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| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 03:55:02 -0800 |
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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-05 03:55:02 -0800 |
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| tree | c1e0d90090632c8f2802f77100e7da4297105268 | |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3acbd82 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50670 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50670) diff --git a/old/50670-0.txt b/old/50670-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c50842d..0000000 --- a/old/50670-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6203 +0,0 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 50670 *** - -CLIO - -BY ANATOLE FRANCE - -THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE -IN AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION - -»EDITED BY JAMES LEWIS MAY -AND BERNARD MIALL« - -A TRANSLATION BY WINIFRED STEPHENS - -LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD -NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY - -MCMXXII - - - - -TO - -EMILE ZOLA - - - - NOTE BY THE EDITORS - - _The Château de Vaux le Vicomte_ is a translation of the - text of a sumptuously illustrated volume descriptive of this - wonderful monument of human frailty and ambition, published - in 1888 by Lemercier et Cie with plates by Rodolphe Pfnor. - Although the text has not been published apart from the - plates in France, it seemed only fitting to include a - translation of _The Château de Vaux le Vicomte_ in a - complete edition of Monsieur Anatole France's works. - - - CONTENTS - - CLIO - - THE BARD OF KYME - KOMM OF THE ATREBATES - FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI - THE KING DRINKS - "LA MUIRON" - - - THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX-LE-VICOMTE - - PREFACE - NICOLAS FOUCQUET - THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX - - -[Transcribers' Note: to this English translation of Clio we added 12 -plates by Mucha, who illustrated the French 1900 edition, which is also -available at Project Gutenberg.] - - - - - -CLIO - - - - -THE BARD OF KYME - - -Along the hill-side he came, following a path which skirted the sea. -His forehead was bare, deeply furrowed and bound by a fillet of red -wool. The sea-breeze blew his white locks over his temples and pressed -the fleece of a snow-white beard against his chin. His tunic and his -feet were the colour of the roads which he had trodden for so many -years. A roughly made lyre hung at his side. He was known as the Aged -One, and also as the Bard. Yet another name was given him by the -children to whom he taught poetry and music, and many called him the -Blind One, because his eyes, dim with age, were overhung by swollen -lids, reddened by the smoke of the hearths beside which he was wont -to sit when he sang. But his was no eternal night, and he was said -to see things invisible to other men. For three generations he had -been wandering ceaselessly to and fro. And now, having sung all day -to a King of Ægea, he was returning to his home, the roof of which -he could already see smoking in the distance; for now, after walking -all night without a halt for fear of being overtaken by the heat of -the day, in the clear light of the dawn he could see the white Kyme, -his birthplace. With his dog at his side, leaning on his crooked -staff, he walked with slow steps, his body upright, his head held -high because of the steepness of the way leading down into the narrow -valley and because he was still vigorous in his age. The sun, rising -over the mountains of Asia, shed a rosy light over the fleecy clouds -and the hill-sides of the islands that studded the sea. The coast-line -glistened. But the hills that stretched away eastward, crowned with -mastic and terebinth, lay still in the freshness and the shadow of -night. - -The Aged One measured along the incline the length of twelve times -twelve lances and found, on the left, between the flanks of twin rocks, -the narrow entrance to a sacred wood. There, on the brink of a spring, -rose an altar of unhewn stones. - -It was half hidden by an oleander the branches of which were laden -with dazzling blossoms. The well-trodden ground in front of the altar -was white with the bones of victims. All around, the boughs of the -olive-trees were hung with offerings. And farther on, in the awesome -shadow of the gorge, rose two ancient oaks, bearing, nailed to their -trunks, the bleached skulls of bulls. Knowing that this altar was -consecrated to Phœbus, the Aged One plunged into the wood, and, taking -by its handle a little earthenware cup which hung from his belt, he -bent over the stream which, flowing over a bed of wild parsley and -water-cress, slowly wound its way down to the meadow. He filled his cup -with the spring-water, and, because he was pious, before drinking he -poured a few drops before the altar. He worshipped the immortal gods, -who know neither pain nor death, while on earth generation follows -generation of suffering men. He was conscious of fear; and he dreaded -the arrows of Leto's sons. Full of sorrows and of years, he loved the -light of day and feared death. For this reason an idea occurred to him. -He bent the pliable trunk of a sapling, and drawing it towards him hung -his earthenware cup from the topmost twig of the young tree, which, -springing back, bore the old man's offering up to the open sky. - -White Kyme, wall-encircled, rose from the edge of the sea. A steep -highway, paved with flat stones, led to the gate of the town. This gate -had been built in an age beyond man's memory, and it was said to be -the work of the gods. Carved upon the lintel were signs which no man -understood, yet they were regarded as of good omen. Not far from this -gate was the public square, where the benches of the elders shone -beneath the trees. Near this square, on the landward side, the Aged One -stayed his steps. There was his house. It was low and small, and less -beautiful than the neighbouring house, where a famous seer dwelt with -his children. Its entrance was half hidden beneath a heap of manure, in -which a pig was rooting. This dunghill was smaller than those at the -doors of the rich. But behind the house was an orchard, and stables of -unquarried stone, which the Aged One had built with his own hands. The -sun was climbing up the white vault of heaven, the sea wind had fallen. -The invisible fire in the air scorched the lungs of men and beasts. -For a moment the Aged One paused upon the threshold to wipe the sweat -from his brow with the back of his hand. His dog, with watchful eye and -hanging tongue, stood still and panted. - -The aged Melantho, emerging from the house, appeared on the threshold -and spoke a few pleasant words. Her coming had been slow, because a god -had sent an evil spirit into her legs which swelled them and made them -heavier than a couple of wine-skins. She was a Carian slave and in her -youth the King had bestowed her on the bard, who was then young and -vigorous. And in her new master's bed she had conceived many children. -But not one was left in the house. Some were dead, others had gone away -to practise the art of song or to steer the plough in distant Achaian -cities, for all were richly gifted. And Melantho was left alone in the -house with Areta, her daughter-in-law, and Areta's two children. - -She went with the master into the great hall with its smoky rafters. In -the midst of it, before the domestic altar, lay the hearthstone covered -with red embers and melted fat. Out of the hall opened two stories of -small rooms; a wooden staircase led to the upper chambers, which were -the women's quarters. Against the pillars that supported the roof leant -the bronze weapons which the Aged One had borne in his youth, in the -days when he followed the kings to the cities to which they drove in -their chariots to recapture the daughters of Kyme whom the heroes had -carried away. From one of the beams hung the skin of an ox. - -The elders of the city, wishful to honour the bard, had sent it to -him on the previous day. He rejoiced at the sight of it. As he stood -drawing a long breath into a chest which was shrunken with age, he took -from beneath his tunic, with a few cloves of garlic remaining from -his alfresco supper, the King of Ægea's gift; it was a stone fallen -from heaven and precious, for it was of iron, though too small for a -lance-tip. He brought with him also a pebble which he had found on the -road. On this pebble, when looked at in a certain light, was the form -of a man's head. And the Aged One, showing it to Melantho, said: - -"Woman, see, on this pebble is the likeness of Pakoros, the blacksmith; -not without permission of the gods may a stone thus present the -semblance of Pakoros." - -And when the aged Melantho had poured water over his feet and hands in -order to remove the dust that defiled them, he grasped the shin of beef -in his arms, placed it on the altar and began to tear it asunder. Being -wise and prudent, he did not delegate to women or to children the duty -of preparing the repast; and, after the manner of kings, he himself -cooked the flesh of beasts. - -Meanwhile Melantho coaxed the fire on the hearth into a flame. She -blew upon the dry twigs until a god wrapped them in fire. Though the -task was holy, the Aged One suffered it to be performed by a woman -because years and fatigue had enfeebled him. When the flames leapt up -he cast into them pieces of flesh which he turned over with a fork of -bronze. Seated on his heels, he inhaled the smoke; and as it filled -the room his eyes smarted and watered; but he paid no heed because he -was accustomed to it and because the smoke signified abundance. As the -toughness of the meat yielded to the fire's irresistible power, he -put fragments of it into his mouth and, slowly masticating them with -his well-worn teeth, ate in silence. Standing at his side, the aged -Melantho poured the dark wine into an earthenware cup like that which -he had given to the god. - -When he had satisfied hunger and thirst, he inquired whether all in -house and stable was well. And he inquired concerning the wool woven in -his absence, the cheese placed in the vat and the ripe olives in the -press. And, remembering that his goods were but few, he said: - -"The heroes keep herds of oxen and heifers in the meadows. They have a -goodly number of strong and comely slaves; the doors of their houses -are of ivory and of brass, and their tables are laden with pitchers -of gold. The courage of their hearts assured them of wealth, which -they sometimes keep until old age. In my youth, certes, I was not -inferior to them in courage, but I had neither horses nor chariots, nor -servants, nor even armour strong enough to vie with them in battle and -to win tripods of gold and women of great beauty. He who fights on foot -with poor weapons cannot kill many enemies, because he himself fears -death. Wherefore, fighting beneath the town walls, in the ranks, with -the serving men, never did I win rich spoil." - -The aged Melantho made answer: - -"War giveth wealth to men and robs them of it. My father, Kyphos, had -a palace and countless herds at Mylata. But armed men despoiled him of -all and slew him. I myself was carried away into slavery, but I was -never ill-treated because I was young. The chiefs took me to their bed -and never did I lack food. You were my best master and the poorest." - -There was neither joy nor sadness in her voice as she spoke. - -The Aged One replied: - -"Melantho, you cannot complain of me, for I have always treated you -kindly. Reproach me not with having failed to win great wealth. -Armourers are there and blacksmiths who are rich. Those who are skilled -in the construction of chariots derive no small advantage from their -labours. Seers receive great gifts. But the life of minstrels is hard." - -The aged Melantho said: - -"The life of many men is hard." - -And with heavy step she went out of the house, with her -daughter-in-law, to fetch wood from the cellar. It was the hour when -the sun's invincible heat prostrates men and beasts, and silences even -the song of the birds in the motionless foliage. The Aged One stretched -himself upon a mat, and, veiling his face, fell asleep. - -As he slumbered he was visited by a succession of dreams, which were -neither more beautiful nor more unusual than those which he dreamed -every day. In these dreams appeared to him the forms of men and of -beasts. And, because among them he recognized some whom he had known -while they lived on the green earth and who having lost the light of -day had lain beneath the funeral pile, he concluded that the shades of -the dead hover in the air, but that, having lost their vigour, they -are nothing but empty shadows. He learned from dreams that there exist -likewise shades of animals and of plants which are seen in sleep. He -was convinced that the dead, wandering in Hades, themselves form their -own image, since none may form it for them, unless it were one of those -gods who love to deceive man's feeble intellect. But, being no seer, -he could not distinguish between false dreams and true; and, weary of -seeking to understand the confused visions of the night, he regarded -them with indifference as they passed beneath his closed eyelids. - -On awakening, he beheld, ranged before him in an attitude of respect, -the children of Kyme, whom he instructed in poetry and music, as his -father had instructed him. Among them were his daughter-in-law's two -sons. Many of them were blind, for a bard's life was deemed fitting for -those who, bereft of sight, could neither work in the fields nor follow -heroes to war. - -In their hands they bore the offerings in payment for the bard's -lessons, fruit, cheese, a honeycomb, a sheep's fleece, and they waited -for their master's approval before placing it on the domestic altar. - -The Aged One, having risen and taken his lyre which hung from a beam in -the hall, said kindly: - -"Children, it is just that the rich should give much and the poor less. -Zeus, our father, hath unequally apportioned wealth among men. But he -will punish the child who withholds the tribute due to the divine bard." - -The vigilant Melantho came and took the gifts from the altar. And the -Aged One, having tuned his lyre, began to teach a song to the children, -who with crossed legs were seated on the ground around him. - -"Hearken," he said, "to the combat between Patrocles and Sarpedon. This -is a beautiful song." - -And he sang. He skilfully modulated the sounds, applying the same -rhythm and the same measure to each line; and, in order that his voice -should not wander from the key, he supported it at regular intervals -by striking a note upon his three-stringed lyre. And, before making a -necessary pause, he uttered a shrill cry, accompanied by a strident -vibration of strings. After he had sung lines equal in number to double -the number of fingers on his two hands, he made the children repeat -them. They cried them out all together in a high voice, as, following -their master's example, they touched the little lyres which they -themselves had carved out of wood and which gave no sound. - -Patiently the Aged One sang the lines over and over until the little -singers knew every word. The attentive children he praised, but those -who lacked memory or intelligence he struck with the wooden part of his -lyre, and they went away to lean weeping against a pillar of the hall. -He taught by example, not by precept, because he believed poesy to be -of hoary antiquity and beyond man's judgment. The only counsels which -he gave related to manners. He bade them: - -"Honour kings and heroes, who are superior to other men. Call heroes -by their own name and that of their father, so that these names be not -forgotten. When you sit in assemblies gather your tunic about you and -let your mien express grace and modesty." - -Again he said to them: - -"Do not spit in rivers, because rivers are scared. Make no change, -either through weakness of memory or of your own imagining, in the -songs I teach you, and when a king shall say unto you: 'These songs are -beautiful. From whom did you learn them?' you shall answer: 'I learnt -them from the Aged One of Kyme, who received them from his father, whom -doubtless a god had inspired.'" Of the ox's shin, there yet remained a -few succulent morsels. Having eaten one of them before the hearth and -smashed the bone with an axe of bronze, in order to extract the marrow, -of which he alone in the house was worthy to partake, he divided the -rest of the meat into portions which should nourish the women and -children for the space of two days. - -Then he realized that soon nothing would be left of this nutritious -food, and he reflected: - -"The rich are loved by Zeus and the poor are not. All unwittingly I -have doubtless offended one of those gods who live concealed in the -forests or the mountains, or perhaps the child of an immortal; and -it is to expiate my involuntary crime that I drag out my days in a -penurious old age. Sometimes, without any evil intention, one commits -actions which are punishable because the gods have not clearly revealed -unto men that which is permitted and that which is forbidden. And -their will remains obscure." Long did he turn over those thoughts in -his mind, and, fearing the return of cruel hunger, he resolved not to -remain idly in his dwelling that night, but this time to go towards -the country where the Hermos flows between rocks and whence can be -seen Orneia, Smyrna and the beautiful Hissia, lying upon the mountain, -which, like the prow of some Phœnician boat, plunges into the sea. -Wherefore, at the hour when the first stars glimmer in the pale sky, -he girded himself with the cord of his lyre and went forth, along the -sea-shore, toward the dwellings of rich men, who, during their lengthy -feasts, love to hearken to the praise of heroes and the genealogies of -the gods. - -Having, according to his custom, journeyed all night, in the rosy dawn -of morning he descried a town perched upon a high headland, and he -recognized the opulent Hissia, dove-haunted, which from the summit of -her rock looks down upon the white islands sporting like nymphs in the -glistening sea. Not far from the town, on the margin of a spring, he -sat down to rest and to appease his hunger with the onions which he had -brought in a fold of his tunic. - -Hardly had he finished his meal when a young girl, bearing a basket -on her head, came to the spring to wash linen. At first she looked -at him suspiciously, but, seeing that he carried a wooden lyre slung -over his torn tunic and that he was old and overcome with fatigue, -she approached him fearlessly, and, suddenly, seized with pity and -veneration, she filled the hollows of her hands with drops of water -with which she moistened the minstrel's lips. - -Then he called her a king's daughter; he promised her a long life, and -said: - -"Maiden, desire floats in a cloud about thy girdle. Happy the man who -shall lead thee to his couch. And I, an old man, praise thy beauty like -the bird of night which cries all unheeded upon the nuptial roof. I am -a wandering bard. Daughter, speak unto me pleasant words." - -And the maiden answered: - -"If, as you say and as it seemeth, you are a musician, then no evil -fate brings you to this town. For the rich Meges to-day receiveth a -guest who is dear to him; and to the great of the town, in honour of -his guest, he giveth a sumptuous feast. Doubtless he would wish them to -hear a good minstrel. Go to him. From this very spot you may see his -house. From the seaward side it cannot be approached, because it is on -that high breeze-swept headland, which juts out into the waves. But if -you enter the town on the landward side, by the steps cut in the rock, -which lead up the vine-clad hill, you will easily distinguish from all -the other houses the abode of Meges. It has been recently whitewashed, -and it is more spacious than the rest." And the Aged One, rising with -difficulty on limbs which the years had stiffened, climbed the steps -cut in the rock by the men of old, and, reaching the high table-land -whereon is the town of Hissia, he readily distinguished the house of -the rich Meges. - -To approach it was pleasant, for the blood of freshly slaughtered bulls -gushed from its doors and the odour of hot fat was perceptible all -around. He crossed the threshold, entered the great banqueting-hall -and, having touched the altar with his hand, approached Meges, who -was carving the meat and ordering the servants. Already the guests -were ranged about the hearth, rejoicing in the prospect of a plenteous -repast. Among them were many kings and heroes. But the guest whom Meges -desired to honour by this banquet was a King of Chios, who, in quest -of wealth, had long navigated the seas and endured great hardship. His -name was Oineus. All the guests admired him because, like Ulysses in -earlier days, he had escaped from innumerable shipwrecks, shared in the -islands the couch of enchantresses and brought home great treasure. -He told of his travels and his labours, interspersing them with -inventions, for he had a nimble wit. - -Recognizing the bard by the lyre which hung at his side, the rich Meges -addressed the Aged One and said: - -"Be welcome. What songs knowest thou?" - -The Aged One made answer: - -"I know 'The Strife of Kings' which brought such great disaster to -the Achaians, I know 'The Storming of the Wall.' And that song is -beautiful. I know also 'The Deception of Zeus,' 'The Embassy' and -'The Capture of the Dead.' And these songs are beautiful. I know yet -more--six times sixty very beautiful songs." - -Thus did he give it to be understood that he knew many songs; but the -exact number he could not tell. - -The rich Meges replied in a mocking tone: - -"In the hope of a good meal and a rich gift, wandering minstrels ever -say that they know many songs; but, put to the test, it is soon seen -that they remember but a few lines, with the constant repetition of -which they tire the ears of heroes and of kings." - -The Aged One answered wisely: - -"Meges," he said, "you are renowned for your wealth. Know that the -number of the songs I know is not less than that of the bulls and -heifers which your herdsmen drive to graze on the mountain." Meges, -admiring the Old Man's intelligence, said to him kindly: - -"A small mind would not suffice to contain so great a number of songs. -But, tell me, is what thou knowest about Achilles and Ulysses really -true? For many are the lies in circulation touching those heroes." - -And the bard made answer: - -"All that I know of the heroes I received from my father, who learned -it from Muses themselves, for in earlier days in cave and forest the -immortal Muses visited divine singers. No inventions will I mingle -with the ancient tales." - -Thus did he speak, and wisely. Nevertheless to the songs he had known -from his youth upward he was wont to add lines taken from other songs -or the fruit of his own imagination. He himself had composed wellnigh -the whole of certain songs. But, fearing lest man should disapprove of -them, he did not confess them to be his own work. The heroes preferred -the ancient tales which they believed to have been dictated by a god, -and they objected to new songs. Wherefore, when he repeated lines of -his own invention, he carefully concealed their origin. And, as he was -a true poet and followed all the ancient traditions, his lines differed -in no way from those of his ancestors; they resembled them in form and -in beauty, and, from the beginning, they were worthy of immortal glory. - -The rich Meges was not unintelligent. Perceiving the Aged One to be a -good singer, he gave him a place of honour by the hearth and said to -him: - -"Old Man, when we have satisfied our hunger, thou shalt sing to us all -thou knowest of Achilles and Ulysses. Endeavour to charm the ears of -Oineus, my guest, for he is a hero full of wisdom." - -And Oineus, who had long wandered over the sea, asked the minstrel -whether he knew "The Voyages of Ulysses." But the return of the heroes -who had fought at Troy was still wrapped in mystery, and no one knew -what Ulysses had suffered in his wanderings over the pathless sea. - -The Old Man answered: - -"I know that the divine Ulysses shared Circe's couch and deceived the -Cyclops by a crafty wile. Women tell tales about it to one another. But -the hero's return to Ithaca is hidden from the bards. Some say that he -returned to possess his wife and his goods, others that he put away -Penelope because she had admitted her suitors to her bed, and that he -himself, punished by the gods, wandered ceaselessly among the people, -an oar upon his shoulder." - -Oineus replied: - -"In my travels I have heard that Ulysses died at the hands of his son." - -Meanwhile Meges distributed the flesh of oxen among his guests. And to -each one he gave a fitting morsel. Oineus praised him loudly. - -"Meges," he said, "one can see that you are accustomed to give -banquets." - -The oxen of Meges were fed upon the sweetsmelling herbs which grow on -the mountain-side. Their flesh was redolent thereof, and the heroes -could not consume enough of it. And, as Meges was constantly refilling -a capacious goblet which he afterwards passed to his guests, the repast -was prolonged far into the day. No man remembered so rich a feast. - -The sun was going down into the sea, when the herdsmen who kept the -flocks of Meges upon the mountain came to receive their share of the -wine and victuals. Meges respected them because they grazed the herds -not with the indolence of the herdsmen of the plain, but armed with -lances of iron and girded with armour in order to defend the oxen -against the attacks of the people of Asia. And they were like unto -kings and heroes, whom they equalled in courage. They were led by two -chiefs, Peiros and Thoas, whom the master had chosen as the bravest and -the most intelligent. And, indeed, handsomer men were not to be seen. -Meges welcomed them to his hearth as the illustrious protectors of his -wealth. He gave them wine and meat as much as they desired. - -Oineus, admiring them, said to his host: - -"In all my travels, I have never seen men with limbs so well formed and -muscular as those of these two master herdsmen." - -Then Meges uttered injudicious words. He said: "Peiros is the stronger -in wrestling, but Thoas the swifter in the race." - -At these words, the two herdsmen looked angrily at one another, and -Thoas said to Peiros: - -"You must have given the master some maddening drink to make him say -that you are the better wrestler." - -Then Peiros answered Thoas testily: - -"I flatter myself that I can conquer you in wrestling. As for racing, I -leave to you the palm which the master has given. For you who have the -heart of a stag could not fail to possess his feet." - -But the wise Oineus checked the herdsmen's quarrel. He artfully told -tales showing the danger of wrangling at feasts. And, as he spoke well, -he was approved. Peace having been restored, Meges said to the Aged One: - -"My friend, sing us 'The Wrath of Achilles' and the 'Gathering of the -Kings.'" - -And the Aged One, having tuned his lyre, poured forth into the thick -atmosphere of the hall great gusts of sound. - -He drew deep breaths, and all the guests hearkened in silence to the -measured words which recalled ages worthy to be remembered. And many -marvelled how so old a man, one withered by age like a vine-branch -which beareth neither fruit nor leaves, could emit such powerful notes. -For they did not understand that the power of the wine and the habit of -singing imparted to the musician a strength which otherwise would have -been denied him by enfeebled nerve and muscle. - -At intervals a murmur of praise rose from the assembly like a strong -gust of wind in the forest. But suddenly the herdsmen's dispute, -appeased for a while, broke out afresh. Heated with wine, they -challenged one another to wrestle and to race. Their wild cries rose -above the musician's voice, and vainly he endeavoured to make the -harmonious sounds which proceeded from his mouth and his lyre heard by -the assembly. The herdsmen who followed Peiros and Thoas, flushed with -wine, struck their hands and grunted like hogs. They had long formed -themselves into rival bands which shared the chiefs' enmity. - -"Dog!" cried Thoas. - -And he struck Peiros a blow on the face which drew blood from his mouth -and nostrils. Peiros, blinded, butted with his forehead against the -chest of Thoas and threw him backwards, his ribs broken. Straightway -the rival herdsmen cast themselves upon one another, exchanging blows -and insults. - -In vain did Meges and the Kings endeavour to separate the combatants. -Even the wise Oineus himself was repulsed by the herdsmen whom a god -had bereft of reason. Brass vessels flew through the air on all sides. -Great ox-bones, smoking torches, bronze tripods rose and fell upon the -combatants. The interlaced bodies of men rolled over the hearth on -which the fire was dying, in the midst of the liquor which flowed from -the burst wine-skins. - -Dense darkness enveloped the hall, a darkness full of groans and -imprecations. Arms, maddened by frenzy, seized glowing logs and hurled -them into the darkness. A blazing twig struck the minstrel as he stood -still and silent. - -Then a voice louder than all the noise of combat cursed these impious -men and this profane house. And, pressing his lyre to his breast, he -went out of the dwelling and walked along the high headland by the sea. -To his wrath had given place a great feeling of fatigue and a bitter -disgust with men and with life. - -A longing for union with the gods filled his breast. All things lay -wrapped in soft shadows, the friendly silence and the peace of night. -Westward, over the land which men say is haunted by the shades of the -dead, the divine moon, hanging in the clear sky, shed silver blossoms -upon the smiling sea. And the aged Homer advanced over the high -headland until the earth, which had borne him so long, failed beneath -his feet. - - - - -KOMM OF THE ATREBATES - - - -I - - -In a land of mists, near a shore which was beaten by the restless -sea and swept by billowy waves of sand raised by the Ocean winds, -the Atrebates had settled on the shifting banks of a broad stream. -There, amid pools of water and in forests of oak and of birch, they -lived protected by their stockades of felled tree-trunks. There they -bred horses excellent for draught-work, large-headed, short-necked, -broad-chested and muscular, and with powerful haunches. On the -outskirts of the forest they kept huge swine, wild as boars. With their -great dogs they hunted wild beasts, the skulls of which they nailed on -to the walls of their wooden houses. They lived on the flesh of these -creatures and on fish, both of the salt-water and the fresh. They -grilled their meat and seasoned it with salt, vinegar and cumin. They -drank wine, and, at their stupendous feasts, seated at their round -tables, they grew drunken. There were among them women who, acquainted -with the virtue of herbs, gathered henbane, vervain and that healing -plant called savin, which grows in the moist hollows of rocks. From the -sap of the yew-tree they concocted a poison. The Atrebates had also -priests and poets who knew things hidden from ordinary men. - -These forest-dwellers, these men of the marsh and the beach, were of -high stature. They wore their fair hair long, and they wrapped their -great white bodies in mantles of wool of the colour of the vine-leaf -when it grows purple in the autumn. They were subject to chiefs who -held sway over the tribes. - -The Atrebates knew that the Romans had come to make war on the peoples -of Gaul, and that whole nations with all their possessions had been -sold beneath their lance. News of happenings on the Rhone and the -Loire had reached them speedily. Words and signs fly like birds. And -that which, at sunrise, had been said in Genabum of the Carnutes was -heard in the first watch of the night on the Ocean strand. But the -fate of their brethren did not trouble them, or rather, being jealous -of them, they rejoiced in the sufferings which they endured at Cæsar's -hand. They did not hate the Romans, for they did not know them. -Neither did they fear them, since it seemed to them impossible for an -army to penetrate through the forests and marshes which surrounded -their dwellings. They had no towns, although they gave the name to -Nemetacum,[1] a vast enclosure encircled by a palisade, which, in case -of attack, served as a refuge for warriors, women and herds. As we have -said, they had throughout their country other similar places of refuge, -but these were smaller. To them, also, they gave the name of towns. - -It was not upon their enclosures of felled trees that they relied for -resistance to the Romans, whom they knew to be skilled in the capture -of cities defended by stone walls and wooden towers. But they relied -rather on their country's lack of roads. The Roman soldiers, however, -themselves constructed the roads over which they marched. They dug the -ground with a strength and rapidity unknown to the Gauls of the dense -forest, among whom iron was rarer than gold. And one day the Atrebates -were astounded to learn that the Roman road, with its milestones and -its fine paved highway, was approaching their thickets and marshes. -Then they made alliance with the people scattered through the forest -which they called the Impenetrable, and numerous tribes entered into -a league against Cæsar. The chiefs of the Atrebates uttered their -war-cry, girded themselves with their baldrics of gold and of coral, -donned their helmets adorned with the antlers of the stag, or the elk, -or with buffalo horns, and drew their daggers, which were not equal to -the Roman sword. They were vanquished, but because they were courageous -they had to be twice conquered. - -Now among them was a chief who was very rich. His name was Komm. He -had a great store of torques, bracelets and rings in his coffers. -Human heads he had also, embalmed in oil of cedar. They were the heads -of hostile chiefs slain by himself or by his father or his father's -father. Komm enjoyed the life of a man who is strong, free and powerful. - -Followed by his weapons, his horses, his chariots and his Breton -bulldogs, by the multitude of his fighting men and his women, he would -wander without let or hindrance over his boundless dominions, through -forest or along river-bank, until he came to a halt in one of those -woodland shelters, one of those primitive farms of which he possessed -a great number. There, at peace, surrounded by his faithful followers, -he would fish, hunt the wild beasts, break in his horses and recall -his adventures in war. And, as soon as the desire seized him, he would -move on. He was a violent, crafty, subtle-minded man excelling in deed -and in word. When the Atrebates shouted their war-cry, he forbore to -don the helmet which was adorned with the horns of an ox. He remained -quietly in one of his wooden houses full of gold, of warriors, or -horses, of women, of wild pigs and smoked fish. After the defeat of -his fellow-countrymen, he went and found Cæsar and placed his brains -and his influence at the service of the Romans. He was well received. -Concluding rightly that this clever, powerful Gaul would be able to -pacify the country and hold it in subjection to Rome, Cæsar bestowed -upon him great powers and nominated him King of the Atrebates. Thus -Komm, the chieftain, became Commius Rex. He wore the purple, and coined -money whereon appeared his likeness in profile, his head encircled by -a diadem with sharp points like those of the Greek and barbarian kings -who wore their crowns as tokens of their friendship with Rome. - -He was not execrated by the Atrebates. His sagacious and -self-interested behaviour did not discredit him with a people devoid -of Greek and Roman ideas of patriotism and citizenship. These savage, -inglorious Gauls, ignorant of public life, esteemed cunning, yielded to -force and marvelled at royal power, which seemed to them a magnificent -innovation. The majority of these people, rough woodlanders or -fishermen of the misty coast, had a still better reason for not blaming -the conduct and the prosperity of their chieftain; not knowing that -they were Atrebates, nor even that Atrebates existed, the King of the -Atrebates concerned them but little. Wherefore Komm was not unpopular. -And if the favour of Rome meant danger to him, that danger did not come -from his own people. - -Now in the fourth year of the war, towards the end of summer, Cæsar -armed a fleet for a descent upon Britain. Desiring to secure allies -in the great Island, he resolved to send Komm as his ambassador to -the Celts of the Thames, with the offer of an alliance with Rome. -Sagacious, eloquent and by birth akin to the Britons--for certain -tribes of the Atrebates had settled on both banks of the Thames--Komm -was eminently fitted for this mission. - -Komm was proud of his friendship with Cæsar. But he was in no hurry to -discharge this mission, of the dangers of which he was fully aware. -To induce him to undertake it Cæsar was compelled to grant him many -favours. From the tribute paid by other Gallic towns he exempted -Nemetacum, which was already growing into a city and a metropolis, so -rapidly did the Romans develop the countries which they conquered. He -somewhat relaxed the rigorous rule of the conquerors by restoring to -it its rights and its own laws. Further, he gave Komm to rule over the -Morini, who were the neighbours of the Atrebates on the sea-shore. - -Komm set sail with Caius Volusenus Quadratus, prefect of cavalry, -appointed by Cæsar to conduct a reconnaissance in Britain. But when the -ship approached the sandy beach at the foot of the bird-haunted white -cliffs, the Roman refused to disembark, fearing unknown danger and -certain death. Komm landed with his horses and his followers and spoke -to the British chiefs who had come to meet him. He counselled them to -prefer profitable friendship with the Romans to their pitiless wrath. -But these chiefs, the descendants of Hu, the Powerful, and of his -comrades in arms, were proud and violent. They listened impatiently to -Komm's words. Anger clouded their woad-stained countenances, and they -swore to defend their Island against the Romans. - -"Let them land here," they cried, "and they will disappear like the -snow on the sand of the sea-shore when the south wind blows upon it." - -Holding Cæsar's counsel to be an insult, they were already drawing -their daggers from their belts and preparing to put to death the herald -of shame. - -Standing bowed over his shield in the attitude of a suppliant, Komm -invoked the name of brother by which he was entitled to call them. They -were sons of the same fathers. - -Wherefore the Britons forbore to slay him. They conducted him in chains -to a great village near the coast. Passing down a road bordered by -huts of wattle-work, he noticed high flat stones, fixed in the ground -at irregular intervals, and covered with signs which he thought to be -sacred, for it was not easy to decipher their meaning. He perceived -that the huts of this great village, though poorer, were not unlike -those of the villages of the Atrebates. In front of the chiefs' -dwellings poles were erected from which hung the antlers of deer, the -skulls of boars and the fair-haired heads of men. Komm was taken into -a hut which contained nothing save a hearthstone still covered with -ashes, a bed of dried leaves and the image of a god shapen from the -trunk of a lime-tree. Bound to the pillar which supported the thatched -roof, the Atrebate meditated on his ill luck and sought in his mind for -some magic word of power or some ingenious device which should deliver -him from the wrath of the British chieftains. - -And to beguile his wretchedness, after the manner of his ancestors, he -composed a song of menace and complaint, coloured by pictures of his -native woods and mountains, the memory of which filled his heart. - -Women with babes at the breast came and looked at him curiously and -questioned him as to his country, his race and his adventures. He -answered them kindly. But his soul was sad and wracked by cruel anxiety. - -[1] The modern Arras.--_Trans._ - - - -2 - - -Detained until the end of summer on the Morini shore, Cæsar set sail -one night about the third watch, and by the fourth hour of day had -sight of the Island. The Britons awaited him on the beach. But neither -their arrows of hard wood nor their scythed chariots, nor their -long-haired horses trained to swim in the sea among the shoals, nor -their countenances made terrible with paint gave check to the Romans. -The Eagle surrounded by legionaries touched the soil of the barbarians' -Island. The Britons fled beneath a shower of stone and lead hurled from -machines which they believed to be monsters. Struck with terror, they -ran like a herd of elks before the spear of the hunter. - -When towards evening they had reached the great village near the coast, -the chiefs sat down on stones ranged in a circle by the road-side -and took counsel. All night they continued to deliberate; and when -dawn began to gleam on the horizon, while the larks' song pierced the -grey sky, they went into the hut where Komm of the Atrebates had been -enchained for thirty days. They looked at him respectfully because of -the Romans. They unbound him. They offered him a drink made of the -fermented juice of wild cherries. They restored to him his weapons, his -horses, his comrades, and, addressing him with flattering words, they -entreated him to accompany them to the camp of the Romans and to ask -pardon for them from Cæsar the Powerful. - -"Thou shalt persuade him to be our friend," they said to him, "for -thou art wise and thy words are nimble and penetrating as arrows. Among -all the ancestors whose memory is enshrined in our songs, there is not -one who surpasses thee in sagacity." - -It was with joy Komm of the Atrebates heard these words. But he -concealed his pleasure, and, curling his lips into a bitter smile, he -said to the British chiefs, pointing to the fallen willow leaves that -were driven in eddies by the wind: - -"The thoughts of vain men are stirred like these leaves and ceaselessly -carried in every direction. Yesterday they took me for a madman and -said I had eaten of the herb of Erin that maddens the grazing beasts. -To-day they perceive in me the wisdom of their ancestors. Nevertheless -I am as good a counsellor one day as another, for my words depend -neither upon the sun nor upon the moon, but upon my understanding. As -the reward of your ill-doing, I ought to deliver you up to the wrath -of Cæsar, who would cut off your hands and put out your eyes, so that -begging bread and beer in the wealthy villages you would testify to his -might and justice throughout the Island of Britain. Notwithstanding I -will forget the wrong you have done me. I will remember that we are -brethren, that the Britons and the Atrebates are the fruit of the same -tree. I will act for the good of my brethren who drink the waters of -the Thames. Cæsar's friendship, which I came to their Island to offer -them, I will restore to them now that they have lost it through their -folly. Cæsar, who loves Komm, and has made him to be King over the -Atrebates and the Morini who wear collars of shells, will love the -British chiefs, painted with glowing colours, and will establish them -in their wealth and power, because they are the friends of Komm, who -drinketh the waters of the Somme." - -And Komm of the Atrebates spake again and said: "Learn from me that -which Cæsar shall say unto you when you bend over your shields at the -foot of his tribunal and that which it behooveth you in your wisdom to -reply unto him. He will say unto you: 'I grant you peace. Deliver up -to me noble children as hostages.' And you will make answer: 'We will -deliver up unto you our noble children. And we will bring you certain -of them this very day. But the greater number of our noble children are -in the distant places of this Island, and to bring them hither will -take many days.'" - -The chiefs marvelled at the subtle mind of the Atrebate. One of them -said to him: - -"Komm, thou art possessed of a great understanding, and I believe -thy heart to be filled with kindness toward thy British brethren who -drink the waters of the Thames. If Cæsar were a man, we should have -courage to fight against him, but we know him to be a god because his -vessels and his engines of war are living creatures and endowed with -understanding. Let us go and ask him to pardon us for having fought -against him and to leave us in possession of our sovereignty and of our -riches." - -Having thus spoken, the chiefs of the Island of Fogs leapt upon their -horses, and set forth towards the sea-shore where the Romans were -encamped near the cove where their deep-keeled ships lay at anchor, not -far from the beach up which they had drawn their galleys. Komm rode -beside them. When they beheld the Roman camp, which was surrounded by -ditches and palisades, traversed by wide and regular thoroughfares and -covered with tents over which soared the Roman eagles and floated the -wreaths of the standards, they paused in amazement and inquired by what -art the Romans had built in one day a town more beautiful and greater -than any in the Isle of Mists. - -"What is that?" cried one of them. - -"It is Rome," replied the Atrebate. "The Romans bear Rome with them -everywhere." - -Introduced into the camp, they repaired to the foot of the tribunal, -where the Proconsul sat surrounded by the fasces. His eyes were like -the eagle's; and he was pale in his purple. - -Komm assumed a suppliant's attitude and entreated Cæsar to pardon the -British chiefs. - -"When they fought against you," he said, "these chiefs did not act -according to their own heart, the dictates of which are always noble. -When they drove against you their chariots of war, they obeyed, -they commanded not. They yielded to the will of the poor and humble -tribesmen who assembled in great numbers against you; for they lacked -understanding and were incapable of comprehending your might. You know -that in all things the poor are inferior to the rich. Deny not your -friendship to these men, who possess great wealth and can pay tribute." - -Cæsar granted the pardon which the chiefs implored, and said unto them: - -"Deliver up to me as hostages the sons of your princes." - -The most venerable of the chiefs replied: - -"We will deliver up unto you our noble children. And some of them we -will bring to you this very day. But the children of our nobles are -most of them in the distant places of our Isle, and to bring them -hither will take many days." - -Cæsar inclined his head as a sign of assent. Thus, by the Atrebate's -counsel, the chiefs surrendered but a few young boys and those not of -the highest nobility. - -Komm remained in the camp. At night, being unable to sleep, he climbed -the cliff and looked out to sea. The surf was breaking on the rocks. -The wind from the Channel mingled its sinister moaning with the roaring -of the waves. The wild moon, in its stately passage through the clouds, -cast a fleeting light on to the water. The Atrebate, with the keen eye -of the savage, piercing through the shadow and the mist, perceived -ships, surprised by the tempest, toiling in the waves and the wind. -Some, helpless and drifting, were being driven by the billows, the foam -of which shone upon their sides like a pale gleam; others were putting -out to sea. Their sails swept the waves like the wings of some fishing -bird. These were the ships that were bringing Cæsar's cavalry, and they -were being scattered by the storm. The Gaul, joyfully breathing the sea -air, paced awhile along the edge of the cliff; and soon he descried -the little bay, where the Roman galleys which had alarmed the Britons -lay dry upon the sand. He saw the tide approach them gradually, then -reach them, raise them, hurl them one against the other and batter -them, while the deep-keeled ships in the cove were tossed to and fro -at anchor by a furious wind which carried away their masts and rigging -like so many wisps of straw. Dimly he discerned the confused movements -of the panic-stricken legionaries running along the beach. Their -shouts reached his ear like the noise of a storm. Then he raised his -eyes to the divine moon, worshipped by the Atrebates who dwell on -river-banks and in the deep forests. In the stormy British sky she hung -like a shield. He knew that it was she, the copper moon at the full, -that had brought this spring tide and caused the tempest, which was now -destroying the Roman fleet. And on the cliff, in the majestic night, by -the furious sea, there came to the Atrebate the revelation of a secret, -mysterious force, more invincible than that of Rome. - -When they heard of the disaster that had overtaken the fleet the -Britons joyfully realized that Cæsar commanded neither the Ocean nor -the moon, the friend of lonely shores and deep forests. They saw that -the Roman galleys were not invincible dragons, since the tide had -shattered them and cast them, with their sides rent open, on the sand -of the beach. Filled once again with the hope of destroying the Romans, -they thought of slaying a great number by the arrow and the sword, and -of throwing those that were left into the sea. Wherefore every day -they appeared more and more assiduous in Cæsar's camp. They brought -the legionaries smoked meats and the skins of the elk. They assumed a -kindly expression; they spoke honeyed words, and admiringly they felt -the muscular arms of the centurions. - -In order to appear more submissive still, the chiefs surrendered their -hostages; but they were the sons of enemies on whom they wished to -be revenged, or uncomely children not born of families who were the -issue of the gods. And, when they believed that the little dark men -confidently relied upon their friendliness, they gathered together the -warriors of all the villages on the banks of the Thames, and, uttering -loud cries, they hurled themselves against the camp gates. These gates -were defended by wooden towers. The Britons, unacquainted with the art -of carrying fortified positions, could not penetrate through the outer -circle, and many of the chiefs with woad-stained visages fell at the -foot of the towers. Once again the Britons knew that the Romans were -endowed with superhuman strength. Therefore on the morrow they came to -implore Cæsar's pardon and to promise him their friendship. - -Cæsar received them with a passive countenance, but that very night he -caused his legions to embark in the hastily repaired ships and made -for the Morini coast. Having lost hope of receiving his support of his -cavalry which the tempest had scattered, he abandoned for the time the -conquest of the Isle of Mists. - -Komm of the Atrebates accompanied the army on its return to the Morini -shore. He had embarked on the vessel which bore the Proconsul. Cæsar, -curious concerning the customs of the barbarians, asked him whether the -Gauls did not consider themselves the descendants of Pluto and whether -it were not on that account that they reckoned time by nights instead -of by days. The Atrebate could not give him the true reason for this -custom. But he told Cæsar that in his opinion at the birth of the world -night had preceded day. - -"I believe," he added, "that the moon is more ancient than the sun. She -is a very powerful divinity and the friend of the Gauls." - -"The divinity of the moon," answered Cæsar, "is recognized by Romans -and Greeks. But think not, Commius, that this planet, which shines upon -Italy and upon the whole earth, is especially favourable to the Gauls." - -"Take heed, Julius," replied the Atrebate, "and weigh your words. -The moon that you here behold fleeing through the clouds is not the -moon which at Rome shines on your marble temples. Though she be big -and bright, this moon could not be seen in Italy. The distance is too -great." - - - -3 - - -Winter came and covered Gaul with darkness, with ice and with snow. -The hearts of the warriors in their wattle huts were moved as they -thought on the chiefs and their retainers whom Cæsar had slain or sold -by auction. Sometimes to the door of the hut came à man begging bread -and showing his wrists with the hands cut off by a lictor. And the -warriors' hearts revolted. Words of wrath passed from mouth to mouth. -They assembled by night in the depths of the woods and the hollows of -the rocks. - -Meanwhile King Komm with his faithful followers hunted in the forests, -in the land of the Atrebates. Every day, a messenger in a striped -mantle and red braces came by secret paths to the King, and, slackening -the speed of his horse as he drew near to him, said in a low voice: - -"Komm, will you not be a free man in a free country? Komm, will you any -longer submit to be a slave of the Romans?" - -Then the messenger disappeared along the narrow path, where the fallen -leaves deadened the sound of his galloping horse. - -Komm, King of the Atrebates, remained the Romans' friend. But gradually -he persuaded himself that it behooved the Atrebates and the Morini to -be free, since he was their King. It annoyed him to see Romans, settled -at Nemetacum, sitting in tribunals, where they dispensed justice, and -geometricians from Italy planning roads through the sacred forests. And -then he admired the Romans less since he had seen their ships broken -against the British cliffs and their legionaries weeping by night on -the beach. He continued to exercise sovereignty in Cæsar's name. But to -his followers he darkly hinted at the approach of war. - -Three years later the hour had struck: Roman blood had flowed in -Genabum. The chieftains allied against Cæsar assembled their fighting -men in the Arverni Hills. Komm did not love these chiefs. Rather did -he hate them, some because they were richer than he in men, in horses -and in lands; others because of the profusion of the gold and the -rubies which they possessed; others, again, because they said that -they were braver than he and of nobler race. Nevertheless he received -their messengers, to whom he gave an oak-leaf and a hazel twig as a -sign of affection. And he corresponded with the chiefs who were hostile -to Cæsar by means of twigs cut and knotted in such a manner as to be -unintelligible save to the Gauls, who knew the language of leaves. - -He uttered no war-cry. But he went to and fro among the villages of the -Atrebates, and, visiting the warriors in their huts, to them he said: - -"Three things were the first to be born: man, liberty, light." - -He made sure that, whenever he should utter the war-cry, five thousand -warriors of the Morini and four thousand warriors of the Atrebates -would at his call buckle on their baldrics of bronze. And, joyfully -thinking that in the forest the fire was smouldering beneath its ashes, -he secretly passed over to the Treviri in order to win them for the -Gallic cause. - -Now, while he was riding with his followers beneath the willows on the -banks of the Moselle, a messenger wearing a striped mantle brought -him an ash bough bound to a spray of heather, in order to give him to -understand that the Romans had suspected his designs and to enjoin him -to be prudent. For such was the meaning of the heather tied to the -ash. But he continued on his way and entered into the country of the -Treviri. Titus Labienus, Cæsar's lieutenant, was encamped there with -ten legions. Having been warned that King Commius was coming secretly -to visit the chiefs of the Treviri, he suspected that his object was to -seduce them from their allegiance to Rome. Having had him followed by -spies, he received information which confirmed his suspicions. He then -resolved to get rid of this man. He was a Roman, a son of the divine -City, an example to the world, and by force of arms he had extended -the Roman peace to the ends of the earth. He was a good general and -an expert in mathematics and mechanics. During the leisure of peace, -beneath the terebinths in the garden of his Campanian villa, he held -converse with magistrates touching the laws, the morals and the -customs of peoples. He praised the virtues of antiquity and liberty. -He read the works of Greek historians and philosophers. His was a rare -and polished intellect. And because Komm was a barbarian, unacquainted -with things Roman, it seemed to Titus Labienus good and fitting that he -should have him assassinated. - -Being informed of the place where he was, he sent to him his master -of horse, Caius Volusenus Quadratus, who knew the Atrebate, for they -had been commissioned to reconnoitre together the coasts of the isle -of Britain before Cæsar's expedition hither; but Volusenus had not -ventured to land. Therefore, by the command of Labienus, Cæsar's -lieutenant, Volusenus chose a few centurions and took them with him -to the village where he knew Komm to be. He could rely upon them. -The centurion was a legionary promoted from the ranks, who as a sign -of his office carried a vine-stock with which he used to strike his -subordinates. His chiefs did what they liked with him. As an instrument -of conquest he was second only to the navy. Volusenus said to his -centurions: - -"A man will approach me. You will suffer him to advance. I shall hold -out my hand to him. At that moment you will strike him from behind, and -you will kill him." - -Having given these orders, Volusenus set forth with his escort. In a -sunken way, near the village, he met Komm with his followers. The King -of the Atrebates, aware that he was suspected, would have turned his -horse. But the master of the horse called him by name, assured him of -his friendship and held out his hand to him. - -Reassured by those signs of friendship, the Atrebate approached. As he -was about to take the proffered hand a centurion struck him on the head -with his sword and caused him to fall bleeding from his horse. Then -the King's followers threw themselves upon the little band of Romans, -scattered them, took up Komm and carried him away to the nearest -village, while Volusenus, who believed his task accomplished, crept -back to the camp with his horsemen. - -King Komm was not dead. He was carried secretly into the country of the -Atrebates, where he was cured of his terrible wound. Having recovered, -he took this oath: - -"I swear never to meet a Roman save to kill him." Soon he learnt that -Cæsar had suffered a severe defeat at the foot of the Gergovian Mount -and forty-six centurions of his army had fallen beneath the walls -of the town. Later he was told that the confederates commanded by -Vercingétorix were besieged in the country of the Mandubi, at Alesia, -a famous Gallic fortress founded by Hercules of Tyre. Then, with a -following of warriors, Morini and Atrebates, he marched to the frontier -of the Edni, where an army was assembling to relieve the Gauls in -Alesia. The army was numbered and was found to consist of two hundred -and forty thousand foot and eight thousand horse. The command was -entrusted to Virdumar and Eporedorix of the Edni, Vergasillaun of the -Averni and Komm of the Atrebates. - -After a long and arduous march, Komm, with his chiefs and fighting-men, -reached the mountainous country of the Edni. From the heights -surrounding the plateau of Alesia he beheld the Roman camp and the -earthworks dug all around it by those little dark men, who waged war -with the mattocks and the spade rather than with the javelin and the -sword. This seemed to him to augur ill, for he knew that against -trenches and machines the Gauls were of less avail than against -human breasts. He himself, though well versed in the stratagems of -war, understood little of the engineering art of the Romans. After -three great battles, during which no break was made in the enemy's -fortifications, the terrific rout of the Gauls carried off Komm as -a blade of grass is whirled away in a storm. In the mêlée he had -perceived Cæsar's red mantle and taken it for an omen of defeat. Now he -fled furiously down the track cursing the Romans, but content that the -Gallic chieftains, of whom he was jealous, were suffering with him. - - - -4 - - -For a year Komm lived in hiding in the forests of the Atrebates. There -he was safe, because the Gauls hated the Romans, and having themselves -submitted to the conquerors they had a great respect for those who -refused them obedience. On the river-bank and in the green-wood, -accompanied by his followers, he led a life not differing greatly from -that he had lived as the chief of many tribes. He gave himself up to -hunting and fishing, devised stratagems and drank fermented drinks, -which, though depriving him of the knowledge of human affairs, enabled -him to understand those that are divine. But his soul had suffered a -change, and it pained him to be no longer free. All the chiefs of his -people had been killed in battle, or had died beneath the lash, or, -bound by the lictor, had been led away to a Roman prison. No longer -did a bitter envy of them possess him; for now all his hatred was -concentrated upon the Romans. He bound to his horse's tail the golden -circlet which he, as the friend of the Senate and the Roman people, -had received from the Dictator. To his dogs he gave the names of -Cæsar, Caius and Julius. When he saw a pig he stoned it, calling it -Volusenus. And he composed songs like those which he had heard in his -youth, eloquently expressing the love of liberty. - -Now, it happened that one day, absorbed in the chase, having wandered -away from his followers, he climbed the high, heather-clad table-land -which commands Nemetacum, and, gazing thence, he saw with amazement -that the huts and stockades of his town had vanished, and that in a -wall-encircled enclosure rose temples and houses of an architecture -so prodigious as to inspire him with the horror and fear caused by -works of magic. For he could not believe that in so short a time such -dwellings could have been constructed by natural means. - -He forgot the birds on the moorland, and, prone on the red earth, -he lay and gazed long upon the strange town. Curiosity, stronger -than fear, kept his eyes wide open. Until evening he gazed upon the -spectacle. Then there came to him an overpowering desire to enter the -town. Beneath a stone on the heath he hid his golden torques, his -bracelets, his jewelled belts and his weapons of chase. Retaining -only his knife, hidden under his mantle, he descended the wooded -hill-side. As he passed through the moist undergrowth, he gathered some -mushrooms, so that he might appear as a poor man coming to sell his -wares in the market. And in the third watch of the night he entered the -town through the Golden Gate. It was kept by legionaries who allowed -peasants bringing in food to pass. Thus the King of the Atrebates, -disguised as a poor man, was readily enabled to penetrate as far as the -Julian way. This was bordered by villas; it led to the Temple of Diana, -the white façade of which was already adorned with interlacing arches -of purple, azure and gold. In the grey morning light Komm saw figures -painted on the walls of the houses. They were ethereal pictures of -dancing girls and scenes drawn from a history of which he was ignorant: -a young virgin whom heroes were offering up as a sacrifice, a mother -in her fury plunging a dagger into her two children as yet unweaned, -a man with the hoofs of a goat raising his pointed ears in surprise, -when, unrobing a sleeping and reclining virgin, he discovers her to -be at once a youth and a woman. And there were in the courtyard other -pictures representing modes of love unknown to the peoples of Gaul. -Though passionately addicted to wine and women, he had no idea of -Ausonian voluptuousness, because he had no clear idea of the variety -of human forms and because he was untroubled by the desire for beauty. -Having come to this town, which had once been his, in order to satisfy -his hatred and inflame his wrath, he filled his heart with fury and -loathing. He detested Roman art and the mysterious devices of the -Roman painters. And in all these census figures on the city portals he -saw but little, because his eyes lacked discernment save in observing -the foliage of trees or the clouds in a dark sky. - -Bearing his mushrooms in a fold of his mantle, he passed along -the broad-paved streets. Beneath a door over which was a phallus -illuminated by a little lamp he saw women wearing transparent tunics, -who were watching for the passers-by. He approached with the intention -of offering them violence. An old woman appeared, who in a squeaky -voice said sharply. - -"Go thy way. This is not a house for peasants who reek of cheese. -Return to thy cows, herdsman." Komm replied that he had had fifty -women, the most beautiful of the Atrebates, and possessed coffers full -of gold. The courtesans began to laugh, and the old woman cried: - -"Be off, drunkard!" - -And it seemed to him that the duenna was a centurion armed with a -vine-stock, with such splendour did the majesty of the Roman people -shine throughout the Empire! - -With one blow of his fist Komm broke her jaw and serenely pursued his -way, while the narrow passage of the house was filled with shrieks, -howls and lamentations. On the left he passed the temple of Diana of -the Ardeni and crossed the forum between two rows of porches. When he -recognized the goddess Roma standing on her marble pedestal, wearing -a helmet, with her arm outstretched to command the peoples, in order -to insult her, he performed before her the most ignoble of natural -functions. - -He was now coming to the end of the buildings of the town. Before him -extended the stone circle of the amphitheatre as yet barely outlined, -but already immense. He sighed: - -"O race of monsters!" - -And he advanced among the shattered and trampled vestiges of Gallic -huts, the thatched roofs of which once extended like some motionless -army and which were now degraded into less even than ruins--into little -more than a heap of manure spread upon the ground. And he reflected: - -"Behold what remains of so many ages of men! Behold what they have made -of the dwellings wherein the chiefs of the Atrebates hung their arms!" - -The sun had risen over the grades of the amphitheatre, and with -insatiable and inquisitive hatred the Gaul wandered among the vast -enclosures filled with bricks and stones. His large blue eyes gazed on -these stony monuments of conquest, and he shook his long fair locks -in the fresh breeze. Thinking himself alone, he muttered curses. But -not far from the stone-masons' yard he perceived, at the foot of an -oak-crowned hillock, a man seated on a mossy stone in a crouching -position, with his mantle thrown over his head. He wore no insignia; -but on his finger was the knight's ring, and the Atrebate knew enough -of a Roman camp to recognize a military tribune. This soldier was -writing on tablets of wax and appeared wrapt in thought. Having long -remained motionless, he raised his head, pensive, with his style to his -lips, looked about him vacantly, then gazed down again and resumed his -writing. Komm saw his full face and perceived that he was young, and -that he had a gentle, high-born air. - -Then the Atrebate chief recalled his oath. He felt for his knife -beneath his cloak, slipped behind the Roman with the agility of the -savage and plunged the blade into the middle of his back. It was a -Roman blade. The tribune uttered a deep groan and sank down. A trickle -of blood flowed from one corner of his mouth. The waxen tablets -remained on his tunic between his knees. Komm took them and looked -eagerly at the signs traced thereon, thinking them to be magic signs -the knowledge of which would give him great power. They were letters -which he could not read and which were taken from the Greek alphabet -then preferred to the Latin alphabet by the young _littérateurs_ of -Italy. Most of these letters were effaced by the flat end of the -style; those which remained were Latin lines in Greek metre, and here -and there they were intelligible: - - TO PHŒBE, ON HER TOMTIT - - O thou, whom Varius loved more than his eyes, - Thy Varius, wandering beneath the rainy sky of Galata ... - And the couple sang in their golden cage of gold. - . . . . . . . . . - O my white Phœbe, with prudent hand give - Millet and fresh water to thy frail captive. - She sits, she is a mother: a mother is timid. - . . . . . . . . . - Oh! come not to the misty Ocean's strand, - Phœbe, for fear ... - ... Thy white feet and thy limbs - So nimbly moving to the crotalum's rhythm. - . . . . . . . . . - And neither the gold of Crœsus nor the purple of Attala, - But thy fresh arms, thy breasts.... - -A faint sound ascended from the waking town. Past the remnants of the -Gallic huts where a few barbarians, fierce though of humble rank, were -still lurking in the trenches, the Atrebate fled, and through a breach -in the wall he leapt into the open country. - - -5 - - -When, through the legionaries' sword, the lictor's lashes and Cæsar's -flattering words Gaul was at length completely pacified, Marcus -Antonius, the quaestor, came to take up his winter quarters in -Nemetacum of the Atrebates. He was the son of Julia, Cæsar's sister. -His functions were those of paymaster to the troops. It was for him, -also, to apportion the booty captured, in accordance with established -rules. This booty was immense; for the conquerors had discovered bars -of gold and carbuncles under the stones of sacred places, in the -hollows of oaks and in the still water of pools; they had collected -golden utensils from the huts of exterminated tribes and their chiefs. - -Marcus Antonius brought with him many scribes and land surveyors who -set to work upon the apportionment of lands and movable goods, and -would have perpetrated many useless writings had not Cæsar prescribed -for them simple and rapid methods of procedure. Merchants from Asia, -workmen, lawyers and other settlers came in crowds to Nemetacum; and -the Atrebates who had quitted their town returned one by one, curious, -astonished, filled with wonder. The Gauls, for the most part, were now -proud to wear the toga and to speak the tongue of the magnanimous sons -of Remus. Having shaved off their long moustaches they had resembled -Romans. Those who had succeeded in retaining any wealth employed a -Roman architect to build them a house with an inner porch, rooms for -the women and a fountain adorned with shell-work. They had paintings -of Hercules, Mercury and the Muses in their dining-room, and would sup -reclining on couches. - -Komm, though himself illustrious and the son of an illustrious father, -had lost most of his followers. Nevertheless he refused to submit, -and led a wandering, warlike life in company with a few fighting-men -who were addicted to plunder and rape, or who, like their chief, were -possessed of a keen desire for liberty or of hatred for the Romans. -They followed him into impenetrable forests, into marshes and even into -those moving islands which occur in the broad estuaries of rivers. -They were entirely devoted to him, but they addressed him without -respect, as a man speaks to his equal, because they were actually his -equals in courage, in the extremes of continual hardships, of poverty -and wretchedness. They dwelt in trees or in the clefts of rocks. They -sought out caverns worn in the friable stone by the water gushing -down narrow valleys. When there were no beasts to hunt, they fed on -blackberries and arbutus berries. They were excluded from towns by -their fear of the Romans or by the vigilance of the Roman guards. In -few villages were they readily received. Komm, however, always found a -welcome in the huts scattered over the wind-swept sands which border -the lazy waters of the Somme estuary. The dwellers on these dunes fed -on fish. Poor, dishevelled, buried among the blue thistles of their -barren soil, they had had no experience of Roman might. They received -Komm and his companions into their subterranean abodes, which were -covered with reeds and stones rounded by the Ocean. They listened to -him attentively, having never heard any man talk so well. He said to -them: - -"Know who are the friends of the Atrebates and the Morini who live on -the sea-shore and in the deep forest. - -"The moon, the forest and the sea are the friends of the Morini and the -Atrebates. And neither the sea nor the forest nor the moon loves the -little dark men who follow Cæsar. - -"Now the sea said to me: 'Komm, I am hiding the ships of the Veneti in -a lonely cove on my shore.' - -"The forest said to me: 'Komm, I will provide a secure shelter for thee -who art an illustrious chieftain, and for thy faithful companions.' - -"The moon said to me: 'Komm, thou hast seen me in the isle of the -Britons shattering the Roman ships. I command the clouds and the winds, -and I will refuse to shine upon the drivers of the chariots which bear -victuals to the Romans of Nemetacum, in order that thou mayest take -them by surprise in the darkness of the night.' - -"Thus spoke unto me the sea, the forest and the moon. And this I bid -you: - -"Leave your boats and your nets and come with me. You will all be -chiefs in war and of great renown. We shall fight great and profitable -battles. We shall win victuals, treasure and women in abundance. Behold -in what manner: - -"I know so completely the whole country of the Atrebates and the Morini -that there is not a single river, nor pool, nor rock with the situation -of which I am unacquainted. And likewise every road, every path with -its exact length and its precise direction lies as clear in my mind as -upon the soil of our ancestors. Great and royal indeed must be my mind -thus to encompass the whole land of the Atrebates. But know that many -another country is likewise contained in it--the lands of the Britons, -the Gauls and the Germans. Wherefore, had it been given me to command -the peoples, I should have conquered Cæsar and driven the Romans out -of this country. Wherefore we, you and I who speak, shall surprise -the couriers of Marcus Antonius and the convoys of food destined for -the town which has been reft from me. We shall surprise them without -difficulty, for I know along which roads they travel, and their -soldiers will not discover us since they know not the roads we shall -take. And were they to follow on our tracks, we should escape from them -in the ships of the Veneti, which would bear us to the isle of the -Britons." - -With such words Komm inspired his hosts with confidence on the misty -sea-shore. And he finally won them over by giving them pieces of gold -and iron, the last vestiges of the treasure which had once been his. -They said to him: - -"We will follow thee wherever it please thee to lead us." - -He led them by unknown ways to the edge of the Roman road. When he saw -horses grazing on the bush grass near the abode of a rich man, he gave -them to his companions. - -Thus he gathered together a body of horsemen which was joined by those -of the Atrebates who desired to wage war for the sake of booty, and by -some deserters from the Roman camp. The latter Komm did not receive, -in order not to break the oath which he had sworn never again to look -a Roman in the face save to slay him. But he had them questioned by -some one of intelligence, and dismissed them with food for three days. -Sometimes all the male folk of a village, young and old, entreated -him to receive them as his followers. These men had been completely -despoiled by the tax-gatherers of Marcus Antonius, who in addition to -the imposts which Cæsar levied had demanded others, which were not -due, and had fined chiefs for imaginary offences. In short, these -publicans, after filling the coffers of the State, took care to enrich -themselves at the expense of barbarians whom they thought a stupid -people, and whose importunate complaints could always be silenced by -the executioner's axe. Komm chose the strongest of these men. The -others were dismissed, despite their tears and their entreaties not -to be left to die of hunger or at the hands of the Romans. He did not -wish for a great army, because he did not wish to wage a great war as -Vercingétorix had done. - -In a few days he had, with his little band, captured several convoys of -flour and cattle, massacred isolated legionaries up to the very walls -of Nemetacum and terrified the Roman population of the town. - -"These Gauls," said the tribunes and centurions, "are cruel barbarians, -mockers of the gods, enemies of the human race. Scorning their plighted -word, they offend the majesty of Rome and of Peace. They deserve to be -made an example. We owe it to humanity to chastise these criminals." - -The complaints of the settlers and the cries of the soldiers penetrated -into the quæstor's tribunal. At first Marcus Antonius paid no heed -to them. In well-heated, well-closed halls he was busied with actors -and courtesans who were representing on the stage the works of that -Hercules whom he resembled in feature, in the cut of his short curly -beard, and in the vigour of his limbs. Clothed in a lion's skin, club -in hand, Julia's robust son threw fictitious monsters to the ground and -with his arrow pierced a false hydra. Then, suddenly exchanging the -lion's pelt for Omphale's robe, he likewise changed his passion. - -Meanwhile convoys were being intercepted, bands of soldiers surprised, -harried and put to flight, and one morning the centurion, G. Fusius, -was found hanging disembowelled from a tree near the Golden Gate. - -In the Roman camp it was known that the author of this brigandage was -Commius, formerly king by the grace of Rome, now a robber chieftain. -Marcus Antonius commanded energetic action to be taken in order to -assure the safety of soldiers and settlers. And, foreseeing that -the crafty Gaul would not easily be captured, he bade the Proctor -straightway to make some terrible example. In order to carry out his -chief's design, the Proctor caused the two richest Atrebates in the -city of Nemetacum to be brought before his tribunal. - -One was by name Vergal, the other Ambrow. Both were of illustrious -birth, and they had been the first of their tribe to make friends with -Cæsar. Poorly rewarded for their prompt submission, robbed of all their -honours and of a great part of their wealth, ceaselessly annoyed by -coarse centurions and covetous lawyers, they had ventured to whisper a -few complaints. Imitating the Romans and wearing the toga, they lived -in Nemetacum, vain and simple-minded, proud and humiliated. The Proctor -examined them, condemned them to suffer the traitors' death and on that -very day handed them over to the lictors. They died doubting Roman -justice. - -Thus did the quaestor by his firmness banish fear from the hearts of -the settlers, who presented him with a laudatory address. The municipal -councillors of Nemetacum, blessing his paternal vigilance and his -piety, decreed that a bronze statue should be raised in his honour. -After this several Roman merchants, having ventured out of the town, -were surprised and slain by Komm's horsemen. - - - -6 - - -The prefect of the body of cavalry stationed at Nemetacum of the -Atrebates was Caius Volusenus Quadratus, the same who had formerly -enticed King Commius into a trap and had said to the centurions of -his escort: "When I hold out my hand as a sign of friendship you -will strike from behind." Caius Volusenus Quadratus was held in high -esteem in the army because of his obedience to the call of duty and -his unflinching courage. He had received rich rewards and enjoyed the -honours due to military virtue. Marcus Antonius appointed him to hunt -down Commius. - -Volusenus zealously carried out the mission confided to him. He planned -ambuscades for Komm, and, keeping in constant touch with his robber -bands, harassed them incessantly. Meanwhile the Atrebate, a cunning -master of guerilla warfare, wore out the Roman cavalry by his swift -movements and surprised isolated soldiers. As a matter of religious -sentiment he slew his prisoners, trusting thus he propitiate the gods. -But the gods hide their thoughts as well as their countenances. And -it was after one of these pious performances that Komm fell into the -greatest danger. Wandering in the land of the Morini, he had just slain -by night on a stone in the forest two young and handsome prisoners, -when on issuing from the wood he and all his men were surprised by the -cavalry of Volusenus, which, being better armed and better skilled in -manœuvring, surrounded him and killed many of his warriors and their -horses. He succeeded, however, in making his escape, accompanied by the -bravest and the cleverest of the Atrebates. They fled; they galloped -at full speed over the plain, towards the beach where the misty Ocean -rolls its pebbles over the sand. And, looking round, they saw the Roman -helmets gleaming far behind them. - -Komm had a fair hope of escaping. His horses were swifter and less -heavily laden than the enemy's. He reckoned on reaching in time the -boats awaiting him in a neighbouring cove, and with his faithful -followers making for the land of the Britons. - -Thus thought the chief, and the Atrebates rode in silence. Now a drop -in the ground on a clump of dwarf-trees would hide the horsemen of -Volusenus. Then on the immense grey plain the two companies would again -come in sight of one another, but separated by an increasingly wide -interval. The pale bronze helmets were outdistanced and Komm could -distinguish naught to the rear save a cloud of dust moving on the -horizon. Already the Gauls were breathing with delight the salt sea -air. But as they drew nigh the shore the dusty incline caused the pace -of the Gallic horses to slacken, and Volusenus began to gain on them. - -Faint, almost imperceptible, the sound of Roman voices was caught by -the keen ears of the barbarians, when, beyond the wind-bent larches, -they first descried from the summit of a dune the masts of ships that -lay gathered in the bend of the lonely shore. They uttered one long cry -of joy. And Komm congratulated himself on his prudence and good luck. -But, having begun their descent to the beach, they paused half-way -down, seized with fear and horror, as they perceived the fine boats of -the Veneti, broad keeled, lofty of stem and stern, now high and dry -on the sand, there to remain for many a long hour, while far away in -the distance gleamed the waves of the low tide. At this sight they sat -inertly, stricken dumb, stooping over their steaming horses, which with -muscles relaxed bowed their heads to the land breeze which blinded them -as it blew their long manes into their eyes. - -In the confusion and the silence resounded the voice of the chief -crying: - -"To the ships, horsemen! The wind is good! To the ships!" - -They obeyed without understanding. And, pushing on to the ships, Komm -bade them unfurl the sails. They were the skins of beasts dyed bright -colours. No sooner were they unfurled than the rising wind filled the -sails. - -The Gauls wondered what could be the object of this manœuvre and -whether the chief hoped to see the stout oaken keels ploughing through -the sand of the beach as if it were the water of the Ocean. Some -thought there might yet be time for flight, others of meeting death -while slaying the Romans. - -Meanwhile Volusenus, at the head of his horsemen men, was climbing the -hill which borders on the pebbled, sandy shore. Rising from the bottom -of the cove he saw the masts of the ships of the Veneti. Perceiving the -sails unfurled and filled with a favourable wind, he bade his troops -halt, called down obscene curses on the head of Commius, groaned over -his horses, which had perished in vain, and, turning bridle, commanded -his men to return to camp. - -"What is the good," he thought, "of pursuing the bandits any farther? -Commius has embarked. He has set sail, and, borne by such a wind, he is -already far beyond the reach of the javelin." - -Soon afterwards Komm and the Atrebates reached the thickets and the -moving islands, which they filled with the sound of their heroic -laughter. - -Six months later Komm again took the field. One day Volusenus surprised -him, with a score of horsemen, on open ground. With the prefect was -about an equal number of men and horses. He gave the order to attack. -The Atrebate, whether he feared his inability to meet the charge, or -whether he planned some stratagem, signed to his followers to flee, and -himself wildly dashed across the immense plain in a long, galloping -flight, hard pressed by Volusenus. Then, suddenly, he turned, and, -followed by his Gauls, threw himself furiously on the Prefect of the -Horse and, with one thrust of his lance, pierced his thigh. At the -sight of their general struck down the Romans fled in amazement. Then -the discipline of their military training asserted itself, enabling -them to overcome the natural instinct of fear; they returned to pick up -Volusenus just as Komm, full of a fierce delight, was pouring upon him -the most ferocious insults. The Gauls could not withstand the little -Roman band, which, forming a compact mass, charged them vigorously and -slew or captured the greater number. Commius almost alone escaped, -thanks to his horse's speed. - -Volusenus was carried back in a dying state to the Roman camp. But, -thanks to the leech's art or the strength of his own constitution, he -recovered from his wound. In this fray Commius had lost everything, -his faithful warriors and his hatred. Satisfied with his vengeance, -henceforth tranquil and content, he sent a messenger to Marcus -Antonius. This messenger, having been admitted to the quæstor's -tribunal, spoke thus: - -"Marcus Antonius, King Commius promises to appear in any place which -shall be indicated to him, to do all that thou shalt command and to -give hostages. One thing only he asks--that he shall be spared the -disgrace of ever appearing before a Roman." - -Marcus Antonius was magnanimous. - -"I understand," said he, "that Commius may be somewhat disgusted by his -interviews with our generals. I excuse him from ever appearing before -any of us. I grant him his pardon; and I receive his hostages." - -What happened afterwards to Komm of the Atrebates is unknown; the rest -of his life cannot be traced. - - - - -FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI; - -OR, - -CIVIL WAR - - - Ed ei s'ergea col petto e con la fronte, - Come avesse lo inferno in gran dispitto. - _Inferno_, Can. 10. - - -She sat on the terrace of his tower, the aged Farinata degli Uberti -fixed his keen gaze on the battlemented town. Standing at his side, -Fra Ambrogio looked at the sky that was blushing with the rosy hues of -evening and crowning with its fiery blossoms the garland of hills which -encircles Florence. From the neighbouring banks of the Arno the perfume -of myrtles was wafted upwards into the still air. The birds' last cries -had re-echoed from the bright roof of San-Giovanni. Suddenly there -came the sound of two horses passing over the sharp pebbles from the -riverbed which paved the road, and two young riders, handsome as two -St. Georges, emerging from the narrow street, rode past the windowless -palace of the Uberti. When they were at the foot of the Ghibelline -tower one spat as a sign of contempt; the other, raising his arm, put -his thumb between his fore and his middle finger. Then both, spurring -their horses, reached the wooden bridge at a gallop. Farinata, a -witness of this insult offered to his name, remained tranquil and -silent. His shrivelled cheeks trembled and briny tears moistened his -yellow eyeballs. Finally, he shook his head three times and said: - -"Why does this people hate me?" - -Fra Ambrogio did not reply. And Farinata continued to gaze down upon -the city, which he could no longer see save through the bitter mist -which veiled his eyes. Then, turning towards the monk his thin face -with its eagle nose and threatening jaws, he asked again: - -"Why does this people hate me?" - -The monk made a gesture as if he would drive away a fly. - -"What matters to you, Messer Farinata, the obscene insolence of two -striplings bred in the Guelf towers of Oltarno?" - - -FARINATA. - -Nothing to me, indeed, are those two Frescobaldi, minions of the -Romans, sons of pimps and prostitutes. I fear not the scorn of such -as they. Neither for my friends nor, especially, for my enemies is it -possible to despise me. My sorrow is to feel weighing upon me the -hatred of the people of Florence. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Hatred has prevailed in cities since the sons of Cain introduced pride -with the arts, and since the two Theban horsemen satisfied their -fraternal hatred by shedding each other's blood. Insult breeds wrath, -and wrath insult. With unfailing fecundity hatred engenders hatred. - -FARINATA. - -But how can love engender hatred? And wherefore am I odious to my -well-beloved city? - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Since you wish it, Messer Farinata, I will give you an answer. But from -my lips you will have naught but truthful words. Your fellow citizens -cannot forgive you for having fought at Montaperto, beneath Manfred's -white banner, on the day when the Arbia was stained with Florentine -blood. And they hold that on that day, in that fatal valley, you were -not the friend of your city. - -FARINATA. - -What! I have not loved her! To live her life, to live for her alone, -to suffer fatigue, hunger, thirst, fever, sleeplessness, and that most -terrible of woes, exile; to brave death at every hour, to risk falling -alive into the hands of those whom my death alone would not suffice to -content; to dare everything, to endure everything for her sake, for -her good, to rescue her from the power of my enemies, who were hers, -to induce her whether she would or not to follow wholesome advice, to -espouse the right cause, to think as I thought myself, with the noblest -and the best, to wish her entirely beautiful and subtle and generous, -to sacrifice for this object alone my possessions, my sons, my -neighbours, my friends; in her interest alone to render myself liberal, -avaricious, faithful, perfidious, magnanimous, criminal, this was not -to love my city! Who loved her, then, if I did not? - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft -to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand -Florentines! - -FARINATA. - -Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio. And -the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to -our sons and our sons' sons. That the memory of them might not perish -I would write of them myself, if I had a head for writing. When I was -young, I composed love-songs, which ladies marvelled at and the clerks -put into their books. With that exception, I have always despised -letters as greatly as the arts, and I have no more troubled to write -than to weave wool. Let every man follow my example and act according -to his rank in life. But you, Fra Ambrogio, who are a very learned -scribe, it is for you to relate the great enterprises I have led. Great -honour would it bring you, if you told them not as a monk, but as a -noble, for they are knightly and noble deeds. Such a story would show -how active I have been. And of all that I have done I regret nothing. - -I was exiled, the Guelfs had slain three of my kinsfolk. Sienna -received me; of this my enemies made such a grievance that they incited -the Florentines to march in arms against the hospitable city. For the -exiles, for Sienna, I asked the aid of Cæsar's son, the King of Sicily. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -It is only too true: you were the ally of Manfred, the friend of the -Sultan of Luceria, of the astrologer, the renegade, the excommunicated. - -FARINATA. - -Then we swallowed the Pontiff's excommunications like water. I know not -whether Manfred had learned to read destiny in the stars, but true -it is that he made much of his Saracen horsemen. He was as prudent as -he was brave, a sagacious prince, careful of the blood of his men and -of the gold in his coffers. He replied to the Siennese that he would -grant them succour. He made great promises in order to inspire great -gratitude. He gave them but meagre fulfilment through craft and fear -of diminishing his own power. He sent his banner with one hundred -German horsemen. Disappointed and incensed, the Siennese spoke of -rejecting this contemptible aid. I gave them better counsel and taught -them the art of passing a cloth through a ring. One day, having gorged -the Germans with wine and meat, I induced them to make a sortie at so -unlucky a moment that they fell into an ambuscade and were all slain -by the Guelfs of Florence, who took Manfred's white banner and trailed -it in the dust at the end of an ass's tail. Straightway I informed the -Sicilian of the insult. He felt it, as I had foreseen, and, to execute -vengeance, he sent eight hundred horsemen, with a goodly number of -infantry, under the command of Count Giordano, who was reputed to be -the equal of Hector of Troy. Meanwhile Sienna and her allies assembled -their militia. Before long our strength was thirteen thousand fighting -men. We were fewer than were the Guelfs of Florence. But among them -were false Guelfs who merely awaited the hour to declare themselves -Ghibellines, while among our Ghibellines there were no Guelfs. Thus -having on my side, not all the advantage (one never has all), but -advantages which were great and unhoped for, I was impatient to engage -in a battle, which, if won, would destroy my enemies, and, if lost, -would only crush my allies. I hungered and thirsted after this battle. -To make the Florentine army engage in it I used every means of which I -could conceive. I sent to Florence two minor friars charged secretly -to inform the Council that, seized with repentance and desiring to -buy my fellow-citizens' pardon by rendering some signal service, I -was ready for ten thousand florins to deliver up into their hands one -of the gates of Sienna; but that for the success of the enterprise it -would be necessary for the Florentine army, in as great strength as was -possible, to advance to the banks of the Arbia, under the pretence of -coming to the aid of the Guelfs of Montacino. When my two friars had -departed, my mouth spat out the pardon it had asked, and, perturbed by -a terrible anxiety, I waited. I feared lest the nobles of the Council -should realize the folly of sending an army to the Arbia. But I hoped -that the project, by its very extravagance, would please the plebeians -and that they would adopt it all the more eagerly because of the -opposition of the nobles, whom they mistrusted. And so it happened: -the nobility discerned the snare, but the artisans fell into it. They -were in the majority on the Council. At their command the Florentine -army set forth and carried out the plan which I had formed for its -destruction. How beautiful was that dawn, when, riding into a little -band of exiles, I saw the sun pierce the white morning mist and shine -on the forest of Guelf lances which covered the slopes of La Malena! -I had put my hand on my enemies. But a little more artfulness and I -was sure of destroying them. By my advice, Count Giordano caused the -infantry of the commune of Sienna to defile three times before their -eyes, changing their helmets after their first and second appearances, -in order that they might seem more numerous than they actually were; -and thus he showed them to the Guelfs, first red, as an omen of blood; -then green, as an omen of death; then half-black, half-white, as an -omen of captivity. True omens! O what delight! when, charging the -Florentine horse, I beheld it waver and wheel in circles like a flight -of crows, when I saw the man in my pay, him whose name I may not -utter for fear of defiling my lips, strike down with one blow of his -sword the standard which he had come to defend, and all the horsemen, -looking vainly henceforth for their rallying point, the white and blue -colours, flee panic-stricken, trampling one another down, while we in -their pursuit slaughtered them like pigs brought to market. Only the -artisans of the commune stood their ground. Then we had to slay round -the bleeding quarry. Finally, there remained before us naught save -corpses and cowards, who joined hands to come to us and on their knees -to beg for mercy. And I, content with my work, stood apart. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Alas, accursed valley of the Arbia! It is said that after so many years -it still smells of death, that by night, deserted, haunted by wild -beasts, it resounds with the howls of the white witches. Was your heart -so hard, Messer Farinata, that it did not dissolve in tears when, on -that evil day, you saw the flower-clad slopes of La Malena drinking -Florentine blood? - -FARINATA. - -My only grief was to think that thus I had shown my enemies the way to -victory and that, by humbling them after ten years of pride and power, -I had suggested to them what they themselves might do in turn after the -lapse of so many years. I reflected that, since with my aid Fortune's -wheel had taken this turn, the wheel might take another turn and -humble me and mine in the dust. This presentiment cast a shadow over -the dazzling light of my joy. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -It seemed to me as if you justly detested the treachery of that man who -trailed in dirt and blood the standard beneath which he had set out to -fight. I myself, who know that the mercy of the Lord is infinite, I, -even, doubt whether Bocca will not take his place in hell with Cain, -Judas and Brutus, the parricide. But if Bocca's crime is so execrable, -do you not repent having caused it? And think you not, Messer Farinata, -that you yourself, by drawing the Florentine army into a snare, -offended the just God and did that which is not lawful? - -FARINATA. - -Everything is lawful to him who obeys the dictates of a vigorous mind -and a strong heart. When I deceived my enemies I was magnanimous, not -treacherous. And if you make it a crime to have employed, in order to -save my party, the man who tore down his party's standard, then you are -wrong, Fra Ambrogio, for nature, not I, had made him a traitor, and it -was I, not nature, who turned his treachery to good use. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -But since you loved your city even when fighting against her, it must -have been painful to you that you were able to overcome her only with -the aid of the Siennese, her enemies. Were you not somewhat ashamed at -this? - -FARINATA. - -Wherefore should I have been ashamed? Could I have re-established my -party in the city in any other way? I made alliance with Manfred and -the Siennese. Had it been necessary, I would have sought the alliance -of those African giants who have but one eye in the middle of their -foreheads and who feed upon human flesh, according to the report of -Venetian navigators who have seen them. The pursuit of such an interest -is no mere game played according to rule, like chess or draughts. If -I had judged one thing lawful and another unlawful, think you that -my adversaries would have been bound by such rules? No, indeed, we -on Arbia's banks were not playing a game of dice under the trellis, -tablets on knee and little white pebbles to mark the score. It was -conquest that we were working for. And each side knew it. - -Nevertheless, I grant you, Fra Ambrogio, that it would have been -better to settle our quarrel between Florentines alone. Civil war is -so grand, so noble, so fine a thing, that it should, if possible, -be waged without alien intervention. Those who engage in it should -be fellow-citizens and preferably nobles, who would bring to it an -unwearying arm and keen intelligence. - -I would not say the same of foreign wars. They are useful, even -necessary enterprises, undertaken to maintain or extend the boundaries -of State or to promote traffic in merchandise. Generally speaking, -neither profit nor honour results from waging these great wars unaided. -A wise people will employ mercenaries, and delegate the enterprise to -experienced captains who know how to win much with few men. Nothing -but professional courage is needed, and it is better to spill gold -than blood. One cannot put one's heart into it. For it would hardly be -wise to hate a foreigner because his interests are opposed to ours, -while it is natural and reasonable to hate a fellow-citizen who opposes -what one esteems useful and good. In civil war alone can one display a -discerning mind, an inflexible soul and the fortitude of a heart filled -with anger or with love. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -I am the poorest servant of the poor. But I have one master alone; he -is the King of Heaven. I should be false to Him were I not to say, -Messer Farinata, that the only warrior worthy of the highest praise is -he who marches beneath the cross, singing: - - _Vexïlla régis prodeunt._ - -The blessed Dominic, whose soul, like a sun, rose on the darkened -Church in a night of falsehood, taught us, concerning war against -heretics, that the more fiercely and bitterly it is fought the more -does it display charity and mercy. And he must have known, he who, -bearing the name of the Prince of the Apostles, like the stone from -David's sling, struck the Goliath of heresy on the forehead. Between -Como and Milan he suffered martyrdom. From him my order derives great -honour. Whosoever draws sword against such a soldier is another -Antiochus, fighting for our Lord Jesus Christ. But, having instituted -empires, kingdoms and republics, God suffers them to be defended by -arms, and He looks down upon the captains who, having called upon Him, -draw sword for the deliverance of their country. But He turns away His -countenance from the citizen who strikes His city and sheds its blood, -as you were so ready to do, Messer Farinata, undeterred by the fear -that Florence, exhausted and rent by you, might have no strength to -withstand her enemies. In the ancient chronicles it is written that -cities weakened by internecine warfare offer an easy prey to the -foreigner who lies in wait to destroy them. - -FARINATA. - -Monk, is it best to attack the lion when he watches or when he sleeps? -Now, I have kept awake the lion of Florence. Ask the Pisans if they had -reason to rejoice at having attacked him at a time when I had made him -furious. Search in the ancient histories and you will find there also, -perhaps, that cities which are seething within are ready to scald the -enemy who lurks without, but that a people made lukewarm by peace at -home has no desire for war abroad. Know that it is dangerous to offend -a city vigilant and noble enough to maintain internal warfare, and say -not again that I have weakened my city. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Nevertheless, you know that she was like to perish after the fatal -day of the Arbia. The panic-stricken Guelfs had sallied forth from -her gates and had taken the sad road to exile. The Ghibelline diet, -convoked at Empoli by Count Giordano, decided to destroy Florence. - -FARINATA. - -It is true. All wished that not a stone should be left upon another. -All said, "Let us crush this nest of Guelfs." I alone rose to defend -her. I alone shielded her from harm. To me the Florentines owe the very -breath of life. Those who insult me and spit upon my threshold, had -they any piety in their hearts, would honour me as a father. I saved my -city. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -After you had ruined it. Nevertheless, may that day at Empoli be -counted to you for righteousness in this world and the next, Messer -Farinata! And may St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, -bear to the ear of our Lord the words which you uttered in the assembly -of the Ghibellines! Repeat to me, I pray you, those praiseworthy words. -They are diversely reported, and I would know them exactly. Is it true, -as many say, that you took as your text two Tuscan proverbs--one of the -ass, the other of the goat? - -FARINATA. - -That of the goat I hardly remember, but I have a clearer recollection -of the proverb of the ass. It may be, as some have said, that I -confused the two proverbs. That matters not. I rose and spoke somewhat -thus: - -"The ass bites at the roots as hard as he can. And you, following his -example, will bite without discrimination, to-morrow as yesterday, not -discerning that which should be destroyed and that which should be -respected. But know that I have suffered so much and fought so long -only in order to dwell in my city. I shall therefore defend her and -die, if need be, sword in hand." - -I said not another word and I went out. They ran after me, and, -endeavouring to appease me by their entreaties, they swore to respect -Florence. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -May our sons forget that you were at the Arbia and remember that you -were at Empoli! You lived in cruel days, and I do not think it easy -either for a Guelf or a Ghibelline to see salvation. May God, Messer -Farinata, save you from hell and receive you after your death into His -blessed Paradise. - -FARINATA. - -Paradise and hell are but the creations of our own mind. Epicurus -taught this, and many since his day have known it to be true. You -yourself, Fra Ambrogio, have you not read in your book: "For that which -befalleth the sons of men befalleth Beasts; as the one dieth so dieth -the other." But if, like ordinary souls, I believed in God, I would -pray to him to leave the whole of me here after death, that soul and -body alike might be buried in my tomb beneath the walls of my beautiful -San Giovanni. All around are coffins hewn out of stone by the Romans -to receive their dead. Now they are open and empty. In one of those -beds I would wish to rest and sleep at last. In life I suffered -bitterly in exile, and yet I was but a day's journey from Florence. -Farther away I should have been more wretched still. I desire to remain -for ever in my beloved city. May my descendants remain there also. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -It fills me with horror to hear you blaspheme the God who created -heaven and earth, the mountains of Florence and the roses of Fiesole. -And that which most terrifies me, Messer Farinata degli Uberti, is -that you contrive to invest evil with a certain nobility. If, contrary -to the hope which I still cherish, infinite mercy were not to be -vouchsafed to you, I believe you would be a credit to hell. - - - - -THE KING DRINKS - - -In the city of Troyes, in the year of grace, 1428, Canon Guillaume -Chappedelaine was elected by the Chapter to be King of the Epiphany, in -accordance with the custom which then prevailed throughout Christian -France. For the canons were wont to choose one of their number and to -designate him as king because he was to take the place of the King of -kings and to gather them all round his table, until such time as Jesus -Christ Himself should gather them, as they all hoped, into His holy -paradise. - -Sieur Guillaume Chappedelaine owed his election to his virtuous life -and his generosity. He was a rich man. Both the Burgundian and the -Armagnac captains, when ravaging Champagne, had spared his vineyards. -For this good fortune he was indebted first to God and then to -himself, to the kindness he had shown to the two factions which were -at that time rending asunder the kingdom of the lilies. His wealth -had contributed not a little to his election; for in that year a -_setier_[1] of corn fetched eight francs, five-and-twenty eggs six -sous, a young pig seven francs, while throughout the winter Churchmen -had been reduced to eat cabbages like villeins. - -Wherefore on the Feast of the Epiphany, Sieur Guillaume Chappedelaine, -clothed in his dalmatica, holding in his hand a palm-branch in lieu -of a sceptre, took his place in the cathedral choir, beneath a canopy -of cloth of gold. Meanwhile, out in the sacristy, there came forth -three canons, wearing crowns upon their heads. One was robed in white, -another in red, the third in black. They stood for the three kings -of the East, the Magi, and, going down to that part of the church -which represents the foot of the cross, they chanted the Gospel of -St. Matthew. A deacon, bearing at the end of a pole five lighted -candles, to symbolize the miraculous star which led the Magi to -Bethlehem, ascended the great nave and entered the choir. The three -canons followed him singing, and, when they reached this passage in -the gospel, _Et intrantes domum, invenerunt puerum cum Maria, matre -ejus, et procidentes adoraverunt eum,_ they stopped in front of Sieur -Guillaume Chappedelaine and bowed low before him. Then came three -children, bearing salt and spices, which Sieur Guillaume graciously -received after the manner of the Infant King who had accepted the -myrrh, the gold and the frankincense of the kings of this world. After -this divine service was celebrated with due devoutness. - -In the evening the canons were invited to sup with the King of the -Epiphany. Sieur Guillaume's house was close against the apse of the -cathedral. It was recognizable by the golden hood on a shield of stone -which adorned its low door. That night the great hall was strewn with -foliage and lit by twelve torches of fir-wood. The whole Chapter -sat down to the table, groaning beneath a lamb cooked whole. There -were present Sieurs Jean Bruant, Thomas Alépée, Simon Thibouville, -Jean Coquemard, Denys Petit, Pierre Corneille, Barnabe Videloup and -François Pigouchel, canons of Saint-Pierre, Sieur Thibault de Saugles, -knight and hereditary lay canon, and, at the bottom of the table, -Pierrolet, the little clerk, who, although he could not write, was -Sieur Guillaume's secretary and served him at Mass. He looked like a -girl dressed up as a boy. He it was who on Candlemas Day appeared as -an angel. It was also the custom on Ember Wednesday in December, when -the coming of the Angel Gabriel to announce to Mary the mystery of -the Incarnation was read at Mass, for a young girl to be placed on a -platform and for a child with wings to tell her that she was about to -become the mother of the Son of God. A stuffed dove was suspended over -the girl's head. For two years Pierrolet had represented the angel of -the Annunciation. - -But his soul was far from being as sweet as his countenance. He was -violent, foolhardy and quarrelsome, and he often provoked boys older -than himself. He was suspected of being immoral; and in truth the -soldiers garrisoned in the towns set no good example. Little notice, -however, was taken of his bad habits. That which most vexed Sieur -Guillaume was that Pierrolet was an Armagnac and for ever quarrelling -with the Burgundians. The canon repeatedly told him that such a state -of mind was not only wicked but absolutely devilish in that good -town of Troyes, where the late Henry V of England had celebrated his -marriage with Madame Catherine of France and where the English were the -rightful masters, for all power is of God. _Omnis potestas a Deo._ - -The guests having taken their places, Sieur Guillaume recited the -_Benedicite_ and every one began to eat in silence. Sieur Jean -Coquemard was the first to speak. Turning to Sieur Jean Bruant, his -neighbour, he said: - -"You are wise and learned. Did you fast yesterday?" - -"It was seemly so to do," replied Sieur Jean Bruant. "In the rubric, -the eve of the Epiphany is described as a vigil and a vigil is a fast." - -"Pardon me," retorted Sieur Jean Coquemard. "But I, together with -notable doctors of divinity, hold that an austere fast accords ill with -the joy of the faithful as they recall the birth of our Saviour which -the Church continues to celebrate until the Epiphany." - -"In my opinion," replied Sieur Jean Bruant, "those who do not fast on -these vigils have fallen away from our ancient piety." - -"And in mine," cried Sieur Jean Coquemard, "those who by fasting -prepare for the most joyful of festivals are guilty of following -customs censored by the majority of our bishops." - -The dispute between the two canons began to wax bitter. - -"Not to fasti What lack of zeal!" exclaimed Sieur Jean Bruant. - -"To fast! How obstinate!" said Sieur Jean Coquemard. "You are one of -those proud, reckless men who love to stand alone." - -"You are one of the weak who meekly follow the corrupt herd. But even -in these wicked times of ours I have my authorities. _Quidam asserunt -in vigilia Epiphaniæ jejunandum."_ - -"That settles the question. _Non jejunetur!_" - -"Peace! Peace!" cried Sieur Guillaume from the depths of his great -raised seat. "You are both right: it is praiseworthy of you, Jean -Coquemard, to partake of food on the eve of the Epiphany, as a sign of -rejoicing, and of you, Jean Bruant, to fast on the same vigil, since -you fast with seemly gladness." - -This utterance was approved by the whole Chapter. - -"Not Solomon himself could have pronounced a wiser judgment," cried -Sieur Pierre Corneille. - -And Sieur Guillaume, having put to his lips his goblet of silver gilt, -Sieurs Jean Bruant, Jean Coquemard, Thomas Alépée, Simon Thibouville, -Denys Petit, Pierre Corneille, Barnabé Videloup and François Pigouchel -all cried with one voice: - -"The King drinks! the King drinks!" - -The uttering of this cry was part of the festival, and the guest who -failed to join in it risked a severe penalty. - -Sieur Guillaume, seeing that the flagons were empty, ordered more wine -to be brought, and the servants grated the horse-radish which should -stimulate the thirst of the guests. - -"To the health of Monsignor, Bishop of Troyes and of the Regent of -France," said Sieur Guillaume, rising from his canonical seat. - -"Right willingly, sieur," said Thibault of Saulges, knight. "But it is -an open secret that our Bishop is disputing with the Regent touching -the double tithe which Monsignor of Bedford is exacting from Churchmen, -under the pretext of financing the Crusade against the Hussites. Thus -we are about to mingle in one toast the healths of two enemies." - -"Ha ha!" replied Sieur Guillaume. "But healths are proposed for peace -and not for war. I drink to King Henry VI's Regent of France and to the -health of Monsignor, Bishop of Troyes, whom we all elected two years -ago." - -The canons, raising their goblets, drank to the health of the Bishop -and of the Regent Bedford. - -Meanwhile there was raised at the bottom of the table a young and as -yet piping voice, which cried: - -"To the health of the Dauphin Louis, the true King of France!" - -It was the little Pierrolet, whose Armagnac sympathies, heated by the -canon's wine, were finding expression. - -No one took any notice, and Sieur Guillaume having drunk again they all -cried in chorus: - -"The King drinks! The King drinks!" - -The guests, all speaking at once, were noisily discussing matters both -sacred and profane. - -"Have you heard," said Thibault de Saulges, "that the Regent has sent -ten thousand English to take Orleans?" - -"In that case," said Sieur Guillaume, "the town will fall into their -hands, as have already Jargeau and Beaugency, and so many good cities -of the kingdom." - -"That remains to be seen!" said the little Pierrolet, growing red. - -But, he being at the far end of the table, once again no one heard him. - -"Let us drink, monsignors," said Sieur Guillaume, who was doing the -honours of his table lavishly. - -And he set the example by raising his great cup of silver gilt. - -More loudly than ever the cry resounded: - -"The King drinks! The King drinks!" - -But after the thunder of the toast had rolled away, Sieur Pierre -Corneille, who was seated rather low down at the table, said bitterly: - -"Monsignors, I denounce the little Pierrolet. He did not cry 'The King -drinks!' Thereby he has transgressed our rights and customs, and he -must be punished." - -"He must be punished!" repeated in chorus Sieurs Denys Petit and -Barnabe Videloup. - -"Let chastisement be meted out to him," said, in his turn, Sieur -Guillaume. "His hands and face must be smeared with soot, for such is -the custom." - -"It is the custom!" cried all the canons together. - -And Sieur Pierre Corneille went to fetch soot from the chimney, while -Sieurs Thomas Alépée and Simon Thibouville, laughing unrestrainedly, -threw themselves upon the child and held his arms and legs. - -But Pierrolet escaped out of their hands, then, standing with his back -to the wall, he drew a little dagger from his belt and swore that he -would plunge it into the throat of anyone who came near him. - -Such violence highly amused the canons, and especially Sieur Guillaume. -Rising from his seat, he went up to his little secretary, followed by -Pierre Corneille, who held in his hand a shovelful of soot. - -"It is I," he said in unctuous tones, "who for his punishment will make -of this naughty child a negro, a servant of that black King Balthazar -who came to the manger. Pierre Corneille, hold out the shovel." - -And, with a gesture as deliberate as that with which he would have -sprinkled holy water upon the faithful, he threw a pinch of soot into -the face of the child who, rushing upon him, plunged his dagger into -Sieur Guillaume's stomach. - -The canon uttered a long sigh and fell with his face to the ground. His -guests crowded round him. They saw that he was dead. - -Pierrolet had disappeared. A search was made for him all over the town, -but he could not be found. Later it became known that he had enlisted -in Captain La Hire's company. At the Battle of Patay, under the Maid's -eyes, he took prisoner an English captain and was dubbed a knight. - - -[1] An obsolete measure varying according to place. In 1703, in the -Orkney and Shetland Isles a setten of barley was about twenty-eight -pounds' weight. - - - - -"LA MUIRON" - - - "And sometimes, during our long evenings, the Commander-in - -Chief would tell us ghost stories, a species of story in - the telling of which he excelled."--_Mémoires du Comte - Lavallette._ - -For more than three months Bonaparte had been without news from -Europe, when on his return from Saint-Jean-d'Acre he sent an envoy -to the Turkish admiral under the pretext of negotiating an exchange -of prisoners, but in reality in the hope that Sir Sidney Smith would -stop this officer on the way and enlighten him as to recent events; -whether, as might be expected, these had been unfavourable to the -Republic. The General calculated rightly. Sir Sidney had the envoy -brought to his ship and received him there with honour. Having entered -into conversation, the English commander soon learnt that the Syrian -army was totally without despatches or information of any kind. He -showed the Frenchman the newspapers lying open on the table and, with -perfidious courtesy, invited him to take them away with him. - -Bonaparte spent the night in his tent reading them. In the morning -he had resolved to return to France in order to assume the government -in the place of those who were on the point of being overthrown. Once -he had set foot on the soil of the Republic, he would crush the weak -and violent government which was rendering the country a prey to fools -and rogues, and he alone would occupy the vacant place. Before he -could carry out his plan, however, he must cross the Mediterranean in -defiance of adverse winds and British squadrons. But Bonaparte could -see nothing save his purpose and his star. By an extraordinary stroke -of good luck he had received the Directory's permission to leave the -Egyptian army and to appoint his own successor. - -He summoned Admiral Gantheaume, who had been at head-quarters since -the destruction of the fleet, and instructed him quickly and secretly -to arm two Venetian frigates, which were at Alexandria, and to direct -them to a certain lonely point upon the coast. In a sealed document he -appointed General Kléber Commander-in-Chief. Then, under the pretext of -making a tour of inspection, taking with him a squadron of guides, he -went to the Marabou inlet. On the evening of the 7th of Fructidor in -the year VII, at the junction of two roads, whence the sea was visible, -he came face to face with General Menou, who was returning with his -escort to Alexandria. Finding it impossible and unnecessary to keep his -secret any longer, he took a brusque farewell of these soldiers, urged -them to acquit themselves well in Egypt and said: - -"If I have the good luck to set foot in France, the reign of the -chatterboxes will be over!" - -He seemed to say this spontaneously and, so to speak, in spite of -himself. Yet such an announcement was well calculated to justify his -flight and to suggest future power. - -He jumped into the boat, which at nightfall drew alongside of the -frigate, _La Muiron._ Admiral Gantheaume welcomed him beneath his flag -with these words: - -"I command under your star." - -And he set sail immediately. With the General were Lavallette, his -aide-de-camp, Monge and Berthollet. The frigate, _La Carrère,_ which -served as a convoy, had on board the' wounded generals, Lannes and -Murat, and Messieurs Denon, Costaz and Parseval-Grandmaison. - -Hardly had they started when the wind dropped. The Admiral proposed to -return to Alexandria lest dawn should find them in sight of Aboukir, -where the enemy's fleet lay at anchor. The faithful Lavallette -entreated the General to agree. But Bonaparte pointed seawards. - -"Have no fear. We shall get through." - -After midnight a fair breeze began to blow. By dawn the flotilla -was out of sight of land. As Bonaparte was walking alone on deck, -Berthollet came up to him. - -"General, you were well advised to tell Lavallette not to be afraid and -that we should be able to continue on our course." - -Bonaparte smiled. - -"I reassured one who is weak but devoted. Your character, Berthollet, -is different, and to you I shall speak differently. The future must -not be counted upon. The present alone matters. One must dare and -calculate, and leave the rest to luck." - -And, quickening his steps, he muttered: - -"Dare ... calculate ... avoid any cast-iron plan ... conform to -circumstances, follow where they lead. Take advantage of the slightest -as well as of the greatest opportunities. Attempt only the possible, -and all that is possible." - -At dinner that day, when the General reproached Lavallette with his -timidity on the previous evening, the aide-de-camp replied that at -present his fears were different but not less, and that he was not -ashamed to confess them, because they concerned the fate of Bonaparte, -consequently the fate of France and of the world. - -"I learned from Sir Sidney's secretary," he said, "that the commodore -believes in keeping out of sight during a blockade. So, knowing his -strategy and his character, we must expect to find him in our way. And -in that case...." - -Bonaparte interrupted him. - -"In that case you cannot doubt that our intuition and our skill would -rise superior to our danger. But you flatter that young madman when you -regard him as capable of any consecutive and methodical action. Smith -ought to be captain of a fire-ship." - -Bonaparte was not fair to the formidable commander who had been the -cause of his misfortune at Saint-Jean-d'Acre; and his injustice arose -doubtless from a wish to attribute his failure to a turn of fortune -rather than to his adversary's skill. - -The Admiral raised his hand as if to emphasize the resolve which he was -about to express. - -"If we meet the English cruisers, I will go on board _La Carrère,_ and, -you may depend upon it, I will keep them so well occupied that they -will give _La Muiron_ time to escape." - -Lavallette opened his mouth. He was about to observe that _La Muiron_ -was not a fast sailer and that consequently such an opportunity would -be lost upon her. But he feared to displease the General, and swallowed -his words. Bonaparte, however, read his thoughts; and, taking him by -the coat button, said: - -"Lavallette, you are a good fellow, but you will never be a good -soldier. You never think enough of your advantages, and you are for -ever concerned with irreparable disadvantages. We cannot make this -frigate a fast sailer. But you must think of the crew, animated with -the brightest enthusiasm and capable of working miracles, if need be. -You forget that our boat is _La Muiron._ I myself gave her that name. -I was at Venice. Invited to christen the frigate which had just been -armed, I seized the opportunity of honouring the memory of one who -was dear to me, of my aide-de-camp, who fell on the bridge of Areola -while protecting his General with his own body under a hail of shot and -shell. In this ship we sail to-day. Can you doubt that its name augurs -well for us?" - -For a while longer he continued to hearten them with his glowing words. -He then remarked that he would retire to rest. It was known on the -morrow that he had decided to endeavour to avoid the British squadrons -by some four or five weeks' sailing along the African coast. - -Henceforth day followed day in uneventful monotony. _La Muiron_ kept -in sight of the low, unfrequented coast, which was not likely to be -reconnoitred by the enemy's ships, and every half league she tacked -without venturing out to sea. Bonaparte passed his days in conversation -and in reverie. Sometimes he was heard to murmur the names of Ossian -and Fingal. Sometimes he asked his aide-de-camp to read aloud Vertot's -_Revolutions_[1] or Plutarch's _Lives._ He appeared neither anxious -nor impatient, nor preoccupied, more, probably, through a natural -disposition to live in the present than as the result of self-control. -He seemed to take a melancholy pleasure in contemplating that sea -which, whether angry or serene, threatened his destiny and divided -him from his object. On rising from table, when the weather was fine, -he would go on deck and half recline on a gun-carriage in the same -somewhat unsociable and forlorn attitude that was his when, as a child, -he would lie propped up by his elbows on the rocks of his native isle. -The two scientists, the Admiral, the Captain of the frigate and the -aide-de-camp, Lavallette, would stand round him. And the conversation, -which he carried on by fits and starts, most frequently turned on -some new scientific discovery. Monge was not a brilliant talker; but -his conversation revealed him as a clear, logical thinker. Inclined -to consider utility even in physics, he was always a patriot and a -good citizen. Berthollet was a better philosopher and more given to -evolving general theories. - -"It will not do," he said, "to represent chemistry as the mysterious -science of metamorphoses, a new Circe, waving her magic wand over -nature. Such ideas may flatter vivid imaginations; but they will -not satisfy thoughtful minds, who are striving to prove that the -transformations of bodies are subject to the general laws of physics." - -He had a presentiment that the reactions, which the chemist provokes -and observes, occur under precise mechanical conditions which some day -may be the subject of exact calculation. And, constantly recurring to -this idea, he would apply it to a variety of data, known or surmised. -One evening Bonaparte, who had no sympathy with pure speculation, -brusquely interrupted him: - -"Your theories...! Mere soap-bubbles born of a breath and dissipated -by a breath. Chemistry, Berthollet, is no more than a game when not -applied to the requirements of war or industry. In all his researches -the man of science should set before him some definite great and useful -object, like Monge, who, in order to manufacture gunpowder, sought -nitre in cellars and stables." - -But Monge himself, as well as Berthollet, insisted on representing to -the General the necessity of understanding phenomena and submitting -them to general laws, before attempting practical applications, and -they argued that any other procedure would lead to the dangerous -obscurity of empiricism. - -Bonaparte agreed. But he feared empiricism more than ideology. And -suddenly he inquired of Berthollet: - -"Do you, with your explanations, hope to penetrate into the infinite -mystery of nature, to enter on the unknown?" - -Berthollet replied that, without pretending to explain the universe, -the scientist rendered humanity the greatest service by substituting -a rational view of natural phenomena for the terrors of ignorance and -superstition. - -"Is he not man's true benefactor," added Berthollet, "who delivers him -from the phantoms introduced into the soul by the fear of an imaginary -hell, who rescues him from the yoke imposed by priests and soothsayers, -who expels from his mind the terrors of dreams and omens?" - -Night rested like a vast shadow on the great expanse of sea. In a -moonless and cloudless sky, multitudes of stars glittered like a -suspended shower. For a moment the General remained lost in meditation. -Then, lifting up his head and half rising, he pointed to the dome of -heaven, and with the uncultured voice of the young herdsman and the -hero of antiquity he pierced the silence: - -"Mine is a soul of marble which nothing can perturb, a heart -inaccessible to common weaknesses. But you, Berthollet, do you -understand sufficiently what life and death are? Have you explored -their confines so far as to be able to affirm that they are without -mystery? Are you sure that all apparitions are no more than the -phantoms of a diseased brain? Can you explain all presentiments? -General La Harpe had the stature and the heart of a Grenadier. His -intelligence was in its element in battle. There it shone. At Fombio, -for the first time, on the evening before his death, he was struck -dumb, as one who is stunned, frozen by a strange and sudden fear. You -deny apparitions. Monge, did you not meet Captain Aubelet in Italy?" - -At this question, Monge tried to remember, then shook his head. No, he -did not recollect Captain Aubelet. - -Bonaparte resumed: - -"I had observed him at Toulon, where he won his epaulettes, like a hero -of ancient Greece. He was as young, as handsome, as courageous as a -soldier from Platea. Struck by his serious air, his clear-cut features -and the look of wisdom on his young countenance, his superior officers -had nicknamed him Minerva, and the Grenadiers also called him by that -name, though they were ignorant of its significance. - -"Captain Minerva!" cried Monge. "Why did you not call him that at -first? Captain Minerva was killed beneath the walls of Mantua a few -weeks before I arrived in that city. His death had made a great -impression, because it was associated with marvellous happenings which -were related to me, though I do not remember them exactly. All I -recollect is that General Miollis ordered Captain Minerva's sword and -gorget, crowned with laurels, to be carried at the head of the column -which one feast day defiled in front of Virgil's grotto, as a tribute -to the memory of the poet of heroes." - -"Aubelet's," resumed Bonaparte, "was that perfectly calm courage which -I have never observed in anyone save Bessières. His passions were of -the noblest. And in everything he sacrificed himself. He had a brother -in arms, Captain Demarteau, a few years his senior, whom he loved -with all the affection of a great heart. Demarteau did not resemble -his friend. Impulsive, passionate, equally eager for pleasure and for -danger, he was always the life and soul of the camp. Aubelet was the -proud devotee of duty, Demarteau the joyous lover of glory. The latter -returned his comrade's affection. In those two friends the story of -Nisus and Euryalus was re-enacted beneath our flag. The end, both of -one and the other, was surrounded with extraordinary circumstances. -They were told to me, Monge, as to you, but I paid better heed, -although at that time my mind was occupied with greater affairs. I -desired to take Mantua without delay and before a new Austrian army -had time to enter Italy. Nevertheless I found time to read a report of -the incidents which had preceded and followed Captain Aubelet's death. -Certain of these incidents border on the miraculous. Their cause must -either be assigned to unknown faculties, which man may acquire in -unique moments, or to the intervention of an intelligence superior to -ours." - -"General, you must exclude the second hypothesis," said Berthollet. -"An observer of nature never perceives the intervention of a superior -intelligence." - -"I know that you deny the existence of Providence," replied Bonaparte. -"That may be permissible for a scientist shut tip in his study, but not -for a leader of peoples who can only control the ordinary mind through -a community of ideas. If you would govern men, you must think with them -on all great subjects. You must move with public opinion." - -And, raising his eyes to the light flaming in the darkness on the -pinnacle of the mainmast, he said, with hardly a pause: - -"The wind blows from the north." - -He had changed the subject with the suddenness which was his wont and -which had caused some one to say to M. Denon: - -"The General shuts the drawer." - -Admiral Gantheaume observed that they could not expect the wind to -change before the first days of autumn. - -The light was flaring towards Egypt. Bonaparte looked in that -direction. His gaze plunged into space; and, speaking in staccato -tones, he let fall these words: - -"If only they can hold out yonder! The evacuation of Egypt would be -a commercial and military disaster. Alexandria is the capital of the -controllers of Europe. Thence, I shall destroy England's commerce and -I shall change the destiny of India.... For me, as for Alexander, -Alexandria is the fortress, the port, the arsenal whence I start to -conquer the world and whither I cause the wealth of Africa and Asia -to flow. England can only be conquered in Egypt. If she were to take -possession of Egypt, she instead of us would be the mistress of the -world. Turkey is on her death-bed. Egypt assures me the possession -of Greece. For immortality my name shall be inscribed by that of -Epaminondas. The fate of the world hangs upon my intelligence and -Kléber's firmness." - -For some days afterwards the General remained silent. He had read to -him the _Révolutions de la République romaine,_ the story of which -seemed to him to drag unbearably. The aide-de-camp, Lavallette, had -to gallop through the Abbé Vertot's pages. And even then Bonaparte's -patience would be exhausted, and, snatching the book from his hands, -he would ask for Plutarch's _Lives,_ of which he never tired. He -considered that, though lacking broad and clear vision, they were -permeated with an overpowering sense of destiny. - -So one day, after his siesta, he summoned his reader and bade him -resume the _Life of Brutus,_ where he had left off on the previous -evening. Lavallette opened the book at the page marked, and read: - -"Then, as he and Cassius were preparing to leave Asia with the whole of -their army (the night was very dark, and but a feeble light burned in -his tent; a profound silence reigned throughout the whole camp and he -himself was wrapt in thought), it seemed to him that he saw some one -enter his tent. He looked towards the door and he perceived a horrible -spectre, whose countenance was strange and terrifying, who approached -him and stood there in silence. He had the courage to address it. 'Who -art thou,' he asked, 'a man or a god? What comest thou to do here -and what desirest thou of me?' 'Brutus,' replied the phantom, 'I am -thy evil genius, and thou shalt see me at Philippi.' Then Brutus, -unperturbed, said: 'I will see thee there.' Straightway the phantom -disappeared, and Brutus, to whom the servants, whom he summoned, said -that they had seen and heard nothing, continued to busy himself with -his affairs." - -"It is here," cried Bonaparte, "in this watery solitude, that such a -scene has its most gruesome effect. Plutarch narrates well. He knows -how to give animation to his story, how to make his characters stand -out. But the relation between events escapes him. One cannot escape -one's fate. Brutus, who had a commonplace mind, believed in strength of -will. A really superior man would not labour under that delusion. He -sees how necessity limits him. He does not dash himself against it. To -be great is to depend on everything. I depend on events which a mere -nothing determines. Wretched creatures that we are, we are powerless to -change the nature of things. Children are self-willed. A great man is -not. What is a human life? The curve described by a projectile." - -The Admiral came to tell Bonaparte that the wind had at length changed. -The passage must be attempted. The danger was urgent. Vessels detached -from the English fleet, anchored off Syracuse, commanded by Nelson, -were guarding the sea which they were about to traverse between Tunis -and Sicily. Once the flotilla had been sighted the terrible Admiral -would be down upon them in a few hours. - -Gantheaume doubled Cape Bon by night with all lights out. The night -was clear. The watch sighted a ship's lights to the north-east. The -anxiety which consumed Lavallette had attacked even Monge. Bonaparte, -seated, as usual, on his gun-carriage, displayed a tranquillity -which might be deemed real or simulated according to the view taken -of his fatalism! whether it arose merely from a sanguine temper and -the capacity for self-deception or was simply one of his numerous -poses. After discussing with Monge and Berthollet various matters of -physics, mathematics and military science, he went on to speak of -certain superstitions from which perhaps his mind was not completely -emancipated. - -"You deny the miraculous," he said to Monge. "But we live and die in -the midst of the miraculous. You told me the other day that you had -scornfully put out of your mind the extraordinary happenings associated -with Captain Aubelet's death. Perhaps Italian credulity had embroidered -them too elaborately. And that may excuse you. Listen to me. On the -9th of September, at midnight, Captain Aubelet was in bivouac before -Mantua. The overpowering heat of the day had been followed by a night -freshened by the mists rising from the marshy plain. Aubelet, feeling -his cloak, became aware that it was wet. And, as he was shivering -slightly, he went near to a fire which the Grenadiers had lit in order -to heat their soup, and he warmed his feet, seated on a pack-saddle. -Gradually the night and the mist enveloped him. In the distance he -heard the neighing of horses and the regular cries of the sentinels. -The captain had been there for some time, anxious, sad, his eyes fixed -on the ashes in the brazier, when a tall form rose noiselessly at his -side. He felt it near him and dared not turn his head. Nevertheless, he -did turn, and recognized his friend, Captain Demarteau, in his usual -attitude, his left hand on his hip and swaying slightly to and fro. -At this sight Captain Aubelet felt his hair stand on end. He could -not doubt the presence of his brother-in-arms, and yet he could not -believe it, for he knew that Captain Demarteau was on the Maine with -Jourdan, who was threatening the Archduke Charles. But his friend's -aspect increased Aubelet's alarm, for though Demarteau's appearance was -perfectly natural there was in it notwithstanding something unfamiliar. -It was Demarteau, and yet there was something in him which could not -fail to inspire fear. Aubelet opened his mouth. But his tongue froze, -he could utter no sound. It was the other who spoke: 'Farewell! I go -where I must. We shall meet to-morrow!' He departed with a noiseless -step. - -"On the morrow, Aubelet was sent to reconnoitre at San Giorgio. Before -going, he summoned his first lieutenant and gave him such instructions -as would enable him to replace his captain. 'I shall be killed to-day,' -he added, 'as surely as Demarteau was killed yesterday.' - -"And he described to several officers what he had seen in the night. -They believed him to be suffering from an attack of the fever which -had begun to declare itself among the troops encamped in the Mantuan -marshes. - -"Aubelet's company completed its reconnaissance of the San Giorgio -Fort without hindrance. Having achieved its object, it fell back on -our positions. It was marching under the cover of an olive wood. The -first lieutenant, approaching the captain, said to him: 'Now, Captain -Minerva, you no longer doubt that we shall bring you back alive?' - -"Aubelet was about to reply, when a bullet whistled through the leaves -and struck him on the forehead. - -"A fortnight later a letter from General Joubert, which the Directory -communicated to the Italian army, announced the death of the brave -Captain Demarteau, who fell on the field of honour on the 9th of -September." - -As soon as he had finished his story the General left the group of -silent listeners, to pace the deck with long strides and in silence. - -"General," said Gantheaume, "we have passed the most dangerous part of -our course." - -The next day he bore towards the north, intending to sail along the -Sardinian coast as far as Corsica and thence to make for the coast of -Provence; but Bonaparte wished to land at a headland in Languedoc, -fearing that Toulon might be occupied by the enemy. - -_La Muiron_ was making for Port-Vendres when a squall threw her back on -Corsica and compelled her to put into Ajaccio. The whole population of -the Island flocked thither to greet their compatriot and crowned the -heights dominating the gulf. After a few hours' rest, hearing that the -whole French coast was clear of the enemy, they set sail for Toulon. -The wind was fair, but not strong. - -Now, amidst the tranquillity which he had communicated to all, -Bonaparte alone appeared agitated, impatient to land, now and again -clapping his small hand suddenly to his sword. The ardent desire to -reign which had been fermenting within him for three years, the spark -of Lodi, had set him in a blaze. One evening, while the indented -coast-line of his native island was fading away into the distance, he -suddenly began to talk with a rapidity which confused the syllables of -the words he spoke: - -"If a atop is not put to it, chatterers and fools will complete the -downfall of France. Germany lost at Stockach, Italy lost at the -Trebbia; our armies beaten, our Ministers assassinated, contractors -gorged with gold, our stores empty and deserted, invasion imminent, to -this a weak and dishonest government has brought us. - -"Upright men are authority's only support. The corrupt fill me with an -invincible loathing. There is no governing with them." - -Monge, who was a patriot, said firmly: - -"Probity is as necessary to liberty as corruption to tyranny." - -"Probity," replied the General, "is a natural and profitable quality in -men born to govern." - -The sun was dipping its reddened and magnified disc beneath the misty -circle of the horizon. Eastward the sky was sown with light clouds -like the petals of a falling rose. On the surface of the sea the blue -and rosy waves rolled softly. A ship's sail appeared on the horizon, -and the telescope of the officer on duty showed her to be flying the -British flag. - -"Have we escaped countless dangers only to perish so near our desired -haven!" exclaimed La Valette. - -Bonaparte shrugged his shoulders. - -"Is it still possible to doubt my good luck and my destiny?" - -And he continued his train of thought: - -"A clean sweep must be made of these rogues and fools. They must -be replaced by a compact government, swift and sure in action, -like the lion. There must be order. Without order, there can be no -administration, without administration, no credit, no money, but the -ruin of the State and of individuals. A stop must be put to brigandage, -to speculation, to social dissolution. What is France without a -government? Thirty millions of grains of sand. Power is everything. The -rest is nothing. In the wars of Vendée forty men made themselves the -masters of a department. The whole mass of the people desire peace at -any price, order and an end of quarrelling. Fear of Jacobins, Émigrés, -Chouans will throw them into the arms of a master." "And this master?" -inquired Berthollet. "He will doubtless be a military leader?" - -"Not at all," replied Bonaparte swiftly. "Not at all I A soldier never -will be the master of this nation, a nation illuminated by philosophy -and science. If any General were to attempt the assumption of power, -his audacity would soon be punished. Hoche thought of doing so. I know -not whether it was love of pleasure or a true appreciation of the -situation that restrained him; but the blow will assuredly recoil -on any soldier who attempts it. For my part, I admire that French -impatience of the military yoke, and I have no hesitation in admitting -that the civil power should be pre-eminent in the State." - -On hearing such a declaration, Monge and Berthollet looked at one -another in amazement. They knew that Bonaparte, in spite of the perils, -known and unknown, was about to grasp at power; and they failed to -comprehend words which would seem to deny him that which he so ardently -coveted. Monge, who, at the bottom of his heart, was a lover of -liberty, began to rejoice. But the General, who divined their thoughts, -replied to them immediately: "Of course, if the nation were to discover -in a soldier such civil qualities as would render him an efficient -administrator and ruler, it would place him at the head of affairs; -but it would have to be as a civil not as a military leader. Such must -needs be the feeling of any civilized, intelligent and educated nation." - -After a moment's silence, Bonaparte added: - -"I am a member of the Institute." - -For a few moments longer the English ship was visible on the purpling -belt of the horizon; then it disappeared. - -On the morning of the next day, the watch sighted the coast of France. -Yonder was Port-Vendres. Bonaparte fixed his gaze on the low, faint -streak of land. A tumult of thoughts was surging in his mind. He had -a striking and confused impression of arms and togas; in the silence -of the sea an immense clamour filled his ears. And amidst visions of -Grenadiers, magistrates, legislators and human crowds, he saw smiling -and languishing, her handkerchief to her lips, her throat bare, -Josephine, the remembrance of whom burned in his blood. - -"General," said Gantheaume, pointing to the coast, which was growing -bright in the morning sunshine, "I have brought you whither destiny -called you. You, like Æneas, reach a shore promised you by the gods." - -Bonaparte landed at Fréjus on the 17th of Vendémiaire in the year VIII. - - -[1] René de Vertot (1655-1735), author of three books on revolutions: -_Histoire des Révolutions de Suède,_ 1695; _Histoire des Révolutions -de Portugal,_ 1711; _Histoire des Révolutions arrivées dans le -gouvernement de la République romaine,_ 1720. - - - - -THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX-LE-VICOMTE - - - - -PREFACE - - -In 1656, Foucquet was forty-one years of age. For five years he -had been Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament, and for three -Comptroller of Finance, having been the control of the Treasury at the -troubles which had afflicted France during the minority of Louis XIV. -He had successfully weathered a difficult period, and had acquired no -little confidence in his genius and his guiding star. Now, in the prime -of life, feeling securely established in office, he proceeded to order -his life in accordance with the magnificence of his tastes. Ambitious, -pleasure-loving, adoring all that was great and beautiful, sensitive -to all that exalts or caresses the soul, he called upon the Arts to -surround him with the symbols of glory and of pleasure. The miracles of -Vaux were the outcome of this demand, which was first satisfied, then -cruelly punished. - -On the 2nd of August, 1656, in the presence of Le Vau, his architect, -Foucquet signed the plans and estimates for this mansion of Vaux, which -was to be built within four years, in a new and noble style. It was to -be adorned with magnificent paintings, with statues and tapestries; it -was to command a view over gardens, grottoes and bewitching ornamental -waters; to abound in gold plate and gems and valuables of every kind. -It was destined to receive, with a luxury hitherto unknown, the most -powerful and the most beautiful alike, to welcome the Court and the -King. Thereafter, when the last lights of a miraculous festival had -been extinguished, it was to be the home, for ever, of only solitude -and desolation. - -Nevertheless, to Nicolas Foucquet remains the honour of having -discerned and selected men of superior talent, and of having been the -first to employ those great masters of French Art whose works have -shed an enduring splendour over the reign of Louis XIV. After he had -disgraced his Minister, the King could not do better than take from -him his architect Louis Le Vau, his painter Charles Le Brun and his -gardener André Le Nostre, and remove to Paris the looms which Foucquet -had set up at Maincy and which became the Manufacture des Gobelins. -But there was something which the King could not appropriate: the -taste, the feeling for art, the delicate yet profound instinct for -the beautiful which endeared the Comptroller to all the artists who -worked for him. Le Brun, on whom the King showered benefits, regretted -notwithstanding his generous host of Vaux. - -It is said that during his trial, when in danger of a capital sentence, -Foucquet, on leaving the Court, was walking, strongly guarded, past -the Arsenal, when seeing some men at work he asked what they were -making. Hearing that they were at work on a basin for a fountain, he -went to look at the latter and gave his opinion of it. Then, turning to -Artagnan, the Musketeer, who was in charge of him, he said, smiling: -"You are wondering why I meddle in such a business? It is because I -used, to be something of an expert in these matters." And Foucquet -spoke the truth. He was surely a sincere lover of the arts whom the -sight of men at work upon a fountain could suddenly distract from the -thought of dungeons and the imminence of the scaffold. - - - - -PART I - - -The Foucquets were citizens of Nantes, and in the sixteenth century -they traded with the West Indies. By these maritime expeditions they -gained great possessions and a peculiar quality of mind, a crafty and -audacious spirit which may be discerned in their descendants. Nicolas -Foucquet, with whom alone we are concerned here, was born in 1615. He -was the third son of François Foucquet, a King's Councillor, and of -Marie Manpeou, who had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. -This François Foucquet, originally councillor in the Rennes Parliament, -purchased a place in the Paris Parliament, became a Councillor of -State, and was for a while Ambassador in Switzerland. He was a -collector: he formed a collection of medals and books which Peiresc, -when he passed through Paris, visited with great interest, jotting down -in his note-book[1] particulars of the more remarkable objects. - -In the Councillor's exalted hobbies some have sought to discern the -origin of the taste displayed by his son Nicolas in the matter of -the ancient sculpture and the pictures which he spent great sums in -collecting. - -As for Marie Manpeou, she came of an old and honourable legal family. -Left a widow in 1640, she sought repose, after her numerous maternal -duties, only in the practice of asceticism and in works of Christian -charity. She lived, in retreat, a life wholly occupied in the giving -of alms, the application of remedies and the recitation of prayers. -She was one of those strong-minded women who, like Madame Legras and -Madame de Miramion, were moved at once to a courageous pity and angelic -melancholy by the spectacle of the miseries and crimes of war. The -ordering of her life was in almost all respects comparable to that of -a Sister of Mercy. Far from rejoicing at the promotion of her sons, it -was with deep anxiety that she beheld them captive to the seductions -of a world which she knew to be evil. Nicolas especially and his -brother, the Abbé Basile, alarmed her by the extent of their ambition. -The Comptroller's fall, which disconcerted all France, left her -untroubled. On hearing that her son had been cast down from the heights -of pomp and power, she is said to have thrown herself upon her knees, -exclaiming: "I thank Thee, O my God! I have always prayed to Thee -for his salvation: now the path to it is open."[2] This saintly idea -implies a perfection which is alarming because it is utterly inhuman: -it is difficult to recognize maternal affection thus transfigured and -freed from the weakness of the flesh which naturally accompanies it. -Yet even this mother, for twenty years dead to the world, was perturbed -when she knew that her son's life was threatened. Every day throughout -the Comptroller's long trial she was to be seen at the door of the -Arsenal, where the Court was sitting, and she petitioned the judges[3] - - MME. FOUCQUET - - Que mon fils est heureux, que j'aime sa prison! - Il est guéri du moins de ce mortel poison. - - Par ses malheurs son âme à présent éclairée, - Voit comme dans la Cour elle était égarée. - Plût à Dieu que sa grâce ouvre si bien ses yeux - Qu'il ne les tourne plus que du côté des Cieux. - - LA REINE MÈRE - - Il peut, quoique Colbert lui déclare la guerre, - Ouvrir encor les yeux du côté de la terre. - - MME. FOUCQUET - - Si la terre, Madame, a du péril pour lui, - J'aime mieux à mes yeux le voir mort aujourd'hui. - -(Le livre abominable de 1665 qui courait en manuscript parmi le monde, -sous le nom de Molière (comédie en vers sur le procès de Foucquet), -découvert et publié sur une copie du temps par Louis-Auguste Ménard. -Paris, Firmin Didot et Cie. 1883, 2 vols. Vol. II, p. 116.) - -The book is neither abominable nor a comedy of any kind. It consists of -five Dansenist dialogues in the most insipid style. M. Louis-Auguste -Ménard, who attributes this rhymed play to Molière, cannot expect many -to share his extraordinary opinion. - -The young Queen was ill at the time. Foucquet's mother sent her one of -the plasters she was in the habit of making for the poor, and she was -so fortunate as to save the wife of him who was seeking to ruin her -son. At least, the Queen's recovery is generally attributed to Madame -Foucquet's remedy. - -We shall see later that the cure did not produce any change of heart in -the King. - -This incident, however, refers to the downfall of a fortune of which we -must first explain the beginnings, and the progressive stages. This I -shall do without entering into details of administration or business. -I am not writing an essay on the politics or finances of the days of -Mazarin. My sole endeavour will be to depict the tastes, the manners -and the mind of the creator and the host of Vaux. Vaux is the centre of -my design. - -In 1635, Nicolas Foucquet, at the age of twenty, entered the magistry -as Master of Requests. The Masters of Requests were regarded as forming -part of the Parliament, where they sat above the Councillors. From -among those officers the Kings had long been accustomed to choose the -commissaries whom they despatched into the provinces, to superintend -the administration of justice and finance, or to the armies, when they -were charged with all that concerned the policing and the maintenance -of the troops. - -Their journeys were known as the circuits of the Masters of Requests. -They gave rise, at a date unknown, to a new office, that of Intendant, -which grew in importance with the increase of the royal power. The -young Foucquet, in 1636, was sent as Intendant of justice to the -district of Grenoble. The difficulties attending such a mission were -great; and Richelieu could not have been ignorant of them. He had, -however, diminished them somewhat by suspending the sittings of the -provincial parliament which was the Intendant's natural enemy. But -Foucquet found the people of Le Dauphiné agitated by the memory of the -religious wars and ardently engaging in new disputes in respect of -certain taxes levied on the goods of the third estate from which the -nobility and the clergy were exempt. The decree of the Royal Council -which abolished the citizens' grievances remained a dead letter.[4] -Feeling ran high. Foucquet did not succeed in alleviating it. After a -revolt which he had been unable either to prevent or to repress he was -recalled to Paris. From an inexperienced youth of twenty-one Richelieu -could not have expected services which could only have been rendered -by an old hand, experienced in negotiation, such, for example, as the -Intendant of Guyenne, the skilful and resolute Servien. The opinion -is seldom held to-day that the great Minister employed the system -of Intendants[5] as a regular instrument of his policy; which may -explain how he came to confide to an apprentice a mission which is -regarded as of secondary importance. The office of Intendant was not a -permanent one, so that Foucquet's recall was doubtless not regarded as -an absolute disgrace. Nevertheless, during the five years of life and -power which yet remained to him, Richelieu, as far as we know, never -again employed the young Master of Requests. - -But Mazarin, having become first Minister, sent him, in 1647, to the -Army of the North, which was under the command of Gassion and Rantzau. -The leaders' disagreements were arresting the army's progress. Rantzau -was a drunkard whom Gassion could not tolerate. Gassion, sober, -energetic and fearless, displayed a brutality insufferable even in a -soldier of fortune. He forgot himself so far as to strike in the face a -captain of Condé's regiment who had misunderstood his orders. The whole -regiment determined to withdraw and the officers struck their tents. -Only with great difficulty were they persuaded to remain. Touching -this incident, Foucquet wrote to Mazarin: "All are agreed that M. le -Maréchal de Gassion committed a serious abuse in striking the captain -of His Royal Highness's regiment. Every one condemned such an action, -considering that M. le Maréchal should have sent him to prison, or -should even have struck him with his sword, or fired his pistol at -him, if he thought it necessary; but that it would have been better not -to have resorted to such an extreme measure." - -We ought not, I think, to pass over a fact which permitted Foucquet to -display, for the first time, as far as we are aware, that spirit of -moderation which, until his reason became clouded, enabled him for a -time to serve the State so well. - -Mazarin was not slow to discern the Intendant's merits. In 1648, at -the time of the first disturbances,[6] thinking to quit Paris and -withdraw with the Court to Saint-Germain, he sent Foucquet to Brie -"with orders there to collect large stores of grain for the maintenance -of the army."[7] The Intendant established himself at Lagny and -commandeered supplies from the peasants of Brie and Ile-de-France. He -was then instructed to compile a list of those Parisians who possessed -châteaux or country-houses in the suburbs of the city. Promising -to preserve these properties from fire and pillage during the war, -Mazarin taxed the owners. In reality he mulcted the rich of the money -which he needed. When the Fronde was a thing of the past, Foucquet, -as procurator of Ile-de-France, accompanied the King into Normandy, -Burgundy, Poitou and Guyenne. - -On his return from this royal progress, he bought, with the Cardinal's -approval, the post of Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament. From -this office a certain Sieur Méliand retired in Foucquet's favour, -"receiving in return Foucquet's office of Master of Requests, estimated -by the son of the said Sieur Méliand as being worth more than fifty -thousand crowns, plus a sum of one hundred thousand crowns in money."[8] - -If Foucquet obtained preferment, it was not without the aid of a young -clerk at the War Office, who at that time displayed a great deal of -friendliness towards him, but was destined, eleven years later, to -bring about his downfall, take his office and endeavour to procure his -death. Colbert, who was then on terms of friendship with Foucquet, -employed his interest with Le Tellier to recommend the ambitious -Intendant. In August, 1650, he wrote to the Secretary of State for War: - -"M. Foucquet, who has come here by order of His Eminence, has already -on three several occasions assured me that he is possessed of an ardent -desire to become one of your particular servants and friends because -of the peculiar estimation in which he holds your attainments, and -that he has no particular connections with any other person which -would prevent his receiving this honour.... I thought it would be -very suitable, he being a man of birth and merit and even capable, -one day, of holding high office, if you in return were to offer him -some friendly advances, since it is not a question of entering into an -engagement which might be burdensome to you, but merely of receiving -him favourably and of making him some show of friendship when you meet. -If you are of my opinion in this matter, I beg you to let me know as -much in the first letter with which you honour me; nor can I refrain -from assuring you, with all the respect which is your due, that I do -not think I could possibly repay you a part of all that I owe you in -better coin than by acquiring for you a hundred such friends, were I -only sufficiently worthy to do so."[9] - -This is a warm recommendation. We have quoted it in order that the -reader may see with what confidence Foucquet inspired his friends, even -in those early days, and how highly they thought of him. Moreover, -it is interesting to find Colbert praising Foucquet. The latter was -installed in his new appointment on the 10th of October, 1650. He -was thenceforth the first of the King's servants at the head of that -bar which the two Advocates General Omer Talon and Jérôme Bignon -had caused to be renowned for its eloquence. An instrument of that -great body which dealt with the administration of justice, controlled -political affairs, exercised an influence over finance, whose -jurisdiction extended over Ile-de-France, Picardy, Orléanais, Touraine, -Anjou, Maine, Poitou, Angoumois, Champagne, Bourbonnais, Berry, -Lyonnais, Forez, Beaujolais and Auvergne, the Attorney-General, Nicolas -Foucquet, subdued the fleurs-de-lys to the policy of the Cardinal. -Between such virtuous fools as the worthy Broussel, who, through -very honesty, would have surrendered his disarmed country to the -foreigner, and the Minister who had humiliated the house of Austria, -threatened the Emperor even in his hereditary dominions, conquered -Roussillon, Artois, Alsace, and who now sought to assure France of her -natural boundaries, Foucquet's genius was too lucid and his views too -far-reaching to permit him to hesitate for a moment. - -He remained attached to Mazarin's fortunes when the Minister's downfall -seemed permanent. In 1651, that inauspicious year, he never ceased his -endeavours to win supporters in the _bourgeoisie_ and in the army, for -the exiled Minister on whose head a price had been set. And when the -Prince de Condé, in his manifesto of the 12th of April, 1652, confessed -that he had formed ties, both within and without the kingdom, with -the object of its preservation, it was the Attorney-General, Nicolas -Foucquet, who uttered a protest which compelled the Prince to strike -out of his manifesto the shameful avowal of his alliance with Spain, -the enemy of France. He contributed not a little to ruin the cause of -the Princes in Paris. When Turenne had defeated their army near Étampes -(5th May, 1652), the Parliament wished to open negotiations for peace. -The Attorney-General repaired to Saint-Germain, bearing to the King the -complaints of his good city of Paris. The speech which he delivered -on this occasion has been preserved. Its general tone is resolute; -its language, sober and concise, contrasting with the obscure and -unintelligible style affected by the judicial eloquence of the period. -This address is the only example which we possess of Nicolas Foucquet's -oratorical talent. It will be found in M. Chéruel's _Mémoires_.[10] -Here are a few passages from it: - -" ... Sire, I have been commissioned to inform Your Majesty of the -destitution to which the majority of your subjects have been reduced. -There is no limit to the crimes and excesses committed by the military. -Murders, violations, burnings and sacrileges are now regarded -merely as ordinary actions; far from committing them in secret, the -perpetrators boast of them openly. To-day, Sire, Your Majesty's troops -are living in such licence and such disorder that they are by no means -ashamed to abandon their posts in order to despoil those of your -subjects who have no means of resistance. In broad daylight, in the -sight of their officers, without fear of recognition or apprehension of -punishment, soldiers break into the houses of ecclesiastics, noblemen -and your highest officials.... - -"I will not attempt, Sire, to represent to Your Majesty the greatness -of the injury done to your cause by such public depredations, and -the advantage which your enemies will derive therefrom, beholding -the most sacred laws publicly violated, the impunity of crime firmly -established, the source of your revenues exhausted, the affections of -the people alienated and your authority derided. I shall only entreat -Your Majesty, in the name of your Parliament and all your subjects, to -be moved to pity by the cries of your poor people, to give ear to the -groans and supplications of the widows and orphans, and to endeavour -to preserve whatever remains, whatever has escaped the fury of those -barbarians whose sole desire is for blood and the slaughter of the -innocents.... - -"Make manifest, Sire, O make manifest at the outset of your reign, -your natural kindness of heart, and may the compassion which you will -feel for so many sufferers call down the blessings of heaven upon the -first years of your majority, which will doubtless be followed by many -and far happier years, if the desires and prayers of your Parliament -and of all your good subjects be granted." - -These words had little effect. The war continued; the people's -sufferings increased; in the city the disturbances became more violent; -several councillors were killed, and the _hôtel de ville_ was invaded -and pillaged by the populace and by the troops of the princes. In the -face of such disorders, which the magistrates could neither tolerate -nor repress, the Attorney-General, accompanied by several notables, -members of the Parliament, went to the King, who listened to his -counsel. To the Cardinal he demonstrated the necessity of holding the -Parliament and the Court in the same place, in order to display to -the kingdom the spectacle of the King and his senate on the one hand -and the rebel Princes on the other; and it was by his advice that a -decree was issued on the 31st of July which ordered the removal of the -Parliament from Paris to Pontoise, where the Court then was. Foucquet -with the utmost energy devoted himself to the execution of this politic -measure. - -On the 7th of August, the first President, Mathieu Molé, presided at -Pontoise over a solemn session in which the members present constituted -themselves into the one and only Parliament of Paris. This assembly -requested the King to dismiss Mazarin, and this they did in concert -with Mazarin himself, who rightly believed his departure to be -necessary. But he counted on speedily resuming his place beside the -King. In the meanwhile he corresponded with Foucquet, in whom he placed -the utmost confidence, "without reservation of any kind," and whom he -consulted on matters of State. Still, there was one point on which they -did not think alike. Mazarin eagerly desired to return to Paris with -the King, and, as it seemed, for the time being, that this desire could -not be gratified, His Eminence was not displeased that the state entry -into the capital should be delayed. Foucquet, on the other hand, was in -favour of an immediate return to the Louvre. On this subject he wrote -to the Cardinal: - -"There is not one of the King's servants, in Paris or out of it, who -is not convinced that in order to make himself master of the city -the King has only to desire as much, and that if the King sends to -the inhabitants asking that two of the city gates shall be held by a -regiment of his guards, and then proceeds directly to the Louvre, all -Paris will approve such a masterful action and the Princes will be -compelled to take flight. There is no doubt that on the very first -day the King's orders will be obeyed by all. The legitimate officers -will be restored to the exercise of their function, the gates will be -closed to enemies; such an amnesty as Your Eminence would wish will be -published, and our friends will be reunited in the Louvre in the King's -presence. So universal will be the rejoicing and so loud the public -acclamations that no one will be found so bold as to dissent."[11] - -A few days later, on the 21st of October, amid popular acclamation, -Louis XIV entered Paris. The stripling monarch brought with him peace, -that beneficent peace which had been prepared by the tactful firmness -of the Attorney-General. - -Now, Mazarin's friends had only to hasten his recall. This the -Attorney-General and his brother, the Abbé Basile, succeeded in -obtaining, and the Cardinal entered Paris on the 3rd of February, -1652. The office of Superintendent of the Finances had then been -vacant for a month owing to the death, on the 2nd of January, of the -holder, the Duc de La Vieuville. Despite the unfavourable condition of -the kingdom's finances this office was most eagerly coveted. And the -very disorder and obscurity which enveloped all the Superintendent's -operations excited the hopes of those men whom the Marquis d'Effiat -compared with "the cuttle-fish which possesses the art of clouding the -water to deceive the eyes of the fisher who espies it."[12] Then the -Superintendent had not the actual handling of the public moneys. Income -and expenditure were in the hands of the Treasurers. But he ordered all -State expenditure, charging it without appeal to the various resources -of the Kingdom. He was answerable to the King alone. If, apparently, -all his actions were subject to a strict control, in reality he worked -in absolute secrecy. In the year we have now reached, 1653, the -Treasury's poverty and the Cardinal's laxity permitted every abuse. -Money must be found at any cost; all expedients were good and all rules -might be infringed. - -Things had been going badly for a long while. Since the Regent, Marie -de Médicis, had madly dissipated the savings amassed by the prudent -Sully, the State has subsisted upon detestable expedients, such as -the creation of offices, the issue of Government Stocks, the sale of -charters of pardon, the alienation of rights and domains. The Treasury -was in the hands of plunderers, no accounts were kept. In 1626, -Superintendent d'Effiat found it impossible to arrive at any accurate -knowledge of the resources at the State's disposal or at the amount -of expenditure incurred by the military and naval services. Richelieu, -when he came into power, began by condemning to death a few of the tax -farmers-general. Had it not been for "these necessities which do not -admit of the delay of formalities," he might perhaps have restored -the finances to order. But these necessities overwhelmed him and -compelled him to resort to fresh expedients. He was driven to court the -tax-farmers, whom he would rather have hanged, and to borrow from them -at a high rate of interest the King's money which they were detaining -in their coffers. Exports, imposts and the salt tax were all controlled -by the tax-farmers. An Italian adventurer, Signor Particelli d'Hémery, -whom Mazarin appointed Superintendent in 1646, created one hundred and -sixty-seven offices and alienated the revenue of 87,600,000 livres -of capital. In 1648 the State suffered a shameful bankruptcy and the -troubles of the Fronde supervened, aggravating yet further a situation -which would have been desperate in any country other than inventive and -fertile France. - -The office of Superintendent, which the worthy La Vieuville had held -since 1649, was disputed after his death by the Marshals de l'Hôpital -and de Villeroy, by the President de Maisons, who had held it already -during the civil war, by Abel Servien, who during his already long -life had proved himself a harsh and precise administrator, a skilful -man of business and a thoroughly honest man, and, finally, by Nicolas -Foucquet, who in public opinion was unlikely to be appointed. - -Foucquet, on the very day of La Vieuville's death, had written the -Cardinal a letter, partly in cipher, of which the following is the -text:-- - -"I was impatiently awaiting the return of Your Eminence in order to -inform you in detail of all that I have learned of the cause of past -disorders and their remedies; but as the bad administration of public -finance is one of the chief causes of the discreditable condition of -public affairs, the death of the Superintendent and the necessity of -appointing his successor compel me to explain to Your Eminence in this -letter what I had determined to communicate to you by word of mouth on -your arrival, and to impress upon you the importance of choosing some -one of acknowledged probity who will be trusted by the public and who -will keep inviolate faith with Your Eminence. I will venture to say -that in the inquiries which I have made into the means of ending the -present evils and avoiding still greater ones in future, I have found -that everything depended upon the will of the Superintendent. Perhaps I -should be able to make myself useful to His Majesty and Your Eminence -were you to think fit to employ me in this office. I have studied the -means of filling it successfully. I know that there would be nothing -inconsistent in my employment, and several of my friends to whom I -owe this idea have promised me in this connection to make efforts to -be of service to the King of a nature too considerable to be ignored. -It therefore remains for Your Eminence to judge of the capacity with -which eighteen years' service in the Council as Master of Requests and -in various other offices may have endowed me; and as for my affection -for you and my fidelity in your service, I flatter myself that Your -Eminence is persuaded that I am inferior to no one in the Kingdom. My -brother will be my surety; and I am certain that he would never pledge -his word to Your Eminence whatever interest he may feel in that which -concerns me, were he not fully satisfied with my intentions and my -conduct hitherto and had we not thoroughly discussed Your Eminence's -interests in this connection. Once again let me protest that you may -rely upon us absolutely, and that you will never be disappointed, since -no one in the world has more at heart the advantage and the glory of -Your Eminence. I entreat you to let no one hear of this affair until it -is settled." - -Recalled by his adherents, Mazarin returned to Paris, very discreetly, -on the 3rd of February. One of his first acts was to appoint a -Superintendent. He divided the office between Nicolas Foucquet, -his own supporter, and Abel Servien, who was singled out for this -employment by his own character and by public opinion. To act in -conjunction with the two Superintendents he appointed three Directors -of Finance, one Comptroller-General and eight Intendants. Such an -arrangement served to please two people; but it had the disadvantage -of costing the Treasury a million livres a year. As a matter of fact, -it was, as we shall see, to cost much more. According to the terms of -his commission, Foucquet was in no way subordinate to his colleague, -but age, experience, vigilant industry and a tried and distinguished -probity gave Servien the chief authority. Foucquet was young; he might -wait. He held the office which he had so greatly desired. Alas, in -desiring it he had desired what was to be his ruin! Henceforth his -pious mother might apply to him the words of Scripture: _Et tribuit eis -petitionem eorum._ - -If he speedily entered upon the path of the merely expedient, can we -be surprised? Both necessity and the Cardinal's wishes drove him to -it. In 1654, he found money necessary to oppose an army led by the -rebel, Condé. How? By creating new offices and selling them to the -highest bidder. A detestable method; but it is questionable whether, -considering the state of the Treasury, it would have been possible to -devise any better. At all events, at this cost the Spaniards were -defeated. Unhappily there is no doubt whatever that Foucquet had to -provide not only for the expenses of the war, but for the exigencies of -Mazarin, who, through the medium of Colbert, obtained from the Treasury -the millions with which he enriched his family. Mazarin himself became -a farmer of the revenue and derived enormous profits from the bread -of the wretched soldiers. "By appearing under the name of Albert, or -another," he concealed his part in these transactions. The letter -is extant in which he himself suggests this broker's trick. He also -made use of what were called _ordonnances de Comptant._ The term was -applied to decrees authorizing the payment of money, the employment of -which was not specified. To-day we should describe it as dipping into -the secret funds; and the Cardinal did dip into them with both hands. -Sometimes Foucquet endeavoured to resist these criminal demands, but -in the end he always gave way. Mazarin must have known that he was not -intractable since he always appealed to him rather than to Servien -even in matters like orders for the payment of officials which were -the special function of the senior Superintendent. Foucquet deducted -certain payments; from the proceeds of tax-farming; from the farmers -of the salt-tax he received one hundred and twenty thousand livres a -year; from the farmers of the Bordeaux convey fifty thousand livres; -from the farmers of the customs one hundred and forty thousand livres. -The clerks who handled this last contribution added for themselves a -sum of twenty thousand livres. It is probable that the bargain was not -concluded without the distribution of a few "bonuses" in the offices. -And when we recollect that these customs were duties imposed on wine -and on food and drink in general, on the very life, therefore, of the -poor, one cannot forbear from cursing Mazarin's murderous and impious -cupidity, for it was for the Cardinal that Foucquet deducted these -payments. He remitted these sums without receiving any formal receipt, -and there is reason to believe that he himself kept some part of them. - -Following Mazarin's example, Foucquet himself became a tax-farmer -under a false name; moreover, he lent the State's money to the State -itself, and was repaid with heavy interest. Again, following Mazarin's -example, he made the public Treasury pay the cost of the promotion -and the alliances of his family. On the 12th of February, 1657, his -only daughter by his marriage with Marie Fourché, lady of the manor of -Quehillac, married the eldest son of the Comte de Charost, Governor -of Calais and Captain of the King's Guard. She brought her husband -five hundred thousand livres. When this alliance was contracted, the -first Madame Foucquet was dead and the Superintendent had married as -his second wife Marie-Madeleine de Castille-Villemareuil, the only -daughter of François de Castille, President of one of the Chambers of -the Paris Parliament.[13] The Castilles were merchants, reputed to be -very wealthy, who had certainly made rich marriages. Marie-Madeleine -provided no matter for gossip so long as the union was happy. She -doubtless played but an insignificant part in entertainments which -offended her modesty and the brilliance of which was intended rather -to please her rivals than herself. Her husband, it would seem, at -all events, always esteemed her as she deserved and, where she was -concerned, never wholly departed from that urbanity which was natural -to him. He was one of those men who understand how to please a woman -while they are deceiving her. In the Superintendent's house a work of -art or a statue celebrated the apparent union of husband and wife. In -France it was then becoming the fashion to represent as allegorical -figures the lives of great men whom earlier painters had portrayed in -the costume and with the attributes of their patron Saints. Conforming -to the new custom, the Superintendent ordered from his favourite -sculptor, the skilful Michel Anguier, a group of Madame Foucquet and -her four children. She appeared as Charity. The group was said to be -one of the master's finest works. Guillet de Saint-Georges, in his _Vie -de Michel Anguier,_ expressly says that Foucquet ordered from this -artist "a Charity, bearing in her arms a sleeping child, with another -at her feet and two close at hand, to represent Madame Foucquet and her -children and to testify the affection and unity which reigned in this -family."[14] - -An act of homage at once commonplace and ostentatious, yet just and -prophetic, rendered to a wife whose lovely nobility of heart was to -be revealed only by misfortune. Somewhat withdrawn in the season of -prosperity, it was only when those whom she loved were unhappy that -Madame Foucquet revealed herself. During the slow investigation of the -accusers, Madame Foucquet saw that her husband's furniture, which had -been placed under a seal, was carefully guarded; and this vigilance -was inspired by the noblest of motives. "Any loss or injury," she -said, "would tend to involve the creditors in absolute ruin, and -among them are an incredible number of poor families of all sorts of -artisans."[15] - -She was seen, during her husband's trial, with her mother-in-law at -the Arsenal gates, presenting petitions to the judges. When he was -condemned she asked permission to rejoin in prison the husband who had -betrayed and forsaken her in his hours of happiness. No sooner was this -sad favour granted than she hastened to avail herself of it. Having -consoled him in captivity, she closed his eyes in death. Left a widow, -she followed the example set by many lonely ladies of rank in those -days: she withdrew to a convent. For her retreat she chose the royal -Abbey of Val-de-Grâce of Notre-Dame de la Crèche, which was on the left -bank of the Seine, in the Rue Saint-Jacques. This Benedictine convent, -as we know, owed its origin to a vow of Queen Anne,[16] who built it -when she at length had a King.[17] Thus the walls within which this -lady retired to shelter her widowhood were a hymn of thanksgiving in -stone, a monument of gratitude to God for His gift to France of the -persecutor of Nicolas Foucquet. Did she not realize this? Or did her -piety forbid her to nourish any bitterness toward the enemies of her -house? There were, no doubt, old ties between her and the nuns of -Val-de-Grâce. It must not be supposed that she lived in a cell the life -of a recluse. To do so would be to show little knowledge of convents -as they were in those days.[18] The nuns were the innkeepers of the -period. Sumptuously lodged in buildings dependent on the community, -the ladies lived a quiet but still worldly life, keeping their own -servants, paying and receiving visits. Such was Madame Foucquet's -position at Val-de-Grâce. She devoted herself, it is true, to the -practices of religion; and we know, for example, that, having obtained -the body of St. Liberatus, a martyr of the African Church, she had -it borne in a procession, on the 27th of August, 1690, to the parish -church of Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas.[19] - -She occupied a pavilion in the convent garden, where, in default of -gold and silver plate, she kept a few pieces of furniture worthy of -her rank. In the month of March, 1700, a royal edict ordered private -persons to declare and to take to the Mint all furniture in which there -was any gold or silver; and Madame Foucquet, widow, declared to the -commissioner of her district that she possessed "a camp bed adorned -with cloth of gold and silver, with chairs to match, hangings of gold -damask, single width, twenty chairs and a bedstead in wood inlaid with -gold, a sofa in the same with six places, a tapestry bed and chairs -trimmed with gold fringe, six small consoles, twelve little gilt -stands, two small round tables, two other tables and a bureau partly -gilt, and a small bed upholstered with gold and silver lace." - -Madame Foucquet survived her husband thirty-six years. She died in -Paris in 1716 "in great piety," says Saint-Simon, "having withdrawn -from the world, and having, during the whole of her life, constantly -engaged in good works."[20] - -Foucquet had an exalted soul. He was born to tempt fortune and to take -Fate by storm. As early as 1655 he was cherishing the boldest designs. - -Realizing that in proportion as he obliged the Cardinal the latter grew -suspicious of him, since each service that he rendered was a secret of -which he became the inconvenient guardian, the Superintendent resolved -to assure himself by his power against the chance of disgrace. With -this object he began to think of converting the port of Concarneau and -the fortress of Ham, which belonged to his brother, into strongholds, -where his adherents might assemble in arms in case the Cardinal were to -attempt to lay hands on him. He therefore drew up a detailed programme -of the project, recommending his supporters to go for orders to the -house of Madame de Plessis-Bellière. "She knows my true friends," he -said, "and among them there may be those who would be ashamed not to -take part in anything proposed by her on my behalf." - -This lady, who was so much in Foucquet's confidence, was the widow of a -lieutenant-general in the King's army. She had never refused Foucquet -anything: but gallantry was by no means her first concern. It was even -said that she saved herself the trouble of contributing in person to -the Superintendent's pleasures and that she preferred providing for -them to satisfying them herself. She was a strong-minded woman, and a -great politician, even in that age of intrigue, ambitious and proud -enough to do herself credit, as we shall see later, by her display of -loyalty and devotion. In Foucquet's project, should occasion arise, -she, in conjunction with the Governors of Ham and Concarneau, was to -provide those two fortresses with men and with victuals. The Marquis -de Charost, Foucquet's son-in-law, was to defend himself in Calais, -of which town he was the governor. The Governors of Amiens, Havre and -Arras were to assume an equally threatening attitude. As allies at -Court the rebel Minister counted on M. de la Rochefoucauld, Marsillac, -his son, and Bournonville; in Parliament on MM. de Harlay, Manpeou, -Miron and Chenut; at sea, on Admiral de Neuchèse et Guinan. We may -note, in passing, that in the matter of his friends he was mistaken in -fully half of them. He gave it to be understood that Spain might be -appealed to. If his arrest were sustained and his trial instituted, -there would be civil war. A monstrous project, a chimerical conception -which it was childish to write down, and which served only to make -doubly sure the ruin of its mad inventor. - -It was during this period of folly and of splendour that Foucquet, with -a magnificence hitherto unequalled, created the estate and château of -Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Melun. - -We shall treat separately, in a special chapter, of all that concerns -this subject. - -At the same time he continued to provide for his safety. In order to -assure it with greater certainty he bought, on the 5th September, 1658, -the island and fortress of Belle-Isle for a sum of 1,300,000 livres, -of which 400,000 were paid in cash. - -Once the possessor of this fortress, Foucquet applied himself to -placing it in a state of defence. He despatched engineers thither -to fortify the citadel; from Holland he brought ships and cannon. -Modifying his plan of defence, he substituted Belle-Isle for Ham and -Concarneau. - -Belle-Isle was to him what her milk-pail was to Perrette. He dreamed -of deriving more wealth from it than the whole of Holland from her -ports. Madame de Motteville got wind of these chimerical hopes. "The -friends of Foucquet," wrote this lady, "have said--and apparently they -have told the truth--that the Superintendent, who was indeed capable, -by virtue of his courage and his genius, of many great projects, had -conceived that of building a town the excellent harbour of which was -to attract all the trade of the North, thereby depriving Amsterdam of -these advantages, and rendering a great service to the King and the -State."[21] Foucquet was at this time at the height of his power. In -spite of his motto, he will not rise any higher, unless his constancy -in misfortune may be taken to have raised him above himself, in which -case he may be said to have grown greater in prison by the knowledge of -the vanity of all that had previously attracted him. - -But it is the man in his prosperous days, the friend of art and of -literature, Foucquet the magnificent, and Foucquet the voluptuous, whom -we are describing here. No better description can be given of him than -to reproduce the portrait which Nanteuil executed from life.[22] - -What do we see there? Large features, eager, charming eyes, in roomy -orbits, the shining pupils of which gleam beneath their lids with an -expression at once of shrewdness and of pleasure. A long, straight -nose, rather thick, a full-lipped mouth beneath a fine moustache; -finally, that smiling expression which he retained even during his -trial. The face is pleasing, but there is something disquieting about -it. The costume is rich; not that of a gallant knight, or of a great -noble, but of a magistrate. A little cap, a broad collar, a dark -robe; the dress of a lawyer, but of a magnificent lawyer; for over -the robe is thrown a sort of dalmatic of Genoa velvet, with a large -flowered pattern. What this portrait does not reproduce is the charm -of the original. Foucquet possessed a sovereign grace; he knew how to -please, to inspire affection. It is true that he possessed a key to all -hearts--access to an inexhaustible treasury. He gave much, but it is -true also that he gave wisely, and he was naturally the most generous -of men. - -Poets he succoured with a noble delicacy. Since it is true that he -usurped the rights which were then attributed to the Sovereign, his -master, by disposing of the public revenue as though it were his own, -at least he made a royal use of the King's treasure by dispensing some -of it to Corneille, to La Fontaine and to Molière. The rest was spent -on buildings, furniture, tapestries and so forth; and this, again, when -all is said, was a royal habit, if regarded, as it should be, in the -light of ancient institutions. If Foucquet cannot be justified--and how -can he be, since there were poor in France in those days?--at least his -conduct is explained, in some degree excused, by the institutions, and, -above all, by the public morality of his period. - -While his Château de Vaux was building, Foucquet lived at Saint-Mandé, -in a house sumptuously surrounded by beautiful gardens. These gardens -adjoined the park where Mazarin used to spend the summer. The financier -had only to pass through a door when he wished to visit the Minister. -The estate of Saint-Mandé was formed by the union of two estates -bought from Mme. de Beauvais, Anne of Austria's first lady-in-waiting. -Gradually, Foucquet acquired more land and added wings to the main -building, so that the whole construction cost at least 1,100,000 -livres; and yet the finest part of it remained unexecuted.[23] - -We may form some idea of the beautiful things which Foucquet had -collected in this house by consulting the inventory preserved in the -Archives, and published by M. Bonnaffé,[24] "of the statues, busts, -scabella, columns, tables and other works in marble and stone at -Saint-Mandé." - -Among these things there are many antiques. Most of the modern pieces -of sculpture are by Michel Anguier, who passed three years, 1655-58, -at Saint-Mandé. There he executed the group of _La Charité_ which -has already been mentioned, and a _Hercules_ six feet in height, as -well as "thirteen statues, life-size, copied from the most beautiful -antiques of Rome, notably the _Laocoôn, Hercules, Flora,_ and _Juno_ -and _Jupiter._" This we are told by Germain Brice.[25] He had seen them -in a garden in the Rue Culture-Sainte-Catherine, where they were in -the beginning of the eighteenth century, Germain Brice also tells us -that in those days eight other statues, by the same sculptor, and also -coming from Saint-Mandé, adorned the house of the Marquise de Louvois -at Choisy. We learn also, from other sources, that one of the ceilings -of Saint-Mandé was painted by Lebrun.[26] - -Finally, the Abbé de Marolles speaks of the beautiful things which -Foucquet had painted at Saint-Mandé, and the Latin inscriptions which -were entrusted to Nicolas Gervaise, his physician. We may remark -in this connection that Louis XIV, who in art did little more than -continue Foucquet's undertakings, derived from the functions which -the Superintendent conferred upon this Nicolas Gervaise the ideas of -that little Academy, the Academy of Inscriptions and Medals, which he -founded five or six years later. - -But the most famous room in the house of which we are now speaking was -the library, because the noblest room in any house is that in which -books are lodged, and because La Fontaine and Corneille used to linger -in the library of Saint-Mandé. It was there that the poets used to wait -for the Superintendent. "Every one knows," said Corneille, "that this -great Minister was no less the Superintendent of belles-lettres than -of finance; that his house was as open to men of intellect as to men -of affairs, and that, whether in Paris or in the country, it is always -in his library that one waits for those precious moments which he -steals from his overwhelming occupations, in order to gratify those who -possess some degree of talent for successful writing."[27] - -It was in this gallery that La Fontaine, as well as Corneille, used -to sit waiting until the master of the house had leisure to receive -the poet and his verses. One day he waited a whole hour. Monsieur le -Surintendant was occupied; whether with finance or with love posterity -cannot hope to know. Nevertheless, the good man found the time -short: he passed it in his own company. Unfortunately, the _suisse_ -unceremoniously dismissed "the lover of the Muses," who, having -returned home, wrote an epistle which should assure his being received -the next time. "I will not be importunate," he said: - - Je prendrai votre heure et la mienne. - Si je vois qu'on vous entretienne, - J'attendrai fort paisiblement - En ce superbe appartement - Ou l'on a fait d'étrange terre - Depuis peu venir à grand-erre[28] - (Non sans travail et quelques frais) - Des rois Céphrim et Kiopès - Le cercueil, la tombe ou la bière: - Pour les rois, ils sont en poussière: - C'est là que j'en voulais venir. - Il me fallut entretenir - Avec les monuments antiques, - Pendant qu'aux affaires publiques - Vous donniez tout votre loisir. - (Certes j'y pris un grand plaisir - Vous semble-t-il pas que l'image - D'un assez galant personnage - Sert à ces tombeaux d'ornement). - Pour vous en parler franchement, - Je ne puis m'empêcher d'en rire. - Messire Orus, me mis-je à dire, - Vous nous rendez tous ébahis: - Les enfants de votre pays - Ont, ce me semble, des bavettes - Que je trouve plaisamment faites. - On m'eut expliqué tout cela, - Mais il fallut partir de là - Sans entendre l'allégorie. - Je quittai donc la galerie, - Fort content parmi mon chagrin, - De Kiopès et de Céphrim, - D'Orus et de tout son lignage, - Et de maint autre personnage. - Puissent ceux d'Egypte en ces lieux, - Fussent-ils rois, fussent-ils dieux. - Sans violence et sans contrainte, - Se reposer dessus leur plinthe[29] - Jusques au brut du genre humain! - Ils ont fait assez de chemin - Pour des personnes de leur taille. - Et vous, seigneur, pour qui travaille - Le temps qui peut tout consumer, - Vous, que s'efforce de charmer - L'Antiquité qu'on idolâtre, - Pour qui le dieu de Cléopâtre - Sous nos murs enfin abordé, - Vient de Memphis à Saint-Mandé: - Puissiez vous voir ces belles-choses - Pendant mille moissons de roses....[30] - -At once absurd and charming is this song which the Gallic lark composed -to the sarcophagi of Africa. It is hardly necessary to say that the -coffins, at the strange shape of which La Fontaine wondered, had never -enclosed the bodies of "Kiopès and of Céphrim." Messire Orus had not -told his secrets to the most lovable of our poets. We must not forget -that the scholars of that time were as ignorant on this point as our -friend. - -These two mummy-cases were the first which had been brought to Paris -from the banks of the Nile. They bore their history written upon them, -but no one knew how to read it. The chance guess of some admirer had -attributed to them a royal origin.[31] - -The truth is that they had been discovered twenty-five years earlier -in a pyramid by the inhabitants of the province of Saïd; transported -to Cairo, then to Alexandria, they were bought by a French trader, who -landed them at Marseilles on the 4th September, 1632, where they were -acquired, it is believed, by a collector of that town, M. Chemblon.[32] - -There was then at Rome a German Jesuit, by name Athanasius Kircher, a -man of vivid imagination, very learned, who, having dabbled in physics, -chemistry, natural history, theology, antiquities, music, ancient and -modern languages, invented the magic lantern. This reverend Father -really knew Coptic, and thought he knew something of the language -of the ancient Egyptians. To prove this he wrote a large quarto -volume entitled _Lingua Ægyptiaca restituta,_ which proves quite the -contrary. But it is very easy to deceive oneself, especially when one -is a scholar. A brother of his in Jesus, Father Brusset, told him -of the arrival of the two ancient coffins, and Father Kircher went -to Marseilles to see them. Later he treated of them in his _Œdipus -Ægyptiacus,_ a pleasant day-dream in four folio volumes; La Fontaine's, -in the Saint-Mandé library, was at all events shorter. - -About the year 1659 the sarcophagi were bought for Foucquet, and -taken to the Superintendent's house. When La Fontaine saw them they -no longer contained the bodies which Egyptian piety had destined them -to preserve. The two mummies had been unceremoniously relegated to an -outhouse. - -As for the sarcophagi themselves, Foucquet had intended to send them -to his house at Vaux. He had conceived the charming idea of restoring -them from the land of exile to the pyramid from which they had been -taken.[33] But his days of prosperity were numbered. This project was -to be swept away like a drop of water in the great shipwreck. The two -sarcophagi, seized at Saint-Mandé, where they had remained, were valued -on the 26th of February, 1656, at 800 livres, and were classified as -"two ancient mausoleums, representing a king and queen."[34] - -A sculptor, whose name remains unknown, bought them at the public sale -which followed Foucquet's condemnation. He then gave them to Le Nôtre. -Le Nôtre, having passed from the service of Foucquet into that of the -King, was then living in a little pavilion at the Tuileries, into which -the two mausoleums, as the inventory calls them, could not enter. They -were therefore highly inconvenient guests. They were placed "in a -little garden of the Tuileries, where these rare curiosities remained -for a long time exposed to the injurious effect of the atmosphere and -greatly neglected."[35] - -Finding that he had no use for them, Le Nôtre presented them to a -neighbour and friend, M. d'Ussé, Comptroller of the King's Household, -whose garden adjoined that of the Tuileries. M. d'Ussé had them placed -"at the end of a bowered alley." According to the virtuoso, Germain -Brice, the Comptroller, did not realize their value and their rarity. -A Flora or a Pomona, smiling on her marble pedestal, would have been -more to his liking. Nevertheless he had them taken to his estate of -Ussé, in Touraine, which shows that he did not disdain them. Thus -the repose which La Fontaine desired for these worshippers of Messire -Orus was denied them. Even yet they had not made their last journey. -M. d'Ussé had married a child of twelve, who was the daughter of a -great man. Her name was Jeanne-Françoise de Vauban. Her father, then -Commissary-General of Fortifications, paid a visit of some length to -his son-in-law. He could not resist the temptation of shifting the -soil, and he made a terrace; at the foot of this terrace he constructed -a niche for the two "mausoleums." Now, half a century later there -lived at a distance of five miles from Ussé an antiquarian called La -Sauvagère, who went up and down the country examining ancient stones, -for stones had voices before to-day. He did not fail to go to Ussé. He -saw the sarcophagi, and marvelled at them. He wrote about them to Court -de Géblin, who replied to his letter. Court de Géblin was investigating -the origin of the world. This time he thought he had found it. - -La Sauvagère published plates of the sarcophagi and of the -hieroglyphics which covered them.[36] Here was a fine subject for -conjecture. After thirty years, La Sauvagère's enthusiasm had not -cooled. To the Prince de Montbazon, who had just bought the château, -and the Egyptians with it, he ordained fervently: "Prince, there you -have something which is by itself worth the whole of your estate." - -In 1807 the Egyptians were still in the niche where Vauban had -installed them. The Marquis de Chalabre then sold the estate of Ussé, -which he had inherited from his father, but he kept the sarcophagi and -took them to Paris th his apartment. - -Then they disappeared, and, in 1843, no one knew what had become of -them. M. Bonardot, the archaeologist, who displayed so much care in the -preservation of old engravings, visited that year the cemetery of the -old Abbey of Longchamps. By the edge of a path he discovered two stones -sticking out of the ground. Having poked about with his stick, he saw -that these stones were in the form of heads, and by the hair-dressing -he recognized two Egyptians. He made inquiries, and learned that they -were the two sarcophagi, sent there by M. de Chalabre's son, and -forgotten. M. de Chalabre was then dying; his heirs had the Egyptians -disinterred and gave them to the Louvre Museum, and there they are -to-day.[37] Their names have been deciphered. They are not royal names. -One is called Hor-Kheb, the other Ank-Mer.[38] - -They wear their beards in beard-cases, according to the custom of their -time and country, and it was these beard-cases that La Fontaine took -for bibs. - -The gallery of Saint-Mandé, which contained these two monuments that we -have followed so far afield, was magnificently decorated with thirteen -ancient gods in marble, life-size, and thirty-three busts in bronze or -marble, placed on pedestals. Among these busts were those of Socrates -and Seneca. Imagine these faces, brown or luminous, ranged about the -chamber, where the books displayed the sombre resplendence of their -brown and gilt backs. Imagine the pictures, the cabinets of medals, -the tables of porphyry, the mosaics; imagine a thousand precious -curiosities, and you will have some idea of this gallery, the rich -treasures of which were to be dispersed almost as soon as they had been -collected. - -The Superintendent had little time for reading, but he loved to turn -over the pages of his books, for he was a well-read man. He promised -himself the pleasures of learned, leisurely study in his old age, -when he would no longer read a welcome in ladies' eyes. Meanwhile, he -had had twenty-seven thousand volumes arranged on the shelves of his -gallery, around those two sarcophagi the story of which had carried -us so far afield from Saint-Mandé and the last days of Mazarin. These -twenty-seven thousand volumes comprised seven thousand in folio, -twelve thousand in quarto and eight thousand in octavo. They were not -all in the gallery. There was, in particular, a room for the "Alcorans, -the Talmuds and some old Bible commentaries."[39] - -The rich collection of printed books which he had gathered together -embraced universal history, medicine, law, natural history, -mathematics, oratory, theology and philosophy, as well as the fine -arts, represented by illustrated volumes. - -These books, of which it would not be possible to compile a catalogue -to-day, were not, it would seem, contained in beautiful morocco -bindings, finely gilt and richly adorned with coats of arms, like those -which honoured Mazarin's library. The financier had bought hastily, in -a wholesale fashion, books already bound, so that we cannot rank him -among the great bibliophiles, although he may be numbered among the -lovers of books. - -That Foucquet loved books, as he loved gardens, as he loved everything -flattering to the taste of a well-bred man, that he even preferred -books to anything else, there is no doubt, for we have irrefutable -testimony of the fact. In the _Conseils de la Sagesse,_ which he wrote -in prison, may be found this beautiful phrase: "You know that formerly -I used to find convention in my books."[40] - -Alas, why did he not oftener listen to those consolers which speak so -gently and so softly, and which can bestow every blessing upon the -heart that is innocent of desire? _In angello cum libello._ Therein, -perhaps, resides all wisdom. But, if every one sat in his corner and -read, what would books be about? They are filled with the sorrows -and the errors of men, and it is by saddening us that they give us -consolation. Yes, there was in Foucquet the stuff of a librarian in the -great style of a Peiresc or a Naudé. But this stuff was but a fragment -of the whole piece. Cæsar, also, would have been the first book-lover -of his day if he had not been eager to conquer and to reign, if he -had not possessed a genius for organizing Rome and the world. One -needs a childlike candour and a pious zeal if one would shut oneself -up with the dust of old books, with the souls of the dead. The humble -book-lover who holds this pen, for his own part, savours with delight -that reposeful charm, but he knows well that the purity of this charm -can only be bought at the price of renunciation and resignation. - -A word as to what became of Foucquet's library. But let the reader -not be alarmed; the fate of the twenty-seven thousand volumes which -composed it will not occupy us so long as that of the two Egyptian -sarcophagi. This library was sold by auction, like the rest of the -Superintendent's movables. Guy Patin wrote from Paris on the 25th -February, 1665: "M. Foucquet's effects are about to be sold. There is a -fine library. It is said that M. Colbert wants it." Perhaps Colbert did -want it, but for the King. Colbert was not a second Foucquet. - -Carcasi, the keeper of the Royal Library, bought for the King about -thirteen thousand volumes. The accounts of the King's buildings -mention, under the date of January, 1667, the payment of six thousand -livres "to the Sieur Mandat, liquidator of the assets of M. Foucquet, -for the price of the books which the King has had bought from the -Library of Saint-Mandé." And another payment of fourteen thousand -livres "to the Sieur Arnoul for books on the History of Italy, which -His Majesty has also bought." - -As for the manuscripts, they were bought by various libraries and -scattered. The catalogue which the purchasers compiled of these -manuscripts forms a small duodecimo volume of sixty-two pages, -entitled: _Mémoires des Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque de M. Foucquet, -qui se vendent à Paris, chez Denis Thierry, Frédéric Léonard, Jean -Dupuis, rue Saint-Jacques, et Claude Barbin, au Palais. M. D. C. -LXVII._ - -So much for the house; now for the guests. We have already met La -Fontaine and Corneille in the gallery. We shall see them there again; -they are assiduous visitors. Old Corneille brings his grievances -thither. Poor, half forgotten, he was then labouring under the blow of -the failure of his _Pertharite._ His great genius was wearing out, was -becoming harsh and uncouth, and poor Pertharite, King of the Lombards, -who was too fond of his wife Rodelinde, had met with a bad reception in -the theatre. Corneille, who was slow to take a hint, for acuteness is -not a characteristic of men of his temperament, nevertheless understood -that the hour of retreat had sounded. With a vestige of pride, which -became his genius, he pretended to take initiation in the retirement -which was forced upon him. "It is better," he said, "that I should -withdraw on my own account rather than wait until I am flatly told to -do so; and it is just that after twenty years' work I should begin to -see that I am growing too old to be still fashionable. At any rate, I -have this satisfaction: that I leave the French stage better than I -found it, with regard both to art and to morals." - -A touching and a noble farewell, but a painful one. Foucquet recalled -him; a kind word and a small pension sufficed to cheer the old man's -heart, to console him for long neglect, and for the languishing of his -fame. He presented his new benefactor with an epistle full of gratitude: - - Oui, généreux appui de tout notre Parnasse, - Tu me rends ma vigeur lorsque tu me fais grâce, - Ec je veux bien apprendre à tout notre avenir - Que tes regards bénins ont su me rajeunir. - . . . . . . . . . . - Je sens le même feu, je sens la même audace - Qui lit plaindre le Cid, qui fit combattre Horace, - Et je me trouve encor la main qui crayonna - L'âme du grand Pompée et l'esprit de Cinna. - Choisis-moi seulement quelque nom dans l'histoire - Pour qui tu veuilles place au Temple de la Gloire, - Quelque nom favori qu'il te plaise arracher - A la nuit de la tombe, aux cendres du bûcher. - Soit qu'il faille ternir ceux d'Énée et d'Achille - Par un noble attentat sur Homère et Virgile, - Soit qu'il faille obscurcir par un dernier effort - Ceux que j'ai sur la scène affranchis de la mort; - Tu me verras le même, et je te ferai dire, - Si jamais pleinement ta grande âme m'inspire, - Que dix lustres et plus n'ont pas tout emporté, - Cet assemblage heureux de force et de clarté, - Ces prestiges secrets de l'aimable imposture, - Qu'à l'envie m'ont prêtés et l'art et la nature. - N'attends pas toutefois que j'ose m'enhardir, - Ou jusqu' à te dépeindre ou jusqu' à t'applaudir, - Ce serait présumer que d'une seule vue - Jamais vu de ton cœur la plus vaste étendue, - Qu'un moment suffrait à mes débiles yeux - Pour démêler en toi ces dons brillants des deux, - De qui l'inépuisable et per çante lumière. - Sitôt que tu parais, fait baisser la paupière. - J'ai déjà vu beaucoup en ce moment heureux, - Je t'ai vu magnanime, affable, généreux, - Et ce qu'on voit à peine après dix ans d'excuses, - Je t'ai vu tout à coup libéral pour les Muses.[41] - -This, after all, is little more than a receipt expressed in Spanish -style. None the less, the poet promises the financier that he will -treat the subject which the latter indicates. Foucquet gave him three -subjects to choose from. _Œdipe_ was one of the three; it was the one -which Corneille chose. He treated it, and we may say that he treated it -gallantly. He endowed his heroes with wonderfully polite manners. It -is charming to hear Theseus, Prince of Athens, saying to the beautiful -Dirce: - - Quelque ravage affreux qu'étale ici la peste, - L'absence aux vrais amants est encor plus funeste. - -Old Corneille, delighted with himself for having conceived such -beautiful things, flattered himself that _Œdipe_ was his masterpiece, -although it had taken him only two months to write it; he had made -haste in order to please the Superintendent. This work, which was in -the fashion and was, after all, from the pen of the great Corneille, -was received with favour. The gazeteer, Loret, bears witness to this in -the execrable verses of a poet who has to write so much a week: - - Monsieur de Corneille l'aîné, - Depuis peu de temps a donné - A ceux de l'hôtel de Bourgogne[42] - Son dernier ouvrage ou besogne, - Ouvrage grand et signalé, - Qui _l'Œdipe_ est intitulé, - Ouvrage, dis-je, dramatique, - Mais si tendre et si pathétique, - Que, sans se sentir émouvoir, - On ne peut l'entendre ou le voir. - Jamais pièce de cette sorte - N'eut l'élocution si forte; - Jamais, dit-on, dans l'univers, - On n'entendit de si beaux vers. - -We mentioned that Foucquet, when proposing to Corneille the subject of -_Œdipe,_ suggested two other subjects, one of which was _Camma._ The -third we do not know.[43] Camma, who slays her husband's murderer upon -the altar to which he has led her, is no commonplace heroine. Corneille -was a good kinsman; he passed on _Camma_ to his brother Thomas, who -made a pretty dull tragedy out of it; such was the custom of this -excellent person. Thomas also participated in the Superintendent's -generosity. He dedicated to Foucquet his tragedy _La Mort de Commode,_ -in return for the "generous marks of esteem" and benefits which he had -received. He said, with charming politeness, "I wished to offer myself, -and you have singled me out." - -Pellisson, a brilliant wit and a capable man, became, after 1656, one -of Foucquet's principal clerks. He had for Mademoiselle de Scudéry -a beautiful affection which he loaded with so many adornments that -it seems to-day to have been a miraculous work of artifice. It was -marvellously decked out and embellished; an exquisite work of art. -Had they both been handsome, they would not have introduced into -their liaison so many complications; they would have loved each other -naturally. But he was ugly, so was she, and as one must love in this -world--everybody says so--they loved each other with what they had, -with their pretty wit and their subtlety. Being able to do no better, -they created a masterpiece. - -Pellisson was an assiduous guest at the Saturdays of this learned and -"precious" spinster. There he met Madame du Plessis-Bellière, whose -friendship for Foucquet is well known to us. Witty herself, she was -naturally inclined to favour wit in the new Sappho, who was then -publishing _Clélie_ in ten volumes, and in Pellisson, her relations -with whom were as pleasant as they were discreet. She introduced -them both to the Superintendent, who lost no time in attaching them -both to himself in order not to separate these two incomparable -lovers. Pellisson paid Mademoiselle de Scudéry's debt by writing a -_Remerciement du siècle à M. le surintendant Foucquet,_ and presently -on his own account he fabricated a second _Remerciement,_ full of those -elaborate allegories which people revelled in at that period, but which -to-day would send us to sleep, standing. - -Pellisson, having become the Superintendent's steward, bargained with -his tax-farmers and corrected his master's love-letters, for he was a -resourceful person; and, as he piqued himself especially on his wit, -he obligingly served as Foucquet's intermediary with men of letters. -On his recommendation the Superintendent gave a receipt for the taxes -of Forez to the poet Jean Hesnault, who thus found at Saint-Mandé -an end of the poverty which he had so long paraded up and down the -world, in the Low Countries, in England and in Sicily. Jean Hesnault -was an intelligent person, but untrustworthy: "Loving pleasure with -refinement," says Bayle, "delicately and artistically debauched." - -A pupil of Gassendi, like Molière, Bernir and Cyrano, he was an -atheist, and did not conceal the fact. For the rest, he was a good -poet, and he had a great spirit. Was it his audacious, profound and -melancholy philosophy which recommended him to the Superintendent's -favour? Hardly. Foucquet in his times of good fortune was far too much -occupied with the affairs of this world to be greatly interested in -those of another. And when misfortune brought him leisure, he is said -to have sought consolation in piety. However that may be, the kindness -which he showed to Jean Hesnault was not bestowed upon an ungrateful -recipient. Hesnault, as we shall see, appeared among the most ardent -defenders of the Superintendent in the days of his misfortune. Foucquet -also counted among his pensioners a man as pious as Hesnault was the -reverse. I refer to Guillaume de Brébeuf, a Norman nobleman, who -translated the _Pharsale,_ who was extremely zealous in converting the -Calvinists of his province. He was always shivering with fever; but his -greatest misfortune was his poverty. Cardinal Mazarin had made him -many promises; it was Foucquet who kept them. - -He also helped Boisrobert, who was growing old. Now, old age, which -is never welcome to anybody, is most unwelcome to buffoons. This -poetical Abbé, whom Richelieu described as "the ardent solicitor of -the unwilling Muses," had long been accustomed to ask, to receive and -to thank. Compliments cost him nothing, and he stuffed his collected -_Épîtres en vers,_ published in 1658, with eulogies, in which Foucquet -is compared to the heroes, the gods and the stars. Gombault, who wrote -in a more concise style, and was a shepherd on Parnassus, dedicated -his _Danaides_ to him, by way of expressing his thanks. Before 1658 -this poet of the Hôtel de Rambouillet had experienced the financier's -generosity. As for poor Scarron, he was in an unfortunate position. He, -unhappy man, had taken part in the Fronde. He had decried Jules, and -Jules, not generally vindictive, was not forgiving in this case, where -to forgive was to pay. Foucquet treated the Frondeur as a beggar, and -then, repenting, gave him a pension of 1600 livres. Nevertheless, he -remained indigent and needy. His creditors often hammered violently at -the knocker of his iron-clamped door, making a terrible noise in the -street. Once the poet was blockaded by certain nasty-looking fellows. -Three thousand francs, which Foucquet sent through the excellent -Pellisson, came just in the nick of time to deliver him from prison. -Madame Scarron was in the good books of Madame la Surintendante. From -Foucquet she obtained for her husband the right to organize a company -of unloaders at the city gates. The waggoners, doubtless, would have -been just as well pleased to do without these unloaders, who made them -pay through the nose, but the crippled poet who directed them received -by this means a revenue of between two and three thousand livres. - -I forgot Loret; the worst of men, because the worst of rhymers, and -there is nothing in the world worse than a bad poet. Yet every one must -live--at least, so it is said--and Loret lived, thanks to Foucquet. -He received his pittance on condition that he would moderate his -praises. Foucquet was a man of taste; he feared tactless praises, a -fear which we can hardly appreciate to-day. Nevertheless, in spite of -these remonstrances, Loret did not cease to be eulogistic. It was after -having celebrated in very bad verses Foucquet as a demigod that he -added: - - J'en pourrais dire d'avantage, - Mais à ce charmant personnage - Les éloges ne plaisent pas; - Les siens sont pour lui sans appas. - Il aime peu qu'on le loue, - Et touchant ce sujet, j'avoue - Que l'excellent sieur Pellisson - M'a fait plusieurs fois la leçon; - Mais, comme son rare mérite - Tout mon cœur puissamment excite, - Et que ce sujet m'est très cher. - J'aurais peine à m'en empêcher. - -But enough about this gazetteer, who, after all, was not a bad fellow, -although he never wrote anything but foolishness, and let us come to -the poet whose delightful genius even to-day sheds a glory over the -memory of Nicolas Foucquet. - -La Fontaine was presented to Foucquet by his uncle, Jannart, in the -course of the year 1654. He was then absolutely unknown outside his -town of Château-Thierry, where he was said to have courted a certain -Abbess, and to have been seen at night hastening over a frosty road, -with a dark lantern in his hand and white stockings on his feet. That -was his only fame. If he was then occupied with poetry, it was for -himself alone, and to the knowledge, perhaps, of only a few friends. - -Jacques Jannart, his uncle, or, to be more precise, the husband of -the aunt of La Fontaine's wife, was King's Counsellor and Deputy -Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament. He was a great personage and -a good man. He was not displeased that his nephew should be a poet, -should commit follies and should borrow money. He himself was not -innocent of gallantry, and was inclined to interpret the law in favour -of fair ladies. He thought that La Fontaine's poetry would please the -Superintendent and that the Superintendent's patronage would please the -poet. - -Foucquet had good taste; La Fontaine pleased him; indeed, he has the -merit of having been the first to appreciate the poet. He gave him a -pension of one thousand francs on condition that he should produce a -poem once a quarter. What is the date of this gift I do not know; the -poet's receipts do not go further back than 1659, if Mathieu Marais[44] -was correct in attributing to this same year a poem which precedes -the receipts, and which the poet published in 1675[45] with this -description: - -_M._ [_Foucquet_] _having said that I ought to give him something for -his endeavour to make my verses known, I sent, shortly after, this -letter to_ [_Madame Foucquet._][46] - -In this poem he jokes about the engagement which he had entered into -with the Superintendent for the receipt of his pension: - - Je vous l'avoue, et c'est la vérité, - Que Monseigneur n'a que trop mérité - La pension qu'il veut que je lui donne. - En bonne foi je ne sache personne - A qui Phébus s'engageât aujourd'hui - De la donner plus volontiers qu'à lui. - . . . . . . . . . - Pour acquitter celle-ci chaque année, - Il me faudra quatre termes égaux; - A la Saint-Jean je promets madrigaux, - Courts et troussés et de taille mignonne; - Longue lecture en été n'est pas bonne. - Le chef d'octobre aura son tour après, - Ma Muse alors prétend se mettre en frais. - Notre héros, si le beau temps ne change, - De menus vers aura pleine vendange. - Ne dites point que c'est menu présent, - Car menus vers sont en vogue à présent. - Vienne l'an neuf, ballade est destinée; - Qui rit ce jour, il rit toute l'année. - . . . . . . . . . - Pâques, jour saint, veut autre poésie; - J'envoyerais lors, si Dieu me prête vie, - Pour achever toute la pension, - Quelque sonnet plein de dévotion. - Ce terme-là pourrait être le pire. - On me voit peu sur tels sujets écrire, - Mais tout au moins je serai diligent, - Et, si j'y manque, envoyez un sergent, - Faites saisir sans aucune remise - Stances, rondeaux et vers de toute guise. - Ce sont nos biens: les doctes nourrissons - N'amassent rien, si ce n'est des chansons.[47] - -This engagement was kept, with certain modifications, for a year at -least. The poet's acknowledgments were in a graceful and natural style, -unequalled since the time of Marot. The ballad for the midsummer -quarter was sent to Madame la Surintendante: - - Reine des cœurs, objet délicieux, - Que suit l'enfant qu'on adore en des lieux - Nommés Paphos, Amathonte et Cythère, - Vous qui charmez les hommes et les dieux, - En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire. - -We have seen Madame Foucquet as Charity; now we see her as Venus. But -it was only to poets that she was a goddess; in reality she was a good -woman whose mental qualities were lacking in charm; she was sympathetic -only in misfortune. - -La Fontaine, in this poem, asks Madame Foucquet whether "one of -the Smiles" whom she "has for secretary" will send him a glorious -acquittal. Now, the Smile who was Madame la Surintendante's secretary -was Pellisson. As we have said, he was a wit. It delighted him to -think himself a Smile hovering round the Venus of Vaux. As for the -acknowledgment he was asked for, he composed two, one in his own name, -and the other in that of his divine Surintendante. Here is the first, -which is called the Public Acknowledgment: - - Par devant moi sur Parnasse notaire, - Se présenta la reine des beautés, - Et des vertus le parfait exemplaire, - Qui lut ces vers, puis les ayant comptés, - Pesés, revus, approuvés et vantés, - Pour le passé voulut s'en satisfaire, - Se réservant le tribut ordinaire, - Pour l'avenir aux termes arrêtés. - Muses de Vaux et vous, leur secrétaire, - Voilà l'acquit tel que vous souhaitez. - En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire. - -Here is the second, under private seal, in the name of the -Surintendante: - - De mes deux yeux, ou de mes deux soleils - J'ai lu vos vers qu'on trouve sans pareils, - Et qui n'ont rien qui ne me doive plaire. - Je vous tiens quitte et promets vous fournir - De quoi par tout vous le faire tenir, - Pour le passé, mais non pour l'avenir. - En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire.[48] - -But Jean could not lay restraint upon himself. As he himself -ingenuously admits, he divided his life into two parts: one he passed -in sleeping, the other in doing nothing. For writing verse was doing -nothing for him, it came to him so naturally. But he could not do it -if he were obliged. In October, the second quarter, when his second -receipt fell due, we find the poet very much embarrassed. He sends a -poem, the refrain of which betrays this embarrassment: - - To promise is one thing, to keep one's promise is another.[49] - -In the first quarter of 1660, all he produced was a dizaine for Madame -Foucquet. Foucquet, not unnaturally, mildly objected; and the poet -replied: - - Bien vous dirai qu'au nombre s'arrêter - N'est pas le mieux, seigneur.... - -Foucquet was content and did not trouble his poetic debtor any further. -The latter thought that he would pay his debt by a descriptive poem of -some length, but this poem, _Le Songe de Vaux,_ was never finished. The -terrible awakening was near at hand. - -We have already seen La Fontaine in the gallery at Saint-Mandé. Whilst -he was waiting Foucquet was busy, whether with an affair of State or of -the heart is doubtful, for he burnt the candle at both ends. "He took -everything upon himself," says the Abbé de Choisy, "he aspired to be -the first Minister, without losing a single moment of his pleasures. -He would pretend to be working alone in his study at Saint-Mandé; and -the whole Court, anticipating his future greatness, would wait in -his antechamber, loudly praising the indefatigable industry of this -great man, while he himself would go down the private staircase into -a garden, where his nymphs, whose names I might mention if I chose, -and they were not among the least distinguished, awaited him, and for -no small reward."[50] He would send sometimes three, sometimes four -thousand pistoles to the ladies of his heart,[51] and some of the most -charming sought to please him.[52] - -Would it be true, however, to say with Nicolas: - - Never did a Superintendent meet with a cruel lady.[53] - -Madame de Sévigné was wooed by Foucquet, and yet she had no difficulty -in escaping from him. She made him understand that she would give -nothing and accept nothing. She was reasonable; he became so. "Reduced -to friendship, he transformed his love," says Bussy, "into an esteem -for a virtue hitherto unknown to him."[54] Madame de Sévigné was not -alone obdurate. - -Madame Scarron, beautiful and prudish, found a way to obtain great -benefits from Foucquet without involving her reputation. When the -Superintendent granted her a favour, it was Madame Foucquet whom she -thanked. Thus, for the privilege which we have mentioned: "Madame," -she writes to Madame la Surintendante, "I will not trouble you further -about the matter of the unloaders. It is happily terminated through the -intervention of that hero to whom we all owe everything, and whom you -have the pleasure of loving. The provost of the merchants listened to -reason as soon as he heard the great name of M. Foucquet. I entreat of -you, Madame, to allow me to come and thank you at Vaux. Madame de Vassé -has assured me that you continue to regard me kindly, and that you -will not consider me an intruder in those alleys where one may reflect -with so much reason, and jest with so much grace."[55] - -Madame Foucquet, who was a kind woman, wished to keep Madame Scarron -about her; but the cunning fly would not allow itself to be caught. She -wrote to her indiscreet benefactress: "Madame, my obligation towards -you did not permit me to hesitate concerning the proposition which -Madame Bonneau made me on your behalf. It was so flattering to me, -I am so disgusted with my present circumstances, and I have so much -respect for you, that I should not have wavered for a moment, even -if the gratitude which I owe you had not influenced me; but, Madame, -M. Scarron, although your indebted and very humble servant, cannot -give his consent. My entreaties have failed to move him, my reasons -to persuade him. He implores you to love me less, or at any rate to -display your affection in a way which would be less costly to him. -Read his request, Madame, and pardon the ardour of a husband who has -no other resource against tedium, no other consolation in all his -misfortunes than the wife whom he loves. I told Madame Bonneau that -if you shorten the term I might, perhaps, obtain his consent, but I -see that it is useless thus to flatter myself, and that I had too far -presumed upon my power. I entreat of you, Madame, to continue your -kindness towards me. No one is more attached to you than I am, and my -gratitude will cease only with my life."[56] - -Mademoiselle du Fouilloux was no prude; quite the contrary. She -appeared at Court in 1652; she showed herself and she pleased. - - Une fleur fraîche et printanière, - Un nouvel astre, une lumière, - Savoir l'aimable du Fouilloux, - Dont plusieurs beaux yeux sont jaloux, - D'autant que cette demoiselle - Est charmante, brillante et belle, - Ayant pour escorte l'Amour, - A fait son entrée à la Cour - Et pris le nom, cette semaine, - De fille d'honneur de la reine.[57] - -She figured in all the ballets in which the King danced, and Loret -sings that in 1658: - - Fouilloux, l'une des trois pucelles, - Comme elle est belle entre les belles, - Par ses attraits toujours vainqueurs, - Y faisait des rafles de cœurs. - -Foucquet lost his heart to her. He spoke; he gained a hearing. -Mademoiselle du Fouilloux, frivolous and calculating, was doubly made -for him. Their liaison was intimate and political. Fouilloux was -absolutely self-interested; she did not ask for what was her due, being -too great a lady for that, but she demanded it by means of a third -person, and even insisted upon advances. "I will tell you," wrote this -go-between,[58] "that I have seen Fouilloux prepared to entreat me to -find a way to inform you, as if on my own account, that I knew you -would please her if you would advance one hundred pistoles on this -year's pension." - -We know also, from the same source, that the beauty asked for money -to pay her debts, and did not pay them. Here is the end of the note: -"Mademoiselle du Fouilloux has assured me that, of all the money that -you have given her, she has not paid a halfpenny. She has gambled -it all away." We must do justice to Foucquet, and to Fouilloux; -they were very reasonable. Fouilloux's one thought was to have her -own establishment, and she had her eye on an honest man, something -of a simpleton, but of good family, whom she had watched by the -Superintendent's police. - -In those days the Queen's ladies-in-waiting were flattered in song. -Fouilloux had verses addressed to her: - - Foilloux sans songer à plaire - Plaît pourtant infiniment - Par un air libre et charmant. - C'est un dessein téméraire - Que d'attaquer sa rigueur. - Si j'eusse été sans affaires - La belle aurait eu mon cœur.[59] - -Other verses celebrate Menneville: - - Toute la Cour est éprise - De ces attraits glorieux - Dont vous enchantez les yeux, - Menneville; ma franchise - S'y devrait bien engager; - Mais mon cœur est place prise - Et vous n'y sauriez loger. - -This Menneville, celebrated in such bad verse, was, with Fouilloux, -the prettiest woman at Court. On this matter we have the testimony of -Jean Racine, who, banished to the depths of the provinces, wrote to -his friend La Fontaine, citing Fouilloux and Menneville as examples of -beauty. "I cannot refrain from saying a word as to the beauties of this -province.... There is not a village maiden, nor a cobbler's wife, who -might not vie in beauty with the Fouilloux and the Mennevilles.... All -the women here are dazzling, and they deck themselves out in a manner -which is to them the most natural fashion in the world, and as for the -attractions of their person, - -_Colors vents, corpus solidum et sued plenum._"[60] - -Of the two, Menneville is thought to have been the more beautiful. A -song says of her: - - Cachez-vous, filles de la reine, - Petites, - Car Menneville est de retour, - M'amour. - -She sold herself to the Superintendent. As she did not equal Fouilloux -in her genius for intrigue, Foucquet used her more kindly. While this -lady-in-waiting was yielding to the suit of the seigneur of Vaux, -she was trying to force the Duc de Damville to marry her, as he had -promised. Like Fouilloux, she begged the Superintendent to help her -to get settled. He did so with a good grace, and sent the fair lady -fifteen thousand crowns, which ought to have decided Damville. The -latter hesitated. An accident decided for him: he died. - -There were no pleasures, no distractions--if we employ the word in -the strict sense which Pascal then gave it--there were no means of -enjoyment and oblivion for which Foucquet had not the most tremendous -capacity. Business and building were not enough to absorb his vast -energies. He was a gambler. The stakes at his tables were terribly -high. So they were at Madame Foucquet's. In one day Gourville won -eighteen thousand livres from the Comte d'Avaux. No money was laid -on the table, but at the end of the game the players settled their -accounts. They played not only for money, but for gems, ornaments, -lace, collars, valued at seventy to eighty pistoles each. - -Foucquet, playing against Gourville, in one day lost sixty thousand -livres. "He played," said Gourville, "with cut cards which were worth -ten or twenty pistoles each. I put one thousand pistoles before me -almost desiring that he should win back something, which did happen. -Nevertheless, he was not pleased to see I was leaving the game."[61] - -This wild play was not altogether to the Superintendent's disadvantage. -In the end his intimate friends, who were great personages, were -ruined, and came to him for mercy. Thus, for instance, he held in his -power Hugues de Lyonne--the great Lyonne. But he himself was at his -last gasp, and overwhelmed with anxiety. - -Sole Superintendent of Finance since Servien's death, on the 17th -February, 1659, Foucquet had filled Mazarin's crop without having won -him, for Mazarin loved and served only himself, his own people and -the State. As a private individual he was self-interested, covetous -and miserly. As a public man he desired the good of the kingdom, the -greatness of France. He was never grateful to his public servants for -anything they did for his own person. Foucquet felt this; he perceived -that he had no hold over this man, and that Mazarin, when dying, might -ruin him, having no further need of him. - -For Mazarin was dying; he was dying with all the heartrending regret -of a Magnifico who feels that he is being torn from his jewels, his -tapestries and his books--beautifully bound in morocco, delicately -tooled--and also, by a curious inconsistency, with the serenity of a -great statesman, of another Richelieu, full of a generous grief that he -could no longer play his part in those great affairs which had rendered -his life illustrious. He was anxious to assure the prosperity of the -kingdom after his death. "Sire," he said to the young Louis XIV, "I -owe you everything, but I think I can in a manner discharge my debt by -giving you Colbert."[62] - -At the very point of death he was conferring with the King in secret -conversations, which caused Foucquet great anxiety, precisely because -they were concealed from him. Then, at length, the light of eyes which -had so long sought for gold and sumptuous draperies, and pierced the -hearts of men, was finally extinguished. - -On the 9th March, 1661, as Foucquet, leaving his house of Saint-Mandé, -was crossing the Gardens on foot to go to Vincennes, he met young -Brienne, who was getting out of his couch, and learned from him the -great news. - -"He is dead, then!" murmured Foucquet. "Henceforth I shall not know in -whom to confide. People always do things by halves. Oh, how distressing -I The King is waiting for me, and I ought to be there among the first! -My God! Monsieur de Brienne, tell me what is happening, so that I may -not commit any indiscretion through ignorance."[63] - -The day after Mazarin's death the King of twenty-three summoned -Foucquet, with the Chancellor, Séguier, the Ministers and Secretaries -of State, and addressed them in these words: "Hitherto I have been -content to leave my affairs in the hands of the late Cardinal. It is -time for me to control them myself. You will help me with your counsels -when I ask you for them. Gentlemen, I forbid you to sign anything, not -even a safe conduct, or a passport, without my command. I request you -to give me personally an account of everything every day, to favour no -one in your lists of the month. And you, Monsieur le Surintendant, I -have explained to you my wishes; I request you to employ M. Colbert, -whom the late Cardinal has recommended to me." Foucquet thought that -the King was not speaking seriously. That error ruined him. - -He believed that it would be easy to amuse and deceive the youthful -mind of the King, and he set to work to do so with all the ardour, -all the grace and all the frivolity of his nature. He determined to -govern the kingdom and the King. Foucquet did not know Louis XIV, and -Louis XVI did know Foucquet. Warned by Mazarin, the King knew that -Foucquet was engaged in dubious proceedings, and was ready to resort -to any expedient. He knew, also, that he was a man of resource and of -talent. He took him apart and told him that he was determined to be -King, and to have a precise and complete knowledge of State affairs; -that he would begin with finance; it was the most important part -of his administration, and that he was determined to restore order -and regularity to that department. He asked the Superintendent to -instruct him minutely in every detail, and he bade him conceal nothing, -declaring that he would always employ him, provided that he found him -sincere. As for the past, he was prepared to forget that, but he wished -that in future the Superintendent would let him know the true state of -the finances.[64] - -In speaking thus, Louis XIV told the truth. He has explained himself in -his _Mémoires._ "It may be a cause of astonishment," he says, "that I -was willing to employ him at a time when his peculations were known to -me, but I knew that he was intelligent and thoroughly acquainted with -all the most intimate affairs of State, and this made me think that, -provided he would confess his past faults and promise to correct them, -he might render me good service." - -No one could speak more wisely, more kindly; but the audacious Foucquet -did not realize that there was something menacing in this wisdom and -this kindness. He was possessed of a spirit of imprudence and error. He -was labouring blindly to bring about his own fall. Day by day, despite -the advice of his best friends, he presented the King with false -accounts of his expenditure and revenue. For five months he believed -that he was deceiving Louis XIV, but every evening the King placed his -accounts in the hands of Colbert, whom he had nominated Intendant of -Finance, with the special duty of watching Foucquet. Colbert showed -the King the falsifications in these accounts. On the following day -the King would patiently seek to draw some confession from the guilty -Minister, who, with false security, persisted in his lies. - -Henceforth Foucquet was a ruined man. From the month of April, 1661, -Colbert's clerks did not hesitate to announce his fall. He began to be -afraid, but it was too late. He went and threw himself at the King's -feet--it was at Fontainebleau--he reminded him that Cardinal Mazarin -had regulated finance with absolute authority, without observing any -formality, and had constrained him, the Superintendent, to do many -things which might expose him to prosecution. He did not deny his own -personal faults, and admitted that his expenditure had been excessive. -He entreated the King to pardon him for the past, and promised to serve -him faithfully in the future. The King listened to his Minister with -apparent goodwill; his lips murmured words of pardon, but in his heart -he had already passed sentence on Foucquet. - -Is it true that some private jealousy inspired the King's vengeance? -Foucquet, according to the Abbé de Choisy,[65] had sent Madame -de Plessis-Bellière to tell Mademoiselle de Lavallière that the -Superintendent had twenty thousand pistoles at her service. The lady -had replied that twenty million would not induce her to take a false -step. "Which astonished the worthy intermediary, who was little used -to such replies," adds the Abbé. However this may be, Foucquet soon -perceived that the fortress was taken, and that it was dangerous to -tread upon the heels of the royal occupant. But in order to repair his -fault he committed a second, worse than the first. Again it is Choisy -who tells us. "Wishing to justify himself to her, and to her secret -lover, he himself undertook the mission of go-between, and, taking her -apart in Madame's antechamber, he sought to tell her that the King was -the greatest prince in the world, the best looking, and other little -matters. But the lady, proud of her heart's secret, cut him short, and -that very evening complained of him to the King."[66] - -Such a piece of audacity, and one so clumsy, could only irritate the -young and royal lover. Nevertheless it was not to a secret jealousy, -but to State interest, that Louis XIV sacrificed his prevaricating -Minister. - -His intentions are above suspicion. It was in the interest of the -Crown and of the State alone that he acted. Yet we can but feel -surprised to find so young a man employing so much strategy and so much -dissimulation in order to ruin one whom he had appeared to pardon. In -this piece of diplomacy Louis XIV and Colbert both displayed an excess -of skill. With perfidious adroitness they manœuvred to deprive Foucquet -of his office of Attorney-General, which was an obstacle in their way, -for an officer of the Parliament could be tried only by that body, and -Foucquet had so many partisans in Parliament that there was no hope -that it would ever condemn him. - -Louis XIV displayed an apparent confidence in Foucquet and redoubled -his favours; Colbert, acting with the King, was constantly praising -his generosity. He was, at the same time, inducing him to testify his -gratitude by filling the treasury without having recourse to bargains -with supporters, which were so burdensome to the State. Foucquet -replied: "I would willingly sell all that I have in the world in order -to procure money for the King." - -Colbert refrained from pressing him further, but he contrived to lead -the conversation to the office of Attorney-General. Foucquet told him -one day that he had been offered fifteen hundred thousand livres for it. - -"But, sir," answered Colbert, "do you wish to sell it? It is true that -it is of no great use to you. A Minister who is Superintendent has no -time to watch lawsuits." The matter did not go any farther at that -time; but they returned to it later, and Foucquet, thinking himself -established in his sovereign's favour, said one day to Colbert that he -was inclined to sell his office in order to give its price to the King. -Colbert applauded this resolution, and Foucquet went immediately to -tell Louis XIV, who thanked him and accepted the offer immediately. The -trick was played.[67] - -The King had done his part to bring about this excellent result -by making Foucquet think that he would create him a _chevalier -de l'Ordre,_ and first Minister, as soon as he was no longer -Attorney-General. Here is a deal of duplicity to prepare the way for an -act of justice! Foucquet sold his office for fourteen hundred thousand -livres to Achille de Harlay, who paid for it partly in cash. A million -was taken to Vincennes, "where the King wished to keep it for secret -expenditure."[68] - -Loret announced this fact in his letter of the 14th August: - - Ce politique renommé - Qui par ses bontés m'a charmé, - Ce judicieux, ce grand homme - Que Monseigneur Foucquet on nomme, - Si généreux, si libéral, - N'est plus procureur général. - Une autre prudente cervelle, - Que Monsieur Harlay on appelle, - En a par sa démission - Maintenant la possession. - -As a further act of prudence, and in order completely to lay Foucquet's -suspicions to rest, Louis XIV accepted the entertainment which Foucquet -offered him in the Château de Vaux. "For a long time," said Madame -de Lafayette, "the King had said that he wanted to go to Vaux, the -Superintendent's magnificent house, and although Foucquet ought to have -been too wary to show the King the very thing that proved so plainly -what bad use he had made of the public finances, and though the King's -natural kindliness ought to have prevented him from visiting a man whom -he was about to ruin, neither of them considered this aspect of the -affair."[69] - -The whole Court went to Vaux on the 17th August, 1661.[70] - -These festivities exasperated Louis XIV. "Ah, Madame," he said to his -mother, "shall we not make all these people disgorge?" Infallible -signs announced the approaching catastrophe. In his Council, the King -proposed to suppress those very orders to pay cash which served, as we -have said, to cover the secret expenditure of the Superintendents. The -Chancellor strongly supported the proposal. "Do I count for nothing, -then?" cried Foucquet indiscreetly. Then he suddenly corrected himself -and said that other ways would be found to provide for the secret -expenses of the State. "I myself will provide for them," said Louis -XIV. Nevertheless, Foucquet, though deprived of the gown, was still a -formidable enemy. Before he could be reduced his Breton strongholds -must be captured. The prudent King had thought of this, and presently -conceived a clever scheme. As there was need of money, it was resolved -to increase the taxation of the State domains. This impost, described -euphemistically as a gratuitous gift, was voted by the Provincial -Assemblies. The presence of the King seemed necessary in order to -determine the Breton Estates to make a great financial sacrifice, and -Foucquet himself advised the King to go to Nantes, where the Provincial -Assembly was to be held.[71] Foucquet himself helped to bring about -his own ruin. At Nantes he had a sorrowful presentiment of this. He -was suffering from an intermittent fever, the attacks of which were -very weakening. "Why," he said, in a low voice to Brienne, "is the -King going to Brittany, and to Nantes in particular? Is it not in order -to make sure of Belle-Isle?" And several times in his weakness he -murmured: "Nantes, Belle-Isle!" When Brienne went out, he embraced him -with tears in his eyes.[72] - -The King arrived at Nantes on the ist of September, and took up his -abode at the Château. Foucquet had his lodging at the other end of -the town, in a house which communicated with the Loire by means of a -subterranean passage. In that way he could reach the river, where a -boat was waiting for him, and escape to Belle-Isle. - -Summoned by the King, on the 5th September, at seven o'clock in the -morning, he went to the Council Meeting, which was prolonged until -eleven o'clock. During this time meticulous measures were taken for -his arrest, and for the seizure of his papers. The Council over, the -King detained Foucquet to discuss various matters with him. Finally, -he dismissed him, and Foucquet entered his chair. Having passed -through the gate of the Château, he had entered a little square near -the Cathedral, when D'Artagnan, 2nd Lieutenant of the Company of -Musketeers, signed to him to get out. Foucquet obeyed, and D'Artagnan -read him the warrant for his arrest. The Superintendent expressed -great surprise at this misfortune, and asked the officer to avoid -attracting public attention. The latter took him into a house which was -near at hand; it was that of the Archdeacon of Nantes, whose niece had -been Foucquet's first wife. A cup of broth was given to the prisoner; -the papers he had on him were taken and sealed. In one of the King's -coaches he was conveyed to the Château d'Angers. There he remained for -three months, from the 7th of September to the 1st of December. - -Meanwhile his prosecution was being prepared. Certain letters from -women, found in a casket at Saint-Mandé, were taken to Fontainebleau, -and given to the King. They combined a great deal of gallantry with a -great deal of politics. Many women's names were to be read in them, -or guessed at. Madame Scarron's was mentioned and even Madame de -Sévigné's, but in an innocent connection. On the whole, only one woman, -Menneville, was shown to be guilty. - -Foucquet was removed from Angers to Saumur. Taken on the 2nd of -December to La Chapelle-Blanche, he lodged on the 3rd in a suburb of -Tours, and from the 4th to the 25th of December remained in the Château -d'Amboise. Shortly after Foucquet's departure, La Fontaine, in company -with his uncle, Jannart, who had been exiled to Limousin, halted below -the Château and swept his eyes over the fair and smiling valley. - -"All this," he said, "poor Monsieur Foucquet could never, during his -imprisonment here, enjoy for a single moment. All the windows of his -room had been blocked up, leaving only a little gap at the top. I asked -to see him; a melancholy pleasure, I admit, but I did ask. The soldier -who escorted us had no key, so that I was left for a long time gazing -at the door, and I got them to tell me how the prisoner was guarded. I -should like to describe it to you, but the recollection is too painful. - - Qu'est-il besoin que je retrace - Une garde au soin non pareil, - Chambre murée, étroite place, - Quelque peu d'air pour toute grâce; - Jours sans soleil, - Nuits sans sommeil; - Trois portes en six pieds d'espace! - Vous peindre un tel appartement, - Ce serait attirer vos larmes; - Je l'ai fait insensiblement, - Cette plainte a pour moi des charmes. - -Nothing but the approach of night could have dragged me from the -spot."[73] - -On the 31st December, Foucquet reached Vincennes. As he passed he -caught sight of his house at Saint-Mandé, in which he had collected -all that can flatter and adorn life, and which he was never again to -inhabit. He was, indeed, to remain in the Bastille until after his -condemnation; that is to say, for more than three years; and he left -that fortress only to suffer an imprisonment of which the protracted -severity has become a legend. - -The public anger was now loosed upon the stricken financier. The people -whose poverty had been insulted by his ostentatious display wished -to snatch him from his guards and tear him to pieces in the streets. -Several times during the journey from Nantes, D'Artagnan had been -obliged to protect his prisoner from riotous mobs of peasants. In the -higher classes of society the indignation was fully as bitter, although -it was only expressed in words. - -Society never forgave Foucquet for having allowed his love-letters to -be seized. It was considered that to keep and classify women's letters -in this manner was not the act of a gallant gentleman. Such was the -opinion of Chapelain, who wrote to Madame de Sévigné: - -"Was it not enough to ruin the State, and to render the King odious -to his people by the enormous burdens which he imposed upon them, and -to employ the public finances in impudent expenditure and insolent -acquisitions, which were compatible neither with his honour nor with -his office, and which, on the other hand, rather tended to turn his -subjects and his servants against him, and to corrupt them? Was it -necessary to crown his irregularities and his crimes, by erecting in -his own honour a trophy of favours, either real or apparent, of the -modesty of so many ladies of rank, and by keeping a shameful record -of his commerce with them in order that the shipwreck of his fortunes -should also be that of their reputations? - -"Is this consistent with being, I do not say an upright man, in which -capacity, his flatterers, the Scarrons, Pellissons and Sapphos, and -the whole of that self-interested scum have so greatly extolled him, -but a man merely, a man with a spark of enlightenment, who professes -to be something better than a brute? I cannot excuse such scandalous, -dastardly behaviour, and I should be hardly less enraged with this -wretch if your name had not been found among his papers."[74] - -We can admire such generous indignation, but it is hard to be called -"self-interested scum" when one is merely faithful in misfortune. - -The truth is that Foucquet still had friends; the women and the poets -did not abandon him. Hesnault, to whom he had given a pension, was -not a favourite of the Muses, but he showed himself a man of feeling, -and his courageous fidelity did him credit. He attacked Colbert in an -eloquent sonnet, which was circulated everywhere by the prisoner's -friends: - - Ministre avare et lâche, esclave malheureux, - Qui gémis sous le poids des affaires publiques, - Victime dévouée aux chagrins politiques, - Fantôme révéré sous un titre onéreux: - - Vois combien des grandeurs le comble est dangereux; - Contemple de Foucquet les funestes reliques, - Et tandis qu'à sa perte en secret tu t'appliques, - Crains qu'on ne te prépare un destin plus affreux! - - Sa chute, quelque jour, te peut être commune; - Crains ton poste, ton rang, la cour et la fortune; - Nul ne tombe innocent d'où l'on te voit monté. - - Cesse donc d'animer ton prince à son supplice, - Et près d'avoir besoin de toute sa bonté, - Ne le fais pas user de toute sa justice. - -This sonnet was circulated privately. It was generally read with -pleasure, for Colbert was not liked, and it will not be inappropriate -to cite here an anecdote for which Bayle is responsible.[75] - -When the sonnet was mentioned to the Minister, he asked: "Is the King -offended by it?" And when he was told that he was not, "Then neither -am I," he said, "nor do I bear the author any ill will." - -If Molière kept silence, Corneille, on the contrary, now gave proof of -his greatness of soul; by praising Pellisson's fidelity, he showed that -he shared it: - - En vain pour ébranler ta fidèle constance, - On vit fondre sur toi la force et lat puissance; - En vain dans la Bastille, on t'accabla de fers, - En vain on te flatta sur mille appas divers; - Ton grand cœur, inflexible aux rigueurs, aux caresses, - Triompha de la force et se rit des promesses; - Et comme un grand rocher par l'orage insulté - Des flots audacieux méprise la fierté, - Et, sans craindre le bruit qui gronde sur sa tête, - Voit briser à ses pieds l'effort de la tempête, - C'est ainsi, Pellisson, que dans l'adversité, - Ton intrépide cœur garde sa fermeté, - Et que ton amitié, constante et généreuse, - Du milieu des dangers sortit victorieuse. - -Poor Loret found it difficult at first to collect his bewildered wits -and relate the catastrophe. It was a terrible affair; he didn't know -much about it, and he says still less. But, far from accusing the -fallen Minister, he was inclined to pity and esteem him. This was -courageous; and his bad verses were a kind action: - - Notre Roi, qui par politique - Se transportait vers l'Amorique, - Pour raisons qu'on ne savait pas, - S'en revient, dit-on, à grands pas. - Je n'ai su par aucun message - Les circonstances du voyage: - Mais j'ai du bruit commun appris, - C'est-à-dire de tout Paris, - Que par une expresse ordonnance, - Le sieur surintendant de France - Je ne sais pourquoi ni comment, - Est arrêté présentement - (Nouvelles des plus surprenantes) - Dans la ville et château de Nantes, - Certes, j'ai toujours respecté - Les ordres de Sa Majesté - Et crû que ce monarque auguste - Ne commandait rien que de juste; - Mais étant rémemoratif - Que cet infortuné captif - M'a toujours semblé bon et sage - Et que d'un obligeant langage - Il m'a quelquefois honoré, - J'avoue en avoir soupiré, - Ne pouvant, sans trop me contraindre, - Empêcher mon cœur de le plaindre. - Si, sans préjudice du Roi - (Et je le dis de bonne foi) - Je pouvais lui rendre service - Et rendre son sort plus propice - En adoucissant sa rigueur, - Je le ferais de tout mon cœur; - Mais ce seul désir est frivole, - Et prions Dieu qu'il le console. - En l'état qu'il est aujourd'hui, - C'est tout ce que je puis pour lui.[76] - -In time poor Loret did more; he tried to deny his benefactor's crimes. -"I doubt half of them," he said in the execrable style of the rhyming -Gazetteer:[77] - - Et par raison et par pitié, - Et même pour la conséquence - Je passe le tout sous silence. - -Pellisson was admirable. He wrote from the Bastille, where he was -imprisoned, eloquent defences in which, neglecting his own cause, he -sought only to justify Foucquet. His defence followed the same lines -as that of Foucquet himself. He pleaded the necessities of France, -the need of provisioning and equipping her armies and of fortifying -her strongholds. He imagined a case in which Mazarin himself might -have been criticized for the means by which he had procured money for -the war and ensured victory. "In all conscience," he said, "what man -of good sense could have advised him to reply in other than Scipio's -words: 'Here are my accounts: I present them but only to tear them -up. On this day a year ago I signed a general peace, and the contract -of the King's marriage, which gave peace to Europe. Let us go and -celebrate this anniversary at the foot of the altar.'"[78] - -Mademoiselle de Scudéry distinguished herself by her zeal on behalf of -her friend, formerly so powerful, and now so unfortunate. Pecquet, whom -the Superintendent had chosen as his doctor, in order that he might -discourse with him on physics and philosophy, the learned Jean Pecquet, -was inconsolable at having lost so good a master. He used to say that -Pecquet had always rhymed, and always would rhyme with Foucquet.[79] - -As for La Fontaine, all know how his fidelity, rendered still more -touching by his ingenuous emotions and the spell of his poetry, adorns -and defends the memory of Nicolas Foucquet to this very day. Nothing -can equal the divine complaint in which the truest of poets grieved -over the disgrace of his magnificent patron. - - - ÉLÉGIE[80] - - Remplissez l'air de cris en vos grottes profondes, - Pleurez, nymphes de Vaux, faites croître vos ondes; - Et que l'Anqueil[81] enflé ravage les trésors - - Dont les regards de Flore ont embelli vos bords. - On ne blâmera point vos larmes innocentes, - Vous pourrez donner cours à vos douleurs pressantes; - Chacun attend de vous ce devoir généreux: - Les destins sont contents, Oronte est malheureux[82] - -"In a letter written under the name of M. de la Visclède, to the -permanent secretary of the Academy of Pau, in 1776, Voltaire," says -M. Marty-Laveaux, "quotes these verses, and adds: 'He (La Fontaine) -altered the word _Cabale_ when he had been made to realize that the -great Colbert was serving the King with great equity, and was not -addicted to cabals. But La Fontaine had heard some one make use of the -term, and had fully believed that it was the proper word to use.'" - - Vous l'avez vu naguère au bord de vos fontaines, - Qui sans craindre du sort les faveurs incertaines, - Plein d'éclat, plein de gloire, adoré des mortels, - Recevait des honneurs qu'on ne doit qu'aux autels. - - Hélas! qu'il est déchu de ce bonheur suprême! - Que vous le trouverez différent de lui-même! - Pour lui les plus beaux jours sont de secondes nuits, - Les soucis dévorans, les regrets, les ennuis, - Hôtes infortunés de sa triste demeure, - En des gouffres de maux le plongent à toute heure - Voilà le précipice où l'ont enfin jeté - Les attraits enchanteurs de la prospérité! - Dans les palais des Rois cette plainte est commune; - On n'y connaît que trop les jeux de la fortune, - Ses trompeuses faveurs, ses appas inconstants: - Mais on ne les connaît que quand il n'est plus temps, - Lorsque sur cette mer on vogue à pleines voiles, - Qu'on croit avoir pour soi les vents et les étoiles. - Il est bien malaisé de régler ses désirs; - Le plus sage s'endort sur la foi des zéphirs. - Jamais un favori ne borne sa carrière, - Il ne regarde point ce qu'il laisse en arrière; - Et tout ce vain amour des grandeurs et du bruit - Ne le saurait quitter qu'après l'avoir détruit. - Tant d'exemples fameux que l'histoire en raconte - Ne suffisaient-ils pas sans la perte d'Oronte? - Ah! si ce faux éclat n'eût point fait ses plaisirs, - Si le séjour de Vaux eût borné ses désirs - Qu'il pouvait doucement laisser couler son âge! - Vous n'avez pas chez vous ce brillant équipage, - Cette foule de gens qui s'en vont chaque jour - Saluer à longs flots le soleil de la cour: - Mais la faveur du ciel vous donne en récompense - Du repos, du loisir, de l'ombre et du silence, - Un tranquille sommeil, d'innocents entretiens, - Et jamais à la cour on ne trouve ces biens. - Mais quittons ces pensers, Oronte nous appelle. - Vous, dont il a rendu la demeure si belle, - Nymphes, qui lui devez vos plus charmants appas, - Si le long de vos bords Louis porte ses pas, - Tâchez de l'adoucir, fléchissez son courage; - Il aime ses sujets, il est juste, il est sage; - Du titre de clément, rendez-le ambitieux; - C'est par là que les Rois sont semblables aux dieux. - Du magnanisme Henri[83] qu'il contemple la vie; - Dès qu'il put se venger, il en perdit l'envie. - Inspirez à Louis cette même douceur: - La plus belle victoire est de vaincre son cœur. - Oronte est à présent un objet de clémence; - S'il a cru les conseils d'une aveugle puissance, - Il est assez puni par son sort rigoureux, - Et c'est être innocent que d'être malheureux.[84] - -La Fontaine, not satisfied with this poem, addressed an ode to the King -on Foucquet's behalf. But the ode is far from equalling the elegy. - - ... Oronte seul, ta creature, - Languit dans un profond ennui, - Et les bienfaits de la nature - Ne se répandent plus sur lui. - Tu peux d'un éclat de ta foudre - Achever de le mettre en poudre; - Mais si les dieux à ton pouvoir - Aucunes bornes n'ont prescrites, - Moins ta grandeur a de limites, - Plus ton courroux en doit avoir. - . . . . . . . - Va-t-en punir l'orgueil du Tibre; - Qu'il se souvienne que ses lois - N'ont jadis rien laissé de libre - Que le courage des Gaulois. - Mais parmi nous sois débonnaire: - A cet empire si sévère - Tu ne te peux accoutumer; - Et ce serait trop te contraindre: - Les étrangers te doivent craindre, - Tes sujets te veulent aimer. - -These verses refer to the attack made by the Corsicans on the Guard of -Alexander VII, who, on the 20th August, 1667, fired on the coach of the -Due de Créqui, the French Ambassador. - - L'amour est fils de la clémence, - La clémence est fille des dieux; - Sans elle toute leur puissance - Ne serait qu'un titre odieux. - Parmi les fruits de la victoire, - César environné de gloire - N'en trouva point dont la douceur - A celui-ci pût être égale, - Non pas même aux champs où Pharsale - L'honora du nom de vainqueur. - . . . . . . . - Laisse-lui donc pour toute grâce - Un bien qui ne lui peut durer, - Après avoir perdu la place - Que ton cœur lui fit espérer. - Accorde-nous les faibles restes - De ses jours tristes et funestes, - Jours qui se passent en soupirs: - Ainsi les tiens filés de soie - Puissent se voir comblés de joie, - Même au delà de tes désirs.[85] - -La Fontaine submitted this ode to Foucquet, who sent it back to him -with various suggestions. The prisoner requested that the reference -to Rome should be suppressed. Doubtless he did not understand it, not -having heard in prison of the attack upon the French Ambassador at the -Papal Court.[86] He also disapproved of the allusion to the clemency -of the victor of Pharsalia. "Cæsar's example," he said, "being derived -from antiquity would not, I think, be well enough known." He also noted -a passage--which I do not know--"as being too poetical to please the -King." The last suggestion speaks of a true nobility of mind. It refers -to the last passage, in which the poet implores the King to grant the -life of "Oronte." Foucquet wrote in the margin: "You sue too humbly for -a thing that one ought to despise." - -La Fontaine did not willingly give in on any of these points; to the -last suggestion he replied as follows: "The sentiment is worthy of you, -Monsignor, and, in truth, he who regards life with such indifference -does not deserve to die. Perhaps you have not considered that it is I -who am speaking, I who ask for a favour which is dearer to us than to -you. There are no terms too humble, too pathetic and too urgent to be -employed in such circumstances. When I bring you on to the stage, I -shall give you words which are suitable to the greatness of your soul. -Meanwhile permit me to tell you that you have too little affection for -a life such as yours is." - -It was in the month of November only that a Chamber was instituted by -Royal Edict with the object of instituting financial reforms, and of -punishing those who had been guilty of maladministration. Foucquet -was to appear before this Chamber. It met solemnly in the month of -December. The greater part of it was composed of Members of the -Parliament, but it also included Members of the Chambre des Comptes, -the Cour des Aides, the Grand Council and the Masters of Requests. The -magistrates who composed it were, to mention those only who sat in it -as finally constituted: - -The Chancellor Pierre Séguier, first President of the Parliament of -Paris, who presided; Guillaume de Lamoignon, deputy president; the -President de Nesmond; the President de Pontchartrain; Poncet, Master -of Requests; Olivier d'Ormesson, Master of Requests; Voysin, Master -of Requests; Besnard de Réze, Master of Requests; Regnard, Catinat, -De Brillac, Fayet, Councillors in the Grand Chamber of the Paris -Parliament; Massenau, Councillor in the Toulouse Parliament; De la -Baulme, of the Grenoble Parliament; Du Verdier, of the Bordeaux -Parliament; De la Toison, of the Dijon Parliament; Lecormier de -Sainte-Hélène, of the Rouen Parliament; Raphélis de Roquesante, of the -Aix Parliament; Hérault, of the Rennes Parliament; Noguès, of the Pau -Parliament; Ferriol, of the Metz Parliament; De Moussy, of the Paris -Chambre des Comptes; Le-Bossu-le-Jau, of the Paris Chambre des Comptes; -Le Féron, of the Cour des Aides; De Baussan, of the Cour des Aides; -Cuissotte de Gisaucourt, of the Grand Council; Pussort, of the Grand -Council. - -It must be recognized that the creation of such a Chamber of Justice -was in conformity with the rules of the public law as it then existed. -Had not Chalais and Marillac, Cinq-Mars and Thou, been judged by -commissions of Masters of Requests and Councillors of the Parliament? -And, if our sense of legality is wounded when we behold the accusing -Monarch himself choosing the judges of the accused man, we must -remember this maxim was then firmly established: "All justice emanates -from the King." By this very circumstance the Chamber of Justice of -1661 was invested with very extensive powers; it became the object -of public respect, and of the public hopes, for the poor, deeming it -powerful, attributed to it the power of helping the wretched populace, -after it had punished those who robbed them. - -Such illusions are very natural, and one may wonder whether any -government would be possible if unhappy persons did not, from day to -day, expect something better on the morrow. - -Thus the tribunal constituted by the King was no unrighteous tribunal; -yet there was no security in it for the accused. He was apparently -ruined. Condemned beforehand by the King and by the people, everything -seemed to fail him, but he did not fail himself. After having wrought -his own ruin, Foucquet worked out his own salvation, if he may be said -to have saved himself when all he saved was his life. - -His first act was to protest energetically against the competence of -the Chamber; he alleged that, having held office in the Parliament -for twenty-five years, he was still entitled to the privileges of its -officers, and he recognized no judges except those of that body, of -both Chambers united. Having made this reservation, he consented to -reply to the questions of the examining magistrates, and his replies -bore witness to the scope and vigour of a mind which was always -collected. The Chamber, on its side, declared itself competent, and -decided that the trial should be conducted as though Foucquet were -dumb: that is, that there would be no cross-examination, and no -pleading. By this method of procedure the Attorney-General put his -questions in writing, and the accused replied in writing. As the -documents of the prosecution and of the defence were produced, the -recorders prepared summaries for the judges.[87] - -It is obvious that in such a case the reporters, who are the necessary -intermediaries between the magistrates and the parties to the case, -possess considerable influence, and that the issue of the lawsuit -depends largely on their intelligence and their morality. Consequently, -the King wished to reserve to himself the right of appointing them, -although according to tradition, this belonged to the President of the -Chamber. - -Messieurs Olivier d'Ormesson and Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène were -chosen by the Royal Council, and their names were put before the First -President, Guillaume de Lamoignon. This magistrate apologized for -being unable to accede to the King's wish, alleging that M. Olivier -d'Ormesson and M. de Sainte-Hélène would be suspected by the accused; -at least, he feared so. "This fear," replied the King, "is only another -reason for appointing them." Lamoignon--and it did him honour--gave -way only upon the King's formal command. - -That was quite enough to make Lamoignon suspected by Foucquet's -enemies. Powerful as they were, he did nothing to reassure them; on -the contrary, he saw that the accused was granted the assistance of -counsel, and that the forms of procedure were scrupulously observed. -When one day Colbert was trying to discover his opinions, Lamoignon -made this fine reply: "A judge ought never to declare his opinion save -once, and that above the fleurs-de-lys."[88] - -The King, growing more and more suspicious, nominated Chancellor -Séguier to preside over the Chamber. Lamoignon, thus driven from his -seat, withdrew, but unostentatiously, alleging as his reason that -Parliamentary affairs occupied the whole of his time.[89] - -In vain the King and Colbert, alarmed at having themselves dismissed -so upright a magistrate, endeavoured to restore him to a position of -diminished authority; he was deaf to entreaties, and was content to say -to his friends: _"Lavavi manus meas; quomodo inquinabo eas?"_[90] Old -Séguier, who though lacking in nobility of soul possessed brilliant -intellectual powers, grew more servile than ever. Feeling that he -had not long to live, he prompdy accepted dishonour. In this trial -his conduct was execrable and his talents did not, on this occasion, -succeed in masking his partiality. Great jurisconsult though he was, he -did not understand finance, and this stupendous trial was altogether -too much for an old man of seventy-four. He was always impatiently -complaining of the length of the trial, which, he declared, would -outlast him. - -With audacity and skill Foucquet held his own against this violent -judge. Brought up in chicanery, the accused was acquainted with all the -mysteries of procedure. He made innumerable difficulties; sometimes he -accused a judge, sometimes he challenged the accuracy of an inventory, -sometimes he demanded documents necessary for the defence. In short, -he gained time, and this was to gain much. The more protracted the -trial, the less he had to fear that its termination would be a capital -sentence. - -The King was not at all comfortable as to its issue; his activity was -unwearying, and he never hesitated to throw his whole weight into the -balance. The public prosecutor, Talon, was not an able person; he -allowed himself to be defeated by the accused, and was immediately -sacrificed. He was replaced by two Masters of Requests, Hotmann and -Chamillart. One of the recorders caused the Court a great deal of -anxiety; this was the worthy Olivier d'Ormesson. Efforts were made to -intimidate him, but in vain; to win him over, but equally in vain. He -was punished. His offices of Intendant of Picardy and Soissonnais were -taken away from him. Finally, the idea was conceived of enlisting his -father, and of trying to induce the old man to corrupt the honesty -of his son. Old André would not lend himself to these attempts at -corruption; he replied that he was sorry that the King was not -satisfied with his son's behaviour. "My son," he added, "does what I -have always recommended him to do: he fears God, serves the King, and -he renders justice without distinction of person." - -The Court and the Minister were, indeed, exceeding all bounds; Séguier, -Pussort, Sainte-Hélène and others displayed the most odious partiality. -False inventories were drawn up; the official reports of the -proceedings were falsified. The King carried off the Court of Justice -with him to Fontainebleau, fearing lest it should become independent in -his absence. This was going too far; Foucquet grew interesting. - -Public opinion, at first hostile to the accused, had almost completely -turned in his favour, when, more than three years after his arrest, on -the 14th October, 1664, the Attorney-General, Chamillart, pronounced -his conclusions, which were to the effect that Foucquet, "attainted and -convicted of the crime of high treason, and other charges mentioned -during the trial," should be "hanged and strangled until death should -follow, on a gallows erected on the Place de la Rue Sainte-Antoine, -near the Bastille." - -The trial was generally regarded as being overweighted. Turenne said, -in his picturesque manner, that the cord had been made too thick to -strangle M. Foucquet. The financiers, always influential, having -recovered from their first alarm, tried to save a man who, in his fall, -might drag them down with him. For, in so comprehensive an accusation, -who was there that was not compromised? - -Colbert was now detested; as a result his enemy appeared less black. -As for the Chamber itself, it was divided into two parts, almost of -equal strength. On the one hand there were those who, like Séguier -and Pussort, wished to please the Court by ruining Foucquet, and on -the other those who, like Olivier d'Ormesson, favoured the strict -administration of justice, exempt from anger and hatred. - -It was on the 14th November, 1664, that Nicolas Foucquet appeared for -the first time before the Chamber, which sat in the Arsenal. He wore a -citizen's costume, a suit of black cloth, with a mantle. He excused -himself for appearing before the Court without his magistrate's robe, -declaring that he had asked for one in vain. He renewed the protest -which he had made previously against the competency of the Chamber, -and refused to take the oath. He then took his place on the prisoners' -bench and declared himself ready to reply to the questions which might -be put to him. - -The accusations made against him may be classified under four heads: -payment collected from the tax-farmers; farmerships which he had -granted under fictitious names; advances made to the Treasury; and the -crime of high treason, projected but not executed, proved by the papers -discovered at Saint-Mandé. - -Foucquet's defenie, which disdained petty expedients, was powerful and -adroit. He confessed irregularities, but he held that the disorders of -the administration in a time of public disturbance were responsible for -them. According to him, the payments levied on the tax-farmers were -merely the repayment of his advances, and that the imposts which he had -appropriated were the same. As for the loans which he had made to the -State, they were an absolute necessity. To the insidious and insulting -questions of the Chancellor he replied with the greatest adroitness. He -was as bold as he was prudent. Only once he lost patience, and replied -with an arrogance likely to do him harm. He certainly interested -society. Ladies, in order to watch him as he was being reconducted to -the Bastille, used to repair, masked, to a house which looked on to the -Arsenal. Madame de Sévigné was there. "When I saw him," she said, "my -legs trembled, and my heart beat so loud that I thought I should faint. -As he approached us to return to his gaol, M. d'Artagnan nudged him, -and called his attention to the fact that we were there. He thereupon -saluted us, and assumed that laughing expression which you know so -well. I do not think he recognized me, but I confess to you that I felt -strangely moved when I saw him enter that little door. If you knew how -unhappy one is when one has a heart fashioned as mine is fashioned, I -am sure you would take pity on me."[91] - -All that was known about his attitude intensified public sympathy. The -judges themselves recognized that he was incomparable; that he had -never spoken so well in Parliament, and that he had never shown so much -self-possession.[92] - -The last Interrogatory, that of the 4th December, turned on the scheme -found at Saint-Mandé, and was particularly favourable to the accused. - -Foucquet replied that it was nothing but an extravagant idea which -had remained unfinished, and was repudiated as soon as conceived. It -was an absurd document, which could only serve to make him ashamed -and confused, but it could not be made the ground of an accusation -against him. As the Chancellor pressed him and said, "You cannot deny -that it is a crime against the State," he replied, "I confess, sir, -that it is an extravagance, but it is not a crime against the State. -I entreat these gentlemen," he added, turning towards the judges, "to -permit me to explain what is a crime against the State. It is when a -man holds a great office; when he is in the secret confidence of his -Sovereign, and suddenly takes his place among that Sovereign's enemies; -when he engages his whole family in the cause; when he induces his -son-in-law[93] to surrender the passes and to open the gates to a -foreign army of intruders in order to admit it to the interior of the -kingdom. Gentlemen, that is what is called a crime against the State." - -The Chancellor, whose conduct during the Fronde every one remembered, -did not know where to look, and it was all the judges could do not -to laugh.[94] The cross-examination over, the Chamber listened to -the opinion of the reporters and pronounced sentence. On the 9th of -December, Olivier d'Ormesson began his report. He spoke for five -successive days, and his conclusion was perpetual exile, confiscation -of goods and a fine of one hundred thousand livres, of which half -should be given to the Public Treasury, and the other half employed -in works of piety. Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène spoke after Olivier -d'Ormesson. He continued for two days, and concluded with sentence of -death. Pussort, whose vehement speech lasted for five hours, came to -the same conclusion. - -On the 18th December, Hérault, Gisaucourt, Noguès and Ferriol -concurred, as did Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène, and Roquesante after -them, in the opinion of Olivier d'Ormesson. - -On the following day, the 19th, MM. de La Toison, Du Verdier, de La -Baume and de Massenau also expressed the same opinion; but the Master -of Requests, Poncet, came to the opposite conclusion. Messieurs -Le Féron, de Moussy, Brillac, Regnard and Besnard agreed with the -first recorder. Voysin was of the opposite opinion. President de -Pontchartrain voted for banishment, and the Chancellor, pronouncing -last, voted for death. Thirteen judges had pronounced for banishment, -and nine for death. Foucquet's life was saved. - -"All Paris," said Olivier d'Ormesson, "awaited the news with -impatience. It was spread abroad everywhere, and received with the -greatest rejoicing, even by the shopkeepers. Every one blessed my -name, even without knowing me. Thus M. Foucquet, who had been regarded -with horror at the time of his imprisonment, and whom all Paris would -have been immeasurably delighted to see executed directly after the -beginning of his trial, had become the subject of public grief and -commiseration, owing to the hatred which every one felt for the present -Government, and that, I think, was the true cause of the general -acclamation."[95] - -On the 22d of December, this same Olivier d'Ormesson having gone to the -Bastille to give D'Artagnan his discharge for the Treasury registers, -the gallant Musketeer embraced him and said: "You are a noble man!"[96] - -Foucquet, as a matter of form, protested against the sentence of a -tribunal whose competence he did not recognize. And the sentence did -not please the King, who commuted banishment into imprisonment for life -in the fortress of Pignerol. Such a commutation, which was really an -aggravation of the sentence, is cruel and offends our sense of justice. -Nevertheless, one must recognize that such a measure was dictated -by reasons of State. Foucquet, had he been free, would have been -dangerous. He would certainly have intrigued; his plots and strategies -would have caused the King much anxiety. The religion of patriotism had -not yet taken root in the heart of the great Condé's contemporaries. -The strongest bond then uniting citizens was loyalty to the King. -Foucquet was liberated from that bond by his master's hatred and anger. -It was to be expected that the fallen Minister would probably have -conspired against France with foreign aid. These previsions justified -the severity of the King, who throughout the whole business appeared -hypocritical, violent, pitiless and patriotic.[97] - -The wisdom of the King's action is proved by Foucquet's conduct at -Pignerol, where he arrived in January, 1665. There, in spite of the -most vigilant supervision, he succeeded in carrying on intrigues. -He could not communicate with any living soul. He had neither ink -nor pens, nor paper at his disposal. This able man, whose genius was -quickened by solitude, attempted the impossible in order to enter -into communication with his friends. He manufactured ink out of soot, -moistened with wine. He made pens out of chicken bones, and wrote on -the margin of books which were lent to him, or on handkerchiefs. But -his warder, Saint-Mars, detected all these contrivances. The servants -whom the prisoner had won over were arrested, and one of them was -hanged. - -In the end, these futile energies were defeated by captivity and -disease. Foucquet became addicted to devotional exercises. Like -Mademoiselle de la Vallière, he wrote pious reflections.[98] - -It is even thought that he composed religious verses, for it is known -that he asked for a dictionary of rhymes, which was given to him. - -For seven years he had been cut off from living men. Then a voice -called him. It was Lauzun,[99] who was imprisoned at Pignerol, and who -had made a hole in the wall. Lauzun told his companion news of the -outer world. Foucquet listened eagerly, but when the Cadet de Gascogne -told him that he held a general's commission, and that he had married -La Grande Mademoiselle, at first with the approval of the King, and -then against it, Foucquet considered him mad and ceased to believe -anything that he said. - -About 1679, Foucquet's captivity at length became less severe; he was -permitted to receive his family. But it was too late; those fourteen -cruel years had irreparably undermined his strong constitution; his -sight had grown weak; he was losing his teeth; he was suffering pain -in his whole body, and his piety was increasing with his weakness. -He died in March, 1680, just as he had received permission to go and -drink the waters of Bourbon. His body, which had been laid in the crypt -of Sainte-Claire de Pignerol, Madame Foucquet had transferred the -following year to the church of the Convent of the Visitation in the -Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. The register of this church contains the -following entry: "On the 28th March, 1681, Messire Nicolas Foucquet was -buried in our church, in the Chapel of Saint-François de Sales. He had -risen to the highest honours in the magistracy; had been Councillor in -Parliament, Master of Requests, Attorney-General, Superintendent of -Finance, and Minister of State."[100] - -Whatever may be said to the contrary, posterity does not judge with -equity, for it is partial; it is indifferent, and makes but hasty work -of the trial of the dead who appear before it. And posterity is not -a Court of Justice; it is a noisy mob, in which it is impossible to -make oneself heard, but which, at rare intervals, is dominated by -some great voice. Finally, its judgments are not definitive, since -another posterity follows which may cancel the sentence of the first, -and pronounce new ones, which again may be revoked by a new posterity. -Nevertheless, certain cases seem to have been definitely lost in the -court of mankind, and I find myself constrained to rank with these the -case of Foucquet. He was an embezzler, and was definitely condemned on -this point--condemned without appeal. As for extenuating circumstances, -it is not difficult to find them. Illustrious examples, even more, -perpetual solicitings and the impossibility of observing any regularity -in troubled times, impelled him to steal, both for the State and for -certain great men. Of his thefts he kept something; he kept too much. -He was guilty, doubtless, but his fault seems greatly mitigated when -one remembers the circumstances and the spirit of the time. - -I am going to say something which is a kind of redemption of Nicolas -Foucquet's memory; I will say it in two charming lines which are -attributed to Pellisson, and which appear to have been written by -Foucquet's friend, the fabulist. Pellisson, in an epistle to the King, -said of Foucquet: - - D'un esprit élevé, négligeant l'avenir, - Il toucha les trésors, mais sans les retenir. - -This it is which redeems and exalts this man. He was liberal, he loved -to give, and he knew how to give, and let it not be said in the name of -any morbid and morose morality that, even if he had taken the State's -money without retaining it, he was only the more guilty, uniting -prodigality to unscrupulousness. No, his liberality remains honourable; -it showed that the principle which prompted his embezzlements was not -a vile one, that, if this man was ruined, the cause of his ruin was -not natural baseness, but the blind impulse of a naturally magnificent -temperament. Thus Foucquet will live in history as the consoler of the -aged Corneille, and the tactful patron of La Fontaine. - -No one will deny his faults, the crimes he committed against the State, -but for a moment one may forget them, and say that what was truly -noble, and even nobly foolish in his temperament, half atones for the -evil which has been only too thoroughly proved. - - -[1] Cf. _Les amateurs de l'ancienne France: Le surintendant Foucquet,_ -by Edmond Bonnaffé. _Librairie de l'Art,_ 1882. The book contains -particulars drawn from Peiresc's unpublished manuscript. During the -course of this work we shall have frequent occasion to quote from this -excellent study of an accomplished connoisseur. - -[2] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ Ed. Petitot et Monmerqué, p. 262. - -[3] _Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,_ Vol. II, p. 60. The unknown -author of the dialogues attributed to Molière by M. Louis Auguste -Ménard brings Mme. Foucquet on to the stage and makes her utter words -in keeping with those pious sentiments which were well known to her -contemporaries. The fictitious scene which confronts her with Anne of -Austria is a paraphrase of the words I have quoted in my text from the -_Mémoires de Choisy._ - -[4] _Histoire du Dauphiné,_ by M. le baron de Chapuys-Montlaville. -Paris, Dupont, 1828, 2 vols. Vol. II, pp. 460 _et seq._ - -[5] Cf. _Les premiers intendants de justice,_ by S. Hanotaux, in _La -Revue Historique,_ 1882 and 1883. - -[6] Of Fronde.--_Trans._ - -[7] Mazarin's note-book, XI, fol. 85, Biblioth. Nat. - -[8] Unpublished Diary of Dubuisson-Aubenay, cited by M. Chéruel in the -_Mémoires sur N. Foucquet,_ Vol. I, p. 7. - -[9] _Histoire de Colbert et de son administration,_ by Pierre Clement. -Paris, Didier, 1874, Vol. I, p. 15. - -[10] _Mémoires sur la vie publique et privée de Foucquet,_ by A. -Chéruel, Inspector-General of Education. Paris, Charpentier, 1862, Vol. -I, pp. 86-88. - -[11] Bibliothèque Nationale, MSS. collection Gaignieres. This letter is -quoted by Chéruel, I, p. 183. - -[12] _Histoire financière de la France,_ by A. Bailly. Paris, 1830, -Vol. I, p. 357. - -[13] In 1651, Foucquet received from Marie-Madeleine de Castille, -the daughter of François de Castille, his wife, one hundred thousand -livres, the house in the Rue du Temple, the abode of the Castille -family, as well as the buildings adjoining, which were let at 2200 -livres. (Cf. Jal, _Dictionnaire,_ article on Foucquet) - -[14] Cf. Eug. Grésy, _Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte._ Melun, 1861. - -[15] Archives de la Bastille, Vol. II, p, 171 _et seq._ - -[16] Anne of Austria (trans.) - -[17] Her son, Louis XIV (trans.) - -[18] And are now in Austria, Germany and elsewhere.--Editor. - -[19] _Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art français,_ note by -M. Guiffrey, July, 1876, p. 38. - -[20] Saint-Simon adds: "She was the widow of Nicolas Foucquet, famous -for his misfortunes, who, after being Superintendent of Finance for -eight years, paid for the millions which Cardinal Mazarin had taken, -for the jealousy of MM. Le Tellier and Colbert, and for a slightly -excessive gallantry and love of splendour, with thirty-four years -of imprisonment at Pignerol, because that was the utmost that could -be inflicted on him, despite all the influence of Ministers and the -authority of the King."--_Mémoires du duc de Saint-Simon,_ éd. Chéruel, -Vol. XIV, p. 112. - -[21] _Mémoires._ Collection Petitot, Vol. LX, p. 142. - -[22] It is the portrait which is reproduced at the beginning of the -French edition, because it seems to us at once both the truest and the -happiest picture of the extraordinary man who, both in letters and in -art, inaugurated the century of Louis XIV. The head, three-quarter -profile, is turned to the left. It is a medallion inscribed with the -words: "Messire Nicolas Foucquet, chevalier, vicomte de Melun et de -Vaux, Conseiller du Roy, Ministre d'État, Surintendant des Finances -et Procureur général de Sa Majesté." Signed "R. Nanteuil ad vivum -ping. et sculpebat, 1661." The style is at once soft and firm, the -workmanship pure and finished, the rendering of the colours excellent. -This engraving was executed after a drawing or a pastel which Nanteuil -had done from life, and which is lost. This work, and the engraving -which perpetuates it, seem to me to form the origin of a whole family -of portraits, of which we will mention several. - -(1) A shaded bust, on a piedouche, bearing Foucquet's arms. The -arrangement is bad, the inscription: - - Ne faut-il que l'on avouë - Qu'on trouve en luytous ce qu'on espérait. - C'est un surintendant tel que l'on désirait. - Personne ne s'en plaint, tout le monde s'en louë. - -Signed: "Van Schupper faciebat. P. de la Serre." - -(2) The head in an oval border. Raised hangings which reveal a country -scene, with dogs coursing. The inscription: - -"Messire Nicolas Foucquet, chevalier, vicomte de Melun et de Vaux, -Ministre d'État, Surintendant des finances de Sa Majesté et son -procureur général au Parlement de Paris." - -(3) A much damaged copy. The face is pale and elongated, the expression -melancholy and sanctimonious. It is an oval medallion, 1654, without -signature, Paris, chez Daret. - -(4) The same, chez Louis Boissevin, in the Rue Saint-Jacques. - -(5) The same, with this quatrain: - - Si sa fidélité parut incomparable - En conservant l'Estat, - Sa prudence aujourd'huy n'est pas moins admirable - D'en augmenter l'éclat. - -(6) Medallion. The picture is much disfigured; the inscription: - - Qu'il a de probité, de sçavoir et de zelle, - Qu'il paroit généreux, magnanime et prudent, - Que son esprit est fort, que son cœur est fidelle, - Toutes ces qualités l'on fait Surintendant. - -(7) Medallion, with drapery. Very bad. Signature: "Baltazar Moncornet, -excud." - -(8) The same, with a frame of foliage, 1658. - -(9) A small copy, reversed, executed after Foucquet's death, the date -of which is indicated, 23rd March, 1680. It is old, hard, dark and -damaged. Signature: "Nanteuil, pinxit, Gaillard, sculpt." - -A portrait of Lebrun deserves honourable mention after that of -Nanteuil. The features are practically the same as in the engraving by -Eugène Reims; but the expression is not so keen, nor so cheerful. The -head, three-quarter profile, is turned to the right. This picture is -the original of the three following engravings: - -(1) A large oval. Signature: "C. Lebrun pinx, F. Poilly sculpt." -Inscription: - - Illustrissimus vir Nicolaus Foucquet - Generalis in Supremo regii Ærarii - Præfectus: V. Comes Melodunensis, etc. - -In a later copy, Foucquet's arms replace the Latin inscription. - -(2) A spoiled and softened copy, very careless workmanship. Signature: -"C. Mellan del. et F." - -(3) An imitation. Foucquet, seated in a straight-backed armchair, with -large wrought nail-heads, with a casket on the table beside him. He -holds a pen in his right hand, and paper in his left. Inscription: - - Magna videt, majora latent; ecce aspicis artis - Clarum opus, et virtus clarior arte latet, - Umbra est et fulget, solem miraris in umbra - Quid sol ipse micat, cujus et umbra micat. - -Signature: "Œgid. Rousselet, sculpt., 1659." - -(4) An imitation. Signature: "Larmessin, 1661." Finally, we must -mention a full-length portrait, which seems inspired by the foregoing. -The Superintendent is standing, wearing a long robe; he holds in his -right hand a small bag, in his left a paper. A raised curtain displays, -on the right, a country scene, with a torrent, a rock and a fortified -château. In the sky, Renown puts a trumpet to her mouth. In her left -hand she holds another trumpet with a bannerette on which is written: -"Quo non ascendet?" Inscription: - - A quel degré d'honneur ne peut-il pas monter - S'il s'élève tousjours par son propre courage? - Son nom et sa vertu lui donnent l'advantage - De pouvoir tout prétendre et de tout mériter. - -[23] A summary of the inventory at Saint-Mandé: MS. of the Bibliothèque -Nat. Manusc. Suppl, fr. 10958, cited by M. Edm. Bonnaffé, _Les Amateurs -de l'ancienne France_.--Le Surintendant Foucquet, librairie de l'Art, -1882. - -[24] Loc. cit., pp. 61 _et seq._ - -[25] Description of the city of Paris, 1713, p. 60. - -[26] _Mémoire des Académiciens_, Vol. I, p. 21. Bonnaffé, loc. cit., p. -15. - -[27] Preface to _Œdipe, Collect. des grands écrivains,_ Vol. VI, p. 103. - -[28] With great pomp. - -[29] The original edition has _plainte._ - -[30] Œuvres complètes de La Fontaine, published by Ch. Marty Laveaux, -Vol. III (1866), p. 26 _et seq._ - -[31] The inventory of the 26th February, 1666 (Bonnaffé, loc. cit., p. -61), classes them as follows: "Two antique mausoleums representing a -king and queen of Egypt, 800 livres." - -[32] At least, this is the hypothesis propounded by M. Bonnaffe. It is -founded on the fact that an anonymous document of 1648, published in -_Les Collectionneurs de l'ancienne France_ (Aubry, ed. 1873), mentions -le sieur Chamblon, of Marseilles, as a professor "of Egyptian idols to -enclose mummies." But it seems as if the anonymous document referred -not to sarcophagi of marble or basalt, but rather to those boxes of -painted and gilt pasteboard, with human faces, which abound in the -necropolises of ancient Egypt. The port of Marseilles must at that time -have received a fairly large number of such. We must remember that the -mummy was in those days considered as a remedy, and was widely sold by -druggists. - -[33] Cf. Mlle, de Scudéry, _Clélie._ "Méléandre (Lebrun) had caused -to be built, on a small, somewhat uneven plot of ground, two small -pyramids in imitation of those which are near Memphis." - -[34] See note, p. 10.** - -[35] Description of the city of Paris, by Germain Brice, ed. of 1698, -Vol. I, p. 124 _et seg._ - -[36] _Recueil d'antiquités dans les Gaules,_ by La Sauvagère, Paris, -1770, p. 329 _et seq._ - -[37] D.5.D. 7^8. - -[38] In this story, I have followed M. Bonnaffé. Loc. cit., p. 57. - -[39] Inventory and valuation of the books found at Saint-Mandé on the -30th July, 1665. Biblio. Nat. MSS., p. 9438. The whole was valued at -38,544 livres. - -[40] _Conseils de la Sagesse,_ p. x. - -[41] Lines presented to Monseigneur le procureur général Foucquet, -Superintendent of Finance, at the opening of the tragedy of _Œdipe,_ -1659. - -[42] One of the earliest French theatres. It was founded by the -Confrères de la Passion in 1548. - -[43] Cf. _La Vie de Corneille,_ by Fontenelle. - -[44] _Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de La Fontaine,_ by Mathieu -Marais, 1811, p. 125. - -[45] _Ouvrages de prose et de poésie des sieurs de Mancroix et La -Fontaine,_ Vol. I, p. 99. - -[46] There are two blank spaces in the 1685 edition. I have filled them -with the two names in brackets. For the first I have put the name of -Foucquet, which is given in the _Œuvres diverses_ (Vol. I, p. 19). To -fill the second space I have followed the suggestion of Mathieu Marais. -Walkenaer puts Pellisson, which is not admissible. - -[47] Edit Marty-Laveaux, VOL V, pp. 15-17. - -[48] No one can answer for the correctness of the text of these two -poems. Chardon de La Rochette published them from memory in 1811 -(_Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de La Fontaine,_ by Mathieu -Marais, p. 125). He had possessed the receipts for both in Pellisson's -own hand-writing, but had not kept it, because, he said, he did not -think "that it was worth it." This sagacious Hellenist set little store -by a Pellisson autograph, in comparison with the Palatine MS. of the -Anthologia. And he was right. But it is odd that he should have known -the verses by heart, and that, having neglected to preserve them in his -desk, he should have retained them in his memory. - -[49] Promettre est un, et tenir promesse est un autre. - -[50] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ coll. Petitot, p. 211. - -[51] _Ibid.,_ loc. cit., p. 230. - -[52] Bussy, II, p. 50. - -[53] "Jamais surintendant ne trouva de cruelle." - -[54] Bussy, II, p. 50. - -[55] Letter of the 25th May, 1658. - -[56] Letter of 18th January, 1660. - -[57] Loret, Muse historique, letter of the 28th of December, 1652. - -[58] In 1661 (?) _Papiers de Foucquet_ (F. Baluze), Vol. I, pp. 31-32. - -[59] Maurepas Collection. Vol. II, p. 271. - -[60] Letter of the 11th November, 1661. - -[61] Gourville, in _Monmerqué,_ Vol. II, p. 342. - -[62] _Mémoires de l'abbé de Choisy,_ p. 579. - -[63] _Mémoires de Brienne,_ Vol. II, p. 52. - -[64] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ p. 581. Chéruel, _Mémoires sur Nicolas -Foucquet,_ Vol. II, p. 97. - -[65] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ p. 249. - -[66] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ p. 249. - -[67] _Choisy,_ p. 586. "I learnt these details," said Choisy, "from -Perrault, to whom Colbert related them more than once." - -[68] _Ibid.,_ p. 586. Cf. also Guy Patin, letter to Falconnet, 2nd -September, 1661. - -[69] _Histoire d'Henriette d'Angleterre,_ by Mme de Lafayette. Paris, -Charavay frères, 1882, p. 53. - -[70] See Part II for the story of this entertainment. - -[71] Cf. _Mémoires sur Nicolas Foucquet,_ by Chéruel, Vol. II, pp. -179-180. - -[72] _Mémoires de Brienne,_ Vol. II, p. 153. - -[73] La Fontaine, letter to his wife, Ed. Marty-Laveaux, Vol. III, p. -311 _et seq._ - -[74] This letter was published for the first time in _Les Causeries -d'un curieux,_ VOL II, p. 518. - -[75] _Dictionnaire Antique._ Article on Hesnault. - -[76] Letter of the 10th of September, 1661. - -[77] Letter of the 2nd October, 1661. - -[78] Second Speech to the King, in _Les Œuvres diverses,_ p. 109. - -[79] Cf. _Mélanges,_ by Vigneul de Marville. - -[80] Such is the title of the original edition, printed in italics, -without date or address, on three quarto pages. - -[81] "The Anqueil is a little river which flows near Vaux." (Note by La -Fontaine.) - -[82] Variant: - -La Cabale est contente, Oronte est malheureux. - - -[83] Variant: - - Du grand, du grand Henri qu'il contemple la vie. - (Original edition.) - - -[84] Edition quoted, Vol. V, pp. 43-46. One contemporary copy, -preserved in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, contains a text altered by -one of Foucquet's enemies. - -Instead of the two lines: - - Voilà le précipice où l'ont enfin jeté - Les attraits enchanteurs de la prospérité, - -we read in this copy: - - Il se hait de tant vivre après un tel malheur, - Et, s'il espère encor, ce n'est qu'en sa douleur, - C'est là le seul plaisir qui flatte son courage, - Car des autres plaisirs on lui défend l'usage. - Voilà, voilà l'effet de cette ambition - Qui fait de ses pareils l'unique passion. - - -[85] Edition cited: Vol. V, pp. 46-49. Published for the first time by -La Fontaine in his collection _Poésies chrétinnes et diverses,_ 1671, -Vol. Ill, p. 34. - -[86] La Fontaine, Letter to Monsieur Foucquet. Edition cited: Vol. Ill, -pp. 307-308. This letter was published for the first time in 1729. - -[87] Cf. Le procès de Foucquet, a speech pronounced at the opening of -Conférence des Avocats, Monday, 27th November, 1882, by Léon Deroy, -advocate in the Court of Appeal. Paris, Alcan Lévy, 1882. - -[88] Recueil des arrêtés de G. de Lamoignon, Paris, 1781. _Vie de M. -le premier président,_ by Girard, p. 14. (The fleur-de-Iys was very -largely employed in the decoration of the walls, floors, ceiling, etc., -of the Parliaments, etc.--Ed.) - -[89] Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson, Vol. II, p. 26. - -[90] _Recueil des arrêtés,_ already cited. - -[91] Madame de Sévigné, letter of the 27th November, 1664. - -[92] _Ibid.,_ letter of the 2nd December. - -[93] "The Duc de Sully, the son-in-law of the Chancellor, Séguier, had, -in 1652, yielded the crossing of the bridge of Mantes to the Spanish -Army." (Note by M. Chéruel.) - -[94] _Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,_ Vol. II, p. 263. Letter from Mme. -de Sévigné, 9th December. - -[95] _Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,_ VOL II, p. 282. Letter from Mme. de -Sévigné, 9th December. - -[96] _Ibid.,_ Vol. II, p. 283. - - -[97] _Ibid.,_ Vol. II, p. 286. - -[98] The Comte de Vaux, Foucquet's eldest son, having obtained his -father's MSS. from Pignerol, published extracts entitled: _Conseils de -la Sagesse_ ou _Recueil des Maximes de Salomon._ Paris, 1683, 2 vols. - -[99] The Duc de Lauzun, said to have married La Grande Mademoiselle, -Mlle, de Montpensier, cousin of Louis XIV. (Trans.) - -[100] Delort, _Détention des Philosophes,_ Vol. I, p. 53. - - - - -PART II - - -THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX - - -During his trial Foucquet declared that he had begun the building of -his house at Vaux as early as 1640. On this point his memory betrayed -him. Reference to the inscription on an engraving by Pérelle, after -Israël Silvestre, assigns the commencement of work upon the house to -the year 1653, but there is no doubt that Israël Silvestre planned -the château on lines which were not absolutely final. Nor was the _ne -varietur_ plan, signed in 1666, exactly followed.[1] - -It is not until 1657 that the registers of the parish of Maincy attest -the presence of foreign workmen who had come to undertake certain -building operations on the estate of Vaux. - -The architect, Louis Levau, employed by Foucquet, was not a -beginner. He had already built "a house at the apex of the island -of Notre-Dame,"[2] which is none other than the Hôtel Lambert,[3] -the ingenious novelties of which were greatly admired. Especially -noteworthy was the chamber of Madame de Torigny, on the second floor, -which Le Sueur had decorated with a grace which recalls the mural -paintings of Herculaneum. This chamber was called the Italian room, -"Because," said Guillet de Saint-Georges, "the beauty of the woodwork -and the richness of the panelling took the place of tapestry." - -Levau, born in 1612, was forty-three years of age when he signed the -_ne varietur_ plan. We know little about the life of this man whose -work is so famous. A document of the 23rd March, 1651,[4] describes -him as "a man of noble birth, Councillor and Secretary to the King, -House and Crown of France." He then lived in Paris, in the Rue du -Roi-de-Sicile, with his wife and his three young children, Jean, Louis -and Nicolas. - -Besides the Hôtel Lambert and the Château de Vaux, we are indebted to -him for the design for the Collège des Quatre-Nations, now the Palace -of the Institute; the Maison Bautru, called by Sauvai "La Gentille," -and engraved by Marot; the Hôtel de Pons, in the Rue du Colombier -(to-day the Rue du Vieux-Colombier), built for President Tambruneau; -the Hôtel Deshameaux, which, according to Sauvai, had an Italian room; -the Hôtel d'Hesselin in the He Saint-Louis; the Hôtel de Rohan, in the -Rue de l'Université; the Château de Livry, since known as Le Rainey, -built for the Intendant of Finances, Bordier; the Château de Seignelay; -a château near Troyes; and the Château de Bercy.[5] - -We may add that Louis Levau, having become first architect to the King, -succeeded Gamard in directing the works of the church of Saint-Sulpice, -and that he, in his turn, was succeeded by Daniel Gillard in 1660.[6] - -Louis Levau died in Paris. His body was carried to the church of -Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, his parish church, on Saturday, the nth -October, 1670, as attested by the register of this church. There, -under the above date, may be read: "On the said day was buried Messire -Louys Levau, aged 57 or thereabouts, who died this morning at three -o'clock. In his life a Councillor of the King in his Council, general -Superintendent of His Majesty's buildings, first Architect of his -buildings, Secretary to His Majesty and the House and Crown of France, -etc., taken from the Rue des Fossés, from the ancient Hôtel de -Longueville."[7] - -In the _Archives de l'Art français_ (Vol. I) there is a document -relating to Louis Levau: - -"There has been submitted to us the plan and elevation of the building -of the Cathedral Church of Saint-Pierre of Nantes, of which the part -not already constructed is marked in red. This church is one hundred -and eleven feet high from the floor to the keystones of the vaults at -the meeting of the diagonals, and the lower aisles and chapels are -fifty-six feet, measured also from the floor. - -"It is desired to finish the said church, and to respect its symmetry -as far as may be, and to make the lower aisles and chapels around the -choir like those which are on the right of the nave. - -"The difficulty is that, in order to finish this work, it is necessary -to pull down the walls of the town, and to carry it out into the moat, -and it is desirable to take as little ground as can be, in order not to -diminish too greatly the breadth of the moat. Wherefore it is proposed -to do away with the three chapels behind the choir, marked by the -letter H. - -"But, if those three chapels are removed, it will be seen that the -flying buttresses which support the choir will not have the same thrust -as those which support the nave; the strength of these buttresses will -be diminished, and the symmetry of the church destroyed, in a place -where the church is most visible. - -"With this plan we send the elevation of the pillars and buttresses to -show how they are constructed in the neighborhood of the nave. - -"The whole of this is in order to ascertain whether the three chapels -can be dispensed with, and the safety of the choir and the whole -edifice secured." - -To create the estate of Vaux in its prodigious magnificence, it was -necessary to destroy three villages: Vaux-le-Vicomte, with its church -and its mill, the hamlet of Maison-Rouge and that of Jumeau. The -gigantic works which were necessary are hardly imaginable; immense -rocks were carried away; deep canals were excavated. - -Foucquet hurried on the work with all the impatience of his intemperate -mind. As early as 1657 the animation which prevailed in the works was -so great that it was spoken of as something immoderate, as though more -befitting royalty. Foucquet felt that it was of importance to conceal -proceedings - -The following is in Levau's own hand:-- - - "In order to reply to the above questions I, Le Vau, - architect in ordinary of the King's buildings, certify that, - having inspected the plan and the elevation of the flying - buttresses of the church of Nantes, which have been sent - me, having carefully examined and considered the whole, and - having even made some designs for altering and dispensing - with the chapels H H H; after having considered all that can - be done in this matter, I have come to the conclusion that - it cannot be accomplished without weakening and considerably - damaging the pillars of the choir, and the other aisles, and - destroying all symmetry; in a word, ruining it. I therefore - do not submit the design that I have made, for my opinion is - that the original design should be followed, and that the - church should be finished as it was begun; as nothing else - can be done save to the great prejudice of the said church. - In attestation of which I sign. 'LE VAU.'" - -which gave the impression of enormous expenditure. He wrote on the 8th -of February, 1657: - -"A gentleman of the neighbourhood, who is called Villevessin, told the -Queen that he was lately at Vaux, and that in the workshop he counted -nine hundred men. In order to avoid this as far as may be, you must -carry out my design of putting up screens, and keeping the doors shut. -I should be glad if you would advance all the work as far as possible -before the season when everybody goes into the country, and I want -you to avoid, as far as possible, having a large number of workpeople -together."[7] - -If we compare the statement made by M. de Villevessin with a note -written by Foucquet on the 21st November, 1660, we may conclude that at -one time there were eighteen thousand workmen occupied on the buildings -and the gardens.[8] - -Such works could not be kept secret. Colbert, jealous for his King and -perhaps for himself, came to visit them in secret. Watel, Foucquet's -steward--he who later entered the King's service, the story of whose -death is well known--Watel, faithful servant, surprised Colbert making -his inspection, and told his master. Foucquet took some precautions, -but none the less the matter created a bad impression at Court. One day -when the King, with Monsieur, was inspecting the building operations -at the Louvre, he complained to his brother that he had no money to -complete this great building. Whereupon Monsieur replied jokingly: -"Sire, Your Majesty need only become Superintendent of Finance for a -single year, and then you will have plenty of money for building."[9] - -These immense works necessitated great institutions. Foucquet founded -at Maincy a hospital called La Charité, where the workmen were received -when they were ill.[10] - -Tapestry rooms were also established at Maincy. There, according to Le -Brun's designs, were executed _Les Chasses de Méléagre_ and _l'Histoire -de Constantin._[11] - -Le Brun himself settled at Maincy, with his wife Suzanne, in the autumn -of 1658. - -This great artist did not merely provide cartoons for tapestry; he -decorated the ceilings of the halls of the château with allegorical -paintings. Several pieces of sculpture also were executed from his -drawings. Thus the four lions which are still seen at the foot of the -staircase leading to the great Terrace des Grottes were designed by -the painter; or, at least, so Mlle, de Scudéry says. These lions have -almost human countenances. We know that the art of the eighteenth -century was very free in its treatment of wild animals. The face -expresses pride as well as gentleness. Lying in its innocent claws is a -squirrel, pursued by a viper. Colbert again! - -Now I must recall the great days of Vaux. They were not many, and the -most brilliant was the last. - -After the marriage of the King and the Infanta at -Saint-Jean-de-Luz,[12] the Court took the road to Paris. It halted at -Fontainbleau, and Foucquet received it at Vaux with that audacious -magnificence which he preferred even to the realities of power. The -courtiers walked in the gardens, where the fountains were playing, and -a wonderful supper was served. The gazetteer Press has preserved for us -a list of the fruits and flowers which adorned the tables, as well as -"preserves of every colour, the fritters and pastries and other dishes -which were served there."[13] - -A year later the Château de Vaux received the widow of Charles I, -Henriette of France, Queen of England. She was accompanied by her -daughter, Henrietta of England, and the Duc d'Orléans, her son-in-law. -Henrietta, or, to give her her title, Madame, was in all the brilliance -of her youth, had a genius both for affairs of gallantry and matters -of State. She lived as though in haste, consuming in coquetry and -in intrigue a life which was not fated to be a lone one. A woman of -this character, so nearly related to the King, was bound to interest -the ambitious Foucquet. He received her with all the refinements of -magnificence. After dinner he had a Comedy played before her. The -piece was by Molière himself, who was already greatly admired for his -naturalness and truth to life. The play was then completely new; it -had not been seen either by the town or the Court, it was _L'École des -Maris._[14] - -Shortly afterwards the Château of Vaux was to witness a yet more -brilliant festivity--the last of all. When Foucquet invited the King, -he was possessed by a spirit of unwisdom and of error; all about him, -men and things alike, cried out to him in vain: Blind! blind! - -The King set out from Fontainbleau on the 17th August, 1661, and came -to Vaux in a coach, in which he was accompanied by Monsieur, the -Comtesse d'Armagnac, the Duchesse de Valentinois and the Comtesse de -Guiche. The Queen-Mother came in her own coach, and Madame in her -litter. The young Queen, detained at Fontainebleau by her pregnancy, -was not present at that cruel festivity. More than six thousand persons -were invited. The King and the Court began by visiting the park. All -were loud in their admiration of the great fountains. "There was," -says La Fontaine,[15] "great discussion as to which was the best, -the Cascade, the Wheat-Sheaf Jet, the Fountain of the Crown or the -Animals." The château also was inspected and Le Brun's pictures greatly -admired. - -The King could ill contain his wrath at a display of luxury which -seemed stolen from him, and which he was later on to imitate at -Versailles, with all the diligence of a good pupil. He was angered, -so it is said,[16] by an allegorical picture into which Le Brun had -obviously introduced the portrait of Mademoiselle de la Vallière. The -fact may be doubted, but it is certain that the courtiers, with eyes -sharpened by envy, remarked on all the panelling Foucquet's device: -_"Quo non ascendant,"_ or _Quo non ascendet?_ accompanying a squirrel -(or foucquet) climbing up a tree. Louis XIV, according to Choisy, -conceived the idea of arresting his insolent subject on the spot, and -it was the Queen-Mother, who had long been Foucquet's friend, who -prevented him from doing so. But such impatience is not consistent with -that patient duplicity which the King displayed in this connection. -Almost at that very moment, did he not ask his hospitable subject for -another festival to celebrate the churching of the young Queen?[17] - -After the château and grounds had been visited, there was a lottery in -which every guest won something: the ladies jewels, the men weapons. -Then a supper was served, provided by Watel, the cost of which was -valued at one hundred and twenty thousand livres. "Great were the -delicacy and the rarity of the dishes," says La Fontaine, "but greater -still the grace with which Monsieur le Surintendant and Madame la -Surintendante did the honours of their house." The pantry of the -château then contained at least thirty-six dozen plates of solid gold -and a service of the same metal.[18] After supper the guests went to -the Allée des Sapins, where a stage had been erected. - -Mechanical stage effects were then much in vogue. Those of Vaux were -wonderful. The mechanism was the work of Torelli, and the scenery was -painted by Le Brun. - - Deux enchanteurs pleins de savoir - Firent tant, par leur imposture, - Qu'on crut qu'ils avaient le pouvoir - De commander à la nature. - L'un de ces enchanteurs est le sieur Torelli, - Magicien expert et faiseur de miracles; - Et l'autre, c'est Lebrun, par qui Vaux embelli - Présente aux regardants mille rares spectacles.[19] - -Rocks were seen to open, and statues moved. - -The scene represented a grim rock in a lonely desert. Suddenly the rock -changed to a shell, and, the shell having opened, there came forth -a nymph. This was Béjart, who recited a prologue by Pellisson. "In -this prologue, Béjart, who represents the nymph of the fountain where -the action is taking place, commands the divinities, who are subject -to her, to leave the statues in which they are enshrined, and to -contribute with all their power to His Majesty's amusement. Straightway -the pedestals and the statues which adorn the stage move, and there -emerge from them, I know not how, fauns and bacchantes, who form a -ballet. It is very amusing to see a god of boundaries delivered of a -child which comes into the world dancing." - -The ballet was followed by the play which had been conceived, written -and rehearsed in a fortnight. It was Molière's _Les Fâcheux._ The play, -as we know, has interludes of dancing, and concludes with a ballet. -"It is Terence," was the verdict. No doubt, but it is a devilish bad -Terence. - -The night was one of those fiery nights of which Racine writes in the -most worldly of his tragedies. Fireworks shot into the air. There was -a rain of stars; then, when the King departed, the lantern on the dome -which surmounted the château burst into flames, vomiting sheaves of -rockets and fiery serpents. We know what a sad morrow succeeded that -splendid night. - -My task is completed. - -Madame Foucquet, of whose biography we have already given an outline, -obtained a legal separation of her property from her husband's before -the sentence of the 19th December, 1664. She was able to retain a -considerable part of her fortune. "On the 19th March, 1673, she bought -back from the creditors, for one million two hundred and fifty thousand -livres, the Viscounty of Melun, with the estate of Vaux, and made a -donation thereof to her son, Louis-Nicolas Fouquet, by various deeds, -dated 1683, 1689, 1703. Her son having died with out posterity in 1705, -she sold the estate on the 29th August, 1705, to Louis-Hector, Duc de -Villars, Marshal of France, who parted with it on the 27th August, -1764, to C.-Gabriel de Choiseul, Duc de Praslin and peer of France, for -one million six hundred thousand livres."[20] The château remained in -the family of Choiseul-Parslin until the 6th July, 1875. - -By a piece of good fortune it then passed into the hands of M. A. -Sommier. From that day one may say that art and letters have been -vigilant in its preservation, for M. Sommier combines the most perfect -taste with a love of art, and Madame Sommier is the daughter of M. de -Barante, the famous historian.[21] - -But for M. Sommier it was not enough to preserve this historical -monument. His artistic munificence was prepared for any sacrifice -in order to restore those cascades and grottos at which La Fontaine -had marvelled, and which had fallen into ruins, been overgrown with -brushwood, in which vipers lurked and rabbits burrowed. In this noble -task M. Sommier was fortunately aided by a learned architect, M. -Destailleurs. M. Rodolphe Pfnor, my collaborator and friend, holds it -an honour to associate himself with the praises which I here bestow -upon the understanding liberality of M. Sommier. M. Pfnor, by reason of -his skill in architecture and the arts of design, is competent to give -these praises a real and absolute value. Be it understood that I speak -for him as well as for myself. - -It is just that art and letters should unite in congratulating M. -Sommier. The restorer of the Château de Vaux has deserved well of both. -It was reserved for him to realize in all its splendour _Le Songe -Vaux._ He has uttered the command in a voice which has been obeyed: - - Fontaines, jaillissez, - Herbe tendre, croissez - Le long de ces rivages. - Venez, petits oiseaux, - Accorder vos ramages - Au doux bruit de leurs eaux. - - -[1] Bonnaffé, op. cit., p. 27. - -[2] Guillet de Saint-Georges, in _Les Archives de l'Art_ _français,_ -1853, Vol. III. - -[3] Cf. Jal., Diet. - -[4] Occupied successively by the President of the Chambre des Comptes, -Lambert Torigny; the Marquise du Chastelle; M. de La Haye; the Comte -de Montalivet; the Administrator of Lits Militaires; and Prince Adam -Czartoryski, the present owner (1888). - -[5] Ad. Lance, _Dictionnaire des Architectes français,_ Paris, 1872, 2 -vols. Article on Levau (Louis). - -[6] _Archives de l'Art français,_ Vol. I, 1852. - -[7] Letter cited by M. Pierre Clement, _Histoire de Colbert,_ p. 30. - -[8] cite almost literally a phrase by M. Eugène Grésy. M. Grésy's -valuable work on the Château de Vaux is contained in _Les Archives de -l'Art français._ Vol. I, p. I _et seq._ - -[9] Cimber et Danjou, _Archives curieuses de l'Histoire de France,_ -Second Series, Vol. VIII, p. 415 (Portraits de la Cour). - -[10] M. Eugène Grésy, loc. cit., p. 7. - -[11] It is well known that the Maincy factory, taken to Paris by -order of the King after Foucquet's disgrace, became the Gobelins. -(Lacordaire, article on the Gobelins, second ed., 1855, p. 65.) Cf. -also _L'Histoire de la Tapisserie,_ by J. Guiffrey. - -[12] 9th June, 1660. - -[13] Cf. Loret, letter of the 24th July, 1660. - -[14] _Ibid.,_ letter of the 17th July, 1661. - - -[15] Letter to Maucroix, 9th ed., cited Vol. Ill, p. 301. - -[16] Choisy, in his _Mémoires._ Ed. cited p. 587. - -[17] Cf. La Fontaine, letter previously cited. - -[18] Cf. Chéruel, loc. cit., who cites (Vol. II, p. 223) the portfolios -of Valiant, Vol. Ill, in the Biblio. Nat. MSS. - -[19] La Fontaine, letter from Maucroix, Vol. Ill, p. 304. - - -[20] See the excursion made by the subscribers to _l'Ami des Monuments_ -to the Château de Vaux-le-Praslin, or le Vicomte, near Melun, in -_l' Ami des Monuments,_ a magazine founded and edited by M. Charles -Normand, 1887, p. 301, No. 4. - -[21] In the Château de Vaux one of the rooms on the first story, and -certainly the most beautiful, bears the name of the "Room of M. de -Barante." It has a ceiling which represents one of those nymphs of -Vaux which La Fontaine celebrated so charmingly. This ceiling has been -recently restored. M. Destailleurs has displayed great art in its -preservation. - - - -THE END - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Clio, by Anatole France - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 50670 *** diff --git a/old/50670-h/50670-h.htm b/old/50670-h/50670-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 65bd5a0..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/50670-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6768 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Clio, by Anatole France. - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - background-color: #FAEBD7; -} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} -.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} -.p6 {margin-top: 6em;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%} -hr.full {width: 95%;} - -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;} -hr.r65 {width: 65%; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em;} - - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - - .tdl {text-align: left;} - .tdr {text-align: right;} - .tdc {text-align: center;} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -a:link {color: #800000; text-decoration: none; } - -v:link {color: #800000; text-decoration: none; } - -.block { - margin-left: 30%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.figleft { - float: left; - clear: left; - margin-left: 0; - margin-bottom: 1em; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-right: 1em; - padding: 0; - text-align: center; -} - -.figright { - float: right; - clear: right; - margin-left: 1em; - margin-bottom: - 1em; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-right: 0; - padding: 0; - text-align: center; -} - -/* Footnotes */ -.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 50670 ***</div> - - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<h1>CLIO</h1> - -<h4>BY</h4> - -<h2>ANATOLE FRANCE</h2> - -<h5>FROM THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE</h5> - -<h5>IN AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION<br /> -EDITED BY JAMES LEWIS MAY<br/> -AND BERNARD MIALL«</h5> - -<h4>A TRANSLATION BY WINIFRED STEPHENS</h4> - -<h5>LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD<br/> -NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY</h5> - -<h5>MCMXXII</h5> -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_000.jpg" width="300" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> -<h4>TO</h4> - -<h4>EMILE ZOLA</h4> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<blockquote> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em;">NOTE BY THE EDITORS</p> - -<p><i>The Château de Vaux le Vicomte</i> is a translation of the -text of a sumptuously illustrated volume descriptive of this -wonderful monument of human frailty and ambition, published -in 1888 by Lemercier et Cie with plates by Rodolphe Pfnor. -Although the text has not been published apart from the -plates in France, it seemed only fitting to include a -translation of <i>The Château de Vaux le Vicomte</i> in a -complete edition of Monsieur Anatole France's works.</p></blockquote> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold;"> -CONTENTS</p> -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-left: 20%;"> -<a href="#CLIO">CLIO</a><br /> -<br /> -<a href="#THE_BARD_OF_KYME">THE BARD OF KYME</a><br /> -<a href="#KOMM_OF_THE_ATREBATES">KOMM OF THE ATREBATES</a><br /> -<a href="#FARINATA_DEGLI_UBERTI">FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI</a><br /> -<a href="#THE_KING_DRINKS">THE KING DRINKS</a><br /> -<a href="#LA_MUIRON">"LA MUIRON"</a><br /> -<br /> -<a href="#THE_CHATEAU_DE_VAUX-LE-VICOMTE">THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX-LE-VICOMTE</a><br /> -<br /> -<a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a><br /> -<a href="#PART_I">NICOLAS FOUCQUET</a><br /> -<a href="#PART_II">THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX</a><br /> -</p> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="transnote">[To this English translation of Clio we added 12 plates -by Mucha, who illustrated the French 1900 edition, which is also available -at Project Gutenberg.—Transcribers' Note.]</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h3><a name="CLIO" id="CLIO">CLIO</a></h3> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_001_2.jpg" width="450" alt="" /> -</div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="THE_BARD_OF_KYME" id="THE_BARD_OF_KYME">THE BARD OF KYME</a></h4> - - -<p>Along the hill-side he came, following a path which skirted the sea. -His forehead was bare, deeply furrowed and bound by a fillet of red -wool. The sea-breeze blew his white locks over his temples and pressed -the fleece of a snow-white beard against his chin. His tunic and his -feet were the colour of the roads which he had trodden for so many -years. A roughly made lyre hung at his side. He was known as the Aged -One, and also as the Bard. Yet another name was given him by the -children to whom he taught poetry and music, and many called him the -Blind One, because his eyes, dim with age, were overhung by swollen -lids, reddened by the smoke of the hearths beside which he was wont -to sit when he sang. But his was no eternal night, and he was said -to see things invisible to other men. For three generations he had -been wandering ceaselessly to and fro. And now, having sung all day -to a King of Ægea, he was returning to his home, the roof of which -he could already see smoking in the distance; for now, after walking -all night without a halt for fear of being overtaken by the heat of -the day, in the clear light of the dawn he could see the white Kyme, -his birthplace. With his dog at his side, leaning on his crooked -staff, he walked with slow steps, his body upright, his head held -high because of the steepness of the way leading down into the narrow -valley and because he was still vigorous in his age. The sun, rising -over the mountains of Asia, shed a rosy light over the fleecy clouds -and the hill-sides of the islands that studded the sea. The coast-line -glistened. But the hills that stretched away eastward, crowned with -mastic and terebinth, lay still in the freshness and the shadow of -night.</p> - -<p>The Aged One measured along the incline the length of twelve times -twelve lances and found, on the left, between the flanks of twin rocks, -the narrow entrance to a sacred wood. There, on the brink of a spring, -rose an altar of unhewn stones.</p> - -<p>It was half hidden by an oleander the branches of which were laden -with dazzling blossoms. The well-trodden ground in front of the altar -was white with the bones of victims. All around, the boughs of the -olive-trees were hung with offerings. And farther on, in the awesome -shadow of the gorge, rose two ancient oaks, bearing, nailed to their -trunks, the bleached skulls of bulls. Knowing that this altar was -consecrated to Phœbus, the Aged One plunged into the wood, and, taking -by its handle a little earthenware cup which hung from his belt, he -bent over the stream which, flowing over a bed of wild parsley and -water-cress, slowly wound its way down to the meadow. He filled his cup -with the spring-water, and, because he was pious, before drinking he -poured a few drops before the altar. He worshipped the immortal gods, -who know neither pain nor death, while on earth generation follows -generation of suffering men. He was conscious of fear; and he dreaded -the arrows of Leto's sons. Full of sorrows and of years, he loved the -light of day and feared death. For this reason an idea occurred to him. -He bent the pliable trunk of a sapling, and drawing it towards him hung -his earthenware cup from the topmost twig of the young tree, which, -springing back, bore the old man's offering up to the open sky.</p> - -<p>White Kyme, wall-encircled, rose from the edge of the sea. A steep -highway, paved with flat stones, led to the gate of the town. This gate -had been built in an age beyond man's memory, and it was said to be -the work of the gods. Carved upon the lintel were signs which no man -understood, yet they were regarded as of good omen. Not far from this -gate was the public square, where the benches of the elders shone -beneath the trees. Near this square, on the landward side, the Aged One -stayed his steps. There was his house. It was low and small, and less -beautiful than the neighbouring house, where a famous seer dwelt with -his children. Its entrance was half hidden beneath a heap of manure, in -which a pig was rooting. This dunghill was smaller than those at the -doors of the rich. But behind the house was an orchard, and stables of -unquarried stone, which the Aged One had built with his own hands. The -sun was climbing up the white vault of heaven, the sea wind had fallen. -The invisible fire in the air scorched the lungs of men and beasts. -For a moment the Aged One paused upon the threshold to wipe the sweat -from his brow with the back of his hand. His dog, with watchful eye and -hanging tongue, stood still and panted.</p> - -<p>The aged Melantho, emerging from the house, appeared on the threshold -and spoke a few pleasant words. Her coming had been slow, because a god -had sent an evil spirit into her legs which swelled them and made them -heavier than a couple of wine-skins. She was a Carian slave and in her -youth the King had bestowed her on the bard, who was then young and -vigorous. And in her new master's bed she had conceived many children. -But not one was left in the house. Some were dead, others had gone away -to practise the art of song or to steer the plough in distant Achaian -cities, for all were richly gifted. And Melantho was left alone in the -house with Areta, her daughter-in-law, and Areta's two children.</p> - -<p>She went with the master into the great hall with its smoky rafters. In -the midst of it, before the domestic altar, lay the hearthstone covered -with red embers and melted fat. Out of the hall opened two stories of -small rooms; a wooden staircase led to the upper chambers, which were -the women's quarters. Against the pillars that supported the roof leant -the bronze weapons which the Aged One had borne in his youth, in the -days when he followed the kings to the cities to which they drove in -their chariots to recapture the daughters of Kyme whom the heroes had -carried away. From one of the beams hung the skin of an ox.</p> - -<p>The elders of the city, wishful to honour the bard, had sent it to -him on the previous day. He rejoiced at the sight of it. As he stood -drawing a long breath into a chest which was shrunken with age, he took -from beneath his tunic, with a few cloves of garlic remaining from -his alfresco supper, the King of Ægea's gift; it was a stone fallen -from heaven and precious, for it was of iron, though too small for a -lance-tip. He brought with him also a pebble which he had found on the -road. On this pebble, when looked at in a certain light, was the form -of a man's head. And the Aged One, showing it to Melantho, said:</p> - -<p>"Woman, see, on this pebble is the likeness of Pakoros, the blacksmith; -not without permission of the gods may a stone thus present the -semblance of Pakoros."</p> - -<p>And when the aged Melantho had poured water over his feet and hands in -order to remove the dust that defiled them, he grasped the shin of beef -in his arms, placed it on the altar and began to tear it asunder. Being -wise and prudent, he did not delegate to women or to children the duty -of preparing the repast; and, after the manner of kings, he himself -cooked the flesh of beasts.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Melantho coaxed the fire on the hearth into a flame. She -blew upon the dry twigs until a god wrapped them in fire. Though the -task was holy, the Aged One suffered it to be performed by a woman -because years and fatigue had enfeebled him. When the flames leapt up -he cast into them pieces of flesh which he turned over with a fork of -bronze. Seated on his heels, he inhaled the smoke; and as it filled -the room his eyes smarted and watered; but he paid no heed because he -was accustomed to it and because the smoke signified abundance. As the -toughness of the meat yielded to the fire's irresistible power, he -put fragments of it into his mouth and, slowly masticating them with -his well-worn teeth, ate in silence. Standing at his side, the aged -Melantho poured the dark wine into an earthenware cup like that which -he had given to the god.</p> - -<p>When he had satisfied hunger and thirst, he inquired whether all in -house and stable was well. And he inquired concerning the wool woven in -his absence, the cheese placed in the vat and the ripe olives in the -press. And, remembering that his goods were but few, he said:</p> - -<p>"The heroes keep herds of oxen and heifers in the meadows. They have a -goodly number of strong and comely slaves; the doors of their houses -are of ivory and of brass, and their tables are laden with pitchers -of gold. The courage of their hearts assured them of wealth, which -they sometimes keep until old age. In my youth, certes, I was not -inferior to them in courage, but I had neither horses nor chariots, nor -servants, nor even armour strong enough to vie with them in battle and -to win tripods of gold and women of great beauty. He who fights on foot -with poor weapons cannot kill many enemies, because he himself fears -death. Wherefore, fighting beneath the town walls, in the ranks, with -the serving men, never did I win rich spoil."</p> - -<p>The aged Melantho made answer:</p> - -<p>"War giveth wealth to men and robs them of it. My father, Kyphos, had -a palace and countless herds at Mylata. But armed men despoiled him of -all and slew him. I myself was carried away into slavery, but I was -never ill-treated because I was young. The chiefs took me to their bed -and never did I lack food. You were my best master and the poorest."</p> - -<p>There was neither joy nor sadness in her voice as she spoke.</p> - -<p>The Aged One replied:</p> - -<p>"Melantho, you cannot complain of me, for I have always treated you -kindly. Reproach me not with having failed to win great wealth. -Armourers are there and blacksmiths who are rich. Those who are skilled -in the construction of chariots derive no small advantage from their -labours. Seers receive great gifts. But the life of minstrels is hard."</p> - -<p>The aged Melantho said:</p> - -<p>"The life of many men is hard."</p> - -<p>And with heavy step she went out of the house, with her -daughter-in-law, to fetch wood from the cellar. It was the hour when -the sun's invincible heat prostrates men and beasts, and silences even -the song of the birds in the motionless foliage. The Aged One stretched -himself upon a mat, and, veiling his face, fell asleep.</p> - -<p>As he slumbered he was visited by a succession of dreams, which were -neither more beautiful nor more unusual than those which he dreamed -every day. In these dreams appeared to him the forms of men and of -beasts. And, because among them he recognized some whom he had known -while they lived on the green earth and who having lost the light of -day had lain beneath the funeral pile, he concluded that the shades of -the dead hover in the air, but that, having lost their vigour, they -are nothing but empty shadows. He learned from dreams that there exist -likewise shades of animals and of plants which are seen in sleep. He -was convinced that the dead, wandering in Hades, themselves form their -own image, since none may form it for them, unless it were one of those -gods who love to deceive man's feeble intellect. But, being no seer, -he could not distinguish between false dreams and true; and, weary of -seeking to understand the confused visions of the night, he regarded -them with indifference as they passed beneath his closed eyelids.</p> - -<p>On awakening, he beheld, ranged before him in an attitude of respect, -the children of Kyme, whom he instructed in poetry and music, as his -father had instructed him. Among them were his daughter-in-law's two -sons. Many of them were blind, for a bard's life was deemed fitting for -those who, bereft of sight, could neither work in the fields nor follow -heroes to war.</p> - -<p>In their hands they bore the offerings in payment for the bard's -lessons, fruit, cheese, a honeycomb, a sheep's fleece, and they waited -for their master's approval before placing it on the domestic altar.</p> - -<p>The Aged One, having risen and taken his lyre which hung from a beam in -the hall, said kindly:</p> - -<p>"Children, it is just that the rich should give much and the poor less. -Zeus, our father, hath unequally apportioned wealth among men. But he -will punish the child who withholds the tribute due to the divine bard."</p> - -<p>The vigilant Melantho came and took the gifts from the altar. And the -Aged One, having tuned his lyre, began to teach a song to the children, -who with crossed legs were seated on the ground around him.</p> - -<p>"Hearken," he said, "to the combat between Patrocles and Sarpedon. This -is a beautiful song."</p> - -<p>And he sang. He skilfully modulated the sounds, applying the same -rhythm and the same measure to each line; and, in order that his voice -should not wander from the key, he supported it at regular intervals -by striking a note upon his three-stringed lyre. And, before making a -necessary pause, he uttered a shrill cry, accompanied by a strident -vibration of strings. After he had sung lines equal in number to double -the number of fingers on his two hands, he made the children repeat -them. They cried them out all together in a high voice, as, following -their master's example, they touched the little lyres which they -themselves had carved out of wood and which gave no sound.</p> - -<p>Patiently the Aged One sang the lines over and over until the little -singers knew every word. The attentive children he praised, but those -who lacked memory or intelligence he struck with the wooden part of his -lyre, and they went away to lean weeping against a pillar of the hall. -He taught by example, not by precept, because he believed poesy to be -of hoary antiquity and beyond man's judgment. The only counsels which -he gave related to manners. He bade them:</p> - -<p>"Honour kings and heroes, who are superior to other men. Call heroes -by their own name and that of their father, so that these names be not -forgotten. When you sit in assemblies gather your tunic about you and -let your mien express grace and modesty."</p> - -<p>Again he said to them:</p> - -<p>"Do not spit in rivers, because rivers are scared. Make no change, -either through weakness of memory or of your own imagining, in the -songs I teach you, and when a king shall say unto you: 'These songs are -beautiful. From whom did you learn them?' you shall answer: 'I learnt -them from the Aged One of Kyme, who received them from his father, whom -doubtless a god had inspired.'" Of the ox's shin, there yet remained a -few succulent morsels. Having eaten one of them before the hearth and -smashed the bone with an axe of bronze, in order to extract the marrow, -of which he alone in the house was worthy to partake, he divided the -rest of the meat into portions which should nourish the women and -children for the space of two days.</p> - -<p>Then he realized that soon nothing would be left of this nutritious -food, and he reflected:</p> - -<p>"The rich are loved by Zeus and the poor are not. All unwittingly I -have doubtless offended one of those gods who live concealed in the -forests or the mountains, or perhaps the child of an immortal; and -it is to expiate my involuntary crime that I drag out my days in a -penurious old age. Sometimes, without any evil intention, one commits -actions which are punishable because the gods have not clearly revealed -unto men that which is permitted and that which is forbidden. And -their will remains obscure." Long did he turn over those thoughts in -his mind, and, fearing the return of cruel hunger, he resolved not to -remain idly in his dwelling that night, but this time to go towards -the country where the Hermos flows between rocks and whence can be -seen Orneia, Smyrna and the beautiful Hissia, lying upon the mountain, -which, like the prow of some Phœnician boat, plunges into the sea. -Wherefore, at the hour when the first stars glimmer in the pale sky, -he girded himself with the cord of his lyre and went forth, along the -sea-shore, toward the dwellings of rich men, who, during their lengthy -feasts, love to hearken to the praise of heroes and the genealogies of -the gods.</p> - -<p>Having, according to his custom, journeyed all night, in the rosy dawn -of morning he descried a town perched upon a high headland, and he -recognized the opulent Hissia, dove-haunted, which from the summit of -her rock looks down upon the white islands sporting like nymphs in the -glistening sea. Not far from the town, on the margin of a spring, he -sat down to rest and to appease his hunger with the onions which he had -brought in a fold of his tunic.</p> - -<p>Hardly had he finished his meal when a young girl, bearing a basket -on her head, came to the spring to wash linen. At first she looked -at him suspiciously, but, seeing that he carried a wooden lyre slung -over his torn tunic and that he was old and overcome with fatigue, -she approached him fearlessly, and, suddenly, seized with pity and -veneration, she filled the hollows of her hands with drops of water -with which she moistened the minstrel's lips.</p> - -<p>Then he called her a king's daughter; he promised her a long life, and -said:</p> - -<p>"Maiden, desire floats in a cloud about thy girdle. Happy the man who -shall lead thee to his couch. And I, an old man, praise thy beauty like -the bird of night which cries all unheeded upon the nuptial roof. I am -a wandering bard. Daughter, speak unto me pleasant words."</p> - -<p>And the maiden answered:</p> - -<p>"If, as you say and as it seemeth, you are a musician, then no evil -fate brings you to this town. For the rich Meges to-day receiveth a -guest who is dear to him; and to the great of the town, in honour of -his guest, he giveth a sumptuous feast. Doubtless he would wish them to -hear a good minstrel. Go to him. From this very spot you may see his -house. From the seaward side it cannot be approached, because it is on -that high breeze-swept headland, which juts out into the waves. But if -you enter the town on the landward side, by the steps cut in the rock, -which lead up the vine-clad hill, you will easily distinguish from all -the other houses the abode of Meges. It has been recently whitewashed, -and it is more spacious than the rest." And the Aged One, rising with -difficulty on limbs which the years had stiffened, climbed the steps -cut in the rock by the men of old, and, reaching the high table-land -whereon is the town of Hissia, he readily distinguished the house of -the rich Meges.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_002_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>To approach it was pleasant, for the blood of freshly slaughtered bulls -gushed from its doors and the odour of hot fat was perceptible all -around. He crossed the threshold, entered the great banqueting-hall -and, having touched the altar with his hand, approached Meges, who -was carving the meat and ordering the servants. Already the guests -were ranged about the hearth, rejoicing in the prospect of a plenteous -repast. Among them were many kings and heroes. But the guest whom Meges -desired to honour by this banquet was a King of Chios, who, in quest -of wealth, had long navigated the seas and endured great hardship. His -name was Oineus. All the guests admired him because, like Ulysses in -earlier days, he had escaped from innumerable shipwrecks, shared in the -islands the couch of enchantresses and brought home great treasure. -He told of his travels and his labours, interspersing them with -inventions, for he had a nimble wit.</p> - -<p>Recognizing the bard by the lyre which hung at his side, the rich Meges -addressed the Aged One and said:</p> - -<p>"Be welcome. What songs knowest thou?"</p> - -<p>The Aged One made answer:</p> - -<p>"I know 'The Strife of Kings' which brought such great disaster to -the Achaians, I know 'The Storming of the Wall.' And that song is -beautiful. I know also 'The Deception of Zeus,' 'The Embassy' and -'The Capture of the Dead.' And these songs are beautiful. I know yet -more—six times sixty very beautiful songs."</p> - -<p>Thus did he give it to be understood that he knew many songs; but the -exact number he could not tell.</p> - -<p>The rich Meges replied in a mocking tone:</p> - -<p>"In the hope of a good meal and a rich gift, wandering minstrels ever -say that they know many songs; but, put to the test, it is soon seen -that they remember but a few lines, with the constant repetition of -which they tire the ears of heroes and of kings."</p> - -<p>The Aged One answered wisely:</p> - -<p>"Meges," he said, "you are renowned for your wealth. Know that the -number of the songs I know is not less than that of the bulls and -heifers which your herdsmen drive to graze on the mountain." Meges, -admiring the Old Man's intelligence, said to him kindly:</p> - -<p>"A small mind would not suffice to contain so great a number of songs. -But, tell me, is what thou knowest about Achilles and Ulysses really -true? For many are the lies in circulation touching those heroes."</p> - -<p>And the bard made answer:</p> - -<p>"All that I know of the heroes I received from my father, who learned -it from Muses themselves, for in earlier days in cave and forest the -immortal Muses visited divine singers. No inventions will I mingle -with the ancient tales."</p> - -<p>Thus did he speak, and wisely. Nevertheless to the songs he had known -from his youth upward he was wont to add lines taken from other songs -or the fruit of his own imagination. He himself had composed wellnigh -the whole of certain songs. But, fearing lest man should disapprove of -them, he did not confess them to be his own work. The heroes preferred -the ancient tales which they believed to have been dictated by a god, -and they objected to new songs. Wherefore, when he repeated lines of -his own invention, he carefully concealed their origin. And, as he was -a true poet and followed all the ancient traditions, his lines differed -in no way from those of his ancestors; they resembled them in form and -in beauty, and, from the beginning, they were worthy of immortal glory.</p> - -<p>The rich Meges was not unintelligent. Perceiving the Aged One to be a -good singer, he gave him a place of honour by the hearth and said to -him:</p> - -<p>"Old Man, when we have satisfied our hunger, thou shalt sing to us all -thou knowest of Achilles and Ulysses. Endeavour to charm the ears of -Oineus, my guest, for he is a hero full of wisdom."</p> - -<p>And Oineus, who had long wandered over the sea, asked the minstrel -whether he knew "The Voyages of Ulysses." But the return of the heroes -who had fought at Troy was still wrapped in mystery, and no one knew -what Ulysses had suffered in his wanderings over the pathless sea.</p> - -<p>The Old Man answered:</p> - -<p>"I know that the divine Ulysses shared Circe's couch and deceived the -Cyclops by a crafty wile. Women tell tales about it to one another. But -the hero's return to Ithaca is hidden from the bards. Some say that he -returned to possess his wife and his goods, others that he put away -Penelope because she had admitted her suitors to her bed, and that he -himself, punished by the gods, wandered ceaselessly among the people, -an oar upon his shoulder."</p> - -<p>Oineus replied:</p> - -<p>"In my travels I have heard that Ulysses died at the hands of his son."</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Meges distributed the flesh of oxen among his guests. And to -each one he gave a fitting morsel. Oineus praised him loudly.</p> - -<p>"Meges," he said, "one can see that you are accustomed to give -banquets."</p> - -<p>The oxen of Meges were fed upon the sweetsmelling herbs which grow on -the mountain-side. Their flesh was redolent thereof, and the heroes -could not consume enough of it. And, as Meges was constantly refilling -a capacious goblet which he afterwards passed to his guests, the repast -was prolonged far into the day. No man remembered so rich a feast.</p> - -<p>The sun was going down into the sea, when the herdsmen who kept the -flocks of Meges upon the mountain came to receive their share of the -wine and victuals. Meges respected them because they grazed the herds -not with the indolence of the herdsmen of the plain, but armed with -lances of iron and girded with armour in order to defend the oxen -against the attacks of the people of Asia. And they were like unto -kings and heroes, whom they equalled in courage. They were led by two -chiefs, Peiros and Thoas, whom the master had chosen as the bravest and -the most intelligent. And, indeed, handsomer men were not to be seen. -Meges welcomed them to his hearth as the illustrious protectors of his -wealth. He gave them wine and meat as much as they desired.</p> - -<p>Oineus, admiring them, said to his host:</p> - -<p>"In all my travels, I have never seen men with limbs so well formed and -muscular as those of these two master herdsmen."</p> - -<p>Then Meges uttered injudicious words. He said: "Peiros is the stronger -in wrestling, but Thoas the swifter in the race."</p> - -<p>At these words, the two herdsmen looked angrily at one another, and -Thoas said to Peiros:</p> - -<p>"You must have given the master some maddening drink to make him say -that you are the better wrestler."</p> - -<p>Then Peiros answered Thoas testily:</p> - -<p>"I flatter myself that I can conquer you in wrestling. As for racing, I -leave to you the palm which the master has given. For you who have the -heart of a stag could not fail to possess his feet."</p> - -<p>But the wise Oineus checked the herdsmen's quarrel. He artfully told -tales showing the danger of wrangling at feasts. And, as he spoke well, -he was approved. Peace having been restored, Meges said to the Aged One:</p> - -<p>"My friend, sing us 'The Wrath of Achilles' and the 'Gathering of the -Kings.'"</p> - -<p>And the Aged One, having tuned his lyre, poured forth into the thick -atmosphere of the hall great gusts of sound.</p> - -<p>He drew deep breaths, and all the guests hearkened in silence to the -measured words which recalled ages worthy to be remembered. And many -marvelled how so old a man, one withered by age like a vine-branch -which beareth neither fruit nor leaves, could emit such powerful notes. -For they did not understand that the power of the wine and the habit of -singing imparted to the musician a strength which otherwise would have -been denied him by enfeebled nerve and muscle.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_003_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>At intervals a murmur of praise rose from the assembly like a strong -gust of wind in the forest. But suddenly the herdsmen's dispute, -appeased for a while, broke out afresh. Heated with wine, they -challenged one another to wrestle and to race. Their wild cries rose -above the musician's voice, and vainly he endeavoured to make the -harmonious sounds which proceeded from his mouth and his lyre heard by -the assembly. The herdsmen who followed Peiros and Thoas, flushed with -wine, struck their hands and grunted like hogs. They had long formed -themselves into rival bands which shared the chiefs' enmity.</p> - -<p>"Dog!" cried Thoas.</p> - -<p>And he struck Peiros a blow on the face which drew blood from his mouth -and nostrils. Peiros, blinded, butted with his forehead against the -chest of Thoas and threw him backwards, his ribs broken. Straightway -the rival herdsmen cast themselves upon one another, exchanging blows -and insults.</p> - -<p>In vain did Meges and the Kings endeavour to separate the combatants. -Even the wise Oineus himself was repulsed by the herdsmen whom a god -had bereft of reason. Brass vessels flew through the air on all sides. -Great ox-bones, smoking torches, bronze tripods rose and fell upon the -combatants. The interlaced bodies of men rolled over the hearth on -which the fire was dying, in the midst of the liquor which flowed from -the burst wine-skins.</p> - -<p>Dense darkness enveloped the hall, a darkness full of groans and -imprecations. Arms, maddened by frenzy, seized glowing logs and hurled -them into the darkness. A blazing twig struck the minstrel as he stood -still and silent.</p> - -<p>Then a voice louder than all the noise of combat cursed these impious -men and this profane house. And, pressing his lyre to his breast, he -went out of the dwelling and walked along the high headland by the sea. -To his wrath had given place a great feeling of fatigue and a bitter -disgust with men and with life.</p> - -<p>A longing for union with the gods filled his breast. All things lay -wrapped in soft shadows, the friendly silence and the peace of night. -Westward, over the land which men say is haunted by the shades of the -dead, the divine moon, hanging in the clear sky, shed silver blossoms -upon the smiling sea. And the aged Homer advanced over the high -headland until the earth, which had borne him so long, failed beneath -his feet.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="KOMM_OF_THE_ATREBATES" id="KOMM_OF_THE_ATREBATES">KOMM OF THE ATREBATES</a></h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_004_2.jpg" width="450" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<h4>I</h4> - - -<p>In a land of mists, near a shore which was beaten by the restless -sea and swept by billowy waves of sand raised by the Ocean winds, -the Atrebates had settled on the shifting banks of a broad stream. -There, amid pools of water and in forests of oak and of birch, they -lived protected by their stockades of felled tree-trunks. There they -bred horses excellent for draught-work, large-headed, short-necked, -broad-chested and muscular, and with powerful haunches. On the -outskirts of the forest they kept huge swine, wild as boars. With their -great dogs they hunted wild beasts, the skulls of which they nailed on -to the walls of their wooden houses. They lived on the flesh of these -creatures and on fish, both of the salt-water and the fresh. They -grilled their meat and seasoned it with salt, vinegar and cumin. They -drank wine, and, at their stupendous feasts, seated at their round -tables, they grew drunken. There were among them women who, acquainted -with the virtue of herbs, gathered henbane, vervain and that healing -plant called savin, which grows in the moist hollows of rocks. From the -sap of the yew-tree they concocted a poison. The Atrebates had also -priests and poets who knew things hidden from ordinary men.</p> - -<p>These forest-dwellers, these men of the marsh and the beach, were of -high stature. They wore their fair hair long, and they wrapped their -great white bodies in mantles of wool of the colour of the vine-leaf -when it grows purple in the autumn. They were subject to chiefs who -held sway over the tribes.</p> - -<p>The Atrebates knew that the Romans had come to make war on the peoples -of Gaul, and that whole nations with all their possessions had been -sold beneath their lance. News of happenings on the Rhone and the -Loire had reached them speedily. Words and signs fly like birds. And -that which, at sunrise, had been said in Genabum of the Carnutes was -heard in the first watch of the night on the Ocean strand. But the -fate of their brethren did not trouble them, or rather, being jealous -of them, they rejoiced in the sufferings which they endured at Cæsar's -hand. They did not hate the Romans, for they did not know them. -Neither did they fear them, since it seemed to them impossible for an -army to penetrate through the forests and marshes which surrounded -their dwellings. They had no towns, although they gave the name to -Nemetacum,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> a vast enclosure encircled by a palisade, which, in case -of attack, served as a refuge for warriors, women and herds. As we have -said, they had throughout their country other similar places of refuge, -but these were smaller. To them, also, they gave the name of towns.</p> - -<p>It was not upon their enclosures of felled trees that they relied for -resistance to the Romans, whom they knew to be skilled in the capture -of cities defended by stone walls and wooden towers. But they relied -rather on their country's lack of roads. The Roman soldiers, however, -themselves constructed the roads over which they marched. They dug the -ground with a strength and rapidity unknown to the Gauls of the dense -forest, among whom iron was rarer than gold. And one day the Atrebates -were astounded to learn that the Roman road, with its milestones and -its fine paved highway, was approaching their thickets and marshes. -Then they made alliance with the people scattered through the forest -which they called the Impenetrable, and numerous tribes entered into -a league against Cæsar. The chiefs of the Atrebates uttered their -war-cry, girded themselves with their baldrics of gold and of coral, -donned their helmets adorned with the antlers of the stag, or the elk, -or with buffalo horns, and drew their daggers, which were not equal to -the Roman sword. They were vanquished, but because they were courageous -they had to be twice conquered.</p> - -<p>Now among them was a chief who was very rich. His name was Komm. He -had a great store of torques, bracelets and rings in his coffers. -Human heads he had also, embalmed in oil of cedar. They were the heads -of hostile chiefs slain by himself or by his father or his father's -father. Komm enjoyed the life of a man who is strong, free and powerful.</p> - -<p>Followed by his weapons, his horses, his chariots and his Breton -bulldogs, by the multitude of his fighting men and his women, he would -wander without let or hindrance over his boundless dominions, through -forest or along river-bank, until he came to a halt in one of those -woodland shelters, one of those primitive farms of which he possessed -a great number. There, at peace, surrounded by his faithful followers, -he would fish, hunt the wild beasts, break in his horses and recall -his adventures in war. And, as soon as the desire seized him, he would -move on. He was a violent, crafty, subtle-minded man excelling in deed -and in word. When the Atrebates shouted their war-cry, he forbore to -don the helmet which was adorned with the horns of an ox. He remained -quietly in one of his wooden houses full of gold, of warriors, or -horses, of women, of wild pigs and smoked fish. After the defeat of -his fellow-countrymen, he went and found Cæsar and placed his brains -and his influence at the service of the Romans. He was well received. -Concluding rightly that this clever, powerful Gaul would be able to -pacify the country and hold it in subjection to Rome, Cæsar bestowed -upon him great powers and nominated him King of the Atrebates. Thus -Komm, the chieftain, became Commius Rex. He wore the purple, and coined -money whereon appeared his likeness in profile, his head encircled by -a diadem with sharp points like those of the Greek and barbarian kings -who wore their crowns as tokens of their friendship with Rome.</p> - -<p>He was not execrated by the Atrebates. His sagacious and -self-interested behaviour did not discredit him with a people devoid -of Greek and Roman ideas of patriotism and citizenship. These savage, -inglorious Gauls, ignorant of public life, esteemed cunning, yielded to -force and marvelled at royal power, which seemed to them a magnificent -innovation. The majority of these people, rough woodlanders or -fishermen of the misty coast, had a still better reason for not blaming -the conduct and the prosperity of their chieftain; not knowing that -they were Atrebates, nor even that Atrebates existed, the King of the -Atrebates concerned them but little. Wherefore Komm was not unpopular. -And if the favour of Rome meant danger to him, that danger did not come -from his own people.</p> - -<p>Now in the fourth year of the war, towards the end of summer, Cæsar -armed a fleet for a descent upon Britain. Desiring to secure allies -in the great Island, he resolved to send Komm as his ambassador to -the Celts of the Thames, with the offer of an alliance with Rome. -Sagacious, eloquent and by birth akin to the Britons—for certain -tribes of the Atrebates had settled on both banks of the Thames—Komm -was eminently fitted for this mission.</p> - -<p>Komm was proud of his friendship with Cæsar. But he was in no hurry to -discharge this mission, of the dangers of which he was fully aware. -To induce him to undertake it Cæsar was compelled to grant him many -favours. From the tribute paid by other Gallic towns he exempted -Nemetacum, which was already growing into a city and a metropolis, so -rapidly did the Romans develop the countries which they conquered. He -somewhat relaxed the rigorous rule of the conquerors by restoring to -it its rights and its own laws. Further, he gave Komm to rule over the -Morini, who were the neighbours of the Atrebates on the sea-shore.</p> - -<p>Komm set sail with Caius Volusenus Quadratus, prefect of cavalry, -appointed by Cæsar to conduct a reconnaissance in Britain. But when the -ship approached the sandy beach at the foot of the bird-haunted white -cliffs, the Roman refused to disembark, fearing unknown danger and -certain death. Komm landed with his horses and his followers and spoke -to the British chiefs who had come to meet him. He counselled them to -prefer profitable friendship with the Romans to their pitiless wrath. -But these chiefs, the descendants of Hu, the Powerful, and of his -comrades in arms, were proud and violent. They listened impatiently to -Komm's words. Anger clouded their woad-stained countenances, and they -swore to defend their Island against the Romans.</p> - -<p>"Let them land here," they cried, "and they will disappear like the -snow on the sand of the sea-shore when the south wind blows upon it."</p> - -<p>Holding Cæsar's counsel to be an insult, they were already drawing -their daggers from their belts and preparing to put to death the herald -of shame.</p> - -<p>Standing bowed over his shield in the attitude of a suppliant, Komm -invoked the name of brother by which he was entitled to call them. They -were sons of the same fathers.</p> - -<p>Wherefore the Britons forbore to slay him. They conducted him in chains -to a great village near the coast. Passing down a road bordered by -huts of wattle-work, he noticed high flat stones, fixed in the ground -at irregular intervals, and covered with signs which he thought to be -sacred, for it was not easy to decipher their meaning. He perceived -that the huts of this great village, though poorer, were not unlike -those of the villages of the Atrebates. In front of the chiefs' -dwellings poles were erected from which hung the antlers of deer, the -skulls of boars and the fair-haired heads of men. Komm was taken into -a hut which contained nothing save a hearthstone still covered with -ashes, a bed of dried leaves and the image of a god shapen from the -trunk of a lime-tree. Bound to the pillar which supported the thatched -roof, the Atrebate meditated on his ill luck and sought in his mind for -some magic word of power or some ingenious device which should deliver -him from the wrath of the British chieftains.</p> - -<p>And to beguile his wretchedness, after the manner of his ancestors, he -composed a song of menace and complaint, coloured by pictures of his -native woods and mountains, the memory of which filled his heart.</p> - -<p>Women with babes at the breast came and looked at him curiously and -questioned him as to his country, his race and his adventures. He -answered them kindly. But his soul was sad and wracked by cruel anxiety.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The modern Arras.—<i>Trans.</i></p></div> - - - -<h4>2</h4> - - -<p>Detained until the end of summer on the Morini shore, Cæsar set sail -one night about the third watch, and by the fourth hour of day had -sight of the Island. The Britons awaited him on the beach. But neither -their arrows of hard wood nor their scythed chariots, nor their -long-haired horses trained to swim in the sea among the shoals, nor -their countenances made terrible with paint gave check to the Romans. -The Eagle surrounded by legionaries touched the soil of the barbarians' -Island. The Britons fled beneath a shower of stone and lead hurled from -machines which they believed to be monsters. Struck with terror, they -ran like a herd of elks before the spear of the hunter.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_005_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>When towards evening they had reached the great village near the coast, -the chiefs sat down on stones ranged in a circle by the road-side -and took counsel. All night they continued to deliberate; and when -dawn began to gleam on the horizon, while the larks' song pierced the -grey sky, they went into the hut where Komm of the Atrebates had been -enchained for thirty days. They looked at him respectfully because of -the Romans. They unbound him. They offered him a drink made of the -fermented juice of wild cherries. They restored to him his weapons, his -horses, his comrades, and, addressing him with flattering words, they -entreated him to accompany them to the camp of the Romans and to ask -pardon for them from Cæsar the Powerful.</p> - -<p>"Thou shalt persuade him to be our friend," they said to him, "for -thou art wise and thy words are nimble and penetrating as arrows. Among -all the ancestors whose memory is enshrined in our songs, there is not -one who surpasses thee in sagacity."</p> - -<p>It was with joy Komm of the Atrebates heard these words. But he -concealed his pleasure, and, curling his lips into a bitter smile, he -said to the British chiefs, pointing to the fallen willow leaves that -were driven in eddies by the wind:</p> - -<p>"The thoughts of vain men are stirred like these leaves and ceaselessly -carried in every direction. Yesterday they took me for a madman and -said I had eaten of the herb of Erin that maddens the grazing beasts. -To-day they perceive in me the wisdom of their ancestors. Nevertheless -I am as good a counsellor one day as another, for my words depend -neither upon the sun nor upon the moon, but upon my understanding. As -the reward of your ill-doing, I ought to deliver you up to the wrath -of Cæsar, who would cut off your hands and put out your eyes, so that -begging bread and beer in the wealthy villages you would testify to his -might and justice throughout the Island of Britain. Notwithstanding I -will forget the wrong you have done me. I will remember that we are -brethren, that the Britons and the Atrebates are the fruit of the same -tree. I will act for the good of my brethren who drink the waters of -the Thames. Cæsar's friendship, which I came to their Island to offer -them, I will restore to them now that they have lost it through their -folly. Cæsar, who loves Komm, and has made him to be King over the -Atrebates and the Morini who wear collars of shells, will love the -British chiefs, painted with glowing colours, and will establish them -in their wealth and power, because they are the friends of Komm, who -drinketh the waters of the Somme."</p> - -<p>And Komm of the Atrebates spake again and said: "Learn from me that -which Cæsar shall say unto you when you bend over your shields at the -foot of his tribunal and that which it behooveth you in your wisdom to -reply unto him. He will say unto you: 'I grant you peace. Deliver up -to me noble children as hostages.' And you will make answer: 'We will -deliver up unto you our noble children. And we will bring you certain -of them this very day. But the greater number of our noble children are -in the distant places of this Island, and to bring them hither will -take many days.'"</p> - -<p>The chiefs marvelled at the subtle mind of the Atrebate. One of them -said to him:</p> - -<p>"Komm, thou art possessed of a great understanding, and I believe -thy heart to be filled with kindness toward thy British brethren who -drink the waters of the Thames. If Cæsar were a man, we should have -courage to fight against him, but we know him to be a god because his -vessels and his engines of war are living creatures and endowed with -understanding. Let us go and ask him to pardon us for having fought -against him and to leave us in possession of our sovereignty and of our -riches."</p> - -<p>Having thus spoken, the chiefs of the Island of Fogs leapt upon their -horses, and set forth towards the sea-shore where the Romans were -encamped near the cove where their deep-keeled ships lay at anchor, not -far from the beach up which they had drawn their galleys. Komm rode -beside them. When they beheld the Roman camp, which was surrounded by -ditches and palisades, traversed by wide and regular thoroughfares and -covered with tents over which soared the Roman eagles and floated the -wreaths of the standards, they paused in amazement and inquired by what -art the Romans had built in one day a town more beautiful and greater -than any in the Isle of Mists.</p> - -<p>"What is that?" cried one of them.</p> - -<p>"It is Rome," replied the Atrebate. "The Romans bear Rome with them -everywhere."</p> - -<p>Introduced into the camp, they repaired to the foot of the tribunal, -where the Proconsul sat surrounded by the fasces. His eyes were like -the eagle's; and he was pale in his purple.</p> - -<p>Komm assumed a suppliant's attitude and entreated Cæsar to pardon the -British chiefs.</p> - -<p>"When they fought against you," he said, "these chiefs did not act -according to their own heart, the dictates of which are always noble. -When they drove against you their chariots of war, they obeyed, -they commanded not. They yielded to the will of the poor and humble -tribesmen who assembled in great numbers against you; for they lacked -understanding and were incapable of comprehending your might. You know -that in all things the poor are inferior to the rich. Deny not your -friendship to these men, who possess great wealth and can pay tribute."</p> - -<p>Cæsar granted the pardon which the chiefs implored, and said unto them:</p> - -<p>"Deliver up to me as hostages the sons of your princes."</p> - -<p>The most venerable of the chiefs replied:</p> - -<p>"We will deliver up unto you our noble children. And some of them we -will bring to you this very day. But the children of our nobles are -most of them in the distant places of our Isle, and to bring them -hither will take many days."</p> - -<p>Cæsar inclined his head as a sign of assent. Thus, by the Atrebate's -counsel, the chiefs surrendered but a few young boys and those not of -the highest nobility.</p> - -<p>Komm remained in the camp. At night, being unable to sleep, he climbed -the cliff and looked out to sea. The surf was breaking on the rocks. -The wind from the Channel mingled its sinister moaning with the roaring -of the waves. The wild moon, in its stately passage through the clouds, -cast a fleeting light on to the water. The Atrebate, with the keen eye -of the savage, piercing through the shadow and the mist, perceived -ships, surprised by the tempest, toiling in the waves and the wind. -Some, helpless and drifting, were being driven by the billows, the foam -of which shone upon their sides like a pale gleam; others were putting -out to sea. Their sails swept the waves like the wings of some fishing -bird. These were the ships that were bringing Cæsar's cavalry, and they -were being scattered by the storm. The Gaul, joyfully breathing the sea -air, paced awhile along the edge of the cliff; and soon he descried -the little bay, where the Roman galleys which had alarmed the Britons -lay dry upon the sand. He saw the tide approach them gradually, then -reach them, raise them, hurl them one against the other and batter -them, while the deep-keeled ships in the cove were tossed to and fro -at anchor by a furious wind which carried away their masts and rigging -like so many wisps of straw. Dimly he discerned the confused movements -of the panic-stricken legionaries running along the beach. Their -shouts reached his ear like the noise of a storm. Then he raised his -eyes to the divine moon, worshipped by the Atrebates who dwell on -river-banks and in the deep forests. In the stormy British sky she hung -like a shield. He knew that it was she, the copper moon at the full, -that had brought this spring tide and caused the tempest, which was now -destroying the Roman fleet. And on the cliff, in the majestic night, by -the furious sea, there came to the Atrebate the revelation of a secret, -mysterious force, more invincible than that of Rome.</p> - -<p>When they heard of the disaster that had overtaken the fleet the -Britons joyfully realized that Cæsar commanded neither the Ocean nor -the moon, the friend of lonely shores and deep forests. They saw that -the Roman galleys were not invincible dragons, since the tide had -shattered them and cast them, with their sides rent open, on the sand -of the beach. Filled once again with the hope of destroying the Romans, -they thought of slaying a great number by the arrow and the sword, and -of throwing those that were left into the sea. Wherefore every day -they appeared more and more assiduous in Cæsar's camp. They brought -the legionaries smoked meats and the skins of the elk. They assumed a -kindly expression; they spoke honeyed words, and admiringly they felt -the muscular arms of the centurions.</p> - -<p>In order to appear more submissive still, the chiefs surrendered their -hostages; but they were the sons of enemies on whom they wished to -be revenged, or uncomely children not born of families who were the -issue of the gods. And, when they believed that the little dark men -confidently relied upon their friendliness, they gathered together the -warriors of all the villages on the banks of the Thames, and, uttering -loud cries, they hurled themselves against the camp gates. These gates -were defended by wooden towers. The Britons, unacquainted with the art -of carrying fortified positions, could not penetrate through the outer -circle, and many of the chiefs with woad-stained visages fell at the -foot of the towers. Once again the Britons knew that the Romans were -endowed with superhuman strength. Therefore on the morrow they came to -implore Cæsar's pardon and to promise him their friendship.</p> - -<p>Cæsar received them with a passive countenance, but that very night he -caused his legions to embark in the hastily repaired ships and made -for the Morini coast. Having lost hope of receiving his support of his -cavalry which the tempest had scattered, he abandoned for the time the -conquest of the Isle of Mists.</p> - -<p>Komm of the Atrebates accompanied the army on its return to the Morini -shore. He had embarked on the vessel which bore the Proconsul. Cæsar, -curious concerning the customs of the barbarians, asked him whether the -Gauls did not consider themselves the descendants of Pluto and whether -it were not on that account that they reckoned time by nights instead -of by days. The Atrebate could not give him the true reason for this -custom. But he told Cæsar that in his opinion at the birth of the world -night had preceded day.</p> - -<p>"I believe," he added, "that the moon is more ancient than the sun. She -is a very powerful divinity and the friend of the Gauls."</p> - -<p>"The divinity of the moon," answered Cæsar, "is recognized by Romans -and Greeks. But think not, Commius, that this planet, which shines upon -Italy and upon the whole earth, is especially favourable to the Gauls."</p> - -<p>"Take heed, Julius," replied the Atrebate, "and weigh your words. -The moon that you here behold fleeing through the clouds is not the -moon which at Rome shines on your marble temples. Though she be big -and bright, this moon could not be seen in Italy. The distance is too -great."</p> - - - -<h4>3</h4> - - -<p>Winter came and covered Gaul with darkness, with ice and with snow. -The hearts of the warriors in their wattle huts were moved as they -thought on the chiefs and their retainers whom Cæsar had slain or sold -by auction. Sometimes to the door of the hut came à man begging bread -and showing his wrists with the hands cut off by a lictor. And the -warriors' hearts revolted. Words of wrath passed from mouth to mouth. -They assembled by night in the depths of the woods and the hollows of -the rocks.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile King Komm with his faithful followers hunted in the forests, -in the land of the Atrebates. Every day, a messenger in a striped -mantle and red braces came by secret paths to the King, and, slackening -the speed of his horse as he drew near to him, said in a low voice:</p> - -<p>"Komm, will you not be a free man in a free country? Komm, will you any -longer submit to be a slave of the Romans?"</p> - -<p>Then the messenger disappeared along the narrow path, where the fallen -leaves deadened the sound of his galloping horse.</p> - -<p>Komm, King of the Atrebates, remained the Romans' friend. But gradually -he persuaded himself that it behooved the Atrebates and the Morini to -be free, since he was their King. It annoyed him to see Romans, settled -at Nemetacum, sitting in tribunals, where they dispensed justice, and -geometricians from Italy planning roads through the sacred forests. And -then he admired the Romans less since he had seen their ships broken -against the British cliffs and their legionaries weeping by night on -the beach. He continued to exercise sovereignty in Cæsar's name. But to -his followers he darkly hinted at the approach of war.</p> - -<p>Three years later the hour had struck: Roman blood had flowed in -Genabum. The chieftains allied against Cæsar assembled their fighting -men in the Arverni Hills. Komm did not love these chiefs. Rather did -he hate them, some because they were richer than he in men, in horses -and in lands; others because of the profusion of the gold and the -rubies which they possessed; others, again, because they said that -they were braver than he and of nobler race. Nevertheless he received -their messengers, to whom he gave an oak-leaf and a hazel twig as a -sign of affection. And he corresponded with the chiefs who were hostile -to Cæsar by means of twigs cut and knotted in such a manner as to be -unintelligible save to the Gauls, who knew the language of leaves.</p> - -<p>He uttered no war-cry. But he went to and fro among the villages of the -Atrebates, and, visiting the warriors in their huts, to them he said:</p> - -<p>"Three things were the first to be born: man, liberty, light."</p> - -<p>He made sure that, whenever he should utter the war-cry, five thousand -warriors of the Morini and four thousand warriors of the Atrebates -would at his call buckle on their baldrics of bronze. And, joyfully -thinking that in the forest the fire was smouldering beneath its ashes, -he secretly passed over to the Treviri in order to win them for the -Gallic cause.</p> - -<p>Now, while he was riding with his followers beneath the willows on the -banks of the Moselle, a messenger wearing a striped mantle brought -him an ash bough bound to a spray of heather, in order to give him to -understand that the Romans had suspected his designs and to enjoin him -to be prudent. For such was the meaning of the heather tied to the -ash. But he continued on his way and entered into the country of the -Treviri. Titus Labienus, Cæsar's lieutenant, was encamped there with -ten legions. Having been warned that King Commius was coming secretly -to visit the chiefs of the Treviri, he suspected that his object was to -seduce them from their allegiance to Rome. Having had him followed by -spies, he received information which confirmed his suspicions. He then -resolved to get rid of this man. He was a Roman, a son of the divine -City, an example to the world, and by force of arms he had extended -the Roman peace to the ends of the earth. He was a good general and -an expert in mathematics and mechanics. During the leisure of peace, -beneath the terebinths in the garden of his Campanian villa, he held -converse with magistrates touching the laws, the morals and the -customs of peoples. He praised the virtues of antiquity and liberty. -He read the works of Greek historians and philosophers. His was a rare -and polished intellect. And because Komm was a barbarian, unacquainted -with things Roman, it seemed to Titus Labienus good and fitting that he -should have him assassinated.</p> - -<p>Being informed of the place where he was, he sent to him his master -of horse, Caius Volusenus Quadratus, who knew the Atrebate, for they -had been commissioned to reconnoitre together the coasts of the isle -of Britain before Cæsar's expedition hither; but Volusenus had not -ventured to land. Therefore, by the command of Labienus, Cæsar's -lieutenant, Volusenus chose a few centurions and took them with him -to the village where he knew Komm to be. He could rely upon them. -The centurion was a legionary promoted from the ranks, who as a sign -of his office carried a vine-stock with which he used to strike his -subordinates. His chiefs did what they liked with him. As an instrument -of conquest he was second only to the navy. Volusenus said to his -centurions:</p> - -<p>"A man will approach me. You will suffer him to advance. I shall hold -out my hand to him. At that moment you will strike him from behind, and -you will kill him."</p> - -<p>Having given these orders, Volusenus set forth with his escort. In a -sunken way, near the village, he met Komm with his followers. The King -of the Atrebates, aware that he was suspected, would have turned his -horse. But the master of the horse called him by name, assured him of -his friendship and held out his hand to him.</p> - -<p>Reassured by those signs of friendship, the Atrebate approached. As he -was about to take the proffered hand a centurion struck him on the head -with his sword and caused him to fall bleeding from his horse. Then -the King's followers threw themselves upon the little band of Romans, -scattered them, took up Komm and carried him away to the nearest -village, while Volusenus, who believed his task accomplished, crept -back to the camp with his horsemen.</p> - -<p>King Komm was not dead. He was carried secretly into the country of the -Atrebates, where he was cured of his terrible wound. Having recovered, -he took this oath:</p> - -<p>"I swear never to meet a Roman save to kill him." Soon he learnt that -Cæsar had suffered a severe defeat at the foot of the Gergovian Mount -and forty-six centurions of his army had fallen beneath the walls -of the town. Later he was told that the confederates commanded by -Vercingétorix were besieged in the country of the Mandubi, at Alesia, -a famous Gallic fortress founded by Hercules of Tyre. Then, with a -following of warriors, Morini and Atrebates, he marched to the frontier -of the Edni, where an army was assembling to relieve the Gauls in -Alesia. The army was numbered and was found to consist of two hundred -and forty thousand foot and eight thousand horse. The command was -entrusted to Virdumar and Eporedorix of the Edni, Vergasillaun of the -Averni and Komm of the Atrebates.</p> - -<p>After a long and arduous march, Komm, with his chiefs and fighting-men, -reached the mountainous country of the Edni. From the heights -surrounding the plateau of Alesia he beheld the Roman camp and the -earthworks dug all around it by those little dark men, who waged war -with the mattocks and the spade rather than with the javelin and the -sword. This seemed to him to augur ill, for he knew that against -trenches and machines the Gauls were of less avail than against -human breasts. He himself, though well versed in the stratagems of -war, understood little of the engineering art of the Romans. After -three great battles, during which no break was made in the enemy's -fortifications, the terrific rout of the Gauls carried off Komm as -a blade of grass is whirled away in a storm. In the mêlée he had -perceived Cæsar's red mantle and taken it for an omen of defeat. Now he -fled furiously down the track cursing the Romans, but content that the -Gallic chieftains, of whom he was jealous, were suffering with him.</p> - - - -<h4>4</h4> - - -<p>For a year Komm lived in hiding in the forests of the Atrebates. There -he was safe, because the Gauls hated the Romans, and having themselves -submitted to the conquerors they had a great respect for those who -refused them obedience. On the river-bank and in the green-wood, -accompanied by his followers, he led a life not differing greatly from -that he had lived as the chief of many tribes. He gave himself up to -hunting and fishing, devised stratagems and drank fermented drinks, -which, though depriving him of the knowledge of human affairs, enabled -him to understand those that are divine. But his soul had suffered a -change, and it pained him to be no longer free. All the chiefs of his -people had been killed in battle, or had died beneath the lash, or, -bound by the lictor, had been led away to a Roman prison. No longer -did a bitter envy of them possess him; for now all his hatred was -concentrated upon the Romans. He bound to his horse's tail the golden -circlet which he, as the friend of the Senate and the Roman people, -had received from the Dictator. To his dogs he gave the names of -Cæsar, Caius and Julius. When he saw a pig he stoned it, calling it -Volusenus. And he composed songs like those which he had heard in his -youth, eloquently expressing the love of liberty.</p> - -<p>Now, it happened that one day, absorbed in the chase, having wandered -away from his followers, he climbed the high, heather-clad table-land -which commands Nemetacum, and, gazing thence, he saw with amazement -that the huts and stockades of his town had vanished, and that in a -wall-encircled enclosure rose temples and houses of an architecture -so prodigious as to inspire him with the horror and fear caused by -works of magic. For he could not believe that in so short a time such -dwellings could have been constructed by natural means.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_006_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>He forgot the birds on the moorland, and, prone on the red earth, -he lay and gazed long upon the strange town. Curiosity, stronger -than fear, kept his eyes wide open. Until evening he gazed upon the -spectacle. Then there came to him an overpowering desire to enter the -town. Beneath a stone on the heath he hid his golden torques, his -bracelets, his jewelled belts and his weapons of chase. Retaining -only his knife, hidden under his mantle, he descended the wooded -hill-side. As he passed through the moist undergrowth, he gathered some -mushrooms, so that he might appear as a poor man coming to sell his -wares in the market. And in the third watch of the night he entered the -town through the Golden Gate. It was kept by legionaries who allowed -peasants bringing in food to pass. Thus the King of the Atrebates, -disguised as a poor man, was readily enabled to penetrate as far as the -Julian way. This was bordered by villas; it led to the Temple of Diana, -the white façade of which was already adorned with interlacing arches -of purple, azure and gold. In the grey morning light Komm saw figures -painted on the walls of the houses. They were ethereal pictures of -dancing girls and scenes drawn from a history of which he was ignorant: -a young virgin whom heroes were offering up as a sacrifice, a mother -in her fury plunging a dagger into her two children as yet unweaned, -a man with the hoofs of a goat raising his pointed ears in surprise, -when, unrobing a sleeping and reclining virgin, he discovers her to -be at once a youth and a woman. And there were in the courtyard other -pictures representing modes of love unknown to the peoples of Gaul. -Though passionately addicted to wine and women, he had no idea of -Ausonian voluptuousness, because he had no clear idea of the variety -of human forms and because he was untroubled by the desire for beauty. -Having come to this town, which had once been his, in order to satisfy -his hatred and inflame his wrath, he filled his heart with fury and -loathing. He detested Roman art and the mysterious devices of the -Roman painters. And in all these census figures on the city portals he -saw but little, because his eyes lacked discernment save in observing -the foliage of trees or the clouds in a dark sky.</p> - -<p>Bearing his mushrooms in a fold of his mantle, he passed along -the broad-paved streets. Beneath a door over which was a phallus -illuminated by a little lamp he saw women wearing transparent tunics, -who were watching for the passers-by. He approached with the intention -of offering them violence. An old woman appeared, who in a squeaky -voice said sharply.</p> - -<p>"Go thy way. This is not a house for peasants who reek of cheese. -Return to thy cows, herdsman." Komm replied that he had had fifty -women, the most beautiful of the Atrebates, and possessed coffers full -of gold. The courtesans began to laugh, and the old woman cried:</p> - -<p>"Be off, drunkard!"</p> - -<p>And it seemed to him that the duenna was a centurion armed with a -vine-stock, with such splendour did the majesty of the Roman people -shine throughout the Empire!</p> - -<p>With one blow of his fist Komm broke her jaw and serenely pursued his -way, while the narrow passage of the house was filled with shrieks, -howls and lamentations. On the left he passed the temple of Diana of -the Ardeni and crossed the forum between two rows of porches. When he -recognized the goddess Roma standing on her marble pedestal, wearing -a helmet, with her arm outstretched to command the peoples, in order -to insult her, he performed before her the most ignoble of natural -functions.</p> - -<p>He was now coming to the end of the buildings of the town. Before him -extended the stone circle of the amphitheatre as yet barely outlined, -but already immense. He sighed:</p> - -<p>"O race of monsters!"</p> - -<p>And he advanced among the shattered and trampled vestiges of Gallic -huts, the thatched roofs of which once extended like some motionless -army and which were now degraded into less even than ruins—into little -more than a heap of manure spread upon the ground. And he reflected:</p> - -<p>"Behold what remains of so many ages of men! Behold what they have made -of the dwellings wherein the chiefs of the Atrebates hung their arms!"</p> - -<p>The sun had risen over the grades of the amphitheatre, and with -insatiable and inquisitive hatred the Gaul wandered among the vast -enclosures filled with bricks and stones. His large blue eyes gazed on -these stony monuments of conquest, and he shook his long fair locks -in the fresh breeze. Thinking himself alone, he muttered curses. But -not far from the stone-masons' yard he perceived, at the foot of an -oak-crowned hillock, a man seated on a mossy stone in a crouching -position, with his mantle thrown over his head. He wore no insignia; -but on his finger was the knight's ring, and the Atrebate knew enough -of a Roman camp to recognize a military tribune. This soldier was -writing on tablets of wax and appeared wrapt in thought. Having long -remained motionless, he raised his head, pensive, with his style to his -lips, looked about him vacantly, then gazed down again and resumed his -writing. Komm saw his full face and perceived that he was young, and -that he had a gentle, high-born air.</p> - -<p>Then the Atrebate chief recalled his oath. He felt for his knife -beneath his cloak, slipped behind the Roman with the agility of the -savage and plunged the blade into the middle of his back. It was a -Roman blade. The tribune uttered a deep groan and sank down. A trickle -of blood flowed from one corner of his mouth. The waxen tablets -remained on his tunic between his knees. Komm took them and looked -eagerly at the signs traced thereon, thinking them to be magic signs -the knowledge of which would give him great power. They were letters -which he could not read and which were taken from the Greek alphabet -then preferred to the Latin alphabet by the young <i>littérateurs</i> of -Italy. Most of these letters were effaced by the flat end of the -style; those which remained were Latin lines in Greek metre, and here -and there they were intelligible:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">TO PHŒBE, ON HER TOMTIT</span><br /> -<br /> -O thou, whom Varius loved more than his eyes,<br /> -Thy Varius, wandering beneath the rainy sky of Galata ...<br /> -And the couple sang in their golden cage of gold.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -O my white Phœbe, with prudent hand give<br /> -Millet and fresh water to thy frail captive.<br /> -She sits, she is a mother: a mother is timid.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -Oh! come not to the misty Ocean's strand,<br /> -Phœbe, for fear ...<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">... Thy white feet and thy limbs</span><br /> -So nimbly moving to the crotalum's rhythm.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -And neither the gold of Crœsus nor the purple of Attala,<br /> -But thy fresh arms, thy breasts....<br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">A faint sound ascended from the waking town. Past the remnants of the -Gallic huts where a few barbarians, fierce though of humble rank, were -still lurking in the trenches, the Atrebate fled, and through a breach -in the wall he leapt into the open country. </p> - - -<h4>5</h4> - - -<p>When, through the legionaries' sword, the lictor's lashes and Cæsar's -flattering words Gaul was at length completely pacified, Marcus -Antonius, the quaestor, came to take up his winter quarters in -Nemetacum of the Atrebates. He was the son of Julia, Cæsar's sister. -His functions were those of paymaster to the troops. It was for him, -also, to apportion the booty captured, in accordance with established -rules. This booty was immense; for the conquerors had discovered bars -of gold and carbuncles under the stones of sacred places, in the -hollows of oaks and in the still water of pools; they had collected -golden utensils from the huts of exterminated tribes and their chiefs.</p> - -<p>Marcus Antonius brought with him many scribes and land surveyors who -set to work upon the apportionment of lands and movable goods, and -would have perpetrated many useless writings had not Cæsar prescribed -for them simple and rapid methods of procedure. Merchants from Asia, -workmen, lawyers and other settlers came in crowds to Nemetacum; and -the Atrebates who had quitted their town returned one by one, curious, -astonished, filled with wonder. The Gauls, for the most part, were now -proud to wear the toga and to speak the tongue of the magnanimous sons -of Remus. Having shaved off their long moustaches they had resembled -Romans. Those who had succeeded in retaining any wealth employed a -Roman architect to build them a house with an inner porch, rooms for -the women and a fountain adorned with shell-work. They had paintings -of Hercules, Mercury and the Muses in their dining-room, and would sup -reclining on couches.</p> - -<p>Komm, though himself illustrious and the son of an illustrious father, -had lost most of his followers. Nevertheless he refused to submit, -and led a wandering, warlike life in company with a few fighting-men -who were addicted to plunder and rape, or who, like their chief, were -possessed of a keen desire for liberty or of hatred for the Romans. -They followed him into impenetrable forests, into marshes and even into -those moving islands which occur in the broad estuaries of rivers. -They were entirely devoted to him, but they addressed him without -respect, as a man speaks to his equal, because they were actually his -equals in courage, in the extremes of continual hardships, of poverty -and wretchedness. They dwelt in trees or in the clefts of rocks. They -sought out caverns worn in the friable stone by the water gushing -down narrow valleys. When there were no beasts to hunt, they fed on -blackberries and arbutus berries. They were excluded from towns by -their fear of the Romans or by the vigilance of the Roman guards. In -few villages were they readily received. Komm, however, always found a -welcome in the huts scattered over the wind-swept sands which border -the lazy waters of the Somme estuary. The dwellers on these dunes fed -on fish. Poor, dishevelled, buried among the blue thistles of their -barren soil, they had had no experience of Roman might. They received -Komm and his companions into their subterranean abodes, which were -covered with reeds and stones rounded by the Ocean. They listened to -him attentively, having never heard any man talk so well. He said to -them:</p> - -<p>"Know who are the friends of the Atrebates and the Morini who live on -the sea-shore and in the deep forest.</p> - -<p>"The moon, the forest and the sea are the friends of the Morini and the -Atrebates. And neither the sea nor the forest nor the moon loves the -little dark men who follow Cæsar.</p> - -<p>"Now the sea said to me: 'Komm, I am hiding the ships of the Veneti in -a lonely cove on my shore.'</p> - -<p>"The forest said to me: 'Komm, I will provide a secure shelter for thee -who art an illustrious chieftain, and for thy faithful companions.'</p> - -<p>"The moon said to me: 'Komm, thou hast seen me in the isle of the -Britons shattering the Roman ships. I command the clouds and the winds, -and I will refuse to shine upon the drivers of the chariots which bear -victuals to the Romans of Nemetacum, in order that thou mayest take -them by surprise in the darkness of the night.'</p> - -<p>"Thus spoke unto me the sea, the forest and the moon. And this I bid -you:</p> - -<p>"Leave your boats and your nets and come with me. You will all be -chiefs in war and of great renown. We shall fight great and profitable -battles. We shall win victuals, treasure and women in abundance. Behold -in what manner:</p> - -<p>"I know so completely the whole country of the Atrebates and the Morini -that there is not a single river, nor pool, nor rock with the situation -of which I am unacquainted. And likewise every road, every path with -its exact length and its precise direction lies as clear in my mind as -upon the soil of our ancestors. Great and royal indeed must be my mind -thus to encompass the whole land of the Atrebates. But know that many -another country is likewise contained in it—the lands of the Britons, -the Gauls and the Germans. Wherefore, had it been given me to command -the peoples, I should have conquered Cæsar and driven the Romans out -of this country. Wherefore we, you and I who speak, shall surprise -the couriers of Marcus Antonius and the convoys of food destined for -the town which has been reft from me. We shall surprise them without -difficulty, for I know along which roads they travel, and their -soldiers will not discover us since they know not the roads we shall -take. And were they to follow on our tracks, we should escape from them -in the ships of the Veneti, which would bear us to the isle of the -Britons."</p> - -<p>With such words Komm inspired his hosts with confidence on the misty -sea-shore. And he finally won them over by giving them pieces of gold -and iron, the last vestiges of the treasure which had once been his. -They said to him:</p> - -<p>"We will follow thee wherever it please thee to lead us."</p> - -<p>He led them by unknown ways to the edge of the Roman road. When he saw -horses grazing on the bush grass near the abode of a rich man, he gave -them to his companions.</p> - -<p>Thus he gathered together a body of horsemen which was joined by those -of the Atrebates who desired to wage war for the sake of booty, and by -some deserters from the Roman camp. The latter Komm did not receive, -in order not to break the oath which he had sworn never again to look -a Roman in the face save to slay him. But he had them questioned by -some one of intelligence, and dismissed them with food for three days. -Sometimes all the male folk of a village, young and old, entreated -him to receive them as his followers. These men had been completely -despoiled by the tax-gatherers of Marcus Antonius, who in addition to -the imposts which Cæsar levied had demanded others, which were not -due, and had fined chiefs for imaginary offences. In short, these -publicans, after filling the coffers of the State, took care to enrich -themselves at the expense of barbarians whom they thought a stupid -people, and whose importunate complaints could always be silenced by -the executioner's axe. Komm chose the strongest of these men. The -others were dismissed, despite their tears and their entreaties not -to be left to die of hunger or at the hands of the Romans. He did not -wish for a great army, because he did not wish to wage a great war as -Vercingétorix had done.</p> - -<p>In a few days he had, with his little band, captured several convoys of -flour and cattle, massacred isolated legionaries up to the very walls -of Nemetacum and terrified the Roman population of the town.</p> - -<p>"These Gauls," said the tribunes and centurions, "are cruel barbarians, -mockers of the gods, enemies of the human race. Scorning their plighted -word, they offend the majesty of Rome and of Peace. They deserve to be -made an example. We owe it to humanity to chastise these criminals."</p> - -<p>The complaints of the settlers and the cries of the soldiers penetrated -into the quæstor's tribunal. At first Marcus Antonius paid no heed -to them. In well-heated, well-closed halls he was busied with actors -and courtesans who were representing on the stage the works of that -Hercules whom he resembled in feature, in the cut of his short curly -beard, and in the vigour of his limbs. Clothed in a lion's skin, club -in hand, Julia's robust son threw fictitious monsters to the ground and -with his arrow pierced a false hydra. Then, suddenly exchanging the -lion's pelt for Omphale's robe, he likewise changed his passion.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile convoys were being intercepted, bands of soldiers surprised, -harried and put to flight, and one morning the centurion, G. Fusius, -was found hanging disembowelled from a tree near the Golden Gate.</p> - -<p>In the Roman camp it was known that the author of this brigandage was -Commius, formerly king by the grace of Rome, now a robber chieftain. -Marcus Antonius commanded energetic action to be taken in order to -assure the safety of soldiers and settlers. And, foreseeing that -the crafty Gaul would not easily be captured, he bade the Proctor -straightway to make some terrible example. In order to carry out his -chief's design, the Proctor caused the two richest Atrebates in the -city of Nemetacum to be brought before his tribunal.</p> - -<p>One was by name Vergal, the other Ambrow. Both were of illustrious -birth, and they had been the first of their tribe to make friends with -Cæsar. Poorly rewarded for their prompt submission, robbed of all their -honours and of a great part of their wealth, ceaselessly annoyed by -coarse centurions and covetous lawyers, they had ventured to whisper a -few complaints. Imitating the Romans and wearing the toga, they lived -in Nemetacum, vain and simple-minded, proud and humiliated. The Proctor -examined them, condemned them to suffer the traitors' death and on that -very day handed them over to the lictors. They died doubting Roman -justice.</p> - -<p>Thus did the quaestor by his firmness banish fear from the hearts of -the settlers, who presented him with a laudatory address. The municipal -councillors of Nemetacum, blessing his paternal vigilance and his -piety, decreed that a bronze statue should be raised in his honour. -After this several Roman merchants, having ventured out of the town, -were surprised and slain by Komm's horsemen.</p> - - - -<h4>6</h4> - - -<p>The prefect of the body of cavalry stationed at Nemetacum of the -Atrebates was Caius Volusenus Quadratus, the same who had formerly -enticed King Commius into a trap and had said to the centurions of -his escort: "When I hold out my hand as a sign of friendship you -will strike from behind." Caius Volusenus Quadratus was held in high -esteem in the army because of his obedience to the call of duty and -his unflinching courage. He had received rich rewards and enjoyed the -honours due to military virtue. Marcus Antonius appointed him to hunt -down Commius.</p> - -<p>Volusenus zealously carried out the mission confided to him. He planned -ambuscades for Komm, and, keeping in constant touch with his robber -bands, harassed them incessantly. Meanwhile the Atrebate, a cunning -master of guerilla warfare, wore out the Roman cavalry by his swift -movements and surprised isolated soldiers. As a matter of religious -sentiment he slew his prisoners, trusting thus he propitiate the gods. -But the gods hide their thoughts as well as their countenances. And -it was after one of these pious performances that Komm fell into the -greatest danger. Wandering in the land of the Morini, he had just slain -by night on a stone in the forest two young and handsome prisoners, -when on issuing from the wood he and all his men were surprised by the -cavalry of Volusenus, which, being better armed and better skilled in -manœuvring, surrounded him and killed many of his warriors and their -horses. He succeeded, however, in making his escape, accompanied by the -bravest and the cleverest of the Atrebates. They fled; they galloped -at full speed over the plain, towards the beach where the misty Ocean -rolls its pebbles over the sand. And, looking round, they saw the Roman -helmets gleaming far behind them.</p> - -<p>Komm had a fair hope of escaping. His horses were swifter and less -heavily laden than the enemy's. He reckoned on reaching in time the -boats awaiting him in a neighbouring cove, and with his faithful -followers making for the land of the Britons.</p> - -<p>Thus thought the chief, and the Atrebates rode in silence. Now a drop -in the ground on a clump of dwarf-trees would hide the horsemen of -Volusenus. Then on the immense grey plain the two companies would again -come in sight of one another, but separated by an increasingly wide -interval. The pale bronze helmets were outdistanced and Komm could -distinguish naught to the rear save a cloud of dust moving on the -horizon. Already the Gauls were breathing with delight the salt sea -air. But as they drew nigh the shore the dusty incline caused the pace -of the Gallic horses to slacken, and Volusenus began to gain on them.</p> - -<p>Faint, almost imperceptible, the sound of Roman voices was caught by -the keen ears of the barbarians, when, beyond the wind-bent larches, -they first descried from the summit of a dune the masts of ships that -lay gathered in the bend of the lonely shore. They uttered one long cry -of joy. And Komm congratulated himself on his prudence and good luck. -But, having begun their descent to the beach, they paused half-way -down, seized with fear and horror, as they perceived the fine boats of -the Veneti, broad keeled, lofty of stem and stern, now high and dry -on the sand, there to remain for many a long hour, while far away in -the distance gleamed the waves of the low tide. At this sight they sat -inertly, stricken dumb, stooping over their steaming horses, which with -muscles relaxed bowed their heads to the land breeze which blinded them -as it blew their long manes into their eyes.</p> - -<p>In the confusion and the silence resounded the voice of the chief -crying:</p> - -<p>"To the ships, horsemen! The wind is good! To the ships!"</p> - -<p>They obeyed without understanding. And, pushing on to the ships, Komm -bade them unfurl the sails. They were the skins of beasts dyed bright -colours. No sooner were they unfurled than the rising wind filled the -sails.</p> - -<p>The Gauls wondered what could be the object of this manœuvre and -whether the chief hoped to see the stout oaken keels ploughing through -the sand of the beach as if it were the water of the Ocean. Some -thought there might yet be time for flight, others of meeting death -while slaying the Romans.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Volusenus, at the head of his horsemen men, was climbing the -hill which borders on the pebbled, sandy shore. Rising from the bottom -of the cove he saw the masts of the ships of the Veneti. Perceiving the -sails unfurled and filled with a favourable wind, he bade his troops -halt, called down obscene curses on the head of Commius, groaned over -his horses, which had perished in vain, and, turning bridle, commanded -his men to return to camp.</p> - -<p>"What is the good," he thought, "of pursuing the bandits any farther? -Commius has embarked. He has set sail, and, borne by such a wind, he is -already far beyond the reach of the javelin."</p> - -<p>Soon afterwards Komm and the Atrebates reached the thickets and the -moving islands, which they filled with the sound of their heroic -laughter.</p> - -<p>Six months later Komm again took the field. One day Volusenus surprised -him, with a score of horsemen, on open ground. With the prefect was -about an equal number of men and horses. He gave the order to attack. -The Atrebate, whether he feared his inability to meet the charge, or -whether he planned some stratagem, signed to his followers to flee, and -himself wildly dashed across the immense plain in a long, galloping -flight, hard pressed by Volusenus. Then, suddenly, he turned, and, -followed by his Gauls, threw himself furiously on the Prefect of the -Horse and, with one thrust of his lance, pierced his thigh. At the -sight of their general struck down the Romans fled in amazement. Then -the discipline of their military training asserted itself, enabling -them to overcome the natural instinct of fear; they returned to pick up -Volusenus just as Komm, full of a fierce delight, was pouring upon him -the most ferocious insults. The Gauls could not withstand the little -Roman band, which, forming a compact mass, charged them vigorously and -slew or captured the greater number. Commius almost alone escaped, -thanks to his horse's speed.</p> - -<p>Volusenus was carried back in a dying state to the Roman camp. But, -thanks to the leech's art or the strength of his own constitution, he -recovered from his wound. In this fray Commius had lost everything, -his faithful warriors and his hatred. Satisfied with his vengeance, -henceforth tranquil and content, he sent a messenger to Marcus -Antonius. This messenger, having been admitted to the quæstor's -tribunal, spoke thus:</p> - -<p>"Marcus Antonius, King Commius promises to appear in any place which -shall be indicated to him, to do all that thou shalt command and to -give hostages. One thing only he asks—that he shall be spared the -disgrace of ever appearing before a Roman."</p> - -<p>Marcus Antonius was magnanimous.</p> - -<p>"I understand," said he, "that Commius may be somewhat disgusted by his -interviews with our generals. I excuse him from ever appearing before -any of us. I grant him his pardon; and I receive his hostages."</p> - -<p>What happened afterwards to Komm of the Atrebates is unknown; the rest -of his life cannot be traced.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="FARINATA_DEGLI_UBERTI" id="FARINATA_DEGLI_UBERTI">FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI;</a><br /> -OR,<br /> -CIVIL WAR</h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_007_2.jpg" width="600" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 50%;"> -Ed ei s'ergea col petto e con la fronte,<br /> -Come avesse lo inferno in gran dispitto.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 20%;"><i>Inferno</i>, Can. 10.</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p class="p2">She sat on the terrace of his tower, the aged Farinata degli Uberti -fixed his keen gaze on the battlemented town. Standing at his side, -Fra Ambrogio looked at the sky that was blushing with the rosy hues of -evening and crowning with its fiery blossoms the garland of hills which -encircles Florence. From the neighbouring banks of the Arno the perfume -of myrtles was wafted upwards into the still air. The birds' last cries -had re-echoed from the bright roof of San-Giovanni. Suddenly there -came the sound of two horses passing over the sharp pebbles from the -riverbed which paved the road, and two young riders, handsome as two -St. Georges, emerging from the narrow street, rode past the windowless -palace of the Uberti. When they were at the foot of the Ghibelline -tower one spat as a sign of contempt; the other, raising his arm, put -his thumb between his fore and his middle finger. Then both, spurring -their horses, reached the wooden bridge at a gallop. Farinata, a -witness of this insult offered to his name, remained tranquil and -silent. His shrivelled cheeks trembled and briny tears moistened his -yellow eyeballs. Finally, he shook his head three times and said:</p> - -<p>"Why does this people hate me?"</p> - -<p>Fra Ambrogio did not reply. And Farinata continued to gaze down upon -the city, which he could no longer see save through the bitter mist -which veiled his eyes. Then, turning towards the monk his thin face -with its eagle nose and threatening jaws, he asked again:</p> - -<p>"Why does this people hate me?"</p> - -<p>The monk made a gesture as if he would drive away a fly.</p> - -<p>"What matters to you, Messer Farinata, the obscene insolence of two -striplings bred in the Guelf towers of Oltarno?"</p> - - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Nothing to me, indeed, are those two Frescobaldi, minions of the -Romans, sons of pimps and prostitutes. I fear not the scorn of such -as they. Neither for my friends nor, especially, for my enemies is it -possible to despise me. My sorrow is to feel weighing upon me the -hatred of the people of Florence.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Hatred has prevailed in cities since the sons of Cain introduced pride -with the arts, and since the two Theban horsemen satisfied their -fraternal hatred by shedding each other's blood. Insult breeds wrath, -and wrath insult. With unfailing fecundity hatred engenders hatred.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>But how can love engender hatred? And wherefore am I odious to my -well-beloved city?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Since you wish it, Messer Farinata, I will give you an answer. But from -my lips you will have naught but truthful words. Your fellow citizens -cannot forgive you for having fought at Montaperto, beneath Manfred's -white banner, on the day when the Arbia was stained with Florentine -blood. And they hold that on that day, in that fatal valley, you were -not the friend of your city.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>What! I have not loved her! To live her life, to live for her alone, -to suffer fatigue, hunger, thirst, fever, sleeplessness, and that most -terrible of woes, exile; to brave death at every hour, to risk falling -alive into the hands of those whom my death alone would not suffice to -content; to dare everything, to endure everything for her sake, for -her good, to rescue her from the power of my enemies, who were hers, -to induce her whether she would or not to follow wholesome advice, to -espouse the right cause, to think as I thought myself, with the noblest -and the best, to wish her entirely beautiful and subtle and generous, -to sacrifice for this object alone my possessions, my sons, my -neighbours, my friends; in her interest alone to render myself liberal, -avaricious, faithful, perfidious, magnanimous, criminal, this was not -to love my city! Who loved her, then, if I did not?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft -to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand -Florentines!</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio. And -the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to -our sons and our sons' sons. That the memory of them might not perish -I would write of them myself, if I had a head for writing. When I was -young, I composed love-songs, which ladies marvelled at and the clerks -put into their books. With that exception, I have always despised -letters as greatly as the arts, and I have no more troubled to write -than to weave wool. Let every man follow my example and act according -to his rank in life. But you, Fra Ambrogio, who are a very learned -scribe, it is for you to relate the great enterprises I have led. Great -honour would it bring you, if you told them not as a monk, but as a -noble, for they are knightly and noble deeds. Such a story would show -how active I have been. And of all that I have done I regret nothing.</p> - -<p>I was exiled, the Guelfs had slain three of my kinsfolk. Sienna -received me; of this my enemies made such a grievance that they incited -the Florentines to march in arms against the hospitable city. For the -exiles, for Sienna, I asked the aid of Cæsar's son, the King of Sicily.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>It is only too true: you were the ally of Manfred, the friend of the -Sultan of Luceria, of the astrologer, the renegade, the excommunicated.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Then we swallowed the Pontiff's excommunications like water. I know not -whether Manfred had learned to read destiny in the stars, but true -it is that he made much of his Saracen horsemen. He was as prudent as -he was brave, a sagacious prince, careful of the blood of his men and -of the gold in his coffers. He replied to the Siennese that he would -grant them succour. He made great promises in order to inspire great -gratitude. He gave them but meagre fulfilment through craft and fear -of diminishing his own power. He sent his banner with one hundred -German horsemen. Disappointed and incensed, the Siennese spoke of -rejecting this contemptible aid. I gave them better counsel and taught -them the art of passing a cloth through a ring. One day, having gorged -the Germans with wine and meat, I induced them to make a sortie at so -unlucky a moment that they fell into an ambuscade and were all slain -by the Guelfs of Florence, who took Manfred's white banner and trailed -it in the dust at the end of an ass's tail. Straightway I informed the -Sicilian of the insult. He felt it, as I had foreseen, and, to execute -vengeance, he sent eight hundred horsemen, with a goodly number of -infantry, under the command of Count Giordano, who was reputed to be -the equal of Hector of Troy. Meanwhile Sienna and her allies assembled -their militia. Before long our strength was thirteen thousand fighting -men. We were fewer than were the Guelfs of Florence. But among them -were false Guelfs who merely awaited the hour to declare themselves -Ghibellines, while among our Ghibellines there were no Guelfs. Thus -having on my side, not all the advantage (one never has all), but -advantages which were great and unhoped for, I was impatient to engage -in a battle, which, if won, would destroy my enemies, and, if lost, -would only crush my allies. I hungered and thirsted after this battle. -To make the Florentine army engage in it I used every means of which I -could conceive. I sent to Florence two minor friars charged secretly -to inform the Council that, seized with repentance and desiring to -buy my fellow-citizens' pardon by rendering some signal service, I -was ready for ten thousand florins to deliver up into their hands one -of the gates of Sienna; but that for the success of the enterprise it -would be necessary for the Florentine army, in as great strength as was -possible, to advance to the banks of the Arbia, under the pretence of -coming to the aid of the Guelfs of Montacino. When my two friars had -departed, my mouth spat out the pardon it had asked, and, perturbed by -a terrible anxiety, I waited. I feared lest the nobles of the Council -should realize the folly of sending an army to the Arbia. But I hoped -that the project, by its very extravagance, would please the plebeians -and that they would adopt it all the more eagerly because of the -opposition of the nobles, whom they mistrusted. And so it happened: -the nobility discerned the snare, but the artisans fell into it. They -were in the majority on the Council. At their command the Florentine -army set forth and carried out the plan which I had formed for its -destruction. How beautiful was that dawn, when, riding into a little -band of exiles, I saw the sun pierce the white morning mist and shine -on the forest of Guelf lances which covered the slopes of La Malena! -I had put my hand on my enemies. But a little more artfulness and I -was sure of destroying them. By my advice, Count Giordano caused the -infantry of the commune of Sienna to defile three times before their -eyes, changing their helmets after their first and second appearances, -in order that they might seem more numerous than they actually were; -and thus he showed them to the Guelfs, first red, as an omen of blood; -then green, as an omen of death; then half-black, half-white, as an -omen of captivity. True omens! O what delight! when, charging the -Florentine horse, I beheld it waver and wheel in circles like a flight -of crows, when I saw the man in my pay, him whose name I may not -utter for fear of defiling my lips, strike down with one blow of his -sword the standard which he had come to defend, and all the horsemen, -looking vainly henceforth for their rallying point, the white and blue -colours, flee panic-stricken, trampling one another down, while we in -their pursuit slaughtered them like pigs brought to market. Only the -artisans of the commune stood their ground. Then we had to slay round -the bleeding quarry. Finally, there remained before us naught save -corpses and cowards, who joined hands to come to us and on their knees -to beg for mercy. And I, content with my work, stood apart.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Alas, accursed valley of the Arbia! It is said that after so many years -it still smells of death, that by night, deserted, haunted by wild -beasts, it resounds with the howls of the white witches. Was your heart -so hard, Messer Farinata, that it did not dissolve in tears when, on -that evil day, you saw the flower-clad slopes of La Malena drinking -Florentine blood?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>My only grief was to think that thus I had shown my enemies the way to -victory and that, by humbling them after ten years of pride and power, -I had suggested to them what they themselves might do in turn after the -lapse of so many years. I reflected that, since with my aid Fortune's -wheel had taken this turn, the wheel might take another turn and -humble me and mine in the dust. This presentiment cast a shadow over -the dazzling light of my joy.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>It seemed to me as if you justly detested the treachery of that man who -trailed in dirt and blood the standard beneath which he had set out to -fight. I myself, who know that the mercy of the Lord is infinite, I, -even, doubt whether Bocca will not take his place in hell with Cain, -Judas and Brutus, the parricide. But if Bocca's crime is so execrable, -do you not repent having caused it? And think you not, Messer Farinata, -that you yourself, by drawing the Florentine army into a snare, -offended the just God and did that which is not lawful?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Everything is lawful to him who obeys the dictates of a vigorous mind -and a strong heart. When I deceived my enemies I was magnanimous, not -treacherous. And if you make it a crime to have employed, in order to -save my party, the man who tore down his party's standard, then you are -wrong, Fra Ambrogio, for nature, not I, had made him a traitor, and it -was I, not nature, who turned his treachery to good use.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_008_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>But since you loved your city even when fighting against her, it must -have been painful to you that you were able to overcome her only with -the aid of the Siennese, her enemies. Were you not somewhat ashamed at -this?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Wherefore should I have been ashamed? Could I have re-established my -party in the city in any other way? I made alliance with Manfred and -the Siennese. Had it been necessary, I would have sought the alliance -of those African giants who have but one eye in the middle of their -foreheads and who feed upon human flesh, according to the report of -Venetian navigators who have seen them. The pursuit of such an interest -is no mere game played according to rule, like chess or draughts. If -I had judged one thing lawful and another unlawful, think you that -my adversaries would have been bound by such rules? No, indeed, we -on Arbia's banks were not playing a game of dice under the trellis, -tablets on knee and little white pebbles to mark the score. It was -conquest that we were working for. And each side knew it.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, I grant you, Fra Ambrogio, that it would have been -better to settle our quarrel between Florentines alone. Civil war is -so grand, so noble, so fine a thing, that it should, if possible, -be waged without alien intervention. Those who engage in it should -be fellow-citizens and preferably nobles, who would bring to it an -unwearying arm and keen intelligence.</p> - -<p>I would not say the same of foreign wars. They are useful, even -necessary enterprises, undertaken to maintain or extend the boundaries -of State or to promote traffic in merchandise. Generally speaking, -neither profit nor honour results from waging these great wars unaided. -A wise people will employ mercenaries, and delegate the enterprise to -experienced captains who know how to win much with few men. Nothing -but professional courage is needed, and it is better to spill gold -than blood. One cannot put one's heart into it. For it would hardly be -wise to hate a foreigner because his interests are opposed to ours, -while it is natural and reasonable to hate a fellow-citizen who opposes -what one esteems useful and good. In civil war alone can one display a -discerning mind, an inflexible soul and the fortitude of a heart filled -with anger or with love.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>I am the poorest servant of the poor. But I have one master alone; he -is the King of Heaven. I should be false to Him were I not to say, -Messer Farinata, that the only warrior worthy of the highest praise is -he who marches beneath the cross, singing:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -<i>Vexilla régis prodeunt.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>The blessed Dominic, whose soul, like a sun, rose on the darkened -Church in a night of falsehood, taught us, concerning war against -heretics, that the more fiercely and bitterly it is fought the more -does it display charity and mercy. And he must have known, he who, -bearing the name of the Prince of the Apostles, like the stone from -David's sling, struck the Goliath of heresy on the forehead. Between -Como and Milan he suffered martyrdom. From him my order derives great -honour. Whosoever draws sword against such a soldier is another -Antiochus, fighting for our Lord Jesus Christ. But, having instituted -empires, kingdoms and republics, God suffers them to be defended by -arms, and He looks down upon the captains who, having called upon Him, -draw sword for the deliverance of their country. But He turns away His -countenance from the citizen who strikes His city and sheds its blood, -as you were so ready to do, Messer Farinata, undeterred by the fear -that Florence, exhausted and rent by you, might have no strength to -withstand her enemies. In the ancient chronicles it is written that -cities weakened by internecine warfare offer an easy prey to the -foreigner who lies in wait to destroy them.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Monk, is it best to attack the lion when he watches or when he sleeps? -Now, I have kept awake the lion of Florence. Ask the Pisans if they had -reason to rejoice at having attacked him at a time when I had made him -furious. Search in the ancient histories and you will find there also, -perhaps, that cities which are seething within are ready to scald the -enemy who lurks without, but that a people made lukewarm by peace at -home has no desire for war abroad. Know that it is dangerous to offend -a city vigilant and noble enough to maintain internal warfare, and say -not again that I have weakened my city.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, you know that she was like to perish after the fatal -day of the Arbia. The panic-stricken Guelfs had sallied forth from -her gates and had taken the sad road to exile. The Ghibelline diet, -convoked at Empoli by Count Giordano, decided to destroy Florence.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>It is true. All wished that not a stone should be left upon another. -All said, "Let us crush this nest of Guelfs." I alone rose to defend -her. I alone shielded her from harm. To me the Florentines owe the very -breath of life. Those who insult me and spit upon my threshold, had -they any piety in their hearts, would honour me as a father. I saved my -city.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>After you had ruined it. Nevertheless, may that day at Empoli be -counted to you for righteousness in this world and the next, Messer -Farinata! And may St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, -bear to the ear of our Lord the words which you uttered in the assembly -of the Ghibellines! Repeat to me, I pray you, those praiseworthy words. -They are diversely reported, and I would know them exactly. Is it true, -as many say, that you took as your text two Tuscan proverbs—one of the -ass, the other of the goat?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>That of the goat I hardly remember, but I have a clearer recollection -of the proverb of the ass. It may be, as some have said, that I -confused the two proverbs. That matters not. I rose and spoke somewhat -thus:</p> - -<p>"The ass bites at the roots as hard as he can. And you, following his -example, will bite without discrimination, to-morrow as yesterday, not -discerning that which should be destroyed and that which should be -respected. But know that I have suffered so much and fought so long -only in order to dwell in my city. I shall therefore defend her and -die, if need be, sword in hand."</p> - -<p>I said not another word and I went out. They ran after me, and, -endeavouring to appease me by their entreaties, they swore to respect -Florence.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>May our sons forget that you were at the Arbia and remember that you -were at Empoli! You lived in cruel days, and I do not think it easy -either for a Guelf or a Ghibelline to see salvation. May God, Messer -Farinata, save you from hell and receive you after your death into His -blessed Paradise.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Paradise and hell are but the creations of our own mind. Epicurus -taught this, and many since his day have known it to be true. You -yourself, Fra Ambrogio, have you not read in your book: "For that which -befalleth the sons of men befalleth Beasts; as the one dieth so dieth -the other." But if, like ordinary souls, I believed in God, I would -pray to him to leave the whole of me here after death, that soul and -body alike might be buried in my tomb beneath the walls of my beautiful -San Giovanni. All around are coffins hewn out of stone by the Romans -to receive their dead. Now they are open and empty. In one of those -beds I would wish to rest and sleep at last. In life I suffered -bitterly in exile, and yet I was but a day's journey from Florence. -Farther away I should have been more wretched still. I desire to remain -for ever in my beloved city. May my descendants remain there also.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>It fills me with horror to hear you blaspheme the God who created -heaven and earth, the mountains of Florence and the roses of Fiesole. -And that which most terrifies me, Messer Farinata degli Uberti, is -that you contrive to invest evil with a certain nobility. If, contrary -to the hope which I still cherish, infinite mercy were not to be -vouchsafed to you, I believe you would be a credit to hell.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="THE_KING_DRINKS" id="THE_KING_DRINKS">THE KING DRINKS</a></h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_009_2.jpg" width="450" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>In the city of Troyes, in the year of grace, 1428, Canon Guillaume -Chappedelaine was elected by the Chapter to be King of the Epiphany, in -accordance with the custom which then prevailed throughout Christian -France. For the canons were wont to choose one of their number and to -designate him as king because he was to take the place of the King of -kings and to gather them all round his table, until such time as Jesus -Christ Himself should gather them, as they all hoped, into His holy -paradise.</p> - -<p>Sieur Guillaume Chappedelaine owed his election to his virtuous life -and his generosity. He was a rich man. Both the Burgundian and the -Armagnac captains, when ravaging Champagne, had spared his vineyards. -For this good fortune he was indebted first to God and then to -himself, to the kindness he had shown to the two factions which were -at that time rending asunder the kingdom of the lilies. His wealth -had contributed not a little to his election; for in that year a -<i>setier</i><a name="FNanchor_1_2" id="FNanchor_1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_2" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> of corn fetched eight francs, five-and-twenty eggs six -sous, a young pig seven francs, while throughout the winter Churchmen -had been reduced to eat cabbages like villeins.</p> - -<p>Wherefore on the Feast of the Epiphany, Sieur Guillaume Chappedelaine, -clothed in his dalmatica, holding in his hand a palm-branch in lieu -of a sceptre, took his place in the cathedral choir, beneath a canopy -of cloth of gold. Meanwhile, out in the sacristy, there came forth -three canons, wearing crowns upon their heads. One was robed in white, -another in red, the third in black. They stood for the three kings -of the East, the Magi, and, going down to that part of the church -which represents the foot of the cross, they chanted the Gospel of -St. Matthew. A deacon, bearing at the end of a pole five lighted -candles, to symbolize the miraculous star which led the Magi to -Bethlehem, ascended the great nave and entered the choir. The three -canons followed him singing, and, when they reached this passage in -the gospel, <i>Et intrantes domum, invenerunt puerum cum Maria, matre -ejus, et procidentes adoraverunt eum,</i> they stopped in front of Sieur -Guillaume Chappedelaine and bowed low before him. Then came three -children, bearing salt and spices, which Sieur Guillaume graciously -received after the manner of the Infant King who had accepted the -myrrh, the gold and the frankincense of the kings of this world. After -this divine service was celebrated with due devoutness.</p> - -<p>In the evening the canons were invited to sup with the King of the -Epiphany. Sieur Guillaume's house was close against the apse of the -cathedral. It was recognizable by the golden hood on a shield of stone -which adorned its low door. That night the great hall was strewn with -foliage and lit by twelve torches of fir-wood. The whole Chapter -sat down to the table, groaning beneath a lamb cooked whole. There -were present Sieurs Jean Bruant, Thomas Alépée, Simon Thibouville, -Jean Coquemard, Denys Petit, Pierre Corneille, Barnabe Videloup and -François Pigouchel, canons of Saint-Pierre, Sieur Thibault de Saugles, -knight and hereditary lay canon, and, at the bottom of the table, -Pierrolet, the little clerk, who, although he could not write, was -Sieur Guillaume's secretary and served him at Mass. He looked like a -girl dressed up as a boy. He it was who on Candlemas Day appeared as -an angel. It was also the custom on Ember Wednesday in December, when -the coming of the Angel Gabriel to announce to Mary the mystery of -the Incarnation was read at Mass, for a young girl to be placed on a -platform and for a child with wings to tell her that she was about to -become the mother of the Son of God. A stuffed dove was suspended over -the girl's head. For two years Pierrolet had represented the angel of -the Annunciation.</p> - -<p>But his soul was far from being as sweet as his countenance. He was -violent, foolhardy and quarrelsome, and he often provoked boys older -than himself. He was suspected of being immoral; and in truth the -soldiers garrisoned in the towns set no good example. Little notice, -however, was taken of his bad habits. That which most vexed Sieur -Guillaume was that Pierrolet was an Armagnac and for ever quarrelling -with the Burgundians. The canon repeatedly told him that such a state -of mind was not only wicked but absolutely devilish in that good -town of Troyes, where the late Henry V of England had celebrated his -marriage with Madame Catherine of France and where the English were the -rightful masters, for all power is of God. <i>Omnis potestas a Deo.</i></p> - -<p>The guests having taken their places, Sieur Guillaume recited the -<i>Benedicite</i> and every one began to eat in silence. Sieur Jean -Coquemard was the first to speak. Turning to Sieur Jean Bruant, his -neighbour, he said:</p> - -<p>"You are wise and learned. Did you fast yesterday?"</p> - -<p>"It was seemly so to do," replied Sieur Jean Bruant. "In the rubric, -the eve of the Epiphany is described as a vigil and a vigil is a fast."</p> - -<p>"Pardon me," retorted Sieur Jean Coquemard. "But I, together with -notable doctors of divinity, hold that an austere fast accords ill with -the joy of the faithful as they recall the birth of our Saviour which -the Church continues to celebrate until the Epiphany."</p> - -<p>"In my opinion," replied Sieur Jean Bruant, "those who do not fast on -these vigils have fallen away from our ancient piety."</p> - -<p>"And in mine," cried Sieur Jean Coquemard, "those who by fasting -prepare for the most joyful of festivals are guilty of following -customs censored by the majority of our bishops."</p> - -<p>The dispute between the two canons began to wax bitter.</p> - -<p>"Not to fasti What lack of zeal!" exclaimed Sieur Jean Bruant.</p> - -<p>"To fast! How obstinate!" said Sieur Jean Coquemard. "You are one of -those proud, reckless men who love to stand alone."</p> - -<p>"You are one of the weak who meekly follow the corrupt herd. But even -in these wicked times of ours I have my authorities. <i>Quidam asserunt -in vigilia Epiphaniæ jejunandum."</i></p> - -<p>"That settles the question. <i>Non jejunetur!</i>"</p> - -<p>"Peace! Peace!" cried Sieur Guillaume from the depths of his great -raised seat. "You are both right: it is praiseworthy of you, Jean -Coquemard, to partake of food on the eve of the Epiphany, as a sign of -rejoicing, and of you, Jean Bruant, to fast on the same vigil, since -you fast with seemly gladness."</p> - -<p>This utterance was approved by the whole Chapter.</p> - -<p>"Not Solomon himself could have pronounced a wiser judgment," cried -Sieur Pierre Corneille.</p> - -<p>And Sieur Guillaume, having put to his lips his goblet of silver gilt, -Sieurs Jean Bruant, Jean Coquemard, Thomas Alépée, Simon Thibouville, -Denys Petit, Pierre Corneille, Barnabé Videloup and François Pigouchel -all cried with one voice:</p> - -<p>"The King drinks! the King drinks!"</p> - -<p>The uttering of this cry was part of the festival, and the guest who -failed to join in it risked a severe penalty.</p> - -<p>Sieur Guillaume, seeing that the flagons were empty, ordered more wine -to be brought, and the servants grated the horse-radish which should -stimulate the thirst of the guests.</p> - -<p>"To the health of Monsignor, Bishop of Troyes and of the Regent of -France," said Sieur Guillaume, rising from his canonical seat.</p> - -<p>"Right willingly, sieur," said Thibault of Saulges, knight. "But it is -an open secret that our Bishop is disputing with the Regent touching -the double tithe which Monsignor of Bedford is exacting from Churchmen, -under the pretext of financing the Crusade against the Hussites. Thus -we are about to mingle in one toast the healths of two enemies."</p> - -<p>"Ha ha!" replied Sieur Guillaume. "But healths are proposed for peace -and not for war. I drink to King Henry VI's Regent of France and to the -health of Monsignor, Bishop of Troyes, whom we all elected two years -ago."</p> - -<p>The canons, raising their goblets, drank to the health of the Bishop -and of the Regent Bedford.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile there was raised at the bottom of the table a young and as -yet piping voice, which cried:</p> - -<p>"To the health of the Dauphin Louis, the true King of France!"</p> - -<p>It was the little Pierrolet, whose Armagnac sympathies, heated by the -canon's wine, were finding expression.</p> - -<p>No one took any notice, and Sieur Guillaume having drunk again they all -cried in chorus:</p> - -<p>"The King drinks! The King drinks!"</p> - -<p>The guests, all speaking at once, were noisily discussing matters both -sacred and profane.</p> - -<p>"Have you heard," said Thibault de Saulges, "that the Regent has sent -ten thousand English to take Orleans?"</p> - -<p>"In that case," said Sieur Guillaume, "the town will fall into their -hands, as have already Jargeau and Beaugency, and so many good cities -of the kingdom."</p> - -<p>"That remains to be seen!" said the little Pierrolet, growing red.</p> - -<p>But, he being at the far end of the table, once again no one heard him.</p> - -<p>"Let us drink, monsignors," said Sieur Guillaume, who was doing the -honours of his table lavishly.</p> - -<p>And he set the example by raising his great cup of silver gilt.</p> - -<p>More loudly than ever the cry resounded:</p> - -<p>"The King drinks! The King drinks!"</p> - -<p>But after the thunder of the toast had rolled away, Sieur Pierre -Corneille, who was seated rather low down at the table, said bitterly:</p> - -<p>"Monsignors, I denounce the little Pierrolet. He did not cry 'The King -drinks!' Thereby he has transgressed our rights and customs, and he -must be punished."</p> - -<p>"He must be punished!" repeated in chorus Sieurs Denys Petit and -Barnabe Videloup.</p> - -<p>"Let chastisement be meted out to him," said, in his turn, Sieur -Guillaume. "His hands and face must be smeared with soot, for such is -the custom."</p> - -<p>"It is the custom!" cried all the canons together.</p> - -<p>And Sieur Pierre Corneille went to fetch soot from the chimney, while -Sieurs Thomas Alépée and Simon Thibouville, laughing unrestrainedly, -threw themselves upon the child and held his arms and legs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_010_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>But Pierrolet escaped out of their hands, then, standing with his back -to the wall, he drew a little dagger from his belt and swore that he -would plunge it into the throat of anyone who came near him.</p> - -<p>Such violence highly amused the canons, and especially Sieur Guillaume. -Rising from his seat, he went up to his little secretary, followed by -Pierre Corneille, who held in his hand a shovelful of soot.</p> - -<p>"It is I," he said in unctuous tones, "who for his punishment will make -of this naughty child a negro, a servant of that black King Balthazar -who came to the manger. Pierre Corneille, hold out the shovel."</p> - -<p>And, with a gesture as deliberate as that with which he would have -sprinkled holy water upon the faithful, he threw a pinch of soot into -the face of the child who, rushing upon him, plunged his dagger into -Sieur Guillaume's stomach.</p> - -<p>The canon uttered a long sigh and fell with his face to the ground. His -guests crowded round him. They saw that he was dead.</p> - -<p>Pierrolet had disappeared. A search was made for him all over the town, -but he could not be found. Later it became known that he had enlisted -in Captain La Hire's company. At the Battle of Patay, under the Maid's -eyes, he took prisoner an English captain and was dubbed a knight.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_2" id="Footnote_1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_2"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> An obsolete measure varying according to place. In -1703, in the Orkney and Shetland Isles a setten of barley was about -twenty-eight pounds' weight.</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="LA_MUIRON" id="LA_MUIRON">"LA MUIRON"</a></h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_011_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<p class="block" style="margin-top: 2em;">"And sometimes, during our long evenings, the -Commander-in-Chief would tell us ghost stories, a species of -story in the telling of which he excelled."—<i>Mémoires du -Comte Lavallette.</i></p> - -<p class="p2">For more than three months Bonaparte had been without news from -Europe, when on his return from Saint-Jean-d'Acre he sent an envoy -to the Turkish admiral under the pretext of negotiating an exchange -of prisoners, but in reality in the hope that Sir Sidney Smith would -stop this officer on the way and enlighten him as to recent events; -whether, as might be expected, these had been unfavourable to the -Republic. The General calculated rightly. Sir Sidney had the envoy -brought to his ship and received him there with honour. Having entered -into conversation, the English commander soon learnt that the Syrian -army was totally without despatches or information of any kind. He -showed the Frenchman the newspapers lying open on the table and, with -perfidious courtesy, invited him to take them away with him.</p> - -<p>Bonaparte spent the night in his tent reading them. In the morning -he had resolved to return to France in order to assume the government -in the place of those who were on the point of being overthrown. Once -he had set foot on the soil of the Republic, he would crush the weak -and violent government which was rendering the country a prey to fools -and rogues, and he alone would occupy the vacant place. Before he -could carry out his plan, however, he must cross the Mediterranean in -defiance of adverse winds and British squadrons. But Bonaparte could -see nothing save his purpose and his star. By an extraordinary stroke -of good luck he had received the Directory's permission to leave the -Egyptian army and to appoint his own successor.</p> - -<p>He summoned Admiral Gantheaume, who had been at head-quarters since -the destruction of the fleet, and instructed him quickly and secretly -to arm two Venetian frigates, which were at Alexandria, and to direct -them to a certain lonely point upon the coast. In a sealed document he -appointed General Kléber Commander-in-Chief. Then, under the pretext of -making a tour of inspection, taking with him a squadron of guides, he -went to the Marabou inlet. On the evening of the 7th of Fructidor in -the year VII, at the junction of two roads, whence the sea was visible, -he came face to face with General Menou, who was returning with his -escort to Alexandria. Finding it impossible and unnecessary to keep his -secret any longer, he took a brusque farewell of these soldiers, urged -them to acquit themselves well in Egypt and said:</p> - -<p>"If I have the good luck to set foot in France, the reign of the -chatterboxes will be over!"</p> - -<p>He seemed to say this spontaneously and, so to speak, in spite of -himself. Yet such an announcement was well calculated to justify his -flight and to suggest future power.</p> - -<p>He jumped into the boat, which at nightfall drew alongside of the -frigate, <i>La Muiron.</i> Admiral Gantheaume welcomed him beneath his flag -with these words:</p> - -<p>"I command under your star."</p> - -<p>And he set sail immediately. With the General were Lavallette, his -aide-de-camp, Monge and Berthollet. The frigate, <i>La Carrère,</i> which -served as a convoy, had on board the' wounded generals, Lannes and -Murat, and Messieurs Denon, Costaz and Parseval-Grandmaison.</p> - -<p>Hardly had they started when the wind dropped. The Admiral proposed to -return to Alexandria lest dawn should find them in sight of Aboukir, -where the enemy's fleet lay at anchor. The faithful Lavallette -entreated the General to agree. But Bonaparte pointed seawards.</p> - -<p>"Have no fear. We shall get through."</p> - -<p>After midnight a fair breeze began to blow. By dawn the flotilla -was out of sight of land. As Bonaparte was walking alone on deck, -Berthollet came up to him.</p> - -<p>"General, you were well advised to tell Lavallette not to be afraid and -that we should be able to continue on our course."</p> - -<p>Bonaparte smiled.</p> - -<p>"I reassured one who is weak but devoted. Your character, Berthollet, -is different, and to you I shall speak differently. The future must -not be counted upon. The present alone matters. One must dare and -calculate, and leave the rest to luck."</p> - -<p>And, quickening his steps, he muttered:</p> - -<p>"Dare ... calculate ... avoid any cast-iron plan ... conform to -circumstances, follow where they lead. Take advantage of the slightest -as well as of the greatest opportunities. Attempt only the possible, -and all that is possible."</p> - -<p>At dinner that day, when the General reproached Lavallette with his -timidity on the previous evening, the aide-de-camp replied that at -present his fears were different but not less, and that he was not -ashamed to confess them, because they concerned the fate of Bonaparte, -consequently the fate of France and of the world.</p> - -<p>"I learned from Sir Sidney's secretary," he said, "that the commodore -believes in keeping out of sight during a blockade. So, knowing his -strategy and his character, we must expect to find him in our way. And -in that case...."</p> - -<p>Bonaparte interrupted him.</p> - -<p>"In that case you cannot doubt that our intuition and our skill would -rise superior to our danger. But you flatter that young madman when you -regard him as capable of any consecutive and methodical action. Smith -ought to be captain of a fire-ship."</p> - -<p>Bonaparte was not fair to the formidable commander who had been the -cause of his misfortune at Saint-Jean-d'Acre; and his injustice arose -doubtless from a wish to attribute his failure to a turn of fortune -rather than to his adversary's skill.</p> - -<p>The Admiral raised his hand as if to emphasize the resolve which he was -about to express.</p> - -<p>"If we meet the English cruisers, I will go on board <i>La Carrère,</i> and, -you may depend upon it, I will keep them so well occupied that they -will give <i>La Muiron</i> time to escape."</p> - -<p>Lavallette opened his mouth. He was about to observe that <i>La Muiron</i> -was not a fast sailer and that consequently such an opportunity would -be lost upon her. But he feared to displease the General, and swallowed -his words. Bonaparte, however, read his thoughts; and, taking him by -the coat button, said:</p> - -<p>"Lavallette, you are a good fellow, but you will never be a good -soldier. You never think enough of your advantages, and you are for -ever concerned with irreparable disadvantages. We cannot make this -frigate a fast sailer. But you must think of the crew, animated with -the brightest enthusiasm and capable of working miracles, if need be. -You forget that our boat is <i>La Muiron.</i> I myself gave her that name. -I was at Venice. Invited to christen the frigate which had just been -armed, I seized the opportunity of honouring the memory of one who -was dear to me, of my aide-de-camp, who fell on the bridge of Areola -while protecting his General with his own body under a hail of shot and -shell. In this ship we sail to-day. Can you doubt that its name augurs -well for us?"</p> - -<p>For a while longer he continued to hearten them with his glowing words. -He then remarked that he would retire to rest. It was known on the -morrow that he had decided to endeavour to avoid the British squadrons -by some four or five weeks' sailing along the African coast.</p> - -<p>Henceforth day followed day in uneventful monotony. <i>La Muiron</i> kept -in sight of the low, unfrequented coast, which was not likely to be -reconnoitred by the enemy's ships, and every half league she tacked -without venturing out to sea. Bonaparte passed his days in conversation -and in reverie. Sometimes he was heard to murmur the names of Ossian -and Fingal. Sometimes he asked his aide-de-camp to read aloud Vertot's -<i>Revolutions</i><a name="FNanchor_1_3" id="FNanchor_1_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_3" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> or Plutarch's <i>Lives.</i> He appeared neither anxious -nor impatient, nor preoccupied, more, probably, through a natural -disposition to live in the present than as the result of self-control. -He seemed to take a melancholy pleasure in contemplating that sea -which, whether angry or serene, threatened his destiny and divided -him from his object. On rising from table, when the weather was fine, -he would go on deck and half recline on a gun-carriage in the same -somewhat unsociable and forlorn attitude that was his when, as a child, -he would lie propped up by his elbows on the rocks of his native isle. -The two scientists, the Admiral, the Captain of the frigate and the -aide-de-camp, Lavallette, would stand round him. And the conversation, -which he carried on by fits and starts, most frequently turned on -some new scientific discovery. Monge was not a brilliant talker; but -his conversation revealed him as a clear, logical thinker. Inclined -to consider utility even in physics, he was always a patriot and a -good citizen. Berthollet was a better philosopher and more given to -evolving general theories.</p> - -<p>"It will not do," he said, "to represent chemistry as the mysterious -science of metamorphoses, a new Circe, waving her magic wand over -nature. Such ideas may flatter vivid imaginations; but they will -not satisfy thoughtful minds, who are striving to prove that the -transformations of bodies are subject to the general laws of physics."</p> - -<p>He had a presentiment that the reactions, which the chemist provokes -and observes, occur under precise mechanical conditions which some day -may be the subject of exact calculation. And, constantly recurring to -this idea, he would apply it to a variety of data, known or surmised. -One evening Bonaparte, who had no sympathy with pure speculation, -brusquely interrupted him:</p> - -<p>"Your theories...! Mere soap-bubbles born of a breath and dissipated -by a breath. Chemistry, Berthollet, is no more than a game when not -applied to the requirements of war or industry. In all his researches -the man of science should set before him some definite great and useful -object, like Monge, who, in order to manufacture gunpowder, sought -nitre in cellars and stables."</p> - -<p>But Monge himself, as well as Berthollet, insisted on representing to -the General the necessity of understanding phenomena and submitting -them to general laws, before attempting practical applications, and -they argued that any other procedure would lead to the dangerous -obscurity of empiricism.</p> - -<p>Bonaparte agreed. But he feared empiricism more than ideology. And -suddenly he inquired of Berthollet:</p> - -<p>"Do you, with your explanations, hope to penetrate into the infinite -mystery of nature, to enter on the unknown?"</p> - -<p>Berthollet replied that, without pretending to explain the universe, -the scientist rendered humanity the greatest service by substituting -a rational view of natural phenomena for the terrors of ignorance and -superstition.</p> - -<p>"Is he not man's true benefactor," added Berthollet, "who delivers him -from the phantoms introduced into the soul by the fear of an imaginary -hell, who rescues him from the yoke imposed by priests and soothsayers, -who expels from his mind the terrors of dreams and omens?"</p> - -<p>Night rested like a vast shadow on the great expanse of sea. In a -moonless and cloudless sky, multitudes of stars glittered like a -suspended shower. For a moment the General remained lost in meditation. -Then, lifting up his head and half rising, he pointed to the dome of -heaven, and with the uncultured voice of the young herdsman and the -hero of antiquity he pierced the silence:</p> - -<p>"Mine is a soul of marble which nothing can perturb, a heart -inaccessible to common weaknesses. But you, Berthollet, do you -understand sufficiently what life and death are? Have you explored -their confines so far as to be able to affirm that they are without -mystery? Are you sure that all apparitions are no more than the -phantoms of a diseased brain? Can you explain all presentiments? -General La Harpe had the stature and the heart of a Grenadier. His -intelligence was in its element in battle. There it shone. At Fombio, -for the first time, on the evening before his death, he was struck -dumb, as one who is stunned, frozen by a strange and sudden fear. You -deny apparitions. Monge, did you not meet Captain Aubelet in Italy?"</p> - -<p>At this question, Monge tried to remember, then shook his head. No, he -did not recollect Captain Aubelet.</p> - -<p>Bonaparte resumed:</p> - -<p>"I had observed him at Toulon, where he won his epaulettes, like a hero -of ancient Greece. He was as young, as handsome, as courageous as a -soldier from Platea. Struck by his serious air, his clear-cut features -and the look of wisdom on his young countenance, his superior officers -had nicknamed him Minerva, and the Grenadiers also called him by that -name, though they were ignorant of its significance.</p> - -<p>"Captain Minerva!" cried Monge. "Why did you not call him that at -first? Captain Minerva was killed beneath the walls of Mantua a few -weeks before I arrived in that city. His death had made a great -impression, because it was associated with marvellous happenings which -were related to me, though I do not remember them exactly. All I -recollect is that General Miollis ordered Captain Minerva's sword and -gorget, crowned with laurels, to be carried at the head of the column -which one feast day defiled in front of Virgil's grotto, as a tribute -to the memory of the poet of heroes."</p> - -<p>"Aubelet's," resumed Bonaparte, "was that perfectly calm courage which -I have never observed in anyone save Bessières. His passions were of -the noblest. And in everything he sacrificed himself. He had a brother -in arms, Captain Demarteau, a few years his senior, whom he loved -with all the affection of a great heart. Demarteau did not resemble -his friend. Impulsive, passionate, equally eager for pleasure and for -danger, he was always the life and soul of the camp. Aubelet was the -proud devotee of duty, Demarteau the joyous lover of glory. The latter -returned his comrade's affection. In those two friends the story of -Nisus and Euryalus was re-enacted beneath our flag. The end, both of -one and the other, was surrounded with extraordinary circumstances. -They were told to me, Monge, as to you, but I paid better heed, -although at that time my mind was occupied with greater affairs. I -desired to take Mantua without delay and before a new Austrian army -had time to enter Italy. Nevertheless I found time to read a report of -the incidents which had preceded and followed Captain Aubelet's death. -Certain of these incidents border on the miraculous. Their cause must -either be assigned to unknown faculties, which man may acquire in -unique moments, or to the intervention of an intelligence superior to -ours."</p> - -<p>"General, you must exclude the second hypothesis," said Berthollet. -"An observer of nature never perceives the intervention of a superior -intelligence."</p> - -<p>"I know that you deny the existence of Providence," replied Bonaparte. -"That may be permissible for a scientist shut tip in his study, but not -for a leader of peoples who can only control the ordinary mind through -a community of ideas. If you would govern men, you must think with them -on all great subjects. You must move with public opinion."</p> - -<p>And, raising his eyes to the light flaming in the darkness on the -pinnacle of the mainmast, he said, with hardly a pause:</p> - -<p>"The wind blows from the north."</p> - -<p>He had changed the subject with the suddenness which was his wont and -which had caused some one to say to M. Denon:</p> - -<p>"The General shuts the drawer."</p> - -<p>Admiral Gantheaume observed that they could not expect the wind to -change before the first days of autumn.</p> - -<p>The light was flaring towards Egypt. Bonaparte looked in that -direction. His gaze plunged into space; and, speaking in staccato -tones, he let fall these words:</p> - -<p>"If only they can hold out yonder! The evacuation of Egypt would be -a commercial and military disaster. Alexandria is the capital of the -controllers of Europe. Thence, I shall destroy England's commerce and -I shall change the destiny of India.... For me, as for Alexander, -Alexandria is the fortress, the port, the arsenal whence I start to -conquer the world and whither I cause the wealth of Africa and Asia -to flow. England can only be conquered in Egypt. If she were to take -possession of Egypt, she instead of us would be the mistress of the -world. Turkey is on her death-bed. Egypt assures me the possession -of Greece. For immortality my name shall be inscribed by that of -Epaminondas. The fate of the world hangs upon my intelligence and -Kléber's firmness."</p> - -<p>For some days afterwards the General remained silent. He had read to -him the <i>Révolutions de la République romaine,</i> the story of which -seemed to him to drag unbearably. The aide-de-camp, Lavallette, had -to gallop through the Abbé Vertot's pages. And even then Bonaparte's -patience would be exhausted, and, snatching the book from his hands, -he would ask for Plutarch's <i>Lives,</i> of which he never tired. He -considered that, though lacking broad and clear vision, they were -permeated with an overpowering sense of destiny.</p> - -<p>So one day, after his siesta, he summoned his reader and bade him -resume the <i>Life of Brutus,</i> where he had left off on the previous -evening. Lavallette opened the book at the page marked, and read:</p> - -<p>"Then, as he and Cassius were preparing to leave Asia with the whole of -their army (the night was very dark, and but a feeble light burned in -his tent; a profound silence reigned throughout the whole camp and he -himself was wrapt in thought), it seemed to him that he saw some one -enter his tent. He looked towards the door and he perceived a horrible -spectre, whose countenance was strange and terrifying, who approached -him and stood there in silence. He had the courage to address it. 'Who -art thou,' he asked, 'a man or a god? What comest thou to do here -and what desirest thou of me?' 'Brutus,' replied the phantom, 'I am -thy evil genius, and thou shalt see me at Philippi.' Then Brutus, -unperturbed, said: 'I will see thee there.' Straightway the phantom -disappeared, and Brutus, to whom the servants, whom he summoned, said -that they had seen and heard nothing, continued to busy himself with -his affairs."</p> - -<p>"It is here," cried Bonaparte, "in this watery solitude, that such a -scene has its most gruesome effect. Plutarch narrates well. He knows -how to give animation to his story, how to make his characters stand -out. But the relation between events escapes him. One cannot escape -one's fate. Brutus, who had a commonplace mind, believed in strength of -will. A really superior man would not labour under that delusion. He -sees how necessity limits him. He does not dash himself against it. To -be great is to depend on everything. I depend on events which a mere -nothing determines. Wretched creatures that we are, we are powerless to -change the nature of things. Children are self-willed. A great man is -not. What is a human life? The curve described by a projectile."</p> - -<p>The Admiral came to tell Bonaparte that the wind had at length changed. -The passage must be attempted. The danger was urgent. Vessels detached -from the English fleet, anchored off Syracuse, commanded by Nelson, -were guarding the sea which they were about to traverse between Tunis -and Sicily. Once the flotilla had been sighted the terrible Admiral -would be down upon them in a few hours.</p> - -<p>Gantheaume doubled Cape Bon by night with all lights out. The night -was clear. The watch sighted a ship's lights to the north-east. The -anxiety which consumed Lavallette had attacked even Monge. Bonaparte, -seated, as usual, on his gun-carriage, displayed a tranquillity -which might be deemed real or simulated according to the view taken -of his fatalism! whether it arose merely from a sanguine temper and -the capacity for self-deception or was simply one of his numerous -poses. After discussing with Monge and Berthollet various matters of -physics, mathematics and military science, he went on to speak of -certain superstitions from which perhaps his mind was not completely -emancipated.</p> - -<p>"You deny the miraculous," he said to Monge. "But we live and die in -the midst of the miraculous. You told me the other day that you had -scornfully put out of your mind the extraordinary happenings associated -with Captain Aubelet's death. Perhaps Italian credulity had embroidered -them too elaborately. And that may excuse you. Listen to me. On the -9th of September, at midnight, Captain Aubelet was in bivouac before -Mantua. The overpowering heat of the day had been followed by a night -freshened by the mists rising from the marshy plain. Aubelet, feeling -his cloak, became aware that it was wet. And, as he was shivering -slightly, he went near to a fire which the Grenadiers had lit in order -to heat their soup, and he warmed his feet, seated on a pack-saddle. -Gradually the night and the mist enveloped him. In the distance he -heard the neighing of horses and the regular cries of the sentinels. -The captain had been there for some time, anxious, sad, his eyes fixed -on the ashes in the brazier, when a tall form rose noiselessly at his -side. He felt it near him and dared not turn his head. Nevertheless, he -did turn, and recognized his friend, Captain Demarteau, in his usual -attitude, his left hand on his hip and swaying slightly to and fro. -At this sight Captain Aubelet felt his hair stand on end. He could -not doubt the presence of his brother-in-arms, and yet he could not -believe it, for he knew that Captain Demarteau was on the Maine with -Jourdan, who was threatening the Archduke Charles. But his friend's -aspect increased Aubelet's alarm, for though Demarteau's appearance was -perfectly natural there was in it notwithstanding something unfamiliar. -It was Demarteau, and yet there was something in him which could not -fail to inspire fear. Aubelet opened his mouth. But his tongue froze, -he could utter no sound. It was the other who spoke: 'Farewell! I go -where I must. We shall meet to-morrow!' He departed with a noiseless -step.</p> - -<p>"On the morrow, Aubelet was sent to reconnoitre at San Giorgio. Before -going, he summoned his first lieutenant and gave him such instructions -as would enable him to replace his captain. 'I shall be killed to-day,' -he added, 'as surely as Demarteau was killed yesterday.'</p> - -<p>"And he described to several officers what he had seen in the night. -They believed him to be suffering from an attack of the fever which -had begun to declare itself among the troops encamped in the Mantuan -marshes.</p> - -<p>"Aubelet's company completed its reconnaissance of the San Giorgio -Fort without hindrance. Having achieved its object, it fell back on -our positions. It was marching under the cover of an olive wood. The -first lieutenant, approaching the captain, said to him: 'Now, Captain -Minerva, you no longer doubt that we shall bring you back alive?'</p> - -<p>"Aubelet was about to reply, when a bullet whistled through the leaves -and struck him on the forehead.</p> - -<p>"A fortnight later a letter from General Joubert, which the Directory -communicated to the Italian army, announced the death of the brave -Captain Demarteau, who fell on the field of honour on the 9th of -September."</p> - -<p>As soon as he had finished his story the General left the group of -silent listeners, to pace the deck with long strides and in silence.</p> - -<p>"General," said Gantheaume, "we have passed the most dangerous part of -our course."</p> - -<p>The next day he bore towards the north, intending to sail along the -Sardinian coast as far as Corsica and thence to make for the coast of -Provence; but Bonaparte wished to land at a headland in Languedoc, -fearing that Toulon might be occupied by the enemy.</p> - -<p><i>La Muiron</i> was making for Port-Vendres when a squall threw her back on -Corsica and compelled her to put into Ajaccio. The whole population of -the Island flocked thither to greet their compatriot and crowned the -heights dominating the gulf. After a few hours' rest, hearing that the -whole French coast was clear of the enemy, they set sail for Toulon. -The wind was fair, but not strong.</p> - -<p>Now, amidst the tranquillity which he had communicated to all, -Bonaparte alone appeared agitated, impatient to land, now and again -clapping his small hand suddenly to his sword. The ardent desire to -reign which had been fermenting within him for three years, the spark -of Lodi, had set him in a blaze. One evening, while the indented -coast-line of his native island was fading away into the distance, he -suddenly began to talk with a rapidity which confused the syllables of -the words he spoke:</p> - -<p>"If a atop is not put to it, chatterers and fools will complete the -downfall of France. Germany lost at Stockach, Italy lost at the -Trebbia; our armies beaten, our Ministers assassinated, contractors -gorged with gold, our stores empty and deserted, invasion imminent, to -this a weak and dishonest government has brought us.</p> - -<p>"Upright men are authority's only support. The corrupt fill me with an -invincible loathing. There is no governing with them."</p> - -<p>Monge, who was a patriot, said firmly:</p> - -<p>"Probity is as necessary to liberty as corruption to tyranny."</p> - -<p>"Probity," replied the General, "is a natural and profitable quality in -men born to govern."</p> - -<p>The sun was dipping its reddened and magnified disc beneath the misty -circle of the horizon. Eastward the sky was sown with light clouds -like the petals of a falling rose. On the surface of the sea the blue -and rosy waves rolled softly. A ship's sail appeared on the horizon, -and the telescope of the officer on duty showed her to be flying the -British flag.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_012_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>"Have we escaped countless dangers only to perish so near our desired -haven!" exclaimed La Valette.</p> - -<p>Bonaparte shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Is it still possible to doubt my good luck and my destiny?"</p> - -<p>And he continued his train of thought:</p> - -<p>"A clean sweep must be made of these rogues and fools. They must -be replaced by a compact government, swift and sure in action, -like the lion. There must be order. Without order, there can be no -administration, without administration, no credit, no money, but the -ruin of the State and of individuals. A stop must be put to brigandage, -to speculation, to social dissolution. What is France without a -government? Thirty millions of grains of sand. Power is everything. The -rest is nothing. In the wars of Vendée forty men made themselves the -masters of a department. The whole mass of the people desire peace at -any price, order and an end of quarrelling. Fear of Jacobins, Émigrés, -Chouans will throw them into the arms of a master." "And this master?" -inquired Berthollet. "He will doubtless be a military leader?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all," replied Bonaparte swiftly. "Not at all I A soldier never -will be the master of this nation, a nation illuminated by philosophy -and science. If any General were to attempt the assumption of power, -his audacity would soon be punished. Hoche thought of doing so. I know -not whether it was love of pleasure or a true appreciation of the -situation that restrained him; but the blow will assuredly recoil -on any soldier who attempts it. For my part, I admire that French -impatience of the military yoke, and I have no hesitation in admitting -that the civil power should be pre-eminent in the State."</p> - -<p>On hearing such a declaration, Monge and Berthollet looked at one -another in amazement. They knew that Bonaparte, in spite of the perils, -known and unknown, was about to grasp at power; and they failed to -comprehend words which would seem to deny him that which he so ardently -coveted. Monge, who, at the bottom of his heart, was a lover of -liberty, began to rejoice. But the General, who divined their thoughts, -replied to them immediately: "Of course, if the nation were to discover -in a soldier such civil qualities as would render him an efficient -administrator and ruler, it would place him at the head of affairs; -but it would have to be as a civil not as a military leader. Such must -needs be the feeling of any civilized, intelligent and educated nation."</p> - -<p>After a moment's silence, Bonaparte added:</p> - -<p>"I am a member of the Institute."</p> - -<p>For a few moments longer the English ship was visible on the purpling -belt of the horizon; then it disappeared.</p> - -<p>On the morning of the next day, the watch sighted the coast of France. -Yonder was Port-Vendres. Bonaparte fixed his gaze on the low, faint -streak of land. A tumult of thoughts was surging in his mind. He had -a striking and confused impression of arms and togas; in the silence -of the sea an immense clamour filled his ears. And amidst visions of -Grenadiers, magistrates, legislators and human crowds, he saw smiling -and languishing, her handkerchief to her lips, her throat bare, -Josephine, the remembrance of whom burned in his blood.</p> - -<p>"General," said Gantheaume, pointing to the coast, which was growing -bright in the morning sunshine, "I have brought you whither destiny -called you. You, like Æneas, reach a shore promised you by the gods."</p> - -<p>Bonaparte landed at Fréjus on the 17th of Vendémiaire in the year VIII.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_3" id="Footnote_1_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_3"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> René de Vertot (1655-1735), author of three books on -revolutions: <i>Histoire des Révolutions de Suède,</i> 1695; <i>Histoire des -Révolutions de Portugal,</i> 1711; <i>Histoire des Révolutions arrivées dans -le gouvernement de la République romaine,</i> 1720.</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h3><a name="THE_CHATEAU_DE_VAUX-LE-VICOMTE" id="THE_CHATEAU_DE_VAUX-LE-VICOMTE">THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX-LE-VICOMTE</a></h3> - - - -<hr class="tb" /> -<h4><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</a></h4> - - -<p>In 1656, Foucquet was forty-one years of age. For five years he -had been Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament, and for three -Comptroller of Finance, having been the control of the Treasury at the -troubles which had afflicted France during the minority of Louis XIV. -He had successfully weathered a difficult period, and had acquired no -little confidence in his genius and his guiding star. Now, in the prime -of life, feeling securely established in office, he proceeded to order -his life in accordance with the magnificence of his tastes. Ambitious, -pleasure-loving, adoring all that was great and beautiful, sensitive -to all that exalts or caresses the soul, he called upon the Arts to -surround him with the symbols of glory and of pleasure. The miracles of -Vaux were the outcome of this demand, which was first satisfied, then -cruelly punished.</p> - -<p>On the 2nd of August, 1656, in the presence of Le Vau, his architect, -Foucquet signed the plans and estimates for this mansion of Vaux, which -was to be built within four years, in a new and noble style. It was to -be adorned with magnificent paintings, with statues and tapestries; it -was to command a view over gardens, grottoes and bewitching ornamental -waters; to abound in gold plate and gems and valuables of every kind. -It was destined to receive, with a luxury hitherto unknown, the most -powerful and the most beautiful alike, to welcome the Court and the -King. Thereafter, when the last lights of a miraculous festival had -been extinguished, it was to be the home, for ever, of only solitude -and desolation.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, to Nicolas Foucquet remains the honour of having -discerned and selected men of superior talent, and of having been the -first to employ those great masters of French Art whose works have -shed an enduring splendour over the reign of Louis XIV. After he had -disgraced his Minister, the King could not do better than take from -him his architect Louis Le Vau, his painter Charles Le Brun and his -gardener André Le Nostre, and remove to Paris the looms which Foucquet -had set up at Maincy and which became the Manufacture des Gobelins. -But there was something which the King could not appropriate: the -taste, the feeling for art, the delicate yet profound instinct for -the beautiful which endeared the Comptroller to all the artists who -worked for him. Le Brun, on whom the King showered benefits, regretted -notwithstanding his generous host of Vaux.</p> - -<p>It is said that during his trial, when in danger of a capital sentence, -Foucquet, on leaving the Court, was walking, strongly guarded, past -the Arsenal, when seeing some men at work he asked what they were -making. Hearing that they were at work on a basin for a fountain, he -went to look at the latter and gave his opinion of it. Then, turning to -Artagnan, the Musketeer, who was in charge of him, he said, smiling: -"You are wondering why I meddle in such a business? It is because I -used, to be something of an expert in these matters." And Foucquet -spoke the truth. He was surely a sincere lover of the arts whom the -sight of men at work upon a fountain could suddenly distract from the -thought of dungeons and the imminence of the scaffold.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="PART_I" id="PART_I">PART I</a></h4> - - -<p>The Foucquets were citizens of Nantes, and in the sixteenth century -they traded with the West Indies. By these maritime expeditions they -gained great possessions and a peculiar quality of mind, a crafty and -audacious spirit which may be discerned in their descendants. Nicolas -Foucquet, with whom alone we are concerned here, was born in 1615. He -was the third son of François Foucquet, a King's Councillor, and of -Marie Manpeou, who had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. -This François Foucquet, originally councillor in the Rennes Parliament, -purchased a place in the Paris Parliament, became a Councillor of -State, and was for a while Ambassador in Switzerland. He was a -collector: he formed a collection of medals and books which Peiresc, -when he passed through Paris, visited with great interest, jotting down -in his note-book<a name="FNanchor_1_4" id="FNanchor_1_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_4" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> particulars of the more remarkable objects.</p> - -<p>In the Councillor's exalted hobbies some have sought to discern the -origin of the taste displayed by his son Nicolas in the matter of -the ancient sculpture and the pictures which he spent great sums in -collecting.</p> - -<p>As for Marie Manpeou, she came of an old and honourable legal family. -Left a widow in 1640, she sought repose, after her numerous maternal -duties, only in the practice of asceticism and in works of Christian -charity. She lived, in retreat, a life wholly occupied in the giving -of alms, the application of remedies and the recitation of prayers. -She was one of those strong-minded women who, like Madame Legras and -Madame de Miramion, were moved at once to a courageous pity and angelic -melancholy by the spectacle of the miseries and crimes of war. The -ordering of her life was in almost all respects comparable to that of -a Sister of Mercy. Far from rejoicing at the promotion of her sons, it -was with deep anxiety that she beheld them captive to the seductions -of a world which she knew to be evil. Nicolas especially and his -brother, the Abbé Basile, alarmed her by the extent of their ambition. -The Comptroller's fall, which disconcerted all France, left her -untroubled. On hearing that her son had been cast down from the heights -of pomp and power, she is said to have thrown herself upon her knees, -exclaiming: "I thank Thee, O my God! I have always prayed to Thee -for his salvation: now the path to it is open."<a name="FNanchor_2_5" id="FNanchor_2_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_5" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> This saintly idea -implies a perfection which is alarming because it is utterly inhuman: -it is difficult to recognize maternal affection thus transfigured and -freed from the weakness of the flesh which naturally accompanies it. -Yet even this mother, for twenty years dead to the world, was perturbed -when she knew that her son's life was threatened. Every day throughout -the Comptroller's long trial she was to be seen at the door of the -Arsenal, where the Court was sitting, and she petitioned the judges<a name="FNanchor_3_6" id="FNanchor_3_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_6" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-left: 35%;">MME. FOUCQUET</p> -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Que mon fils est heureux, que j'aime sa prison!<br /> -Il est guéri du moins de ce mortel poison.<br /> -Par ses malheurs son âme à présent éclairée,<br /> -Voit comme dans la Cour elle était égarée.<br /> -Plût à Dieu que sa grâce ouvre si bien ses yeux<br /> -Qu'il ne les tourne plus que du côté des Cieux.<br /> -</p> -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-left: 35%;">LA REINE MÈRE</p> -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Il peut, quoique Colbert lui déclare la guerre,<br /> -Ouvrir encor les yeux du côté de la terre.<br /> -</p> -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-left: 35%;">MME. FOUCQUET</p> -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Si la terre, Madame, a du péril pour lui,<br /> -J'aime mieux à mes yeux le voir mort aujourd'hui.<br /> -</p> - -<p>(Le livre abominable de 1665 qui courait en manuscript parmi le monde, -sous le nom de Molière (comédie en vers sur le procès de Foucquet), -découvert et publié sur une copie du temps par Louis-Auguste Ménard. -Paris, Firmin Didot et Cie. 1883, 2 vols. Vol. II, p. 116.)</p> - -<p>The book is neither abominable nor a comedy of any kind. It consists of -five Dansenist dialogues in the most insipid style. M. Louis-Auguste -Ménard, who attributes this rhymed play to Molière, cannot expect many -to share his extraordinary opinion.</p> - -<p>The young Queen was ill at the time. Foucquet's mother sent her one of -the plasters she was in the habit of making for the poor, and she was -so fortunate as to save the wife of him who was seeking to ruin her -son. At least, the Queen's recovery is generally attributed to Madame -Foucquet's remedy.</p> - -<p>We shall see later that the cure did not produce any change of heart in -the King.</p> - -<p>This incident, however, refers to the downfall of a fortune of which we -must first explain the beginnings, and the progressive stages. This I -shall do without entering into details of administration or business. -I am not writing an essay on the politics or finances of the days of -Mazarin. My sole endeavour will be to depict the tastes, the manners -and the mind of the creator and the host of Vaux. Vaux is the centre of -my design.</p> - -<p>In 1635, Nicolas Foucquet, at the age of twenty, entered the magistry -as Master of Requests. The Masters of Requests were regarded as forming -part of the Parliament, where they sat above the Councillors. From -among those officers the Kings had long been accustomed to choose the -commissaries whom they despatched into the provinces, to superintend -the administration of justice and finance, or to the armies, when they -were charged with all that concerned the policing and the maintenance -of the troops.</p> - -<p>Their journeys were known as the circuits of the Masters of Requests. -They gave rise, at a date unknown, to a new office, that of Intendant, -which grew in importance with the increase of the royal power. The -young Foucquet, in 1636, was sent as Intendant of justice to the -district of Grenoble. The difficulties attending such a mission were -great; and Richelieu could not have been ignorant of them. He had, -however, diminished them somewhat by suspending the sittings of the -provincial parliament which was the Intendant's natural enemy. But -Foucquet found the people of Le Dauphiné agitated by the memory of the -religious wars and ardently engaging in new disputes in respect of -certain taxes levied on the goods of the third estate from which the -nobility and the clergy were exempt. The decree of the Royal Council -which abolished the citizens' grievances remained a dead letter.<a name="FNanchor_4_7" id="FNanchor_4_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_7" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> -Feeling ran high. Foucquet did not succeed in alleviating it. After a -revolt which he had been unable either to prevent or to repress he was -recalled to Paris. From an inexperienced youth of twenty-one Richelieu -could not have expected services which could only have been rendered -by an old hand, experienced in negotiation, such, for example, as the -Intendant of Guyenne, the skilful and resolute Servien. The opinion -is seldom held to-day that the great Minister employed the system -of Intendants<a name="FNanchor_5_8" id="FNanchor_5_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_8" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> as a regular instrument of his policy; which may -explain how he came to confide to an apprentice a mission which is -regarded as of secondary importance. The office of Intendant was not a -permanent one, so that Foucquet's recall was doubtless not regarded as -an absolute disgrace. Nevertheless, during the five years of life and -power which yet remained to him, Richelieu, as far as we know, never -again employed the young Master of Requests.</p> - -<p>But Mazarin, having become first Minister, sent him, in 1647, to the -Army of the North, which was under the command of Gassion and Rantzau. -The leaders' disagreements were arresting the army's progress. Rantzau -was a drunkard whom Gassion could not tolerate. Gassion, sober, -energetic and fearless, displayed a brutality insufferable even in a -soldier of fortune. He forgot himself so far as to strike in the face a -captain of Condé's regiment who had misunderstood his orders. The whole -regiment determined to withdraw and the officers struck their tents. -Only with great difficulty were they persuaded to remain. Touching -this incident, Foucquet wrote to Mazarin: "All are agreed that M. le -Maréchal de Gassion committed a serious abuse in striking the captain -of His Royal Highness's regiment. Every one condemned such an action, -considering that M. le Maréchal should have sent him to prison, or -should even have struck him with his sword, or fired his pistol at -him, if he thought it necessary; but that it would have been better not -to have resorted to such an extreme measure."</p> - -<p>We ought not, I think, to pass over a fact which permitted Foucquet to -display, for the first time, as far as we are aware, that spirit of -moderation which, until his reason became clouded, enabled him for a -time to serve the State so well.</p> - -<p>Mazarin was not slow to discern the Intendant's merits. In 1648, at -the time of the first disturbances,<a name="FNanchor_6_9" id="FNanchor_6_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_9" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> thinking to quit Paris and -withdraw with the Court to Saint-Germain, he sent Foucquet to Brie -"with orders there to collect large stores of grain for the maintenance -of the army."<a name="FNanchor_7_10" id="FNanchor_7_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_10" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> The Intendant established himself at Lagny and -commandeered supplies from the peasants of Brie and Ile-de-France. He -was then instructed to compile a list of those Parisians who possessed -châteaux or country-houses in the suburbs of the city. Promising -to preserve these properties from fire and pillage during the war, -Mazarin taxed the owners. In reality he mulcted the rich of the money -which he needed. When the Fronde was a thing of the past, Foucquet, -as procurator of Ile-de-France, accompanied the King into Normandy, -Burgundy, Poitou and Guyenne.</p> - -<p>On his return from this royal progress, he bought, with the Cardinal's -approval, the post of Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament. From -this office a certain Sieur Méliand retired in Foucquet's favour, -"receiving in return Foucquet's office of Master of Requests, estimated -by the son of the said Sieur Méliand as being worth more than fifty -thousand crowns, plus a sum of one hundred thousand crowns in money."<a name="FNanchor_8_11" id="FNanchor_8_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_11" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p>If Foucquet obtained preferment, it was not without the aid of a young -clerk at the War Office, who at that time displayed a great deal of -friendliness towards him, but was destined, eleven years later, to -bring about his downfall, take his office and endeavour to procure his -death. Colbert, who was then on terms of friendship with Foucquet, -employed his interest with Le Tellier to recommend the ambitious -Intendant. In August, 1650, he wrote to the Secretary of State for War:</p> - -<p>"M. Foucquet, who has come here by order of His Eminence, has already -on three several occasions assured me that he is possessed of an ardent -desire to become one of your particular servants and friends because -of the peculiar estimation in which he holds your attainments, and -that he has no particular connections with any other person which -would prevent his receiving this honour.... I thought it would be -very suitable, he being a man of birth and merit and even capable, -one day, of holding high office, if you in return were to offer him -some friendly advances, since it is not a question of entering into an -engagement which might be burdensome to you, but merely of receiving -him favourably and of making him some show of friendship when you meet. -If you are of my opinion in this matter, I beg you to let me know as -much in the first letter with which you honour me; nor can I refrain -from assuring you, with all the respect which is your due, that I do -not think I could possibly repay you a part of all that I owe you in -better coin than by acquiring for you a hundred such friends, were I -only sufficiently worthy to do so."<a name="FNanchor_9_12" id="FNanchor_9_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_12" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>This is a warm recommendation. We have quoted it in order that the -reader may see with what confidence Foucquet inspired his friends, even -in those early days, and how highly they thought of him. Moreover, -it is interesting to find Colbert praising Foucquet. The latter was -installed in his new appointment on the 10th of October, 1650. He -was thenceforth the first of the King's servants at the head of that -bar which the two Advocates General Omer Talon and Jérôme Bignon -had caused to be renowned for its eloquence. An instrument of that -great body which dealt with the administration of justice, controlled -political affairs, exercised an influence over finance, whose -jurisdiction extended over Ile-de-France, Picardy, Orléanais, Touraine, -Anjou, Maine, Poitou, Angoumois, Champagne, Bourbonnais, Berry, -Lyonnais, Forez, Beaujolais and Auvergne, the Attorney-General, Nicolas -Foucquet, subdued the fleurs-de-lys to the policy of the Cardinal. -Between such virtuous fools as the worthy Broussel, who, through -very honesty, would have surrendered his disarmed country to the -foreigner, and the Minister who had humiliated the house of Austria, -threatened the Emperor even in his hereditary dominions, conquered -Roussillon, Artois, Alsace, and who now sought to assure France of her -natural boundaries, Foucquet's genius was too lucid and his views too -far-reaching to permit him to hesitate for a moment.</p> - -<p>He remained attached to Mazarin's fortunes when the Minister's downfall -seemed permanent. In 1651, that inauspicious year, he never ceased his -endeavours to win supporters in the <i>bourgeoisie</i> and in the army, for -the exiled Minister on whose head a price had been set. And when the -Prince de Condé, in his manifesto of the 12th of April, 1652, confessed -that he had formed ties, both within and without the kingdom, with -the object of its preservation, it was the Attorney-General, Nicolas -Foucquet, who uttered a protest which compelled the Prince to strike -out of his manifesto the shameful avowal of his alliance with Spain, -the enemy of France. He contributed not a little to ruin the cause of -the Princes in Paris. When Turenne had defeated their army near Étampes -(5th May, 1652), the Parliament wished to open negotiations for peace. -The Attorney-General repaired to Saint-Germain, bearing to the King the -complaints of his good city of Paris. The speech which he delivered -on this occasion has been preserved. Its general tone is resolute; -its language, sober and concise, contrasting with the obscure and -unintelligible style affected by the judicial eloquence of the period. -This address is the only example which we possess of Nicolas Foucquet's -oratorical talent. It will be found in M. Chéruel's <i>Mémoires</i>.<a name="FNanchor_10_13" id="FNanchor_10_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_13" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> -Here are a few passages from it:</p> - -<p>" ... Sire, I have been commissioned to inform Your Majesty of the -destitution to which the majority of your subjects have been reduced. -There is no limit to the crimes and excesses committed by the military. -Murders, violations, burnings and sacrileges are now regarded -merely as ordinary actions; far from committing them in secret, the -perpetrators boast of them openly. To-day, Sire, Your Majesty's troops -are living in such licence and such disorder that they are by no means -ashamed to abandon their posts in order to despoil those of your -subjects who have no means of resistance. In broad daylight, in the -sight of their officers, without fear of recognition or apprehension of -punishment, soldiers break into the houses of ecclesiastics, noblemen -and your highest officials....</p> - -<p>"I will not attempt, Sire, to represent to Your Majesty the greatness -of the injury done to your cause by such public depredations, and -the advantage which your enemies will derive therefrom, beholding -the most sacred laws publicly violated, the impunity of crime firmly -established, the source of your revenues exhausted, the affections of -the people alienated and your authority derided. I shall only entreat -Your Majesty, in the name of your Parliament and all your subjects, to -be moved to pity by the cries of your poor people, to give ear to the -groans and supplications of the widows and orphans, and to endeavour -to preserve whatever remains, whatever has escaped the fury of those -barbarians whose sole desire is for blood and the slaughter of the -innocents....</p> - -<p>"Make manifest, Sire, O make manifest at the outset of your reign, -your natural kindness of heart, and may the compassion which you will -feel for so many sufferers call down the blessings of heaven upon the -first years of your majority, which will doubtless be followed by many -and far happier years, if the desires and prayers of your Parliament -and of all your good subjects be granted."</p> - -<p>These words had little effect. The war continued; the people's -sufferings increased; in the city the disturbances became more violent; -several councillors were killed, and the <i>hôtel de ville</i> was invaded -and pillaged by the populace and by the troops of the princes. In the -face of such disorders, which the magistrates could neither tolerate -nor repress, the Attorney-General, accompanied by several notables, -members of the Parliament, went to the King, who listened to his -counsel. To the Cardinal he demonstrated the necessity of holding the -Parliament and the Court in the same place, in order to display to -the kingdom the spectacle of the King and his senate on the one hand -and the rebel Princes on the other; and it was by his advice that a -decree was issued on the 31st of July which ordered the removal of the -Parliament from Paris to Pontoise, where the Court then was. Foucquet -with the utmost energy devoted himself to the execution of this politic -measure.</p> - -<p>On the 7th of August, the first President, Mathieu Molé, presided at -Pontoise over a solemn session in which the members present constituted -themselves into the one and only Parliament of Paris. This assembly -requested the King to dismiss Mazarin, and this they did in concert -with Mazarin himself, who rightly believed his departure to be -necessary. But he counted on speedily resuming his place beside the -King. In the meanwhile he corresponded with Foucquet, in whom he placed -the utmost confidence, "without reservation of any kind," and whom he -consulted on matters of State. Still, there was one point on which they -did not think alike. Mazarin eagerly desired to return to Paris with -the King, and, as it seemed, for the time being, that this desire could -not be gratified, His Eminence was not displeased that the state entry -into the capital should be delayed. Foucquet, on the other hand, was in -favour of an immediate return to the Louvre. On this subject he wrote -to the Cardinal:</p> - -<p>"There is not one of the King's servants, in Paris or out of it, who -is not convinced that in order to make himself master of the city -the King has only to desire as much, and that if the King sends to -the inhabitants asking that two of the city gates shall be held by a -regiment of his guards, and then proceeds directly to the Louvre, all -Paris will approve such a masterful action and the Princes will be -compelled to take flight. There is no doubt that on the very first -day the King's orders will be obeyed by all. The legitimate officers -will be restored to the exercise of their function, the gates will be -closed to enemies; such an amnesty as Your Eminence would wish will be -published, and our friends will be reunited in the Louvre in the King's -presence. So universal will be the rejoicing and so loud the public -acclamations that no one will be found so bold as to dissent."<a name="FNanchor_11_14" id="FNanchor_11_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_14" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>A few days later, on the 21st of October, amid popular acclamation, -Louis XIV entered Paris. The stripling monarch brought with him peace, -that beneficent peace which had been prepared by the tactful firmness -of the Attorney-General.</p> - -<p>Now, Mazarin's friends had only to hasten his recall. This the -Attorney-General and his brother, the Abbé Basile, succeeded in -obtaining, and the Cardinal entered Paris on the 3rd of February, -1652. The office of Superintendent of the Finances had then been -vacant for a month owing to the death, on the 2nd of January, of the -holder, the Duc de La Vieuville. Despite the unfavourable condition of -the kingdom's finances this office was most eagerly coveted. And the -very disorder and obscurity which enveloped all the Superintendent's -operations excited the hopes of those men whom the Marquis d'Effiat -compared with "the cuttle-fish which possesses the art of clouding the -water to deceive the eyes of the fisher who espies it."<a name="FNanchor_12_15" id="FNanchor_12_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_15" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> Then the -Superintendent had not the actual handling of the public moneys. Income -and expenditure were in the hands of the Treasurers. But he ordered all -State expenditure, charging it without appeal to the various resources -of the Kingdom. He was answerable to the King alone. If, apparently, -all his actions were subject to a strict control, in reality he worked -in absolute secrecy. In the year we have now reached, 1653, the -Treasury's poverty and the Cardinal's laxity permitted every abuse. -Money must be found at any cost; all expedients were good and all rules -might be infringed.</p> - -<p>Things had been going badly for a long while. Since the Regent, Marie -de Médicis, had madly dissipated the savings amassed by the prudent -Sully, the State has subsisted upon detestable expedients, such as -the creation of offices, the issue of Government Stocks, the sale of -charters of pardon, the alienation of rights and domains. The Treasury -was in the hands of plunderers, no accounts were kept. In 1626, -Superintendent d'Effiat found it impossible to arrive at any accurate -knowledge of the resources at the State's disposal or at the amount -of expenditure incurred by the military and naval services. Richelieu, -when he came into power, began by condemning to death a few of the tax -farmers-general. Had it not been for "these necessities which do not -admit of the delay of formalities," he might perhaps have restored -the finances to order. But these necessities overwhelmed him and -compelled him to resort to fresh expedients. He was driven to court the -tax-farmers, whom he would rather have hanged, and to borrow from them -at a high rate of interest the King's money which they were detaining -in their coffers. Exports, imposts and the salt tax were all controlled -by the tax-farmers. An Italian adventurer, Signor Particelli d'Hémery, -whom Mazarin appointed Superintendent in 1646, created one hundred and -sixty-seven offices and alienated the revenue of 87,600,000 livres -of capital. In 1648 the State suffered a shameful bankruptcy and the -troubles of the Fronde supervened, aggravating yet further a situation -which would have been desperate in any country other than inventive and -fertile France.</p> - -<p>The office of Superintendent, which the worthy La Vieuville had held -since 1649, was disputed after his death by the Marshals de l'Hôpital -and de Villeroy, by the President de Maisons, who had held it already -during the civil war, by Abel Servien, who during his already long -life had proved himself a harsh and precise administrator, a skilful -man of business and a thoroughly honest man, and, finally, by Nicolas -Foucquet, who in public opinion was unlikely to be appointed.</p> - -<p>Foucquet, on the very day of La Vieuville's death, had written the -Cardinal a letter, partly in cipher, of which the following is the -text:—</p> - -<p>"I was impatiently awaiting the return of Your Eminence in order to -inform you in detail of all that I have learned of the cause of past -disorders and their remedies; but as the bad administration of public -finance is one of the chief causes of the discreditable condition of -public affairs, the death of the Superintendent and the necessity of -appointing his successor compel me to explain to Your Eminence in this -letter what I had determined to communicate to you by word of mouth on -your arrival, and to impress upon you the importance of choosing some -one of acknowledged probity who will be trusted by the public and who -will keep inviolate faith with Your Eminence. I will venture to say -that in the inquiries which I have made into the means of ending the -present evils and avoiding still greater ones in future, I have found -that everything depended upon the will of the Superintendent. Perhaps I -should be able to make myself useful to His Majesty and Your Eminence -were you to think fit to employ me in this office. I have studied the -means of filling it successfully. I know that there would be nothing -inconsistent in my employment, and several of my friends to whom I -owe this idea have promised me in this connection to make efforts to -be of service to the King of a nature too considerable to be ignored. -It therefore remains for Your Eminence to judge of the capacity with -which eighteen years' service in the Council as Master of Requests and -in various other offices may have endowed me; and as for my affection -for you and my fidelity in your service, I flatter myself that Your -Eminence is persuaded that I am inferior to no one in the Kingdom. My -brother will be my surety; and I am certain that he would never pledge -his word to Your Eminence whatever interest he may feel in that which -concerns me, were he not fully satisfied with my intentions and my -conduct hitherto and had we not thoroughly discussed Your Eminence's -interests in this connection. Once again let me protest that you may -rely upon us absolutely, and that you will never be disappointed, since -no one in the world has more at heart the advantage and the glory of -Your Eminence. I entreat you to let no one hear of this affair until it -is settled."</p> - -<p>Recalled by his adherents, Mazarin returned to Paris, very discreetly, -on the 3rd of February. One of his first acts was to appoint a -Superintendent. He divided the office between Nicolas Foucquet, -his own supporter, and Abel Servien, who was singled out for this -employment by his own character and by public opinion. To act in -conjunction with the two Superintendents he appointed three Directors -of Finance, one Comptroller-General and eight Intendants. Such an -arrangement served to please two people; but it had the disadvantage -of costing the Treasury a million livres a year. As a matter of fact, -it was, as we shall see, to cost much more. According to the terms of -his commission, Foucquet was in no way subordinate to his colleague, -but age, experience, vigilant industry and a tried and distinguished -probity gave Servien the chief authority. Foucquet was young; he might -wait. He held the office which he had so greatly desired. Alas, in -desiring it he had desired what was to be his ruin! Henceforth his -pious mother might apply to him the words of Scripture: <i>Et tribuit eis -petitionem eorum.</i></p> - -<p>If he speedily entered upon the path of the merely expedient, can we -be surprised? Both necessity and the Cardinal's wishes drove him to -it. In 1654, he found money necessary to oppose an army led by the -rebel, Condé. How? By creating new offices and selling them to the -highest bidder. A detestable method; but it is questionable whether, -considering the state of the Treasury, it would have been possible to -devise any better. At all events, at this cost the Spaniards were -defeated. Unhappily there is no doubt whatever that Foucquet had to -provide not only for the expenses of the war, but for the exigencies of -Mazarin, who, through the medium of Colbert, obtained from the Treasury -the millions with which he enriched his family. Mazarin himself became -a farmer of the revenue and derived enormous profits from the bread -of the wretched soldiers. "By appearing under the name of Albert, or -another," he concealed his part in these transactions. The letter -is extant in which he himself suggests this broker's trick. He also -made use of what were called <i>ordonnances de Comptant.</i> The term was -applied to decrees authorizing the payment of money, the employment of -which was not specified. To-day we should describe it as dipping into -the secret funds; and the Cardinal did dip into them with both hands. -Sometimes Foucquet endeavoured to resist these criminal demands, but -in the end he always gave way. Mazarin must have known that he was not -intractable since he always appealed to him rather than to Servien -even in matters like orders for the payment of officials which were -the special function of the senior Superintendent. Foucquet deducted -certain payments; from the proceeds of tax-farming; from the farmers -of the salt-tax he received one hundred and twenty thousand livres a -year; from the farmers of the Bordeaux convey fifty thousand livres; -from the farmers of the customs one hundred and forty thousand livres. -The clerks who handled this last contribution added for themselves a -sum of twenty thousand livres. It is probable that the bargain was not -concluded without the distribution of a few "bonuses" in the offices. -And when we recollect that these customs were duties imposed on wine -and on food and drink in general, on the very life, therefore, of the -poor, one cannot forbear from cursing Mazarin's murderous and impious -cupidity, for it was for the Cardinal that Foucquet deducted these -payments. He remitted these sums without receiving any formal receipt, -and there is reason to believe that he himself kept some part of them.</p> - -<p>Following Mazarin's example, Foucquet himself became a tax-farmer -under a false name; moreover, he lent the State's money to the State -itself, and was repaid with heavy interest. Again, following Mazarin's -example, he made the public Treasury pay the cost of the promotion -and the alliances of his family. On the 12th of February, 1657, his -only daughter by his marriage with Marie Fourché, lady of the manor of -Quehillac, married the eldest son of the Comte de Charost, Governor -of Calais and Captain of the King's Guard. She brought her husband -five hundred thousand livres. When this alliance was contracted, the -first Madame Foucquet was dead and the Superintendent had married as -his second wife Marie-Madeleine de Castille-Villemareuil, the only -daughter of François de Castille, President of one of the Chambers of -the Paris Parliament.<a name="FNanchor_13_16" id="FNanchor_13_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_16" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> The Castilles were merchants, reputed to be -very wealthy, who had certainly made rich marriages. Marie-Madeleine -provided no matter for gossip so long as the union was happy. She -doubtless played but an insignificant part in entertainments which -offended her modesty and the brilliance of which was intended rather -to please her rivals than herself. Her husband, it would seem, at -all events, always esteemed her as she deserved and, where she was -concerned, never wholly departed from that urbanity which was natural -to him. He was one of those men who understand how to please a woman -while they are deceiving her. In the Superintendent's house a work of -art or a statue celebrated the apparent union of husband and wife. In -France it was then becoming the fashion to represent as allegorical -figures the lives of great men whom earlier painters had portrayed in -the costume and with the attributes of their patron Saints. Conforming -to the new custom, the Superintendent ordered from his favourite -sculptor, the skilful Michel Anguier, a group of Madame Foucquet and -her four children. She appeared as Charity. The group was said to be -one of the master's finest works. Guillet de Saint-Georges, in his <i>Vie -de Michel Anguier,</i> expressly says that Foucquet ordered from this -artist "a Charity, bearing in her arms a sleeping child, with another -at her feet and two close at hand, to represent Madame Foucquet and her -children and to testify the affection and unity which reigned in this -family."<a name="FNanchor_14_17" id="FNanchor_14_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_17" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p>An act of homage at once commonplace and ostentatious, yet just and -prophetic, rendered to a wife whose lovely nobility of heart was to -be revealed only by misfortune. Somewhat withdrawn in the season of -prosperity, it was only when those whom she loved were unhappy that -Madame Foucquet revealed herself. During the slow investigation of the -accusers, Madame Foucquet saw that her husband's furniture, which had -been placed under a seal, was carefully guarded; and this vigilance -was inspired by the noblest of motives. "Any loss or injury," she -said, "would tend to involve the creditors in absolute ruin, and -among them are an incredible number of poor families of all sorts of -artisans."<a name="FNanchor_15_18" id="FNanchor_15_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_18" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>She was seen, during her husband's trial, with her mother-in-law at -the Arsenal gates, presenting petitions to the judges. When he was -condemned she asked permission to rejoin in prison the husband who had -betrayed and forsaken her in his hours of happiness. No sooner was this -sad favour granted than she hastened to avail herself of it. Having -consoled him in captivity, she closed his eyes in death. Left a widow, -she followed the example set by many lonely ladies of rank in those -days: she withdrew to a convent. For her retreat she chose the royal -Abbey of Val-de-Grâce of Notre-Dame de la Crèche, which was on the left -bank of the Seine, in the Rue Saint-Jacques. This Benedictine convent, -as we know, owed its origin to a vow of Queen Anne,<a name="FNanchor_16_19" id="FNanchor_16_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_19" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> who built it -when she at length had a King.<a name="FNanchor_17_20" id="FNanchor_17_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_20" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> Thus the walls within which this -lady retired to shelter her widowhood were a hymn of thanksgiving in -stone, a monument of gratitude to God for His gift to France of the -persecutor of Nicolas Foucquet. Did she not realize this? Or did her -piety forbid her to nourish any bitterness toward the enemies of her -house? There were, no doubt, old ties between her and the nuns of -Val-de-Grâce. It must not be supposed that she lived in a cell the life -of a recluse. To do so would be to show little knowledge of convents -as they were in those days.<a name="FNanchor_18_21" id="FNanchor_18_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_21" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> The nuns were the innkeepers of the -period. Sumptuously lodged in buildings dependent on the community, -the ladies lived a quiet but still worldly life, keeping their own -servants, paying and receiving visits. Such was Madame Foucquet's -position at Val-de-Grâce. She devoted herself, it is true, to the -practices of religion; and we know, for example, that, having obtained -the body of St. Liberatus, a martyr of the African Church, she had -it borne in a procession, on the 27th of August, 1690, to the parish -church of Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas.<a name="FNanchor_19_22" id="FNanchor_19_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_22" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> - -<p>She occupied a pavilion in the convent garden, where, in default of -gold and silver plate, she kept a few pieces of furniture worthy of -her rank. In the month of March, 1700, a royal edict ordered private -persons to declare and to take to the Mint all furniture in which there -was any gold or silver; and Madame Foucquet, widow, declared to the -commissioner of her district that she possessed "a camp bed adorned -with cloth of gold and silver, with chairs to match, hangings of gold -damask, single width, twenty chairs and a bedstead in wood inlaid with -gold, a sofa in the same with six places, a tapestry bed and chairs -trimmed with gold fringe, six small consoles, twelve little gilt -stands, two small round tables, two other tables and a bureau partly -gilt, and a small bed upholstered with gold and silver lace."</p> - -<p>Madame Foucquet survived her husband thirty-six years. She died in -Paris in 1716 "in great piety," says Saint-Simon, "having withdrawn -from the world, and having, during the whole of her life, constantly -engaged in good works."<a name="FNanchor_20_23" id="FNanchor_20_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_23" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> - -<p>Foucquet had an exalted soul. He was born to tempt fortune and to take -Fate by storm. As early as 1655 he was cherishing the boldest designs.</p> - -<p>Realizing that in proportion as he obliged the Cardinal the latter grew -suspicious of him, since each service that he rendered was a secret of -which he became the inconvenient guardian, the Superintendent resolved -to assure himself by his power against the chance of disgrace. With -this object he began to think of converting the port of Concarneau and -the fortress of Ham, which belonged to his brother, into strongholds, -where his adherents might assemble in arms in case the Cardinal were to -attempt to lay hands on him. He therefore drew up a detailed programme -of the project, recommending his supporters to go for orders to the -house of Madame de Plessis-Bellière. "She knows my true friends," he -said, "and among them there may be those who would be ashamed not to -take part in anything proposed by her on my behalf."</p> - -<p>This lady, who was so much in Foucquet's confidence, was the widow of a -lieutenant-general in the King's army. She had never refused Foucquet -anything: but gallantry was by no means her first concern. It was even -said that she saved herself the trouble of contributing in person to -the Superintendent's pleasures and that she preferred providing for -them to satisfying them herself. She was a strong-minded woman, and a -great politician, even in that age of intrigue, ambitious and proud -enough to do herself credit, as we shall see later, by her display of -loyalty and devotion. In Foucquet's project, should occasion arise, -she, in conjunction with the Governors of Ham and Concarneau, was to -provide those two fortresses with men and with victuals. The Marquis -de Charost, Foucquet's son-in-law, was to defend himself in Calais, -of which town he was the governor. The Governors of Amiens, Havre and -Arras were to assume an equally threatening attitude. As allies at -Court the rebel Minister counted on M. de la Rochefoucauld, Marsillac, -his son, and Bournonville; in Parliament on MM. de Harlay, Manpeou, -Miron and Chenut; at sea, on Admiral de Neuchèse et Guinan. We may -note, in passing, that in the matter of his friends he was mistaken in -fully half of them. He gave it to be understood that Spain might be -appealed to. If his arrest were sustained and his trial instituted, -there would be civil war. A monstrous project, a chimerical conception -which it was childish to write down, and which served only to make -doubly sure the ruin of its mad inventor.</p> - -<p>It was during this period of folly and of splendour that Foucquet, with -a magnificence hitherto unequalled, created the estate and château of -Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Melun.</p> - -<p>We shall treat separately, in a special chapter, of all that concerns -this subject.</p> - -<p>At the same time he continued to provide for his safety. In order to -assure it with greater certainty he bought, on the 5th September, 1658, -the island and fortress of Belle-Isle for a sum of 1,300,000 livres, -of which 400,000 were paid in cash.</p> - -<p>Once the possessor of this fortress, Foucquet applied himself to -placing it in a state of defence. He despatched engineers thither -to fortify the citadel; from Holland he brought ships and cannon. -Modifying his plan of defence, he substituted Belle-Isle for Ham and -Concarneau.</p> - -<p>Belle-Isle was to him what her milk-pail was to Perrette. He dreamed -of deriving more wealth from it than the whole of Holland from her -ports. Madame de Motteville got wind of these chimerical hopes. "The -friends of Foucquet," wrote this lady, "have said—and apparently they -have told the truth—that the Superintendent, who was indeed capable, -by virtue of his courage and his genius, of many great projects, had -conceived that of building a town the excellent harbour of which was -to attract all the trade of the North, thereby depriving Amsterdam of -these advantages, and rendering a great service to the King and the -State."<a name="FNanchor_21_24" id="FNanchor_21_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_24" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> Foucquet was at this time at the height of his power. In -spite of his motto, he will not rise any higher, unless his constancy -in misfortune may be taken to have raised him above himself, in which -case he may be said to have grown greater in prison by the knowledge of -the vanity of all that had previously attracted him.</p> - -<p>But it is the man in his prosperous days, the friend of art and of -literature, Foucquet the magnificent, and Foucquet the voluptuous, whom -we are describing here. No better description can be given of him than -to reproduce the portrait which Nanteuil executed from life.<a name="FNanchor_22_25" id="FNanchor_22_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_25" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - -<p>What do we see there? Large features, eager, charming eyes, in roomy -orbits, the shining pupils of which gleam beneath their lids with an -expression at once of shrewdness and of pleasure. A long, straight -nose, rather thick, a full-lipped mouth beneath a fine moustache; -finally, that smiling expression which he retained even during his -trial. The face is pleasing, but there is something disquieting about -it. The costume is rich; not that of a gallant knight, or of a great -noble, but of a magistrate. A little cap, a broad collar, a dark -robe; the dress of a lawyer, but of a magnificent lawyer; for over -the robe is thrown a sort of dalmatic of Genoa velvet, with a large -flowered pattern. What this portrait does not reproduce is the charm -of the original. Foucquet possessed a sovereign grace; he knew how to -please, to inspire affection. It is true that he possessed a key to all -hearts—access to an inexhaustible treasury. He gave much, but it is -true also that he gave wisely, and he was naturally the most generous -of men.</p> - -<p>Poets he succoured with a noble delicacy. Since it is true that he -usurped the rights which were then attributed to the Sovereign, his -master, by disposing of the public revenue as though it were his own, -at least he made a royal use of the King's treasure by dispensing some -of it to Corneille, to La Fontaine and to Molière. The rest was spent -on buildings, furniture, tapestries and so forth; and this, again, when -all is said, was a royal habit, if regarded, as it should be, in the -light of ancient institutions. If Foucquet cannot be justified—and how -can he be, since there were poor in France in those days?—at least his -conduct is explained, in some degree excused, by the institutions, and, -above all, by the public morality of his period.</p> - -<p>While his Château de Vaux was building, Foucquet lived at Saint-Mandé, -in a house sumptuously surrounded by beautiful gardens. These gardens -adjoined the park where Mazarin used to spend the summer. The financier -had only to pass through a door when he wished to visit the Minister. -The estate of Saint-Mandé was formed by the union of two estates -bought from Mme. de Beauvais, Anne of Austria's first lady-in-waiting. -Gradually, Foucquet acquired more land and added wings to the main -building, so that the whole construction cost at least 1,100,000 -livres; and yet the finest part of it remained unexecuted.<a name="FNanchor_23_26" id="FNanchor_23_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_26" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> - -<p>We may form some idea of the beautiful things which Foucquet had -collected in this house by consulting the inventory preserved in the -Archives, and published by M. Bonnaffé,<a name="FNanchor_24_27" id="FNanchor_24_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_27" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> "of the statues, busts, -scabella, columns, tables and other works in marble and stone at -Saint-Mandé."</p> - -<p>Among these things there are many antiques. Most of the modern pieces -of sculpture are by Michel Anguier, who passed three years, 1655-58, -at Saint-Mandé. There he executed the group of <i>La Charité</i> which -has already been mentioned, and a <i>Hercules</i> six feet in height, as -well as "thirteen statues, life-size, copied from the most beautiful -antiques of Rome, notably the <i>Laocoôn, Hercules, Flora,</i> and <i>Juno</i> -and <i>Jupiter.</i>" This we are told by Germain Brice.<a name="FNanchor_25_28" id="FNanchor_25_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_28" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> He had seen them -in a garden in the Rue Culture-Sainte-Catherine, where they were in -the beginning of the eighteenth century, Germain Brice also tells us -that in those days eight other statues, by the same sculptor, and also -coming from Saint-Mandé, adorned the house of the Marquise de Louvois -at Choisy. We learn also, from other sources, that one of the ceilings -of Saint-Mandé was painted by Lebrun.<a name="FNanchor_26_29" id="FNanchor_26_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_29" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p> - -<p>Finally, the Abbé de Marolles speaks of the beautiful things which -Foucquet had painted at Saint-Mandé, and the Latin inscriptions which -were entrusted to Nicolas Gervaise, his physician. We may remark -in this connection that Louis XIV, who in art did little more than -continue Foucquet's undertakings, derived from the functions which -the Superintendent conferred upon this Nicolas Gervaise the ideas of -that little Academy, the Academy of Inscriptions and Medals, which he -founded five or six years later.</p> - -<p>But the most famous room in the house of which we are now speaking was -the library, because the noblest room in any house is that in which -books are lodged, and because La Fontaine and Corneille used to linger -in the library of Saint-Mandé. It was there that the poets used to wait -for the Superintendent. "Every one knows," said Corneille, "that this -great Minister was no less the Superintendent of belles-lettres than -of finance; that his house was as open to men of intellect as to men -of affairs, and that, whether in Paris or in the country, it is always -in his library that one waits for those precious moments which he -steals from his overwhelming occupations, in order to gratify those who -possess some degree of talent for successful writing."<a name="FNanchor_27_30" id="FNanchor_27_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_30" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p> - -<p>It was in this gallery that La Fontaine, as well as Corneille, used -to sit waiting until the master of the house had leisure to receive -the poet and his verses. One day he waited a whole hour. Monsieur le -Surintendant was occupied; whether with finance or with love posterity -cannot hope to know. Nevertheless, the good man found the time -short: he passed it in his own company. Unfortunately, the <i>suisse</i> -unceremoniously dismissed "the lover of the Muses," who, having -returned home, wrote an epistle which should assure his being received -the next time. "I will not be importunate," he said:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Je prendrai votre heure et la mienne.<br /> -Si je vois qu'on vous entretienne,<br /> -J'attendrai fort paisiblement<br /> -En ce superbe appartement<br /> -Ou l'on a fait d'étrange terre<br /> -Depuis peu venir à grand-erre<a name="FNanchor_28_31" id="FNanchor_28_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_31" class="fnanchor">[28]</a><br /> -(Non sans travail et quelques frais)<br /> -Des rois Céphrim et Kiopès<br /> -Le cercueil, la tombe ou la bière:<br /> -Pour les rois, ils sont en poussière:<br /> -C'est là que j'en voulais venir.<br /> -Il me fallut entretenir<br /> -Avec les monuments antiques,<br /> -Pendant qu'aux affaires publiques<br /> -Vous donniez tout votre loisir.<br /> -(Certes j'y pris un grand plaisir<br /> -Vous semble-t-il pas que l'image<br /> -D'un assez galant personnage<br /> -Sert à ces tombeaux d'ornement).<br /> -Pour vous en parler franchement,<br /> -Je ne puis m'empêcher d'en rire.<br /> -Messire Orus, me mis-je à dire,<br /> -Vous nous rendez tous ébahis:<br /> -Les enfants de votre pays<br /> -Ont, ce me semble, des bavettes<br /> -Que je trouve plaisamment faites.<br /> -On m'eut expliqué tout cela,<br /> -Mais il fallut partir de là<br /> -Sans entendre l'allégorie.<br /> -Je quittai donc la galerie,<br /> -Fort content parmi mon chagrin,<br /> -De Kiopès et de Céphrim,<br /> -D'Orus et de tout son lignage,<br /> -Et de maint autre personnage.<br /> -Puissent ceux d'Egypte en ces lieux,<br /> -Fussent-ils rois, fussent-ils dieux.<br /> -Sans violence et sans contrainte,<br /> -Se reposer dessus leur plinthe<a name="FNanchor_29_32" id="FNanchor_29_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_32" class="fnanchor">[29]</a><br /> -Jusques au brut du genre humain!<br /> -Ils ont fait assez de chemin<br /> -Pour des personnes de leur taille.<br /> -Et vous, seigneur, pour qui travaille<br /> -Le temps qui peut tout consumer,<br /> -Vous, que s'efforce de charmer<br /> -L'Antiquité qu'on idolâtre,<br /> -Pour qui le dieu de Cléopâtre<br /> -Sous nos murs enfin abordé,<br /> -Vient de Memphis à Saint-Mandé:<br /> -Puissiez vous voir ces belles-choses<br /> -Pendant mille moissons de roses....<a name="FNanchor_30_33" id="FNanchor_30_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_33" class="fnanchor">[30]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">At once absurd and charming is this song which the Gallic lark composed -to the sarcophagi of Africa. It is hardly necessary to say that the -coffins, at the strange shape of which La Fontaine wondered, had never -enclosed the bodies of "Kiopès and of Céphrim." Messire Orus had not -told his secrets to the most lovable of our poets. We must not forget -that the scholars of that time were as ignorant on this point as our -friend.</p> - -<p>These two mummy-cases were the first which had been brought to Paris -from the banks of the Nile. They bore their history written upon them, -but no one knew how to read it. The chance guess of some admirer had -attributed to them a royal origin.<a name="FNanchor_31_34" id="FNanchor_31_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_34" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> - -<p>The truth is that they had been discovered twenty-five years earlier -in a pyramid by the inhabitants of the province of Saïd; transported -to Cairo, then to Alexandria, they were bought by a French trader, who -landed them at Marseilles on the 4th September, 1632, where they were -acquired, it is believed, by a collector of that town, M. Chemblon.<a name="FNanchor_32_35" id="FNanchor_32_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_35" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p> - -<p>There was then at Rome a German Jesuit, by name Athanasius Kircher, a -man of vivid imagination, very learned, who, having dabbled in physics, -chemistry, natural history, theology, antiquities, music, ancient and -modern languages, invented the magic lantern. This reverend Father -really knew Coptic, and thought he knew something of the language -of the ancient Egyptians. To prove this he wrote a large quarto -volume entitled <i>Lingua Ægyptiaca restituta,</i> which proves quite the -contrary. But it is very easy to deceive oneself, especially when one -is a scholar. A brother of his in Jesus, Father Brusset, told him -of the arrival of the two ancient coffins, and Father Kircher went -to Marseilles to see them. Later he treated of them in his <i>Œdipus -Ægyptiacus,</i> a pleasant day-dream in four folio volumes; La Fontaine's, -in the Saint-Mandé library, was at all events shorter.</p> - -<p>About the year 1659 the sarcophagi were bought for Foucquet, and -taken to the Superintendent's house. When La Fontaine saw them they -no longer contained the bodies which Egyptian piety had destined them -to preserve. The two mummies had been unceremoniously relegated to an -outhouse.</p> - -<p>As for the sarcophagi themselves, Foucquet had intended to send them -to his house at Vaux. He had conceived the charming idea of restoring -them from the land of exile to the pyramid from which they had been -taken.<a name="FNanchor_33_36" id="FNanchor_33_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_36" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> But his days of prosperity were numbered. This project was -to be swept away like a drop of water in the great shipwreck. The two -sarcophagi, seized at Saint-Mandé, where they had remained, were valued -on the 26th of February, 1656, at 800 livres, and were classified as -"two ancient mausoleums, representing a king and queen."<a name="FNanchor_34_37" id="FNanchor_34_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_37" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> - -<p>A sculptor, whose name remains unknown, bought them at the public sale -which followed Foucquet's condemnation. He then gave them to Le Nôtre. -Le Nôtre, having passed from the service of Foucquet into that of the -King, was then living in a little pavilion at the Tuileries, into which -the two mausoleums, as the inventory calls them, could not enter. They -were therefore highly inconvenient guests. They were placed "in a -little garden of the Tuileries, where these rare curiosities remained -for a long time exposed to the injurious effect of the atmosphere and -greatly neglected."<a name="FNanchor_35_38" id="FNanchor_35_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_38" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p> - -<p>Finding that he had no use for them, Le Nôtre presented them to a -neighbour and friend, M. d'Ussé, Comptroller of the King's Household, -whose garden adjoined that of the Tuileries. M. d'Ussé had them placed -"at the end of a bowered alley." According to the virtuoso, Germain -Brice, the Comptroller, did not realize their value and their rarity. -A Flora or a Pomona, smiling on her marble pedestal, would have been -more to his liking. Nevertheless he had them taken to his estate of -Ussé, in Touraine, which shows that he did not disdain them. Thus -the repose which La Fontaine desired for these worshippers of Messire -Orus was denied them. Even yet they had not made their last journey. -M. d'Ussé had married a child of twelve, who was the daughter of a -great man. Her name was Jeanne-Françoise de Vauban. Her father, then -Commissary-General of Fortifications, paid a visit of some length to -his son-in-law. He could not resist the temptation of shifting the -soil, and he made a terrace; at the foot of this terrace he constructed -a niche for the two "mausoleums." Now, half a century later there -lived at a distance of five miles from Ussé an antiquarian called La -Sauvagère, who went up and down the country examining ancient stones, -for stones had voices before to-day. He did not fail to go to Ussé. He -saw the sarcophagi, and marvelled at them. He wrote about them to Court -de Géblin, who replied to his letter. Court de Géblin was investigating -the origin of the world. This time he thought he had found it.</p> - -<p>La Sauvagère published plates of the sarcophagi and of the -hieroglyphics which covered them.<a name="FNanchor_36_39" id="FNanchor_36_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_39" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> Here was a fine subject for -conjecture. After thirty years, La Sauvagère's enthusiasm had not -cooled. To the Prince de Montbazon, who had just bought the château, -and the Egyptians with it, he ordained fervently: "Prince, there you -have something which is by itself worth the whole of your estate."</p> - -<p>In 1807 the Egyptians were still in the niche where Vauban had -installed them. The Marquis de Chalabre then sold the estate of Ussé, -which he had inherited from his father, but he kept the sarcophagi and -took them to Paris th his apartment.</p> - -<p>Then they disappeared, and, in 1843, no one knew what had become of -them. M. Bonardot, the archaeologist, who displayed so much care in the -preservation of old engravings, visited that year the cemetery of the -old Abbey of Longchamps. By the edge of a path he discovered two stones -sticking out of the ground. Having poked about with his stick, he saw -that these stones were in the form of heads, and by the hair-dressing -he recognized two Egyptians. He made inquiries, and learned that they -were the two sarcophagi, sent there by M. de Chalabre's son, and -forgotten. M. de Chalabre was then dying; his heirs had the Egyptians -disinterred and gave them to the Louvre Museum, and there they are -to-day.<a name="FNanchor_37_40" id="FNanchor_37_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_40" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> Their names have been deciphered. They are not royal names. -One is called Hor-Kheb, the other Ank-Mer.<a name="FNanchor_38_41" id="FNanchor_38_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_41" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p> - -<p>They wear their beards in beard-cases, according to the custom of their -time and country, and it was these beard-cases that La Fontaine took -for bibs.</p> - -<p>The gallery of Saint-Mandé, which contained these two monuments that we -have followed so far afield, was magnificently decorated with thirteen -ancient gods in marble, life-size, and thirty-three busts in bronze or -marble, placed on pedestals. Among these busts were those of Socrates -and Seneca. Imagine these faces, brown or luminous, ranged about the -chamber, where the books displayed the sombre resplendence of their -brown and gilt backs. Imagine the pictures, the cabinets of medals, -the tables of porphyry, the mosaics; imagine a thousand precious -curiosities, and you will have some idea of this gallery, the rich -treasures of which were to be dispersed almost as soon as they had been -collected.</p> - -<p>The Superintendent had little time for reading, but he loved to turn -over the pages of his books, for he was a well-read man. He promised -himself the pleasures of learned, leisurely study in his old age, -when he would no longer read a welcome in ladies' eyes. Meanwhile, he -had had twenty-seven thousand volumes arranged on the shelves of his -gallery, around those two sarcophagi the story of which had carried -us so far afield from Saint-Mandé and the last days of Mazarin. These -twenty-seven thousand volumes comprised seven thousand in folio, -twelve thousand in quarto and eight thousand in octavo. They were not -all in the gallery. There was, in particular, a room for the "Alcorans, -the Talmuds and some old Bible commentaries."<a name="FNanchor_39_42" id="FNanchor_39_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_42" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p> - -<p>The rich collection of printed books which he had gathered together -embraced universal history, medicine, law, natural history, -mathematics, oratory, theology and philosophy, as well as the fine -arts, represented by illustrated volumes.</p> - -<p>These books, of which it would not be possible to compile a catalogue -to-day, were not, it would seem, contained in beautiful morocco -bindings, finely gilt and richly adorned with coats of arms, like those -which honoured Mazarin's library. The financier had bought hastily, in -a wholesale fashion, books already bound, so that we cannot rank him -among the great bibliophiles, although he may be numbered among the -lovers of books.</p> - -<p>That Foucquet loved books, as he loved gardens, as he loved everything -flattering to the taste of a well-bred man, that he even preferred -books to anything else, there is no doubt, for we have irrefutable -testimony of the fact. In the <i>Conseils de la Sagesse,</i> which he wrote -in prison, may be found this beautiful phrase: "You know that formerly -I used to find convention in my books."<a name="FNanchor_40_43" id="FNanchor_40_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_43" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> - -<p>Alas, why did he not oftener listen to those consolers which speak so -gently and so softly, and which can bestow every blessing upon the -heart that is innocent of desire? <i>In angello cum libello.</i> Therein, -perhaps, resides all wisdom. But, if every one sat in his corner and -read, what would books be about? They are filled with the sorrows -and the errors of men, and it is by saddening us that they give us -consolation. Yes, there was in Foucquet the stuff of a librarian in the -great style of a Peiresc or a Naudé. But this stuff was but a fragment -of the whole piece. Cæsar, also, would have been the first book-lover -of his day if he had not been eager to conquer and to reign, if he -had not possessed a genius for organizing Rome and the world. One -needs a childlike candour and a pious zeal if one would shut oneself -up with the dust of old books, with the souls of the dead. The humble -book-lover who holds this pen, for his own part, savours with delight -that reposeful charm, but he knows well that the purity of this charm -can only be bought at the price of renunciation and resignation.</p> - -<p>A word as to what became of Foucquet's library. But let the reader -not be alarmed; the fate of the twenty-seven thousand volumes which -composed it will not occupy us so long as that of the two Egyptian -sarcophagi. This library was sold by auction, like the rest of the -Superintendent's movables. Guy Patin wrote from Paris on the 25th -February, 1665: "M. Foucquet's effects are about to be sold. There is a -fine library. It is said that M. Colbert wants it." Perhaps Colbert did -want it, but for the King. Colbert was not a second Foucquet.</p> - -<p>Carcasi, the keeper of the Royal Library, bought for the King about -thirteen thousand volumes. The accounts of the King's buildings -mention, under the date of January, 1667, the payment of six thousand -livres "to the Sieur Mandat, liquidator of the assets of M. Foucquet, -for the price of the books which the King has had bought from the -Library of Saint-Mandé." And another payment of fourteen thousand -livres "to the Sieur Arnoul for books on the History of Italy, which -His Majesty has also bought."</p> - -<p>As for the manuscripts, they were bought by various libraries and -scattered. The catalogue which the purchasers compiled of these -manuscripts forms a small duodecimo volume of sixty-two pages, -entitled: <i>Mémoires des Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque de M. Foucquet, -qui se vendent à Paris, chez Denis Thierry, Frédéric Léonard, Jean -Dupuis, rue Saint-Jacques, et Claude Barbin, au Palais. M. D. C. -LXVII.</i></p> - -<p>So much for the house; now for the guests. We have already met La -Fontaine and Corneille in the gallery. We shall see them there again; -they are assiduous visitors. Old Corneille brings his grievances -thither. Poor, half forgotten, he was then labouring under the blow of -the failure of his <i>Pertharite.</i> His great genius was wearing out, was -becoming harsh and uncouth, and poor Pertharite, King of the Lombards, -who was too fond of his wife Rodelinde, had met with a bad reception in -the theatre. Corneille, who was slow to take a hint, for acuteness is -not a characteristic of men of his temperament, nevertheless understood -that the hour of retreat had sounded. With a vestige of pride, which -became his genius, he pretended to take initiation in the retirement -which was forced upon him. "It is better," he said, "that I should -withdraw on my own account rather than wait until I am flatly told to -do so; and it is just that after twenty years' work I should begin to -see that I am growing too old to be still fashionable. At any rate, I -have this satisfaction: that I leave the French stage better than I -found it, with regard both to art and to morals."</p> - -<p>A touching and a noble farewell, but a painful one. Foucquet recalled -him; a kind word and a small pension sufficed to cheer the old man's -heart, to console him for long neglect, and for the languishing of his -fame. He presented his new benefactor with an epistle full of gratitude:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Oui, généreux appui de tout notre Parnasse,<br /> -Tu me rends ma vigeur lorsque tu me fais grâce,<br /> -Ec je veux bien apprendre à tout notre avenir<br /> -Que tes regards bénins ont su me rajeunir.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -Je sens le même feu, je sens la même audace<br /> -Qui lit plaindre le Cid, qui fit combattre Horace,<br /> -Et je me trouve encor la main qui crayonna<br /> -L'âme du grand Pompée et l'esprit de Cinna.<br /> -Choisis-moi seulement quelque nom dans l'histoire<br /> -Pour qui tu veuilles place au Temple de la Gloire,<br /> -Quelque nom favori qu'il te plaise arracher<br /> -A la nuit de la tombe, aux cendres du bûcher.<br /> -Soit qu'il faille ternir ceux d'Énée et d'Achille<br /> -Par un noble attentat sur Homère et Virgile,<br /> -Soit qu'il faille obscurcir par un dernier effort<br /> -Ceux que j'ai sur la scène affranchis de la mort;<br /> -Tu me verras le même, et je te ferai dire,<br /> -Si jamais pleinement ta grande âme m'inspire,<br /> -Que dix lustres et plus n'ont pas tout emporté,<br /> -Cet assemblage heureux de force et de clarté,<br /> -Ces prestiges secrets de l'aimable imposture,<br /> -Qu'à l'envie m'ont prêtés et l'art et la nature.<br /> -N'attends pas toutefois que j'ose m'enhardir,<br /> -Ou jusqu' à te dépeindre ou jusqu' à t'applaudir,<br /> -Ce serait présumer que d'une seule vue<br /> -Jamais vu de ton cœur la plus vaste étendue,<br /> -Qu'un moment suffrait à mes débiles yeux<br /> -Pour démêler en toi ces dons brillants des deux,<br /> -De qui l'inépuisable et per çante lumière.<br /> -Sitôt que tu parais, fait baisser la paupière.<br /> -J'ai déjà vu beaucoup en ce moment heureux,<br /> -Je t'ai vu magnanime, affable, généreux,<br /> -Et ce qu'on voit à peine après dix ans d'excuses,<br /> -Je t'ai vu tout à coup libéral pour les Muses.<a name="FNanchor_41_44" id="FNanchor_41_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_44" class="fnanchor">[41]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">This, after all, is little more than a receipt expressed in Spanish -style. None the less, the poet promises the financier that he will -treat the subject which the latter indicates. Foucquet gave him three -subjects to choose from. <i>Œdipe</i> was one of the three; it was the one -which Corneille chose. He treated it, and we may say that he treated it -gallantly. He endowed his heroes with wonderfully polite manners. It -is charming to hear Theseus, Prince of Athens, saying to the beautiful -Dirce:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Quelque ravage affreux qu'étale ici la peste,<br /> -L'absence aux vrais amants est encor plus funeste.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Old Corneille, delighted with himself for having conceived such -beautiful things, flattered himself that <i>Œdipe</i> was his masterpiece, -although it had taken him only two months to write it; he had made -haste in order to please the Superintendent. This work, which was in -the fashion and was, after all, from the pen of the great Corneille, -was received with favour. The gazeteer, Loret, bears witness to this in -the execrable verses of a poet who has to write so much a week:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Monsieur de Corneille l'aîné,<br /> -Depuis peu de temps a donné<br /> -A ceux de l'hôtel de Bourgogne<a name="FNanchor_42_45" id="FNanchor_42_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_45" class="fnanchor">[42]</a><br /> -Son dernier ouvrage ou besogne,<br /> -Ouvrage grand et signalé,<br /> -Qui <i>l'Œdipe</i> est intitulé,<br /> -Ouvrage, dis-je, dramatique,<br /> -Mais si tendre et si pathétique,<br /> -Que, sans se sentir émouvoir,<br /> -On ne peut l'entendre ou le voir.<br /> -Jamais pièce de cette sorte<br /> -N'eut l'élocution si forte;<br /> -Jamais, dit-on, dans l'univers,<br /> -On n'entendit de si beaux vers.<br /> -</p> - -<p>We mentioned that Foucquet, when proposing to Corneille the subject of -<i>Œdipe,</i> suggested two other subjects, one of which was <i>Camma.</i> The -third we do not know.<a name="FNanchor_43_46" id="FNanchor_43_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_46" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> Camma, who slays her husband's murderer upon -the altar to which he has led her, is no commonplace heroine. Corneille -was a good kinsman; he passed on <i>Camma</i> to his brother Thomas, who -made a pretty dull tragedy out of it; such was the custom of this -excellent person. Thomas also participated in the Superintendent's -generosity. He dedicated to Foucquet his tragedy <i>La Mort de Commode,</i> -in return for the "generous marks of esteem" and benefits which he had -received. He said, with charming politeness, "I wished to offer myself, -and you have singled me out."</p> - -<p>Pellisson, a brilliant wit and a capable man, became, after 1656, one -of Foucquet's principal clerks. He had for Mademoiselle de Scudéry -a beautiful affection which he loaded with so many adornments that -it seems to-day to have been a miraculous work of artifice. It was -marvellously decked out and embellished; an exquisite work of art. -Had they both been handsome, they would not have introduced into -their liaison so many complications; they would have loved each other -naturally. But he was ugly, so was she, and as one must love in this -world—everybody says so—they loved each other with what they had, -with their pretty wit and their subtlety. Being able to do no better, -they created a masterpiece.</p> - -<p>Pellisson was an assiduous guest at the Saturdays of this learned and -"precious" spinster. There he met Madame du Plessis-Bellière, whose -friendship for Foucquet is well known to us. Witty herself, she was -naturally inclined to favour wit in the new Sappho, who was then -publishing <i>Clélie</i> in ten volumes, and in Pellisson, her relations -with whom were as pleasant as they were discreet. She introduced -them both to the Superintendent, who lost no time in attaching them -both to himself in order not to separate these two incomparable -lovers. Pellisson paid Mademoiselle de Scudéry's debt by writing a -<i>Remerciement du siècle à M. le surintendant Foucquet,</i> and presently -on his own account he fabricated a second <i>Remerciement,</i> full of those -elaborate allegories which people revelled in at that period, but which -to-day would send us to sleep, standing.</p> - -<p>Pellisson, having become the Superintendent's steward, bargained with -his tax-farmers and corrected his master's love-letters, for he was a -resourceful person; and, as he piqued himself especially on his wit, -he obligingly served as Foucquet's intermediary with men of letters. -On his recommendation the Superintendent gave a receipt for the taxes -of Forez to the poet Jean Hesnault, who thus found at Saint-Mandé -an end of the poverty which he had so long paraded up and down the -world, in the Low Countries, in England and in Sicily. Jean Hesnault -was an intelligent person, but untrustworthy: "Loving pleasure with -refinement," says Bayle, "delicately and artistically debauched."</p> - -<p>A pupil of Gassendi, like Molière, Bernir and Cyrano, he was an -atheist, and did not conceal the fact. For the rest, he was a good -poet, and he had a great spirit. Was it his audacious, profound and -melancholy philosophy which recommended him to the Superintendent's -favour? Hardly. Foucquet in his times of good fortune was far too much -occupied with the affairs of this world to be greatly interested in -those of another. And when misfortune brought him leisure, he is said -to have sought consolation in piety. However that may be, the kindness -which he showed to Jean Hesnault was not bestowed upon an ungrateful -recipient. Hesnault, as we shall see, appeared among the most ardent -defenders of the Superintendent in the days of his misfortune. Foucquet -also counted among his pensioners a man as pious as Hesnault was the -reverse. I refer to Guillaume de Brébeuf, a Norman nobleman, who -translated the <i>Pharsale,</i> who was extremely zealous in converting the -Calvinists of his province. He was always shivering with fever; but his -greatest misfortune was his poverty. Cardinal Mazarin had made him -many promises; it was Foucquet who kept them.</p> - -<p>He also helped Boisrobert, who was growing old. Now, old age, which -is never welcome to anybody, is most unwelcome to buffoons. This -poetical Abbé, whom Richelieu described as "the ardent solicitor of -the unwilling Muses," had long been accustomed to ask, to receive and -to thank. Compliments cost him nothing, and he stuffed his collected -<i>Épîtres en vers,</i> published in 1658, with eulogies, in which Foucquet -is compared to the heroes, the gods and the stars. Gombault, who wrote -in a more concise style, and was a shepherd on Parnassus, dedicated -his <i>Danaides</i> to him, by way of expressing his thanks. Before 1658 -this poet of the Hôtel de Rambouillet had experienced the financier's -generosity. As for poor Scarron, he was in an unfortunate position. He, -unhappy man, had taken part in the Fronde. He had decried Jules, and -Jules, not generally vindictive, was not forgiving in this case, where -to forgive was to pay. Foucquet treated the Frondeur as a beggar, and -then, repenting, gave him a pension of 1600 livres. Nevertheless, he -remained indigent and needy. His creditors often hammered violently at -the knocker of his iron-clamped door, making a terrible noise in the -street. Once the poet was blockaded by certain nasty-looking fellows. -Three thousand francs, which Foucquet sent through the excellent -Pellisson, came just in the nick of time to deliver him from prison. -Madame Scarron was in the good books of Madame la Surintendante. From -Foucquet she obtained for her husband the right to organize a company -of unloaders at the city gates. The waggoners, doubtless, would have -been just as well pleased to do without these unloaders, who made them -pay through the nose, but the crippled poet who directed them received -by this means a revenue of between two and three thousand livres.</p> - -<p>I forgot Loret; the worst of men, because the worst of rhymers, and -there is nothing in the world worse than a bad poet. Yet every one must -live—at least, so it is said—and Loret lived, thanks to Foucquet. -He received his pittance on condition that he would moderate his -praises. Foucquet was a man of taste; he feared tactless praises, a -fear which we can hardly appreciate to-day. Nevertheless, in spite of -these remonstrances, Loret did not cease to be eulogistic. It was after -having celebrated in very bad verses Foucquet as a demigod that he -added:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -J'en pourrais dire d'avantage,<br /> -Mais à ce charmant personnage<br /> -Les éloges ne plaisent pas;<br /> -Les siens sont pour lui sans appas.<br /> -Il aime peu qu'on le loue,<br /> -Et touchant ce sujet, j'avoue<br /> -Que l'excellent sieur Pellisson<br /> -M'a fait plusieurs fois la leçon;<br /> -Mais, comme son rare mérite<br /> -Tout mon cœur puissamment excite,<br /> -Et que ce sujet m'est très cher.<br /> -J'aurais peine à m'en empêcher.<br /> -</p> - -<p>But enough about this gazetteer, who, after all, was not a bad fellow, -although he never wrote anything but foolishness, and let us come to -the poet whose delightful genius even to-day sheds a glory over the -memory of Nicolas Foucquet.</p> - -<p>La Fontaine was presented to Foucquet by his uncle, Jannart, in the -course of the year 1654. He was then absolutely unknown outside his -town of Château-Thierry, where he was said to have courted a certain -Abbess, and to have been seen at night hastening over a frosty road, -with a dark lantern in his hand and white stockings on his feet. That -was his only fame. If he was then occupied with poetry, it was for -himself alone, and to the knowledge, perhaps, of only a few friends.</p> - -<p>Jacques Jannart, his uncle, or, to be more precise, the husband of -the aunt of La Fontaine's wife, was King's Counsellor and Deputy -Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament. He was a great personage and -a good man. He was not displeased that his nephew should be a poet, -should commit follies and should borrow money. He himself was not -innocent of gallantry, and was inclined to interpret the law in favour -of fair ladies. He thought that La Fontaine's poetry would please the -Superintendent and that the Superintendent's patronage would please the -poet.</p> - -<p>Foucquet had good taste; La Fontaine pleased him; indeed, he has the -merit of having been the first to appreciate the poet. He gave him a -pension of one thousand francs on condition that he should produce a -poem once a quarter. What is the date of this gift I do not know; the -poet's receipts do not go further back than 1659, if Mathieu Marais<a name="FNanchor_44_47" id="FNanchor_44_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_47" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> -was correct in attributing to this same year a poem which precedes -the receipts, and which the poet published in 1675<a name="FNanchor_45_48" id="FNanchor_45_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_48" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> with this -description:</p> - -<p><i>M.</i> [<i>Foucquet</i>] <i>having said that I ought to give him something for -his endeavour to make my verses known, I sent, shortly after, this -letter to</i> [<i>Madame Foucquet.</i>]<a name="FNanchor_46_49" id="FNanchor_46_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_49" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></p> - -<p>In this poem he jokes about the engagement which he had entered into -with the Superintendent for the receipt of his pension:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Je vous l'avoue, et c'est la vérité,<br /> -Que Monseigneur n'a que trop mérité<br /> -La pension qu'il veut que je lui donne.<br /> -En bonne foi je ne sache personne<br /> -A qui Phébus s'engageât aujourd'hui<br /> -De la donner plus volontiers qu'à lui.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -Pour acquitter celle-ci chaque année,<br /> -Il me faudra quatre termes égaux;<br /> -A la Saint-Jean je promets madrigaux,<br /> -Courts et troussés et de taille mignonne;<br /> -Longue lecture en été n'est pas bonne.<br /> -Le chef d'octobre aura son tour après,<br /> -Ma Muse alors prétend se mettre en frais.<br /> -Notre héros, si le beau temps ne change,<br /> -De menus vers aura pleine vendange.<br /> -Ne dites point que c'est menu présent,<br /> -Car menus vers sont en vogue à présent.<br /> -Vienne l'an neuf, ballade est destinée;<br /> -Qui rit ce jour, il rit toute l'année.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -Pâques, jour saint, veut autre poésie;<br /> -J'envoyerais lors, si Dieu me prête vie,<br /> -Pour achever toute la pension,<br /> -Quelque sonnet plein de dévotion.<br /> -Ce terme-là pourrait être le pire.<br /> -On me voit peu sur tels sujets écrire,<br /> -Mais tout au moins je serai diligent,<br /> -Et, si j'y manque, envoyez un sergent,<br /> -Faites saisir sans aucune remise<br /> -Stances, rondeaux et vers de toute guise.<br /> -Ce sont nos biens: les doctes nourrissons<br /> -N'amassent rien, si ce n'est des chansons.<a name="FNanchor_47_50" id="FNanchor_47_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_50" class="fnanchor">[47]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">This engagement was kept, with certain modifications, for a year at -least. The poet's acknowledgments were in a graceful and natural style, -unequalled since the time of Marot. The ballad for the midsummer -quarter was sent to Madame la Surintendante:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Reine des cœurs, objet délicieux,<br /> -Que suit l'enfant qu'on adore en des lieux<br /> -Nommés Paphos, Amathonte et Cythère,<br /> -Vous qui charmez les hommes et les dieux,<br /> -En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire.<br /> -</p> - -<p>We have seen Madame Foucquet as Charity; now we see her as Venus. But -it was only to poets that she was a goddess; in reality she was a good -woman whose mental qualities were lacking in charm; she was sympathetic -only in misfortune.</p> - -<p>La Fontaine, in this poem, asks Madame Foucquet whether "one of -the Smiles" whom she "has for secretary" will send him a glorious -acquittal. Now, the Smile who was Madame la Surintendante's secretary -was Pellisson. As we have said, he was a wit. It delighted him to -think himself a Smile hovering round the Venus of Vaux. As for the -acknowledgment he was asked for, he composed two, one in his own name, -and the other in that of his divine Surintendante. Here is the first, -which is called the Public Acknowledgment:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Par devant moi sur Parnasse notaire,<br /> -Se présenta la reine des beautés,<br /> -Et des vertus le parfait exemplaire,<br /> -Qui lut ces vers, puis les ayant comptés,<br /> -Pesés, revus, approuvés et vantés,<br /> -Pour le passé voulut s'en satisfaire,<br /> -Se réservant le tribut ordinaire,<br /> -Pour l'avenir aux termes arrêtés.<br /> -Muses de Vaux et vous, leur secrétaire,<br /> -Voilà l'acquit tel que vous souhaitez.<br /> -En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Here is the second, under private seal, in the name of the -Surintendante:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -De mes deux yeux, ou de mes deux soleils<br /> -J'ai lu vos vers qu'on trouve sans pareils,<br /> -Et qui n'ont rien qui ne me doive plaire.<br /> -Je vous tiens quitte et promets vous fournir<br /> -De quoi par tout vous le faire tenir,<br /> -Pour le passé, mais non pour l'avenir.<br /> -En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire.<a name="FNanchor_48_51" id="FNanchor_48_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_51" class="fnanchor">[48]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>But Jean could not lay restraint upon himself. As he himself -ingenuously admits, he divided his life into two parts: one he passed -in sleeping, the other in doing nothing. For writing verse was doing -nothing for him, it came to him so naturally. But he could not do it -if he were obliged. In October, the second quarter, when his second -receipt fell due, we find the poet very much embarrassed. He sends a -poem, the refrain of which betrays this embarrassment:</p> - -<p> -To promise is one thing, to keep one's promise is another.<a name="FNanchor_49_52" id="FNanchor_49_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_52" class="fnanchor">[49]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>In the first quarter of 1660, all he produced was a dizaine for Madame -Foucquet. Foucquet, not unnaturally, mildly objected; and the poet -replied:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Bien vous dirai qu'au nombre s'arrêter<br /> -N'est pas le mieux, seigneur....<br /> -</p> - -<p>Foucquet was content and did not trouble his poetic debtor any further. -The latter thought that he would pay his debt by a descriptive poem of -some length, but this poem, <i>Le Songe de Vaux,</i> was never finished. The -terrible awakening was near at hand.</p> - -<p>We have already seen La Fontaine in the gallery at Saint-Mandé. Whilst -he was waiting Foucquet was busy, whether with an affair of State or of -the heart is doubtful, for he burnt the candle at both ends. "He took -everything upon himself," says the Abbé de Choisy, "he aspired to be -the first Minister, without losing a single moment of his pleasures. -He would pretend to be working alone in his study at Saint-Mandé; and -the whole Court, anticipating his future greatness, would wait in -his antechamber, loudly praising the indefatigable industry of this -great man, while he himself would go down the private staircase into -a garden, where his nymphs, whose names I might mention if I chose, -and they were not among the least distinguished, awaited him, and for -no small reward."<a name="FNanchor_50_53" id="FNanchor_50_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_53" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> He would send sometimes three, sometimes four -thousand pistoles to the ladies of his heart,<a name="FNanchor_51_54" id="FNanchor_51_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_54" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> and some of the most -charming sought to please him.<a name="FNanchor_52_55" id="FNanchor_52_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_55" class="fnanchor">[52]</a></p> - -<p>Would it be true, however, to say with Nicolas:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Never did a Superintendent meet with a cruel lady.<a name="FNanchor_53_56" id="FNanchor_53_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_56" class="fnanchor">[53]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>Madame de Sévigné was wooed by Foucquet, and yet she had no difficulty -in escaping from him. She made him understand that she would give -nothing and accept nothing. She was reasonable; he became so. "Reduced -to friendship, he transformed his love," says Bussy, "into an esteem -for a virtue hitherto unknown to him."<a name="FNanchor_54_57" id="FNanchor_54_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_57" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> Madame de Sévigné was not -alone obdurate.</p> - -<p>Madame Scarron, beautiful and prudish, found a way to obtain great -benefits from Foucquet without involving her reputation. When the -Superintendent granted her a favour, it was Madame Foucquet whom she -thanked. Thus, for the privilege which we have mentioned: "Madame," -she writes to Madame la Surintendante, "I will not trouble you further -about the matter of the unloaders. It is happily terminated through the -intervention of that hero to whom we all owe everything, and whom you -have the pleasure of loving. The provost of the merchants listened to -reason as soon as he heard the great name of M. Foucquet. I entreat of -you, Madame, to allow me to come and thank you at Vaux. Madame de Vassé -has assured me that you continue to regard me kindly, and that you -will not consider me an intruder in those alleys where one may reflect -with so much reason, and jest with so much grace."<a name="FNanchor_55_58" id="FNanchor_55_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_58" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p> - -<p>Madame Foucquet, who was a kind woman, wished to keep Madame Scarron -about her; but the cunning fly would not allow itself to be caught. She -wrote to her indiscreet benefactress: "Madame, my obligation towards -you did not permit me to hesitate concerning the proposition which -Madame Bonneau made me on your behalf. It was so flattering to me, -I am so disgusted with my present circumstances, and I have so much -respect for you, that I should not have wavered for a moment, even -if the gratitude which I owe you had not influenced me; but, Madame, -M. Scarron, although your indebted and very humble servant, cannot -give his consent. My entreaties have failed to move him, my reasons -to persuade him. He implores you to love me less, or at any rate to -display your affection in a way which would be less costly to him. -Read his request, Madame, and pardon the ardour of a husband who has -no other resource against tedium, no other consolation in all his -misfortunes than the wife whom he loves. I told Madame Bonneau that -if you shorten the term I might, perhaps, obtain his consent, but I -see that it is useless thus to flatter myself, and that I had too far -presumed upon my power. I entreat of you, Madame, to continue your -kindness towards me. No one is more attached to you than I am, and my -gratitude will cease only with my life."<a name="FNanchor_56_59" id="FNanchor_56_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_59" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></p> - -<p>Mademoiselle du Fouilloux was no prude; quite the contrary. She -appeared at Court in 1652; she showed herself and she pleased.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Une fleur fraîche et printanière,<br /> -Un nouvel astre, une lumière,<br /> -Savoir l'aimable du Fouilloux,<br /> -Dont plusieurs beaux yeux sont jaloux,<br /> -D'autant que cette demoiselle<br /> -Est charmante, brillante et belle,<br /> -Ayant pour escorte l'Amour,<br /> -A fait son entrée à la Cour<br /> -Et pris le nom, cette semaine,<br /> -De fille d'honneur de la reine.<a name="FNanchor_57_60" id="FNanchor_57_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_60" class="fnanchor">[57]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>She figured in all the ballets in which the King danced, and Loret -sings that in 1658:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Fouilloux, l'une des trois pucelles,<br /> -Comme elle est belle entre les belles,<br /> -Par ses attraits toujours vainqueurs,<br /> -Y faisait des rafles de cœurs.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Foucquet lost his heart to her. He spoke; he gained a hearing. -Mademoiselle du Fouilloux, frivolous and calculating, was doubly made -for him. Their liaison was intimate and political. Fouilloux was -absolutely self-interested; she did not ask for what was her due, being -too great a lady for that, but she demanded it by means of a third -person, and even insisted upon advances. "I will tell you," wrote this -go-between,<a name="FNanchor_58_61" id="FNanchor_58_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_61" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> "that I have seen Fouilloux prepared to entreat me to -find a way to inform you, as if on my own account, that I knew you -would please her if you would advance one hundred pistoles on this -year's pension."</p> - -<p>We know also, from the same source, that the beauty asked for money -to pay her debts, and did not pay them. Here is the end of the note: -"Mademoiselle du Fouilloux has assured me that, of all the money that -you have given her, she has not paid a halfpenny. She has gambled -it all away." We must do justice to Foucquet, and to Fouilloux; -they were very reasonable. Fouilloux's one thought was to have her -own establishment, and she had her eye on an honest man, something -of a simpleton, but of good family, whom she had watched by the -Superintendent's police.</p> - -<p>In those days the Queen's ladies-in-waiting were flattered in song. -Fouilloux had verses addressed to her:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Foilloux sans songer à plaire<br /> -Plaît pourtant infiniment<br /> -Par un air libre et charmant.<br /> -C'est un dessein téméraire<br /> -Que d'attaquer sa rigueur.<br /> -Si j'eusse été sans affaires<br /> -La belle aurait eu mon cœur.<a name="FNanchor_59_62" id="FNanchor_59_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_62" class="fnanchor">[59]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>Other verses celebrate Menneville:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Toute la Cour est éprise<br /> -De ces attraits glorieux<br /> -Dont vous enchantez les yeux,<br /> -Menneville; ma franchise<br /> -S'y devrait bien engager;<br /> -Mais mon cœur est place prise<br /> -Et vous n'y sauriez loger.<br /> -</p> - -<p>This Menneville, celebrated in such bad verse, was, with Fouilloux, -the prettiest woman at Court. On this matter we have the testimony of -Jean Racine, who, banished to the depths of the provinces, wrote to -his friend La Fontaine, citing Fouilloux and Menneville as examples of -beauty. "I cannot refrain from saying a word as to the beauties of this -province.... There is not a village maiden, nor a cobbler's wife, who -might not vie in beauty with the Fouilloux and the Mennevilles.... All -the women here are dazzling, and they deck themselves out in a manner -which is to them the most natural fashion in the world, and as for the -attractions of their person,</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -<i>Colors vents, corpus solidum et sued plenum.</i>"<a name="FNanchor_60_63" id="FNanchor_60_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_63" class="fnanchor">[60]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>Of the two, Menneville is thought to have been the more beautiful. A -song says of her:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Cachez-vous, filles de la reine,<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6.5em;">Petites,</span><br /> -Car Menneville est de retour,<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6.5em;">M'amour.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>She sold herself to the Superintendent. As she did not equal Fouilloux -in her genius for intrigue, Foucquet used her more kindly. While this -lady-in-waiting was yielding to the suit of the seigneur of Vaux, -she was trying to force the Duc de Damville to marry her, as he had -promised. Like Fouilloux, she begged the Superintendent to help her -to get settled. He did so with a good grace, and sent the fair lady -fifteen thousand crowns, which ought to have decided Damville. The -latter hesitated. An accident decided for him: he died.</p> - -<p>There were no pleasures, no distractions—if we employ the word in -the strict sense which Pascal then gave it—there were no means of -enjoyment and oblivion for which Foucquet had not the most tremendous -capacity. Business and building were not enough to absorb his vast -energies. He was a gambler. The stakes at his tables were terribly -high. So they were at Madame Foucquet's. In one day Gourville won -eighteen thousand livres from the Comte d'Avaux. No money was laid -on the table, but at the end of the game the players settled their -accounts. They played not only for money, but for gems, ornaments, -lace, collars, valued at seventy to eighty pistoles each.</p> - -<p>Foucquet, playing against Gourville, in one day lost sixty thousand -livres. "He played," said Gourville, "with cut cards which were worth -ten or twenty pistoles each. I put one thousand pistoles before me -almost desiring that he should win back something, which did happen. -Nevertheless, he was not pleased to see I was leaving the game."<a name="FNanchor_61_64" id="FNanchor_61_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_64" class="fnanchor">[61]</a></p> - -<p>This wild play was not altogether to the Superintendent's disadvantage. -In the end his intimate friends, who were great personages, were -ruined, and came to him for mercy. Thus, for instance, he held in his -power Hugues de Lyonne—the great Lyonne. But he himself was at his -last gasp, and overwhelmed with anxiety.</p> - -<p>Sole Superintendent of Finance since Servien's death, on the 17th -February, 1659, Foucquet had filled Mazarin's crop without having won -him, for Mazarin loved and served only himself, his own people and -the State. As a private individual he was self-interested, covetous -and miserly. As a public man he desired the good of the kingdom, the -greatness of France. He was never grateful to his public servants for -anything they did for his own person. Foucquet felt this; he perceived -that he had no hold over this man, and that Mazarin, when dying, might -ruin him, having no further need of him.</p> - -<p>For Mazarin was dying; he was dying with all the heartrending regret -of a Magnifico who feels that he is being torn from his jewels, his -tapestries and his books—beautifully bound in morocco, delicately -tooled—and also, by a curious inconsistency, with the serenity of a -great statesman, of another Richelieu, full of a generous grief that he -could no longer play his part in those great affairs which had rendered -his life illustrious. He was anxious to assure the prosperity of the -kingdom after his death. "Sire," he said to the young Louis XIV, "I -owe you everything, but I think I can in a manner discharge my debt by -giving you Colbert."<a name="FNanchor_62_65" id="FNanchor_62_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_65" class="fnanchor">[62]</a></p> - -<p>At the very point of death he was conferring with the King in secret -conversations, which caused Foucquet great anxiety, precisely because -they were concealed from him. Then, at length, the light of eyes which -had so long sought for gold and sumptuous draperies, and pierced the -hearts of men, was finally extinguished.</p> - -<p>On the 9th March, 1661, as Foucquet, leaving his house of Saint-Mandé, -was crossing the Gardens on foot to go to Vincennes, he met young -Brienne, who was getting out of his couch, and learned from him the -great news.</p> - -<p>"He is dead, then!" murmured Foucquet. "Henceforth I shall not know in -whom to confide. People always do things by halves. Oh, how distressing -I The King is waiting for me, and I ought to be there among the first! -My God! Monsieur de Brienne, tell me what is happening, so that I may -not commit any indiscretion through ignorance."<a name="FNanchor_63_66" id="FNanchor_63_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_66" class="fnanchor">[63]</a></p> - -<p>The day after Mazarin's death the King of twenty-three summoned -Foucquet, with the Chancellor, Séguier, the Ministers and Secretaries -of State, and addressed them in these words: "Hitherto I have been -content to leave my affairs in the hands of the late Cardinal. It is -time for me to control them myself. You will help me with your counsels -when I ask you for them. Gentlemen, I forbid you to sign anything, not -even a safe conduct, or a passport, without my command. I request you -to give me personally an account of everything every day, to favour no -one in your lists of the month. And you, Monsieur le Surintendant, I -have explained to you my wishes; I request you to employ M. Colbert, -whom the late Cardinal has recommended to me." Foucquet thought that -the King was not speaking seriously. That error ruined him.</p> - -<p>He believed that it would be easy to amuse and deceive the youthful -mind of the King, and he set to work to do so with all the ardour, -all the grace and all the frivolity of his nature. He determined to -govern the kingdom and the King. Foucquet did not know Louis XIV, and -Louis XVI did know Foucquet. Warned by Mazarin, the King knew that -Foucquet was engaged in dubious proceedings, and was ready to resort -to any expedient. He knew, also, that he was a man of resource and of -talent. He took him apart and told him that he was determined to be -King, and to have a precise and complete knowledge of State affairs; -that he would begin with finance; it was the most important part -of his administration, and that he was determined to restore order -and regularity to that department. He asked the Superintendent to -instruct him minutely in every detail, and he bade him conceal nothing, -declaring that he would always employ him, provided that he found him -sincere. As for the past, he was prepared to forget that, but he wished -that in future the Superintendent would let him know the true state of -the finances.<a name="FNanchor_64_67" id="FNanchor_64_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_67" class="fnanchor">[64]</a></p> - -<p>In speaking thus, Louis XIV told the truth. He has explained himself in -his <i>Mémoires.</i> "It may be a cause of astonishment," he says, "that I -was willing to employ him at a time when his peculations were known to -me, but I knew that he was intelligent and thoroughly acquainted with -all the most intimate affairs of State, and this made me think that, -provided he would confess his past faults and promise to correct them, -he might render me good service."</p> - -<p>No one could speak more wisely, more kindly; but the audacious Foucquet -did not realize that there was something menacing in this wisdom and -this kindness. He was possessed of a spirit of imprudence and error. He -was labouring blindly to bring about his own fall. Day by day, despite -the advice of his best friends, he presented the King with false -accounts of his expenditure and revenue. For five months he believed -that he was deceiving Louis XIV, but every evening the King placed his -accounts in the hands of Colbert, whom he had nominated Intendant of -Finance, with the special duty of watching Foucquet. Colbert showed -the King the falsifications in these accounts. On the following day -the King would patiently seek to draw some confession from the guilty -Minister, who, with false security, persisted in his lies.</p> - -<p>Henceforth Foucquet was a ruined man. From the month of April, 1661, -Colbert's clerks did not hesitate to announce his fall. He began to be -afraid, but it was too late. He went and threw himself at the King's -feet—it was at Fontainebleau—he reminded him that Cardinal Mazarin -had regulated finance with absolute authority, without observing any -formality, and had constrained him, the Superintendent, to do many -things which might expose him to prosecution. He did not deny his own -personal faults, and admitted that his expenditure had been excessive. -He entreated the King to pardon him for the past, and promised to serve -him faithfully in the future. The King listened to his Minister with -apparent goodwill; his lips murmured words of pardon, but in his heart -he had already passed sentence on Foucquet.</p> - -<p>Is it true that some private jealousy inspired the King's vengeance? -Foucquet, according to the Abbé de Choisy,<a name="FNanchor_65_68" id="FNanchor_65_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_68" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> had sent Madame -de Plessis-Bellière to tell Mademoiselle de Lavallière that the -Superintendent had twenty thousand pistoles at her service. The lady -had replied that twenty million would not induce her to take a false -step. "Which astonished the worthy intermediary, who was little used -to such replies," adds the Abbé. However this may be, Foucquet soon -perceived that the fortress was taken, and that it was dangerous to -tread upon the heels of the royal occupant. But in order to repair his -fault he committed a second, worse than the first. Again it is Choisy -who tells us. "Wishing to justify himself to her, and to her secret -lover, he himself undertook the mission of go-between, and, taking her -apart in Madame's antechamber, he sought to tell her that the King was -the greatest prince in the world, the best looking, and other little -matters. But the lady, proud of her heart's secret, cut him short, and -that very evening complained of him to the King."<a name="FNanchor_66_69" id="FNanchor_66_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_69" class="fnanchor">[66]</a></p> - -<p>Such a piece of audacity, and one so clumsy, could only irritate the -young and royal lover. Nevertheless it was not to a secret jealousy, -but to State interest, that Louis XIV sacrificed his prevaricating -Minister.</p> - -<p>His intentions are above suspicion. It was in the interest of the -Crown and of the State alone that he acted. Yet we can but feel -surprised to find so young a man employing so much strategy and so much -dissimulation in order to ruin one whom he had appeared to pardon. In -this piece of diplomacy Louis XIV and Colbert both displayed an excess -of skill. With perfidious adroitness they manœuvred to deprive Foucquet -of his office of Attorney-General, which was an obstacle in their way, -for an officer of the Parliament could be tried only by that body, and -Foucquet had so many partisans in Parliament that there was no hope -that it would ever condemn him.</p> - -<p>Louis XIV displayed an apparent confidence in Foucquet and redoubled -his favours; Colbert, acting with the King, was constantly praising -his generosity. He was, at the same time, inducing him to testify his -gratitude by filling the treasury without having recourse to bargains -with supporters, which were so burdensome to the State. Foucquet -replied: "I would willingly sell all that I have in the world in order -to procure money for the King."</p> - -<p>Colbert refrained from pressing him further, but he contrived to lead -the conversation to the office of Attorney-General. Foucquet told him -one day that he had been offered fifteen hundred thousand livres for it.</p> - -<p>"But, sir," answered Colbert, "do you wish to sell it? It is true that -it is of no great use to you. A Minister who is Superintendent has no -time to watch lawsuits." The matter did not go any farther at that -time; but they returned to it later, and Foucquet, thinking himself -established in his sovereign's favour, said one day to Colbert that he -was inclined to sell his office in order to give its price to the King. -Colbert applauded this resolution, and Foucquet went immediately to -tell Louis XIV, who thanked him and accepted the offer immediately. The -trick was played.<a name="FNanchor_67_70" id="FNanchor_67_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_70" class="fnanchor">[67]</a></p> - -<p>The King had done his part to bring about this excellent result -by making Foucquet think that he would create him a <i>chevalier -de l'Ordre,</i> and first Minister, as soon as he was no longer -Attorney-General. Here is a deal of duplicity to prepare the way for an -act of justice! Foucquet sold his office for fourteen hundred thousand -livres to Achille de Harlay, who paid for it partly in cash. A million -was taken to Vincennes, "where the King wished to keep it for secret -expenditure."<a name="FNanchor_68_71" id="FNanchor_68_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_71" class="fnanchor">[68]</a></p> - -<p>Loret announced this fact in his letter of the 14th August:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Ce politique renommé<br /> -Qui par ses bontés m'a charmé,<br /> -Ce judicieux, ce grand homme<br /> -Que Monseigneur Foucquet on nomme,<br /> -Si généreux, si libéral,<br /> -N'est plus procureur général.<br /> -Une autre prudente cervelle,<br /> -Que Monsieur Harlay on appelle,<br /> -En a par sa démission<br /> -Maintenant la possession.<br /> -</p> - -<p>As a further act of prudence, and in order completely to lay Foucquet's -suspicions to rest, Louis XIV accepted the entertainment which Foucquet -offered him in the Château de Vaux. "For a long time," said Madame -de Lafayette, "the King had said that he wanted to go to Vaux, the -Superintendent's magnificent house, and although Foucquet ought to have -been too wary to show the King the very thing that proved so plainly -what bad use he had made of the public finances, and though the King's -natural kindliness ought to have prevented him from visiting a man whom -he was about to ruin, neither of them considered this aspect of the -affair."<a name="FNanchor_69_72" id="FNanchor_69_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_72" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p> - -<p>The whole Court went to Vaux on the 17th August, 1661.<a name="FNanchor_70_73" id="FNanchor_70_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_73" class="fnanchor">[70]</a></p> - -<p>These festivities exasperated Louis XIV. "Ah, Madame," he said to his -mother, "shall we not make all these people disgorge?" Infallible -signs announced the approaching catastrophe. In his Council, the King -proposed to suppress those very orders to pay cash which served, as we -have said, to cover the secret expenditure of the Superintendents. The -Chancellor strongly supported the proposal. "Do I count for nothing, -then?" cried Foucquet indiscreetly. Then he suddenly corrected himself -and said that other ways would be found to provide for the secret -expenses of the State. "I myself will provide for them," said Louis -XIV. Nevertheless, Foucquet, though deprived of the gown, was still a -formidable enemy. Before he could be reduced his Breton strongholds -must be captured. The prudent King had thought of this, and presently -conceived a clever scheme. As there was need of money, it was resolved -to increase the taxation of the State domains. This impost, described -euphemistically as a gratuitous gift, was voted by the Provincial -Assemblies. The presence of the King seemed necessary in order to -determine the Breton Estates to make a great financial sacrifice, and -Foucquet himself advised the King to go to Nantes, where the Provincial -Assembly was to be held.<a name="FNanchor_71_74" id="FNanchor_71_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_74" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> Foucquet himself helped to bring about -his own ruin. At Nantes he had a sorrowful presentiment of this. He -was suffering from an intermittent fever, the attacks of which were -very weakening. "Why," he said, in a low voice to Brienne, "is the -King going to Brittany, and to Nantes in particular? Is it not in order -to make sure of Belle-Isle?" And several times in his weakness he -murmured: "Nantes, Belle-Isle!" When Brienne went out, he embraced him -with tears in his eyes.<a name="FNanchor_72_75" id="FNanchor_72_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_75" class="fnanchor">[72]</a></p> - -<p>The King arrived at Nantes on the ist of September, and took up his -abode at the Château. Foucquet had his lodging at the other end of -the town, in a house which communicated with the Loire by means of a -subterranean passage. In that way he could reach the river, where a -boat was waiting for him, and escape to Belle-Isle.</p> - -<p>Summoned by the King, on the 5th September, at seven o'clock in the -morning, he went to the Council Meeting, which was prolonged until -eleven o'clock. During this time meticulous measures were taken for -his arrest, and for the seizure of his papers. The Council over, the -King detained Foucquet to discuss various matters with him. Finally, -he dismissed him, and Foucquet entered his chair. Having passed -through the gate of the Château, he had entered a little square near -the Cathedral, when D'Artagnan, 2nd Lieutenant of the Company of -Musketeers, signed to him to get out. Foucquet obeyed, and D'Artagnan -read him the warrant for his arrest. The Superintendent expressed -great surprise at this misfortune, and asked the officer to avoid -attracting public attention. The latter took him into a house which was -near at hand; it was that of the Archdeacon of Nantes, whose niece had -been Foucquet's first wife. A cup of broth was given to the prisoner; -the papers he had on him were taken and sealed. In one of the King's -coaches he was conveyed to the Château d'Angers. There he remained for -three months, from the 7th of September to the 1st of December.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile his prosecution was being prepared. Certain letters from -women, found in a casket at Saint-Mandé, were taken to Fontainebleau, -and given to the King. They combined a great deal of gallantry with a -great deal of politics. Many women's names were to be read in them, -or guessed at. Madame Scarron's was mentioned and even Madame de -Sévigné's, but in an innocent connection. On the whole, only one woman, -Menneville, was shown to be guilty.</p> - -<p>Foucquet was removed from Angers to Saumur. Taken on the 2nd of -December to La Chapelle-Blanche, he lodged on the 3rd in a suburb of -Tours, and from the 4th to the 25th of December remained in the Château -d'Amboise. Shortly after Foucquet's departure, La Fontaine, in company -with his uncle, Jannart, who had been exiled to Limousin, halted below -the Château and swept his eyes over the fair and smiling valley.</p> - -<p>"All this," he said, "poor Monsieur Foucquet could never, during his -imprisonment here, enjoy for a single moment. All the windows of his -room had been blocked up, leaving only a little gap at the top. I asked -to see him; a melancholy pleasure, I admit, but I did ask. The soldier -who escorted us had no key, so that I was left for a long time gazing -at the door, and I got them to tell me how the prisoner was guarded. I -should like to describe it to you, but the recollection is too painful.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Qu'est-il besoin que je retrace<br /> -Une garde au soin non pareil,<br /> -Chambre murée, étroite place,<br /> -Quelque peu d'air pour toute grâce;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Jours sans soleil,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nuits sans sommeil;</span><br /> -Trois portes en six pieds d'espace!<br /> -Vous peindre un tel appartement,<br /> -Ce serait attirer vos larmes;<br /> -Je l'ai fait insensiblement,<br /> -Cette plainte a pour moi des charmes.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Nothing but the approach of night could have dragged me from the -spot."<a name="FNanchor_73_76" id="FNanchor_73_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_76" class="fnanchor">[73]</a></p> - -<p>On the 31st December, Foucquet reached Vincennes. As he passed he -caught sight of his house at Saint-Mandé, in which he had collected -all that can flatter and adorn life, and which he was never again to -inhabit. He was, indeed, to remain in the Bastille until after his -condemnation; that is to say, for more than three years; and he left -that fortress only to suffer an imprisonment of which the protracted -severity has become a legend.</p> - -<p>The public anger was now loosed upon the stricken financier. The people -whose poverty had been insulted by his ostentatious display wished -to snatch him from his guards and tear him to pieces in the streets. -Several times during the journey from Nantes, D'Artagnan had been -obliged to protect his prisoner from riotous mobs of peasants. In the -higher classes of society the indignation was fully as bitter, although -it was only expressed in words.</p> - -<p>Society never forgave Foucquet for having allowed his love-letters to -be seized. It was considered that to keep and classify women's letters -in this manner was not the act of a gallant gentleman. Such was the -opinion of Chapelain, who wrote to Madame de Sévigné:</p> - -<p>"Was it not enough to ruin the State, and to render the King odious -to his people by the enormous burdens which he imposed upon them, and -to employ the public finances in impudent expenditure and insolent -acquisitions, which were compatible neither with his honour nor with -his office, and which, on the other hand, rather tended to turn his -subjects and his servants against him, and to corrupt them? Was it -necessary to crown his irregularities and his crimes, by erecting in -his own honour a trophy of favours, either real or apparent, of the -modesty of so many ladies of rank, and by keeping a shameful record -of his commerce with them in order that the shipwreck of his fortunes -should also be that of their reputations?</p> - -<p>"Is this consistent with being, I do not say an upright man, in which -capacity, his flatterers, the Scarrons, Pellissons and Sapphos, and -the whole of that self-interested scum have so greatly extolled him, -but a man merely, a man with a spark of enlightenment, who professes -to be something better than a brute? I cannot excuse such scandalous, -dastardly behaviour, and I should be hardly less enraged with this -wretch if your name had not been found among his papers."<a name="FNanchor_74_77" id="FNanchor_74_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_77" class="fnanchor">[74]</a></p> - -<p>We can admire such generous indignation, but it is hard to be called -"self-interested scum" when one is merely faithful in misfortune.</p> - -<p>The truth is that Foucquet still had friends; the women and the poets -did not abandon him. Hesnault, to whom he had given a pension, was -not a favourite of the Muses, but he showed himself a man of feeling, -and his courageous fidelity did him credit. He attacked Colbert in an -eloquent sonnet, which was circulated everywhere by the prisoner's -friends:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Ministre avare et lâche, esclave malheureux,<br /> -Qui gémis sous le poids des affaires publiques,<br /> -Victime dévouée aux chagrins politiques,<br /> -Fantôme révéré sous un titre onéreux:<br /> -<br /> -Vois combien des grandeurs le comble est dangereux;<br /> -Contemple de Foucquet les funestes reliques,<br /> -Et tandis qu'à sa perte en secret tu t'appliques,<br /> -Crains qu'on ne te prépare un destin plus affreux!<br /> -<br /> -Sa chute, quelque jour, te peut être commune;<br /> -Crains ton poste, ton rang, la cour et la fortune;<br /> -Nul ne tombe innocent d'où l'on te voit monté.<br /> -<br /> -Cesse donc d'animer ton prince à son supplice,<br /> -Et près d'avoir besoin de toute sa bonté,<br /> -Ne le fais pas user de toute sa justice.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">This sonnet was circulated privately. It was generally read with -pleasure, for Colbert was not liked, and it will not be inappropriate -to cite here an anecdote for which Bayle is responsible.<a name="FNanchor_75_78" id="FNanchor_75_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_78" class="fnanchor">[75]</a></p> - -<p>When the sonnet was mentioned to the Minister, he asked: "Is the King -offended by it?" And when he was told that he was not, "Then neither -am I," he said, "nor do I bear the author any ill will."</p> - -<p>If Molière kept silence, Corneille, on the contrary, now gave proof of -his greatness of soul; by praising Pellisson's fidelity, he showed that -he shared it:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -En vain pour ébranler ta fidèle constance,<br /> -On vit fondre sur toi la force et lat puissance;<br /> -En vain dans la Bastille, on t'accabla de fers,<br /> -En vain on te flatta sur mille appas divers;<br /> -Ton grand cœur, inflexible aux rigueurs, aux caresses,<br /> -Triompha de la force et se rit des promesses;<br /> -Et comme un grand rocher par l'orage insulté<br /> -Des flots audacieux méprise la fierté,<br /> -Et, sans craindre le bruit qui gronde sur sa tête,<br /> -Voit briser à ses pieds l'effort de la tempête,<br /> -C'est ainsi, Pellisson, que dans l'adversité,<br /> -Ton intrépide cœur garde sa fermeté,<br /> -Et que ton amitié, constante et généreuse,<br /> -Du milieu des dangers sortit victorieuse.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Poor Loret found it difficult at first to collect his bewildered wits -and relate the catastrophe. It was a terrible affair; he didn't know -much about it, and he says still less. But, far from accusing the -fallen Minister, he was inclined to pity and esteem him. This was -courageous; and his bad verses were a kind action:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Notre Roi, qui par politique<br /> -Se transportait vers l'Amorique,<br /> -Pour raisons qu'on ne savait pas,<br /> -S'en revient, dit-on, à grands pas.<br /> -Je n'ai su par aucun message<br /> -Les circonstances du voyage:<br /> -Mais j'ai du bruit commun appris,<br /> -C'est-à-dire de tout Paris,<br /> -Que par une expresse ordonnance,<br /> -Le sieur surintendant de France<br /> -Je ne sais pourquoi ni comment,<br /> -Est arrêté présentement<br /> -(Nouvelles des plus surprenantes)<br /> -Dans la ville et château de Nantes,<br /> -Certes, j'ai toujours respecté<br /> -Les ordres de Sa Majesté<br /> -Et crû que ce monarque auguste<br /> -Ne commandait rien que de juste;<br /> -Mais étant rémemoratif<br /> -Que cet infortuné captif<br /> -M'a toujours semblé bon et sage<br /> -Et que d'un obligeant langage<br /> -Il m'a quelquefois honoré,<br /> -J'avoue en avoir soupiré,<br /> -Ne pouvant, sans trop me contraindre,<br /> -Empêcher mon cœur de le plaindre.<br /> -Si, sans préjudice du Roi<br /> -(Et je le dis de bonne foi)<br /> -Je pouvais lui rendre service<br /> -Et rendre son sort plus propice<br /> -En adoucissant sa rigueur,<br /> -Je le ferais de tout mon cœur;<br /> -Mais ce seul désir est frivole,<br /> -Et prions Dieu qu'il le console.<br /> -En l'état qu'il est aujourd'hui,<br /> -C'est tout ce que je puis pour lui.<a name="FNanchor_76_79" id="FNanchor_76_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_79" class="fnanchor">[76]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">In time poor Loret did more; he tried to deny his benefactor's crimes. -"I doubt half of them," he said in the execrable style of the rhyming -Gazetteer:<a name="FNanchor_77_80" id="FNanchor_77_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_80" class="fnanchor">[77]</a></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Et par raison et par pitié,<br /> -Et même pour la conséquence<br /> -Je passe le tout sous silence.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Pellisson was admirable. He wrote from the Bastille, where he was -imprisoned, eloquent defences in which, neglecting his own cause, he -sought only to justify Foucquet. His defence followed the same lines -as that of Foucquet himself. He pleaded the necessities of France, -the need of provisioning and equipping her armies and of fortifying -her strongholds. He imagined a case in which Mazarin himself might -have been criticized for the means by which he had procured money for -the war and ensured victory. "In all conscience," he said, "what man -of good sense could have advised him to reply in other than Scipio's -words: 'Here are my accounts: I present them but only to tear them -up. On this day a year ago I signed a general peace, and the contract -of the King's marriage, which gave peace to Europe. Let us go and -celebrate this anniversary at the foot of the altar.'"<a name="FNanchor_78_81" id="FNanchor_78_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_81" class="fnanchor">[78]</a></p> - -<p>Mademoiselle de Scudéry distinguished herself by her zeal on behalf of -her friend, formerly so powerful, and now so unfortunate. Pecquet, whom -the Superintendent had chosen as his doctor, in order that he might -discourse with him on physics and philosophy, the learned Jean Pecquet, -was inconsolable at having lost so good a master. He used to say that -Pecquet had always rhymed, and always would rhyme with Foucquet.<a name="FNanchor_79_82" id="FNanchor_79_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_82" class="fnanchor">[79]</a></p> - -<p>As for La Fontaine, all know how his fidelity, rendered still more -touching by his ingenuous emotions and the spell of his poetry, adorns -and defends the memory of Nicolas Foucquet to this very day. Nothing -can equal the divine complaint in which the truest of poets grieved -over the disgrace of his magnificent patron.</p> - - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">ÉLÉGIE<a name="FNanchor_80_83" id="FNanchor_80_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_83" class="fnanchor">[80]</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Remplissez l'air de cris en vos grottes profondes,<br /> -Pleurez, nymphes de Vaux, faites croître vos ondes;<br /> -Et que l'Anqueil<a name="FNanchor_81_84" id="FNanchor_81_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_84" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> enflé ravage les trésors<br /> -<br /> -Dont les regards de Flore ont embelli vos bords.<br /> -On ne blâmera point vos larmes innocentes,<br /> -Vous pourrez donner cours à vos douleurs pressantes;<br /> -Chacun attend de vous ce devoir généreux:<br /> -Les destins sont contents, Oronte est malheureux<a name="FNanchor_82_85" id="FNanchor_82_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_85" class="fnanchor">[82]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">"In a letter written under the name of M. de la Visclède, to the -permanent secretary of the Academy of Pau, in 1776, Voltaire," says -M. Marty-Laveaux, "quotes these verses, and adds: 'He (La Fontaine) -altered the word <i>Cabale</i> when he had been made to realize that the -great Colbert was serving the King with great equity, and was not -addicted to cabals. But La Fontaine had heard some one make use of the -term, and had fully believed that it was the proper word to use.'"</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Vous l'avez vu naguère au bord de vos fontaines,<br /> -Qui sans craindre du sort les faveurs incertaines,<br /> -Plein d'éclat, plein de gloire, adoré des mortels,<br /> -Recevait des honneurs qu'on ne doit qu'aux autels.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Hélas! qu'il est déchu de ce bonheur suprême!<br /> -Que vous le trouverez différent de lui-même!<br /> -Pour lui les plus beaux jours sont de secondes nuits,<br /> -Les soucis dévorans, les regrets, les ennuis,<br /> -Hôtes infortunés de sa triste demeure,<br /> -En des gouffres de maux le plongent à toute heure<br /> -Voilà le précipice où l'ont enfin jeté<br /> -Les attraits enchanteurs de la prospérité!<br /> -Dans les palais des Rois cette plainte est commune;<br /> -On n'y connaît que trop les jeux de la fortune,<br /> -Ses trompeuses faveurs, ses appas inconstants:<br /> -Mais on ne les connaît que quand il n'est plus temps,<br /> -Lorsque sur cette mer on vogue à pleines voiles,<br /> -Qu'on croit avoir pour soi les vents et les étoiles.<br /> -Il est bien malaisé de régler ses désirs;<br /> -Le plus sage s'endort sur la foi des zéphirs.<br /> -Jamais un favori ne borne sa carrière,<br /> -Il ne regarde point ce qu'il laisse en arrière;<br /> -Et tout ce vain amour des grandeurs et du bruit<br /> -Ne le saurait quitter qu'après l'avoir détruit.<br /> -Tant d'exemples fameux que l'histoire en raconte<br /> -Ne suffisaient-ils pas sans la perte d'Oronte?<br /> -Ah! si ce faux éclat n'eût point fait ses plaisirs,<br /> -Si le séjour de Vaux eût borné ses désirs<br /> -Qu'il pouvait doucement laisser couler son âge!<br /> -Vous n'avez pas chez vous ce brillant équipage,<br /> -Cette foule de gens qui s'en vont chaque jour<br /> -Saluer à longs flots le soleil de la cour:<br /> -Mais la faveur du ciel vous donne en récompense<br /> -Du repos, du loisir, de l'ombre et du silence,<br /> -Un tranquille sommeil, d'innocents entretiens,<br /> -Et jamais à la cour on ne trouve ces biens.<br /> -Mais quittons ces pensers, Oronte nous appelle.<br /> -Vous, dont il a rendu la demeure si belle,<br /> -Nymphes, qui lui devez vos plus charmants appas,<br /> -Si le long de vos bords Louis porte ses pas,<br /> -Tâchez de l'adoucir, fléchissez son courage;<br /> -Il aime ses sujets, il est juste, il est sage;<br /> -Du titre de clément, rendez-le ambitieux;<br /> -C'est par là que les Rois sont semblables aux dieux.<br /> -Du magnanisme Henri<a name="FNanchor_83_86" id="FNanchor_83_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_86" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> qu'il contemple la vie;<br /> -Dès qu'il put se venger, il en perdit l'envie.<br /> -Inspirez à Louis cette même douceur:<br /> -La plus belle victoire est de vaincre son cœur.<br /> -Oronte est à présent un objet de clémence;<br /> -S'il a cru les conseils d'une aveugle puissance,<br /> -Il est assez puni par son sort rigoureux,<br /> -Et c'est être innocent que d'être malheureux.<a name="FNanchor_84_87" id="FNanchor_84_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_87" class="fnanchor">[84]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">La Fontaine, not satisfied with this poem, addressed an ode to the King -on Foucquet's behalf. But the ode is far from equalling the elegy.</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -... Oronte seul, ta creature,<br /> -Languit dans un profond ennui,<br /> -Et les bienfaits de la nature<br /> -Ne se répandent plus sur lui.<br /> -Tu peux d'un éclat de ta foudre<br /> -Achever de le mettre en poudre;<br /> -Mais si les dieux à ton pouvoir<br /> -Aucunes bornes n'ont prescrites,<br /> -Moins ta grandeur a de limites,<br /> -Plus ton courroux en doit avoir.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . .</span><br /> -Va-t-en punir l'orgueil du Tibre;<br /> -Qu'il se souvienne que ses lois<br /> -N'ont jadis rien laissé de libre<br /> -Que le courage des Gaulois.<br /> -Mais parmi nous sois débonnaire:<br /> -A cet empire si sévère<br /> -Tu ne te peux accoutumer;<br /> -Et ce serait trop te contraindre:<br /> -Les étrangers te doivent craindre,<br /> -Tes sujets te veulent aimer.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">These verses refer to the attack made by the Corsicans on the Guard of -Alexander VII, who, on the 20th August, 1667, fired on the coach of the -Due de Créqui, the French Ambassador.</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -L'amour est fils de la clémence,<br /> -La clémence est fille des dieux;<br /> -Sans elle toute leur puissance<br /> -Ne serait qu'un titre odieux.<br /> -Parmi les fruits de la victoire,<br /> -César environné de gloire<br /> -N'en trouva point dont la douceur<br /> -A celui-ci pût être égale,<br /> -Non pas même aux champs où Pharsale<br /> -L'honora du nom de vainqueur.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . .</span><br /> -Laisse-lui donc pour toute grâce<br /> -Un bien qui ne lui peut durer,<br /> -Après avoir perdu la place<br /> -Que ton cœur lui fit espérer.<br /> -Accorde-nous les faibles restes<br /> -De ses jours tristes et funestes,<br /> -Jours qui se passent en soupirs:<br /> -Ainsi les tiens filés de soie<br /> -Puissent se voir comblés de joie,<br /> -Même au delà de tes désirs.<a name="FNanchor_85_88" id="FNanchor_85_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_88" class="fnanchor">[85]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">La Fontaine submitted this ode to Foucquet, who sent it back to him -with various suggestions. The prisoner requested that the reference -to Rome should be suppressed. Doubtless he did not understand it, not -having heard in prison of the attack upon the French Ambassador at the -Papal Court.<a name="FNanchor_86_89" id="FNanchor_86_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_89" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> He also disapproved of the allusion to the clemency -of the victor of Pharsalia. "Cæsar's example," he said, "being derived -from antiquity would not, I think, be well enough known." He also noted -a passage—which I do not know—"as being too poetical to please the -King." The last suggestion speaks of a true nobility of mind. It refers -to the last passage, in which the poet implores the King to grant the -life of "Oronte." Foucquet wrote in the margin: "You sue too humbly for -a thing that one ought to despise."</p> - -<p>La Fontaine did not willingly give in on any of these points; to the -last suggestion he replied as follows: "The sentiment is worthy of you, -Monsignor, and, in truth, he who regards life with such indifference -does not deserve to die. Perhaps you have not considered that it is I -who am speaking, I who ask for a favour which is dearer to us than to -you. There are no terms too humble, too pathetic and too urgent to be -employed in such circumstances. When I bring you on to the stage, I -shall give you words which are suitable to the greatness of your soul. -Meanwhile permit me to tell you that you have too little affection for -a life such as yours is."</p> - -<p>It was in the month of November only that a Chamber was instituted by -Royal Edict with the object of instituting financial reforms, and of -punishing those who had been guilty of maladministration. Foucquet -was to appear before this Chamber. It met solemnly in the month of -December. The greater part of it was composed of Members of the -Parliament, but it also included Members of the Chambre des Comptes, -the Cour des Aides, the Grand Council and the Masters of Requests. The -magistrates who composed it were, to mention those only who sat in it -as finally constituted:</p> - -<p>The Chancellor Pierre Séguier, first President of the Parliament of -Paris, who presided; Guillaume de Lamoignon, deputy president; the -President de Nesmond; the President de Pontchartrain; Poncet, Master -of Requests; Olivier d'Ormesson, Master of Requests; Voysin, Master -of Requests; Besnard de Réze, Master of Requests; Regnard, Catinat, -De Brillac, Fayet, Councillors in the Grand Chamber of the Paris -Parliament; Massenau, Councillor in the Toulouse Parliament; De la -Baulme, of the Grenoble Parliament; Du Verdier, of the Bordeaux -Parliament; De la Toison, of the Dijon Parliament; Lecormier de -Sainte-Hélène, of the Rouen Parliament; Raphélis de Roquesante, of the -Aix Parliament; Hérault, of the Rennes Parliament; Noguès, of the Pau -Parliament; Ferriol, of the Metz Parliament; De Moussy, of the Paris -Chambre des Comptes; Le-Bossu-le-Jau, of the Paris Chambre des Comptes; -Le Féron, of the Cour des Aides; De Baussan, of the Cour des Aides; -Cuissotte de Gisaucourt, of the Grand Council; Pussort, of the Grand -Council.</p> - -<p>It must be recognized that the creation of such a Chamber of Justice -was in conformity with the rules of the public law as it then existed. -Had not Chalais and Marillac, Cinq-Mars and Thou, been judged by -commissions of Masters of Requests and Councillors of the Parliament? -And, if our sense of legality is wounded when we behold the accusing -Monarch himself choosing the judges of the accused man, we must -remember this maxim was then firmly established: "All justice emanates -from the King." By this very circumstance the Chamber of Justice of -1661 was invested with very extensive powers; it became the object -of public respect, and of the public hopes, for the poor, deeming it -powerful, attributed to it the power of helping the wretched populace, -after it had punished those who robbed them.</p> - -<p>Such illusions are very natural, and one may wonder whether any -government would be possible if unhappy persons did not, from day to -day, expect something better on the morrow.</p> - -<p>Thus the tribunal constituted by the King was no unrighteous tribunal; -yet there was no security in it for the accused. He was apparently -ruined. Condemned beforehand by the King and by the people, everything -seemed to fail him, but he did not fail himself. After having wrought -his own ruin, Foucquet worked out his own salvation, if he may be said -to have saved himself when all he saved was his life.</p> - -<p>His first act was to protest energetically against the competence of -the Chamber; he alleged that, having held office in the Parliament -for twenty-five years, he was still entitled to the privileges of its -officers, and he recognized no judges except those of that body, of -both Chambers united. Having made this reservation, he consented to -reply to the questions of the examining magistrates, and his replies -bore witness to the scope and vigour of a mind which was always -collected. The Chamber, on its side, declared itself competent, and -decided that the trial should be conducted as though Foucquet were -dumb: that is, that there would be no cross-examination, and no -pleading. By this method of procedure the Attorney-General put his -questions in writing, and the accused replied in writing. As the -documents of the prosecution and of the defence were produced, the -recorders prepared summaries for the judges.<a name="FNanchor_87_90" id="FNanchor_87_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_90" class="fnanchor">[87]</a></p> - -<p>It is obvious that in such a case the reporters, who are the necessary -intermediaries between the magistrates and the parties to the case, -possess considerable influence, and that the issue of the lawsuit -depends largely on their intelligence and their morality. Consequently, -the King wished to reserve to himself the right of appointing them, -although according to tradition, this belonged to the President of the -Chamber.</p> - -<p>Messieurs Olivier d'Ormesson and Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène were -chosen by the Royal Council, and their names were put before the First -President, Guillaume de Lamoignon. This magistrate apologized for -being unable to accede to the King's wish, alleging that M. Olivier -d'Ormesson and M. de Sainte-Hélène would be suspected by the accused; -at least, he feared so. "This fear," replied the King, "is only another -reason for appointing them." Lamoignon—and it did him honour—gave -way only upon the King's formal command.</p> - -<p>That was quite enough to make Lamoignon suspected by Foucquet's -enemies. Powerful as they were, he did nothing to reassure them; on -the contrary, he saw that the accused was granted the assistance of -counsel, and that the forms of procedure were scrupulously observed. -When one day Colbert was trying to discover his opinions, Lamoignon -made this fine reply: "A judge ought never to declare his opinion save -once, and that above the fleurs-de-lys."<a name="FNanchor_88_91" id="FNanchor_88_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_91" class="fnanchor">[88]</a></p> - -<p>The King, growing more and more suspicious, nominated Chancellor -Séguier to preside over the Chamber. Lamoignon, thus driven from his -seat, withdrew, but unostentatiously, alleging as his reason that -Parliamentary affairs occupied the whole of his time.<a name="FNanchor_89_92" id="FNanchor_89_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_92" class="fnanchor">[89]</a></p> - -<p>In vain the King and Colbert, alarmed at having themselves dismissed -so upright a magistrate, endeavoured to restore him to a position of -diminished authority; he was deaf to entreaties, and was content to say -to his friends: <i>"Lavavi manus meas; quomodo inquinabo eas?"</i><a name="FNanchor_90_93" id="FNanchor_90_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_93" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> Old -Séguier, who though lacking in nobility of soul possessed brilliant -intellectual powers, grew more servile than ever. Feeling that he -had not long to live, he prompdy accepted dishonour. In this trial -his conduct was execrable and his talents did not, on this occasion, -succeed in masking his partiality. Great jurisconsult though he was, he -did not understand finance, and this stupendous trial was altogether -too much for an old man of seventy-four. He was always impatiently -complaining of the length of the trial, which, he declared, would -outlast him.</p> - -<p>With audacity and skill Foucquet held his own against this violent -judge. Brought up in chicanery, the accused was acquainted with all the -mysteries of procedure. He made innumerable difficulties; sometimes he -accused a judge, sometimes he challenged the accuracy of an inventory, -sometimes he demanded documents necessary for the defence. In short, -he gained time, and this was to gain much. The more protracted the -trial, the less he had to fear that its termination would be a capital -sentence.</p> - -<p>The King was not at all comfortable as to its issue; his activity was -unwearying, and he never hesitated to throw his whole weight into the -balance. The public prosecutor, Talon, was not an able person; he -allowed himself to be defeated by the accused, and was immediately -sacrificed. He was replaced by two Masters of Requests, Hotmann and -Chamillart. One of the recorders caused the Court a great deal of -anxiety; this was the worthy Olivier d'Ormesson. Efforts were made to -intimidate him, but in vain; to win him over, but equally in vain. He -was punished. His offices of Intendant of Picardy and Soissonnais were -taken away from him. Finally, the idea was conceived of enlisting his -father, and of trying to induce the old man to corrupt the honesty -of his son. Old André would not lend himself to these attempts at -corruption; he replied that he was sorry that the King was not -satisfied with his son's behaviour. "My son," he added, "does what I -have always recommended him to do: he fears God, serves the King, and -he renders justice without distinction of person."</p> - -<p>The Court and the Minister were, indeed, exceeding all bounds; Séguier, -Pussort, Sainte-Hélène and others displayed the most odious partiality. -False inventories were drawn up; the official reports of the -proceedings were falsified. The King carried off the Court of Justice -with him to Fontainebleau, fearing lest it should become independent in -his absence. This was going too far; Foucquet grew interesting.</p> - -<p>Public opinion, at first hostile to the accused, had almost completely -turned in his favour, when, more than three years after his arrest, on -the 14th October, 1664, the Attorney-General, Chamillart, pronounced -his conclusions, which were to the effect that Foucquet, "attainted and -convicted of the crime of high treason, and other charges mentioned -during the trial," should be "hanged and strangled until death should -follow, on a gallows erected on the Place de la Rue Sainte-Antoine, -near the Bastille."</p> - -<p>The trial was generally regarded as being overweighted. Turenne said, -in his picturesque manner, that the cord had been made too thick to -strangle M. Foucquet. The financiers, always influential, having -recovered from their first alarm, tried to save a man who, in his fall, -might drag them down with him. For, in so comprehensive an accusation, -who was there that was not compromised?</p> - -<p>Colbert was now detested; as a result his enemy appeared less black. -As for the Chamber itself, it was divided into two parts, almost of -equal strength. On the one hand there were those who, like Séguier -and Pussort, wished to please the Court by ruining Foucquet, and on -the other those who, like Olivier d'Ormesson, favoured the strict -administration of justice, exempt from anger and hatred.</p> - -<p>It was on the 14th November, 1664, that Nicolas Foucquet appeared for -the first time before the Chamber, which sat in the Arsenal. He wore a -citizen's costume, a suit of black cloth, with a mantle. He excused -himself for appearing before the Court without his magistrate's robe, -declaring that he had asked for one in vain. He renewed the protest -which he had made previously against the competency of the Chamber, -and refused to take the oath. He then took his place on the prisoners' -bench and declared himself ready to reply to the questions which might -be put to him.</p> - -<p>The accusations made against him may be classified under four heads: -payment collected from the tax-farmers; farmerships which he had -granted under fictitious names; advances made to the Treasury; and the -crime of high treason, projected but not executed, proved by the papers -discovered at Saint-Mandé.</p> - -<p>Foucquet's defenie, which disdained petty expedients, was powerful and -adroit. He confessed irregularities, but he held that the disorders of -the administration in a time of public disturbance were responsible for -them. According to him, the payments levied on the tax-farmers were -merely the repayment of his advances, and that the imposts which he had -appropriated were the same. As for the loans which he had made to the -State, they were an absolute necessity. To the insidious and insulting -questions of the Chancellor he replied with the greatest adroitness. He -was as bold as he was prudent. Only once he lost patience, and replied -with an arrogance likely to do him harm. He certainly interested -society. Ladies, in order to watch him as he was being reconducted to -the Bastille, used to repair, masked, to a house which looked on to the -Arsenal. Madame de Sévigné was there. "When I saw him," she said, "my -legs trembled, and my heart beat so loud that I thought I should faint. -As he approached us to return to his gaol, M. d'Artagnan nudged him, -and called his attention to the fact that we were there. He thereupon -saluted us, and assumed that laughing expression which you know so -well. I do not think he recognized me, but I confess to you that I felt -strangely moved when I saw him enter that little door. If you knew how -unhappy one is when one has a heart fashioned as mine is fashioned, I -am sure you would take pity on me."<a name="FNanchor_91_94" id="FNanchor_91_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_94" class="fnanchor">[91]</a></p> - -<p>All that was known about his attitude intensified public sympathy. The -judges themselves recognized that he was incomparable; that he had -never spoken so well in Parliament, and that he had never shown so much -self-possession.<a name="FNanchor_92_95" id="FNanchor_92_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_95" class="fnanchor">[92]</a></p> - -<p>The last Interrogatory, that of the 4th December, turned on the scheme -found at Saint-Mandé, and was particularly favourable to the accused.</p> - -<p>Foucquet replied that it was nothing but an extravagant idea which -had remained unfinished, and was repudiated as soon as conceived. It -was an absurd document, which could only serve to make him ashamed -and confused, but it could not be made the ground of an accusation -against him. As the Chancellor pressed him and said, "You cannot deny -that it is a crime against the State," he replied, "I confess, sir, -that it is an extravagance, but it is not a crime against the State. -I entreat these gentlemen," he added, turning towards the judges, "to -permit me to explain what is a crime against the State. It is when a -man holds a great office; when he is in the secret confidence of his -Sovereign, and suddenly takes his place among that Sovereign's enemies; -when he engages his whole family in the cause; when he induces his -son-in-law<a name="FNanchor_93_96" id="FNanchor_93_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_96" class="fnanchor">[93]</a> to surrender the passes and to open the gates to a -foreign army of intruders in order to admit it to the interior of the -kingdom. Gentlemen, that is what is called a crime against the State."</p> - -<p>The Chancellor, whose conduct during the Fronde every one remembered, -did not know where to look, and it was all the judges could do not -to laugh.<a name="FNanchor_94_97" id="FNanchor_94_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_97" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> The cross-examination over, the Chamber listened to -the opinion of the reporters and pronounced sentence. On the 9th of -December, Olivier d'Ormesson began his report. He spoke for five -successive days, and his conclusion was perpetual exile, confiscation -of goods and a fine of one hundred thousand livres, of which half -should be given to the Public Treasury, and the other half employed -in works of piety. Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène spoke after Olivier -d'Ormesson. He continued for two days, and concluded with sentence of -death. Pussort, whose vehement speech lasted for five hours, came to -the same conclusion.</p> - -<p>On the 18th December, Hérault, Gisaucourt, Noguès and Ferriol -concurred, as did Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène, and Roquesante after -them, in the opinion of Olivier d'Ormesson.</p> - -<p>On the following day, the 19th, MM. de La Toison, Du Verdier, de La -Baume and de Massenau also expressed the same opinion; but the Master -of Requests, Poncet, came to the opposite conclusion. Messieurs -Le Féron, de Moussy, Brillac, Regnard and Besnard agreed with the -first recorder. Voysin was of the opposite opinion. President de -Pontchartrain voted for banishment, and the Chancellor, pronouncing -last, voted for death. Thirteen judges had pronounced for banishment, -and nine for death. Foucquet's life was saved.</p> - -<p>"All Paris," said Olivier d'Ormesson, "awaited the news with -impatience. It was spread abroad everywhere, and received with the -greatest rejoicing, even by the shopkeepers. Every one blessed my -name, even without knowing me. Thus M. Foucquet, who had been regarded -with horror at the time of his imprisonment, and whom all Paris would -have been immeasurably delighted to see executed directly after the -beginning of his trial, had become the subject of public grief and -commiseration, owing to the hatred which every one felt for the present -Government, and that, I think, was the true cause of the general -acclamation."<a name="FNanchor_95_98" id="FNanchor_95_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_98" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></p> - -<p>On the 22d of December, this same Olivier d'Ormesson having gone to the -Bastille to give D'Artagnan his discharge for the Treasury registers, -the gallant Musketeer embraced him and said: "You are a noble man!"<a name="FNanchor_96_99" id="FNanchor_96_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_99" class="fnanchor">[96]</a></p> - -<p>Foucquet, as a matter of form, protested against the sentence of a -tribunal whose competence he did not recognize. And the sentence did -not please the King, who commuted banishment into imprisonment for life -in the fortress of Pignerol. Such a commutation, which was really an -aggravation of the sentence, is cruel and offends our sense of justice. -Nevertheless, one must recognize that such a measure was dictated -by reasons of State. Foucquet, had he been free, would have been -dangerous. He would certainly have intrigued; his plots and strategies -would have caused the King much anxiety. The religion of patriotism had -not yet taken root in the heart of the great Condé's contemporaries. -The strongest bond then uniting citizens was loyalty to the King. -Foucquet was liberated from that bond by his master's hatred and anger. -It was to be expected that the fallen Minister would probably have -conspired against France with foreign aid. These previsions justified -the severity of the King, who throughout the whole business appeared -hypocritical, violent, pitiless and patriotic.<a name="FNanchor_97_100" id="FNanchor_97_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_100" class="fnanchor">[97]</a></p> - -<p>The wisdom of the King's action is proved by Foucquet's conduct at -Pignerol, where he arrived in January, 1665. There, in spite of the -most vigilant supervision, he succeeded in carrying on intrigues. -He could not communicate with any living soul. He had neither ink -nor pens, nor paper at his disposal. This able man, whose genius was -quickened by solitude, attempted the impossible in order to enter -into communication with his friends. He manufactured ink out of soot, -moistened with wine. He made pens out of chicken bones, and wrote on -the margin of books which were lent to him, or on handkerchiefs. But -his warder, Saint-Mars, detected all these contrivances. The servants -whom the prisoner had won over were arrested, and one of them was -hanged.</p> - -<p>In the end, these futile energies were defeated by captivity and -disease. Foucquet became addicted to devotional exercises. Like -Mademoiselle de la Vallière, he wrote pious reflections.<a name="FNanchor_98_101" id="FNanchor_98_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_101" class="fnanchor">[98]</a></p> - -<p>It is even thought that he composed religious verses, for it is known -that he asked for a dictionary of rhymes, which was given to him.</p> - -<p>For seven years he had been cut off from living men. Then a voice -called him. It was Lauzun,<a name="FNanchor_99_102" id="FNanchor_99_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_102" class="fnanchor">[99]</a> who was imprisoned at Pignerol, and who -had made a hole in the wall. Lauzun told his companion news of the -outer world. Foucquet listened eagerly, but when the Cadet de Gascogne -told him that he held a general's commission, and that he had married -La Grande Mademoiselle, at first with the approval of the King, and -then against it, Foucquet considered him mad and ceased to believe -anything that he said.</p> - -<p>About 1679, Foucquet's captivity at length became less severe; he was -permitted to receive his family. But it was too late; those fourteen -cruel years had irreparably undermined his strong constitution; his -sight had grown weak; he was losing his teeth; he was suffering pain -in his whole body, and his piety was increasing with his weakness. -He died in March, 1680, just as he had received permission to go and -drink the waters of Bourbon. His body, which had been laid in the crypt -of Sainte-Claire de Pignerol, Madame Foucquet had transferred the -following year to the church of the Convent of the Visitation in the -Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. The register of this church contains the -following entry: "On the 28th March, 1681, Messire Nicolas Foucquet was -buried in our church, in the Chapel of Saint-François de Sales. He had -risen to the highest honours in the magistracy; had been Councillor in -Parliament, Master of Requests, Attorney-General, Superintendent of -Finance, and Minister of State."<a name="FNanchor_100_103" id="FNanchor_100_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_103" class="fnanchor">[100]</a></p> - -<p>Whatever may be said to the contrary, posterity does not judge with -equity, for it is partial; it is indifferent, and makes but hasty work -of the trial of the dead who appear before it. And posterity is not -a Court of Justice; it is a noisy mob, in which it is impossible to -make oneself heard, but which, at rare intervals, is dominated by -some great voice. Finally, its judgments are not definitive, since -another posterity follows which may cancel the sentence of the first, -and pronounce new ones, which again may be revoked by a new posterity. -Nevertheless, certain cases seem to have been definitely lost in the -court of mankind, and I find myself constrained to rank with these the -case of Foucquet. He was an embezzler, and was definitely condemned on -this point—condemned without appeal. As for extenuating circumstances, -it is not difficult to find them. Illustrious examples, even more, -perpetual solicitings and the impossibility of observing any regularity -in troubled times, impelled him to steal, both for the State and for -certain great men. Of his thefts he kept something; he kept too much. -He was guilty, doubtless, but his fault seems greatly mitigated when -one remembers the circumstances and the spirit of the time.</p> - -<p>I am going to say something which is a kind of redemption of Nicolas -Foucquet's memory; I will say it in two charming lines which are -attributed to Pellisson, and which appear to have been written by -Foucquet's friend, the fabulist. Pellisson, in an epistle to the King, -said of Foucquet:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -D'un esprit élevé, négligeant l'avenir,<br /> -Il toucha les trésors, mais sans les retenir.<br /> -</p> - -<p>This it is which redeems and exalts this man. He was liberal, he loved -to give, and he knew how to give, and let it not be said in the name of -any morbid and morose morality that, even if he had taken the State's -money without retaining it, he was only the more guilty, uniting -prodigality to unscrupulousness. No, his liberality remains honourable; -it showed that the principle which prompted his embezzlements was not -a vile one, that, if this man was ruined, the cause of his ruin was -not natural baseness, but the blind impulse of a naturally magnificent -temperament. Thus Foucquet will live in history as the consoler of the -aged Corneille, and the tactful patron of La Fontaine.</p> - -<p>No one will deny his faults, the crimes he committed against the State, -but for a moment one may forget them, and say that what was truly -noble, and even nobly foolish in his temperament, half atones for the -evil which has been only too thoroughly proved.</p> -<hr class="r5" /> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_4" id="Footnote_1_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_4"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Cf. <i>Les amateurs de l'ancienne France: Le surintendant -Foucquet,</i> by Edmond Bonnaffé. <i>Librairie de l'Art,</i> 1882. The book -contains particulars drawn from Peiresc's unpublished manuscript. -During the course of this work we shall have frequent occasion to quote -from this excellent study of an accomplished connoisseur.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_5" id="Footnote_2_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_5"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> Ed. Petitot et Monmerqué, p. 262.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_6" id="Footnote_3_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_6"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> <i>Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,</i> Vol. II, p. 60. The -unknown author of the dialogues attributed to Molière by M. Louis -Auguste Ménard brings Mme. Foucquet on to the stage and makes her utter -words in keeping with those pious sentiments which were well known to -her contemporaries. The fictitious scene which confronts her with Anne -of Austria is a paraphrase of the words I have quoted in my text from -the <i>Mémoires de Choisy.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_7" id="Footnote_4_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_7"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <i>Histoire du Dauphiné,</i> by M. le baron de -Chapuys-Montlaville. Paris, Dupont, 1828, 2 vols. Vol. II, pp. 460 <i>et -seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_8" id="Footnote_5_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_8"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Cf. <i>Les premiers intendants de justice,</i> by S. Hanotaux, -in <i>La Revue Historique,</i> 1882 and 1883.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_9" id="Footnote_6_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_9"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Of Fronde.—<i>Trans.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_10" id="Footnote_7_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_10"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Mazarin's note-book, XI, fol. 85, Biblioth. Nat.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_11" id="Footnote_8_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_11"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Unpublished Diary of Dubuisson-Aubenay, cited by M. -Chéruel in the <i>Mémoires sur N. Foucquet,</i> Vol. I, p. 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_12" id="Footnote_9_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_12"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> <i>Histoire de Colbert et de son administration,</i> by Pierre -Clement. Paris, Didier, 1874, Vol. I, p. 15.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_13" id="Footnote_10_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_13"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> <i>Mémoires sur la vie publique et privée de Foucquet,</i> by -A. Chéruel, Inspector-General of Education. Paris, Charpentier, 1862, -Vol. I, pp. 86-88.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_14" id="Footnote_11_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_14"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Bibliothèque Nationale, MSS. collection Gaignieres. This -letter is quoted by Chéruel, I, p. 183.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_15" id="Footnote_12_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_15"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> <i>Histoire financière de la France,</i> by A. Bailly. Paris, -1830, Vol. I, p. 357.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_16" id="Footnote_13_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_16"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> In 1651, Foucquet received from Marie-Madeleine de -Castille, the daughter of François de Castille, his wife, one hundred -thousand livres, the house in the Rue du Temple, the abode of the -Castille family, as well as the buildings adjoining, which were let at -2200 livres. (Cf. Jal, <i>Dictionnaire,</i> article on Foucquet)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_17" id="Footnote_14_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_17"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Cf. Eug. Grésy, <i>Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte.</i> Melun, -1861.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_18" id="Footnote_15_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_18"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Archives de la Bastille, Vol. II, p, 171 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_19" id="Footnote_16_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_19"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Anne of Austria (trans.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_20" id="Footnote_17_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_20"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Her son, Louis XIV (trans.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_21" id="Footnote_18_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_21"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> And are now in Austria, Germany and elsewhere.—Editor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_22" id="Footnote_19_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_22"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> <i>Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art français,</i> -note by M. Guiffrey, July, 1876, p. 38.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20_23" id="Footnote_20_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_23"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Saint-Simon adds: "She was the widow of Nicolas Foucquet, -famous for his misfortunes, who, after being Superintendent of Finance -for eight years, paid for the millions which Cardinal Mazarin had -taken, for the jealousy of MM. Le Tellier and Colbert, and for a -slightly excessive gallantry and love of splendour, with thirty-four -years of imprisonment at Pignerol, because that was the utmost that -could be inflicted on him, despite all the influence of Ministers and -the authority of the King."—<i>Mémoires du duc de Saint-Simon,</i> éd. -Chéruel, Vol. XIV, p. 112.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21_24" id="Footnote_21_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_24"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> <i>Mémoires.</i> Collection Petitot, Vol. LX, p. 142.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22_25" id="Footnote_22_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_25"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> It is the portrait which is reproduced at the beginning -of the French edition, because it seems to us at once both the -truest and the happiest picture of the extraordinary man who, both -in letters and in art, inaugurated the century of Louis XIV. The -head, three-quarter profile, is turned to the left. It is a medallion -inscribed with the words: "Messire Nicolas Foucquet, chevalier, vicomte -de Melun et de Vaux, Conseiller du Roy, Ministre d'État, Surintendant -des Finances et Procureur général de Sa Majesté." Signed "R. Nanteuil -ad vivum ping. et sculpebat, 1661." The style is at once soft and -firm, the workmanship pure and finished, the rendering of the colours -excellent. This engraving was executed after a drawing or a pastel -which Nanteuil had done from life, and which is lost. This work, and -the engraving which perpetuates it, seem to me to form the origin of a -whole family of portraits, of which we will mention several. -</p> -<p> -(1) A shaded bust, on a piedouche, bearing Foucquet's arms. The -arrangement is bad, the inscription: -</p> -<p> -Ne faut-il que l'on avouë<br /> -Qu'on trouve en luytous ce qu'on espérait.<br /> -C'est un surintendant tel que l'on désirait.<br /> -Personne ne s'en plaint, tout le monde s'en louë.<br /> -</p> -<p> -Signed: "Van Schupper faciebat. P. de la Serre." -</p> -<p> -(2) The head in an oval border. Raised hangings which reveal a country -scene, with dogs coursing. The inscription: -</p> -<p> -"Messire Nicolas Foucquet, chevalier, vicomte de Melun et de Vaux, -Ministre d'État, Surintendant des finances de Sa Majesté et son -procureur général au Parlement de Paris." -</p> -<p> -(3) A much damaged copy. The face is pale and elongated, the expression -melancholy and sanctimonious. It is an oval medallion, 1654, without -signature, Paris, chez Daret. -</p> -<p> -(4) The same, chez Louis Boissevin, in the Rue Saint-Jacques. -</p> -<p> -(5) The same, with this quatrain: -</p> -<p> -Si sa fidélité parut incomparable<br /> -En conservant l'Estat,<br /> -Sa prudence aujourd'huy n'est pas moins admirable<br /> -D'en augmenter l'éclat.<br /> -</p> -<p> -(6) Medallion. The picture is much disfigured; the inscription: -</p> -<p> -Qu'il a de probité, de sçavoir et de zelle,<br /> -Qu'il paroit généreux, magnanime et prudent,<br /> -Que son esprit est fort, que son cœur est fidelle,<br /> -Toutes ces qualités l'on fait Surintendant.<br /> -</p> -<p> -(7) Medallion, with drapery. Very bad. Signature: "Baltazar Moncornet, -excud." -</p> -<p> -(8) The same, with a frame of foliage, 1658. -</p> -<p> -(9) A small copy, reversed, executed after Foucquet's death, the date -of which is indicated, 23rd March, 1680. It is old, hard, dark and -damaged. Signature: "Nanteuil, pinxit, Gaillard, sculpt." -</p> -<p> -A portrait of Lebrun deserves honourable mention after that of -Nanteuil. The features are practically the same as in the engraving by -Eugène Reims; but the expression is not so keen, nor so cheerful. The -head, three-quarter profile, is turned to the right. This picture is -the original of the three following engravings: -</p> -<p> -(1) A large oval. Signature: "C. Lebrun pinx, F. Poilly sculpt." -Inscription: -</p> -<p> -Illustrissimus vir Nicolaus Foucquet<br /> -Generalis in Supremo regii Ærarii<br /> -Præfectus: V. Comes Melodunensis, etc.<br /> -</p> -<p> -In a later copy, Foucquet's arms replace the Latin inscription. -</p> -<p> -(2) A spoiled and softened copy, very careless workmanship. Signature: -"C. Mellan del. et F." -</p> -<p> -(3) An imitation. Foucquet, seated in a straight-backed armchair, with -large wrought nail-heads, with a casket on the table beside him. He -holds a pen in his right hand, and paper in his left. Inscription: -</p> -<p> -Magna videt, majora latent; ecce aspicis artis<br /> -Clarum opus, et virtus clarior arte latet,<br /> -Umbra est et fulget, solem miraris in umbra<br /> -Quid sol ipse micat, cujus et umbra micat.<br /> -</p> -<p> -Signature: "Œgid. Rousselet, sculpt., 1659." -</p> -<p> -(4) An imitation. Signature: "Larmessin, 1661." Finally, we must -mention a full-length portrait, which seems inspired by the foregoing. -The Superintendent is standing, wearing a long robe; he holds in his -right hand a small bag, in his left a paper. A raised curtain displays, -on the right, a country scene, with a torrent, a rock and a fortified -château. In the sky, Renown puts a trumpet to her mouth. In her left -hand she holds another trumpet with a bannerette on which is written: -"Quo non ascendet?" Inscription: -</p> -<p> -A quel degré d'honneur ne peut-il pas monter<br /> -S'il s'élève tousjours par son propre courage?<br /> -Son nom et sa vertu lui donnent l'advantage<br /> -De pouvoir tout prétendre et de tout mériter.<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23_26" id="Footnote_23_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_26"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> A summary of the inventory at Saint-Mandé: MS. of the -Bibliothèque Nat. Manusc. Suppl, fr. 10958, cited by M. Edm. Bonnaffé, -<i>Les Amateurs de l'ancienne France</i>.—Le Surintendant Foucquet, -librairie de l'Art, 1882.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_24_27" id="Footnote_24_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_27"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Loc. cit., pp. 61 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_25_28" id="Footnote_25_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_28"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Description of the city of Paris, 1713, p. 60.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_26_29" id="Footnote_26_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_29"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> <i>Mémoire des Académiciens</i>, Vol. I, p. 21. Bonnaffé, loc. -cit., p. 15.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_27_30" id="Footnote_27_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_30"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Preface to <i>Œdipe, Collect. des grands écrivains,</i> Vol. -VI, p. 103.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_28_31" id="Footnote_28_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_31"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> With great pomp.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_29_32" id="Footnote_29_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_32"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> The original edition has <i>plainte.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_30_33" id="Footnote_30_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_33"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Œuvres complètes de La Fontaine, published by Ch. Marty -Laveaux, Vol. III (1866), p. 26 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_31_34" id="Footnote_31_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_34"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> The inventory of the 26th February, 1666 (Bonnaffé, -loc. cit., p. 61), classes them as follows: "Two antique mausoleums -representing a king and queen of Egypt, 800 livres."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_32_35" id="Footnote_32_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_35"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> At least, this is the hypothesis propounded by M. -Bonnaffe. It is founded on the fact that an anonymous document of 1648, -published in <i>Les Collectionneurs de l'ancienne France</i> (Aubry, ed. -1873), mentions le sieur Chamblon, of Marseilles, as a professor "of -Egyptian idols to enclose mummies." But it seems as if the anonymous -document referred not to sarcophagi of marble or basalt, but rather to -those boxes of painted and gilt pasteboard, with human faces, which -abound in the necropolises of ancient Egypt. The port of Marseilles -must at that time have received a fairly large number of such. We must -remember that the mummy was in those days considered as a remedy, and -was widely sold by druggists.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_33_36" id="Footnote_33_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_36"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Cf. Mlle, de Scudéry, <i>Clélie.</i> "Méléandre (Lebrun) had -caused to be built, on a small, somewhat uneven plot of ground, two -small pyramids in imitation of those which are near Memphis."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_34_37" id="Footnote_34_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_37"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> See note, p. 10.**</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_35_38" id="Footnote_35_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_38"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Description of the city of Paris, by Germain Brice, ed. -of 1698, Vol. I, p. 124 <i>et seg.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_36_39" id="Footnote_36_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_39"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> <i>Recueil d'antiquités dans les Gaules,</i> by La Sauvagère, -Paris, 1770, p. 329 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_37_40" id="Footnote_37_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_40"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> D.5.D. 7<sup>8</sup>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_38_41" id="Footnote_38_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_41"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> In this story, I have followed M. Bonnaffé. Loc. cit., p. -57.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_39_42" id="Footnote_39_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_42"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Inventory and valuation of the books found at Saint-Mandé -on the 30th July, 1665. Biblio. Nat. MSS., p. 9438. The whole was -valued at 38,544 livres.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_40_43" id="Footnote_40_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_43"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> <i>Conseils de la Sagesse,</i> p. x.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_41_44" id="Footnote_41_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_44"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Lines presented to Monseigneur le procureur général -Foucquet, Superintendent of Finance, at the opening of the tragedy of -<i>Œdipe,</i> 1659.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_42_45" id="Footnote_42_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_45"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> One of the earliest French theatres. It was founded by -the Confrères de la Passion in 1548.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_43_46" id="Footnote_43_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_46"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Cf. <i>La Vie de Corneille,</i> by Fontenelle.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_44_47" id="Footnote_44_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_47"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> <i>Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de La Fontaine,</i> by -Mathieu Marais, 1811, p. 125.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_45_48" id="Footnote_45_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_48"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> <i>Ouvrages de prose et de poésie des sieurs de Mancroix et -La Fontaine,</i> Vol. I, p. 99.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_46_49" id="Footnote_46_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_49"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> There are two blank spaces in the 1685 edition. I have -filled them with the two names in brackets. For the first I have put -the name of Foucquet, which is given in the <i>Œuvres diverses</i> (Vol. -I, p. 19). To fill the second space I have followed the suggestion of -Mathieu Marais. Walkenaer puts Pellisson, which is not admissible.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_47_50" id="Footnote_47_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_50"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Edit Marty-Laveaux, VOL V, pp. 15-17.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_48_51" id="Footnote_48_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_51"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> No one can answer for the correctness of the text of -these two poems. Chardon de La Rochette published them from memory in -1811 (<i>Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de La Fontaine,</i> by Mathieu -Marais, p. 125). He had possessed the receipts for both in Pellisson's -own hand-writing, but had not kept it, because, he said, he did not -think "that it was worth it." This sagacious Hellenist set little store -by a Pellisson autograph, in comparison with the Palatine MS. of the -Anthologia. And he was right. But it is odd that he should have known -the verses by heart, and that, having neglected to preserve them in his -desk, he should have retained them in his memory.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_49_52" id="Footnote_49_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_52"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Promettre est un, et tenir promesse est un autre.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_50_53" id="Footnote_50_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_53"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> coll. Petitot, p. 211.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_51_54" id="Footnote_51_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_54"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> loc. cit., p. 230.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_52_55" id="Footnote_52_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_55"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> Bussy, II, p. 50.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_53_56" id="Footnote_53_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_56"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> "Jamais surintendant ne trouva de cruelle."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_54_57" id="Footnote_54_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_57"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> Bussy, II, p. 50.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_55_58" id="Footnote_55_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_58"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> Letter of the 25th May, 1658.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_56_59" id="Footnote_56_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_59"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> Letter of 18th January, 1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_57_60" id="Footnote_57_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_60"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Loret, Muse historique, letter of the 28th of December, -1652.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_58_61" id="Footnote_58_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_61"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> In 1661 (?) <i>Papiers de Foucquet</i> (F. Baluze), Vol. I, -pp. 31-32.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_59_62" id="Footnote_59_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_62"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> Maurepas Collection. Vol. II, p. 271.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_60_63" id="Footnote_60_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_63"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> Letter of the 11th November, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_61_64" id="Footnote_61_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_64"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> Gourville, in <i>Monmerqué,</i> Vol. II, p. 342.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_62_65" id="Footnote_62_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_65"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de l'abbé de Choisy,</i> p. 579.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_63_66" id="Footnote_63_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_66"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Brienne,</i> Vol. II, p. 52.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_64_67" id="Footnote_64_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_67"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> p. 581. Chéruel, <i>Mémoires sur -Nicolas Foucquet,</i> Vol. II, p. 97.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_65_68" id="Footnote_65_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_68"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> p. 249.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_66_69" id="Footnote_66_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_69"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> p. 249.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_67_70" id="Footnote_67_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_70"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> <i>Choisy,</i> p. 586. "I learnt these details," said Choisy, -"from Perrault, to whom Colbert related them more than once."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_68_71" id="Footnote_68_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_71"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> p. 586. Cf. also Guy Patin, letter to Falconnet, -2nd September, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_69_72" id="Footnote_69_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_72"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> <i>Histoire d'Henriette d'Angleterre,</i> by Mme de Lafayette. -Paris, Charavay frères, 1882, p. 53.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_70_73" id="Footnote_70_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_73"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> See Part II for the story of this entertainment.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_71_74" id="Footnote_71_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_74"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> Cf. <i>Mémoires sur Nicolas Foucquet,</i> by Chéruel, Vol. II, -pp. 179-180.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_72_75" id="Footnote_72_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_75"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Brienne,</i> Vol. II, p. 153.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_73_76" id="Footnote_73_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_76"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> La Fontaine, letter to his wife, Ed. Marty-Laveaux, Vol. -III, p. 311 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_74_77" id="Footnote_74_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_77"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> This letter was published for the first time in <i>Les -Causeries d'un curieux,</i> VOL II, p. 518.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_75_78" id="Footnote_75_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_78"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> <i>Dictionnaire Antique.</i> Article on Hesnault.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_76_79" id="Footnote_76_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_79"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Letter of the 10th of September, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_77_80" id="Footnote_77_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_80"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> Letter of the 2nd October, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_78_81" id="Footnote_78_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_81"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> Second Speech to the King, in <i>Les Œuvres diverses,</i> p. -109.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_79_82" id="Footnote_79_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_82"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> Cf. <i>Mélanges,</i> by Vigneul de Marville.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_80_83" id="Footnote_80_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_83"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Such is the title of the original edition, printed in -italics, without date or address, on three quarto pages.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_81_84" id="Footnote_81_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_84"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> "The Anqueil is a little river which flows near Vaux." -(Note by La Fontaine.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_82_85" id="Footnote_82_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_85"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Variant: -</p> -<p> -La Cabale est contente, Oronte est malheureux. -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_83_86" id="Footnote_83_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_86"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> Variant: -</p> -<p> -Du grand, du grand Henri qu'il contemple la vie.<br /> -(Original edition.)<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_84_87" id="Footnote_84_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_87"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> Edition quoted, Vol. V, pp. 43-46. One contemporary copy, -preserved in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, contains a text altered by -one of Foucquet's enemies. -</p> -<p> -Instead of the two lines: -</p> -<p> -Voilà le précipice où l'ont enfin jeté<br /> -Les attraits enchanteurs de la prospérité,<br /> -</p> -<p> -we read in this copy: -</p> -<p> -Il se hait de tant vivre après un tel malheur,<br /> -Et, s'il espère encor, ce n'est qu'en sa douleur,<br /> -C'est là le seul plaisir qui flatte son courage,<br /> -Car des autres plaisirs on lui défend l'usage.<br /> -Voilà, voilà l'effet de cette ambition<br /> -Qui fait de ses pareils l'unique passion.<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_85_88" id="Footnote_85_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_88"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> Edition cited: Vol. V, pp. 46-49. Published for the first -time by La Fontaine in his collection <i>Poésies chrétinnes et diverses,</i> -1671, Vol. Ill, p. 34.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_86_89" id="Footnote_86_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_89"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> La Fontaine, Letter to Monsieur Foucquet. Edition cited: -Vol. Ill, pp. 307-308. This letter was published for the first time in -1729.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_87_90" id="Footnote_87_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_90"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> Cf. Le procès de Foucquet, a speech pronounced at the -opening of Conférence des Avocats, Monday, 27th November, 1882, by Léon -Deroy, advocate in the Court of Appeal. Paris, Alcan Lévy, 1882.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_88_91" id="Footnote_88_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_91"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> Recueil des arrêtés de G. de Lamoignon, Paris, 1781. <i>Vie -de M. le premier président,</i> by Girard, p. 14. (The fleur-de-Iys was -very largely employed in the decoration of the walls, floors, ceiling, -etc., of the Parliaments, etc.—Ed.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_89_92" id="Footnote_89_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_92"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson, Vol. II, p. 26.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_90_93" id="Footnote_90_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_93"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> <i>Recueil des arrêtés,</i> already cited.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_91_94" id="Footnote_91_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_94"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> Madame de Sévigné, letter of the 27th November, 1664.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_92_95" id="Footnote_92_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_95"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> letter of the 2nd December.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_93_96" id="Footnote_93_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_96"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> "The Duc de Sully, the son-in-law of the Chancellor, -Séguier, had, in 1652, yielded the crossing of the bridge of Mantes to -the Spanish Army." (Note by M. Chéruel.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_94_97" id="Footnote_94_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_97"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> <i>Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,</i> Vol. II, p. 263. Letter -from Mme. de Sévigné, 9th December.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_95_98" id="Footnote_95_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_98"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> <i>Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,</i> VOL II, p. 282. Letter -from Mme. de Sévigné, 9th December.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_96_99" id="Footnote_96_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_99"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> Vol. II, p. 283.</p></div> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_97_100" id="Footnote_97_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_100"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> Vol. II, p. 286.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_98_101" id="Footnote_98_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_101"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> The Comte de Vaux, Foucquet's eldest son, having obtained -his father's MSS. from Pignerol, published extracts entitled: <i>Conseils -de la Sagesse</i> ou <i>Recueil des Maximes de Salomon.</i> Paris, 1683, 2 -vols.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_99_102" id="Footnote_99_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_102"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> The Duc de Lauzun, said to have married La Grande -Mademoiselle, Mlle, de Montpensier, cousin of Louis XIV. (Trans.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_100_103" id="Footnote_100_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_103"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> Delort, <i>Détention des Philosophes,</i> Vol. I, p. 53.</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="PART_II" id="PART_II">PART II</a></h4> - - -<h4>THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX</h4> - - -<p>During his trial Foucquet declared that he had begun the building of -his house at Vaux as early as 1640. On this point his memory betrayed -him. Reference to the inscription on an engraving by Pérelle, after -Israël Silvestre, assigns the commencement of work upon the house to -the year 1653, but there is no doubt that Israël Silvestre planned -the château on lines which were not absolutely final. Nor was the <i>ne -varietur</i> plan, signed in 1666, exactly followed.<a name="FNanchor_1_104" id="FNanchor_1_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_104" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>It is not until 1657 that the registers of the parish of Maincy attest -the presence of foreign workmen who had come to undertake certain -building operations on the estate of Vaux.</p> - -<p>The architect, Louis Levau, employed by Foucquet, was not a -beginner. He had already built "a house at the apex of the island -of Notre-Dame,"<a name="FNanchor_2_105" id="FNanchor_2_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_105" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> which is none other than the Hôtel Lambert,<a name="FNanchor_3_106" id="FNanchor_3_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_106" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> -the ingenious novelties of which were greatly admired. Especially -noteworthy was the chamber of Madame de Torigny, on the second floor, -which Le Sueur had decorated with a grace which recalls the mural -paintings of Herculaneum. This chamber was called the Italian room, -"Because," said Guillet de Saint-Georges, "the beauty of the woodwork -and the richness of the panelling took the place of tapestry."</p> - -<p>Levau, born in 1612, was forty-three years of age when he signed the -<i>ne varietur</i> plan. We know little about the life of this man whose -work is so famous. A document of the 23rd March, 1651,<a name="FNanchor_4_107" id="FNanchor_4_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_107" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> describes -him as "a man of noble birth, Councillor and Secretary to the King, -House and Crown of France." He then lived in Paris, in the Rue du -Roi-de-Sicile, with his wife and his three young children, Jean, Louis -and Nicolas.</p> - -<p>Besides the Hôtel Lambert and the Château de Vaux, we are indebted to -him for the design for the Collège des Quatre-Nations, now the Palace -of the Institute; the Maison Bautru, called by Sauvai "La Gentille," -and engraved by Marot; the Hôtel de Pons, in the Rue du Colombier -(to-day the Rue du Vieux-Colombier), built for President Tambruneau; -the Hôtel Deshameaux, which, according to Sauvai, had an Italian room; -the Hôtel d'Hesselin in the He Saint-Louis; the Hôtel de Rohan, in the -Rue de l'Université; the Château de Livry, since known as Le Rainey, -built for the Intendant of Finances, Bordier; the Château de Seignelay; -a château near Troyes; and the Château de Bercy.<a name="FNanchor_5_108" id="FNanchor_5_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_108" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - -<p>We may add that Louis Levau, having become first architect to the King, -succeeded Gamard in directing the works of the church of Saint-Sulpice, -and that he, in his turn, was succeeded by Daniel Gillard in 1660.<a name="FNanchor_6_109" id="FNanchor_6_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_109" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - -<p>Louis Levau died in Paris. His body was carried to the church of -Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, his parish church, on Saturday, the nth -October, 1670, as attested by the register of this church. There, -under the above date, may be read: "On the said day was buried Messire -Louys Levau, aged 57 or thereabouts, who died this morning at three -o'clock. In his life a Councillor of the King in his Council, general -Superintendent of His Majesty's buildings, first Architect of his -buildings, Secretary to His Majesty and the House and Crown of France, -etc., taken from the Rue des Fossés, from the ancient Hôtel de -Longueville."[7]</p> - -<p>In the <i>Archives de l'Art français</i> (Vol. I) there is a document -relating to Louis Levau:</p> - -<p>"There has been submitted to us the plan and elevation of the building -of the Cathedral Church of Saint-Pierre of Nantes, of which the part -not already constructed is marked in red. This church is one hundred -and eleven feet high from the floor to the keystones of the vaults at -the meeting of the diagonals, and the lower aisles and chapels are -fifty-six feet, measured also from the floor.</p> - -<p>"It is desired to finish the said church, and to respect its symmetry -as far as may be, and to make the lower aisles and chapels around the -choir like those which are on the right of the nave.</p> - -<p>"The difficulty is that, in order to finish this work, it is necessary -to pull down the walls of the town, and to carry it out into the moat, -and it is desirable to take as little ground as can be, in order not to -diminish too greatly the breadth of the moat. Wherefore it is proposed -to do away with the three chapels behind the choir, marked by the -letter H.</p> - -<p>"But, if those three chapels are removed, it will be seen that the -flying buttresses which support the choir will not have the same thrust -as those which support the nave; the strength of these buttresses will -be diminished, and the symmetry of the church destroyed, in a place -where the church is most visible.</p> - -<p>"With this plan we send the elevation of the pillars and buttresses to -show how they are constructed in the neighborhood of the nave.</p> - -<p>"The whole of this is in order to ascertain whether the three chapels -can be dispensed with, and the safety of the choir and the whole -edifice secured."</p> - -<p>To create the estate of Vaux in its prodigious magnificence, it was -necessary to destroy three villages: Vaux-le-Vicomte, with its church -and its mill, the hamlet of Maison-Rouge and that of Jumeau. The -gigantic works which were necessary are hardly imaginable; immense -rocks were carried away; deep canals were excavated.</p> - -<p>Foucquet hurried on the work with all the impatience of his intemperate -mind. As early as 1657 the animation which prevailed in the works was -so great that it was spoken of as something immoderate, as though more -befitting royalty. Foucquet felt that it was of importance to conceal -proceedings</p> - -<p>The following is in Levau's own hand:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"In order to reply to the above questions I, Le Vau, -architect in ordinary of the King's buildings, certify that, -having inspected the plan and the elevation of the flying -buttresses of the church of Nantes, which have been sent -me, having carefully examined and considered the whole, and -having even made some designs for altering and dispensing -with the chapels H H H; after having considered all that can -be done in this matter, I have come to the conclusion that -it cannot be accomplished without weakening and considerably -damaging the pillars of the choir, and the other aisles, and -destroying all symmetry; in a word, ruining it. I therefore -do not submit the design that I have made, for my opinion is -that the original design should be followed, and that the -church should be finished as it was begun; as nothing else -can be done save to the great prejudice of the said church. -In attestation of which I sign.</p> -<p style="margin-left: 75%; font-size: 0.8em;">'LE VAU.'"</p></blockquote> - -<p>which gave the impression of enormous expenditure. He wrote on the 8th -of February, 1657:</p> - -<p>"A gentleman of the neighbourhood, who is called Villevessin, told the -Queen that he was lately at Vaux, and that in the workshop he counted -nine hundred men. In order to avoid this as far as may be, you must -carry out my design of putting up screens, and keeping the doors shut. -I should be glad if you would advance all the work as far as possible -before the season when everybody goes into the country, and I want -you to avoid, as far as possible, having a large number of workpeople -together."<a name="FNanchor_7_110" id="FNanchor_7_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_110" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p>If we compare the statement made by M. de Villevessin with a note -written by Foucquet on the 21st November, 1660, we may conclude that at -one time there were eighteen thousand workmen occupied on the buildings -and the gardens.<a name="FNanchor_8_111" id="FNanchor_8_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_111" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p>Such works could not be kept secret. Colbert, jealous for his King and -perhaps for himself, came to visit them in secret. Watel, Foucquet's -steward—he who later entered the King's service, the story of whose -death is well known—Watel, faithful servant, surprised Colbert making -his inspection, and told his master. Foucquet took some precautions, -but none the less the matter created a bad impression at Court. One day -when the King, with Monsieur, was inspecting the building operations -at the Louvre, he complained to his brother that he had no money to -complete this great building. Whereupon Monsieur replied jokingly: -"Sire, Your Majesty need only become Superintendent of Finance for a -single year, and then you will have plenty of money for building."<a name="FNanchor_9_112" id="FNanchor_9_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_112" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>These immense works necessitated great institutions. Foucquet founded -at Maincy a hospital called La Charité, where the workmen were received -when they were ill.<a name="FNanchor_10_113" id="FNanchor_10_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_113" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - -<p>Tapestry rooms were also established at Maincy. There, according to Le -Brun's designs, were executed <i>Les Chasses de Méléagre</i> and <i>l'Histoire -de Constantin.</i><a name="FNanchor_11_114" id="FNanchor_11_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_114" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>Le Brun himself settled at Maincy, with his wife Suzanne, in the autumn -of 1658.</p> - -<p>This great artist did not merely provide cartoons for tapestry; he -decorated the ceilings of the halls of the château with allegorical -paintings. Several pieces of sculpture also were executed from his -drawings. Thus the four lions which are still seen at the foot of the -staircase leading to the great Terrace des Grottes were designed by -the painter; or, at least, so Mlle, de Scudéry says. These lions have -almost human countenances. We know that the art of the eighteenth -century was very free in its treatment of wild animals. The face -expresses pride as well as gentleness. Lying in its innocent claws is a -squirrel, pursued by a viper. Colbert again!</p> - -<p>Now I must recall the great days of Vaux. They were not many, and the -most brilliant was the last.</p> - -<p>After the marriage of the King and the Infanta at -Saint-Jean-de-Luz,<a name="FNanchor_12_115" id="FNanchor_12_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_115" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> the Court took the road to Paris. It halted at -Fontainbleau, and Foucquet received it at Vaux with that audacious -magnificence which he preferred even to the realities of power. The -courtiers walked in the gardens, where the fountains were playing, and -a wonderful supper was served. The gazetteer Press has preserved for us -a list of the fruits and flowers which adorned the tables, as well as -"preserves of every colour, the fritters and pastries and other dishes -which were served there."<a name="FNanchor_13_116" id="FNanchor_13_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_116" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> - -<p>A year later the Château de Vaux received the widow of Charles I, -Henriette of France, Queen of England. She was accompanied by her -daughter, Henrietta of England, and the Duc d'Orléans, her son-in-law. -Henrietta, or, to give her her title, Madame, was in all the brilliance -of her youth, had a genius both for affairs of gallantry and matters -of State. She lived as though in haste, consuming in coquetry and -in intrigue a life which was not fated to be a lone one. A woman of -this character, so nearly related to the King, was bound to interest -the ambitious Foucquet. He received her with all the refinements of -magnificence. After dinner he had a Comedy played before her. The -piece was by Molière himself, who was already greatly admired for his -naturalness and truth to life. The play was then completely new; it -had not been seen either by the town or the Court, it was <i>L'École des -Maris.</i><a name="FNanchor_14_117" id="FNanchor_14_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_117" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p>Shortly afterwards the Château of Vaux was to witness a yet more -brilliant festivity—the last of all. When Foucquet invited the King, -he was possessed by a spirit of unwisdom and of error; all about him, -men and things alike, cried out to him in vain: Blind! blind!</p> - -<p>The King set out from Fontainbleau on the 17th August, 1661, and came -to Vaux in a coach, in which he was accompanied by Monsieur, the -Comtesse d'Armagnac, the Duchesse de Valentinois and the Comtesse de -Guiche. The Queen-Mother came in her own coach, and Madame in her -litter. The young Queen, detained at Fontainebleau by her pregnancy, -was not present at that cruel festivity. More than six thousand persons -were invited. The King and the Court began by visiting the park. All -were loud in their admiration of the great fountains. "There was," -says La Fontaine,<a name="FNanchor_15_118" id="FNanchor_15_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_118" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> "great discussion as to which was the best, -the Cascade, the Wheat-Sheaf Jet, the Fountain of the Crown or the -Animals." The château also was inspected and Le Brun's pictures greatly -admired.</p> - -<p>The King could ill contain his wrath at a display of luxury which -seemed stolen from him, and which he was later on to imitate at -Versailles, with all the diligence of a good pupil. He was angered, -so it is said,<a name="FNanchor_16_119" id="FNanchor_16_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_119" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> by an allegorical picture into which Le Brun had -obviously introduced the portrait of Mademoiselle de la Vallière. The -fact may be doubted, but it is certain that the courtiers, with eyes -sharpened by envy, remarked on all the panelling Foucquet's device: -<i>"Quo non ascendant,"</i> or <i>Quo non ascendet?</i> accompanying a squirrel -(or foucquet) climbing up a tree. Louis XIV, according to Choisy, -conceived the idea of arresting his insolent subject on the spot, and -it was the Queen-Mother, who had long been Foucquet's friend, who -prevented him from doing so. But such impatience is not consistent with -that patient duplicity which the King displayed in this connection. -Almost at that very moment, did he not ask his hospitable subject for -another festival to celebrate the churching of the young Queen?<a name="FNanchor_17_120" id="FNanchor_17_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_120" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> - -<p>After the château and grounds had been visited, there was a lottery in -which every guest won something: the ladies jewels, the men weapons. -Then a supper was served, provided by Watel, the cost of which was -valued at one hundred and twenty thousand livres. "Great were the -delicacy and the rarity of the dishes," says La Fontaine, "but greater -still the grace with which Monsieur le Surintendant and Madame la -Surintendante did the honours of their house." The pantry of the -château then contained at least thirty-six dozen plates of solid gold -and a service of the same metal.<a name="FNanchor_18_121" id="FNanchor_18_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_121" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> After supper the guests went to -the Allée des Sapins, where a stage had been erected.</p> - -<p>Mechanical stage effects were then much in vogue. Those of Vaux were -wonderful. The mechanism was the work of Torelli, and the scenery was -painted by Le Brun.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Deux enchanteurs pleins de savoir<br /> -Firent tant, par leur imposture,<br /> -Qu'on crut qu'ils avaient le pouvoir<br /> -De commander à la nature.<br /> -L'un de ces enchanteurs est le sieur Torelli,<br /> -Magicien expert et faiseur de miracles;<br /> -Et l'autre, c'est Lebrun, par qui Vaux embelli<br /> -Présente aux regardants mille rares spectacles.<a name="FNanchor_19_122" id="FNanchor_19_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_122" class="fnanchor">[19]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>Rocks were seen to open, and statues moved.</p> - -<p>The scene represented a grim rock in a lonely desert. Suddenly the rock -changed to a shell, and, the shell having opened, there came forth -a nymph. This was Béjart, who recited a prologue by Pellisson. "In -this prologue, Béjart, who represents the nymph of the fountain where -the action is taking place, commands the divinities, who are subject -to her, to leave the statues in which they are enshrined, and to -contribute with all their power to His Majesty's amusement. Straightway -the pedestals and the statues which adorn the stage move, and there -emerge from them, I know not how, fauns and bacchantes, who form a -ballet. It is very amusing to see a god of boundaries delivered of a -child which comes into the world dancing."</p> - -<p>The ballet was followed by the play which had been conceived, written -and rehearsed in a fortnight. It was Molière's <i>Les Fâcheux.</i> The play, -as we know, has interludes of dancing, and concludes with a ballet. -"It is Terence," was the verdict. No doubt, but it is a devilish bad -Terence.</p> - -<p>The night was one of those fiery nights of which Racine writes in the -most worldly of his tragedies. Fireworks shot into the air. There was -a rain of stars; then, when the King departed, the lantern on the dome -which surmounted the château burst into flames, vomiting sheaves of -rockets and fiery serpents. We know what a sad morrow succeeded that -splendid night.</p> - -<p>My task is completed.</p> - -<p>Madame Foucquet, of whose biography we have already given an outline, -obtained a legal separation of her property from her husband's before -the sentence of the 19th December, 1664. She was able to retain a -considerable part of her fortune. "On the 19th March, 1673, she bought -back from the creditors, for one million two hundred and fifty thousand -livres, the Viscounty of Melun, with the estate of Vaux, and made a -donation thereof to her son, Louis-Nicolas Fouquet, by various deeds, -dated 1683, 1689, 1703. Her son having died with out posterity in 1705, -she sold the estate on the 29th August, 1705, to Louis-Hector, Duc de -Villars, Marshal of France, who parted with it on the 27th August, -1764, to C.-Gabriel de Choiseul, Duc de Praslin and peer of France, for -one million six hundred thousand livres."<a name="FNanchor_20_123" id="FNanchor_20_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_123" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> The château remained in -the family of Choiseul-Parslin until the 6th July, 1875.</p> - -<p>By a piece of good fortune it then passed into the hands of M. A. -Sommier. From that day one may say that art and letters have been -vigilant in its preservation, for M. Sommier combines the most perfect -taste with a love of art, and Madame Sommier is the daughter of M. de -Barante, the famous historian.<a name="FNanchor_21_124" id="FNanchor_21_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_124" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> - -<p>But for M. Sommier it was not enough to preserve this historical -monument. His artistic munificence was prepared for any sacrifice -in order to restore those cascades and grottos at which La Fontaine -had marvelled, and which had fallen into ruins, been overgrown with -brushwood, in which vipers lurked and rabbits burrowed. In this noble -task M. Sommier was fortunately aided by a learned architect, M. -Destailleurs. M. Rodolphe Pfnor, my collaborator and friend, holds it -an honour to associate himself with the praises which I here bestow -upon the understanding liberality of M. Sommier. M. Pfnor, by reason of -his skill in architecture and the arts of design, is competent to give -these praises a real and absolute value. Be it understood that I speak -for him as well as for myself.</p> - -<p>It is just that art and letters should unite in congratulating M. -Sommier. The restorer of the Château de Vaux has deserved well of both. -It was reserved for him to realize in all its splendour <i>Le Songe -Vaux.</i> He has uttered the command in a voice which has been obeyed:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Fontaines, jaillissez,<br /> -Herbe tendre, croissez<br /> -Le long de ces rivages.<br /> -Venez, petits oiseaux,<br /> -Accorder vos ramages<br /> -Au doux bruit de leurs eaux.<br /> -</p> -<hr class="r5" /> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_104" id="Footnote_1_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_104"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Bonnaffé, op. cit., p. 27.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_105" id="Footnote_2_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_105"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Guillet de Saint-Georges, in <i>Les Archives de l'Art</i> -<i>français,</i> 1853, Vol. III.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_106" id="Footnote_3_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_106"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Cf. Jal., Diet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_107" id="Footnote_4_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_107"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Occupied successively by the President of the Chambre des -Comptes, Lambert Torigny; the Marquise du Chastelle; M. de La Haye; the -Comte de Montalivet; the Administrator of Lits Militaires; and Prince -Adam Czartoryski, the present owner (1888).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_108" id="Footnote_5_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_108"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Ad. Lance, <i>Dictionnaire des Architectes français,</i> Paris, -1872, 2 vols. Article on Levau (Louis).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_109" id="Footnote_6_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_109"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>Archives de l'Art français,</i> Vol. I, 1852.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_110" id="Footnote_7_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_110"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Letter cited by M. Pierre Clement, <i>Histoire de Colbert,</i> -p. 30.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_111" id="Footnote_8_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_111"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> I cite almost literally a phrase by M. Eugène Grésy. M. -Grésy's valuable work on the Château de Vaux is contained in <i>Les -Archives de l'Art français.</i> Vol. I, p. I <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_112" id="Footnote_9_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_112"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Cimber et Danjou, <i>Archives curieuses de l'Histoire de -France,</i> Second Series, Vol. VIII, p. 415 (Portraits de la Cour).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_113" id="Footnote_10_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_113"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> M. Eugène Grésy, loc. cit., p. 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_114" id="Footnote_11_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_114"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> It is well known that the Maincy factory, taken to Paris -by order of the King after Foucquet's disgrace, became the Gobelins. -(Lacordaire, article on the Gobelins, second ed., 1855, p. 65.) Cf. -also <i>L'Histoire de la Tapisserie,</i> by J. Guiffrey.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_115" id="Footnote_12_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_115"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> 9th June, 1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_116" id="Footnote_13_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_116"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Cf. Loret, letter of the 24th July, 1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_117" id="Footnote_14_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_117"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> letter of the 17th July, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_118" id="Footnote_15_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_118"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Letter to Maucroix, 9th ed., cited Vol. Ill, p. 301.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_119" id="Footnote_16_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_119"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Choisy, in his <i>Mémoires.</i> Ed. cited p. 587.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_120" id="Footnote_17_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_120"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Cf. La Fontaine, letter previously cited.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_121" id="Footnote_18_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_121"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Cf. Chéruel, loc. cit., who cites (Vol. II, p. 223) the -portfolios of Valiant, Vol. III, in the Biblio. Nat. MSS.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_122" id="Footnote_19_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_122"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> La Fontaine, letter from Maucroix, Vol. Ill, p. 304.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20_123" id="Footnote_20_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_123"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> See the excursion made by the subscribers to <i>l'Ami des -Monuments</i> to the Château de Vaux-le-Praslin, or le Vicomte, near -Melun, in <i>l' Ami des Monuments,</i> a magazine founded and edited by M. -Charles Normand, 1887, p. 301, No. 4.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21_124" id="Footnote_21_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_124"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> In the Château de Vaux one of the rooms on the first -story, and certainly the most beautiful, bears the name of the "Room of -M. de Barante." It has a ceiling which represents one of those nymphs -of Vaux which La Fontaine celebrated so charmingly. This ceiling has -been recently restored. M. Destailleurs has displayed great art in its -preservation.</p></div> - - - -<h4>THE END</h4> - - - - - - - - -<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 50670 ***</div> - - - -</body> -</html> -</div> - -</div> diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 60652c9..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_000.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_000.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a63fce7..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_000.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_001_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_001_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1b007c1..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_001_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_002_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_002_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6b92162..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_002_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_003_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_003_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1c159df..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_003_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_004_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_004_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 850a0c2..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_004_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_005_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_005_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1cfa7d9..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_005_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_006_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_006_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8292057..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_006_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_007_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_007_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9af6793..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_007_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_008_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_008_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 69fe93f..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_008_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_009_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_009_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bc75012..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_009_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_010_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_010_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c40aa26..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_010_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_011_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_011_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4372d22..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_011_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_012_2.jpg b/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_012_2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 82f7560..0000000 --- a/old/50670-h/images/fran_clio_012_2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/old/50670-0.txt b/old/old/50670-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6aeba51..0000000 --- a/old/old/50670-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6594 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Clio, by Anatole France - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Clio - -Author: Anatole France - -Translator: Winifred Stephens - -Release Date: December 11, 2015 [EBook #50670] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLIO *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - -CLIO - -BY ANATOLE FRANCE - -THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE -IN AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION - -»EDITED BY JAMES LEWIS MAY -AND BERNARD MIALL« - -A TRANSLATION BY WINIFRED STEPHENS - -LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD -NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY - -MCMXXII - - - - -TO - -EMILE ZOLA - - - - NOTE BY THE EDITORS - - _The Château de Vaux le Vicomte_ is a translation of the - text of a sumptuously illustrated volume descriptive of this - wonderful monument of human frailty and ambition, published - in 1888 by Lemercier et Cie with plates by Rodolphe Pfnor. - Although the text has not been published apart from the - plates in France, it seemed only fitting to include a - translation of _The Château de Vaux le Vicomte_ in a - complete edition of Monsieur Anatole France's works. - - - CONTENTS - - CLIO - - THE BARD OF KYME - KOMM OF THE ATREBATES - FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI - THE KING DRINKS - "LA MUIRON" - - - THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX-LE-VICOMTE - - PREFACE - NICOLAS FOUCQUET - THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX - - -[Transcribers' Note: to this English translation of Clio we added 12 -plates by Mucha, who illustrated the French 1900 edition, which is also -available at Project Gutenberg.] - - - - - -CLIO - - - - -THE BARD OF KYME - - -Along the hill-side he came, following a path which skirted the sea. -His forehead was bare, deeply furrowed and bound by a fillet of red -wool. The sea-breeze blew his white locks over his temples and pressed -the fleece of a snow-white beard against his chin. His tunic and his -feet were the colour of the roads which he had trodden for so many -years. A roughly made lyre hung at his side. He was known as the Aged -One, and also as the Bard. Yet another name was given him by the -children to whom he taught poetry and music, and many called him the -Blind One, because his eyes, dim with age, were overhung by swollen -lids, reddened by the smoke of the hearths beside which he was wont -to sit when he sang. But his was no eternal night, and he was said -to see things invisible to other men. For three generations he had -been wandering ceaselessly to and fro. And now, having sung all day -to a King of Ægea, he was returning to his home, the roof of which -he could already see smoking in the distance; for now, after walking -all night without a halt for fear of being overtaken by the heat of -the day, in the clear light of the dawn he could see the white Kyme, -his birthplace. With his dog at his side, leaning on his crooked -staff, he walked with slow steps, his body upright, his head held -high because of the steepness of the way leading down into the narrow -valley and because he was still vigorous in his age. The sun, rising -over the mountains of Asia, shed a rosy light over the fleecy clouds -and the hill-sides of the islands that studded the sea. The coast-line -glistened. But the hills that stretched away eastward, crowned with -mastic and terebinth, lay still in the freshness and the shadow of -night. - -The Aged One measured along the incline the length of twelve times -twelve lances and found, on the left, between the flanks of twin rocks, -the narrow entrance to a sacred wood. There, on the brink of a spring, -rose an altar of unhewn stones. - -It was half hidden by an oleander the branches of which were laden -with dazzling blossoms. The well-trodden ground in front of the altar -was white with the bones of victims. All around, the boughs of the -olive-trees were hung with offerings. And farther on, in the awesome -shadow of the gorge, rose two ancient oaks, bearing, nailed to their -trunks, the bleached skulls of bulls. Knowing that this altar was -consecrated to Phœbus, the Aged One plunged into the wood, and, taking -by its handle a little earthenware cup which hung from his belt, he -bent over the stream which, flowing over a bed of wild parsley and -water-cress, slowly wound its way down to the meadow. He filled his cup -with the spring-water, and, because he was pious, before drinking he -poured a few drops before the altar. He worshipped the immortal gods, -who know neither pain nor death, while on earth generation follows -generation of suffering men. He was conscious of fear; and he dreaded -the arrows of Leto's sons. Full of sorrows and of years, he loved the -light of day and feared death. For this reason an idea occurred to him. -He bent the pliable trunk of a sapling, and drawing it towards him hung -his earthenware cup from the topmost twig of the young tree, which, -springing back, bore the old man's offering up to the open sky. - -White Kyme, wall-encircled, rose from the edge of the sea. A steep -highway, paved with flat stones, led to the gate of the town. This gate -had been built in an age beyond man's memory, and it was said to be -the work of the gods. Carved upon the lintel were signs which no man -understood, yet they were regarded as of good omen. Not far from this -gate was the public square, where the benches of the elders shone -beneath the trees. Near this square, on the landward side, the Aged One -stayed his steps. There was his house. It was low and small, and less -beautiful than the neighbouring house, where a famous seer dwelt with -his children. Its entrance was half hidden beneath a heap of manure, in -which a pig was rooting. This dunghill was smaller than those at the -doors of the rich. But behind the house was an orchard, and stables of -unquarried stone, which the Aged One had built with his own hands. The -sun was climbing up the white vault of heaven, the sea wind had fallen. -The invisible fire in the air scorched the lungs of men and beasts. -For a moment the Aged One paused upon the threshold to wipe the sweat -from his brow with the back of his hand. His dog, with watchful eye and -hanging tongue, stood still and panted. - -The aged Melantho, emerging from the house, appeared on the threshold -and spoke a few pleasant words. Her coming had been slow, because a god -had sent an evil spirit into her legs which swelled them and made them -heavier than a couple of wine-skins. She was a Carian slave and in her -youth the King had bestowed her on the bard, who was then young and -vigorous. And in her new master's bed she had conceived many children. -But not one was left in the house. Some were dead, others had gone away -to practise the art of song or to steer the plough in distant Achaian -cities, for all were richly gifted. And Melantho was left alone in the -house with Areta, her daughter-in-law, and Areta's two children. - -She went with the master into the great hall with its smoky rafters. In -the midst of it, before the domestic altar, lay the hearthstone covered -with red embers and melted fat. Out of the hall opened two stories of -small rooms; a wooden staircase led to the upper chambers, which were -the women's quarters. Against the pillars that supported the roof leant -the bronze weapons which the Aged One had borne in his youth, in the -days when he followed the kings to the cities to which they drove in -their chariots to recapture the daughters of Kyme whom the heroes had -carried away. From one of the beams hung the skin of an ox. - -The elders of the city, wishful to honour the bard, had sent it to -him on the previous day. He rejoiced at the sight of it. As he stood -drawing a long breath into a chest which was shrunken with age, he took -from beneath his tunic, with a few cloves of garlic remaining from -his alfresco supper, the King of Ægea's gift; it was a stone fallen -from heaven and precious, for it was of iron, though too small for a -lance-tip. He brought with him also a pebble which he had found on the -road. On this pebble, when looked at in a certain light, was the form -of a man's head. And the Aged One, showing it to Melantho, said: - -"Woman, see, on this pebble is the likeness of Pakoros, the blacksmith; -not without permission of the gods may a stone thus present the -semblance of Pakoros." - -And when the aged Melantho had poured water over his feet and hands in -order to remove the dust that defiled them, he grasped the shin of beef -in his arms, placed it on the altar and began to tear it asunder. Being -wise and prudent, he did not delegate to women or to children the duty -of preparing the repast; and, after the manner of kings, he himself -cooked the flesh of beasts. - -Meanwhile Melantho coaxed the fire on the hearth into a flame. She -blew upon the dry twigs until a god wrapped them in fire. Though the -task was holy, the Aged One suffered it to be performed by a woman -because years and fatigue had enfeebled him. When the flames leapt up -he cast into them pieces of flesh which he turned over with a fork of -bronze. Seated on his heels, he inhaled the smoke; and as it filled -the room his eyes smarted and watered; but he paid no heed because he -was accustomed to it and because the smoke signified abundance. As the -toughness of the meat yielded to the fire's irresistible power, he -put fragments of it into his mouth and, slowly masticating them with -his well-worn teeth, ate in silence. Standing at his side, the aged -Melantho poured the dark wine into an earthenware cup like that which -he had given to the god. - -When he had satisfied hunger and thirst, he inquired whether all in -house and stable was well. And he inquired concerning the wool woven in -his absence, the cheese placed in the vat and the ripe olives in the -press. And, remembering that his goods were but few, he said: - -"The heroes keep herds of oxen and heifers in the meadows. They have a -goodly number of strong and comely slaves; the doors of their houses -are of ivory and of brass, and their tables are laden with pitchers -of gold. The courage of their hearts assured them of wealth, which -they sometimes keep until old age. In my youth, certes, I was not -inferior to them in courage, but I had neither horses nor chariots, nor -servants, nor even armour strong enough to vie with them in battle and -to win tripods of gold and women of great beauty. He who fights on foot -with poor weapons cannot kill many enemies, because he himself fears -death. Wherefore, fighting beneath the town walls, in the ranks, with -the serving men, never did I win rich spoil." - -The aged Melantho made answer: - -"War giveth wealth to men and robs them of it. My father, Kyphos, had -a palace and countless herds at Mylata. But armed men despoiled him of -all and slew him. I myself was carried away into slavery, but I was -never ill-treated because I was young. The chiefs took me to their bed -and never did I lack food. You were my best master and the poorest." - -There was neither joy nor sadness in her voice as she spoke. - -The Aged One replied: - -"Melantho, you cannot complain of me, for I have always treated you -kindly. Reproach me not with having failed to win great wealth. -Armourers are there and blacksmiths who are rich. Those who are skilled -in the construction of chariots derive no small advantage from their -labours. Seers receive great gifts. But the life of minstrels is hard." - -The aged Melantho said: - -"The life of many men is hard." - -And with heavy step she went out of the house, with her -daughter-in-law, to fetch wood from the cellar. It was the hour when -the sun's invincible heat prostrates men and beasts, and silences even -the song of the birds in the motionless foliage. The Aged One stretched -himself upon a mat, and, veiling his face, fell asleep. - -As he slumbered he was visited by a succession of dreams, which were -neither more beautiful nor more unusual than those which he dreamed -every day. In these dreams appeared to him the forms of men and of -beasts. And, because among them he recognized some whom he had known -while they lived on the green earth and who having lost the light of -day had lain beneath the funeral pile, he concluded that the shades of -the dead hover in the air, but that, having lost their vigour, they -are nothing but empty shadows. He learned from dreams that there exist -likewise shades of animals and of plants which are seen in sleep. He -was convinced that the dead, wandering in Hades, themselves form their -own image, since none may form it for them, unless it were one of those -gods who love to deceive man's feeble intellect. But, being no seer, -he could not distinguish between false dreams and true; and, weary of -seeking to understand the confused visions of the night, he regarded -them with indifference as they passed beneath his closed eyelids. - -On awakening, he beheld, ranged before him in an attitude of respect, -the children of Kyme, whom he instructed in poetry and music, as his -father had instructed him. Among them were his daughter-in-law's two -sons. Many of them were blind, for a bard's life was deemed fitting for -those who, bereft of sight, could neither work in the fields nor follow -heroes to war. - -In their hands they bore the offerings in payment for the bard's -lessons, fruit, cheese, a honeycomb, a sheep's fleece, and they waited -for their master's approval before placing it on the domestic altar. - -The Aged One, having risen and taken his lyre which hung from a beam in -the hall, said kindly: - -"Children, it is just that the rich should give much and the poor less. -Zeus, our father, hath unequally apportioned wealth among men. But he -will punish the child who withholds the tribute due to the divine bard." - -The vigilant Melantho came and took the gifts from the altar. And the -Aged One, having tuned his lyre, began to teach a song to the children, -who with crossed legs were seated on the ground around him. - -"Hearken," he said, "to the combat between Patrocles and Sarpedon. This -is a beautiful song." - -And he sang. He skilfully modulated the sounds, applying the same -rhythm and the same measure to each line; and, in order that his voice -should not wander from the key, he supported it at regular intervals -by striking a note upon his three-stringed lyre. And, before making a -necessary pause, he uttered a shrill cry, accompanied by a strident -vibration of strings. After he had sung lines equal in number to double -the number of fingers on his two hands, he made the children repeat -them. They cried them out all together in a high voice, as, following -their master's example, they touched the little lyres which they -themselves had carved out of wood and which gave no sound. - -Patiently the Aged One sang the lines over and over until the little -singers knew every word. The attentive children he praised, but those -who lacked memory or intelligence he struck with the wooden part of his -lyre, and they went away to lean weeping against a pillar of the hall. -He taught by example, not by precept, because he believed poesy to be -of hoary antiquity and beyond man's judgment. The only counsels which -he gave related to manners. He bade them: - -"Honour kings and heroes, who are superior to other men. Call heroes -by their own name and that of their father, so that these names be not -forgotten. When you sit in assemblies gather your tunic about you and -let your mien express grace and modesty." - -Again he said to them: - -"Do not spit in rivers, because rivers are scared. Make no change, -either through weakness of memory or of your own imagining, in the -songs I teach you, and when a king shall say unto you: 'These songs are -beautiful. From whom did you learn them?' you shall answer: 'I learnt -them from the Aged One of Kyme, who received them from his father, whom -doubtless a god had inspired.'" Of the ox's shin, there yet remained a -few succulent morsels. Having eaten one of them before the hearth and -smashed the bone with an axe of bronze, in order to extract the marrow, -of which he alone in the house was worthy to partake, he divided the -rest of the meat into portions which should nourish the women and -children for the space of two days. - -Then he realized that soon nothing would be left of this nutritious -food, and he reflected: - -"The rich are loved by Zeus and the poor are not. All unwittingly I -have doubtless offended one of those gods who live concealed in the -forests or the mountains, or perhaps the child of an immortal; and -it is to expiate my involuntary crime that I drag out my days in a -penurious old age. Sometimes, without any evil intention, one commits -actions which are punishable because the gods have not clearly revealed -unto men that which is permitted and that which is forbidden. And -their will remains obscure." Long did he turn over those thoughts in -his mind, and, fearing the return of cruel hunger, he resolved not to -remain idly in his dwelling that night, but this time to go towards -the country where the Hermos flows between rocks and whence can be -seen Orneia, Smyrna and the beautiful Hissia, lying upon the mountain, -which, like the prow of some Phœnician boat, plunges into the sea. -Wherefore, at the hour when the first stars glimmer in the pale sky, -he girded himself with the cord of his lyre and went forth, along the -sea-shore, toward the dwellings of rich men, who, during their lengthy -feasts, love to hearken to the praise of heroes and the genealogies of -the gods. - -Having, according to his custom, journeyed all night, in the rosy dawn -of morning he descried a town perched upon a high headland, and he -recognized the opulent Hissia, dove-haunted, which from the summit of -her rock looks down upon the white islands sporting like nymphs in the -glistening sea. Not far from the town, on the margin of a spring, he -sat down to rest and to appease his hunger with the onions which he had -brought in a fold of his tunic. - -Hardly had he finished his meal when a young girl, bearing a basket -on her head, came to the spring to wash linen. At first she looked -at him suspiciously, but, seeing that he carried a wooden lyre slung -over his torn tunic and that he was old and overcome with fatigue, -she approached him fearlessly, and, suddenly, seized with pity and -veneration, she filled the hollows of her hands with drops of water -with which she moistened the minstrel's lips. - -Then he called her a king's daughter; he promised her a long life, and -said: - -"Maiden, desire floats in a cloud about thy girdle. Happy the man who -shall lead thee to his couch. And I, an old man, praise thy beauty like -the bird of night which cries all unheeded upon the nuptial roof. I am -a wandering bard. Daughter, speak unto me pleasant words." - -And the maiden answered: - -"If, as you say and as it seemeth, you are a musician, then no evil -fate brings you to this town. For the rich Meges to-day receiveth a -guest who is dear to him; and to the great of the town, in honour of -his guest, he giveth a sumptuous feast. Doubtless he would wish them to -hear a good minstrel. Go to him. From this very spot you may see his -house. From the seaward side it cannot be approached, because it is on -that high breeze-swept headland, which juts out into the waves. But if -you enter the town on the landward side, by the steps cut in the rock, -which lead up the vine-clad hill, you will easily distinguish from all -the other houses the abode of Meges. It has been recently whitewashed, -and it is more spacious than the rest." And the Aged One, rising with -difficulty on limbs which the years had stiffened, climbed the steps -cut in the rock by the men of old, and, reaching the high table-land -whereon is the town of Hissia, he readily distinguished the house of -the rich Meges. - -To approach it was pleasant, for the blood of freshly slaughtered bulls -gushed from its doors and the odour of hot fat was perceptible all -around. He crossed the threshold, entered the great banqueting-hall -and, having touched the altar with his hand, approached Meges, who -was carving the meat and ordering the servants. Already the guests -were ranged about the hearth, rejoicing in the prospect of a plenteous -repast. Among them were many kings and heroes. But the guest whom Meges -desired to honour by this banquet was a King of Chios, who, in quest -of wealth, had long navigated the seas and endured great hardship. His -name was Oineus. All the guests admired him because, like Ulysses in -earlier days, he had escaped from innumerable shipwrecks, shared in the -islands the couch of enchantresses and brought home great treasure. -He told of his travels and his labours, interspersing them with -inventions, for he had a nimble wit. - -Recognizing the bard by the lyre which hung at his side, the rich Meges -addressed the Aged One and said: - -"Be welcome. What songs knowest thou?" - -The Aged One made answer: - -"I know 'The Strife of Kings' which brought such great disaster to -the Achaians, I know 'The Storming of the Wall.' And that song is -beautiful. I know also 'The Deception of Zeus,' 'The Embassy' and -'The Capture of the Dead.' And these songs are beautiful. I know yet -more--six times sixty very beautiful songs." - -Thus did he give it to be understood that he knew many songs; but the -exact number he could not tell. - -The rich Meges replied in a mocking tone: - -"In the hope of a good meal and a rich gift, wandering minstrels ever -say that they know many songs; but, put to the test, it is soon seen -that they remember but a few lines, with the constant repetition of -which they tire the ears of heroes and of kings." - -The Aged One answered wisely: - -"Meges," he said, "you are renowned for your wealth. Know that the -number of the songs I know is not less than that of the bulls and -heifers which your herdsmen drive to graze on the mountain." Meges, -admiring the Old Man's intelligence, said to him kindly: - -"A small mind would not suffice to contain so great a number of songs. -But, tell me, is what thou knowest about Achilles and Ulysses really -true? For many are the lies in circulation touching those heroes." - -And the bard made answer: - -"All that I know of the heroes I received from my father, who learned -it from Muses themselves, for in earlier days in cave and forest the -immortal Muses visited divine singers. No inventions will I mingle -with the ancient tales." - -Thus did he speak, and wisely. Nevertheless to the songs he had known -from his youth upward he was wont to add lines taken from other songs -or the fruit of his own imagination. He himself had composed wellnigh -the whole of certain songs. But, fearing lest man should disapprove of -them, he did not confess them to be his own work. The heroes preferred -the ancient tales which they believed to have been dictated by a god, -and they objected to new songs. Wherefore, when he repeated lines of -his own invention, he carefully concealed their origin. And, as he was -a true poet and followed all the ancient traditions, his lines differed -in no way from those of his ancestors; they resembled them in form and -in beauty, and, from the beginning, they were worthy of immortal glory. - -The rich Meges was not unintelligent. Perceiving the Aged One to be a -good singer, he gave him a place of honour by the hearth and said to -him: - -"Old Man, when we have satisfied our hunger, thou shalt sing to us all -thou knowest of Achilles and Ulysses. Endeavour to charm the ears of -Oineus, my guest, for he is a hero full of wisdom." - -And Oineus, who had long wandered over the sea, asked the minstrel -whether he knew "The Voyages of Ulysses." But the return of the heroes -who had fought at Troy was still wrapped in mystery, and no one knew -what Ulysses had suffered in his wanderings over the pathless sea. - -The Old Man answered: - -"I know that the divine Ulysses shared Circe's couch and deceived the -Cyclops by a crafty wile. Women tell tales about it to one another. But -the hero's return to Ithaca is hidden from the bards. Some say that he -returned to possess his wife and his goods, others that he put away -Penelope because she had admitted her suitors to her bed, and that he -himself, punished by the gods, wandered ceaselessly among the people, -an oar upon his shoulder." - -Oineus replied: - -"In my travels I have heard that Ulysses died at the hands of his son." - -Meanwhile Meges distributed the flesh of oxen among his guests. And to -each one he gave a fitting morsel. Oineus praised him loudly. - -"Meges," he said, "one can see that you are accustomed to give -banquets." - -The oxen of Meges were fed upon the sweetsmelling herbs which grow on -the mountain-side. Their flesh was redolent thereof, and the heroes -could not consume enough of it. And, as Meges was constantly refilling -a capacious goblet which he afterwards passed to his guests, the repast -was prolonged far into the day. No man remembered so rich a feast. - -The sun was going down into the sea, when the herdsmen who kept the -flocks of Meges upon the mountain came to receive their share of the -wine and victuals. Meges respected them because they grazed the herds -not with the indolence of the herdsmen of the plain, but armed with -lances of iron and girded with armour in order to defend the oxen -against the attacks of the people of Asia. And they were like unto -kings and heroes, whom they equalled in courage. They were led by two -chiefs, Peiros and Thoas, whom the master had chosen as the bravest and -the most intelligent. And, indeed, handsomer men were not to be seen. -Meges welcomed them to his hearth as the illustrious protectors of his -wealth. He gave them wine and meat as much as they desired. - -Oineus, admiring them, said to his host: - -"In all my travels, I have never seen men with limbs so well formed and -muscular as those of these two master herdsmen." - -Then Meges uttered injudicious words. He said: "Peiros is the stronger -in wrestling, but Thoas the swifter in the race." - -At these words, the two herdsmen looked angrily at one another, and -Thoas said to Peiros: - -"You must have given the master some maddening drink to make him say -that you are the better wrestler." - -Then Peiros answered Thoas testily: - -"I flatter myself that I can conquer you in wrestling. As for racing, I -leave to you the palm which the master has given. For you who have the -heart of a stag could not fail to possess his feet." - -But the wise Oineus checked the herdsmen's quarrel. He artfully told -tales showing the danger of wrangling at feasts. And, as he spoke well, -he was approved. Peace having been restored, Meges said to the Aged One: - -"My friend, sing us 'The Wrath of Achilles' and the 'Gathering of the -Kings.'" - -And the Aged One, having tuned his lyre, poured forth into the thick -atmosphere of the hall great gusts of sound. - -He drew deep breaths, and all the guests hearkened in silence to the -measured words which recalled ages worthy to be remembered. And many -marvelled how so old a man, one withered by age like a vine-branch -which beareth neither fruit nor leaves, could emit such powerful notes. -For they did not understand that the power of the wine and the habit of -singing imparted to the musician a strength which otherwise would have -been denied him by enfeebled nerve and muscle. - -At intervals a murmur of praise rose from the assembly like a strong -gust of wind in the forest. But suddenly the herdsmen's dispute, -appeased for a while, broke out afresh. Heated with wine, they -challenged one another to wrestle and to race. Their wild cries rose -above the musician's voice, and vainly he endeavoured to make the -harmonious sounds which proceeded from his mouth and his lyre heard by -the assembly. The herdsmen who followed Peiros and Thoas, flushed with -wine, struck their hands and grunted like hogs. They had long formed -themselves into rival bands which shared the chiefs' enmity. - -"Dog!" cried Thoas. - -And he struck Peiros a blow on the face which drew blood from his mouth -and nostrils. Peiros, blinded, butted with his forehead against the -chest of Thoas and threw him backwards, his ribs broken. Straightway -the rival herdsmen cast themselves upon one another, exchanging blows -and insults. - -In vain did Meges and the Kings endeavour to separate the combatants. -Even the wise Oineus himself was repulsed by the herdsmen whom a god -had bereft of reason. Brass vessels flew through the air on all sides. -Great ox-bones, smoking torches, bronze tripods rose and fell upon the -combatants. The interlaced bodies of men rolled over the hearth on -which the fire was dying, in the midst of the liquor which flowed from -the burst wine-skins. - -Dense darkness enveloped the hall, a darkness full of groans and -imprecations. Arms, maddened by frenzy, seized glowing logs and hurled -them into the darkness. A blazing twig struck the minstrel as he stood -still and silent. - -Then a voice louder than all the noise of combat cursed these impious -men and this profane house. And, pressing his lyre to his breast, he -went out of the dwelling and walked along the high headland by the sea. -To his wrath had given place a great feeling of fatigue and a bitter -disgust with men and with life. - -A longing for union with the gods filled his breast. All things lay -wrapped in soft shadows, the friendly silence and the peace of night. -Westward, over the land which men say is haunted by the shades of the -dead, the divine moon, hanging in the clear sky, shed silver blossoms -upon the smiling sea. And the aged Homer advanced over the high -headland until the earth, which had borne him so long, failed beneath -his feet. - - - - -KOMM OF THE ATREBATES - - - -I - - -In a land of mists, near a shore which was beaten by the restless -sea and swept by billowy waves of sand raised by the Ocean winds, -the Atrebates had settled on the shifting banks of a broad stream. -There, amid pools of water and in forests of oak and of birch, they -lived protected by their stockades of felled tree-trunks. There they -bred horses excellent for draught-work, large-headed, short-necked, -broad-chested and muscular, and with powerful haunches. On the -outskirts of the forest they kept huge swine, wild as boars. With their -great dogs they hunted wild beasts, the skulls of which they nailed on -to the walls of their wooden houses. They lived on the flesh of these -creatures and on fish, both of the salt-water and the fresh. They -grilled their meat and seasoned it with salt, vinegar and cumin. They -drank wine, and, at their stupendous feasts, seated at their round -tables, they grew drunken. There were among them women who, acquainted -with the virtue of herbs, gathered henbane, vervain and that healing -plant called savin, which grows in the moist hollows of rocks. From the -sap of the yew-tree they concocted a poison. The Atrebates had also -priests and poets who knew things hidden from ordinary men. - -These forest-dwellers, these men of the marsh and the beach, were of -high stature. They wore their fair hair long, and they wrapped their -great white bodies in mantles of wool of the colour of the vine-leaf -when it grows purple in the autumn. They were subject to chiefs who -held sway over the tribes. - -The Atrebates knew that the Romans had come to make war on the peoples -of Gaul, and that whole nations with all their possessions had been -sold beneath their lance. News of happenings on the Rhone and the -Loire had reached them speedily. Words and signs fly like birds. And -that which, at sunrise, had been said in Genabum of the Carnutes was -heard in the first watch of the night on the Ocean strand. But the -fate of their brethren did not trouble them, or rather, being jealous -of them, they rejoiced in the sufferings which they endured at Cæsar's -hand. They did not hate the Romans, for they did not know them. -Neither did they fear them, since it seemed to them impossible for an -army to penetrate through the forests and marshes which surrounded -their dwellings. They had no towns, although they gave the name to -Nemetacum,[1] a vast enclosure encircled by a palisade, which, in case -of attack, served as a refuge for warriors, women and herds. As we have -said, they had throughout their country other similar places of refuge, -but these were smaller. To them, also, they gave the name of towns. - -It was not upon their enclosures of felled trees that they relied for -resistance to the Romans, whom they knew to be skilled in the capture -of cities defended by stone walls and wooden towers. But they relied -rather on their country's lack of roads. The Roman soldiers, however, -themselves constructed the roads over which they marched. They dug the -ground with a strength and rapidity unknown to the Gauls of the dense -forest, among whom iron was rarer than gold. And one day the Atrebates -were astounded to learn that the Roman road, with its milestones and -its fine paved highway, was approaching their thickets and marshes. -Then they made alliance with the people scattered through the forest -which they called the Impenetrable, and numerous tribes entered into -a league against Cæsar. The chiefs of the Atrebates uttered their -war-cry, girded themselves with their baldrics of gold and of coral, -donned their helmets adorned with the antlers of the stag, or the elk, -or with buffalo horns, and drew their daggers, which were not equal to -the Roman sword. They were vanquished, but because they were courageous -they had to be twice conquered. - -Now among them was a chief who was very rich. His name was Komm. He -had a great store of torques, bracelets and rings in his coffers. -Human heads he had also, embalmed in oil of cedar. They were the heads -of hostile chiefs slain by himself or by his father or his father's -father. Komm enjoyed the life of a man who is strong, free and powerful. - -Followed by his weapons, his horses, his chariots and his Breton -bulldogs, by the multitude of his fighting men and his women, he would -wander without let or hindrance over his boundless dominions, through -forest or along river-bank, until he came to a halt in one of those -woodland shelters, one of those primitive farms of which he possessed -a great number. There, at peace, surrounded by his faithful followers, -he would fish, hunt the wild beasts, break in his horses and recall -his adventures in war. And, as soon as the desire seized him, he would -move on. He was a violent, crafty, subtle-minded man excelling in deed -and in word. When the Atrebates shouted their war-cry, he forbore to -don the helmet which was adorned with the horns of an ox. He remained -quietly in one of his wooden houses full of gold, of warriors, or -horses, of women, of wild pigs and smoked fish. After the defeat of -his fellow-countrymen, he went and found Cæsar and placed his brains -and his influence at the service of the Romans. He was well received. -Concluding rightly that this clever, powerful Gaul would be able to -pacify the country and hold it in subjection to Rome, Cæsar bestowed -upon him great powers and nominated him King of the Atrebates. Thus -Komm, the chieftain, became Commius Rex. He wore the purple, and coined -money whereon appeared his likeness in profile, his head encircled by -a diadem with sharp points like those of the Greek and barbarian kings -who wore their crowns as tokens of their friendship with Rome. - -He was not execrated by the Atrebates. His sagacious and -self-interested behaviour did not discredit him with a people devoid -of Greek and Roman ideas of patriotism and citizenship. These savage, -inglorious Gauls, ignorant of public life, esteemed cunning, yielded to -force and marvelled at royal power, which seemed to them a magnificent -innovation. The majority of these people, rough woodlanders or -fishermen of the misty coast, had a still better reason for not blaming -the conduct and the prosperity of their chieftain; not knowing that -they were Atrebates, nor even that Atrebates existed, the King of the -Atrebates concerned them but little. Wherefore Komm was not unpopular. -And if the favour of Rome meant danger to him, that danger did not come -from his own people. - -Now in the fourth year of the war, towards the end of summer, Cæsar -armed a fleet for a descent upon Britain. Desiring to secure allies -in the great Island, he resolved to send Komm as his ambassador to -the Celts of the Thames, with the offer of an alliance with Rome. -Sagacious, eloquent and by birth akin to the Britons--for certain -tribes of the Atrebates had settled on both banks of the Thames--Komm -was eminently fitted for this mission. - -Komm was proud of his friendship with Cæsar. But he was in no hurry to -discharge this mission, of the dangers of which he was fully aware. -To induce him to undertake it Cæsar was compelled to grant him many -favours. From the tribute paid by other Gallic towns he exempted -Nemetacum, which was already growing into a city and a metropolis, so -rapidly did the Romans develop the countries which they conquered. He -somewhat relaxed the rigorous rule of the conquerors by restoring to -it its rights and its own laws. Further, he gave Komm to rule over the -Morini, who were the neighbours of the Atrebates on the sea-shore. - -Komm set sail with Caius Volusenus Quadratus, prefect of cavalry, -appointed by Cæsar to conduct a reconnaissance in Britain. But when the -ship approached the sandy beach at the foot of the bird-haunted white -cliffs, the Roman refused to disembark, fearing unknown danger and -certain death. Komm landed with his horses and his followers and spoke -to the British chiefs who had come to meet him. He counselled them to -prefer profitable friendship with the Romans to their pitiless wrath. -But these chiefs, the descendants of Hu, the Powerful, and of his -comrades in arms, were proud and violent. They listened impatiently to -Komm's words. Anger clouded their woad-stained countenances, and they -swore to defend their Island against the Romans. - -"Let them land here," they cried, "and they will disappear like the -snow on the sand of the sea-shore when the south wind blows upon it." - -Holding Cæsar's counsel to be an insult, they were already drawing -their daggers from their belts and preparing to put to death the herald -of shame. - -Standing bowed over his shield in the attitude of a suppliant, Komm -invoked the name of brother by which he was entitled to call them. They -were sons of the same fathers. - -Wherefore the Britons forbore to slay him. They conducted him in chains -to a great village near the coast. Passing down a road bordered by -huts of wattle-work, he noticed high flat stones, fixed in the ground -at irregular intervals, and covered with signs which he thought to be -sacred, for it was not easy to decipher their meaning. He perceived -that the huts of this great village, though poorer, were not unlike -those of the villages of the Atrebates. In front of the chiefs' -dwellings poles were erected from which hung the antlers of deer, the -skulls of boars and the fair-haired heads of men. Komm was taken into -a hut which contained nothing save a hearthstone still covered with -ashes, a bed of dried leaves and the image of a god shapen from the -trunk of a lime-tree. Bound to the pillar which supported the thatched -roof, the Atrebate meditated on his ill luck and sought in his mind for -some magic word of power or some ingenious device which should deliver -him from the wrath of the British chieftains. - -And to beguile his wretchedness, after the manner of his ancestors, he -composed a song of menace and complaint, coloured by pictures of his -native woods and mountains, the memory of which filled his heart. - -Women with babes at the breast came and looked at him curiously and -questioned him as to his country, his race and his adventures. He -answered them kindly. But his soul was sad and wracked by cruel anxiety. - -[1] The modern Arras.--_Trans._ - - - -2 - - -Detained until the end of summer on the Morini shore, Cæsar set sail -one night about the third watch, and by the fourth hour of day had -sight of the Island. The Britons awaited him on the beach. But neither -their arrows of hard wood nor their scythed chariots, nor their -long-haired horses trained to swim in the sea among the shoals, nor -their countenances made terrible with paint gave check to the Romans. -The Eagle surrounded by legionaries touched the soil of the barbarians' -Island. The Britons fled beneath a shower of stone and lead hurled from -machines which they believed to be monsters. Struck with terror, they -ran like a herd of elks before the spear of the hunter. - -When towards evening they had reached the great village near the coast, -the chiefs sat down on stones ranged in a circle by the road-side -and took counsel. All night they continued to deliberate; and when -dawn began to gleam on the horizon, while the larks' song pierced the -grey sky, they went into the hut where Komm of the Atrebates had been -enchained for thirty days. They looked at him respectfully because of -the Romans. They unbound him. They offered him a drink made of the -fermented juice of wild cherries. They restored to him his weapons, his -horses, his comrades, and, addressing him with flattering words, they -entreated him to accompany them to the camp of the Romans and to ask -pardon for them from Cæsar the Powerful. - -"Thou shalt persuade him to be our friend," they said to him, "for -thou art wise and thy words are nimble and penetrating as arrows. Among -all the ancestors whose memory is enshrined in our songs, there is not -one who surpasses thee in sagacity." - -It was with joy Komm of the Atrebates heard these words. But he -concealed his pleasure, and, curling his lips into a bitter smile, he -said to the British chiefs, pointing to the fallen willow leaves that -were driven in eddies by the wind: - -"The thoughts of vain men are stirred like these leaves and ceaselessly -carried in every direction. Yesterday they took me for a madman and -said I had eaten of the herb of Erin that maddens the grazing beasts. -To-day they perceive in me the wisdom of their ancestors. Nevertheless -I am as good a counsellor one day as another, for my words depend -neither upon the sun nor upon the moon, but upon my understanding. As -the reward of your ill-doing, I ought to deliver you up to the wrath -of Cæsar, who would cut off your hands and put out your eyes, so that -begging bread and beer in the wealthy villages you would testify to his -might and justice throughout the Island of Britain. Notwithstanding I -will forget the wrong you have done me. I will remember that we are -brethren, that the Britons and the Atrebates are the fruit of the same -tree. I will act for the good of my brethren who drink the waters of -the Thames. Cæsar's friendship, which I came to their Island to offer -them, I will restore to them now that they have lost it through their -folly. Cæsar, who loves Komm, and has made him to be King over the -Atrebates and the Morini who wear collars of shells, will love the -British chiefs, painted with glowing colours, and will establish them -in their wealth and power, because they are the friends of Komm, who -drinketh the waters of the Somme." - -And Komm of the Atrebates spake again and said: "Learn from me that -which Cæsar shall say unto you when you bend over your shields at the -foot of his tribunal and that which it behooveth you in your wisdom to -reply unto him. He will say unto you: 'I grant you peace. Deliver up -to me noble children as hostages.' And you will make answer: 'We will -deliver up unto you our noble children. And we will bring you certain -of them this very day. But the greater number of our noble children are -in the distant places of this Island, and to bring them hither will -take many days.'" - -The chiefs marvelled at the subtle mind of the Atrebate. One of them -said to him: - -"Komm, thou art possessed of a great understanding, and I believe -thy heart to be filled with kindness toward thy British brethren who -drink the waters of the Thames. If Cæsar were a man, we should have -courage to fight against him, but we know him to be a god because his -vessels and his engines of war are living creatures and endowed with -understanding. Let us go and ask him to pardon us for having fought -against him and to leave us in possession of our sovereignty and of our -riches." - -Having thus spoken, the chiefs of the Island of Fogs leapt upon their -horses, and set forth towards the sea-shore where the Romans were -encamped near the cove where their deep-keeled ships lay at anchor, not -far from the beach up which they had drawn their galleys. Komm rode -beside them. When they beheld the Roman camp, which was surrounded by -ditches and palisades, traversed by wide and regular thoroughfares and -covered with tents over which soared the Roman eagles and floated the -wreaths of the standards, they paused in amazement and inquired by what -art the Romans had built in one day a town more beautiful and greater -than any in the Isle of Mists. - -"What is that?" cried one of them. - -"It is Rome," replied the Atrebate. "The Romans bear Rome with them -everywhere." - -Introduced into the camp, they repaired to the foot of the tribunal, -where the Proconsul sat surrounded by the fasces. His eyes were like -the eagle's; and he was pale in his purple. - -Komm assumed a suppliant's attitude and entreated Cæsar to pardon the -British chiefs. - -"When they fought against you," he said, "these chiefs did not act -according to their own heart, the dictates of which are always noble. -When they drove against you their chariots of war, they obeyed, -they commanded not. They yielded to the will of the poor and humble -tribesmen who assembled in great numbers against you; for they lacked -understanding and were incapable of comprehending your might. You know -that in all things the poor are inferior to the rich. Deny not your -friendship to these men, who possess great wealth and can pay tribute." - -Cæsar granted the pardon which the chiefs implored, and said unto them: - -"Deliver up to me as hostages the sons of your princes." - -The most venerable of the chiefs replied: - -"We will deliver up unto you our noble children. And some of them we -will bring to you this very day. But the children of our nobles are -most of them in the distant places of our Isle, and to bring them -hither will take many days." - -Cæsar inclined his head as a sign of assent. Thus, by the Atrebate's -counsel, the chiefs surrendered but a few young boys and those not of -the highest nobility. - -Komm remained in the camp. At night, being unable to sleep, he climbed -the cliff and looked out to sea. The surf was breaking on the rocks. -The wind from the Channel mingled its sinister moaning with the roaring -of the waves. The wild moon, in its stately passage through the clouds, -cast a fleeting light on to the water. The Atrebate, with the keen eye -of the savage, piercing through the shadow and the mist, perceived -ships, surprised by the tempest, toiling in the waves and the wind. -Some, helpless and drifting, were being driven by the billows, the foam -of which shone upon their sides like a pale gleam; others were putting -out to sea. Their sails swept the waves like the wings of some fishing -bird. These were the ships that were bringing Cæsar's cavalry, and they -were being scattered by the storm. The Gaul, joyfully breathing the sea -air, paced awhile along the edge of the cliff; and soon he descried -the little bay, where the Roman galleys which had alarmed the Britons -lay dry upon the sand. He saw the tide approach them gradually, then -reach them, raise them, hurl them one against the other and batter -them, while the deep-keeled ships in the cove were tossed to and fro -at anchor by a furious wind which carried away their masts and rigging -like so many wisps of straw. Dimly he discerned the confused movements -of the panic-stricken legionaries running along the beach. Their -shouts reached his ear like the noise of a storm. Then he raised his -eyes to the divine moon, worshipped by the Atrebates who dwell on -river-banks and in the deep forests. In the stormy British sky she hung -like a shield. He knew that it was she, the copper moon at the full, -that had brought this spring tide and caused the tempest, which was now -destroying the Roman fleet. And on the cliff, in the majestic night, by -the furious sea, there came to the Atrebate the revelation of a secret, -mysterious force, more invincible than that of Rome. - -When they heard of the disaster that had overtaken the fleet the -Britons joyfully realized that Cæsar commanded neither the Ocean nor -the moon, the friend of lonely shores and deep forests. They saw that -the Roman galleys were not invincible dragons, since the tide had -shattered them and cast them, with their sides rent open, on the sand -of the beach. Filled once again with the hope of destroying the Romans, -they thought of slaying a great number by the arrow and the sword, and -of throwing those that were left into the sea. Wherefore every day -they appeared more and more assiduous in Cæsar's camp. They brought -the legionaries smoked meats and the skins of the elk. They assumed a -kindly expression; they spoke honeyed words, and admiringly they felt -the muscular arms of the centurions. - -In order to appear more submissive still, the chiefs surrendered their -hostages; but they were the sons of enemies on whom they wished to -be revenged, or uncomely children not born of families who were the -issue of the gods. And, when they believed that the little dark men -confidently relied upon their friendliness, they gathered together the -warriors of all the villages on the banks of the Thames, and, uttering -loud cries, they hurled themselves against the camp gates. These gates -were defended by wooden towers. The Britons, unacquainted with the art -of carrying fortified positions, could not penetrate through the outer -circle, and many of the chiefs with woad-stained visages fell at the -foot of the towers. Once again the Britons knew that the Romans were -endowed with superhuman strength. Therefore on the morrow they came to -implore Cæsar's pardon and to promise him their friendship. - -Cæsar received them with a passive countenance, but that very night he -caused his legions to embark in the hastily repaired ships and made -for the Morini coast. Having lost hope of receiving his support of his -cavalry which the tempest had scattered, he abandoned for the time the -conquest of the Isle of Mists. - -Komm of the Atrebates accompanied the army on its return to the Morini -shore. He had embarked on the vessel which bore the Proconsul. Cæsar, -curious concerning the customs of the barbarians, asked him whether the -Gauls did not consider themselves the descendants of Pluto and whether -it were not on that account that they reckoned time by nights instead -of by days. The Atrebate could not give him the true reason for this -custom. But he told Cæsar that in his opinion at the birth of the world -night had preceded day. - -"I believe," he added, "that the moon is more ancient than the sun. She -is a very powerful divinity and the friend of the Gauls." - -"The divinity of the moon," answered Cæsar, "is recognized by Romans -and Greeks. But think not, Commius, that this planet, which shines upon -Italy and upon the whole earth, is especially favourable to the Gauls." - -"Take heed, Julius," replied the Atrebate, "and weigh your words. -The moon that you here behold fleeing through the clouds is not the -moon which at Rome shines on your marble temples. Though she be big -and bright, this moon could not be seen in Italy. The distance is too -great." - - - -3 - - -Winter came and covered Gaul with darkness, with ice and with snow. -The hearts of the warriors in their wattle huts were moved as they -thought on the chiefs and their retainers whom Cæsar had slain or sold -by auction. Sometimes to the door of the hut came à man begging bread -and showing his wrists with the hands cut off by a lictor. And the -warriors' hearts revolted. Words of wrath passed from mouth to mouth. -They assembled by night in the depths of the woods and the hollows of -the rocks. - -Meanwhile King Komm with his faithful followers hunted in the forests, -in the land of the Atrebates. Every day, a messenger in a striped -mantle and red braces came by secret paths to the King, and, slackening -the speed of his horse as he drew near to him, said in a low voice: - -"Komm, will you not be a free man in a free country? Komm, will you any -longer submit to be a slave of the Romans?" - -Then the messenger disappeared along the narrow path, where the fallen -leaves deadened the sound of his galloping horse. - -Komm, King of the Atrebates, remained the Romans' friend. But gradually -he persuaded himself that it behooved the Atrebates and the Morini to -be free, since he was their King. It annoyed him to see Romans, settled -at Nemetacum, sitting in tribunals, where they dispensed justice, and -geometricians from Italy planning roads through the sacred forests. And -then he admired the Romans less since he had seen their ships broken -against the British cliffs and their legionaries weeping by night on -the beach. He continued to exercise sovereignty in Cæsar's name. But to -his followers he darkly hinted at the approach of war. - -Three years later the hour had struck: Roman blood had flowed in -Genabum. The chieftains allied against Cæsar assembled their fighting -men in the Arverni Hills. Komm did not love these chiefs. Rather did -he hate them, some because they were richer than he in men, in horses -and in lands; others because of the profusion of the gold and the -rubies which they possessed; others, again, because they said that -they were braver than he and of nobler race. Nevertheless he received -their messengers, to whom he gave an oak-leaf and a hazel twig as a -sign of affection. And he corresponded with the chiefs who were hostile -to Cæsar by means of twigs cut and knotted in such a manner as to be -unintelligible save to the Gauls, who knew the language of leaves. - -He uttered no war-cry. But he went to and fro among the villages of the -Atrebates, and, visiting the warriors in their huts, to them he said: - -"Three things were the first to be born: man, liberty, light." - -He made sure that, whenever he should utter the war-cry, five thousand -warriors of the Morini and four thousand warriors of the Atrebates -would at his call buckle on their baldrics of bronze. And, joyfully -thinking that in the forest the fire was smouldering beneath its ashes, -he secretly passed over to the Treviri in order to win them for the -Gallic cause. - -Now, while he was riding with his followers beneath the willows on the -banks of the Moselle, a messenger wearing a striped mantle brought -him an ash bough bound to a spray of heather, in order to give him to -understand that the Romans had suspected his designs and to enjoin him -to be prudent. For such was the meaning of the heather tied to the -ash. But he continued on his way and entered into the country of the -Treviri. Titus Labienus, Cæsar's lieutenant, was encamped there with -ten legions. Having been warned that King Commius was coming secretly -to visit the chiefs of the Treviri, he suspected that his object was to -seduce them from their allegiance to Rome. Having had him followed by -spies, he received information which confirmed his suspicions. He then -resolved to get rid of this man. He was a Roman, a son of the divine -City, an example to the world, and by force of arms he had extended -the Roman peace to the ends of the earth. He was a good general and -an expert in mathematics and mechanics. During the leisure of peace, -beneath the terebinths in the garden of his Campanian villa, he held -converse with magistrates touching the laws, the morals and the -customs of peoples. He praised the virtues of antiquity and liberty. -He read the works of Greek historians and philosophers. His was a rare -and polished intellect. And because Komm was a barbarian, unacquainted -with things Roman, it seemed to Titus Labienus good and fitting that he -should have him assassinated. - -Being informed of the place where he was, he sent to him his master -of horse, Caius Volusenus Quadratus, who knew the Atrebate, for they -had been commissioned to reconnoitre together the coasts of the isle -of Britain before Cæsar's expedition hither; but Volusenus had not -ventured to land. Therefore, by the command of Labienus, Cæsar's -lieutenant, Volusenus chose a few centurions and took them with him -to the village where he knew Komm to be. He could rely upon them. -The centurion was a legionary promoted from the ranks, who as a sign -of his office carried a vine-stock with which he used to strike his -subordinates. His chiefs did what they liked with him. As an instrument -of conquest he was second only to the navy. Volusenus said to his -centurions: - -"A man will approach me. You will suffer him to advance. I shall hold -out my hand to him. At that moment you will strike him from behind, and -you will kill him." - -Having given these orders, Volusenus set forth with his escort. In a -sunken way, near the village, he met Komm with his followers. The King -of the Atrebates, aware that he was suspected, would have turned his -horse. But the master of the horse called him by name, assured him of -his friendship and held out his hand to him. - -Reassured by those signs of friendship, the Atrebate approached. As he -was about to take the proffered hand a centurion struck him on the head -with his sword and caused him to fall bleeding from his horse. Then -the King's followers threw themselves upon the little band of Romans, -scattered them, took up Komm and carried him away to the nearest -village, while Volusenus, who believed his task accomplished, crept -back to the camp with his horsemen. - -King Komm was not dead. He was carried secretly into the country of the -Atrebates, where he was cured of his terrible wound. Having recovered, -he took this oath: - -"I swear never to meet a Roman save to kill him." Soon he learnt that -Cæsar had suffered a severe defeat at the foot of the Gergovian Mount -and forty-six centurions of his army had fallen beneath the walls -of the town. Later he was told that the confederates commanded by -Vercingétorix were besieged in the country of the Mandubi, at Alesia, -a famous Gallic fortress founded by Hercules of Tyre. Then, with a -following of warriors, Morini and Atrebates, he marched to the frontier -of the Edni, where an army was assembling to relieve the Gauls in -Alesia. The army was numbered and was found to consist of two hundred -and forty thousand foot and eight thousand horse. The command was -entrusted to Virdumar and Eporedorix of the Edni, Vergasillaun of the -Averni and Komm of the Atrebates. - -After a long and arduous march, Komm, with his chiefs and fighting-men, -reached the mountainous country of the Edni. From the heights -surrounding the plateau of Alesia he beheld the Roman camp and the -earthworks dug all around it by those little dark men, who waged war -with the mattocks and the spade rather than with the javelin and the -sword. This seemed to him to augur ill, for he knew that against -trenches and machines the Gauls were of less avail than against -human breasts. He himself, though well versed in the stratagems of -war, understood little of the engineering art of the Romans. After -three great battles, during which no break was made in the enemy's -fortifications, the terrific rout of the Gauls carried off Komm as -a blade of grass is whirled away in a storm. In the mêlée he had -perceived Cæsar's red mantle and taken it for an omen of defeat. Now he -fled furiously down the track cursing the Romans, but content that the -Gallic chieftains, of whom he was jealous, were suffering with him. - - - -4 - - -For a year Komm lived in hiding in the forests of the Atrebates. There -he was safe, because the Gauls hated the Romans, and having themselves -submitted to the conquerors they had a great respect for those who -refused them obedience. On the river-bank and in the green-wood, -accompanied by his followers, he led a life not differing greatly from -that he had lived as the chief of many tribes. He gave himself up to -hunting and fishing, devised stratagems and drank fermented drinks, -which, though depriving him of the knowledge of human affairs, enabled -him to understand those that are divine. But his soul had suffered a -change, and it pained him to be no longer free. All the chiefs of his -people had been killed in battle, or had died beneath the lash, or, -bound by the lictor, had been led away to a Roman prison. No longer -did a bitter envy of them possess him; for now all his hatred was -concentrated upon the Romans. He bound to his horse's tail the golden -circlet which he, as the friend of the Senate and the Roman people, -had received from the Dictator. To his dogs he gave the names of -Cæsar, Caius and Julius. When he saw a pig he stoned it, calling it -Volusenus. And he composed songs like those which he had heard in his -youth, eloquently expressing the love of liberty. - -Now, it happened that one day, absorbed in the chase, having wandered -away from his followers, he climbed the high, heather-clad table-land -which commands Nemetacum, and, gazing thence, he saw with amazement -that the huts and stockades of his town had vanished, and that in a -wall-encircled enclosure rose temples and houses of an architecture -so prodigious as to inspire him with the horror and fear caused by -works of magic. For he could not believe that in so short a time such -dwellings could have been constructed by natural means. - -He forgot the birds on the moorland, and, prone on the red earth, -he lay and gazed long upon the strange town. Curiosity, stronger -than fear, kept his eyes wide open. Until evening he gazed upon the -spectacle. Then there came to him an overpowering desire to enter the -town. Beneath a stone on the heath he hid his golden torques, his -bracelets, his jewelled belts and his weapons of chase. Retaining -only his knife, hidden under his mantle, he descended the wooded -hill-side. As he passed through the moist undergrowth, he gathered some -mushrooms, so that he might appear as a poor man coming to sell his -wares in the market. And in the third watch of the night he entered the -town through the Golden Gate. It was kept by legionaries who allowed -peasants bringing in food to pass. Thus the King of the Atrebates, -disguised as a poor man, was readily enabled to penetrate as far as the -Julian way. This was bordered by villas; it led to the Temple of Diana, -the white façade of which was already adorned with interlacing arches -of purple, azure and gold. In the grey morning light Komm saw figures -painted on the walls of the houses. They were ethereal pictures of -dancing girls and scenes drawn from a history of which he was ignorant: -a young virgin whom heroes were offering up as a sacrifice, a mother -in her fury plunging a dagger into her two children as yet unweaned, -a man with the hoofs of a goat raising his pointed ears in surprise, -when, unrobing a sleeping and reclining virgin, he discovers her to -be at once a youth and a woman. And there were in the courtyard other -pictures representing modes of love unknown to the peoples of Gaul. -Though passionately addicted to wine and women, he had no idea of -Ausonian voluptuousness, because he had no clear idea of the variety -of human forms and because he was untroubled by the desire for beauty. -Having come to this town, which had once been his, in order to satisfy -his hatred and inflame his wrath, he filled his heart with fury and -loathing. He detested Roman art and the mysterious devices of the -Roman painters. And in all these census figures on the city portals he -saw but little, because his eyes lacked discernment save in observing -the foliage of trees or the clouds in a dark sky. - -Bearing his mushrooms in a fold of his mantle, he passed along -the broad-paved streets. Beneath a door over which was a phallus -illuminated by a little lamp he saw women wearing transparent tunics, -who were watching for the passers-by. He approached with the intention -of offering them violence. An old woman appeared, who in a squeaky -voice said sharply. - -"Go thy way. This is not a house for peasants who reek of cheese. -Return to thy cows, herdsman." Komm replied that he had had fifty -women, the most beautiful of the Atrebates, and possessed coffers full -of gold. The courtesans began to laugh, and the old woman cried: - -"Be off, drunkard!" - -And it seemed to him that the duenna was a centurion armed with a -vine-stock, with such splendour did the majesty of the Roman people -shine throughout the Empire! - -With one blow of his fist Komm broke her jaw and serenely pursued his -way, while the narrow passage of the house was filled with shrieks, -howls and lamentations. On the left he passed the temple of Diana of -the Ardeni and crossed the forum between two rows of porches. When he -recognized the goddess Roma standing on her marble pedestal, wearing -a helmet, with her arm outstretched to command the peoples, in order -to insult her, he performed before her the most ignoble of natural -functions. - -He was now coming to the end of the buildings of the town. Before him -extended the stone circle of the amphitheatre as yet barely outlined, -but already immense. He sighed: - -"O race of monsters!" - -And he advanced among the shattered and trampled vestiges of Gallic -huts, the thatched roofs of which once extended like some motionless -army and which were now degraded into less even than ruins--into little -more than a heap of manure spread upon the ground. And he reflected: - -"Behold what remains of so many ages of men! Behold what they have made -of the dwellings wherein the chiefs of the Atrebates hung their arms!" - -The sun had risen over the grades of the amphitheatre, and with -insatiable and inquisitive hatred the Gaul wandered among the vast -enclosures filled with bricks and stones. His large blue eyes gazed on -these stony monuments of conquest, and he shook his long fair locks -in the fresh breeze. Thinking himself alone, he muttered curses. But -not far from the stone-masons' yard he perceived, at the foot of an -oak-crowned hillock, a man seated on a mossy stone in a crouching -position, with his mantle thrown over his head. He wore no insignia; -but on his finger was the knight's ring, and the Atrebate knew enough -of a Roman camp to recognize a military tribune. This soldier was -writing on tablets of wax and appeared wrapt in thought. Having long -remained motionless, he raised his head, pensive, with his style to his -lips, looked about him vacantly, then gazed down again and resumed his -writing. Komm saw his full face and perceived that he was young, and -that he had a gentle, high-born air. - -Then the Atrebate chief recalled his oath. He felt for his knife -beneath his cloak, slipped behind the Roman with the agility of the -savage and plunged the blade into the middle of his back. It was a -Roman blade. The tribune uttered a deep groan and sank down. A trickle -of blood flowed from one corner of his mouth. The waxen tablets -remained on his tunic between his knees. Komm took them and looked -eagerly at the signs traced thereon, thinking them to be magic signs -the knowledge of which would give him great power. They were letters -which he could not read and which were taken from the Greek alphabet -then preferred to the Latin alphabet by the young _littérateurs_ of -Italy. Most of these letters were effaced by the flat end of the -style; those which remained were Latin lines in Greek metre, and here -and there they were intelligible: - - TO PHŒBE, ON HER TOMTIT - - O thou, whom Varius loved more than his eyes, - Thy Varius, wandering beneath the rainy sky of Galata ... - And the couple sang in their golden cage of gold. - . . . . . . . . . - O my white Phœbe, with prudent hand give - Millet and fresh water to thy frail captive. - She sits, she is a mother: a mother is timid. - . . . . . . . . . - Oh! come not to the misty Ocean's strand, - Phœbe, for fear ... - ... Thy white feet and thy limbs - So nimbly moving to the crotalum's rhythm. - . . . . . . . . . - And neither the gold of Crœsus nor the purple of Attala, - But thy fresh arms, thy breasts.... - -A faint sound ascended from the waking town. Past the remnants of the -Gallic huts where a few barbarians, fierce though of humble rank, were -still lurking in the trenches, the Atrebate fled, and through a breach -in the wall he leapt into the open country. - - -5 - - -When, through the legionaries' sword, the lictor's lashes and Cæsar's -flattering words Gaul was at length completely pacified, Marcus -Antonius, the quaestor, came to take up his winter quarters in -Nemetacum of the Atrebates. He was the son of Julia, Cæsar's sister. -His functions were those of paymaster to the troops. It was for him, -also, to apportion the booty captured, in accordance with established -rules. This booty was immense; for the conquerors had discovered bars -of gold and carbuncles under the stones of sacred places, in the -hollows of oaks and in the still water of pools; they had collected -golden utensils from the huts of exterminated tribes and their chiefs. - -Marcus Antonius brought with him many scribes and land surveyors who -set to work upon the apportionment of lands and movable goods, and -would have perpetrated many useless writings had not Cæsar prescribed -for them simple and rapid methods of procedure. Merchants from Asia, -workmen, lawyers and other settlers came in crowds to Nemetacum; and -the Atrebates who had quitted their town returned one by one, curious, -astonished, filled with wonder. The Gauls, for the most part, were now -proud to wear the toga and to speak the tongue of the magnanimous sons -of Remus. Having shaved off their long moustaches they had resembled -Romans. Those who had succeeded in retaining any wealth employed a -Roman architect to build them a house with an inner porch, rooms for -the women and a fountain adorned with shell-work. They had paintings -of Hercules, Mercury and the Muses in their dining-room, and would sup -reclining on couches. - -Komm, though himself illustrious and the son of an illustrious father, -had lost most of his followers. Nevertheless he refused to submit, -and led a wandering, warlike life in company with a few fighting-men -who were addicted to plunder and rape, or who, like their chief, were -possessed of a keen desire for liberty or of hatred for the Romans. -They followed him into impenetrable forests, into marshes and even into -those moving islands which occur in the broad estuaries of rivers. -They were entirely devoted to him, but they addressed him without -respect, as a man speaks to his equal, because they were actually his -equals in courage, in the extremes of continual hardships, of poverty -and wretchedness. They dwelt in trees or in the clefts of rocks. They -sought out caverns worn in the friable stone by the water gushing -down narrow valleys. When there were no beasts to hunt, they fed on -blackberries and arbutus berries. They were excluded from towns by -their fear of the Romans or by the vigilance of the Roman guards. In -few villages were they readily received. Komm, however, always found a -welcome in the huts scattered over the wind-swept sands which border -the lazy waters of the Somme estuary. The dwellers on these dunes fed -on fish. Poor, dishevelled, buried among the blue thistles of their -barren soil, they had had no experience of Roman might. They received -Komm and his companions into their subterranean abodes, which were -covered with reeds and stones rounded by the Ocean. They listened to -him attentively, having never heard any man talk so well. He said to -them: - -"Know who are the friends of the Atrebates and the Morini who live on -the sea-shore and in the deep forest. - -"The moon, the forest and the sea are the friends of the Morini and the -Atrebates. And neither the sea nor the forest nor the moon loves the -little dark men who follow Cæsar. - -"Now the sea said to me: 'Komm, I am hiding the ships of the Veneti in -a lonely cove on my shore.' - -"The forest said to me: 'Komm, I will provide a secure shelter for thee -who art an illustrious chieftain, and for thy faithful companions.' - -"The moon said to me: 'Komm, thou hast seen me in the isle of the -Britons shattering the Roman ships. I command the clouds and the winds, -and I will refuse to shine upon the drivers of the chariots which bear -victuals to the Romans of Nemetacum, in order that thou mayest take -them by surprise in the darkness of the night.' - -"Thus spoke unto me the sea, the forest and the moon. And this I bid -you: - -"Leave your boats and your nets and come with me. You will all be -chiefs in war and of great renown. We shall fight great and profitable -battles. We shall win victuals, treasure and women in abundance. Behold -in what manner: - -"I know so completely the whole country of the Atrebates and the Morini -that there is not a single river, nor pool, nor rock with the situation -of which I am unacquainted. And likewise every road, every path with -its exact length and its precise direction lies as clear in my mind as -upon the soil of our ancestors. Great and royal indeed must be my mind -thus to encompass the whole land of the Atrebates. But know that many -another country is likewise contained in it--the lands of the Britons, -the Gauls and the Germans. Wherefore, had it been given me to command -the peoples, I should have conquered Cæsar and driven the Romans out -of this country. Wherefore we, you and I who speak, shall surprise -the couriers of Marcus Antonius and the convoys of food destined for -the town which has been reft from me. We shall surprise them without -difficulty, for I know along which roads they travel, and their -soldiers will not discover us since they know not the roads we shall -take. And were they to follow on our tracks, we should escape from them -in the ships of the Veneti, which would bear us to the isle of the -Britons." - -With such words Komm inspired his hosts with confidence on the misty -sea-shore. And he finally won them over by giving them pieces of gold -and iron, the last vestiges of the treasure which had once been his. -They said to him: - -"We will follow thee wherever it please thee to lead us." - -He led them by unknown ways to the edge of the Roman road. When he saw -horses grazing on the bush grass near the abode of a rich man, he gave -them to his companions. - -Thus he gathered together a body of horsemen which was joined by those -of the Atrebates who desired to wage war for the sake of booty, and by -some deserters from the Roman camp. The latter Komm did not receive, -in order not to break the oath which he had sworn never again to look -a Roman in the face save to slay him. But he had them questioned by -some one of intelligence, and dismissed them with food for three days. -Sometimes all the male folk of a village, young and old, entreated -him to receive them as his followers. These men had been completely -despoiled by the tax-gatherers of Marcus Antonius, who in addition to -the imposts which Cæsar levied had demanded others, which were not -due, and had fined chiefs for imaginary offences. In short, these -publicans, after filling the coffers of the State, took care to enrich -themselves at the expense of barbarians whom they thought a stupid -people, and whose importunate complaints could always be silenced by -the executioner's axe. Komm chose the strongest of these men. The -others were dismissed, despite their tears and their entreaties not -to be left to die of hunger or at the hands of the Romans. He did not -wish for a great army, because he did not wish to wage a great war as -Vercingétorix had done. - -In a few days he had, with his little band, captured several convoys of -flour and cattle, massacred isolated legionaries up to the very walls -of Nemetacum and terrified the Roman population of the town. - -"These Gauls," said the tribunes and centurions, "are cruel barbarians, -mockers of the gods, enemies of the human race. Scorning their plighted -word, they offend the majesty of Rome and of Peace. They deserve to be -made an example. We owe it to humanity to chastise these criminals." - -The complaints of the settlers and the cries of the soldiers penetrated -into the quæstor's tribunal. At first Marcus Antonius paid no heed -to them. In well-heated, well-closed halls he was busied with actors -and courtesans who were representing on the stage the works of that -Hercules whom he resembled in feature, in the cut of his short curly -beard, and in the vigour of his limbs. Clothed in a lion's skin, club -in hand, Julia's robust son threw fictitious monsters to the ground and -with his arrow pierced a false hydra. Then, suddenly exchanging the -lion's pelt for Omphale's robe, he likewise changed his passion. - -Meanwhile convoys were being intercepted, bands of soldiers surprised, -harried and put to flight, and one morning the centurion, G. Fusius, -was found hanging disembowelled from a tree near the Golden Gate. - -In the Roman camp it was known that the author of this brigandage was -Commius, formerly king by the grace of Rome, now a robber chieftain. -Marcus Antonius commanded energetic action to be taken in order to -assure the safety of soldiers and settlers. And, foreseeing that -the crafty Gaul would not easily be captured, he bade the Proctor -straightway to make some terrible example. In order to carry out his -chief's design, the Proctor caused the two richest Atrebates in the -city of Nemetacum to be brought before his tribunal. - -One was by name Vergal, the other Ambrow. Both were of illustrious -birth, and they had been the first of their tribe to make friends with -Cæsar. Poorly rewarded for their prompt submission, robbed of all their -honours and of a great part of their wealth, ceaselessly annoyed by -coarse centurions and covetous lawyers, they had ventured to whisper a -few complaints. Imitating the Romans and wearing the toga, they lived -in Nemetacum, vain and simple-minded, proud and humiliated. The Proctor -examined them, condemned them to suffer the traitors' death and on that -very day handed them over to the lictors. They died doubting Roman -justice. - -Thus did the quaestor by his firmness banish fear from the hearts of -the settlers, who presented him with a laudatory address. The municipal -councillors of Nemetacum, blessing his paternal vigilance and his -piety, decreed that a bronze statue should be raised in his honour. -After this several Roman merchants, having ventured out of the town, -were surprised and slain by Komm's horsemen. - - - -6 - - -The prefect of the body of cavalry stationed at Nemetacum of the -Atrebates was Caius Volusenus Quadratus, the same who had formerly -enticed King Commius into a trap and had said to the centurions of -his escort: "When I hold out my hand as a sign of friendship you -will strike from behind." Caius Volusenus Quadratus was held in high -esteem in the army because of his obedience to the call of duty and -his unflinching courage. He had received rich rewards and enjoyed the -honours due to military virtue. Marcus Antonius appointed him to hunt -down Commius. - -Volusenus zealously carried out the mission confided to him. He planned -ambuscades for Komm, and, keeping in constant touch with his robber -bands, harassed them incessantly. Meanwhile the Atrebate, a cunning -master of guerilla warfare, wore out the Roman cavalry by his swift -movements and surprised isolated soldiers. As a matter of religious -sentiment he slew his prisoners, trusting thus he propitiate the gods. -But the gods hide their thoughts as well as their countenances. And -it was after one of these pious performances that Komm fell into the -greatest danger. Wandering in the land of the Morini, he had just slain -by night on a stone in the forest two young and handsome prisoners, -when on issuing from the wood he and all his men were surprised by the -cavalry of Volusenus, which, being better armed and better skilled in -manœuvring, surrounded him and killed many of his warriors and their -horses. He succeeded, however, in making his escape, accompanied by the -bravest and the cleverest of the Atrebates. They fled; they galloped -at full speed over the plain, towards the beach where the misty Ocean -rolls its pebbles over the sand. And, looking round, they saw the Roman -helmets gleaming far behind them. - -Komm had a fair hope of escaping. His horses were swifter and less -heavily laden than the enemy's. He reckoned on reaching in time the -boats awaiting him in a neighbouring cove, and with his faithful -followers making for the land of the Britons. - -Thus thought the chief, and the Atrebates rode in silence. Now a drop -in the ground on a clump of dwarf-trees would hide the horsemen of -Volusenus. Then on the immense grey plain the two companies would again -come in sight of one another, but separated by an increasingly wide -interval. The pale bronze helmets were outdistanced and Komm could -distinguish naught to the rear save a cloud of dust moving on the -horizon. Already the Gauls were breathing with delight the salt sea -air. But as they drew nigh the shore the dusty incline caused the pace -of the Gallic horses to slacken, and Volusenus began to gain on them. - -Faint, almost imperceptible, the sound of Roman voices was caught by -the keen ears of the barbarians, when, beyond the wind-bent larches, -they first descried from the summit of a dune the masts of ships that -lay gathered in the bend of the lonely shore. They uttered one long cry -of joy. And Komm congratulated himself on his prudence and good luck. -But, having begun their descent to the beach, they paused half-way -down, seized with fear and horror, as they perceived the fine boats of -the Veneti, broad keeled, lofty of stem and stern, now high and dry -on the sand, there to remain for many a long hour, while far away in -the distance gleamed the waves of the low tide. At this sight they sat -inertly, stricken dumb, stooping over their steaming horses, which with -muscles relaxed bowed their heads to the land breeze which blinded them -as it blew their long manes into their eyes. - -In the confusion and the silence resounded the voice of the chief -crying: - -"To the ships, horsemen! The wind is good! To the ships!" - -They obeyed without understanding. And, pushing on to the ships, Komm -bade them unfurl the sails. They were the skins of beasts dyed bright -colours. No sooner were they unfurled than the rising wind filled the -sails. - -The Gauls wondered what could be the object of this manœuvre and -whether the chief hoped to see the stout oaken keels ploughing through -the sand of the beach as if it were the water of the Ocean. Some -thought there might yet be time for flight, others of meeting death -while slaying the Romans. - -Meanwhile Volusenus, at the head of his horsemen men, was climbing the -hill which borders on the pebbled, sandy shore. Rising from the bottom -of the cove he saw the masts of the ships of the Veneti. Perceiving the -sails unfurled and filled with a favourable wind, he bade his troops -halt, called down obscene curses on the head of Commius, groaned over -his horses, which had perished in vain, and, turning bridle, commanded -his men to return to camp. - -"What is the good," he thought, "of pursuing the bandits any farther? -Commius has embarked. He has set sail, and, borne by such a wind, he is -already far beyond the reach of the javelin." - -Soon afterwards Komm and the Atrebates reached the thickets and the -moving islands, which they filled with the sound of their heroic -laughter. - -Six months later Komm again took the field. One day Volusenus surprised -him, with a score of horsemen, on open ground. With the prefect was -about an equal number of men and horses. He gave the order to attack. -The Atrebate, whether he feared his inability to meet the charge, or -whether he planned some stratagem, signed to his followers to flee, and -himself wildly dashed across the immense plain in a long, galloping -flight, hard pressed by Volusenus. Then, suddenly, he turned, and, -followed by his Gauls, threw himself furiously on the Prefect of the -Horse and, with one thrust of his lance, pierced his thigh. At the -sight of their general struck down the Romans fled in amazement. Then -the discipline of their military training asserted itself, enabling -them to overcome the natural instinct of fear; they returned to pick up -Volusenus just as Komm, full of a fierce delight, was pouring upon him -the most ferocious insults. The Gauls could not withstand the little -Roman band, which, forming a compact mass, charged them vigorously and -slew or captured the greater number. Commius almost alone escaped, -thanks to his horse's speed. - -Volusenus was carried back in a dying state to the Roman camp. But, -thanks to the leech's art or the strength of his own constitution, he -recovered from his wound. In this fray Commius had lost everything, -his faithful warriors and his hatred. Satisfied with his vengeance, -henceforth tranquil and content, he sent a messenger to Marcus -Antonius. This messenger, having been admitted to the quæstor's -tribunal, spoke thus: - -"Marcus Antonius, King Commius promises to appear in any place which -shall be indicated to him, to do all that thou shalt command and to -give hostages. One thing only he asks--that he shall be spared the -disgrace of ever appearing before a Roman." - -Marcus Antonius was magnanimous. - -"I understand," said he, "that Commius may be somewhat disgusted by his -interviews with our generals. I excuse him from ever appearing before -any of us. I grant him his pardon; and I receive his hostages." - -What happened afterwards to Komm of the Atrebates is unknown; the rest -of his life cannot be traced. - - - - -FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI; - -OR, - -CIVIL WAR - - - Ed ei s'ergea col petto e con la fronte, - Come avesse lo inferno in gran dispitto. - _Inferno_, Can. 10. - - -She sat on the terrace of his tower, the aged Farinata degli Uberti -fixed his keen gaze on the battlemented town. Standing at his side, -Fra Ambrogio looked at the sky that was blushing with the rosy hues of -evening and crowning with its fiery blossoms the garland of hills which -encircles Florence. From the neighbouring banks of the Arno the perfume -of myrtles was wafted upwards into the still air. The birds' last cries -had re-echoed from the bright roof of San-Giovanni. Suddenly there -came the sound of two horses passing over the sharp pebbles from the -riverbed which paved the road, and two young riders, handsome as two -St. Georges, emerging from the narrow street, rode past the windowless -palace of the Uberti. When they were at the foot of the Ghibelline -tower one spat as a sign of contempt; the other, raising his arm, put -his thumb between his fore and his middle finger. Then both, spurring -their horses, reached the wooden bridge at a gallop. Farinata, a -witness of this insult offered to his name, remained tranquil and -silent. His shrivelled cheeks trembled and briny tears moistened his -yellow eyeballs. Finally, he shook his head three times and said: - -"Why does this people hate me?" - -Fra Ambrogio did not reply. And Farinata continued to gaze down upon -the city, which he could no longer see save through the bitter mist -which veiled his eyes. Then, turning towards the monk his thin face -with its eagle nose and threatening jaws, he asked again: - -"Why does this people hate me?" - -The monk made a gesture as if he would drive away a fly. - -"What matters to you, Messer Farinata, the obscene insolence of two -striplings bred in the Guelf towers of Oltarno?" - - -FARINATA. - -Nothing to me, indeed, are those two Frescobaldi, minions of the -Romans, sons of pimps and prostitutes. I fear not the scorn of such -as they. Neither for my friends nor, especially, for my enemies is it -possible to despise me. My sorrow is to feel weighing upon me the -hatred of the people of Florence. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Hatred has prevailed in cities since the sons of Cain introduced pride -with the arts, and since the two Theban horsemen satisfied their -fraternal hatred by shedding each other's blood. Insult breeds wrath, -and wrath insult. With unfailing fecundity hatred engenders hatred. - -FARINATA. - -But how can love engender hatred? And wherefore am I odious to my -well-beloved city? - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Since you wish it, Messer Farinata, I will give you an answer. But from -my lips you will have naught but truthful words. Your fellow citizens -cannot forgive you for having fought at Montaperto, beneath Manfred's -white banner, on the day when the Arbia was stained with Florentine -blood. And they hold that on that day, in that fatal valley, you were -not the friend of your city. - -FARINATA. - -What! I have not loved her! To live her life, to live for her alone, -to suffer fatigue, hunger, thirst, fever, sleeplessness, and that most -terrible of woes, exile; to brave death at every hour, to risk falling -alive into the hands of those whom my death alone would not suffice to -content; to dare everything, to endure everything for her sake, for -her good, to rescue her from the power of my enemies, who were hers, -to induce her whether she would or not to follow wholesome advice, to -espouse the right cause, to think as I thought myself, with the noblest -and the best, to wish her entirely beautiful and subtle and generous, -to sacrifice for this object alone my possessions, my sons, my -neighbours, my friends; in her interest alone to render myself liberal, -avaricious, faithful, perfidious, magnanimous, criminal, this was not -to love my city! Who loved her, then, if I did not? - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft -to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand -Florentines! - -FARINATA. - -Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio. And -the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to -our sons and our sons' sons. That the memory of them might not perish -I would write of them myself, if I had a head for writing. When I was -young, I composed love-songs, which ladies marvelled at and the clerks -put into their books. With that exception, I have always despised -letters as greatly as the arts, and I have no more troubled to write -than to weave wool. Let every man follow my example and act according -to his rank in life. But you, Fra Ambrogio, who are a very learned -scribe, it is for you to relate the great enterprises I have led. Great -honour would it bring you, if you told them not as a monk, but as a -noble, for they are knightly and noble deeds. Such a story would show -how active I have been. And of all that I have done I regret nothing. - -I was exiled, the Guelfs had slain three of my kinsfolk. Sienna -received me; of this my enemies made such a grievance that they incited -the Florentines to march in arms against the hospitable city. For the -exiles, for Sienna, I asked the aid of Cæsar's son, the King of Sicily. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -It is only too true: you were the ally of Manfred, the friend of the -Sultan of Luceria, of the astrologer, the renegade, the excommunicated. - -FARINATA. - -Then we swallowed the Pontiff's excommunications like water. I know not -whether Manfred had learned to read destiny in the stars, but true -it is that he made much of his Saracen horsemen. He was as prudent as -he was brave, a sagacious prince, careful of the blood of his men and -of the gold in his coffers. He replied to the Siennese that he would -grant them succour. He made great promises in order to inspire great -gratitude. He gave them but meagre fulfilment through craft and fear -of diminishing his own power. He sent his banner with one hundred -German horsemen. Disappointed and incensed, the Siennese spoke of -rejecting this contemptible aid. I gave them better counsel and taught -them the art of passing a cloth through a ring. One day, having gorged -the Germans with wine and meat, I induced them to make a sortie at so -unlucky a moment that they fell into an ambuscade and were all slain -by the Guelfs of Florence, who took Manfred's white banner and trailed -it in the dust at the end of an ass's tail. Straightway I informed the -Sicilian of the insult. He felt it, as I had foreseen, and, to execute -vengeance, he sent eight hundred horsemen, with a goodly number of -infantry, under the command of Count Giordano, who was reputed to be -the equal of Hector of Troy. Meanwhile Sienna and her allies assembled -their militia. Before long our strength was thirteen thousand fighting -men. We were fewer than were the Guelfs of Florence. But among them -were false Guelfs who merely awaited the hour to declare themselves -Ghibellines, while among our Ghibellines there were no Guelfs. Thus -having on my side, not all the advantage (one never has all), but -advantages which were great and unhoped for, I was impatient to engage -in a battle, which, if won, would destroy my enemies, and, if lost, -would only crush my allies. I hungered and thirsted after this battle. -To make the Florentine army engage in it I used every means of which I -could conceive. I sent to Florence two minor friars charged secretly -to inform the Council that, seized with repentance and desiring to -buy my fellow-citizens' pardon by rendering some signal service, I -was ready for ten thousand florins to deliver up into their hands one -of the gates of Sienna; but that for the success of the enterprise it -would be necessary for the Florentine army, in as great strength as was -possible, to advance to the banks of the Arbia, under the pretence of -coming to the aid of the Guelfs of Montacino. When my two friars had -departed, my mouth spat out the pardon it had asked, and, perturbed by -a terrible anxiety, I waited. I feared lest the nobles of the Council -should realize the folly of sending an army to the Arbia. But I hoped -that the project, by its very extravagance, would please the plebeians -and that they would adopt it all the more eagerly because of the -opposition of the nobles, whom they mistrusted. And so it happened: -the nobility discerned the snare, but the artisans fell into it. They -were in the majority on the Council. At their command the Florentine -army set forth and carried out the plan which I had formed for its -destruction. How beautiful was that dawn, when, riding into a little -band of exiles, I saw the sun pierce the white morning mist and shine -on the forest of Guelf lances which covered the slopes of La Malena! -I had put my hand on my enemies. But a little more artfulness and I -was sure of destroying them. By my advice, Count Giordano caused the -infantry of the commune of Sienna to defile three times before their -eyes, changing their helmets after their first and second appearances, -in order that they might seem more numerous than they actually were; -and thus he showed them to the Guelfs, first red, as an omen of blood; -then green, as an omen of death; then half-black, half-white, as an -omen of captivity. True omens! O what delight! when, charging the -Florentine horse, I beheld it waver and wheel in circles like a flight -of crows, when I saw the man in my pay, him whose name I may not -utter for fear of defiling my lips, strike down with one blow of his -sword the standard which he had come to defend, and all the horsemen, -looking vainly henceforth for their rallying point, the white and blue -colours, flee panic-stricken, trampling one another down, while we in -their pursuit slaughtered them like pigs brought to market. Only the -artisans of the commune stood their ground. Then we had to slay round -the bleeding quarry. Finally, there remained before us naught save -corpses and cowards, who joined hands to come to us and on their knees -to beg for mercy. And I, content with my work, stood apart. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Alas, accursed valley of the Arbia! It is said that after so many years -it still smells of death, that by night, deserted, haunted by wild -beasts, it resounds with the howls of the white witches. Was your heart -so hard, Messer Farinata, that it did not dissolve in tears when, on -that evil day, you saw the flower-clad slopes of La Malena drinking -Florentine blood? - -FARINATA. - -My only grief was to think that thus I had shown my enemies the way to -victory and that, by humbling them after ten years of pride and power, -I had suggested to them what they themselves might do in turn after the -lapse of so many years. I reflected that, since with my aid Fortune's -wheel had taken this turn, the wheel might take another turn and -humble me and mine in the dust. This presentiment cast a shadow over -the dazzling light of my joy. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -It seemed to me as if you justly detested the treachery of that man who -trailed in dirt and blood the standard beneath which he had set out to -fight. I myself, who know that the mercy of the Lord is infinite, I, -even, doubt whether Bocca will not take his place in hell with Cain, -Judas and Brutus, the parricide. But if Bocca's crime is so execrable, -do you not repent having caused it? And think you not, Messer Farinata, -that you yourself, by drawing the Florentine army into a snare, -offended the just God and did that which is not lawful? - -FARINATA. - -Everything is lawful to him who obeys the dictates of a vigorous mind -and a strong heart. When I deceived my enemies I was magnanimous, not -treacherous. And if you make it a crime to have employed, in order to -save my party, the man who tore down his party's standard, then you are -wrong, Fra Ambrogio, for nature, not I, had made him a traitor, and it -was I, not nature, who turned his treachery to good use. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -But since you loved your city even when fighting against her, it must -have been painful to you that you were able to overcome her only with -the aid of the Siennese, her enemies. Were you not somewhat ashamed at -this? - -FARINATA. - -Wherefore should I have been ashamed? Could I have re-established my -party in the city in any other way? I made alliance with Manfred and -the Siennese. Had it been necessary, I would have sought the alliance -of those African giants who have but one eye in the middle of their -foreheads and who feed upon human flesh, according to the report of -Venetian navigators who have seen them. The pursuit of such an interest -is no mere game played according to rule, like chess or draughts. If -I had judged one thing lawful and another unlawful, think you that -my adversaries would have been bound by such rules? No, indeed, we -on Arbia's banks were not playing a game of dice under the trellis, -tablets on knee and little white pebbles to mark the score. It was -conquest that we were working for. And each side knew it. - -Nevertheless, I grant you, Fra Ambrogio, that it would have been -better to settle our quarrel between Florentines alone. Civil war is -so grand, so noble, so fine a thing, that it should, if possible, -be waged without alien intervention. Those who engage in it should -be fellow-citizens and preferably nobles, who would bring to it an -unwearying arm and keen intelligence. - -I would not say the same of foreign wars. They are useful, even -necessary enterprises, undertaken to maintain or extend the boundaries -of State or to promote traffic in merchandise. Generally speaking, -neither profit nor honour results from waging these great wars unaided. -A wise people will employ mercenaries, and delegate the enterprise to -experienced captains who know how to win much with few men. Nothing -but professional courage is needed, and it is better to spill gold -than blood. One cannot put one's heart into it. For it would hardly be -wise to hate a foreigner because his interests are opposed to ours, -while it is natural and reasonable to hate a fellow-citizen who opposes -what one esteems useful and good. In civil war alone can one display a -discerning mind, an inflexible soul and the fortitude of a heart filled -with anger or with love. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -I am the poorest servant of the poor. But I have one master alone; he -is the King of Heaven. I should be false to Him were I not to say, -Messer Farinata, that the only warrior worthy of the highest praise is -he who marches beneath the cross, singing: - - _Vexïlla régis prodeunt._ - -The blessed Dominic, whose soul, like a sun, rose on the darkened -Church in a night of falsehood, taught us, concerning war against -heretics, that the more fiercely and bitterly it is fought the more -does it display charity and mercy. And he must have known, he who, -bearing the name of the Prince of the Apostles, like the stone from -David's sling, struck the Goliath of heresy on the forehead. Between -Como and Milan he suffered martyrdom. From him my order derives great -honour. Whosoever draws sword against such a soldier is another -Antiochus, fighting for our Lord Jesus Christ. But, having instituted -empires, kingdoms and republics, God suffers them to be defended by -arms, and He looks down upon the captains who, having called upon Him, -draw sword for the deliverance of their country. But He turns away His -countenance from the citizen who strikes His city and sheds its blood, -as you were so ready to do, Messer Farinata, undeterred by the fear -that Florence, exhausted and rent by you, might have no strength to -withstand her enemies. In the ancient chronicles it is written that -cities weakened by internecine warfare offer an easy prey to the -foreigner who lies in wait to destroy them. - -FARINATA. - -Monk, is it best to attack the lion when he watches or when he sleeps? -Now, I have kept awake the lion of Florence. Ask the Pisans if they had -reason to rejoice at having attacked him at a time when I had made him -furious. Search in the ancient histories and you will find there also, -perhaps, that cities which are seething within are ready to scald the -enemy who lurks without, but that a people made lukewarm by peace at -home has no desire for war abroad. Know that it is dangerous to offend -a city vigilant and noble enough to maintain internal warfare, and say -not again that I have weakened my city. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -Nevertheless, you know that she was like to perish after the fatal -day of the Arbia. The panic-stricken Guelfs had sallied forth from -her gates and had taken the sad road to exile. The Ghibelline diet, -convoked at Empoli by Count Giordano, decided to destroy Florence. - -FARINATA. - -It is true. All wished that not a stone should be left upon another. -All said, "Let us crush this nest of Guelfs." I alone rose to defend -her. I alone shielded her from harm. To me the Florentines owe the very -breath of life. Those who insult me and spit upon my threshold, had -they any piety in their hearts, would honour me as a father. I saved my -city. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -After you had ruined it. Nevertheless, may that day at Empoli be -counted to you for righteousness in this world and the next, Messer -Farinata! And may St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, -bear to the ear of our Lord the words which you uttered in the assembly -of the Ghibellines! Repeat to me, I pray you, those praiseworthy words. -They are diversely reported, and I would know them exactly. Is it true, -as many say, that you took as your text two Tuscan proverbs--one of the -ass, the other of the goat? - -FARINATA. - -That of the goat I hardly remember, but I have a clearer recollection -of the proverb of the ass. It may be, as some have said, that I -confused the two proverbs. That matters not. I rose and spoke somewhat -thus: - -"The ass bites at the roots as hard as he can. And you, following his -example, will bite without discrimination, to-morrow as yesterday, not -discerning that which should be destroyed and that which should be -respected. But know that I have suffered so much and fought so long -only in order to dwell in my city. I shall therefore defend her and -die, if need be, sword in hand." - -I said not another word and I went out. They ran after me, and, -endeavouring to appease me by their entreaties, they swore to respect -Florence. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -May our sons forget that you were at the Arbia and remember that you -were at Empoli! You lived in cruel days, and I do not think it easy -either for a Guelf or a Ghibelline to see salvation. May God, Messer -Farinata, save you from hell and receive you after your death into His -blessed Paradise. - -FARINATA. - -Paradise and hell are but the creations of our own mind. Epicurus -taught this, and many since his day have known it to be true. You -yourself, Fra Ambrogio, have you not read in your book: "For that which -befalleth the sons of men befalleth Beasts; as the one dieth so dieth -the other." But if, like ordinary souls, I believed in God, I would -pray to him to leave the whole of me here after death, that soul and -body alike might be buried in my tomb beneath the walls of my beautiful -San Giovanni. All around are coffins hewn out of stone by the Romans -to receive their dead. Now they are open and empty. In one of those -beds I would wish to rest and sleep at last. In life I suffered -bitterly in exile, and yet I was but a day's journey from Florence. -Farther away I should have been more wretched still. I desire to remain -for ever in my beloved city. May my descendants remain there also. - -FRA AMBROGIO. - -It fills me with horror to hear you blaspheme the God who created -heaven and earth, the mountains of Florence and the roses of Fiesole. -And that which most terrifies me, Messer Farinata degli Uberti, is -that you contrive to invest evil with a certain nobility. If, contrary -to the hope which I still cherish, infinite mercy were not to be -vouchsafed to you, I believe you would be a credit to hell. - - - - -THE KING DRINKS - - -In the city of Troyes, in the year of grace, 1428, Canon Guillaume -Chappedelaine was elected by the Chapter to be King of the Epiphany, in -accordance with the custom which then prevailed throughout Christian -France. For the canons were wont to choose one of their number and to -designate him as king because he was to take the place of the King of -kings and to gather them all round his table, until such time as Jesus -Christ Himself should gather them, as they all hoped, into His holy -paradise. - -Sieur Guillaume Chappedelaine owed his election to his virtuous life -and his generosity. He was a rich man. Both the Burgundian and the -Armagnac captains, when ravaging Champagne, had spared his vineyards. -For this good fortune he was indebted first to God and then to -himself, to the kindness he had shown to the two factions which were -at that time rending asunder the kingdom of the lilies. His wealth -had contributed not a little to his election; for in that year a -_setier_[1] of corn fetched eight francs, five-and-twenty eggs six -sous, a young pig seven francs, while throughout the winter Churchmen -had been reduced to eat cabbages like villeins. - -Wherefore on the Feast of the Epiphany, Sieur Guillaume Chappedelaine, -clothed in his dalmatica, holding in his hand a palm-branch in lieu -of a sceptre, took his place in the cathedral choir, beneath a canopy -of cloth of gold. Meanwhile, out in the sacristy, there came forth -three canons, wearing crowns upon their heads. One was robed in white, -another in red, the third in black. They stood for the three kings -of the East, the Magi, and, going down to that part of the church -which represents the foot of the cross, they chanted the Gospel of -St. Matthew. A deacon, bearing at the end of a pole five lighted -candles, to symbolize the miraculous star which led the Magi to -Bethlehem, ascended the great nave and entered the choir. The three -canons followed him singing, and, when they reached this passage in -the gospel, _Et intrantes domum, invenerunt puerum cum Maria, matre -ejus, et procidentes adoraverunt eum,_ they stopped in front of Sieur -Guillaume Chappedelaine and bowed low before him. Then came three -children, bearing salt and spices, which Sieur Guillaume graciously -received after the manner of the Infant King who had accepted the -myrrh, the gold and the frankincense of the kings of this world. After -this divine service was celebrated with due devoutness. - -In the evening the canons were invited to sup with the King of the -Epiphany. Sieur Guillaume's house was close against the apse of the -cathedral. It was recognizable by the golden hood on a shield of stone -which adorned its low door. That night the great hall was strewn with -foliage and lit by twelve torches of fir-wood. The whole Chapter -sat down to the table, groaning beneath a lamb cooked whole. There -were present Sieurs Jean Bruant, Thomas Alépée, Simon Thibouville, -Jean Coquemard, Denys Petit, Pierre Corneille, Barnabe Videloup and -François Pigouchel, canons of Saint-Pierre, Sieur Thibault de Saugles, -knight and hereditary lay canon, and, at the bottom of the table, -Pierrolet, the little clerk, who, although he could not write, was -Sieur Guillaume's secretary and served him at Mass. He looked like a -girl dressed up as a boy. He it was who on Candlemas Day appeared as -an angel. It was also the custom on Ember Wednesday in December, when -the coming of the Angel Gabriel to announce to Mary the mystery of -the Incarnation was read at Mass, for a young girl to be placed on a -platform and for a child with wings to tell her that she was about to -become the mother of the Son of God. A stuffed dove was suspended over -the girl's head. For two years Pierrolet had represented the angel of -the Annunciation. - -But his soul was far from being as sweet as his countenance. He was -violent, foolhardy and quarrelsome, and he often provoked boys older -than himself. He was suspected of being immoral; and in truth the -soldiers garrisoned in the towns set no good example. Little notice, -however, was taken of his bad habits. That which most vexed Sieur -Guillaume was that Pierrolet was an Armagnac and for ever quarrelling -with the Burgundians. The canon repeatedly told him that such a state -of mind was not only wicked but absolutely devilish in that good -town of Troyes, where the late Henry V of England had celebrated his -marriage with Madame Catherine of France and where the English were the -rightful masters, for all power is of God. _Omnis potestas a Deo._ - -The guests having taken their places, Sieur Guillaume recited the -_Benedicite_ and every one began to eat in silence. Sieur Jean -Coquemard was the first to speak. Turning to Sieur Jean Bruant, his -neighbour, he said: - -"You are wise and learned. Did you fast yesterday?" - -"It was seemly so to do," replied Sieur Jean Bruant. "In the rubric, -the eve of the Epiphany is described as a vigil and a vigil is a fast." - -"Pardon me," retorted Sieur Jean Coquemard. "But I, together with -notable doctors of divinity, hold that an austere fast accords ill with -the joy of the faithful as they recall the birth of our Saviour which -the Church continues to celebrate until the Epiphany." - -"In my opinion," replied Sieur Jean Bruant, "those who do not fast on -these vigils have fallen away from our ancient piety." - -"And in mine," cried Sieur Jean Coquemard, "those who by fasting -prepare for the most joyful of festivals are guilty of following -customs censored by the majority of our bishops." - -The dispute between the two canons began to wax bitter. - -"Not to fasti What lack of zeal!" exclaimed Sieur Jean Bruant. - -"To fast! How obstinate!" said Sieur Jean Coquemard. "You are one of -those proud, reckless men who love to stand alone." - -"You are one of the weak who meekly follow the corrupt herd. But even -in these wicked times of ours I have my authorities. _Quidam asserunt -in vigilia Epiphaniæ jejunandum."_ - -"That settles the question. _Non jejunetur!_" - -"Peace! Peace!" cried Sieur Guillaume from the depths of his great -raised seat. "You are both right: it is praiseworthy of you, Jean -Coquemard, to partake of food on the eve of the Epiphany, as a sign of -rejoicing, and of you, Jean Bruant, to fast on the same vigil, since -you fast with seemly gladness." - -This utterance was approved by the whole Chapter. - -"Not Solomon himself could have pronounced a wiser judgment," cried -Sieur Pierre Corneille. - -And Sieur Guillaume, having put to his lips his goblet of silver gilt, -Sieurs Jean Bruant, Jean Coquemard, Thomas Alépée, Simon Thibouville, -Denys Petit, Pierre Corneille, Barnabé Videloup and François Pigouchel -all cried with one voice: - -"The King drinks! the King drinks!" - -The uttering of this cry was part of the festival, and the guest who -failed to join in it risked a severe penalty. - -Sieur Guillaume, seeing that the flagons were empty, ordered more wine -to be brought, and the servants grated the horse-radish which should -stimulate the thirst of the guests. - -"To the health of Monsignor, Bishop of Troyes and of the Regent of -France," said Sieur Guillaume, rising from his canonical seat. - -"Right willingly, sieur," said Thibault of Saulges, knight. "But it is -an open secret that our Bishop is disputing with the Regent touching -the double tithe which Monsignor of Bedford is exacting from Churchmen, -under the pretext of financing the Crusade against the Hussites. Thus -we are about to mingle in one toast the healths of two enemies." - -"Ha ha!" replied Sieur Guillaume. "But healths are proposed for peace -and not for war. I drink to King Henry VI's Regent of France and to the -health of Monsignor, Bishop of Troyes, whom we all elected two years -ago." - -The canons, raising their goblets, drank to the health of the Bishop -and of the Regent Bedford. - -Meanwhile there was raised at the bottom of the table a young and as -yet piping voice, which cried: - -"To the health of the Dauphin Louis, the true King of France!" - -It was the little Pierrolet, whose Armagnac sympathies, heated by the -canon's wine, were finding expression. - -No one took any notice, and Sieur Guillaume having drunk again they all -cried in chorus: - -"The King drinks! The King drinks!" - -The guests, all speaking at once, were noisily discussing matters both -sacred and profane. - -"Have you heard," said Thibault de Saulges, "that the Regent has sent -ten thousand English to take Orleans?" - -"In that case," said Sieur Guillaume, "the town will fall into their -hands, as have already Jargeau and Beaugency, and so many good cities -of the kingdom." - -"That remains to be seen!" said the little Pierrolet, growing red. - -But, he being at the far end of the table, once again no one heard him. - -"Let us drink, monsignors," said Sieur Guillaume, who was doing the -honours of his table lavishly. - -And he set the example by raising his great cup of silver gilt. - -More loudly than ever the cry resounded: - -"The King drinks! The King drinks!" - -But after the thunder of the toast had rolled away, Sieur Pierre -Corneille, who was seated rather low down at the table, said bitterly: - -"Monsignors, I denounce the little Pierrolet. He did not cry 'The King -drinks!' Thereby he has transgressed our rights and customs, and he -must be punished." - -"He must be punished!" repeated in chorus Sieurs Denys Petit and -Barnabe Videloup. - -"Let chastisement be meted out to him," said, in his turn, Sieur -Guillaume. "His hands and face must be smeared with soot, for such is -the custom." - -"It is the custom!" cried all the canons together. - -And Sieur Pierre Corneille went to fetch soot from the chimney, while -Sieurs Thomas Alépée and Simon Thibouville, laughing unrestrainedly, -threw themselves upon the child and held his arms and legs. - -But Pierrolet escaped out of their hands, then, standing with his back -to the wall, he drew a little dagger from his belt and swore that he -would plunge it into the throat of anyone who came near him. - -Such violence highly amused the canons, and especially Sieur Guillaume. -Rising from his seat, he went up to his little secretary, followed by -Pierre Corneille, who held in his hand a shovelful of soot. - -"It is I," he said in unctuous tones, "who for his punishment will make -of this naughty child a negro, a servant of that black King Balthazar -who came to the manger. Pierre Corneille, hold out the shovel." - -And, with a gesture as deliberate as that with which he would have -sprinkled holy water upon the faithful, he threw a pinch of soot into -the face of the child who, rushing upon him, plunged his dagger into -Sieur Guillaume's stomach. - -The canon uttered a long sigh and fell with his face to the ground. His -guests crowded round him. They saw that he was dead. - -Pierrolet had disappeared. A search was made for him all over the town, -but he could not be found. Later it became known that he had enlisted -in Captain La Hire's company. At the Battle of Patay, under the Maid's -eyes, he took prisoner an English captain and was dubbed a knight. - - -[1] An obsolete measure varying according to place. In 1703, in the -Orkney and Shetland Isles a setten of barley was about twenty-eight -pounds' weight. - - - - -"LA MUIRON" - - - "And sometimes, during our long evenings, the Commander-in - -Chief would tell us ghost stories, a species of story in - the telling of which he excelled."--_Mémoires du Comte - Lavallette._ - -For more than three months Bonaparte had been without news from -Europe, when on his return from Saint-Jean-d'Acre he sent an envoy -to the Turkish admiral under the pretext of negotiating an exchange -of prisoners, but in reality in the hope that Sir Sidney Smith would -stop this officer on the way and enlighten him as to recent events; -whether, as might be expected, these had been unfavourable to the -Republic. The General calculated rightly. Sir Sidney had the envoy -brought to his ship and received him there with honour. Having entered -into conversation, the English commander soon learnt that the Syrian -army was totally without despatches or information of any kind. He -showed the Frenchman the newspapers lying open on the table and, with -perfidious courtesy, invited him to take them away with him. - -Bonaparte spent the night in his tent reading them. In the morning -he had resolved to return to France in order to assume the government -in the place of those who were on the point of being overthrown. Once -he had set foot on the soil of the Republic, he would crush the weak -and violent government which was rendering the country a prey to fools -and rogues, and he alone would occupy the vacant place. Before he -could carry out his plan, however, he must cross the Mediterranean in -defiance of adverse winds and British squadrons. But Bonaparte could -see nothing save his purpose and his star. By an extraordinary stroke -of good luck he had received the Directory's permission to leave the -Egyptian army and to appoint his own successor. - -He summoned Admiral Gantheaume, who had been at head-quarters since -the destruction of the fleet, and instructed him quickly and secretly -to arm two Venetian frigates, which were at Alexandria, and to direct -them to a certain lonely point upon the coast. In a sealed document he -appointed General Kléber Commander-in-Chief. Then, under the pretext of -making a tour of inspection, taking with him a squadron of guides, he -went to the Marabou inlet. On the evening of the 7th of Fructidor in -the year VII, at the junction of two roads, whence the sea was visible, -he came face to face with General Menou, who was returning with his -escort to Alexandria. Finding it impossible and unnecessary to keep his -secret any longer, he took a brusque farewell of these soldiers, urged -them to acquit themselves well in Egypt and said: - -"If I have the good luck to set foot in France, the reign of the -chatterboxes will be over!" - -He seemed to say this spontaneously and, so to speak, in spite of -himself. Yet such an announcement was well calculated to justify his -flight and to suggest future power. - -He jumped into the boat, which at nightfall drew alongside of the -frigate, _La Muiron._ Admiral Gantheaume welcomed him beneath his flag -with these words: - -"I command under your star." - -And he set sail immediately. With the General were Lavallette, his -aide-de-camp, Monge and Berthollet. The frigate, _La Carrère,_ which -served as a convoy, had on board the' wounded generals, Lannes and -Murat, and Messieurs Denon, Costaz and Parseval-Grandmaison. - -Hardly had they started when the wind dropped. The Admiral proposed to -return to Alexandria lest dawn should find them in sight of Aboukir, -where the enemy's fleet lay at anchor. The faithful Lavallette -entreated the General to agree. But Bonaparte pointed seawards. - -"Have no fear. We shall get through." - -After midnight a fair breeze began to blow. By dawn the flotilla -was out of sight of land. As Bonaparte was walking alone on deck, -Berthollet came up to him. - -"General, you were well advised to tell Lavallette not to be afraid and -that we should be able to continue on our course." - -Bonaparte smiled. - -"I reassured one who is weak but devoted. Your character, Berthollet, -is different, and to you I shall speak differently. The future must -not be counted upon. The present alone matters. One must dare and -calculate, and leave the rest to luck." - -And, quickening his steps, he muttered: - -"Dare ... calculate ... avoid any cast-iron plan ... conform to -circumstances, follow where they lead. Take advantage of the slightest -as well as of the greatest opportunities. Attempt only the possible, -and all that is possible." - -At dinner that day, when the General reproached Lavallette with his -timidity on the previous evening, the aide-de-camp replied that at -present his fears were different but not less, and that he was not -ashamed to confess them, because they concerned the fate of Bonaparte, -consequently the fate of France and of the world. - -"I learned from Sir Sidney's secretary," he said, "that the commodore -believes in keeping out of sight during a blockade. So, knowing his -strategy and his character, we must expect to find him in our way. And -in that case...." - -Bonaparte interrupted him. - -"In that case you cannot doubt that our intuition and our skill would -rise superior to our danger. But you flatter that young madman when you -regard him as capable of any consecutive and methodical action. Smith -ought to be captain of a fire-ship." - -Bonaparte was not fair to the formidable commander who had been the -cause of his misfortune at Saint-Jean-d'Acre; and his injustice arose -doubtless from a wish to attribute his failure to a turn of fortune -rather than to his adversary's skill. - -The Admiral raised his hand as if to emphasize the resolve which he was -about to express. - -"If we meet the English cruisers, I will go on board _La Carrère,_ and, -you may depend upon it, I will keep them so well occupied that they -will give _La Muiron_ time to escape." - -Lavallette opened his mouth. He was about to observe that _La Muiron_ -was not a fast sailer and that consequently such an opportunity would -be lost upon her. But he feared to displease the General, and swallowed -his words. Bonaparte, however, read his thoughts; and, taking him by -the coat button, said: - -"Lavallette, you are a good fellow, but you will never be a good -soldier. You never think enough of your advantages, and you are for -ever concerned with irreparable disadvantages. We cannot make this -frigate a fast sailer. But you must think of the crew, animated with -the brightest enthusiasm and capable of working miracles, if need be. -You forget that our boat is _La Muiron._ I myself gave her that name. -I was at Venice. Invited to christen the frigate which had just been -armed, I seized the opportunity of honouring the memory of one who -was dear to me, of my aide-de-camp, who fell on the bridge of Areola -while protecting his General with his own body under a hail of shot and -shell. In this ship we sail to-day. Can you doubt that its name augurs -well for us?" - -For a while longer he continued to hearten them with his glowing words. -He then remarked that he would retire to rest. It was known on the -morrow that he had decided to endeavour to avoid the British squadrons -by some four or five weeks' sailing along the African coast. - -Henceforth day followed day in uneventful monotony. _La Muiron_ kept -in sight of the low, unfrequented coast, which was not likely to be -reconnoitred by the enemy's ships, and every half league she tacked -without venturing out to sea. Bonaparte passed his days in conversation -and in reverie. Sometimes he was heard to murmur the names of Ossian -and Fingal. Sometimes he asked his aide-de-camp to read aloud Vertot's -_Revolutions_[1] or Plutarch's _Lives._ He appeared neither anxious -nor impatient, nor preoccupied, more, probably, through a natural -disposition to live in the present than as the result of self-control. -He seemed to take a melancholy pleasure in contemplating that sea -which, whether angry or serene, threatened his destiny and divided -him from his object. On rising from table, when the weather was fine, -he would go on deck and half recline on a gun-carriage in the same -somewhat unsociable and forlorn attitude that was his when, as a child, -he would lie propped up by his elbows on the rocks of his native isle. -The two scientists, the Admiral, the Captain of the frigate and the -aide-de-camp, Lavallette, would stand round him. And the conversation, -which he carried on by fits and starts, most frequently turned on -some new scientific discovery. Monge was not a brilliant talker; but -his conversation revealed him as a clear, logical thinker. Inclined -to consider utility even in physics, he was always a patriot and a -good citizen. Berthollet was a better philosopher and more given to -evolving general theories. - -"It will not do," he said, "to represent chemistry as the mysterious -science of metamorphoses, a new Circe, waving her magic wand over -nature. Such ideas may flatter vivid imaginations; but they will -not satisfy thoughtful minds, who are striving to prove that the -transformations of bodies are subject to the general laws of physics." - -He had a presentiment that the reactions, which the chemist provokes -and observes, occur under precise mechanical conditions which some day -may be the subject of exact calculation. And, constantly recurring to -this idea, he would apply it to a variety of data, known or surmised. -One evening Bonaparte, who had no sympathy with pure speculation, -brusquely interrupted him: - -"Your theories...! Mere soap-bubbles born of a breath and dissipated -by a breath. Chemistry, Berthollet, is no more than a game when not -applied to the requirements of war or industry. In all his researches -the man of science should set before him some definite great and useful -object, like Monge, who, in order to manufacture gunpowder, sought -nitre in cellars and stables." - -But Monge himself, as well as Berthollet, insisted on representing to -the General the necessity of understanding phenomena and submitting -them to general laws, before attempting practical applications, and -they argued that any other procedure would lead to the dangerous -obscurity of empiricism. - -Bonaparte agreed. But he feared empiricism more than ideology. And -suddenly he inquired of Berthollet: - -"Do you, with your explanations, hope to penetrate into the infinite -mystery of nature, to enter on the unknown?" - -Berthollet replied that, without pretending to explain the universe, -the scientist rendered humanity the greatest service by substituting -a rational view of natural phenomena for the terrors of ignorance and -superstition. - -"Is he not man's true benefactor," added Berthollet, "who delivers him -from the phantoms introduced into the soul by the fear of an imaginary -hell, who rescues him from the yoke imposed by priests and soothsayers, -who expels from his mind the terrors of dreams and omens?" - -Night rested like a vast shadow on the great expanse of sea. In a -moonless and cloudless sky, multitudes of stars glittered like a -suspended shower. For a moment the General remained lost in meditation. -Then, lifting up his head and half rising, he pointed to the dome of -heaven, and with the uncultured voice of the young herdsman and the -hero of antiquity he pierced the silence: - -"Mine is a soul of marble which nothing can perturb, a heart -inaccessible to common weaknesses. But you, Berthollet, do you -understand sufficiently what life and death are? Have you explored -their confines so far as to be able to affirm that they are without -mystery? Are you sure that all apparitions are no more than the -phantoms of a diseased brain? Can you explain all presentiments? -General La Harpe had the stature and the heart of a Grenadier. His -intelligence was in its element in battle. There it shone. At Fombio, -for the first time, on the evening before his death, he was struck -dumb, as one who is stunned, frozen by a strange and sudden fear. You -deny apparitions. Monge, did you not meet Captain Aubelet in Italy?" - -At this question, Monge tried to remember, then shook his head. No, he -did not recollect Captain Aubelet. - -Bonaparte resumed: - -"I had observed him at Toulon, where he won his epaulettes, like a hero -of ancient Greece. He was as young, as handsome, as courageous as a -soldier from Platea. Struck by his serious air, his clear-cut features -and the look of wisdom on his young countenance, his superior officers -had nicknamed him Minerva, and the Grenadiers also called him by that -name, though they were ignorant of its significance. - -"Captain Minerva!" cried Monge. "Why did you not call him that at -first? Captain Minerva was killed beneath the walls of Mantua a few -weeks before I arrived in that city. His death had made a great -impression, because it was associated with marvellous happenings which -were related to me, though I do not remember them exactly. All I -recollect is that General Miollis ordered Captain Minerva's sword and -gorget, crowned with laurels, to be carried at the head of the column -which one feast day defiled in front of Virgil's grotto, as a tribute -to the memory of the poet of heroes." - -"Aubelet's," resumed Bonaparte, "was that perfectly calm courage which -I have never observed in anyone save Bessières. His passions were of -the noblest. And in everything he sacrificed himself. He had a brother -in arms, Captain Demarteau, a few years his senior, whom he loved -with all the affection of a great heart. Demarteau did not resemble -his friend. Impulsive, passionate, equally eager for pleasure and for -danger, he was always the life and soul of the camp. Aubelet was the -proud devotee of duty, Demarteau the joyous lover of glory. The latter -returned his comrade's affection. In those two friends the story of -Nisus and Euryalus was re-enacted beneath our flag. The end, both of -one and the other, was surrounded with extraordinary circumstances. -They were told to me, Monge, as to you, but I paid better heed, -although at that time my mind was occupied with greater affairs. I -desired to take Mantua without delay and before a new Austrian army -had time to enter Italy. Nevertheless I found time to read a report of -the incidents which had preceded and followed Captain Aubelet's death. -Certain of these incidents border on the miraculous. Their cause must -either be assigned to unknown faculties, which man may acquire in -unique moments, or to the intervention of an intelligence superior to -ours." - -"General, you must exclude the second hypothesis," said Berthollet. -"An observer of nature never perceives the intervention of a superior -intelligence." - -"I know that you deny the existence of Providence," replied Bonaparte. -"That may be permissible for a scientist shut tip in his study, but not -for a leader of peoples who can only control the ordinary mind through -a community of ideas. If you would govern men, you must think with them -on all great subjects. You must move with public opinion." - -And, raising his eyes to the light flaming in the darkness on the -pinnacle of the mainmast, he said, with hardly a pause: - -"The wind blows from the north." - -He had changed the subject with the suddenness which was his wont and -which had caused some one to say to M. Denon: - -"The General shuts the drawer." - -Admiral Gantheaume observed that they could not expect the wind to -change before the first days of autumn. - -The light was flaring towards Egypt. Bonaparte looked in that -direction. His gaze plunged into space; and, speaking in staccato -tones, he let fall these words: - -"If only they can hold out yonder! The evacuation of Egypt would be -a commercial and military disaster. Alexandria is the capital of the -controllers of Europe. Thence, I shall destroy England's commerce and -I shall change the destiny of India.... For me, as for Alexander, -Alexandria is the fortress, the port, the arsenal whence I start to -conquer the world and whither I cause the wealth of Africa and Asia -to flow. England can only be conquered in Egypt. If she were to take -possession of Egypt, she instead of us would be the mistress of the -world. Turkey is on her death-bed. Egypt assures me the possession -of Greece. For immortality my name shall be inscribed by that of -Epaminondas. The fate of the world hangs upon my intelligence and -Kléber's firmness." - -For some days afterwards the General remained silent. He had read to -him the _Révolutions de la République romaine,_ the story of which -seemed to him to drag unbearably. The aide-de-camp, Lavallette, had -to gallop through the Abbé Vertot's pages. And even then Bonaparte's -patience would be exhausted, and, snatching the book from his hands, -he would ask for Plutarch's _Lives,_ of which he never tired. He -considered that, though lacking broad and clear vision, they were -permeated with an overpowering sense of destiny. - -So one day, after his siesta, he summoned his reader and bade him -resume the _Life of Brutus,_ where he had left off on the previous -evening. Lavallette opened the book at the page marked, and read: - -"Then, as he and Cassius were preparing to leave Asia with the whole of -their army (the night was very dark, and but a feeble light burned in -his tent; a profound silence reigned throughout the whole camp and he -himself was wrapt in thought), it seemed to him that he saw some one -enter his tent. He looked towards the door and he perceived a horrible -spectre, whose countenance was strange and terrifying, who approached -him and stood there in silence. He had the courage to address it. 'Who -art thou,' he asked, 'a man or a god? What comest thou to do here -and what desirest thou of me?' 'Brutus,' replied the phantom, 'I am -thy evil genius, and thou shalt see me at Philippi.' Then Brutus, -unperturbed, said: 'I will see thee there.' Straightway the phantom -disappeared, and Brutus, to whom the servants, whom he summoned, said -that they had seen and heard nothing, continued to busy himself with -his affairs." - -"It is here," cried Bonaparte, "in this watery solitude, that such a -scene has its most gruesome effect. Plutarch narrates well. He knows -how to give animation to his story, how to make his characters stand -out. But the relation between events escapes him. One cannot escape -one's fate. Brutus, who had a commonplace mind, believed in strength of -will. A really superior man would not labour under that delusion. He -sees how necessity limits him. He does not dash himself against it. To -be great is to depend on everything. I depend on events which a mere -nothing determines. Wretched creatures that we are, we are powerless to -change the nature of things. Children are self-willed. A great man is -not. What is a human life? The curve described by a projectile." - -The Admiral came to tell Bonaparte that the wind had at length changed. -The passage must be attempted. The danger was urgent. Vessels detached -from the English fleet, anchored off Syracuse, commanded by Nelson, -were guarding the sea which they were about to traverse between Tunis -and Sicily. Once the flotilla had been sighted the terrible Admiral -would be down upon them in a few hours. - -Gantheaume doubled Cape Bon by night with all lights out. The night -was clear. The watch sighted a ship's lights to the north-east. The -anxiety which consumed Lavallette had attacked even Monge. Bonaparte, -seated, as usual, on his gun-carriage, displayed a tranquillity -which might be deemed real or simulated according to the view taken -of his fatalism! whether it arose merely from a sanguine temper and -the capacity for self-deception or was simply one of his numerous -poses. After discussing with Monge and Berthollet various matters of -physics, mathematics and military science, he went on to speak of -certain superstitions from which perhaps his mind was not completely -emancipated. - -"You deny the miraculous," he said to Monge. "But we live and die in -the midst of the miraculous. You told me the other day that you had -scornfully put out of your mind the extraordinary happenings associated -with Captain Aubelet's death. Perhaps Italian credulity had embroidered -them too elaborately. And that may excuse you. Listen to me. On the -9th of September, at midnight, Captain Aubelet was in bivouac before -Mantua. The overpowering heat of the day had been followed by a night -freshened by the mists rising from the marshy plain. Aubelet, feeling -his cloak, became aware that it was wet. And, as he was shivering -slightly, he went near to a fire which the Grenadiers had lit in order -to heat their soup, and he warmed his feet, seated on a pack-saddle. -Gradually the night and the mist enveloped him. In the distance he -heard the neighing of horses and the regular cries of the sentinels. -The captain had been there for some time, anxious, sad, his eyes fixed -on the ashes in the brazier, when a tall form rose noiselessly at his -side. He felt it near him and dared not turn his head. Nevertheless, he -did turn, and recognized his friend, Captain Demarteau, in his usual -attitude, his left hand on his hip and swaying slightly to and fro. -At this sight Captain Aubelet felt his hair stand on end. He could -not doubt the presence of his brother-in-arms, and yet he could not -believe it, for he knew that Captain Demarteau was on the Maine with -Jourdan, who was threatening the Archduke Charles. But his friend's -aspect increased Aubelet's alarm, for though Demarteau's appearance was -perfectly natural there was in it notwithstanding something unfamiliar. -It was Demarteau, and yet there was something in him which could not -fail to inspire fear. Aubelet opened his mouth. But his tongue froze, -he could utter no sound. It was the other who spoke: 'Farewell! I go -where I must. We shall meet to-morrow!' He departed with a noiseless -step. - -"On the morrow, Aubelet was sent to reconnoitre at San Giorgio. Before -going, he summoned his first lieutenant and gave him such instructions -as would enable him to replace his captain. 'I shall be killed to-day,' -he added, 'as surely as Demarteau was killed yesterday.' - -"And he described to several officers what he had seen in the night. -They believed him to be suffering from an attack of the fever which -had begun to declare itself among the troops encamped in the Mantuan -marshes. - -"Aubelet's company completed its reconnaissance of the San Giorgio -Fort without hindrance. Having achieved its object, it fell back on -our positions. It was marching under the cover of an olive wood. The -first lieutenant, approaching the captain, said to him: 'Now, Captain -Minerva, you no longer doubt that we shall bring you back alive?' - -"Aubelet was about to reply, when a bullet whistled through the leaves -and struck him on the forehead. - -"A fortnight later a letter from General Joubert, which the Directory -communicated to the Italian army, announced the death of the brave -Captain Demarteau, who fell on the field of honour on the 9th of -September." - -As soon as he had finished his story the General left the group of -silent listeners, to pace the deck with long strides and in silence. - -"General," said Gantheaume, "we have passed the most dangerous part of -our course." - -The next day he bore towards the north, intending to sail along the -Sardinian coast as far as Corsica and thence to make for the coast of -Provence; but Bonaparte wished to land at a headland in Languedoc, -fearing that Toulon might be occupied by the enemy. - -_La Muiron_ was making for Port-Vendres when a squall threw her back on -Corsica and compelled her to put into Ajaccio. The whole population of -the Island flocked thither to greet their compatriot and crowned the -heights dominating the gulf. After a few hours' rest, hearing that the -whole French coast was clear of the enemy, they set sail for Toulon. -The wind was fair, but not strong. - -Now, amidst the tranquillity which he had communicated to all, -Bonaparte alone appeared agitated, impatient to land, now and again -clapping his small hand suddenly to his sword. The ardent desire to -reign which had been fermenting within him for three years, the spark -of Lodi, had set him in a blaze. One evening, while the indented -coast-line of his native island was fading away into the distance, he -suddenly began to talk with a rapidity which confused the syllables of -the words he spoke: - -"If a atop is not put to it, chatterers and fools will complete the -downfall of France. Germany lost at Stockach, Italy lost at the -Trebbia; our armies beaten, our Ministers assassinated, contractors -gorged with gold, our stores empty and deserted, invasion imminent, to -this a weak and dishonest government has brought us. - -"Upright men are authority's only support. The corrupt fill me with an -invincible loathing. There is no governing with them." - -Monge, who was a patriot, said firmly: - -"Probity is as necessary to liberty as corruption to tyranny." - -"Probity," replied the General, "is a natural and profitable quality in -men born to govern." - -The sun was dipping its reddened and magnified disc beneath the misty -circle of the horizon. Eastward the sky was sown with light clouds -like the petals of a falling rose. On the surface of the sea the blue -and rosy waves rolled softly. A ship's sail appeared on the horizon, -and the telescope of the officer on duty showed her to be flying the -British flag. - -"Have we escaped countless dangers only to perish so near our desired -haven!" exclaimed La Valette. - -Bonaparte shrugged his shoulders. - -"Is it still possible to doubt my good luck and my destiny?" - -And he continued his train of thought: - -"A clean sweep must be made of these rogues and fools. They must -be replaced by a compact government, swift and sure in action, -like the lion. There must be order. Without order, there can be no -administration, without administration, no credit, no money, but the -ruin of the State and of individuals. A stop must be put to brigandage, -to speculation, to social dissolution. What is France without a -government? Thirty millions of grains of sand. Power is everything. The -rest is nothing. In the wars of Vendée forty men made themselves the -masters of a department. The whole mass of the people desire peace at -any price, order and an end of quarrelling. Fear of Jacobins, Émigrés, -Chouans will throw them into the arms of a master." "And this master?" -inquired Berthollet. "He will doubtless be a military leader?" - -"Not at all," replied Bonaparte swiftly. "Not at all I A soldier never -will be the master of this nation, a nation illuminated by philosophy -and science. If any General were to attempt the assumption of power, -his audacity would soon be punished. Hoche thought of doing so. I know -not whether it was love of pleasure or a true appreciation of the -situation that restrained him; but the blow will assuredly recoil -on any soldier who attempts it. For my part, I admire that French -impatience of the military yoke, and I have no hesitation in admitting -that the civil power should be pre-eminent in the State." - -On hearing such a declaration, Monge and Berthollet looked at one -another in amazement. They knew that Bonaparte, in spite of the perils, -known and unknown, was about to grasp at power; and they failed to -comprehend words which would seem to deny him that which he so ardently -coveted. Monge, who, at the bottom of his heart, was a lover of -liberty, began to rejoice. But the General, who divined their thoughts, -replied to them immediately: "Of course, if the nation were to discover -in a soldier such civil qualities as would render him an efficient -administrator and ruler, it would place him at the head of affairs; -but it would have to be as a civil not as a military leader. Such must -needs be the feeling of any civilized, intelligent and educated nation." - -After a moment's silence, Bonaparte added: - -"I am a member of the Institute." - -For a few moments longer the English ship was visible on the purpling -belt of the horizon; then it disappeared. - -On the morning of the next day, the watch sighted the coast of France. -Yonder was Port-Vendres. Bonaparte fixed his gaze on the low, faint -streak of land. A tumult of thoughts was surging in his mind. He had -a striking and confused impression of arms and togas; in the silence -of the sea an immense clamour filled his ears. And amidst visions of -Grenadiers, magistrates, legislators and human crowds, he saw smiling -and languishing, her handkerchief to her lips, her throat bare, -Josephine, the remembrance of whom burned in his blood. - -"General," said Gantheaume, pointing to the coast, which was growing -bright in the morning sunshine, "I have brought you whither destiny -called you. You, like Æneas, reach a shore promised you by the gods." - -Bonaparte landed at Fréjus on the 17th of Vendémiaire in the year VIII. - - -[1] René de Vertot (1655-1735), author of three books on revolutions: -_Histoire des Révolutions de Suède,_ 1695; _Histoire des Révolutions -de Portugal,_ 1711; _Histoire des Révolutions arrivées dans le -gouvernement de la République romaine,_ 1720. - - - - -THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX-LE-VICOMTE - - - - -PREFACE - - -In 1656, Foucquet was forty-one years of age. For five years he -had been Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament, and for three -Comptroller of Finance, having been the control of the Treasury at the -troubles which had afflicted France during the minority of Louis XIV. -He had successfully weathered a difficult period, and had acquired no -little confidence in his genius and his guiding star. Now, in the prime -of life, feeling securely established in office, he proceeded to order -his life in accordance with the magnificence of his tastes. Ambitious, -pleasure-loving, adoring all that was great and beautiful, sensitive -to all that exalts or caresses the soul, he called upon the Arts to -surround him with the symbols of glory and of pleasure. The miracles of -Vaux were the outcome of this demand, which was first satisfied, then -cruelly punished. - -On the 2nd of August, 1656, in the presence of Le Vau, his architect, -Foucquet signed the plans and estimates for this mansion of Vaux, which -was to be built within four years, in a new and noble style. It was to -be adorned with magnificent paintings, with statues and tapestries; it -was to command a view over gardens, grottoes and bewitching ornamental -waters; to abound in gold plate and gems and valuables of every kind. -It was destined to receive, with a luxury hitherto unknown, the most -powerful and the most beautiful alike, to welcome the Court and the -King. Thereafter, when the last lights of a miraculous festival had -been extinguished, it was to be the home, for ever, of only solitude -and desolation. - -Nevertheless, to Nicolas Foucquet remains the honour of having -discerned and selected men of superior talent, and of having been the -first to employ those great masters of French Art whose works have -shed an enduring splendour over the reign of Louis XIV. After he had -disgraced his Minister, the King could not do better than take from -him his architect Louis Le Vau, his painter Charles Le Brun and his -gardener André Le Nostre, and remove to Paris the looms which Foucquet -had set up at Maincy and which became the Manufacture des Gobelins. -But there was something which the King could not appropriate: the -taste, the feeling for art, the delicate yet profound instinct for -the beautiful which endeared the Comptroller to all the artists who -worked for him. Le Brun, on whom the King showered benefits, regretted -notwithstanding his generous host of Vaux. - -It is said that during his trial, when in danger of a capital sentence, -Foucquet, on leaving the Court, was walking, strongly guarded, past -the Arsenal, when seeing some men at work he asked what they were -making. Hearing that they were at work on a basin for a fountain, he -went to look at the latter and gave his opinion of it. Then, turning to -Artagnan, the Musketeer, who was in charge of him, he said, smiling: -"You are wondering why I meddle in such a business? It is because I -used, to be something of an expert in these matters." And Foucquet -spoke the truth. He was surely a sincere lover of the arts whom the -sight of men at work upon a fountain could suddenly distract from the -thought of dungeons and the imminence of the scaffold. - - - - -PART I - - -The Foucquets were citizens of Nantes, and in the sixteenth century -they traded with the West Indies. By these maritime expeditions they -gained great possessions and a peculiar quality of mind, a crafty and -audacious spirit which may be discerned in their descendants. Nicolas -Foucquet, with whom alone we are concerned here, was born in 1615. He -was the third son of François Foucquet, a King's Councillor, and of -Marie Manpeou, who had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. -This François Foucquet, originally councillor in the Rennes Parliament, -purchased a place in the Paris Parliament, became a Councillor of -State, and was for a while Ambassador in Switzerland. He was a -collector: he formed a collection of medals and books which Peiresc, -when he passed through Paris, visited with great interest, jotting down -in his note-book[1] particulars of the more remarkable objects. - -In the Councillor's exalted hobbies some have sought to discern the -origin of the taste displayed by his son Nicolas in the matter of -the ancient sculpture and the pictures which he spent great sums in -collecting. - -As for Marie Manpeou, she came of an old and honourable legal family. -Left a widow in 1640, she sought repose, after her numerous maternal -duties, only in the practice of asceticism and in works of Christian -charity. She lived, in retreat, a life wholly occupied in the giving -of alms, the application of remedies and the recitation of prayers. -She was one of those strong-minded women who, like Madame Legras and -Madame de Miramion, were moved at once to a courageous pity and angelic -melancholy by the spectacle of the miseries and crimes of war. The -ordering of her life was in almost all respects comparable to that of -a Sister of Mercy. Far from rejoicing at the promotion of her sons, it -was with deep anxiety that she beheld them captive to the seductions -of a world which she knew to be evil. Nicolas especially and his -brother, the Abbé Basile, alarmed her by the extent of their ambition. -The Comptroller's fall, which disconcerted all France, left her -untroubled. On hearing that her son had been cast down from the heights -of pomp and power, she is said to have thrown herself upon her knees, -exclaiming: "I thank Thee, O my God! I have always prayed to Thee -for his salvation: now the path to it is open."[2] This saintly idea -implies a perfection which is alarming because it is utterly inhuman: -it is difficult to recognize maternal affection thus transfigured and -freed from the weakness of the flesh which naturally accompanies it. -Yet even this mother, for twenty years dead to the world, was perturbed -when she knew that her son's life was threatened. Every day throughout -the Comptroller's long trial she was to be seen at the door of the -Arsenal, where the Court was sitting, and she petitioned the judges[3] - - MME. FOUCQUET - - Que mon fils est heureux, que j'aime sa prison! - Il est guéri du moins de ce mortel poison. - - Par ses malheurs son âme à présent éclairée, - Voit comme dans la Cour elle était égarée. - Plût à Dieu que sa grâce ouvre si bien ses yeux - Qu'il ne les tourne plus que du côté des Cieux. - - LA REINE MÈRE - - Il peut, quoique Colbert lui déclare la guerre, - Ouvrir encor les yeux du côté de la terre. - - MME. FOUCQUET - - Si la terre, Madame, a du péril pour lui, - J'aime mieux à mes yeux le voir mort aujourd'hui. - -(Le livre abominable de 1665 qui courait en manuscript parmi le monde, -sous le nom de Molière (comédie en vers sur le procès de Foucquet), -découvert et publié sur une copie du temps par Louis-Auguste Ménard. -Paris, Firmin Didot et Cie. 1883, 2 vols. Vol. II, p. 116.) - -The book is neither abominable nor a comedy of any kind. It consists of -five Dansenist dialogues in the most insipid style. M. Louis-Auguste -Ménard, who attributes this rhymed play to Molière, cannot expect many -to share his extraordinary opinion. - -The young Queen was ill at the time. Foucquet's mother sent her one of -the plasters she was in the habit of making for the poor, and she was -so fortunate as to save the wife of him who was seeking to ruin her -son. At least, the Queen's recovery is generally attributed to Madame -Foucquet's remedy. - -We shall see later that the cure did not produce any change of heart in -the King. - -This incident, however, refers to the downfall of a fortune of which we -must first explain the beginnings, and the progressive stages. This I -shall do without entering into details of administration or business. -I am not writing an essay on the politics or finances of the days of -Mazarin. My sole endeavour will be to depict the tastes, the manners -and the mind of the creator and the host of Vaux. Vaux is the centre of -my design. - -In 1635, Nicolas Foucquet, at the age of twenty, entered the magistry -as Master of Requests. The Masters of Requests were regarded as forming -part of the Parliament, where they sat above the Councillors. From -among those officers the Kings had long been accustomed to choose the -commissaries whom they despatched into the provinces, to superintend -the administration of justice and finance, or to the armies, when they -were charged with all that concerned the policing and the maintenance -of the troops. - -Their journeys were known as the circuits of the Masters of Requests. -They gave rise, at a date unknown, to a new office, that of Intendant, -which grew in importance with the increase of the royal power. The -young Foucquet, in 1636, was sent as Intendant of justice to the -district of Grenoble. The difficulties attending such a mission were -great; and Richelieu could not have been ignorant of them. He had, -however, diminished them somewhat by suspending the sittings of the -provincial parliament which was the Intendant's natural enemy. But -Foucquet found the people of Le Dauphiné agitated by the memory of the -religious wars and ardently engaging in new disputes in respect of -certain taxes levied on the goods of the third estate from which the -nobility and the clergy were exempt. The decree of the Royal Council -which abolished the citizens' grievances remained a dead letter.[4] -Feeling ran high. Foucquet did not succeed in alleviating it. After a -revolt which he had been unable either to prevent or to repress he was -recalled to Paris. From an inexperienced youth of twenty-one Richelieu -could not have expected services which could only have been rendered -by an old hand, experienced in negotiation, such, for example, as the -Intendant of Guyenne, the skilful and resolute Servien. The opinion -is seldom held to-day that the great Minister employed the system -of Intendants[5] as a regular instrument of his policy; which may -explain how he came to confide to an apprentice a mission which is -regarded as of secondary importance. The office of Intendant was not a -permanent one, so that Foucquet's recall was doubtless not regarded as -an absolute disgrace. Nevertheless, during the five years of life and -power which yet remained to him, Richelieu, as far as we know, never -again employed the young Master of Requests. - -But Mazarin, having become first Minister, sent him, in 1647, to the -Army of the North, which was under the command of Gassion and Rantzau. -The leaders' disagreements were arresting the army's progress. Rantzau -was a drunkard whom Gassion could not tolerate. Gassion, sober, -energetic and fearless, displayed a brutality insufferable even in a -soldier of fortune. He forgot himself so far as to strike in the face a -captain of Condé's regiment who had misunderstood his orders. The whole -regiment determined to withdraw and the officers struck their tents. -Only with great difficulty were they persuaded to remain. Touching -this incident, Foucquet wrote to Mazarin: "All are agreed that M. le -Maréchal de Gassion committed a serious abuse in striking the captain -of His Royal Highness's regiment. Every one condemned such an action, -considering that M. le Maréchal should have sent him to prison, or -should even have struck him with his sword, or fired his pistol at -him, if he thought it necessary; but that it would have been better not -to have resorted to such an extreme measure." - -We ought not, I think, to pass over a fact which permitted Foucquet to -display, for the first time, as far as we are aware, that spirit of -moderation which, until his reason became clouded, enabled him for a -time to serve the State so well. - -Mazarin was not slow to discern the Intendant's merits. In 1648, at -the time of the first disturbances,[6] thinking to quit Paris and -withdraw with the Court to Saint-Germain, he sent Foucquet to Brie -"with orders there to collect large stores of grain for the maintenance -of the army."[7] The Intendant established himself at Lagny and -commandeered supplies from the peasants of Brie and Ile-de-France. He -was then instructed to compile a list of those Parisians who possessed -châteaux or country-houses in the suburbs of the city. Promising -to preserve these properties from fire and pillage during the war, -Mazarin taxed the owners. In reality he mulcted the rich of the money -which he needed. When the Fronde was a thing of the past, Foucquet, -as procurator of Ile-de-France, accompanied the King into Normandy, -Burgundy, Poitou and Guyenne. - -On his return from this royal progress, he bought, with the Cardinal's -approval, the post of Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament. From -this office a certain Sieur Méliand retired in Foucquet's favour, -"receiving in return Foucquet's office of Master of Requests, estimated -by the son of the said Sieur Méliand as being worth more than fifty -thousand crowns, plus a sum of one hundred thousand crowns in money."[8] - -If Foucquet obtained preferment, it was not without the aid of a young -clerk at the War Office, who at that time displayed a great deal of -friendliness towards him, but was destined, eleven years later, to -bring about his downfall, take his office and endeavour to procure his -death. Colbert, who was then on terms of friendship with Foucquet, -employed his interest with Le Tellier to recommend the ambitious -Intendant. In August, 1650, he wrote to the Secretary of State for War: - -"M. Foucquet, who has come here by order of His Eminence, has already -on three several occasions assured me that he is possessed of an ardent -desire to become one of your particular servants and friends because -of the peculiar estimation in which he holds your attainments, and -that he has no particular connections with any other person which -would prevent his receiving this honour.... I thought it would be -very suitable, he being a man of birth and merit and even capable, -one day, of holding high office, if you in return were to offer him -some friendly advances, since it is not a question of entering into an -engagement which might be burdensome to you, but merely of receiving -him favourably and of making him some show of friendship when you meet. -If you are of my opinion in this matter, I beg you to let me know as -much in the first letter with which you honour me; nor can I refrain -from assuring you, with all the respect which is your due, that I do -not think I could possibly repay you a part of all that I owe you in -better coin than by acquiring for you a hundred such friends, were I -only sufficiently worthy to do so."[9] - -This is a warm recommendation. We have quoted it in order that the -reader may see with what confidence Foucquet inspired his friends, even -in those early days, and how highly they thought of him. Moreover, -it is interesting to find Colbert praising Foucquet. The latter was -installed in his new appointment on the 10th of October, 1650. He -was thenceforth the first of the King's servants at the head of that -bar which the two Advocates General Omer Talon and Jérôme Bignon -had caused to be renowned for its eloquence. An instrument of that -great body which dealt with the administration of justice, controlled -political affairs, exercised an influence over finance, whose -jurisdiction extended over Ile-de-France, Picardy, Orléanais, Touraine, -Anjou, Maine, Poitou, Angoumois, Champagne, Bourbonnais, Berry, -Lyonnais, Forez, Beaujolais and Auvergne, the Attorney-General, Nicolas -Foucquet, subdued the fleurs-de-lys to the policy of the Cardinal. -Between such virtuous fools as the worthy Broussel, who, through -very honesty, would have surrendered his disarmed country to the -foreigner, and the Minister who had humiliated the house of Austria, -threatened the Emperor even in his hereditary dominions, conquered -Roussillon, Artois, Alsace, and who now sought to assure France of her -natural boundaries, Foucquet's genius was too lucid and his views too -far-reaching to permit him to hesitate for a moment. - -He remained attached to Mazarin's fortunes when the Minister's downfall -seemed permanent. In 1651, that inauspicious year, he never ceased his -endeavours to win supporters in the _bourgeoisie_ and in the army, for -the exiled Minister on whose head a price had been set. And when the -Prince de Condé, in his manifesto of the 12th of April, 1652, confessed -that he had formed ties, both within and without the kingdom, with -the object of its preservation, it was the Attorney-General, Nicolas -Foucquet, who uttered a protest which compelled the Prince to strike -out of his manifesto the shameful avowal of his alliance with Spain, -the enemy of France. He contributed not a little to ruin the cause of -the Princes in Paris. When Turenne had defeated their army near Étampes -(5th May, 1652), the Parliament wished to open negotiations for peace. -The Attorney-General repaired to Saint-Germain, bearing to the King the -complaints of his good city of Paris. The speech which he delivered -on this occasion has been preserved. Its general tone is resolute; -its language, sober and concise, contrasting with the obscure and -unintelligible style affected by the judicial eloquence of the period. -This address is the only example which we possess of Nicolas Foucquet's -oratorical talent. It will be found in M. Chéruel's _Mémoires_.[10] -Here are a few passages from it: - -" ... Sire, I have been commissioned to inform Your Majesty of the -destitution to which the majority of your subjects have been reduced. -There is no limit to the crimes and excesses committed by the military. -Murders, violations, burnings and sacrileges are now regarded -merely as ordinary actions; far from committing them in secret, the -perpetrators boast of them openly. To-day, Sire, Your Majesty's troops -are living in such licence and such disorder that they are by no means -ashamed to abandon their posts in order to despoil those of your -subjects who have no means of resistance. In broad daylight, in the -sight of their officers, without fear of recognition or apprehension of -punishment, soldiers break into the houses of ecclesiastics, noblemen -and your highest officials.... - -"I will not attempt, Sire, to represent to Your Majesty the greatness -of the injury done to your cause by such public depredations, and -the advantage which your enemies will derive therefrom, beholding -the most sacred laws publicly violated, the impunity of crime firmly -established, the source of your revenues exhausted, the affections of -the people alienated and your authority derided. I shall only entreat -Your Majesty, in the name of your Parliament and all your subjects, to -be moved to pity by the cries of your poor people, to give ear to the -groans and supplications of the widows and orphans, and to endeavour -to preserve whatever remains, whatever has escaped the fury of those -barbarians whose sole desire is for blood and the slaughter of the -innocents.... - -"Make manifest, Sire, O make manifest at the outset of your reign, -your natural kindness of heart, and may the compassion which you will -feel for so many sufferers call down the blessings of heaven upon the -first years of your majority, which will doubtless be followed by many -and far happier years, if the desires and prayers of your Parliament -and of all your good subjects be granted." - -These words had little effect. The war continued; the people's -sufferings increased; in the city the disturbances became more violent; -several councillors were killed, and the _hôtel de ville_ was invaded -and pillaged by the populace and by the troops of the princes. In the -face of such disorders, which the magistrates could neither tolerate -nor repress, the Attorney-General, accompanied by several notables, -members of the Parliament, went to the King, who listened to his -counsel. To the Cardinal he demonstrated the necessity of holding the -Parliament and the Court in the same place, in order to display to -the kingdom the spectacle of the King and his senate on the one hand -and the rebel Princes on the other; and it was by his advice that a -decree was issued on the 31st of July which ordered the removal of the -Parliament from Paris to Pontoise, where the Court then was. Foucquet -with the utmost energy devoted himself to the execution of this politic -measure. - -On the 7th of August, the first President, Mathieu Molé, presided at -Pontoise over a solemn session in which the members present constituted -themselves into the one and only Parliament of Paris. This assembly -requested the King to dismiss Mazarin, and this they did in concert -with Mazarin himself, who rightly believed his departure to be -necessary. But he counted on speedily resuming his place beside the -King. In the meanwhile he corresponded with Foucquet, in whom he placed -the utmost confidence, "without reservation of any kind," and whom he -consulted on matters of State. Still, there was one point on which they -did not think alike. Mazarin eagerly desired to return to Paris with -the King, and, as it seemed, for the time being, that this desire could -not be gratified, His Eminence was not displeased that the state entry -into the capital should be delayed. Foucquet, on the other hand, was in -favour of an immediate return to the Louvre. On this subject he wrote -to the Cardinal: - -"There is not one of the King's servants, in Paris or out of it, who -is not convinced that in order to make himself master of the city -the King has only to desire as much, and that if the King sends to -the inhabitants asking that two of the city gates shall be held by a -regiment of his guards, and then proceeds directly to the Louvre, all -Paris will approve such a masterful action and the Princes will be -compelled to take flight. There is no doubt that on the very first -day the King's orders will be obeyed by all. The legitimate officers -will be restored to the exercise of their function, the gates will be -closed to enemies; such an amnesty as Your Eminence would wish will be -published, and our friends will be reunited in the Louvre in the King's -presence. So universal will be the rejoicing and so loud the public -acclamations that no one will be found so bold as to dissent."[11] - -A few days later, on the 21st of October, amid popular acclamation, -Louis XIV entered Paris. The stripling monarch brought with him peace, -that beneficent peace which had been prepared by the tactful firmness -of the Attorney-General. - -Now, Mazarin's friends had only to hasten his recall. This the -Attorney-General and his brother, the Abbé Basile, succeeded in -obtaining, and the Cardinal entered Paris on the 3rd of February, -1652. The office of Superintendent of the Finances had then been -vacant for a month owing to the death, on the 2nd of January, of the -holder, the Duc de La Vieuville. Despite the unfavourable condition of -the kingdom's finances this office was most eagerly coveted. And the -very disorder and obscurity which enveloped all the Superintendent's -operations excited the hopes of those men whom the Marquis d'Effiat -compared with "the cuttle-fish which possesses the art of clouding the -water to deceive the eyes of the fisher who espies it."[12] Then the -Superintendent had not the actual handling of the public moneys. Income -and expenditure were in the hands of the Treasurers. But he ordered all -State expenditure, charging it without appeal to the various resources -of the Kingdom. He was answerable to the King alone. If, apparently, -all his actions were subject to a strict control, in reality he worked -in absolute secrecy. In the year we have now reached, 1653, the -Treasury's poverty and the Cardinal's laxity permitted every abuse. -Money must be found at any cost; all expedients were good and all rules -might be infringed. - -Things had been going badly for a long while. Since the Regent, Marie -de Médicis, had madly dissipated the savings amassed by the prudent -Sully, the State has subsisted upon detestable expedients, such as -the creation of offices, the issue of Government Stocks, the sale of -charters of pardon, the alienation of rights and domains. The Treasury -was in the hands of plunderers, no accounts were kept. In 1626, -Superintendent d'Effiat found it impossible to arrive at any accurate -knowledge of the resources at the State's disposal or at the amount -of expenditure incurred by the military and naval services. Richelieu, -when he came into power, began by condemning to death a few of the tax -farmers-general. Had it not been for "these necessities which do not -admit of the delay of formalities," he might perhaps have restored -the finances to order. But these necessities overwhelmed him and -compelled him to resort to fresh expedients. He was driven to court the -tax-farmers, whom he would rather have hanged, and to borrow from them -at a high rate of interest the King's money which they were detaining -in their coffers. Exports, imposts and the salt tax were all controlled -by the tax-farmers. An Italian adventurer, Signor Particelli d'Hémery, -whom Mazarin appointed Superintendent in 1646, created one hundred and -sixty-seven offices and alienated the revenue of 87,600,000 livres -of capital. In 1648 the State suffered a shameful bankruptcy and the -troubles of the Fronde supervened, aggravating yet further a situation -which would have been desperate in any country other than inventive and -fertile France. - -The office of Superintendent, which the worthy La Vieuville had held -since 1649, was disputed after his death by the Marshals de l'Hôpital -and de Villeroy, by the President de Maisons, who had held it already -during the civil war, by Abel Servien, who during his already long -life had proved himself a harsh and precise administrator, a skilful -man of business and a thoroughly honest man, and, finally, by Nicolas -Foucquet, who in public opinion was unlikely to be appointed. - -Foucquet, on the very day of La Vieuville's death, had written the -Cardinal a letter, partly in cipher, of which the following is the -text:-- - -"I was impatiently awaiting the return of Your Eminence in order to -inform you in detail of all that I have learned of the cause of past -disorders and their remedies; but as the bad administration of public -finance is one of the chief causes of the discreditable condition of -public affairs, the death of the Superintendent and the necessity of -appointing his successor compel me to explain to Your Eminence in this -letter what I had determined to communicate to you by word of mouth on -your arrival, and to impress upon you the importance of choosing some -one of acknowledged probity who will be trusted by the public and who -will keep inviolate faith with Your Eminence. I will venture to say -that in the inquiries which I have made into the means of ending the -present evils and avoiding still greater ones in future, I have found -that everything depended upon the will of the Superintendent. Perhaps I -should be able to make myself useful to His Majesty and Your Eminence -were you to think fit to employ me in this office. I have studied the -means of filling it successfully. I know that there would be nothing -inconsistent in my employment, and several of my friends to whom I -owe this idea have promised me in this connection to make efforts to -be of service to the King of a nature too considerable to be ignored. -It therefore remains for Your Eminence to judge of the capacity with -which eighteen years' service in the Council as Master of Requests and -in various other offices may have endowed me; and as for my affection -for you and my fidelity in your service, I flatter myself that Your -Eminence is persuaded that I am inferior to no one in the Kingdom. My -brother will be my surety; and I am certain that he would never pledge -his word to Your Eminence whatever interest he may feel in that which -concerns me, were he not fully satisfied with my intentions and my -conduct hitherto and had we not thoroughly discussed Your Eminence's -interests in this connection. Once again let me protest that you may -rely upon us absolutely, and that you will never be disappointed, since -no one in the world has more at heart the advantage and the glory of -Your Eminence. I entreat you to let no one hear of this affair until it -is settled." - -Recalled by his adherents, Mazarin returned to Paris, very discreetly, -on the 3rd of February. One of his first acts was to appoint a -Superintendent. He divided the office between Nicolas Foucquet, -his own supporter, and Abel Servien, who was singled out for this -employment by his own character and by public opinion. To act in -conjunction with the two Superintendents he appointed three Directors -of Finance, one Comptroller-General and eight Intendants. Such an -arrangement served to please two people; but it had the disadvantage -of costing the Treasury a million livres a year. As a matter of fact, -it was, as we shall see, to cost much more. According to the terms of -his commission, Foucquet was in no way subordinate to his colleague, -but age, experience, vigilant industry and a tried and distinguished -probity gave Servien the chief authority. Foucquet was young; he might -wait. He held the office which he had so greatly desired. Alas, in -desiring it he had desired what was to be his ruin! Henceforth his -pious mother might apply to him the words of Scripture: _Et tribuit eis -petitionem eorum._ - -If he speedily entered upon the path of the merely expedient, can we -be surprised? Both necessity and the Cardinal's wishes drove him to -it. In 1654, he found money necessary to oppose an army led by the -rebel, Condé. How? By creating new offices and selling them to the -highest bidder. A detestable method; but it is questionable whether, -considering the state of the Treasury, it would have been possible to -devise any better. At all events, at this cost the Spaniards were -defeated. Unhappily there is no doubt whatever that Foucquet had to -provide not only for the expenses of the war, but for the exigencies of -Mazarin, who, through the medium of Colbert, obtained from the Treasury -the millions with which he enriched his family. Mazarin himself became -a farmer of the revenue and derived enormous profits from the bread -of the wretched soldiers. "By appearing under the name of Albert, or -another," he concealed his part in these transactions. The letter -is extant in which he himself suggests this broker's trick. He also -made use of what were called _ordonnances de Comptant._ The term was -applied to decrees authorizing the payment of money, the employment of -which was not specified. To-day we should describe it as dipping into -the secret funds; and the Cardinal did dip into them with both hands. -Sometimes Foucquet endeavoured to resist these criminal demands, but -in the end he always gave way. Mazarin must have known that he was not -intractable since he always appealed to him rather than to Servien -even in matters like orders for the payment of officials which were -the special function of the senior Superintendent. Foucquet deducted -certain payments; from the proceeds of tax-farming; from the farmers -of the salt-tax he received one hundred and twenty thousand livres a -year; from the farmers of the Bordeaux convey fifty thousand livres; -from the farmers of the customs one hundred and forty thousand livres. -The clerks who handled this last contribution added for themselves a -sum of twenty thousand livres. It is probable that the bargain was not -concluded without the distribution of a few "bonuses" in the offices. -And when we recollect that these customs were duties imposed on wine -and on food and drink in general, on the very life, therefore, of the -poor, one cannot forbear from cursing Mazarin's murderous and impious -cupidity, for it was for the Cardinal that Foucquet deducted these -payments. He remitted these sums without receiving any formal receipt, -and there is reason to believe that he himself kept some part of them. - -Following Mazarin's example, Foucquet himself became a tax-farmer -under a false name; moreover, he lent the State's money to the State -itself, and was repaid with heavy interest. Again, following Mazarin's -example, he made the public Treasury pay the cost of the promotion -and the alliances of his family. On the 12th of February, 1657, his -only daughter by his marriage with Marie Fourché, lady of the manor of -Quehillac, married the eldest son of the Comte de Charost, Governor -of Calais and Captain of the King's Guard. She brought her husband -five hundred thousand livres. When this alliance was contracted, the -first Madame Foucquet was dead and the Superintendent had married as -his second wife Marie-Madeleine de Castille-Villemareuil, the only -daughter of François de Castille, President of one of the Chambers of -the Paris Parliament.[13] The Castilles were merchants, reputed to be -very wealthy, who had certainly made rich marriages. Marie-Madeleine -provided no matter for gossip so long as the union was happy. She -doubtless played but an insignificant part in entertainments which -offended her modesty and the brilliance of which was intended rather -to please her rivals than herself. Her husband, it would seem, at -all events, always esteemed her as she deserved and, where she was -concerned, never wholly departed from that urbanity which was natural -to him. He was one of those men who understand how to please a woman -while they are deceiving her. In the Superintendent's house a work of -art or a statue celebrated the apparent union of husband and wife. In -France it was then becoming the fashion to represent as allegorical -figures the lives of great men whom earlier painters had portrayed in -the costume and with the attributes of their patron Saints. Conforming -to the new custom, the Superintendent ordered from his favourite -sculptor, the skilful Michel Anguier, a group of Madame Foucquet and -her four children. She appeared as Charity. The group was said to be -one of the master's finest works. Guillet de Saint-Georges, in his _Vie -de Michel Anguier,_ expressly says that Foucquet ordered from this -artist "a Charity, bearing in her arms a sleeping child, with another -at her feet and two close at hand, to represent Madame Foucquet and her -children and to testify the affection and unity which reigned in this -family."[14] - -An act of homage at once commonplace and ostentatious, yet just and -prophetic, rendered to a wife whose lovely nobility of heart was to -be revealed only by misfortune. Somewhat withdrawn in the season of -prosperity, it was only when those whom she loved were unhappy that -Madame Foucquet revealed herself. During the slow investigation of the -accusers, Madame Foucquet saw that her husband's furniture, which had -been placed under a seal, was carefully guarded; and this vigilance -was inspired by the noblest of motives. "Any loss or injury," she -said, "would tend to involve the creditors in absolute ruin, and -among them are an incredible number of poor families of all sorts of -artisans."[15] - -She was seen, during her husband's trial, with her mother-in-law at -the Arsenal gates, presenting petitions to the judges. When he was -condemned she asked permission to rejoin in prison the husband who had -betrayed and forsaken her in his hours of happiness. No sooner was this -sad favour granted than she hastened to avail herself of it. Having -consoled him in captivity, she closed his eyes in death. Left a widow, -she followed the example set by many lonely ladies of rank in those -days: she withdrew to a convent. For her retreat she chose the royal -Abbey of Val-de-Grâce of Notre-Dame de la Crèche, which was on the left -bank of the Seine, in the Rue Saint-Jacques. This Benedictine convent, -as we know, owed its origin to a vow of Queen Anne,[16] who built it -when she at length had a King.[17] Thus the walls within which this -lady retired to shelter her widowhood were a hymn of thanksgiving in -stone, a monument of gratitude to God for His gift to France of the -persecutor of Nicolas Foucquet. Did she not realize this? Or did her -piety forbid her to nourish any bitterness toward the enemies of her -house? There were, no doubt, old ties between her and the nuns of -Val-de-Grâce. It must not be supposed that she lived in a cell the life -of a recluse. To do so would be to show little knowledge of convents -as they were in those days.[18] The nuns were the innkeepers of the -period. Sumptuously lodged in buildings dependent on the community, -the ladies lived a quiet but still worldly life, keeping their own -servants, paying and receiving visits. Such was Madame Foucquet's -position at Val-de-Grâce. She devoted herself, it is true, to the -practices of religion; and we know, for example, that, having obtained -the body of St. Liberatus, a martyr of the African Church, she had -it borne in a procession, on the 27th of August, 1690, to the parish -church of Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas.[19] - -She occupied a pavilion in the convent garden, where, in default of -gold and silver plate, she kept a few pieces of furniture worthy of -her rank. In the month of March, 1700, a royal edict ordered private -persons to declare and to take to the Mint all furniture in which there -was any gold or silver; and Madame Foucquet, widow, declared to the -commissioner of her district that she possessed "a camp bed adorned -with cloth of gold and silver, with chairs to match, hangings of gold -damask, single width, twenty chairs and a bedstead in wood inlaid with -gold, a sofa in the same with six places, a tapestry bed and chairs -trimmed with gold fringe, six small consoles, twelve little gilt -stands, two small round tables, two other tables and a bureau partly -gilt, and a small bed upholstered with gold and silver lace." - -Madame Foucquet survived her husband thirty-six years. She died in -Paris in 1716 "in great piety," says Saint-Simon, "having withdrawn -from the world, and having, during the whole of her life, constantly -engaged in good works."[20] - -Foucquet had an exalted soul. He was born to tempt fortune and to take -Fate by storm. As early as 1655 he was cherishing the boldest designs. - -Realizing that in proportion as he obliged the Cardinal the latter grew -suspicious of him, since each service that he rendered was a secret of -which he became the inconvenient guardian, the Superintendent resolved -to assure himself by his power against the chance of disgrace. With -this object he began to think of converting the port of Concarneau and -the fortress of Ham, which belonged to his brother, into strongholds, -where his adherents might assemble in arms in case the Cardinal were to -attempt to lay hands on him. He therefore drew up a detailed programme -of the project, recommending his supporters to go for orders to the -house of Madame de Plessis-Bellière. "She knows my true friends," he -said, "and among them there may be those who would be ashamed not to -take part in anything proposed by her on my behalf." - -This lady, who was so much in Foucquet's confidence, was the widow of a -lieutenant-general in the King's army. She had never refused Foucquet -anything: but gallantry was by no means her first concern. It was even -said that she saved herself the trouble of contributing in person to -the Superintendent's pleasures and that she preferred providing for -them to satisfying them herself. She was a strong-minded woman, and a -great politician, even in that age of intrigue, ambitious and proud -enough to do herself credit, as we shall see later, by her display of -loyalty and devotion. In Foucquet's project, should occasion arise, -she, in conjunction with the Governors of Ham and Concarneau, was to -provide those two fortresses with men and with victuals. The Marquis -de Charost, Foucquet's son-in-law, was to defend himself in Calais, -of which town he was the governor. The Governors of Amiens, Havre and -Arras were to assume an equally threatening attitude. As allies at -Court the rebel Minister counted on M. de la Rochefoucauld, Marsillac, -his son, and Bournonville; in Parliament on MM. de Harlay, Manpeou, -Miron and Chenut; at sea, on Admiral de Neuchèse et Guinan. We may -note, in passing, that in the matter of his friends he was mistaken in -fully half of them. He gave it to be understood that Spain might be -appealed to. If his arrest were sustained and his trial instituted, -there would be civil war. A monstrous project, a chimerical conception -which it was childish to write down, and which served only to make -doubly sure the ruin of its mad inventor. - -It was during this period of folly and of splendour that Foucquet, with -a magnificence hitherto unequalled, created the estate and château of -Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Melun. - -We shall treat separately, in a special chapter, of all that concerns -this subject. - -At the same time he continued to provide for his safety. In order to -assure it with greater certainty he bought, on the 5th September, 1658, -the island and fortress of Belle-Isle for a sum of 1,300,000 livres, -of which 400,000 were paid in cash. - -Once the possessor of this fortress, Foucquet applied himself to -placing it in a state of defence. He despatched engineers thither -to fortify the citadel; from Holland he brought ships and cannon. -Modifying his plan of defence, he substituted Belle-Isle for Ham and -Concarneau. - -Belle-Isle was to him what her milk-pail was to Perrette. He dreamed -of deriving more wealth from it than the whole of Holland from her -ports. Madame de Motteville got wind of these chimerical hopes. "The -friends of Foucquet," wrote this lady, "have said--and apparently they -have told the truth--that the Superintendent, who was indeed capable, -by virtue of his courage and his genius, of many great projects, had -conceived that of building a town the excellent harbour of which was -to attract all the trade of the North, thereby depriving Amsterdam of -these advantages, and rendering a great service to the King and the -State."[21] Foucquet was at this time at the height of his power. In -spite of his motto, he will not rise any higher, unless his constancy -in misfortune may be taken to have raised him above himself, in which -case he may be said to have grown greater in prison by the knowledge of -the vanity of all that had previously attracted him. - -But it is the man in his prosperous days, the friend of art and of -literature, Foucquet the magnificent, and Foucquet the voluptuous, whom -we are describing here. No better description can be given of him than -to reproduce the portrait which Nanteuil executed from life.[22] - -What do we see there? Large features, eager, charming eyes, in roomy -orbits, the shining pupils of which gleam beneath their lids with an -expression at once of shrewdness and of pleasure. A long, straight -nose, rather thick, a full-lipped mouth beneath a fine moustache; -finally, that smiling expression which he retained even during his -trial. The face is pleasing, but there is something disquieting about -it. The costume is rich; not that of a gallant knight, or of a great -noble, but of a magistrate. A little cap, a broad collar, a dark -robe; the dress of a lawyer, but of a magnificent lawyer; for over -the robe is thrown a sort of dalmatic of Genoa velvet, with a large -flowered pattern. What this portrait does not reproduce is the charm -of the original. Foucquet possessed a sovereign grace; he knew how to -please, to inspire affection. It is true that he possessed a key to all -hearts--access to an inexhaustible treasury. He gave much, but it is -true also that he gave wisely, and he was naturally the most generous -of men. - -Poets he succoured with a noble delicacy. Since it is true that he -usurped the rights which were then attributed to the Sovereign, his -master, by disposing of the public revenue as though it were his own, -at least he made a royal use of the King's treasure by dispensing some -of it to Corneille, to La Fontaine and to Molière. The rest was spent -on buildings, furniture, tapestries and so forth; and this, again, when -all is said, was a royal habit, if regarded, as it should be, in the -light of ancient institutions. If Foucquet cannot be justified--and how -can he be, since there were poor in France in those days?--at least his -conduct is explained, in some degree excused, by the institutions, and, -above all, by the public morality of his period. - -While his Château de Vaux was building, Foucquet lived at Saint-Mandé, -in a house sumptuously surrounded by beautiful gardens. These gardens -adjoined the park where Mazarin used to spend the summer. The financier -had only to pass through a door when he wished to visit the Minister. -The estate of Saint-Mandé was formed by the union of two estates -bought from Mme. de Beauvais, Anne of Austria's first lady-in-waiting. -Gradually, Foucquet acquired more land and added wings to the main -building, so that the whole construction cost at least 1,100,000 -livres; and yet the finest part of it remained unexecuted.[23] - -We may form some idea of the beautiful things which Foucquet had -collected in this house by consulting the inventory preserved in the -Archives, and published by M. Bonnaffé,[24] "of the statues, busts, -scabella, columns, tables and other works in marble and stone at -Saint-Mandé." - -Among these things there are many antiques. Most of the modern pieces -of sculpture are by Michel Anguier, who passed three years, 1655-58, -at Saint-Mandé. There he executed the group of _La Charité_ which -has already been mentioned, and a _Hercules_ six feet in height, as -well as "thirteen statues, life-size, copied from the most beautiful -antiques of Rome, notably the _Laocoôn, Hercules, Flora,_ and _Juno_ -and _Jupiter._" This we are told by Germain Brice.[25] He had seen them -in a garden in the Rue Culture-Sainte-Catherine, where they were in -the beginning of the eighteenth century, Germain Brice also tells us -that in those days eight other statues, by the same sculptor, and also -coming from Saint-Mandé, adorned the house of the Marquise de Louvois -at Choisy. We learn also, from other sources, that one of the ceilings -of Saint-Mandé was painted by Lebrun.[26] - -Finally, the Abbé de Marolles speaks of the beautiful things which -Foucquet had painted at Saint-Mandé, and the Latin inscriptions which -were entrusted to Nicolas Gervaise, his physician. We may remark -in this connection that Louis XIV, who in art did little more than -continue Foucquet's undertakings, derived from the functions which -the Superintendent conferred upon this Nicolas Gervaise the ideas of -that little Academy, the Academy of Inscriptions and Medals, which he -founded five or six years later. - -But the most famous room in the house of which we are now speaking was -the library, because the noblest room in any house is that in which -books are lodged, and because La Fontaine and Corneille used to linger -in the library of Saint-Mandé. It was there that the poets used to wait -for the Superintendent. "Every one knows," said Corneille, "that this -great Minister was no less the Superintendent of belles-lettres than -of finance; that his house was as open to men of intellect as to men -of affairs, and that, whether in Paris or in the country, it is always -in his library that one waits for those precious moments which he -steals from his overwhelming occupations, in order to gratify those who -possess some degree of talent for successful writing."[27] - -It was in this gallery that La Fontaine, as well as Corneille, used -to sit waiting until the master of the house had leisure to receive -the poet and his verses. One day he waited a whole hour. Monsieur le -Surintendant was occupied; whether with finance or with love posterity -cannot hope to know. Nevertheless, the good man found the time -short: he passed it in his own company. Unfortunately, the _suisse_ -unceremoniously dismissed "the lover of the Muses," who, having -returned home, wrote an epistle which should assure his being received -the next time. "I will not be importunate," he said: - - Je prendrai votre heure et la mienne. - Si je vois qu'on vous entretienne, - J'attendrai fort paisiblement - En ce superbe appartement - Ou l'on a fait d'étrange terre - Depuis peu venir à grand-erre[28] - (Non sans travail et quelques frais) - Des rois Céphrim et Kiopès - Le cercueil, la tombe ou la bière: - Pour les rois, ils sont en poussière: - C'est là que j'en voulais venir. - Il me fallut entretenir - Avec les monuments antiques, - Pendant qu'aux affaires publiques - Vous donniez tout votre loisir. - (Certes j'y pris un grand plaisir - Vous semble-t-il pas que l'image - D'un assez galant personnage - Sert à ces tombeaux d'ornement). - Pour vous en parler franchement, - Je ne puis m'empêcher d'en rire. - Messire Orus, me mis-je à dire, - Vous nous rendez tous ébahis: - Les enfants de votre pays - Ont, ce me semble, des bavettes - Que je trouve plaisamment faites. - On m'eut expliqué tout cela, - Mais il fallut partir de là - Sans entendre l'allégorie. - Je quittai donc la galerie, - Fort content parmi mon chagrin, - De Kiopès et de Céphrim, - D'Orus et de tout son lignage, - Et de maint autre personnage. - Puissent ceux d'Egypte en ces lieux, - Fussent-ils rois, fussent-ils dieux. - Sans violence et sans contrainte, - Se reposer dessus leur plinthe[29] - Jusques au brut du genre humain! - Ils ont fait assez de chemin - Pour des personnes de leur taille. - Et vous, seigneur, pour qui travaille - Le temps qui peut tout consumer, - Vous, que s'efforce de charmer - L'Antiquité qu'on idolâtre, - Pour qui le dieu de Cléopâtre - Sous nos murs enfin abordé, - Vient de Memphis à Saint-Mandé: - Puissiez vous voir ces belles-choses - Pendant mille moissons de roses....[30] - -At once absurd and charming is this song which the Gallic lark composed -to the sarcophagi of Africa. It is hardly necessary to say that the -coffins, at the strange shape of which La Fontaine wondered, had never -enclosed the bodies of "Kiopès and of Céphrim." Messire Orus had not -told his secrets to the most lovable of our poets. We must not forget -that the scholars of that time were as ignorant on this point as our -friend. - -These two mummy-cases were the first which had been brought to Paris -from the banks of the Nile. They bore their history written upon them, -but no one knew how to read it. The chance guess of some admirer had -attributed to them a royal origin.[31] - -The truth is that they had been discovered twenty-five years earlier -in a pyramid by the inhabitants of the province of Saïd; transported -to Cairo, then to Alexandria, they were bought by a French trader, who -landed them at Marseilles on the 4th September, 1632, where they were -acquired, it is believed, by a collector of that town, M. Chemblon.[32] - -There was then at Rome a German Jesuit, by name Athanasius Kircher, a -man of vivid imagination, very learned, who, having dabbled in physics, -chemistry, natural history, theology, antiquities, music, ancient and -modern languages, invented the magic lantern. This reverend Father -really knew Coptic, and thought he knew something of the language -of the ancient Egyptians. To prove this he wrote a large quarto -volume entitled _Lingua Ægyptiaca restituta,_ which proves quite the -contrary. But it is very easy to deceive oneself, especially when one -is a scholar. A brother of his in Jesus, Father Brusset, told him -of the arrival of the two ancient coffins, and Father Kircher went -to Marseilles to see them. Later he treated of them in his _Œdipus -Ægyptiacus,_ a pleasant day-dream in four folio volumes; La Fontaine's, -in the Saint-Mandé library, was at all events shorter. - -About the year 1659 the sarcophagi were bought for Foucquet, and -taken to the Superintendent's house. When La Fontaine saw them they -no longer contained the bodies which Egyptian piety had destined them -to preserve. The two mummies had been unceremoniously relegated to an -outhouse. - -As for the sarcophagi themselves, Foucquet had intended to send them -to his house at Vaux. He had conceived the charming idea of restoring -them from the land of exile to the pyramid from which they had been -taken.[33] But his days of prosperity were numbered. This project was -to be swept away like a drop of water in the great shipwreck. The two -sarcophagi, seized at Saint-Mandé, where they had remained, were valued -on the 26th of February, 1656, at 800 livres, and were classified as -"two ancient mausoleums, representing a king and queen."[34] - -A sculptor, whose name remains unknown, bought them at the public sale -which followed Foucquet's condemnation. He then gave them to Le Nôtre. -Le Nôtre, having passed from the service of Foucquet into that of the -King, was then living in a little pavilion at the Tuileries, into which -the two mausoleums, as the inventory calls them, could not enter. They -were therefore highly inconvenient guests. They were placed "in a -little garden of the Tuileries, where these rare curiosities remained -for a long time exposed to the injurious effect of the atmosphere and -greatly neglected."[35] - -Finding that he had no use for them, Le Nôtre presented them to a -neighbour and friend, M. d'Ussé, Comptroller of the King's Household, -whose garden adjoined that of the Tuileries. M. d'Ussé had them placed -"at the end of a bowered alley." According to the virtuoso, Germain -Brice, the Comptroller, did not realize their value and their rarity. -A Flora or a Pomona, smiling on her marble pedestal, would have been -more to his liking. Nevertheless he had them taken to his estate of -Ussé, in Touraine, which shows that he did not disdain them. Thus -the repose which La Fontaine desired for these worshippers of Messire -Orus was denied them. Even yet they had not made their last journey. -M. d'Ussé had married a child of twelve, who was the daughter of a -great man. Her name was Jeanne-Françoise de Vauban. Her father, then -Commissary-General of Fortifications, paid a visit of some length to -his son-in-law. He could not resist the temptation of shifting the -soil, and he made a terrace; at the foot of this terrace he constructed -a niche for the two "mausoleums." Now, half a century later there -lived at a distance of five miles from Ussé an antiquarian called La -Sauvagère, who went up and down the country examining ancient stones, -for stones had voices before to-day. He did not fail to go to Ussé. He -saw the sarcophagi, and marvelled at them. He wrote about them to Court -de Géblin, who replied to his letter. Court de Géblin was investigating -the origin of the world. This time he thought he had found it. - -La Sauvagère published plates of the sarcophagi and of the -hieroglyphics which covered them.[36] Here was a fine subject for -conjecture. After thirty years, La Sauvagère's enthusiasm had not -cooled. To the Prince de Montbazon, who had just bought the château, -and the Egyptians with it, he ordained fervently: "Prince, there you -have something which is by itself worth the whole of your estate." - -In 1807 the Egyptians were still in the niche where Vauban had -installed them. The Marquis de Chalabre then sold the estate of Ussé, -which he had inherited from his father, but he kept the sarcophagi and -took them to Paris th his apartment. - -Then they disappeared, and, in 1843, no one knew what had become of -them. M. Bonardot, the archaeologist, who displayed so much care in the -preservation of old engravings, visited that year the cemetery of the -old Abbey of Longchamps. By the edge of a path he discovered two stones -sticking out of the ground. Having poked about with his stick, he saw -that these stones were in the form of heads, and by the hair-dressing -he recognized two Egyptians. He made inquiries, and learned that they -were the two sarcophagi, sent there by M. de Chalabre's son, and -forgotten. M. de Chalabre was then dying; his heirs had the Egyptians -disinterred and gave them to the Louvre Museum, and there they are -to-day.[37] Their names have been deciphered. They are not royal names. -One is called Hor-Kheb, the other Ank-Mer.[38] - -They wear their beards in beard-cases, according to the custom of their -time and country, and it was these beard-cases that La Fontaine took -for bibs. - -The gallery of Saint-Mandé, which contained these two monuments that we -have followed so far afield, was magnificently decorated with thirteen -ancient gods in marble, life-size, and thirty-three busts in bronze or -marble, placed on pedestals. Among these busts were those of Socrates -and Seneca. Imagine these faces, brown or luminous, ranged about the -chamber, where the books displayed the sombre resplendence of their -brown and gilt backs. Imagine the pictures, the cabinets of medals, -the tables of porphyry, the mosaics; imagine a thousand precious -curiosities, and you will have some idea of this gallery, the rich -treasures of which were to be dispersed almost as soon as they had been -collected. - -The Superintendent had little time for reading, but he loved to turn -over the pages of his books, for he was a well-read man. He promised -himself the pleasures of learned, leisurely study in his old age, -when he would no longer read a welcome in ladies' eyes. Meanwhile, he -had had twenty-seven thousand volumes arranged on the shelves of his -gallery, around those two sarcophagi the story of which had carried -us so far afield from Saint-Mandé and the last days of Mazarin. These -twenty-seven thousand volumes comprised seven thousand in folio, -twelve thousand in quarto and eight thousand in octavo. They were not -all in the gallery. There was, in particular, a room for the "Alcorans, -the Talmuds and some old Bible commentaries."[39] - -The rich collection of printed books which he had gathered together -embraced universal history, medicine, law, natural history, -mathematics, oratory, theology and philosophy, as well as the fine -arts, represented by illustrated volumes. - -These books, of which it would not be possible to compile a catalogue -to-day, were not, it would seem, contained in beautiful morocco -bindings, finely gilt and richly adorned with coats of arms, like those -which honoured Mazarin's library. The financier had bought hastily, in -a wholesale fashion, books already bound, so that we cannot rank him -among the great bibliophiles, although he may be numbered among the -lovers of books. - -That Foucquet loved books, as he loved gardens, as he loved everything -flattering to the taste of a well-bred man, that he even preferred -books to anything else, there is no doubt, for we have irrefutable -testimony of the fact. In the _Conseils de la Sagesse,_ which he wrote -in prison, may be found this beautiful phrase: "You know that formerly -I used to find convention in my books."[40] - -Alas, why did he not oftener listen to those consolers which speak so -gently and so softly, and which can bestow every blessing upon the -heart that is innocent of desire? _In angello cum libello._ Therein, -perhaps, resides all wisdom. But, if every one sat in his corner and -read, what would books be about? They are filled with the sorrows -and the errors of men, and it is by saddening us that they give us -consolation. Yes, there was in Foucquet the stuff of a librarian in the -great style of a Peiresc or a Naudé. But this stuff was but a fragment -of the whole piece. Cæsar, also, would have been the first book-lover -of his day if he had not been eager to conquer and to reign, if he -had not possessed a genius for organizing Rome and the world. One -needs a childlike candour and a pious zeal if one would shut oneself -up with the dust of old books, with the souls of the dead. The humble -book-lover who holds this pen, for his own part, savours with delight -that reposeful charm, but he knows well that the purity of this charm -can only be bought at the price of renunciation and resignation. - -A word as to what became of Foucquet's library. But let the reader -not be alarmed; the fate of the twenty-seven thousand volumes which -composed it will not occupy us so long as that of the two Egyptian -sarcophagi. This library was sold by auction, like the rest of the -Superintendent's movables. Guy Patin wrote from Paris on the 25th -February, 1665: "M. Foucquet's effects are about to be sold. There is a -fine library. It is said that M. Colbert wants it." Perhaps Colbert did -want it, but for the King. Colbert was not a second Foucquet. - -Carcasi, the keeper of the Royal Library, bought for the King about -thirteen thousand volumes. The accounts of the King's buildings -mention, under the date of January, 1667, the payment of six thousand -livres "to the Sieur Mandat, liquidator of the assets of M. Foucquet, -for the price of the books which the King has had bought from the -Library of Saint-Mandé." And another payment of fourteen thousand -livres "to the Sieur Arnoul for books on the History of Italy, which -His Majesty has also bought." - -As for the manuscripts, they were bought by various libraries and -scattered. The catalogue which the purchasers compiled of these -manuscripts forms a small duodecimo volume of sixty-two pages, -entitled: _Mémoires des Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque de M. Foucquet, -qui se vendent à Paris, chez Denis Thierry, Frédéric Léonard, Jean -Dupuis, rue Saint-Jacques, et Claude Barbin, au Palais. M. D. C. -LXVII._ - -So much for the house; now for the guests. We have already met La -Fontaine and Corneille in the gallery. We shall see them there again; -they are assiduous visitors. Old Corneille brings his grievances -thither. Poor, half forgotten, he was then labouring under the blow of -the failure of his _Pertharite._ His great genius was wearing out, was -becoming harsh and uncouth, and poor Pertharite, King of the Lombards, -who was too fond of his wife Rodelinde, had met with a bad reception in -the theatre. Corneille, who was slow to take a hint, for acuteness is -not a characteristic of men of his temperament, nevertheless understood -that the hour of retreat had sounded. With a vestige of pride, which -became his genius, he pretended to take initiation in the retirement -which was forced upon him. "It is better," he said, "that I should -withdraw on my own account rather than wait until I am flatly told to -do so; and it is just that after twenty years' work I should begin to -see that I am growing too old to be still fashionable. At any rate, I -have this satisfaction: that I leave the French stage better than I -found it, with regard both to art and to morals." - -A touching and a noble farewell, but a painful one. Foucquet recalled -him; a kind word and a small pension sufficed to cheer the old man's -heart, to console him for long neglect, and for the languishing of his -fame. He presented his new benefactor with an epistle full of gratitude: - - Oui, généreux appui de tout notre Parnasse, - Tu me rends ma vigeur lorsque tu me fais grâce, - Ec je veux bien apprendre à tout notre avenir - Que tes regards bénins ont su me rajeunir. - . . . . . . . . . . - Je sens le même feu, je sens la même audace - Qui lit plaindre le Cid, qui fit combattre Horace, - Et je me trouve encor la main qui crayonna - L'âme du grand Pompée et l'esprit de Cinna. - Choisis-moi seulement quelque nom dans l'histoire - Pour qui tu veuilles place au Temple de la Gloire, - Quelque nom favori qu'il te plaise arracher - A la nuit de la tombe, aux cendres du bûcher. - Soit qu'il faille ternir ceux d'Énée et d'Achille - Par un noble attentat sur Homère et Virgile, - Soit qu'il faille obscurcir par un dernier effort - Ceux que j'ai sur la scène affranchis de la mort; - Tu me verras le même, et je te ferai dire, - Si jamais pleinement ta grande âme m'inspire, - Que dix lustres et plus n'ont pas tout emporté, - Cet assemblage heureux de force et de clarté, - Ces prestiges secrets de l'aimable imposture, - Qu'à l'envie m'ont prêtés et l'art et la nature. - N'attends pas toutefois que j'ose m'enhardir, - Ou jusqu' à te dépeindre ou jusqu' à t'applaudir, - Ce serait présumer que d'une seule vue - Jamais vu de ton cœur la plus vaste étendue, - Qu'un moment suffrait à mes débiles yeux - Pour démêler en toi ces dons brillants des deux, - De qui l'inépuisable et per çante lumière. - Sitôt que tu parais, fait baisser la paupière. - J'ai déjà vu beaucoup en ce moment heureux, - Je t'ai vu magnanime, affable, généreux, - Et ce qu'on voit à peine après dix ans d'excuses, - Je t'ai vu tout à coup libéral pour les Muses.[41] - -This, after all, is little more than a receipt expressed in Spanish -style. None the less, the poet promises the financier that he will -treat the subject which the latter indicates. Foucquet gave him three -subjects to choose from. _Œdipe_ was one of the three; it was the one -which Corneille chose. He treated it, and we may say that he treated it -gallantly. He endowed his heroes with wonderfully polite manners. It -is charming to hear Theseus, Prince of Athens, saying to the beautiful -Dirce: - - Quelque ravage affreux qu'étale ici la peste, - L'absence aux vrais amants est encor plus funeste. - -Old Corneille, delighted with himself for having conceived such -beautiful things, flattered himself that _Œdipe_ was his masterpiece, -although it had taken him only two months to write it; he had made -haste in order to please the Superintendent. This work, which was in -the fashion and was, after all, from the pen of the great Corneille, -was received with favour. The gazeteer, Loret, bears witness to this in -the execrable verses of a poet who has to write so much a week: - - Monsieur de Corneille l'aîné, - Depuis peu de temps a donné - A ceux de l'hôtel de Bourgogne[42] - Son dernier ouvrage ou besogne, - Ouvrage grand et signalé, - Qui _l'Œdipe_ est intitulé, - Ouvrage, dis-je, dramatique, - Mais si tendre et si pathétique, - Que, sans se sentir émouvoir, - On ne peut l'entendre ou le voir. - Jamais pièce de cette sorte - N'eut l'élocution si forte; - Jamais, dit-on, dans l'univers, - On n'entendit de si beaux vers. - -We mentioned that Foucquet, when proposing to Corneille the subject of -_Œdipe,_ suggested two other subjects, one of which was _Camma._ The -third we do not know.[43] Camma, who slays her husband's murderer upon -the altar to which he has led her, is no commonplace heroine. Corneille -was a good kinsman; he passed on _Camma_ to his brother Thomas, who -made a pretty dull tragedy out of it; such was the custom of this -excellent person. Thomas also participated in the Superintendent's -generosity. He dedicated to Foucquet his tragedy _La Mort de Commode,_ -in return for the "generous marks of esteem" and benefits which he had -received. He said, with charming politeness, "I wished to offer myself, -and you have singled me out." - -Pellisson, a brilliant wit and a capable man, became, after 1656, one -of Foucquet's principal clerks. He had for Mademoiselle de Scudéry -a beautiful affection which he loaded with so many adornments that -it seems to-day to have been a miraculous work of artifice. It was -marvellously decked out and embellished; an exquisite work of art. -Had they both been handsome, they would not have introduced into -their liaison so many complications; they would have loved each other -naturally. But he was ugly, so was she, and as one must love in this -world--everybody says so--they loved each other with what they had, -with their pretty wit and their subtlety. Being able to do no better, -they created a masterpiece. - -Pellisson was an assiduous guest at the Saturdays of this learned and -"precious" spinster. There he met Madame du Plessis-Bellière, whose -friendship for Foucquet is well known to us. Witty herself, she was -naturally inclined to favour wit in the new Sappho, who was then -publishing _Clélie_ in ten volumes, and in Pellisson, her relations -with whom were as pleasant as they were discreet. She introduced -them both to the Superintendent, who lost no time in attaching them -both to himself in order not to separate these two incomparable -lovers. Pellisson paid Mademoiselle de Scudéry's debt by writing a -_Remerciement du siècle à M. le surintendant Foucquet,_ and presently -on his own account he fabricated a second _Remerciement,_ full of those -elaborate allegories which people revelled in at that period, but which -to-day would send us to sleep, standing. - -Pellisson, having become the Superintendent's steward, bargained with -his tax-farmers and corrected his master's love-letters, for he was a -resourceful person; and, as he piqued himself especially on his wit, -he obligingly served as Foucquet's intermediary with men of letters. -On his recommendation the Superintendent gave a receipt for the taxes -of Forez to the poet Jean Hesnault, who thus found at Saint-Mandé -an end of the poverty which he had so long paraded up and down the -world, in the Low Countries, in England and in Sicily. Jean Hesnault -was an intelligent person, but untrustworthy: "Loving pleasure with -refinement," says Bayle, "delicately and artistically debauched." - -A pupil of Gassendi, like Molière, Bernir and Cyrano, he was an -atheist, and did not conceal the fact. For the rest, he was a good -poet, and he had a great spirit. Was it his audacious, profound and -melancholy philosophy which recommended him to the Superintendent's -favour? Hardly. Foucquet in his times of good fortune was far too much -occupied with the affairs of this world to be greatly interested in -those of another. And when misfortune brought him leisure, he is said -to have sought consolation in piety. However that may be, the kindness -which he showed to Jean Hesnault was not bestowed upon an ungrateful -recipient. Hesnault, as we shall see, appeared among the most ardent -defenders of the Superintendent in the days of his misfortune. Foucquet -also counted among his pensioners a man as pious as Hesnault was the -reverse. I refer to Guillaume de Brébeuf, a Norman nobleman, who -translated the _Pharsale,_ who was extremely zealous in converting the -Calvinists of his province. He was always shivering with fever; but his -greatest misfortune was his poverty. Cardinal Mazarin had made him -many promises; it was Foucquet who kept them. - -He also helped Boisrobert, who was growing old. Now, old age, which -is never welcome to anybody, is most unwelcome to buffoons. This -poetical Abbé, whom Richelieu described as "the ardent solicitor of -the unwilling Muses," had long been accustomed to ask, to receive and -to thank. Compliments cost him nothing, and he stuffed his collected -_Épîtres en vers,_ published in 1658, with eulogies, in which Foucquet -is compared to the heroes, the gods and the stars. Gombault, who wrote -in a more concise style, and was a shepherd on Parnassus, dedicated -his _Danaides_ to him, by way of expressing his thanks. Before 1658 -this poet of the Hôtel de Rambouillet had experienced the financier's -generosity. As for poor Scarron, he was in an unfortunate position. He, -unhappy man, had taken part in the Fronde. He had decried Jules, and -Jules, not generally vindictive, was not forgiving in this case, where -to forgive was to pay. Foucquet treated the Frondeur as a beggar, and -then, repenting, gave him a pension of 1600 livres. Nevertheless, he -remained indigent and needy. His creditors often hammered violently at -the knocker of his iron-clamped door, making a terrible noise in the -street. Once the poet was blockaded by certain nasty-looking fellows. -Three thousand francs, which Foucquet sent through the excellent -Pellisson, came just in the nick of time to deliver him from prison. -Madame Scarron was in the good books of Madame la Surintendante. From -Foucquet she obtained for her husband the right to organize a company -of unloaders at the city gates. The waggoners, doubtless, would have -been just as well pleased to do without these unloaders, who made them -pay through the nose, but the crippled poet who directed them received -by this means a revenue of between two and three thousand livres. - -I forgot Loret; the worst of men, because the worst of rhymers, and -there is nothing in the world worse than a bad poet. Yet every one must -live--at least, so it is said--and Loret lived, thanks to Foucquet. -He received his pittance on condition that he would moderate his -praises. Foucquet was a man of taste; he feared tactless praises, a -fear which we can hardly appreciate to-day. Nevertheless, in spite of -these remonstrances, Loret did not cease to be eulogistic. It was after -having celebrated in very bad verses Foucquet as a demigod that he -added: - - J'en pourrais dire d'avantage, - Mais à ce charmant personnage - Les éloges ne plaisent pas; - Les siens sont pour lui sans appas. - Il aime peu qu'on le loue, - Et touchant ce sujet, j'avoue - Que l'excellent sieur Pellisson - M'a fait plusieurs fois la leçon; - Mais, comme son rare mérite - Tout mon cœur puissamment excite, - Et que ce sujet m'est très cher. - J'aurais peine à m'en empêcher. - -But enough about this gazetteer, who, after all, was not a bad fellow, -although he never wrote anything but foolishness, and let us come to -the poet whose delightful genius even to-day sheds a glory over the -memory of Nicolas Foucquet. - -La Fontaine was presented to Foucquet by his uncle, Jannart, in the -course of the year 1654. He was then absolutely unknown outside his -town of Château-Thierry, where he was said to have courted a certain -Abbess, and to have been seen at night hastening over a frosty road, -with a dark lantern in his hand and white stockings on his feet. That -was his only fame. If he was then occupied with poetry, it was for -himself alone, and to the knowledge, perhaps, of only a few friends. - -Jacques Jannart, his uncle, or, to be more precise, the husband of -the aunt of La Fontaine's wife, was King's Counsellor and Deputy -Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament. He was a great personage and -a good man. He was not displeased that his nephew should be a poet, -should commit follies and should borrow money. He himself was not -innocent of gallantry, and was inclined to interpret the law in favour -of fair ladies. He thought that La Fontaine's poetry would please the -Superintendent and that the Superintendent's patronage would please the -poet. - -Foucquet had good taste; La Fontaine pleased him; indeed, he has the -merit of having been the first to appreciate the poet. He gave him a -pension of one thousand francs on condition that he should produce a -poem once a quarter. What is the date of this gift I do not know; the -poet's receipts do not go further back than 1659, if Mathieu Marais[44] -was correct in attributing to this same year a poem which precedes -the receipts, and which the poet published in 1675[45] with this -description: - -_M._ [_Foucquet_] _having said that I ought to give him something for -his endeavour to make my verses known, I sent, shortly after, this -letter to_ [_Madame Foucquet._][46] - -In this poem he jokes about the engagement which he had entered into -with the Superintendent for the receipt of his pension: - - Je vous l'avoue, et c'est la vérité, - Que Monseigneur n'a que trop mérité - La pension qu'il veut que je lui donne. - En bonne foi je ne sache personne - A qui Phébus s'engageât aujourd'hui - De la donner plus volontiers qu'à lui. - . . . . . . . . . - Pour acquitter celle-ci chaque année, - Il me faudra quatre termes égaux; - A la Saint-Jean je promets madrigaux, - Courts et troussés et de taille mignonne; - Longue lecture en été n'est pas bonne. - Le chef d'octobre aura son tour après, - Ma Muse alors prétend se mettre en frais. - Notre héros, si le beau temps ne change, - De menus vers aura pleine vendange. - Ne dites point que c'est menu présent, - Car menus vers sont en vogue à présent. - Vienne l'an neuf, ballade est destinée; - Qui rit ce jour, il rit toute l'année. - . . . . . . . . . - Pâques, jour saint, veut autre poésie; - J'envoyerais lors, si Dieu me prête vie, - Pour achever toute la pension, - Quelque sonnet plein de dévotion. - Ce terme-là pourrait être le pire. - On me voit peu sur tels sujets écrire, - Mais tout au moins je serai diligent, - Et, si j'y manque, envoyez un sergent, - Faites saisir sans aucune remise - Stances, rondeaux et vers de toute guise. - Ce sont nos biens: les doctes nourrissons - N'amassent rien, si ce n'est des chansons.[47] - -This engagement was kept, with certain modifications, for a year at -least. The poet's acknowledgments were in a graceful and natural style, -unequalled since the time of Marot. The ballad for the midsummer -quarter was sent to Madame la Surintendante: - - Reine des cœurs, objet délicieux, - Que suit l'enfant qu'on adore en des lieux - Nommés Paphos, Amathonte et Cythère, - Vous qui charmez les hommes et les dieux, - En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire. - -We have seen Madame Foucquet as Charity; now we see her as Venus. But -it was only to poets that she was a goddess; in reality she was a good -woman whose mental qualities were lacking in charm; she was sympathetic -only in misfortune. - -La Fontaine, in this poem, asks Madame Foucquet whether "one of -the Smiles" whom she "has for secretary" will send him a glorious -acquittal. Now, the Smile who was Madame la Surintendante's secretary -was Pellisson. As we have said, he was a wit. It delighted him to -think himself a Smile hovering round the Venus of Vaux. As for the -acknowledgment he was asked for, he composed two, one in his own name, -and the other in that of his divine Surintendante. Here is the first, -which is called the Public Acknowledgment: - - Par devant moi sur Parnasse notaire, - Se présenta la reine des beautés, - Et des vertus le parfait exemplaire, - Qui lut ces vers, puis les ayant comptés, - Pesés, revus, approuvés et vantés, - Pour le passé voulut s'en satisfaire, - Se réservant le tribut ordinaire, - Pour l'avenir aux termes arrêtés. - Muses de Vaux et vous, leur secrétaire, - Voilà l'acquit tel que vous souhaitez. - En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire. - -Here is the second, under private seal, in the name of the -Surintendante: - - De mes deux yeux, ou de mes deux soleils - J'ai lu vos vers qu'on trouve sans pareils, - Et qui n'ont rien qui ne me doive plaire. - Je vous tiens quitte et promets vous fournir - De quoi par tout vous le faire tenir, - Pour le passé, mais non pour l'avenir. - En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire.[48] - -But Jean could not lay restraint upon himself. As he himself -ingenuously admits, he divided his life into two parts: one he passed -in sleeping, the other in doing nothing. For writing verse was doing -nothing for him, it came to him so naturally. But he could not do it -if he were obliged. In October, the second quarter, when his second -receipt fell due, we find the poet very much embarrassed. He sends a -poem, the refrain of which betrays this embarrassment: - - To promise is one thing, to keep one's promise is another.[49] - -In the first quarter of 1660, all he produced was a dizaine for Madame -Foucquet. Foucquet, not unnaturally, mildly objected; and the poet -replied: - - Bien vous dirai qu'au nombre s'arrêter - N'est pas le mieux, seigneur.... - -Foucquet was content and did not trouble his poetic debtor any further. -The latter thought that he would pay his debt by a descriptive poem of -some length, but this poem, _Le Songe de Vaux,_ was never finished. The -terrible awakening was near at hand. - -We have already seen La Fontaine in the gallery at Saint-Mandé. Whilst -he was waiting Foucquet was busy, whether with an affair of State or of -the heart is doubtful, for he burnt the candle at both ends. "He took -everything upon himself," says the Abbé de Choisy, "he aspired to be -the first Minister, without losing a single moment of his pleasures. -He would pretend to be working alone in his study at Saint-Mandé; and -the whole Court, anticipating his future greatness, would wait in -his antechamber, loudly praising the indefatigable industry of this -great man, while he himself would go down the private staircase into -a garden, where his nymphs, whose names I might mention if I chose, -and they were not among the least distinguished, awaited him, and for -no small reward."[50] He would send sometimes three, sometimes four -thousand pistoles to the ladies of his heart,[51] and some of the most -charming sought to please him.[52] - -Would it be true, however, to say with Nicolas: - - Never did a Superintendent meet with a cruel lady.[53] - -Madame de Sévigné was wooed by Foucquet, and yet she had no difficulty -in escaping from him. She made him understand that she would give -nothing and accept nothing. She was reasonable; he became so. "Reduced -to friendship, he transformed his love," says Bussy, "into an esteem -for a virtue hitherto unknown to him."[54] Madame de Sévigné was not -alone obdurate. - -Madame Scarron, beautiful and prudish, found a way to obtain great -benefits from Foucquet without involving her reputation. When the -Superintendent granted her a favour, it was Madame Foucquet whom she -thanked. Thus, for the privilege which we have mentioned: "Madame," -she writes to Madame la Surintendante, "I will not trouble you further -about the matter of the unloaders. It is happily terminated through the -intervention of that hero to whom we all owe everything, and whom you -have the pleasure of loving. The provost of the merchants listened to -reason as soon as he heard the great name of M. Foucquet. I entreat of -you, Madame, to allow me to come and thank you at Vaux. Madame de Vassé -has assured me that you continue to regard me kindly, and that you -will not consider me an intruder in those alleys where one may reflect -with so much reason, and jest with so much grace."[55] - -Madame Foucquet, who was a kind woman, wished to keep Madame Scarron -about her; but the cunning fly would not allow itself to be caught. She -wrote to her indiscreet benefactress: "Madame, my obligation towards -you did not permit me to hesitate concerning the proposition which -Madame Bonneau made me on your behalf. It was so flattering to me, -I am so disgusted with my present circumstances, and I have so much -respect for you, that I should not have wavered for a moment, even -if the gratitude which I owe you had not influenced me; but, Madame, -M. Scarron, although your indebted and very humble servant, cannot -give his consent. My entreaties have failed to move him, my reasons -to persuade him. He implores you to love me less, or at any rate to -display your affection in a way which would be less costly to him. -Read his request, Madame, and pardon the ardour of a husband who has -no other resource against tedium, no other consolation in all his -misfortunes than the wife whom he loves. I told Madame Bonneau that -if you shorten the term I might, perhaps, obtain his consent, but I -see that it is useless thus to flatter myself, and that I had too far -presumed upon my power. I entreat of you, Madame, to continue your -kindness towards me. No one is more attached to you than I am, and my -gratitude will cease only with my life."[56] - -Mademoiselle du Fouilloux was no prude; quite the contrary. She -appeared at Court in 1652; she showed herself and she pleased. - - Une fleur fraîche et printanière, - Un nouvel astre, une lumière, - Savoir l'aimable du Fouilloux, - Dont plusieurs beaux yeux sont jaloux, - D'autant que cette demoiselle - Est charmante, brillante et belle, - Ayant pour escorte l'Amour, - A fait son entrée à la Cour - Et pris le nom, cette semaine, - De fille d'honneur de la reine.[57] - -She figured in all the ballets in which the King danced, and Loret -sings that in 1658: - - Fouilloux, l'une des trois pucelles, - Comme elle est belle entre les belles, - Par ses attraits toujours vainqueurs, - Y faisait des rafles de cœurs. - -Foucquet lost his heart to her. He spoke; he gained a hearing. -Mademoiselle du Fouilloux, frivolous and calculating, was doubly made -for him. Their liaison was intimate and political. Fouilloux was -absolutely self-interested; she did not ask for what was her due, being -too great a lady for that, but she demanded it by means of a third -person, and even insisted upon advances. "I will tell you," wrote this -go-between,[58] "that I have seen Fouilloux prepared to entreat me to -find a way to inform you, as if on my own account, that I knew you -would please her if you would advance one hundred pistoles on this -year's pension." - -We know also, from the same source, that the beauty asked for money -to pay her debts, and did not pay them. Here is the end of the note: -"Mademoiselle du Fouilloux has assured me that, of all the money that -you have given her, she has not paid a halfpenny. She has gambled -it all away." We must do justice to Foucquet, and to Fouilloux; -they were very reasonable. Fouilloux's one thought was to have her -own establishment, and she had her eye on an honest man, something -of a simpleton, but of good family, whom she had watched by the -Superintendent's police. - -In those days the Queen's ladies-in-waiting were flattered in song. -Fouilloux had verses addressed to her: - - Foilloux sans songer à plaire - Plaît pourtant infiniment - Par un air libre et charmant. - C'est un dessein téméraire - Que d'attaquer sa rigueur. - Si j'eusse été sans affaires - La belle aurait eu mon cœur.[59] - -Other verses celebrate Menneville: - - Toute la Cour est éprise - De ces attraits glorieux - Dont vous enchantez les yeux, - Menneville; ma franchise - S'y devrait bien engager; - Mais mon cœur est place prise - Et vous n'y sauriez loger. - -This Menneville, celebrated in such bad verse, was, with Fouilloux, -the prettiest woman at Court. On this matter we have the testimony of -Jean Racine, who, banished to the depths of the provinces, wrote to -his friend La Fontaine, citing Fouilloux and Menneville as examples of -beauty. "I cannot refrain from saying a word as to the beauties of this -province.... There is not a village maiden, nor a cobbler's wife, who -might not vie in beauty with the Fouilloux and the Mennevilles.... All -the women here are dazzling, and they deck themselves out in a manner -which is to them the most natural fashion in the world, and as for the -attractions of their person, - -_Colors vents, corpus solidum et sued plenum._"[60] - -Of the two, Menneville is thought to have been the more beautiful. A -song says of her: - - Cachez-vous, filles de la reine, - Petites, - Car Menneville est de retour, - M'amour. - -She sold herself to the Superintendent. As she did not equal Fouilloux -in her genius for intrigue, Foucquet used her more kindly. While this -lady-in-waiting was yielding to the suit of the seigneur of Vaux, -she was trying to force the Duc de Damville to marry her, as he had -promised. Like Fouilloux, she begged the Superintendent to help her -to get settled. He did so with a good grace, and sent the fair lady -fifteen thousand crowns, which ought to have decided Damville. The -latter hesitated. An accident decided for him: he died. - -There were no pleasures, no distractions--if we employ the word in -the strict sense which Pascal then gave it--there were no means of -enjoyment and oblivion for which Foucquet had not the most tremendous -capacity. Business and building were not enough to absorb his vast -energies. He was a gambler. The stakes at his tables were terribly -high. So they were at Madame Foucquet's. In one day Gourville won -eighteen thousand livres from the Comte d'Avaux. No money was laid -on the table, but at the end of the game the players settled their -accounts. They played not only for money, but for gems, ornaments, -lace, collars, valued at seventy to eighty pistoles each. - -Foucquet, playing against Gourville, in one day lost sixty thousand -livres. "He played," said Gourville, "with cut cards which were worth -ten or twenty pistoles each. I put one thousand pistoles before me -almost desiring that he should win back something, which did happen. -Nevertheless, he was not pleased to see I was leaving the game."[61] - -This wild play was not altogether to the Superintendent's disadvantage. -In the end his intimate friends, who were great personages, were -ruined, and came to him for mercy. Thus, for instance, he held in his -power Hugues de Lyonne--the great Lyonne. But he himself was at his -last gasp, and overwhelmed with anxiety. - -Sole Superintendent of Finance since Servien's death, on the 17th -February, 1659, Foucquet had filled Mazarin's crop without having won -him, for Mazarin loved and served only himself, his own people and -the State. As a private individual he was self-interested, covetous -and miserly. As a public man he desired the good of the kingdom, the -greatness of France. He was never grateful to his public servants for -anything they did for his own person. Foucquet felt this; he perceived -that he had no hold over this man, and that Mazarin, when dying, might -ruin him, having no further need of him. - -For Mazarin was dying; he was dying with all the heartrending regret -of a Magnifico who feels that he is being torn from his jewels, his -tapestries and his books--beautifully bound in morocco, delicately -tooled--and also, by a curious inconsistency, with the serenity of a -great statesman, of another Richelieu, full of a generous grief that he -could no longer play his part in those great affairs which had rendered -his life illustrious. He was anxious to assure the prosperity of the -kingdom after his death. "Sire," he said to the young Louis XIV, "I -owe you everything, but I think I can in a manner discharge my debt by -giving you Colbert."[62] - -At the very point of death he was conferring with the King in secret -conversations, which caused Foucquet great anxiety, precisely because -they were concealed from him. Then, at length, the light of eyes which -had so long sought for gold and sumptuous draperies, and pierced the -hearts of men, was finally extinguished. - -On the 9th March, 1661, as Foucquet, leaving his house of Saint-Mandé, -was crossing the Gardens on foot to go to Vincennes, he met young -Brienne, who was getting out of his couch, and learned from him the -great news. - -"He is dead, then!" murmured Foucquet. "Henceforth I shall not know in -whom to confide. People always do things by halves. Oh, how distressing -I The King is waiting for me, and I ought to be there among the first! -My God! Monsieur de Brienne, tell me what is happening, so that I may -not commit any indiscretion through ignorance."[63] - -The day after Mazarin's death the King of twenty-three summoned -Foucquet, with the Chancellor, Séguier, the Ministers and Secretaries -of State, and addressed them in these words: "Hitherto I have been -content to leave my affairs in the hands of the late Cardinal. It is -time for me to control them myself. You will help me with your counsels -when I ask you for them. Gentlemen, I forbid you to sign anything, not -even a safe conduct, or a passport, without my command. I request you -to give me personally an account of everything every day, to favour no -one in your lists of the month. And you, Monsieur le Surintendant, I -have explained to you my wishes; I request you to employ M. Colbert, -whom the late Cardinal has recommended to me." Foucquet thought that -the King was not speaking seriously. That error ruined him. - -He believed that it would be easy to amuse and deceive the youthful -mind of the King, and he set to work to do so with all the ardour, -all the grace and all the frivolity of his nature. He determined to -govern the kingdom and the King. Foucquet did not know Louis XIV, and -Louis XVI did know Foucquet. Warned by Mazarin, the King knew that -Foucquet was engaged in dubious proceedings, and was ready to resort -to any expedient. He knew, also, that he was a man of resource and of -talent. He took him apart and told him that he was determined to be -King, and to have a precise and complete knowledge of State affairs; -that he would begin with finance; it was the most important part -of his administration, and that he was determined to restore order -and regularity to that department. He asked the Superintendent to -instruct him minutely in every detail, and he bade him conceal nothing, -declaring that he would always employ him, provided that he found him -sincere. As for the past, he was prepared to forget that, but he wished -that in future the Superintendent would let him know the true state of -the finances.[64] - -In speaking thus, Louis XIV told the truth. He has explained himself in -his _Mémoires._ "It may be a cause of astonishment," he says, "that I -was willing to employ him at a time when his peculations were known to -me, but I knew that he was intelligent and thoroughly acquainted with -all the most intimate affairs of State, and this made me think that, -provided he would confess his past faults and promise to correct them, -he might render me good service." - -No one could speak more wisely, more kindly; but the audacious Foucquet -did not realize that there was something menacing in this wisdom and -this kindness. He was possessed of a spirit of imprudence and error. He -was labouring blindly to bring about his own fall. Day by day, despite -the advice of his best friends, he presented the King with false -accounts of his expenditure and revenue. For five months he believed -that he was deceiving Louis XIV, but every evening the King placed his -accounts in the hands of Colbert, whom he had nominated Intendant of -Finance, with the special duty of watching Foucquet. Colbert showed -the King the falsifications in these accounts. On the following day -the King would patiently seek to draw some confession from the guilty -Minister, who, with false security, persisted in his lies. - -Henceforth Foucquet was a ruined man. From the month of April, 1661, -Colbert's clerks did not hesitate to announce his fall. He began to be -afraid, but it was too late. He went and threw himself at the King's -feet--it was at Fontainebleau--he reminded him that Cardinal Mazarin -had regulated finance with absolute authority, without observing any -formality, and had constrained him, the Superintendent, to do many -things which might expose him to prosecution. He did not deny his own -personal faults, and admitted that his expenditure had been excessive. -He entreated the King to pardon him for the past, and promised to serve -him faithfully in the future. The King listened to his Minister with -apparent goodwill; his lips murmured words of pardon, but in his heart -he had already passed sentence on Foucquet. - -Is it true that some private jealousy inspired the King's vengeance? -Foucquet, according to the Abbé de Choisy,[65] had sent Madame -de Plessis-Bellière to tell Mademoiselle de Lavallière that the -Superintendent had twenty thousand pistoles at her service. The lady -had replied that twenty million would not induce her to take a false -step. "Which astonished the worthy intermediary, who was little used -to such replies," adds the Abbé. However this may be, Foucquet soon -perceived that the fortress was taken, and that it was dangerous to -tread upon the heels of the royal occupant. But in order to repair his -fault he committed a second, worse than the first. Again it is Choisy -who tells us. "Wishing to justify himself to her, and to her secret -lover, he himself undertook the mission of go-between, and, taking her -apart in Madame's antechamber, he sought to tell her that the King was -the greatest prince in the world, the best looking, and other little -matters. But the lady, proud of her heart's secret, cut him short, and -that very evening complained of him to the King."[66] - -Such a piece of audacity, and one so clumsy, could only irritate the -young and royal lover. Nevertheless it was not to a secret jealousy, -but to State interest, that Louis XIV sacrificed his prevaricating -Minister. - -His intentions are above suspicion. It was in the interest of the -Crown and of the State alone that he acted. Yet we can but feel -surprised to find so young a man employing so much strategy and so much -dissimulation in order to ruin one whom he had appeared to pardon. In -this piece of diplomacy Louis XIV and Colbert both displayed an excess -of skill. With perfidious adroitness they manœuvred to deprive Foucquet -of his office of Attorney-General, which was an obstacle in their way, -for an officer of the Parliament could be tried only by that body, and -Foucquet had so many partisans in Parliament that there was no hope -that it would ever condemn him. - -Louis XIV displayed an apparent confidence in Foucquet and redoubled -his favours; Colbert, acting with the King, was constantly praising -his generosity. He was, at the same time, inducing him to testify his -gratitude by filling the treasury without having recourse to bargains -with supporters, which were so burdensome to the State. Foucquet -replied: "I would willingly sell all that I have in the world in order -to procure money for the King." - -Colbert refrained from pressing him further, but he contrived to lead -the conversation to the office of Attorney-General. Foucquet told him -one day that he had been offered fifteen hundred thousand livres for it. - -"But, sir," answered Colbert, "do you wish to sell it? It is true that -it is of no great use to you. A Minister who is Superintendent has no -time to watch lawsuits." The matter did not go any farther at that -time; but they returned to it later, and Foucquet, thinking himself -established in his sovereign's favour, said one day to Colbert that he -was inclined to sell his office in order to give its price to the King. -Colbert applauded this resolution, and Foucquet went immediately to -tell Louis XIV, who thanked him and accepted the offer immediately. The -trick was played.[67] - -The King had done his part to bring about this excellent result -by making Foucquet think that he would create him a _chevalier -de l'Ordre,_ and first Minister, as soon as he was no longer -Attorney-General. Here is a deal of duplicity to prepare the way for an -act of justice! Foucquet sold his office for fourteen hundred thousand -livres to Achille de Harlay, who paid for it partly in cash. A million -was taken to Vincennes, "where the King wished to keep it for secret -expenditure."[68] - -Loret announced this fact in his letter of the 14th August: - - Ce politique renommé - Qui par ses bontés m'a charmé, - Ce judicieux, ce grand homme - Que Monseigneur Foucquet on nomme, - Si généreux, si libéral, - N'est plus procureur général. - Une autre prudente cervelle, - Que Monsieur Harlay on appelle, - En a par sa démission - Maintenant la possession. - -As a further act of prudence, and in order completely to lay Foucquet's -suspicions to rest, Louis XIV accepted the entertainment which Foucquet -offered him in the Château de Vaux. "For a long time," said Madame -de Lafayette, "the King had said that he wanted to go to Vaux, the -Superintendent's magnificent house, and although Foucquet ought to have -been too wary to show the King the very thing that proved so plainly -what bad use he had made of the public finances, and though the King's -natural kindliness ought to have prevented him from visiting a man whom -he was about to ruin, neither of them considered this aspect of the -affair."[69] - -The whole Court went to Vaux on the 17th August, 1661.[70] - -These festivities exasperated Louis XIV. "Ah, Madame," he said to his -mother, "shall we not make all these people disgorge?" Infallible -signs announced the approaching catastrophe. In his Council, the King -proposed to suppress those very orders to pay cash which served, as we -have said, to cover the secret expenditure of the Superintendents. The -Chancellor strongly supported the proposal. "Do I count for nothing, -then?" cried Foucquet indiscreetly. Then he suddenly corrected himself -and said that other ways would be found to provide for the secret -expenses of the State. "I myself will provide for them," said Louis -XIV. Nevertheless, Foucquet, though deprived of the gown, was still a -formidable enemy. Before he could be reduced his Breton strongholds -must be captured. The prudent King had thought of this, and presently -conceived a clever scheme. As there was need of money, it was resolved -to increase the taxation of the State domains. This impost, described -euphemistically as a gratuitous gift, was voted by the Provincial -Assemblies. The presence of the King seemed necessary in order to -determine the Breton Estates to make a great financial sacrifice, and -Foucquet himself advised the King to go to Nantes, where the Provincial -Assembly was to be held.[71] Foucquet himself helped to bring about -his own ruin. At Nantes he had a sorrowful presentiment of this. He -was suffering from an intermittent fever, the attacks of which were -very weakening. "Why," he said, in a low voice to Brienne, "is the -King going to Brittany, and to Nantes in particular? Is it not in order -to make sure of Belle-Isle?" And several times in his weakness he -murmured: "Nantes, Belle-Isle!" When Brienne went out, he embraced him -with tears in his eyes.[72] - -The King arrived at Nantes on the ist of September, and took up his -abode at the Château. Foucquet had his lodging at the other end of -the town, in a house which communicated with the Loire by means of a -subterranean passage. In that way he could reach the river, where a -boat was waiting for him, and escape to Belle-Isle. - -Summoned by the King, on the 5th September, at seven o'clock in the -morning, he went to the Council Meeting, which was prolonged until -eleven o'clock. During this time meticulous measures were taken for -his arrest, and for the seizure of his papers. The Council over, the -King detained Foucquet to discuss various matters with him. Finally, -he dismissed him, and Foucquet entered his chair. Having passed -through the gate of the Château, he had entered a little square near -the Cathedral, when D'Artagnan, 2nd Lieutenant of the Company of -Musketeers, signed to him to get out. Foucquet obeyed, and D'Artagnan -read him the warrant for his arrest. The Superintendent expressed -great surprise at this misfortune, and asked the officer to avoid -attracting public attention. The latter took him into a house which was -near at hand; it was that of the Archdeacon of Nantes, whose niece had -been Foucquet's first wife. A cup of broth was given to the prisoner; -the papers he had on him were taken and sealed. In one of the King's -coaches he was conveyed to the Château d'Angers. There he remained for -three months, from the 7th of September to the 1st of December. - -Meanwhile his prosecution was being prepared. Certain letters from -women, found in a casket at Saint-Mandé, were taken to Fontainebleau, -and given to the King. They combined a great deal of gallantry with a -great deal of politics. Many women's names were to be read in them, -or guessed at. Madame Scarron's was mentioned and even Madame de -Sévigné's, but in an innocent connection. On the whole, only one woman, -Menneville, was shown to be guilty. - -Foucquet was removed from Angers to Saumur. Taken on the 2nd of -December to La Chapelle-Blanche, he lodged on the 3rd in a suburb of -Tours, and from the 4th to the 25th of December remained in the Château -d'Amboise. Shortly after Foucquet's departure, La Fontaine, in company -with his uncle, Jannart, who had been exiled to Limousin, halted below -the Château and swept his eyes over the fair and smiling valley. - -"All this," he said, "poor Monsieur Foucquet could never, during his -imprisonment here, enjoy for a single moment. All the windows of his -room had been blocked up, leaving only a little gap at the top. I asked -to see him; a melancholy pleasure, I admit, but I did ask. The soldier -who escorted us had no key, so that I was left for a long time gazing -at the door, and I got them to tell me how the prisoner was guarded. I -should like to describe it to you, but the recollection is too painful. - - Qu'est-il besoin que je retrace - Une garde au soin non pareil, - Chambre murée, étroite place, - Quelque peu d'air pour toute grâce; - Jours sans soleil, - Nuits sans sommeil; - Trois portes en six pieds d'espace! - Vous peindre un tel appartement, - Ce serait attirer vos larmes; - Je l'ai fait insensiblement, - Cette plainte a pour moi des charmes. - -Nothing but the approach of night could have dragged me from the -spot."[73] - -On the 31st December, Foucquet reached Vincennes. As he passed he -caught sight of his house at Saint-Mandé, in which he had collected -all that can flatter and adorn life, and which he was never again to -inhabit. He was, indeed, to remain in the Bastille until after his -condemnation; that is to say, for more than three years; and he left -that fortress only to suffer an imprisonment of which the protracted -severity has become a legend. - -The public anger was now loosed upon the stricken financier. The people -whose poverty had been insulted by his ostentatious display wished -to snatch him from his guards and tear him to pieces in the streets. -Several times during the journey from Nantes, D'Artagnan had been -obliged to protect his prisoner from riotous mobs of peasants. In the -higher classes of society the indignation was fully as bitter, although -it was only expressed in words. - -Society never forgave Foucquet for having allowed his love-letters to -be seized. It was considered that to keep and classify women's letters -in this manner was not the act of a gallant gentleman. Such was the -opinion of Chapelain, who wrote to Madame de Sévigné: - -"Was it not enough to ruin the State, and to render the King odious -to his people by the enormous burdens which he imposed upon them, and -to employ the public finances in impudent expenditure and insolent -acquisitions, which were compatible neither with his honour nor with -his office, and which, on the other hand, rather tended to turn his -subjects and his servants against him, and to corrupt them? Was it -necessary to crown his irregularities and his crimes, by erecting in -his own honour a trophy of favours, either real or apparent, of the -modesty of so many ladies of rank, and by keeping a shameful record -of his commerce with them in order that the shipwreck of his fortunes -should also be that of their reputations? - -"Is this consistent with being, I do not say an upright man, in which -capacity, his flatterers, the Scarrons, Pellissons and Sapphos, and -the whole of that self-interested scum have so greatly extolled him, -but a man merely, a man with a spark of enlightenment, who professes -to be something better than a brute? I cannot excuse such scandalous, -dastardly behaviour, and I should be hardly less enraged with this -wretch if your name had not been found among his papers."[74] - -We can admire such generous indignation, but it is hard to be called -"self-interested scum" when one is merely faithful in misfortune. - -The truth is that Foucquet still had friends; the women and the poets -did not abandon him. Hesnault, to whom he had given a pension, was -not a favourite of the Muses, but he showed himself a man of feeling, -and his courageous fidelity did him credit. He attacked Colbert in an -eloquent sonnet, which was circulated everywhere by the prisoner's -friends: - - Ministre avare et lâche, esclave malheureux, - Qui gémis sous le poids des affaires publiques, - Victime dévouée aux chagrins politiques, - Fantôme révéré sous un titre onéreux: - - Vois combien des grandeurs le comble est dangereux; - Contemple de Foucquet les funestes reliques, - Et tandis qu'à sa perte en secret tu t'appliques, - Crains qu'on ne te prépare un destin plus affreux! - - Sa chute, quelque jour, te peut être commune; - Crains ton poste, ton rang, la cour et la fortune; - Nul ne tombe innocent d'où l'on te voit monté. - - Cesse donc d'animer ton prince à son supplice, - Et près d'avoir besoin de toute sa bonté, - Ne le fais pas user de toute sa justice. - -This sonnet was circulated privately. It was generally read with -pleasure, for Colbert was not liked, and it will not be inappropriate -to cite here an anecdote for which Bayle is responsible.[75] - -When the sonnet was mentioned to the Minister, he asked: "Is the King -offended by it?" And when he was told that he was not, "Then neither -am I," he said, "nor do I bear the author any ill will." - -If Molière kept silence, Corneille, on the contrary, now gave proof of -his greatness of soul; by praising Pellisson's fidelity, he showed that -he shared it: - - En vain pour ébranler ta fidèle constance, - On vit fondre sur toi la force et lat puissance; - En vain dans la Bastille, on t'accabla de fers, - En vain on te flatta sur mille appas divers; - Ton grand cœur, inflexible aux rigueurs, aux caresses, - Triompha de la force et se rit des promesses; - Et comme un grand rocher par l'orage insulté - Des flots audacieux méprise la fierté, - Et, sans craindre le bruit qui gronde sur sa tête, - Voit briser à ses pieds l'effort de la tempête, - C'est ainsi, Pellisson, que dans l'adversité, - Ton intrépide cœur garde sa fermeté, - Et que ton amitié, constante et généreuse, - Du milieu des dangers sortit victorieuse. - -Poor Loret found it difficult at first to collect his bewildered wits -and relate the catastrophe. It was a terrible affair; he didn't know -much about it, and he says still less. But, far from accusing the -fallen Minister, he was inclined to pity and esteem him. This was -courageous; and his bad verses were a kind action: - - Notre Roi, qui par politique - Se transportait vers l'Amorique, - Pour raisons qu'on ne savait pas, - S'en revient, dit-on, à grands pas. - Je n'ai su par aucun message - Les circonstances du voyage: - Mais j'ai du bruit commun appris, - C'est-à-dire de tout Paris, - Que par une expresse ordonnance, - Le sieur surintendant de France - Je ne sais pourquoi ni comment, - Est arrêté présentement - (Nouvelles des plus surprenantes) - Dans la ville et château de Nantes, - Certes, j'ai toujours respecté - Les ordres de Sa Majesté - Et crû que ce monarque auguste - Ne commandait rien que de juste; - Mais étant rémemoratif - Que cet infortuné captif - M'a toujours semblé bon et sage - Et que d'un obligeant langage - Il m'a quelquefois honoré, - J'avoue en avoir soupiré, - Ne pouvant, sans trop me contraindre, - Empêcher mon cœur de le plaindre. - Si, sans préjudice du Roi - (Et je le dis de bonne foi) - Je pouvais lui rendre service - Et rendre son sort plus propice - En adoucissant sa rigueur, - Je le ferais de tout mon cœur; - Mais ce seul désir est frivole, - Et prions Dieu qu'il le console. - En l'état qu'il est aujourd'hui, - C'est tout ce que je puis pour lui.[76] - -In time poor Loret did more; he tried to deny his benefactor's crimes. -"I doubt half of them," he said in the execrable style of the rhyming -Gazetteer:[77] - - Et par raison et par pitié, - Et même pour la conséquence - Je passe le tout sous silence. - -Pellisson was admirable. He wrote from the Bastille, where he was -imprisoned, eloquent defences in which, neglecting his own cause, he -sought only to justify Foucquet. His defence followed the same lines -as that of Foucquet himself. He pleaded the necessities of France, -the need of provisioning and equipping her armies and of fortifying -her strongholds. He imagined a case in which Mazarin himself might -have been criticized for the means by which he had procured money for -the war and ensured victory. "In all conscience," he said, "what man -of good sense could have advised him to reply in other than Scipio's -words: 'Here are my accounts: I present them but only to tear them -up. On this day a year ago I signed a general peace, and the contract -of the King's marriage, which gave peace to Europe. Let us go and -celebrate this anniversary at the foot of the altar.'"[78] - -Mademoiselle de Scudéry distinguished herself by her zeal on behalf of -her friend, formerly so powerful, and now so unfortunate. Pecquet, whom -the Superintendent had chosen as his doctor, in order that he might -discourse with him on physics and philosophy, the learned Jean Pecquet, -was inconsolable at having lost so good a master. He used to say that -Pecquet had always rhymed, and always would rhyme with Foucquet.[79] - -As for La Fontaine, all know how his fidelity, rendered still more -touching by his ingenuous emotions and the spell of his poetry, adorns -and defends the memory of Nicolas Foucquet to this very day. Nothing -can equal the divine complaint in which the truest of poets grieved -over the disgrace of his magnificent patron. - - - ÉLÉGIE[80] - - Remplissez l'air de cris en vos grottes profondes, - Pleurez, nymphes de Vaux, faites croître vos ondes; - Et que l'Anqueil[81] enflé ravage les trésors - - Dont les regards de Flore ont embelli vos bords. - On ne blâmera point vos larmes innocentes, - Vous pourrez donner cours à vos douleurs pressantes; - Chacun attend de vous ce devoir généreux: - Les destins sont contents, Oronte est malheureux[82] - -"In a letter written under the name of M. de la Visclède, to the -permanent secretary of the Academy of Pau, in 1776, Voltaire," says -M. Marty-Laveaux, "quotes these verses, and adds: 'He (La Fontaine) -altered the word _Cabale_ when he had been made to realize that the -great Colbert was serving the King with great equity, and was not -addicted to cabals. But La Fontaine had heard some one make use of the -term, and had fully believed that it was the proper word to use.'" - - Vous l'avez vu naguère au bord de vos fontaines, - Qui sans craindre du sort les faveurs incertaines, - Plein d'éclat, plein de gloire, adoré des mortels, - Recevait des honneurs qu'on ne doit qu'aux autels. - - Hélas! qu'il est déchu de ce bonheur suprême! - Que vous le trouverez différent de lui-même! - Pour lui les plus beaux jours sont de secondes nuits, - Les soucis dévorans, les regrets, les ennuis, - Hôtes infortunés de sa triste demeure, - En des gouffres de maux le plongent à toute heure - Voilà le précipice où l'ont enfin jeté - Les attraits enchanteurs de la prospérité! - Dans les palais des Rois cette plainte est commune; - On n'y connaît que trop les jeux de la fortune, - Ses trompeuses faveurs, ses appas inconstants: - Mais on ne les connaît que quand il n'est plus temps, - Lorsque sur cette mer on vogue à pleines voiles, - Qu'on croit avoir pour soi les vents et les étoiles. - Il est bien malaisé de régler ses désirs; - Le plus sage s'endort sur la foi des zéphirs. - Jamais un favori ne borne sa carrière, - Il ne regarde point ce qu'il laisse en arrière; - Et tout ce vain amour des grandeurs et du bruit - Ne le saurait quitter qu'après l'avoir détruit. - Tant d'exemples fameux que l'histoire en raconte - Ne suffisaient-ils pas sans la perte d'Oronte? - Ah! si ce faux éclat n'eût point fait ses plaisirs, - Si le séjour de Vaux eût borné ses désirs - Qu'il pouvait doucement laisser couler son âge! - Vous n'avez pas chez vous ce brillant équipage, - Cette foule de gens qui s'en vont chaque jour - Saluer à longs flots le soleil de la cour: - Mais la faveur du ciel vous donne en récompense - Du repos, du loisir, de l'ombre et du silence, - Un tranquille sommeil, d'innocents entretiens, - Et jamais à la cour on ne trouve ces biens. - Mais quittons ces pensers, Oronte nous appelle. - Vous, dont il a rendu la demeure si belle, - Nymphes, qui lui devez vos plus charmants appas, - Si le long de vos bords Louis porte ses pas, - Tâchez de l'adoucir, fléchissez son courage; - Il aime ses sujets, il est juste, il est sage; - Du titre de clément, rendez-le ambitieux; - C'est par là que les Rois sont semblables aux dieux. - Du magnanisme Henri[83] qu'il contemple la vie; - Dès qu'il put se venger, il en perdit l'envie. - Inspirez à Louis cette même douceur: - La plus belle victoire est de vaincre son cœur. - Oronte est à présent un objet de clémence; - S'il a cru les conseils d'une aveugle puissance, - Il est assez puni par son sort rigoureux, - Et c'est être innocent que d'être malheureux.[84] - -La Fontaine, not satisfied with this poem, addressed an ode to the King -on Foucquet's behalf. But the ode is far from equalling the elegy. - - ... Oronte seul, ta creature, - Languit dans un profond ennui, - Et les bienfaits de la nature - Ne se répandent plus sur lui. - Tu peux d'un éclat de ta foudre - Achever de le mettre en poudre; - Mais si les dieux à ton pouvoir - Aucunes bornes n'ont prescrites, - Moins ta grandeur a de limites, - Plus ton courroux en doit avoir. - . . . . . . . - Va-t-en punir l'orgueil du Tibre; - Qu'il se souvienne que ses lois - N'ont jadis rien laissé de libre - Que le courage des Gaulois. - Mais parmi nous sois débonnaire: - A cet empire si sévère - Tu ne te peux accoutumer; - Et ce serait trop te contraindre: - Les étrangers te doivent craindre, - Tes sujets te veulent aimer. - -These verses refer to the attack made by the Corsicans on the Guard of -Alexander VII, who, on the 20th August, 1667, fired on the coach of the -Due de Créqui, the French Ambassador. - - L'amour est fils de la clémence, - La clémence est fille des dieux; - Sans elle toute leur puissance - Ne serait qu'un titre odieux. - Parmi les fruits de la victoire, - César environné de gloire - N'en trouva point dont la douceur - A celui-ci pût être égale, - Non pas même aux champs où Pharsale - L'honora du nom de vainqueur. - . . . . . . . - Laisse-lui donc pour toute grâce - Un bien qui ne lui peut durer, - Après avoir perdu la place - Que ton cœur lui fit espérer. - Accorde-nous les faibles restes - De ses jours tristes et funestes, - Jours qui se passent en soupirs: - Ainsi les tiens filés de soie - Puissent se voir comblés de joie, - Même au delà de tes désirs.[85] - -La Fontaine submitted this ode to Foucquet, who sent it back to him -with various suggestions. The prisoner requested that the reference -to Rome should be suppressed. Doubtless he did not understand it, not -having heard in prison of the attack upon the French Ambassador at the -Papal Court.[86] He also disapproved of the allusion to the clemency -of the victor of Pharsalia. "Cæsar's example," he said, "being derived -from antiquity would not, I think, be well enough known." He also noted -a passage--which I do not know--"as being too poetical to please the -King." The last suggestion speaks of a true nobility of mind. It refers -to the last passage, in which the poet implores the King to grant the -life of "Oronte." Foucquet wrote in the margin: "You sue too humbly for -a thing that one ought to despise." - -La Fontaine did not willingly give in on any of these points; to the -last suggestion he replied as follows: "The sentiment is worthy of you, -Monsignor, and, in truth, he who regards life with such indifference -does not deserve to die. Perhaps you have not considered that it is I -who am speaking, I who ask for a favour which is dearer to us than to -you. There are no terms too humble, too pathetic and too urgent to be -employed in such circumstances. When I bring you on to the stage, I -shall give you words which are suitable to the greatness of your soul. -Meanwhile permit me to tell you that you have too little affection for -a life such as yours is." - -It was in the month of November only that a Chamber was instituted by -Royal Edict with the object of instituting financial reforms, and of -punishing those who had been guilty of maladministration. Foucquet -was to appear before this Chamber. It met solemnly in the month of -December. The greater part of it was composed of Members of the -Parliament, but it also included Members of the Chambre des Comptes, -the Cour des Aides, the Grand Council and the Masters of Requests. The -magistrates who composed it were, to mention those only who sat in it -as finally constituted: - -The Chancellor Pierre Séguier, first President of the Parliament of -Paris, who presided; Guillaume de Lamoignon, deputy president; the -President de Nesmond; the President de Pontchartrain; Poncet, Master -of Requests; Olivier d'Ormesson, Master of Requests; Voysin, Master -of Requests; Besnard de Réze, Master of Requests; Regnard, Catinat, -De Brillac, Fayet, Councillors in the Grand Chamber of the Paris -Parliament; Massenau, Councillor in the Toulouse Parliament; De la -Baulme, of the Grenoble Parliament; Du Verdier, of the Bordeaux -Parliament; De la Toison, of the Dijon Parliament; Lecormier de -Sainte-Hélène, of the Rouen Parliament; Raphélis de Roquesante, of the -Aix Parliament; Hérault, of the Rennes Parliament; Noguès, of the Pau -Parliament; Ferriol, of the Metz Parliament; De Moussy, of the Paris -Chambre des Comptes; Le-Bossu-le-Jau, of the Paris Chambre des Comptes; -Le Féron, of the Cour des Aides; De Baussan, of the Cour des Aides; -Cuissotte de Gisaucourt, of the Grand Council; Pussort, of the Grand -Council. - -It must be recognized that the creation of such a Chamber of Justice -was in conformity with the rules of the public law as it then existed. -Had not Chalais and Marillac, Cinq-Mars and Thou, been judged by -commissions of Masters of Requests and Councillors of the Parliament? -And, if our sense of legality is wounded when we behold the accusing -Monarch himself choosing the judges of the accused man, we must -remember this maxim was then firmly established: "All justice emanates -from the King." By this very circumstance the Chamber of Justice of -1661 was invested with very extensive powers; it became the object -of public respect, and of the public hopes, for the poor, deeming it -powerful, attributed to it the power of helping the wretched populace, -after it had punished those who robbed them. - -Such illusions are very natural, and one may wonder whether any -government would be possible if unhappy persons did not, from day to -day, expect something better on the morrow. - -Thus the tribunal constituted by the King was no unrighteous tribunal; -yet there was no security in it for the accused. He was apparently -ruined. Condemned beforehand by the King and by the people, everything -seemed to fail him, but he did not fail himself. After having wrought -his own ruin, Foucquet worked out his own salvation, if he may be said -to have saved himself when all he saved was his life. - -His first act was to protest energetically against the competence of -the Chamber; he alleged that, having held office in the Parliament -for twenty-five years, he was still entitled to the privileges of its -officers, and he recognized no judges except those of that body, of -both Chambers united. Having made this reservation, he consented to -reply to the questions of the examining magistrates, and his replies -bore witness to the scope and vigour of a mind which was always -collected. The Chamber, on its side, declared itself competent, and -decided that the trial should be conducted as though Foucquet were -dumb: that is, that there would be no cross-examination, and no -pleading. By this method of procedure the Attorney-General put his -questions in writing, and the accused replied in writing. As the -documents of the prosecution and of the defence were produced, the -recorders prepared summaries for the judges.[87] - -It is obvious that in such a case the reporters, who are the necessary -intermediaries between the magistrates and the parties to the case, -possess considerable influence, and that the issue of the lawsuit -depends largely on their intelligence and their morality. Consequently, -the King wished to reserve to himself the right of appointing them, -although according to tradition, this belonged to the President of the -Chamber. - -Messieurs Olivier d'Ormesson and Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène were -chosen by the Royal Council, and their names were put before the First -President, Guillaume de Lamoignon. This magistrate apologized for -being unable to accede to the King's wish, alleging that M. Olivier -d'Ormesson and M. de Sainte-Hélène would be suspected by the accused; -at least, he feared so. "This fear," replied the King, "is only another -reason for appointing them." Lamoignon--and it did him honour--gave -way only upon the King's formal command. - -That was quite enough to make Lamoignon suspected by Foucquet's -enemies. Powerful as they were, he did nothing to reassure them; on -the contrary, he saw that the accused was granted the assistance of -counsel, and that the forms of procedure were scrupulously observed. -When one day Colbert was trying to discover his opinions, Lamoignon -made this fine reply: "A judge ought never to declare his opinion save -once, and that above the fleurs-de-lys."[88] - -The King, growing more and more suspicious, nominated Chancellor -Séguier to preside over the Chamber. Lamoignon, thus driven from his -seat, withdrew, but unostentatiously, alleging as his reason that -Parliamentary affairs occupied the whole of his time.[89] - -In vain the King and Colbert, alarmed at having themselves dismissed -so upright a magistrate, endeavoured to restore him to a position of -diminished authority; he was deaf to entreaties, and was content to say -to his friends: _"Lavavi manus meas; quomodo inquinabo eas?"_[90] Old -Séguier, who though lacking in nobility of soul possessed brilliant -intellectual powers, grew more servile than ever. Feeling that he -had not long to live, he prompdy accepted dishonour. In this trial -his conduct was execrable and his talents did not, on this occasion, -succeed in masking his partiality. Great jurisconsult though he was, he -did not understand finance, and this stupendous trial was altogether -too much for an old man of seventy-four. He was always impatiently -complaining of the length of the trial, which, he declared, would -outlast him. - -With audacity and skill Foucquet held his own against this violent -judge. Brought up in chicanery, the accused was acquainted with all the -mysteries of procedure. He made innumerable difficulties; sometimes he -accused a judge, sometimes he challenged the accuracy of an inventory, -sometimes he demanded documents necessary for the defence. In short, -he gained time, and this was to gain much. The more protracted the -trial, the less he had to fear that its termination would be a capital -sentence. - -The King was not at all comfortable as to its issue; his activity was -unwearying, and he never hesitated to throw his whole weight into the -balance. The public prosecutor, Talon, was not an able person; he -allowed himself to be defeated by the accused, and was immediately -sacrificed. He was replaced by two Masters of Requests, Hotmann and -Chamillart. One of the recorders caused the Court a great deal of -anxiety; this was the worthy Olivier d'Ormesson. Efforts were made to -intimidate him, but in vain; to win him over, but equally in vain. He -was punished. His offices of Intendant of Picardy and Soissonnais were -taken away from him. Finally, the idea was conceived of enlisting his -father, and of trying to induce the old man to corrupt the honesty -of his son. Old André would not lend himself to these attempts at -corruption; he replied that he was sorry that the King was not -satisfied with his son's behaviour. "My son," he added, "does what I -have always recommended him to do: he fears God, serves the King, and -he renders justice without distinction of person." - -The Court and the Minister were, indeed, exceeding all bounds; Séguier, -Pussort, Sainte-Hélène and others displayed the most odious partiality. -False inventories were drawn up; the official reports of the -proceedings were falsified. The King carried off the Court of Justice -with him to Fontainebleau, fearing lest it should become independent in -his absence. This was going too far; Foucquet grew interesting. - -Public opinion, at first hostile to the accused, had almost completely -turned in his favour, when, more than three years after his arrest, on -the 14th October, 1664, the Attorney-General, Chamillart, pronounced -his conclusions, which were to the effect that Foucquet, "attainted and -convicted of the crime of high treason, and other charges mentioned -during the trial," should be "hanged and strangled until death should -follow, on a gallows erected on the Place de la Rue Sainte-Antoine, -near the Bastille." - -The trial was generally regarded as being overweighted. Turenne said, -in his picturesque manner, that the cord had been made too thick to -strangle M. Foucquet. The financiers, always influential, having -recovered from their first alarm, tried to save a man who, in his fall, -might drag them down with him. For, in so comprehensive an accusation, -who was there that was not compromised? - -Colbert was now detested; as a result his enemy appeared less black. -As for the Chamber itself, it was divided into two parts, almost of -equal strength. On the one hand there were those who, like Séguier -and Pussort, wished to please the Court by ruining Foucquet, and on -the other those who, like Olivier d'Ormesson, favoured the strict -administration of justice, exempt from anger and hatred. - -It was on the 14th November, 1664, that Nicolas Foucquet appeared for -the first time before the Chamber, which sat in the Arsenal. He wore a -citizen's costume, a suit of black cloth, with a mantle. He excused -himself for appearing before the Court without his magistrate's robe, -declaring that he had asked for one in vain. He renewed the protest -which he had made previously against the competency of the Chamber, -and refused to take the oath. He then took his place on the prisoners' -bench and declared himself ready to reply to the questions which might -be put to him. - -The accusations made against him may be classified under four heads: -payment collected from the tax-farmers; farmerships which he had -granted under fictitious names; advances made to the Treasury; and the -crime of high treason, projected but not executed, proved by the papers -discovered at Saint-Mandé. - -Foucquet's defenie, which disdained petty expedients, was powerful and -adroit. He confessed irregularities, but he held that the disorders of -the administration in a time of public disturbance were responsible for -them. According to him, the payments levied on the tax-farmers were -merely the repayment of his advances, and that the imposts which he had -appropriated were the same. As for the loans which he had made to the -State, they were an absolute necessity. To the insidious and insulting -questions of the Chancellor he replied with the greatest adroitness. He -was as bold as he was prudent. Only once he lost patience, and replied -with an arrogance likely to do him harm. He certainly interested -society. Ladies, in order to watch him as he was being reconducted to -the Bastille, used to repair, masked, to a house which looked on to the -Arsenal. Madame de Sévigné was there. "When I saw him," she said, "my -legs trembled, and my heart beat so loud that I thought I should faint. -As he approached us to return to his gaol, M. d'Artagnan nudged him, -and called his attention to the fact that we were there. He thereupon -saluted us, and assumed that laughing expression which you know so -well. I do not think he recognized me, but I confess to you that I felt -strangely moved when I saw him enter that little door. If you knew how -unhappy one is when one has a heart fashioned as mine is fashioned, I -am sure you would take pity on me."[91] - -All that was known about his attitude intensified public sympathy. The -judges themselves recognized that he was incomparable; that he had -never spoken so well in Parliament, and that he had never shown so much -self-possession.[92] - -The last Interrogatory, that of the 4th December, turned on the scheme -found at Saint-Mandé, and was particularly favourable to the accused. - -Foucquet replied that it was nothing but an extravagant idea which -had remained unfinished, and was repudiated as soon as conceived. It -was an absurd document, which could only serve to make him ashamed -and confused, but it could not be made the ground of an accusation -against him. As the Chancellor pressed him and said, "You cannot deny -that it is a crime against the State," he replied, "I confess, sir, -that it is an extravagance, but it is not a crime against the State. -I entreat these gentlemen," he added, turning towards the judges, "to -permit me to explain what is a crime against the State. It is when a -man holds a great office; when he is in the secret confidence of his -Sovereign, and suddenly takes his place among that Sovereign's enemies; -when he engages his whole family in the cause; when he induces his -son-in-law[93] to surrender the passes and to open the gates to a -foreign army of intruders in order to admit it to the interior of the -kingdom. Gentlemen, that is what is called a crime against the State." - -The Chancellor, whose conduct during the Fronde every one remembered, -did not know where to look, and it was all the judges could do not -to laugh.[94] The cross-examination over, the Chamber listened to -the opinion of the reporters and pronounced sentence. On the 9th of -December, Olivier d'Ormesson began his report. He spoke for five -successive days, and his conclusion was perpetual exile, confiscation -of goods and a fine of one hundred thousand livres, of which half -should be given to the Public Treasury, and the other half employed -in works of piety. Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène spoke after Olivier -d'Ormesson. He continued for two days, and concluded with sentence of -death. Pussort, whose vehement speech lasted for five hours, came to -the same conclusion. - -On the 18th December, Hérault, Gisaucourt, Noguès and Ferriol -concurred, as did Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène, and Roquesante after -them, in the opinion of Olivier d'Ormesson. - -On the following day, the 19th, MM. de La Toison, Du Verdier, de La -Baume and de Massenau also expressed the same opinion; but the Master -of Requests, Poncet, came to the opposite conclusion. Messieurs -Le Féron, de Moussy, Brillac, Regnard and Besnard agreed with the -first recorder. Voysin was of the opposite opinion. President de -Pontchartrain voted for banishment, and the Chancellor, pronouncing -last, voted for death. Thirteen judges had pronounced for banishment, -and nine for death. Foucquet's life was saved. - -"All Paris," said Olivier d'Ormesson, "awaited the news with -impatience. It was spread abroad everywhere, and received with the -greatest rejoicing, even by the shopkeepers. Every one blessed my -name, even without knowing me. Thus M. Foucquet, who had been regarded -with horror at the time of his imprisonment, and whom all Paris would -have been immeasurably delighted to see executed directly after the -beginning of his trial, had become the subject of public grief and -commiseration, owing to the hatred which every one felt for the present -Government, and that, I think, was the true cause of the general -acclamation."[95] - -On the 22d of December, this same Olivier d'Ormesson having gone to the -Bastille to give D'Artagnan his discharge for the Treasury registers, -the gallant Musketeer embraced him and said: "You are a noble man!"[96] - -Foucquet, as a matter of form, protested against the sentence of a -tribunal whose competence he did not recognize. And the sentence did -not please the King, who commuted banishment into imprisonment for life -in the fortress of Pignerol. Such a commutation, which was really an -aggravation of the sentence, is cruel and offends our sense of justice. -Nevertheless, one must recognize that such a measure was dictated -by reasons of State. Foucquet, had he been free, would have been -dangerous. He would certainly have intrigued; his plots and strategies -would have caused the King much anxiety. The religion of patriotism had -not yet taken root in the heart of the great Condé's contemporaries. -The strongest bond then uniting citizens was loyalty to the King. -Foucquet was liberated from that bond by his master's hatred and anger. -It was to be expected that the fallen Minister would probably have -conspired against France with foreign aid. These previsions justified -the severity of the King, who throughout the whole business appeared -hypocritical, violent, pitiless and patriotic.[97] - -The wisdom of the King's action is proved by Foucquet's conduct at -Pignerol, where he arrived in January, 1665. There, in spite of the -most vigilant supervision, he succeeded in carrying on intrigues. -He could not communicate with any living soul. He had neither ink -nor pens, nor paper at his disposal. This able man, whose genius was -quickened by solitude, attempted the impossible in order to enter -into communication with his friends. He manufactured ink out of soot, -moistened with wine. He made pens out of chicken bones, and wrote on -the margin of books which were lent to him, or on handkerchiefs. But -his warder, Saint-Mars, detected all these contrivances. The servants -whom the prisoner had won over were arrested, and one of them was -hanged. - -In the end, these futile energies were defeated by captivity and -disease. Foucquet became addicted to devotional exercises. Like -Mademoiselle de la Vallière, he wrote pious reflections.[98] - -It is even thought that he composed religious verses, for it is known -that he asked for a dictionary of rhymes, which was given to him. - -For seven years he had been cut off from living men. Then a voice -called him. It was Lauzun,[99] who was imprisoned at Pignerol, and who -had made a hole in the wall. Lauzun told his companion news of the -outer world. Foucquet listened eagerly, but when the Cadet de Gascogne -told him that he held a general's commission, and that he had married -La Grande Mademoiselle, at first with the approval of the King, and -then against it, Foucquet considered him mad and ceased to believe -anything that he said. - -About 1679, Foucquet's captivity at length became less severe; he was -permitted to receive his family. But it was too late; those fourteen -cruel years had irreparably undermined his strong constitution; his -sight had grown weak; he was losing his teeth; he was suffering pain -in his whole body, and his piety was increasing with his weakness. -He died in March, 1680, just as he had received permission to go and -drink the waters of Bourbon. His body, which had been laid in the crypt -of Sainte-Claire de Pignerol, Madame Foucquet had transferred the -following year to the church of the Convent of the Visitation in the -Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. The register of this church contains the -following entry: "On the 28th March, 1681, Messire Nicolas Foucquet was -buried in our church, in the Chapel of Saint-François de Sales. He had -risen to the highest honours in the magistracy; had been Councillor in -Parliament, Master of Requests, Attorney-General, Superintendent of -Finance, and Minister of State."[100] - -Whatever may be said to the contrary, posterity does not judge with -equity, for it is partial; it is indifferent, and makes but hasty work -of the trial of the dead who appear before it. And posterity is not -a Court of Justice; it is a noisy mob, in which it is impossible to -make oneself heard, but which, at rare intervals, is dominated by -some great voice. Finally, its judgments are not definitive, since -another posterity follows which may cancel the sentence of the first, -and pronounce new ones, which again may be revoked by a new posterity. -Nevertheless, certain cases seem to have been definitely lost in the -court of mankind, and I find myself constrained to rank with these the -case of Foucquet. He was an embezzler, and was definitely condemned on -this point--condemned without appeal. As for extenuating circumstances, -it is not difficult to find them. Illustrious examples, even more, -perpetual solicitings and the impossibility of observing any regularity -in troubled times, impelled him to steal, both for the State and for -certain great men. Of his thefts he kept something; he kept too much. -He was guilty, doubtless, but his fault seems greatly mitigated when -one remembers the circumstances and the spirit of the time. - -I am going to say something which is a kind of redemption of Nicolas -Foucquet's memory; I will say it in two charming lines which are -attributed to Pellisson, and which appear to have been written by -Foucquet's friend, the fabulist. Pellisson, in an epistle to the King, -said of Foucquet: - - D'un esprit élevé, négligeant l'avenir, - Il toucha les trésors, mais sans les retenir. - -This it is which redeems and exalts this man. He was liberal, he loved -to give, and he knew how to give, and let it not be said in the name of -any morbid and morose morality that, even if he had taken the State's -money without retaining it, he was only the more guilty, uniting -prodigality to unscrupulousness. No, his liberality remains honourable; -it showed that the principle which prompted his embezzlements was not -a vile one, that, if this man was ruined, the cause of his ruin was -not natural baseness, but the blind impulse of a naturally magnificent -temperament. Thus Foucquet will live in history as the consoler of the -aged Corneille, and the tactful patron of La Fontaine. - -No one will deny his faults, the crimes he committed against the State, -but for a moment one may forget them, and say that what was truly -noble, and even nobly foolish in his temperament, half atones for the -evil which has been only too thoroughly proved. - - -[1] Cf. _Les amateurs de l'ancienne France: Le surintendant Foucquet,_ -by Edmond Bonnaffé. _Librairie de l'Art,_ 1882. The book contains -particulars drawn from Peiresc's unpublished manuscript. During the -course of this work we shall have frequent occasion to quote from this -excellent study of an accomplished connoisseur. - -[2] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ Ed. Petitot et Monmerqué, p. 262. - -[3] _Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,_ Vol. II, p. 60. The unknown -author of the dialogues attributed to Molière by M. Louis Auguste -Ménard brings Mme. Foucquet on to the stage and makes her utter words -in keeping with those pious sentiments which were well known to her -contemporaries. The fictitious scene which confronts her with Anne of -Austria is a paraphrase of the words I have quoted in my text from the -_Mémoires de Choisy._ - -[4] _Histoire du Dauphiné,_ by M. le baron de Chapuys-Montlaville. -Paris, Dupont, 1828, 2 vols. Vol. II, pp. 460 _et seq._ - -[5] Cf. _Les premiers intendants de justice,_ by S. Hanotaux, in _La -Revue Historique,_ 1882 and 1883. - -[6] Of Fronde.--_Trans._ - -[7] Mazarin's note-book, XI, fol. 85, Biblioth. Nat. - -[8] Unpublished Diary of Dubuisson-Aubenay, cited by M. Chéruel in the -_Mémoires sur N. Foucquet,_ Vol. I, p. 7. - -[9] _Histoire de Colbert et de son administration,_ by Pierre Clement. -Paris, Didier, 1874, Vol. I, p. 15. - -[10] _Mémoires sur la vie publique et privée de Foucquet,_ by A. -Chéruel, Inspector-General of Education. Paris, Charpentier, 1862, Vol. -I, pp. 86-88. - -[11] Bibliothèque Nationale, MSS. collection Gaignieres. This letter is -quoted by Chéruel, I, p. 183. - -[12] _Histoire financière de la France,_ by A. Bailly. Paris, 1830, -Vol. I, p. 357. - -[13] In 1651, Foucquet received from Marie-Madeleine de Castille, -the daughter of François de Castille, his wife, one hundred thousand -livres, the house in the Rue du Temple, the abode of the Castille -family, as well as the buildings adjoining, which were let at 2200 -livres. (Cf. Jal, _Dictionnaire,_ article on Foucquet) - -[14] Cf. Eug. Grésy, _Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte._ Melun, 1861. - -[15] Archives de la Bastille, Vol. II, p, 171 _et seq._ - -[16] Anne of Austria (trans.) - -[17] Her son, Louis XIV (trans.) - -[18] And are now in Austria, Germany and elsewhere.--Editor. - -[19] _Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art français,_ note by -M. Guiffrey, July, 1876, p. 38. - -[20] Saint-Simon adds: "She was the widow of Nicolas Foucquet, famous -for his misfortunes, who, after being Superintendent of Finance for -eight years, paid for the millions which Cardinal Mazarin had taken, -for the jealousy of MM. Le Tellier and Colbert, and for a slightly -excessive gallantry and love of splendour, with thirty-four years -of imprisonment at Pignerol, because that was the utmost that could -be inflicted on him, despite all the influence of Ministers and the -authority of the King."--_Mémoires du duc de Saint-Simon,_ éd. Chéruel, -Vol. XIV, p. 112. - -[21] _Mémoires._ Collection Petitot, Vol. LX, p. 142. - -[22] It is the portrait which is reproduced at the beginning of the -French edition, because it seems to us at once both the truest and the -happiest picture of the extraordinary man who, both in letters and in -art, inaugurated the century of Louis XIV. The head, three-quarter -profile, is turned to the left. It is a medallion inscribed with the -words: "Messire Nicolas Foucquet, chevalier, vicomte de Melun et de -Vaux, Conseiller du Roy, Ministre d'État, Surintendant des Finances -et Procureur général de Sa Majesté." Signed "R. Nanteuil ad vivum -ping. et sculpebat, 1661." The style is at once soft and firm, the -workmanship pure and finished, the rendering of the colours excellent. -This engraving was executed after a drawing or a pastel which Nanteuil -had done from life, and which is lost. This work, and the engraving -which perpetuates it, seem to me to form the origin of a whole family -of portraits, of which we will mention several. - -(1) A shaded bust, on a piedouche, bearing Foucquet's arms. The -arrangement is bad, the inscription: - - Ne faut-il que l'on avouë - Qu'on trouve en luytous ce qu'on espérait. - C'est un surintendant tel que l'on désirait. - Personne ne s'en plaint, tout le monde s'en louë. - -Signed: "Van Schupper faciebat. P. de la Serre." - -(2) The head in an oval border. Raised hangings which reveal a country -scene, with dogs coursing. The inscription: - -"Messire Nicolas Foucquet, chevalier, vicomte de Melun et de Vaux, -Ministre d'État, Surintendant des finances de Sa Majesté et son -procureur général au Parlement de Paris." - -(3) A much damaged copy. The face is pale and elongated, the expression -melancholy and sanctimonious. It is an oval medallion, 1654, without -signature, Paris, chez Daret. - -(4) The same, chez Louis Boissevin, in the Rue Saint-Jacques. - -(5) The same, with this quatrain: - - Si sa fidélité parut incomparable - En conservant l'Estat, - Sa prudence aujourd'huy n'est pas moins admirable - D'en augmenter l'éclat. - -(6) Medallion. The picture is much disfigured; the inscription: - - Qu'il a de probité, de sçavoir et de zelle, - Qu'il paroit généreux, magnanime et prudent, - Que son esprit est fort, que son cœur est fidelle, - Toutes ces qualités l'on fait Surintendant. - -(7) Medallion, with drapery. Very bad. Signature: "Baltazar Moncornet, -excud." - -(8) The same, with a frame of foliage, 1658. - -(9) A small copy, reversed, executed after Foucquet's death, the date -of which is indicated, 23rd March, 1680. It is old, hard, dark and -damaged. Signature: "Nanteuil, pinxit, Gaillard, sculpt." - -A portrait of Lebrun deserves honourable mention after that of -Nanteuil. The features are practically the same as in the engraving by -Eugène Reims; but the expression is not so keen, nor so cheerful. The -head, three-quarter profile, is turned to the right. This picture is -the original of the three following engravings: - -(1) A large oval. Signature: "C. Lebrun pinx, F. Poilly sculpt." -Inscription: - - Illustrissimus vir Nicolaus Foucquet - Generalis in Supremo regii Ærarii - Præfectus: V. Comes Melodunensis, etc. - -In a later copy, Foucquet's arms replace the Latin inscription. - -(2) A spoiled and softened copy, very careless workmanship. Signature: -"C. Mellan del. et F." - -(3) An imitation. Foucquet, seated in a straight-backed armchair, with -large wrought nail-heads, with a casket on the table beside him. He -holds a pen in his right hand, and paper in his left. Inscription: - - Magna videt, majora latent; ecce aspicis artis - Clarum opus, et virtus clarior arte latet, - Umbra est et fulget, solem miraris in umbra - Quid sol ipse micat, cujus et umbra micat. - -Signature: "Œgid. Rousselet, sculpt., 1659." - -(4) An imitation. Signature: "Larmessin, 1661." Finally, we must -mention a full-length portrait, which seems inspired by the foregoing. -The Superintendent is standing, wearing a long robe; he holds in his -right hand a small bag, in his left a paper. A raised curtain displays, -on the right, a country scene, with a torrent, a rock and a fortified -château. In the sky, Renown puts a trumpet to her mouth. In her left -hand she holds another trumpet with a bannerette on which is written: -"Quo non ascendet?" Inscription: - - A quel degré d'honneur ne peut-il pas monter - S'il s'élève tousjours par son propre courage? - Son nom et sa vertu lui donnent l'advantage - De pouvoir tout prétendre et de tout mériter. - -[23] A summary of the inventory at Saint-Mandé: MS. of the Bibliothèque -Nat. Manusc. Suppl, fr. 10958, cited by M. Edm. Bonnaffé, _Les Amateurs -de l'ancienne France_.--Le Surintendant Foucquet, librairie de l'Art, -1882. - -[24] Loc. cit., pp. 61 _et seq._ - -[25] Description of the city of Paris, 1713, p. 60. - -[26] _Mémoire des Académiciens_, Vol. I, p. 21. Bonnaffé, loc. cit., p. -15. - -[27] Preface to _Œdipe, Collect. des grands écrivains,_ Vol. VI, p. 103. - -[28] With great pomp. - -[29] The original edition has _plainte._ - -[30] Œuvres complètes de La Fontaine, published by Ch. Marty Laveaux, -Vol. III (1866), p. 26 _et seq._ - -[31] The inventory of the 26th February, 1666 (Bonnaffé, loc. cit., p. -61), classes them as follows: "Two antique mausoleums representing a -king and queen of Egypt, 800 livres." - -[32] At least, this is the hypothesis propounded by M. Bonnaffe. It is -founded on the fact that an anonymous document of 1648, published in -_Les Collectionneurs de l'ancienne France_ (Aubry, ed. 1873), mentions -le sieur Chamblon, of Marseilles, as a professor "of Egyptian idols to -enclose mummies." But it seems as if the anonymous document referred -not to sarcophagi of marble or basalt, but rather to those boxes of -painted and gilt pasteboard, with human faces, which abound in the -necropolises of ancient Egypt. The port of Marseilles must at that time -have received a fairly large number of such. We must remember that the -mummy was in those days considered as a remedy, and was widely sold by -druggists. - -[33] Cf. Mlle, de Scudéry, _Clélie._ "Méléandre (Lebrun) had caused -to be built, on a small, somewhat uneven plot of ground, two small -pyramids in imitation of those which are near Memphis." - -[34] See note, p. 10.** - -[35] Description of the city of Paris, by Germain Brice, ed. of 1698, -Vol. I, p. 124 _et seg._ - -[36] _Recueil d'antiquités dans les Gaules,_ by La Sauvagère, Paris, -1770, p. 329 _et seq._ - -[37] D.5.D. 7^8. - -[38] In this story, I have followed M. Bonnaffé. Loc. cit., p. 57. - -[39] Inventory and valuation of the books found at Saint-Mandé on the -30th July, 1665. Biblio. Nat. MSS., p. 9438. The whole was valued at -38,544 livres. - -[40] _Conseils de la Sagesse,_ p. x. - -[41] Lines presented to Monseigneur le procureur général Foucquet, -Superintendent of Finance, at the opening of the tragedy of _Œdipe,_ -1659. - -[42] One of the earliest French theatres. It was founded by the -Confrères de la Passion in 1548. - -[43] Cf. _La Vie de Corneille,_ by Fontenelle. - -[44] _Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de La Fontaine,_ by Mathieu -Marais, 1811, p. 125. - -[45] _Ouvrages de prose et de poésie des sieurs de Mancroix et La -Fontaine,_ Vol. I, p. 99. - -[46] There are two blank spaces in the 1685 edition. I have filled them -with the two names in brackets. For the first I have put the name of -Foucquet, which is given in the _Œuvres diverses_ (Vol. I, p. 19). To -fill the second space I have followed the suggestion of Mathieu Marais. -Walkenaer puts Pellisson, which is not admissible. - -[47] Edit Marty-Laveaux, VOL V, pp. 15-17. - -[48] No one can answer for the correctness of the text of these two -poems. Chardon de La Rochette published them from memory in 1811 -(_Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de La Fontaine,_ by Mathieu -Marais, p. 125). He had possessed the receipts for both in Pellisson's -own hand-writing, but had not kept it, because, he said, he did not -think "that it was worth it." This sagacious Hellenist set little store -by a Pellisson autograph, in comparison with the Palatine MS. of the -Anthologia. And he was right. But it is odd that he should have known -the verses by heart, and that, having neglected to preserve them in his -desk, he should have retained them in his memory. - -[49] Promettre est un, et tenir promesse est un autre. - -[50] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ coll. Petitot, p. 211. - -[51] _Ibid.,_ loc. cit., p. 230. - -[52] Bussy, II, p. 50. - -[53] "Jamais surintendant ne trouva de cruelle." - -[54] Bussy, II, p. 50. - -[55] Letter of the 25th May, 1658. - -[56] Letter of 18th January, 1660. - -[57] Loret, Muse historique, letter of the 28th of December, 1652. - -[58] In 1661 (?) _Papiers de Foucquet_ (F. Baluze), Vol. I, pp. 31-32. - -[59] Maurepas Collection. Vol. II, p. 271. - -[60] Letter of the 11th November, 1661. - -[61] Gourville, in _Monmerqué,_ Vol. II, p. 342. - -[62] _Mémoires de l'abbé de Choisy,_ p. 579. - -[63] _Mémoires de Brienne,_ Vol. II, p. 52. - -[64] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ p. 581. Chéruel, _Mémoires sur Nicolas -Foucquet,_ Vol. II, p. 97. - -[65] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ p. 249. - -[66] _Mémoires de Choisy,_ p. 249. - -[67] _Choisy,_ p. 586. "I learnt these details," said Choisy, "from -Perrault, to whom Colbert related them more than once." - -[68] _Ibid.,_ p. 586. Cf. also Guy Patin, letter to Falconnet, 2nd -September, 1661. - -[69] _Histoire d'Henriette d'Angleterre,_ by Mme de Lafayette. Paris, -Charavay frères, 1882, p. 53. - -[70] See Part II for the story of this entertainment. - -[71] Cf. _Mémoires sur Nicolas Foucquet,_ by Chéruel, Vol. II, pp. -179-180. - -[72] _Mémoires de Brienne,_ Vol. II, p. 153. - -[73] La Fontaine, letter to his wife, Ed. Marty-Laveaux, Vol. III, p. -311 _et seq._ - -[74] This letter was published for the first time in _Les Causeries -d'un curieux,_ VOL II, p. 518. - -[75] _Dictionnaire Antique._ Article on Hesnault. - -[76] Letter of the 10th of September, 1661. - -[77] Letter of the 2nd October, 1661. - -[78] Second Speech to the King, in _Les Œuvres diverses,_ p. 109. - -[79] Cf. _Mélanges,_ by Vigneul de Marville. - -[80] Such is the title of the original edition, printed in italics, -without date or address, on three quarto pages. - -[81] "The Anqueil is a little river which flows near Vaux." (Note by La -Fontaine.) - -[82] Variant: - -La Cabale est contente, Oronte est malheureux. - - -[83] Variant: - - Du grand, du grand Henri qu'il contemple la vie. - (Original edition.) - - -[84] Edition quoted, Vol. V, pp. 43-46. One contemporary copy, -preserved in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, contains a text altered by -one of Foucquet's enemies. - -Instead of the two lines: - - Voilà le précipice où l'ont enfin jeté - Les attraits enchanteurs de la prospérité, - -we read in this copy: - - Il se hait de tant vivre après un tel malheur, - Et, s'il espère encor, ce n'est qu'en sa douleur, - C'est là le seul plaisir qui flatte son courage, - Car des autres plaisirs on lui défend l'usage. - Voilà, voilà l'effet de cette ambition - Qui fait de ses pareils l'unique passion. - - -[85] Edition cited: Vol. V, pp. 46-49. Published for the first time by -La Fontaine in his collection _Poésies chrétinnes et diverses,_ 1671, -Vol. Ill, p. 34. - -[86] La Fontaine, Letter to Monsieur Foucquet. Edition cited: Vol. Ill, -pp. 307-308. This letter was published for the first time in 1729. - -[87] Cf. Le procès de Foucquet, a speech pronounced at the opening of -Conférence des Avocats, Monday, 27th November, 1882, by Léon Deroy, -advocate in the Court of Appeal. Paris, Alcan Lévy, 1882. - -[88] Recueil des arrêtés de G. de Lamoignon, Paris, 1781. _Vie de M. -le premier président,_ by Girard, p. 14. (The fleur-de-Iys was very -largely employed in the decoration of the walls, floors, ceiling, etc., -of the Parliaments, etc.--Ed.) - -[89] Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson, Vol. II, p. 26. - -[90] _Recueil des arrêtés,_ already cited. - -[91] Madame de Sévigné, letter of the 27th November, 1664. - -[92] _Ibid.,_ letter of the 2nd December. - -[93] "The Duc de Sully, the son-in-law of the Chancellor, Séguier, had, -in 1652, yielded the crossing of the bridge of Mantes to the Spanish -Army." (Note by M. Chéruel.) - -[94] _Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,_ Vol. II, p. 263. Letter from Mme. -de Sévigné, 9th December. - -[95] _Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,_ VOL II, p. 282. Letter from Mme. de -Sévigné, 9th December. - -[96] _Ibid.,_ Vol. II, p. 283. - - -[97] _Ibid.,_ Vol. II, p. 286. - -[98] The Comte de Vaux, Foucquet's eldest son, having obtained his -father's MSS. from Pignerol, published extracts entitled: _Conseils de -la Sagesse_ ou _Recueil des Maximes de Salomon._ Paris, 1683, 2 vols. - -[99] The Duc de Lauzun, said to have married La Grande Mademoiselle, -Mlle, de Montpensier, cousin of Louis XIV. (Trans.) - -[100] Delort, _Détention des Philosophes,_ Vol. I, p. 53. - - - - -PART II - - -THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX - - -During his trial Foucquet declared that he had begun the building of -his house at Vaux as early as 1640. On this point his memory betrayed -him. Reference to the inscription on an engraving by Pérelle, after -Israël Silvestre, assigns the commencement of work upon the house to -the year 1653, but there is no doubt that Israël Silvestre planned -the château on lines which were not absolutely final. Nor was the _ne -varietur_ plan, signed in 1666, exactly followed.[1] - -It is not until 1657 that the registers of the parish of Maincy attest -the presence of foreign workmen who had come to undertake certain -building operations on the estate of Vaux. - -The architect, Louis Levau, employed by Foucquet, was not a -beginner. He had already built "a house at the apex of the island -of Notre-Dame,"[2] which is none other than the Hôtel Lambert,[3] -the ingenious novelties of which were greatly admired. Especially -noteworthy was the chamber of Madame de Torigny, on the second floor, -which Le Sueur had decorated with a grace which recalls the mural -paintings of Herculaneum. This chamber was called the Italian room, -"Because," said Guillet de Saint-Georges, "the beauty of the woodwork -and the richness of the panelling took the place of tapestry." - -Levau, born in 1612, was forty-three years of age when he signed the -_ne varietur_ plan. We know little about the life of this man whose -work is so famous. A document of the 23rd March, 1651,[4] describes -him as "a man of noble birth, Councillor and Secretary to the King, -House and Crown of France." He then lived in Paris, in the Rue du -Roi-de-Sicile, with his wife and his three young children, Jean, Louis -and Nicolas. - -Besides the Hôtel Lambert and the Château de Vaux, we are indebted to -him for the design for the Collège des Quatre-Nations, now the Palace -of the Institute; the Maison Bautru, called by Sauvai "La Gentille," -and engraved by Marot; the Hôtel de Pons, in the Rue du Colombier -(to-day the Rue du Vieux-Colombier), built for President Tambruneau; -the Hôtel Deshameaux, which, according to Sauvai, had an Italian room; -the Hôtel d'Hesselin in the He Saint-Louis; the Hôtel de Rohan, in the -Rue de l'Université; the Château de Livry, since known as Le Rainey, -built for the Intendant of Finances, Bordier; the Château de Seignelay; -a château near Troyes; and the Château de Bercy.[5] - -We may add that Louis Levau, having become first architect to the King, -succeeded Gamard in directing the works of the church of Saint-Sulpice, -and that he, in his turn, was succeeded by Daniel Gillard in 1660.[6] - -Louis Levau died in Paris. His body was carried to the church of -Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, his parish church, on Saturday, the nth -October, 1670, as attested by the register of this church. There, -under the above date, may be read: "On the said day was buried Messire -Louys Levau, aged 57 or thereabouts, who died this morning at three -o'clock. In his life a Councillor of the King in his Council, general -Superintendent of His Majesty's buildings, first Architect of his -buildings, Secretary to His Majesty and the House and Crown of France, -etc., taken from the Rue des Fossés, from the ancient Hôtel de -Longueville."[7] - -In the _Archives de l'Art français_ (Vol. I) there is a document -relating to Louis Levau: - -"There has been submitted to us the plan and elevation of the building -of the Cathedral Church of Saint-Pierre of Nantes, of which the part -not already constructed is marked in red. This church is one hundred -and eleven feet high from the floor to the keystones of the vaults at -the meeting of the diagonals, and the lower aisles and chapels are -fifty-six feet, measured also from the floor. - -"It is desired to finish the said church, and to respect its symmetry -as far as may be, and to make the lower aisles and chapels around the -choir like those which are on the right of the nave. - -"The difficulty is that, in order to finish this work, it is necessary -to pull down the walls of the town, and to carry it out into the moat, -and it is desirable to take as little ground as can be, in order not to -diminish too greatly the breadth of the moat. Wherefore it is proposed -to do away with the three chapels behind the choir, marked by the -letter H. - -"But, if those three chapels are removed, it will be seen that the -flying buttresses which support the choir will not have the same thrust -as those which support the nave; the strength of these buttresses will -be diminished, and the symmetry of the church destroyed, in a place -where the church is most visible. - -"With this plan we send the elevation of the pillars and buttresses to -show how they are constructed in the neighborhood of the nave. - -"The whole of this is in order to ascertain whether the three chapels -can be dispensed with, and the safety of the choir and the whole -edifice secured." - -To create the estate of Vaux in its prodigious magnificence, it was -necessary to destroy three villages: Vaux-le-Vicomte, with its church -and its mill, the hamlet of Maison-Rouge and that of Jumeau. The -gigantic works which were necessary are hardly imaginable; immense -rocks were carried away; deep canals were excavated. - -Foucquet hurried on the work with all the impatience of his intemperate -mind. As early as 1657 the animation which prevailed in the works was -so great that it was spoken of as something immoderate, as though more -befitting royalty. Foucquet felt that it was of importance to conceal -proceedings - -The following is in Levau's own hand:-- - - "In order to reply to the above questions I, Le Vau, - architect in ordinary of the King's buildings, certify that, - having inspected the plan and the elevation of the flying - buttresses of the church of Nantes, which have been sent - me, having carefully examined and considered the whole, and - having even made some designs for altering and dispensing - with the chapels H H H; after having considered all that can - be done in this matter, I have come to the conclusion that - it cannot be accomplished without weakening and considerably - damaging the pillars of the choir, and the other aisles, and - destroying all symmetry; in a word, ruining it. I therefore - do not submit the design that I have made, for my opinion is - that the original design should be followed, and that the - church should be finished as it was begun; as nothing else - can be done save to the great prejudice of the said church. - In attestation of which I sign. 'LE VAU.'" - -which gave the impression of enormous expenditure. He wrote on the 8th -of February, 1657: - -"A gentleman of the neighbourhood, who is called Villevessin, told the -Queen that he was lately at Vaux, and that in the workshop he counted -nine hundred men. In order to avoid this as far as may be, you must -carry out my design of putting up screens, and keeping the doors shut. -I should be glad if you would advance all the work as far as possible -before the season when everybody goes into the country, and I want -you to avoid, as far as possible, having a large number of workpeople -together."[7] - -If we compare the statement made by M. de Villevessin with a note -written by Foucquet on the 21st November, 1660, we may conclude that at -one time there were eighteen thousand workmen occupied on the buildings -and the gardens.[8] - -Such works could not be kept secret. Colbert, jealous for his King and -perhaps for himself, came to visit them in secret. Watel, Foucquet's -steward--he who later entered the King's service, the story of whose -death is well known--Watel, faithful servant, surprised Colbert making -his inspection, and told his master. Foucquet took some precautions, -but none the less the matter created a bad impression at Court. One day -when the King, with Monsieur, was inspecting the building operations -at the Louvre, he complained to his brother that he had no money to -complete this great building. Whereupon Monsieur replied jokingly: -"Sire, Your Majesty need only become Superintendent of Finance for a -single year, and then you will have plenty of money for building."[9] - -These immense works necessitated great institutions. Foucquet founded -at Maincy a hospital called La Charité, where the workmen were received -when they were ill.[10] - -Tapestry rooms were also established at Maincy. There, according to Le -Brun's designs, were executed _Les Chasses de Méléagre_ and _l'Histoire -de Constantin._[11] - -Le Brun himself settled at Maincy, with his wife Suzanne, in the autumn -of 1658. - -This great artist did not merely provide cartoons for tapestry; he -decorated the ceilings of the halls of the château with allegorical -paintings. Several pieces of sculpture also were executed from his -drawings. Thus the four lions which are still seen at the foot of the -staircase leading to the great Terrace des Grottes were designed by -the painter; or, at least, so Mlle, de Scudéry says. These lions have -almost human countenances. We know that the art of the eighteenth -century was very free in its treatment of wild animals. The face -expresses pride as well as gentleness. Lying in its innocent claws is a -squirrel, pursued by a viper. Colbert again! - -Now I must recall the great days of Vaux. They were not many, and the -most brilliant was the last. - -After the marriage of the King and the Infanta at -Saint-Jean-de-Luz,[12] the Court took the road to Paris. It halted at -Fontainbleau, and Foucquet received it at Vaux with that audacious -magnificence which he preferred even to the realities of power. The -courtiers walked in the gardens, where the fountains were playing, and -a wonderful supper was served. The gazetteer Press has preserved for us -a list of the fruits and flowers which adorned the tables, as well as -"preserves of every colour, the fritters and pastries and other dishes -which were served there."[13] - -A year later the Château de Vaux received the widow of Charles I, -Henriette of France, Queen of England. She was accompanied by her -daughter, Henrietta of England, and the Duc d'Orléans, her son-in-law. -Henrietta, or, to give her her title, Madame, was in all the brilliance -of her youth, had a genius both for affairs of gallantry and matters -of State. She lived as though in haste, consuming in coquetry and -in intrigue a life which was not fated to be a lone one. A woman of -this character, so nearly related to the King, was bound to interest -the ambitious Foucquet. He received her with all the refinements of -magnificence. After dinner he had a Comedy played before her. The -piece was by Molière himself, who was already greatly admired for his -naturalness and truth to life. The play was then completely new; it -had not been seen either by the town or the Court, it was _L'École des -Maris._[14] - -Shortly afterwards the Château of Vaux was to witness a yet more -brilliant festivity--the last of all. When Foucquet invited the King, -he was possessed by a spirit of unwisdom and of error; all about him, -men and things alike, cried out to him in vain: Blind! blind! - -The King set out from Fontainbleau on the 17th August, 1661, and came -to Vaux in a coach, in which he was accompanied by Monsieur, the -Comtesse d'Armagnac, the Duchesse de Valentinois and the Comtesse de -Guiche. The Queen-Mother came in her own coach, and Madame in her -litter. The young Queen, detained at Fontainebleau by her pregnancy, -was not present at that cruel festivity. More than six thousand persons -were invited. The King and the Court began by visiting the park. All -were loud in their admiration of the great fountains. "There was," -says La Fontaine,[15] "great discussion as to which was the best, -the Cascade, the Wheat-Sheaf Jet, the Fountain of the Crown or the -Animals." The château also was inspected and Le Brun's pictures greatly -admired. - -The King could ill contain his wrath at a display of luxury which -seemed stolen from him, and which he was later on to imitate at -Versailles, with all the diligence of a good pupil. He was angered, -so it is said,[16] by an allegorical picture into which Le Brun had -obviously introduced the portrait of Mademoiselle de la Vallière. The -fact may be doubted, but it is certain that the courtiers, with eyes -sharpened by envy, remarked on all the panelling Foucquet's device: -_"Quo non ascendant,"_ or _Quo non ascendet?_ accompanying a squirrel -(or foucquet) climbing up a tree. Louis XIV, according to Choisy, -conceived the idea of arresting his insolent subject on the spot, and -it was the Queen-Mother, who had long been Foucquet's friend, who -prevented him from doing so. But such impatience is not consistent with -that patient duplicity which the King displayed in this connection. -Almost at that very moment, did he not ask his hospitable subject for -another festival to celebrate the churching of the young Queen?[17] - -After the château and grounds had been visited, there was a lottery in -which every guest won something: the ladies jewels, the men weapons. -Then a supper was served, provided by Watel, the cost of which was -valued at one hundred and twenty thousand livres. "Great were the -delicacy and the rarity of the dishes," says La Fontaine, "but greater -still the grace with which Monsieur le Surintendant and Madame la -Surintendante did the honours of their house." The pantry of the -château then contained at least thirty-six dozen plates of solid gold -and a service of the same metal.[18] After supper the guests went to -the Allée des Sapins, where a stage had been erected. - -Mechanical stage effects were then much in vogue. Those of Vaux were -wonderful. The mechanism was the work of Torelli, and the scenery was -painted by Le Brun. - - Deux enchanteurs pleins de savoir - Firent tant, par leur imposture, - Qu'on crut qu'ils avaient le pouvoir - De commander à la nature. - L'un de ces enchanteurs est le sieur Torelli, - Magicien expert et faiseur de miracles; - Et l'autre, c'est Lebrun, par qui Vaux embelli - Présente aux regardants mille rares spectacles.[19] - -Rocks were seen to open, and statues moved. - -The scene represented a grim rock in a lonely desert. Suddenly the rock -changed to a shell, and, the shell having opened, there came forth -a nymph. This was Béjart, who recited a prologue by Pellisson. "In -this prologue, Béjart, who represents the nymph of the fountain where -the action is taking place, commands the divinities, who are subject -to her, to leave the statues in which they are enshrined, and to -contribute with all their power to His Majesty's amusement. Straightway -the pedestals and the statues which adorn the stage move, and there -emerge from them, I know not how, fauns and bacchantes, who form a -ballet. It is very amusing to see a god of boundaries delivered of a -child which comes into the world dancing." - -The ballet was followed by the play which had been conceived, written -and rehearsed in a fortnight. It was Molière's _Les Fâcheux._ The play, -as we know, has interludes of dancing, and concludes with a ballet. -"It is Terence," was the verdict. No doubt, but it is a devilish bad -Terence. - -The night was one of those fiery nights of which Racine writes in the -most worldly of his tragedies. Fireworks shot into the air. There was -a rain of stars; then, when the King departed, the lantern on the dome -which surmounted the château burst into flames, vomiting sheaves of -rockets and fiery serpents. We know what a sad morrow succeeded that -splendid night. - -My task is completed. - -Madame Foucquet, of whose biography we have already given an outline, -obtained a legal separation of her property from her husband's before -the sentence of the 19th December, 1664. She was able to retain a -considerable part of her fortune. "On the 19th March, 1673, she bought -back from the creditors, for one million two hundred and fifty thousand -livres, the Viscounty of Melun, with the estate of Vaux, and made a -donation thereof to her son, Louis-Nicolas Fouquet, by various deeds, -dated 1683, 1689, 1703. Her son having died with out posterity in 1705, -she sold the estate on the 29th August, 1705, to Louis-Hector, Duc de -Villars, Marshal of France, who parted with it on the 27th August, -1764, to C.-Gabriel de Choiseul, Duc de Praslin and peer of France, for -one million six hundred thousand livres."[20] The château remained in -the family of Choiseul-Parslin until the 6th July, 1875. - -By a piece of good fortune it then passed into the hands of M. A. -Sommier. From that day one may say that art and letters have been -vigilant in its preservation, for M. Sommier combines the most perfect -taste with a love of art, and Madame Sommier is the daughter of M. de -Barante, the famous historian.[21] - -But for M. Sommier it was not enough to preserve this historical -monument. His artistic munificence was prepared for any sacrifice -in order to restore those cascades and grottos at which La Fontaine -had marvelled, and which had fallen into ruins, been overgrown with -brushwood, in which vipers lurked and rabbits burrowed. In this noble -task M. Sommier was fortunately aided by a learned architect, M. -Destailleurs. M. Rodolphe Pfnor, my collaborator and friend, holds it -an honour to associate himself with the praises which I here bestow -upon the understanding liberality of M. Sommier. M. Pfnor, by reason of -his skill in architecture and the arts of design, is competent to give -these praises a real and absolute value. Be it understood that I speak -for him as well as for myself. - -It is just that art and letters should unite in congratulating M. -Sommier. The restorer of the Château de Vaux has deserved well of both. -It was reserved for him to realize in all its splendour _Le Songe -Vaux._ He has uttered the command in a voice which has been obeyed: - - Fontaines, jaillissez, - Herbe tendre, croissez - Le long de ces rivages. - Venez, petits oiseaux, - Accorder vos ramages - Au doux bruit de leurs eaux. - - -[1] Bonnaffé, op. cit., p. 27. - -[2] Guillet de Saint-Georges, in _Les Archives de l'Art_ _français,_ -1853, Vol. III. - -[3] Cf. Jal., Diet. - -[4] Occupied successively by the President of the Chambre des Comptes, -Lambert Torigny; the Marquise du Chastelle; M. de La Haye; the Comte -de Montalivet; the Administrator of Lits Militaires; and Prince Adam -Czartoryski, the present owner (1888). - -[5] Ad. Lance, _Dictionnaire des Architectes français,_ Paris, 1872, 2 -vols. Article on Levau (Louis). - -[6] _Archives de l'Art français,_ Vol. I, 1852. - -[7] Letter cited by M. Pierre Clement, _Histoire de Colbert,_ p. 30. - -[8] cite almost literally a phrase by M. Eugène Grésy. M. Grésy's -valuable work on the Château de Vaux is contained in _Les Archives de -l'Art français._ Vol. I, p. I _et seq._ - -[9] Cimber et Danjou, _Archives curieuses de l'Histoire de France,_ -Second Series, Vol. VIII, p. 415 (Portraits de la Cour). - -[10] M. Eugène Grésy, loc. cit., p. 7. - -[11] It is well known that the Maincy factory, taken to Paris by -order of the King after Foucquet's disgrace, became the Gobelins. -(Lacordaire, article on the Gobelins, second ed., 1855, p. 65.) Cf. -also _L'Histoire de la Tapisserie,_ by J. Guiffrey. - -[12] 9th June, 1660. - -[13] Cf. Loret, letter of the 24th July, 1660. - -[14] _Ibid.,_ letter of the 17th July, 1661. - - -[15] Letter to Maucroix, 9th ed., cited Vol. Ill, p. 301. - -[16] Choisy, in his _Mémoires._ Ed. cited p. 587. - -[17] Cf. La Fontaine, letter previously cited. - -[18] Cf. Chéruel, loc. cit., who cites (Vol. II, p. 223) the portfolios -of Valiant, Vol. Ill, in the Biblio. Nat. MSS. - -[19] La Fontaine, letter from Maucroix, Vol. Ill, p. 304. - - -[20] See the excursion made by the subscribers to _l'Ami des Monuments_ -to the Château de Vaux-le-Praslin, or le Vicomte, near Melun, in -_l' Ami des Monuments,_ a magazine founded and edited by M. Charles -Normand, 1887, p. 301, No. 4. - -[21] In the Château de Vaux one of the rooms on the first story, and -certainly the most beautiful, bears the name of the "Room of M. de -Barante." It has a ceiling which represents one of those nymphs of -Vaux which La Fontaine celebrated so charmingly. This ceiling has been -recently restored. M. Destailleurs has displayed great art in its -preservation. - - - -THE END - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Clio, by Anatole France - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLIO *** - -***** This file should be named 50670-0.txt or 50670-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/6/7/50670/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Clio - -Author: Anatole France - -Translator: Winifred Stephens - -Release Date: December 11, 2015 [EBook #50670] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLIO *** - - - - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<h1>CLIO</h1> - -<h4>BY</h4> - -<h2>ANATOLE FRANCE</h2> - -<h5>FROM THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE</h5> - -<h5>IN AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION<br /> -EDITED BY JAMES LEWIS MAY<br/> -AND BERNARD MIALL«</h5> - -<h4>A TRANSLATION BY WINIFRED STEPHENS</h4> - -<h5>LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD<br/> -NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY</h5> - -<h5>MCMXXII</h5> -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_000.jpg" width="300" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> -<h4>TO</h4> - -<h4>EMILE ZOLA</h4> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<blockquote> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em;">NOTE BY THE EDITORS</p> - -<p><i>The Château de Vaux le Vicomte</i> is a translation of the -text of a sumptuously illustrated volume descriptive of this -wonderful monument of human frailty and ambition, published -in 1888 by Lemercier et Cie with plates by Rodolphe Pfnor. -Although the text has not been published apart from the -plates in France, it seemed only fitting to include a -translation of <i>The Château de Vaux le Vicomte</i> in a -complete edition of Monsieur Anatole France's works.</p></blockquote> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold;"> -CONTENTS</p> -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-left: 20%;"> -<a href="#CLIO">CLIO</a><br /> -<br /> -<a href="#THE_BARD_OF_KYME">THE BARD OF KYME</a><br /> -<a href="#KOMM_OF_THE_ATREBATES">KOMM OF THE ATREBATES</a><br /> -<a href="#FARINATA_DEGLI_UBERTI">FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI</a><br /> -<a href="#THE_KING_DRINKS">THE KING DRINKS</a><br /> -<a href="#LA_MUIRON">"LA MUIRON"</a><br /> -<br /> -<a href="#THE_CHATEAU_DE_VAUX-LE-VICOMTE">THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX-LE-VICOMTE</a><br /> -<br /> -<a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a><br /> -<a href="#PART_I">NICOLAS FOUCQUET</a><br /> -<a href="#PART_II">THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX</a><br /> -</p> -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="transnote">[To this English translation of Clio we added 12 plates -by Mucha, who illustrated the French 1900 edition, which is also available -at Project Gutenberg.—Transcribers' Note.]</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h3><a name="CLIO" id="CLIO">CLIO</a></h3> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_001_2.jpg" width="450" alt="" /> -</div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="THE_BARD_OF_KYME" id="THE_BARD_OF_KYME">THE BARD OF KYME</a></h4> - - -<p>Along the hill-side he came, following a path which skirted the sea. -His forehead was bare, deeply furrowed and bound by a fillet of red -wool. The sea-breeze blew his white locks over his temples and pressed -the fleece of a snow-white beard against his chin. His tunic and his -feet were the colour of the roads which he had trodden for so many -years. A roughly made lyre hung at his side. He was known as the Aged -One, and also as the Bard. Yet another name was given him by the -children to whom he taught poetry and music, and many called him the -Blind One, because his eyes, dim with age, were overhung by swollen -lids, reddened by the smoke of the hearths beside which he was wont -to sit when he sang. But his was no eternal night, and he was said -to see things invisible to other men. For three generations he had -been wandering ceaselessly to and fro. And now, having sung all day -to a King of Ægea, he was returning to his home, the roof of which -he could already see smoking in the distance; for now, after walking -all night without a halt for fear of being overtaken by the heat of -the day, in the clear light of the dawn he could see the white Kyme, -his birthplace. With his dog at his side, leaning on his crooked -staff, he walked with slow steps, his body upright, his head held -high because of the steepness of the way leading down into the narrow -valley and because he was still vigorous in his age. The sun, rising -over the mountains of Asia, shed a rosy light over the fleecy clouds -and the hill-sides of the islands that studded the sea. The coast-line -glistened. But the hills that stretched away eastward, crowned with -mastic and terebinth, lay still in the freshness and the shadow of -night.</p> - -<p>The Aged One measured along the incline the length of twelve times -twelve lances and found, on the left, between the flanks of twin rocks, -the narrow entrance to a sacred wood. There, on the brink of a spring, -rose an altar of unhewn stones.</p> - -<p>It was half hidden by an oleander the branches of which were laden -with dazzling blossoms. The well-trodden ground in front of the altar -was white with the bones of victims. All around, the boughs of the -olive-trees were hung with offerings. And farther on, in the awesome -shadow of the gorge, rose two ancient oaks, bearing, nailed to their -trunks, the bleached skulls of bulls. Knowing that this altar was -consecrated to Phœbus, the Aged One plunged into the wood, and, taking -by its handle a little earthenware cup which hung from his belt, he -bent over the stream which, flowing over a bed of wild parsley and -water-cress, slowly wound its way down to the meadow. He filled his cup -with the spring-water, and, because he was pious, before drinking he -poured a few drops before the altar. He worshipped the immortal gods, -who know neither pain nor death, while on earth generation follows -generation of suffering men. He was conscious of fear; and he dreaded -the arrows of Leto's sons. Full of sorrows and of years, he loved the -light of day and feared death. For this reason an idea occurred to him. -He bent the pliable trunk of a sapling, and drawing it towards him hung -his earthenware cup from the topmost twig of the young tree, which, -springing back, bore the old man's offering up to the open sky.</p> - -<p>White Kyme, wall-encircled, rose from the edge of the sea. A steep -highway, paved with flat stones, led to the gate of the town. This gate -had been built in an age beyond man's memory, and it was said to be -the work of the gods. Carved upon the lintel were signs which no man -understood, yet they were regarded as of good omen. Not far from this -gate was the public square, where the benches of the elders shone -beneath the trees. Near this square, on the landward side, the Aged One -stayed his steps. There was his house. It was low and small, and less -beautiful than the neighbouring house, where a famous seer dwelt with -his children. Its entrance was half hidden beneath a heap of manure, in -which a pig was rooting. This dunghill was smaller than those at the -doors of the rich. But behind the house was an orchard, and stables of -unquarried stone, which the Aged One had built with his own hands. The -sun was climbing up the white vault of heaven, the sea wind had fallen. -The invisible fire in the air scorched the lungs of men and beasts. -For a moment the Aged One paused upon the threshold to wipe the sweat -from his brow with the back of his hand. His dog, with watchful eye and -hanging tongue, stood still and panted.</p> - -<p>The aged Melantho, emerging from the house, appeared on the threshold -and spoke a few pleasant words. Her coming had been slow, because a god -had sent an evil spirit into her legs which swelled them and made them -heavier than a couple of wine-skins. She was a Carian slave and in her -youth the King had bestowed her on the bard, who was then young and -vigorous. And in her new master's bed she had conceived many children. -But not one was left in the house. Some were dead, others had gone away -to practise the art of song or to steer the plough in distant Achaian -cities, for all were richly gifted. And Melantho was left alone in the -house with Areta, her daughter-in-law, and Areta's two children.</p> - -<p>She went with the master into the great hall with its smoky rafters. In -the midst of it, before the domestic altar, lay the hearthstone covered -with red embers and melted fat. Out of the hall opened two stories of -small rooms; a wooden staircase led to the upper chambers, which were -the women's quarters. Against the pillars that supported the roof leant -the bronze weapons which the Aged One had borne in his youth, in the -days when he followed the kings to the cities to which they drove in -their chariots to recapture the daughters of Kyme whom the heroes had -carried away. From one of the beams hung the skin of an ox.</p> - -<p>The elders of the city, wishful to honour the bard, had sent it to -him on the previous day. He rejoiced at the sight of it. As he stood -drawing a long breath into a chest which was shrunken with age, he took -from beneath his tunic, with a few cloves of garlic remaining from -his alfresco supper, the King of Ægea's gift; it was a stone fallen -from heaven and precious, for it was of iron, though too small for a -lance-tip. He brought with him also a pebble which he had found on the -road. On this pebble, when looked at in a certain light, was the form -of a man's head. And the Aged One, showing it to Melantho, said:</p> - -<p>"Woman, see, on this pebble is the likeness of Pakoros, the blacksmith; -not without permission of the gods may a stone thus present the -semblance of Pakoros."</p> - -<p>And when the aged Melantho had poured water over his feet and hands in -order to remove the dust that defiled them, he grasped the shin of beef -in his arms, placed it on the altar and began to tear it asunder. Being -wise and prudent, he did not delegate to women or to children the duty -of preparing the repast; and, after the manner of kings, he himself -cooked the flesh of beasts.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Melantho coaxed the fire on the hearth into a flame. She -blew upon the dry twigs until a god wrapped them in fire. Though the -task was holy, the Aged One suffered it to be performed by a woman -because years and fatigue had enfeebled him. When the flames leapt up -he cast into them pieces of flesh which he turned over with a fork of -bronze. Seated on his heels, he inhaled the smoke; and as it filled -the room his eyes smarted and watered; but he paid no heed because he -was accustomed to it and because the smoke signified abundance. As the -toughness of the meat yielded to the fire's irresistible power, he -put fragments of it into his mouth and, slowly masticating them with -his well-worn teeth, ate in silence. Standing at his side, the aged -Melantho poured the dark wine into an earthenware cup like that which -he had given to the god.</p> - -<p>When he had satisfied hunger and thirst, he inquired whether all in -house and stable was well. And he inquired concerning the wool woven in -his absence, the cheese placed in the vat and the ripe olives in the -press. And, remembering that his goods were but few, he said:</p> - -<p>"The heroes keep herds of oxen and heifers in the meadows. They have a -goodly number of strong and comely slaves; the doors of their houses -are of ivory and of brass, and their tables are laden with pitchers -of gold. The courage of their hearts assured them of wealth, which -they sometimes keep until old age. In my youth, certes, I was not -inferior to them in courage, but I had neither horses nor chariots, nor -servants, nor even armour strong enough to vie with them in battle and -to win tripods of gold and women of great beauty. He who fights on foot -with poor weapons cannot kill many enemies, because he himself fears -death. Wherefore, fighting beneath the town walls, in the ranks, with -the serving men, never did I win rich spoil."</p> - -<p>The aged Melantho made answer:</p> - -<p>"War giveth wealth to men and robs them of it. My father, Kyphos, had -a palace and countless herds at Mylata. But armed men despoiled him of -all and slew him. I myself was carried away into slavery, but I was -never ill-treated because I was young. The chiefs took me to their bed -and never did I lack food. You were my best master and the poorest."</p> - -<p>There was neither joy nor sadness in her voice as she spoke.</p> - -<p>The Aged One replied:</p> - -<p>"Melantho, you cannot complain of me, for I have always treated you -kindly. Reproach me not with having failed to win great wealth. -Armourers are there and blacksmiths who are rich. Those who are skilled -in the construction of chariots derive no small advantage from their -labours. Seers receive great gifts. But the life of minstrels is hard."</p> - -<p>The aged Melantho said:</p> - -<p>"The life of many men is hard."</p> - -<p>And with heavy step she went out of the house, with her -daughter-in-law, to fetch wood from the cellar. It was the hour when -the sun's invincible heat prostrates men and beasts, and silences even -the song of the birds in the motionless foliage. The Aged One stretched -himself upon a mat, and, veiling his face, fell asleep.</p> - -<p>As he slumbered he was visited by a succession of dreams, which were -neither more beautiful nor more unusual than those which he dreamed -every day. In these dreams appeared to him the forms of men and of -beasts. And, because among them he recognized some whom he had known -while they lived on the green earth and who having lost the light of -day had lain beneath the funeral pile, he concluded that the shades of -the dead hover in the air, but that, having lost their vigour, they -are nothing but empty shadows. He learned from dreams that there exist -likewise shades of animals and of plants which are seen in sleep. He -was convinced that the dead, wandering in Hades, themselves form their -own image, since none may form it for them, unless it were one of those -gods who love to deceive man's feeble intellect. But, being no seer, -he could not distinguish between false dreams and true; and, weary of -seeking to understand the confused visions of the night, he regarded -them with indifference as they passed beneath his closed eyelids.</p> - -<p>On awakening, he beheld, ranged before him in an attitude of respect, -the children of Kyme, whom he instructed in poetry and music, as his -father had instructed him. Among them were his daughter-in-law's two -sons. Many of them were blind, for a bard's life was deemed fitting for -those who, bereft of sight, could neither work in the fields nor follow -heroes to war.</p> - -<p>In their hands they bore the offerings in payment for the bard's -lessons, fruit, cheese, a honeycomb, a sheep's fleece, and they waited -for their master's approval before placing it on the domestic altar.</p> - -<p>The Aged One, having risen and taken his lyre which hung from a beam in -the hall, said kindly:</p> - -<p>"Children, it is just that the rich should give much and the poor less. -Zeus, our father, hath unequally apportioned wealth among men. But he -will punish the child who withholds the tribute due to the divine bard."</p> - -<p>The vigilant Melantho came and took the gifts from the altar. And the -Aged One, having tuned his lyre, began to teach a song to the children, -who with crossed legs were seated on the ground around him.</p> - -<p>"Hearken," he said, "to the combat between Patrocles and Sarpedon. This -is a beautiful song."</p> - -<p>And he sang. He skilfully modulated the sounds, applying the same -rhythm and the same measure to each line; and, in order that his voice -should not wander from the key, he supported it at regular intervals -by striking a note upon his three-stringed lyre. And, before making a -necessary pause, he uttered a shrill cry, accompanied by a strident -vibration of strings. After he had sung lines equal in number to double -the number of fingers on his two hands, he made the children repeat -them. They cried them out all together in a high voice, as, following -their master's example, they touched the little lyres which they -themselves had carved out of wood and which gave no sound.</p> - -<p>Patiently the Aged One sang the lines over and over until the little -singers knew every word. The attentive children he praised, but those -who lacked memory or intelligence he struck with the wooden part of his -lyre, and they went away to lean weeping against a pillar of the hall. -He taught by example, not by precept, because he believed poesy to be -of hoary antiquity and beyond man's judgment. The only counsels which -he gave related to manners. He bade them:</p> - -<p>"Honour kings and heroes, who are superior to other men. Call heroes -by their own name and that of their father, so that these names be not -forgotten. When you sit in assemblies gather your tunic about you and -let your mien express grace and modesty."</p> - -<p>Again he said to them:</p> - -<p>"Do not spit in rivers, because rivers are scared. Make no change, -either through weakness of memory or of your own imagining, in the -songs I teach you, and when a king shall say unto you: 'These songs are -beautiful. From whom did you learn them?' you shall answer: 'I learnt -them from the Aged One of Kyme, who received them from his father, whom -doubtless a god had inspired.'" Of the ox's shin, there yet remained a -few succulent morsels. Having eaten one of them before the hearth and -smashed the bone with an axe of bronze, in order to extract the marrow, -of which he alone in the house was worthy to partake, he divided the -rest of the meat into portions which should nourish the women and -children for the space of two days.</p> - -<p>Then he realized that soon nothing would be left of this nutritious -food, and he reflected:</p> - -<p>"The rich are loved by Zeus and the poor are not. All unwittingly I -have doubtless offended one of those gods who live concealed in the -forests or the mountains, or perhaps the child of an immortal; and -it is to expiate my involuntary crime that I drag out my days in a -penurious old age. Sometimes, without any evil intention, one commits -actions which are punishable because the gods have not clearly revealed -unto men that which is permitted and that which is forbidden. And -their will remains obscure." Long did he turn over those thoughts in -his mind, and, fearing the return of cruel hunger, he resolved not to -remain idly in his dwelling that night, but this time to go towards -the country where the Hermos flows between rocks and whence can be -seen Orneia, Smyrna and the beautiful Hissia, lying upon the mountain, -which, like the prow of some Phœnician boat, plunges into the sea. -Wherefore, at the hour when the first stars glimmer in the pale sky, -he girded himself with the cord of his lyre and went forth, along the -sea-shore, toward the dwellings of rich men, who, during their lengthy -feasts, love to hearken to the praise of heroes and the genealogies of -the gods.</p> - -<p>Having, according to his custom, journeyed all night, in the rosy dawn -of morning he descried a town perched upon a high headland, and he -recognized the opulent Hissia, dove-haunted, which from the summit of -her rock looks down upon the white islands sporting like nymphs in the -glistening sea. Not far from the town, on the margin of a spring, he -sat down to rest and to appease his hunger with the onions which he had -brought in a fold of his tunic.</p> - -<p>Hardly had he finished his meal when a young girl, bearing a basket -on her head, came to the spring to wash linen. At first she looked -at him suspiciously, but, seeing that he carried a wooden lyre slung -over his torn tunic and that he was old and overcome with fatigue, -she approached him fearlessly, and, suddenly, seized with pity and -veneration, she filled the hollows of her hands with drops of water -with which she moistened the minstrel's lips.</p> - -<p>Then he called her a king's daughter; he promised her a long life, and -said:</p> - -<p>"Maiden, desire floats in a cloud about thy girdle. Happy the man who -shall lead thee to his couch. And I, an old man, praise thy beauty like -the bird of night which cries all unheeded upon the nuptial roof. I am -a wandering bard. Daughter, speak unto me pleasant words."</p> - -<p>And the maiden answered:</p> - -<p>"If, as you say and as it seemeth, you are a musician, then no evil -fate brings you to this town. For the rich Meges to-day receiveth a -guest who is dear to him; and to the great of the town, in honour of -his guest, he giveth a sumptuous feast. Doubtless he would wish them to -hear a good minstrel. Go to him. From this very spot you may see his -house. From the seaward side it cannot be approached, because it is on -that high breeze-swept headland, which juts out into the waves. But if -you enter the town on the landward side, by the steps cut in the rock, -which lead up the vine-clad hill, you will easily distinguish from all -the other houses the abode of Meges. It has been recently whitewashed, -and it is more spacious than the rest." And the Aged One, rising with -difficulty on limbs which the years had stiffened, climbed the steps -cut in the rock by the men of old, and, reaching the high table-land -whereon is the town of Hissia, he readily distinguished the house of -the rich Meges.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_002_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>To approach it was pleasant, for the blood of freshly slaughtered bulls -gushed from its doors and the odour of hot fat was perceptible all -around. He crossed the threshold, entered the great banqueting-hall -and, having touched the altar with his hand, approached Meges, who -was carving the meat and ordering the servants. Already the guests -were ranged about the hearth, rejoicing in the prospect of a plenteous -repast. Among them were many kings and heroes. But the guest whom Meges -desired to honour by this banquet was a King of Chios, who, in quest -of wealth, had long navigated the seas and endured great hardship. His -name was Oineus. All the guests admired him because, like Ulysses in -earlier days, he had escaped from innumerable shipwrecks, shared in the -islands the couch of enchantresses and brought home great treasure. -He told of his travels and his labours, interspersing them with -inventions, for he had a nimble wit.</p> - -<p>Recognizing the bard by the lyre which hung at his side, the rich Meges -addressed the Aged One and said:</p> - -<p>"Be welcome. What songs knowest thou?"</p> - -<p>The Aged One made answer:</p> - -<p>"I know 'The Strife of Kings' which brought such great disaster to -the Achaians, I know 'The Storming of the Wall.' And that song is -beautiful. I know also 'The Deception of Zeus,' 'The Embassy' and -'The Capture of the Dead.' And these songs are beautiful. I know yet -more—six times sixty very beautiful songs."</p> - -<p>Thus did he give it to be understood that he knew many songs; but the -exact number he could not tell.</p> - -<p>The rich Meges replied in a mocking tone:</p> - -<p>"In the hope of a good meal and a rich gift, wandering minstrels ever -say that they know many songs; but, put to the test, it is soon seen -that they remember but a few lines, with the constant repetition of -which they tire the ears of heroes and of kings."</p> - -<p>The Aged One answered wisely:</p> - -<p>"Meges," he said, "you are renowned for your wealth. Know that the -number of the songs I know is not less than that of the bulls and -heifers which your herdsmen drive to graze on the mountain." Meges, -admiring the Old Man's intelligence, said to him kindly:</p> - -<p>"A small mind would not suffice to contain so great a number of songs. -But, tell me, is what thou knowest about Achilles and Ulysses really -true? For many are the lies in circulation touching those heroes."</p> - -<p>And the bard made answer:</p> - -<p>"All that I know of the heroes I received from my father, who learned -it from Muses themselves, for in earlier days in cave and forest the -immortal Muses visited divine singers. No inventions will I mingle -with the ancient tales."</p> - -<p>Thus did he speak, and wisely. Nevertheless to the songs he had known -from his youth upward he was wont to add lines taken from other songs -or the fruit of his own imagination. He himself had composed wellnigh -the whole of certain songs. But, fearing lest man should disapprove of -them, he did not confess them to be his own work. The heroes preferred -the ancient tales which they believed to have been dictated by a god, -and they objected to new songs. Wherefore, when he repeated lines of -his own invention, he carefully concealed their origin. And, as he was -a true poet and followed all the ancient traditions, his lines differed -in no way from those of his ancestors; they resembled them in form and -in beauty, and, from the beginning, they were worthy of immortal glory.</p> - -<p>The rich Meges was not unintelligent. Perceiving the Aged One to be a -good singer, he gave him a place of honour by the hearth and said to -him:</p> - -<p>"Old Man, when we have satisfied our hunger, thou shalt sing to us all -thou knowest of Achilles and Ulysses. Endeavour to charm the ears of -Oineus, my guest, for he is a hero full of wisdom."</p> - -<p>And Oineus, who had long wandered over the sea, asked the minstrel -whether he knew "The Voyages of Ulysses." But the return of the heroes -who had fought at Troy was still wrapped in mystery, and no one knew -what Ulysses had suffered in his wanderings over the pathless sea.</p> - -<p>The Old Man answered:</p> - -<p>"I know that the divine Ulysses shared Circe's couch and deceived the -Cyclops by a crafty wile. Women tell tales about it to one another. But -the hero's return to Ithaca is hidden from the bards. Some say that he -returned to possess his wife and his goods, others that he put away -Penelope because she had admitted her suitors to her bed, and that he -himself, punished by the gods, wandered ceaselessly among the people, -an oar upon his shoulder."</p> - -<p>Oineus replied:</p> - -<p>"In my travels I have heard that Ulysses died at the hands of his son."</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Meges distributed the flesh of oxen among his guests. And to -each one he gave a fitting morsel. Oineus praised him loudly.</p> - -<p>"Meges," he said, "one can see that you are accustomed to give -banquets."</p> - -<p>The oxen of Meges were fed upon the sweetsmelling herbs which grow on -the mountain-side. Their flesh was redolent thereof, and the heroes -could not consume enough of it. And, as Meges was constantly refilling -a capacious goblet which he afterwards passed to his guests, the repast -was prolonged far into the day. No man remembered so rich a feast.</p> - -<p>The sun was going down into the sea, when the herdsmen who kept the -flocks of Meges upon the mountain came to receive their share of the -wine and victuals. Meges respected them because they grazed the herds -not with the indolence of the herdsmen of the plain, but armed with -lances of iron and girded with armour in order to defend the oxen -against the attacks of the people of Asia. And they were like unto -kings and heroes, whom they equalled in courage. They were led by two -chiefs, Peiros and Thoas, whom the master had chosen as the bravest and -the most intelligent. And, indeed, handsomer men were not to be seen. -Meges welcomed them to his hearth as the illustrious protectors of his -wealth. He gave them wine and meat as much as they desired.</p> - -<p>Oineus, admiring them, said to his host:</p> - -<p>"In all my travels, I have never seen men with limbs so well formed and -muscular as those of these two master herdsmen."</p> - -<p>Then Meges uttered injudicious words. He said: "Peiros is the stronger -in wrestling, but Thoas the swifter in the race."</p> - -<p>At these words, the two herdsmen looked angrily at one another, and -Thoas said to Peiros:</p> - -<p>"You must have given the master some maddening drink to make him say -that you are the better wrestler."</p> - -<p>Then Peiros answered Thoas testily:</p> - -<p>"I flatter myself that I can conquer you in wrestling. As for racing, I -leave to you the palm which the master has given. For you who have the -heart of a stag could not fail to possess his feet."</p> - -<p>But the wise Oineus checked the herdsmen's quarrel. He artfully told -tales showing the danger of wrangling at feasts. And, as he spoke well, -he was approved. Peace having been restored, Meges said to the Aged One:</p> - -<p>"My friend, sing us 'The Wrath of Achilles' and the 'Gathering of the -Kings.'"</p> - -<p>And the Aged One, having tuned his lyre, poured forth into the thick -atmosphere of the hall great gusts of sound.</p> - -<p>He drew deep breaths, and all the guests hearkened in silence to the -measured words which recalled ages worthy to be remembered. And many -marvelled how so old a man, one withered by age like a vine-branch -which beareth neither fruit nor leaves, could emit such powerful notes. -For they did not understand that the power of the wine and the habit of -singing imparted to the musician a strength which otherwise would have -been denied him by enfeebled nerve and muscle.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_003_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>At intervals a murmur of praise rose from the assembly like a strong -gust of wind in the forest. But suddenly the herdsmen's dispute, -appeased for a while, broke out afresh. Heated with wine, they -challenged one another to wrestle and to race. Their wild cries rose -above the musician's voice, and vainly he endeavoured to make the -harmonious sounds which proceeded from his mouth and his lyre heard by -the assembly. The herdsmen who followed Peiros and Thoas, flushed with -wine, struck their hands and grunted like hogs. They had long formed -themselves into rival bands which shared the chiefs' enmity.</p> - -<p>"Dog!" cried Thoas.</p> - -<p>And he struck Peiros a blow on the face which drew blood from his mouth -and nostrils. Peiros, blinded, butted with his forehead against the -chest of Thoas and threw him backwards, his ribs broken. Straightway -the rival herdsmen cast themselves upon one another, exchanging blows -and insults.</p> - -<p>In vain did Meges and the Kings endeavour to separate the combatants. -Even the wise Oineus himself was repulsed by the herdsmen whom a god -had bereft of reason. Brass vessels flew through the air on all sides. -Great ox-bones, smoking torches, bronze tripods rose and fell upon the -combatants. The interlaced bodies of men rolled over the hearth on -which the fire was dying, in the midst of the liquor which flowed from -the burst wine-skins.</p> - -<p>Dense darkness enveloped the hall, a darkness full of groans and -imprecations. Arms, maddened by frenzy, seized glowing logs and hurled -them into the darkness. A blazing twig struck the minstrel as he stood -still and silent.</p> - -<p>Then a voice louder than all the noise of combat cursed these impious -men and this profane house. And, pressing his lyre to his breast, he -went out of the dwelling and walked along the high headland by the sea. -To his wrath had given place a great feeling of fatigue and a bitter -disgust with men and with life.</p> - -<p>A longing for union with the gods filled his breast. All things lay -wrapped in soft shadows, the friendly silence and the peace of night. -Westward, over the land which men say is haunted by the shades of the -dead, the divine moon, hanging in the clear sky, shed silver blossoms -upon the smiling sea. And the aged Homer advanced over the high -headland until the earth, which had borne him so long, failed beneath -his feet.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="KOMM_OF_THE_ATREBATES" id="KOMM_OF_THE_ATREBATES">KOMM OF THE ATREBATES</a></h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_004_2.jpg" width="450" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<h4>I</h4> - - -<p>In a land of mists, near a shore which was beaten by the restless -sea and swept by billowy waves of sand raised by the Ocean winds, -the Atrebates had settled on the shifting banks of a broad stream. -There, amid pools of water and in forests of oak and of birch, they -lived protected by their stockades of felled tree-trunks. There they -bred horses excellent for draught-work, large-headed, short-necked, -broad-chested and muscular, and with powerful haunches. On the -outskirts of the forest they kept huge swine, wild as boars. With their -great dogs they hunted wild beasts, the skulls of which they nailed on -to the walls of their wooden houses. They lived on the flesh of these -creatures and on fish, both of the salt-water and the fresh. They -grilled their meat and seasoned it with salt, vinegar and cumin. They -drank wine, and, at their stupendous feasts, seated at their round -tables, they grew drunken. There were among them women who, acquainted -with the virtue of herbs, gathered henbane, vervain and that healing -plant called savin, which grows in the moist hollows of rocks. From the -sap of the yew-tree they concocted a poison. The Atrebates had also -priests and poets who knew things hidden from ordinary men.</p> - -<p>These forest-dwellers, these men of the marsh and the beach, were of -high stature. They wore their fair hair long, and they wrapped their -great white bodies in mantles of wool of the colour of the vine-leaf -when it grows purple in the autumn. They were subject to chiefs who -held sway over the tribes.</p> - -<p>The Atrebates knew that the Romans had come to make war on the peoples -of Gaul, and that whole nations with all their possessions had been -sold beneath their lance. News of happenings on the Rhone and the -Loire had reached them speedily. Words and signs fly like birds. And -that which, at sunrise, had been said in Genabum of the Carnutes was -heard in the first watch of the night on the Ocean strand. But the -fate of their brethren did not trouble them, or rather, being jealous -of them, they rejoiced in the sufferings which they endured at Cæsar's -hand. They did not hate the Romans, for they did not know them. -Neither did they fear them, since it seemed to them impossible for an -army to penetrate through the forests and marshes which surrounded -their dwellings. They had no towns, although they gave the name to -Nemetacum,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> a vast enclosure encircled by a palisade, which, in case -of attack, served as a refuge for warriors, women and herds. As we have -said, they had throughout their country other similar places of refuge, -but these were smaller. To them, also, they gave the name of towns.</p> - -<p>It was not upon their enclosures of felled trees that they relied for -resistance to the Romans, whom they knew to be skilled in the capture -of cities defended by stone walls and wooden towers. But they relied -rather on their country's lack of roads. The Roman soldiers, however, -themselves constructed the roads over which they marched. They dug the -ground with a strength and rapidity unknown to the Gauls of the dense -forest, among whom iron was rarer than gold. And one day the Atrebates -were astounded to learn that the Roman road, with its milestones and -its fine paved highway, was approaching their thickets and marshes. -Then they made alliance with the people scattered through the forest -which they called the Impenetrable, and numerous tribes entered into -a league against Cæsar. The chiefs of the Atrebates uttered their -war-cry, girded themselves with their baldrics of gold and of coral, -donned their helmets adorned with the antlers of the stag, or the elk, -or with buffalo horns, and drew their daggers, which were not equal to -the Roman sword. They were vanquished, but because they were courageous -they had to be twice conquered.</p> - -<p>Now among them was a chief who was very rich. His name was Komm. He -had a great store of torques, bracelets and rings in his coffers. -Human heads he had also, embalmed in oil of cedar. They were the heads -of hostile chiefs slain by himself or by his father or his father's -father. Komm enjoyed the life of a man who is strong, free and powerful.</p> - -<p>Followed by his weapons, his horses, his chariots and his Breton -bulldogs, by the multitude of his fighting men and his women, he would -wander without let or hindrance over his boundless dominions, through -forest or along river-bank, until he came to a halt in one of those -woodland shelters, one of those primitive farms of which he possessed -a great number. There, at peace, surrounded by his faithful followers, -he would fish, hunt the wild beasts, break in his horses and recall -his adventures in war. And, as soon as the desire seized him, he would -move on. He was a violent, crafty, subtle-minded man excelling in deed -and in word. When the Atrebates shouted their war-cry, he forbore to -don the helmet which was adorned with the horns of an ox. He remained -quietly in one of his wooden houses full of gold, of warriors, or -horses, of women, of wild pigs and smoked fish. After the defeat of -his fellow-countrymen, he went and found Cæsar and placed his brains -and his influence at the service of the Romans. He was well received. -Concluding rightly that this clever, powerful Gaul would be able to -pacify the country and hold it in subjection to Rome, Cæsar bestowed -upon him great powers and nominated him King of the Atrebates. Thus -Komm, the chieftain, became Commius Rex. He wore the purple, and coined -money whereon appeared his likeness in profile, his head encircled by -a diadem with sharp points like those of the Greek and barbarian kings -who wore their crowns as tokens of their friendship with Rome.</p> - -<p>He was not execrated by the Atrebates. His sagacious and -self-interested behaviour did not discredit him with a people devoid -of Greek and Roman ideas of patriotism and citizenship. These savage, -inglorious Gauls, ignorant of public life, esteemed cunning, yielded to -force and marvelled at royal power, which seemed to them a magnificent -innovation. The majority of these people, rough woodlanders or -fishermen of the misty coast, had a still better reason for not blaming -the conduct and the prosperity of their chieftain; not knowing that -they were Atrebates, nor even that Atrebates existed, the King of the -Atrebates concerned them but little. Wherefore Komm was not unpopular. -And if the favour of Rome meant danger to him, that danger did not come -from his own people.</p> - -<p>Now in the fourth year of the war, towards the end of summer, Cæsar -armed a fleet for a descent upon Britain. Desiring to secure allies -in the great Island, he resolved to send Komm as his ambassador to -the Celts of the Thames, with the offer of an alliance with Rome. -Sagacious, eloquent and by birth akin to the Britons—for certain -tribes of the Atrebates had settled on both banks of the Thames—Komm -was eminently fitted for this mission.</p> - -<p>Komm was proud of his friendship with Cæsar. But he was in no hurry to -discharge this mission, of the dangers of which he was fully aware. -To induce him to undertake it Cæsar was compelled to grant him many -favours. From the tribute paid by other Gallic towns he exempted -Nemetacum, which was already growing into a city and a metropolis, so -rapidly did the Romans develop the countries which they conquered. He -somewhat relaxed the rigorous rule of the conquerors by restoring to -it its rights and its own laws. Further, he gave Komm to rule over the -Morini, who were the neighbours of the Atrebates on the sea-shore.</p> - -<p>Komm set sail with Caius Volusenus Quadratus, prefect of cavalry, -appointed by Cæsar to conduct a reconnaissance in Britain. But when the -ship approached the sandy beach at the foot of the bird-haunted white -cliffs, the Roman refused to disembark, fearing unknown danger and -certain death. Komm landed with his horses and his followers and spoke -to the British chiefs who had come to meet him. He counselled them to -prefer profitable friendship with the Romans to their pitiless wrath. -But these chiefs, the descendants of Hu, the Powerful, and of his -comrades in arms, were proud and violent. They listened impatiently to -Komm's words. Anger clouded their woad-stained countenances, and they -swore to defend their Island against the Romans.</p> - -<p>"Let them land here," they cried, "and they will disappear like the -snow on the sand of the sea-shore when the south wind blows upon it."</p> - -<p>Holding Cæsar's counsel to be an insult, they were already drawing -their daggers from their belts and preparing to put to death the herald -of shame.</p> - -<p>Standing bowed over his shield in the attitude of a suppliant, Komm -invoked the name of brother by which he was entitled to call them. They -were sons of the same fathers.</p> - -<p>Wherefore the Britons forbore to slay him. They conducted him in chains -to a great village near the coast. Passing down a road bordered by -huts of wattle-work, he noticed high flat stones, fixed in the ground -at irregular intervals, and covered with signs which he thought to be -sacred, for it was not easy to decipher their meaning. He perceived -that the huts of this great village, though poorer, were not unlike -those of the villages of the Atrebates. In front of the chiefs' -dwellings poles were erected from which hung the antlers of deer, the -skulls of boars and the fair-haired heads of men. Komm was taken into -a hut which contained nothing save a hearthstone still covered with -ashes, a bed of dried leaves and the image of a god shapen from the -trunk of a lime-tree. Bound to the pillar which supported the thatched -roof, the Atrebate meditated on his ill luck and sought in his mind for -some magic word of power or some ingenious device which should deliver -him from the wrath of the British chieftains.</p> - -<p>And to beguile his wretchedness, after the manner of his ancestors, he -composed a song of menace and complaint, coloured by pictures of his -native woods and mountains, the memory of which filled his heart.</p> - -<p>Women with babes at the breast came and looked at him curiously and -questioned him as to his country, his race and his adventures. He -answered them kindly. But his soul was sad and wracked by cruel anxiety.</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The modern Arras.—<i>Trans.</i></p></div> - - - -<h4>2</h4> - - -<p>Detained until the end of summer on the Morini shore, Cæsar set sail -one night about the third watch, and by the fourth hour of day had -sight of the Island. The Britons awaited him on the beach. But neither -their arrows of hard wood nor their scythed chariots, nor their -long-haired horses trained to swim in the sea among the shoals, nor -their countenances made terrible with paint gave check to the Romans. -The Eagle surrounded by legionaries touched the soil of the barbarians' -Island. The Britons fled beneath a shower of stone and lead hurled from -machines which they believed to be monsters. Struck with terror, they -ran like a herd of elks before the spear of the hunter.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_005_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>When towards evening they had reached the great village near the coast, -the chiefs sat down on stones ranged in a circle by the road-side -and took counsel. All night they continued to deliberate; and when -dawn began to gleam on the horizon, while the larks' song pierced the -grey sky, they went into the hut where Komm of the Atrebates had been -enchained for thirty days. They looked at him respectfully because of -the Romans. They unbound him. They offered him a drink made of the -fermented juice of wild cherries. They restored to him his weapons, his -horses, his comrades, and, addressing him with flattering words, they -entreated him to accompany them to the camp of the Romans and to ask -pardon for them from Cæsar the Powerful.</p> - -<p>"Thou shalt persuade him to be our friend," they said to him, "for -thou art wise and thy words are nimble and penetrating as arrows. Among -all the ancestors whose memory is enshrined in our songs, there is not -one who surpasses thee in sagacity."</p> - -<p>It was with joy Komm of the Atrebates heard these words. But he -concealed his pleasure, and, curling his lips into a bitter smile, he -said to the British chiefs, pointing to the fallen willow leaves that -were driven in eddies by the wind:</p> - -<p>"The thoughts of vain men are stirred like these leaves and ceaselessly -carried in every direction. Yesterday they took me for a madman and -said I had eaten of the herb of Erin that maddens the grazing beasts. -To-day they perceive in me the wisdom of their ancestors. Nevertheless -I am as good a counsellor one day as another, for my words depend -neither upon the sun nor upon the moon, but upon my understanding. As -the reward of your ill-doing, I ought to deliver you up to the wrath -of Cæsar, who would cut off your hands and put out your eyes, so that -begging bread and beer in the wealthy villages you would testify to his -might and justice throughout the Island of Britain. Notwithstanding I -will forget the wrong you have done me. I will remember that we are -brethren, that the Britons and the Atrebates are the fruit of the same -tree. I will act for the good of my brethren who drink the waters of -the Thames. Cæsar's friendship, which I came to their Island to offer -them, I will restore to them now that they have lost it through their -folly. Cæsar, who loves Komm, and has made him to be King over the -Atrebates and the Morini who wear collars of shells, will love the -British chiefs, painted with glowing colours, and will establish them -in their wealth and power, because they are the friends of Komm, who -drinketh the waters of the Somme."</p> - -<p>And Komm of the Atrebates spake again and said: "Learn from me that -which Cæsar shall say unto you when you bend over your shields at the -foot of his tribunal and that which it behooveth you in your wisdom to -reply unto him. He will say unto you: 'I grant you peace. Deliver up -to me noble children as hostages.' And you will make answer: 'We will -deliver up unto you our noble children. And we will bring you certain -of them this very day. But the greater number of our noble children are -in the distant places of this Island, and to bring them hither will -take many days.'"</p> - -<p>The chiefs marvelled at the subtle mind of the Atrebate. One of them -said to him:</p> - -<p>"Komm, thou art possessed of a great understanding, and I believe -thy heart to be filled with kindness toward thy British brethren who -drink the waters of the Thames. If Cæsar were a man, we should have -courage to fight against him, but we know him to be a god because his -vessels and his engines of war are living creatures and endowed with -understanding. Let us go and ask him to pardon us for having fought -against him and to leave us in possession of our sovereignty and of our -riches."</p> - -<p>Having thus spoken, the chiefs of the Island of Fogs leapt upon their -horses, and set forth towards the sea-shore where the Romans were -encamped near the cove where their deep-keeled ships lay at anchor, not -far from the beach up which they had drawn their galleys. Komm rode -beside them. When they beheld the Roman camp, which was surrounded by -ditches and palisades, traversed by wide and regular thoroughfares and -covered with tents over which soared the Roman eagles and floated the -wreaths of the standards, they paused in amazement and inquired by what -art the Romans had built in one day a town more beautiful and greater -than any in the Isle of Mists.</p> - -<p>"What is that?" cried one of them.</p> - -<p>"It is Rome," replied the Atrebate. "The Romans bear Rome with them -everywhere."</p> - -<p>Introduced into the camp, they repaired to the foot of the tribunal, -where the Proconsul sat surrounded by the fasces. His eyes were like -the eagle's; and he was pale in his purple.</p> - -<p>Komm assumed a suppliant's attitude and entreated Cæsar to pardon the -British chiefs.</p> - -<p>"When they fought against you," he said, "these chiefs did not act -according to their own heart, the dictates of which are always noble. -When they drove against you their chariots of war, they obeyed, -they commanded not. They yielded to the will of the poor and humble -tribesmen who assembled in great numbers against you; for they lacked -understanding and were incapable of comprehending your might. You know -that in all things the poor are inferior to the rich. Deny not your -friendship to these men, who possess great wealth and can pay tribute."</p> - -<p>Cæsar granted the pardon which the chiefs implored, and said unto them:</p> - -<p>"Deliver up to me as hostages the sons of your princes."</p> - -<p>The most venerable of the chiefs replied:</p> - -<p>"We will deliver up unto you our noble children. And some of them we -will bring to you this very day. But the children of our nobles are -most of them in the distant places of our Isle, and to bring them -hither will take many days."</p> - -<p>Cæsar inclined his head as a sign of assent. Thus, by the Atrebate's -counsel, the chiefs surrendered but a few young boys and those not of -the highest nobility.</p> - -<p>Komm remained in the camp. At night, being unable to sleep, he climbed -the cliff and looked out to sea. The surf was breaking on the rocks. -The wind from the Channel mingled its sinister moaning with the roaring -of the waves. The wild moon, in its stately passage through the clouds, -cast a fleeting light on to the water. The Atrebate, with the keen eye -of the savage, piercing through the shadow and the mist, perceived -ships, surprised by the tempest, toiling in the waves and the wind. -Some, helpless and drifting, were being driven by the billows, the foam -of which shone upon their sides like a pale gleam; others were putting -out to sea. Their sails swept the waves like the wings of some fishing -bird. These were the ships that were bringing Cæsar's cavalry, and they -were being scattered by the storm. The Gaul, joyfully breathing the sea -air, paced awhile along the edge of the cliff; and soon he descried -the little bay, where the Roman galleys which had alarmed the Britons -lay dry upon the sand. He saw the tide approach them gradually, then -reach them, raise them, hurl them one against the other and batter -them, while the deep-keeled ships in the cove were tossed to and fro -at anchor by a furious wind which carried away their masts and rigging -like so many wisps of straw. Dimly he discerned the confused movements -of the panic-stricken legionaries running along the beach. Their -shouts reached his ear like the noise of a storm. Then he raised his -eyes to the divine moon, worshipped by the Atrebates who dwell on -river-banks and in the deep forests. In the stormy British sky she hung -like a shield. He knew that it was she, the copper moon at the full, -that had brought this spring tide and caused the tempest, which was now -destroying the Roman fleet. And on the cliff, in the majestic night, by -the furious sea, there came to the Atrebate the revelation of a secret, -mysterious force, more invincible than that of Rome.</p> - -<p>When they heard of the disaster that had overtaken the fleet the -Britons joyfully realized that Cæsar commanded neither the Ocean nor -the moon, the friend of lonely shores and deep forests. They saw that -the Roman galleys were not invincible dragons, since the tide had -shattered them and cast them, with their sides rent open, on the sand -of the beach. Filled once again with the hope of destroying the Romans, -they thought of slaying a great number by the arrow and the sword, and -of throwing those that were left into the sea. Wherefore every day -they appeared more and more assiduous in Cæsar's camp. They brought -the legionaries smoked meats and the skins of the elk. They assumed a -kindly expression; they spoke honeyed words, and admiringly they felt -the muscular arms of the centurions.</p> - -<p>In order to appear more submissive still, the chiefs surrendered their -hostages; but they were the sons of enemies on whom they wished to -be revenged, or uncomely children not born of families who were the -issue of the gods. And, when they believed that the little dark men -confidently relied upon their friendliness, they gathered together the -warriors of all the villages on the banks of the Thames, and, uttering -loud cries, they hurled themselves against the camp gates. These gates -were defended by wooden towers. The Britons, unacquainted with the art -of carrying fortified positions, could not penetrate through the outer -circle, and many of the chiefs with woad-stained visages fell at the -foot of the towers. Once again the Britons knew that the Romans were -endowed with superhuman strength. Therefore on the morrow they came to -implore Cæsar's pardon and to promise him their friendship.</p> - -<p>Cæsar received them with a passive countenance, but that very night he -caused his legions to embark in the hastily repaired ships and made -for the Morini coast. Having lost hope of receiving his support of his -cavalry which the tempest had scattered, he abandoned for the time the -conquest of the Isle of Mists.</p> - -<p>Komm of the Atrebates accompanied the army on its return to the Morini -shore. He had embarked on the vessel which bore the Proconsul. Cæsar, -curious concerning the customs of the barbarians, asked him whether the -Gauls did not consider themselves the descendants of Pluto and whether -it were not on that account that they reckoned time by nights instead -of by days. The Atrebate could not give him the true reason for this -custom. But he told Cæsar that in his opinion at the birth of the world -night had preceded day.</p> - -<p>"I believe," he added, "that the moon is more ancient than the sun. She -is a very powerful divinity and the friend of the Gauls."</p> - -<p>"The divinity of the moon," answered Cæsar, "is recognized by Romans -and Greeks. But think not, Commius, that this planet, which shines upon -Italy and upon the whole earth, is especially favourable to the Gauls."</p> - -<p>"Take heed, Julius," replied the Atrebate, "and weigh your words. -The moon that you here behold fleeing through the clouds is not the -moon which at Rome shines on your marble temples. Though she be big -and bright, this moon could not be seen in Italy. The distance is too -great."</p> - - - -<h4>3</h4> - - -<p>Winter came and covered Gaul with darkness, with ice and with snow. -The hearts of the warriors in their wattle huts were moved as they -thought on the chiefs and their retainers whom Cæsar had slain or sold -by auction. Sometimes to the door of the hut came à man begging bread -and showing his wrists with the hands cut off by a lictor. And the -warriors' hearts revolted. Words of wrath passed from mouth to mouth. -They assembled by night in the depths of the woods and the hollows of -the rocks.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile King Komm with his faithful followers hunted in the forests, -in the land of the Atrebates. Every day, a messenger in a striped -mantle and red braces came by secret paths to the King, and, slackening -the speed of his horse as he drew near to him, said in a low voice:</p> - -<p>"Komm, will you not be a free man in a free country? Komm, will you any -longer submit to be a slave of the Romans?"</p> - -<p>Then the messenger disappeared along the narrow path, where the fallen -leaves deadened the sound of his galloping horse.</p> - -<p>Komm, King of the Atrebates, remained the Romans' friend. But gradually -he persuaded himself that it behooved the Atrebates and the Morini to -be free, since he was their King. It annoyed him to see Romans, settled -at Nemetacum, sitting in tribunals, where they dispensed justice, and -geometricians from Italy planning roads through the sacred forests. And -then he admired the Romans less since he had seen their ships broken -against the British cliffs and their legionaries weeping by night on -the beach. He continued to exercise sovereignty in Cæsar's name. But to -his followers he darkly hinted at the approach of war.</p> - -<p>Three years later the hour had struck: Roman blood had flowed in -Genabum. The chieftains allied against Cæsar assembled their fighting -men in the Arverni Hills. Komm did not love these chiefs. Rather did -he hate them, some because they were richer than he in men, in horses -and in lands; others because of the profusion of the gold and the -rubies which they possessed; others, again, because they said that -they were braver than he and of nobler race. Nevertheless he received -their messengers, to whom he gave an oak-leaf and a hazel twig as a -sign of affection. And he corresponded with the chiefs who were hostile -to Cæsar by means of twigs cut and knotted in such a manner as to be -unintelligible save to the Gauls, who knew the language of leaves.</p> - -<p>He uttered no war-cry. But he went to and fro among the villages of the -Atrebates, and, visiting the warriors in their huts, to them he said:</p> - -<p>"Three things were the first to be born: man, liberty, light."</p> - -<p>He made sure that, whenever he should utter the war-cry, five thousand -warriors of the Morini and four thousand warriors of the Atrebates -would at his call buckle on their baldrics of bronze. And, joyfully -thinking that in the forest the fire was smouldering beneath its ashes, -he secretly passed over to the Treviri in order to win them for the -Gallic cause.</p> - -<p>Now, while he was riding with his followers beneath the willows on the -banks of the Moselle, a messenger wearing a striped mantle brought -him an ash bough bound to a spray of heather, in order to give him to -understand that the Romans had suspected his designs and to enjoin him -to be prudent. For such was the meaning of the heather tied to the -ash. But he continued on his way and entered into the country of the -Treviri. Titus Labienus, Cæsar's lieutenant, was encamped there with -ten legions. Having been warned that King Commius was coming secretly -to visit the chiefs of the Treviri, he suspected that his object was to -seduce them from their allegiance to Rome. Having had him followed by -spies, he received information which confirmed his suspicions. He then -resolved to get rid of this man. He was a Roman, a son of the divine -City, an example to the world, and by force of arms he had extended -the Roman peace to the ends of the earth. He was a good general and -an expert in mathematics and mechanics. During the leisure of peace, -beneath the terebinths in the garden of his Campanian villa, he held -converse with magistrates touching the laws, the morals and the -customs of peoples. He praised the virtues of antiquity and liberty. -He read the works of Greek historians and philosophers. His was a rare -and polished intellect. And because Komm was a barbarian, unacquainted -with things Roman, it seemed to Titus Labienus good and fitting that he -should have him assassinated.</p> - -<p>Being informed of the place where he was, he sent to him his master -of horse, Caius Volusenus Quadratus, who knew the Atrebate, for they -had been commissioned to reconnoitre together the coasts of the isle -of Britain before Cæsar's expedition hither; but Volusenus had not -ventured to land. Therefore, by the command of Labienus, Cæsar's -lieutenant, Volusenus chose a few centurions and took them with him -to the village where he knew Komm to be. He could rely upon them. -The centurion was a legionary promoted from the ranks, who as a sign -of his office carried a vine-stock with which he used to strike his -subordinates. His chiefs did what they liked with him. As an instrument -of conquest he was second only to the navy. Volusenus said to his -centurions:</p> - -<p>"A man will approach me. You will suffer him to advance. I shall hold -out my hand to him. At that moment you will strike him from behind, and -you will kill him."</p> - -<p>Having given these orders, Volusenus set forth with his escort. In a -sunken way, near the village, he met Komm with his followers. The King -of the Atrebates, aware that he was suspected, would have turned his -horse. But the master of the horse called him by name, assured him of -his friendship and held out his hand to him.</p> - -<p>Reassured by those signs of friendship, the Atrebate approached. As he -was about to take the proffered hand a centurion struck him on the head -with his sword and caused him to fall bleeding from his horse. Then -the King's followers threw themselves upon the little band of Romans, -scattered them, took up Komm and carried him away to the nearest -village, while Volusenus, who believed his task accomplished, crept -back to the camp with his horsemen.</p> - -<p>King Komm was not dead. He was carried secretly into the country of the -Atrebates, where he was cured of his terrible wound. Having recovered, -he took this oath:</p> - -<p>"I swear never to meet a Roman save to kill him." Soon he learnt that -Cæsar had suffered a severe defeat at the foot of the Gergovian Mount -and forty-six centurions of his army had fallen beneath the walls -of the town. Later he was told that the confederates commanded by -Vercingétorix were besieged in the country of the Mandubi, at Alesia, -a famous Gallic fortress founded by Hercules of Tyre. Then, with a -following of warriors, Morini and Atrebates, he marched to the frontier -of the Edni, where an army was assembling to relieve the Gauls in -Alesia. The army was numbered and was found to consist of two hundred -and forty thousand foot and eight thousand horse. The command was -entrusted to Virdumar and Eporedorix of the Edni, Vergasillaun of the -Averni and Komm of the Atrebates.</p> - -<p>After a long and arduous march, Komm, with his chiefs and fighting-men, -reached the mountainous country of the Edni. From the heights -surrounding the plateau of Alesia he beheld the Roman camp and the -earthworks dug all around it by those little dark men, who waged war -with the mattocks and the spade rather than with the javelin and the -sword. This seemed to him to augur ill, for he knew that against -trenches and machines the Gauls were of less avail than against -human breasts. He himself, though well versed in the stratagems of -war, understood little of the engineering art of the Romans. After -three great battles, during which no break was made in the enemy's -fortifications, the terrific rout of the Gauls carried off Komm as -a blade of grass is whirled away in a storm. In the mêlée he had -perceived Cæsar's red mantle and taken it for an omen of defeat. Now he -fled furiously down the track cursing the Romans, but content that the -Gallic chieftains, of whom he was jealous, were suffering with him.</p> - - - -<h4>4</h4> - - -<p>For a year Komm lived in hiding in the forests of the Atrebates. There -he was safe, because the Gauls hated the Romans, and having themselves -submitted to the conquerors they had a great respect for those who -refused them obedience. On the river-bank and in the green-wood, -accompanied by his followers, he led a life not differing greatly from -that he had lived as the chief of many tribes. He gave himself up to -hunting and fishing, devised stratagems and drank fermented drinks, -which, though depriving him of the knowledge of human affairs, enabled -him to understand those that are divine. But his soul had suffered a -change, and it pained him to be no longer free. All the chiefs of his -people had been killed in battle, or had died beneath the lash, or, -bound by the lictor, had been led away to a Roman prison. No longer -did a bitter envy of them possess him; for now all his hatred was -concentrated upon the Romans. He bound to his horse's tail the golden -circlet which he, as the friend of the Senate and the Roman people, -had received from the Dictator. To his dogs he gave the names of -Cæsar, Caius and Julius. When he saw a pig he stoned it, calling it -Volusenus. And he composed songs like those which he had heard in his -youth, eloquently expressing the love of liberty.</p> - -<p>Now, it happened that one day, absorbed in the chase, having wandered -away from his followers, he climbed the high, heather-clad table-land -which commands Nemetacum, and, gazing thence, he saw with amazement -that the huts and stockades of his town had vanished, and that in a -wall-encircled enclosure rose temples and houses of an architecture -so prodigious as to inspire him with the horror and fear caused by -works of magic. For he could not believe that in so short a time such -dwellings could have been constructed by natural means.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_006_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>He forgot the birds on the moorland, and, prone on the red earth, -he lay and gazed long upon the strange town. Curiosity, stronger -than fear, kept his eyes wide open. Until evening he gazed upon the -spectacle. Then there came to him an overpowering desire to enter the -town. Beneath a stone on the heath he hid his golden torques, his -bracelets, his jewelled belts and his weapons of chase. Retaining -only his knife, hidden under his mantle, he descended the wooded -hill-side. As he passed through the moist undergrowth, he gathered some -mushrooms, so that he might appear as a poor man coming to sell his -wares in the market. And in the third watch of the night he entered the -town through the Golden Gate. It was kept by legionaries who allowed -peasants bringing in food to pass. Thus the King of the Atrebates, -disguised as a poor man, was readily enabled to penetrate as far as the -Julian way. This was bordered by villas; it led to the Temple of Diana, -the white façade of which was already adorned with interlacing arches -of purple, azure and gold. In the grey morning light Komm saw figures -painted on the walls of the houses. They were ethereal pictures of -dancing girls and scenes drawn from a history of which he was ignorant: -a young virgin whom heroes were offering up as a sacrifice, a mother -in her fury plunging a dagger into her two children as yet unweaned, -a man with the hoofs of a goat raising his pointed ears in surprise, -when, unrobing a sleeping and reclining virgin, he discovers her to -be at once a youth and a woman. And there were in the courtyard other -pictures representing modes of love unknown to the peoples of Gaul. -Though passionately addicted to wine and women, he had no idea of -Ausonian voluptuousness, because he had no clear idea of the variety -of human forms and because he was untroubled by the desire for beauty. -Having come to this town, which had once been his, in order to satisfy -his hatred and inflame his wrath, he filled his heart with fury and -loathing. He detested Roman art and the mysterious devices of the -Roman painters. And in all these census figures on the city portals he -saw but little, because his eyes lacked discernment save in observing -the foliage of trees or the clouds in a dark sky.</p> - -<p>Bearing his mushrooms in a fold of his mantle, he passed along -the broad-paved streets. Beneath a door over which was a phallus -illuminated by a little lamp he saw women wearing transparent tunics, -who were watching for the passers-by. He approached with the intention -of offering them violence. An old woman appeared, who in a squeaky -voice said sharply.</p> - -<p>"Go thy way. This is not a house for peasants who reek of cheese. -Return to thy cows, herdsman." Komm replied that he had had fifty -women, the most beautiful of the Atrebates, and possessed coffers full -of gold. The courtesans began to laugh, and the old woman cried:</p> - -<p>"Be off, drunkard!"</p> - -<p>And it seemed to him that the duenna was a centurion armed with a -vine-stock, with such splendour did the majesty of the Roman people -shine throughout the Empire!</p> - -<p>With one blow of his fist Komm broke her jaw and serenely pursued his -way, while the narrow passage of the house was filled with shrieks, -howls and lamentations. On the left he passed the temple of Diana of -the Ardeni and crossed the forum between two rows of porches. When he -recognized the goddess Roma standing on her marble pedestal, wearing -a helmet, with her arm outstretched to command the peoples, in order -to insult her, he performed before her the most ignoble of natural -functions.</p> - -<p>He was now coming to the end of the buildings of the town. Before him -extended the stone circle of the amphitheatre as yet barely outlined, -but already immense. He sighed:</p> - -<p>"O race of monsters!"</p> - -<p>And he advanced among the shattered and trampled vestiges of Gallic -huts, the thatched roofs of which once extended like some motionless -army and which were now degraded into less even than ruins—into little -more than a heap of manure spread upon the ground. And he reflected:</p> - -<p>"Behold what remains of so many ages of men! Behold what they have made -of the dwellings wherein the chiefs of the Atrebates hung their arms!"</p> - -<p>The sun had risen over the grades of the amphitheatre, and with -insatiable and inquisitive hatred the Gaul wandered among the vast -enclosures filled with bricks and stones. His large blue eyes gazed on -these stony monuments of conquest, and he shook his long fair locks -in the fresh breeze. Thinking himself alone, he muttered curses. But -not far from the stone-masons' yard he perceived, at the foot of an -oak-crowned hillock, a man seated on a mossy stone in a crouching -position, with his mantle thrown over his head. He wore no insignia; -but on his finger was the knight's ring, and the Atrebate knew enough -of a Roman camp to recognize a military tribune. This soldier was -writing on tablets of wax and appeared wrapt in thought. Having long -remained motionless, he raised his head, pensive, with his style to his -lips, looked about him vacantly, then gazed down again and resumed his -writing. Komm saw his full face and perceived that he was young, and -that he had a gentle, high-born air.</p> - -<p>Then the Atrebate chief recalled his oath. He felt for his knife -beneath his cloak, slipped behind the Roman with the agility of the -savage and plunged the blade into the middle of his back. It was a -Roman blade. The tribune uttered a deep groan and sank down. A trickle -of blood flowed from one corner of his mouth. The waxen tablets -remained on his tunic between his knees. Komm took them and looked -eagerly at the signs traced thereon, thinking them to be magic signs -the knowledge of which would give him great power. They were letters -which he could not read and which were taken from the Greek alphabet -then preferred to the Latin alphabet by the young <i>littérateurs</i> of -Italy. Most of these letters were effaced by the flat end of the -style; those which remained were Latin lines in Greek metre, and here -and there they were intelligible:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">TO PHŒBE, ON HER TOMTIT</span><br /> -<br /> -O thou, whom Varius loved more than his eyes,<br /> -Thy Varius, wandering beneath the rainy sky of Galata ...<br /> -And the couple sang in their golden cage of gold.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -O my white Phœbe, with prudent hand give<br /> -Millet and fresh water to thy frail captive.<br /> -She sits, she is a mother: a mother is timid.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -Oh! come not to the misty Ocean's strand,<br /> -Phœbe, for fear ...<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">... Thy white feet and thy limbs</span><br /> -So nimbly moving to the crotalum's rhythm.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -And neither the gold of Crœsus nor the purple of Attala,<br /> -But thy fresh arms, thy breasts....<br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">A faint sound ascended from the waking town. Past the remnants of the -Gallic huts where a few barbarians, fierce though of humble rank, were -still lurking in the trenches, the Atrebate fled, and through a breach -in the wall he leapt into the open country. </p> - - -<h4>5</h4> - - -<p>When, through the legionaries' sword, the lictor's lashes and Cæsar's -flattering words Gaul was at length completely pacified, Marcus -Antonius, the quaestor, came to take up his winter quarters in -Nemetacum of the Atrebates. He was the son of Julia, Cæsar's sister. -His functions were those of paymaster to the troops. It was for him, -also, to apportion the booty captured, in accordance with established -rules. This booty was immense; for the conquerors had discovered bars -of gold and carbuncles under the stones of sacred places, in the -hollows of oaks and in the still water of pools; they had collected -golden utensils from the huts of exterminated tribes and their chiefs.</p> - -<p>Marcus Antonius brought with him many scribes and land surveyors who -set to work upon the apportionment of lands and movable goods, and -would have perpetrated many useless writings had not Cæsar prescribed -for them simple and rapid methods of procedure. Merchants from Asia, -workmen, lawyers and other settlers came in crowds to Nemetacum; and -the Atrebates who had quitted their town returned one by one, curious, -astonished, filled with wonder. The Gauls, for the most part, were now -proud to wear the toga and to speak the tongue of the magnanimous sons -of Remus. Having shaved off their long moustaches they had resembled -Romans. Those who had succeeded in retaining any wealth employed a -Roman architect to build them a house with an inner porch, rooms for -the women and a fountain adorned with shell-work. They had paintings -of Hercules, Mercury and the Muses in their dining-room, and would sup -reclining on couches.</p> - -<p>Komm, though himself illustrious and the son of an illustrious father, -had lost most of his followers. Nevertheless he refused to submit, -and led a wandering, warlike life in company with a few fighting-men -who were addicted to plunder and rape, or who, like their chief, were -possessed of a keen desire for liberty or of hatred for the Romans. -They followed him into impenetrable forests, into marshes and even into -those moving islands which occur in the broad estuaries of rivers. -They were entirely devoted to him, but they addressed him without -respect, as a man speaks to his equal, because they were actually his -equals in courage, in the extremes of continual hardships, of poverty -and wretchedness. They dwelt in trees or in the clefts of rocks. They -sought out caverns worn in the friable stone by the water gushing -down narrow valleys. When there were no beasts to hunt, they fed on -blackberries and arbutus berries. They were excluded from towns by -their fear of the Romans or by the vigilance of the Roman guards. In -few villages were they readily received. Komm, however, always found a -welcome in the huts scattered over the wind-swept sands which border -the lazy waters of the Somme estuary. The dwellers on these dunes fed -on fish. Poor, dishevelled, buried among the blue thistles of their -barren soil, they had had no experience of Roman might. They received -Komm and his companions into their subterranean abodes, which were -covered with reeds and stones rounded by the Ocean. They listened to -him attentively, having never heard any man talk so well. He said to -them:</p> - -<p>"Know who are the friends of the Atrebates and the Morini who live on -the sea-shore and in the deep forest.</p> - -<p>"The moon, the forest and the sea are the friends of the Morini and the -Atrebates. And neither the sea nor the forest nor the moon loves the -little dark men who follow Cæsar.</p> - -<p>"Now the sea said to me: 'Komm, I am hiding the ships of the Veneti in -a lonely cove on my shore.'</p> - -<p>"The forest said to me: 'Komm, I will provide a secure shelter for thee -who art an illustrious chieftain, and for thy faithful companions.'</p> - -<p>"The moon said to me: 'Komm, thou hast seen me in the isle of the -Britons shattering the Roman ships. I command the clouds and the winds, -and I will refuse to shine upon the drivers of the chariots which bear -victuals to the Romans of Nemetacum, in order that thou mayest take -them by surprise in the darkness of the night.'</p> - -<p>"Thus spoke unto me the sea, the forest and the moon. And this I bid -you:</p> - -<p>"Leave your boats and your nets and come with me. You will all be -chiefs in war and of great renown. We shall fight great and profitable -battles. We shall win victuals, treasure and women in abundance. Behold -in what manner:</p> - -<p>"I know so completely the whole country of the Atrebates and the Morini -that there is not a single river, nor pool, nor rock with the situation -of which I am unacquainted. And likewise every road, every path with -its exact length and its precise direction lies as clear in my mind as -upon the soil of our ancestors. Great and royal indeed must be my mind -thus to encompass the whole land of the Atrebates. But know that many -another country is likewise contained in it—the lands of the Britons, -the Gauls and the Germans. Wherefore, had it been given me to command -the peoples, I should have conquered Cæsar and driven the Romans out -of this country. Wherefore we, you and I who speak, shall surprise -the couriers of Marcus Antonius and the convoys of food destined for -the town which has been reft from me. We shall surprise them without -difficulty, for I know along which roads they travel, and their -soldiers will not discover us since they know not the roads we shall -take. And were they to follow on our tracks, we should escape from them -in the ships of the Veneti, which would bear us to the isle of the -Britons."</p> - -<p>With such words Komm inspired his hosts with confidence on the misty -sea-shore. And he finally won them over by giving them pieces of gold -and iron, the last vestiges of the treasure which had once been his. -They said to him:</p> - -<p>"We will follow thee wherever it please thee to lead us."</p> - -<p>He led them by unknown ways to the edge of the Roman road. When he saw -horses grazing on the bush grass near the abode of a rich man, he gave -them to his companions.</p> - -<p>Thus he gathered together a body of horsemen which was joined by those -of the Atrebates who desired to wage war for the sake of booty, and by -some deserters from the Roman camp. The latter Komm did not receive, -in order not to break the oath which he had sworn never again to look -a Roman in the face save to slay him. But he had them questioned by -some one of intelligence, and dismissed them with food for three days. -Sometimes all the male folk of a village, young and old, entreated -him to receive them as his followers. These men had been completely -despoiled by the tax-gatherers of Marcus Antonius, who in addition to -the imposts which Cæsar levied had demanded others, which were not -due, and had fined chiefs for imaginary offences. In short, these -publicans, after filling the coffers of the State, took care to enrich -themselves at the expense of barbarians whom they thought a stupid -people, and whose importunate complaints could always be silenced by -the executioner's axe. Komm chose the strongest of these men. The -others were dismissed, despite their tears and their entreaties not -to be left to die of hunger or at the hands of the Romans. He did not -wish for a great army, because he did not wish to wage a great war as -Vercingétorix had done.</p> - -<p>In a few days he had, with his little band, captured several convoys of -flour and cattle, massacred isolated legionaries up to the very walls -of Nemetacum and terrified the Roman population of the town.</p> - -<p>"These Gauls," said the tribunes and centurions, "are cruel barbarians, -mockers of the gods, enemies of the human race. Scorning their plighted -word, they offend the majesty of Rome and of Peace. They deserve to be -made an example. We owe it to humanity to chastise these criminals."</p> - -<p>The complaints of the settlers and the cries of the soldiers penetrated -into the quæstor's tribunal. At first Marcus Antonius paid no heed -to them. In well-heated, well-closed halls he was busied with actors -and courtesans who were representing on the stage the works of that -Hercules whom he resembled in feature, in the cut of his short curly -beard, and in the vigour of his limbs. Clothed in a lion's skin, club -in hand, Julia's robust son threw fictitious monsters to the ground and -with his arrow pierced a false hydra. Then, suddenly exchanging the -lion's pelt for Omphale's robe, he likewise changed his passion.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile convoys were being intercepted, bands of soldiers surprised, -harried and put to flight, and one morning the centurion, G. Fusius, -was found hanging disembowelled from a tree near the Golden Gate.</p> - -<p>In the Roman camp it was known that the author of this brigandage was -Commius, formerly king by the grace of Rome, now a robber chieftain. -Marcus Antonius commanded energetic action to be taken in order to -assure the safety of soldiers and settlers. And, foreseeing that -the crafty Gaul would not easily be captured, he bade the Proctor -straightway to make some terrible example. In order to carry out his -chief's design, the Proctor caused the two richest Atrebates in the -city of Nemetacum to be brought before his tribunal.</p> - -<p>One was by name Vergal, the other Ambrow. Both were of illustrious -birth, and they had been the first of their tribe to make friends with -Cæsar. Poorly rewarded for their prompt submission, robbed of all their -honours and of a great part of their wealth, ceaselessly annoyed by -coarse centurions and covetous lawyers, they had ventured to whisper a -few complaints. Imitating the Romans and wearing the toga, they lived -in Nemetacum, vain and simple-minded, proud and humiliated. The Proctor -examined them, condemned them to suffer the traitors' death and on that -very day handed them over to the lictors. They died doubting Roman -justice.</p> - -<p>Thus did the quaestor by his firmness banish fear from the hearts of -the settlers, who presented him with a laudatory address. The municipal -councillors of Nemetacum, blessing his paternal vigilance and his -piety, decreed that a bronze statue should be raised in his honour. -After this several Roman merchants, having ventured out of the town, -were surprised and slain by Komm's horsemen.</p> - - - -<h4>6</h4> - - -<p>The prefect of the body of cavalry stationed at Nemetacum of the -Atrebates was Caius Volusenus Quadratus, the same who had formerly -enticed King Commius into a trap and had said to the centurions of -his escort: "When I hold out my hand as a sign of friendship you -will strike from behind." Caius Volusenus Quadratus was held in high -esteem in the army because of his obedience to the call of duty and -his unflinching courage. He had received rich rewards and enjoyed the -honours due to military virtue. Marcus Antonius appointed him to hunt -down Commius.</p> - -<p>Volusenus zealously carried out the mission confided to him. He planned -ambuscades for Komm, and, keeping in constant touch with his robber -bands, harassed them incessantly. Meanwhile the Atrebate, a cunning -master of guerilla warfare, wore out the Roman cavalry by his swift -movements and surprised isolated soldiers. As a matter of religious -sentiment he slew his prisoners, trusting thus he propitiate the gods. -But the gods hide their thoughts as well as their countenances. And -it was after one of these pious performances that Komm fell into the -greatest danger. Wandering in the land of the Morini, he had just slain -by night on a stone in the forest two young and handsome prisoners, -when on issuing from the wood he and all his men were surprised by the -cavalry of Volusenus, which, being better armed and better skilled in -manœuvring, surrounded him and killed many of his warriors and their -horses. He succeeded, however, in making his escape, accompanied by the -bravest and the cleverest of the Atrebates. They fled; they galloped -at full speed over the plain, towards the beach where the misty Ocean -rolls its pebbles over the sand. And, looking round, they saw the Roman -helmets gleaming far behind them.</p> - -<p>Komm had a fair hope of escaping. His horses were swifter and less -heavily laden than the enemy's. He reckoned on reaching in time the -boats awaiting him in a neighbouring cove, and with his faithful -followers making for the land of the Britons.</p> - -<p>Thus thought the chief, and the Atrebates rode in silence. Now a drop -in the ground on a clump of dwarf-trees would hide the horsemen of -Volusenus. Then on the immense grey plain the two companies would again -come in sight of one another, but separated by an increasingly wide -interval. The pale bronze helmets were outdistanced and Komm could -distinguish naught to the rear save a cloud of dust moving on the -horizon. Already the Gauls were breathing with delight the salt sea -air. But as they drew nigh the shore the dusty incline caused the pace -of the Gallic horses to slacken, and Volusenus began to gain on them.</p> - -<p>Faint, almost imperceptible, the sound of Roman voices was caught by -the keen ears of the barbarians, when, beyond the wind-bent larches, -they first descried from the summit of a dune the masts of ships that -lay gathered in the bend of the lonely shore. They uttered one long cry -of joy. And Komm congratulated himself on his prudence and good luck. -But, having begun their descent to the beach, they paused half-way -down, seized with fear and horror, as they perceived the fine boats of -the Veneti, broad keeled, lofty of stem and stern, now high and dry -on the sand, there to remain for many a long hour, while far away in -the distance gleamed the waves of the low tide. At this sight they sat -inertly, stricken dumb, stooping over their steaming horses, which with -muscles relaxed bowed their heads to the land breeze which blinded them -as it blew their long manes into their eyes.</p> - -<p>In the confusion and the silence resounded the voice of the chief -crying:</p> - -<p>"To the ships, horsemen! The wind is good! To the ships!"</p> - -<p>They obeyed without understanding. And, pushing on to the ships, Komm -bade them unfurl the sails. They were the skins of beasts dyed bright -colours. No sooner were they unfurled than the rising wind filled the -sails.</p> - -<p>The Gauls wondered what could be the object of this manœuvre and -whether the chief hoped to see the stout oaken keels ploughing through -the sand of the beach as if it were the water of the Ocean. Some -thought there might yet be time for flight, others of meeting death -while slaying the Romans.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Volusenus, at the head of his horsemen men, was climbing the -hill which borders on the pebbled, sandy shore. Rising from the bottom -of the cove he saw the masts of the ships of the Veneti. Perceiving the -sails unfurled and filled with a favourable wind, he bade his troops -halt, called down obscene curses on the head of Commius, groaned over -his horses, which had perished in vain, and, turning bridle, commanded -his men to return to camp.</p> - -<p>"What is the good," he thought, "of pursuing the bandits any farther? -Commius has embarked. He has set sail, and, borne by such a wind, he is -already far beyond the reach of the javelin."</p> - -<p>Soon afterwards Komm and the Atrebates reached the thickets and the -moving islands, which they filled with the sound of their heroic -laughter.</p> - -<p>Six months later Komm again took the field. One day Volusenus surprised -him, with a score of horsemen, on open ground. With the prefect was -about an equal number of men and horses. He gave the order to attack. -The Atrebate, whether he feared his inability to meet the charge, or -whether he planned some stratagem, signed to his followers to flee, and -himself wildly dashed across the immense plain in a long, galloping -flight, hard pressed by Volusenus. Then, suddenly, he turned, and, -followed by his Gauls, threw himself furiously on the Prefect of the -Horse and, with one thrust of his lance, pierced his thigh. At the -sight of their general struck down the Romans fled in amazement. Then -the discipline of their military training asserted itself, enabling -them to overcome the natural instinct of fear; they returned to pick up -Volusenus just as Komm, full of a fierce delight, was pouring upon him -the most ferocious insults. The Gauls could not withstand the little -Roman band, which, forming a compact mass, charged them vigorously and -slew or captured the greater number. Commius almost alone escaped, -thanks to his horse's speed.</p> - -<p>Volusenus was carried back in a dying state to the Roman camp. But, -thanks to the leech's art or the strength of his own constitution, he -recovered from his wound. In this fray Commius had lost everything, -his faithful warriors and his hatred. Satisfied with his vengeance, -henceforth tranquil and content, he sent a messenger to Marcus -Antonius. This messenger, having been admitted to the quæstor's -tribunal, spoke thus:</p> - -<p>"Marcus Antonius, King Commius promises to appear in any place which -shall be indicated to him, to do all that thou shalt command and to -give hostages. One thing only he asks—that he shall be spared the -disgrace of ever appearing before a Roman."</p> - -<p>Marcus Antonius was magnanimous.</p> - -<p>"I understand," said he, "that Commius may be somewhat disgusted by his -interviews with our generals. I excuse him from ever appearing before -any of us. I grant him his pardon; and I receive his hostages."</p> - -<p>What happened afterwards to Komm of the Atrebates is unknown; the rest -of his life cannot be traced.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="FARINATA_DEGLI_UBERTI" id="FARINATA_DEGLI_UBERTI">FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI;</a><br /> -OR,<br /> -CIVIL WAR</h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_007_2.jpg" width="600" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 50%;"> -Ed ei s'ergea col petto e con la fronte,<br /> -Come avesse lo inferno in gran dispitto.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 20%;"><i>Inferno</i>, Can. 10.</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p class="p2">She sat on the terrace of his tower, the aged Farinata degli Uberti -fixed his keen gaze on the battlemented town. Standing at his side, -Fra Ambrogio looked at the sky that was blushing with the rosy hues of -evening and crowning with its fiery blossoms the garland of hills which -encircles Florence. From the neighbouring banks of the Arno the perfume -of myrtles was wafted upwards into the still air. The birds' last cries -had re-echoed from the bright roof of San-Giovanni. Suddenly there -came the sound of two horses passing over the sharp pebbles from the -riverbed which paved the road, and two young riders, handsome as two -St. Georges, emerging from the narrow street, rode past the windowless -palace of the Uberti. When they were at the foot of the Ghibelline -tower one spat as a sign of contempt; the other, raising his arm, put -his thumb between his fore and his middle finger. Then both, spurring -their horses, reached the wooden bridge at a gallop. Farinata, a -witness of this insult offered to his name, remained tranquil and -silent. His shrivelled cheeks trembled and briny tears moistened his -yellow eyeballs. Finally, he shook his head three times and said:</p> - -<p>"Why does this people hate me?"</p> - -<p>Fra Ambrogio did not reply. And Farinata continued to gaze down upon -the city, which he could no longer see save through the bitter mist -which veiled his eyes. Then, turning towards the monk his thin face -with its eagle nose and threatening jaws, he asked again:</p> - -<p>"Why does this people hate me?"</p> - -<p>The monk made a gesture as if he would drive away a fly.</p> - -<p>"What matters to you, Messer Farinata, the obscene insolence of two -striplings bred in the Guelf towers of Oltarno?"</p> - - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Nothing to me, indeed, are those two Frescobaldi, minions of the -Romans, sons of pimps and prostitutes. I fear not the scorn of such -as they. Neither for my friends nor, especially, for my enemies is it -possible to despise me. My sorrow is to feel weighing upon me the -hatred of the people of Florence.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Hatred has prevailed in cities since the sons of Cain introduced pride -with the arts, and since the two Theban horsemen satisfied their -fraternal hatred by shedding each other's blood. Insult breeds wrath, -and wrath insult. With unfailing fecundity hatred engenders hatred.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>But how can love engender hatred? And wherefore am I odious to my -well-beloved city?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Since you wish it, Messer Farinata, I will give you an answer. But from -my lips you will have naught but truthful words. Your fellow citizens -cannot forgive you for having fought at Montaperto, beneath Manfred's -white banner, on the day when the Arbia was stained with Florentine -blood. And they hold that on that day, in that fatal valley, you were -not the friend of your city.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>What! I have not loved her! To live her life, to live for her alone, -to suffer fatigue, hunger, thirst, fever, sleeplessness, and that most -terrible of woes, exile; to brave death at every hour, to risk falling -alive into the hands of those whom my death alone would not suffice to -content; to dare everything, to endure everything for her sake, for -her good, to rescue her from the power of my enemies, who were hers, -to induce her whether she would or not to follow wholesome advice, to -espouse the right cause, to think as I thought myself, with the noblest -and the best, to wish her entirely beautiful and subtle and generous, -to sacrifice for this object alone my possessions, my sons, my -neighbours, my friends; in her interest alone to render myself liberal, -avaricious, faithful, perfidious, magnanimous, criminal, this was not -to love my city! Who loved her, then, if I did not?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Alas, Messer Farinata, your pitiless love caused violence and craft -to take arms against the city and cost the lives of ten thousand -Florentines!</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Yes, my affection for my city was as strong as that, Fra Ambrogio. And -the deeds it inspired me to perform are worthy to serve as examples to -our sons and our sons' sons. That the memory of them might not perish -I would write of them myself, if I had a head for writing. When I was -young, I composed love-songs, which ladies marvelled at and the clerks -put into their books. With that exception, I have always despised -letters as greatly as the arts, and I have no more troubled to write -than to weave wool. Let every man follow my example and act according -to his rank in life. But you, Fra Ambrogio, who are a very learned -scribe, it is for you to relate the great enterprises I have led. Great -honour would it bring you, if you told them not as a monk, but as a -noble, for they are knightly and noble deeds. Such a story would show -how active I have been. And of all that I have done I regret nothing.</p> - -<p>I was exiled, the Guelfs had slain three of my kinsfolk. Sienna -received me; of this my enemies made such a grievance that they incited -the Florentines to march in arms against the hospitable city. For the -exiles, for Sienna, I asked the aid of Cæsar's son, the King of Sicily.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>It is only too true: you were the ally of Manfred, the friend of the -Sultan of Luceria, of the astrologer, the renegade, the excommunicated.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Then we swallowed the Pontiff's excommunications like water. I know not -whether Manfred had learned to read destiny in the stars, but true -it is that he made much of his Saracen horsemen. He was as prudent as -he was brave, a sagacious prince, careful of the blood of his men and -of the gold in his coffers. He replied to the Siennese that he would -grant them succour. He made great promises in order to inspire great -gratitude. He gave them but meagre fulfilment through craft and fear -of diminishing his own power. He sent his banner with one hundred -German horsemen. Disappointed and incensed, the Siennese spoke of -rejecting this contemptible aid. I gave them better counsel and taught -them the art of passing a cloth through a ring. One day, having gorged -the Germans with wine and meat, I induced them to make a sortie at so -unlucky a moment that they fell into an ambuscade and were all slain -by the Guelfs of Florence, who took Manfred's white banner and trailed -it in the dust at the end of an ass's tail. Straightway I informed the -Sicilian of the insult. He felt it, as I had foreseen, and, to execute -vengeance, he sent eight hundred horsemen, with a goodly number of -infantry, under the command of Count Giordano, who was reputed to be -the equal of Hector of Troy. Meanwhile Sienna and her allies assembled -their militia. Before long our strength was thirteen thousand fighting -men. We were fewer than were the Guelfs of Florence. But among them -were false Guelfs who merely awaited the hour to declare themselves -Ghibellines, while among our Ghibellines there were no Guelfs. Thus -having on my side, not all the advantage (one never has all), but -advantages which were great and unhoped for, I was impatient to engage -in a battle, which, if won, would destroy my enemies, and, if lost, -would only crush my allies. I hungered and thirsted after this battle. -To make the Florentine army engage in it I used every means of which I -could conceive. I sent to Florence two minor friars charged secretly -to inform the Council that, seized with repentance and desiring to -buy my fellow-citizens' pardon by rendering some signal service, I -was ready for ten thousand florins to deliver up into their hands one -of the gates of Sienna; but that for the success of the enterprise it -would be necessary for the Florentine army, in as great strength as was -possible, to advance to the banks of the Arbia, under the pretence of -coming to the aid of the Guelfs of Montacino. When my two friars had -departed, my mouth spat out the pardon it had asked, and, perturbed by -a terrible anxiety, I waited. I feared lest the nobles of the Council -should realize the folly of sending an army to the Arbia. But I hoped -that the project, by its very extravagance, would please the plebeians -and that they would adopt it all the more eagerly because of the -opposition of the nobles, whom they mistrusted. And so it happened: -the nobility discerned the snare, but the artisans fell into it. They -were in the majority on the Council. At their command the Florentine -army set forth and carried out the plan which I had formed for its -destruction. How beautiful was that dawn, when, riding into a little -band of exiles, I saw the sun pierce the white morning mist and shine -on the forest of Guelf lances which covered the slopes of La Malena! -I had put my hand on my enemies. But a little more artfulness and I -was sure of destroying them. By my advice, Count Giordano caused the -infantry of the commune of Sienna to defile three times before their -eyes, changing their helmets after their first and second appearances, -in order that they might seem more numerous than they actually were; -and thus he showed them to the Guelfs, first red, as an omen of blood; -then green, as an omen of death; then half-black, half-white, as an -omen of captivity. True omens! O what delight! when, charging the -Florentine horse, I beheld it waver and wheel in circles like a flight -of crows, when I saw the man in my pay, him whose name I may not -utter for fear of defiling my lips, strike down with one blow of his -sword the standard which he had come to defend, and all the horsemen, -looking vainly henceforth for their rallying point, the white and blue -colours, flee panic-stricken, trampling one another down, while we in -their pursuit slaughtered them like pigs brought to market. Only the -artisans of the commune stood their ground. Then we had to slay round -the bleeding quarry. Finally, there remained before us naught save -corpses and cowards, who joined hands to come to us and on their knees -to beg for mercy. And I, content with my work, stood apart.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Alas, accursed valley of the Arbia! It is said that after so many years -it still smells of death, that by night, deserted, haunted by wild -beasts, it resounds with the howls of the white witches. Was your heart -so hard, Messer Farinata, that it did not dissolve in tears when, on -that evil day, you saw the flower-clad slopes of La Malena drinking -Florentine blood?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>My only grief was to think that thus I had shown my enemies the way to -victory and that, by humbling them after ten years of pride and power, -I had suggested to them what they themselves might do in turn after the -lapse of so many years. I reflected that, since with my aid Fortune's -wheel had taken this turn, the wheel might take another turn and -humble me and mine in the dust. This presentiment cast a shadow over -the dazzling light of my joy.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>It seemed to me as if you justly detested the treachery of that man who -trailed in dirt and blood the standard beneath which he had set out to -fight. I myself, who know that the mercy of the Lord is infinite, I, -even, doubt whether Bocca will not take his place in hell with Cain, -Judas and Brutus, the parricide. But if Bocca's crime is so execrable, -do you not repent having caused it? And think you not, Messer Farinata, -that you yourself, by drawing the Florentine army into a snare, -offended the just God and did that which is not lawful?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Everything is lawful to him who obeys the dictates of a vigorous mind -and a strong heart. When I deceived my enemies I was magnanimous, not -treacherous. And if you make it a crime to have employed, in order to -save my party, the man who tore down his party's standard, then you are -wrong, Fra Ambrogio, for nature, not I, had made him a traitor, and it -was I, not nature, who turned his treachery to good use.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_008_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>But since you loved your city even when fighting against her, it must -have been painful to you that you were able to overcome her only with -the aid of the Siennese, her enemies. Were you not somewhat ashamed at -this?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Wherefore should I have been ashamed? Could I have re-established my -party in the city in any other way? I made alliance with Manfred and -the Siennese. Had it been necessary, I would have sought the alliance -of those African giants who have but one eye in the middle of their -foreheads and who feed upon human flesh, according to the report of -Venetian navigators who have seen them. The pursuit of such an interest -is no mere game played according to rule, like chess or draughts. If -I had judged one thing lawful and another unlawful, think you that -my adversaries would have been bound by such rules? No, indeed, we -on Arbia's banks were not playing a game of dice under the trellis, -tablets on knee and little white pebbles to mark the score. It was -conquest that we were working for. And each side knew it.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, I grant you, Fra Ambrogio, that it would have been -better to settle our quarrel between Florentines alone. Civil war is -so grand, so noble, so fine a thing, that it should, if possible, -be waged without alien intervention. Those who engage in it should -be fellow-citizens and preferably nobles, who would bring to it an -unwearying arm and keen intelligence.</p> - -<p>I would not say the same of foreign wars. They are useful, even -necessary enterprises, undertaken to maintain or extend the boundaries -of State or to promote traffic in merchandise. Generally speaking, -neither profit nor honour results from waging these great wars unaided. -A wise people will employ mercenaries, and delegate the enterprise to -experienced captains who know how to win much with few men. Nothing -but professional courage is needed, and it is better to spill gold -than blood. One cannot put one's heart into it. For it would hardly be -wise to hate a foreigner because his interests are opposed to ours, -while it is natural and reasonable to hate a fellow-citizen who opposes -what one esteems useful and good. In civil war alone can one display a -discerning mind, an inflexible soul and the fortitude of a heart filled -with anger or with love.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>I am the poorest servant of the poor. But I have one master alone; he -is the King of Heaven. I should be false to Him were I not to say, -Messer Farinata, that the only warrior worthy of the highest praise is -he who marches beneath the cross, singing:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -<i>Vexilla régis prodeunt.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>The blessed Dominic, whose soul, like a sun, rose on the darkened -Church in a night of falsehood, taught us, concerning war against -heretics, that the more fiercely and bitterly it is fought the more -does it display charity and mercy. And he must have known, he who, -bearing the name of the Prince of the Apostles, like the stone from -David's sling, struck the Goliath of heresy on the forehead. Between -Como and Milan he suffered martyrdom. From him my order derives great -honour. Whosoever draws sword against such a soldier is another -Antiochus, fighting for our Lord Jesus Christ. But, having instituted -empires, kingdoms and republics, God suffers them to be defended by -arms, and He looks down upon the captains who, having called upon Him, -draw sword for the deliverance of their country. But He turns away His -countenance from the citizen who strikes His city and sheds its blood, -as you were so ready to do, Messer Farinata, undeterred by the fear -that Florence, exhausted and rent by you, might have no strength to -withstand her enemies. In the ancient chronicles it is written that -cities weakened by internecine warfare offer an easy prey to the -foreigner who lies in wait to destroy them.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Monk, is it best to attack the lion when he watches or when he sleeps? -Now, I have kept awake the lion of Florence. Ask the Pisans if they had -reason to rejoice at having attacked him at a time when I had made him -furious. Search in the ancient histories and you will find there also, -perhaps, that cities which are seething within are ready to scald the -enemy who lurks without, but that a people made lukewarm by peace at -home has no desire for war abroad. Know that it is dangerous to offend -a city vigilant and noble enough to maintain internal warfare, and say -not again that I have weakened my city.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, you know that she was like to perish after the fatal -day of the Arbia. The panic-stricken Guelfs had sallied forth from -her gates and had taken the sad road to exile. The Ghibelline diet, -convoked at Empoli by Count Giordano, decided to destroy Florence.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>It is true. All wished that not a stone should be left upon another. -All said, "Let us crush this nest of Guelfs." I alone rose to defend -her. I alone shielded her from harm. To me the Florentines owe the very -breath of life. Those who insult me and spit upon my threshold, had -they any piety in their hearts, would honour me as a father. I saved my -city.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>After you had ruined it. Nevertheless, may that day at Empoli be -counted to you for righteousness in this world and the next, Messer -Farinata! And may St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, -bear to the ear of our Lord the words which you uttered in the assembly -of the Ghibellines! Repeat to me, I pray you, those praiseworthy words. -They are diversely reported, and I would know them exactly. Is it true, -as many say, that you took as your text two Tuscan proverbs—one of the -ass, the other of the goat?</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>That of the goat I hardly remember, but I have a clearer recollection -of the proverb of the ass. It may be, as some have said, that I -confused the two proverbs. That matters not. I rose and spoke somewhat -thus:</p> - -<p>"The ass bites at the roots as hard as he can. And you, following his -example, will bite without discrimination, to-morrow as yesterday, not -discerning that which should be destroyed and that which should be -respected. But know that I have suffered so much and fought so long -only in order to dwell in my city. I shall therefore defend her and -die, if need be, sword in hand."</p> - -<p>I said not another word and I went out. They ran after me, and, -endeavouring to appease me by their entreaties, they swore to respect -Florence.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>May our sons forget that you were at the Arbia and remember that you -were at Empoli! You lived in cruel days, and I do not think it easy -either for a Guelf or a Ghibelline to see salvation. May God, Messer -Farinata, save you from hell and receive you after your death into His -blessed Paradise.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FARINATA.</p> - -<p>Paradise and hell are but the creations of our own mind. Epicurus -taught this, and many since his day have known it to be true. You -yourself, Fra Ambrogio, have you not read in your book: "For that which -befalleth the sons of men befalleth Beasts; as the one dieth so dieth -the other." But if, like ordinary souls, I believed in God, I would -pray to him to leave the whole of me here after death, that soul and -body alike might be buried in my tomb beneath the walls of my beautiful -San Giovanni. All around are coffins hewn out of stone by the Romans -to receive their dead. Now they are open and empty. In one of those -beds I would wish to rest and sleep at last. In life I suffered -bitterly in exile, and yet I was but a day's journey from Florence. -Farther away I should have been more wretched still. I desire to remain -for ever in my beloved city. May my descendants remain there also.</p> - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center;">FRA AMBROGIO.</p> - -<p>It fills me with horror to hear you blaspheme the God who created -heaven and earth, the mountains of Florence and the roses of Fiesole. -And that which most terrifies me, Messer Farinata degli Uberti, is -that you contrive to invest evil with a certain nobility. If, contrary -to the hope which I still cherish, infinite mercy were not to be -vouchsafed to you, I believe you would be a credit to hell.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="THE_KING_DRINKS" id="THE_KING_DRINKS">THE KING DRINKS</a></h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_009_2.jpg" width="450" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>In the city of Troyes, in the year of grace, 1428, Canon Guillaume -Chappedelaine was elected by the Chapter to be King of the Epiphany, in -accordance with the custom which then prevailed throughout Christian -France. For the canons were wont to choose one of their number and to -designate him as king because he was to take the place of the King of -kings and to gather them all round his table, until such time as Jesus -Christ Himself should gather them, as they all hoped, into His holy -paradise.</p> - -<p>Sieur Guillaume Chappedelaine owed his election to his virtuous life -and his generosity. He was a rich man. Both the Burgundian and the -Armagnac captains, when ravaging Champagne, had spared his vineyards. -For this good fortune he was indebted first to God and then to -himself, to the kindness he had shown to the two factions which were -at that time rending asunder the kingdom of the lilies. His wealth -had contributed not a little to his election; for in that year a -<i>setier</i><a name="FNanchor_1_2" id="FNanchor_1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_2" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> of corn fetched eight francs, five-and-twenty eggs six -sous, a young pig seven francs, while throughout the winter Churchmen -had been reduced to eat cabbages like villeins.</p> - -<p>Wherefore on the Feast of the Epiphany, Sieur Guillaume Chappedelaine, -clothed in his dalmatica, holding in his hand a palm-branch in lieu -of a sceptre, took his place in the cathedral choir, beneath a canopy -of cloth of gold. Meanwhile, out in the sacristy, there came forth -three canons, wearing crowns upon their heads. One was robed in white, -another in red, the third in black. They stood for the three kings -of the East, the Magi, and, going down to that part of the church -which represents the foot of the cross, they chanted the Gospel of -St. Matthew. A deacon, bearing at the end of a pole five lighted -candles, to symbolize the miraculous star which led the Magi to -Bethlehem, ascended the great nave and entered the choir. The three -canons followed him singing, and, when they reached this passage in -the gospel, <i>Et intrantes domum, invenerunt puerum cum Maria, matre -ejus, et procidentes adoraverunt eum,</i> they stopped in front of Sieur -Guillaume Chappedelaine and bowed low before him. Then came three -children, bearing salt and spices, which Sieur Guillaume graciously -received after the manner of the Infant King who had accepted the -myrrh, the gold and the frankincense of the kings of this world. After -this divine service was celebrated with due devoutness.</p> - -<p>In the evening the canons were invited to sup with the King of the -Epiphany. Sieur Guillaume's house was close against the apse of the -cathedral. It was recognizable by the golden hood on a shield of stone -which adorned its low door. That night the great hall was strewn with -foliage and lit by twelve torches of fir-wood. The whole Chapter -sat down to the table, groaning beneath a lamb cooked whole. There -were present Sieurs Jean Bruant, Thomas Alépée, Simon Thibouville, -Jean Coquemard, Denys Petit, Pierre Corneille, Barnabe Videloup and -François Pigouchel, canons of Saint-Pierre, Sieur Thibault de Saugles, -knight and hereditary lay canon, and, at the bottom of the table, -Pierrolet, the little clerk, who, although he could not write, was -Sieur Guillaume's secretary and served him at Mass. He looked like a -girl dressed up as a boy. He it was who on Candlemas Day appeared as -an angel. It was also the custom on Ember Wednesday in December, when -the coming of the Angel Gabriel to announce to Mary the mystery of -the Incarnation was read at Mass, for a young girl to be placed on a -platform and for a child with wings to tell her that she was about to -become the mother of the Son of God. A stuffed dove was suspended over -the girl's head. For two years Pierrolet had represented the angel of -the Annunciation.</p> - -<p>But his soul was far from being as sweet as his countenance. He was -violent, foolhardy and quarrelsome, and he often provoked boys older -than himself. He was suspected of being immoral; and in truth the -soldiers garrisoned in the towns set no good example. Little notice, -however, was taken of his bad habits. That which most vexed Sieur -Guillaume was that Pierrolet was an Armagnac and for ever quarrelling -with the Burgundians. The canon repeatedly told him that such a state -of mind was not only wicked but absolutely devilish in that good -town of Troyes, where the late Henry V of England had celebrated his -marriage with Madame Catherine of France and where the English were the -rightful masters, for all power is of God. <i>Omnis potestas a Deo.</i></p> - -<p>The guests having taken their places, Sieur Guillaume recited the -<i>Benedicite</i> and every one began to eat in silence. Sieur Jean -Coquemard was the first to speak. Turning to Sieur Jean Bruant, his -neighbour, he said:</p> - -<p>"You are wise and learned. Did you fast yesterday?"</p> - -<p>"It was seemly so to do," replied Sieur Jean Bruant. "In the rubric, -the eve of the Epiphany is described as a vigil and a vigil is a fast."</p> - -<p>"Pardon me," retorted Sieur Jean Coquemard. "But I, together with -notable doctors of divinity, hold that an austere fast accords ill with -the joy of the faithful as they recall the birth of our Saviour which -the Church continues to celebrate until the Epiphany."</p> - -<p>"In my opinion," replied Sieur Jean Bruant, "those who do not fast on -these vigils have fallen away from our ancient piety."</p> - -<p>"And in mine," cried Sieur Jean Coquemard, "those who by fasting -prepare for the most joyful of festivals are guilty of following -customs censored by the majority of our bishops."</p> - -<p>The dispute between the two canons began to wax bitter.</p> - -<p>"Not to fasti What lack of zeal!" exclaimed Sieur Jean Bruant.</p> - -<p>"To fast! How obstinate!" said Sieur Jean Coquemard. "You are one of -those proud, reckless men who love to stand alone."</p> - -<p>"You are one of the weak who meekly follow the corrupt herd. But even -in these wicked times of ours I have my authorities. <i>Quidam asserunt -in vigilia Epiphaniæ jejunandum."</i></p> - -<p>"That settles the question. <i>Non jejunetur!</i>"</p> - -<p>"Peace! Peace!" cried Sieur Guillaume from the depths of his great -raised seat. "You are both right: it is praiseworthy of you, Jean -Coquemard, to partake of food on the eve of the Epiphany, as a sign of -rejoicing, and of you, Jean Bruant, to fast on the same vigil, since -you fast with seemly gladness."</p> - -<p>This utterance was approved by the whole Chapter.</p> - -<p>"Not Solomon himself could have pronounced a wiser judgment," cried -Sieur Pierre Corneille.</p> - -<p>And Sieur Guillaume, having put to his lips his goblet of silver gilt, -Sieurs Jean Bruant, Jean Coquemard, Thomas Alépée, Simon Thibouville, -Denys Petit, Pierre Corneille, Barnabé Videloup and François Pigouchel -all cried with one voice:</p> - -<p>"The King drinks! the King drinks!"</p> - -<p>The uttering of this cry was part of the festival, and the guest who -failed to join in it risked a severe penalty.</p> - -<p>Sieur Guillaume, seeing that the flagons were empty, ordered more wine -to be brought, and the servants grated the horse-radish which should -stimulate the thirst of the guests.</p> - -<p>"To the health of Monsignor, Bishop of Troyes and of the Regent of -France," said Sieur Guillaume, rising from his canonical seat.</p> - -<p>"Right willingly, sieur," said Thibault of Saulges, knight. "But it is -an open secret that our Bishop is disputing with the Regent touching -the double tithe which Monsignor of Bedford is exacting from Churchmen, -under the pretext of financing the Crusade against the Hussites. Thus -we are about to mingle in one toast the healths of two enemies."</p> - -<p>"Ha ha!" replied Sieur Guillaume. "But healths are proposed for peace -and not for war. I drink to King Henry VI's Regent of France and to the -health of Monsignor, Bishop of Troyes, whom we all elected two years -ago."</p> - -<p>The canons, raising their goblets, drank to the health of the Bishop -and of the Regent Bedford.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile there was raised at the bottom of the table a young and as -yet piping voice, which cried:</p> - -<p>"To the health of the Dauphin Louis, the true King of France!"</p> - -<p>It was the little Pierrolet, whose Armagnac sympathies, heated by the -canon's wine, were finding expression.</p> - -<p>No one took any notice, and Sieur Guillaume having drunk again they all -cried in chorus:</p> - -<p>"The King drinks! The King drinks!"</p> - -<p>The guests, all speaking at once, were noisily discussing matters both -sacred and profane.</p> - -<p>"Have you heard," said Thibault de Saulges, "that the Regent has sent -ten thousand English to take Orleans?"</p> - -<p>"In that case," said Sieur Guillaume, "the town will fall into their -hands, as have already Jargeau and Beaugency, and so many good cities -of the kingdom."</p> - -<p>"That remains to be seen!" said the little Pierrolet, growing red.</p> - -<p>But, he being at the far end of the table, once again no one heard him.</p> - -<p>"Let us drink, monsignors," said Sieur Guillaume, who was doing the -honours of his table lavishly.</p> - -<p>And he set the example by raising his great cup of silver gilt.</p> - -<p>More loudly than ever the cry resounded:</p> - -<p>"The King drinks! The King drinks!"</p> - -<p>But after the thunder of the toast had rolled away, Sieur Pierre -Corneille, who was seated rather low down at the table, said bitterly:</p> - -<p>"Monsignors, I denounce the little Pierrolet. He did not cry 'The King -drinks!' Thereby he has transgressed our rights and customs, and he -must be punished."</p> - -<p>"He must be punished!" repeated in chorus Sieurs Denys Petit and -Barnabe Videloup.</p> - -<p>"Let chastisement be meted out to him," said, in his turn, Sieur -Guillaume. "His hands and face must be smeared with soot, for such is -the custom."</p> - -<p>"It is the custom!" cried all the canons together.</p> - -<p>And Sieur Pierre Corneille went to fetch soot from the chimney, while -Sieurs Thomas Alépée and Simon Thibouville, laughing unrestrainedly, -threw themselves upon the child and held his arms and legs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_010_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>But Pierrolet escaped out of their hands, then, standing with his back -to the wall, he drew a little dagger from his belt and swore that he -would plunge it into the throat of anyone who came near him.</p> - -<p>Such violence highly amused the canons, and especially Sieur Guillaume. -Rising from his seat, he went up to his little secretary, followed by -Pierre Corneille, who held in his hand a shovelful of soot.</p> - -<p>"It is I," he said in unctuous tones, "who for his punishment will make -of this naughty child a negro, a servant of that black King Balthazar -who came to the manger. Pierre Corneille, hold out the shovel."</p> - -<p>And, with a gesture as deliberate as that with which he would have -sprinkled holy water upon the faithful, he threw a pinch of soot into -the face of the child who, rushing upon him, plunged his dagger into -Sieur Guillaume's stomach.</p> - -<p>The canon uttered a long sigh and fell with his face to the ground. His -guests crowded round him. They saw that he was dead.</p> - -<p>Pierrolet had disappeared. A search was made for him all over the town, -but he could not be found. Later it became known that he had enlisted -in Captain La Hire's company. At the Battle of Patay, under the Maid's -eyes, he took prisoner an English captain and was dubbed a knight.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_2" id="Footnote_1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_2"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> An obsolete measure varying according to place. In -1703, in the Orkney and Shetland Isles a setten of barley was about -twenty-eight pounds' weight.</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="LA_MUIRON" id="LA_MUIRON">"LA MUIRON"</a></h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_011_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<p class="block" style="margin-top: 2em;">"And sometimes, during our long evenings, the -Commander-in-Chief would tell us ghost stories, a species of -story in the telling of which he excelled."—<i>Mémoires du -Comte Lavallette.</i></p> - -<p class="p2">For more than three months Bonaparte had been without news from -Europe, when on his return from Saint-Jean-d'Acre he sent an envoy -to the Turkish admiral under the pretext of negotiating an exchange -of prisoners, but in reality in the hope that Sir Sidney Smith would -stop this officer on the way and enlighten him as to recent events; -whether, as might be expected, these had been unfavourable to the -Republic. The General calculated rightly. Sir Sidney had the envoy -brought to his ship and received him there with honour. Having entered -into conversation, the English commander soon learnt that the Syrian -army was totally without despatches or information of any kind. He -showed the Frenchman the newspapers lying open on the table and, with -perfidious courtesy, invited him to take them away with him.</p> - -<p>Bonaparte spent the night in his tent reading them. In the morning -he had resolved to return to France in order to assume the government -in the place of those who were on the point of being overthrown. Once -he had set foot on the soil of the Republic, he would crush the weak -and violent government which was rendering the country a prey to fools -and rogues, and he alone would occupy the vacant place. Before he -could carry out his plan, however, he must cross the Mediterranean in -defiance of adverse winds and British squadrons. But Bonaparte could -see nothing save his purpose and his star. By an extraordinary stroke -of good luck he had received the Directory's permission to leave the -Egyptian army and to appoint his own successor.</p> - -<p>He summoned Admiral Gantheaume, who had been at head-quarters since -the destruction of the fleet, and instructed him quickly and secretly -to arm two Venetian frigates, which were at Alexandria, and to direct -them to a certain lonely point upon the coast. In a sealed document he -appointed General Kléber Commander-in-Chief. Then, under the pretext of -making a tour of inspection, taking with him a squadron of guides, he -went to the Marabou inlet. On the evening of the 7th of Fructidor in -the year VII, at the junction of two roads, whence the sea was visible, -he came face to face with General Menou, who was returning with his -escort to Alexandria. Finding it impossible and unnecessary to keep his -secret any longer, he took a brusque farewell of these soldiers, urged -them to acquit themselves well in Egypt and said:</p> - -<p>"If I have the good luck to set foot in France, the reign of the -chatterboxes will be over!"</p> - -<p>He seemed to say this spontaneously and, so to speak, in spite of -himself. Yet such an announcement was well calculated to justify his -flight and to suggest future power.</p> - -<p>He jumped into the boat, which at nightfall drew alongside of the -frigate, <i>La Muiron.</i> Admiral Gantheaume welcomed him beneath his flag -with these words:</p> - -<p>"I command under your star."</p> - -<p>And he set sail immediately. With the General were Lavallette, his -aide-de-camp, Monge and Berthollet. The frigate, <i>La Carrère,</i> which -served as a convoy, had on board the' wounded generals, Lannes and -Murat, and Messieurs Denon, Costaz and Parseval-Grandmaison.</p> - -<p>Hardly had they started when the wind dropped. The Admiral proposed to -return to Alexandria lest dawn should find them in sight of Aboukir, -where the enemy's fleet lay at anchor. The faithful Lavallette -entreated the General to agree. But Bonaparte pointed seawards.</p> - -<p>"Have no fear. We shall get through."</p> - -<p>After midnight a fair breeze began to blow. By dawn the flotilla -was out of sight of land. As Bonaparte was walking alone on deck, -Berthollet came up to him.</p> - -<p>"General, you were well advised to tell Lavallette not to be afraid and -that we should be able to continue on our course."</p> - -<p>Bonaparte smiled.</p> - -<p>"I reassured one who is weak but devoted. Your character, Berthollet, -is different, and to you I shall speak differently. The future must -not be counted upon. The present alone matters. One must dare and -calculate, and leave the rest to luck."</p> - -<p>And, quickening his steps, he muttered:</p> - -<p>"Dare ... calculate ... avoid any cast-iron plan ... conform to -circumstances, follow where they lead. Take advantage of the slightest -as well as of the greatest opportunities. Attempt only the possible, -and all that is possible."</p> - -<p>At dinner that day, when the General reproached Lavallette with his -timidity on the previous evening, the aide-de-camp replied that at -present his fears were different but not less, and that he was not -ashamed to confess them, because they concerned the fate of Bonaparte, -consequently the fate of France and of the world.</p> - -<p>"I learned from Sir Sidney's secretary," he said, "that the commodore -believes in keeping out of sight during a blockade. So, knowing his -strategy and his character, we must expect to find him in our way. And -in that case...."</p> - -<p>Bonaparte interrupted him.</p> - -<p>"In that case you cannot doubt that our intuition and our skill would -rise superior to our danger. But you flatter that young madman when you -regard him as capable of any consecutive and methodical action. Smith -ought to be captain of a fire-ship."</p> - -<p>Bonaparte was not fair to the formidable commander who had been the -cause of his misfortune at Saint-Jean-d'Acre; and his injustice arose -doubtless from a wish to attribute his failure to a turn of fortune -rather than to his adversary's skill.</p> - -<p>The Admiral raised his hand as if to emphasize the resolve which he was -about to express.</p> - -<p>"If we meet the English cruisers, I will go on board <i>La Carrère,</i> and, -you may depend upon it, I will keep them so well occupied that they -will give <i>La Muiron</i> time to escape."</p> - -<p>Lavallette opened his mouth. He was about to observe that <i>La Muiron</i> -was not a fast sailer and that consequently such an opportunity would -be lost upon her. But he feared to displease the General, and swallowed -his words. Bonaparte, however, read his thoughts; and, taking him by -the coat button, said:</p> - -<p>"Lavallette, you are a good fellow, but you will never be a good -soldier. You never think enough of your advantages, and you are for -ever concerned with irreparable disadvantages. We cannot make this -frigate a fast sailer. But you must think of the crew, animated with -the brightest enthusiasm and capable of working miracles, if need be. -You forget that our boat is <i>La Muiron.</i> I myself gave her that name. -I was at Venice. Invited to christen the frigate which had just been -armed, I seized the opportunity of honouring the memory of one who -was dear to me, of my aide-de-camp, who fell on the bridge of Areola -while protecting his General with his own body under a hail of shot and -shell. In this ship we sail to-day. Can you doubt that its name augurs -well for us?"</p> - -<p>For a while longer he continued to hearten them with his glowing words. -He then remarked that he would retire to rest. It was known on the -morrow that he had decided to endeavour to avoid the British squadrons -by some four or five weeks' sailing along the African coast.</p> - -<p>Henceforth day followed day in uneventful monotony. <i>La Muiron</i> kept -in sight of the low, unfrequented coast, which was not likely to be -reconnoitred by the enemy's ships, and every half league she tacked -without venturing out to sea. Bonaparte passed his days in conversation -and in reverie. Sometimes he was heard to murmur the names of Ossian -and Fingal. Sometimes he asked his aide-de-camp to read aloud Vertot's -<i>Revolutions</i><a name="FNanchor_1_3" id="FNanchor_1_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_3" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> or Plutarch's <i>Lives.</i> He appeared neither anxious -nor impatient, nor preoccupied, more, probably, through a natural -disposition to live in the present than as the result of self-control. -He seemed to take a melancholy pleasure in contemplating that sea -which, whether angry or serene, threatened his destiny and divided -him from his object. On rising from table, when the weather was fine, -he would go on deck and half recline on a gun-carriage in the same -somewhat unsociable and forlorn attitude that was his when, as a child, -he would lie propped up by his elbows on the rocks of his native isle. -The two scientists, the Admiral, the Captain of the frigate and the -aide-de-camp, Lavallette, would stand round him. And the conversation, -which he carried on by fits and starts, most frequently turned on -some new scientific discovery. Monge was not a brilliant talker; but -his conversation revealed him as a clear, logical thinker. Inclined -to consider utility even in physics, he was always a patriot and a -good citizen. Berthollet was a better philosopher and more given to -evolving general theories.</p> - -<p>"It will not do," he said, "to represent chemistry as the mysterious -science of metamorphoses, a new Circe, waving her magic wand over -nature. Such ideas may flatter vivid imaginations; but they will -not satisfy thoughtful minds, who are striving to prove that the -transformations of bodies are subject to the general laws of physics."</p> - -<p>He had a presentiment that the reactions, which the chemist provokes -and observes, occur under precise mechanical conditions which some day -may be the subject of exact calculation. And, constantly recurring to -this idea, he would apply it to a variety of data, known or surmised. -One evening Bonaparte, who had no sympathy with pure speculation, -brusquely interrupted him:</p> - -<p>"Your theories...! Mere soap-bubbles born of a breath and dissipated -by a breath. Chemistry, Berthollet, is no more than a game when not -applied to the requirements of war or industry. In all his researches -the man of science should set before him some definite great and useful -object, like Monge, who, in order to manufacture gunpowder, sought -nitre in cellars and stables."</p> - -<p>But Monge himself, as well as Berthollet, insisted on representing to -the General the necessity of understanding phenomena and submitting -them to general laws, before attempting practical applications, and -they argued that any other procedure would lead to the dangerous -obscurity of empiricism.</p> - -<p>Bonaparte agreed. But he feared empiricism more than ideology. And -suddenly he inquired of Berthollet:</p> - -<p>"Do you, with your explanations, hope to penetrate into the infinite -mystery of nature, to enter on the unknown?"</p> - -<p>Berthollet replied that, without pretending to explain the universe, -the scientist rendered humanity the greatest service by substituting -a rational view of natural phenomena for the terrors of ignorance and -superstition.</p> - -<p>"Is he not man's true benefactor," added Berthollet, "who delivers him -from the phantoms introduced into the soul by the fear of an imaginary -hell, who rescues him from the yoke imposed by priests and soothsayers, -who expels from his mind the terrors of dreams and omens?"</p> - -<p>Night rested like a vast shadow on the great expanse of sea. In a -moonless and cloudless sky, multitudes of stars glittered like a -suspended shower. For a moment the General remained lost in meditation. -Then, lifting up his head and half rising, he pointed to the dome of -heaven, and with the uncultured voice of the young herdsman and the -hero of antiquity he pierced the silence:</p> - -<p>"Mine is a soul of marble which nothing can perturb, a heart -inaccessible to common weaknesses. But you, Berthollet, do you -understand sufficiently what life and death are? Have you explored -their confines so far as to be able to affirm that they are without -mystery? Are you sure that all apparitions are no more than the -phantoms of a diseased brain? Can you explain all presentiments? -General La Harpe had the stature and the heart of a Grenadier. His -intelligence was in its element in battle. There it shone. At Fombio, -for the first time, on the evening before his death, he was struck -dumb, as one who is stunned, frozen by a strange and sudden fear. You -deny apparitions. Monge, did you not meet Captain Aubelet in Italy?"</p> - -<p>At this question, Monge tried to remember, then shook his head. No, he -did not recollect Captain Aubelet.</p> - -<p>Bonaparte resumed:</p> - -<p>"I had observed him at Toulon, where he won his epaulettes, like a hero -of ancient Greece. He was as young, as handsome, as courageous as a -soldier from Platea. Struck by his serious air, his clear-cut features -and the look of wisdom on his young countenance, his superior officers -had nicknamed him Minerva, and the Grenadiers also called him by that -name, though they were ignorant of its significance.</p> - -<p>"Captain Minerva!" cried Monge. "Why did you not call him that at -first? Captain Minerva was killed beneath the walls of Mantua a few -weeks before I arrived in that city. His death had made a great -impression, because it was associated with marvellous happenings which -were related to me, though I do not remember them exactly. All I -recollect is that General Miollis ordered Captain Minerva's sword and -gorget, crowned with laurels, to be carried at the head of the column -which one feast day defiled in front of Virgil's grotto, as a tribute -to the memory of the poet of heroes."</p> - -<p>"Aubelet's," resumed Bonaparte, "was that perfectly calm courage which -I have never observed in anyone save Bessières. His passions were of -the noblest. And in everything he sacrificed himself. He had a brother -in arms, Captain Demarteau, a few years his senior, whom he loved -with all the affection of a great heart. Demarteau did not resemble -his friend. Impulsive, passionate, equally eager for pleasure and for -danger, he was always the life and soul of the camp. Aubelet was the -proud devotee of duty, Demarteau the joyous lover of glory. The latter -returned his comrade's affection. In those two friends the story of -Nisus and Euryalus was re-enacted beneath our flag. The end, both of -one and the other, was surrounded with extraordinary circumstances. -They were told to me, Monge, as to you, but I paid better heed, -although at that time my mind was occupied with greater affairs. I -desired to take Mantua without delay and before a new Austrian army -had time to enter Italy. Nevertheless I found time to read a report of -the incidents which had preceded and followed Captain Aubelet's death. -Certain of these incidents border on the miraculous. Their cause must -either be assigned to unknown faculties, which man may acquire in -unique moments, or to the intervention of an intelligence superior to -ours."</p> - -<p>"General, you must exclude the second hypothesis," said Berthollet. -"An observer of nature never perceives the intervention of a superior -intelligence."</p> - -<p>"I know that you deny the existence of Providence," replied Bonaparte. -"That may be permissible for a scientist shut tip in his study, but not -for a leader of peoples who can only control the ordinary mind through -a community of ideas. If you would govern men, you must think with them -on all great subjects. You must move with public opinion."</p> - -<p>And, raising his eyes to the light flaming in the darkness on the -pinnacle of the mainmast, he said, with hardly a pause:</p> - -<p>"The wind blows from the north."</p> - -<p>He had changed the subject with the suddenness which was his wont and -which had caused some one to say to M. Denon:</p> - -<p>"The General shuts the drawer."</p> - -<p>Admiral Gantheaume observed that they could not expect the wind to -change before the first days of autumn.</p> - -<p>The light was flaring towards Egypt. Bonaparte looked in that -direction. His gaze plunged into space; and, speaking in staccato -tones, he let fall these words:</p> - -<p>"If only they can hold out yonder! The evacuation of Egypt would be -a commercial and military disaster. Alexandria is the capital of the -controllers of Europe. Thence, I shall destroy England's commerce and -I shall change the destiny of India.... For me, as for Alexander, -Alexandria is the fortress, the port, the arsenal whence I start to -conquer the world and whither I cause the wealth of Africa and Asia -to flow. England can only be conquered in Egypt. If she were to take -possession of Egypt, she instead of us would be the mistress of the -world. Turkey is on her death-bed. Egypt assures me the possession -of Greece. For immortality my name shall be inscribed by that of -Epaminondas. The fate of the world hangs upon my intelligence and -Kléber's firmness."</p> - -<p>For some days afterwards the General remained silent. He had read to -him the <i>Révolutions de la République romaine,</i> the story of which -seemed to him to drag unbearably. The aide-de-camp, Lavallette, had -to gallop through the Abbé Vertot's pages. And even then Bonaparte's -patience would be exhausted, and, snatching the book from his hands, -he would ask for Plutarch's <i>Lives,</i> of which he never tired. He -considered that, though lacking broad and clear vision, they were -permeated with an overpowering sense of destiny.</p> - -<p>So one day, after his siesta, he summoned his reader and bade him -resume the <i>Life of Brutus,</i> where he had left off on the previous -evening. Lavallette opened the book at the page marked, and read:</p> - -<p>"Then, as he and Cassius were preparing to leave Asia with the whole of -their army (the night was very dark, and but a feeble light burned in -his tent; a profound silence reigned throughout the whole camp and he -himself was wrapt in thought), it seemed to him that he saw some one -enter his tent. He looked towards the door and he perceived a horrible -spectre, whose countenance was strange and terrifying, who approached -him and stood there in silence. He had the courage to address it. 'Who -art thou,' he asked, 'a man or a god? What comest thou to do here -and what desirest thou of me?' 'Brutus,' replied the phantom, 'I am -thy evil genius, and thou shalt see me at Philippi.' Then Brutus, -unperturbed, said: 'I will see thee there.' Straightway the phantom -disappeared, and Brutus, to whom the servants, whom he summoned, said -that they had seen and heard nothing, continued to busy himself with -his affairs."</p> - -<p>"It is here," cried Bonaparte, "in this watery solitude, that such a -scene has its most gruesome effect. Plutarch narrates well. He knows -how to give animation to his story, how to make his characters stand -out. But the relation between events escapes him. One cannot escape -one's fate. Brutus, who had a commonplace mind, believed in strength of -will. A really superior man would not labour under that delusion. He -sees how necessity limits him. He does not dash himself against it. To -be great is to depend on everything. I depend on events which a mere -nothing determines. Wretched creatures that we are, we are powerless to -change the nature of things. Children are self-willed. A great man is -not. What is a human life? The curve described by a projectile."</p> - -<p>The Admiral came to tell Bonaparte that the wind had at length changed. -The passage must be attempted. The danger was urgent. Vessels detached -from the English fleet, anchored off Syracuse, commanded by Nelson, -were guarding the sea which they were about to traverse between Tunis -and Sicily. Once the flotilla had been sighted the terrible Admiral -would be down upon them in a few hours.</p> - -<p>Gantheaume doubled Cape Bon by night with all lights out. The night -was clear. The watch sighted a ship's lights to the north-east. The -anxiety which consumed Lavallette had attacked even Monge. Bonaparte, -seated, as usual, on his gun-carriage, displayed a tranquillity -which might be deemed real or simulated according to the view taken -of his fatalism! whether it arose merely from a sanguine temper and -the capacity for self-deception or was simply one of his numerous -poses. After discussing with Monge and Berthollet various matters of -physics, mathematics and military science, he went on to speak of -certain superstitions from which perhaps his mind was not completely -emancipated.</p> - -<p>"You deny the miraculous," he said to Monge. "But we live and die in -the midst of the miraculous. You told me the other day that you had -scornfully put out of your mind the extraordinary happenings associated -with Captain Aubelet's death. Perhaps Italian credulity had embroidered -them too elaborately. And that may excuse you. Listen to me. On the -9th of September, at midnight, Captain Aubelet was in bivouac before -Mantua. The overpowering heat of the day had been followed by a night -freshened by the mists rising from the marshy plain. Aubelet, feeling -his cloak, became aware that it was wet. And, as he was shivering -slightly, he went near to a fire which the Grenadiers had lit in order -to heat their soup, and he warmed his feet, seated on a pack-saddle. -Gradually the night and the mist enveloped him. In the distance he -heard the neighing of horses and the regular cries of the sentinels. -The captain had been there for some time, anxious, sad, his eyes fixed -on the ashes in the brazier, when a tall form rose noiselessly at his -side. He felt it near him and dared not turn his head. Nevertheless, he -did turn, and recognized his friend, Captain Demarteau, in his usual -attitude, his left hand on his hip and swaying slightly to and fro. -At this sight Captain Aubelet felt his hair stand on end. He could -not doubt the presence of his brother-in-arms, and yet he could not -believe it, for he knew that Captain Demarteau was on the Maine with -Jourdan, who was threatening the Archduke Charles. But his friend's -aspect increased Aubelet's alarm, for though Demarteau's appearance was -perfectly natural there was in it notwithstanding something unfamiliar. -It was Demarteau, and yet there was something in him which could not -fail to inspire fear. Aubelet opened his mouth. But his tongue froze, -he could utter no sound. It was the other who spoke: 'Farewell! I go -where I must. We shall meet to-morrow!' He departed with a noiseless -step.</p> - -<p>"On the morrow, Aubelet was sent to reconnoitre at San Giorgio. Before -going, he summoned his first lieutenant and gave him such instructions -as would enable him to replace his captain. 'I shall be killed to-day,' -he added, 'as surely as Demarteau was killed yesterday.'</p> - -<p>"And he described to several officers what he had seen in the night. -They believed him to be suffering from an attack of the fever which -had begun to declare itself among the troops encamped in the Mantuan -marshes.</p> - -<p>"Aubelet's company completed its reconnaissance of the San Giorgio -Fort without hindrance. Having achieved its object, it fell back on -our positions. It was marching under the cover of an olive wood. The -first lieutenant, approaching the captain, said to him: 'Now, Captain -Minerva, you no longer doubt that we shall bring you back alive?'</p> - -<p>"Aubelet was about to reply, when a bullet whistled through the leaves -and struck him on the forehead.</p> - -<p>"A fortnight later a letter from General Joubert, which the Directory -communicated to the Italian army, announced the death of the brave -Captain Demarteau, who fell on the field of honour on the 9th of -September."</p> - -<p>As soon as he had finished his story the General left the group of -silent listeners, to pace the deck with long strides and in silence.</p> - -<p>"General," said Gantheaume, "we have passed the most dangerous part of -our course."</p> - -<p>The next day he bore towards the north, intending to sail along the -Sardinian coast as far as Corsica and thence to make for the coast of -Provence; but Bonaparte wished to land at a headland in Languedoc, -fearing that Toulon might be occupied by the enemy.</p> - -<p><i>La Muiron</i> was making for Port-Vendres when a squall threw her back on -Corsica and compelled her to put into Ajaccio. The whole population of -the Island flocked thither to greet their compatriot and crowned the -heights dominating the gulf. After a few hours' rest, hearing that the -whole French coast was clear of the enemy, they set sail for Toulon. -The wind was fair, but not strong.</p> - -<p>Now, amidst the tranquillity which he had communicated to all, -Bonaparte alone appeared agitated, impatient to land, now and again -clapping his small hand suddenly to his sword. The ardent desire to -reign which had been fermenting within him for three years, the spark -of Lodi, had set him in a blaze. One evening, while the indented -coast-line of his native island was fading away into the distance, he -suddenly began to talk with a rapidity which confused the syllables of -the words he spoke:</p> - -<p>"If a atop is not put to it, chatterers and fools will complete the -downfall of France. Germany lost at Stockach, Italy lost at the -Trebbia; our armies beaten, our Ministers assassinated, contractors -gorged with gold, our stores empty and deserted, invasion imminent, to -this a weak and dishonest government has brought us.</p> - -<p>"Upright men are authority's only support. The corrupt fill me with an -invincible loathing. There is no governing with them."</p> - -<p>Monge, who was a patriot, said firmly:</p> - -<p>"Probity is as necessary to liberty as corruption to tyranny."</p> - -<p>"Probity," replied the General, "is a natural and profitable quality in -men born to govern."</p> - -<p>The sun was dipping its reddened and magnified disc beneath the misty -circle of the horizon. Eastward the sky was sown with light clouds -like the petals of a falling rose. On the surface of the sea the blue -and rosy waves rolled softly. A ship's sail appeared on the horizon, -and the telescope of the officer on duty showed her to be flying the -British flag.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/fran_clio_012_2.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>"Have we escaped countless dangers only to perish so near our desired -haven!" exclaimed La Valette.</p> - -<p>Bonaparte shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Is it still possible to doubt my good luck and my destiny?"</p> - -<p>And he continued his train of thought:</p> - -<p>"A clean sweep must be made of these rogues and fools. They must -be replaced by a compact government, swift and sure in action, -like the lion. There must be order. Without order, there can be no -administration, without administration, no credit, no money, but the -ruin of the State and of individuals. A stop must be put to brigandage, -to speculation, to social dissolution. What is France without a -government? Thirty millions of grains of sand. Power is everything. The -rest is nothing. In the wars of Vendée forty men made themselves the -masters of a department. The whole mass of the people desire peace at -any price, order and an end of quarrelling. Fear of Jacobins, Émigrés, -Chouans will throw them into the arms of a master." "And this master?" -inquired Berthollet. "He will doubtless be a military leader?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all," replied Bonaparte swiftly. "Not at all I A soldier never -will be the master of this nation, a nation illuminated by philosophy -and science. If any General were to attempt the assumption of power, -his audacity would soon be punished. Hoche thought of doing so. I know -not whether it was love of pleasure or a true appreciation of the -situation that restrained him; but the blow will assuredly recoil -on any soldier who attempts it. For my part, I admire that French -impatience of the military yoke, and I have no hesitation in admitting -that the civil power should be pre-eminent in the State."</p> - -<p>On hearing such a declaration, Monge and Berthollet looked at one -another in amazement. They knew that Bonaparte, in spite of the perils, -known and unknown, was about to grasp at power; and they failed to -comprehend words which would seem to deny him that which he so ardently -coveted. Monge, who, at the bottom of his heart, was a lover of -liberty, began to rejoice. But the General, who divined their thoughts, -replied to them immediately: "Of course, if the nation were to discover -in a soldier such civil qualities as would render him an efficient -administrator and ruler, it would place him at the head of affairs; -but it would have to be as a civil not as a military leader. Such must -needs be the feeling of any civilized, intelligent and educated nation."</p> - -<p>After a moment's silence, Bonaparte added:</p> - -<p>"I am a member of the Institute."</p> - -<p>For a few moments longer the English ship was visible on the purpling -belt of the horizon; then it disappeared.</p> - -<p>On the morning of the next day, the watch sighted the coast of France. -Yonder was Port-Vendres. Bonaparte fixed his gaze on the low, faint -streak of land. A tumult of thoughts was surging in his mind. He had -a striking and confused impression of arms and togas; in the silence -of the sea an immense clamour filled his ears. And amidst visions of -Grenadiers, magistrates, legislators and human crowds, he saw smiling -and languishing, her handkerchief to her lips, her throat bare, -Josephine, the remembrance of whom burned in his blood.</p> - -<p>"General," said Gantheaume, pointing to the coast, which was growing -bright in the morning sunshine, "I have brought you whither destiny -called you. You, like Æneas, reach a shore promised you by the gods."</p> - -<p>Bonaparte landed at Fréjus on the 17th of Vendémiaire in the year VIII.</p> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_3" id="Footnote_1_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_3"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> René de Vertot (1655-1735), author of three books on -revolutions: <i>Histoire des Révolutions de Suède,</i> 1695; <i>Histoire des -Révolutions de Portugal,</i> 1711; <i>Histoire des Révolutions arrivées dans -le gouvernement de la République romaine,</i> 1720.</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h3><a name="THE_CHATEAU_DE_VAUX-LE-VICOMTE" id="THE_CHATEAU_DE_VAUX-LE-VICOMTE">THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX-LE-VICOMTE</a></h3> - - - -<hr class="tb" /> -<h4><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE">PREFACE</a></h4> - - -<p>In 1656, Foucquet was forty-one years of age. For five years he -had been Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament, and for three -Comptroller of Finance, having been the control of the Treasury at the -troubles which had afflicted France during the minority of Louis XIV. -He had successfully weathered a difficult period, and had acquired no -little confidence in his genius and his guiding star. Now, in the prime -of life, feeling securely established in office, he proceeded to order -his life in accordance with the magnificence of his tastes. Ambitious, -pleasure-loving, adoring all that was great and beautiful, sensitive -to all that exalts or caresses the soul, he called upon the Arts to -surround him with the symbols of glory and of pleasure. The miracles of -Vaux were the outcome of this demand, which was first satisfied, then -cruelly punished.</p> - -<p>On the 2nd of August, 1656, in the presence of Le Vau, his architect, -Foucquet signed the plans and estimates for this mansion of Vaux, which -was to be built within four years, in a new and noble style. It was to -be adorned with magnificent paintings, with statues and tapestries; it -was to command a view over gardens, grottoes and bewitching ornamental -waters; to abound in gold plate and gems and valuables of every kind. -It was destined to receive, with a luxury hitherto unknown, the most -powerful and the most beautiful alike, to welcome the Court and the -King. Thereafter, when the last lights of a miraculous festival had -been extinguished, it was to be the home, for ever, of only solitude -and desolation.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, to Nicolas Foucquet remains the honour of having -discerned and selected men of superior talent, and of having been the -first to employ those great masters of French Art whose works have -shed an enduring splendour over the reign of Louis XIV. After he had -disgraced his Minister, the King could not do better than take from -him his architect Louis Le Vau, his painter Charles Le Brun and his -gardener André Le Nostre, and remove to Paris the looms which Foucquet -had set up at Maincy and which became the Manufacture des Gobelins. -But there was something which the King could not appropriate: the -taste, the feeling for art, the delicate yet profound instinct for -the beautiful which endeared the Comptroller to all the artists who -worked for him. Le Brun, on whom the King showered benefits, regretted -notwithstanding his generous host of Vaux.</p> - -<p>It is said that during his trial, when in danger of a capital sentence, -Foucquet, on leaving the Court, was walking, strongly guarded, past -the Arsenal, when seeing some men at work he asked what they were -making. Hearing that they were at work on a basin for a fountain, he -went to look at the latter and gave his opinion of it. Then, turning to -Artagnan, the Musketeer, who was in charge of him, he said, smiling: -"You are wondering why I meddle in such a business? It is because I -used, to be something of an expert in these matters." And Foucquet -spoke the truth. He was surely a sincere lover of the arts whom the -sight of men at work upon a fountain could suddenly distract from the -thought of dungeons and the imminence of the scaffold.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="PART_I" id="PART_I">PART I</a></h4> - - -<p>The Foucquets were citizens of Nantes, and in the sixteenth century -they traded with the West Indies. By these maritime expeditions they -gained great possessions and a peculiar quality of mind, a crafty and -audacious spirit which may be discerned in their descendants. Nicolas -Foucquet, with whom alone we are concerned here, was born in 1615. He -was the third son of François Foucquet, a King's Councillor, and of -Marie Manpeou, who had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. -This François Foucquet, originally councillor in the Rennes Parliament, -purchased a place in the Paris Parliament, became a Councillor of -State, and was for a while Ambassador in Switzerland. He was a -collector: he formed a collection of medals and books which Peiresc, -when he passed through Paris, visited with great interest, jotting down -in his note-book<a name="FNanchor_1_4" id="FNanchor_1_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_4" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> particulars of the more remarkable objects.</p> - -<p>In the Councillor's exalted hobbies some have sought to discern the -origin of the taste displayed by his son Nicolas in the matter of -the ancient sculpture and the pictures which he spent great sums in -collecting.</p> - -<p>As for Marie Manpeou, she came of an old and honourable legal family. -Left a widow in 1640, she sought repose, after her numerous maternal -duties, only in the practice of asceticism and in works of Christian -charity. She lived, in retreat, a life wholly occupied in the giving -of alms, the application of remedies and the recitation of prayers. -She was one of those strong-minded women who, like Madame Legras and -Madame de Miramion, were moved at once to a courageous pity and angelic -melancholy by the spectacle of the miseries and crimes of war. The -ordering of her life was in almost all respects comparable to that of -a Sister of Mercy. Far from rejoicing at the promotion of her sons, it -was with deep anxiety that she beheld them captive to the seductions -of a world which she knew to be evil. Nicolas especially and his -brother, the Abbé Basile, alarmed her by the extent of their ambition. -The Comptroller's fall, which disconcerted all France, left her -untroubled. On hearing that her son had been cast down from the heights -of pomp and power, she is said to have thrown herself upon her knees, -exclaiming: "I thank Thee, O my God! I have always prayed to Thee -for his salvation: now the path to it is open."<a name="FNanchor_2_5" id="FNanchor_2_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_5" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> This saintly idea -implies a perfection which is alarming because it is utterly inhuman: -it is difficult to recognize maternal affection thus transfigured and -freed from the weakness of the flesh which naturally accompanies it. -Yet even this mother, for twenty years dead to the world, was perturbed -when she knew that her son's life was threatened. Every day throughout -the Comptroller's long trial she was to be seen at the door of the -Arsenal, where the Court was sitting, and she petitioned the judges<a name="FNanchor_3_6" id="FNanchor_3_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_6" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - - -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-left: 35%;">MME. FOUCQUET</p> -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Que mon fils est heureux, que j'aime sa prison!<br /> -Il est guéri du moins de ce mortel poison.<br /> -Par ses malheurs son âme à présent éclairée,<br /> -Voit comme dans la Cour elle était égarée.<br /> -Plût à Dieu que sa grâce ouvre si bien ses yeux<br /> -Qu'il ne les tourne plus que du côté des Cieux.<br /> -</p> -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-left: 35%;">LA REINE MÈRE</p> -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Il peut, quoique Colbert lui déclare la guerre,<br /> -Ouvrir encor les yeux du côté de la terre.<br /> -</p> -<p style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-left: 35%;">MME. FOUCQUET</p> -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Si la terre, Madame, a du péril pour lui,<br /> -J'aime mieux à mes yeux le voir mort aujourd'hui.<br /> -</p> - -<p>(Le livre abominable de 1665 qui courait en manuscript parmi le monde, -sous le nom de Molière (comédie en vers sur le procès de Foucquet), -découvert et publié sur une copie du temps par Louis-Auguste Ménard. -Paris, Firmin Didot et Cie. 1883, 2 vols. Vol. II, p. 116.)</p> - -<p>The book is neither abominable nor a comedy of any kind. It consists of -five Dansenist dialogues in the most insipid style. M. Louis-Auguste -Ménard, who attributes this rhymed play to Molière, cannot expect many -to share his extraordinary opinion.</p> - -<p>The young Queen was ill at the time. Foucquet's mother sent her one of -the plasters she was in the habit of making for the poor, and she was -so fortunate as to save the wife of him who was seeking to ruin her -son. At least, the Queen's recovery is generally attributed to Madame -Foucquet's remedy.</p> - -<p>We shall see later that the cure did not produce any change of heart in -the King.</p> - -<p>This incident, however, refers to the downfall of a fortune of which we -must first explain the beginnings, and the progressive stages. This I -shall do without entering into details of administration or business. -I am not writing an essay on the politics or finances of the days of -Mazarin. My sole endeavour will be to depict the tastes, the manners -and the mind of the creator and the host of Vaux. Vaux is the centre of -my design.</p> - -<p>In 1635, Nicolas Foucquet, at the age of twenty, entered the magistry -as Master of Requests. The Masters of Requests were regarded as forming -part of the Parliament, where they sat above the Councillors. From -among those officers the Kings had long been accustomed to choose the -commissaries whom they despatched into the provinces, to superintend -the administration of justice and finance, or to the armies, when they -were charged with all that concerned the policing and the maintenance -of the troops.</p> - -<p>Their journeys were known as the circuits of the Masters of Requests. -They gave rise, at a date unknown, to a new office, that of Intendant, -which grew in importance with the increase of the royal power. The -young Foucquet, in 1636, was sent as Intendant of justice to the -district of Grenoble. The difficulties attending such a mission were -great; and Richelieu could not have been ignorant of them. He had, -however, diminished them somewhat by suspending the sittings of the -provincial parliament which was the Intendant's natural enemy. But -Foucquet found the people of Le Dauphiné agitated by the memory of the -religious wars and ardently engaging in new disputes in respect of -certain taxes levied on the goods of the third estate from which the -nobility and the clergy were exempt. The decree of the Royal Council -which abolished the citizens' grievances remained a dead letter.<a name="FNanchor_4_7" id="FNanchor_4_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_7" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> -Feeling ran high. Foucquet did not succeed in alleviating it. After a -revolt which he had been unable either to prevent or to repress he was -recalled to Paris. From an inexperienced youth of twenty-one Richelieu -could not have expected services which could only have been rendered -by an old hand, experienced in negotiation, such, for example, as the -Intendant of Guyenne, the skilful and resolute Servien. The opinion -is seldom held to-day that the great Minister employed the system -of Intendants<a name="FNanchor_5_8" id="FNanchor_5_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_8" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> as a regular instrument of his policy; which may -explain how he came to confide to an apprentice a mission which is -regarded as of secondary importance. The office of Intendant was not a -permanent one, so that Foucquet's recall was doubtless not regarded as -an absolute disgrace. Nevertheless, during the five years of life and -power which yet remained to him, Richelieu, as far as we know, never -again employed the young Master of Requests.</p> - -<p>But Mazarin, having become first Minister, sent him, in 1647, to the -Army of the North, which was under the command of Gassion and Rantzau. -The leaders' disagreements were arresting the army's progress. Rantzau -was a drunkard whom Gassion could not tolerate. Gassion, sober, -energetic and fearless, displayed a brutality insufferable even in a -soldier of fortune. He forgot himself so far as to strike in the face a -captain of Condé's regiment who had misunderstood his orders. The whole -regiment determined to withdraw and the officers struck their tents. -Only with great difficulty were they persuaded to remain. Touching -this incident, Foucquet wrote to Mazarin: "All are agreed that M. le -Maréchal de Gassion committed a serious abuse in striking the captain -of His Royal Highness's regiment. Every one condemned such an action, -considering that M. le Maréchal should have sent him to prison, or -should even have struck him with his sword, or fired his pistol at -him, if he thought it necessary; but that it would have been better not -to have resorted to such an extreme measure."</p> - -<p>We ought not, I think, to pass over a fact which permitted Foucquet to -display, for the first time, as far as we are aware, that spirit of -moderation which, until his reason became clouded, enabled him for a -time to serve the State so well.</p> - -<p>Mazarin was not slow to discern the Intendant's merits. In 1648, at -the time of the first disturbances,<a name="FNanchor_6_9" id="FNanchor_6_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_9" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> thinking to quit Paris and -withdraw with the Court to Saint-Germain, he sent Foucquet to Brie -"with orders there to collect large stores of grain for the maintenance -of the army."<a name="FNanchor_7_10" id="FNanchor_7_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_10" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> The Intendant established himself at Lagny and -commandeered supplies from the peasants of Brie and Ile-de-France. He -was then instructed to compile a list of those Parisians who possessed -châteaux or country-houses in the suburbs of the city. Promising -to preserve these properties from fire and pillage during the war, -Mazarin taxed the owners. In reality he mulcted the rich of the money -which he needed. When the Fronde was a thing of the past, Foucquet, -as procurator of Ile-de-France, accompanied the King into Normandy, -Burgundy, Poitou and Guyenne.</p> - -<p>On his return from this royal progress, he bought, with the Cardinal's -approval, the post of Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament. From -this office a certain Sieur Méliand retired in Foucquet's favour, -"receiving in return Foucquet's office of Master of Requests, estimated -by the son of the said Sieur Méliand as being worth more than fifty -thousand crowns, plus a sum of one hundred thousand crowns in money."<a name="FNanchor_8_11" id="FNanchor_8_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_11" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p>If Foucquet obtained preferment, it was not without the aid of a young -clerk at the War Office, who at that time displayed a great deal of -friendliness towards him, but was destined, eleven years later, to -bring about his downfall, take his office and endeavour to procure his -death. Colbert, who was then on terms of friendship with Foucquet, -employed his interest with Le Tellier to recommend the ambitious -Intendant. In August, 1650, he wrote to the Secretary of State for War:</p> - -<p>"M. Foucquet, who has come here by order of His Eminence, has already -on three several occasions assured me that he is possessed of an ardent -desire to become one of your particular servants and friends because -of the peculiar estimation in which he holds your attainments, and -that he has no particular connections with any other person which -would prevent his receiving this honour.... I thought it would be -very suitable, he being a man of birth and merit and even capable, -one day, of holding high office, if you in return were to offer him -some friendly advances, since it is not a question of entering into an -engagement which might be burdensome to you, but merely of receiving -him favourably and of making him some show of friendship when you meet. -If you are of my opinion in this matter, I beg you to let me know as -much in the first letter with which you honour me; nor can I refrain -from assuring you, with all the respect which is your due, that I do -not think I could possibly repay you a part of all that I owe you in -better coin than by acquiring for you a hundred such friends, were I -only sufficiently worthy to do so."<a name="FNanchor_9_12" id="FNanchor_9_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_12" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>This is a warm recommendation. We have quoted it in order that the -reader may see with what confidence Foucquet inspired his friends, even -in those early days, and how highly they thought of him. Moreover, -it is interesting to find Colbert praising Foucquet. The latter was -installed in his new appointment on the 10th of October, 1650. He -was thenceforth the first of the King's servants at the head of that -bar which the two Advocates General Omer Talon and Jérôme Bignon -had caused to be renowned for its eloquence. An instrument of that -great body which dealt with the administration of justice, controlled -political affairs, exercised an influence over finance, whose -jurisdiction extended over Ile-de-France, Picardy, Orléanais, Touraine, -Anjou, Maine, Poitou, Angoumois, Champagne, Bourbonnais, Berry, -Lyonnais, Forez, Beaujolais and Auvergne, the Attorney-General, Nicolas -Foucquet, subdued the fleurs-de-lys to the policy of the Cardinal. -Between such virtuous fools as the worthy Broussel, who, through -very honesty, would have surrendered his disarmed country to the -foreigner, and the Minister who had humiliated the house of Austria, -threatened the Emperor even in his hereditary dominions, conquered -Roussillon, Artois, Alsace, and who now sought to assure France of her -natural boundaries, Foucquet's genius was too lucid and his views too -far-reaching to permit him to hesitate for a moment.</p> - -<p>He remained attached to Mazarin's fortunes when the Minister's downfall -seemed permanent. In 1651, that inauspicious year, he never ceased his -endeavours to win supporters in the <i>bourgeoisie</i> and in the army, for -the exiled Minister on whose head a price had been set. And when the -Prince de Condé, in his manifesto of the 12th of April, 1652, confessed -that he had formed ties, both within and without the kingdom, with -the object of its preservation, it was the Attorney-General, Nicolas -Foucquet, who uttered a protest which compelled the Prince to strike -out of his manifesto the shameful avowal of his alliance with Spain, -the enemy of France. He contributed not a little to ruin the cause of -the Princes in Paris. When Turenne had defeated their army near Étampes -(5th May, 1652), the Parliament wished to open negotiations for peace. -The Attorney-General repaired to Saint-Germain, bearing to the King the -complaints of his good city of Paris. The speech which he delivered -on this occasion has been preserved. Its general tone is resolute; -its language, sober and concise, contrasting with the obscure and -unintelligible style affected by the judicial eloquence of the period. -This address is the only example which we possess of Nicolas Foucquet's -oratorical talent. It will be found in M. Chéruel's <i>Mémoires</i>.<a name="FNanchor_10_13" id="FNanchor_10_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_13" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> -Here are a few passages from it:</p> - -<p>" ... Sire, I have been commissioned to inform Your Majesty of the -destitution to which the majority of your subjects have been reduced. -There is no limit to the crimes and excesses committed by the military. -Murders, violations, burnings and sacrileges are now regarded -merely as ordinary actions; far from committing them in secret, the -perpetrators boast of them openly. To-day, Sire, Your Majesty's troops -are living in such licence and such disorder that they are by no means -ashamed to abandon their posts in order to despoil those of your -subjects who have no means of resistance. In broad daylight, in the -sight of their officers, without fear of recognition or apprehension of -punishment, soldiers break into the houses of ecclesiastics, noblemen -and your highest officials....</p> - -<p>"I will not attempt, Sire, to represent to Your Majesty the greatness -of the injury done to your cause by such public depredations, and -the advantage which your enemies will derive therefrom, beholding -the most sacred laws publicly violated, the impunity of crime firmly -established, the source of your revenues exhausted, the affections of -the people alienated and your authority derided. I shall only entreat -Your Majesty, in the name of your Parliament and all your subjects, to -be moved to pity by the cries of your poor people, to give ear to the -groans and supplications of the widows and orphans, and to endeavour -to preserve whatever remains, whatever has escaped the fury of those -barbarians whose sole desire is for blood and the slaughter of the -innocents....</p> - -<p>"Make manifest, Sire, O make manifest at the outset of your reign, -your natural kindness of heart, and may the compassion which you will -feel for so many sufferers call down the blessings of heaven upon the -first years of your majority, which will doubtless be followed by many -and far happier years, if the desires and prayers of your Parliament -and of all your good subjects be granted."</p> - -<p>These words had little effect. The war continued; the people's -sufferings increased; in the city the disturbances became more violent; -several councillors were killed, and the <i>hôtel de ville</i> was invaded -and pillaged by the populace and by the troops of the princes. In the -face of such disorders, which the magistrates could neither tolerate -nor repress, the Attorney-General, accompanied by several notables, -members of the Parliament, went to the King, who listened to his -counsel. To the Cardinal he demonstrated the necessity of holding the -Parliament and the Court in the same place, in order to display to -the kingdom the spectacle of the King and his senate on the one hand -and the rebel Princes on the other; and it was by his advice that a -decree was issued on the 31st of July which ordered the removal of the -Parliament from Paris to Pontoise, where the Court then was. Foucquet -with the utmost energy devoted himself to the execution of this politic -measure.</p> - -<p>On the 7th of August, the first President, Mathieu Molé, presided at -Pontoise over a solemn session in which the members present constituted -themselves into the one and only Parliament of Paris. This assembly -requested the King to dismiss Mazarin, and this they did in concert -with Mazarin himself, who rightly believed his departure to be -necessary. But he counted on speedily resuming his place beside the -King. In the meanwhile he corresponded with Foucquet, in whom he placed -the utmost confidence, "without reservation of any kind," and whom he -consulted on matters of State. Still, there was one point on which they -did not think alike. Mazarin eagerly desired to return to Paris with -the King, and, as it seemed, for the time being, that this desire could -not be gratified, His Eminence was not displeased that the state entry -into the capital should be delayed. Foucquet, on the other hand, was in -favour of an immediate return to the Louvre. On this subject he wrote -to the Cardinal:</p> - -<p>"There is not one of the King's servants, in Paris or out of it, who -is not convinced that in order to make himself master of the city -the King has only to desire as much, and that if the King sends to -the inhabitants asking that two of the city gates shall be held by a -regiment of his guards, and then proceeds directly to the Louvre, all -Paris will approve such a masterful action and the Princes will be -compelled to take flight. There is no doubt that on the very first -day the King's orders will be obeyed by all. The legitimate officers -will be restored to the exercise of their function, the gates will be -closed to enemies; such an amnesty as Your Eminence would wish will be -published, and our friends will be reunited in the Louvre in the King's -presence. So universal will be the rejoicing and so loud the public -acclamations that no one will be found so bold as to dissent."<a name="FNanchor_11_14" id="FNanchor_11_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_14" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>A few days later, on the 21st of October, amid popular acclamation, -Louis XIV entered Paris. The stripling monarch brought with him peace, -that beneficent peace which had been prepared by the tactful firmness -of the Attorney-General.</p> - -<p>Now, Mazarin's friends had only to hasten his recall. This the -Attorney-General and his brother, the Abbé Basile, succeeded in -obtaining, and the Cardinal entered Paris on the 3rd of February, -1652. The office of Superintendent of the Finances had then been -vacant for a month owing to the death, on the 2nd of January, of the -holder, the Duc de La Vieuville. Despite the unfavourable condition of -the kingdom's finances this office was most eagerly coveted. And the -very disorder and obscurity which enveloped all the Superintendent's -operations excited the hopes of those men whom the Marquis d'Effiat -compared with "the cuttle-fish which possesses the art of clouding the -water to deceive the eyes of the fisher who espies it."<a name="FNanchor_12_15" id="FNanchor_12_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_15" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> Then the -Superintendent had not the actual handling of the public moneys. Income -and expenditure were in the hands of the Treasurers. But he ordered all -State expenditure, charging it without appeal to the various resources -of the Kingdom. He was answerable to the King alone. If, apparently, -all his actions were subject to a strict control, in reality he worked -in absolute secrecy. In the year we have now reached, 1653, the -Treasury's poverty and the Cardinal's laxity permitted every abuse. -Money must be found at any cost; all expedients were good and all rules -might be infringed.</p> - -<p>Things had been going badly for a long while. Since the Regent, Marie -de Médicis, had madly dissipated the savings amassed by the prudent -Sully, the State has subsisted upon detestable expedients, such as -the creation of offices, the issue of Government Stocks, the sale of -charters of pardon, the alienation of rights and domains. The Treasury -was in the hands of plunderers, no accounts were kept. In 1626, -Superintendent d'Effiat found it impossible to arrive at any accurate -knowledge of the resources at the State's disposal or at the amount -of expenditure incurred by the military and naval services. Richelieu, -when he came into power, began by condemning to death a few of the tax -farmers-general. Had it not been for "these necessities which do not -admit of the delay of formalities," he might perhaps have restored -the finances to order. But these necessities overwhelmed him and -compelled him to resort to fresh expedients. He was driven to court the -tax-farmers, whom he would rather have hanged, and to borrow from them -at a high rate of interest the King's money which they were detaining -in their coffers. Exports, imposts and the salt tax were all controlled -by the tax-farmers. An Italian adventurer, Signor Particelli d'Hémery, -whom Mazarin appointed Superintendent in 1646, created one hundred and -sixty-seven offices and alienated the revenue of 87,600,000 livres -of capital. In 1648 the State suffered a shameful bankruptcy and the -troubles of the Fronde supervened, aggravating yet further a situation -which would have been desperate in any country other than inventive and -fertile France.</p> - -<p>The office of Superintendent, which the worthy La Vieuville had held -since 1649, was disputed after his death by the Marshals de l'Hôpital -and de Villeroy, by the President de Maisons, who had held it already -during the civil war, by Abel Servien, who during his already long -life had proved himself a harsh and precise administrator, a skilful -man of business and a thoroughly honest man, and, finally, by Nicolas -Foucquet, who in public opinion was unlikely to be appointed.</p> - -<p>Foucquet, on the very day of La Vieuville's death, had written the -Cardinal a letter, partly in cipher, of which the following is the -text:—</p> - -<p>"I was impatiently awaiting the return of Your Eminence in order to -inform you in detail of all that I have learned of the cause of past -disorders and their remedies; but as the bad administration of public -finance is one of the chief causes of the discreditable condition of -public affairs, the death of the Superintendent and the necessity of -appointing his successor compel me to explain to Your Eminence in this -letter what I had determined to communicate to you by word of mouth on -your arrival, and to impress upon you the importance of choosing some -one of acknowledged probity who will be trusted by the public and who -will keep inviolate faith with Your Eminence. I will venture to say -that in the inquiries which I have made into the means of ending the -present evils and avoiding still greater ones in future, I have found -that everything depended upon the will of the Superintendent. Perhaps I -should be able to make myself useful to His Majesty and Your Eminence -were you to think fit to employ me in this office. I have studied the -means of filling it successfully. I know that there would be nothing -inconsistent in my employment, and several of my friends to whom I -owe this idea have promised me in this connection to make efforts to -be of service to the King of a nature too considerable to be ignored. -It therefore remains for Your Eminence to judge of the capacity with -which eighteen years' service in the Council as Master of Requests and -in various other offices may have endowed me; and as for my affection -for you and my fidelity in your service, I flatter myself that Your -Eminence is persuaded that I am inferior to no one in the Kingdom. My -brother will be my surety; and I am certain that he would never pledge -his word to Your Eminence whatever interest he may feel in that which -concerns me, were he not fully satisfied with my intentions and my -conduct hitherto and had we not thoroughly discussed Your Eminence's -interests in this connection. Once again let me protest that you may -rely upon us absolutely, and that you will never be disappointed, since -no one in the world has more at heart the advantage and the glory of -Your Eminence. I entreat you to let no one hear of this affair until it -is settled."</p> - -<p>Recalled by his adherents, Mazarin returned to Paris, very discreetly, -on the 3rd of February. One of his first acts was to appoint a -Superintendent. He divided the office between Nicolas Foucquet, -his own supporter, and Abel Servien, who was singled out for this -employment by his own character and by public opinion. To act in -conjunction with the two Superintendents he appointed three Directors -of Finance, one Comptroller-General and eight Intendants. Such an -arrangement served to please two people; but it had the disadvantage -of costing the Treasury a million livres a year. As a matter of fact, -it was, as we shall see, to cost much more. According to the terms of -his commission, Foucquet was in no way subordinate to his colleague, -but age, experience, vigilant industry and a tried and distinguished -probity gave Servien the chief authority. Foucquet was young; he might -wait. He held the office which he had so greatly desired. Alas, in -desiring it he had desired what was to be his ruin! Henceforth his -pious mother might apply to him the words of Scripture: <i>Et tribuit eis -petitionem eorum.</i></p> - -<p>If he speedily entered upon the path of the merely expedient, can we -be surprised? Both necessity and the Cardinal's wishes drove him to -it. In 1654, he found money necessary to oppose an army led by the -rebel, Condé. How? By creating new offices and selling them to the -highest bidder. A detestable method; but it is questionable whether, -considering the state of the Treasury, it would have been possible to -devise any better. At all events, at this cost the Spaniards were -defeated. Unhappily there is no doubt whatever that Foucquet had to -provide not only for the expenses of the war, but for the exigencies of -Mazarin, who, through the medium of Colbert, obtained from the Treasury -the millions with which he enriched his family. Mazarin himself became -a farmer of the revenue and derived enormous profits from the bread -of the wretched soldiers. "By appearing under the name of Albert, or -another," he concealed his part in these transactions. The letter -is extant in which he himself suggests this broker's trick. He also -made use of what were called <i>ordonnances de Comptant.</i> The term was -applied to decrees authorizing the payment of money, the employment of -which was not specified. To-day we should describe it as dipping into -the secret funds; and the Cardinal did dip into them with both hands. -Sometimes Foucquet endeavoured to resist these criminal demands, but -in the end he always gave way. Mazarin must have known that he was not -intractable since he always appealed to him rather than to Servien -even in matters like orders for the payment of officials which were -the special function of the senior Superintendent. Foucquet deducted -certain payments; from the proceeds of tax-farming; from the farmers -of the salt-tax he received one hundred and twenty thousand livres a -year; from the farmers of the Bordeaux convey fifty thousand livres; -from the farmers of the customs one hundred and forty thousand livres. -The clerks who handled this last contribution added for themselves a -sum of twenty thousand livres. It is probable that the bargain was not -concluded without the distribution of a few "bonuses" in the offices. -And when we recollect that these customs were duties imposed on wine -and on food and drink in general, on the very life, therefore, of the -poor, one cannot forbear from cursing Mazarin's murderous and impious -cupidity, for it was for the Cardinal that Foucquet deducted these -payments. He remitted these sums without receiving any formal receipt, -and there is reason to believe that he himself kept some part of them.</p> - -<p>Following Mazarin's example, Foucquet himself became a tax-farmer -under a false name; moreover, he lent the State's money to the State -itself, and was repaid with heavy interest. Again, following Mazarin's -example, he made the public Treasury pay the cost of the promotion -and the alliances of his family. On the 12th of February, 1657, his -only daughter by his marriage with Marie Fourché, lady of the manor of -Quehillac, married the eldest son of the Comte de Charost, Governor -of Calais and Captain of the King's Guard. She brought her husband -five hundred thousand livres. When this alliance was contracted, the -first Madame Foucquet was dead and the Superintendent had married as -his second wife Marie-Madeleine de Castille-Villemareuil, the only -daughter of François de Castille, President of one of the Chambers of -the Paris Parliament.<a name="FNanchor_13_16" id="FNanchor_13_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_16" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> The Castilles were merchants, reputed to be -very wealthy, who had certainly made rich marriages. Marie-Madeleine -provided no matter for gossip so long as the union was happy. She -doubtless played but an insignificant part in entertainments which -offended her modesty and the brilliance of which was intended rather -to please her rivals than herself. Her husband, it would seem, at -all events, always esteemed her as she deserved and, where she was -concerned, never wholly departed from that urbanity which was natural -to him. He was one of those men who understand how to please a woman -while they are deceiving her. In the Superintendent's house a work of -art or a statue celebrated the apparent union of husband and wife. In -France it was then becoming the fashion to represent as allegorical -figures the lives of great men whom earlier painters had portrayed in -the costume and with the attributes of their patron Saints. Conforming -to the new custom, the Superintendent ordered from his favourite -sculptor, the skilful Michel Anguier, a group of Madame Foucquet and -her four children. She appeared as Charity. The group was said to be -one of the master's finest works. Guillet de Saint-Georges, in his <i>Vie -de Michel Anguier,</i> expressly says that Foucquet ordered from this -artist "a Charity, bearing in her arms a sleeping child, with another -at her feet and two close at hand, to represent Madame Foucquet and her -children and to testify the affection and unity which reigned in this -family."<a name="FNanchor_14_17" id="FNanchor_14_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_17" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p>An act of homage at once commonplace and ostentatious, yet just and -prophetic, rendered to a wife whose lovely nobility of heart was to -be revealed only by misfortune. Somewhat withdrawn in the season of -prosperity, it was only when those whom she loved were unhappy that -Madame Foucquet revealed herself. During the slow investigation of the -accusers, Madame Foucquet saw that her husband's furniture, which had -been placed under a seal, was carefully guarded; and this vigilance -was inspired by the noblest of motives. "Any loss or injury," she -said, "would tend to involve the creditors in absolute ruin, and -among them are an incredible number of poor families of all sorts of -artisans."<a name="FNanchor_15_18" id="FNanchor_15_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_18" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>She was seen, during her husband's trial, with her mother-in-law at -the Arsenal gates, presenting petitions to the judges. When he was -condemned she asked permission to rejoin in prison the husband who had -betrayed and forsaken her in his hours of happiness. No sooner was this -sad favour granted than she hastened to avail herself of it. Having -consoled him in captivity, she closed his eyes in death. Left a widow, -she followed the example set by many lonely ladies of rank in those -days: she withdrew to a convent. For her retreat she chose the royal -Abbey of Val-de-Grâce of Notre-Dame de la Crèche, which was on the left -bank of the Seine, in the Rue Saint-Jacques. This Benedictine convent, -as we know, owed its origin to a vow of Queen Anne,<a name="FNanchor_16_19" id="FNanchor_16_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_19" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> who built it -when she at length had a King.<a name="FNanchor_17_20" id="FNanchor_17_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_20" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> Thus the walls within which this -lady retired to shelter her widowhood were a hymn of thanksgiving in -stone, a monument of gratitude to God for His gift to France of the -persecutor of Nicolas Foucquet. Did she not realize this? Or did her -piety forbid her to nourish any bitterness toward the enemies of her -house? There were, no doubt, old ties between her and the nuns of -Val-de-Grâce. It must not be supposed that she lived in a cell the life -of a recluse. To do so would be to show little knowledge of convents -as they were in those days.<a name="FNanchor_18_21" id="FNanchor_18_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_21" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> The nuns were the innkeepers of the -period. Sumptuously lodged in buildings dependent on the community, -the ladies lived a quiet but still worldly life, keeping their own -servants, paying and receiving visits. Such was Madame Foucquet's -position at Val-de-Grâce. She devoted herself, it is true, to the -practices of religion; and we know, for example, that, having obtained -the body of St. Liberatus, a martyr of the African Church, she had -it borne in a procession, on the 27th of August, 1690, to the parish -church of Saint-Jacques du Haut-Pas.<a name="FNanchor_19_22" id="FNanchor_19_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_22" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> - -<p>She occupied a pavilion in the convent garden, where, in default of -gold and silver plate, she kept a few pieces of furniture worthy of -her rank. In the month of March, 1700, a royal edict ordered private -persons to declare and to take to the Mint all furniture in which there -was any gold or silver; and Madame Foucquet, widow, declared to the -commissioner of her district that she possessed "a camp bed adorned -with cloth of gold and silver, with chairs to match, hangings of gold -damask, single width, twenty chairs and a bedstead in wood inlaid with -gold, a sofa in the same with six places, a tapestry bed and chairs -trimmed with gold fringe, six small consoles, twelve little gilt -stands, two small round tables, two other tables and a bureau partly -gilt, and a small bed upholstered with gold and silver lace."</p> - -<p>Madame Foucquet survived her husband thirty-six years. She died in -Paris in 1716 "in great piety," says Saint-Simon, "having withdrawn -from the world, and having, during the whole of her life, constantly -engaged in good works."<a name="FNanchor_20_23" id="FNanchor_20_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_23" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> - -<p>Foucquet had an exalted soul. He was born to tempt fortune and to take -Fate by storm. As early as 1655 he was cherishing the boldest designs.</p> - -<p>Realizing that in proportion as he obliged the Cardinal the latter grew -suspicious of him, since each service that he rendered was a secret of -which he became the inconvenient guardian, the Superintendent resolved -to assure himself by his power against the chance of disgrace. With -this object he began to think of converting the port of Concarneau and -the fortress of Ham, which belonged to his brother, into strongholds, -where his adherents might assemble in arms in case the Cardinal were to -attempt to lay hands on him. He therefore drew up a detailed programme -of the project, recommending his supporters to go for orders to the -house of Madame de Plessis-Bellière. "She knows my true friends," he -said, "and among them there may be those who would be ashamed not to -take part in anything proposed by her on my behalf."</p> - -<p>This lady, who was so much in Foucquet's confidence, was the widow of a -lieutenant-general in the King's army. She had never refused Foucquet -anything: but gallantry was by no means her first concern. It was even -said that she saved herself the trouble of contributing in person to -the Superintendent's pleasures and that she preferred providing for -them to satisfying them herself. She was a strong-minded woman, and a -great politician, even in that age of intrigue, ambitious and proud -enough to do herself credit, as we shall see later, by her display of -loyalty and devotion. In Foucquet's project, should occasion arise, -she, in conjunction with the Governors of Ham and Concarneau, was to -provide those two fortresses with men and with victuals. The Marquis -de Charost, Foucquet's son-in-law, was to defend himself in Calais, -of which town he was the governor. The Governors of Amiens, Havre and -Arras were to assume an equally threatening attitude. As allies at -Court the rebel Minister counted on M. de la Rochefoucauld, Marsillac, -his son, and Bournonville; in Parliament on MM. de Harlay, Manpeou, -Miron and Chenut; at sea, on Admiral de Neuchèse et Guinan. We may -note, in passing, that in the matter of his friends he was mistaken in -fully half of them. He gave it to be understood that Spain might be -appealed to. If his arrest were sustained and his trial instituted, -there would be civil war. A monstrous project, a chimerical conception -which it was childish to write down, and which served only to make -doubly sure the ruin of its mad inventor.</p> - -<p>It was during this period of folly and of splendour that Foucquet, with -a magnificence hitherto unequalled, created the estate and château of -Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Melun.</p> - -<p>We shall treat separately, in a special chapter, of all that concerns -this subject.</p> - -<p>At the same time he continued to provide for his safety. In order to -assure it with greater certainty he bought, on the 5th September, 1658, -the island and fortress of Belle-Isle for a sum of 1,300,000 livres, -of which 400,000 were paid in cash.</p> - -<p>Once the possessor of this fortress, Foucquet applied himself to -placing it in a state of defence. He despatched engineers thither -to fortify the citadel; from Holland he brought ships and cannon. -Modifying his plan of defence, he substituted Belle-Isle for Ham and -Concarneau.</p> - -<p>Belle-Isle was to him what her milk-pail was to Perrette. He dreamed -of deriving more wealth from it than the whole of Holland from her -ports. Madame de Motteville got wind of these chimerical hopes. "The -friends of Foucquet," wrote this lady, "have said—and apparently they -have told the truth—that the Superintendent, who was indeed capable, -by virtue of his courage and his genius, of many great projects, had -conceived that of building a town the excellent harbour of which was -to attract all the trade of the North, thereby depriving Amsterdam of -these advantages, and rendering a great service to the King and the -State."<a name="FNanchor_21_24" id="FNanchor_21_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_24" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> Foucquet was at this time at the height of his power. In -spite of his motto, he will not rise any higher, unless his constancy -in misfortune may be taken to have raised him above himself, in which -case he may be said to have grown greater in prison by the knowledge of -the vanity of all that had previously attracted him.</p> - -<p>But it is the man in his prosperous days, the friend of art and of -literature, Foucquet the magnificent, and Foucquet the voluptuous, whom -we are describing here. No better description can be given of him than -to reproduce the portrait which Nanteuil executed from life.<a name="FNanchor_22_25" id="FNanchor_22_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_25" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - -<p>What do we see there? Large features, eager, charming eyes, in roomy -orbits, the shining pupils of which gleam beneath their lids with an -expression at once of shrewdness and of pleasure. A long, straight -nose, rather thick, a full-lipped mouth beneath a fine moustache; -finally, that smiling expression which he retained even during his -trial. The face is pleasing, but there is something disquieting about -it. The costume is rich; not that of a gallant knight, or of a great -noble, but of a magistrate. A little cap, a broad collar, a dark -robe; the dress of a lawyer, but of a magnificent lawyer; for over -the robe is thrown a sort of dalmatic of Genoa velvet, with a large -flowered pattern. What this portrait does not reproduce is the charm -of the original. Foucquet possessed a sovereign grace; he knew how to -please, to inspire affection. It is true that he possessed a key to all -hearts—access to an inexhaustible treasury. He gave much, but it is -true also that he gave wisely, and he was naturally the most generous -of men.</p> - -<p>Poets he succoured with a noble delicacy. Since it is true that he -usurped the rights which were then attributed to the Sovereign, his -master, by disposing of the public revenue as though it were his own, -at least he made a royal use of the King's treasure by dispensing some -of it to Corneille, to La Fontaine and to Molière. The rest was spent -on buildings, furniture, tapestries and so forth; and this, again, when -all is said, was a royal habit, if regarded, as it should be, in the -light of ancient institutions. If Foucquet cannot be justified—and how -can he be, since there were poor in France in those days?—at least his -conduct is explained, in some degree excused, by the institutions, and, -above all, by the public morality of his period.</p> - -<p>While his Château de Vaux was building, Foucquet lived at Saint-Mandé, -in a house sumptuously surrounded by beautiful gardens. These gardens -adjoined the park where Mazarin used to spend the summer. The financier -had only to pass through a door when he wished to visit the Minister. -The estate of Saint-Mandé was formed by the union of two estates -bought from Mme. de Beauvais, Anne of Austria's first lady-in-waiting. -Gradually, Foucquet acquired more land and added wings to the main -building, so that the whole construction cost at least 1,100,000 -livres; and yet the finest part of it remained unexecuted.<a name="FNanchor_23_26" id="FNanchor_23_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_26" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> - -<p>We may form some idea of the beautiful things which Foucquet had -collected in this house by consulting the inventory preserved in the -Archives, and published by M. Bonnaffé,<a name="FNanchor_24_27" id="FNanchor_24_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_27" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> "of the statues, busts, -scabella, columns, tables and other works in marble and stone at -Saint-Mandé."</p> - -<p>Among these things there are many antiques. Most of the modern pieces -of sculpture are by Michel Anguier, who passed three years, 1655-58, -at Saint-Mandé. There he executed the group of <i>La Charité</i> which -has already been mentioned, and a <i>Hercules</i> six feet in height, as -well as "thirteen statues, life-size, copied from the most beautiful -antiques of Rome, notably the <i>Laocoôn, Hercules, Flora,</i> and <i>Juno</i> -and <i>Jupiter.</i>" This we are told by Germain Brice.<a name="FNanchor_25_28" id="FNanchor_25_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_28" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> He had seen them -in a garden in the Rue Culture-Sainte-Catherine, where they were in -the beginning of the eighteenth century, Germain Brice also tells us -that in those days eight other statues, by the same sculptor, and also -coming from Saint-Mandé, adorned the house of the Marquise de Louvois -at Choisy. We learn also, from other sources, that one of the ceilings -of Saint-Mandé was painted by Lebrun.<a name="FNanchor_26_29" id="FNanchor_26_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_29" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p> - -<p>Finally, the Abbé de Marolles speaks of the beautiful things which -Foucquet had painted at Saint-Mandé, and the Latin inscriptions which -were entrusted to Nicolas Gervaise, his physician. We may remark -in this connection that Louis XIV, who in art did little more than -continue Foucquet's undertakings, derived from the functions which -the Superintendent conferred upon this Nicolas Gervaise the ideas of -that little Academy, the Academy of Inscriptions and Medals, which he -founded five or six years later.</p> - -<p>But the most famous room in the house of which we are now speaking was -the library, because the noblest room in any house is that in which -books are lodged, and because La Fontaine and Corneille used to linger -in the library of Saint-Mandé. It was there that the poets used to wait -for the Superintendent. "Every one knows," said Corneille, "that this -great Minister was no less the Superintendent of belles-lettres than -of finance; that his house was as open to men of intellect as to men -of affairs, and that, whether in Paris or in the country, it is always -in his library that one waits for those precious moments which he -steals from his overwhelming occupations, in order to gratify those who -possess some degree of talent for successful writing."<a name="FNanchor_27_30" id="FNanchor_27_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_30" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p> - -<p>It was in this gallery that La Fontaine, as well as Corneille, used -to sit waiting until the master of the house had leisure to receive -the poet and his verses. One day he waited a whole hour. Monsieur le -Surintendant was occupied; whether with finance or with love posterity -cannot hope to know. Nevertheless, the good man found the time -short: he passed it in his own company. Unfortunately, the <i>suisse</i> -unceremoniously dismissed "the lover of the Muses," who, having -returned home, wrote an epistle which should assure his being received -the next time. "I will not be importunate," he said:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Je prendrai votre heure et la mienne.<br /> -Si je vois qu'on vous entretienne,<br /> -J'attendrai fort paisiblement<br /> -En ce superbe appartement<br /> -Ou l'on a fait d'étrange terre<br /> -Depuis peu venir à grand-erre<a name="FNanchor_28_31" id="FNanchor_28_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_31" class="fnanchor">[28]</a><br /> -(Non sans travail et quelques frais)<br /> -Des rois Céphrim et Kiopès<br /> -Le cercueil, la tombe ou la bière:<br /> -Pour les rois, ils sont en poussière:<br /> -C'est là que j'en voulais venir.<br /> -Il me fallut entretenir<br /> -Avec les monuments antiques,<br /> -Pendant qu'aux affaires publiques<br /> -Vous donniez tout votre loisir.<br /> -(Certes j'y pris un grand plaisir<br /> -Vous semble-t-il pas que l'image<br /> -D'un assez galant personnage<br /> -Sert à ces tombeaux d'ornement).<br /> -Pour vous en parler franchement,<br /> -Je ne puis m'empêcher d'en rire.<br /> -Messire Orus, me mis-je à dire,<br /> -Vous nous rendez tous ébahis:<br /> -Les enfants de votre pays<br /> -Ont, ce me semble, des bavettes<br /> -Que je trouve plaisamment faites.<br /> -On m'eut expliqué tout cela,<br /> -Mais il fallut partir de là<br /> -Sans entendre l'allégorie.<br /> -Je quittai donc la galerie,<br /> -Fort content parmi mon chagrin,<br /> -De Kiopès et de Céphrim,<br /> -D'Orus et de tout son lignage,<br /> -Et de maint autre personnage.<br /> -Puissent ceux d'Egypte en ces lieux,<br /> -Fussent-ils rois, fussent-ils dieux.<br /> -Sans violence et sans contrainte,<br /> -Se reposer dessus leur plinthe<a name="FNanchor_29_32" id="FNanchor_29_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_32" class="fnanchor">[29]</a><br /> -Jusques au brut du genre humain!<br /> -Ils ont fait assez de chemin<br /> -Pour des personnes de leur taille.<br /> -Et vous, seigneur, pour qui travaille<br /> -Le temps qui peut tout consumer,<br /> -Vous, que s'efforce de charmer<br /> -L'Antiquité qu'on idolâtre,<br /> -Pour qui le dieu de Cléopâtre<br /> -Sous nos murs enfin abordé,<br /> -Vient de Memphis à Saint-Mandé:<br /> -Puissiez vous voir ces belles-choses<br /> -Pendant mille moissons de roses....<a name="FNanchor_30_33" id="FNanchor_30_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_33" class="fnanchor">[30]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">At once absurd and charming is this song which the Gallic lark composed -to the sarcophagi of Africa. It is hardly necessary to say that the -coffins, at the strange shape of which La Fontaine wondered, had never -enclosed the bodies of "Kiopès and of Céphrim." Messire Orus had not -told his secrets to the most lovable of our poets. We must not forget -that the scholars of that time were as ignorant on this point as our -friend.</p> - -<p>These two mummy-cases were the first which had been brought to Paris -from the banks of the Nile. They bore their history written upon them, -but no one knew how to read it. The chance guess of some admirer had -attributed to them a royal origin.<a name="FNanchor_31_34" id="FNanchor_31_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_34" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> - -<p>The truth is that they had been discovered twenty-five years earlier -in a pyramid by the inhabitants of the province of Saïd; transported -to Cairo, then to Alexandria, they were bought by a French trader, who -landed them at Marseilles on the 4th September, 1632, where they were -acquired, it is believed, by a collector of that town, M. Chemblon.<a name="FNanchor_32_35" id="FNanchor_32_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_35" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p> - -<p>There was then at Rome a German Jesuit, by name Athanasius Kircher, a -man of vivid imagination, very learned, who, having dabbled in physics, -chemistry, natural history, theology, antiquities, music, ancient and -modern languages, invented the magic lantern. This reverend Father -really knew Coptic, and thought he knew something of the language -of the ancient Egyptians. To prove this he wrote a large quarto -volume entitled <i>Lingua Ægyptiaca restituta,</i> which proves quite the -contrary. But it is very easy to deceive oneself, especially when one -is a scholar. A brother of his in Jesus, Father Brusset, told him -of the arrival of the two ancient coffins, and Father Kircher went -to Marseilles to see them. Later he treated of them in his <i>Œdipus -Ægyptiacus,</i> a pleasant day-dream in four folio volumes; La Fontaine's, -in the Saint-Mandé library, was at all events shorter.</p> - -<p>About the year 1659 the sarcophagi were bought for Foucquet, and -taken to the Superintendent's house. When La Fontaine saw them they -no longer contained the bodies which Egyptian piety had destined them -to preserve. The two mummies had been unceremoniously relegated to an -outhouse.</p> - -<p>As for the sarcophagi themselves, Foucquet had intended to send them -to his house at Vaux. He had conceived the charming idea of restoring -them from the land of exile to the pyramid from which they had been -taken.<a name="FNanchor_33_36" id="FNanchor_33_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_36" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> But his days of prosperity were numbered. This project was -to be swept away like a drop of water in the great shipwreck. The two -sarcophagi, seized at Saint-Mandé, where they had remained, were valued -on the 26th of February, 1656, at 800 livres, and were classified as -"two ancient mausoleums, representing a king and queen."<a name="FNanchor_34_37" id="FNanchor_34_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_37" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> - -<p>A sculptor, whose name remains unknown, bought them at the public sale -which followed Foucquet's condemnation. He then gave them to Le Nôtre. -Le Nôtre, having passed from the service of Foucquet into that of the -King, was then living in a little pavilion at the Tuileries, into which -the two mausoleums, as the inventory calls them, could not enter. They -were therefore highly inconvenient guests. They were placed "in a -little garden of the Tuileries, where these rare curiosities remained -for a long time exposed to the injurious effect of the atmosphere and -greatly neglected."<a name="FNanchor_35_38" id="FNanchor_35_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_38" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p> - -<p>Finding that he had no use for them, Le Nôtre presented them to a -neighbour and friend, M. d'Ussé, Comptroller of the King's Household, -whose garden adjoined that of the Tuileries. M. d'Ussé had them placed -"at the end of a bowered alley." According to the virtuoso, Germain -Brice, the Comptroller, did not realize their value and their rarity. -A Flora or a Pomona, smiling on her marble pedestal, would have been -more to his liking. Nevertheless he had them taken to his estate of -Ussé, in Touraine, which shows that he did not disdain them. Thus -the repose which La Fontaine desired for these worshippers of Messire -Orus was denied them. Even yet they had not made their last journey. -M. d'Ussé had married a child of twelve, who was the daughter of a -great man. Her name was Jeanne-Françoise de Vauban. Her father, then -Commissary-General of Fortifications, paid a visit of some length to -his son-in-law. He could not resist the temptation of shifting the -soil, and he made a terrace; at the foot of this terrace he constructed -a niche for the two "mausoleums." Now, half a century later there -lived at a distance of five miles from Ussé an antiquarian called La -Sauvagère, who went up and down the country examining ancient stones, -for stones had voices before to-day. He did not fail to go to Ussé. He -saw the sarcophagi, and marvelled at them. He wrote about them to Court -de Géblin, who replied to his letter. Court de Géblin was investigating -the origin of the world. This time he thought he had found it.</p> - -<p>La Sauvagère published plates of the sarcophagi and of the -hieroglyphics which covered them.<a name="FNanchor_36_39" id="FNanchor_36_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_39" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> Here was a fine subject for -conjecture. After thirty years, La Sauvagère's enthusiasm had not -cooled. To the Prince de Montbazon, who had just bought the château, -and the Egyptians with it, he ordained fervently: "Prince, there you -have something which is by itself worth the whole of your estate."</p> - -<p>In 1807 the Egyptians were still in the niche where Vauban had -installed them. The Marquis de Chalabre then sold the estate of Ussé, -which he had inherited from his father, but he kept the sarcophagi and -took them to Paris th his apartment.</p> - -<p>Then they disappeared, and, in 1843, no one knew what had become of -them. M. Bonardot, the archaeologist, who displayed so much care in the -preservation of old engravings, visited that year the cemetery of the -old Abbey of Longchamps. By the edge of a path he discovered two stones -sticking out of the ground. Having poked about with his stick, he saw -that these stones were in the form of heads, and by the hair-dressing -he recognized two Egyptians. He made inquiries, and learned that they -were the two sarcophagi, sent there by M. de Chalabre's son, and -forgotten. M. de Chalabre was then dying; his heirs had the Egyptians -disinterred and gave them to the Louvre Museum, and there they are -to-day.<a name="FNanchor_37_40" id="FNanchor_37_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_40" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> Their names have been deciphered. They are not royal names. -One is called Hor-Kheb, the other Ank-Mer.<a name="FNanchor_38_41" id="FNanchor_38_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_41" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p> - -<p>They wear their beards in beard-cases, according to the custom of their -time and country, and it was these beard-cases that La Fontaine took -for bibs.</p> - -<p>The gallery of Saint-Mandé, which contained these two monuments that we -have followed so far afield, was magnificently decorated with thirteen -ancient gods in marble, life-size, and thirty-three busts in bronze or -marble, placed on pedestals. Among these busts were those of Socrates -and Seneca. Imagine these faces, brown or luminous, ranged about the -chamber, where the books displayed the sombre resplendence of their -brown and gilt backs. Imagine the pictures, the cabinets of medals, -the tables of porphyry, the mosaics; imagine a thousand precious -curiosities, and you will have some idea of this gallery, the rich -treasures of which were to be dispersed almost as soon as they had been -collected.</p> - -<p>The Superintendent had little time for reading, but he loved to turn -over the pages of his books, for he was a well-read man. He promised -himself the pleasures of learned, leisurely study in his old age, -when he would no longer read a welcome in ladies' eyes. Meanwhile, he -had had twenty-seven thousand volumes arranged on the shelves of his -gallery, around those two sarcophagi the story of which had carried -us so far afield from Saint-Mandé and the last days of Mazarin. These -twenty-seven thousand volumes comprised seven thousand in folio, -twelve thousand in quarto and eight thousand in octavo. They were not -all in the gallery. There was, in particular, a room for the "Alcorans, -the Talmuds and some old Bible commentaries."<a name="FNanchor_39_42" id="FNanchor_39_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_42" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p> - -<p>The rich collection of printed books which he had gathered together -embraced universal history, medicine, law, natural history, -mathematics, oratory, theology and philosophy, as well as the fine -arts, represented by illustrated volumes.</p> - -<p>These books, of which it would not be possible to compile a catalogue -to-day, were not, it would seem, contained in beautiful morocco -bindings, finely gilt and richly adorned with coats of arms, like those -which honoured Mazarin's library. The financier had bought hastily, in -a wholesale fashion, books already bound, so that we cannot rank him -among the great bibliophiles, although he may be numbered among the -lovers of books.</p> - -<p>That Foucquet loved books, as he loved gardens, as he loved everything -flattering to the taste of a well-bred man, that he even preferred -books to anything else, there is no doubt, for we have irrefutable -testimony of the fact. In the <i>Conseils de la Sagesse,</i> which he wrote -in prison, may be found this beautiful phrase: "You know that formerly -I used to find convention in my books."<a name="FNanchor_40_43" id="FNanchor_40_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_43" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> - -<p>Alas, why did he not oftener listen to those consolers which speak so -gently and so softly, and which can bestow every blessing upon the -heart that is innocent of desire? <i>In angello cum libello.</i> Therein, -perhaps, resides all wisdom. But, if every one sat in his corner and -read, what would books be about? They are filled with the sorrows -and the errors of men, and it is by saddening us that they give us -consolation. Yes, there was in Foucquet the stuff of a librarian in the -great style of a Peiresc or a Naudé. But this stuff was but a fragment -of the whole piece. Cæsar, also, would have been the first book-lover -of his day if he had not been eager to conquer and to reign, if he -had not possessed a genius for organizing Rome and the world. One -needs a childlike candour and a pious zeal if one would shut oneself -up with the dust of old books, with the souls of the dead. The humble -book-lover who holds this pen, for his own part, savours with delight -that reposeful charm, but he knows well that the purity of this charm -can only be bought at the price of renunciation and resignation.</p> - -<p>A word as to what became of Foucquet's library. But let the reader -not be alarmed; the fate of the twenty-seven thousand volumes which -composed it will not occupy us so long as that of the two Egyptian -sarcophagi. This library was sold by auction, like the rest of the -Superintendent's movables. Guy Patin wrote from Paris on the 25th -February, 1665: "M. Foucquet's effects are about to be sold. There is a -fine library. It is said that M. Colbert wants it." Perhaps Colbert did -want it, but for the King. Colbert was not a second Foucquet.</p> - -<p>Carcasi, the keeper of the Royal Library, bought for the King about -thirteen thousand volumes. The accounts of the King's buildings -mention, under the date of January, 1667, the payment of six thousand -livres "to the Sieur Mandat, liquidator of the assets of M. Foucquet, -for the price of the books which the King has had bought from the -Library of Saint-Mandé." And another payment of fourteen thousand -livres "to the Sieur Arnoul for books on the History of Italy, which -His Majesty has also bought."</p> - -<p>As for the manuscripts, they were bought by various libraries and -scattered. The catalogue which the purchasers compiled of these -manuscripts forms a small duodecimo volume of sixty-two pages, -entitled: <i>Mémoires des Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque de M. Foucquet, -qui se vendent à Paris, chez Denis Thierry, Frédéric Léonard, Jean -Dupuis, rue Saint-Jacques, et Claude Barbin, au Palais. M. D. C. -LXVII.</i></p> - -<p>So much for the house; now for the guests. We have already met La -Fontaine and Corneille in the gallery. We shall see them there again; -they are assiduous visitors. Old Corneille brings his grievances -thither. Poor, half forgotten, he was then labouring under the blow of -the failure of his <i>Pertharite.</i> His great genius was wearing out, was -becoming harsh and uncouth, and poor Pertharite, King of the Lombards, -who was too fond of his wife Rodelinde, had met with a bad reception in -the theatre. Corneille, who was slow to take a hint, for acuteness is -not a characteristic of men of his temperament, nevertheless understood -that the hour of retreat had sounded. With a vestige of pride, which -became his genius, he pretended to take initiation in the retirement -which was forced upon him. "It is better," he said, "that I should -withdraw on my own account rather than wait until I am flatly told to -do so; and it is just that after twenty years' work I should begin to -see that I am growing too old to be still fashionable. At any rate, I -have this satisfaction: that I leave the French stage better than I -found it, with regard both to art and to morals."</p> - -<p>A touching and a noble farewell, but a painful one. Foucquet recalled -him; a kind word and a small pension sufficed to cheer the old man's -heart, to console him for long neglect, and for the languishing of his -fame. He presented his new benefactor with an epistle full of gratitude:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Oui, généreux appui de tout notre Parnasse,<br /> -Tu me rends ma vigeur lorsque tu me fais grâce,<br /> -Ec je veux bien apprendre à tout notre avenir<br /> -Que tes regards bénins ont su me rajeunir.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -Je sens le même feu, je sens la même audace<br /> -Qui lit plaindre le Cid, qui fit combattre Horace,<br /> -Et je me trouve encor la main qui crayonna<br /> -L'âme du grand Pompée et l'esprit de Cinna.<br /> -Choisis-moi seulement quelque nom dans l'histoire<br /> -Pour qui tu veuilles place au Temple de la Gloire,<br /> -Quelque nom favori qu'il te plaise arracher<br /> -A la nuit de la tombe, aux cendres du bûcher.<br /> -Soit qu'il faille ternir ceux d'Énée et d'Achille<br /> -Par un noble attentat sur Homère et Virgile,<br /> -Soit qu'il faille obscurcir par un dernier effort<br /> -Ceux que j'ai sur la scène affranchis de la mort;<br /> -Tu me verras le même, et je te ferai dire,<br /> -Si jamais pleinement ta grande âme m'inspire,<br /> -Que dix lustres et plus n'ont pas tout emporté,<br /> -Cet assemblage heureux de force et de clarté,<br /> -Ces prestiges secrets de l'aimable imposture,<br /> -Qu'à l'envie m'ont prêtés et l'art et la nature.<br /> -N'attends pas toutefois que j'ose m'enhardir,<br /> -Ou jusqu' à te dépeindre ou jusqu' à t'applaudir,<br /> -Ce serait présumer que d'une seule vue<br /> -Jamais vu de ton cœur la plus vaste étendue,<br /> -Qu'un moment suffrait à mes débiles yeux<br /> -Pour démêler en toi ces dons brillants des deux,<br /> -De qui l'inépuisable et per çante lumière.<br /> -Sitôt que tu parais, fait baisser la paupière.<br /> -J'ai déjà vu beaucoup en ce moment heureux,<br /> -Je t'ai vu magnanime, affable, généreux,<br /> -Et ce qu'on voit à peine après dix ans d'excuses,<br /> -Je t'ai vu tout à coup libéral pour les Muses.<a name="FNanchor_41_44" id="FNanchor_41_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_44" class="fnanchor">[41]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">This, after all, is little more than a receipt expressed in Spanish -style. None the less, the poet promises the financier that he will -treat the subject which the latter indicates. Foucquet gave him three -subjects to choose from. <i>Œdipe</i> was one of the three; it was the one -which Corneille chose. He treated it, and we may say that he treated it -gallantly. He endowed his heroes with wonderfully polite manners. It -is charming to hear Theseus, Prince of Athens, saying to the beautiful -Dirce:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Quelque ravage affreux qu'étale ici la peste,<br /> -L'absence aux vrais amants est encor plus funeste.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Old Corneille, delighted with himself for having conceived such -beautiful things, flattered himself that <i>Œdipe</i> was his masterpiece, -although it had taken him only two months to write it; he had made -haste in order to please the Superintendent. This work, which was in -the fashion and was, after all, from the pen of the great Corneille, -was received with favour. The gazeteer, Loret, bears witness to this in -the execrable verses of a poet who has to write so much a week:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Monsieur de Corneille l'aîné,<br /> -Depuis peu de temps a donné<br /> -A ceux de l'hôtel de Bourgogne<a name="FNanchor_42_45" id="FNanchor_42_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_45" class="fnanchor">[42]</a><br /> -Son dernier ouvrage ou besogne,<br /> -Ouvrage grand et signalé,<br /> -Qui <i>l'Œdipe</i> est intitulé,<br /> -Ouvrage, dis-je, dramatique,<br /> -Mais si tendre et si pathétique,<br /> -Que, sans se sentir émouvoir,<br /> -On ne peut l'entendre ou le voir.<br /> -Jamais pièce de cette sorte<br /> -N'eut l'élocution si forte;<br /> -Jamais, dit-on, dans l'univers,<br /> -On n'entendit de si beaux vers.<br /> -</p> - -<p>We mentioned that Foucquet, when proposing to Corneille the subject of -<i>Œdipe,</i> suggested two other subjects, one of which was <i>Camma.</i> The -third we do not know.<a name="FNanchor_43_46" id="FNanchor_43_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_46" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> Camma, who slays her husband's murderer upon -the altar to which he has led her, is no commonplace heroine. Corneille -was a good kinsman; he passed on <i>Camma</i> to his brother Thomas, who -made a pretty dull tragedy out of it; such was the custom of this -excellent person. Thomas also participated in the Superintendent's -generosity. He dedicated to Foucquet his tragedy <i>La Mort de Commode,</i> -in return for the "generous marks of esteem" and benefits which he had -received. He said, with charming politeness, "I wished to offer myself, -and you have singled me out."</p> - -<p>Pellisson, a brilliant wit and a capable man, became, after 1656, one -of Foucquet's principal clerks. He had for Mademoiselle de Scudéry -a beautiful affection which he loaded with so many adornments that -it seems to-day to have been a miraculous work of artifice. It was -marvellously decked out and embellished; an exquisite work of art. -Had they both been handsome, they would not have introduced into -their liaison so many complications; they would have loved each other -naturally. But he was ugly, so was she, and as one must love in this -world—everybody says so—they loved each other with what they had, -with their pretty wit and their subtlety. Being able to do no better, -they created a masterpiece.</p> - -<p>Pellisson was an assiduous guest at the Saturdays of this learned and -"precious" spinster. There he met Madame du Plessis-Bellière, whose -friendship for Foucquet is well known to us. Witty herself, she was -naturally inclined to favour wit in the new Sappho, who was then -publishing <i>Clélie</i> in ten volumes, and in Pellisson, her relations -with whom were as pleasant as they were discreet. She introduced -them both to the Superintendent, who lost no time in attaching them -both to himself in order not to separate these two incomparable -lovers. Pellisson paid Mademoiselle de Scudéry's debt by writing a -<i>Remerciement du siècle à M. le surintendant Foucquet,</i> and presently -on his own account he fabricated a second <i>Remerciement,</i> full of those -elaborate allegories which people revelled in at that period, but which -to-day would send us to sleep, standing.</p> - -<p>Pellisson, having become the Superintendent's steward, bargained with -his tax-farmers and corrected his master's love-letters, for he was a -resourceful person; and, as he piqued himself especially on his wit, -he obligingly served as Foucquet's intermediary with men of letters. -On his recommendation the Superintendent gave a receipt for the taxes -of Forez to the poet Jean Hesnault, who thus found at Saint-Mandé -an end of the poverty which he had so long paraded up and down the -world, in the Low Countries, in England and in Sicily. Jean Hesnault -was an intelligent person, but untrustworthy: "Loving pleasure with -refinement," says Bayle, "delicately and artistically debauched."</p> - -<p>A pupil of Gassendi, like Molière, Bernir and Cyrano, he was an -atheist, and did not conceal the fact. For the rest, he was a good -poet, and he had a great spirit. Was it his audacious, profound and -melancholy philosophy which recommended him to the Superintendent's -favour? Hardly. Foucquet in his times of good fortune was far too much -occupied with the affairs of this world to be greatly interested in -those of another. And when misfortune brought him leisure, he is said -to have sought consolation in piety. However that may be, the kindness -which he showed to Jean Hesnault was not bestowed upon an ungrateful -recipient. Hesnault, as we shall see, appeared among the most ardent -defenders of the Superintendent in the days of his misfortune. Foucquet -also counted among his pensioners a man as pious as Hesnault was the -reverse. I refer to Guillaume de Brébeuf, a Norman nobleman, who -translated the <i>Pharsale,</i> who was extremely zealous in converting the -Calvinists of his province. He was always shivering with fever; but his -greatest misfortune was his poverty. Cardinal Mazarin had made him -many promises; it was Foucquet who kept them.</p> - -<p>He also helped Boisrobert, who was growing old. Now, old age, which -is never welcome to anybody, is most unwelcome to buffoons. This -poetical Abbé, whom Richelieu described as "the ardent solicitor of -the unwilling Muses," had long been accustomed to ask, to receive and -to thank. Compliments cost him nothing, and he stuffed his collected -<i>Épîtres en vers,</i> published in 1658, with eulogies, in which Foucquet -is compared to the heroes, the gods and the stars. Gombault, who wrote -in a more concise style, and was a shepherd on Parnassus, dedicated -his <i>Danaides</i> to him, by way of expressing his thanks. Before 1658 -this poet of the Hôtel de Rambouillet had experienced the financier's -generosity. As for poor Scarron, he was in an unfortunate position. He, -unhappy man, had taken part in the Fronde. He had decried Jules, and -Jules, not generally vindictive, was not forgiving in this case, where -to forgive was to pay. Foucquet treated the Frondeur as a beggar, and -then, repenting, gave him a pension of 1600 livres. Nevertheless, he -remained indigent and needy. His creditors often hammered violently at -the knocker of his iron-clamped door, making a terrible noise in the -street. Once the poet was blockaded by certain nasty-looking fellows. -Three thousand francs, which Foucquet sent through the excellent -Pellisson, came just in the nick of time to deliver him from prison. -Madame Scarron was in the good books of Madame la Surintendante. From -Foucquet she obtained for her husband the right to organize a company -of unloaders at the city gates. The waggoners, doubtless, would have -been just as well pleased to do without these unloaders, who made them -pay through the nose, but the crippled poet who directed them received -by this means a revenue of between two and three thousand livres.</p> - -<p>I forgot Loret; the worst of men, because the worst of rhymers, and -there is nothing in the world worse than a bad poet. Yet every one must -live—at least, so it is said—and Loret lived, thanks to Foucquet. -He received his pittance on condition that he would moderate his -praises. Foucquet was a man of taste; he feared tactless praises, a -fear which we can hardly appreciate to-day. Nevertheless, in spite of -these remonstrances, Loret did not cease to be eulogistic. It was after -having celebrated in very bad verses Foucquet as a demigod that he -added:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -J'en pourrais dire d'avantage,<br /> -Mais à ce charmant personnage<br /> -Les éloges ne plaisent pas;<br /> -Les siens sont pour lui sans appas.<br /> -Il aime peu qu'on le loue,<br /> -Et touchant ce sujet, j'avoue<br /> -Que l'excellent sieur Pellisson<br /> -M'a fait plusieurs fois la leçon;<br /> -Mais, comme son rare mérite<br /> -Tout mon cœur puissamment excite,<br /> -Et que ce sujet m'est très cher.<br /> -J'aurais peine à m'en empêcher.<br /> -</p> - -<p>But enough about this gazetteer, who, after all, was not a bad fellow, -although he never wrote anything but foolishness, and let us come to -the poet whose delightful genius even to-day sheds a glory over the -memory of Nicolas Foucquet.</p> - -<p>La Fontaine was presented to Foucquet by his uncle, Jannart, in the -course of the year 1654. He was then absolutely unknown outside his -town of Château-Thierry, where he was said to have courted a certain -Abbess, and to have been seen at night hastening over a frosty road, -with a dark lantern in his hand and white stockings on his feet. That -was his only fame. If he was then occupied with poetry, it was for -himself alone, and to the knowledge, perhaps, of only a few friends.</p> - -<p>Jacques Jannart, his uncle, or, to be more precise, the husband of -the aunt of La Fontaine's wife, was King's Counsellor and Deputy -Attorney-General in the Paris Parliament. He was a great personage and -a good man. He was not displeased that his nephew should be a poet, -should commit follies and should borrow money. He himself was not -innocent of gallantry, and was inclined to interpret the law in favour -of fair ladies. He thought that La Fontaine's poetry would please the -Superintendent and that the Superintendent's patronage would please the -poet.</p> - -<p>Foucquet had good taste; La Fontaine pleased him; indeed, he has the -merit of having been the first to appreciate the poet. He gave him a -pension of one thousand francs on condition that he should produce a -poem once a quarter. What is the date of this gift I do not know; the -poet's receipts do not go further back than 1659, if Mathieu Marais<a name="FNanchor_44_47" id="FNanchor_44_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_47" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> -was correct in attributing to this same year a poem which precedes -the receipts, and which the poet published in 1675<a name="FNanchor_45_48" id="FNanchor_45_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_48" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> with this -description:</p> - -<p><i>M.</i> [<i>Foucquet</i>] <i>having said that I ought to give him something for -his endeavour to make my verses known, I sent, shortly after, this -letter to</i> [<i>Madame Foucquet.</i>]<a name="FNanchor_46_49" id="FNanchor_46_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_49" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></p> - -<p>In this poem he jokes about the engagement which he had entered into -with the Superintendent for the receipt of his pension:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Je vous l'avoue, et c'est la vérité,<br /> -Que Monseigneur n'a que trop mérité<br /> -La pension qu'il veut que je lui donne.<br /> -En bonne foi je ne sache personne<br /> -A qui Phébus s'engageât aujourd'hui<br /> -De la donner plus volontiers qu'à lui.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -Pour acquitter celle-ci chaque année,<br /> -Il me faudra quatre termes égaux;<br /> -A la Saint-Jean je promets madrigaux,<br /> -Courts et troussés et de taille mignonne;<br /> -Longue lecture en été n'est pas bonne.<br /> -Le chef d'octobre aura son tour après,<br /> -Ma Muse alors prétend se mettre en frais.<br /> -Notre héros, si le beau temps ne change,<br /> -De menus vers aura pleine vendange.<br /> -Ne dites point que c'est menu présent,<br /> -Car menus vers sont en vogue à présent.<br /> -Vienne l'an neuf, ballade est destinée;<br /> -Qui rit ce jour, il rit toute l'année.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -Pâques, jour saint, veut autre poésie;<br /> -J'envoyerais lors, si Dieu me prête vie,<br /> -Pour achever toute la pension,<br /> -Quelque sonnet plein de dévotion.<br /> -Ce terme-là pourrait être le pire.<br /> -On me voit peu sur tels sujets écrire,<br /> -Mais tout au moins je serai diligent,<br /> -Et, si j'y manque, envoyez un sergent,<br /> -Faites saisir sans aucune remise<br /> -Stances, rondeaux et vers de toute guise.<br /> -Ce sont nos biens: les doctes nourrissons<br /> -N'amassent rien, si ce n'est des chansons.<a name="FNanchor_47_50" id="FNanchor_47_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_50" class="fnanchor">[47]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">This engagement was kept, with certain modifications, for a year at -least. The poet's acknowledgments were in a graceful and natural style, -unequalled since the time of Marot. The ballad for the midsummer -quarter was sent to Madame la Surintendante:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Reine des cœurs, objet délicieux,<br /> -Que suit l'enfant qu'on adore en des lieux<br /> -Nommés Paphos, Amathonte et Cythère,<br /> -Vous qui charmez les hommes et les dieux,<br /> -En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire.<br /> -</p> - -<p>We have seen Madame Foucquet as Charity; now we see her as Venus. But -it was only to poets that she was a goddess; in reality she was a good -woman whose mental qualities were lacking in charm; she was sympathetic -only in misfortune.</p> - -<p>La Fontaine, in this poem, asks Madame Foucquet whether "one of -the Smiles" whom she "has for secretary" will send him a glorious -acquittal. Now, the Smile who was Madame la Surintendante's secretary -was Pellisson. As we have said, he was a wit. It delighted him to -think himself a Smile hovering round the Venus of Vaux. As for the -acknowledgment he was asked for, he composed two, one in his own name, -and the other in that of his divine Surintendante. Here is the first, -which is called the Public Acknowledgment:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Par devant moi sur Parnasse notaire,<br /> -Se présenta la reine des beautés,<br /> -Et des vertus le parfait exemplaire,<br /> -Qui lut ces vers, puis les ayant comptés,<br /> -Pesés, revus, approuvés et vantés,<br /> -Pour le passé voulut s'en satisfaire,<br /> -Se réservant le tribut ordinaire,<br /> -Pour l'avenir aux termes arrêtés.<br /> -Muses de Vaux et vous, leur secrétaire,<br /> -Voilà l'acquit tel que vous souhaitez.<br /> -En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Here is the second, under private seal, in the name of the -Surintendante:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -De mes deux yeux, ou de mes deux soleils<br /> -J'ai lu vos vers qu'on trouve sans pareils,<br /> -Et qui n'ont rien qui ne me doive plaire.<br /> -Je vous tiens quitte et promets vous fournir<br /> -De quoi par tout vous le faire tenir,<br /> -Pour le passé, mais non pour l'avenir.<br /> -En puissiez-vous dans cent ans autant faire.<a name="FNanchor_48_51" id="FNanchor_48_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_51" class="fnanchor">[48]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>But Jean could not lay restraint upon himself. As he himself -ingenuously admits, he divided his life into two parts: one he passed -in sleeping, the other in doing nothing. For writing verse was doing -nothing for him, it came to him so naturally. But he could not do it -if he were obliged. In October, the second quarter, when his second -receipt fell due, we find the poet very much embarrassed. He sends a -poem, the refrain of which betrays this embarrassment:</p> - -<p> -To promise is one thing, to keep one's promise is another.<a name="FNanchor_49_52" id="FNanchor_49_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_52" class="fnanchor">[49]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>In the first quarter of 1660, all he produced was a dizaine for Madame -Foucquet. Foucquet, not unnaturally, mildly objected; and the poet -replied:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Bien vous dirai qu'au nombre s'arrêter<br /> -N'est pas le mieux, seigneur....<br /> -</p> - -<p>Foucquet was content and did not trouble his poetic debtor any further. -The latter thought that he would pay his debt by a descriptive poem of -some length, but this poem, <i>Le Songe de Vaux,</i> was never finished. The -terrible awakening was near at hand.</p> - -<p>We have already seen La Fontaine in the gallery at Saint-Mandé. Whilst -he was waiting Foucquet was busy, whether with an affair of State or of -the heart is doubtful, for he burnt the candle at both ends. "He took -everything upon himself," says the Abbé de Choisy, "he aspired to be -the first Minister, without losing a single moment of his pleasures. -He would pretend to be working alone in his study at Saint-Mandé; and -the whole Court, anticipating his future greatness, would wait in -his antechamber, loudly praising the indefatigable industry of this -great man, while he himself would go down the private staircase into -a garden, where his nymphs, whose names I might mention if I chose, -and they were not among the least distinguished, awaited him, and for -no small reward."<a name="FNanchor_50_53" id="FNanchor_50_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_53" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> He would send sometimes three, sometimes four -thousand pistoles to the ladies of his heart,<a name="FNanchor_51_54" id="FNanchor_51_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_54" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> and some of the most -charming sought to please him.<a name="FNanchor_52_55" id="FNanchor_52_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_55" class="fnanchor">[52]</a></p> - -<p>Would it be true, however, to say with Nicolas:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Never did a Superintendent meet with a cruel lady.<a name="FNanchor_53_56" id="FNanchor_53_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_56" class="fnanchor">[53]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>Madame de Sévigné was wooed by Foucquet, and yet she had no difficulty -in escaping from him. She made him understand that she would give -nothing and accept nothing. She was reasonable; he became so. "Reduced -to friendship, he transformed his love," says Bussy, "into an esteem -for a virtue hitherto unknown to him."<a name="FNanchor_54_57" id="FNanchor_54_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_57" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> Madame de Sévigné was not -alone obdurate.</p> - -<p>Madame Scarron, beautiful and prudish, found a way to obtain great -benefits from Foucquet without involving her reputation. When the -Superintendent granted her a favour, it was Madame Foucquet whom she -thanked. Thus, for the privilege which we have mentioned: "Madame," -she writes to Madame la Surintendante, "I will not trouble you further -about the matter of the unloaders. It is happily terminated through the -intervention of that hero to whom we all owe everything, and whom you -have the pleasure of loving. The provost of the merchants listened to -reason as soon as he heard the great name of M. Foucquet. I entreat of -you, Madame, to allow me to come and thank you at Vaux. Madame de Vassé -has assured me that you continue to regard me kindly, and that you -will not consider me an intruder in those alleys where one may reflect -with so much reason, and jest with so much grace."<a name="FNanchor_55_58" id="FNanchor_55_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_58" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p> - -<p>Madame Foucquet, who was a kind woman, wished to keep Madame Scarron -about her; but the cunning fly would not allow itself to be caught. She -wrote to her indiscreet benefactress: "Madame, my obligation towards -you did not permit me to hesitate concerning the proposition which -Madame Bonneau made me on your behalf. It was so flattering to me, -I am so disgusted with my present circumstances, and I have so much -respect for you, that I should not have wavered for a moment, even -if the gratitude which I owe you had not influenced me; but, Madame, -M. Scarron, although your indebted and very humble servant, cannot -give his consent. My entreaties have failed to move him, my reasons -to persuade him. He implores you to love me less, or at any rate to -display your affection in a way which would be less costly to him. -Read his request, Madame, and pardon the ardour of a husband who has -no other resource against tedium, no other consolation in all his -misfortunes than the wife whom he loves. I told Madame Bonneau that -if you shorten the term I might, perhaps, obtain his consent, but I -see that it is useless thus to flatter myself, and that I had too far -presumed upon my power. I entreat of you, Madame, to continue your -kindness towards me. No one is more attached to you than I am, and my -gratitude will cease only with my life."<a name="FNanchor_56_59" id="FNanchor_56_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_59" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></p> - -<p>Mademoiselle du Fouilloux was no prude; quite the contrary. She -appeared at Court in 1652; she showed herself and she pleased.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Une fleur fraîche et printanière,<br /> -Un nouvel astre, une lumière,<br /> -Savoir l'aimable du Fouilloux,<br /> -Dont plusieurs beaux yeux sont jaloux,<br /> -D'autant que cette demoiselle<br /> -Est charmante, brillante et belle,<br /> -Ayant pour escorte l'Amour,<br /> -A fait son entrée à la Cour<br /> -Et pris le nom, cette semaine,<br /> -De fille d'honneur de la reine.<a name="FNanchor_57_60" id="FNanchor_57_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_60" class="fnanchor">[57]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>She figured in all the ballets in which the King danced, and Loret -sings that in 1658:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Fouilloux, l'une des trois pucelles,<br /> -Comme elle est belle entre les belles,<br /> -Par ses attraits toujours vainqueurs,<br /> -Y faisait des rafles de cœurs.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Foucquet lost his heart to her. He spoke; he gained a hearing. -Mademoiselle du Fouilloux, frivolous and calculating, was doubly made -for him. Their liaison was intimate and political. Fouilloux was -absolutely self-interested; she did not ask for what was her due, being -too great a lady for that, but she demanded it by means of a third -person, and even insisted upon advances. "I will tell you," wrote this -go-between,<a name="FNanchor_58_61" id="FNanchor_58_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_61" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> "that I have seen Fouilloux prepared to entreat me to -find a way to inform you, as if on my own account, that I knew you -would please her if you would advance one hundred pistoles on this -year's pension."</p> - -<p>We know also, from the same source, that the beauty asked for money -to pay her debts, and did not pay them. Here is the end of the note: -"Mademoiselle du Fouilloux has assured me that, of all the money that -you have given her, she has not paid a halfpenny. She has gambled -it all away." We must do justice to Foucquet, and to Fouilloux; -they were very reasonable. Fouilloux's one thought was to have her -own establishment, and she had her eye on an honest man, something -of a simpleton, but of good family, whom she had watched by the -Superintendent's police.</p> - -<p>In those days the Queen's ladies-in-waiting were flattered in song. -Fouilloux had verses addressed to her:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Foilloux sans songer à plaire<br /> -Plaît pourtant infiniment<br /> -Par un air libre et charmant.<br /> -C'est un dessein téméraire<br /> -Que d'attaquer sa rigueur.<br /> -Si j'eusse été sans affaires<br /> -La belle aurait eu mon cœur.<a name="FNanchor_59_62" id="FNanchor_59_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_62" class="fnanchor">[59]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>Other verses celebrate Menneville:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Toute la Cour est éprise<br /> -De ces attraits glorieux<br /> -Dont vous enchantez les yeux,<br /> -Menneville; ma franchise<br /> -S'y devrait bien engager;<br /> -Mais mon cœur est place prise<br /> -Et vous n'y sauriez loger.<br /> -</p> - -<p>This Menneville, celebrated in such bad verse, was, with Fouilloux, -the prettiest woman at Court. On this matter we have the testimony of -Jean Racine, who, banished to the depths of the provinces, wrote to -his friend La Fontaine, citing Fouilloux and Menneville as examples of -beauty. "I cannot refrain from saying a word as to the beauties of this -province.... There is not a village maiden, nor a cobbler's wife, who -might not vie in beauty with the Fouilloux and the Mennevilles.... All -the women here are dazzling, and they deck themselves out in a manner -which is to them the most natural fashion in the world, and as for the -attractions of their person,</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -<i>Colors vents, corpus solidum et sued plenum.</i>"<a name="FNanchor_60_63" id="FNanchor_60_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_63" class="fnanchor">[60]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>Of the two, Menneville is thought to have been the more beautiful. A -song says of her:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Cachez-vous, filles de la reine,<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6.5em;">Petites,</span><br /> -Car Menneville est de retour,<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6.5em;">M'amour.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>She sold herself to the Superintendent. As she did not equal Fouilloux -in her genius for intrigue, Foucquet used her more kindly. While this -lady-in-waiting was yielding to the suit of the seigneur of Vaux, -she was trying to force the Duc de Damville to marry her, as he had -promised. Like Fouilloux, she begged the Superintendent to help her -to get settled. He did so with a good grace, and sent the fair lady -fifteen thousand crowns, which ought to have decided Damville. The -latter hesitated. An accident decided for him: he died.</p> - -<p>There were no pleasures, no distractions—if we employ the word in -the strict sense which Pascal then gave it—there were no means of -enjoyment and oblivion for which Foucquet had not the most tremendous -capacity. Business and building were not enough to absorb his vast -energies. He was a gambler. The stakes at his tables were terribly -high. So they were at Madame Foucquet's. In one day Gourville won -eighteen thousand livres from the Comte d'Avaux. No money was laid -on the table, but at the end of the game the players settled their -accounts. They played not only for money, but for gems, ornaments, -lace, collars, valued at seventy to eighty pistoles each.</p> - -<p>Foucquet, playing against Gourville, in one day lost sixty thousand -livres. "He played," said Gourville, "with cut cards which were worth -ten or twenty pistoles each. I put one thousand pistoles before me -almost desiring that he should win back something, which did happen. -Nevertheless, he was not pleased to see I was leaving the game."<a name="FNanchor_61_64" id="FNanchor_61_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_64" class="fnanchor">[61]</a></p> - -<p>This wild play was not altogether to the Superintendent's disadvantage. -In the end his intimate friends, who were great personages, were -ruined, and came to him for mercy. Thus, for instance, he held in his -power Hugues de Lyonne—the great Lyonne. But he himself was at his -last gasp, and overwhelmed with anxiety.</p> - -<p>Sole Superintendent of Finance since Servien's death, on the 17th -February, 1659, Foucquet had filled Mazarin's crop without having won -him, for Mazarin loved and served only himself, his own people and -the State. As a private individual he was self-interested, covetous -and miserly. As a public man he desired the good of the kingdom, the -greatness of France. He was never grateful to his public servants for -anything they did for his own person. Foucquet felt this; he perceived -that he had no hold over this man, and that Mazarin, when dying, might -ruin him, having no further need of him.</p> - -<p>For Mazarin was dying; he was dying with all the heartrending regret -of a Magnifico who feels that he is being torn from his jewels, his -tapestries and his books—beautifully bound in morocco, delicately -tooled—and also, by a curious inconsistency, with the serenity of a -great statesman, of another Richelieu, full of a generous grief that he -could no longer play his part in those great affairs which had rendered -his life illustrious. He was anxious to assure the prosperity of the -kingdom after his death. "Sire," he said to the young Louis XIV, "I -owe you everything, but I think I can in a manner discharge my debt by -giving you Colbert."<a name="FNanchor_62_65" id="FNanchor_62_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_65" class="fnanchor">[62]</a></p> - -<p>At the very point of death he was conferring with the King in secret -conversations, which caused Foucquet great anxiety, precisely because -they were concealed from him. Then, at length, the light of eyes which -had so long sought for gold and sumptuous draperies, and pierced the -hearts of men, was finally extinguished.</p> - -<p>On the 9th March, 1661, as Foucquet, leaving his house of Saint-Mandé, -was crossing the Gardens on foot to go to Vincennes, he met young -Brienne, who was getting out of his couch, and learned from him the -great news.</p> - -<p>"He is dead, then!" murmured Foucquet. "Henceforth I shall not know in -whom to confide. People always do things by halves. Oh, how distressing -I The King is waiting for me, and I ought to be there among the first! -My God! Monsieur de Brienne, tell me what is happening, so that I may -not commit any indiscretion through ignorance."<a name="FNanchor_63_66" id="FNanchor_63_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_66" class="fnanchor">[63]</a></p> - -<p>The day after Mazarin's death the King of twenty-three summoned -Foucquet, with the Chancellor, Séguier, the Ministers and Secretaries -of State, and addressed them in these words: "Hitherto I have been -content to leave my affairs in the hands of the late Cardinal. It is -time for me to control them myself. You will help me with your counsels -when I ask you for them. Gentlemen, I forbid you to sign anything, not -even a safe conduct, or a passport, without my command. I request you -to give me personally an account of everything every day, to favour no -one in your lists of the month. And you, Monsieur le Surintendant, I -have explained to you my wishes; I request you to employ M. Colbert, -whom the late Cardinal has recommended to me." Foucquet thought that -the King was not speaking seriously. That error ruined him.</p> - -<p>He believed that it would be easy to amuse and deceive the youthful -mind of the King, and he set to work to do so with all the ardour, -all the grace and all the frivolity of his nature. He determined to -govern the kingdom and the King. Foucquet did not know Louis XIV, and -Louis XVI did know Foucquet. Warned by Mazarin, the King knew that -Foucquet was engaged in dubious proceedings, and was ready to resort -to any expedient. He knew, also, that he was a man of resource and of -talent. He took him apart and told him that he was determined to be -King, and to have a precise and complete knowledge of State affairs; -that he would begin with finance; it was the most important part -of his administration, and that he was determined to restore order -and regularity to that department. He asked the Superintendent to -instruct him minutely in every detail, and he bade him conceal nothing, -declaring that he would always employ him, provided that he found him -sincere. As for the past, he was prepared to forget that, but he wished -that in future the Superintendent would let him know the true state of -the finances.<a name="FNanchor_64_67" id="FNanchor_64_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_67" class="fnanchor">[64]</a></p> - -<p>In speaking thus, Louis XIV told the truth. He has explained himself in -his <i>Mémoires.</i> "It may be a cause of astonishment," he says, "that I -was willing to employ him at a time when his peculations were known to -me, but I knew that he was intelligent and thoroughly acquainted with -all the most intimate affairs of State, and this made me think that, -provided he would confess his past faults and promise to correct them, -he might render me good service."</p> - -<p>No one could speak more wisely, more kindly; but the audacious Foucquet -did not realize that there was something menacing in this wisdom and -this kindness. He was possessed of a spirit of imprudence and error. He -was labouring blindly to bring about his own fall. Day by day, despite -the advice of his best friends, he presented the King with false -accounts of his expenditure and revenue. For five months he believed -that he was deceiving Louis XIV, but every evening the King placed his -accounts in the hands of Colbert, whom he had nominated Intendant of -Finance, with the special duty of watching Foucquet. Colbert showed -the King the falsifications in these accounts. On the following day -the King would patiently seek to draw some confession from the guilty -Minister, who, with false security, persisted in his lies.</p> - -<p>Henceforth Foucquet was a ruined man. From the month of April, 1661, -Colbert's clerks did not hesitate to announce his fall. He began to be -afraid, but it was too late. He went and threw himself at the King's -feet—it was at Fontainebleau—he reminded him that Cardinal Mazarin -had regulated finance with absolute authority, without observing any -formality, and had constrained him, the Superintendent, to do many -things which might expose him to prosecution. He did not deny his own -personal faults, and admitted that his expenditure had been excessive. -He entreated the King to pardon him for the past, and promised to serve -him faithfully in the future. The King listened to his Minister with -apparent goodwill; his lips murmured words of pardon, but in his heart -he had already passed sentence on Foucquet.</p> - -<p>Is it true that some private jealousy inspired the King's vengeance? -Foucquet, according to the Abbé de Choisy,<a name="FNanchor_65_68" id="FNanchor_65_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_68" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> had sent Madame -de Plessis-Bellière to tell Mademoiselle de Lavallière that the -Superintendent had twenty thousand pistoles at her service. The lady -had replied that twenty million would not induce her to take a false -step. "Which astonished the worthy intermediary, who was little used -to such replies," adds the Abbé. However this may be, Foucquet soon -perceived that the fortress was taken, and that it was dangerous to -tread upon the heels of the royal occupant. But in order to repair his -fault he committed a second, worse than the first. Again it is Choisy -who tells us. "Wishing to justify himself to her, and to her secret -lover, he himself undertook the mission of go-between, and, taking her -apart in Madame's antechamber, he sought to tell her that the King was -the greatest prince in the world, the best looking, and other little -matters. But the lady, proud of her heart's secret, cut him short, and -that very evening complained of him to the King."<a name="FNanchor_66_69" id="FNanchor_66_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_69" class="fnanchor">[66]</a></p> - -<p>Such a piece of audacity, and one so clumsy, could only irritate the -young and royal lover. Nevertheless it was not to a secret jealousy, -but to State interest, that Louis XIV sacrificed his prevaricating -Minister.</p> - -<p>His intentions are above suspicion. It was in the interest of the -Crown and of the State alone that he acted. Yet we can but feel -surprised to find so young a man employing so much strategy and so much -dissimulation in order to ruin one whom he had appeared to pardon. In -this piece of diplomacy Louis XIV and Colbert both displayed an excess -of skill. With perfidious adroitness they manœuvred to deprive Foucquet -of his office of Attorney-General, which was an obstacle in their way, -for an officer of the Parliament could be tried only by that body, and -Foucquet had so many partisans in Parliament that there was no hope -that it would ever condemn him.</p> - -<p>Louis XIV displayed an apparent confidence in Foucquet and redoubled -his favours; Colbert, acting with the King, was constantly praising -his generosity. He was, at the same time, inducing him to testify his -gratitude by filling the treasury without having recourse to bargains -with supporters, which were so burdensome to the State. Foucquet -replied: "I would willingly sell all that I have in the world in order -to procure money for the King."</p> - -<p>Colbert refrained from pressing him further, but he contrived to lead -the conversation to the office of Attorney-General. Foucquet told him -one day that he had been offered fifteen hundred thousand livres for it.</p> - -<p>"But, sir," answered Colbert, "do you wish to sell it? It is true that -it is of no great use to you. A Minister who is Superintendent has no -time to watch lawsuits." The matter did not go any farther at that -time; but they returned to it later, and Foucquet, thinking himself -established in his sovereign's favour, said one day to Colbert that he -was inclined to sell his office in order to give its price to the King. -Colbert applauded this resolution, and Foucquet went immediately to -tell Louis XIV, who thanked him and accepted the offer immediately. The -trick was played.<a name="FNanchor_67_70" id="FNanchor_67_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_70" class="fnanchor">[67]</a></p> - -<p>The King had done his part to bring about this excellent result -by making Foucquet think that he would create him a <i>chevalier -de l'Ordre,</i> and first Minister, as soon as he was no longer -Attorney-General. Here is a deal of duplicity to prepare the way for an -act of justice! Foucquet sold his office for fourteen hundred thousand -livres to Achille de Harlay, who paid for it partly in cash. A million -was taken to Vincennes, "where the King wished to keep it for secret -expenditure."<a name="FNanchor_68_71" id="FNanchor_68_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_71" class="fnanchor">[68]</a></p> - -<p>Loret announced this fact in his letter of the 14th August:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Ce politique renommé<br /> -Qui par ses bontés m'a charmé,<br /> -Ce judicieux, ce grand homme<br /> -Que Monseigneur Foucquet on nomme,<br /> -Si généreux, si libéral,<br /> -N'est plus procureur général.<br /> -Une autre prudente cervelle,<br /> -Que Monsieur Harlay on appelle,<br /> -En a par sa démission<br /> -Maintenant la possession.<br /> -</p> - -<p>As a further act of prudence, and in order completely to lay Foucquet's -suspicions to rest, Louis XIV accepted the entertainment which Foucquet -offered him in the Château de Vaux. "For a long time," said Madame -de Lafayette, "the King had said that he wanted to go to Vaux, the -Superintendent's magnificent house, and although Foucquet ought to have -been too wary to show the King the very thing that proved so plainly -what bad use he had made of the public finances, and though the King's -natural kindliness ought to have prevented him from visiting a man whom -he was about to ruin, neither of them considered this aspect of the -affair."<a name="FNanchor_69_72" id="FNanchor_69_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_72" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p> - -<p>The whole Court went to Vaux on the 17th August, 1661.<a name="FNanchor_70_73" id="FNanchor_70_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_73" class="fnanchor">[70]</a></p> - -<p>These festivities exasperated Louis XIV. "Ah, Madame," he said to his -mother, "shall we not make all these people disgorge?" Infallible -signs announced the approaching catastrophe. In his Council, the King -proposed to suppress those very orders to pay cash which served, as we -have said, to cover the secret expenditure of the Superintendents. The -Chancellor strongly supported the proposal. "Do I count for nothing, -then?" cried Foucquet indiscreetly. Then he suddenly corrected himself -and said that other ways would be found to provide for the secret -expenses of the State. "I myself will provide for them," said Louis -XIV. Nevertheless, Foucquet, though deprived of the gown, was still a -formidable enemy. Before he could be reduced his Breton strongholds -must be captured. The prudent King had thought of this, and presently -conceived a clever scheme. As there was need of money, it was resolved -to increase the taxation of the State domains. This impost, described -euphemistically as a gratuitous gift, was voted by the Provincial -Assemblies. The presence of the King seemed necessary in order to -determine the Breton Estates to make a great financial sacrifice, and -Foucquet himself advised the King to go to Nantes, where the Provincial -Assembly was to be held.<a name="FNanchor_71_74" id="FNanchor_71_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_74" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> Foucquet himself helped to bring about -his own ruin. At Nantes he had a sorrowful presentiment of this. He -was suffering from an intermittent fever, the attacks of which were -very weakening. "Why," he said, in a low voice to Brienne, "is the -King going to Brittany, and to Nantes in particular? Is it not in order -to make sure of Belle-Isle?" And several times in his weakness he -murmured: "Nantes, Belle-Isle!" When Brienne went out, he embraced him -with tears in his eyes.<a name="FNanchor_72_75" id="FNanchor_72_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_75" class="fnanchor">[72]</a></p> - -<p>The King arrived at Nantes on the ist of September, and took up his -abode at the Château. Foucquet had his lodging at the other end of -the town, in a house which communicated with the Loire by means of a -subterranean passage. In that way he could reach the river, where a -boat was waiting for him, and escape to Belle-Isle.</p> - -<p>Summoned by the King, on the 5th September, at seven o'clock in the -morning, he went to the Council Meeting, which was prolonged until -eleven o'clock. During this time meticulous measures were taken for -his arrest, and for the seizure of his papers. The Council over, the -King detained Foucquet to discuss various matters with him. Finally, -he dismissed him, and Foucquet entered his chair. Having passed -through the gate of the Château, he had entered a little square near -the Cathedral, when D'Artagnan, 2nd Lieutenant of the Company of -Musketeers, signed to him to get out. Foucquet obeyed, and D'Artagnan -read him the warrant for his arrest. The Superintendent expressed -great surprise at this misfortune, and asked the officer to avoid -attracting public attention. The latter took him into a house which was -near at hand; it was that of the Archdeacon of Nantes, whose niece had -been Foucquet's first wife. A cup of broth was given to the prisoner; -the papers he had on him were taken and sealed. In one of the King's -coaches he was conveyed to the Château d'Angers. There he remained for -three months, from the 7th of September to the 1st of December.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile his prosecution was being prepared. Certain letters from -women, found in a casket at Saint-Mandé, were taken to Fontainebleau, -and given to the King. They combined a great deal of gallantry with a -great deal of politics. Many women's names were to be read in them, -or guessed at. Madame Scarron's was mentioned and even Madame de -Sévigné's, but in an innocent connection. On the whole, only one woman, -Menneville, was shown to be guilty.</p> - -<p>Foucquet was removed from Angers to Saumur. Taken on the 2nd of -December to La Chapelle-Blanche, he lodged on the 3rd in a suburb of -Tours, and from the 4th to the 25th of December remained in the Château -d'Amboise. Shortly after Foucquet's departure, La Fontaine, in company -with his uncle, Jannart, who had been exiled to Limousin, halted below -the Château and swept his eyes over the fair and smiling valley.</p> - -<p>"All this," he said, "poor Monsieur Foucquet could never, during his -imprisonment here, enjoy for a single moment. All the windows of his -room had been blocked up, leaving only a little gap at the top. I asked -to see him; a melancholy pleasure, I admit, but I did ask. The soldier -who escorted us had no key, so that I was left for a long time gazing -at the door, and I got them to tell me how the prisoner was guarded. I -should like to describe it to you, but the recollection is too painful.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Qu'est-il besoin que je retrace<br /> -Une garde au soin non pareil,<br /> -Chambre murée, étroite place,<br /> -Quelque peu d'air pour toute grâce;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Jours sans soleil,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nuits sans sommeil;</span><br /> -Trois portes en six pieds d'espace!<br /> -Vous peindre un tel appartement,<br /> -Ce serait attirer vos larmes;<br /> -Je l'ai fait insensiblement,<br /> -Cette plainte a pour moi des charmes.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Nothing but the approach of night could have dragged me from the -spot."<a name="FNanchor_73_76" id="FNanchor_73_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_76" class="fnanchor">[73]</a></p> - -<p>On the 31st December, Foucquet reached Vincennes. As he passed he -caught sight of his house at Saint-Mandé, in which he had collected -all that can flatter and adorn life, and which he was never again to -inhabit. He was, indeed, to remain in the Bastille until after his -condemnation; that is to say, for more than three years; and he left -that fortress only to suffer an imprisonment of which the protracted -severity has become a legend.</p> - -<p>The public anger was now loosed upon the stricken financier. The people -whose poverty had been insulted by his ostentatious display wished -to snatch him from his guards and tear him to pieces in the streets. -Several times during the journey from Nantes, D'Artagnan had been -obliged to protect his prisoner from riotous mobs of peasants. In the -higher classes of society the indignation was fully as bitter, although -it was only expressed in words.</p> - -<p>Society never forgave Foucquet for having allowed his love-letters to -be seized. It was considered that to keep and classify women's letters -in this manner was not the act of a gallant gentleman. Such was the -opinion of Chapelain, who wrote to Madame de Sévigné:</p> - -<p>"Was it not enough to ruin the State, and to render the King odious -to his people by the enormous burdens which he imposed upon them, and -to employ the public finances in impudent expenditure and insolent -acquisitions, which were compatible neither with his honour nor with -his office, and which, on the other hand, rather tended to turn his -subjects and his servants against him, and to corrupt them? Was it -necessary to crown his irregularities and his crimes, by erecting in -his own honour a trophy of favours, either real or apparent, of the -modesty of so many ladies of rank, and by keeping a shameful record -of his commerce with them in order that the shipwreck of his fortunes -should also be that of their reputations?</p> - -<p>"Is this consistent with being, I do not say an upright man, in which -capacity, his flatterers, the Scarrons, Pellissons and Sapphos, and -the whole of that self-interested scum have so greatly extolled him, -but a man merely, a man with a spark of enlightenment, who professes -to be something better than a brute? I cannot excuse such scandalous, -dastardly behaviour, and I should be hardly less enraged with this -wretch if your name had not been found among his papers."<a name="FNanchor_74_77" id="FNanchor_74_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_77" class="fnanchor">[74]</a></p> - -<p>We can admire such generous indignation, but it is hard to be called -"self-interested scum" when one is merely faithful in misfortune.</p> - -<p>The truth is that Foucquet still had friends; the women and the poets -did not abandon him. Hesnault, to whom he had given a pension, was -not a favourite of the Muses, but he showed himself a man of feeling, -and his courageous fidelity did him credit. He attacked Colbert in an -eloquent sonnet, which was circulated everywhere by the prisoner's -friends:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Ministre avare et lâche, esclave malheureux,<br /> -Qui gémis sous le poids des affaires publiques,<br /> -Victime dévouée aux chagrins politiques,<br /> -Fantôme révéré sous un titre onéreux:<br /> -<br /> -Vois combien des grandeurs le comble est dangereux;<br /> -Contemple de Foucquet les funestes reliques,<br /> -Et tandis qu'à sa perte en secret tu t'appliques,<br /> -Crains qu'on ne te prépare un destin plus affreux!<br /> -<br /> -Sa chute, quelque jour, te peut être commune;<br /> -Crains ton poste, ton rang, la cour et la fortune;<br /> -Nul ne tombe innocent d'où l'on te voit monté.<br /> -<br /> -Cesse donc d'animer ton prince à son supplice,<br /> -Et près d'avoir besoin de toute sa bonté,<br /> -Ne le fais pas user de toute sa justice.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">This sonnet was circulated privately. It was generally read with -pleasure, for Colbert was not liked, and it will not be inappropriate -to cite here an anecdote for which Bayle is responsible.<a name="FNanchor_75_78" id="FNanchor_75_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_78" class="fnanchor">[75]</a></p> - -<p>When the sonnet was mentioned to the Minister, he asked: "Is the King -offended by it?" And when he was told that he was not, "Then neither -am I," he said, "nor do I bear the author any ill will."</p> - -<p>If Molière kept silence, Corneille, on the contrary, now gave proof of -his greatness of soul; by praising Pellisson's fidelity, he showed that -he shared it:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -En vain pour ébranler ta fidèle constance,<br /> -On vit fondre sur toi la force et lat puissance;<br /> -En vain dans la Bastille, on t'accabla de fers,<br /> -En vain on te flatta sur mille appas divers;<br /> -Ton grand cœur, inflexible aux rigueurs, aux caresses,<br /> -Triompha de la force et se rit des promesses;<br /> -Et comme un grand rocher par l'orage insulté<br /> -Des flots audacieux méprise la fierté,<br /> -Et, sans craindre le bruit qui gronde sur sa tête,<br /> -Voit briser à ses pieds l'effort de la tempête,<br /> -C'est ainsi, Pellisson, que dans l'adversité,<br /> -Ton intrépide cœur garde sa fermeté,<br /> -Et que ton amitié, constante et généreuse,<br /> -Du milieu des dangers sortit victorieuse.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Poor Loret found it difficult at first to collect his bewildered wits -and relate the catastrophe. It was a terrible affair; he didn't know -much about it, and he says still less. But, far from accusing the -fallen Minister, he was inclined to pity and esteem him. This was -courageous; and his bad verses were a kind action:</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Notre Roi, qui par politique<br /> -Se transportait vers l'Amorique,<br /> -Pour raisons qu'on ne savait pas,<br /> -S'en revient, dit-on, à grands pas.<br /> -Je n'ai su par aucun message<br /> -Les circonstances du voyage:<br /> -Mais j'ai du bruit commun appris,<br /> -C'est-à-dire de tout Paris,<br /> -Que par une expresse ordonnance,<br /> -Le sieur surintendant de France<br /> -Je ne sais pourquoi ni comment,<br /> -Est arrêté présentement<br /> -(Nouvelles des plus surprenantes)<br /> -Dans la ville et château de Nantes,<br /> -Certes, j'ai toujours respecté<br /> -Les ordres de Sa Majesté<br /> -Et crû que ce monarque auguste<br /> -Ne commandait rien que de juste;<br /> -Mais étant rémemoratif<br /> -Que cet infortuné captif<br /> -M'a toujours semblé bon et sage<br /> -Et que d'un obligeant langage<br /> -Il m'a quelquefois honoré,<br /> -J'avoue en avoir soupiré,<br /> -Ne pouvant, sans trop me contraindre,<br /> -Empêcher mon cœur de le plaindre.<br /> -Si, sans préjudice du Roi<br /> -(Et je le dis de bonne foi)<br /> -Je pouvais lui rendre service<br /> -Et rendre son sort plus propice<br /> -En adoucissant sa rigueur,<br /> -Je le ferais de tout mon cœur;<br /> -Mais ce seul désir est frivole,<br /> -Et prions Dieu qu'il le console.<br /> -En l'état qu'il est aujourd'hui,<br /> -C'est tout ce que je puis pour lui.<a name="FNanchor_76_79" id="FNanchor_76_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_79" class="fnanchor">[76]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">In time poor Loret did more; he tried to deny his benefactor's crimes. -"I doubt half of them," he said in the execrable style of the rhyming -Gazetteer:<a name="FNanchor_77_80" id="FNanchor_77_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_80" class="fnanchor">[77]</a></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Et par raison et par pitié,<br /> -Et même pour la conséquence<br /> -Je passe le tout sous silence.<br /> -</p> - -<p>Pellisson was admirable. He wrote from the Bastille, where he was -imprisoned, eloquent defences in which, neglecting his own cause, he -sought only to justify Foucquet. His defence followed the same lines -as that of Foucquet himself. He pleaded the necessities of France, -the need of provisioning and equipping her armies and of fortifying -her strongholds. He imagined a case in which Mazarin himself might -have been criticized for the means by which he had procured money for -the war and ensured victory. "In all conscience," he said, "what man -of good sense could have advised him to reply in other than Scipio's -words: 'Here are my accounts: I present them but only to tear them -up. On this day a year ago I signed a general peace, and the contract -of the King's marriage, which gave peace to Europe. Let us go and -celebrate this anniversary at the foot of the altar.'"<a name="FNanchor_78_81" id="FNanchor_78_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_81" class="fnanchor">[78]</a></p> - -<p>Mademoiselle de Scudéry distinguished herself by her zeal on behalf of -her friend, formerly so powerful, and now so unfortunate. Pecquet, whom -the Superintendent had chosen as his doctor, in order that he might -discourse with him on physics and philosophy, the learned Jean Pecquet, -was inconsolable at having lost so good a master. He used to say that -Pecquet had always rhymed, and always would rhyme with Foucquet.<a name="FNanchor_79_82" id="FNanchor_79_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_82" class="fnanchor">[79]</a></p> - -<p>As for La Fontaine, all know how his fidelity, rendered still more -touching by his ingenuous emotions and the spell of his poetry, adorns -and defends the memory of Nicolas Foucquet to this very day. Nothing -can equal the divine complaint in which the truest of poets grieved -over the disgrace of his magnificent patron.</p> - - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">ÉLÉGIE<a name="FNanchor_80_83" id="FNanchor_80_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_83" class="fnanchor">[80]</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Remplissez l'air de cris en vos grottes profondes,<br /> -Pleurez, nymphes de Vaux, faites croître vos ondes;<br /> -Et que l'Anqueil<a name="FNanchor_81_84" id="FNanchor_81_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_84" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> enflé ravage les trésors<br /> -<br /> -Dont les regards de Flore ont embelli vos bords.<br /> -On ne blâmera point vos larmes innocentes,<br /> -Vous pourrez donner cours à vos douleurs pressantes;<br /> -Chacun attend de vous ce devoir généreux:<br /> -Les destins sont contents, Oronte est malheureux<a name="FNanchor_82_85" id="FNanchor_82_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_85" class="fnanchor">[82]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">"In a letter written under the name of M. de la Visclède, to the -permanent secretary of the Academy of Pau, in 1776, Voltaire," says -M. Marty-Laveaux, "quotes these verses, and adds: 'He (La Fontaine) -altered the word <i>Cabale</i> when he had been made to realize that the -great Colbert was serving the King with great equity, and was not -addicted to cabals. But La Fontaine had heard some one make use of the -term, and had fully believed that it was the proper word to use.'"</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Vous l'avez vu naguère au bord de vos fontaines,<br /> -Qui sans craindre du sort les faveurs incertaines,<br /> -Plein d'éclat, plein de gloire, adoré des mortels,<br /> -Recevait des honneurs qu'on ne doit qu'aux autels.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Hélas! qu'il est déchu de ce bonheur suprême!<br /> -Que vous le trouverez différent de lui-même!<br /> -Pour lui les plus beaux jours sont de secondes nuits,<br /> -Les soucis dévorans, les regrets, les ennuis,<br /> -Hôtes infortunés de sa triste demeure,<br /> -En des gouffres de maux le plongent à toute heure<br /> -Voilà le précipice où l'ont enfin jeté<br /> -Les attraits enchanteurs de la prospérité!<br /> -Dans les palais des Rois cette plainte est commune;<br /> -On n'y connaît que trop les jeux de la fortune,<br /> -Ses trompeuses faveurs, ses appas inconstants:<br /> -Mais on ne les connaît que quand il n'est plus temps,<br /> -Lorsque sur cette mer on vogue à pleines voiles,<br /> -Qu'on croit avoir pour soi les vents et les étoiles.<br /> -Il est bien malaisé de régler ses désirs;<br /> -Le plus sage s'endort sur la foi des zéphirs.<br /> -Jamais un favori ne borne sa carrière,<br /> -Il ne regarde point ce qu'il laisse en arrière;<br /> -Et tout ce vain amour des grandeurs et du bruit<br /> -Ne le saurait quitter qu'après l'avoir détruit.<br /> -Tant d'exemples fameux que l'histoire en raconte<br /> -Ne suffisaient-ils pas sans la perte d'Oronte?<br /> -Ah! si ce faux éclat n'eût point fait ses plaisirs,<br /> -Si le séjour de Vaux eût borné ses désirs<br /> -Qu'il pouvait doucement laisser couler son âge!<br /> -Vous n'avez pas chez vous ce brillant équipage,<br /> -Cette foule de gens qui s'en vont chaque jour<br /> -Saluer à longs flots le soleil de la cour:<br /> -Mais la faveur du ciel vous donne en récompense<br /> -Du repos, du loisir, de l'ombre et du silence,<br /> -Un tranquille sommeil, d'innocents entretiens,<br /> -Et jamais à la cour on ne trouve ces biens.<br /> -Mais quittons ces pensers, Oronte nous appelle.<br /> -Vous, dont il a rendu la demeure si belle,<br /> -Nymphes, qui lui devez vos plus charmants appas,<br /> -Si le long de vos bords Louis porte ses pas,<br /> -Tâchez de l'adoucir, fléchissez son courage;<br /> -Il aime ses sujets, il est juste, il est sage;<br /> -Du titre de clément, rendez-le ambitieux;<br /> -C'est par là que les Rois sont semblables aux dieux.<br /> -Du magnanisme Henri<a name="FNanchor_83_86" id="FNanchor_83_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_86" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> qu'il contemple la vie;<br /> -Dès qu'il put se venger, il en perdit l'envie.<br /> -Inspirez à Louis cette même douceur:<br /> -La plus belle victoire est de vaincre son cœur.<br /> -Oronte est à présent un objet de clémence;<br /> -S'il a cru les conseils d'une aveugle puissance,<br /> -Il est assez puni par son sort rigoureux,<br /> -Et c'est être innocent que d'être malheureux.<a name="FNanchor_84_87" id="FNanchor_84_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_87" class="fnanchor">[84]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">La Fontaine, not satisfied with this poem, addressed an ode to the King -on Foucquet's behalf. But the ode is far from equalling the elegy.</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -... Oronte seul, ta creature,<br /> -Languit dans un profond ennui,<br /> -Et les bienfaits de la nature<br /> -Ne se répandent plus sur lui.<br /> -Tu peux d'un éclat de ta foudre<br /> -Achever de le mettre en poudre;<br /> -Mais si les dieux à ton pouvoir<br /> -Aucunes bornes n'ont prescrites,<br /> -Moins ta grandeur a de limites,<br /> -Plus ton courroux en doit avoir.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . .</span><br /> -Va-t-en punir l'orgueil du Tibre;<br /> -Qu'il se souvienne que ses lois<br /> -N'ont jadis rien laissé de libre<br /> -Que le courage des Gaulois.<br /> -Mais parmi nous sois débonnaire:<br /> -A cet empire si sévère<br /> -Tu ne te peux accoutumer;<br /> -Et ce serait trop te contraindre:<br /> -Les étrangers te doivent craindre,<br /> -Tes sujets te veulent aimer.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">These verses refer to the attack made by the Corsicans on the Guard of -Alexander VII, who, on the 20th August, 1667, fired on the coach of the -Due de Créqui, the French Ambassador.</p> - -<p class="p2" style="margin-left: 20%;"> -L'amour est fils de la clémence,<br /> -La clémence est fille des dieux;<br /> -Sans elle toute leur puissance<br /> -Ne serait qu'un titre odieux.<br /> -Parmi les fruits de la victoire,<br /> -César environné de gloire<br /> -N'en trouva point dont la douceur<br /> -A celui-ci pût être égale,<br /> -Non pas même aux champs où Pharsale<br /> -L'honora du nom de vainqueur.<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">. . . . . . .</span><br /> -Laisse-lui donc pour toute grâce<br /> -Un bien qui ne lui peut durer,<br /> -Après avoir perdu la place<br /> -Que ton cœur lui fit espérer.<br /> -Accorde-nous les faibles restes<br /> -De ses jours tristes et funestes,<br /> -Jours qui se passent en soupirs:<br /> -Ainsi les tiens filés de soie<br /> -Puissent se voir comblés de joie,<br /> -Même au delà de tes désirs.<a name="FNanchor_85_88" id="FNanchor_85_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_88" class="fnanchor">[85]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="p2">La Fontaine submitted this ode to Foucquet, who sent it back to him -with various suggestions. The prisoner requested that the reference -to Rome should be suppressed. Doubtless he did not understand it, not -having heard in prison of the attack upon the French Ambassador at the -Papal Court.<a name="FNanchor_86_89" id="FNanchor_86_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_89" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> He also disapproved of the allusion to the clemency -of the victor of Pharsalia. "Cæsar's example," he said, "being derived -from antiquity would not, I think, be well enough known." He also noted -a passage—which I do not know—"as being too poetical to please the -King." The last suggestion speaks of a true nobility of mind. It refers -to the last passage, in which the poet implores the King to grant the -life of "Oronte." Foucquet wrote in the margin: "You sue too humbly for -a thing that one ought to despise."</p> - -<p>La Fontaine did not willingly give in on any of these points; to the -last suggestion he replied as follows: "The sentiment is worthy of you, -Monsignor, and, in truth, he who regards life with such indifference -does not deserve to die. Perhaps you have not considered that it is I -who am speaking, I who ask for a favour which is dearer to us than to -you. There are no terms too humble, too pathetic and too urgent to be -employed in such circumstances. When I bring you on to the stage, I -shall give you words which are suitable to the greatness of your soul. -Meanwhile permit me to tell you that you have too little affection for -a life such as yours is."</p> - -<p>It was in the month of November only that a Chamber was instituted by -Royal Edict with the object of instituting financial reforms, and of -punishing those who had been guilty of maladministration. Foucquet -was to appear before this Chamber. It met solemnly in the month of -December. The greater part of it was composed of Members of the -Parliament, but it also included Members of the Chambre des Comptes, -the Cour des Aides, the Grand Council and the Masters of Requests. The -magistrates who composed it were, to mention those only who sat in it -as finally constituted:</p> - -<p>The Chancellor Pierre Séguier, first President of the Parliament of -Paris, who presided; Guillaume de Lamoignon, deputy president; the -President de Nesmond; the President de Pontchartrain; Poncet, Master -of Requests; Olivier d'Ormesson, Master of Requests; Voysin, Master -of Requests; Besnard de Réze, Master of Requests; Regnard, Catinat, -De Brillac, Fayet, Councillors in the Grand Chamber of the Paris -Parliament; Massenau, Councillor in the Toulouse Parliament; De la -Baulme, of the Grenoble Parliament; Du Verdier, of the Bordeaux -Parliament; De la Toison, of the Dijon Parliament; Lecormier de -Sainte-Hélène, of the Rouen Parliament; Raphélis de Roquesante, of the -Aix Parliament; Hérault, of the Rennes Parliament; Noguès, of the Pau -Parliament; Ferriol, of the Metz Parliament; De Moussy, of the Paris -Chambre des Comptes; Le-Bossu-le-Jau, of the Paris Chambre des Comptes; -Le Féron, of the Cour des Aides; De Baussan, of the Cour des Aides; -Cuissotte de Gisaucourt, of the Grand Council; Pussort, of the Grand -Council.</p> - -<p>It must be recognized that the creation of such a Chamber of Justice -was in conformity with the rules of the public law as it then existed. -Had not Chalais and Marillac, Cinq-Mars and Thou, been judged by -commissions of Masters of Requests and Councillors of the Parliament? -And, if our sense of legality is wounded when we behold the accusing -Monarch himself choosing the judges of the accused man, we must -remember this maxim was then firmly established: "All justice emanates -from the King." By this very circumstance the Chamber of Justice of -1661 was invested with very extensive powers; it became the object -of public respect, and of the public hopes, for the poor, deeming it -powerful, attributed to it the power of helping the wretched populace, -after it had punished those who robbed them.</p> - -<p>Such illusions are very natural, and one may wonder whether any -government would be possible if unhappy persons did not, from day to -day, expect something better on the morrow.</p> - -<p>Thus the tribunal constituted by the King was no unrighteous tribunal; -yet there was no security in it for the accused. He was apparently -ruined. Condemned beforehand by the King and by the people, everything -seemed to fail him, but he did not fail himself. After having wrought -his own ruin, Foucquet worked out his own salvation, if he may be said -to have saved himself when all he saved was his life.</p> - -<p>His first act was to protest energetically against the competence of -the Chamber; he alleged that, having held office in the Parliament -for twenty-five years, he was still entitled to the privileges of its -officers, and he recognized no judges except those of that body, of -both Chambers united. Having made this reservation, he consented to -reply to the questions of the examining magistrates, and his replies -bore witness to the scope and vigour of a mind which was always -collected. The Chamber, on its side, declared itself competent, and -decided that the trial should be conducted as though Foucquet were -dumb: that is, that there would be no cross-examination, and no -pleading. By this method of procedure the Attorney-General put his -questions in writing, and the accused replied in writing. As the -documents of the prosecution and of the defence were produced, the -recorders prepared summaries for the judges.<a name="FNanchor_87_90" id="FNanchor_87_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_90" class="fnanchor">[87]</a></p> - -<p>It is obvious that in such a case the reporters, who are the necessary -intermediaries between the magistrates and the parties to the case, -possess considerable influence, and that the issue of the lawsuit -depends largely on their intelligence and their morality. Consequently, -the King wished to reserve to himself the right of appointing them, -although according to tradition, this belonged to the President of the -Chamber.</p> - -<p>Messieurs Olivier d'Ormesson and Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène were -chosen by the Royal Council, and their names were put before the First -President, Guillaume de Lamoignon. This magistrate apologized for -being unable to accede to the King's wish, alleging that M. Olivier -d'Ormesson and M. de Sainte-Hélène would be suspected by the accused; -at least, he feared so. "This fear," replied the King, "is only another -reason for appointing them." Lamoignon—and it did him honour—gave -way only upon the King's formal command.</p> - -<p>That was quite enough to make Lamoignon suspected by Foucquet's -enemies. Powerful as they were, he did nothing to reassure them; on -the contrary, he saw that the accused was granted the assistance of -counsel, and that the forms of procedure were scrupulously observed. -When one day Colbert was trying to discover his opinions, Lamoignon -made this fine reply: "A judge ought never to declare his opinion save -once, and that above the fleurs-de-lys."<a name="FNanchor_88_91" id="FNanchor_88_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_91" class="fnanchor">[88]</a></p> - -<p>The King, growing more and more suspicious, nominated Chancellor -Séguier to preside over the Chamber. Lamoignon, thus driven from his -seat, withdrew, but unostentatiously, alleging as his reason that -Parliamentary affairs occupied the whole of his time.<a name="FNanchor_89_92" id="FNanchor_89_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_92" class="fnanchor">[89]</a></p> - -<p>In vain the King and Colbert, alarmed at having themselves dismissed -so upright a magistrate, endeavoured to restore him to a position of -diminished authority; he was deaf to entreaties, and was content to say -to his friends: <i>"Lavavi manus meas; quomodo inquinabo eas?"</i><a name="FNanchor_90_93" id="FNanchor_90_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_93" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> Old -Séguier, who though lacking in nobility of soul possessed brilliant -intellectual powers, grew more servile than ever. Feeling that he -had not long to live, he prompdy accepted dishonour. In this trial -his conduct was execrable and his talents did not, on this occasion, -succeed in masking his partiality. Great jurisconsult though he was, he -did not understand finance, and this stupendous trial was altogether -too much for an old man of seventy-four. He was always impatiently -complaining of the length of the trial, which, he declared, would -outlast him.</p> - -<p>With audacity and skill Foucquet held his own against this violent -judge. Brought up in chicanery, the accused was acquainted with all the -mysteries of procedure. He made innumerable difficulties; sometimes he -accused a judge, sometimes he challenged the accuracy of an inventory, -sometimes he demanded documents necessary for the defence. In short, -he gained time, and this was to gain much. The more protracted the -trial, the less he had to fear that its termination would be a capital -sentence.</p> - -<p>The King was not at all comfortable as to its issue; his activity was -unwearying, and he never hesitated to throw his whole weight into the -balance. The public prosecutor, Talon, was not an able person; he -allowed himself to be defeated by the accused, and was immediately -sacrificed. He was replaced by two Masters of Requests, Hotmann and -Chamillart. One of the recorders caused the Court a great deal of -anxiety; this was the worthy Olivier d'Ormesson. Efforts were made to -intimidate him, but in vain; to win him over, but equally in vain. He -was punished. His offices of Intendant of Picardy and Soissonnais were -taken away from him. Finally, the idea was conceived of enlisting his -father, and of trying to induce the old man to corrupt the honesty -of his son. Old André would not lend himself to these attempts at -corruption; he replied that he was sorry that the King was not -satisfied with his son's behaviour. "My son," he added, "does what I -have always recommended him to do: he fears God, serves the King, and -he renders justice without distinction of person."</p> - -<p>The Court and the Minister were, indeed, exceeding all bounds; Séguier, -Pussort, Sainte-Hélène and others displayed the most odious partiality. -False inventories were drawn up; the official reports of the -proceedings were falsified. The King carried off the Court of Justice -with him to Fontainebleau, fearing lest it should become independent in -his absence. This was going too far; Foucquet grew interesting.</p> - -<p>Public opinion, at first hostile to the accused, had almost completely -turned in his favour, when, more than three years after his arrest, on -the 14th October, 1664, the Attorney-General, Chamillart, pronounced -his conclusions, which were to the effect that Foucquet, "attainted and -convicted of the crime of high treason, and other charges mentioned -during the trial," should be "hanged and strangled until death should -follow, on a gallows erected on the Place de la Rue Sainte-Antoine, -near the Bastille."</p> - -<p>The trial was generally regarded as being overweighted. Turenne said, -in his picturesque manner, that the cord had been made too thick to -strangle M. Foucquet. The financiers, always influential, having -recovered from their first alarm, tried to save a man who, in his fall, -might drag them down with him. For, in so comprehensive an accusation, -who was there that was not compromised?</p> - -<p>Colbert was now detested; as a result his enemy appeared less black. -As for the Chamber itself, it was divided into two parts, almost of -equal strength. On the one hand there were those who, like Séguier -and Pussort, wished to please the Court by ruining Foucquet, and on -the other those who, like Olivier d'Ormesson, favoured the strict -administration of justice, exempt from anger and hatred.</p> - -<p>It was on the 14th November, 1664, that Nicolas Foucquet appeared for -the first time before the Chamber, which sat in the Arsenal. He wore a -citizen's costume, a suit of black cloth, with a mantle. He excused -himself for appearing before the Court without his magistrate's robe, -declaring that he had asked for one in vain. He renewed the protest -which he had made previously against the competency of the Chamber, -and refused to take the oath. He then took his place on the prisoners' -bench and declared himself ready to reply to the questions which might -be put to him.</p> - -<p>The accusations made against him may be classified under four heads: -payment collected from the tax-farmers; farmerships which he had -granted under fictitious names; advances made to the Treasury; and the -crime of high treason, projected but not executed, proved by the papers -discovered at Saint-Mandé.</p> - -<p>Foucquet's defenie, which disdained petty expedients, was powerful and -adroit. He confessed irregularities, but he held that the disorders of -the administration in a time of public disturbance were responsible for -them. According to him, the payments levied on the tax-farmers were -merely the repayment of his advances, and that the imposts which he had -appropriated were the same. As for the loans which he had made to the -State, they were an absolute necessity. To the insidious and insulting -questions of the Chancellor he replied with the greatest adroitness. He -was as bold as he was prudent. Only once he lost patience, and replied -with an arrogance likely to do him harm. He certainly interested -society. Ladies, in order to watch him as he was being reconducted to -the Bastille, used to repair, masked, to a house which looked on to the -Arsenal. Madame de Sévigné was there. "When I saw him," she said, "my -legs trembled, and my heart beat so loud that I thought I should faint. -As he approached us to return to his gaol, M. d'Artagnan nudged him, -and called his attention to the fact that we were there. He thereupon -saluted us, and assumed that laughing expression which you know so -well. I do not think he recognized me, but I confess to you that I felt -strangely moved when I saw him enter that little door. If you knew how -unhappy one is when one has a heart fashioned as mine is fashioned, I -am sure you would take pity on me."<a name="FNanchor_91_94" id="FNanchor_91_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_94" class="fnanchor">[91]</a></p> - -<p>All that was known about his attitude intensified public sympathy. The -judges themselves recognized that he was incomparable; that he had -never spoken so well in Parliament, and that he had never shown so much -self-possession.<a name="FNanchor_92_95" id="FNanchor_92_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_95" class="fnanchor">[92]</a></p> - -<p>The last Interrogatory, that of the 4th December, turned on the scheme -found at Saint-Mandé, and was particularly favourable to the accused.</p> - -<p>Foucquet replied that it was nothing but an extravagant idea which -had remained unfinished, and was repudiated as soon as conceived. It -was an absurd document, which could only serve to make him ashamed -and confused, but it could not be made the ground of an accusation -against him. As the Chancellor pressed him and said, "You cannot deny -that it is a crime against the State," he replied, "I confess, sir, -that it is an extravagance, but it is not a crime against the State. -I entreat these gentlemen," he added, turning towards the judges, "to -permit me to explain what is a crime against the State. It is when a -man holds a great office; when he is in the secret confidence of his -Sovereign, and suddenly takes his place among that Sovereign's enemies; -when he engages his whole family in the cause; when he induces his -son-in-law<a name="FNanchor_93_96" id="FNanchor_93_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_96" class="fnanchor">[93]</a> to surrender the passes and to open the gates to a -foreign army of intruders in order to admit it to the interior of the -kingdom. Gentlemen, that is what is called a crime against the State."</p> - -<p>The Chancellor, whose conduct during the Fronde every one remembered, -did not know where to look, and it was all the judges could do not -to laugh.<a name="FNanchor_94_97" id="FNanchor_94_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_97" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> The cross-examination over, the Chamber listened to -the opinion of the reporters and pronounced sentence. On the 9th of -December, Olivier d'Ormesson began his report. He spoke for five -successive days, and his conclusion was perpetual exile, confiscation -of goods and a fine of one hundred thousand livres, of which half -should be given to the Public Treasury, and the other half employed -in works of piety. Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène spoke after Olivier -d'Ormesson. He continued for two days, and concluded with sentence of -death. Pussort, whose vehement speech lasted for five hours, came to -the same conclusion.</p> - -<p>On the 18th December, Hérault, Gisaucourt, Noguès and Ferriol -concurred, as did Le Cormier de Sainte-Hélène, and Roquesante after -them, in the opinion of Olivier d'Ormesson.</p> - -<p>On the following day, the 19th, MM. de La Toison, Du Verdier, de La -Baume and de Massenau also expressed the same opinion; but the Master -of Requests, Poncet, came to the opposite conclusion. Messieurs -Le Féron, de Moussy, Brillac, Regnard and Besnard agreed with the -first recorder. Voysin was of the opposite opinion. President de -Pontchartrain voted for banishment, and the Chancellor, pronouncing -last, voted for death. Thirteen judges had pronounced for banishment, -and nine for death. Foucquet's life was saved.</p> - -<p>"All Paris," said Olivier d'Ormesson, "awaited the news with -impatience. It was spread abroad everywhere, and received with the -greatest rejoicing, even by the shopkeepers. Every one blessed my -name, even without knowing me. Thus M. Foucquet, who had been regarded -with horror at the time of his imprisonment, and whom all Paris would -have been immeasurably delighted to see executed directly after the -beginning of his trial, had become the subject of public grief and -commiseration, owing to the hatred which every one felt for the present -Government, and that, I think, was the true cause of the general -acclamation."<a name="FNanchor_95_98" id="FNanchor_95_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_98" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></p> - -<p>On the 22d of December, this same Olivier d'Ormesson having gone to the -Bastille to give D'Artagnan his discharge for the Treasury registers, -the gallant Musketeer embraced him and said: "You are a noble man!"<a name="FNanchor_96_99" id="FNanchor_96_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_99" class="fnanchor">[96]</a></p> - -<p>Foucquet, as a matter of form, protested against the sentence of a -tribunal whose competence he did not recognize. And the sentence did -not please the King, who commuted banishment into imprisonment for life -in the fortress of Pignerol. Such a commutation, which was really an -aggravation of the sentence, is cruel and offends our sense of justice. -Nevertheless, one must recognize that such a measure was dictated -by reasons of State. Foucquet, had he been free, would have been -dangerous. He would certainly have intrigued; his plots and strategies -would have caused the King much anxiety. The religion of patriotism had -not yet taken root in the heart of the great Condé's contemporaries. -The strongest bond then uniting citizens was loyalty to the King. -Foucquet was liberated from that bond by his master's hatred and anger. -It was to be expected that the fallen Minister would probably have -conspired against France with foreign aid. These previsions justified -the severity of the King, who throughout the whole business appeared -hypocritical, violent, pitiless and patriotic.<a name="FNanchor_97_100" id="FNanchor_97_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_100" class="fnanchor">[97]</a></p> - -<p>The wisdom of the King's action is proved by Foucquet's conduct at -Pignerol, where he arrived in January, 1665. There, in spite of the -most vigilant supervision, he succeeded in carrying on intrigues. -He could not communicate with any living soul. He had neither ink -nor pens, nor paper at his disposal. This able man, whose genius was -quickened by solitude, attempted the impossible in order to enter -into communication with his friends. He manufactured ink out of soot, -moistened with wine. He made pens out of chicken bones, and wrote on -the margin of books which were lent to him, or on handkerchiefs. But -his warder, Saint-Mars, detected all these contrivances. The servants -whom the prisoner had won over were arrested, and one of them was -hanged.</p> - -<p>In the end, these futile energies were defeated by captivity and -disease. Foucquet became addicted to devotional exercises. Like -Mademoiselle de la Vallière, he wrote pious reflections.<a name="FNanchor_98_101" id="FNanchor_98_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_101" class="fnanchor">[98]</a></p> - -<p>It is even thought that he composed religious verses, for it is known -that he asked for a dictionary of rhymes, which was given to him.</p> - -<p>For seven years he had been cut off from living men. Then a voice -called him. It was Lauzun,<a name="FNanchor_99_102" id="FNanchor_99_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_102" class="fnanchor">[99]</a> who was imprisoned at Pignerol, and who -had made a hole in the wall. Lauzun told his companion news of the -outer world. Foucquet listened eagerly, but when the Cadet de Gascogne -told him that he held a general's commission, and that he had married -La Grande Mademoiselle, at first with the approval of the King, and -then against it, Foucquet considered him mad and ceased to believe -anything that he said.</p> - -<p>About 1679, Foucquet's captivity at length became less severe; he was -permitted to receive his family. But it was too late; those fourteen -cruel years had irreparably undermined his strong constitution; his -sight had grown weak; he was losing his teeth; he was suffering pain -in his whole body, and his piety was increasing with his weakness. -He died in March, 1680, just as he had received permission to go and -drink the waters of Bourbon. His body, which had been laid in the crypt -of Sainte-Claire de Pignerol, Madame Foucquet had transferred the -following year to the church of the Convent of the Visitation in the -Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine. The register of this church contains the -following entry: "On the 28th March, 1681, Messire Nicolas Foucquet was -buried in our church, in the Chapel of Saint-François de Sales. He had -risen to the highest honours in the magistracy; had been Councillor in -Parliament, Master of Requests, Attorney-General, Superintendent of -Finance, and Minister of State."<a name="FNanchor_100_103" id="FNanchor_100_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_103" class="fnanchor">[100]</a></p> - -<p>Whatever may be said to the contrary, posterity does not judge with -equity, for it is partial; it is indifferent, and makes but hasty work -of the trial of the dead who appear before it. And posterity is not -a Court of Justice; it is a noisy mob, in which it is impossible to -make oneself heard, but which, at rare intervals, is dominated by -some great voice. Finally, its judgments are not definitive, since -another posterity follows which may cancel the sentence of the first, -and pronounce new ones, which again may be revoked by a new posterity. -Nevertheless, certain cases seem to have been definitely lost in the -court of mankind, and I find myself constrained to rank with these the -case of Foucquet. He was an embezzler, and was definitely condemned on -this point—condemned without appeal. As for extenuating circumstances, -it is not difficult to find them. Illustrious examples, even more, -perpetual solicitings and the impossibility of observing any regularity -in troubled times, impelled him to steal, both for the State and for -certain great men. Of his thefts he kept something; he kept too much. -He was guilty, doubtless, but his fault seems greatly mitigated when -one remembers the circumstances and the spirit of the time.</p> - -<p>I am going to say something which is a kind of redemption of Nicolas -Foucquet's memory; I will say it in two charming lines which are -attributed to Pellisson, and which appear to have been written by -Foucquet's friend, the fabulist. Pellisson, in an epistle to the King, -said of Foucquet:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -D'un esprit élevé, négligeant l'avenir,<br /> -Il toucha les trésors, mais sans les retenir.<br /> -</p> - -<p>This it is which redeems and exalts this man. He was liberal, he loved -to give, and he knew how to give, and let it not be said in the name of -any morbid and morose morality that, even if he had taken the State's -money without retaining it, he was only the more guilty, uniting -prodigality to unscrupulousness. No, his liberality remains honourable; -it showed that the principle which prompted his embezzlements was not -a vile one, that, if this man was ruined, the cause of his ruin was -not natural baseness, but the blind impulse of a naturally magnificent -temperament. Thus Foucquet will live in history as the consoler of the -aged Corneille, and the tactful patron of La Fontaine.</p> - -<p>No one will deny his faults, the crimes he committed against the State, -but for a moment one may forget them, and say that what was truly -noble, and even nobly foolish in his temperament, half atones for the -evil which has been only too thoroughly proved.</p> -<hr class="r5" /> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_4" id="Footnote_1_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_4"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Cf. <i>Les amateurs de l'ancienne France: Le surintendant -Foucquet,</i> by Edmond Bonnaffé. <i>Librairie de l'Art,</i> 1882. The book -contains particulars drawn from Peiresc's unpublished manuscript. -During the course of this work we shall have frequent occasion to quote -from this excellent study of an accomplished connoisseur.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_5" id="Footnote_2_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_5"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> Ed. Petitot et Monmerqué, p. 262.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_6" id="Footnote_3_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_6"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> <i>Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,</i> Vol. II, p. 60. The -unknown author of the dialogues attributed to Molière by M. Louis -Auguste Ménard brings Mme. Foucquet on to the stage and makes her utter -words in keeping with those pious sentiments which were well known to -her contemporaries. The fictitious scene which confronts her with Anne -of Austria is a paraphrase of the words I have quoted in my text from -the <i>Mémoires de Choisy.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_7" id="Footnote_4_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_7"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <i>Histoire du Dauphiné,</i> by M. le baron de -Chapuys-Montlaville. Paris, Dupont, 1828, 2 vols. Vol. II, pp. 460 <i>et -seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_8" id="Footnote_5_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_8"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Cf. <i>Les premiers intendants de justice,</i> by S. Hanotaux, -in <i>La Revue Historique,</i> 1882 and 1883.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_9" id="Footnote_6_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_9"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Of Fronde.—<i>Trans.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_10" id="Footnote_7_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_10"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Mazarin's note-book, XI, fol. 85, Biblioth. Nat.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_11" id="Footnote_8_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_11"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Unpublished Diary of Dubuisson-Aubenay, cited by M. -Chéruel in the <i>Mémoires sur N. Foucquet,</i> Vol. I, p. 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_12" id="Footnote_9_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_12"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> <i>Histoire de Colbert et de son administration,</i> by Pierre -Clement. Paris, Didier, 1874, Vol. I, p. 15.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_13" id="Footnote_10_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_13"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> <i>Mémoires sur la vie publique et privée de Foucquet,</i> by -A. Chéruel, Inspector-General of Education. Paris, Charpentier, 1862, -Vol. I, pp. 86-88.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_14" id="Footnote_11_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_14"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Bibliothèque Nationale, MSS. collection Gaignieres. This -letter is quoted by Chéruel, I, p. 183.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_15" id="Footnote_12_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_15"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> <i>Histoire financière de la France,</i> by A. Bailly. Paris, -1830, Vol. I, p. 357.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_16" id="Footnote_13_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_16"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> In 1651, Foucquet received from Marie-Madeleine de -Castille, the daughter of François de Castille, his wife, one hundred -thousand livres, the house in the Rue du Temple, the abode of the -Castille family, as well as the buildings adjoining, which were let at -2200 livres. (Cf. Jal, <i>Dictionnaire,</i> article on Foucquet)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_17" id="Footnote_14_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_17"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Cf. Eug. Grésy, <i>Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte.</i> Melun, -1861.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_18" id="Footnote_15_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_18"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Archives de la Bastille, Vol. II, p, 171 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_19" id="Footnote_16_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_19"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Anne of Austria (trans.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_20" id="Footnote_17_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_20"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Her son, Louis XIV (trans.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_21" id="Footnote_18_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_21"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> And are now in Austria, Germany and elsewhere.—Editor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_22" id="Footnote_19_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_22"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> <i>Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art français,</i> -note by M. Guiffrey, July, 1876, p. 38.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20_23" id="Footnote_20_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_23"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Saint-Simon adds: "She was the widow of Nicolas Foucquet, -famous for his misfortunes, who, after being Superintendent of Finance -for eight years, paid for the millions which Cardinal Mazarin had -taken, for the jealousy of MM. Le Tellier and Colbert, and for a -slightly excessive gallantry and love of splendour, with thirty-four -years of imprisonment at Pignerol, because that was the utmost that -could be inflicted on him, despite all the influence of Ministers and -the authority of the King."—<i>Mémoires du duc de Saint-Simon,</i> éd. -Chéruel, Vol. XIV, p. 112.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21_24" id="Footnote_21_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_24"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> <i>Mémoires.</i> Collection Petitot, Vol. LX, p. 142.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22_25" id="Footnote_22_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_25"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> It is the portrait which is reproduced at the beginning -of the French edition, because it seems to us at once both the -truest and the happiest picture of the extraordinary man who, both -in letters and in art, inaugurated the century of Louis XIV. The -head, three-quarter profile, is turned to the left. It is a medallion -inscribed with the words: "Messire Nicolas Foucquet, chevalier, vicomte -de Melun et de Vaux, Conseiller du Roy, Ministre d'État, Surintendant -des Finances et Procureur général de Sa Majesté." Signed "R. Nanteuil -ad vivum ping. et sculpebat, 1661." The style is at once soft and -firm, the workmanship pure and finished, the rendering of the colours -excellent. This engraving was executed after a drawing or a pastel -which Nanteuil had done from life, and which is lost. This work, and -the engraving which perpetuates it, seem to me to form the origin of a -whole family of portraits, of which we will mention several. -</p> -<p> -(1) A shaded bust, on a piedouche, bearing Foucquet's arms. The -arrangement is bad, the inscription: -</p> -<p> -Ne faut-il que l'on avouë<br /> -Qu'on trouve en luytous ce qu'on espérait.<br /> -C'est un surintendant tel que l'on désirait.<br /> -Personne ne s'en plaint, tout le monde s'en louë.<br /> -</p> -<p> -Signed: "Van Schupper faciebat. P. de la Serre." -</p> -<p> -(2) The head in an oval border. Raised hangings which reveal a country -scene, with dogs coursing. The inscription: -</p> -<p> -"Messire Nicolas Foucquet, chevalier, vicomte de Melun et de Vaux, -Ministre d'État, Surintendant des finances de Sa Majesté et son -procureur général au Parlement de Paris." -</p> -<p> -(3) A much damaged copy. The face is pale and elongated, the expression -melancholy and sanctimonious. It is an oval medallion, 1654, without -signature, Paris, chez Daret. -</p> -<p> -(4) The same, chez Louis Boissevin, in the Rue Saint-Jacques. -</p> -<p> -(5) The same, with this quatrain: -</p> -<p> -Si sa fidélité parut incomparable<br /> -En conservant l'Estat,<br /> -Sa prudence aujourd'huy n'est pas moins admirable<br /> -D'en augmenter l'éclat.<br /> -</p> -<p> -(6) Medallion. The picture is much disfigured; the inscription: -</p> -<p> -Qu'il a de probité, de sçavoir et de zelle,<br /> -Qu'il paroit généreux, magnanime et prudent,<br /> -Que son esprit est fort, que son cœur est fidelle,<br /> -Toutes ces qualités l'on fait Surintendant.<br /> -</p> -<p> -(7) Medallion, with drapery. Very bad. Signature: "Baltazar Moncornet, -excud." -</p> -<p> -(8) The same, with a frame of foliage, 1658. -</p> -<p> -(9) A small copy, reversed, executed after Foucquet's death, the date -of which is indicated, 23rd March, 1680. It is old, hard, dark and -damaged. Signature: "Nanteuil, pinxit, Gaillard, sculpt." -</p> -<p> -A portrait of Lebrun deserves honourable mention after that of -Nanteuil. The features are practically the same as in the engraving by -Eugène Reims; but the expression is not so keen, nor so cheerful. The -head, three-quarter profile, is turned to the right. This picture is -the original of the three following engravings: -</p> -<p> -(1) A large oval. Signature: "C. Lebrun pinx, F. Poilly sculpt." -Inscription: -</p> -<p> -Illustrissimus vir Nicolaus Foucquet<br /> -Generalis in Supremo regii Ærarii<br /> -Præfectus: V. Comes Melodunensis, etc.<br /> -</p> -<p> -In a later copy, Foucquet's arms replace the Latin inscription. -</p> -<p> -(2) A spoiled and softened copy, very careless workmanship. Signature: -"C. Mellan del. et F." -</p> -<p> -(3) An imitation. Foucquet, seated in a straight-backed armchair, with -large wrought nail-heads, with a casket on the table beside him. He -holds a pen in his right hand, and paper in his left. Inscription: -</p> -<p> -Magna videt, majora latent; ecce aspicis artis<br /> -Clarum opus, et virtus clarior arte latet,<br /> -Umbra est et fulget, solem miraris in umbra<br /> -Quid sol ipse micat, cujus et umbra micat.<br /> -</p> -<p> -Signature: "Œgid. Rousselet, sculpt., 1659." -</p> -<p> -(4) An imitation. Signature: "Larmessin, 1661." Finally, we must -mention a full-length portrait, which seems inspired by the foregoing. -The Superintendent is standing, wearing a long robe; he holds in his -right hand a small bag, in his left a paper. A raised curtain displays, -on the right, a country scene, with a torrent, a rock and a fortified -château. In the sky, Renown puts a trumpet to her mouth. In her left -hand she holds another trumpet with a bannerette on which is written: -"Quo non ascendet?" Inscription: -</p> -<p> -A quel degré d'honneur ne peut-il pas monter<br /> -S'il s'élève tousjours par son propre courage?<br /> -Son nom et sa vertu lui donnent l'advantage<br /> -De pouvoir tout prétendre et de tout mériter.<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23_26" id="Footnote_23_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_26"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> A summary of the inventory at Saint-Mandé: MS. of the -Bibliothèque Nat. Manusc. Suppl, fr. 10958, cited by M. Edm. Bonnaffé, -<i>Les Amateurs de l'ancienne France</i>.—Le Surintendant Foucquet, -librairie de l'Art, 1882.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_24_27" id="Footnote_24_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_27"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Loc. cit., pp. 61 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_25_28" id="Footnote_25_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_28"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Description of the city of Paris, 1713, p. 60.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_26_29" id="Footnote_26_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_29"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> <i>Mémoire des Académiciens</i>, Vol. I, p. 21. Bonnaffé, loc. -cit., p. 15.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_27_30" id="Footnote_27_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_30"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Preface to <i>Œdipe, Collect. des grands écrivains,</i> Vol. -VI, p. 103.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_28_31" id="Footnote_28_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_31"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> With great pomp.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_29_32" id="Footnote_29_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_32"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> The original edition has <i>plainte.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_30_33" id="Footnote_30_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_33"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Œuvres complètes de La Fontaine, published by Ch. Marty -Laveaux, Vol. III (1866), p. 26 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_31_34" id="Footnote_31_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_34"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> The inventory of the 26th February, 1666 (Bonnaffé, -loc. cit., p. 61), classes them as follows: "Two antique mausoleums -representing a king and queen of Egypt, 800 livres."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_32_35" id="Footnote_32_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_35"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> At least, this is the hypothesis propounded by M. -Bonnaffe. It is founded on the fact that an anonymous document of 1648, -published in <i>Les Collectionneurs de l'ancienne France</i> (Aubry, ed. -1873), mentions le sieur Chamblon, of Marseilles, as a professor "of -Egyptian idols to enclose mummies." But it seems as if the anonymous -document referred not to sarcophagi of marble or basalt, but rather to -those boxes of painted and gilt pasteboard, with human faces, which -abound in the necropolises of ancient Egypt. The port of Marseilles -must at that time have received a fairly large number of such. We must -remember that the mummy was in those days considered as a remedy, and -was widely sold by druggists.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_33_36" id="Footnote_33_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_36"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Cf. Mlle, de Scudéry, <i>Clélie.</i> "Méléandre (Lebrun) had -caused to be built, on a small, somewhat uneven plot of ground, two -small pyramids in imitation of those which are near Memphis."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_34_37" id="Footnote_34_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_37"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> See note, p. 10.**</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_35_38" id="Footnote_35_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_38"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Description of the city of Paris, by Germain Brice, ed. -of 1698, Vol. I, p. 124 <i>et seg.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_36_39" id="Footnote_36_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_39"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> <i>Recueil d'antiquités dans les Gaules,</i> by La Sauvagère, -Paris, 1770, p. 329 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_37_40" id="Footnote_37_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_40"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> D.5.D. 7<sup>8</sup>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_38_41" id="Footnote_38_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_41"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> In this story, I have followed M. Bonnaffé. Loc. cit., p. -57.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_39_42" id="Footnote_39_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_42"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Inventory and valuation of the books found at Saint-Mandé -on the 30th July, 1665. Biblio. Nat. MSS., p. 9438. The whole was -valued at 38,544 livres.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_40_43" id="Footnote_40_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_43"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> <i>Conseils de la Sagesse,</i> p. x.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_41_44" id="Footnote_41_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_44"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Lines presented to Monseigneur le procureur général -Foucquet, Superintendent of Finance, at the opening of the tragedy of -<i>Œdipe,</i> 1659.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_42_45" id="Footnote_42_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_45"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> One of the earliest French theatres. It was founded by -the Confrères de la Passion in 1548.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_43_46" id="Footnote_43_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_46"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Cf. <i>La Vie de Corneille,</i> by Fontenelle.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_44_47" id="Footnote_44_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_47"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> <i>Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de La Fontaine,</i> by -Mathieu Marais, 1811, p. 125.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_45_48" id="Footnote_45_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_48"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> <i>Ouvrages de prose et de poésie des sieurs de Mancroix et -La Fontaine,</i> Vol. I, p. 99.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_46_49" id="Footnote_46_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_49"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> There are two blank spaces in the 1685 edition. I have -filled them with the two names in brackets. For the first I have put -the name of Foucquet, which is given in the <i>Œuvres diverses</i> (Vol. -I, p. 19). To fill the second space I have followed the suggestion of -Mathieu Marais. Walkenaer puts Pellisson, which is not admissible.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_47_50" id="Footnote_47_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_50"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Edit Marty-Laveaux, VOL V, pp. 15-17.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_48_51" id="Footnote_48_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_51"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> No one can answer for the correctness of the text of -these two poems. Chardon de La Rochette published them from memory in -1811 (<i>Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de La Fontaine,</i> by Mathieu -Marais, p. 125). He had possessed the receipts for both in Pellisson's -own hand-writing, but had not kept it, because, he said, he did not -think "that it was worth it." This sagacious Hellenist set little store -by a Pellisson autograph, in comparison with the Palatine MS. of the -Anthologia. And he was right. But it is odd that he should have known -the verses by heart, and that, having neglected to preserve them in his -desk, he should have retained them in his memory.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_49_52" id="Footnote_49_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_52"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Promettre est un, et tenir promesse est un autre.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_50_53" id="Footnote_50_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_53"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> coll. Petitot, p. 211.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_51_54" id="Footnote_51_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_54"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> loc. cit., p. 230.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_52_55" id="Footnote_52_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_55"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> Bussy, II, p. 50.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_53_56" id="Footnote_53_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_56"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> "Jamais surintendant ne trouva de cruelle."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_54_57" id="Footnote_54_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_57"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> Bussy, II, p. 50.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_55_58" id="Footnote_55_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_58"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> Letter of the 25th May, 1658.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_56_59" id="Footnote_56_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_59"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> Letter of 18th January, 1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_57_60" id="Footnote_57_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_60"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Loret, Muse historique, letter of the 28th of December, -1652.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_58_61" id="Footnote_58_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_61"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> In 1661 (?) <i>Papiers de Foucquet</i> (F. Baluze), Vol. I, -pp. 31-32.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_59_62" id="Footnote_59_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_62"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> Maurepas Collection. Vol. II, p. 271.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_60_63" id="Footnote_60_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_63"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> Letter of the 11th November, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_61_64" id="Footnote_61_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_64"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> Gourville, in <i>Monmerqué,</i> Vol. II, p. 342.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_62_65" id="Footnote_62_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_65"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de l'abbé de Choisy,</i> p. 579.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_63_66" id="Footnote_63_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_66"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Brienne,</i> Vol. II, p. 52.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_64_67" id="Footnote_64_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_67"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> p. 581. Chéruel, <i>Mémoires sur -Nicolas Foucquet,</i> Vol. II, p. 97.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_65_68" id="Footnote_65_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_68"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> p. 249.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_66_69" id="Footnote_66_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_69"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Choisy,</i> p. 249.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_67_70" id="Footnote_67_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_70"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> <i>Choisy,</i> p. 586. "I learnt these details," said Choisy, -"from Perrault, to whom Colbert related them more than once."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_68_71" id="Footnote_68_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_71"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> p. 586. Cf. also Guy Patin, letter to Falconnet, -2nd September, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_69_72" id="Footnote_69_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_72"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> <i>Histoire d'Henriette d'Angleterre,</i> by Mme de Lafayette. -Paris, Charavay frères, 1882, p. 53.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_70_73" id="Footnote_70_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_73"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> See Part II for the story of this entertainment.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_71_74" id="Footnote_71_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_74"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> Cf. <i>Mémoires sur Nicolas Foucquet,</i> by Chéruel, Vol. II, -pp. 179-180.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_72_75" id="Footnote_72_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_75"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> <i>Mémoires de Brienne,</i> Vol. II, p. 153.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_73_76" id="Footnote_73_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_76"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> La Fontaine, letter to his wife, Ed. Marty-Laveaux, Vol. -III, p. 311 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_74_77" id="Footnote_74_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_77"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> This letter was published for the first time in <i>Les -Causeries d'un curieux,</i> VOL II, p. 518.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_75_78" id="Footnote_75_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_78"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> <i>Dictionnaire Antique.</i> Article on Hesnault.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_76_79" id="Footnote_76_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_79"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Letter of the 10th of September, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_77_80" id="Footnote_77_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_80"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> Letter of the 2nd October, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_78_81" id="Footnote_78_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_81"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> Second Speech to the King, in <i>Les Œuvres diverses,</i> p. -109.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_79_82" id="Footnote_79_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_82"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> Cf. <i>Mélanges,</i> by Vigneul de Marville.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_80_83" id="Footnote_80_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_83"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Such is the title of the original edition, printed in -italics, without date or address, on three quarto pages.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_81_84" id="Footnote_81_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_84"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> "The Anqueil is a little river which flows near Vaux." -(Note by La Fontaine.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_82_85" id="Footnote_82_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_85"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Variant: -</p> -<p> -La Cabale est contente, Oronte est malheureux. -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_83_86" id="Footnote_83_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_86"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> Variant: -</p> -<p> -Du grand, du grand Henri qu'il contemple la vie.<br /> -(Original edition.)<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_84_87" id="Footnote_84_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_87"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> Edition quoted, Vol. V, pp. 43-46. One contemporary copy, -preserved in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, contains a text altered by -one of Foucquet's enemies. -</p> -<p> -Instead of the two lines: -</p> -<p> -Voilà le précipice où l'ont enfin jeté<br /> -Les attraits enchanteurs de la prospérité,<br /> -</p> -<p> -we read in this copy: -</p> -<p> -Il se hait de tant vivre après un tel malheur,<br /> -Et, s'il espère encor, ce n'est qu'en sa douleur,<br /> -C'est là le seul plaisir qui flatte son courage,<br /> -Car des autres plaisirs on lui défend l'usage.<br /> -Voilà, voilà l'effet de cette ambition<br /> -Qui fait de ses pareils l'unique passion.<br /> -</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_85_88" id="Footnote_85_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_88"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> Edition cited: Vol. V, pp. 46-49. Published for the first -time by La Fontaine in his collection <i>Poésies chrétinnes et diverses,</i> -1671, Vol. Ill, p. 34.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_86_89" id="Footnote_86_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_89"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> La Fontaine, Letter to Monsieur Foucquet. Edition cited: -Vol. Ill, pp. 307-308. This letter was published for the first time in -1729.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_87_90" id="Footnote_87_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_90"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> Cf. Le procès de Foucquet, a speech pronounced at the -opening of Conférence des Avocats, Monday, 27th November, 1882, by Léon -Deroy, advocate in the Court of Appeal. Paris, Alcan Lévy, 1882.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_88_91" id="Footnote_88_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_91"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> Recueil des arrêtés de G. de Lamoignon, Paris, 1781. <i>Vie -de M. le premier président,</i> by Girard, p. 14. (The fleur-de-Iys was -very largely employed in the decoration of the walls, floors, ceiling, -etc., of the Parliaments, etc.—Ed.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_89_92" id="Footnote_89_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_92"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson, Vol. II, p. 26.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_90_93" id="Footnote_90_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_93"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> <i>Recueil des arrêtés,</i> already cited.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_91_94" id="Footnote_91_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_94"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> Madame de Sévigné, letter of the 27th November, 1664.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_92_95" id="Footnote_92_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_95"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> letter of the 2nd December.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_93_96" id="Footnote_93_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_96"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> "The Duc de Sully, the son-in-law of the Chancellor, -Séguier, had, in 1652, yielded the crossing of the bridge of Mantes to -the Spanish Army." (Note by M. Chéruel.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_94_97" id="Footnote_94_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_97"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> <i>Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,</i> Vol. II, p. 263. Letter -from Mme. de Sévigné, 9th December.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_95_98" id="Footnote_95_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_98"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> <i>Journal d'Olivier d'Ormesson,</i> VOL II, p. 282. Letter -from Mme. de Sévigné, 9th December.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_96_99" id="Footnote_96_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_99"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> Vol. II, p. 283.</p></div> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_97_100" id="Footnote_97_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_100"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> Vol. II, p. 286.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_98_101" id="Footnote_98_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_101"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> The Comte de Vaux, Foucquet's eldest son, having obtained -his father's MSS. from Pignerol, published extracts entitled: <i>Conseils -de la Sagesse</i> ou <i>Recueil des Maximes de Salomon.</i> Paris, 1683, 2 -vols.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_99_102" id="Footnote_99_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_102"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> The Duc de Lauzun, said to have married La Grande -Mademoiselle, Mlle, de Montpensier, cousin of Louis XIV. (Trans.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_100_103" id="Footnote_100_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_103"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> Delort, <i>Détention des Philosophes,</i> Vol. I, p. 53.</p></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h4><a name="PART_II" id="PART_II">PART II</a></h4> - - -<h4>THE CHÂTEAU DE VAUX</h4> - - -<p>During his trial Foucquet declared that he had begun the building of -his house at Vaux as early as 1640. On this point his memory betrayed -him. Reference to the inscription on an engraving by Pérelle, after -Israël Silvestre, assigns the commencement of work upon the house to -the year 1653, but there is no doubt that Israël Silvestre planned -the château on lines which were not absolutely final. Nor was the <i>ne -varietur</i> plan, signed in 1666, exactly followed.<a name="FNanchor_1_104" id="FNanchor_1_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_104" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>It is not until 1657 that the registers of the parish of Maincy attest -the presence of foreign workmen who had come to undertake certain -building operations on the estate of Vaux.</p> - -<p>The architect, Louis Levau, employed by Foucquet, was not a -beginner. He had already built "a house at the apex of the island -of Notre-Dame,"<a name="FNanchor_2_105" id="FNanchor_2_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_105" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> which is none other than the Hôtel Lambert,<a name="FNanchor_3_106" id="FNanchor_3_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_106" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> -the ingenious novelties of which were greatly admired. Especially -noteworthy was the chamber of Madame de Torigny, on the second floor, -which Le Sueur had decorated with a grace which recalls the mural -paintings of Herculaneum. This chamber was called the Italian room, -"Because," said Guillet de Saint-Georges, "the beauty of the woodwork -and the richness of the panelling took the place of tapestry."</p> - -<p>Levau, born in 1612, was forty-three years of age when he signed the -<i>ne varietur</i> plan. We know little about the life of this man whose -work is so famous. A document of the 23rd March, 1651,<a name="FNanchor_4_107" id="FNanchor_4_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_107" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> describes -him as "a man of noble birth, Councillor and Secretary to the King, -House and Crown of France." He then lived in Paris, in the Rue du -Roi-de-Sicile, with his wife and his three young children, Jean, Louis -and Nicolas.</p> - -<p>Besides the Hôtel Lambert and the Château de Vaux, we are indebted to -him for the design for the Collège des Quatre-Nations, now the Palace -of the Institute; the Maison Bautru, called by Sauvai "La Gentille," -and engraved by Marot; the Hôtel de Pons, in the Rue du Colombier -(to-day the Rue du Vieux-Colombier), built for President Tambruneau; -the Hôtel Deshameaux, which, according to Sauvai, had an Italian room; -the Hôtel d'Hesselin in the He Saint-Louis; the Hôtel de Rohan, in the -Rue de l'Université; the Château de Livry, since known as Le Rainey, -built for the Intendant of Finances, Bordier; the Château de Seignelay; -a château near Troyes; and the Château de Bercy.<a name="FNanchor_5_108" id="FNanchor_5_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_108" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - -<p>We may add that Louis Levau, having become first architect to the King, -succeeded Gamard in directing the works of the church of Saint-Sulpice, -and that he, in his turn, was succeeded by Daniel Gillard in 1660.<a name="FNanchor_6_109" id="FNanchor_6_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_109" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - -<p>Louis Levau died in Paris. His body was carried to the church of -Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, his parish church, on Saturday, the nth -October, 1670, as attested by the register of this church. There, -under the above date, may be read: "On the said day was buried Messire -Louys Levau, aged 57 or thereabouts, who died this morning at three -o'clock. In his life a Councillor of the King in his Council, general -Superintendent of His Majesty's buildings, first Architect of his -buildings, Secretary to His Majesty and the House and Crown of France, -etc., taken from the Rue des Fossés, from the ancient Hôtel de -Longueville."[7]</p> - -<p>In the <i>Archives de l'Art français</i> (Vol. I) there is a document -relating to Louis Levau:</p> - -<p>"There has been submitted to us the plan and elevation of the building -of the Cathedral Church of Saint-Pierre of Nantes, of which the part -not already constructed is marked in red. This church is one hundred -and eleven feet high from the floor to the keystones of the vaults at -the meeting of the diagonals, and the lower aisles and chapels are -fifty-six feet, measured also from the floor.</p> - -<p>"It is desired to finish the said church, and to respect its symmetry -as far as may be, and to make the lower aisles and chapels around the -choir like those which are on the right of the nave.</p> - -<p>"The difficulty is that, in order to finish this work, it is necessary -to pull down the walls of the town, and to carry it out into the moat, -and it is desirable to take as little ground as can be, in order not to -diminish too greatly the breadth of the moat. Wherefore it is proposed -to do away with the three chapels behind the choir, marked by the -letter H.</p> - -<p>"But, if those three chapels are removed, it will be seen that the -flying buttresses which support the choir will not have the same thrust -as those which support the nave; the strength of these buttresses will -be diminished, and the symmetry of the church destroyed, in a place -where the church is most visible.</p> - -<p>"With this plan we send the elevation of the pillars and buttresses to -show how they are constructed in the neighborhood of the nave.</p> - -<p>"The whole of this is in order to ascertain whether the three chapels -can be dispensed with, and the safety of the choir and the whole -edifice secured."</p> - -<p>To create the estate of Vaux in its prodigious magnificence, it was -necessary to destroy three villages: Vaux-le-Vicomte, with its church -and its mill, the hamlet of Maison-Rouge and that of Jumeau. The -gigantic works which were necessary are hardly imaginable; immense -rocks were carried away; deep canals were excavated.</p> - -<p>Foucquet hurried on the work with all the impatience of his intemperate -mind. As early as 1657 the animation which prevailed in the works was -so great that it was spoken of as something immoderate, as though more -befitting royalty. Foucquet felt that it was of importance to conceal -proceedings</p> - -<p>The following is in Levau's own hand:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"In order to reply to the above questions I, Le Vau, -architect in ordinary of the King's buildings, certify that, -having inspected the plan and the elevation of the flying -buttresses of the church of Nantes, which have been sent -me, having carefully examined and considered the whole, and -having even made some designs for altering and dispensing -with the chapels H H H; after having considered all that can -be done in this matter, I have come to the conclusion that -it cannot be accomplished without weakening and considerably -damaging the pillars of the choir, and the other aisles, and -destroying all symmetry; in a word, ruining it. I therefore -do not submit the design that I have made, for my opinion is -that the original design should be followed, and that the -church should be finished as it was begun; as nothing else -can be done save to the great prejudice of the said church. -In attestation of which I sign.</p> -<p style="margin-left: 75%; font-size: 0.8em;">'LE VAU.'"</p></blockquote> - -<p>which gave the impression of enormous expenditure. He wrote on the 8th -of February, 1657:</p> - -<p>"A gentleman of the neighbourhood, who is called Villevessin, told the -Queen that he was lately at Vaux, and that in the workshop he counted -nine hundred men. In order to avoid this as far as may be, you must -carry out my design of putting up screens, and keeping the doors shut. -I should be glad if you would advance all the work as far as possible -before the season when everybody goes into the country, and I want -you to avoid, as far as possible, having a large number of workpeople -together."<a name="FNanchor_7_110" id="FNanchor_7_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_110" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> - -<p>If we compare the statement made by M. de Villevessin with a note -written by Foucquet on the 21st November, 1660, we may conclude that at -one time there were eighteen thousand workmen occupied on the buildings -and the gardens.<a name="FNanchor_8_111" id="FNanchor_8_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_111" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p>Such works could not be kept secret. Colbert, jealous for his King and -perhaps for himself, came to visit them in secret. Watel, Foucquet's -steward—he who later entered the King's service, the story of whose -death is well known—Watel, faithful servant, surprised Colbert making -his inspection, and told his master. Foucquet took some precautions, -but none the less the matter created a bad impression at Court. One day -when the King, with Monsieur, was inspecting the building operations -at the Louvre, he complained to his brother that he had no money to -complete this great building. Whereupon Monsieur replied jokingly: -"Sire, Your Majesty need only become Superintendent of Finance for a -single year, and then you will have plenty of money for building."<a name="FNanchor_9_112" id="FNanchor_9_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_112" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>These immense works necessitated great institutions. Foucquet founded -at Maincy a hospital called La Charité, where the workmen were received -when they were ill.<a name="FNanchor_10_113" id="FNanchor_10_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_113" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - -<p>Tapestry rooms were also established at Maincy. There, according to Le -Brun's designs, were executed <i>Les Chasses de Méléagre</i> and <i>l'Histoire -de Constantin.</i><a name="FNanchor_11_114" id="FNanchor_11_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_114" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>Le Brun himself settled at Maincy, with his wife Suzanne, in the autumn -of 1658.</p> - -<p>This great artist did not merely provide cartoons for tapestry; he -decorated the ceilings of the halls of the château with allegorical -paintings. Several pieces of sculpture also were executed from his -drawings. Thus the four lions which are still seen at the foot of the -staircase leading to the great Terrace des Grottes were designed by -the painter; or, at least, so Mlle, de Scudéry says. These lions have -almost human countenances. We know that the art of the eighteenth -century was very free in its treatment of wild animals. The face -expresses pride as well as gentleness. Lying in its innocent claws is a -squirrel, pursued by a viper. Colbert again!</p> - -<p>Now I must recall the great days of Vaux. They were not many, and the -most brilliant was the last.</p> - -<p>After the marriage of the King and the Infanta at -Saint-Jean-de-Luz,<a name="FNanchor_12_115" id="FNanchor_12_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_115" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> the Court took the road to Paris. It halted at -Fontainbleau, and Foucquet received it at Vaux with that audacious -magnificence which he preferred even to the realities of power. The -courtiers walked in the gardens, where the fountains were playing, and -a wonderful supper was served. The gazetteer Press has preserved for us -a list of the fruits and flowers which adorned the tables, as well as -"preserves of every colour, the fritters and pastries and other dishes -which were served there."<a name="FNanchor_13_116" id="FNanchor_13_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_116" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> - -<p>A year later the Château de Vaux received the widow of Charles I, -Henriette of France, Queen of England. She was accompanied by her -daughter, Henrietta of England, and the Duc d'Orléans, her son-in-law. -Henrietta, or, to give her her title, Madame, was in all the brilliance -of her youth, had a genius both for affairs of gallantry and matters -of State. She lived as though in haste, consuming in coquetry and -in intrigue a life which was not fated to be a lone one. A woman of -this character, so nearly related to the King, was bound to interest -the ambitious Foucquet. He received her with all the refinements of -magnificence. After dinner he had a Comedy played before her. The -piece was by Molière himself, who was already greatly admired for his -naturalness and truth to life. The play was then completely new; it -had not been seen either by the town or the Court, it was <i>L'École des -Maris.</i><a name="FNanchor_14_117" id="FNanchor_14_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_117" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p>Shortly afterwards the Château of Vaux was to witness a yet more -brilliant festivity—the last of all. When Foucquet invited the King, -he was possessed by a spirit of unwisdom and of error; all about him, -men and things alike, cried out to him in vain: Blind! blind!</p> - -<p>The King set out from Fontainbleau on the 17th August, 1661, and came -to Vaux in a coach, in which he was accompanied by Monsieur, the -Comtesse d'Armagnac, the Duchesse de Valentinois and the Comtesse de -Guiche. The Queen-Mother came in her own coach, and Madame in her -litter. The young Queen, detained at Fontainebleau by her pregnancy, -was not present at that cruel festivity. More than six thousand persons -were invited. The King and the Court began by visiting the park. All -were loud in their admiration of the great fountains. "There was," -says La Fontaine,<a name="FNanchor_15_118" id="FNanchor_15_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_118" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> "great discussion as to which was the best, -the Cascade, the Wheat-Sheaf Jet, the Fountain of the Crown or the -Animals." The château also was inspected and Le Brun's pictures greatly -admired.</p> - -<p>The King could ill contain his wrath at a display of luxury which -seemed stolen from him, and which he was later on to imitate at -Versailles, with all the diligence of a good pupil. He was angered, -so it is said,<a name="FNanchor_16_119" id="FNanchor_16_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_119" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> by an allegorical picture into which Le Brun had -obviously introduced the portrait of Mademoiselle de la Vallière. The -fact may be doubted, but it is certain that the courtiers, with eyes -sharpened by envy, remarked on all the panelling Foucquet's device: -<i>"Quo non ascendant,"</i> or <i>Quo non ascendet?</i> accompanying a squirrel -(or foucquet) climbing up a tree. Louis XIV, according to Choisy, -conceived the idea of arresting his insolent subject on the spot, and -it was the Queen-Mother, who had long been Foucquet's friend, who -prevented him from doing so. But such impatience is not consistent with -that patient duplicity which the King displayed in this connection. -Almost at that very moment, did he not ask his hospitable subject for -another festival to celebrate the churching of the young Queen?<a name="FNanchor_17_120" id="FNanchor_17_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_120" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> - -<p>After the château and grounds had been visited, there was a lottery in -which every guest won something: the ladies jewels, the men weapons. -Then a supper was served, provided by Watel, the cost of which was -valued at one hundred and twenty thousand livres. "Great were the -delicacy and the rarity of the dishes," says La Fontaine, "but greater -still the grace with which Monsieur le Surintendant and Madame la -Surintendante did the honours of their house." The pantry of the -château then contained at least thirty-six dozen plates of solid gold -and a service of the same metal.<a name="FNanchor_18_121" id="FNanchor_18_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_121" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> After supper the guests went to -the Allée des Sapins, where a stage had been erected.</p> - -<p>Mechanical stage effects were then much in vogue. Those of Vaux were -wonderful. The mechanism was the work of Torelli, and the scenery was -painted by Le Brun.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Deux enchanteurs pleins de savoir<br /> -Firent tant, par leur imposture,<br /> -Qu'on crut qu'ils avaient le pouvoir<br /> -De commander à la nature.<br /> -L'un de ces enchanteurs est le sieur Torelli,<br /> -Magicien expert et faiseur de miracles;<br /> -Et l'autre, c'est Lebrun, par qui Vaux embelli<br /> -Présente aux regardants mille rares spectacles.<a name="FNanchor_19_122" id="FNanchor_19_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_122" class="fnanchor">[19]</a><br /> -</p> - -<p>Rocks were seen to open, and statues moved.</p> - -<p>The scene represented a grim rock in a lonely desert. Suddenly the rock -changed to a shell, and, the shell having opened, there came forth -a nymph. This was Béjart, who recited a prologue by Pellisson. "In -this prologue, Béjart, who represents the nymph of the fountain where -the action is taking place, commands the divinities, who are subject -to her, to leave the statues in which they are enshrined, and to -contribute with all their power to His Majesty's amusement. Straightway -the pedestals and the statues which adorn the stage move, and there -emerge from them, I know not how, fauns and bacchantes, who form a -ballet. It is very amusing to see a god of boundaries delivered of a -child which comes into the world dancing."</p> - -<p>The ballet was followed by the play which had been conceived, written -and rehearsed in a fortnight. It was Molière's <i>Les Fâcheux.</i> The play, -as we know, has interludes of dancing, and concludes with a ballet. -"It is Terence," was the verdict. No doubt, but it is a devilish bad -Terence.</p> - -<p>The night was one of those fiery nights of which Racine writes in the -most worldly of his tragedies. Fireworks shot into the air. There was -a rain of stars; then, when the King departed, the lantern on the dome -which surmounted the château burst into flames, vomiting sheaves of -rockets and fiery serpents. We know what a sad morrow succeeded that -splendid night.</p> - -<p>My task is completed.</p> - -<p>Madame Foucquet, of whose biography we have already given an outline, -obtained a legal separation of her property from her husband's before -the sentence of the 19th December, 1664. She was able to retain a -considerable part of her fortune. "On the 19th March, 1673, she bought -back from the creditors, for one million two hundred and fifty thousand -livres, the Viscounty of Melun, with the estate of Vaux, and made a -donation thereof to her son, Louis-Nicolas Fouquet, by various deeds, -dated 1683, 1689, 1703. Her son having died with out posterity in 1705, -she sold the estate on the 29th August, 1705, to Louis-Hector, Duc de -Villars, Marshal of France, who parted with it on the 27th August, -1764, to C.-Gabriel de Choiseul, Duc de Praslin and peer of France, for -one million six hundred thousand livres."<a name="FNanchor_20_123" id="FNanchor_20_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_123" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> The château remained in -the family of Choiseul-Parslin until the 6th July, 1875.</p> - -<p>By a piece of good fortune it then passed into the hands of M. A. -Sommier. From that day one may say that art and letters have been -vigilant in its preservation, for M. Sommier combines the most perfect -taste with a love of art, and Madame Sommier is the daughter of M. de -Barante, the famous historian.<a name="FNanchor_21_124" id="FNanchor_21_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_124" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> - -<p>But for M. Sommier it was not enough to preserve this historical -monument. His artistic munificence was prepared for any sacrifice -in order to restore those cascades and grottos at which La Fontaine -had marvelled, and which had fallen into ruins, been overgrown with -brushwood, in which vipers lurked and rabbits burrowed. In this noble -task M. Sommier was fortunately aided by a learned architect, M. -Destailleurs. M. Rodolphe Pfnor, my collaborator and friend, holds it -an honour to associate himself with the praises which I here bestow -upon the understanding liberality of M. Sommier. M. Pfnor, by reason of -his skill in architecture and the arts of design, is competent to give -these praises a real and absolute value. Be it understood that I speak -for him as well as for myself.</p> - -<p>It is just that art and letters should unite in congratulating M. -Sommier. The restorer of the Château de Vaux has deserved well of both. -It was reserved for him to realize in all its splendour <i>Le Songe -Vaux.</i> He has uttered the command in a voice which has been obeyed:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;"> -Fontaines, jaillissez,<br /> -Herbe tendre, croissez<br /> -Le long de ces rivages.<br /> -Venez, petits oiseaux,<br /> -Accorder vos ramages<br /> -Au doux bruit de leurs eaux.<br /> -</p> -<hr class="r5" /> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_104" id="Footnote_1_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_104"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Bonnaffé, op. cit., p. 27.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_105" id="Footnote_2_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_105"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Guillet de Saint-Georges, in <i>Les Archives de l'Art</i> -<i>français,</i> 1853, Vol. III.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_106" id="Footnote_3_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_106"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Cf. Jal., Diet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_107" id="Footnote_4_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_107"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Occupied successively by the President of the Chambre des -Comptes, Lambert Torigny; the Marquise du Chastelle; M. de La Haye; the -Comte de Montalivet; the Administrator of Lits Militaires; and Prince -Adam Czartoryski, the present owner (1888).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_108" id="Footnote_5_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_108"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Ad. Lance, <i>Dictionnaire des Architectes français,</i> Paris, -1872, 2 vols. Article on Levau (Louis).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_109" id="Footnote_6_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_109"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>Archives de l'Art français,</i> Vol. I, 1852.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_110" id="Footnote_7_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_110"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Letter cited by M. Pierre Clement, <i>Histoire de Colbert,</i> -p. 30.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_111" id="Footnote_8_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_111"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> I cite almost literally a phrase by M. Eugène Grésy. M. -Grésy's valuable work on the Château de Vaux is contained in <i>Les -Archives de l'Art français.</i> Vol. I, p. I <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_112" id="Footnote_9_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_112"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Cimber et Danjou, <i>Archives curieuses de l'Histoire de -France,</i> Second Series, Vol. VIII, p. 415 (Portraits de la Cour).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_113" id="Footnote_10_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_113"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> M. Eugène Grésy, loc. cit., p. 7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_114" id="Footnote_11_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_114"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> It is well known that the Maincy factory, taken to Paris -by order of the King after Foucquet's disgrace, became the Gobelins. -(Lacordaire, article on the Gobelins, second ed., 1855, p. 65.) Cf. -also <i>L'Histoire de la Tapisserie,</i> by J. Guiffrey.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_115" id="Footnote_12_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_115"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> 9th June, 1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_116" id="Footnote_13_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_116"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Cf. Loret, letter of the 24th July, 1660.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_117" id="Footnote_14_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_117"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> <i>Ibid.,</i> letter of the 17th July, 1661.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_118" id="Footnote_15_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_118"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Letter to Maucroix, 9th ed., cited Vol. Ill, p. 301.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_119" id="Footnote_16_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_119"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Choisy, in his <i>Mémoires.</i> Ed. cited p. 587.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_120" id="Footnote_17_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_120"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Cf. La Fontaine, letter previously cited.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_121" id="Footnote_18_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_121"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Cf. Chéruel, loc. cit., who cites (Vol. II, p. 223) the -portfolios of Valiant, Vol. III, in the Biblio. Nat. MSS.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_122" id="Footnote_19_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_122"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> La Fontaine, letter from Maucroix, Vol. Ill, p. 304.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20_123" id="Footnote_20_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_123"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> See the excursion made by the subscribers to <i>l'Ami des -Monuments</i> to the Château de Vaux-le-Praslin, or le Vicomte, near -Melun, in <i>l' Ami des Monuments,</i> a magazine founded and edited by M. -Charles Normand, 1887, p. 301, No. 4.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21_124" id="Footnote_21_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_124"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> In the Château de Vaux one of the rooms on the first -story, and certainly the most beautiful, bears the name of the "Room of -M. de Barante." It has a ceiling which represents one of those nymphs -of Vaux which La Fontaine celebrated so charmingly. This ceiling has -been recently restored. M. Destailleurs has displayed great art in its -preservation.</p></div> - - - -<h4>THE END</h4> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Clio, by Anatole France - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLIO *** - -***** This file should be named 50670-h.htm or 50670-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/6/7/50670/ - -Produced by Marc D'Hooghe at http://www.freeliterature.org -(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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