I suppose?"
-
-"No, my wife and her relations interfered in the matter.  I was kept a
-quarter of an hour with my sword in my hand; but I was not wounded."
-
-"And your adversary?"
-
-"Oh! he wasn't wounded either, for he never came on the field."
-
-"Capital!" cried his friends from all sides, "you must have been terribly
-angry."
-
-"Exceedingly so; I caught cold; I returned home and then my wife began to
-quarrel with me."
-
-"In real earnest?"
-
-"Yes, in real earnest.  She threw a loaf of bread at my head, a large
-loaf."
-
-"And what did you do?"
-
-"Oh!  I upset the table over her and her guests; and then I got on my
-horse again, and here I am."
-
-Every one had great difficulty in keeping his countenance at the exposure
-of this heroi-comedy, and when the laughter had subsided, one of the
-guests present said to La Fontaine: "Is that all you have brought back?"
-
-"Oh, no!  I have an excellent idea in my head."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-"Have you noticed that there is a good deal of sportive, jesting poetry
-written in France?"
-
-"Yes, of course," replied every one.
-
-"And," pursued La Fontaine, "only a very small portion of it is printed."
-
-"The laws are strict, you know."
-
-"That may be; but a rare article is a dear article, and that is the
-reason why I have written a small poem, excessively free in its style,
-very broad, and extremely cynical in its tone."
-
-"The deuce you have!"
-
-"Yes," continued the poet, with assumed indifference, "and I have
-introduced the greatest freedom of language I could possibly employ."
-
-Peals of laughter again broke forth, while the poet was thus announcing
-the quality of his wares.  "And," he continued, "I have tried to excel
-everything that Boccaccio, Aretin, and other masters of their craft have
-written in the same style."
-
-"Its fate is clear," said Pelisson; "it will be suppressed and forbidden."
-
-"Do you think so?" said La Fontaine, simply.  "I assure you I did not do
-it on my own account so much as M. Fouquet's."
-
-This wonderful conclusion again raised the mirth of all present.
-
-"And I have sold the first edition of this little book for eight hundred
-livres," exclaimed La Fontaine, rubbing his hands together.  "Serious and
-religions books sell at about half that rate."
-
-"It would have been better," said Gourville, "to have written two
-religious books instead."
-
-"It would have been too long, and not amusing enough," replied La
-Fontaine tranquilly; "my eight hundred livres are in this little bag, and
-I beg to offer them as _my_ contribution."
-
-As he said this, he placed his offering in the hands of their treasurer;
-it was then Loret's turn, who gave a hundred and fifty livres; the others
-stripped themselves in the same way; and the total sum in the purse
-amounted to forty thousand livres.  The money was still being counted
-over when the superintendent noiselessly entered the room; he had heard
-everything; and then this man, who had possessed so many millions, who
-had exhausted all the pleasures and honors the world had to bestow, this
-generous heart, this inexhaustible brain, which had, like two burning
-crucibles, devoured the material and moral substance of the first kingdom
-in Europe, was seen to cross the threshold with tears in his eyes, and
-pass his fingers through the gold and silver which the bag contained.
-
-"Poor offering," he said, in a softened and affected tone of voice, "you
-will disappear into the smallest corner of my empty purse, but you have
-filled to overflowing that which no one can ever exhaust, my heart.
-Thank you, my friends - thank you."  And as he could not embrace every
-one present, who were all tearful, too, philosophers as they were, he
-embraced La Fontaine, saying to him, "Poor fellow! so you have, on my
-account, been beaten by your wife and censured by your confessor."
-
-"Oh! it is a mere nothing," replied the poet; "if your creditors will
-only wait a couple of years, I shall have written a hundred other tales,
-which, at two editions each, will pay off the debt."
-
-
-Chapter XLVI:
-La Fontaine in the Character of a Negotiator.
-
-Fouquet pressed La Fontaine's hand most warmly, saying to him, "My dear
-poet, write a hundred other tales, not only for the eighty pistoles which
-each of them will produce you, but, still more, to enrich our language
-with a hundred new masterpieces of composition."
-
-"Oh!" said La Fontaine, with a little air of pride, "you must not suppose
-that I have only brought this idea and the eighty pistoles to the
-superintendent."
-
-"Oh! indeed," was the general acclimation from all parts of the room, "M.
-de la Fontaine is in funds to-day."
-
-"Exactly," replied La Fontaine.
-
-"Quick, quick!" cried the assembly.
-
-"Take care," said Pelisson in La Fontaine's ear; "you have had a most
-brilliant success up to the present moment; do not go beyond your depth."
-
-"Not at all, Monsieur Pelisson; and you, who are a man of decided taste,
-will be the first to approve of what I have done."
-
-"We are talking of millions, remember," said Gourville.
-
-"I have fifteen hundred thousand francs here, Monsieur Gourville," he
-replied, striking himself on the chest.
-
-"The deuce take this Gascon from Chateau-Thierry!" cried Loret.
-
-"It is not the pocket you must tap - but the brain," said Fouquet.
-
-"Stay a moment, monsieur le surintendant," added La Fontaine; "you are
-not procureur-general - you are a poet."
-
-"True, true!" cried Loret, Conrart, and every person present connected
-with literature.
-
-"You are, I repeat, a poet and a painter, a sculptor, a friend of the
-arts and sciences; but, acknowledge that you are no lawyer."
-
-"Oh!  I do acknowledge it," replied M. Fouquet, smiling.
-
-"If you were to be nominated at the Academy, you would refuse, I think."
-
-"I think I should, with all due deference to the academicians."
-
-"Very good; if, therefore, you do not wish to belong to the Academy, why
-do you allow yourself to form one of the parliament?"
-
-"Oh!" said Pelisson, "we are talking politics."
-
-"I wish to know whether the barrister's gown does or does not become M.
-Fouquet."
-
-"There is no question of the gown at all," retorted Pelisson, annoyed at
-the laughter of those who were present.
-
-"On the contrary, it is the gown," said Loret.
-
-"Take the gown away from the procureur-general," said Conrart, "and we
-have M. Fouquet left us still, of whom we have no reason to complain;
-but, as he is no procureur-general without his gown, we agree with M. de
-la Fontaine and pronounce the gown to be nothing but a bugbear."
-
-"_Fugiunt risus leporesque_," said Loret.
-
-"The smiles and the graces," said some one present.
-
-"That is not the way," said Pelisson, gravely, "that I translate
-_lepores_."
-
-"How do you translate it?" said La Fontaine.
-
-"Thus: The hares run away as soon as they see M. Fouquet."  A burst of
-laughter, in which the superintendent joined, followed this sally.
-
-"But why hares?" objected Conrart, vexed.
-
-"Because the hare will be the very one who will not be over pleased to
-see M. Fouquet surrounded by all the attributes which his parliamentary
-strength and power confer on him."
-
-"Oh! oh!" murmured the poets.
-
-"_Quo non ascendam_," said Conrart, "seems impossible to me, when one is
-fortunate enough to wear the gown of the procureur-general." (9)
-
-"On the contrary, it seems so to me without that gown," said the
-obstinate Pelisson; "what is your opinion, Gourville?"
-
-"I think the gown in question is a very good thing," replied the latter;
-"but I equally think that a million and a half is far better than the
-gown."
-
-"And I am of Gourville's opinion," exclaimed Fouquet, stopping the
-discussion by the expression of his own opinion, which would necessarily
-bear down all the others.
-
-"A million and a half," Pelisson grumbled out; "now I happen to know an
-Indian fable - "
-
-"Tell it to me," said La Fontaine; "I ought to know it too."
-
-"Tell it, tell it," said the others.
-
-"There was a tortoise, which was, as usual, well protected by its shell,"
-said Pelisson; "whenever its enemies threatened it, it took refuge
-within its covering.  One day some one said to it, 'You must feel very
-hot in such a house as that in the summer, and you are altogether
-prevented showing off your graces; there is a snake here, who will give
-you a million and a half for your shell.'"
-
-"Good!" said the superintendent, laughing.
-
-"Well, what next?" said La Fontaine, more interested in the apologue than
-in the moral.
-
-"The tortoise sold his shell and remained naked and defenseless.  A
-vulture happened to see him, and being hungry, broke the tortoise's back
-with a blow of his beak and devoured it.  The moral is, that M. Fouquet
-should take very good care to keep his gown."
-
-La Fontaine understood the moral seriously.  "You forget Aeschylus," he
-said, to his adversary.
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"Aeschylus was bald-headed, and a vulture - your vulture, probably - who
-was a great amateur in tortoises, mistook at a distance his head for a
-block of stone, and let a tortoise, which was shrunk up in his shell,
-fall upon it."
-
-"Yes, yes, La Fontaine is right," resumed Fouquet, who had become very
-thoughtful; "whenever a vulture wishes to devour a tortoise, he well
-knows how to break his shell; but happy is that tortoise a snake pays a
-million and a half for his envelope.  If any one were to bring me a
-generous-hearted snake like the one in your fable, Pelisson, I would give
-him my shell."
-
-"_Rara avis in terres!_" cried Conrart. (10)
-
-"And like a black swan, is he not?" added La Fontaine; "well, then, the
-bird in question, black and rare, is already found."
-
-"Do you mean to say that you have found a purchaser for my post of
-procureur-general?" exclaimed Fouquet.
-
-"I have, monsieur."
-
-"But the superintendent never said that he wished to sell," resumed
-Pelisson.
-
-"I beg your pardon," said Conrart, "you yourself spoke about it, even - "
-
-"Yes, I am a witness to that," said Gourville.
-
-"He seems very tenacious about his brilliant idea," said Fouquet,
-laughing.  "Well, La Fontaine, who is the purchaser?"
-
-"A perfect blackbird, for he is a counselor belonging to the parliament,
-an excellent fellow."
-
-"What is his name?"
-
-"Vanel."
-
-"Vanel!" exclaimed Fouquet.  "Vanel the husband of - "
-
-"Precisely, her husband; yes, monsieur."
-
-"Poor fellow!" said Fouquet, with an expression of great interest.
-
-"He wishes to be everything that you have been, monsieur," said
-Gourville, "and to do everything that you have done."
-
-"It is very agreeable; tell us all about it, La Fontaine."
-
-"It is very simple.  I see him occasionally, and a short time ago I met
-him, walking about on the Place de la Bastile, at the very moment when I
-was about to take the small carriage to come down here to Saint-Mande."
-
-"He must have been watching his wife," interrupted Loret.
-
-"Oh, no!" said La Fontaine, "he is far from being jealous.  He accosted
-me, embraced me, and took me to the inn called L'Image Saint-Fiacre, and
-told me all about his troubles."
-
-"He has his troubles, then?"
-
-"Yes; his wife wants to make him ambitious."
-
-"Well, and he told you - "
-
-"That some one had spoken to him about a post in parliament; that M.
-Fouquet's name had been mentioned; that ever since, Madame Vanel dreams
-of nothing else than being called madame la procureur-generale, and that
-it makes her ill and kills her every night she does not dream about it."
-
-"The deuce!"
-
-"Poor woman!" said Fouquet.
-
-"Wait a moment.  Conrart is always telling me that I do not know how to
-conduct matters of business; you will see how I managed this one."
-
-"Well, go on."
-
-"'I suppose you know,' said I to Vanel, 'that the value of a post such as
-that which M. Fouquet holds is by no means trifling.'
-
-"'How much do you imagine it to be?' he said.
-
-"'M. Fouquet, I know, has refused seventeen hundred thousand francs.'
-
-"'My wife,' replied Vanel, 'had estimated it at about fourteen hundred
-thousand.'
-
-"'Ready money?' I said.
-
-"'Yes; she has sold some property of hers in Guienne, and has received
-the purchase money.'"
-
-"That's a pretty sum to touch all at once," said the Abbe Fouquet, who
-had not hitherto said a word.
-
-"Poor Madame Vanel!" murmured Fouquet.
-
-Pelisson shrugged his shoulders, as he whispered in Fouquet's ear, "That
-woman is a perfect fiend."
-
-"That may be; and it will be delightful to make use of this fiend's money
-to repair the injury which an angel has done herself for me."
-
-Pelisson looked with a surprised air at Fouquet, whose thoughts were from
-that moment fixed upon a fresh object in view.
-
-"Well!" inquired La Fontaine, "what about my negotiation?"
-
-"Admirable, my dear poet."
-
-"Yes," said Gourville; "but there are some people who are anxious to have
-the steed who have not even money enough to pay for the bridle."
-
-"And Vanel would draw back from his offer if he were to be taken at his
-word," continued the Abbe Fouquet.
-
-"I do not believe it," said La Fontaine.
-
-"What do you know about it?"
-
-"Why, you have not yet heard the _denouement_ of my story."
-
-"If there is a _denouement_, why do you beat about the bush so much?"
-
-"_Semper ad eventum_.  Is that correct?" said Fouquet, with the air of a
-nobleman who condescends to barbarisms.  To which the Latinists present
-answered with loud applause. (11)
-
-"My _denouement_," cried La Fontaine, "is that Vanel, that determined
-blackbird, knowing that I was coming to Saint-Mande, implored me to bring
-him with me, and, if possible, to present him to M. Fouquet."
-
-"So that - "
-
-"So that he is here; I left him in that part of the ground called Bel-
-Air.  Well, M. Fouquet, what is your reply?"
-
-"Well, it is not respectful towards Madame Vanel that her husband should
-run the risk of catching cold outside my house; send for him, La
-Fontaine, since you know where he is."
-
-"I will go myself."
-
-"And I will accompany you," said the Abbe Fouquet; "I will carry the
-money bags."
-
-"No jesting," said Fouquet, seriously; "let the business be a serious
-one, if it is to be one at all.  But first of all, let us show we are
-hospitable.  Make my apologies, La Fontaine, to M. Vanel, and tell him
-how distressed I am to have kept him waiting, but that I was not was not
-aware he was there."
-
-La Fontaine set off at once, fortunately accompanied by Gourville, for,
-absorbed in his own calculations, the poet would have mistaken the route,
-and was hurrying as fast as he could towards the village of Saint-Mande.
-Within a quarter of an hour afterwards, M. Vanel was introduced into the
-superintendent's cabinet, a description of which has already been given
-at the beginning of this story.  When Fouquet saw him enter, he called to
-Pelisson, and whispered a few words in his ear.  "Do not lose a single
-word of what I am going to say: let all the silver and gold plate,
-together with my jewels of every description, be packed up in the
-carriage.  You will take the black horses: the jeweler will accompany
-you; and you will postpone the supper until Madame de Belliere's arrival."
-
-"Will it be necessary to inform Madame de Belliere of it?" said Pelisson.
-
-"No; that will be useless; I will do that.  So, away with you, my dear
-friend."
-
-Pelisson set off, not quite clear as to his friend's meaning or
-intention, but confident, like every true friend, in the judgment of the
-man he was blindly obeying.  It is that which constitutes the strength of
-such men; distrust only arises in the minds of inferior natures.
-
-Vanel bowed lowly to the superintendent, and was about to begin a speech.
-
-"Do not trouble yourself, monsieur," said Fouquet, politely; "I am told
-you wish to purchase a post I hold.  How much can you give me for it?"
-
-"It is for you, monseigneur, to fix the amount you require.  I know that
-offers of purchase have already been made to you for it."
-
-"Madame Vanel, I have been told, values it at fourteen hundred thousand
-livres."
-
-"That is all we have."
-
-"Can you give me the money immediately?"
-
-"I have not the money with me," said Vanel, frightened almost by the
-unpretending simplicity, amounting to greatness, of the man, for he had
-expected disputes, difficulties, opposition of every kind.
-
-"When will you be able to bring it?"
-
-"Whenever you please, monseigneur;" for he began to be afraid that
-Fouquet was trifling with him.
-
-"If it were not for the trouble you would have in returning to Paris, I
-would say at once; but we will arrange that the payment and the signature
-shall take place at six o'clock to-morrow morning."
-
-"Very good," said Vanel, as cold as ice, and feeling quite bewildered.
-
-"Adieu, Monsieur Vanel, present my humblest respects to Madame Vanel,"
-said Fouquet, as he rose; upon which Vanel, who felt the blood rushing to
-his head, for he was quite confounded by his success, said seriously to
-the superintendent, "Will you give me your word, monseigneur, upon this
-affair?"
-
-Fouquet turned round his head, saying, "_Pardieu_, and you, monsieur?"
-
-Vanel hesitated, trembled all over, and at last finished by hesitatingly
-holding out his hand.  Fouquet opened and nobly extended his own; this
-loyal hand lay for a moment in Vanel's most hypocritical palm, and he
-pressed it in his own, in order the better to convince himself of the
-compact.  The superintendent gently disengaged his hand, as he again
-said, "Adieu."  And then Vanel ran hastily to the door, hurried along the
-vestibule, and fled as quickly as he could.
-
-
-Chapter XLVII:
-Madame de Belliere's Plate and Diamonds.
-
-Fouquet had no sooner dismissed Vanel than he began to reflect for a few
-moments - "A man never can do too much for the woman he has once loved.
-Marguerite wishes to be the wife of a procureur-general - and why not
-confer this pleasure upon her?  And, now that the most scrupulous and
-sensitive conscience will be unable to reproach me with anything, let my
-thoughts be bestowed on her who has shown so much devotion for me.
-Madame de Belliere ought to be there by this time," he said, as he turned
-towards the secret door.
-
-After he had locked himself in, he opened the subterranean passage, and
-rapidly hastened towards the means of communicating between the house at
-Vincennes and his own residence.  He had neglected to apprise his friend
-of his approach, by ringing the bell, perfectly assured that she would
-never fail to be exact at the rendezvous; as, indeed, was the case, for
-she was already waiting.  The noise the superintendent made aroused her;
-she ran to take from under the door the letter he had thrust there, and
-which simply said, "Come, marquise; we are waiting supper for you."  With
-her heart filled with happiness Madame de Belliere ran to her carriage in
-the Avenue de Vincennes, and in a few minutes she was holding out her
-hand to Gourville, who was standing at the entrance, where, in order the
-better to please his master, he had stationed himself to watch her
-arrival.  She had not observed that Fouquet's black horse arrived at the
-same time, all steaming and foam-flaked, having returned to Saint-Mande
-with Pelisson and the very jeweler to whom Madame de Belliere had sold
-her plate and her jewels.  Pelisson introduced the goldsmith into the
-cabinet, which Fouquet had not yet left.  The superintendent thanked him
-for having been good enough to regard as a simple deposit in his hands,
-the valuable property which he had every right to sell; and he cast his
-eyes on the total of the account, which amounted to thirteen hundred
-thousand francs.  Then, going for a few moments to his desk, he wrote an
-order for fourteen hundred thousand francs, payable at sight, at his
-treasury, before twelve o'clock the next day.
-
-"A hundred thousand francs profit!" cried the goldsmith.  "Oh,
-monseigneur, what generosity!"
-
-"Nay, nay, not so, monsieur," said Fouquet, touching him on the shoulder;
-"there are certain kindnesses which can never be repaid.  This profit is
-only what you have earned; but the interest of your money still remains
-to be arranged."  And, saying this, he unfastened from his sleeve a
-diamond button, which the goldsmith himself had often valued at three
-thousand pistoles.  "Take this," he said to the goldsmith, "in
-remembrance of me.  Farewell; you are an honest man."
-
-"And you, monseigneur," cried the goldsmith, completely overcome, "are
-the noblest man that ever lived."
-
-Fouquet let the worthy goldsmith pass out of the room by a secret door,
-and then went to receive Madame de Belliere, who was already surrounded
-by all the guests.  The marquise was always beautiful, but now her
-loveliness was more dazzling than ever.  "Do you not think, gentlemen,"
-said Fouquet, "that madame is more than usually beautiful this evening?
-And do you happen to know why?"
-
-"Because madame is really the most beautiful of all women," said some one
-present.
-
-"No; but because she is the best.  And yet - "
-
-"Yet?" said the marquise, smiling.
-
-"And yet, all the jewels which madame is wearing this evening are nothing
-but false stones."  At this remark the marquise blushed most painfully.
-
-"Oh, oh!" exclaimed all the guests, "that can very well be said of one
-who has the finest diamonds in Paris."
-
-"Well?" said Fouquet to Pelisson, in a low tone.
-
-"Well, at last I have understood you," returned the latter; "and you have
-done exceedingly well."
-
-"Supper is ready, monseigneur," said Vatel, with majestic air and tone.
-
-The crowd of guests hurried, more quickly than is usually the case with
-ministerial entertainments, towards the banqueting-room, where a
-magnificent spectacle presented itself.  Upon the buffets, upon the side-
-tables, upon the supper-table itself, in the midst of flowers and light,
-glittered most dazzlingly the richest and most costly gold and silver
-plate that could possibly be seen - relics of those ancient magnificent
-productions the Florentine artists, whom the Medici family patronized,
-sculptured, chased, and moulded for the purpose of holding flowers, at a
-time when gold existed still in France.  These hidden marvels, which had
-been buried during the civil wars, timidly reappeared during the
-intervals of that war of good taste called La Fronde; at a time when
-noblemen fighting against nobleman killed, but did not pillage each
-other.  All the plate present had Madame de Belliere's arms engraved upon
-it.  "Look," cried La Fontaine, "here is a P and a B."
-
-But the most remarkable object present was the cover which Fouquet had
-assigned to the marquise.  Near her was a pyramid of diamonds, sapphires,
-emeralds, antique cameos, sardonyx stones, carved by the old Greeks of
-Asia Minor, with mountings of Mysian gold; curious mosaics of ancient
-Alexandria, set in silver; massive Egyptian bracelets lay heaped on a
-large plate of Palissy ware, supported by a tripod of gilt bronze,
-sculptured by Benvenuto Cellini.  The marquise turned pale, as she
-recognized what she had never expected to see again.  A profound silence
-fell on every one of the restless and excited guests.  Fouquet did not
-even make a sign in dismissal of the richly liveried servants who crowded
-like bees round the huge buffets and other tables in the room.
-"Gentlemen," he said, "all this plate which you behold once belonged to
-Madame de Belliere, who, having observed one of her friends in great
-distress, sent all this gold and silver, together with the heap of jewels
-now before her, to her goldsmith.  This noble conduct of a devoted friend
-can well be understood by such friends as you.  Happy indeed is that man
-who sees himself loved in such a manner.  Let us drink to the health of
-Madame de Belliere."
-
-A tremendous burst of applause followed his words, and made poor Madame
-de Belliere sink back dumb and breathless in her seat.  "And then," added
-Pelisson, who was always affected by a noble action, as he was invariably
-impressed by beauty, "let us also drink to the health of him who inspired
-madame's noble conduct; for such a man is worthy of being worthily loved."
-
-It was now the marquise's turn.  She rose, pale and smiling; and as she
-held out her glass with a faltering hand, and her trembling fingers
-touched those of Fouquet, her look, full of love, found its mirror in
-that of her ardent and generous-hearted lover.  Begun in this manner, the
-supper soon became a _fete_; no one tried to be witty, but no one failed
-in being so.  La Fontaine forgot his Gorgny wine, and allowed Vatel to
-reconcile him to the wines of the Rhone, and those from the shores of
-Spain.  The Abbe Fouquet became so kind and good-natured, that Gourville
-said to him, "Take care, monsieur l'abbe; if you are so tender, you will
-be carved and eaten."
-
-The hours passed away so joyously, that, contrary to his usual custom,
-the superintendent did not leave the table before the end of the
-dessert.  He smiled upon his friends, delighted as a man is whose heart
-becomes intoxicated before his head - and, for the first time, looked at
-the clock.  Suddenly a carriage rolled into the courtyard, and, strange
-to say, it was heard high above the noise of the mirth which prevailed.
-Fouquet listened attentively, and then turned his eyes towards the ante-
-chamber.  It seemed as if he could hear a step passing across it, a step
-that, instead of pressing the ground, weighed heavily upon his heart.
-"M. d'Herblay, bishop of Vannes," the usher announced.  And Aramis's
-grave and thoughtful face appeared upon the threshold of the door,
-between the remains of two garlands, of which the flame of a lamp had
-just burnt the thread that once united them.
-
-
-Chapter XLVIII:
-M. de Mazarin's Receipt.
-
-Fouquet would have uttered an exclamation of delight on seeing another
-friend arrive, if the cold air and averted aspect of Aramis had not
-restored all his reserve.  "Are you going to join us at dessert?" he
-asked.  "And yet you would be frightened, perhaps, at the noise which our
-wild friends here are making?"
-
-"Monseigneur," replied Aramis, respectfully, "I will begin by begging you
-to excuse me for having interrupted this merry meeting; and then, I will
-beg you to give me, as soon as your pleasure is attended to, a moment's
-audience on matters of business."
-
-As the word "business" had aroused the attention of some of the
-epicureans present, Fouquet rose, saying: "Business first of all,
-Monsieur d'Herblay; we are too happy when matters of business arrive only
-at the end of a meal."
-
-As he said this, he took the hand of Madame de Belliere, who looked at
-him with a kind of uneasiness, and then led her to an adjoining _salon_,
-after having recommended her to the most reasonable of his guests.  And
-then, taking Aramis by the arm, he led him towards his cabinet.  As soon
-as Aramis was there, throwing aside the respectful air he had assumed, he
-threw himself into a chair, saying: "Guess whom I have seen this evening?"
-
-"My dear chevalier, every time you begin in that manner, I am sure to
-hear you announce something disagreeable."
-
-"Well, and this time you will not be mistaken, either, my dear friend,"
-replied Aramis.
-
-"Do not keep me in suspense," added Fouquet, phlegmatically.
-
-"Well, then, I have seen Madame de Chevreuse."
-
-"The old duchesse, do you mean?"
-
-"Yes. "
-
-"Her ghost, perhaps?"
-
-"No, no; the old she-wolf herself."
-
-"Without teeth?"
-
-"Possibly, but not without claws."
-
-"Well! what harm can she meditate against me?  I am no miser with women
-who are not prudes.  A quality always prized, even by the woman who no
-longer presumes to look for love."
-
-"Madame de Chevreuse knows very well that you are not avaricious, since
-she wishes to draw some money of you."
-
-"Indeed! under what pretext?"
-
-"Oh! pretexts are never wanting with _her_.  Let me tell you what it is:
-it seems that the duchesse has a good many letters of M. de Mazarin's in
-her possession."
-
-"I am not surprised at that, for the prelate was gallant enough."
-
-"Yes, but these letters have nothing whatever to do with the prelate's
-love affairs.  They concern, it is said, financial matters rather."
-
-"And accordingly they are less interesting."
-
-"Do you not suspect what I mean?"
-
-"Not at all."
-
-"Have you never heard speak of a prosecution being instituted for an
-embezzlement, or appropriation rather, of public funds?"
-
-"Yes, a hundred, nay, a thousand times.  Ever since I have been engaged
-in public matters I have hardly heard of anything else.  It is precisely
-your own case, when, as a bishop, people reproach you for impiety; or, as
-a musketeer, for your cowardice; the very thing of which they are always
-accusing ministers of finance is the embezzlement of public funds."
-
-"Very good; but take a particular instance, for the duchesse asserts that
-M. de Mazarin alludes to certain particular instances."
-
-"What are they?"
-
-"Something like a sum of thirteen millions of francs, of which it would
-be very difficult for you to define the precise nature of the employment."
-
-"Thirteen millions!" said the superintendent, stretching himself in his
-armchair, in order to enable him the more comfortably to look up towards
-the ceiling.  "Thirteen millions - I am trying to remember out of all
-those I have been accused of having stolen."
-
-"Do not laugh, my dear monsieur, for it is very serious.  It is positive
-that the duchesse has certain letters in her possession, and that these
-letters must be as she represents them, since she wished to sell them to
-me for five hundred thousand francs."
-
-"Oh! one can have a very tolerable calumny got up for such a sum as
-that," replied Fouquet.  "Ah! now I know what you mean," and he began to
-laugh very heartily.
-
-"So much the better," said Aramis, a little reassured.
-
-"I remember the story of those thirteen millions now.  Yes, yes, I
-remember them quite well."
-
-"I am delighted to hear it; tell me about them."
-
-"Well, then, one day Signor Mazarin, Heaven rest his soul! made a profit
-of thirteen millions upon a concession of lands in the Valtelline; he
-canceled them in the registry of receipts, sent them to me, and then made
-me advance them to him for war expenses."
-
-"Very good; then there is no doubt of their proper destination."
-
-"No; the cardinal made me invest them in my own name, and gave me a
-receipt."
-
-"You have the receipt?"
-
-"Of course," said Fouquet, as he quietly rose from his chair, and went to
-his large ebony bureau inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold.
-
-"What I most admire in you," said Aramis, with an air of great
-satisfaction, "is, your memory in the first place, then your self-
-possession, and, finally, the perfect order which prevails in your
-administration; you, of all men, too, who are by nature a poet."
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet, "I am orderly out of a spirit of idleness, to save
-myself the trouble of looking after things, and so I know that Mazarin's
-receipt is in the third drawer under the letter M; I open the drawer, and
-place my hand upon the very paper I need.  In the night, without a light,
-I could find it."
-
-And with a confident hand he felt the bundle of papers which were piled
-up in the open drawer.  "Nay, more than that," he continued, "I remember
-the paper as if I saw it; it is thick, somewhat crumpled, with gilt
-edges; Mazarin had made a blot upon the figure of the date.  Ah!" he
-said, "the paper knows we are talking about it, and that we want it very
-much, and so it hides itself out of the way."
-
-And as the superintendent looked into the drawer, Aramis rose from his
-seat.
-
-"This is very singular," said Fouquet.
-
-"Your memory is treacherous, my dear monseigneur; look in another drawer."
-
-Fouquet took out the bundle of papers, and turned them over once more; he
-then grew very pale.
-
-"Don't confine your search to that drawer," said Aramis; "look elsewhere."
-
-"Quite useless; I have never made a mistake; no one but myself arranges
-any papers of mine of this nature; no one but myself ever opens this
-drawer, of which, besides, no one, myself excepted, is aware of the
-secret."
-
-"What do you conclude, then?" said Aramis, agitated.
-
-"That Mazarin's receipt has been stolen from me; Madame de Chevreuse was
-right, chevalier; I have appropriated the public funds, I have robbed the
-state coffers of thirteen millions of money; I am a thief, Monsieur
-d'Herblay."
-
-"Nay, nay, do not get irritated - do not get excited."
-
-"And why not, chevalier? surely there is every reason for it.  If legal
-proceedings are well arranged, and a judgment given in accordance with
-them, your friend the superintendent will soon follow Montfaucon, his
-colleague Enguerrand de Marigny, and his predecessor, Semblancay."
-
-"Oh!" said Aramis, smiling, "not so fast as that."
-
-"And why not? why not so fast?  What do you suppose Madame de Chevreuse
-has done with those letters - for you refused them, I suppose?"
-
-"Yes; at once.  I suppose that she went and sold them to M. Colbert."
-
-"Well?"
-
-"I said I supposed so; I might have said I was sure of it, for I had her
-followed, and, when she left me, she returned to her own house, went out
-by a back door, and proceeded straight to the intendant's house in the
-Rue Croix des Petits-Champs."
-
-"Legal proceedings will be instituted, then, scandal and dishonor will
-follow; and all will fall upon me like a thunderbolt, blindly,
-pitilessly."
-
-Aramis approached Fouquet, who sat trembling in his chair, close to the
-open drawers; he placed his hand on his shoulder, and in an affectionate
-tone of voice, said: "Do not forget that the position of M. Fouquet can
-in no way be compared to that of Semblancay or of Marigny."
-
-"And why not, in Heaven's name?"
-
-"Because the proceedings against those ministers were determined,
-completed, and the sentence carried out, whilst in your case the same
-thing cannot take place."
-
-"Another blow, why not?  A peculator is, under any circumstances, a
-criminal."
-
-"Criminals who know how to find a safe asylum are never in danger."
-
-"What! make my escape?  Fly?"
-
-"No, I do not mean that; you forget that all such proceedings originate
-in the parliament, that they are instituted by the procureur-general, and
-that you are the procureur-general.  You see that, unless you wish to
-condemn yourself - "
-
-"Oh!" cried Fouquet, suddenly, dashing his fist upon the table.
-
-"Well! what? what is the matter?"
-
-"I am procureur-general no longer."
-
-Aramis, at this reply, became as livid as death; he pressed his hands
-together convulsively, and with a wild, haggard look, which almost
-annihilated Fouquet, he said, laying a stress on every distinct syllable,
-"You are procureur-general no longer, do you say?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Since when?"
-
-"Since the last four or five hours."
-
-"Take care," interrupted Aramis, coldly; "I do not think you are in the
-full possession of your senses, my friend; collect yourself."
-
-"I tell you," returned Fouquet, "that a little while ago, some one came
-to me, brought by my friends, to offer me fourteen hundred thousand
-francs for the appointment, and that I sold it."
-
-Aramis looked as though he had been struck by lightning; the intelligent
-and mocking expression of his countenance assumed an aspect of such
-profound gloom and terror, that it had more effect upon the
-superintendent than all the exclamations and speeches in the world.  "You
-had need of money, then?" he said, at last.
-
-"Yes; to discharge a debt of honor."  And in a few words, he gave Aramis
-an account of Madame de Belliere's generosity, and the manner in which he
-had thought it but right to discharge that act of generosity.
-
-"Yes," said Aramis, "that is, indeed, a fine trait.  What has it cost?"
-
-"Exactly the fourteen hundred thousand francs - the price of my
-appointment."
-
-"Which you received in that manner, without reflection.  Oh, imprudent
-man!"
-
-"I have not yet received the amount, but I shall to-morrow."
-
-"It is not yet completed, then?"
-
-"It must be carried out, though; for I have given the goldsmith, for
-twelve o'clock to-morrow, an order upon my treasury, into which the
-purchaser's money will be paid at six or seven o'clock."
-
-"Heaven be praised!" cried Aramis, clapping his hands together, "nothing
-is yet completed, since you have not yet been paid."
-
-"But the goldsmith?"
-
-"You shall receive the fourteen hundred thousand francs from me, at a
-quarter before twelve."
-
-"Stay a moment; it is at six o'clock, this very morning, that I am to
-sign."
-
-"Oh!  I will answer that you do not sign."
-
-"I have given my word, chevalier."
-
-"If you have given it, you will take it back again, that is all."
-
-"Can I believe what I hear?" cried Fouquet, in a most expressive tone.
-"Fouquet recall his word, after it has once been pledged!"
-
-Aramis replied to the almost stern look of the minister by a look full of
-anger.  "Monsieur," he said, "I believe I have deserved to be called a
-man of honor?  As a soldier, I have risked my life five hundred times; as
-a priest I have rendered still greater services, both to the state and to
-my friends.  The value of a word, once passed, is estimated according to
-the worth of the man who gives it.  So long as it is in his own keeping,
-it is of the purest, finest gold; when his wish to keep it has passed
-away, it is a two-edged sword.  With that word, therefore, he defends
-himself as with an honorable weapon, considering that, when he disregards
-his word, he endangers his life and incurs an amount of risk far greater
-than that which his adversary is likely to derive of profit.  In such a
-case, monsieur, he appeals to Heaven and to justice."
-
-Fouquet bent down his head, as he replied, "I am a poor, self-determined
-man, a true Breton born; my mind admires and fears yours.  I do not say
-that I keep my word from a proper feeling only; I keep it, if you like,
-from custom, practice, pride, or what you will; but, at all events, the
-ordinary run of men are simple enough to admire this custom of mine; it
-is my sole good quality - leave me such honor as it confers."
-
-"And so you are determined to sign the sale of the very appointment which
-can alone defend you against all your enemies."
-
-"Yes, I shall sign."
-
-"You will deliver yourself up, then, bound hand and foot, from a false
-notion of honor, which the most scrupulous casuists would disdain?"
-
-"I shall sign," repeated Fouquet.
-
-Aramis sighed deeply, and looked all round him with the impatient gesture
-of a man who would gladly dash something to pieces, as a relief to his
-feelings.  "We have still one means left," he said; "and I trust you will
-not refuse me to make use of that."
-
-"Certainly not, if it be loyal and honorable; as everything is, in fact,
-which you propose."
-
-"I know nothing more loyal than the renunciation of your purchaser.  Is
-he a friend of yours?"
-
-"Certainly: but - "
-
-"'But!' - if you allow me to manage the affair, I do not despair."
-
-"Oh! you shall be absolutely master to do what you please."
-
-"Whom are you in treaty with?  What manner of man is it?"
-
-"I am not aware whether you know the parliament."
-
-"Most of its members.  One of the presidents, perhaps?"
-
-"No; only a counselor, of the name of Vanel."
-
-Aramis became perfectly purple.  "Vanel!" he cried, rising abruptly from
-his seat; "Vanel! the husband of Marguerite Vanel?"
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"Of your former mistress?"
-
-"Yes, my dear fellow; she is anxious to be the wife of the procureur-
-general.  I certainly owed poor Vanel that slight concession, and I am a
-gainer by it; since I, at the same time, can confer a pleasure on his
-wife."
-
-Aramis walked straight up to Fouquet, and took hold of his hand.  "Do you
-know," he said, very calmly, "the name of Madame Vanel's new lover?"
-
-"Ah! she has a new lover, then?  I was not aware of it; no, I have no
-idea what his name is."
-
-"His name is M. Jean-Baptiste Colbert; he is intendant of the finances:
-he lives in the Rue Croix des Petits-Champs, where Madame de Chevreuse
-has been this evening to take him Mazarin's letters, which she wishes to
-sell."
-
-"Gracious Heaven!" murmured Fouquet, passing his hand across his
-forehead, from which the perspiration was starting.
-
-"You now begin to understand, do you not?"
-
-"That I am utterly lost! - yes."
-
-"Do you now think it worth while to be so scrupulous with regard to
-keeping your word?"
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet.
-
-"These obstinate people always contrive matters in such a way, that one
-cannot but admire them all the while," murmured Aramis.
-
-Fouquet held out his hand to him, and, at the very moment, a richly
-ornamented tortoise-shell clock, supported by golden figures, which was
-standing on a console table opposite to the fireplace, struck six.  The
-sound of a door being opened in the vestibule was heard, and Gourville
-came to the door of the cabinet to inquire if Fouquet would received M.
-Vanel.  Fouquet turned his eyes from the gaze of Aramis, and then desired
-that M. Vanel should be shown in.
-
-
-Chapter XLIX:
-Monsieur Colbert's Rough Draft.
-
-Vanel, who entered at this stage of the conversation, was nothing less
-for Aramis and Fouquet than the full stop which completes a phrase.  But,
-for Vanel, Aramis's presence in Fouquet's cabinet had quite another
-signification; and, therefore, at his first step into the room, he paused
-as he looked at the delicate yet firm features of the bishop of Vannes,
-and his look of astonishment soon became one of scrutinizing attention.
-As for Fouquet, a perfect politician, that is to say, complete master of
-himself, he had already, by the energy of his own resolute will,
-contrived to remove from his face all traces of the emotion which
-Aramis's revelation had occasioned.  He was no longer, therefore, a man
-overwhelmed by misfortune and reduced to resort to expedients; he held
-his head proudly erect, and indicated by a gesture that Vanel could
-enter.  He was now the first minister of the state, and in his own
-palace.  Aramis knew the superintendent well; the delicacy of the
-feelings of his heart and the exalted nature of his mind no longer
-surprised him.  He confined himself, then, for the moment - intending to
-resume later an active part in the conversation - to the performance of
-the difficult part of a man who looks on and listens, in order to learn
-and understand.  Vanel was visibly overcome, and advanced into the middle
-of the cabinet, bowing to everything and everybody.  "I am here," he said.
-
-"You are punctual, Monsieur Vanel," returned Fouquet.
-
-"In matters of business, monseigneur," replied Vanel, "I look upon
-exactitude as a virtue."
-
-"No doubt, monsieur."
-
-"I beg your pardon," interrupted Aramis, indicating Vanel with his
-finger, but addressing himself to Fouquet; "this is the gentleman, I
-believe, who has come about the purchase of your appointment?"
-
-"Yes, I am," replied Vanel, astonished at the extremely haughty tone in
-which Aramis had put the question; "but in what way am I to address you,
-who do me the honor - "
-
-"Call me monseigneur," replied Aramis, dryly.  Vanel bowed.
-
-"Come, gentlemen, a truce to these ceremonies; let us proceed to the
-matter itself."
-
-"Monseigneur sees," said Vanel, "that I am waiting your pleasure."
-
-"On the contrary, I am waiting," replied Fouquet.
-
-"What for, may I be permitted to ask, monseigneur?"
-
-"I thought that you had perhaps something to say."
-
-"Oh," said Vanel to himself, "he has reflected on the matter and I am
-lost."  But resuming his courage, he continued, "No, monseigneur,
-nothing, absolutely nothing more than what I said to you yesterday, and
-which I am again ready to repeat to you now."
-
-"Come, now, tell me frankly, Monsieur Vanel, is not the affair rather a
-burdensome one for you?"
-
-"Certainly, monseigneur; fourteen hundred thousand francs is an important
-sum."
-
-"So important, indeed," said Fouquet, "that I have reflected - "
-
-"You have been reflecting, do you say, monseigneur?" exclaimed Vanel,
-anxiously.
-
-"Yes; that you might not yet be in a position to purchase."
-
-"Oh, monseigneur!"
-
-"Do not make yourself uneasy on that score, Monsieur Vanel; I shall not
-blame you for a failure in your word, which evidently may arise from
-inability on your part."
-
-"Oh, yes, monseigneur, you would blame me, and you would be right in
-doing so," said Vanel; "for a man must either be very imprudent, or a
-fool, to undertake engagements which he cannot keep; and I, at least,
-have always regarded a thing agreed on as a thing actually carried out."
-
-Fouquet colored, while Aramis uttered a "Hum!" of impatience.
-
-"You would be wrong to exaggerate such notions as those, monsieur," said
-the superintendent; "for a man's mind is variable, and full of these very
-excusable caprices, which are, however, sometimes estimable enough; and a
-man may have wished for something yesterday of which he repents to-day."
-
-Vanel felt a cold sweat trickle down his face.  "Monseigneur!" he
-muttered.
-
-Aramis, who was delighted to find the superintendent carry on the debate
-with such clearness and precision, stood leaning his arm upon the marble
-top of a console table and began to play with a small gold knife, with a
-malachite handle.  Fouquet did not hasten to reply; but after a moment's
-pause, "Come, my dear Monsieur Vanel," he said, "I will explain to you
-how I am situated."  Vanel began to tremble.
-
-"Yesterday I wished to sell - "
-
-"Monseigneur did more than wish to sell, he actually sold."
-
-"Well, well, that may be so; but to-day I ask you the favor to restore me
-my word which I pledged you."
-
-"I received your _word_ as a satisfactory assurance that it would be
-kept."
-
-"I know that, and that is the reason why I now entreat you; do you
-understand me?  I entreat you to restore it to me."
-
-Fouquet suddenly paused.  The words "I entreat you," the effect of which
-he did not immediately perceive, seemed almost to choke him as he uttered
-it.  Aramis, still playing with his knife, fixed a look upon Vanel which
-seemed as if he wished to penetrate the recesses of his heart.  Vanel
-simply bowed, as he said, "I am overcome, monseigneur, at the honor you
-do me to consult me upon a matter of business which is already completed;
-but - "
-
-"Nay, do not say _but_, dear Monsieur Vanel."
-
-"Alas! monseigneur, you see," he said, as he opened a large pocket-book,
-"I have brought the money with me, - the whole sum, I mean.  And here,
-monseigneur, is the contract of sale which I have just effected of a
-property belonging to my wife.  The order is authentic in every
-particular, the necessary signatures have been attached to it, and it is
-made payable at sight; it is ready money, in fact, and, in one word, the
-whole affair is complete."
-
-"My dear Monsieur Vanel, there is not a matter of business in this world,
-however important it may be, which cannot be postponed in order to oblige
-a man, who, by that means, might and would be made a devoted friend."
-
-"Certainly," said Vanel, awkwardly.
-
-"And much more justly acquired would that friend become, Monsieur Vanel,
-since the value of the service he had received would have been so
-considerable.  Well, what do you say? what do you decide?"
-
-Vanel preserved a perfect silence.  In the meantime, Aramis had continued
-his close observation of the man.  Vanel's narrow face, his deeply sunken
-eyes, his arched eyebrows, had revealed to the bishop of Vannes the type
-of an avaricious and ambitious character.  Aramis's method was to oppose
-one passion by another.  He saw that M. Fouquet was defeated - morally
-subdued - and so he came to his rescue with fresh weapons in his hands.
-"Excuse me, monseigneur," he said; "you forgot to show M. Vanel that his
-own interests are diametrically opposed to this renunciation of the sale."
-
-Vanel looked at the bishop with astonishment; he had hardly expected to
-find an auxiliary in him.  Fouquet also paused to listen to the bishop.
-
-"Do you not see," continued Aramis, "that M. Vanel, in order to purchase
-your appointment, has been obliged to sell a property belonging to his
-wife; well, that is no slight matter; for one cannot displace, as he has
-done, fourteen or fifteen hundred thousand francs without some
-considerable loss, and very serious inconvenience."
-
-"Perfectly true," said Vanel, whose secret Aramis had, with keen-sighted
-gaze, wrung from the bottom of his heart.
-
-"Inconveniences such as these are matters of great expense and
-calculation, and whenever a man has money matters to deal with, the
-expenses are generally the very first thing thought of."
-
-"Yes, yes," said Fouquet, who began to understand Aramis's meaning.
-
-Vanel remained perfectly silent; he, too, had understood him.  Aramis
-observed his coldness of manner and his silence.  "Very good," he said to
-himself, "you are waiting, I see, until you know the amount; but do not
-fear, I shall send you such a flight of crowns that you cannot but
-capitulate on the spot."
-
-"We must offer M. Vanel a hundred thousand crowns at once," said Fouquet,
-carried away by his generous feelings.
-
-The sum was a good one.  A prince, even, would have been satisfied with
-such a bonus.  A hundred thousand crowns at that period was the dowry of
-a king's daughter.  Vanel, however, did not move.
-
-"He is a perfect rascal!" thought the bishop, "well, we must offer the
-five hundred thousand francs at once," and he made a sign to Fouquet
-accordingly.
-
-"You seem to have spent more than that, dear Monsieur Vanel," said the
-superintendent.  "The price of ready money is enormous.  You must have
-made a great sacrifice in selling your wife's property.  Well, what can I
-have been thinking of?  I ought to have offered to sign you an order for
-five hundred thousand francs; and even in that case I shall feel that I
-am greatly indebted to you."
-
-There was not a gleam of delight or desire on Vanel's face, which
-remained perfectly impassible; not a muscle of it changed in the
-slightest degree.  Aramis cast a look almost of despair at Fouquet, and
-then, going straight up to Vanel and taking hold of him by the coat, in
-a familiar manner, he said, "Monsieur Vanel, it is neither the
-inconvenience, nor the displacement of your money, nor the sale of your
-wife's property even, that you are thinking of at this moment; it is
-something more important still.  I can well understand it; so pay
-particular attention to what I am going to say."
-
-"Yes, monseigneur," Vanel replied, beginning to tremble in every limb, as
-the prelate's eyes seemed almost ready to devour him.
-
-"I offer you, therefore, in the superintendent's name, not three hundred
-thousand livres, nor five hundred thousand, but a million.  A million –
-do you understand me?" he added, as he shook him nervously.
-
-"A million!" repeated Vanel, as pale as death.
-
-"A million; in other words, at the present rate of interest, an income of
-seventy thousand francs."
-
-"Come, monsieur," said Fouquet, "you can hardly refuse that.  Answer - do
-you accept?"
-
-"Impossible," murmured Vanel.
-
-Aramis bit his lips, and something like a cloud seemed to pass over his
-face.  The thunder behind this cloud could easily be imagined.  He still
-kept his hold on Vanel.  "You have purchased the appointment for fifteen
-hundred thousand francs, I think.  Well, you will receive these fifteen
-hundred thousand francs back again; by paying M. Fouquet a visit, and
-shaking hands with him on the bargain, you will have become a gainer of a
-million and a half.  You get honor and profit at the same time, Monsieur
-Vanel."
-
-"I cannot do it," said Vanel, hoarsely.
-
-"Very well," replied Aramis, who had grasped Vanel so tightly by the coat
-that, when he let go his hold, Vanel staggered back a few paces, "very
-well; one can now see clearly enough your object in coming here."
-
-"Yes," said Fouquet, "one can easily see that."
-
-"But - " said Vanel, attempting to stand erect before the weakness of
-these two men of honor.
-
-"Does the fellow presume to speak?" said Aramis, with the tone of an
-emperor.
-
-"Fellow!" repeated Vanel.
-
-"The scoundrel, I meant to say," added Aramis, who had now resumed his
-usual self-possession.  "Come, monsieur, produce your deed of sale, - you
-have it about you, I suppose, in one of your pockets, already prepared,
-as an assassin holds his pistol or his dagger concealed under his cloak.
-
-Vanel began to mutter something.
-
-"Enough!" cried Fouquet.  "Where is this deed?"
-
-Vanel tremblingly searched in his pockets, and as he drew out his pocket-
-book, a paper fell out of it, while Vanel offered the other to Fouquet.
-Aramis pounced upon the paper which had fallen out, as soon as he
-recognized the handwriting.  "I beg your pardon," said Vanel, "that is a
-rough draft of the deed."
-
-"I see that very clearly," retorted Aramis, with a smile more cutting
-than a lash of a whip; "and what I admire most is, that this draft is in
-M. Colbert's handwriting.  Look, monseigneur, look."
-
-And he handed the draft to Fouquet, who recognized the truth of the fact;
-for, covered with erasures, with inserted words, the margins filled with
-additions, this deed - a living proof of Colbert's plot - had just
-revealed everything to its unhappy victim.  "Well!" murmured Fouquet.
-
-Vanel, completely humiliated, seemed as if he were looking for some hole
-wherein to hide himself.
-
-"Well!" said Aramis, "if your name were not Fouquet, and if your enemy's
-name were not Colbert - if you had not this mean thief before you, I
-should say to you, 'Repudiate it;' such a proof as this absolves you from
-your word; but these fellows would think you were afraid; they would fear
-you less than they do; therefore sign the deed at once."  And he held out
-a pen towards him.
-
-Fouquet pressed Aramis's hand; but, instead of the deed which Vanel
-handed to him, he took the rough draft of it.
-
-"No, not that paper," said Aramis, hastily; "this is the one.  The other
-is too precious a document for you to part with."
-
-"No, no!" replied Fouquet; "I will sign under M. Colbert's own
-handwriting even; and I write, 'The handwriting is approved of.'"  He
-then signed, and said, "Here it is, Monsieur Vanel."  And the latter
-seized the paper, dashed down the money, and was about to make his
-escape.
-
-"One moment," said Aramis.  "Are you quite sure the exact amount is
-there?  It ought to be counted over, Monsieur Vanel; particularly since
-M. Colbert makes presents of money to ladies, I see.  Ah, that worthy M.
-Colbert is not so generous as M. Fouquet."  And Aramis, spelling every
-word, every letter of the order to pay, distilled his wrath and his
-contempt, drop by drop, upon the miserable wretch, who had to submit to
-this torture for a quarter of an hour.  He was then dismissed, not in
-words, but by a gesture, as one dismisses or discharges a beggar or a
-menial.
-
-As soon as Vanel had gone, the minister and the prelate, their eyes fixed
-on each other, remained silent for a few moments.
-
-"Well," said Aramis, the first to break the silence; "to what can that
-man be compared, who, at the very moment he is on the point of entering
-into a conflict with an enemy armed from head to foot, panting for his
-life, presents himself for the contest utterly defenseless, throws down
-his arms, and smiles and kisses his hands to his adversary in the most
-gracious manner?  Good faith, M. Fouquet, is a weapon which scoundrels
-frequently make use of against men of honor, and it answers their
-purpose.  Men of honor, ought, in their turn, also, to make use of
-dishonest means against such scoundrels.  You would soon see how strong
-they would become, without ceasing to be men of honor."
-
-"What they did would be termed the acts of a scoundrel," replied Fouquet.
-
-"Far from that; it would be merely coquetting or playing with the truth.
-At all events, since you have finished with this Vanel; since you have
-deprived yourself of the happiness of confounding him by repudiating your
-word; and since you have given up, for the purpose of being used against
-yourself, the only weapon which can ruin you - "
-
-"My dear friend," said Fouquet, mournfully, "you are like the teacher of
-philosophy whom La Fontaine was telling us about the other day; he saw a
-child drowning, and began to read him a lecture divided into three heads."
-
-Aramis smiled as he said, "Philosophy - yes; teacher - yes; a drowning
-child - yes; but a child can be saved - you shall see.  But first of all
-let us talk about business.  Did you not some time ago," he continued, as
-Fouquet looked at him with a bewildered air, "speak to me about an idea
-you had of giving a _fete_ at Vaux?"
-
-"Oh!" said Fouquet, "that was when affairs were flourishing."
-
-"A _fete_, I believe, to which the king invited himself of his own
-accord?"
-
-"No, no, my dear prelate; a _fete_ to which M. Colbert advised the king
-to invite himself."
-
-"Ah - exactly; as it would be a _fete_ of so costly a character that you
-would be ruined in giving it."
-
-"Precisely so.  In happier days, as I said just now, I had a kind of
-pride in showing my enemies how inexhaustible my resources were; I felt
-it a point of honor to strike them with amazement, by creating millions
-under circumstances where they imagined nothing but bankruptcies and
-failures would follow.  But, at present, I am arranging my accounts with
-the state, with the king, with myself; and I must now become a mean,
-stingy man; I shall be able to prove to the world that I can act or
-operate with my deniers as I used to do with my bags of pistoles, and
-from to-morrow my equipages shall be sold, my mansions mortgaged, my
-expenses curtailed."
-
-"From to-morrow," interrupted Aramis, quietly, "you will occupy yourself,
-without the slightest delay, with your _fete_ at Vaux, which must
-hereafter be spoken of as one of the most magnificent productions of your
-most prosperous days."
-
-"Are you mad, Chevalier d'Herblay?"
-
-"I! do you think so?"
-
-"What do you mean, then?  Do you not know that a _fete_ at Vaux, one of
-the very simplest possible character, would cost four or five millions?"
-
-"I do not speak of a _fete_ of the very simplest possible character, my
-dear superintendent."
-
-"But, since the _fete_ is to be given to the king," replied Fouquet, who
-misunderstood Aramis's idea, "it cannot be simple."
-
-"Just so: it ought to be on a scale of the most unbounded magnificence."
-
-"In that case, I shall have to spend ten or twelve millions."
-
-"You shall spend twenty, if you require it," said Aramis, in a perfectly
-calm voice.
-
-"Where shall I get them?" exclaimed Fouquet.
-
-"That is my affair, monsieur le surintendant; and do not be uneasy for a
-moment about it.  The money shall be placed at once at your disposal, the
-moment you have arranged the plans of your _fete_."
-
-"Chevalier! chevalier!" said Fouquet, giddy with amazement, "whither are
-you hurrying me?"
-
-"Across the gulf into which you were about to fall," replied the bishop
-of Vannes.  "Take hold of my cloak, and throw fear aside."
-
-"Why did you not tell me that sooner, Aramis?  There was a day when, with
-one million only, you could have saved me; whilst to-day - "
-
-"Whilst to-day I can give you twenty," said the prelate.  "Such is the
-case, however - the reason is very simple.  On the day you speak of, I
-had not the million which you had need of at my disposal, whilst now I
-can easily procure the twenty millions we require."
-
-"May Heaven hear you, and save me!"
-
-Aramis resumed his usual smile, the expression of which was so singular.
-"Heaven never fails to hear me," he said.
-
-"I abandon myself to your unreservedly," Fouquet murmured.
-
-"No, no; I do not understand it in that manner.  I am unreservedly
-devoted to you.  Therefore, as you have the clearest, the most delicate,
-and the most ingenious mind of the two, you shall have entire control
-over the _fete_, even to the very smallest details.  Only - "
-
-"Only?" said Fouquet, as a man accustomed to understand and appreciate
-the value of a parenthesis.
-
-"Well, then, leaving the entire invention of the details to you, I shall
-reserve to myself a general superintendence over the execution."
-
-"In what way?"
-
-"I mean, that you will make of me, on that day, a major-domo, a sort of
-inspector-general, or factotum - something between a captain of the guard
-and manager or steward.  I will look after the people, and will keep the
-keys of the doors.  You will give your orders, of course: but will give
-them to no one but me.  They will pass through my lips, to reach those
-for whom they are intended - you understand?"
-
-"No, I am very far from understanding."
-
-"But you agree?"
-
-"Of course, of course, my friend."
-
-"That is all I care about, then.  Thanks; and now go and prepare your
-list of invitations."
-
-"Whom shall I invite?"
-
-"Everybody you know."
-
-
-Chapter L:
-In Which the Author Thinks It Is High Time to Return to the Vicomte de
-Bragelonne.
-
-Our readers will have observed in this story, the adventures of the new
-and of the past generation being detailed, as it were, side by side.  He
-will have noticed in the former, the reflection of the glory of earlier
-years, the experience of the bitter things of this world; in the former,
-also, that peace which takes possession of the heart, and that healing of
-the scars which were formerly deep and painful wounds.  In the latter,
-the conflicts of love and vanity; bitter disappointments, ineffable
-delights; life instead of memory.  If, therefore, any variety has been
-presented to the reader in the different episodes of this tale, it is to
-be attributed to the numerous shades of color which are presented on this
-double tablet, where two pictures are seen side by side, mingling and
-harmonizing their severe and pleasing tones.  The repose of the emotions
-of one is found in harmonious contrast with the fiery sentiments of the
-other.  After having talked reason with older heads, one loves to talk
-nonsense with youth.  Therefore, if the threads of the story do not seem
-very intimately to connect the chapter we are now writing with the one we
-have just written, we do not intend to give ourselves any more thought or
-trouble about it than Ruysdael took in painting an autumn sky, after
-having finished a spring-time scene.  We accordingly resume Raoul de
-Bragelonne's story at the very place where our last sketch left him.
-
-In a state of frenzy and dismay, or rather without power or will of his
-own, - hardly knowing what he was doing, - he fled swiftly, after the
-scene in La Valliere's chamber, that strange exclusion, Louise's grief,
-Montalais's terror, the king's wrath - all seemed to indicate some
-misfortune.  But what?  He had arrived from London because he had been
-told of the existence of a danger; and almost on his arrival this
-appearance of danger was manifest.  Was not this sufficient for a lover?
-Certainly it was, but it was insufficient for a pure and upright heart
-such as his.  And yet Raoul did not seek for explanations in the very
-quarter where more jealous or less timid lovers would have done.  He did
-not go straightaway to his mistress, and say, "Louise, is it true that
-you love me no longer?  Is it true that you love another?"  Full of
-courage, full of friendship as he was full of love; a religious observer
-of his word, and believing blindly the word of others, Raoul said within
-himself, "Guiche wrote to put me on my guard, Guiche knows something; I
-will go and ask Guiche what he knows, and tell him what I have seen."
-The journey was not a long one.  Guiche, who had been brought from
-Fontainebleau to Paris within the last two days, was beginning to recover
-from his wounds, and to walk about a little in his room.  He uttered a
-cry of joy as he saw Raoul, with the eagerness of friendship, enter the
-apartment.  Raoul was unable to refrain from a cry of grief, when he saw
-De Guiche, so pale, so thin, so melancholy.  A very few words, and a
-simple gesture which De Guiche made to put aside Raoul's arm, were
-sufficient to inform the latter of the truth.
-
-"Ah! so it is," said Raoul, seating himself beside his friend; "one loves
-and dies."
-
-"No, no, not dies," replied Guiche, smiling, "since I am now recovering,
-and since, too, I can press you in my arms."
-
-"Ah!  I understand."
-
-"And I understand you, too.  You fancy I am unhappy, Raoul?"
-
-"Alas!"
-
-"No; I am the happiest of men.  My body suffers, but not my mind or my
-heart.  If you only knew - Oh!  I am, indeed, the very happiest of men."
-
-"So much the better," said Raoul; "so much the better, provided it lasts."
-
-"It is over.  I have had enough happiness to last me to my dying day,
-Raoul."
-
-"I have no doubt you have had; but she - "
-
-"Listen; I love her, because - but you are not listening to me."
-
-"I beg your pardon."
-
-"Your mind is preoccupied."
-
-"Yes, your health, in the first place - "
-
-"It is not that, I know."
-
-"My dear friend, you would be wrong.  I think, to ask me any questions –
-_you_ of all persons in the world;" and he laid so much weight upon the
-"you," that he completely enlightened his friend upon the nature of the
-evil, and the difficulty of remedying it.
-
-"You say that, Raoul, on account of what I wrote to you."
-
-"Certainly.  We will talk over that matter a little, when you have
-finished telling me of all your own pleasures and your pains."
-
-"My dear friend, I am entirely at your service."
-
-"Thank you; I have hurried, I have flown here; I came in half the time
-the government couriers usually take.  Now, tell me, my dear friend, what
-did you want?"
-
-"Nothing whatever, but to make you come."
-
-"Well, then, I am here."
-
-"All is quite right, then."
-
-"There must have been something else, I suppose?"
-
-"No, indeed."
-
-"De Guiche!"
-
-"Upon my honor!"
-
-"You cannot possibly have crushed all my hopes so violently, or have
-exposed me to being disgraced by the king for my return, which is in
-disobedience of his orders - you cannot, I say, have planted jealousy in
-my heart, merely to say to me, 'It is all right, be perfectly easy.'"
-
-"I do not say to you, Raoul, 'Be perfectly easy;' but pray understand me;
-I never will, nor can I, indeed, tell you anything else."
-
-"What sort of person do you take me for?"
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"If you know anything, why conceal it from me?  If you do not know
-anything, why did you write so warningly?"
-
-"True, true, I was very wrong, and I regret having done so, Raoul.  It
-seems nothing to write to a friend and say 'Come;' but to have this
-friend face to face, to feel him tremble, and breathlessly and anxiously
-wait to hear what one hardly dare tell him, is very difficult."
-
-"Dare!  I have courage enough, if you have not," exclaimed Raoul, in
-despair.
-
-"See how unjust you are, and how soon you forget you have to do with a
-poor wounded fellow such as your unhappy friend is.  So, calm yourself,
-Raoul.  I said to you, 'Come' - you are here, so ask me nothing further."
-
-"Your object in telling me to come was your hope that I should see with
-my own eyes, was it not?  Nay, do not hesitate, for I have seen all."
-
-"Oh!" exclaimed De Guiche.
-
-"Or at least I thought - "
-
-"There, now, you see you are not sure.  But if you have any doubt, my
-poor friend, what remains for me to do?"
-
-"I saw Louise much agitated - Montalais in a state of bewilderment - the
-king - "
-
-"The king?"
-
-"Yes.  You turn your head aside.  The danger is there, the evil is there;
-tell me, is it not so, is it not the king?"
-
-"I say nothing."
-
-"Oh! you say a thousand times more than nothing.  Give me facts, for
-pity's sake, give me proofs.  My friend, the only friend I have, speak –
-tell me all.  My heart is crushed, wounded to death; I am dying from
-despair."
-
-"If that really be so, as I see it is, indeed, dear Raoul," replied De
-Guiche, "you relieve me from my difficulty, and I will tell you all,
-perfectly sure that I can tell you nothing but what is consoling,
-compared to the despair from which I see you suffering."
-
-"Go on, - go on; I am listening."
-
-"Well, then, I can only tell you what you might learn from every one you
-meet."
-
-"From every one, do you say?  It is talked about, then!"
-
-"Before you say people talk about it, learn what it is that people have
-to talk about.  I assure you solemnly, that people only talk about what
-may, in truth, be very innocent; perhaps a walk - "
-
-"Ah! a walk with the king?"
-
-"Yes, certainly, a walk with the king; and I believe the king has already
-very frequently before taken walks with ladies, without on that account
-- "
-
-"You would not have written to me, shall I say again, if there had been
-nothing unusual in this promenade."
-
-"I know that while the storm lasted, it would have been far better if the
-king had taken shelter somewhere else, than to have remained with his
-head uncovered before La Valliere; but the king is so very courteous and
-polite."
-
-"Oh!  De Guiche, De Guiche, you are killing me!"
-
-"Do not let us talk any more, then."
-
-"Nay, let us continue.  This walk was followed by others, I suppose?"
-
-"No - I mean yes: there was the adventure of the oak, I think.  But I
-know nothing about the matter at all."  Raoul rose; De Guiche endeavored
-to imitate him, notwithstanding his weakness.  "Well, I will not add
-another word: I have said either too much or not enough.  Let others give
-you further information if they will, or if they can; my duty was to warn
-you, and _that_ I have done.  Watch over your own affairs now, yourself."
-
-"Question others!  Alas! you are no true friend to speak to me in that
-manner," said the young man, in utter distress.  "The first man I meet
-may be either evilly disposed or a fool, - if the former, he will tell me
-a lie to make me suffer more than I do now; if the latter, he will do
-worse still.  Ah!  De Guiche, De Guiche, before two hours are over, I
-shall have been told ten falsehoods, and shall have as many duels on my
-hands.  Save me, then; is it not best to know the worst always?"
-
-"But I know nothing, I tell you; I was wounded, attacked by fever: out
-of my senses; and I have only a very faint recollection of it all.  But
-there is on reason why we should search very far, when the very man we
-want is close at hand.  Is not D'Artagnan your friend?"
-
-"Oh! true, true!"
-
-"Got to him, then.  He will be able to throw sufficient light upon the
-subject."  At this moment a lackey entered the room.  "What is it?" said
-De Guiche.
-
-"Some one is waiting for monseigneur in the Cabinet des Porcelaines."
-
-"Very well.  Will you excuse me, my dear Raoul?  I am so proud since I have
-been able to walk again."
-
-"I would offer you my arm, De Guiche, if I did not guess that the person
-in question is a lady."
-
-"I believe so," said De Guiche, smiling as he quitted Raoul.
-
-Raoul remained motionless, absorbed in grief, overwhelmed, like the miner
-upon whom a vault has just fallen in, who, wounded, his life-blood
-welling fast, his thoughts confused, endeavors to recover himself, to
-save his life and to retain his reason.  A few minutes were all Raoul
-needed to dissipate the bewildering sensations occasioned by these two
-revelations.  He had already recovered the thread of his ideas, when,
-suddenly, through the door, he fancied he recognized Montalais's voice in
-the Cabinet des Porcelaines.  "She!" he cried.  "Yes, it is indeed her
-voice!  She will be able to tell me the whole truth; but shall I question
-her here?  She conceals herself even from me; she is coming, no doubt,
-from Madame.  I will see her in her own apartment.  She will explain her
-alarm, her flight, the strange manner in which I was driven out; she will
-tell me all that - after M. d'Artagnan, who knows everything, shall have
-given me a fresh strength and courage.  Madame, a coquette I fear, and
-yet a coquette who is herself in love, has her moments of kindness; a
-coquette who is as capricious and uncertain as life or death, but who
-tells De Guiche that he is the happiest of men.  He at least is lying on
-roses."  And so he hastily quitted the comte's apartments, reproaching
-himself as he went for having talked of nothing but his own affairs to De
-Guiche, and soon reached D'Artagnan's quarters.
-
-
-Chapter LI:
-Bragelonne Continues His Inquiries.
-
-The captain, sitting buried in his leathern armchair, his spurs fixed in
-the floor, his sword between his legs, was reading a number of letters,
-as he twisted his mustache.  D'Artagnan uttered a welcome full of
-pleasure when he perceived his friend's son.  "Raoul, my boy, " he said,
-"by what lucky accident does it happen that the king has recalled you?"
-
-These words did not sound agreeably in the young man's ears, who, as he
-seated himself, replied, "Upon my word I cannot tell you; all that I know
-is - I have come back."
-
-"Hum!" said D'Artagnan, folding up his letters and directing a look full
-of meaning at him; "what do you say, my boy? that the king has not
-recalled you, and you have returned?  I do not understand that at all."
-
-Raoul was already pale enough; and he now began to turn his hat round and
-round in his hand.
-
-"What the deuce is the matter that you look as you do, and what makes you
-so dumb?" said the captain.  "Do people nowadays assume that sort of airs
-in England?  I have been in England, and came here again as lively as a
-chaffinch.  Will you not say something?"
-
-"I have too much to say."
-
-"Ah! how is your father?"
-
-"Forgive me, my dear friend, I was going to ask you that."
-
-D'Artagnan increased the sharpness of his penetrating gaze, which no
-secret was capable of resisting.  "You are unhappy about something," he
-said.
-
-"I am, indeed; and you know the reason very well, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"I?"
-
-"Of course.  Nay, do not pretend to be astonished."
-
-"I am not pretending to be astonished, my friend."
-
-"Dear captain, I know very well that in all trials of _finesse_, as well
-as in all trials of strength, I shall be beaten by you.  You can see that
-at the present moment I am an idiot, an absolute noodle.  I have neither
-head nor arm; do not despise, but help me.  In two words, I am the most
-wretched of living beings."
-
-"Oh, oh! why that?" inquired D'Artagnan, unbuckling his belt and thawing
-the asperity of his smile.
-
-"Because Mademoiselle de la Valliere is deceiving me."
-
-"She is deceiving you," said D'Artagnan, not a muscle of whose face had
-moved; "those are big words.  Who makes use of them?"
-
-"Every one."
-
-"Ah! if every one says so, there must be some truth in it.  I begin to
-believe there is fire when I see smoke.  It is ridiculous, perhaps, but
-it is so."
-
-"Therefore you _do_ believe me?" exclaimed Bragelonne, quickly.
-
-"I never mix myself up in affairs of that kind; you know that very well."
-
-"What! not for a friend, for a son!"
-
-"Exactly.  If you were a stranger, I should tell you - I will tell _you_
-nothing at all.  How is Porthos, do you know?"
-
-"Monsieur," cried Raoul, pressing D'Artagnan's hand, "I entreat you in
-the name of the friendship you vowed my father!"
-
-"The deuce take it, you are really ill - from curiosity."
-
-"No, it is not from curiosity, it is from love."
-
-"Good.  Another big word.  If you were really in love, my dear Raoul, you
-would be very different."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"I mean that if you were really so deeply in love that I could believe I
-was addressing myself to your heart - but it is impossible."
-
-"I tell you I love Louise to distraction."
-
-D'Artagnan could read to the very bottom of the young man's heart.
-
-"Impossible, I tell you," he said.  "You are like all young men; you are
-not in love, you are out of your senses."
-
-"Well! suppose it were only that?"
-
-"No sensible man ever succeeded in making much of a brain when the head
-was turned.  I have completely lost my senses in the same way a hundred
-times in my life.  You would listen to me, but you would not hear me! you
-would hear, but you would not understand me; you would understand, but
-you would not obey me."
-
-"Oh! try, try."
-
-"I go far.  Even if I were unfortunate enough to know something, and
-foolish enough to communicate it to you - You are my friend, you say?"
-
-"Indeed, yes."
-
-"Very good.  I should quarrel with you.  You would never forgive me for
-having destroyed your illusion, as people say in love affairs."
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan, you know all; and yet you plunge me in perplexity
-and despair, in death itself."
-
-"There, there now."
-
-"I never complain, as you know; but as Heaven and my father would never
-forgive me for blowing out my brains, I will go and get the first person
-I meet to give me the information which you withhold; I will tell him he
-lies, and - "
-
-"And you would kill him.  And a fine affair that would be.  So much the
-better.  What should I care?  Kill any one you please, my boy, if it
-gives you any pleasure.  It is exactly like a man with a toothache, who
-keeps on saying, "Oh! what torture I am suffering.  I could bite a piece
-of iron in half.'  My answer always is, 'Bite, my friend, bite; the tooth
-will remain all the same.'"
-
-"I shall not kill any one, monsieur," said Raoul, gloomily.
-
-"Yes, yes! you now assume a different tone: instead of killing, you will
-get killed yourself, I suppose you mean?  Very fine, indeed!  How much I
-should regret you!  Of course I should go about all day, saying, 'Ah!
-what a fine stupid fellow that Bragelonne was! as great a stupid as I
-ever met with.  I have passed my whole life almost in teaching him how to
-hold and use his sword properly, and the silly fellow has got himself
-spitted like a lark.'  Go, then, Raoul, go and get yourself disposed of,
-if you like.  I hardly know who can have taught you logic, but deuce take
-me if your father has not been regularly robbed of his money."
-
-Raoul buried his face in his hands, murmuring: "No, no; I have not a
-single friend in the world."
-
-"Oh! bah!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I meet with nothing but raillery or indifference."
-
-"Idle fancies, monsieur.  I do not laugh at you, although I am a Gascon.
-And, as for being indifferent, if I were so, I should have sent you about
-your business a quarter of an hour ago, for you would make a man who was
-out of his senses with delight as dull as possible, and would be the
-death of one who was out of spirits.  How now, young man! do you wish me
-to disgust you with the girl you are attached to, and to teach you to
-execrate the whole sex who constitute the honor and happiness of human
-life?"
-
-"Oh! tell me, monsieur, and I will bless you."
-
-"Do you think, my dear fellow, that I can have crammed into my brain all
-about the carpenter, and the painter, and the staircase, and a hundred
-other similar tales of the same kind?"
-
-"A carpenter! what do you mean?"
-
-"Upon my word I don't know; some one told me there was a carpenter who
-made an opening through a certain flooring."
-
-"In La Valliere's room!"
-
-"Oh!  I don't know where."
-
-"In the king's apartment, perhaps?"
-
-"Of course, if it were in the king's apartment, I should tell you, I
-suppose."
-
-"In whose room, then?"
-
-"I have told you for the last hour that I know nothing of the whole
-affair."
-
-"But the painter, then? the portrait - "
-
-"It seems that the king wished to have the portrait of one of the ladies
-belonging to the court."
-
-"La Valliere?"
-
-"Why, you seem to have only that name in your mouth.  Who spoke to you of
-La Valliere?"
-
-"If it be not her portrait, then, why do you suppose it would concern me?"
-
-"I do not suppose it will concern you.  But you ask me all sorts of
-questions, and I answer you.  You positively will learn all the scandal
-of the affair, and I tell you - make the best you can of it."
-
-Raoul struck his forehead with his hand in utter despair.  "It will kill
-me!" he said.
-
-"So you have said already."
-
-"Yes, you are right," and he made a step or two, as if he were going to
-leave.
-
-"Where are you going?"
-
-"To look for some one who will tell me the truth."
-
-"Who is that?"
-
-"A woman."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere herself, I suppose you mean?" said
-D'Artagnan, with a smile.  "Ah! a famous idea that!  You wish to be
-consoled by some one, and you will be so at once.  She will tell you
-nothing ill of herself, of course.  So be off."
-
-"You are mistaken, monsieur," replied Raoul; "the woman I mean will tell
-me all the evil she possibly can."
-
-"You allude to Montalais, I suppose - her friend; a woman who, on that
-account, will exaggerate all that is either bad or good in the matter.
-Do not talk to Montalais, my good fellow."
-
-"You have some reasons for wishing me not to talk with Montalais?"
-
-"Well, I admit it.  And, in point of fact, why should I play with you as
-a cat does with a poor mouse?  You distress me, you do, indeed.  And if I
-wish you not to speak to Montalais just now, it is because you will be
-betraying your secret, and people will take advantage of it.  Wait, if
-you can."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"So much the worse.  Why, you see, Raoul, if I had an idea, - but I have
-not got one."
-
-"Promise me that you will pity me, my friend, that is all I need, and
-leave me to get out of the affair by myself."
-
-"Oh! yes, indeed, in order that you may get deeper into the mire!  A
-capital idea, truly! go and sit down at that table and take a pen in your
-hand."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To write and ask Montalais to give you an interview."
-
-"Ah!" said Raoul, snatching eagerly at the pen which the captain held out
-to him.
-
-Suddenly the door opened, and one of the musketeers, approaching
-D'Artagnan, said, "Captain, Mademoiselle de Montalais is here, and wishes
-to speak to you."
-
-"To me?" murmured D'Artagnan.  "Ask her to come in; I shall soon see," he
-said to himself, "whether she wishes to speak to me or not."
-
-The cunning captain was quite right in his suspicions; for as soon as
-Montalais entered she exclaimed, "Oh, monsieur! monsieur!  I beg your
-pardon, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
-
-"Oh!  I forgive you, mademoiselle," said D'Artagnan; "I know that, at my
-age, those who are looking for me generally need me for something or
-another."
-
-"I was looking for M. de Bragelonne," replied Montalais.
-
-"How very fortunate that is; he was looking for you, too.  Raoul, will
-you accompany Mademoiselle de Montalais?"
-
-"Oh! certainly."
-
-"Go along, then," he said, as he gently pushed Raoul out of the cabinet;
-and then, taking hold of Montalais's hand, he said, in a low voice, "Be
-kind towards him; spare him, and spare her, too, if you can."
-
-"Ah!" she said, in the same tone of voice, "it is not I who am going to
-speak to him."
-
-"Who, then?"
-
-"It is Madame who has sent for him."
-
-"Very good," cried D'Artagnan, "it is Madame, is it?  In an hour's time,
-then, the poor fellow will be cured."
-
-"Or else dead," said Montalais, in a voice full of compassion.  "Adieu,
-Monsieur d'Artagnan," she said; and she ran to join Raoul, who was
-waiting for her at a little distance from the door, very much puzzled and
-thoroughly uneasy at the dialogue, which promised no good augury for him.
-
-
-Chapter LII:
-Two Jealousies.
-
-Lovers are tender towards everything that forms part of the daily life of
-the object of their affection.  Raoul no sooner found himself alone with
-Montalais, than he kissed her hand with rapture.  "There, there," said
-the young girl, sadly, "you are throwing your kisses away; I will
-guarantee that they will not bring you back any interest."
-
-"How so? - Why? - Will you explain to me, my dear Aure?"
-
-"Madame will explain everything to you.  I am going to take you to her
-apartments.
-
-"_What!_"
-
-"Silence! and throw away your dark and savage looks.  The windows here
-have eyes, the walls have ears.  Have the kindness not to look at me any
-longer; be good enough to speak to me aloud of the rain, of the fine
-weather, and of the charms of England."
-
-"At all events - " interrupted Raoul.
-
-"I tell you, I warn you, that wherever people may be, I know not how,
-Madame is sure to have eyes and ears open.  I am not very desirous, you
-can easily believe, of being dismissed or thrown in to the Bastile.  Let
-us talk, I tell you, or rather, do not let us talk at all."
-
-Raoul clenched his hands, and tried to assume the look and gait of a man
-of courage, it is true, but of a man of courage on his way to the torture
-chamber.  Montalais, glancing in every direction, walking along with an
-easy swinging gait, and holding up her head pertly in the air, preceded
-him to Madame's apartments, where he was at once introduced.  "Well," he
-thought, "this day will pass away without my learning anything.  Guiche
-showed too much consideration for my feelings; he had no doubt come to an
-understanding with Madame, and both of them, by a friendly plot, agreed
-to postpone the solution of the problem.  Why have I not a determined,
-inveterate enemy - that serpent, De Wardes, for instance; that he would
-bite, is very likely; but I should not hesitate any more.  To hesitate,
-to doubt - better, far, to die."
-
-The next moment Raoul was in Madame's presence.  Henrietta, more charming
-than ever, was half lying, half reclining in her armchair, her small feet
-upon an embroidered velvet cushion; she was playing with a kitten with
-long silky fur, which was biting her fingers and hanging by the lace of
-her collar.
-
-Madame seemed plunged in deep thought, so deep, indeed, that it required
-both Montalais and Raoul's voice to disturb her from her reverie.
-
-"Your highness sent for me?" repeated Raoul.
-
-Madame shook her head as if she were just awakening, and then said, "Good
-morning, Monsieur de Bragelonne; yes, I sent for you; so you have
-returned from England?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, and am at your royal highness's commands."
-
-"Thank you; leave us, Montalais," and the latter immediately left the
-room.
-
-"You have a few minutes to give me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, have you not?"
-
-"My life is at your royal highness's disposal," Raoul returned with
-respect, guessing that there was something serious in these unusual
-courtesies; nor was he displeased, indeed, to observe the seriousness of
-her manner, feeling persuaded that there was some sort of affinity
-between Madame's sentiments and his own.  In fact, every one at court, of
-any perception at all, knew perfectly well the capricious fancy and
-absurd despotism of the princess's singular character.  Madame had been
-flattered beyond all bounds by the king's attention; she had made herself
-talked about; she had inspired the queen with that mortal jealousy which
-is the stinging scorpion at the heel of every woman's happiness; Madame,
-in a word, in her attempts to cure a wounded pride, found that her heart
-had become deeply and passionately attached.  We know what Madame had
-done to recall Raoul, who had been sent out of the way by Louis XIV.
-Raoul did not know of her letter to Charles II., although D'Artagnan had
-guessed its contents.  Who will undertake to account for that seemingly
-inexplicable mixture of love and vanity, that passionate tenderness of
-feeling, that prodigious duplicity of conduct?  No one can, indeed; not
-even the bad angel who kindles the love of coquetry in the heart of a
-woman.  "Monsieur de Bragelonne," said the princess, after a moment's
-pause, "have you returned satisfied?"
-
-Bragelonne looked at Madame Henrietta, and seeing how pale she was, not
-alone from what she was keeping back, but also from what she was burning
-to say, said: "Satisfied! what is there for me to be satisfied or
-dissatisfied about, Madame?"
-
-"But what are those things with which a man of your age, and of your
-appearance, is usually either satisfied or dissatisfied?"
-
-"How eager she is," thought Raoul, almost terrified; "what venom is it
-she is going to distil into my heart?" and then, frightened at what she
-might possibly be going to tell him, and wishing to put off the
-opportunity of having everything explained, which he had hitherto so
-ardently wished for, yet had dreaded so much, he replied: "I left,
-Madame, a dear friend in good health, and on my return I find him very
-ill."
-
-"You refer to M. de Guiche," replied Madame Henrietta, with imperturbable
-self-possession; "I _have_ heard he is a very dear friend of yours."
-
-"He is, indeed, Madame."
-
-"Well, it is quite true he has been wounded; but he is better now.  Oh!
-M. de Guiche is not to be pitied," she said hurriedly; and then,
-recovering herself, added, "But has he anything to complain of?  Has he
-complained of anything?  Is there any cause of grief or sorrow that we
-are not acquainted with?"
-
-"I allude only to his wound, Madame."
-
-"So much the better, then, for, in other respects, M. de Guiche seems to
-be very happy; he is always in very high spirits.  I am sure that you,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne, would far prefer to be, like him, wounded only in
-the body... for what, in deed, is such a wound, after all!"
-
-Raoul started.  "Alas!" he said to himself, "she is returning to it."
-
-"What did you say?" she inquired.
-
-"I did not say anything Madame."
-
-"You did not say anything; you disapprove of my observation, then? you
-are perfectly satisfied, I suppose?"
-
-Raoul approached closer to her.  "Madame," he said, "your royal highness
-wishes to say something to me, and your instinctive kindness and
-generosity of disposition induce you to be careful and considerate as to
-your manner of conveying it.  Will your royal highness throw this kind
-forbearance aside?  I am able to bear everything; and I am listening."
-
-"Ah!" replied Henrietta, "what do you understand, then?"
-
-"That which your royal highness wishes me to understand," said Raoul,
-trembling, notwithstanding his command over himself, as he pronounced
-these words.
-
-"In point of fact," murmured the princess… "it seems cruel, but since I
-have begun - "
-
-"Yes, Madame, once your highness has deigned to begin, will you
-condescend to finish - "
-
-Henrietta rose hurriedly and walked a few paces up and down her room.
-"What did M. de Guiche tell you?" she said, suddenly.
-
-"Nothing, Madame."
-
-"Nothing!  Did he say nothing?  Ah! how well I recognize him in that."
-
-"No doubt he wished to spare me."
-
-"And that is what friends call friendship.  But surely, M. d'Artagnan,
-whom you have just left, must have told you."
-
-"No more than De Guiche, Madame."
-
-Henrietta made a gesture full of impatience, as she said, "At least, you
-know all the court knows."
-
-"I know nothing at all, Madame."
-
-"Not the scene in the storm?"
-
-"No, Madame."
-
-"Not the _tete-a-tete_ in the forest?"
-
-"No, Madame."
-
-"Nor the flight to Chaillot?"
-
-Raoul, whose head dropped like a blossom cut down by the reaper, made an
-almost superhuman effort to smile, as he replied with the greatest
-gentleness: "I have had the honor of telling your royal highness that I
-am absolutely ignorant of everything, that I am a poor unremembered
-outcast, who has this moment arrived from England.  There have rolled so
-many stormy waves between myself and those I left behind me here, that
-the rumor of none of the circumstances your highness refers to, has been
-able to reach me."
-
-Henrietta was affected by his extreme pallor, his gentleness, and his
-great courage.  The principal feeling in her heart at that moment was an
-eager desire to hear the nature of the remembrance which the poor lover
-retained of the woman who had made him suffer so much.  "Monsieur de
-Bragelonne," she said, "that which your friends have refused to do, I
-will do for you, whom I like and esteem very much.  I will be your friend
-on this occasion.  You hold your head high, as a man of honor should; and
-I deeply regret that you may have to bow before ridicule, and in a few
-days, it might be, contempt."
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Raoul, perfectly livid.  "It is as bad as that, then?"
-
-"If you do not know," said the princess, "I see that you guess; you were
-affianced, I believe, to Mademoiselle de la Valliere?"
-
-"Yes, Madame."
-
-"By that right, you deserve to be warned about her, as some day or
-another I shall be obliged to dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valliere from my
-service - "
-
-"Dismiss La Valliere!" cried Bragelonne.
-
-"Of course.  Do you suppose I shall always be amenable to the tears and
-protestations of the king?  No, no! my house shall no longer be made a
-convenience for such practices; but you tremble, you cannot stand - "
-
-"No, Madame, no," said Bragelonne, making an effort over himself; "I
-thought I should have died just now, that was all.  Your royal highness
-did me the honor to say that the king wept and implored you - "
-
-"Yes, but in vain," returned the princess; who then related to Raoul the
-scene that took place at Chaillot, and the king's despair on his return;
-she told him of his indulgence to herself and the terrible word with
-which the outraged princess, the humiliated coquette, had quashed the
-royal anger.
-
-Raoul stood with his head bent down.
-
-"What do you think of it all?" she said.
-
-"The king loves her," he replied.
-
-"But you seem to think she does not love him!"
-
-"Alas, Madame, I was thinking of the time when she loved _me_."
-
-Henrietta was for a moment struck with admiration at this sublime
-disbelief: and then, shrugging her shoulders, she said, "You do not
-believe me, I see.  How deeply you must love her.  And you doubt if she
-loves the king?"
-
-"I do, until I have a proof of it.  Forgive me, Madame, but she has given
-me her word; and her mind and heart are too upright to tell a falsehood."
-
-"You require a proof!  Be it so.  Come with me, then."
-
-
-Chapter LIII:
-A Domiciliary Visit.
-
-The princess, preceding Raoul, led him through the courtyard towards that
-part of the building La Valliere inhabited, and, ascending the same
-staircase which Raoul himself had ascended that very morning, she paused
-at the door of the room in which the young man had been so strangely
-received by Montalais.  The opportunity was remarkably well chosen to
-carry out the project Madame Henrietta had conceived, for the chateau was
-empty.  The king, the courtiers, and the ladies of the court, had set off
-for Saint-Germain; Madame Henrietta was the only one who knew of
-Bragelonne's return, and thinking over the advantages which might be
-drawn from this return, she had feigned indisposition in order to remain
-behind.  Madame was therefore confident of finding La Valliere's room and
-Saint-Aignan's apartment perfectly empty.  She took a pass-key from her
-pocket and opened the door of her maid of honor's apartment.
-Bragelonne's gaze was immediately fixed upon the interior of the room,
-which he recognized at once; and the impression which the sight of it
-produced upon him was torture.  The princess looked at him, and her
-practiced eye at once detected what was passing in the young man's heart.
-
-"You asked for proofs," she said; "do not be astonished, then, if I give
-you them.  But if you do not think you have courage enough to confront
-them, there is still time to withdraw."
-
-"I thank you, Madame," said Bragelonne; "but I came here to be
-convinced.  You promised to convince me, - do so."
-
-"Enter, then," said Madame, "and shut the door behind you."
-
-Bragelonne obeyed, and then turned towards the princess, whom he
-interrogated by a look.
-
-"You know where you are, I suppose?" inquired Madame Henrietta.
-
-"Everything leads me to believe I am in Mademoiselle de la Valliere's
-room."
-
-"You are."
-
-"But I would observe to your highness, that this room is a room, and is
-not a proof."
-
-"Wait," said the princess, as she walked to the foot of the bed, folded
-up the screen into its several compartments, and stooped down towards the
-floor.  "Look here," she continued; "stoop down and lift up this trap-
-door yourself."
-
-"A trap-door!" said Raoul, astonished; for D'Artagnan's words began to
-return to his memory, and he had an indistinct recollection that
-D'Artagnan had made use of the same word.  He looked, but uselessly, for
-some cleft or crevice which might indicate an opening or a ring to assist
-in lifting up the planking.
-
-"Ah, I forgot," said Madame Henrietta, "I forgot the secret spring; the
-fourth plank of the flooring, - press on the spot where you will observe
-a knot in the wood.  Those are the instructions; press, vicomte! press, I
-say, yourself."
-
-Raoul, pale as death, pressed his finger on the spot which had been
-indicated to him; at the same moment the spring began to work, and the
-trap rose of its own accord.
-
-"It is ingenious enough, certainly," said the princess; "and one can see
-that the architect foresaw that a woman's hand only would have to make
-use of this spring, for see how easily the trap-door opened without
-assistance."
-
-"A staircase!" cried Raoul.
-
-"Yes, and a very pretty one, too," said Madame Henrietta.  "See, vicomte,
-the staircase has a balustrade, intended to prevent the falling of timid
-persons, who might be tempted to descend the staircase; and I will risk
-myself on it accordingly.  Come, vicomte, follow me!"
-
-"But before following you, madame, may I ask where this staircase leads
-to?"
-
-"Ah, true; I forgot to tell you.  You know, perhaps, that formerly M. de
-Saint-Aignan lived in the very next apartment to the king?"
-
-"Yes, Madame, I am aware of that; that was the arrangement, at least,
-before I left; and more than once I had the honor of visiting his rooms."
-
-"Well, he obtained the king's leave to change his former convenient and
-beautiful apartment for the two rooms to which this staircase will
-conduct us, and which together form a lodging for him half the size, and
-at ten times greater the distance from the king, - a close proximity to
-whom is by no means disdained, in general, by the gentlemen belonging to
-the court."
-
-"Very good, Madame," returned Raoul; "but go on, I beg, for I do not
-understand yet."
-
-"Well, then it accidentally happened," continued the princess, "that M.
-de Saint-Aignan's apartment is situated underneath the apartments of my
-maids of honor, and by a further coincidence, exactly underneath the room
-of La Valliere."
-
-"But what was the motive of this trap-door and this staircase?"
-
-"That I cannot tell you.  Would you like to go down to Monsieur de Saint-
-Aignan's rooms?  Perhaps we shall be able to find the solution of the
-enigma there."
-
-And Madame set the example by going down herself, while Raoul, sighing
-deeply, followed her.  At every step Bragelonne took, he advanced further
-into that mysterious apartment which had witnessed La Valliere's sighs
-and still retained the perfume of her presence.  Bragelonne fancied he
-perceived, as he inhaled the atmosphere, that the young girl must have
-passed through.  Then succeeded to these emanations of herself, which he
-regarded as invisible though certain proofs, flowers she preferred to all
-others - books of her own selection.  If Raoul retained a single doubt on
-the subject, it would have vanished at the secret harmony of tastes and
-connection of the mind with the ordinary objects of life.  La Valliere,
-in Bragelonne's eyes, was present there in each article of furniture, in
-the color of the hangings, in all that surrounded him.  Dumb, and now
-completely overwhelmed, there was nothing further for him now to learn,
-and he followed his pitiless conductress as blindly as the culprit
-follows the executioner; while Madame, as cruel as women of overstrung
-temperaments generally are, did not spare him the slightest detail.  But
-it must be admitted that, notwithstanding the kind of apathy into which
-he had fallen, none of these details, even had he been left alone, would
-have escaped him.  The happiness of the woman who loves, when that
-happiness is derived from a rival, is a living torture for a jealous man;
-but for a jealous man such as Raoul was, for one whose heart for the
-first time in its existence was being steeped in gall and bitterness,
-Louise's happiness was in reality an ignominious death, a death of body
-and soul.  He guessed all; he fancied he could see them, with their hands
-clasped in each other's, their faces drawn close together, and reflected,
-side by side, in loving proximity, and they gazed upon the mirrors around
-them - so sweet an occupation for lovers, who, as they thus see
-themselves twice over, imprint the picture still more deeply on their
-memories.  He could guess, too, the stolen kiss snatched as they
-separated from each other's loved society.  The luxury, the studied
-elegance, eloquent of the perfection of indolence, of ease; the extreme
-care shown, either to spare the loved object every annoyance, or to
-occasion her a delightful surprise; that might and majesty of love
-multiplied by the majesty and might of royalty itself, seemed like a
-death-blow to Raoul.  If there be anything which can in any way assuage
-or mitigate the tortures of jealousy, it is the inferiority of the man
-who is preferred to yourself; whilst, on the very contrary, if there be
-one anguish more bitter than another, a misery for which language lacks a
-word, it is the superiority of the man preferred to yourself, superior,
-perhaps, in youth, beauty, grace.  It is in such moments as these that
-Heaven almost seems to have taken part against the disdained and rejected
-lover.
-
-One final pang was reserved for poor Raoul.  Madame Henrietta lifted up a
-silk curtain, and behind the canvas he perceived La Valliere's portrait.
-Not only the portrait of La Valliere, but of La Valliere radiant with
-youth, beauty, and happiness, inhaling life and enjoyment at every pore,
-because at eighteen years of age love itself is life.
-
-"Louise!" murmured Bragelonne, - "Louise! is it true, then?  Oh, you have
-never loved me, for never have you looked at me in that manner."  And he
-felt as if his heart were crushed within his bosom.
-
-Madame Henrietta looked at him, almost envious of his extreme grief,
-although she well knew there was nothing to envy in it, and that she
-herself was as passionately loved by De Guiche as Louise by Bragelonne.
-Raoul interpreted Madame Henrietta's look.
-
-"Oh, forgive me, forgive me, Madame; in your presence I know I ought to
-have greater self-control.  But Heaven grant that you may never be struck
-by similar misery to that which crushes me at this moment, for you are
-but a woman, and would not be able to endure so terrible an affliction.
-Forgive me, I again entreat you, Madame; I am but a man without rank or
-position, while you belong to a race whose happiness knows no bounds,
-whose power acknowledges no limit."
-
-"Monsieur de Bragelonne," replied Henrietta, "a mind such as your merits
-all the consideration and respect which a queen's heart even can bestow.
-Regard me as your friend, monsieur; and as such, indeed, I would not
-allow your whole life to be poisoned by perfidy, and covered with
-ridicule.  It was I, indeed, who, with more courage than any of your
-pretended friends, - I except M. de Guiche, - was the cause of your
-return from London; it is I, also, who now give you the melancholy
-proofs, necessary, however, for your cure if you are a lover with courage
-in his heart, and not a weeping Amadis.  Do not thank me; pity me, even,
-and do not serve the king less faithfully than you have done."
-
-Raoul smiled bitterly.  "Ah! true, true; I was forgetting that; the king
-is my master."
-
-"Your liberty, nay, your very life, is in danger."
-
-A steady, penetrating look informed Madame Henrietta that she was
-mistaken, and that her last argument was not a likely one to affect the
-young man.  "Take care, Monsieur de Bragelonne," she said, "for if you do
-not weigh well all your actions, you might throw into an extravagance of
-wrath a prince whose passions, once aroused, exceed the bounds of reason,
-and you would thereby involve your friends and family in the deepest
-distress; you must bend, you must submit, and you must cure yourself."
-
-"I thank you, Madame; I appreciate the advice your royal highness is good
-enough to give me, and I will endeavor to follow it; but one final word,
-I beg."
-
-"Name it."
-
-"Should I be indiscreet in asking you the secret of this staircase, of
-this trap-door; a secret, which, it seems, you have discovered?"
-
-"Nothing more simple.  For the purpose of exercising a surveillance over
-the young girls who are attached to my service, I have duplicate keys of
-their doors.  It seemed very strange to me that M. de Saint-Aignan should
-change his apartments.  It seemed very strange that the king should come
-to see M. de Saint-Aignan every day, and, finally, it seemed very strange
-that so many things should be done during your absence, that the very
-habits and customs of the court appeared changed.  I do not wish to be
-trifled with by the king, nor to serve as a cloak for his love affairs;
-for after La Valliere, who weeps incessantly, he will take a fancy to
-Montalais, who is always laughing; and then to Tonnay-Charente, who does
-nothing but sing all day; to act such a part as that would be unworthy of
-me.  I thrust aside the scruples which my friendship for you suggested.
-I discovered the secret.  I have wounded your feelings, I know, and I
-again entreat you to pardon me; but I had a duty to fulfil.  I have
-discharged it.  You are now forewarned; the tempest will soon burst;
-protect yourself accordingly."
-
-"You naturally expect, however, that a result of some kind must follow,"
-replied Bragelonne, with firmness; "for you do not suppose I shall
-silently accept the shame thus thrust upon me, or the treachery which has
-been practiced against me?"
-
-"You will take whatever steps in the matter you please, Monsieur Raoul,
-only do not betray the source whence you derived the truth.  That is all
-I have to ask, - the only price I require for the service I have rendered
-you."
-
-"Fear nothing, Madame," said Bragelonne, with a bitter smile.
-
-"I bribed the locksmith, in whom the lovers confided.  You can just as
-well have done so as myself, can you not?"
-
-"Yes, Madame.  Your royal highness, however, has no other advice or
-caution to give me, except that of not betraying you?"
-
-"None."
-
-"I am about, therefore, to beg your royal highness to allow me to remain
-here for one moment."
-
-"Without me?"
-
-"Oh! no, Madame.  It matters very little; for what I have to do can be
-done in your presence.  I only ask one moment to write a line to some
-one."
-
-"It is dangerous, Monsieur de Bragelonne.  Take care."
-
-"No one can possibly know that your royal highness has done me the honor
-to conduct me here.  Besides, I shall sign the letter I am going to
-write."
-
-"Do as you please, then."
-
-Raoul drew out his tablet, and wrote rapidly on one of the leaves the
-following words:
-
-"MONSIEUR LE COMTE, - Do not be surprised to find this paper signed by
-me; the friend I shall very shortly send to call on you will have the
-honor to explain the object of my visit.
-"VICOMTE RAOUL DE BRAGELONNE."
-
-He rolled up the paper, slipped it into the lock of the door which
-communicated with the room set apart for the two lovers, and satisfied
-himself that the missive was so apparent that Saint-Aignan could not but
-see it as he entered; he rejoined the princess, who had already reached
-the top of the staircase.  They then separated, Raoul pretending to thank
-her highness; Henrietta pitying, or seeming to pity, with all her heart,
-the wretched young man she had just condemned to such fearful torture.
-"Oh!" she said, as she saw him disappear, pale as death, and his eyes
-bursting with blood, "if I had foreseen this, I would have hid the truth
-from that poor gentleman."
-
-
-Chapter LIV:
-Porthos's Plan of Action.
-
-The great number of individuals we have introduced into this long story
-is the reason why each of them has been forced to appear only in turn,
-according to the exigencies of the recital.  The result is, that our
-readers have had no opportunity of meeting our friend Porthos since his
-return from Fontainebleau.  The honors which he had received from the
-king had not changed the easy, affectionate character of that excellent-
-hearted man; he may, perhaps, have held up his head a little higher than
-usual, and a majesty of demeanor, as it were, may have betrayed itself
-since the honor of dining at the king's table had been accorded him.  His
-majesty's banqueting-room had produced a certain effect on Porthos.  Le
-Seigneur de Bracieux et de Pierrefonds delighted to remember that, during
-that memorable dinner, the numerous array of servants, and the large
-number of officials in attendance on the guests, gave a certain tone and
-effect to the repast, and seemed, as it were, to furnish the room.
-Porthos undertook to confer upon Mouston a position of some kind or
-other, in order to establish a sort of hierarchy among his other
-domestics, and to create a military household, which was not unusual
-among the great captains of the age, since, in the preceding century,
-this luxury had been greatly encouraged by Messieurs de Treville, de
-Schomberg, de la Vieuville, without alluding to M. de Richelieu, M. de
-Conde, and de Bouillon-Turenne.  And, therefore, why should not he,
-Porthos, the friend of the king, and of M. Fouquet, a baron, and
-engineer, etc., why should not he, indeed, enjoy all the delightful
-privileges which large possessions and unusual merit invariably confer?
-Somewhat neglected by Aramis, who, we know, was greatly occupied with M.
-Fouquet; neglected, also, on account of his being on duty, by D'Artagnan;
-tired of Truchen and Planchet, Porthos was surprised to find himself
-dreaming, without precisely knowing why; but if any one had said to him,
-"Do you want anything, Porthos?" he would most certainly have replied,
-"Yes."  After one of those dinners, during which Porthos attempted to
-recall to his recollection all the details of the royal banquet, gently
-joyful, thanks to the excellence of the wines; gently melancholy, thanks
-to his ambitions ideas, Porthos was gradually falling off into a placid
-doze, when his servant entered to announce that M. de Bragelonne wished
-to speak to him.  Porthos passed into an adjoining room, where he found
-his young friend in the disposition of mind we are already aware of.
-Raoul advanced towards Porthos, and shook him by the hand; Porthos,
-surprised at his seriousness of aspect, offered him a seat.  "Dear M. du
-Vallon," said Raoul, "I have a service to ask of you."
-
-"Nothing could happen more fortunately, my young friend," replied
-Porthos; "I have eight thousand livres sent me this morning from
-Pierrefonds; and if you want any money - "
-
-"No, I thank you; it is not money."
-
-"So much the worse, then.  I have always heard it said that that is the
-rarest service, but the easiest to render.  The remark struck me; I like
-to cite remarks that strike me."
-
-"Your heart is as good as your mind is sound and true."
-
-"You are much too kind, I declare.  You will dine here, of course?"
-
-"No; I am not hungry."
-
-"Eh! not dine?  What a dreadful country England is!"
-
-"Not too much so, indeed - but - "
-
-"Well, if such excellent fish and meat were not to be procured there, it
-would hardly be endurable."
-
-"Yes, I came to - "
-
-"I am listening.  Only just allow me to take a little sip.  One gets
-thirsty in Paris;" and he ordered a bottle of champagne to be brought;
-and, having first filled Raoul's glass, he filled his own, drank it down
-at a gulp, and then resumed: "I needed that, in order to listen to you
-with proper attention.  I am now entirely at your service.  What do you
-wish to ask me, dear Raoul?  What do you want?"
-
-"Give me your opinion on quarrels in general, my dear friend."
-
-"My opinion!  Well - but - Explain your idea a little more coherently,"
-replied Porthos, rubbing his forehead.
-
-"I mean - you are generally good-humored, good-tempered, whenever any
-misunderstanding arises between a friend of yours and a stranger, for
-instance?"
-
-"Oh! in the best of tempers."
-
-"Very good; but what do you do, in such a case?"
-
-"Whenever any friend of mine gets into a quarrel, I always act on one
-principle."
-
-"What is that?"
-
-"That lost time is irreparable, and one never arranges an affair so well
-as when everything has been done to embroil the disputants as much as
-possible."
-
-"Ah! indeed, is that the principle on which you proceed?"
-
-"Precisely; so, as soon as a quarrel takes place, I bring the two parties
-together."
-
-"Exactly."
-
-"You understand that by this means it is impossible for an affair not to
-be arranged."
-
-"I should have thought that, treated in this manner, an affair would, on
-the contrary - "
-
-"Oh! not the least in the world.  Just fancy, now, I have had in my life
-something like a hundred and eighty to a hundred and ninety regular
-duels, without reckoning hasty encounters, or chance meetings."
-
-"It is a very handsome aggregate," said Raoul, unable to resist a smile.
-
-"A mere nothing; but I am so gentle.  D'Artagnan reckons his duels by
-hundreds.  It is very true he is a little too hard and sharp - I have
-often told him so."
-
-"And so," resumed Raoul, "you generally arrange the affairs of honor your
-friends confide to you."
-
-"There is not a single instance in which I have not finished by arranging
-every one of them," said Porthos, with a gentleness and confidence that
-surprised Raoul.
-
-"But the way in which you settle them is at least honorable, I suppose?"
-
-"Oh! rely upon that; and at this stage, I will explain my other principle
-to you.  As soon as my friend has intrusted his quarrel to me, this is
-what I do; I go to his adversary at once, armed with a politeness and
-self-possession absolutely requisite under such circumstances."
-
-"That is the way, then," said Raoul, bitterly, "that you arrange affairs
-so safely."
-
-"I believe you.  I go to the adversary, then, and say to him: 'It is
-impossible, monsieur, that you are ignorant of the extent to which you
-have insulted my friend.'"  Raoul frowned at this remark.
-
-"It sometimes happens - very often, indeed," pursued Porthos - "that my
-friend has not been insulted at all; he has even been the first to give
-offense; you can imagine, therefore, whether my language is or is not
-well chosen."  And Porthos burst into a peal of laughter.
-
-"Decidedly," said Raoul to himself while the merry thunder of Porthos's
-laughter was resounding in his ears, "I am very unfortunate.  De Guiche
-treats me with coolness, D'Artagnan with ridicule, Porthos is too tame;
-no one will settle this affair in the only way I wish it to be settled.
-And I came to Porthos because I wanted to find a sword instead of cold
-reasoning at my service.  My ill-luck dogs me."
-
-Porthos, who had recovered himself, continued: "By one simple expression,
-I leave my adversary without an excuse."
-
-"That is as it may happen," said Raoul, absently.
-
-"Not at all, it is quite certain.  I have not left him an excuse; and
-then it is that I display all my courtesy, in order to attain the happy
-issue of my project.  I advance, therefore, with an air of great
-politeness, and taking my adversary by the hand, I say to him: 'Now that
-you are convinced of having given the offense, we are sure of reparation;
-between my friend and yourself, the future can only offer an exchange of
-mutual courtesies of conduct, and consequently, my mission now is to
-acquaint you with the length of my friend's sword.'"
-
-"What!" said Raoul.
-
-"Wait a minute.  'The length of my friend's sword.  My horse is waiting
-below; my friend is in such and such a spot and is impatiently awaiting
-your agreeable society; I will take you with me; we can call upon your
-second as we go along:' and the affair is arranged."
-
-"And so," said Raoul, pale with vexation, "you reconcile the two
-adversaries on the ground."
-
-"I beg your pardon," interrupted Porthos.  "Reconcile!  What for?"
-
-"You said that the affair was arranged."
-
-"Of course! since my friend is waiting for him."
-
-"Well! what then?  If he is waiting - "
-
-"Well! if he is waiting, it is merely to stretch his legs a little.  The
-adversary, on the contrary, is stiff from riding; they place themselves
-in proper order, and my friend kills the opponent, and the affair is
-ended."
-
-"Ah! he kills him, then?" cried Raoul.
-
-"I should think so," said Porthos.  "Is it likely I should ever have as a
-friend a man who allows himself to get killed?  I have a hundred and one
-friends; at the head of the list stand your father, Aramis, and
-D'Artagnan, all of whom are living and well, I believe?"
-
-"Oh, my dear baron," exclaimed Raoul, as he embraced Porthos.
-
-"You approve of my method, then?" said the giant.
-
-"I approve of it so thoroughly, that I shall have recourse to it this
-very day, without a moment's delay, - at once, in fact.  You are the very
-man I have been looking for."
-
-"Good; here I am, then; you want to fight, I suppose?"
-
-"Absolutely."
-
-"It is very natural.  With whom?"
-
-"With M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"I know him - a most agreeable man, who was exceedingly polite to me the
-day I had the honor of dining with the king.  I shall certainly
-acknowledge his politeness in return, even if it had not happened to be
-my usual custom.  So, he has given you an offense?"
-
-"A mortal offense."
-
-"The deuce!  I can say so, I suppose?"
-
-"More than that, even, if you like."
-
-"That is a very great convenience."
-
-"I may look upon it as one of your arranged affairs, may I not?" said
-Raoul, smiling.
-
-"As a matter of course.  Where will you be waiting for him?"
-
-"Ah!  I forgot; it is a very delicate matter.  M. de Saint-Aignan is a
-very great friend of the king's."
-
-"So I have heard it said."
-
-"So that if I kill him - "
-
-"Oh! you will kill him, certainly; you must take every precaution to do
-so.  But there is no difficulty in these matters now; if you had lived in
-our early days, - ah, those were days worth living for!"
-
-"My dear friend, you do not quite understand me.  I mean, that M. de
-Saint-Aignan being a friend of the king, the affair will be more
-difficult to manage, since the king might learn beforehand - "
-
-"Oh! no; that is not likely.  You know my method: 'Monsieur, you have
-just injured my friend, and - '"
-
-"Yes, I know it."
-
-"And then: 'Monsieur, I have horses below.'  I carry him off before he
-can have spoken to any one."
-
-"Will he allow himself to be carried off like that?"
-
-"I should think so!  I should like to see it fail.  It would be the first
-time, if it did.  It is true, though, that the young men of the present
-day - Bah!  I would carry him off bodily, if that were all," and Porthos,
-adding gesture to speech, lifted Raoul and the chair he was sitting on
-off the ground, and carried them round the room.
-
-"Very good," said Raoul, laughing.  "All we have to do is to state the
-grounds of the quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Well, but that is done, it seems."
-
-"No, my dear M. du Vallon, the usage of the present day requires that the
-cause of the quarrel should be explained."
-
-"Very good.  Tell me what it is, then."
-
-"The fact is - "
-
-"Deuce take it! how troublesome all this is!  In former days we had no
-occasion to say anything about the matter.  People fought for the sake of
-fighting; and I, for one, know no better reason than that."
-
-"You are quite right, M. du Vallon."
-
-"However, tell me what  the cause is."
-
-"It is too long a story to tell; only, as one must particularize to a
-certain extent, and as, on the other hand, the affair is full of
-difficulties, and requires the most absolute secrecy, you will have the
-kindness merely to tell M. de Saint-Aignan that he has, in the first
-place, insulted me by changing his lodgings."
-
-"By changing his lodgings?  Good," said Porthos, who began to count on
-his fingers; "next?"
-
-"Then in getting a trap-door made in his new apartments."
-
-"I understand," said Porthos; "a trap-door: upon my word, that is very
-serious; you ought to be furious at that.  What the deuce does the fellow
-mean by getting trap-doors made without first consulting you?  Trap-
-doors! _mordioux!_  I haven't got any, except in my dungeons at Bracieux."
-
-"And you will please add," said Raoul, "that my last motive for
-considering myself insulted is, the existence of the portrait that M. de
-Saint-Aignan well knows."
-
-"Is it possible?  A portrait, too!  A change of residence, a trap-door,
-and a portrait!  Why, my dear friend, with but one of these causes of
-complaint there is enough, and more than enough, for all the gentlemen in
-France and Spain to cut each other's throats, and that is saying but very
-little."
-
-"Well, my dear friend, you are furnished with all you need, I suppose?"
-
-"I shall take a second horse with me.  Select your own rendezvous, and
-while you are waiting there, you can practice some of the best passes, so
-as to get your limbs as elastic as possible."
-
-"Thank you.  I shall be waiting for you in the wood of Vincennes, close
-to Minimes."
-
-"All goes well, then.  Where am I to find this M. de Saint-Aignan?"
-
-"At the Palais Royal."
-
-Porthos ran a huge hand-bell.  "My court suit," he said to the servant
-who answered the summons, "my horse, and a led horse to accompany me."
-Then turning to Raoul, as soon as the servant had quitted the room, he
-said: "Does your father know anything about this?"
-
-"No; I am going to write to him."
-
-"And D'Artagnan?"
-
-"No, nor D'Artagnan either.  He is very cautions, you know, and might
-have diverted me from my purpose."
-
-"D'Artagnan is a sound adviser, though," said Porthos, astonished that,
-in his own loyal faith in D'Artagnan, any one could have thought of
-himself, so long as there was a D'Artagnan in the world.
-
-"Dear M. du Vallon," said Raoul, "do not question me any more, I implore
-you.  I have told you all that I had to say; it is prompt action I now
-expect, sharp and decided as you know how to arrange it.  That, indeed,
-is my reason for having chosen you."
-
-"You will be satisfied with me," replied Porthos.
-
-"Do not forget, either, that, except ourselves, no one must know anything
-of this meeting."
-
-"People generally find these things out," said Porthos, dryly, "when a
-dead body is discovered in a wood.  But I promise everything, my dear
-friend, except the concealment of the dead body.  There it is, and it
-must be seen, as a matter of course.  It is a principle of mine, not to
-bury bodies.  That has a smack of the assassin about it.  Every risk has
-its peculiarities."
-
-"To work, then, my dear friend."
-
-"Rely upon me," said the giant, finishing the bottle, while a servant
-spread out upon a sofa the gorgeously decorated dress trimmed with lace.
-
-Raoul left the room, saying to himself, with a secret delight,
-"Perfidious king! traitorous monarch!  I cannot reach thee.  I do not
-wish it; for kings are sacred objects.  But your friend, your accomplice,
-your panderer - the coward who represents you - shall pay for your
-crime.  I will kill him in thy name, and, afterwards, we will bethink
-ourselves of - _Louise_."
-
-
-Chapter LV:
-The Change of Residence, the Trap-Door, and the Portrait.
-
-Porthos, intrusted, to his great delight, with this mission, which made
-him feel young again, took half an hour less than his usual time to put
-on his court suit.  To show that he was a man acquainted with the usages
-of high society, he had begun by sending his lackey to inquire if
-Monsieur de Saint-Aignan were at home, and heard, in answer, that M. le
-Comte de Saint-Aignan had had the honor of accompanying the king to Saint-
-Germain, as well as the whole court; but that monsieur le comte had just
-that moment returned.  Immediately upon this reply, Porthos made as much
-haste as possible, and reached Saint-Aignan's apartments just as the
-latter was having his boots taken off.  The promenade had been
-delightful.  The king, who was in love more than ever, and of course
-happier than ever, behaved in the most charming manner to every one.
-Nothing could possibly equal his kindness.  M. de Saint-Aignan, it may be
-remembered, was a poet, and fancied that he had proved that he was so
-under too many a memorable circumstance to allow the title to be disputed
-by any one.  An indefatigable rhymester, he had, during the whole of the
-journey, overwhelmed with quatrains, sextains, and madrigals, first the
-king, and then La Valliere.  The king, on his side, was in a similarly
-poetical mood, and had made a distich; while La Valliere, delighting in
-poetry, as most women do who are in love, had composed two sonnets.  The
-day, then, had not been a bad one for Apollo; and so, as soon as he had
-returned to Paris, Saint-Aignan, who knew beforehand that his verse would
-be sure to be extensively circulated in court circles, occupied himself,
-with a little more attention than he had been able to bestow during the
-promenade, with the composition, as well as with the idea itself.
-Consequently, with all the tenderness of a father about to start his
-children in life, he candidly interrogated himself whether the public
-would find these offsprings of his imagination sufficiently elegant and
-graceful; and in order to make his mind easy on the subject, M. de Saint-
-Aignan recited to himself the madrigal he had composed, and which he had
-repeated from memory to the king, and had promised to write out for him
-on his return.  All the time he was committing these words to memory, the
-comte was engaged in undressing himself more completely.  He had just
-taken off his coat, and was putting on his dressing-gown, when he was
-informed that Monsieur le Baron du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds was
-waiting to be received.
-
-"Eh!" he said, "what does that bunch of names mean?  I don't know
-anything about him."
-
-"It is the same gentleman," replied the lackey, "who had the honor of
-dining with you, monseigneur, at the king's table, when his majesty was
-staying at Fontainebleau."
-
-"Introduce him, then, at once," cried Saint-Aignan.
-
-Porthos, in a few minutes, entered the room.  M. de Saint-Aignan had an
-excellent recollection of persons, and, at the first glance, he
-recognized the gentleman from the country, who enjoyed so singular a
-reputation, and whom the king had received so favorably at Fontainebleau,
-in spite of the smiles of some of those who were present.  He therefore
-advanced towards Porthos with all the outward signs of consideration of
-manner which Porthos thought but natural, considering that he himself,
-whenever he called upon an adversary, hoisted a standard of the most
-refined politeness.  Saint-Aignan desired the servant to give Porthos a
-chair; and the latter, who saw nothing unusual in this act of politeness,
-sat down gravely and coughed.  The ordinary courtesies having been
-exchanged between the two gentlemen, the comte, to whom the visit was
-paid, said, "May I ask, monsieur le baron, to what happy circumstance I
-am indebted for the favor of a visit from you?"
-
-"The very thing I am about to have the honor of explaining to you,
-monsieur le comte; but, I beg your pardon - "
-
-"What is the matter, monsieur?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"I regret to say that I have broken your chair."
-
-"Not at all, monsieur," said Saint-Aignan; "not at all."
-
-"It is the fact, though, monsieur le comte; I have broken it - so much
-so, indeed, that if I do not move, I shall fall down, which would be an
-exceedingly disagreeable position for me in the discharge of the very
-serious mission which has been intrusted to me with regard to yourself."
-
-Porthos rose; and but just in time, for the chair had given way several
-inches.  Saint-Aignan looked about him for something more solid for his
-guest to sit upon.
-
-"Modern articles of furniture," said Porthos, while the comte was looking
-about, "are constructed in a ridiculously flimsy manner.  In my early
-days, when I used to sit down with far more energy than is now the case,
-I do not remember ever to have broken a chair, except in taverns, with my
-arms."
-
-Saint-Aignan smiled at this remark.  "But," said Porthos, as he settled
-himself down on a couch, which creaked, but did not give way beneath his
-weight, "that unfortunately has nothing whatever to do with my present
-visit."
-
-"Why unfortunately?  Are you the bearer of a message of ill-omen,
-monsieur le baron?"
-
-"Of ill-omen - for a gentleman?  Certainly not, monsieur le comte,"
-replied Porthos, nobly.  "I have simply come to say that you have
-seriously insulted a friend of mine."
-
-"I, monsieur?" exclaimed Saint-Aignan - "I have insulted a friend of
-yours, do you say?  May I ask his name?"
-
-"M. Raoul de Bragelonne."
-
-"I have insulted M. Raoul de Bragelonne!" cried Saint-Aignan.  "I really
-assure you, monsieur, that it is quite impossible; for M. de Bragelonne,
-whom I know but very slightly, - nay, whom I know hardly at all - is in
-England, and, as I have not seen him for a long time past, I cannot
-possibly have insulted him."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne is in Paris, monsieur le comte," said Porthos,
-perfectly unmoved; "and I repeat, it is quite certain you have insulted
-him, since he himself told me you had.  Yes, monsieur, you have seriously
-insulted him, mortally insulted him, I repeat."
-
-"It is impossible, monsieur le baron, I swear, quite impossible."
-
-"Besides," added Porthos, "you cannot be ignorant of the circumstance,
-since M. de Bragelonne informed me that he had already apprised you of it
-by a note."
-
-"I give you my word of honor, monsieur, that I have received no note
-whatever."
-
-"This is most extraordinary," replied Porthos.
-
-"I will convince you," said Saint-Aignan, "that  have received nothing in
-any way from him."  And he rang the bell.  "Basque," he said to the
-servant who entered, "how many letters have or notes were sent here
-during my absence?"
-
-"Three, monsieur le comte - a note from M. de Fiesque, one from Madame de
-Laferte, and a letter from M. de las Fuentes."
-
-"Is that all?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur le comte."
-
-"Speak the truth before this gentleman - the truth, you understand.  I
-will take care you are not blamed."
-
-"There was a note, also, from - from - "
-
-"Well, from whom?"
-
-"From Mademoiselle - de - "
-
-"Out with it!"
-
-"De Laval."
-
-"That is quite sufficient," interrupted Porthos.  "I believe you,
-monsieur le comte."
-
-Saint-Aignan dismissed the valet, and followed him to the door, in order
-to close it after him; and when he had done so, looking straight before
-him, he happened to see in the keyhole of the adjoining apartment the
-paper which Bragelonne had slipped in there as he left.  "What is this?"
-he said.
-
-Porthos, who was sitting with his back to the room, turned round.  "Aha!"
-he said.
-
-"A note in the keyhole!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan.
-
-"That is not unlikely to be the missing letter, monsieur le comte," said
-Porthos.
-
-Saint-Aignan took out the paper.  "A note from M. de Bragelonne!" he
-exclaimed.
-
-"You see, monsieur, I was right.  Oh, when I say a thing - "
-
-"Brought here by M. de Bragelonne himself," the comte murmured, turning
-pale.  "This is infamous!  How could he possibly have come here?"  And
-the comte rang again.
-
-"Who has been here during my absence with the king?"
-
-"No one, monsieur."
-
-"That is impossible!  Some one must have been here."
-
-"No one could possibly have entered, monsieur, since the keys have never
-left my pocket."
-
-"And yet I find the letter in yonder lock; some one must have put it
-there; it could not have come here of its own accord."
-
-Basque opened his arms as if signifying the most absolute ignorance on
-the subject.
-
-"Probably it was M. de Bragelonne himself who placed it there," said
-Porthos.
-
-"In that case he must have entered here."
-
-"How could that have been, since I have the key in my own pocket?"
-returned Basque, perseveringly.
-
-Saint-Aignan crumpled the letter in his palm, after having read it.
-"There is something mysterious about this," he murmured, absorbed in
-thought.  Porthos left him to his reflections; but after a while returned
-to the mission he had undertaken.
-
-"Shall we return to our little affair?" Porthos resumed, addressing Saint-
-Aignan after a brief pause.
-
-"I think I can now understand it, from this note, which has arrived here
-in so singular a manner.  Monsieur de Bragelonne says that a friend will
-call."
-
-"I am his friend.  I am the person he alludes to."
-
-"For the purpose of giving me a challenge?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"And he complains that I have insulted him?"
-
-"Mortally."
-
-"In what way, may I ask; for his conduct is so mysterious, that, at
-least, it needs some explanation?"
-
-"Monsieur," replied Porthos, "my friend cannot but be right; and, as far
-as his conduct is concerned, if it be mysterious, as you say, you have
-only yourself to blame for it."  Porthos pronounced these words with an
-amount of confidence which, for a man who was unaccustomed to his ways,
-must have revealed an infinity of sense.
-
-"Mystery, so be it; but what is all the mystery about?" said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You will think it the best, perhaps," Porthos replied, with a low bow,
-"if I do not enter in to particulars."
-
-"Oh, I perfectly understand.  We will touch very lightly upon it, then,
-so speak, monsieur, I am listening."
-
-"In the first place, monsieur," said Porthos, "you have changed your
-apartments."
-
-"Yes, that is quite true," said Saint-Aignan.
-
-"You admit it," said Porthos, with an air of satisfaction.
-
-"Admit it! of course I admit it.  Why should I not admit it, do you
-suppose?"
-
-"You have admitted it.  Very good," said Porthos, lifting up one finger.
-
-"But how can my having moved my lodgings have done M. de Bragelonne any
-harm?  Have the goodness to tell me that, for I positively do not
-comprehend a word of what you are saying."
-
-Porthos stopped him, and then said, with great gravity, "Monsieur, this
-is the first of M. de Bragelonne's complaints against you.  If he makes a
-complaint, it is because he feels himself insulted."
-
-Saint-Aignan began to beat his foot impatiently on the ground.  "This
-looks like a spurious quarrel," he said.
-
-"No one can possibly have a spurious quarrel with the Vicomte de
-Bragelonne," returned Porthos; "but, at all events, you have nothing to
-add on the subject of your changing your apartments, I suppose?"
-
-"Nothing.  And what is the next point?"
-
-"Ah, the next!  You will observe, monsieur, that the one I have already
-mentioned is a most serious injury, to which you have given no answer, or
-rather, have answered very indifferently.  Is it possible, monsieur, that
-you have changed your lodgings?  M. de Bragelonne feels insulted at your
-having done so, and you do not attempt to excuse yourself."
-
-"What!" cried Saint-Aignan, who was getting annoyed at the perfect
-coolness of his visitor - "what! am I to consult M. de Bragelonne whether
-I am to move or not?  You can hardly be serious, monsieur."
-
-"I am.  And it is absolutely necessary, monsieur; but under any
-circumstances, you will admit that it is nothing in comparison with the
-second ground of complaint."
-
-"Well, what is that?"
-
-Porthos assumed a very solemn expression as he said: "How about the trap-
-door, monsieur?"
-
-Saint-Aignan turned exceedingly pale.  He pushed back his chair so
-abruptly, that Porthos, simple as he was, perceived that the blow had
-told.  "The trap-door," murmured Saint-Aignan.
-
-"Yes, monsieur, explain that if you can," said Porthos, shaking his head.
-
-Saint-Aignan held down his head, as he murmured: "I have been betrayed,
-everything is known!"
-
-"Everything," replied Porthos, who knew nothing.
-
-"You see me perfectly overwhelmed," pursued Saint-Aignan, "overwhelmed
-to a degree that I hardly know what I am about."
-
-"A guilty conscience, monsieur.  Your affair is a bad one, and when the
-public learns all about it, it will judge - "
-
-"Oh, monsieur!" exclaimed the count, hurriedly, "such a secret ought not
-to be known even by one's confessor."
-
-"That we will think about," said Porthos; "the secret will not go far, in
-fact."
-
-"Surely, monsieur," returned Saint-Aignan, "since M. de Bragelonne has
-penetrated the secret, he must be aware of the danger he as well as
-others run the risk of incurring."
-
-"M. de Bragelonne runs no danger, monsieur, nor does he fear any either,
-as you, if it please Heaven, will find out very soon."
-
-"This fellow is a perfect madman," thought Saint-Aignan.  "What, in
-Heaven's name, does he want?"  He then said aloud: "Come, monsieur, let
-us hush up this affair."
-
-"You forget the portrait," said Porthos, in a voice of thunder, which
-made the comte's blood freeze in his veins.
-
-As the portrait in question was La Valliere's portrait, and no mistake
-could any longer exist on the subject, Saint-Aignan's eyes were
-completely opened.  "Ah!" he exclaimed - "ah! monsieur, I remember now
-that M. de Bragelonne was engaged to be married to her."
-
-Porthos assumed an imposing air, all the majesty of ignorance, in fact,
-as he said: "It matters nothing whatever to me, nor to yourself, indeed,
-whether or not my friend was, as you say, engaged to be married.  I am
-even astonished that you should have made use of so indiscreet a remark.
-It may possibly do your cause harm, monsieur."
-
-"Monsieur," replied Saint-Aignan, "you are the incarnation of
-intelligence, delicacy, and loyalty of feeling united.  I see the whole
-matter now clearly enough."
-
-"So much the better," said Porthos.
-
-"And," pursued Saint-Aignan, "you have made me comprehend it in the most
-ingenious and the most delicate manner possible.  I beg you to accept my
-best thanks."  Porthos drew himself up, unable to resist the flattery of
-the remark.  "Only, now that I know everything, permit me to explain - "
-
-Porthos shook his head, as a an who does not wish to hear, but Saint-
-Aignan continued: "I am in despair, I assure you, at all that has
-happened; but how would you have acted in my place?  Come, between
-ourselves, tell me what you would have done?"
-
-Porthos drew himself up as he answered: "There is now no question of all
-of what I should have done, young man; you have been made acquainted with
-the three causes of complaint against you, I believe?"
-
-"As for the first, my change of rooms, and I now address myself to you as
-a man of honor and of great intelligence, could I, when the desire of so
-august a personage was so urgently expressed that I should move, ought I
-to have disobeyed?"
-
-Porthos was about to speak, but Saint-Aignan did not give him time to
-answer.  "Ah! my frankness, I see, convinces you," he said, interpreting
-the movement according to his own fancy.  "You feel that I am right."
-
-Porthos did not reply, and so Saint-Aignan continued: "I pass by that
-unfortunate trap-door," he said, placing his hand on Porthos's arm, "that
-trap-door, the occasion and means of so much unhappiness, and which was
-constructed for - you know what.  Well, then, in plain truth, do you
-suppose that  it was I who, of my own accord, in such a place, too, had
-that trap-door made? - Oh, no! - you do not believe it; and here, again,
-you feel, you guess, you understand the influence of a will superior to
-my own.  You can conceive the infatuation, the blind, irresistible
-passion which has been at work.  But, thank Heaven!  I am fortunate in
-speaking to a man who has so much sensitiveness of feeling; and if it
-were not so, indeed, what an amount of misery and scandal would fall upon
-her, poor girl! and upon him - whom I will not name."
-
-Porthos, confused and bewildered by the eloquence and gestures of Saint-
-Aignan, made a thousand efforts to stem this torrent of words, of which,
-by the by, he did not understand a single one; he remained upright and
-motionless on his seat, and that was all he could do.  Saint-Aignan
-continued, and gave a new inflection to his voice, and an increasing
-vehemence to his gesture: "As for the portrait, for I readily believe the
-portrait is the principal cause of complaint, tell me candidly if you
-think me to blame? - Who was it who wished to have her portrait?  Was it
-I? - Who is in love with her?  Is it I? - Who wishes to gain her
-affection?  Again, is it I? - Who took her likeness?  I, do you think?
-No! a thousand times no!  I know M. de Bragelonne must be in a state of
-despair; I know these misfortunes are most cruel.  But I, too, am
-suffering as well; and yet there is no possibility of offering any
-resistance.  Suppose we were to fight? we would be laughed at.  If he
-obstinately persist in his course, he is lost.  You will tell me, I know,
-that despair is ridiculous, but then you are a sensible man.  You have
-understood me.  I perceived by your serious, thoughtful, embarrassed air,
-even, that the importance of the situation we are placed in has not
-escaped you.  Return, therefore, to M. de Bragelonne; thank him - as I
-have indeed reason to thank him - for having chosen as an intermediary a
-man of your high merit.  Believe me that I shall, on my side, preserve an
-eternal gratitude for the man who has so ingeniously, so cleverly
-arranged the misunderstanding between us.  And since ill luck would have
-it that the secret should be known to four instead of three, why, this
-secret, which might make the most ambitious man's fortune, I am delighted
-to share with you, monsieur, from the bottom of my heart I am delighted
-at it.  From this very moment you can make use of me as you please, I
-place myself entirely at your mercy.  What can I possibly do for you?
-What can I solicit, nay, require even?  You have only to speak, monsieur,
-only to speak."
-
-And, according to the familiarly friendly fashion of that period, Saint-
-Aignan threw his arms round Porthos, and clasped him tenderly in his
-embrace.  Porthos allowed him to do this with the most perfect
-indifference.  "Speak," resumed Saint-Aignan, "what do you require?"
-
-"Monsieur," said Porthos, "I have a horse below: be good enough to mount
-him; he is a very good one and will play you no tricks."
-
-"Mount on horseback! what for?" inquired Saint-Aignan, with no little
-curiosity.
-
-"To accompany me to where M. de Bragelonne is waiting us."
-
-"Ah! he wishes to speak to me, I suppose?  I can well believe that; he
-wishes to have the details, very likely; alas! it is a very delicate
-matter; but at the present moment I cannot, for the king is waiting for
-me."
-
-"The king must wait, then" said Porthos.
-
-"What do you say? the king must wait!" interrupted the finished courtier,
-with a smile of utter amazement, for he could not understand that the
-king could under any circumstances be supposed to have to wait.
-
-"It is merely the affair of a very short hour," returned Porthos.
-
-"But where is M. de Bragelonne waiting for me?"
-
-"At the Minimes, at Vincennes."
-
-"Ah, indeed! but are we going to laugh over the affair when we get there?"
-
-"I don't think it likely," said Porthos, as his face assumed a look of
-utter hardness.
-
-"But the Minimes is a rendezvous where duels take place, and what can I
-have to do at the Minimes?"
-
-Porthos slowly drew his sword, and said: "That is the length of my
-friend's sword."
-
-"Why, the man is mad!" cried Saint-Aignan.
-
-The color mounted to Porthos's face, as he replied: "If I had not the
-honor of being in your own apartment, monsieur, and of representing M. de
-Bragelonne's interests, I would throw you out of the window.  It will be
-merely a pleasure postponed, and you will lose nothing by waiting.  Will
-you come with me to the Minimes, monsieur, of your own free will?"
-
-"But - "
-
-"Take care, I will carry you if you do not come quickly."
-
-"Basque!" cried Saint-Aignan.  As soon as Basque appeared, he said, "The
-king wishes to see monsieur le comte."
-
-"That is very different," said Porthos; "the king's service before
-anything else.  We will wait until this evening, monsieur."
-
-And saluting Saint-Aignan with his usual courtesy, Porthos left the room,
-delighted at having arranged another affair.  Saint-Aignan looked after
-him as he left; and then hastily putting on his court dress again, he ran
-off, arranging his costume as he went along, muttering to himself, "The
-Minimes! the Minimes!  We shall see how the king will fancy this
-challenge; for it is for him after all, that is certain."
-
-
-Chapter LVI:
-Rivals in Politics.
-
-On his return from the promenade, which had been so prolific in poetical
-effusions, and in which every one had paid his or her tribute to the
-Muses, as the poets of the period used to say, the king found M. Fouquet
-waiting for an audience.  M. Colbert had lain in wait for his majesty in
-the corridor, and followed him like a jealous and watchful shadow; M.
-Colbert, with his square head, his vulgar and untidy, though rich
-costume, somewhat resembled a Flemish gentleman after he had been over-
-indulging in his national drink - beer.  Fouquet, at sight of his enemy,
-remained perfectly unmoved, and during the whole of the scene which
-followed scrupulously resolved to observe a line of conduct particularly
-difficult to the man of superior mind, who does not even wish to show his
-contempt, for fear of doing his adversary too much honor.  Colbert made
-no attempt to conceal his insolent expression of the vulgar joy he felt.
-In his opinion, M. Fouquet's was a game very badly played and hopelessly
-lost, although not yet finished.  Colbert belonged to that school of
-politicians who think cleverness alone worthy of their admiration, and
-success the only thing worth caring for.  Colbert, moreover, who was not
-simply an envious and jealous man, but who had the king's interest really
-at heart, because he was thoroughly imbued with the highest sense of
-probity in all matters of figures and accounts, could well afford to
-assign as a pretext for his conduct, that in hating and doing his utmost
-to ruin M. Fouquet, he had nothing in view but the welfare of the state
-and the dignity of the crown.  None of these details escaped Fouquet's
-observation; through his enemy's thick, bushy brows, and despite the
-restless movement of his eyelids, he could, by merely looking at his
-eyes, penetrate to the very bottom of Colbert's heart, and he read to
-what an unbounded extent hate towards himself and triumph at his
-approaching fall existed there.  But as, in observing everything, he
-wished to remain himself impenetrable, he composed his features, smiled
-with the charmingly sympathetic smile that was peculiarly his own, and
-saluted the king with the most dignified and graceful ease and elasticity
-of manner.  "Sire," he said, "I perceive by your majesty's joyous air
-that you have been gratified with the promenade."
-
-"Most gratified, indeed, monsieur le surintendant, most gratified.  You
-were very wrong not to come with us, as I invited you to do."
-
-"I was working, sire," replied the superintendent, who did not even seem
-to take the trouble to turn aside his head in merest respect of Colbert's
-presence.
-
-"Ah!  M. Fouquet," cried the king, "there is nothing like the country.  I
-should be delighted to live in the country always, in the open air and
-under the trees."
-
-"I should hope that your majesty is not yet weary of the throne," said
-Fouquet.
-
-"No; but thrones of soft turf are very pleasant."
-
-"Your majesty gratifies my utmost wishes in speaking in that manner, for
-I have a request to submit to you."
-
-"On whose behalf, monsieur?"
-
-"Oh behalf of the nymphs of Vaux, sire."
-
-"Ah! ah!" said Louis XIV.
-
-"Your majesty, too, once deigned to make me a promise," said Fouquet.
-
-"Yes, I remember it."
-
-"The _fete_ at Vaux, the celebrated _fete_, I think, it was, sire," said
-Colbert, endeavoring to show his importance by taking part in the
-conversation.
-
-Fouquet, with the profoundest contempt, did not take the slightest notice
-of the remark, as if, as far as he was concerned, Colbert had not even
-thought or said a word.
-
-"Your majesty is aware," he said, "that I destine my estate at Vaux to
-receive the most amiable of princes, the most powerful of monarchs."
-
-"I have given you my promise, monsieur," said Louis XIV., smiling; "and a
-king never departs from his word."
-
-"And I have come now, sire, to inform your majesty that I am ready to
-obey your orders in every respect."
-
-"Do you promise me many wonders, monsieur le surintendant?" said Louis,
-looking at Colbert.
-
-"Wonders?  Oh! no, sire.  I do not undertake that.  I hope to be able to
-procure your majesty a little pleasure, perhaps even a little
-forgetfulness of the cares of state."
-
-"Nay, nay, M. Fouquet," returned the king; "I insist upon the word
-'wonders.'  You are a magician, I believe; we all know the power you
-wield; we also know that you can find gold even when there is none to be
-found elsewhere; so much so, indeed, that people say you coin it."
-
-Fouquet felt that the shot was discharged from a double quiver, and that
-the king had launched an arrow from his own bow as well as one from
-Colbert's.  "Oh!" said he, laughingly, "the people know perfectly well
-out of what mine I procure the gold; and they know it only too well,
-perhaps; besides," he added, "I can assure your majesty that the gold
-destined to pay the expenses of the _fete_ at Vaux will cost neither
-blood nor tears; hard labor it may, perhaps, but that can be paid for."
-
-Louis paused quite confused.  He wished to look at Colbert; Colbert, too,
-wished to reply to him; a glance as swift as an eagle's, a king-like
-glance, indeed, which Fouquet darted at the latter, arrested the words
-upon his lips.  The king, who had by this time recovered his self-
-possession, turned towards Fouquet, saying, "I presume, therefore, I am
-now to consider myself formally invited?"
-
-"Yes, sire, if your majesty will condescend so far as to accept my
-invitation."
-
-"What day have you fixed?"
-
-"Any day your majesty may find most convenient."
-
-"You speak like an enchanter who has but to conjure up in actuality the
-wildest fancies, Monsieur Fouquet.  I could not say so much, indeed,
-myself."
-
-"Your majesty will do, whenever you please, everything that a monarch can
-and ought to do.  The king of France has servants at his bidding who are
-able to do anything on his behalf, to accomplish everything to gratify
-his pleasures."
-
-Colbert tried to look at the superintendent, in order to see whether this
-remark was an approach to less hostile sentiments on his part; but
-Fouquet had not even looked at his enemy, and Colbert hardly seemed to
-exist as far as he was concerned.  "Very good, then," said the king.
-"Will a week hence suit you?"
-
-"Perfectly well, sire."
-
-"This is Tuesday; if I give you until next Sunday week, will that be
-sufficient?"
-
-"The delay which your majesty deigns to accord me will greatly aid the
-various works which my architects have in hand for the purpose of adding
-to the amusement of your majesty and your friends."
-
-"By the by, speaking of my friends," resumed the king; "how do you intend
-to treat them?"
-
-"The king is master everywhere, sire; your majesty will draw up your own
-list and give your own orders.  All those you may deign to invite will be
-my guests, my honored guests, indeed."
-
-"I thank you!" returned the king, touched by the noble thought expressed
-in so noble a tone.
-
-Fouquet, therefore, took leave of Louis XIV., after a few words had been
-added with regard to the details of certain matters of business.  He felt
-that Colbert would remain behind with the king, that they would both
-converse about him, and that neither of them would spare him in the least
-degree.  The satisfaction of being able to give a last and terrible blow
-to his enemy seemed to him almost like a compensation for everything they
-were about to subject him to.  He turned back again immediately, as soon,
-indeed, as he had reached the door, and addressing the king, said, "I was
-forgetting that I had to crave your majesty's forgiveness."
-
-"In what respect?" said the king, graciously.
-
-"For having committed a serious fault without perceiving it."
-
-"A fault!  You!  Ah!  Monsieur Fouquet, I shall be unable to do otherwise
-than forgive you.  In what way or against whom have you been found
-wanting?"
-
-"Against every sense of propriety, sire.  I forgot to inform your majesty
-of a circumstance that has lately occurred of some little importance."
-
-"What is it?"
-
-Colbert trembled; he fancied that he was about to frame a denunciation
-against him.  His conduct had been unmasked.  A single syllable from
-Fouquet, a single proof formally advanced, and before the youthful
-loyalty of feeling which guided Louis XIV., Colbert's favor would
-disappear at once; the latter trembled, therefore, lest so daring a blow
-might overthrow his whole scaffold; in point of fact, the opportunity was
-so admirably suited to be taken advantage of, that a skillful, practiced
-player like Aramis would not have let it slip.  "Sire," said Fouquet,
-with an easy, unconcerned air, "since you have had the kindness to
-forgive me, I am perfectly indifferent about my confession; this morning
-I sold one of the official appointments I hold."
-
-"One of your appointments," said the king, "which?"
-
-Colbert turned perfectly livid.  "That which conferred upon me, sire, a
-grand gown, and a stern air of gravity; the appointment of procureur-
-general."
-
-The king involuntarily uttered a loud exclamation and looked at Colbert,
-who, with his face bedewed with perspiration, felt almost on the point of
-fainting.  "To whom have you sold this department, Monsieur Fouquet?"
-inquired the king.
-
-Colbert was obliged to lean against a column of the fireplace.  "To a
-councilor belonging to the parliament, sire, whose name is Vanel."
-
-"Vanel?"
-
-"Yes, sire, a particular friend of the intendant Colbert," added Fouquet;
-letting every word fall from his lips with the most inimitable
-nonchalance, and with an admirably assumed expression of forgetfulness
-and ignorance.  And having finished, and having overwhelmed Colbert
-beneath the weight of this superiority, the superintendent again saluted
-the king and quitted the room, partially revenged by the stupefaction of
-the king and the humiliation of the favorite.
-
-"Is it really possible," said the king, as soon as Fouquet had
-disappeared, "that he has sold that office?"
-
-"Yes, sire," said Colbert, meaningly.
-
-"He must be mad," the king added.
-
-Colbert this time did not reply; he had penetrated the king's thought, a
-thought which amply revenged him for the humiliation he had just been
-made to suffer; his hatred was augmented by a feeling of bitter jealousy
-of Fouquet; and a threat of disgrace was now added to the plan he had
-arranged for his ruin.  Colbert felt perfectly assured that for the
-future, between Louis XIV. and himself, their hostile feelings and ideas
-would meet with no obstacles, and that at the first fault committed by
-Fouquet, which could be laid hold of as a pretext, the chastisement so
-long impending would be precipitated.  Fouquet had thrown aside his
-weapons of defense, and hate and jealousy had picked them up.  Colbert
-was invited by the king to the _fete_ at Vaux; he bowed like a man
-confident in himself, and accepted the invitation with the air of one who
-almost confers a favor.  The king was about writing down Saint-Aignan's
-name on his list of royal commands, when the usher announced the Comte de
-Saint-Aignan.  As soon as the royal "Mercury" entered, Colbert discreetly
-withdrew.
-
-
-Chapter LVII:
-Rivals in Love.
-
-Saint-Aignan had quitted Louis XIV. hardly a couple of hours before; but
-in the first effervescence of his affection, whenever Louis XIV. was out
-of sight of La Valliere, he was obliged to talk about her.  Besides, the
-only person with whom he could speak about her at his ease was Saint-
-Aignan, and thus Saint-Aignan had become an indispensable.
-
-"Ah, is that you, comte?" he exclaimed, as soon as he perceived him,
-doubly delighted, not only to see him again, but also to get rid of
-Colbert, whose scowling face always put him out of humor.  "So much the
-better, I am very glad to see you.  You will make one of the best
-traveling party, I suppose?"
-
-"Of what traveling part are you speaking, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan.
-
-"The one we are making up to go to the _fete_ the superintendent is about
-to give at Vaux.  Ah!  Saint-Aignan, you will, at last, see a _fete_, a
-royal _fete_, by the side of which all our amusements at Fontainebleau
-are petty, contemptible affairs."
-
-"At Vaux! the superintendent going to give a _fete_ in your majesty's
-honor?  Nothing more than that!"
-
-"'Nothing more than that,' do you say?  It is very diverting to find you
-treating it with so much disdain.  Are you who express such an
-indifference on the subject, aware, that as soon as it is known that M.
-Fouquet is going to receive me at Vaux next Sunday week, people will be
-striving their very utmost to get invited to the _fete?_  I repeat, Saint-
-Aignan, you shall be one of the invited guests."
-
-"Very well, sire; unless I shall, in the meantime, have undertaken a
-longer and a less agreeable journey."
-
-"What journey do you allude to?"
-
-"The one across the Styx, sire."
-
-"Bah!" said Louis XIV., laughing.
-
-"No, seriously, sire," replied Saint-Aignan, "I am invited; and in such a
-way, in truth, that I hardly know what to say, or how to act, in order to
-refuse the invitation."
-
-"I do not understand you.  I know that you are in a poetical vein; but
-try not to sink from Apollo to Phoebus."
-
-"Very well; if your majesty will deign to listen to me, I will not keep
-your mind on the rack a moment longer."
-
-"Speak."
-
-"Your majesty knows the Baron du Vallon?"
-
-"Yes, indeed; a good servant to my father, the late king, and an
-admirable companion at table; for, I think, you are referring to the
-gentleman who dined with us at Fontainebleau?"
-
-"Precisely so; but you have omitted to add to his other qualifications,
-sire, that he is a most charming polisher-off of other people."
-
-"What!  Does M. du Vallon wish to polish you off?"
-
-"Or to get me killed, which is much the same thing."
-
-"The deuce!"
-
-"Do not laugh, sire, for I am not saying one word beyond the exact truth."
-
-"And you say he wishes to get you killed."
-
-"Such is that excellent person's present idea."
-
-"Be easy; I will defend you, if he be in the wrong."
-
-"Ah!  There is an 'if'!"
-
-"Of course; answer me as candidly as if it were some one else's affair
-instead of your own, my poor Saint-Aignan; is he right or wrong?"
-
-"Your majesty shall be the judge."
-
-"What have you done to him?"
-
-"To him, personally, nothing at all; but, it seems, to one of his
-friends, I have."
-
-"It is all the same.  Is his friend one of the celebrated 'four'?"
-
-"No.  It is the son of one of the celebrated 'four,' though."
-
-"What have you done to the son?  Come, tell me."
-
-"Why, it seems that I have helped some one to take his mistress from him."
-
-"You confess it, then?"
-
-"I cannot help confessing it, for it is true."
-
-"In that case, you are wrong; and if he were to kill you, he would be
-doing perfectly right."
-
-"Ah! that is your majesty's way of reasoning, then!"
-
-"Do you think it a bad way?"
-
-"It is a very expeditious way, at all events."
-
-"'Good justice is prompt;' so my grandfather Henry IV. used to say."
-
-"In that case, your majesty will, perhaps, be good enough to sign my
-adversary's pardon, for he is now waiting for me at the Minimes, for the
-purpose of putting me out of my misery."
-
-"His name, and a parchment!"
-
-"There is a parchment upon your majesty's table; and for his name - "
-
-"Well, what is it?"
-
-"The Vicomte de Bragelonne, sire."
-
-"'The Vicomte de Bragelonne!'" exclaimed the king; changing from a fit of
-laughter to the most profound stupor, and then, after a moment's silence,
-while he wiped his forehead, which was bedewed with perspiration, he
-again murmured, "Bragelonne!"
-
-"No other, sire."
-
-"Bragelonne, who was affianced to - "
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"But - he has been in London."
-
-"Yes; but I can assure you, sire, he is there no longer."
-
-"Is he in Paris, then?"
-
-"He is at Minimes, sire, where he is waiting for me, as I have already
-had the honor of telling you."
-
-"Does he know all?"
-
-"Yes; and many things besides.  Perhaps your majesty would like to look
-at the letter I have received from him;" and Saint-Aignan drew from his
-pocket the note we are already acquainted with.  "When your majesty has
-read the letter, I will tell you how it reached me."
-
-The king read it in a great agitation, and immediately said, "Well?"
-
-"Well, sire; your majesty knows a certain carved lock, closing a certain
-door of carved ebony, which separates a certain apartment from a certain
-blue and white sanctuary?"
-
-"Of course; Louise's boudoir."
-
-"Yes, sire.  Well, it was in the keyhole of that lock that I found yonder
-note."
-
-"Who placed it there?"
-
-"Either M. de Bragelonne, or the devil himself; but, inasmuch as the note
-smells of musk and not of sulphur, I conclude that it must be, not the
-devil, but M. de Bragelonne."
-
-Louis bent his head, and seemed absorbed in sad and bitter thought.
-Perhaps something like remorse was at that moment passing through his
-heart.  "The secret is discovered," he said.
-
-"Sire, I shall do my utmost that the secret dies in the breast of the man
-who possesses it!" said Saint-Aignan, in a tone of bravado, as he moved
-towards the door; but a gesture of the king made him pause.
-
-"Where are you going?" he inquired.
-
-"Where they await me, sire."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"To fight, in all probability."
-
-"_You_ fight!" exclaimed the king.  "One moment, if you please, monsieur
-le comte!"
-
-Saint-Aignan shook his head, as a rebellious child does, whenever any one
-interferes to prevent him throwing himself into a well, or playing with a
-knife.  "But, sire," he said.
-
-"In the first place," continued the king.  "I want to be enlightened a
-little further."
-
-"Upon all points, if your majesty will be pleased to interrogate me,"
-replied Saint-Aignan, "I will throw what light I can."
-
-"Who told you that M. de Bragelonne had penetrated into that room?"
-
-"The letter which I found in the keyhole told me."
-
-"Who told you that it was De Bragelonne who put it there?"
-
-"Who but himself would have dared to undertake such a mission?"
-
-"You are right.  How was he able to get into your rooms?"
-
-"Ah! that is very serious, inasmuch as all the doors were closed, and my
-lackey, Basque, had the keys in his pocket."
-
-"Your lackey must have been bribed."
-
-"Impossible, sire; for if he had been bribed, those who did so would not
-have sacrificed the poor fellow, whom, it is not unlikely, they might
-want to turn to further use by and by, in showing so clearly that it was
-he whom they had made use of."
-
-"Quite true.  And now I can only form one conjecture."
-
-"Tell me what it is, sire, and we shall see if it is the same that has
-presented itself to my mind."
-
-"That he effected an entrance by means of the staircase."
-
-"Alas, sire, that seems to me more than probable."
-
-"There is no doubt that some one must have sold the secret of the trap-
-door."
-
-"Either sold it or given it."
-
-"Why do you make that distinction?"
-
-"Because there are certain persons, sire, who, being above the price of
-treason, give, and do not sell."
-
-"What do you mean?"
-
-"Oh, sire!  Your majesty's mind is too clear-sighted not to guess what I
-mean, and you will save me the embarrassment of naming the person I
-allude to."
-
-"You are right: you mean Madame; I suppose her suspicions were aroused by
-your changing your lodgings."
-
-"Madame has keys of the apartments of her maids of honor, and she is
-powerful enough to discover what no one but yourself could do, or she
-would not be able to discover anything."
-
-"And you suppose, then, that my sister must have entered into an alliance
-with Bragelonne, and has informed him of all the details of the affair."
-
-"Possibly even better still, for she perhaps accompanied him there."
-
-"Which way? through your own apartments?"
-
-"You think it impossible, sire?  Well, listen to me.  Your majesty knows
-that Madame is very fond of perfumes?"
-
-"Yes, she acquired that taste from my mother."
-
-"Vervain, particularly."
-
-"Yes, it is the scent she prefers to all others."
-
-"Very good, sire! my apartments happen to smell very strongly of vervain."
-
-The king remained silent and thoughtful for a few moments, and then
-resumed: "But why should Madame take Bragelonne's part against me?"
-
-Saint-Aignan could very easily have replied: "A woman's jealousy!"  The
-king probed his friend to the bottom of his heart to ascertain if he had
-learned the secret of his flirtation with his sister-in-law.  But Saint-
-Aignan was not an ordinary courtier; he did not lightly run the risk of
-finding out family secrets; and he was too a friend of the Muses not to
-think very frequently of poor Ovidius Naso, whose eyes shed so many tears
-in expiation of his crime for having once beheld something, one hardly
-knows what, in the palace of Augustus.  He therefore passed by Madame's
-secret very skillfully.  But as he had shown no ordinary sagacity in
-indicating Madame's presence in his rooms in company with Bragelonne, it
-was necessary, of course, for him to repay with interest the king's
-_amour propre_, and reply plainly to the question which had been put to
-him of: "Why has Madame taken Bragelonne's part against me?"
-
-"Why?" replied Saint-Aignan.  "Your majesty forgets, I presume, that the
-Comte de Guiche is the intimate friend of the Vicomte de Bragelonne."
-
-"I do not see the connection, however," said the king.
-
-"Ah!  I beg your pardon, then, sire; but I thought the Comte de Guiche
-was a very great friend of Madame's."
-
-"Quite true," the king returned; "there is no occasion to search any
-further, the blow came from that direction."
-
-"And is not your majesty of opinion that, in order to ward it off, it
-will be necessary to deal another blow?"
-
-"Yes, but not one of the kind given in the Bois de Vincennes," replied
-the king.
-
-"You forget, sire," said Saint-Aignan, "that I am a gentleman, and that I
-have been challenged."
-
-"The challenge neither concerns nor was it intended for you."
-
-"But I am the man, sire, who has been expected at the Minimes, sire,
-during the last hour and more; and I shall be dishonored if I do not go."
-
-"The first honor and duty of a gentleman is obedience to his sovereign."
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"I order you to remain."
-
-"Sire!"
-
-"Obey, monsieur!"
-
-"As your majesty pleases."
-
-"Besides, I wish to have the whole of this affair explained; I wish to
-know how it is that I have been so insolently trifled with, as to have
-the sanctuary of my affections pried into.  It is not you, Saint-Aignan,
-whose business it is to punish those who have acted in this manner, for
-it is not your honor they have attacked, but my own."
-
-"I implore your majesty not to overwhelm M. de Bragelonne with your
-wrath, for although in the whole of this affair he may have shown himself
-deficient in prudence, he has not been so in his feelings of loyalty."
-
-"Enough!  I shall know how to decide between the just and the unjust,
-even in the height of my anger.  But take care that not a word of this is
-breathed to Madame."
-
-"But what am I to do with regard to M. de Bragelonne?  He will be seeking
-me in every direction, and - "
-
-"I shall either have spoken to him, or taken care that he has been spoken
-to, before the evening is over."
-
-"Let me once more entreat your majesty to be indulgent towards him."
-
-"I have been indulgent long enough, comte," said Louis XIV., frowning
-severely; "it is now quite time to show certain persons that I am master
-in my own palace."
-
-The king had hardly pronounced these words, which betokened that a fresh
-feeling of irritation was mingling with the recollections of old, when an
-usher appeared at the door of the cabinet.  "What is the matter?"
-inquired the king, "and why do you presume to come when I have not
-summoned you?"
-
-"Sire," said the usher, "your majesty desired me to permit M. le Comte de
-la Fere to pass freely on any and every occasion, when he might wish to
-speak to your majesty."
-
-"Well, monsieur?"
-
-"M. le Comte de la Fere is now waiting to see your majesty."
-
-The king and Saint-Aignan at this reply exchanged a look which betrayed
-more uneasiness than surprise.  Louis hesitated for a moment, but
-immediately afterwards, seeming to make up his mind, he said:
-
-"Go, Saint-Aignan, and find Louise; inform her of the plot against us; do
-not let her be ignorant that Madame will return to her system of
-persecutions against her, and that she has set those to work who would
-have found it far safer to remain neuter."
-
-"Sire - "
-
-"If Louise gets nervous and frightened, reassure her as much as you can;
-tell her that the king's affection is an impenetrable shield over her;
-if, which I suspect is the case, she already knows everything, or if she
-has already been herself subjected to an attack of some kind or other
-from any quarter, tell her, be sure to tell her, Saint-Aignan," added the
-king, trembling with passion, "tell her, I say, that this time, instead
-of defending her, I will avenge her, and that too so terribly that no one
-will in future even dare to raise his eyes towards her."
-
-"Is that all, sire?"
-
-"Yes, all.  Go as quickly as you can, and remain faithful; for, you who
-live in the midst of this stake of infernal torments, have not, like
-myself, the hope of the paradise beyond it."
-
-Saint-Aignan exhausted himself in protestations of  devotion, took the
-king's hand, kissed it, and left the room radiant with delight.
-
-
-Chapter LVIII:
-King and Noble.
-
-The king endeavored to recover his self-possession as quickly as
-possible, in order to meet M. de la Fere with an untroubled countenance.
-He clearly saw it was not mere chance that had induced the comte's visit,
-he had some vague impression of its importance; but he felt that to a man
-of Athos's tone of mind, to one of such a high order of intellect, his
-first reception ought not to present anything either disagreeable or
-otherwise than kind and courteous.  As soon as the king had satisfied
-himself that, as far as appearances went, he was perfectly calm again, he
-gave directions to the ushers to introduce the comte.  A few minutes
-afterwards Athos, in full court dress, and with his breast covered with
-the orders that he alone had the right to wear at the court of France,
-presented himself with so grave and solemn an air that the king
-perceived, at the first glance, that he was not deceived in his
-anticipations.  Louis advanced a step towards the comte, and, with a
-smile, held out his hand to him, over which Athos bowed with the air of
-the deepest respect.
-
-"Monsieur le Comte de la Fere," said the king rapidly, "you are so seldom
-here, that it is a real piece of good fortune to see you."
-
-Athos bowed and replied, "I should wish always to enjoy the happiness of
-being near your majesty."
-
-The tone, however, in which this reply was conveyed, evidently signified,
-"I should wish to be one of your majesty's advisers, to save you the
-commission of faults."  The king felt it so, and determined in this man's
-presence to preserve all the advantages which could be derived from his
-command over himself, as well as from his rank and position.
-
-"I see you have something to say to me," he said.
-
-"Had it not been so, I should not have presumed to present myself before
-your majesty."
-
-"Speak quickly, I am anxious to satisfy you," returned the king, seating
-himself.
-
-"I am persuaded," replied Athos, in a somewhat agitated tone of voice,
-"that your majesty will give me every satisfaction."
-
-"Ah!" said the king, with a certain haughtiness of manner, "you have come
-to lodge a complaint here, then?"
-
-"It would be a complaint," returned Athos, "only in the event of your
-majesty - but if you will deign to permit me, sire, I will begin the
-conversation from the very commencement."
-
-"Do so, I am listening."
-
-"Your majesty will remember that at the period of the Duke of
-Buckingham's departure, I had the honor of an interview with you."
-
-"At or about that period, I think I remember you did; only, with regard
-to the subject of the conversation, I have quite forgotten it."
-
-Athos started, as he replied.  "I shall have the honor to remind your
-majesty of it.  It was with regard to a formal demand I had addressed to
-you respecting a marriage which M. de Bragelonne wished to contract with
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"Ah!" thought the king, "we have come to it now. - I remember," he said,
-aloud.
-
-"At that period," pursued Athos, "your majesty was so kind and generous
-towards M. de Bragelonne and myself, that not a single word which then
-fell from your lips has escaped my memory; and, when I asked your majesty
-to accord me Mademoiselle de la Valliere's hand for M. de Bragelonne, you
-refused."
-
-"Quite true," said Louis, dryly.
-
-"Alleging," Athos hastened to say, "that the young lady had no position
-in society."
-
-Louis could hardly force himself to listen with an appearance of royal
-propriety.
-
-"That," added Athos, "she had but little fortune."
-
-The king threw himself back in his armchair.
-
-"That her extraction was indifferent."
-
-A renewed impatience on the part of the king.
-
-"And little beauty," added Athos, pitilessly.
-
-This last bolt buried itself deep in the king's heart, and made him
-almost bound from his seat.
-
-"You have a good memory, monsieur," he said.
-
-"I invariably have, on occasions when I have had the distinguished honor
-of an interview with your majesty," retorted the comte, without being in
-the least disconcerted.
-
-"Very good: it is admitted that I said all that."
-
-"And I thanked your majesty for your remarks at the time, because they
-testified an interest in M. de Bragelonne which did him much honor."
-
-"And you may possibly remember," said the king, very deliberately, "that
-you had the greatest repugnance for this marriage."
-
-"Quite true, sire."
-
-"And that you solicited my permission, much against your own inclination?"
-
-"Yes, sire."
-
-"And finally, I remember, for I have a memory nearly as good as your own;
-I remember, I say, that you observed at the time: 'I do not believe that
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere loves M. de Bragelonne.'  Is that true?"
-
-The blow told well, but Athos did not draw back.  "Sire," he said, "I
-have already begged your majesty's forgiveness; but there are certain
-particulars in that conversation which are only intelligible from the
-_denouement_."
-
-"Well, what is the _denouement_, monsieur?"
-
-"This: that your majesty then said, 'that you would defer the marriage
-out of regard for M. de Bragelonne's own interests.'"
-
-The king remained silent.  "M. de Bragelonne is now so exceedingly
-unhappy that he cannot any longer defer asking your majesty for a
-solution of the matter."
-
-The king turned pale; Athos looked at him with fixed attention.
-
-"And what," said the king, with considerable hesitation, "does M. de
-Bragelonne request?"
-
-"Precisely the very thing that I came to ask your majesty for at my last
-audience, namely, your majesty's consent to his marriage."
-
-The king remained perfectly silent.  "The questions which referred to the
-different obstacles in the way are all now quite removed for us,"
-continued Athos.  "Mademoiselle de la Valliere, without fortune, birth,
-or beauty, is not the less on that account the only good match in the
-world for M. de Bragelonne, since he loves this young girl."
-
-The king pressed his hands impatiently together.  "Does your majesty
-hesitate?" inquired the comte, without losing a particle of either his
-firmness of his politeness.
-
-"I do not hesitate - I refuse," replied the king.
-
-Athos paused a moment, as if to collect himself: "I have had the honor,"
-he said, in a mild tone, "to observe to your majesty that no obstacle now
-interferes with M. de Bragelonne's affections, and that his determination
-seems unalterable."
-
-"There is my will - and that is an obstacle, I should imagine!"
-
-"That is the most serious of all," Athos replied quickly.
-
-"Ah!"
-
-"And may we, therefore, be permitted to ask your majesty, with the
-greatest humility, your reason for this refusal?"
-
-"The reason! - A question to me!" exclaimed the king.
-
-"A demand, sire!"
-
-The king, leaning with both his hands upon the table, said, in a deep
-tone of concentrated passion: "You have lost all recollection of what is
-usual at court.  At court, please to remember, no one ventures to put a
-question to the king."
-
-"Very true, sire; but if men do not question, they conjecture."
-
-"Conjecture!  What may that mean, monsieur?"
-
-"Very frequently, sire, conjecture with regard to a particular subject
-implies a want of frankness on the part of the king - "
-
-"Monsieur!"
-
-"And a want of confidence on the part of the subject," pursued Athos,
-intrepidly.
-
-"You forget yourself," said the king, hurried away by anger in spite of
-all his self-control.
-
-"Sire, I am obliged to seek elsewhere for what I thought I should find in
-your majesty.  Instead of obtaining a reply from you, I am compelled to
-make one for myself."
-
-The king rose.  "Monsieur le comte," he said, "I have now given you all
-the time I had at my disposal."  This was a dismissal.
-
-"Sire," replied the comte, "I have not yet had time to tell your majesty
-what I came with the express object of saying, and I so rarely see your
-majesty that I ought to avail myself of the opportunity."
-
-"Just now you spoke rudely of conjectures; you are now becoming
-offensive, monsieur."
-
-"Oh, sire! offend your majesty!  I? - never!  All my life through I have
-maintained that kings are above all other men, not only from their rank
-and power, but from their nobleness of heart and their true dignity of
-mind.  I never can bring myself to believe that my sovereign, he who
-passed his word to me, did so with a mental reservation."
-
-"What do you mean? what mental reservation do you allude to?"
-
-"I will explain my meaning," said Athos, coldly.  "If, in refusing
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere to Monsieur de Bragelonne, your majesty had
-some other object in view than the happiness and fortune of the vicomte
-- "
-
-"You perceive, monsieur, that you are offending me."
-
-"If, in requiring the vicomte to delay his marriage, your majesty's only
-object was to remove the gentleman to whom Mademoiselle de la Valliere
-was engaged - "
-
-"Monsieur! monsieur!"
-
-"I have heard it said so in every direction, sire.  Your majesty's
-affection for Mademoiselle de la Valliere is spoken of on all sides."
-
-The king tore his gloves, which he had been biting for some time.  "Woe
-to those," he cried, "who interfere in my affairs.  I have made up my
-mind to take a particular course, and I will break through every obstacle
-in my way."
-
-"What obstacle?" said Athos.
-
-The king stopped short, like a horse which, having taken the bit between
-his teeth and run away, finds it has slipped it back again, and that his
-career is checked.  "I love Mademoiselle de la Valliere," he said
-suddenly, with mingled nobleness of feeling and passion.
-
-"But," interrupted Athos, "that does not preclude your majesty from
-allowing M. de Bragelonne to marry Mademoiselle de la Valliere.  The
-sacrifice is worthy of so great a monarch; it is fully merited by M. de
-Bragelonne, who has already rendered great service to your majesty, and
-who may well be regarded as a brave and worthy man.  Your majesty,
-therefore, in renouncing the affection you entertain, offers a proof at
-once of generosity, gratitude, and good policy."
-
-"Mademoiselle de la Valliere does not love M. de Bragelonne," said the
-king, hoarsely.
-
-"Does your majesty know that to be the case?" remarked Athos, with a
-searching look.
-
-"I do know it."
-
-"Since a very short time, then; for doubtless, had your majesty known it
-when I first preferred my request, you would have taken the trouble to
-inform me of it."
-
-"Since a very short time, it is true, monsieur."
-
-Athos remained silent for a moment, and then resumed: "In that case, I do
-not understand why your majesty should have sent M. de Bragelonne to
-London.  That exile, and most properly so, too, is a matter of
-astonishment to every one who regards your majesty's honor with sincere
-affection."
-
-"Who presumes to impugn my honor, Monsieur de la Fere?"
-
-"The king's honor, sire, is made up of the honor of his whole nobility.
-Whenever the king offends one of his gentlemen, that is, whenever he
-deprives him of the smallest particle of his honor, it is from him, from
-the king himself, that that portion of honor is stolen."
-
-"Monsieur de la Fere!" said the king, haughtily.
-
-"Sire, you sent M. de Bragelonne to London either before you were
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere's lover, or since you have become so."
-
-The king, irritated beyond measure, especially because he felt that he
-was being mastered, endeavored to dismiss Athos by a gesture.
-
-"Sire," replied the comte, "I will tell you all; I will not leave your
-presence until I have been satisfied by your majesty or by myself;
-satisfied if you prove to me that you are right, - satisfied if I prove
-to you that you are wrong.  Nay, sire, you can but listen to me.  I am
-old now, and I am attached to everything that is really great and really
-powerful in your kingdom.  I am of those who have shed their blood for
-your father and for yourself, without ever having asked a single favor
-either from yourself or from your father.  I have never inflicted the
-slightest wrong or injury on any one in this world, and even kings are
-still my debtors.  You can but listen to me, I repeat.  I have come to
-ask you for an account of the honor of one of your servants whom you have
-deceived by a falsehood, or betrayed by want of heart of judgment.  I
-know that these words irritate your majesty, but the facts themselves are
-killing us.  I know that you are endeavoring to find some means whereby
-to chastise me for my frankness; but I know also the chastisement I will
-implore God to inflict upon you when I relate to Him your perjury and my
-son's unhappiness."
-
-The king during these remarks was walking hurriedly to and fro, his hand
-thrust into the breast of his coat, his head haughtily raised, his eyes
-blazing with wrath.  "Monsieur," he cried, suddenly, "if I acted towards
-you as a king, you would be already punished; but I am only a man, and I
-have the right to love in this world every one who loves me, - a
-happiness which is so rarely found."
-
-"You cannot pretend to such a right as a man any more than as a king,
-sire; or if you intend to exercise that right in a loyal manner, you
-should have told M. de Bragelonne so, and not have exiled him."
-
-"It is too great a condescension, monsieur, to discuss these things with
-you," interrupted Louis XIV., with that majesty of air and manner he
-alone seemed able to give his look and his voice.
-
-"I was hoping that you would reply to me," said the comte.
-
-"You shall know my reply, monsieur."
-
-"You already know my thoughts on the subject," was the Comte de la Fere's
-answer.
-
-"You have forgotten you are speaking to the king, monsieur.  It is a
-crime."
-
-"You have forgotten you are destroying the lives of two men, sire.  It is
-a mortal sin."
-
-"Leave the room!"
-
-"Not until I have said this: 'Son of Louis XIII., you begin your reign
-badly, for you begin it by abduction and disloyalty!  My race - myself
-too - are now freed from all that affection and respect towards you,
-which I made my son swear to observe in the vaults of Saint-Denis, in the
-presence of the relics of your noble forefathers.  You are now become our
-enemy, sire, and henceforth we have nothing to do save with Heaven alone,
-our sole master.  Be warned, be warned, sire.'"
-
-"What! do you threaten?"
-
-"Oh, no," said Athos, sadly, "I have as little bravado as fear in my
-soul.  The God of whom I spoke to you is now listening to me; He knows
-that for the safety and honor of your crown I would even yet shed every
-drop of blood twenty years of civil and foreign warfare have left in my
-veins.  I can well say, then, that I threaten the king as little as I
-threaten the man; but I tell you, sire, you lose two servants; for you
-have destroyed faith in the heart of the father, and love in the heart of
-the son; the one ceases to believe in the royal word, the other no longer
-believes in the loyalty of the man, or the purity of woman: the one is
-dead to every feeling of respect, the other to obedience.  Adieu!"
-
-Thus saying, Athos broke his sword across his knee, slowly placed the two
-pieces upon the floor, and saluting the king, who was almost choking from
-rage and shame, he quitted the cabinet.  Louis, who sat near the table,
-completely overwhelmed, was several minutes before he could collect
-himself; but he suddenly rose and rang the bell violently.  "Tell M.
-d'Artagnan to come here," he said to the terrified ushers.
-
-
-Chapter LIX:
-After the Storm.
-
-Our readers will doubtlessly have been asking themselves how it happened
-that Athos, of whom not a word has been said for some time past, arrived
-so very opportunely at court.  We will, without delay, endeavor to
-satisfy their curiosity.
-
-Porthos, faithful to his duty as an arranger of affairs, had, immediately
-after leaving the Palais Royal, set off to join Raoul at the Minimes in
-the Bois de Vincennes, and had related everything, even to the smallest
-details, which had passed between Saint-Aignan and himself.  He finished
-by saying that the message which the king had sent to his favorite would
-probably not occasion more than a short delay, and that Saint-Aignan, as
-soon as he could leave the king, would not lose a moment in accepting the
-invitation Raoul had sent him.
-
-But Raoul, less credulous than his old friend, had concluded from
-Porthos's recital that if Saint-Aignan was going to the king, Saint-
-Aignan would tell the king everything, and that the king would most
-assuredly forbid Saint-Aignan to obey the summons he had received to the
-hostile meeting.  The consequence of his reflections was, that he had
-left Porthos to remain at the place appointed for the meeting, in the
-very improbable case that Saint-Aignan would come there; having
-endeavored to make Porthos promise that he would not remain there more
-than an hour or an hour and a half at the very longest.  Porthos,
-however, formally refused to do anything of the kind, but, on the
-contrary, installed himself in the Minimes as if he were going to take
-root there, making Raoul promise that when he had been to see his father,
-he would return to his own apartments, in order that Porthos's servant
-might know where to find him in case M. de Saint-Aignan should happen to
-come to the rendezvous.
-
-Bragelonne had left Vincennes, and proceeded at once straight to the
-apartments of Athos, who had been in Paris during the last two days, the
-comte having been already informed of what had taken place, by a letter
-from D'Artagnan.  Raoul arrived at his father's; Athos, after having held
-out his hand to him, and embraced him most affectionately, made a sign
-for him to sit down.
-
-"I know you come to me as a man would go to a friend, vicomte, whenever
-he is suffering; tell me, therefore, what is it that brings you now."
-
-The young man bowed, and began his recital; more than once in the course
-of it his tears almost choked his utterance, and a sob, checked in his
-throat, compelled him to suspend his narrative for a few minutes.  Athos
-most probably already knew how matters stood, as we have just now said
-D'Artagnan had already written to him; but, preserving until the
-conclusion that calm, unruffled composure of manner which constituted the
-almost superhuman side of his character, he replied, "Raoul, I do not
-believe there is a word of truth in these rumors; I do not believe in the
-existence of what you fear, although I do not deny that persons best
-entitled to the fullest credit have already conversed with me on the
-subject.  In my heart and soul I think it utterly impossible that the
-king could be guilty of such an outrage on a gentleman.  I will answer
-for the king, therefore, and will soon bring you back the proof of what I
-say."
-
-Raoul, wavering like a drunken man between what he had seen with his own
-eyes and the imperturbable faith he had in a man who had never told a
-falsehood, bowed and simply answered, "Go, then, monsieur le comte; I
-will await your return."  And he sat down, burying his face in his
-hands.  Athos dressed, and then left him, in order to wait upon the king;
-the result of that interview is already known to our readers.
-
-When he returned to his lodgings, Raoul, pale and dejected, had not
-quitted his attitude of despair.  At the sound, however, of the opening
-doors, and of his father's footsteps as he approached him, the young man
-raised his head.  Athos's face was very pale, his head uncovered, and his
-manner full of seriousness; he gave his cloak and hat to the lackey,
-dismissed him with a gesture, and sat down near Raoul.
-
-"Well, monsieur," inquired the young man, "are you convinced yet?"
-
-"I am, Raoul; the king loves Mademoiselle de la Valliere."
-
-"He confesses it, then?" cried Raoul.
-
-"Yes," replied Athos.
-
-"And she?"
-
-"I have not seen her."
-
-"No; but the king spoke to you about her.  What did he say?"
-
-"He says that she loves him."
-
-"Oh, you see - you see, monsieur!" said the young man, with a gesture of
-despair.
-
-"Raoul," resumed the comte, "I told the king, believe me, all that you
-yourself could possibly have urged, and I believe I did so in becoming
-language, though sufficiently firm."
-
-"And what did you say to him, monsieur?"
-
-"I told him, Raoul, that everything was now at an end between him and
-ourselves; that you would never serve him again.  I told him that I, too,
-should remain aloof.  Nothing further remains for me, then, but to be
-satisfied of one thing."
-
-"What is that, monsieur?"
-
-"Whether you have determined to adopt any steps."
-
-"Any steps?  Regarding what?"
-
-"With reference to your disappointed affection, and - your ideas of
-vengeance."
-
-"Oh, monsieur, with regard to my affection, I shall, perhaps, some day or
-other, succeed in tearing it from my heart; I trust I shall do so, aided
-by Heaven's merciful help, and your own wise exhortations.  As far as
-vengeance is concerned, it occurred to me only when under the influence
-of an evil thought, for I could not revenge myself upon the one who is
-actually guilty; I have, therefore, already renounced every idea of
-revenge."
-
-"And you no longer think of seeking a quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan?"
-
-"No, monsieur; I sent him a challenge: if M. de Saint-Aignan accepts it,
-I will maintain it; if he does not take it up, I will leave things as
-they are."
-
-"And La Valliere?"
-
-"You cannot, I know, have seriously thought that I should dream of
-revenging myself upon a woman!" replied Raoul, with a smile so sad that a
-tear started even to the eyes of his father, who had so many times in the
-course of his life bowed beneath his own sorrows and those of others.
-
-He held out his hand to Raoul, which the latter seized most eagerly.
-
-"And so, monsieur le comte, you are quite satisfied that the misfortune
-is one beyond all remedy?" inquired the young man.
-
-"Poor boy!" he murmured.
-
-"You think that I still live in hope," said Raoul, "and you pity me.  Oh,
-it is indeed horrible suffering for me to despise, as I am bound to do,
-the one I have loved so devotedly.  If I had but some real cause of
-complaint against her, I should be happy, I should be able to forgive
-her."
-
-Athos looked at his son with a profoundly sorrowful air, for the words
-Raoul had just pronounced seemed to have issued out of his own heart.  At
-this moment the servant announced M. d'Artagnan.  This name sounded very
-differently to the ears of Athos and Raoul.  The musketeer entered the
-room with a vague smile on his lips.  Raoul paused.  Athos walked towards
-his friend with an expression of face that did not escape Bragelonne.
-D'Artagnan answered Athos's look by an imperceptible movement of the
-eyelid; and then, advancing towards Raoul, whom he took by the hand, he
-said, addressing both father and son, "Well, you are trying to console
-this poor boy, it seems."
-
-"And you, kind and good as usual, have come to help me in my difficult
-task."
-
-As he said this, Athos pressed D'Artagnan's hand between both his own.
-Raoul fancied he observed in this pressure something beyond the sense his
-mere words conveyed.
-
-"Yes," replied the musketeer, smoothing his mustache with the hand that
-Athos had left free, "yes, I have come too."
-
-"You are most welcome, chevalier; not for the consolation you bring with
-you, but on your own account.  I am already consoled," said Raoul; and he
-attempted to smile, but the effort was more sad than any tears D'Artagnan
-had ever seen shed.
-
-"That is all well and good, then," said D'Artagnan.
-
-"Only," continued Raoul, "you have arrived just as the comte was about to
-give me the details of his interview with the king.  You will allow the
-comte to continue?" added the young man, as, with his eyes fixed on the
-musketeer, he seemed to read the very depths of his heart.
-
-"His interview with the king?" said D'Artagnan, in a tone so natural and
-unassumed that there was no means of suspecting that his astonishment was
-feigned.  "You have seen the king, then, Athos?"
-
-Athos smiled as he said, "Yes, I have seen him."
-
-"Ah, indeed; you were unaware, then, that the comte had seen his
-majesty?" inquired Raoul, half reassured.
-
-"Yes, indeed, quite so."
-
-"In that case, I am less uneasy," said Raoul.
-
-"Uneasy - and about what?" inquired Athos.
-
-"Forgive me, monsieur," said Raoul, "but knowing so well the regard and
-affection you have for me, I was afraid you might possibly have expressed
-somewhat plainly to his majesty my own sufferings and your indignation,
-and that the king had consequently - "
-
-"And that the king had consequently?" repeated D'Artagnan; "well, go on,
-finish what you were going to say."
-
-"I have now to ask you to forgive me, Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Raoul.
-"For a moment, and I cannot help confessing it, I trembled lest you had
-come here, not as M. d'Artagnan, but as captain of the musketeers."
-
-"You are mad, my poor boy," cried D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter,
-in which an exact observer might perhaps have wished to have heard a
-little more frankness.
-
-"So much the better," said Raoul.
-
-"Yes, mad; and do you know what I would advise you to do?"
-
-"Tell me, monsieur, for the advice is sure to be good, as it comes from
-you."
-
-"Very good, then; I advise you, after your long journey from England,
-after your visit to M. de Guiche, after your visit to Madame, after your
-visit to Porthos, after your journey to Vincennes, I advise you, I say,
-to take a few hours' rest; go and lie down, sleep for a dozen hours, and
-when you wake up, go and ride one of my horses until you have tired him
-to death."
-
-And drawing Raoul towards him, he embraced him as he would have done his
-own child.  Athos did the like; only it was very visible that the kiss
-was still more affectionate, and the pressure of his lips even warmer
-with the father than with the friend.  The young man again looked at both
-his companions, endeavoring to penetrate their real meaning or their real
-feelings with the utmost strength of his intelligence; but his look was
-powerless upon the smiling countenance of the musketeer or upon the calm
-and composed features of the Comte de la Fere.  "Where are you going,
-Raoul?" inquired the latter, seeing that Bragelonne was preparing to go
-out.
-
-"To my own apartments," replied the latter, in his soft, sad voice.
-
-"We shall be sure to find you there, then, if we should have anything to
-say to you?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur; but do you suppose it likely you will have something to
-say to me?"
-
-"How can I tell?" said Athos.
-
-"Yes, something fresh to console you with," said D'Artagnan, pushing him
-towards the door.
-
-Raoul, observing the perfect composure which marked every gesture of his
-two friends, quitted the comte's room, carrying away with him nothing but
-the individual feeling of his own particular distress.
-
-"Thank Heaven," he said, "since that is the case, I need only think of
-myself."
-
-And wrapping himself up in his cloak, in order to conceal from the
-passers-by in the streets his gloomy and sorrowful face, he quitted them,
-for the purpose of returning to his own rooms, as he had promised
-Porthos.  The two friends watched the young man as he walked away with a
-feeling of genuine disinterested pity; only each expressed it in a
-different way.
-
-"Poor Raoul!" said Athos, sighing deeply.
-
-"Poor Raoul!" said D'Artagnan, shrugging his shoulders.
-
-
-Chapter LX:
-Heu!  Miser!
-
-"Poor Raoul!" had said Athos.  "Poor Raoul!" had said D'Artagnan: and, in
-point of fact, to be pitied by both these men, Raoul must indeed have
-been most unhappy.  And therefore, when he found himself alone, face to
-face, as it were, with his own troubles, leaving behind him the intrepid
-friend and the indulgent father; when he recalled the avowal of the
-king's affection, which had robbed him of Louise de la Valliere, whom he
-loved so deeply, he felt his heart almost breaking, as indeed we all have
-at least once in our lives, at the first illusion destroyed, the first
-affection betrayed.  "Oh!" he murmured, "all is over, then.  Nothing is
-now left me in this world.  Nothing to look forward to, nothing to hope
-for.  Guiche has told me so, my father has told me so, M. d'Artagnan has
-told me so.  All life is but an idle dream.  The future which I have been
-hopelessly pursuing for the last ten years is a dream! the union of
-hearts, a dream! a life of love and happiness, a dream!  Poor fool that I
-am," he continued, after a pause, "to dream away my existence aloud,
-publicly, and in the face of others, friends and enemies - and for what
-purpose, too? in order that my friends may be saddened by my troubles,
-and my enemies may laugh at my sorrows.  And so my unhappiness will soon
-become a notorious disgrace, a public scandal; and who knows but that to-
-morrow I may even be a public laughing-stock?"
-
-And, despite the composure which he had promised his father and
-D'Artagnan to observe, Raoul could not resist uttering a few words of
-darkest menace.  "And yet," he continued, "if my name were De Wardes, and
-if I had the pliancy of character and strength of will of M. d'Artagnan,
-I should laugh, with my lips at least; I should convince other women that
-this perfidious girl, honored by the affection I have wasted on her,
-leaves me only one regret, that of having been abused and deceived by her
-seemingly modest and irreproachable conduct; a few might perhaps fawn on
-the king by jesting at my expense; I should put myself on the track of
-some of those buffoons; I should chastise a few of them, perhaps; the men
-would fear me, and by the time I had laid three dying or dead at my feet,
-I should be adored by the women.  Yes, yes, that, indeed, would be the
-proper course to adopt, and the Comte de la Fere himself would not object
-to it.  Has not he also been tried, in his earlier days, in the same
-manner as I have just been tried myself?  Did he not replace affection by
-intoxication?  He has often told me so.  Why should I not replace love by
-pleasure?  He must have suffered as much as I suffer, even more - if that
-is possible.  The history of one man is the history of all, a dragging
-trial, more or less prolonged, more or less bitter - sorrowful.  The note
-of human nature is nothing but one sustained cry.  But what are the
-sufferings of others compared to those from which I am now suffering?
-Does the open wound in another's breast soften the anguish of the gaping
-ulcer in our own?  Does the blood which is welling from another man's
-side stanch that which is pouring from our own?  Does the general grief
-of our fellow-creatures lessen our own private and particular woe?  No,
-no, each suffers on his own account, each struggles with his own grief,
-each sheds his own tears.  And besides," he went on, "what has my life
-been up to the present moment?  A cold, barren, sterile arena, in which I
-have always fought for others, never for myself.  Sometimes for a king,
-sometimes for a woman.  The king has betrayed, the woman disdained me.
-Miserable, unlucky wretch that I am!  Women!  Can I not make all expiate
-the crime of one of their sex?  What does that need?  To have a heart no
-longer, or to forget that I ever had one; to be strong, even against
-weakness itself; to lean always, even when one feels that the support is
-giving way.  What is needed to attain, or succeed in all that?  To be
-young, handsome, strong, valiant, rich.  I am, or shall be, all that.
-But honor?" he still continued, "and what is honor after all?  A theory
-which every man understands in his own way.  My father tells me: 'Honor
-is the consideration of what is due to others, and particularly what is
-due to oneself.'  But Guiche, and Manicamp, and Saint-Aignan
-particularly, would say to me: 'What's honor?  Honor consists in studying
-and yielding to the passions and pleasures of one's king.'  Honor such as
-that indeed, is easy and productive enough.  With honor like that, I can
-keep my post at the court, become a gentleman of the chamber, and accept
-the command of a regiment, which may at any time be presented to me.
-With honor such as that, I can be duke and peer.
-
-"The stain which that woman has stamped upon me, the grief that has
-broken my heart, the heart of the friend and playmate of her childhood,
-in no way affects M. de Bragelonne, an excellent officer, a courageous
-leader, who will cover himself with glory at the first encounter, and who
-will become a hundred times greater than Mademoiselle de la Valliere is
-to-day, the mistress of the king - for the king will not marry her - and
-the more publicly he will proclaim her as his mistress, the more opaque
-will grow the shadow of shame he casts upon her face, in the guise of a
-crown; and in proportion as others despise, as I despise her, I shall be
-gleaning honors in the field.  Alas! we had walked together side by side,
-she and I, during the earliest, the brightest, the most angelic portion
-of our existence, hand in hand along the charming path of life, covered
-with the blossoms of youth; and then, alas! we reach a cross-road, where
-she separates herself from me, in which we have to follow a different
-route, whereby we become more and more widely separated from each other.
-And to attain the end of this path, oh, Heaven!  I am now alone, in utter
-despair, and crushed to the very earth."
-
-Such were the sinister reflections in which Raoul indulged, when his foot
-mechanically paused at the door of his own dwelling.  He had reached it
-without remarking the streets through which he passed, without knowing
-how he had come; he pushed open the door, continued to advance, and
-ascended the staircase.  The staircase, as in most of the houses at that
-period, was very dark, and the landings most obscure.  Raoul lived on the
-first floor; he paused in order to ring.  Olivain appeared, took his
-sword and cloak from his hands; Raoul himself opened the door which, from
-the ante-chamber, led into a small _salon_, richly furnished enough for
-the _salon_ of a young man, and completely filled with flowers by
-Olivain, who, knowing his master's tastes, had shown himself studiously
-attentive in gratifying them, without caring whether his master perceived
-his attention or not.  There was a portrait of La Valliere in the
-_salon_, which had been drawn by herself and given by her to Raoul.  This
-portrait, fastened above a large easy chair covered with dark colored
-damask, was the first point towards which Raoul bent his steps - the
-first object on which he fixed his eyes.  It was, moreover, Raoul's usual
-habit to do so; every time he entered his room, this portrait, before
-anything else, attracted his attention.  This time, as usual, he walked
-straight up to the portrait, placed his knees upon the arm chair, and
-paused to look at it sadly.  His arms were crossed upon his breast, his
-head slightly thrown back, his eyes filled with tears, his mouth worked
-into a bitter smile.  He looked at the portrait of the one he had so
-tenderly loved; and then all that he had said passed before his mind
-again, all that he had suffered seemed again to assail his heart; and,
-after a long silence, he murmured for the third time, "Miserable, unhappy
-wretch that I am!"
-
-He had hardly pronounced these words, when he heard the sound of a sigh
-and a groan behind him.  He turned sharply round and perceived, in the
-angle of the _salon_, standing up, a bending veiled female figure, which
-he had been the means of concealing behind the door as he opened it, and
-which he had not perceived as he entered.  He advanced towards the
-figure, whose presence in his room had not been announced to him; and as
-he bowed, and inquired at the same moment who she was, she suddenly
-raised her head, and removed the veil from her face, revealing her pale
-and sorrow-stricken features.  Raoul staggered back as if he had seen a
-ghost.
-
-"Louise!" he cried, in a tone of such absolute despair, one could hardly
-have thought the human voice was capable of so desponding a cry, without
-the snapping of the human heart.
-
-
-
-Chapter LXI:
-Wounds within Wounds.
-
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere - for it was indeed she - advanced a few
-steps towards him.  "Yes - Louise," she murmured.
-
-But this interval, short as it had been, was quite sufficient for Raoul
-to recover himself.  "You, mademoiselle?" he said; and then added, in an
-indefinable tone, "You here!"
-
-"Yes, Raoul," the young girl replied, "I have been waiting for you."
-
-"I beg your pardon.  When I came into the room I was not aware - "
-
-"I know - but I entreated Olivain not to tell you - "  She hesitated; and
-as Raoul did not attempt to interrupt her, a moment's silence ensued,
-during which the sound of their throbbing hearts might have been heard,
-not in unison with each other, but the one beating as violently as the
-other.  It was for Louise to speak, and she made an effort to do so.
-
-"I wished to speak to you," she said.  "It was absolutely necessary that
-I should see you - myself - alone.  I have not hesitated to adopt a step
-which must remain secret; for no one, except yourself, could understand
-my motive, Monsieur de Bragelonne."
-
-"In fact, mademoiselle," Raoul stammered out, almost breathless from
-emotion, "as far as I am concerned, and despite the good opinion you
-have of me, I confess - "
-
-"Will you do me the great kindness to sit down and listen to me?" said
-Louise, interrupting him with her soft, sweet voice.
-
-Bragelonne looked at her for a moment; then mournfully shaking his head,
-he sat, or rather fell down on a chair.  "Speak," he said.
-
-She cast a glance all round her.  This look was a timid entreaty, and
-implored secrecy far more effectually than her expressed words had done a
-few minutes before.  Raoul rouse, and went to the door, which he opened.
-"Olivain," he said, "I am not within for any one."  And then, turning
-towards Louise, he added, "Is not that what you wished?"
-
-Nothing could have produced a greater effect upon Louise than these few
-words, which seemed to signify, "You see that I still understand you."
-She passed a handkerchief across her eyes, in order to remove a
-rebellious tear which she could not restrain; and then, having collected
-herself for a moment, she said, "Raoul, do not turn your kind, frank look
-away from me.  You are not one of those men who despise a woman for
-having given her heart to another, even though her affection might render
-him unhappy, or might wound his pride."  Raoul did not reply.
-
-"Alas!" continued La Valliere, "it is only too true, my cause is a bad
-one, and I cannot tell in what way to begin.  It will be better for me, I
-think, to relate to you, very simply, everything that has befallen me.
-As I shall speak but the pure and simple truth, I shall always find my
-path clear before me in spite of the obscurity and obstacles I have to
-brave in order to solace my heart, which is full to overflowing, and
-wishes to pour itself out at your feet."
-
-Raoul continued to preserve the same unbroken silence.  La Valliere
-looked at him with an air that seemed to say, "Encourage me; for pity's
-sake, but a single word!"  But Raoul did not open his lips; and the young
-girl was obliged to continue:
-
-"Just now," she said, "M. de Saint-Aignan came to me by the king's
-directions."  She cast down her eyes as she said this; while Raoul, on
-his side, turned his away, in order to avoid looking at her.  "M. de
-Saint-Aignan came to me from the king," she repeated, "and told me that
-you knew all;" and she attempted to look Raoul in the face, after
-inflicting this further wound upon him, in addition to the many others he
-had already received; but it was impossible to meet Raoul's eyes.
-
-"He told me you were incensed with me - and justly so, I admit."
-
-This time Raoul looked at the young girl, and a smile full of disdain
-passed across his lips.
-
-"Oh!" she continued, "I entreat you, do not say that you have had any
-other feeling against me than that of anger merely.  Raoul, wait until I
-have told you all - wait until I have said to you all that I had to say –
-all that I came to say."
-
-Raoul, by the strength of his iron will, forced his features to assume a
-calmer expression, and the disdainful smile upon his lip passed away.
-
-"In the first place," said La Valliere, "in the first place, with my
-hands raised in entreaty towards you, with my forehead bowed to the
-ground before you, I entreat you, as the most generous, as the noblest
-of men, to pardon, to forgive me.  If I have left you in ignorance of
-what was passing in my own bosom, never, at least, would I have consented
-to deceive you.  Oh!  I entreat you, Raoul - I implore you on my knees –
-answer me one word, even though you wrong me in doing so.  Better, far
-better, an injurious word from your lips, than suspicion resting in your
-heart."
-
-"I admire your subtlety of expression, mademoiselle," said Raoul, making
-an effort to remain calm.  "To leave another in ignorance that you are
-deceiving him, is loyal; but to deceive him - it seems that would be very
-wrong, and that you would not do it."
-
-"Monsieur, for a long time I thought that I loved you better than
-anything else; and so long as I believed in my affection for you, I told
-you that loved you.  I could have sworn it on the altar; but a day came
-when I was undeceived."
-
-"Well, on that day, mademoiselle, knowing that I still continued to love
-you, true loyalty of conduct should have forced you to inform me you had
-ceased to love me."
-
-"But on that day, Raoul - on that day, when I read in the depths of my
-own heart, when I confessed to myself that you no longer filled my mind
-entirely, when I saw another future before me than that of being your
-friend, your life-long companion, your wife - on that day, Raoul, you
-were not, alas! any more beside me."
-
-"But you knew where I was, mademoiselle; you could have written to me."
-
-"Raoul, I did not dare to do so.  Raoul, I have been weak and cowardly.
-I knew you so thoroughly - I knew how devotedly you loved me, that I
-trembled at the bare idea of the grief I was about to cause you; and that
-is so true, Raoul, that this very moment I am now speaking to you,
-bending thus before you, my heart crushed in my bosom, my voice full of
-sighs, my eyes full of tears, it is so perfectly true, that I have no
-other defense than my frankness, I have no other sorrow greater than that
-which I read in your eyes."
-
-Raoul attempted to smile.
-
-"No!" said the young girl, with a profound conviction, "no, no; you will
-not do me so foul a wrong as to disguise your feelings before me now!
-You loved me; you were sure of your affection for me; you did not deceive
-yourself; you do not lie to your own heart - whilst I - I - "  And pale
-as death, her arms thrown despairingly above her head, she fell upon her
-knees.
-
-"Whilst you," said Raoul, "you told me you loved me, and yet you loved
-another."
-
-"Alas, yes!" cried the poor girl; "alas, yes!  I do love another; and
-that other - oh! for Heaven's sake let me say it, Raoul, for it is my
-only excuse - that other I love better than my own life, better than my
-own soul even.  Forgive my fault, or punish my treason, Raoul.  I came
-here in no way to defend myself, but merely to say to you: 'You know what
-it is to love!' - in such a case am I!  I love to that degree, that I
-would give my life, my very soul, to the man I love.  If he should ever
-cease to love me, I shall die of grief and despair, unless Heaven come to
-my assistance, unless Heaven does show pity upon me.  Raoul, I came here
-to submit myself to your will, whatever it might be - to die, if it were
-your wish I should die.  Kill me, then, Raoul! if in your heart you
-believe I deserve death."
-
-"Take care, mademoiselle," said Raoul: "the woman who invites death is
-one who has nothing but her heart's blood to offer to her deceived and
-betrayed lover."
-
-"You are right," she said.
-
-Raoul uttered a deep sigh, as he exclaimed, "And you love without being
-able to forget?"
-
-"I love without a wish to forget; without a wish ever to love any one
-else," replied La Valliere.
-
-"Very well," said Raoul.  "You have said to me, in fact, all you had to
-say; all I could possibly wish to know.  And now, mademoiselle, it is I
-who ask your forgiveness, for it is I who have almost been an obstacle in
-your life; I, too, who have been wrong, for, in deceiving myself, I
-helped to deceive you."
-
-"Oh!" said La Valliere, "I do not ask you so much as that, Raoul."
-
-"I only am to blame, mademoiselle," continued Raoul, "better informed
-than yourself of the difficulties of this life, I should have enlightened
-you.  I ought not to have relied upon uncertainty; I ought to have
-extracted an answer from your heart, whilst I hardly even sought an
-acknowledgement from your lips.  Once more, mademoiselle, it is I who ask
-your forgiveness."
-
-"Impossible, impossible!" she cried, "you are mocking me."
-
-"How, impossible?"
-
-"Yes, it is impossible to be so good, and kind, ah! perfect to such a
-degree as that."
-
-"Take care!' said Raoul, with a bitter smile, "for presently you may say
-perhaps I did not love you."
-
-"Oh! you love me like an affectionate brother; let me hope that, Raoul."
-
-"As a brother! undeceive yourself, Louise.  I love you as a lover - as a
-husband, with the deepest, the truest, the fondest affection."
-
-"Raoul, Raoul!"
-
-"As a brother!  Oh, Louise!  I love you so deeply, that I would have shed
-my blood for you, drop by drop; I would, oh! how willingly, have suffered
-myself to be torn to pieces for your sake, have sacrificed my very future
-for you.  I love you so deeply, Louise, that my heart feels dead and
-crushed within me, - my faith in human nature all is gone, - my eyes have
-lost their light; I loved you so deeply, that I now no longer see, think
-of, care for, anything, either in this world or the next."
-
-"Raoul - dear Raoul! spare me, I implore you!" cried La Valliere.  "Oh!
-if I had but known - "
-
-"It is too late, Louise; you love, you are happy in your affection; I
-read your happiness through your tears - behind the tears which the
-loyalty of your nature makes you shed; I feel the sighs your affection
-breathes forth.  Louise, Louise, you have made me the most abjectly
-wretched man living; leave me, I entreat you.  Adieu! adieu!"
-
-"Forgive me! oh, forgive me, Raoul, for what I have done."
-
-"Have I not done much, much more?  _Have I not told you that I love you
-still?_"  She buried her face in her hands.
-
-"And to tell you that - do you hear me, Louise? - to tell you that, at
-such a moment as this, to tell you that, as I have told you, is to
-pronounce my own sentence of death.  Adieu!"  La Valliere held out her
-hands to him in vain.
-
-"We ought not to see each other again in this world," he said, and as she
-was on the point of crying out in bitter agony at this remark, he placed
-his hand on her mouth to stifle the exclamation.  She pressed her lips
-upon it, and fell fainting to the ground.  "Olivain," said Raoul, "take
-this young lady and bear her to the carriage which is waiting for her at
-the door."  As Olivain lifted her up, Raoul made a movement as if to dart
-towards La Valliere, in order to give her a first and last kiss, but,
-stopping abruptly, he said, "No! she is not mine.  I am no thief - as is
-the king of France."  And he returned to his room, whilst the lackey
-carried La Valliere, still fainting, to the carriage.
-
-
-Chapter LXII:
-What Raoul Had Guessed.
-
-As soon as Raoul had quitted Athos and D'Artagnan, as the two
-exclamations that had followed his departure escaped their lips, they
-found themselves face to face alone.  Athos immediately resumed the
-earnest air that he had assumed at D'Artagnan's arrival.
-
-"Well," he said, "what have you come to announce to me, my friend?"
-
-"I?" inquired D'Artagnan.
-
-"Yes; I do not see you in this way without some reason for it," said
-Athos, smiling.
-
-"The deuce!" said D'Artagnan.
-
-"I will place you at your ease.  The king is furious, I suppose?"
-
-"Well, I must say he is not altogether pleased."
-
-"And you have come to arrest me, then?"
-
-"My dear friend, you have hit the very mark."
-
-"Oh, I expected it.  I am quite ready to go with you."
-
-"Deuce take it!" said D'Artagnan, "what a hurry you are in."
-
-"I am afraid of delaying you," said Athos, smiling.
-
-"I have plenty of time.  Are you not curious, besides, to know how things
-went on between the king and me?"
-
-"If you will be good enough to tell me, I will listen with the greatest
-of pleasure," said Athos, pointing out to D'Artagnan a large chair, into
-which the latter threw himself, assuming the easiest possible attitude.
-
-"Well, I will do so willingly enough," continued D'Artagnan, "for the
-conversation is rather curious, I must say.  In the first place the king
-sent for me."
-
-"As soon as I had left?"
-
-"You were just going down the last steps of the staircase, as the
-musketeers told me.  I arrived.  My dear Athos, he was not red in the
-face merely, he was positively purple.  I was not aware, of course, of
-what had passed; only, on the ground, lying on the floor, I saw a sword
-broken in two."
-
-"'Captain d'Artagnan,' cried the king, as soon as he saw me.
-
-"'Sire,' I replied.
-
-"'M. de la Fere has just left me; he is an insolent man.'
-
-"'An insolent man!' I exclaimed, in such a tone that the king stopped
-suddenly short.
-
-"'Captain d'Artagnan,' resumed the king, with his teeth clenched, 'you
-will be good enough to listen to and hear me.'
-
-"'That is my duty, sire.'
-
-"'I have, out of consideration for M. de la Fere, wished to spare him –
-he is a man of whom I still retain some kind recollections - the
-discredit of being arrested in my palace.  You will therefore take a
-carriage.'  At this I made a slight movement.
-
-"'If you object to arrest him yourself,' continued the king, 'send me my
-captain of the guards.'
-
-"'Sire,' I replied, 'there is no necessity for the captain of the guards,
-since I am on duty.'
-
-"'I should not like to annoy you,' said the king, kindly, 'for you have
-always served me well, Monsieur D'Artagnan.'
-
-"'You do not "annoy" me, sire,' I replied; 'I am on duty, that is all.'
-
-"'But,' said the king, in astonishment, 'I believe the comte is your
-friend?'
-
-"'If he were my father, sire, it would not make me less on duty than I
-am.'
-
-"The king looked at me; he saw how unmoved my face was, and seemed
-satisfied.  'You will arrest M. le Comte de la Fere, then?' he inquired.
-
-"'Most certainly, sire, if you give me the order to do so.'
-
-"'Very well; I order you to do so.'
-
-"I bowed, and replied, 'Where is the comte, sire?'
-
-"'You will look for him.'
-
-"'And am I to arrest him, wherever he may be?'
-
-"'Yes; but try that he may be at his own house.  If he should have
-started for his own estate, leave Paris at once, and arrest him on his
-way thither.'
-
-"I bowed; but as I did not move, he said, 'Well, what are you waiting
-for?'
-
-"'For the order to arrest the comte, signed by yourself.'
-
-"The king seemed annoyed; for, in point of fact, it was the exercise of a
-fresh act of authority, a repetition of the arbitrary act, if, indeed, it
-is to be considered as such.  He took hold of his pen slowly, and
-evidently in no very good temper; and then he wrote, 'Order for M. le
-Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain of my musketeers, to arrest M. le Comte de
-la Fere, wherever he is to be found.'  He then turned towards me; but I
-was looking on without moving a muscle of my face.  In all probability he
-thought he perceived something like bravado in my tranquil manner, for he
-signed hurriedly, and then handing me the order, he said, 'Go,
-monsieur!'  I obeyed; and here I am."
-
-Athos pressed his friend's hand.  "Well, let us set off," he said.
-
-"Oh! surely," said D'Artagnan, "you must have some trifling matters to
-arrange before you leave your apartments in this manner."
-
-"I? - not at all."
-
-"Why not?"
-
-"Why, you know, D'Artagnan, that I have always been a very simple
-traveler on this earth, ready to go to the end of the world by the order
-of my sovereign; ready to quit it at the summons of my Maker.  What does
-a man who is thus prepared require in such a case? - a portmanteau, or a
-shroud.  I am ready at this moment, as I have always been, my dear
-friend, and can accompany you at once."
-
-"But, Bragelonne - "
-
-"I have brought him up in the same principles I laid down for my own
-guidance; and you observed that, as soon as he perceived you, he guessed,
-that very moment, the motive of your visit.  We have thrown him off his
-guard for a moment; but do not be uneasy, he is sufficiently prepared for
-my disgrace not to be too much alarmed at it.  So, let us go."
-
-"Very well, let us go," said D'Artagnan, quietly.
-
-"As I broke my sword in the king's presence, and threw the pieces at his
-feet, I presume that will dispense with the necessity of delivering it
-over to you."
-
-"You are quite right; and besides that, what the deuce do you suppose I
-could do with your sword?"
-
-"Am I to walk behind, or before you?" inquired Athos, laughing.
-
-"You will walk arm in arm with me," replied D'Artagnan, as he took the
-comte's arm to descend the staircase; and in this manner they arrived at
-the landing.  Grimaud, whom they had met in the ante-room, looked at them
-as they went out together in this manner, with some little uneasiness;
-his experience of affairs was quite sufficient to give him good reason to
-suspect that there was something wrong.
-
-"Ah! is that you, Grimaud?" said Athos, kindly.  "We are going - "
-
-"To take a turn in my carriage," interrupted D'Artagnan, with a friendly
-nod of the head.
-
-Grimaud thanked D'Artagnan by a grimace, which was evidently intended for
-a smile, and accompanied both the friends to the door.  Athos entered
-first into the carriage; D'Artagnan followed him without saying a word to
-the coachman.  The departure had taken place so quietly, that it excited
-no disturbance or attention even in the neighborhood.  When the carriage
-had reached the quays, "You are taking me to the Bastile, I perceive,"
-said Athos.
-
-"I?" said D'Artagnan, "I take you wherever you may choose to go; nowhere
-else, I can assure you."
-
-"What do you mean?" said the comte, surprised.
-
-"Why, surely, my dear friend," said D'Artagnan, "you quite understand
-that I undertook the mission with no other object in view than that of
-carrying it out exactly as you liked.  You surely did not expect that I
-was going to get you thrown into prison like that, brutally, and without
-any reflection.  If I had anticipated that, I should have let the captain
-of the guards undertake it."
-
-"And so - ?" said Athos.
-
-"And so, I repeat again, we will go wherever you may choose."
-
-"My dear friend," said Athos, embracing D'Artagnan, "how like you that
-is!"
-
-"Well, it seems simple enough to me.  The coachman will take you to the
-barrier of the Cours-la-Reine; you will find a horse there which I have
-ordered to be kept ready for you; with that horse you will be able to do
-three posts without stopping; and I, on my side, will take care not to
-return to the king, to tell him that you have gone away, until the very
-moment it will be impossible to overtake you.  In the meantime you will
-have reached Le Havre, and from Le Havre across to England, where you
-will find the charming residence of which M. Monk made me a present,
-without speaking of the hospitality which King Charles will not fail to
-show you.  Well, what do you think of this project?"
-
-Athos shook his head, and then said, smiling as he did so, "No, no, take
-me to the Bastile."
-
-"You are an obstinate fellow, my dear Athos," returned D'Artagnan,
-"reflect for a few moments."
-
-"On what subject?"
-
-"That you are no longer twenty years of age.  Believe me, I speak
-according to my own knowledge and experience.  A prison is certain death
-for men who are at our time of life.  No, no; I will never allow you to
-languish in prison in such a way.  Why, the very thought of it makes my
-head turn giddy."
-
-"Dear D'Artagnan," Athos replied, "Heaven most fortunately made my body
-as strong, powerful, and enduring as my mind; and, rely upon it, I shall
-retain my strength up to the very last moment."
-
-"But this is not strength of mind or character; it is sheer madness."
-
-"No, D'Artagnan, it is the highest order of reasoning.  Do not suppose
-that I should in the slightest degree in the world discuss the question
-with you, whether you would not be ruined in endeavoring to save me.  I
-should have done precisely as you propose if flight had been part of my
-plan of action; I should, therefore, have accepted from you what, without
-any doubt, you would have accepted from me.  No!  I know you too well
-even to breathe a word upon the subject."
-
-"Ah! if you would only let me do it," said D'Artagnan, "what a dance we
-would give his most gracious majesty!"
-
-"Still he is the king; do not forget that, my dear friend."
-
-"Oh! that is all the same to me; and king though he be, I would plainly
-tell him, 'Sire, imprison, exile, kill every one in France and Europe;
-order me to arrest and poniard even whom you like - even were it
-Monsieur, your own brother; but do not touch one of the four musketeers,
-or if so, _mordioux!_'"
-
-"My dear friend," replied Athos, with perfect calmness, "I should like to
-persuade you of one thing; namely, that I wish to be arrested; that I
-desire above all things that my arrest should take place."
-
-D'Artagnan made a slight movement of his shoulders.
-
-"Nay, I wish it, I repeat, more than anything; if you were to let me
-escape, it would be only to return of my own accord, and constitute
-myself a prisoner.  I wish to prove to this young man, who is dazzled by
-the power and splendor of his crown, that he can be regarded as the first
-and chiefest among men only on the one condition of his proving himself
-to be the most generous and the wisest.  He may punish me, imprison,
-torture me, it matters not.  He abuses his opportunities, and I wish him
-to learn the bitterness of remorse, while Heaven teaches him what
-chastisement is."
-
-"Well, well," replied D'Artagnan, "I know only too well that, when you
-have once said, 'no,' you mean 'no.'  I do not insist any longer; you
-wish to go to the Bastile?"
-
-"I do wish to go there."
-
-"Let us go, then!  To the Bastile!" cried D'Artagnan to the coachman.
-And throwing himself back in the carriage, he gnawed the ends of his
-mustache with a fury which, for Athos, who knew him well, signified a
-resolution either already taken or in course of formation.  A profound
-silence ensued in the carriage, which continued to roll on, but neither
-faster nor slower than before.  Athos took the musketeer by the hand.
-
-"You are not angry with me, D'Artagnan?" he said.
-
-"I! - oh, no! certainly not; of course not.  What you do for heroism, I
-should have done from obstinacy."
-
-"But you are quite of opinion, are you not, that Heaven will avenge me,
-D'Artagnan?"
-
-"And I know one or two on earth who will not fail to lend a helping
-hand," said the captain.
-
-
-Chapter LXIII:
-Three Guests Astonished to Find Themselves at Supper Together.
-
-The carriage arrived at the outside of the gate of the Bastile.  A
-soldier on guard stopped it, but D'Artagnan had only to utter a single
-word to procure admittance, and the carriage passed on without further
-difficulty.  Whilst they were proceeding along the covered way which led
-to the courtyard of the governor's residence, D'Artagnan, whose lynx eyes
-saw everything, even through the walls, suddenly cried out, "What is that
-out yonder?"
-
-"Well," said Athos, quietly; "what is it?"
-
-"Look yonder, Athos."
-
-"In the courtyard?"
-
-"Yes, yes; make haste!"
-
-"Well, a carriage; very likely conveying a prisoner like myself."
-
-"That would be too droll."
-
-"I do not understand you."
-
-"Make haste and look again, and look at the man who is just getting out
-of that carriage."
-
-At that very moment a second sentinel stopped D'Artagnan, and while the
-formalities were being gone through, Athos could see at a hundred paces
-from him the man whom his friend had pointed out to him.  He was, in
-fact, getting out of the carriage at the door of the governor's house.
-"Well," inquired D'Artagnan, "do you see him?"
-
-"Yes; he is a man in a gray suit."
-
-"What do you say of him?"
-
-"I cannot very well tell; he is, as I have just now told you, a man in a
-gray suit, who is getting out of a carriage; that is all."
-
-"Athos, I will wager anything that it is he."
-
-"He, who?"
-
-"Aramis."
-
-"Aramis arrested?  Impossible!"
-
-"I do not say he is arrested, since we see him alone in his carriage."
-
-"Well, then, what is he doing here?"
-
-"Oh! he knows Baisemeaux, the governor," replied the musketeer, slyly;
-"so we have arrived just in time."
-
-"What for?"
-
-"In order to see what we can see."
-
-"I regret this meeting exceedingly.  When Aramis sees me, he will be very
-much annoyed, in the first place, at seeing me, and in the next at being
-seen."
-
-"Very well reasoned."
-
-"Unfortunately, there is no remedy for it; whenever any one meets another
-in the Bastile, even if he wished to draw back to avoid him, it would be
-impossible."
-
-"Athos, I have an idea; the question is, to spare Aramis the annoyance
-you were speaking of, is it not?"
-
-"What is to be done?"
-
-"I will tell you; or in order to explain myself in the best possible way,
-let me relate the affair in my own manner; I will not recommend you to
-tell a falsehood, for that would be impossible for you to do; but I will
-tell falsehoods enough for both; it is easy to do that when one is born
-to the nature and habits of a Gascon."
-
-Athos smiled.  The carriage stopped where the one we have just now
-pointed out had stopped; namely, at the door of the governor's house.
-"It is understood, then?" said D'Artagnan, in a low voice to his friend.
-Athos consented by a gesture.  They ascended the staircase.  There will
-be no occasion for surprise at the facility with which they had entered
-into the Bastile, if it be remembered that, before passing the first
-gate, in fact, the most difficult of all, D'Artagnan had announced that
-he had brought a prisoner of state.  At the third gate, on the contrary,
-that is to say, when he had once fairly entered the prison, he merely
-said to the sentinel, "To M. Baisemeaux;" and they both passed on.  In a
-few minutes they were in the governor's dining-room, and the first face
-which attracted D'Artagnan's observation was that of Aramis, who was
-seated side by side with Baisemeaux, awaiting the announcement of a meal
-whose odor impregnated the whole apartment.  If D'Artagnan pretended
-surprise, Aramis did not pretend at all; he started when he saw his two
-friends, and his emotion was very apparent.  Athos and D'Artagnan,
-however, complimented him as usual, and Baisemeaux, amazed, completely
-stupefied by the presence of his three guests, began to perform a few
-evolutions around them.
-
-"By what lucky accident - "
-
-"We were just going to ask you," retorted D'Artagnan.
-
-"Are we going to give ourselves up as prisoners?" cried Aramis, with an
-affection of hilarity.
-
-"Ah! ah!" said D'Artagnan; "it is true the walls smell deucedly like a
-prison.  Monsieur de Baisemeaux, you know you invited me to sup with you
-the other day."
-
-"I?" cried Baisemeaux.
-
-"Yes, of course you did, although you now seem so struck with amazement.
-Don't you remember it?"
-
-Baisemeaux turned pale and then red, looked at Aramis, who looked at him,
-and finished by stammering out, "Certainly - I am delighted - but, upon
-my honor - I have not the slightest - Ah!  I have such a wretched memory."
-
-"Well!  I am wrong, I see," said D'Artagnan, as if he were offended.
-
-"Wrong, what for?"
-
-"Wrong to remember anything about it, it seems."
-
-Baisemeaux hurried towards him.  "Do not stand on ceremony, my dear
-captain," he said; "I have the worst memory in the world.  I no sooner
-leave off thinking of my pigeons and their pigeon-house, than I am no
-better than the rawest recruit."
-
-"At all events, you remember it now," said D'Artagnan, boldly.
-
-"Yes, yes," replied the governor, hesitating; "I think I do remember."
-
-"It was when you came to the palace to see me; you told me some story or
-other about your accounts with M. de Louviere and M. de Tremblay."
-
-"Oh, yes! perfectly."
-
-"And about M. d'Herblay's kindness towards you."
-
-"Ah!" exclaimed Aramis, looking at the unhappy governor full in the face,
-"and yet you just now said you had no memory, Monsieur de Baisemeaux."
-
-Baisemeaux interrupted the musketeer in the middle of his revelations.
-"Yes, yes; you're quite right; how could I have forgotten; I remember it
-now as well as possible; I beg you a thousand pardons.  But now, once for
-all, my dear M. d'Artagnan, be sure that at this present time, as at any
-other, whether invited or not, you are perfectly at home here, you and M.
-d'Herblay, your friend," he said, turning towards Aramis; "and this
-gentleman, too," he added, bowing to Athos.
-
-"Well, I thought it would be sure to turn out so," replied D'Artagnan,
-"and that is the reason I came.  Having nothing to do this evening at the
-Palais Royal, I wished to judge for myself what your ordinary style of
-living was like; and as I was coming along, I met the Comte de la Fere."
-
-Athos bowed.  "The comte, who had just left his majesty, handed me an
-order which required immediate attention.  We were close by here; I
-wished to call in, even if it were for no other object than that of
-shaking hands with you and of presenting the comte to you, of whom you
-spoke so highly that evening at the palace when - "
-
-"Certainly, certainly - M. le Comte de la Fere?"
-
-"Precisely."
-
-"The comte is welcome, I am sure."
-
-"And he will sup with you two, I suppose, whilst I, unfortunate dog that
-I am, must run off on a matter of duty.  Oh! what happy beings you are,
-compared to myself," he added, sighing as loud as Porthos might have done.
-
-"And so you are going away, then?" said Aramis and Baisemeaux together,
-with the same expression of delighted surprised, the tone of which was
-immediately noticed by D'Artagnan.
-
-"I leave you in my place," he said, "a noble and excellent guest."  And
-he touched Athos gently on the shoulder, who, astonished also, could not
-help exhibiting his surprise a little; which was noticed by Aramis only,
-for M. de Baisemeaux was not quite equal to the three friends in point of
-intelligence.
-
-"What, are you going to leave us?" resumed the governor.
-
-"I shall only be about an hour, or an hour and a half.  I will return in
-time for dessert."
-
-"Oh! we will wait for you," said Baisemeaux.
-
-"No, no; that would be really disobliging me."
-
-"You will be sure to return, though?" said Athos, with an expression of
-doubt.
-
-"Most certainly," he said, pressing his friend's hand confidently; and he
-added, in a low voice, "Wait for me, Athos; be cheerful and lively as
-possible, and above all, don't allude even to business affairs, for
-Heaven's sake."
-
-And with a renewed pressure of the hand, he seemed to warn the comte of
-the necessity of keeping perfectly discreet and impenetrable.  Baisemeaux
-led D'Artagnan to the gate.  Aramis, with many friendly protestations of
-delight, sat down by Athos, determined to make him speak; but Athos
-possessed every virtue and quality to the very highest degree.  If
-necessity had required it, he would have been the finest orator in the
-world, but on other occasions he would rather have died than have opened
-his lips.
-
-Ten minutes after D'Artagnan's departure, the three gentlemen sat down to
-table, which was covered with the most substantial display of gastronomic
-luxury.  Large joints, exquisite dishes, preserves, the greatest variety
-of wines, appeared successively upon the table, which was served at the
-king's expense, and of which expense M. Colbert would have found no
-difficulty in saving two thirds, without any one in the Bastile being the
-worse for it.  Baisemeaux was the only one who ate and drank with
-gastronomic resolution.  Aramis allowed nothing to pass by him, but
-merely touched everything he took; Athos, after the soup and three _hors
-d'oeuvres_, ate nothing more.  The style of conversation was such as
-might have been anticipated between three men so opposite in temper and
-ideas.  Aramis was incessantly asking himself by what extraordinary
-chance Athos was there at Baisemeaux's when D'Artagnan was no longer
-there, and why D'Artagnan did not remain when Athos was there.  Athos
-sounded all the depths of the mind of Aramis, who lived in the midst of
-subterfuge, evasion, and intrigue; he studied his man well and
-thoroughly, and felt convinced that he was engaged upon some important
-project.  And then he too began to think of his own personal affair, and
-to lose himself in conjectures as to D'Artagnan's reason for having left
-the Bastile so abruptly, and for leaving behind him a prisoner so badly
-introduced and so badly looked after by the prison authorities.  But we
-shall not pause to examine into the thoughts and feelings of these
-personages, but will leave them to themselves, surrounded by the remains
-of poultry, game, and fish, which Baisemeaux's generous knife and fork
-had so mutilated.  We are going to follow D'Artagnan instead, who,
-getting into the carriage which had brought him, said to the coachman,
-"Return to the palace, as fast as the horses can gallop."
-
-
-Chapter LXIV:
-What Took Place at the Louvre During the Supper at the Bastile.
-
-M. de Saint-Aignan had executed the commission with which the king had
-intrusted him for La Valliere - as we have already seen in one of the
-preceding chapters; but, whatever his eloquence, he did not succeed in
-persuading the young girl that she had in the king a protector powerful
-enough for her under any combination of circumstances, and that she had
-no need of any one else in the world when the king was on her side.  In
-point of fact, at the very first word which the favorite mentioned of the
-discovery of the famous secret, Louise, in a passion of tears, abandoned
-herself in utter despair to a sorrow which would have been far from
-flattering for the king, if he had been a witness of it from one of the
-corners of the room.  Saint-Aignan, in his character of ambassador, felt
-almost as greatly offended at it as his master himself would have been,
-and returned to inform the king what he had seen and heard; and it is
-thus we find him, in a state of great agitation, in the presence of the
-king, who was, if possible, in a state of even greater flurry than himself.
-
-"But," said the king to the courtier, when the latter had finished his
-report, "what did she decide to do?  Shall I at least see her presently
-before supper?  Will she come to me, or shall I be obliged to go to her
-room?"
-
-"I believe, sire, that if your majesty wishes to see her, you will not
-only have to take the first step in advance, but will have to go the
-whole way."
-
-"That I do not mind.  Do you think she has yet a secret fancy for young
-Bragelonne?" muttered the king between his teeth.
-
-"Oh! sire, that is not possible; for it is you alone, I am convinced,
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere loves, and that, too, with all her heart.
-But you know that De Bragelonne belongs to that proud race who play the
-part of Roman heroes."
-
-The king smiled feebly; he knew how true the illustration was, for Athos
-had just left him.
-
-"As for Mademoiselle de la Valliere," Saint-Aignan continued, "she was
-brought up under the care of the Dowager Madame, that is to say, in the
-greatest austerity and formality.  This young engaged couple coldly
-exchanged their little vows in the prim presence of the moon and stars;
-and now, when they find they have to break those vows asunder, it plays
-the very deuce with them."
-
-Saint-Aignan thought to have made the king laugh; but on the contrary,
-from a mere smile Louis passed to the greatest seriousness of manner.  He
-already began to experience that remorse which the comte had promised
-D'Artagnan he would inflict upon him.  He reflected that, in fact, these
-young persons had loved and sworn fidelity to each other; that one of the
-two had kept his word, and that the other was too conscientious not to
-feel her perjury most bitterly.  And his remorse was not unaccompanied;
-for bitter pangs of jealousy began to beset the king's heart.  He did not
-say another word, and instead of going to pay a visit to his mother, or
-the queen, or Madame, in order to amuse himself a little, and make the
-ladies laugh, as he himself used to say, he threw himself into the huge
-armchair in which his august father Louis XIII. had passed so many weary
-days and years in company with Barradat and Cinq-Mars.  Saint-Aignan
-perceived the king was not to be amused at that moment; he tried a last
-resource, and pronounced Louise's name, which made the king look up
-immediately.  "What does your majesty intend to do this evening - shall
-Mademoiselle de la Valliere be informed of your intention to see her?"
-
-"It seems she is already aware of that," replied the king.  "No, no,
-Saint-Aignan," he continued, after a moment's pause, "we will both of us
-pass our time in thinking, and musing, and dreaming; when Mademoiselle de
-la Valliere shall have sufficiently regretted what she now regrets, she
-will deign, perhaps, to give us some news of herself."
-
-"Ah! sire, is it possible you can so misunderstand her heart, which is so
-full of devotion?"
-
-The king rose, flushed from vexation and annoyance; he was a prey to
-jealousy as well as to remorse.  Saint-Aignan was just beginning to feel
-that his position was becoming awkward, when the curtain before the door
-was raised.  The king turned hastily round; his first idea was that a
-letter from Louise had arrived; but, instead of a letter of love, he only
-saw his captain of musketeers, standing upright, and perfectly silent in
-the doorway.  "M. d'Artagnan," he said, "ah!  Well, monsieur?"
-
-D'Artagnan looked at Saint-Aignan; the king's eyes took the same
-direction as those of his captain; these looks would have been clear to
-any one, and for a still greater reason they were so for Saint-Aignan.
-The courtier bowed and quitted the room, leaving the king and D'Artagnan
-alone.
-
-"Is it done?" inquired the king.
-
-"Yes, sire," replied the captain of the musketeers, in a grave voice, "it
-is done."
-
-The king was unable to say another word.  Pride, however, obliged him not
-to pause at what he had done; whenever a sovereign has adopted a decisive
-course, even though it be unjust, he is compelled to prove to all
-witnesses, and particularly to prove it to himself, that he was quite
-right all through.  A good means for effecting that - an almost
-infallible means, indeed - is, to try and prove his victim to be in the
-wrong.  Louis, brought up by Mazarin and Anne of Austria, knew better
-than any one else his vocation as a monarch; he therefore endeavored to
-prove it on the present occasion.  After a few moment's pause, which he
-had employed in making silently to himself the same reflections which we
-have just expressed aloud, he said, in an indifferent tone: "What did the
-comte say?"
-
-"Nothing at all, sire."
-
-"Surely he did not allow himself to be arrested without saying something?"
-
-"He said he expected to be arrested, sire."
-
-The king raised his head haughtily.  "I presume," he said, "that M. le
-Comte de la Fere has not continued to play his obstinate and rebellious
-part."
-
-"In the first place, sire, what do you wish to signify by _rebellious?_"
-quietly asked the musketeer.  "A rebel, in the eyes of the king, is a man
-who not only allows himself to be shut up in the Bastile, but still more,
-who opposes those who do not wish to take him there."
-
-"Who do not wish to take him there!" exclaimed the king.  "What do you
-say, captain!  Are you mad?"
-
-"I believe not, sire."
-
-"You speak of persons who did not wish to arrest M. de la Fere!  Who are
-those persons, may I ask?"
-
-"I should say those whom your majesty intrusted with that duty."
-
-"But it was you whom I intrusted with it," exclaimed the king.
-
-"Yes, sire; it was I."
-
-"And yet you say that, despite my orders, you had the intention of not
-arresting the man who had insulted me!"
-
-"Yes, sire - that was really my intention.  I even proposed to the comte
-to mount a horse that I had prepared for him at the Barriere de la
-Conference."
-
-"And what was your object in getting this horse ready?"
-
-"Why, sire, in order that M. le Comte de la Fere might be able to reach
-Le Havre, and from that place make his escape to England."
-
-"You betrayed me, then, monsieur?" cried the king, kindling with a wild
-pride.
-
-"Exactly so."
-
-There was nothing to say in answer to statements made in such a tone; the
-king was astounded at such an obstinate and open resistance on the part
-of D'Artagnan.  "At least you had a reason, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for
-acting as you did?" said the king, proudly.
-
-"I have always a reason for everything, sire."
-
-"Your reason cannot be your friendship for the comte, at all events, -
-the only one that can be of any avail, the only one that could possibly
-excuse you, - for I placed you perfectly at your ease in that respect."
-
-"Me, sire?"
-
-"Did I not give you the choice to arrest, or not to arrest M. le Comte de
-la Fere?"
-
-"Yes, sire, but - "
-
-"But what?" exclaimed the king, impatiently.
-
-"But you warned me, sire, that if I did not arrest him, your captain of
-the guard should do so."
-
-"Was I not considerate enough towards you, from the very moment I did not
-compel you to obey me?"
-
-"To me, sire, you were, but not to my friend, for my friend would be
-arrested all the same, whether by myself or by the captain of the guards."
-
-"And this is your devotion, monsieur! a devotion which argues and
-reasons.  You are no soldier, monsieur!"
-
-"I wait for your majesty to tell me what I am."
-
-"Well, then - you are a Frondeur."
-
-"And since there is no longer any Fronde, sire, in that case - "
-
-"But if what you say is true - "
-
-"What I say is always true, sire."
-
-"What have you come to say to me, monsieur?"
-
-"I have come to say to your majesty, 'Sire, M. de la Fere is in the
-Bastile.'"
-
-"That is not your fault, it would seem."
-
-"That is true, sire; but at all events he is there; and since he is
-there, it is important that your majesty should know it."
-
-"Ah!  Monsieur d'Artagnan, so you set your king at defiance."
-
-"Sire - "
-
-"Monsieur d'Artagnan!  I warn you that you are abusing my patience."
-
-"On the contrary, sire."
-
-"What do you mean by 'on the contrary'?"
-
-"I have come to get myself arrested, too."
-
-"To get yourself arrested, - you!"
-
-"Of course.  My friend will get wearied to death in the Bastile by
-himself; and I have come to propose to your majesty to permit me to bear
-him company; if your majesty will but give me the word, I will arrest
-myself; I shall not need the captain of the guards for that, I assure
-you."
-
-The king darted towards the table and seized hold of a pen to write the
-order for D'Artagnan's imprisonment.  "Pay attention, monsieur, that this
-is forever," cried the king, in tones of sternest menace.
-
-"I can quite believe that," returned the musketeer; "for when you have
-once done such an act as that, you will never be able to look me in the
-face again."
-
-The king dashed down his pen violently.  "Leave the room, monsieur!" he
-said.
-
-"Not so, if it please your majesty."
-
-"What is that you say?"
-
-"Sire, I came to speak gently and temperately to your majesty; your
-majesty got into a passion with me; that is a misfortune; but I shall not
-the less on that account say what I had to say to you."
-
-"Your resignation, monsieur, - your resignation!" cried the king.
-
-"Sire, you know whether I care about my resignation or not, since at
-Blois, on the very day when you refused King Charles the million which my
-friend the Comte de la Fere gave him, I then tendered my resignation to
-your majesty."
-
-"Very well, monsieur - do it at once!"
-
-"No, sire; for there is no question of my resignation at the present
-moment.  Your majesty took up your pen just now to send me to the
-Bastile, - why should you change your intention?"
-
-"D'Artagnan!  Gascon that you are! who is king, allow me to ask, - you or
-myself?"
-
-"You, sire, unfortunately."
-
-"What do you mean by 'unfortunately'?"
-
-"Yes, sire; for if it were I - "
-
-"If it were you, you would approve of M. d'Artagnan's rebellious conduct,
-I suppose?"
-
-"Certainly."
-
-"Really!" said the king, shrugging his shoulders.
-
-"And I should tell my captain of the musketeers," continued D'Artagnan,
-"I should tell him, looking at him all the while with human eyes, and not
-with eyes like coals of fire, 'M. d'Artagnan, I had forgotten that I was
-the king, for I descended from my throne in order to insult a gentleman.'"
-
-"Monsieur," said the king, "do you think you can excuse your friend by
-exceeding him in insolence?"
-
-"Oh! sire!  I should go much further than he did," said D'Artagnan; "and
-it would be your own fault.  I should tell you what he, a man full of the
-finest sense of delicacy, did not tell you; I should say - 'Sire, you
-have sacrificed his son, and he defended his son - you sacrificed
-himself; he addressed you in the name of honor, of religion, of virtue –
-you repulsed, drove him away, imprisoned him.'  I should be harder than
-he was, for I should say to you - 'Sire; it is for you to choose.  Do you
-wish to have friends or lackeys - soldiers or slaves - great men or mere
-puppets?  Do you wish men to serve you, or to bend and crouch before
-you?  Do you wish men to love you, or to be afraid of you?  If you prefer
-baseness, intrigue, cowardice, say so at once, sire, and we will leave
-you, - we who are the only individuals who are left, - nay, I will say
-more, the only models of the valor of former times; we who have done our
-duty, and have exceeded, perhaps, in courage and in merit, the men
-already great for posterity.  Choose, sire! and that, too, without
-delay.  Whatever relics remain to you of the great nobility, guard them
-with a jealous eye; you will never be deficient in courtiers.  Delay not
-- and send me to the Bastile with my friend; for, if you did not know how
-to listen to the Comte de la Fere, whose voice is the sweetest and
-noblest in all the world when honor is the theme; if you do not know how
-to listen to D'Artagnan, the frankest and honestest voice of sincerity,
-you are a bad king, and to-morrow will be a poor king.  And learn from
-me, sire, that bad kings are hated by their people, and poor kings are
-driven ignominiously away.'  That is what I had to say to you, sire; you
-were wrong to drive me to say it."
-
-The king threw himself back in his chair, cold as death, and as livid as
-a corpse.  Had a thunderbolt fallen at his feet, he could not have been
-more astonished; he seemed as if his respiration had utterly ceased, and
-that he was at the point of death.  The honest voice of sincerity, as
-D'Artagnan had called it, had pierced through his heart like a sword-
-blade.
-
-D'Artagnan had said all he had to say.  Comprehending the king's anger,
-he drew his sword, and, approaching Louis XIV. respectfully, he placed it
-on the table.  But the king, with a furious gesture, thrust aside the
-sword, which fell on the ground and rolled to D'Artagnan's feet.
-Notwithstanding the perfect mastery which D'Artagnan exercised over
-himself, he, too, in his turn, became pale, and, trembling with
-indignation, said: "A king may disgrace a soldier, - he may exile him,
-and may even condemn him to death; but were he a hundred times a king, he
-has no right to insult him by casting a dishonor upon his sword!  Sire, a
-king of France has never repulsed with contempt the sword of a man such
-as I am!  Stained with disgrace as this sword now is, it has henceforth
-no other sheath than either your heart or my own!  I choose my own, sire;
-and you have to thank Heaven and my own patience that I do so."  Then
-snatching up his sword, he cried, "My blood be upon your head!" and, with
-a rapid gesture, he placed the hilt upon the floor and directed the point
-of the blade towards his breast.  The king, however, with a movement far
-more rapid than that of D'Artagnan, threw his right arm around the
-musketeer's neck, and with his left hand seized hold of the blade by the
-middle, and returned it silently to the scabbard.  D'Artagnan, upright,
-pale, and still trembling, let the king do all to the very end.  Louis,
-overcome and softened by gentler feelings, returned to the table, took a
-pen in his hand, wrote a few lines, signed them, and then held it out
-to D'Artagnan.
-
-"What is this paper, sire?" inquired the captain.
-
-"An order for M. d'Artagnan to set the Comte de la Fere at liberty
-immediately."
-
-D'Artagnan seized the king's hand, and imprinted a kiss upon it; he then
-folded the order, placed it in his belt, and quitted the room. Neither
-the king nor the captain had uttered a syllable.
-
-"Oh, human heart! thou guide and director of kings," murmured Louis, when
-alone, "when shall I learn to read in your inmost recesses, as in the
-leaves of a book!  Oh, I am not a bad king - nor am I poor king; I am but
-still a child, when all is said and done."
-
-
-Chapter LXV:
-Political Rivals.
-
-D'Artagnan had promised M. de Baisemeaux to return in time for dessert,
-and he kept his word.  They had just reached the finer and more delicate
-class of wines and liqueurs with which the governor's cellar had the
-reputation of being most admirably stocked, when the silver spurs of the
-captain resounded in the corridor, and he himself appeared at the
-threshold.  Athos and Aramis had played a close game; neither of the two
-had been able to gain the slightest advantage over the other.  They had
-supped, talked a good deal about the Bastile, of the last journey to
-Fontainebleau, of the intended _fete_ that M. Fouquet was about to give
-at Vaux; they had generalized on every possible subject; and no one,
-excepting Baisemeaux, had in the slightest degree alluded to private
-matters.  D'Artagnan arrived in the very midst of the conversation, still
-pale and much disturbed by his interview with the king.  Baisemeaux
-hastened to give him a chair; D'Artagnan accepted a glass of wine, and
-set it down empty.  Athos and Aramis both remarked his emotion; as for
-Baisemeaux, he saw nothing more than the captain of the king's
-musketeers, to whom he endeavored to show every possible attention.  But,
-although Aramis had remarked his emotion, he had not been able to guess
-the cause of it.  Athos alone believed he had detected it.  For him,
-D'Artagnan's return, and particularly the manner in which he, usually so
-impassible, seemed overcome, signified, "I have just asked the king
-something which the king has refused me."  Thoroughly convinced that his
-conjecture was correct, Athos smiled, rose from the table, and made a
-sign to D'Artagnan, as if to remind him that they had something else to
-do than to sup together.  D'Artagnan immediately understood him, and
-replied by another sign.  Aramis and Baisemeaux watched this silent
-dialogue, and looked inquiringly at each other.  Athos felt that he was
-called upon to give an explanation of what was passing.
-
-"The truth is, my friend," said the Comte de la Fere, with a smile, "that
-you, Aramis, have been supping with a state criminal, and you, Monsieur
-de Baisemeaux, with your prisoner."
-
-Baisemeaux uttered an exclamation of surprise, and almost of delight; for
-he was exceedingly proud and vain of his fortress, and for his own
-individual profit, the more prisoners he had, the happier he was, and the
-higher in rank the prisoners happened to be, the prouder he felt.  Aramis
-assumed the expression of countenance he thought the position justified,
-and said, "Well, dear Athos, forgive me, but I almost suspected what has
-happened.  Some prank of Raoul and La Valliere, I suppose?"
-
-"Alas!" said Baisemeaux.
-
-"And," continued Aramis, "you, a high and powerful nobleman as you are,
-forgetful that courtiers now exist - you have been to the king, I
-suppose, and told him what you thought of his conduct?"
-
-"Yes, you have guessed right."
-
-"So that," said Baisemeaux, trembling at having supped so familiarly with
-a man who had fallen into disgrace with the king; "so that, monsieur le
-comte - "
-
-"So that, my dear governor," said Athos, "my friend D'Artagnan will
-communicate to you the contents of the paper which I perceived just
-peeping out of his belt, and which assuredly can be nothing else than the
-order for my incarceration."
-
-Baisemeaux held out his hand with his accustomed eagerness.  D'Artagnan
-drew two papers from his belt, and presented one of them to the governor,
-who unfolded it, and then read, in a low tone of voice, looking at Athos
-over the paper, as he did so, and pausing from time to time: "'Order to
-detain, in my chateau of the Bastile, Monsieur le Comte de la Fere.'  Oh,
-monsieur! this is indeed a very melancholy day for me."
-
-"You will have a patient prisoner, monsieur," said Athos, in his calm,
-soft voice.
-
-"A prisoner, too, who will not remain a month with you, my dear
-governor," said Aramis; while Baisemeaux, still holding the order in his
-hand, transcribed it upon the prison registry.
-
-"Not a day, or rather not even a night," said D'Artagnan, displaying the
-second order of the king, "for now, dear M. de Baisemeaux, you will have
-the goodness to transcribe also this order for setting the comte
-immediately at liberty."
-
-"Ah!" said Aramis, "it is a labor that you have deprived me of,
-D'Artagnan;" and he pressed the musketeer's hand in a significant manner,
-at the same moment as that of Athos.
-
-"What!" said the latter in astonishment, "the king sets me at liberty!"
-
-"Read, my dear friend," returned D'Artagnan.
-
-Athos took the order and read it.  "It is quite true," he said.
-
-"Are you sorry for it?" asked D'Artagnan.
-
-"Oh, no, on the contrary.  I wish the king no harm; and the greatest evil
-or misfortune that any one can wish kings, is that they should commit an
-act of injustice.  But you have had a difficult and painful task, I
-know.  Tell me, have you not, D'Artagnan?"
-
-"I? not at all," said the musketeer, laughing: "the king does everything
-I wish him to do."
-
-Aramis looked fixedly at D'Artagnan, and saw that he was not speaking the
-truth.  But Baisemeaux had eyes for nothing but D'Artagnan, so great was
-his admiration for a man who seemed to make the king do all he wished.
-
-"And does the king exile Athos?" inquired Aramis.
-
-"No, not precisely; the king did not explain himself upon that subject,"
-replied D'Artagnan; "but I think the comte could not well do better
-unless, indeed, he wishes particularly to thank the king - "
-
-"No, indeed," replied Athos, smiling.
-
-"Well, then, I think," resumed D'Artagnan, "that the comte cannot do
-better than to retire to his _own_ chateau.  However, my dear Athos, you
-have only to speak, to tell me what you want.  If any particular place of
-residence is more agreeable to you than another, I am influential enough,
-perhaps, to obtain it for you."
-
-"No, thank you," said Athos; "nothing can be more agreeable to me, my
-dear friend, than to return to my solitude beneath my noble trees on the
-banks of the Loire.  If Heaven be the overruling physician of the evils
-of the mind, nature is a sovereign remedy.  And so, monsieur," continued
-Athos, turning again towards Baisemeaux, "I am now free, I suppose?"
-
-"Yes, monsieur le comte, I think so - at least, I hope so," said the
-governor, turning over and over the two papers in question, "unless,
-however, M. d'Artagnan has a third order to give me."
-
-"No, my dear Baisemeaux, no," said the musketeer; "the second is quite
-enough: we will stop there - if you please."
-
-"Ah! monsieur le comte," said Baisemeaux addressing Athos, "you do not
-know what you are losing.  I should have placed you among the thirty-
-franc prisoners, like the generals - what am I saying? - I mean among the
-fifty-francs, like the princes, and you would have supped every evening
-as you have done to-night."
-
-"Allow me, monsieur," said Athos, "to prefer my own simpler fare."  And
-then, turning to D'Artagnan, he said, "Let us go, my dear friend.  Shall
-I have that greatest of all pleasures for me - that of having you as my
-companion?"
-
-"To the city gate only," replied D'Artagnan, "after which I will tell you
-what I told the king: 'I am on duty.'"
-
-"And you, my dear Aramis," said Athos, smiling; "will you accompany me?
-La Fere is on the road to Vannes."
-
-"Thank you, my dear friend," said Aramis, "but I have an appointment in
-Paris this evening, and I cannot leave without very serious interests
-suffering by my absence."
-
-"In that case," said Athos, "I must say adieu, and take my leave of you.
-My dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux, I have to thank you exceedingly for your
-kind and friendly disposition towards me, and particularly for the
-enjoyable specimen you have given me of the ordinary fare of the
-Bastile."  And, having embraced Aramis, and shaken hands with M. de
-Baisemeaux, and having received best wishes for a pleasant journey from
-them both, Athos set off with D'Artagnan.
-
-Whilst the _denouement_ of the scene of the Palais Royal was taking place
-at the Bastile, let us relate what was going on at the lodgings of Athos
-and Bragelonne.  Grimaud, as we have seen, had accompanied his master to
-Paris; and, as we have said, he was present when Athos went out; he had
-observed D'Artagnan gnaw the corners of his mustache; he had seen his
-master get into the carriage; he had narrowly examined both their
-countenances, and he had known them both for a sufficiently long period
-to read and understand, through the mask of their impassibility, that
-something serious was the matter.  As soon as Athos had gone, he began to
-reflect; he then, and then only, remembered the strange manner in which
-Athos had taken leave of him, the embarrassment - imperceptible as it
-would have been to any but himself - of the master whose ideas were, to
-him, so clear and defined, and the expression of whose wishes was so
-precise.  He knew that Athos had taken nothing with him but the clothes
-he had on him at the time; and yet he seemed to fancy that Athos had not
-left for an hour merely; or even for a day.  A long absence was signified
-by the manner in which he pronounced the word "Adieu."  All these
-circumstances recurred to his mind, with feelings of deep affection for
-Athos, with that horror of isolation and solitude which invariably besets
-the minds of those who love; and all these combined rendered poor Grimaud
-very melancholy, and particularly uneasy.  Without being able to account
-to himself for what he did since his master's departure, he wandered
-about the room, seeking, as it were, for some traces of him, like a
-faithful dog, who is not exactly uneasy about his absent master, but at
-least is restless.  Only as, in addition to the instinct of the animal,
-Grimaud subjoined the reasoning faculties of the man, Grimaud therefore
-felt uneasy and restless too.  Not having found any indication which
-could serve as a guide, and having neither seen nor discovered anything
-which could satisfy his doubts, Grimaud began to wonder what could
-possibly have happened.  Besides, imagination is the resource, or rather
-the plague of gentle and affectionate hearts.  In fact, never does a
-feeling heart represent its absent friend to itself as being happy or
-cheerful.  Never does the dove that wings its flight in search of
-adventures inspire anything but terror at home.
-
-Grimaud soon passed from uneasiness to terror; he carefully went over, in
-his own mind, everything that had taken place: D'Artagnan's letter to
-Athos, the letter which had seemed to distress Athos so much after he had
-read it; then Raoul's visit to Athos, which resulted in Athos desiring
-him (Grimaud) to get his various orders and his court dress ready to put
-on; then his interview with the king, at the end of which Athos had
-returned home so unusually gloomy; then the explanation between the
-father and the son, at the termination of which Athos had embraced Raoul
-with such sadness of expression, while Raoul himself went away equally
-weary and melancholy; and finally, D'Artagnan's arrival, biting, as if he
-were vexed, the end of his mustache, and leaving again in the carriage,
-accompanied by the Comte de la Fere.  All this composed a drama in five
-acts very clearly, particularly for so analytical an observer as Grimaud.
-
-The first step he took was to search in his master's coat for M.
-d'Artagnan's letter; he found the letter still there, and its contents
-were found to run as follows:
-
-"MY DEAR FRIEND, - Raoul has been to ask me for some particulars about
-the conduct of Mademoiselle de la Valliere, during our young friend's
-residence in London.  I am a poor captain of musketeers, and I am
-sickened to death every day by hearing all the scandal of the barracks
-and bedside conversations.  If I had told Raoul all I believe, I know the
-poor fellow would have died of it; but I am in the king's service, and
-cannot relate all I hear about the king's affairs.  If your heart tells
-you to do it, set off at once; the matter concerns you more than it does
-myself, and almost as much as Raoul."
-
-Grimaud tore, not a handful, but a finger-and-thumbful of hair out of his
-head; he would have done more if his head of hair had been in a more
-flourishing condition.
-
-"Yes," he said, "that is the key of the whole enigma.  The young girl has
-been playing her pranks; what people say about her and the king is true,
-then; our young master has been deceived; he ought to know it.  Monsieur
-le comte has been to see the king, and has told him a piece of his mind;
-and then the king sent M. d'Artagnan to arrange the affair.  Ah! gracious
-goodness!" continued Grimaud, "monsieur le comte, I now remember,
-returned without his sword."
-
-This discovery made the perspiration break out all over poor Grimaud's
-face.  He did not waste any more time in useless conjecture, but clapped
-his hat on his head, and ran to Raoul's lodgings.
-
-Raoul, after Louise had left him, had mastered his grief, if not his
-affection; and, compelled to look forward on that perilous road over
-which madness and revulsion were hurrying him, he had seen, from the very
-first glance, his father exposed to the royal obstinacy, since Athos had
-himself been the first to oppose any resistance to the royal will.  At
-this moment, from a very natural sequence of feeling, the unhappy young
-man remembered the mysterious signs which Athos had made, and the
-unexpected visit of D'Artagnan; the result of the conflict between a
-sovereign and a subject revealed itself to his terrified vision.  As
-D'Artagnan was on duty, that is, a fixture at his post without the
-possibility of leaving it, it was certainly not likely that he had come
-to pay Athos a visit merely for the pleasure of seeing him.  He must
-have come to say something to him.  This something in the midst of such
-painful conjectures must have been the news of either a misfortune or a
-danger.  Raoul trembled at having been so selfish as to have forgotten
-his father for his affection; at having, in a word, passed his time in
-idle dreams, or in an indulgence of despair, at a time when a necessity
-existed for repelling such an imminent attack on Athos.  The very idea
-nearly drove him frantic; he buckled on his sword and ran towards his
-father's lodgings.  On his way there he encountered Grimaud, who, having
-set off from the opposite pole, was running with equal eagerness in
-search of the truth.  The two men embraced each other most warmly.
-
-"Grimaud," exclaimed Raoul, "is the comte well?"
-
-"Have you seen him?"
-
-"No; where is he?"
-
-"I am trying to find out."
-
-"And M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Went out with him."
-
-"When?"
-
-"Ten minutes after you did."
-
-"In what way did they go out?"
-
-"In a carriage."
-
-"Where did they go?"
-
-"I have no idea at all."
-
-"Did my father take any money with him?"
-
-"No."
-
-"Or his sword?"
-
-"No."
-
-"I have an idea, Grimaud, that M. d'Artagnan came in order to - "
-
-"Arrest monsieur le comte, do you not think, monsieur?"
-
-"Yes, Grimaud."
-
-"I could have sworn it."
-
-"What road did they take?"
-
-"The way leading towards the quay."
-
-"To the Bastile, then?"
-
-"Yes, yes."
-
-"Quick, quick; let us run."
-
-"Yes, let us not lose a moment."
-
-"But where are we to go?" said Raoul, overwhelmed.
-
-"We will go to M. d'Artagnan's first, we may perhaps learn something
-there."
-
-"No; if they keep me in ignorance at my father's, they will do the same
-everywhere.  Let us go to - Oh, good heavens! why, I must be mad to-day,
-Grimaud; I have forgotten M. du Vallon, who is waiting for and expecting
-me still."
-
-"Where is he, then?"
-
-"At the Minimes of Vincennes."
-
-"Thank goodness, that is on the same side as the Bastile.  I will run and
-saddle the horses, and we will go at once," said Grimaud.
-
-"Do, my friend, do."
-
-
-Chapter LXVI:
-In Which Porthos Is Convinced without Having Understood Anything.
-
-The good and worthy Porthos, faithful to all the laws of ancient
-chivalry, had determined to wait for M. de Saint-Aignan until sunset; and
-as Saint-Aignan did not come, as Raoul had forgotten to communicate with
-his second, and as he found that waiting so long was very wearisome,
-Porthos had desired one of the gate-keepers to fetch him a few bottles of
-good wine and a good joint of meat, - so that, at least, he might pass
-away the time by means of a glass or two and a mouthful of something to
-eat.  He had just finished when Raoul arrived, escorted by Grimaud, both
-of them riding at full speed.  As soon as Porthos saw the two cavaliers
-riding at such a pace along the road, he did not for a moment doubt but
-that they were the men he was expecting, and he rose from the grass upon
-which he had been indolently reclining and began to stretch his legs and
-arms, saying, "See what it is to have good habits.  The fellow has
-finished by coming, after all.  If I had gone away he would have found no
-one here and would have taken advantage of that."  He then threw himself
-into a martial attitude, and drew himself up to the full height of his
-gigantic stature.  But instead of Saint-Aignan, he only saw Raoul, who,
-with the most despairing gestures, accosted him by crying out, "Pray
-forgive me, my dear friend, I am most wretched."
-
-"Raoul!" cried Porthos, surprised.
-
-"You have been angry with me?" said Raoul, embracing Porthos.
-
-"I?  What for?"
-
-"For having forgotten you.  But I assure you my head seems utterly lost.
-If you only knew!"
-
-"You have killed him?"
-
-"Who?"
-
-"Saint-Aignan; or, if that is not the case, what is the matter?"
-
-"The matter is, that Monsieur le Comte de la Fere has by this time been
-arrested."
-
-Porthos gave a start that would have thrown down a wall.
-
-"Arrested!" he cried out; "by whom?"
-
-"By D'Artagnan."
-
-"It is impossible," said Porthos.
-
-"My dear friend, it is perfectly true."
-
-Porthos turned towards Grimaud, as if he needed a second confirmation of
-the intelligence.
-
-Grimaud nodded his head.  "And where have they taken him?"
-
-"Probably to the Bastile."
-
-"What makes you think that?"
-
-"As we came along we questioned some persons, who saw the carriage pass;
-and others who saw it enter the Bastile."
-
-"Oh!" muttered Porthos.
-
-"What do you intend to do?" inquired Raoul.
-
-"I?  Nothing; only I will not have Athos remain at the Bastile."
-
-"Do you know," said Raoul, advancing nearer to Porthos, "that the arrest
-was made by order of the king?"
-
-Porthos looked at the young man, as if to say, "What does that matter to
-me?"  This dumb language seemed so eloquent of meaning to Raoul that he
-did not ask any other question.  He mounted his horse again; and Porthos,
-assisted by Grimaud, had already done the same.
-
-"Let us arrange our plan of action," said Raoul.
-
-"Yes," returned Porthos, "that is the best thing we can do."
-
-Raoul sighed deeply, and then paused suddenly.
-
-"What is the matter?" asked Porthos; "are you faint?"
-
-"No, only I feel how utterly helpless our position is.  Can we three
-pretend to go and take the Bastile?"
-
-"Well, if D'Artagnan were only here," replied Porthos, "I am not so very
-certain we would fail."
-
-Raoul could not resist a feeling of admiration at the sight of such
-perfect confidence, heroic in its simplicity.  These were truly the
-celebrated men who, by three or four, attacked armies and assaulted
-castles!  Men who had terrified death itself, who had survived the wrecks
-of a tempestuous age, and still stood, stronger than the most robust of
-the young.
-
-"Monsieur," said he to Porthos, "you have just given me an idea; we
-absolutely must see M. d'Artagnan."
-
-"Undoubtedly."
-
-"He ought by this time to have returned home, after having taken my
-father to the Bastile.  Let us go to his house."
-
-"First inquire at the Bastile," said Grimaud, who was in the habit of
-speaking little, but that to the purpose.
-
-Accordingly, they hastened towards the fortress, when one of those
-chances which Heaven bestows on men of strong will caused Grimaud
-suddenly to perceive the carriage, which was entering by the great gate
-of the drawbridge.  This was the moment that D'Artagnan was, as we have
-seen, returning from his visit to the king.  In vain was it that Raoul
-urged on his horse in order to join the carriage, and to see whom it
-contained.  The horses had already gained the other side of the great
-gate, which again closed, while one of the sentries struck the nose of
-Raoul's horse with his musket; Raoul turned about, only too happy to find
-he had ascertained something respecting the carriage which had contained
-his father.
-
-"We have him," said Grimaud.
-
-"If we wait a little it is certain he will leave; don't you think so, my
-friend?"
-
-"Unless, indeed, D'Artagnan also be a prisoner," replied Porthos, "in
-which case everything is lost."
-
-Raoul returned no answer, for any hypothesis was admissible.  He
-instructed Grimaud to lead the horses to the little street Jean-Beausire,
-so as to give rise to less suspicion, and himself with his piercing gaze
-watched for the exit either of D'Artagnan or the carriage.  Nor had he
-decided wrongly; for twenty minutes had not elapsed before the gate
-reopened and the carriage reappeared.  A dazzling of the eyes prevented
-Raoul from distinguishing what figures occupied the interior.  Grimaud
-averred that he had seen two persons, and that one of them was his
-master.  Porthos kept looking at Raoul and Grimaud by turns, in the hope
-of understanding their idea.
-
-"It is clear," said Grimaud, "that if the comte is in the carriage,
-either he is set at liberty or they are taking him to another prison."
-
-"We shall soon see that by the road he takes," answered Porthos.
-
-"If he is set at liberty," said Grimaud, "they will conduct him home."
-
-"True," rejoined Porthos.
-
-"The carriage does not take that way," cried Raoul; and indeed the horses
-were just disappearing down the Faubourg St. Antoine.
-
-"Let us hasten," said Porthos; "we will attack the carriage on the road
-and tell Athos to flee."
-
-"Rebellion," murmured Raoul.
-
-Porthos darted a second glance at Raoul, quite worthy of the first.
-Raoul replied only by spurring the flanks of his steed.  In a few moments
-the three cavaliers had overtaken the carriage, and followed it so
-closely that their horses' breath moistened the back of it.  D'Artagnan,
-whose senses were ever on the alert, heard the trot of the horses, at the
-moment when Raoul was telling Porthos to pass the chariot, so as to see
-who was the person accompanying Athos.  Porthos complied, but could not
-see anything, for the blinds were lowered.  Rage and impatience were
-gaining mastery over Raoul.  He had just noticed the mystery preserved by
-Athos's companion, and determined on proceeding to extremities.  On his
-part D'Artagnan had perfectly recognized Porthos, and Raoul also, from
-under the blinds, and had communicated to the comte the result of his
-observation.  They were desirous only of seeing whether Raoul and Porthos
-would push the affair to the uttermost.  And this they speedily did, for
-Raoul, presenting his pistol, threw himself on the leader, commanding the
-coachmen to stop.  Porthos seized the coachman, and dragged him from his
-seat.  Grimaud already had hold of the carriage door.  Raoul threw open
-his arms, exclaiming, "M. le comte! M. le comte!"
-
-"Ah! is it you, Raoul?" said Athos, intoxicated with joy.
-
-"Not bad, indeed!" added D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter, and they
-both embraced the young man and Porthos, who had taken possession of them.
-
-"My brave Porthos! best of friends," cried Athos, "it is still the same
-old way with you."
-
-"He is still only twenty," said D'Artagnan, "brave Porthos!"
-
-"Confound it," answered Porthos, slightly confused, "we thought that you
-were being arrested."
-
-"While," rejoined Athos, "the matter in question was nothing but my
-taking a drive in M. d'Artagnan's carriage."
-
-"But we followed you from the Bastile," returned Raoul, with a tone of
-suspicion and reproach.
-
-"Where we had been to take supper with our friend M. Baisemeaux.  Do you
-recollect Baisemeaux, Porthos?"
-
-"Very well, indeed."
-
-"And there we saw Aramis."
-
-"In the Bastile?"
-
-"At supper."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, again breathing freely.
-
-"He gave us a thousand messages to you."
-
-"And where is M. le comte going?" asked Grimaud, already recompensed by a
-smile from his master.
-
-"We were going home to Blois."
-
-"How can that be?"
-
-"At once?" said Raoul.
-
-"Yes, right forward."
-
-"Without any luggage?"
-
-"Oh!  Raoul would have been instructed to forward me mine, or to bring it
-with him on his return, _if_ he returns."
-
-"If nothing detains him longer in Paris," said D'Artagnan, with a glance
-firm and cutting as steel, and as painful (for it reopened the poor young
-fellow's wounds), "he will do well to follow you, Athos."
-
-"There is nothing to keep me any longer in Paris," said Raoul.
-
-"Then we will go immediately."
-
-"And M. d'Artagnan?"
-
-"Oh! as for me, I was only accompanying Athos as far as the barrier, and
-I return with Porthos."
-
-"Very good," said the latter.
-
-"Come, my son," added the comte, gently passing his arm around Raoul's
-neck to draw him into the carriage, and again embracing him.  "Grimaud,"
-continued the comte, "you will return quietly to Paris with your horse
-and M. du Vallon's, for Raoul and I will mount here and give up the
-carriage to these two gentlemen to return to Paris in; and then, as soon
-as you arrive, you will take my clothes and letters and forward the whole
-to me at home."
-
-"But," observed Raoul, who was anxious to make the comte converse, "when
-you return to Paris, there will not be a single thing there for you –
-which will be very inconvenient."
-
-"I think it will be a very long time, Raoul, ere I return to Paris.  The
-last sojourn we have made there has not been of a nature to encourage me
-to repeat it."
-
-Raoul hung down his head and said not a word more.  Athos descended from
-the carriage and mounted the horse which had brought Porthos, and which
-seemed no little pleased at the exchange.  Then they embraced, and
-clasped each other's hands, and interchanged a thousand pledges of
-eternal friendship.  Porthos promised to spend a month with Athos at the
-first opportunity.  D'Artagnan engaged to take advantage of his first
-leave of absence; and then, having embraced Raoul for the last time: "To
-you, my boy," said he, "I will write."  Coming from D'Artagnan, who he
-knew wrote very seldom, these words expressed everything.  Raoul was
-moved even to tears.  He tore himself away from the musketeer and
-departed.
-
-D'Artagnan rejoined Porthos in the carriage: "Well," said he, "my dear
-friend, what a day we have had!"
-
-"Indeed we have," answered Porthos.
-
-"You must be quite worn out."
-
-"Not quite; however, I shall retire early to rest, so as to be ready for
-to-morrow."
-
-"And wherefore?"
-
-"Why! to complete what I have begun."
-
-"You make me shudder, my friend, you seem to me quite angry.  What the
-devil _have_ you begun which is not finished?"
-
-"Listen; Raoul has not fought, but _I_ must fight!"
-
-"With whom? with the king?"
-
-"How!" exclaimed Porthos, astounded, "with the king?"
-
-"Yes, I say, you great baby, with the king."
-
-"I assure you it is with M. Saint-Aignan."
-
-"Look now, this is what I mean; you draw your sword against the king in
-fighting with this gentleman."
-
-"Ah!" said Porthos, staring; "are you sure of it?"
-
-"Indeed I am."
-
-"What in the world are we to do, then?"
-
-"We must try and make a good supper, Porthos.  The captain of the
-musketeers keeps a tolerable table.  There you will see the handsome
-Saint-Aignan, and will drink his health."
-
-"I?" cried Porthos, horrified.
-
-"What!" said D'Artagnan, "you refuse to drink the king's health?"
-
-"But, body alive!  I am not talking to you about the king at all; I am
-speaking of M. de Saint-Aignan."
-
-"But when I repeat that it is the same thing?"
-
-"Ah, well, well!" said Porthos, overcome.
-
-"You understand, don't you?"
-
-"No," answered Porthos, "but 'tis all the same."
-
-
-Chapter LXVII:
-M. de Baisemeaux's "Society."
-
-The reader has not forgotten that, on quitting the Bastile, D'Artagnan
-and the Comte de la Fere had left Aramis in close confabulation with
-Baisemeaux.  When once these two guests had departed, Baisemeaux did not
-in the least perceive that the conversation suffered by their absence.
-He used to think that wine after supper, and that of the Bastile in
-particular, was excellent, and that it was a stimulation quite sufficient
-to make any honest man talkative.  But he little knew his Greatness, who
-was never more impenetrable that at dessert.  His Greatness, however,
-perfectly understood M. de Baisemeaux, when he reckoned on making the
-governor discourse by the means which the latter regarded as
-efficacious.  The conversation, therefore, without flagging in
-appearance, flagged in reality; for Baisemeaux not only had it nearly all
-to himself, but further, kept speaking only of that singular event, the
-incarceration of Athos, followed by so prompt an order to set him again
-at liberty.  Nor, moreover, had Baisemeaux failed to observe that the two
-orders of arrest and of liberation, were both in the king's hand.  But
-then, the king would not take the trouble to write similar orders except
-under pressing circumstances.  All this was very interesting, and, above
-all, very puzzling to Baisemeaux; but as, on the other hand, all this was
-very clear to Aramis, the latter did not attach to the occurrence the
-same importance as did the worthy governor.  Besides, Aramis rarely put
-himself out of the way for anything, and he had not yet told M. de
-Baisemeaux for what reason he had now done so.  And so at the very climax
-of Baisemeaux's dissertation, Aramis suddenly interrupted him.
-
-"Tell me, my dear Baisemeaux," said he, "have you never had any other
-diversions at the Bastile than those at which I assisted during the two
-or three visits I have had the honor to pay you?"
-
-This address was so unexpected that the governor, like a vane which
-suddenly receives an impulsion opposed to that of the wind, was quite
-dumbfounded at it.  "Diversions!" said he; "but I take them continually,
-monseigneur."
-
-"Oh, to be sure!  And these diversions?"
-
-"Are of every kind."
-
-"Visits, no doubt?"
-
-"No, not visits.  Visits are not frequent at the Bastile."
-
-"What, are visits rare, then?"
-
-"Very much so."
-
-"Even on the part of your society?"
-
-"What do you term my society - the prisoners?"
-
-"Oh, no! - your prisoners, indeed!  I know well it is you who visit them,
-and not they you.  By your society, I mean, my dear Baisemeaux, the
-society of which you are a member."
-
-Baisemeaux looked fixedly at Aramis, and then, as if the idea which had
-flashed across his mind were impossible, "Oh," he said, "I have very
-little society at present.  If I must own it to you, dear M. d'Herblay,
-the fact is, to stay at the Bastile appears, for the most part,
-distressing and distasteful to persons of the gay world.  As for the
-ladies, it is never without a certain dread, which costs me infinite
-trouble to allay, that they succeed in reaching my quarters.  And,
-indeed, how should they avoid trembling a little, poor things, when they
-see those gloomy dungeons, and reflect that they are inhabited by
-prisoners who - "  And in proportion as the eyes of Baisemeaux
-concentrated their gaze on the face of Aramis, the worthy governor's
-tongue faltered more and more until it ended by stopping altogether.
-
-"No, you don't understand me, my dear M. Baisemeaux; you don't understand
-me.  I do not at all mean to speak of society in general, but of a
-particular society - of _the_ society, in a word - to which you are
-affiliated."
-
-Baisemeaux nearly dropped the glass of muscat which he was in the act of
-raising to his lips.  "Affiliated," cried he, "affiliated!"
-
-"Yes, affiliated, undoubtedly," repeated Aramis, with the greatest self-
-possession.  "Are you not a member of a secret society, my dear M.
-Baisemeaux?"
-
-"Secret?"
-
-"Secret or mysterious."
-
-"Oh, M. d'Herblay!"
-
-"Consider, now, don't deny it."
-
-"But believe me."
-
-"I believe what I know."
-
-"I swear to you."
-
-"Listen to me, my dear M. Baisemeaux; I say yes, you say no; one of us
-two necessarily says what is true, and the other, it inevitably follows,
-what is false."
-
-"Well, and then?"
-
-"Well, we shall come to an understanding presently."
-
-"Let us see," said Baisemeaux; "let us see."
-
-"Now drink your glass of muscat, dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," said
-Aramis.  "What the devil! you look quite scared."
-
-"No, no; not the least in the world; oh, no."
-
-"Drink then."  Baisemeaux drank, but he swallowed the wrong way.
-
-"Well," resumed Aramis, "if, I say, you are not a member of a secret or
-mysterious society, which you like to call it - the epithet is of no
-consequence - if, I say, you are not a member of a society similar to
-that I wish to designate, well, then, you will not understand a word of
-what I am going to say.  That is all."
-
-"Oh! be sure beforehand that I shall not understand anything."
-
-"Well, well!"
-
-"Try, now; let us see!"
-
-"That is what I am going to do."
-
-"If, on the contrary, you are one of the members of this society, you
-will immediately answer me - yes or no."
-
-"Begin your questions," continued Baisemeaux, trembling.
-
-"You will agree, dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," continued Aramis, with the
-same impassibility, "that it is evident a man cannot be a member of a
-society, it is evident that he cannot enjoy the advantages it offers to
-the affiliated, without being himself bound to certain little services."
-
-"In short," stammered Baisemeaux, "that would be intelligible, if - "
-
-"Well," resumed Aramis, "there is in the society of which I speak, and of
-which, as it seems you are not a member - "
-
-"Allow me," said Baisemeaux.  "I should not like to say absolutely."
-
-"There is an engagement entered into by all the governors and captains of
-fortresses affiliated to the order."  Baisemeaux grew pale.
-
-"Now the engagement," continued Aramis firmly, "is of this nature."
-
-Baisemeaux rose, manifesting unspeakable emotion: "Go on, dear M.
-d'Herblay: go on," said he.
-
-Aramis then spoke, or rather recited the following paragraph, in the same
-tone as if he had been reading it from a book: "The aforesaid captain or
-governor of a fortress shall allow to enter, when need shall arise, and
-on demand of the prisoner, a confessor affiliated to the order."  He
-stopped.  Baisemeaux was quite distressing to look at, being so
-wretchedly pale and trembling.  "Is not that the text of the agreement?"
-quietly asked Aramis.
-
-"Monseigneur!" began Baisemeaux.
-
-"Ah! well, you begin to understand, I think."
-
-"Monseigneur," cried Baisemeaux, "do not trifle so with my unhappy mind!
-I find myself as nothing in your hands, if you have the malignant desire
-to draw from me the little secrets of my administration."
-
-"Oh! by no means; pray undeceive yourself, dear M. Baisemeaux; it is not
-the little secrets of your administration, but those of your conscience
-that I aim at."
-
-"Well, then, my conscience be it, dear M. d'Herblay.  But have some
-consideration for the situation I am in, which is no ordinary one."
-
-"It is no ordinary one, my dear monsieur," continued the inflexible
-Aramis, "if you are a member of this society; but it is a quite natural
-one if free from all engagement.  You are answerable only to the king."
-
-"Well, monsieur, well!  I obey only the king, and whom else would you
-have a French nobleman obey?"
-
-Aramis did not yield an inch, but with that silvery voice of his
-continued: "It is very pleasant," said he, "for a French nobleman, for a
-prelate of France, to hear a man of your mark express himself so loyally,
-dear De Baisemeaux, and having heard you to believe no more than you do."
-
-"Have you doubted, monsieur?"
-
-"I? oh, no!"
-
-"And so you doubt no longer?"
-
-"I have no longer any doubt that such a man as you, monsieur," said
-Aramis, gravely, "does not faithfully serve the masters whom he
-voluntarily chose for himself."
-
-"Masters!" cried Baisemeaux.
-
-"Yes, masters, I said."
-
-"Monsieur d'Herblay, you are still jesting, are you not?"
-
-"Oh, yes!  I understand that it is a more difficult position to have
-several masters than one; but the embarrassment is owing to you, my dear
-Baisemeaux, and I am not the cause of it."
-
-"Certainly not," returned the unfortunate governor, more embarrassed than
-ever; "but what are you doing?  You are leaving the table?"
-
-"Assuredly."
-
-"Are you going?"
-
-"Yes, I am going."
-
-"But you are behaving very strangely towards me, monseigneur."
-
-"I am behaving strangely - how do you make that out?"
-
-"Have you sworn, then, to put me to the torture?"
-
-"No, I should be sorry to do so."
-
-"Remain, then."
-
-"I cannot."
-
-"And why?"
-
-"Because I have no longer anything to do here; and, indeed, I have duties
-to fulfil elsewhere."
-
-"Duties, so late as this?"
-
-"Yes; understand me now, my dear De Baisemeaux: they told me at the place
-whence I came, 'The aforesaid governor or captain will allow to enter, as
-need shall arise, on the prisoner's demand, a confessor affiliated with
-the order.'  I came; you do not know what I mean, and so I shall return
-to tell them that they are mistaken, and that they must send me
-elsewhere."
-
-"What! you are - " cried Baisemeaux, looking at Aramis almost in terror.
-
-"The confessor affiliated to the order," said Aramis, without changing
-his voice.
-
-But, gentle as the words were, they had the same effect on the unhappy
-governor as a clap of thunder.  Baisemeaux became livid, and it seemed to
-him as if Aramis's beaming eyes were two forks of flame, piercing to the
-very bottom of his soul.  "The confessor!" murmured he; "you,
-monseigneur, the confessor of the order!"
-
-"Yes, I; but we have nothing to unravel together, seeing that you are not
-one of the affiliated."
-
-"Monseigneur!"
-
-"And I understand that, not being so, you refuse to comply with its
-command."
-
-"Monseigneur, I beseech you, condescend to hear me."
-
-"And wherefore?"
-
-"Monseigneur, I do not say that I have nothing to do with the society."
-
-"Ah! ah!"
-
-"I say not that I refuse to obey."
-
-"Nevertheless, M. de Baisemeaux, what has passed wears very much the air
-of resistance."
-
-"Oh, no! monseigneur, no; I only wished to be certain."
-
-"To be certain of what?" said Aramis, in a tone of supreme contempt.
-
-"Of nothing at all, monseigneur."  Baisemeaux lowered his voice, and
-bending before the prelate, said, "I am at all times and in all places at
-the disposal of my superiors, but - "
-
-"Very good.  I like you better thus, monsieur," said Aramis, as he
-resumed his seat, and put out his glass to Baisemeaux, whose hand
-trembled so that he could not fill it.  "You were saying 'but' - "
-continued Aramis.
-
-"But," replied the unhappy man, "having received no notice, I was very
-far from expecting it."
-
-"Does not the Gospel say, 'Watch, for the moment is known only of God?'
-Do not the rules of the order say, 'Watch, for that which I will, you
-ought always to will also.'  And what pretext will serve you now that you
-did not expect the confessor, M. de Baisemeaux?"
-
-"Because, monseigneur, there is at present in the Bastile no prisoner
-ill."
-
-Aramis shrugged his shoulders.  "What do you know about that?" said he.
-
-"But, nevertheless, it appears to me - "
-
-"M. de Baisemeaux," said Aramis, turning round in his chair, "here is
-your servant, who wishes to speak with you;" and at this moment, De
-Baisemeaux's servant appeared at the threshold of the door.
-
-"What is it?" asked Baisemeaux, sharply.
-
-"Monsieur," said the man, "they are bringing you the doctor's return."
-
-Aramis looked at De Baisemeaux with a calm and confident eye.
-
-"Well," said he, "let the messenger enter."
-
-The messenger entered, saluted, and handed in the report.  Baisemeaux ran
-his eye over it, and raising his head, said in surprise, "No. 12 is ill!"
-
-"How was it, then," said Aramis, carelessly, "that you told me everybody
-was well in your hotel, M. de Baisemeaux?"  And he emptied his glass
-without removing his eyes from Baisemeaux.
-
-The governor then made a sign to the messenger, and when he had quitted
-the room, said, still trembling, "I think that there is in the article,
-'on the prisoner's demand.'"
-
-"Yes, it is so," answered Aramis.  "But see what it is they want with you
-now."
-
-And that moment a sergeant put his head in at the door.  "What do you
-want now?" cried Baisemeaux.  "Can you not leave me in peace for ten
-minutes?"
-
-"Monsieur," said the sergeant, "the sick man, No. 12, has commissioned
-the turnkey to request you to send him a confessor."
-
-Baisemeaux very nearly sank on the floor; but Aramis disdained to
-reassure him, just as he had disdained to terrify him.  "What must I
-answer?" inquired Baisemeaux.
-
-"Just what you please," replied Aramis, compressing his lips; "that is
-your business.  _I_ am not the governor of the Bastile."
-
-"Tell the prisoner," cried Baisemeaux, quickly, - "tell the prisoner that
-his request is granted."  The sergeant left the room.  "Oh! monseigneur,
-monseigneur," murmured Baisemeaux, "how could I have suspected! - how
-could I have foreseen this!"
-
-"Who requested you to suspect, and who besought you to foresee?"
-contemptuously answered Aramis.  "The order suspects; the order knows;
-the order foresees - is that not enough?"
-
-"What is it you command?" added Baisemeaux.
-
-"I? - nothing at all.  I am nothing but a poor priest, a simple
-confessor.  Have I your orders to go and see the sufferer?"
-
-"Oh, monseigneur, I do not order; I pray you to go."
-
-"'Tis well; conduct me to him."
-
-End of Louise de la Valliere.  The last text in the series is The Man in
-the Iron Mask.
-
-
-Footnotes
-
-1. "To err is human."
-2. Potatoes were not grown in France at that time.  La Siecle insists
-that the error is theirs, and that Dumas meant "tomatoes."
-3. In the five-volume edition, Volume 3 ends here.
-4. "In your house."
-5. This alternate translation of the verse in this chapter:
-
-"Oh! you who sadly are wandering alone,
-Come, come, and laugh with us."
-
-- is closer to the original meaning.
-6. Marie de Mancini was a former love of the king's.  He had to abandon
-her for the political advantages which the marriage to the Spanish
-Infanta, Maria Theresa, afforded.  See The Vicomte de Bragelonne,
-Chapter XIII.
-7. "[A sun] not eclipsed by many suns."  Louis's device was the sun.
-8. In the three-volume edition, Volume 2, entitled Louise de la
-Valliere, ends here.
-9. "To what heights may he not aspire?"  Fouquet's motto.
-10. "A creature rare on earth."
-11. "With an eye always to the climax."
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's Louise de la Valliere, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere
-
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-<p class="MsoNormal">          intended by the author of the
-work, although tilde</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          (~), asterisk (*) and underline
-(_) characters may</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          be used to convey punctuation
-intended by the</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          author, and additional characters
-may be used to</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          indicate hypertext links; OR</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">     [*]  The etext may be readily converted
-by the reader at</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          no expense into plain ASCII,
-EBCDIC or equivalent</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          form by the program that displays
-the etext (as is</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          the case, for instance, with most
-word processors);</p>
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-provide on request at</p>
-
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-expense, a copy of the</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          etext in its original plain ASCII
-form (or in EBCDIC</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">          or other equivalent proprietary
-form).</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">[2]  Honor the etext refund and replacement
-provisions of this</p>
-
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-
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-Project of 20% of the</p>
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-the method you</p>
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-applicable taxes.  If you</p>
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-Association/Carnegie-Mellon</p>
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-required to prepare)</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">     your annual (or equivalent periodic)
-tax return.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU
-DON'T HAVE TO?</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">The Project gratefully accepts contributions
-in money, time,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">scanning machines, OCR software, public
-domain etexts, royalty</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">free copyright licenses, and every other
-sort of contribution</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">you can think of.  Money should be paid to
-"Project Gutenberg</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Association / Carnegie-Mellon
-University".</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">We are planning on making some changes in
-our donation structure</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">in 2000, so you might want to email me,
-hart@pobox.com beforehand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN
-ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">As you may be aware, Project Gutenberg has
-been involved with</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">the writings of both the Alexandre Dumases
-for some time now,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">and since we get a few questions about the
-order in which the</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">books should be read, and in which they were
-published, these</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">following comments should hopefully help
-most of our readers.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">***</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u> is the
-final volume of D'Artagnan Romances:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">it is usually split into three or four
-parts, and the final portion</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">is entitled <u>The Man in the Iron
-Mask</u>.  <u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u> we're</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">familiar with today is the last volume of
-the four-volume edition.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">[Not all the editions split them in the same
-manner, hence some of</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">the confusion. . .but wait. . .there's yet
-more reason for confusion.]</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">We intend to do ALL of <u>The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne</u>, split into four etexts</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">entitled <u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>,
-<u>Ten Years Later</u>, <u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">and <u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>; you
-WILL be getting <u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">One thing that may be causing confusion is
-that the etext we have now,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">entitled <u>Ten Years Later</u>, says it's
-the sequel to <u>The Three Musketeers</u>.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">While this is technically true, there's
-another book, <u>Twenty Years After</u>,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">that comes between.  The confusion is
-generated by the two facts that we</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">published <u>Ten Years Later</u> BEFORE we
-published <u>Twenty Years After</u>, and</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">that many people see those titles as meaning
-Ten and Twenty Years "After"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">the original story. . .however, this is why
-the different words "After" and</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">"Later". . .the Ten Years "After" is ten
-years after the Twenty Years later. . .as</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">per history.  Also, the third book of the
-D'Artagnan Romances, while entitled</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>, has the
-subtitle <u>Ten Years Later</u>.  These two</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">titles are also given to different volumes:
-<u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u> can</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">refer to the whole book, or the first volume
-of the three or four-volume</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">editions.  <u>Ten Years Later</u> can,
-similarly, refer to the whole book, or the</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">second volume of the four-volume edition. 
-To add to the confusion, in</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">the case of our etexts, it refers to the
-first 104 chapters of the whole book,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">covering material in the first and second
-etexts in the new series.  Here is a</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">guide to the series which may prove
-helpful:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Three Musketeers</u>: Etext 1257 -
-First book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Covers the years 1625-1628.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Twenty Years After</u>: Etext 1259 -
-Second book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Covers the years 1648-1649.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">[Third in the order that we published, but
-second in time sequence!!!]</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Ten Years Later</u>: Etext 1258 - First
-104 chapters of the third book of the</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">D'Artagnan Romances.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Covers the years 1660-1661.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>: Etext 2609
-(first in the new series) - First 75 chapters</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">of the third book of the D'Artagnan
-Romances.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Covers the year 1660.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Ten Years Later</u>: Etext 2681 (second
-in the new series) - Chapters 76-140 of that</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Covers the years 1660-1661.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">[In this particular editing of it]</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>: Etext
-2710 (our new text) - Chapters 141-208 of the</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">third book of the D'Artagnan Romances.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Covers the year 1661.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>: forthcoming
-(our next text) - Chapters 209-269 of</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">the third book of the D'Artagnan
-Romances.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Covers the years 1661-1673.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">If we've calculated correctly, that fourth
-text SHOULD correspond to the</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">modern editions of <u>The Man in the Iron
-Mask</u>, which is still widely</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">circulated, and comprises about the last 1/4
-of <u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Here is a list of the other Dumas Etexts we
-have published so far:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Sep 1999 La Tulipe Noire, by Alexandre
-Dumas[Pere#6/French][tlpnrxxx.xxx]1910</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">This is an abridged edition in French, also
-see our full length English Etext</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Jul 1997 The Black Tulip, by Alexandre
-Dumas[Pere][Dumas#1][tbtlpxxx.xxx] 965</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Jan 1998 The Count of Monte Cristo by
-Alexandre Dumas[Pere][crstoxxx.xxx]1184</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">Many thanks to Dr. David Coward, whose
-editions of the D'Artagnan Romances have proved an invaluable
-source of information.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Introduction:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>In the months of
-March-July in 1844, in the magazine <i>Le Si&egrave;cle</i>, the
-first portion of a story appeared, penned by the celebrated
-playwright Alexandre Dumas.  It was based, he claimed, on some
-manuscripts he had found a year earlier in the Bibliotheque
-Nationale while researching a history he planned to write on
-Louis XIV.  They chronicled the adventures of a young man named
-D'Artagnan who, upon entering Paris, became almost immediately
-embroiled in court intrigues, international politics, and
-ill-fated affairs between royal lovers.  Over the next six years,
-readers would enjoy the adventures of this youth and his three
-famous friends, Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, as their exploits
-unraveled behind the scenes of some of the most momentous events
-in French and even English history.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Eventually these serialized
-adventures were published in novel form, and became the three
-D'Artagnan Romances known today.  Here is a brief summary of the
-first two novels:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Three Musketeers</u> (serialized
-March - July, 1844): The year is 1625.  The young D'Artagnan
-arrives in Paris at the tender age of 18, and almost immediately
-offends three musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos.  Instead of
-dueling, the four are attacked by five of the Cardinal's guards,
-and the courage of the youth is made apparent during the battle. 
-The four become fast friends, and, when asked by D'Artagnan's
-landlord to find his missing wife, embark upon an adventure that
-takes them across both France and England in order to thwart the
-plans of the Cardinal Richelieu.  Along the way, they encounter a
-beautiful young spy, named simply Milady, who will stop at
-nothing to disgrace Queen Anne of Austria before her husband,
-Louis XIII, and take her revenge upon the four friends.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Twenty Years After</u> (serialized
-January - August, 1845): The year is now 1648, twenty years since
-the close of the last story.  Louis XIII has died, as has
-Cardinal Richelieu, and while the crown of France may sit upon
-the head of Anne of Austria as Regent for the young Louis XIV,
-the real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, her secret
-husband.  D'Artagnan is now a lieutenant of musketeers, and his
-three friends have retired to private life.  Athos turned out to
-be a nobleman, the Comte de la F&egrave;re, and has retired to
-his home with his son, Raoul de Bragelonne.  Aramis, whose real
-name is D'Herblay, has followed his intention of shedding the
-musketeer's cassock for the priest's robes, and Porthos has
-married a wealthy woman, who left him her fortune upon her
-death.  But trouble is stirring in both France and England. 
-Cromwell menaces the institution of royalty itself while marching
-against Charles I, and at home the Fronde is threatening to tear
-France apart.  D'Artagnan brings his friends out of retirement to
-save the threatened English monarch, but Mordaunt, the son of
-Milady, who seeks to avenge his mother's death at the musketeers'
-hands, thwarts their valiant efforts.  Undaunted, our heroes
-return to France just in time to help save the young Louis XIV,
-quiet the Fronde, and tweak the nose of Cardinal Mazarin.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The third novel, <u>The
-Vicomte de Bragelonne</u> (serialized October, 1847 - January,
-1850), has enjoyed a strange history in its English translation. 
-It has been split into three, four, or five volumes at various
-points in its history.  The five-volume edition generally does
-not give titles to the smaller portions, but the others do.  In
-the three-volume edition, the novels are entitled <u>The Vicomte
-de Bragelonne</u>, <u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>, and
-<u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>.  For the purposes of this etext,
-I have chosen to split the novel as the four-volume edition does,
-with these titles: <u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>, <u>Ten Years
-Later</u>, <u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>, and <u>The Man in
-the Iron Mask</u>.  In the first two etexts:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u> (Etext
-2609): It is the year 1660, and D'Artagnan, after thirty-five
-years of loyal service, has become disgusted with serving King
-Louis XIV while the real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin,
-and has tendered his resignation.  He embarks on his own project,
-that of restoring Charles II to the throne of England, and, with
-the help of Athos, succeeds, earning himself quite a fortune in
-the process.  D'Artagnan returns to Paris to live the life of a
-rich citizen, and Athos, after negotiating the marriage of
-Philip, the king's brother, to Princess Henrietta of England,
-likewise retires to his own estate, La F&egrave;re.  Meanwhile,
-Mazarin has finally died, and left Louis to assume the reigns of
-power, with the assistance of M. Colbert, formerly Mazarin's
-trusted clerk.  Colbert has an intense hatred for M. Fouquet, the
-king's superintendent of finances, and has resolved to use any
-means necessary to bring about his fall.  With the new rank of
-intendant bestowed on him by Louis, Colbert succeeds in having
-two of Fouquet's loyal friends tried and executed.  He then
-brings to the king's attention that Fouquet is fortifying the
-island of Belle-&Icirc;le-en-Mer, and could possibly be planning
-to use it as a base for some military operation against the
-king.  Louis calls D'Artagnan out of retirement and sends him to
-investigate the island, promising him a tremendous salary and his
-long-promised promotion to captain of the musketeers upon his
-return.  At Belle-Isle, D'Artagnan discovers that the engineer of
-the fortifications is, in fact, Porthos, now the Baron du Vallon,
-and that's not all.  The blueprints for the island, although in
-Porthos's handwriting, show evidence of another script that has
-been erased, that of Aramis.  D'Artagnan later discovers that
-Aramis has become the bishop of Vannes, which is, coincidentally,
-a parish belonging to M. Fouquet.  Suspecting that D'Artagnan has
-arrived on the king's behalf to investigate, Aramis tricks
-D'Artagnan into wandering around Vannes in search of Porthos, and
-sends Porthos on an heroic ride back to Paris to warn Fouquet of
-the danger.  Fouquet rushes to the king, and gives him Belle-Isle
-as a present, thus allaying any suspicion, and at the same time
-humiliating Colbert, just minutes before the usher announces
-someone else seeking an audience with the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Ten Years Later</u> (Etext 2681): As 1661
-approaches, Princess Henrietta of England arrives for her
-marriage, and throws the court of France into complete disorder. 
-The jealousy of the Duke of Buckingham, who is in love with her,
-nearly occasions a war on the streets of Le Havre, thankfully
-prevented by Raoul's timely and tactful intervention.  After the
-marriage, though, Monsieur Philip becomes horribly jealous of
-Buckingham, and has him exiled.  Before leaving, however, the
-duke fights a duel with M. de Wardes at Calais.  De Wardes is a
-malicious and spiteful man, the sworn enemy of D'Artagnan, and,
-by the same token, that of Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and Raoul as
-well.  Both men are seriously wounded, and the duke is taken back
-to England to recover.  Raoul's friend, the comte de Guiche, is
-the next to succumb to Henrietta's charms, and Monsieur obtains
-his exile as well, though De Guiche soon effects a
-reconciliation.  But then the king's eye falls on Madame
-Henrietta during the comte's absence, and this time Monsieur's
-jealousy has no recourse.  Anne of Austria intervenes, and the
-king and his sister-in-law decide to pick a young lady with whom
-the king can pretend to be in love, the better to mask their own
-affair.  They unfortunately select Louise de la Valli&egrave;re,
-Raoul's fianc&eacute;e.  While the court is in residence at
-Fontainebleau, the king unwitting overhears Louise confessing her
-love for him while chatting with her friends beneath the royal
-oak, and the king promptly forgets his affection for Madame. 
-That same night, Henrietta overhears, at the same oak, De Guiche
-confessing his love for her to Raoul.  The two embark on their
-own affair.  A few days later, during a rainstorm, Louis and
-Louise are trapped alone together, and the whole court begins to
-talk of the scandal while their love affair blossoms.  Aware of
-Louise's attachment, the king arranges for Raoul to be sent to
-England for an indefinite period.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Meanwhile, the struggle for
-power continues between Fouquet and Colbert.  Although the
-Belle-Isle plot backfired, Colbert prompts the king to ask
-Fouquet for more and more money, and without his two friends to
-raise it for him, Fouquet is sorely pressed.  The situation gets
-so bad that his new mistress, Madame de Belli&egrave;re, must
-resort to selling all her jewels and her gold and silver plate. 
-Aramis, while this is going on, has grown friendly with the
-governor of the Bastile, M. de Baisemeaux, a fact that Baisemeaux
-unwittingly reveals to D'Artagnan while inquiring of him as to
-Aramis's whereabouts.  This further arouses the suspicions of the
-musketeer, who was made to look ridiculous by Aramis.  He had
-ridden overnight at an insane pace, but arrived a few minutes
-after Fouquet had already presented Belle-Isle to the king. 
-Aramis learns from the governor the location of a mysterious
-prisoner, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Louis XIV - in
-fact, the two are identical.  He uses the existence of this
-secret to persuade a dying Franciscan monk, the general of the
-society of the Jesuits, to name him, Aramis, the new general of
-the order.  On Aramis's advice, hoping to use Louise's influence
-with the king to counteract Colbert's influence, Fouquet also
-writes a love letter to La Valli&egrave;re, unfortunately
-undated.  It never reaches its destination, however, as the
-servant ordered to deliver it turns out to be an agent of
-Colbert's.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos, in the meantime,
-has been recovering from his midnight ride from Belle-Isle at
-Fouquet's residence at Saint-Mand&eacute;.  Athos has retired,
-once again to La F&egrave;re.  D'Artagnan, little amused by the
-court's activities at Fontainebleau, and finding himself with
-nothing to do, has returned to Paris, and we find him again in
-Planchet's grocery shop.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">And so, the story continues in this, the
-third etext of <u>The Vicomte de Bragelonne</u>.  Enjoy!</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>John
-Bursey</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>
-Mordaunt@aol.com</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>July,
-2000</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<b><i><u><span style='font-size:20.0pt;'>Louise de la
-Valli&egrave;re</span></u></i></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;'>by Alexandre
-Dumas</span></i></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;'> </span></i></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Malaga.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>D</span>uring all
-these long and noisy debates between the opposite ambitions of
-politics and love, one of our characters, perhaps the one least
-deserving of neglect, was, however, very much neglected, very
-much forgotten, and exceedingly unhappy.  In fact, D'Artagnan -
-D'Artagnan, we say, for we must call him by his name, to remind
-our readers of his existence - D'Artagnan, we repeat, had
-absolutely nothing whatever to do, amidst these brilliant
-butterflies of fashion.  After following the king during two
-whole days at Fontainebleau, and critically observing the various
-pastoral fancies and heroi-comic transformations of his
-sovereign, the musketeer felt that he needed something more than
-this to satisfy the cravings of his nature.  At every moment
-assailed by people asking him, "How do you think this costume
-suits me, Monsieur d'Artagnan?" he would reply to them in quiet,
-sarcastic tones, "Why, I think you are quite as well-dressed as
-the best-dressed monkey to be found in the fair at
-Saint-Laurent."  It was just such a compliment D'Artagnan would
-choose where he did not feel disposed to pay any other: and,
-whether agreeable or not, the inquirer was obliged to be
-satisfied with it.  Whenever any one asked him, "How do you
-intend to dress yourself this evening?" he replied, "I shall
-undress myself;" at which the ladies all laughed, and a few of
-them blushed.  But after a couple of days passed in this manner,
-the musketeer, perceiving that nothing serious was likely to
-arise which would concern him, and that the king had completely,
-or, at least, appeared to have completely forgotten Paris,
-Saint-Mand&eacute;, and Belle-Isle - that M. Colbert's mind was
-occupied with illuminations and fireworks - that for the next
-month, at least, the ladies had plenty of glances to bestow, and
-also to receive in exchange - D'Artagnan asked the king for leave
-of absence for a matter of private business.  At the moment
-D'Artagnan made his request, his majesty was on the point of
-going to bed, quite exhausted from dancing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You wish to leave me,
-Monsieur d'Artagnan?" inquired the king, with an air of
-astonishment; for Louis XIV. could never understand why any one
-who had the distinguished honor of being near him could wish to
-leave him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," said D'Artagnan, "I
-leave you simply because I am not of the slightest service to you
-in anything.  Ah! if I could only hold the balancing-pole while
-you were dancing, it would be a very different affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, my dear Monsieur
-d'Artagnan," said the king, gravely, "people dance without
-balancing-poles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! indeed," said the
-musketeer, continuing his imperceptible tone of irony, "I had no
-idea such a thing was possible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have not seen me dance,
-then?" inquired the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; but I always thought
-dancers went from easy to difficult acrobatic feats.  I was
-mistaken; all the more greater reason, therefore, that I should
-leave for a time.  Sire, I repeat, you have no present occasion
-for my services; besides, if your majesty should have any need of
-me, you would know where to find me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well," said the king,
-and he granted him leave of absence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                We shall not look for
-D'Artagnan, therefore, at Fontainebleau, for to do so would be
-useless; but, with the permission of our readers, follow him to
-the Rue des Lombards, where he was located at the sign of the
-Pilon d'Or, in the house of our old friend Planchet.  It was
-about eight o'clock in the evening, and the weather was
-exceedingly warm; there was only one window open, and that one
-belonging to a room on the <i>entresol</i>.  A perfume of spices,
-mingled with another perfume less exotic, but more penetrating,
-namely, that which arose from the street, ascended to salute the
-nostrils of the musketeer.  D'Artagnan, reclining in an immense
-straight-backed chair, with his legs not stretched out, but
-simply placed upon a stool, formed an angle of the most obtuse
-form that could possibly be seen.  Both his arms were crossed
-over his head, his head reclining upon his left shoulder, like
-Alexander the Great.  His eyes, usually so quick and intelligent
-in their expression, were now half-closed, and seemed fastened,
-as it were, upon a small corner of blue sky that was visible
-behind the opening of the chimneys; there was just enough blue,
-and no more, to fill one of the sacks of lentils, or haricots,
-which formed the principal furniture of the shop on the ground
-floor.  Thus extended at his ease, and sheltered in his place of
-observation behind the window, D'Artagnan seemed as if he had
-ceased to be a soldier, as if he were no longer an officer
-belonging to the palace, but was, on the contrary, a quiet,
-easy-going citizen in a state of stagnation between his dinner
-and supper, or between his supper and his bed; one of those
-strong, ossified brains, which have no more room for a single
-idea, so fiercely does animal matter keep watch at the doors of
-intelligence, narrowly inspecting the contraband trade which
-might result from the introduction into the brain of a symptom of
-thought.  We have already said night was closing in, the shops
-were being lighted, while the windows of the upper apartments
-were being closed, and the rhythmic steps of a patrol of soldiers
-forming the night watch could be heard retreating.  D'Artagnan
-continued, however, to think of nothing, except the blue corner
-of the sky.  A few paces from him, completely in the shade, lying
-on his stomach, upon a sack of Indian corn, was Planchet, with
-both his arms under his chin, and his eyes fixed on D'Artagnan,
-who was either thinking, dreaming, or sleeping, with his eyes
-open.  Planchet had been watching him for a tolerably long time,
-and, by way of interruption, he began by exclaiming, "Hum! hum!" 
-But D'Artagnan did not stir.  Planchet then saw that it was
-necessary to have recourse to more effectual means still: after a
-prolonged reflection on the subject, the most ingenious means
-that suggested itself to him under the present circumstances, was
-to let himself roll off the sack on to the floor, murmuring, at
-the same time, against himself, the word "stupid."  But,
-notwithstanding the noise produced by Planchet's fall,
-D'Artagnan, who had in the course of his existence heard many
-other, and very different falls, did not appear to pay the least
-attention to the present one.  Besides, an enormous cart, laden
-with stones, passing from the Rue Saint-M&eacute;d&eacute;ric,
-absorbed, in the noise of its wheels, the noise of Planchet's
-tumble.  And yet Planchet fancied that, in token of tacit
-approval, he saw him imperceptibly smile at the word "stupid." 
-This emboldened him to say, "Are you asleep, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, Planchet, I am not
-<i>even</i> asleep," replied the musketeer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am in despair," said
-Planchet, "to hear such a word as <i>even</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, and why not; is it
-not a grammatical word, Monsieur Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, the word
-distresses me beyond measure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell me why you are
-distressed, Planchet," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If you say that you are not
-<i>even</i> asleep, it is as much as to say that you have not
-even the consolation of being able to sleep; or, better still, it
-is precisely the same as telling me that you are getting bored to
-death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Planchet, you know that I
-am never bored."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Except to-day, and the day
-before yesterday."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Bah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur d'Artagnan, it is
-a week since you returned here from Fontainebleau; in other
-words, you have no longer your orders to issue, or your men to
-review and maneuver.  You need the sound of guns, drums, and all
-that din and confusion; I, who have myself carried a musket, can
-easily believe that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Planchet," replied
-D'Artagnan, "I assure you I am not bored in the least in the
-world."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, what are you
-doing, lying there, as if you were dead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear Planchet, there
-was, once upon a time, at the siege of La Rochelle, when I was
-there, when you were there, when we both were there, a certain
-Arab, who was celebrated for the manner in which he adjusted
-culverins.  He was a clever fellow, although of a very odd
-complexion, which was the same color as your olives.  Well, this
-Arab, whenever he had done eating or working, used to sit down to
-rest himself, as I am resting myself now, and smoked I cannot
-tell you what sort of magical leaves, in a large amber-mouthed
-tube; and if any officers, happening to pass, reproached him for
-being always asleep, he used quietly to reply: 'Better to sit
-down than to stand up, to lie down than to sit down, to be dead
-than to lie down.'  He was an acutely melancholy Arab, and I
-remember him perfectly well, form the color of his skin, and the
-style of his conversation.  He used to cut off the heads of
-Protestants with the most singular gusto!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely; and then used to
-embalm them, when they were worth the trouble; and when he was
-thus engaged with his herbs and plants about him, he looked like
-a basket-maker making baskets."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are quite right,
-Planchet, he did."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  I can remember things
-very well, at times!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have no doubt of it; but
-what do you think of his mode of reasoning?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I think it good in one
-sense, but very stupid in another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Expound your meaning, M.
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, monsieur, in point of
-fact, then, 'better to sit down than to stand up,' is plain
-enough, especially when one may be fatigued," and Planchet smiled
-in a roguish way; "as for 'better to be lying down,' let that
-pass, but as for the last proposition, that it is 'better to be
-dead than alive,' it is, in my opinion, very absurd, my own
-undoubted preference being for my bed; and if you are not of my
-opinion, it is simply, as I have already had the honor of telling
-you, because you are boring yourself to death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Planchet, do you know M. La
-Fontaine?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The chemist at the corner
-of the Rue Saint-M&eacute;d&eacute;ric?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, the writer of
-fables."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  <i>Ma&icirc;tre
-Corbeau!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exactly; well, then, I am
-like his hare."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He has got a hare also,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He has all sorts of
-animals."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, what does his hare
-do, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. La Fontaine's hare
-thinks."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Planchet, I am like that
-hare - I am thinking."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are thinking, you say?"
-said Planchet, uneasily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; your house is dull
-enough to drive people to think; you will admit that, I
-hope."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet, monsieur, you have
-a look-out upon the street."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; and wonderfully
-interesting that is, of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But it is no less true,
-monsieur, that, if you were living at the back of the house, you
-would bore yourself - I mean, you would think - more than
-ever."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon my word, Planchet, I
-hardly know that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Still," said the grocer,
-"if your reflections are at all like those which led you to
-restore King Charles II. - " and Planchet finished by a little
-laugh which was not without its meaning.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!  Planchet, my friend,"
-returned D'Artagnan, "you are getting ambitious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is there no other king to
-be restored, M. d'Artagnan - no second Monk to be packed up, like
-a salted hog, in a deal box?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, my dear Planchet; all
-the kings are seated on their respective thrones; less
-comfortably so, perhaps, than I am upon this chair; but, at all
-events, there they are."  And D'Artagnan sighed deeply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur d'Artagnan," said
-Planchet, "you are making me very uneasy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are very good,
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I begin to suspect
-something."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur d'Artagnan, you
-are getting thin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said D'Artagnan,
-striking his chest which sounded like an empty cuirass, "it is
-impossible, Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" said Planchet,
-slightly overcome; "if you were to get thin in my house - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should do something
-rash."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What would you do?  Tell
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should look out for the
-man who was the cause of all your anxieties."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! according to your
-account, I am anxious now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, you are anxious; and
-you are getting thin, visibly getting thin.  <i>Malaga!</i> if
-you go on getting thin, in this way, I will take my sword in my
-hand, and go straight to M. d'Herblay, and have it out with
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What!" said M. d'Artagnan,
-starting in his chair; "what's that you say?  And what has M.
-d'Herblay's name to do with your groceries?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Just as you please.  Get
-angry if you like, or call me names, if you prefer it; but, the
-deuce is in it.  <i>I</i> <i>know what I know</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan had, during this
-second outburst of Planchet's, so placed himself as not to lose a
-single look of his face; that is, he sat with both his hands
-resting on both his knees, and his head stretched out towards the
-grocer.  "Come, explain yourself," he said, "and tell me how you
-could possibly utter such a blasphemy.  M. d'Herblay, your old
-master, my friend, an ecclesiastic, a musketeer turned bishop -
-do you mean to say you would raise your sword against him,
-Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I could raise my sword
-against my own father, when I see you in such a state as you are
-now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. d'Herblay, a
-gentleman!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It's all the same to me
-whether he's a gentleman or not.  He gives you the blue devils,
-that is all I know.  And the blue devils make people get thin. 
-<i>Malaga!</i>  I have no notion of M. d'Artagnan leaving my
-house thinner than when he entered it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How does he give me the
-blue devils, as you call it?  Come, explain, explain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have had the nightmare
-during the last three nights."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, you; and in your
-nightmare you called out, several times, 'Aramis, deceitful
-Aramis!'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!  I said that, did I?"
-murmured D'Artagnan, uneasily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, those very words, upon
-my honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, what else?  You know
-the saying, Planchet, 'dreams go by contraries.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not so; for every time,
-during the last three days, when you went out, you have not once
-failed to ask me, on your return, 'Have you seen M. d'Herblay?'
-or else 'Have you received any letters for me from M.
-d'Herblay?'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, it is very natural I
-should take an interest in my old friend," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course; but not to such
-an extent as to get thin on that account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Planchet, I'll get fatter;
-I give you my word of honor I will."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, monsieur, I
-accept it; for I know that when you give your word of honor, it
-is sacred."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will not dream of Aramis
-any more; and I will never ask you again if there are any letters
-from M. d'Herblay; but on condition that you explain one thing to
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell me what it is,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am a great observer; and
-just now you made use of a very singular oath, which is unusual
-for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You mean <i>Malaga!</i> I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is the oath I have used
-ever since I have been a grocer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very proper, too; it is the
-name of a dried grape, or raisin, I believe?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is my most ferocious
-oath; when I have once said <i>Malaga!</i> I am a man no
-longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Still, I never knew you use
-that oath before."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very likely not, monsieur. 
-I had a present made me of it," said Planchet; and, as he
-pronounced these words, he winked his eye with a cunning
-expression, which thoroughly awakened D'Artagnan's attention.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come, come, M.
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, I am not like you,
-monsieur," said Planchet.  "I don't pass my life in
-thinking."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You do wrong, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I mean in boring myself to
-death.  We have but a very short time to live - why not make the
-best of it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are an Epicurean
-philosopher, I begin to think, Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why not?  My hand is still
-as steady as ever; I can write, and can weigh out my sugar and
-spices; my foot is firm; I can dance and walk about; my stomach
-has its teeth still, for I eat and digest very well; my heart is
-not quite hardened.  Well, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, what, Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, you see - " said the
-grocer, rubbing his hands together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan crossed one leg
-over the other, and said, "Planchet, my friend, I am unnerved
-with extreme surprise; for you are revealing yourself to me under
-a perfectly new light."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Planchet, flattered in the
-highest degree by this remark, continued to rub his hands very
-hard together.  "Ah, ah," he said, "because I happen to be only
-slow, you think me, perhaps, a positive fool."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good, Planchet; very
-well reasoned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Follow my idea, monsieur,
-if you please.  I said to myself," continued Planchet, "that,
-without enjoyment, there is no happiness on this earth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite true, what you say,
-Planchet," interrupted D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At all events, if we cannot
-obtain pleasure - for pleasure is not so common a thing, after
-all - let us, at least, get consolations of some kind or
-another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so you console
-yourself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exactly so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell me how you console
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I put on a buckler for the
-purpose of confronting <i>ennui</i>.  I place my time at the
-direction of patience; and on the very eve of feeling I am going
-to get bored, I amuse myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you don't find any
-difficulty in that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "None."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you found it out quite
-by yourself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is miraculous."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I say, that your philosophy
-is not to be matched in the Christian or pagan world, in modern
-days or in antiquity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You think so? - follow my
-example, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is a very tempting
-one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do as I do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I could not wish for
-anything better; but all minds are not of the same stamp; and it
-might possibly happen that if I were required to amuse myself in
-the manner you do, I should bore myself horribly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Bah! at least try
-first."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, tell me what you
-do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Have you observed that I
-leave home occasionally?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In any particular way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Periodically."<br>
-                "That's the very thing.  You have noticed it,
-then?"<br>
-                "My dear Planchet, you must understand that when
-people see each other every day, and one of the two absents
-himself, the other misses him.  Do you not feel the want of my
-society when I am in the country?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Prodigiously; that is to
-say, I feel like a body without a soul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That being understood then,
-proceed."<br>
-                "What are the periods when I absent myself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On the fifteenth and
-thirtieth of every month."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I remain away?"<br>
-                "Sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes
-four days at a time."<br>
-                "Have you ever given it a thought, why I was
-absent?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To look after your debts, I
-suppose."<br>
-                "And when I returned, how did you think I looked,
-as far as my face was concerned?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exceedingly
-self-satisfied."<br>
-                "You admit, you say, that I always look
-satisfied.  And what have you attributed my satisfaction to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That your business was
-going on very well; that your purchases of rice, prunes, raw
-sugar, dried apples, pears, and treacle were advantageous.  You
-were always very picturesque in your notions and ideas, Planchet;
-and I was not in the slightest degree surprised to find you had
-selected grocery as an occupation, which is of all trades the
-most varied, and the very pleasantest, as far as the character is
-concerned; inasmuch as one handles so many natural and perfumed
-productions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Perfectly true, monsieur;
-but you are very greatly mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In thinking that I heave
-here every fortnight, to collect my money or to make purchases. 
-Ho, ho! how could you possibly have thought such a thing?  Ho,
-ho, ho!"  And Planchet began to laugh in a manner that inspired
-D'Artagnan with very serious misgivings as to his sanity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I confess," said the
-musketeer, "that I do not precisely catch your meaning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very true, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean by 'very
-true'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It must be true, since you
-say it; but pray, be assured that it in no way lessens my opinion
-of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, that is lucky."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; you are a man of
-genius; and whenever the question happens to be of war, tactics,
-surprises, or good honest blows to be dealt with, why, kings are
-marionettes, compared to you.  But for the consolations of the
-mind, the proper care of the body, the agreeable things of like,
-if one may say so - ah! monsieur, don't talk to me about men of
-genius; they are nothing short of executioners."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good," said D'Artagnan,
-really fidgety with curiosity, "upon my word you interest me in
-the highest degree."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You feel already less bored
-than you did just now, do you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I was not bored; yet since
-you have been talking to me, I feel more animated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good, then; that is
-not a bad beginning.  I will cure you, rely upon that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is nothing I should
-like better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will you let me try,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Immediately, if you
-like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well.  Have you any
-horses here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; ten, twenty,
-thirty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, there is no occasion
-for so many as that, two will be quite sufficient."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "They are quite at your
-disposal, Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; then I shall
-carry you off with me."<br>
-                "When?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To-morrow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, you are asking too
-much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will admit, however,
-that it is important I should know where I am going."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you like the
-country?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Only moderately,
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case you like town
-better?"<br>
-                "That is as may be."<br>
-                "Very well; I am going to take you to a place,
-half town and half country."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To a place where I am sure
-you will amuse yourself."<br>
-                "Is it possible?"<br>
-                "Yes; and more wonderful still, to a place from
-which you have just returned for the purpose only, it would seem,
-of getting bored here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is to Fontainebleau you
-are going, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exactly; to
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And, in Heaven's name, what
-are you going to do at Fontainebleau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Planchet answered D'Artagnan
-by a wink full of sly humor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have some property
-there, you rascal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, a very paltry affair; a
-little bit of a house - nothing more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I understand you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But it is tolerable enough,
-after all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am going to Planchet's
-country-seat!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Whenever you like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did we not fix
-to-morrow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Let us say to-morrow, if
-you like; and then, besides, to-morrow is the 14th, that is to
-say, the day before the one when I am afraid of getting bored; so
-we will look upon it as an understood thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Agreed, by all means."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will lend me one of
-your horses?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The best I have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; I prefer the gentlest
-of all; I never was a very good rider, as you know, and in my
-grocery business I have got more awkward than ever; besides -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Besides what?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why," added Planchet, "I do
-not wish to fatigue myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?" D'Artagnan
-ventured to ask.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because I should lose half
-the pleasure I expect to enjoy," replied Planchet.  And thereupon
-he rose from his sack of Indian corn, stretching himself, and
-making all his bones crack, one after the other, with a sort of
-harmony.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Planchet!  Planchet!"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan, "I do declare that there is no sybarite
-upon the face of the globe who can for a moment be compared to
-you.  Oh, Planchet, it is very clear that we have never yet eaten
-a ton of salt together."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so, monsieur?"<br>
-                "Because, even now I can scarcely say I know
-you," said D'Artagnan, "and because, in point of fact, I return
-to the opinion which, for a moment, I had formed of you that day
-at Boulogne, when you strangled, or did so as nearly as possible,
-M. de Wardes's valet, Lubin; in plain language, Planchet, that
-you are a man of great resources."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Planchet began to laugh with
-a laugh full of self-conceit; bade the musketeer good-night, and
-went down to his back shop, which he used as a bedroom. 
-D'Artagnan resumed his original position upon his chair, and his
-brow, which had been unruffled for a moment, became more pensive
-than ever.  He had already forgotten the whims and dreams of
-Planchet.  "Yes," said he, taking up again the thread of his
-thoughts, which had been broken by the whimsical conversation in
-which we have just permitted our readers to participate.  "Yes,
-yes, those three points include everything: First, to ascertain
-what Baisemeaux wanted with Aramis; secondly, to learn why Aramis
-does not let me hear from him; and thirdly, to ascertain where
-Porthos is.  The whole mystery lies in these three points. 
-Since, therefore," continued D'Artagnan, "our friends tell us
-nothing, we must have recourse to our own poor intelligence.  I
-must do what I can, <i>mordioux</i>, or rather <i>Malaga</i>, as
-Planchet would say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter II:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>A
-Letter from M. Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>D</span>'Artagnan,
-faithful to his plan, went the very next morning to pay a visit
-to M. de Baisemeaux.  It was cleaning up or tidying day at the
-Bastile; the cannons were furbished up, the staircases scraped
-and cleaned; and the jailers seemed to be carefully engaged in
-polishing the very keys.  As for the soldiers belonging to the
-garrison, they were walking about in different courtyards, under
-the pretense that they were clean enough.  The governor,
-Baisemeaux, received D'Artagnan with more than ordinary
-politeness, but he behaved towards him with so marked a reserve
-of manner, that all D'Artagnan's tact and cleverness could not
-get a syllable out of him.  The more he kept himself within
-bounds, the more D'Artagnan's suspicion increased.  The latter
-even fancied he remarked that the governor was acting under the
-influence of a recent recommendation.  Baisemeaux had not been at
-the Palais Royal with D'Artagnan the same cold and impenetrable
-man which the latter now found in the Baisemeaux of the Bastile. 
-When D'Artagnan wished to make him talk about the urgent money
-matters which had brought Baisemeaux in search of D'Artagnan, and
-had rendered him expansive, notwithstanding what had passed on
-that evening, Baisemeaux pretended that he had some orders to
-give in the prison, and left D'Artagnan so long alone waiting for
-him, that our musketeer, feeling sure that he should not get
-another syllable out of him, left the Bastile without waiting
-until Baisemeaux returned from his inspection.  But D'Artagnan's
-suspicions were aroused, and when once that was the case,
-D'Artagnan could not sleep or remain quiet for a moment.  He was
-among men what the cat is among quadrupeds, the emblem of anxiety
-and impatience, at the same moment.  A restless cat can no more
-remain the same place than a silk thread wafted idly to and fro
-with every breath of air.  A cat on the watch is as motionless as
-death stationed at is place of observation, and neither hunger
-nor thirst can draw it from its meditations.  D'Artagnan, who was
-burning with impatience, suddenly threw aside the feeling, like a
-cloak which he felt too heavy on his shoulders, and said to
-himself that that which they were concealing from him was the
-very thing it was important he should know; and, consequently, he
-reasoned that Baisemeaux would not fail to put Aramis on his
-guard, if Aramis had given him any particular recommendation, and
-this was, in fact, the very thing that happened.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Baisemeaux had hardly had
-time to return from the donjon, than D'Artagnan placed himself in
-ambuscade close to the Rue de Petit-Musc, so as to see every one
-who might leave the gates of the Bastile.  After he had spent an
-hour on the look-out from the "Golden Portcullis," under the
-pent-house of which he could keep himself a little in the shade,
-D'Artagnan observed a soldier leave the Bastile.  This was,
-indeed, the surest indication he could possibly have wished for,
-as every jailer or warder has certain days, and even certain
-hours, for leaving the Bastile, since all are alike prohibited
-from having either wives or lodgings in the castle, and can
-accordingly leave without exciting any curiosity; but a soldier
-once in barracks is kept there for four and twenty hours when on
-duty, - and no one knew this better than D'Artagnan.  The
-guardsman in question, therefore, was not likely to leave his
-regimentals, except on an express and urgent order.  The soldier,
-we were saying, left the Bastile at a slow and lounging pace,
-like a happy mortal, in fact, who, instead of mounting sentry
-before a wearisome guard-house, or upon a bastion no less
-wearisome, has the good luck to get a little liberty, in addition
-to a walk - both pleasures being luckily reckoned as part of his
-time on duty.  He bent his steps towards the Faubourg
-Saint-Antoine, enjoying the fresh air and the warmth of the sun,
-and looking at all the pretty faces he passed.  D'Artagnan
-followed him at a distance; he had not yet arranged his ideas as
-what was to be done.  "I must, first of all," he thought, "see
-the fellow's face.  A man seen is a man judged."  D'Artagnan
-increased his pace, and, which was not very difficult, by the by,
-soon got in advance of the soldier.  Not only did he observe that
-his face showed a tolerable amount of intelligence and
-resolution, but he noticed also that his nose was a little red. 
-"He has a weakness for brandy, I see," said D'Artagnan to
-himself.  At the same moment that he remarked his red nose, he
-saw that the soldier had a white paper in his belt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good, he has a letter,"
-added D'Artagnan.  The only difficulty was to get hold of the
-letter.  But a common soldier would, of course, be only too
-delighted at having been selected by M. de Baisemeaux as a
-special messenger, and would not be likely to sell his message. 
-As D'Artagnan was biting his nails, the soldier continued to
-advance more and more into the Faubourg Saint-Antoine.  "He is
-certainly going to Saint-Mand&eacute;," he said to himself, "and
-I shall not be able to learn what the letter contains."  It was
-enough to drive him wild.  "If I were in uniform," said
-D'Artagnan to himself, "I would have this fellow seized, and his
-letter with him.  I could easily get assistance at the very first
-guard-house; but the devil take me if I mention my name in an
-affair of this kind.  If I were to treat him to something to
-drink, his suspicions would be roused; and besides, he might
-drink me drunk.  <i>Mordioux!</i> my wits seem to have left me,"
-said D'Artagnan; "it is all over with me.  Yet, supposing I were
-to attack this poor devil, make him draw his sword and kill him
-for the sake of his letter?  No harm in that, if it were a
-question of a letter from a queen to a nobleman, or a letter from
-a cardinal to a queen; but what miserable intrigues are those of
-Messieurs Aramis and Fouquet with M. Colbert.  A man's life for
-that?  No, no, indeed; not even ten crowns."  As he philosophized
-in this manner, biting first his nails, and then his mustaches,
-he perceived a group of archers and a commissary of the police
-engaged in carrying away a man of very gentlemanly exterior, who
-was struggling with all his might against them.  The archers had
-torn his clothes, and were dragging him roughly away.  He begged
-they would lead him along more respectfully, asserting that he
-was a gentleman and a soldier.  And observing our soldier walking
-in the street, he called out, "Help, comrade."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The soldier walked on with
-the same step towards the man who had called out to him, followed
-by the crowd.  An idea suddenly occurred to D'Artagnan; it was
-his first one, and we shall find it was not a bad one either. 
-During the time the gentleman was relating to the soldier that he
-had just been seized in a house as a thief, when the truth was he
-was only there as a lover; and while the soldier was pitying him,
-and offering him consolation and advice with that gravity which a
-French soldier has always ready whenever his vanity or his
-<i>esprit de corps</i> is concerned, D'Artagnan glided behind the
-soldier, who was closely hemmed in by the crowd, and with a rapid
-sweep, like a sabre slash, snatched the letter from his belt.  As
-at this moment the gentleman with the torn clothes was pulling
-about the soldier, to show how the commissary of police had
-pulled him about, D'Artagnan effected his pillage of the letter
-without the slightest interference.  He stationed himself about
-ten paces distant, behind the pillar of an adjoining house, and
-read on the address, "To Monsieur du Vallon, at Monsieur
-Fouquet's, Saint-Mand&eacute;."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good!" he said, and then he
-unsealed, without tearing the letter, drew out the paper, which
-was folded in four, from the inside; which contained only these
-words:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in'>
-"DEAR MONSIEUR DU VALLON, - Will you be good enough to tell
-Monsieur d'Herblay that <i>he</i> has been to the Bastile, and
-has been making inquiries.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:.5in'>
-                                                               
-"Your devoted</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style=
-'margin-left:1.0in;text-align:right; text-indent:.5in'>"DE
-BAISEMEAUX."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good! all right!"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan; "it is clear enough now.  Porthos is
-engaged in it."  Being now satisfied of what he wished to know:
-"<i>Mordioux!</i>" thought the musketeer, "what is to be done
-with that poor devil of a soldier?  That hot-headed, cunning
-fellow, De Baisemeaux, will make him pay dearly for my trick, -
-if he returns without the letter, what will they do to him? 
-Besides, I don't want the letter; when the egg has been sucked,
-what is the good of the shell?"  D'Artagnan perceived that the
-commissary and the archers had succeeded in convincing the
-soldier, and went on their way with the prisoner, the latter
-being still surrounded by the crowd, and continuing his
-complaints.  D'Artagnan advanced into the very middle of the
-crowd, let the letter fall, without any one having observed him,
-and then retreated rapidly.  The soldier resumed his route
-towards Saint-Mand&eacute;, his mind occupied with the gentleman
-who had implored his protection.  Suddenly he thought of his
-letter, and, looking at his belt, saw that it was no longer
-there.  D'Artagnan derived no little satisfaction from his
-sudden, terrified cry.  The poor soldier in the greatest anguish
-of mind looked round him on every side, and at last, about twenty
-paces behind him, he perceived the lucky envelope.  He pounced on
-it like a falcon on its prey.  The envelope was certainly a
-little dirty, and rather crumpled, but at all events the letter
-itself was found.  D'Artagnan observed that the broken seal
-attracted the soldier's attention a good deal, but he finished
-apparently by consoling himself, and returned the letter to his
-belt.  "Go on," said D'Artagnan, "I have plenty of time before
-me, so you may precede me.  It appears that Aramis is not in
-Paris, since Baisemeaux writes to Porthos.  Dear Porthos, how
-delighted I shall be to see him again, and to have some
-conversation with him!" said the Gascon.  And, regulating his
-pace according to that of the soldier, he promised himself to
-arrive a quarter of an hour after him at M. Fouquet's.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter III:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>In
-Which the Reader will be Delighted to Find that Porthos Has Lost
-Nothing of His Muscularity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>D</span>'Artagnan
-had, according to his usual style, calculated that every hour is
-worth sixty minutes, and every minute worth sixty seconds. 
-Thanks to this perfectly exact calculation of minutes and
-seconds, he reached the superintendent's door at the very moment
-the soldier was leaving it with his belt empty.  D'Artagnan
-presented himself at the door, which a porter with a profusely
-embroidered livery held half opened for him.  D'Artagnan would
-very much have liked to enter without giving his name, but this
-was impossible, and so he gave it.  Notwithstanding this
-concession, which ought to have removed every difficulty in the
-way, at least D'Artagnan thought so, the <i>concierge</i>
-hesitated; however, at the second repetition of the title,
-captain of the king's guards, the <i>concierge</i>, without quite
-leaving the passage clear for him, ceased to bar it completely. 
-D'Artagnan understood that orders of the most positive character
-had been given.  He decided, therefore, to tell a falsehood, - a
-circumstance, moreover, which did not seriously affect his peace
-of mind, when he saw that beyond the falsehood the safety of the
-state itself, or even purely and simply his own individual
-personal interest, might be at stake.  He moreover added to the
-declarations he had already made, that the soldier sent to M. du
-Vallon was his own messenger, and that the only object that
-letter had in view was to announce his intended arrival.  From
-that moment, no one opposed D'Artagnan's entrance any further,
-and he entered accordingly.  A valet wished to accompany him, but
-he answered that it was useless to take that trouble on his
-account, inasmuch as he knew perfectly well where M. du Vallon
-was.  There was nothing, of course, to say to a man so thoroughly
-and completely informed on all points, and D'Artagnan was
-permitted, therefore, to do as he liked.  The terraces, the
-magnificent apartments, the gardens, were all reviewed and
-narrowly inspected by the musketeer.  He walked for a quarter of
-an hour in this more than royal residence, which included as many
-wonders as articles of furniture, and as many servants as there
-were columns and doors.  "Decidedly," he said to himself, "this
-mansion has no other limits than the pillars of the habitable
-world.  Is it probable Porthos has taken it into his head to go
-back to Pierrefonds without even leaving M. Fouquet's house?"  He
-finally reached a remote part of the ch&acirc;teau inclosed by a
-stone wall, which was covered with a profusion of thick plants,
-luxuriant in blossoms as large and solid as fruit.  At equal
-distances on the top of this wall were placed various statues in
-timid or mysterious attitudes.  These were vestals hidden beneath
-the long Greek peplum, with its thick, sinuous folds; agile
-nymphs, covered with their marble veils, and guarding the palace
-with their fugitive glances.  A statue of Hermes, with his finger
-on his lips; one of Iris, with extended wings; another of Night,
-sprinkled all over with poppies, dominated the gardens and
-outbuildings, which could be seen through the trees.  All these
-statues threw in white relief their profiles upon the dark ground
-of the tall cypresses, which darted their somber summits towards
-the sky.  Around these cypresses were entwined climbing roses,
-whose flowering rings were fastened to every fork of the
-branches, and spread over the lower boughs and the various
-statues, showers of flowers of the rarest fragrance.  These
-enchantments seemed to the musketeer the result of the greatest
-efforts of the human mind.  He felt in a dreamy, almost poetical,
-frame of mind.  The idea that Porthos was living in so perfect an
-Eden gave him a higher idea of Porthos, showing how tremendously
-true it is, that even the very highest orders of minds are not
-quite exempt from the influence of surroundings.  D'Artagnan
-found the door, and on, or rather in the door, a kind of spring
-which he detected; having touched it, the door flew open. 
-D'Artagnan entered, closed the door behind him, and advanced into
-a pavilion built in a circular form, in which no other sound
-could be heard but cascades and the songs of birds.  At the door
-of the pavilion he met a lackey.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is here, I believe,"
-said D'Artagnan, without hesitation, "that M. le Baron du Vallon
-is staying?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, monsieur," answered
-the lackey.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Have the goodness to tell
-him that M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain of the king's
-musketeers, is waiting to see him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan was introduced
-into the <i>salon</i>, and had not long to remain in expectation:
-a well-remembered step shook the floor of the adjoining room, a
-door opened, or rather flew open, and Porthos appeared and threw
-himself into his friend's arms with a sort of embarrassment which
-did not ill become him.  "You here?" he exclaimed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you?" replied
-D'Artagnan.  "Ah, you sly fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said Porthos, with a
-somewhat embarrassed smile; "yes, you see I am staying in M.
-Fouquet's house, at which you are not a little surprised, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not at all; why should you
-not be one of M. Fouquet's friends?  M. Fouquet has a very large
-number, particularly among clever men."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos had the modesty not
-to take the compliment to himself.  "Besides," he added, "you saw
-me at Belle-Isle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A greater reason for my
-believing you to be one of M. Fouquet's friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The fact is, I am
-acquainted with him," said Porthos, with a certain embarrassment
-of manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, friend Porthos," said
-D'Artagnan, "how treacherously you have behaved towards me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what way?" exclaimed
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! you complete so
-admirable a work as the fortifications of Belle-Isle, and you did
-not tell me of it!"  Porthos colored.  "Nay, more than that,"
-continued D'Artagnan, "you saw me out yonder, you know I am in
-the king's service, and yet you could not guess that the king,
-jealously desirous of learning the name of the man whose
-abilities had wrought a work of which he heard the most wonderful
-accounts, - you could not guess, I say, that the king sent me to
-learn who this man was?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! the king sent you to
-learn - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course; but don't let us
-speak of that any more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not speak of it!" said
-Porthos; "on the contrary, we will speak of it; and so the king
-knew that we were fortifying Belle-Isle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course; does not the
-king know everything?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But he did not know who was
-fortifying it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, he only suspected, from
-what he had been told of the nature of the works, that it was
-some celebrated soldier or another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The devil!" said Porthos,
-"if I had only known that!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You would not have run away
-from Vannes as you did, perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; what did you say when
-you couldn't find me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear fellow, I
-reflected."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, indeed; you reflect, do
-you?  Well, and what did that reflection lead to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It led me to guess the
-whole truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come, then, tell me what
-did you guess after all?" said Porthos, settling himself into an
-armchair, and assuming the airs of a sphinx.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I guessed, in the first
-place, that you were fortifying Belle-Isle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There was no great
-difficulty in that, for you saw me at work."<br>
-                "Wait a minute; I also guessed something else, -
-that you were fortifying Belle-Isle by M. Fouquet's orders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That's true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But even that is not all. 
-Whenever I feel myself in trim for guessing, I do not stop on my
-road; and so I guessed that M. Fouquet wished to preserve the
-most absolute secrecy respecting these fortifications."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe that was his
-intention, in fact," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, but do you know why he
-wished to keep it secret?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In order it should not
-become known, perhaps," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That was his principal
-reason.  But his wish was subservient to a bit of generosity -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In fact," said Porthos, "I
-have head it said that M. Fouquet was a very generous man."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To a bit of generosity he
-wished to exhibit towards the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, oh!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You seem surprised at
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you didn't guess?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, I know it, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"You are a
-wizard."<br>
-"Not at all, I assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"How do you know
-it, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"By a very simple
-means.  I heard M. Fouquet himself say so to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Say what to the
-king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That he fortified
-Belle-Isle on his majesty's account, and that he had made him a
-present of Belle Isle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you heard M.
-Fouquet say that to the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In those very
-words.  He even added: 'Belle-Isle has been fortified by an
-engineer, one of my friends, a man of a great deal of merit, whom
-I shall ask your majesty's permission to present to you.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'What is his
-name?' said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'The Baron du
-Vallon,' M. Fouquet replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Very well,'
-returned his majesty, 'you will present him to me.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king said
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon the word of a
-D'Artagnan!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh!" said
-Porthos.  "Why have I not been presented, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have they not
-spoken to you about this presentation?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, certainly;
-but I am always kept waiting for it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Be easy, it will
-be sure to come."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Humph! humph!"
-grumbled Porthos, which D'Artagnan pretended not to hear; and,
-changing the conversation, he said, "You seem to be living in a
-very solitary place here, my dear fellow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I always preferred
-retirement.  I am of a melancholy disposition," replied Porthos,
-with a sigh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Really, that is
-odd," said D'Artagnan, "I never remarked that before."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is only since I
-have taken to reading, "said Porthos, with a thoughtful air.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But the labors of
-the mind have not affected the health of the body, I trust?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Not in the
-slightest degree."<br>
-"Your strength is as great as ever?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Too great, my
-friend, too great."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Ah!  I had heard
-that, for a short time after your arrival - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That I could
-hardly move a limb, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"How was it?" said
-D'Artagnan, smiling, "and why was it you could not move?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos, perceiving
-that he had made a mistake, wished to correct it.  "Yes, I came
-from Belle-Isle upon very hard horses," he said, "and that
-fatigued me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am no longer
-astonished, then, since I, who followed you, found seven or eight
-lying dead on the road."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am very heavy,
-you know," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that you were
-bruised all over."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My marrow melted,
-and that made me very ill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor Porthos!  But
-how did Aramis act towards you under those circumstances?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well,
-indeed.  He had me attended to by M. Fouquet's own doctor.  But
-just imagine, at the end of a week I could not breathe any
-longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The room was too
-small; I had absorbed every atom of air."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I was told so, at
-least; and so I was removed into another apartment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where you were
-able to breathe, I hope and trust?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, more freely;
-but no exercise - nothing to do.  The doctor pretended that I was
-not to stir; I, on the contrary, felt that I was stronger than
-ever; that was the cause of a very serious accident."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What
-accident?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Fancy, my dear
-fellow, that I revolted against the directions of that ass of a
-doctor, and I resolved to go out, whether it suited him or not:
-and, consequently, I told the valet who waited on me to bring me
-my clothes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You were quite
-naked, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no! on the
-contrary, I had a magnificent dressing-gown to wear.  The lackey
-obeyed; I dressed myself in my own clothes, which had become too
-large for me; but a strange circumstance had happened, - my feet
-had become too large."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I quite
-understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And my boots too
-small."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You mean your feet
-were still swollen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly; you have
-hit it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i>Pardieu!</i> 
-And is that the accident you were going to tell me about?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, yes; I did not
-make the same reflection you have done.  I said to myself: 'Since
-my feet have entered my boots ten times, there is no reason why
-they should not go in the eleventh.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Allow me to tell
-you, my dear Porthos, that on this occasion you failed in your
-logic."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In short, then,
-they placed me opposite to a part of the room which was
-partitioned; I tried to get my boot on; I pulled it with my
-hands, I pushed with all the strength of the muscles of my leg,
-making the most unheard-of efforts, when suddenly the two tags of
-my boot remained in my hands, and my foot struck out like a
-ballista."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How learned you
-are in fortification, dear Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My foot darted out
-like a ballista, and came against the partition, which it broke
-in; I really thought that, like Samson, I had demolished the
-temple.  And the number of pictures, the quantity of china, vases
-of flowers, carpets, and window-panes that fell down were really
-wonderful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without reckoning
-that on the other side of the partition was a small table laden
-with porcelain - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which you knocked
-over?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which I dashed to
-the other side of the room," said Porthos, laughing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon my word, it
-is, as you say, astonishing," replied D'Artagnan, beginning to
-laugh also; whereupon Porthos laughed louder than ever.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I broke," said
-Porthos, in a voice half-choked from his increasing mirth, "more
-than three thousand francs worth of china - ha, ha, ha!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good!" said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I smashed more
-than four thousand francs worth of glass! - ho, ho, ho!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Excellent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without counting a
-luster, which fell on my head and was broken into a thousand
-pieces - ha, ha, ha!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon your head?"
-said D'Artagnan, holding his sides.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On top."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But your head was
-broken, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, since I tell
-you, on the contrary, my dear fellow, that it was the luster
-which was broken, like glass, which, in point of fact, it
-was."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! the luster was
-glass, you say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Venetian glass! a
-perfect curiosity, quite matchless, indeed, and weighed two
-hundred pounds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And it fell upon
-your head!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon my head. 
-Just imagine, a globe of crystal, gilded all over, the lower part
-beautifully encrusted, perfumes burning at the top, with jets
-from which flame issued when they were lighted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I quite
-understand, but they were not lighted at the time, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Happily not, or I
-should have been grilled prematurely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you were only
-knocked down flat, instead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How, 'not at
-all?'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, the luster
-fell on my skull.  It appears that we have upon the top of our
-heads an exceedingly thick crust."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who told you that,
-Porthos?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The doctor.  A
-sort of dome which would bear Notre-Dame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Bah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, it seems that
-our skulls are made in that manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Speak for
-yourself, my dear fellow, it is your own skull that is made in
-that manner, and not the skulls of other people."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, that may be
-so," said Porthos, conceitedly, "so much, however, was that the
-case, in my instance, that no sooner did the luster fall upon the
-dome which we have at the top of our head, than there was a
-report like a cannon, the crystal was broken to pieces, and I
-fell, covered from head to foot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With blood, poor
-Porthos!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not at all; with
-perfumes, which smelt like rich creams; it was delicious, but the
-odor was too strong, and I felt quite giddy from it; perhaps you
-have experienced it sometimes yourself, D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, in inhaling
-the scent of the lily of the valley; so that, my poor friend, you
-were knocked over by the shock and overpowered by the
-perfumes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; but what is
-very remarkable, for the doctor told me he had never seen
-anything like it - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You had a bump on
-your head I suppose?" interrupted D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I had five."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why five?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will tell you;
-the luster had, at its lower extremity, five gilt ornaments;
-excessively sharp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, these five
-ornaments penetrated my hair, which, as you see, I wear very
-thick."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Fortunately
-so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And they made a
-mark on my skin.  But just notice the singularity of it, these
-things seem really only to happen to me!  Instead of making
-indentations, they made bumps.  The doctor could never succeed in
-explaining that to me satisfactorily."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, I will
-explain it to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will do me a
-great service if you will," said Porthos, winking his eyes,
-which, with him, was sign of the profoundest attention.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since you have
-been employing your brain in studies of an exalted character, in
-important calculations, and so on, the head has gained a certain
-advantage, so that your head is now too full of science."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think
-so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am sure of it. 
-The result is, that, instead of allowing any foreign matter to
-penetrate the interior of the head, your bony box or skull, which
-is already too full, avails itself of the openings which are made
-in allowing this excess to escape."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said Porthos,
-to whom this explanation appeared clearer than that of the
-doctor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The five
-protuberances, caused by the five ornaments of the luster, must
-certainly have been scientific globules, brought to the surface
-by the force of circumstances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In fact," said
-Porthos, "the real truth is, that I felt far worse outside my
-head than inside.  I will even confess, that when I put my hat
-upon my head, clapping it on my head with that graceful energy
-which we gentlemen of the sword possess, if my fist was not very
-gently applied, I experienced the most painful sensations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I quite believe
-you, Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Therefore, my
-friend," said the giant, "M. Fouquet decided, seeing how slightly
-built the house was, to give me another lodging, and so they
-brought me here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is the private
-park, I think, is it not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where the
-rendezvous are made; that park, indeed, which is so celebrated in
-some of those mysterious stories about the superintendent?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I don't know; I
-have had no rendezvous or heard mysterious stories myself, but
-they have authorized me to exercise my muscles, and I take
-advantage of the permission by rooting up some of the trees."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To keep my hand
-in, and also to take some birds' nests; I find it more convenient
-than climbing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are as
-pastoral as Tyrcis, my dear Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I like the
-small eggs; I like them very much better than larger ones.  You
-have no idea how delicate an <i>omelette</i> is, if made of four
-or five hundred eggs of linnets, chaffinches, starlings,
-blackbirds, and thrushes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But five hundred
-eggs is perfectly monstrous!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A salad-bowl will
-hold them easily enough," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan looked
-at Porthos admiringly for full five minutes, as if he had seen
-him for the first time, while Porthos spread his chest out
-joyously and proudly.  They remained in this state several
-minutes, Porthos smiling, and D'Artagnan looking at him. 
-D'Artagnan was evidently trying to give the conversation a new
-turn.  "Do you amuse yourself much here, Porthos?" he asked at
-last, very likely after he had found out what he was searching
-for.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not always."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I can imagine
-that; but when you get thoroughly bored, by and by, what do you
-intend to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!  I shall not
-be here for any length of time.  Aramis is waiting until the last
-bump on my head disappears, in order to present me to the king,
-who I am told cannot endure the sight of a bump."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Aramis is still in
-Paris, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whereabouts is he,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alone?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With M.
-Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good.  But do
-you happen to know one thing?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, tell it me,
-and then I shall know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, I
-think Aramis is forgetting you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you really
-think so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; for at
-Fontainebleau yonder, you must know, they are laughing, dancing,
-banqueting, and drawing the corks of M. de Mazarin's wine in fine
-style.  Are you aware that they have a ballet every evening
-there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce they
-have!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I assure you that
-your dear Aramis is forgetting you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, that is not
-at all unlikely, and I have myself thought so sometimes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Unless he is
-playing you a trick, the sly fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know that
-Aramis is as sly as a fox."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, but to play
-<i>me</i> a trick - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Listen: in the
-first place, he puts you under a sort of sequestration."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He sequestrates
-me!  Do you mean to say I am sequestrated?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I wish you would
-have the goodness to prove that to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing easier. 
-Do you ever go out?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Never."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you ever ride
-on horseback?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Never."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are your friends
-allowed to come and see you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Never."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, then;
-never to go out, never to ride on horseback, never to be allowed
-to see your friends, that is called being sequestrated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But why should
-Aramis sequestrate me?" inquired Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come," said
-D'Artagnan, "be frank, Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As gold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was Aramis who
-drew the plan of the fortifications at Belle-Isle, was it
-not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos colored as
-he said, "Yes; but that was all he did."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly, and my
-own opinion is that it was no very great affair after all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is mine,
-too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; I am
-delighted we are of the same opinion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He never even came
-to Belle-Isle," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There now, you
-see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was I who went
-to Vannes, as you may have seen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Say rather, as I
-did see.  Well, that is precisely the state of the case, my dear
-Porthos.  Aramis, who only drew the plans, wishes to pass himself
-off as the engineer, whilst you, who, stone by stone, built the
-wall, the citadel, and the bastions, he wishes to reduce to the
-rank of a mere builder."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By builder, you
-mean mason, perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mason; the very
-word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Plasterer, in
-fact?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Hodman?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh! my dear
-Aramis, you seem to think you are only five and twenty years of
-age still."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, and that is
-not all, for believes you are fifty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I should have
-amazingly liked to have seen him at work."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A fellow who has
-got the gout?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who has lost three
-of his teeth?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Four."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While I, look at
-mine."  And Porthos, opening his large mouth very wide, displayed
-two rows of teeth not quite as white as snow, but even, hard, and
-sound as ivory.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You can hardly
-believe, Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "what a fancy the king has
-for good teeth.  Yours decide me; I will present you to the king
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?  Do you
-think I have less credit at court than Aramis?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think I
-have the slightest pretensions upon the fortifications at
-Belle-Isle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly
-not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is your own
-interest alone which would induce me to do it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I don't doubt it
-in the least."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I am the
-intimate friend of the king; and a proof of that is, that
-whenever there is anything disagreeable to tell him, it is I who
-have to do it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But, dear
-D'Artagnan, if you present me - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well!"<br>
-                "Aramis will be angry."<br>
-                "With me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, with
-<i>me</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Bah! whether he or
-I present you, since you are to be presented, what does it
-matter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They were going to
-get me some clothes made."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your own are
-splendid."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! those I had
-ordered were far more beautiful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take care: the
-king likes simplicity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case, I
-will be simple.  But what will M. Fouquet say, when he learns
-that I have left?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you a
-prisoner, then, on parole?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, not quite
-that.  But I promised him I would not leave without letting him
-know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wait a minute, we
-shall return to that presently.  Have you anything to do
-here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I, nothing:
-nothing of any importance, at least."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Unless, indeed,
-you are Aramis's representative for something of importance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By no means."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What I tell you -
-pray, understand that - is out of interest for you.  I suppose,
-for instance, that you are commissioned to send messages and
-letters to him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! letters -yes. 
-I send certain letters to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you any
-letters, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, let me
-speak.  Have you any letters, I say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have just
-received one for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Interesting?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I suppose so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You do not read
-them, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am not at all
-curious," said Porthos, as he drew out of his pocket the
-soldier's letter which Porthos had not read, but D'Artagnan
-had.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you know what
-to do with it?" said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course; do as I
-always do, send it to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?  Keep it,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did they not tell
-you that this letter was important?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very
-important."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, you must
-take it yourself to Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To Aramis?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Yes."<br>
-"Very good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"And since the king
-is there - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"You will profit by
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"I shall profit by
-the opportunity to present you to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Ah!  D'Artagnan,
-there is no one like you for expedients."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Therefore, instead
-of forwarding to our friend any messages, which may or may not be
-faithfully delivered, we will ourselves be the bearers of the
-letter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I had never even
-thought of that, and yet it is simple enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And therefore,
-because it is urgent, Porthos, we ought to set off at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In fact," said
-Porthos, "the sooner we set off the less chance there is of
-Aramis's letter being delayed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Porthos, your
-reasoning is always accurate, and, in your case, logic seems to
-serve as an auxiliary to the imagination."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think so?"
-said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is the result
-of your hard reading," replied D'Artagnan.  "So come along, let
-us be off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But," said
-Porthos, "my promise to M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not to leave
-Saint-Mand&eacute; without telling him of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!  Porthos,"
-said D'Artagnan, "how very young you still are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are going to
-Fontainebleau, are you not, where you will find M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Probably in the
-king's palace?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," repeated
-Porthos, with an air full of majesty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, you will
-accost him with these words: 'M. Fouquet, I have the honor to
-inform you that I have just left Saint-Mand&eacute;.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And," said
-Porthos, with the same majestic mien, "seeing me at Fontainebleau
-at the king's, M. Fouquet will not be able to tell me I am not
-speaking the truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear Porthos, I
-was just on the point of opening my lips to make the same remark,
-but you anticipate me in everything.  Oh!  Porthos, how
-fortunately you are gifted!  Years have made not the slightest
-impression on you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not over-much,
-certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then there is
-nothing more to say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"All your scruples
-are removed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case I
-shall carry you off with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly; and I
-will go and get my horse saddled."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have horses
-here, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have five."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You had them sent
-from Pierrefonds, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, M. Fouquet
-gave them to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear Porthos,
-we shall not want five horses for two persons; besides, I have
-already three in Paris, which would make eight, and that will be
-too many."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It would not be
-too many if I had some of my servants here; but, alas! I have not
-got them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you regret
-them, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I regret
-Mousqueton; I miss Mousqueton."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What a
-good-hearted fellow you are, Porthos," said D'Artagnan; "but the
-best thing you can do is to leave your horses here, as you have
-left Mousqueton out yonder."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because, by and
-by, it might turn out a very good thing if M. Fouquet had never
-given you anything at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I don't understand
-you," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is not
-necessary you should understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will explain to
-you later, Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I'll wager it is
-some piece of policy or other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And of the most
-subtle character," returned D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos nodded his
-head at this word policy; then, after a moment's reflection, he
-added, "I confess, D'Artagnan, that I am no politician."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know that
-well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! no one knows
-what you told me yourself, you, the bravest of the brave."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What did I tell
-you, Porthos?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That every man has
-his day.  You told me so, and I have experienced it myself. 
-There are certain days when one feels less pleasure than others
-in exposing one's self to a bullet or a sword-thrust."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly my own
-idea."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And mine, too,
-although I can hardly believe in blows or thrusts that kill
-outright."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce! and yet
-you have killed a few in your time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; but I have
-never been killed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your reason is a
-very good one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Therefore, I do
-not believe I shall ever die from a thrust of a sword or a
-gun-shot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case,
-then, you are afraid of nothing.  Ah! water, perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!  I swim like
-an otter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of a quartan
-fever, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have never had
-one yet, and I don't believe I ever shall; but there is one thing
-I will admit," and Porthos dropped his voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is that?"
-asked D'Artagnan, adopting the same tone of voice as Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I must confess,"
-repeated Porthos, "that I am horribly afraid of politics."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, bah!"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon my word, it's
-true," said Porthos, in a stentorian voice.  "I have seen his
-eminence Monsieur le Cardinal de Richelieu, and his eminence
-Monsieur le Cardinal de Mazarin; the one was a red politician,
-the other a black politician; I never felt very much more
-satisfied with the one than with the other; the first struck off
-the heads of M. de Marillac, M. de Thou, M. de Cinq-Mars, M.
-Ch&acirc;lais, M. de Bouteville, and M. de Montmorency; the
-second got a whole crowd of Frondeurs cut in pieces, and we
-belonged to them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,
-we did not belong to them," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! indeed, yes;
-for if I unsheathed my sword for the cardinal, I struck it for
-the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My good
-Porthos!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I have
-done.  My dread of politics is such, that if there is any
-question of politics in the matter, I should greatly prefer to
-return to Pierrefonds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You would be quite
-right, if that were the case.  But with me, my dear Porthos, no
-politics at all, that is quite clear.  You have labored hard in
-fortifying Belle-Isle; the king wished to know the name of the
-clever engineer under whose directions the works were carried
-out; you are modest, as all men of true genius are; perhaps
-Aramis wishes to put you under a bushel.  But I happen to seize
-hold of you; I make it known who you are; I produce you; the king
-rewards you; and that is the only policy I have to do with."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And the only one I
-will have to do with either," said Porthos, holding out his hand
-to D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>But D'Artagnan knew
-Porthos's grasp; he knew that, once imprisoned within the baron's
-five fingers, no hand ever left it without being half-crushed. 
-He therefore held out, not his hand, but his fist, and Porthos
-did not even perceive the difference.  The servants talked a
-little with each other in an undertone, and whispered a few
-words, which D'Artagnan understood, but which he took very good
-care not to let Porthos understand.  "Our friend," he said to
-himself, "was really and truly Aramis's prisoner.  Let us now see
-what the result will be of the liberation of the captive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter IV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Rat and the Cheese.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>D</span>'Artagnan and
-Porthos returned on foot, as D'Artagnan had set out.  When
-D'Artagnan, as he entered the shop of the Pilon d'Or, announced
-to Planchet that M. du Vallon would be one of the privileged
-travelers, and as the plume in Porthos's hat made the wooden
-candles suspended over the front jingle together, a melancholy
-presentiment seemed to eclipse the delight Planchet had promised
-himself for the morrow.  But the grocer had a heart of gold, ever
-mindful of the good old times - a trait that carries youth into
-old age.  So Planchet, notwithstanding a sort of internal shiver,
-checked as soon as experienced, received Porthos with respect,
-mingled with the tenderest cordiality.  Porthos, who was a little
-cold and stiff in his manners at first, on account of the social
-difference existing at that period between a baron and a grocer,
-soon began to soften when he perceived so much good-feeling and
-so many kind attentions in Planchet.  He was particularly touched
-by the liberty which was permitted him to plunge his great palms
-into the boxes of dried fruits and preserves, into the sacks of
-nuts and almonds, and into the drawers full of sweetmeats.  So
-that, notwithstanding Planchet's pressing invitations to go
-upstairs to the <i>entresol</i>, he chose as his favorite seat,
-during the evening which he had to spend at Planchet's house, the
-shop itself, where his fingers could always fish up whatever his
-nose detected.  The delicious figs from Provence, filberts from
-the forest, Tours plums, were subjects of his uninterrupted
-attention for five consecutive hours.  His teeth, like
-millstones, cracked heaps of nuts, the shells of which were
-scattered all over the floor, where they were trampled by every
-one who went in and out of the shop; Porthos pulled from the
-stalk with his lips, at one mouthful, bunches of the rich
-Muscatel raisins with their beautiful bloom, half a pound of
-which passed at one gulp from his mouth to his stomach.  In one
-of the corners of the shop, Planchet's assistants, huddled
-together, looked at each other without venturing to open their
-lips.  They did not know who Porthos was, for they had never seen
-him before.  The race of those Titans who had worn the cuirasses
-of Hugh Capet, Philip Augustus, and Francis I. had already begun
-to disappear.  They could hardly help thinking he might be the
-ogre of the fairy tale, who was going to turn the whole contents
-of Planchet's shop into his insatiable stomach, and that, too,
-without in the slightest degree displacing the barrels and chests
-that were in it.  Cracking, munching, chewing, nibbling, sucking,
-and swallowing, Porthos occasionally said to the grocer:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You do a very good business
-here, friend Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He will very soon have none
-at all to do, if this sort of thing continues," grumbled the
-foreman, who had Planchet's word that he should be his
-successor.  In the midst of his despair, he approached Porthos,
-who blocked up the whole of the passage leading from the back
-shop to the shop itself.  He hoped that Porthos would rise and
-that this movement would distract his devouring ideas.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you want, my man?"
-asked Porthos, affably.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should like to pass you,
-monsieur, if it is not troubling you too much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well," said Porthos,
-"it does not trouble me in the least."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>At the same moment
-he took hold of the young fellow by the waistband, lifted him off
-the ground, and placed him very gently on the other side, smiling
-all the while with the same affable expression.  As soon as
-Porthos had placed him on the ground, the lad's legs so shook
-under him that he fell back upon some sacks of corks.  But
-noticing the giant's gentleness of manner, he ventured again, and
-said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, monsieur! pray
-be careful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What about?"
-inquired Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are positively
-putting a fiery furnace into your body."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How is that, my
-good fellow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"All those things
-are very heating to the system!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Raisins, nuts, and
-almonds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; but if
-raisins, nuts, and almonds are heating - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is no doubt
-at all of it, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Honey is very
-cooling," said Porthos, stretching out his hand toward a small
-barrel of honey which was open, and he plunged the scoop with
-which the wants of the customers were supplied into it, and
-swallowed a good half-pound at one gulp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I must trouble you
-for some water now, my man," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In a pail,
-monsieur?" asked the lad, simply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, in a
-water-bottle; that will be quite enough;" and raising the bottle
-to his mouth, as a trumpeter does his trumpet, he emptied the
-bottle at a single draught.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Planchet was
-agitated in every fibre of propriety and self-esteem.  However, a
-worthy representative of the hospitality which prevailed in early
-days, he feigned to be talking very earnestly with D'Artagnan,
-and incessantly repeated: - "Ah! monsieur, what a happiness! what
-an honor!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What time shall we
-have supper, Planchet?" inquired Porthos, "I feel hungry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The foreman clasped
-his hands together.  The two others got under the counters,
-fearing Porthos might have a taste for human flesh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We shall only take
-a sort of snack here," said D'Artagnan; "and when we get to
-Planchet's country-seat, we will have supper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, ah! so we are
-going to your country-house, Planchet," said Porthos; "so much
-the better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You overwhelm me,
-monsieur le baron."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The "monsieur le
-baron" had a great effect upon the men, who detected a personage
-of the highest quality in an appetite of that kind.  This title,
-too, reassured them.  They had never heard that an ogre was ever
-called "monsieur le baron".</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will take a few
-biscuits to eat on the road," said Porthos, carelessly; and he
-emptied a whole jar of aniseed biscuits into the huge pocket of
-his doublet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My shop is saved!"
-exclaimed Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, as the cheese
-was," whispered the foreman.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What cheese?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The Dutch cheese,
-inside which a rat had made his way, and we found only the rind
-left."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Planchet looked all
-round his shop, and observing the different articles which had
-escaped Porthos's teeth, he found the comparison somewhat
-exaggerated.  The foreman, who remarked what was passing in his
-master's mind, said, "Take care; he is not gone yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you any fruit
-here?" said Porthos, as he went upstairs to the <i>entresol</i>,
-where it had just been announced that some refreshment was
-prepared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alas!" thought the
-grocer, addressing a look at D'Artagnan full of entreaty, which
-the latter half understood.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As soon as they had
-finished eating they set off.  It was late when the three riders,
-who had left Paris about six in the evening, arrived at
-Fontainebleau.  The journey passed very agreeably.  Porthos took
-a fancy to Planchet's society, because the latter was very
-respectful in his manners, and seemed delighted to talk to him
-about his meadows, his woods, and his rabbit-warrens.  Porthos
-had all the taste and pride of a landed proprietor.  When
-D'Artagnan saw his two companions in earnest conversation, he
-took the opposite side of the road, and letting his bridle drop
-upon his horse's neck, separated himself from the whole world, as
-he had done from Porthos and from Planchet.  The moon shone
-softly through the foliage of the forest.  The breezes of the
-open country rose deliciously perfumed to the horse's nostrils,
-and they snorted and pranced along delightedly.  Porthos and
-Planchet began to talk about hay-crops.  Planchet admitted to
-Porthos that in the advanced years of his life, he had certainly
-neglected agricultural pursuits for commerce, but that his
-childhood had been passed in Picardy in the beautiful meadows
-where the grass grew as high as the knees, and where he had
-played under the green apple-trees covered with red-cheeked
-fruit; he went on to say, that he had solemnly promised himself
-that as soon as he should have made his fortune, he would return
-to nature, and end his days, as he had begun them, as near as he
-possibly could to the earth itself, where all men must sleep at
-last.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Eh, eh!" said
-Porthos; "in that case, my dear Monsieur Planchet, your
-retirement is not far distant."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, you seem to
-be in the way of making your fortune very soon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, we are
-getting on pretty well, I must admit," replied Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, tell me what
-is the extent of your ambition, and what is the amount you intend
-to retire upon?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is one
-circumstance, monsieur," said Planchet, without answering the
-question, "which occasions me a good deal of anxiety."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?"
-inquired Porthos, looking all round him as if in search of the
-circumstance that annoyed Planchet, and desirous of freeing him
-from it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, formerly,"
-said the grocer, "you used to call me Planchet quite short, and
-you would have spoken to me then in a much more familiar manner
-than you do now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly,
-certainly, I should have said so formerly," replied the
-good-natured Porthos, with an embarrassment full of delicacy;
-"but formerly - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Formerly I was M.
-d'Artagnan's lackey; is not that what you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well if I am not
-quite his lackey, I am as much as ever I was his devoted servant;
-and more than that, since that time - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well,
-Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since that time, I
-have had the honor of being in partnership with him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh!" said
-Porthos.  "What, has D'Artagnan gone into the grocery
-business?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no," said
-D'Artagnan, whom these words had drawn out of his reverie, and
-who entered into the conversation with that readiness and
-rapidity which distinguished every operation of his mind and
-body.  "It was not D'Artagnan who entered into the grocery
-business, but Planchet who entered into a political affair with
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Planchet, with mingled pride and satisfaction, "we transacted a
-little business which brought me in a hundred thousand francs and
-M. d'Artagnan two hundred thousand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh!" said
-Porthos, with admiration.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that, monsieur
-le baron," continued the grocer, "I again beg you to be kind
-enough to call me Planchet, as you used to do; and to speak to me
-as familiarly as in old times.  You cannot possibly imagine the
-pleasure it would give me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If that be the
-case, my dear Planchet, I will do so, certainly," replied
-Porthos.  And as he was quite close to Planchet, he raised his
-hand, as if to strike him on the shoulder, in token of friendly
-cordiality; but a fortunate movement of the horse made him miss
-his aim, so that his hand fell on the crupper of Planchet's
-horse, instead; which made the animal's legs almost give way.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan burst
-out laughing, as he said, "Take care, Planchet; for if Porthos
-begins to like you so much, he will caress you, and if he
-caresses you he will knock you as flat as a pancake.  Porthos is
-still as strong as every, you know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh," said
-Planchet, "Mousqueton is not dead, and yet monsieur le baron is
-very fond of him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly," said
-Porthos, with a sigh which made all the three horses rear; "and I
-was only saying, this very morning, to D'Artagnan, how much I
-regretted him.  But tell me, Planchet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank you,
-monsieur le baron, thank you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good lad, good
-lad!  How many acres of park have you got?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of park?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; we will
-reckon up the meadows presently, and the woods afterwards."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whereabouts,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At your
-ch&acirc;teau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, monsieur le
-baron, I have neither ch&acirc;teau, nor park, nor meadows, nor
-woods."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What have you got,
-then?" inquired Porthos, "and why do you call it a
-country-seat?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I did not call it
-a country-seat, monsieur le baron," replied Planchet, somewhat
-humiliated, "but a country-box."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, ah!  I
-understand.  You are modest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, monsieur le
-baron, I speak the plain truth.  I have rooms for a couple of
-friends, that's all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But in that case,
-whereabouts do your friends walk?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the first
-place, they can walk about the king's forest, which is very
-beautiful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I know the
-forest is very fine," said Porthos; "nearly as beautiful as my
-forest at Berry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Planchet opened his
-eyes very wide.  "Have you a forest of the same kind as the
-forest at Fontainebleau, monsieur le baron?" he stammered
-out.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; I have two,
-indeed, but the one at Berry is my favorite."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why so?" asked
-Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because I don't
-know where it ends; and, also, because it is full of
-poachers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How can the
-poachers make the forest so agreeable to you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because they hunt
-my game, and I hunt them - which, in these peaceful times, is for
-me a sufficiently pleasing picture of war on a small scale."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>They had reached
-this turn of conversation, when Planchet, looking up, perceived
-the houses at the commencement of Fontainebleau, the lofty
-outlines of which stood out strongly against the misty visage of
-the heavens; whilst, rising above the compact and irregularly
-formed mass of buildings, the pointed roofs of the ch&acirc;teau
-were clearly visible, the slates of which glistened beneath the
-light of the moon, like the scales of an immense fish. 
-"Gentlemen," said Planchet, "I have the honor to inform you that
-we have arrived at Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter V:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Planchet's Country-House.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he cavaliers
-looked up, and saw that what Planchet had announced to them was
-true.  Ten minutes afterwards they were in the street called the
-Rue de Lyon, on the opposite side of the hostelry of the Beau
-Paon.  A high hedge of bushy elders, hawthorn, and wild hops
-formed an impenetrable fence, behind which rose a white house,
-with a high tiled roof.  Two of the windows, which were quite
-dark, looked upon the street.  Between the two, a small door,
-with a porch supported by a couple of pillars, formed the
-entrance to the house.  The door was gained by a step raised a
-little from the ground.  Planchet got off his horse, as if he
-intended to knock at the door; but, on second thoughts, he took
-hold of his horse by the bridle, and led it about thirty paces
-further on, his two companions following him.  He then advanced
-about another thirty paces, until he arrived at the door of a
-cart-house, lighted by an iron grating; and, lifting up a wooden
-latch, pushed open one of the folding-doors.  He entered first,
-leading his horse after him by the bridle, into a small
-courtyard, where an odor met them which revealed their close
-vicinity to a stable.  "That smells all right," said Porthos,
-loudly, getting off his horse, "and I almost begin to think I am
-near my own cows at Pierrefonds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have only one cow,"
-Planchet hastened to say modestly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I have
-thirty," said Porthos; "or rather, I don't exactly know how many
-I have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>When the two
-cavaliers had entered, Planchet fastened the door behind them.
- In the meantime, D'Artagnan, who had dismounted with his usual
-agility, inhaled the fresh perfumed air with the delight a
-Parisian feels at the sight of green fields and fresh foliage,
-plucked a piece of honeysuckle with one hand, and of sweet-briar
-with the other.  Porthos clawed hold of some peas which were
-twined round poles stuck into the ground, and ate, or rather
-browsed upon them, shells and all: and Planchet was busily
-engaged trying to wake up an old and infirm peasant, who was fast
-asleep in a shed, lying on a bed of moss, and dressed in an old
-stable suit of clothes.  The peasant, recognizing Planchet,
-called him "the master," to the grocer's great satisfaction. 
-"Stable the horses well, old fellow, and you shall have something
-good for yourself," said Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes; fine
-animals they are too," said the peasant.  "Oh! they shall have as
-much as they like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Gently, gently, my
-man," said D'Artagnan, "we are getting on a little too fast.  A
-few oats and a good bed - nothing more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Some bran and
-water for my horse," said Porthos, "for it is very warm, I
-think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Don't be afraid,
-gentlemen," replied Planchet; "Daddy Celestin is an old gendarme,
-who fought at Ivry.  He knows all about horses; so come into the
-house."  And he led the way along a well-sheltered walk, which
-crossed a kitchen-garden, then a small paddock, and came out into
-a little garden behind the house, the principal front of which,
-as we have already noticed, faced the street.  As they
-approached, they could see, through two open windows on the
-ground floor, which led into a sitting-room, the interior of
-Planchet's residence.  This room, softly lighted by a lamp placed
-on the table, seemed, from the end of the garden, like a smiling
-image of repose, comfort, and happiness.  In every direction
-where the rays of light fell, whether upon a piece of old china,
-or upon an article of furniture shining from excessive neatness,
-or upon the weapons hanging against the wall, the soft light was
-softly reflected; and its rays seemed to linger everywhere upon
-something or another, agreeable to the eye.  The lamp which
-lighted the room, whilst the foliage of jasmine and climbing
-roses hung in masses from the window-frames, splendidly
-illuminated a damask table-cloth as white as snow.  The table was
-laid for two persons.  Amber-colored wine sparkled in a long
-cut-glass bottle; and a large jug of blue china, with a silver
-lid, was filled with foaming cider.  Near the table, in a
-high-backed armchair, reclined, fast asleep, a woman of about
-thirty years of age, her face the very picture of health and
-freshness.  Upon her knees lay a large cat, with her paws folded
-under her, and her eyes half-closed, purring in that significant
-manner which, according to feline habits, indicates perfect
-contentment.  The two friends paused before the window in
-complete amazement, while Planchet, perceiving their
-astonishment, was in no little degree secretly delighted at
-it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!  Planchet, you
-rascal," said D'Artagnan, "I now understand your absences."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, oh! there is
-some white linen!" said Porthos, in his turn, in a voice of
-thunder.  At the sound of this gigantic voice, the cat took
-flight, the housekeeper woke up with a start, and Planchet,
-assuming a gracious air, introduced his two companions into the
-room, where the table was already laid.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Permit me, my
-dear," he said, "to present to you Monsieur le Chevalier
-d'Artagnan, my patron."  D'Artagnan took the lady's hand in his
-in the most courteous manner, and with precisely the same
-chivalrous air as he would have taken Madame's.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur le Baron
-du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds," added Planchet.  Porthos
-bowed with a reverence which Anne of Austria would have approved
-of.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>It was then
-Planchet's turn, and he unhesitatingly embraced the lady in
-question, not, however, until he had made a sign as if requesting
-D'Artagnan's and Porthos's permission, a permission as a matter
-of course frankly conceded.  D'Artagnan complimented Planchet,
-and said, "You are indeed a man who knows how to make life
-agreeable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Life, monsieur,"
-said Planchet, laughing, "is capital which a man ought to invest
-as sensibly as he possibly can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you get very
-good interest for yours," said Porthos, with a burst of laughter
-like a peal of thunder.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Planchet turned to
-his housekeeper.  "You have before you," he said to her, "the two
-gentlemen who influenced the greatest, gayest, grandest portion
-of my life.  I have spoken to you about them both very
-frequently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And about two
-others as well," said the lady, with a very decided Flemish
-accent.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame is Dutch?"
-inquired D'Artagnan.  Porthos curled his mustache, a circumstance
-which was not lost upon D'Artagnan, who noticed everything.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am from
-Antwerp," said the lady.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And her name is
-Madame Getcher," said Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You should not
-call her madame," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?" asked
-Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because it would
-make her seem older every time you call her so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I call her
-Tr&uuml;chen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And a very pretty
-name too," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tr&uuml;chen,"
-said Planchet, "came to me from Flanders with her virtue and two
-thousand florins.  She ran away from a brute of a husband who was
-in the habit of beating her.  Being myself a Picard born, I was
-always very fond of the Artesian women, and it is only a step
-from Artois to Flanders; she came crying bitterly to her
-godfather, my predecessor in the Rue des Lombards; she placed her
-two thousand florins in my establishment, which I have turned to
-very good account, and which have brought her in ten
-thousand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Bravo,
-Planchet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"She is free and
-well off; she has a cow, a maid servant and old Celestin at her
-orders; she mends my linen, knits my winter stockings; she only
-sees me every fortnight, and seems to make herself in all things
-tolerably happy.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And indeed,
-gentlemen, I <i>am</i> very happy and comfortable," said
-Tr&uuml;chen, with perfect ingenuousness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos began to
-curl the other side of his mustache.  "The deuce," thought
-D'Artagnan, "can Porthos have any intentions in that
-quarter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>In the meantime
-Tr&uuml;chen had set her cook to work, had laid the table for two
-more, and covered it with every possible delicacy that could
-convert a light supper into a substantial meal, a meal into a
-regular feast.  Fresh butter, salt beef, anchovies, tunny, a
-shopful of Planchet's commodities, fowls, vegetables, salad, fish
-from the pond and the river, game from the forest - all the
-produce, in fact, of the province.  Moreover, Planchet returned
-from the cellar, laden with ten bottles of wine, the glass of
-which could hardly be seen for the thick coating of dust which
-covered them.  Porthos's heart began to expand as he said, "I am
-hungry," and he sat himself beside Madame Tr&uuml;chen, whom he
-looked at in the most killing manner.  D'Artagnan seated himself
-on the other side of her, while Planchet, discreetly and full of
-delight, took his seat opposite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not trouble
-yourselves," he said, "if Tr&uuml;chen should leave the table now
-and then during supper; for she will have to look after your
-bedrooms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>In fact, the
-housekeeper made her escape quite frequently, and they could
-hear, on the first floor above them, the creaking of the wooden
-bedsteads and the rolling of the castors on the floor.  While
-this was going on, the three men, Porthos especially, ate and
-drank gloriously, - it was wonderful to see them.  The ten full
-bottles were ten empty one by the time Tr&uuml;chen returned with
-the cheese.  D'Artagnan still preserved his dignity and
-self-possession, but Porthos had lost a portion of his; and the
-mirth soon began to grow somewhat uproarious.  D'Artagnan
-recommended a new descent into the cellar, and, as Planchet no
-longer walked with the steadiness of a well-trained foot-soldier,
-the captain of the musketeers proposed to accompany him.  They
-set off, humming songs wild enough to frighten anybody who might
-be listening.  Tr&uuml;chen remained behind at table with
-Porthos.  While the two wine-bibbers were looking behind the
-firewood for what they wanted, a sharp report was heard like the
-impact of a pair of lips on a lady's cheek.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Porthos fancies
-himself at La Rochelle," thought D'Artagnan, as they returned
-freighted with bottles.  Planchet was singing so loudly that he
-was incapable of noticing anything.  D'Artagnan, whom nothing
-ever escaped, remarked how much redder Tr&uuml;chen's left cheek
-was than her right.  Porthos was sitting on Tr&uuml;chen's left,
-and was curling with both his hands both sides of his mustache at
-once, and Tr&uuml;chen was looking at him with a most bewitching
-smile.  The sparkling wine of Anjou very soon produced a
-remarkable effect upon the three companions.  D'Artagnan had
-hardly strength enough left to take a candlestick to light
-Planchet up his own staircase.  Planchet was pulling Porthos
-along, who was following Tr&uuml;chen, who was herself jovial
-enough.  It was D'Artagnan who found out the rooms and the beds. 
-Porthos threw himself into the one destined for him, after his
-friend had undressed him.  D'Artagnan got into his own bed,
-saying to himself, "<i>Mordioux!</i>  I had made up my mind never
-to touch that light-colored wine, which brings my early camp days
-back again.  Fie! fie! if my musketeers were only to see their
-captain in such a state."  And drawing the curtains of his bed,
-he added, "Fortunately enough, though, they will not see me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The country is
-very amusing," said Porthos, stretching out his legs, which
-passed through the wooden footboard, and made a tremendous crash,
-of which, however, no one in the house was capable of taking the
-slightest notice.  By two o'clock in the morning every one was
-fast asleep.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter VI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Showing What Could Be Seen from Planchet's House.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he next
-morning found the three heroes sleeping soundly.  Tr&uuml;chen
-had closed the outside blinds to keep the first rays of the sun
-from the leaden-lidded eyes of her guests, like a kind, good
-housekeeper.  It was still perfectly dark, then, beneath
-Porthos's curtains and under Planchet's canopy, when D'Artagnan,
-awakened by an indiscreet ray of light which made its way through
-a peek-hole in the shutters, jumped hastily out of bed, as if he
-wished to be the first at a forlorn hope.  He took by assault
-Porthos's room, which was next to his own.  The worthy Porthos
-was sleeping with a noise like distant thunder; in the dim
-obscurity of the room his gigantic frame was prominently
-displayed, and his swollen fist hung down outside the bed upon
-the carpet.  D'Artagnan awoke Porthos, who rubbed his eyes in a
-tolerably good humor.  In the meantime Planchet was dressing
-himself, and met at their bedroom doors his two guests, who were
-still somewhat unsteady from their previous evening's
-entertainment.  Although it was yet very early, the whole
-household was already up.  The cook was mercilessly slaughtering
-in the poultry-yard; Celestin was gathering white cherries in the
-garden.  Porthos, brisk and lively as ever, held out his hand to
-Planchet's, and D'Artagnan requested permission to embrace Madame
-Tr&uuml;chen.  The latter, to show that she bore no ill-will,
-approached Porthos, upon whom she conferred the same favor. 
-Porthos embraced Madame Tr&uuml;chen, heaving an enormous sigh. 
-Planchet took both his friends by the hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am going to show you over
-the house," he said; "when we arrived last night it was as dark
-as an oven, and we were unable to see anything; but in broad
-daylight, everything looks different, and you will be satisfied,
-I hope."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If we begin by the view you
-have here," said D'Artagnan, "that charms me beyond everything; I
-have always lived in royal mansions, you know, and royal
-personages have tolerably sound ideas upon the selection of
-points of view."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am a great stickler for a
-good view myself," said Porthos.  "At my Ch&acirc;teau de
-Pierrefonds, I have had four avenues laid out, and at the end of
-each is a landscape of an altogether different character from the
-others."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You shall see <i>my</i>
-prospect," said Planchet; and he led his two guests to a
-window.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" said D'Artagnan, "this
-is the Rue de Lyon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I have two windows on
-this side, a paltry, insignificant view, for there is always that
-bustling and noisy inn, which is a very disagreeable neighbor.  I
-had four windows here, but I bricked up two."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Let us go on," said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                They entered a corridor
-leading to the bedrooms, and Planchet pushed open the outside
-blinds.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Hollo! what is that out
-yonder?" said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The forest," said Planchet.
- "It is the horizon, - a thick line of green, which is yellow in
-the spring, green in the summer, red in the autumn, and white in
-the winter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "All very well, but it is
-like a curtain, which prevents one seeing a greater
-distance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said Planchet;
-"still, one can see, at all events, everything that
-intervenes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, the open country," said
-Porthos.  "But what is that I see out there, - crosses and
-stones?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, that is the cemetery,"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely," said Planchet;
-"I assure you it is very curious.  Hardly a day passes that some
-one is not buried there; for Fontainebleau is by no means an
-inconsiderable place.  Sometimes we see young girls clothed in
-white carrying banners; at others, some of the town-council, or
-rich citizens, with choristers and all the parish authorities;
-and then, too, we see some of the officers of the king's
-household."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should not like that,"
-said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is not much amusement
-in it, at all events," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I assure you it encourages
-religious thoughts," replied Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, I don't deny that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But," continued Planchet,
-"we must all die one day or another, and I once met with a maxim
-somewhere which I have remembered, that the thought of death is a
-thought that will do us all good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am far from saying the
-contrary," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But," objected D'Artagnan,
-"the thought of green fields, flowers, rivers, blue horizons,
-extensive and boundless plains, is no likely to do us good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If I had any, I should be
-far from rejecting them," said Planchet; "but possessing only
-this little cemetery, full of flowers, so moss-grown, shady, and
-quiet, I am contented with it, and I think of those who live in
-town, in the Rue des Lombards, for instance, and who have to
-listen to the rumbling of a couple of thousand vehicles every
-day, and to the soulless tramp, tramp, tramp of a hundred and
-fifty thousand foot-passengers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But living," said Porthos;
-"living, remember that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is exactly the
-reason," said Planchet, timidly, "why I feel it does me good to
-contemplate a few dead."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon my word," said
-D'Artagnan, "that fellow Planchet is born a philosopher as well
-as a grocer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur," said Planchet,
-"I am one of those good-humored sort of men whom Heaven created
-for the purpose of living a certain span of days, and of
-considering all good they meet with during their transitory stay
-on earth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan sat down close to
-the window, and as there seemed to be something substantial in
-Planchet's philosophy, he mused over it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, ah!" exclaimed
-Planchet, "if I am not mistaken, we are going to have a
-representation now, for I think I heard something like
-chanting."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said D'Artagnan, "I
-hear singing too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, it is only a burial of
-a very poor description," said Planchet, disdainfully; "the
-officiating priest, the beadle, and only one chorister boy,
-nothing more.  You observe, messieurs, that the defunct lady or
-gentleman could not have been of very high rank."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; no one seems to be
-following the coffin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said Porthos; "I see
-a man."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right; a man
-wrapped in a cloak," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It's not worth looking at,"
-said Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I find it interesting,"
-said D'Artagnan, leaning on the window-sill.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come, come, you are
-beginning to take a fancy to the place already," said Planchet,
-delightedly; "it is exactly my own case.  I was so melancholy at
-first that I could do nothing but make the sign of the cross all
-day, and the chants were like so many nails being driven into my
-head; but now, they lull me to sleep, and no bird I have ever
-seen or heard can sing better than those which are to be met with
-in this cemetery."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well," said Porthos, "this
-is beginning to get a little dull for me, and I prefer going
-downstairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Planchet with one bound was
-beside his guest, whom he offered to lead into the garden.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What!" said Porthos to
-D'Artagnan, as he turned round, "are you going to remain
-here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I will join you
-presently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, M. D'Artagnan is
-right, after all," said Planchet: "are they beginning to bury
-yet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! yes, the grave-digger
-is waiting until the cords are fastened round the bier.  But,
-see, a woman has just entered the cemetery at the other end."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes, my dear
-Planchet," said D'Artagnan, quickly, "leave me, leave me; I feel
-I am beginning already to be much comforted by my meditations, so
-do not interrupt me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Planchet left, and
-D'Artagnan remained, devouring with his eager gaze from behind
-the half-closed blinds what was taking place just before him. 
-The two bearers of the corpse had unfastened the straps by which
-they carried the litter, and were letting their burden glide
-gently into the open grave.  At a few paces distant, the man with
-the cloak wrapped round him, the only spectator of this
-melancholy scene, was leaning with his back against a large
-cypress-tree, and kept his face and person entirely concealed
-from the grave-diggers and the priests; the corpse was buried in
-five minutes.  The grave having been filled up, the priests
-turned away, and the grave-digger having addressed a few words to
-them, followed them as they moved away.  The man in the mantle
-bowed as they passed him, and put a piece of gold into the
-grave-digger's hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>Mordioux!</i>" murmured
-D'Artagnan; "it is Aramis himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis, in fact, remained
-alone, on that side at least; for hardly had he turned his head
-when a woman's footsteps, and the rustling of her dress, were
-heard in the path close to him.  He immediately turned round, and
-took off his hat with the most ceremonious respect; he led the
-lady under the shelter of some walnut and lime trees, which
-overshadowed a magnificent tomb.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! who would have thought
-it," said D'Artagnan; "the bishop of Vannes at a rendezvous!  He
-is still the same Abb&eacute; Aramis as he was at Noisy-le-Sec. 
-Yes," he added, after a pause; "but as it is in a cemetery, the
-rendezvous is sacred."  But he almost laughed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The conversation lasted for
-fully half an hour.  D'Artagnan could not see the lady's face,
-for she kept her back turned towards him; but he saw perfectly
-well, by the erect attitude of both the speakers, by their
-gestures, by the measured and careful manner with which they
-glanced at each other, either by way of attack or defense, that
-they must be conversing about any other subject than of love.  At
-the end of the conversation the lady rose, and bowed profoundly
-to Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, oh," said D'Artagnan;
-"this rendezvous finishes like one of a very tender nature
-though.  The cavalier kneels at the beginning, the young lady by
-and by gets tamed down, and then it is she who has to
-supplicate.  Who is this lady?  I would give anything to
-ascertain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                This seemed impossible,
-however, for Aramis was the first to leave; the lady carefully
-concealed her head and face, and then immediately departed. 
-D'Artagnan could hold out no longer; he ran to the window which
-looked out on the Rue de Lyon, and saw Aramis entering the inn. 
-The lady was proceeding in quite an opposite direction, and
-seemed, in fact, to be about to rejoin an equipage, consisting of
-two led horses and a carriage, which he could see standing close
-to the borders of the forest.  She was walking slowly, her head
-bent down, absorbed in the deepest meditation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>Mordioux! 
-Mordioux!</i>  I must and will learn who that woman is," said the
-musketeer again; and then, without further deliberation, he set
-off in pursuit of her.  As he was going along, he tried to think
-how he could possibly contrive to make her raise her veil.  "She
-is not young," he said, "and is a woman of high rank in society. 
-I ought to know that figure and peculiar style of walk."  As he
-ran, the sound of his spurs and of his boots upon the hard ground
-of the street made a strange jingling noise; a fortunate
-circumstance in itself, which he was far from reckoning upon. 
-The noise disturbed the lady; she seemed to fancy she was being
-either followed or pursued, which was indeed the case, and turned
-round.  D'Artagnan started as if he had received a charge of
-small shot in his legs, and then turning suddenly round as if he
-were going back the same way he had come, he murmured, "Madame de
-Chevreuse!"  D'Artagnan would not go home until he had learnt
-everything.  He asked Celestin to inquire of the grave-digger
-whose body it was they had buried that morning.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A poor Franciscan mendicant
-friar," replied the latter, "who had not even a dog to love him
-in this world, and to accompany him to his last
-resting-place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If that were really the
-case," thought D'Artagnan, "we should not have found Aramis
-present at his funeral.  The bishop of Vannes is not precisely a
-dog as far as devotion goes: his scent, however, is quite as
-keen, I admit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter VII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>How
-Porthos, Tr&uuml;chen, and Planchet Parted with Each Other on
-Friendly Terms, Thanks to D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>here was good
-living in Planchet's house.  Porthos broke a ladder and two
-cherry-trees, stripped the raspberry-bushes, and was only unable
-to succeed in reaching the strawberry-beds on account, as he
-said, of his belt.  Tr&uuml;chen, who had become quite sociable
-with the giant, said that it was not the belt so much as his
-corporation; and Porthos, in a state of the highest delight,
-embraced Tr&uuml;chen, who gathered him a pailful of the
-strawberries, and made him eat them out of her hands. 
-D'Artagnan, who arrived in the midst of these little innocent
-flirtations, scolded Porthos for his indolence, and silently
-pitied Planchet.  Porthos breakfasted with a very good appetite,
-and when he had finished, he said, looking at Tr&uuml;chen, "I
-could make myself very happy here."  Tr&uuml;chen smiled at his
-remark, and so did Planchet, but not without embarrassment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan then addressed
-Porthos: "You must not let the delights of Capua make you forget
-the real object of our journey to Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My presentation to the
-king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly.  I am going to
-take a turn in the town to get everything ready for that.  Do not
-think of leaving the house, I beg."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, no!" exclaimed
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Planchet looked at
-D'Artagnan nervously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will you be away long?" he
-inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, my friend; and this
-very evening I will release you from two troublesome guests."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  Monsieur d'Artagnan!
-can you say - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no; you are a
-noble-hearted fellow, but your house is very small.  Such a
-house, with half a dozen acres of land, would be fit for a king,
-and make him very happy, too.  But you were not born a great
-lord."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No more was M. Porthos,"
-murmured Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But he has become so, my
-good fellow; his income has been a hundred thousand francs a year
-for the last twenty years, and for the last fifty years Porthos
-has been the owner of a couple of fists and a backbone, which are
-not to be matched throughout the whole realm of France.  Porthos
-is a man of the very greatest consequence compared to you,
-and&hellip; well, I need say no more, for I know you are an
-intelligent fellow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no, monsieur, explain
-what you mean."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Look at your orchard, how
-stripped it is, how empty your larder, your bedstead broken, your
-cellar almost exhausted, look too&hellip; at Madame Tr&uuml;chen
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! my goodness gracious!"
-said Planchet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame Tr&uuml;chen is an
-excellent person," continued D'Artagnan, "but keep her for
-yourself, do you understand?" and he slapped him on the
-shoulder.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Planchet at this moment
-perceived Porthos and Tr&uuml;chen sitting close together in an
-arbor; Tr&uuml;chen, with a grace of manner peculiarly Flemish,
-was making a pair of earrings for Porthos out of a double cherry,
-while Porthos was laughing as amorously as Samson in the company
-of Delilah.  Planchet pressed D'Artagnan's hand, and ran towards
-the arbor.  We must do Porthos the justice to say that he did not
-move as they approached, and, very likely, he did not think he
-was doing any harm.  Nor indeed did Tr&uuml;chen move either,
-which rather put Planchet out; but he, too, had been so
-accustomed to see fashionable folk in his shop, that he found no
-difficulty in putting a good countenance on what seemed
-disagreeable or rude.  Planchet seized Porthos by the arm, and
-proposed to go and look at the horses, but Porthos pretended he
-was tired.  Planchet then suggested that the Baron du Vallon
-should taste some noyeau of his own manufacture, which was not to
-be equaled anywhere; an offer the baron immediately accepted;
-and, in this way, Planchet managed to engage his enemy's
-attention during the whole of the day, by dint of sacrificing his
-cellar, in preference to his <i>amour propre.</i>  Two hours
-afterwards D'Artagnan returned.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Everything is arranged," he
-said; "I saw his majesty at the very moment he was setting off
-for the chase; the king expects us this evening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king expects
-<i>me!</i>" cried Porthos, drawing himself up.  It is a sad thing
-to have to confess, but a man's heart is like an ocean billow;
-for, from that very moment Porthos ceased to look at Madame
-Tr&uuml;chen in that touching manner which had so softened her
-heart.  Planchet encouraged these ambitious leanings as best as
-he could.  He talked over, or rather gave exaggerated accounts of
-all the splendors of the last reign, its battles, sieges, and
-grand court ceremonies.  He spoke of the luxurious display which
-the English made; the prizes the three brave companions carried
-off; and how D'Artagnan, who at the beginning had been the
-humblest of the four, finished by becoming the leader.  He fired
-Porthos with a generous feeling of enthusiasm by reminding him of
-his early youth now passed away; he boasted as much as he could
-of the moral life this great lord had led, and how religiously he
-respected the ties of friendship; he was eloquent, and skillful
-in his choice of subjects.  He tickled Porthos, frightened
-Tr&uuml;chen, and made D'Artagnan think.  At six o'clock, the
-musketeer ordered the horses to be brought round, and told
-Porthos to get ready.  He thanked Planchet for his kind
-hospitality, whispered a few words about a post he might succeed
-in obtaining for him at court, which immediately raised Planchet
-in Tr&uuml;chen's estimation, where the poor grocer - so good, so
-generous, so devoted - had become much lowered ever since the
-appearance and comparison with him of the two great gentlemen. 
-Such, however, is a woman's nature; they are anxious to possess
-what they have not got, and disdain it as soon as it is
-acquired.  After having rendered this service to his friend
-Planchet, D'Artagnan said in a low tone of voice to Porthos:
-"That is a very beautiful ring you have on your finger."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is worth three hundred
-pistoles," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame Tr&uuml;chen will
-remember you better if you leave her that ring," replied
-D'Artagnan, a suggestion which Porthos seemed to hesitate to
-adopt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You think it is not
-beautiful enough, perhaps," said the musketeer.  "I understand
-your feelings; a great lord such as you would not think of
-accepting the hospitality of an old servant without paying him
-most handsomely for it: but I am sure that Planchet is too
-good-hearted a fellow to remember that you have an income of a
-hundred thousand francs a year."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have more than half a
-mind," said Porthos, flattered by the remark, "to make Madame
-Tr&uuml;chen a present of my little farm at Bracieux; it has
-twelve acres."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is too much, my good
-Porthos, too much just at present&hellip;  Keep it for a future
-occasion."  He then took the ring off Porthos's finger, and
-approaching Tr&uuml;chen, said to her: - "Madame, monsieur le
-baron hardly knows how to entreat you, out of your regard for
-him, to accept this little ring.  M. du Vallon is one of the most
-generous and discreet men of my acquaintance.  He wished to offer
-you a farm that he has at Bracieux, but I dissuaded him from
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said Tr&uuml;chen,
-looking eagerly at the diamond.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur le baron!"
-exclaimed Planchet, quite overcome.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My good friend," stammered
-out Porthos, delighted at having been so well represented by
-D'Artagnan.  These several exclamations, uttered at the same
-moment, made quite a pathetic winding-up of a day which might
-have finished in a very ridiculous manner.  But D'Artagnan was
-there, and, on every occasion, wheresoever D'Artagnan exercised
-any control, matters ended only just in the very way he wished
-and willed.  There were general embracings; Tr&uuml;chen, whom
-the baron's munificence had restored to her proper position, very
-timidly, and blushing all the while, presented her forehead to
-the great lord with whom she had been on such very pretty terms
-the evening before.  Planchet himself was overcome by a feeling
-of genuine humility.  Still, in the same generosity of
-disposition, Porthos would have emptied his pockets into the
-hands of the cook and of Celestin; but D'Artagnan stopped
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No," he said, "it is now my
-turn."  And he gave one pistole to the woman and two to the man;
-and the benedictions which were showered down upon them would
-have rejoiced the heart of Harpagon himself, and have rendered
-even him a prodigal.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan made Planchet
-lead them to the ch&acirc;teau, and introduced Porthos into his
-own apartment, where he arrived safely without having been
-perceived by those he was afraid of meeting.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter VIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Presentation of Porthos at Court.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>A</span>t seven
-o'clock the same evening, the king gave an audience to an
-ambassador from the United Provinces, in the grand
-reception-room.  The audience lasted a quarter of an hour.  His
-majesty afterwards received those who had been recently
-presented, together with a few ladies, who paid their respects
-first.  In one corner of the salon, concealed behind a column,
-Porthos and D'Artagnan were conversing together, waiting until
-their turn arrived.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Have you heard the news?"
-inquired the musketeer of his friend.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, look, then."  Porthos
-raised himself on tiptoe, and saw M. Fouquet in full court dress,
-leading Aramis towards the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Aramis!" said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Presented to the king by M.
-Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" ejaculated
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For having fortified
-Belle-Isle," continued D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You - oh, you! as I have
-already had the honor of telling you, are the good-natured,
-kind-hearted Porthos; and so they begged you to take care of
-Saint-Mand&eacute; a little."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" repeated Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, happily, I was there,"
-said D'Artagnan, "and presently it will be <i>my</i> turn."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At this moment Fouquet
-addressed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," he said, "I have a
-favor to solicit of your majesty.  M. d'Herblay is not ambitious,
-but he knows when he can be of service.  Your majesty needs a
-representative at Rome, who would be able to exercise a powerful
-influence there; may I request a cardinal's hat for M.
-d'Herblay?"  The king started.  "I do not often solicit anything
-of your majesty," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is a reason,
-certainly," replied the king, who always expressed any hesitation
-he might have in that manner, and to which remark there was
-nothing to say in reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Fouquet and Aramis looked at
-each other.  The king resumed: "M. d'Herblay can serve us equally
-well in France; an archbishopric, for instance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," objected Fouquet,
-with a grace of manner peculiarly his own, "your majesty
-overwhelms M. d'Herblay; the archbishopric may, in your majesty's
-extreme kindness, be conferred in addition to the hat; the one
-does not exclude the other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king admired the
-readiness which he displayed, and smiled, saying: "D'Artagnan
-himself could not have answered better."  He had no sooner
-pronounced the name than D'Artagnan appeared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did your majesty call me?"
-he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis and Fouquet drew back
-a step, as if they were about to retire.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will your majesty allow
-me," said D'Artagnan quickly, as he led forward Porthos, "to
-present to your majesty M. le Baron du Vallon, one of the bravest
-gentlemen of  France?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                As soon as Aramis saw
-Porthos, he turned as pale as death, while Fouquet clenched his
-hands under his ruffles.  D'Artagnan smiled blandly at both of
-them, while Porthos bowed, visibly overcome before the royal
-presence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Porthos here?" murmured
-Fouquet in Aramis's ear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Hush! deep treachery at
-work," hissed the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," said D'Artagnan, "it
-is more than six years ago I ought to have presented M. du Vallon
-to your majesty; but certain men resemble stars, they move not
-one inch unless their satellites accompany them.  The Pleiades
-are never disunited, and that is the reason I have selected, for
-the purpose of presenting him to you, the very moment when you
-would see M. d'Herblay by his side."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis almost lost
-countenance.  He looked at D'Artagnan with a proud, haughty air,
-as though willing to accept the defiance the latter seemed to
-throw down.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! these gentlemen are
-good friends, then?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Excellent friends, sire;
-the one can answer for the other.  Ask M. de Vannes now in what
-manner Belle-Isle was fortified?"  Fouquet moved back a step.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Belle-Isle," said Aramis,
-coldly, "was fortified by that gentleman," and he indicated
-Porthos with his hand, who bowed a second time.  Louis could not
-withhold his admiration, though at the same time his suspicions
-were aroused.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said D'Artagnan, "but
-ask monsieur le baron whose assistance he had in carrying the
-works out?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Aramis's," said Porthos,
-frankly; and he pointed to the bishop.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What the deuce does all
-this mean?" thought the bishop, "and what sort of a termination
-are we to expect to this comedy?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What!" exclaimed the king,
-"is the cardinal's, I mean this bishop's, name
-<i>Aramis?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "His <i>nom de guerre</i>,"
-said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My nickname," said
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A truce to modesty!"
-exclaimed D'Artagnan; "beneath the priest's robe, sire, is
-concealed the most brilliant officer, a gentleman of the most
-unparalleled intrepidity, and the wisest theologian in your
-kingdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis raised his head.  "And
-an engineer, also, it appears," he said, admiring Aramis's calm,
-imperturbable self-possession.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "An engineer for a
-particular purpose, sire," said the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My companion in the
-musketeers, sire," said D'Artagnan, with great warmth of manner,
-"the man who has more than a hundred times aided your father's
-ministers by his advice - M. d'Herblay, in a word, who, with M.
-du Vallon, myself, and M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re, who is
-known to your majesty, formed that quartette which was a good
-deal talked about during the late king's reign, and during your
-majesty's minority."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And who fortified
-Belle-Isle?" the king repeated, in a significant tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis advanced and bowed:
-"In order to serve the son as I served the father."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan looked very
-narrowly at Aramis while he uttered these words, which displayed
-so much true respect, so much warm devotion, such entire
-frankness and sincerity, that even he, D'Artagnan, the eternal
-doubter, he, the almost infallible in judgment, was deceived by
-it.  "A man who lies cannot speak in such a tone as that," he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis was overcome by it. 
-"In that case," he said to Fouquet, who anxiously awaited the
-result of this proof, "the cardinal's hat is promised.  Monsieur
-d'Herblay, I pledge you my honor that the first promotion shall
-be yours.  Thank M. Fouquet for it."  Colbert overheard these
-words; they stung him to the quick, and he left the salon
-abruptly.  "And you, Monsieur du Vallon," said the king, "what
-have you to ask?  I am truly pleased to have it in my power to
-acknowledge the services of those who were faithful to my
-father."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire - " began Porthos, but
-he was unable to proceed with what he was going to say.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," exclaimed
-D'Artagnan, "this worthy gentleman is utterly overpowered by your
-majesty's presence, he who so valiantly sustained the looks and
-the fire of a thousand foes.  But, knowing what his thoughts are,
-I - who am more accustomed to gaze upon the sun - can translate
-them: he needs nothing, absolutely nothing; his sole desire is to
-have the happiness of gazing upon your majesty for a quarter of
-an hour."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You shall sup with me this
-evening," said the king, saluting Porthos with a gracious
-smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos became crimson from
-delight and pride.  The king dismissed him, and D'Artagnan pushed
-him into the adjoining apartment, after he had embraced him
-warmly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sit next to me at table,"
-said Porthos in his ear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, my friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Aramis is annoyed with me,
-I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Aramis has never liked you
-so much as he does now.  Fancy, it was I who was the means of his
-getting the cardinal's hat."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course," said Porthos. 
-"By the by, does the king like his guests to eat much at his
-table?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is a compliment to
-himself if you do," said D'Artagnan, "for he himself possesses a
-royal appetite."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter IX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Explanations.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>A</span>ramis
-cleverly managed to effect a diversion for the purpose of finding
-D'Artagnan and Porthos.  He came up to the latter, behind one of
-the columns, and, as he pressed his hand, said, "So you have
-escaped from my prison?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do not scold him," said
-D'Artagnan; "it was I, dear Aramis, who set him free."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! my friend," replied
-Aramis, looking at Porthos, "could you not have waited with a
-little more patience?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan came to the
-assistance of Porthos, who already began to breathe hard, in sore
-perplexity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You see, you members of the
-Church are great politicians; we mere soldiers come at once to
-the point.  The facts are these: I went to pay Baisemeaux a visit
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis pricked up his ears
-at this announcement.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Stay!" said Porthos; "you
-make me remember that I have a letter from Baisemeaux for you,
-Aramis."  And Porthos held out the bishop the letter we have
-already seen.  Aramis begged to be allowed to read it, and read
-it without D'Artagnan feeling in the slightest degree embarrassed
-by the circumstance that he was so well acquainted with the
-contents of it.  Besides, Aramis's face was so impenetrable, that
-D'Artagnan could not but admire him more than ever; after he had
-read it, he put the letter into his pocket with the calmest
-possible air.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You were saying, captain?"
-he observed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I was saying," continued
-the musketeer, "that I had gone to pay Baisemeaux a visit on his
-majesty's service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On his majesty's service?"
-said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said D'Artagnan,
-"and, naturally enough, we talked about you and our friends.  I
-must say that Baisemeaux received me coldly; so I soon took my
-leave of him.  As I was returning, a soldier accosted me, and
-said (no doubt as he recognized me, notwithstanding I was in
-private clothes), 'Captain, will you be good enough to read me
-the name written on this envelope?' and I read, 'To Monsieur du
-Vallon, at M. Fouquet's house, Saint-Mand&eacute;.'  The deuce, I
-said to myself, Porthos has not returned, then, as I fancied, to
-Bell-Isle, or to Pierrefonds, but is at M. Fouquet's house, at
-Saint-Mand&eacute;; and as M. Fouquet is not at
-Saint-Mand&eacute;, Porthos must be quite alone, or, at all
-events, with Aramis; I will go and see Porthos, and I accordingly
-went to see Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good," said Aramis,
-thoughtfully.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You never told me that,"
-said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I had no time, my
-friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you brought back
-Porthos with you to Fontainebleau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, to Planchet's
-house."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Does Planchet live at
-Fontainebleau?" inquired Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, near the cemetery,"
-said Porthos, thoughtlessly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean by 'near
-the cemetery?'" said Aramis, suspiciously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come," thought the
-musketeer, "since there is to be a squabble, let us take
-advantage of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, the cemetery," said
-Porthos.  "Planchet is a very excellent fellow, who makes very
-excellent preserves; but his house has windows which look out
-upon the cemetery.  And a confoundedly melancholy prospect it
-is!  So this morning - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This morning?" said Aramis,
-more and more excited.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan turned his back
-to them, and walked to the window, where he began to play a march
-upon one of the panes of glass.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, this morning we saw a
-man buried there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very depressing, was it
-not?  I should never be able to live in a house where burials can
-always be seen from the window.  D'Artagnan, on the contrary,
-seems to like it very much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So D'Artagnan saw it as
-well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not simply <i>saw</i> it;
-he literally never took his eyes off the whole time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis started, and turned
-to look at the musketeer, but the latter was engaged in earnest
-conversation with Saint-Aignan.  Aramis continued to question
-Porthos, and when he had squeezed all the juice out of this
-enormous lemon, he threw the peel aside.  He turned towards his
-friend D'Artagnan, and clapping him on the shoulder, when
-Saint-Aignan had left him, the king's supper having been
-announced, said, "D'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, my dear fellow," he
-replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We do not sup with his
-majesty, I believe?"<br>
-                "Well? - <i>we</i> do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Can you give me ten
-minutes' conversation?"<br>
-                "Twenty, if you like.  His majesty will take
-quite that time to get properly seated at table."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where shall we talk,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Here, upon these seats if
-you like; the king has left, we can sit down, and the apartment
-is empty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Let us sit down, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                They sat down, and Aramis
-took one of D'Artagnan's hands in his.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell me, candidly, my dear
-friend, whether you have not counseled Porthos to distrust me a
-little?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I admit, I have, but not as
-you understand it.  I saw that Porthos was bored to death, and I
-wished, by presenting him to the king, to do for him, and for
-you, what you would never do for yourselves."<br>
-                "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Speak in your own
-praise."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you have done it most
-nobly; I thank you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I brought the
-cardinal's hat a little nearer, just as it seemed to be
-retreating from you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! I admit that," said
-Aramis, with a singular smile, "you are, indeed, not to be
-matched for making your friends' fortunes for them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You see, then, that I only
-acted with the view of making Porthos's fortune for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I meant to have done that
-myself; but your arm reaches farther than ours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It was now D'Artagnan's turn
-to smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come," said Aramis, "we
-ought to deal truthfully with each other.  Do you still love me,
-D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The same as I used to do,"
-replied D'Artagnan, without compromising himself too much by this
-reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, thanks; and
-now, for the most perfect frankness," said Aramis; "you visited
-Belle-Isle on behalf of the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>Pardieu!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You wished to deprive us of
-the pleasure of offering Bell-Isle completely fortified to the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But before I could deprive
-you of that pleasure, I ought to have been made acquainted with
-your intention of doing so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You came to Belle-Isle
-without knowing anything?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of you! yes.  How the devil
-could I imagine that Aramis had become so clever an engineer as
-to be able to fortify like Polybius, or Archimedes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True.  And yet you smelt me
-out over yonder?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! yes."<br>
-                "And Porthos, too?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I did not divine that
-Aramis was an engineer.  I was only able to guess that Porthos
-might have become one.  There is a saying, one becomes an orator,
-one is born a poet; but it has never been said, one is born
-Porthos, and one becomes an engineer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your wit is always
-amusing," said Aramis, coldly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, I will go on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do.  When you found out our
-secret, you made all the haste you could to communicate it to the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I certainly made as much
-haste as I could, since I saw that you were making still more. 
-When a man weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, as Porthos
-does, rides post; when a gouty prelate - I beg your pardon, but
-you yourself told me you were so - when a prelate scours the
-highway - I naturally suppose that my two friends, who did not
-wish to be communicative with me, had certain matters of the
-highest importance to conceal from me, and so I made as much
-haste as my leanness and the absence of gout would allow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did it not occur to you, my
-dear friend, that you might be rendering Porthos and myself a
-very sad service?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I thought it not
-unlikely; but you and Porthos made me play a very ridiculous part
-at Belle-Isle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I beg your pardon," said
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Excuse me," said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So that," pursued Aramis,
-"you now know everything?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, indeed."<br>
-                "You know I was obliged to inform M. Fouquet of
-what had happened, in order that he would be able to anticipate
-what you might have to tell the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is rather
-obscure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not at all: M. Fouquet has
-his enemies - you will admit that, I suppose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And one in particular."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A dangerous one?"<br>
-                "A mortal enemy.  Well, in order to counteract
-that man's influence, it was necessary that M. Fouquet should
-give the king a proof of his great devotion to him, and of his
-readiness to make the greatest sacrifices.  He surprised his
-majesty by offering him Belle-Isle.  If you had been the first to
-reach Paris, the surprise would have been destroyed, it would
-have looked as if we had yielded to fear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is the whole mystery,"
-said Aramis, satisfied that he had at last quite convinced the
-musketeer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Only," said the latter, "it
-would have been more simple to have taken me aside, and said to
-me, 'My dear D'Artagnan, we are fortifying Belle-Isle, and intend
-to offer it to the king.  Tell us frankly, for whom you are
-acting.  Are you a friend of M. Colbert, or of M. Fouquet?' 
-Perhaps I should not have answered you, but you would have added,
-- 'Are you my friend?'  I should have said 'Yes.'"  Aramis hung
-down his head.  "In this way," continued D'Artagnan, "you would
-have paralyzed my movements, and I should have gone to the king,
-and said, 'Sire, M. Fouquet is fortifying Belle-Isle, and
-exceedingly well, too; but here is a note, which the governor of
-Belle-Isle gave me for your majesty;' or, 'M. Fouquet is about to
-wait upon your majesty to explain his intentions with regard to
-it.'  I should not have been placed in an absurd position; you
-would have enjoyed the surprise so long planned, and we should
-not have had any occasion to look askant at each other when we
-met."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "While, on the contrary,"
-replied Aramis, "you have acted altogether as one friendly to M.
-Colbert.  And you really are a friend of his, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly not, indeed!"
-exclaimed the captain.  "M. Colbert is a mean fellow, and I hate
-him as I used to hate Mazarin, but without fearing him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then," said Aramis,
-"I love M. Fouquet, and his interests are mine.  You know my
-position.  I have no property or means whatever.  M. Fouquet gave
-me several livings, a bishopric as well; M. Fouquet has served
-and obliged me like the generous-hearted man he is, and I know
-the world sufficiently well to appreciate a kindness when I meet
-with one.  M. Fouquet has won my regard, and I have devoted
-myself to his service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You could not possibly do
-better.  You will find him a very liberal master."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis bit his lips; and
-then said, "The best a man could possibly have."  He then paused
-for a minute, D'Artagnan taking good care not to interrupt
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I suppose you know how
-Porthos got mixed up in all this?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No," said D'Artagnan; "I am
-curious, of course, but I never question a friend when he wishes
-to keep a secret from me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, I will tell
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is hardly worth the
-trouble, if the confidence is to bind me in any way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! do not be afraid.;
-there is no man whom I love better than Porthos, because he is so
-simple-minded and good-natured.  Porthos is so straightforward in
-everything.  Since I have become a bishop, I have looked for
-these primeval natures, which make me love truth and hate
-intrigue."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan stroked his
-mustache, but said nothing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I saw Porthos and again
-cultivated his acquaintance; his own time hanging idly on his
-hands, his presence recalled my earlier and better days without
-engaging me in any present evil.  I sent for Porthos to come to
-Vannes.  M. Fouquet, whose regard for me is very great, having
-learnt that Porthos and I were attached to each other by old ties
-of friendship, promised him increase of rank at the earliest
-promotion, and that is the whole secret."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I shall not abuse your
-confidence," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am sure of that, my dear
-friend; no one has a finer sense of honor than yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I flatter myself that you
-are right, Aramis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And now" - and here the
-prelate looked searchingly and scrutinizingly at his friend -
-"now let us talk of ourselves and for ourselves; will you become
-one of M. Fouquet's friends?  Do not interrupt me until you know
-what that means."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, I am listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will you become a
-mar&eacute;chal of France, peer, duke, and the possessor of a
-duchy, with a million of francs?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, my friend," replied
-D'Artagnan, "what must one do to get all that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Belong to M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But I already belong to the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not exclusively, I
-suppose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! a D'Artagnan cannot be
-divided."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have, I presume,
-ambitions, as noble hearts like yours have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, certainly I have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well!  I wish to be a
-mar&eacute;chal; the king will make me mar&eacute;chal, duke,
-peer; the king will make me all that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis fixed a searching
-look upon D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is not the king master?"
-said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No one disputes it; but
-Louis XIII. was master also."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! my dear friend, between
-Richelieu and Louis XIII. stood no D'Artagnan," said the
-musketeer, very quietly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There are many
-stumbling-blocks round the king," said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not for the king's
-feet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very likely not; still -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "One moment, Aramis; I
-observe that every one thinks of himself, and never of his poor
-prince; I will maintain myself maintaining him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And if you meet with
-ingratitude?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The weak alone are afraid
-of that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are quite certain of
-yourself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I think so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Still, the king may some
-day have no further need for you!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On the contrary, I think
-his need of me will soon be greater than ever; and hearken, my
-dear fellow, if it became necessary to arrest a new Cond&eacute;,
-who would do it?  This - this alone in France!" and D'Artagnan
-struck his sword, which clanked sullenly on the tesselated
-floor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right," said
-Aramis, turning very pale; and then he rose and pressed
-D'Artagnan's hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is the last summons
-for supper," said the captain of the musketeers; "will you excuse
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis threw his arm round
-the musketeer's neck, and said, "A friend like you is the
-brightest jewel in the royal crown."  And they immediately
-separated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I was right," mused
-D'Artagnan; "there is, indeed, something strangely serious
-stirring."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We must hasten the
-explosion," breathed the coming cardinal, "for D'Artagnan has
-discovered the existence of a plot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter X:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Madame and De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>I</span>t will not be
-forgotten how Comte de Guiche left the queen-mother's apartments
-on the day when Louis XIV. presented La Valli&egrave;re with the
-beautiful bracelets he had won in the lottery.  The comte walked
-to and fro for some time outside the palace, in the greatest
-distress, from a thousand suspicions and anxieties with which his
-mind was beset.  Presently he stopped and waited on the terrace
-opposite the grove of trees, watching for Madame's departure. 
-More than half an hour passed away; and as he was at that moment
-quite alone, the comte could hardly have had any very diverting
-ideas at his command.  He drew his tables from his pocket, and,
-after hesitating over and over again, determined to write these
-words: - "Madame, I implore you to grant me one moment's
-conversation.  Do not be alarmed at this request, which contains
-nothing in any way opposed to the profound respect with which I
-subscribe myself, etc., etc."  He had signed and folded this
-singular love-letter, when he suddenly observed several ladies
-leaving the ch&acirc;teau, and afterwards several courtiers too;
-in fact, almost every one that formed the queen's circle.  He saw
-La Valli&egrave;re herself, then Montalais talking with
-Malicorne; he watched the departure of the very last of the
-numerous guests that had a short time before thronged the
-queen-mother's cabinet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame herself had not yet
-passed; she would be obliged, however, to cross the courtyard in
-order to enter her own apartments; and, from the terrace where he
-was standing, De Guiche could see all that was going on in the
-courtyard.  At last he saw Madame leave, attended by a couple of
-pages, who were carrying torches before her.  She was walking
-very quickly; as soon as she reached the door, she said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Let some one go and look
-for De Guiche: he has to render an account of a mission he had to
-discharge for me; if he should be disengaged, request him to be
-good enough to come to my apartment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Guiche remained silent,
-hidden in the shade; but as soon as Madame had withdrawn, he
-darted from the terrace down the steps and assumed a most
-indifferent air, so that the pages who were hurrying towards his
-rooms might meet him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! it is Madame, then, who
-is seeking me!" he said to himself, quite overcome; and he
-crushed in his hand the now worse than useless letter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. le comte," said one of
-the pages, approaching him, "we are indeed most fortunate in
-meeting you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so, messieurs?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A command from Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "From Madame!" said De
-Guiche, looking surprised.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, M. le comte, her royal
-highness has been asking for you; she expects to hear, she told
-us, the result of a commission you had to execute for her.  Are
-you at liberty?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am quite at her royal
-highness's orders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will you have the goodness
-to follow us, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                When De Guiche entered the
-princess's apartments, he found her pale and agitated.  Montalais
-was standing at the door, evidently uneasy about what was passing
-in her mistress's mind.  De Guiche appeared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! is that you, Monsieur
-de Guiche?" said Madame; "come in, I beg.  Mademoiselle de
-Montalais, I do not require your attendance any longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Montalais, more puzzled than
-ever, courtesied and withdrew.  De Guiche and the princess were
-left alone.  The come had every advantage in his favor; it was
-Madame who had summoned him to a rendezvous.  But how was it
-possible for the comte to make use of this advantage?  Madame was
-so whimsical, and her disposition so changeable.  She soon
-allowed this to be perceived, for, suddenly, opening the
-conversation, she said: "Well! have you nothing to say to
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He imagined she must have
-guessed his thoughts; he fancied (for those who are in love are
-thus constituted, being as credulous and blind as poets or
-prophets), he fancied she knew how ardent was his desire to see
-her, and also the subject uppermost in his mind.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame," he said, "and
-I think it very singular."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The affair of the
-bracelets," she exclaimed, eagerly, "you mean that, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you think the king is
-in love; do you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Guiche looked at her for
-some time; her eyes sank under his gaze, which seemed to read her
-very heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I think," he said, "that
-the king may possibly have had an idea of annoying some one; were
-it not for that, the king would hardly show himself so earnest in
-his attentions as he is; he would not run the risk of
-compromising, from mere thoughtlessness of disposition, a young
-girl against whom no one has been hitherto able to say a
-word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Indeed! the bold, shameless
-girl," said the princess, haughtily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I can positively assure
-your royal highness," said De Guiche, with a firmness marked by
-great respect, "that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re is
-beloved by a man who merits every respect, for he is a brave and
-honorable gentleman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Bragelonne?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My friend; yes,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, and though he is your
-friend, what does that matter to the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king knows that
-Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re;
-and as Raoul has served the king most valiantly, the king will
-not inflict an irreparable injury upon him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame began to laugh in a
-manner that produced a sinister impression upon De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I repeat, Madame, I do not
-believe the king is in love with Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re; and the proof that I do not believe it is, that
-I was about to ask you whose <i>amour propre</i> it is likely the
-king is desirous of wounding?  You, who are well acquainted with
-the whole court, can perhaps assist me in ascertaining that; and
-assuredly, with greater certainty, since it is everywhere said
-that your royal highness is on very friendly terms with the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame bit her lips, and,
-unable to assign any good and sufficient reasons, changed the
-conversation.  "Prove to me," she said, fixing on him one of
-those looks in which the whole soul seems to pass into the eyes,
-"prove to me, I say, that you intended to interrogate me at the
-very moment I sent for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Guiche gravely drew from
-his pocket the now crumpled note that he had written, and showed
-it to her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sympathy," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said the comte, with
-an indescribable tenderness of tone, "sympathy.  I have explained
-to you how and why I sought you; you, however, have yet to tell
-me, Madame, why you sent for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True," replied the
-princess.  She hesitated, and then suddenly exclaimed, "Those
-bracelets will drive me mad."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You expected the king would
-offer them to you," replied De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But before you, Madame,
-before you, his sister-in-law, was there not the queen herself to
-whom the king should have offered them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Before La Valli&egrave;re,"
-cried the princess, wounded to the quick, "could he not have
-presented them to me?  Was there not the whole court, indeed, to
-choose from?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I assure you, Madame," said
-the comte, respectfully, "that if any one heard you speak in this
-manner, if any one were to see how red your eyes are, and, Heaven
-forgive me, to see, too, that tear trembling on your eyelids, it
-would be said that your royal highness was jealous."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Jealous!" said the
-princess, haughtily, "jealous of La Valli&egrave;re!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She expected to see De
-Guiche yield beneath her scornful gesture and her proud tone; but
-he simply and boldly replied, "Jealous of La Valli&egrave;re;
-yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Am I to suppose, monsieur,"
-she stammered out, "that your object is to insult me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is not possible,
-Madame," replied the comte, slightly agitated, but resolved to
-master that fiery nature.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Leave the room!" said the
-princess, thoroughly exasperated, De Guiche's coolness and silent
-respect having made her completely lose her temper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Guiche fell back a step,
-bowed slowly, but with great respect, drew himself up, looking as
-white as his lace cuffs, and, in a voice slightly trembling,
-said, "It was hardly worth while to have hurried here to be
-subjected to this unmerited disgrace."  And he turned away with
-hasty steps.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He had scarcely gone half a
-dozen paces when Madame darted like a tigress after him, seized
-him by the cuff, and making him turn round again, said, trembling
-with passion as she did so, "The respect you pretend to have is
-more insulting than the insult itself.  Insult me, if you please,
-but at least speak."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame," said the comte,
-gently, as he drew his sword, "thrust this blade into my heart,
-rather than kill me by degrees."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At the look he fixed upon
-her, - a look full of love, resolution, and despair, even, - she
-knew how readily the comte, so outwardly calm in appearance,
-would pass his sword through his own breast if she added another
-word.  She tore the blade from his hands, and, pressing his arm
-with a  feverish impatience, which might pass for tenderness,
-said, "Do not be too hard upon me, comte.  You see how I am
-suffering, and yet you have no pity for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Tears, the cries of this
-strange attack, stifled her voice.  As soon as De Guiche saw her
-weep, he took her in his arms and carried her to an armchair; in
-another moment she would have been suffocated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, why," he murmured, as
-he knelt by her side, "why do you conceal your troubles from me? 
-Do you love any one - tell me?  It would kill me, I know, but not
-until I should have comforted, consoled, and served you
-even."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And do you love me to that
-extent?" she replied, completely conquered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do indeed love you to
-that extent, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She placed both her hands in
-his.  "My heart is indeed another's," she murmured in so low a
-tone that her voice could hardly be heard; but he heard it, and
-said, "Is it the king you love?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She gently shook her head,
-and her smile was like a clear bright streak in the clouds,
-through which after the tempest has passed one almost fancies
-Paradise is opening.  "But," she added, "there are other passions
-in a high-born heart.  Love is poetry; but the real life of the
-heart is pride.  Comte, I was born on a throne, I am proud and
-jealous of my rank.  Why does the king gather such unworthy
-objects round him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Once more, I repeat," said
-the comte, "you are acting unjustly towards that poor girl, who
-will one day be my friend's wife."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you simple enough to
-believe that, comte?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If I did not believe it,"
-he said, turning very pale, "Bragelonne should be informed of it
-to-morrow; indeed he should, if I thought that poor La
-Valli&egrave;re had forgotten the vows she had exchanged with
-Raoul.  But no, it would be cowardly to betray a woman's secret;
-it would be criminal to disturb a friend's peace of mind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You think, then," said the
-princess, with a wild burst of laughter, "that ignorance is
-happiness?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe it," he
-replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Prove it to me, then," she
-said, hurriedly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is easily done, Madame. 
-It is reported through the whole court that the king loves you,
-and that you return his affection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?" she said, breathing
-with difficulty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well; admit for a moment
-that Raoul, my friend, had come and said to me, 'Yes, the king
-loves Madame, and has made an impression upon her heart,' I
-possibly should have slain Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It would have been
-necessary," said the princess, with the obstinacy of a woman who
-feels herself not easily overcome, "for M. de Bragelonne to have
-had proofs before he ventured to speak to you in that
-manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Such, however, is the
-case," replied De Guiche, with a deep sigh, "that, not having
-been warned, I have never examined into the matter seriously; and
-I now find that my ignorance has saved my life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So, then, you drive
-selfishness and coldness to that extent," said Madame, "that you
-would let this unhappy young man continue to love La
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I would, until La
-Valli&egrave;re's guilt were revealed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But the bracelets?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, Madame, since you
-yourself expected to receive them from the king, what can I
-possibly say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The argument was a telling
-one, and the princess was overwhelmed by it, and from that moment
-her defeat was assured.  But as her heart and mind were instinct
-with noble and generous feelings, she understood De Guiche's
-extreme delicacy.  She saw that in his heart he really suspected
-that the king was in love with La Valli&egrave;re, and that he
-did not wish to resort to the common expedient of ruining a rival
-in the mind of a woman, by giving the latter the assurance and
-certainty that this rival's affections were transferred to
-another woman.  She guessed that his suspicions of La
-Valli&egrave;re were aroused, and that, in order to leave himself
-time for his convictions to undergo a change, so as not to ruin
-Louise utterly, he was determined to pursue a certain
-straightforward line of conduct.  She could read so much real
-greatness of character, and such true generosity of disposition
-in her lover, that her heart really warmed with affection towards
-him, whose passion for her was so pure and delicate.  Despite his
-fear of incurring her displeasure, De Guiche, by retaining his
-position as a man of proud independence of feeling and deep
-devotion, became almost a hero in her estimation, and reduced her
-to the state of a jealous and little-minded woman.  She loved him
-for this so tenderly, that she could not refuse to give him a
-proof of her affection.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "See how many words we have
-wasted," she said, taking his hand, "suspicions, anxieties,
-mistrust, sufferings - I think we have enumerated all those
-words."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas!  Madame, yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Efface them from your heart
-as I drive them from mine.  Whether La Valli&egrave;re does or
-does not love the king, and whether the king does or does not
-love La Valli&egrave;re - from this moment you and I will draw a
-distinction in the two characters I have to perform.  You open
-your eyes so wide that I am sure you hardly understand me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are so impetuous,
-Madame, that I always tremble at the fear of displeasing
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And see how he trembles
-now, poor fellow," she said, with the most charming playfulness
-of manner.  "Yes, monsieur, I have two characters to perform.  I
-am the sister of the king, the sister-in-law of the king's wife. 
-In this character ought I not to take an interest in these
-domestic intrigues?  Come, tell me what you think?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As little as possible,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Agreed, monsieur; but it is
-a question of dignity; and then, you know, I am the wife of the
-king's brother."  De Guiche sighed.  "A circumstance," she added,
-with an expression of great tenderness, "which will remind you
-that I am always to be treated with the profoundest respect."  De
-Guiche fell at her feet, which he kissed, with the religious
-fervor of a worshipper.  "And I begin to think that, really and
-truly, I have another character to perform.  I was almost
-forgetting it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Name it, oh! name it," said
-De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am a woman," she said, in
-a voice lower than ever, "and I love."  He rose, she opened her
-arms, and their lips met.  A footstep was heard behind the
-tapestry, and Mademoiselle de Montalais appeared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you want?" said
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Guiche is wanted,"
-replied Montalais, who was just in time to see the agitation of
-the actors of these four characters; for De Guiche had
-consistently carried out his part with heroism.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Montalais and Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>M</span>ontalais was
-right.  M. de Guiche, thus summoned in every direction, was very
-much exposed, from such a multiplication of business, to the risk
-of not attending to any.  It so happened that, considering the
-awkwardness of the interruption, Madame, notwithstanding her
-wounded pride, and secret anger, could not, for the moment at
-least, reproach Montalais for having violated, in so bold a
-manner, the semi-royal order with which she had been dismissed on
-De Guiche's entrance.  De Guiche, also, lost his presence of
-mind, or, it would be more correct to say, had already lost it,
-before Montalais's arrival, for, scarcely had he heard the young
-girl's voice, than, without taking leave of Madame, as the most
-ordinary politeness required, even between persons equal in rank
-and station, he fled from her presence, his heart tumultuously
-throbbing, and his brain on fire, leaving the princess with one
-hand raised, as though to bid him adieu.  Montalais was at no
-loss, therefore, to perceive the agitation of the two lovers -
-the one who fled was agitated, and the one who remained was
-equally so.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well," murmured the young
-girl, as she glanced inquisitively round her, "this time, at
-least, I think I know as much as the most curious woman could
-possibly wish to know."  Madame felt so embarrassed by this
-inquisitorial look, that, as if she heard Montalais's muttered
-side remark, she did not speak a word to her maid of honor, but,
-casting down her eyes, retired at once to her bedroom. 
-Montalais, observing this, stood listening for a moment, and then
-heard Madame lock and bolt her door.  By this she knew that the
-rest of the evening was at her own disposal; and making, behind
-the door which had just been closed, a gesture which indicated
-but little real respect for the princess, she went down the
-staircase in search of Malicorne, who was very busily engaged at
-that moment in watching a courier, who, covered with dust, had
-just left the Comte de Guiche's apartments.  Montalais knew that
-Malicorne was engaged in a matter of some importance; she
-therefore allowed him to look and stretch out his neck as much as
-he pleased; and it was only when Malicorne had resumed his
-natural position, that she touched him on the shoulder.  "Well,"
-said Montalais, "what is the latest intelligence you have?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Guiche is in love
-with Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Fine news, truly!  I know
-something more recent than that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, what do you
-know?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That Madame is in love with
-M. de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The one is the consequence
-of the other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not always, my good
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is that remark intended for
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Present company always
-excepted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Thank you," said
-Malicorne.  "Well, and in the other direction, what is
-stirring?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king wished, this
-evening, after the lottery, to see Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, and he has seen
-her?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, indeed!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean by
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The door was shut and
-locked."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So that - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So that the king was
-obliged to go back again, looking very sheepish, like a thief who
-has forgotten his crowbar."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And in the third place?"
-inquired Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The courier who has just
-arrived for De Guiche came from M. de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Excellent," said Montalais,
-clapping her hands together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because we have work to
-do.  If we get weary now, something unlucky will be sure to
-happen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We must divide the work,
-then," said Malicorne, "in order to avoid confusion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing easier," replied
-Montalais.  "Three intrigues, carefully nursed, and carefully
-encouraged, will produce, one with another, and taking a low
-average, three love letters a day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" exclaimed Malicorne,
-shrugging his shoulders, "you cannot mean what you say, darling;
-three letters a day, that may do for sentimental common people. 
-A musketeer on duty, a young girl in a convent, may exchange
-letters with their lovers once a day, perhaps, from the top of a
-ladder, or through a hole in the wall.  A letter contains all the
-poetry their poor little hearts have to boast of.  But the cases
-we have in hand require to be dealt with very differently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, finish," said
-Montalais, out of patience with him.  "Some one may come."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Finish!  Why, I am only at
-the beginning.  I have still three points as yet untouched."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon my word, he will be
-the death of me, with his Flemish indifference," exclaimed
-Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you will drive me mad
-with your Italian vivacity.  I was going to say that our lovers
-here will be writing volumes to each other.  But what are you
-driving at?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At this.  Not one of our
-lady correspondents will be able to keep the letters they may
-receive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very likely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Guiche will not be
-able to keep his either."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is probable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, then; I will
-take care of all that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is the very thing that
-is impossible," said Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because you are not your
-own mistress; your room is as much La Valli&egrave;re's as yours;
-and there are certain persons who will think nothing of visiting
-and searching a maid of honor's room; so that I am terribly
-afraid of the queen, who is as jealous as a Spaniard; of the
-queen-mother, who is as jealous as a couple of Spaniards; and,
-last of all, of Madame herself, who has jealousy enough for ten
-Spaniards."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You forgot some one
-else."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I was only speaking of the
-women.  Let us add them up, then: we will call Monsieur, No.
-1."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "De Guiche?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No. 2."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne?"<br>
-                "No. 3."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And the king, the
-king?"<br>
-                "No. 4.  Of course the king, who not only will be
-more jealous, but more powerful than all the rest put together. 
-Ah, my dear!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Into what a wasp's nest you
-have thrust yourself!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And as yet not quite far
-enough, if you will follow me into it."<br>
-                "Most certainly I will follow you where you
-like.  Yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "While we have time, I think
-it will be prudent to turn back."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But I, on the contrary,
-think the wisest course to take is to put ourselves at once at
-the head of all these intrigues."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will never be able to
-do it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "With you, I could
-superintend ten of them.  I am in my element, you must know.  I
-was born to live at the court, as the salamander is made to live
-in the fire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your comparison does not
-reassure me in the slightest degree in the world, my dear
-Montalais.  I have heard it said, and by learned men too, that,
-in the first place, there are no salamanders at all, and that, if
-there had been any, they would have been infallibly baked or
-roasted on leaving the fire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your learned men may be
-very wise as far as salamanders are concerned, but they would
-never tell you what I can tell you; namely, that Aure de
-Montalais is destined, before a month is over, to become the
-first diplomatist in the court of France."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Be it so, but on condition
-that I shall be the second."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Agreed; an offensive and
-defensive alliance, of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Only be very careful of any
-letters."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will hand them to you as
-I receive them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What shall we tell
-the king about Madame?"<br>
-"That Madame is still in love with his majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What shall we tell
-Madame about the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That she would be
-exceedingly wrong not to humor him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What shall we tell
-La Valli&egrave;re about Madame?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Whatever we
-choose, for La Valli&egrave;re is in our power."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"How so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Every way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"In the first
-place, through the Vicomte de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Explain
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You do not forget,
-I hope, that Monsieur de Bragelonne has written many letters to
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I forget
-nothing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, it was
-I who received, and I who intercepted those letters."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And, consequently,
-it is you who have them still?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where, -
-here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no; I have
-them safe at Blois, in the little room you know well enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That dear little
-room, - that darling little room, the ante-chamber of the palace
-I intend you to live in one of these days.  But, I beg your
-pardon, you said that all those letters are in that little
-room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did you not put
-them in a box?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course; in the
-same box where I put all the letters I received from you, and
-where I put mine also when your business or your amusements
-prevented you from coming to our rendezvous."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, very good,"
-said Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why are you
-satisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because I see
-there is a possibility of not having to run to Blois after the
-letters, for I have them here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have brought
-the box away?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was very dear
-to me, because it belonged to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Be sure and take
-care of it, for it contains original documents that will be of
-priceless value by and by."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am perfectly
-well aware of that indeed, and that is the very reason why I
-laugh as I do, and with all my heart, too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And now, one last
-word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why
-<i>last?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do we need any one
-to assist us?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Valets or
-maid-servants?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Bad policy.  You
-will give the letters, - you will receive them.  Oh! we must have
-no pride in this affair, otherwise M. Malicorne and Mademoiselle
-Aure, not transacting their own affairs themselves, will have to
-make up their minds to see them done by others."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are quite
-right; but what is going on yonder in M. de Guiche's room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing; he is
-only opening his window."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us be gone." 
-And they both immediately disappeared, all the terms of the
-contract being agreed on.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The window just
-opened was, in fact, that of the Comte de Guiche.  It was not
-alone with the hope of catching a glimpse of Madame through her
-curtains that he seated himself by the open window for his
-preoccupation of mind had at that time a different origin.  He
-had just received, as we have already stated, the courier who had
-been dispatched to him by Bragelonne, the latter having written
-to De Guiche a letter which had made the deepest impression upon
-him, and which he had read over and over again.  "Strange,
-strange!" he murmured.  "How irresponsible are the means by which
-destiny hurries men onward to their fate!"  Leaving the window in
-order to approach nearer to the light, he once more read the
-letter he had just received: -</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style=
-'text-align:right;text-indent:.5in'> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style=
-'text-align:right;text-indent:.5in'>"CALAIS.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"MY DEAR COUNT, - I
-found M. de Wardes at Calais; he has been seriously wounded in an
-affair with the Duke of Buckingham.  De Wardes is, as you know,
-unquestionably brave, but full of malevolent and wicked
-feelings.  He conversed with me about yourself, for whom, he
-says, he has a warm regard, also about Madame, whom he considers
-a beautiful and amiable woman.  He has guessed your affection for
-a certain person.  He also talked to me about the lady for whom I
-have so ardent a regard, and showed the greatest interest on my
-behalf in expressing a deep pity for me, accompanied, however, by
-dark hints which alarmed me at first, but which I at last looked
-upon as the result of his usual love of mystery.  These are the
-facts: he had received news of the court; you will understand,
-however, that it was only through M. de Lorraine.  The report
-goes, so says the news, that a change has taken place in the
-king's affections.  You know whom that concerns.  Afterwards, the
-news continues, people are talking about one of the maids of
-honor, respecting whom various slanderous reports are being
-circulated.  These vague phrases have not allowed me to sleep.  I
-have been deploring, ever since yesterday, that my diffidence and
-vacillation of purpose, notwithstanding a certain obstinacy of
-character I may possess, have left me unable to reply to these
-insinuations.  In a word, M. de Wardes was setting off for Paris,
-and I did not delay his departure with explanations; for it
-seemed rather hard, I confess, to cross-examine a man whose
-wounds are hardly yet closed.  In short, he travelled by short
-stages, as he was anxious to leave, he said, in order to be
-present at a curious spectacle the court cannot fail to offer
-within a short time.  He added a few congratulatory words
-accompanied by vague sympathizing expressions.  I could not
-understand the one any more than the other.  I was bewildered by
-my own thoughts, and tormented by a mistrust of this man, - a
-mistrust which, you know better than any one else, I have never
-been able to overcome.  As soon as he left, my perceptions seemed
-to become clearer.  It is hardly possible that a man of De
-Wardes's character should not have communicated something of his
-own malicious nature to the statements he made to me.  It is not
-unlikely, therefore, that in the strange hints De Wardes threw
-out in my presence, there may be a mysterious signification,
-which I might have some difficulty in applying either to myself
-or to some one with whom you are acquainted.  Being compelled to
-leave as soon as possible, in obedience to the king's commands,
-the idea did not occur to me of running after De Wardes in order
-to ask him to explain his reserve; but I have dispatched a
-courier to you with this letter, which will explain in detail my
-various doubts.  I regard you as myself; you have reflected and
-observed; it will be for you to act.  M. de Wardes will arrive
-very shortly; endeavor to learn what he meant, if you do not
-already know.  M. de Wardes, moreover, pretended that the Duke of
-Buckingham left Paris on the very best of terms with Madame. 
-This was an affair which would have unhesitatingly made me draw
-my sword, had I not felt that I was under the necessity of
-dispatching the king's mission before undertaking any quarrel
-whatsoever.  Burn this letter, which Olivain will hand you. 
-Whatever Olivain says, you may confidently rely on.  Will you
-have the goodness, my dear comte, to recall me to the remembrance
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, whose hands I kiss with
-the greatest respect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>
-                                                                                                                                                                               
-"Your devoted</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:5.5in;text-indent:.5in'>
-"DE BRAGELONNE.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style=
-'text-align:right;text-indent:.5in'> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"P. S. - If
-anything serious should happen - we should be prepared for
-everything, dispatch a courier to me with this one single word,
-'come,' and I will be in Paris within six and thirty hours after
-the receipt of your letter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>De Guiche sighed,
-folded up the letter a third time, and, instead of burning it, as
-Raoul had recommended him to do, placed it in his pocket.  He
-felt it needed reading over and over again.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How much distress
-of mind, yet what sublime confidence, he shows!" murmured the
-comte; "he has poured out his whole soul in this letter.  He says
-nothing of the Comte de la F&egrave;re, and speaks of his respect
-for Louise.  He cautions me on my own account, and entreats me on
-his.  Ah!" continued De Guiche, with a threatening gesture, "you
-interfere in my affairs, Monsieur de Wardes, do you?  Very well,
-then; I will shortly occupy myself with yours.  As for you, poor
-Raoul, - you who intrust your heart to my keeping, be assured I
-will watch over it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>With this promise,
-De Guiche begged Malicorne to come immediately to his apartments,
-if possible.  Malicorne acknowledged the invitation with an
-activity which was the first result of his conversation with
-Montalais.  And while De Guiche, who thought that his motive was
-undiscovered, cross-examined Malicorne, the latter, who appeared
-to be working in the dark, soon guessed his questioner's
-motives.  The consequence was, that, after a quarter of an hour's
-conversation, during which De Guiche thought he had ascertained
-the whole truth with regard to La Valli&egrave;re and the king,
-he had learned absolutely nothing more than his own eyes had
-already acquainted him with, while Malicorne learned, or guessed,
-that Raoul, who was absent, was fast becoming suspicious, and
-that De Guiche intended to watch over the treasure of the
-Hesperides.  Malicorne accepted the office of dragon.  De Guiche
-fancied he had done everything for his friend, and soon began to
-think of nothing but his personal affairs.  The next evening, De
-Wardes's return and first appearance at the king's reception were
-announced.  When that visit had been paid, the convalescent
-waited on Monsieur; De Guiche taking care, however, to be at
-Monsieur's apartments before the visit took place.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>How
-De Wardes Was Received at Court.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>M</span>onsieur had
-received De Wardes with that marked favor light and frivolous
-minds bestow on every novelty that comes in their way.  De
-Wardes, who had been absent for a month, was like fresh fruit to
-him.  To treat him with marked kindness was an infidelity to old
-friends, and there is always something fascinating in that;
-moreover, it was a sort of reparation to De Wardes himself. 
-Nothing, consequently, could exceed the favorable notice Monsieur
-took of him.  The Chevalier de Lorraine, who feared this rival
-but a little, but who respected a character and disposition only
-too parallel to his own in every particular, with the addition of
-a bull-dog courage he did not himself possess, received De Wardes
-with a greater display of regard and affection than even Monsieur
-had done.  De Guiche, as we have said, was there also, but kept
-in the background, waiting very patiently until all these
-interchanges were over.  De Wardes, while talking to the others,
-and even to Monsieur himself, had not for a moment lost sight of
-De Guiche, who, he instinctively felt, was there on his account. 
-As soon as he had finished with the others, he went up to De
-Guiche.  They exchanged the most courteous compliments, after
-which De Wardes returned to Monsieur and the other gentlemen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                In the midst of these
-congratulations Madame was announced.  She had been informed of
-De Wardes's arrival, and knowing all the details of his voyage
-and duel, she was not sorry to be present at the remarks she knew
-would be made, without delay, by one who, she felt assured, was
-her personal enemy.  Two or three of her ladies accompanied her. 
-De Wardes saluted Madame in the most graceful and respectful
-manner, and, as a commencement of hostilities, announced, in the
-first place, that he could furnish the Duke of Buckingham's
-friends with the latest news about him.  This was a direct answer
-to the coldness with which Madame had received him.  The attack
-was a vigorous one, and Madame felt the blow, but without
-appearing to have even noticed it.  He rapidly cast a glance at
-Monsieur and at De Guiche, - the former colored, and the latter
-turned very pale.  Madame alone preserved an unmoved countenance;
-but, as she knew how many unpleasant thoughts and feelings her
-enemy could awaken in the two persons who were listening to him,
-she smilingly bent forward towards the traveler, as if to listen
-to the news he had brought - but he was speaking of other
-matters.  Madame was brave, even to imprudence; if she were to
-retreat, it would be inviting an attack; so, after the first
-disagreeable impression had passed away, she returned to the
-charge.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Have you suffered much from
-your wounds, Monsieur de Wardes?" she inquired, "for we have been
-told that you had the misfortune to get wounded."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It was now De Wardes's turn
-to wince; he bit his lips, and replied, "No, Madame, hardly at
-all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Indeed! and yet in this
-terribly hot weather - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The sea-breezes were very
-fresh and cool, Madame, and then I had one consolation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Indeed!  What was it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The knowledge that my
-adversary's sufferings were still greater than my own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! you mean he was more
-seriously wounded than you were; I was not aware of that," said
-the princess, with utter indifference.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, Madame, you are
-mistaken, or rather you pretend to misunderstand my remark.  I
-did not say that he was a greater sufferer in body than myself;
-but his heart was very seriously affected."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Guiche comprehended
-instinctively from what direction the struggle was approaching;
-he ventured to make a sign to Madame, as if entreating her to
-retire from the contest.  But she, without acknowledging De
-Guiche's gesture, without pretending to have noticed it even, and
-still smiling, continued:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it possible," she said,
-"that the Duke of Buckingham's heart was touched?  I had no idea,
-until now, that a heart-wound could be cured."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas!  Madame," replied De
-Wardes, politely, "every woman believes that; and it is this
-belief that gives them that superiority to man which confidence
-begets."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You misunderstand
-altogether, dearest," said the prince, impatiently; "M. de Wardes
-means that the Duke of Buckingham's heart had been touched, not
-by the sword, but by something sharper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! very good, very good!"
-exclaimed Madame.  "It is a jest of M. de Wardes's.  Very good;
-but I should like to know if the Duke of Buckingham would
-appreciate the jest.  It is, indeed, a very great pity he is not
-here, M. de Wardes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The young man's eyes seemed
-to flash fire.  "Oh!" he said, as he clenched his teeth, "there
-is nothing I should like better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Guiche did not move. 
-Madame seemed to expect that he would come to her assistance. 
-Monsieur hesitated.  The Chevalier de Lorraine advanced and
-continued the conversation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame," he said, "De
-Wardes knows perfectly well that for a Buckingham's heart to be
-touched is nothing new, and what he has said has already taken
-place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Instead of an ally, I have
-two enemies," murmured Madame; "two determined enemies, and in
-league with each other."  And she changed the conversation.  To
-change the conversation is, as every one knows, a right possessed
-by princes which etiquette requires all to respect.  The
-remainder of the conversation was moderate enough in tone; the
-principal actors had rehearsed their parts.  Madame withdrew
-easily, and Monsieur, who wished to question her on several
-matters, offered her his hand on leaving.  The chevalier was
-seriously afraid that an understanding might be established
-between the husband and wife if he were to leave them quietly
-together.  He therefore made his way to Monsieur's apartments, in
-order to surprise him on his return, and to destroy with a few
-words all the good impressions Madame might have been able to sow
-in his heart.  De Guiche advanced towards De Wardes, who was
-surrounded by a large number of persons, and thereby indicated
-his wish to converse with him; De Wardes, at the same time,
-showing by his looks and by a movement of his head that he
-perfectly understood him.  There was nothing in these signs to
-enable strangers to suppose they were otherwise than upon the
-most friendly footing.  De Guiche could therefore turn away from
-him, and wait until he was at liberty.  He had not long to wait;
-for De Wardes, freed from his questioners, approached De Guiche,
-and after a fresh salutation, they walked side by side
-together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have made a good
-impression since your return, my dear De Wardes," said the
-comte.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Excellent, as you see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And your spirits are just
-as lively as ever?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And a very great happiness,
-too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why not?  Everything is so
-ridiculous in this world, everything so absurd around us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are of my opinion,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should think so!  And
-what news do you bring us from yonder?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?  None at all.  I have
-come to look for news here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, tell me, you surely
-must have seen some people at Boulogne, one of our friends, for
-instance; it is no great time ago."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Some people - one of our
-friends - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your memory is short."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! true; Bragelonne, you
-mean."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exactly so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who was on his way to
-fulfil a mission, with which he was intrusted to King Charles
-II."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely.  Well, then, did
-he not tell you, or did not you tell him - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not precisely know
-what I told him, I must confess: but I do know what I did
-<i>not</i> tell him."  De Wardes was <i>finesse</i> itself.  He
-perfectly well knew from De Guiche's tone and manner, which was
-cold and dignified, that the conversation was about to assume a
-disagreeable turn.  He resolved to let it take what course it
-pleased, and to keep strictly on his guard.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "May I ask you what you did
-not tell him?" inquired De Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "All about La
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "La Valli&egrave;re&hellip; 
-What is it? and what was that strange circumstance you seem to
-have known over yonder, which Bragelonne, who was here on the
-spot, was not acquainted with?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you really ask me that
-in a serious manner?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing more so."<br>
-                "What! you, a member of the court, living in
-Madame's household, a friend of Monsieur's, a guest at their
-table, the favorite of our lovely princess?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Guiche colored violently
-from anger.  "What princess are you alluding to?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am only acquainted with
-one, my dear fellow.  I am speaking of Madame herself.  Are you
-devoted to another princess, then?  Come, tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Guiche was on the point
-of launching out, but he saw the drift of the remark.  A quarrel
-was imminent between the two young men.  De Wardes wished the
-quarrel to be only in Madame's name, while De Guiche would not
-accept it except on La Valli&egrave;re's account.  From this
-moment, it became a series of feigned attacks, which would have
-continued until one of the two had been touched home.  De Guiche
-therefore resumed all the self-possession he could command.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is not the slightest
-question in the world of Madame in this matter, my dear De
-Wardes." said Guiche, "but simply of what you were talking about
-just now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What was I saying?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That you had concealed
-certain things from Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certain things which you
-know as well as I do," replied De Wardes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, upon my honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nonsense."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If you tell me what they
-are, I shall know, but not otherwise, I swear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What!  I who have just
-arrived from a distance of sixty leagues, and you who have not
-stirred from this place, who have witnessed with your own eyes
-that which rumor informed me of at Calais!  Do you now tell me
-seriously that you do not know what it is about?  Oh! comte, this
-is hardly charitable of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As you like, De Wardes; but
-I again repeat, I know nothing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are truly discreet -
-well! - perhaps it is very prudent of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so you will not tell me
-anything, will not tell me any more than you told
-Bragelonne?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are pretending to be
-deaf, I see.  I am convinced that Madame could not possibly have
-more command over herself than <i>you</i> have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Double hypocrite," murmured
-Guiche to himself, "you are again returning to the old
-subject."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, then," continued
-De Wardes, "since we find it so difficult to understand each
-other about La Valli&egrave;re and Bragelonne let us speak about
-your own affairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay," said De Guiche, "I
-have no affairs of my own to talk about.  You have not said
-anything about me, I suppose, to Bragelonne, which you cannot
-repeat to my face?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; but understand me,
-Guiche, that however much I may be ignorant of certain matters, I
-am quite as conversant with others.  If, for instance, we were
-conversing about the intimacies of the Duke of Buckingham at
-Paris, as I did during my journey with the duke, I could tell you
-a great many interesting circumstances.  Would you like me to
-mention them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Guiche passed his hand
-across his forehead, which was covered in perspiration.  "No,
-no," he said, "a hundred times no!  I have no curiosity for
-matters which do not concern me.  The Duke of Buckingham is for
-me nothing more than a simple acquaintance, whilst Raoul is an
-intimate friend.  I have not the slightest curiosity to learn
-what happened to the duke, while I have, on the contrary, the
-greatest interest in all that happened to Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In Paris?"<br>
-                "Yes, in Paris, or Boulogne.  You understand I am
-on the spot; if anything should happen, I am here to meet it;
-whilst Raoul is absent, and has only myself to represent him; so,
-Raoul's affairs before my own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But he will return?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not, however, until his
-mission is completed.  In the meantime, you understand, evil
-reports cannot be permitted to circulate about him without my
-looking into them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And for a better reason
-still, that he will remain some time in London," said De Wardes,
-chuckling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You think so," said De
-Guiche, simply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Think so, indeed! do you
-suppose he was sent to London for no other purpose than to go
-there and return again immediately?  No, no; he was sent to
-London to remain there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!  De Wardes," said De
-Guiche, grasping De Wardes's hand, "that is a very serious
-suspicion concerning Bragelonne, which completely confirms what
-he wrote to me from Boulogne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Wardes resumed his former
-coldness of manner: his love of raillery had led him too far, and
-by his own imprudence, he had laid himself open to attack.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, tell me, what did he
-write to you about?" he inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He told me that you had
-artfully insinuated some injurious remarks against La
-Valli&egrave;re, and that you had seemed to laugh at his great
-confidence in that young girl."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, it is perfectly true
-I did so," said De Wardes, "and I was quite ready, at the time,
-to hear from the Vicomte de Bragelonne that which every man
-expects from another whenever anything may have been said to
-displease him.  In the same way, for instance, if I were seeking
-a quarrel with you, I should tell you that Madame after having
-shown the greatest preference for the Duke of Buckingham, is at
-this moment supposed to have sent the handsome duke away for your
-benefit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! that would not wound me
-in the slightest degree, my dear De Wardes," said De Guiche,
-smiling, notwithstanding the shiver that ran through his whole
-frame.  "Why, such a favor would be too great a happiness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I admit that, but if I
-absolutely wished to quarrel with you, I should try and invent a
-falsehood, perhaps, and speak to you about a certain arbor, where
-you and that illustrious princess were together - I should speak
-also of certain gratifications, of certain kissings of the hand;
-and you who are so secret on all occasions, so hasty, so
-punctilious - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well," said De Guiche,
-interrupting him, with a smile upon his lips, although he almost
-felt as if he were going to die; "I swear I should not care for
-that, nor should I in any way contradict you; for you must know,
-my dear marquis, that for all matters which concern myself I am a
-block of ice; but it is a very different thing when an absent
-friend is concerned, a friend, who, on leaving, confided his
-interests to my safe-keeping; for such a friend, De Wardes,
-believe me, I am like fire itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I understand you, Monsieur
-de Guiche.  In spite of what you say, there cannot be any
-question between us, just now, either of Bragelonne or of this
-insignificant girl, whose name is La Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At this moment some of the
-younger courtiers were crossing the apartment, and having already
-heard the few words which had just been pronounced, were able
-also to hear those which were about to follow.  De Wardes
-observed this, and continued aloud: - "Oh! if La Valli&egrave;re
-were a coquette like Madame, whose innocent flirtations, I am
-sure, were, first of all, the cause of the Duke of Buckingham
-being sent back to England, and afterwards were the reason of 
-your being sent into exile; for you will not deny, I suppose,
-that Madame's pretty ways really had a certain influence over
-you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The courtiers drew nearer to
-the speakers, Saint-Aignan at their head, and then Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, my dear fellow, whose
-fault was that?" said De Guiche, laughing.  "I am a vain,
-conceited fellow, I know, and everybody else knows it too.  I
-took seriously that which was only intended as a jest, and got
-myself exiled for my pains.  But I saw my error.  I overcame my
-vanity, and I obtained my recall, by making the <i>amende
-honorable</i>, and by promising myself to overcome this defect;
-and the consequence is, that I am so thoroughly cured, that I now
-laugh at the very thing which, three or four days ago, would have
-almost broken my heart.  But Raoul is in love, and is loved in
-return; he cannot laugh at the reports which disturb his
-happiness - reports which you seem to have undertaken to
-interpret, when you know, marquis, as I do, as these gentlemen
-do, as every one does in fact, that all such reports are pure
-calumny."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Calumny!" exclaimed De
-Wardes, furious at seeing himself caught in the snare by De
-Guiche's coolness of temper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly - calumny.  Look
-at this letter from him, in which he tell me you have spoken ill
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re; and where he asks me, if
-what you reported about this young girl is true or not.  Do you
-wish me to appeal to these gentlemen, De Wardes, to decide?"  And
-with admirable coolness, De Guiche read aloud the paragraph of
-the letter which referred to La Valli&egrave;re.  "And now,"
-continued De Guiche, "there is no doubt in the world, as far as I
-am concerned, that you wished to disturb Bragelonne's peace of
-mind, and that your remarks were maliciously intended."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Wardes looked round him,
-to see if he could find support from any one; but, at the idea
-that De Wardes had insulted, either directly or indirectly, the
-idol of the day, every one shook his head; and De Wardes saw that
-he was in the wrong.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Messieurs," said De Guiche,
-intuitively divining the general feeling, "my discussion with
-Monsieur de Wardes refers to a subject so delicate in its nature,
-that it is most important no one should hear more than you have
-already heard.  Close the doors, then, I beg you, and let us
-finish our conversation in the manner which becomes two
-gentlemen, one of whom has given the other the lie."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Messieurs, messieurs!"
-exclaimed those who were present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it your opinion, then,
-that I was wrong in defending Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re?" said De Guiche.  "In that case, I pass judgment
-upon myself, and am ready to withdraw the offensive words I may
-have used to Monsieur de Wardes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The deuce! certainly not!"
-said Saint-Aignan.  "Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re is an
-angel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Virtue and purity itself,"
-said Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You see, Monsieur de
-Wardes," said De Guiche, "I am not the only one who undertakes
-the defense of that poor girl.  I entreat you, therefore,
-messieurs, a second time, to leave us.  You see, it is impossible
-we could be more calm and composed than we are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It was the very thing the
-courtiers wished; some went out at one door, and the rest at the
-other, and the two young men were left alone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well played," said De
-Wardes, to the comte.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Was it not?" replied the
-latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How can it be wondered at,
-my dear fellow; I have got quite rusty in the country, while the
-command you have acquired over yourself, comte, confounds me; a
-man always gains something in women's society; so, pray accept my
-congratulations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do accept them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I will make Madame a
-present of them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And now, my dear Monsieur
-de Wardes, let us speak as loud as you please."<br>
-                "Do not defy me."<br>
-                "I do defy you, for you are known to be an
-evil-minded man; if you do that, you will be looked upon as a
-coward, too; and Monsieur would have you hanged, this evening, at
-his window-casement.  Speak, my dear De Wardes, speak."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have fought already."<br>
-                "But not quite enough, yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I see, you would not be
-sorry to fight with me while my wounds are still open."<br>
-                "No; better still."<br>
-                "The deuce! you are unfortunate in the moment you
-have chosen; a duel, after the one I have just fought, would
-hardly suit me; I have lost too much blood at Boulogne; at the
-slightest effort my wounds would open again, and you would really
-have too good a bargain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True," said De Guiche; "and
-yet, on your arrival here, your looks and your arms showed there
-was nothing the matter with you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, my arms are all right,
-but my legs are weak; and then, I have not had a foil in my hand
-since that devil of a duel; and you, I am sure, have been fencing
-every day, in order to carry your little conspiracy against me to
-a successful issue."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon my honor, monsieur,"
-replied De Guiche, "it is six months since I last practiced."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, comte, after due
-reflection, I will not fight, at least, with you.  I will await
-Bragelonne's return, since you say it is Bragelonne who finds
-fault with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh no, indeed!  You shall
-not wait until Bragelonne's return," exclaimed the comte, losing
-all command over himself, "for you have said that Bragelonne
-might, possibly, be some time before he returns; and, in the
-meanwhile, your wicked insinuations would have had their
-effect."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yet, I shall have my
-excuse.  So take care."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will give you a week to
-finish your recovery."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is better.  We will
-wait a week."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes, I understand; a
-week will give time to my adversary to make his escape.  No, no;
-I will not give you one day, even."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are mad, monsieur,"
-said De Wardes, retreating a step.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you are a coward, if
-you do not fight willingly.  Nay, what is more, I will denounce
-you to the king, as having refused to fight, after having
-insulted La Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" said De Wardes, "you
-are dangerously treacherous, though you pass for a man of
-honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is nothing more
-dangerous than the treachery, as you term it, of the man whose
-conduct is always loyal and upright."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Restore me the use of my
-legs, then, or get yourself bled, till you are as white as I am,
-so as to equalize our chances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no; I have something
-better than that to propose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We will fight on horseback,
-and will exchange three pistol-shots each.  You are a first rate
-marksman.  I have seen you bring down swallows with single balls,
-and at full gallop.  Do not deny it, for I have seen you
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe you are right,"
-said De Wardes; "and as that is the case, it is not unlikely I
-might kill you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You would be rendering me a
-very great service, if you did."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will do my best."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it agreed?  Give me your
-hand upon it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There it is: but on one
-condition, however."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Name it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That not a word shall be
-said about it to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not a word, I swear."<br>
-                "I will go and get my horse, then."<br>
-                "And I, mine."<br>
-                "Where shall we meet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the plain; I know an
-admirable place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Shall we go together?"<br>
-                "Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And both of them, on their
-way to the stables, passed beneath Madame's windows, which were
-faintly lighted; a shadow could be seen behind the lace
-curtains.  "There is a woman," said De Wardes, smiling, "who does
-not suspect that we are going to fight - to die, perhaps, on her
-account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Combat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>D</span>e Wardes and
-De Guiche selected their horses, and saddled them with their own
-hands, with holster saddles.  De Guiche, having two pairs of
-pistols, went to his apartments to get them; and after having
-loaded them, gave the choice to De Wardes, who selected the pair
-he had made use of twenty times before - the same, indeed, with
-which De Guiche had seen him kill swallows flying.  "You will not
-be surprised," he said, "if I take every precaution.  You know
-the weapons well, and, consequently, I am only making the chances
-equal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your remark was quite
-useless," replied De Guiche, "and you have done no more than you
-are entitled to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Now," said De Wardes, "I
-beg you to have the goodness to help me to mount; for I still
-experience a little difficulty in doing so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, we had better
-settle the matter on foot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; once in the saddle, I
-shall be all right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good, then; we will
-not speak of it again," said De Guiche, as he assisted De Wardes
-to mount his horse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And now," continued the
-young man, "in our eagerness to murder one another, we have
-neglected one circumstance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That it is quite dark, and
-we shall almost be obliged to grope about, in order to kill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said De Guiche, "you
-are as anxious as I am that everything should be done in proper
-order."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; but I do not wish
-people to say that you have assassinated me, any more than,
-supposing I were to kill you, I should myself like to be accused
-of such a crime."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did any one make a similar
-remark about your duel with the Duke of Buckingham?" said De
-Guiche; "it took place precisely under the same conditions as
-ours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very true; but there was
-still light enough to see by; and we were up to our middles
-almost, in the water; besides, there were a good number of
-spectators on shore, looking at us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                De Guiche reflected for a
-moment; and the thought which had already presented itself to him
-became more confirmed - that De Wardes wished to have witnesses
-present, in order to bring back the conversation about Madame,
-and to give a new turn to the combat.  He avoided saying a word
-in reply, therefore; and, as De Wardes once more looked at him
-interrogatively, he replied, by a movement of the head, that it
-would be best to let things remain as they were.  The two
-adversaries consequently set off, and left the ch&acirc;teau by
-the same gate, close to which we may remember to have seen
-Montalais and Malicorne together.  The night, as if to counteract
-the extreme heat of the day, had gathered the clouds together in
-masses which were moving slowly along from the west to the east. 
-The vault above, without a clear spot anywhere visible, or
-without the faintest indication of thunder, seemed to hang
-heavily over the earth, and soon began, by the force of the wind,
-to split into streamers, like a huge sheet torn to shreds.  Large
-and warm drops of rain began to fall heavily, and gathered the
-dust into globules, which rolled along the ground.  At the same
-time, the hedges, which seemed conscious of the approaching
-storm, the thirsty plants, the drooping branches of the trees,
-exhaled a thousand aromatic odors, which revived in the mind
-tender recollections, thoughts of youth, endless life, happiness,
-and love.  "How fresh the earth smells," said De Wardes; "it is a
-piece of coquetry to draw us to her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "By the by," replied De
-Guiche, "several ideas have just occurred to me; and I wish to
-have your opinion upon them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Relative to - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Relative to our
-engagement."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"It is quite some
-time, in fact, that we should begin to arrange matters."<br>
-"Is it to be an ordinary combat, and conducted according to
-established custom?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let me first know
-what your established custom is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That we dismount
-in any particular open space that may suit us, fasten our horses
-to the nearest object, meet, each without our pistols in our
-hands, and afterwards retire for a hundred and fifty paces, in
-order to advance on each other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; that is
-precisely the way in which I killed poor Follivent, three weeks
-ago, at Saint-Denis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I beg your pardon,
-but you forgot one circumstance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is that?"<br>
-                "That in your duel with Follivent you advanced
-towards each other on foot, your swords between your teeth, and
-your pistols in your hands."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While now, on the
-contrary, as you cannot walk, you yourself admit that we shall
-have to mount our horses again, and charge; and the first who
-wishes to fire will do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is the best
-course, no doubt; but it is quite dark; we must make allowances
-for more missed shots than would be the case in the daytime."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well; each
-will fire three times; the pair of pistols already loaded, and
-one reload."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Excellent!  Where
-shall our engagement take place?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you any
-preference?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You see that small
-wood which lies before us?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The wood which is
-called Rochin?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know that
-there is an open glade in the center?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, this glade
-is admirably adapted for such a purpose, with a variety of roads,
-by-places, paths, ditches, windings, and avenues.  We could not
-find a better spot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am perfectly
-satisfied, if you are so.  We are at our destination, if I am not
-mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes.  Look at the
-beautiful open space in the center.  The faint light which the
-stars afford seems concentrated in this spot; the woods which
-surround it seem, with their barriers, to form its natural
-limits."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good.  Do as
-you say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us first
-settle the conditions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"These are mine; if
-you have any objection to make you will state it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am
-listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If the horse be
-killed, its rider will be obliged to fight on foot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is a matter
-of course, since we have no change of horses here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But that does not
-oblige his adversary to dismount."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"His adversary
-will, in fact, be free to act as he likes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The adversaries,
-having once met in close contact, cannot quit each other under
-any circumstances, and may, consequently, fire muzzle to
-muzzle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Agreed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Three shots and no
-more will do, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite sufficient,
-I think.  Here are powder and balls for your pistols; measure out
-three charges, take three balls, I will do the same; then we will
-throw the rest of the powder and balls away."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And we will
-solemnly swear," said De Wardes, "that we have neither balls nor
-powder about us?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Agreed; and I
-swear it," said De Guiche, holding his hand towards heaven, a
-gesture which De Wardes imitated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And now, my dear
-comte," said De Wardes, "allow me to tell you that I am in no way
-your dupe.  You already are, or soon will be, the accepted lover
-of Madame.  I have detected your secret, and you are afraid I
-shall tell others of it.  You wish to kill me, to insure my
-silence; that is very clear; and in your place, I should do the
-same."  De Guiche hung down his head.  "Only," continued De
-Wardes, triumphantly, "was it really worth while, tell me, to
-throw this affair of Bragelonne's on my shoulders?  But, take
-care, my dear fellow; in bringing the wild boar to bay, you
-enrage him to madness; in running down the fox, you endow him
-with the ferocity of the jaguar.  The consequence is, that
-brought to bay by you, I shall defend myself to the very
-last."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will be quite
-right to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; but take
-care; I shall work more harm than you think.  In the first place,
-as a beginning, you will readily suppose that I have not been
-absurd enough to lock up my secret, or your secret rather, in my
-own breast.  There is a friend of mine, who resembles me in every
-way, a man whom you know very well, who shares my secret with me;
-so, pray understand, that if you kill me, my death will not have
-been of much service to you; whilst, on the contrary, if I kill
-you - and everything is possible, you know - you understand?"  De
-Guiche shuddered.  "If I kill you," continued De Wardes, "you
-will have secured two mortal enemies to Madame, who will do their
-very utmost to ruin her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! monsieur,"
-exclaimed De Guiche, furiously, "do not reckon upon my death so
-easily.  Of the two enemies you speak of, I trust most heartily
-to dispose of one immediately, and the other at the earliest
-opportunity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The only reply De
-Wardes made was a burst of laughter, so diabolical in its sound,
-that a superstitious man would have been terrified.  But De
-Guiche was not so impressionable as that.  "I think," he said,
-"that everything is now settled, Monsieur de Wardes; so have the
-goodness to take your place first, unless you would prefer me to
-do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By no means," said
-De Wardes.  "I shall be delighted to save you the slightest
-trouble."  And spurring his horse to a gallop, he crossed the
-wide open space, and took his stand at that point of the
-circumference of the cross-road immediately opposite to where De
-Guiche was stationed.  De Guiche remained motionless.  At this
-distance of a hundred paces, the two adversaries were absolutely
-invisible to each other, being completely concealed by the thick
-shade of elms and chestnuts.  A minute elapsed amidst the
-profoundest silence.  At the end of the minute, each of them, in
-the deep shade in which he was concealed, heard the double click
-of the trigger, as they put the pistols on full cock.  De Guiche,
-adopting the usual tactics, put his horse to a gallop, persuaded
-that he should render his safety doubly sure by the movement, as
-well as by the speed of the animal.  He directed his course in a
-straight line towards the point where, in his opinion, De Wardes
-would be stationed; and he expected to meet De Wardes about
-half-way; but in this he was mistaken.  He continued his course,
-presuming that his adversary was impatiently awaiting his
-approach.  When, however, he had gone about two-thirds of the
-distance, he beheld the trees suddenly illuminated and a ball
-flew by, cutting the plume of his hat in two.  Nearly at the same
-moment, and as if the flash of the first shot had served to
-indicate the direction of the other, a second report was heard,
-and a second ball passed through the head of De Guiche's horse, a
-little below the ear.  The animal fell.  These two reports,
-proceeding from the very opposite direction in which he expected
-to find De Wardes, surprised him a great deal; but as he was a
-man of amazing self-possession, he prepared himself for his horse
-falling, but not so completely, however, that the toe of his boot
-escaped being caught under the animal as it fell.  Very
-fortunately the horse in its dying agonies moved so as to enable
-him to release the leg which was less entangled than the other. 
-De Guiche rose, felt himself all over, and found that he was not
-wounded.  At the very moment he had felt the horse tottering
-under him, he placed his pistols in the holsters, afraid that the
-force of the fall might explode one at least, if not both of
-them, by which he would have been disarmed, and left utterly
-without defense.  Once on his feet, he took the pistols out of
-the holsters, and advanced towards the spot where, by the light
-of the flash, he had seen De Wardes appear.  De Wardes had, at
-the first shot, accounted for the maneuver, than which nothing
-could have been simpler.  Instead of advancing to meet De Guiche,
-or remaining in his place to await his approach, De Wardes had,
-for about fifteen paces, followed the circle of the shadow which
-hid him from his adversary's observation, and at the very moment
-when the latter presented his flank in his career, he had fired
-from the place where he stood, carefully taking aim, and assisted
-instead of being inconvenienced by the horse's gallop.  It has
-been seen that, notwithstanding the darkness, the first ball
-passed hardly more than an inch above De Guiche's head.  De
-Wardes had so confidently relied upon his aim, that he thought he
-had seen De Guiche fall; his astonishment was extreme when he saw
-he still remained erect in his saddle.  He hastened to fire his
-second shot, but his hand trembled, and he killed the horse
-instead.  It would be a most fortunate chance for him if De
-Guiche were to remain held fast under the animal.  Before he
-could have freed himself, De Wardes would have loaded his pistol
-and had De Guiche at his mercy.  But De Guiche, on the contrary,
-was up, and had three shots to fire.  De Guiche immediately
-understood the position of affairs.  It would be necessary to
-exceed De Wardes in rapidity of execution.  He advanced,
-therefore, so as to reach him before he should have had time to
-reload his pistol.  De Wardes saw him approaching like a
-tempest.  The ball was rather tight, and offered some resistance
-to the ramrod.  To load carelessly would be simply to lose his
-last chance; to take the proper care in loading meant fatal loss
-of time, or rather, throwing away his life.  He made his horse
-bound on one side.  De Guiche turned round also, and, at the
-moment the horse was quiet again, fired, and the ball carried off
-De Wardes's hat from his head.  De Wardes now knew that he had a
-moment's time at his own disposal; he availed himself of it in
-order to finish loading his pistol.  De Guiche, noticing that his
-adversary did not fall, threw the pistol he had just discharged
-aside, and walked straight towards De Wardes, elevating the
-second pistol as he did so.  He had hardly proceeded more than
-two or three paces, when De Wardes took aim at him as he was
-walking, and fired.  An exclamation of anger was De Guiche's
-answer; the comte's arm contracted and dropped motionless by his
-side, and the pistol fell from his grasp.  His anxiety was
-excessive.  "I am lost," murmured De Wardes, "he is not mortally
-wounded."  At the very moment, however, De Guiche was about to
-raise his pistol against De Wardes, the head, shoulders, and
-limbs of the comte seemed to collapse.  He heaved a deep-drawn
-sigh, tottered, and fell at the feet of De Wardes's horse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is all
-right," said De Wardes, and gathering up the reins, he struck his
-spurs into the horse's sides.  The horse cleared the comte's
-motionless body, and bore De Wardes rapidly back to the
-ch&acirc;teau.  When he arrived there, he remained a quarter of
-an hour deliberating within himself as to the proper course to be
-adopted.  In his impatience to leave the field of battle, he had
-omitted to ascertain whether De Guiche were dead or not.  A
-double hypothesis presented itself to De Wardes's agitated mind;
-either De Guiche was killed, or De Guiche was wounded only.  If
-he were killed, why should he leave his body in that manner to
-the tender mercies of the wolves; it was a perfectly useless
-piece of cruelty, for if De Guiche were dead, he certainly could
-not breathe a syllable of what had passed; if he were not killed,
-why should he, De Wardes, in leaving him there uncared for, allow
-himself to be regarded as a savage, incapable of one generous
-feeling?  This last consideration determined his line of
-conduct.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>De Wardes
-immediately instituted inquires after Manicamp.  He was told that
-Manicamp had been looking after De Guiche, and, not knowing where
-to find him, had retired to bed.  De Wardes went and awoke the
-sleeper, without any delay, and related the whole affair to him,
-which Manicamp listened to in perfect silence, but with an
-expression of momentarily increasing energy, of which his face
-could hardly have been supposed capable.  It was only when De
-Wardes had finished, that Manicamp uttered the words, "Let us
-go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As they proceeded,
-Manicamp became more and more excited, and in proportion as De
-Wardes related the details of the affair to him, his countenance
-assumed every moment a darker expression.  "And so," he said,
-when De Wardes had finished, "you think he is dead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Alas, I do."<br>
-"And you fought in that manner, without witnesses?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"He insisted upon
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"It is very
-singular."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"What do you mean
-by saying it is singular?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That it is very
-unlike Monsieur de Guiche's disposition."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"You do not doubt
-my word, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Hum! hum!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"You do doubt it,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"A little.  But I
-shall doubt it more than ever, I warn you, if I find the poor
-fellow is really dead."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Monsieur
-Manicamp!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Monsieur de
-Wardes!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"It seems you
-intend to insult me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Just as you
-please.  The fact is, I never did like people who come and say,
-'I have killed such and such a gentleman in a corner; it is a
-great pity, but I killed him in a perfectly honorable manner.' 
-It has an ugly appearance, M. de Wardes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Silence! we have
-arrived."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>In fact, the glade
-could now be seen, and in the open space lay the motionless body
-of the dead horse.  To the right of the horse, upon the dark
-grass, with his face against the ground, the poor comte lay,
-bathed in his blood.  He had remained in the same spot, and did
-not even seem to have made the slightest movement.  Manicamp
-threw himself on his knees, lifted the comte in his arms, and
-found him quite cold, and steeped in blood.  He let him gently
-fall again.  Then, stretching out his hand and feeling all over
-the ground close to where the comte lay, he sought until he found
-De Guiche's pistol.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By Heaven!" he
-said, rising to his feet, pale as death and with the pistol in
-his hand, "you are not mistaken, he is quite dead."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Dead!" repeated De
-Wardes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; and his
-pistol is still loaded," added Manicamp, looking into the
-pan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But I told you
-that I took aim as he was walking towards me, and fired at him at
-the very moment he was going to fire at me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you quite sure
-that you fought with him, Monsieur de Wardes?  I confess that I
-am very much afraid it has been a foul assassination.  Nay, nay,
-no exclamations!  You have had your three shots, and his pistol
-is still loaded.  You have killed his horse, and he, De Guiche,
-one of the best marksmen in France, has not touched even either
-your horse or yourself.  Well, Monsieur de Wardes, you have been
-very unlucky in bringing me here; all the blood in my body seems
-to have mounted to my head; and I verily believe that since so
-good an opportunity presents itself, I shall blow your brains out
-on the spot.  So, Monsieur de Wardes, recommend yourself to
-Heaven."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur Manicamp,
-you cannot think of such a thing!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary, I
-am thinking of it very strongly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Would you
-assassinate me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without the
-slightest remorse, at least for the present."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you a
-gentleman?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have given a
-great many proofs of that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let me defend my
-life, then, at least."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very likely; in
-order, I suppose, that you may do to me what you have done to
-poor De Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And Manicamp slowly
-raised his pistol to the height of De Wardes's breast, and with
-arm stretched out, and a fixed, determined look on his face, took
-a careful aim.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>De Wardes did not
-attempt a flight; he was completely terrified.  In the midst,
-however, of this horrible silence, which lasted about a second,
-but which seemed an age to De Wardes, a faint sigh was heard.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh," exclaimed De
-Wardes, "he still lives!  Help, De Guiche, I am about to be
-assassinated!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Manicamp fell back
-a step or two, and the two young men saw the comte raise himself
-slowly and painfully upon one hand.  Manicamp threw the pistol
-away a dozen paces, and ran to his friend, uttering a cry of
-delight.  De Wardes wiped his forehead, which was covered with a
-cold perspiration.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was just in
-time," he murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where are you
-hurt?" inquired Manicamp of De Guiche, "and whereabouts are you
-wounded?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>De Guiche showed
-him his mutilated hand and his chest covered with blood.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Comte," exclaimed
-De Wardes, "I am accused of having assassinated you; speak, I
-implore you, and say that I fought loyally."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly so,"
-said the wounded man; "Monsieur de Wardes fought quite loyally,
-and whoever says the contrary will make an enemy of me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then, sir," said
-Manicamp, "assist me, in the first place, to carry this gentleman
-home, and I will afterwards give you every satisfaction you
-please; or, if you are in a hurry, we can do better still; let us
-stanch the blood from the comte's wounds here, with your
-pocket-handkerchief and mine, and then, as there are two shots
-left, we can have them between us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank you," said
-De Wardes.  "Twice already, in one hour, I have seen death too
-close at hand to be agreeable; I don't like his look at all, and
-I prefer your apologies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Manicamp burst out
-laughing, and Guiche, too, in spite of his sufferings.  The two
-young men wished to carry him, but he declared he felt quite
-strong enough to walk alone.  The ball had broken his ring-finger
-and his little finger, and then had glanced along his side, but
-without penetrating deeply into his chest.  It was the pain
-rather than the seriousness of the wound, therefore, which had
-overcome De Guiche.  Manicamp passed his arm under one of the
-count's shoulders, and De Wardes did the same with the other, and
-in this way they brought him back to Fontainebleau, to the house
-of the same doctor who had been present at the death of the
-Franciscan, Aramis's predecessor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-King's Supper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he king,
-while these matters were being arranged, was sitting at the
-supper-table, and the not very large number of guests for that
-day had taken their seats too, after the usual gesture intimating
-the royal permission.  At this period of Louis XIV.'s reign,
-although etiquette was not governed by the strict regulations
-subsequently adopted, the French court had entirely thrown aside
-the traditions of good-fellowship and patriarchal affability
-existing in the time of Henry IV., which the suspicious mind of
-Louis XIII. had gradually replaced with pompous state and
-ceremony, which he despaired of being able fully to realize.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king, therefore, was
-seated alone at a small separate table, which, like the desk of a
-president, overlooked the adjoining tables.  Although we say a
-small table, we must not omit to add that this small table was
-the largest one there.  Moreover, it was the one on which were
-placed the greatest number and quantity of dishes, consisting of
-fish, game, meat, fruit, vegetables, and preserves.  The king was
-young and full of vigor and energy, very fond of hunting,
-addicted to all violent exercises of the body, possessing,
-besides, like all the members of the Bourbon family, a rapid
-digestion and an appetite speedily renewed.  Louis XIV. was a
-formidable table-companion; he delighted in criticising his
-cooks; but when he honored them by praise and commendation, the
-honor was overwhelming.  The king began by eating several kinds
-of soup, either mixed together or taken separately.  He
-intermixed, or rather separated, each of the soups by a glass of
-old wine.  He ate quickly and somewhat greedily.  Porthos, who
-from the beginning had, out of respect, been waiting for a jog of
-D'Artagnan's arm, seeing the king make such rapid progress,
-turned to the musketeer and said in a low voice:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It seems as if one might go
-on now; his majesty is very encouraging, from the example he
-sets.  Look."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king eats," said
-D'Artagnan, "but he talks at the same time; try and manage
-matters in such a manner that, if he should happen to address a
-remark to you, he will not find you with your mouth full - which
-would be very disrespectful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The best way, in that
-case," said Porthos, "is to eat no supper at all; and yet I am
-very hungry, I admit, and everything looks and smells most
-invitingly, as if appealing to all my senses at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Don't think of not eating
-for a moment," said D'Artagnan; "that would put his majesty out
-terribly.  The king has a saying, 'that he who works well, eats
-well,' and he does not like people to eat indifferently at his
-table."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How can I avoid having my
-mouth full if I eat?" said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "All you have to do,"
-replied the captain of the musketeers, "is simply to swallow what
-you have in it, whenever the king does you the honor to address a
-remark to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good," said Porthos;
-and from that moment he began to eat with a certain well-bred
-enthusiasm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king occasionally looked
-at the different persons who were at table with him, and, <i>en
-connoisseur</i>, could appreciate the different dispositions of
-his guests.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur du Vallon!" he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos was enjoying a
-<i>salmi de li&egrave;vre</i>, and swallowed half of the back. 
-His name, pronounced in such a manner, made him start, and by a
-vigorous effort of his gullet he absorbed the whole mouthful.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," replied Porthos, in
-a stifled voice, but sufficiently intelligible, nevertheless.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Let those <i>filets
-d'agneau</i> be handed to Monsieur du Vallon," said the king; "do
-you like brown meats, M. du Vallon?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I like everything,"
-replied Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan whispered:
-"Everything your majesty sends me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos repeated:
-"Everything your majesty sends me," an observation which the king
-apparently received with great satisfaction.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "People eat well who work
-well," replied the king, delighted to have <i>en
-t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i> a guest who could eat as
-Porthos did.  Porthos received the dish of lamb, and put a
-portion of it on his plate.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exquisite," said Porthos,
-calmly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Have you as good mutton in
-your part of the country, Monsieur du Vallon?" continued the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I believe that from
-my own province, as everywhere else, the best of everything is
-sent to Paris for your majesty's use; but, on the other hand, I
-do not eat lamb in the same way your majesty does."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, ah! and how do you eat
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Generally, I have a lamb
-dressed whole."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>Whole?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what manner, Monsieur du
-Vallon?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In this, sire: my cook, who
-is a German, first stuffs the lamb in question with small
-sausages he procures from Strasburg, force-meat balls from
-Troyes, and larks from Pithiviers; by some means or other, which
-I am not acquainted with, he bones the lamb as he would do a
-fowl, leaving the skin on, however, which forms a brown crust all
-over the animal; when it is cut in beautiful slices, in the same
-way as an enormous sausage, a rose-colored gravy pours forth,
-which is as agreeable to the eye as it is exquisite to the
-palate."  And Porthos finished by smacking his lips.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king opened his eyes
-with delight, and, while cutting some of the <i>faisan en
-daube</i>, which was being handed to him, he said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is a dish I should
-very much like to taste, Monsieur du Vallon.  Is it possible! a
-whole lamb!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Absolutely an entire lamb,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Pass those pheasants to M.
-du Vallon; I perceive he is an amateur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The order was immediately
-obeyed.  Then, continuing the conversation, he said: "And you do
-not find the lamb too fat?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, sire, the fat falls
-down at the same time as the gravy does, and swims on the
-surface; then the servant who carves removes the fat with a
-spoon, which I have had expressly made for that purpose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where do you reside?"
-inquired the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At Pierrefonds, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At Pierrefonds; where is
-that, M. du Vallon - near Belle-Isle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, no, sire!  Pierrefonds
-is in the Soissonnais."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I thought you alluded to
-the lamb on account of the salt marshes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, sire, I have marshes
-which are not salt, it is true, but which are not the less
-valuable on that account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king had now arrived at
-the <i>entrements</i>, but without losing sight of Porthos, who
-continued to play his part in the best manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have an excellent
-appetite, M. du Vallon," said the king, "and you make an
-admirable guest at table."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! sire, if your majesty
-were ever to pay a visit to Pierrefonds, we would both of us eat
-our lamb together; for your appetite is not an indifferent one by
-any means."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan gave Porthos a
-kick under the table, which made Porthos color up.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At your majesty's present
-happy age," said Porthos, in order to repair the mistake he had
-made, "I was in the musketeers, and nothing could ever satisfy me
-then.  Your majesty has an excellent appetite, as I have already
-had the honor of mentioning, but you select what you eat with
-quite too much refinement to be called for one moment a great
-eater."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king seemed charmed at
-his guest's politeness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will you try some of these
-creams?" he said to Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, you majesty treats me
-with far too much kindness to prevent me speaking the whole
-truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Pray do so, M. du
-Vallon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will, sire, with regard to
-sweet dishes I only recognize pastry, and even that should be
-rather solid; all these frothy substances swell the stomach, and
-occupy a space which seems to me to be too precious to be so
-badly tenanted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! gentlemen," said the
-king, indicating Porthos by a gesture, "here is indeed a model of
-gastronomy.  It was in such a manner that our fathers, who so
-well knew what good living was, used to <i>eat</i>, while we,"
-added his majesty, "do nothing but tantalize with our stomachs." 
-And as he spoke, he took the breast of a chicken with ham, while
-Porthos attacked a dish of partridges and quails.  The cup-bearer
-filled his majesty's glass.  "Give M. du Vallon some of my wine,"
-said the king.  This was one of the greatest honors of the royal
-table.  D'Artagnan pressed his friend's knee.  "If  you could
-only manage to swallow the half of that boar's head I see
-yonder," said he to Porthos, "I shall believe you will be a duke
-and peer within the next twelvemonth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Presently," said Porthos,
-phlegmatically; "I shall come to that by and by."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                In fact it was not long
-before it came to the boar's turn, for the king seemed to take
-pleasure in urging on his guest; he did not pass any of the
-dishes to Porthos until he had tasted them himself, and he
-accordingly took some of the boar's head.  Porthos showed that he
-could keep pace with his sovereign; and, instead of eating the
-half, as D'Artagnan had told him, he ate three-fourths of it. 
-"It is impossible," said the king in an undertone, "that a
-gentleman who eats so good a supper every day, and who has such
-beautiful teeth, can be otherwise than the most straightforward,
-upright man in my kingdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you hear?" said
-D'Artagnan in his friend's ear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; I think I am rather in
-favor," said Porthos, balancing himself on his chair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! you are in luck's
-way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king and Porthos
-continued to eat in the same manner, to the great satisfaction of
-the other guests, some of whom, from emulation, had attempted to
-follow them, but were obliged to give up half-way.  The king soon
-began to get flushed and the reaction of the blood to his face
-announced that the moment of repletion had arrived.  It was then
-that Louis XIV., instead of becoming gay and cheerful, as most
-good livers generally do, became dull, melancholy, and taciturn. 
-Porthos, on the contrary, was lively and communicative. 
-D'Artagnan's foot had more than once to remind him of this
-peculiarity of the king.  The dessert now made its appearance. 
-The king had ceased to think anything further of Porthos; he
-turned his eyes anxiously towards the entrance-door, and he was
-heard occasionally to inquire how it happened that Monsieur de
-Saint-Aignan was so long in arriving.  At last, at the moment
-when his majesty was finishing a pot of preserved plums with a
-deep sigh, Saint-Aignan appeared.  The king's eyes, which had
-become somewhat dull, immediately began to sparkle.  The comte
-advanced towards the king's table, and Louis rose at his
-approach.  Everybody got up at the same time, including Porthos,
-who was just finishing an almond-cake capable of making the jaws
-of a crocodile stick together.  The supper was over.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-After Supper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he king took
-Saint-Aignan by the arm, and passed into the adjoining
-apartment.  "What has detained you, comte?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I was bringing the answer,
-sire," replied the comte.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"She has taken a
-long time to reply to what I wrote her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, your majesty
-deigned to write in verse, and Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re
-wished to repay your majesty in the same coin; that is to say, in
-gold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Verses! 
-Saint-Aignan," exclaimed the king in ecstasy.  "Give them to me
-at once."  And Louis broke the seal of a little letter, inclosing
-the verses which history has preserved entire for us, and which
-are more meritorious in invention than in execution.  Such as
-they were, however, the king was enchanted with them, and
-exhibited his satisfaction by unequivocal transports of delight;
-but the universal silence which reigned in the rooms warned
-Louis, so sensitively particular with regard to good breeding,
-that his delight must give rise to various interpretations.  He
-turned aside and put the note in his pocket, and then advancing a
-few steps, which brought him again to the threshold of the door
-close to his guests, he said, "M. du Vallon, I have seen you
-to-day with the greatest pleasure, and my pleasure will be
-equally great to see you again."  Porthos bowed as the Colossus
-of Rhodes would have done, and retired from the room with his
-face towards the king.  "M. d'Artagnan," continued the king, "you
-will await my orders in the gallery; I am obliged to you for
-having made me acquainted with M. du Vallon.  Gentlemen,"
-addressing himself to the other guests, "I return to Paris
-to-morrow on account of the departure of the Spanish and Dutch
-ambassadors.  Until to-morrow then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The apartment was
-immediately cleared of the guests.  The king took Saint-Aignan by
-the arm, made him read La Valli&egrave;re's verses over again,
-and said, "What do you think of them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Charming,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They charm me, in
-fact, and if they were known - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! the
-professional poets would be jealous of them; but it is not likely
-they will know anything about them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did you give her
-mine?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! sire, she
-positively devoured them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They were very
-weak, I am afraid."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is not what
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re said of them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think she
-was pleased with them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am sure of it,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I must answer,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! sire,
-immediately after supper?  Your majesty will fatigue
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are quite
-right; study after eating is notoriously injurious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The labor of a
-poet especially so; and besides, there is great excitement
-prevailing at Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With her as with
-all the ladies of the court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On account of poor
-De Guiche's accident."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Has anything
-serious happened to De Guiche, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire, he has
-one hand nearly destroyed, a hole in his breast; in fact, he is
-dying."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good heavens! who
-told you that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Manicamp brought
-him back just now to the house of a doctor here in Fontainebleau,
-and the rumor soon reached us all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Brought back! 
-Poor De Guiche; and how did it happen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! that is the
-very question, - how did it happen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You say that in a
-very singular manner, Saint-Aignan.  Give me the details.  What
-does he say himself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He says nothing,
-sire; but others do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What others?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Those who brought
-him back, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who are they?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not know,
-sire; but M. de Manicamp knows.  M. de Manicamp is one of his
-friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As everybody is,
-indeed," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! no!" returned
-Saint-Aignan, "you are mistaken sire; every one is not precisely
-a friend of M. de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How do you know
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Does your majesty
-require me to explain myself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly I
-do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, sire, I
-believe I have heard something said about a quarrel between two
-gentlemen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"When?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This very evening,
-before your majesty's supper was served."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That can hardly
-be.  I have issued such stringent and severe ordinances with
-respect to duelling, that no one, I presume, would dare to
-disobey them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case,
-Heaven preserve me from excusing any one!" exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan.  "Your majesty commanded me to speak, and I spoke
-accordingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tell me, then, in
-what way the Comte de Guiche has been wounded?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, it is said
-to have been at a boar-hunt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This evening?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"One of his hands
-shattered, and a hole in his breast.  Who was at the hunt with M.
-de Guiche?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not know,
-sire; but M. de Manicamp knows, or ought to know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are concealing
-something from me, Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing, sire, I
-assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then, explain to
-me how the accident happened; was it a musket that burst?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very likely,
-sire.  But yet, on reflection, it could hardly have been that,
-for De Guiche's pistol was found close by him still loaded."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"His pistol?  But a
-man does not go to a boar-hunt with a pistol, I should
-think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, it is also
-said that De Guiche's horse was killed and that the horse is
-still to be found in the wide open glade in the forest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"His horse? -
-Guiche go on horseback to a boar-hunt? - Saint-Aignan, I do not
-understand a syllable of what you have been telling me.  Where
-did this affair happen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At the Rond-point,
-in that part of the forest called the Bois-Rochin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That will do. 
-Call M. d'Artagnan."  Saint-Aignan obeyed, and the musketeer
-entered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur
-d'Artagnan," said the king, "you will leave this place by the
-little door of the private staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will mount
-your horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you will
-proceed to the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin.  Do you know the
-spot?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire.  I have
-fought there twice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!" exclaimed
-the king, amazed at the reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Under the edicts,
-sire, of Cardinal Richelieu," returned D'Artagnan, with his usual
-impassability.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is very
-different, monsieur.  You will, therefore, go there, and will
-examine the locality very carefully.  A man has been wounded
-there, and you will find a horse lying dead.  You will tell me
-what your opinion is upon the whole affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As a matter of
-course, it is your own opinion I require, and not that of any one
-else."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You shall have it
-in an hour's time, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I prohibit your
-speaking with any one, whoever it may be."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Except with the
-person who must give me a lantern," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! that is a
-matter of course," said the king, laughing at the liberty, which
-he tolerated in no one but his captain of the musketeers. 
-D'Artagnan left by the little staircase.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Now, let my
-physician be sent for," said Louis.  Ten minutes afterwards the
-king's physician arrived, quite out of breath.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will go,
-monsieur," said the king to him, "and accompany M. de
-Saint-Aignan wherever he may take you; you will render me an
-account of the state of the person you may see in the house you
-will be taken to."  The physician obeyed without a remark, as at
-that time people began to obey Louis XIV., and left the room
-preceding Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you,
-Saint-Aignan, send Manicamp to me, before the physician can
-possibly have spoken to him."  And Saint-Aignan left in his
-turn.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Showing in What Way D'Artagnan Discharged the Mission with Which
-the King Had Intrusted Him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>W</span>hile the king
-was engaged in making these last-mentioned arrangements in order
-to ascertain the truth, D'Artagnan, without losing a second, ran
-to the stable, took down the lantern, saddled his horse himself,
-and proceeded towards the place his majesty had indicated. 
-According to the promise he had made, he had not accosted any
-one; and, as we have observed, he had carried his scruples so far
-as to do without the assistance of the stable-helpers
-altogether.  D'Artagnan was one of those who in moments of
-difficulty pride themselves on increasing their own value.  By
-dint of hard galloping, he in less than five minutes reached the
-wood, fastened his horse to the first tree he came to, and
-penetrated to the broad open space on foot.  He then began to
-inspect most carefully, on foot and with his lantern in his hand,
-the whole surface of the Rond-point, went forward, turned back
-again, measured, examined, and after half an hour's minute
-inspection, he returned silently to where he had left his horse,
-and pursued his way in deep reflection and at a foot-pace to
-Fontainebleau.  Louis was waiting in his cabinet; he was alone,
-and with a pencil was scribbling on paper certain lines which
-D'Artagnan at the first glance recognized as unequal and very
-much touched up.  The conclusion he arrived at was, that they
-must be verses.  The king raised his head and perceived
-D'Artagnan.  "Well, monsieur," he said, "do you bring me any
-news?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What have you seen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As far as probability goes,
-sire - " D'Artagnan began to reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It was certainty I
-requested of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will approach it as near
-as I possibly can.  The weather was very well adapted for
-investigations of the character I have just made; it has been
-raining this evening, and the roads were wet and muddy - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, the result, M.
-d'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, your majesty told me
-that there was a horse lying dead in the cross-road of the
-Bois-Rochin, and I began, therefore, by studying the roads.  I
-say the roads, because the center of the cross-road is reached by
-four separate roads.  The one that I myself took was the only one
-that presented any fresh traces.  Two horses had followed it side
-by side; their eight feet were marked very distinctly in the
-clay.  One of the riders was more impatient than the other, for
-the footprints of the one were invariably in advance of the other
-about half a horse's length."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you quite sure they
-were traveling together?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes sire.  The horses are
-two rather large animals of equal pace, - horses well used to
-maneuvers of all kinds, for they wheeled round the barrier of the
-Rond-point together."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well - and after?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The two cavaliers paused
-there for a minute, no doubt to arrange the conditions of the
-engagement; the horses grew restless and impatient.  One of the
-riders spoke, while the other listened and seemed to have
-contented himself by simply answering.  His horse pawed the
-ground, which proves that his attention was so taken up by
-listening that he let the bridle fall from his hand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A hostile meeting did take
-place then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Undoubtedly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Continue; you are a very
-accurate observer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "One of the two cavaliers
-remained where he was standing, the one, in fact, who had been
-listening; the other crossed the open space, and at first placed
-himself directly opposite to his adversary.  The one who had
-remained stationary traversed the Rond-point at a gallop, about
-two-thirds of its length, thinking that by this means he would
-gain upon his opponent; but the latter had followed the
-circumference of the wood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are ignorant of their
-names, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Completely so, sire.  Only
-he who followed the circumference of the wood was mounted on a
-black horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How do you know that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I found a few hairs of his
-tail among the brambles which bordered the sides of the
-ditch."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Go on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As for the other horse,
-there can be no trouble in describing him, since he was left dead
-on the field of battle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What was the cause of his
-death?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A ball which had passed
-through his brain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Was the ball that of a
-pistol or a gun?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It was a pistol-bullet,
-sire.  Besides, the manner in which the horse was wounded
-explained to me the tactics of the man who had killed it.  He had
-followed the circumference of the wood in order to take his
-adversary in flank.  Moreover, I followed his foot-tracks on the
-grass."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The tracks of the black
-horse, do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Go on, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As your majesty now
-perceives the position of the two adversaries, I will, for a
-moment, leave the cavalier who had remained stationary for the
-one who started off at a gallop."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The horse of the cavalier
-who rode at full speed was killed on the spot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How do you know that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The cavalier had not time
-even to throw himself off his horse, and so fell with it.  I
-observed the impression of his leg, which, with a great effort,
-he was enabled to extricate from under the horse.  The spur,
-pressed down by the weight of the animal, had plowed up the
-ground."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; and what did he
-do as soon as he rose up again?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He walked straight up to
-his adversary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who still remained upon the
-verge of the forest?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire.  Then, having
-reached a favorable distance, he stopped firmly, for the
-impression of both his heels are left in the ground quite close
-to each other, fired, and missed his adversary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How do you know he did not
-hit him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I found a hat with a ball
-through it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, a proof, then!"
-exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Insufficient, sire,"
-replied D'Artagnan, coldly; "it is a hat without any letters
-indicating its ownership, without arms; a red feather, as all
-hats have; the lace, even, had nothing particular in it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did the man with the hat
-through which the bullet had passed fire a second time?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire, he had already
-fired twice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How did you ascertain
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I found the waddings of the
-pistol."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what became of the
-bullet which did not kill the horse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It cut in two the feather
-of the hat belonging to him against whom it was directed, and
-broke a small birch at the other end of the open glade."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, then, the man
-on the black horse was disarmed, whilst his adversary had still
-one more shot to fire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, while the dismounted
-rider was extricating himself from his horse, the other was
-reloading his pistol.  Only, he was much agitated while he was
-loading it, and his hand trembled greatly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How do you know that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Half the charge fell to the
-ground, and he threw the ramrod aside, not having time to replace
-it in the pistol."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur d'Artagnan, this
-is marvellous you tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is only close
-observation, sire, and the commonest highwayman could tell as
-much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The whole scene is before
-me from the manner in which you relate it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have, in fact,
-reconstructed it in my own mind, with merely a few
-alterations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And now," said the king,
-"let us return to the dismounted cavalier.  You were saying that
-he walked towards his adversary while the latter was loading his
-pistol."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; but at the very moment
-he himself was taking aim, the other fired."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said the king; "and
-the shot?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The shot told terribly,
-sire; the dismounted cavalier fell upon his face, after having
-staggered forward three or four paces."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where was he hit?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In two places; in the first
-place, in his right hand, and then, by the same bullet, in his
-chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But how could you ascertain
-that?" inquired the king, full of admiration.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "By a very simple means; the
-butt end of the pistol was covered with blood, and the trace of
-the bullet could be observed, with fragments of a broken ring. 
-The wounded man, in all probability, had the ring-finger and the
-little finger carried off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As far as the hand goes, I
-have nothing to say; but the chest?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, there were two small
-pools of blood, at a distance of about two feet and a half from
-each other.  At one of these pools of blood the grass was torn up
-by the clenched hand; at the other, the grass was simply pressed
-down by the weight of the body."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Poor De Guiche!" exclaimed
-the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! it was M. de Guiche,
-then?" said the musketeer, quietly.  "I suspected it, but did not
-venture to mention it to your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what made you suspect
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I recognized the De Gramont
-arms upon the holsters of the dead horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you think he is
-seriously wounded?"<br>
-                "Very seriously, since he fell immediately, and
-remained a long time in the same place; however, he was able to
-walk, as he left the spot, supported by two friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You met him returning,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; but I observed the
-footprints of three men; the one on the right and the one on the
-left walked freely and easily, but the one in the middle dragged
-his feet as he walked; besides, he left traces of blood at every
-step he took."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Now, monsieur, since you
-saw the combat so distinctly that not a single detail seems to
-have escaped you, tell me something about De Guiche's
-adversary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire, I do not know
-him."<br>
-                "And yet you see everything very clearly."<br>
-                "Yes, sire, I see everything; but I do not tell
-all I see; and, since the poor devil has escaped, your majesty
-will permit me to say that I do not intend to denounce him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet he is guilty, since
-he has fought a duel, monsieur."<br>
-                "Not guilty in my eyes, sire," said D'Artagnan,
-coldly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur!" exclaimed the
-king, "are you aware of what you are saying?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Perfectly, sire; but,
-according to my notions, a man who fights a duel is a brave man;
-such, at least, is my own opinion; but your majesty may have
-another, it is but natural, for you are master here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur d'Artagnan, I
-ordered you, however - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan interrupted the
-king by a respectful gesture.  "You ordered me, sire, to gather
-what particulars I could, respecting a hostile meeting that had
-taken place; those particulars you have.  If you order me to
-arrest M. de Guiche's adversary, I will do so; but do not order
-me to denounce him to you, for in that case I will not obey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well!  Arrest him,
-then."<br>
-                "Give me his name, sire."<br>
-                The king stamped his foot angrily; but after a
-moment's reflection, he said, "You are right - ten times, twenty
-times, a hundred times right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is my opinion, sire: I
-am happy that, this time, it accords with your majesty's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "One word more.  Who
-assisted Guiche?"<br>
-                "I do not know, sire."<br>
-                "But you speak of two men.  There was a person
-present, then, as second."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There was no second, sire. 
-Nay, more than that, when M. de Guiche fell, his adversary fled
-without giving him any assistance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The miserable coward!"
-exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The consequence of your
-ordinances, sire.  If a man has fought well, and fairly, and has
-already escaped one chance of death, he naturally wishes to
-escape a second.  M. de Bouteville cannot be forgotten very
-easily."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so, men turn
-cowards."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, they become
-prudent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And he has fled, then, you
-say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; and as fast as his
-horse could possibly carry him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what direction?"<br>
-                "In the direction of the ch&acirc;teau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, and after that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Afterwards, as I have had
-the honor of telling your majesty, two men on foot arrived, who
-carried M. de Guiche back with them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What proof have you that
-these men arrived after the combat?"<br>
-                "A very evident proof, sire; at the moment the
-encounter took place, the rain had just ceased, the ground had
-not had time to imbibe the moisture, and was, consequently,
-soaked; the footsteps sank in the ground; but while M. de Guiche
-was lying there in a fainting condition, the ground became firm
-again, and the footsteps made a less sensible impression."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis clapped his hands
-together in sign of admiration.  "Monsieur d'Artagnan," he said,
-"you are positively the cleverest man in my kingdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The identical thing M. de
-Richelieu thought, and M. de Mazarin said, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And now, it remains for us
-to see if your sagacity is at fault."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, a man may be
-mistaken; <i>humanum est errare</i>," said the musketeer,
-philosophically. <b><sup>1</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, you are not
-human, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for I believe you are never
-mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty said that we
-were going to see whether such was the case, or not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what way, may I venture
-to ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have sent for M. de
-Manicamp, and M. de Manicamp is coming."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"And M. de Manicamp
-knows the secret?"<br>
-"De Guiche has no secrets from M. de Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan shook
-his head.  "No one was present at the combat, I repeat; and
-unless M. de Manicamp was one of the two men who brought him back
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Hush!" said the
-king, "he is coming; remain, and listen attentively."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And, at the very
-same moment, Manicamp and Saint-Aignan appeared at the threshold
-of the door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Encounter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he king
-signified with an imperious gesture, first to the musketeer, then
-to Saint-Aignan, "On your lives, not a word."  D'Artagnan
-withdrew, like a sentinel, to a corner of the room; Saint-Aignan,
-in his character of a favorite, leaned over the back of the
-king's chair.  Manicamp, with his right foot properly advanced, a
-smile upon his lips, and his white and well-formed hands
-gracefully disposed, advanced to make his reverence to the king,
-who returned the salutation by a bow.  "Good evening, M. de
-Manicamp," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty did me the
-honor to send for me," said Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, in order to learn from
-you all the details of the unfortunate accident which has
-befallen the Comte de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, it is grievous
-indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You were there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not precisely, sire."<br>
-                "But you arrived on the scene of the accident, a
-few minutes after it took place?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, about half an hour
-afterwards."<br>
-                "And where did the accident happen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe, sire, the place
-is called the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! the rendezvous of the
-hunt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The very spot, sire."<br>
-                "Good; give me all the details you are acquainted
-with, respecting this unhappy affair, Monsieur de Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Perhaps your majesty has
-already been informed of them, and I fear to fatigue you with
-useless repetition."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, do not be afraid of
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp looked round him;
-he saw only D'Artagnan leaning with his back against the wainscot
-- D'Artagnan, calm, kind, and good-natured as usual - and
-Saint-Aignan whom he had accompanied, and who still leaned over
-the king's armchair with an expression of countenance equally
-full of good feeling.  He determined, therefore, to speak out. 
-"Your majesty is perfectly aware," he said, "that accidents are
-very frequent in hunting."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In hunting, do you
-say?"<br>
-                "I mean, sire, when an animal is brought to
-bay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, ah!" said the king, "it
-was when the animal was brought to bay, then, that the accident
-happened?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas! sire, unhappily it
-was."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king paused for a moment
-before he said: "What animal was being hunted?"<br>
-                "A wild boar, sire."<br>
-                "And what could possibly have possessed De Guiche
-to go to a wild boar-hunt by himself; that is but a clownish idea
-of sport, only fit for that class of people who, unlike the
-Mar&eacute;chal de Gramont, have no dogs and huntsmen, to hunt as
-gentlemen should do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp shrugged his
-shoulders.  "Youth is very rash," he said, sententiously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, go on," said the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At all events," continued
-Manicamp, not venturing to be too precipitate and hasty, and
-letting his words fall very slowly one by one, "at all events,
-sire, poor De Guiche went hunting - all alone."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite alone? indeed? - What
-a sportsman!  And is not M. de Guiche aware that the wild boar
-always stands at bay?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is the very thing that
-really happened, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He had some idea, then, of
-the beast being there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire, some peasants
-had seen it among their potatoes." <b><sup>2</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what kind of animal was
-it?"<br>
-                "A short, thick beast."<br>
-                "You may as well tell me, monsieur, that De
-Guiche had some idea of committing suicide; for I have seen him
-hunt, and he is an active and vigorous hunter.  Whenever he fires
-at an animal brought to bay and held in check by the dogs, he
-takes every possible precaution, and yet he fires with a carbine,
-and on this occasion he seems to have faced the boar with pistols
-only."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp started.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A costly pair of pistols,
-excellent weapons to fight a duel with a man and not a wild
-boar.  What an absurdity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There are some things,
-sire, which are difficult of explanation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are quite right, and
-the event which we are now discussing is certainly one of them. 
-Go on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                During the recital,
-Saint-Aignan, who probably would have made a sign to Manicamp to
-be careful what he was about, found that the king's glance was
-constantly fixed upon himself, so that it was utterly impossible
-to communicate with Manicamp in any way.  As for D'Artagnan, the
-statue of Silence at Athens was far more noisy and far more
-expressive than he.  Manicamp, therefore, was obliged to continue
-in the same way he had begun, and so contrived to get more and
-more entangled in his explanation.  "Sire," he said, "this is
-probably how the affair happened.  Guiche was waiting to receive
-the boar as it rushed towards him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On foot or on horseback?"
-inquired the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On horseback.  He fired
-upon the brute and missed his aim, and then it dashed upon
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And the horse was
-killed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! your majesty knows
-that, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have been told that a
-horse has been found lying dead in the cross-roads of the
-Bois-Rochin, and I presume it was De Guiche's horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Perfectly true, sire, it
-was his."<br>
-                "Well, so much for the horse, and now for De
-Guiche?"<br>
-                "De Guiche, once down, was attacked and worried
-by the wild boar, and wounded in the hand and in the chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is a horrible accident,
-but it must be admitted it was De Guiche's own fault.  How could
-he possibly have gone to hunt such an animal merely armed with
-pistols; he must have forgotten the fable of Adonis?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp rubbed his ear in
-seeming perplexity.  "Very true," he said, "it was very
-imprudent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Can you explain it,
-Monsieur Manicamp?"<br>
-                "Sire, what is written is written!"<br>
-                "Ah! you are a fatalist."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp looked very
-uncomfortable and ill at ease.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am angry with you,
-Monsieur Manicamp," continued the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "With me, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes.  How was it that you,
-who are De Guiche's intimate friend, and who know that he is
-subject to such acts of folly, did not stop him in time?"<br>
-                Manicamp no longer knew what to do; the tone in
-which the king spoke was anything but that of a credulous man. 
-On the other hand, it did not indicate any particular severity,
-nor did he seem to care very much about the cross-examination. 
-There was more of raillery in it than menace.  "And you say,
-then," continued the king, "that it was positively De Guiche's
-horse that was found dead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite positive, sire."<br>
-                "Did that astonish you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, sire; for your majesty
-will remember that, at the last hunt, M. de Saint-Maure had a
-horse killed under him, and in the same way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, but that one was
-ripped open."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Had Guiche's horse been
-ripped open like M. de Saint-Maure's horse, I should not have
-been astonished."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp opened his eyes
-very wide.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Am I mistaken," resumed the
-king, "was it not in the frontal bone that De Guiche's horse was
-struck?  You must admit, Monsieur de Manicamp, that that is a
-very singular place for a wild boar to attack."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are aware, sire, that
-the horse is a very intelligent animal, and he doubtless
-endeavoured to defend himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But a horse defends himself
-with his heels and not with his head."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, the terrified
-horse may have slipped or fallen down," said Manicamp, "and the
-boar, you understand sire, the boar - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  I understand that
-perfectly, as far as the horse is concerned; but how about his
-rider?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well! that, too, is simple
-enough; the boar left the horse and attacked the rider; and, as I
-have already had the honor of informing your majesty, shattered
-De Guiche's hand at the very moment he was about to discharge his
-second pistol at him, and then, with a gouge of his tusk, made
-that terrible hole in his chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing is more likely;
-really, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are wrong in placing so little
-confidence in your own eloquence, and you can tell a story most
-admirably."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty is exceedingly
-kind," said Manicamp, saluting him in the most embarrassed
-manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "From this day henceforth, I
-will prohibit any gentleman attached to my court going out to a
-similar encounter.  Really, one might just as well permit
-duelling."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp started, and moved
-as if he were about to withdraw.  "Is your majesty
-satisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Delighted; but do not
-withdraw yet, Monsieur de Manicamp," said Louis, "I have
-something to say to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, well!" thought
-D'Artagnan, "there is another who is not up to the mark;" and he
-uttered a sigh which might signify, "Oh! the men of <i>our</i>
-stamp, where are they <i>now?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At this moment an usher
-lifted up the curtain before the door, and announced the king's
-physician.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" exclaimed Louis, "here
-comes Monsieur Valot, who has just been to see M. de Guiche.  We
-shall now hear news of the man maltreated by the boar."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp felt more
-uncomfortable than ever.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In this way, at least,"
-added the king, "our conscience will be quite clear."  And he
-looked at D'Artagnan, who did not seem in the slightest degree
-discomposed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Physician.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>M</span>. Valot
-entered.  The position of the different persons present was
-precisely the same: the king was seated, Saint-Aignan leaning
-over the back of his armchair, D'Artagnan with his back against
-the wall, and Manicamp still standing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, M. Valot," said the
-king, "did you obey my directions?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "With the greatest alacrity,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You went to the doctor's
-house in Fontainebleau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you found M. de Guiche
-there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I did, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What state was he in? -
-speak unreservedly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In a very sad state indeed,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The wild boar did not quite
-devour him, however?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Devour whom?"<br>
-                "De Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What wild boar?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The boar that wounded
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Guiche wounded by a
-boar?"<br>
-                "So it is said, at least."<br>
-                "By a poacher, rather, or by a jealous husband,
-or an ill-used lover, who, in order to be revenged, fired upon
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is it that you say,
-Monsieur Valot?  Were not M. de Guiche's wounds produced by
-defending himself against a wild boar?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Guiche's wounds are
-the result of a pistol-bullet that broke his ring-finger and the
-little finger of the right hand, and afterwards buried itself in
-the intercostal muscles of the chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A bullet!  Are you sure
-Monsieur de Guiche was wounded by a <i>bullet?</i>" exclaimed the
-king, pretending to look much surprised.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Indeed, I am, sire; so
-sure, in fact, that here it is."  And he presented to the king a
-half-flattened bullet, which the king looked at, but did not
-touch.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did he have that in his
-chest, poor fellow?" he asked.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not precisely.  The ball
-did not penetrate, but was flattened, as you see, either upon the
-trigger of the pistol or upon the right side of the
-breast-bone."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good heavens!" said the
-king, seriously, "you said nothing to me about this, Monsieur de
-Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What does all this mean,
-then, this invention about hunting a wild boar at nightfall? 
-Come, speak, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It seems, then, that you
-are right," said the king, turning round towards his captain of
-musketeers, "and that a duel actually took place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king possessed, to a
-greater extent than any one else, the faculty enjoyed by the
-great in power or position, of compromising and dividing those
-beneath him.  Manicamp darted a look full of reproaches at the
-musketeer.  D'Artagnan understood the look at once, and not
-wishing to remain beneath the weight of such an accusation,
-advanced a step forward, and said: "Sire, your majesty commanded
-me to go and explore the place where the cross-roads meet in the
-Bois-Rochin, and to report to you, according to my own ideas,
-what had taken place there.  I submitted my observations to you,
-but without denouncing any one.  It was your majesty yourself who
-was the first to name the Comte de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, monsieur, well," said
-the king, haughtily; "you have done your duty, and I am satisfied
-with you.  But you, Monsieur de Manicamp, have failed in yours,
-for you have told me a falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A falsehood, sire.  The
-expression is a hard one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Find a more accurate,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I will not attempt to
-do so.  I have already been unfortunate enough to displease your
-majesty, and it will, in every respect, be far better for me to
-accept most humbly any reproaches you may think proper to address
-to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right, monsieur,
-whoever conceals the truth from me, risks my displeasure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sometimes, sire, one is
-ignorant of the truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No further falsehood,
-monsieur, or I double the punishment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp bowed and turned
-pale.  D'Artagnan again made another step forward, determined to
-interfere, if the still increasing anger of the king attained
-certain limits.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You see, monsieur,"
-continued the king, "that it is useless to deny the thing any
-longer.  M. de Guiche has fought a duel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not deny it, sire, and
-it would have been truly generous on your majesty's part not to
-have forced me to tell a falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Forced?  Who forced
-you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, M. de Guiche is my
-friend.  Your majesty has forbidden duels under pain of death.  A
-falsehood might save my friend's life, and I told it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good!" murmured D'Artagnan,
-"an excellent fellow, upon my word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Instead of telling a
-falsehood, monsieur, you should have prevented him from
-fighting," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, your majesty, who
-is the most accomplished gentleman in France, knows quite as well
-as any of us other gentlemen that we have never considered M. de
-Bouteville dishonored for having suffered death on the Place de
-Gr&egrave;ve.  That which does in truth dishonor a man is to
-avoid meeting his enemy - not to avoid meeting his
-executioner!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, monsieur, that may be
-so," said Louis XIV.; "I am desirous of suggesting a means of
-your repairing all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If it be a means of which a
-gentleman may avail himself, I shall most eagerly seize the
-opportunity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The name of M. de Guiche's
-adversary?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, oh!" murmured
-D'Artagnan, "are we going to take Louis XIII. as a model?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire!" said Manicamp, with
-an accent of reproach.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will not name him,
-then?" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I do not know
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Bravo!" murmured
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur de Manicamp, hand
-your sword to the captain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp bowed very
-gracefully, unbuckled his sword, smiling as he did so, and handed
-it for the musketeer to take.  But Saint-Aignan advanced
-hurriedly between him and D'Artagnan.  "Sire," he said, "will
-your majesty permit me to say a word?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do so," said the king,
-delighted, perhaps, at the bottom of his heart, for some one to
-step between him and the wrath he felt he had carried him too
-far.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Manicamp, you are a brave
-man, and the king will appreciate your conduct; but to wish to
-serve your friends too well, is to destroy them.  Manicamp, you
-know the name the king asks you for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is perfectly true - I do
-know it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will give it up
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If I felt I ought to have
-mentioned it, I should have already done so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Then I will tell it, for I
-am not so extremely sensitive on such points of honor as you
-are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are at liberty to do
-so, but it seems to me, however - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! a truce to magnanimity;
-I will not permit you to go to the Bastile in that way.  Do you
-speak; or I will."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp was keen-witted
-enough, and perfectly understood that he had done quite
-sufficient to produce a good opinion of his conduct; it was now
-only a question of persevering in such a manner as to regain the
-good graces of the king.  "Speak, monsieur," he said to
-Saint-Aignan; "I have on my own behalf done all that my
-conscience told me to do; and it must have been very
-importunate," he added, turning towards the king, "since its
-mandates led me to disobey your majesty's commands; but your
-majesty will forgive me, I hope, when you learn that I was
-anxious to preserve the honor of a lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of a lady?" said the king,
-with some uneasiness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A lady was the cause of
-this duel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp bowed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If the position of the lady
-in question warrants it," he said, "I shall not complain of your
-having acted with so much circumspection; on the contrary,
-indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, everything which
-concerns your majesty's household, or the household of your
-majesty's brother, is of importance in my eyes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In my brother's household,"
-repeated Louis XIV., with a slight hesitation.  "The cause of the
-duel was a lady belonging to my brother's household, do you
-say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Or to Madame's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! to Madame's?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well - and this lady?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is one of the maids of
-honor of her royal highness Madame la Duchesse
-d'Orl&eacute;ans."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For whom M. de Guiche
-fought - do you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire, and, this time,
-I tell no falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis seemed restless and
-anxious.  "Gentlemen," he said, turning towards the spectators of
-this scene, "will you have the goodness to retire for a moment. 
-I wish to be alone with M. de Manicamp; I know he has some
-important communication to make for his own justification, and
-which he will not venture before witnesses&hellip;.  Put up your
-sword, M. de Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp returned his sword
-to his belt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The fellow decidedly has
-his wits about him," murmured the musketeer, taking Saint-Aignan
-by the arm, and withdrawing with him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He will get out of it,"
-said the latter in D'Artagnan's ear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And with honor, too,
-comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp cast a glance of
-recognition at Saint-Aignan and the captain, which luckily passed
-unnoticed by the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come, come," said
-D'Artagnan, as he left the room, "I had an indifferent opinion of
-the new generation.  Well, I was mistaken after all.  There is
-some good in them, I perceive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Valot preceded the favorite
-and the captain, leaving the king and Manicamp alone in the
-cabinet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Wherein D'Artagnan Perceives that It Was He Who Was Mistaken, and
-Manicamp Who Was Right.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he king,
-determined to be satisfied that no one was listening, went
-himself to the door, and then returned precipitately and placed
-himself opposite Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And now we are alone,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, explain yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "With the greatest
-frankness, sire," replied the young man.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And in the first place,
-pray understand," added the king, "that there is nothing to which
-I personally attach a greater importance than the honor of
-<i>any</i> lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is the very reason,
-sire, why I endeavored to study your delicacy of sentiment and
-feeling."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I understand it all
-now.  You say that it was one of the maids of honor of my
-sister-in-law who was the subject of dispute, and that the person
-in question, De Guiche's adversary, the man, in point of fact,
-whom you will not name - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But whom M. de Saint-Aignan
-will name, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, you say, however, that
-this man insulted some one belonging to the household of
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire.  Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" said the king, as if
-he had expected the name, and yet as if its announcement had
-caused him a sudden pang; "ah! it was Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re who was insulted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not say precisely that
-she was insulted, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But at all events - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I merely say that she was
-spoken of in terms far enough from respectful."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A man dares to speak in
-disrespectful terms of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, and
-yet you refuse to tell me the name of the insulter?"<br>
-                "Sire, I thought it was quite understood that
-your majesty had abandoned the idea of making me denounce
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Perfectly true, monsieur,"
-returned the king, controlling his anger; "besides, I shall know
-in good time the name of this man whom I shall feel it my duty to
-punish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp perceived that they
-had returned to the question again.  As for the king, he saw he
-had allowed himself to be hurried away a little too far, and
-therefore continued: - "And I will punish him - not because there
-is any question of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, although I
-esteem her very highly - but because a lady was the object of the
-quarrel.  And I intend that ladies shall be respected at my
-court, and that quarrels shall be put a stop to altogether."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp bowed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And now, Monsieur de
-Manicamp," continued the king, "what was said about Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Cannot your majesty
-guess?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?"<br>
-                "Your majesty can imagine the character of the
-jest in which young men permit themselves to indulge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "They very probably said
-that she was in love with some one?" the king ventured to
-remark.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Probably so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re has a perfect right to love any one she pleases,"
-said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is the very point De
-Guiche maintained."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And on account of which he
-fought, do you mean?"<br>
-                "Yes, sire, the sole and only cause."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king colored.  "And you
-do not know anything more, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what respect, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the very interesting
-respect which you are now referring to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What does your majesty wish
-to know?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, the name of the man
-with whom La Valli&egrave;re is in love, and whom De Guiche's
-adversary disputed her right to love."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I know nothing - I
-have heard nothing - and have learnt nothing, even accidentally;
-but De Guiche is a noble-hearted fellow, and if, momentarily, he
-substituted himself in the place or stead of La Valli&egrave;re's
-protector, it was because that protector was himself of too
-exalted a position to undertake her defense."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                These words were more than
-transparent; they made the king blush, but this time with
-pleasure.  He struck Manicamp gently on the shoulder.  "Well,
-well, Monsieur de Manicamp, you are not only a ready, witty
-fellow, but a brave gentleman besides, and your friend De Guiche
-is a paladin quite after my own heart; you will express that to
-him from me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty forgives me,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Completely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I am free?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king smiled and held out
-his hand to Manicamp, which he took and kissed respectfully. 
-"And then," added the king, "you relate stories so
-charmingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"I, sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You told me in the
-most admirable manner the particulars of the accident which
-happened to Guiche.  I can see the wild boar rushing out of the
-wood - I can see the horse fall down fighting with his head, and
-the boar rush from the horse to the rider.  You do not simply
-relate a story well: you positively paint its incidents."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, I think your
-majesty condescends to laugh at my expense," said Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,"
-said Louis, seriously, "I have so little intention of laughing,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, that I wish you to relate this adventure to
-every one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The adventure of
-the hunt?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; in the same
-manner you told it to me, without changing a single word - <i>you
-understand?</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you will
-relate it, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without losing a
-minute."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well! and now
-summon M. d'Artagnan; I hope you are no longer afraid of
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, sire, from the
-very moment I am sure of your majesty's kind disposition, I no
-longer fear anything!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Call him, then,"
-said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Manicamp opened the
-door, and said, "Gentlemen, the king wishes you to return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan,
-Saint-Aignan, and Valot entered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Gentlemen," said
-the king, "I summoned you for the purposes of saying that
-Monsieur de Manicamp's explanation has entirely satisfied
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan glanced
-at Valot and Saint-Aignan, as much as to say, "Well! did I not
-tell you so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king led
-Manicamp to the door, and then in a low tone of voice said: "See
-that M. de Guiche takes good care of himself, and particularly
-that he recovers as soon as possible; I am very desirous of
-thanking him in the name of every lady, but let him take special
-care that he does not begin again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Were he to die a
-hundred times, sire, he would begin again if your majesty's honor
-were in any way called in question."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This remark was
-direct enough.  But we have already said that the incense of
-flattery was very pleasing to the king, and, provided he received
-it, he was not very particular as to its quality.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, very
-well," he said, as he dismissed Manicamp, "I will see De Guiche
-myself, and make him listen to reason."  And as Manicamp left the
-apartment, the king turned round towards the three spectators of
-this scene, and said, "Tell me, Monsieur d'Artagnan, how does it
-happen that your sight is so imperfect? - you, whose eyes are
-generally so very good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My sight bad,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It must be the
-case since your majesty says so; but in what respect, may I
-ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, with regard
-to what occurred in the Bois-Rochin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly.  You
-pretended to have seen the tracks of two horses, to have detected
-the footprints of two men; and have described the particulars of
-an engagement, which you assert took place.  Nothing of the sort
-occurred; pure illusion on your part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!" said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly the same
-thing with the galloping to and fro of the horses, and the other
-indications of a struggle.  It was the struggle of De Guiche
-against the wild boar, and absolutely nothing else; only the
-struggle was a long and a terrible one, it seems."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!" continued
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And when I think
-that I almost believed it for a moment - but, then, you told it
-with such confidence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I admit, sire,
-that I must have been very short-sighted," said D'Artagnan, with
-a readiness of humor which delighted the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You do admit it,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Admit it, sire,
-most assuredly I do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So now that you
-see the thing - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In quite a
-different light from that in which I saw it half an hour
-ago."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And to what, then,
-do you attribute this difference in your opinion?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! a very simple
-thing, sire; half an hour ago I returned from Bois-Rochin, where
-I had nothing to light me but a stupid stable lantern - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While now?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While now I have
-all the wax-lights of your cabinet, and more than that, your
-majesty's own eyes, which illuminate everything, like the blazing
-sun at noonday."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king began to
-laugh; and Saint-Aignan broke out into convulsions of
-merriment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is precisely
-like M. Valot," said D'Artagnan, resuming the conversation where
-the king had left off; "he has been imagining all along, that not
-only was M. de Guiche wounded by a bullet, but still more, that
-he extracted it, even, from his chest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Upon my word,"
-said Valot, "I assure you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Now, did you not
-believe that?" continued D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said Valot;
-"not only did I believe it, but, at this very moment, I would
-swear it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, my dear
-doctor, you have dreamt it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have dreamt
-it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. de Guiche's
-wound - a mere dream; the bullet, a dream.  So, take my advice,
-and prate no more about it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well said,"
-returned the king, "M. d'Artagnan's advice is sound.  Do not
-speak of your dream to any one, Monsieur Valot, and, upon the
-word of a gentleman, you will have no occasion to repent it. 
-Good evening, gentlemen; a very sad affair, indeed, is a wild
-boar-hunt!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A very serious
-thing, indeed," repeated D'Artagnan, in a loud voice, "is a wild
-boar-hunt!" and he repeated it in every room through which he
-passed; and left the ch&acirc;teau, taking Valot with him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And now we are
-alone," said the king to Saint-Aignan, "what is the name of De
-Guiche's adversary?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan looked
-at the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! do not
-hesitate," said the king; "you know that I am bound beforehand to
-forgive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"De Wardes," said
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good," said
-Louis XIV.; and then, retiring to his own room, added to himself,
-"To forgive is not to forget."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Showing the Advantage of Having Two Strings to One's Bow.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>M</span>anicamp
-quitted the king's apartment, delighted at having succeeded so
-well, when, just as he reached the bottom of the staircase and
-was passing a doorway, he felt that some one suddenly pulled him
-by the sleeve.  He turned round and recognized Montalais, who was
-waiting for him in the passage, and who, in a very mysterious
-manner, with her body bent forward, and in a low tone of voice,
-said to him, "Follow me, monsieur, and without any delay, if you
-please."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where to, mademoiselle?"
-inquired Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the first place, a true
-knight would not have asked such a question, but would have
-followed me without requiring any explanation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, mademoiselle, I am
-quite ready to conduct myself as a true knight."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; it is too late, and you
-cannot take the credit of it.  We are going to Madame's
-apartment, so come at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, ah!" said Manicamp. 
-"Lead on, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And he followed Montalais,
-who ran before him as light as Galatea.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This time," said Manicamp,
-as he followed his guide, "I do not think that stories about
-hunting expeditions would be acceptable.  We will try, however,
-and if need be - well, if there should be any occasion for it, we
-must try something else."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Montalais still ran on.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How fatiguing it is,"
-thought Manicamp, "to have need of one's head and legs at the
-same time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At last, however, they
-arrived.  Madame had just finished undressing, and was in a most
-elegant <i>d&eacute;shabille</i>, but it must be understood that
-she had changed her dress before she had any idea of being
-subjected to the emotions now agitating her.  She was waiting
-with the most restless impatience; and Montalais and Manicamp
-found her standing near the door.  At the sound of their
-approaching footsteps, Madame came forward to meet them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" she said, "at
-last!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Here is M. Manicamp,"
-replied Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp bowed with the
-greatest respect; Madame signed to Montalais to withdraw, and she
-immediately obeyed.  Madame followed her with her eyes, in
-silence, until the door closed behind her, and then, turning
-towards Manicamp, said, "What is the matter? - and is it true, as
-I am told, Monsieur de Manicamp, that some one is lying wounded
-in the ch&acirc;teau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame, unfortunately
-so - Monsieur de Guiche."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Monsieur de Guiche,"
-repeated the princess.  "I had, in fact, heard it rumored, but
-not confirmed.  And so, in truth, it is Monsieur de Guiche who
-has been thus unfortunate?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Guiche himself,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you aware, M. de
-Manicamp," said the princes, hastily, "that the king has the
-strongest antipathy to duels?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Perfectly so, Madame; but a
-duel with a wild beast is not answerable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, you will not insult me
-by supposing that I credit the absurd fable, with what object I
-cannot tell, respecting M. de Guiche having been wounded by a
-wild boar.  No, no, monsieur; the real truth is known, and, in
-addition to the inconvenience of his wound, M. de Guiche runs the
-risk of losing his liberty if not his life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas!  Madame, I am well
-aware of that, but what is to be done?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have seen the
-king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What did you say to
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I told him how M. de Guiche
-went to the chase, and how a wild boar rushed forth out of the
-Bois-Rochin; how M. de Guiche fired at it, and how, in fact, the
-furious brute dashed at De Guiche, killed his horse, and
-grievously wounded himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And the king believed
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Implicitly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, you surprise me,
-Monsieur de Manicamp; you surprise me very much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And Madame walked up and
-down the room, casting a searching look from time to time at
-Manicamp, who remained motionless and impassible in the same
-place.  At last she stopped.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet," she said, "every
-one here seems unanimous in giving another cause for this
-wound."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What cause, Madame?" said
-Manicamp; "may I be permitted, without indiscretion, to ask your
-highness?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You ask such a question! 
-You, M. de Guiche's intimate friend, his confidant, indeed!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, Madame! his intimate
-friend - yes; confidant - no.  De Guiche is a man who can keep
-his own secrets, who has some of his own certainly, but who never
-breathes a syllable about them.  De Guiche is discretion itself,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, then; those
-secrets which M. de Guiche keeps so scrupulously, I shall have
-the pleasure of informing you of," said the princess, almost
-spitefully; "for the king may possibly question you a second
-time, and if, on the second occasion, you were to repeat the same
-story to him, he possibly might not be very well satisfied with
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, Madame, I think your
-highness is mistaken with regard to the king.  His majesty was
-perfectly satisfied with me, I assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, permit me to
-assure you, Monsieur de Manicamp, it only proves one thing, which
-is, that his majesty is very easily satisfied."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I think your highness is
-mistaken in arriving at such an opinion; his majesty is well
-known not to be contented except with very good reason."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And do you suppose that he
-will thank you for your officious falsehood, when he will learn
-to-morrow that M. de Guiche had, on behalf of his friend M. de
-Bragelonne, a quarrel which ended in a hostile meeting?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A quarrel on M. de
-Bragelonne's account," said Manicamp, with the most innocent
-expression in the world; "what does your royal highness do me the
-honor to tell me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is there astonishing
-in that?  M. de Guiche is susceptible, irritable, and easily
-loses his temper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On the contrary, Madame, I
-know M. de Guiche to be very patient, and never susceptible or
-irritable except upon very good grounds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But is not friendship a
-just ground?" said the princess.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, certainly, Madame; and
-particularly for a heart like his."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; you will not
-deny, I suppose, that M. de Bragelonne is M. de Guiche's good
-friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A great friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, M. de Guiche
-has taken M. de Bragelonne's part; and as M. de Bragelonne was
-absent and could not fight, he fought for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp began to smile, and
-moved his head and shoulders very slightly, as much as to say,
-"Oh, if you will positively have it so - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But speak, at all events,"
-said the princess, out of patience; "speak!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course; it is quite
-clear you are not of my opinion, and that you have something to
-say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have only one thing to
-say, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Name it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That I do not understand a
-single word of what you have just been telling me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! - you do not
-understand a single word about M. de Guiche's quarrel with M. de
-Wardes," exclaimed the princess, almost out of temper.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp remained
-silent.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A quarrel," she continued,
-"which arose out of a conversation scandalous in its tone and
-purport, and more or less well founded, respecting the virtue of
-a certain lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! of a certain lady, -
-this is quite another thing," said Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You begin to understand, do
-you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your highness will excuse
-me, but I dare not - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You dare not," said Madame,
-exasperated; "very well, then, wait one moment, I will dare."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame, Madame!" exclaimed
-Manicamp, as if in great dismay, "be careful of what you are
-going to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It would seem, monsieur,
-that, if I happened to be a man, you would challenge me,
-notwithstanding his majesty's edicts, as Monsieur de Guiche
-challenged M. de Wardes; and that, too, on account of the virtue
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re!" exclaimed Manicamp, starting backwards, as if
-that was the very last name he expected to hear pronounced.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What makes you start in
-that manner, Monsieur de Manicamp?" said Madame, ironically; "do
-you mean to say you would be impertinent enough to suspect that
-young lady's honor?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame, in the whole course
-of this affair there has not been the slightest question of
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! when two men have
-almost blown each other's brains out on a woman's behalf, do you
-mean to say she has had nothing to do with the affair, and that
-her name has not been called in question at all?  I did not think
-you so good a courtier, Monsieur de Manicamp."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Pray forgive me, Madame,"
-said the young man, "but we are very far from understanding one
-another.  You do me the honor to speak one language while I am
-speaking altogether another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I beg your pardon, but I do
-not understand your meaning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Forgive me, then; but I
-fancied I understood your highness to remark that De Guiche and
-De Wardes had fought on Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's
-account?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly."<br>
-                "On account of Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re, I think you said?" repeated Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not say that M. de
-Guiche personally took an interest in Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re, but I say that he did so as representing or
-acting on behalf of another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On behalf of another?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come, do not always assume
-such a bewildered look.  Does not every one here know that M. de
-Bragelonne is affianced to Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re,
-and that before he went on the mission with which the king
-intrusted him, he charged his friend M. de Guiche to watch over
-that interesting young lady?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is nothing more for
-me to say, then.  Your highness is well-informed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of everything.  I beg you
-to understand that clearly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp began to laugh,
-which almost exasperated the princess, who was not, as we know,
-of a very patient disposition.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame," resumed the
-discreet Manicamp, saluting the princess, "let us bury this
-affair altogether in forgetfulness, for it will probably never be
-quite cleared up."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, as far as that goes
-there is nothing more to do, and the information is complete. 
-The king will learn that M. de Guiche has taken up the cause of
-this little adventuress, who gives herself all the airs of a
-grand lady; he will learn that Monsieur de Bragelonne, having
-nominated his friend M. de Guiche his guardian-in-ordinary, the
-latter immediately fastened, as he was required to do, upon the
-Marquis de Wardes, who ventured to trench upon his privileges. 
-Moreover, you cannot pretend to deny, Monsieur Manicamp - you who
-know everything so well - that the king on his side casts a
-longing eye upon this famous treasure, and that he will bear no
-slight grudge against M. de Guiche for constituting himself its
-defender.  Are you sufficiently well informed now, or do you
-require anything further?  If so, speak, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, Madame, there is
-nothing more I wish to know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Learn, however - for you
-ought to know it, Monsieur de Manicamp - learn that his majesty's
-indignation will be followed by terrible consequences.  In
-princes of a similar temperament to that of his majesty, the
-passion which jealousy causes sweeps down like a whirlwind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which you will temper,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I!" exclaimed the princess,
-with a gesture of indescribable irony; "I! and by what title, may
-I ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because you detest
-injustice, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And according to your
-account, then, it would be an injustice to prevent the king
-arranging his love affairs as he pleases."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will intercede,
-however, in M. de Guiche's favor?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are mad, monsieur,"
-said the princess, in a haughty tone of voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On the contrary, I am in
-the most perfect possession of my senses; and I repeat, you will
-defend M. de Guiche before the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why should I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because the cause of M. de
-Guiche is your own, Madame," said Manicamp, with ardor kindling
-in his eyes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean by
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I mean, Madame, that, with
-respect to the defense which Monsieur de Guiche undertook in M.
-de Bragelonne's absence, I am surprised that your highness has
-not detected a pretext in La Valli&egrave;re's name having been
-brought forward."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A pretext?  But a pretext
-for what?" repeated the princess, hesitatingly, for Manicamp's
-steady look had just revealed something of the truth to her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I trust, Madame," said the
-young man, "I have said sufficient to induce your highness not to
-overwhelm before his majesty my poor friend, De Guiche, against
-whom all the malevolence of a party bitterly opposed to your own
-will now be directed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You mean, on the contrary,
-I suppose, that all those who have no great affection for
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, and even, perhaps, a few of
-those who have some regard for her, will be angry with the
-comte?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, Madame! why will you
-push your obstinacy to such an extent, and refuse to open your
-ears and listen to the counsel of one whose devotion to you is
-unbounded?  Must I expose myself to the risk of your displeasure,
-- am I really to be called upon to name, contrary to my own wish,
-the person who was the real cause of this quarrel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The person?" said Madame,
-blushing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Must I," continued
-Manicamp, "tell you how poor De Guiche became irritated, furious,
-exasperated beyond all control, at the different rumors now being
-circulated about this person?  Must I, if you persist in this
-willful blindness, and if respect should continue to prevent me
-naming her, - must I, I repeat, recall to your recollection the
-various scenes which Monsieur had with the Duke of Buckingham,
-and the insinuations which were reported respecting the duke's
-exile?  Must I remind you of the anxious care the comte always
-took in his efforts to please, to watch, to protect that person
-for whom alone he lives, - for whom alone he breathes?  Well!  I
-will do so; and when I shall have made you recall all the
-particulars I refer to, you will perhaps understand how it
-happened that the comte, having lost all control over himself,
-and having been for some time past almost harassed to death by De
-Wardes, became, at the first disrespectful expression which the
-latter pronounced respecting the person in question, inflamed
-with passion, and panted only for an opportunity of avenging the
-affront."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The princess concealed her
-face with her hands.  "Monsieur, monsieur!" she exclaimed; "do
-you know what you are saying, and to whom you are speaking?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so, Madame," pursued
-Manicamp, as if he had not heard the exclamations of the
-princess, "nothing will astonish you any longer, - neither the
-comte's ardor in seeking the quarrel, nor his wonderful address
-in transferring it to an quarter foreign to your own personal
-interests.  That latter circumstance was, indeed, a marvelous
-instance of tact and perfect coolness, and if the person in whose
-behalf the comte so fought and shed his blood does, in reality,
-owe some gratitude to the poor wounded sufferer, it is not on
-account of the blood he has shed, or the agony he has suffered,
-but for the steps he has taken to preserve from comment or
-reflection an honor which is more precious to him than his
-own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" cried Madame, as if
-she had been alone, "is it possible the quarrel was on my
-account!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp felt he could now
-breathe for a moment - and gallantly had he won the right to do
-so.  Madame, on her side, remained for some time plunged in a
-painful reverie.  Her agitation could be seen by her quick
-respiration, by her drooping eyelids, by the frequency with which
-she pressed her hand upon her heart.  But, in her, coquetry was
-not so much a passive quality, as, on the contrary, a fire which
-sought for fuel to maintain itself, finding anywhere and
-everywhere what it required.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If it be as you assert,"
-she said, "the comte will have obliged two persons at the same
-time; for Monsieur de Bragelonne also owes a deep debt of
-gratitude to M. de Guiche - and with far greater reason, indeed,
-because everywhere, and on every occasion, Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re will be regarded as having been defended by this
-generous champion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp perceived that
-there still remained some lingering doubt in the princess's
-heart.  "A truly admirable service, indeed," he said, "is the one
-he has rendered to Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re!  A truly
-admirable service to M. de Bragelonne!  The duel has created a
-sensation which, in some respects, casts a dishonorable suspicion
-upon that young girl; a sensation, indeed, which will embroil her
-with the vicomte.  The consequence is that De Wardes's
-pistol-bullet has had three results instead of one; it destroys
-at the same time the honor of a woman, the happiness of a man,
-and, perhaps, it has wounded to death one of the best gentlemen
-in France.  Oh, Madame! your logic is cold - even calculating; it
-always condemns - it never absolves."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp's concluding words
-scattered to the winds the last doubt which lingered, not in
-Madame's heart, but in her mind.  She was no longer a princess
-full of scruples, nor a woman with her ever-returning suspicions,
-but one whose heart has just felt the mortal chill of a wound. 
-"Wounded to death!" she murmured, in a faltering voice, "oh,
-Monsieur de Manicamp! did you not say, wounded to death?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp returned no other
-answer than a deep sigh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so you said that the
-comte is dangerously wounded?" continued the princess.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame; one of his
-hands is shattered, and he has a bullet lodged in his
-breast."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Gracious heavens!" resumed
-the princess, with a feverish excitement, "this is horrible! 
-Monsieur de Manicamp! a hand shattered, do you say, and a bullet
-in his breast?  And that coward! that wretch! that assassin, De
-Wardes, did it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp seemed overcome by
-a violent emotion.  He had, in fact, displayed no little energy
-in the latter part of his speech.  As for Madame, she entirely
-threw aside all regard for the formal observances of propriety
-society imposes; for when, with her, passion spoke in accents
-either of anger or sympathy, nothing could restrain her
-impulses.  Madame approached Manicamp, who had subsided in a
-chair, as if his grief were a sufficiently powerful excuse for
-his infraction of the laws of etiquette.  "Monsieur," she said,
-seizing him by the hand, "be frank with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp looked up.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is M. de Guiche in danger
-of death?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Doubly so, Madame," he
-replied; "in the first place on account of the hemorrhage which
-has taken place, an artery having been injured in the hand; and
-next, in consequence of the wound in his breast, which may, the
-doctor is afraid, at least, have injured some vital part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He may die, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Die, yes, Madame; and
-without even having had the consolation of knowing that you have
-been told of his devotion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will tell him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; are you not his
-friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I? oh, no, Madame; I will
-only tell M. de Guiche - if, indeed, he is still in a condition
-to hear me - I will only tell him what I have seen; that is, your
-cruelty to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, monsieur, you will not
-be guilty of such barbarity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Indeed, Madame, I shall
-speak the truth, for nature is very energetic in a man of his
-age.  The physicians are clever men, and if, by chance, the poor
-comte should survive his wound, I should not wish him to die of a
-wound of the heart, after surviving one of the body."  Manicamp
-rose, and with an expression of profoundest respect, seemed to be
-desirous of taking leave.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At least, monsieur," said
-Madame, stopping him with almost a suppliant air, "you will be
-kind enough to tell me in what state your wounded friend is, and
-who is the physician who attends him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As regards the state he is
-in, Madame, he is seriously ill; his physician is M. Valot, his
-majesty's private medical attendant.  M. Valot is moreover
-assisted by a professional friend, to whose house M. de Guiche
-has been carried."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! he is not in the
-ch&acirc;teau?" said Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas, Madame! the poor
-fellow was so ill, that he could not even be conveyed
-thither."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Give me the address,
-monsieur," said the princess, hurriedly; "I will send to inquire
-after him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Rue du Feurre; a
-brick-built house, with white outside blinds.  The doctor's name
-is on the door."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are returning to your
-wounded friend, Monsieur de Manicamp?"<br>
-                "Yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will be able, then, to
-do me a service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am at your highness's
-orders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do what you intended to do;
-return to M. de Guiche, send away all those whom you may find
-there, and have the kindness yourself to go away too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Let us waste no time in
-useless explanations.  Accept the fact as I present it to you;
-see nothing in it beyond what is really there, and ask nothing
-further than what I tell you.  I am going to send one of my
-ladies, perhaps two, because it is now getting late; I do not
-wish them to see you, or rather I do not wish you to see them. 
-These are scruples you can understand - you particularly,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, who seem capable of divining so much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, Madame, perfectly; I
-can even do better still, - I will precede, or rather walk, in
-advance of your attendants; it will, at the same time, be the
-means of showing them the way more accurately, and of protecting
-them, if occasion arises, though there is no probability of their
-needing protection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And, by this means, then,
-they would be sure of entering without difficulty, would they
-not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly, Madame; for as I
-should be the first to pass, I thus remove any difficulties that
-might chance to be in the way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well.  Go, go,
-Monsieur de Manicamp, and wait at the bottom of the
-staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I go at once, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Stay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp paused.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "When you hear the footsteps
-of two women descending the stairs, go out, and, without once
-turning round, take the road which leads to where the poor count
-is lying."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But if, by any mischance,
-two other persons were to descend, and I were to be
-mistaken?"<br>
-                "You will hear one of the two clap her hands
-together softly.  Go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Manicamp turned round, bowed
-once more, and left the room, his heart overflowing with joy.  In
-fact, he knew very well that the presence of Madame herself would
-be the best balm to apply to his friend's wounds.  A quarter of
-an hour had hardly elapsed when he heard the sound of a door
-opened softly, and closed with like precaution.  He listened to
-the light footfalls gliding down the staircase, and then hard the
-signal agreed upon.  He immediately went out, and, faithful to
-his promise, bent his way, without once turning his head, through
-the streets of Fontainebleau, towards the doctor's dwelling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>M.
-Malicorne the Keeper of the Records of France.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>wo women,
-their figures completely concealed by their mantles, and whose
-masks effectually hid the upper portion of their faces, timidly
-followed Manicamp's steps.  On the first floor, behind curtains
-of red damask, the soft light of a lamp placed upon a low table
-faintly illumined the room, at the other extremity of which, on a
-large bedstead supported by spiral columns, around which curtains
-of the same color as those which deadened the rays of the lamp
-had been closely drawn, lay De Guiche, his head supported by
-pillows, his eyes looking as if the mists of death were
-gathering; his long black hair, scattered over the pillow, set
-off the young man's hollow temples.  It was easy to see that
-fever was the chief tenant of the chamber.  De Guiche was
-dreaming.  His wandering mind was pursuing, through gloom and
-mystery, one of those wild creations delirium engenders.  Two or
-three drops of blood, still liquid, stained the floor.  Manicamp
-hurriedly ran up the stairs, but paused at the threshold of the
-door, looked into the room, and seeing that everything was
-perfectly quiet, he advanced towards the foot of the large
-leathern armchair, a specimen of furniture of the reign of Henry
-IV., and seeing that the nurse, as a matter of course, had
-dropped off to sleep, he awoke her, and begged her to pass into
-the adjoining room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Then, standing by the side
-of the bed, he remained for a moment deliberating whether it
-would be better to awaken Guiche, in order to acquaint him with
-the good news.  But, as he began to hear behind the door the
-rustling of silk dresses and the hurried breathing of his two
-companions, and as he already saw that the curtain screening the
-doorway seemed on the point of being impatiently drawn aside, he
-passed round the bed and followed the nurse into the next room. 
-As soon as he had disappeared the curtain was raised, and his two
-female companions entered the room he had just left.  The one who
-entered first made a gesture to her companion, which riveted her
-to the spot where she stood, close to the door, and then
-resolutely advanced towards the bed, drew back the curtains along
-the iron rod, and threw them in thick folds behind the head of
-the bed.  She gazed upon the comte's pallid face; remarked his
-right hand enveloped in linen whose dazzling whiteness was
-emphasized by the counterpane patterned with dark leaves thrown
-across the couch.  She shuddered as she saw a stain of blood
-growing larger and larger upon the bandages.  The young man's
-breast was uncovered, as though for the cool night air to assist
-his respiration.  A narrow bandage fastened the dressings of the
-wound, around which a purplish circle of extravasated blood was
-gradually increasing in size.  A deep sigh broke from her lips. 
-She leaned against one of the columns of the bed, and gazed,
-through the apertures in her mask, upon the harrowing spectacle
-before her.  A hoarse harsh groan passed like a death-rattle
-through the comte's clenched teeth.  The masked lady seized his
-left hand, which scorched like burning coals.  But at the very
-moment she placed her icy hand upon it, the action of the cold
-was such that De Guiche opened his eyes, and by a look in which
-revived intelligence was dawning, seemed as though struggling
-back again into existence.  The first thing upon which he fixed
-his gaze was this phantom standing erect by his bedside.  At that
-sight, his eyes became dilated, but without any appearance of
-consciousness in them.  The lady thereupon made a sign to her
-companion, who had remained at the door; and in all probability
-the latter had already received her lesson, for in a clear tone
-of voice, and without any hesitation whatever, she pronounced
-these words: - "Monsieur le comte, her royal highness Madame is
-desirous of knowing how you are able to bear your wound, and to
-express to you, by my lips, her great regret at seeing you
-suffer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                As she pronounced the word
-Madame, Guiche started; he had not as yet remarked the person to
-whom the voice belonged, and he naturally turned towards the
-direction whence it preceded.  But, as he felt the cold hand
-still resting on his own, he again turned towards the motionless
-figure beside him.  "Was it you who spoke, madame?" he asked, in
-a weak voice, "or is there another person in beside you in the
-room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," replied the figure,
-in an almost unintelligible voice, as she bent down her head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well," said the wounded
-man, with a great effort, "I thank you.  Tell Madame that I no
-longer regret to die, since she has remembered me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At the words "to die,"
-pronounced by one whose life seemed to hang on a thread, the
-masked lady could not restrain her tears, which flowed under the
-mask, and appeared upon her cheeks just where the mask left her
-face bare.  If De Guiche had been in fuller possession of his
-senses, he would have seen her tears roll like glistening pearls,
-and fall upon his bed.  The lady, forgetting that she wore her
-mask, raised her hand as though to wipe her eyes, and meeting the
-rough velvet, she tore away her mask in anger, and threw it on
-the floor.  At the unexpected apparition before him, which seemed
-to issue from a cloud, De Guiche uttered a cry and stretched his
-arms towards her; but every word perished on his lips, and his
-strength seemed utterly abandoning him.  His right hand, which
-had followed his first impulse, without calculating the amount of
-strength he had left, fell back again upon the bed, and
-immediately afterwards the white linen was stained with a larger
-spot than before.  In the meantime, the young man's eyes became
-dim, and closed, as if he were already struggling with the
-messenger of death; and then, after a few involuntary movements,
-his head fell back motionless on his pillow; his face grew
-livid.  The lady was frightened; but on this occasion, contrary
-to what is usually the case, fear attracted.  She leaned over the
-young man, gazed earnestly, fixedly at his pale, cold face, which
-she almost touched, then imprinted a rapid kiss upon De Guiche's
-left hand, who, trembling as if an electric shock had passed
-through him, awoke a second time, opened his large eyes,
-incapable of recognition, and again fell into a state of complete
-insensibility.  "Come," she said to her companion, "we must not
-remain here any longer; I shall be committing some folly or
-other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame, Madame, your
-highness is forgetting your mask!" said her vigilant
-companion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Pick it up," replied her
-mistress, as she tottered almost senseless towards the staircase,
-and as the outer door had been left only half-closed, the two
-women, light as birds, passed through it, and with hurried steps
-returned to the palace.  One of the ascended towards Madame's
-apartments, where she disappeared; the other entered the rooms
-belonging to the maids of honor, namely, on the <i>entresol</i>,
-and having reached her own room, she sat down before a table, and
-without giving herself time even to breathe, wrote the following
-letter:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This evening Madame has
-been to see M. de Guiche.  Everything is going well on this
-side.  See that your news is equally exemplary, and do not forget
-to burn this paper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She folded the letter, and
-leaving her room with every possible precaution, crossed a
-corridor which led to the apartments appropriated to the
-gentlemen attached to Monsieur's service.  She stopped before a
-door, under which, having previously knocked twice in a short,
-quick manner, she thrust the paper, and fled.  Then, returning to
-her own room, she removed every trace of her having gone out, and
-also of having written the letter.  Amid the investigations she
-was so diligently pursuing she perceived on the table the mask
-which belonged to Madame, and which, according to her mistress's
-directions, she had brought back but had forgotten to restore to
-her.  "Oh, oh!" she said, "I must not forget to do to-morrow what
-I have forgotten to-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And she took hold of the
-velvet mask by that part which covered the cheeks, and feeling
-that her thumb was wet, looked at it.  It was not only wet, but
-reddened.  The mask had fallen upon one of the spots of blood
-which, we have already said, stained the floor, and from that
-black velvet outside which had accidentally come into contact
-with it, the blood had passed through to the inside, and stained
-the white cambric lining.  "Oh, oh!" said Montalais, for
-doubtless our readers have already recognized her by these
-various maneuvers, "I shall not give back this mask; it is far
-too precious now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And rising from her seat,
-she ran towards a box made of maple wood, which inclosed
-different articles of toilette and perfumery.  "No, not here,"
-she said, "such a treasure must not be abandoned to the slightest
-chance of detection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Then, after a moment's
-silence, and with a smile that was peculiarly her own, she added:
-- "Beautiful mask, stained with the blood of that brave knight,
-you shall go and join that collection of wonders, La
-Valli&egrave;re's and Raoul's letters, that loving collection,
-indeed, which will some day or other form part of the history of
-France, of European royalty.  You shall be placed under M.
-Malicorne's care," said the laughing girl, as she began to
-undress herself, "under the protection of that worthy M.
-Malicorne," she said, blowing out the taper, "who thinks he was
-born only to become the chief usher of Monsieur's apartments, and
-whom I will make keeper of the records and historiographer of the
-house of Bourbon, and of the first houses in the kingdom.  Let
-him grumble now, that discontented Malicorne," she added, as she
-drew the curtains and fell asleep.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Journey.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he next day
-being agreed upon for the departure, the king, at eleven o'clock
-precisely, descended the grand staircase with the two queens and
-Madame, in order to enter his carriage drawn by six horses, that
-were pawing the ground in impatience at the foot of the
-staircase.  The whole court awaited the royal appearance in the
-<i>Fer-&agrave;-cheval</i> crescent, in their travelling
-costumes; the large number of saddled horses and carriages of
-ladies and gentlemen of the court, surrounded by their
-attendants, servants, and pages, formed a spectacle whose
-brilliancy could scarcely be equalled.  The king entered his
-carriage with the two queens; Madame was in the same one with
-Monsieur.  The maids of honor followed their example, and took
-their seats, two by two, in the carriages destined for them.  The
-weather was exceedingly warm; a light breeze, which, early in the
-morning, all had thought would have proved sufficient to cool the
-air, soon became fiercely heated by the rays of the sun, although
-it was hidden behind the clouds, and filtered through the heated
-vapor which rose from the ground like a scorching wind, bearing
-particles of fine dust against the faces of the travelers. 
-Madame was the first to complain of the heat.  Monsieur's only
-reply was to throw himself back in the carriage as though about
-to faint, and to inundate himself with scents and perfumes,
-uttering the deepest sighs all the while; whereupon Madame said
-to him, with her most amiable expression: - "Really, Monsieur, I
-fancied that you would have been polite enough, on account of the
-terrible heart, to have left me my carriage to myself, and to
-have performed the journey yourself on horseback."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ride on horseback!" cried
-the prince, with an accent of dismay which showed how little idea
-he had of adopting this unnatural advice; "you cannot suppose
-such a thing, Madame!  My skin would peel off if I were to expose
-myself to such a burning breeze as this."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame began to laugh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You can take my parasol,"
-she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But the trouble of holding
-it!" replied Monsieur, with the greatest coolness; "besides, I
-have no horse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What, no horse?" replied
-the princess, who, if she did not secure the solitude she
-required, at least obtained the amusement of teasing.  "No
-horse!  You are mistaken, Monsieur; for I see your favorite bay
-out yonder."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My bay horse!" exclaimed
-the prince, attempting to lean forward to look out of the door;
-but the movement he was obliged to make cost him so much trouble
-that he soon hastened to resume his immobility.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said Madame; "your
-horse, led by M. de Malicorne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Poor beast," replied the
-prince; "how warm it must be!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And with these words he
-closed his eyes, like a man on the point of death.  Madame, on
-her side, reclined indolently in the other corner of the
-carriage, and closed her eyes also, not, however, to sleep, but
-to think more at her ease.  In the meantime the king, seated in
-the front seat of his carriage, the back of which he had yielded
-up to the two queens, was a prey to that feverish contrariety
-experienced by anxious lovers, who, without being able to quench
-their ardent thirst, are ceaselessly desirous of seeing the loved
-object, and then go away partially satisfied, without perceiving
-they have acquired a more insatiable thirst than ever.  The king,
-whose carriage headed the procession, could not from the place he
-occupied perceive the carriages of the ladies and maids of honor,
-which followed in a line behind it.  Besides, he was obliged to
-answer the eternal questions of the young queen, who, happy to
-have with her "<i>her dear husband</i>," as she called him in
-utter forgetfulness of royal etiquette, invested him with all her
-affection, stifled him with her attentions, afraid that some one
-might come to take him from her, or that he himself might
-suddenly take a fancy to quit her society.  Anne of Austria, whom
-nothing at that moment occupied except the occasional cruel
-throbbings in her bosom, looked pleased and delighted, and
-although she perfectly realized the king's impatience,
-tantalizingly prolonged his sufferings by unexpectedly resuming
-the conversation at the very moment the king, absorbed in his own
-reflections, began to muse over his secret attachment. 
-Everything seemed to combine - not alone the little teasing
-attentions of the queen, but also the queen-mother's
-interruptions - to make the king's position almost insupportable;
-for he knew not how to control the restless longings of his
-heart.  At first, he complained of the heat - a complaint merely
-preliminary to others, but with sufficient tact to prevent Maria
-Theresa guessing his real object.  Understanding the king's
-remark literally, she began to fan him with her ostrich plumes. 
-But the heat passed away, and the king then complained of cramps
-and stiffness in his legs, and as the carriages at that moment
-stopped to change horses, the queen said: - "Shall I get out with
-you?  I too feel tired of sitting.  We can walk on a little
-distance; the carriage will overtake us, and we can resume our
-places presently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king frowned; it is a
-hard trial a jealous woman makes her husband submit to whose
-fidelity she suspects, when, although herself a prey to jealousy,
-she watches herself so narrowly that she avoids giving any
-pretext for an angry feeling.  The king, therefore, in the
-present case, could not refuse; he accepted the offer, alighted
-from the carriage, gave his arm to the queen, and walked up and
-down with her while the horses were being changed.  As he walked
-along, he cast an envious glance upon the courtiers, who were
-fortunate enough to be on horseback.  The queen soon found out
-that the promenade she had suggested afforded the king as little
-pleasure as he had experienced from driving.  She accordingly
-expressed a wish to return to her carriage, and the king
-conducted her to the door, but did not get in with her.  He
-stepped back a few paces, and looked along the file of carriages
-for the purpose of recognizing the one in which he took so strong
-an interest.  At the door of the sixth carriage he saw La
-Valli&egrave;re's fair countenance.  As the king thus stood
-motionless, wrapt in thought, without perceiving that everything
-was ready, and that he alone was causing the delay, he heard a
-voice close beside him, addressing him in the most respectful
-manner.  It was M. Malicorne, in a complete costume of an
-equerry, holding over his left arm the bridles of a couple of
-horses.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty asked for a
-horse, I believe," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A horse?  Have you one of
-my horses here?" inquired the king, trying to remember the person
-who addressed him, and whose face was not as yet familiar to
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," replied Malicorne,
-"at all events I have a horse here which is at your majesty's
-service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And Malicorne pointed at
-Monsieur's bay horse, which Madame had observed.  It was a
-beautiful creature royally caparisoned.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This is not one of my
-horses, monsieur," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, it is a horse out of
-his royal highness's stables; but he does not ride when the
-weather is as hot as it is now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis did not reply, but
-approached the horse, which stood pawing the ground with its
-foot.  Malicorne hastened to hold the stirrup for him, but the
-king was already in the saddle.  Restored to good-humor by this
-lucky accident, the king hastened towards the queen's carriage,
-where he was anxiously expected; and notwithstanding Maria
-Theresa's thoughtful and preoccupied air, he said: "I have been
-fortunate enough to find this horse, and I intend to avail myself
-of it.  I felt stifled in the carriage.  Adieu, ladies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Then bending gracefully over
-the arched neck of his beautiful steed, he disappeared in a
-second.  Anne of Austria leaned forward, in order to look after
-him as he rode away; he did not get very far, for when he reached
-the sixth carriage, he reined in his horse suddenly and took off
-his hat.  He saluted La Valli&egrave;re, who uttered a cry of
-surprise as she saw him, blushing at the same time with
-pleasure.  Montalais, who occupied the other seat in the
-carriage, made the king a most respectful bow.  And then, with
-all the tact of a woman, she pretended to be exceedingly
-interested in the landscape, and withdrew herself into the
-left-hand corner.  The conversation between the king and La
-Valli&egrave;re began, as all lovers' conversations generally do,
-namely, by eloquent looks and by a few words utterly devoid of
-common sense.  The king explained how warm he had felt in his
-carriage, so much so indeed that he could almost regard the horse
-he then rode as a blessing thrown in his way.  "And," he added,
-"my benefactor is an exceedingly intelligent man, for he seemed
-to guess my thoughts intuitively.  I have now only one wish, that
-of learning the name of the gentleman who so cleverly assisted
-his king out of his dilemma, and extricated him from his cruel
-position."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Montalais, during this
-colloquy, the first words of which had awakened her attention,
-had slightly altered her position, and contrived so as to meet
-the king's look as he finished his remark.  It followed very
-naturally that the king looked inquiringly as much at her as at
-La Valli&egrave;re; she had every reason to suppose that it was
-herself who was appealed to, and consequently might be permitted
-to answer.  She therefore said: "Sire, the horse which your
-majesty is riding belongs to Monsieur, and was being led by one
-of his royal highness's gentlemen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what is that
-gentleman's name, may I ask, mademoiselle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Malicorne, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The name produced its usual
-effect, for the king repeated it smilingly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire," replied Aure. 
-"Stay, it is the gentleman who is galloping on my left hand;" and
-she pointed out Malicorne, who, with a very sanctified
-expression, was galloping by the side of the carriage, knowing
-perfectly well that they were talking of him at that very moment,
-but sitting in his saddle as if he were deaf and dumb.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said the king, "that
-is the gentleman; I remember his face, and will not forget his
-name;" and the king looked tenderly at La Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aure had now nothing further
-to do; she had let Malicorne's name fall; the soil was good; all
-that was now left to be done was to let the name take root, and
-the event would bear fruit in due season.  She consequently threw
-herself back in her corner, feeling perfectly justified in making
-as many agreeable signs of recognition as she liked to Malicorne,
-since the latter had had the happiness of pleasing the king.  As
-will readily be believed, Montalais was not mistaken; and
-Malicorne, with his quick ear and his sly look, seemed to
-interpret her remark as "All goes on well," the whole being
-accompanied by a pantomimic action, which he fancied conveyed
-something resembling a kiss.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas! mademoiselle," said
-the king, after a moment's pause, "the liberty and freedom of the
-country is soon about to cease; your attendance on Madame will be
-more strictly enforced, and we shall see each other no more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty is too much
-attached to Madame," replied Louise, "not to come and see her
-very frequently; and whenever your majesty may chance to pass
-across the apartments - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" said the king, in a
-tender voice, which was gradually lowered in its tone, "to
-perceive is not to see, and yet it seems that it would be quite
-sufficient for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louise did not answer a
-syllable; a sigh filled her heart almost to bursting, but she
-stifled it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You exercise a great
-control over yourself," said the king to Louise, who smiled upon
-him with a melancholy expression.  "Exert the strength you have
-in loving fondly," he continued, "and I will bless Heaven for
-having bestowed it on you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re still
-remained silent, but raised her eyes, brimful of affection,
-toward the king.  Louis, as if overcome by this burning glance,
-passed his hand across his forehead, and pressing the sides of
-his horse with his knees, made him bound several paces forward. 
-La Valli&egrave;re, leaning back in her carriage, with her eyes
-half closed, gazed fixedly upon the king, whose plumes were
-floating in the air; she could not but admire his graceful
-carriage, his delicate and nervous limbs which pressed his
-horse's sides, and the regular outline of his features, which his
-beautiful curling hair set off to great advantage, revealing
-occasionally his small and well-formed ear.  In fact the poor
-girl was in love, and she reveled in her innocent affection.  In
-a few moments the king was again by her side.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you not perceive," he
-said, "how terribly your silence affects me?  Oh! mademoiselle,
-how pitilessly inexorable you would become if you were ever to
-resolve to break off all acquaintance with any one; and then,
-too, I think you changeable; in fact - in fact, I dread this deep
-affection which fills my whole being."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, you are
-mistaken," said La Valli&egrave;re; "if ever I love, it will be
-for all my life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If you love, you say,"
-exclaimed the king; "you do <i>not</i> love now, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She hid her face in her
-hands.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You see," said the king,
-"that I am right in accusing you; you must admit you are
-changeable, capricious, a coquette, perhaps."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, no! sire, be perfectly
-satisfied as to that.  No, I say again; no, no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Promise me, then, that to
-me you will always be the same."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! always, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That you will never show
-any of that severity which would break my heart, none of that
-fickleness of manner which would be worse than death to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! no, no."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, then! but
-listen.  I like promises, I like to place under the guarantee of
-an oath, under the protection of Heaven, in fact, everything
-which interests my heart and my affections.  Promise me, or
-rather swear to me, that if in the life we are about to commence,
-a life which will be full of sacrifice, mystery, anxiety,
-disappointment, and misunderstanding; swear to me that if we
-should in any way deceive, or misunderstand each other, or should
-judge each other unjustly, for that indeed would be criminal in
-love such as ours; swear to me, Louise - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She trembled with agitation
-to the very depths of her heart; it was the first time she had
-heard her name pronounced in that manner by her royal lover.  As
-for the king, taking off his glove, and placing his hand within
-the carriage, he continued: - "Swear, that never in all our
-quarrels will we allow one night even to pass by, if any
-misunderstanding should arise between us, without a visit, or at
-least a message, from either, in order to convey consolation and
-repose to the other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re took her
-lover's burning hand between her own cool palms, and pressed it
-softly, until a movement of the horse, frightened by the
-proximity of the wheels, obliged her to abandon her happiness. 
-She had vowed as he desired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Return, sire," she said,
-"return to the queen.  I foresee a storm yonder, which threatens
-my peace of mind and yours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis obeyed, saluted
-Mademoiselle de Montalais, and set off at a gallop to rejoin the
-queen.  As he passed Monsieur's carriage, he observed that he was
-fast asleep, although Madame, on her part, was wide awake.  As
-the king passed her she said, "What a beautiful horse, sire!  Is
-it not Monsieur's bay horse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The young queen kindly
-asked, "Are you better now, sire?" <b><sup>3</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Triumfeminate.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>O</span>n the king's
-arrival in Paris, he sat at the council which had been summoned,
-and worked for a certain portion of the day.  The queen remained
-with the queen-mother, and burst into tears as soon as she had
-taken leave of the king.  "Ah, madame!" she said, "the king no
-longer loves me!  What will become of me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A husband always loves his
-wife when she is like you," replied Anne of Austria.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A time may come when he
-will love another woman instead of me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you call
-loving?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Always thinking of a person
-- always seeking her society."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you happen to have
-remarked," said Anne of Austria, "that the king has ever done
-anything of the sort?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, madame," said the young
-queen, hesitatingly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is there to complain
-of, then, Marie?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will admit that the
-king leaves me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king, my daughter,
-belongs to his people."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And that is the very reason
-why he no longer belongs to me; and that is the reason, too, why
-I shall find myself, as so many queens before me, forsaken and
-forgotten, whilst glory and honors will be reserved for others. 
-Oh, my mother! the king is so handsome! how often will others
-tell him that they love him, and how much, indeed, they must do
-so!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is very seldom, indeed,
-that women love the man in loving the king.  But if such a thing
-happened, which I doubt, you would do better to wish, Marie, that
-such women should really love your husband.  In the first place,
-the devoted love of a mistress is a rapid element of the
-dissolution of a lover's affection; and then, by dint of loving,
-the mistress loses all influence over her lover, whose power of
-wealth she does not covet, caring only for his affection.  Wish,
-therefore, that the king should love but lightly, and that his
-mistress should love with all her heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, my mother, what power
-may not a deep affection exercise over him!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet you say you are
-resigned?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite true, quite true; I
-speak absurdly.  There is a feeling of anguish, however, which I
-can never control."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And that is?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king may make a happy
-choice - may find a home, with all the tender influences of home,
-not far from that we can offer him, - a home with children round
-him, the children of another woman.  Oh, madame!  I should die if
-I were but to see the king's children."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Marie, Marie," replied the
-queen-mother with a smile, and she took the young queen's hand in
-her own, "remember what I am going to say, and let it always be a
-consolation to you: the king cannot have a Dauphin without
-<i>you</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                With this remark the
-queen-mother quitted her daughter-in-law, in order to meet
-Madame, whose arrival in the grand cabinet had just been
-announced by one of the pages.  Madame had scarcely taken time to
-change her dress.  Her face revealed her agitation, which
-betrayed a plan, the execution of which occupied, while the
-result disturbed, her mind.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I came to ascertain," she
-said, "if your majesties are suffering any fatigue from our
-journey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "None at all," said the
-queen-mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A little," replied Maria
-Theresa.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have suffered from
-annoyance more than anything else," said Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How was that?" inquired
-Anne of Austria.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The fatigue the king
-undergoes in riding about on horseback."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That does the king
-good."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And it was I who advised
-him," said Maria Theresa, turning pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame said not a word in
-reply; but one of those smiles which were peculiarly her own
-flitted for a moment across her lips, without passing over the
-rest of her face; then, immediately changing the conversation,
-she continued, "We shall find Paris precisely the Paris we
-quitted; the same intrigues, plots, and flirtations going
-on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Intrigues!  What intrigues
-do you allude to?" inquired the queen-mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "People are talking a good
-deal about M. Fouquet and Madame Plessis-Belli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who makes up the number to
-about ten thousand," replied the queen-mother.  "But what are the
-plots you speak of?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We have, it seems, certain
-misunderstandings with Holland to settle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What about?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur has been telling
-me the story of the medals."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" exclaimed the young
-queen, "you mean those medals struck in Holland, on which a cloud
-is seen passing across the sun, which is the king's device.  You
-are wrong in calling that a plot - it is an insult."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But so contemptible that
-the king can well despise it," replied the queen-mother.  "Well,
-what are the flirtations which are alluded to?  Do you mean that
-of Madame d'Olonne?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no; nearer ourselves
-than that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>Casa de usted</i>,"
-murmured the queen-mother, and without moving her lips, in her
-daughter-in-law's ear, without being overheard by Madame, who
-thus continued: - "You know the terrible news?"
-<b><sup>4</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, yes; M. de Guiche's
-wound."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you attribute it, I
-suppose, as every one else does, to an accident which happened to
-him while hunting?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, of course," said both
-the queens together, their interest awakened.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame drew closer to them,
-as she said, in a low tone of voice, "It was a duel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" said Anne of Austria,
-in a severe tone; for, in her ears, the word "duel," which had
-been forbidden in France all the time she reigned over it, had a
-strange sound.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A most deplorable duel,
-which has nearly cost Monsieur two of his best friends, and the
-king two of his best servants."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What was the cause of the
-duel?" inquired the young queen, animated by a secret
-instinct.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Flirtation," repeated
-Madame, triumphantly.  "The gentlemen in question were conversing
-about the virtue of a particular lady belonging to the court. 
-One of them thought that Pallas was a very second-rate person
-compared to her; the other pretended that the lady in question
-was an imitation of Venus alluring Mars; and thereupon the two
-gentlemen fought as fiercely as Hector and Achilles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Venus alluring Mars?" said
-the young queen in a low tone of voice without venturing to
-examine into the allegory very deeply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who is the lady?" inquired
-Anne of Austria abruptly.  "You said, I believe, she was one of
-the ladies of honor?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did I say so?" replied
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; at least I thought I
-heard you mention it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you not aware that such
-a woman is of ill-omen to a royal house?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it not Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re?" said the queen-mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, indeed, that
-plain-looking creature."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I thought she was affianced
-to a gentleman who certainly is not, at least so I have heard,
-either M. de Guiche or M. de Wardes?"<br>
-                "Very possibly, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The young queen took up a
-piece of tapestry, and began to broider with an affectation of
-tranquillity her trembling fingers contradicted.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What were you saying about
-Venus and Mars?" pursued the queen-mother.  "Is there a Mars
-also?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She boasts of that being
-the case."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did you say she boasts of
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That was the cause of the
-duel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And M. de Guiche upheld the
-cause of Mars?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, certainly; like the
-devoted servant he is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The devoted servant of
-whom?" exclaimed the young queen, forgetting her reserve in
-allowing her jealous feeling to escape.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Mars, not to be defended
-except at the expense of Venus," replied Madame.  "M. de Guiche
-maintained the perfect innocence of Mars, and no doubt affirmed
-that it was all a mere boast."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And M. de Wardes," said
-Anne of Austria, quietly, "spread the report that Venus was
-within her rights, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, De Wardes," thought
-Madame, "you shall pay dearly for the wound you have given that
-noblest - best of men!"  And she began to attack De Wardes with
-the greatest bitterness; thus discharging her own and De Guiche's
-debt, with the assurance that she was working the future ruin of
-her enemy.  She said so much, in fact, that had Manicamp been
-there, he would have regretted he had shown such firm regard for
-his friend, inasmuch as it resulted in the ruin of his
-unfortunate foe.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I see nothing in the whole
-affair but <i>one</i> cause of mischief, and that is La
-Valli&egrave;re herself," said the queen-mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The young queen resumed her
-work with perfect indifference of manner, while Madame listened
-eagerly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not yet quite
-understand what you said just now about the danger of coquetry,"
-resumed Anne of Austria.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is quite true," Madame
-hastened to say, "that if the girl had not been a coquette, Mars
-would not have thought at all about her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The repetition of this word
-Mars brought a passing color to the queen's face; but she still
-continued her work.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will not permit that, in
-my court, gentlemen should be set against each other in this
-manner," said Anne of Austria, calmly.  "Such manners were useful
-enough, perhaps, in days when the divided nobility had no other
-rallying-point than mere gallantry.  At that time women, whose
-sway was absolute and undivided, were privileged to encourage
-men's valor by frequent trials of their courage.  But now, thank
-Heaven, there is but one master in France, and to him every
-instinct of the mind, every pulse of the body are due.  I will
-not allow my son to be deprived of any single one of his
-servants."  And she turned towards the young queen, saying, "What
-is to be done with this La Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "La Valli&egrave;re?" said
-the queen, apparently surprised, "I do not even know the name;"
-and she accompanied this remark by one of those cold, fixed
-smiles only to be observed on royal lips.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame was herself a
-princess great in every respect, great in intelligence, great by
-birth, by pride; the queen's reply, however, completely
-astonished her, and she was obliged to pause for a moment in
-order to recover herself.  "She is one of my maids of honor," she
-replied, with a bow.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case," retorted
-Maria Theresa, in the same tone, "it is your affair, my sister,
-and not ours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I beg your pardon," resumed
-Anne of Austria, "it is my affair.  And I perfectly well
-understand," she pursued, addressing a look full of intelligence
-at Madame, "Madame's motive for saying what she has just
-said."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Everything which emanates
-from you, madame," said the English princess, "proceeds from the
-lips of Wisdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If we send this girl back
-to her own family," said Maria Theresa, gently, "we must bestow a
-pension upon her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which I will provide for
-out of my income," exclaimed Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no," interrupted Anne
-of Austria, "no disturbance, I beg.  The king dislikes that the
-slightest disrespectful remark should be made of any lady.  Let
-everything be done quietly.  Will you have the kindness, Madame,
-to send for this girl here; and you, my daughter, will have the
-goodness to retire to your own room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The dowager queen's
-entreaties were commands, and as Maria Theresa rose to return to
-her apartments, Madame rose in order to send a page to summon La
-Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-First Quarrel.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>L</span>a
-Valli&egrave;re entered the queen-mother's apartments without in
-the least suspecting that a serious plot was being concerted
-against her.  She thought it was for something connected with her
-duties, and never had the queen-mother been unkind to her when
-such was the case.  Besides, not being immediately under the
-control or direction of Anne of Austria, she could only have an
-official connection with her, to which her own gentleness of
-disposition, and the rank of the august princess, made her yield
-on every occasion with the best possible grace.  She therefore
-advanced towards the queen-mother with that soft and gentle smile
-which constituted her principal charm, and as she did not
-approach sufficiently close, Anne of Austria signed to her to
-come nearer.  Madame then entered the room, and with a perfectly
-calm air took her seat beside her mother-in-law, and continued
-the work which Maria Theresa had begun.  When La Valli&egrave;re,
-instead of the direction which she expected to receive
-immediately on entering the room, perceived these preparations,
-she looked with curiosity, if not with uneasiness, at the two
-princesses.  Anne seemed full of thought, while Madame maintained
-an affectation of indifference that would have alarmed a less
-timid person even than Louise.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Mademoiselle," said the
-queen-mother suddenly, without attempting to moderate or disguise
-her Spanish accent, which she never failed to do except when she
-was angry, "come closer; we were talking of you, as every one
-else seems to be doing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of me!" exclaimed La
-Valli&egrave;re, turning pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you pretend to be
-ignorant of it; are you not aware of the duel between M. de
-Guiche and M. de Wardes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, madame!  I heard of it
-yesterday," said La Valli&egrave;re, clasping her hands
-together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And did you not foresee
-this quarrel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why should I, madame?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because two men never fight
-without a motive, and because you must be aware of the motive
-which awakened the animosity of the two in question."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am perfectly ignorant of
-it, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A persevering denial is a
-very commonplace mode of defense, and you, who have great
-pretensions to be witty and clever, ought to avoid commonplaces. 
-What else have you to say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! madame, your majesty
-terrifies me with your cold severity of manner; but I do not
-understand how I can have incurred your displeasure, or in what
-respect people concern themselves about me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Then I will tell you.  M.
-de Guiche has been obliged to undertake your defense."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My defense?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes.  He is a gallant
-knight, and beautiful adventuresses like to see brave knights
-couch lances in their honor.  But, for my part, I hate fields of
-battle, and above all I hate adventures, and - take my remark as
-you please."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re sank at
-the queen's feet, who turned her back upon her.  She stretched
-out her hands towards Madame, who laughed in her face.  A feeling
-of pride made her rise to her feet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have begged your majesty
-to tell me what is the crime I am accused of - I can claim this
-at your hands; and I see I am condemned before I am even
-permitted to justify myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Eh! indeed," cried Anne of
-Austria, "listen to her beautiful phrases, Madame, and to her
-fine sentiments; she is an inexhaustible well of tenderness and
-heroic expressions.  One can easily see, young lady, that you
-have cultivated your mind in the society of crowned heads."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re felt
-struck to the heart; she became, not whiter, but as white as a
-lily, and all her strength forsook her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I wished to inform you,"
-interrupted the queen, disdainfully, "that if you continue to
-nourish such feelings, you will humiliate us to such a degree
-that we shall be ashamed of appearing before you.  Be simple in
-your manners.  By the by, I am informed that you are affianced;
-is it the case?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re pressed
-her hand over her heart, which was wrung with a fresh pang.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Answer when you are spoken
-to!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, madame."<br>
-                "To a gentleman?"<br>
-                "Yes, madame."<br>
-                "His name?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you aware that it is an
-exceedingly fortunate circumstance for you, mademoiselle, that
-such is the case, and without fortune or position, as you are, or
-without any very great personal advantages, you ought to bless
-Heaven for having procured you such a future as seems to be in
-store for you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re did not
-reply.  "Where is the Vicomte de Bragelonne?" pursued the
-queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In England," said Madame,
-"where the report of this young lady's success will not fail to
-reach him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, Heaven!" murmured La
-Valli&egrave;re in despair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, mademoiselle!"
-said Anne of Austria, "we will get this young gentleman to
-return, and send you away somewhere with him.  If you are of a
-different opinion - for girls have strange views and fancies at
-times - trust to me, I will put you in a proper path again.  I
-have done as much for girls who are not as good as you are,
-probably."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re ceased to
-hear the queen, who pitilessly added: "I will send you somewhere,
-by yourself, where you will be able to indulge in a little
-serious reflection.  Reflection calms the ardor of the blood, and
-swallows up the illusions of youth.  I suppose you understand
-what I have been saying?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not a word?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am innocent of everything
-your majesty supposes.  Oh, madame! you are a witness of my
-despair.  I love, I respect your majesty so much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It would be far better not
-to respect me at all," said the queen, with a chilling irony of
-manner.  "It would be far better if you were not innocent.  Do
-you presume to suppose that I should be satisfied simply to leave
-you unpunished if you had committed the fault?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, madame! you are killing
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No acting, if you please,
-or I will precipitate the <i>d&eacute;nouement</i> of this
-<i>play</i>; leave the room; return to your own apartment, and I
-trust my lesson may be of service to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame!" said La
-Valli&egrave;re to the Duchess d'Orl&eacute;ans, whose hands she
-seized in her own, "do you, who are so good, intercede for
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I!" replied the latter,
-with an insulting joy, "I - good! - Ah, mademoiselle, you think
-nothing of the kind;" and with a rude, hasty gesture she repulsed
-the young girl's grasp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re, instead
-of giving way, as from her extreme pallor and her tears the two
-princesses possibly expected, suddenly resumed her calm and
-dignified air; she bowed profoundly, and left the room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well!" said Anne of Austria
-to Madame, "do you think she will begin again?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I always suspect those
-gentle, patient characters," replied Madame.  "Nothing is more
-full of courage than a patient heart, nothing more self-reliant
-than a gentle spirit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I feel I may almost venture
-to assure you she will think twice before she looks at the god
-Mars again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So long as she does not
-obtain the protection of his buckler I do not care," retorted
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                A proud, defiant look of the
-queen-mother was the reply to this objection, which was by no
-means deficient in <i>finesse</i>; and both of them, almost sure
-of their victory, went to look for Maria Theresa, who had been
-waiting for them with impatience.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It was about half-past six
-in the evening, and the king had just partaken of refreshment. 
-He lost no time; but the repast finished, and business matters
-settled, he took Saint-Aignan by the arm, and desired him to lead
-the way to La Valli&egrave;re's apartments.  The courtier uttered
-an exclamation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, what is that for?  It
-is a habit you will have to adopt, and in order to adopt a habit,
-one must make a beginning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire!" said
-Saint-Aignan, "it is hardly possible: for every one can be seen
-entering or leaving those apartments.  If, however, some pretext
-or other were made use of - if your majesty, for instance, would
-wait until Madame were in her own apartments - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No pretext; no delays.  I
-have had enough of these impediments and mysteries; I cannot
-perceive in what respect the king of France dishonors himself by
-conversing with an amiable and clever girl.  Evil be to him who
-evil thinks."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will your majesty forgive
-an excess of zeal on my part?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Speak freely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How about the queen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True, true; I always wish
-the most entire respect to be shown to her majesty.  Well, then,
-this evening only will I pay Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re a
-visit, and after to-day I will make use of any pretext you like. 
-To-morrow we will devise all sorts of means; to-night I have no
-time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Saint-Aignan made no reply;
-he descended the steps, preceding the king, and crossed the
-different courtyards with a feeling of shame, which the
-distinguished honor of accompanying the king did not remove.  The
-reason was that Saint-Aignan wished to stand well with Madame, as
-well as with the queens, and also, that he did not, on the other
-hand, want to displease Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re: and
-in order to carry out so many promising affairs, it was difficult
-to avoid jostling against some obstacle or other.  Besides, the
-windows of the young queen's rooms, those of the queen-mother's,
-and of Madame herself, looked out upon the courtyard of the maids
-of honor.  To be seen, therefore, accompanying the king, would be
-effectually to quarrel with three great and influential
-princesses - whose authority was unbounded - for the purpose of
-supporting the ephemeral credit of a mistress.  The unhappy
-Saint-Aignan, who had not displayed a very great amount of
-courage in taking La Valli&egrave;re's part in the park of
-Fontainebleau, did not feel any braver in the broad day-light,
-and found a thousand defects in the poor girl which he was most
-eager to communicate to the king.  But his trial soon finished, -
-the courtyards were crossed; not a curtain was drawn aside, nor a
-window opened.  The king walked hastily, because of his
-impatience, and the long legs of Saint-Aignan, who preceded him. 
-At the door, however, Saint-Aignan wished to retire, but the king
-desired him to remain; a delicate consideration, on the king's
-part, which the courtier could very well have dispensed with.  He
-had to follow Louis into La Valli&egrave;re's apartment.  As soon
-as the king arrived the young girl dried her tears, but so
-precipitately that the king perceived it.  He questioned her most
-anxiously and tenderly, and pressed her to tell him the cause of
-her emotion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing is the matter,
-sire," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet you were
-weeping?"<br>
-                "Oh, no, indeed, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Look, Saint-Aignan, and
-tell me if I am mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Saint-Aignan ought to have
-answered, but he was too much embarrassed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At all events your eyes are
-red, mademoiselle," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The dust of the road
-merely, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no; you no longer
-possess the air of supreme contentment which renders you so
-beautiful and so attractive.  You do not look at me.  Why avoid
-my gaze?" he said, as she turned aside her head.  "In Heaven's
-name, what is the matter?" he inquired, beginning to lose command
-over himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing at all, sire; and I
-am perfectly ready to assure your majesty that my mind is as free
-form anxiety as you could possibly wish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your mind at ease, when I
-see you are embarrassed at the slightest thing.  Has any one
-annoyed you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I insist upon knowing if
-such really be the case," said the prince, his eyes
-sparkling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No one, sire, no one has in
-any way offended me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, pray resume
-your gentle air of gayety, or that sweet melancholy look which I
-so loved in you this morning; for pity's sake, do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire, yes."<br>
-                The king tapped the floor impatiently with his
-foot, saying, "Such a change is positively inexplicable."  And he
-looked at Saint-Aignan, who had also remarked La
-Valli&egrave;re's peculiar lethargy, as well as the king's
-impatience.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It was futile for the king
-to entreat, and as useless for him to try to overcome her
-depression: the poor girl was completely overwhelmed, - the
-appearance of an angel would hardly have awakened her from her
-torpor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king saw in her repeated
-negative replies a mystery full of unkindness; he began to look
-round the apartment with a suspicious air.  There happened to be
-in La Valli&egrave;re's room a miniature of Athos.  The king
-remarked that this portrait bore a strong resemblance to
-Bragelonne, for it had been taken when the count was quite a
-young man.  He looked at it with a threatening air.  La
-Valli&egrave;re, in her misery far indeed from thinking of this
-portrait, could not conjecture the cause of the king's
-preoccupation.  And yet the king's mind was occupied with a
-terrible remembrance, which had more than once taken possession
-of his mind, but which he had always driven away.  He recalled
-the intimacy existing between the two young people from their
-birth, their engagement, and that Athos himself had come to
-solicit La Valli&egrave;re's hand for Raoul.  He therefore could
-not but suppose that on her return to Paris, La Valli&egrave;re
-had found news from London awaiting her, and that this news had
-counterbalanced the influence he had been enabled to exert over
-her.  He immediately felt himself stung, as it were, by feelings
-of the wildest jealousy; and again questioned her, with increased
-bitterness.  La Valli&egrave;re could not reply, unless she were
-to acknowledge everything, which would be to accuse the queen,
-and Madame also; and the consequence would be, that she would
-have to enter into an open warfare with these two great and
-powerful princesses.  She thought within herself that as she made
-no attempt to conceal from the king what was passing in her own
-mind, the king ought to be able to read in her heart, in spite of
-her silence; and that, had he really loved her, he would have
-understood and guessed everything.  What was sympathy, then, if
-not that divine flame which possesses the property of
-enlightening the heart, and of saving lovers the necessity of an
-expression of their thoughts and feelings?  She maintained her
-silence, therefore, sighing, and concealing her face in her
-hands.  These sighs and tears, which had at first distressed,
-then terrified Louis XIV., now irritated him.  He could not bear
-opposition, - the opposition which tears and sighs exhibited, any
-more than opposition of any other kind.  His remarks, therefore,
-became bitter, urgent, and openly aggressive in their nature. 
-This was a fresh cause of distress for the poor girl.  From that
-very circumstance, therefore, which she regarded as an injustice
-on her lover's part, she drew sufficient courage to bear, not
-only her other troubles, but this one also.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king next began to
-accuse her in direct terms.  La Valli&egrave;re did not even
-attempt to defend herself; she endured all his accusations
-without according any other reply than that of shaking her head;
-without any other remark than that which escapes the heart in
-deep distress - a prayerful appeal to Heaven for help.  But this
-ejaculation, instead of calming the king's displeasure, rather
-increased it.  He, moreover, saw himself seconded by
-Saint-Aignan, for Saint-Aignan, as we have observed, having seen
-the storm increasing, and not knowing the extent of the regard of
-which Louis XIV. was capable, felt, by anticipation, all the
-collected wrath of the three princesses, and the near approach of
-poor La Valli&egrave;re's downfall, and he was not true knight
-enough to resist the fear that he himself might be dragged down
-in the impending ruin.  Saint-Aignan did not reply to the king's
-questions except by short, dry remarks, pronounced half-aloud;
-and by abrupt gestures, whose object was to make things worse,
-and bring about a misunderstanding, the result of which would be
-to free him from the annoyance of having to cross the courtyards
-in open day, in order to follow his illustrious companion to La
-Valli&egrave;re's apartments.  In the meantime the king's anger
-momentarily increased; he made two or three steps towards the
-door as if to leave the room, but returned.  The young girl did
-not, however, raise her head, although the sound of his footsteps
-might have warned her that her lover was leaving her.  He drew
-himself up, for a moment, before her, with his arms crossed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For the last time,
-mademoiselle," he said, "will you speak?  Will you assign a
-reason for this change, this fickleness, for this caprice?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What can I say?" murmured
-La Valli&egrave;re.  "Do you not see, sire, that I am completely
-overwhelmed at this moment; that I have no power of will, or
-thought, or speech?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it so difficult, then,
-to speak the truth?  You could have told me the whole truth in
-fewer words than those in which you have expressed yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But the truth about what,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "About everything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re was just
-on the point of revealing the truth to the king, her arms made a
-sudden movement as if they were about to open, but her lips
-remained silent, and her hands again fell listlessly by her
-side.  The poor girl had not yet endured sufficient unhappiness
-to risk the necessary revelation.  "I know nothing," she
-stammered out.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" exclaimed the king,
-"this is no longer mere coquetry, or caprice, it is treason."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And this time nothing could
-restrain him.  The impulse of his heart was not sufficient to
-induce him to turn back, and he darted out of the room with a
-gesture full of despair.  Saint-Aignan followed him, wishing for
-nothing better than to quit the place.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis XIV. did not pause
-until he reached the staircase, and grasping the balustrade,
-said: "You see how shamefully I have been duped."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How, sire?" inquired the
-favorite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "De Guiche fought on the
-Vicomte de Bragelonne's account, and this Bragelonne&hellip; oh! 
-Saint-Aignan, she still loves him.  I vow to you, Saint-Aignan,
-that if, in three days from now, there were to remain but an atom
-of affection for her in my heart, I should die from very shame." 
-And the king resumed his way to his own apartments.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I told your majesty how it
-would be," murmured Saint-Aignan, continuing to follow the king,
-and timidly glancing up at the different windows.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Unfortunately their return
-was not, like their arrival, unobserved.  A curtain was suddenly
-drawn aside; Madame was behind it.  She had seen the king leave
-the apartments of the maids of honor, and as soon as she observed
-that his majesty had passed, she left her own apartments with
-hurried steps, and ran up the staircase that led to the room the
-king had just left.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Despair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>A</span>s soon as the
-king was gone La Valli&egrave;re raised herself from the ground,
-and stretched out her arms, as if to follow and detain him, but
-when, having violently closed the door, the sound of his
-retreating footsteps could be heard in the distance, she had
-hardly sufficient strength left to totter towards and fall at the
-foot of her crucifix.  There she remained, broken-hearted,
-absorbed, and overwhelmed by her grief, forgetful and indifferent
-to everything but her profound sorrow; - a grief she only vaguely
-realized - as though by instinct.  In the midst of this wild
-tumult of thoughts, La Valli&egrave;re heard her door open again;
-she started, and turned round, thinking it was the king who had
-returned.  She was deceived, however, for it was Madame who
-appeared at the door.  What did she now care for Madame!  Again
-she sank down, her head supported by her <i>prie-Dieu</i> chair. 
-It was Madame, agitated, angry, and threatening.  But what was
-that to her?  "Mademoiselle," said the princess, standing before
-La Valli&egrave;re, "this is very fine, I admit, to kneel and
-pray, and make a pretense of being religious; but however
-submissive you may be in your address to Heaven, it is desirable
-that you should pay some little attention to the wishes of those
-who reign and rule here below."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re raised
-her head painfully in token of respect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not long since," continued
-Madame, "a certain recommendation was addressed to you, I
-believe."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re's fixed
-and wild gaze showed how complete her forgetfulness or ignorance
-was.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The queen recommended you,"
-continued Madame, "to conduct yourself in such a manner that no
-one could be justified in spreading any reports about you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re darted an
-inquiring look towards her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will not," continued
-Madame, "allow my household, which is that of the first princess
-of the blood, to set an evil example to the court; you would be
-the cause of such an example.  I beg you to understand,
-therefore, in the absence of any witness of your shame - for I do
-not wish to humiliate you - that you are from this moment at
-perfect liberty to leave, and that you can return to  your mother
-at Blois."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re could not
-sink lower, nor could she suffer more than she had already
-suffered.  Her countenance did not even change, but she remained
-kneeling with her hands clasped, like the figure of the
-Magdalen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did you hear me?" said
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                A shiver, which passed
-through her whole frame, was La Valli&egrave;re's only reply. 
-And as the victim gave no other signs of life, Madame left the
-room.  And then, her very respiration suspended, and her blood
-almost congealed, as it were, in her veins, La Valli&egrave;re by
-degrees felt that the pulsation of her wrists, her neck, and
-temples, began to throb more and more painfully.  These
-pulsations, as they gradually increased, soon changed into a
-species of brain fever, and in her temporary delirium she saw the
-figures of her friends contending with her enemies, floating
-before her vision.  She heard, too, mingled together in her
-deafened ears, words of menace and words of fond affection; she
-seemed raised out of her existence as though it were upon the
-wings of a mighty tempest, and in the dim horizon of the path
-along which her delirium hurried her, she saw the stone which
-covered her tomb upraised, and the grim, appalling texture of
-eternal night revealed to her distracted gaze.  But the horror of
-the dream which possessed her senses faded away, and she was
-again restored to the habitual resignation of her character.  A
-ray of hope penetrated her heart, as a ray of sunlight streams
-into the dungeon of some unhappy captive.  Her mind reverted to
-the journey from Fontainebleau, she saw the king riding beside
-her carriage, telling her that he loved her, asking for her love
-in return, requiring her to swear, and himself to swear too, that
-never should an evening pass by, if ever a misunderstanding were
-to arise between them, without a visit, a letter, a sign of some
-kind, being sent, to replace the troubled anxiety of the evening
-with the calm repose of the night.  It was the king who had
-suggested that, who had imposed a promise on her, and who had
-sworn to it himself.  It was impossible, therefore, she reasoned,
-that the king should fail in keeping the promise which he had
-himself exacted from her, unless, indeed, Louis was a despot who
-enforced love as he enforced obedience; unless, too, the king
-were so indifferent that the first obstacle in his way was
-sufficient to arrest his further progress.  The king, that kind
-protector, who by a word, a single word, could relieve her
-distress of mind, the king even joined her persecutors.  Oh! his
-anger could not possibly last.  Now that he was alone, he would
-be suffering all that she herself was a prey to.  But he was not
-tied hand and foot as she was; he could act, could move about,
-could come to her, while she could do nothing but wait.  And the
-poor girl waited and waited, with breathless anxiety - for she
-could not believe it possible that the king would not come.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It was now about half-past
-ten.  He would either come to her, or write to her, or send some
-kind word by M. de Saint-Aignan.  If he were to come, oh! how she
-would fly to meet him; how she would thrust aside that excess of
-delicacy which she now discovered was misunderstood; how eagerly
-she would explain: "It is not I who do not love you - it is the
-fault of others who will not allow me to love you."  And then it
-must be confessed that she reflected upon it, and also the more
-she reflected, Louis appeared to her to be less guilty.  In fact,
-he was ignorant of everything.  What must he have thought of the
-obstinacy with which she remained silent?  Impatient and
-irritable as the king was known to be, it was extraordinary that
-he had been able to preserve his temper so long.  And yet, had it
-been her own case, she undoubtedly would not have acted in such a
-manner; she would have understood - have guessed everything. 
-Yes, but she was nothing but a poor simple-minded girl, and not a
-great and powerful monarch.  Oh! if he would but come, if he
-would but come! - how eagerly she would forgive him for all he
-had just made her suffer! how much more tenderly she would love
-him because she had so cruelly suffered!  And so she sat, with
-her head bent forward in eager expectation towards the door, her
-lips slightly parted, as if - and Heaven forgive her for the
-mental exclamation! - they were awaiting the kiss which the
-king's lips had in the morning so sweetly indicated, when he
-pronounced the word <i>love!</i>  If the king did not come, at
-least he would write; it was a second chance; a chance less
-delightful certainly than the other, but which would show an
-affection just as strong, only more timid in its nature.  Oh! how
-she would devour his letter, how eager she would be to answer it!
-and when the messenger who had brought it had left her, how she
-would kiss it, read it over and over again, press to her heart
-the lucky paper which would have brought her ease of mind,
-tranquillity, and perfect happiness.  At all events, if the king
-did not come, if the king did not write, he could not do
-otherwise than send Saint-Aignan, or Saint-Aignan could not do
-otherwise than come of his own accord.  Even if it were a third
-person, how openly she would speak to him; the royal presence
-would not be there to freeze her words upon her tongue, and then
-no suspicious feeling would remain a moment longer in the king's
-heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Everything with La
-Valli&egrave;re, heart and look, body and mind, was concentrated
-in eager expectation.  She said to herself that there was an hour
-left in which to indulge hope; that until midnight struck, the
-king might come, or write or send; that at midnight only would
-every expectation vanish, every hope be lost.  Whenever she heard
-any stir in the palace, the poor girl fancied she was the cause
-of it; whenever she heard any one pass in the courtyard below she
-imagined they were messengers of the king coming to her.  Eleven
-o'clock struck, then a quarter-past eleven; then half-past.  The
-minutes dragged slowly on in this anxiety, and yet they seemed to
-pass too quickly.  And now, it struck a quarter to twelve. 
-Midnight - midnight was near, the last, the final hope that
-remained.  With the last stroke of the clock, the last ray of
-light seemed to fade away; and with the last ray faded her final
-hope.  And so, the king himself had deceived her; it was he who
-had been the first to fail in keeping the oath which he had sworn
-that very day; twelve hours only between his oath and his
-perjured vow; it as not long, alas! to have preserved the
-illusion.  And so, not only did the king not love her, but he
-despised her whom every one ill-treated, he despised her to the
-extent even of abandoning her to the shame of an expulsion which
-was equivalent to having an ignominious sentence passed on her;
-and yet, it was he, the king himself, who was the first cause of
-this ignominy.  A bitter smile, the only symptom of anger which
-during this long conflict had passed across the angelic face,
-appeared upon her lips.  What, in fact, now remained on earth for
-her, after the king was lost to her?  Nothing.  But Heaven still
-remained, and her thoughts flew thither.  She prayed that the
-proper course for her to follow might be suggested.  "It is from
-Heaven," she thought, "that I expect everything; it is from
-Heaven I ought to expect everything."  And she looked at her
-crucifix with a devotion full of tender love.  "There," she said,
-"hangs before me a Master who never forgets and never abandons
-those who neither forget nor abandon Him; it is to Him alone that
-we must sacrifice ourselves."  And, thereupon, could any one have
-gazed into the recesses of that chamber, they would have seen the
-poor despairing girl adopt a final resolution, and determine upon
-one last plan in her mind.  Then, as her knees were no longer
-able to support her, she gradually sank down upon the
-<i>prie-Dieu</i>, and with her head pressed against the wooden
-cross, her eyes fixed, and her respiration short and quick, she
-watched for the earliest rays of approaching daylight.  At two
-o'clock in the morning she was still in the same bewilderment of
-mind, or rather the same ecstasy of feeling.  Her thoughts had
-almost ceased to hold communion with things of the world.  And
-when she saw the pale violet tints of early dawn visible over the
-roofs of the palace, and vaguely revealing the outlines of the
-ivory crucifix which she held embraced, she rose from the ground
-with a new-born strength, kissed the feet of the divine martyr,
-descended the staircase leading from the room, and wrapped
-herself from head to foot in a mantle as she went along.  She
-reached the wicket at the very moment the guard of the musketeers
-opened the gate to admit the first relief-guard belonging to one
-of the Swiss regiments.  And then, gliding behind the soldiers,
-she reached the street before the officer in command of the
-patrol had even thought of asking who the young girl was who was
-making her escape from the palace at so early an hour.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Flight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>L</span>a
-Valli&egrave;re followed the patrol as it left the courtyard. 
-The patrol bent its steps towards the right, by the Rue St.
-Honor&eacute;, and mechanically La Valli&egrave;re turned to the
-left.  Her resolution was taken - her determination fixed; she
-wished to betake herself to the convent of the Carmelites at
-Chaillot, the superior of which enjoyed a reputation for severity
-which made the worldly-minded people of the court tremble.  La
-Valli&egrave;re had never seen Paris, she had never gone out on
-foot, and so would have been unable to find her way even had she
-been in a calmer frame of mind than was then the case; and this
-may explain why she ascended, instead of descending, the Rue St.
-Honor&eacute;.  Her only thought was to get away from the Palais
-Royal, and this she was doing; she had heard it said that
-Chaillot looked out upon the Seine, and she accordingly directed
-her steps towards the Seine.  She took the Rue de Coq, and not
-being able to cross the Louvre, bore towards the church of Saint
-Germain l'Auxerrois, proceeding along the site of the colonnade
-which was subsequently built there by Perrault.  In a very short
-time she reached the quays.  Her steps were rapid and agitated;
-she scarcely felt the weakness which reminded her of having
-sprained her foot when very young, and which obliged her to limp
-slightly.  At any other hour in the day her countenance would
-have awakened the suspicions of the least clear-sighted,
-attracted the attention of the most indifferent.  But at
-half-past two in the morning, the streets of Paris are almost, if
-not quite, deserted, and scarcely is any one to be seen but the
-hard-working artisan on his way to earn his daily bread or the
-roistering idlers of the streets, who are returning to their
-homes after a night of riot and debauchery; for the former the
-day was beginning, and for the latter it was just closing.  La
-Valli&egrave;re was afraid of both faces, in which her ignorance
-of Parisian types did not permit her to distinguish the type of
-probity from that of dishonesty.  The appearance of misery
-alarmed her, and all she met seemed either vile or miserable. 
-Her dress, which was the same she had worn during the previous
-evening, was elegant even in its careless disorder; for it was
-the one in which she had presented herself to the queen-mother;
-and, moreover, when she drew aside the mantle which covered her
-face, in order to enable her to see the way she was going, her
-pallor and her beautiful eyes spoke an unknown language to the
-men she met, and, unconsciously, the poor fugitive seemed to
-invite the brutal remarks of the one class, or to appeal to the
-compassion of the other.  La Valli&egrave;re still walked on in
-the same way, breathless and hurried, until she reached the top
-of the Place de Gr&egrave;ve.  She stopped from time to time,
-placed her hand upon her heart, leaned against a wall until she
-could breathe freely again, and then continued on her course more
-rapidly than before.  On reaching the Place de Gr&egrave;ve La
-Valli&egrave;re suddenly came upon a group of three drunken men,
-reeling and staggering along, who were just leaving a boat which
-they had made fast to the quay; the boat was freighted with
-wines, and it was apparent that they had done ample justice to
-the merchandise.  They were celebrating their convivial exploits
-in three different keys, when suddenly, as they reached the end
-of the railing leading down to the quay, they found an obstacle
-in their path, in the shape of this young girl.  La
-Valli&egrave;re stopped; while they, on their part, at the
-appearance of the young girl dressed in court costume, also
-halted, and seizing each other by the hand, they surrounded La
-Valli&egrave;re, singing, -</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:8.0pt;'>"Oh! all ye weary wights, who mope
-alone,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'font-size:8.0pt;'>                Come drink, and sing and
-laugh, round Venus' throne."</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style='font-size:8.0pt;'> </span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'font-size:8.0pt;'>               </span> La Valli&egrave;re at
-once understood that the men were insulting her, and wished to
-prevent her passing; she tried to do so several times, but her
-efforts were useless.  Her limbs failed her; she felt she was on
-the point of falling, and uttered a cry of terror.  At the same
-moment the circle which surrounded her was suddenly broken
-through in a most violent manner.  One of her insulters was
-knocked to the left, another fell rolling over and over to the
-right, close to the water's edge, while the third could hardly
-keep his feet.  An officer of the musketeers stood face to face
-with the young girl, with threatening brow and hand raised to
-carry out his threat.  The drunken fellows, at sight of the
-uniform, made their escape with what speed their staggering limbs
-could lend them, all the more eagerly for the proof of strength
-which the wearer of the uniform had just afforded them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it possible," exclaimed
-the musketeer, "that it can be Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re,
-bewildered by what had just happened, and confounded by hearing
-her name pronounced, looked up and recognized D'Artagnan.  "Oh,
-M. d'Artagnan! it is indeed I;" and at the same moment she seized
-his arm.  "You will protect me, will you not?" she added, in a
-tone of entreaty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Most certainly I will
-protect you; but, in Heaven's name, where are you going at this
-hour?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am going to
-Chaillot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are going to Chaillot
-by way of La Rap&eacute;e! why, mademoiselle, you are turning
-your back upon it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, monsieur, be
-kind enough to put me in the right way, and to go with me a short
-distance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Most willingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But how does it happen that
-I have found you here?  By what merciful intervention were you
-sent to my assistance?  I almost seem to be dreaming, or to be
-losing my senses."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I happened to be here,
-mademoiselle, because I have a house in the Place de
-Gr&egrave;ve, at the sign of the Notre-Dame, the rent of which I
-went to receive yesterday, and where I, in fact, passed the
-night.  And I also wished to be at the palace early, for the
-purposes of inspecting my posts."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Thank you," said La
-Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is what <i>I</i> was
-doing," said D'Artagnan to himself; "but what is <i>she</i>
-doing, and why is she going to Chaillot at such an hour?"  And he
-offered her his arm, which she took, and began to walk with
-increased precipitation, which ill-concealed, however, her
-weakness.  D'Artagnan perceived it, and proposed to La
-Valli&egrave;re that she should take a little rest, which she
-refused.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are ignorant, perhaps,
-where Chaillot is?" inquired D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is a great
-distance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That matters very
-little."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is at least a
-league."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I can walk it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan did not reply; he
-could tell, merely by the tone of a voice, when a resolution was
-real or not.  He rather bore along rather than accompanied La
-Valli&egrave;re, until they perceived the elevated ground of
-Chaillot.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What house are you going
-to, mademoiselle?" inquired D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To the Carmelites,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To the Carmelites?"
-repeated D'Artagnan, in amazement.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; and since Heaven has
-directed you towards me to give me your support on my road,
-accept both my thanks and my adieux."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To the Carmelites!  Your
-adieux!  Are you going to become a nun?" exclaimed
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What, you!!!"  There was in
-this "you," which we have marked by three notes of exclamation in
-order to render it as expressive as possible, - there was, we
-repeat, in this "you" a complete poem; it recalled to La
-Valli&egrave;re her old recollections of Blois, and her new
-recollections of Fontainebleau; it said to her, "<i>You</i>, who
-might be happy with Raoul; <i>you</i>, who might be powerful with
-Louis; <i>you</i> about to become a nun!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, monsieur," she said,
-"I am going to devote myself to the service of Heaven; and to
-renounce the world entirely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But are you not mistaken
-with regard to your vocation, - are you not mistaken in supposing
-it to be the will of Heaven?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, since Heaven has been
-pleased to throw you in my way.  Had it not been for you, I
-should certainly have sunk from fatigue on the road, and since
-Heaven, I repeat, has thrown you in my way, it is because it has
-willed that I should carry out my intention."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said D'Artagnan,
-doubtingly, "that is a rather subtle distinction, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Whatever it may be,"
-returned the young girl, "I have acquainted you with the steps I
-have taken, and with my fixed resolution.  And, now, I have one
-last favor to ask of you, even while I return you my thanks.  The
-king is entirely ignorant of my flight from the Palais Royal, and
-is ignorant also of what I am about to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king ignorant, you
-say!" exclaimed D'Artagnan.  "Take care, mademoiselle; you are
-not aware of what you are doing.  No one ought to do anything
-with which the king is unacquainted, especially those who belong
-to the court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I no longer belong to the
-court, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan looked at the
-young girl with increasing astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do not be uneasy,
-monsieur," she continued: "I have well calculated everything; and
-were it not so, it would now be too late to reconsider my
-resolution, - all is decided."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, mademoiselle, what do
-you wish me to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the name of that
-sympathy which misfortune inspires, by your generous feeling, and
-by your honor as a gentleman, I entreat you to promise me one
-thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Name it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Swear to me, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan, that you will not tell the king that you have seen
-me, and that I am at the Carmelites."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will not swear that,"
-said D'Artagnan, shaking his head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because I know the king, I
-know you, I know myself even, nay, the whole human race, too
-well; no, no, I will not swear that!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case," cried La
-Valli&egrave;re, with an energy of which one would hardly have
-thought her capable, "instead of the blessing which I should have
-implored for you until my dying day, I will invoke a curse, for
-you are rendering me the most miserable creature that ever
-lived."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                We have already observed
-that D'Artagnan could easily recognize the accents of truth and
-sincerity, and he could not resist this last appeal.  He saw by
-her face how bitterly she suffered from a feeling of degradation,
-he remarked her trembling limbs, how her whole slight and
-delicate frame was violently agitated by some internal struggle,
-and clearly perceived that resistance might be fatal.  "I will do
-as you wish, then," he said.  "Be satisfied, mademoiselle, I will
-say nothing to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! thanks, thanks,"
-exclaimed La Valli&egrave;re, "you are the most generous man
-breathing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And in her extreme delight
-she seized hold of D'Artagnan's hands and pressed them between
-her own.  D'Artagnan, who felt himself quite overcome, said:
-"This is touching, upon my word; she begins where others leave
-off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And La Valli&egrave;re, who,
-in the bitterness of her distress, had sunk upon the ground, rose
-and walked towards the convent of the Carmelites, which could
-now, in the dawning light, be perceived just before them. 
-D'Artagnan followed her at a distance.  The entrance-door was
-half-open; she glided in like a shadow, and thanking D'Artagnan
-by a parting gesture, disappeared from his sight.  When
-D'Artagnan found himself quite alone, he reflected very
-profoundly upon what had just taken place.  "Upon my word," he
-said, "this looks very much like what is called a false
-position.  To keep such a secret as that, is to keep a burning
-coal in one's breeches-pocket, and trust that it may not burn the
-stuff.  And yet, not to keep it when I have sworn to do so is
-dishonorable.  It generally happens that some bright idea or
-other occurs to me as I am going along; but I am very much
-mistaken if I shall not, now, have to go a long way in order to
-find the solution of this affair.  Yes, but which way to go?  Oh!
-towards Paris, of course; that is the best way, after all.  Only
-one must make haste, and in order to make haste four legs are
-better than two, and I, unhappily, only have two.  'A horse, a
-horse,' as I heard them say at the theatre in London, 'my kingdom
-for a horse!'  And now I think of it, it need not cost me so much
-as that, for at the Barri&egrave;re de la Conf&eacute;rence there
-is a guard of musketeers, and instead of the one horse I need, I
-shall find ten there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                So, in pursuance of this
-resolution, which he adopted with his usual rapidity, D'Artagnan
-immediately turned his back upon the heights of Chaillot, reached
-the guard-house, took the fastest horse he could find there, and
-was at the palace in less than ten minutes.  It was striking five
-as he reached the Palais Royal.  The king, he was told, had gone
-to bed at his usual hour, having been long engaged with M.
-Colbert, and, in all probability, was still sound asleep. 
-"Come," said D'Artagnan, "she spoke the truth; the king is
-ignorant of everything; if he only knew one-half of what has
-happened, the Palais Royal by this time would be turned upside
-down." <b><sup>5</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Showing How Louis, on His Part, Had Passed the Time from Ten to
-Half-Past Twelve at Night.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>W</span>hen the king
-left the apartments of the maids of honor, he found Colbert
-awaiting him to take directions for the next day's ceremony, as
-the king was then to receive the Dutch and Spanish ambassadors. 
-Louis XIV. had serious causes of dissatisfaction with the Dutch;
-the States had already been guilty of many mean shifts and
-evasions with France, and without perceiving or without caring
-about the chances of a rupture, they again abandoned the alliance
-with his Most Christian Majesty, for the purpose of entering into
-all kinds of plots with Spain.  Louis XIV. at his accession, that
-is to say, at the death of Cardinal Mazarin, had found this
-political question roughly sketched out; the solution was
-difficult for a young man, but as, at that time, the king
-represented the whole nation, anything that the head resolved
-upon, the body would be found ready to carry out.  Any sudden
-impulse of anger, the reaction of young hot blood upon the brain,
-would be quite sufficient to change an old form of policy and
-create another system altogether.  The part that diplomatists had
-to play in those days was that of arranging among themselves the
-different <i>coups-d'&eacute;tat</i> which their sovereign
-masters might wish to effect.  Louis was not in that calm frame
-of mind which was necessary to enable him to determine on a wise
-course of policy.  Still much agitated from the quarrel he had
-just had with La Valli&egrave;re, he walked hastily into his
-cabinet, dimly desirous of finding an opportunity of producing an
-explosion after he had controlled himself for so long a time. 
-Colbert, as he saw the king enter, knew the position of affairs
-at a glance, understood the king's intentions, and resolved
-therefore to maneuver a little.  When Louis requested to be
-informed what it would be necessary to say on the morrow, Colbert
-began by expressing his surprise that his majesty had not been
-properly informed by M. Fouquet.  "M. Fouquet," he said, "is
-perfectly acquainted with the whole of this Dutch affair - he
-received the dispatches himself direct."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king, who was accustomed
-to hear M. Colbert speak in not over-scrupulous terms of M.
-Fouquet, allowed this remark to pass unanswered, and merely
-listened.  Colbert noticed the effect it had produced, and
-hastened to back out, saying that M. Fouquet was not on all
-occasions as blamable as at the first glance might seem to be the
-case, inasmuch as at that moment he was greatly occupied.  The
-king looked up.  "What do you allude to?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, men are but men, and
-M. Fouquet has his defects as well as his great qualities."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! defects, who is without
-them, M. Colbert?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty, hardly," said
-Colbert, boldly; for he knew how to convey a good deal of
-flattery in a light amount of blame, like the arrow which cleaves
-the air notwithstanding its weight, thanks to the light feathers
-which bear it up.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king smiled.  "What
-defect has M. Fouquet, then?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Still the same, sire; it is
-said he is in love."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In love! with whom?"<br>
-                "I am not quite sure, sire; I have very little to
-do with matters of gallantry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At all events you know,
-since you speak of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have heard a name
-mentioned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Whose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I cannot now remember
-whose, but I think it is one of Madame's maids of honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king started.  "You know
-more than you like to say, M. Colbert," he murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I assure you, no,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At all events, Madame's
-maids of honor are all known, and in mentioning their names to
-you, you will perhaps recollect the one you allude to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At least, try."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It would be useless, sire. 
-Whenever the name of any lady who runs the risk of being
-compromised is concerned, my memory is like a coffer of bronze,
-the key of which I have lost."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                A dark cloud seemed to pass
-over the mind as well as across the face of the king; then,
-wishing to appear as if he were perfect master of himself and his
-feelings, he said, "And now for the affair concerning
-Holland."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the first place, sire,
-at what hour will your majesty receive the ambassadors?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Early in the morning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Eleven o'clock?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is too late - say nine
-o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That will be too early,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For friends, that would be
-a matter of no importance; one does what one likes with one's
-friends; but for one's enemies, in that case nothing could be
-better than if they <i>were</i> to feel hurt.  I should not be
-sorry, I confess, to have to finish altogether with these
-marsh-birds, who annoy me with their cries."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It shall be precisely as
-your majesty desires.  At nine o'clock, therefore - I will give
-the necessary orders.  Is it to be a formal audience?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No.  I wish to have an
-explanation with them, and not to embitter matters, as is always
-the case when many persons are present, but, at the same time, I
-wish to clear  up everything with them, in order not to have to
-begin over again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty will inform me
-of the persons whom you wish to be present at the reception."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will draw out a list. 
-Let us speak of the ambassadors; what do they want?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Allies with Spain, they
-gain nothing; allies with France, they lose much."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How is that?"<br>
-                "Allied with Spain, they see themselves bounded
-and protected by the possessions of their allies; they cannot
-touch them, however anxious they may be to do so.  From Antwerp
-to Rotterdam is but a step, and that by the way of the Scheldt
-and the Meuse.  If they wish to make a bite at the Spanish cake,
-you, sire, the son-in-law of the king of Spain, could with your
-cavalry sweep the earth from your dominions to Brussels in a
-couple of days.  Their design is, therefore, only to quarrel so
-far with you, and only to make you suspect Spain so far, as will
-be sufficient to induce you not to interfere with their own
-affairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It would be far more
-simple, I should imagine," replied the king, "to form a solid
-alliance with me, by means of which I should gain something,
-while they would gain everything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not so; for if, by chance,
-they were to have you, or France rather, as a boundary, your
-majesty is not an agreeable neighbor.  Young, ardent, warlike,
-the king of France might inflict some serious mischief on
-Holland, especially if he were to get near her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I perfectly understand, M.
-Colbert, and you have explained it very clearly; but be good
-enough to tell me the conclusion you have arrived at."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty's own
-decisions are never deficient in wisdom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What will these ambassadors
-say to me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "They will tell your majesty
-that they are ardently desirous of forming an alliance with you,
-which will be a falsehood: they will tell Spain that the three
-powers ought to unite so as to check the prosperity of England,
-and that will equally be a falsehood; for at present, the natural
-ally of your majesty is England, who has ships while we have
-none; England, who can counteract Dutch influence in India;
-England, in fact, a monarchical country, to which your majesty is
-attached by ties of relationship."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good; but how would you
-answer?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should answer, sire, with
-the greatest possible moderation of tone, that the disposition of
-Holland does not seem friendly towards the Court of France; that
-the symptoms of public feeling among the Dutch are alarming as
-regards your majesty; that certain medals have been struck with
-insulting devices."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Towards me?" exclaimed the
-young king, excitedly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, no! sire, no; insulting
-is not the word; I was mistaken, I ought to have said
-immeasurably flattering to the Dutch."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! if that be so, the
-pride of the Dutch is a matter of indifference to me," said the
-king, sighing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty is right, a
-thousand times right.  However, it is never a mistake in
-politics, your majesty knows better than myself, to exaggerate a
-little in order to obtain a concession in your own favor.  If
-your majesty were to complain as if your susceptibility were
-offended, you would stand in a far higher position with
-them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What are these medals you
-speak of?" inquired Louis; "for if I allude to them, I ought to
-know what to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon my word, sire, I
-cannot very well tell you - some overweeningly conceited device -
-that is the sense of it; the words have little to do with the
-thing itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good!  I will mention
-the word 'medal,' and they can understand it if they like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! they will understand
-without any difficulty.  Your majesty can also slip in a few
-words about certain pamphlets which are being circulated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Never!  Pamphlets befoul
-those who write them much more than those against whom they are
-written.  M. Colbert, I thank you.  You can leave now.  Do not
-forget the hour I have fixed, and be there yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I await your
-majesty's list."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True," returned the king;
-and he began to meditate; he had not thought of the list in the
-least.  The clock struck half-past eleven.  The king's face
-revealed a violent conflict between pride and love.  The
-political conversation had dispelled a good deal of the
-irritation which Louis had felt, and La Valli&egrave;re's pale,
-worn features, in his imagination, spoke a very different
-language from that of the Dutch medals, or the Batavian
-pamphlets.  He sat for ten minutes debating within himself
-whether he should or should not return to La Valli&egrave;re; but
-Colbert having with some urgency respectfully requested that the
-list might be furnished him, the king was ashamed to be thinking
-of mere matters of affection where important state affairs
-required his attention.  He therefore dictated: the queen-mother,
-the queen, Madame, Madame de Motteville, Madame de
-Ch&acirc;tillon, Madame de Navailles; and, for the men, M. le
-Prince, M. de Gramont, M. de Manicamp, M. de Saint-Aignan, and
-the officers on duty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The ministers?" asked
-Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As a matter of course, and
-the secretaries also."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I will leave at once
-in order to get everything prepared; the orders will be at the
-different residences to-morrow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Say rather to-day," replied
-Louis mournfully, as the clock struck twelve.  It was the very
-hour when poor La Valli&egrave;re was almost dying from anguish
-and bitter suffering.  The king's attendants entered, it being
-the hour of his retirement to his chamber; the queen, indeed, had
-been waiting for more than an hour.  Louis accordingly retreated
-to his bedroom with a sigh; but, as he sighed, he congratulated
-himself on his courage, and applauded himself for having been as
-firm in love as in affairs of state.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Ambassadors.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>D</span>'Artagnan
-had, with very few exceptions, learned almost all of the
-particulars of what we have just been relating; for among his
-friends he reckoned all the useful, serviceable people in the
-royal household, - officious attendants who were proud of being
-recognized by the captain of the musketeers, for the captain's
-influence was very great; and then, in addition to any ambitious
-vies they may have imagined he could promote, they were proud of
-being regarded as worth being spoken to by a man as brave as
-D'Artagnan.  In this manner D'Artagnan learned every morning what
-he had not been able either to see or to ascertain the night
-before, from the simple fact of his not being ubiquitous; so
-that, with the information he had been able by his own means to
-pick up during the day, and with what he had gathered from
-others, he succeeded in making up a bundle of weapons, which he
-was in the prudent habit of using only when occasion required. 
-In this way, D'Artagnan's two eyes rendered him the same service
-as the hundred eyes of Argus.  Political secrets, bedside
-revelations, hints or scraps of conversation dropped by the
-courtiers on the threshold of the royal ante-chamber, in this way
-D'Artagnan managed to ascertain, and to store away everything in
-the vast and impenetrable mausoleum of his memory, by the side of
-those royal secrets so dearly bought and faithfully preserved. 
-He therefore knew of the king's interview with Colbert, and of
-the appointment made for the ambassadors in the morning, and,
-consequently, that the question of the medals would be brought up
-for debate; and, while he was arranging and constructing the
-conversation upon a few chance words which had reached his ears,
-he returned to his post in the royal apartments, so as to be
-there at the very moment the king awoke.  It happened that the
-king rose very early, - proving thereby that he, too, on his
-side, had slept but indifferently.  Towards seven o'clock, he
-half-opened his door very gently.  D'Artagnan was at his post. 
-His majesty was pale, and seemed wearied; he had not, moreover,
-quite finished dressing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Send for M. de
-Saint-Aignan," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Saint-Aignan was probably
-awaiting a summons, for the messenger, when he reached his
-apartment, found him already dressed.  Saint-Aignan hastened to
-the king in obedience to the summons.  A moment afterwards the
-king and Saint-Aignan passed by together - the king walking
-first.  D'Artagnan went to the window which looked out upon the
-courtyard; he had no need to put himself to the trouble of
-watching in what direction the king went, for he had no
-difficulty in guessing beforehand where his majesty was going. 
-The king, in fact, bent his steps towards the apartments of the
-maids of honor, - a circumstance which in no way astonished
-D'Artagnan, for he more than suspected, although La
-Valli&egrave;re had not breathed a syllable on the subject, that
-the king had some kind of reparation to make.  Saint-Aignan
-followed him as he had done the previous evening, rather less
-uneasy in his mind, though still slightly agitated, for he
-fervently trusted that at seven o'clock in the morning there
-might be only himself and the king awake amongst the august
-guests at the palace.  D'Artagnan stood at the window, careless
-and perfectly calm in his manner.  One could almost have sworn
-that he noticed nothing, and was utterly ignorant who were these
-two hunters after adventures, passing like shadows across the
-courtyard, wrapped up in their cloaks.  And yet, all the while
-that D'Artagnan appeared not to be looking at them at all, he did
-not for one moment lose sight of them, and while he whistled that
-old march of the musketeers, which he rarely recalled except
-under great emergencies, he conjectured and prophesied how
-terrible would be the storm which would be raised on the king's
-return.  In fact, when the king entered La Valli&egrave;re's
-apartment and found the room empty and the bed untouched, he
-began to be alarmed, and called out to Montalais, who immediately
-answered the summons; but her astonishment was equal to the
-king's.  All that she could tell his majesty was, that she had
-fancied she had heard La Valli&egrave;re's weeping during a
-portion of the night, but, knowing that his majesty had paid her
-a visit, she had not dared to inquire what was the matter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But," inquired the king,
-"where do you suppose she is gone?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," replied Montalais,
-"Louise is of a very sentimental disposition, and as I have often
-seen her rise at daybreak in order to go out into the garden, she
-may, perhaps, be there now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                This appeared probable, and
-the king immediately ran down the staircase in search of the
-fugitive.  D'Artagnan saw him grow very pale, and talking in an
-excited manner with his companion, as he went towards the
-gardens; Saint-Aignan following him, out of breath.  D'Artagnan
-did not stir from the window, but went on whistling, looking as
-if he saw nothing, yet seeing everything.  "Come, come," he
-murmured, when the king disappeared, "his majesty's passion is
-stronger than I thought; he is now doing, I think, what he never
-did for Mademoiselle de Mancini." <b><sup>6</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                In a quarter of an hour the
-king again appeared: he had looked everywhere, was completely out
-of breath, and, as a matter of course, had not discovered
-anything.  Saint-Aignan, who still followed him, was fanning
-himself with his hat, and in a gasping voice, asking for
-information about La Valli&egrave;re from such of the servants as
-were about, in fact from every one he met.  Among others he came
-across Manicamp, who had arrived from Fontainebleau by easy
-stages; for whilst others had performed the journey in six hours,
-he had taken four and twenty.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Have you seen Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re?" Saint-Aignan asked him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Whereupon Manicamp, dreamy
-and absent as usual, answered, thinking that some one was asking
-him about De Guiche, "Thank you, the comte is a little
-better."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And he continued on his way
-until he reached the ante-chamber where D'Artagnan was, whom he
-asked to explain how it was that the king looked, as he thought,
-so bewildered; to which D'Artagnan replied that he was quite
-mistaken, that the king, on the contrary, was as lively and merry
-as he could possibly be.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                In the midst of all this,
-eight o'clock struck.  It was usual for the king to take his
-breakfast at this hour, for the code of etiquette prescribed that
-the king should always be hungry at eight o'clock.  His breakfast
-was laid upon a small table in his bedroom, and he ate very
-fast.  Saint-Aignan, of whom he would not lose sight, waited on
-the king.  He then disposed of several military audiences, during
-which he dispatched Saint-Aignan to see what he could find out. 
-Then, still occupied, full of anxiety, still watching
-Saint-Aignan's return, who had sent out the servants in every
-direction, to make inquires, and who had also gone himself, the
-hour of nine struck, and the king forthwith passed into his large
-cabinet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                As the clock was striking
-nine the ambassadors entered, and as it finished, the two queens
-and Madame made their appearance.  There were three ambassadors
-from Holland, and two from Spain.  The king glanced at them, and
-then bowed; and, at the same moment, Saint-Aignan entered, - an
-entrance which the king regarded as far more important, in a
-different sense, however, than that of ambassadors, however
-numerous they might be, and from whatever country they came; and
-so, setting everything aside, the king made a sign of
-interrogation to Saint-Aignan, which the latter answered by a
-most decisive negative.  The king almost entirely lost his
-courage; but as the queens, the members of the nobility who were
-present, and the ambassadors, had their eyes fixed upon him, he
-overcame his emotion by a violent effort, and invited the latter
-to speak.  Whereupon one of the Spanish deputies made a long
-oration, in which he boasted the advantages which the Spanish
-alliance would offer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king interrupted him,
-saying, "Monsieur, I trust that whatever is best for France must
-be exceedingly advantageous for Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                This remark, and
-particularly the peremptory tone in which it was pronounced, made
-the ambassadors pale, and brought the color into the cheeks of
-the two queens, who, being Spanish, felt wounded in their pride
-of relationship and nationality by this reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The Dutch ambassador then
-began to address himself to the king, and complained of the
-injurious suspicions which the king exhibited against the
-government of his country.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king interrupted him,
-saying, "It is very singular, monsieur, that you should come with
-any complaint, when it is I rather who have reason to be
-dissatisfied; and yet, you see, I do not complain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Complain, sire, and in what
-respect?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king smiled bitterly. 
-"Will you blame me, monsieur," he said, "if I should happen to
-entertain suspicions against a government which authorizes and
-protects international impertinence?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I tell you," resumed the
-king, exciting himself by a recollection of his own personal
-annoyance, rather than from political grounds, "that Holland is a
-land of refuge for all who hate me, and especially for all who
-malign me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You wish for proofs,
-perhaps?  Very good; they can be had easily enough.  Whence
-proceed all those vile and insolent pamphlets which represent me
-as a monarch without glory and without authority? your
-printing-presses groan under their number.  If my secretaries
-were here, I would mention the titles of the works as well as the
-names of the printers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," replied the
-ambassador, "a pamphlet can hardly be regarded as the work of a
-whole nation.  Is it just, is it reasonable, that a great and
-powerful monarch like your majesty should render a whole nation
-responsible for the crime of a few madmen, who are, perhaps, only
-scribbling in a garret for a few sous to buy bread for their
-family?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That may be the case, I
-admit.  But when the mint itself, at Amsterdam, strikes off
-medals which reflect disgrace upon me, is that also the crime of
-a few madmen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Medals!" stammered out the
-ambassador.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Medals," repeated the king,
-looking at Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty," the
-ambassador ventured, "should be quite sure - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king still looked at
-Colbert; but Colbert appeared not to understand him, and
-maintained an unbroken silence, notwithstanding the king's
-repeated hints.  D'Artagnan then approached the king, and taking
-a piece of money out of his pocket, he placed it in the king's
-hands, saying, "<i>This</i> is the medal your majesty alludes
-to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king looked at it, and
-with a look which, ever since he had become his own master, was
-ever piercing as the eagle's, observed an insulting device
-representing Holland arresting the progress of the sun, with this
-inscription: "<i>In conspectu meo stetit sol</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In my presence the sun
-stands still," exclaimed the king, furiously.  "Ah! you will
-hardly deny it now, I suppose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And the sun," said
-D'Artagnan, "is this," as he pointed to the panels of the
-cabinet, where the sun was brilliantly represented in every
-direction, with this motto, "<i>Nec pluribus impar</i>."
-<b><sup>7</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis's anger, increased by
-the bitterness of his own personal sufferings, hardly required
-this additional circumstance to foment it.  Every one saw, from
-the kindling passion in the king's eyes, that an explosion was
-imminent.  A look from Colbert kept postponed the bursting of the
-storm.  The ambassador ventured to frame excuses by saying that
-the vanity of nations was a matter of little consequence; that
-Holland was proud that, with such limited resources, she had
-maintained her rank as a great nation, even against powerful
-monarchs, and that if a little smoke had intoxicated his
-countrymen, the king would be kindly disposed, and would even
-excuse this intoxication.  The king seemed as if he would be glad
-of some suggestion; he looked at Colbert, who remained
-impassible; then at D'Artagnan, who simply shrugged his
-shoulders, a movement which was like the opening of the
-flood-gates, whereby the king's anger, which he had restrained
-for so long a period, now burst forth.  As no one knew what
-direction his anger might take, all preserved a dead silence. 
-The second ambassador took advantage of it to begin his excuses
-also.  While he was speaking, and while the king, who had again
-gradually returned to his own personal reflections, was
-automatically listening to the voice, full of nervous anxiety,
-with the air of an absent man listening to the murmuring of a
-cascade, D'Artagnan, on whose left hand Saint-Aignan was
-standing, approached the latter, and, in a voice which was loud
-enough to reach the king's ears, said: "Have you heard the
-news?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What news?" said
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "About La
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king started, and
-advanced his head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What has happened to La
-Valli&egrave;re?" inquired Saint-Aignan, in a tone which can
-easily be imagined.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! poor girl! she is going
-to take the veil."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The veil!" exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The veil!" cried the king,
-in the midst of the ambassador's discourse; but then, mindful of
-the rules of etiquette, he mastered himself, still listening,
-however, with rapt attention.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What order?" inquired
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The Carmelites of
-Chaillot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who the deuce told you
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She did herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have seen her,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, I even went with her
-to the Carmelites."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king did not lose a
-syllable of this conversation; and again he could hardly control
-his feelings.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But what was the cause of
-her flight?" inquired Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because the poor girl was
-driven away from the court yesterday," replied D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He had no sooner said this,
-than the king, with an authoritative gesture, said to the
-ambassador, "Enough, monsieur, enough."  Then, advancing towards
-the captain, he exclaimed:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who says Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re is going to take the religious vows?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. d'Artagnan," answered
-the favorite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it true what you say?"
-said the king, turning towards the musketeer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As true as truth
-itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king clenched his hands,
-and turned pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have something further
-to add, M. d'Artagnan?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know nothing more,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You added that Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re had been driven away from the court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is that true, also?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ascertain for yourself,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And from whom?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" sighed D'Artagnan,
-like a man who is declining to say anything further.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king almost bounded from
-his seat, regardless of ambassadors, ministers, courtiers,
-queens, and politics.  The queen-mother rose; she had heard
-everything, or, if she had not heard everything, she had guessed
-it.  Madame, almost fainting from anger and fear, endeavored to
-rise as the queen-mother had done; but she sank down again upon
-her chair, which by an instinctive movement she made roll back a
-few paces.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Gentlemen," said the king,
-"the audience is over; I will communicate my answer, or rather my
-will, to Spain and to Holland;" and with a proud, imperious
-gesture, he dismissed the ambassadors.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Take care, my son," said
-the queen-mother, indignantly, "you are hardly master of
-yourself, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! madame," returned the
-young lion, with a terrible gesture, "if I am not mater of
-myself, I will be, I promise you, of those who do me a deadly
-injury; come with me, M. d'Artagnan, come."  And he quitted the
-room in the midst of general stupefaction and dismay.  The king
-hastily descended the staircase, and was about to cross the
-courtyard.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," said D'Artagnan,
-"your majesty mistakes the way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; I am going to the
-stables."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is useless, sire, for
-I have horses ready for your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king's only answer was a
-look, but this look promised more than the ambition of three
-D'Artagnans could have dared to hope.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Chaillot.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>A</span>lthough they
-had not been summoned, Manicamp and Malicorne had followed the
-king and D'Artagnan.  They were both exceedingly intelligent men;
-except that Malicorne was too precipitate, owing to ambition,
-while Manicamp was frequently too tardy, owing to indolence.  On
-this occasion, however, they arrived at precisely the proper
-moment.  Five horses were in readiness.  Two were seized upon by
-the king and D'Artagnan, two others by Manicamp and Malicorne,
-while a groom belonging to the stables mounted the fifth.  The
-cavalcade set off at a gallop.  D'Artagnan had been very careful
-in his selection of the horses; they were the very animals for
-distressed lovers - horses which did not simply run, but flew. 
-Within ten minutes after their departure, the cavalcade, amidst a
-cloud of dust, arrived at Chaillot.  The king literally threw
-himself off his horse; but notwithstanding the rapidity with
-which he accomplished this maneuver, he found D'Artagnan already
-holding his stirrup.  With a sign of acknowledgement to the
-musketeer, he threw the bridle to the groom, and darted into the
-vestibule, violently pushed open the door, and entered the
-reception-room.  Manicamp, Malicorne, and the groom remained
-outside, D'Artagnan alone following him.  When he entered the
-reception-room, the first object which met his gaze was Louise
-herself, not simply on her knees, but lying at the foot of a
-large stone crucifix.  The young girl was stretched upon the damp
-flag-stones, scarcely visible in the gloom of the apartment,
-which was lighted only by means of a narrow window, protected by
-bars and completely shaded by creeping plants.  When the king saw
-her in this state, he thought she was dead, and uttered a loud
-cry, which made D'Artagnan hurry into the room.  The king had
-already passed one of his arms round her body, and D'Artagnan
-assisted him in raising the poor girl, whom the torpor of death
-seemed already to have taken possession of.  D'Artagnan seized
-hold of the alarm-bell and rang with all his might.  The
-Carmelite sisters immediately hastened at the summons, and
-uttered loud exclamations of alarm and indignation at the sight
-of the two men holding a woman in their arms.  The superior also
-hurried to the scene of action, but far more a creature of the
-world than any of the female members of the court,
-notwithstanding her austerity of manners, she recognized the king
-at the first glance, by the respect which those present exhibited
-for him, as well as by the imperious and authoritative way in
-which he had thrown the whole establishment into confusion.  As
-soon as she saw the king, she retired to her own apartments, in
-order to avoid compromising her dignity.  But by one of the nuns
-she sent various cordials, Hungary water, etc., etc., and ordered
-that all the doors should immediately be closed, a command which
-was just in time, for the king's distress was fast becoming of a
-most clamorous and despairing character.  He had almost decided
-to send for his own physician, when La Valli&egrave;re exhibited
-signs of returning animation.  The first object which met her
-gaze, as she opened her eyes, was the king at her feet; in all
-probability she did not recognize him, for she uttered a deep
-sigh full of anguish and distress.  Louis fixed his eyes
-devouringly upon her face; and when, in the course of a few
-moments, she recognized Louis, she endeavored to tear herself
-from his embrace.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, heavens!" she murmured,
-"is not the sacrifice yet made?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no!" exclaimed the
-king, "and it shall <i>not</i> be made, I swear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Notwithstanding her weakness
-and utter despair, she rose from the ground, saying, "It must be
-made, however; it must be; so do not stay me in my purpose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I leave you to sacrifice
-yourself!  I! never, never!" exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well," murmured D'Artagnan,
-"I may as well go now.  As soon as they begin to speak, we may as
-well prevent there being any listeners."  And he quitted the
-room, leaving the lovers alone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," continued La
-Valli&egrave;re, "not another word, I implore you.  Do not
-destroy the only future I can hope for - my salvation; do not
-destroy the glory and brightness of your own future for a mere
-caprice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A caprice?" cried the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire! it is now, only,
-that I can see clearly into your heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You, Louise, what mean
-you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "An inexplicable impulse,
-foolish and unreasonable in its nature, may ephemerally appear to
-offer a sufficient excuse for your conduct; but there are duties
-imposed upon you which are incompatible with your regard for a
-poor girl such as I am.  So, forget me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I forget you!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have already done so,
-once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Rather would I die."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You cannot love one whose
-peace of mind you hold so lightly, and whom you so cruelly
-abandoned, last night, to the bitterness of death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What can you mean?  Explain
-yourself, Louise."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What did you ask me
-yesterday morning?  To love you.  What did you promise me in
-return?  Never to let midnight pass without offering me an
-opportunity of reconciliation, if, by any chance, your anger
-should be roused against me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! forgive me, Louise,
-forgive me!  I was mad from jealousy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Jealousy is a sentiment
-unworthy of a king - a man.  You may become jealous again, and
-will end by killing me.  Be merciful, then, and leave me now to
-die."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Another word, mademoiselle,
-in that strain, and you will see me expire at your feet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no, sire, I am better
-acquainted with my own demerits; and believe me, that to
-sacrifice yourself for one whom all despise, would be
-needless."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Give me the names of those
-you have cause to complain of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have no complaints, sire,
-to prefer against any one; no one but myself to accuse. 
-Farewell, sire; you are compromising yourself in speaking to me
-in such a manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! be careful, Louise, in
-what you say; for you are reducing me to the darkness of
-despair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, sire, leave me at
-least the protection of Heaven, I implore you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no; Heaven itself shall
-not tear you from me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Save me, then," cried the
-poor girl, "from those determined and pitiless enemies who are
-thirsting to annihilate my life and honor too.  If you have
-courage enough to love me, show at least that you have power
-enough to defend me.  But no; she whom you say you love, others
-insult and mock, and drive shamelessly away."  And the
-gentle-hearted girl, forced, by her own bitter distress to accuse
-others, wrung her hands in an uncontrollable agony of tears.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have been driven away!"
-exclaimed the king.  "This is the second time I have heard that
-said."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have been driven away
-with shame and ignominy, sire.  You see, then, that I have no
-other protector but Heaven, no consolation but prayer, and this
-cloister is my only refuge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My palace, my whole court,
-shall be your park of peace.  Oh! fear nothing further now,
-Louise; those - be they men or women - who yesterday drove you
-away, shall to-morrow tremble before you - to-morrow, do I say?
-nay, this very day I have already shown my displeasure - have
-already threatened.  It is in my power, even now, to hurl the
-thunderbolt I have hitherto withheld.  Louise, Louise, you shall
-be bitterly revenged; tears of blood shall repay you for the
-tears you have shed.  Give me only the names of your
-enemies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Never, never."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How can I show any anger,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, those upon whom your
-anger would be prepared to fall, would force you to draw back
-your hand upraised to punish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! you do not know me,"
-cried the king, exasperated.  "Rather than draw back, I would
-sacrifice my kingdom, and would abjure my family.  Yes, I would
-strike until this arm had utterly destroyed all those who had
-ventured to make themselves the enemies of the gentlest and best
-of creatures."  And, as he said these words, Louis struck his
-fist violently against the oaken wainscoting with a force which
-alarmed La Valli&egrave;re; for his anger, owing to his unbounded
-power, had something imposing and threatening in it, like the
-lightning, which may at any time prove deadly.  She, who thought
-that her own sufferings could not be surpassed, was overwhelmed
-by a suffering which revealed itself by menace and by
-violence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," she said, "for the
-last time I implore you to leave me; already do I feel
-strengthened by the calm seclusion of this asylum; and the
-protection of Heaven has reassured me; for all the pretty human
-meanness of this world are forgotten beneath the Divine
-protection.  Once more, then, sire, and for the last time, I
-again implore you to leave me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Confess, rather," cried
-Louis, "that you have never loved me; admit that my humility and
-my repentance are flattering to your pride, but that my distress
-affects you not; that the king of this wide realm is no longer
-regarded as a lover whose tenderness of devotion is capable of
-working out your happiness, but as a despot whose caprice has
-crushed your very heart beneath his iron heel.  Do not say you
-are seeking Heaven, say rather you are fleeing from the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louise's heart was wrung
-within her, as she listened to his passionate utterance, which
-made the fever of hope course once more through her every
-vein.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But did you not hear me say
-that I have been driven away, scorned, despised?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will make you the most
-respected, and most adored, and the most envied of my whole
-court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Prove to me that you have
-not ceased to love me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "By leaving me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will prove it to you by
-never leaving you again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But do you imagine, sire,
-that I shall allow that; do you imagine that I will let you come
-to an open rupture with every member of your family; do you
-imagine that, for my sake, you could abandon mother, wife and
-sister?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! you have named them,
-then, at last; it is they, then, who have wrought this grievous
-injury?  By the heaven above us, then, upon them shall my anger
-fall."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is the reason why the
-future terrifies me, why I refuse everything, why I do not wish
-you to revenge me.  Tears enough have already been shed,
-sufficient sorrow and affliction have already been occasioned. 
-I, at least, will never be the cause of sorrow, or affliction, or
-distress to whomsoever it may be, for I have mourned and
-suffered, and wept too much myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And do you count <i>my</i>
-sufferings, <i>my</i> tears, as nothing?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In Heaven's name, sire, do
-not speak to me in that manner.  I need all my courage to enable
-me to accomplish the sacrifice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Louise, Louise, I implore
-you! whatever you desire, whatever you command, whether vengeance
-or forgiveness, your slightest wish shall be obeyed, but do not
-abandon me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas! sire, we must
-part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You do not love me,
-then!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Heaven knows I do!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is false, Louise; it is
-false."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, if I did not love
-you, I should let you do what you please; I should let you
-revenge me, in return for the insult which has been inflicted on
-me; I should accept the brilliant triumph to my pride which you
-propose; and yet, you cannot deny that I reject even the sweet
-compensation which your affection affords, that affection which
-for me is life itself, for I wished to die when I thought that
-you loved me no longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes; I now know, I now
-perceive it; you are the sweetest, best, and purest of women. 
-There is no one so worthy as yourself, not alone of my respect
-and devotion, but also of the respect and devotion of all who
-surround me; and therefore no one shall be loved like yourself;
-no one shall ever possess the influence over me that you wield. 
-You wish me to be calm, to forgive? - be it so, you shall find me
-perfectly unmoved.  You wish to reign by gentleness and clemency?
-- I will be clement and gentle.  Dictate for me the conduct you
-wish me to adopt, and I will obey blindly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In Heaven's name, no, sire;
-what am I, a poor girl, to dictate to so great a monarch as
-yourself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are my life, the very
-spirit and principle of my being.  Is it not the spirit that
-rules the body?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You love me, then,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On my knees, yes; with my
-hands upraised to you, yes; with all the strength and power of my
-being, yes; I love you so deeply, that I would lay down my life
-for you, gladly, at your merest wish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, now I know you
-love me, I have nothing to wish for in the world.  Give me your
-hand, sire; and then, farewell!  I have enjoyed in this life all
-the happiness I was ever meant for."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! no, no! your happiness
-is not a happiness of yesterday, it is of to-day, of to-morrow,
-ever enduring.  The future is yours, everything which is mine is
-yours, too.  Away with these ideas of separation, away with these
-gloomy, despairing thoughts.  You will live for me, as I will
-live for you, Louise."  And he threw himself at her feet,
-embracing her knees with the wildest transports of joy and
-gratitude.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, sire! all that is
-but a wild dream."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, a wild dream?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because I cannot return to
-the court.  Exiled, how can I see you again?  Would it not be far
-better to bury myself in a cloister for the rest of my life, with
-the rich consolation that your affection gives me, with the
-pulses of your heart beating for me, and your latest confession
-of attachment still ringing in my ears?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exiled, you!" exclaimed
-Louis XIV., "and who dares to exile, let me ask, when I
-recall?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, something which
-is greater than and superior to the kings even - the world and
-public opinion.  Reflect for a moment; you cannot love a woman
-who has been ignominiously driven away - love one whom your
-mother has stained with suspicions; one whom your sister has
-threatened with disgrace; such a woman, indeed, would be unworthy
-of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Unworthy! one who belongs
-to me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire, precisely on
-that account; from the very moment she belongs to you, the
-character of your mistress renders her unworthy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right, Louise;
-every shade of delicacy of feeling is yours.  Very well, you
-shall not be exiled."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! from the tone in which
-you speak, you have not heard Madame, that is very clear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will appeal from her to
-my mother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Again, sire, you have not
-seen your mother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She, too! - my poor Louise!
-every one's hand, then, is against you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes, poor Louise, who
-was already bending beneath the fury of the storm, when you
-arrived and crushed her beneath the weight of your
-displeasure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! forgive me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will not, I know, be
-able to make either of them yield; believe me, the evil cannot be
-repaired, for I will not allow you to use violence, or to
-exercise your authority."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, Louise, to prove
-to you how fondly I love you, I will do one thing, I will see
-Madame; I will make her revoke her sentence, I will compel her to
-do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Compel?  Oh! no, no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True; you are right.  I
-will bend her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louise shook her head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will entreat her, if it
-be necessary," said Louis.  "Will you believe in my affection
-after that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louise drew herself up. 
-"Oh, never, never shall you humiliate yourself on my account;
-sooner, a thousand times, would I die."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis reflected; his
-features assumed a dark expression.  "I will love you as much as
-you have loved; I will suffer as keenly as you have suffered;
-this shall be my expiation in your eyes.  Come, mademoiselle, put
-aside these paltry considerations; let us show ourselves as great
-as our sufferings, as strong as our affection for each other." 
-And, as he said this, he took her in his arms, and encircled her
-waist with both his hands, saying, "My own love! my own dearest
-and best beloved, follow me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She made a final effort, in
-which she concentrated, no longer all of her firmness of will,
-for that had long since been overcome, but all her physical
-strength.  "No!" she replied, weakly, "no! no!  I should die from
-shame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No! you shall return like a
-queen.  No one knows of your having left - except, indeed,
-D'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He has betrayed me,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He promised faithfully -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I promised not to say
-anything to the king," said D'Artagnan, putting his head through
-the half-opened door, "and I kept my word; I was speaking to M.
-de Saint-Aignan, and it was not my fault if the king overheard
-me; was it, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is quite true," said the
-king; "forgive him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re smiled,
-and held out her small white hand to the musketeer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur d'Artagnan," said
-the king, "be good enough to see if you can find a carriage for
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," said the captain,
-"the carriage is waiting at the gate."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are a magic mould of
-forethought," exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have taken a long time
-to find it out," muttered D'Artagnan, notwithstanding he was
-flattered by the praise bestowed upon him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re was
-overcome: after a little further hesitation, she allowed herself
-to be led away, half fainting, by her royal lover.  But, as she
-was on the point of leaving the room, she tore herself from the
-king's grasp, and returned to the stone crucifix, which she
-kissed, saying, "Oh, Heaven! it was thou who drewest me hither!
-thou, who has rejected me; but thy grace is infinite.  Whenever I
-shall again return, forget that I have ever separated myself from
-thee, for, when I return it will be - never to leave thee
-again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king could not restrain
-his emotion, and D'Artagnan, even, was overcome.  Louis led the
-young girl away, lifted her into the carriage, and directed
-D'Artagnan to seat himself beside her, while he, mounting his
-horse, spurred violently towards the Palais Royal, where,
-immediately on his arrival, he sent to request an audience of
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>F</span>rom the
-manner in which the king had dismissed the ambassadors, even the
-least clear-sighted persons belonging to the court imagined war
-would ensue.  The ambassadors themselves, but slightly acquainted
-with the king's domestic disturbances, had interpreted as
-directed against themselves the celebrated sentence: &ldquo;If I
-be not master of myself, I, at least, will be so of those who
-insult me.&rdquo;  Happily for the destinies of France and
-Holland, Colbert had followed them out of the king's presence for
-the purpose of explaining matters to them; but the two queens and
-Madame, who were perfectly aware of every particular that had
-taken place in their several households, having heard the king's
-remark, so full of dark meaning, retired to their own apartments
-in no little fear and chagrin.  Madame, especially, felt that the
-royal anger might fall upon her, and, as she was brave and
-exceedingly proud, instead of seeking support and encouragement
-from the queen-mother, she had returned to her own apartments, if
-not without some uneasiness, at least without any intention of
-avoiding an encounter.  Anne of Austria, from time to time at
-frequent intervals, sent messages to learn if the king had
-returned.  The silence which the whole palace preserved upon the
-matter, and upon Louise's disappearance, was indicative of a long
-train of misfortunes to all those who knew the haughty and
-irritable humor of the king.  But Madame, unmoved in spite of all
-the flying rumors, shut herself up in her apartments, sent for
-Montalais, and, with a voice as calm as she could possibly
-command, desired her to relate all she knew about the event
-itself.  At the moment that the eloquent Montalais was
-concluding, with all kinds of oratorical precautions, and was
-recommending, if not in actual language, at least in spirit, that
-she should show forbearance towards La Valli&egrave;re, M.
-Malicorne made his appearance to beg an audience of Madame, on
-behalf of the king.  Montalais's worthy friend bore upon his
-countenance all the signs of the very liveliest emotion.  It was
-impossible to be mistaken; the interview which the king requested
-would be one of the most interesting chapters in the history of
-the hearts of kings and of men.  Madame was disturbed by her
-brother-in-law's arrival; she did not expect it so soon, nor had
-she, indeed, expected any direct step on Louis's part.  Besides,
-all women who wage war successfully by indirect means, are
-invariably neither very skillful nor very strong when it becomes
-a question of accepting a pitched battle.  Madame, however, was
-not one who ever drew back; she had the very opposite defect or
-qualification, in whichever light it may be considered; she took
-an exaggerated view of what constituted real courage; and
-therefore the king's message, of which Malicorne had been the
-bearer, was regarded by her as the bugle-note proclaiming the
-commencement of hostilities.  She, therefore, boldly accepted the
-gage of battle.  Five minutes afterwards the king ascended the
-staircase.  His color was heightened from having ridden hard. 
-His dusty and disordered clothes formed a singular contrast with
-the fresh and perfectly arranged toilette of Madame, who,
-notwithstanding the rouge on her cheeks, turned pale as Louis
-entered the room.  Louis lost no time in approaching the object
-of his visit; he sat down, and Montalais disappeared.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear sister," said the
-king, "you are aware that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re fled
-from her own room this morning, and that she has retired to a
-cloister, overwhelmed by grief and despair."  As he pronounced
-these words, the king's voice was singularly moved.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty is the first
-to inform me of it," replied Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should have thought that
-you might have learned it this morning, during the reception of
-the ambassadors," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "From your emotion, sire, I
-imagined that something extraordinary had happened, but without
-knowing what."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king, with his usual
-frankness, went straight to the point.  "Why did you send
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re away?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because I had reason to be
-dissatisfied with her conduct," she replied, dryly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king became crimson, and
-his eyes kindled with a fire which it required all Madame's
-courage to support.  He mastered his anger, however, and
-continued: "A stronger reason than that is surely requisite, for
-one so good and kind as you are, to turn away and dishonor, not
-only the young girl herself, but every member of her family as
-well.  You know that the whole city has its eyes fixed upon the
-conduct of the female portion of the court.  To dismiss a maid of
-honor is to attribute a crime to her - at the very least a
-fault.  What crime, what fault has Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re been guilty of?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Since you constitute
-yourself the protector of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re,"
-replied Madame, coldly, "I will give you those explanations which
-I should have a perfect right to withhold from every one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Even from the king!"
-exclaimed Louis, as, with a sudden gesture, he covered his head
-with his hat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have called me your
-sister," said Madame, "and I am in my own apartments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It matters not," said the
-youthful monarch, ashamed at having been hurried away by his
-anger; "neither you, nor any one else in this kingdom, can assert
-a right to withhold an explanation in my presence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Since that is the way you
-regard it," said Madame, in a hoarse, angry tone of voice, "all
-that remains for me to do is bow submission to your majesty, and
-to be silent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not so.  Let there be no
-equivocation between us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The protection with which
-you surround Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re does not impose
-any respect."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No equivocation, I repeat;
-you are perfectly aware that, as the head of the nobility in
-France, I am accountable to all for the honor of every family. 
-You dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, or whoever else
-it may be - "  Madame shrugged her shoulders.  "Or whoever else
-it may be, I repeat," continued the king; "and as, acting in that
-manner, you cast a dishonorable reflection upon that person, I
-ask you for an explanation, in order that I may confirm or annul
-the sentence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Annul my sentence!"
-exclaimed Madame, haughtily.  "What! when I have discharged one
-of my attendants, do you order me to take her back again?"  The
-king remained silent.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This would be a sheer abuse
-of power, sire; it would be indecorous and unseemly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As a woman, I should revolt
-against an abuse so insulting to me; I should no longer be able
-to regard myself as a princess of your blood, a daughter of a
-monarch; I should be the meanest of creatures, more humbled and
-disgraced than the servant I had sent away."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king rose from his seat
-with anger.  "It cannot be a heart," he cried, "you have beating
-in your bosom; if you act in such a way with me, I may have
-reason to act with corresponding severity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It sometimes happens that in
-a battle a chance ball may reach its mark.  The observation which
-the king had made without any particular intention, struck Madame
-home, and staggered her for a moment; some day or other she might
-indeed have reason to dread reprisals.  "At all events, sire,"
-she said, "explain what you require."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I ask, madame, what has
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re done to warrant your conduct
-toward her?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She is the most cunning
-fomenter of intrigues I know; she was the occasion of two
-personal friends engaging in mortal combat; and has made people
-talk of her in such shameless terms that the whole court is
-indignant at the mere sound of her name."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She! she!" cried the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Under her soft and
-hypocritical manner," continued Madame, "she hides a disposition
-full of foul and dark conceit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You may possibly be
-deceived, sire, but I know her right well; she is capable of
-creating dispute and misunderstanding between the most
-affectionate relatives and the most intimate friends.  You see
-that she has already sown discord betwixt us two."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do assure you - " said
-the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, look well into the
-case as it stands; we were living on the most friendly
-understanding, and by the artfulness of her tales and complaints,
-she has set your majesty against me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I swear to you," said the
-king, "that on no occasion has a bitter word ever passed her
-lips; I swear that, even in my wildest bursts of passion, she
-would not allow me to menace any one; and I swear, too, that you
-do not possess a more devoted and respectful friend than she
-is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Friend!" said Madame, with
-an expression of supreme disdain.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Take care, Madame!" said
-the king; "you forget that you now understand me, and that from
-this moment everything is equalized.  Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re will be whatever I may choose her to become; and
-to-morrow, if I were determined to do so, I could seat her on a
-throne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She was not born to a
-throne, at least, and whatever you may do can affect the future
-alone, but cannot affect the past."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame, towards you I have
-shown every kind consideration, and every eager desire to please
-you; do not remind me that I am master."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is the second time,
-sire, that you have made that remark, and I have already informed
-you I am ready to submit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, then, you
-will confer upon me the favor of receiving Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re back again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For what purpose, sire,
-since you have a throne to bestow upon her?  I am too
-insignificant to protect so exalted a personage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, a truce to this bitter
-and disdainful spirit.  Grant me her forgiveness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>Never!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You drive me, then, to open
-warfare in my own family."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I, too, have a family with
-whom I can find refuge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you mean that as a
-threat, and could you forget yourself so far?  Do you believe
-that, if you push the affront to that extent, your family would
-encourage you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I hope, sire, that you will
-not force me to take any step which would be unworthy of my
-rank."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I hoped that you would
-remember our recent friendship, and that you would treat me as a
-brother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame paused for a moment. 
-"I do not disown you for a brother," she said, "in refusing you
-majesty an injustice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "An injustice!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire! if I informed
-others of La Valli&egrave;re's conduct; if the queen knew - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come, come, Henrietta, let
-your heart speak; remember that, for however brief a time, you
-once loved me; remember, too, that human hearts should be as
-merciful as the heart of a sovereign Master.  Do not be
-inflexible with others; forgive La Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I cannot; she has offended
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But for my sake."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, it is for your sake I
-would do anything in the world, except that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will drive me to
-despair - you compel me to turn to the last resource of weak
-people, and seek counsel of my angry and wrathful
-disposition."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I advise you to be
-reasonable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Reasonable! - I can be so
-no longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, sire!  I pray you -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For pity's sake, Henrietta;
-it is the first time I entreated any one, and I have no hope in
-any one but in you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire! you are
-weeping."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "From rage, from
-humiliation.  That I, the king, should have been obliged to
-descend to entreaty.  I shall hate this moment during my whole
-life.  You have made me suffer in one moment more distress and
-more degradation than I could have anticipated in the greatest
-extremity in life."  And the king rose and gave free vent to his
-tears, which, in fact, were tears of anger and shame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame was not touched
-exactly - for the best women, when their pride is hurt, are
-without pity; but she was afraid that the tears the king was
-shedding might possibly carry away every soft and tender feeling
-in his heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Give what commands you
-please, sire," she said; "and since you prefer my humiliation to
-your own - although mine is public and yours has been witnessed
-but by myself alone - speak, I will obey your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no, Henrietta!"
-exclaimed Louis, transported with gratitude, "you will have
-yielded to a brother's wishes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I no longer have any
-brother, since I obey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "All that I have would be
-too little in return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How passionately you love,
-sire, when you do love!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis did not answer.  He
-had seized upon Madame's hand and covered it with kisses.  "And
-so you will receive this poor girl back again, and will forgive
-her; you will find how gentle and pure-hearted she is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will maintain her in my
-household."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, you will give her your
-friendship, my sister."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I never liked her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, for my sake, you will
-treat her kindly, will you not, Henrietta?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will treat her as your -
-<i>mistress</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king rose suddenly to
-his feet.  By this word, which had so infelicitously escaped her,
-Madame had destroyed the whole merit of her sacrifice.  The king
-felt freed from all obligations.  Exasperated beyond measure, and
-bitterly offended, he replied:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I thank you, Madame; I
-shall never forget the service you have rendered me."  And,
-saluting her with an affectation of ceremony, he took his leave
-of her.  As he passed before a glass, he saw that his eyes were
-red, and angrily stamped his foot on the ground.  But it was too
-late, for Malicorne and D'Artagnan, who were standing at the
-door, had seen his eyes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king has been crying,"
-thought Malicorne.  D'Artagnan approached the king with a
-respectful air, and said in a low tone of voice:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, it would be better to
-return to your own apartments by the small staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because the dust of the
-road has left its traces on your face," said D'Artagnan.  "By
-heavens!" he thought, "when the king has given way like a child,
-let those look to it who may make the lady weep for whom the king
-sheds tears."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's Pocket-Handkerchief.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>M</span>adame was not
-bad-hearted - she was only hasty and impetuous.  The king was not
-imprudent - he was simply in love.  Hardly had they entered into
-this compact, which terminated in La Valli&egrave;re's recall,
-when they both sought to make as much as they could by their
-bargain.  The king wished to see La Valli&egrave;re every moment
-of the day, while Madame, who was sensible of the king's
-annoyance ever since he had so entreated her, would not
-relinquish her revenge on La Valli&egrave;re without a contest. 
-She planted every conceivable difficulty in the king's path; he
-was, in fact, obliged, in order to get a glimpse of La
-Valli&egrave;re, to be exceedingly devoted in his attentions to
-his sister-in-law, and this, indeed, was Madame's plan of
-policy.  As she had chosen some one to second her efforts, and as
-this person was our old friend Montalais, the king found himself
-completely hemmed in every time he paid Madame a visit; he was
-surrounded, and was never left a moment alone.  Madame displayed
-in her conversation a charm of manner and brilliancy of wit which
-dazzled everybody.  Montalais followed her, and soon rendered
-herself perfectly insupportable to the king, which was, in fact,
-the very thing she expected would happen.  She then set Malicorne
-at the king, who found means of informing his majesty that there
-was a young person belonging to the court who was exceedingly
-miserable; and on the king inquiring who this person was,
-Malicorne replied that it was Mademoiselle de Montalais.  To this
-the king answered that it was perfectly just that a person should
-be unhappy when she rendered others so.  Whereupon Malicorne
-explained how matters stood; for he had received his directions
-from Montalais.  The king began to open his eyes; he remarked
-that, as soon as he made his appearance, Madame made hers too;
-that she remained in the corridors until after he had left; that
-she accompanied him back to his own apartments, fearing that he
-might speak in the ante-chambers to one of her maids of honor. 
-One evening she went further still.  The king was seated,
-surrounded by the ladies who were present, and holding in his
-hand, concealed by his lace ruffle, a small note which he wished
-to slip into La Valli&egrave;re's hand.  Madame guessed both his
-intention and the letter too.  It was difficult to prevent the
-king going wherever he pleased, and yet it was necessary to
-prevent his going near La Valli&egrave;re, or speaking to her, as
-by so doing he could let the note fall into her lap behind her
-fan, or into her pocket-handkerchief.  The king, who was also on
-the watch, suspected that a snare was being laid for him.  He
-rose and pushed his chair, without affectation, near Mademoiselle
-de Ch&acirc;tillon, with whom he began to talk in a light tone. 
-They were amusing themselves making rhymes; from Mademoiselle de
-Ch&acirc;tillon he went to Montalais, and then to Mademoiselle de
-Tonnay-Charente.  And thus, by this skillful maneuver, he found
-himself seated opposite to La Valli&egrave;re, whom he completely
-concealed.  Madame pretended to be greatly occupied, altering a
-group of flowers that she was working in tapestry.  The king
-showed the corner of his letter to La Valli&egrave;re, and the
-latter held out her handkerchief with a look that signified, "Put
-the letter inside."  Then, as the king had placed his own
-handkerchief upon his chair, he was adroit enough to let it fall
-on the ground, so that La Valli&egrave;re slipped her
-handkerchief on the chair.  The king took it up quietly, without
-any one observing what he did, placed the letter within it, and
-returned the handkerchief to the place he had taken it from. 
-There was only just time for La Valli&egrave;re to stretch out
-her hand to take hold of the handkerchief with its valuable
-contents.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                But Madame, who had observed
-everything that had passed, said to Mademoiselle de
-Ch&acirc;tillon, "Ch&acirc;tillon, be good enough to pick up the
-king's handkerchief, if you please; it has fallen on the
-carpet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The young girl obeyed with
-the utmost precipitation, the king having moved from his seat,
-and La Valli&egrave;re being in no little degree nervous and
-confused.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!  I beg your majesty's
-pardon," said Mademoiselle de Ch&acirc;tillon; "you have two
-handkerchiefs, I perceive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And the king was accordingly
-obliged to put into his pocket La Valli&egrave;re's handkerchief
-as well as his own.  He certainly gained that souvenir of Louise,
-who lost, however, a copy of verses which had cost the king ten
-hours' hard labor, and which, as far as he was concerned, was
-perhaps as good as a long poem.  It would be impossible to
-describe the king's anger and La Valli&egrave;re's despair; but
-shortly afterwards a circumstance occurred which was more than
-remarkable.  When the king left, in order to retire to his own
-apartments, Malicorne, informed of what had passed, one can
-hardly tell how, was waiting in the ante-chamber.  The
-ante-chambers of the Palais Royal are naturally very dark, and,
-in the evening, they were but indifferently lighted.  Nothing
-pleased the king more than this dim light.  As a general rule,
-love, whose mind and heart are constantly in a blaze, contemns
-all light, except the sunshine of the soul.  And so the
-ante-chamber was dark; a page carried a torch before the king,
-who walked on slowly, greatly annoyed at what had recently
-occurred.  Malicorne passed close to the king, almost stumbled
-against him in fact, and begged his forgiveness with the
-profoundest humility; but the king, who was in an exceedingly
-ill-temper, was very sharp in his reproof to Malicorne, who
-disappeared as soon and as quietly as he possibly could.  Louis
-retired to rest, having had a misunderstanding with the queen;
-and the next day, as soon as he entered the cabinet, he wished to
-have La Valli&egrave;re's handkerchief in order to press his lips
-to it.  He called his valet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Fetch me," he said, "the
-coat I wore yesterday evening, but be very sure you do not touch
-anything it may contain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The order being obeyed, the
-king himself searched the pocket of the coat; he found only one
-handkerchief, and that his own; La Valli&egrave;re's had
-disappeared.  Whilst busied with all kinds of conjectures and
-suspicions, a letter was brought to him from La Valli&egrave;re;
-it ran thus:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How good and kind of you to
-have sent me those beautiful verses; how full of ingenuity and
-perseverance your affection is; how is it possible to help loving
-you so dearly!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What does this mean?"
-thought the king; "there must be some mistake.  Look well about,"
-said he to the valet, "for a pocket-handkerchief must be in one
-of my pockets; and if you do not find it, or if you have touched
-it - "  He reflected for a moment.  To make a state matter of the
-loss of the handkerchief would be to act absurdly, and he
-therefore added, "There was a letter of some importance inside
-the handkerchief, which had somehow got among the folds of
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," said the valet,
-"your majesty had only one handkerchief, and that is it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True, true," replied the
-king, setting his teeth hard together.  "Oh, poverty, how I envy
-you!  Happy is the man who can empty his own pockets of letters
-and handkerchiefs!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He read La Valli&egrave;re's
-letter over again, endeavoring to imagine in what conceivable way
-his verses could have reached their destination.  There was a
-postscript to the letter:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I send you back by your
-messenger this reply, so unworthy of what you sent me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So far so good; I shall
-find out something now," he said delightedly.  "Who is waiting,
-and who brought me this letter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. Malicorne," replied the
-<i>valet de chambre</i>, timidly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Desire him to come in."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Malicorne entered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You come from Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re?" said the king, with a sigh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you took Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re something from me?"<br>
-                "I, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, you."<br>
-                "Oh, no, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re says so, distinctly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire, Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re is mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king frowned.  "What
-jest is this?" he said; "explain yourself.  Why does Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re call you my messenger?  What did you take
-to that lady?  Speak, monsieur, and quickly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I merely took
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re a pocket-handkerchief, that
-was all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A handkerchief, - what
-handkerchief?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, at the very moment
-when I had the misfortune to stumble against your majesty
-yesterday - a misfortune which I shall deplore to the last day of
-my life, especially after the dissatisfaction which you exhibited
-- I remained, sire, motionless with despair, your majesty being
-at too great a distance to hear my excuses, when I saw something
-white lying on the ground."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I stooped down, - it was a
-pocket-handkerchief.  For a moment I had an idea that when I
-stumbled against your majesty I must have been the cause of the
-handkerchief falling from your pocket; but as I felt it all over
-very respectfully, I perceived a cipher at one of the corners,
-and, on looking at it closely, I found that it was Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re's cipher.  I presumed that on her way to
-Madame's apartment in the earlier part of the evening she had let
-her handkerchief fall, and I accordingly hastened to restore it
-to her as she was leaving; and that is all I gave to Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re, I entreat your majesty to believe." 
-Malicorne's manner was so simple, so full of contrition, and
-marked with such extreme humility, that the king was greatly
-amused in listening to him.  He was as pleased with him for what
-he had done as if he had rendered him the greatest service.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This is the second
-fortunate meeting I have had with you, monsieur," he said; "you
-may count upon my good intentions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The plain and sober truth
-was, that Malicorne had picked the king's pocket of the
-handkerchief as dexterously as any of the pickpockets of the good
-city of Paris could have done.  Madame never knew of this little
-incident, but Montalais gave La Valli&egrave;re some idea of the
-manner in which it had really happened, and La Valli&egrave;re
-afterwards told the king, who laughed exceedingly at it and
-pronounced Malicorne to be a first rate politician.  Louis XIV.
-was right, and it is well known that he was tolerably well
-acquainted with human nature.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Which Treats of Gardeners, of Ladders, and Maids of Honor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'><span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>M</span>iracles,
-unfortunately, could not be always happening, whilst Madame's
-ill-humor still continued.  In a week's time, matters had reached
-such a point, that the king could no longer look at La
-Valli&egrave;re without a look full of suspicion crossing his
-own.  Whenever a promenade was proposed, Madame, in order to
-avoid the recurrence of similar scenes to that of the
-thunder-storm, or the royal oak, had a variety of indispositions
-ready prepared; and, thanks to them, she was unable to go out,
-and her maids of honor were obliged to remain indoors also. 
-There was not the slightest chance of means of paying a nocturnal
-visit; for in this respect the king had, on the very first
-occasion, experienced a severe check, which happened in the
-following manner.  As at Fontainebleau, he had taken Saint-Aignan
-with him one evening when he wished to pay La Valli&egrave;re a
-visit; but he had found no one but Mademoiselle de
-Tonnay-Charente, who had begun to call out "Fire!" and "Thieves!"
-in such a manner that a perfect legion of chamber-maids,
-attendants, and pages, ran to her assistance; so that
-Saint-Aignan, who had remained behind in order to save the honor
-of his royal master, who had fled precipitately, was obliged to
-submit to a severe scolding from the queen-mother, as well as
-from Madame herself.  In addition, he had, the next morning,
-received two challenges from the De Mortemart family, and the
-king had been obliged to interfere.  This mistake had been owing
-to the circumstance of Madame having suddenly ordered a change in
-the apartments of her maids of honor, and directed La
-Valli&egrave;re and Montalais to sleep in her own cabinet.  No
-gateway, therefore, was any longer open - not even communication
-by letter; to write under the eyes of so ferocious an Argus as
-Madame, whose temper and disposition were so uncertain, was to
-run the risk of exposure to the greatest danger; and it can well
-be conceived into what a state of continuous irritation, and ever
-increasing anger, all these petty annoyances threw the young
-lion.  The king almost tormented himself to death endeavoring to
-discover a means of communication; and, as he did not think
-proper to call in the aid of Malicorne or D'Artagnan, the means
-were not discovered at all.  Malicorne had, indeed, occasional
-brilliant flashes of imagination, with which he tried to inspire
-the king with confidence; but, whether from shame or suspicion,
-the king, who had at first begun to nibble at the bait, soon
-abandoned the hook.  In this way, for instance, one evening,
-while the king was crossing the garden, and looking up at
-Madame's windows, Malicorne stumbled over a ladder lying beside a
-border of box, and said to Manicamp, then walking with him behind
-the king, "Did you not see that I just now stumbled against a
-ladder, and was nearly thrown down?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No," said Manicamp, as
-usual very absent-minded, "but it appears you did not fall."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That doesn't matter; but it
-is not on that account the less dangerous to leave ladders lying
-about in that manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True, one might hurt one's
-self, especially when troubled with fits of absence of mind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I don't mean that; what I
-did mean, was that it is dangerous to allow ladders to lie about
-so near the windows of the maids of honor."  Louis started
-imperceptibly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?" inquired
-Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Speak louder," whispered
-Malicorne, as he touched him with his arm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?" said Manicamp,
-louder.  The king listened.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because, for instance,"
-said Malicorne, "a ladder nineteen feet high is just the height
-of the cornice of those windows."  Manicamp, instead of
-answering, was dreaming of something else.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ask me, can't you, what
-windows I mean," whispered Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But what windows are you
-referring to?" said Manicamp, aloud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The windows of Madame's
-apartments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Eh!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  I don't say that any
-one would ever venture to go up a ladder into Madame's room; but
-in Madame's cabinet, merely separated by a partition, sleep two
-exceedingly pretty girls, Mesdemoiselles de la Valli&egrave;re
-and de Montalais."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "By a partition?" said
-Manicamp.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Look; you see how
-brilliantly lighted Madame's apartments are - well, do you see
-those two windows?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And that window close to
-the others, but more dimly lighted?"<br>
-                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, that is the room of
-the maids of honor.  Look, there is Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re opening the window.  Ah! how many soft things
-could an enterprising lover say to her, if he only suspected that
-there was lying here a ladder nineteen feet long, which would
-just reach the cornice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But she is not alone; you
-said Mademoiselle de Montalais is with her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Mademoiselle de Montalais
-counts for nothing; she is her oldest friend, and exceedingly
-devoted to her - a positive well, into which can be thrown all
-sorts of secrets one might wish to get rid of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king did not lose a
-single syllable of this conversation.  Malicorne even remarked
-that his majesty slackened his pace, in order to give him time to
-finish.  So, when they arrived at the door, Louis dismissed every
-one, with the exception of Malicorne - a circumstance which
-excited no surprise, for it was known that the king was in love;
-and they suspected he was going to compose some verses by
-moonlight; and, although there was no moon that evening, the king
-might, nevertheless, have some verses to compose.  Every one,
-therefore, took his leave; and, immediately afterwards, the king
-turned towards Malicorne, who respectfully waited until his
-majesty should address him.  "What were you saying, just now,
-about a ladder, Monsieur Malicorne?" he asked.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did I say anything about
-ladders, sire?" said Malicorne, looking up, as if in search of
-words which had flown away.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, of a ladder nineteen
-feet long."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, yes, sire, I remember;
-but I spoke to M. Manicamp, and I should not have said a word had
-I known your majesty was near enough to hear us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And why would you not have
-said a word?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because I should not have
-liked to get the gardener into a scrape who left it there - poor
-fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Don't make yourself uneasy
-on that account.  What is this ladder like?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If your majesty wishes to
-see it, nothing is easier, for there it is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that box hedge?"<br>
-                "Exactly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Show it to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Malicorne turned back, and
-led the king up to the ladder, saying, "This is it, sire."<br>
-                "Pull it this way a little."<br>
-                When Malicorne had brought the ladder on to the
-gravel walk, the king began to step its whole length.  "Hum!" he
-said; "you say it is nineteen feet long?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nineteen feet - that is
-rather long; I hardly believe it can be so long as that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You cannot judge very
-correctly with the ladder in that position, sire.  If it were
-upright, against a tree or a wall, for instance, you would be
-better able to judge, because the comparison would assist you a
-good deal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! it does not matter, M.
-Malicorne; but I can hardly believe that the ladder is nineteen
-feet high."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know how accurate your
-majesty's glance is, and yet I would wager."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king shook his head. 
-"There is one unanswerable means of verifying it," said
-Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Every one knows, sire, that
-the ground-floor of the palace is eighteen feet high."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True, that is very well
-known."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, sire, if I place the
-ladder against the wall, we shall be able to ascertain."<br>
-                "True."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Malicorne took up the
-ladder, like a feather, and placed it upright against the wall. 
-And, in order to try the experiment, he chose, or chance,
-perhaps, directed him to choose, the very window of the cabinet
-where La Valli&egrave;re was.  The ladder just reached the edge
-of the cornice, that is to say, the sill of the window; so that,
-by standing upon the last round but one of the ladder, a man of
-about the middle height, as the king was, for instance, could
-easily talk with those who might be in the room.  Hardly had the
-ladder been properly placed, when the king, dropping the assumed
-part he had been playing in the comedy, began to ascend the
-rounds of the ladder, which Malicorne held at the bottom.  But
-hardly had he completed half the distance when a patrol of Swiss
-guards appeared in the garden, and advanced straight towards
-them.  The king descended with the utmost precipitation, and
-concealed himself among the trees.  Malicorne at once perceived
-that he must offer himself as a sacrifice; for if he, too, were
-to conceal himself, the guard would search everywhere until they
-had found either himself or the king, perhaps both.  It would be
-far better, therefore, that he alone should be discovered.  And,
-consequently, Malicorne hid himself so clumsily that he was the
-only one arrested.  As soon as he was arrested, Malicorne was
-taken to the guard-house, and there he declared who he was, and
-was immediately recognized.  In the meantime, by concealing
-himself first behind one clump of trees and then behind another,
-the king reached the side door of his apartment, very much
-humiliated, and still more disappointed.  More than that, the
-noise made in arresting Malicorne had drawn La Valli&egrave;re
-and Montalais to their window; and even Madame herself had
-appeared at her own, with a pair of wax candles, one in each
-hand, clamorously asking what was the matter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                In the meantime, Malicorne
-sent for D'Artagnan, who did not lose a moment in hurrying to
-him.  But it was in vain he attempted to make him understand his
-reasons, and in vain also that D'Artagnan did understand them;
-and, further, it was equally in vain that both their sharp and
-intuitive minds endeavored to give another turn to the adventure;
-there was no other resource left for Malicorne but to let it be
-supposed that he had wished to enter Mademoiselle de Montalais's
-apartment, as Saint-Aignan had passed for having wished to force
-Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente's door.  Madame was inflexible;
-in the first place, because, if Malicorne had, in fact, wished to
-enter her apartment at night through the window, and by means of
-the ladder, in order to see Montalais, it was a punishable
-offense on Malicorne's part, and he must be punished accordingly;
-and, in the second place, if Malicorne, instead of acting in his
-own name, had acted as an intermediary between La Valli&egrave;re
-and a person whose name it was superfluous to mention, his crime
-was in that case even greater, since love, which is an excuse for
-everything, did not exist in the case as an excuse.  Madame
-therefore made the greatest possible disturbance about the
-matter, and obtained his dismissal from Monsieur's household,
-without reflecting, poor blind creature, that both Malicorne and
-Montalais held her fast in their clutches in consequence of her
-visit to De Guiche, and in a variety of other ways equally
-delicate.  Montalais, who was perfectly furious, wished to
-revenge herself immediately, but Malicorne pointed out to her
-that the king's countenance would repay them for all the
-disgraces in the world, and that it was a great thing to have to
-suffer on his majesty's account.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Malicorne was perfectly
-right, and, therefore, although Montalais had the spirit of ten
-women in her, he succeeded in bringing her round to his own
-opinion.  And we must not omit to state that the king helped them
-to console themselves, for, in the first place, he presented
-Malicorne with fifty thousand francs as a compensation for the
-post he had lost, and, in the next place, he gave him an
-appointment in his own household, delighted to have an
-opportunity of revenging himself in such a manner upon Madame for
-all she had made him and La Valli&egrave;re suffer.  But as
-Malicorne could no longer carry significant handkerchiefs for him
-or plant convenient ladders, the royal lover was in a terrible
-state.  There seemed to be no hope, therefore, of ever getting
-near La Valli&egrave;re again, so long as she should remain at
-the Palais Royal.  All the dignities and all the money in the
-world could not remedy that.  Fortunately, however, Malicorne was
-on the lookout, and this so successfully that he met Montalais,
-who, to do her justice, it must be admitted, was doing her best
-to meet Malicorne.  "What do you do during the night in Madame's
-apartment?" he asked the young girl.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, I go to sleep, of
-course," she replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But it is very wrong to
-sleep; it can hardly be possible that, with the pain you are
-suffering, you can manage to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what am I suffering
-from, may I ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you not in despair at
-my absence?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course not, since you
-have received fifty thousand francs and an appointment in the
-king's household."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is a matter of no
-moment; you are exceedingly afflicted at not seeing me as you
-used to see me formerly, and more than all, you are in despair at
-my having lost Madame's confidence; come now, is not that
-true?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Perfectly true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; your distress of
-mind prevents you sleeping at night, and so you sob, and sigh,
-and blow your nose ten times every minute as loud as
-possible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, my dear Malicorne,
-Madame cannot endure the slightest noise near her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know that perfectly well;
-of course she can't endure anything; and so, I tell you, when she
-hears your deep distress, she will turn you out of her rooms
-without a moment's delay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very fortunate you
-<i>do</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, and what will happen
-next?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The next thing that will
-happen will be, that La Valli&egrave;re, finding herself alone
-without you, will groan and utter such loud lamentations, that
-she will exhibit despair enough for two."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case she will be
-put into <i>another</i> room, don't you see?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, but which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, that will puzzle you
-to say, Mr. Inventor-General."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not at all; whenever and
-whatever the room may be, it will always be preferable to
-Madame's own room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good, so begin your
-lamentations to-night."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I certainly will not fail
-to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And give La Valli&egrave;re
-a hint also."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! don't fear her, she
-cries quite enough already to herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well! all she has to
-do is cry out loudly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And they separated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Which Treats of Carpentry Operations, and Furnishes Details upon
-the Mode of Constructing Staircases.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he advice
-which had been given to Montalais was communicated by her to La
-Valli&egrave;re, who could not but acknowledge that it was by no
-means deficient in judgment, and who, after a certain amount of
-resistance, rising rather from timidity than indifference to the
-project, resolved to put it into execution.  This story of the
-two girls weeping, and filling Madame's bedroom with the noisiest
-lamentations, was Malicorne's <i>chef-d'&oelig;uvre</i>.  As
-nothing is so probable as improbability, so natural as romance,
-this kind of Arabian Nights story succeeded perfectly with
-Madame.  The first thing she did was to send Montalais away, and
-then, three days, or rather three nights afterwards, she had La
-Valli&egrave;re removed.  She gave the latter one of the small
-rooms on the top story, situated immediately over the apartments
-allotted to the gentlemen of Monsieur's suite.  One story only,
-that is to say, a mere flooring separated the maids of honor from
-the officers and gentlemen of her husband's household.  A private
-staircase, which was placed under Madame de Navailles's
-surveillance, was the only means of communication.  For greater
-safety, Madame de Navailles, who had heard of his majesty's
-previous attempts, had the windows of the rooms and the openings
-of the chimneys carefully barred.  There was, therefore, every
-possible security provided for Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re, whose room now bore more resemblance to a cage
-than to anything else.  When Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re
-was in her own room, and she was there very frequently, for
-Madame scarcely ever had any occasion for her services, since she
-once knew she was safe under Madame de Navailles's inspection,
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re had no better means of amusing
-herself than looking through the bars of her windows.  It
-happened, therefore, that one morning, as she was looking out as
-usual, she perceived Malicorne at one of the windows exactly
-opposite to her own.  He held a carpenter's rule in his hand, was
-surveying the buildings, and seemed to be adding up some figures
-on paper.  La Valli&egrave;re recognized Malicorne and nodded to
-him; Malicorne, in his turn, replied by a formal bow, and
-disappeared from the window.  She was surprised at this marked
-coolness, so different from his usual unfailing good-humor, but
-she remembered that he had lost his appointment on her account,
-and that he could hardly be very amiably disposed towards her,
-since, in all probability, she would never be in a position to
-make him any recompense for what he had lost.  She knew how to
-forgive offenses, and with still more readiness could she
-sympathize with misfortune.  La Valli&egrave;re would have asked
-Montalais her opinion, if she had been within hearing, but she
-was absent, it being the hour she commonly devoted to her own
-correspondence.  Suddenly La Valli&egrave;re observed something
-thrown from the window where Malicorne had been standing, pass
-across the open space which separated the iron bars, and roll
-upon the floor.  She advanced with no little curiosity towards
-this object, and picked it up; it was a wooden reel for silk,
-only, in this instance, instead of silk, a piece of paper was
-rolled round it.  La Valli&egrave;re unrolled it and read as
-follows:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "MADEMOISELLE, - I am
-exceedingly anxious to learn two things: the first is, to know if
-the flooring of your apartment is wood or brick; the second, to
-ascertain at what distance your bed is placed from the window. 
-Forgive my importunity, and will you be good enough to send me an
-answer by the same way you receive this letter - that is to say,
-by means of the silk winder; only, instead of throwing into my
-room, as I have thrown it into yours, which will be too difficult
-for you to attempt, have the goodness merely to let it fall. 
-Believe me, mademoiselle, your most humble, most respectful
-servant,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>
-"MALICORNE.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Write the reply, if you
-please, upon the letter itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! poor fellow," exclaimed
-La Valli&egrave;re, "he must have gone out of his mind;" and she
-directed towards her correspondent - of whom she caught but a
-faint glimpse, in consequence of the darkness of the room - a
-look full of compassionate consideration.  Malicorne understood
-her, and shook his head, as if he meant to say, "No, no, I am not
-out of my mind; be quite satisfied."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She smiled, as if still in
-doubt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no," he signified by a
-gesture, "my head is right," and pointed to his head, then, after
-moving his hand like a man who writes very rapidly, he put his
-hands together as if entreating her to write.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re, even if
-he were mad, saw no impropriety in doing what Malicorne requested
-her; she took a pencil and wrote "Wood," and then walked slowly
-from her window to her bed, and wrote, "Six paces," and having
-done this, she looked out again at Malicorne, who bowed to her,
-signifying that he was about to descend.  La Valli&egrave;re
-understood that it was to pick up the silk winder.  She
-approached the window, and, in accordance with Malicorne's
-instructions, let it fall.  The winder was still rolling along
-the flag-stones as Malicorne started after it, overtook and
-picked it up, and beginning to peel it as a monkey would do with
-a nut, he ran straight towards M. de Saint-Aignan's apartment. 
-Saint-Aignan had chosen, or rather solicited, that his rooms
-might be as near the king as possible, as certain plants seek the
-sun's rays in order to develop themselves more luxuriantly.  His
-apartment consisted of two rooms, in that portion of the palace
-occupied by Louis XIV. himself.  M. de Saint-Aignan was very
-proud of this proximity, which afforded easy access to his
-majesty, and, more than that, the favor of occasional unexpected
-meetings.  At the moment we are now referring to, he was engaged
-in having both his rooms magnificently carpeted, with expectation
-of receiving the honor of frequent visits from the king; for his
-majesty, since his passion for La Valli&egrave;re, had chosen
-Saint-Aignan as his confidant, and could not, in fact, do without
-him, either night or day.  Malicorne introduced himself to the
-comte, and met with no difficulties, because he had been
-favorably noticed by the king; and also, because the credit which
-one man may happen to enjoy is always a bait for others. 
-Saint-Aignan asked his visitor if he brought any news with
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; great news," replied
-the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! ah!" said Saint-Aignan,
-"what is it?"<br>
-                "Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re has changed
-her quarters."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean?" said
-Saint-Aignan, opening his eyes very wide.  "She was living in the
-same apartments as Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely so; but Madame
-got tired of her proximity, and has installed her in a room which
-is situated exactly above your future apartment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! up there," exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan, with surprise, and pointing at the floor above him
-with his finger.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No," said Malicorne,
-"yonder," indicating the building opposite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean, then, by
-saying that her room is above my apartment?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because I am sure that your
-apartment <i>ought</i>, providentially, to be under Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re's room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Saint-Aignan, at this
-remark, gave poor Malicorne a look, similar to one of those La
-Valli&egrave;re had already given a quarter of an hour before,
-that is to say, he thought he had lost his senses.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur," said Malicorne
-to him, "I wish to answer what you are thinking about."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean by 'what I
-am thinking about'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My reason is, that you have
-not clearly understood what I want to convey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I admit it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, you are aware
-that underneath the apartments set for Madame's maids of honor,
-the gentlemen in attendance on the king and on Monsieur are
-lodged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I know that, since
-Manicamp, De Wardes, and others are living there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely.  Well, monsieur,
-admire the singularity of the circumstance; the two rooms
-destined for M. de Guiche are exactly the very two rooms situated
-underneath those which Mademoiselle de Montalais and Mademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re occupy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well; what then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "'What then,' do you say? 
-Why, these two rooms are empty, since M. de Guiche is now lying
-wounded at Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I assure you, my dear
-fellow, I cannot grasp your meaning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well! if I had the
-happiness to call myself Saint-Aignan, I should guess
-immediately."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what would you do
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should at once change the
-rooms I am occupying here, for those which M. de Guiche is not
-using yonder."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Can you suppose such a
-thing?" said Saint-Aignan, disdainfully.  "What! abandon the
-chief post of honor, the proximity to the king, a privilege
-conceded only to princes of the blood, to dukes, and peers! 
-Permit me to tell you, my dear Monsieur de Malicorne, that you
-must be out of your senses."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur," replied the
-young man, seriously, "you commit two mistakes.  My name is
-Malicorne, simply; and I am in perfect possession of all my
-senses."  Then, drawing a paper from his pocket, he said, "Listen
-to what I am going to say; and afterwards, I will show you this
-paper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am listening," said
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You know that Madame looks
-after La Valli&egrave;re as carefully as Argus did after the
-nymph Io."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You know that the king has
-sought for an opportunity, but uselessly, of speaking to the
-prisoner, and that neither you nor myself have yet succeeded in
-procuring him this piece of good fortune."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You certainly ought to know
-something about the subject, my poor Malicorne," said
-Saint-Aignan, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; what do you
-suppose would happen to the man whose imagination devised some
-means of bringing the lovers together?"<br>
-                "Oh! the king would set no bounds to his
-gratitude."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Let me ask you, then, M. de
-Saint-Aignan, whether you would not be curious to taste a little
-of this royal gratitude?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "any favor of my master, as a recognition of the
-proper discharge of my duty, would assuredly be most
-precious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, look at this
-paper, monsieur le comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is it - a plan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; a plan of M. de
-Guiche's two rooms, which, in all probability, will soon be your
-two rooms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! no, whatever may
-happen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because my rooms are the
-envy of too many gentlemen, to whom I certainly shall not give
-them up; M. de Roquelaure, for instance, M. de la Fert&eacute;,
-and M. de Dangeau, would all be anxious to get them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case I shall leave
-you, monsieur le comte, and I shall go and offer to one of those
-gentlemen the plan I have just shown you, together with the
-advantages annexed to it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But why do you not keep
-them for yourself?" inquired Saint-Aignan, suspiciously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=
-'font-size:12.0pt;'>           </span> "Because the king would
-never do me the honor of paying me a visit openly, whilst he
-would readily go and see any one of those gentlemen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! the king would go and
-see any one of those gentlemen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Go! most certainly he would
-ten times instead of once.  Is it possible you can ask me if the
-king would go to an apartment which would bring him nearer to
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, indeed, delightfully
-near her, with a floor between them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Malicorne unfolded the piece
-of paper which had been wrapped round the bobbin.  "Monsieur le
-comte," he said, "have the goodness to observe that the flooring
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's room is merely a wooden
-flooring."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well! all you would have to
-do would be to get hold of a journeyman carpenter, lock him up in
-your apartments, without letting him know where you have taken
-him to, and let him make a hole in your ceiling, and consequently
-in the flooring of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's
-room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good heavens!" exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan, as if dazzled.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is the matter?" said
-Malicorne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing, except that you
-have hit upon a singular, bold idea, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It will seem a very
-trifling one to the king, I assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Lovers never think of the
-risk they run."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What danger do you
-apprehend, monsieur le comte?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, effecting such an
-opening as that will make a terrible noise: it could be heard all
-over the palace."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! monsieur le comte, I am
-quite sure that the carpenter I shall select will not make the
-slightest noise in the world.  He will saw an opening three feet
-square, with a saw covered with tow, and no one, not even those
-adjoining, will know that he is at work."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear Monsieur Malicorne,
-you astound, you positively bewilder me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To continue," replied
-Malicorne, quietly, "in the room, the ceiling of which you will
-have cut through, you will put up a staircase, which will either
-allow Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re to descend into your
-room, or the king to ascend into Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re's room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But the staircase will be
-seen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; for in your room it
-will be hidden by a partition, over which you will throw a
-tapestry similar to that which covers the rest of the apartment;
-and in Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's room it will not be
-seen, for the trapdoor, which will be a part of the flooring
-itself, will be made to open under the bed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course," said
-Saint-Aignan, whose eyes began to sparkle with delight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And now, monsieur le comte,
-there is no occasion to make you admit that the king will
-frequently come to the room where such a staircase is
-constructed.  I think that M. Dangeau, particularly, will be
-struck by my idea, and I shall now go and explain to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, my dear Monsieur
-Malicorne, you forget that you spoke to me about it the first,
-and that I have consequently the right of priority."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you wish for the
-preference?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do I wish it?  Of course I
-do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The fact is, Monsieur de
-Saint-Aignan, I am presenting you with a Jacob's ladder, which is
-better than the promise of an additional step in the peerage -
-perhaps, even with a good estate to accompany your dukedom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At least," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "it will give me an opportunity of showing the king
-that he is not mistaken in occasionally calling me his friend; an
-opportunity, dear M. Malicorne, for which I am indebted to
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And which you will not
-forget to remember?" inquired Malicorne, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing will delight me
-more, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But I am not the king's
-friend; I am simply his attendant."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; and if you imagine
-that that staircase is as good as a dukedom for myself, I think
-there will certainly be letters of nobility at the top of it for
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Malicorne bowed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "All I have to do now," said
-Saint-Aignan, "is to move as soon as possible."<br>
-                "I do not think the king will object to it.  Ask
-his permission, however."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will go and see him this
-very moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I will run and get the
-carpenter I was speaking of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "When will he be here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This very evening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do not forget your
-precautions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He shall be brought with
-his eyes bandaged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I will send you one of
-my carriages."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Without arms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And one of my servants
-without livery.  But stay, what will La Valli&egrave;re say if
-she sees what is going on?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  I can assure you she
-will be very much interested in the operation, and I am equally
-sure that if the king has not courage enough to ascend to her
-room, she will have sufficient curiosity to come down to
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We will live in hope," said
-Saint-Aignan; "and now I am off to his majesty.  At what time
-will the carpenter be here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At eight o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How long do you suppose he
-will take to make this opening?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "About a couple of hours;
-only afterwards he must have sufficient time to construct what
-may be called the hyphen between the two rooms.  One night and a
-portion of the following day will do; we must not reckon upon
-less than two days, including putting up the staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Two days, that is a very
-long time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay; when one undertakes to
-open up communications with paradise itself, we must at least
-take care that the approaches are respectable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite right; so farewell
-for a short time, dear M. Malicorne.  I shall begin to remove the
-day after to-morrow, in the evening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Promenade by Torchlight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>S</span>aint-Aignan,
-delighted with what he had just heard, and rejoiced at what the
-future foreshadowed for him, bent his steps towards De Guiche's
-two rooms.  He who, a quarter of an hour previously, would hardly
-yield up his own rooms for a million francs, was now ready to
-expend a million, if it were necessary, upon the acquisition of
-the two happy rooms he coveted so eagerly.  But he did not meet
-with so many obstacles.  M. de Guiche did not yet know where he
-was to lodge, and, besides, was still too far ill to trouble
-himself about his lodgings; and so Saint-Aignan obtained De
-Guiche's two rooms without difficulty.  As for M. Dangeau, he was
-so immeasurably delighted, that he did not even give himself the
-trouble to think whether Saint-Aignan had any particular reason
-for removing.  Within an hour after Saint-Aignan's new
-resolution, he was in possession of the two rooms; and ten
-minutes later Malicorne entered, followed by the upholsterers. 
-During this time, the king asked for Saint-Aignan; the valet ran
-to his late apartments and found M. Dangeau there; Dangeau sent
-him on to De Guiche's, and Saint-Aignan was found there; but a
-little delay had of course taken place, and the king had already
-exhibited once or twice evident signs of impatience, when
-Saint-Aignan entered his royal master's presence, quite out of
-breath.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You, too, abandon me,
-then," said Louis XIV., in a similar tone of lamentation to that
-with which C&aelig;sar, eighteen hundred years previously, had
-pronounced the <i>Et tu quoque.</i></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I am far from
-abandoning you, for, on the contrary, I am busily occupied in
-changing my lodgings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean?  I
-thought you had finished moving three days ago."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire.  But I don't
-find myself comfortable where I am, so I am going to change to
-the opposite side of the building."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Was I not right when I said
-you were abandoning me?" exclaimed the king.  "Oh! this exceeds
-all endurance.  But so it is: there was only one woman for whom
-my heart cared at all, and all my family is leagued together to
-tear her from me; and my friend, to whom I confided my distress,
-and who helped me to bear up under it, has become wearied of my
-complaints and is going to leave me without even asking my
-permission."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Saint-Aignan began to
-laugh.  The king at once guessed there must be some mystery in
-this want of respect.  "What is it?" cried the king, full of
-hope.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This, sire, that the friend
-whom the king calumniates is going to try if he cannot restore to
-his sovereign the happiness he has lost."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you going to let me see
-La Valli&egrave;re?" said Louis XIV.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I cannot say so,
-positively, but I hope so."<br>
-                "How - how? - tell me that, Saint-Aignan.  I wish
-to know what your project is, and to help you with all my
-power."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "I cannot, even myself, tell very well how I must
-set about attaining success; but I have every reason to believe
-that from to-morrow - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To-morrow, do you say! 
-What happiness!  But why are you changing your rooms?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In order to serve your
-majesty to better advantage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How can your moving serve
-me?"<br>
-                "Do you happen to know where the two rooms
-destined for De Guiche are situated?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, your majesty now
-knows where I am going."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very likely; but that does
-not help me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! is it possible that
-you do not understand, sire, that above De Guiche's lodgings are
-two rooms, one of which is Mademoiselle Montalais's, and the
-other - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "La Valli&egrave;re's, is it
-not so, Saint-Aignan?  Oh! yes, yes.  It is a brilliant idea,
-Saint-Aignan, a true friend's idea, a poet's idea.  By bringing
-me nearer her from whom the world seems to unite to separate me -
-you are far more than Pylades was for Orestes, or Patroclus for
-Achilles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire," said Aignan, with a
-smile, "I question whether, if your majesty were to know my
-projects in their full extent, you would continue to pronounce
-such a pompous eulogium upon me.  Ah! sire, I know how very
-different are the epithets which certain Puritans of the court
-will not fail to apply to me when they learn of what I intend to
-do for your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Saint-Aignan, I am dying
-with impatience; I am in a perfect fever; I shall never be able
-to wait until to-morrow - to-morrow! why, to-morrow is an
-eternity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet, sire, I shall
-require you, if you please, to go out presently and divert your
-impatience by a good walk."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "With you - agreed; we will
-talk about your projects, we will talk of her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, sire; I remain
-here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Whom shall I go out with,
-then?"<br>
-                "With the queen and all the ladies of the
-court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing shall induce me to
-do that, Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet, sire, you
-must."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>Must?</i> - no, no - a
-thousand times no!  I will never again expose myself to the
-horrible torture of being close to her, of seeing her, of
-touching her dress as I pass by her, and yet not be able to say a
-word to her.  No, I renounce a torture which you suppose will
-bring me happiness, but which consumes and eats away my very
-life; to see her in the presence of strangers, and not to tell
-her that I love her, when my whole being reveals my affection and
-betrays me to every one; no!  I have sworn never to do it again,
-and I will keep my oath."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yet, sire, pray listen to
-me for a moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will listen to nothing,
-Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, I will
-continue; it is most urgent, sire - pray understand me, it is of
-the greatest importance - that Madame and her maids of honor
-should be absent for two hours from the palace."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I cannot understand your
-meaning at all, Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is hard for me to give
-my sovereign directions what to do; but under the circumstances I
-do give you directions, sire; and either a hunting or a promenade
-party must be got up."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But if I were to do what
-you wish, it would be a caprice, a mere whim.  In displaying such
-an impatient humor I show my whole court that I have no control
-over my own feelings.  Do not people already say that I am
-dreaming of the conquest of the world, but that I ought
-previously to begin by achieving a conquest over myself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Those who say so, sire, are
-as insolent as they would like to be thought facetious; but
-whomever they may be, if your majesty prefers to listen to them,
-I have nothing further to say.  In such a case, that which we
-have fixed to take place to-morrow must be postponed
-indefinitely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, Saint-Aignan, I will
-go out this evening - I will go by torchlight to Saint-Germain: I
-will breakfast there to-morrow, and will return to Paris by three
-o'clock.  Will that do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Admirably."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case I will set out
-this evening at eight o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty has fixed upon
-the exact minute."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you positively will
-tell me nothing more?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is because I have
-nothing more to tell you.  Industry counts for something in this
-world, sire; but still, chance plays so important a part in it
-that I have been accustomed to leave her the sidewalk, confident
-that she will manage so as to always take the street."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, I abandon myself
-entirely to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you are quite
-right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Comforted in this manner,
-the king went immediately to Madame, to whom he announced the
-intended expedition.  Madame fancied at the first moment that she
-saw in this unexpectedly arranged party a plot of the king's to
-converse with La Valli&egrave;re, either on the road under cover
-of the darkness, or in some other way, but she took especial care
-not to show any of her fancies to her brother-in-law, and
-accepted the invitation with a smile upon her lips.  She gave
-directions aloud that her maids of honor should accompany her,
-secretly intending in the evening to take the most effectual
-steps to interfere with his majesty's attachment.  Then, when she
-was alone, and at the very moment the poor lover, who had issued
-orders for the departure, was reveling in the idea that
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re would form one of the party, -
-luxuriating in the sad happiness persecuted lovers enjoy of
-realizing through the sense of sight alone all the transports of
-possession, - Madame, who was surrounded by her maids of honor,
-was saying: - "Two ladies will be enough for me this evening,
-Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente and Mademoiselle de
-Montalais."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re had
-anticipated her own omission, and was prepared for it: but
-persecution had rendered her courageous, and she did not give
-Madame the pleasure of seeing on her face the impression of the
-shock her heart received.  On the contrary, smiling with that
-ineffable gentleness which gave an angelic expression to her
-features - "In that case, Madame, I shall be at liberty this
-evening, I suppose?" she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I shall be able to employ
-it, then, in progressing with that piece of tapestry which your
-highness has been good enough to notice, and which I have already
-had the honor of offering to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And having made a respectful
-obeisance she withdrew to her own apartment; Mesdemoiselles de
-Tonnay-Charente and de Montalais did the same.  The rumor of the
-intended promenade soon spread all over the palace; ten minutes
-afterwards Malicorne learned Madame's resolution, and slipped
-under Montalais's door a note, in the following terms:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "L. V. must positively pass
-the night the night with Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Montalais, in pursuance of
-the compact she had entered into, began by burning the letter,
-and then sat down to reflect.  Montalais was a girl full of
-expedients, and so she very soon arranged her plan.  Towards five
-o'clock, which was the hour for her to repair to Madame's
-apartment, she was running across the courtyard, and had reached
-within a dozen paces of a group of officers, when she uttered a
-cry, fell gracefully on one knee, rose again, with difficulty,
-and walked on limpingly.  The gentlemen ran forward to her
-assistance; Montalais had sprained her foot.  Faithful to the
-discharge of her duty, she insisted, however, notwithstanding her
-accident, upon going to Madame's apartments.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is the matter, and why
-do you limp so?" she inquired; "I mistook you for La
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Montalais related how it had
-happened, that in hurrying on, in order to arrive as quickly as
-possible, she had sprained her foot.  Madame seemed to pity her,
-and wished to have a surgeon sent for immediately, but she,
-assuring her that there was nothing really serious in the
-accident, said: "My only regret, Madame, is, that it will
-preclude my attendance on you, and I should have begged
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re to take my place with your
-royal highness, but - " seeing that Madame frowned, she added -
-"I have not done so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why did you not do so?"
-inquired Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because poor La
-Valli&egrave;re seemed so happy to have her liberty for a whole
-evening and night too, that I did not feel courageous enough to
-ask her to take my place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What, is she so delighted
-as that?" inquired madame, struck by these words.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She is wild with delight;
-she, who is always so melancholy, was singing like a bird. 
-Besides, you highness knows how much she detests going out, and
-also that her character has a spice of wildness in it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So!" thought Madame, "this
-extreme delight hardly seems natural to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She has already made all
-her preparations for dining in her own room
-<i>t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i> with one of her favorite
-books.  And then, as your highness has six other young ladies who
-would be delighted to accompany you, I did not make my proposal
-to La Valli&egrave;re."  Madame did not say a word in reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Have I acted properly?"
-continued Montalais, with a slight fluttering of the heart,
-seeing the little success that seemed to attend the <i>ruse de
-guerre</i> which she had relied upon with so much confidence that
-she had not thought it even necessary to try and find another. 
-"Does Madame approve of what I have done?" she continued.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame was reflecting that
-the king could very easily leave Saint-Germain during the night,
-and that, as it was only four leagues and a half from Paris to
-Saint-Germain, he might readily be in Paris in an hour's time. 
-"Tell me," she said, "whether La Valli&egrave;re, when she heard
-of your accident, offered at least to bear you company?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! she does not yet know
-of my accident; but even did she know of it, I most certainly
-should not ask her to do anything that might interfere with her
-own plans.  I think she wishes this evening to realize quietly by
-herself that amusement of the late king, when he said to M. de
-Cinq-Mars, 'Let us amuse ourselves by doing nothing, and making
-ourselves miserable.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame felt convinced that
-some mysterious love adventure lurked behind this strong desire
-for solitude.  The secret <i>might</i> be Louis's return during
-the night; it could not be doubted any longer La Valli&egrave;re
-had been informed of his intended return, and that was the reason
-for her delight at having to remain behind at the Palais Royal. 
-It was a plan settled and arranged beforehand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will not be their dupe
-though," said Madame, and she took a decisive step. 
-"Mademoiselle de Montalais," she said, "will you have the
-goodness to inform your friend, Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re, that I am exceedingly sorry to disarrange her
-projects of solitude, but that instead of becoming
-<i>ennuy&eacute;e</i> by remaining behind alone as she wished,
-she will be good enough to accompany us to Saint-Germain and get
-<i>ennuy&eacute;e</i> there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! poor La
-Valli&egrave;re," said Montalais, compassionately, but with her
-heart throbbing with delight; "oh, Madame, could there not be
-some means - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Enough," said Madame; "I
-desire it.  I prefer Mademoiselle la Baume le Blanc's society to
-that of any one else.  Go, and send her to me, and take care of
-your foot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Montalais did not wait for
-the order to be repeated; she returned to her room, almost
-forgetting to feign lameness, wrote an answer to Malicorne, and
-slipped it under the carpet.  The answer simply said: "She
-shall."  A Spartan could not have written more laconically.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "By this means," thought
-Madame, "I will look narrowly after all on the road; she shall
-sleep near me during the night, and his majesty must be very
-clever if he can exchange a single word with Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re received
-the order to set off with the same indifferent gentleness with
-which she had received the order to play Cinderella.  But,
-inwardly, her delight was extreme, and she looked upon this
-change in the princess's resolution as a consolation which
-Providence had sent her.  With less penetration than Madame
-possessed, she attributed all to chance.  While every one, with
-the exception of those in disgrace, of those who were ill, and
-those who were suffering from sprains, were being driven towards
-Saint-Germain, Malicorne smuggled his workman into the palace in
-one of M. de Saint-Aignan's carriages, and led him into the room
-corresponding to La Valli&egrave;re's.  The man set to work with
-a will, tempted by the splendid reward which had been promised
-him.  As the very best tools and implements had been selected
-from the reserve stock belonging to the engineers attached to the
-king's household - and among others, a saw with teeth so sharp
-and well tempered that it was able, under water even, to cut
-through oaken joists as hard as iron - the work in question
-advanced very rapidly, and a square portion of the ceiling, taken
-from between two of the joists, fell into the arms of the
-delighted Saint-Aignan, Malicorne, the workman, and a
-confidential valet, the latter being one brought into the world
-to see and hear everything, but to repeat nothing.  In accordance
-with a new plan indicated by Malicorne, the opening was effected
-in an angle of the room - and for this reason.  As there was no
-dressing-closet adjoining La Valli&egrave;re's room, she had
-solicited, and had that very morning obtained, a large screen
-intended to serve as a partition.  The screen that had been
-allotted her was perfectly sufficient to conceal the opening,
-which would, besides, be hidden by all the artifices skilled
-cabinet-makers would have at their command.  The opening having
-been made, the workman glided between the joists, and found
-himself in La Valli&egrave;re's room.  When there, he cut a
-square opening in the flooring, and out of the boards he
-manufactured a trap so accurately fitting into the opening that
-the most practised eye could hardly detect the necessary
-interstices made by its lines of juncture with the floor. 
-Malicorne had provided for everything: a ring and a couple of
-hinges which had been bought for the purpose, were affixed to the
-trap-door; and a small circular stair-case, packed in sections,
-had been bought ready made by the industrious Malicorne, who had
-paid two thousand francs for it.  It was higher than what was
-required, but the carpenter reduced the number of steps, and it
-was found to suit exactly.  This staircase, destined to receive
-so illustrious a burden, was merely fastened to the wall by a
-couple of iron clamps, and its base was fixed into the floor of
-the comte's room by two iron pegs screwed down tightly, so that
-the king, and all his cabinet councilors too, might pass up and
-down the staircase without any fear.  Every blow of the hammer
-fell upon a thick pad or cushion, and the saw was not used until
-the handle had been wrapped in wool, and the blade steeped in
-oil.  The noisiest part of the work, moreover, had taken place
-during the night and early in the morning, that is to say, when
-La Valli&egrave;re and Madame were both absent.  When, about two
-o'clock in the afternoon, the court returned to the Palais Royal,
-La Valli&egrave;re went up into her own room.  Everything was in
-its proper place - not the smallest particle of sawdust, not the
-smallest chip, was left to bear witness to the violation of her
-domicile.  Saint-Aignan, however, wishing to do his utmost in
-forwarding the work, had torn his fingers and his shirt too, and
-had expended no ordinary amount of perspiration in the king's
-service.  The palms of his hands were covered with blisters,
-occasioned by his having held the ladder for Malicorne.  He had,
-moreover, brought up, one by one, the seven pieces of the
-staircase, each consisting of two steps.  In fact, we can safely
-assert that, if the king had seen him so ardently at work, his
-majesty would have sworn an eternal gratitude towards his
-faithful attendant.  As Malicorne anticipated, the workman had
-completely finished the job in twenty-four hours; he received
-twenty-four louis, and left, overwhelmed with delight, for he had
-gained in one day as much as six months' hard work would have
-procured him.  No one had the slightest suspicion of what had
-taken place in the room under Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re's apartment.  But in the evening of the second
-day, at the very moment La Valli&egrave;re had just left Madame's
-circle and returned to her own room, she heard a slight creaking
-sound in one corner.  Astonished, she looked to see whence it
-proceeded, and the noise began again.  "Who is there?" she said,
-in a tone of alarm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is I, Louise," replied
-the well-known voice of the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You! you!" cried the young
-girl, who for a moment fancied herself under the influence of a
-dream.  "But where?  You, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Here," replied the king,
-opening one of the folds of the screen, and appearing like a
-ghost at the end of the room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re uttered a
-loud cry, and fell trembling into an armchair, as the king
-advanced respectfully towards her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Apparition.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>L</span>a
-Valli&egrave;re very soon recovered from her surprise, for, owing
-to his respectful bearing, the king inspired her with more
-confidence by his presence than his sudden appearance had
-deprived her of.  But, as he noticed that which made La
-Valli&egrave;re most uneasy was the means by which he had
-effected an entrance into her room, he explained to her the
-system of the staircase concealed by the screen, and strongly
-disavowed the notion of his being a supernatural appearance.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire!" said La
-Valli&egrave;re, shaking her fair head with a most engaging
-smile, "present or absent, you do not appear to my mind more at
-one time than at another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which means, Louise - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, what you know so well,
-sire; that there is not one moment in which the poor girl whose
-secret you surprised at Fontainebleau, and whom you came to
-snatch from the foot of the cross itself, does not think of
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Louise, you overwhelm me
-with joy and happiness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re smiled
-mournfully, and continued: "But, sire, have you reflected that
-your ingenious invention could not be of the slightest service to
-us?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?  Tell me, - I am
-waiting most anxiously."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because this room may be
-subject to being searched at any moment of the day.  Madame
-herself may, at any time, come here accidentally; my companions
-run in at any moment they please.  To fasten the door on the
-inside, is to denounce myself as plainly as if I had written
-above, 'No admittance, - the king is within!'  Even now, sire, at
-this very moment, there is nothing to prevent the door opening,
-and your majesty being seen here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case," said the
-king, laughingly, "I should indeed be taken for a phantom, for no
-one can tell in what way I came here.  Besides, it is only
-spirits that can pass through brick walls, or floors and
-ceilings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire, reflect for a
-moment how terrible the scandal would be!  Nothing equal to it
-could ever have been previously said about the maids of honor,
-poor creatures! whom evil report, however, hardly ever
-spares."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And your conclusion from
-all this, my dear Louise, - come, explain yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas! it is a hard thing to
-say - but your majesty must suppress staircase plots, surprises
-and all; for the evil consequences which would result from your
-being found here would be far greater than our happiness in
-seeing each other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, Louise," replied the
-king, tenderly, "instead of removing this staircase by which I
-have ascended, there is a far more simple means, of which you
-have not thought."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A means - another
-means!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, another.  Oh, you do
-not love me as I love you, Louise, since my invention is quicker
-than yours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She looked at the king, who
-held out his hand to her, which she took and gently pressed
-between her own.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You were saying," continued
-the king, "that I shall be detected coming here, where any one
-who pleases can enter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Stay, sire; at this very
-moment, even while you are speaking about it, I tremble with
-dread of your being discovered."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But you would not be found
-out, Louise, if you were to descend the staircase which leads to
-the room underneath."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire! what do you say?"
-cried Louise, in alarm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You do not quite understand
-me, Louise, since you get offended at my very first word; first
-of all, do you know to whom the apartments underneath
-belong?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To M. de Guiche, sire, I
-believe."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not at all; they are M. de
-Saint-Aignan's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you sure?" cried La
-Valli&egrave;re; and this exclamation which escaped from the
-young girl's joyous heart made the king's heart throb with
-delight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, to Saint-Aignan,
-<i>our friend</i>," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, sire," returned La
-Valli&egrave;re, "I cannot visit M. de Saint-Aignan's rooms any
-more than I could M. de Guiche's.  It is impossible -
-impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet, Louise, I should
-have thought that, under the safe-conduct of the king, you would
-venture anything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Under the safe-conduct of
-the king," she said, with a look full of tenderness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have faith in my word,
-I hope, Louise?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire, when you are not
-present; but when you are present, - when you speak to me, - when
-I look upon you, I have faith in nothing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What can possibly be done
-to reassure you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is scarcely respectful,
-I know, to doubt the king, but - for me - you are <i>not</i> the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Thank Heaven! - I, at
-least, hope so most devoutly; you see how anxiously I am trying
-to find or invent a means of removing all difficulty.  Stay;
-would the presence of a third person reassure you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The presence of M. de
-Saint-Aignan would, certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Really, Louise, you wound
-me by your suspicions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louise did not answer, she
-merely looked steadfastly at him with that clear, piercing gaze
-which penetrates the very heart, and said softly to herself,
-"Alas! alas! it is not you of whom I am afraid, - it is not you
-upon whom my doubts would fall."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well," said the king,
-sighing, "I agree; and M. de Saint-Aignan, who enjoys the
-inestimable privilege of reassuring you, shall always be present
-at our interviews, I promise you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You promise that,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon my honor as a
-gentleman; and you, on your side - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, wait, sire, that is not
-all yet; for such conversations ought, at least, to have a
-reasonable motive of some kind for M. de Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Dear Louise, every shade of
-delicacy of feeling is yours, and my only study is to equal you
-on that point.  It shall be just as you wish: therefore our
-conversations shall have a reasonable motive, and I have already
-hit upon one; so that from to-morrow, if you like - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To-morrow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you meant that that is
-not soon enough?" exclaimed the king, caressing La
-Valli&egrave;re's hand between his own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At this moment the sound of
-steps was heard in the corridor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire! sire!" cried La
-Valli&egrave;re, "some one is coming; do you hear?  Oh, fly!
-fly!  I implore you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king made but one bound
-from the chair where he was sitting to his hiding-place behind
-the screen.  He had barely time; for as he drew one of the folds
-before him, the handle of the door was turned, and Montalais
-appeared at the threshold.  As a matter of course she entered
-quite naturally, and without any ceremony, for she knew perfectly
-well that to knock at the door beforehand would be showing a
-suspicion towards La Valli&egrave;re which would be displeasing
-to her.  She accordingly entered, and after a rapid glance round
-the room, in the brief course of which she observed two chairs
-very close to each other, she was so long in shutting the door,
-which seemed to be difficult to close, one can hardly tell how or
-why, that the king had ample time to raise the trap-door, and to
-descend again to Saint-Aignan's room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Louise," she said to her,
-"I want to talk to you, and seriously, too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good heavens! my dear Aure,
-what is the matter now?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The matter is, that Madame
-suspects <i>everything</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Explain yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is there any occasion for
-us to enter into explanations, and do you not understand what I
-mean?  Come, you must have noticed the fluctuations in Madame's
-humor during several days past; you must have noticed how she
-first kept you close beside her, then dismissed you, and then
-sent for you again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I have noticed it, of
-course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, it seems Madame has
-now succeeded in obtaining sufficient information, for she has
-now gone straight to the point, as there is nothing further left
-in France to withstand the torrent which sweeps away all
-obstacles before it; you know what I mean by the torrent?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re hid her
-face in her hands.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I mean," continued
-Montalais, pitilessly, "that torrent which burst through the
-gates of the Carmelites of Chaillot, and overthrew all the
-prejudices of the court, as well at Fontainebleau as at
-Paris."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas! alas!" murmured La
-Valli&egrave;re, her face still covered by her hands, and her
-tears streaming through her fingers.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, don't distress yourself
-in that manner, or you have only heard half of your
-troubles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In Heaven's name,"
-exclaimed the young girl, in great anxiety, "what is the
-matter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, this is how the
-matter stands: Madame, who can no longer rely upon any further
-assistance in France; for she has, one after the other, made use
-of the two queens, of Monsieur, and the whole court, too, now
-bethinks herself of a certain person who has certain pretended
-rights over you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re became as
-white as a marble statue.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This person," continued
-Madame, "is not in Paris at this moment; but, if I am not
-mistaken, is, just now, in England."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes," breathed La
-Valli&egrave;re, almost overwhelmed with terror.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And is to be found, I
-think, at the court of Charles II.; am I right?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."<br>
-                "Well, this evening a letter has been dispatched
-by Madame to Saint James's, with directions for the courier to go
-straight to Hampton Court, which I believe is one of the royal
-residences, situated about a dozen miles from London."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well; as Madame writes
-regularly to London once a fortnight, and as the ordinary courier
-left for London not more than three days ago, I have been
-thinking that some serious circumstance alone could have induced
-her to write again so soon, for you know she is a very indolent
-correspondent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This letter has been
-written, therefore, something tells me so, at least, on your
-account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On my account?" repeated
-the unhappy girl, mechanically.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I, who saw the letter
-lying on Madame's desk before she sealed it, fancied I could read
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What did you fancy you
-could read?"<br>
-                "I might possibly have been mistaken, though -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell me, - what was
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The name of
-Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re rose
-hurriedly from her chair, a prey to the most painful agitation. 
-"Montalais," she said, her voice broken by sobs, "all my smiling
-dreams of youth and innocence have fled already.  I have nothing
-now to conceal, either from you or any one else.  My life is
-exposed to every one's inspection, and can be opened like a book,
-in which all the world can read, from the king himself to the
-first passer-by.  Aure, dearest Aure, what can I do - what will
-become of me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Montalais approached close
-to her, and said, "Consult your own heart, of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well; I do not love M. de
-Bragelonne; when I say I do not love him, understand that I love
-him as the most affectionate sister could love the best of
-brothers, but that is not what he requires, nor what I promised
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In fact, you love the
-king," said Montalais, "and that is a sufficiently good
-excuse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I do love the king,"
-hoarsely murmured the young girl, "and I have paid dearly enough
-for pronouncing those words.  And now, Montalais, tell me - what
-can you do either for me, or against me, in my position?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You must speak more clearly
-still."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What am I to say,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so you have nothing
-very particular to tell me?"<br>
-                "No!" said Louise, in astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; and so all you
-have to ask me is my advice respecting M. Raoul?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing else."<br>
-                "It is a very delicate subject," replied
-Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, it is nothing of the
-kind.  Ought I to marry him in order to keep the promise I made,
-or ought I continue to listen to the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have really placed me
-in a very difficult position," said Montalais, smiling; "you ask
-me if you ought to marry Raoul, whose friend I am, and whom I
-shall mortally offend in giving my opinion against him; and then,
-you ask me if you should cease to listen to the king, whose
-subject I am, and whom I should offend if I were to advise you in
-a particular way.  Ah, Louise, you seem to hold a difficult
-position at a very cheap rate."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have not understood me,
-Aure," said La Valli&egrave;re, wounded by the slightly mocking
-tone of her companion; "if I were to marry M. de Bragelonne, I
-should be far from bestowing on him the happiness he deserves;
-but, for the same reason, if I listen to the king he would become
-the possessor of one indifferent in very many aspects, I admit,
-but one whom his affection confers an appearance of value.  What
-I ask you, then, is to tell me some means of disengaging myself
-honorably either from the one or from the other; or rather, I ask
-you, from which side you think I can free myself most
-honorably."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear Louise," replied
-Montalais, after a pause, "I am not one of the seven wise men of
-Greece, and I have no perfectly invariable rules of conduct to
-govern me; but, on the other hand, I have a little experience,
-and I can assure you that no woman ever asks for advice of the
-nature which you have just asked me, without being in a terrible
-state of embarrassment.  Besides, you have made a solemn promise,
-which every principle of honor requires you to fulfil; if,
-therefore, you are embarrassed, in consequence of having
-undertaken such an engagement, it is not a stranger's advice
-(every one is a stranger to a heart full of love), it is not my
-advice, I repeat, that can extricate you from your
-embarrassment.  I shall not give it you, therefore; and for a
-greater reason still - because, were I in your place, I should
-feel much more embarrassed after the advice than before it.  All
-I can do is, to repeat what I have already told you; shall I
-assist you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes."<br>
-                "Very well; that is all.  Tell me in what way you
-wish me to help you; tell me for and against whom, - in this way
-we shall not make any blunders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But first of all," said La
-Valli&egrave;re, pressing her companion's hand, "for whom or
-against whom do you decide?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For you, if you are really
-and truly my friend."<br>
-                "Are you not Madame's confidant?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A greater reason for being
-of service to you; if I were not to know what is going on in that
-direction I should not be of any service at all, and consequently
-you would not obtain any advantage from my acquaintance. 
-Friendships live and thrive upon a system of reciprocal
-benefits."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The result is, then, that
-you will remain at the same time Madame's friend also?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Evidently.  Do you complain
-of that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I hardly know," sighed La
-Valli&egrave;re, thoughtfully, for this cynical frankness
-appeared to her an offense both to the woman and the friend.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "All well and good, then,"
-said Montalais, "for if you did, you would be very foolish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You wish to serve me,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Devotedly - if you will
-serve me in return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "One would almost say that
-you do not know my heart," said La Valli&egrave;re, looking at
-Montalais with her eyes wide open.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, the fact is, that
-since we have belonged to the court, my dear Louise, we are very
-much changed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is very simple.  Were
-you the second queen of France yonder, at Blois?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re hung down
-her head, and began to weep.  Montalais looked at her in an
-indefinable manner, and murmured "Poor girl!" and then, adding,
-"Poor king!" she kissed Louise on the forehead, and returned to
-her apartment, where Malicorne was waiting for her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Portrait.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>I</span>n that malady
-which is termed love the paroxysms succeed each other at
-intervals, ever accelerating from the moment the disease declares
-itself.  By and by, the paroxysms are less frequent, in
-proportion as the cure approaches.  This being laid down as a
-general axiom, and as the leading article of a particular
-chapter, we will now proceed with our recital.  The next day, the
-day fixed by the king for the first conversation in
-Saint-Aignan's room, La Valli&egrave;re, on opening one of the
-folds of the screen, found upon the floor a letter in the king's
-handwriting.  The letter had been passed, through a slit in the
-floor, from the lower apartment to her own.  No indiscreet hand
-or curious gaze could have brought or did bring this single
-paper.  This, too, was one of Malicorne's ideas.  Having seen how
-very serviceable Saint-Aignan would become to the king on account
-of his apartment, he did not wish that the courtier should become
-still more indispensable as a messenger, and so he had, on his
-own private account, reserved this last post for himself.  La
-Valli&egrave;re most eagerly read the letter, which fixed two
-o'clock that same afternoon for the rendezvous, and which
-indicated the way of raising the trap-door which was constructed
-out of the flooring.  "Make yourself look as beautiful as you
-can," added the postscript of the letter, words which astonished
-the young girl, but at the same time reassured her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The hours passed away very
-slowly, but the time fixed, however, arrived at last.  As
-punctual as the priestess Hero, Louise lifted up the trap-door at
-the last stroke of the hour of two, and found the king on the
-steps, waiting for her with the greatest respect, in order to
-give her his hand to descend.  The delicacy and deference shown
-in this attention affected her very powerfully.  At the foot of
-the staircase the two lovers found the comte, who, with a smile
-and a low reverence distinguished by the best taste, expressed
-his thanks to La Valli&egrave;re for the honor she conferred upon
-him.  Then turning towards the king, he said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, our man is here."  La
-Valli&egrave;re looked at the king with some uneasiness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Mademoiselle," said the
-king, "if I have begged you to do me the honor of coming down
-here, it was from an interested motive.  I have procured a most
-admirable portrait painter, who is celebrated for the fidelity of
-his likenesses, and I wish you to be kind enough to authorize him
-to paint yours.  Besides, if you positively wish it, the portrait
-shall remain in your own possession."  La Valli&egrave;re
-blushed.  "You see," said the king to her, "we shall not be three
-as you wished, but four instead.  And, so long as we are not
-alone, there can be as many present as you please."  La
-Valli&egrave;re gently pressed her royal lover's hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Shall we pass into the next
-room, sire?" said Saint-Aignan, opening the door to let his
-guests precede him.  The king walked behind La Valli&egrave;re,
-and fixed his eyes lingeringly and passionately upon that neck as
-white as snow, upon which her long fair ringlets fell in heavy
-masses.  La Valli&egrave;re was dressed in a thick silk robe of
-pearl gray color, with a tinge of rose, with jet ornaments, which
-displayed to greater effect the dazzling purity of her skin,
-holding in her slender and transparent hands a bouquet of
-heartsease, Bengal roses, and clematis, surrounded with leaves of
-the tenderest green, above which uprose, like a tiny goblet
-spilling magic influence a Haarlem tulip of gray and violet tints
-of a pure and beautiful species, which had cost the gardener five
-years' toil of combinations, and the king five thousand francs. 
-Louis had placed this bouquet in La Valli&egrave;re's hand as he
-saluted her.  In the room, the door of which Saint-Aignan had
-just opened, a young man was standing, dressed in a purple velvet
-jacket, with beautiful black eyes and long brown hair.  It was
-the painter; his canvas was quite ready, and his palette prepared
-for use.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He bowed to La
-Valli&egrave;re with the grave curiosity of an artist who is
-studying his model, saluted the king discreetly, as if he did not
-recognize him, and as he would, consequently, have saluted any
-other gentleman.  Then, leading Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re to the seat he had arranged for her, he begged
-her to sit down.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The young girl assumed an
-attitude graceful and unrestrained, her hands occupied and her
-limbs reclining on cushions; and in order that her gaze might not
-assume a vague or affected expression, the painter begged her to
-choose some kind of occupation, so as to engage her attention;
-whereupon Louis XIV., smiling, sat down on the cushions at La
-Valli&egrave;re's feet; so that she, in the reclining posture she
-had assumed, leaning back in the armchair, holding her flowers in
-her hand, and he, with his eyes raised towards her and fixed
-devouringly on her face - they, both together, formed so charming
-a group, that the artist contemplated painting it with
-professional delight, while on his side, Saint-Aignan regarded
-them with feelings of envy.  The painter sketched rapidly; and
-very soon, beneath the earliest touches of the brush, there
-started into life, out of the gray background, the gentle,
-poetry-breathing face, with its soft calm eyes and delicately
-tinted cheeks, enframed in the masses of hair which fell about
-her neck.  The lovers, however, spoke but little, and looked at
-each other a great deal; sometimes their eyes became so
-languishing in their gaze, that the painter was obliged to
-interrupt his work in order to avoid representing an Erycina
-instead of La Valli&egrave;re.  It was on such occasions that
-Saint-Aignan came to the rescue, and recited verses, or repeated
-one of those little tales such as Patru related, and Tallemant
-des R&eacute;aux wrote so cleverly.  Or, it might be that La
-Valli&egrave;re was fatigued, and the sitting was, therefore,
-suspended for awhile; and, immediately, a tray of precious
-porcelain laden with the most beautiful fruits which could be
-obtained, and rich wines distilling their bright colors in silver
-goblets, beautifully chased, served as accessories to the picture
-of which the painter could but retrace the most ephemeral
-resemblance.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis was intoxicated with
-love, La Valli&egrave;re with happiness, Saint-Aignan with
-ambition, and the painter was storing up recollections for his
-old age.  Two hours passed away in this manner, and four o'clock
-having struck, La Valli&egrave;re rose, and made a sign to the
-king.  Louis also rose, approached the picture, and addressed a
-few flattering remarks to the painter.  Saint-Aignan also praised
-the picture, which, as he pretended, was already beginning to
-assume an accurate resemblance.  La Valli&egrave;re in her turn,
-blushingly thanked the painter and passed into the next room,
-where the king followed her, after having previously summoned
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will you not come
-to-morrow?" he said to La Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, pray think that
-some one will be sure to come to my room, and will not find me
-there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What will become of me in
-that case?"<br>
-                "You are very apprehensive, Louise."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But at all events, suppose
-Madame were to send for me?"<br>
-                "Oh!" replied the king, "will the day never come
-when you yourself will tell me to brave everything so that I may
-not have to leave you again?"<br>
-                "On that day, sire, I shall be quite out of my
-mind, and you must not believe me."<br>
-                "To-morrow, Louise."<br>
-                La Valli&egrave;re sighed, but, without the
-courage to oppose her royal lover's wish, she repeated,
-"To-morrow, then, since you desire it, sire," and with these
-words she ran lightly up the stairs, and disappeared from her
-lover's gaze.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, sire?" inquired
-Saint-Aignan, when she had left.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, Saint-Aignan,
-yesterday I thought myself the happiest of men."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And does your majesty,
-then, regard yourself to-day," said the comte, smiling, "as the
-unhappiest of men?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; but my love for her is
-an unquenchable thirst; in vain do I drink, in vain do I swallow
-the drops of water which your industry procures for me; the more
-I drink, the more unquenchable it becomes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, that is in some
-degree your own fault, and your majesty alone has made the
-position such as it is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, therefore,
-the means to be happy, is to fancy yourself satisfied, and to
-wait."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Wait! you know that word,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There, there, sire - do not
-despair: I have already been at work on your behalf - I have
-still other resources in store."  The king shook his head in a
-despairing manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What, sire! have you not
-been satisfied hitherto?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! yes, indeed, yes, my
-dear Saint-Aignan; but invent, for Heaven's sake, invent some
-further project yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I undertake to do my
-best, and that is all that any one can do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king wished to see the
-portrait again, as he was unable to see the original.  He pointed
-out several alterations to the painter and left the room, and
-then Saint-Aignan dismissed the artist.  The easel, paints, and
-painter himself, had scarcely gone, when Malicorne showed his
-head in the doorway.  He was received by Saint-Aignan with open
-arms, but still with a little sadness, for the cloud which had
-passed across the royal sun, veiled, in its turn, the faithful
-satellite, and Malicorne at a glance perceived the melancholy
-that brooded on Saint-Aignan's face.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, monsieur le comte," he
-said, "how sad you seem!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And good reason too, my
-dear Monsieur Malicorne.  Will you believe that the king is still
-dissatisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "With his staircase, do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, no; on the contrary, he
-is delighted with the staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The decorations of the
-apartments, I suppose, don't please him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! he has not even thought
-of that.  No, indeed, it seems that what has dissatisfied the
-king - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will tell you, monsieur
-le comte, - he is dissatisfied at finding himself the fourth
-person at a rendezvous of this kind.  How is it possible you
-could not have guessed that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, how is it likely I
-could have done so, dear M. Malicorne, when I followed the king's
-instructions to the very letter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did his majesty really
-insist on your being present?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Positively."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And also required that the
-painter, whom I met downstairs just now, should be here,
-too?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He insisted upon it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case, I
-can easily understand why his majesty is dissatisfied."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! dissatisfied
-that I have so punctually and so literally obeyed his orders?  I
-don't understand you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Malicorne began to
-scratch his ear, as he asked, "What time did the king fix for the
-rendezvous in your apartments?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Two o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you were
-waiting for the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ever since
-half-past one; it would have been a fine thing, indeed, to have
-been unpunctual with his majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Malicorne,
-notwithstanding his respect for Saint-Aignan, could not help
-smiling.  "And the painter," he said, "did the king wish him to
-be here at two o'clock, also?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; but I had him
-waiting here from midday.  Far better, you know, for a painter to
-be kept waiting a couple of hours than the king a single
-minute."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Malicorne began to
-laugh aloud.  "Come, dear Monsieur Malicorne," said Saint-Aignan,
-"laugh less at me, and speak a little more freely, I beg."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then,
-monsieur le comte, if you wish the king to be a little more
-satisfied the next time he comes - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'<i>Ventre
-saint-gris!</i>' as his grandfather used to say; of course I wish
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, all you have
-to do is, when the king comes to-morrow, to be obliged to go away
-on a most pressing matter of business, which cannot possibly be
-postponed, and stay away for twenty minutes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! leave the
-king alone for twenty minutes?" cried Saint-Aignan, in alarm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, do as
-you like; don't pay any attention to what I say," said Malicorne,
-moving towards the door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, nay, dear
-Monsieur Malicorne; on the contrary, go on - I begin to
-understand you.  But the painter - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! the painter
-must be half an hour late."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Half an hour - do
-you really think so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I do,
-decidedly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, then, I
-will do as you tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And my opinion is,
-that you will be doing perfectly right.  Will you allow me to
-call upon you for the latest news to-morrow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have the honor
-to be your most respectful servant, M. de Saint-Aignan," said
-Malicorne, bowing profoundly and retiring from the room
-backwards.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is no doubt
-that fellow has more invention than I have," said Saint-Aignan,
-as if compelled by his conviction to admit it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Hampton Court.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he revelation
-we have witnessed, that Montalais made to La Valli&egrave;re, in
-a preceding chapter, very naturally makes us return to the
-principal hero of this tale, a poor wandering knight, roving
-about at the king's caprice.  If our readers will be good enough
-to follow us, we will, in his company, cross that strait, more
-stormy than the Euripus, which separates Calais from Dover; we
-will speed across that green and fertile country, with its
-numerous little streams; through Maidstone, and many other
-villages and towns, each prettier than the other; and, finally,
-arrive at London.  From thence, like bloodhounds following a
-track, after having ascertained that Raoul had made his first
-stay at Whitehall, his second at St. James's, and having learned
-that he had been warmly received by Monk, and introduced to the
-best society of Charles II.'s court, we will follow him to one of
-Charles II.'s summer residences near the lively little village of
-Kingston, at Hampton Court, situated on the Thames.  The river is
-not, at that spot, the boastful highway which bears upon its
-broad bosom its thousands of travelers; nor are its waters black
-and troubled as those of Cocytus, as it boastfully asserts, "I,
-too, am cousin of the old ocean."  No, at Hampton Court it is a
-soft and murmuring stream, with moss-fringed banks, reflecting,
-in its broad mirror, the willows and beeches which ornament its
-sides, and on which may occasionally be seen a light bark
-indolently reclining among the tall reeds, in a little creek
-formed of alders and forget-me-nots.  The surrounding country on
-all sides smiled in happiness and wealth; the brick cottages from
-whose chimneys the blue smoke was slowly ascending in wreaths,
-peeped forth from the belts of green holly which environed them;
-children dressed in red frocks appeared and disappeared amidst
-the high grass, like poppies bowed by the gentler breath of the
-passing breeze.  The sheep, ruminating with half-closed eyes, lay
-lazily about under the shadow of the stunted aspens, while, far
-and near, the kingfishers, plumed with emerald and gold, skimmed
-swiftly along the surface of the water, like a magic ball
-heedlessly touching, as he passed, the line of his brother
-angler, who sat watching in his boat the fish as they rose to the
-surface of the sparkling stream.  High above this paradise of
-dark shadows and soft light, rose the palace of Hampton Court,
-built by Wolsey - a residence the haughty cardinal had been
-obliged, timid courtier that he was, to offer to his master,
-Henry VIII., who had glowered with envy and cupidity at the
-magnificent new home.  Hampton Court, with its brick walls, its
-large windows, its handsome iron gates, as well as its curious
-bell turrets, its retired covered walks, and interior fountains,
-like those of the Alhambra, was a perfect bower of roses,
-jasmine, and clematis.  Every sense, sight and smell
-particularly, was gratified, and the reception-rooms formed a
-very charming framework for the pictures of love which Charles
-II. unrolled among the voluptuous paintings of Titian, of
-Pordenone and of Van Dyck; the same Charles whose father's
-portrait - the martyr king - was hanging in his gallery, and who
-could show upon the wainscots of the various apartments the holes
-made by the balls of the puritanical followers of Cromwell, when
-on the 24th of August, 1648, at the time they had brought Charles
-I. prisoner to Hampton Court.  There it was that the king,
-intoxicated with pleasure and adventure, held his court - he,
-who, a poet in feeling, thought himself justified in redeeming,
-by a whole day of voluptuousness, every minute which had been
-formerly passed in anguish and misery.  It was not the soft green
-sward of Hampton Court - so soft that it almost resembled the
-richest velvet in the thickness of its texture - nor was it the
-beds of flowers, with their variegated hues which encircled the
-foot of every tree with rose-trees many feet in height, embracing
-most lovingly their trunks - nor even the enormous lime-trees,
-whose branches swept the earth like willows, offering a ready
-concealment for love or reflection beneath the shade of their
-foliage - it was none of these things for which Charles II. loved
-his palace of Hampton Court.  Perhaps it might have been that
-beautiful sheet of water, which the cool breeze rippled like the
-wavy undulations of Cleopatra's hair, waters bedecked with
-cresses and white water-lilies, whose chaste bulbs coyly
-unfolding themselves beneath the sun's warm rays, reveal the
-golden gems which lie concealed within their milky petals -
-murmuring waters, on the bosom of which black swans majestically
-floated, and the graceful water-fowl, with their tender broods
-covered with silken down, darted restlessly in every direction,
-in pursuit of the insects among the reeds, or the fogs in their
-mossy retreats.  Perhaps it might have been the enormous hollies,
-with their dark and tender green foliage; or the bridges uniting
-the banks of the canals in their embrace; or the fawns browsing
-in the endless avenues of the park; or the innumerable birds that
-hopped about the gardens, or flew from branch to branch, amidst
-the emerald foliage.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It might well have been any
-of these charms - for Hampton Court had them all; and possessed,
-too, almost forests of white roses, which climbed and trailed
-along the lofty trellises, showering down upon the ground their
-snowy leaves rich with soft perfumery.  But no, what Charles II.
-most loved in Hampton Court were the charming figures who, when
-midday was past, flitted to and fro along the broad terraces of
-the gardens; like Louis XIV., he had their wealth of beauties
-painted for his gallery by one of the great artists of the period
-- an artist who well knew the secret of transferring to canvas
-the rays of light which escaped from beaming eyes heavy laden
-with love and love's delights.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The day of our arrival at
-Hampton Court is almost as clear and bright as a summer's day in
-France; the atmosphere is heavy with the delicious perfume of
-geraniums, sweet-peas, seringas, and heliotrope scattered in
-profusion around.  It is past midday, and the king, having dined
-after his return from hunting, paid a visit to Lady Castlemaine,
-the lady who was reputed at the time to hold his heart in
-bondage; and this proof of his devotion discharged, he was
-readily permitted to pursue his infidelities until evening
-arrived.  Love and amusement ruled the entire court; it was the
-period when ladies would seriously interrogate their ruder
-companions as to their opinions upon a foot more or less
-captivating, according to whether it wore a pink or lilac silk
-stocking - for it was the period when Charles II. had declared
-that there was no hope of safety for a woman who wore green silk
-stockings, because Miss Lucy Stewart wore them of that color. 
-While the king is endeavoring in all directions to inculcate
-others with his preferences on this point, we will ourselves bend
-our steps towards an avenue of beech-trees opposite the terrace,
-and listen to the conversation of a young girl in a dark-colored
-dress, who is walking with another of about her own age dressed
-in blue.  They crossed a beautiful lawn, from the center of which
-sprang a fountain, with the figure of a siren executed in bronze,
-and strolled on, talking as they went, towards the terrace, along
-which, looking out upon the park and interspersed at frequent
-intervals, were erected summer-houses, diverse in form and
-ornament; these summer-houses were nearly all occupied; the two
-young women passed on, the one blushing deeply, while the other
-seemed dreamily silent.  At last, having reached the end of the
-terrace which looks on the river, and finding there a cool
-retreat, they sat down close to each other.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where are we going?" said
-the younger to her companion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear, we are going where
-you yourself led the way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, you; to the extremity
-of the palace, towards that seat yonder, where the young
-Frenchman is seated, wasting his time in sighs and
-lamentations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Miss Mary Grafton hurriedly
-said, "No, no; I am not going there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why not?"<br>
-                "Let us go back, Lucy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, on the contrary, let
-us go on, and have an explanation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What about?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "About how it happens that
-the Vicomte de Bragelonne always accompanies you in all your
-walks, as you invariably accompany him in his."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you conclude either
-that he loves me, or that I love him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why not? - he is a most
-agreeable and charming companion. - No one hears me, I hope,"
-said Lucy Stewart, as she turned round with a smile, which
-indicated, moreover, that her uneasiness on the subject was not
-extreme.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no," said Mary, "the
-king is engaged in his summer-house with the Duke of
-Buckingham."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! <i>&agrave; propos</i>
-of the duke, Mary, it seems he has shown you great attention
-since his return from France; how is your own heart in that
-direction?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Mary Grafton shrugged her
-shoulders with seeming indifference.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, well, I will ask
-Bragelonne about it," said Stewart, laughing; "let us go and find
-him at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What for?"<br>
-                "I wish to speak to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not yet, one word before
-you do: come, come, you who know so many of the king's secrets,
-tell me why M. de Bragelonne is in England?"<br>
-                "Because he was sent as an envoy from one
-sovereign to another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That may be; but,
-seriously, although politics do not much concern us, we know
-enough to be satisfied that M. de Bragelonne has no mission of
-serious import here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, listen," said
-Stewart, with assumed gravity, "for your sake I am going to
-betray a state secret.  Shall I tell you the nature of the letter
-which King Louis XIV. gave M. de Bragelonne for King Charles
-II.?  I will; these are the very words: 'My brother, the bearer
-of this is a gentleman attached to my court, and the son of one
-whom you regard most warmly.  Treat him kindly, I beg, and try
-and make him like England.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Did it say that!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Word for word - or
-something very like it.  I will not answer for the form, but the
-substance I am sure of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, and what conclusion
-do you, or rather what conclusion does the king, draw from
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That the king of France has
-his own reasons for removing M. de Bragelonne, and for getting
-him married anywhere else than in France."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So that, then, in
-consequence of this letter - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "King Charles received M. de
-Bragelonne, as you are aware, in the most distinguished and
-friendly manner; the handsomest apartments in Whitehall were
-allotted to him; and as you are the most valuable and precious
-person in his court, inasmuch as you have rejected his heart, -
-nay, do not blush, - he wished you to take a fancy to this
-Frenchman, and he was desirous to confer upon him so costly a
-prize.  And this is the reason why you, the heiress of three
-hundred thousand pounds, a future duchess, so beautiful, so good,
-have been thrown in Bragelonne's way, in all the promenades and
-parties of pleasure to which he was invited.  In fact it was a
-plot, - a kind of conspiracy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Mary Grafton smiled with
-that charming expression which was habitual to her, and pressing
-her companion's arm, said: "Thank the king, Lucy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes, but the Duke of
-Buckingham is jealous, so take care."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Hardly had she pronounced
-these words, when the duke appeared from one of the pavilions on
-the terrace, and, approaching the two girls, with a smile, said,
-"You are mistaken, Miss Lucy; I am not jealous; and the proof,
-Miss Mary, is yonder, in the person of M. de Bragelonne himself,
-who ought to be the cause of my jealousy, but who is dreaming in
-pensive solitude.  Poor fellow!  Allow me to leave you for a few
-minutes, while I avail myself of those few minutes to converse
-with Miss Lucy Stewart, to whom I have something to say."  And
-then, bowing to Lucy, he added, "Will you do me the honor to
-accept my hand, in order that I may lead you to the king, who is
-waiting for us?"  With these words, Buckingham, still smiling,
-took Miss Stewart's hand, and led her away.  When by herself,
-Mary Grafton, her head gently inclined towards her shoulder, with
-that indolent gracefulness of action which distinguishes young
-English girls, remained for a moment with her eyes fixed on
-Raoul, but as if uncertain what to do.  At last, after first
-blushing violently, and then turning deadly pale, thus revealing
-the internal combat which assailed her heart, she seemed to make
-up her mind to adopt a decided course, and with a tolerably firm
-step, advanced towards the seat on which Raoul was reclining,
-buried in the profoundest meditation, as we have already said. 
-The sound of Miss Mary's steps, though they could hardly be heard
-upon the green sward, awakened Raoul from his musing attitude; he
-turned round, perceived the young girl, and walked forward to
-meet the companion whom his happy destiny had thrown in his
-way.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have been sent to you,
-monsieur," said Mary Grafton; "will you take care of me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To whom is my gratitude
-due, for so great a happiness?" inquired Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To the Duke of Buckingham,"
-replied Mary, affecting a gayety she did not really feel.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To the Duke of Buckingham,
-do you say? - he who so passionately seeks your charming
-society!  Am I really to believe you are serious,
-mademoiselle?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The fact is, monsieur, you
-perceive, that everything seems to conspire to make us pass the
-best, or rather the longest, part of our days together. 
-Yesterday it was the king who desired me to beg you to seat
-yourself next to me at dinner; to-day, it is the Duke of
-Buckingham who begs me to come and place myself near you on this
-seat."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And he has gone away in
-order to leave us together?" asked Raoul, with some
-embarrassment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Look yonder, at the turning
-of that path; he is just out of sight, with Miss Stewart.  Are
-these polite attentions usual in France, monsieur le
-vicomte?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I cannot very precisely say
-what people do in France, mademoiselle, for I can hardly be
-called a Frenchman.  I have resided in many countries, and almost
-always as a solider; and then, I have spent a long period of my
-life in the country.  I am almost a savage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You do not like your
-residence in England, I fear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I scarcely know," said
-Raoul, inattentively, and sighing deeply at the same time.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! you do not know?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Forgive me," said Raoul,
-shaking his head, and collecting his thoughts, "I did not hear
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said the young girl,
-sighing in her turn, "how wrong the duke was to send me
-here!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Wrong!" said Raoul,
-"perhaps so; for I am but a rude, uncouth companion, and my
-society annoys you.  The duke did, indeed, very wrong to send
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is precisely," replied
-Mary Grafton, in a clear, calm voice, "because your society does
-not annoy me, that the duke was wrong to send me to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It was now Raoul's turn to
-blush.  "But," he resumed, "how happens it that the Duke of
-Buckingham should send you to me; and why did you come? the duke
-loves you, and you love him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No," replied Mary,
-seriously, "the duke does not love me, because he is in love with
-the Duchesse d'Orl&eacute;ans; and, as for myself, I have no
-affection for the duke."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul looked at the young
-lady with astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you a friend of the
-Duke of Buckingham?" she inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The duke has honored me by
-calling me so ever since we met in France."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are simple
-acquaintances, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; for the duke is the
-most intimate friend of one whom I regard as a brother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The Duc de Guiche?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."<br>
-                "He who is in love with Madame la Duchesse
-d'Orl&eacute;ans?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  What is that you are
-saying?"<br>
-                "And who loves him in return," continued the
-young girl, quietly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul bent down his head,
-and Mary Grafton, sighing deeply, continued, "They are very
-happy.  But, leave me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, for the Duke of
-Buckingham has given you a very troublesome commission in
-offering me as a companion for your promenade.  Your heart is
-elsewhere, and it is with the greatest difficulty you can be
-charitable enough to lend me your attention.  Confess truly; it
-would be unfair on your part, vicomte, not to admit it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame, I do confess
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She looked at him steadily. 
-He was so noble and so handsome in his bearing, his eyes revealed
-so much gentleness, candor, and resolution, that the idea could
-not possibly enter her mind that he was either rudely
-discourteous, or a mere simpleton.  She only perceived, clearly
-enough, that he loved another woman, and not herself, with the
-whole strength of his heart.  "Ah!  I now understand you," she
-said; "you have left your heart behind you in France."  Raoul
-bowed.  "The duke is aware of your affection?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No one knows it," replied
-Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, therefore, do you tell
-me?  Nay, answer me."<br>
-                "I cannot."<br>
-                "It is for me, then, to anticipate an
-explanation; you do not wish to tell me anything, because you are
-now convinced that I do not love the duke; because you see that I
-possibly might have loved you; because you are a gentleman of
-noble and delicate sentiments; and because, instead of accepting,
-even were it for the mere amusement of the passing hour, a hand
-which is almost pressed upon you; and because, instead of meeting
-my smiles with a smiling lip, you, who are young, have preferred
-to tell me, whom men have called beautiful, 'My heart is over the
-sea - it is in France.'  For this, I thank you, Monsieur de
-Bragelonne; you are, indeed, a noble-hearted, noble-minded man,
-and I regard you all the more for it, as a friend only.  And now
-let us cease speaking of myself, and talk of your own affairs. 
-Forget that I have ever spoken to you of myself, tell me why you
-are sad, and why you have become more than usually so during
-these past four days?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul was deeply and
-sensibly moved by these sweet and melancholy tones; and as he
-could not, at the moment, find a word to say, the young girl
-again came to his assistance.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Pity me," she said.  "My
-mother was born in France, and I can truly affirm that I, too, am
-French in blood, as well as in feeling; but the leaden atmosphere
-and characteristic gloom of England seem to weigh upon me. 
-Sometimes my dreams are golden-hued and full of wonderful
-enjoyments, when suddenly a mist rises and overspreads my fancy,
-blotting them out forever.  Such, indeed, is the case at the
-present moment.  Forgive me; I have now said enough on that
-subject; give me your hand, and relate you griefs to me as a
-friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You say you are French in
-heart and soul?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, not only, I repeat it,
-that my mother was French, but, further, as my father, a friend
-of King Charles I., was exiled in France, I, during the trial of
-that prince, as well as during the Protector's life, was brought
-up in Paris; at the Restoration of King Charles II., my poor
-father returned to England, where he died almost immediately
-afterwards; and then the king created me a duchess, and has
-dowered me according to my rank.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Have you any relations in
-France?" Raoul inquired, with the deepest interest.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have a sister there, my
-senior by seven or eight years, who was married in France, and
-was early left a widow; her name is Madame de Belli&egrave;re. 
-Do you know her?" she added, observing Raoul start suddenly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have heard her name."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She, too, loves with her
-whole heart; and her last letters inform me she is happy, and her
-affection is, I conclude, returned.  I told you, Monsieur de
-Bragelonne, that although I possess half of her nature, I do not
-share her happiness.  But let us now speak of yourself; whom do
-you love in France?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A young girl, as soft and
-pure as a lily."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But if she loves you, why
-are you sad?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have been told that she
-ceases to love me."<br>
-                "You do not believe it, I trust?"<br>
-                "He who wrote me so does not sign his
-letter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "An anonymous denunciation!
-some treachery, be assured," said Miss Grafton.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Stay," said Raoul, showing
-the young girl a letter which he had read over a thousand times;
-she took it from his hand and read as follows:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "VICOMTE, - You are
-perfectly right to amuse yourself yonder with the lovely faces of
-Charles II.'s court, for at Louis XIV.'s court, the castle in
-which your affections are enshrined is being besieged.  Stay in
-London altogether, poor vicomte, or return without delay to
-Paris."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is no signature,"
-said Miss Mary.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "None."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Believe it not, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; but here is a
-second letter, from my friend De Guiche, which says, 'I am lying
-here wounded and ill.  Return, Raoul, oh, return!'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you intend doing?"
-inquired the young girl, with a feeling of oppression at her
-heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My intention, as soon as I
-received this letter, was immediately to take my leave of the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "When did you receive
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The day before
-yesterday."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is dated
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A singular circumstance, do
-you not think, for the court is now at Paris?  At all events, I
-would have set off; but when I mentioned my intention to the
-king, he began to laugh, and said to me, 'How comes it, monsieur
-l'amassadeur, that you think of leaving?  Has your sovereign
-recalled you?'  I colored, naturally enough, for I was confused
-by the question; for the fact is, the king himself sent me here,
-and I have received no order to return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Mary frowned in deep
-thought, and said, "Do you remain, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I must, mademoiselle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you ever receive any
-letters from her to whom you are so devoted?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Never."<br>
-                "Never, do you say?  Does she not love you,
-then?"<br>
-                "At least, she has not written to me since my
-departure, although she used occasionally to write to me before. 
-I trust she may have been prevented."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Hush! the duke is
-coming."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And Buckingham at that
-moment was seen at the end of the walk, approaching towards them,
-alone and smiling; he advanced slowly, and held out his hands to
-them both.  "Have you arrived at an understanding?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "About what?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "About whatever might render
-you happy, dear Mary, and make Raoul less miserable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not understand you, my
-lord," said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is my view of the
-subject, Miss Mary; do you wish me to mention it before M. de
-Bragelonne?" he added, with a smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If you mean," replied the
-young girl, haughtily, "that I was not indisposed to love M. de
-Bragelonne, that is useless, for I have told him so myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Buckingham reflected for a
-moment, and, without seeming in any way discountenanced, as she
-expected, he said:  "My reason for leaving you with M. de
-Bragelonne was, that I thoroughly knew your refined delicacy of
-feeling, no less than the perfect loyalty of your mind and heart,
-and I hoped that M. de Bragelonne's cure might be effected by the
-hands of a physician such as you are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, my lord, before you
-spoke of M. de Bragelonne's heart, you spoke to me of your own. 
-Do you mean to effect the cure of two hearts at the same
-time?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Perfectly true, madame; but
-you will do me the justice to admit that I have long discontinued
-a useless pursuit, acknowledging that my own wound is
-incurable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My lord," said Mary,
-collecting herself for a moment before she spoke, "M. de
-Bragelonne is happy, for he loves and is beloved.  He has no need
-of such a physician as I can be."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Bragelonne," said
-Buckingham, "is on the very eve of experiencing a serious
-misfortune, and he has greater need than ever of sympathy and
-affection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Explain yourself, my lord,"
-inquired Raoul, anxiously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; gradually I will
-explain myself; but, if you desire it, I can tell Miss Grafton
-what you may not listen to yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My lord, you are putting me
-to the torture; you know something you wish to conceal from
-me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know that Miss Mary
-Grafton is the most charming object that a heart ill at ease
-could possibly meet with in its way through life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have already told you
-that the Vicomte de Bragelonne loves elsewhere," said the young
-girl.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He is wrong, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you assume to know, my
-lord, that <i>I</i> am wrong?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Whom is it that he loves,
-then?" exclaimed the young girl.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He loves a lady who is
-unworthy of him," said Buckingham, with that calm, collected
-manner peculiar to Englishmen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Miss Grafton uttered a cry,
-which, together with the remark that Buckingham had that moment
-made, spread of De Bragelonne's features a deadly paleness,
-arising from the sudden surprise, and also from a vague fear of
-impending misfortune.  "My lord," he exclaimed, "you have just
-pronounced words which compel me, without a moment's delay, to
-seek their explanation in Paris."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will remain here," said
-Buckingham, "because you have no right to leave; and no one has
-the right to quit the service of the king for that of any woman,
-even were she as worthy of being loved as Mary Grafton is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will tell me all,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will, on condition that
-you will remain."<br>
-                "I will remain, if you will promise to speak
-openly and without reserve."<br>
-                Thus far had their conversation proceeded, and
-Buckingham, in all probability, was on the point of revealing,
-not indeed all that had taken place, but at least all he was
-aware of, when one of the king's attendants appeared at the end
-of the terrace, and advanced towards the summer-house where the
-king was sitting with Lucy Stewart.  A courier followed him,
-covered with dust from head to foot, and who seemed as if he had
-but a few moments before dismounted from his horse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The courier from France! 
-Madame's courier!" exclaimed Raoul, recognizing the princess's
-livery; and while the attendant and the courier advanced towards
-the king, Buckingham and Miss Grafton exchanged a look full of
-intelligence with each other.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Courier from Madame.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>C</span>harles II.
-was busily engaged in proving, or in endeavoring to prove, to
-Miss Stewart that she was the only person for whom he cared at
-all, and consequently was avowing to her an affection similar to
-that which his ancestor Henry IV. had entertained for Gabrielle. 
-Unfortunately for Charles II., he had hit upon an unlucky day,
-the very day Miss Stewart had taken it into her head to make him
-jealous, and therefore, instead of being touched by his offer, as
-the king had hoped, she laughed heartily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, sire," she cried,
-laughing all the while; "if I were to be unfortunate enough to
-ask you for a proof of the affection you possess, how easy it
-would be to see that you are telling a falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, listen to me," said
-Charles, "you know my cartoons by Raphael; you know whether I
-care for them or not; the whole world envies me their possession,
-as you well know also; my father commissioned Van Dyck to
-purchase them.  Would you like me to send them to your house this
-very day?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, no!" replied the young
-girl; "pray keep them yourself, sire; my house is far too small
-to accommodate such visitors."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case you shall have
-Hampton Court to put the cartoons in."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Be less generous, sire, and
-learn to love a little while longer, that is all I have to ask
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I shall never cease to love
-you; is not that enough?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are smiling, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you wish me to
-weep?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; but I should like to
-see you a  little more melancholy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Thank Heaven, I have been
-so long enough; fourteen years of exile, poverty, and misery, I
-think I may well regard it as a debt discharged; besides,
-melancholy makes people look so plain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Far from that - for look at
-the young Frenchman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! the Vicomte de
-Bragelonne? are you smitten too?  By Heaven, they will all grow
-mad over him one after the other; but he, on the contrary, has a
-reason for being melancholy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, indeed! you wish me to
-betray state secrets, do you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If I wish it, you must do
-so, for you told me you were quite ready to do everything I
-wished."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, he is bored in
-his own country.  Does that satisfy you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Bored?"<br>
-                "Yes, a proof that he is a simpleton; I allow him
-to fall in love with Miss Mary Grafton, and he feels bored.  Can
-you believe it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; it seems, then,
-that if you were to find Miss Lucy Stewart indifferent to you,
-you would console yourself by falling in love with Miss Mary
-Grafton."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I don't say that; in the
-first place, you know that Mary Grafton does not care for me;
-besides, a man can only console himself for a lost affection by
-the discovery of a new one.  Again, however, I repeat, the
-question is not of myself, but of that young man.  One might
-almost be tempted to call the girl he has left behind him a Helen
-- a Helen before the little ceremony she went through with Paris,
-of course."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He has left some one,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is to say, some one
-has left <i>him</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Poor fellow! so much the
-worse!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why do you mean by 'so much
-the worse'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why not? why did he
-leave?"<br>
-                "Do you think it was of his own wish or will that
-he left?"<br>
-                "Was he obliged to leave, then?"<br>
-                "He left Paris under orders, my dear Stewart; and
-prepare to be surprised - by express orders of the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! I begin to see,
-now."<br>
-                "At least say nothing at all about it."<br>
-                "You know very well that I am just as discreet as
-anybody else.  And so the king sent him away?"<br>
-                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And during his absence he
-takes his sweetheart from him?"<br>
-                "Yes; and, will you believe it? the silly fellow,
-instead of thanking the king, is making himself miserable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! thank the king for
-depriving him of the woman he loves!  Really, sire, yours is a
-most ungallant speech."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, pray understand me. 
-If she whom the king had run off with was either a Miss Grafton
-or a Miss Stewart, I should not be of his opinion; nay, I should
-even think him not half wretched enough; but she is a little,
-thin, lame thing.  Deuce take such fidelity as that!  Surely, one
-can hardly understand how a man can refuse a girl who is rich for
-one who is poverty itself - a girl who loves him for one who
-deceives and betrays him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you think that Mary
-seriously wishes to please the vicomte, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do, indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good! the vicomte will
-settle down in England, for Mary has a clear head, and when she
-fixes her mind upon anything, she does so thoroughly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Take care, my dear Miss
-Stewart; if the vicomte has any idea of adopting our country, he
-has not long to do so, for it was only the day before yesterday
-that he again asked me for permission to leave."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which you refused him, I
-suppose?"<br>
-                "I should think so, indeed; my royal brother is
-far too anxious for his absence; and, for myself, my <i>amour
-propre</i> is enlisted on his side, for I will never have it said
-that I had held out as a bait to this young man the noblest and
-gentlest creature in England - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are very gallant,
-sire," said Miss Stewart, with a pretty pout.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not allude to Miss
-Stewart, for she is worthy of a king's devotion; and since she
-has captivated me I trust that no one else will be caught by her;
-I say, therefore, finally, that the attention I have shown this
-young man will not have been thrown away; he will stay with us
-here, he will marry here, or I am very much mistaken."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I hope that when he is
-once married and settled, instead of being angry with your
-majesty, he will be grateful to you, for every one tries his
-utmost to please him; even the Duke of Buckingham, whose
-brilliancy, which is incredible, seems to pale before that of
-this young Frenchman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Including Miss Stewart
-even, who calls him the most finished gentleman she ever
-saw."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Stay, sire; you have spoken
-quite enough, and quite highly enough, of Miss Grafton, to
-overlook what I may have said about De Bragelonne.  But, by the
-by, sire, your kindness for some time past astonishes me: you
-think of those who are absent, you forgive those who have done
-you a wrong, in fact, you are as nearly as possible, perfect. 
-How does it happen - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is because you allow
-yourself to be loved," he said, beginning to laugh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! there must be some
-other reason."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, I am doing all I can
-to oblige my brother, Louis XIV."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, I must have another
-reason."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, the true motive
-is that Buckingham strongly recommended the young man to me,
-saying: 'Sire, I begin by yielding up all claim to Miss Grafton;
-I pray you follow my example.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The duke is, indeed, a true
-gentleman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! of course, of course;
-it is Buckingham's turn now, I suppose, to turn <i>your</i>
-head.  You seem determined to cross me in everything to-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At this moment some one
-rapped at the door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who is it who presumes to
-interrupt us?" exclaimed Charles, impatiently.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Really, sire, you are
-extremely vain with your 'who is it who presumes?' and in order
-to punish you for it - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She went to the door and
-opened it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is a courier from
-France," said Miss Stewart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A courier from France!"
-exclaimed Charles; "from my sister, perhaps?"<br>
-                "Yes, sire," said the usher, "a special
-messenger."<br>
-                "Let him come in at once," said Charles.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have a letter for me,"
-said the king to the courier as he entered, "from the Duchess of
-Orl&eacute;ans?"<br>
-                "Yes, sire," replied the courier, "and so urgent
-in its nature that I have only been twenty-six hours in bringing
-it to your majesty, and yet I lost three-quarters of an hour at
-Calais."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your zeal shall not be
-forgotten," said the king, as he opened the letter.  When he had
-read it he burst out laughing, and exclaimed, "Upon my word, I am
-at a loss to understand anything about it."  He then read the
-letter a second time, Miss Stewart assuming a manner marked by
-the greatest reserve, and doing her utmost to restrain her ardent
-curiosity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Francis," said the king to
-his valet, "see that this excellent fellow is well taken care of
-and sleeps soundly, and that on waking to-morrow he finds a purse
-of fifty sovereigns by his bedside."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire!" said the courier,
-amazed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Begone, begone; my sister
-was perfectly right in desiring you to use the utmost diligence;
-the affair was most pressing."  And he again began to laugh
-louder than ever.  The courier, the valet, and Miss Stewart
-hardly knew what sort of countenance to assume.  "Ah!" said the
-king, throwing himself back in his armchair: "When I think that
-you have knocked up - how many horses?"<br>
-                "Two!"<br>
-                "Two horses to bring this intelligence to me. 
-That will do, you can leave us now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The courier retired with the
-valet.  Charles went to the window, which he opened, and leaning
-forward, called out - "Duke!  Buckingham! come here, there's a
-good fellow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The duke hurried to him, in
-obedience to the summons; but when he reached the door, and
-perceived Miss Stewart, he hesitated to enter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Come in, and shut the
-door," said the king.  The duke obeyed; and, perceiving in what
-an excellent humor the king was, he advanced, smiling, towards
-him.  "Well, my dear duke, how do you get on with your
-Frenchman?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I am in the most
-perfect state of utter despair about him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because charming Miss
-Grafton is willing to marry him, but he is unwilling."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, he is a perfect
-B&oelig;otian!" cried Miss Stewart.  "Let him say either 'Yes,'
-or No,' and let the affair end."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But," said Buckingham,
-seriously, "you know, or you ought to know, madame, that M. de
-Bragelonne is in love in another direction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case," said the
-king, coming to Miss Stewart's help, "nothing is easier; let him
-say 'No,' then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very true; and I have
-proved to him he was wrong not to say 'Yes.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You told him candidly, I
-suppose, that La Valli&egrave;re was deceiving him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, without the slightest
-reserve; and, as soon as I had done so, he gave a start, as if he
-were going to clear the Channel at a bound."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At all events," said Miss
-Stewart, "he has done something; and a very good thing too, upon
-my word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But," said Buckingham, "I
-stopped him; I have left him and Miss Mary in conversation
-together, and I sincerely trust that now he will not leave, as he
-seemed to have an idea of doing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "An idea of leaving
-England?" cried the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I, at one moment, hardly
-thought that any human power could have prevented him; but Miss
-Mary's eyes are now bent fully on him, and he will remain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, that is the very
-thing which deceives you, Buckingham," said the king, with a peal
-of laughter; "the poor fellow is predestined."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Predestined to what?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If it were to be simply
-deceived, that is nothing; but, to look at him, it is a great
-deal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At a distance, and with
-Miss Grafton's aid, the blow will be warded off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Far from it, far from it;
-neither distance nor Miss Grafton's help will be of the slightest
-avail.  Bragelonne will set off for Paris within an hour's
-time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Buckingham started, and Miss
-Stewart opened her eyes very wide in astonishment.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, sire," said the duke,
-"your majesty knows that it is impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is to say, my dear
-Buckingham, that it is impossible until it happens."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do not forget, sire, that
-the young man is a perfect lion, and that his wrath is
-terrible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I don't deny it, my dear
-duke."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And that if he sees that
-his misfortune is certain, so much the worse for the author of
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I don't deny it; but what
-the deuce am I to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Were it the king himself,"
-cried Buckingham, "I would not answer for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, the king has his
-musketeers to take care of him," said Charles, quietly; "I know
-that perfectly well, for I was kept dancing attendance in his
-ante-chamber at Blois.  He has M. d'Artagnan, and what better
-guardian could the king have than M. d'Artagnan?  I should make
-myself perfectly easy with twenty storms of passion, such as
-Bragelonne might display, if I had four guardians like
-D'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But I entreat your majesty,
-who is so good and kind, to reflect a little."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Stay," said Charles II.,
-presenting the letter to the duke, "read, and answer yourself
-what you would do in my place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Buckingham slowly took hold
-of Madame's letter, and trembling with emotion, read the
-following words:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For your own sake, for
-mine, for the honor and safety of every one, send M. de
-Bragelonne back to France immediately.  Your devoted sister,</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>
-HENRIETTA."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, Villiers, what do you
-say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Really, sire, I have
-nothing to say," replied the duke, stupefied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, would you, of all
-persons," said the king, artfully, "advise me not to listen to my
-sister when she writes so urgently?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, no, no, sire; and yet -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have not read the
-postscript, Villiers; it is under the fold of the letter, and
-escaped me at first; read it."  And as the duke turned down a
-fold of the letter, he read:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A thousand kind
-remembrances to those who love me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The duke's head sank
-gradually on his breast; the paper trembled in his fingers, as if
-it had been changed to lead.  The king paused for a moment, and,
-seeing that Buckingham did not speak, "He must follow his
-destiny, as we ours," continued the king; "every man has his own
-share of grief in this world; I have had my own, - I have had
-that of others who belong to me, - and have thus had a double
-weight of woe to endure! - But the deuce take all my cares now! 
-Go, and bring our friend here, Villiers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The duke opened the
-trellised door of the summer-house, and pointing at Raoul and
-Mary, who were walking together side by side, said, "What a cruel
-blow, sire, for poor Miss Grafton!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nonsense; call him," said
-Charles II., knitting his black brows together; "every one seems
-to be sentimental here.  There, look at Miss Stewart, who is
-wiping her eyes, - now deuce take the French fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The duke called to Raoul,
-and taking Miss Grafton by the hand, he led her towards the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur de Bragelonne,"
-said Charles II., "did you not ask me the day before yesterday
-for permission to return to Paris?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire," replied Raoul,
-greatly puzzled by this address.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I refused you, I
-think?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."<br>
-                "For which you were angry with me?"<br>
-                "No, sire; your majesty had no doubt excellent
-reasons for withholding it; for you are so wise and so good that
-everything you do is well done."<br>
-                "I alleged, I believe, as a reason, that the king
-of France had not recalled you?"<br>
-                "Yes, sire, that was the reason you
-assigned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, M. de Bragelonne, I
-have reflected over the matter since; if the king did not, in
-fact, fix your return, he begged me to render your sojourn in
-England as agreeable as possible; since, however, you ask my
-permission to return, it is because your longer residence in
-England is no longer agreeable to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not say that,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, but your request, at
-least," said the king, "signified that another place of residence
-would be more agreeable to you than this."<br>
-                At this moment Raoul turned towards the door,
-against which Miss Grafton was leaning, pale and sorrow-stricken;
-her other hand was passed through the duke's arm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You do not reply," pursued
-Charles; "the proverb is plain enough, that 'silence gives
-consent.'  Very good, Monsieur de Bragelonne; I am now in a
-position to satisfy you; whenever you please, therefore, you can
-leave for Paris, for which you have my authority."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire!" exclaimed Raoul,
-while Mary stifled an exclamation of grief which rose to her
-lips, unconsciously pressing Buckingham's arm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You can be at Dover this
-evening," continued the king, "the tide serves at two o'clock in
-the morning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul, astounded, stammered
-out a few broken sentences, which equally answered the purpose
-both of thanks and of excuse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I therefore bid you adieu,
-Monsieur de Bragelonne, and wish you every sort of prosperity,"
-said the king, rising; "you will confer a pleasure on me by
-keeping this diamond in remembrance of me; I had intended it as a
-marriage gift."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Miss Grafton felt her limbs
-almost giving way; and, as Raoul received the ring from the
-king's hand, he, too, felt his strength and courage failing him. 
-He addressed a few respectful words to the king, a passing
-compliment to Miss Stewart, and looked for Buckingham to bid him
-adieu.  The king profited by this moment to disappear.  Raoul
-found the duke engaged in endeavoring to encourage Miss
-Grafton.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell him to remain, I
-implore you!" said Buckingham to Mary.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, I will tell him to go,"
-replied Miss Grafton, with returning animation; "I am not one of
-those women who have more pride than heart; if she whom he loves
-is in France, let him return thither and bless me for having
-advised him to go and seek his happiness there.  If, on the
-contrary, she shall have ceased to love him, let him come back
-here again; I shall still love him, and his unhappiness will not
-have lessened him in my regard.  In the arms of my house you will
-find that which Heaven has engraven on my heart - <i>Habenti
-parum, egenti cuncta</i>.  'To the rich is accorded little, to
-the poor everything.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not believe,
-Bragelonne, that you will find yonder the equivalent of what you
-leave behind you here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I think, or at least hope,"
-said Raoul, with a gloomy air, "that she whom I love is worthy of
-my affection; but if it be true she is unworthy of me, as you
-have endeavored to make me believe, I will tear her image from my
-heart, duke, even if my heart breaks in the attempt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Mary Grafton gazed upon him
-with an expression of the most indefinable pity, and Raoul
-returned her look with a sweet, sorrowful smile, saying,
-"Mademoiselle, the diamond which the king has given me was
-destined for you, - give me leave to offer it for your
-acceptance: if I marry in France, you will send it me back; if I
-do not marry, keep it."  And he bowed and left her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What does he mean?" thought
-Buckingham, while Raoul pressed Mary's icy hand with marks of the
-most reverential respect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Mary understood the look
-that Buckingham fixed upon her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If it were a wedding-ring,
-I would not accept it," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet you were willing to
-ask him to return to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! duke," cried the young
-girl in heart-broken accents, "a woman such as I am is never
-accepted as a consolation by a man like him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You do not think he will
-return, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Never," said Miss Grafton,
-in a choking voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I grieve to tell you,
-Mary, that he will find yonder his happiness destroyed, his
-mistress lost to him.  His honor even has not escaped.  What will
-be left him, then, Mary, equal to your affection?  Answer, Mary,
-you who know yourself so well."<br>
-                Miss Grafton placed her white hand on
-Buckingham's arm, and, while Raoul was hurrying away with
-headlong speed, she repeated in dying accents the line from Romeo
-and Juliet:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>I must be gone and live,
-or stay and die.</i>"<br>
-                As she finished the last word, Raoul
-disappeared.  Miss Grafton returned to her own apartments, paler
-than death.  Buckingham availed himself of the arrival of the
-courier, who had brought the letter to the king, to write to
-Madame and to the Comte de Guiche.  The king had not been
-mistaken, for at two in the morning the tide was at full flood,
-and Raoul had embarked for France.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XXXIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Saint-Aignan Follows Malicorne's Advice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he king most
-assiduously followed the progress which was made in La
-Valli&egrave;re's portrait; and did so with a care and attention
-arising as much from a desire that it should resemble her as from
-the wish that the painter should prolong the period of its
-completion as much as possible.  It was amusing to observe him
-follow the artist's brush, awaiting the completion of a
-particular plan, or the result of a combination of colors, and
-suggesting various modifications to the painter, which the latter
-consented to adopt with the most respectful docility.  And again,
-when the artist, following Malicorne's advice, was a little late
-in arriving, and when Saint-Aignan had been obliged to be absent
-for some time, it was interesting to observe, though no one
-witnessed them, those moments of silence full of deep expression,
-which united in one sigh two souls most disposed to understand
-each other, and who by no means objected to the quiet meditation
-they enjoyed together.  The minutes flew rapidly by, as if on
-wings, and as the king drew closer to Louise and bent his burning
-gaze upon her, a noise was suddenly heard in the ante-room.  It
-was the artist, who had just arrived; Saint-Aignan, too, had
-returned, full of apologies; and the king began to talk and La
-Valli&egrave;re to answer him very hurriedly, their eyes
-revealing to Saint-Aignan that they had enjoyed a century of
-happiness during his absence.  In a word, Malicorne, philosopher
-that he was, though he knew it not, had learned how to inspire
-the king with an appetite in the midst of plenty, and with desire
-in the assurance of possession.  La Valli&egrave;re's fears of
-interruption had never been realized, and no one imagined she was
-absent from her apartment two or three hours every day; she
-pretended that her health was very uncertain; those who went to
-her room always knocked before entering, and Malicorne, the man
-of so many ingenious inventions, had constructed an acoustic
-piece of mechanism, by means of which La Valli&egrave;re, when in
-Saint-Aignan's apartment, was always forewarned of any visits
-which were paid to the room she usually inhabited.  In this
-manner, therefore, without leaving her room, and having no
-<i>confidante</i>, she was able to return to her apartment, thus
-removing by her appearance, a little tardy perhaps, the
-suspicions of the most determined skeptics.  Malicorne having
-asked Saint-Aignan the next morning what news he had to report,
-the latter was obliged to confess that the quarter of an hour's
-liberty had made the king in most excellent humor.  "We must
-double the dose," replied Malicorne, "but by insensible degrees;
-wait until they seem to wish it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                They were so desirous for
-it, however, that on the evening of the fourth day, at the moment
-when the painter was packing up his implements, during
-Saint-Aignan's continued absence, Saint-Aignan on his return
-noticed upon La Valli&egrave;re's face a shade of disappointment
-and vexation, which she could not conceal.  The king was less
-reserved, and exhibited his annoyance by a very significant shrug
-of the shoulders, at which La Valli&egrave;re could not help
-blushing.  "Very good!" thought Saint-Aignan to himself; "M.
-Malicorne will be delighted this evening;" as he, in fact, was,
-when it was reported to him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is very evident," he
-remarked to the comte, "that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re
-hoped that you would be at least ten minutes later."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And the king that I should
-be half an hour later, dear Monsieur Malicorne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You would show but very
-indifferent devotion to the king," replied the latter, "if you
-were to refuse his majesty that half-hour's satisfaction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But the painter," objected
-Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>I</i> will take care of
-him," said Malicorne, "only I must study faces and circumstances
-a little better before I act; those are my magical inventions and
-contrivances; and while sorcerers are enabled by means of their
-astrolabe to take the altitude of the sun, moon, and stars, I am
-satisfied merely by looking into people's faces, in order to see
-if their eyes are encircled with dark lines, and if the mouth
-describes a convex or concave arc."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And the cunning Malicorne
-had every opportunity of watching narrowly and closely, for the
-very same evening the king accompanied the queen to Madame's
-apartments, and made himself so remarked by his serious face and
-his deep sigh, and looked at La Valli&egrave;re with such a
-languishing expression, that Malicorne said to Montalais during
-the evening: "To-morrow."  And he went off to the painter's house
-in the street of the Jardins Saint-Paul to request him to
-postpone the next sitting for a couple of days.  Saint-Aignan was
-not within, when La Valli&egrave;re, who was now quite familiar
-with the lower story, lifted up the trap-door and descended.  The
-king, as usual was waiting for her on the staircase, and held a
-bouquet in his hand; as soon as he saw her, he clasped her
-tenderly in his arms.  La Valli&egrave;re, much moved at the
-action, looked around the room, but as she saw the king was
-alone, she did not complain of it.  They sat down, the king
-reclining near the cushions on which Louise was seated, with his
-head supported by her knees, placed there as in an asylum whence
-no one could banish him; he gazed ardently upon her, and as if
-the moment had arrived when nothing could interpose between their
-two hearts; she, too, gazed with similar passion upon him, and
-from her eyes, so softly pure, emanated a flame, whose rays first
-kindled and then inflamed the heart of the king, who, trembling
-with happiness as Louise's hand rested on his head, grew giddy
-from excess of joy, and momentarily awaited either the painter's
-or Saint-Aignan's return to break the sweet illusion.  But the
-door remained closed, and neither Saint-Aignan nor the painter
-appeared, nor did the hangings even move.  A deep mysterious
-silence reigned in the room - a silence which seemed to influence
-even the song-birds in their gilded prisons.  The king,
-completely overcome, turned round his head and buried his burning
-lips in La Valli&egrave;re's hands, who, herself faint, with
-excess of emotion, pressed her trembling hands against her
-lover's lips.  Louis threw himself upon his knees, and as La
-Valli&egrave;re did not move her head, the king's forehead being
-within reach of her lips, she furtively passed her lips across
-the perfumed locks which caressed her cheeks.  The king seized
-her in his arms, and, unable to resist the temptation, they
-exchanged their first kiss, that burning kiss, which changes love
-into delirium.  Suddenly, a noise upon the upper floor was heard,
-which had, in fact, continued, though it had remained unnoticed,
-for some time; it had at last aroused La Valli&egrave;re's
-attention, though but slowly so.  As the noise, however,
-continued, as it forced itself upon the attention, and recalled
-the poor girl from her dreams of happiness to the sad realities
-of life, she rose in a state of utter bewilderment, though
-beautiful in her disorder, saying:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Some one is waiting for me
-above.  Louis, Louis, do you not hear?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well! and am I not waiting
-for you, also?" said the king, with infinite tenderness of tone. 
-"Let others henceforth wait for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                But she gently shook her
-head, as she replied: "Happiness hidden&hellip; power
-concealed&hellip; my pride should be as silent as my heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The noise was again
-resumed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I hear Montalais's voice,"
-she said, and she hurried up the staircase; the king followed
-her, unable to let her leave his sight, and covering her hand
-with his kisses.  "Yes, yes," repeated La Valli&egrave;re, who
-had passed half-way through the opening.  "Yes, it is Montalais
-who is calling me; something important must have happened."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Go then, dearest love,"
-said the king, "but return quickly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no, not to-day, sire! 
-Adieu! adieu!" she said, as she stooped down once more to embrace
-her lover - and escaped.  Montalais was, in fact, waiting for
-her, very pale and agitated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quick, quick! <i>he</i> is
-coming," she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who - who is coming?"<br>
-                "Raoul," murmured Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is I - I," said a joyous
-voice, upon the last steps of the grand staircase.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re uttered a
-terrible shriek and threw herself back.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am here, dear Louise,"
-said Raoul, running towards her.  "I knew but too well that you
-had not ceased to love me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                La Valli&egrave;re with a
-gesture, partly of extreme terror, and partly as if invoking a
-blessing, attempted to speak, but could not articulate one word. 
-"No, no!" she said, as she fell into Montalais's arms, murmuring,
-"Do not touch me, do not come near me."<br>
-                Montalais made a sign to Raoul, who stood almost
-petrified at the door, and did not even attempt to advance
-another step into the room.  Then, looking towards the side of
-the room where the screen was, she exclaimed: "Imprudent girl,
-she has not even closed the trap-door."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And she advanced towards the
-corner of the room to close the screen, and also, behind the
-screen, the trap-door.  But suddenly the king, who had heard
-Louise's exclamation, darted through the opening, and hurried
-forward to her assistance.  He threw himself on his knees before
-her, as he overwhelmed Montalais with questions, who hardly knew
-where she was.  At the moment, however, when the king threw
-himself on his knees, a cry of utter despair rang through the
-corridor, accompanied by the sound of retreating footsteps.  The
-king wished to see who had uttered the cry and whose were the
-footsteps he had heard; and it was in vain that Montalais sought
-to retain him, for Louis, quitting his hold of La
-Valli&egrave;re, hurried towards the door, too late, however, for
-Raoul was already at a distance, and the king only beheld a
-shadow that quickly vanished in the silent corridor.
-<b><sup>8</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XL:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>Two
-Old Friends.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>W</span>hilst every
-one at court was busily engaged with his own affairs, a man
-mysteriously took up his post behind the Place de Gr&egrave;ve,
-in the house which we once saw besieged by D'Artagnan on the
-occasion of the <i>&eacute;meute</i>.  The principal entrance of
-the house was in the Place Baudoyer; it was tolerably large,
-surrounded by gardens, inclosed in the Rue Saint-Jean by the
-shops of toolmakers, which protected it from prying looks, and
-was walled in by a triple rampart of stone, noise, and verdure,
-like an embalmed mummy in its triple coffin.  The man we have
-just alluded to walked along with a firm step, although he was no
-longer in his early prime.  His dark cloak and long sword plainly
-revealed one who seemed in search of adventures; and, judging
-from his curling mustache, his fine smooth skin, which could be
-seen beneath his <i>sombrero</i>, it would not have been
-difficult to pronounce that gallantry had not a little share in
-his adventures.  In fact, hardly had the cavalier entered the
-house, when the clock struck eight; and ten minutes afterwards a
-lady, followed by a servant armed to the teeth, approached and
-knocked at the same door, which an old woman immediately opened
-for her.  The lady raised her veil as she entered; though no
-longer beautiful or young, she was still active and of an
-imposing carriage.  She concealed, beneath a rich toilette and
-the most exquisite taste, an age which Ninon de l'Enclos alone
-could have smiled at with impunity.  Hardly had she reached the
-vestibule, when the cavalier, whose features we have only roughly
-sketched, advanced towards her, holding out his hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "God day, my dear duchesse,"
-he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How do you do, my dear
-Aramis?" replied the duchesse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He led her to a most
-elegantly furnished apartment, on whose high windows were
-reflected the expiring rays of the setting sun, which filtered
-gaudily through the dark green needles of the adjacent firs. 
-They sat down side by side.  Neither of them thought of asking
-for additional light in the room, and they buried themselves as
-it were in the shadow, as if they wished to bury themselves in
-forgetfulness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Chevalier," said the
-duchesse, "you have never given me a single sign of life since
-our interview at Fontainebleau, and I confess that your presence
-there on the day of the Franciscan's death, and your initiation
-in certain secrets, caused me the liveliest astonishment I ever
-experienced in my whole life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I can explain my presence
-there to you, as well as my initiation," said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But let us, first of all,"
-said the duchess, "talk a little of ourselves, for our friendship
-is by no means of recent date."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, madame: and if Heaven
-wills it, we shall continue to be friends, I will not say for a
-long time, but forever."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is quite certain,
-chevalier, and my visit is a proof of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Our interests, duchess, are
-no longer the same as they used to be," said Aramis, smiling
-without apprehension in the growing gloom by which the room was
-overcast, for it could not reveal that his smile was less
-agreeable and not so bright as formerly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, chevalier, at the
-present day we have other interests.  Every period of life brings
-its own; and, as we now understand each other in conversing, as
-perfectly as we formerly did without saying a word, let us talk,
-if you like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am at your orders,
-duchesse.  Ah!  I beg your pardon, how did you obtain my address,
-and what was your object?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You ask me why?  I have
-told you.  Curiosity in the first place.  I wished to know what
-you could have to do with the Franciscan, with whom I had certain
-business transactions, and who died so singularly.  You know that
-on the occasion of our interview at Fontainebleau, in the
-cemetery, at the foot of the grave so recently closed, we were
-both so much overcome by our emotions that we omitted to confide
-to each other what we may have to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, I had no sooner
-left you than I repented, and have ever since been most anxious
-to ascertain the truth.  You know that Madame de Longueville and
-myself are almost one, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I was not aware," said
-Aramis, discreetly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I remembered, therefore,"
-continued the duchesse, "that neither of us said anything to the
-other in the cemetery; that you did not speak of the relationship
-in which you stood to the Franciscan, whose burial you
-superintended, and that I did not refer to the position in which
-I stood to him; all which seemed very unworthy of two such old
-friends as ourselves, and I have sought an opportunity of an
-interview with you in order to give you some information that I
-have recently acquired, and to assure you that Marie Michon, now
-no more, has left behind her one who has preserved her
-recollection of events."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis bowed over the
-duchess's hand, and pressed his lips upon it.  "You must have had
-some trouble to find me again," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," she answered, annoyed
-to find the subject taking a turn which Aramis wished to give it;
-"but I knew you were a friend of M. Fouquet's, and so I inquired
-in that direction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A friend! oh!" exclaimed
-the chevalier, "I can hardly pretend to be <i>that</i>.  A poor
-priest who has been favored by a generous protector, and whose
-heart is full of gratitude and devotion, is all that I pretend to
-be to M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He made you a bishop?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A very good retiring
-pension for so handsome a musketeer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; in the same way that
-political intrigue is for yourself," thought Aramis.  "And so,"
-he added, "you inquired after me at M. Fouquet's?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Easily enough.  You had
-been to Fontainebleau with him, and had undertaken a voyage to
-your diocese, which is Belle-&Icirc;le-en-Mer, I believe."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, madame," said Aramis. 
-"My diocese is Vannes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I meant that.  I only
-thought that Belle-&Icirc;le-en-Mer - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is a property belonging to
-M. Fouquet, nothing more."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!  I had been told that
-Belle-Isle was fortified; besides, I know how great the military
-knowledge is you possess."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have forgotten everything
-of the kind since I entered the Church," said Aramis,
-annoyed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Suffice it to know that I
-learned you had returned from Vannes, and I sent off to one of
-our friends, M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re, who is discretion
-itself, in order to ascertain it, but he answered that he was not
-aware of your address."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So like Athos," thought the
-bishop; "the really good man never changes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, you know that I
-cannot venture to show myself here, and that the queen-mother has
-always some grievance or other against me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, indeed, and I am
-surprised at it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! there are various
-reasons for it.  But, to continue, being obliged to conceal
-myself, I was fortunate enough to meet with M. d'Artagnan, who
-was formerly one of your old friends, I believe?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A friend of mine still,
-duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He gave me certain
-information, and sent me to M. Baisemeaux, the governor of the
-Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis was somewhat agitated
-at this remark, and a light flashed from his eyes in the darkness
-of the room, which he could not conceal from his keen-sighted
-friend.  "M. de Baisemeaux!" he said, "why did D'Artagnan send
-you to M. de Baisemeaux?"<br>
-                "I cannot tell you."<br>
-                "What can this possibly mean?" said the bishop,
-summoning all the resources of his mind to his aid, in order to
-carry on the combat in a befitting manner.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Baisemeaux is greatly
-indebted to you, D'Artagnan told me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True, he is so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And the address of a
-creditor is as easily ascertained as that of a debtor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very true; and so
-Baisemeaux indicated to you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Saint-Mand&eacute;, where I
-forwarded a letter to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which I have in my hand,
-and which is most precious to me," said Aramis, "because I am
-indebted to it for the pleasure of seeing you here."  The
-duchesse, satisfied at having successfully overcome the various
-difficulties of so delicate an explanation, began to breathe
-freely again, which Aramis, however, could not succeed in doing. 
-"We had got as far as your visit to M. Baisemeaux, I
-believe?"<br>
-                "Nay," she said, laughing, "farther than
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case we must have
-been speaking about the grudge you have against the
-queen-mother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Further still," she
-returned, "further still; we were talking of the connection -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which existed between you
-and the Franciscan," said Aramis, interrupting her eagerly,
-"well, I am listening to you very attentively."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is easily explained,"
-returned the duchesse.  "You know that I am living at Brussels
-with M. de Laicques?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I heard so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You know that my children
-have ruined and stripped me of everything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How terrible, dear
-duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Terrible indeed; this
-obliged me to resort to some means of obtaining a livelihood,
-and, particularly, to avoid vegetating for the remainder of my
-existence.  I had old hatreds to turn to account, old friendships
-to make use of; I no longer had either credit or protectors."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>You</i>, who had
-extended protection towards so many persons," said Aramis,
-softly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is always the case,
-chevalier.  Well, at the present time I am in the habit of seeing
-the king of Spain very frequently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who has just nominated a
-general of the Jesuits, according to the usual custom."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it usual, indeed?"<br>
-                "Were you not aware of it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I beg your pardon; I was
-inattentive."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You must be aware of that -
-you who were on such good terms with the Franciscan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "With the general of the
-Jesuits, you mean?"<br>
-                "Exactly.  Well, then, I have seen the king of
-Spain, who wished me to do a service, but was unable.  He gave me
-recommendations, however, to Flanders, both for myself and for
-Laicques too; and conferred a pension on me out of the funds
-belonging to the order."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of Jesuits?"<br>
-                "Yes.  The general - I mean the Franciscan - was
-sent to me; and, for the purpose of conforming with the
-requisitions of the statues of the order, and of entitling me to
-the pension, I was reputed to be in a position to render certain
-services.  You are aware that that is the rule?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, I did not know it,"
-said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame de Chevreuse paused
-to look at Aramis, but it was perfectly dark.  "Well, such is the
-rule, however," she resumed.  "I had, therefore, to appear to
-possess a power of usefulness of some kind or other, and I
-proposed to travel for the order, and I was placed on the list of
-affiliated travelers.  You understand it was a formality, by
-means of which I received my pension, which was very convenient
-for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good heavens! duchesse,
-what you tell me is like a dagger-thrust.  <i>You</i> obliged to
-receive a pension from the Jesuits?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, chevalier! from
-Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Except for a conscientious
-scruple, duchesse, you will admit that it is pretty nearly the
-same thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, not at all."<br>
-                "But surely of your magnificent fortune there
-must remain - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Dampierre is all that
-remains."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And that is handsome
-enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; but Dampierre is
-burdened, mortgaged, and almost fallen to ruin, like its
-owner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And can the queen-mother
-know and see all that, without shedding a tear?" said Aramis,
-with a penetrating look, which encountered nothing but
-darkness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes.  She has forgotten
-everything."<br>
-                "You, I believe, attempted to get restored to
-favor?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; but, most singularly,
-the young king inherits the antipathy his dear father had for
-me.  You will, perhaps, tell me that I am indeed a woman to be
-hated, and that I am no longer one who can be loved."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Dear duchesse, pray come
-quickly to the cause that brought you here; for I think we can be
-of service to each other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Such has been my own
-thought.  I came to Fontainebleau with a double object in view. 
-In the first place, I was summoned there by the Franciscan whom
-you knew.  By the by, how did you know him? - for I have told you
-my story, and have not yet heard yours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I knew him in a very
-natural way, duchesse.  I studied theology with him at Parma.  We
-became fast friends; and it happened, from time to time, that
-business, or travel, or war, separated us from each other."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You were, of course, aware
-that he was the general of the Jesuits?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I suspected it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But by what extraordinary
-chance did it happen that you were at the hotel when the
-affiliated travelers met together?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said Aramis, in a calm
-voice, "it was the merest chance in the world.  I was going to
-Fontainebleau to see M. Fouquet, for the purpose of obtaining an
-audience of the king.  I was passing by, unknown; I saw the poor
-dying monk in the road, and recognized him immediately.  You know
-the rest - he died in my arms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; but bequeathing to you
-so vast a power that you issue your sovereign orders and
-directions like a monarch."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He certainly did leave me a
-few commissions to settle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what for me?"<br>
-                "I have told you - a sum of twelve thousand
-livres was to be paid to you.  I thought I had given you the
-necessary signature to enable you to receive it.  Did you not get
-the money?"<br>
-                "Oh! yes, yes.  You give your orders, I am
-informed, with so much mystery, and such a majestic presence,
-that it is generally believed you are the successor of the
-defunct chief."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis colored impatiently,
-and the duchesse continued: "I have obtained my information," she
-said, "from the king of Spain himself; and he cleared up some of
-my doubts on the point.  Every general of the Jesuits is
-nominated by him, and must be a Spaniard, according to the
-statutes of the order.  You are not a Spaniard, nor have you been
-nominated by the king of Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis did not reply to this
-remark, except to say, "You see, duchesse, how greatly you were
-mistaken, since the king of Spain told you that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, my dear Aramis; but
-there was something else which I have been thinking of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You know, I believe,
-something about most things, and it occurred to me that you know
-the Spanish language."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Every Frenchman who has
-been actively engaged in the Fronde knows Spanish."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have lived in
-Flanders?"<br>
-                "Three years."<br>
-                "And have stayed at Madrid?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Fifteen months."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are in a position,
-then, to become a naturalized Spaniard, when you like."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Really?" said Aramis, with
-a frankness which deceived the duchesse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Undoubtedly.  Two years'
-residence and an acquaintance with the language are
-indispensable.  You have upwards of four years - more than double
-the time necessary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What are you driving at,
-duchesse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At this - I am on good
-terms with the king of Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I am not on bad terms,"
-thought Aramis to himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Shall I ask the king,"
-continued the duchesse, "to confer the succession to the
-Franciscan's post upon you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, duchesse!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have it already,
-perhaps?" she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, upon my honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, then, I can
-render you that service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why did you not render the
-same service to M. de Laicques, duchesse?  He is a very talented
-man, and one you love, besides."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, no doubt; but, at all
-events, putting Laicques aside, will you have it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, I thank you,
-duchesse."<br>
-                She paused.  "He is nominated," she thought; and
-then resumed aloud, "If you refuse me in this manner, it is not
-very encouraging for me, supposing I should have something to ask
-of you."<br>
-                "Oh! ask, pray, ask."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ask!  I cannot do so, if
-you have not the power to grant what I want."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "However limited my power
-and ability, ask all the same."<br>
-                "I need a sum of money, to restore
-Dampierre."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" replied Aramis, coldly
-- "money?  Well, duchesse, how much would you require?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! a tolerably round
-sum."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So much the worse - you
-know I am not rich."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no; but the order is -
-and if you had been the general - "<br>
-                "You know I am not the general, I think."<br>
-                "In that case, you have a friend who must be very
-wealthy - M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. Fouquet!  He is more
-than half ruined, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So it is said, but I did
-not believe it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, duchesse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because I have, or rather
-Laicques has, certain letters in his possession from Cardinal
-Mazarin, which establish the existence of very strange
-accounts."<br>
-                "What accounts?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Relative to various sums of
-money borrowed and disposed of.  I cannot very distinctly
-remember what they are; but they establish the fact that the
-superintendent, according to these letters, which are signed by
-Mazarin, had taken thirteen millions of francs from the coffers
-of the state.  The case is a very serious one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis clenched his hands in
-anxiety and apprehension.  "Is it possible," he said, "that you
-have such letters as you speak of, and have not communicated them
-to M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" replied the duchesse,
-"I keep such trifling matters as these in reserve.  The day may
-come when they will be of service; and they can be withdrawn from
-the safe custody in which they now remain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And that day has arrived?"
-said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you are going to show
-those letters to M. Fouquet?"<br>
-                "I prefer to talk about them with you,
-instead."<br>
-                "You must be in sad want of money, my poor
-friend, to think of such things as these - you, too, who held M.
-de Mazarin's prose effusions in such indifferent esteem."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The fact is, I <i>am</i> in
-want of money."<br>
-                "And then," continued Aramis, in cold accents,
-"it must have been very distressing to you to be obliged to have
-recourse to such a means.  It is cruel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! if had wished to do
-harm instead of good," said Madame de Chevreuse, "instead of
-asking the general of the order, or M. Fouquet, for the five
-hundred thousand francs I require, I - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>Five hundred thousand
-francs!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; no more.  Do you think
-it much?  I require at least as much as that to restore
-Dampierre."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I say, therefore, that
-instead of asking for this amount, I should have gone to see my
-old friend the queen-mother; the letters from her husband, Signor
-Mazarini, would have served me as an introduction, and I should
-have begged this mere trifle of her, saying to her, 'I wish,
-madame, to have the honor of receiving you at Dampierre.  Permit
-me to put Dampierre in a fit state for that purpose.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Aramis did not return a
-single word.  "Well," she said, "what are you thinking
-about?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am making certain
-additions," said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And M. Fouquet
-subtractions.  I, on the other hand, am trying my hand at the art
-of multiplication.  What excellent calculators we all three are! 
-How well we might understand one another!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will you allow me to
-reflect?" said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, for with such an
-opening between people like ourselves, 'yes' or 'no' is the only
-answer, and that an immediate one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is a snare," thought the
-bishop; "it is impossible that Anne of Austria would listen to
-such a woman as this."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?" said the
-duchesse.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, madame, I should be
-very much astonished if M. Fouquet had five hundred thousand
-francs at his disposal at the present moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is no use speaking of
-it, then," said the duchesse, "and Dampierre must get restored
-how best it may."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! you are not embarrassed
-to such an extent as that, I suppose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; I am never
-embarrassed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And the queen," continued
-the bishop, "will certainly do for you what the superintendent is
-unable to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! certainly. 
-But tell me, do you think it would be better that I should speak,
-myself, to M. Fouquet about these letters?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, duchesse, you
-will do precisely whatever you please in that respect.  M.
-Fouquet either feels or does not feel himself to be guilty; if he
-really be so, I know he is proud enough not to confess it; if he
-be not so, he will be exceedingly offended at your menace."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As usual, you
-reason like an angel," said the duchesse, as she rose from her
-seat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so, you are
-now going to denounce M. Fouquet to the queen," said Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Denounce!'  Oh!
-what a disagreeable word.  I shall not 'denounce' my dear friend;
-you know matters of policy too well to be ignorant how easily
-these affairs are arranged.  I shall merely side against M.
-Fouquet, and nothing more; and, in a war of party against party,
-a weapon is always a weapon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No doubt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And once on
-friendly terms again with the queen-mother, I may be dangerous
-towards some persons."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are at liberty
-to prove so, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A liberty of which
-I shall avail myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are not
-ignorant, I suppose, duchesse, that M. Fouquet is on the best
-terms with the king of Spain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I suppose so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If, therefore, you
-begin a party warfare against M. Fouquet, he will reply in the
-same way; for he, too, is at perfect liberty to do so, is he
-not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!
-certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And as he is on
-good terms with Spain, he will make use of that friendship as a
-weapon of attack."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You mean, that he
-is, naturally, on good terms with the general of the order of the
-Jesuits, my dear Aramis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That may be the
-case, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And that,
-consequently, the pension I have been receiving from the order
-will be stopped."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am greatly
-afraid it might be."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well; I must
-contrive to console myself in the best way I can; for after
-Richelieu, after the Fronde, after exile, what is there left for
-Madame de Chevreuse to be afraid of?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The pension, you
-are aware, is forty-eight thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alas!  I am quite
-aware of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Moreover, in party
-contests, you know, the friends of one's enemy do not
-escape."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Ah! you mean that
-poor Laicques will have to suffer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"I am afraid it is
-almost inevitable, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Oh! he only
-receives twelve thousand francs pension."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, but the king
-of Spain has some influence left; advised by M. Fouquet, he might
-get M. Laicques shut up in prison for a little while."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am not very
-nervous on that point, my dear friend; because, once reconciled
-with Anne of Austria, I will undertake that France would insist
-upon M. Laicques's liberation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True.  In that
-case, you will have something else to apprehend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What can that be?"
-said the duchesse, pretending to be surprised and terrified.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will learn;
-indeed, you must know it already, that having once been an
-affiliated member of the order, it is not easy to leave it; for
-the secrets that any particular member may have acquired are
-unwholesome, and carry with them the germs of misfortune for
-whosoever may reveal them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The duchesse paused
-and reflected for a moment, and then said, "That is more serious:
-I will think it over."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And notwithstanding
-the profound obscurity, Aramis seemed to feel a basilisk glance,
-like a white-hot iron, escape from his friend's eyes, and plunge
-into his heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us
-recapitulate," said Aramis, determined to keep himself on his
-guard, and gliding his hand into his breast where he had a dagger
-concealed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly, let us
-recapitulate; short accounts make long friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The suppression of
-your pension - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Forty-eight
-thousand francs, and that of Laicques's twelve, make together
-sixty thousand francs; that is what you mean, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely; and I
-was trying to find out what would be your equivalent for
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Five hundred
-thousand francs, which I shall get from the queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Or, which you will
-<i>not</i> get."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know a means of
-procuring them," said the duchesse, thoughtlessly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This remark made
-the chevalier prick up his ears; and from the moment his
-adversary had committed this error, his mind was so thoroughly on
-its guard, that he seemed every moment to gain the advantage more
-and more; and she, consequently, to lose it.  "I will admit, for
-argument's sake, that you obtain the money," he resumed; "you
-will lose twice as much, having a hundred thousand francs'
-pension to receive instead of sixty thousand, and that for a 
-period of ten years."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not so, for I
-shall only be subjected to this reduction of my income during the
-period of M. Fouquet's remaining in power, a period which I
-estimate at two months."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am frank, you
-see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I thank you for
-it, duchesse; but you would be wrong to suppose that after M.
-Fouquet's disgrace the order would resume the payment of your
-pension."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know a means of
-making the order pay, as I know a means of forcing the
-queen-mother to concede what I require."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case,
-duchesse, we are all obliged to strike our flags to you.  The
-victory is yours, and the triumph also.  Be clement, I entreat
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But is it
-possible," resumed the duchesse, without taking notice of the
-irony, "that you really draw back from a miserable sum of five
-hundred thousand francs, when it is a question of sparing you - I
-mean your friend - I beg your pardon, I ought rather to say your
-protector - the disagreeable consequences which a party contest
-produces?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Duchesse, I tell
-you why; supposing the five hundred thousand francs were to be
-given you, M. Laicques will require his share, which will be
-another five hundred thousand francs, I presume? and then, after
-M. de Laicques's and your own portions have been arranged, the
-portions which your children, your poor pensioners, and various
-other persons will require, will start up as fresh claims, and
-these letters, however compromising they may be in their nature,
-are not worth from three to four millions.  Can you have
-forgotten the queen of France's diamonds? - they were surely
-worth more than these bits of waste paper signed by Mazarin, and
-yet their recovery did not cost a fourth part of what you ask for
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, that is true;
-but the merchant values his goods at his own price, and it is for
-the purchaser to buy or refuse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Stay a moment,
-duchesse; would you like me to tell you why I will not buy your
-letters?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Pray tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because the
-letters you claim to be Mazarin's are false."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What an
-absurdity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have no doubt of
-it, for it would, to say the least, be very singular, that after
-you had quarreled with the queen through M. Mazarin's means, you
-should have kept up any intimate acquaintance with the latter; it
-would look as if you had been acting as a spy; and upon my word,
-I do not like to make use of the word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! pray do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You great
-complacence would seem suspicions, at all events."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is quite
-true; but the contents of the letters are even more so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I pledge you my
-word, duchesse, that you will not be able to make use of it with
-the queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! yes, indeed; I
-can make use of everything with the queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good,"
-thought Aramis.  "Croak on, old owl - hiss, beldame-viper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>But the duchesse
-had said enough, and advanced a few steps towards the door. 
-Aramis, however, had reserved one exposure which she did
-<i>not</i> expect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>He rang the bell,
-candles immediately appeared in the adjoining room, and the
-bishop found himself completely encircled by lights, which shone
-upon the worn, haggard face of the duchesse, revealing every
-feature but too clearly.  Aramis fixed a long ironical look upon
-her pale, thin, withered cheeks - her dim, dull eyes - and upon
-her lips, which she kept carefully closed over her discolored
-scanty teeth.  He, however, had thrown himself into a graceful
-attitude, with his haughty and intelligent head thrown back; he
-smiled so as to reveal teeth still brilliant and dazzling.  The
-antiquated coquette understood the trick that had been played
-her.  She was standing immediately before a large mirror, in
-which her decrepitude, so carefully concealed, was only made more
-manifest.  And, thereupon, without even saluting Aramis, who
-bowed with the ease and grace of the musketeer of early days, she
-hurried away with trembling steps, which her very precipitation
-only the more impeded.  Aramis sprang across the room, like a
-zephyr, to lead her to the door.  Madame de Chevreuse made a sign
-to her servant, who resumed his musket, and she left the house
-where such tender friends had not been able to understand each
-other only because they had understood each other too well.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Wherein May Be Seen that a Bargain Which Cannot Be Made with One
-Person, Can Be Carried Out with Another.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>A</span>ramis had
-been perfectly correct in his supposition; for hardly had she
-left the house in the Place Baudoyer than Madame de Chevreuse
-proceeded homeward.  She was doubtless afraid of being followed,
-and by this means thought she might succeed in throwing those who
-might be following her off their guard; but scarcely had she
-arrived within the door of the hotel, and hardly had assured
-herself that no one who could cause her any uneasiness was on her
-track, when she opened the door of the garden, leading into
-another street, and hurried towards the Rue Croix des
-Petits-Champs, where M. Colbert resided.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                We have already said that
-evening, or rather night, had closed in; it was a dark, thick
-night, besides; Paris had once more sunk into its calm, quiescent
-state, enshrouding alike within its indulgent mantle the
-high-born duchesse carrying out her political intrigue, and the
-simple citizen's wife, who, having been detained late by a supper
-in the city, was making her way slowly homewards, hanging on the
-arm of a lover, by the shortest possible route.  Madame de
-Chevreuse had been too well accustomed to nocturnal political
-intrigues to be ignorant that a minister never denies himself,
-even at his own private residence, to any young and beautiful
-woman who may chance to object to the dust and confusion of a
-public office, or to old women, as full of experience as of
-years, who dislike the indiscreet echo of official residences.  A
-valet received the duchesse under the peristyle, and received
-her, it must be admitted, with some indifference of manner; he
-intimated, after having looked at her face, that it was hardly at
-such an hour that one so advanced in years as herself could be
-permitted to disturb Monsieur Colbert's important occupations. 
-But Madame de Chevreuse, without looking or appearing to be
-annoyed, wrote her name upon a leaf of her tablets - a name which
-had but too frequently sounded so disagreeably in the ears of
-Louis XIII. and of the great cardinal.  She wrote her name in the
-large, ill-formed characters of the higher classes of that
-period, handed it to the valet, without uttering a word, but with
-so haughty and imperious a gesture, that the fellow, well
-accustomed to judge of people from their manners and appearance,
-perceived at once the quality of the person before him, bowed his
-head, and ran to M. Colbert's room.  The minister could not
-control a sudden exclamation as he opened the paper; and the
-valet, gathering from it the interest with which his master
-regarded the mysterious visitor, returned as fast as he could to
-beg the duchesse to follow him.  She ascended to the first floor
-of the beautiful new house very slowly, rested herself on the
-landing-place, in order not to enter the apartment out of breath,
-and appeared before M. Colbert, who, with his own hands, held
-both the folding doors open.  The duchesse paused at the
-threshold, for the purpose of well studying the character of the
-man with whom she was about to converse.  At the first glance,
-the round, large, heavy head, thick brows, and ill-favored
-features of Colbert, who wore, thrust low down on his head, a cap
-like a priest's <i>calotte</i>, seemed to indicate that but
-little difficulty was likely to be met with in her negotiations
-with him, but also that she was to expect as little interest in
-the discussion of particulars; for there was scarcely any
-indication that the rough and uncouth nature of the man was
-susceptible to the impulses of a refined revenge, or of an
-exalted ambition.  But when, on closer inspection, the duchesse
-perceived the small, piercingly black eyes, the longitudinal
-wrinkles of his high and massive forehead, the imperceptible
-twitching of the lips, on which were apparent traces of rough
-good-humor, Madame de Chevreuse altered her opinion of him, and
-felt she could say to herself: "I have found the man I want."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is the subject,
-madame, which procures me the honor of a visit from you?" he
-inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The need I have you of you,
-monsieur," returned the duchesse, "as well as that which you have
-of me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am delighted, madame,
-with the first portion of your sentence; but, as far as the
-second portion is concerned - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame de Chevreuse sat down
-in the armchair which M. Colbert advanced towards her.  "Monsieur
-Colbert, you are the intendant of finances, and are ambitious of
-becoming the superintendent?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, do not deny it; that
-would only unnecessarily prolong our conversation, and that is
-useless."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet, madame, however
-well-disposed and inclined to show politeness I may be towards a
-lady of your position and merit, nothing will make me confess
-that I have ever entertained the idea of supplanting my
-superior."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I said nothing about
-supplanting, Monsieur Colbert.  Could I accidentally have made
-use of that word?  I hardly think that likely.  The word
-'replace' is less aggressive in its signification, and more
-grammatically suitable, as M. de Voiture would say.  I presume,
-therefore, that you are ambitious of replacing M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. Fouquet's fortune,
-madame, enables him to withstand all attempts.  The
-superintendent in this age plays the part of the Colossus of
-Rhodes; the vessels pass beneath him and do not overthrow
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I ought to have availed
-myself precisely of that very comparison.  It is true, M. Fouquet
-plays the part of the Colossus of Rhodes; but I remember to have
-heard it said by M. Conrart, a member of the academy, I believe,
-that when the Colossus of Rhodes fell from its lofty position,
-the merchant who had cast it down - a merchant, nothing more, M.
-Colbert - loaded four hundred camels with the ruins.  A merchant!
-and that is considerably less than an intendant of finances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame, I can assure you
-that I shall never overthrow M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good, Monsieur
-Colbert, since you persist in showing so much sensitiveness with
-me, as if you were ignorant that I am Madame de Chevreuse, and
-also that I am somewhat advanced in years; in other words, that
-you have to do with a woman who has had political dealings with
-the Cardinal Richelieu, and who has no time to lose; as, I
-repeat, you do not hesitate to commit such an imprudence, I shall
-go and find others who are more intelligent and more desirous of
-making their fortunes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How, madame, how?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You give me a very poor
-idea of negotiations of the present day.  I assure you that if,
-in my earlier days, a woman had gone to M. de Cinq-Mars, who was
-not, moreover, a man of a very high order of intellect, and had
-said to him about the cardinal what I have just said to you of M.
-Fouquet, M. de Cinq-Mars would by this time have already set
-actively to work."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, madame, show a little
-indulgence, I entreat you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, do you really
-consent to replace M. Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly, I do, if the
-king dismisses M. Fouquet."<br>
-                "Again, a word too much; it is quite evident
-that, if you have not yet succeeded in driving M. Fouquet from
-his post, it is because you have not been able to do so. 
-Therefore, I should be the greatest simpleton possible if, in
-coming to you, I did not bring the very thing you require."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am distressed to be
-obliged to persist, madame," said Colbert, after a silence which
-enabled the duchesse to sound the depths of his dissimulation,
-"but I must warn you that, for the last six years, denunciation
-after denunciation has been made against M. Fouquet, and he has
-remained unshaken and unaffected by them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is a time for
-everything, Monsieur Colbert; those who were the authors of those
-denunciations were not called Madame de Chevreuse, and they had
-no proofs equal to the six letters from M. de Mazarin which
-establish the offense in question."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The offense!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"The crime, if you
-like it better."<br>
-"The crime! committed by M. Fouquet!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing less.  It
-is rather strange, M. Colbert, but your face, which just now was
-cold and indifferent, is now positively the very reverse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A crime!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am delighted to
-see that it makes an impression upon you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is because that
-word, madame, embraces so many things."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It embraces the
-post of superintendent of finance for yourself, and a letter of
-exile, or the Bastile, for M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Forgive me, madame
-la duchesse, but it is almost impossible that M. Fouquet can be
-exiled; to be imprisoned or disgraced, that is already a great
-deal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I am perfectly
-aware of what I am saying," returned Madame de Chevreuse,
-coldly.  "I do not live at such a distance from Paris as not to
-know what takes place there.  The king does not like M. Fouquet,
-and he would willingly sacrifice M. Fouquet if an opportunity
-were only given him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It must be a good
-one, though."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good enough, and
-one I estimate to be worth five hundred thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way?" said
-Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I mean, monsieur,
-that holding this opportunity in my own hands, I will not allow
-it to be transferred to yours except for a sum of five hundred
-thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I understand you
-perfectly, madame.  But since you have fixed a price for the
-sale, let me now see the value of the articles to be sold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, a mere trifle;
-six letters, as I have already told you, from M. de Mazarin; and
-the autographs will most assuredly not be regarded as too highly
-priced, if they establish, in an irrefutable manner, that M.
-Fouquet has embezzled large sums of money from the treasury and
-appropriated them to his own purposes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In an irrefutable
-manner, do you say?" observed Colbert, whose eyes sparkled with
-delight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly so;
-would you like to read the letters?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With all my
-heart!  Copies, of course?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course, the
-copies," said the duchesse, as she drew from her bosom a small
-packet of papers flattened by her velvet bodice.  "Read," she
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert eagerly
-snatched the papers and devoured them.  "Excellent!" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is clear
-enough, is it not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, madame, yes;
-M. Mazarin must have handed the money to M. Fouquet, who must
-have kept it for his own purposes; but the question is, what
-money?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly, - what
-money; if we come to terms I will join to these six letters a
-seventh, which will supply you with the fullest particulars."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert reflected. 
-"And the originals of these letters?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A useless question
-to ask; exactly as if I were to ask you, Monsieur Colbert,
-whether the money-bags you will give me will be full or
-empty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good,
-madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Is it
-concluded?"<br>
-"No; for there is one circumstance to which neither of us has
-given any attention."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Name it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. Fouquet can be
-utterly ruined, under the legal circumstances you have detailed,
-only by means of legal proceedings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A public scandal,
-for instance; and yet neither the legal proceedings nor the
-scandal can be commenced against him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because he is
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral of the parliament; because, too,
-in France, all public administrators, the army, justice itself,
-and commerce, are intimately connected by ties of
-good-fellowship, which people call <i>espirit de corps</i>.  In
-such a case, madame, the parliament will never permit its chief
-to be dragged before a public tribunal; and never, even if he be
-dragged there by royal authority, never, I say, will he be
-condemned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, Monsieur
-Colbert, I do not see what I have to do with that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am aware of
-that, madame; but I have to do with it, and it consequently
-diminishes the value of what you have brought to show me.  What
-good can a proof of a crime be to me, without the possibility of
-obtaining a condemnation?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Even if he be only
-suspected, M. Fouquet will lose his post of superintendent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is that all?"
-exclaimed Colbert, whose dark, gloomy features were momentarily
-lighted up by an expression of hate and vengeance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!  Monsieur
-Colbert," said the duchesse, "forgive me, but I did not think you
-were so impressionable.  Very good; in that case, since you need
-more than I have to give you, there is no occasion to speak of
-the matter at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, madame, we
-will go on talking of it; only, as the value of your commodities
-had decreased, you must lower your pretensions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are
-bargaining, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Every man who
-wishes to deal loyally is obliged to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How much will you
-offer me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Two hundred
-thousand francs," said Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The duchesse
-laughed in his face, and then said, suddenly, "Wait a moment, I
-have another arrangement to propose; will you give me three
-hundred thousand francs?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, you can either
-accept or refuse my terms; besides, that is not all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"More still! you
-are becoming too impracticable to deal with, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Less so than you
-think, perhaps, for it is not money I am going to ask you
-for."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A service; you
-know that I have always been most affectionately attached to the
-queen, and I am desirous of having an interview with her
-majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With the
-queen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, Monsieur
-Colbert, with the queen, who is, I admit, no longer my friend,
-and who has ceased to be so for a long time past, but who may
-again become so if the opportunity be only given her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Her majesty has
-ceased to receive any one, madame.  She is a great sufferer, and
-you may be aware that the paroxysms of her disease occur with
-greater frequency than ever."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is the very
-reason why I wish to have an interview with her majesty; for in
-Flanders there is a great variety of these kinds of
-complaints."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What, cancers - a
-fearful, incurable disorder?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not believe
-that, Monsieur Colbert.  The Flemish peasant is somewhat a man of
-nature, and his companion for life is not alone a wife, but a
-female laborer also; for while he is smoking his pipe, the woman
-works: it is she who draws the water from the well; she who loads
-the mule or the ass, and even bears herself a portion of the
-burden.  Taking but little care of herself, she gets knocked
-about first in one direction, and then in another, and very often
-is beaten by her husband, and cancers frequently rise from
-contusions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True, true," said
-Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The Flemish women
-do not die the sooner on that account.  When they are great
-sufferers from this disease they go in search of remedies, and
-the B&eacute;guines of Bruges are excellent doctors for every
-kind of disease.  They have precious waters of one sort or
-another; specifics of various kinds; and they give a bottle of it
-and a wax candle to the sufferer, whereby the priests are
-gainers, and Heaven is served by the disposal of both their
-wares.  I will take the queen some of this holy water, which I
-will procure from the B&eacute;guines of Bruges; her majesty will
-recover, and will burn as many wax candles as she may see fit. 
-You see, Monsieur Colbert, to prevent my seeing the queen is
-almost as bad as committing the crime of regicide."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are
-undoubtedly, madame la duchesse, a woman of exceedingly great
-abilities, and I am more than astounded at their display; still I
-cannot but suppose that this charitable consideration towards the
-queen in some measure covers a slight personal interest for
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have not given
-myself the trouble to conceal it, that I am aware of, Monsieur
-Colbert.  You said, I believe, that I had a slight personal
-interest?  On the contrary, it is a very great interest, and I
-will prove it to you, by resuming what I was saying.  If you
-procure me a personal interview with her majesty, I will be
-satisfied with the three hundred thousand francs I have claimed;
-if not, I shall keep my letters, unless, indeed, you give me, on
-the spot, five hundred thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And rising from her
-seat with this decisive remark, the old duchesse plunged M.
-Colbert into a disagreeable perplexity.  To bargain any further
-was out of the question; and not to bargain was to pay a great
-deal too dearly for them.  "Madame," he said, "I shall have the
-pleasure of handing over a hundred thousand crowns; but how shall
-I get the actual letters themselves?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the simplest
-manner in the world, my dear Monsieur Colbert - whom will you
-trust?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The financier began
-to laugh, silently, so that his large eyebrows went up and down
-like the wings of a bat, upon the deep lines of his yellow
-forehead.  "No one," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You surely will
-make an exception in your own favor, Monsieur Colbert?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way,
-madame?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I mean that, if
-you would take the trouble to accompany me to the place where the
-letters are, they would be delivered into your own hands, and you
-would be able to verify and check them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You would bring
-the hundred thousand crowns with you at the same time, for I,
-too, do not trust any one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert colored to
-the tips of his ears.  Like all eminent men in the art of
-figures, he was of an insolent and mathematical probity.  "I will
-take with me, madame," he said, "two orders for the amount agreed
-upon, payable at my treasury.  Will that satisfy you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Would that the
-orders on your treasury were for two millions, monsieur
-l'intendant!  I shall have the pleasure of showing you the way,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Allow me to order
-my carriage?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have a carriage
-below, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert coughed
-like an irresolute man.  He imagined, for a moment, that the
-proposition of the duchesse was a snare; that perhaps some one
-was waiting at the door; and that she whose secret had just been
-sold to Colbert for a hundred thousand crowns, had already
-offered it to Fouquet for the same sum.  As he still hesitated,
-the duchesse looked at him full in the face.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You prefer your
-own carriage?" she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I admit I
-<i>do</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You suppose I am
-going to lead you into a snare or trap of some sort or
-other?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame la
-duchesse, you have the character of being somewhat inconsiderate
-at times, as I am reputed a sober, solemn character, a jest or
-practical joke might compromise me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; the fact is,
-you are afraid.  Well, then, take your own carriage, as many
-servants as you like, only think well of what I am going to say. 
-What we two may arrange between ourselves, we are the only
-persons who will know - if a third person is present we might as
-well tell the whole world about it.  After all, I do not make a
-point of it; my carriage shall follow yours, and I shall be
-satisfied to accompany you in your own carriage to the
-queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To the queen?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you forgotten
-that already?  Is it possible that one of the clauses of the
-agreement of so much importance to me, can have escaped you so
-soon?  How trifling it seems to you, indeed; if I had known it I
-should have asked double what I have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have reflected,
-madame, and I shall not accompany you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Really - and why
-not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because I have the
-most perfect confidence in you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You overpower me. 
-But - provided I receive the hundred thousand crowns?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Here they are,
-madame," said Colbert, scribbling a few lines on a piece of
-paper, which he handed to the duchesse, adding, "You are
-paid."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The trait is a
-fine one, Monsieur Colbert, and I will reward you for it," she
-said, beginning to laugh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Madame de
-Chevreuse's laugh was a very sinister sound; a man with youth,
-faith, love, life itself, throbbing in his heart, would prefer a
-sob to such a lamentable laugh.  The duchesse opened the front of
-her dress and drew forth from her bosom, somewhat less white than
-it once had been, a small packet of papers, tied with a
-flame-colored ribbon, and, still laughing, she said, "There,
-Monsieur Colbert, are the originals of Cardinal Mazarin's
-letters; they are now your own property," she added, refastening
-the body of her dress; "your fortune is secured.  And now
-accompany me to the queen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, madame; if you
-are again about to run the chance of her majesty's displeasure,
-and it were known at the Palais Royal that I had been the means
-of introducing you there, the queen would never forgive me while
-she lived.  No; there are certain persons at the palace who are
-devoted to me, who will procure you an admission without my being
-compromised."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Just as you
-please, provided I enter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you term
-those religions women at Bruges who cure disorders?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>
-"B&eacute;guines."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good; are you
-one?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As you please, -
-but I must soon cease to be one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is your
-affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Excuse me, but I
-do not wish to be exposed to a refusal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is again your
-own affair, madame.  I am going to give directions to the head
-valet of the gentleman in waiting on the queen to allow admission
-to a B&eacute;guine, who brings an effectual remedy for her
-majesty's sufferings.  You are the bearer of my letter, you will
-undertake to be provided with the remedy, and will give every
-explanation on the subject.  I admit a knowledge of a
-B&eacute;guine, but I deny all knowledge of Madame de Chevreuse. 
-Here, madame, then, is your letter of introduction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Skin of the Bear.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>C</span>olbert handed
-the duchesse the letter, and gently drew aside the chair behind
-which she was standing; Madame de Chevreuse, with a very slight
-bow, immediately left the room.  Colbert, who had recognized
-Mazarin's handwriting, and had counted the letters, rang to
-summon his secretary, whom he enjoined to go in immediate search
-of M. Vanel, a counselor of the parliament.  The secretary
-replied that, according to his usual practice, M. Vanel had just
-that moment entered the house, in order to give the intendant an
-account of the principal details of the business which had been
-transacted during the day in parliament.  Colbert approached one
-of the lamps, read the letters of the deceased cardinal over
-again, smiled repeatedly as he recognized the great value of the
-papers Madame de Chevreuse had just delivered - and burying his
-head in his hands for a few minutes, reflected profoundly.  In
-the meantime, a tall, loosely-made man entered the room; his
-spare, thin face, steady look, and hooked nose, as he entered
-Colbert's cabinet, with a modest assurance of manner, revealed a
-character at once supple and decided, - supple towards the master
-who could throw him the prey, firm towards the dogs who might
-possibly be disposed to dispute its possession.  M. Vanel carried
-a voluminous bundle of papers under his arm, and placed it on the
-desk on which Colbert was leaning both his elbows, as he
-supported his head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good day, M. Vanel," said
-the latter, rousing himself from his meditation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good day, monseigneur,"
-said Vanel, naturally.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You should say monsieur,
-and not monseigneur," replied Colbert, gently.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We give the title of
-monseigneur to ministers," returned Vanel, with extreme
-self-possession, "and you are a minister."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are so in point of
-fact, and I call you monseigneur accordingly; besides you are
-seigneur for <i>me</i>, and that is sufficient; if you dislike my
-calling you monseigneur before others, allow me, at least, to
-call you so in private."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Colbert raised his head as
-if to read, or try to read, upon Vanel's face how much or how
-little sincerity entered into this protestation of devotion.  But
-the counselor knew perfectly well how to sustain the weight of
-such a look, even backed with the full authority of the title he
-had conferred.  Colbert sighed; he could not read anything in
-Vanel's face, and Vanel might possibly be honest in his
-professions, but Colbert recollected that this man, inferior to
-himself in every other respect, was actually his master in virtue
-of the fact of his having a wife.  As he was pitying this man's
-lot, Vanel coldly drew from his pocket a perfumed letter, sealed
-with Spanish wax, and held it towards Colbert, saying, "A letter
-from my wife, monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Colbert coughed, took,
-opened and read the letter, and then put it carefully away in his
-pocket, while Vanel turned over the leaves of the papers he had
-brought with him with an unmoved and unconcerned air.  "Vanel,"
-he said suddenly to his <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;,</i> "you are a
-hard-working man, I know; would twelve hours' daily labor
-frighten you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I work fifteen hours every
-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Impossible.  A counselor
-need not work more than three hours a day in parliament."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  I am working up some
-returns for a friend of mine in the department of accounts, and,
-as I still have spare time on my hands, I am studying
-Hebrew."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your reputation stands high
-in the parliament, Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe so,
-monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You must not grow rusty in
-your post of counselor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What must I do to avoid
-it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Purchase a high place. 
-Mean and low ambitions are very difficult to satisfy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Small purses are the most
-difficult ones to fill, monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What post have you in
-view?" said Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I see none - not one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is one, certainly,
-but one need be almost the king himself to be able to buy it
-without inconvenience; and the king will not be inclined, I
-suppose, to purchase the post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                At these words, Vanel fixed
-his peculiar, humble, dull look upon Colbert, who could hardly
-tell whether Vanel comprehended him or not.  "Why do you speak to
-me, monseigneur," said Vanel, "of the post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral to the parliament; I know no
-other post than the one M. Fouquet fills."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exactly so, my dear
-counselor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are not over
-fastidious, monseigneur; but before the post can be bought, it
-must be offered for sale."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe, Monsieur Vanel,
-that it will be for sale before long."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For sale!  What!  M.
-Fouquet's post of procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So it is <i>said</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The post which renders him
-so perfectly invincible, for sale!  Ha, ha!" said Vanel,
-beginning to laugh.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Would you be afraid, then,
-of the post?" said Colbert, gravely.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Afraid! no; but - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you desirous of
-obtaining it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are laughing at me,
-monseigneur," replied Vanel.  "Is it likely that a counselor of
-the parliament would not be desirous of becoming
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, Monsieur Vanel, since
-I tell you that the post, as report goes, will be shortly for
-sale - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I cannot help repeating,
-monseigneur, that it is impossible; a man never throws away the
-buckler, behind which he maintains his honor, his fortune, his
-very life."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There are certain men mad
-enough, Vanel, to fancy themselves out of the reach of all
-mischances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, monseigneur; but such
-men never commit their mad acts for the advantage of the poor
-Vanels of the world."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For the very reason that
-those Vanels are poor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is true that M.
-Fouquet's post might cost a good round sum.  What would you bid
-for it, Monsieur Vanel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Everything I am worth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which means?"<br>
-                "Three or four hundred thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And the post is worth -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A million and a half, at
-the very lowest.  I know persons who have offered one million
-seven hundred thousand francs, without being able to persuade M.
-Fouquet to sell.  Besides, supposing it were to happen that M.
-Fouquet wished to sell, which I do not believe, in spite of what
-I have been told - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! you have heard
-something about it, then; who told you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Gourville, M.
-P&eacute;lisson, and others."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; if, therefore,
-M. Fouquet did wish to sell - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I could not buy it just
-yet, since the superintendent will only sell for ready money, and
-no one has a million and a half to put down at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Colbert suddenly interrupted
-the counselor by an imperious gesture; he had begun to meditate. 
-Observing his superior's serious attitude, and his perseverance
-in continuing the conversation on this subject, Vanel awaited the
-solution without venturing to precipitate it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Explain to me the
-privileges which this post confers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The right of impeaching
-every French subject who is not a prince of the blood; the right
-of quashing all proceedings taken against any Frenchman, who is
-neither king nor prince.  The procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral is
-the king's right hand to punish the guilty; the office is the
-means whereby also he can evade the administration of justice. 
-M. Fouquet, therefore, would be able, by stirring up parliament,
-to maintain himself even against the king; and the king could as
-easily, by humoring M. Fouquet, get his edicts registered in
-spite of every opposition and objection.  The
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral can be made a very useful or a
-very dangerous instrument."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Vanel, would you like to be
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral?" said Colbert, suddenly,
-softening both his look and his voice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I!" exclaimed the latter;
-"I have already had the honor to represent to you that I want
-about eleven hundred thousand francs to make up the amount."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Borrow that sum from your
-friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have no friends richer
-than myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are an honest and
-honorable man, Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! monseigneur, if the
-world would only think as you do!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I think so, and that is
-quite enough; and if it should be needed, I will be your
-security."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do not forget the proverb,
-monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is it?"<br>
-                "That he who becomes responsible for another has
-to pay for his fancy."<br>
-                "Let that make no difference."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Vanel rose, bewildered by
-this offer which had been so suddenly and unexpectedly made to
-him.  "You are not trifling with me, monseigneur?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Stay; you say that M.
-Gourville has spoken to you about M. Fouquet's post?"<br>
-                "Yes; and M. P&eacute;lisson, also."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Officially so, or only
-through their own suggestion?"<br>
-                "These were their very words: 'The parliament
-members are as proud as they are wealthy; they ought to club
-together two or three millions among themselves, to present to
-their protector and leader, M. Fouquet.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what did you
-reply?"<br>
-                "I said that, for my own part, I would give ten
-thousand francs if necessary."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! you like M. Fouquet,
-then!" exclaimed Colbert, with a look of hatred.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; but M. Fouquet is our
-chief.  He is in debt - is on the high road to ruin; and we ought
-to save the honor of the body of which we are members."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exactly; and that explains
-why M. Fouquet will be always safe and sound, so long as he
-occupies his present post," replied Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Thereupon," said Vanel, "M.
-Gourville added, 'If we were to do anything out of charity to M.
-Fouquet, it could not be otherwise than most humiliating to him;
-and he would be sure to refuse it.  Let the parliament subscribe
-among themselves to purchase, in a proper manner, the post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral; in that case, all would go well;
-the honor of our body would be saved, and M. Fouquet's pride
-spared.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is an opening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I considered it so,
-monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, Monsieur Vanel, you
-will go at once, and find out either M. Gourville or M.
-P&eacute;lisson.  Do you know any other friend of M.
-Fouquet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know M. de la Fontaine
-very well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "La Fontaine, the
-rhymester?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; he used to write
-verses to my wife, when M. Fouquet was one of our friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Go to him, then, and try
-and procure an interview with the superintendent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Willingly - but the sum
-itself?"<br>
-                "On the day and hour you arrange to settle the
-matter, Monsieur Vanel, you shall be supplied with the money, so
-do not make yourself uneasy on <i>that</i> account."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monseigneur, such
-munificence!  You eclipse kings even - you surpass M. Fouquet
-himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Stay a moment - do not let
-us mistake each other: I do not make you a present of fourteen
-hundred thousand francs, Monsieur Vanel; for I have children to
-provide for - but I will <i>lend</i> you that sum."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ask whatever interest,
-whatever security you please, monseigneur; I am quite ready.  And
-when all your requisitions are satisfied, I will still repeat,
-that you surpass kings and M. Fouquet in munificence.  What
-conditions do you impose?"<br>
-                "The repayment in eight years, and a mortgage
-upon the appointment itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly.  Is that
-all?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Wait a moment.  I reserve
-to myself the right of purchasing the post from you at one
-hundred and fifty thousand francs profit for yourself, if, in
-your mode of filling the office, you do not follow out a line of
-conduct in conformity with the interests of the king and with my
-projects."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah-h!" said Vanel, in an
-altered tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is there anything in that
-which can possibly be objectionable to you, Monsieur Vanel?" said
-Colbert, coldly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! no, no," replied Vanel,
-nervously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good.  We will sign an
-agreement to that effect whenever you like.  And now go as
-quickly as you can to M. Fouquet's friend, obtain an interview
-with the superintendent; do not be too difficult in making
-whatever concessions may be required of you; and when once the
-arrangements are all made - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will press him to
-sign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Be most careful to do
-nothing of the kind; do not speak of signatures with M. Fouquet,
-nor of deeds, nor even ask him to pass his word.  Understand
-this: otherwise you will lose everything.  All you have to do is
-to get M. Fouquet to give you his hand on the matter.  Go,
-go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>An
-Interview with the Queen-Mother.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he
-queen-mother was in the bedroom at the Palais Royal, with Madame
-de Motteville and Se&ntilde;ora Molina.  King Louis, who had been
-impatiently expected the whole day, had not made his appearance;
-and the queen, who was growing impatient, had often sent to
-inquire about him.  The moral atmosphere of the court seemed to
-indicate an approaching storm; the courtiers and the ladies of
-the court avoided meeting in the ante-chambers and the corridors
-in order not to converse on compromising subjects.  Monsieur had
-joined the king early in the morning for a hunting-party; Madame
-remained in her own apartment, cool and distant to every one; and
-the queen-mother, after she had said her prayers in Latin, talked
-of domestic matters with her two friends in pure Castilian. 
-Madame de Motteville, who understood the language perfectly,
-answered her in French.  When the three ladies had exhausted
-every form of dissimulation and of politeness, as a circuitous
-mode of expressing that the king's conduct was making the queen
-and the queen-mother pine away through sheer grief and vexation,
-and when, in the most guarded and polished phrases, they had
-fulminated every variety of imprecation against Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re, the queen-mother terminated her attack by an
-exclamation indicative of her own reflections and character. 
-"<i>Estos hijos!</i>" said she to Molina - which means, "These
-children!" words full of meaning on a mother's lips - words full
-of terrible significance in the mouth of a queen who, like Anne
-of Austria, hid many curious secrets in her soul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," said Molina,
-"children, children! for whom every mother becomes a
-sacrifice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," replied the queen; "a
-mother sacrifices everything, certainly."  She did not finish her
-phrase; for she fancied, when she raised her eyes towards the
-full-length portrait of the pale Louis XIII., that light once
-more flashed from her husband's dull eyes, and his nostrils grew
-livid with wrath.  The portrait seemed animated by a living
-expression - speak it did not, but it seemed to threaten.  A
-profound silence succeeded the queen's last remark.  La Molina
-began to turn over ribbons and laces on a large work-table. 
-Madame de Motteville, surprised at the look of mutual
-intelligence which had been exchanged between the confidant and
-her mistress, cast down her eyes like a discreet woman, and
-pretending to be observant of nothing that was passing, listened
-with the utmost attention to every word.  She heard nothing,
-however, but a very insignificant "hum" on the part of the
-Spanish duenna, who was the incarnation of caution - and a
-profound sigh on that of the queen.  She looked up
-immediately.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are suffering?" she
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, Motteville, no; why do
-you say that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty almost groaned
-just now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right; I did sigh,
-in truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur Valot is not far
-off; I believe he is in Madame's apartment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why is he with Madame?"<br>
-                "Madame is troubled with nervous attacks."<br>
-                "A very fine disorder, indeed!  There is little
-good in M. Valot being there, when a very different physician
-would quickly cure Madame."<br>
-                Madame de Motteville looked up with an air of
-great surprise, as she replied, "Another doctor instead of M.
-Valot? - whom do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Occupation, Motteville,
-occupation.  If any one is really ill, it is my poor
-daughter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And your majesty, too."<br>
-                "Less so this evening, though."<br>
-                "Do not believe that too confidently, madame,"
-said De Motteville.  And, as if to justify her caution, a sharp,
-acute pain seized the queen, who turned deadly pale, and threw
-herself back in the chair, with every symptom of a sudden
-fainting fit.  Molina ran to a richly gilded tortoise-shell
-cabinet, from which she took a large rock-crystal bottle of
-scented salts, and held it to the queen's nostrils, who inhaled
-it wildly for a few minutes, and murmured:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is hastening my death -
-but Heaven's will be done!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty's death is not
-so near at hand," added Molina, replacing the smelling-bottle in
-the cabinet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Does your majesty feel
-better now?" inquired Madame de Motteville.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Much better," returned the
-queen, placing her finger on her lips, to impose silence on her
-favorite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is very strange,"
-remarked Madame de Motteville, after a pause.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is strange?" said the
-queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Does your majesty remember
-the day when this pain attacked you for the first time?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I remember only that it was
-a grievously sad day for me, Motteville."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But your majesty did not
-always regard that day as a sad one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because three and twenty
-years ago, on that very day, his present majesty, your own
-glorious son, was born at the very same hour."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The queen uttered a loud
-cry, buried her face in her hands, and seemed utterly prostrated
-for some minutes; but whether from recollections which arose in
-her mind, or from reflection, or even with sheer pain, was
-doubtful.  La Molina darted a look at Madame de Motteville, so
-full of bitter reproach, that the poor woman, perfectly ignorant
-of its meaning, was in her own exculpation on the point of asking
-an explanation, when, suddenly, Anne of Austria arose and said,
-"Yes, the 5th of September; my sorrow began on the 5th of
-September.  The greatest joy, one day; the deepest sorrow the
-next; - the sorrow," she added, "the bitter expiation of a too
-excessive joy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And, from that moment, Anne
-of Austria, whose memory and reason seemed to be suspended for
-the time, remained impenetrable, with vacant look, mind almost
-wandering, and hands hanging heavily down, as if life had almost
-departed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We must put her to bed,"
-said La Molina.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Presently, Molina."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Let us leave the queen
-alone," added the Spanish attendant.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame de Motteville rose;
-large tears were rolling down the queen's pallid face; and
-Molina, having observed this sign of weakness, fixed her black
-vigilant eyes upon her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes," replied the
-queen.  "Leave us, Motteville; go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The word "us" produced a
-disagreeable effect upon the ears of the French favorite; for it
-signified that an interchange of secrets, or of revelations of
-the past, was about to be made, and that one person was <i>de
-trop</i> in the conversation which seemed likely to take
-place.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will Molina, alone, be
-sufficient for your majesty to-night?" inquired the French
-woman.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," replied the queen. 
-Madame de Motteville bowed in submission, and was about to
-withdraw, when suddenly an old female attendant, dressed as if
-she had belonged to the Spanish court of the year 1620, opened
-the door, and surprised the queen in her tears.  "The remedy!"
-she cried, delightedly, to the queen, as she unceremoniously
-approached the group.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What remedy?" said Anne of
-Austria.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For your majesty's
-sufferings," the former replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who brings it?" asked
-Madame de Motteville, eagerly; "Monsieur Valot?"<br>
-                "No; a lady from Flanders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "From Flanders?  Is she
-Spanish?" inquired the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I don't know."<br>
-                "Who sent her?"<br>
-                "M. Colbert."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Her name?"<br>
-                "She did not mention it."<br>
-                "Her position in life?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She will answer that
-herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who is she?"<br>
-                "She is masked."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Go, Molina; go and
-see!" cried the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is needless,"
-suddenly replied a voice, at once firm and gentle in its tone,
-which proceeded from the other side of the tapestry hangings; a
-voice which made the attendants start, and the queen tremble
-excessively.  At the same moment, a masked female appeared
-through the hangings, and, before the queen could speak a
-syllable she added, "I am connected with the order of the
-B&eacute;guines of Bruges, and do, indeed, bring with me the
-remedy which is certain to effect a cure of your majesty's
-complaint."  No one uttered a sound, and the B&eacute;guine did
-not move a step.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Speak," said the
-queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will, when we
-are alone," was the answer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Anne of Austria
-looked at her attendants, who immediately withdrew.  The
-B&eacute;guine, thereupon, advanced a few steps towards the
-queen, and bowed reverently before her.  The queen gazed with
-increasing mistrust at this woman, who, in her turn, fixed a pair
-of brilliant eyes upon her, through her mask.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The queen of
-France must, indeed, be very ill," said Anne of Austria, "if it
-is known at the B&eacute;guinage of Bruges that she stands in
-need of being cured."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty is
-not irremediably ill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But tell me how
-you happen to know I am suffering?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty has
-friends in Flanders."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since these
-friends, then, sent you, mention their names."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Impossible,
-madame, since your majesty's memory has not been awakened by your
-heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Anne of Austria
-looked up, endeavoring to discover through the mysterious mask,
-and this ambiguous language, the name of her companion, who
-expressed herself with such familiarity and freedom; then,
-suddenly, wearied by a curiosity which wounded every feeling of
-pride in her nature, she said, "You are ignorant, perhaps, that
-royal personages are never spoken to with the face masked."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Deign to excuse
-me, madame," replied the B&eacute;guine, humbly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot excuse
-you.  I may, possibly, forgive you, if you throw your mask
-aside."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have made a vow,
-madame, to attend and aid all afflicted and suffering persons,
-without ever permitting them to behold my face.  I might have
-been able to administer some relief to your body and to your
-mind, too; but since your majesty forbids me, I will take my
-leave.  Adieu, madame, adieu!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>These words were
-uttered with a harmony of tone and respect of manner that
-disarmed the queen of all anger and suspicion, but did not remove
-her feeling of curiosity.  "You are right, "she said; "it
-ill-becomes those who are suffering to reject the means of relief
-Heaven sends them.  Speak, then; and may you, indeed, be able, as
-you assert, to administer relief to my body - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us first speak
-a little of the mind, if you please," said the B&eacute;guine -
-"of the mind, which, I am sure, must also suffer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My mind?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There are cancers
-so insidious in their nature that their very pulsations cannot be
-felt.  Such cancers, madame, leave the ivory whiteness of the
-skin unblemished, and putrefy not the firm, fair flesh, with
-their blue tints; the physician who bends over the patient's
-chest hears not, though he listens, the insatiable teeth of the
-disease grinding onward through the muscles, and the blood flows
-freely on; the knife has never been able to destroy, and rarely,
-even temporarily, to disarm the rage of these mortal scourges, -
-their home is in the mind, which they corrupt, - they gnaw the
-whole heart until it breaks.  Such, madame, are the cancers fatal
-to queens; are you, too, free from their scourge?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Anne slowly raised
-her arm, dazzling in its perfect whiteness, and pure in its
-rounded outlines as it was in the time of her earlier days.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The evils to which
-you allude," she said, "are the condition of the lives of the
-high in rank upon earth, to whom Heaven has imparted mind.  When
-those evils become too heavy to be borne, Heaven lightens their
-burdens by penitence and confession.  Thus, only, we lay down our
-burden and the secrets that oppress us.  But, forget not that the
-same gracious Heaven, in its mercy, apportions to their trials
-the strength of the feeble creatures of its hand; and my strength
-has enabled me to bear my burden.  For the secrets of others, the
-silence of Heaven is more than sufficient; for my own secrets,
-that of my confessor is enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are as
-courageous, madame, I see, as ever, against your enemies.  You do
-not acknowledge your confidence in your friends?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Queens have no
-friends; if you have nothing further to say to me, - if you feel
-yourself inspired by Heaven as a prophetess - leave me, I pray,
-for I dread the future."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I should have
-supposed," said the B&eacute;guine, resolutely, "that you would
-rather have dreaded the past."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Hardly had these
-words escaped her lips, than the queen rose up proudly.  "Speak,"
-she cried, in a short, imperious tone of voice; "explain yourself
-briefly, quickly, entirely; or, if not - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, do not
-threaten me, your majesty," said the B&eacute;guine, gently; "I
-came here to you full of compassion and respect.  I came here on
-the part of a friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Prove that to me! 
-Comfort, instead of irritating me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Easily enough, and
-your majesty will see who is friendly to you.  What misfortune
-has happened to your majesty during these three and twenty years
-past - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Serious
-misfortunes, indeed; have I not lost the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I speak not of
-misfortunes of <i>that</i> kind.  I wish to ask you, if, since
-the birth of the king, any indiscretion on a friend's part has
-caused your majesty the slightest serious anxiety, or
-distress?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not
-understand you," replied the queen, clenching her teeth in order
-to conceal her emotion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will make myself
-understood, then.  Your majesty remembers that the king was born
-on the 5th of September, 1638, at a quarter past eleven
-o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," stammered
-out the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At half-past
-twelve," continued the B&eacute;guine, "the dauphin, who had been
-baptized by Monseigneur de Meaux in the king's and your own
-presence, was acknowledged as the heir of the crown of France. 
-The king then went to the chapel of the old Ch&acirc;teau de
-Saint-Germain, to hear the <i>Te Deum</i> chanted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite true, quite
-true," murmured the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty's
-conferment took place in the presence of Monsieur, his majesty's
-late uncle, of the princes, and of the ladies attached to the
-court.  The king's physician, Bouvard, and Honor&eacute;, the
-surgeon, were stationed in the ante-chamber; your majesty slept
-from three o'clock until seven, I believe."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes; but you
-tell me no more than every one else knows as well as you and
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am now, madame,
-approaching that which very few persons are acquainted with. 
-Very few persons, did I say, alas!  I might say two only, for
-formerly there were but five in all, and, for many years past,
-the secret has been well preserved by the deaths of the principal
-participators in it.  The late king sleeps now with his
-ancestors; Perronnette, the midwife, soon followed him; Laporte
-is already forgotten."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen opened
-her lips as though to reply; she felt, beneath her icy hand, with
-which she kept her face half concealed, the beads of perspiration
-on her brow.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was eight
-o'clock," pursued the B&eacute;guine; "the king was seated at
-supper, full of joy and happiness; around him on all sides arose
-wild cries of delight and drinking of healths; the people cheered
-beneath the balconies; the Swiss guards, the musketeers, and the
-royal guards wandered through the city, borne about in triumph by
-the drunken students.  Those boisterous sounds of general joy
-disturbed the dauphin, the future king of France, who was quietly
-lying in the arms of Madame de Hausac, his nurse, and whose eyes,
-as he opened them, and stared about, might have observed two
-crowns at the foot of his cradle.  Suddenly your majesty uttered
-a piercing cry, and Dame Perronnette immediately flew to your
-beside.  The doctors were dining in a room at some distance from
-your chamber; the palace, deserted from the frequency of the
-irruptions made into it, was without either sentinels or guards. 
-The midwife, having questioned and examined your majesty, gave a
-sudden exclamation as if in wild astonishment, and taking you in
-her arms, bewildered almost out of her senses from sheer distress
-of mind, dispatched Laporte to inform the king that her majesty
-the queen-mother wished to see him in her room.  Laporte, you are
-aware, madame, was a man of the most admirable calmness and
-presence of mind.  He did not approach the king as if he were the
-bearer of alarming intelligence and wished to inspire the terror
-he himself experienced; besides, it was not a very terrifying
-intelligence which awaited the king.  Therefore, Laporte appeared
-with a smile upon his lips, and approached the king's chair,
-saying to him - 'Sire, the queen is very happy, and would be
-still more so to see your majesty.'  On that day, Louis XIII.
-would have given his crown away to the veriest beggar for a 'God
-bless you.'  Animated, light-hearted, and full of gayety, the
-king rose from the table, and said to those around him, in a tone
-that Henry IV. might have adopted, - 'Gentlemen, I am going to
-see my wife.'  He came to your beside, madame, at the very moment
-Dame Perronnette presented to him a second prince, as beautiful
-and healthy as the former, and said - 'Sire, Heaven will not
-allow the kingdom of France to fall into the female line.'  The
-king, yielding to a first impulse, clasped the child in his arms,
-and cried, 'Oh, Heaven, I thank Thee!'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>At this part of her
-recital, the B&eacute;guine paused, observing how intensely the
-queen was suffering; she had thrown herself back in her chair,
-and with her head bent forward and her eyes fixed, listened
-without seeming to hear, and her lips moving convulsively, either
-breathing a prayer to Heaven or imprecations on the woman
-standing before her.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!  I do not
-believe that, if, because there could be but one dauphin in
-France, "exclaimed the B&eacute;guine, "the queen allowed that
-child to vegetate, banished from his royal parents' presence, she
-was on that account an unfeeling mother.  Oh, no, no; there are
-those alive who have known and witnessed the passionate kisses
-she imprinted on that innocent creature in exchange for a life of
-misery and gloom to which state policy condemned the twin brother
-of Louis XIV."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!  Heaven!"
-murmured the queen feebly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is admitted,"
-continued the B&eacute;guine, quickly, "that when the king
-perceived the effect which would result from the existence of two
-sons, equal in age and pretensions, he trembled for the welfare
-of France, for the tranquillity of the state; and it is equally
-well known that Cardinal de Richelieu, by the direction of Louis
-XIII., thought over the subject with deep attention, and after an
-hour's meditation in his majesty's cabinet, he pronounced the
-following sentence: - 'One prince means peace and safety for the
-state; two competitors, civil war and anarchy.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen rose
-suddenly from her seat, pale as death, and her hands clenched
-together:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know too
-much," she said, in a hoarse, thick voice, "since you refer to
-secrets of state.  As for the friends from whom you have acquired
-this secret, they are false and treacherous.  You are their
-accomplice in the crime which is being now committed.  Now, throw
-aside your mask, or I will have you arrested by my captain of the
-guards.  Do not think that this secret terrifies me!  You have
-obtained it, you shall restore it to me.  Never shall it leave
-your bosom, for neither your secret nor your own life belong to
-you from this moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Anne of Austria,
-joining gesture to the threat, advanced a couple of steps towards
-the B&eacute;guine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Learn," said the
-latter, "to know and value the fidelity, the honor, and secrecy
-of the friends you have abandoned."  And, then, suddenly she
-threw aside her mask.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame de
-Chevreuse!" exclaimed the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With your majesty,
-the sole living <i>confidante</i> of the secret."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" murmured Anne
-of Austria; "come and embrace me, duchesse.  Alas! you kill your
-friend in thus trifling with her terrible distress."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And the queen,
-leaning her head upon the shoulder of the old duchesse, burst
-into a flood of bitter tears.  "How young you are - still!" said
-the latter, in a hollow voice; "you can weep!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>Two
-Friends.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he queen
-looked steadily at Madame de Chevreuse, and said: "I believe you
-just now made use of the word 'happy' in speaking of me. 
-Hitherto, duchesse, I had thought it impossible that a human
-creature could anywhere be found more miserable than the queen of
-France."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your afflictions, madame,
-have indeed been terrible enough.  But by the side of those great
-and grand misfortunes to which we, two old friends, separated by
-men's malice, were just now alluding, you possess sources of
-pleasure, slight enough in themselves it may be, but greatly
-envied by the world."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What are they?" said Anne
-of Austria, bitterly.  "What can induce you to pronounce the word
-'pleasure,' duchesse - you who, just now, admitted that my body
-and my mind both stood in need of remedies?"<br>
-                Madame de Chevreuse collected herself for a
-moment, and then murmured, "How far removed kings are from other
-people!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I mean that they
-are so far removed from the vulgar herd that they forget that
-others often stand in need of the bare necessities of life.  They
-are like the inhabitant of the African mountains, who, gazing
-from the verdant tableland, refreshed by the rills of melted
-snow, cannot comprehend that the dwellers in the plains below are
-perishing from hunger and thirst in the midst of the desert,
-burnt up by the heat of the sun."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen colored,
-for she now began to perceive the drift of her friend's remark. 
-"It was very wrong," she said, "to have neglected you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! madame, I know
-the king has inherited the hatred his father bore me.  The king
-would exile me if he knew I were in the Palais Royal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot say that
-the king is very well disposed towards you, duchesse," replied
-the queen; "but I could - secretly, you know - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The duchesse's
-disdainful smile produced a feeling of uneasiness in the queen's
-mind.  "Duchesse," she hastened to add, "you did perfectly right
-to come here, even were it only to give us the happiness of
-contradicting the report of your death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Has it been
-rumored, then, that I was dead?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Everywhere."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet my
-children did not go into mourning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! you know,
-duchesse, the court is very frequently moving about from place to
-place; we see M. Albert de Luynes but seldom, and many things
-escape our minds in the midst of the preoccupations that
-constantly beset us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty ought
-not to have believed the report of my death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?  Alas! we
-are all mortal; and you may perceive how rapidly I, your younger
-sister, as we used formerly to say, am approaching the tomb."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If your majesty
-believed me dead, you ought, in that case, to have been
-astonished not to have received the news."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Death not
-unfrequently takes us by surprise, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! your majesty,
-those who are burdened with secrets such as we have just now
-discussed must, as a necessity of their nature, satisfy their
-craving desire to divulge them, and they feel they must gratify
-that desire before they die.  Among the various preparations for
-their final journey, the task of placing their papers in order is
-not omitted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen
-started.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty will
-be sure to learn, in a particular manner, the day of my
-death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because your
-majesty will receive the next day, under several coverings,
-everything connected with our mysterious correspondence of former
-times."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did you not burn
-them?" cried Anne, in alarm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Traitors only,"
-replied the duchesse, "destroy a royal correspondence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Traitors, do you
-say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, certainly, or
-rather they pretend to destroy, instead of which they keep or
-sell it.  Faithful friends, on the contrary, most carefully
-secrete such treasures, for it may happen that some day or other
-they would wish to seek out their queen in order to say to her:
-'Madame, I am getting old; my health is fast failing me; in the
-presence of the danger of death, for there is the risk for your
-majesty that this secret may be revealed, take, therefore, this
-paper, so fraught with menace for yourself, and trust not to
-another to burn it for you.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What paper do you
-refer to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As far as I am
-concerned, I have but one, it is true, but that is indeed most
-dangerous in its nature."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! duchesse, tell
-me what it is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A letter, dated
-Tuesday, the 2d of August, 1644, in which you beg me to go to
-Noisy-le-Sec, to see that unhappy child.  In your own
-handwriting, madame, there are those words, 'that unhappy
-child!'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>A profound silence
-ensued; the queen's mind was busy in the past; Madame de
-Chevreuse was watching the progress of her scheme.  "Yes,
-unhappy, most unhappy!" murmured Anne of Austria; "how sad the
-existence he led, poor child, to finish it in so cruel a
-manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is he dead?" cried
-the duchesse suddenly, with a curiosity whose genuine accents the
-queen instinctively detected.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He died of
-consumption, died forgotten, died withered and blighted like the
-flowers a lover has given to his mistress, which she leaves to
-die secreted in a drawer where she had hid them from the gaze of
-others."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Died!" repeated
-the duchesse with an air of discouragement, which would have
-afforded the queen the most unfeigned delight, had it not been
-tempered in some measure with a mixture of doubt - "Died - at
-Noisy-le-Sec?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, in the arms
-of his tutor, a poor, honest man, who did not long survive
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That can easily be
-understood; it is so difficult to bear up under the weight of
-such a loss and such a secret," said Madame de Chevreuse, - the
-irony of which reflection the queen pretended not to perceive. 
-Madame de Chevreuse continued: "Well, madame, I inquired some
-years ago at Noisy-le-Sec about this unhappy child.  I was told
-that it was not believed he was dead, and that was my reason for
-not having at first condoled with your majesty; for, most
-certainly, if I could have thought it were true, never should I
-have made the slightest allusion to so deplorable an event, and
-thus have re-awakened your majesty's most natural distress."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You say that it is
-not believed the child died at Noisy?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What did they say
-about him, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They said - but,
-no doubt, they were mistaken - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, speak,
-speak!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"They said, that
-one evening, about the year 1645, a lady, beautiful and majestic
-in her bearing, which was observed notwithstanding the mask and
-the mantle that concealed her figure - a lady of rank, of very
-high rank, no doubt - came in a carriage to the place where the
-road branches off; the very same spot, you know, where I awaited
-news of the young prince when your majesty was graciously pleased
-to send me there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That the boy's
-tutor, or guardian, took the child to this lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, what
-next?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That both the
-child and his tutor left that part of the country the very next
-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There, you see
-there is some truth in what you relate, since, in point of fact,
-the poor child died from a sudden attack of illness, which makes
-the lives of all children, as doctors say, suspended as it were
-by a thread."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What your majesty
-says is quite true; no one knows it better than yourself - no one
-believes it more strongly than myself.  But yet, how strange it
-is - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What can it now
-be?" thought the queen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The person who
-gave me these details, who was sent to inquire after the child's
-health - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did you confide
-such a charge to any one else?  Oh, duchesse!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Some one as dumb
-as your majesty, as dumb as myself; we will suppose it was
-myself, Madame; this some one, some months after, passing through
-Touraine - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Touraine!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Recognized both
-the tutor and the child, too!  I am wrong, thought he recognized
-them, both living, cheerful, happy, and flourishing, the one in a
-green old age, the other in the flower of his youth.  Judge after
-that what truth can be attributed to the rumors which are
-circulated, or what faith, after that, placed in anything that
-may happen in the world!  But I am fatiguing your majesty; it was
-not my intention, however, to do so, and I will take my leave of
-you, after renewing to you the assurance of my most respectful
-devotion."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Stay, duchesse;
-let us first talk a little about yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of myself,
-madame!  I am not worthy that you should bend your looks upon
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not, indeed? 
-Are you not the oldest friend I have?  Are you angry with me,
-duchesse?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I, indeed! what
-motive could I have?  If I had reason to be angry with your
-majesty, should I have come here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Duchesse, age is
-fast creeping on us both; we should be united against that death
-whose approach cannot be far off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You overpower me,
-madame, with the kindness of your language."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one has ever
-loved or served me as you have done, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your majesty is
-too kind in remembering it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not so.  Give me a
-proof of your friendship, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My whole being is
-devoted to you, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The proof I
-require is, that you should ask something of me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ask - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I know you
-well, - no one is more disinterested, more noble, and truly
-loyal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not praise me
-too highly, madame," said the duchesse, somewhat anxiously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I could never
-praise you as much as you deserve to be praised."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet, age and
-misfortune effect a terrible change in people, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So much the
-better; for the beautiful, the haughty, the adored duchesse of
-former days might have answered me ungratefully, 'I do not wish
-for anything from you.'  Heaven be praised!  The misfortunes you
-speak of have indeed worked a change in you, for you will now,
-perhaps, answer me, 'I accept.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The duchesse's look
-and smile soon changed at this conclusion, and she no longer
-attempted to act a false part.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Speak, dearest,
-what do you want?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I must first
-explain to you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do so
-unhesitatingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, your
-majesty can confer the greatest, the most ineffable pleasure upon
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?" said
-the queen, a little distant in her manner, from an uneasiness of
-feeling produced by this remark.  "But do not forget, my good
-Chevreuse, that I am quite as much under my son's influence as I
-was formerly under my husband's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will not be too
-hard, madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Call me as you
-used to do; it will be a sweet echo of our happy youth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, my
-dear mistress, my darling Anne - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you know
-Spanish, still?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ask me in Spanish,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will your majesty
-do me the honor to pass a few days with me at Dampierre?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is that all?" said
-the queen, stupefied.  "Nothing more than that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good heavens! can
-you possibly imagine that, in asking you that, I am not asking
-you the greatest conceivable favor?  If that really be the case,
-you do not know me.  Will you accept?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, gladly.  And
-I shall be happy," continued the queen, with some suspicion, "if
-my presence can in any way be useful to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Useful!" exclaimed
-the duchesse, laughing; "oh, no, no, agreeable - delightful, if
-you like; and you promise me, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I swear it," said
-the queen, whereupon the duchesse seized her beautiful hand, and
-covered it with kisses.  The queen could not help murmuring to
-herself, "She is a good-hearted woman, and very generous,
-too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will your majesty
-consent to wait a fortnight before you come?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly; but
-why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because," said the
-duchesse, "knowing me to be in disgrace, no one would lend me the
-hundred thousand francs, which I require to put Dampierre into a
-state of repair.  But when it is known that I require that sum
-for the purpose of receiving your majesty at Dampierre properly,
-all the money in Paris will be at my disposal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said the
-queen, gently nodding her head in sign of intelligence, "a
-hundred thousand francs! you want a hundred thousand francs to
-put Dampierre into repair?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite as much as
-that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And no one will
-lend you them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will lend them
-to you, if you like, duchesse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I hardly dare
-accept such a sum."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You would be wrong
-if you did <i>not</i>.  Besides, a hundred thousand francs is
-really not much.  I know but too well that you never set a right
-value upon your silence and secrecy.  Push that table a little
-towards me, duchesse, and I will write you an order on M.
-Colbert; no, on M. Fouquet, who is a far more courteous and
-obliging man."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will he pay it,
-though?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If he will not pay
-it, I will; but it will be the first time he will have refused
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The queen wrote and
-handed the duchesse the order, and afterwards dismissed her with
-a warm embrace.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>How
-Jean de La Fontaine Came to Write His First Tale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>A</span>ll these
-intrigues are exhausted; the human mind, so variously
-complicated, has been enabled to develop itself at its ease in
-the three outlines with which our recital has supplied it.  It is
-not unlikely that, in the future we are now preparing, a question
-of politics and intrigues may still arise, but the springs by
-which they work will be so carefully concealed that no one will
-be able to see aught but flowers and paintings, just as at a
-theater, where a colossus appears upon the scene, walking along
-moved by the small legs and slender arms of a child concealed
-within the framework.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                We now return to
-Saint-Mand&eacute;, where the superintendent was in the habit of
-receiving his select confederacy of epicureans.  For some time
-past the host had met with nothing but trouble.  Every one in the
-house was aware of and felt for the minister's distress.  No more
-magnificent or recklessly improvident <i>r&eacute;unions</i>. 
-Money had been the pretext assigned by Fouquet, and never
-<i>was</i> any pretext, as Gourville said, more fallacious, for
-there was not even a shadow of money to be seen.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                M. Vatel was resolutely
-painstaking in keeping up the reputation of the house, and yet
-the gardeners who supplied the kitchens complained of ruinous
-delays.  The agents for the supply of Spanish wines sent drafts
-which no one honored; fishermen, whom the superintendent engaged
-on the coast of Normandy, calculated that if they were paid all
-that was due to them, the amount would enable them to retire
-comfortably for life; fish, which, at a later period, was the
-cause of Vatel's death, did not arrive at all.  However, on the
-ordinary reception days, Fouquet's friends flocked in more
-numerously than ever.  Gourville and the Abb&eacute; Fouquet
-talked over money matters - that is to say, the abb&eacute;
-borrowed a few pistoles from Gourville; P&eacute;lisson, seated
-with his legs crossed, was engaged in finishing the peroration of
-a speech with which Fouquet was to open the parliament; and this
-speech was a masterpiece, because P&eacute;lisson wrote it for
-his friend - that is to say, he inserted all kinds of clever
-things the latter would most certainly never have taken the
-trouble to say of his own accord.  Presently Loret and La
-Fontaine would enter from the garden, engaged in a dispute about
-the art of making verses.  The painters and musicians, in their
-turn, were hovering near the dining-room.  As soon as eight
-o'clock struck the supper would be announced, for the
-superintendent never kept any one waiting.  It was already
-half-past seven, and the appetites of the guests were beginning
-to declare themselves in an emphatic manner.  As soon as all the
-guests were assembled, Gourville went straight up to
-P&eacute;lisson, awoke him out of his reverie, and led him into
-the middle of a room, and closed the doors.  "Well," he said,
-"anything new?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                P&eacute;lisson raised his
-intelligent and gentle face, and said: "I have borrowed five and
-twenty thousand francs of my aunt, and I have them here in good
-sterling money."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good," replied
-Gourville; "we only what one hundred and ninety-five thousand
-livres for the first payment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The payment of
-what?" asked La Fontaine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!
-absent-minded as usual!  Why, it was you who told us the small
-estate at Corbeli was going to be sold by one of M. Fouquet's
-creditors; and you, also, who proposed that all his friends
-should subscribe - more than that, it was you who said that you
-would sell a corner of your house at Ch&acirc;teau-Thierry, in
-order to furnish your own proportion, and you come and ask -
-'<i>The payment of what?</i>'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This remark was
-received with a general laugh, which made La Fontaine blush.  "I
-beg your pardon," he said, "I had not forgotten it; oh, no! only
-- "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Only you
-remembered nothing about it," replied Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is the truth,
-and the fact is, he is quite right, there is a great difference
-between forgetting and not remembering."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then," added
-P&eacute;lisson, "you bring your mite in the shape of the price
-of the piece of land you have sold?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sold? no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you not sold
-the field, then?" inquired Gourville, in astonishment, for he
-knew the poet's disinterestedness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My wife would not
-let me," replied the latter, at which there were fresh bursts of
-laughter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet you went
-to Ch&acirc;teau-Thierry for that purpose," said some one.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly I did,
-and on horseback."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor fellow!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I had eight
-different horses, and I was almost bumped to death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are an
-excellent fellow!  And you rested yourself when you arrived
-there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Rested!  Oh! of
-course I did, for I had an immense deal of work to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My wife had been
-flirting with the man to whom I wished to sell the land.  The
-fellow drew back form his bargain, and so I challenged him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good, and you
-fought?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It seems not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You know nothing
-about it, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, my wife and
-her relations interfered in the matter.  I was kept a quarter of
-an hour with my sword in my hand; but I was not wounded."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And your
-adversary?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! he wasn't
-wounded either, for he never came on the field."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Capital!" cried
-his friends from all sides, "you must have been terribly
-angry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exceedingly so; I
-caught cold; I returned home and then my wife began to quarrel
-with me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In real
-earnest?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, in real
-earnest.  She threw a loaf of bread at my head, a large
-loaf."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And what did you
-do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!  I upset the
-table over her and her guests; and then I got on my horse again,
-and here I am."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Every one had great
-difficulty in keeping his countenance at the exposure of this
-heroi-comedy, and when the laughter had subsided, one of the
-guests present said to La Fontaine: "Is that all you have brought
-back?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no!  I have an
-excellent idea in my head."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you noticed
-that there is a good deal of sportive, jesting poetry written in
-France?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, of course,"
-replied every one.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And," pursued La
-Fontaine, "only a very small portion of it is printed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The laws are
-strict, you know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That may be; but a
-rare article is a dear article, and that is the reason why I have
-written a small poem, excessively free in its style, very broad,
-and extremely cynical in its tone."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce you
-have!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," continued
-the poet, with assumed indifference, "and I have introduced the
-greatest freedom of language I could possibly employ."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Peals of laughter
-again broke forth, while the poet was thus announcing the quality
-of his wares.  "And," he continued, "I have tried to excel
-everything that Boccaccio, Ar&eacute;tin, and other masters of
-their craft have written in the same style."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Its fate is
-clear," said P&eacute;lisson; "it will be suppressed and
-forbidden."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you think so?"
-said La Fontaine, simply.  "I assure you I did not do it on my
-own account so much as M. Fouquet's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This wonderful
-conclusion again raised the mirth of all present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I have sold
-the first edition of this little book for eight hundred livres,"
-exclaimed La Fontaine, rubbing his hands together.  "Serious and
-religions books sell at about half that rate."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It would have been
-better," said Gourville, "to have written two religious books
-instead."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It would have been
-too long, and not amusing enough," replied La Fontaine
-tranquilly; "my eight hundred livres are in this little bag, and
-I beg to offer them as <i>my</i> contribution."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As he said this, he
-placed his offering in the hands of their treasurer; it was then
-Loret's turn, who gave a hundred and fifty livres; the others
-stripped themselves in the same way; and the total sum in the
-purse amounted to forty thousand livres.  The money was still
-being counted over when the superintendent noiselessly entered
-the room; he had heard everything; and then this man, who had
-possessed so many millions, who had exhausted all the pleasures
-and honors the world had to bestow, this generous heart, this
-inexhaustible brain, which had, like two burning crucibles,
-devoured the material and moral substance of the first kingdom in
-Europe, was seen to cross the threshold with tears in his eyes,
-and pass his fingers through the gold and silver which the bag
-contained.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor offering," he
-said, in a softened and affected tone of voice, "you will
-disappear into the smallest corner of my empty purse, but you
-have filled to overflowing that which no one can ever exhaust, my
-heart.  Thank you, my friends - thank you."  And as he could not
-embrace every one present, who were all tearful, too,
-philosophers as they were, he embraced La Fontaine, saying to
-him, "Poor fellow! so you have, on my account, been beaten by
-your wife and censured by your confessor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! it is a mere
-nothing," replied the poet; "if your creditors will only wait a
-couple of years, I shall have written a hundred other tales,
-which, at two editions each, will pay off the debt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>La
-Fontaine in the Character of a Negotiator.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>F</span>ouquet
-pressed La Fontaine's hand most warmly, saying to him, "My dear
-poet, write a hundred other tales, not only for the eighty
-pistoles which each of them will produce you, but, still more, to
-enrich our language with a hundred new masterpieces of
-composition."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said La Fontaine, with
-a little air of pride, "you must not suppose that I have only
-brought this idea and the eighty pistoles to the
-superintendent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! indeed," was the
-general acclimation from all parts of the room, "M. de la
-Fontaine is in funds to-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly," replied
-La Fontaine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quick, quick!"
-cried the assembly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take care," said
-P&eacute;lisson in La Fontaine's ear; "you have had a most
-brilliant success up to the present moment; do not go beyond your
-depth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not at all,
-Monsieur P&eacute;lisson; and you, who are a man of decided
-taste, will be the first to approve of what I have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We are talking of
-millions, remember," said Gourville.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have fifteen
-hundred thousand francs here, Monsieur Gourville," he replied,
-striking himself on the chest.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce take
-this Gascon from Ch&acirc;teau-Thierry!" cried Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is not the
-pocket you must tap - but the brain," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Stay a moment,
-monsieur le surintendant," added La Fontaine; "you are not
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral - you are a poet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True, true!" cried
-Loret, Conrart, and every person present connected with
-literature.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are, I repeat,
-a poet and a painter, a sculptor, a friend of the arts and
-sciences; but, acknowledge that you are no lawyer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!  I do
-acknowledge it," replied M. Fouquet, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If you were to be
-nominated at the Academy, you would refuse, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think I should,
-with all due deference to the academicians."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; if,
-therefore, you do not wish to belong to the Academy, why do you
-allow yourself to form one of the parliament?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" said
-P&eacute;lisson, "we are talking politics."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I wish to know
-whether the barrister's gown does or does not become M.
-Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is no
-question of the gown at all," retorted P&eacute;lisson, annoyed
-at the laughter of those who were present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,
-it <i>is</i> the gown," said Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take the gown away
-from the procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral," said Conrart, "and we
-have M. Fouquet left us still, of whom we have no reason to
-complain; but, as he is no procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral
-without his gown, we agree with M. de la Fontaine and pronounce
-the gown to be nothing but a bugbear."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i>Fugiunt risus
-leporesque</i>," said Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The smiles and the
-graces," said some one present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is not the
-way," said P&eacute;lisson, gravely, "that I translate
-<i>lepores</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How do you
-translate it?" said La Fontaine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thus: The hares
-run away as soon as they see M. Fouquet."  A burst of laughter,
-in which the superintendent joined, followed this sally.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But why hares?"
-objected Conrart, vexed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because the hare
-will be the very one who will not be over pleased to see M.
-Fouquet surrounded by all the attributes which his parliamentary
-strength and power confer on him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! oh!" murmured
-the poets.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i>Quo non
-ascendam</i>," said Conrart, "seems impossible to me, when one is
-fortunate enough to wear the gown of the
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral." <b><sup>9</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,
-it seems so to me without that gown," said the obstinate
-P&eacute;lisson; "what is your opinion, Gourville?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think the gown
-in question is a very good thing," replied the latter; "but I
-equally think that a million and a half is far better than the
-gown."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I am of
-Gourville's opinion," exclaimed Fouquet, stopping the discussion
-by the expression of his own opinion, which would necessarily
-bear down all the others.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A million and a
-half," P&eacute;lisson grumbled out; "now I happen to know an
-Indian fable - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tell it to me,"
-said La Fontaine; "I ought to know it too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tell it, tell it,"
-said the others.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There was a
-tortoise, which was, as usual, well protected by its shell," said
-P&eacute;lisson; "whenever its enemies threatened it, it took
-refuge within its covering.  One day some one said to it, 'You
-must feel very hot in such a house as that in the summer, and you
-are altogether prevented showing off your graces; there is a
-snake here, who will give you a million and a half for your
-shell.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Good!" said the
-superintendent, laughing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, what next?"
-said La Fontaine, more interested in the apologue than in the
-moral.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The tortoise sold
-his shell and remained naked and defenseless.  A vulture happened
-to see him, and being hungry, broke the tortoise's back with a
-blow of his beak and devoured it.  The moral is, that M. Fouquet
-should take very good care to keep his gown."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>La Fontaine
-understood the moral seriously.  "You forget &AElig;schylus," he
-said, to his adversary.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"&AElig;schylus was
-bald-headed, and a vulture - your vulture, probably - who was a
-great amateur in tortoises, mistook at a distance his head for a
-block of stone, and let a tortoise, which was shrunk up in his
-shell, fall upon it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes, La
-Fontaine is right," resumed Fouquet, who had become very
-thoughtful; "whenever a vulture wishes to devour a tortoise, he
-well knows how to break his shell; but happy is that tortoise a
-snake pays a million and a half for his envelope.  If any one
-were to bring me a generous-hearted snake like the one in your
-fable, P&eacute;lisson, I would give him my shell."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i>Rara avis in
-terres!</i>" cried Conrart. <b><sup>10</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And like a black
-swan, is he not?" added La Fontaine; "well, then, the bird in
-question, black and rare, is already found."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you mean to say
-that you have found a purchaser for my post of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral?" exclaimed Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But the
-superintendent never said that he wished to sell," resumed
-P&eacute;lisson.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I beg your
-pardon," said Conrart, "you yourself spoke about it, even - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I am a
-witness to that," said Gourville.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He seems very
-tenacious about his brilliant idea," said Fouquet, laughing. 
-"Well, La Fontaine, who is the purchaser?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A perfect
-blackbird, for he is a counselor belonging to the parliament, an
-excellent fellow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is his
-name?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Vanel!" exclaimed
-Fouquet.  "Vanel the husband of - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely, her
-husband; yes, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor fellow!" said
-Fouquet, with an expression of great interest.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He wishes to be
-everything that you have been, monsieur," said Gourville, "and to
-do everything that you have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is very
-agreeable; tell us all about it, La Fontaine."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is very
-simple.  I see him occasionally, and a short time ago I met him,
-walking about on the Place de la Bastile, at the very moment when
-I was about to take the small carriage to come down here to
-Saint-Mand&eacute;."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He must have been
-watching his wife," interrupted Loret.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no!" said La
-Fontaine, "he is far from being jealous.  He accosted me,
-embraced me, and took me to the inn called L'Image Saint-Fiacre,
-and told me all about his troubles."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He has his
-troubles, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; his wife
-wants to make him ambitious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, and he told
-you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That some one had
-spoken to him about a post in parliament; that M. Fouquet's name
-had been mentioned; that ever since, Madame Vanel dreams of
-nothing else than being called madame la
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;rale, and that it makes her ill and
-kills her every night she does not dream about it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor woman!" said
-Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wait a moment. 
-Conrart is always telling me that I do not know how to conduct
-matters of business; you will see how I managed this one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, go on."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'I suppose you
-know,' said I to Vanel, 'that the value of a post such as that
-which M. Fouquet holds is by no means trifling.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'How much do you
-imagine it to be?' he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'M. Fouquet, I
-know, has refused seventeen hundred thousand francs.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'My wife,' replied
-Vanel, 'had estimated it at about fourteen hundred thousand.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Ready money?' I
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Yes; she has sold
-some property of hers in Guienne, and has received the purchase
-money.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That's a pretty
-sum to touch all at once," said the Abb&eacute; Fouquet, who had
-not hitherto said a word.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Poor Madame
-Vanel!" murmured Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>P&eacute;lisson
-shrugged his shoulders, as he whispered in Fouquet's ear, "That
-woman is a perfect fiend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That may be; and
-it will be delightful to make use of this fiend's money to repair
-the injury which an angel has done herself for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>P&eacute;lisson
-looked with a surprised air at Fouquet, whose thoughts were from
-that moment fixed upon a fresh object in view.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well!" inquired La
-Fontaine, "what about my negotiation?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Admirable, my dear
-poet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Gourville; "but there are some people who are anxious to have the
-steed who have not even money enough to pay for the bridle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And Vanel would
-draw back from his offer if he were to be taken at his word,"
-continued the Abb&eacute; Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not believe
-it," said La Fontaine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you know
-about it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, you have not
-yet heard the <i>d&eacute;nouement</i> of my story."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If there is a
-<i>d&eacute;nouement</i>, why do you beat about the bush so
-much?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"<i>Semper ad
-eventum</i>.  Is that correct?" said Fouquet, with the air of a
-nobleman who condescends to barbarisms.  To which the Latinists
-present answered with loud</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">applause. <b><sup>11</sup></b></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My
-<i>d&eacute;nouement</i>," cried La Fontaine, "is that Vanel,
-that determined blackbird, knowing that I was coming to
-Saint-Mand&eacute;, implored me to bring him with me, and, if
-possible, to present him to M. Fouquet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So that he is here; I left
-him in that part of the ground called Bel-Air.  Well, M. Fouquet,
-what is your reply?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, it is not
-respectful towards Madame Vanel that her husband should run the
-risk of catching cold outside my house; send for him, La
-Fontaine, since you know where he is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will go
-myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I will
-accompany you," said the Abb&eacute; Fouquet; "I will carry the
-money bags."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No jesting," said
-Fouquet, seriously; "let the business be a serious one, if it is
-to be one at all.  But first of all, let us show we are
-hospitable.  Make my apologies, La Fontaine, to M. Vanel, and
-tell him how distressed I am to have kept him waiting, but that I
-was not was not aware he was there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>La Fontaine set off
-at once, fortunately accompanied by Gourville, for, absorbed in
-his own calculations, the poet would have mistaken the route, and
-was hurrying as fast as he could towards the village of
-Saint-Mand&eacute;.  Within a quarter of an hour afterwards, M.
-Vanel was introduced into the superintendent's cabinet, a
-description of which has already been given at the beginning of
-this story.  When Fouquet saw him enter, he called to
-P&eacute;lisson, and whispered a few words in his ear.  "Do not
-lose a single word of what I am going to say: let all the silver
-and gold plate, together with my jewels of every description, be
-packed up in the carriage.  You will take the black horses: the
-jeweler will accompany you; and you will postpone the supper
-until Madame de Belli&egrave;re's arrival."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Will it be
-necessary to inform Madame de Belli&egrave;re of it?" said
-P&eacute;lisson.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; that will be
-useless; I will do that.  So, away with you, my dear friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>P&eacute;lisson set
-off, not quite clear as to his friend's meaning or intention, but
-confident, like every true friend, in the judgment of the man he
-was blindly obeying.  It is that which constitutes the strength
-of such men; distrust only arises in the minds of inferior
-natures.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel bowed lowly
-to the superintendent, and was about to begin a speech.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not trouble
-yourself, monsieur," said Fouquet, politely; "I am told you wish
-to purchase a post I hold.  How much can you give me for it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is for you,
-monseigneur, to fix the amount you require.  I know that offers
-of purchase have already been made to you for it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame Vanel, I
-have been told, values it at fourteen hundred thousand
-livres."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is all we
-have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Can you give me
-the money immediately?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have not the
-money with me," said Vanel, frightened almost by the unpretending
-simplicity, amounting to greatness, of the man, for he had
-expected disputes, difficulties, opposition of every kind.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"When will you be
-able to bring it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whenever you
-please, monseigneur;" for he began to be afraid that Fouquet was
-trifling with him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If it were not for
-the trouble you would have in returning to Paris, I would say at
-once; but we will arrange that the payment and the signature
-shall take place at six o'clock to-morrow morning."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good," said
-Vanel, as cold as ice, and feeling quite bewildered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Adieu, Monsieur
-Vanel, present my humblest respects to Madame Vanel," said
-Fouquet, as he rose; upon which Vanel, who felt the blood rushing
-to his head, for he was quite confounded by his success, said
-seriously to the superintendent, "Will you give me your word,
-monseigneur, upon this affair?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet turned
-round his head, saying, "<i>Pardieu</i>, and you, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel hesitated,
-trembled all over, and at last finished by hesitatingly holding
-out his hand.  Fouquet opened and nobly extended his own; this
-loyal hand lay for a moment in Vanel's most hypocritical palm,
-and he pressed it in his own, in order the better to convince
-himself of the compact.  The superintendent gently disengaged his
-hand, as he again said, "Adieu."  And then Vanel ran hastily to
-the door, hurried along the vestibule, and fled as quickly as he
-could.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Madame de Belli&egrave;re's Plate and Diamonds.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>F</span>ouquet had no
-sooner dismissed Vanel than he began to reflect for a few moments
-- "A man never can do too much for the woman he has once loved. 
-Marguerite wishes to be the wife of a
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral - and why not confer this
-pleasure upon her?  And, now that the most scrupulous and
-sensitive conscience will be unable to reproach me with anything,
-let my thoughts be bestowed on her who has shown so much devotion
-for me.  Madame de Belli&egrave;re ought to be there by this
-time," he said, as he turned towards the secret door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                After he had locked himself
-in, he opened the subterranean passage, and rapidly hastened
-towards the means of communicating between the house at Vincennes
-and his own residence.  He had neglected to apprise his friend of
-his approach, by ringing the bell, perfectly assured that she
-would never fail to be exact at the rendezvous; as, indeed, was
-the case, for she was already waiting.  The noise the
-superintendent made aroused her; she ran to take from under the
-door the letter he had thrust there, and which simply said,
-"Come, marquise; we are waiting supper for you."  With her heart
-filled with happiness Madame de Belli&egrave;re ran to her
-carriage in the Avenue de Vincennes, and in a few minutes she was
-holding out her hand to Gourville, who was standing at the
-entrance, where, in order the better to please his master, he had
-stationed himself to watch her arrival.  She had not observed
-that Fouquet's black horse arrived at the same time, all steaming
-and foam-flaked, having returned to Saint-Mand&eacute; with
-P&eacute;lisson and the very jeweler to whom Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re had sold her plate and her jewels. 
-P&eacute;lisson introduced the goldsmith into the cabinet, which
-Fouquet had not yet left.  The superintendent thanked him for
-having been good enough to regard as a simple deposit in his
-hands, the valuable property which he had every right to sell;
-and he cast his eyes on the total of the account, which amounted
-to thirteen hundred thousand francs.  Then, going for a few
-moments to his desk, he wrote an order for fourteen hundred
-thousand francs, payable at sight, at his treasury, before twelve
-o'clock the next day.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A hundred thousand francs
-profit!" cried the goldsmith.  "Oh, monseigneur, what
-generosity!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, nay, not so,
-monsieur," said Fouquet, touching him on the shoulder; "there are
-certain kindnesses which can never be repaid.  This profit is
-only what you have earned; but the interest of your money still
-remains to be arranged."  And, saying this, he unfastened from
-his sleeve a diamond button, which the goldsmith himself had
-often valued at three thousand pistoles.  "Take this," he said to
-the goldsmith, "in remembrance of me.  Farewell; you are an
-honest man."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you, monseigneur,"
-cried the goldsmith, completely overcome, "are the noblest man
-that ever lived."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Fouquet let the worthy
-goldsmith pass out of the room by a secret door, and then went to
-receive Madame de Belli&egrave;re, who was already surrounded by
-all the guests.  The marquise was always beautiful, but now her
-loveliness was more dazzling than ever.  "Do you not think,
-gentlemen," said Fouquet, "that madame is more than usually
-beautiful this evening?  And do you happen to know why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because madame is really
-the most beautiful of all women," said some one present.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; but because she is the
-best.  And yet - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yet?" said the marquise,
-smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And yet, all the jewels
-which madame is wearing this evening are nothing but false
-stones."  At this remark the marquise blushed most painfully.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, oh!" exclaimed all the
-guests, "that can very well be said of one who has the finest
-diamonds in Paris."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well?" said Fouquet to
-P&eacute;lisson, in a low tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, at last I have
-understood you," returned the latter; "and you have done
-exceedingly well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Supper is ready,
-monseigneur," said Vatel, with majestic air and tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The crowd of guests hurried,
-more quickly than is usually the case with ministerial
-entertainments, towards the banqueting-room, where a magnificent
-spectacle presented itself.  Upon the buffets, upon the
-side-tables, upon the supper-table itself, in the midst of
-flowers and light, glittered most dazzlingly the richest and most
-costly gold and silver plate that could possibly be seen - relics
-of those ancient magnificent productions the Florentine artists,
-whom the Medici family patronized, sculptured, chased, and
-moulded for the purpose of holding flowers, at a time when gold
-existed still in France.  These hidden marvels, which had been
-buried during the civil wars, timidly reappeared during the
-intervals of that war of good taste called La Fronde; at a time
-when noblemen fighting against nobleman killed, but did not
-pillage each other.  All the plate present had Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re's arms engraved upon it.  "Look," cried La
-Fontaine, "here is a P and a B."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                But the most remarkable
-object present was the cover which Fouquet had assigned to the
-marquise.  Near her was a pyramid of diamonds, sapphires,
-emeralds, antique cameos, sardonyx stones, carved by the old
-Greeks of Asia Minor, with mountings of Mysian gold; curious
-mosaics of ancient Alexandria, set in silver; massive Egyptian
-bracelets lay heaped on a large plate of Palissy ware, supported
-by a tripod of gilt bronze, sculptured by Benvenuto Cellini.  The
-marquise turned pale, as she recognized what she had never
-expected to see again.  A profound silence fell on every one of
-the restless and excited guests.  Fouquet did not even make a
-sign in dismissal of the richly liveried servants who crowded
-like bees round the huge buffets and other tables in the room. 
-"Gentlemen," he said, "all this plate which you behold once
-belonged to Madame de Belli&egrave;re, who, having observed one
-of her friends in great distress, sent all this gold and silver,
-together with the heap of jewels now before her, to her
-goldsmith.  This noble conduct of a devoted friend can well be
-understood by such friends as you.  Happy indeed is that man who
-sees himself loved in such a manner.  Let us drink to the health
-of Madame de Belli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                A tremendous burst of
-applause followed his words, and made poor Madame de
-Belli&egrave;re sink back dumb and breathless in her seat.  "And
-then," added P&eacute;lisson, who was always affected by a noble
-action, as he was invariably impressed by beauty, "let us also
-drink to the health of him who inspired madame's noble conduct;
-for such a man is worthy of being worthily loved."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                It was now the marquise's
-turn.  She rose, pale and smiling; and as she held out her glass
-with a faltering hand, and her trembling fingers touched those of
-Fouquet, her look, full of love, found its mirror in that of her
-ardent and generous-hearted lover.  Begun in this manner, the
-supper soon became a <i>f&ecirc;te</i>; no one tried to be witty,
-but no one failed in being so.  La Fontaine forgot his Gorgny
-wine, and allowed Vatel to reconcile him to the wines of the
-Rh&ocirc;ne, and those from the shores of Spain.  The Abb&eacute;
-Fouquet became so kind and good-natured, that Gourville said to
-him, "Take care, monsieur l'abb&eacute;; if you are so tender,
-you will be carved and eaten."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The hours passed away so
-joyously, that, contrary to his usual custom, the superintendent
-did not leave the table before the end of the dessert.  He smiled
-upon his friends, delighted as a man is whose heart becomes
-intoxicated before his head - and, for the first time, looked at
-the clock.  Suddenly a carriage rolled into the courtyard, and,
-strange to say, it was heard high above the noise of the mirth
-which prevailed.  Fouquet listened attentively, and then turned
-his eyes towards the ante-chamber.  It seemed as if he could hear
-a step passing across it, a step that, instead of pressing the
-ground, weighed heavily upon his heart.  "M. d'Herblay, bishop of
-Vannes," the usher announced.  And Aramis's grave and thoughtful
-face appeared upon the threshold of the door, between the remains
-of two garlands, of which the flame of a lamp had just burnt the
-thread that once united them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>M.
-de Mazarin's Receipt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>F</span>ouquet would
-have uttered an exclamation of delight on seeing another friend
-arrive, if the cold air and averted aspect of Aramis had not
-restored all his reserve.  "Are you going to join us at dessert?"
-he asked.  "And yet you would be frightened, perhaps, at the
-noise which our wild friends here are making?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monseigneur," replied
-Aramis, respectfully, "I will begin by begging you to excuse me
-for having interrupted this merry meeting; and then, I will beg
-you to give me, as soon as your pleasure is attended to, a
-moment's audience on matters of business."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                As the word "business" had
-aroused the attention of some of the epicureans present, Fouquet
-rose, saying: "Business first of all, Monsieur d'Herblay; we are
-too happy when matters of business arrive only at the end of a
-meal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                As he said this, he took the
-hand of Madame de Belli&egrave;re, who looked at him with a kind
-of uneasiness, and then led her to an adjoining <i>salon</i>,
-after having recommended her to the most reasonable of his
-guests.  And then, taking Aramis by the arm, he led him towards
-his cabinet.  As soon as Aramis was there, throwing aside the
-respectful air he had assumed, he threw himself into a chair,
-saying: "Guess whom I have seen this evening?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear chevalier, every
-time you begin in that manner, I am sure to hear you announce
-something disagreeable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, and this time you
-will not be mistaken, either, my dear friend," replied
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do not keep me in
-suspense," added Fouquet, phlegmatically.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, I have seen
-Madame de Chevreuse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The old duchesse, do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes. "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Her ghost,
-perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no; the old
-she-wolf herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without
-teeth?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Possibly, but not
-without claws."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well! what harm
-can she meditate against me?  I am no miser with women who are
-not prudes.  A quality always prized, even by the woman who no
-longer presumes to look for love."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Madame de
-Chevreuse knows very well that you are not avaricious, since she
-wishes to draw some money of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed! under what
-pretext?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! pretexts are
-never wanting with <i>her</i>.  Let me tell you what it is: it
-seems that the duchesse has a good many letters of M. de
-Mazarin's in her possession."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am not surprised
-at that, for the prelate was gallant enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, but these
-letters have nothing whatever to do with the prelate's love
-affairs.  They concern, it is said, financial matters
-rather."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And accordingly
-they are less interesting."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you not suspect
-what I mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you never
-heard speak of a prosecution being instituted for an
-embezzlement, or appropriation rather, of public funds?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, a hundred,
-nay, a thousand times.  Ever since I have been engaged in public
-matters I have hardly heard of anything else.  It is precisely
-your own case, when, as a bishop, people reproach you for
-impiety; or, as a musketeer, for your cowardice; the very thing
-of which they are always accusing ministers of finance is the
-embezzlement of public funds."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; but
-take a particular instance, for the duchesse asserts that M. de
-Mazarin alludes to certain particular instances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What are
-they?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Something like a
-sum of thirteen millions of francs, of which it would be very
-difficult for you to define the precise nature of the
-employment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thirteen
-millions!" said the superintendent, stretching himself in his
-armchair, in order to enable him the more comfortably to look up
-towards the ceiling.  "Thirteen millions - I am trying to
-remember out of all those I have been accused of having
-stolen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not laugh, my
-dear monsieur, for it is very serious.  It is positive that the
-duchesse has certain letters in her possession, and that these
-letters must be as she represents them, since she wished to sell
-them to me for five hundred thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! one can have a
-very tolerable calumny got up for such a sum as that," replied
-Fouquet.  "Ah! now I know what you mean," and he began to laugh
-very heartily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So much the
-better," said Aramis, a little reassured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I remember the
-story of those thirteen millions now.  Yes, yes, I remember them
-quite well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am delighted to
-hear it; tell me about them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, one
-day Signor Mazarin, Heaven rest his soul! made a profit of
-thirteen millions upon a concession of lands in the Valtelline;
-he canceled them in the registry of receipts, sent them to me,
-and then made me advance them to him for war expenses."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good; then
-there is no doubt of their proper destination."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; the cardinal
-made me invest them in my own name, and gave me a receipt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have the
-receipt?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course," said
-Fouquet, as he quietly rose from his chair, and went to his large
-ebony bureau inlaid with mother-of-pearl and gold.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What I most admire
-in you," said Aramis, with an air of great satisfaction, "is,
-your memory in the first place, then your self-possession, and,
-finally, the perfect order which prevails in your administration;
-you, of all men, too, who are by nature a poet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Fouquet, "I am orderly out of a spirit of idleness, to save
-myself the trouble of looking after things, and so I know that
-Mazarin's receipt is in the third drawer under the letter M; I
-open the drawer, and place my hand upon the very paper I need. 
-In the night, without a light, I could find it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And with a
-confident hand he felt the bundle of papers which were piled up
-in the open drawer.  "Nay, more than that," he continued, "I
-remember the paper as if I saw it; it is thick, somewhat
-crumpled, with gilt edges; Mazarin had made a blot upon the
-figure of the date.  Ah!" he said, "the paper knows we are
-talking about it, and that we want it very much, and so it hides
-itself out of the way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And as the
-superintendent looked into the drawer, Aramis rose from his
-seat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This is very
-singular," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your memory is
-treacherous, my dear monseigneur; look in another drawer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet took out
-the bundle of papers, and turned them over once more; he then
-grew very pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Don't confine your
-search to that drawer," said Aramis; "look elsewhere."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite useless; I
-have never made a mistake; no one but myself arranges any papers
-of mine of this nature; no one but myself ever opens this drawer,
-of which, besides, no one, myself excepted, is aware of the
-secret."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you
-conclude, then?" said Aramis, agitated.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That Mazarin's
-receipt has been stolen from me; Madame de Chevreuse was right,
-chevalier; I have appropriated the public funds, I have robbed
-the state coffers of thirteen millions of money; I am a thief,
-Monsieur d'Herblay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, nay, do not
-get irritated - do not get excited."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And why not,
-chevalier? surely there is every reason for it.  If legal
-proceedings are well arranged, and a judgment given in accordance
-with them, your friend the superintendent will soon follow
-Montfau&ccedil;on, his colleague Enguerrand de Marigny, and his
-predecessor, Semblan&ccedil;ay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" said Aramis,
-smiling, "not so fast as that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And why not? why
-not so fast?  What do you suppose Madame de Chevreuse has done
-with those letters - for you refused them, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; at once.  I
-suppose that she went and sold them to M. Colbert."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I said I supposed
-so; I might have said I was sure of it, for I had her followed,
-and, when she left me, she returned to her own house, went out by
-a back door, and proceeded straight to the intendant's house in
-the Rue Croix des Petits-Champs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Legal proceedings
-will be instituted, then, scandal and dishonor will follow; and
-all will fall upon me like a thunderbolt, blindly,
-pitilessly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis approached
-Fouquet, who sat trembling in his chair, close to the open
-drawers; he placed his hand on his shoulder, and in an
-affectionate tone of voice, said: "Do not forget that the
-position of M. Fouquet can in no way be compared to that of
-Semblan&ccedil;ay or of Marigny."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And why not, in
-Heaven's name?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because the
-proceedings against those ministers were determined, completed,
-and the sentence carried out, whilst in your case the same thing
-cannot take place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Another blow, why
-not?  A peculator is, under any circumstances, a criminal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Criminals who know
-how to find a safe asylum are never in danger."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! make my
-escape?  Fly?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, I do not mean
-that; you forget that all such proceedings originate in the
-parliament, that they are instituted by the
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral, and that you are the
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral.  You see that, unless you wish
-to condemn yourself - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" cried
-Fouquet, suddenly, dashing his fist upon the table.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well! what? what
-is the matter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral no longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis, at this
-reply, became as livid as death; he pressed his hands together
-convulsively, and with a wild, haggard look, which almost
-annihilated Fouquet, he said, laying a stress on every distinct
-syllable, "You are procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral no longer, do
-you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since when?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since the last
-four or five hours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take care,"
-interrupted Aramis, coldly; "I do not think you are in the full
-possession of your senses, my friend; collect yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I tell you,"
-returned Fouquet, "that a little while ago, some one came to me,
-brought by my friends, to offer me fourteen hundred thousand
-francs for the appointment, and that I sold it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis looked as
-though he had been struck by lightning; the intelligent and
-mocking expression of his countenance assumed an aspect of such
-profound gloom and terror, that it had more effect upon the
-superintendent than all the exclamations and speeches in the
-world.  "You had need of money, then?" he said, at last.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; to discharge
-a debt of honor."  And in a few words, he gave Aramis an account
-of Madame de Belli&egrave;re's generosity, and the manner in
-which he had thought it but right to discharge that act of
-generosity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said Aramis,
-"that is, indeed, a fine trait.  What has it cost?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly the
-fourteen hundred thousand francs - the price of my
-appointment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Which you received
-in that manner, without reflection.  Oh, imprudent man!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have not yet
-received the amount, but I shall to-morrow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is not yet
-completed, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It must be carried
-out, though; for I have given the goldsmith, for twelve o'clock
-to-morrow, an order upon my treasury, into which the purchaser's
-money will be paid at six or seven o'clock."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Heaven be
-praised!" cried Aramis, clapping his hands together, "nothing is
-yet completed, since you have not yet been paid."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But the
-goldsmith?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You shall receive
-the fourteen hundred thousand francs from me, at a quarter before
-twelve."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Stay a moment; it
-is at six o'clock, this very morning, that I am to sign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!  I will answer
-that you do not sign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have given my
-word, chevalier."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If you have given
-it, you will take it back again, that is all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Can I believe what
-I hear?" cried Fouquet, in a most expressive tone.  "Fouquet
-recall his word, after it has once been pledged!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis replied to
-the almost stern look of the minister by a look full of anger. 
-"Monsieur," he said, "I believe I have deserved to be called a
-man of honor?  As a soldier, I have risked my life five hundred
-times; as a priest I have rendered still greater services, both
-to the state and to my friends.  The value of a word, once
-passed, is estimated according to the worth of the man who gives
-it.  So long as it is in his own keeping, it is of the purest,
-finest gold; when his wish to keep it has passed away, it is a
-two-edged sword.  With that word, therefore, he defends himself
-as with an honorable weapon, considering that, when he disregards
-his word, he endangers his life and incurs an amount of risk far
-greater than that which his adversary is likely to derive of
-profit.  In such a case, monsieur, he appeals to Heaven and to
-justice."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet bent down
-his head, as he replied, "I am a poor, self-determined man, a
-true Breton born; my mind admires and fears yours.  I do not say
-that I keep my word from a proper feeling only; I keep it, if you
-like, from custom, practice, pride, or what you will; but, at all
-events, the ordinary run of men are simple enough to admire this
-custom of mine; it is my sole good quality - leave me such honor
-as it confers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so you are
-determined to sign the sale of the very appointment which can
-alone defend you against all your enemies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I shall
-sign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will deliver
-yourself up, then, bound hand and foot, from a false notion of
-honor, which the most scrupulous casuists would disdain?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I shall sign,"
-repeated Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis sighed
-deeply, and looked all round him with the impatient gesture of a
-man who would gladly dash something to pieces, as a relief to his
-feelings.  "We have still one means left," he said; "and I trust
-you will not refuse me to make use of that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly not, if
-it be loyal and honorable; as everything is, in fact, which you
-propose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know nothing
-more loyal than the renunciation of your purchaser.  Is he a
-friend of yours?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly: but -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'But!' - if you
-allow me to manage the affair, I do not despair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! you shall be
-absolutely master to do what you please."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whom are you in
-treaty with?  What manner of man is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am not aware
-whether you know the parliament."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Most of its
-members.  One of the presidents, perhaps?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; only a
-counselor, of the name of Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis became
-perfectly purple.  "Vanel!" he cried, rising abruptly from his
-seat; "Vanel! the husband of Marguerite Vanel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of your former
-mistress?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, my dear
-fellow; she is anxious to be the wife of the
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral.  I certainly owed poor Vanel
-that slight concession, and I am a gainer by it; since I, at the
-same time, can confer a pleasure on his wife."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis walked
-straight up to Fouquet, and took hold of his hand.  "Do you
-know," he said, very calmly, "the name of Madame Vanel's new
-lover?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! she has a new
-lover, then?  I was not aware of it; no, I have no idea what his
-name is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"His name is M.
-Jean-Baptiste Colbert; he is intendant of the finances: he lives
-in the Rue Croix des Petits-Champs, where Madame de Chevreuse has
-been this evening to take him Mazarin's letters, which she wishes
-to sell."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Gracious Heaven!"
-murmured Fouquet, passing his hand across his forehead, from
-which the perspiration was starting.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You now begin to
-understand, do you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That I am utterly
-lost! - yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you now think
-it worth while to be so scrupulous with regard to keeping your
-word?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"These obstinate
-people always contrive matters in such a way, that one cannot but
-admire them all the while," murmured Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet held out
-his hand to him, and, at the very moment, a richly ornamented
-tortoise-shell clock, supported by golden figures, which was
-standing on a console table opposite to the fireplace, struck
-six.  The sound of a door being opened in the vestibule was
-heard, and Gourville came to the door of the cabinet to inquire
-if Fouquet would received M. Vanel.  Fouquet turned his eyes from
-the gaze of Aramis, and then desired that M. Vanel should be
-shown in.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter XLIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Monsieur Colbert's Rough Draft.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>V</span>anel, who
-entered at this stage of the conversation, was nothing less for
-Aramis and Fouquet than the full stop which completes a phrase. 
-But, for Vanel, Aramis's presence in Fouquet's cabinet had quite
-another signification; and, therefore, at his first step into the
-room, he paused as he looked at the delicate yet firm features of
-the bishop of Vannes, and his look of astonishment soon became
-one of scrutinizing attention.  As for Fouquet, a perfect
-politician, that is to say, complete master of himself, he had
-already, by the energy of his own resolute will, contrived to
-remove from his face all traces of the emotion which Aramis's
-revelation had occasioned.  He was no longer, therefore, a man
-overwhelmed by misfortune and reduced to resort to expedients; he
-held his head proudly erect, and indicated by a gesture that
-Vanel could enter.  He was now the first minister of the state,
-and in his own palace.  Aramis knew the superintendent well; the
-delicacy of the feelings of his heart and the exalted nature of
-his mind no longer surprised him.  He confined himself, then, for
-the moment - intending to resume later an active part in the
-conversation - to the performance of the difficult part of a man
-who looks on and listens, in order to learn and understand. 
-Vanel was visibly overcome, and advanced into the middle of the
-cabinet, bowing to everything and everybody.  "I am here," he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are punctual, Monsieur
-Vanel," returned Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In matters of business,
-monseigneur," replied Vanel, "I look upon exactitude as a
-virtue."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No doubt, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I beg your
-pardon," interrupted Aramis, indicating Vanel with his finger,
-but addressing himself to Fouquet; "this is the gentleman, I
-believe, who has come about the purchase of your
-appointment?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I am,"
-replied Vanel, astonished at the extremely haughty tone in which
-Aramis had put the question; "but in what way am I to address
-you, who do me the honor - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Call me
-monseigneur," replied Aramis, dryly.  Vanel bowed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, gentlemen, a
-truce to these ceremonies; let us proceed to the matter
-itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur sees,"
-said Vanel, "that I am waiting your pleasure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary, I
-am waiting," replied Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What for, may I be
-permitted to ask, monseigneur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I thought that you
-had perhaps something to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh," said Vanel to
-himself, "he has reflected on the matter and I am lost."  But
-resuming his courage, he continued, "No, monseigneur, nothing,
-absolutely nothing more than what I said to you yesterday, and
-which I am again ready to repeat to you now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, now, tell me
-frankly, Monsieur Vanel, is not the affair rather a burdensome
-one for you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly,
-monseigneur; fourteen hundred thousand francs is an important
-sum."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So important,
-indeed," said Fouquet, "that I have reflected - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have been
-reflecting, do you say, monseigneur?" exclaimed Vanel,
-anxiously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; that you
-might not yet be in a position to purchase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh,
-monseigneur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not make
-yourself uneasy on that score, Monsieur Vanel; I shall not blame
-you for a failure in your word, which evidently may arise from
-inability on your part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, yes,
-monseigneur, you would blame me, and you would be right in doing
-so," said Vanel; "for a man must either be very imprudent, or a
-fool, to undertake engagements which he cannot keep; and I, at
-least, have always regarded a thing agreed on as a thing actually
-carried out."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet colored,
-while Aramis uttered a "Hum!" of impatience.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You would be wrong
-to exaggerate such notions as those, monsieur," said the
-superintendent; "for a man's mind is variable, and full of these
-very excusable caprices, which are, however, sometimes estimable
-enough; and a man may have wished for something yesterday of
-which he repents to-day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel felt a cold
-sweat trickle down his face.  "Monseigneur!" he muttered.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis, who was
-delighted to find the superintendent carry on the debate with
-such clearness and precision, stood leaning his arm upon the
-marble top of a console table and began to play with a small gold
-knife, with a malachite handle.  Fouquet did not hasten to reply;
-but after a moment's pause, "Come, my dear Monsieur Vanel," he
-said, "I will explain to you how I am situated."  Vanel began to
-tremble.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yesterday I wished
-to sell - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur did
-more than wish to sell, he actually sold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, well, that
-may be so; but to-day I ask you the favor to restore me my word
-which I pledged you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I received your
-<i>word</i> as a satisfactory assurance that it would be
-kept."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I know that, and
-that is the reason why I now entreat you; do you understand me? 
-I entreat you to restore it to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet suddenly
-paused.  The words "I entreat you," the effect of which he did
-not immediately perceive, seemed almost to choke him as he
-uttered it.  Aramis, still playing with his knife, fixed a look
-upon Vanel which seemed as if he wished to penetrate the recesses
-of his heart.  Vanel simply bowed, as he said, "I am overcome,
-monseigneur, at the honor you do me to consult me upon a matter
-of business which is already completed; but - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, do not say
-<i>but</i>, dear Monsieur Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alas! monseigneur,
-you see," he said, as he opened a large pocket-book, "I have
-brought the money with me, - the whole sum, I mean.  And here,
-monseigneur, is the contract of sale which I have just effected
-of a property belonging to my wife.  The order is authentic in
-every particular, the necessary signatures have been attached to
-it, and it is made payable at sight; it is ready money, in fact,
-and, in one word, the whole affair is complete."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear Monsieur
-Vanel, there is not a matter of business in this world, however
-important it may be, which cannot be postponed in order to oblige
-a man, who, by that means, might and would be made a devoted
-friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly," said
-Vanel, awkwardly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And much more
-justly acquired would that friend become, Monsieur Vanel, since
-the value of the service he had received would have been so
-considerable.  Well, what do you say? what do you decide?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel preserved a
-perfect silence.  In the meantime, Aramis had continued his close
-observation of the man.  Vanel's narrow face, his deeply sunken
-eyes, his arched eyebrows, had revealed to the bishop of Vannes
-the type of an avaricious and ambitious character.  Aramis's
-method was to oppose one passion by another.  He saw that M.
-Fouquet was defeated - morally subdued - and so he came to his
-rescue with fresh weapons in his hands.  "Excuse me,
-monseigneur," he said; "you forgot to show M. Vanel that his own
-interests are diametrically opposed to this renunciation of the
-sale."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel looked at the
-bishop with astonishment; he had hardly expected to find an
-auxiliary in him.  Fouquet also paused to listen to the
-bishop.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you not see,"
-continued Aramis, "that M. Vanel, in order to purchase your
-appointment, has been obliged to sell a property belonging to his
-wife; well, that is no slight matter; for one cannot displace, as
-he has done, fourteen or fifteen hundred thousand francs without
-some considerable loss, and very serious inconvenience."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly true,"
-said Vanel, whose secret Aramis had, with keen-sighted gaze,
-wrung from the bottom of his heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Inconveniences
-such as these are matters of great expense and calculation, and
-whenever a man has money matters to deal with, the expenses are
-generally the very first thing thought of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes," said
-Fouquet, who began to understand Aramis's meaning.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel remained
-perfectly silent; he, too, had understood him.  Aramis observed
-his coldness of manner and his silence.  "Very good," he said to
-himself, "you are waiting, I see, until you know the amount; but
-do not fear, I shall send you such a flight of crowns that you
-cannot but capitulate on the spot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We must offer M.
-Vanel a hundred thousand crowns at once," said Fouquet, carried
-away by his generous feelings.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The sum was a good
-one.  A prince, even, would have been satisfied with such a
-bonus.  A hundred thousand crowns at that period was the dowry of
-a king's daughter.  Vanel, however, did not move.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He is a perfect
-rascal!" thought the bishop, "well, we must offer the five
-hundred thousand francs at once," and he made a sign to Fouquet
-accordingly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You seem to have
-spent more than that, dear Monsieur Vanel," said the
-superintendent.  "The price of ready money is enormous.  You must
-have made a great sacrifice in selling your wife's property. 
-Well, what can I have been thinking of?  I ought to have offered
-to sign you an order for five hundred thousand francs; and even
-in that case I shall feel that I am greatly indebted to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>There was not a
-gleam of delight or desire on Vanel's face, which remained
-perfectly impassible; not a muscle of it changed in the slightest
-degree.  Aramis cast a look almost of despair at Fouquet, and
-then, going straight up to Vanel and taking hold of him by the
-coat, in a familiar manner, he said, "Monsieur Vanel, it is
-neither the inconvenience, nor the displacement of your money,
-nor the sale of your wife's property even, that you are thinking
-of at this moment; it is something more important still.  I can
-well understand it; so pay particular attention to what I am
-going to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, monseigneur,"
-Vanel replied, beginning to tremble in every limb, as the
-prelate's eyes seemed almost ready to devour him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I offer you,
-therefore, in the superintendent's name, not three hundred
-thousand livres, nor five hundred thousand, but a million.  A
-million - do you understand me?" he added, as he shook him
-nervously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A million!"
-repeated Vanel, as pale as death.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A million; in
-other words, at the present rate of interest, an income of
-seventy thousand francs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, monsieur,"
-said Fouquet, "you can hardly refuse that.  Answer - do you
-accept?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Impossible,"
-murmured Vanel.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis bit his
-lips, and something like a cloud seemed to pass over his face. 
-The thunder behind this cloud could easily be imagined.  He still
-kept his hold on Vanel.  "You have purchased the appointment for
-fifteen hundred thousand francs, I think.  Well, you will receive
-these fifteen hundred thousand francs back again; by paying M.
-Fouquet a visit, and shaking hands with him on the bargain, you
-will have become a gainer of a million and a half.  You get honor
-and profit at the same time, Monsieur Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot do it,"
-said Vanel, hoarsely.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well,"
-replied Aramis, who had grasped Vanel so tightly by the coat
-that, when he let go his hold, Vanel staggered back a few paces,
-"very well; one can now see clearly enough your object in coming
-here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," said
-Fouquet, "one can easily see that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But - " said
-Vanel, attempting to stand erect before the weakness of these two
-men of honor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Does the fellow
-presume to speak?" said Aramis, with the tone of an emperor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Fellow!" repeated
-Vanel.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The scoundrel, I
-meant to say," added Aramis, who had now resumed his usual
-self-possession.  "Come, monsieur, produce your deed of sale, -
-you have it about you, I suppose, in one of your pockets, already
-prepared, as an assassin holds his pistol or his dagger concealed
-under his cloak.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel began to
-mutter something.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Enough!" cried
-Fouquet.  "Where is this deed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel tremblingly
-searched in his pockets, and as he drew out his pocket-book, a
-paper fell out of it, while Vanel offered the other to Fouquet. 
-Aramis pounced upon the paper which had fallen out, as soon as he
-recognized the handwriting.  "I beg your pardon," said Vanel,
-"that is a rough draft of the deed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I see that very
-clearly," retorted Aramis, with a smile more cutting than a lash
-of a whip; "and what I admire most is, that this draft is in M.
-Colbert's handwriting.  Look, monseigneur, look."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And he handed the
-draft to Fouquet, who recognized the truth of the fact; for,
-covered with erasures, with inserted words, the margins filled
-with additions, this deed - a living proof of Colbert's plot -
-had just revealed everything to its unhappy victim.  "Well!"
-murmured Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Vanel, completely
-humiliated, seemed as if he were looking for some hole wherein to
-hide himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well!" said
-Aramis, "if your name were not Fouquet, and if your enemy's name
-were not Colbert - if you had not this mean thief before you, I
-should say to you, 'Repudiate it;' such a proof as this absolves
-you from your word; but these fellows would think you were
-afraid; they would fear you less than they do; therefore sign the
-deed at once."  And he held out a pen towards him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet pressed
-Aramis's hand; but, instead of the deed which Vanel handed to
-him, he took the rough draft of it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, not that
-paper," said Aramis, hastily; "this is the one.  The other is too
-precious a document for you to part with."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no!" replied
-Fouquet; "I will sign under M. Colbert's own handwriting even;
-and I write, 'The handwriting is approved of.'"  He then signed,
-and said, "Here it is, Monsieur Vanel."  And the latter seized
-the paper, dashed down the money, and was about to make his
-escape.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"One moment," said
-Aramis.  "Are you quite sure the exact amount is there?  It ought
-to be counted over, Monsieur Vanel; particularly since M. Colbert
-makes presents of money to ladies, I see.  Ah, that worthy M.
-Colbert is not so generous as M. Fouquet."  And Aramis, spelling
-every word, every letter of the order to pay, distilled his wrath
-and his contempt, drop by drop, upon the miserable wretch, who
-had to submit to this torture for a quarter of an hour.  He was
-then dismissed, not in words, but by a gesture, as one dismisses
-or discharges a beggar or a menial.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As soon as Vanel
-had gone, the minister and the prelate, their eyes fixed on each
-other, remained silent for a few moments.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well," said
-Aramis, the first to break the silence; "to what can that man be
-compared, who, at the very moment he is on the point of entering
-into a conflict with an enemy armed from head to foot, panting
-for his life, presents himself for the contest utterly
-defenseless, throws down his arms, and smiles and kisses his
-hands to his adversary in the most gracious manner?  Good faith,
-M. Fouquet, is a weapon which scoundrels frequently make use of
-against men of honor, and it answers their purpose.  Men of
-honor, ought, in their turn, also, to make use of dishonest means
-against such scoundrels.  You would soon see how strong they
-would become, without ceasing to be men of honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What they did
-would be termed the acts of a scoundrel," replied Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Far from that; it
-would be merely coquetting or playing with the truth.  At all
-events, since you have finished with this Vanel; since you have
-deprived yourself of the happiness of confounding him by
-repudiating your word; and since you have given up, for the
-purpose of being used against yourself, the only weapon which can
-ruin you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear friend,"
-said Fouquet, mournfully, "you are like the teacher of philosophy
-whom La Fontaine was telling us about the other day; he saw a
-child drowning, and began to read him a lecture divided into
-three heads."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis smiled as he
-said, "Philosophy - yes; teacher - yes; a drowning child - yes;
-but a child can be saved - you shall see.  But first of all let
-us talk about business.  Did you not some time ago," he
-continued, as Fouquet looked at him with a bewildered air, "speak
-to me about an idea you had of giving a <i>f&ecirc;te</i> at
-Vaux?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" said Fouquet,
-"that was when affairs were flourishing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A
-<i>f&ecirc;te</i>, I believe, to which the king invited himself
-of his own accord?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no, my dear
-prelate; a <i>f&ecirc;te</i> to which M. Colbert advised the king
-to invite himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah - exactly; as
-it would be a <i>f&ecirc;te</i> of so costly a character that you
-would be ruined in giving it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely so.  In
-happier days, as I said just now, I had a kind of pride in
-showing my enemies how inexhaustible my resources were; I felt it
-a point of honor to strike them with amazement, by creating
-millions under circumstances where they imagined nothing but
-bankruptcies and failures would follow.  But, at present, I am
-arranging my accounts with the state, with the king, with myself;
-and I must now become a mean, stingy man; I shall be able to
-prove to the world that I can act or operate with my deniers as I
-used to do with my bags of pistoles, and from to-morrow my
-equipages shall be sold, my mansions mortgaged, my expenses
-curtailed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"From to-morrow,"
-interrupted Aramis, quietly, "you will occupy yourself, without
-the slightest delay, with your <i>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux, which
-must hereafter be spoken of as one of the most magnificent
-productions of your most prosperous days."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are you mad, Chevalier
-d'Herblay?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I! do you think so?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean, then?  Do
-you not know that a <i>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux, one of the very
-simplest possible character, would cost four or five
-millions?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not speak of a
-<i>f&ecirc;te</i> of the very simplest possible character, my
-dear superintendent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But, since the
-<i>f&ecirc;te</i> is to be given to the king," replied Fouquet,
-who misunderstood Aramis's idea, "it cannot be simple."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Just so: it ought to be on
-a scale of the most unbounded magnificence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, I shall have
-to spend ten or twelve millions."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You shall spend
-twenty, if you require it," said Aramis, in a perfectly calm
-voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where shall I get
-them?" exclaimed Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is my affair,
-monsieur le surintendant; and do not be uneasy for a moment about
-it.  The money shall be placed at once at your disposal, the
-moment you have arranged the plans of your
-<i>f&ecirc;te</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Chevalier!
-chevalier!" said Fouquet, giddy with amazement, "whither are you
-hurrying me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Across the gulf
-into which you were about to fall," replied the bishop of
-Vannes.  "Take hold of my cloak, and throw fear aside."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why did you not
-tell me that sooner, Aramis?  There was a day when, with one
-million only, you could have saved me; whilst to-day - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whilst to-day I
-can give you twenty," said the prelate.  "Such is the case,
-however - the reason is very simple.  On the day you speak of, I
-had not the million which you had need of at my disposal, whilst
-now I can easily procure the twenty millions we require."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"May Heaven hear
-you, and save me!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis resumed his
-usual smile, the expression of which was so singular.  "Heaven
-never fails to hear me," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I abandon myself
-to your unreservedly," Fouquet murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no; I do not
-understand it in that manner.  I am unreservedly devoted to you. 
-Therefore, as you have the clearest, the most delicate, and the
-most ingenious mind of the two, you shall have entire control
-over the <i>f&ecirc;te</i>, even to the very smallest details. 
-Only - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Only?" said
-Fouquet, as a man accustomed to understand and appreciate the
-value of a parenthesis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then,
-leaving the entire invention of the details to you, I shall
-reserve to myself a general superintendence over the
-execution."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I mean, that you
-will make of me, on that day, a major-domo, a sort of
-inspector-general, or factotum - something between a captain of
-the guard and manager or steward.  I will look after the people,
-and will keep the keys of the doors.  You will give your orders,
-of course: but will give them to no one but me.  They will pass
-through my lips, to reach those for whom they are intended - you
-understand?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, I am very far
-from understanding."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But you
-agree?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course, of
-course, my friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is all I care
-about, then.  Thanks; and now go and prepare your list of
-invitations."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Whom shall I
-invite?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Everybody you
-know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter L:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>In
-Which the Author Thinks It Is High Time to Return to the Vicomte
-de Bragelonne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>O</span>ur readers
-will have observed in this story, the adventures of the new and
-of the past generation being detailed, as it were, side by side. 
-He will have noticed in the former, the reflection of the glory
-of earlier years, the experience of the bitter things of this
-world; in the former, also, that peace which takes possession of
-the heart, and that healing of the scars which were formerly deep
-and painful wounds.  In the latter, the conflicts of love and
-vanity; bitter disappointments, ineffable delights; life instead
-of memory.  If, therefore, any variety has been presented to the
-reader in the different episodes of this tale, it is to be
-attributed to the numerous shades of color which are presented on
-this double tablet, where two pictures are seen side by side,
-mingling and harmonizing their severe and pleasing tones.  The
-repose of the emotions of one is found in harmonious contrast
-with the fiery sentiments of the other.  After having talked
-reason with older heads, one loves to talk nonsense with youth. 
-Therefore, if the threads of the story do not seem very
-intimately to connect the chapter we are now writing with the one
-we have just written, we do not intend to give ourselves any more
-thought or trouble about it than Ruysda&euml;l took in painting
-an autumn sky, after having finished a spring-time scene.  We
-accordingly resume Raoul de Bragelonne's story at the very place
-where our last sketch left him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                In a state of frenzy and
-dismay, or rather without power or will of his own, - hardly
-knowing what he was doing, - he fled swiftly, after the scene in
-La Valli&egrave;re's chamber, that strange exclusion, Louise's
-grief, Montalais's terror, the king's wrath - all seemed to
-indicate some misfortune.  But what?  He had arrived from London
-because he had been told of the existence of a danger; and almost
-on his arrival this appearance of danger was manifest.  Was not
-this sufficient for a lover?  Certainly it was, but it was
-insufficient for a pure and upright heart such as his.  And yet
-Raoul did not seek for explanations in the very quarter where
-more jealous or less timid lovers would have done.  He did not go
-straightaway to his mistress, and say, "Louise, is it true that
-you love me no longer?  Is it true that you love another?"  Full
-of courage, full of friendship as he was full of love; a
-religious observer of his word, and believing blindly the word of
-others, Raoul said within himself, "Guiche wrote to put me on my
-guard, Guiche knows something; I will go and ask Guiche what he
-knows, and tell him what I have seen."  The journey was not a
-long one.  Guiche, who had been brought from Fontainebleau to
-Paris within the last two days, was beginning to recover from his
-wounds, and to walk about a little in his room.  He uttered a cry
-of joy as he saw Raoul, with the eagerness of friendship, enter
-the apartment.  Raoul was unable to refrain from a cry of grief,
-when he saw De Guiche, so pale, so thin, so melancholy.  A very
-few words, and a simple gesture which De Guiche made to put aside
-Raoul's arm, were sufficient to inform the latter of the
-truth.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! so it is," said Raoul,
-seating himself beside his friend; "one loves and dies."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, no, not dies," replied
-Guiche, smiling, "since I am now recovering, and since, too, I
-can press you in my arms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!  I understand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I understand you, too. 
-You fancy I am unhappy, Raoul?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; I am the happiest of
-men.  My body suffers, but not my mind or my heart.  If you only
-knew - Oh!  I am, indeed, the very happiest of men."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So much the better," said
-Raoul; "so much the better, provided it lasts."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is over.  I have had
-enough happiness to last me to my dying day, Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have no doubt you have
-had; but she - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Listen; I love her, because
-- but you are not listening to me."  </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I beg your
-pardon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your mind is
-preoccupied."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, your health, in the
-first place - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is not that, I
-know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear friend, you would
-be wrong.  I think, to ask me any questions - <i>you</i> of all
-persons in the world;" and he laid so much weight upon the "you,"
-that he completely enlightened his friend upon the nature of the
-evil, and the difficulty of remedying it.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You say that, Raoul, on
-account of what I wrote to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Certainly.  We will talk
-over that matter a little, when you have finished telling me of
-all your own pleasures and your pains."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear friend, I am
-entirely at your service."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Thank you; I have hurried,
-I have flown here; I came in half the time the government
-couriers usually take.  Now, tell me, my dear friend, what did
-you want?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing whatever, but to
-make you come."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, I am here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "All is quite right,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There must have been
-something else, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "De Guiche!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon my honor!"<br>
-                "You cannot possibly have crushed all my hopes so
-violently, or have exposed me to being disgraced by the king for
-my return, which is in disobedience of his orders - you cannot, I
-say, have planted jealousy in my heart, merely to say to me, 'It
-is all right, be perfectly easy.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not say to you, Raoul,
-'Be perfectly easy;' but pray understand me; I never will, nor
-can I, indeed, tell you anything else."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What sort of person do you
-take me for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If you know anything, why
-conceal it from me?  If you do not know anything, why did you
-write so warningly?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "True, true, I was very
-wrong, and I regret having done so, Raoul.  It seems nothing to
-write to a friend and say 'Come;' but to have this friend face to
-face, to feel him tremble, and breathlessly and anxiously wait to
-hear what one hardly dare tell him, is very difficult."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Dare!  I have courage
-enough, if you have not," exclaimed Raoul, in despair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "See how unjust you are, and
-how soon you forget you have to do with a poor wounded fellow
-such as your unhappy friend is.  So, calm yourself, Raoul.  I
-said to you, 'Come' - you are here, so ask me nothing
-further."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your object in telling me
-to come was your hope that I should see with my own eyes, was it
-not?  Nay, do not hesitate, for I have seen all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" exclaimed De
-Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Or at least I thought -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There, now, you see you are
-not sure.  But if you have any doubt, my poor friend, what
-remains for me to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I saw Louise much agitated
-- Montalais in a state of bewilderment - the king - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes.  You turn your head
-aside.  The danger is there, the evil is there; tell me, is it
-not so, is it not the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I say nothing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! you say a thousand
-times more than nothing.  Give me facts, for pity's sake, give me
-proofs.  My friend, the only friend I have, speak - tell me all. 
-My heart is crushed, wounded to death; I am dying from
-despair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If that really be so, as I
-see it is, indeed, dear Raoul," replied De Guiche, "you relieve
-me from my difficulty, and I will tell you all, perfectly sure
-that I can tell you nothing but what is consoling, compared to
-the despair from which I see you suffering."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Go on, - go on; I am
-listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then, I can only tell
-you what you might learn from every one you meet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "From every one, do you
-say?  It is talked about, then!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Before you say people talk
-about it, learn what it is that people have to talk about.  I
-assure you solemnly, that people only talk about what may, in
-truth, be very innocent; perhaps a walk - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! a walk with the
-king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, certainly, a walk with
-the king; and I believe the king has already very frequently
-before taken walks with ladies, without on that account - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You would not have written
-to me, shall I say again, if there had been nothing unusual in
-this promenade."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know that while the storm
-lasted, it would have been far better if the king had taken
-shelter somewhere else, than to have remained with his head
-uncovered before La Valli&egrave;re; but the king is so very
-courteous and polite."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  De Guiche, De Guiche,
-you are killing me!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do not let us talk any
-more, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, let us continue.  This
-walk was followed by others, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No - I mean yes: there was
-the adventure of the oak, I think.  But I know nothing about the
-matter at all."  Raoul rose; De Guiche endeavored to imitate him,
-notwithstanding his weakness.  "Well, I will not add another
-word: I have said either too much or not enough.  Let others give
-you further information if they will, or if they can; my duty was
-to warn you, and <i>that</i> I have done.  Watch over your own
-affairs now, yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Question others!  Alas! you
-are no true friend to speak to me in that manner," said the young
-man, in utter distress.  "The first man I meet may be either
-evilly disposed or a fool, - if the former, he will tell me a lie
-to make me suffer more than I do now; if the latter, he will do
-worse still.  Ah!  De Guiche, De Guiche, before two hours are
-over, I shall have been told ten falsehoods, and shall have as
-many duels on my hands.  Save me, then; is it not best to know
-the worst always?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But I know nothing, I tell
-you; I was wounded, attacked by fever: out of my senses; and I
-have only a very faint recollection of it all.  But there is on
-reason why we should search very far, when the very man we want
-is close at hand.  Is not D'Artagnan your friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! true, true!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Got to him, then.  He will
-be able to throw sufficient light upon the subject."  At this
-moment a lackey entered the room.  "What is it?" said De
-Guiche.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Some one is waiting for
-monseigneur in the Cabinet des Porcelaines."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well.  Will you excuse
-me, my dear Raoul?  I am so proud since I have been able to walk
-again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I would offer you my arm,
-De Guiche, if I did not guess that the person in question is a
-lady."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe so," said De
-Guiche, smiling as he quitted Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul remained motionless,
-absorbed in grief, overwhelmed, like the miner upon whom a vault
-has just fallen in, who, wounded, his life-blood welling fast,
-his thoughts confused, endeavors to recover himself, to save his
-life and to retain his reason.  A few minutes were all Raoul
-needed to dissipate the bewildering sensations occasioned by
-these two revelations.  He had already recovered the thread of
-his ideas, when, suddenly, through the door, he fancied he
-recognized Montalais's voice in the Cabinet des Porcelaines. 
-"She!" he cried.  "Yes, it is indeed her voice!  She will be able
-to tell me the whole truth; but shall I question her here?  She
-conceals herself even from me; she is coming, no doubt, from
-Madame.  I will see her in her own apartment.  She will explain
-her alarm, her flight, the strange manner in which I was driven
-out; she will tell me all that - after M. d'Artagnan, who knows
-everything, shall have given me a fresh strength and courage. 
-Madame, a coquette I fear, and yet a coquette who is herself in
-love, has her moments of kindness; a coquette who is as
-capricious and uncertain as life or death, but who tells De
-Guiche that he is the happiest of men.  He at least is lying on
-roses."  And so he hastily quitted the comte's apartments,
-reproaching himself as he went for having talked of nothing but
-his own affairs to De Guiche, and soon reached D'Artagnan's
-quarters.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Bragelonne Continues His Inquiries.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he captain,
-sitting buried in his leathern armchair, his spurs fixed in the
-floor, his sword between his legs, was reading a number of
-letters, as he twisted his mustache.  D'Artagnan uttered a
-welcome full of pleasure when he perceived his friend's son. 
-"Raoul, my boy, " he said, "by what lucky accident does it happen
-that the king has recalled you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                These words did not sound
-agreeably in the young man's ears, who, as he seated himself,
-replied, "Upon my word I cannot tell you; all that I know is - I
-have come back."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Hum!" said D'Artagnan,
-folding up his letters and directing a look full of meaning at
-him; "what do you say, my boy? that the king has not recalled
-you, and you have returned?  I do not understand that at
-all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul was already pale
-enough; and he now began to turn his hat round and round in his
-hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What the deuce is the
-matter that you look as you do, and what makes you so dumb?" said
-the captain.  "Do people nowadays assume that sort of airs in
-England?  I have been in England, and came here again as lively
-as a chaffinch.  Will you not say something?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have too much to
-say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! how is your
-father?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Forgive me, my dear friend,
-I was going to ask you that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan increased the
-sharpness of his penetrating gaze, which no secret was capable of
-resisting.  "You are unhappy about something," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am, indeed; and you know
-the reason very well, Monsieur d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?"<br>
-                "Of course.  Nay, do not pretend to be
-astonished."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am not pretending to be
-astonished, my friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Dear captain, I know very
-well that in all trials of <i>finesse</i>, as well as in all
-trials of strength, I shall be beaten by you.  You can see that
-at the present moment I am an idiot, an absolute noodle.  I have
-neither head nor arm; do not despise, but help me.  In two words,
-I am the most wretched of living beings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, oh! why that?" inquired
-D'Artagnan, unbuckling his belt and thawing the asperity of his
-smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re is deceiving me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "She is deceiving you," said
-D'Artagnan, not a muscle of whose face had moved; "those are big
-words.  Who makes use of them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Every one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! if every one says so,
-there must be some truth in it.  I begin to believe there is fire
-when I see smoke.  It is ridiculous, perhaps, but it is so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Therefore you <i>do</i>
-believe me?" exclaimed Bragelonne, quickly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I never mix myself up in
-affairs of that kind; you know that very well."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What! not for a friend, for
-a son!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exactly.  If you were a
-stranger, I should tell you - I will tell <i>you</i> nothing at
-all.  How is Porthos, do you know?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur," cried Raoul,
-pressing D'Artagnan's hand, "I entreat you in the name of the
-friendship you vowed my father!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The deuce take it, you are
-really ill - from curiosity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, it is not from
-curiosity, it is from love."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good.  Another big word. 
-If you were really in love, my dear Raoul, you would be very
-different."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I mean that if you were
-really so deeply in love that I could believe I was addressing
-myself to your heart - but it is impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I tell you I love Louise to
-distraction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan could read to the
-very bottom of the young man's heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Impossible, I tell you," he
-said.  "You are like all young men; you are not in love, you are
-out of your senses."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well! suppose it were only
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No sensible man ever
-succeeded in making much of a brain when the head was turned.  I
-have completely lost my senses in the same way a hundred times in
-my life.  You would listen to me, but you would not hear me! you
-would hear, but you would not understand me; you would
-understand, but you would not obey me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! try, try."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I go far.  Even if I were
-unfortunate enough to know something, and foolish enough to
-communicate it to you - You are my friend, you say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Indeed, yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good.  I should
-quarrel with you.  You would never forgive me for having
-destroyed your illusion, as people say in love affairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur d'Artagnan, you
-know all; and yet you plunge me in perplexity and despair, in
-death itself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There, there now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I never complain, as you
-know; but as Heaven and my father would never forgive me for
-blowing out my brains, I will go and get the first person I meet
-to give me the information which you withhold; I will tell him he
-lies, and - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you would kill him. 
-And a fine affair that would be.  So much the better.  What
-should I care?  Kill any one you please, my boy, if it gives you
-any pleasure.  It is exactly like a man with a toothache, who
-keeps on saying, "Oh! what torture I am suffering.  I could bite
-a piece of iron in half.'  My answer always is, 'Bite, my friend,
-bite; the tooth will remain all the same.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I shall not kill any one,
-monsieur," said Raoul, gloomily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes! you now assume a
-different tone: instead of killing, you will get killed yourself,
-I suppose you mean?  Very fine, indeed!  How much I should regret
-you!  Of course I should go about all day, saying, 'Ah! what a
-fine stupid fellow that Bragelonne was! as great a stupid as I
-ever met with.  I have passed my whole life almost in teaching
-him how to hold and use his sword properly, and the silly fellow
-has got himself spitted like a lark.'  Go, then, Raoul, go and
-get yourself disposed of, if you like.  I hardly know who can
-have taught you logic, but deuce take me if your father has not
-been regularly robbed of his money."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul buried his face in his
-hands, murmuring: "No, no; I have not a single friend in the
-world."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! bah!" said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I meet with nothing but
-raillery or indifference."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Idle fancies, monsieur.  I
-do not laugh at you, although I am a Gascon.  And, as for being
-indifferent, if I were so, I should have sent you about your
-business a quarter of an hour ago, for you would make a man who
-was out of his senses with delight as dull as possible, and would
-be the death of one who was out of spirits.  How now, young man!
-do you wish me to disgust you with the girl you are attached to,
-and to teach you to execrate the whole sex who constitute the
-honor and happiness of human life?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! tell me, monsieur, and
-I will bless you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you think, my dear
-fellow, that I can have crammed into my brain all about the
-carpenter, and the painter, and the staircase, and a hundred
-other similar tales of the same kind?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A carpenter! what do you
-mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon my word I don't know;
-some one told me there was a carpenter who made an opening
-through a certain flooring."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In La Valli&egrave;re's
-room!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  I don't know
-where."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the king's apartment,
-perhaps?"<br>
-                "Of course, if it were in the king's apartment, I
-should tell you, I suppose."<br>
-                "In whose room, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have told you for the
-last hour that I know nothing of the whole affair."<br>
-                "But the painter, then? the portrait - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It seems that the king
-wished to have the portrait of one of the ladies belonging to the
-court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "La Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, you seem to have only
-that name in your mouth.  Who spoke to you of La
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If it be not her portrait,
-then, why do you suppose it would concern me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not suppose it will
-concern you.  But you ask me all sorts of questions, and I answer
-you.  You positively will learn all the scandal of the affair,
-and I tell you - make the best you can of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul struck his forehead
-with his hand in utter despair.  "It will kill me!" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So you have said
-already."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, you are right," and he
-made a step or two, as if he were going to leave.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where are you going?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To look for some one who
-will tell me the truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A woman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re herself, I suppose you mean?" said D'Artagnan,
-with a smile.  "Ah! a famous idea that!  You wish to be consoled
-by some one, and you will be so at once.  She will tell you
-nothing ill of herself, of course.  So be off."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are mistaken,
-monsieur," replied Raoul; "the woman I mean will tell me all the
-evil she possibly can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You allude to Montalais, I
-suppose - her friend; a woman who, on that account, will
-exaggerate all that is either bad or good in the matter.  Do not
-talk to Montalais, my good fellow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have some reasons for
-wishing me not to talk with Montalais?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, I admit it.  And, in
-point of fact, why should I play with you as a cat does with a
-poor mouse?  You distress me, you do, indeed.  And if I wish you
-not to speak to Montalais just now, it is because you will be
-betraying your secret, and people will take advantage of it. 
-Wait, if you can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I cannot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So much the worse.  Why,
-you see, Raoul, if I had an idea, - but I have not got one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Promise me that you will
-pity me, my friend, that is all I need, and leave me to get out
-of the affair by myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! yes, indeed, in order
-that you may get deeper into the mire!  A capital idea, truly! go
-and sit down at that table and take a pen in your hand."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What for?"<br>
-                "To write and ask Montalais to give you an
-interview."<br>
-                "Ah!" said Raoul, snatching eagerly at the pen
-which the captain held out to him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Suddenly the door opened,
-and one of the musketeers, approaching D'Artagnan, said,
-"Captain, Mademoiselle de Montalais is here, and wishes to speak
-to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To me?" murmured
-D'Artagnan.  "Ask her to come in; I shall soon see," he said to
-himself, "whether she wishes to speak to me or not."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The cunning captain was
-quite right in his suspicions; for as soon as Montalais entered
-she exclaimed, "Oh, monsieur! monsieur!  I beg your pardon,
-Monsieur d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!  I forgive you,
-mademoiselle," said D'Artagnan; "I know that, at my age, those
-who are looking for me generally need me for something or
-another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I was looking for M. de
-Bragelonne," replied Montalais.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How very fortunate that is;
-he was looking for you, too.  Raoul, will you accompany
-Mademoiselle de Montalais?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Go along, then," he said,
-as he gently pushed Raoul out of the cabinet; and then, taking
-hold of Montalais's hand, he said, in a low voice, "Be kind
-towards him; spare him, and spare her, too, if you can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" she said, in the same
-tone of voice, "it is not I who am going to speak to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who, then?"<br>
-                "It is Madame who has sent for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good," cried
-D'Artagnan, "it is Madame, is it?  In an hour's time, then, the
-poor fellow will be cured."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Or else dead," said
-Montalais, in a voice full of compassion.  "Adieu, Monsieur
-d'Artagnan," she said; and she ran to join Raoul, who was waiting
-for her at a little distance from the door, very much puzzled and
-thoroughly uneasy at the dialogue, which promised no good augury
-for him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>Two
-Jealousies.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>L</span>overs are
-tender towards everything that forms part of the daily life of
-the object of their affection.  Raoul no sooner found himself
-alone with Montalais, than he kissed her hand with rapture. 
-"There, there," said the young girl, sadly, "you are throwing
-your kisses away; I will guarantee that they will not bring you
-back any interest."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How so? - Why? - Will you
-explain to me, my dear Aure?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame will explain
-everything to you.  I am going to take you to her apartments.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>What!</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Silence! and throw away
-your dark and savage looks.  The windows here have eyes, the
-walls have ears.  Have the kindness not to look at me any longer;
-be good enough to speak to me aloud of the rain, of the fine
-weather, and of the charms of England."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At all events - "
-interrupted Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I tell you, I warn you,
-that wherever people may be, I know not how, Madame is sure to
-have eyes and ears open.  I am not very desirous, you can easily
-believe, of being dismissed or thrown in to the Bastile.  Let us
-talk, I tell you, or rather, do not let us talk at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul clenched his hands,
-and tried to assume the look and gait of a man of courage, it is
-true, but of a man of courage on his way to the torture chamber. 
-Montalais, glancing in every direction, walking along with an
-easy swinging gait, and holding up her head pertly in the air,
-preceded him to Madame's apartments, where he was at once
-introduced.  "Well," he thought, "this day will pass away without
-my learning anything.  Guiche showed too much consideration for
-my feelings; he had no doubt come to an understanding with
-Madame, and both of them, by a friendly plot, agreed to postpone
-the solution of the problem.  Why have I not a determined,
-inveterate enemy - that serpent, De Wardes, for instance; that he
-would bite, is very likely; but I should not hesitate any more. 
-To hesitate, to doubt - better, far, to die."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The next moment Raoul was in
-Madame's presence.  Henrietta, more charming than ever, was half
-lying, half reclining in her armchair, her small feet upon an
-embroidered velvet cushion; she was playing with a kitten with
-long silky fur, which was biting her fingers and hanging by the
-lace of her collar.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame seemed plunged in
-deep thought, so deep, indeed, that it required both Montalais
-and Raoul's voice to disturb her from her reverie.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your highness sent for me?"
-repeated Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame shook her head as if
-she were just awakening, and then said, "Good morning, Monsieur
-de Bragelonne; yes, I sent for you; so you have returned from
-England?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame, and am at your
-royal highness's commands."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Thank you; leave us,
-Montalais," and the latter immediately left the room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have a few minutes to
-give me, Monsieur de Bragelonne, have you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My life is at your royal
-highness's disposal," Raoul returned with respect, guessing that
-there was something serious in these unusual courtesies; nor was
-he displeased, indeed, to observe the seriousness of her manner,
-feeling persuaded that there was some sort of affinity between
-Madame's sentiments and his own.  In fact, every one at court, of
-any perception at all, knew perfectly well the capricious fancy
-and absurd despotism of the princess's singular character. 
-Madame had been flattered beyond all bounds by the king's
-attention; she had made herself talked about; she had inspired
-the queen with that mortal jealousy which is the stinging
-scorpion at the heel of every woman's happiness; Madame, in a
-word, in her attempts to cure a wounded pride, found that her
-heart had become deeply and passionately attached.  We know what
-Madame had done to recall Raoul, who had been sent out of the way
-by Louis XIV.  Raoul did not know of her letter to Charles II.,
-although D'Artagnan had guessed its contents.  Who will undertake
-to account for that seemingly inexplicable mixture of love and
-vanity, that passionate tenderness of feeling, that prodigious
-duplicity of conduct?  No one can, indeed; not even the bad angel
-who kindles the love of coquetry in the heart of a woman. 
-"Monsieur de Bragelonne," said the princess, after a moment's
-pause, "have you returned satisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Bragelonne looked at Madame
-Henrietta, and seeing how pale she was, not alone from what she
-was keeping back, but also from what she was burning to say,
-said: "Satisfied! what is there for me to be satisfied or
-dissatisfied about, Madame?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But what are those things
-with which a man of your age, and of your appearance, is usually
-either satisfied or dissatisfied?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How eager she is," thought
-Raoul, almost terrified; "what venom is it she is going to distil
-into my heart?" and then, frightened at what she might possibly
-be going to tell him, and wishing to put off the opportunity of
-having everything explained, which he had hitherto so ardently
-wished for, yet had dreaded so much, he replied: "I left, Madame,
-a dear friend in good health, and on my return I find him very
-ill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You refer to M. de Guiche,"
-replied Madame Henrietta, with imperturbable self-possession; "I
-<i>have</i> heard he is a very dear friend of yours."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He is, indeed, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, it is quite true he
-has been wounded; but he is better now.  Oh!  M. de Guiche is not
-to be pitied," she said hurriedly; and then, recovering herself,
-added, "But has he anything to complain of?  Has he complained of
-anything?  Is there any cause of grief or sorrow that we are not
-acquainted with?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I allude only to his wound,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So much the better, then,
-for, in other respects, M. de Guiche seems to be very happy; he
-is always in very high spirits.  I am sure that you, Monsieur de
-Bragelonne, would far prefer to be, like him, wounded only in the
-body&hellip; for what, in deed, is such a wound, after all!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul started.  "Alas!" he
-said to himself, "she is returning to it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What did you say?" she
-inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I did not say anything
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You did not say anything;
-you disapprove of my observation, then? you are perfectly
-satisfied, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul approached closer to
-her.  "Madame," he said, "your royal highness wishes to say
-something to me, and your instinctive kindness and generosity of
-disposition induce you to be careful and considerate as to your
-manner of conveying it.  Will your royal highness throw this kind
-forbearance aside?  I am able to bear everything; and I am
-listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" replied Henrietta,
-"what do you understand, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That which your royal
-highness wishes me to understand," said Raoul, trembling,
-notwithstanding his command over himself, as he pronounced these
-words.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In point of fact," murmured
-the princess&hellip; "it seems cruel, but since I have begun -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame, once your
-highness has deigned to begin, will you condescend to finish -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Henrietta rose hurriedly and
-walked a few paces up and down her room.  "What did M. de Guiche
-tell you?" she said, suddenly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing!  Did he say
-nothing?  Ah! how well I recognize him in that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No doubt he wished to spare
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And that is what friends
-call friendship.  But surely, M. d'Artagnan, whom you have just
-left, must have told you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No more than De Guiche,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Henrietta made a gesture
-full of impatience, as she said, "At least, you know all the
-court knows."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know nothing at all,
-Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not the scene in the
-storm?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not the
-<i>t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i> in the forest?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nor the flight to
-Chaillot?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul, whose head dropped
-like a blossom cut down by the reaper, made an almost superhuman
-effort to smile, as he replied with the greatest gentleness: "I
-have had the honor of telling your royal highness that I am
-absolutely ignorant of everything, that I am a poor unremembered
-outcast, who has this moment arrived from England.  There have
-rolled so many stormy waves between myself and those I left
-behind me here, that the rumor of none of the circumstances your
-highness refers to, has been able to reach me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Henrietta was affected by
-his extreme pallor, his gentleness, and his great courage.  The
-principal feeling in her heart at that moment was an eager desire
-to hear the nature of the remembrance which the poor lover
-retained of the woman who had made him suffer so much.  "Monsieur
-de Bragelonne," she said, "that which your friends have refused
-to do, I will do for you, whom I like and esteem very much.  I
-will be your friend on this occasion.  You hold your head high,
-as a man of honor should; and I deeply regret that you may have
-to bow before ridicule, and in a few days, it might be,
-contempt."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" exclaimed Raoul,
-perfectly livid.  "It is as bad as that, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "If you do not know," said
-the princess, "I see that you guess; you were affianced, I
-believe, to Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "By that right, you deserve
-to be warned about her, as some day or another I shall be obliged
-to dismiss Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re from my service -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Dismiss La
-Valli&egrave;re!" cried Bragelonne.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course.  Do you suppose
-I shall always be amenable to the tears and protestations of the
-king?  No, no! my house shall no longer be made a convenience for
-such practices; but you tremble, you cannot stand - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, Madame, no," said
-Bragelonne, making an effort over himself; "I thought I should
-have died just now, that was all.  Your royal highness did me the
-honor to say that the king wept and implored you - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, but in vain," returned
-the princess; who then related to Raoul the scene that took place
-at Chaillot, and the king's despair on his return; she told him
-of his indulgence to herself and the terrible word with which the
-outraged princess, the humiliated coquette, had quashed the royal
-anger.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul stood with his head
-bent down.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you think of it
-all?" she said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king loves her," he
-replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But you seem to think she
-does not love him!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas, Madame, I was
-thinking of the time when she loved <i>me</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Henrietta was for a moment
-struck with admiration at this sublime disbelief: and then,
-shrugging her shoulders, she said, "You do not believe me, I
-see.  How deeply you must love her.  And you doubt if she loves
-the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do, until I have a proof
-of it.  Forgive me, Madame, but she has given me her word; and
-her mind and heart are too upright to tell a falsehood."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You require a proof!  Be it
-so.  Come with me, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>A
-Domiciliary Visit.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he princess,
-preceding Raoul, led him through the courtyard towards that part
-of the building La Valli&egrave;re inhabited, and, ascending the
-same staircase which Raoul himself had ascended that very
-morning, she paused at the door of the room in which the young
-man had been so strangely received by Montalais.  The opportunity
-was remarkably well chosen to carry out the project Madame
-Henrietta had conceived, for the ch&acirc;teau was empty.  The
-king, the courtiers, and the ladies of the court, had set off for
-Saint-Germain; Madame Henrietta was the only one who knew of
-Bragelonne's return, and thinking over the advantages which might
-be drawn from this return, she had feigned indisposition in order
-to remain behind.  Madame was therefore confident of finding La
-Valli&egrave;re's room and Saint-Aignan's apartment perfectly
-empty.  She took a pass-key from her pocket and opened the door
-of her maid of honor's apartment.  Bragelonne's gaze was
-immediately fixed upon the interior of the room, which he
-recognized at once; and the impression which the sight of it
-produced upon him was torture.  The princess looked at him, and
-her practiced eye at once detected what was passing in the young
-man's heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You asked for proofs," she
-said; "do not be astonished, then, if I give you them.  But if
-you do not think you have courage enough to confront them, there
-is still time to withdraw."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I thank you, Madame," said
-Bragelonne; "but I came here to be convinced.  You promised to
-convince me, - do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Enter, then," said Madame,
-"and shut the door behind you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Bragelonne obeyed, and then
-turned towards the princess, whom he interrogated by a look.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You know where you are, I
-suppose?" inquired Madame Henrietta.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Everything leads me to
-believe I am in Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's room."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"But I would
-observe to your highness, that this room is a room, and is not a
-proof."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wait," said the
-princess, as she walked to the foot of the bed, folded up the
-screen into its several compartments, and stooped down towards
-the floor.  "Look here," she continued; "stoop down and lift up
-this trap-door yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A trap-door!" said
-Raoul, astonished; for D'Artagnan's words began to return to his
-memory, and he had an indistinct recollection that D'Artagnan had
-made use of the same word.  He looked, but uselessly, for some
-cleft or crevice which might indicate an opening or a ring to
-assist in lifting up the planking.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, I forgot,"
-said Madame Henrietta, "I forgot the secret spring; the fourth
-plank of the flooring, - press on the spot where you will observe
-a knot in the wood.  Those are the instructions; press, vicomte!
-press, I say, yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul, pale as
-death, pressed his finger on the spot which had been indicated to
-him; at the same moment the spring began to work, and the trap
-rose of its own accord.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is ingenious
-enough, certainly," said the princess; "and one can see that the
-architect foresaw that a woman's hand only would have to make use
-of this spring, for see how easily the trap-door opened without
-assistance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A staircase!"
-cried Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, and a very pretty one,
-too," said Madame Henrietta.  "See, vicomte, the staircase has a
-balustrade, intended to prevent the falling of timid persons, who
-might be tempted to descend the staircase; and I will risk myself
-on it accordingly.  Come, vicomte, follow me!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But before following you,
-madame, may I ask where this staircase leads to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, true; I forgot to tell
-you.  You know, perhaps, that formerly M. de Saint-Aignan lived
-in the very next apartment to the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame, I am aware of
-that; that was the arrangement, at least, before I left; and more
-than once I had the honor of visiting his rooms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, he obtained the
-king's leave to change his former convenient and beautiful
-apartment for the two rooms to which this staircase will conduct
-us, and which together form a lodging for him half the size, and
-at ten times greater the distance from the king, - a close
-proximity to whom is by no means disdained, in general, by the
-gentlemen belonging to the court."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good, Madame,"
-returned Raoul; "but go on, I beg, for I do not understand
-yet."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, then it accidentally
-happened," continued the princess, "that M. de Saint-Aignan's
-apartment is situated underneath the apartments of my maids of
-honor, and by a further coincidence, exactly underneath the room
-of La Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But what was the motive of
-this trap-door and this staircase?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That I cannot tell you. 
-Would you like to go down to Monsieur de Saint-Aignan's rooms? 
-Perhaps we shall be able to find the solution of the enigma
-there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And Madame set the example
-by going down herself, while Raoul, sighing deeply, followed
-her.  At every step Bragelonne took, he advanced further into
-that mysterious apartment which had witnessed La
-Valli&egrave;re's sighs and still retained the perfume of her
-presence.  Bragelonne fancied he perceived, as he inhaled the
-atmosphere, that the young girl must have passed through.  Then
-succeeded to these emanations of herself, which he regarded as
-invisible though certain proofs, flowers she preferred to all
-others - books of her own selection.  If Raoul retained a single
-doubt on the subject, it would have vanished at the secret
-harmony of tastes and connection of the mind with the ordinary
-objects of life.  La Valli&egrave;re, in Bragelonne's eyes, was
-present there in each article of furniture, in the color of the
-hangings, in all that surrounded him.  Dumb, and now completely
-overwhelmed, there was nothing further for him now to learn, and
-he followed his pitiless conductress as blindly as the culprit
-follows the executioner; while Madame, as cruel as women of
-overstrung temperaments generally are, did not spare him the
-slightest detail.  But it must be admitted that, notwithstanding
-the kind of apathy into which he had fallen, none of these
-details, even had he been left alone, would have escaped him. 
-The happiness of the woman who loves, when that happiness is
-derived from a rival, is a living torture for a jealous man; but
-for a jealous man such as Raoul was, for one whose heart for the
-first time in its existence was being steeped in gall and
-bitterness, Louise's happiness was in reality an ignominious
-death, a death of body and soul.  He guessed all; he fancied he
-could see them, with their hands clasped in each other's, their
-faces drawn close together, and reflected, side by side, in
-loving proximity, and they gazed upon the mirrors around them -
-so sweet an occupation for lovers, who, as they thus see
-themselves twice over, imprint the picture still more deeply on
-their memories.  He could guess, too, the stolen kiss snatched as
-they separated from each other's loved society.  The luxury, the
-studied elegance, eloquent of the perfection of indolence, of
-ease; the extreme care shown, either to spare the loved object
-every annoyance, or to occasion her a delightful surprise; that
-might and majesty of love multiplied by the majesty and might of
-royalty itself, seemed like a death-blow to Raoul.  If there be
-anything which can in any way assuage or mitigate the tortures of
-jealousy, it is the inferiority of the man who is preferred to
-yourself; whilst, on the very contrary, if there be one anguish
-more bitter than another, a misery for which language lacks a
-word, it is the superiority of the man preferred to yourself,
-superior, perhaps, in youth, beauty, grace.  It is in such
-moments as these that Heaven almost seems to have taken part
-against the disdained and rejected lover.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                One final pang was reserved
-for poor Raoul.  Madame Henrietta lifted up a silk curtain, and
-behind the canvas he perceived La Valli&egrave;re's portrait. 
-Not only the portrait of La Valli&egrave;re, but of La
-Valli&egrave;re radiant with youth, beauty, and happiness,
-inhaling life and enjoyment at every pore, because at eighteen
-years of age love itself is life.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Louise!" murmured
-Bragelonne, - "Louise! is it true, then?  Oh, you have never
-loved me, for never have you looked at me in that manner."  And
-he felt as if his heart were crushed within his bosom.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Madame Henrietta looked at
-him, almost envious of his extreme grief, although she well knew
-there was nothing to envy in it, and that she herself was as
-passionately loved by De Guiche as Louise by Bragelonne.  Raoul
-interpreted Madame Henrietta's look.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, forgive me, forgive me,
-Madame; in your presence I know I ought to have greater
-self-control.  But Heaven grant that you may never be struck by
-similar misery to that which crushes me at this moment, for you
-are but a woman, and would not be able to endure so terrible an
-affliction.  Forgive me, I again entreat you, Madame; I am but a
-man without rank or position, while you belong to a race whose
-happiness knows no bounds, whose power acknowledges no
-limit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur de Bragelonne,"
-replied Henrietta, "a mind such as your merits all the
-consideration and respect which a queen's heart even can bestow. 
-Regard me as your friend, monsieur; and as such, indeed, I would
-not allow your whole life to be poisoned by perfidy, and covered
-with ridicule.  It was I, indeed, who, with more courage than any
-of your pretended friends, - I except M. de Guiche, - was the
-cause of your return from London; it is I, also, who now give you
-the melancholy proofs, necessary, however, for your cure if you
-are a lover with courage in his heart, and not a weeping Amadis. 
-Do not thank me; pity me, even, and do not serve the king less
-faithfully than you have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul smiled bitterly.  "Ah!
-true, true; I was forgetting that; the king is my master."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your liberty, nay, your
-very life, is in danger."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                A steady, penetrating look
-informed Madame Henrietta that she was mistaken, and that her
-last argument was not a likely one to affect the young man. 
-"Take care, Monsieur de Bragelonne," she said, "for if you do not
-weigh well all your actions, you might throw into an extravagance
-of wrath a prince whose passions, once aroused, exceed the bounds
-of reason, and you would thereby involve your friends and family
-in the deepest distress; you must bend, you must submit, and you
-must cure yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I thank you, Madame; I
-appreciate the advice your royal highness is good enough to give
-me, and I will endeavor to follow it; but one final word, I
-beg."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Name it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Should I be indiscreet in
-asking you the secret of this staircase, of this trap-door; a
-secret, which, it seems, you have discovered?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing more simple.  For
-the purpose of exercising a surveillance over the young girls who
-are attached to my service, I have duplicate keys of their
-doors.  It seemed very strange to me that M. de Saint-Aignan
-should change his apartments.  It seemed very strange that the
-king should come to see M. de Saint-Aignan every day, and,
-finally, it seemed very strange that so many things should be
-done during your absence, that the very habits and customs of the
-court appeared changed.  I do not wish to be trifled with by the
-king, nor to serve as a cloak for his love affairs; for after La
-Valli&egrave;re, who weeps incessantly, he will take a fancy to
-Montalais, who is always laughing; and then to Tonnay-Charente,
-who does nothing but sing all day; to act such a part as that
-would be unworthy of me.  I thrust aside the scruples which my
-friendship for you suggested.  I discovered the secret.  I have
-wounded your feelings, I know, and I again entreat you to pardon
-me; but I had a duty to fulfil.  I have discharged it.  You are
-now forewarned; the tempest will soon burst; protect yourself
-accordingly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You naturally expect,
-however, that a result of some kind must follow," replied
-Bragelonne, with firmness; "for you do not suppose I shall
-silently accept the shame thus thrust upon me, or the treachery
-which has been practiced against me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You will take whatever
-steps in the matter you please, Monsieur Raoul, only do not
-betray the source whence you derived the truth.  That is all I
-have to ask, - the only price I require for the service I have
-rendered you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Fear nothing, Madame," said
-Bragelonne, with a bitter smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I bribed the locksmith, in
-whom the lovers confided.  You can just as well have done so as
-myself, can you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Madame.  Your royal
-highness, however, has no other advice or caution to give me,
-except that of not betraying you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "None."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am about, therefore, to
-beg your royal highness to allow me to remain here for one
-moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Without me?"<br>
-                "Oh! no, Madame.  It matters very little; for
-what I have to do can be done in your presence.  I only ask one
-moment to write a line to some one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is dangerous, Monsieur
-de Bragelonne.  Take care."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No one can possibly know
-that your royal highness has done me the honor to conduct me
-here.  Besides, I shall sign the letter I am going to write."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do as you please,
-then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul drew out his tablet,
-and wrote rapidly on one of the leaves the following words:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "MONSIEUR LE COMTE, - Do not
-be surprised to find this paper signed by me; the friend I shall
-very shortly send to call on you will have the honor to explain
-the object of my visit.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style='text-align:right'>
-"VICOMTE RAOUL DE BRAGELONNE."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He rolled up the paper,
-slipped it into the lock of the door which communicated with the
-room set apart for the two lovers, and satisfied himself that the
-missive was so apparent that Saint-Aignan could not but see it as
-he entered; he rejoined the princess, who had already reached the
-top of the staircase.  They then separated, Raoul pretending to
-thank her highness; Henrietta pitying, or seeming to pity, with
-all her heart, the wretched young man she had just condemned to
-such fearful torture.  "Oh!" she said, as she saw him disappear,
-pale as death, and his eyes bursting with blood, "if I had
-foreseen this, I would have hid the truth from that poor
-gentleman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Porthos's Plan of Action.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he great
-number of individuals we have introduced into this long story is
-the reason why each of them has been forced to appear only in
-turn, according to the exigencies of the recital.  The result is,
-that our readers have had no opportunity of meeting our friend
-Porthos since his return from Fontainebleau.  The honors which he
-had received from the king had not changed the easy, affectionate
-character of that excellent-hearted man; he may, perhaps, have
-held up his head a little higher than usual, and a majesty of
-demeanor, as it were, may have betrayed itself since the honor of
-dining at the king's table had been accorded him.  His majesty's
-banqueting-room had produced a certain effect on Porthos.  Le
-Seigneur de Bracieux et de Pierrefonds delighted to remember
-that, during that memorable dinner, the numerous array of
-servants, and the large number of officials in attendance on the
-guests, gave a certain tone and effect to the repast, and seemed,
-as it were, to furnish the room.  Porthos undertook to confer
-upon Mouston a position of some kind or other, in order to
-establish a sort of hierarchy among his other domestics, and to
-create a military household, which was not unusual among the
-great captains of the age, since, in the preceding century, this
-luxury had been greatly encouraged by Messieurs de
-Tr&eacute;ville, de Schomberg, de la Vieuville, without alluding
-to M. de Richelieu, M. de Cond&eacute;, and de Bouillon-Turenne. 
-And, therefore, why should not he, Porthos, the friend of the
-king, and of M. Fouquet, a baron, and engineer, etc., why should
-not he, indeed, enjoy all the delightful privileges which large
-possessions and unusual merit invariably confer?  Somewhat
-neglected by Aramis, who, we know, was greatly occupied with M.
-Fouquet; neglected, also, on account of his being on duty, by
-D'Artagnan; tired of Tr&uuml;chen and Planchet, Porthos was
-surprised to find himself dreaming, without precisely knowing
-why; but if any one had said to him, "Do you want anything,
-Porthos?" he would most certainly have replied, "Yes."  After one
-of those dinners, during which Porthos attempted to recall to his
-recollection all the details of the royal banquet, gently joyful,
-thanks to the excellence of the wines; gently melancholy, thanks
-to his ambitions ideas, Porthos was gradually falling off into a
-placid doze, when his servant entered to announce that M. de
-Bragelonne wished to speak to him.  Porthos passed into an
-adjoining room, where he found his young friend in the
-disposition of mind we are already aware of.  Raoul advanced
-towards Porthos, and shook him by the hand; Porthos, surprised at
-his seriousness of aspect, offered him a seat.  "Dear M. du
-Vallon," said Raoul, "I have a service to ask of you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing could happen more
-fortunately, my young friend," replied Porthos; "I have eight
-thousand livres sent me this morning from Pierrefonds; and if you
-want any money - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, I thank you; it is not
-money."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So much the worse, then.  I
-have always heard it said that that is the rarest service, but
-the easiest to render.  The remark struck me; I like to cite
-remarks that strike me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your heart is as good as
-your mind is sound and true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are much too kind, I
-declare.  You will dine here, of course?"<br>
-                "No; I am not hungry."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Eh! not dine?  What a
-dreadful country England is!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not too much so, indeed -
-but - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, if such excellent
-fish and meat were not to be procured there, it would hardly be
-endurable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I came to - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am listening.  Only just
-allow me to take a little sip.  One gets thirsty in Paris;" and
-he ordered a bottle of champagne to be brought; and, having first
-filled Raoul's glass, he filled his own, drank it down at a gulp,
-and then resumed: "I needed that, in order to listen to you with
-proper attention.  I am now entirely at your service.  What do
-you wish to ask me, dear Raoul?  What do you want?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Give me your opinion on
-quarrels in general, my dear friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My opinion!  Well - but -
-Explain your idea a little more coherently," replied Porthos,
-rubbing his forehead.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I mean - you are generally
-good-humored, good-tempered, whenever any misunderstanding arises
-between a friend of yours and a stranger, for instance?"<br>
-                "Oh! in the best of tempers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good; but what do you
-do, in such a case?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Whenever any friend of mine
-gets into a quarrel, I always act on one principle."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That lost time is
-irreparable, and one never arranges an affair so well as when
-everything has been done to embroil the disputants as much as
-possible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! indeed, is that the
-principle on which you proceed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely; so, as soon as a
-quarrel takes place, I bring the two parties together."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Exactly."<br>
-                "You understand that by this means it is
-impossible for an affair not to be arranged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should have thought that,
-treated in this manner, an affair would, on the contrary - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! not the least in the
-world.  Just fancy, now, I have had in my life something like a
-hundred and eighty to a hundred and ninety regular duels, without
-reckoning hasty encounters, or chance meetings."<br>
-                "It is a very handsome aggregate," said Raoul,
-unable to resist a smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "A mere nothing; but I am so
-gentle.  D'Artagnan reckons his duels by hundreds.  It is very
-true he is a little too hard and sharp - I have often told him
-so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so," resumed Raoul,
-"you generally arrange the affairs of honor your friends confide
-to you."<br>
-                "There is not a single instance in which I have
-not finished by arranging every one of them," said Porthos, with
-a gentleness and confidence that surprised Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But the way in which you
-settle them is at least honorable, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! rely upon that; and at
-this stage, I will explain my other principle to you.  As soon as
-my friend has intrusted his quarrel to me, this is what I do; I
-go to his adversary at once, armed with a politeness and
-self-possession absolutely requisite under such
-circumstances."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is the way, then,"
-said Raoul, bitterly, "that you arrange affairs so safely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe you.  I go to the
-adversary, then, and say to him: 'It is impossible, monsieur,
-that you are ignorant of the extent to which you have insulted my
-friend.'"  Raoul frowned at this remark.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It sometimes happens - very
-often, indeed," pursued Porthos - "that my friend has not been
-insulted at all; he has even been the first to give offense; you
-can imagine, therefore, whether my language is or is not well
-chosen."  And Porthos burst into a peal of laughter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Decidedly," said Raoul to
-himself while the merry thunder of Porthos's laughter was
-resounding in his ears, "I am very unfortunate.  De Guiche treats
-me with coolness, D'Artagnan with ridicule, Porthos is too tame;
-no one will settle this affair in the only way I wish it to be
-settled.  And I came to Porthos because I wanted to find a sword
-instead of cold reasoning at my service.  My ill-luck dogs
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos, who had recovered
-himself, continued: "By one simple expression, I leave my
-adversary without an excuse."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is as it may happen,"
-said Raoul, absently.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not at all, it is quite
-certain.  I have not left him an excuse; and then it is that I
-display all my courtesy, in order to attain the happy issue of my
-project.  I advance, therefore, with an air of great politeness,
-and taking my adversary by the hand, I say to him: 'Now that you
-are convinced of having given the offense, we are sure of
-reparation; between my friend and yourself, the future can only
-offer an exchange of mutual courtesies of conduct, and
-consequently, my mission now is to acquaint you with the length
-of my friend's sword.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What!" said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Wait a minute.  'The length
-of my friend's sword.  My horse is waiting below; my friend is in
-such and such a spot and is impatiently awaiting your agreeable
-society; I will take you with me; we can call upon your second as
-we go along:' and the affair is arranged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so," said Raoul, pale
-with vexation, "you reconcile the two adversaries on the
-ground."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I beg your pardon,"
-interrupted Porthos.  "Reconcile!  What for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You said that the affair
-was arranged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course! since my friend
-is waiting for him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well! what then?  If he is
-waiting - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well! if he is waiting, it
-is merely to stretch his legs a little.  The adversary, on the
-contrary, is stiff from riding; they place themselves in proper
-order, and my friend kills the opponent, and the affair is
-ended."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! he kills him, then?"
-cried Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should think so," said
-Porthos.  "Is it likely I should ever have as a friend a man who
-allows himself to get killed?  I have a hundred and one friends;
-at the head of the list stand your father, Aramis, and
-D'Artagnan, all of whom are living and well, I believe?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, my dear baron,"
-exclaimed Raoul, as he embraced Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You approve of my method,
-then?" said the giant.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I approve of it so
-thoroughly, that I shall have recourse to it this very day,
-without a moment's delay, - at once, in fact.  You are the very
-man I have been looking for."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Good; here I am, then; you
-want to fight, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Absolutely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is very natural.  With
-whom?"<br>
-                "With M. de Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know him - a most
-agreeable man, who was exceedingly polite to me the day I had the
-honor of dining with the king.  I shall certainly acknowledge his
-politeness in return, even if it had not happened to be my usual
-custom.  So, he has given you an offense?"<br>
-                "A mortal offense."<br>
-                "The deuce!  I can say so, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "More than that, even, if
-you like."<br>
-                "That is a very great convenience."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I may look upon it as one
-of your arranged affairs, may I not?" said Raoul, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As a matter of course. 
-Where will you be waiting for him?"<br>
-                "Ah!  I forgot; it is a very delicate matter.  M.
-de Saint-Aignan is a very great friend of the king's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So I have heard it
-said."<br>
-                "So that if I kill him - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! you will kill him,
-certainly; you must take every precaution to do so.  But there is
-no difficulty in these matters now; if you had lived in our early
-days, - ah, those were days worth living for!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "My dear friend, you do not
-quite understand me.  I mean, that M. de Saint-Aignan being a
-friend of the king, the affair will be more difficult to manage,
-since the king might learn beforehand - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! no; that is not
-likely.  You know my method: 'Monsieur, you have just injured my
-friend, and - '"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I know it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And then: 'Monsieur, I have
-horses below.'  I carry him off before he can have spoken to any
-one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will he allow himself to be
-carried off like that?"<br>
-                "I should think so!  I should like to see it
-fail.  It would be the first time, if it did.  It is true,
-though, that the young men of the present day - Bah!  I would
-carry him off bodily, if that were all," and Porthos, adding
-gesture to speech, lifted Raoul and the chair he was sitting on
-off the ground, and carried them round the room.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good," said Raoul,
-laughing.  "All we have to do is to state the grounds of the
-quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, but that is done, it
-seems."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, my dear M. du Vallon,
-the usage of the present day requires that the cause of the
-quarrel should be explained."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good.  Tell me what it
-is, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The fact is - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Deuce take it! how
-troublesome all this is!  In former days we had no occasion to
-say anything about the matter.  People fought for the sake of
-fighting; and I, for one, know no better reason than that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are quite right, M. du
-Vallon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"However, tell me
-what  the cause is.&rdquo;</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is too long a
-story to tell; only, as one must particularize to a certain
-extent, and as, on the other hand, the affair is full of
-difficulties, and requires the most absolute secrecy, you will
-have the kindness merely to tell M. de Saint-Aignan that he has,
-in the first place, insulted me by changing his lodgings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By changing his
-lodgings?  Good," said Porthos, who began to count on his
-fingers; "next?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then in getting a
-trap-door made in his new apartments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I understand,"
-said Porthos; "a trap-door: upon my word, that is very serious;
-you ought to be furious at that.  What the deuce does the fellow
-mean by getting trap-doors made without first consulting you? 
-Trap-doors! <i>mordioux!</i>  I haven't got any, except in my
-dungeons at Bracieux."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you will
-please add," said Raoul, "that my last motive for considering
-myself insulted is, the existence of the portrait that M. de
-Saint-Aignan well knows."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is it possible?  A
-portrait, too!  A change of residence, a trap-door, and a
-portrait!  Why, my dear friend, with but one of these causes of
-complaint there is enough, and more than enough, for all the
-gentlemen in France and Spain to cut each other's throats, and
-that is saying but very little."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, my dear
-friend, you are furnished with all you need, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I shall take a
-second horse with me.  Select your own rendezvous, and while you
-are waiting there, you can practice some of the best passes, so
-as to get your limbs as elastic as possible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank you.  I
-shall be waiting for you in the wood of Vincennes, close to
-Minimes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"All goes well,
-then.  Where am I to find this M. de Saint-Aignan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At the Palais
-Royal."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos ran a huge
-hand-bell.  "My court suit," he said to the servant who answered
-the summons, "my horse, and a led horse to accompany me."  Then
-turning to Raoul, as soon as the servant had quitted the room, he
-said: "Does your father know anything about this?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; I am going to
-write to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And
-D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, nor D'Artagnan
-either.  He is very cautions, you know, and might have diverted
-me from my purpose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"D'Artagnan is a
-sound adviser, though," said Porthos, astonished that, in his own
-loyal faith in D'Artagnan, any one could have thought of himself,
-so long as there was a D'Artagnan in the world.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Dear M. du
-Vallon," said Raoul, "do not question me any more, I implore
-you.  I have told you all that I had to say; it is prompt action
-I now expect, sharp and decided as you know how to arrange it. 
-That, indeed, is my reason for having chosen you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will be
-satisfied with me," replied Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do not forget,
-either, that, except ourselves, no one must know anything of this
-meeting."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"People generally
-find these things out," said Porthos, dryly, "when a dead body is
-discovered in a wood.  But I promise everything, my dear friend,
-except the concealment of the dead body.  There it is, and it
-must be seen, as a matter of course.  It is a principle of mine,
-not to bury bodies.  That has a smack of the assassin about it. 
-Every risk has its peculiarities."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To work, then, my
-dear friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Rely upon me,"
-said the giant, finishing the bottle, while a servant spread out
-upon a sofa the gorgeously decorated dress trimmed with lace.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul left the
-room, saying to himself, with a secret delight, "Perfidious king!
-traitorous monarch!  I cannot reach thee.  I do not wish it; for
-kings are sacred objects.  But your friend, your accomplice, your
-panderer - the coward who represents you - shall pay for your
-crime.  I will kill him in thy name, and, afterwards, we will
-bethink ourselves of - <i>Louise</i>."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>The
-Change of Residence, the Trap-Door, and the Portrait.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>P</span>orthos,
-intrusted, to his great delight, with this mission, which made
-him feel young again, took half an hour less than his usual time
-to put on his court suit.  To show that he was a man acquainted
-with the usages of high society, he had begun by sending his
-lackey to inquire if Monsieur de Saint-Aignan were at home, and
-heard, in answer, that M. le Comte de Saint-Aignan had had the
-honor of accompanying the king to Saint-Germain, as well as the
-whole court; but that monsieur le comte had just that moment
-returned.  Immediately upon this reply, Porthos made as much
-haste as possible, and reached Saint-Aignan's apartments just as
-the latter was having his boots taken off.  The promenade had
-been delightful.  The king, who was in love more than ever, and
-of course happier than ever, behaved in the most charming manner
-to every one.  Nothing could possibly equal his kindness.  M. de
-Saint-Aignan, it may be remembered, was a poet, and fancied that
-he had proved that he was so under too many a memorable
-circumstance to allow the title to be disputed by any one.  An
-indefatigable rhymester, he had, during the whole of the journey,
-overwhelmed with quatrains, sextains, and madrigals, first the
-king, and then La Valli&egrave;re.  The king, on his side, was in
-a similarly poetical mood, and had made a distich; while La
-Valli&egrave;re, delighting in poetry, as most women do who are
-in love, had composed two sonnets.  The day, then, had not been a
-bad one for Apollo; and so, as soon as he had returned to Paris,
-Saint-Aignan, who knew beforehand that his verse would be sure to
-be extensively circulated in court circles, occupied himself,
-with a little more attention than he had been able to bestow
-during the promenade, with the composition, as well as with the
-idea itself.  Consequently, with all the tenderness of a father
-about to start his children in life, he candidly interrogated
-himself whether the public would find these offsprings of his
-imagination sufficiently elegant and graceful; and in order to
-make his mind easy on the subject, M. de Saint-Aignan recited to
-himself the madrigal he had composed, and which he had repeated
-from memory to the king, and had promised to write out for him on
-his return.  All the time he was committing these words to
-memory, the comte was engaged in undressing himself more
-completely.  He had just taken off his coat, and was putting on
-his dressing-gown, when he was informed that Monsieur le Baron du
-Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds was waiting to be received.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Eh!" he said, "what does
-that bunch of names mean?  I don't know anything about him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is the same gentleman,"
-replied the lackey, "who had the honor of dining with you,
-monseigneur, at the king's table, when his majesty was staying at
-Fontainebleau."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Introduce him, then, at
-once," cried Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos, in a few minutes,
-entered the room.  M. de Saint-Aignan had an excellent
-recollection of persons, and, at the first glance, he recognized
-the gentleman from the country, who enjoyed so singular a
-reputation, and whom the king had received so favorably at
-Fontainebleau, in spite of the smiles of some of those who were
-present.  He therefore advanced towards Porthos with all the
-outward signs of consideration of manner which Porthos thought
-but natural, considering that he himself, whenever he called upon
-an adversary, hoisted a standard of the most refined politeness. 
-Saint-Aignan desired the servant to give Porthos a chair; and the
-latter, who saw nothing unusual in this act of politeness, sat
-down gravely and coughed.  The ordinary courtesies having been
-exchanged between the two gentlemen, the comte, to whom the visit
-was paid, said, "May I ask, monsieur le baron, to what happy
-circumstance I am indebted for the favor of a visit from
-you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The very thing I am about
-to have the honor of explaining to you, monsieur le comte; but, I
-beg your pardon - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is the matter,
-monsieur?" inquired Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I regret to say that I have
-broken your chair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Not at all, monsieur," said
-Saint-Aignan; "not at all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is the fact, though,
-monsieur le comte; I have broken it - so much so, indeed, that if
-I do not move, I shall fall down, which would be an exceedingly
-disagreeable position for me in the discharge of the very serious
-mission which has been intrusted to me with regard to
-yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos rose; and but just
-in time, for the chair had given way several inches. 
-Saint-Aignan looked about him for something more solid for his
-guest to sit upon.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Modern articles of
-furniture," said Porthos, while the comte was looking about, "are
-constructed in a ridiculously flimsy manner.  In my early days,
-when I used to sit down with far more energy than is now the
-case, I do not remember ever to have broken a chair, except in
-taverns, with my arms."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Saint-Aignan smiled at this
-remark.  "But," said Porthos, as he settled himself down on a
-couch, which creaked, but did not give way beneath his weight,
-"that unfortunately has nothing whatever to do with my present
-visit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why unfortunately?  Are you
-the bearer of a message of ill-omen, monsieur le baron?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of ill-omen - for a
-gentleman?  Certainly not, monsieur le comte," replied Porthos,
-nobly.  "I have simply come to say that you have seriously
-insulted a friend of mine."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I, monsieur?" exclaimed
-Saint-Aignan - "I have insulted a friend of yours, do you say? 
-May I ask his name?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. Raoul de
-Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have insulted M. Raoul de
-Bragelonne!" cried Saint-Aignan.  "I really assure you, monsieur,
-that it is quite impossible; for M. de Bragelonne, whom I know
-but very slightly, - nay, whom I know hardly at all - is in
-England, and, as I have not seen him for a long time past, I
-cannot possibly have insulted him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "M. de Bragelonne is in
-Paris, monsieur le comte," said Porthos, perfectly unmoved; "and
-I repeat, it is quite certain you have insulted him, since he
-himself told me you had.  Yes, monsieur, you have seriously
-insulted him, mortally insulted him, I repeat."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is impossible, monsieur
-le baron, I swear, quite impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Besides," added Porthos,
-"you cannot be ignorant of the circumstance, since M. de
-Bragelonne informed me that he had already apprised you of it by
-a note."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I give you my word of
-honor, monsieur, that I have received no note whatever."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This is most
-extraordinary," replied Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I will convince you," said
-Saint-Aignan, "that  have received nothing in any way from him." 
-And he rang the bell.  "Basque," he said to the servant who
-entered, "how many letters have or notes were sent here during my
-absence?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Three, monsieur le comte -
-a note from M. de Fiesque, one from Madame de Lafert&eacute;, and
-a letter from M. de las Fuent&egrave;s."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is that all?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, monsieur le
-comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Speak the truth before this
-gentleman - the truth, you understand.  I will take care you are
-not blamed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There was a note, also,
-from - from - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Well, from
-whom?"<br>
-"From Mademoiselle - de - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Out with it!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"De Laval."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That is quite
-sufficient," interrupted Porthos.  "I believe you, monsieur le
-comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan
-dismissed the valet, and followed him to the door, in order to
-close it after him; and when he had done so, looking straight
-before him, he happened to see in the keyhole of the adjoining
-apartment the paper which Bragelonne had slipped in there as he
-left.  "What is this?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos, who was
-sitting with his back to the room, turned round.  "Aha!" he
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A note in the
-keyhole!" exclaimed Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is not
-unlikely to be the missing letter, monsieur le comte," said
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan took
-out the paper.  "A note from M. de Bragelonne!" he exclaimed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You see, monsieur,
-I was right.  Oh, when I say a thing - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Brought here by M.
-de Bragelonne himself," the comte murmured, turning pale.  "This
-is infamous!  How could he possibly have come here?"  And the
-comte rang again.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who has been here
-during my absence with the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is
-impossible!  Some one must have been here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one could
-possibly have entered, monsieur, since the keys have never left
-my pocket."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet I find the
-letter in yonder lock; some one must have put it there; it could
-not have come here of its own accord."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Basque opened his
-arms as if signifying the most absolute ignorance on the
-subject.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Probably it was M.
-de Bragelonne himself who placed it there," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case he
-must have entered here."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How could that
-have been, since I have the key in my own pocket?" returned
-Basque, perseveringly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan
-crumpled the letter in his palm, after having read it.  "There is
-something mysterious about this," he murmured, absorbed in
-thought.  Porthos left him to his reflections; but after a while
-returned to the mission he had undertaken.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Shall we return to
-our little affair?" Porthos resumed, addressing Saint-Aignan
-after a brief pause.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think I can now
-understand it, from this note, which has arrived here in so
-singular a manner.  Monsieur de Bragelonne says that a friend
-will call."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am his friend. 
-I am the person he alludes to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"For the purpose of
-giving me a challenge?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And he complains
-that I have insulted him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mortally."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way, may I
-ask; for his conduct is so mysterious, that, at least, it needs
-some explanation?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," replied
-Porthos, "my friend cannot but be right; and, as far as his
-conduct is concerned, if it be mysterious, as you say, you have
-only yourself to blame for it."  Porthos pronounced these words
-with an amount of confidence which, for a man who was
-unaccustomed to his ways, must have revealed an infinity of
-sense.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mystery, so be it;
-but what is all the mystery about?" said Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will think it
-the best, perhaps," Porthos replied, with a low bow, "if I do not
-enter in to particulars."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I perfectly
-understand.  We will touch very lightly upon it, then, so speak,
-monsieur, I am listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the first
-place, monsieur," said Porthos, "you have changed your
-apartments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, that is quite
-true," said Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You admit it,"
-said Porthos, with an air of satisfaction.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Admit it! of
-course I admit it.  Why should I not admit it, do you
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have admitted
-it.  Very good," said Porthos, lifting up one finger.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But how can my
-having moved my lodgings have done M. de Bragelonne any harm? 
-Have the goodness to tell me that, for I positively do not
-comprehend a word of what you are saying."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos stopped
-him, and then said, with great gravity, "Monsieur, this is the
-first of M. de Bragelonne's complaints against you.  If he makes
-a complaint, it is because he feels himself insulted."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan began
-to beat his foot impatiently on the ground.  "This looks like a
-spurious quarrel," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No one can
-possibly have a spurious quarrel with the Vicomte de Bragelonne,"
-returned Porthos; "but, at all events, you have nothing to add on
-the subject of your changing your apartments, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nothing.  And what
-is the next point?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, the next!  You
-will observe, monsieur, that the one I have already mentioned is
-a most serious injury, to which you have given no answer, or
-rather, have answered very indifferently.  Is it possible,
-monsieur, that you have changed your lodgings?  M. de Bragelonne
-feels insulted at your having done so, and you do not attempt to
-excuse yourself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!" cried
-Saint-Aignan, who was getting annoyed at the perfect coolness of
-his visitor - "what! am I to consult M. de Bragelonne whether I
-am to move or not?  You can hardly be serious, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am.  And it is
-absolutely necessary, monsieur; but under any circumstances, you
-will admit that it is nothing in comparison with the second
-ground of complaint."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, what is
-that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos assumed a
-very solemn expression as he said: "How about the trap-door,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan turned
-exceedingly pale.  He pushed back his chair so abruptly, that
-Porthos, simple as he was, perceived that the blow had told. 
-"The trap-door," murmured Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, monsieur,
-explain that if you can," said Porthos, shaking his head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan held
-down his head, as he murmured: "I have been betrayed, everything
-is known!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Everything,"
-replied Porthos, who knew nothing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You see me
-perfectly overwhelmed," pursued Saint-Aignan, "overwhelmed to a
-degree that I hardly know what I am about."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A guilty
-conscience, monsieur.  Your affair is a bad one, and when the
-public learns all about it, it will judge - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, monsieur!"
-exclaimed the count, hurriedly, "such a secret ought not to be
-known even by one's confessor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That we will think
-about," said Porthos; "the secret will not go far, in fact."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Surely, monsieur,"
-returned Saint-Aignan, "since M. de Bragelonne has penetrated the
-secret, he must be aware of the danger he as well as others run
-the risk of incurring."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. de Bragelonne
-runs no danger, monsieur, nor does he fear any either, as you, if
-it please Heaven, will find out very soon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This fellow is a
-perfect madman," thought Saint-Aignan.  "What, in Heaven's name,
-does he want?"  He then said aloud: "Come, monsieur, let us hush
-up this affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You forget the
-portrait," said Porthos, in a voice of thunder, which made the
-comte's blood freeze in his veins.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>As the portrait in
-question was La Valli&egrave;re's portrait, and no mistake could
-any longer exist on the subject, Saint-Aignan's eyes were
-completely opened.  "Ah!" he exclaimed - "ah! monsieur, I
-remember now that M. de Bragelonne was engaged to be married to
-her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos assumed an
-imposing air, all the majesty of ignorance, in fact, as he said:
-"It matters nothing whatever to me, nor to yourself, indeed,
-whether or not my friend was, as you say, engaged to be married. 
-I am even astonished that you should have made use of so
-indiscreet a remark.  It may possibly do your cause harm,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," replied
-Saint-Aignan, "you are the incarnation of intelligence, delicacy,
-and loyalty of feeling united.  I see the whole matter now
-clearly enough."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So much the
-better," said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And," pursued
-Saint-Aignan, "you have made me comprehend it in the most
-ingenious and the most delicate manner possible.  I beg you to
-accept my best thanks."  Porthos drew himself up, unable to
-resist the flattery of the remark.  "Only, now that I know
-everything, permit me to explain - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos shook his
-head, as a an who does not wish to hear, but Saint-Aignan
-continued: "I am in despair, I assure you, at all that has
-happened; but how would you have acted in my place?  Come,
-between ourselves, tell me what you would have done?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos drew
-himself up as he answered: "There is now no question of all of
-what I should have done, young man; you have been made acquainted
-with the three causes of complaint against you, I believe?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As for the first,
-my change of rooms, and I now address myself to you as a man of
-honor and of great intelligence, could I, when the desire of so
-august a personage was so urgently expressed that I should move,
-ought I to have disobeyed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos was about
-to speak, but Saint-Aignan did not give him time to answer.  "Ah!
-my frankness, I see, convinces you," he said, interpreting the
-movement according to his own fancy.  "You feel that I am
-right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos did not
-reply, and so Saint-Aignan continued: "I pass by that unfortunate
-trap-door," he said, placing his hand on Porthos's arm, "that
-trap-door, the occasion and means of so much unhappiness, and
-which was constructed for - you know what.  Well, then, in plain
-truth, do you suppose that  it was I who, of my own accord, in
-such a place, too, had that trap-door made? - Oh, no! - you do
-not believe it; and here, again, you feel, you guess, you
-understand the influence of a will superior to my own.  You can
-conceive the infatuation, the blind, irresistible passion which
-has been at work.  But, thank Heaven!  I am fortunate in speaking
-to a man who has so much sensitiveness of feeling; and if it were
-not so, indeed, what an amount of misery and scandal would fall
-upon her, poor girl! and upon him - whom I will not name."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos, confused
-and bewildered by the eloquence and gestures of Saint-Aignan,
-made a thousand efforts to stem this torrent of words, of which,
-by the by, he did not understand a single one; he remained
-upright and motionless on his seat, and that was all he could
-do.  Saint-Aignan continued, and gave a new inflection to his
-voice, and an increasing vehemence to his gesture: "As for the
-portrait, for I readily believe the portrait is the principal
-cause of complaint, tell me candidly if you think me to blame? -
-Who was it who wished to have her portrait?  Was it I? - Who is
-in love with her?  Is it I? - Who wishes to gain her affection? 
-Again, is it I? - Who took her likeness?  I, do you think?  No! a
-thousand times no!  I know M. de Bragelonne must be in a state of
-despair; I know these misfortunes are most cruel.  But I, too, am
-suffering as well; and yet there is no possibility of offering
-any resistance.  Suppose we were to fight? we would be laughed
-at.  If he obstinately persist in his course, he is lost.  You
-will tell me, I know, that despair is ridiculous, but then you
-are a sensible man.  You have understood me.  I perceived by your
-serious, thoughtful, embarrassed air, even, that the importance
-of the situation we are placed in has not escaped you.  Return,
-therefore, to M. de Bragelonne; thank him - as I have indeed
-reason to thank him - for having chosen as an intermediary a man
-of your high merit.  Believe me that I shall, on my side,
-preserve an eternal gratitude for the man who has so ingeniously,
-so cleverly arranged the misunderstanding between us.  And since
-ill luck would have it that the secret should be known to four
-instead of three, why, this secret, which might make the most
-ambitious man's fortune, I am delighted to share with you,
-monsieur, from the bottom of my heart I am delighted at it.  From
-this very moment you can make use of me as you please, I place
-myself entirely at your mercy.  What can I possibly do for you? 
-What can I solicit, nay, require even?  You have only to speak,
-monsieur, only to speak."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And, according to
-the familiarly friendly fashion of that period, Saint-Aignan
-threw his arms round Porthos, and clasped him tenderly in his
-embrace.  Porthos allowed him to do this with the most perfect
-indifference.  "Speak," resumed Saint-Aignan, "what do you
-require?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said
-Porthos, "I have a horse below: be good enough to mount him; he
-is a very good one and will play you no tricks."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mount on
-horseback! what for?" inquired Saint-Aignan, with no little
-curiosity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To accompany me to
-where M. de Bragelonne is waiting us."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! he wishes to
-speak to me, I suppose?  I can well believe that; he wishes to
-have the details, very likely; alas! it is a very delicate
-matter; but at the present moment I cannot, for the king is
-waiting for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king must
-wait, then" said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you say?
-the king must wait!" interrupted the finished courtier, with a
-smile of utter amazement, for he could not understand that the
-king could under any circumstances be supposed to have to
-wait.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is merely the
-affair of a very short hour," returned Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But where is M. de
-Bragelonne waiting for me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At the Minimes, at
-Vincennes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, indeed! but
-are we going to laugh over the affair when we get there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I don't think it
-likely," said Porthos, as his face assumed a look of utter
-hardness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But the Minimes is
-a rendezvous where duels take place, and what can I have to do at
-the Minimes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos slowly drew
-his sword, and said: "That is the length of my friend's
-sword."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, the man is
-mad!" cried Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The color mounted
-to Porthos's face, as he replied: "If I had not the honor of
-being in your own apartment, monsieur, and of representing M. de
-Bragelonne's interests, I would throw you out of the window.  It
-will be merely a pleasure postponed, and you will lose nothing by
-waiting.  Will you come with me to the Minimes, monsieur, of your
-own free will?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Take care, I will
-carry you if you do not come quickly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Basque!" cried
-Saint-Aignan.  As soon as Basque appeared, he said, "The king
-wishes to see monsieur le comte."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is very
-different," said Porthos; "the king's service before anything
-else.  We will wait until this evening, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And saluting
-Saint-Aignan with his usual courtesy, Porthos left the room,
-delighted at having arranged another affair.  Saint-Aignan looked
-after him as he left; and then hastily putting on his court dress
-again, he ran off, arranging his costume as he went along,
-muttering to himself, "The Minimes! the Minimes!  We shall see
-how the king will fancy this challenge; for it is for him after
-all, that is certain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Rivals in Politics.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>O</span>n his return
-from the promenade, which had been so prolific in poetical
-effusions, and in which every one had paid his or her tribute to
-the Muses, as the poets of the period used to say, the king found
-M. Fouquet waiting for an audience.  M. Colbert had lain in wait
-for his majesty in the corridor, and followed him like a jealous
-and watchful shadow; M. Colbert, with his square head, his vulgar
-and untidy, though rich costume, somewhat resembled a Flemish
-gentleman after he had been over-indulging in his national drink
-- beer.  Fouquet, at sight of his enemy, remained perfectly
-unmoved, and during the whole of the scene which followed
-scrupulously resolved to observe a line of conduct particularly
-difficult to the man of superior mind, who does not even wish to
-show his contempt, for fear of doing his adversary too much
-honor.  Colbert made no attempt to conceal his insolent
-expression of the vulgar joy he felt.  In his opinion, M.
-Fouquet's was a game very badly played and hopelessly lost,
-although not yet finished.  Colbert belonged to that school of
-politicians who think cleverness alone worthy of their
-admiration, and success the only thing worth caring for. 
-Colbert, moreover, who was not simply an envious and jealous man,
-but who had the king's interest really at heart, because he was
-thoroughly imbued with the highest sense of probity in all
-matters of figures and accounts, could well afford to assign as a
-pretext for his conduct, that in hating and doing his utmost to
-ruin M. Fouquet, he had nothing in view but the welfare of the
-state and the dignity of the crown.  None of these details
-escaped Fouquet's observation; through his enemy's thick, bushy
-brows, and despite the restless movement of his eyelids, he
-could, by merely looking at his eyes, penetrate to the very
-bottom of Colbert's heart, and he read to what an unbounded
-extent hate towards himself and triumph at his approaching fall
-existed there.  But as, in observing everything, he wished to
-remain himself impenetrable, he composed his features, smiled
-with the charmingly sympathetic smile that was peculiarly his
-own, and saluted the king with the most dignified and graceful
-ease and elasticity of manner.  "Sire," he said, "I perceive by
-your majesty's joyous air that you have been gratified with the
-promenade."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Most gratified, indeed,
-monsieur le surintendant, most gratified.  You were very wrong
-not to come with us, as I invited you to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I was working, sire,"
-replied the superintendent, who did not even seem to take the
-trouble to turn aside his head in merest respect of Colbert's
-presence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!  M. Fouquet," cried the
-king, "there is nothing like the country.  I should be delighted
-to live in the country always, in the open air and under the
-trees."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I should hope that your
-majesty is not yet weary of the throne," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; but thrones of soft
-turf are very pleasant."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty gratifies my
-utmost wishes in speaking in that manner, for I have a request to
-submit to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "On whose behalf,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh behalf of the nymphs of
-Vaux, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! ah!" said Louis
-XIV.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty, too, once
-deigned to make me a promise," said Fouquet.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, I remember it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The <i>f&ecirc;te</i> at
-Vaux, the celebrated <i>f&ecirc;te</i>, I think, it was, sire,"
-said Colbert, endeavoring to show his importance by taking part
-in the conversation.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Fouquet, with the
-profoundest contempt, did not take the slightest notice of the
-remark, as if, as far as he was concerned, Colbert had not even
-thought or said a word.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty is aware," he
-said, "that I destine my estate at Vaux to receive the most
-amiable of princes, the most powerful of monarchs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have given you my
-promise, monsieur," said Louis XIV., smiling; "and a king never
-departs from his word."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And I have come now, sire,
-to inform your majesty that I am ready to obey your orders in
-every respect."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do you promise me many
-wonders, monsieur le surintendant?" said Louis, looking at
-Colbert.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Wonders?  Oh! no, sire.  I
-do not undertake that.  I hope to be able to procure your majesty
-a little pleasure, perhaps even a little forgetfulness of the
-cares of state."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nay, nay, M. Fouquet,"
-returned the king; "I insist upon the word 'wonders.'  You are a
-magician, I believe; we all know the power you wield; we also
-know that you can find gold even when there is none to be found
-elsewhere; so much so, indeed, that people say you coin it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Fouquet felt that the shot
-was discharged from a double quiver, and that the king had
-launched an arrow from his own bow as well as one from
-Colbert's.  "Oh!" said he, laughingly, "the people know perfectly
-well out of what mine I procure the gold; and they know it only
-too well, perhaps; besides," he added, "I can assure your majesty
-that the gold destined to pay the expenses of the
-<i>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux will cost neither blood nor tears; hard
-labor it may, perhaps, but that can be paid for."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis paused quite
-confused.  He wished to look at Colbert; Colbert, too, wished to
-reply to him; a glance as swift as an eagle's, a king-like
-glance, indeed, which Fouquet darted at the latter, arrested the
-words upon his lips.  The king, who had by this time recovered
-his self-possession, turned towards Fouquet, saying, "I presume,
-therefore, I am now to consider myself formally invited?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire, if your majesty
-will condescend so far as to accept my invitation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What day have you
-fixed?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Any day your majesty may
-find most convenient."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You speak like an enchanter
-who has but to conjure up in actuality the wildest fancies,
-Monsieur Fouquet.  I could not say so much, indeed, myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty will do,
-whenever you please, everything that a monarch can and ought to
-do.  The king of France has servants at his bidding who are able
-to do anything on his behalf, to accomplish everything to gratify
-his pleasures."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert tried to
-look at the superintendent, in order to see whether this remark
-was an approach to less hostile sentiments on his part; but
-Fouquet had not even looked at his enemy, and Colbert hardly
-seemed to exist as far as he was concerned.  "Very good, then,"
-said the king.  "Will a week hence suit you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Perfectly well,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "This is Tuesday; if I give
-you until next Sunday week, will that be sufficient?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The delay which your
-majesty deigns to accord me will greatly aid the various works
-which my architects have in hand for the purpose of adding to the
-amusement of your majesty and your friends."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "By the by, speaking of my
-friends," resumed the king; "how do you intend to treat
-them?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The king is master
-everywhere, sire; your majesty will draw up your own list and
-give your own orders.  All those you may deign to invite will be
-my guests, my honored guests, indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I thank you!" returned the
-king, touched by the noble thought expressed in so noble a
-tone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Fouquet, therefore,
-took leave of Louis XIV., after a few words had been added with
-regard to the details of certain matters of business.  He felt
-that Colbert would remain behind with the king, that they would
-both converse about him, and that neither of them would spare him
-in the least degree.  The satisfaction of being able to give a
-last and terrible blow to his enemy seemed to him almost like a
-compensation for everything they were about to subject him to. 
-He turned back again immediately, as soon, indeed, as he had
-reached the door, and addressing the king, said, "I was
-forgetting that I had to crave your majesty's forgiveness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what respect?"
-said the king, graciously.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"For having
-committed a serious fault without perceiving it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A fault!  You! 
-Ah!  Monsieur Fouquet, I shall be unable to do otherwise than
-forgive you.  In what way or against whom have you been found
-wanting?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Against every
-sense of propriety, sire.  I forgot to inform your majesty of a
-circumstance that has lately occurred of some little
-importance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert trembled;
-he fancied that he was about to frame a denunciation against
-him.  His conduct had been unmasked.  A single syllable from
-Fouquet, a single proof formally advanced, and before the
-youthful loyalty of feeling which guided Louis XIV., Colbert's
-favor would disappear at once; the latter trembled, therefore,
-lest so daring a blow might overthrow his whole scaffold; in
-point of fact, the opportunity was so admirably suited to be
-taken advantage of, that a skillful, practiced player like Aramis
-would not have let it slip.  "Sire," said Fouquet, with an easy,
-unconcerned air, "since you have had the kindness to forgive me,
-I am perfectly indifferent about my confession; this morning I
-sold one of the official appointments I hold."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"One of your
-appointments," said the king, "which?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert turned
-perfectly livid.  "That which conferred upon me, sire, a grand
-gown, and a stern air of gravity; the appointment of
-procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king
-involuntarily uttered a loud exclamation and looked at Colbert,
-who, with his face bedewed with perspiration, felt almost on the
-point of fainting.  "To whom have you sold this department,
-Monsieur Fouquet?" inquired the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert was obliged
-to lean against a column of the fireplace.  "To a councilor
-belonging to the parliament, sire, whose name is Vanel."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Vanel?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire, a
-particular friend of the intendant Colbert," added Fouquet;
-letting every word fall from his lips with the most inimitable
-nonchalance, and with an admirably assumed expression of
-forgetfulness and ignorance.  And having finished, and having
-overwhelmed Colbert beneath the weight of this superiority, the
-superintendent again saluted the king and quitted the room,
-partially revenged by the stupefaction of the king and the
-humiliation of the favorite.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is it really
-possible," said the king, as soon as Fouquet had disappeared,
-"that he has sold that office?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire," said
-Colbert, meaningly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He must be mad,"
-the king added.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Colbert this time
-did not reply; he had penetrated the king's thought, a thought
-which amply revenged him for the humiliation he had just been
-made to suffer; his hatred was augmented by a feeling of bitter
-jealousy of Fouquet; and a threat of disgrace was now added to
-the plan he had arranged for his ruin.  Colbert felt perfectly
-assured that for the future, between Louis XIV. and himself,
-their hostile feelings and ideas would meet with no obstacles,
-and that at the first fault committed by Fouquet, which could be
-laid hold of as a pretext, the chastisement so long impending
-would be precipitated.  Fouquet had thrown aside his weapons of
-defense, and hate and jealousy had picked them up.  Colbert was
-invited by the king to the <i>f&ecirc;te</i> at Vaux; he bowed
-like a man confident in himself, and accepted the invitation with
-the air of one who almost confers a favor.  The king was about
-writing down Saint-Aignan's name on his list of royal commands,
-when the usher announced the Comte de Saint-Aignan.  As soon as
-the royal "Mercury" entered, Colbert discreetly withdrew.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Rivals in Love.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>S</span>aint-Aignan
-had quitted Louis XIV. hardly a couple of hours before; but in
-the first effervescence of his affection, whenever Louis XIV. was
-out of sight of La Valli&egrave;re, he was obliged to talk about
-her.  Besides, the only person with whom he could speak about her
-at his ease was Saint-Aignan, and thus Saint-Aignan had become an
-indispensable.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, is that you, comte?" he
-exclaimed, as soon as he perceived him, doubly delighted, not
-only to see him again, but also to get rid of Colbert, whose
-scowling face always put him out of humor.  "So much the better,
-I am very glad to see you.  You will make one of the best
-traveling party, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of what traveling part are
-you speaking, sire?" inquired Saint-Aignan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The one we are making up to
-go to the <i>f&ecirc;te</i> the superintendent is about to give
-at Vaux.  Ah!  Saint-Aignan, you will, at last, see a
-<i>f&ecirc;te</i>, a royal <i>f&ecirc;te</i>, by the side of
-which all our amusements at Fontainebleau are petty, contemptible
-affairs."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At Vaux! the superintendent
-going to give a <i>f&ecirc;te</i> in your majesty's honor? 
-Nothing more than that!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "'Nothing more than that,'
-do you say?  It is very diverting to find you treating it with so
-much disdain.  Are you who express such an indifference on the
-subject, aware, that as soon as it is known that M. Fouquet is
-going to receive me at Vaux next Sunday week, people will be
-striving their very utmost to get invited to the
-<i>f&ecirc;te?</i>  I repeat, Saint-Aignan, you shall be one of
-the invited guests."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well, sire; unless I
-shall, in the meantime, have undertaken a longer and a less
-agreeable journey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What journey do you allude
-to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The one across the Styx,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Bah!" said Louis XIV.,
-laughing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, seriously, sire,"
-replied Saint-Aignan, "I am invited; and in such a way, in truth,
-that I hardly know what to say, or how to act, in order to refuse
-the invitation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I do not understand you.  I
-know that you are in a poetical vein; but try not to sink from
-Apollo to Ph&oelig;bus."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well; if your majesty
-will deign to listen to me, I will not keep your mind on the rack
-a moment longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Speak."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty knows the
-Baron du Vallon?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, indeed; a good servant
-to my father, the late king, and an admirable companion at table;
-for, I think, you are referring to the gentleman who dined with
-us at Fontainebleau?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Precisely so; but you have
-omitted to add to his other qualifications, sire, that he is a
-most charming polisher-off of other people."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What!  Does M. du Vallon
-wish to polish you off?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Or to get me killed, which
-is much the same thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The deuce!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do not laugh, sire, for I
-am not saying one word beyond the exact truth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you say he wishes to
-get you killed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Such is that excellent
-person's present idea."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Be easy; I will defend you,
-if he be in the wrong."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!  There is an 'if'!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course; answer me as
-candidly as if it were some one else's affair instead of your
-own, my poor Saint-Aignan; is he right or wrong?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty shall be the
-judge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What have you done to
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To him, personally, nothing
-at all; but, it seems, to one of his friends, I have."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It is all the same.  Is his
-friend one of the celebrated 'four'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No.  It is the son of one
-of the celebrated 'four,' though."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What have you done to the
-son?  Come, tell me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why, it seems that I have
-helped some one to take his mistress from him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You confess it, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I cannot help confessing
-it, for it is true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, you are
-wrong; and if he were to kill you, he would be doing perfectly
-right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! that is your majesty's
-way of reasoning, then!"<br>
-                "Do you think it a bad way?"<br>
-                "It is a very expeditious way, at all
-events."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "'Good justice is prompt;'
-so my grandfather Henry IV. used to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, your majesty
-will, perhaps, be good enough to sign my adversary's pardon, for
-he is now waiting for me at the Minimes, for the purpose of
-putting me out of my misery."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "His name, and a
-parchment!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is a parchment upon
-your majesty's table; and for his name - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, what is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The Vicomte de Bragelonne,
-sire."<br>
-                "'The Vicomte de Bragelonne!'" exclaimed the
-king; changing from a fit of laughter to the most profound
-stupor, and then, after a moment's silence, while he wiped his
-forehead, which was bedewed with perspiration, he again murmured,
-"Bragelonne!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No other, sire."<br>
-                "Bragelonne, who was affianced to - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire."<br>
-                "But - he has been in London."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes; but I can assure you,
-sire, he is there no longer."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is he in Paris, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He is at Minimes, sire,
-where he is waiting for me, as I have already had the honor of
-telling you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Does he know all?"<br>
-                "Yes; and many things besides.  Perhaps your
-majesty would like to look at the letter I have received from
-him;" and Saint-Aignan drew from his pocket the note we are
-already acquainted with.  "When your majesty has read the letter,
-I will tell you how it reached me."<br>
-                The king read it in a great agitation, and
-immediately said, "Well?"<br>
-                "Well, sire; your majesty knows a certain carved
-lock, closing a certain door of carved ebony, which separates a
-certain apartment from a certain blue and white sanctuary?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Of course; Louise's
-boudoir."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire.  Well, it was in
-the keyhole of that lock that I found yonder note."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who placed it there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Either M. de Bragelonne, or
-the devil himself; but, inasmuch as the note smells of musk and
-not of sulphur, I conclude that it must be, not the devil, but M.
-de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis bent his head, and
-seemed absorbed in sad and bitter thought.  Perhaps something
-like remorse was at that moment passing through his heart.  "The
-secret is discovered," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Sire, I shall do my utmost
-that the secret dies in the breast of the man who possesses it!"
-said Saint-Aignan, in a tone of bravado, as he moved towards the
-door; but a gesture of the king made him pause.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where are you going?" he
-inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Where they await me,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What for?"<br>
-                "To fight, in all probability."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "<i>You</i> fight!"
-exclaimed the king.  "One moment, if you please, monsieur le
-comte!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Saint-Aignan shook his head,
-as a rebellious child does, whenever any one interferes to
-prevent him throwing himself into a well, or playing with a
-knife.  "But, sire," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the first place,"
-continued the king.  "I want to be enlightened a little
-further."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Upon all points, if your
-majesty will be pleased to interrogate me," replied Saint-Aignan,
-"I will throw what light I can."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who told you that M. de
-Bragelonne had penetrated into that room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The letter which I found in
-the keyhole told me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who told you that it was De
-Bragelonne who put it there?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Who but himself would have
-dared to undertake such a mission?"<br>
-                "You are right.  How was he able to get into your
-rooms?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! that is very serious,
-inasmuch as all the doors were closed, and my lackey, Basque, had
-the keys in his pocket."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your lackey must have been
-bribed."<br>
-                "Impossible, sire; for if he had been bribed,
-those who did so would not have sacrificed the poor fellow, whom,
-it is not unlikely, they might want to turn to further use by and
-by, in showing so clearly that it was he whom they had made use
-of."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite true.  And now I can
-only form one conjecture."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell me what it is, sire,
-and we shall see if it is the same that has presented itself to
-my mind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That he effected an
-entrance by means of the staircase."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas, sire, that seems to
-me more than probable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "There is no doubt that some
-one must have sold the secret of the trap-door."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Either sold it or given
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Why do you make that
-distinction?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Because there are certain
-persons, sire, who, being above the price of treason, give, and
-do not sell."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What do you mean?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, sire!  Your majesty's
-mind is too clear-sighted not to guess what I mean, and you will
-save me the embarrassment of naming the person I allude to."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right: you mean
-Madame; I suppose her suspicions were aroused by your changing
-your lodgings."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Madame has keys of the
-apartments of her maids of honor, and she is powerful enough to
-discover what no one but yourself could do, or she would not be
-able to discover anything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you suppose, then, that
-my sister must have entered into an alliance with Bragelonne, and
-has informed him of all the details of the affair."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Possibly even better still,
-for she perhaps accompanied him there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Which way? through your own
-apartments?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You think it impossible,
-sire?  Well, listen to me.  Your majesty knows that Madame is
-very fond of perfumes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, she acquired that
-taste from my mother."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Vervain, particularly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Yes, it is the
-scent she prefers to all others."<br>
-"Very good, sire! my apartments happen to smell very strongly of
-vervain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king remained
-silent and thoughtful for a few moments, and then resumed: "But
-why should Madame take Bragelonne's part against me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan could
-very easily have replied: "A woman's jealousy!"  The king probed
-his friend to the bottom of his heart to ascertain if he had
-learned the secret of his flirtation with his sister-in-law.  But
-Saint-Aignan was not an ordinary courtier; he did not lightly run
-the risk of finding out family secrets; and he was too a friend
-of the Muses not to think very frequently of poor Ovidius Naso,
-whose eyes shed so many tears in expiation of his crime for
-having once beheld something, one hardly knows what, in the
-palace of Augustus.  He therefore passed by Madame's secret very
-skillfully.  But as he had shown no ordinary sagacity in
-indicating Madame's presence in his rooms in company with
-Bragelonne, it was necessary, of course, for him to repay with
-interest the king's <i>amour propre</i>, and reply plainly to the
-question which had been put to him of: "Why has Madame taken
-Bragelonne's part against me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why?" replied
-Saint-Aignan.  "Your majesty forgets, I presume, that the Comte
-de Guiche is the intimate friend of the Vicomte de
-Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not see the
-connection, however," said the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!  I beg your
-pardon, then, sire; but I thought the Comte de Guiche was a very
-great friend of Madame's."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite true," the
-king returned; "there is no occasion to search any further, the
-blow came from that direction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And is not your
-majesty of opinion that, in order to ward it off, it will be
-necessary to deal another blow?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, but not one
-of the kind given in the Bois de Vincennes," replied the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You forget, sire,"
-said Saint-Aignan, "that I am a gentleman, and that I have been
-challenged."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The challenge
-neither concerns nor was it intended for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But I am the man,
-sire, who has been expected at the Minimes, sire, during the last
-hour and more; and I shall be dishonored if I do not go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The first honor
-and duty of a gentleman is obedience to his sovereign."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I order you to
-remain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Obey,
-monsieur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As your majesty
-pleases."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Besides, I wish to
-have the whole of this affair explained; I wish to know how it is
-that I have been so insolently trifled with, as to have the
-sanctuary of my affections pried into.  It is not you,
-Saint-Aignan, whose business it is to punish those who have acted
-in this manner, for it is not your honor they have attacked, but
-my own."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I implore your
-majesty not to overwhelm M. de Bragelonne with your wrath, for
-although in the whole of this affair he may have shown himself
-deficient in prudence, he has not been so in his feelings of
-loyalty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Enough!  I shall
-know how to decide between the just and the unjust, even in the
-height of my anger.  But take care that not a word of this is
-breathed to Madame."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But what am I to
-do with regard to M. de Bragelonne?  He will be seeking me in
-every direction, and - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I shall either
-have spoken to him, or taken care that he has been spoken to,
-before the evening is over."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let me once more
-entreat your majesty to be indulgent towards him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have been
-indulgent long enough, comte," said Louis XIV., frowning
-severely; "it is now quite time to show certain persons that I am
-master in my own palace."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king had hardly
-pronounced these words, which betokened that a fresh feeling of
-irritation was mingling with the recollections of old, when an
-usher appeared at the door of the cabinet.  "What is the matter?"
-inquired the king, "and why do you presume to come when I have
-not summoned you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire," said the
-usher, "your majesty desired me to permit M. le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re to pass freely on any and every occasion, when he
-might wish to speak to your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re is now waiting to see your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king and
-Saint-Aignan at this reply exchanged a look which betrayed more
-uneasiness than surprise.  Louis hesitated for a moment, but
-immediately afterwards, seeming to make up his mind, he said:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Go, Saint-Aignan,
-and find Louise; inform her of the plot against us; do not let
-her be ignorant that Madame will return to her system of
-persecutions against her, and that she has set those to work who
-would have found it far safer to remain neuter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If Louise gets
-nervous and frightened, reassure her as much as you can; tell her
-that the king's affection is an impenetrable shield over her; if,
-which I suspect is the case, she already knows everything, or if
-she has already been herself subjected to an attack of some kind
-or other from any quarter, tell her, be sure to tell her,
-Saint-Aignan," added the king, trembling with passion, "tell her,
-I say, that this time, instead of defending her, I will avenge
-her, and that too so terribly that no one will in future even
-dare to raise his eyes towards her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Is that all,
-sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, all.  Go as
-quickly as you can, and remain faithful; for, you who live in the
-midst of this stake of infernal torments, have not, like myself,
-the hope of the paradise beyond it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Saint-Aignan
-exhausted himself in protestations of  devotion, took the king's
-hand, kissed it, and left the room radiant with delight.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LVIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-King and Noble.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he king
-endeavored to recover his self-possession as quickly as possible,
-in order to meet M. de la F&egrave;re with an untroubled
-countenance.  He clearly saw it was not mere chance that had
-induced the comte's visit, he had some vague impression of its
-importance; but he felt that to a man of Athos's tone of mind, to
-one of such a high order of intellect, his first reception ought
-not to present anything either disagreeable or otherwise than
-kind and courteous.  As soon as the king had satisfied himself
-that, as far as appearances went, he was perfectly calm again, he
-gave directions to the ushers to introduce the comte.  A few
-minutes afterwards Athos, in full court dress, and with his
-breast covered with the orders that he alone had the right to
-wear at the court of France, presented himself with so grave and
-solemn an air that the king perceived, at the first glance, that
-he was not deceived in his anticipations.  Louis advanced a step
-towards the comte, and, with a smile, held out his hand to him,
-over which Athos bowed with the air of the deepest respect.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re," said the king rapidly, "you are so seldom here,
-that it is a real piece of good fortune to see you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Athos bowed and replied, "I
-should wish always to enjoy the happiness of being near your
-majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The tone, however, in which
-this reply was conveyed, evidently signified, "I should wish to
-be one of your majesty's advisers, to save you the commission of
-faults."  The king felt it so, and determined in this man's
-presence to preserve all the advantages which could be derived
-from his command over himself, as well as from his rank and
-position.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I see you have something to
-say to me," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Had it not been so, I
-should not have presumed to present myself before your
-majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Speak quickly, I am anxious
-to satisfy you," returned the king, seating himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am persuaded," replied
-Athos, in a somewhat agitated tone of voice, "that your majesty
-will give me every satisfaction."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" said the king, with a
-certain haughtiness of manner, "you have come to lodge a
-complaint here, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It would be a complaint,"
-returned Athos, "only in the event of your majesty - but if you
-will deign to permit me, sire, I will begin the conversation from
-the very commencement."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Do so, I am listening."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Your majesty will remember
-that at the period of the Duke of Buckingham's departure, I had
-the honor of an interview with you."<br>
-                "At or about that period, I think I remember you
-did; only, with regard to the subject of the conversation, I have
-quite forgotten it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Athos started, as he
-replied.  "I shall have the honor to remind your majesty of it. 
-It was with regard to a formal demand I had addressed to you
-respecting a marriage which M. de Bragelonne wished to contract
-with Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah!" thought the king, "we
-have come to it now. - I remember," he said, aloud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "At that period," pursued
-Athos, "your majesty was so kind and generous towards M. de
-Bragelonne and myself, that not a single word which then fell
-from your lips has escaped my memory; and, when I asked your
-majesty to accord me Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re's hand
-for M. de Bragelonne, you refused."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Quite true," said Louis,
-dryly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alleging," Athos hastened
-to say, "that the young lady had no position in society."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Louis could hardly force
-himself to listen with an appearance of royal propriety.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That," added Athos, "she
-had but little fortune."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king threw himself back
-in his armchair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That her
-extraction was indifferent."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>A renewed
-impatience on the part of the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And little
-beauty," added Athos, pitilessly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This last bolt
-buried itself deep in the king's heart, and made him almost bound
-from his seat.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have a good
-memory, monsieur," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I invariably have,
-on occasions when I have had the distinguished honor of an
-interview with your majesty," retorted the comte, without being
-in the least disconcerted.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good: it is
-admitted that I said all that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I thanked your
-majesty for your remarks at the time, because they testified an
-interest in M. de Bragelonne which did him much honor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you may
-possibly remember," said the king, very deliberately, "that you
-had the greatest repugnance for this marriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quite true,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And that you
-solicited my permission, much against your own inclination?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And finally, I
-remember, for I have a memory nearly as good as your own; I
-remember, I say, that you observed at the time: 'I do not believe
-that Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re loves M. de Bragelonne.' 
-Is that true?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The blow told well,
-but Athos did not draw back.  "Sire," he said, "I have already
-begged your majesty's forgiveness; but there are certain
-particulars in that conversation which are only intelligible from
-the <i>d&eacute;nouement.</i>"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, what is the
-<i>d&eacute;nouement</i>, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"This: that your
-majesty then said, 'that you would defer the marriage out of
-regard for M. de Bragelonne's own interests.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king remained
-silent.  "M. de Bragelonne is now so exceedingly unhappy that he
-cannot any longer defer asking your majesty for a solution of the
-matter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king turned
-pale; Athos looked at him with fixed attention.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And what," said
-the king, with considerable hesitation, "does M. de Bragelonne
-request?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely the very
-thing that I came to ask your majesty for at my last audience,
-namely, your majesty's consent to his marriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king remained
-perfectly silent.  "The questions which referred to the different
-obstacles in the way are all now quite removed for us," continued
-Athos.  "Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, without fortune,
-birth, or beauty, is not the less on that account the only good
-match in the world for M. de Bragelonne, since he loves this
-young girl."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king pressed
-his hands impatiently together.  "Does your majesty hesitate?"
-inquired the comte, without losing a particle of either his
-firmness of his politeness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not hesitate
-- I refuse," replied the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos paused a
-moment, as if to collect himself: "I have had the honor," he
-said, in a mild tone, "to observe to your majesty that no
-obstacle now interferes with M. de Bragelonne's affections, and
-that his determination seems unalterable."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is my will -
-and that is an obstacle, I should imagine!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is the most
-serious of all," Athos replied quickly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And may we,
-therefore, be permitted to ask your majesty, with the greatest
-humility, your reason for this refusal?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The reason! - A
-question to me!" exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A demand,
-sire!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king, leaning
-with both his hands upon the table, said, in a deep tone of
-concentrated passion: "You have lost all recollection of what is
-usual at court.  At court, please to remember, no one ventures to
-put a question to the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very true, sire;
-but if men do not question, they conjecture."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Conjecture!  What
-may that mean, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very frequently,
-sire, conjecture with regard to a particular subject implies a
-want of frankness on the part of the king - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And a want of
-confidence on the part of the subject," pursued Athos,
-intrepidly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You forget
-yourself," said the king, hurried away by anger in spite of all
-his self-control.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, I am obliged
-to seek elsewhere for what I thought I should find in your
-majesty.  Instead of obtaining a reply from you, I am compelled
-to make one for myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king rose. 
-"Monsieur le comte," he said, "I have now given you all the time
-I had at my disposal."  This was a dismissal.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire," replied the
-comte, "I have not yet had time to tell your majesty what I came
-with the express object of saying, and I so rarely see your
-majesty that I ought to avail myself of the opportunity."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Just now you spoke
-rudely of conjectures; you are now becoming offensive,
-monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, sire! offend
-your majesty!  I? - never!  All my life through I have maintained
-that kings are above all other men, not only from their rank and
-power, but from their nobleness of heart and their true dignity
-of mind.  I never can bring myself to believe that my sovereign,
-he who passed his word to me, did so with a mental
-reservation."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you mean?
-what mental reservation do you allude to?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will explain my
-meaning," said Athos, coldly.  "If, in refusing Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re to Monsieur de Bragelonne, your majesty had
-some other object in view than the happiness and fortune of the
-vicomte - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You perceive,
-monsieur, that you are offending me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If, in requiring
-the vicomte to delay his marriage, your majesty's only object was
-to remove the gentleman to whom Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re was engaged - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur!
-monsieur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have heard it
-said so in every direction, sire.  Your majesty's affection for
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re is spoken of on all
-sides."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king tore his
-gloves, which he had been biting for some time.  "Woe to those,"
-he cried, "who interfere in my affairs.  I have made up my mind
-to take a particular course, and I will break through every
-obstacle in my way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What obstacle?"
-said Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king stopped
-short, like a horse which, having taken the bit between his teeth
-and run away, finds it has slipped it back again, and that his
-career is checked.  "I love Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re,"
-he said suddenly, with mingled nobleness of feeling and
-passion.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But," interrupted
-Athos, "that does not preclude your majesty from allowing M. de
-Bragelonne to marry Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re.  The
-sacrifice is worthy of so great a monarch; it is fully merited by
-M. de Bragelonne, who has already rendered great service to your
-majesty, and who may well be regarded as a brave and worthy man. 
-Your majesty, therefore, in renouncing the affection you
-entertain, offers a proof at once of generosity, gratitude, and
-good policy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re does not love M. de Bragelonne," said the king,
-hoarsely.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Does your majesty
-know that to be the case?" remarked Athos, with a searching
-look.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do know it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since a very short
-time, then; for doubtless, had your majesty known it when I first
-preferred my request, you would have taken the trouble to inform
-me of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Since a very short
-time, it is true, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos remained
-silent for a moment, and then resumed: "In that case, I do not
-understand why your majesty should have sent M. de Bragelonne to
-London.  That exile, and most properly so, too, is a matter of
-astonishment to every one who regards your majesty's honor with
-sincere affection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who presumes to
-impugn my honor, Monsieur de la F&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king's honor,
-sire, is made up of the honor of his whole nobility.  Whenever
-the king offends one of his gentlemen, that is, whenever he
-deprives him of the smallest particle of his honor, it is from
-him, from the king himself, that that portion of honor is
-stolen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur de la
-F&egrave;re!" said the king, haughtily.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, you sent M.
-de Bragelonne to London either before you were Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re's lover, or since you have become so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king, irritated
-beyond measure, especially because he felt that he was being
-mastered, endeavored to dismiss Athos by a gesture.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire," replied the
-comte, "I will tell you all; I will not leave your presence until
-I have been satisfied by your majesty or by myself; satisfied if
-you prove to me that you are right, - satisfied if I prove to you
-that you are wrong.  Nay, sire, you can but listen to me.  I am
-old now, and I am attached to everything that is really great and
-really powerful in your kingdom.  I am of those who have shed
-their blood for your father and for yourself, without ever having
-asked a single favor either from yourself or from your father.  I
-have never inflicted the slightest wrong or injury on any one in
-this world, and even kings are still my debtors.  You can but
-listen to me, I repeat.  I have come to ask you for an account of
-the honor of one of your servants whom you have deceived by a
-falsehood, or betrayed by want of heart of judgment.  I know that
-these words irritate your majesty, but the facts themselves are
-killing us.  I know that you are endeavoring to find some means
-whereby to chastise me for my frankness; but I know also the
-chastisement I will implore God to inflict upon you when I relate
-to Him your perjury and my son's unhappiness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king during
-these remarks was walking hurriedly to and fro, his hand thrust
-into the breast of his coat, his head haughtily raised, his eyes
-blazing with wrath.  "Monsieur," he cried, suddenly, "if I acted
-towards you as a king, you would be already punished; but I am
-only a man, and I have the right to love in this world every one
-who loves me, - a happiness which is so rarely found."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You cannot pretend
-to such a right as a man any more than as a king, sire; or if you
-intend to exercise that right in a loyal manner, you should have
-told M. de Bragelonne so, and not have exiled him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is too great a
-condescension, monsieur, to discuss these things with you,"
-interrupted Louis XIV., with that majesty of air and manner he
-alone seemed able to give his look and his voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I was hoping that
-you would reply to me," said the comte.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You shall know my
-reply, monsieur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You already know
-my thoughts on the subject," was the Comte de la F&egrave;re's
-answer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have forgotten
-you are speaking to the king, monsieur.  It is a crime."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You have forgotten
-you are destroying the lives of two men, sire.  It is a mortal
-sin."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Leave the
-room!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not until I have
-said this: 'Son of Louis XIII., you begin your reign badly, for
-you begin it by abduction and disloyalty!  My race - myself too -
-are now freed from all that affection and respect towards you,
-which I made my son swear to observe in the vaults of
-Saint-Denis, in the presence of the relics of your noble
-forefathers.  You are now become our enemy, sire, and henceforth
-we have nothing to do save with Heaven alone, our sole master. 
-Be warned, be warned, sire.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! do you
-threaten?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no," said
-Athos, sadly, "I have as little bravado as fear in my soul.  The
-God of whom I spoke to you is now listening to me; He knows that
-for the safety and honor of your crown I would even yet shed
-every drop of blood twenty years of civil and foreign warfare
-have left in my veins.  I can well say, then, that I threaten the
-king as little as I threaten the man; but I tell you, sire, you
-lose two servants; for you have destroyed faith in the heart of
-the father, and love in the heart of the son; the one ceases to
-believe in the royal word, the other no longer believes in the
-loyalty of the man, or the purity of woman: the one is dead to
-every feeling of respect, the other to obedience.  Adieu!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Thus saying, Athos
-broke his sword across his knee, slowly placed the two pieces
-upon the floor, and saluting the king, who was almost choking
-from rage and shame, he quitted the cabinet.  Louis, who sat near
-the table, completely overwhelmed, was several minutes before he
-could collect himself; but he suddenly rose and rang the bell
-violently.  "Tell M. d'Artagnan to come here," he said to the
-terrified ushers.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LIX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-After the Storm.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>O</span>ur readers
-will doubtlessly have been asking themselves how it happened that
-Athos, of whom not a word has been said for some time past,
-arrived so very opportunely at court.  We will, without delay,
-endeavor to satisfy their curiosity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Porthos, faithful to his
-duty as an arranger of affairs, had, immediately after leaving
-the Palais Royal, set off to join Raoul at the Minimes in the
-Bois de Vincennes, and had related everything, even to the
-smallest details, which had passed between Saint-Aignan and
-himself.  He finished by saying that the message which the king
-had sent to his favorite would probably not occasion more than a
-short delay, and that Saint-Aignan, as soon as he could leave the
-king, would not lose a moment in accepting the invitation Raoul
-had sent him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                But Raoul, less credulous
-than his old friend, had concluded from Porthos's recital that if
-Saint-Aignan was going to the king, Saint-Aignan would tell the
-king everything, and that the king would most assuredly forbid
-Saint-Aignan to obey the summons he had received to the hostile
-meeting.  The consequence of his reflections was, that he had
-left Porthos to remain at the place appointed for the meeting, in
-the very improbable case that Saint-Aignan would come there;
-having endeavored to make Porthos promise that he would not
-remain there more than an hour or an hour and a half at the very
-longest.  Porthos, however, formally refused to do anything of
-the kind, but, on the contrary, installed himself in the Minimes
-as if he were going to take root there, making Raoul promise that
-when he had been to see his father, he would return to his own
-apartments, in order that Porthos's servant might know where to
-find him in case M. de Saint-Aignan should happen to come to the
-rendezvous.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Bragelonne had left
-Vincennes, and proceeded at once straight to the apartments of
-Athos, who had been in Paris during the last two days, the comte
-having been already informed of what had taken place, by a letter
-from D'Artagnan.  Raoul arrived at his father's; Athos, after
-having held out his hand to him, and embraced him most
-affectionately, made a sign for him to sit down.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know you come to me as a
-man would go to a friend, vicomte, whenever he is suffering; tell
-me, therefore, what is it that brings you now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The young man bowed, and
-began his recital; more than once in the course of it his tears
-almost choked his utterance, and a sob, checked in his throat,
-compelled him to suspend his narrative for a few minutes.  Athos
-most probably already knew how matters stood, as we have just now
-said D'Artagnan had already written to him; but, preserving until
-the conclusion that calm, unruffled composure of manner which
-constituted the almost superhuman side of his character, he
-replied, "Raoul, I do not believe there is a word of truth in
-these rumors; I do not believe in the existence of what you fear,
-although I do not deny that persons best entitled to the fullest
-credit have already conversed with me on the subject.  In my
-heart and soul I think it utterly impossible that the king could
-be guilty of such an outrage on a gentleman.  I will answer for
-the king, therefore, and will soon bring you back the proof of
-what I say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul, wavering like a
-drunken man between what he had seen with his own eyes and the
-imperturbable faith he had in a man who had never told a
-falsehood, bowed and simply answered, "Go, then, monsieur le
-comte; I will await your return."  And he sat down, burying his
-face in his hands.  Athos dressed, and then left him, in order to
-wait upon the king; the result of that interview is already known
-to our readers.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                When he returned to his
-lodgings, Raoul, pale and dejected, had not quitted his attitude
-of despair.  At the sound, however, of the opening doors, and of
-his father's footsteps as he approached him, the young man raised
-his head.  Athos's face was very pale, his head uncovered, and
-his manner full of seriousness; he gave his cloak and hat to the
-lackey, dismissed him with a gesture, and sat down near
-Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, monsieur," inquired
-the young man, "are you convinced yet?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I am, Raoul; the king loves
-Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He confesses it, then?"
-cried Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," replied Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And she?"<br>
-                "I have not seen her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No; but the king spoke to
-you about her.  What did he say?"<br>
-                "He says that she loves him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, you see - you see,
-monsieur!" said the young man, with a gesture of despair.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Raoul," resumed the comte,
-"I told the king, believe me, all that you yourself could
-possibly have urged, and I believe I did so in becoming language,
-though sufficiently firm."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And what did you say to
-him, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I told him, Raoul, that
-everything was now at an end between him and ourselves; that you
-would never serve him again.  I told him that I, too, should
-remain aloof.  Nothing further remains for me, then, but to be
-satisfied of one thing."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "What is that,
-monsieur?"<br>
-                "Whether you have determined to adopt any
-steps."<br>
-                "Any steps?  Regarding what?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "With reference to your
-disappointed affection, and - your ideas of vengeance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, monsieur, with regard
-to my affection, I shall, perhaps, some day or other, succeed in
-tearing it from my heart; I trust I shall do so, aided by
-Heaven's merciful help, and your own wise exhortations.  As far
-as vengeance is concerned, it occurred to me only when under the
-influence of an evil thought, for I could not revenge myself upon
-the one who is actually guilty; I have, therefore, already
-renounced every idea of revenge."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you no longer think of
-seeking a quarrel with M. de Saint-Aignan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No, monsieur; I sent him a
-challenge: if M. de Saint-Aignan accepts it, I will maintain it;
-if he does not take it up, I will leave things as they are."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And La
-Valli&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You cannot, I know, have
-seriously thought that I should dream of revenging myself upon a
-woman!" replied Raoul, with a smile so sad that a tear started
-even to the eyes of his father, who had so many times in the
-course of his life bowed beneath his own sorrows and those of
-others.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He held out his hand to
-Raoul, which the latter seized most eagerly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And so, monsieur le comte,
-you are quite satisfied that the misfortune is one beyond all
-remedy?" inquired the young man.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Poor boy!" he murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You think that I still live
-in hope," said Raoul, "and you pity me.  Oh, it is indeed
-horrible suffering for me to despise, as I am bound to do, the
-one I have loved so devotedly.  If I had but some real cause of
-complaint against her, I should be happy, I should be able to
-forgive her."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Athos looked at his son with
-a profoundly sorrowful air, for the words Raoul had just
-pronounced seemed to have issued out of his own heart.  At this
-moment the servant announced M. d'Artagnan.  This name sounded
-very differently to the ears of Athos and Raoul.  The musketeer
-entered the room with a vague smile on his lips.  Raoul paused. 
-Athos walked towards his friend with an expression of face that
-did not escape Bragelonne.  D'Artagnan answered Athos's look by
-an imperceptible movement of the eyelid; and then, advancing
-towards Raoul, whom he took by the hand, he said, addressing both
-father and son, "Well, you are trying to console this poor boy,
-it seems."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And you, kind and good as
-usual, have come to help me in my difficult task."<br>
-                As he said this, Athos pressed D'Artagnan's hand
-between both his own.  Raoul fancied he observed in this pressure
-something beyond the sense his mere words conveyed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes," replied the
-musketeer, smoothing his mustache with the hand that Athos had
-left free, "yes, I have come too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are most welcome,
-chevalier; not for the consolation you bring with you, but on
-your own account.  I am already consoled," said Raoul; and he
-attempted to smile, but the effort was more sad than any tears
-D'Artagnan had ever seen shed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That is all well and good,
-then," said D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Only," continued Raoul,
-"you have arrived just as the comte was about to give me the
-details of his interview with the king.  You will allow the comte
-to continue?" added the young man, as, with his eyes fixed on the
-musketeer, he seemed to read the very depths of his heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "His interview with the
-king?" said D'Artagnan, in a tone so natural and unassumed that
-there was no means of suspecting that his astonishment was
-feigned.  "You have seen the king, then, Athos?"<br>
-                Athos smiled as he said, "Yes, I have seen
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah, indeed; you were
-unaware, then, that the comte had seen his majesty?" inquired
-Raoul, half reassured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, indeed, quite so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In that case, I am less
-uneasy," said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Uneasy - and about what?"
-inquired Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Forgive me, monsieur," said
-Raoul, "but knowing so well the regard and affection you have for
-me, I was afraid you might possibly have expressed somewhat
-plainly to his majesty my own sufferings and your indignation,
-and that the king had consequently - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "And that the king had
-consequently?" repeated D'Artagnan; "well, go on, finish what you
-were going to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I have now to ask you to
-forgive me, Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Raoul.  "For a moment, and
-I cannot help confessing it, I trembled lest you had come here,
-not as M. d'Artagnan, but as captain of the musketeers."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are mad, my poor boy,"
-cried D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter, in which an exact
-observer might perhaps have wished to have heard a little more
-frankness.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "So much the better," said
-Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, mad; and do you know
-what I would advise you to do?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell me, monsieur, for the
-advice is sure to be good, as it comes from you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very good, then; I advise
-you, after your long journey from England, after your visit to M.
-de Guiche, after your visit to Madame, after your visit to
-Porthos, after your journey to Vincennes, I advise you, I say, to
-take a few hours' rest; go and lie down, sleep for a dozen hours,
-and when you wake up, go and ride one of my horses until you have
-tired him to death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And drawing Raoul towards
-him, he embraced him as he would have done his own child.  Athos
-did the like; only it was very visible that the kiss was still
-more affectionate, and the pressure of his lips even warmer with
-the father than with the friend.  The young man again looked at
-both his companions, endeavoring to penetrate their real meaning
-or their real feelings with the utmost strength of his
-intelligence; but his look was powerless upon the smiling
-countenance of the musketeer or upon the calm and composed
-features of the Comte de la F&egrave;re.  "Where are you going,
-Raoul?" inquired the latter, seeing that Bragelonne was preparing
-to go out.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "To my own apartments,"
-replied the latter, in his soft, sad voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "We shall be sure to find
-you there, then, if we should have anything to say to you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, monsieur; but do you
-suppose it likely you will have something to say to me?"<br>
-                "How can I tell?" said Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, something fresh to
-console you with," said D'Artagnan, pushing him towards the
-door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul, observing the perfect
-composure which marked every gesture of his two friends, quitted
-the comte's room, carrying away with him nothing but the
-individual feeling of his own particular distress.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Thank Heaven," he said,
-"since that is the case, I need only think of myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And wrapping himself up in
-his cloak, in order to conceal from the passers-by in the streets
-his gloomy and sorrowful face, he quitted them, for the purpose
-of returning to his own rooms, as he had promised Porthos.  The
-two friends watched the young man as he walked away with a
-feeling of genuine disinterested pity; only each expressed it in
-a different way.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Poor Raoul!" said Athos,
-sighing deeply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Poor Raoul!" said
-D'Artagnan, shrugging his shoulders.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LX:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Heu!  Miser!</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>"P</span>oor Raoul!"
-had said Athos.  "Poor Raoul!" had said D'Artagnan: and, in point
-of fact, to be pitied by both these men, Raoul must indeed have
-been most unhappy.  And therefore, when he found himself alone,
-face to face, as it were, with his own troubles, leaving behind
-him the intrepid friend and the indulgent father; when he
-recalled the avowal of the king's affection, which had robbed him
-of Louise de la Valli&egrave;re, whom he loved so deeply, he felt
-his heart almost breaking, as indeed we all have at least once in
-our lives, at the first illusion destroyed, the first affection
-betrayed.  "Oh!" he murmured, "all is over, then.  Nothing is now
-left me in this world.  Nothing to look forward to, nothing to
-hope for.  Guiche has told me so, my father has told me so, M.
-d'Artagnan has told me so.  All life is but an idle dream.  The
-future which I have been hopelessly pursuing for the last ten
-years is a dream! the union of hearts, a dream! a life of love
-and happiness, a dream!  Poor fool that I am," he continued,
-after a pause, "to dream away my existence aloud, publicly, and
-in the face of others, friends and enemies - and for what
-purpose, too? in order that my friends may be saddened by my
-troubles, and my enemies may laugh at my sorrows.  And so my
-unhappiness will soon become a notorious disgrace, a public
-scandal; and who knows but that to-morrow I may even be a public
-laughing-stock?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                And, despite the composure
-which he had promised his father and D'Artagnan to observe, Raoul
-could not resist uttering a few words of darkest menace.  "And
-yet," he continued, "if my name were De Wardes, and if I had the
-pliancy of character and strength of will of M. d'Artagnan, I
-should laugh, with my lips at least; I should convince other
-women that this perfidious girl, honored by the affection I have
-wasted on her, leaves me only one regret, that of having been
-abused and deceived by her seemingly modest and irreproachable
-conduct; a few might perhaps fawn on the king by jesting at my
-expense; I should put myself on the track of some of those
-buffoons; I should chastise a few of them, perhaps; the men would
-fear me, and by the time I had laid three dying or dead at my
-feet, I should be adored by the women.  Yes, yes, that, indeed,
-would be the proper course to adopt, and the Comte de la
-F&egrave;re himself would not object to it.  Has not he also been
-tried, in his earlier days, in the same manner as I have just
-been tried myself?  Did he not replace affection by
-intoxication?  He has often told me so.  Why should I not replace
-love by pleasure?  He must have suffered as much as I suffer,
-even more - if that is possible.  The history of one man is the
-history of all, a dragging trial, more or less prolonged, more or
-less bitter - sorrowful.  The note of human nature is nothing but
-one sustained cry.  But what are the sufferings of others
-compared to those from which I am now suffering?  Does the open
-wound in another's breast soften the anguish of the gaping ulcer
-in our own?  Does the blood which is welling from another man's
-side stanch that which is pouring from our own?  Does the general
-grief of our fellow-creatures lessen our own private and
-particular woe?  No, no, each suffers on his own account, each
-struggles with his own grief, each sheds his own tears.  And
-besides," he went on, "what has my life been up to the present
-moment?  A cold, barren, sterile arena, in which I have always
-fought for others, never for myself.  Sometimes for a king,
-sometimes for a woman.  The king has betrayed, the woman
-disdained me.  Miserable, unlucky wretch that I am!  Women!  Can
-I not make all expiate the crime of one of their sex?  What does
-that need?  To have a heart no longer, or to forget that I ever
-had one; to be strong, even against weakness itself; to lean
-always, even when one feels that the support is giving way.  What
-is needed to attain, or succeed in all that?  To be young,
-handsome, strong, valiant, rich.  I am, or shall be, all that. 
-But honor?" he still continued, "and what is honor after all?  A
-theory which every man understands in his own way.  My father
-tells me: 'Honor is the consideration of what is due to others,
-and particularly what is due to oneself.'  But Guiche, and
-Manicamp, and Saint-Aignan particularly, would say to me: 'What's
-honor?  Honor consists in studying and yielding to the passions
-and pleasures of one's king.'  Honor such as that indeed, is easy
-and productive enough.  With honor like that, I can keep my post
-at the court, become a gentleman of the chamber, and accept the
-command of a regiment, which may at any time be presented to me. 
-With honor such as that, I can be duke and peer.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The stain which that woman
-has stamped upon me, the grief that has broken my heart, the
-heart of the friend and playmate of her childhood, in no way
-affects M. de Bragelonne, an excellent officer, a courageous
-leader, who will cover himself with glory at the first encounter,
-and who will become a hundred times greater than Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re is to-day, the mistress of the king - for the
-king will not marry her - and the more publicly he will proclaim
-her as his mistress, the more opaque will grow the shadow of
-shame he casts upon her face, in the guise of a crown; and in
-proportion as others despise, as I despise her, I shall be
-gleaning honors in the field.  Alas! we had walked together side
-by side, she and I, during the earliest, the brightest, the most
-angelic portion of our existence, hand in hand along the charming
-path of life, covered with the blossoms of youth; and then, alas!
-we reach a cross-road, where she separates herself from me, in
-which we have to follow a different route, whereby we become more
-and more widely separated from each other.  And to attain the end
-of this path, oh, Heaven!  I am now alone, in utter despair, and
-crushed to the very earth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Such were the sinister
-reflections in which Raoul indulged, when his foot mechanically
-paused at the door of his own dwelling.  He had reached it
-without remarking the streets through which he passed, without
-knowing how he had come; he pushed open the door, continued to
-advance, and ascended the staircase.  The staircase, as in most
-of the houses at that period, was very dark, and the landings
-most obscure.  Raoul lived on the first floor; he paused in order
-to ring.  Olivain appeared, took his sword and cloak from his
-hands; Raoul himself opened the door which, from the
-ante-chamber, led into a small <i>salon</i>, richly furnished
-enough for the <i>salon</i> of a young man, and completely filled
-with flowers by Olivain, who, knowing his master's tastes, had
-shown himself studiously attentive in gratifying them, without
-caring whether his master perceived his attention or not.  There
-was a portrait of La Valli&egrave;re in the <i>salon</i>, which
-had been drawn by herself and given by her to Raoul.  This
-portrait, fastened above a large easy chair covered with dark
-colored damask, was the first point towards which Raoul bent his
-steps - the first object on which he fixed his eyes.  It was,
-moreover, Raoul's usual habit to do so; every time he entered his
-room, this portrait, before anything else, attracted his
-attention.  This time, as usual, he walked straight up to the
-portrait, placed his knees upon the arm chair, and paused to look
-at it sadly.  His arms were crossed upon his breast, his head
-slightly thrown back, his eyes filled with tears, his mouth
-worked into a bitter smile.  He looked at the portrait of the one
-he had so tenderly loved; and then all that he had said passed
-before his mind again, all that he had suffered seemed again to
-assail his heart; and, after a long silence, he murmured for the
-third time, "Miserable, unhappy wretch that I am!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                He had hardly pronounced
-these words, when he heard the sound of a sigh and a groan behind
-him.  He turned sharply round and perceived, in the angle of the
-<i>salon</i>, standing up, a bending veiled female figure, which
-he had been the means of concealing behind the door as he opened
-it, and which he had not perceived as he entered.  He advanced
-towards the figure, whose presence in his room had not been
-announced to him; and as he bowed, and inquired at the same
-moment who she was, she suddenly raised her head, and removed the
-veil from her face, revealing her pale and sorrow-stricken
-features.  Raoul staggered back as if he had seen a ghost.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Louise!" he cried, in a
-tone of such absolute despair, one could hardly have thought the
-human voice was capable of so desponding a cry, without the
-snapping of the human heart.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LXI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Wounds within Wounds.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>M</span>ademoiselle
-de la Valli&egrave;re - for it was indeed she - advanced a few
-steps towards him.  "Yes - Louise," she murmured.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                But this interval, short as
-it had been, was quite sufficient for Raoul to recover himself. 
-"You, mademoiselle?" he said; and then added, in an indefinable
-tone, "You here!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, Raoul," the young girl
-replied, "I have been waiting for you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I beg your pardon.  When I
-came into the room I was not aware - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I know - but I entreated
-Olivain not to tell you - "  She hesitated; and as Raoul did not
-attempt to interrupt her, a moment's silence ensued, during which
-the sound of their throbbing hearts might have been heard, not in
-unison with each other, but the one beating as violently as the
-other.  It was for Louise to speak, and she made an effort to do
-so.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I wished to speak to you,"
-she said.  "It was absolutely necessary that I should see you -
-myself - alone.  I have not hesitated to adopt a step which must
-remain secret; for no one, except yourself, could understand my
-motive, Monsieur de Bragelonne."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In fact, mademoiselle,"
-Raoul stammered out, almost breathless from emotion, "as far as I
-am concerned, and despite the good opinion you have of me, I
-confess - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Will you do me the great
-kindness to sit down and listen to me?" said Louise, interrupting
-him with her soft, sweet voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Bragelonne looked at her for
-a moment; then mournfully shaking his head, he sat, or rather
-fell down on a chair.  "Speak," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                She cast a glance all round
-her.  This look was a timid entreaty, and implored secrecy far
-more effectually than her expressed words had done a few minutes
-before.  Raoul rouse, and went to the door, which he opened. 
-"Olivain," he said, "I am not within for any one."  And then,
-turning towards Louise, he added, "Is not that what you
-wished?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Nothing could have produced
-a greater effect upon Louise than these few words, which seemed
-to signify, "You see that I still understand you."  She passed a
-handkerchief across her eyes, in order to remove a rebellious
-tear which she could not restrain; and then, having collected
-herself for a moment, she said, "Raoul, do not turn your kind,
-frank look away from me.  You are not one of those men who
-despise a woman for having given her heart to another, even
-though her affection might render him unhappy, or might wound his
-pride."  Raoul did not reply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas!" continued La
-Valli&egrave;re, "it is only too true, my cause is a bad one, and
-I cannot tell in what way to begin.  It will be better for me, I
-think, to relate to you, very simply, everything that has
-befallen me.  As I shall speak but the pure and simple truth, I
-shall always find my path clear before me in spite of the
-obscurity and obstacles I have to brave in order to solace my
-heart, which is full to overflowing, and wishes to pour itself
-out at your feet."<br>
-                Raoul continued to preserve the same unbroken
-silence.  La Valli&egrave;re looked at him with an air that
-seemed to say, "Encourage me; for pity's sake, but a single
-word!"  But Raoul did not open his lips; and the young girl was
-obliged to continue:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Just now," she said, "M. de
-Saint-Aignan came to me by the king's directions."  She cast down
-her eyes as she said this; while Raoul, on his side, turned his
-away, in order to avoid looking at her.  "M. de Saint-Aignan came
-to me from the king," she repeated, "and told me that you knew
-all;" and she attempted to look Raoul in the face, after
-inflicting this further wound upon him, in addition to the many
-others he had already received; but it was impossible to meet
-Raoul's eyes.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "He told me you were
-incensed with me - and justly so, I admit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                This time Raoul looked at
-the young girl, and a smile full of disdain passed across his
-lips.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" she continued, "I
-entreat you, do not say that you have had any other feeling
-against me than that of anger merely.  Raoul, wait until I have
-told you all - wait until I have said to you all that I had to
-say - all that I came to say."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul, by the strength of
-his iron will, forced his features to assume a calmer expression,
-and the disdainful smile upon his lip passed away.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the first place," said
-La Valli&egrave;re, "in the first place, with my hands raised in
-entreaty towards you, with my forehead bowed to the ground before
-you, I entreat you, as the most generous, as the noblest of men,
-to pardon, to forgive me.  If I have left you in ignorance of
-what was passing in my own bosom, never, at least, would I have
-consented to deceive you.  Oh!  I entreat you, Raoul - I implore
-you on my knees - answer me one word, even though you wrong me in
-doing so.  Better, far better, an injurious word from your lips,
-than suspicion resting in your heart."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I admire your subtlety of
-expression, mademoiselle," said Raoul, making an effort to remain
-calm.  "To leave another in ignorance that you are deceiving him,
-is loyal; but to deceive him - it seems that would be very wrong,
-and that you would not do it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Monsieur, for a long time I
-thought that I loved you better than anything else; and so long
-as I believed in my affection for you, I told you that loved
-you.  I could have sworn it on the altar; but a day came when I
-was undeceived."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, on that day,
-mademoiselle, knowing that I still continued to love you, true
-loyalty of conduct should have forced you to inform me you had
-ceased to love me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But on that day, Raoul - on
-that day, when I read in the depths of my own heart, when I
-confessed to myself that you no longer filled my mind entirely,
-when I saw another future before me than that of being your
-friend, your life-long companion, your wife - on that day, Raoul,
-you were not, alas! any more beside me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But you knew where I was,
-mademoiselle; you could have written to me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Raoul, I did not dare to do
-so.  Raoul, I have been weak and cowardly.  I knew you so
-thoroughly - I knew how devotedly you loved me, that I trembled
-at the bare idea of the grief I was about to cause you; and that
-is so true, Raoul, that this very moment I am now speaking to
-you, bending thus before you, my heart crushed in my bosom, my
-voice full of sighs, my eyes full of tears, it is so perfectly
-true, that I have no other defense than my frankness, I have no
-other sorrow greater than that which I read in your eyes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul attempted to
-smile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "No!" said the young girl,
-with a profound conviction, "no, no; you will not do me so foul a
-wrong as to disguise your feelings before me now!  You loved me;
-you were sure of your affection for me; you did not deceive
-yourself; you do not lie to your own heart - whilst I - I - " 
-And pale as death, her arms thrown despairingly above her head,
-she fell upon her knees.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Whilst you," said Raoul,
-"you told me you loved me, and yet you loved another."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Alas, yes!" cried the poor
-girl; "alas, yes!  I do love another; and that other - oh! for
-Heaven's sake let me say it, Raoul, for it is my only excuse -
-that other I love better than my own life, better than my own
-soul even.  Forgive my fault, or punish my treason, Raoul.  I
-came here in no way to defend myself, but merely to say to you:
-'You know what it is to love!' - in such a case am I!  I love to
-that degree, that I would give my life, my very soul, to the man
-I love.  If he should ever cease to love me, I shall die of grief
-and despair, unless Heaven come to my assistance, unless Heaven
-does show pity upon me.  Raoul, I came here to submit myself to
-your will, whatever it might be - to die, if it were your wish I
-should die.  Kill me, then, Raoul! if in your heart you believe I
-deserve death."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Take care, mademoiselle,"
-said Raoul: "the woman who invites death is one who has nothing
-but her heart's blood to offer to her deceived and betrayed
-lover."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You are right," she
-said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Raoul uttered a deep sigh,
-as he exclaimed, "And you love without being able to forget?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I love without a wish to
-forget; without a wish ever to love any one else," replied La
-Valli&egrave;re.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Very well," said Raoul. 
-"You have said to me, in fact, all you had to say; all I could
-possibly wish to know.  And now, mademoiselle, it is I who ask
-your forgiveness, for it is I who have almost been an obstacle in
-your life; I, too, who have been wrong, for, in deceiving myself,
-I helped to deceive you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh!" said La
-Valli&egrave;re, "I do not ask you so much as that, Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I only am to blame,
-mademoiselle," continued Raoul, "better informed than yourself of
-the difficulties of this life, I should have enlightened you.  I
-ought not to have relied upon uncertainty; I ought to have
-extracted an answer from your heart, whilst I hardly even sought
-an acknowledgement from your lips.  Once more, mademoiselle, it
-is I who ask your forgiveness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Impossible, impossible!"
-she cried, "you are mocking me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "How, impossible?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, it is impossible to be
-so good, and kind, ah! perfect to such a degree as that."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Take care!' said Raoul,
-with a bitter smile, "for presently you may say perhaps I did not
-love you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! you love me like an
-affectionate brother; let me hope that, Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As a brother! undeceive
-yourself, Louise.  I love you as a lover - as a husband, with the
-deepest, the truest, the fondest affection."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Raoul, Raoul!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As a brother!  Oh, Louise! 
-I love you so deeply, that I would have shed my blood for you,
-drop by drop; I would, oh! how willingly, have suffered myself to
-be torn to pieces for your sake, have sacrificed my very future
-for you.  I love you so deeply, Louise, that my heart feels dead
-and crushed within me, - my faith in human nature all is gone, -
-my eyes have lost their light; I loved you so deeply, that I now
-no longer see, think of, care for, anything, either in this world
-or the next."      </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Raoul - dear
-Raoul! spare me, I implore you!" cried La Valli&egrave;re.  "Oh!
-if I had but known - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is too late,
-Louise; you love, you are happy in your affection; I read your
-happiness through your tears - behind the tears which the loyalty
-of your nature makes you shed; I feel the sighs your affection
-breathes forth.  Louise, Louise, you have made me the most
-abjectly wretched man living; leave me, I entreat you.  Adieu!
-adieu!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Forgive me! oh,
-forgive me, Raoul, for what I have done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have I not done
-much, much more?  <i>Have I not told you that I love you
-still?</i>"  She buried her face in her hands.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And to tell you
-that - do you hear me, Louise? - to tell you that, at such a
-moment as this, to tell you that, as I have told you, is to
-pronounce my own sentence of death.  Adieu!"  La Valli&egrave;re
-held out her hands to him in vain.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We ought not to
-see each other again in this world," he said, and as she was on
-the point of crying out in bitter agony at this remark, he placed
-his hand on her mouth to stifle the exclamation.  She pressed her
-lips upon it, and fell fainting to the ground.  "Olivain," said
-Raoul, "take this young lady and bear her to the carriage which
-is waiting for her at the door."  As Olivain lifted her up, Raoul
-made a movement as if to dart towards La Valli&egrave;re, in
-order to give her a first and last kiss, but, stopping abruptly,
-he said, "No! she is not mine.  I am no thief - as is the king of
-France."  And he returned to his room, whilst the lackey carried
-La Valli&egrave;re, still fainting, to the carriage.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LXII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-What Raoul Had Guessed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>A</span>s soon as
-Raoul had quitted Athos and D'Artagnan, as the two exclamations
-that had followed his departure escaped their lips, they found
-themselves face to face alone.  Athos immediately resumed the
-earnest air that he had assumed at D'Artagnan's arrival.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well," he said, "what have
-you come to announce to me, my friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?" inquired
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; I do not see
-you in this way without some reason for it," said Athos,
-smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The deuce!" said
-D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will place you
-at your ease.  The king is furious, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I must say
-he is not altogether pleased."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you have come
-to arrest me, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear friend,
-you have hit the very mark."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, I expected
-it.  I am quite ready to go with you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Deuce take it!"
-said D'Artagnan, "what a hurry you are in."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am afraid of
-delaying you," said Athos, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have plenty of
-time.  Are you not curious, besides, to know how things went on
-between the king and me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If you will be
-good enough to tell me, I will listen with the greatest of
-pleasure," said Athos, pointing out to D'Artagnan a large chair,
-into which the latter threw himself, assuming the easiest
-possible attitude.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I will do so
-willingly enough," continued D'Artagnan, "for the conversation is
-rather curious, I must say.  In the first place the king sent for
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As soon as I had
-left?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You were just
-going down the last steps of the staircase, as the musketeers
-told me.  I arrived.  My dear Athos, he was not red in the face
-merely, he was positively purple.  I was not aware, of course, of
-what had passed; only, on the ground, lying on the floor, I saw a
-sword broken in two."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Captain
-d'Artagnan,' cried the king, as soon as he saw me.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Sire,' I
-replied.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'M. de la
-F&egrave;re has just left me; he is an insolent man.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'An insolent man!'
-I exclaimed, in such a tone that the king stopped suddenly
-short.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Captain
-d'Artagnan,' resumed the king, with his teeth clenched, 'you will
-be good enough to listen to and hear me.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'That is my duty,
-sire.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'I have, out of
-consideration for M. de la F&egrave;re, wished to spare him - he
-is a man of whom I still retain some kind recollections - the
-discredit of being arrested in my palace.  You will therefore
-take a carriage.'  At this I made a slight movement.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'If you object to
-arrest him yourself,' continued the king, 'send me my captain of
-the guards.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Sire,' I replied,
-'there is no necessity for the captain of the guards, since I am
-on duty.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'I should not like
-to annoy you,' said the king, kindly, 'for you have always served
-me well, Monsieur D'Artagnan.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'You do not
-"annoy" me, sire,' I replied; 'I am on duty, that is all.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'But,' said the
-king, in astonishment, 'I believe the comte is your friend?'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'If he were my
-father, sire, it would not make me less on duty than I am.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king looked at
-me; he saw how unmoved my face was, and seemed satisfied.  'You
-will arrest M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re, then?' he
-inquired.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Most certainly,
-sire, if you give me the order to do so.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Very well; I
-order you to do so.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I bowed, and
-replied, 'Where is the comte, sire?'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'You will look for
-him.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'And am I to
-arrest him, wherever he may be?'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Yes; but try that
-he may be at his own house.  If he should have started for his
-own estate, leave Paris at once, and arrest him on his way
-thither.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I bowed; but as I
-did not move, he said, 'Well, what are you waiting for?'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'For the order to
-arrest the comte, signed by yourself.'</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The king seemed
-annoyed; for, in point of fact, it was the exercise of a fresh
-act of authority, a repetition of the arbitrary act, if, indeed,
-it is to be considered as such.  He took hold of his pen slowly,
-and evidently in no very good temper; and then he wrote, 'Order
-for M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain of my musketeers, to
-arrest M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re, wherever he is to be
-found.'  He then turned towards me; but I was looking on without
-moving a muscle of my face.  In all probability he thought he
-perceived something like bravado in my tranquil manner, for he
-signed hurriedly, and then handing me the order, he said, 'Go,
-monsieur!'  I obeyed; and here I am."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos pressed his
-friend's hand.  "Well, let us set off," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! surely," said
-D'Artagnan, "you must have some trifling matters to arrange
-before you leave your apartments in this manner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I? - not at
-all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, you know,
-D'Artagnan, that I have always been a very simple traveler on
-this earth, ready to go to the end of the world by the order of
-my sovereign; ready to quit it at the summons of my Maker.  What
-does a man who is thus prepared require in such a case? - a
-portmanteau, or a shroud.  I am ready at this moment, as I have
-always been, my dear friend, and can accompany you at once."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But, Bragelonne -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have brought him
-up in the same principles I laid down for my own guidance; and
-you observed that, as soon as he perceived you, he guessed, that
-very moment, the motive of your visit.  We have thrown him off
-his guard for a moment; but do not be uneasy, he is sufficiently
-prepared for my disgrace not to be too much alarmed at it.  So,
-let us go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well, let us
-go," said D'Artagnan, quietly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As I broke my
-sword in the king's presence, and threw the pieces at his feet, I
-presume that will dispense with the necessity of delivering it
-over to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are quite
-right; and besides that, what the deuce do you suppose I could do
-with your sword?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Am I to walk
-behind, or before you?" inquired Athos, laughing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will walk arm
-in arm with me," replied D'Artagnan, as he took the comte's arm
-to descend the staircase; and in this manner they arrived at the
-landing.  Grimaud, whom they had met in the ante-room, looked at
-them as they went out together in this manner, with some little
-uneasiness; his experience of affairs was quite sufficient to
-give him good reason to suspect that there was something
-wrong.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! is that you,
-Grimaud?" said Athos, kindly.  "We are going - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To take a turn in
-my carriage," interrupted D'Artagnan, with a friendly nod of the
-head.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Grimaud thanked
-D'Artagnan by a grimace, which was evidently intended for a
-smile, and accompanied both the friends to the door.  Athos
-entered first into the carriage; D'Artagnan followed him without
-saying a word to the coachman.  The departure had taken place so
-quietly, that it excited no disturbance or attention even in the
-neighborhood.  When the carriage had reached the quays, "You are
-taking me to the Bastile, I perceive," said Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I?" said
-D'Artagnan, "I take you wherever you may choose to go; nowhere
-else, I can assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you mean?"
-said the comte, surprised.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, surely, my
-dear friend," said D'Artagnan, "you quite understand that I
-undertook the mission with no other object in view than that of
-carrying it out exactly as you liked.  You surely did not expect
-that I was going to get you thrown into prison like that,
-brutally, and without any reflection.  If I had anticipated that,
-I should have let the captain of the guards undertake it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so - ?" said
-Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so, I repeat
-again, we will go wherever you may choose."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear friend,"
-said Athos, embracing D'Artagnan, "how like you that is!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, it seems
-simple enough to me.  The coachman will take you to the barrier
-of the Cours-la-Reine; you will find a horse there which I have
-ordered to be kept ready for you; with that horse you will be
-able to do three posts without stopping; and I, on my side, will
-take care not to return to the king, to tell him that you have
-gone away, until the very moment it will be impossible to
-overtake you.  In the meantime you will have reached Le Havre,
-and from Le Havre across to England, where you will find the
-charming residence of which M. Monk made me a present, without
-speaking of the hospitality which King Charles will not fail to
-show you.  Well, what do you think of this project?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos shook his
-head, and then said, smiling as he did so, "No, no, take me to
-the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are an
-obstinate fellow, my dear Athos," returned D'Artagnan, "reflect
-for a few moments."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On what
-subject?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That you are no
-longer twenty years of age.  Believe me, I speak according to my
-own knowledge and experience.  A prison is certain death for men
-who are at our time of life.  No, no; I will never allow you to
-languish in prison in such a way.  Why, the very thought of it
-makes my head turn giddy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Dear D'Artagnan,"
-Athos replied, "Heaven most fortunately made my body as strong,
-powerful, and enduring as my mind; and, rely upon it, I shall
-retain my strength up to the very last moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But this is not
-strength of mind or character; it is sheer madness."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, D'Artagnan, it
-is the highest order of reasoning.  Do not suppose that I should
-in the slightest degree in the world discuss the question with
-you, whether you would not be ruined in endeavoring to save me. 
-I should have done precisely as you propose if flight had been
-part of my plan of action; I should, therefore, have accepted
-from you what, without any doubt, you would have accepted from
-me.  No!  I know you too well even to breathe a word upon the
-subject."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! if you would
-only let me do it," said D'Artagnan, "what a dance we would give
-his most gracious majesty!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Still he is the
-king; do not forget that, my dear friend."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! that is all
-the same to me; and king though he be, I would plainly tell him,
-'Sire, imprison, exile, kill every one in France and Europe;
-order me to arrest and poniard even whom you like - even were it
-Monsieur, your own brother; but do not touch one of the four
-musketeers, or if so, <i>mordioux!</i>'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My dear friend,"
-replied Athos, with perfect calmness, "I should like to persuade
-you of one thing; namely, that I wish to be arrested; that I
-desire above all things that my arrest should take place."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan made a
-slight movement of his shoulders.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nay, I wish it, I
-repeat, more than anything; if you were to let me escape, it
-would be only to return of my own accord, and constitute myself a
-prisoner.  I wish to prove to this young man, who is dazzled by
-the power and splendor of his crown, that he can be regarded as
-the first and chiefest among men only on the one condition of his
-proving himself to be the most generous and the wisest.  He may
-punish me, imprison, torture me, it matters not.  He abuses his
-opportunities, and I wish him to learn the bitterness of remorse,
-while Heaven teaches him what chastisement is."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, well,"
-replied D'Artagnan, "I know only too well that, when you have
-once said, 'no,' you mean 'no.'  I do not insist any longer; you
-wish to go to the Bastile?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do wish to go
-there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us go, then! 
-To the Bastile!" cried D'Artagnan to the coachman.  And throwing
-himself back in the carriage, he gnawed the ends of his mustache
-with a fury which, for Athos, who knew him well, signified a
-resolution either already taken or in course of formation.  A
-profound silence ensued in the carriage, which continued to roll
-on, but neither faster nor slower than before.  Athos took the
-musketeer by the hand.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You are not angry
-with me, D'Artagnan?" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I! - oh, no!
-certainly not; of course not.  What you do for heroism, I should
-have done from obstinacy."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But you are quite
-of opinion, are you not, that Heaven will avenge me,
-D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I know one or
-two on earth who will not fail to lend a helping hand," said the
-captain.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LXIII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Three Guests Astonished to Find Themselves at Supper
-Together.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he carriage
-arrived at the outside of the gate of the Bastile.  A soldier on
-guard stopped it, but D'Artagnan had only to utter a single word
-to procure admittance, and the carriage passed on without further
-difficulty.  Whilst they were proceeding along the covered way
-which led to the courtyard of the governor's residence,
-D'Artagnan, whose lynx eyes saw everything, even through the
-walls, suddenly cried out, "What is that out yonder?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well," said Athos, quietly;
-"what is it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Look yonder, Athos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "In the courtyard?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, yes; make haste!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Well, a carriage; very
-likely conveying a prisoner like myself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"That would be too
-droll."<br>
-"I do not understand you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Make haste and
-look again, and look at the man who is just getting out of that
-carriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>At that very moment
-a second sentinel stopped D'Artagnan, and while the formalities
-were being gone through, Athos could see at a hundred paces from
-him the man whom his friend had pointed out to him.  He was, in
-fact, getting out of the carriage at the door of the governor's
-house.  "Well," inquired D'Artagnan, "do you see him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; he is a man
-in a gray suit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you say of
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot very well
-tell; he is, as I have just now told you, a man in a gray suit,
-who is getting out of a carriage; that is all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Athos, I will
-wager anything that it is he."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He, who?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Aramis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Aramis arrested? 
-Impossible!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I do not say he is
-arrested, since we see him alone in his carriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, what
-is he doing here?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! he knows
-Baisemeaux, the governor," replied the musketeer, slyly; "so we
-have arrived just in time."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In order to see
-what we can see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I regret this
-meeting exceedingly.  When Aramis sees me, he will be very much
-annoyed, in the first place, at seeing me, and in the next at
-being seen."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well
-reasoned."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Unfortunately,
-there is no remedy for it; whenever any one meets another in the
-Bastile, even if he wished to draw back to avoid him, it would be
-impossible."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Athos, I have an
-idea; the question is, to spare Aramis the annoyance you were
-speaking of, is it not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is to be
-done?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I will tell you;
-or in order to explain myself in the best possible way, let me
-relate the affair in my own manner; I will not recommend you to
-tell a falsehood, for that would be impossible for you to do; but
-I will tell falsehoods enough for both; it is easy to do that
-when one is born to the nature and habits of a Gascon."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos smiled.  The
-carriage stopped where the one we have just now pointed out had
-stopped; namely, at the door of the governor's house.  "It is
-understood, then?" said D'Artagnan, in a low voice to his
-friend.  Athos consented by a gesture.  They ascended the
-staircase.  There will be no occasion for surprise at the
-facility with which they had entered into the Bastile, if it be
-remembered that, before passing the first gate, in fact, the most
-difficult of all, D'Artagnan had announced that he had brought a
-prisoner of state.  At the third gate, on the contrary, that is
-to say, when he had once fairly entered the prison, he merely
-said to the sentinel, "To M. Baisemeaux;" and they both passed
-on.  In a few minutes they were in the governor's dining-room,
-and the first face which attracted D'Artagnan's observation was
-that of Aramis, who was seated side by side with Baisemeaux,
-awaiting the announcement of a meal whose odor impregnated the
-whole apartment.  If D'Artagnan pretended surprise, Aramis did
-not pretend at all; he started when he saw his two friends, and
-his emotion was very apparent.  Athos and D'Artagnan, however,
-complimented him as usual, and Baisemeaux, amazed, completely
-stupefied by the presence of his three guests, began to perform a
-few evolutions around them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"By what lucky
-accident - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We were just going
-to ask you," retorted D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are we going to
-give ourselves up as prisoners?" cried Aramis, with an affection
-of hilarity.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!" said
-D'Artagnan; "it is true the walls smell deucedly like a prison. 
-Monsieur de Baisemeaux, you know you invited me to sup with you
-the other day."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I?" cried
-Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, of course you
-did, although you now seem so struck with amazement.  Don't you
-remember it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux turned
-pale and then red, looked at Aramis, who looked at him, and
-finished by stammering out, "Certainly - I am delighted - but,
-upon my honor - I have not the slightest - Ah!  I have such a
-wretched memory."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well!  I am wrong,
-I see," said D'Artagnan, as if he were offended.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wrong, what
-for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Wrong to remember
-anything about it, it seems."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux hurried
-towards him.  "Do not stand on ceremony, my dear captain," he
-said; "I have the worst memory in the world.  I no sooner leave
-off thinking of my pigeons and their pigeon-house, than I am no
-better than the rawest recruit."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At all events, you
-remember it now," said D'Artagnan, boldly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes," replied
-the governor, hesitating; "I think I do remember."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It was when you
-came to the palace to see me; you told me some story or other
-about your accounts with M. de Louvi&egrave;re and M. de
-Tremblay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, yes!
-perfectly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And about M.
-d'Herblay's kindness towards you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" exclaimed
-Aramis, looking at the unhappy governor full in the face, "and
-yet you just now said you had no memory, Monsieur de
-Baisemeaux."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux
-interrupted the musketeer in the middle of his revelations. 
-"Yes, yes; you're quite right; how could I have forgotten; I
-remember it now as well as possible; I beg you a thousand
-pardons.  But now, once for all, my dear M. d'Artagnan, be sure
-that at this present time, as at any other, whether invited or
-not, you are perfectly at home here, you and M. d'Herblay, your
-friend," he said, turning towards Aramis; "and this gentleman,
-too," he added, bowing to Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, I thought it
-would be sure to turn out so," replied D'Artagnan, "and that is
-the reason I came.  Having nothing to do this evening at the
-Palais Royal, I wished to judge for myself what your ordinary
-style of living was like; and as I was coming along, I met the
-Comte de la F&egrave;re."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos bowed.  "The
-comte, who had just left his majesty, handed me an order which
-required immediate attention.  We were close by here; I wished to
-call in, even if it were for no other object than that of shaking
-hands with you and of presenting the comte to you, of whom you
-spoke so highly that evening at the palace when - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly,
-certainly - M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Precisely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The comte is
-welcome, I am sure."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And he will sup
-with you two, I suppose, whilst I, unfortunate dog that I am,
-must run off on a matter of duty.  Oh! what happy beings you are,
-compared to myself," he added, sighing as loud as Porthos might
-have done.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so you are
-going away, then?" said Aramis and Baisemeaux together, with the
-same expression of delighted surprised, the tone of which was
-immediately noticed by D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I leave you in my
-place," he said, "a noble and excellent guest."  And he touched
-Athos gently on the shoulder, who, astonished also, could not
-help exhibiting his surprise a little; which was noticed by
-Aramis only, for M. de Baisemeaux was not quite equal to the
-three friends in point of intelligence.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What, are you
-going to leave us?" resumed the governor.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I shall only be
-about an hour, or an hour and a half.  I will return in time for
-dessert."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! we will wait
-for you," said Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no; that would
-be really disobliging me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will be sure
-to return, though?" said Athos, with an expression of doubt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Most certainly,"
-he said, pressing his friend's hand confidently; and he added, in
-a low voice, "Wait for me, Athos; be cheerful and lively as
-possible, and above all, don't allude even to business affairs,
-for Heaven's sake."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And with a renewed
-pressure of the hand, he seemed to warn the comte of the
-necessity of keeping perfectly discreet and impenetrable. 
-Baisemeaux led D'Artagnan to the gate.  Aramis, with many
-friendly protestations of delight, sat down by Athos, determined
-to make him speak; but Athos possessed every virtue and quality
-to the very highest degree.  If necessity had required it, he
-would have been the finest orator in the world, but on other
-occasions he would rather have died than have opened his
-lips.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Ten minutes after
-D'Artagnan's departure, the three gentlemen sat down to table,
-which was covered with the most substantial display of
-gastronomic luxury.  Large joints, exquisite dishes, preserves,
-the greatest variety of wines, appeared successively upon the
-table, which was served at the king's expense, and of which
-expense M. Colbert would have found no difficulty in saving two
-thirds, without any one in the Bastile being the worse for it. 
-Baisemeaux was the only one who ate and drank with gastronomic
-resolution.  Aramis allowed nothing to pass by him, but merely
-touched everything he took; Athos, after the soup and three
-<i>hors d'&oelig;uvres</i>, ate nothing more.  The style of
-conversation was such as might have been anticipated between
-three men so opposite in temper and ideas.  Aramis was
-incessantly asking himself by what extraordinary chance Athos was
-there at Baisemeaux's when D'Artagnan was no longer there, and
-why D'Artagnan did not remain when Athos was there.  Athos
-sounded all the depths of the mind of Aramis, who lived in the
-midst of subterfuge, evasion, and intrigue; he studied his man
-well and thoroughly, and felt convinced that he was engaged upon
-some important project.  And then he too began to think of his
-own personal affair, and to lose himself in conjectures as to
-D'Artagnan's reason for having left the Bastile so abruptly, and
-for leaving behind him a prisoner so badly introduced and so
-badly looked after by the prison authorities.  But we shall not
-pause to examine into the thoughts and feelings of these
-personages, but will leave them to themselves, surrounded by the
-remains of poultry, game, and fish, which Baisemeaux's generous
-knife and fork had so mutilated.  We are going to follow
-D'Artagnan instead, who, getting into the carriage which had
-brought him, said to the coachman, "Return to the palace, as fast
-as the horses can gallop."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LXIV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-What Took Place at the Louvre During the Supper at the
-Bastile.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>M</span>. de
-Saint-Aignan had executed the commission with which the king had
-intrusted him for La Valli&egrave;re - as we have already seen in
-one of the preceding chapters; but, whatever his eloquence, he
-did not succeed in persuading the young girl that she had in the
-king a protector powerful enough for her under any combination of
-circumstances, and that she had no need of any one else in the
-world when the king was on her side.  In point of fact, at the
-very first word which the favorite mentioned of the discovery of
-the famous secret, Louise, in a passion of tears, abandoned
-herself in utter despair to a sorrow which would have been far
-from flattering for the king, if he had been a witness of it from
-one of the corners of the room.  Saint-Aignan, in his character
-of ambassador, felt almost as greatly offended at it as his
-master himself would have been, and returned to inform the king
-what he had seen and heard; and it is thus we find him, in a
-state of great agitation, in the presence of the king, who was,
-if possible, in a state of even greater flurry than himself.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "But," said the king to the
-courtier, when the latter had finished his report, "what did she
-decide to do?  Shall I at least see her presently before supper? 
-Will she come to me, or shall I be obliged to go to her
-room?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I believe, sire, that if
-your majesty wishes to see her, you will not only have to take
-the first step in advance, but will have to go the whole
-way."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "That I do not mind.  Do you
-think she has yet a secret fancy for young Bragelonne?" muttered
-the king between his teeth.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh! sire, that is not
-possible; for it is you alone, I am convinced, Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re loves, and that, too, with all her heart.  But
-you know that De Bragelonne belongs to that proud race who play
-the part of Roman heroes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king smiled feebly; he
-knew how true the illustration was, for Athos had just left
-him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "As for Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re," Saint-Aignan continued, "she was brought up
-under the care of the Dowager Madame, that is to say, in the
-greatest austerity and formality.  This young engaged couple
-coldly exchanged their little vows in the prim presence of the
-moon and stars; and now, when they find they have to break those
-vows asunder, it plays the very deuce with them."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                Saint-Aignan thought to have
-made the king laugh; but on the contrary, from a mere smile Louis
-passed to the greatest seriousness of manner.  He already began
-to experience that remorse which the comte had promised
-D'Artagnan he would inflict upon him.  He reflected that, in
-fact, these young persons had loved and sworn fidelity to each
-other; that one of the two had kept his word, and that the other
-was too conscientious not to feel her perjury most bitterly.  And
-his remorse was not unaccompanied; for bitter pangs of jealousy
-began to beset the king's heart.  He did not say another word,
-and instead of going to pay a visit to his mother, or the queen,
-or Madame, in order to amuse himself a little, and make the
-ladies laugh, as he himself used to say, he threw himself into
-the huge armchair in which his august father Louis XIII. had
-passed so many weary days and years in company with Barradat and
-Cinq-Mars.  Saint-Aignan perceived the king was not to be amused
-at that moment; he tried a last resource, and pronounced Louise's
-name, which made the king look up immediately.  "What does your
-majesty intend to do this evening - shall Mademoiselle de la
-Valli&egrave;re be informed of your intention to see her?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "It seems she is already
-aware of that," replied the king.  "No, no, Saint-Aignan," he
-continued, after a moment's pause, "we will both of us pass our
-time in thinking, and musing, and dreaming; when Mademoiselle de
-la Valli&egrave;re shall have sufficiently regretted what she now
-regrets, she will deign, perhaps, to give us some news of
-herself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Ah! sire, is it possible
-you can so misunderstand her heart, which is so full of
-devotion?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king rose, flushed from
-vexation and annoyance; he was a prey to jealousy as well as to
-remorse.  Saint-Aignan was just beginning to feel that his
-position was becoming awkward, when the curtain before the door
-was raised.  The king turned hastily round; his first idea was
-that a letter from Louise had arrived; but, instead of a letter
-of love, he only saw his captain of musketeers, standing upright,
-and perfectly silent in the doorway.  "M. d'Artagnan," he said,
-"ah!  Well, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                D'Artagnan looked at
-Saint-Aignan; the king's eyes took the same direction as those of
-his captain; these looks would have been clear to any one, and
-for a still greater reason they were so for Saint-Aignan.  The
-courtier bowed and quitted the room, leaving the king and
-D'Artagnan alone.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Is it done?" inquired the
-king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Yes, sire," replied the
-captain of the musketeers, in a grave voice, "it is done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                The king was unable to say
-another word.  Pride, however, obliged him not to pause at what
-he had done; whenever a sovereign has adopted a decisive course,
-even though it be unjust, he is compelled to prove to all
-witnesses, and particularly to prove it to himself, that he was
-quite right all through.  A good means for effecting that - an
-almost infallible means, indeed - is, to try and prove his victim
-to be in the wrong.  Louis, brought up by Mazarin and Anne of
-Austria, knew better than any one else his vocation as a monarch;
-he therefore endeavored to prove it on the present occasion. 
-After a few moment's pause, which he had employed in making
-silently to himself the same reflections which we have just
-expressed aloud, he said, in an indifferent tone: "What did the
-comte say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Nothing at all, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Surely he did not
-allow himself to be arrested without saying something?"<br>
-"He said he expected to be arrested, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king raised his
-head haughtily.  "I presume," he said, "that M. le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re has not continued to play his obstinate and
-rebellious part."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the first
-place, sire, what do you wish to signify by <i>rebellious?</i>"
-quietly asked the musketeer.  "A rebel, in the eyes of the king,
-is a man who not only allows himself to be shut up in the
-Bastile, but still more, who opposes those who do not wish to
-take him there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who do not wish to
-take him there!" exclaimed the king.  "What do you say, captain! 
-Are you mad?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I believe not,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You speak of
-persons who did not wish to arrest M. de la F&egrave;re!  Who are
-those persons, may I ask?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I should say those
-whom your majesty intrusted with that duty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But it was you
-whom I intrusted with it," exclaimed the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire; it was
-I."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And yet you say
-that, despite my orders, you had the intention of not arresting
-the man who had insulted me!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire - that
-was really my intention.  I even proposed to the comte to mount a
-horse that I had prepared for him at the Barri&egrave;re de la
-Conf&eacute;rence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And what was your
-object in getting this horse ready?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why, sire, in
-order that M. le Comte de la F&egrave;re might be able to reach
-Le Havre, and from that place make his escape to England."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You betrayed me,
-then, monsieur?" cried the king, kindling with a wild pride.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Exactly so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>There was nothing
-to say in answer to statements made in such a tone; the king was
-astounded at such an obstinate and open resistance on the part of
-D'Artagnan.  "At least you had a reason, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for
-acting as you did?" said the king, proudly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have always a
-reason for everything, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your reason cannot
-be your friendship for the comte, at all events, - the only one
-that can be of any avail, the only one that could possibly excuse
-you, - for I placed you perfectly at your ease in that
-respect."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Me, sire?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did I not give you
-the choice to arrest, or not to arrest M. le Comte de la
-F&egrave;re?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire, but -
-"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But what?"
-exclaimed the king, impatiently.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But you warned me,
-sire, that if I did not arrest him, your captain of the guard
-should do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Was I not
-considerate enough towards you, from the very moment I did not
-compel you to obey me?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To me, sire, you
-were, but not to my friend, for my friend would be arrested all
-the same, whether by myself or by the captain of the guards."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And this is your
-devotion, monsieur! a devotion which argues and reasons.  You are
-no soldier, monsieur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I wait for your
-majesty to tell me what I am."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then - you
-are a Frondeur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And since there is
-no longer any Fronde, sire, in that case - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But if what you
-say is true - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What I say is
-always true, sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What have you come
-to say to me, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have come to say
-to your majesty, 'Sire, M. de la F&egrave;re is in the
-Bastile.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is not your
-fault, it would seem."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is true,
-sire; but at all events he is there; and since he is there, it is
-important that your majesty should know it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!  Monsieur
-d'Artagnan, so you set your king at defiance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur
-d'Artagnan!  I warn you that you are abusing my patience."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"On the contrary,
-sire."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you mean
-by 'on the contrary'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have come to get
-myself arrested, too."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To get yourself
-arrested, - you!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of course.  My
-friend will get wearied to death in the Bastile by himself; and I
-have come to propose to your majesty to permit me to bear him
-company; if your majesty will but give me the word, I will arrest
-myself; I shall not need the captain of the guards for that, I
-assure you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king darted
-towards the table and seized hold of a pen to write the order for
-D'Artagnan's imprisonment.  "Pay attention, monsieur, that this
-is forever," cried the king, in tones of sternest menace.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I can quite
-believe that," returned the musketeer; "for when you have once
-done such an act as that, you will never be able to look me in
-the face again."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king dashed
-down his pen violently.  "Leave the room, monsieur!" he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not so, if it
-please your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is that you
-say?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, I came to
-speak gently and temperately to your majesty; your majesty got
-into a passion with me; that is a misfortune; but I shall not the
-less on that account say what I had to say to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Your resignation,
-monsieur, - your resignation!" cried the king.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Sire, you know
-whether I care about my resignation or not, since at Blois, on
-the very day when you refused King Charles the million which my
-friend the Comte de la F&egrave;re gave him, I then tendered my
-resignation to your majesty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well,
-monsieur - do it at once!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, sire; for
-there is no question of my resignation at the present moment. 
-Your majesty took up your pen just now to send me to the Bastile,
-- why should you change your intention?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"D'Artagnan! 
-Gascon that you are! who is king, allow me to ask, - you or
-myself?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You, sire,
-unfortunately."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you mean
-by 'unfortunately'?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, sire; for if
-it were I - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If it were you,
-you would approve of M. d'Artagnan's rebellious conduct, I
-suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Really!" said the
-king, shrugging his shoulders.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I should tell
-my captain of the musketeers," continued D'Artagnan, "I should
-tell him, looking at him all the while with human eyes, and not
-with eyes like coals of fire, 'M. d'Artagnan, I had forgotten
-that I was the king, for I descended from my throne in order to
-insult a gentleman.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said
-the king, "do you think you can excuse your friend by exceeding
-him in insolence?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! sire!  I
-should go much further than he did," said D'Artagnan; "and it
-would be your own fault.  I should tell you what he, a man full
-of the finest sense of delicacy, did not tell you; I should say -
-'Sire, you have sacrificed his son, and he defended his son - you
-sacrificed himself; he addressed you in the name of honor, of
-religion, of virtue - you repulsed, drove him away, imprisoned
-him.'  I should be harder than he was, for I should say to you -
-'Sire; it is for you to choose.  Do you wish to have friends or
-lackeys - soldiers or slaves - great men or mere puppets?  Do you
-wish men to serve you, or to bend and crouch before you?  Do you
-wish men to love you, or to be afraid of you?  If you prefer
-baseness, intrigue, cowardice, say so at once, sire, and we will
-leave you, - we who are the only individuals who are left, - nay,
-I will say more, the only models of the valor of former times; we
-who have done our duty, and have exceeded, perhaps, in courage
-and in merit, the men already great for posterity.  Choose, sire!
-and that, too, without delay.  Whatever relics remain to you of
-the great nobility, guard them with a jealous eye; you will never
-be deficient in courtiers.  Delay not - and send me to the
-Bastile with my friend; for, if you did not know how to listen to
-the Comte de la F&egrave;re, whose voice is the sweetest and
-noblest in all the world when honor is the theme; if you do not
-know how to listen to D'Artagnan, the frankest and honestest
-voice of sincerity, you are a bad king, and to-morrow will be a
-poor king.  And learn from me, sire, that bad kings are hated by
-their people, and poor kings are driven ignominiously away.' 
-That is what I had to say to you, sire; you were wrong to drive
-me to say it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The king threw
-himself back in his chair, cold as death, and as livid as a
-corpse.  Had a thunderbolt fallen at his feet, he could not have
-been more astonished; he seemed as if his respiration had utterly
-ceased, and that he was at the point of death.  The honest voice
-of sincerity, as D'Artagnan had called it, had pierced through
-his heart like a sword-blade.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan had said
-all he had to say.  Comprehending the king's anger, he drew his
-sword, and, approaching Louis XIV. respectfully, he placed it on
-the table.  But the king, with a furious gesture, thrust aside
-the sword, which fell on the ground and rolled to D'Artagnan's
-feet.  Notwithstanding the perfect mastery which D'Artagnan
-exercised over himself, he, too, in his turn, became pale, and,
-trembling with indignation, said: "A king may disgrace a soldier,
-- he may exile him, and may even condemn him to death; but were
-he a hundred times a king, he has no right to insult him by
-casting a dishonor upon his sword!  Sire, a king of France has
-never repulsed with contempt the sword of a man such as I am! 
-Stained with disgrace as this sword now is, it has henceforth no
-other sheath than either your heart or my own!  I choose my own,
-sire; and you have to thank Heaven and my own patience that I do
-so."  Then snatching up his sword, he cried, "My blood be upon
-your head!" and, with a rapid gesture, he placed the hilt upon
-the floor and directed the point of the blade towards his
-breast.  The king, however, with a movement far more rapid than
-that of D'Artagnan, threw his right arm around the musketeer's
-neck, and with his left hand seized hold of the blade by the
-middle, and returned it silently to the scabbard.  D'Artagnan,
-upright, pale, and still trembling, let the king do all to the
-very end.  Louis, overcome and softened by gentler feelings,
-returned to the table, took a pen in his hand, wrote a few lines,
-signed them, and then held it out to D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is this
-paper, sire?" inquired the captain.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"An order for M.
-d'Artagnan to set the Comte de la F&egrave;re at liberty
-immediately."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan seized
-the king's hand, and imprinted a kiss upon it; he then folded the
-order, placed it in his belt, and quitted the room. Neither the
-king nor the captain had uttered a syllable.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, human heart!
-thou guide and director of kings," murmured Louis, when alone,
-"when shall I learn to read in your inmost recesses, as in the
-leaves of a book!  Oh, I am not a bad king - nor am I poor king;
-I am but still a child, when all is said and done."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LXV:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-Political Rivals.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>D</span>'Artagnan had
-promised M. de Baisemeaux to return in time for dessert, and he
-kept his word.  They had just reached the finer and more delicate
-class of wines and liqueurs with which the governor's cellar had
-the reputation of being most admirably stocked, when the silver
-spurs of the captain resounded in the corridor, and he himself
-appeared at the threshold.  Athos and Aramis had played a close
-game; neither of the two had been able to gain the slightest
-advantage over the other.  They had supped, talked a good deal
-about the Bastile, of the last journey to Fontainebleau, of the
-intended <i>f&ecirc;te</i> that M. Fouquet was about to give at
-Vaux; they had generalized on every possible subject; and no one,
-excepting Baisemeaux, had in the slightest degree alluded to
-private matters.  D'Artagnan arrived in the very midst of the
-conversation, still pale and much disturbed by his interview with
-the king.  Baisemeaux hastened to give him a chair; D'Artagnan
-accepted a glass of wine, and set it down empty.  Athos and
-Aramis both remarked his emotion; as for Baisemeaux, he saw
-nothing more than the captain of the king's musketeers, to whom
-he endeavored to show every possible attention.  But, although
-Aramis had remarked his emotion, he had not been able to guess
-the cause of it.  Athos alone believed he had detected it.  For
-him, D'Artagnan's return, and particularly the manner in which
-he, usually so impassible, seemed overcome, signified, "I have
-just asked the king something which the king has refused me." 
-Thoroughly convinced that his conjecture was correct, Athos
-smiled, rose from the table, and made a sign to D'Artagnan, as if
-to remind him that they had something else to do than to sup
-together.  D'Artagnan immediately understood him, and replied by
-another sign.  Aramis and Baisemeaux watched this silent
-dialogue, and looked inquiringly at each other.  Athos felt that
-he was called upon to give an explanation of what was
-passing.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "The truth is, my friend,"
-said the Comte de la F&egrave;re, with a smile, "that you,
-Aramis, have been supping with a state criminal, and you,
-Monsieur de Baisemeaux, with your prisoner."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux uttered
-an exclamation of surprise, and almost of delight; for he was
-exceedingly proud and vain of his fortress, and for his own
-individual profit, the more prisoners he had, the happier he was,
-and the higher in rank the prisoners happened to be, the prouder
-he felt.  Aramis assumed the expression of countenance he thought
-the position justified, and said, "Well, dear Athos, forgive me,
-but I almost suspected what has happened.  Some prank of Raoul
-and La Valli&egrave;re, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Alas!" said
-Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And," continued
-Aramis, "you, a high and powerful nobleman as you are, forgetful
-that courtiers now exist - you have been to the king, I suppose,
-and told him what you thought of his conduct?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, you have
-guessed right."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that," said
-Baisemeaux, trembling at having supped so familiarly with a man
-who had fallen into disgrace with the king; "so that, monsieur le
-comte - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"So that, my dear
-governor," said Athos, "my friend D'Artagnan will communicate to
-you the contents of the paper which I perceived just peeping out
-of his belt, and which assuredly can be nothing else than the
-order for my incarceration."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux held out
-his hand with his accustomed eagerness.  D'Artagnan drew two
-papers from his belt, and presented one of them to the governor,
-who unfolded it, and then read, in a low tone of voice, looking
-at Athos over the paper, as he did so, and pausing from time to
-time: "'Order to detain, in my ch&acirc;teau of the Bastile,
-Monsieur le Comte de la F&egrave;re.'  Oh, monsieur! this is
-indeed a very melancholy day for me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will have a
-patient prisoner, monsieur," said Athos, in his calm, soft
-voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"A prisoner, too,
-who will not remain a month with you, my dear governor," said
-Aramis; while Baisemeaux, still holding the order in his hand,
-transcribed it upon the prison registry.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not a day, or
-rather not even a night," said D'Artagnan, displaying the second
-order of the king, "for now, dear M. de Baisemeaux, you will have
-the goodness to transcribe also this order for setting the comte
-immediately at liberty."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said Aramis,
-"it is a labor that you have deprived me of, D'Artagnan;" and he
-pressed the musketeer's hand in a significant manner, at the same
-moment as that of Athos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!" said the
-latter in astonishment, "the king sets me at liberty!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Read, my dear
-friend," returned D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Athos took the
-order and read it.  "It is quite true," he said.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you sorry for
-it?" asked D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no, on the
-contrary.  I wish the king no harm; and the greatest evil or
-misfortune that any one can wish kings, is that they should
-commit an act of injustice.  But you have had a difficult and
-painful task, I know.  Tell me, have you not, D'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I? not at all,"
-said the musketeer, laughing: "the king does everything I wish
-him to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis looked
-fixedly at D'Artagnan, and saw that he was not speaking the
-truth.  But Baisemeaux had eyes for nothing but D'Artagnan, so
-great was his admiration for a man who seemed to make the king do
-all he wished.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And does the king
-exile Athos?" inquired Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, not precisely;
-the king did not explain himself upon that subject," replied
-D'Artagnan; "but I think the comte could not well do better
-unless, indeed, he wishes particularly to thank the king - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, indeed,"
-replied Athos, smiling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, I
-think," resumed D'Artagnan, "that the comte cannot do better than
-to retire to his <i>own</i> ch&acirc;teau.  However, my dear
-Athos, you have only to speak, to tell me what you want.  If any
-particular place of residence is more agreeable to you than
-another, I am influential enough, perhaps, to obtain it for
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, thank you,"
-said Athos; "nothing can be more agreeable to me, my dear friend,
-than to return to my solitude beneath my noble trees on the banks
-of the Loire.  If Heaven be the overruling physician of the evils
-of the mind, nature is a sovereign remedy.  And so, monsieur,"
-continued Athos, turning again towards Baisemeaux, "I am now
-free, I suppose?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, monsieur le
-comte, I think so - at least, I hope so," said the governor,
-turning over and over the two papers in question, "unless,
-however, M. d'Artagnan has a third order to give me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, my dear
-Baisemeaux, no," said the musketeer; "the second is quite enough:
-we will stop there - if you please."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! monsieur le
-comte," said Baisemeaux addressing Athos, "you do not know what
-you are losing.  I should have placed you among the thirty-franc
-prisoners, like the generals - what am I saying? - I mean among
-the fifty-francs, like the princes, and you would have supped
-every evening as you have done to-night."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Allow me,
-monsieur," said Athos, "to prefer my own simpler fare."  And
-then, turning to D'Artagnan, he said, "Let us go, my dear
-friend.  Shall I have that greatest of all pleasures for me -
-that of having you as my companion?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To the city gate
-only," replied D'Artagnan, "after which I will tell you what I
-told the king: 'I am on duty.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And you, my dear
-Aramis," said Athos, smiling; "will you accompany me?  La
-F&egrave;re is on the road to Vannes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank you, my dear
-friend," said Aramis, "but I have an appointment in Paris this
-evening, and I cannot leave without very serious interests
-suffering by my absence."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In that case,"
-said Athos, "I must say adieu, and take my leave of you.  My dear
-Monsieur de Baisemeaux, I have to thank you exceedingly for your
-kind and friendly disposition towards me, and particularly for
-the enjoyable specimen you have given me of the ordinary fare of
-the Bastile."  And, having embraced Aramis, and shaken hands with
-M. de Baisemeaux, and having received best wishes for a pleasant
-journey from them both, Athos set off with D'Artagnan.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Whilst the
-<i>d&eacute;nouement</i> of the scene of the Palais Royal was
-taking place at the Bastile, let us relate what was going on at
-the lodgings of Athos and Bragelonne.  Grimaud, as we have seen,
-had accompanied his master to Paris; and, as we have said, he was
-present when Athos went out; he had observed D'Artagnan gnaw the
-corners of his mustache; he had seen his master get into the
-carriage; he had narrowly examined both their countenances, and
-he had known them both for a sufficiently long period to read and
-understand, through the mask of their impassibility, that
-something serious was the matter.  As soon as Athos had gone, he
-began to reflect; he then, and then only, remembered the strange
-manner in which Athos had taken leave of him, the embarrassment -
-imperceptible as it would have been to any but himself - of the
-master whose ideas were, to him, so clear and defined, and the
-expression of whose wishes was so precise.  He knew that Athos
-had taken nothing with him but the clothes he had on him at the
-time; and yet he seemed to fancy that Athos had not left for an
-hour merely; or even for a day.  A long absence was signified by
-the manner in which he pronounced the word "Adieu."  All these
-circumstances recurred to his mind, with feelings of deep
-affection for Athos, with that horror of isolation and solitude
-which invariably besets the minds of those who love; and all
-these combined rendered poor Grimaud very melancholy, and
-particularly uneasy.  Without being able to account to himself
-for what he did since his master's departure, he wandered about
-the room, seeking, as it were, for some traces of him, like a
-faithful dog, who is not exactly uneasy about his absent master,
-but at least is restless.  Only as, in addition to the instinct
-of the animal, Grimaud subjoined the reasoning faculties of the
-man, Grimaud therefore felt uneasy and restless too.  Not having
-found any indication which could serve as a guide, and having
-neither seen nor discovered anything which could satisfy his
-doubts, Grimaud began to wonder what could possibly have
-happened.  Besides, imagination is the resource, or rather the
-plague of gentle and affectionate hearts.  In fact, never does a
-feeling heart represent its absent friend to itself as being
-happy or cheerful.  Never does the dove that wings its flight in
-search of adventures inspire anything but terror at home.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Grimaud soon passed
-from uneasiness to terror; he carefully went over, in his own
-mind, everything that had taken place: D'Artagnan's letter to
-Athos, the letter which had seemed to distress Athos so much
-after he had read it; then Raoul's visit to Athos, which resulted
-in Athos desiring him (Grimaud) to get his various orders and his
-court dress ready to put on; then his interview with the king, at
-the end of which Athos had returned home so unusually gloomy;
-then the explanation between the father and the son, at the
-termination of which Athos had embraced Raoul with such sadness
-of expression, while Raoul himself went away equally weary and
-melancholy; and finally, D'Artagnan's arrival, biting, as if he
-were vexed, the end of his mustache, and leaving again in the
-carriage, accompanied by the Comte de la F&egrave;re.  All this
-composed a drama in five acts very clearly, particularly for so
-analytical an observer as Grimaud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The first step he
-took was to search in his master's coat for M. d'Artagnan's
-letter; he found the letter still there, and its contents were
-found to run as follows:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"MY DEAR FRIEND, -
-Raoul has been to ask me for some particulars about the conduct
-of Mademoiselle de la Valli&egrave;re, during our young friend's
-residence in London.  I am a poor captain of musketeers, and I am
-sickened to death every day by hearing all the scandal of the
-barracks and bedside conversations.  If I had told Raoul all I
-believe, I know the poor fellow would have died of it; but I am
-in the king's service, and cannot relate all I hear about the
-king's affairs.  If your heart tells you to do it, set off at
-once; the matter concerns you more than it does myself, and
-almost as much as Raoul."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Grimaud tore, not a
-handful, but a finger-and-thumbful of hair out of his head; he
-would have done more if his head of hair had been in a more
-flourishing condition.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," he said,
-"that is the key of the whole enigma.  The young girl has been
-playing her pranks; what people say about her and the king is
-true, then; our young master has been deceived; he ought to know
-it.  Monsieur le comte has been to see the king, and has told him
-a piece of his mind; and then the king sent M. d'Artagnan to
-arrange the affair.  Ah! gracious goodness!" continued Grimaud,
-"monsieur le comte, I now remember, returned without his
-sword."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>This discovery made
-the perspiration break out all over poor Grimaud's face.  He did
-not waste any more time in useless conjecture, but clapped his
-hat on his head, and ran to Raoul's lodgings.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul, after Louise
-had left him, had mastered his grief, if not his affection; and,
-compelled to look forward on that perilous road over which
-madness and revulsion were hurrying him, he had seen, from the
-very first glance, his father exposed to the royal obstinacy,
-since Athos had himself been the first to oppose any resistance
-to the royal will.  At this moment, from a very natural sequence
-of feeling, the unhappy young man remembered the mysterious signs
-which Athos had made, and the unexpected visit of D'Artagnan; the
-result of the conflict between a sovereign and a subject revealed
-itself to his terrified vision.  As D'Artagnan was on duty, that
-is, a fixture at his post without the possibility of leaving it,
-it was certainly not likely that he had come to pay Athos a visit
-merely for the pleasure of seeing him.  He must have come to say
-something to him.  This something in the midst of such painful
-conjectures must have been the news of either a misfortune or a
-danger.  Raoul trembled at having been so selfish as to have
-forgotten his father for his affection; at having, in a word,
-passed his time in idle dreams, or in an indulgence of despair,
-at a time when a necessity existed for repelling such an imminent
-attack on Athos.  The very idea nearly drove him frantic; he
-buckled on his sword and ran towards his father's lodgings.  On
-his way there he encountered Grimaud, who, having set off from
-the opposite pole, was running with equal eagerness in search of
-the truth.  The two men embraced each other most warmly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Grimaud,"
-exclaimed Raoul, "is the comte well?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you seen
-him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; where is
-he?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am trying to
-find out."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And M.
-d'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Went out with
-him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"When?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ten minutes after
-you did."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In what way did
-they go out?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In a
-carriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where did they
-go?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have no idea at
-all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Did my father take
-any money with him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Or his sword?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have an idea,
-Grimaud, that M. d'Artagnan came in order to - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Arrest monsieur le
-comte, do you not think, monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, Grimaud."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I could have sworn
-it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What road did they
-take?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The way leading
-towards the quay."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To the Bastile,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, yes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Quick, quick; let
-us run."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, let us not
-lose a moment."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But where are we
-to go?" said Raoul, overwhelmed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We will go to M.
-d'Artagnan's first, we may perhaps learn something there."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No; if they keep
-me in ignorance at my father's, they will do the same
-everywhere.  Let us go to - Oh, good heavens! why, I must be mad
-to-day, Grimaud; I have forgotten M. du Vallon, who is waiting
-for and expecting me still."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where is he,
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At the Minimes of
-Vincennes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Thank goodness,
-that is on the same side as the Bastile.  I will run and saddle
-the horses, and we will go at once," said Grimaud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do, my friend,
-do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LXVI:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>In
-Which Porthos Is Convinced without Having Understood
-Anything.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he good and
-worthy Porthos, faithful to all the laws of ancient chivalry, had
-determined to wait for M. de Saint-Aignan until sunset; and as
-Saint-Aignan did not come, as Raoul had forgotten to communicate
-with his second, and as he found that waiting so long was very
-wearisome, Porthos had desired one of the gate-keepers to fetch
-him a few bottles of good wine and a good joint of meat, - so
-that, at least, he might pass away the time by means of a glass
-or two and a mouthful of something to eat.  He had just finished
-when Raoul arrived, escorted by Grimaud, both of them riding at
-full speed.  As soon as Porthos saw the two cavaliers riding at
-such a pace along the road, he did not for a moment doubt but
-that they were the men he was expecting, and he rose from the
-grass upon which he had been indolently reclining and began to
-stretch his legs and arms, saying, "See what it is to have good
-habits.  The fellow has finished by coming, after all.  If I had
-gone away he would have found no one here and would have taken
-advantage of that."  He then threw himself into a martial
-attitude, and drew himself up to the full height of his gigantic
-stature.  But instead of Saint-Aignan, he only saw Raoul, who,
-with the most despairing gestures, accosted him by crying out,
-"Pray forgive me, my dear friend, I am most wretched."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Raoul!" cried Porthos,
-surprised.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have been angry with
-me?" said Raoul, embracing Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "I?  What for?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "For having forgotten you. 
-But I assure you my head seems utterly lost.  If you only
-knew!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "You have killed him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Who?"<br>
-"Saint-Aignan; or, if that is not the case, what is the
-matter?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"The matter is,
-that Monsieur le Comte de la F&egrave;re has by this time been
-arrested."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>Porthos gave a
-start that would have thrown down a wall.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"Arrested!" he
-cried out; "by whom?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"By
-D'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"It is impossible,"
-said Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='margin-left:.5in'>"My dear friend, it
-is perfectly true."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos turned
-towards Grimaud, as if he needed a second confirmation of the
-intelligence.  Grimaud nodded his head.  "And where have they
-taken him?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Probably to the
-Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What makes you
-think that?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"As we came along
-we questioned some persons, who saw the carriage pass; and others
-who saw it enter the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!" muttered
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you intend
-to do?" inquired Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I?  Nothing; only
-I will not have Athos remain at the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Do you know," said
-Raoul, advancing nearer to Porthos, "that the arrest was made by
-order of the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos looked at
-the young man, as if to say, "What does that matter to me?"  This
-dumb language seemed so eloquent of meaning to Raoul that he did
-not ask any other question.  He mounted his horse again; and
-Porthos, assisted by Grimaud, had already done the same.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us arrange our
-plan of action," said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes," returned
-Porthos, "that is the best thing we can do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul sighed
-deeply, and then paused suddenly.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is the
-matter?" asked Porthos; "are you faint?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, only I feel
-how utterly helpless our position is.  Can we three pretend to go
-and take the Bastile?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, if
-D'Artagnan were only here," replied Porthos, "I am not so very
-certain we would fail."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul could not
-resist a feeling of admiration at the sight of such perfect
-confidence, heroic in its simplicity.  These were truly the
-celebrated men who, by three or four, attacked armies and
-assaulted castles!  Men who had terrified death itself, who had
-survived the wrecks of a tempestuous age, and still stood,
-stronger than the most robust of the young.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said he
-to Porthos, "you have just given me an idea; we absolutely must
-see M. d'Artagnan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Undoubtedly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He ought by this
-time to have returned home, after having taken my father to the
-Bastile.  Let us go to his house."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"First inquire at
-the Bastile," said Grimaud, who was in the habit of speaking
-little, but that to the purpose.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Accordingly, they
-hastened towards the fortress, when one of those chances which
-Heaven bestows on men of strong will caused Grimaud suddenly to
-perceive the carriage, which was entering by the great gate of
-the drawbridge.  This was the moment that D'Artagnan was, as we
-have seen, returning from his visit to the king.  In vain was it
-that Raoul urged on his horse in order to join the carriage, and
-to see whom it contained.  The horses had already gained the
-other side of the great gate, which again closed, while one of
-the sentries struck the nose of Raoul's horse with his musket;
-Raoul turned about, only too happy to find he had ascertained
-something respecting the carriage which had contained his
-father.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We have him," said
-Grimaud.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If we wait a
-little it is certain he will leave; don't you think so, my
-friend?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Unless, indeed,
-D'Artagnan also be a prisoner," replied Porthos, "in which case
-everything is lost."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul returned no
-answer, for any hypothesis was admissible.  He instructed Grimaud
-to lead the horses to the little street Jean-Beausire, so as to
-give rise to less suspicion, and himself with his piercing gaze
-watched for the exit either of D'Artagnan or the carriage.  Nor
-had he decided wrongly; for twenty minutes had not elapsed before
-the gate reopened and the carriage reappeared.  A dazzling of the
-eyes prevented Raoul from distinguishing what figures occupied
-the interior.  Grimaud averred that he had seen two persons, and
-that one of them was his master.  Porthos kept looking at Raoul
-and Grimaud by turns, in the hope of understanding their
-idea.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is clear," said
-Grimaud, "that if the comte is in the carriage, either he is set
-at liberty or they are taking him to another prison."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We shall soon see
-that by the road he takes," answered Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If he is set at
-liberty," said Grimaud, "they will conduct him home."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"True," rejoined
-Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The carriage does
-not take that way," cried Raoul; and indeed the horses were just
-disappearing down the Faubourg St. Antoine.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us hasten,"
-said Porthos; "we will attack the carriage on the road and tell
-Athos to flee."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Rebellion,"
-murmured Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Porthos darted a
-second glance at Raoul, quite worthy of the first.  Raoul replied
-only by spurring the flanks of his steed.  In a few moments the
-three cavaliers had overtaken the carriage, and followed it so
-closely that their horses' breath moistened the back of it. 
-D'Artagnan, whose senses were ever on the alert, heard the trot
-of the horses, at the moment when Raoul was telling Porthos to
-pass the chariot, so as to see who was the person accompanying
-Athos.  Porthos complied, but could not see anything, for the
-blinds were lowered.  Rage and impatience were gaining mastery
-over Raoul.  He had just noticed the mystery preserved by Athos's
-companion, and determined on proceeding to extremities.  On his
-part D'Artagnan had perfectly recognized Porthos, and Raoul also,
-from under the blinds, and had communicated to the comte the
-result of his observation.  They were desirous only of seeing
-whether Raoul and Porthos would push the affair to the
-uttermost.  And this they speedily did, for Raoul, presenting his
-pistol, threw himself on the leader, commanding the coachmen to
-stop.  Porthos seized the coachman, and dragged him from his
-seat.  Grimaud already had hold of the carriage door.  Raoul
-threw open his arms, exclaiming, "M. le comte! M. le comte!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! is it you,
-Raoul?" said Athos, intoxicated with joy.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not bad, indeed!"
-added D'Artagnan, with a burst of laughter, and they both
-embraced the young man and Porthos, who had taken possession of
-them.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"My brave Porthos!
-best of friends," cried Athos, "it is still the same old way with
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He is still only
-twenty," said D'Artagnan, "brave Porthos!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Confound it,"
-answered Porthos, slightly confused, "we thought that you were
-being arrested."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"While," rejoined
-Athos, "the matter in question was nothing but my taking a drive
-in M. d'Artagnan's carriage."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But we followed
-you from the Bastile," returned Raoul, with a tone of suspicion
-and reproach.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Where we had been
-to take supper with our friend M. Baisemeaux.  Do you recollect
-Baisemeaux, Porthos?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very well,
-indeed."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And there we saw
-Aramis."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In the
-Bastile?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At supper."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said Porthos,
-again breathing freely.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"He gave us a
-thousand messages to you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And where is M. le
-comte going?" asked Grimaud, already recompensed by a smile from
-his master.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We were going home
-to Blois."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How can that
-be?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"At once?" said
-Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, right
-forward."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Without any
-luggage?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh!  Raoul would
-have been instructed to forward me mine, or to bring it with him
-on his return, <i>if</i> he returns."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If nothing detains
-him longer in Paris," said D'Artagnan, with a glance firm and
-cutting as steel, and as painful (for it reopened the poor young
-fellow's wounds), "he will do well to follow you, Athos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is nothing
-to keep me any longer in Paris," said Raoul.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Then we will go
-immediately."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And M.
-d'Artagnan?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! as for me, I
-was only accompanying Athos as far as the barrier, and I return
-with Porthos."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good," said
-the latter.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Come, my son,"
-added the comte, gently passing his arm around Raoul's neck to
-draw him into the carriage, and again embracing him.  "Grimaud,"
-continued the comte, "you will return quietly to Paris with your
-horse and M. du Vallon's, for Raoul and I will mount here and
-give up the carriage to these two gentlemen to return to Paris
-in; and then, as soon as you arrive, you will take my clothes and
-letters and forward the whole to me at home."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But," observed
-Raoul, who was anxious to make the comte converse, "when you
-return to Paris, there will not be a single thing there for you -
-which will be very inconvenient."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I think it will be
-a very long time, Raoul, ere I return to Paris.  The last sojourn
-we have made there has not been of a nature to encourage me to
-repeat it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Raoul hung down his
-head and said not a word more.  Athos descended from the carriage
-and mounted the horse which had brought Porthos, and which seemed
-no little pleased at the exchange.  Then they embraced, and
-clasped each other's hands, and interchanged a thousand pledges
-of eternal friendship.  Porthos promised to spend a month with
-Athos at the first opportunity.  D'Artagnan engaged to take
-advantage of his first leave of absence; and then, having
-embraced Raoul for the last time: "To you, my boy," said he, "I
-will write."  Coming from D'Artagnan, who he knew wrote very
-seldom, these words expressed everything.  Raoul was moved even
-to tears.  He tore himself away from the musketeer and
-departed.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>D'Artagnan rejoined
-Porthos in the carriage: "Well," said he, "my dear friend, what a
-day we have had!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed we have,"
-answered Porthos.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You must be quite
-worn out."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Not quite;
-however, I shall retire early to rest, so as to be ready for
-to-morrow."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And
-wherefore?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Why! to complete
-what I have begun."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You make me
-shudder, my friend, you seem to me quite angry.  What the devil
-<i>have</i> you begun which is not finished?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Listen; Raoul has
-not fought, but <i>I</i> must fight!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"With whom? with
-the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How!" exclaimed
-Porthos, astounded, "with the king?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I say, you
-great baby, with the king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I assure you it is
-with M. Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Look now, this is
-what I mean; you draw your sword against the king in fighting
-with this gentleman."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah!" said Porthos,
-staring; "are you sure of it?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Indeed I am."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What in the world
-are we to do, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"We must try and
-make a good supper, Porthos.  The captain of the musketeers keeps
-a tolerable table.  There you will see the handsome Saint-Aignan,
-and will drink his health."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I?" cried Porthos,
-horrified.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What!" said
-D'Artagnan, "you refuse to drink the king's health?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But, body alive! 
-I am not talking to you about the king at all; I am speaking of
-M. de Saint-Aignan."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But when I repeat
-that it is the same thing?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah, well, well!"
-said Porthos, overcome.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You understand,
-don't you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No," answered
-Porthos, "but 'tis all the same."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
-<span style='font-size:12.0pt;'>Chapter LXVII:</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>M.
-de Baisemeaux's "Society."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>
- </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                <span style=
-'font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Black-Chance'>T</span>he reader has
-not forgotten that, on quitting the Bastile, D'Artagnan and the
-Comte de la F&egrave;re had left Aramis in close confabulation
-with Baisemeaux.  When once these two guests had departed,
-Baisemeaux did not in the least perceive that the conversation
-suffered by their absence.  He used to think that wine after
-supper, and that of the Bastile in particular, was excellent, and
-that it was a stimulation quite sufficient to make any honest man
-talkative.  But he little knew his Greatness, who was never more
-impenetrable that at dessert.  His Greatness, however, perfectly
-understood M. de Baisemeaux, when he reckoned on making the
-governor discourse by the means which the latter regarded as
-efficacious.  The conversation, therefore, without flagging in
-appearance, flagged in reality; for Baisemeaux not only had it
-nearly all to himself, but further, kept speaking only of that
-singular event, the incarceration of Athos, followed by so prompt
-an order to set him again at liberty.  Nor, moreover, had
-Baisemeaux failed to observe that the two orders of arrest and of
-liberation, were both in the king's hand.  But then, the king
-would not take the trouble to write similar orders except under
-pressing circumstances.  All this was very interesting, and,
-above all, very puzzling to Baisemeaux; but as, on the other
-hand, all this was very clear to Aramis, the latter did not
-attach to the occurrence the same importance as did the worthy
-governor.  Besides, Aramis rarely put himself out of the way for
-anything, and he had not yet told M. de Baisemeaux for what
-reason he had now done so.  And so at the very climax of
-Baisemeaux's dissertation, Aramis suddenly interrupted him.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Tell me, my dear
-Baisemeaux," said he, "have you never had any other diversions at
-the Bastile than those at which I assisted during the two or
-three visits I have had the honor to pay you?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                This address was so
-unexpected that the governor, like a vane which suddenly receives
-an impulsion opposed to that of the wind, was quite dumbfounded
-at it.  "Diversions!" said he; "but I take them continually,
-monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Oh, to be sure!  And these
-diversions?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">                "Are of every kind."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Visits, no
-doubt?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, not visits. 
-Visits are not frequent at the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What, are visits
-rare, then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very much so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Even on the part
-of your society?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What do you term
-my society - the prisoners?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no! - your
-prisoners, indeed!  I know well it is you who visit them, and not
-they you.  By your society, I mean, my dear Baisemeaux, the
-society of which you are a member."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux looked
-fixedly at Aramis, and then, as if the idea which had flashed
-across his mind were impossible, "Oh," he said, "I have very
-little society at present.  If I must own it to you, dear M.
-d'Herblay, the fact is, to stay at the Bastile appears, for the
-most part, distressing and distasteful to persons of the gay
-world.  As for the ladies, it is never without a certain dread,
-which costs me infinite trouble to allay, that they succeed in
-reaching my quarters.  And, indeed, how should they avoid
-trembling a little, poor things, when they see those gloomy
-dungeons, and reflect that they are inhabited by prisoners who -
-"  And in proportion as the eyes of Baisemeaux concentrated their
-gaze on the face of Aramis, the worthy governor's tongue faltered
-more and more until it ended by stopping altogether.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, you don't
-understand me, my dear M. Baisemeaux; you don't understand me.  I
-do not at all mean to speak of society in general, but of a
-particular society - of <i>the</i> society, in a word - to which
-you are affiliated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux nearly
-dropped the glass of muscat which he was in the act of raising to
-his lips.  "Affiliated," cried he, "affiliated!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, affiliated,
-undoubtedly," repeated Aramis, with the greatest
-self-possession.  "Are you not a member of a secret society, my
-dear M. Baisemeaux?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Secret?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Secret or
-mysterious."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, M.
-d'Herblay!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Consider, now,
-don't deny it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But believe
-me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I believe what I
-know."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I swear to
-you."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Listen to me, my
-dear M. Baisemeaux; I say yes, you say no; one of us two
-necessarily says what is true, and the other, it inevitably
-follows, what is false."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, and
-then?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, we shall
-come to an understanding presently."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Let us see," said
-Baisemeaux; "let us see."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Now drink your
-glass of muscat, dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," said Aramis. 
-"What the devil! you look quite scared."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, no; not the
-least in the world; oh, no."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Drink then." 
-Baisemeaux drank, but he swallowed the wrong way.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well," resumed
-Aramis, "if, I say, you are not a member of a secret or
-mysterious society, which you like to call it - the epithet is of
-no consequence - if, I say, you are not a member of a society
-similar to that I wish to designate, well, then, you will not
-understand a word of what I am going to say.  That is all."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! be sure
-beforehand that I shall not understand anything."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, well!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Try, now; let us
-see!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"That is what I am
-going to do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"If, on the
-contrary, you are one of the members of this society, you will
-immediately answer me - yes or no."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Begin your
-questions," continued Baisemeaux, trembling.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"You will agree,
-dear Monsieur de Baisemeaux," continued Aramis, with the same
-impassibility, "that it is evident a man cannot be a member of a
-society, it is evident that he cannot enjoy the advantages it
-offers to the affiliated, without being himself bound to certain
-little services."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"In short,"
-stammered Baisemeaux, "that would be intelligible, if - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well," resumed
-Aramis, "there is in the society of which I speak, and of which,
-as it seems you are not a member - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Allow me," said
-Baisemeaux.  "I should not like to say absolutely."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"There is an
-engagement entered into by all the governors and captains of
-fortresses affiliated to the order."  Baisemeaux grew pale.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Now the
-engagement," continued Aramis firmly, "is of this nature."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux rose,
-manifesting unspeakable emotion: "Go on, dear M. d'Herblay: go
-on," said he.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis then spoke,
-or rather recited the following paragraph, in the same tone as if
-he had been reading it from a book: "The aforesaid captain or
-governor of a fortress shall allow to enter, when need shall
-arise, and on demand of the prisoner, a confessor affiliated to
-the order."  He stopped.  Baisemeaux was quite distressing to
-look at, being so wretchedly pale and trembling.  "Is not that
-the text of the agreement?" quietly asked Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur!"
-began Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! well, you
-begin to understand, I think."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur,"
-cried Baisemeaux, "do not trifle so with my unhappy mind!  I find
-myself as nothing in your hands, if you have the malignant desire
-to draw from me the little secrets of my administration."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh! by no means;
-pray undeceive yourself, dear M. Baisemeaux; it is not the little
-secrets of your administration, but those of your conscience that
-I aim at."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, then, my
-conscience be it, dear M. d'Herblay.  But have some consideration
-for the situation I am in, which is no ordinary one."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"It is no ordinary
-one, my dear monsieur," continued the inflexible Aramis, "if you
-are a member of this society; but it is a quite natural one if
-free from all engagement.  You are answerable only to the
-king."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well, monsieur,
-well!  I obey only the king, and whom else would you have a
-French nobleman obey?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis did not
-yield an inch, but with that silvery voice of his continued: "It
-is very pleasant," said he, "for a French nobleman, for a prelate
-of France, to hear a man of your mark express himself so loyally,
-dear De Baisemeaux, and having heard you to believe no more than
-you do."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you doubted,
-monsieur?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I? oh, no!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And so you doubt
-no longer?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I have no longer
-any doubt that such a man as you, monsieur," said Aramis,
-gravely, "does not faithfully serve the masters whom he
-voluntarily chose for himself."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Masters!" cried
-Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, masters, I
-said."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur
-d'Herblay, you are still jesting, are you not?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, yes!  I
-understand that it is a more difficult position to have several
-masters than one; but the embarrassment is owing to you, my dear
-Baisemeaux, and I am not the cause of it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Certainly not,"
-returned the unfortunate governor, more embarrassed than ever;
-"but what are you doing?  You are leaving the table?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Assuredly."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Are you
-going?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I am
-going."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But you are
-behaving very strangely towards me, monseigneur."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I am behaving
-strangely - how do you make that out?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Have you sworn,
-then, to put me to the torture?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"No, I should be
-sorry to do so."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Remain, then."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I cannot."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And why?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because I have no
-longer anything to do here; and, indeed, I have duties to fulfil
-elsewhere."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Duties, so late as
-this?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes; understand me
-now, my dear De Baisemeaux: they told me at the place whence I
-came, 'The aforesaid governor or captain will allow to enter, as
-need shall arise, on the prisoner's demand, a confessor
-affiliated with the order.'  I came; you do not know what I mean,
-and so I shall return to tell them that they are mistaken, and
-that they must send me elsewhere."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What! you are - "
-cried Baisemeaux, looking at Aramis almost in terror.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"The confessor
-affiliated to the order," said Aramis, without changing his
-voice.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>But, gentle as the
-words were, they had the same effect on the unhappy governor as a
-clap of thunder.  Baisemeaux became livid, and it seemed to him
-as if Aramis's beaming eyes were two forks of flame, piercing to
-the very bottom of his soul.  "The confessor!" murmured he; "you,
-monseigneur, the confessor of the order!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, I; but we
-have nothing to unravel together, seeing that you are not one of
-the affiliated."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And I understand
-that, not being so, you refuse to comply with its command."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur, I
-beseech you, condescend to hear me."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"And
-wherefore?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monseigneur, I do
-not say that I have nothing to do with the society."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Ah! ah!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I say not that I
-refuse to obey."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Nevertheless, M.
-de Baisemeaux, what has passed wears very much the air of
-resistance."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, no!
-monseigneur, no; I only wished to be certain."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"To be certain of
-what?" said Aramis, in a tone of supreme contempt.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Of nothing at all,
-monseigneur."  Baisemeaux lowered his voice, and bending before
-the prelate, said, "I am at all times and in all places at the
-disposal of my superiors, but - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Very good.  I like
-you better thus, monsieur," said Aramis, as he resumed his seat,
-and put out his glass to Baisemeaux, whose hand trembled so that
-he could not fill it.  "You were saying 'but' - " continued
-Aramis.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But," replied the
-unhappy man, "having received no notice, I was very far from
-expecting it."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Does not the
-Gospel say, 'Watch, for the moment is known only of God?'  Do not
-the rules of the order say, 'Watch, for that which I will, you
-ought always to will also.'  And what pretext will serve you now
-that you did not expect the confessor, M. de Baisemeaux?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Because,
-monseigneur, there is at present in the Bastile no prisoner
-ill."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis shrugged his
-shoulders.  "What do you know about that?" said he.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"But, nevertheless,
-it appears to me - "</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"M. de Baisemeaux,"
-said Aramis, turning round in his chair, "here is your servant,
-who wishes to speak with you;" and at this moment, De
-Baisemeaux's servant appeared at the threshold of the door.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it?" asked
-Baisemeaux, sharply.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said
-the man, "they are bringing you the doctor's return."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Aramis looked at De
-Baisemeaux with a calm and confident eye.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Well," said he,
-"let the messenger enter."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The messenger
-entered, saluted, and handed in the report.  Baisemeaux ran his
-eye over it, and raising his head, said in surprise, "No. 12 is
-ill!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"How was it, then,"
-said Aramis, carelessly, "that you told me everybody was well in
-your h&ocirc;tel, M. de Baisemeaux?"  And he emptied his glass
-without removing his eyes from Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>The governor then
-made a sign to the messenger, and when he had quitted the room,
-said, still trembling, "I think that there is in the article, 'on
-the prisoner's demand.'"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Yes, it is so,"
-answered Aramis.  "But see what it is they want with you
-now."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>And that moment a
-sergeant put his head in at the door.  "What do you want now?"
-cried Baisemeaux.  "Can you not leave me in peace for ten
-minutes?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Monsieur," said
-the sergeant, "the sick man, No. 12, has commissioned the turnkey
-to request you to send him a confessor."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>Baisemeaux very
-nearly sank on the floor; but Aramis disdained to reassure him,
-just as he had disdained to terrify him.  "What must I answer?"
-inquired Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Just what you
-please," replied Aramis, compressing his lips; "that is your
-business.  <i>I</i> am not the governor of the Bastile."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Tell the
-prisoner," cried Baisemeaux, quickly, - "tell the prisoner that
-his request is granted."  The sergeant left the room.  "Oh!
-monseigneur, monseigneur," murmured Baisemeaux, "how could I have
-suspected! - how could I have foreseen this!"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Who requested you
-to suspect, and who besought you to foresee?" contemptuously
-answered Aramis.  "The order suspects; the order knows; the order
-foresees - is that not enough?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"What is it you
-command?" added Baisemeaux.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"I? - nothing at
-all.  I am nothing but a poor priest, a simple confessor.  Have I
-your orders to go and see the sufferer?"</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"Oh, monseigneur, I
-do not order; I pray you to go."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='text-indent:.5in'>"'Tis well; conduct
-me to him."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style='text-align:center'>End
-of <u>Louise de la Valli&egrave;re</u>.  The last text in the
-series is <u>The Man in the Iron Mask</u>.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<h1>Footnotes</h1>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;'> </span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>1. "To err
-is human."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>2. Potatoes
-were not grown in France at that time<i>.  Le Si&egrave;cle</i>
-insists that the error is theirs, and that Dumas meant
-"tomatoes."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>3. In the
-five-volume edition, Volume 3 ends here.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>4. "In your
-house."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>5. This
-alternate translation of the verse in this chapter:</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style=
-'margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in;punctuation-wrap: hanging'>
-<span style='font-size:8.0pt;'>"Oh! you who sadly are wandering
-alone,</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style=
-'margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in;punctuation-wrap: hanging'>
-<span style='font-size:8.0pt;'>Come, come, and laugh with
-us."</span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'><span
-style='font-size: 8.0pt;'> </span></p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>- is closer
-to the original meaning.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>6. Marie de
-Mancini was a former love of the king's.  He had to abandon her
-for the political advantages which the marriage to the Spanish
-Infanta, Maria Theresa, afforded.  See <u>The Vicomte de
-Bragelonne</u>, Chapter XIII.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>7. "[A sun]
-not eclipsed by many suns."  Louis's device was the sun.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>8. In the
-three-volume edition, Volume 2, entitled <u>Louise de la
-Valli&egrave;re</u>, ends here.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>9. "To what
-heights may he not aspire?"  Fouquet's motto.</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>10. "A
-creature rare on earth."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal" style='punctuation-wrap:hanging'>11. "With
-an eye always to the climax."</p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
-
-<p class="MsoNormal">End of Project Gutenberg Etext Louise de la
-Valli&egrave;re, by Alexandre Dumas, Pere</p>
-</div>
-</body>
-</html>
-
-
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