THE AUDIENCE

M. de Treville was at the moment in rather ill-humor,

nevertheless he saluted the young man politely, who bowed to the

very ground; and he smiled on receiving D`Artagnan`s response,

the Bearnese accent of which recalled to him at the same time

his youth and his country--a double remembrance which makes a man

smile at all ages; but stepping toward the antechamber and making

a sign to D`Artagnan with his hand, as if to ask his permission

to finish with others before he began with him, he called three

times, with a louder voice at each time, so that he ran through

the intervening tones between the imperative accent and the angry

accent.

"Athos! Porthos! Aramis!"

The two Musketeers with whom we have already made acquaintance,

and who answered to the last of these three names, immediately

quitted the group of which they had formed a part, and advanced

toward the cabinet, the door of which closed after them as soon

as they had entered. Their appearance, although it was not quite

at ease, excited by its carelessness, at once full of dignity and

submission, the admiration of D`Artagnan, who beheld in these two

men demigods, and in their leader an Olympian Jupiter, armed with

all his thunders.

When the two Musketeers had entered; when the door was closed

behind them; when the buzzing murmur of the antechamber, to which

the summons which had been made had doubtless furnished fresh

food, had recommenced; when M. de Treville had three or four

times paced in silence, and with a frowning brow, the whole

length of his cabinet, passing each time before Porthos and

Aramis, who were as upright and silent as if on parade--he

stopped all at once full in front of them, and covering them from

head to foot with an angry look, "Do you know what the king said

to me," cried he, "and that no longer ago then yesterday

evening--do you know, gentlemen?"

"No," replied the two Musketeers, after a moment`s silence, "no,

sir, we do not."

"But I hope that you will do us the honor to tell us," added

Aramis, in his politest tone and with his most graceful bow.

"He told me that he should henceforth recruit his Musketeers from

among the Guards of Monsieur the Cardinal."

"The Guards of the cardinal! And why so?" asked Porthos, warmly.

"Because he plainly perceives that his piquette* stands in need

of being enlivened by a mixture of good wine."

*A watered liquor, made from the second pressing of the grape.

The two Musketeers reddened to the whites of their eyes.

D`Artagnan did not know where he was, and wished himself a

hundred feet underground.

"Yes, yes," continued M. de Treville, growing warmer as he spoke,

"and his majesty was right; for, upon my honor, it is true that

the Musketeers make but a miserable figure at court. The

cardinal related yesterday while playing with the king, with an

air of condolence very displeasing to me, that the day before

yesterday those DAMNED MUSKETEERS, those DAREDEVILS--he dwelt

upon those words with an ironical tone still more displeasing to

me--those BRAGGARTS, added he, glancing at me with his tiger-

cat`s eye, had made a riot in the Rue Ferou in a cabaret, and

that a party of his Guards (I thought he was going to laugh in my

face) had been forced to arrest the rioters! MORBLEU! You must

know something about it. Arrest Musketeers! You were among

them--you were! Don`t deny it; you were recognized, and the

cardinal named you. But it`s all my fault; yes, it`s all my

fault, because it is myself who selects my men. You, Aramis, why

the devil did you ask me for a uniform when you would have been

so much better in a cassock? And you, Porthos, do you only wear

such a fine golden baldric to suspend a sword of straw from it?

And Athos--I don`t see Athos. Where is he?"

"Ill--very ill, say you? And of what malady?"

"It is feared that it may be the smallpox, sir," replied Porthos,

desirous of taking his turn in the conversation; "and what is

serious is that it will certainly spoil his face."

"The smallpox! That`s a great story to tell me, Porthos! Sick

of the smallpox at his age! No, no; but wounded without doubt,

killed, perhaps. Ah, if I knew! S`blood! Messieurs Musketeers,

I will not have this haunting of bad places, this quarreling in

the streets, this swordplay at the crossways; and above all, I

will not have occasion given for the cardinal`s Guards, who are

brave, quiet, skillful men who never put themselves in a

position to be arrested, and who, besides, never allow themselves

to be arrested, to laugh at you! I am sure of it--they would

prefer dying on the spot to being arrested or taking back a step.

To save yourselves, to scamper away, to flee--that is good for

the king`s Musketeers!"

Porthos and Aramis trembled with rage. They could willingly have

strangled M. de Treville, if, at the bottom of all this, they had

not felt it was the great love he bore them which made him speak

thus. They stamped upon the carpet with their feet; they bit

their lips till the blood came, and grasped the hilts of their

swords with all their might. All without had heard, as we have

said, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis called, and had guessed, from M.

de Treville`s tone of voice, that he was very angry about

something. Ten curious heads were glued to the tapestry and

became pale with fury; for their ears, closely applied to the

door, did not lose a syllable of what he said, while their mouths

repeated as he went on, the insulting expressions of the captain

to all the people in the antechamber. In an instant, from the

door of the cabinet to the street gate, the whole hotel was

boiling.

"Ah! The king`s Musketeers are arrested by the Guards of the

cardinal, are they?" continued M. de Treville, as furious at

heart as his soldiers, but emphasizing his words and plunging

them, one by one, so to say, like so many blows of a stiletto,

into the bosoms of his auditors. "What! Six of his Eminence`s

Guards arrest six of his Majesty`s Musketeers! MORBLEU! My part

is taken! I will go straight to the louvre; I will give in my

resignation as captain of the king`s Musketeers to take a

lieutenancy in the cardinal`s Guards, and if he refuses me,

MORBLEU! I will turn abbe."

At these words, the murmur without became an explosion; nothing

was to be heard but oaths and blasphemies. The MORBLUES, the

SANG DIEUS, the MORTS TOUTS LES DIABLES, crossed one another in

the air. D`Artagnan looked for some tapestry behind which he

might hide himself, and felt an immense inclination to crawl

under the table.

"Well, my Captain," said Porthos, quite beside himself, "the

truth is that we were six against six. But we were not captured

by fair means; and before we had time to draw our swords, two of

our party were dead, and Athos, grievously wounded, was very

little better. For you know Athos. Well, Captain, he endeavored

twice to get up, and fell again twice. And we did not

surrender--no! They dragged us away by force. On the way we

escaped. As

for Athos, they believed him to be dead, and left him very quiet

on the field of battle, not thinking it worth the trouble to

carry him away. That`s the whole story. What the devil,

Captain, one cannot win all one`s battles! The great Pompey lost

that of Pharsalia; and Francis the First, who was, as I have

heard say, as good as other folks, nevertheless lost the Battle

of Pavia."

"And I have the honor of assuring you that I killed one of them

with his own sword," said Aramis; "for mine was broken at the

first parry. Killed him, or poniarded him, sir, as is most

agreeable to you."

"I did not know that," replied M. de Treville, in a somewhat

softened tone. "The cardinal exaggerated, as I perceive."

"But pray, sir," continued Aramis, who, seeing his captain become

appeased, ventured to risk a prayer, "do not say that Athos is

wounded. He would be in despair if that should come to the ears

of the king; and as the wound is very serious, seeing that after

crossing the shoulder it penetrates into the chest, it is to be feared--"

At this instant the tapestry was raised and a noble and handsome

head, but frightfully pale, appeared under the fringe.

"Athos!" cried the two Musketeers.

"Athos!" repeated M. de Treville himself.

"You have sent for me, sir," said Athos to M. de Treville, in a

feeble yet perfectly calm voice, "you have sent for me, as my

comrades inform me, and I have hastened to receive your orders.

I am here; what do you want with me?"

And at these words, the Musketeer, in irreproachable costume,

belted as usual, with a tolerably firm step, entered the cabinet.

M. de Treville, moved to the bottom of his heart by this proof of

courage, sprang toward him.

"I was about to say to these gentlemen," added he, "that I forbid

my Musketeers to expose their lives needlessly; for brave men are

very dear to the king, and the king knows that his Musketeers are

the bravest on the earth. Your hand, Athos!"

And without waiting for the answer of the newcomer to this proof

of affection, M. de Treville seized his right hand and pressed it

with all his might, without perceiving that Athos, whatever might

be his self-command, allowed a slight murmur of pain to escape

him, and if possible, grew paler than he was before.

The door had remained open, so strong was the excitement produced

by the arrival of Athos, whose wound, though kept as a secret,

was known to all. A burst of satisfaction hailed the last words

of the captain; and two or three heads, carried away by the

enthusiasm of the moment, appeared through the openings of the

tapestry. M. de Treville was about to reprehend this breach of

the rules of etiquette, when he felt the hand of Athos, who had

rallied all his energies to contend against pain, at length

overcome by it, fell upon the floor as if he were dead.

"A surgeon!" cried M. de Treville, "mine! The king`s! The best! A

surgeon! Or, s`blood, my brave Athos will die!"

At the cries of M. de Treville, the whole assemblage rushed into

the cabinet, he not thinking to shut the door against anyone, and

all crowded round the wounded man. But all this eager attention

might have been useless if the doctor was so loudly called for

had chanced to be in the hotel. He pushed through the crowd,

approached Athos, still insensible, and as all this noise and

commotion inconvenienced him greatly, he required, as the first

and most urgent thing, that the Musketeer should be carried into

an adjoining chamber. Immediately M. de Treville opened and

pointed the way to Porthos and Aramis, who bore their comrade in

their arms. Behind this group walked the surgeon; and behind the

surgeon the door closed.

The cabinet of M. de Treville, generally held so sacred, became

in an instant the annex of the antechamber. Everyone spoke,

harangued, and vociferated, swearing, cursing, and consigning the

cardinal and his Guards to all the devils.

An instant after, Porthos and Aramis re-entered, the surgeon and

M. de Treville alone remaining with the wounded.

At length, M. de Treville himself returned. The injured man had

recovered his senses. The surgeon declared that the situation of

the Musketeer had nothing in it to render his friends uneasy, his

weakness having been purely and simply caused by loss of blood.

Then M. de Treville made a sign with his hand, and all retired

except D`Artagnan, who did not forget that he had an audience,

and with the tenacity of a Gascon remained in his place.

When all had gone out and the door was closed, M. de Treville, on

turning round, found himself alone with the young man. The event

which had occurred had in some degree broken the thread of his

ideas. He inquired what was the will of his persevering visitor.

D`Artagnan then repeated his name, and in an instant recovering

all his remembrances of the present and the past, M. de Treville

grasped the situation.

"Pardon me," said he, smiling, "pardon me my dear compatriot, but

I had wholly forgotten you. But what help is there for it! A

captain is nothing but a father of a family, charged with even a

greater responsibility than the father of an ordinary family.

Soldiers are big children; but as I maintain that the orders of

the king, and more particularly the orders of the cardinal,

should be executed--"

D`Artagnan could not restrain a smile. By this smile M. de

Treville judged that he had not to deal with a fool, and changing

the conversation, came straight to the point.

"I respected your father very much," said he. "What can I do for

the son? Tell me quickly; my time is not my own."

"Monsieur," said D`Artagnan, "on quitting Tarbes and coming

hither, it was my intention to request of you, in remembrance of

the friendship which you have not forgotten, the uniform of a

Musketeer; but after all that I have seen during the last two

hours, I comprehend that such a favor is enormous, and tremble

lest I should not merit it."

"It is indeed a favor, young man," replied M. de Treville, "but

it may not be so far beyond your hopes as you believe, or rather

as you appear to believe. But his majesty`s decision is always

necessary; and I inform you with regret that no one becomes a

Musketeer without the preliminary ordeal of several campaigns,

certain brilliant actions, or a service of two years in some

other regiment less favored than ours."

D`Artagnan bowed without replying, feeling his desire to don the

Musketeer`s uniform vastly increased by the great difficulties

which preceded the attainment of it.

"But," continued M. de Treville, fixing upon his compatriot a

look so piercing that it might be said he wished to read the

thoughts of his heart, "on account of my old companion, your

father, as I have said, I will do something for you, young man.

Our recruits from Bearn are not generally very rich, and I have

no reason to think matters have much changed in this respect

since I left the province. I dare say you have not brought too

large a stock of money with you?"

D`Artagnan drew himself up with a proud air which plainly said,

"I ask alms of no man."

"Oh, that`s very well, young man," continued M. de Treville,

"that`s all very well. I know these airs; I myself came to Paris

with four crowns in my purse, and would have fought with anyone

who dared to tell me I was not in a condition to purchase the

Louvre."

D`Artagnan`s bearing became still more imposing. Thanks to the

sale of his horse, he commenced his career with four more crowns

than M. de Treville possessed at the commencement of his.

"You ought, I say, then, to husband the means you have, however

large the sum may be; but you ought also to endeavor to perfect

yourself in the exercises becoming a gentleman. I will write a

letter today to the Director of the Royal Academy, and tomorrow

he will admit you without any expense to yourself. Do not refuse

this little service. Our best-born and richest gentlemen

sometimes solicit it without being able to obtain it. You will

learn horsemanship, swordsmanship in all its branches, and

dancing. You will make some desirable acquaintances; and from

time to time you can call upon me to tell you how you are getting

on and to say whether I can be of further service to you."

D`Artagnan, stranger as he was to all the manners of a court,

could not but perceive a little coldness in this reception.

"Alas, sir," said he, "I cannot but perceive how sadly I miss the

letter of introduction which my father gave me to present to

you."

"I certainly am surprised," replied M. de Treville, "that you

should undertake so long a journey without that necessary

passport, the sole resource of us poor Bearnese."

"I had one, sir, and, thank God, such as I could wish," cried

D`Artagnan; "but it was perfidiously stolen from me."

He then related the adventure of Meung, described the unknown

gentleman with the greatest minuteness, and all with a warmth and

truthfulness that delighted M. de Treville.

"This is all very strange," said M. de Treville, after meditating

a minute; "you mentioned my name, then, aloud?"

"Yes, sir, I certainly committed that imprudence; but why should

I have done otherwise? A name like yours must be as a buckler to

me on my way. Judge if I should not put myself under its

protection."

Flattery was at that period very current, and M. de Treville

loved incense as well as a king, or even a cardinal. He could

not refrain from a smile of visible satisfaction; but this smile

soon disappeared, and returning to the adventure of Meung, "Tell

me," continued he, "had not this gentlemen a slight scar on his

cheek?"

"Yes, such a one as would be made by the grazing of a ball."

"Was he not a fine-looking man?"

"Yes."

"Of lofty stature."

"Yes."

"Of complexion and brown hair?"

"Yes, yes, that is he; how is it, sir, that you are acquainted

with this man? If I ever find him again--and I will find him, I

swear, were it in hell!"

"He was waiting for a woman," continued Treville.

"He departed immediately after having conversed for a minute with

her whom he awaited."

"You know not the subject of their conversation?"

"He gave her a box, told her not to open it except in London."

"Was this woman English?"

"He called her Milady."

"It is he; it must be he!" murmured Treville. "I believed him

still at Brussels."

"Oh, sir, if you know who this man is," cried D`Artagnan, "tell

me who he is, and whence he is. I will then release you from all

your promises--even that of procuring my admission into the

Musketeers; for before everything, I wish to avenge myself."

"Beware, young man!" cried Treville. "If you see him coming on

one side of the street, pass by on the other. Do not cast

yourself against such a rock; he would break you like glass."

"That will not prevent me," replied D`Artagnan, "if ever I find

him."

"In the meantime," said Treville, "seek him not--if I have a

right to advise you."

All at once the captain stopped, as if struck by a sudden

suspicion. This great hatred which the young traveler manifested

so loudly for this man, who--a rather improbable thing--had

stolen his father`s letter from him--was there not some perfidy

concealed under this hatred? Might not this young man be sent by

his Eminence? Might he not have come for the purpose of laying a

snare for him? This pretended D`Artagnan--was he not an emissary

of the cardinal, whom the cardinal sought to introduce into

Treville`s house, to place near him, to win his confidence, and

afterward to ruin him as had been done in a thousand other

instances? He fixed his eyes upon D`Artagnan even more earnestly

than before. He was moderately reassured however, by the aspect

of that countenance, full of astute intelligence and affected

humility. "I know he is a Gascon," reflected he, "but he may be

one for the cardinal was well as for me. Let us try him."

"My friend," said he, slowly, "I wish, as the son of an ancient

friend--for I consider this story of the lost letter perfectly

true--I wish, I say, in order to repair the coldness you may have

remarked in my reception of you, to discover to you the secrets

of our policy. The king and the cardinal are the best of

friends; their apparent bickerings are only feints to deceive

fools. I am not willing that a compatriot, a handsome cavalier,

a brave youth, quite fit to make his way, should become the dupe

of all these artifices and fall into the snare after the example

of so many others who have been ruined by it. Be assured that I

am devoted to both these all-powerful masters, and that my

earnest endeavors have no other aim than the service of the king,

and also the cardinal--one of the most illustrious geniuses that

France has ever produced.

"Now, young man, regulate your conduct accordingly; and if you

entertain, whether from your family, your relations, or even from

your instincts, any of these enmities which we see constantly

breaking out against the cardinal, bid me adieu and let us

separate. I will aid you in many ways, but without attaching you

to my person. I hope that my frankness at least will make you my

friend; for you are the only young man to whom I have hitherto

spoken as I have done to you."

Treville said to himself: "If the cardinal has set this young

fox upon me, he will certainly not have failed--he, who knows how

bitterly I execrate him--to tell his spy that the best means of

making his court to me is to rail at him. Therefore, in spite of

all my protestations, if it be as I suspect, my cunning gossip

will assure me that he holds his Eminence in horror."

It, however, proved otherwise. D`Artagnan answered, with the

greatest simplicity: "I came to Paris with exactly such

intentions. My father advised me to stoop to nobody but the

king, the cardinal, and yourself--whom he considered the first

three personages in France."

D`Artagnan added M. de Treville to the others, as may be

perceived; but he thought this addition would do no harm.

"I have the greatest veneration for the cardinal," continued he,

"and the most profound respect for his actions. So much the

better for me, sir, if you speak to me, as you say, with

frankness--for then you will do me the honor to esteem the

resemblance of our opinions; but if you have entertained any

doubt, as naturally you may, I feel that I am ruining myself by

speaking the truth. But I still trust you will not esteem me the

less for it, and that is my object beyond all others."

M. de Treville was surprised to the greatest degree. So much

penetration, so much frankness, created admiration, but did not

entirely remove his suspicions. The more this young man was

superior to others, the more he was to be dreaded of he meant to

deceive him; "You are an honest youth; but at the present moment

I can only do for you that which I just now offered. My hotel

will be always open to you. Hereafter, being able to ask for me

at all hours, and consequently to take advantage of all

opportunities, you will probably obtain that which you desire."

"That is to say," replied D`Artagnan, "that you will wait until I

have proved myself worthy of it. Well, be assured," added he,

with the familiarity of a Gascon, "you shall not wait long." And

he bowed in order to retire, and as if he considered the future

in his own hands.

"But wait a minute," said M. de Treville, stopping him. "I

promised you a letter for the director of the Academy. Are you

too proud to accept it, young gentleman?"

"No, sir," said D`Artagnan; "and I will guard it so carefully

that I will be sworn it shall arrive at its address, and woe be

to him who shall attempt to take it from me!"

M. de Treville smiled at this flourish; and leaving his young man

compatriot in the embrasure of the window, where they had talked

together, he seated himself at a table in order to write the

promised letter of recommendation. While he was doing this,

D`Artagnan, having no better employment, amused himself with

beating a march upon the window and with looking at the

Musketeers, who went away, one after another, following them with

his eyes until they disappeared.

M. de Treville, after having written the letter, sealed it, and

rising, approached the young man in order to give it to him. But

at the very moment when D`Artagnan stretched out his hand to

receive it, M. de Treville was highly astonished to see his

protege make a sudden spring, become crimson with passion, and

rush from the cabinet crying, "S`blood, he shall not escape me

this time!"

"And who?" asked M. de Treville.

"He, my thief!" replied D`Artagnan. "Ah, the traitor!" and he

disappeared.

"The devil take the madman!" murmured M. de Treville, "unless,"

added he, "this is a cunning mode of escaping, seeing that he had

failed in his purpose!"

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 733