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diff --git a/40295-0.txt b/40295-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..caf68cb --- /dev/null +++ b/40295-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17425 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40295 *** + +[Illustration] + + LORD MONTAGU'S PAGE + + AN + HISTORICAL ROMANCE + + BY + G.P.R. JAMES. + + [Illustration] + + PHILADELPHIA + CHILDS AND PETERSON, + 602 ARCH STREET. + 1858. + + I. WATY + + + + + Lord Montagu's Page: + + AN + HISTORICAL ROMANCE + OF THE + Seventeenth Century. + + BY + G. P. R. JAMES, + + _Author of_ + + "RICHELIEU," "DARNLEY," "MARY OF BURGUNDY," "OLD DOMINION," ETC. + + PHILADELPHIA: + CHILDS & PETERSON, 602 ARCH ST. + 1858. + + + + + Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by + CHILDS & PETERSON, + in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States + in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. + + STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO. + PHILADELPHIA. + PRINTED BY DEACON & PETERSON. + + + + +BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. + +[_From Allibone's forthcoming Dictionary of Authors._] + + +George Payne Rainsford James was born in London about the year 1800, and +commenced his literary career at an early age by anonymous contributions +to the journals and reviews which catered to the literary taste of "a +discerning public." Some of these juvenile effusions fell under the +notice of Washington Irving, and this gentleman, with his usual kindness +of heart, encouraged the young author to venture upon something of a +more important character than the fugitive essays which had hitherto +employed his pen. Thus strengthened in his literary proclivity, the +young aspirant nibbed his "gray-goose quill," commenced author in +earnest, and gave to the world in 1822 his first work,--a Life of Edward +the Black Prince. Mr. James now turned his attention to a field which +had recently been cultivated with eminent success,--historical +romance,--and completed in 1825 his novel of Richelieu, which, having +received the favorable verdict of Sir Walter Scott, made its appearance +in 1829. This was followed in the next year by Darnley and De L'Orme. + +Richelieu was so fortunate as to secure the favor of the formidable +Christopher North of Blackwood; but this invaluable commendation was +withheld from Darnley:-- + + "Mr. Colburn has lately given us two books of a very different + character, Richelieu and Darnley. Richelieu is one of the most + spirited, amusing, and interesting romances I ever read; + characters well drawn--incidents well managed--story perpetually + progressive--catastrophe at once natural and unexpected--moral + good, but not goody--and the whole felt, in every chapter, to be + the work of a--Gentleman."--_Noctes Ambrosianæ, April, 1830; + Blackw. Mag., xxvii. 688, q.v._ + + + +From this time to the present Mr. James has been no idler in the +Republic of Letters, as the following alphabetical list of his writings +amply proves:-- + +1. Adra, or the Peruvians; a Poem, 1 vol. 2. Agincourt, 1844, 3 vols. 3. +Agnes Sorrel, 1853, 3 vols. 4. Arabella Stuart, 1853, 3 vols. 5. Arrah +Neil, 1845, 3 vols. 6. Attila, 1837, 3 vols. 7. Beauchamp, 1848, 3 vols. +8. Blanche of Navarre; a Play, 1839, 1 vol. 9. Book of the Passions, +1838, 1 vol. 10. Cameralzaman; a Fairy Drama, 1848,1 vol. 11. +Castelneau; or, The Ancient Régime, 1841, 3 vols. 12. Castle of +Ehrenstein, 1847, 3 vols. 13. Charles Tyrrell, 1839, 2 vols. 14. City of +the Silent; a Poem, 1 vol. 15. Commissioner; or, De Lunatico Inquirendo, +1842, 1 vol. 16. Convict, 1847, 3 vols. 17. Corse de Leon, the Brigand, +1841, 3 vols. 18. Dark Scenes of History, 1849, 3 vols. 19. Darnley, +1830, 3 vols. 20. Delaware, 3 vols; subsequently published under the +title of Thirty Years Since, 1848, 1 vol. 21. De L'Orme, 1830, 3 vols. +22. Desultory Man, 3 vols. 23. Educational Institutions of Germany, 1 +vol. 24. Eva St. Clair, and other Tales, 1843, 2 vols. 25. False Heir, +1843, 3 vols. 26. Fate, 1851, 3 vols. 27. Fight of the Fiddlers, 1848, 1 +vol. 28. Forest Days, 1843, 3 vols. 29. Forgery; or, Best Intentions, +1848, 3 vols. 30. Gentleman of the Old School, 1839, 3 vols. 31. Gipsy, +1835, 3 vols. 32. Gowrie; or, The King's Plot, 1 vol. 33. Heidelberg, +1846, 3 vols. 34. Henry Masterton, 1832, 3 vols. 35. Henry Smeaton, +1850, 3 vols. 36. Henry of Guise, 1839, 3 vols. 37. History of +Charlemagne, 1832, 1 vol. 38. History of Chivalry, 1 vol. 39. History of +Louis XIV., 1838, 4 vols. 40. History of Richard Coeur de Lion, +1841-42, 4 vols. 41. Huguenot, 1838, 3 vols. 42. Jacquerie, 1841, 3 +vols. 43. John Jones's Tales from English History, for Little John +Joneses, 1849, 2 vols. 44. John Marston Hall, 1834, 3 vols; subsequently +published under the title of Little Ball o' Fire, 1847, 1 vol. 45. +King's Highway, 1840, 3 vols. 46. Last of the Fairies, 1847, 1 vol. 47. +Life of Edward the Black Prince, 1822, 2 vols. 48. Life of Henry IV. of +France, 1847, 3 vols. 49. Life of Vicissitudes, 1 vol. 50. Man-at-Arms, +1840, 3 vols. 51. Margaret Graham, 1847, 2 vols. 52. Mary of Burgundy, +1833, 3 vols. 53. Memoirs of Great Commanders, 1832, 3 vols. 54. Morley +Ernstein, 1842, 3 vols. 55. My Aunt Pontypool, 3 vols. 56. Old Dominion; +or, The Southampton Massacre, 1856, 3 vols. 57. Old Oak Chest, 3 vols. +58. One in a Thousand, 1835, 3 vols. 59. Pequinillo, 1852, 3 vols. 60. +Philip Augustus, 1831, 3 vols. 61. Prince Life, 1855, 1 vol. 62. +Revenge, 1851, 3 vols; so styled by the bookseller, without the author's +consent. It was originally published in papers under a different name. +63. Richelieu, 1829, 3 vols. 64. Robber, 1838, 3 vols. 65. Rose +D'Albret, 1840, 3 vols. 66. Russell, 1847, 3 vols. 67. Sir Theodore +Broughton, 1847, 3 vols. 68. Smuggler, 1845, 3 vols. 69. Stepmother, +1846, 3 vols. 70. Story without a Name, 1852, 1 vol. 71. String of +Pearls, 1849, 2 vols. 72. Ticonderoga; or, The Black Eagle, 1854, 3 +vols. 73. Whim and its Consequences, 1847, 3 vols. 74. Woodman, 1847, 3 +vols. + +It will be seen that the above list presents a total of 188 +vols.,--viz.: 51 works in 3 vols. each, 2 in 4 vols. each, 6 in 2 vols. +each, and 15 in 1 vol. each. Almost all of these volumes are of the +post-octavo size. Mr. James is also the editor of the Vernon Letters, +illustrative of the times of William III., 1841, 3 vols. 8vo; and of Wm. +Henry Ireland's historical romance of David Rizzio, 1849, 3 vols. p. +8vo; and was associated with Dr. E. E. Crowe in the Lives of the Most +Eminent Foreign Statesmen, 1832-38, 5 vols. p. 8vo., (4 vols. were Mr. +James's, and 1 vol. Dr. Crowe's,) and with Mr. Maunsell B. Field in the +composition of Adrian, or The Clouds of the Mind, 1852, 2 vols. p. 8vo. + +To this list may be added Norfolk and Hereford, (in a collection +entitled Seven Tales by Seven Authors,) and enough articles in various +periodicals to fill eight or ten volumes. Perhaps we should not omit to +notice that a work entitled A Brief History of the United States +Boundary Question, drawn up from official papers, published in London, +1839, 8vo., and ascribed to Mr. James, is not his production; nor had he +any share (further than writing a preface, or something of that kind) in +another work often credited to him,--Memoirs of Celebrated Women, 1837, +2 vols. p. 8vo. During the reign of William IV. the author received the +appointment of historiographer of Great Britain; but this post was +resigned by him many years since. + +There have been new editions of many of Mr. James's novels, and some or +all of them have appeared in Bentley's Series of Standard Novels. There +has been also a Parlor-Library Edition. A collective edition was +published by Smith, Elder & Co., commencing in June, 1844, and continued +by Parry, and by Simpkin, Marshall & Co. In America they have been very +popular and published in large quantities. + +About 1850 Mr. James, with his family, removed permanently to the United +States, and resided for two or three years in Berkshire county, +Massachusetts. Since 1852 he has been British Consul at Richmond, +Virginia. The space which we have occupied by a recital of the titles +only of Mr. James's volumes necessarily restricts the quotation of +criticisms upon the merits or demerits of their contents. It has fallen +to the lot of few authors to be so much read, and at the same time so +much abused, as the owner of the fertile pen which claims the long list +of novels commencing with Richelieu in 1829 and extending to the Old +Dominion in 1856. That there should be a family likeness in this +numerous race--where so many, too, are nearly of an age--can be no +matter of surprise. The mind, like any other artisan, can only construct +from materials which lie within its range; and, when no time is allowed +for the accumulation and renewal of these, it is vain to hope that +variety of architecture will conceal the identity of substance. Yet, +after all, the champion of this popular author will probably argue that +this objection against the writings of Mr. James is greatly overstated +and extravagantly overestimated. The novelist can draw only from the +experience of human life in its different phases, and these admit not of +such variety as the inordinate appetite of the modern Athenians +unreasonably demands. A new series of catastrophes and perplexities, of +mortifications and triumphs, of joys and sorrows, cannot be evoked for +the benefit of the reader of each new novel. Again, Mr. James's admirer +insists that this charge of sameness so often urged against our +novelist's writings is perhaps overstated. Where one author, as is +frequently the case, gains the reputation of versatility of talent by +writing one or two volumes, it is not to be believed that Mr. James +exhibits less in one or two hundred. He who composes a library is not to +be judged by the same standard as he who writes but one book. And even +if the charge of "sameness" be admitted to its full extent, yet many +will cordially concur with the grateful and graceful acknowledgment of +one of the most eminent of modern critics:-- + + "I hail every fresh publication of James, though I half know + what he is going to do with his lady, and his gentleman, and his + landscape, and his mystery, and his orthodoxy, and his criminal + trial. But I am charmed with the new amusement which he brings + out of old materials. I look on him as I look on a musician + famous for 'variations.' I am grateful for his vein of + cheerfulness, for his singularly varied and vivid landscapes, + for his power of painting women at once ladylike and loving, (a + rare talent,) for making lovers to match, at once beautiful and + well-bred, and for the solace which all this has afforded me, + sometimes over and over again, in illness and in convalescence, + when I required interest without violence, and entertainment at + once animated and mild."--LEIGH HUNT. + +Two of the severest criticisms to which Mr. James's novels have been +subjected are, the one in the London Athenæum for April 11, 1846, and +the one in the North American Review, by E. P. Whipple, for April, +1844. + +We have spoken of Mr. James's champions and admirers; and such are by no +means fabulous personages, notwithstanding the severe censures to which +we have alluded. A brief quotation from one of these eulogies will be +another evidence added to the many in this volume of a wide +dissimilarity in critical opinions:-- + + "His pen is prolific enough to keep the imagination constantly + nourished; and of him, more than of any modern writer, it may be + said, that he has improved his style by the mere dint of + constant and abundant practice. For, although so agreeable a + novelist, it must not be forgotten that he stands infinitely + higher as an historian.... The most fantastic and beautiful + coruscations which the skies can exhibit to the eyes of mankind + dart as if in play from the huge volumes that roll out from the + crater of the volcano.... The recreation of an enlarged + intellect is ever more valuable than the highest efforts of a + confined one. Hence we find in the works before us, [Corse de + Leon, the Ancient Régime, and The Jacquerie,] lightly as they + have been thrown off, the traces of study,--the footsteps of a + powerful and vigorous understanding."--_Dublin University + Magazine_, March, 1842. + +The Edinburgh Review concludes some comments upon our author with the +remark, + + "Our readers will perceive from these general observations that + we estimate Mr. James's abilities, as a romance-writer, highly: + his works are lively and interesting, and animated by a spirit + of sound and healthy morality in feeling, and of natural + delineation in character, which, we think, will secure for them + a calm popularity which will last beyond the present day." + +We have before us more than thirty (to be exact, just thirty-two) +commendatory notices of our author, but brief extracts from two of these +is all for which we can find space. + + "He belongs to the historical school of fiction, and, like the + masters of the art, takes up a real person or a real event, and, + pursuing the course of history, makes out the intentions of + nature by adding circumstances and heightening character, till, + like a statue in the hands of the sculptor, the whole is in fair + proportion, truth of sentiment, and character. For this he has + high qualities,--an excellent taste, extensive knowledge of + history, a right feeling of the chivalrous, and a heroic and a + ready eye for the picturesque: his proprieties are admirable; + his sympathy with whatever is high-souled and noble is deep and + impressive. His best works are Richelieu and Mary of + Burgundy."--ALLAN CUNNINGHAM: _Biographical and Critical History + of the Literature of the Last Fifty Years, 1833._ + +The critic next to be quoted, whilst coinciding in the objections +prominently urged against Mr. James as an author,--repetition, +tediousness, and deficiency of terseness,--yet urges on his behalf that + + "There is a constant appeal in his brilliant pages not only to + the pure and generous, but to the elevated and noble sentiments; + he is imbued with the very soul of chivalry; and all his stories + turn on the final triumph of those who are influenced by such + feelings over such as are swayed by selfish or base desires. He + possesses great pictorial powers, and a remarkable facility of + turning his graphic pen at will to the delineation of the most + distant and opposite scenes, manners, and social customs.... Not + a word or a thought which can give pain to the purest heart ever + escapes from his pen; and the mind wearied with the cares and + grieved at the selfishness of the world reverts with pleasure to + his varied compositions, which carry it back, as it were, to + former days, and portray, perhaps in too brilliant colors, the + ideas and manners of the olden time."--SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON: + _Hist. of Europe,_ 1815-52, chap, v., 1853. See also _Alison's + Essays,_ 1850, iii. 545-546; _North British Review,_ Feb. 1857, + art on Modern Style. + + + + +Prefatory Dedication. + +TO + +GUSTAVUS A. MYERS, ESQ. + + +MY DEAR SIR:-- + +In dedicating to you the following pages, I am moved not more by private +friendship and regard, than by esteem for your abilities, and respect +for your many and varied acquirements. It might seem somewhat +presumptuous in me to call for your acceptance or seek your approbation +of this work, when not only your general acquaintance with, but your +profound knowledge of, almost every branch of modern and ancient +literature qualify and might be expected to prompt you to minute and +severe criticism. But I have always found, in regard to my own works at +least, that those who were best fitted to judge were the most inclined +to be lenient, and that men of high talent and deep learning +condescended to tolerate, if not to approve, that which was assailed by +very small critics, or scoffed at by men who, calling themselves +humorists, omitted the word "_bad_" before the appellation in which they +gloried. + +To your good humor, then, I leave the work, and will only add a few +words in regard to the object and construction of the story. + +We have in the present day romances of many various kinds; and I really +know not how to class my present effort. It is not a love-story, for any +thing like that which was the great moving power of young energies--at +least in less material days than these--has very little part in the +book. I cannot call it a novel without a hero, because it is altogether +dedicated to the adventures of one man. I cannot call it a romance +without a heroine, because there is a woman in it, and a woman with whom +I am myself very much in love. I cannot call it absolutely a historical +romance, because there are several characters which are not historical, +and I am afraid I have taken a few little liberties with Chronology +which, were she as prudish a dame as some of the middle-aged ladies whom +I could mention, would either earn me a _box_ of the ear, or produce so +much scandal that my good name would be lost forever. Plague take the +months and the days! they are always getting in one's way. But I do +believe I have been very reverent and respectful to their grandmothers +the years, and, with due regard for precedence and the Court Guide, have +not put any of the latter out of her proper place. + +I do not altogether wish to call this a book of character; for I do not +exactly understand that word as the public has lately been taught to +understand it. There is no peasant, or cobbler, or brick-layer's +apprentice, in the whole book, endowed with superhuman qualities, moral +and physical. There is no personage in high station--given as the type +of a class--imbued with intense selfishness or demoniac passions, wicked +without motive, heartless against common sense, and utterly degraded +from that noble humanity, God's best and holiest gift to mankind. There +is no meek, poor, puling, suffering lover, who condescends humbly to be +bamboozled and befooled through three volumes, or Heaven knows how many +numbers, for the sake of marrying the heroine in the end. I therefore +cannot properly, in the present day, call it a work of character. + +I might call it, perhaps,--although the hero is an Englishman,--a +picture of the times of Louis XIII; but, alas! I have not ventured to +give a full picture of these times. We have become so uncommonly cleanly +and decorous in our own days, that a mere allusion to the dirt and +indecency of the age of our great-grandmothers is not to be tolerated. +In order, indeed, to preserve something like verisimilitude, I have been +obliged to glance, in one chapter, at the freedom of manners of the days +to which I refer; but it has been a mere glance, and given in such a +manner that the cheek of one who understands it, in the sense in which +one of those very days would understand it, must have lost the power of +blushing. At all events, it can never sully or offend the pure, nor lead +the impure any further wrong. + +There are a great many explanations and comments, in illustration of the +times, which I should like to give for the benefit of that part of my +readers who have put on the right of knowing all things at the same time +that the third change was made in their dress, and I would have done so, +in notes; but, unfortunately, I do not write Greek; and a little +incident prevented me from writing those notes in Latin. A work--a most +interesting work--was published a few years ago in London, called the +Bernstein Hexe, or Amber Witch. More than one translation appeared; and +one of these had the original notes,--some written in Latin where they +were peculiarly anatomical and indecent; but, to my surprise, I found +that several ladies were fully versed in that sort of Latinity. I cannot +flatter myself with having a sufficient command of the Roman tongue to +be enabled to veil the meaning more completely from the unlearned. + +Only in the case of two personages have I attempted to elaborate +character,--in regard to my hero, and in regard to the Cardinal de +Richelieu. The former, though not altogether fictitious, must go with +very little comment. I wished to show how a young heart may be hardened +by circumstances, and how it may be softened and its better feelings +evolved by a propitious change. The latter, I will confess, I have +labored much; because I think the world in general, and I myself also, +have done some injustice to one of the greatest men that ever lived. +Very early in life I depicted him when he had reached old age,--that is +to say, his old age; for he had not, at the time of his death, numbered +as many years as are now upon my own head. He had then been tried in the +fire of the most terrible circumstances which perhaps ever assayed a +human heart; not only tried, but hardened; and even then, upon his +death-bed, his burst of tenderness to his old friend, Bois Robert, his +delight in the arts, and passion for flowers, showed that the tenderer +and--may I not say more noble?--feelings of the man had not been +swallowed up by the hard duties of the statesman, or the galling cares +of the politician. I now present him to the reader at a much earlier +period of life,--young, vigorous, successful, happy,--when the germs of +all those qualities for which men have reproached or applauded him were +certainly developed, were growing to maturity; when the severity which +afterwards characterized him, and the gentleness which he as certainly +displayed, had both been exercised; but when the briers and thorns had +not fully grown up, and before the soft grass of the heart had been +trampled under foot. + +All men have mixed characters. I do not believe in perfect evil or in +perfect goodness on this earth; but at various times of life the worse +or the better spirit predominates, according to the nourishment and +encouragement it receives. How far Richelieu changed, and when and how +he changed, would require a longer discussion than can be here afforded. +But one thing is to be always remembered,--that he was generally painted +by his enemies; and, where they admit high qualities and generous +feelings, we may be sure that it was done with even a niggard hand, and +add something to the tribute of the unwilling witness. + +In regard to critics, it may be supposed that I have spoken, a few pages +back, somewhat irreverently: I do not mean to do so in the least. +Amongst them are some most admirable men,--some who have done great, +real, tangible service to the public,--who have guided, if not formed, +public taste; and for them I have the greatest possible respect. I speak +not of the contributors to our greater and more pretentious +Reviews,--although, perhaps, a mass of deeper learning, more close and +acute investigation, and purer critical taste, cannot be found in the +literature of the world than that contained in their pages; but I speak +of the whole body of contemporary critics, many of whose minor articles +are full of astute perception and sound judgment. But there are others +for whom, though I have the most profound contempt, I have a most humble +fear. It is useless in Southern climates, such as that which I inhabit, +to attempt to prevent oneself from being stung by mosquitos or to keep +one's ears closed against their musical but venomous song. The only plan +which presents any chance of success--at least, it is as good as any +other--is to go down upon your knees and humbly to beseech them to spare +you. I therefore most reverently beseech the moral mosquitos, who are +accustomed to whistle and sing about my lowly path, to forbear as much +as possible; and, although their critical virulence may be aroused to +the highest pitch by seeing a man walk quietly on for thirty years along +the only firm path he can find amongst the bogs and quagmires of +literature, to spare at least those parts which are left naked by his +tailor and his shoemaker; to remember, in other words, that, besides the +faults and errors for which I am myself clearly responsible, there is +some allowance to be made for the faults of my amanuensis and for the +errors of my printer. I admit that I am the worst corrector in the whole +world; but I do hope that the liberality of criticism will not think fit +to see, as has been lately done, errors of mind in errors clearly of the +printer; especially in works which, by some arrangement between Mr. +Newby and the Atlantic, I never by any means see till the book has +passed through the press. But, should they still be determined to lay +the whole blame upon the poor author's shoulders, I may as well furnish +them with some excuse for so doing. The best that I know is to be found +in the following little anecdote:-- + +When I was quite a young boy, there was a painter in Edinburgh, of the +name of Skirven, celebrated both for his taste and genius, and his +minute accuracy in portrait-painting. A very beautiful lady of my +acquaintance sat to him for her portrait in a falling collar of rich and +beautiful lace. Unfortunately, there was a hole in the lace. As usual, +he did not suffer her to see the portrait till it was completed; and, +when she did see it, there was a portrait of the hole as well as +herself. "Well, Mr. Skirven," she said, "I think you need not have +painted the hole." + +"Well, madam," answered the painter, "then you should have mended it +first." + + G. P. R. JAMES. + + ASHLAND, VIRGINIA, + December, 1857. + + + + +LORD MONTAGU'S PAGE. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +It was a dark and stormy night,--a very dark night indeed. No dog's +mouth, whether terrier, mastiff, or Newfoundland, was ever so dark as +that night. The hatches had been battened down, and every aperture but +one, by which any of the great, curly-pated, leaping waves could jump +into the vessel, had been closed. + +What vessel? the reader may perhaps inquire. Well, that being a piece of +reasonable curiosity,--although I do wish, as a general thing, that +readers would not be so impatient,--I will gratify it, and answer the +inquirer's question; and, indeed, would have told him all about it in +five minutes if he would but have given me time. + +What vessel? asks the reader. Why, a little, heavy-looking, +fore-and-aft, one-masted ship, somewhat tubbish in form, which had +battled with a not very favorable gale during a long stormy day, and +had, as the sun went down, approached the coast of France, it might be +somewhat too close for safety. The atmosphere in the cabin below was hot +and oppressive. How indeed could it be otherwise, when not one breath of +air, notwithstanding all the bullying and roaring of Boreas, had been +able to get in during the whole day? But such being the case, and +respiration in the little den being difficult, the only altogether +terrestrial animal--sailors are, of course, amphibious--which that +vessel contained had forced his way up to the deck through the only +narrow outlet which had been left open. + +The amphibia have always a considerable dislike and some degree of +contempt for all land-animals, and the five sailors, with their skipper, +who formed all the crew so small a craft required, would probably have +driven below the intruder upon their labors, had they had time, leisure, +or light to notice him at all. But for near two hours he stood at the +stern on the weather side of the ship, holding on by the bulwarks, wet +to the skin, with his hat blown off and probably swimming back toward +Old England, and his hands numbed with cold and with hard grasping. + +There is something in the very act of holding on tight which increases +the natural tenacity of purpose that exists in some minds, and, if I may +use a very vulgar figure, thickens the glue. At the end of the two +hours, one of the sailors, who had something to do at the stern in a +great hurry, ran up to the spot where the only passenger was clinging +and nearly tumbled over him. Then, of course, he cursed him, as men in a +hurry are wont to, and exclaimed, "Get down below! What the devil are +you doing up here, where you are in everybody's way? Get down, I say!" + +"I will not," was the reply, in a quiet, and even sweet, but very +resolute, voice. + +"Then I'll knock you overboard, by ----!" said the seaman, adding an oath +which did not much strengthen the threat in the ears to which it was +addressed. + +"You cannot, and you dare not try," answered the other. But then the +voice of the skipper, who had been working hard at the tiller, was heard +exclaiming, "Let him alone, Tom;" and he beneficently called down +condemnation not only upon the eyes but upon all the members of his +subordinate. "Mind your own work, and let him alone." + +Now, it may be worth while to ask what sort of a personage was this, +whom the somewhat irascible Master Tom threatened to knock overboard, +and who replied with so little reverence for the threat. He could not be +a very formidable person, at least in appearance,--a very necessary +qualification of the assertion; for I have known very formidable snakes +the most pitiful-looking reptiles I ever beheld; and some of the most +dangerous men ever seen, either on the same stage of life where we are +playing our parts with them, or on the wider boards of history, have +been the least impressive in person, and the meanest-looking of +creatures. But, as I was saying,--for it is too late to finish that +sentence now,--the single passenger could not be very formidable in +appearance; for Tom was probably too wise and too experienced to engage +in what he considered even an equal struggle on so dark a night, while +the wind was blowing a gale, and the little craft heeling gunwale to. +Yet he could not be one without some powers, internally if not +externally, which rendered him fully as careless of consequences as the +other. Well, he was only a lad of some five feet eight or nine in +height, slight-looking in form, and dressed in a common sailor's jacket. +But in a leathern belt round his waist was a large caseknife, on the +handle or hilt of which, while he continued to hold on to the rail of +the bulwark with his left hand, he clasped the fingers of his right in a +very resolute and uncompromising manner. We all know that bowie-knives, +in one land at least, are very useful companions, and in all lands very +formidable weapons. Now, the knife in the lad's black leather belt was +not at all unlike a bowie-knife, and not in the least less formidable. +There was the slight insinuating curve, the heavy haft, the tremendously +long blade, the razor-like edge, and the sharp, unfailing point; so that +it is not improbable that the youth's confidence was mightily +strengthened by the companionship of such a serviceable friend, although +he was not half the size of his adversary and not above a third of his +weight. Boys, however, are always daring; and he could not at the utmost +have passed much more than seventeen years on the surface of this cold +earth. + +Now, all this account would have been spared the beloved reader had not +a trait of character at the outset of the career of any personage, in a +poem, novel, romance, or tale, been worth half a volume of description +afterward. It would have been spared, indeed, simply because the little +incident ended just where we have left it. Tom, the sailor, though a +reckless, ill-conditioned fellow, was obedient to the voice of his +commander, and, after having boused the boom a little to the one side or +the other of the vessel,--which side I neither know nor care,--he +returned to the bow, muttering a few objurgations of the youth, implying +that if it had not been for him they would never have come upon that +d----d voyage at all, and that probably they all would go to the bottom +for having such a Jonah on board. + +The truth is, Tom had left his sweetheart at Plymouth. + +As soon as he was gone, the skipper called the lad a little nearer and +said, "Tom says true enough, Master Ned. You were better below on every +account. I don't see what you want to come up for on such a night as +this." + +"Because I do not want to be smothered, Captain Tinly," replied Master +Ned. "I had rather be frozen than stewed; rather be melted by the water +like a piece of salt or sugar than baked like a pasty. Besides, what +harm do I do here? I am in no one's way, and that sea-dog could do his +work as well with me here as without me. But I'll tell you what, +captain, we are getting into smoother water. Some land is giving us a +lee. We ought soon to see a light." + +"Why, were you ever here before, youngster?" asked the master. + +"Ay, twice," said the boy; "and I know that when the sea smooths down as +it is now doing, we cannot be far from the island; and you will soon see +the lantern." + +"Well, keep a sharp look-out, then," was the reply: "you can see better +where you stand than I can, and it's so dark those fellows forward may +miss it. A minute or two to-night may save or sink us." + +"It matters not much which," answered the young man. A strange thought +for one at the age when life is brightest! but there are cases when the +disappointment of all early hopes--when the first grasp of misfortune's +iron hand has been so hard that it seems to have crushed the butterfly +of the heart even unto death,--when it is not alone the gay colors have +been brushed off, the soft down swept away, but when Hope's own life +seems extinguished. + +Happily, it is but for a time. There is immortality in Hope. She cannot +die; The fabled Phoenix of the ancients was but an emblem, like every +other myth; and, if the painting of Cupid burning a butterfly over a +flame was the image of love tormenting the soul, the Phoenix rising +from her ashes was surely a figure of the constant resurrection of Hope. +Ay, from her very ashes does she rise to brighter and still brighter +existence, till, soaring over the cold Lethe of the grave, she spreads +her wings afar to the Elysian fields beyond! + +It is an old axiom, never to say "die;" and though there be those who +say it, ay, and in a momentary madness give the word the form of action, +did they but wait, they themselves would find that, though circumstances +remained unchanged, the prospect as rugged or the night as dark, the +sunshine of Hope would break forth again to cheer, or her star twinkle +through the gloom to guide. + +The boy felt what he said at the time, but it was only for the time; and +there were years before him in which he never felt so again. + +"Captain, there is a light surely toward the southwest," said the lad: +"that must be the light at St. Martin's-on-Re. It seems very far off. We +must be hugging the main shore too close." + +"I don't see it," answered the skipper; "but there is one due east, or +half a point north. What the devil is that?" + +The boy ran across the deck nearly at the risk of his life; for though +the sea and wind had both fallen, the little craft still pitched and +heeled so much that he lost his footing and had wellnigh gone overboard. +He held on, however, was up in a moment, and exclaimed, "Marans! The +light in Maran's church! You'll be on the sands in ten minutes! Put +about, put about, if you would save the ship!" + +A great deal of hurry and confusion succeeded; and there was much +unnecessary noise, and still more unnecessary swearing. The youth who +had discovered the danger was the most silent of the party; but he was +not inactive, aiding the captain with more strength than he seemed to +possess, to bring the ship's head as near to the wind as possible. And +the manoeuvre was just in time; for the lead at one time showed that +they were just up the very verge of the sands at the moment when, +answering the helm better than she did at first, she made way toward the +west, and the danger was past. In half an hour--for their progress was +slow--the light upon the Isle de Re could be distinctly seen, and one by +one other lights and landmarks appeared, rendering the rest of the +voyage comparatively safe. + +Still the lad kept his place upon the deck, addressing hardly a word to +any one, but watching with a keen eye the eastern line of shore, which +was every now and then visible notwithstanding the darkness. The moon, +too, began to give some light, though she could not be seen; for the +clouds were still thick, and their rapid race across the sky told that, +though the sea under the lea of the Isle de Re had lost all its +fierceness, the gale was blowing with unabated fury. + +The lad quitted his hold of the bulwarks and walked slowly to the +captain's side, as if to speak to him; but the skipper spoke first. His +professional vanity was somewhat mortified, or perhaps he was afraid +that his professional reputation might suffer by the lad's report in the +ears of those whose approbation was valuable to him; and consequently he +was inclined to put a little bit of defensive armor on a spot where he +fancied himself vulnerable. + +"We had a narrow squeak of it just now, Master Ned," he said. "However, +it was no fault of mine. I could not help it. It is twenty years since I +was last at this d--d place, and the chart they gave me is a mighty bad +one. Besides, those beastly gales we have had ever since Ushant might +puzzle the devil,--and this dark night, too!" + +"You've saved the ship, captain," answered the lad: "that is all we have +to do with;" and then, perhaps thinking he might as well add something +to help the good skipper's palliatives for wellnigh running the ship +ashore, he added, "Besides, there is a strong current running,--what +between the sands of Oleron and the point of Re, and the Pertuis +d'Antioche--I do not know very well how it is; but I was so told by one +of the men last time I was here." + +"Ay, 'tis so, I dare say," answered the captain. "Indeed, it must be +so; for we could never have got so far to the eastward without one of +those currents. I wish to heaven some one would put them all down, for +one can't keep them all in one's head, anyhow. You tell the duke, when +you see him again, about the currents, Master Ned." + +"What is the use of telling him any thing at all but that we got safe to +Rochelle?" asked the lad. "If we get there--as there is now no doubt--he +will ask no questions how; and if we don't, anybody may blame us who +likes: it will make little difference to you or me." + +The skipper was about to answer; but just at that moment a light broke +suddenly out upon that longish point of land which a boat that keeps +under the western shore of France has to double--as the reader very well +recollects--before it can make the port of La Rochelle; and the boy as +suddenly laid his hand on the captain's arm, saying, "Make for that +light as near as you can, captain; keep the lead going; drop your anchor +as close as you can, and send me ashore in a boat." + +"Why, Master Ned, I was told to land you at Rochelle," replied the +other. + +"You were told to do as I bade you," answered the lad, as stoutly as if +he had been a captain of horse,--adding the saving clause, "in every +thing except the navigation of your vessel. I must be put ashore where +you see that light. So send down for my bags, have the boat all ready, +and when I am landed go on to Rochelle and wait till you hear more." + +The captain of the vessel did not hesitate to obey. The ship ran +speedily for the shore and approached perhaps nearer than was altogether +safe; the boat was lowered to the water, and the lad sprang in without +bidding adieu to any one. There was a heavy sea running upon the coast, +and it required no slight skill and strength on the part of the two +stout rowers to land him in safety; but he showed neither fear nor +hesitation, though probably he knew the extent of the danger and the +service better than any one; for, when he sprang out into the shallow +water where the boat grounded, he gave each of the men a gold-piece, and +then watched them with somewhat anxious eyes till they had got their +boat through the surf into the open sea. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +What an extraordinary world it is! Men in general are mere shellfish, +unapproachable except at certain tender points; such as the eyes of the +crab, or the soft yellow skin under an alligator's gullet,--Achilles' +heels which have been neglected by the mothers of those sapient reptiles +when they were dipped in Styx. But perhaps it is as well as it is; for +if a man were tender all over, and once began to think of all the misery +that is going on around him, the faces he would make would be horrible +to see. Reader, at this very moment there are thousands dying in agony, +there are many starving for lack of food, there is a whole host of +gentle hearts watching the expiring lamp of life in the eyes of those +most dearly loved, there are multitudes of noble spirits and mighty +minds struggling in doubt for to-morrow's daily crust, there is crime, +folly, sorrow, anguish, shame, remorse, despair, around us on every +side; and yet we are as merry as a grasshopper unless somebody snaps off +one of our own legs. There is not an instant of time that does not bring +with it a thousand waves of agony over the stormy sea of human +existence; and yet every man's light boat dances on, and the mariner +sings, till one of the many billows overwhelms him. It is quite as well +as it is. + +Some, however, are blessed--or cursed, as it may be--with a faculty of +feeling for others; and that boy, as he took his way up from the shore +toward the little hillock of sand on which a bonfire of pine logs was +blazing,--with two heavy bags on his arms, and the rain dashed by the +fierce wind in his face,--could not help thinking of the roofless heads +and chilled hearts he knew were in the world. + +"Poor souls!" he thought; "in an hour I shall be warm and dry and +comfortable, and to-morrow all this will be forgotten; but for them +there is no comfort, no better to-morrow." + +Stay a minute, my lad! Do not go too fast and reckon without your host, +either for yourself or others. Joy may light up the dim eye, hope fan +the aching brow; and you,--after all you have seen and undergone even in +your short life,--how dare you count upon the events of the next +hour,--nay, of the next moment? + +He climbed the hill stoutly but slowly; for it was steep, and his bags +were heavy. The wicked wind, too, fought with him all the way up, and +the rain, which had lately begun to fall, came loaded with small +particles of hail, as if it sought to aid the wind in keeping him back +till their united force could put out the beacon-fire. But the pine was +full of resin, and it burned on, with the flame and the smoke whirled +about by the wind but never extinguished, until at length he stood on +the windward side of the fire and looked round, as if expecting to see +the man who lighted it. + +There was no one there, however; and the youth, who, it must be +acknowledged, was of a somewhat eager and impatient temper and apt to +come to hasty conclusions, fancied for a moment or two that those he +should have found there had grown weary of waiting in that boisterous +night, and had left him to enjoy its pleasures or its terrors by +himself. A moment after, however, as the flame swayed a little more to +the westward, he caught a glimpse of the ground on the other side of the +hill sinking rapidly down into a little dell where some less arid soil +seemed to have settled,--enough at least to bear some scanty herbage, a +few low bushes, and some thin pines; and there, amongst the latter, +appeared a small fixed light. It might be a candle in a cottage-window, +and probably was; for it was too red for a jack-o'lantern. + +"Ah! I can at least find out where I am," thought the lad; "but I dare +say the men are there, taking care of their own skins and little caring +about mine." + +Thus thinking, he began to descend, and had not proceeded far when a +voice hailed him in French. The lad made no answer, but went on; for, to +say sooth, he was somewhat moody with all the events of the last three +or four days. + +"Is that you, Master Ned, I say?" repeated the voice, in English, but +with a very strong foreign accent. + +"Ay, ay!" replied the youth; "but how the devil did you expect me to +find you if you did not stay by the fire?" + +"Oh, we kept a good look-out," answered a stout man of some +five-and-thirty years of age, who was advancing to meet him. "We have +waited for you by the fire long enough these two last nights; and, as we +could see any one who came across the blaze, there was no use of our +getting frozen, or melted, or blown away on the top of the hill. But +what has made you so long behind? You were to have been here on Tuesday +night: so the letters said. What kept you?" + +"Head-winds all the way from Ushant," replied the boy. "But let us go +on, Jargeau, for we must be far from the town, and time enough has been +lost already." + +"Well, come down to the cottage," said the other, in a musing sort of +tone. "You want something to refresh you while the horses are being +saddled. Here; let me carry your bags." And as he spoke he laid his hand +upon one of the large leather-covered cases. + +"Not that one," said the boy, sharply, pushing away his hand: "here; you +may take this." The man laughed, saying, "Ay, as sharp as ever!" and +they descended to the pines, where the light still glimmered behind one +of the few remaining panes of glass in the window of a dilapidated +cottage, on the leeward side of which stood three horses, tethered but +without their saddles. + +The interior of the building offered no very cheerful aspect; but, +seeing that the boy had not eaten any thing for the last twelve hours, +that he was weary, wet, and cold, the sight of a very tolerable supply +of viands on the floor,--for there was furniture of no kind within,--and +a large black bottle fitted to hold at least a gallon, was very +consolatory. + +The only other objects which the cottage contained were the rosin candle +fixed into a split log, and a lean but apparently strong man of perhaps +forty, whose face had evidently had at least a ten years' intimacy with +the brandy-flask. He was stretched out at length upon the ground, but +with his head and arm within reach of the viands and bottle; and though, +in answer to some observations of his comrade of the watch, he swore +manfully that he had touched neither, yet he wiped his mouth upon the +sleeve of his coat, as if he felt that something might be clinging to +his lips which would contradict him. + +"Ah, Master Ned!" he exclaimed, in French, but without moving from where +he lay, "I am right glad you have come, for my throat is as dry as an +ear of rye, and Jargeau there would not have the cold meat touched nor +the bottle broached till you came." + +"By the Lord, you have broached it, though!" exclaimed the other, who +had been stooping down: "the neck is quite wet, you vagabond; and, if we +did not need you, I would give you a touch of my knife for disobeying my +orders. But come, Master Ned, sit down on the floor and eat. There is +enough left in the bottle for you, at all events; and, on my soul, he +shall not have another drop till both you and I have finished." + +The other man only laughed, and the boy applied himself to the food with +a good will. When he had eaten silently for some ten minutes, he +stretched out his hand, saying, "Give me the bottle, Jargeau: I will +have one draught of wine, and then I am ready. Pierrot, get up and put +the saddles on the horses." + +"No wine will you get here," replied Jargeau; "but this is better for +you, wet as you are,--as good eau-de-vie as ever came from Tonnay +Charente. Take a good drink: you will need it." + +"Get up and saddle the horses," said the boy before he drank, addressing +somewhat sharply the lean gentleman on the ground. "Have you forgotten +St. Martin's, good Pierrot?" + +"I will have my drink first," answered the other, grinning. "I brought +the bottle here; and drop for drop all round is fair play." + +As the quickest mode of ending all dispute, the youth drank and gave the +bottle to Pierrot; but it remained so long at his lips that Jargeau +snatched it angrily from him, swearing he would not leave a drop. He +seemed loath to part with it, but at length raised his long limbs from +the floor, and, lighting another rosin candle, went forth to perform his +task. + +"And now, Master Ned," said Jargeau, "I have news for you which you may +be will not like. You are not going to La Rochelle to-night. There is no +one there whom you want to see." + +"I must go," said the boy, thoughtfully, as if speaking to himself. "I +must go." + +"But just listen, Master Ned," said Jargeau. "I know you are somewhat +hard-headed; but what is the use of going to a place where there is no +one to deal with? Now, the Prince de Soubise and the Duc de Rohan are +both at the Chateau of Mauzé; and with them are all the people you want +to see." + +The lad paused and mused for several minutes without making any answer, +and Jargeau pressed him to take some more of the brandy, saying that he +would have a ride of thirty miles. But still he replied nothing, till at +length, awaking from his reverie, he asked, "Who is to guide me? I do +not know the way to Mauzé." + +"Oh, Pierrot is here for the very purpose," answered Jargeau: "he will +guide you, and though, by one way or another, he will find means to make +all you leave of the brandy disappear, you know he is never drunk enough +not to find his way." + +Master Ned, as they called him, again fell into thought for a moment or +two, and then answered, "It would be better for you to go yourself. But +perhaps you are wanted in Rochelle?" + +"No," answered the other, in an indifferent tone; "I have got to go to +Fontenay, where some of our friends--you understand?--are to have a +meeting to-morrow night." + +"Then you must be there, of course," replied Master Ned; "but, if +Pierrot is to ride thirty miles with me, the poor devil had better have +some food. He has tasted nothing but the brandy." + +"That is enough for him," answered Jargeau: "he cares nothing for meat +when he can get drink." + +"Well, then, let him have enough of what he likes best," answered the +lad; "and in the mean time I will get a cloak out of the bag, for we +shall have a wet ride as well as a long one." Thus saying, he rose, took +the bags into the farther corner of the cabin, and certainly took a +cloak out of one of them. Whether he brought forth any thing else I do +not say; but the cloak was soon over his shoulders, and a moment after +Pierrot appeared at the door, saying that the beasts were saddled. + +"Here, Pierrot," exclaimed the lad; "come in and devour that chicken, +and then you shall have some more of the devil's drops." + +"Take some more yourself, Ned," said Jargeau: "'tis the only way to +prevent catching the fever." + +The lad assented, and, taking the bottle with both hands, put it to his +lips; but whether any of its contents passed beyond them I am doubtful, +seeing that the throat, which was fully exposed by his falling collar, +showed no signs of deglutition. He then handed the liquor to Pierrot, +who by this time had torn a large fat fowl to pieces and swallowed +one-half of it. The brandy fared still worse; for, although Jargeau +frowned upon him fiercely while he drank, the bottle, whatever remained +of the contents when he put it to his mouth, left that organ quite +empty. + +"You drunken beast, you have swallowed it all!" said Jargeau. + +"True," answered Pierrot, with a watery and somewhat swimming eye: "my +mouth is not large, but it is deep. I wish the Pertuis d'Antioche could +be filled with the same stuff and my mouth be laid at the other end. +There would be only one current then, Monsieur Jargeau." + +The lad and the elderman both eyed him keenly as he spoke; but, strange +to say, the sight seemed to please the former more than the latter, and, +as they issued forth to mount, Jargeau drew Pierrot aside and said +something to him in a low but angry voice. + +The lad took not the slightest notice of this little interlude, but, +advancing to where the horses stood with bent heads, not liking the rain +at all, he selected the one which seemed to him the strongest and best, +without asking consent of any one, placed his bags, tied together with a +strong leathern thong, over the pommel of the saddle, and then sprang +into his seat. "Come on, Pierrot!" he cried; "we have far to ride, it +seems, and but little time." Jargeau advanced to his side and said, in a +whisper, "That beast is half drunk. Take care of him. You remember it is +the Chateau of Mauzé you are going to. He may turn refractory." + +"Oh, no fear," replied Master Ned. "I can drive him as well as any other +ass. I have driven him before. Mauzé?--that is upon the road to Niort, +is it not?" + +"Yes," answered the other. "Where the road forks, keep to the right, and +then straight on: you cannot miss it. I think the moon will get the +better of the clouds and shine out." + +"Good!" said the youth. "We want a little light." + +Thus saying, he struck the horse with his heel, and the beast started +forward. Pierrot, who by this time had contrived to mount, followed, and +Jargeau returned to the cottage, as he said, to put out the light. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +There had been something a little peculiar in the way in which Master +Ned had pronounced the words, "We want a little light," which, if +Jargeau had remarked the curl of his lip as they were uttered, might +have induced him to turn his horse's head toward Rochelle instead of +Fontenay; for in truth the lad spoke of other than moonlight. Ned rode +on in silence, however, for some minutes, along a small road, or rather +path, which led from the old cottage, first to a small straggling +village, such as is still to be seen in the Bocage and its neighborhood, +and then to a place of junction with the highroad running from Marans to +Mauzé. It was called a highroad then, God wot; but it has fallen into a +second-class way now, and was in all but name a very low road always. + +Pierrot was silent too,--not that he had not a strong impulse toward +eloquence upon him, but that he felt a certain confusion of thought +which did not permit of seeing distinctly which was the head, which the +tail, of a subject. The last draught of brandy had been a deep one. Yet +Pierrot was practised in all the various phases of drunkenness, and in +general knew how to carry his liquor discreetly; but this was in fact +the reason that he abstained from using his tongue, feeling an intense +conviction that it would either speak some gross nonsense, or betray +some secret, or commit some other of those lamentable blunders in which +drunken men's tongues are wont to indulge, if he once opened his mouth. + +It was not an easy task to keep quiet, it is true; and, had he not been +a very experienced man, he could not have accomplished it. But the +struggle was soon brought to a conclusion; for, when they had ridden +about half a mile, Master Ned turned sharp upon him, and asked, +abruptly, "What was that Jargeau said to you, just as we were coming +away, Pierrot?" + +"Oh, nothing," answered Pierrot, in a muddled voice, "but to lead you +right." + +"Where?" demanded the lad, sternly. + +"Why, to Mauzé, to-be-sure," replied Pierrot. + +"What a pity he gave himself such unnecessary trouble!" answered the +lad, in a quiet tone: "neither you nor I go to Mauzé to-night, Pierrot." + +"Then where, in Satan's name, are you going?" demanded his companion, +checking his horse. + +"To Rochelle," replied Master Ned. "Jog on, Maître Pierrot. It is the +next turn on the right we take, I think. Jog on, I say. Why do you +stop?" + +"Because I ought to go back and tell Jargeau, and ask him what I am to +do," answered the other, half bewildered with drink and astonishment. + +"You are to do what I tell you, and to do it at once," replied the lad; +"and, if you do not, I have got a persuader here which will convince you +sooner than any other argument I can use." And as he spoke he drew one +of the large horse-pistols of that day from beneath his cloak and +pointed it straight at Pierrot's head. "It is the same argument that +stopped your running away and leaving us in the enemy's teeth at St. +Martin's-in-Rhé," he said. + +"You young devil, the ball is in my leg still," answered Pierrot. "But +this is not fair, Master Ned. You might be right enough then, for you +thought I was going to betray you; though, on my life and soul, I was +only afraid. Now you want me to disobey those I am bound to serve, and +do not even give me a reason." + +"I will give you a reason, though I have not much time, for fear the +powder in the pan should get damp," replied the boy; "but my reason is +that I was told to go to Rochelle and see Maître Clement Tournon; and +therefore I am going. Now, in the Isle de Rhé I did not think you were +going to betray us, and knew quite well it was mere fear; but at present +I do think Jargeau is seeking to betray me,--or mislead me, which is as +bad. At all events, you have got to go with me to Rochelle, or have the +lead in your head, Pierrot: so choose quickly, because you know I do not +wait long for any one." + +"Well, I vow you are too hard upon me, Master Ned," said Pierrot, in a +whimpering tone. "You take the very bread out of my mouth and give me +over to the vengeance of that cold-blooded devil Jargeau." + +"You will find me a worse devil still," replied Master Ned, coldly; but +even as he spoke he fell into a fit of thought, and then added, "Listen +to me, Pierrot, if the brandy has left you any brains, or ears either. I +want a man like you to go with me a long way, perhaps. It will not be I +who pay you, for I have got little enough, as you know; but I will be +your surety that you shall be well paid as long as you serve well. I +know you to the bottom. You are honest at heart, whether you are drunk +or sober; though liquor has not the same effect upon you as upon most +men. You are brave enough when you are sober, but a terrible coward when +you are drunk. Now, if you like to go with me, you shall have enough to +live on, and to get drunk on, when I choose to let you get drunk." + +"How often will that be?" asked Pierrot, interrupting him. + +"I will make no bargain," answered the lad; "but this much I will say: +you may drink whenever I do not tell you I have important business on +hand. When I do tell you that, you shall taste nothing stronger than +water." + +"Good! good!" said Pierrot: "strong water you mean, of course." + +"Well-water," said the lad, sharply. "But, remember, I am not to be +trifled with. As to Jargeau, I will take care he does nothing to injure +you. If it be as I think, I have got his head under my belt, and he will +soon know that it is so. Now choose quickly, for we have stood here too +long." + +"Well, I'll go," said Pierrot; "but I am terribly afraid of that +Jargeau. However, your pistol is nearest; and so I'll go. I know you are +not to be trifled with, well enough; but I must find some way of letting +Jargeau know I have left him. It would be a shame to go without telling +him, you know, Master Ned." + +"We shall find means enough in Rochelle of sending him word," answered +the lad, putting up his pistol and resuming his journey. + +Pierrot followed with sundry half-articulate grunts; but he appeared +soon to recover both good humor and spirits, for ere they had gone half +a mile he burst forth into song, broken and irregular indeed, now a +scrap from one lay, now from another; but, at all events, the music +seemed to show that no very heavy thing was resting on his mind. His +rambling scraps of old ditties ran somewhat as follows:-- + + "Whither go you on this dark, dark night, + Wayfaring cavalier? + Go you to love, or go you to fight? + Either is better by clear moonlight, + Venturous cavalier. + +"By my life, the moon is beginning to break through,--though how she +will manage it I don't know; for there is mud enough in yonder sky to +swallow up the tallest horse I ever rode. + + "Oh, tell-tale moon, + You are up too soon + For the long train of kisses yet on the way. + Your eyes so bright + Make all the world light: + We might just as well kiss in the full of the day. + +"She has got behind the cloud again. Moons and maidens don't know their +own minds. + + "Katy went to the cupboard-door, + Ah, Katy, Katy! + What want you in your grandam's store? + Cunning little Katy. + + "She went quietly over the floor: + Fie, Katy, Katy! + No use of the lock, no use of the door, + Against that little Katy. + + "She's put away her own little snood: + Fie, little Katy! + She has got on her grandmother's hood: + Can that be pretty Katy? + + "She has opened the back door into the wood: + Beware! Katy, Katy; + Such sly marches never bode good + To any little Katy. + + "But there's a priest with the yeoman tall: + Is that it, little Katy? + And now she is wedded and bedded and all, + And no more little Katy." + +The concluding stanzas, if they were neither very excellent nor very +tender, were at least an indication that his mind was settling down into +a calmer state than when he began. They were connected, at all events; +and continuity of thought is a great approach to reason, which dwelleth +not in the brains of any man together with much brandy. The finer spirit +was, therefore, apparently getting the better of the coarser; and Master +Ned thought the time was come for him to take advantage of the change of +dynasty and see whether he could not obtain some advantage from the new +ruler. + +"Well, Pierrot," he said, "this is a very pretty business you have been +engaged in. After having had the honor of serving the King of England +and fighting for the liberty of the Protestants of France, you have been +persuaded to aid in trying to betray me into the hands of the enemy, +though you did not know that I might not be the bearer of important +messages to your own people." + +"Whew!" cried Pierrot, with a long whistle. Now, whistles mean all kinds +of things, from the ostracism of a play-house gallery to the signal of +love or housebreaking; but the whistle of good Pierrot was decidedly a +whistle of astonishment, and so Master Ned interpreted it. + +"Do not affect ignorance or surprise, Pierrot," he said: "that will not +do with me. Jargeau is a traitor: that is clear." + +"Well, well, Master Ned," interposed his companion, "you are a mighty +sharp lad, beyond question; but sometimes you ride your horse too fast, +notwithstanding. Just stop a bit till my head gets a little--a very +little bit--clearer, and I'll set you right. As you think the matter +worse than it is, I may as well show you it is better. I don't mean to +say they did not want to trick you; but not the way you fancy." + +"Why, are not all the towns round in the hands of the Papists?" asked +the lad. "We have had that news in England for the last four months." + +"No, no, no," answered Pierrot: "the Papists may have the upper hand in +most of them, it is true; but stop a bit, and I'll tell you all clearly. +Your long pistol half sobered me; and when I can get to a spring and put +my head in, that will wash out the rest of the brandy. It is of no use +giving you a muddled tale." + +"Take care you do not make one up," answered Master Ned. "I shall find +you out in five minutes." + +Pierrot laughed. "I'd as soon try to cheat the devil," he said. "But let +us ride on. There is a well just where the roads cross, and it will +serve my turn. Brandy is a fine thing, but a mighty poor counsellor." + +The lad followed the suggestion, for he did not wish to give his +companion too much time to think, and, urging their horses on, in about +five minutes they reached the spot where two highways crossed, and where +a large stone trough received the waters of a beautiful and plentiful +spring, affording solace to many a weary and thirsty horse in those days +of saddle-travelling. There Pierrot dismounted, slowly and deliberately, +for he could not precisely ascertain to what extent he retained a +balancing power till his feet touched the ground. With more directness +of purpose, however, than could have been expected, he made his way to +the trough, and, kneeling down, plunged his head once or twice into the +cool water. He then rose, with his long rugged black hair still +streaming; and, after the horses had been suffered to drink, the two +travellers resumed their way. The moon by this time had completely +scattered the clouds; glimpses of dark-blue sky appeared between the +broken masses, and the keen eye of the young lad could mark every +change in the expression of Pierrot's face as he went on. + +"Now, Master Ned," he said, "I think my noddle has got clear enough of +the fumes to let you know something of what people have been about here, +which you do not know rightly, I can see. Rochelle is going to be taken +by the Catholics: that's clear to me." + +"Unless the great Duke of Buckingham drive the Catholics beyond the +Loire, it must be taken," answered the lad. "You can never stand against +all France. But what makes you give up hope, Pierrot?" + +"First, the King of France, and his devil of a Cardinal, are drawing +together a great army all around us," answered Pierrot,--"a greater army +than ever approached Rochelle before. That we could manage to resist, +perhaps. But then they are going very coolly to work fortifying every +town and well-pitched village of the Papists within fifty miles of the +city, and filling them with soldiers, so that every egg that comes to +market will have to be fought for. Well, that we could perhaps manage +too, for we could get supplies from England. But look here, Master Ned: +there are two parties in Rochelle. Our best lords and wisest citizens, +our chief generals and captains, know well that our only hope is in the +support of England; but there is a more numerous, if not a stronger, +party, who do not like your great duke, would have nothing to do with +your good country, and would have us stand alone and fight it out by +ourselves. One of their chief men is Jargeau." + +"I see," said the lad. "But what did he seek by trying to entrap me to +go to Mauzé?" + +"First, your letters were likely either to fall into the hands of the +Catholics, and, by showing how firmly Rochelle could count upon English +help, frighten them and make them reasonable," answered Pierrot, "or, +secondly, they might fall into the hands of Miguet and his other +friends, who would take care they should never reach their destination. +That was the plan, Master Ned." + +"And not a bad plan, either," answered the other, thoughtfully, +"supposing I had any letters. But, as you say, Rochelle is in a bad +way; for, if her leaders are afraid to let each other know their exact +position and what they may count upon, she is a house divided against +herself, and cannot stand. But what made Jargeau think I had letters? +Nobody told him so, I think." + +"No; but they told him you would have messages for our principal +people," answered Pierrot,--adding, not unwilling, perhaps, to show a +little scorn for one whose strong will had exercised what may be called +an unnatural ascendency over him more than once, "and Jargeau never +believed that they would trust messages to such a young boy as you." + +"He must have thought my memory very bad," replied the lad, "not to be +able to carry a message from England to France. But my memory is not so +bad, good Pierrot, as he may find some day. At all events, if Rochelle +is to be lost by the intrigues of a man who does not choose his comrades +to know where succor lies when they like to seek it, all the world shall +know who ruined a good cause. But I suppose, Pierrot, all he told me of +the meeting of the Reformed leaders at Mauzé was a mere lure." + +"No, no; it is all true," answered Pierrot. "The prince is there, and +Rohan, and a dozen of others; and if you could have got safe through +without the loss of your bags, you would have found some of those you +want; but I suppose he had provided against that. I don't know: he never +told me; but it is likely." + +"Very likely," replied Master Ned; "but you say 'some of those I want.' +I only want one person; and him I must see if it be possible. Is Maître +Clement Tournon in the city?" + +"He is not with those in the Chateau of Mauzé," replied Pierrot. "I know +little of him. He is a goldsmith,--a very quiet man?" + +"Probably," answered the lad: "quiet men are the best friends in this +world. So, on to Rochelle! Will they let us pass the gates at night?" + +"'Tis a hard question to answer," said Pierrot. "Sometimes they are very +strict, sometimes lax enough. But it is somewhat late, young lad, and, +if none of the guard is in love with moonlight, we shall find them all +asleep." + +"Asleep in such times as these!" exclaimed the young man. + +"Why, either the Papists are trying to throw us off our guard," said +Pierrot, "or they are too busy cutting off each others' heads to mind +ours. They have not troubled us much as yet. True, they have taken a +town or two, and stopped some of our parties into the country, and begun +what they call lines; but not a man of their armies has come within +cannon-shot. And there is not much more strictness than in the times of +the _little war_ which has been going on for the last fifty years. But +the people in the town vary from time to time. When one man commands, +the very nose of a Catholic will be fired at; and, when another is on +duty, the gates will be opened to Schomberg, or the devil, or any one +else who comes in a civil manner. But there is Rochelle peeping over the +trees yonder, just as if she had come out to see the moon shine." + +"Well, then, mark me, good Pierrot," said Master Ned, "I expect you to +do all you can to make them open the gates to us. You understand what +that means, I suppose?" + +"That I shall have a shot in my other leg or through my head if I do +not, I presume," answered Pierrot. "But don't be afraid. When you have +given me a crown, I shall have taken service with you; and then you +know, or ought to know, I will serve you well." + +The lad, it would seem, had some reason to judge that the estimate which +his companion put upon such a bond was just. Indeed, in those days the +act of taking service, confirmed by earnest-money, implied much more +than it does in our more enlightened times. Then a man who had thus +bound himself thought himself obliged to let nobody cheat his master but +himself, to feel a personal interest in his purposes and in his safety. +Now, alas! we hire a man to rob us himself and help all others to rob +us,--to brush our coats in the evening, and cut our throats in the +morning if we have too many silver spoons. However, Master Ned put his +hand into his pocket and pulled out a piece of money, which he held out +to Pierrot, who seemed for a moment to hesitate to take it. "I wish I +had told Jargeau I was going to quit him," he said: "not that he ever +gave me a sol, but plenty of promises. How much is it, Master Ned?" + +"A spur rial," replied the boy,--"worth a number of your French crowns." + +"Lead us not into temptation!" cried Pierrot, taking and pocketing the +money. "And now tell me what I am to do." + +"All you can to make them open the gates," answered Master Ned. "You +have got the word, of course?" + +"Nay, 'faith, not I," replied Pierrot: "Jargeau got it this evening, but +I did not think of asking. Never mind, however: all the people in +Rochelle know me, and I will get in if any one can." + +He was destined to be disappointed, however. In the little suburb, just +before the gate, he and his companion passed a little tavern where +lights were burning and people singing and making a good deal of noise; +but it was in vain that Pierrot knocked at the large heavy door or +shouted through a small barred aperture. No one could be made to hear; +and he and Master Ned were forced to retreat to one of the cabarets of +the faubourg and await the coming of daylight. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +"Who is that boy?" said one of the early shopkeepers of Rochelle, +speaking to his neighbor, who was engaged in the same laudable +occupation as himself,--namely, that of opening his shop for the +business of the day. At the same time he pointed out a handsome lad, +well but plainly dressed, who was walking along somewhat slowly toward +the better part of the city. "Who is that boy, I wonder?" + +"He's a stranger, by that cloak with the silver lace," replied the +other: "most likely come over in the ship that nearly ran upon the pier +last night. He carries a sword, too. Those English make monkeys even of +their children; but he is a good looking youth nevertheless, and bears +himself manly. Ah! there is that worthless vagabond, Pierrot la Grange, +speaking to him. And now Master Pierrot is coming here. I will have +naught to do with him or his." And, so saying, he turned into his shop. + +The other tradesman waited without, proposing in his own mind to ask +Pierrot sundry questions regarding his young companion; for, although he +had no curiosity, as he frequently assured his neighbors, yet he always +liked to know who everybody was, and what was his business. + +Pierrot, however, had only had time to cross over from the other corner +of the street and ask, in a civil, and even sober, tone, where the +dwelling of Monsieur Clement Tournon could be found, when the good +tradesman exclaimed, "My life! what is that?" and instantly darted +across the street as fast as a somewhat short pair of legs could carry +him. + +Now, the street there was not very wide; but it was crossed by one much +broader within fifty yards of the spot where the shopkeeper was +standing, called in that day "Rue de l'Horloge." It may have gone by a +hundred names since. The street was quite vacant, too, when Pierrot +addressed the tradesman; but the moment after, two sailors came up the +Rue de l'Horloge, and one of them, as soon as he set eyes on Master Ned, +who was standing with his back to the new-comers, laid his hand upon his +shoulder and said something in a tone apparently not the most civil, for +the lad instantly shook himself free, turned round, and put his hand +upon the hilt of the short sword he carried. It seemed to the good +shopkeeper that he made an effort to draw it; but whether it fitted too +close, or it had got somewhat rusted to the scabbard during the previous +rainy night, it would not come forth; and in the mean time the sailor +struck him a thundering blow on the head with a stick he carried. The +youth fell to the ground at once, but he did not get up again, and the +two tradesmen ran up, crying, "Shame! shame! Seize the fellow!" + +"You've killed him, Tom, by the Lord!" cried the other sailor. "You +deserve hanging; but get back to the ship if you would escape it. Quick! +quick! or they will stop you." + +"He was drawing his sword on me!" cried our friend Tom, whose +quarrel--not the first one--with Master Ned we have already seen as the +ship neared the Isle of Rhé. But, not quite confident in the +availability of his excuse, he took his companion's advice and began to +run, turning the corner of the Rue de l'Horloge. One of the tradesmen +pursued him, however, shouting, "Stop him! stop him!" and the malevolent +scoundrel had not run thirty yards, when he was seized by a strong, +middle-aged man, who was walking up the street with an elderly companion +and was followed by two common men dressed as porters. + +The sailor made a struggle to get free, but it was in vain; and the +shopkeeper, who was pursuing, soon made the whole affair known to his +captors. + +The elderly man with the white beard put one or two questions to the +prisoner, to which he received no reply; for since that untoward event +of the Tower of Babel the world is no longer of one speech, and Tom was +master of no other than his own. + +"Take him to the prison," said the old man, addressing the two men who +had been following him. "Do not use him roughly, but see that he does +not escape." + +"He shall not get away, Master Syndic," replied one of the porters; and, +while the syndic was speaking a few whispered words to his companion, +Tom was carried off to durance vile. + +The two gentlemen then walked on with the tradesman by their side, and +were soon on the spot where the assault had been committed. By this time +a good many people had gathered round poor Master Ned; and the other +English sailor had lifted the lad's head upon his knee, while Pierrot +was pouring some water on his face. The shopkeeper, to whom the latter +had been speaking when the misadventure had occurred, was trying to +stanch the blood which flowed from a severe cut on the head; but the +moment he saw the syndic approach he exclaimed, "Ah, Monsieur Clement +Tournon, this poor lad was inquiring for you when that brute felled +him." + +"Indeed!" said the old man, with less appearance of interest than might +perhaps have been expected. "Leave stopping the blood: its flow will do +him good; and some one carry him to my house, where he shall be well +tended." + +Pierrot had risen from his knee as the syndic spoke, and now whispered a +word in his ear, which he evidently thought of much consequence; but the +old man remained unmoved, merely saying, "Not quite so close, my friend! +I tell you he shall be well tended. Neighbor Gasson, for charity, call +two or three of your lads and let them carry the poor lad up to my +dwelling." + +At this moment the younger and stouter man who had seized and held +Master Ned's brutal assailant suggested that it would be better to take +the boy to his dwelling, as it was next door but one to the house of the +famous physician Cavillac. + +"Nay, nay, Guiton," replied the syndic, "my poor place is hard by; and +yours," he added, in a lower tone, "may be too noisy. You go and send +down the doctor,--though I think the lad is but stunned, and will soon +be well again. Pierrot la Grange, follow us up, if you be, as you say, +his servant,--though how he happened to hire such a drunken fellow I +know not. Yes, I know you, Master Pierrot, though you have forgotten +me." Thus saying, he drew the personage whom he had called Guiton aside +and spoke to him during a few moments in a whisper. In the mean time, +two or three stout apprentices had been called forth from the +neighboring houses; and the youth, being raised in their arms, was being +carried along the Rue de l'Horloge. Clement Tournon followed quickly, +leaving his friend Guiton at the corner; and at the tenth door on the +left-hand side the party stopped and entered the passage of a tall house +standing somewhat back from the general line of the street. It was +rather a gloomy-looking edifice, with small windows and heavy doors +plated on the inner side with iron; but whether sad or cheerful mattered +little to poor Master Ned, for the state of stupor in which he lay was +not affected by the act of bearing him thither, nor by the still more +troublesome task of carrying him up a narrow stairs. That he was not +dead his heavy breathing showed; but that was almost the only sign of +life which could be discovered by a casual observer. + +"Carry him into the small room behind the saloon," said Clement +Tournon, who was at this time following close; and in another minute the +lad was laid upon a bed in a room situated in the back of the house, +where little noise could penetrate, and which was cheerful and airy +enough. + +"Thank you, lads; thank you!" said the syndic, speaking to the +apprentices. "Now leave us. You, Pierrot la Grange, stay here: undress +him and get him between the sheets." + +The noise and the little crowd going up the steps had brought forth +several women-servants, belonging to Monsieur Tournon's household, in +large, helmet-shaped, white caps; and, after gazing in silence for a +moment or two, with wonder and compassion, upon the handsome pale +countenance, all bedabbled with blood, of the poor lad, they began to +make numerous suggestions to their master, who answered nothing, but +inquired, "Where is Lucette?" + +She was gone, they told him, to Madame Loraine's school; and then, +rejecting all their counsels, and merely telling them that Dr. Cavillac +would soon be there, he ordered the room to be cleared of every one but +Pierrot and himself. + +The old syndic paused for a moment or two after his commands had been +obeyed, gazing upon the pale face before him with a look of greater +interest than he had yet suffered to appear upon his countenance. Then, +suddenly turning to Pierrot, he said, "Now tell me all you know about +this youth. Who is he? What did he come hither for? What is his business +with me?" + +"What is his business with you, Monsieur Tournon? I do not know," +replied Pierrot la Grange. "What he came hither for was to bring letters +or messages from England; and as to who or what he is or was, that is +very simple. He is Lord Montagu's page." + +"And his name?" asked the syndic. + +"We used to call him Master Ned," replied Pierrot. "That was when I was +with the English army in the Isle de Rhé; but his name by rights, I +believe, is Edward Langdale." The old man continued silent; and Pierrot, +whose tendency to loquacity easily broke bounds, went on to tell how +Etienne Jargeau had received, some days before, information that Master +Ned would arrive upon the coast on business of importance, with +directions to have a small beacon-fire lighted that night, and every +night after, on a little hill just above the _trou bourbé_, till the lad +appeared. "You know Jargeau used to be a retainer of the Prince de +Soubise, monsieur," Pierrot continued; "but of late he has left his +service and has gone over--some say bought--to the French party." + +"I trust we are all of the true French party," replied Monsieur Tournon. +"But the lad landed last night, you say. Had he no baggage with him?" + +"Yes, two large leather bags with padlocks on them," rejoined Pierrot: +"they are left safe under lock and key at the Coq d'Or, where we were +obliged to rest last night because the guard was so sound asleep that we +could not wake them to let us in." + +"Ay? so sluggardly? This must be amended," said the syndic. "At the Coq +d'Or, in the suburb? That is no safe place for such bags." + +"So I was just thinking," replied Pierrot: "I will go up and fetch them. +He has got the key of the room in his pocket." + +The worthy gentleman made a movement toward the bed, as if to take +the key; but Clement Tournon stopped him with a somewhat sarcastic +smile, saying, "If the Coq d'Or is no safe depository, Pierrot la Grange +is no safe messenger." + +The man's face flushed. "You do me wrong, sir!" he exclaimed. "Bad +enough I may be; but I never stole a thing in my life." + +"Not a cup of brandy?" asked the syndic, with another smile. + +Pierrot laughed. "Fair booty, fair booty!" he cried: "strong waters are +fair booty everywhere, monsieur." + +"Well, I suspect you of nothing worse," replied Tournon; "but, if you +were once to go for the bags, Heaven knows when we should see you again; +and then you would come without the bags; for there would be plenty of +people to lighten you of your load. Besides, the people of the cabaret +would not let you take them. I will send my head-polisher with you and +give him an order to receive the baggage in my name. They dare not +refuse my order. Get the key gently. I do not love putting my hands into +other people's pockets." + +As soon as the key had been obtained, Clement Tournon led his companion +into a large, curious-looking apartment on the floor below, where round +the room appeared a number of dingy glass cases, through the small panes +of which came the gleam of various articles of gold and silver, while in +different parts of the room were several anvils and work-benches, with +some half-dozen men filing, hammering, and polishing. Near the window +was a tall desk within a sort of iron cage, and two clerks writing. +Every thing was orderly in the house of Clement Tournon; and, advancing +to one of the scribes, he directed him to write the order he had +promised, saw it made out and signed it, and then called a strong, +middle-aged man from a bench, whom he ordered to accompany Pierrot to +the tavern and return with him. He then took his way back to the little +room behind the great saloon and sat down by the bedside of Master Ned, +murmuring, "Poor boy! poor boy! He reminds me of my own poor Albert." + +Ere five minutes were over, he was joined by the physician,--a man +celebrated in his day, well advanced in years, and with that peculiar +look of mysterious noncompromising solemnity which many a doctor still +affects, and which was then as necessary to the profession as rhubarb. +As a description of medical treatment in those times, though it might +prove in some degree interesting to those who are fond of "picking the +bare bone of antiquity," would neither interest nor instruct the general +reader, I will pass over in silence all the remedial means resorted to +in the case of Master Ned. I only know that cataplasms were applied to +the soles of his feet, and that some blood was taken from his arm. The +doctor, after examination, declared that the skull was not +fractured,--which might well have been the case; for, by a curious +arrangement of nature, those whose brains are the best worth preserving +have uniformly the thinnest cases in which to put them. "No, the skull +was not fractured," Monsieur Cavillac said; but the lad had received a +severe concussion of the brain, which was sometimes worse. He, however, +held out good hope, though he told the syndic that he did not +anticipate any change till the sun went down, and read him a lecture +upon the effect of the various changes of the moon, and even of the day, +upon the human frame, assuring him--a fact in which many still +believe--that a scotched viper never dies till the sun sets. + +After he was gone, Clement Tournon took care to have all the directions +carried out to the letter, and the cataplasms had just been prepared and +applied when Pierrot and the polisher returned with the bags. + +"Take him below," said the syndic, addressing his workman, and +indicating Pierrot by a nod of his head toward him,--"take him below, +and let him feed with our people; but take care that he does not get at +strong drink. Now, keep this place as quiet as possible, but tell old +Marton to come here in half an hour: for I have affairs, and must go at +that time." + +"Can I not stay and attend upon my young master?" asked Pierrot, in a +respectful tone. + +"No," said the syndic, dryly: "men who drink are always noisy." + +When left alone with the door shut, what imaginations came upon the good +old merchant! "Would that I knew the lad's errand!" he thought; and his +eyes turned toward the bags, which had been set down at the foot of the +bed. "His letters must be in there," said Tournon to himself, "and the +key of the padlocks is doubtless in his pocket." + +Ah, Mr. Syndic, it is a moment of temptation. + +"Perhaps his business is matter of life and death, and an hour even may +be of vast consequence to me, to the city, to the Protestant cause. +Indeed, it must be so, or they never would have sent him over in such +stormy weather." So said fancy,--a quality much more nearly allied to +curiosity than people think; and Clement Tournon rose from his seat. But +the fine moral sense that was in him interfered. "No, never!" he said; +"no, never! I will not touch them so long as he lives. They shall not be +fingered by any one in my house." + +Still, he felt strongly tempted; and after a while he rose again and +went to call Marton, feeling it would be better for him not to remain in +that room alone. His large-capped pippin-faced maid-servant was then +duly imbued with all the doctor's directions, warned to change the +cataplasms every two hours and to keep the wet cloths on the head cool; +and then Clement Tournon walked forth from his house toward the fine old +town-hall. + +Marton sat and sewed. The invalid did not stir, and an hour passed by. +"It must be time to change the cataplasms," she thought: "he will not +wake till I come back: would Heaven he could, poor lad!" and down she +went to the kitchen where what she needed had been left to keep warm. + +In the mean time, we may as well look about the room. It was a very +pretty little chamber, well and even luxuriously furnished withal. Two +windows looked out to the back court, and the sunshine came in over a +lower house behind. The rays first fell upon a small writing-desk of +dark carved oak, then touched upon a small bookcase in the same style, +well provided with books, and then upon a large armory, as it was then +called, or wardrobe, as we should now term it. There was moreover a +corner cupboard, also richly carved, with a glass door on two sides, +showing a number of little knick-knacks selected with great taste, some +ivory figures exquisitely cut, and a child's sampler of not the best +needlework. + +Suddenly the door opened, and, with a quick step, but so light that one +could not hear a footfall, there entered a creature that seemed like a +dream, or a fairy, or a wreath of morning mist with fancy to shape it +into the form of a young girl. She could not be more than fifteen years +of age; but yet there were traces of early womanhood in neck and +shoulders and rounded limbs. But we may have to describe her hereafter, +and here we only stop to speak of the look of strange surprise which +opened the long, blue, deeply-fringed eyes more wide, and expanded the +nostril of the delicate nose, and raised the arched eyebrow, and showed +the pearl-like teeth between the rosy lips, as she beheld the pale and +bloody figure of the poor lad lying upon her own bed. She stood for a +moment in silent astonishment, and then was approaching slowly on +tiptoe--as if her foot could have made any noise--toward the bedside, +when a soft voice behind her said, "Lucette." + +She started and turned round, and the old syndic, who stood in the +doorway, beckoned her into the passage beyond. + +"My dear child," he said, "I have been obliged to give your room to a +poor young lad who has been sadly hurt, because it was the only one +where he could have perfect quiet. I will put you in the blue room on +the other side, where you may have some noise; but I know your good +heart will not let you feel annoyed at giving up your chamber for a day +or two to him and our good Marton, who has to nurse him." + +"I will nurse him myself," said the young girl, "or at least help +Marton. Annoyed, grandfather? Could you think I would be annoyed in such +a case as his? Poor fellow! I will go and speak to him." And, before the +old man could tell her that it was in vain, she ran up to the bedside, +and said, in a low, sweet voice, "Be of good cheer, young gentleman: we +will nurse and tend you till you are quite well." + +Her lips almost touched his ear as she spoke; and, whether it was that +the soft breath fanned him sweetly, or that the sound of a woman's +tongue had something that found a way to his heart when even hearing +failed, Ned Langdale turned suddenly in his bed, murmuring, "Mother, +dear mother, do not leave me." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +About nine o'clock in the evening the invalid wakened to a consciousness +of existence; but how wild and strange a consciousness! His speech was +incoherent, his eye vague and wandering. He seemed to make vehement +efforts to recover the power of reason and thought; but it was all in +vain. If in answer to a question he uttered a few connected words, the +next instant all was confused and senseless in the attempt at a +sentence; and, when Dr. Cavillac visited him at half-past ten, his pulse +was beating as if it would have burst the artery, and his eyes were +bloodshot and wild. + +"Perfect silence, absence of light, with diet and blood-letting," said +the doctor,--"those are the only means to save him. Thank Heaven, he is +finely delirious. He can neither understand nor try to answer any +question. If he could but reason and talk, he were a dead youth. Now, +mark me, syndic: let there be a finger on every lip; let everybody in +your house be dumb for the next three days. If he speak, do not answer +him. If he do not speak, keep silence. Give him the drinks I told you; +and to-morrow I will bleed him again. In three days we shall know more, +and probably at that time he will recover his senses, it may be for +life, it may be for death; but all depends upon good nursing." + +The prognosis of the physician was verified. At the end of three days +Edward Langdale did recover his senses; but some events had taken place +in the mean time which must be noticed before we follow his history +further. We must, in the first place, begin with that most interesting +personage, Master Pierrot, who is going to be introduced in a new +character,--that of a philosopher. Although the press very generally +assumes the form of majesty, and indulges in the plural number, probably +in the proud consciousness of its sovereign power over the minds, and +perhaps the bodies, of a certain number of human beings, it was with no +such vain confidence that the last sentence began, "We must," &c. That +formula was merely adopted to include you and me, dear reader, who, +having to jog over a good space of country together, had better agree +upon our line of travel before we set out upon each day's journey. It +was, therefore, merely a sort of suggestion on my part that we should +first look after Pierrot, and to be understood as implying nothing more. + +Now, during the last few hours Pierrot had met with a number of severe +mortifications,--those somewhat sharp lessons of life which sometimes do +a man a great deal of good. In the first place, poor Master Ned had, in +very plain language, told him that he was a coward when drunk, if he was +a brave man when sober; and, as there was a certain consciousness in +Pierrot's breast that there was a good deal of truth in the lad's +assertion, of course the accusation was the more unpalatable. Secondly, +the conduct of Clement Tournon showed him that one bad habit could +deprive and had deprived him of the last scrap of confidence amongst +people of any character; and, lastly, the refusal to let him attend upon +his young master showed that even his fidelity and affection were +doubted. Now, Pierrot was really an affectionate fellow, and this +mortified him more than any thing else. It is probable that many a time +in life, since by an evil practice he had lost wealth and station and +consideration, Pierrot had resolved to cast the vice from him. He might +have so resolved a hundred or a hundred and fifty times; but he had +never kept his resolution. Never before, however, had any one doubted +his qualities of heart; and on the present occasion, with a good deal of +time to spare,--in fact, it was all to spare, as he sat in the kitchen +or passages of the syndic's house,--he bestowed the golden superfluity +upon thought. His mind was not naturally a weak one, though there is no +denying that it had been weakened by intemperance; and it was now making +a great effort. + +"So," he said to himself, "I am not even to be trusted in the boy's +sick-room. Well, that is somewhat hard. No, it is not. The old man is +quite right. He knows I am a drunken rascal, and thinks I am not to be +trusted in any thing. Hang me if I have not a mind to make him think +better of me. But it is of no use: I should only begin again. Why need I +begin again at all? Master Ned knows me better than any of them; and he +only requires me not to drink when there is any thing important in the +wind. He knows I cannot help it at other times. But why cannot I help it +at other times, if I can help it then? I can help it if I like; and, by +Heaven, I will not drink any more, except when he gives me leave; and +I'll ask him never to give me leave. So we will settle the matter that +way. I do love that lad, though he gave me a shot in the leg to keep me +from running away and disgracing myself. I did not drink one drop last +night at the inn, because he told me not. I am mighty sick at my +stomach, however. I wish I had a drop of brandy, just to settle it. I +have a mind to go out and get just one gill to settle it,--only one +gill. No, I won't; for then I should take another, and so forth. It +shall not be said that my young master was lying sick and I went and +got drunk. Let my stomach take care of itself; and, if it chooses to be +sick, it must be so. I wonder if he will die, poor boy. He has a good +heart, though he is as hasty as a tinker's cur, and as stern as a +general. Marton," he continued, to the good woman who entered seeking +something, "how is Master Ned?" + +"Much the same, Pierrot," answered Marton. "The doctor says there will +be no change yet a while." + +"Marton, I am resolved not to drink any more," said Pierrot, in a solemn +tone. + +"Keep to it," she replied, with a laugh, but evidently with very little +confidence. "Why, Pierrot la Grange, for the last ten years you have +been forever at the flask. You were a very good young man before that, +and well to do; ay, and a handsome man too. I have seldom seen a more +personable man than you were then, before you took to that filthy custom +of making a beast of yourself; but now your face is all over blotches, +and your nose is so red you might fire a cannon with it." + +"Well, well, you shall see, Marton," rejoined Pierrot. "I have taken a +resolution, and fallen upon a plan by which I can keep it, too; and you +may tell the syndic that I will drink no more. Why, just now, I thought +to go out and get myself some brandy, with a spur rial--as he calls +it--which Master Ned gave me, because I am sick at the stomach; but I +resisted, and would not stir a step on account of my resolution." + +"Ah! are you sick at the stomach?" said Marton, quietly. "Suppose I get +you a little cloves and strong waters." + +Pierrot evidently hesitated; but then he suddenly exclaimed, "Not a +drop, Marton, thank you; not a drop. I was once sober for three whole +days, and, I dare say, should have continued so, but that fellow Jargeau +got hold of me and persuaded me to drink. It was his cue to make me +drunk then. So those who know me will never ask me to take a drop, if +they love me." + +"That they certainly will not," said Marton, going away with what she +had come to fetch. + +Her conversation with Pierrot had one good effect, however. She told her +master that she really believed La Grange intended not to drink any +more, not only inasmuch he told her so, but because he refused a glass +of cloves and strong waters which she had offered him on account of his +being sick at the stomach. + +"Most likely sick because he has not had his morning's draught," said +Clement Tournon. "However, encourage all good resolutions, and do not +offer him any more. Marton, I will speak with him myself in the course +of the day, and can judge better than you can." + +The worthy syndic could not keep his promise, however. The day passed +over, and he did not see Pierrot; for the town of Rochelle was in +considerable agitation at that time, the events passing round it being +sufficiently menacing to impress all minds with anxiety, but not +sufficiently urgent to produce unanimity by the presence of immediate +danger. Pierrot kept his resolution, however; and the day passed by +without his having tasted any fluid stronger than water. The next +morning, though he did not feel himself altogether comfortable, his +nausea had departed, and he was more bold in his purpose. About ten he +was sent for to speak with the syndic, who was much too wise a man to +ask him questions which had any relation to brandy. Clement Tournon, +however, examined him closely in regard to his knowledge of Edward +Langdale, what letters he brought, when he had sailed from England, +whether the intimations Jargeau had received had been accompanied by no +information of the young man's objects in coming to Rochelle. + +"He had a long and stormy passage: that I know," answered Pierrot; "and +as to Jargeau, if he had any information he kept it to himself, as he +always does. But you can ask him himself, syndic. Whether the lad has +any letters, you should know better than I do; for, if he have, they +must be in his bags,--and you have had bags and keys too in your hands +these two days, when I have never had either at all." + +"I pry not where I have no right," replied Clement Tournon, coldly. "No +hand opens his bags while he is alive and in my house. As for Jargeau, +he sees not matters as I do, or I would ask him for information. The +Lord Montagu I do not know, though you say the youth is his page; and I +cannot divine why that lord has sent him to me. Indeed, I heard his +lordship was in France." + +"But he is the great Duke of Buckingham's right hand," said Pierrot; +"and perhaps Master Ned has been sent to you by the duke." + +"I have some suspicion it may be so," answered the syndic. "I once had +some diamond pendants made for him in great haste; and perhaps he wishes +to employ me again." + +"In making cannon-balls this time, perhaps, monsieur," said Pierrot, +dryly; but, to his surprise, the syndic answered, quite calmly, "Perhaps +so; for I am told that this morning at daybreak a fleet of ships-of-war +was descried standing in toward Rochelle, and the people thought it was +under English colors." + +He looked keenly at Pierrot as he spoke; but the countenance of the +latter at once showed that he had not been trying to deceive any one as +to the amount of his knowledge; and he clapped his hands, exclaiming, +"Hurrah! We shall have some stirring times again, then, and shall not +have to lie here cooped up like rats in a trap, but have fighting every +day, and----" + +"Plenty of brandy," said the syndic, finishing the sentence for him. + +"Not a drop, upon my salvation!" said Pierrot. + +"Well, your salvation may a good deal depend upon your keeping that +resolution," replied the syndic, "for a man does many things when he is +drunk for which drunkenness can be no excuse, though it may be an +aggravation. But hark! What is that? It was a cannon-shot, was it not? +The fleet must be nearing the town. I must to the council. Well, you may +go in and see the young gentleman. But mind, be as still as death. Say +nothing to him; and, if he recognises you, and asks you any questions, +answer shortly and quietly, and leave him. You said he was of gentle +birth, I think. You are sure he is of gentle birth?" + +Though Pierrot might, and in fact did, think it strange that a merchant +of Rochelle should lay such stress upon gentle--otherwise noble--birth, +he assured the syndic, from what he had seen of the English, that all +the household pages of British noblemen were selected from good +families; and, while they were still speaking together, one of the +goldsmith's apprentices came to call the syndic to the city council, +telling him that a boat had just landed from the English fleet. + +Clement Tournon called for his gown and chain; and, after giving +repeated directions to Pierrot as to his demeanor in the chamber of +Master Ned, and donned his robes in the man's presence, he proceeded to +the town-hall, followed by two of his men. + +The inclinations, if not the affections, of Pierrot were divided. He +would fain have gone to the hall to know the news of the day,--news, as +it proved, much more important than he dreamed of. But then again came +the thought of his poor young master; and, being a conscientious man +when he was sober, and sometimes a conscientious man even when he was +drunk, he fancied it a duty to visit Master Ned. He soon found, however, +that he could do nothing in the world for him. The lad's mind still +wandered terribly; and, though he gave some indications of recollecting +Pierrot, he asked him no questions, and called him "My Lord Duke." +Pierrot might then have turned his steps to the hall, but in one of +Ned's half-muttered speeches the name of Jargeau was uttered; and, +remembering that personage would inevitably be at the place of meeting, +the good man thought it better to wait for tidings till the syndic +returned. + +The news arrived soon enough for Pierrot's mortification, and +immediately spread through the whole house. It was to the effect that +the Lord Denbigh, in command of a powerful British fleet, had come to +offer assistance to the town of Rochelle; that there had been a warm and +even angry debate in the council, but in the end the anti-English party +had prevailed, and all that Tournon and Guiton could obtain was, that a +civil reply should be made to the English admiral, thanking him and King +Charles for their proffered aid, but declining it on the score that _no +previous intimation had been given to the citizens of the approach of a +fleet to their port_. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + "Sweet chimes the bell, + O'er slope and woodland pealing, + Mellow'd by distance to a tranquil sound; + Sweetly the rill, + Through moss-bank gently stealing, + Speaks peace around. + + "Calm sinks the sun + Unto his golden slumber, + And folds the clouds around his radiant head: + Up springs the moon; + Her star-train without number + Say, 'Nought is dead!' + + "All live again, + Although their life be hidden; + For the short space of earth's dominion here. + By Heaven's own voice, + The soul of man is bidden + To hope midst fear. + + "All Nature's works, + Though into ashes turning, + Fill the whole heart with a consoling voice:-- + Be ready, man! + And, with thy lamp still burning, + Watch and rejoice!" + + +So sang Lucette,--or, rather, such is a very poor translation of her +song. At the best it was but an old ditty, composed probably by some of +the early Protestants of France. It may have been written by Clement +Marot, or his friend, the poet and printer, Lyon Jamets, for aught I +know. It is so long since I have read the works of either that I have +forgotten somewhat more than half of all their pens produced. + +However, so sang Lucette in the chamber now assigned to Edward Langdale, +while Marton sat beside her, knitting, and from time to time fixing her +eyes upon the face of the invalid. + +It may seem strange that Lucette should choose such a time and such a +place to indulge in music, though her voice was marvellously sweet and +had been cultivated to a degree rare in those days, and though people +who have sweet voices, well cultivated, and, moreover, the love, the +spirit, the inspiration of music in them, are fond of breaking forth +into song at very unseasonable times. + +But, as it happened, it was not an unseasonable time, as Lucette herself +explained to Clement Tournon. When she turned her head, after her song +had ended, to take up her embroidery-frame, she saw the old syndic +standing in the doorway, looking somewhat surprised to hear her voice +then and there, but perfectly quiet and still. Without a word, she rose +and noiselessly approached the door, saying, in a very low voice, "He is +better. He has been speaking sensibly; but he grew drowsy after a moment +and fell asleep quite calmly, murmuring, 'Sing to me, mother; sing to +me,'--as if he did not well know where he was. So I thought it best to +humor him." + +"You did right, my child," replied the syndic, putting his hand upon her +head, round which the light-brown hair with golden gleams upon it was +wound in many a long, silky tress. "The doctor is below: I hear his step +coming along the passage." + +Why all doctors should have creaking shoes I never could divine; but it +is clearly an idiosyncrasy. They cannot help it. Perhaps the leather +gets affected by the close air of sick men's chambers; perhaps it +becomes imbued with sighs and groans,--a novel sort of tanning, but one +well calculated to give a creaking sound; or perhaps the doctors +themselves carry so far the necessary precaution of warming their +nethermost coverings that the material becomes too dry and cries out for +very thirst. + +However that may be,--and I will not venture to decide the +question,--Dr. Cavillac's shoes did creak most lamentably; but they had +no effect upon the slumber of the poor invalid. + +The doctor, the syndic, and Lucette spoke together for a few moments at +the door; but Cavillac did not go in. It is likely that he was conscious +of noisy feet. "It is critical," he said: "do not disturb him for the +world; let him sleep as long as he will. Let him be well watched; and, +when he wakes, speak low and gently to him; give him a few spoonfuls of +good old wine, (for he will be as weak as a child,) and then let me +know. You had better watch, my pretty Lucette, for there is no such good +nurse as a young girl with a kind heart,--except an old woman who does +not drink; and she is apt to have the rheumatism." + +"But, doctor, Lucette must have repose, and these sleeps sometimes last +very long," said Clement Tournon. "I must not; I am bound not to let +fatigue affect her own health." + +"I am not the least tired, dear father," said Lucette, with a bright +look. "His first sensible word did me more good than a whole night's +sleep. Do you think, doctor, that he will wake in his right mind again?" + +"Certainly, my dear," answered the other. "I am sure he will; but his +recovery may be slow and will require much care." + +"Then I will watch till he does wake," answered the beautiful young +girl. "I will watch as hopefully as ever Egyptian did to hear the +morning voice of Memnon." + +"Listen to the little pagan!" said Cavillac, with a smile. "But I will +tell you a better plan, my child. He certainly will not wake for some +hours. You may see that by his great paleness. You go and lie down for a +short time; then let Marton call you. Come with me, syndic: I wish to +speak with you." And he drew the old man to the top of the stairs. + +"Have you heard," he said, "that the cardinal has sent down a thousand +men to complete the lines round about us? This is growing serious." + +"It is indeed!" said Clement Tournon, with a very sad look; "and those +rash men, either from obstinacy and over-confidence, or jealousy and +perhaps treachery, rejected yesterday the offer of succor from England, +and the fleet has sailed away." + +"We should have had a hospital for fools long ago," said Cavillac. "It +is the great want of the city. But there are other things to be attended +to now. Send out everywhere for stores, my good friend, if you spend the +last livre of the city money. Depend upon it, this cardinal will try to +starve us out." + +"He cannot do that while our port is open," answered the syndic. + +"How long will it be open?" asked the physician, with a very meaning +look. "I have heard a whisper, my friend, that he will find means to +close it, either by a fleet from all the neighboring ports, or in some +other way. Look to it; look to it. There is less time to spare than the +men of Rochelle fancy." + +Thus saying, he left Clement Tournon meditating in no very hopeful mood +over the state of the city, and the prospect, clear as a picture to his +calm reasoning eye, of all those horrors that were but too soon to fall +upon unhappy Rochelle. The house soon fell into profound silence: the +hours of labor were over, the sounds of hammer, tongs, and file were +still, and in about an hour Clement Tournon took his place by Edward +Langdale's bedside, sending good old Marton to seek some repose herself. +Twilight faded away into darkness; a little silver lamp was trimmed and +shaded in the corner of the chamber, and two or three hours passed in +silence, the good old man nodding from time to time, but never giving +way to sleep. + +At length the light step of Lucette was heard in the deep stillness,--it +would not have been heard had there been the buzzing of a fly,--and, +approaching the bed, she gazed and listened. + +"He lies sleeping sweetly," she said to the old man. "How differently he +breathes now! I can hardly hear him. Marton will be here in a minute. +Leave him to us, father, and take some rest yourself." + +"As soon as she comes," answered the syndic. "What is the hour?" + +"The great clock has just struck one," answered Lucette. + +"I was drowsy, and did not hear it," said the syndic. "Have the wine +near, Lucette, and give him a spoonful at once when he wakes." + +He made a movement toward the other side of the room as he spoke, and +Lucette took his place in the large chair; but hardly was she seated +when a voice was heard from the bed which made her start. "Where am I?" +asked Edward Langdale: "what has happened to me?" + +"You are with dear friends," replied the sweet voice of Lucette at once. +"You have met with a little accident, but you are recovering fast. Here; +take a spoonful of wine. The doctor orders it." + +"I will take any thing you give me," said the lad, "for I feel very +weak." + +"Hush! silence! silence!" said Lucette, in a low but cheerful tone: "you +are to keep quite quiet, and take some wine from time to time, and try +to sleep again. To-morrow you will be quite well, I doubt not." + +So saying, she poured the wine quietly between his lips; but the poor +lad could not refrain from saying, "That is very nice; and you are very +kind." + +It is probable he would have added "and very beautiful," if he could +have descried in the dim light more than the faint outline of that fair +face and form; but Lucette replied, "I shall think you very _unkind_ if +you say one word more, except to ask for what you want." + +"You understand it better than I do, Lucette, I see," said the old +syndic, in a whisper. "Woman, woman! for such tasks no hands are like +hers! But here comes Marton, and I will leave you." + +The youth gazed after him as he departed, and looked at Marton curiously +as she moved slowly about the room; but his eyes found something more +satisfactory in the form of Lucette, although he could distinguish +little except that there was something graceful and more of his own age +before him, while from time to time she poured the wine between his +lips. He was feeble, however, and inclined to sleep; and before good Dr. +Cavillac, roused out of his bed, came to visit him, his eyes were again +closed, and he had relapsed into slumber. + +It is one of the strange but frequent results of disease or of accident +of any kind which affects the brain, to blot out, as it were, from +memory all the events which have taken place within a certain preceding +period. It is sometimes a long, sometimes a short, period, according to +circumstances not very easily reduced to any rule. I have known a man +lose a language with which he had been for years familiar, and remember +one which he had long forgotten. I have known memory acutely distinct in +regard to events which had occurred a month or two before, and a perfect +blank as to those more recent. + +Edward Langdale recollected nothing after a certain period, when he had +sped over from the town of Antwerp to London, bearing intelligence from +the Lord Montagu to the Duke of Buckingham, although he had perfectly +recovered his senses and some degree of strength, on the day following +that night when the delirium first left him. By degrees, however, +confused images of after-things began to present themselves: his voyage +from Portsmouth, the storms which had baffled and delayed his course, +even the approach to Rochelle, came back indistinctly. It only wanted, +in fact, the ringing of the bell to cause the curtain of oblivion to +rise, and the whole scene of the past to be revealed before the eyes of +memory. + +There is nothing in the physical world at all like the sudden flash of +illumination carried along the many links which bind event to event in a +chain almost invisible, except the operation of the electric telegraph. +One touch applied, establishing the connection by the smallest possible +point, and thought--living thought--flashes on to its object, setting at +nought time and space and obstacle. + +The connecting touch in the case of Master Ned was destined to be the +sudden appearance in his chamber of our friend Pierrot, who came in both +to see his young new master and to speak with good Clement Tournon. The +syndic held up his finger to the man as he entered, as a warning not to +trouble the young gentleman with speech, for the lad was still extremely +weak and could hardly turn in his bed. But the moment Edward Langdale +beheld him, he carried his hand suddenly to his head, saying, "Pierrot +la Grange! Pierrot la Grange! I remember it all now. Good Heaven! and I +have been lying here so long--God knows how long--and forgetting the +message to Clement Tournon! I must get up and seek him. Pierrot, get me +my clothes. I must get up." + +"Lie still! lie still!" said the old syndic: "Clement Tournon is here, +my young friend. I am he. But we can have no talk now, for the physician +says you must still remain quite quiet and without agitation of any +kind." + +"If you be Clement Tournon," answered the youth, "it will agitate me +more to be silent than to speak; but speak I must, if I die. Come +hither, nearer, I pray you, sir. Bend down your head. Do you remember +certain pendants of diamonds and the man you made them for? If so, give +his name in a low voice." + +"The most gracious Duke of Buckingham," said the syndic, in a whisper. + +"Then he bids me tell you," said Master Ned, "that his brother-in-law, +the Earl of Denbigh, will be here in three days with a puissant fleet, +and he begs you to prepare the minds of the citizens to give him a +worthy reception, for he hears you are somewhat divided here. I have +more to say; but that is the burden of it all. Pray lose no time. Good +Heavens! three days! How long have I been here?" + +Clement Tournon's face assumed an expression of deep and even painful +thought for one moment; but he replied, in a calm, well-assured tone, +"Give yourself no uneasiness, my son. The whole has been settled, +notwithstanding the accident that happened to you. We will talk about +these matters more to-morrow. At present I must leave you, for I have +business of importance to transact; but Marton will tend you carefully, +and Lucette will come and sing to you, if you like it." + +Do not let us pause upon the convalescence of our young friend; but for +the present at least let us follow Clement Tournon's movements, which +had some results at an after-period. He took his course straight to the +city prison, into the dark mysteries of which we need not pry. + +Every prison was in those days hideous, and this, like others, had its +dungeons and cells, one hour's tenancy of which was a punishment hardly +merited by aught but murder. There was, moreover, what we should now +call a justice-room in the jail,--at least, a place where justice or +injustice was administered, according to the character of the +functionary who presided. + +Here Clement Tournon seated himself by the side of one of the other +magistrates of the town, and Tom the sailor was brought before them. He +was followed by one of his companions, and by the captain of the little +vessel, which still lay in the port, while the two tradesmen who had +witnessed the assault were likewise present. The faces of the two +magistrates were grave and even stern, and probably had Master Tom shown +a swaggering and insolent air, such as he not unfrequently bore, they +might have dealt hardly with him. But Tom was one of those men whom we +not unfrequently meet with, and though apt to bully and even to fight +when he thought there was some advantage on his side, he was easily +cowed and depressed when he knew or believed that there were odds, or +even equality, on the other side. Besides, he had now been kept for +several days in what modern writers would call a loathsome cell, fed +upon bread and water, and had no companion but solitude. Now, beef and +good company are great promoters of swagger, and the absence of both had +terribly reduced Tom's usual tone. He was indeed inclined to whimper, +pleaded that he and Master Ned had quarrelled on board ship, that Ned +had attempted to draw sword upon him, and that he himself had been +drinking when he struck the blow. These excuses availed him little with +the magistrates; and, strange to say, he found no support either from +his captain or the man who had been his companion. The latter bore +testimony that when he first laid hands on the lad's shoulder he told +him "that he had got him safe on shore now, and would thrash him +soundly;" and the captain merely said, "I trust your honors will +liberate this man and put him in my hands. I warned him more than once +on the voyage to let the young gentleman alone. I suspect he has done +more mischief than he knows; and if you give him up to me I will put him +in irons till I get home, and then make him over to those who will deal +with him severely enough." + +"The young gentleman is in a fair way of recovery," replied the syndic, +who understood the language in which the skipper spoke; "but a serious +offence has been committed in the streets of the city of Rochelle; and +we should certainly punish this man ourselves were it not for the honor +and respect which we bear the King of England. Much mischief he +certainly has done,--as those who sent Master Edward Langdale hither +will probably know by this time. But, captain, if you demand the +prisoner in the name of King Charles, and promise to convey full +intelligence of all that has occurred to those who are best qualified to +judge of the case, and moreover to give this man up to them, I will +speak with my friend here, who understands no English, but who probably +will agree with me that our reverence for your sovereign requires us to +follow your suggestion." + +The captain willingly promised all that was demanded, and sealed his +assurance with an oath; and the prisoner was then placed in his custody. + +"And now, captain, when do you set sail?" asked Clement Tournon. "The +wind is now fair, and the weather fine." + +"I cannot go before Master Ned tells me," said the captain. "My cutter +is to be at his orders till he has done with her." + +"I know not that he can yet write even his name," said the syndic; "but +you can come up to my house, where he now lies, this evening, and if the +physician permits he can speak with you." + +"See what you have done, you d----d scoundrel!" said the captain, +turning sharply toward Tom. "I will be up at your house, sir, by five, +and hope the young gentleman will let me go, for I am tired of this +voyage." + +The following morning, at daybreak, the little craft got under way, +bearing a letter in Clement Tournon's hand; and Edward Langdale remained +alone in France. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +Oh, the calm lapses in the turbulent and turbid stream of life which +Heaven sometimes graciously affords us,--the short breathing-spaces in +the race,--the still pauses in the battle,--how sweet, how comforting +they are! Such a pause had fallen upon the city of Rochelle and all its +inhabitants. True, there were individual griefs and sufferings: the +door of the closet with the skeleton in it can never be altogether shut. +But to the city generally, and to its denizens generally, there was a +lull in the storm. It was nowhere more pleasantly felt than in the house +of good old Clement Tournon. He was a calm--a very calm--man; had been +so all his life. He had met with sorrows which had touched him deeply; +but he had borne them calmly. He had known pleasures; but he had enjoyed +them calmly. He had mingled with angry parties, and seen strife and +bloodshed; but he had been calm through all; and that very +calmness--which, by-the-way, is one of the most impressive qualities in +regard to our fellow-men which any one can possess--had won for him +great reverence upon the part of his neighbors. + +Young Edward Langdale, too, shared in the temporary tranquillity. "Sweet +are the uses of adversity." It is a good text, and a true one also, if +we use the adversity wisely; but sometimes we do not; and, although +Master Ned had known more adversity than most youths of his age, we must +acknowledge that he had found it all very severe, and had not had wisdom +enough to discover honey in the stony rock. He had been hardened, +sharpened, rendered stern, in the rough school through which he had +passed. His character must have seemed to the reader somewhat harsh and +remorseless; at least so I intended it to appear. But he had now +suffered a long and heavy sickness: his frame was still feeble; his +activity, for the time at least, was lost; and some traits in his +character which seemed to have been smothered by coarser things revived +and shone out. There was a latent poetry in his nature, a love and +appreciation of all that was beautiful, a sense of harmony, and a +delight in music, together with those strong affections which are so +often combined with strength of character. These, in the body's +feebleness, asserted their power. Strange how the corporeal and the +mental wage such continual warfare upon each other! But even at times +when the bodily force and the strong will had possessed the most perfect +sway, and given him command and rule over men much older and higher than +himself, those qualities of heart and mind, though latent, had acted +unseen to win affection also. + +Six days after his arrival in Rochelle, the little saloon in Clement +Tournon's house presented as calm and pleasant a scene as ever the eye +rested upon. There was the old man himself, with his small velvet cap +upon his head; and there was Master Ned, leaning back in a large chair, +with the hue of returning health coming back into his cheek,--always a +pleasant sight; and there was beautiful Lucette, who had just been +singing to the two, and who was now sitting on a low footstool, with her +fair, delicate hand resting on the head of a lute. A beautiful silver +lamp, with three burners,--modelled from those graceful lamps which we +see in the hands of the Tuscan peasantry,--gave light to the chamber; +for the wax tapers in two exquisitely-wrought candlesticks had been +extinguished to save the eyes of Master Ned from the glare; and a +water-pitcher and goblet, finely shaped from the antique and covered +with grotesque figures, stood on a little table at the youth's left +hand, to cool his lips, still dry and hot from his recent illness. + +The eyes of Edward Langdale were fixed upon those specimens of the old +syndic's art, and he was expressing his admiration of the delicacy and +fineness of the designs, when Lucette observed, quietly, "He has much +more beautiful things than those, Master Ned. I wish, father, I might +bring and show him the pyx that was sent from Rome." + +"Do so, my child," said Tournon. "And hark, Lucette----" + +He whispered a word in the young girl's ear, and she left the room, but +returned in a minute or two, bringing with her two objects in soft +leathern covers,--one of which was a pyx, probably from the hands of +Benvenuto Cellini. + +Edward took it from her hands and admired it greatly, gazing at the +various curious arabesques with which it was decorated, and at the +medallions displaying exquisitely-chiselled figures, while the old +syndic untied the other cover, and took forth a large cup, or hanap, of +pure gold, ornamented by a row of precious stones encircling it in a +sort of garland, which again was supported by some beautiful sculptured +figures. Master Ned rose feebly to lay the pyx upon the table, but the +moment his eyes lighted on the cup he stood still, gazing at it as if +sight had suspended every other faculty. "Good Heaven!" he exclaimed, at +length, addressing the merchant, who was watching him closely: "where +did you get that?" + +"I bought it some four years ago, when I was in England," answered +Clement Tournon. "Something seems to surprise you. Did you ever see it +before?" + +"See it!" exclaimed Master Ned. "Yes, often, my good friend,--ay, +several times every year, since I could see any thing, till just four +years ago last Martinmas. Every birthday--every festival-day--it was +brought forth; for it must be the same. Oh, yes! Is there not 'Edward +Langdale' engraved on one side of the foot, and 'Buckley Hall' upon the +other?" + +"There is," said the syndic; "and that is the very reason I told Lucette +to bring it. I wished to ask you if you are any relation of those +Langdales of Buckley Hall. Edward Langdale! The two names are the same." + +"They are, indeed," said Master Ned. "That cup is mine, my good friend: +at least, it ought to be,--it and much more which is now lost to me +forever." + +"If it ought to be, it is thine still, my son," said the old syndic. +"Now, God forbid that I should withhold the rightful property of +another! But tell us how all this happened. Let me hear what you can +recollect of your own life and fate. I know something of Buckley Hall, +for it was in Huntingdon that I bought that cup. I would not purchase it +at first, because I thought it was stolen,--most likely from the court +of King James, who was then at Royston; but the goldsmith who had it +told me that he had bought it fairly from Master Richard Langdale, the +owner, and showed me a receipt for the money. I would fain hear how all +this happened." + +"Not to-night; not to-night," answered the youth. "The sight of that cup +has shaken me much, my father; and to speak of those days would shake me +still more in my weak state. To-morrow I shall be stronger, I trust; and +then I will tell you all. I have often thought it would do me good if I +were to talk over the whole of those sad things with some one; for they +only seem to rankle and fester in the silence of my own bosom, and to +make me reckless and ill-tempered. But I must get a little better and +stronger first. Now I think I will go to bed." + +He turned to go, but then paused, and, taking up the cup, gazed at it +earnestly for several minutes, saying, "I was just nine years old when +my father had my name engraved on it and gave it to me on my birthday, +bidding me never to fill it too full nor empty it too often." + +"Wise counsel," said the old man; "but, if it be thine, take it, my son. +I am not a receiver of stolen goods." + +"No," said Edward Langdale. "You knew not that he who sold it had no +right to do so; neither did he from whom you purchased it. Orphans are +often wronged, Monsieur Tournon; but I ought not to have been wronged by +him who wronged me. Well, to-morrow we will talk more of all these +matters." + +A little after nightfall on the following day, the same three sat +together in the same room. There had been no music, however, that +evening; and Lucette was leaning her fair head upon the old merchant's +knee. Edward Langdale was evidently stronger and better,--though he said +he had slept but little. Yet there was more color in his cheek and lips, +and his face and air had more their usual character of bold decisive +frankness, than on the preceding night. + +"Now I will tell you my whole story," he said, "beginning with my +earliest recollections. Indeed, there is not much to tell, and it may be +done very shortly." + + +MASTER NED'S HISTORY. + +"Amongst the first of my remembrances is the burning of my father's +house. I recollect the house itself quite well; and a very handsome +place it was. There were four great octangular towers at the +corners,--one on the southwestern side, all covered with ivy, in which a +number of cream-colored owls used to make their abode during the day +sunshine. A deer-park surrounded the house, full of fern and +hawthorn-trees, and at the bottom of a bank was the highroad, with the +river brawling and rushing on by its side. + +"Of the interior of the house I do not remember much, although there is +an impression on my mind of large rooms and furniture which had seen +better days. Of the events which there took place I can recall nothing +till the night of the fire,--the great fire, as it was called for many a +year. And well it deserved the name; for in its progress it not only +destroyed the house, but ate up the buttery, which was detached, and +consumed the farm-buildings and stabling, in which were lost many fine +horses and an immense quantity of agricultural produce. + +"I remember on that night, the 18th of August, being startled out of my +sleep by loud cries and shrieks and all sorts of noises,--especially a +rushing, roaring sound, which frightened me more than all the rest. I +was a boy about seven years old at the time; and sleep clings to one at +that age like a tight garment, so that though I was as it were roused, +and even alarmed, I was half asleep still. It was more like an ugly +dream than a reality; and perhaps I might have lain down and fallen into +sound slumber again, had not some one suddenly thrown open the door, +rushed to the bed, and caught me up in her arms. I saw not distinctly to +whose bosom I was pressed, yet I felt sure. Whose could it be but a +mother's? She ran wildly with me to the door and there made a short +hesitating pause, then dashed along the corridor through flames and +smoke, ran down the stone steps, out of one of the back doors, upon the +smooth lawn behind, and laid me down under a large mulberry-tree. Hard +by were several persons, weeping and wringing their hands; but amongst +them was my little sister, some three years younger than myself. 'He is +safe! he is safe!' cried my mother. 'Run, some one, and tell Sir +Richard.' + +"My father, who was at that time about forty years of age, joined us in +a few minutes, kissed me and my mother, remarked that she was scorched a +good deal and her beautiful hair much burned; but he left us speedily, +and returned to see what could be done to save the valuable property in +the house. I have been told since that he was evidently agitated and +confused, and his orders contradictory, and that much more might have +been saved if he had displayed more presence of mind. Corporeally, he +was undoubtedly a very brave man, and had shown himself such; but he was +not a man of ready action or strong determination. However, almost all +the plate was saved, and some of the pictures, which were fine; but +several boxes of papers of much importance, I am told, could not be +found in the confusion of the moment, and were undoubtedly lost. Memory +breaks off about that time; and I only remember that the whole house was +burned, and the greater part of the walls fell in, with the exception of +those of the ivy-tower, which were very ancient and much thicker than +the rest. Even there the wood-work was all consumed, and the stairs +fell, except where a few of the stone steps, about half-way up, still +clung to the masonry. + +"My father often talked of rebuilding the house; but I believe his +finances had been previously embarrassed, and he had suffered a heavy +loss. We went then to live at Buckley Hall, which had fallen to my +mother from her uncle some two years before, and which was not many +miles distant from the old house. It was a more modern building, with +fine gardens, in stiff figures of all shapes, with urns, and fountains, +and many quaint devices; but it had no deer-park, and I sadly missed the +fern, and the hawthorn, and the wild broomy dells. + +"My next remembrance is of being ill and confined to bed, and my mother +singing to me as I began to grow a little better; and I recollect quite +well her coming in one day, looking very anxious, and my asking her to +sing, with all the thoughtless impatience of youth. Well, she sang; but +the tears rolled down her cheeks; and when I was suffered to go out of +my room I could find my little sister no more. I never saw her again; +and she must have died, I suppose, of the same malady from which I had +suffered. My mother's health waned from that hour, slowly,--so slowly as +to be hardly seen to change between day and day,--but none the less +certainly. Gentle and sweet, patient and uncomplaining, she would not +burden any one even with a knowledge of what she felt. My father was all +kindness to her and to me; but he was sometimes too light and +thoughtless, I believe,--vowed that society would cheer her, and filled +his house with company,--not always the most considerate or the most +quiet. There was upon me, young as I was, an impression that my mother +was not well, that she loved tranquillity, that noise disturbed her; and +I did my best to keep still, and even silent, when I was near her. I +would sit with her for hours, reading; for when we came over to Buckley +we found a good teacher there, and I had rapidly learned to read. Then, +when I could bear inactivity no longer, I would go out and get my pony, +saddle him myself, and ride wild over the country, or wander about the +gardens and think. I learned a good deal about this time; for my father +was very expert in all manly exercises, and took a pleasure in teaching +me, and the good parson of the parish--a very learned but singular +man--took great care of my studies. + +"At length, when I was about ten years old, the terrible moment came +when I was to lose a mother. I will not dwell upon that sad time; but my +heart seemed closed,--shut up. I cared for nothing,--loved +nothing,--took no interest in any thing; and yet I was cast more than +ever upon my own thoughts, for the good old parson, whose instructions +might have afforded me some diversion for the mind, removed suddenly to +a much better living, some fifteen miles distant. + +"My father still gave me instruction in fencing, wrestling, the use of +the broad-sword; but he gave them and I received them languidly. At +length, one day, he said to me, 'Edward, you are sad, my boy; and it is +time you should resume your studies. I shall be very lonely without you; +but I think it will be better for you to go over to good Dr. +Winthorne's, whom you love so well, and who, I am sure, will receive you +as a pupil. We shall only be fifteen miles apart, and I can see you +often.' + +"I made no objection, for Buckley had grown odious to me: every thing +there revived regrets: and in about a week I was quietly installed in +the neat and roomy parsonage, the glebe and garden of which were bounded +by the same stream which ran past the old house in which I was born. It +had been there a brawling stream; but here, some ten miles farther down +upon its winding course, it had become a slow and somewhat wide river. + +"I wish I had time to tell you how I learned, and what I learned, under +the good clergyman's instruction. He had his own notions--and very +peculiar notions--in every thing. Latin and Greek he taught me; but he +taught me French and Italian too,--and taught them all at once. His +lessons were very short, for it was his maxim never to weary attention; +but he took especial care that my bodily faculties should not lose any +thing for want of exercise. He would say that he had known very clever +hunchbacks and very learned and ingenious lame men, but that each of +them had some peculiarity of judgment which showed that a straight +intellect seldom inhabited a crooked body, or a strong mind a feeble +one. He would make me wrestle and play at quoits and cudgels with +plough-boys, shoot with the gamekeepers of neighboring estates, ride my +pony over a rough country and dangerous leaps, and himself lead the way. +He was a devout man, notwithstanding, and was highly esteemed by his +parishioners, and by a small circle of noble gentlemen, to some of whom +he was allied and who were not unfrequent guests at the parsonage. All +this went on for about nine months, a considerable part of which time my +father was absent from Buckley, travelling, as they said, for his +health, in Italy, where he had spent some years when quite a young man. +At length, when he returned, I went home to pass some time with him; but +I found him not alone." + +"Had he married again so early?" asked Clement Tournon, with a look of +consternation. + +"Oh, no!" replied Master Ned: "he never married again; but there was a +young gentleman with him, some twenty-one or twenty-two years of age, +tall, very handsome, but with a dark and heavy brow, which almost +spoiled his beauty. He spoke English with a strong foreign accent, and +had altogether the appearance of a foreigner. I naturally presumed he +was a guest, and treated him as such; but it was evident that he was an +exceedingly favored guest, and all the servants seemed to pay him the +most profound attention. I know not why, but I speedily began to dislike +him: perhaps it was a certain sort of patronizing air he assumed toward +me,--not exactly that of an elder to a younger person, but that of a +superior to an inferior. My father's conduct, too, was very strange. He +did not introduce the visitor to me by name, but presented me to him, +saying, 'My son Edward,' and during the rest of the day called him +simply Richard. On the following morning I detected--or fancied I +detected--the servants looking at me, watching me with an appearance of +interest that almost amounted to compassion. They were all very fond of +me, and each seemed to regard Master Ned--the only name I went by--as +his own child; but when they now gazed upon me there was an air of +vexation--almost of pity--on their faces, and once or twice I thought +the old steward was about to tell me something of importance in private; +but he broke off, and turned his conversation to common subjects. + +"All this, however, was so disagreeable to me, that, after having stayed +two days at Buckley, I returned to my old preceptor's house at +Applethorpe, feeling more wretched than I had felt since the first sad +shock of my mother's death. + +"The same night, after supper, Dr. Winthorne questioned me closely as to +my visit, and asked what had caused me to return so soon. Whether he saw +any thing in my manner, or had heard of any thing from others, I did not +know; but I told him all frankly, and he fell into a fit of thought +which lasted till bedtime. On the following morning my studies, my +exercises, and my amusements were renewed with increased activity. There +was something more I wished to forget, as well as the irreparable loss +of my mother; and I left not one moment unemployed. It was now the month +of May, and the season had been both cold and rainy; but I never +suffered either cold or rain, either snow or sleet, to keep me +within-doors; and no naked Indian could be more hardy than I was. At +length, some warm skies, with flying clouds and showers, came to cheer +us; and, with my rod in my hand, I sallied forth one morning early to +lure the speckled tyrants of the stream out of the water. I walked on +with good success for about two miles, and arrived at a shadowy reach of +the river, where it lapsed into some deep pools, and then, tumbling over +a shelf of rock in a miniature cascade, rushed on deep and strong +toward the east. I have said I was early; but there was some one there +before me. A powerful-looking man, of some four or five and twenty years +of age, was wading the stream with a rod in his hand and a pair of +funnel-shaped boots upon his legs. Where he stood, the water did not +come much above his knees; but I knew that a little farther on it +deepened, and the bed of the stream was full of holes, in which the +finest trout usually lay; but the stranger seemed a skilful angler, and, +I doubted not, knew the river as well as I did. Not to disturb his +sport, I sat quietly down on the bank and watched him. He was not very +prepossessing in appearance, for his features were large and coarse, and +though there was a certain sort of dignity about his carriage, yet his +form was more that of a man accustomed to robust labor than to the more +graceful sports of a gentleman. However, as I was gazing, he hooked a +large fish, apparently somewhat too stout for his tackle; and, to +prevent the trout from getting among the roots and stones while he +played him, the fisherman kept stepping backward, with his face toward +me and his back toward the deep run and the pool. 'Take care! take +care!' I cried. But my warning came too late: his feet were already on +the ridge of rock, and the next instant he fell over into the very +deepest part of the water. He rose instantly, but whether he was seized +with cramp, or that his large heavy boots filled with water, I know not; +but he sank again at once with a loud cry, and I ran along the ridge of +stone to give him help. The stream was much swollen with the late rains, +and even there it was running very strong, so that I could hardly keep +my footing; but I contrived to get to a spot near which he was just +rising again, and held out the thickest end of my rod to him. It was +barely within his reach; but he grasped it with one hand so sharply as +almost to pull me over into the pool with him. I got my feet between two +large masses of stone, however, and pulled hard, drawing him toward me +till he could get hold of the rock with his hands. His safety was then +easily insured; and I only remarked two things peculiar in his demeanor: +one was, that he never thanked me; and the other, that in all the +struggle he had contrived to retain his fishing-rod. + +"'Can you not swim?' he asked, as soon as we had both reached the bank. +I answered in the negative, and he added, 'Learn to swim. Please God, it +may save your life some day. Learn to swim.' I offered to take him up to +the parsonage that he might dry his clothes; but he refused, not very +civilly; and then he asked my name, looking me very steadily in the +face, without the slightest expression of gratitude for the aid I had +rendered him, and no trace of either agitation or trouble from the +danger he had run. 'You have kept your rod,' I said, 'but you have +broken your line.' + +"'I never let go my hold,' he answered; 'but, as you say, I have broken +my line and lost my fish. Are you Sir Richard Langdale's son, the man up +at Buckley?' I answered that I was, and in a few minutes after we +parted. I did not forget his advice, however, for a part of every day +during that summer I passed in the water, learning and practising the +art of swimming, till none could swim better or longer. I have never +seen that man since; but he has fully repaid my service by inducing me +to learn that which has more than once been of great service to me. + +"It was the month of October before I once more visited Buckley; and +then my father sent for me. I found the same young man still there whom +I had seen on my former visit; but now my father removed all doubt of +who he was, by saying, 'Edward, it is time that you should know that +this is your brother Richard,--your elder brother.' + +"I need not dwell upon the mortification and annoyance which this +announcement caused me. I was very young, as you may know when I tell +you that this occurred about five years ago, and, though of a somewhat +sensitive character, I might have thought little of the matter after the +first shock, had my brother's manner pleased me, had he shown kindness +or affection for me. But, with a sort of presentiment of what he was to +become, I disliked him from the first; and he repaid me well, treating +me with a sort of supercilious coldness I could not bear. On the morning +of the fourth day, when he had gone out fowling with a number of +servants and dogs, I went into my father's chamber and announced to him +my intention of going back that morning to pursue my studies with good +Dr. Winthorne. Perhaps my tone was somewhat too decided and imperative +for one so young toward his father; but it certainly was respectful, and +my father did not oppose my purpose. He merely spoke--almost in an +apologetic manner--of my brother and myself, intimated that he saw my +annoyance, and, attributing it to motives which had never crossed my +mind, added, 'You will have fortune enough, Ned. You surely need not +grudge your brother his share.' I did not reply; but his words set me +musing, and, an hour after, I left Buckley and returned to Applethorpe. +There, as before, I told my worthy preceptor all that had occurred, and +he somewhat censured my conduct, but at the same time condoled with and +comforted me. 'This young man,' he said, 'must be the son of an Italian +lady, to whom, according to a vague rumor current about the time your +father married your mother, he had been previously wedded in her own +country. It was said her relations had separated her from him on account +of his religion and had shut her up in a convent, where she had died of +grief. What he said about your fortune being sufficient, alluded of +course to the Buckley estate, which, being derived from your mother, +must descend to you.' + +"'I never thought of fortune,' I answered, 'and should be glad to have a +brother whom I could love; but I cannot like this young man.' + +"I had now seen my father for the last time in life. A quarrel, it would +seem, took place between him and one of the gentlemen of the +neighborhood, and about six months after the period of my visit they met +and fought. Both were good swordsmen; and my father killed his adversary +on the spot. He was much wounded in the encounter, however, and died +some four-and-twenty hours after. Sir Richard, his son, had not thought +fit to send for me; but, as soon as the news reached Applethorpe, Dr. +Winthorne went over with me to Buckley. There a scene took place which I +shall never think of without pain. My brother's whole thoughts were of +the rich succession which had fallen to him. He had four or five lawyers +with him, some from the country, others brought post-haste from London. +He claimed the whole estates,--Buckley, and all that it contained; and +his lawyers showed that, the estate having fallen to my mother after her +marriage, without any deed of settlement having reserved it to herself +and her heirs, it had passed in pure possession to my father, and +descended to his eldest son. There was some dispute between him and Dr. +Winthorne, who, with the village attorney, advocated my cause warmly; +but in the end the good clergyman took my arm, saying, 'Come away, +Edward: there are too many bad feelings here already: there will be more +if we stay. Your brother, who strips you of your mother's fortune +because she perhaps trusted too far his father and yours, cannot deprive +you of Malden farm, which was left you by your great-uncle. Indeed, I +will not believe that your father did not intend to do you justice. His +last words to you implied it; and probably, Mr. Sykes, Sir Richard did +make a will, which we must leave you to have produced, if there be one.' + +"These last words were addressed to my firm friend, the village lawyer, +who, though aged and a good deal deformed, wanted no energy. He had +always loved my mother, and whenever I could I had sent him game and +fish. I always see him when I am in England. But no will was ever found: +proofs of my father's marriage to the Signora Laura Scotti were +produced, and also of her death some five years before the marriage of +my mother, and my brother Richard remained possessed of all that had +once seemed destined for me. He found the property greatly encumbered, +it is true, paid no debt that he could by any means evade, and, being +naturally of a profuse and luxurious disposition, soon found it +necessary to sell much plate and jewels, many of which, beyond doubt, +were my mother's own. Among the rest must have gone the cup I saw last +night. As for myself, the little farm of Malden was all that was left +me, the annual income of which is not quite two hundred pounds a +year,--enough, perhaps, for any right ambition; but I had been educated +in high expectations, and I had received a shock which changed, or +seemed to change, my whole nature. + +"One night, when we had been talking of these things, Dr. Winthorne laid +his hand upon my shoulder, saying, 'Ned, you must make yourself a name +and an estate. There are two courses before you: either pursue your +studies vigorously for a few years, and then go to the university and +push your fortunes in the Church or at the bar, or put yourself in the +way of another sort of advancement, and mingle in the strife of courts +and camps. You have talent for the one if you choose to embrace it; your +animal qualities may fit you for the other. If the latter be your +choice, among my noble kinsfolks I can put you on the entrance of the +road; but you are not a boy who can remain idle. Think over it till +to-morrow at this hour; and then tell me of your resolve.' + +"My determination was soon formed. I could not make up my mind, +especially with the feelings that were then busy in me, to devote myself +to mere dry and thoughtful studies; and I chose the more active scenes. +The very next night Dr. Winthorne wrote to the Lord Montagu, distantly +related to his mother, and in about two months after I received the +appointment of gentleman-page in his household, the only path now open +in England to honor and renown. In this career I have met with many +vicissitudes, and have learned much in a harsher and sterner school than +that of good Dr. Winthorne. I have not suffered, I trust, in mind or in +body, and, if my character has been hardened, I do believe the change +took place, not in the four last years of action and endeavor, but in +the few months of suffering and endurance which immediately preceded and +followed my father's death. Let it not be thought, my excellent friend, +that in any thing I have said I wished to cast a reproach upon his +memory. I am sure that he intended to secure to me what by right and +equity was mine, whatever mere law may say; but probably the duel in +which he fell was hasty; and it was a habit of his mind to put off both +consideration and action as long as he could. Thought was a labor that +troubled him, and he often would not see dangers because reflection upon +the best way of meeting them would have been painful. As to my brother, +I have never seen him again: I hear he has returned to Italy, there to +spend what remains to him of his wealth. Thus, you see that, though that +cup is mine by right, it is no more mine by law than the estate of +Buckley, which has gone from me forever." + +The old merchant mused, and Lucette exclaimed, eagerly, that Sir Richard +Langdale's conduct was cruel and unjust; but Master Ned answered, very +mildly,--more so, indeed, than he might have done had not sickness +softened him,--"There is much that is both cruel and unjust in the law; +but, when I think of the contrast between my home before and after he +appeared in it, and when I think of what my own heart was before and +after he put his icy hand upon it, how he took from it its gentleness, +and its kindness, and its confidence, I cannot but believe he has been +cruel, and, though the same blood may and does flow in our veins, his is +mingled with another stream, which is noway akin to mine." + +"You must take that cup, Master Edward," said the syndic. "I cannot keep +it in conscience. Every time I saw it in the cupboard, I should----" But +his sentence was broken in upon, and all discussion stopped, by the +entrance of Marton, introducing a stout man in plain travelling-attire, +who was a stranger at least to Edward Langdale. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +The old syndic did not seem to know much more of his visitor than Edward +Langdale; but he called him Master Jean Baptiste, and asked him what +news from Niort. + +"Nothing very good, monsieur," answered the stranger: "half a league +more of the Papist lines is finished, and it is hard to get through. It +was all done so quick and so quietly, no one knew any thing of it till +the day before yesterday, when some troops and a large supply of flour +were sent down to Ferriac." + +"And where is the king himself?" demanded Clement Tournon, somewhat +anxiously. + +"He is still at Nantes," replied the visitor. "But I want some talk with +you, Mr. Syndic, when I can have it alone; and it must be to-night, +too, for I have to go on by to-morrow at daybreak, if I can get a boat." + +The old man at once raised a candlestick from the table and led the +stranger into another room, while Lucette and Edward remained together. + +Now, the most natural thing in the world for a young lad between sixteen +and seventeen, and a young girl a year or two younger, when so thrown +upon their own resources, would have been to make love, or, at least, to +fall into it; and there was also a strong incentive in the gratitude +Edward felt for all Lucette's kind nursing and all the interest which +Lucette had taken in his illness and recovery. But the truth must be +told. They did not make love in any of the many ways in which that +article is prepared in any of the kingdoms of the earth. Moreover, they +did not fall in love in the least. I am sorry for it; for of all the +sweet and charming things which this world produces, that which is +scornfully called calf's love is the sweetest and most charming. If it +has really any thing to do with a calf at all, it is the sweetbread. Oh, +that early love! that early love! how pure, and tender, and soft, and +timid, and bright, and fragrant, it is! It is the opening of the +rose-bud of life, which may in after-times display warmer colors, give +forth more intense odor, but loses in delicacy and grace with every +petal that unfolds. But, as I have said, the truth must be told. They +neither talked of love nor thought of love, although Lucette was very +beautiful and believed Edward Langdale to be very handsome. She merely +made him describe to her the scenes in which his youth had been spent. +She talked to him of his mother, too; and he told her how sweetly that +mother had sung, and said to her that Lady Langdale's voice was very +like her own; and then he besought her to sing to him again; and she +sang to please him; and they fell into thought, and spoke of a thousand +things more, in which the reader would take no manner of interest, but +which interested them so much that, when Clement Tournon returned, they +fancied he had been gone but a few minutes; and he had been absent an +hour and a half. + +His visitor did not come back with him, for he had taken some supper +and retired to rest; but the good old syndic's brow was gloomy, and the +news he had received, whatever it was, did not seem to have been very +favorable. + +"To bed, to bed, Lucette!" said the old man: "we must not keep Master +Ned up late o' night. He will soon have to go travelling again; and he +must gather strength." + +Lucette did not receive the intelligence that Ned must soon depart very +sadly, though she would have very well liked him to stay. She laughed +and kissed the old man, and ran away; but the syndic silently took hold +of the youth's hand and prevented him from retiring till the bright girl +was gone. "Stay a minute," he said, at length. "I have something to +speak to you about. How do you feel your strength and health to-night?" + +"Oh, much improved," replied Master Ned. "I shall be as strong as ever +in a couple of days." + +"That is well! that is well!" said Clement Tournon. "And whither do you +turn your steps when you leave Rochelle?" + +"I have to traverse the whole of France, and even to approach close to +Paris," answered Master Ned; "for the end of my journey, as far as I yet +know, is to be at Dammartin. First, however, I must go to Mauzé, where, +I hear, the Duc de Rohan and Monsieur de Soubise are to be found. I have +letters for each." + +The reply seemed to puzzle the old man a little, for he shook his head, +saying, "It will not do." + +"Have they left Mauzé?" asked Edward. "This illness has been very +unfortunate." + +"If you do not find them there, you will hear of them," answered the +syndic. "What I mean is, you cannot get straight to Mauzé. Things have +changed since you arrived, my son. The Papist troops are between us and +Mauzé; and you will have to make a long deviation from your way and come +upon the castle from the north." + +"So be it!" said Master Ned. "If we can but have a fair wind, we can get +to Marans, and, running up the Sevres, reach Mauzé from the north. It is +not much longer, if I recollect right. I would embark to-morrow +morning, but I have still some preparations to make." + +"You seem to know the country well, my son," said the old man, "and your +scheme is a good one. But what preparations can you have to make?--not, +indeed, that I would have you go too soon, lest your health should +suffer. I should think as soon as you feel strong enough you will be all +ready." + +"Not quite, Monsieur Tournon," answered the lad. "I must follow my +orders, and those I have are very reasonable commands. I have, as I just +said, to cross three-quarters of France, which I could not do as an +Englishman, since these last troubles, without a safe-conduct. One has +been procured for me, however, from young Sir Peter Apsley, who obtained +it in order to go to Geneva to study. He has changed his mind since, and +I am to represent him; but, as there are mentioned in the paper a page +and two servants, I must engage such followers of the most trusty +character I can find. I have already got Pierrot la Grange, who is an +adept at masquerading, and I did think of bribing Jargeau to accompany +me; but I had some suspicions of him before I landed, and soon found +that he is treacherous. I must therefore look for a man and a boy here +to-morrow; and you must help me, my good father, for it is of much +consequence that they should be trusty." + +"They will soon be found," answered the syndic; "but I fear me you will +be soon discovered, my son. This cardinal has eyes in every quarter, and +almost, I might say, in every house. As to the page, I may have to think +a little," and then he added, musingly: "Did pages wear long tunics, as +in my young days, Lucette might do; but I doubt whether she would put on +boys' clothes as they are worn now." + +"Lucette!" exclaimed Edward Langdale, in a tone of unfeigned +astonishment. "That would never do. She could not ride half through +France at the pace I should have to go; and besides----But tell me, in +the name of Heaven, could you part with her so easily and on such a +journey?" + +The old syndic smiled faintly, saying, "I could and must part with her +whenever it is for her good, my son; but I did not propose she should go +with you farther than Mauzé, where you would have to find another page. +There she must go before Saturday, as I will explain. Listen; for it is +fit you should know all that is going on here, that you may tell it to +those whom you are about to see. I will make it all clear to you, and +then I will go and consult my pillow till to-morrow morning. The king +and the cardinal are determined to crush out Rochelle. We have stood a +siege here before, and may perhaps do so now,--though I do not think it, +for Richelieu is not following the rash measures of those who went +before him. He has been hovering over this devoted city like an eagle +over a hare half hidden in the brushwood, and now he is ready to swoop. +They say that he and King Louis have been stayed at Nantes by some +troubles in the court; but nothing is neglected: day by day the troops +are gathering round, and we are now wellnigh hemmed in by land. The sea +is still open to us; but I have learned from a sure hand this night that +the cardinal has gathered together a navy of small armed vessels in all +the neighboring ports,--Rochefort, Marennes, Royan, Bourgneuf, +Painboeuf, and others. They will soon be off our harbor,--on Monday +next, they say; and though, thank Heaven, we have ships and good ones, +yet in point of numbers we are nothing. The foolish men of what they +call the French party refused, as you know, to give entrance to the Earl +of Denbigh's fleet, which would have kept the sea open to us and insured +us against blockade forever. But, as things stand now, I cannot expose a +girl like Lucette to the horrors of a siege with probably no escape. +Indeed, every useless mouth we can remove from Rochelle the better for +us; and, besides, those who have a right have required me to send her +out of the city without loss of time." + +"Had you not better go with her yourself?" asked Master Ned. + +"I will not run away from my post," answered the syndic. "I once could +have struck a good blow in defence of my native city; and, though that +is past, I can still aid her with counsel. Besides, where could I go? +Nowhere but to England. I may send what gold I have got to that country, +if I can find means; but my fate is with Rochelle, and Lucette's must +lie far away. God help us! we are at a dangerous pass, my son; and the +hunter's toils are tighter round us than some of our senseless citizens +will believe. As to Jargeau, you cannot trust him. Of Pierrot I have +doubts,--not of his honesty, for he is truthful and sturdy when he is +sober, nor of his ability, for he is a thing we often see in this +strange world, _a clever fool_,--shrewd enough in every thing that +imports but little, but weak as water in matters on which his own +fortunes and his soul's salvation rest. I doubt his power to abstain +from a vice which has ruled him for ten long years. True, he has been +sober ever since he has been here, and he promises sturdily; but, alas! +my son, I have seen so many a drunkard fall away from all good +resolutions with the first moment of a strong temptation that I wish you +had a better follower." + +"I will keep him sober," answered Master Ned, boldly. "He knows I am not +to be trifled with. I think he has every inclination to reform but only +wants the strength of mind. I will give him the strength. Many a man is +feeble in some point till he has support, just as a pea trails upon the +ground till we plant a strong pole by it. I will be his pea-stick, +Monsieur Tournon. But as to another man and the page. If Mademoiselle +Lucette only goes to Mauzé, and you will trust her with me, I will see +her safe there if I get there myself, upon my honor; but I know not why +she should have to change her dress, for the distance is so small from +Maran's that----" + +"You may be stopped and have to show your safe-conduct," answered the +syndic. "You know not how rapidly this cardinal is drawing the net +around us. But surely we can equip her so that she shall remain +concealed and yet not shock her modesty." + +"Oh, yes," replied Master Ned: "'tis still the mode with us to wear a +loose, long, hanging coat over the justaucorps in cool weather; and this +is cool enough. I have one in my bags, and they are so freely fitted +that it matters not whether it be somewhat large or not. But what I fear +is her long, beautiful, amber hair. No boy's head ever bore such a +profusion,--though it is the custom now to wear it very long behind." + +"We must have it cut," said the syndic, with as little reverence for +love-locks as any Puritanical preacher of the coming epoch: "a woman may +well yield her hair to save her liberty and her religion,--nay, perhaps +her life. But we will talk more to-morrow, my son, and we had better +both seek rest now and rise by dawn to-morrow." + +The results of this conversation may easily be divined by the reader, +whose business it is, in a novel as well as in a tragedy, to supply from +his own wit or imagination all the little facts and circumstances which +it may please an author to omit. Yes, dear reader, always recollect that +you have your responsibilities as well as your privileges, your duties +as well as your powers, and then if you and I do not understand each +other it is not your fault. + +The following evening, about seven o'clock, there assembled in the +little saloon, the syndic, Edward Langdale, a strong, supple-looking +man, of whom more hereafter, Pierrot la Grange, and a beautiful boy, +apparently some two years younger, and much shorter, than Master Ned. He +entered the last, dressed in one of the broad-brimmed hats of the day, a +handsome doublet, and a loose black velvet coat with hanging sleeves. It +descended nearly to the knees, and almost met a pair of large +riding-boots, which, together with the hat and feather, and a small +gold-hilted dagger on the left hip, gave the wearer a sort of cavalier +look which accorded well with the character assumed,--yes, assumed; for +a warm mantling blush that spread over Lucette's fair face, and the shy +impulse with which she threw herself into the old man's arms, would have +betrayed her sex to any one who was not in the secret. Every thing, +however, was now hurry, for a good-sized fishing-boat had been engaged +for a somewhat earlier hour; and, with a few words of admonition to +Lucette from the syndic, and some directions to the men, the whole party +set out for the port. Marton gave them egress, kissing Lucette tenderly +as she passed the door; and in ten minutes Clement Tournon held the +young girl in his arms by the side of the boat, taking one last embrace. +He wept not, it is true; but he heaved a heavy sigh. Edward Langdale +lifted her into the little bark, and, as the boat pushed off, he felt +that tears had fallen upon his bosom. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +Although there can be few things more pleasant to many of the senses +with which our dull clay is vivified than to sail over a shining sea +under a moonlight sky,--although the feeling of repose which emanates +from rapid easy motion is then most sweetly tasted,--yet when we are in +haste we would always wish the breeze to be favorable and full. We could +bear a little more rocking of our sea-cradle did we but know that our +progress was all the faster. In this respect, at least, Edward Langdale +was not to be gratified that night. The wind, it is true, was not +exactly adverse; but it was not quite favorable, and, moreover, it was +light. The boat did not make three miles an hour through the water, and +was obliged to take a good stretch to the westward in order to avoid +sands and shoals. + +In the mean time, the party in the boat was arranged very properly: +Lucette sat near the stern, and Master Ned next to her, with Pierrot on +his left; while on the other side were the newly-engaged servant and two +sailors. But Lucette was silent, and Edward thought it better for a time +to leave her so, as tears--springing from what sources it is not worth +while to inquire--were still flowing, and the youth heard every now and +then a gentle sob. For his part, he talked a little to Pierrot, who told +him that he had twice seen the good-man Jargeau that day, had honestly +notified him of his dereliction of his service, and had returned him his +two horses, as he, Pierrot, had been ordered. Jargeau, he said, had been +somewhat supercilious, somewhat triumphant, had shown that he knew all +about Master Ned's encounter in Rochelle, and its consequences, observed +that it would have been better for the youth if he had followed good +counsel, and had laughed heartily at Pierrot's own resolutions of +temperance, which he tried hard to make him break on the spot. + +"I saw he had a great contempt for me, Master Ned," said the man; "but I +showed him I could resist." + +"He will laugh at you ten times more if ever you break your resolution," +answered Edward Langdale; "and then he will laugh with some reason. Of +course you gave him no cause to think we were going to-night?" + +The man replied in the negative, and Edward--judging not amiss of the +precise moment when comfort is most available--applied himself to soothe +his beautiful young companion. It is a very delicate and even dangerous +task for a young man of any thing short of sixty; and it would be vain +to say that Edward Langdale did not perform the office of consoler +warmly. The nature of the case inspired tenderness; the gentleness and +care with which she had nursed him required it; and their very youth +justified it. He called her "dear Lucette" several times; and he tried +hard to prompt hope of a speedy return to Rochelle and a reunion with +her excellent father. + +At the latter word Lucette gave a little start. "You mistake, Edward," +she said: "he is not my father, though indeed he has been a father, and +more than a father, to me. But you are protecting an orphan, my friend. +I have neither father nor mother living." + +"Then is he your grandfather, as you first called him?" asked the youth. +"I thought he was very old to have a daughter of your age." + +"He is no relation whatever," she answered, gravely, "but is as dear to +me as any parent could have been. It is a long story, which I may some +time or other have an opportunity of telling you; but enough for the +present that he has had the care of my education in Rochelle for some +years, and has ever shown to me the affection of a father and won from +me the love and reverence of a child. I weep to part with him; but I +weep from many other causes. Rochelle has been to me like the nest to a +young bird; and now I am going forth into a world where I am almost a +stranger, to a fate that I know not, but which can hardly be a peaceful +one. Let us not talk of it; for it is better not even to think of it. +What will come must come; and I must bear all with patience." + +"Well, then, let us look at that beautiful sea," said Edward Langdale. +"Is it not like an ocean of melted silver? Look there! Here comes a +great wave curling over in the moonlight: now we rise above it, and it +is past. So it is, Lucette, with the misfortunes of this world: they +seem ready to overwhelm us; but with good steering and a strong mind we +rise above them and leave them behind us." + +"But who shall teach me to steer my boat?" asked Lucette, sadly. + +Had it been a few years later in his life, Edward would probably have +said, "Let me;" but he did not say it, and he was wise. He applied +himself, however, with more earnestness than ever, to soothe his sweet +companion and to wean her thoughts from subjects of pain or anxiety; nor +did he do so without success. His mind was stored with the riches of +much and very various study, and he found, too, that her young hours had +not been employed in vain. She could talk with him of things which few +of her age and her country could converse upon; and, to his delight, he +found that she spoke English as well as he did himself, with hardly any +accent, and with perfect facility. Thenceforward their conversation was +carried on in his mother-tongue; and his mind easily saw the many +advantages which might arise, should any impediment present itself on +their journey, from their perfect acquaintance with two languages. + +It was all very perilous for the two young people; and really, could it +have been avoided, they should not have been placed in such a situation; +but there are times and circumstances when proprieties must be forgotten +and folks must take their chance or die. Now, the period was rapidly +approaching when not a mouse could get out of Rochelle; and old Clement +Tournon foresaw its coming. To take advantage of Edward's journey was +all that was left for him; and that was almost too late. Besides, +decorum came in with George the First, and little of it was known in the +world at large before the time of William the Taciturn. Nevertheless, +was it not dangerous to set two young souls, full of early life, and +with all its passions and imaginations just budding, to sail over "the +moonlight sea" together, talking a language unknown to their companions, +with mystery and misfortune and interest on one side, and gratitude, +compassion, and curiosity on the other? They did not, it is true, get +out of that boat with the same feelings they carried into it; but then +all these matters are progressive, except in Italy, and some parts of +Spain, and two or three other countries I could name,--countries where +people jump into love with their eyes open, or fall into it with their +eyes shut. In England we slide into it. But, as I was remarking, all +such things--with the exceptions already specified--are progressive; and +there were several little accidents which helped the matter on. Lucette +was cold, and Edward fastened the agrafes of the loose coat over her +fair bosom; and then he wrapped a cloak round her; and then the wind +shifted and the sea began to run very high, and he had to put his arm +about her to keep her steady on the seat. Then, what between fear and +headache, she leaned her brow upon his shoulder; and he had to comfort +and reassure her the best way he could. There is something in animal +magnetism, dear reader, depend upon it,--although I think it acts in a +different way from that generally attributed to it. + +But, to pause no more upon such discussions,--which are always very +fruitless,--I must say their situation soon became very unpleasant, and +even critical. The wind and the currents carried the little craft far to +the westward of Marans, and the boat shipped many a heavy sea. She was +good and stanch, however, and the sailors were fearless, hardy, and +experienced; but that comforted poor Lucette very little, so that all +her consolation was to cling through long hours to Edward Langdale and +to ask him from time to time if there was any danger. At length, +however,--just when, having run a good way to the northwest, they had +contrived to tack and lay their course with a better wind toward +Marans,--the sun began to rise, and Edward whispered, "Now we shall soon +be there, dear Lucette." + +But he was mistaken. Expectation is always mistaken. There really seems +a perversity about those ladies with the distaff and scizzors which +leads them to spin the thread of our life with knots and tangles, to cut +it short at the very moment of fruition, and--especially when they see +any one foolish enough to calculate upon success--to ravel the whole +skein into inextricable confusion. The boat could only approach the +shore by continual tacking; and I would tell all the tacks she made, and +how long each took,--but, unhappily, I know nothing of nautical matters, +except that a ship has a head and a stern, as most other things have; +that a fair wind carries people rapidly to port, and a foul wind delays +them often a long time. The sun had passed the meridian at least three +hours when the boat at last reached the mouth of the Sevre Niortaise, +which would at that time float small vessels very comfortably. I know +not what it will do now; for the sands upon the west coast of France +have so encroached upon the domains of old Ocean that Hennebon was once +within a short distance of the sea and is now actually an inland town, +only to be reached by a post-road or a good long sail up the river +Blavet. As good fortune would have it, however, and thanks to the +paternal care of good Clement Tournon, there were plenty of provisions +on board the boat; and the Sevre Niortaise received them less hungry +than might otherwise have been the case. The ascent of the river as far +as the spot where it was proposed to stop occupied two hours more; but +all was calm now, and the change from danger to security is a great +promoter of rash hope. The color came back into Lucette's face, and she +and Edward Langdale talked gayly of the coming hours. At length they ran +up to a little landing where a few houses, all occupied by Protestants, +lined the shore, headed by a good-looking cabaret with white walls and a +brush upon the top of a pole. The Rochellois boatmen were well known to +the host, and his welcome was joyful; but when, after seeing Lucette +comfortably lodged in a room by herself,--although the landlord seemed +to think that too much care was taken of a boy who ought to take care of +himself,--Master Ned proceeded to inquire into the facilities for +reaching Mauzé, he found more serious impediments than he had expected. +No horses were to be bought nearer than Marans, some three miles +distant; and between the river and the chateau of Mauzé the host +reported several large bodies of Catholic soldiers and workmen, whose +conduct, according to his account, was not over-scrupulous. Horses, +however, had to be procured at all events; for to reach the chateau if +possible Edward Langdale was bound; and accordingly, with some +hesitation, he despatched Pierrot la Grange to Marans, with a strong +injunction to temperance. Pierrot's virtue was probably not very +severely tried; for the wine--the only wine to be procured in that part +of the country--was execrable; and brandy at that time, notwithstanding +the proximity of Rochelle, found its way to Marans in very small +quantities. At all events, toward ten o'clock at night he reappeared at +the cabaret with the four horses and their equipments, as his young +master had required, and a boy leading the two last-bought, while he +himself, mounted on one, led another by the bridle. + +The landlord was conversing with the boatmen at the door, while Edward +was calmly sleeping on a bench in the kitchen; but the former seemed to +have received some intimation that the page was not exactly what he +appeared, for he requested Pierrot in a whisper to tell his young lord +that there was a minister in the hamlet, and that young people could be +married there just as well as at Mauzé. + +In about an hour the whole party were mounted and on their road, Pierrot +having assured his master that he could guide him to Mauzé as well as +any man born on the spot. Nor did he exaggerate his knowledge, but +proceeded perfectly steadily and carefully, till at length the little +bridle-path they followed lost itself in the moors which cover that part +of the country. + +The moon, however, was shining as brightly as it had done the night +before, and there seemed no difficulty in finding the way; but the wide +expanse before them looked solitary and cheerless with its gray shadows +and stunted bushes and pieces of fenny swamp, while here and there rose +a small clump of low rugged pines, or a deep pit obstructed the advance +of the travellers. At the end of about two hours, Pierrot remarked, "We +are not three miles from Mauzé now, sir, and we had better be a little +careful; for, if there be any folks we have to fear, they must be about +here." Hardly had he spoken when a line of lights came in sight, which +Master Ned instantly understood to proceed from scattered watch-fires; +and, halting for a few minutes, he held a short council with his +followers, in which their future proceedings were determined. The lights +extended some way to the right and left; and it was conjectured that +the lines which it was known the king's army were employed in +constructing stopped at a certain point on one side or the other, +leaving a passage round the extremity, by which the little village and +its castle could be reached. The question only was which side was free, +and Edward resolved to ride on in advance with one of the men and +reconnoitre, leaving Lucette and the other man at the first sheltered +spot they could find. One of the deep pits which I have mentioned was +soon met with, and its edge, on the opposite side from that which the +little party approached, was edged with a fringe of low wood, which +concealed it well. A road which had been cut for the purpose of digging +gravel--Heaven knows for what purpose the gravel itself was wanted, as +gravel walks were few in that part of the country--led right into the +pit; and along it Edward and his party found their way in. He lifted +Lucette from her horse, and, being more considerate than most lads of +his age, he paused to think which of the men he should leave with her. +That was soon settled. The man he had hired in Rochelle was well known +to Clement Tournon. His name was Jacques Beaupré, by-the-way; and the +good syndic had guaranteed his honesty, adding, that he was a courageous +man and witty. Now, Jacques had not uttered three words since he had +been in Edward's service, and therefore of his wit the young gentleman +knew nothing; but his honesty and his courage were much more important +on the present occasion. Pierrot, Master Ned knew, could be trusted in +all things but one; but there was much to be remembered. He himself +might be taken; and, once delivered from the restraint of his presence, +Edward naturally concluded that the bottle might have too great +temptations for his worthy follower, and Lucette be left to the perilous +guardianship of a drunken man. Jacques Beaupré was therefore left with +Lucette. The bags were taken off the horses and deposited in his care, +with orders to make his way to Mauzé, should any misadventure occur to +Edward, and to place them and Lucette under the care of the Prince de +Soubise. A warning was also given him to destroy, if possible, the bag +which had a red cross marked upon it, in case he saw that he could not +escape the Catholic army. It may be supposed that all these directions +alarmed poor Lucette a good deal; but she did not give way to her fears, +although she fully forgave Edward for making his parting embrace a +little warmer than even the customs of that day justified. + +We are too apt in this world to make no allowance for the customs of +different times and phases of society. Some fall into this fault from +ignorance of any state of society but their own, with a vague idea of +something having been strange in the customs of the Greeks and Romans +and the people whom Mr. Hallam wrote about. Some who have read the +chronicles of other times forget the minute particulars in their +attention to more important facts. But believe me, dear reader, the +times and the country, the climate and the water, do make very great +difference in the notions which obtain regarding customs, and even +morals,--ay, morals. Half the morals in the world are made by +society,--and all the customs. I remember a Turkish ambassador, being +present at a dance, and asking, gravely, "What does all that palming +come to?" Since then the Turks have very generally left off their +petticoats, and have acquired a good many new notions; but they still +object to the "_palming_," and think its tendencies not desirable,--the +Koran notwithstanding. However, the age of which I am now writing was a +kissing age,--an age of _embrassades_. Everybody kissed everybody--on +certain occasions; but it was specified that, in public and before +witnesses, the kisses were to be bestowed on the right and left cheek, +and not upon the mouth,--especially in the case of young gentlemen and +ladies. Now, the dereliction of poor Edward Langdale was that his lips +did not altogether confine themselves to the cheek of Lucette. Where +they went, Heaven knows; but I do not. However, she forgave him; and I +do not see why we should not do so too. I am sure I should have kissed +her lips if I had had the opportunity; for they were rich, and soft, and +full, and her breath was as fragrant as new-mown hay. + +After that kiss, he jumped upon his horse again and rode away, leaving +all his precious things behind him,--both those he had brought from +England and those he had found in Rochelle. + +The title I have affixed to this book compels me to adhere to the +adventures of Master Ned; but, as that night was one of critical +influence upon his fate, I cannot finish its events at the fag-end of a +chapter which is already somewhat too long for the reader's patience, +and for the writer's too. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +Now, Edward Langdale was a very acute and intelligent lad before he +touched the shores of France on that journey. He had learned more of the +world and mankind in the few years he had been page to Lord Montagu than +many another youth does in a dozen. His previous education had fitted +him for such acquisition; and the circumstances in which he had +afterward been placed--circumstances which required the exercise of +every faculty--had acuminated every faculty. But, strange to say, each +sense seemed to acquire more acuteness after he left Lucette. He had no +notion in the world how it was so. He thought of those valuable leathern +bags of his, and of the letters which were in them, and of the chance +there was of their falling into an enemy's hands. He believed that was +all; but still, as the reader has a right to be let into all secrets, a +vague, indefinite, misty idea of danger to Lucette mingled with all +other considerations and sharpened every perception. + +With Pierrot by his side, and taking advantage of every thing which +could screen his approach, he advanced as close to the king's lines as +he could without being perceived. He then rode along, seeing groups of +soldiers and sappers lying on the ground by their watch-fires, without +one man seemingly wakeful enough to have killed a rat had it invaded his +quarters. The end of the line on the right was soon reached; but now +there were evident signs of completed trenches and a more strict guard; +and, retreating a little to get under cover of the trees, which had +become both taller and closer in that quarter, he turned his course +toward the left, where the lines tended toward the Sevre Niortaise. +Still, nothing stirred; and at length Edward, to his great satisfaction, +perceived the spot where the rapidly-progressing works had been +abandoned at the set of sun, and where shovels and pickaxes and hatchets +were piled up after the labors of the day. Beyond was a wide extent of +moor and brushwood; and, after having gazed for a minute or two, he +determined to push his horse far enough round to make sure that the +passage was free before he went back for Lucette. His course was through +some marshy ground broken by brushes. The last fire of the French lines +was at a full quarter of a mile's distance, and every moment Edward +became more and more convinced that the way was quite open and the +passage safe. Suddenly, however, he checked his horse, making a sign to +Pierrot to stop, and saying, "Hark!" + +"Horse, on my life!" cried Pierrot. + +"Coming up from the left," replied Master Ned. "Down, down! and amongst +the bushes! Let the beasts take their own course. It may mislead them." + +Each sprang to the ground in a moment. The horses, cast loose with a +sharp blow in the flank, scampered across the moor, and the youth and +Pierrot kneeled down amongst the shrubs. But the manoeuvre was in +vain. The moon was still shining brightly: they had been marked; and the +pursuers but too plainly perceived that the two horses which scampered +off were now without riders. There was a momentary search amongst the +bushes, and then a hard hand was laid upon Master Ned's shoulder. It +might have been a dangerous experiment at another moment; but there were +so many soldiers round as to render resistance hopeless; and Master Ned +rose quietly without uttering a word. + +It was a somewhat lawless age; and in lawless ages some men's fingers +have a strange affection for other men's pockets. The worthy trooper, +whose right hand still retained its grasp of Edward's shoulder, felt his +left impelled by irresistible powers toward the spot where purses in +those days were generally carried; but he suddenly found his wrist +grasped with a strength which he had no idea lay in the slight-looking +limbs of his prisoner, who at the same time raised his voice aloud, +shouting, in the French tongue, "Officer! officer!" + +The trooper had either miscalculated his distance from his companions, +or Master Ned's powers of endurance; for, while he struggled to free his +wrist from the clinging fingers which grasped it, half a dozen more +soldiers came up, with a gentleman in a handsome buff coat, or buffle, +laced with gold, who was evidently the leader of the band. + +"How now, young man? how now?" cried the officer, regarding him by the +moonlight. "What! resisting the king's authority?" + +"By no means, seigneur," replied Edward, who still held the soldier fast +by the wrist. "I am merely resisting plunder, which I know is not by the +king's authority. This man's hand was in my pocket. His intention might +be to take my purse,--which I should care little about, as there is not +much in it, and I can get more; but it might be to take my safe-conduct, +which I will not part with, but for proper examination, to any one." + +"Ho, ho! a safe-conduct!" said the officer. "How dare you try to rob +him, Guillaume Bheel? Let him go, this instant." + +"I can't," answered the man, with a good-humored roar of laughter: "the +young devil has got my wrist as tight as if every finger was a vice. My +hand was not in his pocket; for, by St. Ann, he did not let me get it +fairly in. I was only going to search him." + +"Let the man's hand go, young gentleman," said the officer. "You mention +a safe-conduct. Let me see it." + +"It is here," said Edward Langdale, drawing forth a handsome gilt +leather case. "I beg you to promise that it shall be returned to me when +you have examined it." + +"It shall, if I find it all in proper form," replied the other; "but, in +the mean time, you will have to go to the lines, for I cannot examine +passes by moonlight. Some one see and catch the two horses. Have you +found the other man? Ah, there he is. Catch the horses, I say." + +In the mean time he had opened the case and taken out the passport, +which, when spread out in the pale light, showed all the appearance of +an ordinary safe-conduct; and Edward, anxious to prevent any search for +Lucette and her guard, observed, in a quiet tone, "You will remark that +the paper covers more than myself and my servant; but, hearing that +there was danger on the road to Niort, we left the others behind." + +"Then tell me, sir," said the officer, gravely, "how came it, when you +were furnished with such a safe-conduct as this, you attempted to pass +the lines without showing it, and tried to hide yourself when you saw my +party?" + +"Oh, in Rochelle they tell very bloody tales of you gentlemen up here," +replied Edward, laughing; "and I thought that at Niort I could show it +with less trouble." + +"Then you come from Rochelle, do you?" said the officer. "Probably you +came over in Lord Denbigh's fleet?" + +"No," answered the young man, boldly. "I came over before, in a +merchant-vessel; but I was obliged to stay some days in Rochelle to hire +servants and to get well; for I was ill there." + +"Indeed," said the officer,--not in any tone of interest, but merely as +one of those insignificant ejaculations which men employ to stop a gap +when they have nothing else to say; and he continued humming some of the +Parisian airs which are now technically known as _Pont neufs_, till the +horses were caught,--which was not till after half an hour's ineffectual +effort; for they had some spirit and some skittishness. Indeed, it might +have been as well--under fear of the critics--to tell the reader that +the part of the country which we are now treading is rather famous for +the sale of horses, which, though not so good as the Limousin, are of +the same race, very hardy and sometimes very fleet. + +At length the beasts were inveigled by some of the many methods of +deceit which men use to entrap bipeds or quadrupeds; and, mounted on +that which he indicated as his own, Master Ned, between two soldiers, +was led to the end of the trench, followed by Pierrot, as well guarded, +who had the good sense to keep his tongue under a rigorous rein. The two +were civilly inducted into a small building constructed of unplaned +boards, and, with a sentinel at the door, were left together while the +officer went to examine the safe-conduct: at least, so he said. In +truth, he went to show it to a superior officer. + +Edward Langdale, however, took the opportunity, in a hurried manner, of +indoctrinating Pierrot in regard to what he was to say and what not to +say. He could have done it quite at leisure, it is true, for the officer +was full two hours absent; but the time was occupied with various +comments and discussions which might, under most circumstances, have +been of great use. Man almost always makes calculations in vain. He +stands upon a small point, unable to see an inch before his nose, while +Fate is working in the background beyond his sight, weaving round him a +web of fine threads, through which he cannot break, let him flutter as +hard as he will. + +At length the officer reappeared, with the passport in its case. He +returned it to the young gentleman with a polite bow, saying, "Sir, your +safe-conduct seems in good form, and signed by the cardinal himself." + +There he paused for a moment, and Edward replied, "Then I suppose I am +at liberty to proceed. Now you see, sir, how much better it would have +been for me to ride on straight to Niort, where in half an hour I could +have had a good supper and a bottle of wine." + +"Your pardon, sir," said the other. "We can give you the bottle of wine +here,--though all you can have for supper, I am afraid, will be some +sardines, d'Olonne, and bread. But, as to proceeding, you will have to +make a little turn out of your way and go to Nantes. You will have four +soldiers out of my troop for protection,--merely for protection." + +"As a prisoner, in short," said Edward, gravely. "I had thought the +cardinal's name was more potent in France." + +"It is very potent," replied the officer, with a smile. "But he knows +his signature better than we do; and the truth is, although the seal is +certainly official, we had an intimation yesterday, about three o'clock, +that a young English gentleman, with three attendants, would endeavor to +pass the lines, and that it was necessary to stop him, as he was an +agent of the enemy. You have but one attendant; but your pass says +three, and you have yourself acknowledged that you have left two +behind." + +"This is the work of some private enemy," said Master Ned, gravely; for +the situation was not at all pleasant. "The intimation, of course, came +from Rochelle?" + +The officer nodded. "Then," continued the youth, "you put faith in your +enemies rather than in the signature of your own prime minister." + +"Jargeau," whispered Pierrot. But the officer cut discussion short, +saying, "I act under orders, gentlemen, and can only say further that +you do not exactly go as prisoners, and may regulate your marches as you +please. You can set out at once if you please, or you can wait till +daybreak." + +"At once," said Edward, somewhat sternly: "the end of my journey is +Geneva or Savoy, and I am anxious to get out of a country as soon as +possible where even a regular passport does not protect one from +detention." + +"But the wine and the sardines?" said Pierrot. + +"They can be brought while the men are making ready," replied the +officer; and, with a polite bow, he left them still under guard. + +The wine and the sardines d'Olonne were brought and rapidly consumed. +Their horses' feet were heard before the door, and, mounting, Pierrot +and Master Ned, with four soldiers accompanying them, rode away in the +direction of Nantes. It is a long and rather dreary ride at all times, +and to Edward it was particularly unpleasant, for he had to remember a +fact which the reader has probably forgotten, namely, that people who +took advantage without right of other people's safe-conducts were in +those days very frequently hanged. Now, Master Ned had a mortal aversion +to hemp. All depends upon the application of things. An old saw well +applied is excellent, detestable when wrongly introduced. A +Burgundy-pitch plaster on the chest is a capital remedy for incipient +bronchitis, but has quite a contrary effect when applied to the mouth +and nose. It is all the same with hemp. Used in rigging a ship, it is +all very well; in the abstract it is a soft though somewhat tenacious +fibre, which would not much hurt a fly; but when twisted into several +strands and used as a tight cravat it is unpleasant, and often +dangerous. In this light it was viewed by Edward Langdale; but he had +run a good many hair's-breadth risks since he had been Lord Montagu's +page, and the idea of the hemp did not exclude from his mind the idea of +Lucette. (There are two "ideas" in the last sentence, which the verbal +critics may call tautologous; but I will let them both stand, for it +were well if there were as many ideas in most people's noddles.) + +However, as it is a very dreary road from Mauzé toward Nantes, and as +the reflections of poor Edward Langdale were drearier still, I will not +pause upon the details, but merely say that thought after thought +followed each other through his head,--sometimes of the danger which he +himself ran, sometimes of the dangers which surrounded Lucette, and +sometimes of the chances of making his escape. This continued for some +three hours, during which time the body was suffering hardly less than +the mind. Barely recovered from severe illness, he had quitted Rochelle +too early: he had since undergone the fatigues of a storm at sea, a long +anxious ride, a short imprisonment, and now a three hours' journey, with +little food and only one hour's sleep out of thirty-six, upon the banks +of the Sevre Niortaise. As day began faintly to dawn, fatigue and +drowsiness overpowered him; and twice he swung to the side of his horse +as if he were about to fall. + +The soldier who rode by his side, and who was well aware that his +superiors had considerable doubt as to whether they were right or wrong +in sending the young gentleman to Nantes at all, seeing his state, +addressed him civilly, telling him that two miles in advance there was +the village of Le Breuil Bertin, where he would find a good clean +cabaret and could both have an excellent breakfast and repose for a few +hours in comfort. + +"I thought we were to go to Nantes as fast as we could," said Master +Ned. + +"Monsieur is the master," replied the man. "I was only told to see you +safe to Nantes and show you all attention on the road. So I shall +certainly take your orders as to where we shall stop, and how long. At +all events, we must feed the horses at Le Breuil." + +"Well, then, I will stay and rest there," said Edward, very glad to +obtain time for somewhat clearer and more composed reflection than the +state of his brain had heretofore permitted; and at Le Breuil they +accordingly paused. + +In the two hundred and odd revolutions of the great humming-top which +have since taken place, Le Breuil Bertin, which was then a very +flourishing village, with a pretty church, a very tolerable inn, and, at +a little distance, a royal abbey, has become a mere hamlet; but then the +cabaret appeared a blessed haven of repose to Edward Langdale: every +thing had a clean and smiling air, and the very sight was a refreshment. +He ordered breakfast, which was in those days always accompanied by +wine, and, though he ate little, he felt stronger for the meal. Then, +after calling Pierrot apart and admonishing him in regard to brandy, he +said he should like to rest for a few hours, and was shown to a chamber +where was a bed of wool as soft as down. It is true that there was but +one staircase leading to the room assigned him, and that, Le Breuil +being built upon a gentle hill, and the inn upon the edge of the hill, +the window had a fall of thirty feet below it,--quite as good, under all +ordinary circumstances, as iron bars. But Edward did not meditate escape +just then, and all he expected was thought and repose. + +Weariness and wakefulness are sometimes strangely combined. "Too tired +to sleep," say people very often; and they say rightly; but it generally +happens--at least in my own case--that fatigue of mind has been added to +fatigue of body when we cannot woo to our pillow "tired nature's sweet +restorer." We have in short been spurring both horses so hard that their +sides are sore. So it was with Edward Langdale. He could not close an +eye: he could not think,--at least collectedly. His mind went rambling +about, first to one subject of consideration, then to another, without +resting upon any. This continued for about two hours; but when the +sergeant, corporal, lunce prisade, or whatever he was, looked in to see +whether he would like to go to mass, the young gentleman was as sound +asleep as he could be, and did not hear the opening or closing door. + +Now, the soldier was a native of Le Breuil Bertin, and, moreover, he had +been brought up a Protestant,--born a Protestant, I had better have +said; for I fear me much that, both in regard to religion and politics, +birth has a good deal to do with the matter. However, being but an +indifferent controversialist, and meeting with a wise Catholic priest, +and having some interest in the army, and the greater part of the +population being of the Romish Church, he had four good reasons for +being converted; and he was so. But the worthy man was mild in his +apostasy, and, as a native of Le Breuil, did not care how long a +gentleman, whether Huguenot or Papist, kept him there, nor whether he +went to mass or conventicle. + +Thus Edward was suffered to slumber undisturbed from nine till one, when +he turned on his other side without waking, and then from one till six, +when a little noise about the inn made some impression on his senses. + +The sun by this time was so far down as to have left an eye of gray in +the sky; but it was not yet dark; and Edward had just swung his feet +over the edge of the bed, and was rubbing his eyes with a certain +doubtfulness whether he would lie down again or not, when his door +opened, and the soldier appeared, supporting a boy dressed in a loose +black velvet overcoat, and asking, "Pray, sir, is this your page?" + +Edward started forward at once and took her hand, answering, "Certainly. +How came he here?" + +The man was about to reply; but as he uttered the first words Lucette +began to sink, and the color quite forsook her lips. Edward caught her +in his arms before she fell and laid her gently on the bed from which he +had just risen, saying, "Send Pierrot here, good sir,--my servant, I +mean." + +The man smiled slightly, but departed; and, before Pierrot appeared, +Lucette somewhat revived, saying, in a low, faint voice, "I am so tired, +Edward, and have been so frightened. I fear I may have betrayed you by +my weakness." + +"Get some wine, Pierrot!" exclaimed the lad, as the man entered. "Or +stay you here, and I will see for it myself. Fear not, dear Lucette. All +will go well." + +They were vague words of comfort enough,--such as a man speaks when his +only trust is in Providence; yet they comforted Lucette. And some water +which Pierrot held to her lips did her good also; but, to tell the +truth, that which revived her most was the reappearance of Edward +Langdale. He brought wine with him,--the first he could find; but he +could hardly pour out a glassful when the good mistress of the house +entered and stayed his hand, saying, "Leave her to me, young gentleman. +Do not be foolish. Your secret shall be safe with me, upon my honor,--if +it be a secret; but all the world can see this is no boy. I have girls +myself, and will treat her like a daughter." And, gently putting the two +men out, she shut and locked the door. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +"My good sir," said Edward Langdale, addressing the chief of the guard, +whom he found conversing with two troopers whom he had not before +seen,--"my good sir, I think it will be necessary for me to change my +mode of travelling. I have just recovered from a severe illness, and am +still weak. So much riding on horseback fatigues me, as you may see by +my long sleep this day; and I would be glad if I could procure a coach. +You can guard us as well, or better then than if we continue as we have +begun. Why are you smiling?" + +The last words had a slight tone of irritation in them; for Edward had +remarked a previous smile with which the man had brought Lucette into +his chamber, and he had arrived at that point on the road to love where +one feels vexed at the very thought of any reflection upon a +sweetheart's name or character. + +But the soldier answered, civilly, "I was thinking, sir, that if you +can, being sick and weak, keep such a tight hold as you did last night +upon Guillaume Bheel's wrist, what sort of a grip you must take when +you are well and strong. But, as to a carrosse, there is none in the +village, and we shall have to send to Aligre, or Marans, as it is +sometimes called, to get one; and Aligre is three leagues off. However, +we can very well stop the night if you please." + +"Well, have the kindness to send for one," said the youth: "there is a +piece of gold for the messenger, and I will pay the owner well. Let it +be here early,--by daybreak, if possible; for I am anxious to arrive at +Nantes soon, as I shall certainly be liberated from this sort of +captivity there." + +It were vain to deny that the arrival of Lucette, while it relieved his +mind considerably in one respect, embarrassed it considerably in +another. Lucette was safe; but could he answer that she would continue +so? What was he to do with her? What would become of her at Nantes if he +were imprisoned there, or perhaps executed? All these questions he put +to himself; and they were difficult to answer. Still, to treat the +matter commercially, when he put down on the one side of the account all +the difficulties and dangers, and on the other the happiness of knowing +she was safe, and the delight of having her with him, he could not for +the life of him think the balance was against him. But then it was +evident that poor Lucette's disguise had not the effect of a disguise at +all, and Edward was as thoughtful of her reputation as a prude. Oh, +sweet delicacy of early youth, how soon thou art rubbed off in the +grating commerce of the world! I fear me that it rarely happens--with +men, at least--that the soft bloom remains on the plum a day after it is +separated from the parent tree. Yet it was so with Edward still; for he +had hitherto had to deal with the harder, not the softer, things of +life; and his nascent love for Lucette rendered the feeling still more +fine and sensitive. Sequiter Deum, however, could only be his motto; for +at present he had no power over his own fate. + +With these thoughts and feelings he returned to the door of the room +where he had slept so long, and knocked for admission, which was given +at once. + +"She is getting quite well now," said the good landlady, "but you will +have to stay here to-night, for she is too tired to go farther." + +Edward explained that he had sent for a coach, which could not arrive +till the following morning, and, sitting down beside Lucette, began to +converse with her in English, while the landlady continued at the table +listening to the strange language, and apparently trying if she could +make any thing of it. In that tongue Lucette, whose sweet lips had +regained their color and her beautiful eyes their sparkle, told him all +that had happened to her since he had left her,--how, with anxiety and +fear, she had remained in her place of concealment hour after hour till +near the dawn of day,--how good Jacques Beaupré had tried to console and +comfort her in vain, till at length suspense became unendurable, and she +had determined to go forth and try to pass the royalist lines +herself,--how Jacques had remonstrated,--how she had persisted, and how +she had not gone three hundred yards before she was challenged, stopped, +and taken to the little house occupied by Monsieur de Lude, who +commanded in that quarter. Her companion, she said, had disappeared at +the very moment of her own arrest, and she did not know what had become +of him. Monsieur de Lude, however, was an elderly man and very +courteous, who asked her a number of questions. + +"And what, in Heaven's name, did you tell him, dear Lucette?" asked +Edward. + +"Not much," replied the sweet girl. "I determined at once that I would +speak no French; and, as he could speak no English, he gained nothing +from me. At length he put pen and paper before me, and made signs to me +to write down who and what I was. I then wrote that I was your page, who +had remained behind you, being frightened, but who, repenting of my +cowardice, had come on, thinking to overtake you. The old gentleman sent +for some of his officers who knew a little English; and between them +they made out what I had written." + +"Did you write my own name, dear girl?" asked Edward, with some anxiety. + +"Nay," replied Lucette, "I wrote the name you told us was in your +pass,--Sir Peter Apsley,--and I described you as well as I could. Then, +to my great joy, I heard Monsieur de Lude say to the officers, 'I am +afraid we have made a mistake in stopping him. That was clearly the +cardinal's safe-conduct; and we must send the page after him. Richelieu +dislikes too much as well as too little zeal; and, on my life, it is +likely we shall be scolded for not having properly reverenced his +signature.' I do think, dear Edward, I could have persuaded him to let +us all go on our way, if I had dared to speak French to him; but, after +having pretended not to understand a word, I was afraid." + +Now, good casuists have clearly shown two things,--that it is perfectly +justifiable to deceive on some occasions, and that we had better not do +it on any. The present is a good elucidation. If ever a girl was +justified in feigning, Lucette was so; but still she got nothing by it, +except a long ride in the way she did not want to go, and she lost all +the advantages of her little innocent trick by the very trick itself. So +it seems to me, at least,--although there may be people who differ with +me on the subject, and, if so, I beg to state that I will not enter with +them into a further discussion of the subject, at least on paper. + +One advantage, however, which neither Edward nor Lucette then knew, but +which had accrued from her interview with Monsieur de Lude, was this: +the officers had let the men understand that they were all very doubtful +as to whether they had done right or wrong in ignoring the name of +Richelieu--then becoming very terrible--written at the bottom of the +safe-conduct, and that therefore the young gentleman and his suite were +to be treated with the utmost respect and consideration. The soldiers +who had escorted Lucette had communicated this to those who had guarded +Edward Langdale, and the intelligence was not without a great effect +upon men who knew that those who present themselves with agreeable +intelligence find a good reception and often a reward, whereas those who +come upon a blundering errand get kicks for their only recompense. + +To return to my story, however. I will not dwell upon the passing of +that night. As far as Edward and Lucette were concerned, it passed as +properly and as decently as possible; and, if any one suspects the +contrary, it is the fault of his own imagination. The next morning, +though not exactly at daybreak, the coach--or carrosse, as the people +called it--arrived from Marans, and all was soon ready for departure. +Edward and his pretty page took their seats within. Pierrot, mounted, +led one horse beside the carriage; one of the guards led another, and +the whole cortège set out for Nantes at a brisk pace of three miles an +hour, or thereabouts. There are other countries in the world where one +can still go at the same pace; but, as Nantes was about ninety miles +distant, it was very evident three days must be consumed in the journey. +Now, it was very pleasant to Edward Langdale to sit side by side with +Lucette, especially when, by way of emphasis to any thing of particular +importance he was saying, he took her soft little hand in his; indeed, +it often rested there quite tranquilly for full ten minutes; and, as he +had no inclination to arrive at Nantes at all, he certainly did not +hurry the horses. Youth has the power of removing evil days,--of +multiplying the intervening hours; and the first part of the journey was +very sweet to both, although the gloomy-looking Nemesis of Nantes was +still before them. But, after Sevigné was passed, and Marans, where they +only stopped to water the horses, the two young people began to think +seriously--somewhat sadly--of the future, and to consider whether it +would not be both prudent and possible to escape. Now, this change of +thoughts and purposes probably took place from the simple fact of both +being refreshed and reinvigorated by repose; but, certainly, things +began to seem quite practicable to Edward, and even very feasible, which +had before seemed impossible, or highly perilous. The country now became +fertile in windmills, country-houses, and canals, and Edward proposed to +get out and ride a little. Lucette gazed at him timidly with a +"do-not-leave-me" look; but he explained to her that he was going to +sound the leader of their escort, and she made no opposition. He was +soon mounted, and rode forward with the good Bertinois, saying, in a +gay tone, "I am not going to run away." + +The man made no reply till they were out of ear-shot of the rest; but +then he answered, "If you did, monsieur, I should not try to stop you; +but others might." + +There was so much gained. "Perhaps the others may be out of the way at +some place upon the road," said Edward, "and I dare say we might slip +away easily without being noticed." + +He looked keenly in the man's face as he spoke; but the soldier did not +move a muscle. + +"Perhaps such a thing might be done," said the man, after pausing for a +moment or two. "We were not told to watch you very closely; and during +one of the nights it would not be very difficult; but of course you do +not intend to try." + +"I am not very fond of going to Nantes," said Master Ned. + +"Why?" asked the soldier, with an air of great simplicity. + +"First, because it is out of my way," answered Edward; "secondly, +because I have no clothes with me, and I should have to appear at the +court; and thirdly, because probably before I get to Nantes my purse, +which is not now very full, will probably be emptier by a thousand +livres." + +The reason last assigned seemed to have some weight with the man: "It is +bad to have an empty purse," he said. "But come, sir, these cannot be +your only reasons. I wish you would give one which might touch an honest +man and a loyal servant of the king." + +A bright thought struck Edward at that moment. He knew not whether the +man was trying to entrap him into a confession of some sinister design, +or whether in good faith he sought--as many a man will do--an excuse to +himself for acting as he wished. Now, it was evident that Lucette's +disguise was of no avail,--that the soldier himself knew that she was no +page, and that the truth would be made manifest at Nantes. Riding closer +to him, therefore, he said, in a low and confidential voice, "It is not +for myself I so much care; but cannot you comprehend that I have got one +with me whom I would not have discovered for the world?" + +"Whew!" cried the soldier, with a long whistle: "I see! I see!" and +then, holding out his hand to Edward, he added, "Count upon me, +monsieur; count upon me. I can manage the other men. But how happens it +that neither of you have any baggage? Sapristi! you must have come away +in a great hurry; and you are both very young." + +"The baggage was left with my other servant, who stayed behind but was +to follow soon. I trust it is at Niort by this time." + +A conversation of an hour's length ensued; in the course of which Edward +Langdale convinced himself that his companion was sincere in his +professions; and at the end of that time he returned to the carriage, +carrying with him hope nearly touching joy. + +The party were now entering, or had entered, upon a tract of country +singular in its nature, its aspect, and its habits. It is called _Les +marais_, (the marshes,) and, as it may perhaps have something to do with +our story, it must have a very brief description. This might be +difficult to give, as I have never seen more than the extreme verge of +the district; but, luckily, at my hand lies the account of one who knew +it well, had passed long months there, and who lived much nearer the +times of which I write. Thus he speaks:--"The inhabitant of the marshes +is taller than the inhabitant of the plain: he is stouter; his limbs are +more massive; but he wants both health and agility. He is coarse, +apathetic, and narrow in his views. A cabin of reeds, a little meadow, +some cows, a boat,--which serves him for fishing, and often for stealing +forage along the river-banks,--a gun to shoot wild fowl, are all his +fortune, and his only means of subsistence. Exposed continually at his +own fireside to all sorts of maladies, his constitution must be very +strong not to give way entirely. His food is barley-bread mixed with +rye, abundance of vegetables, salt meat, and curds. His habitual drink +is the water of the canals and ditches,--a source of innumerable +maladies. The agricultural proprietors, or great farmers, known by the +name of Cabiners, (_cabaniers,_) lead a very different life, and do not +deny themselves any of the comforts they can procure. + +"The inhabitants of this picturesque abode appear, at first sight, the +most wretched of mankind. Their cottages of brush and mud are covered +with reeds. Unknown to the rest of the world, upon a tongue of land of +from twenty-five to thirty paces wide, they live in the depths of +inaccessible labyrinths, with their wives, their children, and their +cattle. The silence of these swampy deserts, which is only broken by the +cry of the water-fowl, the mysterious shadow spread over the canals by +the intertwined boughs above them, the paleness and miserable air of the +people, that narrow border which seems to place an immense interval +between them and all mankind, the sombre hue of the landscape,--all +inspire at the first glance a painful and melancholy feeling, which it +is difficult to get rid of. But, on penetrating into the interior, the +freshness of these cradles, the meanderings of these water paths, the +innumerable varieties of birds one meets at every step and which one +meets nowhere but there, cause the first sensations to be followed by a +feeling of peaceful retirement, which is not without its charm." + +Such was the scene, or rather the country, upon which Edward and Lucette +entered just as the sun was within half an hour of setting, when every +little ridge or hillock cast a long blue shadow upon the brown moor, and +the many intricate canals and little rivers acted as mirrors to the +glories of the western sky, flashing back the last red rays, as if +rubies were dissolved in the calm waters. It was a fine country to +escape in. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +As much consideration and caution were necessary in proceeding after the +sun was set, as a young man requires on his first outset in a court. The +darkness was as profound, there were as many unseen dangers, pitfalls, +ponds, and swamps around; and, though the stars were all out and +shining, no queenly moon was in the sky to light one on the long way. +Night after night she was now rising at a later hour; and the beams +which had cheered the course of the two young travellers on their sail +from Rochelle would not be renewed ere their resting-place for the night +was reached. At length, about eight o'clock, on looking from the +portière of the coach, Edward thought he saw either a little mound or a +heavy pile of building before him, and in about ten minutes the horses' +feet clattered over the stone pavement of a court. The leader of the +escort had gone on before; and now, as Master Ned and his fair companion +alighted, they found the good soldier standing under a heavy stone +portal, conversing with a man in a monk's gown. + +"It looks like a prison," said Lucette, as she gazed up by the light of +a lantern. + +She spoke in a low voice; but her words caught the ear of the monk, who +replied, "This is the Abbey of Moreilles, young gentleman. I will take +you first to the strangers' parlor, and then will show you round the +building, if you like; for your escort tells me you propose to go on by +daybreak, and you should not miss the opportunity of seeing so famous an +edifice." + +Lucette replied that she was very tired, and should prefer to lie down +to rest; but Edward caught eagerly at the proposal, from several +motives. First, he was anxious to keep Lucette as far as possible from +the monk's eye, and was even afraid that her sweet voice might betray +her; and then he had his reasons for observing accurately every part of +the building. + +"Well, well, I will take you round in a minute or two," replied the +monk; "but I must first see that some of the cells are ready, for this +good gentleman tells me that you two young people are very devout, and +would like best to sleep in cells where saints have lived and died in +the odor of sanctity. Here, here is the parlor. Let me light a lamp. +Most of the brethren have retired, for it has been very hot this +evening. What changes of weather, good lack! Yesterday was as cold as +Noël, and to-night it is as warm as St. John's." + +While he spoke, he lighted a small lamp, with shaking hands, and then +left the three in the parlor together, going himself to prepare the +cells. + +"Now listen, young people," said the soldier, as soon as the monk was +gone, speaking quick, but low: "keep ready and wakeful, and at three +o'clock it shall go hard but you shall find a boat, with a man in it, +upon the canal at the back of the abbey. Go with that man wherever he +rows you." + +"But how shall I find the boat, or the canal either?" asked Edward. +"Remember, I have never been here before." + +"As we go round the building," replied the other, "I will show you the +door which is always left open for the drones who sleep in this wing of +the abbey to find their way to the church at matins. I will pinch your +arm as we pass it. God wot! if they did not leave it open, their winking +eyes would lead them into the canal. That old fellow must make haste, or +we shall have my comrades with us; and it were better not till Master +Page has gone to his cell. You had better give them plenty of drink, +young gentleman, that they may stupefy themselves to-night and sleep +heavily to-morrow morning. I have got two miles on foot to go to see a +friend, but will be back in an hour or two. Ply them well while I am +gone; but, mind you, keep your own head clear." + +"But shall I find any liquor here?" asked Edward, in some surprise. + +The soldier nodded his head, and pointed to a number of stains upon the +table, saying, "I have had more than one roaring bout in this very room. +Those stains were not made with water. Every thing can be had for money +in a _moustèr_." + +"But I had better give you what I promised before the monk comes back," +said Edward,--the word _money_ awakening many other ideas. + +"Let me see how much you have got," said the man: "you will need some +for your two selves; and, besides, there is that long thin fellow with a +red face,--that servant of yours. Do not let him drink. Let us see." + +Edward took out his purse of doeskin, which now contained about +seventeen hundred livres in gold. What between the purchase of the +horses, and various expenses at the inns, the rest was all spent, though +it was better furnished when he left Rochelle; and there was more in +his bags, probably lost forever. + +"That is not enough to give me a thousand livres," said the man; "but +the three horses are worth something. That one you ride is a good one, +and so is the young lady's,--the page's, I mean. Give me five hundred, +and write me a promise of the horses in payment of the rest of the sums +I have advanced,--the horses to be given up to me when you get to the +end of your journey, which will be here, I suppose, but which they will +understand as Nantes. That will give me a right to claim them." + +Now, it is quite possible that one, if not more, of my sagacious readers +will be inclined to think that I have been drawing an inconsistent +character. It is very true the soldier was a right generous and a +kind-hearted fellow. He liked to do a good turn. He liked especially to +help two young lovers,--by-the-way, he had been crossed in love himself, +though his history would be too long to tell here,--and yet he was not +unwilling to take money out of their pockets when they had little +enough, and to secure their horses for his own advantage. It was very +inconsistent,--very inconsistent indeed. But I have now lived a +tolerable number of years in the world, and all my life I have been +looking for consistent men, and have not found more than six at the +utmost. The fact is, man is a bundle,--a bundle of very contrary +qualities,--to say nothing of the mere absolute opposition of body and +soul in the mass. There are packages of good feelings and packages of +bad feelings; rolls of wit and rolls of dullness; papers full of sense +and papers full of nonsense; a lump of generosity here and a lump of +selfishness there; and all tied up so tightly together that in a damp +and foggy world they sooner or later mould and mildew each other. Thus, +if I hear of a great man doing a little action, or a wise man committing +a foolish one, instead of crying out, "How inconsistent!" I say, "It is +very natural." Now, if it be very natural everywhere, it is still more +natural in France; for, having inhabited that beautiful country and +lived amongst her gallant and intellectual people a great part of my +life, I have come to the conclusion that the most varied creature upon +the face of the earth _per se_--in himself, in his own nature and +composition--is a Frenchman. + +While the soldier has been making all his arrangements with Master Ned, +and while we have been discussing the knotty point of his inconsistency, +&c., the old monk, with the lantern in his hand, has been getting ready +two cells at the farther end of the long corridor, and the troopers and +Pierrot, together with the driver of the coach, have been taking care of +the horses. But the monk, having the least to do,--for the furniture of +a cell is not usually superabundant, nor its bed difficult to +make,--returns first, and conducts Lucette to her sleeping-place, +without the slightest idea that she is any thing but a very pretty boy; +for his eyes are not very clear, and the lantern dimmer than his eyes, +and the lamp upon the table duller than the lantern. Edward Langdale +accompanied them to see her cell. It was next to his own,--a pleasant +proximity; and, telling her he would presently bring her some +refreshment, he left her. As he walked slowly back with the monk, he +came upon the subject of some stronger liquor than water,--at which the +old man looked shocked; but, upon Edward alluding to the stains upon the +table, and bestowing a donation,--entirely for the abbey,--the ferocity +of his temperance abated, and he ran to the refectory-man, or some other +competent officer, with whom he shared his gains, and informed him what +a generous young gentleman they had got under their roof. The supper did +not suffer in consequence; but, while it was preparing, Edward and the +soldier accompanied the old man through church and cloisters, passages +and corridors. Neither gained much knowledge of architecture, or of the +particular Abbey of Moreilles. I would advise no one who wishes to +criticize that of Westminster to go there at night with nothing but a +bad tallow candle in a dirty lantern; and, though I have it upon good +authority that before the conflagration Moreilles was decorated with the +most beautiful flamboyant arches, mouldings hardly surpassed in +richness, and, moreover, twenty-six cluster-columns of prodigious +height, each with an exquisite capital totally different from all the +others, Edward saw nothing but dark vaults, masses of stone, and a door. +But that door was all he wanted to see; and as he passed it the soldier +gave him a good hard pressure on the arm. It was, luckily, within about +ten paces of Lucette's cell. + +However, on reaching the strangers' parlor, the little party found the +troopers and Pierrot and the driver, and three more monks, and, what was +more to the purpose, a table laid with several large pies and a quantity +of barley-bread. The means of potation had not yet appeared, but tarried +not long; and a meal ensued which I need not further describe than by +saying that the pies comprised rabbits and wild ducks; and none of the +unlearned can imagine what an excellent thing a wild-duck pie can be +made by the mere process of skinning the ducks. + +After a few mouthfuls, the leader of the guard rose and left the room, +saying he must go and see his cousin, who, "as they all knew, lived hard +by;" and the rest of the troopers set to serious work first upon some +sour wine, and then upon some of that good or bad spirit which has +crowned the name of Nantes with a certain sort of immortality. Poor +Pierrot! it was a sore temptation for him, especially when his young +master was gone to carry some refreshment to _the page_; but he resisted +during the very short period of Edward's absence, and Master Ned's eye +was a strong corroborative of resolution after his return. The monks +tasted, at first shyly, and then more boldly; and Edward drew from them +the important fact that there were very few brethren in the convent, +some of them being absent on _quête_, some on leave. Moreover the abbey, +he said, had never been very full, since the abbacy--as was so common in +France--had been bestowed upon a well-known painter of Paris, a layman. + +There was some deep drinking that night; but still Pierrot, though he +could have emptied the most capacious flagon there at an easy draught, +maintained the combat against habit gloriously, till at length, just as +the leader of the party returned, at the end of two hours, the good +Rochellois, finding himself weak with the labor of resistance, retired to +rest, after having received a hint from his master, which happily he was +in a state to profit by,--happily indeed for him. "The primrose path to +the everlasting bonfire" men have strewed in their imaginations with all +sorts of sweet things; but, take my word for it, it is paved by +_Example_,--that most slippery and dangerous of all asphalts. Luckily +for him, the troopers did not care a fig whether he drank or not, and +thus all he had to resist was the sight of outstretched arms and full +cups; but he had something better on the other side: he had the warning +of rolling eyes, and hiccoughing throats, and maudlin faces, and +embarrassed tongues, which he had never seen before when he was himself +sober enough to appreciate them fully. "Well, drunkenness," he thought, +as he left the room, "is a very beastly thing, it is true." + +The monks withdrew nearly at the same time; and I am well pleased to say +that, although they had shown during that night, amongst the pies and +the pottles, no narrow objection to either those carnal or those +spiritual things which some castes of Hindoos call the "creature +comforts of life," not one of them had an uneven step or an unsteady +head. Probably they drank seldom; for those who drink often deprive +themselves of the power of drinking at all,--soberly. + +The coach-driver was soon under the table; and the troopers, though most +of them, when the last drop provided was emptied from the flask, could +make their way by diagonals to the dormitory assigned to them, were in a +state which promised no early rising on the following day; and Edward +and his friendly soldier parted about eleven o'clock, the latter merely +saying, "We shall have a heavy storm to-night. The clouds are rolling up +like distant mountains. But all the better for your purpose. Remember +three!" + +The consequences! Good God! How frightful a thing it is to consider +what--under an overruling hand and will omnipotent--may be the +consequences of the smallest deed we do. The consequences immediate, +proximate, future! How many lives, what an amount of misery, how much +damnation, may depend upon a light word, an idle jest, a sportive trick! + +Should such a consideration forbid us to act and do, to resolve and to +perform? Far from it. Man is an active being, and his life is deeds. +Each moment must have its thought or its action, or the whole is sleep; +but the consideration of that strange thing, CONSEQUENCE,--that +overruling of our deeds to ends that we see not,--should teach us so to +frame thought, word, and act, that, be the consequences what they may, +we may be able at the great end of all to say, boldly, "I did it in an +honest heart." God himself is responsible for the result if man acts +with purity of intent. + +Not one man in that small room who had that night "sinned as it were +with a cart-rope" ever saw the dawning of the morning; and it was a +heavy thought to Edward Langdale for many a year after, "What share had +I in this?" For himself, he took the little lamp which had been left for +him, and sought the cell where his pallet lay. But he had no thought of +sleep. As he went along the corridor, with the rays just gleaming upon +the fretted stone-work, something like a flash reddened the dim panes of +the painted windows, and some seconds afterward a distant roar was +heard, as if of a heavy sea rolling along an extended shore. "It will +thunder," he said to himself; but he thought of it no more; and, opening +the door of the cell, on the little table beneath the window appeared +the missal and the skull and cross-bones--the _memento mori_ of the +cloister. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +The table, the book, the pallet, the grinning emblem of death, and a +little black crucifix hung up against the wall, were--with the exception +of a large pitcher of very clear, cold water--all that the cell +contained; and yet it was by no means without ornament, for each of +those chambers looking to the western cloister had a window divided into +two by a beautiful mullion and was garnished all round, even in the +interior, with mouldings a foot in depth. The original small panes of +stained glass were also there, but Edward could at first form no idea of +the richness of the coloring; for, although the moon had now risen +several hours, the face of heaven was black with clouds, and all without +was darkness. About five minutes after he had entered the cell, however, +the whole interior of the little room, where the feeble oil-lamp had +only made the darkness visible, was pervaded by intense light, and an +image of the stained-glass window was thrown upon the floor and +opposite wall in colors the most intense and beautiful. Still, the +thunder did not follow for several seconds; but when it did come the +roar was awful. It seemed as if some one were pouring rocks and +mountains in a stream upon the roof of the abbey, making the very solid +walls and foundations shake. Edward drew forth his watch,--one of the +rude contrivances of those days, but with the great advantage of having +the figures on the dial plain and distinct,--and, holding it to the +lamp, perceived it was a quarter past one. "Lucette must be awake," he +thought: "she could not sleep through such a crash as that. I will wait +five minutes and then go and call her." + +In the mean time the flashes of lightning became more frequent, some +followed by heavy thunder, some passing away in silence, till at length +they grew so rapid in succession that one could not attach the roar to +the flame. Edward's first knock brought Lucette, completely dressed, to +the door; and he was surprised to see her cheek so pale. The thought of +danger had never entered his own mind; but he clearly saw that she was +much agitated. "You are not afraid, dear girl?" he asked: "it is but a +little thunder." + +"It is not fear, but awe, Edward," she said. "But is it time to go? I am +ready." + +"Not yet," he answered; "but we may as well stay here in the passage. If +the storm should alarm the monks, and any one come out, we can say we +are frightened too." + +"Is not that some one crossing there?" asked Lucette; but almost as she +spoke a sudden flash showed that what she took for a man was but a short +pillar. Edward drew her closer to him and put his arm round her. She did +not feel at all angry, but rather clung to his side. Fear is a great +smoother away of all prudery; and, to say sooth, Lucette had very little +of it to be planed down. The fact is, she was innocent in heart and mind +as a young child; and innocence is never prudish,--nor is real delicacy. + + "Ne fiez-vous a l'Angelus; + Mais craignez les bois et les orages," + +says an old French song about two lovers somewhat similarly situated; +but Edward and Lucette ran no danger from any thing but the lightning. +It, however, was now really terrific. The clouds, crammed with +electricity, were evidently directly over the abbey, and every instant +the blaze was running across the windows, the various colors of which +gave the flashes the effect of fireworks more brilliant than any that +ever were constructed by the hand of man. + +At length a sound, not the roaring roll of thunder, but an explosion, as +it were, as if some mighty cannon had burst, shook the very ground on +which they stood. Then came a moment's pause, and then a peculiar +noise,--it might be thunder, or it might not, but it seemed more like +the sound of stones rolling rapidly and heavily over each other and then +falling from a height to the ground. The next instant a heavy bell began +to toll, but ceased after three or four strokes had been struck, +mingling strangely with a peal of thunder which was then echoing through +the building. + +A spirit of confusion now seemed to seize upon the abbey: the door at +the end of the corridor was thrown open; monks were seen hurrying +across, moving a little way up the passage and disappearing by another +door. There were voices calling and screaming too, and Edward thought he +could distinguish groans and shrieks; while ever and anon a little bell +was heard ringing with a small, tinkling sound; and, in strange discord +with all the rest, a solemn strain of music burst upon the ear whenever +the little door on the left was opened. + +Edward tried to ascertain from one of the passing monks what was the +matter; but he could get no intelligible answer; and it was with +infinite satisfaction that at length he saw Pierrot appear, coming +toward them in haste. + +"The great tower has been struck, sir," said the man, in answer to his +inquiries; "and Heaven knows how much of it has tumbled down over the +other cloisters. One of the monks is killed, they say, and several other +people are crushed under the stones; but, what is worse than all, just +as they were ringing the great bell, they found out that the lightning +when it struck had set the tower on fire, for the rope broke short off, +and the end that came down upon the sacristan's head was burning. There +is no hope of getting it put out; for some are carrying off the +ornaments of the church, some are praying, some are singing, some are +whipping themselves; and the best thing we can do is to get out to the +bank of the canal,--if we can find the way; for, though the hour you +told me is not quite come, we can wait there more safely than here, +where we are likely to have the roofs and buttresses on our heads every +minute." + +Edward pressed Lucette a little closer to him and whispered something, +to which she answered, "Anywhere you will.--Trust you? Oh, yes!" And, +getting her large hat from the cell, Edward placed it on her head so as +to conceal as far as possible her wonderfully luxuriant hair: then, +leading her down the passage, opened the door which the soldier had +pointed out to him. Instantly a flash of lightning crossed their eyes; +but it served to show, though it lived but a second, the dull, heavy +features of the Marais, with not one, but half a dozen, streams of +zigzag lightning playing through the sky,--some, as the levin-bolt is +usually represented, darting down to earth like a flaming javelin, +others twisting into all shapes, and even running up, like fiery +serpents disporting themselves in the horrors of the storm. What was of +more importance, however, to Edward and Lucette, that flash displayed, +close before them, one of those long rows of willows and ash-trees which +in that part of the country denote the course of the larger canals, and +also showed a break in the line of wood, where the monks probably went +down to fish from their own boats. + +All the noises of the abbey were now heard far more distinctly, the +thunder notwithstanding; and through every window of the great church, +with its tall square tower, might be seen a red, ominous glare. But +onward Edward supported Lucette, with Pierrot feeling his way before +them, till a few steps brought them to the very edge of the water. Two +boats were fastened to the bank by chains; but there was no boatman +apparent, and Edward and his good servant consulted for a moment, with a +running accompaniment of lightning, as to whether it would not be better +to unloose one of the skiffs and seek safety somewhere. + +"I can break the chain in a moment with a big stone, Master Ned," said +Pierrot; "but, as we do not know where to go, we had better wait for +some one to show us. Master George Brin, the good corporal, promised +that some one should be here at two; and, depend on it, he will keep his +word. Hark! I hear oars. It is not quite two yet; but you had better put +the young lady under that ash-tree, for it is beginning to rain, thank +God. That will soon put the thunder out; and pray Heaven it quenches the +fire in the church, too! Those monks are good, simple souls and merry." + +Not more than two minutes after he had done speaking, a boat came up +quickly to the little landing-place, rowed by an elderly man, as far as +Edward could see by the lightning, who carefully avoided touching the +abbey boats, but, as soon as he backed his oars, looked round over the +bank. + +"Ah, there you are!" he said, in a tongue which, though it was not +French at all, was a jargon quite understandable. "Get in! get in, +quick! Here, young man, give me your hand." And, catching Lucette's arm, +he lifted her in rather than aided her to embark. Edward and Pierrot +followed, and without another word the boatman pushed off. It was all +over in less than thirty seconds, and the boat had made some two hundred +yards over the water, the man pushing her along with a pole, before he +relinquished that instrument and sat down as if to resume his oars. The +rain was now beginning to fall thick in heavy drops, and the boatman, as +he pushed his bark along, had been scanning his party of passengers +earnestly. "Here," he said, at length, dragging something large and +shaggy from beneath one of the seats,--"here, you one in the large hat, +put this on, or you will get wet. The sky may come down in drops without +going through that." + +"What is it?" asked Lucette, taking what the man offered, but not +comprehending what it was. + +"A _peau de bique_, to-be-sure," replied the boatman. "You are the girl +that Georgy Brin told me of, are not you? I must not let you get wet; +for he says you are weakly. 'Tis a bad business, anyhow!" And, with this +sage reflection, he began vigorously to handle his oars. + +Edward aided his fair companion to envelop herself in the water-proof +garment then and still common in that part of France; and the boat shot +on rapidly under the branches of the trees, which may be said to have +interlaced above them. For about a quarter of a mile all was darkness, +but at the end of that distance the boatman began to look up toward the +sky wherever a small patch of the heavens could be seen through the +overhanging trees. Edward, too, saw from time to time gleams of red +light upon the water; and it seemed as if the sky itself had caught fire +from the lightning and would soon be in one general blaze. Another +quarter of a mile brought the travellers to a spot where were two reed +cabins and an open space of ground round them; and there the boatman lay +upon his oars. All eyes were now turned toward the abbey, where a sight +at once sad and grand presented itself. The top of the great square +tower, like an immense altar, bore a pyramid of flame up to the skies; +and from every window and loophole issued forth a tongue of fire, +licking the gray walls. The windows even of the church were painted in +red upon the dark stone-work, whenever the cloud of smoke which +surrounded the whole of the lower part of the building like a vast +shroud suffered the masonry to appear. + +"Alas for the poor monks!" said the boatman, with an unaffected sigh: +"if they did not do much good, they did not do any harm; and we might +have had worse people amongst us. That abbey has stood wellnigh four +hundred years, they tell me; and it was never touched by lightning until +now,--doubtless because they have given it to a lay abbot, and he turns +all the revenues to the works of man which were devoted to the works of +God. Well, we cannot help the poor souls." And, without further thought +of the burning edifice, he plied his oars again, and the boat cut her +way smoothly through the glassy waters, leaving long, fiery ripples +behind her. + +Two miles more of hard rowing brought the party to a small farm, where +two or three of the same huts of mud, bushes, and reeds appeared close +together on the bank; and the rower paused before the largest of the +humble edifices, calling, in a loud voice, to persons who might not be +without ear-shot but who were certainly not within sight, to inform +them that he would not be home till daybreak. "The rain is falling," he +said, as if speaking to himself, "but the whole abbey will be down: that +is clear." + +He then rowed on, pursuing for some three hundred yards the larger +canal; but at the end of that distance he turned into a very narrow and +sinuous channel, where he laid down his oars and propelled the boat +solely with the pole. The labor seemed hard, and the progress slow, and +Edward took the occasion to ask quietly whither they were going. + +"To La Caponnière, to-be-sure," replied the man. "Did you not know +that?" + +"No," replied the youth: "Monsieur Brin merely told me that he would +procure me a boat at two o'clock to carry us to a place of safety." + +"Well, here is the boat," answered the man, "and La Caponnière is a +place of safety. There are no better people in the world than old Madame +Brin and her sons and daughters. They are cousins of his, you know, and +by this time they are ready to receive you. She was his cousin before +her marriage, you know, and then she married his first-cousin, who left +Niort in the time of the troubles; and so they are doubly cousins, you +know." + +But, as Edward did not know any thing about it, he thought it better not +to show his ignorance, and resumed his English conversation with +Lucette. + +The voyage--for we cannot call that a journey which was performed at +night upon the water--was somewhat long and fatiguing to the boatman; +but at length,--it must have been at least four o'clock in the +morning,--after turning and twisting, and sometimes grating against the +banks, the boat reached a spot where suddenly appeared a small, +star-like light from what seemed the window of a better house than any +they had yet passed, which, skipping over various indistinct objects, +rested more fully on a small skiff at the shore. Some one started up as +they approached: their boatman threw him a rope, and they were speedily +drawn up to the bank and moored. + +"Come this way," said the lad who had been waiting for them, holding +out a great coarse hand to Lucette. "Here, mother; they are come." And, +leading the poor girl on, followed by Edward, he conducted her through a +little garden in which various kitchen-vegetables were more plentiful +than flowers. Half-way between the house and the canal they were met by +a goodly-sized dame of forty and a girl of some sixteen or seventeen, +who took Lucette frankly in their arms and gave her a warm embrace. "So +this is your young man, poor thing?" said the elder, looking at Edward; +but then, immediately turning to the boatman, she inquired, eagerly, +"What has been the meaning of all that red light out by the abbey?" + +"There's no abbey by this time," answered the man. "But come, good dame, +let us in to your kitchen-fire, if you've got one, and I will tell you +all about it. We are all as wet as bull-frogs, except the girl; and I +gave her my _peau de bique_." + +Thus saying, he pushed past the rest and entered a large, roomy kitchen, +well stored with every sort of salted and dried provisions, dependent +from great racks suspended from the ceiling. + +There a hearty welcome awaited the poor wayfarers: the fire, which had +nearly gone out, was soon blown up into a cheerful blaze; warm soup was +produced; and to Lucette the good dame of the house, though she weighed +at least two hundred pounds, showed the tenderness and gentleness +associated by poets and romance-writers solely with sylphlike forms and +nymphlike graces. Her two good, buxom girls, who to very pretty faces +added in form a promise of future extent worthy of the stock from which +they sprang, joined in, somewhat more shyly, but with real kindness; +and, for the first time since they left Rochelle, Edward and Lucette +experienced that feeling of security which--to plagiarize a +little--"wraps the whole heart up like a blanket." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +The house in which Edward Langdale found himself on waking the next +morning was evidently one of those belonging to what they call in France +the _cultivateurs propriétaires_, and in the Marais the _cabaniers_, or +farmers possessing the freehold of the land they till. He had been +placed in a little room not larger than the abbey cell; but his bed had +been most comfortable, and he might have slept late had not the youth +whom they had found in the boat the night before, and who was a son of +the good dame of the house, come in to ask how he had rested and to +invite him to go to the farther side of the farm to shoot some ducks for +breakfast. Edward did not neglect the opportunity, thinking that he +might obtain some important information by the way; but the youth, +though perfectly and even profusely communicative, could tell him little +of any thing beyond the precincts of the _Marais_, because he knew +little. They had heard, he said, from his cousin George, the night +before, that at some hour in that night a young gentleman and lady who +had run away to get married would come to their house for shelter and +protection, which he bespoke for them particularly; and the good soldier +had added many an injunction to secrecy and discretion. He had also +asked that a boat might be sent with their neighbor Bonnet to the abbey +wharf, with directions to take off the young gentleman and lady without +saying a word. + +This was the amount of young Brin's foreign intelligence,--for such to +him it was; and as soon as it was given he proceeded to describe and +eulogize his mother's farm, which he had not quitted more than two or +three times in his life, and which he seemed to think both the richest +and most beautiful spot of earth. Rich indeed it was; but to explain its +sort of riches I must have recourse to that old author whom I have +already quoted. I must premise, however, that the spot on which Edward +Langdale now found himself was just at the edge of what are called the +dried marshes, where they join on to the _marais mouillans_, which, at +the time I write of, were much more extensive than at present. The farm, +then, of La Caponnière comprised a portion of both; and, as the _marais +desséchés_ have been already described from the account of an +eye-witness, I may be permitted a word or two from the same source in +regard to the _marais mouillans_. "All these marshes," says my author, +"are not equally inundated; and, in consequence, all parts are not +equally sterile. The highest parts [of the _marais mouillans_] are under +water from the middle of October to the middle of June, and sometimes +later. The lower parts never dry; and, to make something of them, they +have been cut by innumerable canals, all communicating, and only +separated from each other by earth-banks of from twelve to fifteen feet +in width, piled up from the excavated earth of the canals. These +earth-banks are of prodigious fertility, many of them planted with +willows, ashes, poplars, and sometimes oaks; so that one is often +astonished to see so vigorous a forest springing out of the middle of +the waters." + +The traveller then goes on to tell the uses these forests are put +to,--how the fagots are sent to Rochelle and the Isle de Rhé, and how +the trunks of the trees, cut into firewood and called _cosses de +marais_, are highly valued throughout the whole of the neighboring +country, and burn better than any other trees. But, as the reader will +probably never dabble in the cultivation of the marshes of Brétagne, he +shall be spared the details. My author, however, goes on to state that +the farms vary in extent from two hundred and forty to twelve hundred +acres, and that each is divided by little canals into squares of about +thirty acres, each canal being large enough to carry a small boat. + +Now fancy, dear reader, what an interminable network of +water-communication these canals, each hidden from the other by trees +and shrubs, must form; how impossible for any but one born and bred in +the country to find one's way along there; how easy for any one +acquainted with their involutions to baffle the most skilful pursuer, to +lie hid from the eyes of the most clear-sighted enemy. The Minotaur did +not feel himself more safe in the depths of the Cretan labyrinth than +Edward Langdale after their morning's row; and Edward was more safe than +the Minotaur. + +"Here," he thought, "we may stay till all pursuit is ended and all +suspicions forgotten, till dear Lucette has recovered strength,--and, +perhaps, till I can communicate with Mauzé or Rochelle." + +All very well as a matter of probability; but where any thing is joined +together by mere tacks--as is indeed the case with the fate of every +one,--and not alone with his fate for years or months, but for a single +hour--it is much better to remember, before we make any calculation at +all, what tacks may fall out or get broken and the whole piece of +machinery tumble to atoms. + +Edward Langdale could shoot a duck; and, though the birding-piece which +the young farmer trusted to his hands was a single barrelled gun of +rather primitive construction, and the shot merely bits of lead cut +small, not a bird got away from him,--more to the admiration than the +liking of his companion, who had fancied that he could display some +skill in the eyes of one whom he believed to be city bred. + +However, the boat was plentifully loaded before they returned; and the +young farmer guided it back by a different course from the _marais +mouillans_ to the firm land near the house, pointing out to Edward, with +an air of pride and satisfaction, six or seven woolly beasts upon a +tongue of the _terrier_, and telling him they were sheep. + +At their return to the house they found the whole household up, with the +exception of Lucette; but the result of their sport was very much +commended, and one of the hearty breakfasts of the country was prepared. +The living, indeed, seemed profuse, and, what though the cooking was for +the land somewhat coarse, yet it was French, and therefore better than +it would have been anywhere else in the same circumstances. There were +ducks, and good bacon, and eggs, and fine fowls, and a ragout, and +plenty of galette. Alas! there was no coffee, no chocolate,--nay, no +tea; but there was excellent white wine of Logé, and there was as good +red wine of Fay Moreau; for the age of hot stops had not yet arrived, +and Noah's discovery blessed the land within ten leagues of them. + +Lucette joined them before they sat down; and, for some reason, she +blushed more at her boy's dress when there were women round her than she +had done before; but her cheek soon became pale, and Edward thought, +with some alarm, she did not look well. She assured him, however, that +she merely suffered from fatigue. + +The meal was not concluded when several of the peasantry from the +neighboring country came to La Caponnière in their boats, bearing with +them tidings of the fire of the preceding night, and of various other +serious accidents which had occurred during the great storm. Numberless +trees had been struck and two men killed by the lightning; but the facts +of most interest--at least to Edward and Lucette--were those connected +with the destruction of the abbey. One of the visitors had come that +morning from Moreilles, and of course was the oracle of the occasion. +Two-thirds of the great tower had fallen, he said, crushing the +dormitory and the southern cloisters. The whole church was seriously +injured, the Lady chapel being the only part preserved; and, although +the monks themselves with one exception had escaped unhurt, it was +generally rumored, the good man said, that some five or six +persons--either guests, or people who came to assist--had been crushed +under the part of the tower which first fell. Who they were the peasant +could not tell; but the mention of the sad fact set both Lucette and +Edward upon the track of imagination. It was then for the first time +that Edward perceived that Pierrot la Grange had not been at the +breakfast-table. On inquiring for him, Master Ned was answered by good +Madame Brin's son that his servant had gone with the man who had rowed +them the night before, to inquire about the fire,--a very imprudent act +as it seemed to Edward; and yet he had a good deal of confidence in +Pierrot's tact,--which was not ill placed. About twelve, his long figure +appeared in the kitchen; and now the whole details were given. They were +interesting to the good Cabanier family, for the principal new fact was +that Monsieur George Brin, their relative, was safe and well, and had +set out for the lines under Mauzé. The other soldiers, he said, had +perished, with the exception of one, who still lived, terribly mangled. +He was so drunk when he left the parlor, Pierrot said, that he could not +get to the assigned sleeping-place, but fell upon the stairs, where he +still lay when the tower was struck. Thus, though sadly beaten by +detached stones, he had escaped crushing by the great mass of masonry. + +Lucette felt very sorry for the poor soldiers; for hers was a very +kindly and tender heart. Edward gave them a passing "Poor fellows!" and +at his heart wished he had not made them so drunk. But still, as a man's +mind is always a more business sort of article than a woman's, he argued +from the premises that all chances of further pursuit and detention were +at an end; and thus, though the troopers were to be pitied, their +removal from this scene of care was no misfortune to him. + +Now, all this shows, or may be supposed to show, that Master Ned was not +of a very sensitive or sentimental disposition. In truth, dear reader, +it only shows that he had mingled a good deal more with the world than +most lads of his age, and that time and storms had hardened the outer +shell. There was much that was soft within,--not about the head, but at +the heart. That very night proved it; for Lucette, after having been +somewhat languid all day, was suddenly seized about seven o'clock with a +violent fit of shivering, and Edward had to behold the marsh-fever in +all its horrors. Good old Madame Brin took upon herself to be physician: +indeed, there was no other within thirty miles, except the barber at +Fontenay le Comte; and he could not be got at. The eldest daughter was +to be head nurse; but Lucette had another and a good one. She had nursed +Edward through a severe illness, and he was resolved to nurse her in +return. Happily, they were good, simple people there, and had no false +notions of proprieties and decorums, so that Edward had his own way; and +it was very sweet to poor Lucette to take her tisanes of _écorce de +chêne_ and thyme-flowers from his hand, and to gaze into his eyes as he +bent over her and drink in a better medicine from his looks than any up +to that time discovered,--or since, to say the truth. + +Then, again, the household was a cheerful household. Though they lived +in the midst of swamps and ponds and canals, like a family of frogs, +there was nothing cold or chilly about them. Madame Brin had had the +fever twice herself, she said: all her children had had it. She would +soon get the dear little girl well; and a shake or two they thought +nothing of in their country. Her poor dead husband had had hundreds of +them, and died, drowned, at sixty and upward. The eldest girl and the +young one, too, were also all kind cheerfulness; and Edward, who was +certainly the most melancholy and apprehensive of the party, took care +to hide that such was the case whenever he was in Lucette's room. When +he was unwillingly away, his thoughts were very heavy; for, though it +must be confessed they rested principally on his fair young companion, +yet they would often turn to other subjects of care. Leave her amongst +perfect strangers he could not,--he would not; but when he considered +that he had lost valuable letters, much money, much time still more +valuable, and asked himself whether he should still find Lord Montagu at +the place of rendezvous, where he should find him, what secrets might +not have been revealed to the enemy by his losses, how much he himself +might be compromised and his passage through France endangered by the +discoveries which probably had been made, there appeared a very +tolerable bundle of cares for one young pair of shoulders to carry. + +Nevertheless, good nursing, and that skill which is given by experience, +did their usual services to poor Lucette. The fits of fever were +retarded, lessened, ceased; and at the end of a fortnight she could sit +at the door in the sunshine and look out. Often would she now gaze up at +Edward; and at length she summoned courage to ask, in English, "Is it +not time we should go forward?" + +It did require a great effort of courage to put that question, for, what +between weakness and some other sensations, Lucette had got into a frame +of mind which would have made it even pleasant for her to remain there +in the Marais all her life,--if Edward Langdale had remained with her. + +There is always a good effect produced by looking difficulties and +unpleasant things of all sorts in the face. We either discover some mode +of getting rid of them, or else we learn to endure them. Very soon +Edward and Lucette talked composedly over their future plans; and both +agreed, with a sigh, that to proceed upon their journey as soon as she +had recovered sufficient strength was unavoidable. They might both, +perchance, have dreamed, and their dreams might have been somewhat wild; +but with calm thought the sense of serious reality returned, and they +felt that they must soon proceed together to part very soon. + +"And when shall we meet again, Edward?" said Lucette, in a low voice. + +Edward laid his hand upon hers, saying, sadly, "God only knows, Lucette. +But I know and am sure we shall meet again. Till then, let us never part +in heart. We cannot forget each other after all that has passed; and, +oh, let the memory be as dear to you as it is to me, so that, when we do +meet, it may be with the same feelings we now experience." + +Lucette bent down her eyes, and there was a tear in them; but that tear +seemed to Edward Langdale a promise. + +This was the only word of love that passed between them; but there were +other matters pressing for consideration. Neither of them knew the +country round. Pierrot was as ignorant as themselves; and it was +necessary to take Madame Brin not only into consultation but in some +degree into their confidence. She was naturally a woman of strong sense; +but she was wonderfully ignorant of the world beyond the Marais. + +"This is a mad scheme," she said,--taking for granted all that she had +heard from her cousin George, and never imagining that a corporal in the +king's army could have been deceived. "You are both very young to run +away and be married. Why, this boy can hardly be nineteen, and you, my +child, cannot be more than fifteen; but, now you have been away so long +together, it is the best thing for you. We can send for the minister +to-morrow, and he can be here on Friday. But if you be Papists you will +find the matter more difficult; for----" + +Edward cut her short by informing her of the fact that they were both +Huguenots, and at the same time attempting to undeceive her as to the +purposes with which they left Rochelle. He told her briefly the +principal events of the last month, and besought her to aid them in +reaching at least Niort, where the number of Protestants still remaining +insured them the means of ascertaining where the principal Huguenot +leaders were to be found. + +All this sudden intelligence threw the good lady into a deep fit of +thought. "So you do not want to be married?" she said, in some +bewilderment. + +"Not immediately," answered Edward, with a smile he could not repress. +"But I tell you, my dear lady, I do wish to be married to Lucette as +soon as ever she wishes to be married to me." Lucette looked at him +almost reproachfully; but he went on to say, "Her relations have of +course to be consulted first; and, as I undertook to escort her safely +to them, I must do so before I can even pretend to her hand." + +"Well, then," said the mistress of La Caponnière, after several minutes' +thought, "there is no way for you but to go boldly to Nantes. They will +never suspect you there. 'Those who are nearest to the cardinal are +safer from him than those who are far off,' they say. His arms are so +long that they do not easily reach what is close by. You can then easily +go round to Niort, and thence where you like; but go to Nantes first; go +to Nantes first. It is the safest place." + +This suggestion required long and much consideration; but at length it +was adopted, though the minor arrangements afterward devised removed a +great many of the objections which at first presented themselves. Edward +was to be transformed into a young farmer of the Marais, and Lucette to +appear as his sister, while Pierrot assumed the garb of one of the +peasants. It took two days to procure the long-waisted, square-cut coat, +and wide breeches for Master Ned, and a similar but coarser dress for +Pierrot; for tailors were not plenty in the Marais, and clothing-shops +were none,--so that the wardrobes of neighbors were to be ransacked. +Lucette was more easily supplied with the manifold petticoats and the +white cap to cover her immense luxuriance of hair. Changes of apparel, +provisions of many kinds, and good wine, were stored in a boat; and, +after about three weeks' residence in that wild and strange but not +uninteresting district, with two stout boatmen for their guides, Lucette +and her companions took their departure from La Caponnière, and entered +upon a tract perhaps even more desolate and intricate than that which +they quitted. By Tallemont, by La Motte Achard, and by Logé, they +proceeded on the _country-road_, as it was called, toward Nantes, and at +the end of the third day they began to approach a city the glory of +which certainly has departed, but the interest of which--a melancholy +interest--remains. + +Before I close the chapter, however,--a chapter devoted to quiet if not +dull subjects,--I may as well say a few words--a very few--upon the +actual state of France, and the changes which had taken place within the +last five weeks, which were not without their significance. + +Every day had seen La Rochelle more and more closely hemmed in by the +royal forces. Slowly, quietly, but steadily, troops had poured into the +Sevres and the Aunis, and the ports in the neighborhood of the +threatened city had become crowded with small armed vessels. Invested by +land, the citizens of Rochelle might have felt alarm if their fine port +had been also subjected to blockade; but their own powerful fleets, and +the certain aid of England, made them contemn the small though numerous +ships of the enemy, and they never comprehended, till too late, that the +gigantic mind of their enemy was then planning a vast undertaking +destined to deprive them of all the advantages of their position. Their +egregious confidence was perhaps further increased by a knowledge that +the court of France, and, indeed, the whole country, was fermenting with +plots against the man whom they had most to dread; and it is not at all +impossible that they were more or less aware that the most formidable +conspiracy which had ever threatened the power of Richelieu was upon the +very eve of explosion. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +It was late in the afternoon of a bright, warm day, when three strangers +to the city of Nantes took their way across the magnificent Cour St. +Pierre,--one of the most beautiful public places in Europe,--somewhat +hurrying their pace when they saw the number of gay groups with which +that part of the town was crowded. + +"This way,--this way, sir," said the seemingly tall, lean peasant, who +carried a good-sized bundle on his arm. "I know the house exactly; and +the sooner we are out of this the better." + +"On my soul, a pretty little wench!" exclaimed one of a group of +gay-looking gallants who were lounging about at the upper end of the +square. "Let us take her from that young boor. My pretty maid, will you +honor some poor gentlemen with your company to take a cool glass of +wine?" + +"Stand out of the way, sir, and let my sister pass," said Edward +Langdale, in French, speaking as coolly as he could, for he knew the +danger of a brawl in that place and at that moment. + +"Ha!" said the other, with a cool stare: "though you speak mighty good +French for a peasant of the Marais, yet I think we shall have to teach +you some better manners, boy. Do you presume to push against a +gentleman? This must give you a lesson." And he raised the cane he +carried, as if to apply it to Edward's shoulders. + +The lad's hand was instantly on the dagger concealed under the flaps of +his broad-cut brown coat. But he had no occasion to use it; for, at the +very moment when blood was on the point of being shed, a man of +gentlemanly appearance, dressed altogether in black and without any +arms, stepped in between Edward and his antagonist, saying, in a deep +tone, "Hold!" + +The uplifted cane had nearly descended upon his head; but the moment the +young coxcomb beheld the face of the intruder his countenance changed, +the color came into his face, and he turned the descending blow away, +though he could not stop it entirely. + +"I have seen all that has passed, Monsieur des Louches," said the +stranger in black: "be so good as to retire into the chateau. His +Majesty, as you know, is determined to stop all insolent brawls. It will +be my duty to report your conduct to these two young people as soon as I +return; and you shall hear the result." + +The young gentleman said something about his only having said a word or +two to some peasants of the Marais; but the other cut him short, +observing that the treatment of the peasantry by the _petite noblesse_ +was at that very time attracting the royal attention. + +"Petite noblesse, sir! Petite noblesse!" cried Monsieur des Louches, +with a face as red as fire: "do you call me of the petite noblesse?" + +"Certainly," replied the other; "but, as you do not retire as I have +told you, it will be better that you should go in a different manner. +Guard!" And he raised his hand toward the bridge of the chateau, where +two or three of the king's soldiers were standing. + +Two of the guard instantly ran up; but, before they arrived, Monsieur +des Louches was moving sullenly toward the gate, and the stranger in +black, without taking any further notice of him, turned to those who had +gathered round, saying, "Have the goodness to disperse, gentlemen. I +will take care of these young people." + +The gay gallants of the French court might possibly have indulged in +some merriment at the expense of the elderly gentleman who had taken a +young girl out of their companion's hands; but there were at that moment +some sinister rumors hovering about the city of Nantes, which a good +deal depressed the courtly circle, although the courtiers endeavored +still to keep up an air of sprightly carelessness, and sometimes, +probably, overacted their part in public. On the present occasion, +however, they dispersed quietly, one giving the good-day to the stranger +by the name of Monsieur Tronson. As soon as the rest had passed away, +the face of the stranger cleared, and, looking at Edward and Lucette +with a good-humored smile, he asked, "And now, young people, where is it +you want to go to?" + +"To the Auberge du Soleil," answered Edward, using as few words as +possible, for he remembered, perhaps a little too late, that his +language and his dress did not correspond, and that, though his garb was +that of the Marais, his tongue was not at all imbued with the jargon of +its inhabitants. + +Monsieur Tronson took no notice, however, and said he would show them +how to find it; but, in walking slowly and soberly along, he began to +chat about many things, asked if ever they had been in Nantes before, +and not only proposed to show them some of the objects most worthy of +attention in the place, but actually, as he admitted, led them a little +out of their way to point out the crosses of Lorraine which had been +scattered over one of the faces of the chateau when it was in the hands +of the League. The cathedral, too, with its stunted towers and gigantic +nave, he must needs show them; and he asked so many questions, waiting +for replies, that both Edward and Lucette were forced to speak much more +good French than was at all desirable. + +At length a slight twinkle in their good companion's eye, and a little +curl of the upper lip, led Master Ned to the complete certainty that +they were discovered; and, taking a moment when M. Tronson, who seemed +to be determined to know the whole party, was speaking with Pierrot, +Edward suddenly bent down his head and whispered a few words in English +to Lucette. "We are discovered, I fear," he said. "If any questions are +asked, remember the words of the safe-conduct I showed you: tell how we +were stopped in trying to quit Rochelle, and say that when the abbey was +burned we escaped in a boat as best we could and came on here." + +Lucette was about to remind him that she could no longer pass for the +page named in the safe-conduct; but Monsieur Tronson finished his brief +conversation with Pierrot and turned to the young people again, saying, +with his placid air, "Now we will turn this way, and you will soon be at +your resting-place. So I suppose you two are the children of some good +rich proprietors of the Marais, and have got leave to come and see the +world now the court is at Nantes?" + +"No, sir, we are not," answered Edward, with perfect calmness; for he +had now determined upon his course. + +"Then, in Heaven's name, what are you, young people?" asked their +companion. "Yours are not peasants' manners, nor peasants' tongues; but +let me tell you that it is somewhat dangerous to be masquerading here +just now." + +"Very likely, sir," replied Edward; "but we shall not masquerade +long,--if we are doing so at all. As to who we are, I shall have to +explain that to a very high personage shortly, and to ask him if he will +suffer his name and handwriting to be set at naught. I shall not show +him so little respect as to talk to any one else about the affair before +I talk to him, as I must see him, if possible, before I quit Nantes." + +"You are discreet," said M. Tronson, leading the way through a street +which ran down to the Loire at the back of the chateau. "There, where +you see that tall pole and bush, is the Soleil; but, if you would take +my advice, you would choose another auberge. That is not fit for your +station; and, besides," he added, with a shrewd smile, "you will find +nobody there who speaks any thing but the _patois des Marais_; and I +suspect that would puzzle you." + +Edward persisted, however, and the next moment their companion stopped +at the door of a heavy stone house of small size, the back of which must +have nearly touched the ditch of the old castle. "Here I stop," he said: +"you see the inn. Good-evening." + +They gladly bade him adieu, and hurried on down the street, Pierrot +thanking Heaven that they had got so well out of his clutches. "He is a +spy, I am sure," said Pierrot; "but, if we order the coach we were +talking of, to be at the door by daybreak, we can get through the gates +and be off before he has time to get his orders." + +"His orders from whom?" demanded Edward, in some surprise. + +"From the cardinal, to-be-sure," replied the other. "Do you not know +that----" But by this time the three had reached the door of the Auberge +du Soleil, and Edward had paused, not at all satisfied with the look of +the place. There was an air, not exactly of discomfort, but of loose, +disorderly carelessness about it which pained him to think of in +connection with Lucette. She herself entered the passage without a word, +but she looked sad and, as it were, bewildered; and the sallow walls, +the dirty tiles of the floor, and various noises of singing and riot +from neighboring rooms, did not serve to reassure her. Edward was at her +side in a moment, and, laying his hand gently upon her arm, he said, +"Lucette, this will not do. We must seek some other place." + +The appearance of the landlord, who now presented himself, was not at +all calculated to change this resolution; and, as he was somewhat +inclined to be uncivil when he found that his guests were likely to go +elsewhere, Edward left him to the management of Pierrot, and turned +toward the door. There, however, he found, looking in, a servant in the +livery of the court, with two men in military garb; and the former +immediately saluted him civilly, saying, "I am ordered by my master to +request your presence with the young lady and your servant." + +"And who may be your master?" asked Edward, not at all liking the look +of the guard. + +"Monsieur Tronson, sir, secretary of the king's cabinet," replied the +man. + +"It is enough, sir," replied Edward: "we will accompany you if you will +lead the way." + +The servant bowed, and preceded them, and the two guards followed; but +now Lucette and Edward found the great advantage of speaking two +languages. Few were the minutes which they had to spare; but those few +minutes were filled with words upon which, though their companions +comprehended them not, depended their safety, and perhaps the life of +one of them. + +"We shall assuredly be asked, dear Lucette," said Edward, "how you came +first to travel with me as a page, and since then have resumed your +woman's apparel. May I, dear girl, say, in case of need, that we sought +to be married in a foreign land because our friends at home thought us +too young? Your liberty and my life may be perilled by any other +course." + +"Yes, say so; say so," replied Lucette. "Good Clement Tournon told me +twice that if the Catholics caught me they certainly would shut me up in +a convent till I adopted their faith." + +"But what name shall I give you?" asked the youth, just as they reached +the door of the house into which M. Tronson had turned. + +"Call me Lucette de Mirepoix," answered the young girl: "it is one of my +names, so that I have a right to take it." + +"This way, sir," said the valet: "Monsieur Tronson is in the castle." +And, passing the door, he led the way through a narrow building which +from the street seemed like an ordinary dwelling-house, but which in +reality was merely a sort of outwork of the chateau, with which it was +connected by a bridge over the fosse. + +Edward saw the two guards following; but he merely said, with a cold +air, "Are you taking us to prison, sir?" + +"No, monsieur; I am taking you to Monsieur de Tronson," replied the +valet. "Please to step into this room." By this time they had passed the +bridge and had taken some half-dozen steps along a dark passage through +the thicker part of the outer walls; and, as the man spoke, he opened +the door of a small room with one of those deep windows which almost +formed another chamber within the first. The room was quite vacant, and, +as soon as the travellers had entered, the servant left them with the +door partly open, showing them the soldiers without as if upon guard. +Poor Lucette trembled a good deal, but she lost not her presence of +mind; and another hasty consultation took place between herself, Edward, +and Pierrot, in the course of which their plans were finally +settled,--as far as any plans can be settled when the events against +which they are provided are still uncertain. They remained undisturbed +for some five minutes, and then the servant reappeared with some +glasses, a bottle of apparently very old wine, and a page carrying some +cakes and comfits on a salver. These were hardly placed on the table +and some seats drawn round, when Monsieur de Tronson himself appeared +with a smiling countenance, and desired his young friends to sit down, +as if they were honored guests. "Retire, and wait without," he added, +turning to the valet and page: "we can serve ourselves. Take that good +man with you, and see that he be well attended to. Now, Monsieur Apsley, +have the kindness to taste this wine after I have helped the young lady, +and tell me whether you could find any as good at the poor little +cabaret where you were inclined to bestow yourself. My auberge is the +best of the two, believe me." + +"While we are treated with so much courtesy, sir," replied Edward, +filling his glass. "But may I ask what has led you to believe that my +name is Apsley?" + +Monsieur de Tronson, who was pressing some of the confectionary upon +Lucette, did not answer for a moment, but then, turning round, said, +with his usual placid smile, "What was that? Oh, how I knew you? Why, my +good sir, we have been expecting you for some time. His Eminence has +letters for you, and very nearly a thousand crowns in gold, which a good +man, called Jacques Beaupré, brought in about ten days ago. How I know +you? Why, my young friend, do you suppose any thing is unknown at this +court?" + +He paused and looked straight in Edward's face. But the young man had +passed through scenes which had given him a resolute firmness of +character not easily discomposed; and he answered at once, without a +change of countenance, "True, you may have known that Sir Peter Apsley +was about to visit Nantes,--though that could be but a guess, for I did +not intend to come this way till I was compelled; but it must have been +a still shrewder guess to lead you to suppose a young man dressed as a +peasant of the Marais to be an English gentleman." + +"Guesses are good things," said Tronson: "in fact, almost every thing +that man knows, or thinks he knows, is a mere guess. But, when we have +good hooks to hang them on, we can shape them almost into certainties. +You have heard of birds who when they hide their heads fancy their whole +bodies hidden. Now, my young friend, when next you want to hide yourself +in a peasant's dress, take the air as well as the garb; have something +of the patois, and do not speak English to a fair companion when there +are sharp ears near. Our good friends of the Marais speak little +English, and when they walk they carry their shoulders round, and their +heads somewhat slouching,--so." And he imitated the air of one of the +peasants so well that even Lucette could hardly refrain a smile. + +"Besides," continued their companion, "you hinted that you wished to see +the cardinal before you quitted Nantes. Now, putting a good number of +other facts to those I have just mentioned, it was easy to divine that +you were the personage Jacques Beaupré was in search of." + +"True," replied Edward; "and probably I should have taken more care if I +had wished to be concealed much longer. But, as you say, sir, I must, if +possible, have the honor of seeing his Eminence the prime minister. When +do you think I can be so favored?" + +"It will be somewhat difficult just now," said the other, with a much +graver countenance than he had hitherto borne. "The cardinal is full of +very serious and painful business. Certainly you cannot see him +to-night." + +"Then," said Edward, in a firm and confident tone, "we had better retire +and seek some good inn, and I can send and crave an audience to-morrow." + +"Nay, you will have to wait close at hand and snatch your audience when +you can get it," replied Monsieur de Tronson,--adding, laughingly, "my +auberge is the best for your purpose, depend upon it. But tell me, +Monsieur Apsley, why did you disguise yourself at all, when, I have been +told, you have a proper safe-conduct?" + +"You mean, sir, why we put on Breton dresses?" replied Edward. "That was +done for the best reason in the world:--because we had none other fit to +wear. My whole baggage was lost, and one of my servants stopped, when it +pleased some good officers near Mauzé to turn me from my straight road +and send me toward Nantes. I trust Master Jacques has brought our +clothing with him. If not, we must purchase more." + +"I cannot tell," replied Monsieur de Tronson, gravely: "all he did bring +is in the hands of his Eminence." + +A consciousness that what the man had brought might prove his +destruction, perhaps, induced Edward to imagine that M. Tronson laid a +particular emphasis on the words "in the hands of his Eminence;" but +still he lost not his coolness, and he replied, "Well, then, we had +better proceed to our inn,--if you will recommend us to one; for that we +saw but now will certainly not suit us. It is growing dusk, and I shall +scarcely have time to-night to purchase clothing fit to appear in before +the cardinal." + +As he spoke, he rose; but the secretary of the king's cabinet repeated +what he had before said:--"This is the best auberge for your purpose; +and I will send for one of those tailors who always follow courts to +relieve you from your unseemly attire. The young lady, too, had better +have other clothing. That, too, shall be attended to." + +Edward now saw that nothing but a direct question would bring forth the +truth as to whether he was to consider himself a prisoner or not; and he +put it much in the same words as he had used to the officer near Mauzé. + +"You have been very discreet with your answers, my young friend," said +Monsieur Tronson, still smiling: "let me advise you to be as discreet +with your questions. But I can excuse a little anxiety, and therefore +tell you that you must look upon yourself as a prisoner or not, just as +you please. You will not be treated as such further than being lodged in +this chateau, with a slight hint that you had better not try to leave it +till you have seen his Eminence. If you will give me your word as an +English gentleman not to make the attempt, you shall have all the +liberty possible, and you shall be only like one of your good English +lords kept in-doors by a fit of gout. You shall have as good a table at +least as any auberge here could furnish, and you will save money by +living at the king's expense. But if you do not make me that promise I +am afraid there must be such things as keys sent for, and a turning of +locks which might be disagreeable to the ear." + +"I understand, sir," replied Edward, "and, of course, make the promise; +but I certainly did not expect that when I came here furnished with a +pass from his Eminence, it would imply so little." + +"Let me see the pass," said the secretary, somewhat abruptly: "have you +it with you?" + +"Yes, it is here," answered Edward, drawing it forth. "As it is my only +security in the present unfortunate state of affairs between the two +countries, I have taken care not to lose that." + +Tronson took it from his hand and carried it to the window to see +better, saying, after he had gazed at it for a minute or two, "Yes, it +is in due form. That is the signature of his Eminence, beyond all doubt. +Here are mentioned Sir Peter Apsley, a page, and two serving-men. Am I +to presume that mademoiselle is or was the page? Why, here are no end of +transformations, it would seem." + +People talk of blushing like a rose,--a very bad figure indeed. Roses do +not blush. Their gentle color knows no sudden change. The soft emotion +of the heart which sends the tell-tale blood into the cheek they never +feel, but, as an image of eternal health, keep the same hue unchanged. +No: Lucette blushed like the morning sky when, conscious of the coming +of the sun, the whole face of heaven grows rosy and more rosy. + +"May I ask you, sir," continued the secretary, "if you are married to +this young lady? is she your wife? is she your sister?" + +"Neither, sir," replied Edward,--"neither as yet. She may be some day my +wife: till then she is to me as a sister. But, Monsieur Tronson, if I am +to submit to interrogatories at all, I should prefer that they be put by +his Eminence the cardinal himself." + +"One more, and I have done," said the secretary. "How happens it that +you two have been so long on the road? Could you find no means of coming +to Nantes sooner?" + +"If you know the time we have spent on the road, sir," replied Edward, +"you should know likewise that Mademoiselle de Mirepoix's illness +detained us." + +"Mademoiselle de Mirepoix!" said De Tronson, with an air of surprise: +"this is altogether a somewhat strange affair. But, as you say, it will +be better all reserved for the cardinal himself. But as Mademoiselle +Mirepoix is neither your wife nor your sister, Sir Peter, it will be +necessary to place her under a lady's care while here." + +"But," said Edward, fearing a longer and stricter separation from +Lucette than he had calculated upon; but Monsieur de Tronson cut him +short, gravely. "No buts, my young friend. It must be now as I say," he +replied. "Wait here, mademoiselle: I will send some women to you in a +few minutes. You, sir, follow me, and I will show you your apartment." + +Resistance, of course, was not to be thought of; but Edward could not +part from Lucette coldly, and, before going, he took her in his arms and +kissed her warmly, whispering in English the first real words of love +which had yet been spoken between them. "Love me, Lucette," he said; +"love me, whatever befalls." + +The tears rose in her beautiful eyes; but it was a moment when she felt +there could be no coyness. "I do; I will," she murmured. + +"Ho! ho!" said the secretary, with a smile: "is it so far gone?" And he +led the youth from the room. + +Passage after passage seemed to Edward to be placing a terrible distance +between him and her he loved, and cold and dreary appeared, and indeed +was, his walk through the palace of the king. At length, however, +Monsieur de Tronson opened a door at the foot of some steps, and there, +in a short sort of long vestibule, appeared the first human beings they +had seen since they quitted the room of the secretary. The first person +they beheld was the valet whom Edward had before seen; but at the other +end of the corridor, near a heavy iron-plated door, was a guard with a +halberd on his shoulder. + +"The room is quite ready, sir," said the valet, addressing Monsieur de +Tronson, and at the same time opening a door on the right. "I lighted +the fire, as the chamber has not been occupied since Monsieur de Laval +left." + +"That was well," replied Tronson; "and you will remember to attend +diligently upon this gentleman and see he has all he wants. You can put +his own servant a bed in the dressing-closet, and let a tailor be sent +for as soon as may be. And now, Monsieur Apsley, I will leave you for +to-night. You can, when you desire exercise, take your walk in this +passage and the neighboring rooms on that side; but a gentleman so well +educated will, I know, remember that this is a palace, and not carry his +peregrinations too far. On that side your walks will be impeded by the +sentinel. Can I send you a book or any thing to amuse you?" + +"If you have got a copy of Homer or Horace," said Edward. + +Monsieur de Tronson shook his head with a laugh. "I fear you are too +learned for us," he answered; "but I will see, and send you something, +at all events. The room looks cheerful enough, does it not? and in the +daytime there is a fine view over the Loire. The moon is late to-night. +You had better bring more candles, Guillaume." And, with these words, he +left the young Englishman, who, though the room was indeed a cheerful +one and bright with lights and a warm fire, could not but feel that he +was a prisoner. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +The first sensation in Edward's heart was certainly that of the loss of +liberty. The next was of the loss of Lucette. But then came many +unpleasant recollections; and not amongst the least unpleasant was the +remembrance that he might very likely have incurred the loss of life. To +take a false name, to enter a country with which his own was at war, +with a false passport, to come, from a town actually in rebellion +against her king, into that king's camp, and to be the bearer of letters +to his enemies,--all gave him very much the character of a spy. Edward +did not like his position at all; he did not like the steps which had +led to it; he did not altogether like his own conduct. Yet what could he +have done, when ordered by those he was bound to obey? He would do it +again, he thought, if the same circumstances were to come over again; +and yet to be hanged in a foreign country as a spy was a matter for +which not all the orders of all the princes or potentates in the world +could offer any consolation. + +He had walked some fifty times up and down the room, the simmering of +his heart and brain acting upon him like the boiler of a locomotive +steam-engine, when an ecclesiastic entered with some books, and spoke a +few words of bad Latin to him, to which Edward replied in so much better +Latinity that the good man speedily beat a retreat. + +Then came the tailor; and a tailor is always a relief, except when he +makes garments too tight, or makes them too loose in one place for the +purpose of making them too close in another. But this tailor was really +a great man in his way; and he did succeed in amusing Edward's mind in a +slight degree by the importance he attached to his calling and to every +one of its accessories. He also estimated very highly his own station in +that calling. He told Edward that although he had not the honor of +clothing his Majesty,--because all the world knew he was very careless +in his dress,--yet he made for all the handsomest young noblemen of the +court. He himself, he assured his listener,--and he dropped his voice +while he spoke,--had _composed_ the dress in which the poor Count de +Chalais had been arrayed on the very day of his arrest. + +"Indeed!" said Edward. "Is he arrested? What are they going to do with +him?" + +"They will cut off his head, to a certainty," said the tailor. "Though +he was the king's greatest favorite, his Eminence was his greatest +enemy; and the enemies of the cardinal never escape." + +This was such cold comfort to Edward Langdale that he brought the +subject back to the matter of his own clothing. "I shall want one suit +as soon to-morrow as possible," he said; "for I trust I shall have an +early audience of his Eminence; and of course I cannot present myself +before him in this garb." + +"Of course, of course, seigneur," said the tailor, with a look of +horror: "that would be as good as a confession. Of what may your +lordship have been guilty to assume such a dress?--high treason?" + +"I hope not," said the young man: "at least, if I have committed +_lèse-majesté_, it must have been in my sleep. But what about the +clothes, my good friend? Can I have them?" + +"Assuredly, seigneur; assuredly," answered the man. "I have a beautiful +_haut-de-chausses_, and a _pourpoint_, which will fit you exactly: they +are in the best taste,--philimot velvet, opened with blue, and silver +points. They were made for poor Monsieur de Courmerin; but he never had +the opportunity of wearing them, for he put off doing so for one single +day, and that night he was arrested and his head cut off before the end +of the week. They will suit you perfectly. But the cloak I must make +myself. I will keep the workmen up all night, sooner than disappoint +you, however. You had better trust the whole arrangement to me,--the +boots, the collar, the hat; and then all will correspond." + +Edward readily agreed to the proposal; and, merely stipulating for a +certain price, as his funds were running short, he dismissed the tailor, +whose conversation had a certain ominous croak about it, which was all +the more painful from the frivolities with which it was mixed. + +Not ten minutes more passed ere supper was brought in,--good fare and +excellent wine; and perhaps of the latter the poor youth did take more +than he usually did, from a feeling that something was needful to raise +his spirits. He felt more compassion that night for the faults of +Pierrot la Grange than he had ever known before; but he did not follow +his good servant's example, drinking not enough even to have the effect +desired. + +After supper he felt more melancholy than before; and that sensation +increased as all noises died away in the castle and in the neighborhood, +and the dull gloomy ripple of the Loire was the only sound that broke +the stillness. The air of the room seemed oppressive to him. He looked +at the door, and wondered if the last time the valet had gone out he had +locked it; and he walked toward it and opened it. All in the corridor +was as he had seen it before,--the guard at the door on the right, with +his halberd on his shoulder, and two lamps burning pendant from the +ceiling. The air seemed less oppressive there; and Edward determined to +go forth and take his walk without, as he had been permitted. He turned +to one side, and then to the other, without any notice being taken by +the soldier, till once, approaching within some five paces of the +iron-plated door, the man drew himself up, and, in a stern tone, told +him to keep off. Edward retrod his steps, and passed up and down several +times, till at length the door at the other end of the passage opened, +and a tall, fine-looking man, in a large cloak, with hat and feathers, +and a small silver candlestick in his hand, appeared, and walked +straight toward him. The stranger's eyes were bent upon the ground, and +at first he did not seem to see the youth; but, when he did, he stopped +suddenly, and gazed at him from head to foot. + +Edward walked quietly on, and passed the other without taking much +notice, though he thought his stare somewhat rude. At the end of the +corridor he turned again, just in time to see the stranger opening the +iron-plated door with a key, while the guard stood in a statue-like +attitude before him, with presented arms. When the door was opened, the +light of the candle served just to show the top of a flight of stone +steps, and all the rest was darkness. The door shut to with a bang the +next moment, and the youth pursued his walk, feeling it would be +impossible for him to sleep for some hours to come. Wellnigh an hour +went by, and the young Englishman was returning to his room, to try at +least to sleep, when that heavy door opened, banged to, was locked, and +the stranger, whom he had before seen, again passed him. This time, +however, his head was borne high, and there was a strange look of +triumph on his face; but he was evidently in haste, and, though he fixed +his eyes upon Edward with a gaze that seemed to pierce through him, he +paused not an instant, but passed on. + +Why he could not tell, but all this excited the youth's imagination. +There was something strange in it, he thought. Who could that man be to +whom the guard paid such respect? It could not be the king, for Louis +was not so tall, and had no such commanding carriage. It might be some +high officer of the royal prison; and that door, with the dark stone +steps beyond, might lead to the ancient dungeons, where many a +prisoner, in ancient and in modern times, had awaited, _au secret_, as +it was called, judgment or death. + +"Such may soon be my fate," thought Edward; and, with that pleasant +reflection, he re-entered his chamber, and, casting off his clothes, lay +down to rest. It was long before sleep came; and then troublous dreams +took from it the character of repose. He felt himself, in fancy, in the +hands of the hangman: the gibbet was over his head, and on a scroll +fixed to his breast was written, in large letters, "A spy!" + +Then, again, his dead body was lying in a chapel, and close by, at an +illuminated altar, appeared Lucette, with a bright train of fair girls, +just about to give her hand to a cavalier much older than herself, whose +face bore a strange resemblance to that of the man who had twice passed +him in the corridor, and with a start he awoke, crying, "She is mine!" + +It was already day; and but a few minutes went by ere Pierrot presented +himself. "I have seen Jacques Beaupré, Master Ned," he said, "and I +trust all is safe. That fellow is shrewd; and he vows that he has not +said a word. He escaped the troopers at Mauzé, found his way to the +castle, and gave up the bags to Monsieur le Prince de Soubise. The +prince opened them without any ceremony, took out a letter to himself, +read it, and then sent him on with one of the bags, telling him to find +you out at all risks. He was stopped immediately he reached Nantes; but +he vows, even to my face, that he only knows you as Sir Peter Apsley; +though I heard good old syndic Tournon call you by your right name to +him himself. He says that the prince put several letters into the bag +with the money and the clothes; and there is the only danger." + +"How did you contrive to see him?" asked Edward, abruptly; for he feared +every moment to be interrupted. + +"Why, sir, there are various sorts of detention," said Pierrot: "there +is imprisonment _au plus grand secret_; there is imprisonment _au +secret_; there is simple arrest and imprisonment; there is +_surveillance_; but there is nothing more. Now, as you, Master Ned, are +simply under _surveillance_, they have left me, as your servant, to roam +about as I please; and I made the best use of my time. Jacques Beaupré, +I found----" + +But, as he spoke, Monsieur de Tronson's valet entered, to tell Edward +that breakfast would be served to him in a moment, and began to set the +room in order. Edward tried to get rid of him, perhaps too apparently; +but he did not succeed. In vain the young gentleman hinted that the +tailor had not brought the clothes he had promised. The man replied, +coolly, that he would seek him as soon as the breakfast was served; and, +before there could be any further question upon the subject, two lackeys +and a page appeared. Before the breakfast was carried away, the tailor +was in the room; and before Edward was fairly dressed in his new +apparel, Monsieur de Tronson himself appeared, and sent every one from +the room,--Pierrot amongst the rest. + +"I come to tell you," said the secretary, "that his Eminence will +receive you at ten o'clock;" and then, after a short pause, during which +he seemed to think deeply, he added, "If you will allow me, sir, as a +friend, to advise you, you will deal in every thing frankly and +sincerely with the cardinal. Men are often much mistaken as to his +character. Deceit and trickery upon the part of his enemies have of +course made him suspicious; but candor is soon perceived by him, and +always appreciated." + +"I really do not know to what you particularly refer," replied Edward; +"but I shall certainly answer any questions his Eminence chooses to +propound to me truly." + +"That is well," said the other, somewhat dryly. "But will you answer me +one question? Is not Mademoiselle de Mirepoix a near relation of the +Duchess de Chevreuse? Reply frankly, I beg of you." + +"I do not know," answered Edward, at once. "I only know that she is +connected with the Prince de Soubise, and----" + +"The same, the same," said his companion, interrupting him. "That is +rather unfortunate; for neither Madame de Chevreuse nor the prince are +in good odor at this court." + +"The cardinal, I am sure," answered Edward, "is too generous to make a +young girl who has never offended him suffer for the faults of others +who have." + +Monsieur de Tronson made no reply, but soon after left the young +Englishman, merely saying, in a warning tone, "Remember: be frank." + +Edward then proceeded to finish his toilet; and it cannot be denied that +he felt more lightsome and at his ease in his new apparel. Still, he +could not help revolving the coming interview; and, with that most +foolish though common practice of us poor mortals in difficult +circumstances, considering the answers he might make to questions which +might never be asked. He would have given much for five minutes more of +private conversation with Pierrot; but that worthy appeared no more, and +for the simple reason that he was not permitted to leave the room to +which he had been taken to breakfast. An hour thus passed in anxious and +solitary thought, and then a man, in a black robe something like that of +the verger of a cathedral, opened the door and summoned him to the +presence of the cardinal prime minister. Edward answered nothing, but +merely bowed his head and followed. He was conscious that he had felt +some weakness; but, now that the all-important moment had arrived, he +nerved himself to bear all firmly, and the very effort gave a dignity to +his whole person which well accorded with the handsome and graceful +dress he had assumed. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +We must leave Edward Langdale for some half-hour, and carry the gentle +reader with us to another part of the old Chateau of Nantes. No one can +venture to say that we have not adhered to him through good and evil +with the tenacity of true friendship; but we must now either turn to a +different personage and another scene, or embarrass our after-narrative +with that most ugly beast, an explanation, which so frequently in +romance and poem follows the most brilliant heroes and most beautiful +heroines like an ill-favored cur. + +In a fine long room with windows looking upon the Loire, about half-past +ten o'clock in the morning, was a gentleman between forty and fifty +years of age,--nearer the former than the latter period. The chamber was +well tapestried, and furnished with chairs scattered about in different +directions, and a large table a good deal to the right of the occupant +of the room. A smaller table was close at his hand, covered with papers +and materials for writing, which he was using slowly and deliberately, +sometimes carrying his hand to his head as if in thought, and then again +resuming the pen and writing a line or two. In person he was somewhat +above the middle height, with straight, finely-cut features and hair +very slightly mingled with gray. The face in itself was somewhat stern, +and the small pointed beard and mustache gave somewhat of a melancholy +look; but on that morning the expression was cheerful,--nay, even +good-humored; and the hand that held the pen was as soft and delicate as +that of a woman. His dress was principally scarlet, as that of a high +ecclesiastic of the Romish Church; but above all he wore a light +dressing-gown of dark purple trimmed with sable. Such was Richelieu as +he appeared in 1627; and those who have been accustomed to associate his +name with nothing but deeds of blood and tyranny might well feel +surprised could they see the bland expression of that noble countenance, +that smooth white hand, and, still more, could they look over his +shoulder and perceive that what he was writing was no grave despatch, no +terrible order, no elaborate state paper, but--some verses,--grave, +indeed, but neither sad nor stern. + +The door opened, and the cardinal laid down his pen. Monsieur de Tronson +paused, as if for permission to advance, and Richelieu beckoned him +forward, saying, "Come in, Mr. Secretary; come in. I am enjoying a space +of leisure after so many busy and anxious days. Till one, I have little +to do and less to think of." + +"Your Eminence will allow me to remind you," said Tronson, advancing and +standing by his side, "that this morning you appointed the hour of ten +to see that young English gentleman." + +"True," said the cardinal. "I have not forgotten." And he pointed with +his hand to the larger table, on which lay one of Master Ned's +unfortunate leathern bags; adding, "What do you make of the case? Think +you he is the person he represents himself, or, as our hard-headed +friends before Rochelle will have it, a spy from England?" + +"The passport is evidently signed by your Eminence," answered Tronson; +"and the young man himself has the manners of a gentleman of +distinction. He is highly educated, too,--a profound Greek and Latin +scholar: so says Father Morlais, whom I sent to have some conversation +with him. He is somewhat bluff and abrupt in his manners, it is true, as +most of these islanders are; but still his whole demeanor strikes me as +dignified, and even graceful. He can be no common spy, your Eminence: +that is clear; and if Buckingham has chosen him for an agent he has +chosen strangely well." + +"As to his learning," replied Richelieu, "that signifies little. Many a +poor scholar is willing to risk his neck in the hope of promotion. We +have employed such ourselves, my good friend. Then, as to dignity of +manner, it is easily assumed. But his abruptness and _brusquerie_ offer +a different indication. It requires long habit to know when to be rude +and harsh, when soft and gentle. How old did you say?" + +"From eighteen to nineteen at the utmost," said Tronson: "he appears +even less." + +"Well, but this girl who is with him?" asked the cardinal: "what of +her?" + +"That seems easily explained, monseigneur," replied the secretary, with +a smile: "she is, it would seem, of high family,--related to Monsieur de +Soubise on the one side," (the cardinal's brow became ominously dark,) +"and to Madame de Chevreuse on the other." + +For an instant Richelieu's brow became darker still; and, with +uncontrollable vehemence, he exclaimed, "Ah! she has escaped me, as she +thinks; but she will find that I forget not my enemies,--nor my friends, +Tronson,--nor my friends," he added, with one of those subtle smiles +which had at least as much of the serpent in them as the dove. + +Tronson turned a little pale, for that peculiar smile was known at the +court by this time, and it was not supposed to be favorable to those on +whom it was bestowed. But the secretary was too wise to notice it; and +he merely asked, "Who has escaped, your Eminence?--this young lady? She +was safe in the castle not an hour ago." + +"No, no, man; no," answered Richelieu. "I mean Madame de Luynes,--Madame +de Chevreuse, Tronson. Have you not heard? She quitted Nantes at +daybreak this morning for Le Verger. Strange!" he continued, speaking to +himself: "'twas only last night; and yet she must have heard enough to +frighten her. Can the king betray himself and me? She must have learned +something. What is the girl's name, Monsieur de Tronson?" + +"Lucette du Mirepoix, she says," replied the secretary. + +"Lucette de Mirepoix du Valais," said the cardinal, slowly and +thoughtfully: "the same,--the same, Tronson. Do you not remember there +was much contention, some six years ago, between Madame de Luynes and +this scheming rebel Soubise, about the guardianship of this very girl? +There the duchess was right, for she would have brought her into the +bosom of the Church; but Soubise was too quick for her, and sent the +child away,--perhaps to England, to make sure she should be brought up +in heresy. But my fair duchess shall find me worse to deal with than +Soubise. But you said just now," he continued, in a calmer tone, "that +all could be easily explained. What did you mean, my friend?" + +"Merely that her travelling with this youth is a problem easily solved," +answered the secretary. "Last night, when they parted, there were some +warm kisses passed,--not at all fraternal, your Eminence; and, putting +those gentle signs in connection with some words and rosy blushes, I +conclude that they are bent on matrimony. Probably they have found +difficulties at home, and, as is not unfrequent with these English, they +have gone off together." + +"Is the young man of noble birth, think you?" asked the cardinal, +thoughtfully. + +"Not of high rank, even amongst the English," answered Tronson: "his +very name shows it." + +Richelieu smiled, but this time it was a bland and pleasant smile. "We +will punish her," he said, speaking to himself,--"punish both!" + +"But, your Eminence, if the safe-conduct be yours, as I think, and the +young man be really what he pretends, you will hardly----" + +"Hand me that leathern bag and the knife," said the minister, +interrupting him, and seemingly paying not the slightest attention to +the secretary's words. "And now," he continued, when De Tronson had +obeyed, "let the youth be brought to me; and have the girl taken to the +adjoining room, ready to be brought in when I require her: see that no +one converses with her, my excellent good friend." + +The secretary bowed his head and withdrew, repeating to himself, "'My +excellent friend!'--I have someway offended him. His words are too +kind!" But then, after a moment's thought, he murmured, in almost the +same words which Richelieu had used a minute or two before, "Can the +king have betrayed me? If so, he has betrayed himself too; for God knows +I advised him solely for his benefit." + +Louis XIII. had now been on the throne of France about sixteen years, +and Richelieu had not been actually of the king's council more than +three; but both had been long enough before the world's eyes for men to +have learned that a king could betray his best friends from fear or +weakness, and that a minister could be most gentle in manners when he +was the most savage at heart. Richelieu was fond of cats, and perhaps +learned some lessons from his favorites. However, in the present +instance Tronson guessed rightly: the king had betrayed him to his +powerful minister. The night before, nearly at midnight, the cardinal +had carried to the king the confession of the unhappy Count de Chalais, +drawn from him in his dungeon by the minister himself,--perhaps--nay, +probably--by the most unworthy artifices. In recompense for an act which +put an end to one of the monarch's painful fits of hesitation, Louis +revealed to Richelieu the names of those who, in the confidence of loyal +friendship, had opposed some of the minister's favorite schemes; and +Tronson was one. Thus, he had guessed right. Whether Richelieu had +guessed right likewise no one can tell. That Louis had communicated the +confession of Chalais to some of his inferior confidants, who had +warned Madame de Chevreuse to fly, is very probable; but most +improbable that he had warned her himself. She was the friend, +companion, counsellor of his unhappy queen, and was hated by himself as +well as by his minister. The king's hatred, however, was merely the +reflex of his hatred for another. The enmity of Richelieu was more +personal and of long standing. When Marie de Rohan had married the +Constable Duke of Luynes, the now potent cardinal had been but a petty +agent of the queen-mother; and he had been treated by the proud woman +with some contempt. Again, in appearance the king, the constable, and +all the ministers had solicited for Richelieu the cardinal's hat from +Rome, but he had discovered that Luynes secretly opposed what he +publicly asked; and he attributed this treachery to the suggestions of +the duchess. + +When, after the death of her first husband, Marie de Rohan married the +princely Duc de Chevreuse, and Richelieu rose rapidly to the height of +power, the enmity between them was no longer concealed, except by the +courtly varnish of external politeness,--and, indeed, not always by +that. + +Thus, when sitting there in his apartments in the Chateau of Nantes, +there was perhaps no one in France whom Richelieu desired to mortify and +humiliate personally more than Marie de Rohan, Duchess of +Chevreuse:--no, not even her distant relatives the Prince de Soubise and +his brother the Duc de Rohan, though both had opposed the royal forces +in the field, and the reduction of both to submission was essential to +his policy. For them he had some respect, and no individual enmity; but +toward her there was a rancor which prompted to any act that would sting +rather than destroy. At that time even Richelieu had cause to follow the +course which had been pursued by Luynes, and to avoid carrying +resentments too far. He was not yet so firmly seated in power that, if +he made great enemies, he might not be thrown aside by a fickle king. +Otherwise it might seem strange that he dared not follow the same bold +course against Madame de Chevreuse which he soon pursued against the +unfortunate Chalais, and later against Montmorency and Cinq Mars. But, +as I have said, his fingers were not so tightly fixed round the staff of +command that he could venture to assail in front the mighty houses of +Montbazon and Lorraine, while Vendôme and Condé were already his +enemies. It was perhaps meditation upon subjects such as these that +occupied the minister's deepest thoughts while he opened with a sharp +penknife the leathern bag which De Tronson had brought him, took out +several letters, cut the silk, and read the contents; for he did all +with an absent air. But Richelieu's mind was one of those which can +carry on two processes at once,--one deep, intense, and mighty, the +consideration of vital questions, the other the mere observation and +recognition of objects--for the time, at least--less important. He +seemed to pay little attention to those letters; yet not one word +escaped him, and when he had done he replaced them in the bag and cast +it behind his chair, but within reach of his hand. He then took up, from +the little table close by, the paper on which he had previously been +writing, and was reading over the verses, when the door opened, and an +exempt of the court appeared, looking at the minister with a sort of +inquiring air. Richelieu bowed his head, and the man, stepping back, but +holding open the door, introduced Edward Langdale and retired into the +ante-chamber. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +Edward Langdale entered the presence of the cardinal firm and upright; +and, to say the truth, now tricked out with all the taste and ornament +which the skill of a French tailor of the reign of Louis XIII., and the +short time allowed for the operation, permitted, he was as +handsome-looking a youth as you could easily see in this world of ugly +hearts and indifferent faces. His air was perfectly calm and well +assured, but not presumptuous; and the easy grace with which he carried +his hat with its long plume in one hand, and the velvet case with the +passport in the other, was not unnoticed by the cardinal, who was +accustomed to observe slight indications and to draw his inferences from +them,--not exactly taking for granted that they meant what they seemed +to mean; for there was many a man in France and at the court who +affected well more gayety than the lark when his heart was full of +anxiety and sorrow, many a one who assumed a grave solemnity who within +was as light a bubble as ever floated down the stream of time. But often +he drew inferences the most opposite from the outside indications, and +saw evidence of the pinchbeck in the fresh glitter of the gilding. + +Richelieu did not make any motion to rise, but, pointing to a seat near +him, he bent his head calmly, and said, "Be seated, sir. I am glad to +see you in Nantes. How long is it since you arrived?" + +"Yesterday evening, my lord," replied Edward, "I reached the city, +having been delayed by several causes during many days. Indeed, it is +probable I should not have visited this city at all had not some of the +royal officers refused to recognise my safe-conduct." + +"Perhaps they did not recognise your person," said the cardinal, softly, +continuing to gaze at the young Englishman with a keen and scrutinizing +look. "But I think, Monsieur Apsley, I must have seen your face +somewhere before." + +"That cannot be, may it please your Eminence," replied Edward, frankly. +"I never had the honor of beholding you till now." + +"You speak French with great purity," said the minister. "Did you never +reside in this country?" + +"I visited it some time ago, but did not remain more than a few months," +the youth replied; "but I studied the language long in my own country, +and spoke it continually with those who spoke it well." + +"Well, indeed!" said Richelieu; "but they tell me you are learned in +many ways, and doubtless you have given attention to our +poets,--superior, in refinement at least, to any that the world can +boast. Let me have a sample of your taste. What think you of these lines +just sent to me by a young poet? The hand is inexperienced, but I think +the head is good. You can read the language, of course." And he handed +the lines to Edward, who, confounded by what was passing, took the paper +and gazed at it for a moment in silence. Then, feeling that such +silence might be dangerous, he proceeded to read the verses aloud, with +good emphasis and a graceful delivery:-- + + "Who on the height of power would stand must be + Hard as the rock to those who dare his arm; + To the indifferent, cool; and tenderly + Treat the young faults of those who mean no harm. + + "The sunshine warms the serpent in the brake: + Then crush his head while lasts his sleeping hour, + Nor wait till, fresh envenom'd, he awake. + There still are snakes enow where there is power." + +Whether he discovered by the similarity of the writing with the +signature of the safe-conduct that the verses were the cardinal's own, +or that he thought he saw some allusion to the minister's situation +which discovered the author, I know not; but there were particular +passages which he dwelt upon in reading; and the minister smiled +approvingly, saying, "Well! exceedingly well, Monsieur Apsley. The poet +loses nothing on your lips. Think you the verses good?" + +"Very good, your Eminence," replied Edward. "Were the arrangement of the +lines somewhat different, they would make an excellent speech in a +tragedy." + +"Ha! say you so?" said the minister, apparently well pleased: "I will +give the author that hint. He has some small merit, and may perhaps +hereafter aim at higher flights." + +"He has chosen a high subject now, sir," replied Edward, "But, by your +pardon, I did not come here to read poetry, however good, but to request +your Eminence to recognise my safe-conduct and to let me go forward on +my way." + +Richelieu's brow became a little shaded. "So fast!" he said, as if +speaking to himself, and then demanded, "Where do you wish to go?" + +"First to Niort," answered Edward, boldly, "where I was going when I was +stopped, and then, by Paris, into Switzerland." + +The cardinal paused and gazed at him for a moment in silence, and then +replied, "There are previously several matters to be inquired into. I +trust we are here in France too courteous to stay any gentleman +travelling through our country for purposes of mere pleasure or +instruction, though there may be matters of enmity, and even war, +between the two nations. I trust we are too honest to give a +safe-conduct and then to deny its efficacy. But spies we hang, young +gentleman." + +The words sounded chilling upon Edward Langdale's ear; but he knew that +a moment's silence might be destruction, and he replied, at once, "I am +no spy, your Eminence; and, whatever I may have done that is indiscreet, +I came not to examine or report, and never will, any thing I see in this +country. It is as safe with me as with yourself, lord cardinal." + +"Then you acknowledge you have done indiscreet things?" said Richelieu. + +"Probably," answered the young man: "who has not? But, still, I am no +spy." + +"Of the character of a spy there may be many definitions," answered the +minister; "and modern codes do not exactly limit themselves to the +Hebrew interpretation of the term, to wit, that he is a person who goes +out to see the nakedness of the land. But, that apart, we must know the +meaning of what the letters in this bag contain." And, stretching back +his hand, he took the wallet and drew out a letter, while Edward +observed, as calmly as he could, "I am not responsible, your Eminence, +for what those letters contain. I know not the contents of any one of +them, but merely took them as requested to persons in France with whom +the writers had no other means of communication." + +He spoke the truth; for he had not seen and did not know the contents of +any one of the letters he had borne across the channel, except that to +the good syndic Clement Tournon, which announced the speedy arrival of +Lord Denbigh's fleet. + +Richelieu paid no apparent attention to what he said, but read from the +letter he held in his hand: "'To the most mighty Prince the Duc de +Rohan. These will be given to you by one in whom you can put all +confidence. Yield him all credence in what he shall tell you on the part +of a true friend.' 'To his Highness the Prince de Soubise. Monsieur: Let +me commend to you most highly the bearer, a young English gentleman of +good house, true, faithful, and worthy of all credit. He ought to be the +possessor of great estate; but I assure your Highness that his merit is +above his fortunes, and that the dearest trust you have you may confide +to his keeping.' Signed with a large B. All the rest, sir, are of the +same tenor,--without due signature, and in vague terms. What is the +meaning of this?" + +"Probably the writers foresaw," replied Edward, who had determined on +his course, "that the letters might fall into the hands of your +Eminence, and, knowing themselves not your friends, might not wish to +make you my enemy." + +"Bold, upon my life!" exclaimed Richelieu, in a tone of surprise. + +"But true!" said Edward. "I much wish to see the Duc de Rohan or the +Prince de Soubise, upon matters totally unconnected with those letters; +and when your Eminence gives me permission to proceed I shall seek them +instantly." + +"When I give permission," said Richelieu, somewhat scornfully; "but +well,--'tis very well. Sir, these letters are very suspicious, and would +well justify the detention of the bearer. But I must ask some more +questions. What seek you with Messieurs de Soubise and Rohan, two +noblemen in arms against their sovereign?" + +"My lord cardinal, my business with them is private. Those letters are +suspicious or not, as they may be viewed: they are not criminal; and +though, as you shall determine, they may perhaps justify my detention, +yet I assure you once again I knew not their contents until this moment. +You must be the judge of your own conduct. I know my own purposes, and +can safely say my only object in seeking to see those two princes is one +with which your Eminence has no concern." + +"I _am_ the judge of my own conduct, young gentleman," answered the +minister, in a not ungentle voice. "But see you here. Sir Peter Apsley +has been represented to me as a good, lubberly youth, whom his relations +and guardians are fain to send to foreign lands to see if he can gather +some grains of sense and learning amongst more quick-witted people. Now, +here we have a young man well read, ready and quick, of a fine taste, +and speaking many tongues. This is suspicious too,--unless indeed you +have visited some shrine and the saint has worked a miracle." + +"My lord cardinal, it would befit me ill to bandy words with you," +replied Edward: "I should but fare the worse. Your qualities are not +unknown in England; and, having said all I can rightly say, I would not +willingly try to match my wit against yours." + +"I know few who could do it better for your age," said the cardinal, +perhaps remembering still with pleasure the youth's praise of his not +super-excellent verses. "But now to another theme. Who is the girl that +is travelling with you, first as a page, then in the habit of a +peasant-girl? Your paramour, I trust, she is not." + +The cheek of Edward Langdale glowed like fire. "You wrong us both, even +by the thought, lord cardinal," he said, although Richelieu had spoken +the last words with a somewhat threatening brow. "You have heard me avow +that I have been perhaps guilty of some indiscretion; and I wish to +Heaven she had never come with me; but I could not dream of wronging an +innocent girl who has trusted entirely to me, and should think my love +for her but a poor and false excuse were I to do so even in thought. As +to her being with me, your Eminence may surmise many motives; but, +believe me, all were honest." + +"I am willing to suppose it," answered the cardinal, mildly. "You wish +to marry: is it not so?" + +Edward bowed his head. + +"And you fear there may be difficulties raised by her family?" continued +Richelieu, in a tone of inquiry. + +"Many," replied the youth. + +"Perhaps there is a difference in rank," suggested the cardinal. + +"It may be so," answered Edward; "but yet I am a gentleman, and all my +friends have been so, as far as we can trace the house." + +"Well, we shall hear what she says herself," answered the minister, +ringing a small silver bell. + +The exempt immediately appeared at the door, and the cardinal bade him +call Mademoiselle de Mirepoix from the neighboring room. + +It is to be feared that Lucette was not a heroine. Her step was +tottering, and her face pale, when, after a pause of one or two minutes, +she entered the cardinal's presence. But the dress she now wore, rich +and in very good taste, not only displayed the young beauties of her +face and form, but made her look several years older than she really +was. Edward, conscious of what she must feel, bent his eyes to the +ground for an instant as she entered, but the next moment, with a sudden +impulse, advanced, and, taking her hand, led her toward the minister. + +Richelieu was evidently struck with her appearance: it was something +very different from what he had expected to see, and the disappointment +was a pleasant one. With dignified politeness he rose to meet her, and +led her himself to a seat, saying, "I am glad to see you, mademoiselle. +I trust you rested well last night?" + +Lucette raised her eyes with a look of surprise at the unexpected +kindness of his tone, and a warm blush passed over her cheek, while she +replied, "I did not sleep at all, my lord: I was too much frightened." + +"Nay, be not frightened here, my child," replied Richelieu, in a +fatherly tone. "I must ask you a few questions, to which you must give +me sincere answers; but it will soon be over. To the bold and daring, +men in my position must be stern and harsh; but the timid and submissive +will only meet kindness and protection. First, then, tell me, what is +your name?" + +"Lucette de Mirepoix," answered the beautiful young girl, in a low +voice. + +"De Mirepoix du Valais?" inquired the minister. + +"The same," said Lucette, looking up again with some surprise. + +"Now let me hear if you have ever been in England," said Richelieu, +fixing his dark eyes upon her. + +"Yes," answered Lucette, at once. "I have been in England for several +years." + +"Do you know why you were sent there?" asked the cardinal. "Surely this +is a richer and more beautiful land than that cold, foggy island." + +"Oh, no!" cried Lucette, eagerly. "It is true, I know nothing of the +land of France except about Rochelle; but nothing can be more beautiful +than England." + +"And you would gladly marry an Englishman?" said Richelieu, with a +smile. Lucette blushed deeply, but answered nothing, and the cardinal +went on:--"You have not yet told me why you were sent to England." + +"I do not personally know," answered Lucette; "but I have heard that a +lady--I think, called Madame de Luynes--claimed me as my nearest +relation, and that my other friends did not choose to give me up to her, +which the law might have forced them to do if she could have found me in +France." + +Richelieu smiled. "That is a mistake," he said. "We would have found +means to frustrate such an attempt. Do you know if she still persists in +her purpose?" + +"Oh, yes," answered Lucette, quickly: "at least, so I have been told. +They said that she had power enough in England, through the Duke of +Buckingham, to have me given up to her, even there. That was one reason +why I returned to France." + +"And not to wed this young gentleman?" said the cardinal. + +Lucette blushed again, and was silent. + +"But you love him, and are willing to wed him?" continued Richelieu, +seeming to take a pleasure in the rosy embarrassment his questions +produced. + +Poor Lucette! It was indeed a painful moment for her; but she felt that +her own fate, and that of Edward also, depended upon her words, and, +with her eyes bent down, and her face all in a glow, she answered, in a +low but firm tone, "Yes." Then, springing up as if she could bear the +torturing interrogation no longer, she darted across, cast herself upon +Edward's bosom, and wept. + +"Answer enough, methinks," said Richelieu, speaking to himself. "And +now, daughter," he continued, gravely, "only two more questions, and I +have done. But your answers must be frank and open. Did your good +friends in La Rochelle know and consent to your travelling alone with +this young gentleman disguised as a page?" + +"Oh, yes!" sobbed the poor girl: "they themselves proposed it. They knew +they could trust to his honor, and so could I. But we were not alone; we +had servants with us; and--and--" + +"Enough," said Richelieu. "Monsieur de Soubise, you are a confident +man." + +These words might have shown Lucette that she and the cardinal had been +playing in some sort at cross-purposes; but they were spoken in a low +tone, and in her agitation she did not hear or take notice of them. + +"Now for the last question," said Richelieu: "but you must first resume +your seat;" and, taking her hand, he led her back to her chair. "Tell +me,--and tell me true, my child: have you ever heard that young +gentleman standing opposite to you called by any other name than Sir +Peter Apsley?" + +It was a terrible blow to poor Lucette. She had been educated in truth +and honor; a lie was abhorrent to all her previous feelings and +thoughts; and yet, if she told the truth, she knew or believed that she +was condemning one whom she now felt she loved more than any one on +earth, to an ignominious death. She turned deadly pale, and raised her +eyes to Edward's face, as if seeking counsel or help. + +Edward gave the help without a moment's hesitation. Stepping quickly +forward so as to stand immediately before the prelate's chair, he said, +"Ask her not that question, my lord cardinal. Neither make those sweet +honest lips utter a word of falsehood, nor force them to betray a secret +she thinks herself bound to keep. I will answer for her. She _has_ heard +me called by another name; but I could not have come into this country +without obtaining the passport of Sir Peter Apsley,--a young man of my +own age and height,--who had given up the intention of visiting France. +My name is Edward Langdale, son of Sir Richard Langdale, of Buckley, of +as good and old a family as his whose name I took." + +Richelieu gazed at him coldly, without the least mark of surprise. "You +have tried to deceive me," he said; "but you could not. It was a +dangerous experiment, sir. And, now, what have you to say why the fate +you have sought should not fall upon your head?" + +"Not much, your Eminence," replied Edward; "and all I have to say is +written here." And, as he spoke, he stretched forth his hand and took +the verses he had before read from the small table at the cardinal's +right hand, and repeated the first stanza:-- + + "'Who on the height of power would stand must be + Hard as a rock to those who dare his arm; + To the indifferent, cool; and tenderly + Treat the young faults of those who mean no harm.' + +"That is all I can plead in favor of forgiveness." + +"And you have fairly won it," said Richelieu, gravely; "but it shall +come in such a shape as perhaps you do not expect." + +The words were ambiguous, and the cardinal's look was so cold that +Lucette's heart fell. She hesitated a moment, and then cast herself at +Richelieu's feet, murmuring, "Oh, spare him, my lord! spare him! He has +told you the whole truth now." + +"Whatever becomes of me," exclaimed Edward, "for God's sake, give not up +this dear girl to Madame de Chevreuse." + +He had touched the key-note; but it only served to confirm a half-formed +purpose in the great minister's mind. A smile spread over his face, +which was then eminently handsome, and, first turning to Lucette, he +said, "He has told me the whole truth, has he? Still, he will be all the +better of a safe-conduct in his own name. Shall I put in the page and +all, young gentleman?" Then, ringing the silver bell again, he ordered +the exempt, who had still waited without, to carry the passport of Sir +Peter Apsley to one of his secretaries and bid him make a copy, +substituting the name of Edward Langdale for Peter Apsley. "And hark," +he continued; "bend down your ear." + +The man obeyed. Richelieu whispered to him for a moment or two, and the +exempt retired, closing the door. + +Still, Edward Langdale did not feel altogether at ease as to the fate of +Lucette. The smile upon the cardinal's lip when he proposed to "put in +the page and all" evidently marked the words as a jest; and Richelieu +now sat silent for several minutes, gazing upon the ground, as if still +somewhat undecided. + +At length he looked up. "Monsieur de Langdale," he said, pointing to the +leathern case, "that belongs to you. It shall be sent to your room. In +it you will find nine hundred and eighty crowns of gold, all told. +Moreover, you can take the letters: I trust to your honor as a gentleman +not to use them against the king's service. Your safe-conduct will be +here in a few minutes; but, before I sign it, I will put the sincerity +of yourself and this young lady to one more test." + +He paused, and looked at them both gravely for a moment, adding, "You +have given me to understand that you wish to unite your fates. You have +travelled so long together unrestrained, that, whether your families +consent or not, it is desirable, for the lady's sake, that there should +be a sacred bond between you. I now ask you both, are you willing to +plight your faith to each other at the altar?--now,--this very hour?" + +Edward's heart beat high, it must be owned, with joy, although there +were many other emotions in his bosom; and perhaps at that moment he +regretted the loss of property which was rightfully his, more than he +had ever done before. + +Lucette bent down her eyes with a face suffused with blushes; but, when +the cardinal again demanded, "What say you, Mademoiselle de Mirepoix?" +she took his hand and kissed it for her sole reply. + +"With joy, my lord," answered Edward. "But will our marriage--both under +age--be valid without the consent of relations?" + +Richelieu smiled. "Their consent you must obtain hereafter," he said; +"but, in the mean time, I will make your union so firm that no power on +earth or in hell can break it. By the power which the Church has given +me, I will sweep away all obstacles. But remember, sir, for the time you +separate at the altar. You may indeed convey Mademoiselle de Mirepoix +to either the Prince de Soubise or the Duc de Rohan,--not as your bride, +but with the same respect you assure me you have hitherto shown her. You +must promise me, as a gentleman, to return here, and confer with me, as +soon as you have seen the young lady safe under the protection of one of +her two cousins. Tell him--whichever it is--that in the peculiar +circumstances of the case the cardinal prime minister has judged it +imperatively necessary that you should be married, and has himself seen +the ceremony performed; that for two years you leave your bride with +him, but at the end of that time you will claim her and take her, and +that all my power shall be exerted to give her to you. He will find me +more difficult to frustrate than Madame de Chevreuse." + +"The gentlemen your Eminence was pleased to summon," said a servant at +the door; and the next moment a number of different persons entered the +room, amongst whom the only one known to Edward and Lucette was Monsieur +de Tronson. + +"Gentlemen, by your good leave, you are called as witnesses to a +marriage," said Richelieu. "You, Monsieur de Bleville, have the kindness +to take note in double of all the proceedings: there is paper. Go on to +the chapel: the almoner is there by this time: I will follow in an +instant. You will find two ladies there, I think. Tronson, stay with me +for a moment. Monsieur de la Force, you are of good years: give +Mademoiselle de Mirepoix your hand." + +The crowd passed out, carrying with them Edward and Lucette, both +feeling as if they were in a dream. Richelieu extended his hand gravely +to Monsieur de Tronson, saying, "You see, De Tronson, even I can +forgive." + +The secretary pressed his hand respectfully, saying, "Those you do +forgive, if they be generous and wise, will never offend again. But I +understand not this matter, your Eminence." + +"Not understand!" cried Richelieu, with a laugh. "Did I not say I would +punish them both?--not these two pretty children, for I do believe I +make them happy,--but the proud Duchesse de Chevreuse and the rebellious +Prince de Soubise. What will be in the heart of Marie de Rohan when she +hears that the heiress, on whose guardianship she had set her heart to +strengthen herself by her marriage into some powerful house, is already +married to a poor English gentleman? What will be in her heart, Tronson, +I say? Hell! hell! To Soubise--if he submits,--as submit he must--we can +make compensation. But there is much to be done, Tronson, and I must +leave it to you to do; for in an hour I must be on my way to Beauregard, +where I expect a visit from Monsieur this evening. First, these two +lovers must set out to-night for Niort. Let a coach well horsed be ready +for them. Then they must have some aged and prudent dame to bear them +company; and next, a good sure man must keep his eye on the lad till he +returns here, which will be in a day or two." + +"Then does your Eminence still suspect him?" asked De Tronson. + +"Suspect him? No, man, no: I know him!" answered Richelieu. "This is +Edward Langdale, page to my Lord Montagu,--a brave, bold, honest, clever +lad, who shall do me good service yet, without knowing it. He is going +to join his lord somewhere on the frontier, or in Lorraine or in Savoy, +doubtless with tidings from Buckingham,--though there be no letters from +the gaudy duke amongst those he carries. I like the lad, and, were it +possible to gain him--but that cannot be. Now, let us to the chapel. You +see to the rest; I have but time to dispose of Madame de Chevreuse's +fair ward, and make all so sure that she must fret in vain."[1] + +[Footnote 1: Some historians have fancied that there were feelings of +tenderness on the part of Richelieu toward the beautiful Marie de Rohan; +but it is only necessary to look into any of the memoirs of those times, +and to remember the character of the man, to see that Madame de +Chevreuse was incessantly employed in thwarting his plans, undervaluing +his genius, and even ridiculing his person; and that nothing but the +most bitter enmity could be excited on his part by such conduct.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +The state of France at that time was curious, and worthy of a short +description. It shall be very short, reader, for I am aware how tiresome +such details are to three classes of people,--to those who know every +thing, to those who know nothing, and to those who want to "get on with +the story." But it will save us a world of trouble hereafter, and spare +us the use of that bad beast, Explanation, which is always trotting with +the wrong leg foremost. + +In England, the Wars of the Roses, the salutary severity of that great +king, Richard the Third, the avarice of his successor, the tyranny of +the eighth Henry and his two daughters, had swept away the exorbitant +power and privileges which the feudal system had conferred upon the high +nobility. But in France not even the wise rigor of some of her +kings--not even the sanguinary struggles of the League--had effected +nearly so much. Indeed, the termination of the wars of the League had +wellnigh undone what had previously been accomplished toward restricting +the inordinate independence of the nobles; for Henry IV., after having +conquered his enemies, was obliged to buy them, and to make concessions +which would have rendered the sceptre powerless in any hand less mighty +than his own. + +When the knife of Ravaillac placed Louis XIII. on the throne of France, +troubles of various kinds succeeded, which not only weakened the royal +authority but impoverished the kingdom; and at the moment when the +Cardinal de Richelieu laid his strong hand upon the reins of government, +the weak monarch, feeling his own incompetence, had fallen almost into a +state of despair from the troubles and dangers around him. But the words +of an author who wrote while despotism still existed theoretically in +France will give us a good picture of the ideas of the day, though we +may not coincide with him in his conclusions. + +"Louis," says the writer of whom I speak, "to excuse the timidity of his +council, did not fail to repeat the statements made to him every day +about the weakness of his kingdom, and to assert that by a firmer course +he would run the risk of bringing wars upon his hands which he could not +support. The prelate [Richelieu] overthrew all these objections, by +showing the young monarch the resources of France,--her immense +population, the bravery of her inhabitants, the fertility of her soil, +the abundance and variety of her productions, her beautiful forests, her +quarries, the riches of her mines,--above all, her wine and her salt, +gifts of Nature which other nations are obliged to come to her and ask +for; her rivers almost all navigable, so favorable to internal commerce; +her happy position between two seas, favorable to external; the strength +of her frontiers, defended by rivers and mountains, natural ramparts, or +by cities which a little art would render impregnable; in fine, the very +constitution of her government, which gave to a single man the power to +put all these resources in action by one word and in one instant. + +"Richelieu then proceeded to assert that the principal cause of the +depression of France amongst the nations was that she tolerated various +religions in her bosom, and doubtless he had determined to root out that +evil; but there was another which he clearly saw, but concealed from the +king, and against which he afterward waged a continual war, by art, by +arms, and by the axe: this was the independent power of the nobles, +which, in fact, gave all its strength to religious faction." + +In that day, every high noble had his city or his castle, which he did +not scruple, on slight pretexts, to garrison against his sovereign, and +very often resisted the royal troops with so much success as to force +the monarch to purchase his submission. Such was the case, but two or +three years before the time of which I write, with the Marquis de la +Force at Montauban; such the case with the Count de Coligni at Aïgues +Mortes. A marshal's baton, a large sum of money, the government of a +province, the revenues of an abbey, were the reward of acts which +Richelieu resolved should in future be rewarded by exile or the axe. + +A report of the surprise of one of these feudal fortresses at this very +period gives a vivid picture not only of the state of France in a time +of profound peace, but of the strength of the castle itself. "They [the +citizens of Château Renard]," says Monsieur de Fougeret, in his +_Relation_, "obtained possession with the armed hand on the 27th May, +1621, at four o'clock in the afternoon, of the fortress called the +Castellet, which commanded their town, and in which the lords of +Chatillon had kept a garrison for the last twenty-five years. The walls +were four toises and a half in thickness; and there were within many +chambers, casemates, prisons, dungeons, cellars, a well, ovens, +hand-mills, battering-pieces, falconets, powder, ammunition of every +kind, and a private subterranean passage to come and go under cover all +about the said fortress, all terraced within." + +Instead of attempting to remedy this state of things, Louis had +recognised and acted upon the system which he had found in existence, +and about this time, in the case of Richelieu himself, not only +permitted him to maintain a guard of musketeers, but gave him the town +of Brouage "as a place of surety." + +To strike at the root of such a system of legalized rebellion at once +was impossible; but the cardinal had resolved to make his master, or his +master's minister, King of France in reality as well as in name, to curb +and humiliate the high nobility, and in the end to make them servants +instead of rulers of the state. To effect this, the first step was to +strike them with terror, and, although the name of Richelieu had already +become redoubtable to many, to make it a word of omen to all. The first +acts of a terrible tragedy arranged for that purpose were actually +passing before the eyes of the court at the time when Edward Langdale +arrived in Nantes. The Duke of Vendôme, the governor of the province of +Brétagne, and his brother the Grand Prior of France, were both already +prisoners in the castle of Amboise,--a place full of the memories of +cruelty, treachery, and crime; and Marshal Ornano was in the prison of +Vincennes. Chalais--once a great favorite, and still Master of the Robes +to the King--was in the dungeons of Nantes, waiting trial and judgment +by an iniquitous and illegal tribunal. No victims could have been better +chosen for the gods whom Richelieu sought to propitiate: Vendôme and the +Grand Prior were natural sons of Henry IV. and half-brothers of the +actual monarch. The one humbled himself completely before the minister, +and issued out of prison stripped of all his offices and property, and +reduced to the revenue of a simple and even needy gentleman. The Grand +Prior conceded nothing, confessed nothing, and died in prison. Ornano +also died a captive, exclaiming, almost with his last breath, "Ah, +cardinal, what power thou hast!" But the Count de Chalais was the choice +victim, reserved for the most conspicuous sacrifice. Of the high house +of Talleyrand-Perigord, grandson of the great and terrible Montluc, held +up to envy by the favor of the king and the high dignities to which he +seemed treading a rapid course, the news that he was arrested, thrown +into a solitary dungeon, forbidden communication with any one, to be +tried by a high commission, spread that air of fear and gloom over the +court and city which Edward Langdale had remarked on entering Nantes. No +one knew how far the conspiracy extended; no one knew who was next to +fall. All were aware, however, that the number of noble gentlemen and +ladies under suspicion was immense, and that the king's own brother +himself trembled at the consequences of his rash acts and purposes. A +pause of hope came in the midst of all these disquietudes. The +commission had sat once, presided over by Marillac, the lord-keeper; and +it began to be whispered that the prisoner had defended himself so well, +had cast so much suspicion upon the documents produced against him, and +had shown so clearly that the graver parts of the accusation were +utterly improbable and probably false, that even the fickle king, whose +affection he had long lost, expressed convictions in his favor. But that +same day, in the darkness of the night, Richelieu's chamber was left +vacant; that same night a muffled cavalier passed Edward Langdale and +descended to the dungeons; that same night the jailer gave the stranger +admission to the cell of the unhappy Count de Chalais; and that same +night the king was roused to receive the cardinal, bearing him +important intelligence. + +Previous to that hour, Richelieu had been restless, imperious, anxious, +irritable: the first proceedings of the commissioners had brought him, +evidently, any thing but satisfaction; but a strange change came over +him in a few hours. When De Tronson visited him on the morning of the +day succeeding his mysterious interview with the prisoner Chalais, he +found him calm, placable, even sportive. The mind was evidently at ease: +he had slept, he said, like a child: some great object was +accomplished,--some mighty triumph gained,--some move on the wide +chess-board made which insured the game. There had been a moment of +apprehension, a moment of danger: if he failed against Chalais, the +fabric of his power, the cement of which was hardly dry, would tumble +about his ears. But Richelieu was not destined to fail. He had taken the +necessary course, however terrible, however unusual, however strange; +and now he could not only repose in peace, but he could be as playful as +his cat. + +The cardinal's equipage had been ordered for his beautiful house of +Beauregard, not far from the walls of Nantes, at one o'clock; and he set +out for that place at the exact hour. Shortly after he was gone, the +Duke of Anjou applied to see him at his usual apartments in the castle. +The air of the king's brother was somewhat troubled,--not greatly, for +he thought he had assured himself that the rumor of Chalais having made +some unexpected confession was false. The duke was, as all the world +knew, timid and feeble, and less personally brave than his brother; and +the very first reports of a confession made by Chalais, which he feared +might compromise himself, had induced him to see the king and ask his +permission to go for a few days to the sea-side to recover his health. +Louis, with his habitual hypocrisy, caressed his brother, whom he hated, +but told him he must apply to the cardinal for the permission he +required. The manner of the king was so gentle and so smooth that Gaston +of Anjou was quite deceived. He mounted his horse within the hour, and, +followed by a gay and brilliant company, rode out for Beauregard. +Richelieu had watched his coming from the window, and met him at the +top of the great stairs. He conducted the prince into his private +cabinet, and then begged him to be seated, himself standing in the +presence of his sovereign's brother. + +"Monsieur le Cardinal, I am anxious to go to the sea-side for a short +time," said Gaston, "and my brother has no objection; but he requires +first that I shall obtain your consent." + +"How does your royal Highness propose to travel?" asked the minister. + +"Oh, quite simply," replied the prince; "in fact, _incognito_." + +"Would it not be better for your Highness to wait," said Richelieu, "at +least, till your marriage with Mademoiselle de Montpensier has taken +place? Then you can travel as a prince." + +That marriage had been the central point of all the plots and intrigues +of the court for months. Richelieu, knowing the volatile and intriguing +spirit of the prince, as well as his wild ambition, had determined that +Gaston should wed a French gentlewoman, whatever wealth she might bring +him, rather than a princess who would insure to him the dangerous +support of foreign aid. Chalais and his party had opposed such a union; +Gaston had joined them; and round this simple opposition, Richelieu had +woven a web of mingled facts and falsehoods which was of a far stronger +texture than the young duke fancied at that moment. + +"If I wait till I am married to Mademoiselle de Montpensier," said the +Duc d'Anjou, "I shall not get to the sea-side this summer, at least." + +"Why so?" asked the cardinal. "Why cannot the marriage take place in a +few days?" + +"I do not feel well," said the prince, who did not venture to say he +would not conclude the marriage at all: "I am ill, and would rather +regain my health before I marry. The sea-air will do me good." + +The serpent-smile came upon Richelieu's lips again. "Oh, I have a +prescription," he said, "which will cure the malady of your Highness +very rapidly." + +"How soon?" asked the prince, in a hesitating tone, not liking that +smile, which he had seen before. + +"In ten minutes," answered Richelieu, "for it cannot take long to act." +And, opening his portfolio, he took forth a paper all written in a hand +which Gaston knew too well. There, before his eyes, all apparently in +the writing of the unhappy Chalais, was a confession of a treasonable +conspiracy against the king and the state, in which he himself, Gaston +of Anjou, and the young Queen Anne of Austria, were implicated by name. +How much was really written by Chalais, how much had been added by the +cardinal's skilful secretaries, has never been known; but Gaston was +conscious that he was lost if he did not make his peace. After a moment +of stupefied astonishment, he agreed to the proposed marriage,--agreed +that it should take place immediately; but then, remembering his high +position as brother of the reigning monarch and heir-presumptive to the +throne, he began to make conditions,--demanded some security for the +life, at least, of his friend and partisan Chalais. + +But the terrible words which had long been hanging on the cardinal's +lips were spoken at last, when the prince proposed some stipulations. +"Perhaps," he said, "in the position in which your Highness now stands, +it would be better to content yourself with the promise of your own life +and liberty." + +The young duke stood like one stupefied. The audacious idea that he--he, +Gaston of Anjou--might possibly be brought to trial, condemned, +executed, or sentenced to perpetual imprisonment, was spoken with calm +civility, with courtly reverence for his high rank, but in a tone so +cold, so grave, so determined, as to show that it was not unfamiliar to +him who uttered it. A vague impression of the character of the man with +whom he had to do--no definite perception, no clear insight into his +character, but a sort of instinct, which seemed given to him on a sudden +for his preservation--took possession of Gaston of Anjou. He yielded at +once and entirely. A faint, hypocritical effort in favor of the unhappy +Chalais, which Richelieu well knew how to parry with soft words and +half-promises, was all that the selfish prince ventured to attempt. +Toward himself, however, the minister showed himself unbounded in +liberality. Dukedoms, Government posts to the amount of a million of +revenue, were promised and given on the marriage of Monsieur with +Mademoiselle de Montpensier; and the contract was sealed with the blood +of Chalais. It was a part of Richelieu's system. + +Vialart, Bishop of Avranches, a contemporary, remarks that the great +minister was accustomed, in dealing with those nobles who had any real +pretensions, to grant them even more than they could rightly claim; but, +if they showed themselves insensible to such conduct, from that moment +he had no mercy on them. It was a part of his system, also, to teach one +to betray another. The weaknesses of the men with whom he had to do +served him as much as their strength. + +The art of fathoming the characters of those who surround us, and the +science of applying their strong qualities against our enemies and using +their weaknesses against themselves, is the great secret of ambition. By +it, every usurper has risen to power; by it, most have maintained +themselves in authority; and when they have fallen, it has been more +frequently by a mistake in the character of others than by want of force +in their own. It may seem a Machiavelian axiom; but, had I the wisdom of +the great Florentine, I should not be at all ashamed of being compared, +even in one short passage, to that wise, virtuous, much-misunderstood +man. The axiom, however, applies as closely to nations as to +individuals. It resolves itself simply into this:--Who knows a nation +best will rule that nation best. We have a thousand illustrations of the +fact; and Richelieu certainly knew the French nation--that is to say +when speaking of those times--knew the nobility, as well as man could +know them,--in the mass, and individually; and, whenever it suited his +purpose to be stern, he knew no pity, showed no compassion; whenever +there was no object in severity, he was kind, or gentle, or sportive. + +The well-known anecdote of Boisrobert and Mademoiselle de Gournay, when +the former induced Richelieu to bestow upon the good old poetess, first +a pension of a hundred crowns for herself, then a pension of fifty +crowns for her chambermaid, then a pension of twenty crowns for her cat, +and, lastly, a pistole for each of the cat's kittens, shows to what +extent his good-humor could be carried. On the other hand, the fate of +Chalais, Montmorency, Cinq Mars, De Thou, Marillac, and a host of +others, gives fearful evidence of his relentless vengeance. At the +period of which I write, however, the harsher points of his character +had not fully developed themselves: perhaps they were not fully formed; +for the minister whom we see represented on the stage, at this very +period of his history, as an old and almost decrepit man struggling with +an imaginary conspiracy, was really only forty-two years of age, and +vigorous in body as in intellect.[2] + +[Footnote 2: In the beautiful play of Richelieu, by Sir Edward Lytton, +Richelieu is always dressed and represented, both on the English and +American stage, as a very old and feeble man. The period of Richelieu's +life is marked in the play by the introduction of Baradas. Now, Baradas +succeeded Chalais in the favor of Louis XIII., and was exiled within the +year. His fall from high favor and great wealth to his original +obscurity and actual poverty was caused by no crime or conspiracy on his +part, but merely by his rudeness and imprudence.] + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +The marriage-ceremony of Edward Langdale and Lucette de Mirepoix du +Valais was over. Act was taken, as it was then sometimes called, of the +fact, signed by the bride and bridegroom and by all present; and +Richelieu's own name stood first in the list of witnesses. + +Every one well knows that in those days clandestine marriages took place +frequently between persons very young, and also that the omnipotent +power of the Romish Church was not uncommonly called in to dissolve a +rite which the Church itself pronounced a sacrament. But the presence of +Richelieu as prelate, cardinal, and prime minister was enough to secure +the union of Edward and Lucette against any machinations of unconsenting +friends in the courts, either civil or ecclesiastical. But the great +minister left nothing undone to prevent the possibility of such a +result: not a word was omitted which could render the ceremony binding; +and Spada, the pope's nuncio, himself, was easily induced to give his +formal sanction to an act which recognised to a certain degree the +authority of the Romish Church and struck a heavy blow at one of the +greatest Protestant leaders. + +But a few words were spoken by the cardinal to the young bridegroom +after the marriage; but they seemed to be important; for, though they +were for the most part uttered in a whisper, all those who were still +around heard the question, "Do you promise me, upon your honor as a +gentleman?" and Edward's reply, "I do, most solemnly." + +"Now, De Tronson," said the cardinal, "give our young friends an hour or +two to compose their minds after so much agitation, and then forward +them, as I directed, to wherever they may find the Prince de Soubise or +his brother." + +In five minutes after Lucette was left alone with her young husband, his +arms were thrown around her, and her blushing face and tearful eyes were +hidden on his bosom. + +"Have we done right, Edward?" she said, after some pause. + +"It was the only thing left for us to do, my love," he answered, kissing +her tenderly. "And yet, Lucette, I fear it may not be so much for our +happiness as it would seem. I foresee that your great relations will +make every effort to annul our marriage or to keep us forever separate." + +"That they shall never do, my love,--my husband," said Lucette, warmly: +"they may separate us now; doubtless they will: but the time must come +when I shall be my own mistress; and whenever that time does come, and +you desire it, I will go to join you anywhere,--as, indeed, I am in duty +bound to do." + +"Then, my own dear girl," said the youth, "this marriage is not a forced +union on your part, but as full of love and willingness as on mine? Oh, +speak, Lucette!" + +"Can you doubt it, Edward?" she answered. "I only feared for a moment +that our own feelings might have led us to seize upon the cardinal's +proposal too eagerly for our duty and respect toward others; but, on +reflection, I think we could not avoid it. It was our only chance of +safety." + +"I think so too," answered her young husband. "But yet it is almost +cruel of the cardinal not to have carried his kindness one step further, +and suffered me to take you with me, as my wife, wherever fate may lead +me. But yet, dear girl, perhaps he was wise. We are both too young." + +"But, if we are too young, is this marriage binding? Can they not break +it?" asked Lucette, with a look of apprehension which was of very sweet +assurance to Edward Langdale. + +"Oh, no," he replied: "the cardinal made sure of that. I could see he +took especial pains at every point of the ceremony, that there might not +be a flaw now nor a quibble hereafter. Did you not remark how he +corrected two words in the act with his own hand? They cannot break it, +Lucette,--except, perhaps, with your consent." + +"That they shall never have," replied Lucette. "Oh, Edward, let us both +swear to each other never to consent that this contract shall be broken +between us. Let us do it solemnly; let us go down upon our knees before +the God who sees all hearts, and be married again by our own holy +promises." + +As she spoke, she knelt, holding the youth's hand in hers, and, carried +away by her simple love, he knelt beside her; and, with the confidence +of early youth, they repeated the vows of everlasting faith to each +other, and solemnly promised never to consent to a dissolution of their +union, but each to seek the other at the first call. + +Had Lucette known more of the world and worldly things, had her heart or +her thoughts been less pure and spotless, Edward might have had a +difficult task that day; for the cardinal had bound him by a promise +similar to the injunction which the King of the Genii imposed upon +Prince Zeyn Alasnum in the book which has enchanted all young and +imaginative brains. But her innocence saved him from all suspicion of +coldness; and the very undisguised love with which she rested on his +bosom or received his kisses--warmer though not more affectionate than +her own--spared all explanation, and gave to hope all the coloring of +joy. + +But they had much else to discuss,--how to communicate with each other +when they were separated, how they were to act toward the Prince de +Soubise when they found him, what they were to tell and what they were +to conceal. Just let the reader sit down and fancy all that could and +might be said by two people who had passed through so much during the +last few hours, who had so much to pass through still, who were so +strangely situated, who knew so little of each other and yet who loved +each other so well, and his imagination will supply much more of their +conversation than I am skilled to tell. That conversation lasted long. +One hour went away after another: they were left totally alone; (and for +that, too, Richelieu had his reasons;) and two o'clock had passed ere +any one disturbed them. Then a servant came to announce to them that +their mid-day meal was served in an adjoining chamber, and they +proceeded thither, with feelings very strange:--happy, and yet not +fully; composed, in comparison with their feelings not many hours +before, yet agitated; with warm hope for the future, but many a +bewildering doubt and some apprehension. + +But the first sight that presented itself on entering the little hall +where their dinner was served gave matter for fresh thought to Edward. +As to Lucette, her thoughts had employment enough: she was married; she +was a wife, and one act of the life-drama of a woman was over: the +curtain was down for the time. + +But there, on two sides of the table, each behind a chair, appeared +Pierrot la Grange and Jacques Beaupré; and Edward's dinner was rendered +tedious by his anxiety to learn from the latter the particulars of his +escape near Mauzé and all that followed. While the court laquais was in +the room, of course nothing could be said; but the man soon delivered +the party from his presence, retiring as soon as the dinner--which was +somewhat meagre--was over and the dessert placed upon the table. Pierrot +had, indeed, before the man left the room, boldly apologized to his +young master for not returning to him that morning, saying plainly that +he had been stopped by the servants of the chateau. "I hear, however," +he added, with a smile and a reverence, "that all has ended happily; and +I beg humbly to offer my congratulations to monsieur and madame." +Jacques, in his grave way, and the laquais, with courtly fluency, added +their compliments upon the occasion; and Edward felt his scanty purse +under tax. + +"And now, Jacques," he said, as soon as they were free from the presence +of the stranger, "tell me, as quickly and succinctly as possible, what +has occurred since we last met." + +"Why, sir, what happened to me can be little to you," answered the man: +"suffice it I got through a small hole in the lines when my young lady +stuck in a large one. I reached the Chateau of Mauzé easily, bags and +all, and, as you had ordered, went straight to the Prince de Soubise. I +found the whole party there ready to break up, for the Papists were +getting too many for them in the neighborhood,--the prince and duke +having but three hundred men with them, while the enemy had three +thousand round about. Monsieur de Soubise roared like a cow that has +lost her calf when he heard that you and Pierrot were in all likelihood +captured, and still worse when he learned that mademoiselle was +certainly in the hands of the enemy; but the bags seemed a great +consolation to him, and he plunged into them for refreshment as a tired +man does into a cool river. He took out all the letters and papers, and +fingered the gold and counted it; and then he read a letter which had +his own name on it, and looked at all the rest one by one. Some he put +aside, and the others he returned to the bag again with the money, and +he and Monsieur de Rohan, with two or three others, went into the window +and talked together for full half an hour. At the end of that time they +came back and opened the other bag; but they seemed to have no great +love for a frippery; for, finding there was nothing in it but purfled +shirts and laced collars and some suits of clothes, they soon shut it up +again, and then told me I must come with them, for Mauzé was likely to +be turned into a rat-trap. As I had found by this time there was very +little cheese in the trap, I was as glad as any one to get out, and we +travelled for two days, having a brush now and then with the king's +soldiers. Sometimes we had a little the better and sometimes a little +the worse; but we contrived to get through all in the end, and we also +made three prisoners. From them Monsieur le Prince learned that you had +been sent to Nantes and that mademoiselle had been sent after you; and +thereupon he proposed to me to follow you, taking with me your money and +such letters as he said could do no harm. I was to inquire for you +diligently but quietly; and his Highness told me of several places in +the town where I certainly should find friends, and perhaps information. +Well, sir, I made my conditions, as all wise men do. I stipulated for a +good horse, and for leave to go round by Meile and St. Maixens, (for we +were by this time at a good farm hard by St. Jean,) and for money enough +to carry me there and bring me back, and a little to spare. All this was +granted, and I set out. But in one of the places where I was certain to +find friends in Nantes, the good folks were so very friendly that they +thought I should be better lodged and fed in the chateau, and therefore +let his blessed Majesty or some of his people know that I was in the +city inquiring for one Sir Peter Apsley, who was soon to arrive. +Thereupon I was brought up here with my bag by two archers and an +exempt; and here have I been entertained at the royal expense ever +since." + +"But you have not been a prisoner?" asked Edward. "Pierrot told me you +were at liberty." + +"You have seen a mouse just after a cat has caught it, sir?" said the +man. "I was just in that state. I underwent a good mumbling in the shape +of an examination when first I came, and then I was told I was set free +because Sir Peter Apsley was under the cardinal's particular protection; +but, whenever I tried to go a hundred yards, pat came a paw upon me; and +I fully made up my mind that, like poor madame mouse, I was only to be +played with till I was eaten up. But at length I heard you were here; +and last night I was chewed up in another examination; but I always took +refuge in utter ignorance. I only knew that you had arrived at Rochelle +in a merchant-ship,--not in Lord Denbigh's fleet, for that they asked me +particularly; that, you and I being both anxious to get out of that +God-forgotten place, I had taken service with you, as you wanted another +man, having but one attendant and a page; that you were neither very +tall nor very short, neither very brown nor very fair; that you spoke +some French, but more English, looked for a beard with good hope, and +were altogether a personable young gentleman about nineteen." + +"You did me more than justice, Jacques," replied Edward. "However, you +have acted well and discreetly; and I trust all present danger has +passed away." + +"Ah, sir," replied the man, "danger is always present. Neither you nor I +can tell that twelve hours ago you were in greater peril than you are at +this moment." + +"Good Heaven! what does he mean, Edward?" exclaimed Lucette, turning +pale. "What new peril does he speak of?" + +"None, madame, in particular," replied Jacques Beaupré. "My father was +killed by the fall of a beam on the celebration of his wedding-day. My +uncle served under King Henry the Fourth, and fought in ten battles, but +died from running a nail into his foot. My eldest brother was a sailor, +and saw many a storm, but was drowned while bathing in the Sevre +Niortaise; and by the time that I was twenty I had learned that in this +world there is no such thing as danger, no such thing as security, and +that the only way to be happy is to be ready at all times and fearful at +none." + +"A good philosophy, upon my word," said Edward. "But now our thought +must be, where we can find Monsieur de Soubise." + +"You might as well try to ride in a carriage after a hawk," answered +Jacques: "he is here and there and everywhere in a day. But Monsieur de +Rohan you will find more easily. He is probably at St. Martin des +Rivières, the little castle which, just in the fork of the two rivers, +can be defended by a handful against an army." + +"There, then, we must go," said Edward. "But it is strange, dear +Lucette, that we have seen no one for the last three hours. I thought +Monsieur de Tronson said he would rejoin us." + +Edward little knew the multitude of events which were passing within the +sombre walls of that chateau,--some great, some small, but all tending +more or less to the promotion of those mighty results which were now +marching on in France, all full of deep personal concern to the various +personages around him, and amongst which the fate of himself and his +Lucette was but as a petty interlude, which could excite nothing but a +transient feeling of interest or amusement. + +Half an hour more went by; and then was heard the sound of many feet +passing along through some chamber near. At the end of above five +minutes the door opened, and Monsieur de Tronson led in an elderly lady +habited as if for a journey. + +"Madame de Langdale," said the secretary of the cabinet, addressing +Lucette, "Madame de Lagny, with whom you passed last night, will have +the pleasure of accompanying you and Monsieur de Langdale on your +journey. The carriage has been ready for an hour; but, the council +having sat later than usual, I could not leave my post. Monsieur will do +me the honor of accompanying me to his chamber below, where I will put +him in possession of his money and his safe-conduct, together with his +baggage, while you prepare for travelling, which, as it is, must, I +fear, be protracted into the night." + +Edward followed him down several flights of steps, conversing with him, +as he went, upon the arrangements for their journey, telling him that he +feared from his servant's information they would be obliged to proceed +beyond Niort to St. Martin des Rivières, and that, consequently, at +least two days more than he had calculated upon must pass ere he could +fulfil the promise he had given to return. + +But De Tronson seemed thoughtful and absent; for, in truth, he had just +come from a painful scene;[3] and, although he heard, and answered all +his young companion said, it was by an effort, and evidently without +interest. + +All the arrangements were soon made, however. Edward's property was +restored to him; the tradesmen he and Lucette had employed were paid; +and then the secretary led him to the little court, where stood one of +the large clumsy carriages of the day with four tall horses. A stout man +on horseback was also there, holding by the rein the horse which Jacques +Beaupré had ridden to Nantes, and, as no beast had been provided for +Pierrot, he mounted beside the coachman. Lucette and her companion were +already in the vehicle, and, with a kind adieu from M. de Tronson, +Edward took his place beside them, and the vehicle rolled on. + +[Footnote 3: The second examination of the unhappy Chalais, +perhaps,--perhaps the lamentable scene of Anne of Austria's appearance +before the council. It does not seem that De Tronson was particularly +intimate with the Count de Chalais during his prosperity; but he +certainly spoke in his favor to the king after his arrest, and painted +in strong colors the danger of marrying Gaston to the rich heiress of +Montpensier, whose revenues would in time make the heir-presumptive more +wealthy than the monarch. Indeed, to many it has seemed that in this +marriage Richelieu made the most dangerous error of his life. De Tronson +seems to have been an amiable man and a man of talent, who somewhat +feared Richelieu and courted him as much as honor and honesty would +permit. But he soon disappears from the political stage; and his +ultimate fate I do not know.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +It was a beautiful evening in July, the sky flecked with light clouds +just beginning to look a little rosy with a consciousness that Phoebus +was going to bed. They cannot get over that modest habit; for, although +they have seen the god strip himself of his garmenture of rays and +retire to rest every day for--on a very moderate calculation--six or +seven thousand years, they will blush now and then when they see him +entering his pavilion of repose and ready to throw off his mantle. There +is much pudency about clouds. All other things get brazen and hardened +by custom, but clouds blush still. + +It was a beautiful evening in July when the carriage which contained +Lucette, Edward, and Madame de Lagny arrived in sight of the chateau of +St. Martin des Rivières; but, when they did come in sight, how to get at +it became a question of some difficulty. There, on a little mound, stood +the building,--not large, but apparently very massive and well +fortified,--within a hundred yards of the confluence of two deep and +rapid rivers, the passage of each commanded by the guns on the ramparts +and on the keep. No bridge, no boat, was to be seen, and for some time +the party of visitors made various signals to the dwellers in the +chateau; but it was all in vain, and at length Edward Langdale resolved +to mount the good strong horse of Jacques Beaupré and swim the nearest +stream. + +Educated in a city, it was not without terror and a sweet, low +remonstrance that Lucette saw her young husband undertake and perform a +feat she had never seen attempted before; but Edward, though borne with +his horse a good way down the stream by the force of the water, reached +the other side in safety, and his companions could see him ride to the +drawbridge and enter the castle. + +During some twenty minutes nothing further could be descried; and then, +at a point where one of the outworks came down to the river, what I +think was called in those days a water-gate was opened, and a boat shot +out with two strong rowers. + +Edward Langdale himself did not appear; but one of the boatmen walked up +to the carriage and informed the ladies that his lord, the Duc de Rohan, +would be happy to receive them in the chateau, but that the carriage and +the men must remain on that side of the river, as the boat could only +contain four persons and none other could be had. + +"Ah, that is the reason Monsieur de Langdale did not return for us," +said Madame de Lagny, with whom Edward had become a great favorite. "I +was sure he had too much politeness to send servants for his lady if he +could come himself." + +A few minutes passed in placing Lucette's little wardrobe in the boat, +and then, with a heart somewhat faint and sad, she followed Madame de +Lagny to the water-side, remembering but too acutely that on the +opposite bank she was to be received by persons who, however near akin, +were but strangers to her, and there, too, very soon to part from him +whom she was not now ashamed to own to herself she loved better than any +one on earth. + +The boat shot off from the shore, and though carried so far down by the +force of the current that the water-gate could not be reached, yet after +some hard pulling the shore was gained, and the two ladies turned toward +the drawbridge over which they had seen Edward Langdale pass. Madame de +Lagny looked toward the great gate, but the young husband did not +appear. In his place, however, was seen a stout middle-aged man, with +hair somewhat silvered, and his breast covered by a plain corslet of +steel. There were two or three other persons a step farther under the +arch; and Madame de Lagny whispered, "That must be the duke himself. But +where can Monsieur Edward be?" + +Lucette's heart was asking her the same question; but by this time the +Duc de Rohan was advancing to meet her and her companion, and in a +moment more he was near enough to take Madame de Lagny's hand and raise +it courteously to his lips. + +"You have come to a rude place, madame," he said, "and among somewhat +rude men; but we must do what we can to make your stay tolerable." + +"Oh, my lord duke," replied the lady, with a courtly inclination of the +head, "I must away as soon as possible. I am expected back at the court +directly. But where is Monsieur de Langdale? I do not see him." + +"He is in the chateau, madame," replied the duke; "but he has been +telling me so strange a tale that I have judged it best, before he and +this--["girl," he was in the act of saying; but he checked himself, and +substituted the words "young lady"]--before he and this young lady meet +again, to have from her lips and from yours what are the facts of the +case. Pray, let us go in." + +"The facts of the case are very simple, my lord," replied the old lady, +with some stiffness. "Monsieur de Langdale is the husband of this young +lady, formerly Mademoiselle de Mirepoix, whom you do not seem to +recognise, my lord duke, though she is your near of kin. He married her +in the presence of the cardinal and the whole court." + +"More impudent varlet he!" exclaimed the duke, angrily. "And you, +mademoiselle,--what have you to say to all this fine affair? Why, you +are a mere child! This marriage can never stand!--without any one's +consent! It is a folly!" + +"Not at all, duke," said Madame de Lagny. "Pray, recollect, sir, that +Madame de Rambouillet was married at twelve,--I myself at sixteen. +Madame is nearly fifteen, she tells me; and, as to the marriage not +standing, you will find yourself much mistaken. The man who made it is +not one to leave any thing he undertakes incomplete, as you will +discover. They are as firmly married as any couple in the land, and that +with the full authority of the king, which in this realm of France +supersedes the necessity for any other consent whatever. She is a ward +of the crown, sir; and her father having died in rebellion is no bar to +the rights of the monarch." + +"Madame, I beseech you, use softer words," said the duke, in a calmer +tone. "My good cousin De Mirepoix died in defence of his religion, +without one thought of rebellion, and really in the service of his +Majesty, whose plighted word had been violated not by himself, but by +bad ministers who usurped his name. Make room, gentlemen. This way, +madame. We shall find in this hall a more private place for our +conference." + +So saying, he led the way into the large room in the lower story of the +keep, and there begged Madame de Lagny to be seated. Lucette he took by +the arm and gazed into her face for a moment, saying,-- + +"Yes; she is very like. Here, take this stool, child: we have no +fauteuils here. Now, answer my question. What had you to do with this +marriage? Did it take place at his request or yours?" + +Lucette's heart had at first sunk with alarm and disappointment at the +harsh reception she had received, having little idea what a +chattel--what a mere piece of goods--a rich orphan relation was looked +upon amongst most of the noble families of France. But the very +harshness which had terrified her at first at length roused her spirit; +and, though she colored highly, she replied, in a firm tone, "At neither +his request nor mine, my lord." + +"Ah! good!" cried the duke. "Then neither of you consented? The marriage +of course----" + +"We did both consent," said Lucette, interposing. "Did he not tell you +the circumstances? Did he not give you the cardinal's message?" + +"He told me a good deal, and he said something about the Eminence; but, +by my faith, I was so heated by the tale that I did not much attend to +the particulars. Let me hear your story, mademoiselle. What did the +cardinal say?" + +"My lord, we had been stopped near Mauzé by some of the royal officers, +and sent on under guard toward Nantes----" + +"Oh, I know all about that," interrupted the duke. "What have you been +doing since? I trust, not masquerading about Nantes dressed up as a +page; though, by my faith, ladies are now getting so fond of men's +clothes that they will soon leave us none to wear ourselves. Why, there +was my good cousin De Chevreuse, with her young daughter, rode across +the country, both in cavaliers' habits, and, finding no other _gîte_, +stayed all night with the good simple curé of the parish, who never +found out they were women till they were gone. Well, where have you +been, and what have you been doing, since that affair at Mauzé?" + +"The Abbey de Moreilles was burned by lightning, my lord," replied +Lucette, whose cheek had not lost any part of its red from De Rohan's +language. "We escaped into the Marais, where I was taken ill of the +fever common there. As soon as I could travel, we went direct to Nantes, +intending to come round at once and seek for Monsieur de Soubise. In +consequence of his having sent a man with some of my husband's baggage +to that city, we were discovered and arrested." + +"Your husband, little child?" exclaimed the duke. "But go on; go on. +What happened next?" + +"I was separated from Edward, who had treated me with the kindness of a +brother," said Lucette. + +"Ay, I dare say," again interrupted De Rohan;--"with something more than +the kindness of a brother." + +"For shame, Monsieur le Duc!" said Madame de Lagny, sharply. "You said +very truly just now that we had come to a rude place and amongst rude +men. If the cardinal had known what sort of reception this poor lady +would meet with, I am sure he would have followed the course Monsieur de +Tronson hinted at and given her up to Madame de Chevreuse. There at +least she would have been treated with respect and kindness." + +At the mere name of Madame de Chevreuse the duke's countenance changed. +Without knowing it, good old Madame de Lagny had touched a chord which +was sure to vibrate in the heart of any of the Rohan Rohans as soon as +one of the Rohan Montbazons was mentioned; and after a moment's pause +the prince answered, with a very much less excited air, "His Eminence +acted courteously and well in not giving up my fair young cousin to a +lady who has no right to her guardianship, who was her father's enemy, +whose conduct is not fit for the eyes of a young girl even to witness. +But tell me, mademoiselle, what was the message his Eminence sent to my +brother to account for his conduct in bestowing--in attempting to +bestow--your hand upon an unknown English lad, who may be of good family +or may not, but who is no match for any one of the name of Rohan?" + +"He said, sir," answered Lucette, "that we were to tell you or the +Prince de Soubise, whichever we might find, that, under the peculiar +circumstances of the case,--by which, I presume, he meant our having +travelled so long together,--the cardinal prime minister had judged it +imperatively necessary we should be married, and had himself seen the +ceremony performed; that for two years Edward should leave me with you, +but that at the end of that time he should claim me and take me, and +that all his Eminence's power should be exerted to give me to him. He +added, in a lower tone, 'They will find me more difficult to frustrate +than Madame de Chevreuse.'" + +"That is true, as I live!" said the duke. "But yet this is hard. Why, +girl, it will drive my brother Soubise quite mad,--if he be not mad +already, as I sometimes think he is." + +"His madness will not serve him much against the cardinal," said Madame +de Lagny, dryly. "But, my lord, we must bring this discussion to an end, +for it is growing dark, and I and Monsieur de Langdale must be treading +our way back to Nantes. He is but, as it were, a prisoner upon parole; +and I promised my cousin De Tronson I would make no delay." + +"Madame, in all the agitation and annoyance this affair has cost me," +said Rohan, "I have somewhat, I am afraid, forgotten courtesy. I ordered +refreshments for you, indeed, as soon as I heard of your coming; but I +did not remember to ask you to partake of them. They will be here in a +moment." + +"We can hardly stay," said the old lady. "But I beg, sir, you would let +Monsieur Edouard be called, both to accompany me and to take leave of +his wife." + +The duke bit his lips; but after a moment's thought he answered, "Pray, +madame, take some refreshment. As to this lad, he may come and wish her +good-bye; but no private interview, if you please!" + +The old marquise was a good deal offended at all that had passed, and it +was not without satisfaction she replied, "Oh, I dare say they have said +all to each other they want to say, Monsieur le Duc. They have had +private interviews enough since their marriage to make all their +arrangements. Is it not so, dear Lucette?" + +But Lucette was weeping, and De Rohan, with a cloudy brow, quitted the +room. + +In a few moments some refreshments were brought in and placed upon the +table, and the duke appeared, accompanied by Edward Langdale. The +youth's look was serious, and even angry, but that of De Rohan a good +deal more calm. "Sit down, monsieur, and take some food," said the +latter as they entered; but Edward answered at once, "I neither eat nor +drink in your house, sir. I did you and your family what service I +could, honestly and faithfully; and--because, under force I could not +resist, and to save myself and your fair cousin from a fate which you +would not have wished to fall upon her nor I wish to encounter for +myself, I yielded to a measure which God and she know I never proposed +when it was fully in our power--you treat me with indignity. You much +mistake English gentlemen, sir, if you suppose that such conduct can be +forgotten in a few short minutes." + +"By the Lord!" said De Rohan, with a laugh, "it is well you did not +meet with Soubise; for you might have had his dagger in you for half +what you have said." + +"Or mine in him, if he had insulted me further," answered Edward, +walking toward Lucette and taking her hand. + +"A pretty bold gallant," said the duke, with a smile. "Madame de Lagny, +I pray you, do more honor to my poor house than your young friend." + +Now, it must be confessed, the good old lady was hungry; and hunger is +an overruling passion. The duke helped her to food and wine, and then, +having done what second thoughts had shown him was only courteous to a +lady, he turned, under the influence of the same better thoughts, toward +Edward, who was still talking in a whisper to Lucette, while she, on her +part, could hardly answer a word for weeping. + +"Young gentleman," said De Rohan, holding out his hand, "do not let us +part bad friends. Remember, first, that if there be any validity in this +marriage it is always better to keep well with a wife's relatives; and, +secondly, that one of my house, above all others, may well feel +mortified and enraged at an alliance which under no circumstances we +could have desired or sanctioned. Recollect our family motto,--'_Roi ne +puis; prince ne daigne: Rohan je suis_;' and pride is not so bad a thing +as you may think it now. If it be pride of a right kind, it keeps a man +from a world of meannesses. As to this young lady, I will take care of +her, and, now that my first fit of passion is past, will treat her +kindly. Be sure of that, Lucette; for I have even got a notion, by some +bad experience, that a portion of love is no evil in the cup of +matrimony. However, the question of this marriage must be a matter of +consultation between my brother Soubise and myself, and the lawyers too; +for I will not conceal from either of you that Soubise, who has more to +do with the business than I have, will break it if he can." + +Edward took the proffered hand; but he only replied, "His Eminence the +cardinal said that he had made it so fast there was no power on earth or +in hell to break it. But that must be determined hereafter, my lord +duke. At the end of two years I will claim my wife. In the mean time, +where is Monsieur de Soubise?" + +"Go not near him! go not near him!" said De Rohan. "By my honor, there +would be bloodshed soon! He is at Blavet, I fancy, now, on his way to +England; but I will write to him this night, and, if possible, you shall +have his answer at Nantes. You must not expect any thing very favorable +to your pretensions; but, whatever it is, it shall be sent." + +"My lord, if I might ask one favor, I would do it," said Edward. "It is +this. From what you have yourself said, and from what others have told +me, I infer that Monsieur de Soubise is of no very placable nor +temperate disposition. He himself has had some share in producing both +what you look upon as a misfortune and what had nearly proved the +destruction of Lucette and myself, by sending--with very good +intentions, doubtless, but I think very unadvisedly--letters and other +matters to the very residence of the court, which betrayed our coming to +his Eminence the cardinal. Had that not been done, we should in all +probability have passed without question, and I should have been able to +restore this dear girl to her relations as Mademoiselle de Mirepoix. As +it is, my wife she is and must remain; but I would rather that she was +under your care than that of the prince, for she has this evening +suffered too much for an event, which she could not avoid without +dooming herself and me to destruction; and I would fain that the same or +perhaps more should not be inflicted upon her from another quarter. +Lucette will explain to you much that I have not time to tell, for I see +Madame de Lagny has risen, and it is growing so dark that I fear we must +depart." + +"I can promise nothing," said the duke, "but that I will do my best." + +Thus saying, he turned toward Madame de Lagny, who by this time had some +lights on the table before her, and addressed to her all those +ceremonious politenesses which no one knew better how to display, when +not moved by passion, than the Duc de Rohan. + +In the mean time, Edward and Lucette remained at the darker side of the +room; but, had it been the broadest daylight, their natural feelings +would have suffered little restraint. The contrast of Edward's love and +tenderness with the cold harshness of her own relations made all her +affections cling closer round him than ever, and she hung upon his +breast and mingled kisses with his, while the tears covered her cheeks +and sobs interrupted her words. "Oh, Edward," she said, "I wish to +Heaven that I were indeed but the grandchild of good Clement Tournon, of +Rochelle, as you once thought me! We might be very happy then." + +Mingled with his words of politeness to Madame de Lagny, the duke had +been giving some orders to his own attendants; and at length he said, +"Now, young gentleman, it is time to depart. Madame is ready." + +One last, long embrace, and Edward advanced to the side of the duke. He +did not venture to look at Lucette again, but followed Rohan and Madame +de Lagny closely into the outer hall, thence through a small court and a +_place d'armes_, in each of which were a number of soldiers fully armed, +and then by a covered way to the water-gate, to which point the small +boat had by this time been brought round. There was still a faint light +upon the river; but a lantern had been placed lighted in the bow of the +boat, and in a few minutes the old lady and her young companion were +landed on the other side. One of the boatmen lighted them up to the +carriage, and Edward, after bestowing a piece of money upon the man, +took his seat beside Madame de Lagny, who gave orders to proceed toward +Nantes, stopping, however, at the first auberge where any thing like +tolerable accommodation could be found. + +"Ah, poor Monsieur de Rohan!" she said, with perhaps not the most +compassionate feelings in the world. "He is much to be pitied; and, +indeed, he ought to feel, as he said, that some love in marriage is a +very good ingredient. He ought to know it by experience; for his own +good-for-nothing dame cares not, and never did care, for him; and it is +the common phrase in Paris that she has so large a heart she can find +room in it for everybody except her husband. Why, I know at least ten +lovers she has had besides the Duc de Candale, who is more her slave +than her lover, and who"---- + +Just at that moment, the horses having been put to, the coachman gave a +sharp crack of his the whip, the coach a tremendous jolt, and Madame de +Lagny brought her story to an end, somewhat to the relief of her young +companion. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +For the first time in life--and it was very early to begin--Edward +Langdale felt that loneliness of heart which parting for an indefinite +time from one we dearly love produces in all but the very light or the +very hard. He had never loved before; he had never even thought of love; +but now he loved truly and well. He might not indeed have loved even +now, for he and Lucette were both so young that the idea might not have +come into the mind of either; but their love had been a growth rather +than a passion; and, as the reader skilled in such mysteries must have +seen, it had been watered and trained and nourished by all those +accidents which raise affection from a small germ to a beautiful flower. +First, she had nursed him so tenderly that he could not but feel +grateful to her; then she had been cast upon his care in dangers and +difficulties of many kinds, so that deep interest in her had sprung up. +Then, again, she was so beautiful, in her first fresh youth, that he +could not but admire what he protected and cherished. Then she was so +innocent, so gentle, so ductile, and yet so good in every thought, that +he could not but esteem and reverence what he admired. Then had come his +turn of nursing, and the interest became warmer, more tender; and at +length, when the mere thought of stating, in order to account for their +companionship, that they sought to be married first entered the mind of +each, it let a world of light into their hearts, and the whole was +pointed, directed, confirmed, by the sudden ceremony which bound them +together. They had promised at the altar to love each other forever, +and they felt that they could keep their word. + +But Edward, as he rolled along by the side of Madame de Lagny, could not +help asking himself painful questions: "I shall love her ever," he said +to himself; "but she is so young, so very young,--a mere child! Will her +love last through a long separation? will not her feelings change with +changing years? does she even love me now as I love her?" + +Luckily he asked himself the last question, for it went some way to +answer the others to his satisfaction. There had been something in her +embrace, in her kiss, in her eyes, in her clinging tenderness, which +told him that she did love as he did; and he, feeling, or at least +believing, that he would love still, however long they might be +separated, learned to credit the sweet tale of Hope and believe that she +would love constantly too. + +Nevertheless, he felt very sad; and yet he exerted himself eagerly and +successfully to make the journey pass as pleasantly as he could to poor +Madame de Lagny, who, though she had not undertaken her disagreeable +task out of any affection to either Edward or Lucette, but merely in +obedience to the wishes of Richelieu, had learned to love both her young +companions, and had taken their part sincerely in the discussion with +the Duc de Rohan. She was both a keen-sighted and a clear-minded old +lady; and she saw well the gloomy sadness of Edward Langdale, and +understood its cause; but she saw likewise that he was making every +effort to show her courteous attention; and no old women are ever +ungrateful for the attention of young men. + +For three days the weary journey back to Nantes continued; and in that +time the good marquise contrived to store the young Englishman's mind +with many of her own peculiar apothegms, some good and some indifferent, +but all the fruit of much worldly experience grafted upon a keen and +sensible mind. + +"Never despair, my son," she said. "Many a man is lighted on his way by +a candle; nobody by a stone. Of a misfortune you can remove, think as +much as you like; of a situation you cannot change, think as little as +possible. If you have a marsh to go through, gallop as fast as you can; +and, if you have a heavy hour, fill it with action. A wasp will not +sting you if you do not touch it; and we do not feel sorrow when we do +not think of it." + +Such were a few of the old lady's maxims, and one of them struck Edward +Langdale's fancy very much. "If you have a marsh to go through," he +repeated to himself, "gallop as fast as you can; and, if you have a +heavy hour, fill it with action." He thought that the next two years +would indeed be a marsh to him, and he resolved to gallop through them +as fast as he could. But there was one sad reflection which he could not +banish, one point in his situation which gave him anxiety rather than +pain. He knew not how to hold any communication with his young bride. He +was well aware that every effort would be made to prevent it. Lucette +had been once sent to England to keep her out of the hands of the +Duchesse de Chevreuse: where might she not be sent now? Her two cousins +Soubise and Rohan were constantly roving from place to place, and there +was as little chance of any letter from him finding her as of any news +of where she was reaching him. + +The old fable of Midas telling his misfortune to the reeds is founded +upon a deep knowledge of human nature. Man must have some one to share +the burden of heavy thoughts, and Edward told his to Madame de Lagny. +The old lady was better than the reeds, for she whispered consolation. +"I can help you but little, my son," she said; "but, if you could attach +yourself to the cardinal, he could help you a great deal. However, I +will do the best I can for you and the dear child your little wife. If +you want to write to her, send your letter to me at the court, wherever +it is, and the letter shall reach her sooner or later. I will find means +to let her know that she must send hers to me likewise, and they shall +reach you; if you will keep me always informed of where you are." + +Edward not only pressed her hand, but kissed it; and not five minutes +after, when they were within ten miles of the city of Nantes, a man came +riding at full speed after the carriage, drew up his horse at the great +leathern excrescence called the portière, and asked, in a brusque tone, +if Monsieur Langdale was in the coach. + +"Yes; I am he," answered Edward. "What want you with me?" + +"A letter," replied the man. And, handing in a sealed packet, he turned +his horse's head and rode away. + +It was still early in the day, and the youth, breaking open the letter, +read the contents. They ran thus:-- + + "MY LORD AND BROTHER:-- + + "On the wing for England, I have received your letter. Tell the + insolent varlet that he shall never see her face again, the + devil and the pope and the cardinal to boot, or my name is not + + "SOUBISE." + +Edward's brow became fearfully contracted, and he muttered, "At the end +of the earth." + +"Show it to me! show it to me!" exclaimed Madame de Lagny, who was not +without her share of woman's curiosity. "What is it makes you look so +angry, my son?" + +Edward handed her the letter, and she read it with attention, but not +with the indignation he expected to see. On the contrary, she seemed +pleased and amused. "Let me keep this," she said. "Methinks that +Monsieur de Soubise may find the triple alliance of the devil, the pope, +and the cardinal to boot somewhat too much for him. The cardinal alone +might be enough, without two such powerful auxiliaries. But let me keep +it. It can be of no value to you." + +"Oh, none!" answered Edward. "Keep it if you will, madame. But the +Prince de Soubise shall find that, if he have a strong will, I have a +strong will also; and, if he have some advantages, we have youth and +activity and resolution." + +"And the Cardinal de Richelieu," said Madame de Lagny, emphatically: "he +is not the man to leave any work incomplete, nor to be bearded by any +one. However, we must be near Nantes by this time. Now let us consider +what your course is to be when we arrive." + +The good marquise then proceeded to indoctrinate her young companion +with all the forms of a court, which, though not so rigid as they +afterward became,--for Louis XIV. was the father of etiquette,--were +sufficiently numerous and arbitrary to puzzle a young man like Edward. +He found that, although he had once by the force of circumstances won +easy access to the cardinal prime minister, he had now various +ceremonies to go through before he could hope for an audience. To call, +to put down his name and address in a book, to see principal and +secondary officers, and to give as it were an abstract of his business, +were all proceedings absolutely necessary, Madame de Lagny thought, +before he could see the cardinal; and Edward, with a faint smile, asked +her if she did not think it would be better for him to commit a little +treason as the shortest way to the minister's presence. + +"Heaven forbid!" cried the old lady. "But in the mean time you must go +to an auberge near the chateau, where his Eminence can find you at any +moment." And she proceeded to recommend the house of an excellent man, +who had been cook to poor Monsieur de Lagny, and now, she assured +Edward, kept the very best auberge in Nantes. + +At length the city was reached, and the coach drove straight to the +castle, where Madame de Lagny took a really affectionate leave of Edward +and retired to her own apartments. The young Englishman then proceeded +to inquire for Richelieu, found he was absent at a small distance from +the town, and, having written his name in a book, betook himself to the +inn which his travelling-companion had mentioned. In the court of the +castle he had seen no one but a guard or two and some servants at the +door of the hall. In the great place there was hardly a human being to +be seen,--no gay cavaliers on horseback or on foot, no heavy carrosse +with its crowd of laquais. At the other side of the square, indeed, near +the end of the little street which led toward the dwelling of Monsieur +de Tronson, was a group of workmen; and another larger group just +appeared beyond some buildings close by the river-side. But, altogether, +the whole town had a melancholy and deserted look. A sort of ominous +silence reigned around, too, which Edward felt to be very depressing to +the spirits, especially in a country celebrated even then for the light +hilarity of its population. + +The inn, however, was fresh-looking and clean, and the landlord, who +soon appeared, although he was not at the entrance as usual when the +coach stopped, was the perfection of a French aubergist,--as polished as +a prince, and full of smiles. While Pierrot la Grange and Jacques +Beaupré stayed by the carriage, at their master's desire, to take out +the little sum of his baggage and to bestow a small gratuity upon the +coachman, the host led his guest up to a large, somewhat gloomy chamber +floored with polished tiles, recommended his fish--the best in the +world--and his poultry, which he asseverated strongly were the genuine +production of Maine, and took the young gentleman's pleasure as to his +dinner. + +He had hardly gone when the two servants appeared, bringing various +articles; but their principal load was evidently in the mind. The face +of Pierrot, which temperate habits had not yet improved in fatness, +though it had become somewhat blanched in hue, was at least three inches +longer since they entered Nantes; and Jacques Beaupré, always solemn +even in the midst of his fun, was now not only solemn, but gloomy. + +"I wish we were safe out of this place, sir," said Pierrot, shutting the +door after him. "It is a horrible place!" + +"What is the matter?" asked Edward: "the whole town looks sad, and you +both seem to have caught the infection." + +"Did not the landlord tell you, sir?" said Jacques Beaupré. "I thought +landlords always told all they knew, and a little more. But I suppose he +has lived long enough near a court to keep his tongue in his mouth, for +fear somebody should cut it out." + +"The matter, sir, is this," said Pierrot: "the poor young Count de +Chalais, who was confined in the dungeons close under the room where +they put you, has been condemned to die this morning,--they say, for a +few light words." + +"Indeed!" said Edward, with a somewhat sickening memory of the dangers +he himself had seen: "that is very sad. But probably the king will +pardon him." + +"Oh, not he," answered Pierrot: "they say the poor countess, his mother, +has moved heaven and earth to save him, without the least effect. His +head is probably off by this time." + +"No, no; that cannot be," rejoined Jacques: "did not the boy tell us +that the two executioners had both been spirited away?" + +"Yes, but he said that a soldier--a prisoner--had been found to +undertake the job," answered Pierrot. "Oh, it is a bad business, Master +Ned! They say the queen herself has been brought before the council, and +the Duke of Anjou threatened with death, and half the court exiled, and +the cardinal in such a humor that----" + +"That every one as he walks along is feeling his ears, to be sure that +there is any head upon his shoulders," added Jacques Beaupré. "Would it +not be better for you, sir, to go to that good Monsieur de Tronson, and +be civil to him, and make as many friends as possible?" + +Edward paused in thought for a moment, and then replied, "That is well +bethought, Beaupré; for though I think I have nothing to fear, yet in +common courtesy I owe my second visit to one who has been so kind to me. +I will go directly. Let the landlord know that I may be a little later +than I mentioned at dinner." + +Edward put on his hat and went out into the place, taking care to mark +particularly the position of the auberge, that he might not be forced to +inquire his way in a town where so many dangers lurked on every side. +The road to Monsieur de Tronson's house was easy; and, crossing the +square, the young gentleman directed his course toward the end of the +street where, when passing in the coach, he had seen a crowd of workmen, +who were still gathered round a spot about a hundred and fifty or two +hundred yards in advance. On approaching nearer, Edward caught sight of +a platform of wood raised some eight or ten steps from the ground. He +could only discern a part, for the people had gathered thickly round; +but, though he had never before seen the preparations for a public +execution, it flashed through his mind at once that this was the +scaffold on which the unhappy Chalais was to suffer. To avoid the +terrible scene, he turned toward the left; but, just as he was +approaching the end of the street, a shout came up from the water-side +and a dull rushing sound from the southeast. A large crowd poured into +the square from both sides; and before Edward could escape he was caught +by the two currents and forced along to within thirty yards of the +scaffold. He tried to free himself and force his way out, but a warning +voice sounded in his ear. + +"Be quiet, young gentleman," said an elderly man close by, speaking in a +low tone. "This young count has to die, and, if he be your best friend, +take no notice. Suspicion is as good as proof here just now. Look where +he comes!" + +Edward turned his eyes in the direction to which the old man was +looking, and beheld a sight which was but a mere prologue to the horrors +that were to follow, but which could never be banished from his memory. +Surrounded by a body of guards came a tall, handsome young man, without +his cloak, as if he had been torn from his dungeon unprepared, but still +showing, in such habiliments as he did wear, all the extravagant +splendor of the times. By his side, with her hand passed through his +arm, as if to support him, and pouring a torrent of words into his ear, +was an elderly lady in a widow's dress. Her face and carriage were noble +and dignified, though lines of past grief and present anguish were +strongly marked upon her countenance; but when she lifted her eyes +toward the scaffold, and beheld there a stout, bad-looking man leaning +on a large, heavy sword, a sort of spasm passed over her features. + +"That is his mother," whispered the same voice which Edward had heard +before. + +Behind the mother and the son came the confessor, a dull-faced, heavy +monk; and then a good number of guards, and one or two men in black +robes,--probably exempts, or other inferior officers of the court. But +the eyes of Edward Langdale were fixed upon the mother and her son; and +the thought of his own dear mother gave him the power--I might almost +call it the faculty--of sympathizing with the noble-minded woman, to a +degree that made the whole scene one of actual agony. + +"I wish I could get out," he said, speaking to the old man, who was +jammed up against him: "this is horrible. Can you not make way?" + +"Try to force your way through the castle-wall," replied the other, +cynically: "you have but to see a man die, young gentleman." + +"Ay, but how?" said Edward. + +"By the sword," said the old man: "it is an interesting sight,--much +better than by the cord. I have seen every execution that has taken +place in the city for twenty years. Perhaps I may see yours some day. +They are fine sights,--the only sights that interest me now; but this is +likely to be a bungled business, for the old countess there bribed both +the executioners to get out of the way, and this fellow does not +understand the trade. He is paler than the criminal. See how he shakes!" + +Edward raised his eyes for an instant and saw the unhappy mother +supporting her luckless son up the very steps of the scaffold,--not that +he wanted aid, for his step was firm and his look bold and frowning. +There was a fearful sort of fascination in the sight; and the lad gazed +on till he saw the last embrace taken and the young count make a sign +and speak a word to the executioner. Then he withdrew his eyes, till, a +moment after, there was a shrill cry of anguish and a murmur amongst the +crowd; and he looked up again only to see the wretched young man, all +bleeding, leaning his wounded head upon his mother's bosom. + +The executioner had missed his stroke. Again and again he missed it. He +complained of the sword: a heavier one was handed up to him; but still +his shaking arm refused to perform its hideous office, till, after more +than thirty blows,[4] the head of the unhappy young man was literally +hacked off, almost at his mother's feet. + +The noble woman raised her hands and her eyes to heaven, exclaiming, "I +thank thee, O God, that my son has died a martyr and not a criminal!" + +The last acts of the terrible drama Edward did not see. He felt as if +his heart would burst with the mingled feelings of indignation and +horror which all he had beheld awakened; and after the second or third +blow he kept his eyes resolutely bent down, till the pressure of the +crowd relaxed as the spectators of the bloody scene began to disperse. +Then, sick at heart, and with a strange feeling of hatred for the world, +he turned his steps back to the inn. He was in no mood for conversation +with any one. + +[Footnote 4: Some say seven-and-twenty.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + +It was eleven o'clock on the following day when Edward Langdale appeared +at the door of Monsieur de Tronson. The laquais said he did not know +whether his master was visible or not, but he would see; and, leaving +the young Englishman in an ante-chamber, he went in and remained some +five minutes. At his return he asked Edward to follow, and introduced +him into the bed-chamber of the secretary, who welcomed him, he thought, +rather coldly. + +"I hear, Monsieur de Langdale," said De Tronson, "that you have +accurately fulfilled the injunctions of his Eminence and your word. +That, my good cousin, Madame de Lagny, has told me; but I think you +should have been here earlier." + +"It was my intention, sir," replied Edward, seating himself in a chair +to which the secretary pointed, near that in which he himself sat, +wrapped in a large dressing-gown, by the fire, though it was the month +of July. + +"After having left my name in the ante-chamber of his Eminence, I went +to my auberge for a few minutes, and then came out, with the intention +of paying my respects to you; but I was stopped by a great crowd of +people and forced to witness a dreadful scene, which rendered me +incapable of holding any rational conversation with any one." + +"Ha! you were there!" exclaimed the secretary, suddenly roused from the +sort of listless mood in which he seemed plunged when Edward entered. +"What happened? Tell me all. But first shut that door, if you please. I +am ill, or I would not trouble you; but it is well to have no listening +ears in this place, whatever one has to say." + +Edward closed the door, and, although unwillingly, detailed all that he +had witnessed of the execution of the unhappy Chalais. + +De Tronson was moved far more than the young man expected. He put his +hand over his eyes, murmuring, "Poor lady! Unhappy young man!" and +Edward thought he saw some tears steal down his cheek. "I call God to +witness," he exclaimed, at length, "that I had no share in this affair! +Though my relations with Monsieur de Chalais were very slight, I would +have saved him if I could,--saved him from himself, I mean." + +He sank into silence; and, to change the conversation, Edward said, "I +would have been here earlier this morning, but I thought you would +probably be at the council." + +"There will be no council to-day," replied the secretary, shaking his +head: "we are all made sick by this affair. It has been like one of +those epidemic blasts that sweep over the marshes, filling every one +they touch with fever. I did not know you had waited on his Eminence: +that was what I alluded to,--not a mere formal visit to me. That was all +well; but you had better let him know that you are here. I know not that +he will see you; but you must show every token of respect--especially +just now." + +"Shall I go to his apartments, then?" asked Edward. + +"No, no," said De Tronson, with somewhat of the petulance of illness: +"call a servant." + +The servant was soon called, and De Tronson bade him go to the apartment +of his Eminence. "Seek out one of his secretaries," he said, "and, if +you cannot find one, ask for his chaplain. Request him to present my +duty to the cardinal and tell him that Monsieur de Langdale, the young +English gentleman he knows of, is with me, waiting his Eminence's +pleasure. Say I would have come myself, but I am ill of fever." + +The man retired and was absent only a few minutes ere he returned with +the simple words, "His Eminence cannot be interrupted to-day." Edward +heard the reply with regret; for time was passing away, his journey was +just beginning when those who sent him imagined it was ended, and his +funds were diminishing every hour. But, even while taking leave of +Monsieur de Tronson and expressing a sincere hope that he would soon be +better, a servant in purple livery entered, and, bowing to Monsieur de +Tronson, announced that his Eminence would see Monsieur de Langdale. + +"Go, go! quickly!" said De Tronson, in a low voice; "but be careful." +And Edward followed the attendant from the room. + +"Now for my fate," thought the young man, as he crossed the little +bridge over the moat. "Such scenes as that of yesterday harden rather +than soften. Methinks I could meet death more easily now than I could +have done four-and-twenty hours ago. Yet why should I think the cardinal +wishes me ill? He has been kind to me, however cruel he may be to +others. But why should I call him cruel? I know nothing of that young +count's guilt or innocence; and the horrid accessories of his fate were +certainly none of the minister's devising." + +Thus thinking, he followed through the long passages of the castle till +he came to a door where stood one of the cardinal's guard, and there the +servant paused and knocked. A page opened it, and to his guidance Edward +was consigned. He was then led through an ante-room, and then through +the room where he had seen Richelieu before, to another smaller chamber, +where he once more found himself in the presence of the man whose life +and power were so often in the balance, but whose will in reality, from +that time forward, was fate in France. + +Richelieu, though habited in clerical garb, was in what may be called +half-dress, and the _robe de chambre_ which he wore above his cassock +was of bright colors and a mere mundane form. His pointed beard, or +royal, as it was then called, with the dark mustache and the rich lace +collar, which might have suited any gay cavalier of the court, also had +a very lay appearance; and at once it flashed across the mind of the +young Englishman that he had seen him somewhere in another costume. +Where, for an instant he could not recollect; but he had not half +traversed the room before the magic power of association brought back a +night not more than a week before, when, walking in one of the corridors +of that very chateau, he had met a man descending to the dungeons in +which the unhappy Chalais was confined; and that man was before him. He +shuddered when his mind instinctively combined the visit of that night +with the scene of the day before; but in the look and manner of the +cardinal at that moment there was nothing to inspire awe or indicate any +cruelty or even harshness of character. His face was grave,--very grave; +but with a mild gravity much like that of the famous bust which is, +perhaps, the only good likeness of that extraordinary man. In his hand +was a book,--the famous Imitation of Christ; but he had let it drop upon +his knee when the door opened; and one who did not know him would have +said, to see him, "There is some calm student of theology a little +disturbed by being interrupted." + +"Come in, young gentleman, and take a seat," said Richelieu, as the page +closed the door. "You have kept your word well with me, I find." + +"I always try to do so, my lord cardinal," replied Edward, seating +himself near the minister. + +"Lord cardinal!" said Richelieu, with a faint smile: "that is English, +and somewhat Roman too. But what matters it? You heretics from the other +side of the sea sometimes give us a lesson about dignities. Eminence! +Any man can reach that title of right in other paths besides the Church, +if he be wise, and brave, and firm,--ay, firm: he must be firm! Many a +man who might be great, by some small weakness in his own nature yielded +to, even once too often, mars all the results of higher qualities. Well, +you have returned, as you promised; but you have come at a time when we +are all sad,--very sad. I thought I would not see any one this morning, +but take counsel with the only happy ones,--the dead. However, on second +thoughts, I resolved to admit you, as you had performed your part of our +bargain well, and your last conversation pleased me." + +He spoke in a sort of meditative tone, and, when he stopped, Edward had +nothing to reply but, "Your Eminence is gracious." + +"Not so," answered Richelieu: "I am not gracious. I was not formed so by +nature. I can be kind, I think, to those who love me,--affectionate, +merciful; but graciousness implies some tenderness, and I am not tender. +Nay, not even tender to myself; for I declare to Heaven that, did I find +in my own heart the weakness that would yield right and justice to +prayers and tears and entreaties, I would pluck out that heart and +trample it under foot!" + +His tone was somewhat vehement, and his eye sparkled; but after a moment +or two all was calm again; and he asked, even with a smile, "What think +you, young gentleman, men will say of me hereafter?" + +"I have neither wisdom, your Eminence, nor experience sufficient to +divine," answered Edward; "neither can any one say till a period, I +trust, far, far distant." + +"You mean when I am dead," said Richelieu. "Who can say how soon that +may be? How long can a poor human frame bear the labors, the anxieties, +the cares that I undergo,--the struggle against factions, the struggle +against oneself, the crushing out of sympathies, the resistance of all +kindly feelings, the endurance of ingratitude, falsehood, treachery, the +malice and the envy of the many, the undeserved hatred of not a few? +Happy the monk in his cloister! happy the ecclesiastic in his chair! +Miserable, miserable is the man whom either personal ambition, or idle +vanity, or the desire of serving his country, leads to the thorny paths +of state or places on the tottering pinnacle of power!" + +"Thank Heaven!" said Edward, interested deeply, "there can be no chance +of my ever having to verify the truth of what your Eminence says." + +"Who can tell?" rejoined Richelieu. "I have seen many rise to high place +with less opportunity than you. I myself,--did I ever think at your age +of being seated where I am now? You have talents, daring, firmness. +Ambition grows like a worm upon a leaf, destroying what supports it. The +moth may have laid its egg in your heart even now; and in ten years +hence you may be what you dream not. But let us talk of other things. I +am sorry you have come here just now, young gentleman." + +"May I presume to ask why, my lord?" said Edward. + +Richelieu paused thoughtfully for a moment, and then raised his keen +dark eyes to the young man's face. "To answer you fully I must say what +ought to flatter you and what cannot do so. You have pleased me; you +have high qualities which I esteem; I think you will be faithful to any +one to whom you attach yourself; and you have talents and courage to +serve him well. But your mind is not clear enough, your experience is +too little, your prejudices too great, for you to judge sanely of acts +which have lately been done here. In bidding you return after your late +journey and see me before you went farther, I wished to gain you to my +service,--not by bribes, not by promises, but by winning your esteem and +showing you friendship; and I can be a good friend. What is it that +passes over your brow? I thought so: you judge I can be a deadly enemy +also. Sir, I tell you, on my life and on my faith, I know no enemies but +those of France. I have endured much, but I have never struck a blow but +for the best interests of my king and my country. Even that young man +who perished yesterday, had he not warning sufficient? Had I not passed +over follies without number? Had I not forgiven designs against my own +power and life? They were nothing so long as the safety of France was +not involved. But when his pertinacious treason went into schemes to +bring foreign troops into the land, to overthrow a mighty policy, to +thwart his sovereign's will, to shake his throne, ay, and, perchance to +touch his life, what were mercy but folly? what were clemency but +treason?" + +"I presume not, your Eminence," said Edward, bewildered by a +conversation so strange and unexpected, "to judge even in my own heart +of your conduct in circumstances of which I know nothing. I will own +that a great part of the scene I was yesterday forced to witness struck +me with horror; but even now, as I passed the bridge, I said to myself, +'I know nothing of that young man's guilt or innocence; and the dreadful +accessories of his death were certainly not of the cardinal's +devising.'" + +"You did me that justice, did you?" said Richelieu, with a well-pleased +look: "let me tell you, sir, there is many a man in France who will deny +it to me. Ay, it was horrible, they tell me. But I had naught to do with +that. Did I steal away the executioner of the court or of the city? Did +I have any share in any of the details left to the common justice of the +land? Inexorable I was bound to be, even to a mother's prayers and +tears, though they wrung my heart. This court--this turbulent and +factious court--needed an example; a traitor deserved a traitor's death. +Both have been given; for there was not one mitigating circumstance, not +one palliation or excuse. Death was his doom; but God knows, could I +have spared one additional pang to his poor mother or to himself, I +would have done it." + +"Indeed, I believe you, my lord cardinal," replied Edward, moved by the +apparent sincerity of the minister and the warmth and fire with which he +spoke. + +"And yet," said Richelieu, more calmly, "were it to be done over again, +I would do it: nay, I will do it; for, though the medicine be strong, +the malady of this land of France cannot be cured by a single dose. I +will advise my king, as I have advised him, to show no mercy to +persisting traitors. Let the blame fall on me: I care not. But save +France!" + +When men high in power have been forced into severe and terrible +measures by motives which seem to them perfectly sufficient at the time, +they sometimes feel a doubt when the execution of their purpose is over, +and, though they may scorn to make a defence before the world, they will +seek out some individual, however insignificant, who will listen while +they plead their own cause,--apparently to him, but in reality to +themselves. They will go over again all the reasoning, state all the +motives afresh, which at first carried them forward, in order to prove +to conscience that there was in the deed none of the selfishness which +each human sinner of us all knows too well is in his own heart. Such, +doubtless, was the case with Richelieu at the moment when the visit of +Edward Langdale gave him the opportunity of justifying the death of +Chalais to a foreign and impartial ear. + +There might be a little deceit in this,--self-deceit; but in his +eagerness, in the strong current of his language, and in the earnest +vehemence of his manner, there was much that struck, ay, and captivated, +his young companion. Let any one suppose himself in the presence of +Cromwell or Cæsar,--and Richelieu was little less, if at all,--hearing +him defend his most doubtful actions, and motive his most ruthless +course, and they can conceive the sensations of Edward Langdale. Edward +compared the cardinal to neither; but he knew that he was in the +presence of the greatest and most powerful man who had yet appeared in +that age,--a man famous for stern discretion and unfaltering firmness of +purpose,--and that some strong and terrible emotions within him had led +him to pour forth in his presence views, principles, purposes, but dimly +discerned by any one at that time. It was a somewhat awful confidence +Richelieu placed in him; and when the minister paused the youth knew not +what to reply, but repeated, mechanically, not knowing why, the words, +"Ay, save France!" + +Richelieu gazed at him for a moment with his bright eyes, full of +thought. It is known how, like most great men, he was somewhat +superstitious, and, forgetting probably that he had himself used the +words a moment before, he answered, "Young man, that is my oracle. Save +France! I will, if it be in me, though a thousand heads should fall, and +my own the last,--though it should cost a river of blood and a river of +tears. I will save France. I will put her upon the pinnacle of +countries, where she ought to stand; and after my day men shall say of +her, 'This is the great leader of the nations, in arts, in science, and +in arms.'" + +He stopped and gazed into vacancy, as if he already saw the beautiful +future of which he spoke, and then, as if feeling that the vehemence of +his feelings had carried him beyond his usual reserve, he composed his +countenance; the fire of the eye went out; the features, which had been +much moved, became calm and still; and the phantasmagoric light which +had covered his face with great images passed away, leaving almost a +blank behind. + +"Let us talk of what we were speaking about a few minutes since," he +said, not losing the expression of sympathy and admiration which had +come upon young Langdale's face. "I was referring to the possibility of +your attaching yourself to me, and meriting and meeting higher honors +and distinction than there seems any likelihood of your obtaining in +your own country. I offer you no unworthy incentive, for, if I +understand you, you are incapable of being moved by such; but I offer +you my friendship. Have I not given you the best proof of it?--not by +bestowing on you the hand of a noble French heiress,--that is +nothing,--but by speaking to you as Richelieu rarely speaks to any +one,--by showing you the things that lie within this bosom?" + +Keen and acute as the young Englishman had become, he saw that he was +perhaps in more danger now than he had ever been before; that he was +standing on the edge of a precipice, and that the very confidence which +the cardinal had accidentally placed in him was only the tottering stone +which might fall and hurl him over the brink. Habitual boldness came to +his aid, however. "Let me recall to your Eminence," he said, "that +England and France are at war." A slightly scornful smile, at what he +thought a subterfuge, curled Richelieu's lip. "I assure you, sir," +continued Edward, earnestly, "that, were such not the case, I would +grasp eagerly at an offer which can be rarely made to any one. I fear +not danger, though I know your service might be dangerous, (pardon my +plain speaking.) But on that score I should have no apprehension; for I +am convinced that if that service proved fatal to me it would be by my +own fault. But what your Eminence wants is one who will be faithful and +true to you. What would you think of me if, at the first prospect of +somewhat higher fortunes, I were not only to abandon my country, but to +leave those who have treated me most kindly, educated, trusted me? Would +not all the good opinions you have entertained of me vanish? Would you +not view me as base, treacherous, worthless? Could you ever confide in +me, esteem me more? Should I thenceforward be the man you want?" + +"There is some truth in what you say," said the minister, slowly. "Yet, +after what has passed, there may be something to consider. Are you +aware, young gentleman, that I know more of you than I have seemed to +know?--that I know all?" + +"Yes," answered Edward, at once: "I have seen that some time. I know +that if you were to hang me on that tree the world would hold you +justified. But I do not think you will do it." + +"Pshaw!" said Richelieu, "I care not for the world. But what makes you +think I will not do it?" + +"Because your Eminence has shown me the principles on which you act," +said Edward; "and such a deed would not be within those principles. If +you hanged me now, it would be because I refused to serve a country at +war with my own,--not because I came into France under a false name and +with the safe-conduct of another." + +"Good," said the cardinal, "and true! But you forget another reason,--or +from the idle babble of the day you may have learned to believe it not a +good one: you do not mention that I promised to let you go on to your +journey's end." + +"I had forgotten it," said the lad; "but there might be many an excuse, +or I may say reason, for passing over that promise. You may have learned +more since you made it." + +"Young man, do you wish to be hanged?" asked the cardinal, with a smile. + +"Far from it, monseigneur," said Edward, gravely; "but I wish to act +honestly and bravely. I told your Eminence that my only motive for not +grasping eagerly at your generous proposal was, that France and England +are at war, that if I now took service here you yourself could never +trust me, and that I should feel myself unworthy of the trust of any +one." + +"That objection may be sooner removed than you imagine," said Richelieu. +"Your gilded butterfly--your Buckingham--cannot flaunt it in the +sunshine forever. Already he has plunged his monarch into difficulties +which may, and will, produce sad consequences hereafter. An unnatural +war of a brother-in-law against his wife's brother, for no reasonable +cause, cannot long please the people of England. The Parliament--that +handcuff of kings--is already screwing the bolt tighter; and we may +leave it safely to compel a peace before your journey to the east is +over. I will exact one promise from you, which keep as I keep mine. It +is the only condition I put to your safety. Go on your way. Serve your +lord faithfully: I will take no umbrage at that: then return to France +as soon as you hear that peace is concluded between our two +countries;--nay, I know you will return, for there is a lure you will +not miss to follow, my young hawk; but come to visit me, and have your +best hopes confirmed by serving one who can reward as well as punish. Do +you promise me this?" + +"I do, most readily," replied Edward, "and most gratefully thank your +Eminence for kindness I have perhaps not deserved." + +"You have deserved better by refusing me just now," said Richelieu, +"than you would have done by yielding. I could _not_ have trusted you. +Go to, now. Men say that everybody must obey me, or I am a fiend. You +have judged better of the Cardinal de Richelieu." + +"You gave me the means of judging, my lord," said Edward; "if all men +had the same, perhaps----" + +"They would misconstrue me," said the minister. "But one thing remember: +If, in an open and unguarded moment, I have been led to show you +thoughts and feelings I do not usually suffer to appear, as you are a +man of honor, you will keep them to yourself. Breathe not one word to +any one of aught that has passed here. Say not to Lord Montagu, or any +one, Richelieu says this, or, Richelieu said that. By this I will test +your discretion." + +"I will not forget," said Edward; "but, if I hear any one assail your +Eminence's motives, I may be permitted, surely, to defend them by the +means you yourself have afforded me." + +"Let my motives take care of themselves, young man," said the minister, +sternly. "You may say that the cardinal treated you well,--kindly, +liberally,--and, although he had every right to stop you, sent you on to +Lord Montagu, though he knew your errand and his. Compliment his +lordship for me. And now farewell. I will to work. My spirit was +somewhat crushed with care, anxiety, and thought; but I am better for +this conversation." + +Edward rose to retire, but the cardinal made him a sign to stay, saying, +"I forgot to ask what reception you met from the fiery Soubise." + +"I did not see the prince, my lord," replied Edward: "he had gone to the +sea-coast. But we found the Duc de Rohan at Deux Rivières, and he was +fiery enough. He calmed his passion before I left, however, and promised +to convey what I had said to his brother, which he did, as I know by a +letter sent after me by that nobleman himself." + +"Ha! De Rohan is a good man, and might be a great one," said Richelieu: +"he will be a loyal subject before two years have passed. As for +Soubise, he is weak and full of passions. What said his letter?" + +"It is in the hands of Madame de Lagny, my lord," replied Edward; "but I +think I can repeat it word for word;" and he did so without omitting a +syllable. + +Richelieu listened attentively; and at the words, "Tell the insolent +varlet that he shall never see her face again, the devil, the pope, and +the cardinal to boot," he laughed low, remarking, "We will dispense with +the devil, and need not trouble the pope: but the cardinal says you +_shall_ see her face again; and she shall be your wife in the face of +the whole world, or my name is not Richelieu. One of the two brothers +shall sign the contract, or both shall rot in exile. Now, fare you well, +my young friend. The time is not far distant when not even a Huguenot +prince shall dare to name me, or the pope either, in such company. Have +you money sufficient?" + +"Enough till I can get more, I thank your Eminence," replied Edward. + +He would have made the same answer if he had possessed much less; for he +would not have had any man say that he had received a livre from the +cardinal, had it been to save him from starving. He was turning to +depart; but the memory of all that great but terrible man had done for +him within the last few days came flashing across his mind, and he +paused, saying, with true emotion, "I will make no professions, my lord +cardinal, but this: Your great and extraordinary kindness shall never +be forgotten as long as Edward Langdale lives." Richelieu waved his +hand, but with a well-pleased look, and the youth retired. + +"I have heard of such long memories before," said the minister to +himself. "Well, we shall see." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + +What say you to a quick ride and a short chapter, reader? We have stood +wasting our time too long with cardinals and secretaries and courtiers. +Let us set out on our journey toward Paris, with three strong horses, +each under the saddle, two stout men, and a young lad, who, ride as hard +as they will, still keeps ahead of them. They are not troubled with much +baggage; but they have good long pistols at their saddle-bows, swords by +their sides, and eke daggers in their belts. + +The apparel of the two men had nothing remarkable in it. Each had the +common slashed and laced pourpoint with the short cloak of the times, +and their lower limbs were clad in that very peculiar and ugly garment, +between trousers and breeches, which distinguished the epoch of Louis +XIII. The boots, like a pair of gigantic funnels, however, covered not +only the foot and ankle, but the whole of the lower part of the leg, and +hid in a degree the monstrous _chausses_. The young man was dressed with +somewhat greater taste and richness; and there was something in his air +and his wondrous horsemanship which would have distinguished him at once +from his two followers without the accessories of dress. In vain his +horse--which he had bought in Nantes for a mere trifle, on account of +its vicious propensities--darted to the right or left at every +suspicious object, reared, plunged, and kicked; not all its efforts +could shake him in the saddle for a moment: in vain the brute galloped +at full speed when he was only required to trot; the youth only whipped +and spurred him the more, till at length the fierce beast, finding that +he had indeed got his master on his back, yielded with a good grace; and +by the time the party reached Ancenis he was as quiet as a lamb. + +But, though Ancenis is a pretty little town, and the fare is good and +the wine by no means bad, Edward Langdale was not inclined to lose time +by the way. One hour for refreshment was all that was allowed for man or +horse, and then on again they went toward Angers. It is true that Angers +is somewhat more than fifty miles from Nantes, that the road in those +days was not remarkable for its excellence, and that a broiling July sun +had shone upon the travellers from break of day till night; but Edward +saw with his own eyes that the horses were well cared for; and all was +prepared for departure early the next morning. Here, however, for the +first and only time during the journey, the safe-conduct was demanded by +an officer of the governor. All was in order, however; no suspicion was +entertained, and on the little party went, to Suette, Duretal, La +Fleche. The sweet little valley of the Loire passed with all its beauties +unseen; and, after two hours' repose at La Fleche, Fouletourte, +Guecelard, and Le Mans were reached. Nearly one-half of the journey +between Nantes and the first place to which Edward had been directed was +now accomplished; but the horses--especially the two ridden by Pierrot +and Jacques--showed evident signs of fatigue, and it was found necessary +to have their shoes removed and give them somewhat more time for repose. + +Edward could not reach Chartres upon the third night, as he had hoped; +but reflecting, with some apprehension, that if one of the horses were +to fall sick he had not funds sufficient to purchase another, he +proceeded more quietly to Nogent le Rotrou, where he paused for the +night before the sun had gone down. + +Now, the dear but hasty reader has come to a conclusion that I have been +engaged in writing an itinerancy, rather than a romance or a true +history. But in this he is mistaken; for it was necessary to mention two +little incidents which befell Lord Montagu's page on his way toward +Paris; and one of these occurred at Nogent le Rotrou. It was therefore +requisite to show that Edward got there; for an incident cannot happen +to a man at a place where he is not. It was necessary, also, to explain +how he arrived at that place later by some eight hours than he at first +expected; for, if he had been able to continue the same galloping pace +with which he set out from Nantes, the incident would not have happened +at all. + +At Nogent, the young Englishman--as is the case with most +Englishmen--had looked to the accommodation of the horses in the first +instance, and, having seen that they had a good dry stable, that the +saddles were taken off and that they were well rubbed down, he directed +them to be walked up and down before the house for a few minutes; when, +to his consternation, he perceived that one of them was going somewhat +lame. It was the horse ridden by long Pierrot la Grange, and one of the +best of the three; and a consultation in regard to the poor animal was +held immediately. One proposed one thing, another another; but, none +being particularly skilful in the veterinary art, and as Edward did not +choose to trust to a common blacksmith, it was determined to rest upon +cold water applied to the lame foot and fetlock, and the horse was led +back to the stable. + +The inn was a neat little auberge, and the landlord a fat, well-doing, +clean-looking sinner as ever shortened a flagon or lengthened a bill. He +promised worlds in the way of edible refreshment, trout and crayfish +from the Huisne, pigeons from his own dove-cot, and capons equal to +those of Maine; and, while all these delicacies were in preparation, +Edward took post before the door, standing beside the tall pole with a +garland upon it, which in those days appeared at the entrance of many a +little cabaret in France. + +As he thus stood, in not a very happy mood, two new travellers on +horseback trotted up. Their dress was coarse, and evidently not the +costume of any part of France that the young gentleman was acquainted +with; but that which attracted his attention more particularly was the +lameness of one of their horses, who limped much after the fashion of +Pierrot's beast, but a great deal worse. The riders dismounted, and one +of them, passing him, gave him "_Bong jou_," in a strange sort of +_patois_. Edward advanced to the side of the other, who was holding the +beasts, saying, "That horse seems very lame, my good friend." + +"Oh, it is nothing," answered the man, in the same sort of jargon as +that of his companion. "He'll be well before morning: we are _maréchaux +de chevaux_, and will soon set him right. You see us go away to-morrow: +he not lame then." + +Shortly after the horses were led into the stable, and the young +gentleman's dinner was announced; but, before partaking of any of the +good things, he followed the two strangers, and found that they were +provided with all the tools of the blacksmith and all the oils and +essences of the veterinary surgeon of that day. "Let him cool, and then +we see," said the master, speaking to his companion; and the whole party +adjourned to the _salle-à-manger_. Five more hungry men never sat down +to dinner, if they might be judged by their consumption of food; but all +the other guests, and the landlord more particularly, remarked that the +two last-arrived strangers ate none of the admirable crayfish. Now, when +at a house of public entertainment you eat none of the especial dish of +the place, it is not only an affront to your host, but an insult to his +country. The landlord shook his head and declared the men must be some +outlandish cannibals, for they neither spoke French nor ate crayfish. In +this conclusion nobody gainsaid him,--not even the two men themselves, +who did not seem to understand, but finished their dinner and went to +attend to the lame horse. + +Now, it may seem very strange in the author to entertain a reader with a +lame horse, with which, though fully as good as a dead ass, that reader +seems to have nothing on earth to do. But I declare it is neither for +the purpose of filling up a vacant chapter, nor in any spirit of +perversity,--such as frequently seizes every writer,--nor from a desire +to delay till I have made up my mind how to proceed, nor from any +caprice, that I pause upon that lame horse. On the contrary, it is a +piece of genuine, serious history,--in fact, the only pure and dignified +piece of history in this whole book,--mentioned by authors of high +repute, and confirmed by a long train of consequences, which involved at +least the three next years of Edward Langdale's life in their network; +and so the fate of that lame horse cannot be omitted. With one of those +sympathetic movements of the mind which we can neither direct nor +restrain, and which lead us on the course of destiny whether we will or +not, the youth felt a personal interest in that lame horse,--was not +one of his own horses lame?--and he went to the stable to see the +treatment the animal was to undergo. Need I pause to tell how one of the +uncouth travellers took off the shoe, examined the foot, poured some +fluid which he called oil of vipers into the hole left by one of the +nails, wrapped an old rag round the hoof, and did sundry other +beneficent acts to the affected part? No: suffice it to say that he +seemed to treat it so skilfully, and with so much of that decision which +continually passes for skill and nine times out of ten has as good a +result, that Edward determined he should try his hand on Pierrot's horse +also. + +The immediate result was relief to both the beasts, and when their +several riders mounted next morning no sign of lameness was visible. + +The score was paid, and Edward with his party rode away first; but they +had not gone half a mile before they were overtaken by the two +blacksmiths, who seemed to desire company on the way, which they +accounted for by telling the companions of the young cavalier that they +were wandering Savoyards, who, having some skill in horse-medicine, had +come to France, made a little money, and were returning to their own +country to live upon the fruits of their toil. + +Now, Savoy is a fine country, and the people are a very good people, +very much like other people who live amongst rocks and stones,--not +quite so wise as serpents nor so innocent as doves. "Poor, patient, +quiet, honest people," says Sterne, "fear not. Your poverty, the +treasury of your simple virtues, will not be envied you by the world, +nor will your valleys be invaded by it." Now, why I quoted this author +in regard to Savoy was simply because the most interesting account of +any country is always given by a man who knows nothing about it. He has +such a wide field to expatiate in! There are exceedingly good people in +Savoy, and exceedingly good people come out of it; but there is a +tolerably large minority as cunning and as selfish as I ever met with. +Now, Edward Langdale had few prejudices upon the matter. He had never +seen a Savoyard before, or one who pretended to be so; but he had heard +a good deal of their "simple virtues," and, therefore, if the balance +leaned either way it was in their favor. But somehow the faces of his +two new companions did not please him, and he said not a word of the +probability that he would himself be obliged in the end to direct his +steps toward their mountain-land. Indeed, with a remarkable degree of +discretion in one so young, he had kept his own two immediate followers +in ignorance of that and many other facts, and they went like lambs to +the slaughter with their heads hanging down, and thinking the journey +somewhat long, but without the slightest idea where it was to end. When +they had reached Chartres, however, he had to make many inquiries as to +his further course; and, though he conferred with the landlord of the +Ecu Royal himself, Pierrot la Grange stood provokingly near, and it is +probable--for his ears were long and sharp--he heard every word that was +said, and drew his own conclusions. + +The two Savoyards, or whatever they might be, had adhered to Edward and +his two companions with the tenacity of a bramble-shoot, and Edward had +no objection to their accompanying him a stage or two farther; but, as +he was now coming to one of the dangerous passes of his expedition, he +determined to cut them loose at the end of the first thirty miles. Those +thirty miles, however, were destined to be performed slowly and with +difficulty. + +The morning, when they quitted Chartres, was bright and beautiful; a +pale pink tint was in the sky, varied by brown clouds with golden edges; +but ere they had half crossed the rich plain which lies between Chartres +and Maintenon the rain began to fall, and a deluge poured down from the +sky, rendering the roads wellnigh impassable. Still Edward rode on, +passed Maintenon without stopping, and first drew bridle at Rambouillet. +It was then beginning to grow dark, for the progress made had been very +slow, and every man in the party was drenched to the skin. To go farther +immediately was out of the question and not exactly suited to Edward's +plans. Indeed, what between fatigue and a sudden change in the weather, +the face of Pierrot la Grange had become very blue, his limbs shivered, +and his teeth chattered. Dinner--or rather, as they called it, +supper--was soon served, and the young gentleman so far relaxed his +stern rule as to order some bottles of good wine for his drenched +companions, bidding Pierrot himself partake. The long man looked +somewhat doubtfully at his master, but the temptation was too strong, +and the fatal cup approached his lips. Edward soon left the party and +went out to make some inquiries. No one attempted to follow him, for the +room was warm and comfortable, and mirth and conviviality reigned. + +Pierrot's first cup was the Rubicon. It was but wine, it is true; but he +had drunk nothing but water for wellnigh two months, and the first +draught made him feel so comfortable that the second, and the third, and +the fourth, and the fifth were added in rapid succession. His tongue, +which had been marvellously still for many weeks, was unloosed, and the +unruly member did its part in setting free every thing that was a +secret, or which he thought was one. In five minutes he was in full +career, and by the time that Edward returned--he had not been absent +half an hour--the two Savoyards were made aware that the young gentleman +had probably gone to inquire his way minutely to Dampierre, the place of +retreat of the Duchesse de Chevreuse. "For," said Pierrot, "he was +asking about it at Chartres; and the people there could not give him +half the information he seemed to want." + +On their part, too, the Savoyards were wonderfully free and +confidential; and the only one who retained his full discretion was +Jacques Beaupré, who was remarkably taciturn, and kicked Pierrot's shins +under the table,--a hint which he did not choose to take. + +The entrance of Edward Langdale instantly silenced Master Pierrot, +however, for he was not in the least drunk. In the ladder of inebriety +there are many rounds, and he had only reached the first, which with him +was always talkativeness. But Edward looked grave, for he had heard much +speaking, with Pierrot's voice predominant; and, when the host entered +to inquire whether the guests would take some more wine, the young +gentleman's "No" was uttered in a tone that went home to his follower's +consciousness. + +"What a fool I am!" thought Pierrot. "If it had been brandy, now, +instead of wine, I should have been drunk again to a certainty." + +The following morning at an early hour the whole party were once more in +the saddle, and the two Savoyards were ready as soon as the rest, +seeming to think that they had fixed themselves upon the young +gentleman's party. Edward examined the priming of his pistols before he +set out, and ordered his followers to do so likewise; but, as the day +before had been rainy, the precaution excited no remark, and the day's +journey was begun. + +Four or five miles only had passed, however, when, at a spot where a +road branched off through the forest to the left, the young Englishman +suddenly drew in his rein and turned to the Savoyards, saying, "Here, my +good friends, we have to part. That is your road, and this is mine." + +The two men seemed much surprised, and even ventured to remonstrate, +commending highly the safety and sociability of travelling in company, +and magnifying the great advantage it would be to him to have two such +skilful smiths and horse-doctors in his train. They offered even to wait +for him, if he had business on the road, and to attend to his horses +without pay. + +But Edward Langdale was peremptory. "You said you were going to Savoy," +he remarked. "The only way to get there is to follow the road before +you. Moreover, it will be safer for you to go in other company than +mine; for I am subject to fits of choler, and apt to shoot people if +they offend me, as that good gentleman, Monsieur Pierrot la Grange, can +inform you." + +"Ay, that he is!" exclaimed Pierrot. "I have got the bullet in my leg +now." + +The two men looked at each other in astonishment, and made some +exclamation in a language which Edward did not understand, but which did +not sound like any species of Italian. + +"Ah!" said Jacques Beaupré, solemnly, "it is a sad infirmity he has. I +always ride on the right side of him, for he does not aim so well on +that side as on the left." + +The two men smiled; but a slight movement of Edward's hand toward his +pistols soon restored their gravity, and he added, "Take my advice. Go +on your way, and let me see you go, for I do not choose to be followed." + +A shrug of the shoulders and a shake of the rein was their only answer, +and they rode away along the highroad before them. + +Edward watched them for some distance, and then turned into the smaller +path on the left. "I do not like those men," he said, speaking to his +followers. "Both their countenances are bad; and, as for the taller one +of the two, I am certain I have seen him at Nantes. I think it was in +the court of the chateau, the day we set out for Deux Rivières." + +"I think so too," said Jacques Beaupré. "He is too ugly to be forgotten +easily; and, as for their tongue, I think it is Basque. I once heard +that language spoken; and theirs is much more like it than Savoyard." + +Poor Pierrot was conscience-stricken, and heartily wished his tongue had +been cut out before it had run away from his discretion on the preceding +evening; but he kept his own counsel, and Jacques Beaupré had too much +of the laquais' spirit about him to tell of a companion before he was +found out. + +The day was dull and gray, but not actually raining, and the road was +muddy and heavy to travel; but the forest was soon passed, and at the +end of two hours Edward judged, by the descriptions he had received, +that he was entering the vale of Chevreuse. Hidden in a dense shroud of +mist, it did not indeed look beautiful to his eyes, as he had been led +to believe; and, in some doubt, he stopped to ask a peasant, whom they +overtook driving an ox-cart, if the Chateau of Dampierre was near. + +"Why, there it is, seigneur," said the man. "Dame! don't you see it?" +And, looking forward, Edward caught a faint sight of some towers and +pinnacles rising over the distant trees. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + +Two large gates of that fine hammered iron which is now rarely seen, +twisted into leaves and flowers and coronets, with gilding here and +there, and the arms of Chevreuse and Montbazon let into the centre, shut +the small park of Dampierre from the road. They seemed indeed to offer +no ingress to any one, for Edward rang the great bell at least half a +dozen times before any one appeared; but then a man walked slowly down +the road from the chateau itself, and examined the strangers through the +filagree-work of the gate as he came. At neither of the two lodges at +the sides of the gate was there the least sign of life. + +The man, who seemed an old servant, however, and who carried a large key +in his hand, applied it to the lock without asking any questions, and +Edward, before entering, inquired if Madame de Chevreuse was at the +chateau. + +"I do not know," replied the servant, in an indifferent tone. "A good +many people rode away the day before yesterday, and I have not seen her +since; but, if you ride up, they will tell you there." + +Edward accordingly rode on, and, though the distance was not more than +three hundred yards, he perceived that his coming had created more +sensation at the chateau than at the gates. There were heads at several +of the windows, and two or three men came forth upon the terrace and +watched the approaching party. Edward rode slowly to give time for a +full examination; for, from all he had heard at Nantes, he could very +well conceive that the fair duchess might be inclined to stand somewhat +upon her guard before she admitted strangers. Dismounting before the +chateau, he gave his horse to Jacques Beaupré to hold, and advanced +toward one of the servants at the door, who showed no disposition to +advance toward him, inquiring if the duchess was at Dampierre and would +receive him. "Come in, sir," said another servant, who had just come +down the steps. "Go up that staircase and turn to your right through the +first door. You will soon find somebody who will inform you." + +Edward obeyed, thinking the manners of the Chateau of Dampierre somewhat +strange, it must be confessed, but being perfectly prepared to follow +the old adage of doing at Rome &c. The stairs were wide and low-stepped, +of dark polished oak, with richly-ornamented balusters; and the walls of +the staircase were covered with rich pictures both of Italian and +Flemish schools. At the top was a broad landing-place or vestibule, with +doors all round; but, following the directions he had received, the +young Englishman opened the first on the right and entered a splendid +saloon, where, seated in a great arm-chair, was a lady of gorgeous and +dazzling beauty, with a little girl of some seven or eight years old at +her knee, nearly as beautiful as herself. The eyes of both were fixed +upon the opening door with a gay look of expectation; and the moment +that Edward was fairly in the room the little girl ran forward, sprung +up, and kissed him. The beautiful lady followed and kissed him likewise, +laughing gayly as she did so. + +It was certainly a surprise, though not a very disagreeable one, and +Edward would not have objected to go over the same scene again; but, +fancying there must be some mistake, he said, "I beg pardon for my +intrusion. I imagine, madame, that you have--happily for me--taken me +for some one else, by the honor you show me. I am merely a page to Lord +Montagu, whom I hope to find here." + +"No mistake at all, monsieur," said the gay lady. "It is a vow, +sir,--altogether a vow,--which I and my daughter made, to kiss the first +gentleman that came to relieve our solitude; for my magnificent lord has +chosen to take himself away with all his people, and we have seen no +faces but those of the old servants for two whole days. It was a vow, +sir, we accomplished; but, even had it not been, I suppose I am not the +first duchess who has kissed a page, and probably I shall not be the +last." + +"Heaven forbid!" said Edward, entering into the humor of the hour, "if +all duchesses' kisses are as sweet. But I presume I am in the presence +of Madame de Chevreuse, for whom I have a letter." + +"Well, well," said the bright, reckless woman, "sit down here beside me +and tell me more. So you are my friend Lord Montagu's page. He has +expected you long, and told me all about you. How happened you to linger +on the road? Now, I warrant you met with some pretty little maiden, and +could not tear yourself away till you had beguiled the poor thing." + +Edward took the seat to which she pointed beside her own chair, and +proceeded to tell her all he thought necessary to account for his long +delay, but without alluding in any way to Lucette. The explanation was +somewhat long, and the duchess listened listlessly, sometimes gazing at +his face, sometimes looking down at her own beautiful hands and shifting +the rings about in an absent manner. Edward, as was customary at that +period, nourished two locks of dark silky hair, twisted into those long +pendent curls which brought forth at an after-period the famous +puritanical tirade upon "the unloveliness of love-locks;" and, a little +to his surprise, as he went on he felt the fair duchess's hands busy +with the curls and twisting them round her fingers. Suddenly, however, +she started, exclaiming, "What am I about?" and Edward innocently +thought she was shocked at the familiarity into which a fit of absence +had betrayed her. Not a bit of it; and he was soon undeceived. + +"Surely I saw two attendants with you as I was looking from the window," +she continued; "and I have totally forgotten the poor men and the poor +horses. Run, my child, and tell Paton, the Savoyard, to have the men and +horses monsieur brought here taken care of; and bid somebody carry his +baggage to the chamber Lord Montagu had, next to mine. It is strange, +you will think," she continued, as her daughter tripped away: "I have +not a soubrette in the house, nor any woman but the old housekeeper and +my own girl; but I came away from Britanny in such haste, not knowing +whether I should be suffered to come away at all, that the fewer people +I brought with me the better. Now let me hear the rest, and give me the +letter you mentioned,--after which you shall have some food." + +Edward had little more to tell, except the execution of poor Chalais, +and the permission given him by Richelieu to pursue his journey. The +first he touched but slightly, as the common rumor of something more +than the mere relations of friendship between the unhappy count and +Madame de Chevreuse had reached him; but the duchess would hear all, and +for a time she seemed greatly moved, although her love was so very +minutely divided that there could be no great portion for any individual +lover. At his account of his last interview with Richelieu,--which was +somewhat lame, from there being various circumstances which he felt +bound to keep back,--Madame de Chevreuse mused. + +"The cardinal has some object," she said: "in fact, he always has. It +was not for your good mien he let you go on, depend upon it,--though you +are a handsome boy, I do not deny, and if the fox had been a woman I +could have understood his favor for you better,--though probably he +would then have kept you with him, as I intend to do." + +"Indeed, madame," replied Edward, "I fear my duty requires me to go on +immediately, if, as I gather from your conversation, Lord Montagu is not +here. I need not tell you how much I should like to stay." + +"Why do you not add something about bright eyes and beautiful lips, &c. +&c. &c., in true page style?" said Madame de Chevreuse; and then, giving +him a playful box on the ear, she added, "Were not you told to take my +orders and follow my directions, sir? It was so explained to me; but I +see I have a great deal to teach you yet. You will have to wait till the +day after to-morrow. Here; listen; put down your head." And as Edward +obeyed she brought her rosy lips so near his ear that the perfumed +breath fanned his cheek. "To-morrow night," she whispered, "I shall have +news of Montagu, and the day after, perhaps, I shall find it convenient +to take flight for Lorraine myself. The neighborhood of the court is +somewhat dangerous for me; and my head looks prettier upon my own +shoulders than in the hands of the executioner. In the mean time, you +have to stay here and console my daughter and myself. We live the life +of two nuns just now: you know how nuns live, I dare say,--young nuns, +of course, I mean. And now, let us talk of any thing but business: you +have to amuse me, and I have to be amused. I do not much care how." + +I think it may be as well to drop for the present the further +conversation of the gay young duchess and her still younger companion. +She had all her life been famous for free speaking, and a little +celebrated for free acting; and, had it not been necessary to show +something of the life and manners of the times, I might have been +tempted not to bring her on the stage at all,--although, in writing the +adventures of Lord Montagu's page, Edward's visit to Dampierre could +hardly be left out. It must be remembered, however, that, though +somewhat more beautiful, more gay and witty, than most of her courtly +compeers, Marie de Rohan was but a type of French society at that time. +Few of the high dames of that day were at all more virtuous than +herself, although she had the candour--or the impudence, as it may +be--to make very few pretensions. + +She had said that she had many things to teach Edward, and certainly +hers was not a very good school for a young lad; but he learned there +more perhaps than she imagined, and in the midst of her light coquetries +the sweet pure image of his Lucette came up to his mind, like the odor +of a fresh flower in the midst of some scene of revel. He thanked God +with all his heart that she whom he loved had never been subjected to +the guardianship of such a woman; and he even felt pained that the poor +young child her daughter should be witness to the reckless levity which +the mother displayed. There is a holiness about childhood; and the heart +of every man not impious revolts at the very thought of any thing which +can profane that shrine of innocence. + +Edward dined well; for the Duc de Chevreuse was one of the most +luxurious--the French writers call it splendid--of the nobility of the +day. He is reported at one time to have ordered six magnificent coaches +merely to try which was the easiest; and he was not a man to have any of +his many houses at any time unprovided with a good cook. + +After dinner is the time for sober but not heavy chat: the most +persistent of appetites is satisfied; the blood has something to do in +the process of digestion, and frolics less freely than at other times; +and the brain itself turns hard work over to the stomach, and neither +sports like a young horse set free from harness, nor lies down to sleep +like an ass upon a common. The Duchesse de Chevreuse went to lie down +upon her bed and rest after dinner, as was then common; but, as was +fully as common, she asked the young Englishman to come and sit beside +her. There were no triclinia in those days, nor _chaises longues_, nor +sofas; and, although piles of cushions had been introduced into a few +houses by those who had served against or with the Turks, they had not +found their way into the Chateau de Dampierre. Her conversation was much +more sober, however, than it had been in the earlier part of the day; +and from it Edward learned that Lord Montagu had talked to her much +about him, had told her his whole history, and had even left with her a +purse of five hundred crowns for his use, expressing a conviction that +some unforeseen accident had delayed him on his journey and might have +exhausted his finances. + +"He seemed to take a vast deal of interest in you," said the duchess, +"and made me long to see you. But, Monsieur Langdale, this conduct of +his Eminence of Richelieu toward you puzzles me, and to my mind augurs +little good. Tell me: did any thing particular happen to you on the +road? Did you meet with any of the cardinal's people? Are these two men +you have brought with you sure and faithful?" + +The remembrance of the two strangers who had endeavored to force +themselves upon him, instantly recurred to Edward's mind, and he related +the whole adventure. + +"Spies! spies, on my life!" cried the duchess. "I trust they did not +discover you were coming here?" + +"Not from me," answered Edward Langdale; "for I suspected them from the +first." + +"Ah! then you have learned to suspect betimes," said the duchess; "and I +dare say you suspect women as much as men,--though we are more sincere +by half. I say not we are more faithful, for men are so unfaithful that +we should lose at that game; but we show more openly what we feel, and +therefore are more true. Now, tell me: were you ever in love, Monsieur +Langdale?" + +Thus she rambled on, with less gayety, and less familiarity, perhaps, +than before dinner; but there was a sort of languor about her, a soft +sleepiness, which was perhaps more attractive, especially to a young +man. One of the greatest charms of that extraordinary woman was her +infinite variety. Was it now a desire merely to coquet with a young and +handsome lad? Was it only with the purpose of amusing a vacant hour or +two? Was it without purpose at all, and that she simply gave way to the +passing feelings of the moment and with listless carelessness left the +results to chance? I know not; and probably she herself and Edward +Langdale were the only persons who ever knew. + +Authors will get into difficulties sometimes, dear reader,--will come to +sticking-places where they find it as difficult to go back as to wade +through. The only way in such circumstances is to take a great jump; +and, thank Heaven, the horses we ride are equal to any leap. + +The next morning Edward and the duchess and her daughter met at +breakfast; and Madame de Chevreuse, if not in great spirits, was +cheerful and gay, and full of plans for passing the day pleasantly. She +would go and show the young Englishman the grotto and the rocks; they +would kill a stag in the adjoining forest; they would visit the _curé_ +of Chevreuse, and astonish the good man,--a sport which she by no means +disliked: but while they were arranging all these schemes on the open +space before the chateau, a courier was seen riding up from the gates, +and when he came near he handed the duchess two letters. + +The blood left her cheek as she read, and, instantly drawing Edward +aside, she said, "We must part at once. You go on as fast as possible to +Gray. Wait there two days, and, if you hear no more, ride forward to +Turin. As for myself, look here." And she put a paper into his hand. It +was a copy of the decree banishing her to Lorraine, there to remain upon +her own estates till the king's further pleasure. + +"Order your horses quickly," she said. "Then come to my chamber for the +sum Montagu left for you. Glimpses of sunshine! glimpses of sunshine in +this April-day life! and then dark clouds and heavy showers." + +In an hour, Edward Langdale rode away from Dampierre. He was grave and +silent. What was in his heart who can tell? but he certainly did not +view the world more brightly, or feel more confidence in human nature, +than he had done before that short visit. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + +Edward Langdale rode on from place to place, sometimes quickly, +sometimes slowly, as the condition of the roads and the nature of the +country required; and, strangely enough for a journey in those days, +neither accident nor adventure befell him. One thing excited his +curiosity and suspicion, however. At Trapes, where he passed the first +night after leaving the house of Madame de Chevreuse, when he had +finished his supper and was just retiring to rest, he caught for a +moment, on the somewhat darksome stairs, one glance of a face he thought +he had seen before. He could not identify it, indeed, for it was lost as +soon as seen; but it instantly carried his mind back to his adventure +with the two Savoyards, and he felt almost sure that face belonged to +one of them. But neither of the two strangers appeared the next morning; +and Pierrot and Jacques both assured him that their horses were not in +the stable. + +There are faces that haunt us both in night and daydreams; and Edward +was almost led to believe that one of these spectres of the imagination +had taken possession of him; for twice or three times before he reached +Gray that face again crossed him for a moment, and always when no one +else was present who could confirm or remove his suspicions. + +Those were not pleasant days to live in; and it is a very difficult +thing for any one born in and accustomed to the bad comfortable modern +days to realize those _good old times_. Espionage was then a great +science, an honorable profession, practised by great dignitaries and men +of high degree. Words brought men's heads to the block, and thoughts +often conducted to a prison. There was no need of overt acts: intentions +were quite sufficient; and friends and foes were so continually changing +places that no one could tell that the thoughts uttered in the +confidence of familiar intercourse would not be brought forward a few +days or weeks later to lead one to the dungeon and the rack. Yet it is +wonderful, unaccountable, how freely and daringly men spoke their +mind,--how the grave condemnation, the witty lampoon, or the hideous +libel, was disseminated without ceremony. Men laughed and had their +heads chopped off,--and would have laughed still if they could have been +fixed on again, I do believe; for nothing seemed a warning or a +restraint. + +Edward, however, born in a country where neither the reign of the Tudor +nor of the Stuart had been able to crush out the spirit of liberty, +loved not to be watched; and there is always something more alarming in +the indefinite than the definite danger. He could not divine what was +the object of the two strangers, if, indeed, they had any object, in +thus persisting in following him. The cardinal had lacked no opportunity +of detaining him at Nantes, or of arresting him on his journey, if he +had thought fit; and yet he could not clear his mind from suspicion till +he reached Franche Comté and found himself beyond the power of the +French minister. + +It may be necessary to remind the reader that Franche Comté was not +annexed to France till the year 1668; and at the time of which I now +write the important town of Gray was a fortified place, consisting of +the city on the high ground strongly walled, and a suburb on the bank of +the Saône, defended merely by a small battery. For a long period of +troublous times, so frequent had been the visits of French exiles to +Lorraine, Burgundy, and Franche Comté, that safe-conducts or passports +from one country to another were very generally dispensed with in the +country and in open towns; but in fortresses some trouble was +experienced; and it is probable that the directions which the Duchesse +de Chevreuse had given Edward Langdale to stop in the faubourg were +intended to guard against his detention. The inn which she had named to +him was good, however,--perhaps better than that in the upper town; and +the appointed two days of Edward's stay passed dully but not +unpleasantly. The horses were refreshed and the two men none the worse +for the repose. For Edward himself, too, perhaps two days of thought +were beneficial. Every man, in the toil and tumult and hurry of the +world, requires some moment to pause and consider his position, to +decide upon his future course, to apply the lesson of past errors, to +take breath as it were amidst the bustle of existence. Edward was like a +stout swimmer who had been suddenly plunged into a torrent, and was +likely to be carried away by the flood which for the last three months +had been whirling confusedly round him; and those two days at Gray were +like a little island of dry ground where he could rest and scan his way +to the opposite bank, avoiding the rocks and eddies which might impede +or destroy him. It is a quaint old proverb, but a true one, that "a man +who does not look clearly before him will often have to look sadly +behind him;" and happy is he who has both the will and the time to do +so. + +Those two days then with Edward passed in almost uninterrupted thought; +but at last the night of the second day came, and yet neither message +nor letter had arrived. Supper had been eaten, and the horses had been +ordered for daybreak on the following morning to proceed to Turin, when, +toward nine o'clock, the landlord brought in a scrap of writing, asking +Edward if that was intended for him. It was addressed in +English,--"Master Edward Langdale,"--and underneath was written, "Join +me at Chambéry or Aix. I shall be there from the twenty-ninth till the +first." + +No name was signed, but the writing was Lord Montagu's; and the +landlord, on being questioned, said the paper had been given to him by a +courier from Arnay le Duc going to Vesoul, who had gone on his way as +soon as he had left it. + +Now, Edward's knowledge of geography was considerable, and, as far as +France and England were concerned, minute; but he had at Gray got +somewhat out of his latitude, and the landlord had to be consulted as +to the road to Aix and Chambéry. The good man was learned upon the +subject, however, knew every inch of the road, he said, and could find +his way in the dark. It was true, he added, that it was rather a wild +way, and carriages could hardly go one-half the distance; but, as the +gentleman had horses, it would be easily managed. He must first go +straight to Dole, then from Dole to Lons-le-Saulnier, from +Lons-le-Saulnier to Bourg or Nantua, and thence to the Pont du Sault. +After that, he said, came Bellay and Aix and Chambéry; but there the +traveller would have to ask every step of his way. It was a five days' +journey, he remarked, and, ride as hard as you would, it would take four +and a half. + +Edward did ride hard, and the first part of the way was overcome in a +much shorter space of time than the good host had anticipated; nor was +it till the party had passed Bourg that any thing like difficulties +occurred. It is as pleasant a ride in fine weather as any one can take, +for the roads are now good and the scenery exceedingly picturesque +without being fatiguingly grand; but neither Edward nor ourselves have +any time to pause upon the beauties of nature. The roads, however, were +then in a very different condition from that which they now display; +and, indeed, the wonder-working eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have +done more for few countries than for the districts lying between the +Jura and the Rhone and Saône. + +On the twenty-seventh of July, Edward Langdale and his party were within +one short day's journey of Aix, and the early morning when they set out +was fresh and beautiful. The hot summer sun was shaded by the rocks and +forests, and the air was cooled by the mountain-breeze. As he was +earlier than the first of the days named by Lord Montagu, the young +traveller suffered his horses to proceed leisurely. But in this he made +a mistake. Man always wants more money and time than he calculates upon; +and nobody can tell what the want of an hour or a guinea may bring +about. + +As every one knows, the country which Edward had now to traverse is a +land of rocks and mountains, of rivers and lakes. Not three miles can be +passed without encountering some stream or torrent hurrying down to +join the great Rhone; and at every mile, as the road then went, was some +steep ascent or descent, flanked with rugged cliffs, sometimes covered +with dark forests, sometimes naked and gray, with immense masses of +stone impending over the traveller's head without the root of a single +tree to bind them to the crag, while high up in front the Mont du Chat +was seen from time to time rearing its rugged front and seeming to close +the pass. About one o'clock, over the edges of the hills some heavy +clouds were seen rising, knotty and dull, and of a deep lead-color, +except where the sun tipped their edges with an ochrey yellow. The wind +was from the northeast, and the clouds were coming from the south. But +they did not heed the breeze, which soon began to fail before them. + +"Let us ride faster," said Edward: "the road is good here." And on he +went, keeping his eye on the heavy masses, but fearing no greater +inconvenience than a wetting. He had never travelled in Savoy before. +However, by quick trotting he saved himself and his followers for about +two hours; but by the end of that time the sun was hidden and great +drops began to fall. Then came the thunder echoing through the hills, +and then a complete deluge. Every thing turned gray, and the old castles +which strew that part of the country could hardly be distinguished from +the rocks on which they stood. + +Two more hours were passed by the travellers under an overhanging shelf +of rock, which afforded some shelter, not only to themselves, but also +to their horses. But at the end of that time the rain had had the effect +of loosening some parts of the cliff, and several large masses of stone +began to fall, giving them warning to retreat as soon as possible. + +The thunder was now more distant and the flashes of lightning farther +apart; but the rain continued to fall, not so heavily, but in a dull, +incessant pour. There was nothing to be done but to ride on, and, even +then, but slow progress could be made; for the roads were cut up in a +terrible manner, the smaller streams were swollen so as to be well nigh +impassable, and here and there the way was nearly blocked up by piles of +rock and gravel. Night was rapidly coming on; no human habitation was +in sight except a scattered old tower here and there, and that in ruins. + +At length, just as the sun sank, a more formidable obstacle than ever +presented itself. Where the road took a rapid descent between some high +rocky ground on the right and the Rhone in flood upon the left, just at +the spot where one of the branches of the Guiers joins the larger river, +an immense mass of rock, undermined by the torrent, had fallen across +the mouth of the stream, which, thus blocked up, had flooded the whole +road. By the side of the water, gazing disconsolately at the rushing and +whirling current, was a group of men, some four in number. It was too +dark for Edward to distinguish who they were at any distance, but when +he came nearer he perceived his two old friends the Savoyard +blacksmiths, and two laborers of the country, whom the fall of the rock +and the consequent inundation had, it seemed, cut off from their own +cottages on the other side. + +"Ah! bon jour, bon jour, seigneur!" said one of the blacksmiths, who had +dismounted, and was holding his horse by the bridle: "we came all along +the road with you, after all, but we kept out of your way for fear of +your pistols. Here is a pretty pass! We shall not get over to-night, +these men say." + +"Can we find no place of shelter this side?" asked Edward, whose +suspicion of the two men had been greatly abated by finding they had +quietly pursued their way to Savoy. The blacksmith shook his head. + +"I saw an old castle about half a mile back," said the young Englishman: +"it was not far up the mountain." + +"All ruined! No roof," replied the other. "Ask them yourself." + +But Edward could not make either of the peasants comprehend a word he +said. "We must do something," he remarked. "It is growing darker every +moment, and it would give us some sort of covering, were it but under an +old arch. Hark! there are horses coming on the other side. Those men +will be into the torrent if they do not mind." And, raising his voice, +he shouted aloud to warn the horsemen, who were dashing on at furious +pace from the side of Aix. + +The wind set the other way, and the roaring of the water was loud, so +that it is probable his shout was not heard, for the next moment there +was a plunge into the water and then a loud cry for help. + +Edward sprang instantly from his horse and advanced to the very verge of +the stream. + +"For Heaven's sake, Master Ned, for Heaven's sake, do not try it!" cried +Pierrot, catching his arm. + +"Here, take the horse," said Edward, sharply. "Let go my arm." + +A flash of lightning came at that moment, faint, indeed, but sufficient +to show him a horse carried away toward the Rhone, a horseman who had +pulled up just in time upon the other brink, and a man struggling in the +water and trying to hold by a smooth mass of fallen rock, just in the +middle of the torrent, about twelve yards from him. He paused not to +consider, but ran as far as he could up the water, dashed in, and swam +with all his strength toward the drowning man, whom he could just +distinguish. Borne down by the current, he drifted right to the rock, +calling aloud, in French, "Do not touch me, and I will save you!" + +Such warnings are usually vain. The man's first effort was to clutch +him; but Edward was prepared, and kept him off, catching him tightly by +the back of the neck. We have said that he was a good and practised +swimmer; but neither skill nor strength would probably have carried him +across that small space of twelve yards against that powerful current. +But Jacques Beaupré caught sight of him, and exclaimed, "Here, Pierrot, +catch my hand. Let us all be drowned in company." And, running in till +the water reached his shoulders and almost carried him off his feet, he +contrived to grasp Edward's arm and pull him on till he could touch +ground. + +The young lad was almost exhausted, for the man, of whom he had never +loosed his hold, had struggled to the last to grasp him, and the few +moments since he had left the rock had been all one confused scene of +strife amongst the dark and eddying waters. + +"Here; let me take him, sir," said Jacques: "if ever a man's life was +nobly saved, it is his." And, throwing his brawny arms round the +stranger, who struggled still, he carried him on to the road. + +Edward paused for a moment, as soon as he could resist the stream, to +draw breath, and then slowly joined the rest. They had laid the stranger +down on the bank, and for a moment or two he remained quite still, +though his panting breath showed that his life was in no danger. + +"Here, moosoo, take some of this," said one of the blacksmiths, pouring +some spirit out of a bottle into the stranger's mouth: "you owe that +young seigneur something; for if he had not been here you would have +been out of Savoy by this time." + +"I know it; I know it," said the rescued man, faintly. "Where is he? +which is he?" + +"Look! look!" cried Pierrot: "there is a light up there, in one, two, +three windows. That must be in the old chateau which these fellows said +was all in ruins. Let us go up. We shall none of us ever get dry here, +it is raining so hard." + +"Are you able, sir, to walk up to that castle?" asked Edward, speaking +to the stranger, who had now raised himself upon his arm. "I fear your +poor horse is lost beyond all hope." + +"Let the fiery brute go," said the other, petulantly: "if he would have +obeyed the rein I should not have been in this plight. I will try to +accompany you in a moment. But what castle is that? It must be Groslie, +I think." + +He did not speak very good French; but, calling to one of the Savoyard +peasants, he addressed him in his own language, of which he seemed to +have a perfect command. + +The good man instantly began to speak fast and gesticulate vehemently; +and, translating as best he could the language of signs, Edward +concluded that the Savoyard was trying to dissuade the gentleman from +going to the old chateau he had seen. + +"What does he say?" asked the young Englishman: "he seems unwilling we +should go." + +"Oh, he talks nonsense," answered the stranger: "he will have it that +the place is haunted, and says that no one is ever seen there by day, +but that those lights appear from time to time at night,--smugglers, +more likely, or coiners; but we are too many for them to do us any +harm." As he spoke he raised himself slowly upon his feet and said to +the friendly blacksmith, "Give me some more of those strong waters, my +friend. I will pay you well for them." + +The man readily supplied him, and he professed himself ready to proceed; +but the two peasants could not be induced by any means to accompany the +rest. One of the blacksmiths, however, produced a lantern and candle +from the packs which each carried behind his saddle, and the party set +out, not without fresh remonstrances from the boors. + +"If they be devils, we do not fear them," replied the stranger, and then +added some directions which probably referred to the servant, who had +been able to stop his horse in time and remained on the other side of +the torrent. + +The peasants seemed to treat the stranger with much respect; but even +when, by the aid of a flint and steel, the lantern was lighted, it was +impossible for Edward to discern more of the other's person than +sufficient to satisfy him that he was a man of distinguished appearance, +tall and well formed though slight, and clothed as one of the higher +classes. + +The ascent was somewhat laborious but not long, after they had once +discovered the right road; and about twenty minutes brought the party to +an old bridge and gate under a deep arch. By the faint light of the +candle, which was by this time wellnigh burned out, the place looked +fully as ruinous and desolate as the peasants had represented it to be. +The rugged outlines of some of the towers showed that much of the +masonry had fallen, and the key-stone of the arch and a large mass of +rubbish only left room for the horses to pass one at a time. Still, +however, the light they had seen from below continued to stream from +three windows in a great, dark, shapeless mass of buildings, and the +approach of the new-comers did not seem to have been discovered by the +persons within, if there were any. + +"Stop a moment," said Edward, pausing under the arch. "As we do not +know what sort of persons we shall find within, it is well to be +prepared. The priming of my pistols may be damp, though the holsters are +made as tight as possible." And, standing under the shelter of the +walls, he took the weapon from his saddle-bow, threw the powder out of +the pans, and primed them anew. He then took the very useful precautions +of ascertaining that no water had entered the barrels and that the balls +were still in their places. + +"Ay, he has got two lives there," said Pierrot, keeping close to his +master; and then, fastening the horses to some chains which hung about +the bridge, the whole party advanced toward the building in which the +lights were seen. A low and narrow door admitted them to the foot of a +small stone staircase, and, lighted by the blinking lantern, they began +to ascend. They had hardly gone half-way up--Edward with one pistol in +his belt and the other in his hand--when they heard a clear, merry peal +of laughter; and, somewhat hurrying his pace, lest the little candle +should go out before they reached the object of their search, the young +Englishman reached a little ante-room with a door on the opposite side, +through the large key-hole of which a ray of light streamed out upon the +floor. + +The door was thrown open without ceremony; but the scene which the +interior of the large hall or chamber presented was what none of the +party expected. Seated round a table, on which were the remains of an +abundant meal, with plenty of wine, and sundry papers and maps, was a +party of gentlemen, richly dressed, with the exception of one who +occupied the top of the board and who was habited as an ecclesiastic. A +gentleman on the abbé's right hand was in the very act of speaking with +some gesticulation when the door was flung open; but he instantly +stopped. The party at the door stopped, also, in much surprise, and each +group gazed upon the other for a moment in silence. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + + +The hall was lighted by three large sconces hung against that part of +the wall nearest to the table; but still the extent of the chamber +rendered the light feeble, except immediately under the burners. It +cannot be said that the appearance of Edward Langdale and his companions +was very prepossessing. Edward himself wore his hat and plume, which had +been thrown off before he plunged into the water; but his dress was +soiled as well as wet. The stranger whom he had saved was in a still +worse plight: his hat, of course, had been lost in his struggle with the +torrent, and his forehead and part of his face were covered with +dripping locks of long black hair. His sword, which had remained in the +sheath, was the only distinguishing mark of a gentleman about him. +Pierrot and Jacques Beaupré looked far more like bravos than the +followers of an English gentleman of those days; and the two ill-favored +blacksmiths, one armed with a half-extinguished lantern and the other +with a sledge-hammer, did not add to the beauty or respectability of the +group. + +No wonder, then, that several of the gentlemen at the table laid their +hands upon their swords; and the one who had been speaking advanced a +step or two, exclaiming, in a threatening tone, "What is this? What +means this ill-mannered intrusion? Who are you, sirs, and what seek you +here?" + +"Shelter from the storm, and food, if it can be procured," said Edward: +"we know not upon whom----" + +But, before he could finish the sentence, the gentleman to whom it was +addressed started forward and caught him by the hand, exclaiming, "What! +Ned, my boy! How came you to seek me here?" + +"I did not seek you here, my lord," replied Edward, "and, to say truth, +if I had known you were here, I should not have come. I was on my way to +Aix to join your lordship, according to your commands; but the road is +impassable. Some of us have been half drowned; and, though this is a +desolate-looking place, we said, 'Any port in a storm.'" + +"But who are these gentlemen with you?" asked Lord Montagu, still +speaking in French, but running his eye somewhat doubtfully over the +group of five persons who had advanced some way from the door. + +"Those two," answered Edward, in the same gay tone, which was generally +affected by pages of noble houses,--"those two are my servants, or +rather your lordship's, the renowned and reformed Pierrot la Grange and +the facetious Jacques Beaupré. Those two--the one with the lantern and +the other with the hammer--are two respectable blacksmiths and +horse-doctors, who have joined themselves on to me and mine and did good +service in curing one of my horses. They profess to be Savoyards +returning to their own country." + +"They shall be welcome," said Lord Montagu, smiling,--"most welcome, for +I have no less than five good horses sick of some distemper at Chambéry. +But who is the other,--that gentleman who seems half drowned?" + +"He was half drowned a few minutes ago, my lord," replied the youth, +"and so was I; but he will probably tell you more of himself if you will +ask him. His horse leaped with him into the river, and it was a hard +matter to get him out." + +"I hold it but courteous in these bad times," said Lord Montagu, "to +follow the old knightly rule and ask no stranger any questions,--before +he has cut your throat; and therefore we will invite him to sup, and +leave him to explain himself. He seems a gentleman." + +"Yes, my lord," was all Edward's reply; but a very peculiar expression +crossed his countenance as he uttered those three words, which, had Lord +Montagu seen it, might have caused more inquiry. That nobleman, however, +had turned to speak for a moment with the gentlemen who had been seated +with him; and he then advanced to the stranger, inviting him courteously +to be seated and take some refreshment, and expressing sorrow for the +accident which had befallen him. He also bade the other four sit down +and eat; and, there being no place for so many at the table, filled as +it was, most of those who had already supped rose and gathered together +at the end of the board, Edward taking his place amongst them without +touching any thing. + +Lord Montagu introduced him to the rest in kind terms, saying, "My page +and young friend, Monsieur Edward Langdale, Monsieur le Prince de ----, +Monsieur le Comte de ----, Monsieur l'Abbé Scaglia, the Duke of Savoy's +prime minister. We came here on a little party of pleasure, Ned, and sat +long over our cups, in truth, hardly hearing that the storm was still +going on. Come, my good youth, sit down and eat. You must be well weary +of all the adventures which the fair duchess writes me you have gone +through. Eat, boy! eat!" + +"Your pardon, my lord," said Edward, gravely: "I will take a cup of wine +here standing: that is all. I have much to tell your lordship." + +"By-and-by, by-and-by," said Lord Montagu, "we shall have plenty of time +and plenty to talk of. Well, drink if you will not eat." + +Edward Langdale advanced to the table, filled himself a goblet of wine, +and returned with it to Lord Montagu's side. Before he could raise it to +his lips, however, the stranger whom he had saved from drowning turned +round his head, saying, with a polite smile, "Let me have the pleasure +of drinking with you, young gentleman, in memory of the service you +rendered me. I do not know your name, though your face is very familiar +to me." + +A dark cloud gathered upon Edward Langdale's brow, and he answered, not +sharply, but with stern, cold bitterness, "I neither eat with you nor +drink with you, sir." + +The stranger started up with his face all on fire, and exclaimed, with +his hand upon the hilt of his sword, "Do you mean to insult me, sir?" + +"I mean to tell you, sir," said the youth, boldly, "that I am Edward +Langdale,--your father's son; and that you have robbed me of that to +which neither he nor you had any right,--my sweet mother's estates." + +"Robbed? robbed?" cried Sir Richard Langdale, furiously drawing his +sword. + +"Ay, robbed,--swindled, if you like it better," said Edward. "Put up +your sword, or sheathe it here," he continued, throwing his arms wide +open and exposing his chest. "I do not fight with my brother." + +The other rushed upon him like a madman. + +"What is this? what is this?" cried the Abbé Scaglia, running forward. + +"Back, madman!" exclaimed Lord Montagu, seizing Richard Langdale by the +collar. + +Pierrot la Grange also darted forward and tried to push between. But all +were too late. Edward fell to the ground with a heavy fall, and his +brother withdrew his sword all dripping with blood. + +The burly blacksmith advanced toward him with his hammer raised in the +act to strike him on the head, exclaiming, in very good French, "The +murdering villain! He has killed the man who saved his life at the risk +of his own, not an hour ago!" + +But Lord Montagu caught his arm, saying, "Stand back. This must be +inquired into by justice. No more slaughter here. Sir, give up your +sword! You are a prisoner." + +"Aid, all men, to arrest him!" cried the Abbé Scaglia. "I command you in +the duke's name!" + +Sir Richard Langdale moved not a muscle, but stood gazing at the fallen +form of his brother with a face as pale as marble and bloodless lips. +Such sudden changes of feeling will often take place in terrible +circumstances. When the dreadful deed, prompted by the fierce fire of +passion, is once done, we know all its horrors; but not before. The +consummation is like the lightning-flash upon a corpse, showing every +ghastly feature more livid and frightful from the remorse-like glare +that darts across it. Suddenly he started, raised his hands to his head, +tearing his long black hair, and exclaiming, "Curse the lands! Curse the +riches!" + +"Here!" cried Lord Montagu, "take him away, you two. Guard him safely, +but do him no hurt. You stout fellow, aid us to raise this poor lad, +and let us see if nothing can be done for him. On my life, I would as +soon have lost my brother!" + +"Let me tend him, sir," said the blacksmith with the lantern: "I have +cured many a horse as bad hurt as he; and a horse and a man are much the +same thing." + +"Not quite," said Lord Montagu, who even at that moment could not +altogether resist the joking spirit of his times and his party. "Heaven! +how he bleeds! Gentlemen, he was the noblest lad--the promptest with +hand and head and heart--I ever saw. Poor Edward! can we do nothing for +you?" + +As he spoke, they raised the youth and laid him on the table, and the +blacksmith tore open his vest. The movement seemed to awaken him a +little; and, probably with thoughts far distant, he exclaimed, in a +faint voice, "No, never! no, not with life!" But the rough hands stayed +not their work; and, after gazing for an instant at his wounded side, +the man turned to his companion, saying, "Ivan, run down and bring up +the pack, quick! We can stop this bleeding. Do you not see? it does not +jerk. Then, if none of the vitals be touched----" + +"A hundred crowns if you save him till we can get to Aix," said Lord +Montagu. + +"I think I can save him altogether," said the man. "The thing is, people +will not treat man as if he were a beast; and so they kill him. Man and +beast are only flesh, and all flesh is grass." + +But it is needless to discuss or to display any further the views and +principles of Edward's somewhat rough doctor, or to detail the treatment +he underwent. There was the usual amount of bustle and confusion, and +the much talking and the recommendation of many remedies which could not +be procured and would have done no good if they had been there. Suffice +it that the bleeding was soon stayed, and that Edward recovered from the +fainting-fit into which the wound, probably penetrating some very +sensitive part, had thrown him. The blacksmith by no means wanted +mother-wit, and his treatment was probably based upon the sound +principle of merely aiding nature. The lad spoke a few words, and they +tried to impose silence upon him; but he would not hold his peace till +those around assured him that no one had hurt his brother and that he +was safe in another chamber. + +All Lord Montagu's anxiety seemed to be to get him to Aix; and he went +out himself and sent out more than once to see if the storm was over. +Luckily for Edward, it continued all night and part of the next morning; +I say luckily, for the hands in which he was were probably better +calculated to bring about his recovery than any which could have been +found in a small town in Savoy, as medical science went in those times. + +In the mean while, the party assembled made themselves as comfortable as +they could in disagreeable circumstances of many kinds; and the heavy +tread of Sir Richard Langdale was heard through the night beating +incessantly the floor of the room above. Toward morning that wearisome +footfall ceased, and Lord Montagu, who sat by Edward's side and was +still awake, said to himself, "That poor wretch has found sleep at +length. Now, which is the happiest?--he, or poor Ned here? I would +rather be that boy than the man who has killed his own brother. They say +that Edward saved his life, too, not an hour before. Very likely! He is +fit for any gallant act. Heaven! what must that man's thoughts be?" + +Soon after, the Abbé Scaglia roused himself in the corner where he had +ensconced him, and, moving quietly up, talked in a low tone for some +twenty minutes with Lord Montagu. They then roused the rest of the party +who had been supping there, and went down into the court-yard, where +they found the horses of Edward Langdale and his companions. Their own +were hidden in one of those deep vaults under the great tower which were +common in most feudal castles, especially in border-districts, as a safe +and silent receptacle of stolen cattle and horses. + +Though it was still raining, most of the party mounted and rode away, +promising to send up a litter and a surgeon as soon as the road was +passable. Lord Montagu himself said he would remain with the poor lad, +and reascended to the chamber where he had left him. + +All was silent there: the wounded youth had fallen into a sleep which +seemed calm, and the two blacksmiths were nodding beside him. The +English nobleman then went up to the floor above, where he found Jacques +Beaupré asleep across the door, and Pierrot sitting up, but rubbing his +eyes as if he had not been long awake. + +In answer to the nobleman's questions, Pierrot detailed all that had +occurred upon the road, and dwelt upon the gallant conduct of his young +master. "He little thought," said the man, "that he was risking his own +life to save the very man who would kill him. But I have often heard say +that it is unlucky to rescue a man from drowning. As to this man in +here, sir, I believe he is mad; for he has been walking about all +night,--sometimes talking to himself, sometimes groaning as if his heart +would break. I had better wake him, perhaps." + +"No, no! Let him sleep if he can," said Lord Montagu, quickly. "Well may +he groan! Pray Heaven neither of us may ever have such cause, my man. +When you hear him move, get him some wine. There is still some +down-stairs. Till then, let him alone. If he sleeps, it is the best +thing for him." + +Thus saying, he went down again, and, finding every thing as before, +approached the window and gazed at the morning light, still pale and +blue, spreading up from the mountain-edges into the rainy sky. After +about half an hour, Edward turned painfully and asked for some water. +His lord gave it to him with a kindly word or two, and the blacksmiths +woke up and examined the wound. They seemed satisfied with its +appearance, and one of them said, loud enough for Edward to hear, "He +will get well, sir." + +Oh, what a blessed thing is hope! Those few words were a better balm +than any druggist could have supplied. They brought with them, too, the +thought of Lucette; and, beckoning to Lord Montagu to hold down his +head, he whispered, "If I should die, my lord, I beseech you to write a +few lines to the old Marquise de Lagny, to tell her the fact. She will +be with the court of France, wherever that may be." + +"No, no; you will get well, Ned," said Lord Montagu, in a cheerful tone. +"I do not intend to part with you yet. But now you must positively be +silent if you would not increase the evil." + +Some four or five hours passed. The rain cleared away, the sun broke +out, and Lord Montagu looked anxiously from the windows which were +turned toward the road, in expectation of the promised litter. All he +could see, however, was a large party of Savoyard peasantry working +hard, apparently, to remove some obstruction from the highway. + +He was still gazing forth, when Pierrot appeared at the door, and, +finding all still, beckoned to him. + +"My lord," he said, in a low voice, when Montagu had joined him, "I can +hear nothing of that man above, nor Jacques either. He could not get out +of the windows; and I should not wonder if he has hanged himself." + +Lord Montagu started and instantly ran up-stairs, thinking the +conclusion at which Pierrot had jumped not at all improbable. He opened +the door gently and looked around. The sun was shining full into the +room, but Sir Richard Langdale was not there. The only thing that could +indicate the mode of his escape was a pair of large riding-boots, very +wet, which lay on the floor; and it is probable that, opening the door +cautiously while the two men were asleep, he had stepped lightly over +them and then gone down the stairs. + +"What a thing is the love of life!" thought Lord Montagu. "This man +would rather live miserable than risk the grave. However, I cannot be +sorry; and I believe poor Ned will be glad." + +He entered the room below as silently as possible; but Edward, who had +heard his rapid step running up the stairs, turned his head, asking, "Is +there any thing the matter above?" + +"Only that your brother has escaped," said his lord. + +"Thank God!" said the young man, with a smile. "Pray, do not pursue him, +my lord." + +"I will not," replied Montagu: "make your mind easy, Ned." + +"Here come some people with a litter up the hill," said one of the +blacksmiths. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + + +The _auberge_, the _cabaret_, the _gîte_, were the usual places of +repose for travellers in the reign of Louis XIII., as they had been +under that of his father, Henry IV. Some change, indeed, had taken place +in point of comfort and refinement; and even before the epoch of Louis +XIV., which was now rapidly approaching, many an auberge was a very +comfortable and luxurious dwelling. But there was another roof, which, +in those days, afforded in Catholic countries--and even now afford, on +the less frequented lines of travel--a more peaceful and little less +comfortable or luxurious resting-spot than the houses of public +entertainment. This was the large monastery, the abbey or the priory of +any of the hospitable orders; and in Savoy these were peculiarly +numerous, as their splendid ruins still attest. + +Alas that in the march of what we call improvement so much that is good +is swept away! Many undoubtedly were the vices and the evils which had +crept into the Romish Church; great, we Protestants believe, was the +corruption of her faith; but the time will come when the whole world +will own that to that Church we owe a debt of gratitude for arts, +institutions, faith itself, preserved, and will regret that in the +fanatical zeal of religious innovation the good and the bad were +promiscuously crushed together. + +With the men who bore the litter sent by the Abbé Scaglia was a surgeon +of some eminence, who strongly advised that the wounded youth should be +carried to the Abbey of St. Pierre rather than to a noisy inn in Aix. It +was but a mile from the city, he said: the air was pure and fine, and +the attendance of the sisters, who were of an order of charity, would be +worth more than that of any nurses who could be found in the town. They +were the servants of God; the others were the servants of Mammon: and no +one could doubt which would do their duty best. + +His reasoning was conclusive; and Edward Langdale was accordingly +carried to the abbey and kindly received. + +No need to dwell upon his illness. It was severe, but it was not fatal; +and, by the reader's leave, we will advance six days in our story and +look into the chamber which had been assigned him in the hospital-part +of the building. Lord Montagu sat by his bedside with a cheerful look, +and the young man was already able to raise himself upon his arm and +listen to or answer questions. His noble friend had passed the +intervening time, as he had proposed, at Aix, and his days were full of +business and excitement; but still he had found leisure to ride out each +day and visit his page. + +"Well, Ned," he said, "you are now in a fair way. The surgeon tells me +there is no doubt of your recovery now, if you have even tolerable +prudence; so I shall leave you for a day or two and go to Turin. I trust +you will be able to travel shortly after I come back; for I have wanted +you much during your long absence, and shall want you more now. There is +Henry Freeland; he is stupid as an ass; and then George Abbot, who has +sense enough when you give him three hours to think over what he has to +do, is as slow as an elephant." + +"I was indeed very long on my journey, my lord," replied Edward; "but I +can assure you I could not help it. One unfortunate accident after +another detained me, as I have partly told you." + +"Ay, Madame de Chevreuse wrote me all that," said Montagu. "You were ill +from a knock on the head at Rochelle. You are too quick, my boy, and, I +dare say, brought it on yourself; but I would rather have a ready hand +and a ready head than a slow heart and a dull understanding. It was +unfortunate, it is true; for it gave an excuse for sending away Lord +Denbigh's fleet. But that was all a pretext. We understand these +Rochellais well; and they will quarrel amongst themselves till they lose +their city. Then you were caught by this great cardinal and detained by +him. You must tell me all about that by-and-by. It is a marvel he hanged +you not; and you must have managed him skilfully. But tell me about +these two blacksmith horse-doctors you had with you. They say they met +you on the road at Chartres, and that you would have none of their +company." + +"They say true, my lord," answered Edward. "I liked not their faces, and +I wished to ride alone. Besides, I had seen one of them, I am sure, at +Nantes, in the court of the castle; and I feared he might be one of the +cardinal's people. But, as he is here in Savoy, whither he said from the +first he was coming, I was probably mistaken. However, it is always +better to be sure of your company." + +"Oh, they are honest fellows," said Lord Montagu; "and, as I am +continually wanting a smith, I have engaged them both to go with me as +far at least as Liege. If they were the cardinal's men they would not go +out of the cardinal's reach." + +It may be necessary to explain that in those days, in Europe, men were +much in the same state as travellers in Hindostan at present. Each +servant you had with you had his specialty, and the train of a man of +means and retinue consisted of a dozen more persons than any one now +requires. It is true that at great towns you could find artificers of +all sorts, ready to repair your coach or shoe your horses, or perform +any services which the accidents of the road might require; but, if one +of those accidents occurred between great town and great town, you might +have to travel twenty miles with a lame horse or a broken vehicle, +unless you had some one with you capable of rectifying the mischance +upon the spot. Poor men were obliged to submit to such inconveniences, +but the rich were prepared against them; and, as Lord Montagu's object +was haste, and that rapidity of movement which is the best concealment, +he very naturally desired to guard against all impediments. + +The object of that nobleman in the long journey which he was even then +taking was to forward the great schemes of one to whom he was devoted +with a warmth and sincerity of attachment very rare even then, rarer +still now. The famous Duke of Buckingham, favorite of two kings, and +ruler for a time of both king and people, was a man of great and daring +enterprise, of bold and courageous action, but of small foresight and +of less discretion. Unfortunate in action, from causes which he often +could not control, he was great in purpose and even obstinate in +resolution. The fault was generally a want of capacity for detail, and a +miscalculation of the means in his power as proportioned to the end he +had in view. For the first time in life, however, he had now considered +his steps well and devised each move on the political chess-board +accurately. Whatever were his motives, (none has discovered them, nor, +perhaps, ever will,) his present object was to humble France and to +raise England at her expense; and, while he himself prepared eagerly for +a war in which he was not fitted for command, his most intimate friend +and confidant, Lord Montagu, was intrusted with the execution of that +great political scheme which is the only bright point in Buckingham's +career as a statesman. His task was, in the first place, to unite every +discontented person and party in France against the crown, to combine +Huguenots with dissatisfied Catholics, a turbulent nobility with a +turbulent people, and to disunite the powers, wherever they might be, +which supported the throne. But in the next place came the still more +important part of the scheme. It was to bring together all the foreign +enemies of France, a discordant and heterogeneous body, and to direct +their efforts in one concentrated torrent against a kingdom already +distracted by internal feuds. + +Few men could have been better fitted for these tasks; but in some +respects Lord Montagu was wanting. He was somewhat too confiding; though +politic, he was not sufficiently reserved; though clear-sighted, he was +not observant of small particulars. + +Hitherto he had been successful in all he had attempted; and now, by +Edward's bedside, he spoke with some satisfaction of all he had +done:--how he had remained in France in despite of the terrible minister +who then already ruled the destinies of that great country; how he had +passed from house to house and castle to castle, giving consistency to +plans and direction to purposes which had previously been vague and +undefined; how he had obtained written assurances of co-operation and +support from many of the most powerful nobility and the most +influential factions in France; how his efforts in Spain and Lorraine +and Savoy were all on the eve of triumph. + +"Here," he said, "I have met with more difficulty than I expected. The +court of the duke is divided. Many of his advisers have been gained by +Richelieu, and a number of the chief nobility are attached to an +alliance with France. It was to strengthen the hands of our friend the +Abbé Scaglia, and to commit irrevocably to our party many of the most +influential of these nobles, that we held the secret meeting in the old +Chateau of Groslie, where you found us so unexpectedly. Your coming was +not, in truth, inopportune; for all was settled, and further discussion +would have done harm rather than good." + +"I am glad your lordship has been so successful in great matters," said +Edward, "while I have been so unsuccessful in smaller ones. Indeed, +though I cannot trace my want of success to any fault of my own, yet I +cannot help feeling that my failure to accomplish any thing that was +intrusted to me must have shaken your lordship's confidence in me. +Either I must have been stupid, or most unfortunate,--which is perhaps +worse." + +"Nonsense, lad!" said Lord Montagu. "Many of the most successful men I +have ever known failed in their first efforts: some failed for many +years. There is in circumstance, my good youth, a dead weight which no +human strength can overcome. We sent you to France because you were +likely to pass where no man of riper years and known reputation could +have made his way; but we were well aware that you had difficulties to +contend with which were sure to try you hard and probably might +frustrate all your efforts. But you have not wholly failed. You have +been delayed, impeded; but you have made known the views of England +where it was necessary they should be known, and you have brought me +intelligence of the state of preparation of his Grace of Buckingham, +which was most important at the present moment." + +"Indeed, my lord!" cried Edward, with a look of extreme surprise. "The +cardinal minister opened all the letters and read them in my presence, +and I heard no such intelligence." + +"Look there!" said Montagu, taking a letter from his pocket and holding +it up before the young man's eyes. "You thought that there was nothing +on that sheet but what is written in black ink; and so did Richelieu; +but he did not and could not discover all that is told in those orange +characters unless he had possessed the secret, only known to three +persons, of the liquid which brings out the characters from the +apparently blank paper. It is only a marvel, my boy, that you passed at +all. We hardly expected it; but you have passed, and, though delayed +upon your journey, have brought me this intelligence in time. This +cardinal is very shrewd; but there are people as shrewd as he. This news +will hurry the movements of Savoy, Lorraine, the empire; and yet he had +this letter in his hand and suffered it to pass." + +"No thanks to me," said Edward; "for I knew not what was in it." + +He was in a somewhat desponding mood, and inclined to undervalue his own +services; but he could not help seeing that papers had been put into his +hands which, unknown to himself, must have led him to an ignominious +death if they had been discovered; and, for the time at least, he felt +sick of political intrigue. There are moments; even in the midst of the +bustle and turmoil, the eagerness and the excitement, of this world's +objects and ambitions, when a consciousness of the excellence of perfect +truth and plain sincerity comes upon us, and we feel that if all men +would but follow the pure and plain injunction of the Savior, and do +unto others as we would they should do unto us, we should be happier +here as well as hereafter. We excuse to ourselves our own acts by the +actions of others. We say, "We must fight our adversaries with their own +weapons." We would be ready to follow the gospel precept if others would +follow it; but each man has the same apology, and no one will commence +obedience. + +But Edward felt that it did not befit one so young to discuss ethics +with his lord; and, changing the subject, he inquired, "How long did +your lordship say you would be absent?" + +"Some seven days," answered Lord Montagu. "And, from what the surgeon +says, I judge you will be able to travel about six days after. I have +work here for at least that time." + +"I trust so, my lord; for I certainly feel my health improving," said +the young man. "But I wish your lordship would not take those +blacksmiths with you,--though they treated me well and kindly,--perhaps +skilfully too: I can feel grateful to them, but cannot bring my mind to +confide in them." + +"Why, what is the matter with them?" asked Montagu, bluffly. + +"I know not, my lord," said Edward; "but they have both bad faces,--a +cunning and a double look." + +"Pooh, pooh! prejudice!" said Lord Montagu. "They are mighty good folks. +Why, they have already cured two of my horses, which the people here +could make nothing of. You are sick and whimsical, boy. Now, tell me: +how long did you stay at the Chateau of Dampierre? The fair duchess does +not mention that fact; but she seems mightily smitten with you." + +"But a day and a night, my lord," replied Edward, not without a slight +flush of the cheek. "She received a command from the court to retire to +Lorraine, and a letter--I presume from your lordship--arrived the same +day, telling me to go to Gray." + +"No need of reasons," said Montagu, somewhat shortly. "Well, have you +heard that your somewhat unkind brother has succeeded in making his +escape?" + +"No; I have heard nothing, my lord," replied Edward. "You assured me he +should not be pursued." + +"Not so," answered Montagu. "A few words make a great difference, young +man. I assured you I would not pursue him,--not that he should not be +pursued; and the Abbé Scaglia, as in duty bound, ordered an immediate +search for one who had attempted such a crime in his presence. It has +thus far been unsuccessful, and I think will prove so altogether." + +"Has nothing at all been heard of him?" asked Edward. + +"Very little that can be at all relied upon," replied Lord Montagu. "The +servant who was with him when he so rashly leaped his horse into the +river was apprehended and questioned. He says that Sir Richard was on +his way to Lyons when the accident occurred; but on that road no trace +of him can be discovered. A peasant declares he met with a man of an +appearance like his, without boots, hat, or sword, wandering along the +mountain-paths toward _Les Echelles_, and a little boy says he saw the +same person at a distance; but this is all that has yet been +discovered." + +"I would fain beseech the Abbé Scaglia to drop all pursuit," said the +young man; "but I fear they will not let me write. It is useless to seek +for him now that I am, as they say, recovering; and, moreover, my lord, +I think I was myself a good deal in fault. My words were rash and +intemperate. I could not have borne them myself had I been in his +place." + +"They certainly were not very sweet," said Lord Montagu, with a laugh; +"and I will tell the abbé what you say, Ned. But you will soon be well, +I do trust, and then this affair will terminate of itself." + +The conversation was not prolonged much further; and Lord Montagu left +his young friend to the care of Pierrot and Jacques Beaupré and the +attendance of the good sisters. Every kindness was shown him. The room +in which he had been placed was large and airy; the sunshine and the +sweet summer air came streaming in at his window, and day by day his +health improved; but still illness is ever tedious, and the hours passed +heavily along. Thought was his only resource; but, for a young man of +his character, thought--even enforced thought--is a blessing. The +adventure which had so nearly closed his life was not without its good +results. He reproached himself for the harsh words he had uttered and +the harsh feelings he had entertained toward his brother, and he +resolved to nourish better things in his heart. The five or six +preceding years and the events they had brought with them had all had a +hardening tendency; but, one by one, during the few last months, +softening lessons of various kinds had disciplined and entendered +without enfeebling his spirit; and on the sixth day after Lord Montagu's +departure Edward rose for an hour or two from his bed of sickness, a +very different being from him whom we first introduced to the reader. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + + +Every thing is irrevocable. The word spoken, the deed done, is +registered in that book of fate from the page of which no solvent can +blot it out. Nay, more: every word or action, however small, has some +effect on all that surrounds it; and that effect is often quite out of +all proportion to the cause. It is hard for the narrow, slippery mind of +man to conceive and hold fast the fact that a pebble dropped into the +Atlantic produces a ripple which is more or less felt to all the +Atlantic's shores: yet it is a fact. The eye may not be keen enough to +detect it ten yards from the spot where the stone displaced the waters; +but, though unseen, it exists. It may be crossed by counteracting +causes, but still it acts upon them while they act upon it; and it has +its effect,--permanent, persisting, never ending. + +It is the same with man's actions. Deeds done a thousand years ago are +affecting every one of us now; and Julius Cæsar has more to do with a +common-councilman of the city of London than that common-councilman ever +dreams of. + +We have seen that Edward Langdale had little to do but to think. The +surgeons would not let him read. He was enjoined to speak as little as +possible, for there was a shrewd suspicion that the sword which wounded +him had passed through, or very near, one of the lungs. But he employed +thought to good purpose,--to calm all angry feelings, to quench +repinings, to humble himself to God's will. He was naturally led by this +train of thought to follow, in reference to his own case, some of the +fine threads out of which the great network of cause and effect is +wrought. + +"Why should I be so angry with my brother?" he thought. "If he had not +taken from me my property, what a different creature I should have +been!--a country squire with a pack of hounds; a justice of the peace +some day, to hear old women's plaints about robbed orchards and +violated hen-roosts! I should never have been Lord Montagu's page; I +should never have met with dear, dear Lucette. Sweet girl! where is she +now? Does she think of me still? Does she ever regret the indissoluble +bond that binds us together?" + +Then the train of thought became somewhat more gloomy. He recollected +that for two long years--how sadly, sadly long they seemed in +prospect!--he was not to see her. And what might happen in the interval? +All means, all arts, would be used to induce her to forget him, to break +their union, perhaps to make her love some other; and he felt for an +instant, as he thus pondered, the little, sharp sting of jealousy,--the +most poignant of pangs. + +The world has always been full of tales of woman's fickleness, and +Edward had heard them,--tales in which her firmness and her truth are +often forgotten altogether. But speedily came better thoughts and nobler +confidence. Lucette was full of gentleness, was of a tender, loving +nature, he knew; but he thought he had remarked, in the various scenes +through which they had passed,--scenes well calculated to try a young +girl to the utmost,--a strength, a constancy of purpose which bade him +trust. + +"She will not abandon me," he thought. "She will not bestow that love +upon another which was first mine,--is mine by right. Dear, beautiful +girl! there is truth and enduring love in those clear, liquid eyes. Oh +that I could see her again but for one moment! Oh for one embrace, one +kiss!" + +The day declined, and night came on. They brought the invalid the scanty +supper that was allowed him, and, an hour or two after, Pierrot came to +take away the light; for Edward, who had slept very lightly for several +nights, had expressed a wish that the night-lamp and the good folks who +had hitherto watched him might be withdrawn. He thought he should rest +better, he said, if he were quite alone and in darkness. He was not +mistaken. From ten till twelve he slept more soundly than he had done +for many days. He heard the abbey clock strike twelve, however, but it +was but a momentary interruption of his slumber; and he was turning +round to sleep again, when the door of the chamber creaked a little +upon its hinges. The room was large and the windows well shaded; but, as +Edward lay with his face toward the door, he could see a gleam of +moonlight partly interrupted at the doorway, and he gazed to discover +who was coming in. The figure was small, the garments those of a woman; +and the youth thought, "One of the good sisters, to see if I am sleeping +well. She means it kindly; but I wish she had not come." + +Unwilling to have any conversation, he shut his eyes again and affected +to be still asleep; but the door was gently closed, and then a light +footfall crossed the floor. It stopped near his bedside, and then a hand +lightly touched him; for the room was very dark, and probably the +visitor, whoever it was, did not see any thing distinctly. + +"This is strange," thought Edward: "the sisters commonly have a lamp +with them." + +The stranger paused where she stood, and seemed to be gazing down upon +the spot where he lay; and then she quietly crossed the room to where a +small crack between the blind and the wall showed a very narrow ray of +moonshine. She quietly and softly pulled back the blind a very little +farther, so as to admit the slightest possible light into the room, and +then returned to the bedside and gazed down again. A moment or two +after, Edward felt the pressure of a cool, delicious kiss upon his +cheek. He could affect sleep no longer, and opened his eyes; but it was +in vain. He could neither see the face nor distinguish the garments of +his visitor; and, stretching forth his hand, he caught her dress, +saying, "Who are you? what is it you seek?" + +She answered not; but, kneeling down by his bedside, she threw her arms +round him, covering his lips and brow with kisses; and he thought he +felt a warm drop or two fall from her eyes upon his cheek. + +"Good Heaven!" exclaimed the young man, raising himself on his arm; "who +are you? What is this? I should know that kiss; but I do not--I cannot +believe in such happiness. Tell me, tell me who you are!" + +She put her soft cheek, wet with tears, close to his, and whispered, +"Dear, dear Edward! Who am I? Who but your own Lucette,--your own wife? +And did you know my kiss? Never, never forget it, Edward." And she +kissed him again and again, as if she would fix the soft pressure of her +lips upon his memory forever. + +"Never! never!" he said, putting his arm round her. "But am I in a +dream? I cannot believe that this is a waking truth." + +"Lie down," said Lucette, "and do not be agitated, dear husband; +otherwise I must leave you. It is no dream, though it seems almost as +much so to me as to you. I thought you would forgive me for waking you; +and I could not be so near you, and you ill and wounded, without one +word of affection before we go on. I am afraid it was cruel and wrong, +when you were sleeping so calmly. But tell me yourself that you are +better,--that you are getting well. The good sister who told me all +about your wound said you would soon be able to ride out. They are all +anxious about you here; but who can be so anxious as I am?" + +"But tell me more, dear Lucette," said Edward, disobeying her, and still +holding her to his heart. "How came you in Savoy? how came you here? how +did you find your way hither?" + +"I came on with the family of Monsieur de Rohan," answered Lucette. "He +judged it best we should all quit France for a season and go to Turin or +Venice, while he endeavored to deliver Rochelle; and when we arrived +here the first thing the nuns told us was of the young foreign cavalier +who lay wounded under their care. When I heard your name, I seemed for a +moment to have no feeling in my heart, no thought in my brain; but I +soon recovered. I got the good sister who attends upon you to tell me +all; and, by prayers and entreaties and the gold cross I used to wear, I +induced her to bring me here, telling her that you are my husband,--my +own wedded husband. But I promised her, Edward, not to agitate you or +talk to you too much, and only to stay five minutes." + +"Oh, stay, Lucette! stay!" said Edward, forgetting all consequences. +"Dearest girl, do not leave me! Lord Montagu will be back to-morrow. +Must you go on to Turin?" + +"Remember your promise to the cardinal, Edward," she answered. "I must +remember mine to good Sister Agatha. If I break my promises to others, +you will not believe mine to you,--although I fear I have already +somewhat failed, and agitated you more than I intended." + +"Five minutes have not passed yet," said the youth, feeling that she was +about to rise from her knees, where she had hitherto remained. "Oh, no! +it is but an instant since you came, dearest! Another kiss, dear +Lucette. Could I have had them before, I should have been well ere +this." He took another, and not only one; and, between, he told her he +was really better, and would soon be well, and that he would try some +means to see her soon, and at the end of two years would seek her as his +wife, whoever might oppose; and she on her part promised that he should +not seek in vain, but should find her ever ready to go with him to the +ends of the earth. + +But the five minutes were certainly outstayed; and Lucette's heart was +reproaching her, and Edward was thinking how he could ever part with +her, when the door opened again, and Sister Agatha came in to remind the +poor girl of her promise. + +It was a hard parting,--harder, perhaps, than it had been before; and +many another word had to be spoken and many another kiss to be taken ere +they could separate. Sister Agatha was no restraint upon them, and, to +say sooth, entered into their feelings with sympathies not altogether +consistent with her vows. What they said she could not understand, for +they spoke in English; and, though she had a certain portion of French +and a good deal more of Italian, the rich Anglo-Saxon tongue was to the +good old soul a most harsh and unintelligible jargon, and she wondered +that such pretty lips as Lucette's could pronounce the hideous sounds. +The five minutes were lengthened to half an hour after her arrival, for +Lucette felt she was breaking no promise when the person to whom it had +been made was present and not an unconsenting party; but in the end +Sister Agatha insisted that they should part, asking Lucette in a +reproachful tone if she would kill the poor young man. + +"I have been selfish," said Lucette, rising from the edge of the bed +where she had been sitting; and, kissing him once more, with a long, +tender, lingering kiss, she left him. + +Thus they parted, not to meet again for a longer period than they +anticipated. They could hardly be said to have seen each other, for +Sister Agatha had left her lamp at the door, and the ray of moonlight +which Lucette had let in was very faint; but that interview, short as it +had been, was something for memory to fix upon during many months. + +The first effect upon Edward Langdale was what Sister Agatha had +dreaded. It had agitated him much, and for more than one hour after +Lucette had left him his heart beat and his brain throbbed, and sleep +deserted him as if she never would return. But the reaction was balmy. +He had met her again; he had held her in his arms; he had tasted once +more the honey of her lips; and there was a sort of superstitious +feeling about him as if a bad spell had been broken. He had felt a dread +till then that some old rhyme he had heard in his young days was to be +verified in his own case. It was somewhat to the following effect, +though I know not if memory retains it rightly:-- + + "They had met, they had loved, they had parted, + And met no more till both were broken-hearted." + +It had haunted him, that old distich, ever since he left Lucette under +the care of the Duc de Rohan; but now the vision was dispelled. They had +met again, and his Lucette loved him still as warmly, fondly, as he +could wish. It was a dexter omen; and, with more faith than ever Roman +augur possessed, he interpreted it to forebode future happiness. Joy, +however, is wakeful as well as sorrow; and, even after the first effect +of agitation and excitement had passed away, he lay sleepless and +thoughtful, but very, very happy. He remembered many a word he could +have wished to have uttered, many a question he would willingly have +asked; but the great question of the heart was answered. She loved him +still unchanged; and Edward was at a time of life when hope and trust +were sure to rise out of such assurance. Gradually fatigue and +exhaustion did their work upon the body, and, through the body, upon the +mind. Had there been trouble in the spirit, he might, and probably +would, have slept a few minutes, from mere weariness, to wake speedily +with irritation, if not fever. But the heart was at rest; and as soon as +his eyes closed he slept like a wearied but happy child, calmly, +profoundly, long, and only woke some three hours after every other +person in the abbey. His look was relieved, his color better, his eyes +more bright. During that night he had made the first rapid stride toward +convalescence. + +Oh, if physicians would but take pains to discover whether the malady +lies most in the mind or the body, what cures might be performed!--if +they could but find the medicine! But happiness is a mithridate so +compound and so fine that, search over the world, you will find few +places where it can be procured, and never--alas! never--pure and +unadulterated. That villanous serpent has left his slime on every thing. + +The whole day Edward Langdale waited impatiently for the return of Lord +Montagu; but he waited in vain: Lord Montagu did not appear. Another and +another day passed: still he was absent. Young men calculate not the +many impediments which lie between design and performance. "He could +easily do this; he might easily have done that," is the constant cry; +when in truth it would have been impossible for the person spoken of to +have done any thing more than he did do. The smallest thing in the world +overthrows the grandest scheme, frustrates the most positive assurance. +Is it accident,--that refuge of the destitute? Is it not rather the +quiet intervention of that ruling Power which, foreseeing all man's +acts, bends the results to the accomplishment of his own predetermined +purposes? + +Edward Langdale was impatient. Strength was returning fast: when he +coughed, his handkerchief came from his lips unstained with blood; his +wound was nearly healed, and he longed to pursue his career of active +exertion. But he did not know that the Duke of Savoy had been out to +kill deer in the mountains, and that Lord Montagu was forced to wait +his return. In the mean time, however, he rose earlier each day. He went +out; he roamed round the abbey; he visited the city; and the only thing +which retarded his complete recovery was his impatience. He was eager to +get on,--too eager. He had always been too eager; but there was a great +difference between his eagerness now and that of former years. Hitherto +he had been moved only by the vague, aspiring hope of youth,--so often +disappointed till the frost of age and the chill of adversity have +withered the plant and blighted the flower and destroyed the fruit under +the bud,--the hope of doing something great in life. Now he had a more +definite object, a clearer purpose. It was Lucette. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + + +The expression of Lord Montagu's face when he at length rejoined his +page at Aix was calm and well satisfied, cheerful, but not particularly +gay. Yet Edward, who had enjoyed many opportunities of witnessing the +effect of various emotions upon him, clearly perceived that he returned +with full success. Had his mood been merrier, the page might have +doubted; had he been full of the playful wit or the light jest which +distinguished the cavaliers of those days, the youth might have supposed +there was disappointment under the levity; but that quiet and composed +demeanor he knew meant success. Their first meeting was at the inn where +Montagu had lodged while previously at Aix; for the youth had gone down +each evening for the last two or three days to watch for his arrival: +but on the night in question his lord had ridden into the town some +half-hour before the time he was expected; and when Edward entered his +chamber he was sitting with a book in one hand and a spoon in the other, +lightly running over the pages, and from time to time taking a spoonful +of soup flavored with those delicious truffles of Savoy which have +often kept kingly couriers running between Paris and Turin. + +"Ah, Ned!" he exclaimed, as soon as he saw the lad. "You have recovered +wonderfully soon: a little pale still; but that is natural. How say you? +can you ride forward three days hence?" + +"Whenever your lordship pleases," answered Edward. "I am only eager to +get on; and this inactivity does me more harm than all the exercise in +the world. I am quite well, my lord, and only a little weak." + +"Do not be impatient," answered Montagu, with a smile. "We cannot go on +just yet. Oakingham is ill now, poor fellow! I have ridden too fast for +him; and he broke down during the last stage, and has gone to bed. So I +am without any one to write my letters for me to-night." + +"Can your lordship trust the task to me?" asked the young man. + +"Oh, trust you? Certainly, Ned," replied the other. "But will it not +hurt you?" + +Edward expressed his readiness; and the letters were written, full of +that well-satisfied confidence which in this world is so often destined +to disappointment. Fate is no better than a fine silk stocking, in which +one stitch or another is sure to run down ere we have taken a dozen +steps in the ball-room of the world: well if it be not rent from top to +toe! There are no key-stones in the architecture of our designs; and, if +a pebble slips, woe be to the whole edifice! + +But we are getting a little ahead of the story, or, at least, +foreshadowing conclusions which should be reserved in solemn secrecy for +the moment of their occurrence. + +The letters being written, one of the noble lord's grooms was called up, +furnished with money and directions, and departed to bear the missives +to their several destinations as rapidly and as carefully as he could. + +"There goes another," said Montagu. "That is the fifth courier I have +sent off this week. Upon my word, Ned, if it had not been for your +coming with two lackeys and two blacksmiths I should soon have been +without any train at all. But you seem not to love your two +blacksmiths, my boy. What has set your face against them? Have they +lamed your horse, or found you out in a love-affair with the landlord's +daughter, cheated you of two _livres Tournois_, or eaten the only fish +upon a _jour maigre_?" + +"None of all those great offences, my lord," replied Edward. "They are +good smiths; I have not been fortunate with mine host's daughters; their +charges are compassionate to youths without experience; and no trout +that I know of has slipped off my own hook. But one of them I am certain +I saw in the court of the chateau at Nantes; and I like not the +countenance of either." + +"Pshaw!" said Lord Montagu. "Do you give way to the superstition of +physiognomy? Why, cut me across the nose with the back-handed blow of a +spadroon, and you make a marvellous ill-favored fellow out of a gay +gentleman who has not been thought unpersonable. Nonsense, nonsense, +Edward! The best nuts have the roughest shells. The diamond itself is +but like a pebble-stone till it is cut and polished. And where in the +fiend's name should either of these two poor devils get ground down or +burnished?" + +"Well, my lord, I say not a word against them," answered Edward. "They +told a true tale, it seems, as to their journey. To me they were +wonderfully kind when I was hurt. Neither do I mind mere ugliness: that +is God's doing; and it may be as a warning to others, or it may not: I +cannot tell. But there is a sort of look--an expression--which men beget +in themselves by their habitual acts or thoughts, which is a great +truth-teller, I think. Now, these men look cunning. Each of them +squints, too, more or less. One cannot see whom or what they are looking +at." + +Lord Montagu broke into a gay laugh. "As if every man," he said, "should +be condemned who does not square his gaze by line and rule. Out upon it, +Ned! If ever you fall in love, you will need an astrolabe to measure the +exact angles of your beauty's lustrous orbs. Why, some of the best men +in England squint like a green parrot. More lucky they, if they can see +both sides of every thing at once. But I will show you a man to-night +who shall come up to even your ideas of perfection. He ought to be here +about this hour. Oh, he is a marvel of beauty and grace!" + +Thus saying, he knocked hard with the hilt of his dagger upon the table, +and one of the servants of the inn appeared. "Show in the illustrious +Signor Morini whenever he comes," said Lord Montagu: "we must not keep +so great and amiable a personage waiting." + +"He is here now, monseigneur," answered the servant. + +"Well, conduct him hither," answered the English gentleman, "and tell my +servant to give you a bottle of that delicious Italian wine which I sent +on from Turin. Three Venice glasses, too, must be brought, and a small +plate of sugared peaches." + +The waiter retired, and, a moment or two after, one of the most singular +figures entered the room that Edward had ever seen. It was that of a +man, not old, but past the middle age, dressed in the height of the +fashion, beribboned and belaced, with a long rapier by his side, which +would have touched the ground had it even been borne upon the thigh of a +tall man. But Signor Morini was not a tall man: on the contrary, he was +certainly not more than four feet two or three inches in height, with a +back bent into the shape of the bow of a double-bass. He was thin, too, +and his face--with the exception of the eyes, which were large and +lustrous--was of that peculiar ugliness which is frequently seen in the +deformed, the features all packed together and looking as if they had +been pinched to get them into a smaller space. + +No consciousness of ugliness appeared in his demeanor, however,--no +timidity, no shyness. He entered with the strut of a bantam-cock, while +his rich but short cloak, borne out by the round of his back so as to +hang far off from his person, afforded no bad image of the tail of the +bird. He saluted Lord Montagu with ceremonious respect, and stared at +Edward Langdale with an unwinking gaze which was almost insolent, +smoothing down the little sharp tuft of sandy-colored hair which adorned +his chin in the form of what was then called a royal, with an air of +ineffable puppyism. + +"Ah, my lord," he said, in French, "you see I kept my word and was at +Aix two days before you. But who is this young gentleman? I do not know +him. He was not in your suite at Turin, I believe." + +"This is my young friend and gentleman, Monsieur de Langdale," answered +Lord Montagu, with much assumed politeness. "Let me present him to you, +Signor Morini. He is a philosopher like yourself, and deals, as you do, +in the great science of physiognomy, though of course his youth places +him far behind you in knowledge." + +Edward and Morini exchanged bows and salutations, the latter either not +at all perceiving, or not appearing to perceive, that there was a vein +of jest running through Lord Montagu's politeness which might not have +been very flattering to his vanity. "Ha! a philosopher!" he exclaimed. +"I am right glad to see any one who, in these degenerate times, devotes +himself to the only great, pure, and noble pursuits on which the mind of +a man can expatiate. What is the particular science to which you have +most addicted yourself, young gentleman? What have you lately been +studying?" + +"Nothing," replied Edward, almost inclined to be rude. "My lord does me +too much honor in calling me a philosopher." + +"Nay, nay," said Montagu, laughing: "if I may judge from letters I have +received, and from what you yourself have told me, you have been lately +studying much,--fair ladies' hearts and prime ministers' heads,--Ned. He +has quite captivated a duchess and smoothed down a cardinal. But what he +means, learned signor, is, that, having been badly wounded by a sword +which let rather too much daylight into the dark chamber of his chest, +his only study was to get well again." + +"Did you anoint the blade?" asked Morini: "the blade should always be +anointed at the proper hour of the moon. Had I been here he would have +been well in a few days." + +"Probably," said Montagu, gravely; "but we had no one but poor, ignorant +surgeons, who forgot the precaution you mention." + +"Ah, they are stupid and hard-headed creatures," replied the other: +"they never consider that man is composed of an animal and an ethereal +part indissolubly linked together, each depending upon the other, and +both affected by higher influences. The sympathies which exist between +all created things they take into no account. The compelling powers of +the whole heavenly host upon the human frame, upon every part +thereof,--upon man as an animal, upon man as an angel, upon man's whole +fate and destiny, upon his mixed and separate natures,--are mere visions +to them; and the time will come, my lord, when this mere material view +will prevail over all the earth: intelligence--spirit--will be +superseded, and engines will be invented to do the work of mind as well +as matter. Where was your wound, young gentleman?" + +"Here on the right breast the sword entered," answered Edward; "and it +went out here, just under the shoulder." + +"A dangerous wound!" replied the little man, gravely. "None but a +brother's hand could have inflicted that wound and the sufferer +survive." + +Lord Montagu and Edward both started; but Morini went on, without +seeming to perceive their surprise. "Nature abhors," he said, "such +acts, and often frustrates them. The crime of Cain--the first and most +terrible the world ever saw, the origin of death, the eldest-born of +evil--is repugnant to every thing animate and inanimate. Fibres and +tissues join which seem rent apart forever, and humours flow of +themselves, nerves act without cause, all to repair the consequences of +the terrible act, while thunders fall to prevent it and rocks to hide +it. But what is written up there must be,--shall be; and it is possible +this very wound, given by a brother's hand, may work great changes in +your life." + +"I trust it will," said Edward. + +"But how did you know it was so given?" asked Lord Montagu. + +"By the simplest of all means," replied Morini: "from knowing it could +be given in no other way." + +As he spoke, he turned round sharply, for the door behind him opened +suddenly. It was but two of the servants of the inn, bringing in the +wine and the Venice glasses; and their coming so laden was certainly not +at all unpleasant to the learned signor, who did full justice not only +to the wine but to the confections also. While the party regaled +themselves, the conversation wandered to many topics,--some of little, +some of much, interest, with variety always agreeable. Indeed, Morini, +who undoubtedly led, did not suffer it to rest long upon any subject. He +spoke of several of the most celebrated people of Europe, of that and of +the preceding age. He had seen King James, he said, shaking his head. "I +did think," he said, "that homely sovereign would never have died a +natural death, for he certainly brought a dark and bloody cloud over the +royal house of England. But you will remark, my lord, I could never +obtain clearly the particulars of his nativity; otherwise I could not +have been mistaken. However, the aspects in the horoscope of his +successor are more unfavorable still, I hear." + +"Now, Heaven forefend!" said Lord Montagu, warmly: "he is a right noble +monarch, and, though the commonalty do fret and storm, he is too strong +and firm for them to shake him. But what say you of the great and +gallant Duke of Buckingham, signor? There is a man born to success and +honor." + +"His star has passed its culminating-point," said Morini: "there is +something dark and sad behind. His life cannot be long. Perhaps he may +die upon the battle-field in this new war; but I think it more likely he +will receive his death in a private encounter. He is hot and fiery, they +say. Such a thing is probable." + +Montagu shook his head. "Few things less probable," he said: "there are +not many men in England who would venture to call Buckingham to the +field; and, though his is so free and noble a spirit that he would very +likely consent to meet any one of gentle blood, yet he would not +willingly offend the king by such rashness." + +"Well, 'tis a foolish practice," said Morini, changing the +subject,--"ay, and a barbarous one too, my lord. We derive it from the +worst and rudest times of history. Who ever heard of a Roman or a Greek +fighting a duel? Yet they were brave men, those ancients." + +"Yet you go well armed, signor," said Lord Montagu, pointing to his long +rapier, with a smile. + +"It is good always to be prepared," answered the other. "Besides, this +rapier has many qualities and perfections, for which I value it. The +blade is true Toledo, the sheath wrought by Jean of Cordova. Then the +hilt, you see, is of silver, exquisitely cast by Cellini's own hand. Did +you ever see a more graceful group than the two figures which compose +it?--a warrior putting his hand to his sword, and a young girl with her +arm round his neck pressing the weapon back into the sheath,--types of +courage and moderation. The dagger is a curious relic of the feudal +times,--a kill-villain, as the young Genoese nobles used to call it. We +have no such handiwork as that now, my lord," he continued, as Montagu +examined the weapon. "'Tis curious how arts and sciences are lost, and +how, whilst mankind deem they are making great progress, they are +falling back in one path as much as they are advancing in another." + +Edward Langdale went round to Lord Montagu's side and gazed at the +workmanship of the sword and dagger over his shoulder, murmuring, as he +did so, "Beautiful, indeed!"--much to Morini's satisfaction. + +"You seem to be a judge of such things, young gentleman," said the +Italian. + +"But little," said Edward: "my father, indeed, had some fine specimens +of art which he had brought over to England from this country; but any +one who sees a beautiful and graceful figure, well executed, must know +and admire it." + +"Your pardon! your pardon!" cried Morini. "The eye and the taste both +want educating. Had you not seen and admired those objects of your +father's, you would probably not have discovered the beauty of this. If +you stay long in Aix, I can show you some other things well worth your +observation." + +"My stay depends entirely upon my lord," replied Edward; "but I think if +he have no further commands I must retire to the abbey, for it is late." + +"I will accompany you part of the way," said Morini, rising. + +"Nay," said Lord Montagu, "you forget you came here for a special +purpose, my good signor. Edward can go; for, though he has faith in +physiognomy, he has none in astrology, I believe; but you must stay +with me a little longer. Come early to-morrow, Ned, and bring your two +men with you." + +"It is wrong, my lord," said the Italian, "very wrong, to put full faith +in an uncertain science and refuse it to a certain one. But I will +convince him in a moment before he goes home. Come hither, young +gentleman, and let me speak a word in your ear." + +Edward went round to the side of the table where he was still standing, +and bent his head a little. Morini dexterously placed himself between +the young man and his lord and slipped a folded paper into his hand, +whispering, "Read when you get home." + +"Are you now convinced?" continued the Italian, aloud; but Edward, while +bending down his head to listen, had kept his eyes raised thoughtfully +to Montagu, and he saw--what the other had not seen--that his lord was +not unaware of what had passed. He kept the paper in his hand, however, +and took his leave; but, determined that, if needful, Lord Montagu +should know the contents of the paper that very night, he called for a +light at the foot of the stairs. He found a note in his hand, neatly +folded, and tied with silk. It was addressed to him, and, on opening it, +he saw a few lines beautifully written in a woman's hand, and, at the +bottom of the page, "Lucette." + +All other thoughts were gone; and he hurried to the abbey to read in a +less exposed place. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + + + "MY BELOVED HUSBAND:--I think you will be glad to hear of me after + my leaving you so shortly a few nights since. We have reached Turin + in safety, and without accident; but it was a weary journey for me, + as every step took me farther from the place where I wished to + remain. We are going on to Venice in three days, and there I am to + be placed with a Madame de la Cour, a cousin of the Duc de Rohan, + and a distant relation, I am told, of my own. I am glad of it, for I + cannot love the duchess. I trust this to the care of an Italian + gentleman going to Aix. He passes for an astrologer; and Madame de + Rohan, who is very superstitious, receives him with great + distinction. She would fain have had him draw the horoscope of all + the household, and we each had audiences apart. But I could tell him + nothing of my own birth,--neither date, nor time, nor place. He, + however, contrived to draw from me, before I well knew it, something + of my history, and has promised to take this and deliver it to you + secretly, if I write it quickly. He knows Lord Montagu, and is to + join him at Aix. Perhaps I have been imprudent to tell him any + thing; but his questions were so artfully shaped that I knew not how + to answer; and I cannot resist the temptation of sending you these + few words, to let you know where I am and where a letter will find + me. Whenever a change occurs, I will try to find means of letting + you know, in order that when our long period of separation is over + you may be aware where to find your LUCETTE." + +Such were the lines upon which Edward's eyes rested as soon as he +reached his room in the abbey; and, though very simple, they gave him +matter for thought during one-half of the night. That thought was all +sweet; but on the following morning other considerations suggested +themselves. He felt certain that Lord Montagu had seen Morini slip the +paper into his hand; and there had been so much and such unusual +confidence between the master and the page that Edward shrank from the +idea of its being shaken even by a suspicion. Yet he could not resolve +to put the note into Montagu's hands. Lucette's love had something +sacred in it in his eyes, and, with the shyness of early affection, he +could not bear the idea of even a jest upon the subject. He thought long +while he was dressing: the servants came and went, and he had almost +forgotten to tell them to follow him to the town, when Pierrot himself +brought the matter to his mind by mentioning Lord Montagu's return as a +rumor of the abbey. + +The youth then set out for the city on foot, without having at all +settled how he should act in regard to Lucette's letter. It is +extraordinary how trifles sometimes embarrass us more than matters of +deep moment. He had faced Richelieu himself, conscious that life hung +upon the caprice or the accident of a moment, without half the +hesitation he now felt. He did at last what he might as well have done +at first,--left the direction of the matter to chance; for chance, +unfriendly on most occasions, generally supplies us with an opportunity +of acting rightly in embarrassing circumstances, if we have but the wit +to take advantage of it. + +When Edward entered Lord Montagu's room, he found the learned Signor +Morini already there, with some papers, covered with strange characters, +on a table between him and the English nobleman. Montagu gathered up the +papers quickly and spoke to his page, without any allusion to the +subject which principally occupied the young man's thoughts. His speech +seemed somewhat dry, however, and Edward saw that the Italian gazed at +him with meaning looks. A sudden thought struck him as Lord Montagu +turned the conversation with Morini to some common topic, and, waiting +till there was a momentary pause, he said, "By-the-way, Signor Morini, +where did you leave the lady from whom you brought me a note last night? +Had she gone on toward Venice?" + +The Italian changed not a muscle, but replied, deliberately, "Yes: she +went in the morning. I set out in the afternoon." + +"Ho, ho! Signor Morini!" cried Montagu, laughing: "so you condescend to +be Venus's messenger, do you?" + +"Well may your lordship say Venus," replied Morini; "for a more +beautiful little creature never rose from the sea or brightened the +land. But your lordship will bear me witness that I betrayed no secrets. +It was the young gentleman himself." + +"I have betrayed no secret," said Edward, gayly, for he felt relieved. +"Lord Montagu has never seen the young lady,--does not even know her +name; and there is no cause why I should conceal that a lady has written +to me." + +"A young lady!" said Montagu, thoughtfully. "Now I have it. The Duchess +of Rohan was at Turin; she had with her a cousin or a niece,--as pretty +a little creature as I ever beheld. Ha, Edward! so you took care on +your long journey to guard yourself against the charms of the +innkeepers' daughters. Now I understand a good deal. And pray, Ned, how +much of the time you consumed is to be attributed to the attractions of +this pretty fair one?" + +"Not a moment, my lord," replied Edward,--"unless it be that when she +was stricken with the fever of the Marais I stayed with her a few days, +rather than leave a lady confided to my care amongst a people almost +savage and in a rude country. I might perhaps have forced my way on more +quickly had I been alone; but by that time I had accepted the charge; +and I will ask your lordship if I could have refused to see a lady of +high rank safely to the Duc de Rohan or the Prince de Soubise, her +relations, when the only alternative was for her to be shut up in +Rochelle during the horrors of a siege, and when the task was pressed +upon me by those who had nursed me tenderly and saved my life by their +care. All we contemplated at first was a journey of a few hours; but +would your lordship have left her when a series of unfortunate mishaps +had cast her, sick and in danger, upon the care of perfect strangers? +Could you have left any woman?" + +"Perhaps not, Master Ned," said Lord Montagu, laughing,--"especially if +she were as young and as pretty as the lady I saw. The only question is +why you did not tell me all this before. Concealment between friends is +a bad thing, Edward, and in this case might breed a suspicion that you +had been trifling your time away with the pretty girl who is now sending +you love-letters." + +"I did not even imply that the letter was a love-letter," replied +Edward; "and, moreover,----" + +"I will return to your lordship in an hour or two," said Morini, rising +and approaching the door: "at present I have some business." + +"I was going to say," continued Edward, resuming the subject which he +had dropped as Morini spoke, "if your lordship would consider, you would +see that I have not yet had time to tell you one-half that has happened +to me." + +"Well, well," answered Montagu, good-humoredly, "no need of any +excuses, Ned. I do not doubt you. Young men are young men, all the world +over; and you have fewer of their faults and more of their best +qualities than any one of your age I ever met with. Besides, your +conduct this day would clear away all suspicions of your frankness, if I +had any. I saw that crouch-backed Italian give you a billet secretly +last night; and, had you concealed the fact from me, I might have +thought it had reference to an intrigue more within my competence than a +love-affair. But you spoke of it frankly, and that cleared my mind; for, +to say truth, I had some doubts----" + +"Not of me, I trust, my lord?" said Edward, somewhat mortified. + +"No, not exactly of you," replied Montagu, thoughtfully, "but great +doubts of that man. Do you know who he is?--or, rather, what he is?" + +"I know nothing of him, my lord," replied the youth. "I never saw him or +heard of him till last night." + +"And yet he knew all about your having been wounded by your own brother. +You will make even me believe in occult sciences," answered Montagu. + +"That piece of knowledge is easily accounted for," said Edward. "He +learned that from Lucette. She stayed at the abbey with Madame de Rohan +as they passed, heard all my story from the good sisters, and, in her +anxiety to write to me, suffered him to draw the facts from her." + +"Oh, it was from Lucette, was it?" asked Montagu, with a smile. "Well, +that explains all, and without any secrecy, if you are sure it is so." + +"She speaks of it in her letter," answered Edward, "and blames herself +for indiscretion. But your lordship asked me but now if I knew what +Signor Morini is. What can he be but a well-read quack?" + +"He is something more than that," replied Montagu, lowering his voice. +"He is a most cunning intriguant. He is more than that. He is an agent +of the Cardinal de Richelieu; and I could not be certain that the note +you received last night did not contain strong inducements for you to +betray me." + +"He would be a bold man to offer them to me, my lord," replied Edward, +warmly; "but there was nothing of the kind. The possibility of such a +thing, however, forces me to do what nothing else would have induced me +to think of,--namely, to show you the letter. There it is, my lord. In +regard to all that concerns myself and the writer, I must beg you to ask +me no questions. If there can be found in it any thing that affects your +lordship, interrogate me, if you will; and I will answer all frankly." + +Montagu looked at the address of the letter, and, perhaps, had some +desire to see more; for where is the breast without some share of that +small vice called curiosity? but he returned it unopened, saying, "I am +quite satisfied, Ned. But you must understand: we are living in an age +of intrigue. Each man is playing a game which has no laws. And in cases +where the strong arm of power cannot reach--where no soldiers or sailors +can be employed--friends, acquaintances, attendants, pages, must be +gained to obtain this or that advantage for an adverse politician. You +know not how widely this is practised,--how many devoted confidants of +great men are also the confidants of their bitterest enemies,--what +hosts of spies surround every man in eminent station. You know little of +all this; but in France and Italy the evil system is carried further, +deeper, lower than anywhere else; and it was very natural for me to +suppose that this man, whom I know to be an emissary of Richelieu, +should attempt to seduce you, and to find it hardly possible to suppose +that when Richelieu had you wholly in his power he did not personally +aim at the same object. The thought never struck me till last night; but +then it flashed across my mind vividly, and would seem to explain how he +let you go so easily." + +Edward smiled bitterly. "This is somewhat hard!" he said. "And thus, my +lord, my good fortune in escaping safe from a most perilous situation +has shaken your trust in my honesty?" + +"Not at all," replied Montagu: "he may have attempted you without +success, or you may have promised him, in order to save your neck, what +you did not intend to perform. I do not believe that you would really +betray me for any consideration: on my soul I do not!--no, not for life! +But tell me, Ned; in your conversation with that Eminence, did he never +desire you to write him of my movements, or perchance to send him some +of my letters, or copies thereof, or give him intimation of whom I +correspond with?" + +"No, my lord! no!" replied Edward, warmly. "He never did. He never +hinted at or insinuated such a desire. Your name was never mentioned but +once or twice in the last interview I had with him. Then he said, so far +as I can recollect his words, 'You may say to Lord Montagu that the +cardinal treated you well,--liberally,--and, although he had every right +to stop you, sent you on to Lord Montagu, though he knew your errand and +his. Compliment his lordship for me!' This was the only time that your +name was mentioned, my lord; and till toward the close of that interview +I did not know that his Eminence was aware I was attached to your +household." + +"That is strange!" said Montagu, gravely. "He knew your errand and mine, +and yet let us both go forward! We form a different estimate of his +character in England." + +"At the risk of making your lordship still suspect he has gained me," +said Edward, "I must say that I cannot but believe the cardinal has many +high and noble qualities. Some evening--perchance the time may come +again--when I may be permitted to pass a few hours in calm conversation +with your lordship, as in days of yore, I will repeat, as nearly as I +can remember, all that passed between his Eminence and myself. You will +then see why I think so highly of him. But now I cannot conceive why, +knowing this man Morini as you seem to know him,--an agent of Richelieu, +a spy, and a charlatan,--you suffer him to hang about you, and give him +the opportunity of tampering with your servants or perhaps even stealing +your letters and despatches. I cannot believe that your lordship has any +faith in his pretended science." + +Montagu looked at him for a moment with a somewhat doubtful smile. "As +to my believing in his pretended science, as you call it," he said, "I +neither altogether believe nor disbelieve. There is such a thing in the +world as a state of doubt, Ned,--a state where assent is not given nor +dissent entertained. But what is this pretended science you speak of? +Astrology has a very wide meaning, though circumscribed to its mere +etymological sense it seems very narrow. But even in that sense I see +not why it should be rejected altogether. Are not the stars mere +creatures of God, obeying his will, following his impulses? Were they +created for some purpose, or for none? Various men will tell you that +their functions are this or that. Now, the astrologer says they are the +real handwriting on the wall of heaven, announcing to those who can read +them the fate of nations and of men. Writing in stars! What a +magnificent thought! I have heard men object that those golden +characters are so few and the human race so numerous that the several +fortunes of all men could not be written by them. But such people forget +that the motions of the stars are infinitely complex, that the relative +position of every star to every other forms a new combination and may +foreshadow a different event to each one of those born under their +influence. Thus, if the human race be protracted to eternity, or the +numbers now existing be multiplied by myriads, the various positions of +those bright characters to each other in the course of time would be +more than sufficient to indicate the fate of every man that ever can be +born. I say not that they do indicate, but that they may. These things +must always remain doubtful till repeated verification gives more +convincing proof. I hold my mind open to receive or to reject; but, in +the mean time, I do not neglect opportunities of obtaining means for +forming a just opinion." + +Lord Montagu might be in some degree amusing himself by puzzling his +young companion, or he might not; but there can be no doubt that a great +portion of the well-educated and many of the greatest men of his day +believed at least as much as he seemed to believe of judicial astrology. +Indeed, no picture of those times would be correct which did not display +this peculiar aspect of the human mind. The great reformers of science +had not yet appeared, or were little known; and the mind of Bacon itself +was but beginning to have its influence in leading the minds of others +into the course of truth and certainty. + +But Edward Langdale had a great fondness for the definite, not +original,--perhaps, for he was of a somewhat poetical disposition,--but +acquired by the rubbing and chafing of the hard world; and he returned +pertinaciously to his point. "However that may be, my lord," he said, "I +cannot believe that your desire for opportunities of judging on these +abstract points can be the cause of your giving such opportunities to a +man whom you believe to be an enemy and a rascal. You must have some +other motives for tolerating the Signor Morini about you, and appointing +to meet him here, than a desire to test the science of astrology. What +they are I cannot divine." + +Montagu laughed. "Thou wilt be satisfied, Ned!" he said. "That man is +better here than at Turin. Do you understand me? He is better under my +eye than intriguing unobserved at the court of Savoy. He may tamper with +my attendants, but I am upon my guard; and I would rather that he +tampered with them than with the duke's counsellors. To me he can do +little harm while I am forewarned and forearmed against him; but he +might do much to the cause of England if he were left with a hesitating +court to plant a word here and a purse of gold there as they might be +needed. Yet what I said about astrology is true, and this very man's +firm belief in it rather tends to make the balance in my mind lean that +way; for he is keen, philosophical, worldly, learned." + +"But does he really believe firmly in it?" asked Edward. "Is it not with +him a mere cloak and a pretence?" + +"He has suffered it to lure him here," answered Lord Montagu, "when no +other inducement would have brought him. He will allow it to keep him +here three days longer, when in truth he is all anxiety to hurry into +France and tell the cardinal what he has discovered. I have played him +as your skilful angler plays a lively fish. Once his ruling passion +discovered, I have led him by it where I wished. It was like a ring in a +bull's nose, which he was forced to follow, with or against his will." + +"Then does your lordship propose to stay three more days in Aix?" asked +the page. + +"Ay, or till I receive one more note from Scaglia," answered Montagu. +"Then all will be settled irrevocably: Signor Morini may bestow himself +where he will, and we may do so likewise. You are impatient to hurry on, +I see. Impatience is youth's quality, deliberation is man's; and so, my +boy, you must keep your wishes tranquil, for I certainly shall not put +spurs to mine." + +"Of course, my lord, I must only follow where you lead," answered +Edward, gayly. "I dare say your lordship believes I should bear the +delay more patiently in Venice, and I will not deny the fact; but I +suppose there is no time to go thither ere we depart." + +"No, no, Ned! no!" replied Montagu. "I will not trust you near that +little siren again while we have business in hand,--at least till you +learn the great art of the present day, to let love and policy go hand +in hand and yet never let the former impede the latter." + +"A difficult task," said Edward. + +"Ay," answered Montagu; "and those who try it and miss often find a +bloody pillow. But here comes Morini again." + +Edward immediately took his leave, and retired to obtain a chamber for +himself in the inn, where he could meditate over the conversation which +had just passed. It was satisfactory to him that his connection with +Lucette had been acknowledged. He had previously shrunk from the thought +of all mention of the subject to Lord Montagu, with the sensitive +timidity of early love; but now the ice was broken, and he feared no +more. But one point in that conversation was very painful to him. He saw +that, if Montagu did not absolutely suspect him, his lord's confidence, +which had hitherto been unbounded, was shaken. It was in vain Edward +said to himself, "These great men are bound to be suspicious." There was +a voice within him which always added, "At all events, he ought not to +suspect me." + +His musings were not suffered to continue long uninterrupted, however. +Pierrot and Jacques Beaupré soon arrived with the horses. The two junior +pages of Lord Montagu--Henry Freeland and George Abbot--came to see him, +and he himself had to visit the chamber of Mr. Oakingham, a companion of +Lord Montagu's, who was travelling with him in no very well-defined +capacity. Oakingham was still ill from over-fatigue, and Edward sat +with him for some time, trying to amuse and soothe him. Thus passed the +greater part of the morning, and the two following days were fully +occupied by preparations for departure; but the thought that Lord +Montagu confided in him less still rankled in Edward's mind. He thought +he perceived evidences of doubt in many things where perhaps no doubt +existed; and he said to himself, more than once, "I cannot bear it +long." The time, however, was rapidly approaching when, according to the +custom of those days, Lord Montagu would feel it incumbent upon him to +provide for his young friend, either in the army or at the court; and +Edward resolved to wait and be patient as long as it was possible. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + + +From Aix to Ramilly and Geneva was all safe enough. From Geneva through +Franche-Comté, as I have before explained, had no perils; but a small +piece of country in Lorraine and Bar, where the road ran along the +frontier of France, and, as some statesmen and geographers asserted, +actually crossed it and passed through French territory for at least +three miles, was in reality the perilous part of Lord Montagu's journey. + +That nobleman, however, seemed to consider himself very secure. He had +so recently almost bearded the lion in his den with impunity, he had +with such reckless freedom gone from one part of France itself to +another without being stopped, that he thought there would be little +risk in approaching a remote and somewhat poorly-peopled frontier or +passing over a small space of debatable ground. He did not know, or he +forgot, that the keen eyes of the fearless and unscrupulous French +minister had been opened to his proceedings; that Richelieu had assumed +a more bold and stern course of policy than ever; that personal +hatred--perhaps, as some assert, personal rivalry--rendered it necessary +for the cardinal to know in order to frustrate the efforts of his +magnificent though very inferior adversary on the British side of the +channel; and that no price, no labor, no violence even, would be +considered too much which would place the designs and operations of +Buckingham before the cabinet of France. He rode gayly, therefore, on +his way,--though, in order not to attract too much attention, he sent +forward several of his English attendants by a different road to meet +him at Metz, and kept with him only Mr. Oakingham, Edward Langdale, a +valet, and the two blacksmiths, with an ordinary groom. + +This little party, on the evening of a beautiful autumnal day, rode +along with tired horses through the little wood of Mirecourt, issued +forth upon the side of the dry calcareous hill to the west, and looked +anxiously for some place of rest. No one was well acquainted with the +road; the horses were heavy-laden, for each besides his rider carried a +heavy valise and two bags in front; and the whole morning had been +passed in going up and down hill through an arid and almost deserted +country. Some scattered houses, and then a nice clean village and a +small but neat country inn, all gathered together in a little dell +shaded with trees, at length gladdened the eyes of the weary travellers; +and Lord Montagu, as was his custom, applied himself to make his sojourn +comfortable for the hour, leaving his followers to enjoy themselves as +best they could. He laughed and joked with the pretty Lorrainese +landlady as with her own hands she laid the table for his dinner; he +took out a book from his valise, and, with his feet upon one chair and +his body on another, rejoiced in the ease of a new position, and, when +his dinner at last came, ate with moderation but good appetite, and +called a glow of satisfaction into the cheek of his hostess by +pronouncing it the best meal he had ever tasted. + +In the mean time, Mr. Oakingham had taken some refreshments and gone to +bed; the valet had remained in the room with his lord, to serve him at +table; the blacksmiths and the groom had gone to the stable; and Edward +Langdale seemed the only unquiet spirit of the party. He ate but little; +he drank less; he sat down; he rose up; he went out several times, +either to the front of the house or the back; he visited the stable +three times; he made many inquiries of the people of the house regarding +the neighborhood and its inhabitants; and at length, instead of +retiring to bed, he leaned his arms upon a table and his head upon his +arms, and apparently went to sleep. People came and went, but he did not +move; one of the girls of the inn spoke to him, but he did not answer; +and it was near eleven o'clock before he changed his position. At that +hour he rose and walked quietly to the back door of the inn, which +looked into the stable-yard. The moon was shining near the full, and two +men were standing near the stables talking together earnestly. As soon +as he appeared at the door, they went round to the back of the low +wooden building; but Edward had caught sight of them, and he walked +straight to the stable and looked in. Most of the tired horses were +resting quietly in the stables; but one, though disencumbered of packs +and burdens, was saddled and bridled and tied up to a pillar. + +Edward examined the animal well, to make sure of whom it belonged to, +then quietly re-entered the inn and went straight to the room of Lord +Montagu. He knocked at the door, and Montagu's voice told him to come +in. + +"Ah, Ned!" said his lord, "I have not seen you to-night." + +"No, my lord," replied the youth: "I have been watching some things +which I dislike." + +"A very unsatisfactory employment," said Lord Montagu. "But what is it, +good youth? You look gloomy, and your face is full of meaning. Are the +Philistines upon us?" + +"I do not know, my lord," replied Edward; "but I fear they soon will be. +I do not like those two blacksmiths, my lord. They are bent upon some +mischief, depend upon it." + +"Oh, the old story!" said Montagu. "What is it now, Ned? Do they squint +the other way, perchance?" + +Edward was mortified; but he answered, respectfully, "No, my noble lord, +but the same way as ever. I feel sure they are spies upon you and intend +to betray you the very first opportunity." + +"Indeed!" said Montagu, now somewhat roused. "But the proofs, Master +Ned,--the proofs." + +"Absolute proofs I cannot give," said Edward; "but their conduct is so +suspicious that I cannot believe them honest. I beg your lordship's +excuse while I detail what I have observed during the last ten days. +You can then judge for yourself. These men affect to speak a _patois_ +almost incomprehensible; but I have detected them speaking as good +French as you or I more than once. Together they talk a language I do +not at all understand; but good Jacques Beaupré says it is Basque. I am +certain it is not Savoyard. At Geneva, one of them wrote a letter and +sent it off by a courier who was going to France. During the last two +days' journey they have been making as diligent inquiries at every inn, +as to the neighborhood, as if they had to direct the march." + +"Pooh! that is all nothing," answered Montagu: "don't you think a +blacksmith may have a sweetheart to write to, as well as yourself, Ned? +And the poor devils, who have to find their way back, may well inquire +about the roads." + +"Well, my lord, I have but little more to say," replied Edward. "All day +they have been looking curiously at every chateau we passed, even at +five miles' distance; they have lagged behind all along the road, and +stopped more than once to talk with the peasantry they met; and two +hours before we arrived here I saw one of them give a piece of money to +a lad, who set out incontinently over the fields." + +"Ha! that was strange," said Montagu, thoughtfully. "What more?" + +"Some three or four hours ago," continued the young man, "the taller of +the two despatched the hostler somewhere. I could not learn where; but I +heard him say, distinctly, 'Remember, tell him at eleven o'clock; not +before eleven!' I have waited and watched ever since, and the scoundrel +is now in close conference with a man who has come to see him, while his +horse is standing saddled in the stable." + +"This looks serious," said Montagu, rising. "Have you remarked any thing +further?" + +"Yes," answered Edward: "I have remarked that, though they pretend never +to have been in this part of the country before, they know every inch of +the road and have some acquaintance in every town." + +"Let us go to the stable," said Lord Montagu: "I will know more of this +before I sleep." + +Quietly opening the door, he passed through a sort of dining-room and +the kitchen into the court-yard; but at the moment he opened the outer +door the sound of horses' feet was heard, and one of the stalls in the +stable was found vacant. "Too late!" said Lord Montagu, calmly: "let us +go back, Ned, and consult what is to be done." + +Perhaps, where one person alone has power to decide, all consultation is +useless,--more than useless,--only a waste of time. Who ever takes +another man's advice unless he wishes to shuffle off a responsibility to +which he feels himself unequal? Give me an obstinate general, if he have +but a brain as big as a walnut. As far as success goes, it is better to +be bravely wrong than timidly right. + +Now, though Lord Montagu had a very great opinion of Edward Langdale's +good sense, he had a much better opinion of his own; but councils of war +had not then fallen into the state of disrepute to which they have sunk +in our days; and therefore he returned to his room, and, having seen the +door closely shut, asked, in a grave tone, "Now, Ned, what is to be +done?" + +"Why, my lord, you are the best judge; but if I were you I would go back +to the road we left ten miles behind and go straight to Nancy. You are +here on the very frontier of France, surrounded by French towns and +castles: there are disputes about the exact bounds, and the cardinal, I +should suppose, would not be very particular if he thought he could get +possession of your lordship and your papers by a _coup-de-main_." + +"You are a geographer, Ned," said Montagu. "Have you calculated how much +time that detour would cost?" + +"A day and a half," answered Edward, "if we ride hard." + +"The roads are bad,--very hilly," said Montagu: "the beasts are tired +now. It would cost two days and a half, at a moderate calculation; and I +have not two days and a half to spare. I have promised to meet the Duke +of Lorraine on Wednesday at Metz. We have ample time to do it if I ride +straight on, but not more; and, if I do not come, he will not and cannot +wait." + +"Send him a messenger, my lord," said Edward: "I will undertake to carry +him any message from your lordship before Tuesday night, to appoint a +meeting at Pont à Mousson, or anywhere you like. Better kill a horse by +hard riding than have you taken prisoner." + +Montagu thought in silence for a few moments, and then said, in a +meditative tone, "Do you know, Ned, I do not think there is so much +danger as you imagine? The man's conduct is suspicious, I admit; but it +is no more than suspicious. How do we know he has any thing to do with +Richelieu? But even suppose he has: he can have no means of +communicating with his sweet Eminence between this night and to-morrow +morning. No governor of a castle or commander of troops would venture to +violate a neutral territory without an express order; and it was +impossible for the cardinal to know that I should pass by this road, so +as to give his orders beforehand. I think we are quite safe, my good +youth." + +Montagu spoke in that cool sort of indifferent tone which almost +implied--at least, so Edward construed it--that his page had been +magnifying dangers. The young man bit his lip and for a moment remained +silent; but then a sense of duty made him answer, "I cannot but think +that by following the direct road your lordship will place yourself in +extreme peril." + +"Why, you are not afraid, Edward?" said Lord Montagu, laughing. "You +little fire-devouring Turk, I never saw you afraid of any thing before." + +The young man's cheek reddened. "I am not afraid of any thing, my lord," +he answered, "but of seeing your lordship a prisoner in the hands of +your enemies. If they once get you into the Bastille, what becomes of +all the results of your lordship's negotiations?" + +"True," answered Montagu, "the stakes we play for are great ones; but in +playing for great stakes one must risk boldly wherever there is a chance +of success. I think we can pass, Edward; and I will try it. But I will +take precaution to make our passage sure. An hour and a half will carry +us over all immediate danger; for the road, I find, bends back deeper +into Bar, and it is only on the very frontier that there is any risk. No +French force will venture more than a mile at the most into the Duke of +Lorraine's territory." + +"But what precaution can you take, my lord?" asked Edward, in some +surprise. "Doubtless his Highness would grant you an escort; but he has +no troops near. We are amidst peasants." + +"No, no! I seek no escort," said Montagu: "we will pass alone if we pass +at all. But you heard me on our arrival give the order to set out at +seven. We will change the hour, Ned, and begin our march at five. Say +not a word to any one to-night. I will trust only to you. At four let us +all be called. Call Oakingham a quarter of an hour earlier, and Abbot +too, for they are slow. Let the groom and the laquais get the horses +ready by five; but, above all, say not a word to the Savoyard who is +left, or his companion, if he returns, and keep a watch upon them." + +"A sure watch," said Edward, with a grim smile. "All shall be ready, my +lord; but yet----" + +"Nay, nay," said Montagu, waving his hand; "no more objections, Ned. Now +send the lackey to me: I will go to bed as if I had no alteration of +last night's arrangements in my mind. You had better go to your room, +too, and obtain a little sleep. I know you can wake when you like." + +"I will go to my room," said Edward; "but I do not close my eyes +to-night, my lord. I am not fond of leaving any thing to chance." + +"You must have another word," said Montagu, laughing. "Pooh! pooh! We +shall pass, my boy. Now, good-night." + +Edward left him, sent the lackey to his room, went to the kitchen, where +two of the stable-men were sleeping by the fire, roused one of them to +give him a lamp, and retired to the chamber where young Abbot was +snoring powerfully. But Edward was ill at ease. He thought that the +precautions Lord Montagu had spoken of and ordered were not sufficient: +he thought--as all men think, and young men especially--that his own +plan was the best. However, he drew the charges of his pistols, loaded +and primed them afresh; and then, sitting down at the window, where he +had a view of the court-yard on one side and on the other a glance into +the passage through the door which he left ajar, he waited, without +moving a limb, for the coming of morning. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + + +At a quarter to four o'clock, Edward Langdale shook young Abbot by the +shoulder and with some difficulty succeeded in waking him. "Quick, +Abbot! get up!" he said. "Go down and saddle your horse: but make no +noise. Do you understand me? No more than an owl. Go down and saddle +your horse: do you hear? but be quiet about it." + +"What is in the wind?" said the other. + +"Nothing to you: but do as you are bidden," answered Edward, and took +his way to Mr. Oakingham's room. Here he had more difficulty, for the +door was locked or bolted, and he had to make some noise before the good +gentleman would open it. + +"Why, what is the matter?" asked Oakingham. "Is the house on fire? It is +quite dark." + +"Here, sir, light your lamp," said Edward. "My lord has changed his +mind, and is going to set out directly. You will be left behind if you +do not make haste." + +Oakingham swore a little; but Edward did not stay to listen, gave him +his lamp, and turned toward the rooms of the servants, which lay at the +end of the passage over the kitchen. The last chamber but one had been +assigned to the two blacksmiths, and, as Edward was approaching quietly +that where the lackey and the groom were housed, the shorter of the +Savoyards, roused by the noise at Mr. Oakingham's door, put his head +out. + +Edward walked on quietly, and, when he was abreast of the man, said, +with an easy air, "You had better get your clothes on. You will be +wanted presently." + +"Which horse?" asked the man, at once. + +"All but one," said Edward; and, knocking hard at the door of the +servants' room, he ordered them in a loud tone to rise and come to the +stable. The blacksmith was still at the door; but Edward caught him by +the neck and pushed him back into the room, saying, "Pardie! did I not +tell you to get dressed?" + +The man staggered back, and before he recovered himself the young +gentleman had caught the key from the inside and locked the door. He did +not, however, call Lord Montagu till he had gone out into the yard and +ascertained that the windows of the rooms above were too high to admit +of any one dropping to the ground. + +A good deal of bustle succeeded: the servants of the house were roused, +valises and bags were packed in haste, and horses were saddled; but +before five o'clock all was ready for departure, and Edward approached +Lord Montagu as he stood before the inn, saying, "Shall I let out that +blacksmith? He is safely locked in his room, and hammering at the door +as if he would knock it down. Well he left his tools in the stable, or +he would have been out by this time." + +"Let him out, to-be-sure," said Montagu: "he may follow now if he will. +He will keep us too late." + +"His horse is saddled for him, my lord," replied Edward: "by your leave +he shall come with us, or I will come with him." And, running up-stairs, +he opened the door of the man's room. + +The worthy was at first inclined to make some noisy remonstrance, but +Edward stopped him in an instant. "No noise!" he said, seeing that he +was dressed. "Go down-stairs. Get on your horse and put him between me +and the groom. If you take a step too quick or a step too slow, you will +have a ball through your head in one minute. We know where your comrade +is gone, and all about you: so pray Heaven we meet with no misadventure +on the road, for, if we do, this is the last morning you will ever see." + +The man looked scared out of his senses, and descended the stairs with a +face as pale as ashes. + +The thundering command of Lord Montagu, "Mount, quick! Stand by him, +Ned!" did not serve to allay his apprehensions; and perhaps no man of +the whole party more sincerely prayed that they might pass uninterrupted +than he did. + +The score was paid, and the party rode off, with Montagu and Mr. +Oakingham at the head, and Edward Langdale, the groom, and the +blacksmith between them, in the rear. It was still quite dark; but the +eye of the pretended Savoyard roamed round and round from the very +commencement of the journey. At the end of a few minutes he began to +talk, and apparently desired to exculpate himself from any complicity in +his fellow-countryman's proceedings; but Edward stopped him sternly, +saying, "Silence! Your tongue makes as much noise as the crack of a +pistol, and I will silence it if you say one word more." He put his hand +to his holster as he spoke, and the man ceased instantly. + +"I have pistols too, sir," said the sturdy groom. + +"He will need no more than I give him," said Edward. "I do not miss, +Hobbs." + +"No, I know you don't, sir," said the groom: "at least I never saw you." + +"Let us keep quiet," said Edward; "but be prepared. If we should be +stopped, and this fellow's comrade is there, you take care of him. I +will settle with this one." + +The first part of the way led up hill, through a pretty close wood +skirting the road on either hand; but at the top of the ascent the +little party issued forth upon some open, undulating ground, which the +insecurity of border-life had kept a good deal out of cultivation. The +darkness was now growing pale at the approach of day, and the gray +outline of a chateau or two, with a village church some two miles off, +and what seemed a considerable town a good deal farther, might be seen +to the right and left. All was still and silent till the light clouds +overhead began to turn rosy, and then a lark started up close beside the +road and went quivering and trilling into the sky. + +"My heaven! they are going very slow," murmured the blacksmith, in a low +voice and with a groan. "Why does not the English lord go faster, young +gentleman? Does he not know this part of the country is full of +brigands?" + +"He knows there are brigands about," answered Edward; "but we know how +to deal with them." + +Edward, however, did think that his lord might have ridden faster; and, +as they began to descend into another hollow with a thick wood at the +bottom, he scanned every thing around and below with a keen, quick eye, +but could discover no moving thing. + +When they issued out of the wood at the other side of the dell, the sun +was apparently just rising above the horizon, and the whole sky was full +of purple and gold; and, when they topped the hill above, a wide but not +very interesting landscape was before them. Some high blue hills were +seen at a distance on the right; but nearer, on both sides, were several +chateaux and villages, with scattered woods and ponds and rivers, all +glowing like rubies in the red light. The human race, too, began to +bestir itself to daily toil, and several men, evidently peasants, were +seen leading horses or driving oxen to the field. But the view was soon +cut off from their sight by broken banks tumbled about in strange +confusion, interspersed with patches of scrubby firs, and here and there +a low hovel looking picturesque in its very wretchedness. + +The agitation of the blacksmith seemed every moment increasing, and once +he even attempted to drop behind; but the stern words from Edward, "Keep +up!" accompanied by a motion of the hand toward his pistols, soon +brought the man to a line with his companions. At length, after they had +ridden on for about half a mile or more, he burst forth, saying, "I want +to speak to the lord: he is going too slow. Let me speak to him." + +"Well," said Edward, "ride on by my side." And, drawing a pistol as a +precaution, he spurred forward. The country indeed just there would have +greatly favored the fellow's escape, for it was rough, uneven, and +covered with stunted trees and bushes, while a small pine wood flanked +the road on the left or French side, and a _borne_, or landmark, with a +low wall, lay on the other. The highway was wide, however; and Edward +felt certain that if the smith endeavored to gallop off he could bring +him from his horse before he got out of sight. In a moment they were by +the side of Lord Montagu, who checked his horse to hear what they +wanted. + +"My lord, my lord," said the man, in very good French, but with great +agitation, "ride fast. Take good advice, and ride fast, or they will +catch you." + +"Who will catch me?" asked Montagu, eyeing him. + +"I do not know who, exactly," said the man, "Brin, my comrade, has the +names of so many on his list. The cardinal gave it to him before we set +out. But ride fast, for God's sake! There may be time yet." + +"Good advice, truly," said Montagu. "Use your spurs, gentlemen. We will +inquire further hereafter, if we can,--if we can: ay, if we can, indeed! +Draw up your horses. Let the rest come forward. Stir not from that spot, +man, or I blow your brains out. Now, who are these before us?" + +From a little bridle-path which issued from the wood and crossed the +highroad some twelve or fourteen men, well armed and mounted, had just +ridden out and barred the way. + +"Let us charge them at once, my lord," said Edward. "Some of us may cut +through. You shall, if I live." + +"Look behind, Ned," said Lord Montagu. + +Edward turned his head in the direction to which Montagu had glanced a +moment before, and saw a party not much less numerous than that in +front, with the blacksmith who had disappeared the night before amongst +the foremost. His pistol was in his hand, and the temptation was +irresistible. He threw his arm across his chest without wheeling his +horse, pulled the trigger, and the traitor fell from his saddle with a +bullet in his shoulder. + +At the same moment the English groom, who had ridden up at Lord +Montagu's first order, caught the other unhappy man by the arm, and had +the muzzle of his weapon at his ear; but Montagu put it aside before he +could fire, saying, "Vain! vain! Edward, you are always too ready with +those pistols." + +"I have given him but his due, my lord, if I die for it the next +minute," said Edward. "But see: that tall man with the white scarf is +waving it to your lordship." + +"Stay here, and I will go forward a little," said Lord Montagu. "There +is nothing for it but to surrender quietly. They are five to one." + +"Let me go with you, my lord," said Edward. + +"Well, then, put up your pistol," answered Montagu. "The rest stay +here." + +Montagu took off his hat in answer to the signal made by the other +party, and rode forward with Edward, while a gentleman of some five or +six and thirty, who seemed the leader of the larger body gathered across +the road, advanced alone to meet the English nobleman. As they neared +each other, the two saluted courteously; and throughout their interview +the utmost politeness manifested itself, instead of the ferocious +roughness which in a French picture of this very incident is represented +as characterizing the demeanor of M. de Bourbonne. + +The French gentleman spoke first. "I have the honor of wishing you +good-day, my Lord Montagu," he said. "Your lordship is here somewhat +earlier than we expected you." + +"I am sorry I did not know, sir, that you are so matutinal in your +habits," replied Montagu, somewhat superciliously; "otherwise I should +have been here earlier still." + +"Doubtless," answered the other. "But I need not now tell your lordship +that, being later than you intended, it is useless to attempt to pursue +your journey to-day." + +"Why, the roads seem very bad, it is true," said Montagu. "I had hoped +that my good friend the Duke of Lorraine kept his highways in better +order." + +"I am afraid, my lord," said the stranger, "that the French Government +must bear the blame in this instance; for you are now upon French soil. +That landmark points out the boundary." + +"I did not mark the landmark," answered the Englishman; "but, if I be +upon French territory, may I know to whom I am indebted for this +hospitable reception?" + +"My name, my lord, is Bourbonne,--the Count de Bourbonne," said the +other. "I only last night heard of your lordship's arrival in these +parts; and I at once made preparation to receive you in my chateau." + +"We expected something of the kind," rejoined Montagu; "for a personage +who had attached himself to my service on the road thought fit to absent +himself last night, and we judged he would most likely spread the rumor +of my coming. In truth, I wished to spare all noble gentlemen the +hospitable trouble you seem inclined to take, and, indeed, would a great +deal rather not inflict it upon you now." + +"No trouble in the world, my lord," replied the count. "And, indeed, I +must insist upon the honor of entertaining you till you can be better +lodged. As to the poor man who favored me with notice of your approach, +I am afraid he has met with a little accident. I heard the report of a +pistol, and saw one of the people there fall off his horse." + +"A pure accident," said Montagu, in an indifferent tone. "One of my +attendants had a pistol in his hand and his finger upon the trigger. He +was seized at that moment with a convulsive affection to which he is +sometimes subject: the hammer fell, and the bullet flew out of the +muzzle. In those cases, monsieur le comte, the ball, as you must have +often remarked, flies right at the greatest villain it can find. It is +invariable, I believe." + +"Very probably," answered De Bourbonne: "I will ask a philosopher his +opinion. But, in the mean time, may I ask your lordship if there are +more accidents of the same kind likely to happen? Are there any other +gentlemen of yours with their fingers on their triggers?" + +"Oh, no!" replied Montagu. "I made them put all their pistols up as soon +as I comprehended the pressing nature of the invitation I was about to +receive, and the forcible arguments ready to back it. Am I to understand +that it is extended to my attendants also?" + +"To every one," replied the count, with a low bow. "I could never think +of asking your lordship to my house without including your friends and +followers." + +"You do me too much honor," said Montagu. "But amongst my followers you +will find a comrade of the worthy gentleman who did me the favor of +being my harbinger. Now, if I have any influence with you, my lord +count, I would bespeak for him a high place, not in your esteem, but on +your castle. Doubtless you have battlements, or iron stanchions, or +things of that kind, about, to which you could raise him _sus per_ +_col_. He has all the same qualities as his friend, whom you already +know, and is a Savoyard, he says,[5]--though we have some doubts upon +the subject." + +"I should be most happy to oblige your lordship in any thing," answered +the Count de Bourbonne; "but you know the king is the bestower of all +dignities and the fountain of all honors; and therefore I cannot take +upon me to raise the gentleman to the elevated position you desire for +him." + +"Well, well," replied Montagu, "time works wonders; and doubtless he +will meet his deserts sooner or later. May I ask if you have lately +heard from our mutual friend the Cardinal de Richelieu?" + +"Last night, my lord," answered Bourbonne. "He was quite well, and +desired me to inquire particularly after your health." + +"I expected no less of his courtesy," said the English nobleman. "But I +see your people are closing up pretty near, and, if I mistake not, have +got possession of my valet's horse, with a desire of lightening the poor +beast's load. We had probably better join them, as the man does not +comprehend much French; and Englishmen are sometimes so surly and stupid +that it is impossible to get them to comprehend the force of numbers." + +"At your pleasure," replied the count; and, making a sign to his +followers on the road to the north to join him, he went quietly to the +spot where Mr. Oakingham and Lord Montagu's servants had remained. + +He now somewhat changed his tone, and, abandoning the bantering mood in +which he and Lord Montagu had indulged, but still with undiminished +courtesy of manner, required all present but his own followers to give +up their arms. Edward for one did so with regret; but still it was some +satisfaction to him to see the treacherous blacksmith lying on the bank +with his comrade busily engaged in bandaging his wounded shoulder. + +"I will now have the honor of conducting you to my poor house," said the +count, bowing to Lord Montagu; and, with five or six armed men before +and a larger number following, with three on each side to guard against +any evasion, he commenced his march. Before departing, however, he spoke +a word or two to one of his attendants; and Edward remarked that, as +they went, a diligent examination was made of all the pistols which his +party had given up, as if to ascertain which had been discharged; and he +doubted not that some consequences not very agreeable to himself would +follow the inevitable discovery that he had fired the shot which had +wounded the traitor. + +The road wound through one of the wildest parts of France, just upon the +frontier of Champagne and Bar; two or three small rivers had to be +crossed; the country was but little cultivated, bearing more the aspect +of a sandy moor than of the entrance to one of the richest +wine-districts in the world; and more than once Edward cast his eyes +around, thinking that it might be no difficult matter to escape and find +a refuge in Lorraine if he could but avoid the pistol-shots which were +sure to follow him. Had he been intrusted with the care of Lord +Montagu's papers he would certainly have made the attempt, but he knew +not even who carried them, and he resolved not to abandon his lord +except for his service. + +Whether Montagu divined what was passing in his mind or not, I cannot +tell; but, after they had gone about half a mile, he called Edward to +his side and said to him, in English, "Keep still, Ned. Activity will do +no good here. The best thing for all of us is to be perfectly passive. +If I had trusted to your young, sharp eyes sooner, it might have been +better; but it is too late now either to regret or amend what is done." + +"May I request your lordship to speak to your attendants in French?" +said Monsieur de Bourbonne. "You speak our tongue in such perfection, +my lord, that it must be as familiar to you as your own." + +"I shall probably have time to study it more profoundly," answered +Montagu, with a smile. "But you can inform me yourself, count, if that +fine old chateau upon the height is Bourbonne, where we shall rest, I +presume." + +"That is Bourbonne," replied the count; "and the little town you may +catch sight of down there in the hollow, a little to the left. But, +though we will stop there to take some refreshment, I think that the +Castle of Coiffy will afford your lordship a more convenient +resting-place." + +"Oh, yes! I remember Coiffy," answered Montagu, laughing. "I passed +close to it some three months ago. It is a strong place, and so well +built, I am told, count, that the garrison cannot hear the drums of +Lorraine beat at Bar." + +"That is only because they do not pay attention to them, my lord," +replied Bourbonne. + +As they rode on, the old chateau grew more and more clearly defined; and +the state of decay into which the ancient defences had fallen showed +plainly why it had not been chosen for the place of Montagu's detention. + +In the village the party stopped to breakfast, and the English nobleman +was treated with every sort of respectful attention; but a strict guard +was kept at the door of the chamber where he was served. The attendants +had some food placed before them in another room; but they were as +carefully watched. In about an hour the march recommenced, and shortly +after, while gazing forward, Edward perceived rising over the trees at +the distance of several miles the towers of Coiffy, a much stronger +place than Bourbonne, which he never lost sight of till they reached the +drawbridge. + +It was apparent that their coming had been made known beforehand, for +all was evidently prepared to receive Lord Montagu with ceremonious +politeness. An old gentleman whom they called Monsieur de Boulogne stood +in the gateway, hat in hand, and immediately proceeded to conduct the +noble prisoner to his apartments. + +Mr. Oakingham followed, and Edward Langdale was about to do the same, +when the Count de Bourbonne took him by the arm, saying, "Stop, young +man! I destine another chamber for you." + +His tone was somewhat menacing, and Edward turned round and gazed full +in his face. + +"Tell me," said the count, "and mind you tell me true----" + +"If I tell you any thing at all, I shall tell you the truth," answered +Edward, interrupting him: "so spare such exhortations, sir count. But it +is probable that I shall not answer a small gentleman of Champagne at +all, especially if he interrogates me in a manner which much greater +personages than himself have never displayed toward me." + +It is probable that this rude answer was intended to stop all inquiries +into Lord Montagu's affairs,--for Edward did not doubt that they were +about to be the subject of De Bourbonne's questions; but the count gazed +on him with extreme surprise, exclaiming, "Ha! Whom have we here? A +small gentleman of Champagne! Will your magnificence have the +condescension, then, to inform the small gentleman of Champagne if it +was your hand that sent a pistol-ball into the shoulder of a poor +personage who came up with my train when I first had the honor of seeing +you?" + +"It was by accident I shot him in the shoulder," replied Edward: "I +intended the ball for his head." + +"If he dies we may find a rope that will fit you, young man," said the +count; and, beckoning up the man who had examined the pistols on the +road, he said, "Take him away and put him in the dungeon where I told +you." + +"If you hang me, sir count," said Edward, without the slightest alarm, +"you will do so with the passport in my breast which was given me by his +Eminence of Richelieu with his own hand. You had better ask the two +spies a few questions before you treat me with any thing like +indignity." + +So saying, he followed the man to whom Bourbonne had spoken. Another +soldier took a lantern from a hook and came after; and in a minute or +two Edward found himself pushed into a room where the faint light of the +lantern only served to show the shining damp which clung to the stone +walls. + +[Footnote 5: These two men, who adhered to Lord Montagu through his +whole journey, first tracking him from place to place with the sagacity +and pertinacity of well-trained hounds, and then contriving to get +admitted to his service, were in reality Basques. Some have supposed +that they were creatures of Monsieur de Bourbonne; but there seems no +doubt they were two of the many skilful agents whom Richelieu took care +to provide himself with in every rank of life.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + + +A dungeon is by no means an agreeable place; and the dungeon of poor +Edward Langdale was not an agreeable dungeon. As was common at that +time, before Vauban and others had introduced a better system of +fortification, the principal defence of the Castle of Coiffy was a wet +ditch or fosse, which differed little from those we see surrounding old +castles of the feudal period. This wet ditch was supplied with abundance +of water from a spring a little higher up the hill, which, indeed, was +the source of one of the principal confluents of the Aube; but the soil, +as I have said elsewhere, being somewhat sandy, the banks suffered the +water to percolate, somewhat to the detriment of the foundations of the +castle; and, had not the masonry been very heavy and the mortar somewhat +better than we use in building cockney villas, the square flanking-tower +to the right of the gateway as you look east would have been down fifty +years before and crushed to death the denizens of poor Edward's +dungeon,--if it had been furnished with tenants at that time. + +Now, doubtless the reader learned in romance-composition may imagine +that I am merely preparing the way for a fine scene of escape from +prison, with melodramatic incidents, new songs, scenery, and +decorations. But, as I am sorry to say no such heroic result was at this +time achieved by Lord Montagu's page, I cannot use it as an incident in +this part of my true history. I only mention the percolation of the +water of the fosse, and its effect upon the foundations amongst which +that and other dungeons were placed, to show that the place of the poor +youth's confinement was as damp and disagreeable as it could be. Some +stones had fallen from the vault above, some large detached pieces of +mortar, green and shiny, covered the mud or stone floor, and the walls +were all glistening with dampness; but those walls were too thick and +the blocks of stone of which they were composed too heavy for any +unaided prisoner to have worked his way out, with the utmost diligence. +In one corner of the miserable hole was a sort of camp-bedstead, with a +straw bed covered with yellow and green stains from long exposure to the +foul, moist air,--disgust and sickness and death to lie upon; and in +another corner, high up on the wall, was a little grated window, not so +high as the opposite parapet of the glacis, but sufficiently so to admit +the air and the sounds from without. The wall was too thick to allow of +a prisoner catching even a glimpse of the blue sky or to permit one ray +of the sun to enter, even at his rising or his setting. It was indeed a +desolate chamber. What an expressive word that _desolate_ is! Although +sometimes in the heats of an almost tropical climate--heats often more +intense than I ever heard of in the tropics themselves--I sometimes +grumble a little at the power and ardor of the sun, yet what would the +earth be without him? what is any place on the earth's surface which he +does not visit? Desolate, desolate indeed! + +The first sound which Edward heard after the bolts had ceased to grate +in their sockets was that of a cannon, apparently from the walls of the +castle. Some few minutes after the same sound seemed to be repeated from +a distance. It might be an echo. He could not tell. But a moment or two +after another report was heard, certainly nearer; and then two more +confirmed his fancy that they were signal-guns announcing that the +well-watched English envoy had been captured and was a prisoner at +Coiffy. Some three hours then passed, if not in perfect silence, at +least only enlivened by the voices of some soldiers on the ramparts; and +then came the squeaking of the wry-necked fife and the beating of drums, +intimating to Edward that troops of some kind were drawing round Coiffy. +Then were heard voices on the drawbridge, and gay laughter, as if +officers were being received into the castle with signs of honor. + +All that passed away, and silence resumed her reign till night fell. The +light in the lantern burned down almost to the socket. No meat, no +drink, had been brought to the prisoner; and he began to ask himself if +it could be their intention to starve him there in darkness. His +feelings were not pleasant. + +Just about that time there was some noise and bustle heard from +without,--probably on the drawbridge or at the gate,--the tramp of +horses, and voices speaking. Then for a few minutes all was silent +again. Then there were sounds just above, more distinct and clear than +any he had hitherto heard,--people speaking, and others moving slowly +about,--evidently penetrating to the cell which Edward tenanted by the +broken parts of the vault on which the flooring of the upper chamber +rested. + +"Oh!" cried a voice, with a groan, "you have got me by the shoulder just +on the wound! Do not do that! Put your hand lower down: not there, not +there!--lower still. That young devil! he does not miss his mark, +indeed!" + +"Lay him on the bed,--flat on his back," said another voice. "Now, Brin, +is not that easier for you?" And then followed several sentences in a +language Edward did not understand at all. + +"The two blacksmiths," said Edward to himself. "They have just brought +in the wounded man." + +For some half-hour various sounds succeeded, some distinct, others +confused, to which the young prisoner did not pay much attention; and +then there was a sort of lull,--not quite silence, but still much less +bustle. Even slight sounds were easily distinguishable in the dungeon; +for the roof was so far dilapidated that here and there the rays of +light from above found their way through a chink in the flooring and +traced a yellow line upon the pavement. He could hear the wounded man +groan and ask in a faint tone for drink. + +"He is badly hurt, it seems," said Edward Langdale to himself: "if the +horse had not shied away, it would have gone through his head and served +the traitor right." + +Edward wanted a little more softening to make him a real sentimental +hero; but I can only paint him as I find him. He did not feel the +slightest remorse for what he had done. He thought it but right,--but +just; and he would have done it over again the next minute. It is true, +the groans of the wounded man did somewhat annoy him. He felt no +pleasure in his pain; but, as to the mere fact of having shot him +because he had betrayed his lord, Edward was as hard as a stone. + +It seemed, indeed, as if Monsieur de Bourbonne was inclined to try upon +the young Englishman the treatment sometimes employed to tame wild +beasts,--fasting and darkness. He had kept him without food all day; and +now the light in the lantern went out, and all was obscure in the +dungeon, except where those yellow streaks from above checkered the +floor; and the youth's only entertainment was to listen while a good +deal of walking to and fro and speaking took place overhead. He divined +from all he heard that a surgeon had been sent for and was performing +some operation upon the wounded man. At length the latter exclaimed, +"Oh, you have got it now. There, there! that is comfortable. It feels as +if you had pulled out a hot coal!" + +Just at that time a soldier opened the dungeon-door and brought in a +pitcher of cool water and some bread. + +"Am I to be kept in darkness?" asked Edward. + +"I don't know," answered the man, holding up his own lantern to look at +him: "you have offended Monsieur le Comte mightily, it seems; but I do +not suppose that he intends you should have no light." + +"Well, tell him something for me," replied Edward. "Say that I am +greatly obliged to him for all his kindness, but that I have friends in +France who will repay him sevenfold, or I am much mistaken in them." + +The man went away without reply, but returned in a minute or two with a +fresh candle. + +"Did you tell him?" asked Edward. + +"Yes," answered the soldier, who seemed a good-natured sort of person; +"I told him. But you had better not enrage him. It will do no good, +young gentleman." + +Edward ate heartily of his poor fare, and drank the cool water as if it +had been nectar. He had hardly finished the temperate meal, when he +heard a voice above which he recognised by a slight hesitation of speech +as that of Monsieur de Bourbonne; and he certainly might be excused in +his circumstances for listening with all his ears. + +First the count made several inquiries as to the state of the wounded +man; and then he added, "Well, my good friend, I have got the young +tiger who scratched you safely caged in the worst dungeon of the castle. +I hope you will get well; but if you should die I will hang him from the +_herse_." + +"For God's sake, do not do that, monseigneur," cried the companion of +the patient. + +"If I die, hang him as high as you please," growled the voice of Maître +Brin: "the cardinal cannot do any thing to me after I am dead, and the +young devil had better go with me." + +"Ha!" said Monsieur de Bourbonne, apparently in a tone of some surprise: +"he boasts of having some good friends in France, and speaks as if he +personally knew his Eminence." + +"And so he does," said Brin's more timid companion: "he is a great +favorite of the cardinal; and Monsieur de Tronson warned us not to touch +a hair of his head under any circumstances. He said that we should be +held to answer for any evil that happened to him. We were only to follow +him wherever he went from Nantes, and not lose sight of him till he +joined the English lord." + +"Then did you first see him at Nantes?" asked the count. + +"Surely," replied the other: "we waited in the court-yard while he was +in with the cardinal, that we might take good note of him as he came +out." + +There was a silence of some minutes, and then the voice of the sick man +was heard saying, "After all, you had better not treat him badly, +monseigneur. I do not think I am very much hurt; and if he is hardly +used some of us will suffer, you may be sure." + +"You should have told me this before," said Monsieur de Bourbonne, in a +very sharp tone. + +"Why, what time had we to tell you any thing, monseigneur?" asked the +wounded man's brother. + +"At all events, we tell you now," growled Brin; "and this talking is not +likely to do me good. The lad is as fierce as a young wolf. He +threatened to shoot me once before; but he is a pet of the +cardinal,--one of his own people, for aught we know,--and, now that you +are told he is so, you may use him as you think fit. It is no fault of +ours: we have not hurt him." + +It is probable that the interview was less satisfactory to the Count de +Bourbonne than he had expected; for he brought it speedily to a +conclusion, and Edward for full half an hour after heard the two men +above talking together in the language he did not understand. At the end +of that time the bolt of the door was undrawn, and the soldier who had +previously brought him bread and water appeared again, with somewhat of +a grin upon his face. + +"Well, young gentleman," he said, "Monsieur le Comte begs you will send +him up the safe-conduct you mentioned to him. After seeing that, perhaps +they may treat you better." + +"Tell him I will not!" said Edward, in a resolute tone: "he may come and +take it from me by force,--or he may see it here in my presence; but I +give it out of my own hands to no one,--especially not to one who has +treated me unlike a soldier and a gentleman. Tell him what I say." + +The soldier laughed. "'Pon my word, you are a bold one!" he said. "Do +you not know you are quite in his power?" + +"Not so much as you think," replied Edward: "I am not the least afraid +of him. Tell him exactly what I say." + +A full hour passed; and probably it was spent in some degree of anxious +and hesitating deliberation between Monsieur de Bourbonne and the Count +de Boulogne, his father-in-law, for they remained the whole of that time +shut up together in a small room on the second floor. One can easily +conceive that it was a hard thing for a proud and irritable man to make +any concession to a mere lad who set him at defiance in language +somewhat tinged with contempt. But a bold face stoutly kept up has a +great effect upon most men; and if Edward had known the count intimately +he could not (though it was entirely accidental) have chosen his course +better. De Bourbonne was brave, and even rash; but he had a terrible +reverence for power, and, when he found the youth's account of himself +confirmed even by the very man whose life he had nearly taken, fancy +conjured up all sorts of ministerial indignation, and showed him the +service he had rendered in the capture of Lord Montagu--on which he had +based many gorgeous dreams--more than counterbalanced in the eyes of +Richelieu by his treatment of one of the cardinal's favorites. Monsieur +de Boulogne, too, an older and milder man, strongly counselled +moderation and gentleness, somewhat censured what had been already done, +and advised recourse to measures perhaps too directly and suddenly +opposed. + +Still, pride struggled hard with De Bourbonne. He vowed he did not and +would not believe the tale which he had heard. What hold, he asked, +could a mere fierce English lad have upon the cardinal? and for some +time his father-in-law reminded him in vain that Richelieu, though a +wonderfully great man, was somewhat capricious in his affections, +suggested that, as he was not a little superstitious, too, in regard to +astrology and the occult sciences, he might find some imaginary +connection between the youth's fate and his own, and pointed out that it +was utterly improbable Edward should treat him with such daring +disrespect if he was not certain of some very strong support. + +In the mean time the poor prisoner remained in some doubt and anxiety. +Imprisonment, solitude, and low diet had gone some way to tame the wild +bird, and the uncertainty of the last hour had been very heavy. He had +fancied that the words he had heard spoken by the wounded man and his +companion would produce an immediate change; but, as minute after minute +passed by and nothing indicated any better treatment, he began to +despond. At length, however, he heard the tramp of feet and the jingle +of spurs, and a man with a torch opened the door, admitting Monsieur de +Boulogne and one or two attendants. + +"Young gentleman," said the old nobleman, with a reproving but fatherly +air, "you have been acting very rashly and impetuously toward the count +my son-in-law." + +"And how has he been acting toward me, sir?" asked Edward, in a more +respectful tone than he had used in speaking to the younger man. + +"Somewhat harshly, I am afraid," said the other, looking round him: "he +could not have known the state of this place, or he would not have put +you here." + +"What right had he to put me in a dungeon at all?" asked Edward. + +"Why, you shot and nearly killed one of his attendants," was the reply. + +"Not at all," answered Edward. "You are deceived, sir. I shot an +attendant of Lord Montagu whom I caught in the act of betraying his +master. Ask his lordship--ask the man himself or his brother--if they +had not both taken service with my lord and received his money." + +The old gentleman smiled. "That puts a new face upon the matter," he +said. "But let us leave recriminations. I wish to smooth matters down +between you and my fiery relative. You say you have a safe-conduct from +his Eminence of Richelieu. Let me see it." + +"On the sole condition, sir, that you restore it to me at once," said +Edward, putting his hand into a pocket in the breast of his coat and +taking out the passport in its velvet case. + +"Let me examine it," said Monsieur de Boulogne. "Do not fear. You shall +have it again in a moment." + +"I do not fear," replied the youth, giving him the case. "I am sure you +are a man of honor, by your face." + +"Here, man, hold the torch nearer," said the count; and, putting a pair +of spectacles--or banicles, as they were then commonly called--upon his +nose, he proceeded to examine the safe-conduct minutely. But all was in +proper form and order, calling upon all royal officers, governors of +cities, castles, or provinces, to let the Seigneur Edward Langdale and +suite pass and repass, without limitation of time or place, throughout +the land of France; and there was the seal of the council, and the +undoubted signature of the prime minister. + +The face of the count turned very grave as he read. "This is odd!" he +said. "My son should have seen this. Here is your suite mentioned, young +gentleman. Of whom consists your suite?" + +"I might reply," said Edward, "that any one I choose to name is of my +suite, for his Eminence put no restriction. But I wish not to quibble. +The suite of which he speaks is now at Nancy,--with the exception of one +page," he added, half smiling, "who is in Venice." + +"Well, this is all very strange," said the old man. "I cannot understand +the cardinal's giving you such a wide safe-conduct at all,--an +Englishman,--and a youth like you." + +"I am neither bound nor inclined to explain the motives of his +Eminence," replied Edward. "If you think fit to interrogate any one upon +that subject, it must be himself." + +"God forbid!" cried Monsieur de Boulogne, eagerly. "There! take the +paper and come with me. I will take this business on myself. Two such +young, rash spirits may make mischief." + +Edward followed, willingly enough; and the old count led him up the +stairs from the dungeon to a tolerably comfortable room in one of the +towers above, where he left him on his promise to remain till Monsieur +de Bourbonne could be conferred with. In a few minutes the two noblemen +entered together, De Bourbonne evidently struggling--not very +successfully--to keep up his dignity while forced to make disagreeable +concessions. + +"The Count de Boulogne informs me, sir," he said, "that you have really +got a safe-conduct from his Eminence of Richelieu." + +"Which you have known ever since mid-day," said Edward. + +"Hush! hush!" said the elder gentleman. "No more of that. Tell my +son-in-law, young gentleman, what it is you demand of him in the +circumstances." + +"I demand that he shall respect the cardinal's safe-conduct," answered +the youth. + +But De Bourbonne waved his hand, saying, "I will respect it by sending +you to his Eminence under guard on the very first opportunity. What +more?" + +"That I be no more put in a wet dungeon; that I be not fed on bread and +water; that I have my baggage restored to me; and that I be treated in +every respect as that safe-conduct gives me a right to expect." + +"Granted," said the count, "but upon the clear understanding that you +are a prisoner and remain such till I can send you to the cardinal." + +"With the clear understanding added," replied Edward, "that you shall be +called to a strict account for every hour you keep me prisoner without +lawful cause, and for your manifest disobedience of the cardinal's +written orders under his own hand and seal." + +The count's face flushed, and he exclaimed, in evident embarrassment, +"What the fiend are you to the cardinal, or the cardinal to you?" + +But Edward saw that, one way or another, he had got the advantage. +"That, sir," he said, in a cool tone, "you may have to learn hereafter, +from other lips than mine. In the mean time you can do exactly as you +think fit. Obey the commands you have received in the king's name, or +disobey them, as seems expedient to you; but only do not put me in a +damp dungeon or feed me on bread and water any more, for it is as +unpleasant to me as it may be dangerous to yourself." + +"But suppose the safe-conduct is a forgery," said De Bourbonne. + +"It would be a curious one," replied the youth, with perfect +composure,--"somewhat bold to devise and difficult to practise. Of that +you can judge yourself; but take care you judge right. I have but one +other demand to make; namely, to be permitted to visit my Lord Montagu." + +"He has gone to bed," said De Bourbonne, sharply, "and I shall consider +of the matter further till to-morrow. I have now one more question. How +much liberty in this castle do you want? It will depend entirely upon +whether you do or do not give me your parole of honor that you will not +attempt to escape." + +"Now, this is strange!" said Edward, with an irrepressible laugh. "One +moment I am suspected of forgery, and the next my word of honor is to be +relied upon implicitly. However, Monsieur le Comte, as I have no +intention of leaving you quite so soon, and as, if I did escape, I +should run straight to his Eminence, to whom you say you intend to send +me, I will give you my parole. But would you allow me to insinuate that +I am exceedingly hungry, and that I have always considered a little good +wine of Beaugency better than a draught of cold water out of a pitcher +not over-clean?" + +Both the counts laughed; and old Monsieur de Boulogne, taking his +son-in-law by the arm, led him away, saying, in a low voice, "Come, +come! I shall make you two better friends before I have done." + +"You will need to do so, father," said M. de Bourbonne; "for, on my +life, it shall be long enough before that keen boy sees the cardinal. If +what he says is true,--as I suppose it is,--the tales he has to tell +might ruin us; and, if it is false, he well deserves a good long spell +of imprisonment." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + + +The writers of biography and auto- or pseudo-autobiography who +flourished and were so abundant in France during the seventeenth and +eighteenth centuries made a great mistake by adding to the simple +narrative a great number of romantic incidents which there is much +reason to believe had no foundation in fact. Putting aside the morality +or immorality of lying, they committed an artistic blunder. History is +the best romance. Just in as much as a painter or sculptor can approach +to the realities of the human form, so is the grace and interest of his +design. Just in as much as a writer can approach to the truth of +history, telling all the truth minutely, so is the romantic interest of +his book,--only history is so very romantic that no one who writes it +completely can obtain credence. Let us see whether the reader will +believe a morsel of true history when it appears under the character of +romance. + +The fact of the capture of Lord Montagu spread rapidly through all +France. Couriers carried it to Villeroy and Rochelle; rumor brought it +rapidly to Paris; and thence, with concentric ripples, the knowledge was +carried far and wide to all who were unwise enough to meddle with +politics in those days. + +The effect was very different upon different people. The great cardinal +rejoiced at the success of his well-laid schemes; for he had long known, +and watched with a keen eye, the negotiations which had been intrusted +to the English nobleman. Perhaps, however, he rejoiced more at the hold +which he doubted not the seized papers of the diplomatist would give him +upon his own enemies in France itself than upon the means afforded of +frustrating all the combinations which had been effected abroad against +his country. His mighty mind feared foreign enemies much less than +secret cabal at home. In fact, he knew that the fortress of his power +was strong enough to resist a cannonade but might not be proof against a +mine. + +Nor was the spirit of the king dissatisfied to learn that Buckingham's +agent had fallen into his power, with all his correspondence, +compromising probably one-third of the nobility of France. We have not +had time, we shall not have space, to dwell upon the character of Louis, +though it well merits a treatise entirely to itself. His sports in youth +had been cruel, his amusements low. His father had called him "that +wicked boy;" and, though he possessed all that father's courage and much +of his military skill, he had none of his kindness of heart, his +clemency, or his gentleness. It may be that he did not feel pleasure in +the shedding of blood, but it is certain that he never objected to shed +it; and when his best friends and greatest favorites were condemned, +often by unlawful tribunals, he consented to their death with coolness +or a jest. + +But there was one in France who heard of Lord Montagu's capture with +very different feelings. Anne of Austria, the unhappy queen, the +childless wife of the coldest-hearted monarch that ever lived, received +the tidings with terror and confusion. It might be that the tales they +tell of certain secret communications between her and the brilliant Duke +of Buckingham were founded in truth. It might be that she had connived +at schemes for the overthrow of a minister who persecuted her. But it is +beyond doubt that she held dangerous correspondence with her own family +in Spain, that Buckingham had been negotiating with that court, and that +Montagu was his most confidential emissary. What letters might not be +upon his person at the moment of his arrest?--what papers which might +give a complete triumph to her enemies? and she had many. Happily, +however, she had many friends, sincere, devoted, fearless. At the very +moment when she was in the most profound agony of terror, one of these +was near at hand. + +It is well known that gentlemen of good family but small means were in +those days proud to accept even what we consider menial offices in the +household of princes or great men. A youth of the name of Laporte had +been attached to the service of Anne of Austria, in the humble capacity +of valet-de-chambre, almost ever since her entrance into France. In one +of the many intrigues of the court he had incurred the anger of the +king, but had been permitted to enter a corps of cavalry, known as the +Gens d'armes de la Reine, as ensign. This corps, at the time of the +capture of Lord Montagu, was serving on the frontiers of Lorraine, and +was one of the first to be called toward the Chateau of Coiffy to form +part of the escort of the noble prisoner on his way to Paris. But +Laporte was not with his regiment. He was, when the news arrived, on +leave of absence in the capital, and his presence had been known to the +young queen. At midnight, and in disguise, he was brought to the Louvre; +and Anne of Austria at once laid open to her attached servant the +terrible apprehensions under which she suffered. To ascertain if her +name was at all compromised in the correspondence of Lord Montagu was of +immediate importance. It was, in fact, an affair of life and death. But +to do so seemed utterly hopeless. All the papers of the prisoner were in +the hands of his captors, and the utmost secrecy was maintained as to +their contents. Laporte, however, undertook the difficult task, and on +the following day set out to rejoin his regiment at Coiffy. The way was +long, and he did not reach the castle till the prisoner and his escort +were already on the march to Paris; but he was near enough to witness +the absurd gasconade of M. de Bourbonne, who, having gathered together a +very considerable force, notified the Duke of Lorraine of the day and +hour when he would commence his journey. A cannon was fired from the +battlements to give notice that the French troops were in motion; and +the whole body remained in battle-array for about half an hour, to give +the duke, Monsieur de Bourbonne said, an opportunity of rescuing the +prisoner if he could. When this comedy had been enacted, the worthy +Laporte joined his regiment and fell into the ranks, resolved, as he +states, to watch for some happy accident which might enable him to +communicate with the captive. Fortune favored him sooner than he +expected, and, indeed, beyond all expectation. In the midst of the +troops, consisting of some nine hundred horse, rode the Counts of +Bourbonne and Boulogne, with Lord Montagu between them, treated with +every mark of profound respect, but disarmed, without spurs, and mounted +on a small horse not very capable of competing in speed with those which +surrounded him. Laporte marked all this well; but a much more easy and +secure mode of communicating with the English nobleman than any effort +in the open field soon presented itself. The Baron de Ponthieu, a +gentleman of considerable distinction, was one of the officers of +Laporte's company of Gens d'armes de la Reine; and, as soon as he saw a +man whose leave of absence did not expire for some weeks suddenly rejoin +his regiment, an instant suspicion crossed his mind that his inferior +officer had some important object in view. The baron was one of the most +devoted partisans of the queen. He knew that Laporte was a bird of the +same color, and also that he came straight from Paris. Quick and +clear-sighted, Ponthieu, it appears, in his conjectures came near the +real object of his companion-in-arms. But he had the rare gift of +discretion; and, after having sounded Laporte and found that he was +unwilling to trust his dangerous secret even to him, he contented +himself with losing no occasion to give facilities for communication +between the queen's attendant and the English prisoner. + +What marks the age as especially an age of faction is the fact that men +usually sensitive on the point of honor had not the slightest scruple in +violating their most sacred obligations and most solemn oaths in favor +of the party to which they belonged. No shame, no remorse, attached to +such acts; but, on the contrary, they were looked upon, both by actors +and observers, as proofs of chivalrous daring and skilful diplomacy. +Ponthieu and Laporte, though serving in what was called the "Queen's +Gens d'armes," were the soldiers of the king, bound by solemn oaths to +obey and serve him against all and every one; but they had not the least +hesitation in betraying their trust and violating their promise when it +was to assist the queen or thwart the minister. It was not dishonest or +disloyal in their eyes: it was honorable and chivalrous. There is too +much of this in the world even now; but there was much more then, and +the wars of the Fronde both brought the abuse to its height and in some +degree wrought its cure. + +Monsieur de Bourbonne had received secret instructions to treat Lord +Montagu with every sort of consideration, while taking all measures to +prevent his escape; and at each halt upon the long march the officers of +the various corps which escorted him were invited to bear him company +during the evening, and various devices were formed for amusing the +prisoner. Ponthieu, divining, as I have said, Laporte's object, invited +his young comrade to partake his quarters, which were always near those +of De Bourbonne, and took care that he should be at all the parties +given in the evening for Montagu's entertainment. At the very first +interview, Montagu, who never forgot a face, remembered having seen the +young officer when he had visited Paris some years before; and mutual +looks of intelligence conveyed the information that Laporte was not +there without a purpose. Cards were introduced, and the ensign of the +Queen's Gens d'armes contrived to slip a pencil across to the captive. +On the succeeding night, Laporte sat at the same card-table with +Montagu, Monsieur de Bourbonne, and Ponthieu. But in shuffling the pack +the young officer let it fall, scattering the cards upon the floor. He +stooped instantly to remedy the effects of his awkwardness. Montagu +stooped also with an easy grace to assist him; and, before he rose, a +note was in his pocket, beseeching him to inform the writer if amongst +his papers there had been any matter which could compromise the queen, +and desiring him to be very careful of even mentioning her name. + +On the following evening, Lord Montagu, with a free and unembarrassed +air, held out his hand to the young officer when they met, and, with +better skill than the Signor Morini, contrived to slip into the hand of +Laporte an answer to the note of the preceding night, without being seen +by any one. + +It conveyed the joyful news that the queen's name had never been +mentioned in the papers which had fallen into the hands of the captors, +and that Montagu himself would rather die than compromise her in any +way. + +Nevertheless, although he knew the anxiety and suspense of his royal +lady, Laporte did not venture to trust the billet out of his own hands, +nor again to quit his regiment to carry the intelligence himself. He was +forced, therefore, to accompany the prisoner's escort by slow marches to +Paris, and to see Montagu lodged in the Bastille. As soon as that was +done, however, he found his way secretly to the Louvre, and easily +explained to Anne of Austria the causes of his delay and the complete +success of his mission. He tells the story himself; but, with the usual +fate of zeal, intelligence, and devotion, his services were but poorly +rewarded, though they were highly praised. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + + +And where was Edward Langdale all this time? On the day which saw Lord +Montagu a prisoner in the Bastille, the poor lad had been just a month +in the Chateau de Coiffy; and his captivity was not yet at an end. Care +had been taken that he should have no opportunity of seeing Lord +Montagu; and, though he was well treated, and his personal liberty +seemed but little abridged within the walls, there was a cold, silent +guard kept over him which tended a good deal to subdue his impatient +spirit. If he spoke to any one, he received a civil answer; but it was +confined to two or three words, and never afforded any information. If +he asked for writing-materials, they were promised, but never came. If +he walked on one of the ramparts, there was a soldier at each end, who +never lost sight of him; and his own chamber, with one or two of the +passages near, was the only place where he found himself free from +supervision. His principal resort was the walls, where on fine days he +would sit and think, and gaze over the undulating country round, for +hours,--pondering his own fate, dreaming of Lucette, or asking himself +what the conduct of Monsieur de Bourbonne could mean. + +It certainly had its meaning; and the secret was a very simple one. The +reader has already the key in the few words spoken by the count on the +first night of Edward's captivity. He had determined that the youth +should have no communication with Richelieu till he himself had reaped +the reward he expected for the valuable services he believed he had +rendered. + +For many reasons, however, the cardinal was slower in bestowing that +reward than the count anticipated. In the first place, his mind was +profoundly occupied with matters which we shall have to touch upon +hereafter. In the next place, the service of the count was not so great +as he imagined. Lord Montagu was a prisoner, it is true; the treaty with +Spain, Lorraine, and Savoy was in the minister's hands; and the schemes +of the external enemies of France were dissipated or deranged; but there +were few names in France itself implicated by the papers which had been +seized, and fewer letters found which could bring home to Richelieu's +foes the treason which many of them had certainly meditated. Thus, day +after day passed without bringing to Monsieur de Bourbonne the expected +recompense; and it suited well with the cardinal's policy to keep the +nobility of the kingdom expectants upon the bounty of the minister, as +they were now daily becoming, rather than dictators to the Government, +as they had too long been. Poor Edward suffered without the minister +knowing it, and, at the end of three long months, the youth determined +to endure but a few days longer. He contrived, with some oil and the +soot of his lamp, to fabricate a sort of ink. A leaf torn out of one of +the books which were amongst the baggage returned to him served him for +paper sufficient to write on; and with such rude materials he contrived +to indite a letter to Monsieur de Bourbonne, which will explain itself. + + "Sir," he said, "you informed me that you would send me to the + cardinal prime minister by the very first opportunity; and on that + understanding I gave my parole not to escape. You have broken your + word; and I might be held justifiable in breaking mine: but the word + of an English gentleman is too sacred to be trifled with. I + therefore give you notice of my intention to leave the Castle of + Coiffy as soon as I find an opportunity of doing so after this + letter has had full time to reach you and you have had full time to + take your measures accordingly. Your men have debarred me the use of + pen and ink and cut me off from all communication with others. They + may neglect or refuse to carry this letter; but I shall give it to + one of them for that purpose, and if it do not reach you the fault + is not that of EDWARD LANGDALE. + + "_Postscriptum_.--I shall not set out for fourteen days." + +This epistle was given to the servant who brought his food, with an +injunction to have it given to the post-courier. At first the man +hesitated to take it; but, on seeing that it was directed to his master, +he ultimately consented; and Edward applied all his thoughts to devise +the means of carrying the resolution he had expressed into execution, +let Monsieur de Bourbonne take what precautions he would. The fourteen +days passed without any answer, and all seemed dull and tranquil as +before; but some messengers had been coming and going, and Edward little +doubted that one of them bore directions in regard to himself. To test +the fact, on the fifteenth morning he walked out upon the walls and +approached quietly one of the little flights of steps that led down from +the ramparts toward some of the outworks. Instantly the sentinel +presented his musketoon, saying, "You cannot pass here." + +"Why not?" asked the youth. "I have passed before." + +"The orders are changed," answered the man, gruffly. "Keep off, I say." + +Edward was satisfied. Monsieur de Bourbonne had received his letter: his +parole was at an end; and he felt almost as if he were already free. Two +days passed without his making any attempt to escape; but he carefully +selected every thing from amongst his baggage which was most valuable, +including money, and packed it in the smallest compass. Sometimes, +indeed, he was tempted to leave all behind him, for he foresaw that he +should have to swim the canal; but the absolute necessity of money in +almost every transaction of life he had learned early, and he remembered +that he had a large piece of France to traverse. His attention was next +directed to ascertain if, by passing boldly through the interior of the +chateau, he could not turn the position of the sentinels upon the walls +just in face of his windows, and emerge upon the opposite ramparts, +which, from all he recollected of the approach to the castle, and from +various other circumstances which had come to his knowledge during his +long stay, he imagined were neither very high nor very well guarded. +Away he went, then, along the passage through which he had always been +allowed to pass, to a door at the end on the left-hand side, where there +had usually sat a servant, and which he had understood,--believed would +be the better word, for he knew not what had led him to the +conclusion,--which he believed led to the apartments of the Countess of +Bourbonne. But now no servant sat there, either to question or let him +pass. The door, however, was shut; and when he tried it he found it +locked. + +It was a great disappointment; for the servant who usually sat there was +sometimes male, sometimes female, and he had calculated that he could +devise some means of getting either out of the way. The ramparts before +his windows were too steep for him to attempt the leap. Had the fosse +been immediately below, he might have risked it, trusting that the water +would soften his fall; but a ridge of dry ground ran along under the +wall, and the breaking or dislocation of a limb, with his consequent +recapture, was inevitable. He returned to his room, then, disappointed +but not disheartened, and instantly applied himself to form some new +scheme. The first thought that struck him was that a rope ladder might +be constructed from the ropes which in those days garnished every +bedstead in France. It would be short, indeed, but at all events it +might diminish the distance between the parapet and the ground, and by +dropping from the last round he would not, he thought, have more than +eight or ten feet to fall. He instantly set to work to detach the ropes +from the sacking; but he had not unlaced a yard before he asked himself +how, when it was constructed, he was to fasten the upper end of his +ladder to the parapet. With all his ingenuity, he was puzzled. There was +nothing in the room of which he could make a hook,--nothing in the +world, except an ancient pair of tongs for putting wood upon the fire; +and he might as well have tried to make a hook out of the Colossus of +Rhodes. He looked round and round in vain, when suddenly, as his eyes +rested upon the heavy key in the lock of the door, he thought that keys +would sometimes fit more locks than one. He took it out at once, greased +it well with oil from the lamp, and walked quietly along to the door at +the end of the passage. It was still locked, and by applying his eye to +the key-hole he saw that there was no obstruction. The key had been +taken away,--probably to prevent any tampering with the servants on the +part of the young prisoner. But he saw also three persons sitting by a +large fireplace in the long gallery before him. They were a lady of two +or three and twenty,--probably Madame de Bourbonne,--a very beautiful +child, three years old perhaps, and another woman, whose dress betrayed +the soubrette. + +Edward had to return to his room again and wait with impatience for the +trial of the key. As he meditated by the remains of his fire, he +remembered having heard that, but a year or two before, the famous Duke +of Buckingham himself, while ambassador in Paris, in a wild frolic had +passed through the whole of the royal palace disguised as the White +Lady. + +"Some sort of disguise might not be amiss," thought Edward. "Each of +these old chateaux has some superstitious tale attached to it. A sheet +and a little lampblack will make a very good ghost. But it is not yet +time." + +His impatience had wellnigh ruined all, however; for, just as he was +about to take one of the sheets from the bed to tear a hole for his head +to pass through, the servant entered his room with a fresh supply of +wood. + +"When does Monsieur de Bourbonne return?" asked Edward "I hope when he +does he will give me a warmer room." + +"I do not know," answered the man, piling some more wood on the fire. +"Some say he comes Saturday. That is the day after to-morrow." + +Edward let him depart, and then sat and listened. For at least two hours +sounds were still to be heard in the chateau; but they gradually died +away. At midnight the password was heard upon the walls; then there was +some tramping up and down; and then all was silent. Edward knew that +there was a snug, warm pavilion, or look-out, thrown forth from the +walls, whence the whole line of the curtain on that side could be seen, +but which was sheltered from all rude winds; and he doubted not the two +guards had retreated to its friendly covering,--for it was a cold spring +night, and the keen blast was sweeping over the open country round. He +waited some five minutes longer, and then wrapped the sheet round him, +smeared his face with the soot of the lamp, and sallied out with the key +in his hand. All was darkness in the passage, and he had to feel with +his fingers along the wall, not without some anxiety as to how he should +find his way through the part of the house with which he was not +acquainted. Liberty was at stake, however, and on he went. Fortune +favored him: at the end of the passage a faint light came through the +key-hole of the door he was in search of. It was red, though dim; and he +at once comprehended that it did not proceed from any lamp left burning, +but from the embers of a half-exhausted fire. Then came the +all-important moment. Quietly and slowly he applied the key to the lock. +It entered readily; but when he came to turn it there was some +resistance. He was almost in despair; but, thinking he might not have +pressed the key home, he pushed hard, and it started forward with some +noise. He paused to listen, but there was no sound, and, twisting it +slowly round, the lock gave way, the door opened, and the gallery he had +seen through the key-hole was before him, with the wood fire burnt low +in a large fireplace on the left-hand side. There were a number of doors +on the right, tight shut, to keep out the wintry air; but the gallery +was vacant, and the fire gave light enough. On then he strode toward the +opposite end, calculating that he was now in the great tower or +lodging-part of the castle, and soon reached the farther extremity of +the gallery, where another door presented itself, with the key in the +lock. The moment he opened it, the cold air rushed in, and he found +himself in a little garden upon the inner ramparts. All was still; and +there seemed nothing there but one or two bare apple-trees and some +withered shrubs and flowers. + +The rampart, however, was very high, and all the young man's trouble +would have been in vain had he not divined that there must be some lower +outwork to defend the foot of the wall. The moon was not yet up: there +was no light but that of the stars; and he walked cautiously along under +the parapet till he came to some descending steps. He could see no one +on the walls; but the dry leaves crackled under his footsteps and more +than once made him stop, thinking a sentinel was near. At the bottom of +the steps was another wall, with embrasures and a solitary cannon, +evidently commanding the approach from some work below; and, making his +way along for about forty steps, Edward reached some more stairs, which +led him down to what seemed a small bastion. + +At the foot he paused, for upon the wall of the outwork he perceived +some dark object, which he could not clearly make out. It was too large +for a man, he thought, and it remained motionless; and after gazing for +several minutes he quietly mounted the five steps which led up to the +platform. He then perceived that the object which had alarmed him was a +rude sentry-box, with a cannon hard by; and, having ascertained that it +was empty, he looked over and beheld the river flowing quietly through +the fosse at the foot. + +The wall was about eleven feet in height, and he certainly would not +have feared to leap. But noise was to be avoided; and, tying the end of +the sheet to one of the trunnions of the cannon, the young adventurer +let himself down by his hands as far as he could, and then dropped into +the water. A slight splash was all the sound; but he sunk deep, and his +feet touched the bottom. He rose again, however, and, thanking in heart +the harsh angler who had first counselled him to learn to swim, he +struck out for the other side of the fosse, and reached it in a moment. +It was a sharp night, it is true, for cold bathing; but his heart felt +warm with the consciousness of freedom, and, getting amongst the low +bushes which covered a good part of the ground on the Lorraine side of +the castle, he walked rapidly round to the other side, and then struck +across the country directly toward the heart of Burgundy. + +Edward had many motives for so shaping his course. He had heard a vague +rumor that the Duke of Lorraine had made his peace with France, and +therefore he was as likely to be interrupted in the duke's territories +as anywhere. In the next place, he knew that his evasion must be +discovered early on the following morning, and the pursuit was of course +likely to be directed on the side where the open doors and the sheet +tied to the cannon gave evidence of the course he had first taken. But, +after all, there was a certain degree of whim, or character, or call it +what you like, in it. He had told Monsieur de Bourbonne that if at +liberty he would go straight to the Cardinal de Richelieu. Some people +might have thought that it was going straight into a lion's den. But +Edward did not fear; and he determined to go frankly and at once throw +himself upon the cardinal's generosity, tell him all he had done and all +he had suffered, and show him that he had kept his word in coming back +to him, though only seven months, instead of two years, had passed since +they had parted. He anticipated no obstruction in that direction if he +could once get at a distance from Coiffy; for he still had the +cardinal's safe-conduct about him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + + +Twenty miles in a day is no great walking. I myself have walked forty in +ten hours. But the great point is what we walk over. It is the great +point in life, too; for the worthy patriarchs, I have no doubt, +journeyed through life for two or three hundred years without getting +weary, simply because they had such an easy road to travel. Abraham had +to fight now and then, it is true, and from time to time there was a +quarrel amongst the herdsmen; but these were little incidents that only +served to enliven the way; and the rest of the travel was without +excitement of mind or great exertion of body. If Abraham or Isaac or +Jacob had passed through nothing but low entangling bushes,--bilberries +and cranberries, and sometimes blackberries, with their long prickly +arms,--they would have laid themselves down to rest much sooner, and +felt themselves as tired as Edward Langdale when, just about daybreak, +he reached the end of the twentieth mile from the Chateau of Coiffy. + +Edward had then arrived at a country somewhat more open; and he sat +himself down to rest not far from a little country-road, which he could +trace by the eye, running on, almost in a straight line, toward the tall +square tower of a village-church. But that village-church was at least +six miles distant; and Edward had not tasted food during fourteen or +fifteen hours. His wet clothes had dried upon him, too, under the cold +night-wind, stiffening every limb; and he had no comfortable little +brandy-bottle, such as so often cheers the way for the modern romantic +traveller. + +The spot where he stopped, however, was a dry grassy mound, with some +yellow broken ground before it; and out of the bank welled a little +clear rivulet, where he quenched his thirst after the olden fashion +before ladles or goblets were invented. + +While he was still stooping down he heard the beat of horses' feet upon +the road; and, with that strong consciousness of running away which +makes every man who possesses it more or less timid, he hid himself +under the bank as well as he could. + +Presently, as well as the footfalls, he heard the sound of voices; and +for a moment his apprehension was increased by one of the voices +sounding familiar to his ear. + +He was relieved in a moment, however,--and very much relieved. + +"Why, you are drunk already, you beast!" said one voice; and then came +the thick and juicy tones of good Pierrot la Grange, with the music of +brandy very strong in them. "To-be-sure I am," answered Pierrot. "Have I +not had sorrow and trouble enough to make me drunk every day of the +week for the last three months? My noble lord in prison; Master Ned no +one knows where,--the only lad in all this world that could keep me +straight." + +"Pierrot! Pierrot!" shouted Edward; "Jacques Beaupré! halt there! I am +nearer than you think." + +The two horsemen stopped, the one with a dumb and stupefied gaze around, +a little conscience-stricken, perhaps, at the state in which he had to +present himself to his young master, the other with an observation in a +low tone as to the consequences of talking of the devil. But Edward was +soon by their side, and they were not long upon their horses' backs. +Each was sincerely glad to see the young Englishman; for force of +character as often wins affection as respect. Edward's adventures were +soon told; and luckily the two men had some solid provisions with them, +as well as Pierrot's brandy-bottle,--which was now nearly vacant of its +contents. While the young gentleman ate and drank, the history of the +two servants was related, at somewhat greater length than his own, +though it was a very monotonous one. They had remained at Nancy with the +rest of Lord Montagu's servants for some time, they said, before they +heard of that nobleman's capture. After the news reached them, a week +was spent, according to Jacques Beaupré, in active deliberations, at the +end of which, as they had a sufficiency of money, their wages having +been paid for some time in advance, it was determined to stay quietly +where they were till they received some orders. One or two of their +comrades, however, dropped off from time to time, till the two Frenchmen +and young Freeland only remained of the whole party. For week after week +no news came; but at length, some four days previous to that on which +they spoke, a messenger had arrived from Lord Montagu, announcing his +liberation and bearing funds to pay all expenses. At the same time, they +said, Master Freeland was ordered to give them their discharge, and they +were actually on their way back to their own part of France. + +"And so his lordship is liberated?" said Edward, with a slight touch of +bitterness in his tone; for he could not imagine such an event to have +happened so suddenly that Montagu, who had found time to take care of +common servants, had none to bestow a thought on him. "You are going +back to Aunis, you say. Well, my good fellows, if you have a mind for +such a companion, I will go with you. I will be no charge to you, for I +have money enough with me. All I want is a horse and some arms." + +"Charge, Master Ned!" exclaimed Pierrot, in a burst of semi-drunken +enthusiasm. "What care we about charges? If it were the last crown I had +in the world, I would share it with you. And as to a horse, here, get +upon mine. I can walk well enough to that big village there, which they +say is called Vitell. But here; let me take the pistols out of the +holsters. I won't trust you with them, by the Lord!" + +"Nonsense!" answered Edward. "I will not use them, man, upon my honor." + +"No, no," said Pierrot, deliberately taking the pistols from his +saddle-bow. "If once you get your hand upon the stock, there is no +knowing where the bullets may go flying; and my legs have got lead +enough in them already this morning." + +"Your head has got brandy enough in it," said Jacques Beaupré: "that's +what puts the lead in your heels. Here; let me hold the horse while our +young master mounts, or you'll be down with your nose in the water and +set the fountain boiling." + +"If all the water in the world could wash it white," answered Pierrot, +"I would tumble into a pond every day. It is that nose of mine gets me a +bad reputation and makes men say I drink. Why, every man drinks. It +entirely depends upon what men drink. But, after all, I think I had +better try the cold water; for somehow I have a notion if I try to walk +to Vitell with nothing but brandy in my stomach I shall make the +distance three times as long with zigzags and vagaries." + +Thus saying, while Edward mounted, very well pleased with some relief to +his tired legs, Pierrot knelt down by the side of a tolerably deep +little pool formed by the rivulet at the side of the road, and, putting +his lips to the clear water, took a deep draught. Jacques Beaupré, +however, seemed to think that the water had better be applied externally +also, and, giving him a push with his foot, sent him headlong into the +pool. + +The good man started up with a furious look; but we have already seen +the singular effect which liquor had upon poor Pierrot la Grange,--an +effect quite contrary to that which it produces on most men. The reader +will not be surprised, then, that, though really angry, Pierrot sought +no vengeance upon his assailant. + +Had we time, and were it worth while, I might be inclined to examine +psychologically into this peculiarity of Pierrot's idiosyncrasy; but +suffice it to say that the result probably proceeded from one of two +causes. Nothing cows like shame carried to a certain degree; and Pierrot +at heart was always ashamed of being drunk. On the other hand, as when +he did drink he never stopped at that point where liquor merely +exhilarates, but generally went far enough to deprive both brain and +limbs of vigor, he might feel very doubtful of his capability to combat +an enemy even much weaker than himself. + +However that might be, his immersion in cold water produced its usual +effect. I do not say that it sobered him entirely: that would be too +much; but it certainly greatly relieved his head, and gave his limbs a +capability of direct progression which they had not previously +possessed. + +"Come, come, Pierrot," said Edward, interrupting him in the midst of +terrible threats against Jacques, "we have no time to lose, my good +friend. Did I not tell you that it is likely that I shall be pursued at +once? We must get to the village as fast as possible, and then ride hard +for the rest of the day, in order to put as great a distance between us +and Coiffy as we can." + +"Go on, then; go on," cried Pierrot: "I will come after as fast as I +can. You can be buying a horse and arms in the mean time, if you can +find them. If not, I suppose you must take to _franc étrier_." + +Edward took him at his word, and, accompanied by Jacques Beaupré, rode +on, running over in his mind, with his usual quickness, his chances of +escape and the best means of securing it. He did not know, indeed, how +far the local jurisdiction, either as seigneur or Government officer, of +the Count de Bourbonne extended; but he felt certain that, if he could +once get beyond its limits, no other governor or Government officer +would recognise it in opposition to the safe-conduct under the +cardinal's own hand. Speed, therefore, was every thing; and, though he +had neither whip nor spur with him, his light hand and thorough +horsemanship easily kept Pierrot's horse at a swift trot till they +reached the village of Vitell. + +France has always been a comfortable country to travel in. Most villages +have always possessed a tolerable inn, though the external man was +sometimes not so well provided for as the internal. But what Edward +principally wanted at that moment was generally in those days to be +found in almost any part of France. People then almost universally +travelled on horseback, and very rarely went without arms. Pistols and a +good sword, therefore, were soon found in Vitell. But a horse took +longer to obtain, not from any want of the commodity,--for there were +plenty of very excellent nags in the town,--but from the invariable and +unextinguishable propensity inherent in horse-dealers to cheat the +chapman, and never to sell a good horse under any circumstances if they +can sell a bad one. Six were brought in succession to the door of the +inn for Edward's inspection, without remaining for more than a minute +before he ordered them away. At length, however, one of the dealers, +perceiving that he had not to do with a novice, as Edward's youth had at +first led him to imagine, thought fit to bring forth from the stable a +beast which, though not very handsome and somewhat vicious,--if not so +great a devil as that which Edward rode from Angers,--was a good +serviceable beast enough. All these things cost but a small sum compared +with the price which we should pay for them in the present day; and +bridle, saddle, and a pair of spurs were quite within the young +gentleman's means. + +Pierrot had arrived in time to give his opinion in regard to the +purchase of the horse, and, as he was now sober, that opinion was worth +having. But the first moment he found himself alone with his former +master he was eloquent in his excuses for his relapse; and Edward could +not but admit to himself that, left alone in a great city where he knew +no one, uncertain of his fate from day to day, and with sufficient +money, no poor sinner had ever better cause to plead temptation. + +The young Englishman contented himself, however, with telling him that +as he was no longer his master he could pretend to no control over his +conduct. + +"Ah, Master Ned," cried the honest fellow, "do not say I am no longer +your servant! Pray, do control me. I am sure I cannot control myself. +You are the only one who ever could; and I do believe if I could but +stay with you for a couple of years I should get over my bad habits. See +what an effect good training had. All the time I was at Nancy, I +declare, I did not drink two quarts till this very morning. Ask Jacques +Beaupré: he will tell you the same; and if you will but let me serve you +for two years you may read my name backward if I ever drink again." + +"I am afraid, my good friend," answered Edward, "you would always be +what the Catholics call a relapsed convert. As to serving me two years, +Pierrot, God knows what will become of me before two years are over, and +in the mean time I have little enough money for myself,--and none to +keep a man upon." + +"Well, well," cried Pierrot, joyfully, "I will run fortune with you! +Only don't send me away, and don't fire at me any more, unless you see +me drunk,--when it will be natural. But now tell me, Master Ned, where +are you going now?" + +"Into the lion's den, Pierrot," replied Edward, with a somewhat rueful +smile: "I am going straight to the Cardinal de Richelieu." + +"In the name of Heaven!" exclaimed Pierrot, with a look of astonishment, +"do you know he is now besieging Rochelle with a powerful army? The king +has fallen sick and gone back to Paris. The cardinal has tucked up his +gown and turned soldier; and our poor friends in the city are already, +they say, so badly off for food that they will soon have to eat each +other. The cardinal will not let a mouse stir out, and if any one +ventures beyond the walls they send a shot at him and drive him in +again." + +Edward mused without reply for some moments; and, while he was still +silent, Jacques Beaupré came back to the little _salle-à-manger_ and +stood by the young gentleman's side. + +"Poor Clement Tournon!" cried Edward, still musing. + +"Ay, poor Clement Tournon!" said Jacques Beaupré, in a sad tone: "he is +a good man, sir, and took care of me from my boyhood." + +"I would give the world to save him," answered Edward. "Come, let us +ride." + +They were soon upon their horses. Edward mounted first and Pierrot last, +having stopped to answer some questions of the host. + +"What did he ask you?" said Edward, as they rode on. + +"He asked where your lordship was going," answered Pierrot, "and I told +him straight to the cardinal." + +"Right," said Edward. "And did he call me lordship, Pierrot? My lordship +is a very small one." + +"Ay, sir, but you have got quite a grand air now, though your doublet is +somewhat soiled by dust and wet. You cannot think how you are changed +since we left Nantes. What between riding, and getting stuck, and being +in prison, you have grown broad and brown, and your mustache is an inch +long. Those who saw you before would never know you." + +"I hope they will," answered Edward, with a smile followed by a sigh; +"and, as for my doublet, I must get a new one, whenever I can afford to +stop without danger. All my baggage I left with the discreet Monsieur de +Bourbonne. But, if I am not mistaken, Pierrot, I will make him pay all +he owes me before I have done." + +"At the pistol's point?" asked Pierrot, with a grim smile. + +"No, no," replied Edward,--"in another way, and by other hands. But let +us ride on fast; for I have a great notion the news you left with the +aubergist will sharpen the spurs of any who may be pursuing us." + +The whole party accordingly rode forward more quickly, but not at so +headlong a pace as to risk any damage to their horses; and before night +all fear of pursuit was ended by their entrance into another province, +where, at a small walled town, which they reached just after sunset, +Edward was obliged to produce his safe-conduct before the soldiers at +the gates would give them admission. + +The officer to whom it was shown, at the first sight of the broad seal +of France and the name of Richelieu, respectfully came out of the +guard-house to bid the bearer welcome, and asked, with great politeness, +where he was going to lodge in the town, and whither his journey was +directed. + +"I am going straight to Rochelle, or wherever his Eminence of Richelieu +may be," replied the young Englishman. "As to the place where I shall +lodge, I shall be glad of advice; for I am a stranger here, and must +depart early to-morrow." + +"Your horses look tired, sir," said the officer, "and you had better +give them some rest." + +"No wonder they are tired," replied the young man; "for we have ridden +from the frontiers of Lorraine, where I was somewhat badly treated, lost +all my baggage, but luckily saved my purse." + +"By brigands?" asked the officer. + +"No better," answered Edward, somewhat bitterly. "But may I ask you the +way to the best inn?" + +The officer, all politeness, sent one of the soldiers to show him the +way; and in a large, comfortable, though somewhat gloomy, old auberge +the young Englishman passed the first night for several months with a +feeling of freedom and security. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + + +We left Edward Langdale at nightfall, and, by the reader's good leave, +may as well take him up again about the same hour, but with an interval +of some ten days. The interval measured upon the earth's surface must be +equally great. When we last saw him he was entering a little town on +the frontiers of Burgundy, just after the cool sunset of a chilly spring +day. He was now riding out of the fine old town of Niort after a warm +day's journey; for even under the genial sky of France ten days will +make a great difference, and bring the warm breath of the South to +expand the flowers, though winter even there will sometimes linger in +the lap of spring. + +"Well, sir," said Jacques Beaupré, who was a good deal tired with a +longer day's ride than usual, "everybody says you will find the town +full of soldiers; and we all know where fighting men are there is no +room for civil men." + +"We will find room, Jacques," replied Edward, in a light, confident +tone; "and, as to civility, if we don't show ourselves too militant, the +fighting-men will be civil enough, depend on it. But, my good friend, I +must, if possible, see the cardinal to-morrow. They tell me that an +assault upon Rochelle will be made shortly; and, if I could but get into +the town for a few hours----" + +Jacques Beaupré shook his head, saying, "Ah, sir, it is all in vain. I +will go as far to help poor old Clement Tournon as any man; but the good +syndic is most likely dead of starvation by this time; and, if he is +not, you might as well try to persuade a cat to let a mouse get out of +her jaws as attempt to persuade his Eminence to let one single soul, old +or young, get out of Rochelle." + +"I will try, at all events," answered Edward. "He who makes no effort +never succeeds. He who makes an effort may fail, but he may succeed. The +man who helped me at my utmost need shall never say that I did not try +to help him when he was in a harder scrape. Ride on, ride on: we have +still three leagues to go." + +The twilight grew fainter as they went, and it was quite dark when they +emerged from the little wood which lies about a quarter of a league from +the small old town of Fontenay, then universally called Rohan Rohan. It +is now a mere insignificant burgh; but in those times and in the time +before it was a small city of some importance,--if not for its commerce, +at least for its capabilities for defence. It had even ventured a short +time before to set at defiance the arms of France, and had made an +obstinate resistance, but, having fallen at length, had suffered +severely from the captors. + +It was night, as I have said, when Edward and his two companions first +came within sight; and very little of the place would have been visible +had not a large body of men, which formed the rear-guard of the royal +army, been marched out some days before and encamped a mile beyond the +town. Every one who has seen a camp must have remarked how much more +light finds its way to the sky from amongst the tents in the early part +of the night than arises from amongst the houses of a city, though, +perhaps, much more populous; and now the blaze from watch-fires and +lamps and torches threw out the dark masses of the town of Rohan Rohan, +with its fine old castle, in strong relief. + +It is rarely that the rear of an army is guarded with as much care as +its van. Few captains are as careful as Earl Percy. But in this case +negligence was more excusable; for no one in all the camp ever dreamed +of such a thing as an attack in the rear. Moreover, to say the truth, +that rear-guard in advance of Rohan Rohan was composed of a somewhat +disorderly set, gentlemen and soldiers alike, not one of whom wished +particularly to see the fall of Rochelle. + +To explain the cause of this indifference would take up too much time; +but the words of Bassompierre revealed the fact when he said, "You will +see we shall be fools enough to take Rochelle." + +However that might be, Edward and his companions had passed the centre +of the town before they saw a single soldier. It was badly lighted, it +is true; but the cause of their not seeing any was that there were none +to be seen. The young gentleman looked for guard, or picquet, or patrol, +in vain, till he arrived within a hundred yards of the end of the street +which leads up from Pont de Cossé to the castle. There, however, he was +challenged for the first time,--one of a group of musketeers who were +drinking at the door of a house starting up and demanding the password. + +Edward, unable to give it, requested to see the man's officer, and was +led unceremoniously into the house, where he found an old gray-headed +gentleman seated reading, with his steel cap upon the table. To him the +young gentleman's errand was soon explained, and his safe-conduct +exhibited. + +"I cannot let you pass, young gentleman, without further orders," said +the old man; "but if you will wait here for an hour I will send on your +name and the description of your pass to our commander. He will soon let +us hear from him. I am rather curiously situated myself, and therefore +must be careful." + +"I must wait the leisure of the king's officers," answered Edward, in a +civil tone. "But, in the mean while, perhaps my two men, who are +without, can get some forage for the horses and some food for +themselves. I have not seen an inn open in the whole place." + +"I suppose not," said the old officer, dryly. "But some of my people +will easily find for yours what they want. Pray, be seated and wait till +my return." + +He was not gone more than five minutes; and then about an hour passed in +broken and desultory conversation between him and his visitor, whom he +treated with every sort of distinction,--for by this time Edward was +once more equipped in the garments of a gentleman of the court, which +were none the less gentlemanly for being plain and sober. Some of the +old man's questions and observations seemed to his young companion +somewhat strange: he asked if Edward had met any parties of armed men on +the road, how long he had travelled, which way he had come, and remarked +that this siege was a weary business, but that the cardinal was +determined to carry Rochelle whatever it might cost. + +Edward replied as shortly as politeness permitted, and only put a few +questions in return. Amongst them, however, he inquired who was the +officer commanding the troops in front, and heard, with sensations not +altogether pleasant, that his name was Monsieur de Lude, into whose +hands he had fallen once before. + +At the end of an hour he was relieved, however; for a soldier, entering +the room with every appearance of haste, gave a letter into the hands +of the old officer, who opened and read it with a good deal of +merriment. + +"Monsieur de Lude writes thus," he said: "'Present my compliments to +Monsieur de Langdale and inform him that I cannot let him pass the posts +till I have the cardinal's permission, which I have no doubt will be +given as soon as he hears his name.' Shall I read the rest?" asked the +old officer. + +Edward nodded, and he went on thus:--"'I got into a devil of a scrape +last summer about him and a girl he had with him. Who the mischief he is +I don't know; but, by what the cardinal said when I saw him, I think he +must be his Eminence's pet cat turned into a cavalier. On your life, be +as civil to him as possible; give him the best rooms in the castle, and +feed and drink him well, till I can come over myself,--which will be as +soon as I hear from the cardinal to-morrow. I am half afraid to stop +him. But what can I do? The orders are strict not to let any one pass +the posts, because'----The rest," continued the old man, abruptly, +"refers to matters of no consequence. You will find the rooms of the +castle very comfortable, for they were inhabited by the Duc de Rohan but +a few weeks before we sat down before the place, and some of the old +servants have been suffered to remain till the king's pleasure is known. +Heaven grant there be no ghosts there to disturb you!--though there are +some strange tales, as in regard to every old country-house." + +"I am not afraid of any thing unsubstantial," answered Edward. "Do you +know what has become of the Duc de Rohan?" + +"No,--not rightly," replied the old officer, with some slight +hesitation. "They did say he was threatening the right flank of the army +with a body of horse; but he must have found out by this time it was of +no use. Men must submit to circumstances, sir. But let us go. I will +have the honor of escorting you. We shall find your servants somewhere +about." And, calling aloud for torches, he led the way out of the low +house where he had taken up his quarters, and gave some orders to the +men about the door. + +Before the torches were lighted and Edward Langdale and his companion, +with two men before them, had proceeded a hundred yards up the hill, +Jacques Beaupré and Pierrot had joined them, leading the horses. In +sooth, the party proceeded exceedingly slowly; and it took a full +quarter of an hour to reach the gates of the chateau. All watch and ward +was gone; and at the inner door of the lodging-part of the building +appeared a tremulous old man with a candle in his hand. The old officer +called him "Matthew," as if they had been long acquainted, and ordered +him briefly to pay every attention to the guest and give him the best +chambers in the house. + +"Those are the duchess's apartments," said the old majordomo. "We will +have a fire lighted in a moment, gentlemen; but I fear me there is not +much in the house to eat. However, I will tell old Henri Borgne, who was +cook here before Maître Grondin's father came, to get something ready +with all speed." + +"No, no," said the old officer: "this gentleman is not fond of +antediluvian sauces. I will make shift to send him up a roast chicken +and a pottage. We are not particularly well off for provisions down +below; but I can find something, and I think, Matthew, you can find the +wine." + +"Hush, hush, sir," said the old man, in a low voice: "if your soldiers +did but hear." + +"I will break the first man's neck that climbs the hill," replied the +officer. + +"I want nothing," said Edward. "We supped at Cossé, and my men have +taken care of themselves below, depend upon it. Where is the duchess +now, Monsieur Matthew? and who has she got with her?" + +"Oh, she is in Venice still," replied the old man; "and there are Madame +St. Aignan, and Mademoiselle de Mirepoix, and three or four maids, and +the serving-men. Do you know her, sir? She's a fine lady, and mighty +gay." + +"I have not the honor," said Edward. "But now, my good man, let the fire +be lighted: I shall go to bed soon, for I have ridden long and hard. I +trust," he continued, addressing the old officer, "that Monsieur de Lude +will communicate my coming to his Eminence as soon as possible; for it +is very necessary that I should see him without delay." + +"Be you sure he will do that," replied the other. "De Lude is not a man +to burn his fingers twice with the same chestnut." + +He then took his leave. The old servant with the candle marshalled the +way ceremoniously to a very splendid suite of apartments which had +escaped, I know not how, from the rude hands of the soldiers when the +town was taken. Pierrot and Jacques Beaupré disposed of themselves, +doubtless very comfortably; and Edward sat down to meditate. The reader +need not ask what was the subject of his thoughts, if he remembers that +those were the halls and dwelling-place of the ancestors of Lucette. + +"Was it a dream?" he asked himself. Hardly nine months before, had he +passed with her not many miles from that very spot? had they wandered +alone together for weeks without restraint? had they borne suffering, +anxiety, danger in dear companionship which made even danger sweet? had +they been married, parted, met again, and again parted? + +There are times when a sensation of the unreality of all things upon +this earth comes over us,--when memory seems but a dream, our past acts +a vision, our hopes, our fears, our enjoyments, but the fancies of the +fleeting hour. + +For an instant it was so with Edward Langdale as he sat and gazed into +the flickering and phantasm-begetting fire. But when he turned his eyes +around upon those old walls, whose scrolls and sconces and fantastic +ornaments all spoke of the past,--all told that he was in the dwelling +of the Rohan Rohans,--the strange, shadowy doubts vanished: he felt that +there was something real in the world,--something more real than mere +tangible objects; that, if all else died or passed away like a show, the +realities of heart and mind must remain forever,--that esteem, +affection, love, truth, honesty and honor, genius and wisdom, can never +perish. + +How long he sat he knew not; but his meditations were interrupted by the +old servant bringing in fresh wood, with a man from the town below, +bearing a tray of provisions. + +The former he was glad to have, for the night had grown chilly; but the +latter he sent away to Pierrot and Beaupré, bidding them eat and then go +to rest, as he wanted nothing more. The old man, after reverent offers +of service, put some fresh candles in the sconces and left him, assuring +him that he should have had candlesticks,--fine silver flambeaux,--but +that they had been taken away. + +Edward, left alone, began to pace up and down the room. He looked at the +bed, which seemed comfortable enough, and thought of lying down; but he +had no inclination to sleep. The chamber was a square room in an angle +of the tower, one side looking to the south and the other to the east. +The windows were without blinds or shutters. Edward advanced to one on +the southern side, from which there was a view over a considerable part +of the camp. The glow which had risen in that direction some hours +before had considerably diminished: the watch-fires were dying out; the +torches no longer moved about from place to place. He lifted his eyes to +the sky, studded with stars, and saw a planet with a pure mild light +moving upward untwinkling amongst the more steadfast watchers of the +night. + +"Can there be any truth," he thought, "in those tales of the +astrologers? Can the fate of many men, of many nations, depend upon the +course of such a pale, silent orb as that?" And, turning to the table +again, he sat down and let his thoughts run on in the new course they +had assumed. Every thing grew more and more silent around. The village +clock struck. He did not count its sounds, but he felt it must be near +midnight. + +Who can tell what it is which, when alone and in silence, at that still +spectral hour, seems to chill the warm blood of the heart, and fills the +brain with ideas vague, and awful, and sublime,--with fancies gloomy, if +not fearful? + +Edward sat thoughtfully for nearly half an hour longer. The fire had +fallen low, and he rose and threw some more wood upon it; but it would +not burn. He then rose and went to the other window, which looked +eastward. The moon was just rising, and he could see over a wide extent +of country, with the wood which he had passed on his way to Fontenay on +the left of the picture, then half a mile or so of open sandy ground, +then another wood to the right, and farther still, on the same side, +but more distant, the spires and towers of some other little town. There +was the haziness of moonlight over the whole scene; but the moon, though +she was strong enough to cast long shadows from every elevated object, +so flooded the whole scene with light that the more distant features +were not distinct. + +Suddenly Edward raised his hand half open to his brow, and gazed from +underneath. He saw something that surprised him. A dark figure issued +from the wood; more followed; line after line of black, soldier-like +phantoms swept over the sandy ground from the one wood toward the other, +disappearing as they entered. But still more followed, horse and foot. +They seemed to be a moving host; but there was something so quiet and +gliding in their motions that Edward could hardly believe they were +substantial. He opened the window quietly and listened. There was no +noise; there was no beat of drum, or sound of fife, or clang of arms, or +tramp of marching men. Yet still the line went on, troop after troop and +squadron after squadron, in the same silent, stealthy way; and where he +stood he could discern no shadows cast by the moon from the passing +multitude. + +At length he thought that fatigue must have affected his mind or body +strangely; and, retiring from the window, he closed it, and lay down to +sleep without undressing. + +His eyes closed heavily in a few minutes; but, ere an hour was over, he +started up and gazed around him, wondering where he was. Then, as +remembrance came back, he approached the window again and gazed out. The +moon was higher in the heaven, and shining with great splendor; but the +phantom host had disappeared, and nothing was to be seen but the misty +landscape and the shadows of the trees. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + + +There was a loud knocking in the old castle of Rohan Rohan about +half-past four o'clock in the morning, and then various other sounds, +which seemed to indicate that people had been roused from their beds by +some unusual summons. Horses' feet were heard stamping in the +court-yard, too, and two or three persons talking below the windows; and +Edward rose up, pulled on his boots, and lighted another candle in one +of the sconces which was nearly extinguished. In those days people were +more matutinal in their habits than in our times; but still half-past +four was a somewhat early hour, and Edward had not slept well or long. +He was bathing his face and head, however, in cold water, to waken up +his sleepy faculties, when some person knocked at the door of his room. +He bade them come in; and old Matthew, with the inevitable candle in his +hand, entered, introducing a young man in military attire, who, having +satisfied himself of Edward's name, presented a letter bearing his +address. + +Edward opened it, and, approaching the light, read the contents:-- + +"M. de Lude begs to inform Monsieur de Langdale that the cardinal will +receive him this morning half an hour before daybreak. The bearer will +be his guide to the quarters of his Eminence." + +"We have hardly time," said Edward. + +"Oh, yes," answered the other, with a smile. "The cardinal sometimes +keeps people waiting; and I took the liberty of ordering your people and +your horses to be brought forth, wherever they might be." + +"Thanks for the precaution," said Edward, looking at his watch, and +shrewdly suspecting that the messenger had somewhere dallied on the way. +"It wants now a quarter to five o'clock. I will not detain you a moment, +sir." And, catching up his beaver and his cloak, and a few other +articles that lay about the room, he descended to the court-yard, taking +an opportunity of slipping some money into the hand of the old servant. + +Pierrot was already there with two horses, and Jacques Beaupré appeared +the instant after, leading the other. No time was lost, and Edward was +immediately in the saddle. Three or four troopers followed; and the +whole party set out down the steep streets from the castle toward the +Pont de Cossé. + +Edward asked no questions as to the course in which their ride was +directed; and hardly a word passed between him and his companion as they +trotted rapidly on. The fact was, the young man's mind was full of the +coming interview. On some points his determination was formed; but upon +others he was doubtful. To tell all that happened at Coiffy he was +resolved, and to demand redress; but, turn it in his thoughts as he +would, he could fix upon no way beforehand of introducing his proposed +visit to Rochelle, and in the end he was obliged to leave it to chance +and circumstance. + +Very little of the country did he see as they rode on, for the moonlight +was checkered with cloudy shadows; and faint gleams, and deep shades, +and hazy hollows, and brown knolls, were all that caught the eye as the +travellers passed along. + +At length, after several miles' ride, a gleam of light rested for a +minute or two upon a little elevation, and on the walls of an old +castle, not unlike that of Rohan Rohan; and the young officer by +Edward's side pointed forward, saying, "There is Mauzé, where his +Eminence has passed the last four days." + +"How far is it?" said Edward. + +"About two miles," replied the young man; "but we shall soon be there. +The road is good and even." + +The light passed away, and Edward caught no other distinct view of the +chateau till, about twenty minutes after, they began to ascend the +little slope. He then perceived a red and garish glow ascending from +amidst some old walls, and in a minute more was in the court-yard, +where a number of torches were burning and several men and horses were +collected. + +"Stay here," said the young officer. "I will go and announce you." And, +leaving him there, he entered the chateau. + +He had not been gone two minutes, however, when there was a bustle on +the steps of the great hall, and some six or seven persons came forth, +with a tall, fine-looking man at their head, habited certainly more in +military than ecclesiastical costume; for, though he had a loose scarlet +robe thrown over his shoulders, there was the gleam of a cuirass +underneath, and he bore a heavy sword by his side. Edward pushed his +horse forward, seeing at once it was the cardinal; but the great +minister was evidently fully occupied. He spoke a few words to one of +the little crowd which surrounded him, gave some papers to another, +listened for a moment to a third, and then mounted a powerful charger +which was held for him at the foot of the steps. His fine but somewhat +stern face was full of thought, and the glare of the torches gave it +even a look of harshness, which Edward had never remarked there before. +His eye turned upon everybody around, and rested longer perhaps on the +face of Edward Langdale than upon that of any other. But he did not seem +to recognise him, and probably only remarked him because he remained on +horseback while all the rest were on foot. + +"Follow!" said Richelieu, and rode away; while a faint tinge of gray +began to spread itself through the dark sky, announcing the coming +sunrise. + +As the party rode on, Edward remarked that Richelieu spoke a few words +to those immediately about him; and presently after one of them fell +back to his side and asked if his name were Langdale. He answered in the +affirmative; and the gentleman then told him to ride up near his +Eminence. Edward did so; but the cardinal took no notice, and continued +to push on at a quick pace till they reached the top of one of those +abrupt little eminences which are scattered over the flatter ground upon +the western coast of France. Upon the very summit Richelieu pulled in +his horse; and by this time the pale bluish twilight had gained +sufficient strength to show the brown moors and yellow sands, and the +towers and pinnacles of Rochelle, with a gleam of the sea beyond. An +odor of seaweed also came sweeping up from the northwest, and a saltish +taste was felt upon the lips of those who sat there and gazed. + +"Edward Langdale!" said Richelieu, after a moment or two; and Edward +spurred his horse up to his side. + +"You have kept your word in coming back," said the cardinal; "but I did +not expect you so soon." + +"That was because your Eminence did not know all the circumstances," +answered the young man, with that mixture of frankness and respect which +is always well pleasing to the great. + +Richelieu raised what was then called a perspective glass--a very feeble +sort of telescope--to his eye, and gazed toward Rochelle, the long lines +of which were becoming more distinct every moment. Edward was silent, +seeing that the mind of the great minister was fully occupied; and no +one spoke a word for nearly ten minutes. Then occurred one of those +phenomena by no means uncommon, and easily accounted for in these days, +but to which the superstition of old times lent a significance they do +not now possess. Away out to the east the sun began to rise, somewhat +pale and sickly in look, and with a whitish glare around him; while in +the west, rising over the sea, appeared another sun, exactly of the same +aspect and keeping as it ascended the same height in the sky. + +"Two suns in the same heaven!" exclaimed Richelieu, with an accent of +surprise. + +"Yes, your Eminence," replied Edward. "But one is much brighter than the +other, and its light will last after the other has gone out." + +Richelieu turned suddenly round and gazed in his face with an inquiring +look, as if he thought there might be something beneath his words more +significant than the words themselves; then, bowing his head with a +well-pleased smile, he said, "True, true! one is fading already." + +Whether Edward had spoken to his thoughts or not must be always a +mystery; but it is certain that minds of great fire and eagerness, even +without much fancy, will snatch at images supplied by external nature +to figure forth without danger thoughts, dreams, purposes in their own +hearts which they dare not utter. The parable is always a resource of +ambition, and often a resource of love. Certain it is, too, that there +were at that time two suns in the sky of France, and that one was +already fading into an obscurity becoming darker and more dark till the +faint figure of the dying monarch was hardly seen or felt, while the +other was destined to go on increasing in splendor and power till it set +forever. Here the comparison may be supposed to halt; for some may say +that the real sun was fading while the false one was increasing in +splendor. But that depends, after all, upon how men appreciate +greatness,--whether genius or birth be the real sun. + +However that may be, it is certain that Louis XIII. was at all events +endowed with military genius; but even in the splendor of that most +dazzling--to the eyes of men--of human gifts, his rays were paling +before the superior endowments of his minister. Sickness, weariness, +disgust, despondency--we know not well what--had already induced him to +withdraw from the siege of Rochelle, and to leave Richelieu to carry on +the operations with a force, an energy, a talent, which would have won +fame for the most distinguished general or engineer. The cardinal might +well, therefore, apply the words of Edward Langdale to himself, feeling +them a compliment which, like the misty light of a summer's day, was the +more warm because it was in some degree indefinite. Richelieu did not +wish to have it otherwise, and, without further words, turned his eyes +once more upon the scene before them. A small battery opened its fire +upon the walls of the devoted town as they sat there and gazed; but +nobody could see whether it produced any effect or not. Richelieu, at +all events, paid little attention to it, and only murmured to himself, +"Waste of saltpetre!" Shortly after, he sent off two gentlemen on +horseback with messages written in pencil on small scraps of paper, and +then turned to gaze again. Some five minutes after, a man on horseback +came back, galloping up from the rear, and gave him some information in +a low voice. For a short space his brow contracted as if with anger; +but the emotion lasted evidently only a moment, and the next instant he +smiled almost gayly, and he said, aloud, "Well, one may have too many +rats in a rat-trap. Monsieur Langdale, come hither." + +Edward rode close up, and the cardinal asked, "Do you know any thing of +the Duc de Rohan?" + +"No, your Eminence," replied Edward; "I have not seen or heard of him +for nearly nine months." + +"You did not see him last night?" said Richelieu. + +"The Duc de Rohan!" exclaimed Edward, in a tone of surprise. "I passed +all last night, sir, in the Chateau de Fontenay; but the duke certainly +was not there, to my knowledge." + +"Nevertheless," said Richelieu, in a quiet tone, "he passed from right +to left of our army in the rear with his whole force: so I understand." + +"Now I comprehend what I saw last night," said Edward; and he detailed +all he had observed from the window of the chateau. + +"It was no phantom," said Richelieu, gravely; "but it is as well. I +wonder if there were other people in the town or castle who took men for +shadows as well as you. How long are you from Savoy, where I last heard +of you?" + +"A long time, may it please your Eminence," replied the young +Englishman; "but only eleven days from the Chateau of Coiffy,--whence +you certainly should have heard of me if they had not debarred me the +use of pen and ink and kept me a close prisoner for months." + +"Ha!" said the minister, with a grave, stern face, "Monsieur de +Bourbonne thinks he can play with me, does he? and now he fancies he has +got his reward. But we must talk more of this when I have some leisure. +At present, that little black line there," he continued, pointing toward +Rochelle, "occupies much of my thoughts. The battery has not yet ceased +firing. These men of trumpet and broad-sword, Monsieur Langdale, +attribute more virtue to gunpowder and cannon-balls than I do. There are +much more efficient elements in war." + +"Indeed, your Eminence!" exclaimed Edward: "may I ask what?" + +"The impudent young cur," said one of the old officers near, to another, +in a low voice, "talks to the cardinal as if he were his +bottle-companion." + +Richelieu answered calmly, but with emphasis, "A pickaxe and a shovel, +followed up by the movements of those two great officers, Pestilence and +Famine. When you announced in Rochelle, Master Langdale, the coming of +Lord Denbigh's fleet, and those wise men of the East refused to receive +it in their port, they little thought, I ween, that those two mighty +commanders would be so soon amongst them. But how was it," he continued, +changing his tone and speaking rapidly, "that they dared, in such +perilous circumstances, to send away King Charles's ships upon the +pretext that they had not been warned, when you yourself had warned +them?" + +"Your Eminence's pardon," answered Edward; "but Master Jargeau, who of +course told you all this, should also have said that I had not been an +hour in Rochelle before I had my head broken, and lay for nearly a week +incapable of delivering any of my letters. It was a pretext, as your +Eminence calls it; but the Rochellois had really not been warned when +Lord Denbigh's fleet arrived." + +"You are mistaken, young man," said Richelieu, with a slight curl of the +lip: "you jump at your conclusions too rapidly. There have been more +Jargeaus than one in Rochelle; and this one, though a very serviceable +fellow, I am told, never saw me in his life. Ay, it is a pity that he +would not keep his neck out of the noose; but he forced us to hang +him,--which was a severe loss to the king's service. He was in the case +of those men who, as the Scriptures say, are exceedingly fond of serving +both God and mammon. God abandoned him, and mammon could not save him; +for though he offered Bassompierre the whole value of a cargo of fish he +had contrived to get into Rochelle,--and every fish was worth an ounce +of gold, be it remarked,--Bassompierre, whose intelligence is very good, +seized the gold where he had hidden it, and hanged him according to +proclamation." + +All this was said with much coolness and deliberation; and from time to +time the great minister raised his glass to his eye and gazed at the +battery, which had not yet ceased firing. He waited about ten minutes +more, and then beckoned up some of the superior officers round him, +asking if they thought his messenger had not had time to reach the +lines. They all agreed that there had been plenty of time; but one of +them added, in a careless tone, "It is possible, your Eminence, that he +may not have carried either his head or his message with him. There has +been a puff or two of smoke from the walls, and nobody can tell where +the shot may have gone. A man may have a tierce major in his favor and +yet lose the game after all." + +"Possibly," replied Richelieu, and then resumed his watch. During some +five minutes after, the line of the battery showed no more smoke or +fire; the wreaths of sulphurous vapor curled away; the town also ceased +firing, the whole scene lay quiet and peaceful beneath their eyes, and +nothing was seen but a few horsemen riding about, with one apart from +the rest, galloping quickly up toward the hill on which they were. + +The cardinal waited his arrival and put some questions, which Edward +Langdale, who had fallen a little back, did not hear. + +"In five days, your Eminence," replied the officer, aloud. "He says that +at present no boat bigger than a cockle-shell can get in or out, and, +unless there be a very high tide or a gale of wind, the place will be +sealed up as tight as a bottle of old Burgundy." + +"Well," said Richelieu; "it is well. Have they made no attempt to +interrupt the works?" + +"None whatever, your Eminence," replied the other: "they are trusting to +God's good providence and a high tide,--doubtless praying in all their +temples for storm and tempest with profound devotion; but the devil and +the wind do not seem inclined to help them, and the poor creatures whom +they drove out have been received into the town again to eat them up, so +that they cannot hold out many weeks longer." + +The cardinal smiled, and, turning his horse, rode slowly back toward the +Chateau of Mauzé, without saying a word to any one, and seemingly buried +in profound thought. + +Edward Langdale followed, not knowing well what to do; and not one word +did Richelieu speak to him or any one till they reached the gates +leading into the court-yard. The cardinal dismounted and entered the +building, followed by some of his immediate attendants. The military men +scattered in different directions, each to his own quarters, without +taking any notice whatever of the young stranger; and Edward remained +upon his horse in the court-yard, while a curious smile upon the lip and +a raising of the eyebrow of Jacques Beaupré read an unpleasant +commentary upon his disappointed expectations. + +"You must seek lodgings in the little town, Pierrot," said Lord +Montagu's page. "Get the best you can,--though bad, I fancy, will be the +best,--and make some arrangement for obtaining food. We must have +something to eat,--though the poor folks in Rochelle are worse off than +we, it would seem." + +"It is a small place, Mauzé, sir, and quite full of soldiery," said +Pierrot. "But I will do my best, and get something at all events; for I +know some of the people here, who, I think, would kill a hog for me, if +we can do no better. But I am afraid quarters will be worse to find than +rations." + +"We must seek for both," answered Edward, "and something for the horses +too." + +He was turning toward the gates again, to ride down the slope into the +little town, or rather village,--for it was no better then,--when a man +dressed in a dark suit and bearing somewhat the appearance of a servant +came down the steps and approached the young gentleman's horse. "His +Eminence the Cardinal de Richelieu," he said, in a low, sweet voice, +"has commanded me to tell Monsieur de Langdale that he will see him as +soon as the business of the day is over,--about nine o'clock to-night. +In the mean time, I will show Monsieur de Langdale a chamber,--somewhat +high up, it is true; but the castle is very full. Monsieur de Langdale +will take his meals with the officers of the cardinal's guard. His +servants must provide for themselves in the village, as we have no room. +The cardinal allows them a crown a day as livery." + +Edward dismounted and followed him to a chamber convenient enough, +though very near the top of the main tower; and, knowing the policy of +saying as little as possible in such places, he only asked if at nine +o'clock he should present himself before the cardinal, or if his +Eminence would summon him. + +"He did not say," replied the man. "But monsieur had better go to the +ante-chamber at that hour and speak with the almoner, whom he will find +there." Thus saying, he left him, seemingly as much indisposed to say a +word more than was necessary as Edward could be himself. + +The reader may probably have no great opinion, from the facts already +related in this true history, of Edward Langdale's prudence; but, as I +have shown, he had been undergoing for the last nine months a course of +discipline under which he had greatly improved. Much was at stake at +that moment, and he resolved to act as cautiously as possible; and +during the whole morning he never quitted the chamber which had been +assigned to him,--passing the time partly in sleep, partly in deep +meditation over the character of the great minister, which had now +appeared to him in a new point of view. The coldness, the somewhat +sarcastic indifference with which Richelieu had spoken of the hanging of +the unfortunate Jargeau and of the miseries of the people of Rochelle, +would have given the impression that he was merely a hard, selfish +politician, had it not been for the deep emotions which had stirred him +in the case of Chalais and the lighter and more graceful feelings which +Edward had seen him display in their first interview. + +It was matter of study for the young man; but, as he thought over his +own conduct, he determined to make no change. He had hitherto followed +the promptings of the moment; and he had acquired a conviction that with +the cardinal unpremeditated frankness was the best policy. + +He was still indulging in this strain of thought, when a servant came to +inform him that the officers of the cardinal's guard were at dinner, and +led him to the great hall, where he found a seat reserved for him at the +table. There was no sympathy, however, between him and those with whom +he had to associate for a few minutes: they were civil,--which was all +he could expect; and hardly ten words passed his lips before he retired +once more to his chamber. + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + + +It was night, and the scene was a somewhat curious one. A large chamber, +with a vaulted roof, long square windows, and decorations neither new +nor in a modern taste, a tall four-post bedstead with green velvet +hangings a good deal tarnished, a brick floor well waxed and polished, +an immense armory or wardrobe quaintly carved, three or four tall +straight-backed chairs, and one large arm-chair well stuffed, together +with a table of black oak, the legs of which were cut into the forms of +some nondescript species of devil,--not the conventional gentleman with +hoofs and tail and pitchfork, but somebody not a whit less +hideous,--presented the aspect of a chamber quite of the olden time, it +might be of the reign of Francis I. or Louis XII. + +All days have their olden times; and I believe the olden times have +always been praised,--such is the tendency of the human mind to regret. + +When we are school-boys we wish we were children again, and think of the +caresses without the pangs and inconveniences of infancy; when we are +men we wish we were school-boys again, and forget the heavy task, the +ferule, and the rod; old age looks back to youth and sorrows over its +lost powers; and only one man I know of has written in praise of life's +declining stage. But even Cicero upon such a theme could only indite an +eloquent lie. + +Possession is always paid for by regret; and we take out the small +change in hope. + +Nevertheless, it would appear, notwithstanding the excellencies of those +old times, that some improvements have been made in the march of +society,--at least, in the manufacture of chairs. Although they were not +famous for that fabric in Louis the Thirteenth's time, Edward Langdale +felt that seats were certainly much more inconvenient at a former +period. "Men must once have had back-bones of quite a different +construction," he thought. "They must have either been so supple as to +bend into all kinds of corners, or so hard as not to care for any +corners at all." + +Such thoughts passed through his mind as he sat in a straight-backed +sort of rack in the Castle of Mauzé, just opposite to the Cardinal de +Richelieu, who, having cast off cuirass and scarlet robe, was seated, in +an easy gown of deep purple, in that comfortable arm-chair. The light +fell upon his magnificent head and easy graceful figure from a sconce +upon the wall; and the fine flowing lines of the drapery and +half-concealed limbs, with the broad high forehead and slightly gray +hair, gave him the look of some antique picture, and made the whole +person harmonize well with the room in which he sat. + +The figure of Edward Langdale would have spoiled all, for it was full of +youth,--I might almost call it youngness; but, as I have said before, +his garments, though cut in what was then the modern fashion, were all +of a sober color; and about the square brow, the delicately-chiselled +nose, and the firm, determined mouth, there was an antique, if not a +classical, character. + +With the cuirass and the scarlet robe Richelieu seemed to have cast off +the heavy cares and hard sternness of the day, and with the satin +pantoufles to have put on the ease and relaxation of spirit which no man +enjoyed more intensely than himself, if we may believe the stray +admissions even of his enemies and calumniators. It is greatly to be +regretted that Bois Robert did not write his history; for, although we +might not have had a true picture of his many-sided character, we should +have had another,--a more amiable and perhaps even a grander view of the +man than any historian has given us, except by accident. + +He had sent for Edward Langdale about half an hour before the time he +had appointed. His orders for the night and the following morning had +been given; his letters and despatches had been written or dictated; +audiences had been afforded to several gentlemen on business; even the +minute details of his household had been attended to; and he had sat +down for that repose of the mind which can only be obtained by complete +change of subject. The young Englishman had pleased him from the first, +and, without knowing it, had flattered his vanity on its most sensitive +point,--for Richelieu had his weaknesses as well as other men. Where, +indeed, is there any one who can boast that he is without either the +hair of the Hebrew giant or the heel of the Greek demigod? The cardinal +knew, too,--had, indeed, very soon perceived,--that Edward's mind had +been early imbued, in an irregular manner, perhaps, but to a deep +degree, with that sort of graceful literature of which he was himself +most fond, and that he was full of that refined and delicate taste on +which he prided himself. He was the very person Richelieu sought for the +social converse of hours which were unfilled by any weighty +employment,--hours which he would not give to his military officers, +because his plans were all formed, his resolutions were all taken, and +he neither sought advice nor remonstrance; hours which he would not +bestow upon his almoner nor upon his chaplain, for he did not wish to +sleep just then; hours that he wished to pass very lightly indeed, as a +wise man takes nothing very heavy for his supper before he goes to bed. + +"Welcome, Monsieur Langdale," said the great minister, as Edward +followed a servant into the room. "I have not had time to welcome you +yet; for, in the first place, I did not recognise you, your beard having +grown into somewhat leonine proportions. Since then I have not had time; +for I have been engaged with what the people of this world call weighty +business,--weighty enough, God wot, for those who have to handle it, and +which somewhat tries the arm that has to wield it. But let us leave that +and talk of other things. How have you fared? Poor Lord Montagu, your +friend, could not keep his nose out of a rat-trap; and yet it was badly +baited." + +"He would not have gone near the wires if he had taken my advice," said +Edward. "I ventured to guess, not at the designs of your Eminence, but +at your probable conduct; and I warned Lord Montagu not to come too +close to you." + +"Perhaps I have let you see me too close, young gentleman," said +Richelieu, with a good-humored smile. "And yet it is probable you +served me when you did not intend it. There be some men, my young +friend, and they very sensible men too, who will take no advice which +comes from younger and less experienced persons; but yet things, as the +Scripture says,--I speak with all reverence,--are often revealed to the +poor and simple and are hidden from the wise and great. Now, I have a +strong idea that you know more of Cardinal Richelieu, poor Bishop of +Luçon, than that great diplomatist, Lord Montagu." + +Edward shook his head. "I cannot pretend to do that," he said; "but my +lord thought he might venture to pass over a quarter of a league of +French territory, when some time before you had suffered him to roam for +weeks over the whole of France." + +"He had not got the papers then," said Richelieu, with a short laugh. "I +did not want Montagu's skin: it was his letters and his papers that I +arrested; and for that matter one quarter of a league is as good as a +thousand miles. As for yourself, you have told me something new to-day. +I heard of you at Aix, where your hot spirit had brought some damage on +your skin. You had been wounded, I mean to say,--by your own brother I +believe they told me. Very foolish, Master Edward Langdale, to fight +with one's own brother!" + +"I did not fight with him, may it please your Eminence. My sword was +never drawn." + +"Ha!" said the cardinal. "That is well. But then I heard of your making +a hole in another man's skin. How was that?" + +"Why, I told the two men you sent after me, sir," replied Edward, +frankly, "that I would shoot them if they kept dogging me; and I always +hold to my word. They not only kept dogging me, but betrayed my lord +into the hands of Monsieur de Bourbonne; and so I shot one of them. I am +sorry to say I had not time to shoot the other, or probably your +Eminence would not have heard so much of me as you have done." + +"Oh, yes," replied Richelieu, calmly: "the man got well, and was here +some two months ago. Besides, I never depend upon one informant. But +every one may be deceived; and no one told me that the good count had +got you in limbo all this time. You say he denied you the means of +communicating with me. Did you show him your safe-conduct?" + +"I did, sir," answered Edward; "and it had a very good effect, for it +made him give me beef and wine instead of bread and water, with which he +began my diet. I demanded also to be sent to your Eminence; but Monsieur +de Bourbonne did not see fit to do so." + +"Enough," said Richelieu; "enough." And, taking a scrap of paper from +the table, he wrote a few words thereon and laid it down again. "And now +tell me all about your escape," he continued. "How did you get away from +this giant of the castle?" + +Edward narrated, with perfect gravity of manner, but with some quiet +pleasantry of language, every particular of his escape from Coiffy; and +Richelieu listened, evidently amused, but without any comment. + +"Then you did not pass through Paris?" said the cardinal. "That is a +pity: you would have seen some interesting things there. We are +improving the drama greatly; and the Marais has a good troupe, they tell +me. I am building a house, too, there, and I should like to have your +opinion of it." + +Edward smiled. "My opinion would be little worth," he answered. "I have +but little experience in those things of which your Eminence has a +thorough knowledge." + +"And yet," said Richelieu, "I am told that you have great taste and +skill in arts which reached their height not long ago, but which we have +nearly lost in these days: I mean the designing in precious metals. A +very extraordinary man told me you were a thorough connoisseur." + +"The little knowledge I possess," answered Edward, "is derived from +seeing every day in my early youth some very precious specimens which my +father brought over from Italy. They are all gone, alas! but one; and +that, I am afraid, will soon be lost also." + +"Nay," said Richelieu, rather eagerly; "if you want to part with it I +will buy it. I am making a collection of the works of Cellini and the +men of his time." + +"Could I obtain it," answered Edward, "I would humbly offer it to your +Eminence without price, as a token of my gratitude. And, indeed, it is +beyond price. But some day soon I fear it will be in less worthy hands, +or melted down into gold crowns and the jewels picked out to adorn the +brown neck of some Parisian seamstress. It is within the walls of yon +devoted town, my lord. I was foolish not to bring it away with me." + +Richelieu paused, and did not speak for a moment or two; but then he +asked, "What sort of object is it?" + +"It is a golden cup, or what we in England call a hanap," answered +Edward, "with figures exquisitely sculptured, and the rim surrounded by +a garland of jewels in the form of flowers. The figures are in high +relief, and with their hands seem to support the garland." + +"It must be beautiful indeed!" said Richelieu. + +"The only defect," continued Edward, "is that my name is engraved upon +the stem." + +"What may be its value?" asked the cardinal: "it is a pity indeed so +rare an object should be lost." + +"I never heard it valued," replied the young man; "and I will sell it to +no one on this earth,--though I should have pride to see it in the hands +of a benefactor." + +"Well, it is a pity," said the cardinal. "But, as there is no help, let +us change the theme. Have you seen or heard from Mademoiselle de +Mirepoix--I should say Madame de Langdale--lately?" He spoke with a +smile. But Edward had learned that Richelieu's questions, even in his +lightest moments, always meant something, and he replied, at once, "Not +very lately, my lord. I have seen her once since we parted in Aunis, as +she was passing through Aix on her way to Venice; and she has written to +me once since her arrival, by the hands of a gentleman whom you +know,--Signor Morini." + +"He is a very singular man," said Richelieu, in a meditative tone. "Do +you know, young gentleman, he says that your fate and mine are connected +by an inseparable link?--that we were born under the same aspect?" + +"Your star must have been in the ascendant, sir," said Edward, with a +smile. "Yet there must be some truth in it; for who could have thought a +year ago that I should be sitting here, conversing with your Eminence +as calmly as if you were some ordinary literary man? who could have +thought that I should be indebted to you for more than life?" + +"Act honestly and truly by me, young gentleman, and my friendship shall +go further still," replied Richelieu. "As to these visions of +astrologers," he continued, "they are only to be regarded as curious +speculations. The star of a man's destiny is in his heart or in his +brain. It is that star raises to power, shields against danger, guides +amidst intrigue. God's will is above all; but he it is who gives the +clear mind and the strong will, the wisdom and the courage; he renders +them successful as far as their success is necessary to his own wise +purposes, and then throws a bean-stalk in their way, and they stumble +and fall. We have naught to do but to bow the head and say, Thy will be +done!" + +He ceased, and fell into a fit of thought, and Edward rose and took up +his hat as if about to retire; but Richelieu motioned him to his chair +again, saying, "Sit, sit! I have yet an hour. Have you read any of this +man Corneille's verses?" + +Edward, luckily, could say he had not, for Richelieu's dislike for +Corneille was already strong, and, taking up a book from the table, he +read some lines, commenting severely upon what he called their rudeness. +He went on with his criticisms for some ten minutes, to an attentive +ear; but Edward fancied he perceived an under-current of thought running +through his literary disquisition. + +"Perhaps I may be wrong," said Richelieu; "but in all matters of taste I +like the graceful and the polished better than the strong and rude. This +cup which you were speaking of must be a beautiful specimen of art. The +design as you have described it shows the conception of a great genius. +Is it known who was the artist?" + +"I cannot assure your Eminence with certainty," replied Edward; "but he +was always said to be a countryman and rival of Benvenuto Cellini. I +forget the name; but it is engraved on the inside of the foot." + +"John of Bologna," said the cardinal,--"probably John of Bologna." + +"The same, the same," said the young Englishman. "I now remember that is +the name." + +"It is invaluable!" exclaimed Richelieu, warmly. "His works are much +more rare than those of Cellini, and some are amongst the most +triumphant efforts of genius. There is a Mercury, for instance: the +heavy bronze seems instinct with godlike life,--actually springing from +the ground. What a pity that a work of his should be lost! Is there no +way of getting it out of Rochelle, think you?" + +"But one," answered Edward, gravely; "and that I do not suppose either +your Eminence or the people of Rochelle would permit." + +"What is it?" demanded Richelieu, abruptly. + +Edward's heart beat high, for he had brought him to the very point he +desired; but yet a single misplaced word might spoil all, and he +struggled against his eagerness with sufficient success to answer with +seeming indifference. "I left the cup," he said, "in the hands of the +syndic of the goldsmiths, one Clement Tournon, who had taken me to his +house and nursed me most kindly----" + +"He is a pestilent heretic," said the cardinal, sharply. + +"And so am I, my lord," answered Edward; "but he is an honest and a good +man. I am willing, if your Eminence desires it, to try and get back into +La Rochelle and bring you the cup; but I could only do so on being +permitted to offer poor old Monsieur Tournon a pass to quit the city and +escape the famine which they say is raging there." + +Richelieu sat silent for a minute or two, and Edward then added, "I am +not sure I shall be able to accomplish what I desire; but I will do my +best, and shall be well pleased to see such a treasure of art in the +hands of one who can appreciate it as your Eminence can." + +"I could not accept it," said Richelieu, "except on making +compensation." + +"Nothing like sale, my lord," replied Edward: "the price has been paid +beforehand, and it must be an offering of gratitude, or not at all. But +I much fear that the Rochellois will not admit me within their walls. I +can but make the attempt, however." + +"But this Clement Tournon," said Richelieu, thoughtfully. "You know not +what you ask, young man. Every mouth within that city hastens its fall; +and I have been obliged already to show myself obdurate to all +entreaties,--to see women and children and old men driven back into +their rebellious nest. They say, too, your great Duke of Buckingham is +preparing another fleet for their relief. He will find himself mistaken; +but still we must waste no time." + +"Old Clement Tournon is no great eater," said Edward, bluntly. "His +feeble jaws will not hasten the fall of the city five minutes; and it is +possible that, if admitted to your Eminence's presence, he might be the +means of persuading his fellow-citizens to submission, if he sees that +defence is hopeless and that favorable terms may be obtained." + +"Ha! say you so?" exclaimed Richelieu; and, leaning his head upon his +hand, he fell into profound thought. Edward would not say a word more, +and after some five or ten minutes the cardinal looked up and shook his +head. "They will receive no messengers, reject all offers: even the +king's proclamation sent by a herald they would not admit within the +walls, and Montjoie had to leave it before the gates." + +"Perhaps they have learned better by this time," said Edward; "and, if +not, they can but drive me back with bullets and cannon-balls." + +"Well," said Richelieu, with a clearer brow, "you give me a better +reason now for suffering you to go. So help me Heaven as I would spare +this poor infatuated people the horrors they now suffer, if they would +let me! But rebellion must not exist in this land, and shall not while I +live. They must submit; but they shall have terms that even you will +call fair. So you may tell them if you can but find your way in." + +Edward saw that the message was vague and not at all likely to have any +effect upon the people of Rochelle; but he did not try to bring the +cardinal to any thing more definite, for he had no inclination to take +part in a negotiation for the surrender of Rochelle, remembering that +all the plans of his own Government might be frustrated by such a +result. + +He and the cardinal both kept silent for several minutes, Richelieu's +eyes remaining fixed upon the table, and his face continuing perfectly +motionless, though he was evidently deep in thought. At length he said, +abruptly, "You will come back yourself?" + +"Upon my honor, sir," replied Edward, "if I live and they will let me. +They shall either keep me as a prisoner, or I will be here in +four-and-twenty hours." + +"So be it, then," said the cardinal. "You shall not only have a pass, +but some one shall be sent with you to the very outmost post; for there +is something uncommonly suspicious in your appearance. Twice in your +case already men have set at naught my hand and seal. The second case +shall be punished: the third, for your sake and my own, must be guarded +against. As to your entrance into Rochelle, there may be--probably will +be--some difficulty; but if you are skilful--and I think you are--you +may succeed. I need not recommend to you caution in what you say and do. +We have some disease in the camp, it is true; but they have pestilence +in the city. Our supplies are not over-abundant; but they are suffering +from the direst famine. Every day increases our supplies and diminishes +theirs." + +"I shall say as little as possible, your Eminence," answered Edward. +"First, because I cannot, knowing what I know, advise them to hold out; +secondly, because if I advise them to surrender I might be wrong. +Clement Tournon, when he has seen your Eminence, after having witnessed +what is passing in the city, can advise better, and will be more readily +believed. It is well you should have some means of communication with +the Rochellois. I know none of their chief men, even by name; and they +would put no faith in me." + +"In a week from this time," said Richelieu, "they must surrender. The +dyke will be finished which shuts them out from all the world. Vain will +be English fleets, vain all their imaginary armies. The gaunt spectre +which already strides through their streets will have knocked at every +door. Where will be the hand to fire the cannon? where the arm to +defend the gate? The dead and the dying will be the garrison; and the +soldiers of the king will rush in to wrest the undefended plunder from a +host of skeletons. I would fain avoid such a result, young man," he +added, with a shudder. "I delight not in misery and suffering; I have no +pleasure in tears and woe. But France must have peace, the king must +have loyal subjects; and, were my brother amongst those rebels, they +should be forced to obey. You are frank, and I believe you honest. I +therefore expect that you bear them no message from the enemies of +France, that you delude them with no vain hopes, that you return +yourself as speedily as possible, and that you bring this old man with +you if he will come. Remember that I am not to be trifled with, and that +I bear open enmity more patiently than deceit." + +"I have no fear, sir," answered Edward. "I have come back and placed +myself in your power without the least hesitation, and I will do so +again; but then I will beseech your Eminence to let me pass over into +England. I am nearly without money; and, although I have sufficient on +the other side of the Channel, I cannot get it without going for it." + +"We will talk of that hereafter," answered Richelieu. "I think I will +let you go; but, at all events, you shall not want for money. What is +money, Monsieur Langdale? It is but dross,--at least, so the poets tell +us; and yet I have found few men who like it better than the poets." + +"Without it men cannot travel," replied Edward,--"cannot eat or drink or +even sleep; and it would be hard for want of money to want meat and +drink and sleep when I have plenty for all my wants on the other side of +that arm of the sea; but harder still, my lord cardinal, to take from +any man money that does not belong to me." + +"How proud these islanders are!" said Richelieu, with a smile. "Why, +there is hardly a Frenchman in the land who would not thank me for a +crown." + +"If I had worked for it," answered Edward, "I might thank you too; but +till there be peace between France and England I can do your Eminence no +service." + +"Now, let any one say," exclaimed the cardinal, with a laugh, "that I am +not the sweetest-tempered man in all this realm of France,--ay, as sweet +and gentle as Signor Mazarin himself. Why, no man will believe that you +say to me such things and I do not send you to the Bastille at once. Oh, +tell it not in the camp, or you will lose credit forever." + +"I do not intend to tell it anywhere, my lord," replied Edward. "I know +it would be foolish, and perhaps it might be dangerous. I am not +ungrateful for your condescension to me; but it is a sort of thing I +should not like to sport with." + +"Right," said Richelieu: "you are right. You know the fact in natural +history that tigers may be tamed; but if any one suffers them, in +playing with them, to draw blood, he seldom goes away as full of life as +he came. I see you understand me. Now go away and sleep. Be here by +daybreak to-morrow, and you shall find the passes ready and somebody +prepared to ride with you to the outposts. He will wait there +four-and-twenty hours for your return. But if I should find you in +Rochelle when it is taken, except in a dungeon, beware of the tiger." + +Edward bowed and withdrew; but he retired not to rest. His first object +was to inquire for Beaupré and Pierrot. They were not in the castle, and +he had to seek them in the village below, where, after passing through +many of the wild scenes of camp-life, he found them at length in a small +wooden shed, where some sort of food, such as it was, could be procured +by those who had money to pay for it. Much to the surprise of good +Pierrot la Grange, the young gentleman's first order, after directing +his horse to be prepared half an hour before daylight, was to have his +flask filled with the best brandy he could procure and brought up to his +room that night. + +"Has the cardinal given you leave to go into the city?" asked Jacques +Beaupré, in astonishment. + +"He has given me leave to try," replied Edward. + +"Pray, then, let me go with you," said the good man. + +"Impossible!" was the answer. "I must go alone, and take my fate alone, +whatever it may be. See that the brandy be good, Pierrot, if you can +find it. But be quick, for I would fain sleep before I go." And, +retiring to his room in the castle, he waited till the man brought a +small flat bottle well filled, and then, casting himself down upon the +bed, fell sound asleep, exhausted less by fatigue than by emotions which +he had felt deeply, though he had concealed them well. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + + +Two hours had not passed after the sun's rising above the horizon when +Edward Langdale stood with a small group of officers at the extreme +outpost of the royal army, before what was called the Niort gate of the +city of Rochelle. There was still a space of about five hundred yards +between him and the walls; and before him rose all those towers and +pinnacles, many of which have since been destroyed, but which rendered +then and still render Rochelle one of the most picturesque cities of +France when seen from a distance. During the whole siege the operations, +though sure and terrible, had been slow and apparently tardy. The +Rochellois had been glad to husband their powder; and it was no part of +Richelieu's plan to breach the walls or to do more than harass the +citizens by an occasional attack. On this morning there had been no +firing on either side, and the town looked as quiet and peaceable as if +there were no hostile force before it. But, as Edward Langdale and his +companion, a young officer of the cardinal's guard, had ridden down from +Mauzé, the latter had pointed out to the young Englishman that famous +dyke which, stretching across the mouth of the port, had gradually cut +off the city from all communication with friends at home or allies +abroad. He had, in a jesting way, too, put some questions to Edward in +regard to the objects of his journey; but he obtained no information, +and did not dare to press them closely. + +"You had better take some more breakfast, sir," said an old officer +commanding at the advance-posts. "You will get none in there; and, +though we are forbidden to suffer the slightest morsel to go in, I +presume that does not apply to what a man can carry in his stomach." + +"I shall soon be back again if they let me in at all," answered Edward. +"Can any one give me a white flag? for I may as well not draw the fire. +That is a sort of breakfast I have no inclination for." + +A small white flag was soon procured, and, leaving his horse with +Pierrot and Beaupré, who had followed him down the hill, Edward set out +on foot. He carried the white flag in his hand and approached the gate +with a calm, steady pace. He saw some men walk quickly along the wall +toward the same point to which his own course was directed; but the flag +of truce was respected, and he was permitted to come within five or six +yards of the heavy gate. Then, however, a voice shouted from behind a +small grated wicket, "Stand back! What seek you here?" + +"I seek to speak with the syndic Clement Tournon," said Edward; "and, if +not with him, with Monsieur Guiton, mayor of the city." + +"Stand back! You cannot enter here," said the man on the other side. + +"Will you cause the mayor to be informed," said Edward, "that Master +Edward Langdale, an English gentleman well known in Rochelle, stands +without and desires admittance, if it be but for an hour?" + +The man grumbled something which Edward did not hear, and there seemed +to be a consultation held within, at the end of which the same voice +told him to keep on the other side of the drawbridge while they informed +the mayor. The young gentleman accordingly retired, and seated himself +on a large stone at the end of the bridge, where for nearly an hour he +had nothing to occupy him but his own thoughts, with every now and then +a puff of smoke from one of the royalist batteries, which had lately +begun firing, and one gun replying from the walls. It seemed all child's +play, however; and he soon ceased to think of the matter at all. His +mind then turned to his own position and the curious fact of Richelieu +having suffered him to visit Rochelle with so very little opposition. He +could not but ask himself how much the gold cup had to do with the +minister's acquiescence; but, as he reflected more deeply upon the +cardinal's character and upon various incidents which had come to his +knowledge, he concluded in his own mind that Richelieu might be well +pleased to make another effort to open a communication with the citizens +without compromising his own dignity. The position of the besieging +force, he thought, might not be so good as it appeared. The dyke, on +which so much depended, and which he had had no means of examining +closely, might not be sufficiently solid to resist the action of the sea +and winds. The English armament might be, to Richelieu's knowledge, of a +more formidable character and more advanced state of preparation than +was admitted; and all these circumstances might render the speedy +capture of Rochelle upon any terms absolutely necessary. + +In little more than an hour, the same voice he had heard before called +him up to the gate, and the wicket was partly opened to give him +admittance under the archway, where he found five or six men with +halberds on their shoulders and otherwise well armed, while a young man +bearing the appearance of an officer advanced to meet him. The steel +caps of the soldiers in some degree concealed their faces; but the +broad-brimmed, plumed hat of the young officer served in no degree to +hide the gaunt, pallid features, the high cheek-bones, the fallen-in +cheeks, the hollow eyes, and the strong marking of the temples, which +told a sad tale of the ravages of famine, even amongst the higher and +more wealthy classes of the town. A feeling of delicacy made Edward +withdraw his eyes after one hasty glance at the young gentleman's +countenance; and, as the other paused without speaking for a moment, he +said, "May I ask, sir, if any one has conveyed my message to the syndic +Clement Tournon or to the mayor?" + +"Monsieur Tournon is ill in his own house," replied the young officer: +"but Monsieur Guiton, the mayor, has come down to a house near this +gate, and will receive you there, as it might be inconvenient to invite +you to the town-house, for fear of any disturbance." + +"I am ready to wait upon him," replied Edward, "wherever he pleases." + +"I am sorry to say," replied the young officer, "that even for so short +a distance you must give up your arms and suffer your eyes to be +bandaged." + +"I have no arms," replied Edward, "as you may see. I purposely came +without. As to bandaging my eyes, do as you please. I am no spy nor +agent of the French Government." He pulled off his hat as he spoke, +bending down his head for the handkerchief to be tied over his eyes; +and, as soon as that somewhat disagreeable operation was performed, the +young officer took him by the hand, and, with one of the soldiers +following, led him into Rochelle. When they had passed on perhaps a +hundred yards, Edward received a painful intimation of the state of the +city. As they seemed to turn into another street, the young officer +caught him by the arm and pulled him sharply aside, saying to the +soldier, "Have that body removed. These sights serve to scare the people +and make them clamorous." + +"I don't think she is dead yet," said the soldier. + +"Then have her carried to the hospital as quickly as possible. Don't let +her lie there and die." + +He then led Edward on, and in two or three minutes more stopped at the +door of a house and entered what seemed a small passage, where he +removed the handkerchief from Edward's eyes. "Monsieur Guiton is here," +he said, opening a door where, in a little room and at a small table, +was seated a man of middle age with a dagger by his side and a sword +lying on the table. His form seemed once to have been exceedingly +powerful and his face firm and resolute; but there was that gaunt and +worn expression in every line which Edward had seen in the countenance +of his guide. + +"Who are you, sir?" said the mayor; "and what is the motive of so rare a +thing as the visit of a stranger to the town of Rochelle?" + +"My name is Edward Langdale," replied the young Englishman,--"a poor +follower of my Lord Montagu, who once bore letters from his Grace of +Buckingham to the city of Rochelle." + +"Ay, I remember," said the mayor, thoughtfully: "you were roughly used, +if I remember right. But now, sir, to your business." + +"It is in a great degree personal," replied Edward; "but, as it is +private, I would rather speak to you alone." + +"Leave us," said the mayor, addressing the young officer, who at once +quitted the room and closed the door. "Now, sir," continued Guiton, "I +am ready to hear. But be brief, I pray you. Occupation here is more +plenty than time, and time more plenty than provisions. Therefore I +cannot offer you refreshment nor show you much courtesy." + +"I require neither, sir," answered Edward. "My business refers to +Monsieur Clement Tournon. He is aged,--infirm; and I have with some +difficulty obtained from the Cardinal de Richelieu permission and a pass +for him to quit Rochelle." + +"Ha!" said the mayor. "Ha! This is strange, young gentleman! You must be +in mighty favor! Why, sir, he has driven back women and children and old +men--all starving--from the French lines into this city of famine! You, +an Englishman, an enemy,--he show such favor to you! Pah! There must be +something under this. Have you no message for me?" + +"No distinct message, sir," replied Edward: "the cardinal indeed said, +in terms so vague that I cannot and will not counsel any reliance upon +them, that if Rochelle would submit she should have favorable terms,--as +favorable as even I could expect. But I am not his messenger, sir. +Neither is there any thing that I know under the plain fact which I have +stated." + +"Let me see your pass," said Guiton, abruptly. Edward handed it to him, +and he examined it minutely. "'Edward Langdale and one companion,--to +wit, the syndic Clement Tournon'!" he said. "Well, this is marvellous +strange! I cannot let this pass without some further knowledge of so +unaccountable a matter." + +"Well, Monsieur Guiton," answered Edward, firmly, "pray remember that I, +comparatively, a stranger to him, have perilled much to aid and rescue +a man who once showed me kindness, nursed me like a father when I was +sick, and trusted me as he would his son when I had recovered; and that +it is you--his ancient friend, as I am told--who keep him here to die of +famine or of sickness when he can be of no further service either with +hand or head. I have done my duty. Probably you think you are doing +yours." + +The mayor waved his hand. "Not so many words," he said. "Can you give me +any explanation of this strange matter?" + +"None," replied Edward, boldly. + +"Does Clement Tournon wish to leave the city?" demanded the mayor again. + +"I do not know," replied the young Englishman. "He is old, infirm, and, +I am told, sick. I have had no communication with him. But he knows that +he can be of no further service in Rochelle, or I believe he would +remain in it till the last man died and the last tower fell." + +"He is sick," said the mayor, "of a very common disease here. But yet we +are not so badly off that we cannot maintain the city till the English +fleet arrives." + +"The dyke!" said Edward, emphatically. + +"Oh," replied Guiton, with a scoffing and unnatural-sounding laugh, "the +first storm, such as I have seen many, will sweep that dyke away." + +"But, if it stands fourteen days," said Edward, "will you not have a +storm within these walls which will sweep away the people of Rochelle?" + +Guiton covered his eyes with his hands and remained silent. + +"But I have nothing to do with these things, sir," said Edward. "It was +only to give aid, to give safety, to a friend, an old noble-minded man +who befriended me when I had need of friendship, that I came into +Rochelle at all. May I ask what is this sickness that you speak of so +lightly?" + +"Famine, sir! famine!" said Guiton, sharply. "An ounce of meat,--God +knows of what kind,--two ounces of dried peas, and a draught of cold +water, is but a meagre diet for old men and babes. We strong men can +bear it; but there be some who are foolish enough to die rather than +endure it a little longer." + +"And have you the heart, sir," asked Edward, with some indignation in +his tone, "to refuse the means of escape offered to an old man, and that +man Clement Tournon, and to speak lightly of his sufferings,--his +martyrdom, I might say?" + +"No! no! no!" cried the mayor, vehemently, stretching forth his hands. +"Young man, you mistake me! Could my blood nourish him, he should have +the last drop. What! old Clement Tournon, my dear, dear friend,--would I +deprive him of one hour's life? But it is that I cannot comprehend how +you are here,--why you are here. This story that you tell is mere +nonsense." + +"It is true, nevertheless," said Edward. "But if my word will not +satisfy you,--as, indeed, I see no reason why it should,--come with me +to Clement Tournon, and he perhaps can tell you how much I can dare to +serve a friend." + +"I will!" cried Guiton, starting up; but then he sat down again +immediately, saying, "No, no! I cannot bear those faces in the streets. +Can you find your way yourself?--for I can spare no men." + +"Not if I am to be blindfolded," said Edward: "otherwise I could find +it, I am sure." + +"Pshaw!" said the mayor, "what use of blindfolding you? You will see +dying and dead, plague-eaten, famine-stricken. But you can go and tell +the Cardinal de Richelieu how the citizens of Rochelle can die rather +than see their privileges torn from them, their religion trodden under +foot. You can tell him, too, that I will defend those walls as long as +there is one soldier left to man them and one hand capable of firing a +gun, unless we have security for our faith. You are sure he said nothing +more?" + +"No, nothing more," answered Edward: "merely that he would give you the +most favorable terms, but that he would not have rebellion in the land." + +"Rebellion!" muttered Guiton, scornfully. "Who first drew the sword? But +let us think of Clement Tournon. I am willing to believe you, young +gentleman. If I remember rightly, I have heard the old man speak well +of you. And, after all, what harm can you do? You can but repeat a story +of our sufferings which I am aware they already know too well in yonder +camp. What they do not know is the courage with which we can bear them. +Go to the syndic. He has not come forth for several days. Go to him, and +see if the prospect of relief can give fresh strength to those enfeebled +limbs, fresh energy to that crushed and scarcely-beating heart. Tell him +that I not only permit but beseech him to go with you,--that even one +mouth less in Rochelle is a relief. He has done his duty manfully to the +last. He can do it no longer. Beseech him to go. And yet," he continued, +in a sad tone, "I much doubt his strength. Could he have crawled even to +the council-chamber, we should have seen his face. Could he have lifted +his voice, we should have heard his inspiring words. He was alive last +night, I know. But to-day----Alas, alas, my poor friend!" And some tears +ran down the worn cheek of the gallant defender of Rochelle. + +"I have some brandy under my coat," whispered Edward. "I brought it on +purpose for him. It may give him strength at least to reach the +outposts." + +Guiton seized his hand and wrung it hard. "Noble young man! well +bethought!" he said. "But he must have a little food. Stay; he shall +have my dinner. I do not want it. By Heaven! the thought that we have +saved old Clement Tournon will be better than the best of meals to me!" + +He rose from the table, and, approaching the door, gave some orders to +those without, and then returned, saying, "There is still much to be +thought of, young gentleman, and we have little time to think. I fear if +you go out in the daytime the people will pour forth after you, and all +will be driven back by cannon-shots." + +"It must now be near one o'clock," said Edward, "and it will probably +take some time to restore his strength a little. If you, sir, nobly give +him up your own food, it must be administered to him by slow degrees, +and----" + +"What! an ounce of meat?" said Guiton, with a miserable smile: "my fare +is the same as the rest, sir. But I must leave all that to you. His own +ration will be served to him in an hour. Mine you shall take and give +him as it seems best to you. I will write a pass for you and him, that +you may not be stopped at any hour of the night or day; and then I must +go back to the town-hall, lest men should wonder at my long absence. My +only fear is that the good old man will not take my ration if he knows +it comes from me." + +"Take a little of these strong waters, sir," said Edward, drawing the +flask from beneath his coat. Guiton hesitated, and Edward added, "There +is much more than he can or ought to use; and, if I tell him that I +brought you some supply, he will take the food you send more readily." + +The mayor took the flask and drank a very little, giving it back again +and saying, "Mix it with water ere you give him any. By Heaven, it is +like fire! Yet it will keep me up, I do believe. Hark! there are steps. +Put it up, quick. They might murder you for it, if any of the common +people were to see it." + +The steps were those of a soldier bringing the scanty meal, which was +all the mayor allowed himself. A pen and ink and a scrap of paper were +then procured, and the pass for Edward and Clement Tournon was soon +written. To make all sure, Guiton called the young officer, in whom he +seemed to have much confidence, and asked if he would be on guard at the +gates that night. The young man answered in the affirmative; and the +mayor gave strict directions that Monsieur Edward Langdale and the +syndic Tournon should be passed safely and unmolested on their way +toward the royal camp. A smile of hope and pleasure came upon the +officer's face, and Guiton added, "Do not deceive yourself, Bernard. +This is no treaty for surrender. We must suffer a little longer; and +then we shall have relief. Here, go with Monsieur Langdale, first to the +gate by which he entered, then to the end of the Rue de l'Horloge. There +leave him. Farewell, sir," he continued, turning to Edward, and then +adding, in a lower tone, "Mark well the turnings from the gate, and walk +somewhat slow and feebly, so as not to draw attention. The people are in +an irritable state." + + + + +CHAPTER XLII. + + +I will not dwell upon the horrors of the streets of Rochelle. They have +been described by an able pen: at least, I believe so; for I have not +seen the work of Madame de Genlis since my boyhood, and that, dear +reader, is a long time ago,--quite long enough to forget more than that. + +The part of the town in which stood the house of Clement Tournon seemed +quite deserted, and the house itself showed no signs of being inhabited. +The windows were all closed; and the little court before the building, +which separated it from the general line of the street, and which was +once so trimly kept, was now all overgrown with grass. It was knee-high; +and even the path of smooth white stones which led to the principal door +hardly showed a trace of the unfrequent footfall. With a sinking heart, +Edward looked up; but all was still and silent. The door stood open, and +he approached and knocked with his knuckles. There was no reply, +however: no voices were heard from the once merry kitchen, no sound of +hammer or file from the workshop. + +Edward Langdale had learned to know the house well, and, entering, he +mounted the stairs and entered the room on the right. It was vacant and +dark also, for the windows were all closed. He then turned to another; +but it was empty likewise. He saw some light, however, stream from the +room at the back,--the little room where he had lain in sickness for so +many days,--Lucette's room, where he had first seen that dear face. It +was a place full of memories for him; and, even if he had not seen that +ray of sunshine crossing the top of the stairs, he would have entered. +Pushing open the door, which stood a little ajar, he went in; and there +was the object of his search straight before him. + +Seated in the great arm-chair in which he himself had sat when first +recovering was good old Clement Tournon, the shadow of his former self. +The palms of his hands rested on his knees; his head was bent forward on +his chest; his eyes were shut, and his lips and cheeks were of a bluish +white. Had it not been for a slight rocking motion of his body as he +sat, Edward would have thought him dead. Behind his chair, silent and +still as a statue, stood the good woman Marton. She, too, was as pale as +her helmet-shaped white cap, and the frank, good-humored expression of +her countenance was supplanted by a cold, hard, stony look which seemed +to say that every energy was dead. That such was not really the case, +however, Edward soon saw; for, the moment her eyes lighted on him as he +passed the door, the old bright light came into them again, and she +walked quietly but hastily across the floor in her little blue socks, +holding up her finger as a sign to keep silence. + +"He sleeps," she said; "he sleeps. It is wellnigh as good as food for +him. But how came you here, Master Ned? What has brought you? Has the +English fleet arrived?" + +"Alas, no," replied Edward, in the same low tone which she herself had +used; "and it could not enter the port if it had. But I come, if +possible, to save that good old man. I have a little food here with me. +Go get me a cup and some water; for I have a little of that which will +be better to him at first even than food." + +"God bless you, sir!" said the good woman: "there is not a drop of wine +in all the city, and with him the tide of life is nearly gone out. I +thought he would have died this morning; but he would rise. You stay +with him, and I will be back in a minute. But keep silent and still, for +sleep always does him good." So saying, she hurried away and brought a +silver cup and some fresh water. + +All was silent during her absence: the old man slept on, and Edward +Langdale seated himself near, as quietly as possible. Marton took her +place again without a word; and for about three-quarters of an hour the +slumber of old Clement Tournon continued unbroken. Then a voice was +heard at the foot of the stairs, crying, "Rations!" and Marton hurried +down. + +Either the voice or the movement in the room disturbed the old man. He +moved in his chair, raised his head a little, and Edward, with some of +the strong waters well diluted in the cup, approached and put it to his +lips. + +"What is it?" said Clement Tournon, putting the cup feebly aside with +his hand. "I thought it might have pleased God I should die in that +sleep." + +"Take a little," said Edward, in a low tone: "it will refresh you." And +Clement Tournon suffered him to raise the cup again to his lips, aiding +with his own feeble hands, and drank a deep draught, as if he were very +thirsty. Then, suddenly raising his eyes to Edward's face, he exclaimed, +"Good Heavens! who are you? Edward Langdale! Is it all a dream?--a +horrible dream?" + +"I have come to see you and take you away, Monsieur Tournon," said +Edward, as calmly as he could. "Keep yourself quite tranquil, and I will +tell you more presently. At present be as silent as I used to be when I +was sick and you were well." + +The old syndic sat without speaking for a moment or two, and then said, +"I know not what you have given me; but it seems to have strengthened +and revived me. But pray, tell me more: I cannot make this out at all." + +"I will tell you after you have eaten something," said Edward. "I have +brought something with me for you. But first sip a little more of this +draught." + +The old man drank again, and then ate a little of the food which had +been brought him; but the forces of life had so much diminished that it +was long before the weight of the body seemed to give the mind liberty +to act. At first he would wander a little, less with what seemed +delirium than with forgetfulness. The brain appeared to sleep or faint; +but with judicious care--an instinctive knowledge, as it were, of what +was best for him--Edward administered support and stimulus by slow +degrees till the mind fully wakened up. Quietly and cautiously the young +man told him what he had done, why he came, and the certain prospect +there was of his escape from that city of horror and famine if he could +but summon strength to pass the gates. + +"But Guiton,--but my friend Guiton," said Clement Tournon. "What will he +think of me?" + +"He begs you, he beseeches you, to go," said Edward. "He says you have +done all you can for Rochelle, that you can do no more, that every mouth +out of the city is a relief, and that, now you can go in safety, you +ought to go." + +"Oh, my son," said Clement Tournon, "you know not what it is to ask me +to quit the home of many years. I have travelled, it is true; I have +left my domestic hearth; I have left the earth that holds my wife and +children; but it was always with a thought of coming back and dying +here. Now, if I go, I go forever,--never to see Rochelle more." + +"Nay, I hope that is not so," answered Edward. "The cardinal assured me +that he would give the most favorable terms to the city; and I cannot +but think that your presence may be the means of rendering those terms +really and not nominally favorable. You can tell him of the +determination of the people, of your certain expectation of succor----" + +The old man shook his head. "No succor," he said; "no succor." + +"But at all events it is probable," replied Edward, "that you may be +able to obtain terms for Rochelle which she can accept honorably. You +can aid no one here; you may do good service there. In this instance the +paths of duty and of safety are one." + +"Oh, I will go," said Clement Tournon, languidly. "I need no persuading. +But what am I to do with this poor creature?" he continued, looking at +Marton, who continued still in the room. "How can I leave her behind +me?" + +A sort of spasm passed her countenance; but she answered, with the real +devotion of woman, "Go, old master; go. Never mind me. I can do well +enough. My light heart keeps me up; and old women live upon little. When +the young gentleman has risked every thing to save you, you cannot +disappoint him." + +"No indeed, Marton," said the syndic; "but yet----" + +"Never talk about yet," said Marton. "You have got to go, that is clear; +and perhaps you may be able to make a treaty by which we shall be all +fed and comforted. Maître Guiton should have done it long ago; but he is +a hard man, and would see us all die of famine, and himself too, before +he would bate an inch of his pride." + +"Hush, hush!" said Edward: "he is a good and noble man, Marton; and +times far distant shall talk of the famous defence of Rochelle by the +Mayor Guiton. Bring your master a little more food, Marton. The sun is +beginning to go down, and we shall soon be able to set out." + +The poor old syndic bent his eyes down upon his hands and wept tears of +age, of weakness, and of manifold emotions; and Edward, thinking it +better to distract his thoughts, spoke of the gold cup which he had +promised to bring to Richelieu, and asked where he could find it. + +"What! a bribe?" exclaimed Clement Tournon, with more energy than the +young man thought he had possessed. "The great Cardinal de Richelieu +take a bribe?" + +"No, no!" replied Edward: "do not misunderstand me. This cup was +mentioned but incidentally as a curious and beautiful object of art, and +I promised to bring it to him: therefore I must keep my word. But, if I +must tell the truth, I believe the cardinal's inducement to give me a +pass for you was that through you he might open some communication with +the citizens, who have refused all overtures." + +"Ay, there is that Mayor Guiton again," said Marton. + +"The cardinal assured me," continued Edward, "that he had no wish to +crush Rochelle, and would grant such favorable terms as could not +honestly be rejected." + +"God grant it!" said Clement Tournon; "but he has us at his mercy, and +he knows it. As to the cup, my son, you will find it in the armory, +where it stood when you were here before. Where are the keys, Marton? +You will find it all safe, and the papers with it,--a letter for you +amongst the rest; but I knew not where you were. All the gold and silver +is safe; for when the people broke into the house it was food they +sought, poor fools! They cared not for gold and silver: they could not +eat them." + +Marton found the keys and handed them to Edward, by Clement Tournon's +orders; and the cup, wrapped in manifold papers and enveloped in an old +parchment bag, was soon found. The whole packet was inscribed, in the +old goldsmith's own handwriting, with the words, "The cup within belongs +to Master Edward Langdale, of Buckley, in the county of Huntingdon, +England, left with me for safe-keeping." By the side of the cup lay a +letter, surrounded, as was common in those days, with a silken string, +tied and sealed; and, on taking it up, Edward instantly recognised the +handwriting of good Dr. Winthorne. That was no time for reading, +however, and he put the letter in his breast; but his eye could not help +glancing over the vast quantity of plate, both gold and silver, which +even that one cupboard contained. Taking the cup in his hands, he locked +the door, and, returning to the room of the syndic, inquired, with some +anxiety, what was to be done for the protection of his property while he +was gone. + +"Dross, dross, my son," said Clement Tournon. "Yet the door of the room +may be as well locked and bolted. Give Marton the key." + +"We will take care of it, Master Ned," said Marton. "The boys come back +every night,--all who are left of them, poor fellows! but stout John +died of the fever, and William the filigree-man soon gave way when we +came to want food. Old men and old women have borne it best. But nobody +will think of touching the gold and silver. What could they do with it +if they had it? All the gold in that room would not buy a pound of beef +in Rochelle." + +"It were as well to make all safe, however," answered Edward. "I will go +and lock all the doors." + +"I will come with you," said Clement Tournon, "and see whether I can +walk. What you have given me seems to have revived me much, very much. +What is it?" + +"What you probably never tasted in your life before," said +Edward,--"strong waters; and it shows the benefit of reserving the use +of them for cases of need. That which kills many a man who uses it +freely is now giving you back life, because you have never used it at +all. All I have in that flask would not have the slightest effect upon +Pierrot la Grange. I trust there is enough there to afford you strength +to reach the camp." + +"Oh, more than enough,--more than enough," said the good old syndic, +whose holy horror of drunkenness made him almost shudder at the idea of +what he had been imbibing, although he could not but feel that it had +wrought a great and beneficial change upon him. "Now let me see how I +can walk." + +Edward gave him his arm; but the old man showed much more strength than +he expected,--tottered a little in his gait, it is true, and lost his +breath before he reached his arm-chair again. But Edward and Marton +applied themselves diligently during the next two hours to confirm the +progress he had already made, and were not unsuccessful. + +I cannot say whether the good woman, whose love and devotion toward her +master were extreme, did or did not secretly bestow upon him her own +scanty portion of the common food which was doled out to all those who +had given up their own stores to be disposed of by the city; but certain +it is that, till the sun had nearly set, she and Edward contrived every +quarter of an hour to furnish the old man a small piece of meat and a +mouthful of pea-bread, with a few spoonfuls of the brandy-and-water. + +At length the hour for departure came; and the parting between the old +syndic and the faithful Marton was a very painful one. They said +nothing, it is true; but she kissed his hand, and her tears, whether she +would or not, fell upon it. Clement Tournon wept too; but Edward drew +him slowly away, and once more he went out into the streets of Rochelle. + +Those streets were nearly vacant, for almost everybody not wanted on the +walls had retired to their miserable dwellings, there in solitude and +famine to wait the return of the daylight which brought no comfort and +very little hope. + +Two men indeed passed by at a slow pace, and turned to look. "There goes +old Clement Tournon," said one,--"up to the town-house, I suppose, as +usual." + +"I thought he was dead," said the other. "Old Dr. Cavillac died last +night." + +They spoke aloud, for those were no times of delicacy; and Edward, +fearful that the old syndic had heard such depressing words, whispered, +"I trust, Monsieur Tournon, you will be able to obtain such terms as the +city can accept." + +"Pray God I may!" said the old man, not perceiving Edward's little +stroke of art in playing off hope against despair. "Oh, it would be the +brightest day of my life!" + +They walked slowly, very slowly; but at length they reached the gate, +over which a very feeble oil-lamp was burning under the heavy stone +arch; for by this time even an article of such common necessity as oil +was terribly scarce in Rochelle. The common soldiers on guard were +evidently indisposed to let Edward and his companion pass; but the young +officer whom the mayor had called Bernard was soon summoned forth from +the guard-house, and with a reverent pressure of the hand he welcomed +the old syndic. "God bless you, sir!" he said. "I was right glad to hear +what Monsieur Guiton told me. Would to Heaven I had a horse or mule to +give you to help you across! but it is not half a mile, and I trust you +have strength for that." + +"God knows, Bernard," said the old man, who was leaning very heavily +upon Edward's arm. "I trust my going may be good for the city. Were it +not for that hope, I should be well contented to stay and die here. God +knows how often during the last week I have wished that it were all over +and these eyes closed." + +"Nay, nay, sir," said the other, in a kindly tone: "you are reserved for +better things, I trust. But the wicket is open. You had better pass +through, lest any people should come." + +The syndic and his young companion passed out into the darkness; but +Clement Tournon's steps became so feeble as they crossed the drawbridge +that Edward proposed to sit down and rest a while upon the same stone +where he had sat in the morning; and there, to amuse his mind for the +time, he spoke of his last visit to the city, and even, under shadow of +the night, alluded to Lucette. + +"Ah, dear child!" said the old man. "I heard that she had reached safely +the care of the Duc de Rohan, for he wrote to me. But such a letter! I +could not comprehend it at all. It was full of heat and anger about +something,--I know not what; for there has been no means of inquiring +since. He surely would not have had me keep her in Rochelle to suffer as +we have suffered; but yet he seemed displeased that I had sent her +away." + +"He knew not all the circumstances," answered Edward; "and these great +men are impetuous. Have you heard from her?" + +"Not a word," said the syndic, with a sigh. "And yet God knows I loved +her as a father." + +"And she loved you," said Edward; "but it was some months ere she could +possibly write, and since then Rochelle has been strictly blockaded." + +"Ah, Edward Langdale," said the old man, in a sad tone, "the young soon +forget. Joys and pleasures and the freshness of all things around them +wipe away the memories of all early affections. And it is well it should +be so. Old people forget too; but the sponge that blots out their +remembrance is filled with bitterness and gall and decay." + +Edward felt that Clement Tournon was doing injustice to Lucette; yet the +words were painful to him to hear, and he changed the subject, trying to +converse upon indifferent things, but with his mind still recurring to +the question, "Can Lucette forget so easily?" + +At the end of some half-hour he said, "Let us try now, sir, to reach the +outposts. But first take some more of this cordial. Remember what we +have at stake." + +The old man rose; but he was still very feeble, and he stumbled amongst +the low bushes at the end of the bridge. Immediately there was a call +from the walls above of "Who goes there?" and the next instant a shot +from a musket passed close by. Another succeeded, but went more wide; +and, hurrying forward Clement Tournon, Edward put as much space between +them and the walls as possible, saying, in a light tone, "Hard to be +shot at by our friends. I trust that it is an omen we shall be well +received by our enemies." + +"I cannot go so fast," said the old man. "Go you on, Master Ned: I will +follow. If they shoot me I cannot hurry." + +"No, no! we go together," replied Edward. "Here; keep along this path, +straight for that watch-fire." And, placing the old syndic before him, +he sheltered him completely from the walls with his own body. But there +was no more firing; and the only result was to scare the unhappy +Rochellois with a report that a party of the enemy had approached close +to the gates to reconnoitre. + +The distance was really very short, as we have seen, from the walls to +the royal lines; but it was long to poor Clement Tournon, and it +required all Edward's care and skill and attention to get the old man +across. But at length the challenge of the sentinel came; and it was the +most welcome sound that at that moment could meet Edward Langdale's ear. +His flask was at the last drop, and the good syndic seemed to have no +strength left. All difficulties, however, were now over. In five minutes +the young officer who had accompanied Edward from Mauzé was by their +side, with Jacques Beaupré and Pierrot; and, by the demonstrative joy of +the two latter when they beheld Clement Tournon, one would have thought +it was their father who had been rescued from death. + +"Ah, sir," exclaimed Jacques, addressing Edward, "I will never doubt +that you can do any thing again. Nobody but you in the whole world could +have done it." + +"I must beg of you, sir," said Edward to the young officer, "to obtain +some place of repose for my poor old friend here. He is incapable of +going any farther to-night; and I must away to the cardinal. These two +men can, I presume, procure wine and meat for him; for food and rest are +all that is needful." + +"Be assured, sir, all shall be attended to properly," said the young +officer, in the most courteous tone. "Monsieur de Bassompierre will be +here himself in a moment, for he says he knows and esteems this +gentleman, and we could not leave him in better hands, as I myself must +accompany you back to his Eminence, who has moved down to what they call +the Petit Chateau, some miles nearer the city." + +This brief conversation took place some fifty yards from where Clement +Tournon was seated between Pierrot and Jacques Beaupré; and at the +moment Edward uttered the last words he heard a bluff, good-humored +voice saying, "Ah! Clement Tournon, my old friend, right glad am I to +see you. So his Eminence has let you out of the cage. What, man! never +droop! we will soon restore your strength. This cardinal of ours has +heard how men tame wild beasts by keeping them on low diet, and he has +determined to try the same plan with you people of Rochelle. But I have +a nice cabin for you here in a corner of the trench, and a good soft +bed, all ready, with a boiled pullet; and we will have a good stoup of +wine together, as we had when you sold me that diamond signet." + +"Ah, sir," said the feeble voice of Clement Tournon, "you drank +seven-eighths of the stoup yourself, saying you were thirsty and needed +it. I need it most now, I fear." + +"And so you shall drink the seven-eighths now," said Bassompierre, +gayly. "Here! some one bring us a litter. We will carry him home in +triumph. The best of goldsmiths shall have the best of welcomes." + +"Farewell for a few hours," said Edward, in a low voice, approaching the +old man's side and pressing his hand. "I must away up to the cardinal, +to show him that I keep faith. But I leave you in good hands, dear +friend, and will be with you again early to-morrow." + +Thus saying, he turned away, rejoined the young officer, and rode off +with him as fast as he could go, in order to present himself before +Richelieu had retired to rest. Though probably burning with curiosity, +Edward's companion did not venture to ask any questions in regard to La +Rochelle, but merely pointed to the large packet containing the cup +which Edward carried slung to his cross-belt, saying, in a jocular tone, +"I suppose, Monsieur Langdale, that is not a _havresac_ of provision; +for they do say that article is somewhat scanty in the city." + +"Oh, no," said Edward: "this is something too hard to eat: it belongs +not to me, but to his Eminence. I wish it contained something I could +eat; for I have tasted nothing since I left you this morning." + +"They fast long in Rochelle," said the young man, dryly; "but you will +be able to get something up at the chateau." + +"I must report myself first," answered Edward; and on they rode without +further conversation. + +Edward was destined to wait longer for his supper than he expected, for +he was detained in the cardinal's ante-chamber nearly an hour. At the +end of that time, some five or six gentlemen came forth from Richelieu's +room, and Edward's name was called by the usher. The minister was +standing when the young gentleman entered, and was evidently in no humor +for prolonged conversation. + +"Have you brought the old man?" he said. + +"Yes, my lord cardinal," replied Edward. "I left him at the outposts: he +was too weak to come on." + +"Then the famine in the city is severe, I suppose," observed the +cardinal. + +"It is, your Eminence," answered Edward; "but I was permitted to see +very little." + +"Blindfolded?" asked Richelieu. + +"Yes," answered Edward. "But they may hold out some time, I think." + +"How long?" demanded the minister. + +"With their spirit, perhaps a month," replied Edward. + +"A month!" repeated Richelieu. "Impossible! Did you hear of no tumults?" + +"None whatever," replied Edward. + +"What have you there?" next demanded the cardinal, pointing to the cup +and its covers, which Edward had now detached from his belt. + +"It is that work of art I mentioned, sire," replied the young man, +taking it from the parchment bag and unwrapping the many papers which +enfolded it. + +Richelieu took it from his hands, gazed at it for a moment or two with +evident admiration, and then set it down on the table, saying, +"Beautiful! beautiful indeed! Have you heard any thing from England?" he +continued, abruptly. + +"No," answered Edward; but, instantly correcting himself, he added, +"Yes: I forgot. I found a letter waiting me; but I have not opened it. +It is merely from my old tutor." + +"Let me see it," said Richelieu, in a tone that admitted of no refusal. + +Edward took it from the pocket of his coat and gave it to him in +silence. + +Without the least ceremony, Richelieu opened it, and, after looking at +the date, gave it back again, saying, "Why, it is six months old; and I +have news not much more than seven days. The English fleet is just ready +to sail, it seems, and only waits for your mighty duke to lead them. He +will find some stones in his way before he harbors in Rochelle. But now +good-night, Monsieur Edward Langdale. Be here to-morrow betimes, and we +will talk more. Just now I am tired, and must to rest." + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + + +Space is growing short, and we have much to tell. It was several weeks +after the period of which we have just been writing when Edward Langdale +and old Clement Tournon, now restored to health and some degree of +strength, were in the cabinet of the great minister of France. Manifold +papers were before them, and Richelieu's brow was cloudy and stern; but +the old syndic of the goldsmiths of Rochelle was as calm, and seemingly +as much at ease, as when he first encountered Edward Langdale in the +streets of his city. + +"Your Eminence, they will not accept it," he said. "There are things +which you do not consider. True, they are, as you say, pressed by +famine. They may, or they may not,--for I have no correct +information,--be forced to surrender or die for want of food within four +days; but, if I know the people of Rochelle, they will die rather than +surrender, unless they have better terms than these. It is useless to +propose them. I should be in some sort deceiving your Eminence were I to +be the bearer of such offers. I know that, without the free exercise of +their religion being assured to my fellow-citizens, die they will,--of +famine or pestilence, or by cannon-balls. I cannot undertake to propose +such terms." + +"Are you aware," asked Richelieu, in slow but emphatic language, "that, +seven days ago, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was stabbed at +Portsmouth, by an assassin named Felton, and died upon the spot?" + +Edward Langdale turned pale at the terrible news; but not the slightest +mark of emotion was apparent upon the face of Clement Tournon. Old men +are not easily moved; and he was thinking only of Rochelle. + +"Possibly," he said, in a quiet tone: "I always thought he would die a +violent death. But the hopes of the people of Rochelle never rested, my +lord cardinal, upon the Duke of Buckingham." + +"Upon what, then, did they rest?" asked Richelieu, in some surprise. + +"Upon the hand of God," replied Clement Tournon; "upon the winds and +waves, his ministers. The storms which annually visit this coast have +been long delayed this year. But when they do come they will come more +fiercely; and every man in Rochelle well knows that the marvellous dyke +your Eminence has built will be but as a bed of reeds before them. +Succor will pour in the moment the port is open, and the citizens, +refreshed and comforted, will be ready to resist again all efforts to +control their consciences." + +"Pshaw!" said Richelieu: "this point of religion is but a name." + +"Not for the people of Rochelle," said Clement Tournon. "We are loyal +subjects of the King of France. We are willing to be obedient in all +temporal things; but we will never profess one faith while we hold +another: we will never resign our right to worship God according to our +own belief." + +"Well, well, that will be easily settled," said the cardinal, taking a +pen and striking three or four lines from a writing on the table. "I am +not fighting against any man's sincere faith. I am warring against +rebellion. Read that, sir. Will that be received?" + +"Not without a clause securing to the people of Rochelle the full and +free exercise of their religion," said the old syndic, resolutely. + +"That is what I mean to grant," said the cardinal,--though a slight +cloud passed over his brow and seemed to indicate that the concession +was made less willingly than he pretended. But, in truth, Richelieu had +heard that very day that the English fleet had sailed, notwithstanding +the death of the high-admiral. One severe storm, and all the labor of +long months might be destroyed, and Rochelle be as safe as ever. There +were indications in the sky, too, which threatened such an event. "That +is what I mean to grant," he repeated. "Have it put in what words you +will, so that nothing be inserted which shall give a turbulent people +pretence for levying war upon their king. Call me a secretary, Monsieur +Langdale." + +Edward obeyed; and the terms offered by the cardinal were written out +fair, with a clause guaranteeing to the Rochellois the full and +unmolested exercise of their religion. This paper formed the basis of +that remarkable treaty, soon afterward signed, which for its moderation +has been the wonder of all historians. It is true that the Cardinal de +Richelieu had many reasons for desiring peace as speedily as possible. +It is true that the Rochellois had good reason to hope that relief of +some kind would be afforded them ere long. But it is no less true that +thousands had perished of famine within those walls, and that in a few +days more no soldiers would have been found to man the walls, and +corpses only would have opposed the entrance of the royal troops. There +can be no doubt that a wise and politic clemency characterized the +proceedings of the minister, and that, had he waited till the sick +king's return to the camp, harder conditions would have been imposed. He +seems not to have heeded where the glory of success or the honor of +clemency might fall, so that his great purposes were accomplished; and, +applied to his conduct toward Rochelle, as applied to a later period of +his life, the words of one of his historians are neither fulsome nor +unjust when he said, "France triumphed within and without the realm. +Foreign enemies themselves proclaimed the superior genius of the +cardinal; and the Huguenots, even while sighing over the ruins of their +fortresses dismantled by his orders and under his eyes, could not but +acknowledge his affability, his readiness to adopt all gentle +expedients, and the fidelity with which all his engagements were +observed." + +And what became of Edward Langdale all this time? He remained in the +royal camp, not as a prisoner, not exactly free. It was impossible for +him to travel through France and to pass into England without +safe-conduct of some kind; and Edward soon divined that--whether from +suspicion, or from some other motive, he knew not--Richelieu had +determined not to let him depart till Rochelle had surrendered. The +minister became more difficult of access, also, after the king had +returned to the camp, and the long and more familiar conversations which +Edward had enjoyed with him previously were altogether at an end. He was +courteous and kind when the young man was admitted to his presence; but, +when Edward pressed for permission to depart, the answer always was, "In +a few days." On one occasion, indeed, the natural impatience of Edward +Langdale's disposition caused him to burst forth with something beyond +frankness, and he said, bluntly, "Your Eminence has promised to let me +go for the last six weeks. Now, six weeks are nothing to you, but they +are all-important to me; for I have only one crown and two livres in my +pocket, with two servants and myself to furnish, to say nothing of the +horses, who are as badly off as if they were citizens of Rochelle; and, +besides----" + +"That will be soon amended," said Richelieu, with a slight smile. "Give +me some more paper off that table." And he wrote an order upon the +treasurer of his household for the payment to Monsieur Edward Langdale +of the usual salary of a gentleman-in-ordinary to the king. + +"My lord cardinal, how am I to take this money?" asked Edward. "England +and France are still at war." + +"Then take it as a prisoner," said Richelieu, somewhat sternly. "Do not +talk nonsense, lad. But you said 'besides.' What is there besides?" + +"If you had read the letter I showed your Eminence," replied Edward, +"you would have seen that my presence is absolutely required in England +upon business of much importance to myself." + +"What letter? When? Oh, I remember,--when you brought me the cup. I +cannot help thinking, notwithstanding, you are as well here for the +time. But, speaking of the cup, I pray you put a price upon it." + +"I cannot sell a gift that was given me by my father on my birthday. The +very act of giving places an obligation on the receiver not to sell, but +none not to give; and I trust your Eminence will condescend to receive +it on the only terms on which I can part with it." + +"Well," said Richelieu, "I will take it on those terms, and will direct +my good friend Monsieur Mulot to give you back the papers that enveloped +it. They seem to belong to you; for I see the name of Langdale +frequently mentioned. Guard them safely till some more learned head than +your own has examined them, for few men know the value of scraps of old +paper. Sometimes they will raise a man to wealth and power, sometimes +throw him headlong down. God knows whether that same art of writing has +done more good or harm in the world. Cadmus, who invented letters, they +say, was the same man who sowed the serpents' teeth and reaped an iron +harvest. Is not this an allegory, Master Langdale? Go and consider of +it; for I am busy just now." + +Not long after this conversation, the good but stupid Father Mulot +brought to the young gentleman the bundle of papers in which the cup had +been enveloped, and entered into a long disquisition upon the various +differences between the Catholic and Protestant faiths. He was evidently +bent upon converting his hearer from his religious errors; but Edward +was obdurate to the kind of eloquence which he displayed, and the good +man left him rather in pity than in anger. To examine the papers was +Edward's next task; but he could make nothing of them. Some pages were +wanting; others were mutilated; and, though he saw his father's and his +mother's name in many places, yet but little light could be obtained as +to the import of the documents in which they were mentioned. Only one +gleam of significance appeared throughout the whole. There was one +passage which stated that "Richard Langdale, baronet, with the full and +free consent of his wife, Dame Heleonora Langdale, in virtue of the last +will and testament of Henry Barmont, her uncle, lord of the manor of +Buckley as aforesaid, which consent was testified by her hand and seal +unto the within-written lease and demise, did lease, give, and grant +unto William Watson, his heirs and assigns, for the term of twenty-one +years from the fifth day of----" + +There the manuscript stopped, the page which followed being torn off; +but at the same time, though he had no knowledge of law, Edward could +perceive that an admission of the absolute rights of his mother over the +manor of Buckley, under the will of her uncle, was implied. He resolved, +then, to follow the advice of the cardinal and preserve the papers with +care. But still his detention in France was exceedingly annoying. The +letter of Dr. Winthorne had pressed him earnestly to return to England; +and other thoughts and feelings were busy in his bosom urging him in the +same direction. He felt himself something more than bound--shackled--by +his engagement with Lord Montagu. Without any definite cause of +complaint, the links which attached him to that nobleman had been +broken. He felt that he had been doubted without cause, that he had been +neglected and forgotten in a moment of difficulty and peril, and that +the confidence which had at one time existed between his lord and +himself could never be fully restored. Such were the reasons which he +urged upon himself to explain the desire he felt for severing the +connection. But perhaps there was another motive which he did not choose +to scrutinize so accurately. Fifteen months had passed since he had +promised the Cardinal de Richelieu not to seek his young bride for the +space of two years, and Richelieu had promised him that at the end of +those two years she should be his. He had no absolute certainty of where +she was; he knew not what might have become of her; he could only frame +vague, wild plans for finding and recovering her; and nine months, +without a long journey to England, seemed to his impatient heart not +more than time sufficient to vanquish all the obstacles which might lie +between him and her. + +In the idleness of the camp, without post, duty, or occupation, his mind +naturally rested for hours each day upon youth's favorite theme. The +imaginative--perhaps I may say the poetical--temperament which he had +inherited from his mother, and which had hitherto in life found few +opportunities of development and little or no encouragement amidst the +hard realities with which he had had to deal, had now full sway, and +sometimes soothed, sometimes tormented him with alternate hopes and +fears. + +Lucette was often the theme of his conversation with good Clement +Tournon, who was daily regaining health and strength. The old syndic +asked many questions as to Lucette's journey, and told Edward many of +the rumors which had reached Rochelle; but it was evident that he knew +nothing of that part of Lucette's history which was the most interesting +to his young hearer. Feelings which it is needless to dwell upon +prevented Edward from referring to it himself; and day after day he +would ride forth into the country alone, or walk up and down in the +neighborhood of the cardinal's residence, buried in solitary thought. + +To the country-house now inhabited by Richelieu was attached a garden in +an antique taste, where roses had now ceased to bloom and the flowers of +summer had all passed away. But it was a quiet and solitary place, for +the taste of neither soldiers nor courtiers led them that way, and, +though the gates were always open, it was rarely that any one trod the +walks, except one of the cooks with white night-cap on head seeking +pot-herbs in a bed which lay at the lower part of the ground. Edward +Langdale was more frequently there than anywhere else; and one day, +toward evening, as he was walking up and down in one of the cross-walks, +he saw the cardinal come forth from the building alone and take his way +straight down the centre alley, looking first down upon the ground and +then up toward the sky, as a man wearied with the thoughts and cares +and business of the day. It seemed no moment to approach him; and Edward +somewhat hurried his pace toward a small gate at the end of the garden. +He had nearly reached it when the cardinal's voice stopped him. + +"Come hither," said Richelieu, "and, if you are inclined to talk of no +business, walk here by me. It is strange that amongst all who are here +there is hardly one man with whom one's mind can refresh itself. My +friend Bois Robert is too full of jest. It becomes tiresome. Good Father +Mulot (whom they should have called Mulet) is full of one idea,--the +conversion of heretics, by fire and sword, pestilence and famine, or +what else you like,--though I cannot see why to prevent them from being +damned in the other world I should be damned in this. I know the verses +of Horace are against me, and that every man unreasonably complains of +his fate; but I cannot help thinking that of all the conditions in the +world the fate of a prime minister is the most anxious, laborious, and +tiresome." + +"I should think so indeed, your Eminence," said Edward, with a sigh. + +"Ha!" said Richelieu: "then you are so little ambitious as to deem it +has no advantages?" + +"Not so, my lord," replied Edward. "It has vast and magnificent +advantages,--the power to do good, to stop evil, to reward the worthy, +ay, and even to punish the bad,--to save and elevate one's country. But +great and valuable things must always be purchased at a high price; and +I can easily conceive that the sense of responsibility, the opposition +of petty factions and base intrigues, the stupidity of some men, the +cunning devices of others, the importunity and the ingratitude of all, +the want of domestic peace, the continual sacrifice of personal comfort, +must make the high position your Eminence speaks of any thing but a bed +of roses." + +"You shall have your safe-conduct to-morrow morning," said Richelieu. +"Such sentiments are sufficient to corrupt the whole court of France. +Sir, if they were to become general, and men would but act upon them, I +should have nothing to do. There would be nobody to envy me. Nobody +would try to overthrow me. They would only look upon me as the +wheel-horse of the car of state, and wonder that I could pull along so +patiently. The ingratitude of all!" he repeated, in a meditative tone. +"Ay, it is but too true! Those are the petrifying waters which harden +the heart and seem to turn the very spirit into stone. Do you know what +has been done within this hour, Monsieur Langdale?" + +"No," replied the young Englishman: "I have heard of nothing important, +sir." + +"Why, I thought it must be at the gates of Paris by this time," said +Richelieu. "A treaty has been signed with Rochelle; and a good man--a +marvellous good man in his way--says I am no true Catholic, because I +will not starve some thousands of men to death or make them take the +mass with a lie upon their mouths. I do not understand his reasoning, +but that is my fault, of course; but through this very treaty of +Rochelle I think I shall make more real Catholics than he would make +false ones. But now, Monsieur Langdale, you think I have kept you here +unreasonably; but you are mistaken. I wished to have news from various +quarters ere I suffered you to go back to England. I need not tell you +to return by the month of July next; but, for many reasons, I desire you +should return before. I leave it to yourself to do so or not; but you +will find it for your benefit. To-morrow you shall have all necessary +passes,--though it is probable that the fall of this very city of +Rochelle will lead to peace between France and England. If it do so, +remember a conversation which took place between us a good many months +ago." + +"I will not forget it, my lord," replied Edward. "I believe I have +always kept my word to your Eminence." + +"You have," said Richelieu. "You have. Would to God I could say the same +of all men! And, now, what money will you want for your passage?" + +"None, your Eminence," replied Edward. "I have a little property in +England, the rents of which accumulated while I was lodged and fed by +good Monsieur de Bourbonne; and I can get what I want at Rochelle." + +"Oh, go not into that miserable place!" said Richelieu,--"at least not +till all the bodies are interred and it is free from pestilence. This +siege will ever be memorable in the annals of the world for the +sufferings of the people, and for the resolution of their leaders also. +I can admire great qualities even in my enemies. But here comes Tronson +to call me to the king. Come to me to-morrow." + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + + +Four days more passed before Edward actually got his proper passes and +safe-conduct; but then they came in the most precise style and ample +form. His whole person was described with accuracy. He was mentioned as +a young English gentleman attached to Lord Montagu, travelling under the +particular protection of his Majesty the King of France, with two +_palfreniers_ and other servants and attendants; and all governors of +towns and provinces, and officers civil and military, as well throughout +the realm of France as in neighboring countries in amity with that +power, were directed not only to let him freely pass and give him aid +and assistance, but to show him every hospitable attention and courtesy +on his journey or journeys in any direction whatsoever during the next +two years ensuing. The whole was signed by the king's own hand and +countersigned by the cardinal. Though I possess one of these passports +myself on parchment, signed with an immense "_Louis_," I regret to say +it does not have the countersignature of Richelieu; but it is certain +that they were occasionally given under his administration also. At all +events, Edward comprehended that, wherever he bent his steps, no more +interruptions of his journey would occur on the part of any of the +officers of the crown. + +The cardinal himself he could not see before his departure, for those +were very busy times; but on the sixth day the young gentleman +re-entered the city of Rochelle with his good friend Clement Tournon, +and went direct to the syndic's house. The royal soldiers were in +possession of the place; the walls were in progress of demolition; and +there was an aspect of disappointment and sadness upon the faces of the +people generally, though some were rejoicing openly in the return of +peace and plenty, little heeding the loss of a certain degree of that +liberty which they had at one time cherished as the best of human +possessions. + +The royal forces, however, had not confined themselves to razing the +fortifications, but, with that good-humor which is one of the chief and +most amiable characteristics of the French people, had aided the +citizens in burying the dead, in cleansing the streets, and in purifying +the town generally, so that, on the whole, the city bore a much more +cheerful and happy appearance than it had done when Edward had last +visited it. In the court before the house of the old syndic, two of the +apprentices were busy rooting out the grass from between the stones; and +Marton herself, with a gay face, though it was still somewhat pale and +thin, came running down to greet her old master. These were all that +remained of the once numerous household; and the joy of his return to +his ancient dwelling was mingled with sufficient bitterness to draw some +natural tears from Clement Tournon's eyes. + +Many little incidents occurred to Edward Langdale during his short stay +in Rochelle which we need not dwell upon here. Amongst the servants of +his host he was in some sort a hero for the part he had taken in saving +their beloved master. Several of the citizens, too, came to visit him; +and, in the stormy night of the 2d of November, Guiton himself, wrapped +in his large mantle, presented himself to pass an hour or two with his +old friend and the syndic's young guest. + +It was a night very memorable,--much like that on which Edward had +crossed the seas some eighteen months before. The winds burst in sharp +gusts over the town, still rising in force, and howling as they rose; +the casement shook and rattled, the tiles were swept from the roofs and +dashed to pieces in the streets, and rain mingled with sleet dashed in +the faces of the passers-by. Many died that night of those who were +still sick in the hospitals. The conversation of the mayor was by no +means cheerful. He had been forced into his high position against his +own desire; he had drawn the sword unwillingly, but, full of energy and +hope, he had sheathed it with even less willingness, and saw in the +surrender of Rochelle the ruin of the Protestant cause and the +destruction of the religious liberties of France. His heart was +depressed, and all his thoughts seemed gloomy. Once, when one of the +fiercest gusts shook the house, he burst forth in an absent tone, +exclaiming, "Ay, blow! blow! You may blow now without doing any damage +to Fortune's favorite! By the Lord in Heaven, Mr. Langdale, it would +seem that this man Richelieu's fortunes have even bent the clouds and +storms to his subjection! Here that tempestuous sea which was never +known for six weeks to an end to be without storm and shipwreck has been +as calm and tranquil as a fish-pond in a garden for months--ever since +that accursed dyke was first commenced; and now no sooner is Rochelle +lost than up rises the spirit of the tempest. Hark how it howls! At high +tide half the dyke that has ruined us will be swept away! Mark my words, +young gentleman: by this time to-morrow all the succors which we needed +so many months will be able to enter our port in safety." + +And it was so. On the following day, more than forty toises of the dyke +were carried away, and a fleet of small wine-vessels from the +neighboring country entered the harbor without difficulty. + +The storm raged fiercely for the next two days; and the time was spent +in friendly intercourse by Clement Tournon and Edward Langdale, who +wished to embark from Rochelle but could find no vessel ready or willing +to put to sea. + +Of all the remarkable changes which have taken place in the state of +society during the last two hundred years--changes which produce and +will daily produce other changes--none is so wonderful as in the +facility of locomotion. The change from the caterpillar to the butterfly +is not so great. Go back two hundred years, and you will find nothing +but delay and uncertainty. Ay, within a shorter space than that, the +back of your own horse, the inconvenient inside of a heavy coach going +three miles in an hour, or the still slower wagon with its miscellaneous +denizens, or the post-horse with its postilion riding beside it, were, +in every part of Europe, the only means afforded to the traveller of +journeying from place to place over the land; while over the water slow +ships could only be found occasionally at certain ports, and their +departure and arrival depended upon a thousand other chances and events +than the pleasure of the winds and waves. It is only wonderful that a +voyage did not occupy a lifetime. Now----But it is no use telling my +reader what this now is. He knows it so well that he forgets even the +inconveniences that he himself has suffered, perhaps a score or two of +years ago, and can hardly conceive the possibility of the hardships, the +troubles and disappointments, of a journey in the seventeenth century, +till he takes up some of the memoirs or romances of that day, and finds +a whole host of minor miseries recorded which render an expedition to +Mount Sinai at present but a joke in comparison. It is true that our +present system has its evils as well as its benefits, viewed by +different persons according to their different professional or habitual +tastes. The picturesque traveller will tell you that you lose one-half +of the scenery; the timid traveller, that you risk breaking your neck; +the police-officer, that thieves and swindlers get off much more easily +than they used to do; and members of Parliament, that their constituents +are a great deal too near at hand. But there are compensations for all +these little troubles and especially in the case of those of the +police-officer; for, if the thief or swindler has easy means of getting +away, there are--thanks to electric telegraphs--more easy means still of +catching him. + +All Edward's preparations were made: the calculation of what rents had +accumulated in the hands of good Dr. Winthorne was easy also, and to get +the amount in gold and silver was easier still, with Clement Tournon at +his right hand. But, as there seemed, upon inquiry, no probability +whatever of a ship sailing from Rochelle within a reasonable time, +Edward determined to run across the country to Calais, between which +port and England there always has been a desultory trade carried on, +even in time of war, down to the reign of the third George. + +"I shall see you soon again, Edward," said old Clement Tournon, as the +young gentleman descended the stairs to mount his horse. + +"I trust so," said Edward. "But I really cannot tell how soon I shall +return." + +"Nor I how soon I shall go over," said the old man, with a smile. "I +have business myself at Huntingdon; and if you are in that neighborhood +a month hence we shall meet there. You have told me all the places where +you intend to stop, and I have made a note of it,--so that I shall +easily find you wherever you are." + +Edward was surprised, but not so much, perhaps, as might be expected; +for, from vague hints which his good old host had let drop, he had +gathered that Clement Tournon, steadfast and perhaps a little bigoted in +the Protestant faith, had a strong inclination to make England his +future home. He had been there often; he loved the country and the +people, and still more the religion; and most of the ties between him +and Rochelle seemed to have been severed when the city lost its +independence. Often in Edward's hearing he had called England the land +of comfort and peace,--alas! it was not destined long to remain so,--and +even that very day he had remarked that the state of France, with its +constant broils, intrigues, and factions, might suit a young and +aspiring spirit, but was not fitted for declining years. + +He and his young friend parted with deep and mutual regret. It is seldom +that so much friendship ever exists between the old and the young; but +each might feel that he owed the other his life, not by any sudden act +which might be the result of a momentary impulse, but by calm, +determined, persevering kindness, which could not but have a deeper +source. + +This has been a very short chapter: but we may as well change the scene; +for our space, according to the law of Goths and Vandals, which altereth +not, is very short, alas! + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + + +The days of _vis-à-vis_ lined with sky-blue velvet had not come, though, +as any one who is read in the pleasant Antoine Hamilton must know, one +generation was sufficient to produce them. But, had they been in +existence, there were no roads for them to travel upon; for we hear that +just about this time one of the presidents of the Parliament of Paris +lost his life by the great imprudence of travelling in a large heavy +coach over a French country-road. + +I was in great hope at this place to be enabled to introduce, for the +gratification of my readers, a solitary horseman. But I am disappointed; +for Edward Langdale, now that I have again to bring him on the scene, +had good Pierrot la Grange with him. And it would never do to have a +solitary horseman two. + +It was on a road, then, leading from London into the heart of the +country, that Lord Montagu's page--Lord Montagu's page no longer, for he +had formally resigned his attendance upon that nobleman--rode along, on +a cold, bright, wintry evening, with the renowned Pierrot la Grange, +whose face, by adherence to the total-abstinence system, though much +less brilliant in hue, had become much smoother, plumper, and fairer. +Both he and his master were well armed, as was the custom of the day, +and each was a likely man enough to repel any thing like attack on the +part of others; for be it remarked that Edward Langdale was very much +changed by the passage of twenty months over his head since first we +introduced him to the reader. He was broader, stronger, older, in +appearance; and, though of course there was nothing of the mould of age +about him, yet all the batterings and bruisings he had gone through had +certainly stamped manhood both on his face and form. He had a very +tolerable beard also,--at least as far as mustache and royal were +concerned,--trimmed in that shape which the pencil of Vandyke has +transmitted to us in his portraits of some of the most memorable +characters in modern history. It is probable that he had grown a little +also; for at his age men will grow, notwithstanding all the world will +do to keep them down. He was, in short, somewhat above the middle +height, though not a very tall man,--of that height which is more +serviceable in the field than in the ring. + +At the crossing of two roads, one of which ran into Cambridgeshire, +while the other took toward Huntingdon, was a small, low inn: I mean low +in structure, for it was by no means low in character. It was one of the +neatest inns I ever set my eyes on,--for it was standing in my day and +is probably standing still,--with its neat well-whitewashed front, its +carved doorway, its various gables, and its mullioned windows and the +lozenge-shaped panes set in primitive lead. To the right of the inn, as +you looked from the door upon the road, was a very neat farm-yard, half +full of golden straw, with a barn and innumerable chickens,--chanticleers +of all hues and colors, and dame partlets of every breed. Beyond the +barn, at the distance of fifty or sixty yards, ran a beautiful clear +stream, which crossed both the roads very nearly at their bifurcation, +and which, though so shallow as only to wash gently the fetlocks of the +passengers' horses, was, and must be still, renowned for its beautiful +trout, silvery, with gold and crimson spots and the flesh the color of a +blush-rose. On the other side of the stream, about a quarter of a mile +farther up, was a picturesque little mill, with a group of towering +Huntingdon poplars shading it on the east. + +Here Edward Langdale drew in his horse, although the sun was not fully +down. + +God knows what made him do so, for he had proposed to ride farther: but +there was an aspect of peace and rural beauty and contented happiness +about the whole place which might touch that latent poetry in his +disposition already alluded to. Or it might be that all the fierce +scenes of strife and turmoil and care and danger he had passed through +in the last twenty months had made his heart thirsty for a little calm +repose; and where could he find it so well as there? Expectation, +however, is always destined to be disappointed. This is the great moral +of the fable of life. The people of the house, who had much respect for +a man who came with an armed servant and whose saddle-bags were well +stuffed, gave him a clean, comfortable room looking over the court-yard +to the river, and served him his supper in the chamber underneath. + +It was night before he sat down; but, before the fine broiled trout had +disappeared, the sound of several horses' feet was heard from the road, +and then that of voices calling for hostlers and stable-boys. + +Edward had easily divined, from his first entrance into the house, that +this which he now occupied was the only comfortable public room in the +inn,--although there was another on the other side of the passage, where +neighboring farmers held their meetings and smoked their pipes. He +expected, therefore, that his calm little supper would be interrupted, +and was not at all surprised to see a gentleman of good mien, a little +below the middle age, followed by two or three attendants, enter the +parlor and throw himself into a chair. + +The stranger cast a hasty and careless glance around, and then gave some +directions to one of his followers in the French language. It was not +the sort of half French spoken a good deal in the court of England at +that time, but whole, absolute, perfect French, with French idioms and a +French tongue. + +As long as the conversation referred to nothing more than boots and +baggage and supper and good wine, Edward took no notice, but went on +with his meal, anxious to finish it as soon as possible. But soon after, +when the person the stranger had been speaking to had left the room, +that gentleman began a different sort of discourse with another of his +followers, and commented pretty freely, and with some wit, upon the +state of parties at the court of England. + +"Your pardon for interrupting you," said Edward at once. "My servant and +myself both understand French; and it would be neither civil nor honest +to overhear your conversation without giving you that warning." + +The other thanked him for his courtesy, adding, "You are a Frenchman, of +course?" + +"Not so," answered Edward. "I am an Englishman; but I have spent some +time in France." + +Next came a great number of those questions which nobody can put so +directly without any lack of politeness as a Frenchman:--how long he had +lived in France; whom he knew there; when he had left it. + +Edward answered all very vaguely, for he never had any great relaxation +of tongue; but the stranger caught at the admission that he had been +only a fortnight in England, exclaiming, "Then you must have been in +France when Rochelle surrendered." + +"I was," answered the young gentleman: "it is not quite three weeks +since I left that city." + +"Ha!" said the stranger, eyeing him from head to foot. "Will you favor +me, sir, by telling me the state of the place and the condition of its +inhabitants? It is a subject in which I take a great interest. Methinks +they surrendered somewhat promptly when succor was so near." + +"Not so, sir," replied Edward. "When men have nothing to eat,--when they +have seen their fathers, and their brothers, and their mothers, and +their sisters, die of famine in their streets,--when the very rats and +mice of a city are all consumed, and the wharves have been stripped of +mussels and limpets,--they must either die or surrender. There is no use +of dying; for death is the worst sort of capitulation, and the city +becomes the enemy's without even a parchment promise." + +"Ay; and was it really so bad?" said the other. + +"More than one-third of the inhabitants had died," said Edward; "another +third were dying; and the rest were so feeble that the walls might be +said to be manned by living corpses." + +"You excite my curiosity and my compassion," said the other. "May I ask +if you had any command in Rochelle?" + +"None," replied the young gentleman. "By accident I was in it for a day +during the siege, and saw how much they could endure. I was in it also +immediately after the siege, and saw how much they had endured. Though +Rochelle fell at last, her defence is one of the most glorious facts in +French history." + +The stranger looked down upon the ground and replied nothing for several +minutes; but his companion with whom he had been conversing familiarly +took up the conversation, and asked after several of the citizens of +Rochelle whom Edward was personally acquainted with or knew by name. The +solemn words, "He is dead", "She is dead", "All the family died by +famine", "He died of the pestilence", were of sad recurrence. "But +then", the stranger remarked, "we know that Guiton is alive; for he +signed the treaty." + +"He tried hard to die first," said Edward. "But nothing seemed to break +his iron frame, and the people became clamorous." + +"And what became of the good old syndic Tournon?" asked the first +stranger. + +"He is alive and well," answered Edward. + +"Ah! but he would have been dead and buried," exclaimed Pierrot, who +could refrain no longer, "if it had not been for you, sir." + +"Indeed?" said the stranger. "Let me inquire how that happened." + +"It matters not, sir," replied Edward, making a sign to Pierrot to hold +his tongue. "What the man says may be partly true, partly mistaken; but, +although I am willing to give any one interested general news, I must +decline referring to matters entirely personal when conversing with +strangers." + +"Well, then, let us talk of other subjects," said the first stranger. "I +cannot consent to part with a gentleman lately from my own land, so soon +as that movement of your plate seems to imply. Supper I shall take none; +for the news that has flowed in upon me for the last fortnight, has not +tended to strengthen my appetite. Wine, however,--the resource of the +sad and the sorry,--I must have. They tell me it is good here. Will you +allow me to try some of that which stands at your right hand?" + +Edward ordered Pierrot to bring some fresh glasses, and put the bottle +over to his self-invited guest. The stranger drank some, and, saying, +"It is very fair," immediately ordered more to be brought, while +Pierrot, bending over Edward's chair as if to remove the dish before +him, whispered in his ear, "It is the Prince de Soubise." + +With all his habitual self-command, Edward could not refrain from a +slight start. The color, too, mounted in his cheek with some feelings of +anger; but he was glad of the warning, and did not suffer what was +passing in his heart to appear. The conversation turned in a different +course from that which it had before assumed, Soubise referring no more +to the subject of Rochelle, though his companion, who seemed a friend of +inferior rank, often turned toward that topic. Whenever he did so, the +prince immediately asked some question as to Edward's knowledge of +France and its inhabitants; and the young gentleman, to say the truth, +took some pleasure, after the first effects of surprise were over, in +puzzling him by his answers. He had passed over so much of France that +his intimate acquaintance with the country excited Soubise's +astonishment; and from localities his questions turned to persons. "As +you have been in Lorraine," he said, "you have probably seen the +beautiful and witty Duchesse de Chevreuse." + +"I have the honor of knowing her well," replied Edward. + +"Do you know the Duc de Montbazon?" asked the prince. + +"Not in the least," replied Edward. + +"The Cardinal de Richelieu?" continued Soubise. + +"I have seen his Eminence frequently," said the young gentleman, "and +have had audiences of him; but, as to knowing the cardinal, that can be +said but by few, I imagine." + +Soubise smiled. "The duchess is more easily known," he answered; "but +the death of her lover Chalais must have affected her much,--poor thing! +Did you ever meet with him?" + +"Not exactly," replied Edward, with a slight shudder at the memory. "I +saw his head cut off, but did not know him personally." + +The reference caused a momentary pause in the conversation; and then +Soubise said, in an indifferent tone, "As you have been much in that +part of the country, you must have probably seen a Duc de Rohan." + +"I had the honor of meeting him once," replied Edward, fully on his +guard. + +"He is a relation of mine," said Soubise. + +Edward merely bowed his head, and the prince proceeded to ask if there +had been any news of him current when the young gentleman was in France. + +"The last I heard of him," said Edward, "was a rumor that, after +menacing the right of the king's army till a party had been sent out to +cut off his retreat, he had, by a skilful night-march through the woods +in the rear, effected his escape and fallen back upon Saintonge." + +Soubise seemed desirous of prolonging the conversation; but Edward soon +after retired to his chamber, resolved to be up by sunrise and pursue +his way. His determination was vain, however. Though he was on foot +early, Soubise was up before him; and they met at the door of the inn, +where their horses were already standing. A quiet bow on either part was +their only salutation; and, as there were two roads, Edward would +willingly have seen which the prince selected. As he did not mount, +however, the young gentleman followed the path he had previously +proposed to take,--namely, that toward Huntingdon,--and three or four +minutes after heard the more numerous party of Soubise coming up at good +speed. + +"Ah, young gentleman," said the prince, riding up to his side, "so we +are going the same way. Permit me to bear you company." + +Edward bowed his head somewhat coldly, for he did not desire the +companionship. He might have learned some policy in the varied life he +had led, and it certainly would have been politic in him to court the +good opinion of the man by his side; but, even had the nature of his +character permitted it, he believed it would be of no use. Generous and +frank, Soubise was known to be somewhat obstinate as well as hasty; and +Edward thought, "I would rather win her in spite of him than by his +aid." + +Their journey, therefore, did not promise to be very agreeable; and, +when the prince demanded which way his course ultimately lay, the young +gentleman replied, "I go toward Huntingdon, sir; but, if that is the +direction of your journey, I shall have to leave you before we reach the +town, for I have to turn off the highroad some miles on this side of +Buckden." + +"And so have I," said Soubise; "but we may as well make the way pleasant +by each other's society as long as our roads lie together. Do you know +this country as well as you know France?" + +"This part of the country," replied Edward; "for I was born and brought +up not many miles from where we are now riding." + +"Indeed!" said the prince. "I should have thought by your speech you had +passed the greater part of your life in my own land. Do you know what +that little river is just before us?" + +"It is the Ivil," answered Edward, "which runs into the Ouse lower +down." + +"The Ouse!" said Soubise. "I do not know much English, but that seems to +me an ugly name. If I recollect, Ouse means mud,--slime." + +"We are a plain-spoken people," answered the young man, "and usually +give things the name we think they deserve. The Ouse in many places is a +sluggish, muddy stream; and our good ancestors applied the name they +judged most appropriate." + +"'Tis as well they do," said Soubise, with a sigh. "We in France have a +different habit. Our more excitable imaginations take fire at a name, +and we are apt to decorate very plain things with fanciful appellations; +but this leads to frequent disappointment. Which is the happiest people +must depend upon whether it is best in a hard world to see things as +they are, or to see them as we would have them." + +"We are often forced to see them as they are," replied Edward; "and if +we always did so there would be no disappointments." + +"Nor much happiness," said Soubise. + +Thus conversing, they rode on. But we must pass lightly over the talk +with which they enlivened the way, merely observing that Lucette's +cousin rose not inconsiderably in Edward's opinion as they went. Nay, +more: his manners were so graceful, his thoughts so just, his +conversation so varied, that the young Englishman could not but feel +pleased with his company and inclined to like himself. Still, in the +true English spirit, he said, in his own heart, "Oh, yes, he is very +charming now he is in a good humor. The devil is so when he is pleased; +but methinks I could conjure forth the horns and hoofs if I were but to +tell him who I am." + +At length the scenes through which they passed became painfully familiar +to Edward's eye,--spots he had known well, cottages he had visited, +houses belonging to old friends of his family. The very trees and shrubs +and little water-courses seemed like old acquaintances calling back +times past and appealing to regret. He grew grave and cold. The chilly +feeling which had first fallen upon him not many years before, but which +had somewhat passed away during the last few months, returned, and many +memories, as ever, brought their long train of sorrows with them. + +Not far from Little Barford, a fine sloping lawn came down to the +road-side, separated from the highway merely by a thick, well-trimmed +hedge broken by some fine groups of trees; and, looking up, a large +square house with many windows, and a trim garden terraced and +ornamented with urns and statues, could be seen at the distance of a +quarter of a mile. There were several men in the grounds engaged in +various country-employments, and Edward said, within himself, "He is +taking care of the place, at all events." + +At the same moment Soubise observed, "That is a fine chateau! Do you +know to whom it belongs, and what it is called? It is so long since I +was in this part of England that I forget the places." + +"That is called Buckley Hall," replied Edward. "It belongs to Sir +Richard Langdale." + +"How is that?" said Soubise, suddenly, as if something surprised him. +But Edward did not answer, and the prince merely said, "Let us pull up +for an instant and look at it." + +It was torture to Edward to stay; but he paused for a moment, and then +said, "I fear I must go on, for I have still some distance to ride. My +road, too, lies here to the left." + +"Ay?" said Soubise; "so does mine. Let us go on." + +"Are you sure you are right?" asked Edward Langdale. "Huntingdon is +straight before you." + +"Oh, I am right," answered the prince: "I turn just beyond Buckley." + +Edward had nothing more to say; but he could not help beginning to think +that his adventure with the two blacksmiths seemed likely to come over +again. Somewhat quickening their pace, they rode on, and Edward made an +effort to cast off the melancholy mood which had fallen upon him, and +even the impression which the unsought society of a man who had spoken +of him in such insulting terms had produced at first, and the +conversation between him and Soubise became lively and cheerful. Mile +after mile passed; and at length, after proceeding for more than an hour +and a half, on a little bank by the side of the river appeared an old +church with its gray ivy-clad tower and groups of yews in the +churchyard. Beyond, at the distance of some two or three hundred yards, +was one of those fine antique houses, built of stone, which were erected +in the end of Elizabeth's reign and in the earlier part of that of the +most pompous and conceited of kings. Thick walls, small square windows, +little useless towers, and somewhat peaked roofs, spoke a good deal of +King James. But the lawn, as soft as velvet, the groups of shrubs, and +the garden, well trimmed and swept even in the winter-time, told a tale +of more modern taste. + +"I fear I shall have to quit you here, sir," said Edward, as they +approached the gate with its two massy stone pillars and large balls at +the top. "This is the end of my journey." + +"What is the name of this place?" asked Soubise. + +"Applethorpe," answered Edward,--"the residence of Dr. Winthorne." + +"Ha?" said Soubise; "then we shall not part so soon. This is the end of +my journey also." + +Edward could not refrain from turning round and gazing in his face with +a look of most profound surprise; but the prince made no further remark, +and, after pulling in their horses while one of the servants dismounted +and opened the gates they rode up to the large arched door of the +house. A heavy bell hanging outside soon brought forth an old domestic, +dressed in dark gray, who gazed earnestly first at Soubise and then at +Edward, both of whom had sprung to the ground while he was opening the +door. At first he evidently recognised neither; but a moment after the +light of honest satisfaction brightened his countenance, and, holding +forth his hand to Edward, he exclaimed, "Oh, Master Ned, how glad I am +to see you, and how glad the doctor will be! He has been looking for you +for months. But he is not at home now, and may not come back for an +hour. But come in; come in. Every thing is ready for you. Your old room +is just as you left it,--not a book moved, nor a gun, nor a fishing-rod: +only when I went in to-day to dust the things, I saw the ink had dried +up in the horn, and was going to put in fresh this very day." + +Edward shook the old man warmly by the hand; and, turning to the Prince +de Soubise, he said, "If I understood you right, sir, you came to visit +Dr. Winthorne. He is out, the servant says; but I have interest enough +in this house to invite you to enter till his return. He will be back in +an hour, and happy, I am sure, to entertain you. But, knowing my old +preceptor's habits well, allow me to hint that it will be necessary to +send your attendants into the village, as I shall send my servant; for, +being a clergyman, he objects to have in his house what he calls +'swash-buckler serving-men;' and his rule apply to all, however high the +quality of his guests." + +Soubise smiled; and, ushering him into the library, Edward proceeded, +amidst the somewhat garrulous joy of the old footman, to direct Pierrot +to take the other men down to the village inn, to tell the host there to +attend on them well, "for Master Ned's sake," and then to return as soon +as might be with his saddle-bags. + +The prince merely ordered his baggage to be brought up, directing his +men to take care of themselves, and seeming fully satisfied that he +would be a welcome guest. He took some books from the shelves of the +library, examined them cursorily, and put them back, saying, "The good +doctor seems to have improved much in worldly matters. He has attained, +apparently, the state he always desired,--competency, and enough to +have a good library. Can any one imagine a man more happy?" + +"Perhaps not," said Edward, gravely. "I believe circumscribed desires +and moderate fortunes attain the height of human felicity." + +"Not so," said Soubise. "I believe every human life must be looked at as +an aggregate; and skilful would be the calculator who could reduce to an +exact sum how much joy and how much sorrow are required to equivale a +given portion of calm and unimpassioned existence. All these things are +as the individual views them. We have nothing in this life by which to +measure the real value of any object but our own tastes. You may like a +pearl better than a diamond; I may esteem the flashing lustre of the one +more than the calm serenity of the other. That man is only happy who +obtains what he really desires. But here come our men, I see, with the +baggage." + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + + +The Prince de Soubise stood at the window of the library of Applethorpe +alone; for Edward had made an excuse to leave him, not thinking himself +bound to play the host in a house which was not his, nor to act as the +entertainer of a man whom he had some good cause, as he thought, to +dislike. Soubise was then past forty, however, and he did not--as indeed +who does in middle life?--look upon trifles with the serious view which +one takes of them in earlier years. "Hasty and quick in quarrel" applies +to small as well as great things; and Heaven knows how much patience we +acquire each day by the mere habit of endurance. He received the young +man's apology in good part, then; and, while Edward Langdale went to +speak to every old servant and then to change his travel-stained dress, +he stood, as I have said, at the window and gazed forth upon a scene to +be viewed in no other country under the sky,--a home scene of English +life. It is probably of no age, of no time; for it is an impress of the +mind and character of the people. But I must not dwell upon it. The +chapter of descriptions has gone by. Soubise gazed out, compared that +which was before his eyes with that on which they might have rested in +his own country, admired what he saw, and perhaps, in the desponding +mood which certainly then affected him, felt sorry that France had not +so calm, so peaceful, and so happy a look as an English country-village. + +After he had continued gazing for some ten minutes, upon the road before +him appeared an elderly man upon a fine stout horse, with clerical hat +and cassock turned up, and a servant following him on a still better +beast. They both rode fast; and, though the first sat his steed somewhat +after the fashion of a sack of wheat, it was clear that the saddle was +quite familiar to him, and the slouching shoulders and negligent air +were more the consequences of perfect ease and habit than of +awkwardness. The servant pulled back the gate: his master dashed +through, and in a moment after Dr. Winthorne was at the door. + +The old footman ran forth to give him entrance, and a few words passed, +of which Soubise only heard the words, "Ned come back? Tell the dear +fellow to come down. A stranger? Well, we must see strangers." And the +door of the library opened. + +Dr. Winthorne gazed at Soubise, and the prince at him, without any sign +of recognition as they approached each other. But suddenly the reverend +gentleman stopped, exclaiming, "God bless me! Monsieur Soubise! On my +life, sir, I am glad to see you. When did you come over? How fares it +with you? You are older by a good deal, but you look well. I am +right?--surely the Prince de Soubise?" + +"The same, my good old friend," said the prince. "I am not surprised you +doubt, for I feel I am much changed. It is ten long years since we met, +and with me they have been stormy years." + +"So I have heard," said the good doctor, "though news travels but slowly +in our poor country. But I have watched your noble struggles as closely +as I could; and I have felt great interest in them all, though +you--every one of you--made great mistakes. And now Rochelle is lost. +God help us! It is a sad case; but she could hold out no longer; and +that Mayor Guiton is a noble man." + +"He is indeed," said Soubise; "and his character has risen in my opinion +by what has been told me by a young gentleman who came hither with +me----" + +"Odds-my-life!" cried the old doctor, "my boy Ned!--Ned Langdale! I must +go, prince,--I must go and hug him. Sir, he is as fine a youth as ever +lived, and ought to be a great man. God send he may escape it! But I +have not seen him yet. Excuse me: I will be back in a minute. Make +yourself at home; make yourself at home. All shall be prepared for you +before you can say Amen." + +With this somewhat unconnected speech, Dr. Winthorne left the room, and +in a few minutes returned with Edward Langdale, who allowed himself to +be introduced to the prince with cold ceremony. "He says," observed Dr. +Winthorne, "that somehow you have not treated him well. But we will talk +of that after supper. Every thing should be explained between all +people; but no explanation should take place fasting. The humors are +then in a bad condition; and, as there is no chance in my house of +people heating them by potations, we will just calmly regulate them by +wholesome food and moderate drink, and then have a clear understanding." + +"I am perfectly unconscious----" said the prince; but the doctor cut him +short, exclaiming, "After supper, after supper, my lord! Your apartments +are quite ready. Let me conduct you." + +The old clergyman and the Protestant prince retired from the room, and +Dr. Winthorne was nearly half an hour absent. When he returned, however, +he shook Edward once more warmly by the hand, saying, "Why, Ned, my boy, +you are grown quite a man. Heaven show us mercy! you have a beard an ell +long. But now tell me all that has happened to you. As to this man +up-stairs, he is a good man, a very good man,--hasty, but noble and +generous, steady in his friend-ships, true to his cause. There is some +mistake between you and him. He says your brother Richard wrote to him, +or visited him, or something, and he might have treated him with some +indignity; but he never saw or heard of you in his life till last night, +when he met you at an inn." + +Edward smiled, saying, "He must have a short memory." + +"Well, well," said Dr. Winthorne, "we will have it all after supper. Now +tell me every thing you have done and seen and suffered; for I doubt not +you have suffered too, my poor boy. We shall have plenty of time if this +prince takes as long to bedizen himself as he used to do. He was a +mighty fop in other years; but he has a more soldier-like look now. +Well, Ned, give me the whole story." + +Edward Langdale willingly enough related succinctly what had befallen +him since he parted from the good doctor nearly two years before. There +was a good deal, indeed, he did not tell, for he knew that the +explanations required would be too long for the limited space before +him. Indeed, before even the abbreviated narrative was brought to a +close, the Prince de Soubise joined them, and they retired into another +chamber to supper. + +The meal passed over in great cheerfulness; the wine was good, and of +that quality which parsons loved in those days, but all partook +moderately; and as soon as the servants had withdrawn--for supper at +that period of the world's history was served with very nearly the same +forms as dinner in the present times--Soubise bowed his head to Edward +Langdale, saying, in not very good English, "There must be some mistake +between us, sir. I should like to have it set right, for your father was +one of my dearest friends. We travelled long together with this worthy +minister; and I wish much to remove any thing like coldness between +myself and his son." + +"I really do not know, Monsieur de Soubise," replied Edward, in French, +"what mistake there can be. But may I ask if in June of last year you +did not write a letter to your brother the Duc de Rohan, in which you +styled me an insolent varlet? The duke sent me the letter, and my eyes, +I think, cannot have deceived me." + +"No, no!" cried Soubise. "Stay; let me remember. I applied that term," +he continued, more slowly, "to Sir Richard Langdale, your father's +eldest son, who, as I have been told and as I have still reason to +believe, had robbed you of your property,--of your mother's as well as +your father's inheritance. To the latter he might have some claim: even +that is doubtful. To the former he had none." + +"Unfortunately, by the laws of this country he had," said Edward. "But +all this is past and over, and----" + +"Stay, stay," said Soubise, interrupting him. "It is not all over yet: +it is the very cause of my coming here. I was a witness, sir, to the +marriage-contract--or settlement, as you call it here, I +believe--between your father and your mother, by which it was agreed +that all the property she possessed, not only at the time, but which +might descend to her from her uncle, should belong to her and descend to +her children. In his last letter, when he thought himself dying, good +old Clement Tournon informed me that this very property had been taken +from you by him whom I may well call your base-born brother. Having done +all that I had to do, and been disappointed in all,--having seen the +noble Buckingham die at my feet, and borne the loss of Rochelle,--my +first business was to come on here to see right done if it could be +done." + +"There, Edward! there!" said Dr. Winthorne. "I told you he was noble and +true." + +"I doubted it not, my dear friend," replied Edward. "But still the words +his Highness used were somewhat galling." + +"They never were applied to you, upon my honor," said the prince. "As +far as I recollect now,--for it was a time of great hurry and +confusion,--I had heard that Richard Langdale, whose whole history I +knew as well as my daily service, was at the court of France soliciting +some place from his Majesty. My brother wrote to me, mentioning only +Monsieur de Langdale. Probably it was to you he referred. Probably he +was deceived as well as myself, although he did not know so much of the +circumstances as I did. My cousin left his child with his dying breath +to my charge, enjoining me strictly to have her educated in the +Protestant faith, and never to suffer her to fall into the hands----" + +"What!" exclaimed Dr. Winthorne, interrupting him,--"dear little +Lucette? How is the sweet child? where is she? Oh that I could see her +again for an hour! for she was an angel. Do you remember, Edward, that +you once had a little sister, and that when you were ill of fever she +disappeared?" + +"Was that Lucette?" exclaimed Edward. "Remember her, my dear sir? Oh, +yes! But how can that be? her death killed my mother, I think. Lucette +my sister!" And he gazed down upon the table with a bewildered mind and +a chilly, painful feeling at the heart, such as he never had experienced +in life before. "I cannot comprehend," he added. "Lucette my sister! My +sister not dead!" + +"No, no," said Dr. Winthorne. "Tell him all, my lord the prince. Lucette +is not your sister: she merely passed as such. Your father and your +mother took her in very early years to hide her from her Roman Catholic +relations in France, out of love and friendship for this noble +gentleman. Those relations were powerful here as well as in the +neighboring country; and at length they discovered where she was, but +Monsieur de Soubise came over and removed her, first to the town of +Brixham, where she remained some years, and thence to France. I had some +share in all this, too. But you are mistaken, my son, about your +mother's death. She grieved to lose her little pet, and wept often and +bitterly at her loss; but the origin of her illness was a terrible fire +which consumed your father's house when you were very young. Then, +exposure and injuries received before she could escape sowed the seeds +of that sad malady which, in this land of ours, like Death's gardener, +culls the sweetest and most beautiful flowers to decorate the grave." + +"Then she is not my sister?" exclaimed Edward. "She is not dead! Thank +God for that!" + +It might be difficult for those who heard it to know which he thanked +God for most; and the exclamation produced a slight smile upon the +countenance of Dr. Winthorne. + +"Methinks, prince," he said, "this young man must have met Lucette +since. You dog, you told me nothing of that." + +But the Prince de Soubise was very grave. "Let us not talk of that part +of the subject to-night," he said. "I fear there are painful +conclusions before us. But, Mr. Langdale, my friendship for your father +and my deep gratitude to your saintly mother make me most anxious to see +you reinstated in her fine property. Let us consult what can be done. I +am here ready to swear I signed the deed as witness with my own hand." + +"That will not be sufficient," said Dr. Winthorne, with somewhat of a +smile on his countenance. "In this land we shall require the deed +itself. But let us ride over to-morrow to Buckley and see our old friend +Sykes, the hunch-backed attorney; for I cannot help thinking that he +knows something more than he will tell me. For the last six months he +has been keeping up the place at his own expense; for I dare say you +have heard, Edward, that no one has known any thing of Sir Richard for +more than twelve months. He draws no rents, sends over no orders. His +lawyer here has written and sent to Turin, but no intelligence whatever +can be procured; and many people think that he is dead." + +"It is very strange," said the Prince de Soubise. "But I have no belief +in the report of his death. Most likely he is wandering somewhere, and +does not wish the place of his abode to be known. He was always very +eccentric." + +"Then you know him, my lord?" said Edward, who had not lately mingled in +the conversation; for some words which had fallen from Soubise had +saddened him. + +"I have not seen him for many years," replied the prince; "but even then +he was as strange a boy as I ever saw. There was insanity in the family +of his mother, and some people thought that the child would grow up an +idiot. It was not so, however. Though he was very strange, this +strangeness never reached to madness. Fits of moody gloom would come +upon him, and he often would not speak a word for hours. If he did, it +would be with a bitter and supercilious tone, very extraordinary in a +mere child. Then, again, at times he would fly into the most violent +fits of passion, and then sink into melancholy. The way I learned all +this is easily explained. At your father's request I took some charge of +him after his mother's death in the convent; but his behavior became so +bad that I had to relinquish the trust." + +"You applied to him, a short time since," said Edward, "a somewhat hard +and unpleasant expression. You said that you might almost call him +base-born. Is it too much to ask that you would give me some information +on that point?" + +"I know not well how to explain," replied Soubise, looking down +thoughtfully. + +"His mother was a very light Italian woman, of a low, bad race. Your +father married her, beyond doubt, before this child was born; but it was +only just before, and that with half a dozen stilettos at his throat; +for they caught him alone with her and forced the marriage. Almost as +soon as it was over, he separated from her and she went into a +convent,--her relations spreading absurd stories that they had caused +the separation because your father was a Protestant. This gained them +some favor at the court of Rome, and one of them obtained advancement in +the Church, where, after leading a very dissolute life, he was struck +with remorse and retired into the most austere seclusion. This is nearly +all I know of the matter; but it was this knowledge of the young man's +birth, character, and connections which made me use the term 'insolent +varlet' which gave you so much offence. I pledge you my honor, however, +it was not intended for you; and I should not have applied it, probably, +to him, had I not been in haste and irritated at the moment." + +"Then I hope, my good lord," replied Edward, "that, as the expression +was not applied to me, I may look upon all the sentiments and +resolutions contained in that letter as unsaid also?" + +"Do not press me to-night," said Soubise, very gravely. "I am afraid if +I speak now my reply will pain you. The house of Rohan is a proud house, +and I have much to think of. Give me a few days for reflection, and I +will meet you fairly. But in the mean time let us be friends. Your +father was the companion of my youth and my most intimate associate; +your mother, now a saint in heaven, was an angel upon earth; and I would +fain have their son's regard." + +As he spoke, he held out his hand to the young man, who took it +respectfully; and shortly after the prince retired to rest. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + + +Though those were days of splendid cavalcades, and the neighborhood of +the royal palace of Royston had rendered them not infrequent some years +before in that part of Huntingdonshire, it was not often that such a +party presented itself in the small village of Buckley as that which was +seen on the day after Edward's arrival. First, there was Dr. Winthorne, +on his tall, stout, Roman-nosed horse, forming the centre of the group; +then, on his left, Edward Langdale, riding a wicked, fiery devil, which +screamed and bit at the approach of any other animal, but which he +managed with grace and ease. Then there was the Prince de Soubise on the +doctor's right, mounted on a powerful Norman charger and looking very +much the soldier and the prince. Behind them were three servants, all +well mounted and armed; and the whole formed a group which attracted the +attention of the villagers and made even the blacksmith suspend the +blows of his sledge-hammer to look at the fine horses he longed to shoe. + +There was a little, old, dusty house on the right-hand side of the road +as you came from Applethorpe toward the king's highway to Huntingdon, +with the gables turned toward the street, a wooden porch carved in +curious shapes, and some five or six descending steps. On one of the +pillars of the porch was hung a curious sort of shield painted with +various colors,--a quaint emblem of the holy Roman empire; and +underneath was written, with no great regard to symmetry either in the +size or shape of the letters, the words "Martin Sykes, Notary Public, +Attorney-at-Law, Solicitor in his most gracious Majesty's Court of +Chancery, &c. &c. &c.,"--which etceteras were explained and commented +upon by a long inscription on the other pillar. + +Before that little porch Dr. Winthorne pulled in his rein and floundered +off his horse, and Soubise and Edward Langdale followed. In the first +room on the left hand they found three or four clerks; and at a +separate desk, which he could not have overtopped without assistance, +was seated a little old man with very keen features and a back and chest +which assumed a menacing posture in regard to the head. + +"Ah, doctor," he said, slipping off the high stool which raised him up +to the desk, "what brings you so early to Buckley? Odds-my-life! Why, I +can hardly believe my eyes! Master Ned grown into a bearded man of war! +My dear boy, how are you? Oh, how I have missed you!--missed the trout +in the month of May,--missed the partridges in September,--missed the +snipes and the woodcocks in the cold weather, when I have my annual +abscess in the lungs,--missed thy handsome face at all those times when +a kind word in a youthful voice cheers an old man like me!" + +Edward shook him warmly by the hand, and asked after all his ailments +kindly, but speedily turned to their companion, saying, "Mr. Sykes, this +is the Prince de Soubise, an old friend of both my parents." + +"I remember him well," said Mr. Sykes. "That is to say, I do not +remember him at all. I mean, in person I do not remember him, for he +might as well be Goliath of Gath as Prince de Soubise, so far as any +identification on my part could go; but I remember quite well a young +gentleman of that name, in purfled silk philimot velvet laced with gold, +slashed velvet breeches, and a sword as long as a barbecuing-spit by his +side, being present at your father's wedding and witnessing the +marriage-contract." + +"He has got me exactly," said Monsieur de Soubise. "I have had, Mr. +Notary, to take to lighter but more serviceable weapons since; but, if +my person is so much changed that you cannot remember me, there are +plenty of witnesses here to swear to whom I am; and I expect in a few +days my good friend Monsieur Clement Tournon, syndic of the goldsmiths +of Rochelle, who made and brought over a set of jewels for my friend's +bride, and who saw me witness the contract with his own eyes. He +remembers the whole deed, he says; for it was read over to us before the +signature." + +"He will be an important witness, sir," said Martin Sykes; "and your +Highness will be more so. It is all coming right, as I thought it +would," he continued, turning to Dr. Winthorne and rubbing his thin, +bony hands. "Somewhat long we have been about it; but step by step we +are making way. Every thing takes time, doctor,--even a sermon, as the +poor people here know well. The great difference between a lawsuit and a +sermon is, that during the first the people sleep often and sleep badly, +and during the second they sleep once and they sleep well. Now, Master +Ned, I calculate that we shall get to the end of this suit and have a +decree in our favor--let me see: you are about twenty, are not you?--in +about forty-nine years and seven months." He paused a single instant, +and rubbed his hands, and then added, with a smile slightly triumphant, +"That is to say, if we cannot get the original settlement. But I think +we shall get it, Ned, my boy. I think I can guess where it is. It is +most likely badly damaged; but just give me sufficient of it left to +show some of the signatures and the date, and then come in these +gentlemen as witnesses to prove what it originally contained. Oh, we +will make a fine little case of it! But parties: we want +parties,--somebody to fight us,--Master Ned." + +"But if the fight is to last so long as you have said, my dear friend," +remarked Edward Langdale, "and I am only to succeed when I am sixty-nine +years and seven months old, I think I had better not begin the battle." + +"Ay, but you forget the if," said Martin Sykes, with a laugh. "An _if_ +makes every thing in law. It is as potent as 'any thing hereinbefore +contained to the contrary notwithstanding,' or 'always provided +nevertheless,' or any other of those sweet phrases with which we double +up the sense of our documents or give a sweet and polite contradiction +to what we have just been saying the moment before. As to the battle, my +dear young friend, it has begun already. Acting on your behalf, as your +next friend, I have managed to get possession of Buckley, have served +Sir Richard's lawyer and agent with all sorts of processes,--some +sixteen or seventeen, I think,--ejectments, quo warrantos, rules nisi, +and others; and the poor fool, who is nothing at all unless he has a +Londoner at his back, has let me have very nearly my own way, having no +orders, not knowing where to get any, and standing like a goose under +the first drops of a thunder-shower, with his eyes staring and his mouth +half open." + +"But where is the contract?" asked Monsieur de Soubise, in French. "If I +understood him aright, he said he knew where it was." + +Edward interpreted, feeling very sure that good Mr. Sykes was not very +abundantly provided with French; but the little lawyer shook his head, +saying, "No, no; I did not profess to know absolutely where it is; but +there is one not very far from here who I think does know. I think he +does,--I am sure he does. He tells me a box of valuable papers were lost +at the great fire; and he shakes his head, and looks wise, and talks of +its being 'made worth his while.' He is the most avaricious old devil in +the world. It is a curious thing, Ned, all sextons are avaricious. They +deal so much with dust and ashes that they learn to like the only sort +of dross which does not decay when you bury it. He is a very old man +now, and could not enjoy for more than a few months any thing he had, +were it millions." + +"What! you are not speaking of the old sexton at Langley, are you?" +asked Edward,--"the man with the lame hip? He used to say he got that +injury at the fire; and my father gave him many a guinea for it. I used +to give him shillings and sixpences, too, to make him tell me all about +the fire, till one day I caught him taking away a groat I had given to a +poor child, and then I knocked him over the shoulder with my +fishing-rod. He has never liked me after, but hobbles away into his +cottage whenever he sees me, and shuts the door tight." + +What there was in this little anecdote which peculiarly struck good Mr. +Sykes I cannot tell, but he fell into a fit of thought, still +standing,--for there were no chairs in the room, except one, which had +lost a leg, (in what action I do not know,) and the high stools on which +the clerks were sitting, if they could be called chairs. He kept a +finger of his right hand resting on the side of his nose, however, for +two or three minutes; and then, suddenly rousing himself, he said, "Let +us go into the house. We can sit down there and talk. This is a poor +place for such company. It does well enough for roystering farmers' sons +who have been breaking each others' heads, or for a deputy +tax-collector, or for gossiping women who have been slandering and being +slandered. I don't want them to sit down at all; and that is the reason +I have only one chair with a broken leg, to which I always hand old +Mistress Skillet, the doctor's widow, who abuses every young girl in the +place who has got a pretty face and wears a pink ribbon. Then down she +comes, and declares she has broken her hip-bone, and walks away in great +indignation, never coming back until she has another peck of lies upon +her stomach. I must not do it any more, for she has grown as large as an +elephant; and the last time she tumbled she had nearly shaken the office +down. Besides, it cost me two ounces of peppermint to bring all those +boys there out of their convulsions. But come, gentlemen, let us go." + +Thus saying, he led the way through a little door at the back of the +office, across a small passage, into an exceedingly neat old fashioned +parlor, where, having seated his guests, he rushed at a corner cupboard +and brought forth some tall-stalked cut and gilded wineglasses, and a +square-sided bottle, likewise cut and gilded, from which he pressed his +visitors to help themselves. Monsieur de Soubise remarked it was too +early to drink wine; but the old man pressed them, saying, "It is not +wine at all. It is fine old Dutch cinnamon." And, each having taken a +little, good Mr. Sykes leaned his arms upon the table, remarking, "Now, +this looks really like the commencement of a conspiracy; and a +conspiracy we must have. I have settled it all. We must go over to the +old place,--that is, old Langley Court, prince. I will enact my own +character. The doctor here is too reverent to undergo transformation. +You, my noble sir, must be a French nobleman about to buy Langley Court, +and Buckley too,--in fact, half the estates in the neighborhood. Edward +here must be your cornet of horse. There will be no need to mention his +name; but the old wretch, who is as sharp as Satan, will most likely +know him. He is aware, however, that Master Ned has been over in the +wars in France: so the story will go down." + +"It seems to me, my good friend Sykes," said Dr. Winthorne, "that you +are going to tell a vast quantity of lies. Mark you, now: I will have +nothing to do with them. I don't even know that I ought to stand by and +hear them." + +"You shall not hear a lie come out of my mouth," said Sykes, laughing. +"My lord the prince, I dare say you are willing enough to buy Langley +Court and the estate, if I will sell it to you for a gold crown,--what +you call in France an _écu d'or_?" + +"Oh, very willingly," answered Soubise: "this cinnamon is worth an _écu +d'or_." And he helped himself to some more. + +"Well, then, I will sell you the whole estate for that sum,--if ever I +can prove my title to it," said Sykes. "It is a bargain. Now, Dr. +Winthorne, do not you by any scruples spoil your young friend's only +chance, if you would not have us take you for a cropped-eared Puritan +instead of a good old sound Church-of-England man." + +"Well, then, don't you lie too much, Mr. Attorney. I will swallow as +much as I can; but keep within bounds, or you may chance to find me +break out." + +"All you have to do is to hold your tongue. I will do all the speaking," +replied Sykes. "The prince here may talk as much French as ever he +likes, and Master Ned may answer him in the same tongue. I will answer +for it that neither old Grimes the sexton nor Martin Sykes the lawyer +will be a bit the wiser for it." + +"But when is this to be done?" asked Dr. Winthorne. "We have ridden ten +miles already to-day." + +"Well," said Mr. Sykes, "if we go over by the Barford road, that is but +ten miles; and then we can go to Applethorpe, where you intend to give +me a bed: that is but nine miles more. You would not mind going thirty +miles any day for a fox-hunt." + +"I never go fox-hunting," grumbled Dr. Winthorne. + +"No, but you used once," said Mr. Sykes. And, bearing down all +opposition, being strongly supported, it must be owned, by Edward and +the Prince de Soubise, Mr. Sykes carried his point, ordered his own +easy-going cob to be brought round, and had a bag fixed to the saddle +with such little articles of dress as he wanted. + +When the four gentlemen issued forth into the street to proceed upon +their way, a certain rosyness of Pierrot's nose, which, together with +some dewy drops in his eye, gave his face somewhat the aspect of a +morning landscape, induced Edward to believe that he had been engaged in +the pious employment of breaking a good resolution. But Pierrot declared +manfully that he had only been following his young master's orders with +his French companion. "You told me to treat them hospitably, sir," he +said; "and how can I treat them hospitably without drinking with them?" +Edward gave him a caution to keep himself sober at all events, and on +they went some nine miles upon their way at a brisk pace. + +"Now," said Sykes, as they approached the old park-wall, which had +fallen down in several places, "we won't go nearer the old rascal. We +must be perfectly indifferent." + +"I recollect this park well," said the Prince de Soubise. "What a +splendid place it was before the fire!" + +"Hush! hush!" cried Sykes. "That is English." And, riding on, he pulled +up his horse at a spot where some cottages were built between the road +and the river, just fronting the old iron gates of what was called the +grass court, beyond which, some two hundred yards off, appeared the +blackened ruins of Langley. + +The walls were all down,--at least, those of the main building; for not +only had the fire overthrown them, but the pick and shovel had been busy +for several weeks after the catastrophe, turning over the principal +ruins in search of plate and other articles of value which had not been +carried out during the fire. + +There the gentlemen dismounted. The servants tied the horses to the iron +gates, and the whole party entered the grass court and looked around. At +that moment an old wizened face appeared at one of the small lozenges of +a cottage-window, and the next a chink of the door was opened and the +same face gazed out. In the mean time Mr. Sykes, with his riding-whip in +his hand, was pointing out to Soubise all the wonders of the place, +telling him where the great hall used to stand, where the guest-chambers +were, and where were the private apartments of the Lady of Langley. +Never before in his life was he so eloquent. While he went on, an old +man of perhaps eighty hobbled across the road and came close up to the +side of Dr. Winthorne. Just at that moment Mr. Sykes pointed with his +whip to a tower a little detached from the main building, and apparently +of more ancient architecture, saying, "That was the wine and ale cellar; +and I have heard people say that during the fire the casks burst with an +explosion like so many cannon." + +"That is not true," said the old man, who had just come up; "for there +had not been a thing or a body in that tower for thirty years before. +Why, the stairs were half worn away; and Sir Richard would have pulled +it down if it had not been for my lady, who liked the look of it." + +"Ah, is that you, old Grimes?" said Mr. Sykes. "Why, you look younger +than ever." + +"I shall live to bury you yet," said the old sexton. "Don't make me wait +long, for I am tired enough of life, I am sure. Who is that you have got +with you, Sykes?" + +"This is a French nobleman, the Prince de Soubise," replied the +attorney. "As he cannot live in his own country, on account of the +troubles, he has come over to England. We have been talking about his +buying this place. Indeed, it is almost a bargain. He will have all +these ruins cleared away," he continued, in a confidential tone, and +somewhat dropping his voice, to prevent Dr. Winthorne from hearing too +much. + +The old sexton's face had turned a little pale; but the next instant he +said, a little gruffly, "You can't sell him the place, Sykes." + +"No; but Sir Richard can," replied the lawyer. + +The old man grunted forth something which nobody heard distinctly, but +which had some reference to "Sir Richard," and to "not paying a +pension," and "giving no orders." + +Sykes kept his eye fixed upon him steadily, and thought he saw an +uneasy look come upon the old man's face, which was turned at that +moment toward the ruined tower; and, looking round, the attorney saw +that the servants, having left the horses at the gate, were sporting +about the court-yard, and that Pierrot had mounted upon a pile of stones +which had fallen from the tall wall above. + +"What were you saying, Grimes?" asked Mr. Sykes. "That Sir Richard had +not paid your pension? That is strange. The agent has plenty of money in +his hands, for he has got all the rents of Langley, and Sir Richard has +not drawn a farthing." + +"Ay, but he says he has no orders," said Grimes, with a hasty and uneasy +manner. "But what I am saying now is, that man will break his neck if he +goes up there: I tell you he will. I put my hip out once doing just the +same thing." + +"Ha!" exclaimed Sykes: "I thought that was at the fire, Grimes. But what +you say is very true. He will break his neck. Call him down, sir,--call +him down: he is your servant." + +The last words were addressed to Edward, who instantly called to Pierrot +to come down,--which the good man unwillingly did; for he had imbibed +just a sufficient quantity of liquor to make him full of sport without +shaking his nerves. + +Now, it is to be hoped that the reader read and pondered well the +description given of that old tower in the seventh chapter of this +eventful history; but, as there are some readers, and a great number of +them, who will skip certain passages which they in their +superciliousness think of little importance, I may as well recall the +words of Edward Langdale while he was narrating the scenes of his early +life to Clement Tournon and Lucette. "The whole of the house was +burned," he said, on that occasion; "and the greater part of the walls +fell in, with the exception of those of the ivy-tower, which were very +ancient, and much thicker than the rest. Even there the wood-work was +all consumed, and the staircase fell, except where a few of the stone +steps, about half-way up, clung to the masonry." + +Since Edward had seen the place or marked it with any particular +attention, some changes had come over that tower, though they were not +very apparent. We shall be compelled to notice them more in a moment or +two. Suffice it for the present to say that those stone steps which +Edward had mentioned were still sticking out about half-way up the +tower, and that, somehow or another, Pierrot had contrived nearly to +reach them. + +However, Mr. Sykes took no notice of the careful forethought of an old +sexton for a foreign servant's life, though he thought his benevolence +strange, but went on round the old building, the piles of rubbish, and +the blackberry-bushes which encumbered them, speaking a word or two +every now and then to Dr. Winthorne, and keeping Mr. Grimes in pretty +constant conversation. There is a game which young people play at, +called, I think, "Hide-and-Seek;" and Mr. Sykes was determined to have a +game with the old sexton. The seeker, when he approaches the object of +his search, is told that he is hot; when he goes far from it, that he is +cold. Now, in the neighborhood of most parts of the old building +Grimes's face said, as plainly as possible, "Cold; cold as ice;" but +when Mr. Sykes brought him near to the old ivy-tower again there was a +tremulous motion of the hanging under lip, an anxious twinkle of the +eye, and a fidgety motion of the hands, which said, as plainly as +possible, "Warm; warm; very hot." This was the more apparent when the +party came in face of that part of the tower where about a third of the +wall, rent from top to bottom by the great heat, had fallen and strewn +the ground with ruins. Mr. Sykes did not look up at the tower at all. +His eyes were fixed upon the face of Mr. Grimes, and he was reading it +as a book. Dr. Winthorne was reading it too. Edward Langdale and the +Prince de Soubise were talking together in French; but their eyes were +about them all the time. + +Suddenly Edward exclaimed, in English, "Why, Pierrot could have gone up +very easily. There is a stone taken out of the wall every two or three +feet, and between them somebody has made steps by jamming in large +blocks of wood with smaller stones. Besides, the tough old stems of ivy +would take any one up who has hands to hold by. Pierrot! Pierrot!" + +"No, no!" cried Dr. Winthorne: "send for a ladder from the church. My +man shall go." + +"Doctor, doctor," said Mr. Grimes, with a face as pale as death, "I want +to speak to your Reverence." + +"Well, speak out!" cried the bluff parson; but the old man drew him a +little aside, and said, "If they will give me a hundred pounds sterling +I will tell them something." + +"Not a penny, you old sinner," said Dr. Winthorne. "Go down for the +ladder to the church, William: get some men and bring it up, and be +quick." + +"Oh, doctor, I am an old man, and have suffered very much for the last +fifteen years----" + +"What is that he is saying? what is that he is saying?" said Sykes. "I +have a notion you are very like the boy who went up the apple-tree to +steal his neighbor's fruit: the branch broke, and he cracked his leg, +and ever after he used to say that it had pleased God to afflict him." + +At that moment a loud shout was heard from the tower above; and Pierrot, +who had run up like a squirrel, put out his head, shouting, "A pie's +nest! a pie's nest! Here are all manner of things!" + +"Well, stay there and guard them," cried Dr. Winthorne. + +"They are all mine!" cried the old man Grimes, wringing his hands, and +speaking with the air and tone of a disappointed demon. "Well, I will +not speak a word. I have done nothing. What business have you to take my +things? I shall go home. If there is law in England, I will have it." +And he was turning away toward the gates, when Mr. Sykes took him by the +arm, saying, "John Grimes, I apprehend you for robbery on the night of +the fire at Langley. Master Ned, tell that servant not to let him +depart. I will be responsible: I know my man, and have had my eye upon +him for many years. The old fool could not keep his tongue from +babbling, and boasted what he could do if he liked." + +A few minutes passed in almost perfect silence, till the church-ladder +was brought and reared against the tower, and then all the younger men +ran up. Dr. Winthorne and Mr. Sykes kept guard over the prisoner, having +no great confidence in their own agility, not being much accustomed to +mount ladders; and, for a moment or two, Mr. Grimes, now evidently +panic-struck, continued to whisper eagerly to Dr. Winthorne, while Mr. +Sykes's eyes were turned with impatience toward the tower. + +"I can promise you nothing," answered the clergyman, bluffly. "It is no +great matter to them what you confess or what you don't; but perhaps, if +you do tell the whole truth, Ned Langdale, in consideration of your +great age, may spare you. It is a horrible thing to see a man hanged at +eighty." + +At that moment the servants began to come down, bringing between them a +chest of no very great size but bound with brass and somewhat +ornamented, though its color and appearance showed it to have been a +good deal scorched with fire. Though its weight did not seem great, the +men carried it with much care, the occasion of which became evident when +they reached the ground; for the top had been rudely forced open, and +they were afraid of its falling back and the contents tumbling out. + +A number of other objects were subsequently brought down,--a chalice, +evidently the property of some church, a silver waiter, a clergyman's +cassock, a number of silver spoons bearing the arms of the family of +Langdale, and a whole mass of miscellaneous articles, some valuable, +some perfectly worthless. But Mr. Sykes put his foot firmly upon the +chest after it was laid upon the ground, saying, "Take notice, doctor, +that I do not open this till there are plenty of witnesses." The moment, +however, that the Prince de Soubise and Edward had descended, he called +upon them to remark what the chest contained, and proceeded to the +examination. + +It is not my intention to give a descriptive catalogue of old papers; +but, after turning over many documents of no great importance, a +parchment was found and opened, and the Prince de Soubise instantly put +his finger on the lowest part of the fifth sheet, saying, "There stands +my name." + +"Well," said Dr. Winthorne, "I can easily conceive this old man stealing +the sacrament-cup and the silver spoons. I remember the robbery of the +church quite well. Those he could melt down, and he was a great fool +for not doing it. But why he should take Brother Wynstone's gown, which +he could never dare to wear, and why he should steal this box of papers, +which he could make no use of, I cannot imagine." + +It is impossible for any writer of history to discover and describe the +real motives of one-half the actions he relates; and what it was that +moved old Grimes the sexton at that moment I cannot at all pretend to +say, but he certainly mumbled, in low and tremulous accents, and with +some tears, "I thought it was my lady's jewel-case." + +The scene which then took place is not worthy of description. Let the +reader imagine the congratulations that were poured upon Edward +Langdale, how all his friends shook hands with him heartily, how +Pierrot, who from his knowledge of English understood the whole, almost +danced with joy, and how the servant of the Prince de Soubise, seeing +all the rest do it, shook hands with him too, and wished monsieur a good +morning, being the two principal words he possessed. A cart was +procured, and also a constable; under whose charge, escorted by Dr. +Winthorne's servant, Mr. Grimes and the contents of his magpie's +nest--with the exception of the all-important settlement, which Mr. +Sykes would not part with--were carried over to Applethorpe that night. + +Dr. Winthorne and his party had preceded them by nearly an hour, and +very important business occupied the remainder of the day till it was +time to retire to rest. On that business we need not dwell at present; +but in order not to be obliged to turn back to a character which, +however important, has appeared but briefly, let me say that that very +night Mr. Grimes, in the first terror of detection, made a full and +frank confession of all he had done. He had been one of the first to +enter the house on the night of the fire, and had met Lady Langdale +carrying the case which contained her marriage-settlement. He had +instantly asked her after her boy; and, dropping the case, she had flown +to Edward's room to see if he had been rescued by his father. The +sexton, concluding that the case contained her jewels, had seized upon +it and carried it off. At first he had concealed it under some of the +bushes, but had afterward carried it up into what was called the +ivy-tower, which, having been vacant and in ruins for some years, he +imagined would never be searched. When asked why he had not carried it +to his own cottage, he replied, "Because that was certain to be examined +as soon as they discovered that any thing was lost." He was never +prosecuted for the thefts he had committed; but he died some seven weeks +after,--perhaps as much from shame and disappointment as disease; and +thus he never had the pleasure of burying Mr. Martin Sykes. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + + +"I can promise you nothing, my young friend," said the Prince de +Soubise, about a fortnight after the period at which I concluded the +last chapter, "till I have consulted with my brother Rohan and some +other members of my family. You English people view these matters +differently from ourselves in France: a marriage is not only the uniting +two persons who are attached to each other, but it is the linking of two +families together. Of course, this nominal and merely formal marriage +between you and my young cousin is altogether null and void,--of no +effect or consequence." + +"I do not know, my lord the prince," replied Edward, in a tone of a good +deal of irritation. "I have been assured it is a perfectly valid +marriage; and, I must respectfully add, I shall attempt to prove it so." + +"Pshaw!" said Soubise, in a light tone: "we had better not take up +hostile positions toward each other." And, turning on his heel, he left +the room. + +The scene of this conversation was the rector's library at Applethorpe, +for Dr. Winthorne had a headache and had retired to rest; and, as soon +as the prince was gone, Edward took forth some letters he had received +that morning, and, approaching the table where the candles stood, he +read them again with an eager look. No French post, to his knowledge, +had come in; but the letters were evidently from France, and one, +addressed to Clement Tournon, was sent open to him; whilst +another,--very short, but in Lucette's own hand,--tied and sealed, came +to him direct. + +Both were of a date which surprised and alarmed the young +Englishman,--that from Clement Tournon dated only two days after he had +left Rochelle, that from Lucette fully seven weeks previous. The letter +of the good goldsmith which enclosed the other was somewhat long. It +told Edward a great deal about Rochelle, and contained much matter that +need not be recapitulated; but the point of greatest interest was his +mention of Lucette. "Probably," he said, "she has told you in the +enclosed all she has told to me, and therefore I need not repeat it. She +calls upon us both for aid, and, as far as a feeble old man can give it, +she shall not want it. But alas, my dear Edward, it is very wrongly that +men attribute power to wealth. I have proved it, and know that there are +times when heaps of gold will not buy a loaf of bread. However, if my +last livre will help that dear girl, she shall have it. In the mean +time, do you, young, active, enterprising as you are, follow her +directions to the letter. You can do more than I can. I set out this +night; but, considering that you may want money for so long and +expensive a journey, I have left such directions that all your drafts +upon me will be paid to any reasonable amount. In a month I will be in +Huntingdon, where I am assured by one I can depend upon that my presence +is required for your benefit." + +Lucette's letter was but a note. + + "Fly to me, my beloved husband." So it said. "If you love your poor + Lucette as she loves you, come to me without the delay of an hour. + There are people here who want to take me away and carry me to + France. They have no authority from Monsieur de Rohan,--otherwise, + as hard as he is, I should feel myself secure,--but they have great + power with the rulers of this republic, it seems. Madame de la Cour + is an excellent woman, but weak and timid. She says that she dares + not resist them, that she is but a poor exile herself, and that when + they are ready to go she must yield me up to them. I would rather + die were it not that, when I think of you, hope still comes in to + give me a ray of light which all these sorrows and troubles cannot + darken. Oh, come soon to your LUCETTE." + +Edward looked at the date again. There was no time to be lost, if he +were not already too late; and at once he determined on his course. The +two years during which he had promised not to seek Lucette were nearly +at an end. The words of Monsieur de Soubise had given him no +encouragement to wait for the consent of her family: the only course was +to make her his own irrevocably, then let them scoff at the marriage +between them if they would. He would go to Richelieu, he thought; he +would lay before him the letters he had received; he would beseech the +cardinal to free him for the few short weeks that remained from the +promise he had made, and to speed him to Venice with the power which +only he possessed. Once side by side with his dear little bride, he +thought, it would not be in the power of worlds to tear them apart. + +The determined and impetuous spirit roused itself; recent success had +refreshed hope; he had found more money waiting for him than he +expected, so that none of the small material obstacles which so +frequently trip up eagerness were present; and he determined to set out +that very night. + +Not more than half an hour was occupied in his preparations, and then he +went to Dr. Winthorne's room and knocked at the door. After the second +knock a somewhat testy voice told him to come in, and there he remained +for a full hour in earnest conversation. Whatever took place, nothing +Dr. Winthorne said induced him to alter his resolution; but about +midnight he and Pierrot mounted in the court-yard and set out for +London. + +Let us pass over all the little impediments of the road,--the +horse-shoes and the blacksmiths, and the trouble about a pass from Dover +to Calais, which, as the relations between France and England had become +much more amicable, presented no great difficulties after all,--and let +us carry Edward at once to the gates of Paris, where the gay and +glittering crowd was as dense and perhaps more brilliant in those days +than it is in ours. The young man's brain felt almost confused at the +numbers before his eyes and the whirling rapidity of every thing around +him. As he knew nothing of the town, he had to ask his way to an inn +which had been recommended to him, and met with all the urbanity and +real good-humor which have always distinguished the Parisian population. + +The master of the _auberge_--for there were no hotels in Paris till the +nobility who had hotels, broken in fortune and deprived of power, were +forced to sell their dwellings to the affable receivers of all +men--welcomed him, as he himself would have called it, with all +distinction; and his reverence was greatly increased when the young +stranger called for pen and ink and paper and indited a note to the +cardinal prime minister, telling him of his arrival in Paris, and +craving an audience as soon as possible on business of the utmost +importance. He had the good faith to tell him that the business was of +importance to himself; but that frankness was not thrown away upon the +cardinal. + +He sealed the letter with the great seal of his arms, and begged the +aubergist to send it immediately by a messenger who would if possible +obtain an answer. + +The good man remarked that it was the hour of the cardinal's dinner, and +that men said that his Eminence was to set off on the following day upon +a long journey. + +"The more reason he should have that letter as soon as possible," said +Edward. "Pray, let it go without delay; and if the man brings me back an +answer I will give him a gold crown." + +What took place at the cardinal's palace--a smaller building than the +magnificent edifice he afterward erected, long known first as the Palais +Cardinal and afterward as the Palais Royal--I do not know; but at the +end of an hour and a half the man returned, and, with a happy grin, +demanded his gold crown, handing Edward a sealed paper. The contents +were as follows:-- + + "I am commanded by his Eminence to inform Monsieur de Langdale that, + though he cannot give him a formal audience, he will see him + to-night at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, when he will hear + whatever he has to communicate. This letter presented at the door + will be his introduction. + + "ROSSIGNOL." + +Edward Langdale took care to obtain every information he could from the +landlord in regard to the Parisian theatre, which was at that time just +beginning to rise into some degree of importance. Some years before, the +theatres of Paris were merely the resort of bad women and dissolute men +and the scene of very bad actors; but Richelieu, with that fine taste +which was one of his remarkable characteristics, had not only seen that +the stage might easily be refined, but had absolutely refined it. +Excellent actors were engaged at both the great theatres of Paris; +authors, not alone of merit, but of real genius, pressed forward in a +new career of literature; and the highest and purest ladies of the +French court graced the theatre, perhaps as much to please and flatter +the great minister as for any entertainment they received. + +At the hour which had been indicated by the landlord Edward was at the +door of the Hôtel de Bourgogne; and as he saw that everybody was paying +for entrance he did the same, and then exhibited the letter of the +secretary Rossignol. The moment it was seen by the people at the door +the effect was magical. Two men started forward, bowing to the ground, +reproached the young stranger in somewhat stilted terms for not showing +the note before he had paid for admission, and begged to lead him to the +cardinal, who they informed him had just entered. The arrangement of a +theatre in those days was very different from that of modern times; but +yet Richelieu had his little room, or box, as we should call it now, at +the Hôtel de Bourgogne, close to the stage, but not upon it. Into this +room no one was admitted but those specially invited, and at the door +stood two of his guards, who, however, gave instant ingress to Edward as +soon as they saw the letter he carried in his hand. In the box were some +eight or nine people, with the cardinal himself on the left-hand side, +where he had a full view of the stage but could hardly be seen from the +body of the house. The play had not commenced, and he turned his head +at the sound of the door as Edward entered. The moment he saw him he +beckoned him up to his side, before Edward had seen the other persons in +the box, who, be it remarked, were all standing. Richelieu's first +question was what had brought his young friend--as he was pleased to +call him--to Paris before the stipulated time. Edward, in his usual +brief style, explained all the circumstances, and, without hesitation, +placed the two letters he had received in the minister's hands. +Richelieu read them and smiled, saying, "So you are both still very much +in love with each other? Well, I have done one good work at least in +life _pour l'amour de Dieu_. Now, what do you intend to do, Monsieur +Langdale?" + +"To go post-haste to Venice, may it please your Eminence," replied +Edward; "and when I arrive there, as it will not want much more than six +weeks of the time I promised you not to seek her as my wife, I intend to +ask you to free me from that promise, let me claim her as my own, and +trust to my good luck and your power to sustain me." + +The cardinal seemed half inclined to laugh. "Take her when you can get +her," he said, with something more than a smile. "But you cannot get to +Venice, my good boy, till the king opens the pass of Suza. Don't you +know that the very impracticable Duke of Savoy holds all the passes +closed and thinks he can resist the power of France?" + +"By the Lord! I wish I had the power of France," said Edward: "I would +soon make him open them." + +"Ha, ha!" said Richelieu, with a significant nod of the head. "Did I not +tell you that one day you would become ambitious? But the power of +France is just as well as it is; and I think the king can open the +passes as well as you could. He has gone there now, and I am going after +him to witness his victory. But hush! they are going to begin the play. +Mark it well, and tell me what you think of it." + +Almost as he spoke the comedy commenced, and Edward withdrew from +Richelieu's side into the little crowd behind. It was a piece of no +great merit,--one of the failures of the great Corneille; and, to say +the truth, Edward's thoughts were deeply engaged with other things. + +While he was trying to attend, however, his hand was gently pressed by +some one near, and, turning round, he beheld the diminutive figure of +Morini the Italian adventurer. + +There was something in the man that Edward could not altogether dislike, +especially after the kindness he had shown him on two or three +occasions, and he shook hands with him warmly. The little man stood on +tiptoes, and said, in a whisper, "Good fortune to you. You and the +cardinal will always have good fortune unless you quarrel. Look just +opposite. Did you ever see so beautiful a creature?" + +Edward cast his eyes across the theatre, which was not very well +lighted, and saw a group of ladies splendidly dressed and well deserving +commendation; but there was only one who struck him particularly, seated +somewhat behind, and with the profile alone displayed. There was +something, however, so exquisitely beautiful in the line of the face and +the whole turn of the head, that Edward moved a little on one side to +see her more distinctly. There, however, the head-dress of another lady +interposed, and he was disappointed. + +At that moment the first act ended, and Richelieu beckoned him to his +side again. "What are you staring at there, young man? What would your +Lucette say? I am afraid you are faithless." + +"Oh, no, my lord," replied Edward. "That lady is very beautiful, but +Lucette is more so,--to my mind at least." + +"Do you think so?" said Richelieu. "I do not know which you were looking +at, but one of them is my niece, the Duchesse d'Aiguillon. What do you +think of the comedy?" + +"Not much," replied Edward. "But I really am no judge, my lord." + +"I think you are a good judge," said Richelieu, whose dislike to +Corneille is well known. "Now I will tell you what you had better do. Go +on with me to Suza. You can help to force the pass as a volunteer, if +you like, and then proceed to Venice should you feel disposed. You shall +have Morini for a companion, and I will give you one of the king's +foragers to see that you are not starved on the road." + +No proposal could be more agreeable to Edward Langdale; but there was +one impediment, which he frankly told the cardinal. As always happens, +he had miscalculated his expenses, and found that the money he had +brought from England would hardly suffice till he arrived at Venice. "I +can get more to-morrow, your Eminence, I believe," he said, "for I have +full authority to draw on my good friend Clement Tournon, whose credit +is good in Paris; but that will take time; and your Eminence, I presume, +sets out early." + +"Not very early," answered Richelieu; "but if you follow me the next day +you will catch me on the road. You can ride fast, I know, for you nearly +killed the poor Basques who were sent to ride after you when you left +Nantes. Morini will help you to get the money. Don't you know he is an +alchemist, and can change any thing into gold? But he will take you to +my banker,--who is the best alchemist, after all. So Clement Tournon +trusts you, does he? He is the first goldsmith of the kind, I fancy." + +"I can well afford to pay him whatever he lends me now, my lord," +replied Edward. "For on one lucky day, which the Romans would have +marked with a white stone, I recovered the deeds which secured to me my +mother's large property, which deeds had been lost for several years." + +"What day was that?" asked Richelieu, in a somewhat eager tone. + +Edward told him, for he remembered it well; and the cardinal immediately +called Morini to his side, and spoke to him for a moment or two in a low +tone. + +"The very same day, your Eminence sees," replied Morini, with an air of +triumph. "Such small coincidences may be necessary to confirm your +belief: with me it is not so. The stars never lie, my lord cardinal." + +"If they speak at all, I suppose they do not," said Richelieu. + +"They have spoken very plainly in this case," replied the astrologer. +"But the actors are going to begin again." And he was about to retire. + +"Never mind," said the cardinal; "stay here. I have orders to give you, +and I want them obeyed to the letter." + +Edward knew that it was sometimes dangerous to overhear too much of the +minister's conversation. He had heard of a man's finding his way into +the Bastille merely because he had been very near his Eminence while he +was conversing with a friend; and he therefore prudently withdrew to the +farther part of the box. While the second act went on, Richelieu +continued to talk with Morini, in a low tone, it is true, but with an +indifference not at all complimentary to the actors or the piece. To the +last acts he was somewhat more attentive, but went away before the play +was concluded, merely saying to Edward as he passed, "Go with this good +signor, Monsieur Langdale, and follow his counsels. He has heard my +opinion upon several matters; and, until we meet again, you had better +be guided by him even in what may seem things of small consequence." + +Edward Langdale bowed, and the minister passed out; but Morini +approached Edward's side, saying, "Let us go also, my young friend. +There is no use of staying to see this stupid play." + +The young gentleman's eyes, however, were fixed upon the opposite side +of the theatre, where the cardinal's niece and the ladies in her company +were also preparing to take their departure. He had caught another +glance of that beautiful face, though it was but for a moment; and now +the figure as she was moving away showed lines as lovely as the profile. +Taller than most of her companions, and yet not very tall, every +movement seemed grace itself; and, just as she was passing the door, she +turned round and gave a quick glance at the cardinal's box, which +certainly did not diminish the admiration of the young Englishman. + +"How very beautiful the Duchess of Aiguillon is!" said Edward, turning +to Morini. + +"Oh, yes," replied the other. "She is perhaps the most beautiful woman +in France. But take care of what you are about; for some people say the +cardinal is in love with her himself, and he will bear no rival." + +"Oh, love," said Edward, "is out of the question. I look at her, Signor +Morini, merely as I should look at a beautiful statue. I love one, as +you know, fully as beautiful, and to me a thousand times more dear than +she could ever become." + +"Now you mention it," said Morini, "it strikes me there is some likeness +between them." + +"There is," said Edward; "but Lucette is much younger, and not so tall. +Now I will follow you, my good sir." And they went out of the theatre +together. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + + +Youth and Fate are always at variance as to times and distances. Youth +says, "one day;" Fate says, "two." Youth says, "fifty miles;" but Fate +almost always makes it a hundred. Edward had more difficulty in getting +a thousand crowns than he had expected; and he did not altogether think +that Signor Morini aided him as much as he might have done. Richelieu, +who had only made a very short stay in Paris, quitted the capital about +mid-day, and Edward, as may be supposed, was all impatience to hurry +after him; but Morini, on the contrary, was as cool and composed as if +he was making an astrological calculation, always remarking that he +would overtake the minister long before he got to Suza. "He never +travels very fast, you know," said the little Italian; "and, besides, he +has got a whole party of the ladies of the court with him, who always +make a march tedious. They went off at daylight this morning; but you +may count upon them to make the journey at least five days longer than +it ought to be." + +"Nevertheless," said Edward, "I wish to proceed as fast as possible; and +the objections of these bankers seem to me to be ridiculous." + +"Oh, no; they make no objections," said Morini. "They only want a little +time to consider. They are not all in love. They do not all want to get +to Venice. They do business in a business-like way, and have no idea of +firing off large sums like cannon-shot." + +However, the whole of that day passed without the money being procured; +and the second day had seen the sun rise several hours, when at length +Signor Morini thought fit to whisper two words in the ear of Monsieur +Philippon, the banker, which, as if by magic, brought forth the thousand +crowns about which there had been so much difficulty. + +Nevertheless, it was three o'clock in the evening before Edward Langdale +could depart; and then, besides Signor Morini himself and the king's +forager who had been promised, were half a dozen lackeys and pages, and +a good deal of baggage,--which did not promise to accelerate the +journey. Once started, however, and with sufficient money in his pocket, +Edward resolved to delay for no man, and to be at Suza as soon as the +cardinal. He was somewhat mistaken in his calculation, indeed; for +Richelieu pursued his way, wherever he could, by water; and, though the +prime minister could always command boats, the young English gentleman +could not obtain the same accommodation in a country where the passage +of troops and the court had rendered all means of progression scarce. In +every other respect, the first part of Edward's journey was without +accident,--I might almost have said without incident. But it so happened +that at Montargis, where the young gentleman arrived in the afternoon, a +large party of ladies were setting out on horseback just at the moment +he entered the little town. The number of servants with them, and a +small body of the cardinal's guard, showed that they belonged to the +court, which could not otherwise have been discovered by their faces, as +each, according to the general custom of that day, wore a little black +velvet mask, called a _loup_, to guard her complexion when travelling. +Signor Morini, however, either divined who each was by her figure, or +else, with Italian carelessness, took his chance of mistakes; for he +dashed at once amidst the party, talked first to one and then to +another, and seemed very well received by all. Edward had ridden up by +his side; but, as he knew nobody, he spoke to nobody till one of the +ladies observed, in a very sweet voice, "You do not seem so sociable as +your companion, sir." + +"I could not presume," said Edward, "to address ladies whom I have never +seen before, unless they gave me some encouragement to do so." + +"I do not know whether you have seen me," said the lady; "but I have +seen you." + +"Pray, where?" asked Edward,--"that I may give that wild bird, Fancy, +some notion how to fly." + +"I saw you last with the cardinal, at the Hôtel de Bourgogne," said the +lady, with that sort of timid, trembling accents which are so attractive +on young and beautiful lips,--small drops of honey to young ears and +hearts. + +"Last?" said Edward. "Had I ever the pleasure of seeing you before that +night?" + +"I did not mean to say that," answered the lady. "But you imply that you +did see me then." + +"I saw two or three very beautiful persons," said Edward, "but have no +means of knowing which of those you are." + +"No, nor shall you have any," she replied, bowing her head gracefully, +"neither to-day, nor to-morrow, nor the next day; but if you are very +good, and behave yourself very well, I may take off my _loup_ some time +between this and Michaelmas. But now tell me: where are you riding so +fast?--to get yourself killed at Suza?" + +"No," answered Edward: "such is certainly not my object; but I am going +toward Venice, and wish to reach that city as soon as my horse can carry +me." + +"Oh, that is a long way off," said the lady. "I think I must keep you +near me. You shall be my cavalier along the road. I will find out some +crime you have committed, and put you to all sorts of penances." + +"But what if I have committed no crime?" asked the young gentleman. + +"Oh, but you have," she said. "You should have known me the moment you +saw me. No mask should be sufficient to hide a lady from a gallant and +courteous cavalier. You ought to be able to see my face through my +_loup_, as if it were made of glass." + +Edward smiled, but made no reply; but he thought within himself, +"Lucette would not have spoken so to a mere stranger. What a difference +there is between her pure, sweet simplicity and the free manners of +these courtly ladies!" + +"You do not answer," continued the lady: "I am afraid we do not ride +fast enough for you. Now, what is it makes you so anxious to run forward +to Venice? Now, I warrant it is some of the beautiful black eyes of the +City of the Sea." + +"No, indeed, it is not," replied Edward. "I never was in Venice in my +life." + +"Well," she continued, "love of some kind, at all events. Nothing but +love could make a man in such a hurry. Now, tell me what kind of love it +is." + +"Why, the most extraordinary love in the world," answered Edward. "The +love of a man for his wife,--a love they recognise little in France, not +at all in Italy, and so dilute in Turkey that it is not worth having." + +"Very marvellous love indeed," replied the lady. "Yet I think if I were +a man, and were married, I should love my wife better than you do." + +"I defy you," said Edward, laughing. + +"Now, I will catechize you," returned the lady. "Do you think of her +every day?" + +"Every hour, every moment," said Edward. + +"Do you make her your chief object in life?--pray for her, work for +her?" + +"Every thing else in life," said Edward, "is but valuable to me as it +has reference to her. Ambition becomes splendid when I think it may +elevate her. Money, which is but dross, seems to gain real worth if she +is to share it." + +"And do you ever," continued the lady, laughing, "stare at pretty faces +across a theatre and dream for a minute or two as to what might be your +luck if you had not tied yourself to another?" + +"No!" replied Edward, boldly. "I sometimes may stare at pretty faces, +and think them very beautiful, when I think there is a fanciful +resemblance to that which I think most beautiful of all." + +The lady was silent for a minute or two; but at length she answered, +"Well, I think you are very rude. You must be an Englishman, you are so +uncivil. You dare me so that I have a great mind to make you in love +with me, just to punish you. Nay, do not shake your head: I could do it +in five minutes. All men are as weak as water,--at least, so I have +always been told; and I could soon bring you to my feet if I chose to +employ a few little simple arts upon you." + +"I doubt not your power, dear lady," replied Edward, "upon any heart not +preoccupied like mine; but Helen of Troy, or her bright mistress, Venus +herself, could have no effect upon one who loves as I do." + +"Well, this is too bad," said the lady. "We shall see. We have a long +journey to take together; and if before it is over I do not make you +tell me you love me, my name is not--what it is." + +Just at this moment one of the young cavaliers rode up, with the gay and +dashing air of his country and his class, and addressed the lady in some +commonplace terms of gallant attention. In an instant she seemed turned +into ice,--answered a few words politely, but in so cold a tone that +Edward could not but see at once the dangerous preference she seemed to +show him. The young man appeared to feel it too; and, after staying by +her side for about five minutes, he directed his horse to another group, +where his society seemed more welcome. The conversation was renewed +between Edward and his fair companion as soon as the officer was gone, +and did not much vary in character from the specimen already given. It +was late, however, when the party arrived at Chatillon, and the ladies +retired at once to the apartments which had been prepared for them; but +at eight o'clock on the following morning none of them had quitted their +chambers, nor did Edward see any preparation among guards or attendants +for pursuing the journey before a late hour. Calling Pierrot without +much deliberation, the young Englishman ordered his horses to be +saddled, and was in the act of mounting, when Morini, whom he had not +yet seen that day, appeared at the door, exclaiming, "Hi? Where are you +going?" + +"To Suza," replied Edward, springing on his horse's back; and, without +waiting to hear any remonstrances from the little Italian, he rode off +as fast as he could go. + +We will not pursue him on his journey, nor even dwell upon the forcing +of the pass at Suza. Suffice it to say that Edward arrived, just in time +to volunteer, the night before the attack. Richelieu he did not see, +although he heard he was in the camp. But one of the first persons he +met with was the young officer who had gone down with him to the +outposts before Rochelle, and who now gayly marched up with him against +the entrenchments at Suza. It is well known how they were taken at the +first rush, with no great resistance on the part of the troops of Savoy. +But Edward and his companion both received slight pike-wounds,--one in +the arm and the other in the shoulder,--sufficient to show they had been +in the heat of the battle, but not severe enough to obtain much +commiseration. The king, as was usual with him, retired to his quarters +as soon as the pass was carried, without inquiring the amount of his +loss or taking any notice of the wounded. Not so Richelieu; for as soon +as the particulars could be ascertained he caused a list of all who had +suffered much, or little, to be laid before him. + +On the following morning, somewhat to his surprise, Edward received a +summons to attend the cardinal, and, when he presented himself, met with +a somewhat sharp rebuke for having left Morini and his party. + +"They tell me you are wounded," said Richelieu. "It serves you very +right, for having disobeyed my commands." + +"It is but a scratch, sir," said Edward. "A rusty nail in an old door +would inflict a worse; and I was anxious to show that in all cases, +except against my own country, I am really desirous of serving your +Eminence." + +"That is all very well," replied the cardinal. "But I like to be obeyed. +You could not tell my views or purposes in the directions which I gave. +But, as it is done, it cannot be helped. And now, I suppose, you are +longing to go on to Venice?" + +"Most anxiously," replied Edward, "if I understand your Eminence +rightly, that you free me from the promise I made to you some two years +ago, and authorize me to claim my bride wherever I may find her." + +"That is soon settled," said Richelieu; and, taking up a pen, he +wrote:--"Lucette Marie de Mirepoix du Valais is the wife of Edward +Langdale, of Buckley; and these are to summon and require all persons +who have or have had any control or custody of the said Lucette to give +her up to the said Edward Langdale, her husband, and, in the king's +name, to warn all persons to refrain from opposing the rights of the +said Edward Langdale in regard to the said Lucette de Mirepoix, under +pretence of relationship, guardianship, or any other cause whatever." + +He signed it with his name, and gave it to Edward, saying, "Get it +sealed, and then away to Venice as soon as you please. Peace will be +signed in three days, if I am not mistaken; and not only peace with +Savoy, young gentleman, but with England also,--hard-headed England! In +the mean time, you can pass freely. My safe-conduct--which of course you +have with you--is as good now, I imagine, in Italy as in France. Only +one thing more. Let it be understood that you return and join me as soon +as you have fulfilled your mission; and bring your bride with you, if +you find her." He paused, with a smile of much good-humor, and then +added, "When you come back I may have a little negotiation for you; for +the first steps to the surrender of Rochelle I owe to you." + +The political events which followed are well known. The peace of Suza +with Savoy and England, the raising of the siege of Casal, and the +relinquishment of Mantua to the house of Nevers, succeeded with the +utmost rapidity; and the Cardinal de Richelieu saw every thing that his +mind conceived or his hand touched perfectly successful. + +In the mean time, Edward Langdale hastened over the Alps, crossed the +whole breadth of Italy, and, taking boat at Mestré, landed in Venice. +But he was not so successful as the great man he had just left. +Richelieu's safe-conduct obtained for him instant access to all the +authorities of the republic; and, with more frankness than they usually +displayed, they informed him at once that the young lady he sought was +no longer in the city. She had been claimed, they said, some months +before, by authority which their laws prevented them from opposing, and +had been carried, they believed, into Savoy. Edward then asked for +Madame de la Cour; but he found that she also had left Venice, and had +gone, they believed, to Paris. The only person, they said, who knew any +thing of Mademoiselle de Mirepoix was an old merchant who had arrived +some days before and was living at a goldsmith's on the Sclavonian quay. +Edward hurried there, and, as he expected, found old Clement Tournon. +But the worthy syndic could give him no information, and was in almost +as much distress about his Lucette as Edward himself. + +"Depend upon it," he said, "that horrid Madame de Chevreuse has got +possession of the dear girl at last; and our only resource will be an +appeal to the cardinal. He has eyes everywhere, and will both know where +to find her and how to recover her." + +No time was lost. The old man and Edward set off together, directing +their course by Turin and Suza. But again they were disappointed. The +king, who in time of war forgot all his slothful inactivity and showed +the fire and eagerness of his father, had by this time turned upon the +Cevennes,--the last refuge of the Protestants in France,--and Richelieu +had followed--or, rather, accompanied--him. With the delay of one day at +Chambéry, to rest the old man, Edward pushed on after the cardinal +toward Nismes, hearing nothing as he went but tales of Louis's exploits. +The army of the Duc de Rohan, which had opposed successfully several of +the best generals of France, had seemed paralyzed by the fierce energy +of the king. Town after town had fallen; and Montauban itself, the +people said, could not hold out three days. Such was the last +intelligence which Edward received just after his entrance into Ners; +but at the same time came the news, far more satisfactory to him, that +Richelieu himself was at Alais, but a few miles distant. No horses were +to be procured: his own were tired nearly to foundering; and poor +Clement Tournon, in his eagerness to keep up with his young companion, +had greatly over-tasked his strength. Nothing remained but to pass the +night at Ners, a mere village, where almost every house was occupied by +some of the followers of the court. But though the accommodation was as +poor as it could be, yet Edward saw the next morning that Clement +Tournon must still remain at Ners. His bodily powers were not equal to +carry him farther without long repose; and Edward set out for Alais +alone, leaving Pierrot to attend upon the old man. + +The little town, when the young gentleman entered it, was all alive. +Courtiers and soldiers were fluttering about in every direction; and the +gay dresses, unspotted and fresh, showing that the court had been some +days there, contrasted sadly with Edward's dusty garments and +travel-soiled apparel. Nevertheless, he rode straight forward, through +what is now called the Place de la Maréchale, to a house where the +numerous groups, both on foot and horseback, before the door, led him to +believe the cardinal's quarters were established. There he sprang to the +ground under the arcade, and, leaving his tired horse, with the perfect +certainty that he would not run away, he was pushing his way through the +little crowd around, noticed very little by anybody, when the voice of +his young companion in the attack at Suza met his ear, exclaiming, "Ah, +Monsieur de Langdale! Have you heard Montauban has been taken? But do +not let me stop you; for his Eminence was asking for you yesterday." + +"As you are of his household," said Edward, "will you have the kindness +to tell his Eminence that I am here?--for I know none of these people. +They do not know me; and I suspect I am not a very courtier-like figure +to seek an audience of the prime minister." + +"I will do it directly," said the young officer. "He is very busy, but I +know he wishes to see you: so follow me up." + +Edward mounted the stairs close after his companion, and, entering a +chamber to which there was no ante-room, as he had expected, found +himself immediately in the presence of Richelieu, who was seated at a +table near the window, while two secretaries were writing at his right +hand. The room was half full of people, some of whom were waiting +silently, as if for audience, while others were conversing in low +voices; and one middle-aged man was speaking to the cardinal, with a +paper in his hand, as if making a report. Richelieu raised his eyes as +Edward entered, but took no notice, and continued to listen attentively +to the gentleman who was speaking. As soon as he was done, the cardinal +said, "Well, be it so. See that it is done;" and wrote a few words on a +sheet of paper. Another and another succeeded, spoke a few words to the +minister, and received their answer; and then Richelieu, rising, said, +aloud, "No more audiences this morning." The young Englishman was about +to retire with the rest, who were slowly going out; but the cardinal +added the next moment, "Monsieur Langdale, I wish to speak to you." + +Thus saying, he passed into a room beyond, and Edward followed, leaving +none but the secretaries in that which they had just quitted. It was a +bed-chamber they now entered, (for, when campaigning, prime ministers, +as well as others, must put up with such accommodation as they can get,) +and Richelieu neither seated himself nor asked his companion to be +seated. + +"You have come at an important moment," said the cardinal, abruptly, +"and I almost feared you would not be here in time. Are you willing to +undertake a mission for me to Monsieur le Duc de Rohan, some forty miles +hence?" + +"Certainly, your Eminence," replied Edward. "But I must make three +conditions, though to you. They are very slight ones." + +"Ha!" said Richelieu, his brow somewhat darkening. "I am not accustomed +to conditions. But let me hear what they are. You are an original, like +most of your countrymen. Perhaps I shall be able to grant them." + +"Simply these three, my lord cardinal:--That while I am gone you shall +cause search to be made for my young wife, who is not in Venice, has +been brought to France, and is beyond doubt, I think, in the hands of +Madame de Chevreuse." + +"Granted," said Richelieu. "The next." + +"That you shall send over a physician to good old Clement Tournon, whom +I have left ill at Ners." + +"Ah!" said Richelieu. "Is he at Ners? That is most lucky. That man +Morini said truly. Fortune goes with you. He may help me to raise the +money, so that there may be no delay; for you must know, Master +Langdale, that even kings and prime ministers, when they carry on +expensive wars, sometimes come to the end of their finances at the very +moment when large sums are most necessary. Clement Tournon: he is +connected with all the goldsmiths of Nismes, is he not?" + +"I heard him say on the journey that he had a number of friends there, +and also in Avignon," replied Edward. + +"It will do," said Richelieu. "Your second condition is granted. What is +the third?" + +"That your Eminence lends me a fresh horse, for my own is knocked up. I +could wish also that I had some servant with me,--some one who knows the +way." + +"The horse you shall have," said Richelieu; "but as for the servant," he +continued, thoughtfully, "I think you must go alone. I do not wish to +send any Frenchman to that camp. Nay, more: nobody must know where you +are going. Look at this map. This is the road." And he pointed with his +finger to a map of the Cevennes. "First you go there,--to St. +Martin,--then on to Mas Dieu. There you must inquire where the duke is +encamped. I think it is somewhere near St. Andeal; but you will soon +learn." + +He ceased, and fell into a fit of thought; and, after waiting two or +three minutes, Edward inquired, "And what am I to say to him? or will +your Eminence write?" + +"No, I will negotiate no more," answered Richelieu. "Say to him I have +received his message; and I answer, 'One hundred thousand crowns in +money, in four days, on the conditions expressed before;' and I wish his +answer, Yes or No, before mid-day to-morrow." + +"One horse will not carry me there and back--if it be forty miles--in +that time over those mountains," said Edward. + +"Pshaw! Kill the horse and buy another!" exclaimed Richelieu. "It is +worth ten horses for me to have the news to-morrow. Stay; you must have +some credence." + +Thus saying, he went into the other room again, was absent a few +minutes, and returned with a small packet and a sheet of paper. Both +were addressed to the Duc de Rohan, and on the latter was written, "Hear +and believe the bearer, Edward Langdale, to you already known;" and then +followed the great scrawl of "Richelieu." The packet was sealed; but, as +the cardinal gave it to his young friend, he said, "That contains the +terms which he must sign and return by your hand. Go down and get +yourself some breakfast in the eating-hall while the horse is getting +ready. You will find good wine here. But remember: silence!" + +Edward went down, and soon procured refreshment; but, ere he had eaten +more than a few mouthfuls or drank more than one draught of wine, one of +the secretaries whom he had seen above came in, with a very reverential +bow, saying, "His Eminence desires me to ask if Monsieur de Langdale +requires any money for his journey." + +"No," replied Edward: "I have enough." + +The horse was announced as ready the moment after, and Edward, springing +on his back, set out before the secretary lost sight of him. + + + + +CHAPTER L. + + +The ride was long and hot, for it was just the middle of the month of +June; and though the scenery is perhaps without its parallel in the +whole world, combining more beauties and more varieties of beauty than +ever I saw anywhere else, though every now and then the road was shaded +with trees attaining a height and breadth which would shame the +forest-giants, yet toward evening Edward was forced to acknowledge to +himself that he was very much exhausted. The horse which bore him was +excellent, strong, willing, but not easy in its gait; and it also, ere +they reached St. Andeal, showed the effects of the heat, though it had +not had the preceding journey from Ners to Alais. At St. Audral he had +but little difficulty in extracting from the towns-people an account of +the position of the Duc de Rohan's camp, and Edward rode on under the +shade of the mountains somewhat more slowly, calculating that he would +have time both to take some rest and return to Alais before noon on the +following day. + +It was dark when he arrived; and all that he could discover of the +position of the camp was that it was very strong, while a number of +mountain-gorges radiating from a centre offered the means of retreat in +almost any direction. After some difficulties and delays at the +outposts, he gave up his horse to one of the soldiers, who regarded him +with a somewhat gloomy look, and was led to a little, rudely-constructed +hut, where a sentry kept guard before the door. He found the Duc de +Rohan perfectly alone; and, advancing to meet him, he was received in a +much more courteous and friendly manner than at their last interview. + +"Monsieur Langdale," said the duke, holding out his hand, "I am glad to +see you. Pray, be seated. I can only offer you a stool in this place, +for we are obliged to fare hardly here. What brings you now I know not; +but I am glad of an opportunity of apologizing for some rudeness and +heat which I displayed at our last meeting. By your bearing the +cardinal's safe-conduct, I presume you come from him. What have you to +say?" + +"First let me hand you this," said Edward, giving him the letter of +credence, over which the duke ran his eye hastily. "And next," said +Edward, "that, in answer to your message, his Eminence says, 'One +hundred thousand crowns, to be paid in four days, in money.'" + +"Is that all he said?" said De Rohan. "Are you to act as negotiator in +this business, sir?" + +"Not in the least," replied Edward. "I merely bear you a message, and am +perfectly ignorant of the whole circumstances, even of the contents of +this package,--though I have been told that it contains the conditions, +which, if you assent to them, you will sign, and enable me to return +them to the cardinal by noon to-morrow." + +The duke took the packet, broke open the seal, and looked at the +writing, which was very brief, consisting only of three paragraphs. +There was a second paper, however, apparently briefer still. As he read, +de Rohan knit his brows and bit his lip. + +"Am I to understand that you know nothing of these papers?" he asked. + +"Nothing whatever," replied Edward; and the duke, rising from his stool, +walked up and down the hut for some minutes in deep thought. + +"It must be done," he said, at length. "There is no use taking counsel +in the matter, for it is what they all wish. And thus ends the +Protestant cause in France! Monsieur Langdale, the only part of these +papers which is personal to myself is that." And he laid the second +enclosure before the young Englishman. "Why the cardinal has made this a +condition all along I cannot conceive, unless it be a point of pride +with him." + +Edward read the paper, and perceived these words:--"I do hereby solemnly +consent to and affirm the marriage of my cousin Lucette Marie de +Mirepoix du Valais with Edward Langdale, of Buckley, in the county of +Huntingdon, England, as solemnized at Nantes, on the 3d of July, in the +year of grace 1627." + +"I do assure you, my lord," said Edward, "this is none of my doing; and, +sooner than be any impediment to a peace so necessary to the poor +Protestants of France, I say, tear it. I will win Lucette by other +means." + +"No," said the duke: "I will sign it; I will sign all. And when a Rohan +pledges his word the cardinal may be assured that it will be kept." + +He took a little ink-horn from a neighboring table and signed the two +papers; then, shaking Edward by the hand again, he said, "Give you joy, +cousin! But you look ill and tired." + +"I have ridden some sixty miles," said Edward, "with hardly any food, +and no rest." + +The duke heard his reply with a rueful smile, but called a man from +without, telling him to bring the best he had for a young gentleman's +supper. The best was merely a bone of ham and some brown bread; but +there was added a flagon of very good wine. + +"I require a little rest more than any thing," said Edward; "and I would +fain, my lord, lie down to sleep for a few minutes, if your people will +take care of my horse and wake me at four o'clock when they change the +sentries." + +"That shall be done," said Rohan. "No chance of sleep for me to-night +after signing these papers. Here; you can sleep on my bed. It is as good +as any in the camp, I suppose." And, opening a door in the boarded +partition, he pointed to a great pile of rosemary and wild +mountain-herbs, saying, "It is a little better than the ground; but +fatigue gives balm to sleep." + +Edward's eyes were closed in a moment, and he knew nothing more till the +duke himself called him at four. "Your horse is at the door," he said. +"There are the papers. I hope his Eminence will be punctual in the +payment; for I cannot turn ten thousand men loose amongst the mountains +with no money in their pockets. Let the man who has brought the horse +walk by your side and give the passwords." + +Edward rode away well pleased with his success, and about half-past +eleven reached the small town of Alais. There he was informed that the +cardinal had not returned from Ners, but that Monsieur Rossignol would +see him; and, on being admitted to the well-known secretary, an order to +deliver the papers which he brought, signed by Richelieu, was given him. +Edward obeyed; and good Monsieur Rossignol, a man of great talent, +though originally a peasant, said, in a significant tone, "It will be +better for monsieur to ride out to the castle at Bourillaut, near Ners, +where he will find the cardinal." + +"My good sir, I am tired to death, and my horse can hardly move a leg. +You forget what these mountain-roads are like." + +"You can rest below for three or four hours," said the secretary. "Get +some refreshment,--by which time your own horse will have had rest +sufficient,--and then ride to Bourillaut in the cool of the evening. It +will be better. His Eminence desired it." + +The thought that perhaps Richelieu might have obtained, through his +many-eyed communications, some news of Lucette gave Edward fresh spirit; +but still he followed the secretary's advice, for, after having ridden +so hard for many days, some more repose was absolutely needful. Toward +four o'clock, however, he set out toward Ners, having ascertained that +the chateau to which he was directed lay on the right of the road some +two or three miles before he reached the village; and all that need be +said of his journey is that the road, as every one knows, is beautiful, +and that his thoughts were like all young men's thoughts,--a little wild +and chaotic, perhaps, but with Lucette prominent above all. Some two +miles before the castle appeared in sight, however, he was met by a +large cavalcade of gentlemen, ladies, guards, and pack-mules, with +Richelieu at its head, going back apparently to Alais. The cardinal drew +up his horse, saying, "I have heard of you, my young friend. Rossignol +has sent me a messenger. Our good friend the syndic is well and gone to +Nismes, but will be back in two days. Go on to the chateau, where I have +ordered every thing to be prepared for you. There rest in peace for the +night. You will find nobody there to plague you, unless it be a few +women, who, if they are wise, will let you alone." + +The cardinal moved on as he spoke; and Edward was fain to pursue his way +to Bourillaut. He found some servants on the drawbridge, loitering about +in the fine summer sunset; but as soon as his name was given the +omnipotent commands of the cardinal made them all activity and +attention. His horse was taken to the stable by one man; another ushered +him into a handsome room, communicating with a bedroom beyond; and a +third ran to bring the supper which he said his Eminence had ordered for +him. All around had a very comfortable aspect; and Edward thought, as he +threw himself into a chair, "A man with a wife whom he loved, and some +little ones to cheer him, might pass his life very happily even here." + +The supper was soon brought, and was evidently the handiwork of some +courtly cook; the wine was delicate and good; and Edward, according to +the English fashion of all times, chose to take the moderate portion he +did take after his meal. Telling the man who waited on him to leave him, +he was about to pass the evening quietly, when, soon after the servant +had quitted the room, the door was opened and some one looked in. One +glance at the figure showed Edward that it was the lady with whom he had +ridden some way from Montargis; and, to say the truth, the young +Englishman would willingly have been spared her company. She still wore +the black velvet _loup_ over her face, which Edward thought was somewhat +too coquettish, considering that it was now dark and the candles +lighted; but of course he found himself bound to be polite, though he +was determined to be as cold as ice. Yet there was something timid and +hesitating in her manner that surprised him. As she came forward he +could see that she trembled, and, rising, he placed a chair for her, +saying, "To what am I indebted for this honor?" + +"I have come to pass the evening with you," she said, in a low voice: "I +cannot let you be here all alone." + +Edward did not well know what to reply, and he answered at random:--"Let +me beseech you, at all events, madam, to lay aside your mask now. Your +complexion runs no risk here." + +"No," said the lady, shaking her head; "not till you tell me you love me +and will marry me." + +"Are you not married already?" exclaimed Edward. + +"Yes," she answered, "I am; but that makes no difference. Do you love +me?" + +"I have told you, dear lady," said Edward, in as calm a tone as he could +assume, "that it is impossible. If you are the lady whom I saw at the +Hôtel de Bourgogne, doubtless I could have loved you if my whole heart +and soul had not been given to another; for I have seldom seen anybody +more lovely." + +"But who is this you love so well?" said the lady. "Give me her +name,--her full name." + +"Lucette Marie de Mirepoix du Valais," said Edward, impatiently. + +The mask was off in a moment. "Am I so changed, Edward?" said Lucette, +throwing her arm round his neck. "I know I am taller,--much taller; but +I did not think you would ever forget me." + +"Forget you! Oh, no, no, Lucette!" cried Edward, circling her in his +arms and covering her with kisses. "Have I ever forgotten you? have I +ever ceased to think of you? But I saw you but for a moment across the +dull and misty air of a theatre; and you are changed,--more charming, +more beautiful than ever. But even Lucette unknown could not rob Lucette +long known of the love that has been hers always. When for a moment I +saw your face I did not hear your voice, and when I heard your voice I +did not see your face. But now I see all these loved features +distinctly, and wonder how I could be deceived." + +"We shall both change still more, Edward," she said, almost sadly. "And +will you love me still?" + +"Better,--still better," said Edward, clasping her to his heart. "If, +Lucette, I loved you still after long absence, when you yourself tried +to make me love another, do you suppose that affection will wane when +the change comes over us together and you yourself engage me to love you +still? Oh, yes, Lucette; I will not deny it; you are more beautiful than +you used to be; but it was my young Lucette I loved; and how could I +love any other?" + +"Well, I own that it was wrong," said Lucette, "to play with you and +tease you as I did; but it was not to try you, for I was sure I knew +your heart right well. It was the cardinal's command, however, and I +feared to disobey him. He brought us all from Paris,--some for one +reason, some for another: one that she might not intrigue against him at +the court of the queen-mother; another, to remove her from poor Anne of +Austria; others, for the amusement of the king and court, and perhaps to +assist him in his own views. Why he brought me I know not,--perhaps to +tease you on the road. No, no: I do him injustice. I sincerely believe +it was to unite us in the end. But do you forgive me, Edward? Do you +forgive me for acting a part that is not in my nature? A hundred times +the mask was nearly taken from my face. My joy to find that you loved +me still, and that you were faithful to your poor Lucette, passed all +bounds, and made me almost faint with happiness. It is nearly eighteen +months since I saw you at Aix; and since then how much I have suffered! +And I have heard that you have suffered too,--that you have been +apprehended and kept in prison, wounded again----" + +"Oh, that is nothing!" answered Edward. "All has been followed by joy +and success. I never valued wealth, Lucette, till I met with you; but +now I have beyond doubt recovered one-half of my patrimonial +property,--all that belongs to me; but enough, and more than enough, to +secure my Lucette against all those grinding cares and petty annoyances +which, though less sharp than the fierce blows of misfortune, are more +wearing to the spirit and the heart. But tell me, my Lucette: how came +you here? I had feared, from what they said at Venice, that you had +fallen into the hands of Madame de Chevreuse." + +"Oh, no," she answered: "that was a mistake. The council notified Madame +de la Cour that I was demanded by those who had a right to demand me in +France; but, with their usual secrecy, gave no further information. At +first I resolved to fly; but whither could I go? To Madame de Rohan I +could not apply; for her life in Venice has been one of great scandal +and disgrace. Madame de la Cour could not or would not help me. But in +the end I found that it was the ambassador from France who claimed me; +and, when assured that I was to be under the guardianship of the +cardinal himself, I went joyfully. He forbade me to write to you, saying +you promised soon to rejoin him; and on the night I saw you at the +theatre he told me to look at his _loge_, but to take no notice whatever +I might see. The only thing I now fear is the opposition of my high +relations. The Duc de Rohan is the head of the house; and, though he was +kind to me--very kind--while I was with him, I know him to be the +proudest man on earth, and as obdurate in his determinations as a rock." + +"You are my wife," said Edward, pressing her to his heart,--"my wife by +every tie, human and divine. Soubise may oppose, Madame de Chevreuse may +oppose; but their opposition is nothing. Look here what authority the +cardinal gave me when I was setting out for Venice." Lucette looked at +the paper which he gave her. + +"It was unkind of him to let you go," she said, "when he knew that I was +within two days' journey of Suza; but that was to punish you for leaving +that little Morini on the road." + +"Do you know why I left him?" said Edward, kissing her rosy lips. "It +was because a very beautiful lady said she would make me love her before +our journey was ended; and I was resolved to love nobody but Lucette. +No, my Lucette: our journey together has never ended, and through life +never must end. You are mine, as I have said, by every tie. The Duc de +Rohan, the only one who had any real authority, I saw last night. His +opposition was entirely withdrawn, and his formal approval of our +marriage at Nantes was given in writing." + +Lucette was silent for a moment or two, and turned a little pale; and +Edward asked, in a low tone, "What ladies are there here in the castle?" + +"None," said Lucette. "Except my maid, we are all alone. Now I +understand: I think I see why the cardinal took every one else away and +insisted on my staying." + +"Assuredly," replied Edward, "because you are my wife, Lucette, and he +did not wish that we should be separated any more." + +Her face was now as rosy as the dawn, and her breath came thick with +agitation. + +"You are mine, Lucette! are you not mine?" said Edward,--"my own, my +wife, my beloved?" + +"Oh, yes, yes!" sobbed Lucette, casting herself upon his bosom,--"my +husband, my own dear husband!" And they parted no more. + + + + +CHAPTER LI. + + +The famous peace of Alais, which terminated, during the reign of Louis +XIII., the struggles of the Protestants of France for a distinct +organization and left them nothing but an insecure toleration, was +concluded on the 27th of June, 1629, a few days after the reunion of +Edward and Lucette. None can doubt that Richelieu was politically right +in asserting and enforcing the sovereign authority over a body of men +who had made religious differences a pretext for rebellion and a +continual source of exaction and menace. Nor can any one accuse him of +having violated his word in any degree to the Huguenots. They were +suffered to follow the forms of their religion in peace; their peculiar +tenets formed no obstacle to their admission into the highest offices in +France; and the Duc de Rohan himself was employed in high and delicate +negotiations, and ultimately fell in the military service of the monarch +against whom he had so often fought. + +A few days after the period to which we have carried our story in the +last chapter, the hundred thousand crowns in gold, which were necessary +for him, as well to provide for his troops as to repair his own +shattered fortunes, were paid to the duke, according to Richelieu's +promise; and the Protestant army was immediately disbanded,--glad to +escape from the inevitable ruin and disaster which hung over their +heads. + +The peace concluded at Suza restored those friendly relations with +England which had so long been broken off. Spain and Savoy were, at +least for the time, cowed by the power of France; and all men, both +friends and enemies, saw in the well-directed operations of the French +armies and the success of French diplomacy the great military and +political genius of Armand du Plessis. + +In the mean time, the cardinal kindly left Edward and Lucette to the +enjoyment of each other's society; and it was not till some six or seven +days after the union which he himself had aided so much to bring about +that he visited them at the castle of Bourillaut. Great success, if in +the end it makes men haughty and overbearing, seems at first to soften +and expand the heart; and Richelieu, at the culminating-point of his +fortunes, sat down and conversed with the two young people as their +friend. He amused himself somewhat with their love, and expressed, and +probably felt, some gratification at their happiness. + +"Monsieur Langdale," he said, "a foolish prediction has been made to me, +that as you and I were born on the same hour of the same day of the same +month, though a number of years apart,--how many I do not remember,--my +fate and yours should run together; and, though of course I put no faith +in it, that prophecy has as yet proved remarkably true. I am therefore +very desirous to attach you to me, now that peace is signed between +France and England; and you must tell me, according to a promise which +you once made, what post I can give you at the court of France." + +Edward and Lucette looked at each other; and then, with his usual +frankness, Edward answered, "No post your Eminence can give me can +attach me more strongly to you than that which you have already given +me,--the husband of this dear lady. Two days ago we had a long +consultation with our good friend Clement Tournon, and laid out our +plans for life. He is resolved, with the sum he has amassed, to purchase +a small and beautiful estate and chateau which he has seen not far from +Paris; and Lucette and myself intend to live there a great part of each +year as his son and daughter. We shall of course visit England from time +to time; but our wish is to avoid courts and cities as much as may be." + +"Young people's dreams," said Richelieu, gravely. + +"That may be," said Edward, "but I trust it will not prove so. However, +if your Eminence were to give me some high post, you would make many of +the French nobility dissatisfied, and you might find me ungrateful; but, +as it is, I shall be near you the greater part of my days; and, whether +I may be in England or in France, if at any time I can serve you with my +hand, or my head, or my heart, believe me, I will not forget these happy +days are all owing to your great goodness." + +"I wish I could dream," said the cardinal, looking down thoughtfully. +"It must be a very happy thing to be so confident of the world and of +fate and of oneself. But be it so, Monsieur Langdale. Only remember!" + +"My lord, have I ever forgotten?" asked Edward. + +"No, no," said Richelieu; "and it is for that I have esteemed you. Come +and see me when you are near Paris; for when I have a leisure hour I +shall love your conversation. We will talk of art, and literature, and +science; and I shall banish for that hour the thought of politics, and +intrigue, and cabal: oh, how I hate them! And if you have a son," he +continued, laying his hand kindly upon that of Lucette as he rose to +depart, "you shall call his name Armand." + +"And you shall bless him," cried Lucette, warmly, kissing his hand; "and +I will tell him that you made his father and myself happy." + +Perhaps, in all his career of splendid misery, that was one of the +happiest hours that Richelieu had ever experienced. + +The Prince de Soubise, as is well known, did not return to France and +make his full submission to his king till Edward and Lucette had been +married some time. To Edward, whom he met at the court not long after +the final fall of Marie de Medici, he was polite and even friendly; but, +whether it was that he was naturally of a more haughty disposition than +his brother the Duc de Rohan, or that he was never placed under the same +pressure of circumstances, he refused to acknowledge, by any authentic +act, the legality of the marriage between his young cousin and the son +of one of his earliest friends. It made no difference to them, however, +nor troubled their peace in the least; and in the end, after witnessing +their mutual felicity for many years, both he and his brother the duke, +by their own wretched experience, were forced to acknowledge that a +marriage of affection has more chance for happiness than a marriage of +convenience. Still, however, with the same peculiar obduracy which had +characterized his resistance to the crown in the hopeless war of the +Protestants against Louis XIII., he refused to sign, on several +occasions, the papers which were necessary to enable Lucette to enter +fully into possession of her father's estates, saying that he would not +recognise her marriage with the second son of a simple English +gentleman. But his consent was passed over by certain forms of the +Parliament; and as for Madame de Chevreuse, with her usual gay +lightness, she signed her approbation of the marriage without a word of +opposition,--when she found that opposition would be vain. She was even +inclined to be exceedingly kind and intimate with the young pair; but +Edward gave no encouragement to her advances, and she satisfied herself +by declaring that, like many of his countrymen, he was a handsome man, +but somewhat brutal. + +In regard to Edward's claim to the estate of Buckley, there was no +opposition; and he kept quiet possession during the whole of his life of +that fine part of his inheritance. The estates of Langley were suffered +to go greatly to decay for several years, the rents accumulating in the +hands of the agent without ever being called for or paid over to any +one. + +How this property reverted to Edward himself, and how the objections of +the Prince de Soubise to the marriage of his young cousin with Edward +Langdale were at last done away,--what was the ultimate fate of Sir +Richard Langdale,--and how an old proverb was verified,--would be too +long of telling in the pages which yet remain. + +Perhaps, if God spares the life, the health, and the senses of the +author of this work, these particulars may all be related in another. At +all events, the history of Lord Montagu's Page is completed; for it +would be folly to pursue that history in the calm, continued, +uninterrupted happiness of his married life. Every one has been +unsuccessful in painting happiness with the pen. Dante failed in his +Paradiso, Milton in his Paradise Regained; and the writer of these pages +is not sufficiently presumptuous to suppose that he could succeed in +representing a state as near as this world permits to that which they +attempted to picture in vain. + + + THE END. + + + STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO. + PHILADELPHIA. + + * * * * * + + Transcriber's notes: + + P.18. 'It it' is changed to 'It is' + P.76. 'stoop' changed to 'swoop'. + P. 106, 'dulness' changed to 'dullness'. + P.108. 'Rochelois' changed to 'Rochellois'. + P.126. 'Loge' changed to 'Logé'. + P. 211. 'Loir' changed to 'Loire'. + P. 219. 'th' changed to 'there'. + + * * * * * + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lord Montagu's Page, by G. P. R. James + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40295 *** |