The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Vicomte de Bragelonne, by Alexandre Dumas This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Vicomte de Bragelonne Or Ten Years Later being the completion of "The Three Musketeers" And "Twenty Years After" Author: Alexandre Dumas Release Date: August 7, 2006 [EBook #18997] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE *** Produced by Frank van Drogen, Janet Blenkinship and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions (www.canadiana.org)) There are several editions of this ebook in the Project Gutenberg collection. Various characteristics of each ebook are listed to aid in selecting the preferred file. Click on any of the filenumbers below to quickly view each ebook. 18997 (Illustrated HTML file) 2609 (Plain HTML file) 3010 (Text file) Hardly had the ladder been properly placed than the king began to ascend.—Page 155. THE WORKS OF ALEXANDRE DUMAS THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE OR TEN YEARS LATER BEING THE COMPLETION OF "THE THREE MUSKETEERS" AND "TWENTY YEARS AFTER" PART II Copiously Illustrated with elegant Pen and Ink and Wood Engravings, specially drawn for this edition by eminent French and American Artists. COMPLETE IN NINE VOLUMES VOLUME FOUR NEW YORK PETER FENELON COLLIER, PUBLISHER. 1893 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.—Showing what neither the Naiad nor Dryad had anticipated CHAPTER II.—The new General of the Jesuits CHAPTER III.—The Storm CHAPTER IV.—The Shower of Rain CHAPTER V.—Toby CHAPTER VI.—Madame's four Chances CHAPTER VII.—The Lottery CHAPTER VIII.—Malaga CHAPTER IX.—A Letter from M. de Baisemeaux CHAPTER X.—In which the Reader will be delighted to find that Porthos has lost nothing of his Strength CHAPTER XI.—The Rat and the Cheese CHAPTER XII.—Planchet's Country-House CHAPTER XIII.—Showing what could be seen from Planchet's House CHAPTER XIV.—How Porthos, Trüchen, and Planchet parted with each other on friendly terms, thanks to D'Artagnan CHAPTER XV.—The Presentation of Porthos at Court CHAPTER XVI.—Explanations CHAPTER XVII.—Madame and Guiche CHAPTER XVIII.—Montalais and Malicorne CHAPTER XIX.—How De Wardes was received at Court CHAPTER XX.—The Combat CHAPTER XXI.—The King's Supper CHAPTER XXII.—After Supper CHAPTER XXIII.—Showing in what way D'Artagnan discharged the Mission with which the King had intrusted him CHAPTER XXIV.—The Encounter CHAPTER XXV.—The Physician CHAPTER XXVI.—Wherein D'Artagnan perceives that it was he who was mistaken, and Manicamp who was right CHAPTER XXVII.—Showing the advantage of having two Strings to one's Bow CHAPTER XXVIII.—M. Malicorne the Keeper of the Records of the Realm of France CHAPTER XXIX.—The Journey CHAPTER XXX.—Triumfeminate CHAPTER XXXI.—The First Quarrel CHAPTER XXXII.—Despair CHAPTER XXXIII.—The Flight CHAPTER XXXIV.—Showing how Louis, on his side, had passed the time from Ten to half-past Twelve at Night CHAPTER XXXV.—The Ambassadors CHAPTER XXXVI.—Chaillot CHAPTER XXXVII.—Madame CHAPTER XXXVIII.—Mademoiselle de la Valliere's Pocket-Handkerchief CHAPTER XXXIX.—Which treats of Gardeners, of Ladders, and Maids of Honor CHAPTER XL.—Which treats of Carpentry Operations, and furnishes Details upon the Mode of constructing Staircases CHAPTER XLI.—The Promenade by Torchlight CHAPTER XLII.—The Apparition CHAPTER XLIII.—The Portrait CHAPTER XLIV.—Hampton Court CHAPTER XLV.—The Courier from Madame CHAPTER XLVI.—Saint-Aignan follows Malicorne's Advice CHAPTER XLVII.—Two Old Friends CHAPTER XLVIII.— Wherein may be seen that a Bargain which cannot be made with one Person, can be carried out with Another CHAPTER XLIX.—The Skin of the Bear CHAPTER L.—An Interview with the Queen-Mother CHAPTER LI.—Two Friends CHAPTER LII.—How Jean de la Fontaine wrote his first Tale CHAPTER LIII.—La Fontaine in the Character of a Negotiator CHAPTER LIV.—Madame de Belliere's Plate and Diamonds CHAPTER LV.—M. de Mazarin's Receipt CHAPTER LVI.—Monsieur Colbert's rough Draft CHAPTER LVII.—In which the Author thinks it is now time to return to the Vicomte de Bragelonne CHAPTER LVIII.—Bragelonne continues his Inquiries CHAPTER LIX.—Two Jealousies CHAPTER LX.—A Domiciliary Visit CHAPTER LXI.—Porthos' Plan of Action CHAPTER LXII.—The Change of Residence, the Trap-Door, and the Portrait CHAPTER LXIII.—Rival Politics CHAPTER LXIV.—Rival Affections CHAPTER LXV.—King and Nobility CHAPTER LXVI.—After the Storm CHAPTER LXVII.—Heu! Miser! CHAPTER LXVIII.— Wounds upon Wounds CHAPTER LXIX.—What Raoul had Guessed CHAPTER LXX.—Three Guests astonished to find themselves at Supper together CHAPTER LXXI.—What took place at the Louvre during the Supper at the Bastille CHAPTER LXXII.—Political Rivals CHAPTER LXXIII.—In which Porthos is convinced without having understood anything CHAPTER LXXIV.—M. de Baisemeaux's "Society" CHAPTER LXXV.—The Prisoner CHAPTER LXXVI.—How Mouston had become fatter without giving Porthos notice thereof, and of the Troubles which consequently befell that worthy Gentleman CHAPTER LXXVII.—Who Messire John Percerin was CHAPTER LXXVIII.—The Patterns CHAPTER LXXIX.—Where, probably, Moliere formed his first Idea of the Bourgeois Gentilhomme CHAPTER LXXX.—The Beehive, the Bees, and the Honey CHAPTER LXXXI.—Another Supper at the Bastille CHAPTER LXXXII.—The General of the Order CHAPTER LXXXIII.—The Tempter CHAPTER LXXXIV.—Crown and Tiara CHAPTER LXXXV.—The Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte CHAPTER LXXXVI.—The Wine of Melun CHAPTER LXXXVII.—Nectar and Ambrosia CHAPTER LXXXVIII.—A Gascon, and a Gascon and a half CHAPTER LXXXIX.—Colbert CHAPTER XC.—Jealousy CHAPTER XCI.—High Treason CHAPTER XCII.—A Night at the Bastille CHAPTER XCIII.—The Shadow of M. Fouquet CHAPTER XCIV.—The Morning CHAPTER XCV.—The King's Friend CHAPTER XCVI.—Showing how the Countersign was respected at the Bastille CHAPTER XCVII.—The King's Gratitude CHAPTER XCVIII.—The False King CHAPTER XCIX.—In which Porthos thinks he is pursuing a Duchy CHAPTER C.—The Last Adieux CHAPTER CI.—Monsieur de Beaufort CHAPTER CII.—Preparations for Departure CHAPTER CIII.—Planchet's Inventory CHAPTER CIV.—The Inventory of M. de Beaufort CHAPTER CV.—The Silver Dish CHAPTER CVI.—Captive and Jailers CHAPTER CVII.—Promises CHAPTER CVIII.—Among Women CHAPTER CIX.—The Last Supper CHAPTER CX.—In the Carriage of M. Colbert CHAPTER CXI.—The Two Lighters CHAPTER CXII.—Friendly Advice CHAPTER CXIII.—How the King, Louis XIV., played his little Part CHAPTER CXIV.—The White Horse and the Black Horse CHAPTER CXV.—In which the Squirrel falls--in which the Adder flies CHAPTER CXVI.—Belle-Isle-en-Mer CHAPTER CXVII.—The Explanations of Aramis CHAPTER CXVIII.—Result of the Ideas of the King, and the Ideas of D'Artagnan CHAPTER CXIX.—The Ancestors of Porthos CHAPTER CXX.—The Son of Biscarrat CHAPTER CXXI.—The Grotto of Locmaria CHAPTER CXXII.—The Grotto CHAPTER CXXIII.—An Homeric Song CHAPTER CXXIV.—The Death of a Titan CHAPTER CXXV.—The Epitaph of Porthos CHAPTER CXXVI.—The Round of M. de Gesvres CHAPTER CXXVII.—King Louis XIV. CHAPTER CXXVIII.—The Friends of M. Fouquet CHAPTER CXXIX.—Porthos' Will CHAPTER CXXX.—The Old Age of Athos CHAPTER CXXXI.—The Vision of Athos CHAPTER CXXXII.—The Angel of Death CHAPTER CXXXIII.—The Bulletin CHAPTER CXXXIV.—The last Canto of the Poem EPILOGUE. The Death of D'Artagnan LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS I.—Frontispiece.—Hardly had the ladder been properly placed than the king began to ascend. II.—As the rain dripped more and more through the foliage of the oak, the king held his hat over the head of the young girl. III.—D'Artagnan, reclining upon an immense straight-backed chair, with his legs not stretched out, but simply placed upon a stool, formed an angle of the most obtuse form that could possibly be seen. IV.—De Guiche turned round also, and, at the moment the horse was quiet again, he fired, and the ball carried off De Wardes' hat from his head. V.—Athos broke his sword across his knee, slowly placed the two pieces upon the floor, and saluting the king, who was almost choking from rage and shame, he quitted the cabinet. VI.—Raoul, presenting his pistol, threw himself on the leader, commanding the coachman to stop. VII.—Aramis saw that the young man was stretched upon his bed, his face half-concealed by his arms. VIII.—"You will look through the opening, which answers to one of the false windows made in the dome of the king's apartment. Can you see?" IX.—"What is this, monsieur, and what is the meaning of this jest?" "It is no jest," replied in a deep voice the masked figure that held the lantern. X.—The king entered into the cell without pronouncing a single word: he was pale and haggard. XI.—They saw, by the red flashes of the lightning against the violet fog which the wind stamped upon the bankward sky, they saw pass gravely at six paces behind the governor, a man clothed in black and masked by a visor of polished steel, soldered to a helmet of the same nature, which altogether enveloped the whole of his head. XII.—The deathbed of Athos—"Here I am!" THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE. (PART II.) CHAPTER I. SHOWING WHAT NEITHER THE NAIAD NOR DRYAD HAD ANTICIPATED. Saint-Aignan stopped at the foot of the staircase which led to the entresol, where the maids of honor were lodged, and to the first floor, where Madame's apartments were situated. Then, by means of one of the servants who was passing, he sent to apprise Malicorne, who was still with Monsieur. After having waited ten minutes, Malicorne arrived, looking full of suspicion and importance. The king drew back toward the darkest part of the vestibule. Saint-Aignan, on the contrary, advanced to meet him, but at the first words, indicating his wish, Malicorne drew back abruptly. "Oh! oh!" he said, "you want me to introduce you into the rooms of the maids of honor?" "Yes." "You know very well that I cannot do anything of the kind, without being made acquainted with your object." "Unfortunately, my dear Monsieur Malicorne, it is quite impossible for me to give you any explanation: you must therefore confide in me as in a friend who got you out of a great difficulty yesterday, and who now begs you to draw him out of one to-day." "Yet, I told you, monsieur, what my object was; that my object was not to sleep out in the open air, and any man might express the same wish, while you, however, admit nothing." "Believe me, my dear Monsieur Malicorne," Saint-Aignan persisted, "that if I were permitted to explain myself, I would do so." "In that case, my dear monsieur, it is impossible for me to allow you to enter Mademoiselle de Montalais's apartment." "Why so?" "You know why better than any one else, since you caught me on the wall paying my addresses to Mademoiselle de Montalais; it would, therefore, be an excess of kindness, on my part, you will admit, since I am paying my attentions to her, to open the door of her room to you." "But who told you it was on her account I asked you for the key?" "For whom, then?" "She does not lodge there alone, I suppose?" "No, certainly; for Mademoiselle de la Valliere shares her rooms with her; but, really, you have nothing more to do with Mademoiselle de la Valliere than with Mademoiselle de Montalais, and there are only two men to whom I would give this key; to M. de Bragelonne, if he begged me to give it him, and to the king if he ordered me to do so." "In that case, give me the key, monsieur, I order you to do so," said the king, advancing from the obscurity, and partially opening his cloak. "Mademoiselle de Montalais will step down to talk with you, while we go upstairs to Mademoiselle de la Valliere, for, in fact, it is she only whom we require." "The king," exclaimed Malicorne, bowing down to the very ground. "Yes, the king," said Louis, smiling, "the king, who is as pleased with your resistance as with your capitulation. Rise, monsieur, and render us the service we request of you." "I obey your majesty," said Malicorne, leading the way up the staircase. "Get Mademoiselle de Montalais to come down," said the king, "and do not breathe a word to her of my visit." Malicorne bowed in sign of obedience, and proceeded up the staircase. But the king, after a hasty reflection, followed him, and that, too, with such rapidity, that although Malicorne was already more than half-way up the staircase, the king reached the room at the same moment he did. He then observed by the door which remained half-opened behind Malicorne, La Valliere, sitting in an armchair with her head thrown back, and in the opposite corner Montalais, who, in her dressing-gown, was standing before a looking-glass, engaged in arranging her hair, and parleying all the while with Malicorne. The king hurriedly opened the door, and entered the room. Montalais called out at the noise made by the opening of the door, and, recognizing the king, made her escape. La Valliere rose from her seat, like a dead person who had been galvanized, and then fell back again in her armchair. The king advanced slowly toward her. "You wished for an audience, I believe," he said, coldly; "I am ready to hear you. Speak." Saint-Aignan, faithful to his character of being deaf, blind, and dumb, had stationed himself in a corner of the door, upon a stool which he fortuitously found there. Concealed by the tapestry which covered the doorway, and leaning his back against the wall, he could in this way listen without been seen; resigning himself to the post of a good watch-dog, who patiently waits and watches without ever getting in his master's way. La Valliere, terror-stricken at the king's irritated aspect, again rose a second time, and assuming a posture of humility and entreaty, murmured, "Forgive me, sire." "What need is there for my forgiveness?" asked Louis. "Sire, I have been guilty of a great fault; nay, more than a great fault, a great crime." "You?" "Sire, I have offended your majesty." "Not the slightest degree in the world," replied Louis XIV. "I implore you, sire, not to maintain toward me that terrible seriousness of manner which reveals your majesty's just anger. I feel I have offended you, sire; but I wish to explain to you how it was that I have not offended you of my own accord." "In the first place," said the king, "in what way can you possibly have offended me? I cannot perceive how. Surely not on account of a young girl's harmless and very innocent jest? You turned the credulity of a young man into ridicule—it was very natural to do so; any other woman in your place would have done the same." "Oh! your majesty overwhelms me by your remark." "Why so?" "Because if I had been the author of the jest, it would not have been innocent." "Well! is that all you had to say to me in soliciting an audience?" said the king, as though about to turn away. Thereupon, La Valliere, in an abrupt and broken voice, her eyes dried up by the fire of her tears, made a step toward the king, and said, "Did your majesty hear everything?" "Everything, what?" "Everything I said beneath the royal oak." "I did not lose a syllable." "And when your majesty heard me, you were able to think I had abused your credulity." "Credulity; yes, indeed you have selected the very word." "And your majesty did not suppose that a poor girl like myself might possibly be compelled to submit to the will of others." "Forgive me," returned the king; "but I shall never be able to understand that she, who of her own free will could express herself so unreservedly beneath the royal oak, would allow herself to be influenced to such an extent by the direction of others." "But the threat held out against me, sire." "Threat! who threatened you—who dared to threaten you?" "They who have the right to do so, sire." "I do not recognize any one as possessing the right to threaten in my kingdom." "Forgive me, sire, but near your majesty, even, there are persons sufficiently high in position to have, or to believe that they possess, the right of injuring a young girl, without fortune, and possessing only her reputation." "In what way injure her?" "In depriving her of her reputation, by disgracefully expelling her from the court." "Oh! Mademoiselle de la Valliere," said the king, bitterly, "I prefer those persons who exculpate themselves without incriminating others." "Sire!" "Yes; and I confess that I greatly regret to perceive that an easy justification, as your own might be, should have been complicated in my presence by a tissue of reproaches and imputations against others." "And which you do not believe?" exclaimed La Valliere. The king remained silent. "Nay, but tell me!" repeated La Valliere, vehemently. "I regret to confess it," replied the king, bowing coldly. The young girl uttered a deep groan, striking her hands together in despair. "You do not believe me, then," she said to the king, who still remained silent, while poor La Valliere's features became visibly changed at his continued silence. "Therefore, you believe," she said, "that I settled this ridiculous, this infamous plot, of trifling, in so shameless a manner, with your majesty." "Nay," said the king, "it is neither ridiculous nor infamous, it is not even a plot; it is merely a jest, more or less amusing, and nothing more." "Oh!" murmured the young girl, "the king does not, and will not, believe me, then?" "No, indeed, I will not believe you," said the king. "Besides, in point of fact, what can be more natural? The king, you argue, follows me, listens to me, watches me; the king wishes perhaps to amuse himself at my expense, I will amuse myself at his, and as the king is very tender-hearted, I will take his heart by storm." La Valliere hid her face in her hands, as she stifled her sobs. The king continued most pitilessly, he revenged himself upon the poor victim before him for all that he had himself suffered. "Let us invent, then, this story of my loving him and preferring him to others. The king is so simple and so conceited that he will believe me; and then we can go and tell others how credulous the king is, and can enjoy a laugh at his expense." "Oh!" exclaimed La Valliere, "to think that, to believe that! it is frightful." "And," pursued the king, "that is not all; if this self-conceited prince should take our jest seriously, if he should be imprudent enough to exhibit before others anything like delight at it, well, in that case, the king will be humiliated before the whole court; and what a delightful story it will be, too, for him to whom I am really attached, a part of my dowry for my husband, to have the adventure to relate of the king who was so amusingly deceived by a young girl." "Sire!" exclaimed La Valliere, her mind bewildered, almost wandering, indeed, "not another word, I implore you; do you not see that you are killing me?" "A jest, nothing but a jest," murmured the king, who, however, began to be somewhat affected. La Valliere fell upon her knees, and that so violently, that their sound could be heard upon the hard floor. "Sire," she said, "I prefer shame to disloyalty." "What do you mean?" inquired the king, without moving a step to raise the young girl from her knees. "Sire, when I shall have sacrificed my honor and my reason both to you, you will perhaps believe in my loyalty. The tale which was related to you in Madame's apartments, and by Madame herself, is utterly false; and that which I said beneath the great oak—" "Well!" "That only is the truth." "What!" exclaimed the king. "Sire," exclaimed La Valliere, hurried away by the violence of her emotions, "were I to die of shame on the very spot where my knees are fixed, I would repeat it until my latest breath; I said that I loved you, and it is true; I do love you." "You!" "I have loved you, sire, from the very day first I saw you; from the moment when at Blois, where I was pining away my existence, your royal looks, full of light and life, were first bent upon me. I love you still, sire; it is a crime of high treason, I know, that a poor girl like myself should love her sovereign and should presume to tell him so. Punish me for my audacity, despise me for my shameless immodesty; but do not ever say, do not ever think, that I have jested with or deceived you. I belong to a family whose loyalty has been proved, sire; and I, too, love my king." Suddenly her strength, voice, and respiration ceased, and she fell forward, like the flower Virgil alludes to, which the scythe of the reaper touched as it passed over. The king, at these words, at this vehement entreaty, no longer retained either ill-will or doubt in his mind; his whole heart seemed to expand at the glowing breath of an affection which proclaimed itself in such a noble and courageous language. When, therefore, he heard the passionate confession of that young girl's affection, his strength seemed to fail him, and he hid his face in his hands. But when he felt La Valliere's hands clinging to his own, when their warm pressure fired his blood, he bent forward, and passing his arm round La Valliere's waist, he raised her from the ground and pressed her against his heart. But she, her drooping head fallen forward on her bosom, seemed to have ceased to live. The king, terrified, called out for Saint-Aignan. Saint-Aignan, who had carried his discretion so far as to remain without stirring in his corner, pretending to wipe away a tear, ran forward at the king's summons. He then assisted Louis to seat the young girl upon a couch, slapped her hands, sprinkled some Hungary water over her face, calling out all the while, "Come, come, it is all over; the king believes you, and forgives you. There, there now! take care, or you will agitate his majesty too much; his majesty is so sensitive, so tender-hearted. Now, really, Mademoiselle de la Valliere, you must pay attention, for the king is very pale." The fact was, the king was visibly losing color. But La Valliere did not move. "Do pray recover," continued Saint-Aignan, "I beg, I implore you; it is really time you should; think only of one thing, that if the king should become unwell, I should be obliged to summon his physician. What a state of things that would be! So do pray rouse yourself; make an effort, pray do, and do it at once, too." It was difficult to display more persuasive eloquence than Saint-Aignan did, but something still more powerful and of a more energetic nature than this eloquence aroused La Valliere. The king, who was kneeling before her, covered the palms of her hands with those burning kisses which are to the hands what a kiss upon the lips is to the face. La Valliere's senses returned to her; she languidly opened her eyes, and, with a dying look, murmured, "Oh! sire, has your majesty pardoned me, then?" The king did not reply, for he was still too much overcome. Saint-Aignan thought it his duty again to retire, for he observed the passionate devotion which was displayed in the king's gaze. La Valliere arose. "And now, sire, that I have justified myself, at least I trust so in your majesty's eyes, grant me leave to retire into a convent. I shall bless your majesty all my life, and I shall die there thanking and loving Heaven for having granted me one day of perfect happiness." "No, no," replied the king, "you will live here blessing Heaven, on the contrary, but loving Louis, who will make your existence one of perfect felicity—Louis who loves you—Louis who swears it." "Oh! sire, sire!" And upon this doubt of La Valliere, the king's kisses became so warm that Saint-Aignan thought it his duty to retire behind the tapestry. These kisses however, which she had not had the strength at first to resist, began to intimidate the young girl. "Oh! sire," she exclaimed, "do not make me repent my loyalty, for it would show me that your majesty despises me still." "Mademoiselle de la Valliere," said the king, suddenly, drawing back with an air full of respect, "there is nothing in the world that I love and honor more than yourself, and nothing in my court, I call Heaven to witness, shall be so highly regarded as you shall be henceforward. I entreat your forgiveness for my transport; it arose from an excess of affection, but I can prove to you that I shall love still more than ever by respecting you as much as you can possibly desire." Then bending before her, and taking her by the hand, he said to her, "Will you honor me by accepting the kiss I press upon your hand?" And the king's lips were pressed respectfully and lightly upon the young girl's trembling hand. "Henceforth," added Louis, rising and bending his glance upon La Valliere, "henceforth you are under my safeguard. Do not speak to any one of the injury I have done you, forgive others that which they may have been able to do you. For the future you shall be so far above all those, that, far from inspiring you with fear, they shall be even beneath your pity." And he bowed as reverently as though he were leaving a place of worship. Then calling to Saint-Aignan, who approached with great humility, he said, "I hope, comte, that Mademoiselle de la Valliere will kindly confer a little of her friendship upon you, in return for that which I have vowed to her eternally." Saint-Aignan bent his knee before La Valliere, saying, "How happy, indeed, would such an honor make me!" "I shall send your companion back to you," said the king. "Farewell! or, rather, adieu till we meet again; do not forget me in your prayers, I entreat." "Oh! no," said La Valliere, "be assured that you and heaven are in my heart together." These words of Louise elated the king, who, full of happiness, hurried Saint-Aignan down the stairs. Madame had not anticipated this termination, and neither the Naiad nor the Dryad had said a word about it. CHAPTER II. THE NEW GENERAL OF THE JESUITS. While La Valliere and the king were mingling together, in their first confession of love, all the bitterness of the past, all the happiness of the present, and all the hopes of the future, Fouquet had retired to the apartments which had been assigned to him in the chateau, and was conversing with Aramis precisely upon the very subjects which the king at that moment was forgetting. "Now tell me," began Fouquet, after having installed his guest in an armchair, and seated himself by his side, "tell me, Monsieur d'Herblay, what is our position with regard to the Belle-Isle affair, and whether you have received any news about it." "Everything is going on in that direction as we wish," replied Aramis; "the expenses have been paid, and nothing has transpired of our designs." "But what about the soldiers whom the king wished to send there?" "I have received news this morning that they had arrived there fifteen days ago." "And how have they been treated?" "In the best manner possible." "What has become of the former garrison?" "The soldiers were landed at Sarzeau, and were sent off at once toward Quimper." "And the new garrison?" "Belongs to us from this very moment." "Are you sure of what you say, my dear Monsieur de Vannes?" "Quite sure, and, moreover, you will see by-and-by how matters have turned out." "Still you are very well aware that, of all the garrison towns, Belle-Isle is precisely the very worst." "I know it, and have acted accordingly; no space to move about, no communications, no cheerful society, no gambling permitted; well, it is a great pity," added Aramis, with one of those smiles so peculiar to him, "to see how much young people at the present day seek amusement, and how much, consequently, they incline toward the man who procures and pays for such amusements for them." "But if they amuse themselves at Belle-Isle?" "If they amuse themselves through the king's means, they will attach themselves to the king; but if they get bored to death through the king's means, and amuse themselves through M. Fouquet, they will attach themselves to M. Fouquet." "And you informed my intendant, of course, so that immediately on their arrival—" "By no means; they were left alone a whole week, to weary themselves at their ease; but, at the end of the week, they cried out, saying that the last officers amused themselves more than they did. Whereupon they were told that the old officers had been able to make a friend of M. Fouquet, and that M. Fouquet, knowing them to be friends of his, had from that moment done all he possibly could to prevent their getting wearied or bored upon his estates. Upon this they began to reflect. Immediately afterward, however, the intendant added, that without anticipating M. Fouquet's orders, he knew his master sufficiently well to be aware that he took an interest in every gentleman in the king's service, and that, although he did not know the new comers, he would do as much for them as he had done for the others." "Excellent! and I trust that the promises were followed up; I desire, as you know, that no promise should ever be made in my name without being kept." "Without a moment's loss of time, our two privateers, and your own horses, were placed at the disposal of the officers; the keys of the principal mansion were handed over to them, so that they made up hunting-parties, and walking- excursions with such ladies as are to be found in Belle-Isle; and such others as they are enabled to enlist from the neighborhood, who have no fear of sea-sickness." "And there is a fair sprinkling to be met with at Sarzeau and Vannes, I believe, your eminence?" "Yes; all along the coast," said Aramis, quietly. "And now, for the soldiers?" "Everything is precisely the same, in a relative degree, you understand; the soldiers have plenty of wine, excellent provisions, and good pay." "Very good; so that?—" "So that this garrison can be depended upon, and it is a better one than the last." "Good." "The result is, if Fortune favors us, so that the garrisons are changed in this manner, only every two months, that at the end of every three years, the whole army will, in its turn, have been there; and, therefore, instead of having one regiment in our favor, we shall have fifty thousand men." "Yes, yes; I knew perfectly well," said Fouquet, "that no friend could be more incomparable and invaluable than yourself, my dear Monsieur d'Herblay; but," he added, laughing, "all this time we are forgetting our friend De Vallon; what has become of him? During the three days I have spent at Saint-Mandé, I confess I have forgotten him completely." "I do not forget him, however," returned Aramis. "Porthos is at Saint-Mandé; all his joints are kept well greased, the greatest care is being taken of him with regard to the food he eats, and to the wines he drinks; I advise him to take daily airings in the small park, which you have kept for your own use, and he makes use of it accordingly. He begins to walk again, he exercises his muscular powers by bending down young elm trees, or making the old oaks fly into splinters, as Milo of Crotona used to do; and, as there are no lions in the park, it is not unlikely we shall find him alive. Porthos is a brave fellow." "Yes, but in the meantime he will get wearied to death." "He never does that." "He will be asking questions?" "He sees no one." "At all events, he is looking or hoping for something or another?" "I have inspired in him a hope which we will realize some fine morning, and he subsists on that." "What is it?" "That of being presented to the king." "Oh! oh! in what character?" "As the engineer of Belle-Isle, of course." "Is it possible?" "Quite true." "Shall we not be obliged, then, to send him back to Belle-Isle?" "Most certainly; I am even thinking of sending him back as soon as possible. Porthos is very fond of display; he is a man whose weaknesses D'Artagnan, Athos and myself are alone acquainted with; he never commits himself in any way; he is dignity itself; to the officers there, he would seem like a Paladin of the time of the Crusades. He would make the whole staff drunk, without getting so himself, and every one will regard him as an object of admiration and sympathy; if, therefore, it should happen that we should have any orders requiring to be carried out, Porthos is an incarnation of the order itself, and whatever he chose to do, others would find themselves obliged to submit to." "Send him back then." "That is what I intend to do; but in a few days only, for I must not omit to tell you one thing." "What is it?" "I begin to suspect D'Artagnan. He is not at Fontainebleau, as you may have noticed, and D'Artagnan is never absent, or apparently idle, without some object in view. And now that my own affairs are settled, I am going to try and ascertain what the affairs are in which D'Artagnan is engaged." "Your own affairs are settled, you say?" "Yes." "You are very fortunate, in that case, then, and I should like to be able to say the same." "I hope you do not make yourself uneasy." "Hum!" "Nothing could be better than the king's reception of you." "True." "And Colbert lets you be quiet." "Almost so." "In that case," said Aramis, with that connection of ideas which marked him, "in that, case, then, we can bestow a thought upon the young girl I was speaking to you about yesterday." "Whom do you mean?" "What, have you forgotten already? I mean La Valliere." "Ah! of course, of course." "Do you object, then, to try and make a conquest of her?" "In one respect only, my heart is engaged in another direction; and I positively do not care about the girl in the least." "Oh! oh!" said Aramis, "your heart is engaged, you say. The deuce! we must take care of that!" "Why?" "Because it is terrible to have the heart occupied, when others, beside yourself, have so much need of the head." "You are right. So, you see, at your first summons, I left everything. But to return to this girl. What good do you see in my troubling myself about her?" "This.—The king, it is said, has taken a fancy to her; at least, so it is supposed." "But you, who know everything, know very differently." "I know that the king has changed with great rapidity; that the day before yesterday, he was mad about Madame; that a few days ago, Monsieur complained of it, even to the queen-mother; and that some conjugal misunderstandings and maternal scoldings were the consequence." "How do you know all that?" "I do know it; at all events, since these misunderstandings and scoldings the king has not addressed a word, has not paid the slightest attention, to her royal highness." "Well, what next?" "Since then, he has been taken up with Mademoiselle de la Valliere. Now, Mademoiselle de la Valliere is one of Madame's maids of honor. You happen to know, I suppose, what is called a chaperon in matters of love. Well, then, Mademoiselle de la Valliere is Madame's chaperon. It is for you, therefore, to take advantage of this state of things. You have no occasion for me to tell you that. But, at all events, wounded vanity will render the conquest an easier one; the girl will get hold of the king, and Madame's secret, and you can hardly tell what a man of intelligence can do with a secret." "But how to get at her?" "Nay, you, of all men, to ask me such a question?" said Aramis. "Very true. I shall not have any time to take any notice of her." "She is poor and unassuming, you will create a position for her, and, whether she becomes the king's master, or his mistress, or whether she only becomes his confidant, you will only have made a new proficient." "Very good," said Fouquet. "What is to be done, then, with regard to this girl?" "Whenever you have taken a fancy to any lady, Monsieur Fouquet, what steps have you taken?" "I have written to her, protesting my devotion to her. I have added, how happy I should be to render her any service in my power, and have signed 'Fouquet' at the end of the letter." "And has any one offered any resistance?" "One person only," replied Fouquet. "But, four days ago, she yielded, as the others had done." "Will you take the trouble to write?" said Aramis, holding a pen toward him, which Fouquet took, saying: "I will write at your dictation. My head is so taken up in another direction that I should not be able to write a couple of lines." "Very well," said Aramis, "write." And he dictated as follows: "I have seen, and you will not be surprised to learn, how beautiful I have found you. But, for want of the position you merit at the court, your presence there is a waste of time. The devotion of a man of honor, should ambition of any kind inspire you, might possibly serve as a means of display for your talents and beauty. I place my devotion at your feet; but, as an affection, however reserved and unpresuming it may be, might possibly compromise the object of its worship, it would ill-become a person of your merit running the risk of being compromised, without her future being insured. If you would deign to accept and reply to my affection, my affection shall prove its gratitude to you in making you free and independent forever." Having finished writing, Fouquet looked at Aramis. "Sign it," said the latter. "Is it absolutely necessary?" "Your signature at the foot of that letter is worth a million; you forget that." Fouquet signed. "Now, by whom do you intend to send the letter?" asked Aramis. "By an excellent servant of mine." "Can you rely on him?" "He is a man who has been with me all my life." "Very well. Besides, in this case, we are not playing for very heavy stakes." "How so? For if what you say be true of the accommodating disposition of this girl for the king and Madame, the king will give her all the money she can ask for." "The king has money, then?" asked Aramis. "I suppose so, for he has not asked me for any more." "Be easy; he will ask for some soon." "Nay, more than that, I had thought he would have spoken to me about the fete at Vaux, but he never said a word about it." "He will be sure to do so, though." "You must think the king's disposition a very cruel one, Monsieur d'Herblay." "It is not he who is so." "He is young, and therefore his disposition is a kind one." "He is young, and either he is weak, or his passions are strong; and Monsieur Colbert holds his weaknesses and his passions in his villainous grasp." "You admit that you fear him?—" "I do not deny it." "In that case I am lost." "Why so?" "My only influence with the king has been through the money I commanded, and now I am a ruined man." "Not so." "What do you mean by 'not so?' Do you know my affairs better than myself?" "That is not unlikely." "If he were to request this fete to be given?" "You will give it, of course." "But where is the money to come from?" "Have you ever been in want of any?" "Oh, if you only knew at what a cost I procured the last supply!" "The next shall cost you nothing." "But who will give it me?" "I will." "What! give me six millions?" "Ten, if necessary." "Upon my word, D'Herblay," said Fouquet, "your confidence alarms me more than the king's displeasure. Who can you possibly be, after all?" "You know me well enough, I should think." "Of course; but what is it you are aiming at?" "I wish to see upon the throne of France a king devoted to Monsieur Fouquet, and I wish Monsieur Fouquet to be devoted to me." "Oh!" exclaimed Fouquet, pressing his hand, "as for belonging to you. I am yours entirely: but believe me, my dear D'Herblay, you are deceiving yourself." "In what respect?" "The king will never become devoted to me." "I do not remember to have said that the king would be devoted to you." "Why, on the contrary, you have this moment said so." "I did not say the king: I said a king." "Is it not all the same?" "No, on the contrary, it is quite different." "I do not understand you." "You will do so shortly then. Suppose, for instance, the king in question were to be a very different person to Louis XIV." "Another person?" "Yes, who is indebted for everything to you." "Impossible!" "His very throne even." "You are mad, D'Herblay! There is no man living besides Louis XIV. who can sit on the throne of France. I see none, not one." "Unless it be Monsieur," said Fouquet, looking at Aramis uneasily, "yet Monsieur—" "It is not Monsieur." "But how can it be that a prince not of the royal line, that a prince without any right—" "My king, or rather your king, will be everything that is necessary, be assured of that." "Be careful, Monsieur d'Herblay; you make my blood run cold, and my head swim." Aramis smiled. "There is but little occasion for that," he replied. "Again, I repeat, you terrify me!" said Fouquet. Aramis smiled. "You laugh," said Fouquet. "The day will come when you will laugh too; only at the present moment I must laugh alone." "But explain yourself." "When the proper day shall have arrived, I will explain all. Fear nothing; have faith in me, and doubt nothing." "The fact is, I cannot but doubt, because I do not see clearly, or at all even." "That is because of your blindness: but a day will come when you will be enlightened." "Oh," said Fouquet, "how willingly would I believe!" "You without belief! You who, through my means, have ten times crossed the abyss yawning at your feet, and in which, had you been alone, you would have been irretrievably swallowed up! You without belief! you who, from procureur- general, attained the rank of intendant, from the rank of intendant that of first minister of the crown, and who, from the rank of first minister, will pass to that of mayor of the palace! But no," he said, with the same unaltered smile, "no, no, you cannot see, and consequently cannot believe that." And Aramis rose to withdraw. "One word more," said Fouquet. "You have never yet spoken to me in this manner, you have never yet shown yourself so confident—I should rather say so daring." "Because it is necessary, in order to speak confidently, to have the lips unfettered." "And that is now your case?" "Yes." "Since a very short time, then?" "Since yesterday only." "Oh, Monsieur d'Herblay, take care; your confidence is becoming audacity." "One can well be audacious when one is powerful." "And you are powerful?" "I have already offered you ten millions: I offer them again to you." Fouquet rose, much agitated and disturbed. "Come," he said, "come; you spoke of overthrowing kings and replacing them by others. If, indeed, I am not really out of my senses, is or is not that what you said just now?" "You are by no means out of your senses, for it is perfectly true I did say all that just now." "And why did you say so?" "Because it is easy to speak in this manner of thrones being cast down, and kings being raised up, when one is, one's self, far above all king's and thrones, of this world at least." "Your power is infinite, then?" cried Fouquet. "I have told you so already, and I repeat it," replied Aramis, with glistening eyes and trembling lips. Fouquet threw himself back in his chair and buried his face in his hands. Aramis looked at him for a moment, as the angel of human destinies might have looked upon a simple mortal being. "Adieu," he said to him, "sleep undisturbed, and send your letter to La Valliere. To-morrow we shall see each other again." "Yes, to-morrow," said Fouquet, shaking his hand like a man returning to his senses. "But where shall we see each other?" "At the king's promenade, if you like." "Agreed." And they separated. CHAPTER III. THE STORM. The dawn of the following day was dark and gloomy, and as every one knew that the promenade was set down in the royal programme, every one's gaze, as his eyes were opened, was directed toward the sky. Just above the tops of the trees a thick, suffocating vapor seemed to remain suspended, with hardly sufficient power to rise thirty feet above the ground under the influence of the sun's rays, which could barely be seen through the veil of a heavy and thick mist. No dew had fallen in the morning; the turf was dried up for want of moisture, the flowers were withered. The birds sung less inspiritingly than usual amid the boughs, which remained as motionless as death. The strange confused and animated murmurs, which seemed born of, and to exist by the sun, that respiration of nature which is unceasingly heard amid all other sounds, could not be heard now, and never had the silence been so profound. The king had noticed the cheerless aspect of the heavens as he approached the window immediately after rising. But as all the necessary directions had been given respecting the promenade, and every preparation had been made accordingly, and as, which was far more imperious than everything else, Louis relied upon this promenade to satisfy the cravings of his imagination, and we will even already say, the clamorous desires of his heart—the king unhesitatingly decided that the appearance of the heavens had nothing whatever to do with the matter; that the promenade was arranged, and that, whatever the state of the weather might be, the promenade should take place. Besides there are certain terrestrial sovereigns who seem to have accorded them privileged existences, and there are certain times when it might almost be supposed that the expressed wish of an earthly monarch has its influence over the Divine will. It was Virgil who observed of Augustus: Nocte placet tota redeunt spectacula manè. Louis attended mass as usual, but it was evident that his attention was somewhat distracted from the presence of the Creator by the remembrance of the creature. His mind was occupied during the service in reckoning more than once the number of minutes, then of seconds, which separated him from the blissful moment when the promenade would begin, that is to say, the moment when Madame would set out with her maids of honor. Besides, as a matter of course, everybody at the chateau was ignorant of the interview which had taken place between La Valliere and the king. Montalais, perhaps, with her usual chattering propensity, might have been disposed to talk about it; but Montalais on this occasion was held in check by Malicorne, who had placed upon her lips the padlock of mutual interest. As for Louis XIV., his happiness was so extreme that he had forgiven Madame, or nearly so, her little piece of ill-nature of the previous evening. In fact, he had occasion to congratulate himself about it rather than to complain of it. Had it not been for her ill-natured action, he would not have received the letter from La Valliere; had it not been for the letter, he would have had no interview; and had it not been for the interview he would have remained