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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/39412-8.txt b/39412-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4becc07 --- /dev/null +++ b/39412-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6587 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3), by +G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +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: Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3) + or, The States of Blois + +Author: G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +Release Date: April 9, 2012 [EBook #39412] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY OF GUISE; (VOL. II OF 3) *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the +Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) + + + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + 1. Page scan source: + http://archive.org/details/henryofguiseorst02jame + (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) + + + + + + + HENRY OF GUISE; + + OR, + + THE STATES OF BLOIS. + + VOL. II. + + + + + + + London: + Printed by A. Spottiswoode, + New-Street-Square + + + + + + + HENRY OF GUISE + + + + OR, + + + + THE STATES OF BLOIS. + + + + + BY + + + + G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ. + + AUTHOR OF + + "THE ROBBER," "THE GENTLEMAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL," + ETC. ETC. ETC. + + + + + IN THREE VOLUMES. + + VOL. II. + + + + + LONDON: + + PRINTED FOR + LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, & LONGMANS, + PATERNOSTER-ROW. + + 1839. + + + + + + + HENRY OF GUISE; + + OR, + + THE STATES OF BLOIS. + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + +All was bustle round the door of the little inn of Montigny; twenty or +thirty horses employed the hands and attention of as many grooms and +stable-boys; and while they put their heads together, and talked over +the perfections or imperfections of the beasts they held, sixty or +seventy respectable citizens, the great cloth merchant, and the +wholesale dealer in millstones, the curé of the little town, the +bailiff of the high-justiciary, the ironmonger, the grocer, and the +butcher, stood in knots on the outside, discussing more important +particulars than the appearance of the horses. The sign of the inn was +the _Croix de Lorraine_, and the name of the Duke of Guise was +frequently heard mingling in the conversation of the people round the +door. + +"A great pity," cries one, "that his Highness does not stay here the +night." + +"Some say that the King's troops are pursuing him," replied another. + +"Sure enough he came at full speed," said a third; "but I heard his +people talk about the reiters." + +"Oh, we would protect him against the reiters," cried one of the bold +citizens of Montigny. + +"Well," said another, "if he be likely to bring the reiters upon us, I +think his Highness very wise to go. How could we defend an open town? +and he has not twenty men behind him." + +"I will tell you something, my masters," said another, with an air of +importance, and a low bow:--"When my boy was over towards Montreuil +to-night, he heard a report of the reiters having been defeated near +Gandelu." + +"Oh, nonsense!" replied the courageous burgher; "who should defeat +them if the Duke was not there?" + +"But hark!" cried another, "I hear trumpets, as I live. Now, if these +should be the King's troops we will defend the Duke at the peril of +our lives. But let us look out and see." + +"Come up to my windows," cried one. + +"Go up the tower of the church," said the curé. + +But another remarked that the sounds did not come from the side of +Paris; and, in a minute or two after, a well-dressed citizen like +themselves rode gaily in amongst them, jumped from his horse, threw up +his cap in the air, and exclaimed, "Long life to the Duke of Guise! +The reiters have been cut to pieces!" + +"What is that you say, young man?" exclaimed a voice from one of the +windows of the inn above; and looking up, the citizen saw a young and +gay-looking man sitting in the open casement, and leaning out with his +arm round the iron bar that ran up the centre. + +"I said, my Lord," replied the man, "that the reiters have been cut to +pieces, and I saw the troops that defeated them bring in the wounded +and prisoners last night into La Ferté." + +"Ventre bleu! This is news indeed," cried the other; and instantly +turning, he quitted the window and advanced into the room. + +While this conversation had been going on without, a quick conference +had been going on between the personages whose horses were held +without. The chamber in which they were assembled was an upstairs' +room, with two beds in two several corners, and a table in the midst +covered with a clean white table-cloth, and ornamented in the centre +with a mustard-pot, a salt-seller, and a small bottle of vinegar, +while four or five spoons were ranged around. + +At the side of the table appeared the Duke of Guise, dining with as +good an appetite off a large piece of unsalted boiled beef, as off any +of the fine stews and salmis of his cook Maître Lanecque. Five or six +other gentlemen were around, diligently employed in the same +occupation; and one who had finished two bowls of soup at a place +where they had previously stopped, now declaring that he had no +appetite, had taken his seat in the window. The servants of the Duke +and of his companions were at dinner below, and the landlord himself +was excluded from the room, that dining and consultation might go on +at the same time. + +"It is most unfortunate," said the Duke of Guise, as soon as he had +seated himself at the table, "it is most unfortunate that this youth +has not kept his word with me. Our horses and men are both fatigued to +death; and yet, after what happened the other day at Mareuil, it would +be madness to remain here all night with only twenty horsemen." + +"You have got timid, fair cousin," replied one of the gentlemen +present. "We shall have you wrapping yourself up in a velvet gown, and +setting up a conférrie, in imitation of our excellent, noble, and +manly king." + +The Duke w as habitually rash enough to be justified in laughing at +the charge, and he replied, "It is on your account, my pretty cousin, +that I fear the most. You know what the reiters have sworn to do with +you, if they catch you." + +"It is most unfortunate indeed," said an older and a graver man; "most +unfortunate, that this Count de Logères should have deceived you. It +might have been better, perhaps, to trust to some more tried and +experienced friend." + +"Oh, you do him wrong, Laval; you do him wrong," replied the Duke. "It +is neither want of faith or good will, I can be sworn. Some accident, +such as may happen to any of us, has detained him. I am very anxious +about him, and somewhat reproach myself for having made him march with +only half his numbers. Had his whole band been with him, he might have +made head against the reiters, if he met with them. But now he has +less than half their reputed number. Nevertheless," he continued, "his +absence is, as you say, most unfortunate; for--with these Germans on +our left, and the movements of Henry's Swiss upon our right--they +might catch us as the Gascons do wild ducks, in the net, through the +meshes of which we have been foolish enough to thrust our own heads. I +pray thee, Brissac, go down to mine host of the house, and gather +together some of the notable men of the place, to see if we cannot by +any means purchase horses to carry us on. Who are you speaking to, +Aumale?" he continued, raising his voice, and addressing the youth who +sat in the window. + +"Good news, good news!" cried the young man springing down, and coming +forward into the room. "The reiters have been cut to pieces near +Gandelu. There is a fellow below who has seen the victorious troops, +and the wounded and the prisoners." + +"My young falcon for a thousand crowns!" cried the Duke of Guise. "If +that be the case, we shall soon hear more of him. Hark! are not those +trumpets? Yet go out, Brissac; go out. We must not suffer ourselves to +be surprised whatever we do. Aumale, have the horses ready. If they +should prove the Swiss, we must march out at the one gate while they +march in at the other." + +But at that moment Brissac, who had run down at a word, and was by +this time in the street, held up his hand to one of the others who was +looking out of the window, exclaiming, "Crosses of Lorraine, crosses +of Lorraine! A gallant body of some fifty spears; but all crosses of +Lorraine.--Ay, and I can see the arms of Montsoreau and Logères! All +is right, tell the Duke; all is right!" And thus saying he advanced +along the street to meet the troops that were approaching. + +The Duke of Guise, who had risen from the table, seated himself again +quietly, drew a deep breath as a man relieved from some embarrassment, +and filling the glass that stood beside him, half full of the good +small wine of Beaugency, rested his head upon his hand, and remained +in thought for several minutes. + +While he remained in this meditative mood the sounds of the trumpets +became louder and louder; the trampling of horses' feet were heard +before the inn, and then was given, in a loud tone, the order to halt. +Several of the companions of the Duke had gone down stairs to witness +the arrival of the troops, and in a minute or two after, feet were +heard coming up, and the Duke turned his head to welcome the young +Count on his arrival. He was somewhat surprised, however, to see an +old white-headed man, who had doffed his steel cap to enter the Duke's +presence, come in between Brissac and Laval, and make him a low +inclination of the head. + +"Who are you, my good friend?" demanded the Duke. "And where is the +young Count of Logères?" + +"I know not, your Highness," replied the other. "I am the Count's +seneschal, and expected to find him here. He set off four days ago +with one half of his men, commanding me to join him at Montigny with +the rest, as soon as their arms arrived from Rhetel. They came sooner +than we expected, so I followed him the day after." + +"Then is it to you, my worthy old friend," said the Duke, "that the +country is obliged for the defeat of this band of marauders?" + +"No, your Highness," replied the old man bluntly. "I have not had the +good fortune to meet with any thing to defeat, though, indeed, we +heard of something of the kind this morning as we passed by +Grisolles." + +"I hope the news is true," said the Duke; "I have heard of many a +victory in my day, where it turned out that the victors were +vanquished; and I hear that these reiters numbered from a hundred to a +hundred and fifty men. How many had your Lord with him, good +seneschal?" + +"He had fifty-one men at arms," replied the old soldier, "besides some +lackeys and a page; and some men leading horses with the baggage he +could not do without." + +"I shall not be easy till I hear more of him," said the Duke, walking +up and down the room. "However, your coming, good seneschal, will +enable us to make good this place against any force that may be +brought against it. Quick, send me up the aubergiste. We must despatch +some one to bring us in intelligence: and now, good seneschal, rest +and refresh your horses, get your men some food, and have every thing +ready to put foot in stirrup again at a moment's notice; for if we +find that your Lord has fallen into the hands of these reiters, we +must mount to deliver him. Let their numbers be what they may, Henry +of Guise cannot make up his mind to leave a noble friend in the hands +of the foemen." + +"We are all ready this minute, my Lord," replied the old seneschal. +"There is not a man of Logères who is not ready to ride forty miles, +and fight two reiters this very night in defence of his Lord." + +"The old cock's not behind the young one," said the Chevalier d'Aumale +to Brissac. But the Duke of Guise overruled the zealous eagerness of +the old soldier; and as soon as the aubergiste appeared, directed him +to send off a boy in the direction of Montreuil and La Ferté, in order +to gain intelligence of the movements of the Count de Logères, and to +ascertain whether the report of the defeat of the reiters was correct +or not. His own horses he ordered now to be unsaddled, and casting off +his corselet, gave himself up to repose for the evening. + +During the next hour, or hour and a half, manifold were the reports +which reached the town concerning the conflict which had taken place +between the Count of Logères and the reiters on the preceding evening. +All sorts of stories were told: every peasant that brought in a basket +of apples had his own version of the affair; and the accounts were the +most opposite, as well as the most various. The Duke of Guise, +however, was too much accustomed to sifting the various rumours of the +day, not to be able to glean some true information from the midst of +these conflicting statements. It seemed clear to him that the reiters +had been defeated, and without having any very certain cause for his +belief, he felt convinced that Charles of Montsoreau was already upon +his way towards Montigny. + +"Come," he added, after expressing these opinions to the Chevalier +d'Aumale, "we must at least give our young champion a good meal on his +arrival. See to it, Brissac; see to it. You, who are a connoisseur in +such things, deal with our worthy landlord of the Cross, and see if he +cannot procure something for supper more dainty than he gave us for +dinner." + +"The poor man was taken by surprise," replied Brissac; "but since he +heard that you were to remain here, there has been such a cackling and +screaming in the court-yard, and such a riot in the dovecote, that I +doubt not all the luxuries of Montigny will be poured forth this night +upon the table." + +In less than an hour after this order was given, the arrival of fresh +horses was heard; and Laval, who went to the window, announced, that +as well as he could see through the increasing darkness, for it was +now night, this new party consisted only of five or six persons. In a +few minutes, however, the door was thrown open by the aubergiste, and +Charles of Montsoreau himself appeared, dusty with the march, and with +but few traces of triumph or satisfaction on his countenance. + +"What, my young hero!" cried the Duke, rising and taking him by the +hand; "you look as gloomy as if you had suffered a defeat, rather than +gained a victory. Are the tidings which we have heard not true then, +or are they exaggerated? If you have even brought off your forces safe +from the reiters, that is a great thing, so overmatched as you were." + +"It is not that, your Highness," replied Charles of Montsoreau: "the +numbers were not very disproportionate, but the reiters have certainly +suffered a complete rout, and I do not think that they will ever meet +in a body again. They lost a good many men on the field, and I fear +the peasantry have murdered all the wounded." + +"So much the better," cried the Chevalier d'Aumale; "so much the +better. One could have done nothing with them but hang them." + +"I fear then," said the Duke of Guise, addressing the Count, "I fear +then that your own loss has been severe by the gloominess of your +countenance, Logères." + +"There are a good many severely wounded, sir," replied the Count; "but +very few killed. This, however, is not the cause of my vexation, which +I must explain to your Highness alone. I have, however, to apologise +to you for not being here last night, as I fully intended. I did not +go to seek the reiters, but fell in with them accidentally, and after +the skirmish I was forced to turn towards La Ferté instead of coming +here, in order to get surgeons to my wounded men. I find, however, +sir," he continued, "that my good old seneschal has made more speed +than his master, and has arrived here with his band before me. I must +go and take order for the comfort of my people, and prepare lodging +for the rest who are coming up, for I rode on at all speed as soon as +I met with the messenger whom you had sent out to seek me. After that +I will return and crave a few minutes' audience of your Grace alone." + +"Come back to supper, dear friend," replied the Duke; "we must let our +gay friends now sup with us; but then we will drive them to their +beds, and hold solitary council together, and be not long Logères, for +you need both refreshment and repose." + +When the young Count returned to the apartments of the Duke, after he +had seen the rest of his troop arrive, and had taken every measure to +secure the comfort of the men under his command, he found that Prince +standing in one of the deep windows speaking in a low tone with the +page Ignati, while his own officers were gathered together in the +window on the other side. + +The Duke instantly took him by the hand as he approached, and said in +a low but kindly tone, "You see I have been questioning the spy I set +upon you, Logères, and he has let me into a number of your secrets; +but you must not be angry with him on that account, for Henry of Guise +will not abuse the trust. Come, let us sit down to table, and we will +afterwards find an opportunity of talking over all these affairs. You +have acted nobly and gallantly, my young friend, and have served your +country while you benefited me. For your brother's conduct you are not +responsible: but I think this morning's events, if the boy speaks +correctly, must bar your tongue from speaking his praises for the +future." + +"Indeed, my Lord," exclaimed the young Count, "my brother may----" + +"Hush! hush!" cried the Duke. "There is nothing sits so ill upon the +lips of a noble-hearted man as an excuse for bad actions, either in +himself or others. It is false generosity, Charles of Montsoreau, to +say the least of it. But let us to table. Come, Aumale. See! our good +Aubergiste looks reproachfully at you for letting his fragrant ragouts +grow cold. Come, we will to meat, gentlemen. Sit down, sit down, We +will have no ceremony here at the Cross of Lorraine." + +Thus saying, the Duke seated himself at table, and the rest took their +places around. The supper proved better than had been expected, and +wine and good appetites supplied the place of all deficiencies. The +Chevalier d'Aumale indeed had every now and then a light jest at some +of the various dishes: he declared that a certain capon had blunted +his dagger, and asked Charles of Montsoreau whether it was not tougher +than a veteran reiter. He declared that a matelote d'anguille which +was placed before him, had a strong flavour of a hedge; but added, +that as his own appetite was viperous, he must get through it as best +he might. He was not without a profane jest either, upon a dish of +pigeons; but though he addressed the greater part of these gaily to +the young Count de Logères, he could hardly wring a smile from one who +in former days would have laughed with the best, but whose heart was +now anxiously occupied with many a bitter feeling. + +Charles of Montsoreau was eager, too, that the meal should be over, +for he longed for that private communication with the Duke which +weighed upon his mind in anticipation. He felt that it would be +difficult to exculpate his brother; and yet, in pursuance of his own +high resolutions, he longed to do so: and then again he eagerly hoped +that the powerful prince beside whom he sat would find some means of +delivering Marie de Clairvaut from the hands into which she had +fallen; and yet he feared, from all he heard and saw, that that +deliverance might be difficult and remote. + +Thus the banquet passed somewhat cheerlessly to him; and it was not +very much enlivened by a little incident which happened towards the +close of supper, when the landlord, who had come into the room +followed by a man dressed in the garb of a surgeon, whispered +something in the Duke's ear which called his attention immediately. + +"How many did you say?" demanded the Duke. + +"Only two at present, your Highness," replied the surgeon; "but three +more sinking, I think." + +"All in the same house?" said the Duke. + +"No, my Lord, in different houses," replied the man; "but near the +same spot." + +"The only thing to be done," replied the Duke, "is to draw a barrier +across the end of that street, and mark the houses with a white +cross." + +"What is the matter, your Highness?" said Laval, from the other end of +the table. + +"Oh, nothing," replied the Duke of Guise, "only a few cases of the +plague; and because it was very bad last autumn at Morfontaine, the +people here have got into a fright." + +The Duke of Guise concluded his supper as lightly and gaily as if +nothing had happened, for his mind had become so accustomed to deal +with and to contemplate things of great moment, that they made not +that impression upon him which they do upon those whose course is laid +in a smoother and evener path. + +Charles of Montsoreau, however, could not feel in the same way. "War +and pestilence!" he thought, "bloodshed and death! These are the +common every-day ideas of men in this unhappy country, now. Perhaps +famine may be added some day soon, and yet there will be light +laughter, and merriment, and jest. Well, let it be so. Why should we +cast away enjoyment because it can but be small? Life is at best but +made up of chequered visions: let us enjoy the bright ones while we +may, and make the dark ones short if we can." + +While he thus thought, the Duke of Guise whispered a word or two to +the Count of Brissac, and that gentleman nodded to Laval. Shortly +after, both rose; and, with an air of affected unwillingness, the +Chevalier d'Aumale followed their example. The two or three other +gentlemen who had partaken of the meal, but who either from inferior +situation or natural taciturnity had mingled but little in the +conversation, left the table at the same time, and accompanied the +others out of the room, so that the Duke of Guise and the young Count +were left alone. + + + + + CHAP. II. + + +The weak-minded and the vulgar are cowed by the aspect of high +station; the humble in mind, and the moderate in talent, are subdued +by high genius, and bend lowly to the majesty of mind; the powerful, +the firm, and the elevated spring up to meet their like, and with them +there is nothing earthly that can overawe but a consciousness of evil +in themselves, or a sensation of abasement for those they love. + +Such was the case with Charles of Montsoreau, who undoubtedly was a +man of high and powerful mind. He was in his first youth, it is true; +he had no great or intimate knowledge of the world, except that +knowledge of the world which, in a few rare instances, comes as it +were by intuition. He had been bred up from his youth in love and +admiration for the princes of the House of Lorraine, and especially of +Henry, Duke of Guise; and yet, when he had met him for the first time, +and recognised him at once in the inn at Mareuil, he felt no +diffidence--no alarm. Nor had this confidence in himself any thing +whatsoever to do with conceit: he thought not of himself for a moment; +he thought only of the Duke of Guise and his situation, and impulse +guided by habit did the rest. Seeing that the Duke had assumed an +inferior character, he treated him accordingly; and acting as nature +dictated to him, he acted right. + +Neither, at Rheims, when the Duke appeared surrounded by pomp and +splendour, did the young nobleman feel differently. He paid every +tribute of external reverence to the Prince's station and high renown; +but he conferred with him upon equal terms, feeling that if in mind he +was not absolutely equal to that great leader, he was competent to +appreciate his character, and was not inferior to him in elevation of +thought and purpose. + +But now, how changed were all his feelings, when, sitting by one whom +he venerated and respected--more than perhaps was deserved--he had to +discuss with him the painful subject of a brother's errors, and +torture imagination to find excuses which judgment would not ratify! +He sat humiliated, and pained, and hesitating: he knew not what to +say, and he felt that any thing he could say was vain. + +For a few minutes after the rest of the party quitted the room, the +Duke of Guise remained silent, sometimes gazing down, as was his +habit, upon his clasped hands, sometimes raising his eyes for a single +moment to the countenance of his young companion. He seemed to feel +for him, indeed; and when he did speak, led the conversation to the +subject gradually and delicately. + +"Well, my dear Count," he said, "let us speak of this affair of the +reiters. You made me as many excuses but now, for defeating our +enemies, as if you had let them defeat you. Such gallant actions are +easily pardoned, Logères; and if you but proceed to commit many such +faults, Henry of Navarre and Henry of Guise had both need look to +their renown. There was a third Henry once," he continued, half +closing his eyes, and speaking with a sigh, as he thought of Henry +III. and fair promises of his youth; "there was a third Henry once, +who might perhaps have borne the meed of fame away from us both: but +that light has gone out in the socket, and left nothing but an +unsavory smell behind. However, there was no excuse needed, good +friend, for cutting to pieces double your own number of German +marauders." + +"My excuse was not for that," replied the Count, calmly, "but your +Highness directed me to go no farther than Montigny, and I went to La +Ferté, on account of the wounded men." + +"That is easily excused too," said the Duke. "But now give me your own +account of the affair. The boy told me the story but imperfectly. How +fell you in with the reiters at first?" + +Charles of Montsoreau did as the Prince required, giving a full and +minute, but modest, account of all that had taken place. But when he +spoke of retreating up the river to the spot where the banks were +deeper, and the stream more profound, Guise caught him by the hand, +exclaiming eagerly, "Did you know that the banks were steeper? Did you +see that they would guard your flank?" + +"That was my object, my Lord," replied the young Count, somewhat +surprised. "I noticed the nature of the ground as we charged them at +first." + +"Kneel down!" cried the Duke; "kneel down! Would to God that I were a +Bayard for thy sake!--In the name of God, St. Michael and St. George, +I dub thee knight;" and drawing his sword he struck him on the collar +with the blade, adding with a smile, in which melancholy was blended +with gaiety, "Perchance this may be the last chivalrous knighthood +conferred in France. Indeed, as matters go, I think it will be: but if +it should, I can but say that it never was won more nobly." + +The young Count rose with sparkling eyes. The memory of the chivalrous +ages was not yet obliterated by dust and lichens; the fire of a more +enthusiastic epoch was not yet quite extinct; and he felt as if what +had passed gave him greater strength to go through what was to come. + +The Duke, however, relaxing soon into his former manner, made him a +sign to proceed; and Charles of Montsoreau went on to detail the +complete defeat and dispersion of the different bodies of reiters. He +then began to hesitate again: but Guise was determined to hear all, +and said, "But your brother; where did you find your brother? Be frank +with me, Logères." + +Thus pressed, the young Count went on to say, that he did not again +meet with his brother till he found him in the market-place at La +Ferté. "My brother," he continued, "having been driven by the party +that pursued him beyond the carriage, and judging that I was coming up +with a superior force, imagined that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut and her +attendants had fallen under my protection: but finding that such was +not the case, he mounted his horse again, and proceeded to seek for +her during the greater part of the night, while I did the same in +another direction." + +He was then hurrying on as fast as possible to speak of the following +morning, but the Duke interrupted him, demanding, "There was a sharp +dispute in the market-place, I think; was there not, Monsieur de +Logères? Pray let me hear the particulars." + +But Charles of Montsoreau, driven to the point, answered boldly and at +once, "It was a dispute between two brothers, my Lord; in regard to +which none but God and their own consciences can judge. You will +therefore pardon me if I keep that which is private to my private +bosom." + +Guise gazed at him for a long--a very long time, with eyes full of +deep feeling, and then replied, "By Heaven! you are one of the most +extraordinary young men I ever met with. I know the whole, Monsieur de +Logères; and the words there spoken let me into the secrets of your +bosom which I wished to know. I now understand how to deal with you; +and while I do my best to secure your happiness, trust to the Duke of +Guise to avoid, as far as possible, any thing that is painful to you +in the course. But go on; let me hear the rest." + +"If you know all, my Lord," said Charles of Montsoreau, a good deal +affected by the Duke's kindness, "will you not spare me the telling of +that which must be painful to me?" + +"I fear I must ask you to go on," replied the Duke. "What you have now +to tell me is the most important part of all to me at the present +moment, for by it must my conduct be regulated, in regard to the +measures for rescuing our poor Marie from the hands of that----." He +checked himself suddenly, and then added, "the King, in short. A +single word may cause a difference in our view of the matter; and +therefore I would fain hear you tell it, if you will do me that +favour." + +"All that I know, my Lord, I will tell," replied the Count; "but of my +own knowledge I have little to tell, for the principal part of my +information was derived from the boy with whom you have already +spoken. All then that I personally know is, that, having slept long +from great fatigue, I was roused by the boy in the morning; that he +told me my brother was about to depart; and that, on descending, I +found his report true. My brother was already on horseback, and his +troop in the act of setting out; but he was accompanied by a gentleman +whom I had never seen before, whose name is Colombel, and who, I found +afterwards, is an officer in the service of the King." + +"Oh yes," said the Duke of Guise; "I have heard him named; a person of +no great repute, but some cunning." + +"My conversation with my brother," continued the Count, "was not the +most agreeable. On his side it was all taunts; but the only part of +which it is needful to inform your Highness, was, that when I asked +tidings of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, he would afford me no +information, except that she was in safe hands. I am grieved, also, to +be compelled to say that he told me, if I did not join you before he +did, I should be long parted from you." + +"We have lost an ally," replied the Duke; "but one which, to say +sooth, I do not covet. If he be not treacherous, he is at best +unsteady; but I cannot help fearing, Charles of Montsoreau, that your +brother himself, apprehending that my regard for you might not suit +his purposes, has had some share in suffering Marie to fall into the +hands of Henry." + +"Oh no, my Lord, oh no!" exclaimed Charles of Montsoreau; "you do him +wrong, believe me. My Lord, a few words will explain to you the cause +of his conduct. He is possessed with a passion for Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, so strong, so vehement, so intense, as to have a portion of +madness in it,--a sufficient portion to make him cast away his former +nature altogether, to hate his brother, to abandon his friends, to +abjure all the thoughts and feelings of his youth, and to follow her +still where-ever she goes, seeking to obtain her by means which the +very blindness of his passion prevents him from seeing are those which +must insure his losing her." + +"This is the passion of a weak and unstable mind," said the Duke. +"Love, my young friend, is in itself a grand and ennobling thing, +leading us to do great actions for the esteem and approbation of her +we love. The love of a bright woman," he added, "the love of a bright +woman--I speak it with all due reverence," and he put his hand to his +hat, "is the next finest sensation, the next grand mover in human +actions, to the love of God. The object is undoubtedly inferior, but +the course is the same, namely, the striving to do high and excellent +things for the approbation of a being that we love and venerate. Alas +that it should be so! but in this world I fear the love of woman is +amongst us the strongest mover of the two: the other is so remote, so +high, so pure, that our dull senses strain their wings in reaching it. +The love of woman appeals to the earthly as well as to the heavenly +part of man's nature, and consequently is heard more easily. +Perhaps--and Heaven grant it!--that, as some of our fathers held, the +one love may lead us on to the other, and the perishable be but a step +to the immortal. However," he added, "such love as that which you say +possesses your brother, will certainly never lead him on to any thing +that is great, or high, or noble. Most certainly it will not lead him +to the hand of Marie de Clairvaut as long as Henry of Guise can draw a +sword. If he have not betrayed me, he has abandoned me; if he have not +shown himself a coward, he has shown himself a weak defender of those +intrusted to his charge; and under such circumstances, had he the +wealth of either India and the power of Cæsar, he should never wed +Marie de Clairvaut." He laid his hand upon the shoulder of Charles of +Montsoreau, and he said, "You have heard my words, good friend; those +words are irrevocable: and now knowing that your brother can never be +really your rival, act as you will. I would fain have your confidence, +Charles, but I will not wring it from you. This girl is beautiful and +sweet and fascinating; and if I judge right, you love her not less but +more nobly than your brother. Tell me, or tell me not as you will, but +we all feel pleased with confidence." + +"Oh, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau, "how can I deny you my +confidence when you load me with such proofs of your goodness? I do +love Mademoiselle de Clairvaut as deeply, as intensely, as +passionately, as my brother,--more, more a thousand fold than he or +any body else, I believe, is capable of loving. I had some +opportunities of rendering her services, and on one of those occasions +I was betrayed into words and actions which I fancied must have made +her acquainted with all my feelings. It was after that I discovered, +my Lord, how madly my brother loved her: it was after that I +discovered that the pursuit of my love must bring contention and +destruction on my father's house. Had I believed that she loved me, +nothing should have made me yield her to any one; for I had the prior +claim, I had the prior right: but when I had reason to believe that +she had not marked, and did not comprehend all the signs of my +affection; when I felt that I could quit her without the appearance of +trifling with her regard, though not without the continued misery of +my own life, my determination was taken in a moment, and I determined +to make the sacrifice, be the consequences what they might. Such, my +Lord, is the simple truth; such is the only secret of all my actions." + +The Duke of Guise bent down his eyes upon the ground with a smile, in +the expression of which there was a degree of cynical bitterness. It +was somewhat like one of the smiles of the Abbé de Boisguerin; but the +Duke's words explained it at once, which the Abbé's never did. + +"I fear, my young friend," he said, "that the science of women's +hearts is a more difficult one than the science of war. You have +learnt the one, it would seem, by intuition; in the other you are yet +a novice. However, you shall pursue your own course, bearing with you +the remembrance that I swear by my own honour--" + +"Oh swear not, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau; "circumstances +may change; she may love him; her love may alter him, and lead him +back to noble things." + +The Duke smiled again. "What I have said," he answered, "is as good as +sworn. But have it your own way; I thank you for the confidence you +have reposed in me. And now, to show you how I can return it, I have a +task to put upon you, an adventure on which to send forth my new made +knight. I do not think that Henry either will or dare refuse to give +up to me my own relation and ward. The king and I are great friends, +God wot! But still I must demand her, and somebody must take a journey +to Paris for that purpose. To the capital, doubtless, they have +conveyed her; and I trust, my good Logères, that you will not think it +below your dignity and merit to seek and bring back a daughter of the +House of Guise." + +Charles of Montsoreau paused thoughtfully for a moment, ere he +replied. All the difficulties and dangers to which he might be +exposed, in acting against the views of the King of France, were to +him as nothing; but the difficulties and dangers which might arise +from his opposition to his own brother, were painful and fearful to +him to contemplate. He saw not, however, how he could refuse the task; +and it cannot be denied that love for Marie de Clairvaut had its share +also in making him accept it. He doubted not for a moment, that if she +were in the hands of the King, she was there against her own will; and +could he, he asked himself, could he even hesitate to aid in +delivering her from a situation of difficulty, danger, and distress? +The thought of aiding her, the thought of seeing her again, the +thought of hearing the sweet tones of that beloved voice, the thought +of once more soothing and supporting her, all had their share; the +very contemplation made his heart beat; and lifting his eyes, he found +those of the Duke of Guise fixed upon his countenance, reading all the +passing emotions, the shadows of which were brought across him by +those thoughts. The colour mounted slightly into his cheek as he +replied, "My Lord, I will do your bidding to the best of my ability. +When shall I march?" + +"Oh, you mistake," said the Duke, laughing; "you are not to go at the +head of your men, armed _cap-à-pie_, to deliver the damsel from the +giant's castle; but in the quality of my envoy to Henry; first of all +demanding, quietly and gently, where the Lady is, and then requiring +him to deliver her into your hands, for the purpose of escorting her +to me, where-ever I may be. You shall have full powers for the latter +purpose; but you must keep them concealed till such time as you have +discovered, either from the King's own lips--though no sincerity +dwells upon them--or by your own private inquiries and investigations, +where this poor girl is. Then you may produce to the King your powers +from me, and to herself I will give you a letter, requesting her to +follow your directions in all things. Now, you must show yourself as +great a diplomatist as a soldier, for I can assure you that you will +have to deal with as artful and as wily a man as any now living in +Europe." + +"I will do my best, my Lord; and to enable me to deal with them before +all their plans are prepared, I had better set out at break of day +to-morrow, with as many men as your Highness thinks fit should +accompany me." + +The Duke mused for a moment or two; "No," he said, "no; I must not let +you go, Logères, without providing for your safety. You have risked +your life sufficiently for me and mine already. You go into new +scenes, with which you are unacquainted; into dangers, with which you +may find it more difficult to cope than any that you have hitherto met +with. I cannot then suffer you to depart without such passports and +safeguards as may diminish those dangers as far as possible." + +"Oh, I fear not, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau, "the King +and your Highness are not at war. I have done nothing to offend, +and--" + +"It cannot be, it cannot be," replied the Duke. "You must go back with +me to Soissons. I will send a messenger from this place to demand the +necessary passports for you. No great time will be lost, for a common +courier can pass where you or I would be stopped. Then," he continued, +"as to the men that you should take with you, I should say, the fewer +the better. Mark me," he continued, with a smile, "there are secret +springs in all things; and I will give you letters to people in Paris, +which will put at your disposal five hundred men on the notice of half +an hour. Ay, more, should you require them. But use not these letters +except in the last necessity, for they might hurry on events which I +would rather see advance slowly till they were forced upon me, than do +aught to bring them forward myself. No; you shall go back with me to +Soissons, guarding me with your band; and I doubt not, our messenger +from Paris will not be many hours after us. Now leave me, and to rest, +good Logères, and send in the servant, whom you will find half way +down the stairs." + +The young Count withdrew without another word, and he found that while +the conversation between himself and the Duke had been going on, a man +had been stationed, both above and below the door of the apartment, as +if to insure that nobody approached to listen. Such were the sad +precautions necessary in those days. + +Early on the following morning the whole party mounted their horses, +the wounded men of Logères were left under the care and attendance of +the good townsmen of Montigny, and the young Count riding with the +party of the Duke of Guise, proceeded on the road to Soissons. No +adventure occurred to disturb their progress; and, as so constantly +happens in the midst of scenes of danger, pain, and difficulty, almost +every one of the whole party endeavoured to compensate for the +frequent endurance of peril and pain by filling up the intervals with +light laughter and unthinking gaiety. The Duke of Guise himself was +not the least cheerful of the party, though occasionally the cloud of +thought would settle again upon his brow, and a pause of deep +meditation would interrupt the jest or the sally. It was late at night +when they arrived at Soissons, and the Duke, after supping with the +Cardinal de Bourbon, retired to rest, without conversing with any of +his party. It was about eight o'clock on the following morning, and +while, by the dull grey light of a cloudy spring day, Charles of +Montsoreau was dressing himself, with the aid of one of his servants, +that the door opened without any previous announcement, and the Duke +of Guise, clad in a dressing-gown of crimson velvet trimmed with +miniver, entered the room, bearing in his hand a packet of sealed +letters, and one open one. A page followed him with something wrapped +up in a skin of leather, which he placed upon one of the stools, and +instantly retired. + +"Send away your man, Count," said the Duke, seating himself; "resume +your dressing-gown, and kindly give me your full attention for +half an hour. You will be so good," he continued, turning to the man +who was quitting the chamber, "as to take your stand on the first +landing-place below this door. You will tell any body whom you see +coming up to pass by the other staircase; any one you may see coming +down, you will direct to pass by this door quickly." + +There was a stern command in the eye of the Duke of Guise which had a +strong effect upon those it rested on; and the man to whom he now +spoke made his exit from the room, stumbling over twenty things in his +haste to obey. As soon as he was gone, the Duke turned to his young +friend, and continued, "Here is the King's safeguard under his own +hand, and the necessary passports for yourself and two attendants. +Here is your letter of credit to him in my name, requiring him to give +you every sort of information which he may be possessed of regarding +the subjects which you will mention to him; and here is a third +letter giving you full power to demand at his hands the person of +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, for the purpose of escorting her and +placing her under my protection. This, again, is to Mary herself, +bidding her follow your counsels and direction in every thing; and +these others are to certain citizens of Paris, whose names you will +find written thereon. If you will take my advice, you will again take +with you the boy Ignati, and one stout man-at-arms, unarmed, however, +except in such a manner as the dangers of the road require. You +understand, I think, clearly, all that I wish." + +"I believe, my Lord, I do," replied the Count. "But how am I to insure +safety for Mademoiselle de Clairvaut on the road, without an adequate +force?" + +"Write to me but one word," replied the Duke of Guise, "as soon as she +is delivered into your hands, and I will send you with all speed +whatever forces I can spare. But I have one or two things to +communicate to you, which it is necessary for you to know, both for +your own security and the success of your mission. The principal part +of my niece's lands lie in the neighbourhood of Chateauneuf, between +Dreux and Mortagne in Normandy. It is not at all unlikely, that, if +driven to remove her from your sight, Henry may be tempted to send her +thither, well knowing that it is what I have always opposed, and that +I preferred rather that she should dwell even in Languedoc than be in +that neighbourhood. For this I had a reason; and that reason is the +near relationship in which her father stood to the most daring and the +most dangerous man in France. One of the first of those whom you will +see near the person of the King, the man who governs and rules him to +his own infamy and destruction, in whose hands the minions are but +tools and Henry an instrument, who, more than any one else, has tended +to change a gracious prince, a skilful general, and a brave man, into +an effeminate and vicious king, is René de Villequier, Baron of +Clairvaut. He was first cousin to Marie de Clairvaut's father, and he +is consequently her nearest male relation out of the family of Guise. +He has, indeed, sometimes hinted at a right to share in the +guardianship of his cousin's daughter. But such things a Guise permits +not. However, with this claim upon the disposal of her hand, Henry +may, perhaps, hesitate to yield her, unless with the consent of +Villequier. With him, then, you may be called upon to deal; but +Villequier, I think, knows the hand of a Guise too well to call down a +blow from it unnecessarily. However, he is as daring as he is artful, +and impunity in crime has rendered him perfectly careless of +committing it. He is Governor of Paris, one of the King's ministers, a +Knight of the Holy Ghost. Now hear what he has done to merit all this. +More than one assassin broken on the wheel has avowed himself the +instrument of Villequier, sent to administer poison to those he did +not love. Complaisant in every thing to his King, he sought to +sacrifice to him the honour of his wife: but she differed from him in +her tastes; and, on the eighteenth of last September, in broad +daylight, in the midst of an effeminate court, he murdered her with +his own hand at her dressing-table. Nor was this all: there was a +girl--a young sweet girl--the natural daughter of a noble house, who +was holding before the unhappy lady a mirror to arrange her dress when +the fatal blow was struck. The fiend's taste for blood was roused. One +victim was not enough, and he murdered the wretched girl by the side +of her dead mistress. This was done in open day, was never disowned, +was known to every one, and was rewarded by the order of the Holy +Ghost--an insult to God, to France, and to humanity.[1] However, as +with this man you may have to deal, I have to give you two cautions. +Never drink wine with him, or eat food at his table; never go into his +presence without wearing under your other dress the bosom friend which +I have brought you there;" and he took from the leathern skin in which +it was wrapped, a shirt of mail, made of rings linked together, so +fine that it seemed the lightest stroke would have broken it, and yet +so strong, that the best tempered poinard, driven by the most powerful +hand, could not have pierced it. "Have also in your bosom," continued +the Duke of Guise, "a small pistol; and if the villain attempts to lay +his hand upon you, kill him like a dog. This is the only way to deal +with René de Villequier." + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 1: All these charges were but too true.] + +--------------------- + + +The young Count smiled: "And is it needful my Lord Duke," he asked, +"to take all these precautions in the courtly world of Paris?--Do you +yourself take them, my Lord?--I fear not sufficiently." + +"Oh! with regard to myself," replied the Duke, it is different. "I am +so marked out and noted, they dare not do any thing against me. They +would raise up a thousand vengeful hands against them in a moment, and +they know that, too well to run such a risk. Neither Henry nor +Villequier would hold their lives by an hour's tenure after Guise was +dead. But you must take these precautions, my young friend. And now I +have nothing more to say, except that, whatever you do to withdraw +Marie de Clairvaut from the hands into which she has fallen, I will +justify. If any ill befall you, I will avenge you as my brother; and +if you deliver her from those whom she hates and abhors, she shall, +give you any testimony of her gratitude that she pleases, without a +man in France saying you nay." + +"Oh, my Lord, it is not for that I go!" exclaimed Charles of +Montsoreau, with the blood rushing up again into his cheek. "It is +not; surely you believe--" + +"Hush! hush!" replied the Duke. "I have fallen into the foolish error +of saying too much, my good young friend. But now, fare you well. Make +your arrangements as speedily as you can; mount your horse, and onward +to Paris, while I apply myself to matters which may well occupy every +minute and every thought." + + + + + CHAP. III. + + +It was about nine o'clock at night, in the spring of the year 1588, +that Charles of Montsoreau, with two companions, his faithful Gondrin +and the little page, presented himself at the gate of Paris which +opened upon the Soissons road. A surly arquebusier with a steel cap on +his head, his gun upon his shoulder, and the rest thereof in his hand, +was the first person that he encountered at the bridge over the fosse. +Some other soldiers were sitting before the guardhouse; and the +wicket-gate of the city itself was open, with an armed head protruded +through, talking to a country girl with a basket on her arm, who had +just passed out of the gate, none the better probably for her visit to +the city. + +The arquebusier planted himself immediately in the way of the young +cavalier and his followers, and seemed prepared to stop them, though +on the young Count applying to him for admission, he replied in a +surly tone, "I have nothing to do with it. Ask the lieutenant at the +gate." + +To him, in the next place, then, Charles of Montsoreau applied; but +though his tone was somewhat more civil than that of the soldier, he +made a great many difficulties, examining the young nobleman all over, +and looking as if he thought him a very suspicious personage. The +Count after a certain time grew impatient, and asked, "You do not +mean, I suppose, to refuse the passport of the King?" + +"No," replied the other grinning. "We won't refuse the passport of the +King, or the King's passport; but in order that the passport may be +verified, it were as well, young gentleman, that you come to the gates +by day. You can sleep in the faubourg for one night I take it." + +"Certainly not without great inconvenience to myself," replied the +Count, "and more inconvenience to the affairs of the Duke of Guise." + +"The Duke of Guise!" said the man starting. "Your tongue has not the +twang of Lorraine." + +"But nevertheless," replied the Count, "the business I come upon is +that of the Duke of Guise, which you would have seen if you had read +the passport and safe-conduct. Does it not direct therein, to give +room and free passage, safeguard, and protection to one gentleman of +noble birth and two attendants, coming and going hither and thither in +all parts of the realm of France, on the especial business of our true +and well-beloved cousin, Henry, Duke of Guise? and is there not +written in the Duke's own hand underneath, 'Given to our faithful +friend and counsellor, Charles of Montsoreau, Count of Logères, for +the purposes above written, by me, Henry of Guise?'" + +The man held the paper for a moment to a lantern that hung up against +the heavy stonework of the arch, and then exclaimed in a loud voice, +"Throw open the gates there, bring the keys. Monseigneur, I beg you a +thousand pardons for detaining you a minute. If I had but seen the +writing of the Duke of Guise the doors would have been opened +instantly." + +As rapidly as possible the heavy gates, which had remained immoveable +at the order of the King, swang back at the name of the Guise, and one +of the attendants and the captain of the night running by the side of +the Count's horse to prevent all obstruction, caused the second gate +to be opened as rapidly, and the Count entered the capital city of his +native country for the first time in his life. + +The streets were dark and gloomy, narrow and high; and as one rode +along them looking up from time to time towards the sky, the small +golden stars were seen twinkling above the deep walls of the houses, +as if beheld from the bottom of a well. Charles of Montsoreau had not +chosen to ask his way at the gate, and though utterly unacquainted +with the great city in which he now plunged, he rode on, trusting to +find some shop still open where he might inquire his way without the +chance of being deceived. Every booth and shop was then shut, however; +and for a very long way up the street which he had first entered, he +met with not a single living creature to whom he could apply for +direction. At length, however, that street ended abruptly in another +turning to the left, and a sudden glare of light burst upon his eyes, +proceeding from a building about a hundred yards farther on, which +seemed to be on fire. + +There was no bustle, however, or indication of any thing unusual in +the street; and Charles of Montsoreau riding on, found that the blaze +proceeded from a dozen or more of flambeaus planted in a sort of +wooden barricade[2] before a large mansion, which fell back some yards +from the general façade of the street, while a fat porter clothed in +manifold colours, with a broad shoulder-belt and a sword by his side, +walked to and fro in the light, trimming the torches with stately +dignity. The young Count then remembered having heard of the custom of +thus illuminating the barriers, which were before all the principal +mansions in Paris during the first part of every night; and riding up +towards the porter, he demanded whose hotel it was, and begged to be +directed to one of the best inns in the neighbourhood. + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 2: One or two of these houses with barriers were still +existing in Paris not many years ago.] + +--------------------- + + +The man gazed at him for a moment with the evident purpose of looking +upon him as a bumpkin; but the porters of that day were required to be +extremely discriminating, and the air and appearance of the young +Count were not to be mistaken, and bowing low he replied, "I see you +are a stranger, sir. This is the house of Monsieur d'Aumont. As to the +best inn, inns are always but poor places; but I have heard a good +account of the White House in the next street, at the sign of the +Crown of France. If you go on quite to the end of this street and then +turn to your right, you will come into another street as large and +longer, at the very end of which, just looking down to the Pont Neuf, +you will see a large white house with a gateway and the crown hanging +over it. I have heard that every thing is good there, and the host +civil; but he will make you pay for what you have." + +"That is but just," replied the young Count; and giving the porter +thanks for his information, he rode on and took up his abode at the +sign of the Crown of France. + +The aspect of the inn was very different from that of an auberge in +the country; for, though the court-yard into which Charles of +Montsoreau rode was littered with straw, and a large and splendid +stable appeared behind, it was not now grooms and stable-boys that +appeared on the first notice of a traveller's approach, but cooks and +scullions and turnspits; while the master himself with a snow-white +cap upon his head, a jacket of white cloth, and a white apron turned +up sufficiently to show his black breeches and stockings with red +clocks, appeared more like what he really was, the head of the +kitchen, than the master of the house. + +He looked a little suspiciously, at first, at the young stranger +arriving with only two attendants, and with no other baggage than a +small valise upon each horse, and an additional upon that of Ignati, +to render the boy's weight equal to that of his fellow travellers. But +the host was accustomed to deal with many kinds of men; and like the +porter, after examining the Count for a moment, seeing some gold +embroidery, but not much, upon his riding-dress, gilded spurs over his +large boots of untanned leather, and a sword, the hilt and sheath of +which were of no slight value, he also made a lowly reverence, and +conducted him to one of the best apartments in his house. It consisted +of three rooms, each entering into the other with a small cabinet +beyond the chief bed-room; and the arrangements which the Count made +at once--placing Gondrin's bed in the antechamber, and having the +page's truckle-bed removed from his own bed-side to occupy the cabinet +beyond--gave the host of the Crown of France a still greater idea of +his importance. + +Charles of Montsoreau did not fail to examine the face of the +aubergiste, and to remark his proceedings with as much accuracy. The +man's countenance was intelligent, his eyes quick and piercing, but +withal there was an air of straightforward frankness, tempered by +civility and habitual politeness, which was prepossessing; and as the +young Count knew that he might have occasion to make use of him in +various ways during his stay in Paris, he resolved to try him with +those things which were the most immediately necessary, and which at +the same time were of the least importance. + +"Stop a minute, my good host," he said, as the man was about to +withdraw to order fires to be lighted and suppers to be cooked. "There +are some things which press for attention, and in which I must have +your assistance." + +"This youngster speaks with a tone of authority," thought the +aubergiste; but he bowed low and said nothing, whilst the young Count +went on, "What is your name, my good friend?" demanded Charles of +Montsoreau. + +"I am called Gamin la Chaise," replied the aubergiste with a smile. + +"Well then, Master la Chaise, as you see," he continued, "I have come +hither to Paris on some business which required a certain degree of +despatch, and have ventured with few attendants and little baggage. As +however the business on which I did come will call me into scenes +where some greater degree of splendour is necessary than perhaps +either suits my taste or my general convenience, I must before I go +forth to-morrow morning, have my train increased by at least six +attendants, who are always to be found in Paris ready fashioned I +know; and therefore I must beseech you to find them for me in proper +time, having them equipped in my proper colours and livery, according +as the same shall be described to you by my good friend Gondrin here. +This is the first service you must do me, my good host." + +"Sir," replied the landlord, "the six lackeys shall be found and +equipped in less time than would roast a woodcock. They are as plenty +as sparrows or house-rats, and are caught in a moment." + +"Yes, but my good host," answered the Count, "there is one great +difficulty which you will understand in a moment. Amongst the six, I +want you to find me one honest man if it be possible." + +The landlord raised his shoulders above his ears, stuck out his two +hands horizontally from his sides, and assumed an appearance of +despair at the unheard of proposition of the Count, which had nearly +brought a smile into the young nobleman's countenance. "That indeed, +sir," he said, "is another affair; and I believe you might just as +well ask me to catch you a wild roe in the garden of the Louvre, as to +find you the thing that you demand. Nevertheless, labour and +perseverance conquer all difficulties: and now I think of it, there is +a youth who may answer your purpose; he knows Paris well too; but, +strange to say, by some unaccountable fit of obstinacy, he would not +tell a lie the other day to the Duke of Epernon in order to pass an +item of the intendant's accounts, which would have come in for a good +round sum every month if he would but have sworn that he used five +quarts of milk every week to whiten the leather of his master's boots. +He would not swear to this, and therefore the intendant discharged +him, as he was a hired servant." + +"Let me have him; let me have him," cried the Count. "I will only ask +him to tell the truth, and hope he may not find that so difficult." + +The Count then proceeded to speak about horses, and the host readily +undertook, finding that money was abundant, to procure all the +horse-dealers in Paris with their best steeds, before nine o'clock on +the following day. The demeanour of the young nobleman, it must be +confessed, puzzled the good aubergiste a good deal; and on going down +to his own abode, he acknowledged to his wife, what he seldom +acknowledged to any one, that he could not make his guest out at all. + +"I should think," he said, "from the plenty of money, and the +expensive way in which he seems inclined to deal, that he was some +wild stripling from the provinces, the son of a rich president or +advocate lately dead, who came hither to call himself Count, and spend +his patrimony in haste. But then, again, in some things he is as +shrewd as an old hawk, and can jest withal about rogues and honest +men, while he keeps his own secrets close, and lets no one ask him a +question." + +On the following morning, at an early hour, the six attendants whom he +had required were brought before him in array, exhibiting, with one +exception, as sweet a congregation of roguish faces as the great +capital of roguery ever yet produced. The countenance of the lad who +had been discharged from the service of the Duke of Epernon pleased +the young Count much, and without waiting till he was farther +equipped, he put Gondrin under his charge for the purpose of notifying +at the palace of the Louvre that he had arrived in the capital, +bearing a letter from the Duke of Guise to the King, and of begging to +have an hour named for its delivery. He found, however, with some +mortification--for his eager spirit and his anxiety brooked no +delay--that the King was at Vincennes; and his only consolation was +that the communication which he had sent to the palace, bearing the +fearful name of the Duke of Guise, was certain to be communicated to +the monarch as soon as possible. Some short time was expended in the +purchase of horses, and in making various additions to his own +apparel, well knowing the ostentatious splendour of the court he was +about to visit. + +We have indeed remarked that there was perhaps a touch of foppery in +his own nature, though it was but slight. Nevertheless, splendour of +appearance certainly pleased him, even while a natural good taste led +him to admire, and to seek in his own dress, all that was graceful and +harmonising, rather than that which was rich or brilliant. + +He was thus engaged, with several tradesmen around him, ordering the +materials for various suits of apparel, which a tailor standing by +engaged to produce in a miraculously short time, when the door of his +apartment was opened, and a somewhat fat pursy man in black was +admitted, entering with an air of importance, and receiving the lowly +salutations of the good citizens who were present. Charles of +Montsoreau gazed at him as a stranger; but the good man, with an air +of importance, and an affectation of courtly breeding, besought him to +finish what he was about, adding, that he had a word for his private +ear which he would communicate afterwards. The young Count, without +further ceremony, continued to give his orders, examining his new +visiter from time to time, and with no very great feelings of +satisfaction. + +The countenance was fat, reddish, and, upon the whole, stupid, with an +air of indecision about it which was very strongly marked, though +there was every now and then a certain drawing in of the fringeless +eyelids round the small black eyes, which gave the expression of +intense cunning to features otherwise dull and flat. + +When he had completely done with his mercers, and tailors, and +cloth-makers--who had occupied him some time, for he did not hurry +himself--Charles of Montsoreau dismissed them; and turning to his +visiter said, "Now, sir, may I have the happiness of knowing your +business with me?" + +"Sir," replied the other, rising and speaking in a low and +confidential tone, "my name is Nicolas Poulain. I am Lieutenant of the +Prévôt de l'Isle." + +He stopped short at this announcement; and the Count, after waiting a +moment for something more, replied somewhat angrily, "Well, sir, I am +very happy to hear it. I hope the office suits Nicolas Poulain, and +Nicolas Poulain suits the office." + +A slight redness came into the man's face, rendering it a shade deeper +than it ordinarily was; but finding it necessary to reply, as the +Count, without sitting down, remained looking him stedfastly in the +face, he answered, "I thought, sir,--indeed I took it for granted, +sir, that you might have some communication for me from the Duke of +Guise." + +"None whatever, sir," replied the young Count drily. "Have you any +thing to tell me, Monsieur Nicolas Poulain, on the part of his +Highness?" + +"No, sir, no," replied the other, attempting to assume an air of +spirit which did not become him. "If you have not seen him more lately +than I have, I am misinformed." + +"And pray, my good sir," demanded the Count, "who was it that took the +trouble of informing you of any thing regarding me?" + +"That question is soon answered, sir," replied Nicolas Poulain, +"though you seem to make so much difficulty in regard to answering +mine. The person who informed me of your arrival was good Master +Chapelle Marteau, who saw you last night at the gates when you +entered." + +The name immediately struck the young Count as the same with one of +those written on the letters which the Duke of Guise had given him to +be used in case of need; but feeling how necessary it was to deal +carefully with any of the faction of the Sixteen, to which both +Chapelle Marteau and Nicolas Poulain belonged, he determined to say +not one word upon the subject of his mission to any one. Much less, +indeed, was he inclined to do so in the case of Nicolas Poulain, in +whose face nature had stamped deceit and roguery in such legible +characters, that the young Count, had he been forced to trust him with +any secret, would have felt sure that the whole would be betrayed +within an hour. All, then, that he replied to Master Nicolas Poulain +was, that though he knew well the personage he mentioned by name, he +had not the pleasure of his personal acquaintance. + +The answers were so short, the tone and manner so dry, that the worthy +citizen found it expedient to make his retreat; and taking a short and +unceremonious leave of one who had given him so cool a reception, he +left the Count's apartments, and descended the stairs. The moment he +was gone, some suspicion, which crossed the young cavalier's mind +suddenly, made him call the page, and bid him follow his late visiter +till he marked the house which Master Nicolas entered, taking care to +remember the way back. + +The boy set off without a word, and returned in less than half an +hour, informing the young Count that he had tracked Master Nicolas +Poulain into a large house, which, on inquiry, he found to be the +private dwelling of the Lord of Villequier. + +"The Duke is betrayed by some of these leaguers,--that is clear +enough!" thought the young Count. "I have heard that many of his best +enterprises have been frustrated by some unknown means. Who is there +on earth that one can trust?" And leaning his head upon his hand he +fell into deep thought, for to him the question of whom he could trust +was at that moment one, not only entirely new, but one of deep and +vital importance also. In his journey to Paris he had two great and +all-important objects before him. To find out his brother, and, if +possible, to persuade him to change a course of conduct which he felt +to be dishonourable to himself and to his house, was one of these +objects; and he doubted not that--if he could fully explain, and make +the Marquis comprehend, his own conduct and his purposes--if he could +show him that his only chance of obtaining the hand of Marie de +Clairvaut was by attaching himself to the House of Guise, and that he +had not a brother's rivalry to fear--Gaspar de Montsoreau might be +induced to return to the party he had quitted, and not finally to +commit himself to conduct so little to his own interest as that which +he was pursuing. + +The other object, however, was much more important even than that, to +the heart of Charles of Montsoreau; and the feelings which were +connected with it--as so often happens with the feelings which affect +every one in human life--were sadly at variance with other purposes. +That object was to discover and guide to the court of the Duke of +Guise, her whom he himself loved best on all the earth; to free her +from the hands of the base and dangerous people into whose power she +had fallen, and to leave her in security, if not in happiness. + +When he thought of seeing her again,--when he thought of passing days +with her on the journey, of being her guide, her protector, her +companion, the overpowering longing and thirst for such a joyful time +shook and agitated him, made his heart thrill and his brain reel; and, +bending down his face upon his hands, he gave himself up for a long +time to whirling dreams of happiness. But then again he asked himself +if, after such hours, he could ever quit her; if--following the firm +purpose with which he had left Montsoreau--he could resist all +temptation to seek her love further, and after plunging into the +contentions of the day could dedicate his sword and his life, as he +had intended, to warfare against the infidels in the order of St. +John? There was a great struggle in his mind when he asked himself the +question--a great and terrible struggle; but at length he answered it +in the affirmative. "Yes," he said; "yes, I can do so!" But there was +a condition attached to that decision. "I can do so," he said, "if I +find that there is a chance of her wedding him; if I find that, in +reality and truth, the first bright hopes I entertained were indeed +fallacious." + +To say the truth, doubts had come over his mind as to whether he had +construed Marie de Clairvaut's conduct rightly. Those doubts had been +instilled into his imagination by the words of the Duke of Guise. +Fancy lingered round them: shall we say that Hope, too, played +with them? If she did so, it was against his will; for he was in +that sad and painful situation where hope, reproved by the highest +feelings of the heart, dare scarcely point to the objects of desire. +Terrible--terrible is that situation where Virtue, or Honour, or +Generosity bind down imagination, silence even hope, and shut against +us the gates of that paradise we see, but must not enter. These, +indeed, are the angels with the flaming swords. + +Charles of Montsoreau would not suffer himself to hope any thing that +might make his brother's misery; but yet fancy would conjure up bright +dreams; and knowing and feeling that if those dreams were realised, a +complete change must come over his actions and his conduct, he saw +that it would be needful to use guarded language to his brother,--or +rather to use only the guard of perfect frankness. He resolved, then, +to tell him fully his purposes, but to tell him at the same time the +conditions under which those circumstances were to be executed. + +As he pondered, however, and thought over the changed demeanour of his +brother, over the fiery impetuosity and impatience of his whole temper +and conduct, he remembered that it might be with difficulty that he +could obtain a hearing for a sufficient length of time to explain +himself fully, and he consequently determined to write clearly and +explicitly, so that there might be no error or mistake whatever, and +that his conduct might remain clear and undoubted; and sitting down at +once, he did as he proposed, that he might have the letter ready to +send or to deliver as soon as he discovered where his brother was. + +The epistle was short, but it was distinct. He referred boldly and +directly to his conversation with the Abbé de Boisguerin; he explained +his conduct since; and he told his decided and unchangeable purpose of +seeking in no way the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, unless he had +reason to believe that the deep attachment which he felt and +acknowledged towards her were already returned. He ended by exhorting +his brother to do that which his pledges and professions to the Duke +of Guise had bound him to do, to guide back Mademoiselle de Clairvaut +himself to the protection of her uncle, and to avert the necessity of +his seeking her and conducting her to Soissons. + +In thus letting his thoughts flow on in collateral channels from +subject to subject, he had deviated from the original object of his +contemplations, which was, the method to be pursued for instituting +private inquiries throughout the city, in regard to the arrival, both +of his brother and Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. Unacquainted with any +persons in Paris, he knew not how to set on foot the inquiry; and his +mind had just reverted to the subject, which appeared more and more +embarrassing each time he thought of it, when he was informed, with an +air of great importance, by the host, that Monsieur Chapelle Marteau +demanded humbly to have the honour of paying him his respects. + +The Count ordered him instantly to be ushered in; and, during the +brief moment that intervened before he appeared, considered hastily, +whether he should employ this personage in any way in making the +inquiries that were necessary. He knew that he was highly esteemed by +the Duke of Guise; but yet it was evident that, by some of the members +of, or the followers of, the League in Paris, the Duke was himself +entirely deceived; and yet Charles of Montsoreau was more inclined to +trust this man's sincerity than that of the person who had left him +some short time before, inasmuch as the Duke had addressed one of the +private letters we have before mentioned to him, while he had never +named the other. The countenance and appearance of Chapelle Marteau +confirmed any prepossession in his favour. It was quick, and +intelligent, and frank, though somewhat stern; and he had moreover the +air and bearing of a man in the higher ranks of life, although he held +but an office which was then considered inferior, that of one of the +Masters in the Chamber of Accounts. + +"I come, sir," he said, as soon as the first civilities were over, "to +ask your pardon for some quickness on my part in refusing you +admittance at the gates last night. The fact is, that bad-intentioned +people have been endeavouring to introduce into the city of Paris, +under the King's name, a multitude of soldiery, in twos and threes, +for the purpose of overawing us in the pursuit of our rights and +liberties." + +"Say no more, say no more, Monsieur Chapelle," said the Count; "I +doubt not you had very good reasons for what you did." + +He then paused, leaving his companion to pursue the subject as he +might think fit; and the leaguer seemed somewhat embarrassed as to how +he should proceed, though his embarrassment showed itself in a +different manner from that of Master Nicolas Poulain. At length he +said, "I entertained some hope, sir, that you might bring me a +communication from the Duke of Guise, as, when I had the honour of +seeing him at Gonesse three days ago, he gave me the hope that he +would write to me ere long." + +"No, Monsieur Chapelle," replied the Count deliberately; "I have no +message for you. His Highness directed me indeed to apply to you in +case of need; and I know that he has the highest esteem for you, +believing you to be a zealous defender of our holy faith, and a man +well worthy of every consideration;--but I have no present message to +you from the Duke; and the case in which it may be necessary to apply +to you for assistance, according to his Highness's direction, has not +yet arrived." + +"Most delighted shall I be, my Lord[3] Count," replied the leaguer, +"to afford you any aid or assistance or council in my power, both on +account of his Highness the Duke of Guise and on your own. Might I ask +what is the case foreseen, in which you are to apply to me?" + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 3: The word Monseigneur, my Lord, which in the days of Louis +XIV. had become restricted to a very few high dignitaries, or only +given to other noblemen by their own servants and tenantry, was in the +reign of Henry III. commonly used to all high noblemen, and we find +constantly titles addressed _A mon tres illustre et tres honoré +Seigneur le Marquis_; or, _A l'illustre Seigneur, Monseigneur le Comte +de_ ----.] + +--------------------- + + +The Count smiled. "In case, Monsieur Chapelle," he said, "that I do +not succeed in objects which the Duke has entrusted to me by other +means, you shall know. At present, however, I have had no opportunity +of ascertaining what may be necessary to be done, finding that the +King is at Vincennes. In the mean time I am employing myself about +some personal business of my own, which I am afraid is likely to give +me trouble." + +He spoke quite calmly; but a look of intelligence came immediately +over the countenance of Chapelle Marteau, and he said, "Perhaps I +might be enabled to assist your Lordship. My knowledge of Paris, and +all that is transacted therein, is very extensive." + +"You are very kind," replied the Count, "and I take advantage of your +offer with the greatest pleasure. The matter is a very simple one. My +elder brother, the Marquis de Montsoreau, set out some time ago to +join the Duke of Guise, having under his charge and escort a young +lady, named Mademoiselle de Clairvaut." + +"Daughter of the Duke of Guise's niece," said Chapelle Marteau with +some emphasis. + +"I believe that is the relationship," answered the young nobleman. +"But, however, the facts are these: I have reason to believe that my +brother was interrupted in his journey by the attack of a party of +reiters, and was obliged in consequence to put himself and +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut under the protection of a body of the King's +troops coming to Paris. Now, my wish is, to ascertain whether he or +any of his party, either separately or together, are now in Paris, and +where they are to be found." + +The leaguer gazed in his face for a minute or two with an inquiring +look, and then replied, "I can tell you at once, my Lord, that no +considerable party whatever has entered the gates of Paris under the +protection of the King's troops for the last ten days, no party of +even ten in number having the ensigns of Valois having appeared during +that time. But the party you mention may have come in by themselves +without the King's troops; and I rather suspect that they have so +done. However, I will let you know the exact particulars within four +and twenty hours from this moment, and every other information that I +can by any means glean regarding the persons you speak of; for I very +well understand, my Lord, that there may be more intelligence required +about them than you choose to ask for at once." + +The young Count smiled again, but merely replied, "Any information +that you can obtain for me, Monsieur Chapelle, will be received by me +most gratefully; and in the mean time will you do me the honour of +partaking my poor dinner which is about to be served?" + +The leaguer, however, declined the high honour, alleging important +business as his excuse; and, after having dined, the young Count rode +out through the streets of Paris, endeavouring to make himself +somewhat familiar with them, and feeling all those sensations which +the sight of that great capital might well produce on one who had +never beheld it before. On those sensations, however, we must not +pause, as matters of more importance are before us. A couple of hours +after nightfall he received a note to the following effect:-- + +"The Marquis de Montsoreau, with a body of horsemen, bearing no +badge or ensign, entered Paris yesterday at about four o'clock, and +lodged at the Fleur-de-lis. He is not there now, however, and is +supposed to have quitted Paris. Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is not known +to have entered the capital; but a carriage, containing ladies and +waiting-women, was escorted to Vincennes this morning by a body of +troops of Valois. The name of one of the ladies was ascertained to be +the Marquise de Saulny." + +Charles of Montsoreau received these tidings with a beating heart, and +sleep did not visit his eyelids till the clock of a neighbouring +church had struck five in the morning. + + + + + CHAP. IV. + + +Dark heavy clouds hung over the world, and totally obscured the face +of the sky; the morning was chill, the air keen, and the eye of the +peasant was often turned up towards the leaden-looking masses of +vapour above his head, as if to inquire whether their stores would be +poured forth in lightning or in snow; and as Charles of Montsoreau +rode on through the park to the Donjon of Vincennes, he felt the +gloomy aspect of the whole scene more than he might have done at any +other time. + +There, before his eyes, with the whole face of nature harmonising well +with its dark and frowning aspect, rose the grey gigantic keep, which +the vanquished opponent of Edward III., the rash and half-insane +founder of the race of Valois, erected at an early period of his +melancholy reign. Story above story, the large quadrangular mass, with +its flanking towers, rose up till it seemed to touch the gloomy sky +above; but in those days it had at least the beauty of harmony, for no +one had added to the harsh and solemn features of the feudal +architecture the gewgaw ornaments of a later age. The gallery of Marie +de Medici was not built, and nothing was seen but the antique form of +the Donjon itself, with the mass of walls surrounding its base with +their flanking turrets, a pinnacle or two rising above--as if from +some low Gothic building within the walls--and the still dark fosse +surrounding the whole. + +We form but a faint idea to ourselves--a very very faint idea of the +manners and customs of feudal times; but still less, perhaps, can we +form any just idea of the every-day enormities, crimes, and vices, +that were committed at the period we now speak of, and of what it was +to live familiarly in the midst of such scenes, and to hear daily of +such occurrences. The mind of most men got hardened, callous, or +indifferent to acts of darkness and of shame, even if they did not +commit them themselves; and the world of Paris heard with scarcely an +emotion that this nobleman had been poisoned by another--that the hand +of the assassin had delivered one high lord of this troublesome friend +or that pertinacious enemy--that the husband had "drugged the posset" +for the wife, or the wife for the husband--or that persons obnoxiously +wise or virtuous disappeared within the walls of such places as +Vincennes, and passed suddenly with their good acts into that oblivion +which is the general recompense of all that is excellent upon earth. +No one noted such deeds; the sword of justice started from the +scabbard once or twice in a century, but that was all; and the world +laughed as merrily--the jest and the repartee went on--sport, love, +and folly revelled as gaily through the streets of Paris, as if it had +been a world of gentleness, and security, and peace. + +Though of course Charles of Montsoreau felt in some degree the spirit +of the day--though he thought it nothing at all extraordinary to be +attacked by reiters in his own château, or stopped by fifty or sixty +plunderers on the broad highway--though it seemed perfectly natural to +him that man should live as in a state of continual warfare, always on +his defence, yet the whole of his previous life having passed far from +the daily occurrence of still more revolting scenes, in spots where +calm nature and God's handiwork were still at hand to purify and heal +men's thoughts, he had very different feelings in regard to the events +and customs of the day from those which were generally entertained by +the people of the metropolis. Thus, when he gazed up at the gloomy +tower of Vincennes, and thought of the deeds which had been committed +within its walls, together with the crimes and follies that were daily +there enacted, a feeling of mingled horror and disgust took possession +of his bosom; and had he not been impelled by a sense of duty, he +would not have set his foot upon the threshold of those polluted +gates. + +The order to appear before the King at Vincennes had been communicated +to him early in the morning, and notice of his coming had been given +to the officers at the gates of the castle. He was punctual to a +moment at the appointed time, and was instantly led into the château, +and conducted up a long, darksome, winding stone staircase in one of +the towers. Everything took place almost in silence; few persons were +to be seen moving about in the building; and, while winding up those +stairs, nothing was heard but the footfalls of himself and the +attendant who conducted him. + +Charles of Montsoreau certainly felt neither awe nor fear as he thus +advanced, though some of the warnings of the Duke of Guise might cross +his mind at the moment; but at the end of what seemed to be the first +story, the attendant said, "Wait a moment;" and, pushing open a door, +entered a room to the right. There was another door beyond, but both +were left partly unclosed, and the previous silence was certainly no +longer to be complained of, for such a jabbering, and screaming, and +yelling, and howling, as was now heard, was probably never known in +the palace of a king, before or since. + +Human sounds they seemed certainly not to be, and yet words in various +languages were to be distinguished, so that conjecture was quite put +at fault, till after an absence of several minutes the attendant +returned, and, bidding the young nobleman follow him, led the way once +more into this den of noise and confusion. + +The scene that then burst upon the eyes of Charles of Montsoreau was +as curious as can well be conceived. Innumerable parrots, macaws, and +cockatoos were ranged on perches and in cages along the sides of a +large apartment, with intervals of monkeys and apes rattling their +chains, springing forward at every object near them, mouthing, +chattering, and writhing themselves into fantastic forms; six or seven +small beautiful dogs of a peculiar breed were running about on the +floor, snarling at one another, barking at the stranger, or teazing +the other animals in the same room with themselves; baskets filled +with litters of puppies were in every corner of the room; and several +men and women were engaged in tending the winged and quadruped +favourites of the King. Not only, however, were the regular attendants +present, but, as one of the known ways to Henry's regard, a great +number of other persons were always to be found busily engaged in +tending the monkeys, parrots, and dogs. Amongst the rest here present, +were no less than five dwarfs, four others being in actual attendance +upon the King. None were above three feet and a half in height, and +some were deformed and distorted in the most fearful manner, while one +was perfectly and beautifully formed, and seemed to hold the others in +great contempt. The voices of almost all of them, however, were +cracked and screaming; and it was the sounds of their tongues, mingled +with the yelping of the dogs, the chattering of the monkeys, and the +various words repeated in different languages by the loquacious birds +along the wall, which had made the Babel of sounds that reached the +ears of Charles of Montsoreau while he stood without. + +Passing through this room, with the envious eyes of the dwarfs staring +upon his fine figure, the young Count entered the chamber of the +pages--where, as if for the sake of contrast, a number of beautiful +youths were seen--and was thence led on into the royal apartments, in +which every thing was calm splendour and magnificence. Here and there +various officers of the royal household were found lounging away the +idle hours as they waited for the King's commands; and at length, in +an ante-room, the young Count was bade to wait again, while the +attendant once more notified his coming to the King. He was scarcely +detained a moment now, however; but, the door being opened, he was +ushered into the monarch's presence. + +Henry on the present occasion presented an aspect different from that +which the young Count had expected to behold. The Monarch had +recalled, for a moment or two, the princely and commanding air of his +youth, and received the young Count with dignity and grace. His person +was handsome, his figure fine, and his dress in the most exquisite +taste that it was possible to conceive. It was neither so effeminate +nor so overcharged with ornament as it sometimes was; and the black +velvet slashed and laced with gold, the toque with a single large +diamond on his head, the long snowy-white ostrich feather, and the +collar of one or two high orders round his neck, became him well, and +harmonised with the air of dignity he assumed. + +There were two or three gentlemen who stood around him more gaudily +dressed than himself, and amongst them was the Duke of Epernon, whom +Charles of Montsoreau remembered to have seen at his father's château +some years before. All, however, held back so as to allow the monarch +a full view of the young cavalier, as he advanced. + +"You are welcome to Vincennes, Monsieur de Logères," said the King. +"Our noble and princely cousin of Guise has notified to us that he has +sent you to Paris on business of importance; and, having given you +that praise which we are sure you must merit, has besought us to put +every sort of trust and confidence in you, and to listen to you as to +himself, while you speak with us upon the affairs which have brought +you hither. We beseech you, therefore, to inform us of that which he +has left dark, and tell us how we may pleasure our fair cousin, which +is always our first inclination to do--the good of our state and the +welfare of our subjects considered." + +"His Highness the Duke of Guise, Sire," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +not in the slightest degree abashed by the many eyes that were fixed +upon him, scrutinising his person and his dress in the most +unceremonious manner, "his Highness the Duke of Guise, Sire, has sent +me to your Majesty, to ask information regarding a young lady, his +near relation, who, he has reason to believe, was protected by a body +of your Majesty's troops in a situation of some difficulty, for which +protection the Duke is most grateful. She was then, he understood, +conducted to this your Majesty's castle of Vincennes, doubtless for +the purpose of affording her a safe asylum till you could restore her +to his Highness, who is her guardian." + +Henry turned with a sneering smile towards a dark but handsome man, +with a somewhat sinister expression of countenance, on his left hand, +saying, in an under tone, "Quick travelling, Villequier! to Soissons +and back to Paris in four and twenty hours, ha! Had the swallow ever +wings like rumour?" + +This was said affectedly aside, but quite loud enough for the young +nobleman to hear the whole. He, of course, made no reply, as the words +were not addressed to him; but waited, with his eyes bent down, +apparently in thoughtful meditation, till the King should give him his +answer. + +"You have given us, Monsieur le Comte de Logères," said the King, "but +a faint idea of this business; and, as unhappily the commanders of our +troops are but too little accustomed to afford us any very full +account of their proceedings, we are ignorant of the occasion on which +any one of them rendered this service to the young lady you mention." + +This affected unconsciousness, displayed absolutely in conjunction +with a scarcely concealed knowledge of the whole affair, Charles of +Montsoreau felt to be trifling and insulting: but he lost not his +reverence for the kingly authority; and he replied, with every +appearance of deference, "I had imagined, Sire, that the quick wings +of rumour must have carried the whole particulars to your Majesty, +otherwise I should have been more particular in my account. The +service was rendered to the young lady very lately, between Jouarre +and Gandelu. I am not absolutely aware of the name of the officer in +command of the troops at the time, but one gentleman present bore the +name of Colombel." + +"And pray what was the name of the young lady herself?" demanded the +King, with a sneer. "The Duke of Guise has many she relations, as we +sometimes find to our cost. It could not be our pretty, mild, and +virtuous friend, the Duchess of Montpensier, nor the delicate and +fair-favoured Mademoiselle de St. Beuve; for the one is staying in +Paris in disobedience to the orders of the King, and the other is +remaining there, waiting for the tender consolations of the Chevalier +d'Aumale." + +The young Count turned somewhat red, both at the coarseness and the +scornfulness of the King's reply. "The young lady," he answered, +however, still keeping the same tone, "is named Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, daughter of the late Count de Clairvaut." + +"Your first cousin, Villequier," said the King, turning to his +minister. "You should know something of this affair?" + +"Not more than your Majesty," replied Villequier, bowing low, and +perceiving very clearly that Henry had maliciously wished to embarrass +him. + +The King smiled at the double-meaning answer, and then, turning to the +young Count, replied, "Well, sir, you have fulfilled your mission, and +may tell the Duke of Guise, our true and well-beloved cousin, that we +will cause immediate inquiry and investigation to be made into the +whole affair; and let him know the particulars as soon as we are +sufficiently well-informed to speak upon it with that accuracy which +becomes our character. You may retire." + +This was of course not the conclusion of the affair to which Charles +of Montsoreau was inclined to submit; and it was evident to him that +the King and his minions presumed upon his apparent youth and +inexperience. But there was a firm decision in his character which +they were not prepared for; and after pausing for a moment in thought, +during which time the King's brows began to bend angrily upon him, he +raised his eyes, looking Henry calmly and stedfastly in the face, and +replying, "Your Majesty must pardon me if I do not take instant +advantage of your permission to retire, as you have conceived a false +impression when you imagine that my mission is fulfilled." + +The King looked with an air of astonishment, first to Epernon and then +to Villequier: but the former turned away his head with a look of +dissatisfaction; while the latter bit his lip, let his hand fall upon +a jewelled dagger in his belt, and said nothing. + +Charles of Montsoreau, however, went on in the same calm but +determined tone. "His Highness the Duke of Guise," he said, "directed +me to inform your Majesty of the facts I have mentioned, and to beg in +general terms information regarding them; but in case the general +information that I obtained was not sufficiently accurate to enable me +to write to him distinctly that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is in this +place, or in that place, he further directed me humbly to request that +your Majesty would answer in plain terms the following plain +questions:--Is Mademoiselle de Clairvaut in the château of Vincennes? +Is she under the charge and protection of your Majesty? Does your +Majesty know where she is?" + +"By the Lord that lives," exclaimed Henry, "this Duke of Guise chooses +himself bold ambassadors to his King!" + +"Do you dare, malapert boy," exclaimed Villequier, "with that bold +brow, to cross-question your sovereign?" + +"I do dare, sir," answered Charles of Montsoreau, "to ask my +sovereign, in the name of the Duke of Guise, these plain questions, +which, as he is a just and noble monarch, he can neither find any +difficulty in answering, nor feel any anger in hearing." + +"And what if I refuse to answer, sir?" demanded the King. "What is to +be the consequence then? Is the doughty messenger charged to make a +declaration of war on the part of our obedient subject, the Duke of +Guise?" + +The young Count was not prepared for this question, and hesitated how +to answer it, though a full knowledge of how terrible the Duke of +Guise was to the weak and effeminate monarch he addressed, brought a +smile over his countenance, which had in reality more effect than any +words he could have spoken. After a pause, however, he replied,--"Oh +no, Sire. The Duke of Guise is, as you say, your Majesty's most +devoted and obedient subject; and never conceiving it possible that +you would refuse to answer his humble questions, he gave me no +instructions what to say in a case that he did not foresee. I can only +suppose," he added, with a low and reverent bow to the King, "that the +Duke will be obliged to come to Paris himself to make those inquiries +and investigations, concerning his young relation, in which I have not +been successful." + +Charles of Montsoreau could see, notwithstanding the paint, which +delicately furnished the King with a more stable complexion than his +own, that at the very thought of the Duke of Guise coming to Paris the +weak monarch turned deadly pale. The same signs also were visible to +Villequier, who whispered, "No fear, Sire; no fear; he will not come!" + +The King answered sharply, however, and sufficiently loud for the +young nobleman to hear, "We must give him no excuse, René! we must +give him no excuse! Monsieur de Logères," he continued, putting on a +more placable air than before, "we are glad to find that neither the +Duke of Guise nor his envoy presumes to threaten us; and in +consideration of the questions being put in a proper manner, we are +willing to answer them to the best of our abilities." + +Villequier, at these words, laid his hand gently upon the King's +cloak; but Henry twitched it away from his grasp with an air of +impatience, and continued, "I shall therefore answer you frankly and +freely, young gentleman; telling you that the Lady whom you are sent +to seek is in fact not at Vincennes; nor, to the best of our knowledge +and belief, in our good city of Paris; neither do we know or have any +correct information of where she may be found, though it is not by any +means to be denied that she has visited this our castle of Vincennes." + +The first part of the King's speech had considerably relieved the mind +of Villequier; but when he proceeded to make the somewhat unnecessary +admission, that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut had visited Vincennes, the +minister again attempted to interrupt the King, saying, "You know, +Sire, her pause at Vincennes was merely momentary, and absolutely +necessary for those passports and safeguards without which it might be +dangerous to travel, in the distracted state of the country." + +"Perfectly true," replied Henry: but the King's apprehension of the +Duke of Guise appearing in Paris was much stronger than his respect +for his minister's opinion; and he proceeded with what he had to say, +in spite of every sign or hint that could be given him. + +"You must know, Monsieur de Logères," he said, "that, as I before +observed, she did visit Vincennes for a brief space; but, there being +something embarrassing in the whole business, we were, to say the +truth--albeit not insensible to beauty--we were not at all sorry to +see her depart." + +Although Charles of Montsoreau judged rightly that the abode of +Vincennes, to the high and pure-minded girl whom he sought, could only +have been one of horror, he could not conceive any thing in her +situation which should have proved embarrassing to the King, and he +answered bluntly, "Then your Majesty of course has caused her to be +escorted in safety to the Duke of Guise, as the means of relieving +yourself from all embarrassment concerning her." + +"Not so, not so, Monsieur de Logères," replied the King. "Young +diplomatists and young greyhounds run fast and overleap the game. It +so happens that there are various claims regarding the wardship of +this young Lady. She has many relations, as near or nearer than the +Duke of Guise. The care and guidance of her, too, under the +authorisation of the Duke himself, has been claimed by a young +nobleman whom you may have heard of, called the Marquis of +Montsoreau;" and he fixed his eyes meaningly upon the young Count's +face. "All these circumstances rendered the matter embarrassing; and +as I was not called upon to decide the matter judicially; and the +Lady, if not quite of an age by law to judge for herself, being very +nearly so, I thought it far better to leave the whole business to her +own discretion, and let her take what course she thought fit, offering +her every assistance and protection in my power, which, however, she +declined. You may therefore assure the Duke of Guise, on my part, that +she is not at Vincennes, and that I am unacquainted with where she is +at this moment. I now think, therefore, that all your questions are +answered, and the business is at an end." + +"I fear I must intrude upon your Majesty still farther," replied the +young Count; "for besides the letter from the Duke of Guise, which I +have had the honour of delivering to your Majesty, he has also +furnished me with this document, giving me full power and authority to +inquire, seek for, and require, at the hands of any person in whose +power she may be, the young Lady whom he claims as his ward. He has +directed me to request your Majesty's approbation of the same, +expressed by your signature to that effect, giving me authority to +search for her in your name also, and to require the aid and +assistance of all your officers, civil and military, in executing the +said task." + +Henry looked both agitated and angry; and Villequier spoke for a +moment to Epernon behind the King's back. + +"Monsieur de Logères," exclaimed the latter, taking a step forward, +"this is too much. I can hardly suppose that his Highness the Duke of +Guise has authorised you to make such a demand." + +"My Lord Duke of Epernon," replied the Count, "were it not that I hold +in my hand the Duke's authority for that which I state, I would call +upon you to put your insinuation in plainer terms, that I might give +it the lie as plainly as I would do any other unjust accusation." + +The Duke turned very red; but he replied, "And you would be treated, +sir Count, as a petty boy of the low nobility of this realm deserves, +for using such language to one so much above yourself." + +"There is no one in France so much above myself, sir," replied the +Count, gazing on him sternly, and with a look of some contempt, "as to +dare to insult me with impunity; and though you be now High-admiral of +France, Colonel-general of Infantry, Governor of half the provinces of +this country, Duke, Peer, and hold many another rich and honourable +office besides, I tell you, John of Nogaret, that when the Baron de +Caumont dined at my father's table, he sat nearer the salt than +perhaps now may suit the proud Duke of Epernon to remember." + +"Silence!" exclaimed the King, rousing himself for a moment from his +effeminate apathy, while, for a brief space, an expression of power +and dignity came over his countenance, such as that which had +distinguished him while Duke of Anjou. "Silence, insolent boy! +Silence, Epernon! I forbid you, on pain of my utmost displeasure, to +take notice, even by a word, of what this young man has said. You were +yourself wrong to answer for the King in the King's presence. The Duke +of Guise shall have no just occasion to complain of us," he added, the +brightness which had come upon him gradually dying away like the false +promising gleam of sunshine which sometimes breaks for a moment +through a rainy autumnal day, and fades away again as soon, amidst the +dull grey clouds; "the Duke of Guise shall have no occasion to +complain of us. We will give this young man the authority which he has +so insolently demanded, to seek for Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, and +having found her--if she have not joined the Duke of Guise long +before--to escort her in safety to our cousin's care. But, Monsieur de +Logères, you show your ignorance of every custom of the court and +state, by supposing that the King of France can write down at the +bottom of the powers given you by the Duke of Guise his name in +confirmation of the same, like a steward at the bottom of a butcher's +bill. The authority which we give you must pass through the office of +our secretary of state, and it shall be drawn out and sent to you as +speedily as possible. I think that Monsieur de Villequier already +knows where to send this authority. You may now retire; and rest +assured that it shall reach you as soon as possible. At the same time +we pardon you for your conduct in this presence, which much needs +pardon, though it does not merit it." + +Charles of Montsoreau bowed low, and retired from the King's presence, +fully convinced that Henry was deceiving him; that he knew, or, at all +events, had every means of judging, where Marie de Clairvaut was; and +that he had not the slightest intention of sending him the +authorisation he had promised, unless absolutely driven to do so. + +The moment that the young Count had quitted the presence, the King +turned angrily to Villequier, exclaiming, "Are you mad, Villequier, to +risk bringing that fiery and ambitious pest upon us? 'Tis but four +days ago he was within ten miles of Paris!" + +"Pshaw, Sire!" replied Villequier; "there is not the slightest chance +of his coming. Did I not tell you when he was at Gonesse that I would +find means to make him run like a frightened hare back again to +Soissons? I fear your Majesty has ruined all our plans by promising +this authority to that malapert youth, who doubtless already knows, or +easily divines, that he is deceived." + +"I have not deceived him," said the King: "I told him the girl was not +at Vincennes; nor is she. I told him that I did not know where she is +at this moment; nor do I; for she may be three miles on this side of +Meulan, or three miles on that, for aught I know. It depends upon the +quickness of the horses, and the state of the roads. I promised him +the authority to seek her; and he shall have it in good due form, if +he live long enough, and wait in Paris a sufficient time." + +"If he have it not within three days," replied Villequier, "be you +sure, Sire, that he will write to the Duke of Guise." + +"But, Villequier," said the King in a soft tone, "could you not find +means to prevent his making use of pen and ink to such bad purposes? +In short, friend René, it is altogether your affair. You seem to think +that the fact of this girl falling into our hands is quite the +discovery of a treasure which may fix on our side this young Marquis +of Montsoreau and the crafty Abbé that you talk of, and I don't know +how many more people besides. Now I told you from the beginning that +you should manage it all yourself: so look to it, good Villequier; +look to it." + +"He has let me manage it all myself, truly!" said Villequier, in a low +tone, "But I wish to know more precisely, your Majesty," he added +aloud, "what am I to do with this youth and the girl? Is he to have +the authorisation, or not? Am I, or am I not, to give her up when he +demands her?" + +"Now, good faith," replied the King, "would not one think, Epernon, +that our well-beloved friend and minister here was a mere novice out +of a convent of young girls, a tender and scrupulous little thing, +thinking evil, in every stray look or soft word addressed to her. He +who has dealt with so many in his day, diplomatists and warriors and +statesmen, has not wit enough to deal with a raw boy, whom, doubtless, +our fair and crafty cousin of Guise has sent upon a fool's errand to +get him out of the way." + +"Certainly," replied the Duke of Epernon, "our wise friend Villequier +seems to be somewhat prudent and cautious this morning. The young lady +is in your hands, I think, Villequier; is she not? and you have sent +her off into Normandy, I think you told me, with an escort of fifty of +your archers. She goes there, doubtless, as his Majesty has said, with +her own will and consent, and by her own choice, for there is a soft +persuasiveness in fifty archers which it is very difficult for a +woman's heart to resist; and, doubtless, by the same cogent arguments, +you will induce her to marry whom you please. Come, tell us who it is +to be; the hand of a rich heiress to dispose of, may be made a +profitable thing, under such management as yours, Villequier." + +"I have not discovered the philosopher's stone, like you, Monsieur +d'Epernon," replied the other. + +The King laughed gaily, for Epernon's extraordinary cupidity was no +secret even to the monarch that fed it. But the Duke was proof to all +jest upon that score; and looking at Villequier with the same sort of +musing expression which he had before borne, he repeated his question, +saying, "Come, come, disinterested chevalier, tell us to whom do you +intend to give her?" + +"Perhaps to my own nephew," replied the other. "What think you of +that, Monsieur le Duc?" + +The brow of Epernon grew clouded in a moment. "I think," he said, +"that you will not do it, for two reasons: in the first place, you +destine your nephew for your daughter Charlotte." + +"Not I," replied the Marquis; "I never dreamt of such a thing. She +shall wed higher than that, or not at all. But what is your second +reason, Monsieur d'Epernon?" + +"Because you dare not," replied the Duc d'Epernon: and he added, +speaking in a low tone, "You dare not, Villequier, mingle your race +with that of Guise. The moment you do, your object will be clear, and +your ruin certain." + +"It is a curious thing, Sire," said Villequier, turning to the King +with a smile, "it is a curious thing to see how my good Lord of +Epernon grudges any little advantage to us mean men. However, to set +his Grace's mind at ease, I neither destine Mademoiselle de Clairvaut +for one nor for the other; but I think she may prove a wonderful good +bait for the wild young Marquis of Montsoreau. By the promise of her +hand, as far as my interest and influence is concerned, he will not +only be bound to your Majesty's cause on every occasion, but will +exert himself more zealously and potently for that, than any other +inducement could lead him to do. Even if he should fail in the +trial--for we must acknowledge that he shows himself somewhat unstable +in his purposes--he will, at all events, have so far committed himself +as to give your Majesty good cause for confiscating all his land, +cutting down all his timber, and seizing upon all his wealth. However, +I must think, in the first place, of how to deal with this brother of +his." + +"No very difficult task, I should judge," said the Duke of Epernon, +"for one so practised in the art of catching gudgeons as you, +Villequier." + +"I don't know that," answered Villequier; "I would fain detach that +youth, also, from the Guises. You see, most noble Duke, I am thinking +of the King's interest all the time, while you are thinking of your +own. However, I must find a way to manage him, for, as their wonderful +friend and tutor, this wise Abbé de Boisguerin, admitted to me last +night, there are three means all powerful in dealing with our +neighbours--love, interest, and ambition; and we might thus exemplify +it,--the King would do any thing for the first, the Duke of Epernon +any thing for the second, and his Highness of Guise any thing for the +third." + +"There are two other implements frequently used, which I wonder +Monsieur de Villequier did not add," said the Duke, "as I rather +expect he may have to use one or other of them on the present +occasion; and men say he is fully as skilful in using them as in +employing love, interest, or ambition, for his ends." + +"Pray what are those?" demanded Villequier, somewhat sharply. + +"Vicenza daggers," replied the Duke of Epernon, "and wine that splits +a Venice glass!" + +"Come, come, Epernon," cried the King, "you and Villequier shall not +quarrel. Come away from him, come away from him, or you will be using +your daggers on each other presently:" and, throwing his arm +familiarly round his neck, he drew the Duke away. + + + + + CHAP. V. + + +Charles of Montsoreau rode homeward in painful and anxious thought: he +had flattered himself vainly, before he had proceeded to Vincennes, +that the redoubted name of Henry of Guise would be found fully +sufficient immediately to cause the restoration of Marie de Clairvaut +to him, who had naturally a right to protect her. It less frequently +happens that youth fails to reckon upon the fiery contention it is +destined to meet with from adversaries, than that it miscalculates the +force of the dull and inert opposition which circumstances continually +offer to its eager course, throwing upon it a heavy, slow, continual +weight, which, like a clog upon a powerful horse, seems but a nothing +for the moment, but in the end checks its speed entirely. None knew +better than Henry III. that it is by casting small obstacles in the +way of impetuous youth, that we conquer and tame it sooner than by +opposing it; and such had been his purpose with Charles of Montsoreau. + +In his idle carelessness he cared but little what became of +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, or into whose hands she fell. He was +willing to countenance and assist the politic schemes of his favourite +Villequier; and cared not, even in the slightest degree, whether that +personage employed poison or the knife to rid himself of the young +Count of Logères, provided always that he himself had nothing to do +with it. The only part that he was inclined to act was to thwart the +Duke's young envoy by obstacles and long delays; and this he had +suffered to become so far evident to Charles of Montsoreau, that he +became angry and impatient at the very prospect before him. He +doubted, however, whether it would be right to send off a courier with +this intelligence immediately to the Duke of Guise, or to wait for two +or three days, in order to see whether the powers promised him were +effectually granted; and he was still pondering the matter, while +riding through the streets of Paris, when, in passing by a large and +splendid mansion in one of the principal streets, he caught a glimpse +of two figures disappearing through the arched portal of the building. +The faces of neither were visible to him; their figures only for a +moment, and that at a distance. But he felt that he could not be +mistaken--that all the thoughts and feelings and memories of youth +could not so suddenly, so magically, be called up by the sight of any +one but his brother,--and if so, that the other was the Abbé de +Boisguerin. + +"Whose is that house?" he exclaimed aloud, turning to his attendants. + +"That of Monsieur René de Villequier," replied the page instantly; +and, springing from his horse at the gate, the young Count knocked +eagerly for admission. The portals were instantly thrown open, and a +porter in crimson, with a broad belt fringed with gold, appeared in +answer to the summons. + +"I think," said the young Count, "that I saw this moment the Marquis +de Montsoreau and the Abbé de Boisguerin pass into this house." + +The porter looked dull, and shook his head, replying, "No, sir; nobody +has passed in here but two of my noble Lord's attendants--the old Abbé +Scargilas, and Master Nicolas Prevôt, who used formerly to keep the +Salle d'Armes, opposite the kennel at St. Germain." + +Although Charles of Montsoreau knew the existence and possibility of +such a thing as the lie circumstantial, yet the coolness and readiness +of the porter surprised him. "Pray," he said, after a moment's pause, +"is there any such person as either Monsieur de Montsoreau or the Abbé +de Boisguerin dwelling here at present?" + +"None, sir," replied the man. "There is no one here but the attendants +of my Lord, who is at present absent with the King." + +Charles of Montsoreau would have given a good deal to have searched +the house from top to bottom; but as it would not exactly do to storm +the dwelling of René de Villequier, he rode on, no less convinced than +ever that his brother was at that moment in the dwelling of the +minister. + +This conviction determined his conduct at once. That his brother was +in Paris, and in the hands of the most dangerous and intriguing man of +that day, he had no doubt; and it seemed to him also clear, that +schemes were going on and contriving, of which the obstacles and +delays thrown in his way might be, perhaps, a part. To what they +tended he could not, of course, tell directly; but he saw that the +only hope of frustrating them lay in exertion without the loss of a +moment, and he accordingly dispatched his faithful attendant Gondrin +to Soissons as soon as he reached the inn. + +We must follow, however, for a moment, the two persons whom the young +Count had seen enter the hotel of Villequier, and accompany them at +once into the chamber to which they proceeded after passing the +portal. It was a splendid cabinet, filled with every sort of rare and +costly furniture, which was displayed to the greater perfection by the +dark but rich tapestry that covered the walls. Another larger room +opened beyond, and through the door of that again, which was partly +open, a long suite of bed-rooms and other apartments were seen, with +different rich and glittering objects placed here and there along the +perspective, as if for the express purpose of catching the eye. + +Into one of the large arm-chairs which the cabinet contained, the +Marquis of Montsoreau threw himself as if familiar with the scene. +"Villequier is long," he said, speaking to the Abbé. "He promised to +have returned before this hour." + +"Impatience, Gaspar, impatience," replied the Abbé, "is the vice of +your disposition. How much have you lost already by impatience? Was it +not your impatience which hurried me forward to represent his own +situation and that of yourself, to your brother Charles, which drove +him directly to the Duke of Guise? Was it not your impatience which +made you speak words of love to Marie de Clairvaut before she was +prepared to hear them, drawing from her a cold and icy reply? Was it +not your impatience that made us leave behind at Provins all the tired +horses and one half of the men, rather than wait a single day to +enable them to come on with us; and did not that very fact put us +almost at the mercy of the reiters, and give your brother an +opportunity of showing his gallantry and skill at our expense?" + +"It is all true, my friend; it is all true," replied the Marquis. "But +in regard to my speaking those fiery words to Marie de Clairvaut, how +could I help that? Is it possible so to keep down the overflowing +thoughts of our bosom as to prevent their bursting forth when the +stone is taken off from the fountain, and when the feelings of the +heart gush out, not as from the spring of some ordinary river, but, +like the waters of Vaucluse, full, powerful, and abundant even at +their source." + +"It was that I wished you to guard against," replied the Abbé. "Had +you appeared less to seek, you would have been sought rather than +avoided. It may be true, Gaspar, what authors have said, that a woman, +like some animals of the chase, takes a pleasure in being pursued; but +depend upon it, if she do so, she puts forth all her speed to insure +herself against being caught. Unless you are very sure of your own +speed and strength, you had better steal quietly onward, lest you +frighten the deer. Had she heard much from my lips, and from those of +her good but weak friend Madame de Saulny, of your high qualities, and +of all those traits in your nature calculated to captivate and attract +such a being as herself, while you seemed indifferent and somewhat +cool withal, every thing--good that is in her nature would have joined +with every thing that is less good--the love of high qualities and of +manly daring would have combined with vanity and caprice to make her +seek you, excite your attention, and court your love." + +"I have never yet seen in her," said the young Marquis, "either vanity +or caprice; and besides, good friend, such things to me at least are +not matters of mere calculation. I act upon impulses that I cannot +resist. Mine are feelings, not reasonings: I follow where they lead +me, and even in the pursuit acquire intense pleasure that no reasoning +could give." + +"True," replied the Abbé, bending down his head and answering +thoughtfully. "There is a great difference between your age and mine, +Gaspar. You are at the age of passions, and at that period of their +sway when they defeat themselves by their own intensity. I had +thought, however, that my lessons might have taught you, my counsel +might have shown you, that with any great object in view it is +necessary to moderate even passion in the course, in order to succeed +in the end." + +"But there is joy in the course also," exclaimed Gaspar de Montsoreau. +"Think you, Abbé, that even if it were possible to win the woman we +love by another's voice, we could lose the joy of winning her for +ourselves--the great, the transcendant joy of struggling for her +affection, even though it were against her coldness, her indifference, +or her anger?" + +"I think, Gaspar," replied the Abbé, "that if to a heart constituted +as yours is, there be added a mind of equal power, nothing--not even +the strongest self-denial--will be impossible for the object of +winning her you love. But I am not a good judge of such matters," he +continued with a slight smile curling his lip--a smile not altogether +without pride. "I am no judge of such matters. The profession which I +have chosen, and followed to a certain point, excludes them from my +consideration. All I wish to do in the present instance is to warn +you, Gaspar, against your own impetuosity in dealing with this +Villequier. Be warned against that man! be careful! Promise him +nothing; commit yourself absolutely to nothing, unless upon good and +sufficient proof that he too deals sincerely with you. He is not one +to be trusted, Gaspar, even in the slightest of things; and promise me +not to commit yourself with him in any respect whatsoever." + +"Oh, fear not, fear not," replied the Marquis. "In this respect at +least, good friend, no passions hurry me on. Here I can deal calmly +and tranquilly, because, though the end is the same, I have nothing +but art to encounter, which may always be encountered by reason. When +I am with her, Abbé, it is the continual strife of passion that I have +to fear; at every word, at every action, I have to be upon my guard; +and reason, like a solitary sentinel upon the walls of a city attacked +on every side, opposes the foes in vain at one point, while they pour +in upon a thousand others." + +While he was yet speaking, a servant with a noiseless foot entered the +room, and in a low sweet tone informed the Marquis, that Monsieur de +Villequier had just returned from Vincennes, and desired earnestly to +speak with him, for a moment, _alone_ in his own cabinet. The word +"alone" was pronounced more loud than any other, though the whole was +low and tuneful; for Villequier used to declare that he loved to have +servants with feet like cats and voices like nightingales. + +The Abbé marked that word distinctly, and was too wise to make the +slightest attempt to accompany his former pupil. The Marquis, however, +did not remark it; and, perhaps a little fearful of his own firmness +and skill, asked his friend to accompany him. But the Abbé instantly +declined. "No, Gaspar," he said, "no; it were better that you should +see Monsieur Villequier alone. I will wait for you here;" and, turning +to the table, he took up an illuminated psalter, and examined the +miniatures with as close and careful an eye as if he had been deeply +interested in the labours of the artist. + +He saw not a line which had there been drawn; but after the Marquis +had followed the servant from the room he muttered to himself, "So, +Monsieur de Villequier, you think that I am a mean man, who may be +over-reached with impunity and ease? You know me not yet, but you +shall know me, and that soon." And laying down the psalter, he took up +another book of a character more suited to his mind at the moment, and +read calmly till his young friend returned, which was not for near an +hour. + +In the mean time the Marquis had proceeded to the cabinet of +Villequier, who, the moment he saw him, rose from the chair in which +he had been seated busily writing, and pressed him warmly by the hand. + +"My dear young friend," he said, "one learns to love the more those in +whose cause one suffers something; and, since I saw you, I have had to +fight your battle manfully." + +"Indeed! and may I ask, my Lord, with whom?" demanded the young +Marquis. + +"With many," answered Villequier. "With the King,--with Epernon,-with +your own brother." + +"With my brother?" exclaimed Gaspar of Montsoreau, while the blood +rushed up in his face. "Does he dare to oppose me after all his loud +professions of disinterestedness and generosity? But where is he, my +Lord? Leave me to deal with him. Where does he dwell? Is he in Paris?" + +Villequier smiled, but so slightly, that it did not attract the eyes +of his companion. That smile, however, was but the announcement of a +sudden thought that had passed through his own mind. + +Shrewd politicians like himself, fertile in all resources, and +unscrupulous about any, feel a pride and pleasure in their own +abundance of expedients, which makes the conception of a new means to +their end as pleasant as the finding of a diamond. On the present +occasion the subtle courtier thought to himself with a smile, as he +saw the angry blood mount into the cheek of the young Marquis of +Montsoreau at the very mention of his brother's name,--"Here were a +ready means of ridding ourselves, were it needful, of one if not both +of these young rash-headed nobles, by setting them to cut each other's +throats." + +It suited not his plan however at the moment to follow out the idea, +and he consequently replied, "No, no, Monsieur de Montsoreau. I should +take no small care, seeing how justly offended you are with your +brother, to prevent your finding out his abode, as I know what +consequences would ensue. But in all probability, by this time, he has +gone back to the Duke of Guise, having with difficulty been +frustrated, for the King was much inclined to yield to his demands." + +"What did he demand?" exclaimed the Marquis vehemently. "What did he +dare to demand, after the professions he made to me at La Ferté?" + +"That matters not," answered Villequier. "Suffice it that his demands +were such as would have ruined all your hopes for ever." + +"But why should the King support his demands," said the Marquis, "when +well assured of how attached he is to the great head of the League +that tyrannises over him?" + +"Hush, hush!" said Villequier. "The League only tyrannises so long as +the King chooses. Henry wields not the sword at present, but the sword +is still in his hands to strike when he thinks fit. But to answer your +question, my young friend. The King knows well, as you say, that your +brother is attached to the Duke of Guise: but you must remember at the +same time, Monsieur de Montsoreau, that as yet he is not fully assured +that you are attached to himself. Nay, hear me out, hear me out! The +King's arguments, I am bound to say, were not only specious but +reasonable. He had to consider, on the one hand, that the Duke of +Guise, with whom it is his strongest interest to keep fair, demands +this young lady as his ward, which, according to the laws of the land, +Henry has no right to refuse. Your brother, on the Duke's part, +threatens loudly; and what have I to oppose to a demand to which it +seems absolutely necessary in good policy that the King should yield? +Nothing; for, on the other hand, Henry affirms that he can be in no +degree sure of yourself; that your family for long have shown +attachment for the House of Guise; that you yourself were upon your +march to join the Duke, when this lady, falling into the hands of the +King's troops, induced you to abandon your purpose for the time; but +that the moment he favours your suit, or gives his consent to your +union with her, you may return to your former attachments, and +purchase the pardon and good will of the Duke of Guise by returning to +his faction." + +"I am incapable of such a thing!" exclaimed the Marquis vehemently: +but the recollection of his abandonment of the Duke's party came over +him with a glow of shame, and he remained for a moment or two without +making any farther reply, while Villequier was purposely silent also, +as if to let what he had said have its full effect. At length he +added: + +"I believe you are incapable of it, Monsieur de Montsoreau, and so I +assured the King. He, however, still urged upon me that I had no +proof, and that you had taken no positive engagement to serve his +Majesty. All the monarch's arguments were supported by Epernon, who, I +believe, wishes for the hand of the young lady for some of his own +relations, in order to arrange for himself such an alliance with the +House of Guise as may prove a safeguard to him in the hour of need." +And again Villequier smiled at his own art in turning back upon the +Duke of Epernon the suspicion which the Duke had expressed in regard +to himself. + +The warning of the Abbé de Boisguerin, however, at that moment rang in +the ears of Gaspar of Montsoreau, and he roused himself to deal with +Villequier not exactly as an adversary, but certainly less as a +friend. + +"In fact, Monsieur de Villequier," he said, "his Majesty wishes that I +should devote my sword and fortune to his service; and I am to +understand, through you, that he holds out to me the hope of obtaining +the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut in return. Now, it was not at +all my purpose to take any part in the strifes that are agitating the +country at this moment. I am neither Leaguer nor Huguenot, nor Zealot +nor Moderate; and, though most loyal, not what is called Royalist. I +was merely conducting Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, with a very small +force, not the tenth part of what I can bring into the field at a +week's notice, when the events took place which brought me to Paris. +Now, Monsieur, if the King does not rest satisfied with my expressions +of loyalty, and desires some express and public engagement to his +service, I see no earthly reason why I should rest satisfied with mere +vague hopes of obtaining the hand of the lady I love; and though, of +course, I cannot deal with his Majesty upon equal terms, yet I must +demand some full, perfect, and permanent assurance that I am not to be +disappointed in my hopes, before I draw my sword for one party or +another." + +Villequier gazed thoughtfully in his face for a moment or two, biting +his under lip, and saying internally, "The Abbé de Boisguerin--this +comes from him." His next thought was, "Shall I endeavour to pique +this stripling upon his honour, and generosity, and loyalty, and all +those fine words?" But he rejected the idea the moment after thinking. +"No; that would do better with his brother. When a man boldly leaps +over such things, it is insulting him to talk about them any more." + +And after a moment's farther thought, he replied, "It is all very +fair, Monsieur de Montsoreau, that you should have such assurances; +though, if we were not inclined to deal straightforwardly with you in +the matter, we might very very easily refuse every thing of the kind, +and leave you not in the most pleasant situation." + +"How so?" demanded the Marquis with some alarm. "How so?" + +"Easily, my dear young friend," replied Villequier. "Thus: by +informing you that the King could give you no such assurance--which, +indeed, is nominally true, though not really--and by showing you, at +the same time, that as the young lady is in his Majesty's hands, and +he is determined not to give her up to the Duke of Guise or to any +body else, but some tried and faithful friend, the only means by which +you can possibly obtain her is by serving the King voluntarily, in the +most devoted manner. Suppose this did not suit you, what would be your +resource? If you go to the Duke of Guise, you find the ground occupied +before you by your brother, and the Duke accuses you of having +betrayed his young relation into the hands of the King--perhaps sends +you under a guard into Lorraine, and has you tried, and your head +struck off. Such things have happened before now, Monsieur de +Montsoreau. At all events, not the slightest chance exists of your +winning the fair heiress of Clairvaut from him. But, even if you did +gain his consent, she is still in the hands of the King, who would +certainly not give her up to one who had proved himself a determined +enemy." + +Gaspar of Montsoreau looked down, with somewhat of a frowning brow, +upon the ground. He saw, indeed, that the alternative was one that he +could not well adopt; and, from the showing of Villequier, he fancied +himself of less power and consequence in the matter than he really +was. He resolved, however, not to admit the fact if he could help it. + +"Suppose, Monsieur de Villequier," he said, "that the League were to +prevail, and to force his Majesty to concede all the articles of +Nancy, think you not that one thing exacted from him might well be, to +yield Mademoiselle de Clairvaut to her lawful guardian?" + +"It might," answered Villequier immediately. "But then I come in. The +question of guardianship has never been tried between the Duke and +myself. I stand as nearly related to her as he does; and I should +instantly bring the cause before the Parliament, demanding that the +young lady should remain in the hands of the King as suzerain till the +cause is decided, which might be this time ten years." + +"I did not know," said the young nobleman, "that the relationship was +so near, though I was aware that Clairvaut is the family name of +Villequier. However, sir, there is yet another alternative. Suppose I +were to keep the sword in the sheath, and retire once more to +Montsoreau." + +"Why there, then," replied Villequier with a slight sneer, "you might +happily abide, watching the progress of events, till either the +royalist party or the League prevailed; and then, as chance or +accident might will it, see the hand of the fair Lady rewarding one of +the King's gallant defenders, or bestowed by the Duke of Guise upon +his brave and prudent partisan, the Count of Logères." + +He paused for a moment or two, to let all he said have its full +effect, and then added, in a familiar tone, "Come, come, Monsieur de +Montsoreau, see the matter in its true light. There is no possible +chance of your obtaining the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, except +by attaching yourself to the King's service, and defending the royal +cause with the utmost zeal. If you persist in doing so simply as a +voluntary act to be performed or remitted at pleasure, be you sure +that as you make the King depend upon your good will for your services +towards him, so will you be made to depend upon his good will, his +caprices if you like, for the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. If, +however, on the contrary, you frankly and generously determine to take +service with the King, and bind yourself irrevocably to his cause, I +do not scruple to promise you, under his hand, his full consent to +your union with Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. I will give you the same +consent under mine, assuming the title of her guardian. Your marriage +cannot, of course, take place till the great struggle that is now +impending is over. In a few months, nay, in a few weeks, the one party +or the other--who are now directing their efforts against each other, +instead of turning, as they ought, their united forces against the +common enemies of our religion--must have triumphed over its +adversary. I need not tell you which I feel, which I know, must be +successful; but your part will now be, to exert yourself to the +utmost, to traverse the country with all speed to Montsoreau, to raise +every soldier that you can, and to gather every crown that you can +collect, to join the King with all your forces, wherever he may be, +and, by your exertions, to render that result certain, which is, +indeed, scarcely doubtful even as it is; remembering that upon the +destruction of the Duke of Guise's party, and upon the overthrow of +his usurped and unreasonable power, depends not only the welfare of +your King and master, but the realisation of your best and sweetest +hopes." + +"You grant all that I demand, Monsieur de Villequier," replied Gaspar +of Montsoreau. "All I wish is the King's formal consent in writing, +and yours, to my marriage with Marie de Clairvaut, as the condition of +my absolute and public adhesion to the royal cause." + +"I know," replied Villequier, "that I grant all you demand, and I was +prepared to do so from the first, only we were led into collateral +discussions as we went on. You will, of course, take an oath to the +King's service, and confirm it under your hand." + +"We will exchange the papers, Monsieur de Villequier," replied the +Marquis, thinking himself extremely cautious. "But now, pray tell me, +how ended the discussion with my brother?" + +"The only way that it could end," replied Villequier, "when all +parties were determined to evade his demand. The King, you may easily +suppose, was not inclined to give the young heiress of Clairvaut to +any of the partisans of an enemy. Epernon knew well that if the hand +of a Guise were upon her shoulder, the ring of a La Valette would +never pass upon her finger; and I, when last we met, had half given my +promise to you, and was, at all events, determined that the question +of wardship should be settled before I parted with her. The King, +therefore, evaded the demands of the young Count, though he was not a +little inclined to yield to them at one time, in order to pacify the +Duke of Guise. However, I took the brunt of the business upon myself, +and underwent the hot indignation of your brother, who thought to find +in me an Epernon, or a Montsoreau, who would measure swords with him +for an angry word." + +"They had better be skilful as well as brave," said the young Marquis +thoughtfully, "who measure swords with my brother Charles." + +"Indeed!" said Villequier, "is he then so much a master of his +weapon?" + +"The most perfect I ever beheld--ay, more skilful now, than even our +friend the Abbé de Boisguerin; though I have heard that, some years +ago, when the Abbé was studying at Padua, he challenged the famous +Spanish sword-player, Bobéz, to display his skill with him in the +schools, in single combat, and hit him three times upon the heart +without Bobéz touching him once." + +"I remember, I remember!" cried Villequier. "The master broke the +buttons from the swords in anger, and the student ran him through the +body at the first pass, whereof he died within five minutes after in +the Deacon's chamber." + +"I never heard that he died," replied the Marquis with some surprise. + +"He did indeed, though," replied Villequier with a meditative air. +"And so this was the Abbé de Boisguerin. One would have thought the +army, rather than the church, would have called such a spirit to +itself." + +"I know not," replied the young Marquis, "but in all things he is +equally skilful; and, doubtless, you know he has taken but the first +step towards entering the church, pausing as it were even on the +threshold." + +"Do you think," said Villequier, "that he is as skilful in conveying +intelligence as in other things?" + +"What do you mean, my Lord?" exclaimed his young companion. + +"Nay, I mean nothing," replied the politician, satisfied with having +sown the first seed of suspicion in the young nobleman's mind, +without, perhaps, any definite design, but simply for the universal +purpose of making men doubt and distrust each other, with a view of +ruling them more easily. "Nothing, except a mere question concerning +his skill. I have no latent meaning, I assure you." + +The brow of the Marquis grew clear again, and Villequier saw that he +believed the latter assertion more fully than he had intended. He let +the subject pass, however, and spoke of many other things, giving his +own account of various matters which had occurred during the Count de +Logères's audience of the King, and urging Gaspar de Montsoreau to set +off with all speed to raise his forces in his native province. Then +abruptly turning the conversation, he demanded, "You or the Abbé told +me, I think, that you suspected your brother of having communicated +your march to the reiters. Is it like his general character so to act? +I'm sure, if it be his custom to do such things, I would much rather +that he was upon the opposite party than our own." + +The Marquis bent down his head, and gazed sternly upon the ground for +two or three moments. He then answered, with a deep sigh, "No, +Monsieur de Villequier; no, it is not like Charles's character. He has +all his life been frank and free as the summer air, open, and +generous. I fear I did him wrong to suspect him. We are rivals where +no man admits of rivalry: but I must do him justice. If he have done +such a thing, his nature must be changed, changed indeed--changed, +perhaps, as much as my own." + +"I thought," replied Villequier, "that he seemed frank and +straightforward enough, bold and haughty as a lion; gave the King look +for look; bearded Epernon, and threatened to bring him to the field; +and spared not me myself, whom men don't for some reason love to +offend. But he did not seem a man likely to betray his friend, or +practise treachery upon his brother. It is a very strange thing, too," +he continued in an easier tone, "that Colombel and the other officers +of the King's troops at Château Thierry should have received news of +your coming a day before you did cross the Marne, together with the +information that the reiters might attack you near Gandelu. Was not +this strange?" + +"Most strange," replied the Marquis, knitting his brows, and setting +his teeth hard. But Villequier, now seeing that he had said quite +enough, again turned the conversation; and after letting it subside +naturally to ordinary subjects, he told the young Marquis that he +would immediately write to the King, and obtain his signature to the +paper required, before bed-time. "It is late already," he said; "I +think even now I see a shade in the sky, so I must about my work +rapidly. But remember, Monsieur de Montsoreau, nine is my supper hour +exactly; and then, care and labour being past, we will sit down and +enjoy ourselves, though I fear the accommodation which I can offer you +in my poor dwelling must seem but rude in your eyes." + +The Marquis said all that such a speech required, and then withdrew. + +When he was gone, Villequier applied himself for some time to other +things; but when they were concluded, he rose from his chair, and +walked once or twice thoughtfully across the cabinet. + +"I had better," he said to himself at length, "I had better deal with +him at once, and then I can ascertain what are his demands, and how to +treat them." + +Thus saying, he took up his bell and rang it, directing the servant +who appeared to see if he could find the Abbé de Boisguerin alone, in +which case he was to invite him to a conference. "He will be alone," +thought the wily courtier, "for I have sown seeds of those things +which will not suffer them to be long together." + +The Abbé, however, was absent from the house, much to the surprise of +Villequier; and another hour had well nigh passed before he made his +appearance. The moment that he did so, he advanced towards Villequier +with his mild and graceful calmness, saying that he understood his +Lordship had sent for him. Villequier pressed his hand tenderly, and +with soft and courtly words assured him that, in sending for him, he +had only sought to enjoy the pleasure of his unrivalled conversation +for a few minutes before supper. + +The Abbé replied exactly in the same tone; that he was profoundly +grieved to have lost even a moment of the society of one who +fascinated from the first, and sent away every one charmed and +delighted. + +A slight and bitter smile curled the lip of each as he ended his +speech, like a seal upon a treaty, the confirmation and mockery of a +falsehood. + +The Abbé, however, added to his speech a few words more, saying that +he should have been back earlier, but that his conversation at the +White Penitent's had been so interesting that he could not withdraw +himself earlier from her Majesty the Queen-mother. + +Villequier started. "Are you acquainted with the Queen?" he said. +"What a surprising-being Catherine is!" + +"She is indeed," answered the Abbé. "My long sojourn at Florence some +years ago made me fully acquainted with every member of the House of +Medici, and I now bring you this letter on her part, Monsieur de +Villequier." + +Villequier took the paper that the Abbé handed to him, and read +apparently with some surprise. "Her Majesty," he said, "knows that I +am her devoted slave, but at the same time she cannot doubt, knowing +as she does so well your high qualities, that I will do every thing to +serve and assist you, and prevent all evil machinations against you." + +"Oh, she doubts it not; she doubts it not," replied the Abbé. "She +doubts it not, Monsieur de Villequier, any more than I do; and has +written this note only in confirmation of your good intentions towards +me. However, there is one thing I wish you to do for me, Monsieur de +Villequier." + +"Name it, my dear friend," exclaimed the Marquis; "but give me an +opportunity of making myself happy in gratifying your wishes." + +"The fact is, Monsieur de Villequier," replied the Abbé, "that some +malicious person has been endeavouring to persuade the young Marquis +de Montsoreau, my friend, and formerly my pupil, that it was I who +intimated to the reiters the course we were pursuing to meet the Duke +of Guise, and who also intimated the facts to the King's troops at +Château Thierry, that they might have an opportunity of coming up to +rescue us and bring us hither--though they showed no great activity in +doing the first. Now, doubtless, the person who did this, if there +were any one, had the King's service solely in view, and deserved to +be highly rewarded, as he probably will be; but----" + +"Doubtless," replied Villequier with a sneering smile. "But surely he +could not object to such honourable service being known." + +"Of course not," replied the Abbé; "nor that he had given intimation +of the facts to, and taken his measures with, her Majesty the +Queen-mother; by an order, under whose hand the troops at Château +Thierry acted, and at whose suggestion Monsieur de Montsoreau and +his friends threw themselves into the hands of Monsieur de +Villequier.--All this her Majesty declares he did; and he could not, +of course, object to any of these things being known, except as it is +contrary to good policy and to the wishes of the Queen-mother: and +more especially contrary to every wise purpose, if he be a person +possessed of much habitual influence with the young Marquis." + +"Monsieur de Boisguerin," said Villequier, seeming suddenly to break +away from the subject, but in truth following the scent as truly as +any well-trained hound, "the bishopric of Seez is at present vacant. I +know none who would fill it better than the Abbé de Boisguerin." + +The Abbé drew himself up and waved his hand. "You mistake me entirely, +Monsieur de Villequier," he said. "I take no more vows. I have taken +too many already; and those, by God's grace and the good will of our +holy father the Pope, I intend to get rid of very speedily. I have +nothing to request of your Lordship at present. I know, see, and +understand your whole policy, and think you quite right in every +respect. The promises which you and the King are to give to Monsieur +de Montsoreau concerning the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut can of +course be broken, changed, or modified in a moment at any future +time." + +"We have no intention of breaking them," replied Villequier. "We are +acting in good faith, I can assure you." + +"Doubtless," replied the Abbé, "doubtless: but they can be broken?" + +"Of course," replied Villequier; "of course any thing on earth can be +broken." + +"That is sufficient," replied the Abbé. "It is quite enough, Monsieur +de Villequier: I only desire to know, whether you and the King +consider it as a final arrangement, that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is +to marry the young Lord of Montsoreau, or whether the matter is not +now as much unsettled and within your own power and grasp as ever." + +"Why," replied Villequier thoughtfully, "it is, as I dare say you well +know, Monsieur l'Abbé, a very difficult thing indeed to devise any +sort of black lines, which, written down upon sheep skin, will prove +sufficiently strong to bind the actions of kings, princes, or common +men, at a future period. But it seems to me, Monsieur l'Abbé, that the +time is come when we had better be frank with each other! What is it +that you aim at? You seem not displeased to think the arrangement +doubtful or contingent; and yet I, who am not accustomed to guess very +wrongly in such matters, have entertained no doubtful suspicion that +you prompted the demand for a definite and conclusive bargain." + +"I did," replied the Abbé. "When you asked to see him alone, I was +very well assured that, though a game of policy skilfully played may +occasionally afford sport to Monsieur de Villequier, you were quite as +well pleased in the present business to deal with a young and +inexperienced head as with an old and a worldly one. He sought my +opinion and advice, and, as I uniformly do when it is sought, I gave +it him sincerely, though it was against my own views and purposes. +Now, Monsieur de Villequier, I see hovering round your lips a +question, which, in whatever form of words you place it, whatever +Proteus form it may assume, will have this for its substance and +object; namely, What are the plans and purposes of the Abbé de +Boisguerin? Now, my plans and purposes are these,--remember, I do not +say my objects; the object of every man in life is one, though we all +set out upon different roads to reach it. My purpose is to serve his +Majesty and the Queen-mother far more than I have hitherto been able +to do. What I have done is a trifle; but if I detach from the party of +the League, separate for ever from the Duke of Guise, and bring over +to the royal cause Charles of Montsoreau as well as his brother, I +shall confer no trifling service, for I can now inform you, Monsieur +de Villequier, that, besides the great estates of Logères, he is lord +of all the possessions lately held by the old Count de Morly, who +amassed much treasure during the avaricious part of age, and died +little more than a week ago, leaving this young Lord the heir of all +his wealth. I have received the intelligence this very morning; so +that, what between his riches, his skill, and his courage, he is worth +any two, excepting Epernon perhaps, of the King's court." + +"If you do what you say, Monsieur de Boisguerin," replied the Marquis +in a low, deep, sweet-toned voice, "you may command any thing you +please in France, bishoprics, abbeys----" + +"If it rained bishoprics," replied the Abbé, "I would not wear a +mitre. I do not pretend to say, Monsieur de Villequier, that I am more +disinterested than my neighbours; that I have not great rewards in +view, and objects of importance--to me, if not to others. But these +objects are not quite fixed or determined yet, and I am not one of +those men, Monsieur de Villequier, who hesitate to render the services +first from a fear of losing the reward afterwards. I know how to make +my claims heard when the time comes for demanding; and in the present +instance, although I cannot distinctly promise to bring Charles of +Montsoreau absolutely and positively over to the King's cause, yet I +am sure of being able both to detach him from the Duke of Guise and +separate him from the faction of the League. I think, indeed, that all +three can be done: but nothing can be done unless the promise given to +his brother be made contingent. The one loves her as vehemently as the +other; and I, who know how to deal with him, can change his whole +views in an hour, or at least in a few days." + +"Indeed!" said Villequier. "He is now in Paris; the trial could be +speedily made." + +"I know it--" replied the Abbé, seeing the Marquis fix his eyes upon +him eagerly, thinking, perhaps, 'he has promised more than he could +perform.' + +"I know it, and that is the precise reason why I have hurried on this +matter, and urged it to the present point. No time is to be lost, or I +see storms approaching, Monsieur de Villequier, that I think escape +your eyes." + +"What do you intend to do?" demanded Villequier; "and what means do +you require to do it?" + +"My purposes I have already told you," replied the Abbé. "The means I +require--to come to the point at once--consist of a document under +your own hand, making over to me, as far as your relationship to +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut goes, the right of disposing of her hand in +marriage to whomsoever I may think fit: that is to say, the voice for, +or the voice against, any particular candidate for her hand, when +given by me, is to be held as if given by yourself." + +"This is a great thing that you demand, Monsieur de Boisguerin," +replied Villequier, gazing in his face with no inconsiderable +surprise; "and I see not how I can give such a paper at the very same +time that I give the one which I have promised to the Marquis of +Montsoreau." + +"Nothing, I fear, can be done without it," replied the Abbé; "but I +think it may be done without risk or exposure of any kind, for I in +return can bind myself not to employ that paper for nine months, by +which time all will be complete; and in both the documents you can +speak vaguely of other promises and engagements, and can declare your +great object in giving me that paper to be, the final settlement of +difficult claims, by a person in whom you have full confidence." + +Villequier looked in his face with a meaning and somewhat sarcastic +smile: then turned to the note which the Queen-mother, Catharine de +Medici, had sent him; read it over again as if carelessly, but marking +every word as he did so; and then said, with somewhat of a sigh, +"Well, Monsieur de Boisguerin, pray draw up on that paper what you +think would be required." + +The Abbé took up the pen and ink, and wrote rapidly for a moment or +two; while Villequier looked over his shoulder, fingering the hilt of +his dagger as he did so, in a manner which might have made the periods +of any man but the Abbé de Boisguerin, who knew as he did his +companion's habits and views, less rounded and eloquent than they +usually were. The Abbé, however, wrote on without the slightest sign +of apprehension, and at length Villequier exclaimed, "That would tie +my hands sufficiently tight, Monsieur de Boisguerin." + +"Not quite, my Lord," replied the other. "I never make a covenant +without a penalty; and what I am now going to add provides that, in +case of your failing to confirm my decision, or attempting in any way +to rescind this paper and the power hereby given to me, you forfeit to +my use and benefit one hundred thousand golden crowns, to be sued for +from you in any lawful court of this kingdom." + +"Nay, nay, nay!" cried Villequier, now absolutely laughing. "This is +going too far, Monsieur de Boisguerin." + +"Faith, not a whit, my Lord," replied the Abbé. "I take care when men +make me promises, that they are not such as can be trifled with, at +least if I am to act upon them." + +"Why, you do not suppose----" exclaimed Villequier. + +"I suppose nothing, my Lord," interrupted the Abbé, "but that you are +a statesman and a courtier, and must in your day have seen more than +one promise broken." + +"By some millions," replied Villequier. "I told you to speak frankly, +Monsieur de Boisguerin, and you have done so with a vengeance. I must +have my turn, too, and tell you that neither to you nor any other man +on earth will I give such a promise, without in the first place seeing +a probability of the object for which it is given being accomplished, +and, in fact, some steps taken towards the accomplishment of that +object; and, in the next place, without having a distinct notion of +the means by which it is to effect its end. That is a beautiful ring +of yours," continued the statesman, suddenly breaking away from the +subject as if to announce that what he had just said was final, but +perhaps in reality to consider what was to be the next step. "That is +a beautiful ring of yours, Monsieur de Boisguerin, and of some very +peculiar stone it seems; a large turquoise semi-transparent." + +"It is an antidote against all poisons," answered the Abbé coolly, +"whether they be eaten in the savoury ragout, drunk in the racy cup, +smelt in the odour of a sweet flower, or inhaled in the balmy air of +some well-prepared apartment. My dear friends will not find me so +tender a lamb as Jeanne d'Albret." + +"No, I should think not," replied Villequier with a laugh, and still +holding off from the original subject of conversation. "I should think +not, if I may judge by some of your attendants, Monsieur de +Boisguerin, for there is one of them at least, an Italian, whom I +passed in the court but now, who looks much more like the follower of +a wolf than of a lamb. He was dressed somewhat in the guise of a +wandering minstrel, with a good strong dagger, which I dare say is +serviceable in time of need." + +"I have not the slightest doubt of it," replied the Abbé de Boisguerin +with the most imperturbable coolness, "though I have not had occasion +to make use of him much in that way yet. But the man's a treasure, +Monsieur de Villequier; and as to his garb the fact is, that I have +not had time yet to have it changed and made more becoming. You shall +see in a few days, Monsieur de Villequier, what a change can be +effected by razors, soap, cold water, and good clothing. He's a +complete treasure, I can assure you, and well worth any pains." + +"But," said Villequier, "if you have had him so short a time as not to +be able to clothe him yet, how do you know all these magnificent +qualities?" + +"It is a singular business enough," answered the Abbé. "I knew him +long ago in Italy, where he was exercising various professions: but he +had skill enough almost to cheat me, which, of course, made me judge +highly of his abilities. One day, not long ago, he presented himself +at the Château de Montsoreau, where it seems he had been upon some +vagabond excursion a week or a fortnight before. He had on the first +occasion seen and recognised me, and he now came back, having spent +all the money he had gained by selling a young Italian pipe-player to +my good cousin Charles, and being consequently in not the best +provided state. He was in hopes that I would take him into my service, +which, from ancient recollection of his character, I was very willing +to do; dismissing, however, without much ceremony, another man and a +low Italian woman whom he had brought with him. They seemed very +willing to go, it is true, and he to part with them; and my good +friend Orbi has already shown himself on more than one occasion fully +as serviceable as I had expected he would prove. My former knowledge +of him gives me means of binding him to me by very strong ties; and I +will acknowledge that never was there man to all appearance so well +calculated to remove a troublesome friend or a pertinacious enemy." + +"Doubtless, doubtless," replied Villequier; "though he seems not to be +particularly strong in frame." + +"But he is active," answered the Abbé, "and full of skill, and +thought, and ingenuity. But to return to what we were saying +concerning the paper, Monsieur de Villequier, which we have left +somewhat too long," added the Abbé, thinking this sort of farce had +been carried quite far enough. "Every objection that you have raised +can be overthrown at once. I ask this promise, not for my own sake, +but to satisfy this youth Charles of Montsoreau. He will trust you as +soon as the fox will the tiger; but he will trust to me implicitly, if +he believes that I have the power to aid him in obtaining her he +loves. Thus you see at once the means by which this promise is to work +to the ends that we propose. Then, as to seeing clearly what the +effect will be, I will show it to you in the very course of this +night. Read that letter, written by the young Count of Logères to his +brother, no later than yesterday evening! You see," the Abbé +continued, after Villequier had read, "he renounces all claim +whatsoever to the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, and this in +favour of his brother. The letter was brought hither not two hours +ago. Now, ere two hours more be over, you shall yourself see the whole +feelings of this young man changed, and the pursuit renewed as eagerly +as ever. If it be so, what say you? Will you go forward in the way I +propose?--Yea or nay, Monsieur de Villequier? I trifle not, nor am +trifled with." + +"I will then go forward, beyond all doubt," replied the Marquis. + +The Abbé thereupon took up the pen, wrote five lines on a sheet of +paper, sealed them with some of the yellow wax which lay ready, +addressed the note to Charles of Montsoreau, and placing it in the +hands of Villequier, bade him to send it by a page, with orders to +require an answer. The page seemed winged with the wind, and in a +marvellous short time he returned, bearing a note from the young Count +of Logères, containing these few words:-- + +"My renunciation was entirely conditional. If it be as you say, +nothing on earth shall induce me to yield the hand of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut to any man. The time that you allow me for writing does not +permit me to say more, but come to me as early as possible to-morrow, +and let all things be explained; for a state of doubt and suspicion +was always to me worse than the knowledge of real evil or real wrong." + +The Abbé gave it to Villequier, and the Minister only replied by +signing and sealing the paper which the Abbé had drawn up. + +"Now, quick! Monsieur l'Abbé," said the Minister. "Go for a few +minutes to your own apartments, and then join us at supper, which I +hear is already served, as if we had not met during the evening. You +will not need your ring, I can assure you." + +The Abbé bowed low and retired in silence; but in his heart he said, +"And this, the fool Henry holds to be a great politician." + +No knave can be a great politician; but every knave thinks himself so. +The mistake they make is between wisdom and cunning. The knave prides +himself on deceiving others, the wise man on not deceiving himself. + + + + + CHAP. VI. + + +When the Abbé de Boisguerin on the following morning entered the +presence of Charles of Montsoreau, his mind was prepared for every +thing he was to say and do, for every thing he was to assert or +to imply. But there was one thing for which his mind was not +prepared--all shrewd, keen, politic, and experienced as it was. + +There are points in the deep study of human nature which those who +would use that mighty science for selfish purposes almost always +overlook. Amongst these are the changes, both sudden and progressive, +which take place in themselves and in others, and the changes in +relative situations which they produce. In this respect it was that +the Abbé de Boisguerin, thoughtful and calculating as he was, had not +prepared himself for the meeting with Charles of Montsoreau. The time +was short since they had parted. Not above six weeks had elapsed, if +so much; and the Abbé had come ready to deal with a youth of keen and +penetrating mind, of quick perceptions and extensive powers; of all +whose feelings and thoughts he fancied that he knew the scope and +quality; whose mind he believed that he had gauged and tested as if it +were some material substance. But he knew not at all, what an effect +the space of six weeks may have when spent in communication with great +minds, and in dealing with great events; and the moment he entered the +room he saw a change which he had never dreamt of--a change which +through the mind affected the body, the countenance, and the +demeanour. + +Charles of Montsoreau, in short, had left him a youth high-spirited, +feeling, intelligent, graceful,--he stood before him a man, calm, +thoughtful, grave, dignified. There were even lines of care already +upon his brow, which gave it a degree of sternness not natural to it; +and the whole look and aspect of his former pupil was so powerfully +intellectual, that the Abbé felt he must be more cautious and careful +than he had prepared to be; that his words, his thoughts, and his +looks would not alone be tested by old affection, nor even by the +simple powers of an undoubting mind, but would be tried by experience +likewise, and tried moreover with that degree of suspicion which is +more active within us when we first learn the painful lessons taught +by human deceit, than it is when we learn fully our own powers of +separating truth from falsehood. + +He saw that it would be necessary to be more cautious than he had +proposed to be, and that, consequently, he must change much that he +had intended to say and do. The very caution affected his manner, and +his alteration of purposes caused occasional hesitation. Charles of +Montsoreau, who remembered his whole character and demeanour during +many years, found, without seeking it, a touchstone in the past by +which to try the present, and the conclusion in his own heart was, +"This man is not true." + +The explanation given by the Abbé of all that had occurred on their +route did not satisfy his hearer. He told him that he had remained +with Mademoiselle de Clairvaut and the carriage till the reiters had +passed, and then had caused the horses to be turned into a bye-road, +in the hope of escaping any returning parties: they had thus +accidentally met with the King's troops, whose offered protection, of +course, they could not refuse. But he touched vaguely and lightly upon +the mission of Colombel to the young Marquis de Montsoreau; and the +Count de Logères did not press him upon the subject, for he felt +sufficiently upon his guard, and had a repugnance openly to convict +one whom he had loved of falseness and treachery. + +He turned then to the note which he had received on the preceding +evening. + +"You tell me now," he said, "Abbé, that you have some reason to +believe that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, as I at first supposed, has +seen my affection, and did not intend to discourage it. What are those +reasons?" + +The Abbé stated vaguely that some words, dropped by Madame de Saulny, +had produced that belief in his mind. + +Charles of Montsoreau mused, and made no answer. The time had been +when he would have replied at once, and have discussed the question +fully with his former preceptor; but now he held counsel with his own +heart in his own bosom, and said, "This man has some object in telling +me this. Her own words were sufficiently conclusive, that she did not +see, that she did not remark, the signs of affection which I had +fancied undoubted." + +He still maintained silence, however, towards the Abbé, in regard to +his own views, his own purposes, and his own feelings. Nor could the +other, though he used all his skill, draw from him the slightest +indication of what he intended to do, except that he waited in Paris +for the arrangement of some affairs, which were not yet concluded, +with the King. He in turn, however, questioned the Abbé much +concerning his brother, expressing not only a wish but a determination +to see him. + +"I am happy," he said, "that my letter reached him; for--by whom or +for what reason instructed to falsify the truth, I do not know--the +porter of Monsieur de Villequier denied the fact of your being in the +house. As nothing could shake my own belief that it was Gaspar and +yourself I had seen, and as both Gondrin and the page confirmed my +opinion, I sent the letter at all risks: and now, good Abbé, if you +love Gaspar and myself as you used to do, contrive that we may meet +again to-morrow, in order that all these clouds may be cleared away +from between us, and that we may feel once more as brothers ought to +feel towards each other." + +The Abbé promised to do as the young Count desired, beseeching him, +however, not to press his brother to an interview too suddenly, and +assuring him that he would use every effort. + +The still more important subject of what had become of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut remained to be discussed; and Charles of Montsoreau, though +resolved to make the inquiry, approached it with distaste and with +caution, from a feeling that the Abbé would not deal truly with him, +and would only endeavour, in the course of any conversation upon that +point, to discover what were his secret intentions, even while he +concealed from him the true circumstances. + +It was as he expected. The Abbé told him that, in some degree under +the care, and in some degree under the guard, of the King's troops, +the whole party had been brought to the neighbourhood of Paris, where +a messenger from the monarch had conveyed to himself and the young +Marquis an invitation to take up their abode at the house of +Villequier, while Mademoiselle de Clairvaut was conveyed to Vincennes. +They had done all that was possible, he said, to prevent such a +separation; but the King's commands were peremptory; and he had since +learnt, or at least had reason to believe, that the young lady had +been sent in the direction of Beauvais, to the care of some distant +relations. + +The young Count smiled, and said nothing; and the Abbé then, with an +air of grave sincerity, proceeded to ask him what had best be done +under such circumstances. He replied that he could give no advice; and +many a vain effort was again made to discover what were his purposes +in regard to Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. Finding that no indirect means +succeeded, the Abbé, trusting to their former familiarity, asked the +question directly, "What do you intend to do in this business, +Charles." + +"Indeed, my dear Abbé," replied the young Count, "it is difficult to +tell you. I have no definite plan of action at present, and must be +guided by circumstances as they arise." + +Thus ended their interview; and it formed a strange contrast to that +between the Abbé and Villequier,--showing how simple honesty may often +baffle cunning which has succeeded against astuteness like itself. The +following day passed without any communication reaching the young +Count, either from the Abbé or from his brother, from the King or the +Duke of Guise; and expectation of receiving tidings from some one +caused him to remain at home during the greater part of the day. + +On the succeeding morning, however, he determined to proceed to the +house of Villequier, and to demand peremptorily the fulfilment of the +promise which the King had made. Ere he set out, however, he received +a note in the hand of the Abbé de Boisguerin, informing him briefly +that his brother, having determined to return to Montsoreau, was upon +the very point of setting out. He, the Abbé, was to accompany him for +two days' march upon the road, but would return to Paris in four or +five days without fail. + +Charles of Montsoreau read the note with a faint and melancholy smile, +and again said, "This man is not true!" + +He rode at once, however, to the hotel of Villequier, but found that +the minister had once more gone to Vincennes. He inquired for the +Marquis of Montsoreau of the same porter who had denied the fact of +his being there. The porter, not at all discomposed, replied that the +Marquis and the Abbé de Boisguerin, with their train, had set out +fully two hours before for Montl'hery; which, being confirmed upon +farther inquiry by an Italian confectioner on the opposite side of the +street, was believed by the young Count, who returned home with a +heart but ill at ease. + +Another day was passed in gloomy and impatient expectation; but at +night Gondrin reappeared from Soissons, bringing with him a brief note +from the Duke of Guise:-- + +"Your interview," it said, "was such as might be expected; your +conduct all that it should have been; your view of the result right. +They are endeavouring to trifle both with you and me; but we must show +them that this cannot be done. I send off a courier at once to +Villequier, requiring that the King's authorisation shall be +immediately given to you. If it reach you not before to-morrow night, +I pray you set off at once with the passports you possess for +Chateauneuf; for I have information scarcely to be doubted, that our +poor Marie has been conveyed thither. Show her the letter which I gave +you, requiring her to follow your directions in every thing. Endeavour +to bring her at once, with what people you can collect upon her lands, +across the country towards Rheims, avoiding Paris. If any one stops +you, or attempts either to delay your progress or dispute your +passage, show them my letter of authority, as well as the passports +that you already possess; and if they farther molest or delay you, +they shall not be forgotten, be they great or small, when they come to +reckon with your friend, Henry of Guise." + +In a postscript was written at the bottom--"In going, avoid Dreux and +Montfort, for the plague is raging there. If there be any force +stationed at Chateauneuf to prevent the removal of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, only ascertain distinctly the fact of her presence in the +château, and come back to rejoin me with all speed." + +The tidings brought by Gondrin showed Charles of Montsoreau that great +events of some kind were in preparation. Various bodies of troops +attached to the House of Lorraine were moving here and there in +Champaign and the Ardennes; daily conferences were held between the +Duke of Guise, the Cardinal of Bourbon, the Cardinal of Guise, and a +number of other influential noblemen; the propriety of deposing the +King was said to be openly discussed at Soissons, and ridicule and +hatred were unsparingly busy with the names of Epernon, Villequier, +and others. Couriers, totally independent of those which were sent +upon the business that brought the young Count to Paris, were almost +hourly passing between the capital and Soissons; and it was daily +whispered in the latter city, that experienced officers and small +bodies of troops were daily gliding into the capital from the army +which the Duke had led to victory on so many previous occasions. + +Early on the following morning, Charles of Montsoreau again proceeded +to the Hotel de Villequier, in order that nothing might be wanting on +his part. But the reply once more was, that the minister was absent; +and the day passed over without any tidings from either the King or +his favourite. As he passed through various parts of the city, +however, the young Count remarked many things that somewhat surprised +him. He had hitherto ridden amongst the people quite unnoticed, but +now many persons whom he met bowed low to him, and those seemingly of +the most respectable classes of citizens. On two or three occasions +the burgher guard saluted him as he passed; and in one place, where +several people were collected together, there was a cry of "Long live +the Duke of Guise!" + +All these indications of some approaching event of importance at any +other moment might have given him an inclination to remain in Paris: +but he had other interests more deeply at heart; and having waited +till the last moment to make sure that the King's authorisation was +still delayed, he prepared to set out that very night, taking with him +only the number of persons specified in the passports which he had +brought from Soissons. + +In a brief and hurried note which he wrote to Chapelle Marteau, he +informed him that he was about to absent himself from Paris for a +short time on business of importance; and begged him, as it was his +intention to pass out of the city by the Faubourg St. Germain that +very night, to facilitate his so doing as quietly as possible. That +his absence might remain for some time concealed from those who might +obstruct his proceedings, he retained his apartments at the inn, and +the servants he had hired, paying the whole for some time in advance, +and directing that if any inquiries were made, the reply should be, +that he was only absent for a few days. + +When all was prepared he set out, and at the gates found his friend of +the Seize, with another personage, who seemed to consider himself of +great importance. No words, however, were spoken, no passports were +demanded, the two Leaguers bowed lowly to the Count, the gates opened +as if of themselves, and, issuing forth, the young Count rode on upon +the way, anxious to place as great a distance between Paris and +himself ere the next morning as possible. + +It was a soft calm night in April, the sky was unclouded and filled +with stars, the dew thick upon the grass, and the air balmy; and the +young nobleman pursued his way with a mind filled with thoughts which, +though certainly in part melancholy, were still tinged with the soft +light of hope. His horses were strong and fresh, and just in the grey +of the morning, on the following day, he reached the small town of +Rambouillet. + +The signs and indications of the disturbed and anxious state of +society in France were visible in the little town as the young Count +gazed from the door of the inn, after seeing that his horses were well +taken care of. There were anxious faces and eyes regarding the +stranger with the expression of doubt, and perhaps suspicion; there +were little knots gathered together and talking gloomily at the +corners of different streets; the whistle of the light-hearted peasant +was unheard; and the cart or the flock was driven forth in silence. + +The Count's horses required rest; none were to be procured with which +he could pursue his journey, and he determined to take what repose he +could get ere he proceeded on his way. Casting himself down then upon +a bed, he closed his eyes and sought to sleep: but suddenly something +like a wild cry sounded from the other side of the street, and +springing up he looked out of the window. He could almost have touched +the opposite house, so narrow was the way, and he saw completely into +a room thereof through the window that faced his own. + +There was a woman in it of about the middle age, kneeling by the +bedside of a youth who seemed just dead; and on looking down a little +below he saw a man, dressed in a black serge robe, standing on a +ladder, and marking the front of the building with a large white +cross. On the impulse of the moment, Charles of Montsoreau ran down +stairs, and approached the door of the house, intending to enter. But +he was stopped at the door by two of the guards of the city. "Do you +not see the mark of the plague?" they said. "You must not go in; or, +if you go in, you must not come out again." + +With a sorrowful heart, Charles of Montsoreau turned back into the +inn, but he found no sleep, and the image of the woman clasping her +dead son still haunted him in waking visions. + + + + + CHAP. VII. + + +It was about nine o'clock at night, and the moon, rising later than +the night before, had not yet gone down, as Charles of Montsoreau +passed through the wide forest that then surrounded Chateauneuf en +Thimerais. It was a beautiful moonlight scene, affording to the eye +many various and pleasant objects. The greater part of the forest, +indeed, consisted of old trees far apart from each other, and only +surrounded by brushwood in patches here and there. Occasionally, +indeed, deeper and thicker parts of the forest presented themselves, +where the axe had not been plied so unsparingly; but the ground was +hilly and broken, and the road ascended and descended continually, +showing every change of the forest ground. There were manifold streams +too in that part of the country, and small gushing fountains, while a +chapel or two, here and there raised by the pious inhabitants of the +neighbourhood, broke the desolate appearance of the wood by showing +sweet traces of human hope or gratitude. The heart, however, of +Charles of Montsoreau enjoyed not that scene as it might at any other +time, for many dark and painful reports had reached him of the state +of the country in that district, and he looked anxiously forward to +his arrival at the little village of Morvillette seated in the midst +of the forest, to hear further tidings of Chateauneuf and its +neighbourhood. A party of soldiers he had already heard had passed +along some days before, escorting a carriage, and it was understood +their destination was Chateauneuf; but the people of Tremblay, where +he received this intelligence, shook the head doubtingly, and added, +that the traveller would hear more at Morvillette, and could there get +a guide to the château, which was two miles from the town. + +At length, lying in a hollow of the woodland, the moonlight showed him +a group of dark cottages; but no friendly light appeared in the +windows; and as he rode on amongst the houses, there was a sort of +awful stillness about the place, which seemed to indicate that it was +not slumber that kept the tongues of the peasantry silent. There were +no dogs in the streets; there was no smoke curling up from any of the +chimneys; all was still, and many of the doors stood wide open in the +night air, exhibiting nothing but solitude within. + +"There must be somebody in the place," cried Gondrin, springing from +his horse and approaching one of the cottages, the door of which was +shut. + +Without knocking, the man threw open the door at once, and went in as +far as the bridle of his horse would let him; but he came out again +immediately, and his master could see that his face was pale and its +expression horrified. + +"A man and a woman," he said in a low voice, "both dead! the one in +the bed and the other on the floor, and both of them looking as blue +as a cloud." + +The boy Ignati pressed up his horse to hear; and the Count said, "In +all probability there may be things still more horrible before us. I +shall go on, Gondrin; I must go on: but there is no need for either +yourself or the page to do so. You had better both go back. Make the +best of your way to Soissons, there tell the Duke what you have seen, +and assure him that I will do my best to fulfil his wishes if I live." + +"My Lord," said the boy, "I might quit you for a kind and noble master +when danger was not about you, but I will only quit you now with +life." + +"And so say I," replied Gondrin in a somewhat reassured but still +anxious tone. "But let us ride on, my Lord, and get out of this +horrible place. We shall find no one here to show us the way." + +"I believe I can find it myself," replied the Count. "We turn to the +left as soon as we have passed the village. Come on!" + +Thus saying, he somewhat quickened his pace and rode away, the moon +now declining towards her setting, throwing longer shadows, and giving +more uncertain light. Anxiously did the young Count gaze from the brow +of every rise, hoping to see the form of the château rising upon the +eminence before him. Several times he disappointed himself by fancying +that he saw it when it was not there, so that, when at length he +beheld a single faint point of light, like the spark of a firefly +amongst the distant branches, he could scarcely believe that it +afforded any true indication of that which he sought. + +Riding on, however, he again and again caught sight of it, till at +length the forms of the building grew more clear and defined, and +after about half a mile more he rode up the gentle slope that +conducted towards the château. + +It was situated in the midst of a wild game park, not unlike that of +Vincennes, only that the ground was more irregular. The building, +however, was very different: it had been erected by that Count de +Clairvaut who had been sent ambassador in the reign of Henry II. to +the Republic of Venice. He had formed his ideas of beauty in +architecture under another sky, and, but that it was somewhat larger +and heavier, it might have been supposed that the building had been +transported by some Geni from the banks of the Brenta. There was a +strong old castellated gate, however, in the walls of the park, which +had belonged to some former building. But the heavy iron gates were +wide open, and the voice of no porter responded to the call of the +young Count and his companions. + +Still, however, he saw a light in the windows of the château, and he +eagerly rode on along the path which conducted to the principal gates +of the building. Here there was a wide flight of marble stairs, which +had been brought ready polished at an immense expense from Italy, +yellow and green with the damp, but still altogether of a different +hue and consistence from the ordinary stone of the place. From those +steps the wide forest scene beyond was fully displayed to the eye, the +château being built very near the highest point of the acclivity, and +the whole ground towards Dreux, Maintenon, and Chartres lying below, +with the forest itself sweeping down the edge of that chain of high +hills which separates the southern parts of Normandy from the northern +parts and Maine. + +The moon at that moment was just sinking beyond the trees on the left, +and poured over the woods and plains below a flood of silver light, +caught and reflected here and there by some open stream or wide piece +of water, and, shining full upon the front of the marble building, +which, with its pillars, its capitals, and its cornices, its wide +doors and spreading porticoes, looked like the spectre of some bright +enchanted palace from another land. + +The large doors that opened upon the terrace were ajar; and Charles of +Montsoreau, leaving his horse with the page, mounted the steps and +knocked hard with the haft of his dagger. A long melancholy echo was +all the sound that was returned. He knocked again, there was no +answer; and then pushing open the door, he entered the wide marble +hall. The moonlight was pouring through the tall windows, but all was +solitary; and putting his foot upon the first step of the staircase, +he was beginning to ascend. At that moment, he thought he heard a +distant sound as of an opening door; and a ray of light, streaming +down some long corridor at the top of the broad staircase, crossed the +balustrade and chequered the iron work with a different hue from the +moonlight. He now called loudly, asking if there was any one in the +building. + +In a moment after, there were steps heard coming along towards the +staircase, and a voice replied, "There is death and pestilence in the +house. If you come for plunder, take it quickly; if you come by +accident, fly as fast as you may, for every breath is tainted." + +The tones of that voice were not to be mistaken, even before Charles +of Montsoreau beheld the speaker; but, ere the last words were spoken, +Marie de Clairvaut herself was at the top of the staircase, bearing a +small lamp in her hand, and Charles of Montsoreau eagerly sprang up +the steps. + +The lamp flashed upon the form and features which she had not at first +seen, and with a loud cry she darted forward to meet him. + +The next moment, however, nearly dropping the lamp, she rushed back, +exclaiming, "Come not near, Charles! Dear, dear Charles, come not +near! These hands, not twelve hours ago, have closed the eyes of the +dead. The plague most likely is upon me now!" + +But before she could add more, the arms of Charles of Montsoreau were +round her. + +"You have called me dear," he said, "and what privilege can be dearer +than sharing your fate, whatever it may be? Dear, dear, dear Marie! +oh, say those words again, and make me happy!" + +"But I fear for you, Charles," she said; "I fear for you. All are +either dead or have fled and left me, and I shall see you die +too,--you, you die also by the very touch, by the very breath, of one +to whom you have restored life." + +"I fear not, Marie," answered Charles; "I fear not; and that is the +safest guard. Certainly you shall not see me fly and leave you; and I +fear not, either, that you will see death overtake me. But oh, if even +it did, how sweet would death itself be, watched by that dear face, +wept by those beloved eyes!" + +Marie bent down her head, and said nothing; but she strove no more +against the arm that was cast round her; her hand remained in his, and +the colour rose warmly into her cheek, which had before been deadly +pale. + +"If," she said at length, after a long pause, during which he had +continued to gaze earnestly, fondly, sadly upon her,--"If it were not +that I feared for you, your presence would indeed be a comfort and a +consolation to me: not that I fear for myself," she added; "I know not +why, but I have never feared. It has seemed to me as if there were no +danger to myself--as if I should certainly escape. But oh, how +terrible it would be to see you struck by the pestilence also!" + +"Say no more, dear Marie; say no more," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +feeling and knowing by every word that she was his own. "I fear not; I +have no fear; and even if I had, love would trample it under foot in a +moment. I would not leave you in such an hour, not if by descending +that short flight of steps I could save myself from death: unless +indeed you told me to go, and that you loved me not." + +The tears sprang into Marie de Clairvaut's eyes. "I must not tell such +a falsehood," she cried, clasping her hands together, "in an hour like +this. I never told you so; indeed I never did, though Madame de +Saulny, poor Madame de Saulny, with her dying lips assured me that you +thought so." + +"There have been many errors, dear Marie," replied Charles of +Montsoreau, "which have pained both your heart and mine, I fear. But +now, my beloved, I must call in those that are with me, for we have +travelled far and ridden hard." + +"Oh, call them not in!" said Marie de Clairvaut, "for they will be +frightened when they see the state of the house, and catch the +pestilence and die! Bid them lead their horses to the stables, and +sleep there. Perhaps they may find some one still living there, for +this evening at sunset I saw my father's old groom still wandering +about as usual; but you must go yourself to tell them, Charles, for I +do not believe that there is any one in the house but you and I. The +stables lie away to the left. I will wait here for you till you come +back. Go through the great doors," she said, as he descended, "and go +not into the rooms either to the right or left, for there is death in +all of them." + +Charles of Montsoreau descended with a rapid step, and in a few words +gave his directions to the servants. He then returned, and taking +Marie de Clairvaut's hand in his, he pressed his lips warmly upon it, +and gazed tenderly upon her as she led him along through a wide +corridor to the room in which she had been sitting. + +It formed a strange contrast,--the aspect of that room, with the +desolate knowledge that all was death and solitude through the rest of +the house. Beautiful pictures, rich ornaments, fine tapestry, gave it +an air of life and cheerfulness, which seemed strange to the feelings +of Charles of Montsoreau. But an illuminated book of prayer that lay +upon the table told how Marie de Clairvaut's thoughts had been +employed; and Charles of Montsoreau paused, and, lifting his thoughts +to Heaven, prayed earnestly, fervently, that that bright and beautiful +and beloved being might still be protected by the hand of the Almighty +in every scene of peril and danger which might yet await her. + +She sat down on the chair in which she had been reading with a look of +melancholy thoughtfulness, and Charles of Montsoreau sat down beside +her, and there was a long silent pause, for the hearts of both were +too full of agitating feelings for words to be plentiful at first. The +moment and the circumstances, indeed, took from love all shame and +hesitation. Death and deprivation and desolation gave affection a +brighter, a holier light,--it was like some eternal flame burning upon +the altar of a ruined temple. + +Marie de Clairvaut felt that at that moment she could speak things +that at any other time she would have sunk into the earth to say; she +felt that--with the exception of their trust in God--his love for her +and hers for him formed the grand consolation of the moment, the +healing balm, the great support of that hour of peril and of terror. +She looked at him and he at her, and they mutually thought that a few +hours perhaps might see them there, dying or dead by each other's +side, with love for the only comfort of their passing hour--with the +voice of death pronouncing their eternal union, and the grave their +bridal bed. + +They thus thought, and it may seem strange to say, but--prepared as +their minds were for leaving the life of this earth behind them--such +a death to them appeared sweet; and neither feared it, but looked +forward upon the grim enemy of human life, not with the stern defying +frown of the martyr, not with the fierce and angry daring of the +warrior, but with the calm sweet smile of resignation to the will of +Heaven, and hopes beyond the tomb. + +Thus they remained silent, or with but few words, for some time; and +Charles of Montsoreau felt that he was beloved. Indeed, there was not +a word, there was not a look, that did not tell him so: and yet he +longed to hear more; he longed that those words should be spoken which +would confirm, by the living voice of her he loved, the assurance of +his happiness. Gradually he won her from conversing of the present to +speak of the past; and she gently reproached him for leaving her at +Montsoreau so suddenly as he had done. + +"Marie," he said, with that frankness which had always characterised +him, "let me tell you all; and then see if I did right or wrong. If I +did wrong, you shall blame me still, and I will grieve and make any +atonement in my power; but if I only mistook, and did not act wrong +intentionally, you shall forgive me, and tell me that you love me." + +Marie de Clairvaut gazed in his face, and asked, "And do you doubt it +now, Charles?" + +"Oh, no!" he cried, "oh, no! I ought not to doubt it, for Marie de +Clairvaut could not speak such words as she has spoken without +loving." And gently bending down his head over her, he pressed a kiss +upon that dear fair brow. "Marie," he said, "it is our fate to meet in +strange scenes. The last time that I kissed that brow, the last time +that I held you to my heart, was when I thought you dead, and lost to +me for ever." + +"And when I woke up," replied Marie de Clairvaut, "and was not only +grateful to God and to you for having saved me, but happy in its being +you that did save me, and happy," she added, slightly dropping her +eyes, "in the signs of deep affection which I saw." + +"And yet," he exclaimed, "and yet, when my stay or my departure hung +upon a single word from your lips, you gave me to understand that you +had not received those signs of affection as signs of affection; that +you looked upon them but as the natural effect of my witnessing your +restoration to life, when I thought you dead." + +"Oh, Charles!" exclaimed Marie de Clairvaut, with a slight smile, +"could you not pardon and understand such small hypocrisy as that? Did +you not know that woman's heart is shy, and seeks many a hiding-place, +even from the pursuit of one it loves?" + +"I never loved but you, Marie," replied the Count, "and I am sadly +ignorant, I fear, of woman's heart. Nevertheless, upon those few words +and that moment depended my fate." + +"I knew not that," cried Marie de Clairvaut, eagerly; "I knew not +that, or, upon my honour, I would have been more sincere: but what was +it, Charles, made you take so sudden a resolution? what was it made +you leave me, without a reply, in the hands of those who have striven +constantly ever since to make me believe that you cared not for me?" + +"I will tell you all," replied her lover; and, pouring forth in +eloquent words all the passion of his heart towards her, he told her +how his love had grown upon him, how it had increased each hour; and +making that the main subject of his tale, he told but as adjuncts to +it the pain which his brother's conduct had inflicted upon him, and +all the signs of rivalry which he had remarked. He then spoke of his +conversation with the Abbé de Boisguerin on their way to visit the +Count de Morly; and he told how agonised were all his feelings--how +terrible was the struggle in his heart,--and what was the resolution +that he took, to ascertain whether her affections were really gained, +and by the result to shape his conduct. He next spoke of his +conversation with her immediately preceding his departure, and of the +words which had led him to believe that she was unconscious of his +love, and did not return it. + +As she listened, the tears rose in her eyes, and, laying her soft fair +hand on his, she said, "Forgive me, Charles! oh, forgive me! but do +believe that there is not another woman on all the earth who would not +have done the same." + +"Alas! dear Marie," he replied, "in such knowledge you have but a +child to deal with." + +"Oh, be so ever, Charles!" she cried, clasping her hands and looking +up in his face. "There may be women who would love you less for being +so; but I trust and hope that you will never love any one but Marie de +Clairvaut, and she will value your love all the more for its being, +and having ever been, entirely her own. But you were speaking of the +Abbé de Boisguerin, Charles--you have told me of his conversation with +you--I saw, when I was at Montsoreau, that you loved and esteemed +him."--She paused, and hesitated. "I fear," she added, "that what I +must speak, that what I ought to tell you, may pain and grieve you:--I +doubt that man, Charles--I more than doubt him." + +"And so do I, Marie," replied her lover with a melancholy shake of the +head; "and so do I doubt him much. Indeed, as you say, I more than +doubt him, for I know and feel that he is not true." + +"Alas! Charles," she replied, "I fear that in that very first +conversation with you he meditated treachery towards you. I fear much, +very much, that his design and purpose even then was to separate us." + +"Perhaps it might be so, Marie," replied her lover: "though he has +never shown any strong preference, I have often thought he loves +Gaspar better than he does me." + +"But it was no love of your brother, Charles," she said; "it was no +love of your brother moved him then; for if your brother trusted him, +he betrayed him too. Now hear me, Charles, and let me, as quickly as +possible, tell a tale that makes my cheek burn, for it must be told. +After you were gone, I avoided your brother's presence as far as might +be. I was never with him for a moment alone if I could help it, for I +could not but see feelings that were never to be returned. Although +there was something from the first in the Abbé de Boisguerin that I +loved not, though I could not tell why--something in his eye that made +me shrink into myself with a kind of fear,--I now courted him to be +with me, in order to avoid the persecution of love for which I could +not feel even grateful. At first he seemed inclined to give your +brother opportunities; and I believe, I firmly believe, that he did so +because he knew that those opportunities would but serve to confirm +the coldness of my feelings towards him. When he saw that I sought him +to be with us, he seemed to yield, and was now with me often almost +alone, when there was none but one or two of my women in the further +end of the room. He timed his visits well; and, for a space, well did +he choose his conversation too. It was such as he knew must please my +ear. He told me of other lands, and of princely scenes beyond the +Alps, the beauties of nature, the miracles of art, the graceful but +dangerous race of the Medici, the treasures, the unrivalled treasures +of Florence and of Rome. I learned to forget the prejudices--I had +first taken towards him, and he saw that I listened well pleased, and +then he ventured to speak of you and of your brother. But oh, Charles, +he spoke not as a friend to either. He blamed not, indeed; he even +somewhat praised; but he undervalued all and every thing. There was +not a word of censure, but there was every now and then a light sneer +in the tone, a scornful turn of the lip, and curl of the nostril. It +pleased me not, and seeing it, he wisely dropped such themes. He spoke +of you no more; but he spoke of himself and of his own history. He +told me that his was the more ancient branch of your own family, but +that reverses and misfortunes had overtaken it; and that, careless of +wealth or station, and any of the bubbles which the world's grown +children follow, he had made no effort to raise his own branch from +the ground to which it had fallen. But he said, however, that if he +had had an object, a great and powerful object, he felt within himself +those capabilities of mind which might raise him over some of the +highest heads in the land: and none could hear his voice, and see the +keen astuteness of his eye, without believing that what he said was +true. And then again he spoke of the objects, the few, the only +objects, which could induce a man of great and expansive intellect to +mingle in the strife and turmoil of the world; and the chief of those +objects, Charles, was woman's love. He was a churchman, Charles, and +had taken vows which should have frozen such words upon his lips. I +was silent, and I think turned pale, and he instantly changed the +conversation to other things, speaking eloquently and nobly upon great +and fine feelings, as I have seen one of the modellers in wax cast on +the rough harsh form that he intended to give, and then soften it down +with fine and delicate touches, so as to leave it smooth and pleasant +to the eye. At length we set out to join my uncle; and your brother +now had opportunities of paining me greatly by the open and the +rash display of feelings that grieved and hurt me. He took means +too to find moments to speak with me alone, which I must not dwell +upon--means which were unworthy of one of your race, Charles. He tried +to deceive me into such interviews by every sort of petty art; and if +the Abbé de Boisguerin came to my relief, alas! it was but now to +inflict upon me worse persecution. He dared to speak to me, Charles, +words that none had ever dared to speak before--words that I must not +repeat, that I must not even think of here, so near the holy calmness +of the dead. These words were not, indeed, addressed to me directly; +but they were used to figure forth what were the passions which an +ardent and fiery heart might feel. They were intended evidently to let +me know of what he himself was capable: though they breathed of love, +there was somewhat of menace in them likewise. The very sound of his +voice, the very glare of his eyes, now became terrible to me: but he +seemed to consider that I was more in his power now than I had been at +Montsoreau; and I need not tell you that to me the journey was a +terrible one. To end it all, Charles--as I take it for granted that +you know some part of what has taken place, even by seeing you here +this night--I feel sure that it was by his machinations that I was +betrayed into the hands of the King, whom I have all my life been +taught to abhor, and by him given up to the power of a relation, from +whom I have been sheltered by all my better friends as from the most +venomous of serpents." + +Charles of Montsoreau had heard all in deep silence, without +interrupting her once. He gazed indeed, from time to time, upon her +fair face, watching with love and admiration the bright but transient +expressions that came across it: but he listened with full attention +and deep thought; and when she had done, he replied, "What you have +told me, dear Marie, indignant as it well may make me, was most +necessary for me to hear, and is most satisfactory, for it explains +all that I did not before comprehend or understand. His machinations, +however, dear Marie, I now trust are at an end. What may be between +Villequier and him I do not know; but I trust, dear Marie, I trust in +that God who never does fail them that trust in him, that I come to +bring you deliverance and to lead you to happiness. It would be long +and tedious to tell you, beloved, all that has happened to me since I +left you at Montsoreau. Suffice it that I have seen the Duke of Guise; +that I have spent the greater part of the time with him; that I have +been able, Marie, to serve him--he says, to save his life; and that to +me he has entrusted the charge of seeking you and bringing you to join +him at Soissons, in despite of any one that may oppose us." + +"Oh, joy, joy!" cried Marie de Clairvaut. "When can we set out?" And +she rose from her seat as if she hoped their departure might take +place that minute. Charles of Montsoreau drew her gently to his heart, +and, gazing into her deep tender eyes, he asked, "Will your joy be +less, dear Marie, if you know that you go to be at once the bride of +Charles of Montsoreau, with the full consent of your princely +guardian, given by one who is well worthy to give, to one who is +scarcely worthy to receive, such a jewel as yourself?" + +Marie de Clairvaut hid her face upon his bosom, murmuring, in a +scarcely audible tone, "Can you ask me, Charles?--But oh, let us speed +away quickly; for though I, who have been here now several days, and +have seen nothing but death and desolation round me ever since I came, +have become accustomed to the scene, and doubtless to the air also, +yet I fear for every moment that you remain here." + +"I still fear not, dear Marie," replied Charles of Montsoreau. +"Nevertheless, most glad am I to bear you away to happier scenes; and +as soon as the horses have taken some rest, we will set out. And now, +dear girl," he added, "I will send you from me. You need some repose, +Marie; you need some tranquillity. Leave me then, dear girl, and try +to sleep till the hour of our departure, while I will watch here for +you, and call you before break of day." + +"If you watch, Charles," replied Marie, "I will watch with you, for I +need not repose. This morning, after closing the eyes of poor Madame +de Saulny, and weeping long and bitterly over her and the poor girl +who was the only one that chose to remain with me, exhausted with +watching, anxiety, and grief, I fell asleep, and slept long. Before +that, I had felt so weary and so heated, that I almost fancied--though +without fearing it--that the plague might be coming upon me; but I +woke refreshed and comforted just as the sun was going down, and I +felt, as it were, a hope and expectation that some change would soon +come over my fate. But you need at least refreshment, Charles. In the +next room remains my last untasted meal--the last that the poor +frightened beings who abandoned me, set before their mistress +yesterday. I fear not to take you there, Charles, for no one has died +in this part of the house." + +Charles of Montsoreau followed her, and persuaded her also to take +some light refreshment; and there they sat through the live-long +night, speaking kind words from time to time, and watching each +other's countenances with hope strong at the hearts of both, though +somewhat chequered by fears, each for the other. + + + + + CHAP. VIII. + + +By the time that the first grey streak chequered the dark expanse of +the eastern sky, the horses of Charles of Montsoreau, with three +others, were standing on the terrace at the foot of the marble +steps. The page and Gondrin were there, and also the old groom, a +white-headed man of some sixty years of age, who had booted and +spurred himself, and buckled on a sword, declaring that he would +accompany his young mistress, if it were but to lead the sumpter horse +which carried her baggage. A moment after, Marie herself appeared, and +Charles of Montsoreau placed her on the beast that had been prepared +for her, while the old groom kissed her hand, saying, "I am glad to +see you well, dear lady. But fear not; none of your race and none of +mine ever died of the plague either, though I have seen it pass by +this place twice before now, and I remember eleven corpses lying on +those steps at once." + +"There are six within those chambers now," replied Marie, shaking her +head mournfully. "But I fear not, good Robin,--for myself at least. +But you had better lead the way towards Chalet, for the Count tells me +that Morvillette is deserted." + +"Oh, I will lead you safely, Lady," replied the old man; "and though +very likely they may keep us out of many a house on account of where +we come from, there is my daughter's cottage where they will take us +in, for they do not fear the plague there." + +Thus saying, he mounted his horse, and rode on before, through the +forest roads, while the lady and her lover followed side by side. As +they went on circling round the highest parts of the hills, the grey +streaks gradually turned into crimson; the dim objects became more +defined in the twilight of morning; a few far distant clouds at the +edge of the sky, tossed into fantastic shapes, began to glow like the +burning masses of a furnace; the crimson floated like the waves of a +sea up towards the zenith; the fiery red next became mingled with +bright streaks of gold; the forest world, just budding into light +green, was seen below with its multitude of hills and dales, and rocks +and streams; the air blew warm and sweet, and full of all the balm of +spring; and a thousand birds burst forth on every tree, and carolled +joyous hymns to the dawning day. + +Never broke there a brighter morning upon earth; never rose the sun in +greater splendour; never was the air more balmy, or the voices of the +birds more sweet. It seemed as if all were destined to afford to those +two lovers the strongest, the strangest, the brightest contrast to the +dark dull night of anxiety and emotion which they had passed within +the palace they had just left behind them. It seemed to both as an +image of the dawn of immortality after the tomb--anxiety, sorrow, +danger, death, left behind, and brightness and splendour spread out +before. + +Each instinctively drew in the rein as the sun's golden edge was +raised above the horizon; each gazed in the countenance of the other, +as if to see that no trace of the pestilence was there; and each held +out the hand to grasp that of the being most loved on earth, and then +they raised their eyes to Heaven in thankfulness and joy. + +The old man led them on with scarcely a pause towards Chalet; but +about a mile from that place he turned to a little hamlet near, where, +in a good farm-house inhabited by his daughter and her husband, they +found their first resting-place. They were gladly received and +heartily welcomed, without the slightest appearance of fear, though +the circumstances of their flight were known. The farmer and the +farmer's wife set before them the best of all they had, the children +served them at the table, and the good woman of the house brought +forth a large flask of plague water, and made them drink abundantly, +assuring them that it was a sovereign antidote that was never known to +fail. They then assigned a room to each, and though it was still +daylight they gladly retired to rest. Charles of Montsoreau, though +much fatigued, slept not for near an hour, but the house was all kept +quiet and still, and, with his thoughts full of her he loved, he +fancied and trusted that she was sleeping calmly near him, and in an +earnest prayer to Heaven he called down blessings on her slumber. At +length sleep visited his own eyes, and he rose refreshed and well. +Some fears, some anxieties still remained in his bosom till he again +saw the countenance of Marie de Clairvaut. When he did see it, +however, fears on her account vanished altogether, for the paleness +which had overspread her face the night before had been banished by +repose, and the soft warm glow of health was once more upon her cheek. +He saw the same anxious look of inquiry upon her countenance; and oh! +surely there is something not only sweet and endearing, but elevating +also, in the knowledge of such mutual thoughts and cares for each +other; something that draws forth even from scenes of pain and peril a +joy tender and pure and high for those who love well and truly! + +"Fear not, dear Marie," he said; "fear not; for I feel well, and you +too look well, so that I trust the danger is over." + +"Pray God it be!" said Marie de Clairvaut. "But now, when you will, +Charles, I am ready to go on; we may soon reach Maintenon." + +"We must avoid the road by Maintenon," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +"for that would bring us on the lands of the grasping Duke of Epernon, +and we could not run a greater risk. Chartres itself is doubtful; but +we must take our way thither, and act according to circumstances. +However, dear Marie, our next journey must be long and fatiguing: +would it not be better for you to stay here to-night, and take as much +repose as you can obtain before you go on?" + +"Oh no," replied Marie de Clairvaut; "I am well and strong now, and +eager to get forward out of all danger. The bright moon will soon be +rising, the sun has not yet set, and we may have five or six hours of +calm light to pursue our way." + +Her wishes were followed; and they were soon once more upon their way +towards the fair old town of Chartres. Their former journey had passed +greatly in thought, for deep emotions lay fresh upon their hearts, and +burthened them: but now they spoke long and frequently upon every part +of their mutual situation. The history of every event that had +happened to either, since they had parted at Montsoreau, was told and +dwelt upon with all its details: and while the love of Charles of +Montsoreau for his fair companion certainly did not diminish, every +word that fell from his lips, every act that she heard him relate, and +the manner of relating it also, increased in her bosom that love which +she had at first perceived with shame, but in which she now began to +take a pride as well as a joy. + +Nor, indeed, did his conduct and demeanour to herself in the +circumstances which surrounded them--circumstances of some difficulty +and delicacy--change one bright feeling of her heart towards him. +There was very much of that tenderness in his nature, that soft, that +gentle kindness, which, when joined with courage and strength, is more +powerful on the affections of woman than, perhaps, any other quality; +and her feelings were changed and rendered more devoted by being +dependent upon him for every thing--protection, and consolation, and +support, and affection, and all those little cares and kindnesses +which their mutual situation enabled him to show. + +Thus they journeyed on for several hours, and at length reached the +town of Chartres, having agreed to pass for brother and sister, as the +safest means of escaping observation. It was about eleven o'clock at +night when they reached the inn, but they were received with all +kindness and hospitality, such as innkeepers ever show to those who +seem capable of paying for good treatment. No questions were asked, +supper was set before them, and the night passed over again in ease +and comfort. Every hour, indeed, that went by without displaying any +sign of illness was in itself a joy; and there was a stillness and a +quietness about the old town of Chartres which seemed to quiet all +fears of annoyance or interruption. + +Charles of Montsoreau was early up, and was waiting for the appearance +of Marie de Clairvaut, when the landlord of the inn appeared to inform +him that a horse-litter, which he had ordered to be ready for his +inspection, had been brought into the court-yard, and was waiting for +him to see. At that moment, however, there was a flourish of trumpets +in the street; and, looking forth from the window, the young Count saw +a considerable band of mounted soldiers, drawn up, as if about to +proceed on their march. + +"My sister," he said, turning to the host, "has not yet risen, and she +must see the litter, too, as it is for her convenience. But who are +these gallant gentlemen before the house, and whither are they going?" + +"Why, you might know them, sir, by their plumes and their scarfs," +replied the host. "They are a body of the light horse of the guard of +the Queen-mother. They are easily distinguished, I ween." + +"Ay, but I am a rustic from the provinces," replied the young +nobleman: "but they seem gallant-looking soldiers." + +"The Captain was making manifold inquiries about you and the young +lady who arrived last night," replied the landlord, "for he has come +with orders to seek and bring back to Paris some young lady and +gentleman that have made their escape lately with eight or nine +attendants. But when I told him that you were going to Paris, not +coming from it, and that you had only three servants with you, and the +young lady was your sister, he said it was not the same, and is now +going on. But I must go, lest he should ask for me." + +"Well, well," answered the young Count with an air of indifference. "I +will be down presently to see the litter; let it wait." + +He watched, however, with some anxiety the departure of the body of +light horse, for though he did not feel by any means sure that it was +himself whom they sought, he did not feel at all secure till the last +faint note of their trumpets was heard, as they issued forth from one +of the further gates of Chartres. As soon as Marie de Clairvaut +appeared, he purchased the litter without much hesitation, and +determined to proceed with all speed towards Dourdan and Corbeil. + +The host of the inn would have fain had them stay some time longer, +for the young Count had paid so readily for the litter, that he judged +some gold might be further extracted from his purse. He asked him, +therefore, whether there was nothing in the good town of Chartres to +excite his curiosity, and was beginning a long list of marvels; but +Charles of Montsoreau cut him short, saying, as he looked up at the +sign covered with fleurs-de-lis, "No, no, my good host. I have much +business on my hands in which his Majesty is not a little concerned, +and therefore I must lose no time." + +The host nodded his head, looked wise, and suffered the Count and his +party to depart without further opposition. + +As it was not a part of their plan to follow the high road more than +they were actually obliged to do, soon after leaving Chartres they +took a path to the left, which they were informed would lead them by +Gellardon to Bonnelle, through the fields and woods. Before they had +gone a league, however, the noise of dogs and horses, and the shouts, +as it seemed, of huntsmen, were heard at no great distance; and +turning towards Gondrin the young Count asked, "What can they be +hunting at this time of year?" + +"The wolf, my Lord, the wolf," replied the man. "They hunt wolves at +all times." + +Scarcely had he spoken, when a loud yell of the dogs was heard; and +nodding his head sagaciously, as if he had seen the whole proceeding +with his mind's eye, Gondrin added, "They have killed him;" which was +confirmed by a number of joyous morts on the horns of the huntsmen. + +"Let us proceed as fast as possible," said Charles of Montsoreau; "we +know not who those huntsmen may be:" and he was urging the driver of +the litter to hurry on his horses rapidly, when the whole road before +them was suddenly filled with a gay party of cavaliers, splendidly +dressed and accoutred, and coming direct towards them. There was +nothing now to be done but to pass on quietly if possible; and, taking +no apparent notice, but bending his head and speaking into the litter, +without even seeing of whom the other party was composed, Charles of +Montsoreau was riding on, when a loud voice was heard exclaiming "Halt +there! halt! A word with you if you please, young sir;" and, looking +up, he saw the Duke of Epernon. + +Without suffering the slightest surprise to appear upon his +countenance, or the slightest apprehension, Charles of Montsoreau +turned his head, demanding calmly, "Well, my Lord, what is your +pleasure with me?" + +"My pleasure is," replied the Duke, "that you instantly turn your +horse's head and go back to Epernon with me." + +"I am extremely sorry, my Lord," replied the Count, "that it is quite +impossible for me to do what you propose, as I am upon urgent business +for the Duke of Guise, and bear the King's passport and safe-conduct, +which I presume your Lordship will not despise." + +"You may bear the King's passport, sir," said the Duke, "but you +certainly do not bear his authorisation to carry away from his power +the young lady who I suppose is in that litter. As to the Duke of +Guise, your authority from him is very much doubted also." + +"That doubt is easily removed, my Lord," replied the Count, seeing +clearly that he would be forced to yield, but fully resolved not to do +so till he had tried every means to avoid it. "That doubt is easily +removed, my Lord. Allow me to show you the authority given me by the +Duke under his own hand, which I think even the Duke of Epernon must +respect." + +The Duke took the paper which he tendered him, and then saying, "I +will show you how I respect it," he tore it into a thousand pieces, +and cast it beneath his horse's feet, while a laugh ran through the +men that attended him. "Turn your horse's head," he continued, +"without more ado, or I will have your arms tied behind your back, and +the horse led." + +"My Lord," replied the young Count, "I must obey, for I have no means +of resisting; but let me remind you, that the Duke of Epernon was +always considered, even before what he is now, a gallant gentleman and +a man of good feeling, who would not insult those who were too weak to +oppose him, and who did their duty honourably as far as it was +possible for them to do it." + +"Your civility now, sir," replied the Duke, "like your rash folly a +week or two ago, is too contemptible to make any change in the Duke of +Epernon. That foolish party of light horse," he continued, speaking to +one of his attendants, "must have suffered this malapert youth and his +fair charge to have passed it. Turn the litter round there; take care +that none of them escape." + +"The boy has made off already," replied one of the men. "Shall I +gallop after him, my Lord? He may tell the Duke of Guise." + +"Let him!" answered Epernon. "Go not one of you; but bring the rest of +them along hither." + +Without giving any intimation of his intent, Charles of Montsoreau +turned his horse suddenly back to the side of the litter, and drew the +curtain back, saying to Marie de Clairvaut, who sat pale and anxious +within it, "You hear what has happened; there is no power of +resistance, for they are ten to one: but the boy has escaped, and will +give the Duke notice of where you are. In the mean time it is one +comfort, that now you are in the hands of one who is, at all events, a +man of honour and a gentleman in feeling." + +What he said was intended to give comfort and consolation to Marie de +Clairvaut; but it reached the ear of the Duke of Epernon likewise. "I +must suffer no farther conversation," he said in a gentler tone than +he had before used. "You will understand, Monsieur de Logères, that I +have authority for what I do; and that I arrest you out of no personal +vengeance, but because the order has been already given to that +effect." + +"My Lord," replied the young Count, "I care very little for my own +arrest, as I know that I can but be detained a short time: but I +confess I am most anxious for the young lady placed under my especial +charge by the Duke of Guise, as I have shown your Lordship by the +paper you have torn. If she is to remain in your Lordship's charge, I +shall be more satisfied; but if she is to be given up to Monsieur de +Villequier, the consequences will indeed be painful to all. You are +perhaps not aware, my Lord, that he sent her to a place where the +plague was raging at the time, where six persons of her household died +of it, and the rest fled, leaving her utterly alone." + +The Duke seemed moved, and after remaining silent for a minute, he +replied, "I did not know it; the man who would murder his wife, would +make no great scruple of killing his cousin, I suppose. However, sir, +set your mind at ease: though I cannot promise that she shall remain +with the Duchess of Epernon, she shall not be given up to Villequier +either by myself or by any body in whose hands I may place her. Is +that assurance sufficient for you?" + +"Perfectly, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau. "The Duke of +Epernon's promise is as good as the bond of other men." + +"Well, follow me, then," replied the Duke, and, riding on alone, he +left the young Count in the hands of his attendants. + + + + + CHAP. IX. + + +It was in one of the saloons of the old Cardinal de Bourbon, in the +town of Soissons, that Henry Duke of Guise, princely in his habit, +princely in his aspect, with his foot raised upon a footstool of +crimson and gold, a high plumed Spanish hat upon his head, manifold +parchments before him, and a pen in his hand, sat alone on a day in +the month of April with his eyes fixed upon a door at the other end of +the room, as if waiting for the entrance of some one. + +The next moment the door was thrown wide open, and, preceded by two +servants announcing him to the Duke, appeared a small and not very +striking personage plainly habited in black velvet. The moment the +Duke saw him, he rose, and for an instant uncovered his head, then +covering himself again he advanced to meet him, and took him by the +hand, saying "Monsieur de Bellievre, I am delighted to see you. The +King could not have chosen any one more gratifying to myself to +receive: in the first place, because I know that I shall hear nothing +but truth from the lips of Monsieur de Bellievre; and, in the next +place, because I am sure no one will bear more exactly to his Majesty +any reply I may have to make to the message with which I understand +you are charged." + +"The confidence which your Highness expresses in me," replied +Bellievre, as the Duke led him towards the table, and made him seat +himself beside him, "does great honour to so humble an individual as +myself. Nevertheless, I must deliver the King's message, my Lord, +precisely as it was given to me; and should there be any thing in it +disagreeable to your Highness, I trust that you will excuse the +bearer, and consider the matter dispassionately." + +"Proceed, proceed," replied the Duke; "as in duty bound I shall +receive his Majesty's communication with all deference and humility." + +"Well, then," replied Bellievre, "I am charged by his Majesty to +assure your Highness that his personal esteem and respect for you is +very great; and that he has never, in any degree, given ear to the +injurious reports which persons inimical to your Highness have been +industrious in circulating to your disadvantage." + +"Your pardon, Monsieur de Bellievre, for one moment," said the Duke, +interrupting him. "To what injurious reports does his Majesty allude? +I am ignorant that any one has dared to circulate injurious reports of +me; and if such be the case, it is high time that I should proceed to +the capital to confront and shame my accusers." + +As this was not at all the point to which the King's envoy wished to +bring the Duke, he looked not a little embarrassed what to reply. He +answered, however, after a moment's pause, "It would, indeed, be +requisite for you to do so, my Lord, if I did not bear you the King's +most positive assurance that he gives no ear to such reports. But to +proceed: his Majesty has bid me strongly express his full conviction +of your attachment, fidelity, and affection, but has commanded me to +add that, having heard it reported your intention is immediately to +present yourself in Paris, he is unwillingly obliged, by state reasons +of the utmost importance, to request that you would forbear the +execution of that purpose." + +It was not without some hesitation and apparent emotion that Bellievre +spoke; but the Duke heard him with perfect calmness, though with a +slight contraction of the brow. + +"The report," he answered, "of my intention of visiting Paris is +perfectly correct, Monsieur de Bellievre; nor can I, indeed, refrain +from executing that purpose, with all due deference to his Majesty, +for many reasons, amongst which those that you yourself give me of +injurious rumours being rife in the capital regarding me, are not the +least cogent. Thus, unless the King intends to signify by you, +Monsieur de Bellievre, that he positively prohibits my coming into +Paris--which, of course, he would not do--I see not how I can avoid +doing simple justice to myself by returning to my own dwelling in the +capital of this country." + +"I grieve to say, your Highness," replied Bellievre, seeing that the +worst must be told, "I grieve to say, that while the King has charged +me to assure you of his regard and his confidence in you, he none the +less instructed me to make the prohibition on his part absolute and +distinct." + +The Duke of Guise started up with his brow knit and his eyes flashing. +"Is this the reward," he exclaimed, "of all the services I have +rendered the state? Is this the recompense for having shed my blood so +often in defence of France? to be dishonoured in the eyes of all the +people, by being banished from the metropolis, to be excluded from the +companionship of all my friends, to be cut off from transacting my own +private affairs, to be talked of and pointed at as the exiled Duke of +Guise, and to have the boys singing in the streets the woeful ditty of +my sufferings and a King's ingratitude?" And as he spoke, the Duke +took two or three rapid strides up and down the room. + +"Indeed, indeed, your Highness," cried Bellievre, "you take it up too +warmly. The King is far from ungrateful, but most thankful for your +high services; but it is for the good of the state that you love, for +the safety and security of the people of the capital who are in a +tumultuous and highly excitable state, that he wishes you to refrain +from coming----" + +"That he sends me a message dishonouring to myself and to my House," +replied the Duke. "That he marks me out from the rest of the nobles of +the land, by a prohibition which I may venture to say is unjust and +unmerited. I must take some days to think of this, Monsieur de +Bellievre; nor can I in any way promise not to visit Paris. Were it +but to protect, support, and guide my friends and relations, I ought +to go; were it but on account of the church for which I am ready to +shed my blood if it be necessary, persecuted, reviled, assailed as +that holy church is; were it but for my attendants and supporters, who +are attacked, abused, and ill-treated in the streets and public ways." + +"As for the church, your Highness," replied Bellievre, "none is more +sincerely attached to it than the King and the King's advisers. It +will stand long, my Lord, depend upon it, without any further +assistance than that which you have already so ably given it. Your +relations, my Lord, and household," he said, "are not and cannot be +ill-treated." + +"How?" exclaimed the Duke. "Is not my dear sister Margaret even now, +as it were, proscribed by the King and his court? Is not every thing +done to drive her from Paris? Have not her servants been struck by +those of Villequier in the open streets?" + +"I know," replied Bellievre, "that a month or two ago Madame de +Montpensier was subject to some little annoyance, but as soon as it +came to the King's ears he had it instantly remedied, and only wished +her to quit Paris for her own security." + +"The House of Guise, sir, have always been secure in the capital of +France," replied the Duke; "and I trust always will be." + +"Nothing has occurred since I trust, my Lord," continued Bellievre. +"The King is most anxious that you should have satisfaction in every +thing, and will give you the strongest assurances that your family, +your household, and your friends, shall be in every respect well +treated and protected, as indeed he has always wished them to be." + +The Duke threw himself down in his chair and rang the bell that stood +upon the table violently. "Ho! without there!" he exclaimed. "Bring in +that page that arrived hither a night or two ago, when I was absent at +Jamets." + +The attendant who had appeared retired, and the Duke sat silent, +gazing with a frown at the papers on the table. "May I ask your +Highness," said Bellievre, not knowing what interpretation to put upon +this conduct, "May I ask your Highness whether I am to conceive my +audience at an end?" + +"No, Monsieur de Bellievre, no," replied the Duke in a milder tone; +"for _you_ I have a high respect and esteem, and will listen to you +upon this subject longer than I would to most men. I wish you to hear +and to know how the friends of the Duke of Guise are treated, what +protection and favour is shown to them at the court of France. Perhaps +you will hear some things that are new to you--perhaps they may be new +to the King too," he added, a slight sneer curling his haughty lip. +"But be that as it may, Monsieur de Bellievre, I think I can show you +good cause why the Duke of Guise should be no longer absent from +Paris. Come hither, boy," he added, as the page Ignati entered the +room, "Come hither, boy, and answer my questions. Thou art both witty +and honest, but give me plain straightforward replies. Stand at my +knee and answer, so that this gentleman may hear." + +The boy advanced, and did as the Duke bade him, turning his face +towards Bellievre, with his left hand to the Duke. + +"You went to Paris," said Guise, "with my friend the young Count of +Logères; did you not? Were you aware of the cause of his going?" + +"He went, I understood your Highness," replied the boy, "to seek a +young lady, a relation of your own, who had been carried to Paris by a +body of the King's troops while on her way to join your Highness." + +"Can you tell what was Monsieur de Logères' success?" said the Duke. + +"I know he saw the King," replied the boy, "and heard that he had been +promised a letter to all the governors and commanders in different +places to aid him in seeking for the young Lady, and bringing her back +to your Highness. I heard also that it was for this paper he waited +from day to day in Paris, but that it never came." + +"I beg your Highness's pardon," said Bellievre interrupting the boy, +"but you will remark that this is all hearsay. He does not seem to +speak at all from his own knowledge." + +"That will come after," answered the Duke somewhat sharply. "Go on, +Ignati. What do you know more?" + +"What I have said," replied the boy, "is more than hearsay, my Lord, +for while we staid in Paris the good Count bade us always be ready at +a moment's notice to set out, for he could not tell when the letter +from Monsieur de Villequier would arrive. It never came, however, and +one night the Count having, as I understood, gained information of +where Mademoiselle de Clairvaut was, set out with his man Gondrin and +myself to seek her. We found that she had been brought by a body of +the King's troops to a château or a palace, for it looked more like a +palace than a château, called Morvillette, I believe near Chateauneuf, +where the plague was then raging, when the King's soldiers left her. +By the time we arrived the plague had reached the château, six or +seven people were dead, and all the rest had fled, leaving the young +lady with nobody in the palace, and none but one old groom in the +stables." + +The Duke's eye fixed sternly upon the countenance of Bellievre, and he +muttered between his teeth, "This is the doing, Monsieur de Bellievre, +of my excellent good friend, the King of France. Go on, boy; go on! +Proceed. What happened next?" + +"The lady was most joyous of her deliverance," continued the boy, "and +eager to come to your Highness; and we set out the next morning before +day-break, and reached Chartres, where the Count bought a litter for +her greater convenience. At a short distance from Chartres, however, +we were met by the Duke of Epernon and his train wolf-hunting, and the +Duke immediately stopped us, and insisted upon the Count going back +with him to Epernon. The Count produced the King's passports, but the +Duke said that there were doubts of his being authorised by you." + +"Did he not show him my own letter?" exclaimed the Duke. "Did he not +show him the authority I gave him under my own hand?" + +"He did, my Lord; he did," replied the boy; "but the Duke of Epernon +said he would show in what respect he held your Highness's letter, and +tearing it in several pieces he threw it down under his horse's feet." + +Bellievre continued to look down upon the ground with a brow which +certainly displayed but little satisfaction. The Duke of Guise, +however, though he had been frowning the moment before, now only +smiled as the boy related the incident of the letter; the smile was +somewhat contemptuous, indeed; but he said merely, "Go on, boy. What +happened next?" + +"Nay, my Lord," replied the boy, "what happened to them I know not, +for seeing that the Duke held them prisoners, and was taking them back +to Epernon, I made my escape as fast as I well could, and came hither +to tell you into whose hands the young lady and Monsieur de Logères +had fallen." + +"You did quite right, boy," said the Duke; "and now you may retire. +You hear, Monsieur de Bellievre," he continued, "with what kindness, +protection, support, and generosity the King treats the friends of the +Duke of Guise! First he casts my poor niece's child into the hands of +Villequier, something worse than those of the hangman of Paris, and +then between them they send her into the midst of the pestilence; then +comes Monsieur d'Epernon to confirm all, arrests my friend bearing the +King's own passports and safeguard, seizes upon my own relation and +ward, and carries them both I know not whither." + +"Perhaps your Highness," said Bellievre, "the Duke of Epernon might +have motives that we do not know. At all events the King----" + +"Fie, Monsieur de Bellievre, fie!" exclaimed the Duke vehemently. "I +will tell you what! It is time the Duke of Guise were in Paris, if but +to deliver the King from such Dukes of Epernon who abuse his +authority, disgrace his name, absorb his favours, ruin the state, +overthrow the church, and dare do acts that make men blush for shame. +France will no longer suffer him, sir; France will no longer suffer +him! If I free not the King from him and such as he is, the people +will rise up and commit some foul attempt upon the royal authority. +What," he continued, with fierce scorn, "What, though he be Baron of +Caumont, Duke of Epernon, raised out of his place to sit near the +princes of the blood, Governor of Metz and Normandy, of the +Boulonnais, and Aunis, of Touraine, Saintonge, and Angoumois, +Colonel-general of Infantry, and Governor of Anjou, a Knight of the +order of the Holy Ghost! he shall find this simple steel sword of +Henry of Guise sufficiently sharp to cut his parchments into pieces, +and send him back a beggar to the class he sprung from." + +The Duke spoke so rapidly, that to interrupt him was impossible; and +so angrily, that Bellievre, overawed, remained silent for a moment or +two after he had done, while the Prince bent his eyes down upon the +table, and played with the golden tassels of his sword-knot, as if +half ashamed of the vehemence he had displayed. + +"I did not come here, your Highness," he said, "either as the envoy or +the advocate of the Duke of Epernon. You must well know that there is +no great love between us; and I doubt not, when your Highness comes to +call him to account for his deeds, that justice will be found entirely +on your side. But I came on the part of the King; and I beseech you to +consider, my good Lord, what may be the consequences of pressing even +any severe charges against the Duke of Epernon at this moment, when +his Majesty is contending with the heretics on the one side, and is +somewhat troubled by an unruly people on the other." + +"Is he indeed contending with any body or any thing, Bellievre?" +demanded the Duke. "Is he indeed contending against the Bearnois? Is +he contending against the indolence of his own nature, or rather +against the indolence into which corrupt favourites have cast him? Is +he contending against the iniquities of Villequier, or the exactions +of Epernon? Is he contending against any thing less contemptible than +a spaniel puppy or an unteachable parrot? My love and attachment to +the King and his crown, Bellievre, are greater than yours; and, as my +final reply, I beg you humbly to inform his Majesty on my part, that +if I do not promptly and entirely obey him in this matter of not +coming to Paris, it is solely because I am compelled to do as I do, +for the good of the church, for the safety of the state, for the +security of my own relations and friends, and even for the benefit of +his Majesty himself. This is my final reply." + +"Yet one word, my Lord," replied Bellievre. "At all events, if your +determination to visit the capital be taken, will you not at least, at +my earnest prayer, delay your journey till I myself can return to +Paris, and obtaining more ample explanations of the King's purposes, +come back to you and confer with you farther on the subject." + +"I see not, Monsieur de Bellievre," said the Duke of Guise, "what good +could be obtained by such delay. I do not at all mean to say that you +would take advantage of my confidence to prepare any evil measures +against me; but others might do so: and besides, my honour calls me +not to leave my friends in peril for a moment, even though I called +upon my head the enmity of a whole host in stepping forward to rescue +them." + +"I pledge you my honour, my Lord," replied Bellievre, "that if you +will consent to delay, no measures shall be taken against you; and I +will do the very best I can to induce the King to make any atonement +in his power to your friends. As to this young Count of Logères, I +never heard of him before to-day, and know not what has been done with +him at all; and in regard to Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, she is +doubtless in the hands of Villequier, who, I understand, claims the +guardianship." + +"To which he has less right," replied the Duke angrily, "than that +footstool; and if he contends with me, I will spurn him as I do it;" +and he suited the gesture to the word. "But still I see not," +continued the Duke, "what is to be gained by this delay to either +party." + +"This, my good Lord," replied Bellievre. "I am well aware that his +Majesty the King has sent me here without sufficient powers to make +you just and definite proposals. This I believe to have been entirely +from the haste in which I came away, there being no time for thought. +But if you permit me to return with assurance that you will wait but a +few days, I feel convinced that I shall come back to you with offers +so abundant, so satisfactory, and so well secured, that your Lordship +will change your resolution." + +The Duke mused for a moment or two. "Well, Monsieur de Bellievre," he +said at length, "though I entertain no such hopes as you do, I must +yield something to my loyalty, and to my real desire of obeying the +King; although, perhaps, my duty to my country and to the church might +well lead me to more prompt proceedings. I will, therefore, delay my +journey for a day or two; but you must use all speed, and I must have +no trifling. You know all my just grievances: those must be remedied, +the church must be secured; and for the quiet and the satisfaction of +the people who abhor and detest him, as well as for the relief of the +nobles who have long been shut out from all favour by that unworthy +minion, this John of Nogaret, this Duke of Epernon, must be banished +from the court and councils of the King, and stripped of the places +and dignities which he has won from the weak condescension of the +Monarch. You understand me, Monsieur de Bellievre," he said in a +sterner tone, seeing that Bellievre looked somewhat dismayed at the +extent of his demands. "Undertake not the mission if you think that +you cannot succeed in it; but let me on my way without more +opposition." + +"My Lord, I will do my best to succeed," replied Bellievre; "and trust +that I shall do so. How many days will your Highness give me?" + +"Nay, nay," replied the Duke; "that I cannot tell, Monsieur de +Bellievre. Suffice it, I will delay as long as my honour permits me; +and you on your part lose not an hour in making the necessary +arrangements, and bringing the King's reply." + +As he spoke the Duke rose to terminate the conference; and then added, +"I fear, Monsieur de Bellievre, as I am expecting every moment my +brother, the Cardinal de Guise, and his Eminence of Bourbon, to confer +with me upon matters of importance, I cannot do the honours of the +house to you as I could wish; but Pericard, my secretary and friend, +will attend upon you, and insure that you have every sort of +refreshment. I will send for him this moment." And so doing, he placed +Bellievre in the hands of his secretary, and turned once more to other +business. + +The King's envoy sped back to Paris, scarcely giving himself time to +take necessary refreshment; but on his arrival in the capital he first +found a difficulty even in seeing the Monarch; and when he did see +him, found him once more plunged in that state of luxurious and +effeminate indolence from which he was only roused by occasional fits +of excitement, which sometimes enabled him to resume the monarch and +the man, but more frequently carried him into the wildest and most +frantic excesses of debauchery. + +Henry would scarcely listen to the business of Bellievre even when he +granted him an audience on the following morning. He asked many a +question about his cousin of Guise, about his health, about his +appearance, about his dress itself; whether his shoes were pointed or +square, and how far the haut-de-chausses came down above his knees. +Bellievre was impatient, and pressed the King with some fire; but +Henry only laughed, and tickled the ears of a monkey that sat upon the +arm of his chair with a parrot's feather. The animal mouthed and +chattered at the King, and strove to snatch the feather out of his +hands; and Henry, stroking it down the head, called it "Mon Duc de +Guise." + +Bellievre bowed low, and moved towards the door. "Come back to-morrow, +Bellievre; come back to-morrow," said the King; "Villequier will be +here then. You see at present how importantly I am occupied with my +fair cousin of Guise here;" and he pulled the monkey's whiskers as he +spoke. "Villequier has told me all about it," he added. "He says the +Duke will not come, and so says my mother; and if they both say the +same thing who never agreed upon any point before, it must be true, +Bellievre, you know." + +"I trust it may, Sire," replied Bellievre dryly, and quitted the room +with anger and indignation at his heart. Before he had crossed the +anteroom, he heard a loud laugh ringing like that of a fool from the +lips of the Monarch; and although it was doubtless occasioned by some +new gambol of the monkey, it did not serve to diminish the bitter +feelings which were in the diplomatist's bosom. + + + + + CHAP. X. + + +In a small, dark, oaken cabinet with one window high up and barred, a +lamp hanging from the ceiling, a table with books and a musical +instrument, several chairs, and a silver bell, Charles of Montsoreau +was seated several days after the period at which we last left him. A +bedroom well furnished in every respect was beyond; the least sound of +the silver bell produced immediate attendance; nothing was refused him +that he demanded; nothing was wanting to his comfort except liberty +and the sound of some other human being's voice. Yet, strange to say, +although he knew that he was in the city of Paris, he knew nothing +more of the position of the building in which he was placed. He had +been brought into the capital at night, had been conducted through a +number of narrow and tortuous streets, and had at length been led +through a deep archway and several large courts, to the place in which +he was now confined. + +It may seem perhaps that such a state of imprisonment did not offer +much to complain of; and yet it had bent his spirit and bowed down his +heart. The want of all knowledge of what was passing around him, the +absence of every one that he loved, the loss of liberty, the perfect +silence, joined with anxiety for one who was dearer to him than +himself, wore him day by day, and took from him the power of enjoying +any of those things which were provided for his convenience or +amusement. + +The servant who attended upon him never opened his lips, he obeyed any +orders that were given to him, he brought any thing that was demanded; +but he replied to no questions, he made no observations, he afforded +no information even by a look. Every bolt and bar that was on the +outside of the door was invariably drawn behind him, and the high +window in either room could only be so far reached even by standing on +the table or one of the chairs, as to enable the young nobleman to +open or shut it at pleasure, so to admit the free air from without. + +Such had been the condition of Charles of Montsoreau, as we have said, +for many days; but he had not yet become reconciled in any degree to +his fate, though he strove, as far as possible, to while away the +moments in any way that was permitted, either by books or music. But +it was with impatience and disgust that he did so, and the lute was +taken up and laid down, the book read and cast away, without remaining +in his hands for the space of five minutes. + +The sun shone bright through the high window, and traced a moving spot +of golden light upon the dark oak of the opposite wainscot; the air of +spring came sweet and pleasantly through, and gave him back the +thoughts and dreams of liberty; a wild plant rooted in the stonework +of the building without, cast its light feathery shadow on the wall +where the sun shone, and the hum and roar of distant multitudes, +pursuing their busy course in the thronged thoroughfares of the city, +brought him his only tidings from the hurried and struggling scene of +human life. + +He took a pleasure in watching the leaves of the little plant as, +waved about by the wind, they played against the bars of the window, +and he was thus occupied on the day we have mentioned, when suddenly +something crossed the light for a moment, as if some small bird had +flown by; but at the same instant a roll of paper fell at his feet, +and taking it up, he recognised the well-known writing of the Duke of +Guise. + +"You have suffered for my sake," the paper said, "and I hastened to +deliver you. The day of the Epernons is over; your place of +imprisonment is known. Be not dispirited, therefore, for relief is at +hand." + +It cannot be told how great was the relief which this note itself +brought to the mind of the young Count, not alone by the promise that +it held out, but by the very feeling that it gave him of not being +utterly forgotten, of being not entirely alone and desolate. He read +it over two or three times, and then hearing one of the bolts of the +door undrawn, he concealed it hastily lest the attendant should see +it. + +Another bolt was immediately afterwards pulled back, and then the door +was unlocked, though far more slowly than usual. It seemed to the +young Count that an unaccustomed hand was busy with the fastenings, +and a faint hope of speedy deliverance shot across his mind. + +The next instant, however, the door was opened, and though it +certainly was not the usual attendant who appeared, no face presented +itself that was known to Charles of Montsoreau. The figure was that of +a woman, tall, stately, and dressed in garments of deep black, fitting +tightly round the shoulders and the waist, and flowing away in ample +folds below. Her hair was entirely covered by black silk and lace, but +her face was seen, and that face was one which instantly drew all +attention to itself. + +It was not indeed the beauty which attracted, though there were great +remains of beauty too, but it was the face not only of an old woman, +but of one who had been somewhat a spendthrift of youth's charms. +There was, however, a keen fire in the eyes, a strong determination on +the brow, an expansion of the nostril, which gave the idea of quick +and eager feelings, and a degree of sternness about the whole line of +the features, which would have made the whole countenance commanding, +but harsh and severe, had it not been for a light and playful smile +that gleamed across the whole, like some of the bright and sudden rays +of light that from to time we see run across the bosom of deep still +shady waters. + +There was a degree of mockery in that smile, too; and yet it spoke +affections and feelings which as strangely blended with the general +character of that woman's life, as the smile itself did with the +general expression of her countenance. The hands were beautiful and +delicately small, and the figure good, with but few signs of age about +it. + +The young Count gazed upon her with some surprise as she entered, but +instantly rose from the seat in which he had been sitting while +reading the Duke of Guise's note; and the lady, with a graceful +inclination of the head, closed the door, advanced and seated herself, +examining the young Count from head to foot with a look of calm +consideration, which he very well understood implied the habitual +exercise of authority and power. + +After thus gazing at him for a moment or two, she said, "Monsieur le +Comte de Logères, do you know me?" + +"If you mean, madam," he replied, "to ask me if I recognise your +person, I believe I do; but if you would ask absolutely whether I know +you, I must say, no." + +One of those light smiles passed quick across her countenance, and she +said in a low voice, as if speaking to herself, "Who ever did know +me?" She then added, "Who then do you suppose I am?" + +"I conclude, madam," replied the young Count, "that I stand in the +presence of her Majesty the Queen-mother." + +"Such is the case," replied the Queen, "and I have come to visit you, +Monsieur de Logères, with views and purposes which, were I to tell +them to any person at my son's court, would hardly be believed." + +The Queen paused, as if waiting for an answer; and the young Count +replied, "I trust, madam, that if I am detained here by the +directions, and in the power of your Majesty, that you have come to +give me liberty, which would, I suppose," he added with somewhat of a +smile, "be rather marvellous to the courtiers of the King." + +Catharine de Medici smiled also, but at the same time shook her head. +"I fear I must not give you liberty," she said, "for I have promised +not: but I have come with no bad intent towards you. I knew your +mother, Monsieur de Logères, and a virtuous and beautiful woman she +was. God help us! it shows that I am growing old, my praising any +woman for her virtue. However, she was what I have said, and as unlike +myself as possible. Perhaps that was the reason that I liked her, for +we like not things that are too near ourselves. However, I have come +hither to see her son, and to do him a pleasure. You play upon the +lute?" she continued. "Come, 'tis a long time since I have heard the +lute well played. Take up the instrument, and add your voice to it." + +"Alas, madam," replied the young Count, "I am but in an ill mood for +music. If I sang you a melancholy lay it would find such stirring +harmonies in my own heart, that I fear I should drown the song in +tears; and if I sang you a gay one, it would be all discord. I would +much rather open that door which you have left unlocked behind you, +and go out." + +The Queen did not stir in the slightest degree, but gazed upon him +attentively with a look of compassion, answering, "Alas! poor bird, +you would find that your cage has a double door. But come, do as I bid +you; sit down there, take up the lute and sing. Let your song be +neither gay nor sad! Let it be a song of love. I doubt not that such a +youth as you are, will easily find a love ditty in your heart, though +the present inspiration be no better than an old woman. Come, Monsieur +de Logères, come: sit down and sing. I am a judge of music, I can tell +you." + +With a faint smile the Count did as she bade him; and taking up the +lute, he ran his fingers over the chords, thought for a moment or two, +and recollecting nothing better suited to the moment, he sang an +Italian song of love, in which sometime before he had ventured to +shadow forth to Marie de Clairvaut, when she was at Montsoreau, the +first feelings of affection that were growing up in his heart. The +Queen sat by in the mean time, listening attentively, with her head a +little bent forward, and her hand marking the cadences on her knee. + +"Beautifully sung, Monsieur de Logères," she said at length when he +ended. "Beautifully sung, and as well accompanied. You do not know how +much pleasure you have given.--Now, let us talk of other things. Are +you sincere, man?" + +"I trust so, madam," replied the Count. "I believe I have never borne +any other character." + +"Who taught you to play so well on the lute?" demanded the Queen +abruptly. + +"I have had no great instruction, madam," answered the Count somewhat +surprised. "I taught myself a little in my boyhood. But afterwards my +preceptor, the Abbé de Boisguerin, was my chief instructor. He had +learned well in Italy." + +"Did he teach you sincerity too?" demanded the Queen with a keen look; +"and did he learn that in Italy?" + +The Count was not a little surprised to find Catherine's questions +touch so immediately upon the late discoveries he had made of the +character of the Abbé de Boisguerin, and he replied with some +bitterness, "He could but teach me, madam, that which he possessed +himself. I trust that to my nature and my blood I owe whatever +sincerity may be in me. I learned it from none but from God and my own +heart." + +"Then you know him," said the Queen, reaching the point at once; "that +is sufficient at present on that subject. I know him too. He came to +the court of France several years ago, with letters from my fair +cousin the Cardinal; but he brought with him nothing that I wanted at +that time. He had a wily head, a handsome person, manifold +accomplishments, great learning, and services for the highest bidder. +We had too many such things at the court already, so I thought that +the sooner he was out of it the better, and looked cold upon him till +he went. He understood the matter well, and did not return till he +brought something in his hand to barter for favour. However, Monsieur +de Logères, to turn to other matters; I do believe you may be sincere +after all. I shall discover in a minute, however. Will you answer me a +question or two concerning the Duke of Guise?" + +"It depends entirely upon what they are, madam," replied the Count at +once. + +"Then you will not answer me every question, even if it were to gain +your liberty." + +"Certainly not, madam," replied the Count. + +"Then the Duke has been speaking ill of me," said Catherine at once, +"otherwise you would not be so fearful." + +"Not so, indeed," replied the Count, eagerly. "The Duke never, in my +presence, uttered a word against your Majesty." + +"Then will you tell me, as a man of honour," demanded the Queen, +"exactly, word for word what you have ever heard the Duke say of me?" + +Charles of Montsoreau paused and thought for a moment, and then +answered, "I may promise you to do so in safety, madam, for I never +heard the Duke speak of you but twice, and then it was in high +praise." + +"Indeed!" she replied. "But still I believe you, for Villequier has +been assuring me of the contrary, and, of course, what he says must be +false. He cannot help himself, poor man. Now, tell me what the Duke +said, Monsieur de Logères. Perhaps I may be able to repay you some +time." + +"I seek for no bribe, your Majesty," replied the Count smiling; "and, +indeed, the honour and the pleasure of this visit----" + +"Nay, nay! You a courtier, young gentleman!" exclaimed the Queen, +shaking her finger at him. "Another such word as that, and you will +make me doubt the whole tale." + +"The speech would not have been so courtier-like, madam, if it had +been ended," replied the Count. "I was going to have said, that the +honour and pleasure of this visit, after not having heard for many +days, many weeks I believe, the sound of a human voice, or seen any +other face but that of one attendant, is full repayment for the little +that I have to tell. However, madam, to gratify you with regard to +the Duke, the first time that I ever heard him mention you was in the +city of Rheims, where a number of persons were collected together, and +many violent opinions were expressed, with which I will not offend +your ears; your past life was spoken of by some of the gentlemen +present----" + +"Pass over that, pass over that! I understand!" replied the Queen with +a sarcastic smile; "I understand. But those things are not worth +speaking of. What of the present, Monsieur de Logères? What of the +present?" + +"Why, some one expressed an opinion, madam," the Count continued, +"that in order to retain a great share of power, you did every thing +you could to keep his Majesty in the lethargic and indolent state in +which I grieve to say he appears to the great mass of his subjects." + +"What said the Duke?" demanded the Queen. "What said the Duke? surely +he knows me better." + +"Why, madam," replied the Count, "his eye brightened and his colour +rose, and he replied indignantly that it could not be so. 'Oh no,' he +said, 'happy had it been for France if, instead of divided power, the +Queen-mother had possessed the whole power. It is by petty minds +mingling their leven with their great designs that ruin has come upon +the land. She has had to deal with great men, great events, and great +difficulties, and she was equal to deal with, if not to bow them all +down before her, had she but been permitted to deal with them +unshackled.'"[4] + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 4: Such was undoubtedly the expressed opinion of the Duke of +Guise.] + +--------------------- + + +"Indeed!" exclaimed the Queen; "did he say so?" + +"He did, madam, upon my honour," replied the Count. + +"I know not whether he was right or wrong," rejoined the Queen +thoughtfully; "for though perhaps, Monsieur de Logères, I possessed +in some things the powers of a man--say, if you will, greater powers +than most men--yet, alas! in others, I had all the weaknesses of a +woman--perhaps I should say, to balance other qualities, more +weaknesses than most women. But he must have said more. The answer was +not pertinent to the remark, and Henry of Guise is not a man either in +speech or action ever to forget his object." + +"Nor did he in this instance," replied the Count; "but he said that, +wearied out with seeing your best and greatest schemes frustrated by +the weakness of others, you now contented yourself with warding off +evils as far as possible from your son and from the state; that it was +evident that such was your policy; and that, like Miron, the King's +physician, unable from external circumstances to effect a cure, you +treated the diseases of the times with a course of palliatives; that, +as the greatest of all evils, you knew and saw the apathy of his +Majesty, and did all that you could to rouse him, but that the +poisonous counsels of Villequier, the soft indolence of his own +nature, and the enfeebling society of Epernon and others, resisted all +that you could do, and thwarted you here likewise." + +"He spoke wisely, and he spoke truly," replied the Queen; "and I will +tell you, Monsieur de Logères, though Henry of Guise and I can never +love each other much, yet I felt sure that he knew me too well to say +all those things of me that have been reported by his enemies. I am +satisfied with what I have heard, Count, and shall ask no further +questions. But you have given me pleasure, and I will do my best to +serve you. Once more, let us speak of other things. Have you all that +you desire and want here?" + +"No, madam," replied the young Count. "I want many things--liberty, +the familiar voices of my friends, the sight of those I love. Every +thing that the body wants I have; and you or some of your attendants +have supplied me with books and music; but it is in such a situation +as this, your Majesty, that one learns that the heart requires food as +well as the body or the mind." + +"The heart!" replied Catharine de Medici thoughtfully. "I once knew +what the heart was, and I have not quite forgotten it yet. Did you +mark my words after you had sung, Monsieur de Logères?" + +"You were pleased to praise my poor singing much more than it +deserved, madam," replied the young Count. + +"Something more than that, my good youth," replied the Queen. "I told +you that it had given more pleasure than you knew of. I might have +added, that it gave pleasure to more than you knew of, for there was +another ear could hear it besides mine." + +"Indeed!" exclaimed the Count gazing eagerly in the Queen's face; "and +pray who might that be?" + +"One that loves you," replied Catharine de Medici. "One that loves +you very well, Monsieur de Logères." And rising from her chair she put +her hand to her brow, as if in deep thought. "Well," she said at +length; "something must be risked, and I will risk something for +that purpose. The time is not far distant, Monsieur de Logères--I +see it clearly--when by some means you will be set at liberty; but, +notwithstanding that, it may be long before you find such a thing even +as an hour's happiness. You are a frank and generous man, I believe; +you will not take advantage of an act of kindness to behave +ungenerously. I go away from you for a moment or two, and leave that +door open behind me, trusting to your honour." + +She waited for no reply, but quitted the room; and Charles of +Montsoreau stood gazing upon the door, doubtful of what was her +meaning, and how he was to act. Some of her words might be interpreted +as a hint to escape; but others had directly a contrary tendency, and +a moment after he heard her unlock and pass another door, and close +but not lock it behind her. + + + + + CHAP. XI. + + +"What is her meaning?" demanded Charles of Montsoreau, as he gazed +earnestly upon the door; and as he thus thought his heart beat +vehemently, for there was a hope in it which he would not suffer his +reason to rest upon for a moment, so improbable did it seem, and so +fearful would be disappointment. "What is her meaning?" And he still +asked himself the question, as one minute flew by after another, and +to his impatience it seemed long ere she returned. + +But a few minutes elapsed, however, in reality, ere there were steps +heard coming back, and in another minute Catharine de Medici again +appeared, saying, "For one hour, remember! For one hour only!" + +There was somebody behind her, and the brightest hope that Charles of +Montsoreau had dared to entertain was fully realised. + +The Queen had drawn Marie de Clairvaut forward; and passing out again, +she closed the door, leaving her alone with her lover. If his heart +had wanted any confirmation of the deep, earnest, overpowering +affection which she entertained towards him, it might have been found +in the manner in which--apparently without the power even to move +forward, trembling, gasping for breath--she stood before him on so +suddenly seeing him again, without having been forewarned, after long +and painful and anxious absence. As he had himself acknowledged, he +was ignorant in the heart of woman; but love had been a mighty +instructor, and he now needed no explanation of the agitation that he +beheld. + +Starting instantly forward, he threw his arms around her; and it was +then, held to his bosom, pressed to his heart, that all Marie de +Clairvaut's love and tenderness burst forth. Gentle, timid, modest in +her own nature as she was, love and joy triumphed over all. The agony +of mind she had been made to suffer, was greater than even he could +fancy, and the relief of that moment swept away all other thoughts: +the tears, the happy but agitated tears, flowed rapidly from her eyes; +but her lips sought his cheek from time to time, her arms clasped +tenderly round him, and as soon as she could speak, she said, "Oh +Charles, Charles, do I see you again? Am I, am I held in your arms +once more; the only one that I have ever loved in life, my saviour, my +protector, my defender. For days, for weeks, I have not known whether +you were living or dead. They had the cruelty, they had the barbarity +not even to let me know whether you had or had not escaped the plague. +They have kept me in utter ignorance of where you were, of all and of +every thing concerning you." And again she kissed his cheek, though +even while she did so, under the overpowering emotions of her heart, +the blush of shame came up into her own: and then she hid her eyes +upon his bosom, and wept once more in agitation but in happiness. + +"As they have acted to you, dearest Marie," he replied, "as they have +acted to you, so they have acted to me. The day they separated me from +you at Epernon, was the last day that I have spoken with any living +creature up to this morning. No answers have been returned to my +questions; not a word of intelligence could I obtain concerning your +fate; and oh, dear, dear Marie, you would feel, you would know how +terrible has been that state to me, if you could tell how ardently, +how deeply, how passionately I love you." And his lips met hers, and +sealed the assurance there. + +"I know it, I know it all, Charles," replied Marie. "I know it by what +I have felt; I know it by what I feel myself, for I believe, I do +believe, from my very heart, that if it be possible for two people to +feel exactly alike, we so feel." + +"But tell me, dear Marie, tell me," exclaimed her lover, "tell me +where you have been. Have they treated you kindly? Does the Duke of +Guise know where you are?" + +"Alas, no, Charles!" replied Marie de Clairvaut; "he does not, I +grieve to say. Well treated indeed I may say that I have been, for all +that could contribute to my mere comfort has been done for me. Nothing +that I could desire or wish for, Charles, has been ungiven, and I have +ever had the society of the good sisters in the neighbouring convent. +But the society that I love has of course been denied me; and no news, +no tidings of any kind have reached me. I have lived in short with +numbers of people surrounding me, as if I were not in the world at +all, and the moment that I asked a question, a deep silence fell upon +every one, and I could obtain no reply." + +"This is strange indeed," said Charles, "very strange. However, we +must be grateful that our treatment has been kind indeed in some +respects." + +"Oh, and most grateful," replied Marie de Clairvaut, "for these bright +moments of happiness. Do you not think, Charles, do you not think, +that perhaps the Queen may kindly grant us such interviews again?" + +Who is there that does not know how lovers while away the time? Who is +there that has not known how short is a lover's hour? But with Charles +of Montsoreau and Marie de Clairvaut that hour seemed shorter than it +otherwise would have done; for it was not alone the endearing caress, +the words, the acknowledgments, the hopes of love, but they had a +thousand things in the past to tell each other; they had cares and +fears, and plans and purposes for the future, to communicate. + +Even had not all shyness, all timidity been done away before, that was +not a moment in which Marie de Clairvaut could have affected aught +towards her lover; so that what between tidings of the past and +thoughts of the future, and the dear dalliance of that spendthrift of +invaluable moments, love, an envious clock in some church-tower hard +by, had marked the arrival of the last quarter of an hour they were to +remain together, ere one tenth part of what they had to think of or to +say was either thought or said. The sound startled them, and it became +a choice whether they should give up the brief remaining space to +serious thoughts of the future, or whether they should yield it all to +love. Who is it with such a choice before him that ever hesitated +long? + +The space allotted for their interview had drawn near its close, and +the very scantiness of the period that remained was causing them to +spend it in regrets that it was not longer, when suddenly the general +sounds which came from the streets became louder and more loud, as if +some door or gate had been opened which admitted the noise more +distinctly. Both Marie de Clairvaut and her lover listened, and almost +at the same instant loud cries were heard of "The Duke of Guise! The +Duke of Guise! Long live the Duke of Guise! Long live the great pillar +of the Catholic church! Long live the House of Lorraine!" And this was +followed by the noise and trampling of horses, as if entering into a +court below. + +Marie and her lover gazed in each other's faces, but she it was that +first spoke the joyful hopes that were in the heart of both. + +"He has come to deliver us!" she cried. "Oh Charles, he has come to +deliver us! Hear how gladly the people shout his well-loved name! +Surely they will not deceive him, and tell him we are not here." + +"Oh no, dear Marie," replied her lover; "he has certain information, +depend upon it, and will not be easily deceived. He has already +discovered my abode, dear Marie; and this letter was thrown through +the window this morning, though I myself know not where we are--that +is to say, I am well aware that we are now in Paris, but I know not in +what part of the city." + +"Oh, that I discovered from one of the nuns," replied Marie. "We are +at the house of the Black Penitents, in the Rue St. Denis. I remember +the outside of it well; a large dark building with only two windows to +the street. Do you not remember it? You must have seen it in passing." + +"I am not so well acquainted with the city as you are, dear Marie," +replied Charles of Montsoreau; "but, depend upon it, where they have +confined me is not in the house of the Black Penitents. It would be a +violation of the rules of the order which could not be." + +"It communicates with their dwelling," replied Marie de Clairvaut; "of +that at least I am certain; for the Queen, when she brought me hither, +took me not into the open air. She led me indeed through numerous +passages, one of which, some ten or twelve yards in length, was nearly +dark, for it had no windows, and was only lighted by the door left +open behind us. I was then placed in a little room while the Queen +went on, and a short time after I heard a voice, that made my heart +beat strangely, begin to sing a song that you once sung at Montsoreau; +and when I was thinking of you Charles, and all that you had done for +me--how you had first saved me from the reiters, and then rescued me +from the deep stream, and had then come to seek me and deliver me in +the midst of death and pestilence--I was thinking of all these things, +when Catherine came back, and without telling me what was her +intention, led me hither." + +"Hark!" cried Charles of Montsoreau. "They shout again. I wonder that +we have heard no farther tidings." + +And they both sat and listened for some minutes, but no indication of +any farther event took place, and they gradually resumed their +conversation, beginning in a low tone, as if afraid of losing a sound +from without. Marie de Clairvaut had already told her lover how she +had remained at Epernon for a day or two under the protection of the +wife of the Duke, and had been thence brought by her to Paris and +placed in the convent at a late hour of the evening; but as the time +wore away, and their hopes of liberation did not seem about to be +realized, she recurred to the subject of her arrival, saying, "There +is one thing which makes me almost fear they will deceive him, +Charles. I forgot to tell you, that as we paused before this building +on the night that I was brought hither, while the gates were being +opened by the portress, a horseman rode up to the side of the carriage +and gazed in. There were torches on the other side held by the +servants round the gate, and though I could not see that horseman as +well as he could see me, yet I feel almost sure that it was the face +of the Abbé de Boisguerin I beheld." + +"I know he was to return to Paris," said Charles of Montsoreau, "after +accompanying my brother some part of the way back to the château. But +fear not him, dear Marie; he has no power or influence here." + +"Oh, but I fear far more wile and intrigue," cried Marie de Clairvaut, +"than I do power and influence, Charles. Power is like a lion, bold +and open; but when once satisfied, injures little; but art is like a +serpent that stings us, without cause, when we least expect it. But +hark!" she continued again. "They are once more shouting loudly." + +Charles of Montsoreau listened also, and the cries, repeated again and +again, of "Long live the Duke of Guise! Long live the House of +Lorraine! Long live the good Queen Catherine![5] Life to the Queen! +Life to the Queen!" were heard mingled with thundering huzzas and +acclamations. The heart of the young Count sank, for he judged that +the Duke had gone forth again amongst the people, and had either +forgotten his fate altogether in more important affairs, or had been +deceived by false information regarding himself and Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut. + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 5: The progress of the Duke of Guise and the Queen-mother, +from the convent of the Penitents to the Louvre, was in triumph. "Il y +en avoit," says Auvigny, "qui se mettoient à genoux devant lui, +d'autres lui baisoient les mains; quelques uns se trouvèrent trop +heureux de pouvoir en passant toucher son habit," A farther account of +this famous event is given a few pages farther on.] + +--------------------- + + +The cries, which were at first loud and distinct, gradually sunk, +till first the words could no longer be distinguished; then the +acclamations became more and more faint, till the whole died away into +a distant murmur, rising and falling like the sound of the sea beating +upon a stormy shore. The young Count gazed in the countenance of Marie +de Clairvaut, and saw therein written even more despairing feelings +than were in his own heart. + +"Fear not, dear Marie," he said pressing her to his bosom. "Fear not; +the Duke must know that I am here by this letter: nor is he one to be +easily deceived. Depend upon it he will find means to deliver us ere +long." + +Marie de Clairvaut shook her head with a deep sigh and with her eyes +filled with tears. But she had not time to reply, for steps were heard +in the passage, and the moment after the door of the room was opened. + +It was no longer, however, the figure of Catherine de Medici that +presented itself, but the homely person and somewhat unmeaning face of +a good lady, dressed in the habit of a prioress. Behind her, again, +was a lay-sister, and beside them both the attendant who was +accustomed to wait upon the young Count. The good lady who first +appeared looked round the scene that the opening door disclosed to her +with evident marks of curiosity and surprise; and, indeed, the whole +expression of her countenance left little doubt that she had never +been in that place before. + +After giving up a minute to her curiosity, however, she turned to +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, saying, "I have been sent by the Queen, +madam, to conduct you back to your apartments." + +"Let me first ask one question," replied Marie de Clairvaut. "Has not +the Duke of Guise been here?" + +The nun answered not a word. + +"We need no assurance of it, dear Marie," said Charles of Montsoreau, +hoping to drive the Prioress to some answer. "We know that he has, and +must have been deceived in regard to your state and mine." + +The Prioress was still silent; and Marie de Clairvaut, after waiting +for a moment, added, "If he have been deceived, Charles, woe to those +who have deceived him. He is not a man to pass over lightly such +conduct as has been shown to me already." + +"Madam," said the Prioress, "I have been sent by the Queen to show you +to your apartments." + +It was vain to resist or to linger. Marie de Clairvaut gave her hand +to her lover, and they gazed in each other's faces for a moment with a +long and anxious glance, not knowing when they might meet again. +Charles of Montsoreau could not resist; and notwithstanding the +presence of nun, prioress, and attendant, he drew the fair creature +whose hand he held in his gently to his bosom, and pressed a parting +kiss upon her lips. + +Marie turned away with her eyes full of tears, and leaving her hand in +his till the last moment, she slowly approached the door. She turned +for one other look ere she departed, and then, dashing the tears from +her eyes, passed rapidly out. The door closed behind her, and Charles +of Montsoreau alone, and almost without hope, buried his face in his +hands, and gave himself up to think over the sweet moments of the +past. + + + + + CHAP. XII. + + +It was on the morning of Monday, the 9th of May, 1588, at about half +past eleven o'clock, that a party, consisting of sixteen horsemen, of +whom eight were gentlemen and the rest grooms, appeared at the gates +of Paris. But though each of those eight persons who led the cavalcade +were strong and powerful men, in the prime of life, highly educated, +and generally distinguished in appearance, yet there was one on whom +all eyes rested wherever he passed, and rested with that degree of +wonder and admiration which might be well called forth by the union of +the most perfect graces of person, with the appearance of the greatest +vigour and activity, and with a dignity and beauty of expression which +breathed not only from the countenance, but from the whole person, and +shone out in every movement, as well as in every look. + +The gates of the city were at this time open, and though a certain +number of guards were hanging about the buildings on either hand, yet +no questions were asked of any one who came in or went out of the +city. The moment, however, that the party we have mentioned appeared, +and he who was at its head paused for a moment on the inside of the +gate and gazed round, as if looking for some one that he expected to +see there, one of the bystanders whispered eagerly to the other, "It +is the Duke! It is the Duke of Guise!" + +All hats were off in a moment; all voices cried, "The Duke! The Duke!" +A loud acclamation ran round the gate, and the people from the small +houses in the neighbourhood poured forth at the sound, rending the air +with their acclamations, and pressing forward round his horse with +such eagerness that it was scarcely possible for him to pass along his +way. Some kissed his hand, some threw themselves upon their knees +before him, some satisfied themselves by merely touching his cloak, as +if it had saintly virtue in it, and still the cry ran on of "The Duke +of Guise! The Duke of Guise! Long live the Duke of Guise!" while every +door-way and alley and court-yard poured forth its multitudes, till +the people seemed literally to crush each other in the streets, and +all Paris echoed with the thundering acclamations. + +After that momentary pause at the gates, the Duke of Guise rode on, +uncovering his splendid head, and bowing lowly to the people as he +went. His face had been flushed by exercise when he arrived, but now +the deep excitement of such a reception had taken the colour from his +cheek; he was somewhat pale, and his lip quivered with intense +feeling. But there was a fire in his eye which seemed to speak that +his heart was conscious of great purposes, and ready to fulfil its +high emprise; and there was a degree of stern determination on that +lordly brow, which spoke also the knowledge but the contempt of +danger, and the resolution of meeting peril and overcoming resistance. + +Thus passing on amidst the people, and bowing as he went to their +repeated cheers, the Duke of Guise reached the convent of the Black +Penitents, where for the time the Queen-mother had taken up her abode. +The gates of the outer court into which men were suffered to enter +were thrown open to admit him; and signifying to such of the crowd as +were nearest to the gate that they had better not follow him into the +court, the Duke of Guise rode in with his attendants, and the gates +were again closed. The servants and the gentlemen who accompanied him +remained beside their horses in the court, while he alone entered the +parlour of the convent to speak with the Queen-mother. + +She did not detain him an instant, but came in with a countenance on +which much alarm was painted, either by nature or by art. The Duke at +once advanced to meet her, and bending low his towering head, he +kissed the hand which she held out to him. + +"Alas! my Lord of Guise," she said, "I must not so far falsify the +truth as to say that I am glad to see you. Glad, most glad should I +have been to see you, any where but here. But, alas! I fear you have +come at great peril to yourself, good cousin! You know not how angry +the minds of men are; you know not how much hostility reigns against +you in the breasts of many of the highest of the land; you have not +bethought you, that on every step to the throne there stands an +enemy----" + +"Who shall fall before me, madam," replied the Duke of Guise. + +"Till you have reached the throne itself, fair cousin?" said the +Queen-mother. + +"No, madam, no," answered the Duke of Guise eagerly. "I thought your +Majesty had known me better. I have always believed that you were one +of those who felt and understood that I never dreamt of wronging my +master and my king, or of snatching, as you now hinted, the crown from +its lawful possessor." + +"I _have_ felt it, and I _have_ understood it, cousin of Guise," +replied Catharine de Medici. "But, alas! my Lord, I know how ambition +grows upon the heart. It begins with an acorn, Guise, but it ends with +an oak. Those that watch it, the very soil that bears it, perceive not +its increase; and yet it soon overshadows all things, and root it out +who can!" + +"Madam," answered the Duke of Guise, boldly, "to follow the figure +that you have used, the axe soon reduces the oak; and may the axe be +used on me, and ease me of earth's ambition for ever, if any such +designs as have been attributed to me exist within my bosom! You see, +madam, I meet you boldly, look to ultimate consequences of ambitious +designs, and fear not the result. It is such accusations that I come +to repel, and it is those who have propagated them, and instilled them +both into the mind of his Majesty, and, as it would appear, your own, +that I come to punish. Trusting that, humble though I be, your Majesty +was the best friend I had at the court of France, I have ridden +straight hither, without even stopping at my own abode, to beseech you +to accompany me to the presence of the King." + +"I do believe, cousin of Guise, that I am your best friend at the +court of France," replied the Princess. "In fact, I may say, I know +that none there loves you but myself. Nor must you think that I accuse +you of actual ambition, or believe the rumours that have been +circulated against you. I merely wish to warn you of the growth of +such things in your own bosom." + +"Dear madam," replied the Duke, "had I been ambitious, what might I +not have become? Here am I simply the Duke of Guise; a poor officer, +commanding part of the King's troops, and contributing no small part +of my own to swell his forces; with scarcely a place, a post, a +government, an emolument, or a revenue, except what I derive from my +own estates. Am I the most ambitious man in France? Am I so ambitious +as he who adds, to the government of Metz, the government of Normandy, +and piles upon that Touraine, Anjou, Saintonge, the Angoumois, seizes +upon the office of High-admiral, creates himself Colonel-general of +the Infantry? This, lady, is the ambitious man; but of him you seem to +entertain no fear." + +"There are two ambitions, my Lord Duke," replied the Queen: "the +ambition which grasps at power, and the ambition which snatches at +wealth: the moment that ambition mingles itself with avarice, the +grovelling passion, chained in its own sordid bonds, is no longer to +be feared. It is where the object is power; where there is a mind to +conceive the means, and a heart to dare all the risks, that there is +indeed occasion for apprehension and for precaution. Still, my Lord, I +believe you; still I believe that the hand of Guise will never be +raised to pull down the bonnet of Valois. You may strip the minion +Epernon of the golden plumes with which he has decked his mid-air +wings, for aught I care or think of; you may cast down the dark and +plotting Villequier, and sweep the court of apes and parrots, fools +and villains, and the whole tribe of natural and human beasts, without +my saying one word to oppose you, or without my dreaming for a moment +that you aim at higher things; you may even soar higher still, and +like your great father become at once the guide and the defender of +the state, and still I will not fear you. But Guise," she added in a +softer tone, "I must and will still fear _for_ you; and though I will +go with you to the King if you continue to demand it, yet I tell you, +and I warn you, that every step you take is perilous, and that I +cannot be your safeguard nor your surety for a moment!" + +"Madam, I must fulfil my fate," replied the Duke of Guise looking up. +"I came here to justify myself; I came here to deliver and to support +my friends; I came here to secure honour and safety to the Catholic +Church; and did I know that the daggers of a hundred assassins would +be in my bosom at the first step I took beyond those gates, I would go +forth as resolutely as I came hither." + +"Then I must send to announce your coming to the King," said the +Queen. "Of course I cannot take you to the Louvre unannounced." + +Thus saying she quitted the room for a moment, and the Duke remained +behind with his arms crossed upon his bosom in deep thought. She +returned in a moment, however, saying that she had sent one of her +gentlemen upon the errand, and the next minute as the gates were +opened for some one to go out, long and reiterated shouts of "A Guise! +A Guise! Long live the Guise!" were heard echoing round the building. +Catharine de Medici smiled and looked at the Duke. "How often have I +heard," she said, "those same light Parisian tongues exclaim the name +of different princes! I remember well, Guise, when first I came from +my fair native land, how the glad multitude shouted on my way; how all +the streets were strewed with flowers; and how, if I had believed the +words I heard, I should have fancied that not a man in all the land +but would have died to serve me; and yet, not long after, I have heard +execrations murmured in the throats of the dull multitude while I +passed by, and the name of Diana of Poitiers echoed through the +streets. Then have I not heard the names of a Francis and a Henry +shouted far and wide? and after Jarnac and Moncontour, the heavens +were scarcely high enough to hold the sounds of his name who now sits +upon the throne of France. To-day it is Guise they call upon!--Who +shall it be to-morrow? And then another and another still shall come, +the object of an hour's love changed into hatred in a moment." + +"It is too true, madam," replied the Duke. "Popularity is the most +fleeting, the most vacillating--if you will, the most contemptible--of +all those means and opportunities which Heaven gives us to be made use +of for great ends. But nevertheless, madam, we must so make use of +them all; and as this same popularity is one of the briefest of the +whole, so must we be the more ready, the more prompt, the more decided +in taking advantage of the short hour of brightness. I may be wrong in +thinking," he continued after the pause of a moment or two, "I may be +wrong in thinking that my well-being and that of the state and church +of this realm are intimately bound up together. It may be, and +probably is, a delusion of human vanity. Nevertheless, such being my +opinion, none can say that I am wrong in taking advantage of the +moment of my popularity to do the best that I can both for the church +and for the state. Such, I assure you, madam, is my object; and if I +benefit myself at all in these transactions, it can be, and shall be, +but collaterally; while in the mean time I incur perils which I know +and yet fear not." + +Thus went on the conversation between the Queen and the Duke of Guise +for nearly half an hour, at the end of which time the gentleman who +had been dispatched to the King returned, bearing his Majesty's reply, +which was, that since his mother desired it, she might bring the Duke +of Guise to his presence, and Catherine prepared immediately to set +out. Her chair was brought round; and after speaking a few words with +the superior of the convent, she placed herself in the vehicle, the +Duke of Guise walking by her side. The gentlemen who had come with him +gave their horses to the grooms, and followed on foot; and several +servants and attendants ran on before to clear the way through the +people. + +The moment the gates were opened, a spectacle struck the eyes of the +Queen and the Duke, such as no city in the world perhaps, except +Paris, could produce. In the short period which had elapsed since the +Duke's arrival, the news had spread from one end of the capital to the +other, and the whole of its multitudes were poured out into the +streets or lining the windows, or crowning the house-tops. With a +rapidity scarcely to be conceived, scaffoldings had been raised in +that short space of time in different parts of the streets, to enable +the multitude to see the Duke better as he passed[6]; in many places, +velvets and rich tapestries were hung out upon the fronts of the +houses, as if some solemn procession of the church were taking place; +the ladies of the higher classes at the windows, or on their +scaffolds, were generally without the masks which they usually wore in +the streets; and again, when the gates of the convent opened, and the +Queen and the Duke issued forth, the air seemed actually rent with the +acclamations of the people, and a long line of waving hats and +handkerchiefs was seen all the way up the Rue St. Denis. + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 6: This fact is recorded in every account of the proceedings +of that day.] + +--------------------- + + +The same gratulations as before met the Duke on every side as he +passed along; the populace seemed absolutely inclined to worship him, +and many threw themselves upon their knees as he passed. He looked +round upon the dense mass of people, upon the crowded houses, upon the +waving hands; he heard from every tongue a welcome, at every step a +gratulation, and it was impossible for the heart of man not to feel at +that moment a pride and a confidence fit to bear him strongly on his +perilous way. + +All the way down the Rue St. Denis, and through every other street +that he passed, the same scene presented itself, the same acclamations +followed him, so that the shouts thundered in the ear of the King as +he sat in the Louvre. + +At length the Queen and those who accompanied her approached the +palace; and in the open space before it, which was at that time railed +off, was drawn up a long double line of guards, forming a lane through +which it was necessary to pass to the gates. The well-known Crillon, +celebrated for his determination and bravery, was at their head; and +the Duke of Guise, obliged to pause in order to suffer the chair of +the Queen-mother to pass on first, bowed to the commander, whom he +knew and respected. + +Crillon scarcely returned his salutation, but looked frowning along +the double row of his soldiery. The people, close by the railings, +watched every movement, and a murmur of something like apprehension +for their favourite ran through them as they watched these signs. But +not a moment's pause marked the slightest hesitation in the Duke of +Guise. With his head raised and his eyes flashing, he drew forward the +hilt of his unconquered sword ready for his hand, and holding the +scabbard in his left, strode after the chair of the Queen till the +gates of the Louvre closed upon him and his train. + +A number of officers and gentlemen were waiting in the vestibule to +receive the Queen-mother, who however gave her hand to the Duke of +Guise to assist her from her chair. On him they gazed with eyes of +wonder and of scrutiny, as if they would fain have discovered what +feelings were in the heart of one so hated and dreaded by the King, at +a moment when he stood with closed doors within a building filled with +his enemies, and surrounded by soldiers ready to massacre him at a +word. But the fire which the menacing look of Crillon had brought into +the eyes of the Duke had now passed away, and all was calm dignity and +easy though grave self-possession. The eye wandered not round the +hall; the lip, though not compressed, was firm and motionless, except +when he smiled in saluting some of those around whom he knew, or in +speaking a few words to the Queen-mother, whose dress had become +somewhat entangled with a mantle of sables which she had worn in the +chair. + +As soon as it was detached, one of the officers of the household said, +bowing low, "His Majesty has commanded me, Madam, to conduct you and +his Highness of Guise to the chamber of her Majesty the Queen, where +he waits your coming." And he led the way up the stairs of the Louvre +to the somewhat extraordinary audience chamber which the King had +selected. + +Henry, when the party entered, was sitting near the side of the bed, +surrounded by several of his officers, one of whom, Alphonzo d'Ornano +by name, whispered something over the King's shoulder with his eyes +fixed upon the Duke of Guise. + +The words, which were, "Do you hold him for your friend or your +enemy?" were spoken in such a tone as almost to reach the Duke +himself. The King did not reply, but looked up at the Duke with a +frown that was quite sufficient. + +"Speak but the word," said Ornano in a lower tone, "speak but the +word, and his head shall be at your feet in a minute." + +The King measured Ornano and the Duke of Guise with his eyes, then +shook his head with somewhat of a scornful smile; and then, looking up +to the Duke, who had by this time come near him, he said in a dull +heavy tone, "What brings you here, my cousin?" + +"My Lord," replied the Duke, "I have found it absolutely necessary to +present myself before your Majesty, in order to repel numerous +calumnies." + +"Stay, cousin of Guise," said the King; and turning to Bellievre, who +stood amongst the persons behind him, he demanded abruptly, "Did you +not tell me that he would not come to Paris?" + +"My Lord Duke," exclaimed Bellievre, not replying directly to the +King's question, but addressing the Duke, "did not your Highness +assure me that you would delay your journey till I returned?" + +"Yes, Monsieur de Bellievre," replied the Duke. "But you did not +return." + +"But I wrote you two letters, your Highness," replied Bellievre, +"reiterating his Majesty's commands for you not to come to Paris." + +"Those letters," replied the Duke of Guise, with a bitter smile, "like +some other letters which have been written to me upon important +occasions, have, from some cause, failed to reach my hands. +Nevertheless, Sire, believe me when I tell you, that my object in +coming is solely to prove to your Majesty that I am not guilty either +of the crimes or the designs which base and grasping men have laid to +my charge. Believe me, that after my devotion to God and our holy +religion, there is no one whom I am so anxious to serve zealously and +devotedly as your Majesty. This you will find ever, Sire, if you will +but give me the opportunity of rendering you any service." + +The King was about to reply, but the Queen-mother, who had advanced +and stood by his side, touched his arm saying, "You have not yet +spoken to me, my son." And the King turning towards her, she added +something in a low voice. The King replied in the same tone; and the +Duke of Guise, passing through the midst of the frowning faces ranged +around the royal seat, approached the Queen-consort, the mild and +unhappy Louisa, and addressed a few words to her of reverence and +respect which were gratifying to her ear. He then turned once more to +the King, who seemed to have heard what Catharine de Medici had +to say, and having given his reply, sat in moody silence. The +Queen-mother stood by with some degree of apprehension in her +countenance, as if feeling very doubtful still how the affair would +terminate. The brows of the courtiers were gloomy and undecided, and +the few followers of the Duke of Guise ranged at some distance from +the spot to which he had now advanced, kept their eyes fixed either on +him or on those surrounding the King, as if, at the least menacing +movement, they were ready to start forward in defence of their leader. + +The only one that was perfectly calm was Guise himself; but he, +retreading his steps till he stood opposite the King, again addressed +the Monarch saying, "I hope, Sire, that you will give me a full +opportunity of justifying myself." + +"Your conduct, cousin of Guise," replied the King, "must best justify +you for the past; and I shall judge by the event, of your intentions +for the future." + +"Let it be so," replied the Duke, "and such being the case, I will +humbly take my leave of your Majesty, wishing you, from my heart, +health and happiness." + +Thus saying he once more bowed low, and retired from the presence of +the King, followed by the gentlemen who had accompanied him. Not an +individual of the palace stirred a step to conduct him on his way, +though his rank, his services, his genius, and his vast renown, +rendered the piece of neglect they showed disgraceful to themselves +rather than injurious to him. He was accompanied from the gates of the +Louvre, however, and followed to the Hôtel de Guise, by an infinite +number of people, who ceased not for one moment to make the streets +ring with their acclamations. + +Nor were these by any means composed entirely of the lowest classes of +the people, the least respectable, or the least well-informed. On the +contrary, it must, alas! be said, that the great majority of all that +was good, upright, and noble in the city hailed his coming loudly as a +security and a safeguard. + +A number, an immense number, of the inferior nobility of the realm +were mingled with the crowd that followed him, or joined the acclaim +from the windows. The robes of the law were seen continually in the +dense multitude, and almost all the courts had there numbers of their +principal members; while the municipal officers of the city, with the +exception of two or three, were there in a mass, accompanied by a +large body of the most opulent and respectable merchants. + +Thus followed, the Duke of Guise proceeded to his hotel on foot as he +came, speaking from time to time with those who pressed near him with +that peculiar grace which won all hearts, and smiling with the +far-famed smile of his race, which was said never to fall upon any man +without making him feel as if he stood in the sunshine. + +Already collected on the steps of the Hôtel de Guise, at the news that +he was returning from the Louvre, was a group of the brightest, the +bravest, the most talented, and the most beautiful of the French +nobility,--Madame de Montpensier, Mademoiselle de St. Beuve, the +Chevalier d'Aumale, Brissac, and a thousand others. The servants and +attendants of his household in gorgeous dresses kept back the crowd +with courteous words and kindly gestures; and when he reached the +steps that led to the high doorway of the porter's lodge, on the right +of the porte cochère, he ascended a little way amongst his gratulating +friends, and then turned and bowed repeatedly to the people, pointing +out here and there some of the most popular of the citizens and +magistrates, and whispering a word to the nearest attendant, who +instantly made his way through the crowd to the spot where the +personage designated stood, and in his master's name requested that he +would come in and take some refreshment. + +When this was over, he again bowed and retired; and while the +multitude separated, he walked on into his lordly halls with a number +of persons clinging round him, whom he had not seen for months--for +months which to him had been full of activity, thought, care, and +peril, and to them of anxiety for the head of their race. + +As he passed along, however, to a chamber where the dinner which had +been prepared for him had remained untouched for many an hour, his eye +fell upon a boy dressed in the habit of one of his own pages; and +taking suddenly a step forward, he called the boy apart into a window, +demanding eagerly, "Well, have you found your master?" + +"I have, your Highness," replied the boy, "and have found means to +give him the letter?" + +"What!" exclaimed the Duke, "outwitted Villequier, and Pisani, and +all! The wit of a page against that of a politician for a thousand +crowns!" + +"I dressed myself as a girl, your Highness," replied the boy, "and got +into the convent, and then through a gate into what is called the +rector's court, where Doctor Botholph and the Curé live, and where men +are admitted, and women not shut out when they like to go in; and I +got talking to the old verger of the church by the side, and he called +me a pretty little fool, and said he dared to say I would soon be +among the penitents within there; and with that I got him to tell me +every thing, and the whole story of the young Count being brought +there at night, and shut up in what are called the rector's +apartments." + +As he spoke, one or two of the higher class of those whom the Duke had +selected from the crowd below, and who felt themselves privileged to +present themselves in his private apartments, entered the hall, and +instantly caught his eye. + +"I cannot speak with you more at present, Ignati," he said, "nor, +perhaps, during the whole day, for there is business of life and death +before me; but come to me while I am rising to-morrow, and only tell +me in the mean time where our poor Logères is, for I know not what +convent you mean." + +"He is in the rector's court," replied the boy, "close by the convent +of the Black Penitents, in the Rue St. Denis." + +"By my faith!" exclaimed the Duke in no slight surprise, "I have been +there this very day myself, and there the Queen-mother has made her +abode for the last ten days. She must be deceiving me; and yet, +perhaps, the mighty matters that occupied her mind when I saw her +might have made her forget all other things. However, Logères shall +not be long so fettered. Come to me to-morrow, Ignati; come to me +to-morrow, as I am rising; and in the mean time, if you can find some +means of giving the Count intimation that he is not forgotten, it were +all the better." + +"I will try, my Lord," replied the boy. And the Duke hurried on to +welcome his new guests, making them sit down at table with him, and +covering them with every sort of honour and distinction. + + + + + CHAP. XIII. + + +In our dealings with each other there is nothing which we so much +miscalculate as the ever varying value of time, and indeed it is but +too natural to look upon it as it seems to us, and not as it seems to +others. The slow idler on whose head it hangs heavy, holds the man of +business by the button, and remorselessly robs him on the king's +highway of a thing ten times more valuable than the purse that would +hang him if he took it. The man of action and of business whose days +seem but moments, forgets in his dealing with the long expecting +applicant, and the weary petitioner, that to them each moment is far +longer than his day. + +The hours, not one minute of which were unfilled to the Duke of Guise, +passed slowly over the head of Charles of Montsoreau, and it seemed as +if the brief gleam of happiness which had come across his path had but +tended to make the long solitary moments seem longer and more dreary; +in fact, to give full and painful effect to solitude and want of +liberty, and yet he would not have lost that gleam for all the world. + +He thought of it, he dwelt upon it, he called to mind each and every +particular; and, though it was crossed, as the memory of all such +brief meetings are, with the recollection of a thousand things which +he could have wished to have said, but which he had forgotten, and +also by many a speculation of a painful kind concerning the visit of +the Duke of Guise to the very place in which he was confined, without +the slightest effort being made for his liberation, yet it was a +consolation and a happiness and a joy to him--one of those blessings +which have been stamped by the past with the irrevocable seal of +enjoyment, which are our own, the unalienable jewels of our fate, held +for ever in the treasury of memory. + +Nothing occurred through the rest of the day to call his attention, or +to rouse his feelings. He heard the distant murmur, and the shouts of +the people from time to time; but the gates were now shut, and the +sounds dull, and all passed on evenly till darkness shut up the world. +In the mean time he knew--as if to make his state of imprisonment and +inactivity more intolerable--that busy actions were taking place +without, that his own fate was deciding by the hands of others, that +his happiness and that of Marie de Clairvaut formed but a small matter +in the great bulk of political affairs which were then being weighed +between the two angry parties in the capital, and might be tossed into +this scale or that, as accident, or convenience, or policy might +direct. + +Though he retired to rest as usual, he slept not, and ever and anon +when a sort of half slumber fell upon his eyes he started up, thinking +he heard some sound, a distant shout of the people, the tolling of a +bell, or the roll of some far off drum. Nothing however occurred, and +the night passed over as the day. + +In the grey of the morning, however, just when the slow creaking of a +gate, or the noise of footsteps here and there breaking the previous +stillness, told that the world was beginning to awake, a few sweet +notes suddenly met his ear like those of a musical instrument, and in +a moment after he heard the same air which the boy Ignati had played +with such exquisite skill just before he freed him from his Italian +masters. + +"A blessing be upon that boy," he cried, as he instantly recognised +not only the sounds but the touch. "He has come to tell me that I am +not forgotten." + +Suddenly, however, before the air was half concluded, the music +stopped, and voices were heard speaking, but not so loud that the +words could be distinguished. It seemed to the young Count, and seemed +truly, that some one had sent the boy away; but though he heard no +more, those very sounds had given him hope and comfort. + +Driven away by the old verger, who had now discovered the trick which +had been put upon him the day before, the boy returned with all speed +to the Hôtel de Guise, and, according to the Duke's order, presented +himself in his chamber at the hour of his rising. But the Duke was +already surrounded with people, all eager to speak with him on +different affairs, and his brow was evidently dark and clouded by some +news that he had just heard. + +"Send round," he was saying as the boy entered, "Send round speedily +to all the inns, and let those who are known for their fidelity be +informed that the doors of this hotel will never be shut against any +of those who have come to Paris for my service, or for that of the +church, as long as there is a chamber vacant within. And you, my good +Lords," he continued, turning to some of the gentlemen who surrounded +him, "I must call upon your hospitality, also, to provide lodging for +these poor friends of ours, whom this new and iniquitous proceeding of +the court is likely to drive from Paris. But stay, Bussi," he +continued, and his eye fell upon the page as he spoke; "you say you +saw the Prévôt des Marchands but a minute ago in the Rue d'Anvoye +seeking out the lodgers in the inns, and ordering them to quit Paris +immediately. Hasten down after him quickly, and tell him from Henry of +Guise that there is a very dangerous prisoner and a zealous servant of +the church lodged in the Rue St. Denis; that he had better drive him +forth also; and that, if he wants direction to the place where he +sojourns, one of my pages shall lead him thither. You may add, +moreover, that if he do not drive him forth, I will bring him forth +before the world be a day older." + +The Duke of Guise then took the pen from the ink which was standing +before him, and, though not yet half-dressed, wrote hastily the few +following words to the Queen-mother:-- + + +"Madam, + +"I am informed, on authority which I cannot doubt, that my friend, the +young Count de Logères, is at present in your hands, kept under +restraint in the Rue St. Denis, after having been arrested in the +execution of business with which I charged him, while bearing a +passport from the King. I beseech you to set him immediately at +liberty, and also at once to order that my niece and ward, +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, be brought to the Hôtel de Guise without an +hour's delay. Let me protest to your Majesty that you have not a more +faithful and devoted servant than + + "Henry of Guise." + + +"I will not send this by you, Ignati," said the Duke; "they would +laugh at a boy. Here, Mestroit, bear this to the Queen-mother. +Say I cast myself at her feet; and bring me back an answer without +delay.--Why, how now, St. Paul!" he continued, turning to a gentleman +who had just entered. "Your brow is as dark as a thunder-cloud. What +has happened now? Shall we be obliged to make our hotel our fortress, +and defend it to the last, like gallant men?" + +"Not so, my Lord," replied the Count of St. Paul; "not near so bad as +that: but still these are times that make men look thoughtful; and, +depend upon it, the King, aided by his minions and the Politics[7], is +seeking to inclose your Highness, as it were in a net." + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 7: That party was so called which affected to hold the +balance between the Court and the League, without giving countenance +to the Huguenots.] + +--------------------- + + +"We will break through, St. Paul! We will break through!" replied the +Duke with a smile. "But what are your tidings?" + +"Why, that orders have been sent to the Swiss to come up from Corbeil, +as well as those from Meulan and Château Thierry; also the companies +of French guards from every quarter in the neighbourhood are called +for, and I myself saw come in, by the Faubourg St. Germain, a body of +two hundred horse, which, upon inquiry, I found to be a new levy from +some place in the South, led by a young Marquis of Montsoreau, whose +name I never heard of before." + +"Whenever you hear it again, St. Paul," replied the Duke sternly, +"couple with it the word 'Traitor!' and you will do him justice. But +what force is it said they are bringing into Paris? What stay you for, +Mestroit?" he continued, seeing that the gentleman to whom he had +given the letter had not taken his departure. "What stay you for? I +would have had you there now. Go with all speed! There are horses +enough saddled in the court. I would give a thousand crowns that +letter should be in the Queen's hand before this youth's coming is +known to her. It may save us much trouble hereafter. Fail not to bring +me an answer quick. Now, St. Paul, how many men say you on your best +judgment are they bringing into Paris?" + +"Why, your Highness," replied the Count, "some say ten thousand; but, +to judge more moderately from what I hear, the moment your Highness's +arrival in Paris was known, orders were sent for the march of full +seven thousand men." + +"We must be very formidable creatures, Brissac," cried the Duke, "that +my coming with seven of you should need seven thousand men to meet us. +On my soul, they will make me think myself a giant. I always thought I +was a tall man--some six foot three, I believe--but, by Heavens! I +must be a Gargantua, indeed, to need seven thousand men to hold me. +Seven thousand men!" he added thoughtfully: "he has not got them, St. +Paul. There are not five thousand within fifty miles of Paris, unless +Epernon and Villequier have contrived to raise more of such +Montsoreaus against us. However, we must have eyes in all quarters. +Send out parties to watch the coming of the troops and give us their +numbers. Let some one speak to the inferior officers of the French +guards, and remind them that the Duke of Guise and the Holy League are +only striving for the maintenance of the true faith, and for the +overthrow of those minions who have swallowed up all the honours and +favours of the crown. It were well also, Brissac, that a good watch +was kept upon the proceedings in the city. I can trust, methinks, to +The Sixteen to do all that is necessary in their different quarters, +and to make full reports of all that takes place; but still a military +eye were as well here and there, from time to time, Brissac, and I +will trust that to you." + +The rest of the morning passed in the same incessant activity with +which it had begun; tidings were constantly brought in from all parts +of the town and the country round concerning every movement on the +part of the court; and the hotel of the Duc de Guise was literally +besieged by his followers and partisans. Train after train of noblemen +and officers, of lawyers and citizens, followed each other during the +whole day, each bringing him information, or claiming audience on some +account. Nor were the clergy less numerous; for scarce a parish in the +capital but sent forth, in the course of that day, its train of +priests and monks to congratulate him on his arrival, or to beseech +him to hold up the tottering church of France with a strong hand. + +At the same time, the order which had been given by the King in the +morning, for every stranger not domiciled in Paris to quit it within +six hours, and the proceedings of the Prévôt des Marchands to execute +that order had--by driving out of the inns and taverns the multitudes +of the Duke's partisans who had followed him in scattered bodies into +Paris--now filled the Hôtel de Guise with all those of the higher +classes who were thus expelled. The houses of other members of the +faction received the rest. But the stables of the hotel were all +filled to the doors; the great court itself could scarcely be crossed, +on account of the number of horses; and more than once the street +became impassable from the multitude of carriages, chairs, horses, and +attendants, who were waiting while their masters conferred with the +Duke. + +It was near mid-day when the gentleman who had been dispatched to +Catharine de Medici again presented himself; and the Duke demanded, +somewhat impatiently, what had detained him so long. + +"It was the Queen-mother, your Highness," replied Mestroit. "More than +an hour passed before I could obtain an audience; and when I was +admitted to present your Highness's letter, I found Monsieur de +Villequier with her." + +"Did she show the letter to that son of Satan?" demanded the Duke. + +"No, sir," replied the other; "on the contrary, she seemed not to wish +that he should see it, for she kept it tight in her hand after she had +read it, and told me to wait a moment, that she would give me an +answer directly." + +"I would sooner unriddle the enigma of the sphynx," said the Duke, +"than I would say from what motive any one of that woman's acts +proceed; and yet she has a great mind, and a heart not altogether so +vicious as it seems. What happened then, Mestroit?" + +"Why, my Lord, Villequier seemed anxious to know what the letter +contained, and I saw his head a little raised, and his eyes turned +quietly towards it while she was reading, as I have seen a cat regard +a mouse-hole towards which she was stealing upon tiptoes; and he +lingered long, and seem inclined to stay. The Queen, however, begged +him not to forget the orders she had given, but to execute them +instantly; and then he went away. When he was gone, the Queen again +read your Highness's letter, and replied at first, 'The Duke asks what +is not in my power. Tell my noble cousin of Guise that he has been +misinformed; that I hold none of his friends in my power--' Then, +after a moment, she bade me wait, and she would see what persuasion +would do?" + +"She must not think to deceive me!" replied the Duke of Guise. "But +what more?" + +"She went away," replied the gentleman, "and was absent for full two +hours, leaving me there alone, with nothing to amuse me but the pages +and serving women that came and looked at me from time to time as at a +tiger in a cage. At length she came back, and bade me tell your +Highness these exact words: 'My cousin has been misinformed. I have +none of his people in my hands, or in my power. The Count of Logères, +however, shall be set free before eight and forty hours are over. He +may be set free to-morrow; but by leaving him for a few hours more +where he is, I trust to accomplish for the Duke that which he demands +concerning his ward, although I have no power whatever in the matter." + +"There is nothing upon earth," said the Duke thoughtfully, "so +convenient as to have the reality without the name of power. We have +the pleasure without the reproach! Catharine de Medici has not the +power!--Who then has?--I may have the power also, it is true, to right +myself and those who attach themselves to me; and in this instance I +will use it. But still it were better to wait the time she states; for +I know her fair Majesty well, and she never yields any thing without a +delay, to make what she grants seem more important:--and yet, the day +after to-morrow--the day after to-morrow--who shall say what may be, +ere the day after to-morrow comes? This head may be lowly in the dust +ere then." + +"Or circled with the crown of France," said the Count de St. Paul. + +"God forbid!" exclaimed the Duke earnestly. If I thought that it would +ever produce a scheme to wrest the sceptre from the line that +rightfully holds it, I would bear it to-morrow to the foot of the +throne, myself, as my own accuser. No, no! bad kings may die or be +deposed: but there is still some one on whose brow the crown descends +by right. And let him have it. + +"The Cardinal of Bourbon, your Highness," said an attendant entering, +"has just arrived from Soissons. His Eminence is upon the stairs coming +up." + +A smile played over the lips of most of the persons present at such an +announcement at that moment, for every one well knew that it was to +the old Cardinal de Bourbon that the party of the League looked, as +the successor to the crown on the death of Henry III., to the +exclusion of the direct line of Navarre, held to be incapable of +succeeding on account of religion. The Duke, however, advanced +immediately with open arms to meet the Cardinal, and many hours were +passed in long conferences between them and the principal officers and +supporters of the League. + +At the end of that time, however, towards seven o'clock, a message was +brought into the room where they were in consultation, from Monsieur +de Sainctyon, a well-known adherent of the League, begging earnestly +to speak with the Duke upon matters of deep importance. On the Duke +going out, he found the worthy Leaguer in a state of great excitement +and agitation. + +"My Lord," he said, as soon as Guise appeared in the room where he had +been left alone, "I fear that they are busily labouring, at the +palace, for the destruction of your Highness and of the Holy League." + +"How so, Monsieur de Sainctyon?" demanded the Duke, who entertained +doubts, it seems, of the Leaguer's sincerity, which were never wholly +removed. "Some of my friends have just returned from the palace, who +tell me that all is as still and quite as the inside of a vault." + +"They told your Highness also, I hope," said the Leaguer, "that they +had trebled the guard, both Swiss and French." + +"Yes, I was informed of that," replied the Duke. "But that shows fear, +not daring, Monsieur de Sainctyon." + +"Perhaps so, my Lord," replied Sainctyon, who was one of the échevins, +or sheriffs of the town; "but perhaps not. However, what I have now to +tell, shows more daring than fear. We were summoned this afternoon at +five o'clock to the Hôtel de Ville, where we found not only Pereuse, +the Prévôt, and Le Comte, who is worse than a Politic, and half a +Huguenot, but the Marquis d'O----" + +"Who is worse," said the Duke of Guise, "than minion, or Politic, or +Huguenot, or reiter, equally foul in his debaucheries and his +peculations; equally impudent in his vices and his follies; fit +son-in-law of Villequier; well-chosen master of the wardrobe to the +King of France! Who was there besides, Monsieur de Sainctyon? Some +expedient infamy was of course to be committed, otherwise d'O---- +would not have been there." + +"There were a number of captains and colonels of the different +quarters," replied Sainctyon, well pleased to see that the Duke now +felt the importance of his intelligence, "and the Prévôt and Le Comte +began to speak what seemed to me at first simple nonsense, in a +confused way, saying, that it was necessary to keep guard in a very +different manner in Paris from that which we were accustomed to use, +for that your coming had excited the minds of the people, and that +there was hourly danger of a revolt, and that it would be better for +all the captains to meet with their companies together in some +particular place, in order to see to the matter. But I replied, that +nothing could be more dangerous than that which was proposed, for that +the companies of armed citizens would be much better as usual, each in +its separate quarter, taking care of that quarter, rather than meeting +altogether in one large body of armed men, which was likely to cause a +tumult immediately. A number of the other colonels cried out the same +thing; but then Monsieur d'O---- cut us all short, saying, 'Give me +none of your reasons, gentlemen. What the Prévôt has stated to you is +the will of the King, and he _must_ be obeyed. The place of your +meeting is the Cemetery of the Innocents, and there you are all +expected to be with your companies at nine o'clock this evening.' Now, +my Lord, I have come to your Highness, by the authority of all the +other colonels in whom we can trust, for counsel and direction in this +business, assuring you that we have heard it is the intention of the +Court to pick out from amongst us thus assembled six or seven of your +most zealous friends and supporters, and execute them early to-morrow +in the Place de Grève." + +The Duke paused and thought for a moment ere he replied; but he then +said, "I thank you most sincerely, Monsieur de Sainctyon, for the +intelligence you have brought me. You are mistaken, however, with +regard to what are the intentions of the Court, as you will see in one +moment. The large body of men in arms which you will have with you +when all assembled together, trebles the number of any force in Paris, +so that the least attempt to do you wrong at that moment would be a +signal for the overthrow of the monarchy. On the contrary, Monsieur de +Sainctyon, I believe the thus calling you together in one place has +solely for its object to remove you from the quarters where your +presence would be useful in opposition to the iniquitous proceedings +of your enemies. To arrest somebody--perhaps myself--is doubtless the +object of these persons; and if you would follow my advice, the course +you pursue would be this,--to meet as you have been ordered by the +King, having first communicated all the facts to the persons under +your command whom you can trust. Some one will come to bring you +farther orders, depend upon it; find out what those orders are, and +let them instantly be communicated to me; but on no account or +consideration suffer yourselves to be kept together in one place. On +the contrary, as soon as you have discovered as far as possible what +the designs of your enemies are, lead your companies to their +different quarters, or wherever you may think best to station them. If +you want any farther assistance, send hither; and I will dispatch +experienced officers to take counsel with you as to what is to be +done. I hope your opinion coincides with mine, Monsieur de Sainctyon." + +"Your words always carry conviction with them, my Lord," replied the +sheriff; "and I will instantly proceed to obey you." + +Thus saying he took his leave, and quitted the Duke, hastening with +the rest of the officers of the city to arm himself cap-a-pie, and +present himself with the burgher guard in the Cemetery of the +Innocents at the appointed hour. When that hour arrived, every thing +through the rest of the city was dark and silent, and but little light +shone from the dim lanterns round the Cemetery upon the dark masses of +armed men that now surrounded it. The officers commanding them looked +in each other's faces, as if expecting that some one amongst them had +orders in regard to what they were farther to do, but for several +minutes no one announced himself as empowered to direct them, and they +had even proposed to separate, when the sheriff Le Comte arrived on +horseback at great haste from the side of the Louvre. Having called +the colonels of the quarters together he said, "The King, having been +informed that this night an enterprise is to be undertaken against his +authority by his enemies, trusts entirely to his citizens of Paris for +the defence of the capital, and consequently commands you, in order to +have a strong point of resistance, to occupy this Cemetery, of which I +have here the keys, till to-morrow morning. All the gates will be shut +except one wicket, and in a very short time the Marquis de Beauvais +Nangis, an experienced officer, will be sent down by the King to +command you."[8] + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 8: This most absurd and impudent proposal would scarcely be +credited, were it not to be found in the _Histoire très veritable, +&c_., written by Sainctyon himself, and published by Michel Jouin in +the very year 1588.] + +--------------------- + + +A murmur ran through the officers and through the men, who, as Le +Comte spoke loud, heard every word that passed; but an old captain of +one of the quarters burst forth, a moment after, exclaiming, "What, +shut myself up there, as if in a prison? They must think me mad! Not +I, indeed, for any of them! I have nothing to do with you, Monsieur le +Comte, nor with any of you, except with the inhabitants of my own +quarter, and there I shall go directly. Those may go and shut +themselves up with you that like. Come, my men; march! Who gave +Beauvais Nangis a right to command me, I should like to know? Not the +citizens of Paris, I'm sure: so those may obey him that like him." And +putting himself at the head of his men, he marched out, followed by +almost all the other companies except one or two, who suffered +themselves to be persuaded to enter into the Cemetery, where they were +locked up by Le Compte, to await whatever fate might befall them. + +In the mean time the other officers of the burgher guard held a +consultation together, and determined, instead of proceeding +immediately to their different quarters to occupy the principal points +of the city, where they fancied that attempts might be made upon the +life or liberty of the chiefs of the League. The avenues to the Hôtel +de Guise were strongly guarded, the Rue St. Denis was patrolled by a +large party, two companies occupied the Rue St. Honoré, and the +utility of these precautions was strongly demonstrated ere they had +been long taken. + +Before midnight the sound of horses was heard by the two companies in +the Rue St. Honoré, and in a moment after appeared the Marquis +d'O----, with as many horse arquebusiers as could be spared from the +palace. The citizens stood to their arms and barred the way, and +d'O----, never very famous for his courage, demanded, in evident +trepidation and surprise, what they did there, when they had been +ordered to be in the Cemetery of the Innocents? + +"We came here to do our duty to our fellow-citizens," replied the same +old captain who had spoken before, "and to guard our houses and our +property, for which purpose we are enrolled." + +"Well, well, you are right," replied the Marquis, evidently confounded +and undecided; and turning his horse's rein he rode back by the same +way he came, showing evidently that he had been bound upon some +attempt which had been frustrated. + +About the same time the party in the Rue St. Denis had been drawn +towards the further end by the noise of horses and the light of +torches; and on advancing they found a number of men on horseback, and +a vacant carriage, with two lights before it, just halting at the +Convent of the Black Penitents. The good citizens, however, were in an +active and interfering mood, and they determined to inquire into an +occurrence which otherwise would have passed over without the +slightest notice. The horsemen, however, did not wait for many +questions; but, evidently as much surprised and embarrassed as the +Marquis d'O----, turned their horses' heads, and made the best of +their way out of the street. + + + + END OF THE SECOND VOLUME. + + + + + + London: + Printed by A. Spottiswoode, + New-Street-Square. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3), by +G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY OF GUISE; (VOL. II OF 3) *** + +***** This file should be named 39412-8.txt or 39412-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/4/1/39412/ + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the +Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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Vol. II.</title> +<meta name="Author" content="G. P. R. James"> + +<meta name="Publisher" content="Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longmans"> +<meta name="Date" content="1839"> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> +<style type="text/css"> +body {margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; background-color:#FFFFFF;} + + +p.normal {text-indent:.25in; text-align: justify;} +.center {margin: auto; text-align:center; margin-top:24pt; margin-bottom:24pt} + + +p.right {text-align:right; margin-right:20%;} + +p.continue {text-indent: 0in; margin-top:9pt;} +.text10 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:10%; margin-right:0px; font-size:90%;} +.text20 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:20%; margin-right:0px; font-size:90%;} + + +.poem0 { + margin-top: 24pt; margin-left: 0%; + margin-right: 0%; text-align: left; + margin-bottom: 24pt; font-size:90%} + +.poem1 { + margin-top: 24pt; margin-left: 2em; + margin-right: 10%; text-align: left; + margin-bottom: 24pt; font-size:90%} + +.poem2 { + margin-top: 24pt; margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; text-align: left; + margin-bottom: 24pt; font-size:90%} + +.poem3 { + margin-top: 24pt; margin-left: 30%; + margin-right: 30%; text-align: left; + margin-bottom: 24pt; font-size:90%} + + + + + +figcenter {margin:auto; text-align:center; margin-top:9pt;} + +.t0 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0em; margin-right:0px;} +.t1 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:1em; margin-right:0px;} +.t2 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0px;} +.t3 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:3em; margin-right:0px;} +.t4 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:4em; margin-right:0px;} +.t5 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:5em; margin-right:0px;} +.t6 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:6em; margin-right:0px;} +.t7 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:7em; margin-right:0px;} +.t8 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:8em; margin-right:0px;} +.t9 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:9em; margin-right:0px;} +.t10 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:10em; margin-right:0px;} +.t11 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:11em; margin-right:0px;} +.t12 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:12em; margin-right:0px;} +.t13 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:13em; margin-right:0px;} +.t14 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:14em; margin-right:0px;} +.t15 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:15em; margin-right:0px;} +.t16 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:16em; margin-right:0px;} + + +.quote {text-indent:.25in; text-align: justify; font-size:90%; margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:36pt} +.ctrquote {text-align: center; font-size:90%; margin-top:36pt; margin-bottom:36pt} + +.dateline {text-align:right; font-size:90%; margin-right:10%; margin-top:24pt; margin-bottom:24pt} + +h1,h2,h3,h4,h5 {text-align: center;} + +span.sc {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:110%;} +span.sc2 {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:90%;} + +hr.W10 {width:10%; color:black; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt} + +hr.W20 {width:20%; color:black; margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt} + +hr.W50 {width:50%; color:black;} +hr.W90 {width:90%; color:black;} + +p.hang1 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:-3em;} +p.hang2 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:0em;} + + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3), by +G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +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: Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3) + or, The States of Blois + +Author: G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +Release Date: April 9, 2012 [EBook #39412] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY OF GUISE; (VOL. II OF 3) *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the +Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<p class="hang1">Transcriber's Notes:<br> +<br> +1. Page scan source:<br> +<br> +http://archive.org/details/henryofguiseorst02jame<br> +(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)<br> +<br> +2. Table of Contents added by transcriber.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>HENRY OF GUISE;</h1> +<br> +<h5>OR,</h5> +<br> +<h2>THE STATES OF BLOIS.</h2> +<br> +<h2>VOL. II.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h5>London:<br> +Printed by A. Spottiswoode,<br> +New-Street-Square</h5> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>HENRY OF GUISE</h1> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h5>OR,</h5> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2>THE STATES OF BLOIS.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h5>BY</h5> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2>G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ.</h2> + +<h5>AUTHOR OF<br> + +"THE ROBBER," "THE GENTLEMAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL,"<br> +ETC. ETC. ETC.</h5> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h4>IN THREE VOLUMES.</h4> +<br> +<h3>VOL. II.</h3> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>LONDON:</h3> + +<h5>PRINTED FOR</h5> +<h4>LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, & LONGMANS,</h4> +<h5>PATERNOSTER-ROW.</h5> + +<h3>1839.</h3> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<br> + +<h4><a name="div1Ref_01" href="#div1_01">CHAPTER I.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_02" href="#div1_02">CHAPTER II.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_03" href="#div1_03">CHAPTER III.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_04" href="#div1_04">CHAPTER IV.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_05" href="#div1_05">CHAPTER V.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_06" href="#div1_06">CHAPTER VI.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_07" href="#div1_07">CHAPTER VII.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_08" href="#div1_08">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h4> + +<h4><a name="div1Ref_09" href="#div1_09">CHAPTER IX.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_10" href="#div1_10">CHAPTER X.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_11" href="#div1_11">CHAPTER XI.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_12" href="#div1_12">CHAPTER XII.</a></h4> +<h4><a name="div1Ref_13" href="#div1_13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h4> + + + +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>HENRY OF GUISE;</h1> +<br> +<h5>OR,</h5> +<br> +<h2>THE STATES OF BLOIS.</h2> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_01" href="#div1Ref_01">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">All was bustle round the door of the little inn of Montigny; twenty or +thirty horses employed the hands and attention of as many grooms and +stable-boys; and while they put their heads together, and talked over +the perfections or imperfections of the beasts they held, sixty or +seventy respectable citizens, the great cloth merchant, and the +wholesale dealer in millstones, the curé of the little town, the +bailiff of the high-justiciary, the ironmonger, the grocer, and the +butcher, stood in knots on the outside, discussing more important +particulars than the appearance of the horses. The sign of the inn was +the <i>Croix de Lorraine</i>, and the name of the Duke of Guise was +frequently heard mingling in the conversation of the people round the +door.</p> + +<p class="normal">"A great pity," cries one, "that his Highness does not stay here the +night."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Some say that the King's troops are pursuing him," replied another.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Sure enough he came at full speed," said a third; "but I heard his +people talk about the reiters."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, we would protect him against the reiters," cried one of the bold +citizens of Montigny.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Well," said another, "if he be likely to bring the reiters upon us, I +think his Highness very wise to go. How could we defend an open town? +and he has not twenty men behind him."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I will tell you something, my masters," said another, with an air of +importance, and a low bow:--"When my boy was over towards Montreuil +to-night, he heard a report of the reiters having been defeated near +Gandelu."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, nonsense!" replied the courageous burgher; "who should defeat +them if the Duke was not there?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"But hark!" cried another, "I hear trumpets, as I live. Now, if these +should be the King's troops we will defend the Duke at the peril of +our lives. But let us look out and see."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Come up to my windows," cried one.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Go up the tower of the church," said the curé.</p> + +<p class="normal">But another remarked that the sounds did not come from the side of +Paris; and, in a minute or two after, a well-dressed citizen like +themselves rode gaily in amongst them, jumped from his horse, threw up +his cap in the air, and exclaimed, "Long life to the Duke of Guise! +The reiters have been cut to pieces!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"What is that you say, young man?" exclaimed a voice from one of the +windows of the inn above; and looking up, the citizen saw a young and +gay-looking man sitting in the open casement, and leaning out with his +arm round the iron bar that ran up the centre.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I said, my Lord," replied the man, "that the reiters have been cut to +pieces, and I saw the troops that defeated them bring in the wounded +and prisoners last night into La Ferté."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Ventre bleu! This is news indeed," cried the other; and instantly +turning, he quitted the window and advanced into the room.</p> + +<p class="normal">While this conversation had been going on without, a quick conference +had been going on between the personages whose horses were held +without. The chamber in which they were assembled was an upstairs' +room, with two beds in two several corners, and a table in the midst +covered with a clean white table-cloth, and ornamented in the centre +with a mustard-pot, a salt-seller, and a small bottle of vinegar, +while four or five spoons were ranged around.</p> + +<p class="normal">At the side of the table appeared the Duke of Guise, dining with as +good an appetite off a large piece of unsalted boiled beef, as off any +of the fine stews and salmis of his cook Maître Lanecque. Five or six +other gentlemen were around, diligently employed in the same +occupation; and one who had finished two bowls of soup at a place +where they had previously stopped, now declaring that he had no +appetite, had taken his seat in the window. The servants of the Duke +and of his companions were at dinner below, and the landlord himself +was excluded from the room, that dining and consultation might go on +at the same time.</p> + +<p class="normal">"It is most unfortunate," said the Duke of Guise, as soon as he had +seated himself at the table, "it is most unfortunate that this youth +has not kept his word with me. Our horses and men are both fatigued to +death; and yet, after what happened the other day at Mareuil, it would +be madness to remain here all night with only twenty horsemen."</p> + +<p class="normal">"You have got timid, fair cousin," replied one of the gentlemen +present. "We shall have you wrapping yourself up in a velvet gown, and +setting up a conférrie, in imitation of our excellent, noble, and +manly king."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke w as habitually rash enough to be justified in laughing at +the charge, and he replied, "It is on your account, my pretty cousin, +that I fear the most. You know what the reiters have sworn to do with +you, if they catch you."</p> + +<p class="normal">"It is most unfortunate indeed," said an older and a graver man; "most +unfortunate, that this Count de Logères should have deceived you. It +might have been better, perhaps, to trust to some more tried and +experienced friend."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, you do him wrong, Laval; you do him wrong," replied the Duke. "It +is neither want of faith or good will, I can be sworn. Some accident, +such as may happen to any of us, has detained him. I am very anxious +about him, and somewhat reproach myself for having made him march with +only half his numbers. Had his whole band been with him, he might have +made head against the reiters, if he met with them. But now he has +less than half their reputed number. Nevertheless," he continued, "his +absence is, as you say, most unfortunate; for--with these Germans on +our left, and the movements of Henry's Swiss upon our right--they +might catch us as the Gascons do wild ducks, in the net, through the +meshes of which we have been foolish enough to thrust our own heads. I +pray thee, Brissac, go down to mine host of the house, and gather +together some of the notable men of the place, to see if we cannot by +any means purchase horses to carry us on. Who are you speaking to, +Aumale?" he continued, raising his voice, and addressing the youth who +sat in the window.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Good news, good news!" cried the young man springing down, and coming +forward into the room. "The reiters have been cut to pieces near +Gandelu. There is a fellow below who has seen the victorious troops, +and the wounded and the prisoners."</p> + +<p class="normal">"My young falcon for a thousand crowns!" cried the Duke of Guise. "If +that be the case, we shall soon hear more of him. Hark! are not those +trumpets? Yet go out, Brissac; go out. We must not suffer ourselves to +be surprised whatever we do. Aumale, have the horses ready. If they +should prove the Swiss, we must march out at the one gate while they +march in at the other."</p> + +<p class="normal">But at that moment Brissac, who had run down at a word, and was by +this time in the street, held up his hand to one of the others who was +looking out of the window, exclaiming, "Crosses of Lorraine, crosses +of Lorraine! A gallant body of some fifty spears; but all crosses of +Lorraine.--Ay, and I can see the arms of Montsoreau and Logères! All +is right, tell the Duke; all is right!" And thus saying he advanced +along the street to meet the troops that were approaching.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke of Guise, who had risen from the table, seated himself again +quietly, drew a deep breath as a man relieved from some embarrassment, +and filling the glass that stood beside him, half full of the good +small wine of Beaugency, rested his head upon his hand, and remained +in thought for several minutes.</p> + +<p class="normal">While he remained in this meditative mood the sounds of the trumpets +became louder and louder; the trampling of horses' feet were heard +before the inn, and then was given, in a loud tone, the order to halt. +Several of the companions of the Duke had gone down stairs to witness +the arrival of the troops, and in a minute or two after, feet were +heard coming up, and the Duke turned his head to welcome the young +Count on his arrival. He was somewhat surprised, however, to see an +old white-headed man, who had doffed his steel cap to enter the Duke's +presence, come in between Brissac and Laval, and make him a low +inclination of the head.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Who are you, my good friend?" demanded the Duke. "And where is the +young Count of Logères?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know not, your Highness," replied the other. "I am the Count's +seneschal, and expected to find him here. He set off four days ago +with one half of his men, commanding me to join him at Montigny with +the rest, as soon as their arms arrived from Rhetel. They came sooner +than we expected, so I followed him the day after."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Then is it to you, my worthy old friend," said the Duke, "that the +country is obliged for the defeat of this band of marauders?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, your Highness," replied the old man bluntly. "I have not had the +good fortune to meet with any thing to defeat, though, indeed, we +heard of something of the kind this morning as we passed by +Grisolles."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I hope the news is true," said the Duke; "I have heard of many a +victory in my day, where it turned out that the victors were +vanquished; and I hear that these reiters numbered from a hundred to a +hundred and fifty men. How many had your Lord with him, good +seneschal?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"He had fifty-one men at arms," replied the old soldier, "besides some +lackeys and a page; and some men leading horses with the baggage he +could not do without."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I shall not be easy till I hear more of him," said the Duke, walking +up and down the room. "However, your coming, good seneschal, will +enable us to make good this place against any force that may be +brought against it. Quick, send me up the aubergiste. We must despatch +some one to bring us in intelligence: and now, good seneschal, rest +and refresh your horses, get your men some food, and have every thing +ready to put foot in stirrup again at a moment's notice; for if we +find that your Lord has fallen into the hands of these reiters, we +must mount to deliver him. Let their numbers be what they may, Henry +of Guise cannot make up his mind to leave a noble friend in the hands +of the foemen."</p> + +<p class="normal">"We are all ready this minute, my Lord," replied the old seneschal. +"There is not a man of Logères who is not ready to ride forty miles, +and fight two reiters this very night in defence of his Lord."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The old cock's not behind the young one," said the Chevalier d'Aumale +to Brissac. But the Duke of Guise overruled the zealous eagerness of +the old soldier; and as soon as the aubergiste appeared, directed him +to send off a boy in the direction of Montreuil and La Ferté, in order +to gain intelligence of the movements of the Count de Logères, and to +ascertain whether the report of the defeat of the reiters was correct +or not. His own horses he ordered now to be unsaddled, and casting off +his corselet, gave himself up to repose for the evening.</p> + +<p class="normal">During the next hour, or hour and a half, manifold were the reports +which reached the town concerning the conflict which had taken place +between the Count of Logères and the reiters on the preceding evening. +All sorts of stories were told: every peasant that brought in a basket +of apples had his own version of the affair; and the accounts were the +most opposite, as well as the most various. The Duke of Guise, +however, was too much accustomed to sifting the various rumours of the +day, not to be able to glean some true information from the midst of +these conflicting statements. It seemed clear to him that the reiters +had been defeated, and without having any very certain cause for his +belief, he felt convinced that Charles of Montsoreau was already upon +his way towards Montigny.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Come," he added, after expressing these opinions to the Chevalier +d'Aumale, "we must at least give our young champion a good meal on his +arrival. See to it, Brissac; see to it. You, who are a connoisseur in +such things, deal with our worthy landlord of the Cross, and see if he +cannot procure something for supper more dainty than he gave us for +dinner."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The poor man was taken by surprise," replied Brissac; "but since he +heard that you were to remain here, there has been such a cackling and +screaming in the court-yard, and such a riot in the dovecote, that I +doubt not all the luxuries of Montigny will be poured forth this night +upon the table."</p> + +<p class="normal">In less than an hour after this order was given, the arrival of fresh +horses was heard; and Laval, who went to the window, announced, that +as well as he could see through the increasing darkness, for it was +now night, this new party consisted only of five or six persons. In a +few minutes, however, the door was thrown open by the aubergiste, and +Charles of Montsoreau himself appeared, dusty with the march, and with +but few traces of triumph or satisfaction on his countenance.</p> + +<p class="normal">"What, my young hero!" cried the Duke, rising and taking him by the +hand; "you look as gloomy as if you had suffered a defeat, rather than +gained a victory. Are the tidings which we have heard not true then, +or are they exaggerated? If you have even brought off your forces safe +from the reiters, that is a great thing, so overmatched as you were."</p> + +<p class="normal">"It is not that, your Highness," replied Charles of Montsoreau: "the +numbers were not very disproportionate, but the reiters have certainly +suffered a complete rout, and I do not think that they will ever meet +in a body again. They lost a good many men on the field, and I fear +the peasantry have murdered all the wounded."</p> + +<p class="normal">"So much the better," cried the Chevalier d'Aumale; "so much the +better. One could have done nothing with them but hang them."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I fear then," said the Duke of Guise, addressing the Count, "I fear +then that your own loss has been severe by the gloominess of your +countenance, Logères."</p> + +<p class="normal">"There are a good many severely wounded, sir," replied the Count; "but +very few killed. This, however, is not the cause of my vexation, which +I must explain to your Highness alone. I have, however, to apologise +to you for not being here last night, as I fully intended. I did not +go to seek the reiters, but fell in with them accidentally, and after +the skirmish I was forced to turn towards La Ferté instead of coming +here, in order to get surgeons to my wounded men. I find, however, +sir," he continued, "that my good old seneschal has made more speed +than his master, and has arrived here with his band before me. I must +go and take order for the comfort of my people, and prepare lodging +for the rest who are coming up, for I rode on at all speed as soon as +I met with the messenger whom you had sent out to seek me. After that +I will return and crave a few minutes' audience of your Grace alone."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Come back to supper, dear friend," replied the Duke; "we must let our +gay friends now sup with us; but then we will drive them to their +beds, and hold solitary council together, and be not long Logères, for +you need both refreshment and repose."</p> + +<p class="normal">When the young Count returned to the apartments of the Duke, after he +had seen the rest of his troop arrive, and had taken every measure to +secure the comfort of the men under his command, he found that Prince +standing in one of the deep windows speaking in a low tone with the +page Ignati, while his own officers were gathered together in the +window on the other side.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke instantly took him by the hand as he approached, and said in +a low but kindly tone, "You see I have been questioning the spy I set +upon you, Logères, and he has let me into a number of your secrets; +but you must not be angry with him on that account, for Henry of Guise +will not abuse the trust. Come, let us sit down to table, and we will +afterwards find an opportunity of talking over all these affairs. You +have acted nobly and gallantly, my young friend, and have served your +country while you benefited me. For your brother's conduct you are not +responsible: but I think this morning's events, if the boy speaks +correctly, must bar your tongue from speaking his praises for the +future."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed, my Lord," exclaimed the young Count, "my brother may----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Hush! hush!" cried the Duke. "There is nothing sits so ill upon the +lips of a noble-hearted man as an excuse for bad actions, either in +himself or others. It is false generosity, Charles of Montsoreau, to +say the least of it. But let us to table. Come, Aumale. See! our good +Aubergiste looks reproachfully at you for letting his fragrant ragouts +grow cold. Come, we will to meat, gentlemen. Sit down, sit down, We +will have no ceremony here at the Cross of Lorraine."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus saying, the Duke seated himself at table, and the rest took their +places around. The supper proved better than had been expected, and +wine and good appetites supplied the place of all deficiencies. The +Chevalier d'Aumale indeed had every now and then a light jest at some +of the various dishes: he declared that a certain capon had blunted +his dagger, and asked Charles of Montsoreau whether it was not tougher +than a veteran reiter. He declared that a matelote d'anguille which +was placed before him, had a strong flavour of a hedge; but added, +that as his own appetite was viperous, he must get through it as best +he might. He was not without a profane jest either, upon a dish of +pigeons; but though he addressed the greater part of these gaily to +the young Count de Logères, he could hardly wring a smile from one who +in former days would have laughed with the best, but whose heart was +now anxiously occupied with many a bitter feeling.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau was eager, too, that the meal should be over, +for he longed for that private communication with the Duke which +weighed upon his mind in anticipation. He felt that it would be +difficult to exculpate his brother; and yet, in pursuance of his own +high resolutions, he longed to do so: and then again he eagerly hoped +that the powerful prince beside whom he sat would find some means of +delivering Marie de Clairvaut from the hands into which she had +fallen; and yet he feared, from all he heard and saw, that that +deliverance might be difficult and remote.</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus the banquet passed somewhat cheerlessly to him; and it was not +very much enlivened by a little incident which happened towards the +close of supper, when the landlord, who had come into the room +followed by a man dressed in the garb of a surgeon, whispered +something in the Duke's ear which called his attention immediately.</p> + +<p class="normal">"How many did you say?" demanded the Duke.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Only two at present, your Highness," replied the surgeon; "but three +more sinking, I think."</p> + +<p class="normal">"All in the same house?" said the Duke.</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, my Lord, in different houses," replied the man; "but near the +same spot."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The only thing to be done," replied the Duke, "is to draw a barrier +across the end of that street, and mark the houses with a white +cross."</p> + +<p class="normal">"What is the matter, your Highness?" said Laval, from the other end of +the table.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, nothing," replied the Duke of Guise, "only a few cases of the +plague; and because it was very bad last autumn at Morfontaine, the +people here have got into a fright."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke of Guise concluded his supper as lightly and gaily as if +nothing had happened, for his mind had become so accustomed to deal +with and to contemplate things of great moment, that they made not +that impression upon him which they do upon those whose course is laid +in a smoother and evener path.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau, however, could not feel in the same way. "War +and pestilence!" he thought, "bloodshed and death! These are the +common every-day ideas of men in this unhappy country, now. Perhaps +famine may be added some day soon, and yet there will be light +laughter, and merriment, and jest. Well, let it be so. Why should we +cast away enjoyment because it can but be small? Life is at best but +made up of chequered visions: let us enjoy the bright ones while we +may, and make the dark ones short if we can."</p> + +<p class="normal">While he thus thought, the Duke of Guise whispered a word or two to +the Count of Brissac, and that gentleman nodded to Laval. Shortly +after, both rose; and, with an air of affected unwillingness, the +Chevalier d'Aumale followed their example. The two or three other +gentlemen who had partaken of the meal, but who either from inferior +situation or natural taciturnity had mingled but little in the +conversation, left the table at the same time, and accompanied the +others out of the room, so that the Duke of Guise and the young Count +were left alone.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_02" href="#div1Ref_02">CHAP. II.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">The weak-minded and the vulgar are cowed by the aspect of high +station; the humble in mind, and the moderate in talent, are subdued +by high genius, and bend lowly to the majesty of mind; the powerful, +the firm, and the elevated spring up to meet their like, and with them +there is nothing earthly that can overawe but a consciousness of evil +in themselves, or a sensation of abasement for those they love.</p> + +<p class="normal">Such was the case with Charles of Montsoreau, who undoubtedly was a +man of high and powerful mind. He was in his first youth, it is true; +he had no great or intimate knowledge of the world, except that +knowledge of the world which, in a few rare instances, comes as it +were by intuition. He had been bred up from his youth in love and +admiration for the princes of the House of Lorraine, and especially of +Henry, Duke of Guise; and yet, when he had met him for the first time, +and recognised him at once in the inn at Mareuil, he felt no +diffidence--no alarm. Nor had this confidence in himself any thing +whatsoever to do with conceit: he thought not of himself for a moment; +he thought only of the Duke of Guise and his situation, and impulse +guided by habit did the rest. Seeing that the Duke had assumed an +inferior character, he treated him accordingly; and acting as nature +dictated to him, he acted right.</p> + +<p class="normal">Neither, at Rheims, when the Duke appeared surrounded by pomp and +splendour, did the young nobleman feel differently. He paid every +tribute of external reverence to the Prince's station and high renown; +but he conferred with him upon equal terms, feeling that if in mind he +was not absolutely equal to that great leader, he was competent to +appreciate his character, and was not inferior to him in elevation of +thought and purpose.</p> + +<p class="normal">But now, how changed were all his feelings, when, sitting by one whom +he venerated and respected--more than perhaps was deserved--he had to +discuss with him the painful subject of a brother's errors, and +torture imagination to find excuses which judgment would not ratify! +He sat humiliated, and pained, and hesitating: he knew not what to +say, and he felt that any thing he could say was vain.</p> + +<p class="normal">For a few minutes after the rest of the party quitted the room, the +Duke of Guise remained silent, sometimes gazing down, as was his +habit, upon his clasped hands, sometimes raising his eyes for a single +moment to the countenance of his young companion. He seemed to feel +for him, indeed; and when he did speak, led the conversation to the +subject gradually and delicately.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Well, my dear Count," he said, "let us speak of this affair of the +reiters. You made me as many excuses but now, for defeating our +enemies, as if you had let them defeat you. Such gallant actions are +easily pardoned, Logères; and if you but proceed to commit many such +faults, Henry of Navarre and Henry of Guise had both need look to +their renown. There was a third Henry once," he continued, half +closing his eyes, and speaking with a sigh, as he thought of Henry +III. and fair promises of his youth; "there was a third Henry once, +who might perhaps have borne the meed of fame away from us both: but +that light has gone out in the socket, and left nothing but an +unsavory smell behind. However, there was no excuse needed, good +friend, for cutting to pieces double your own number of German +marauders."</p> + +<p class="normal">"My excuse was not for that," replied the Count, calmly, "but your +Highness directed me to go no farther than Montigny, and I went to La +Ferté, on account of the wounded men."</p> + +<p class="normal">"That is easily excused too," said the Duke. "But now give me your own +account of the affair. The boy told me the story but imperfectly. How +fell you in with the reiters at first?"</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau did as the Prince required, giving a full and +minute, but modest, account of all that had taken place. But when he +spoke of retreating up the river to the spot where the banks were +deeper, and the stream more profound, Guise caught him by the hand, +exclaiming eagerly, "Did you know that the banks were steeper? Did you +see that they would guard your flank?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"That was my object, my Lord," replied the young Count, somewhat +surprised. "I noticed the nature of the ground as we charged them at +first."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Kneel down!" cried the Duke; "kneel down! Would to God that I were a +Bayard for thy sake!--In the name of God, St. Michael and St. George, +I dub thee knight;" and drawing his sword he struck him on the collar +with the blade, adding with a smile, in which melancholy was blended +with gaiety, "Perchance this may be the last chivalrous knighthood +conferred in France. Indeed, as matters go, I think it will be: but if +it should, I can but say that it never was won more nobly."</p> + +<p class="normal">The young Count rose with sparkling eyes. The memory of the chivalrous +ages was not yet obliterated by dust and lichens; the fire of a more +enthusiastic epoch was not yet quite extinct; and he felt as if what +had passed gave him greater strength to go through what was to come.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke, however, relaxing soon into his former manner, made him a +sign to proceed; and Charles of Montsoreau went on to detail the +complete defeat and dispersion of the different bodies of reiters. He +then began to hesitate again: but Guise was determined to hear all, +and said, "But your brother; where did you find your brother? Be frank +with me, Logères."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus pressed, the young Count went on to say, that he did not again +meet with his brother till he found him in the market-place at La +Ferté. "My brother," he continued, "having been driven by the party +that pursued him beyond the carriage, and judging that I was coming up +with a superior force, imagined that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut and her +attendants had fallen under my protection: but finding that such was +not the case, he mounted his horse again, and proceeded to seek for +her during the greater part of the night, while I did the same in +another direction."</p> + +<p class="normal">He was then hurrying on as fast as possible to speak of the following +morning, but the Duke interrupted him, demanding, "There was a sharp +dispute in the market-place, I think; was there not, Monsieur de +Logères? Pray let me hear the particulars."</p> + +<p class="normal">But Charles of Montsoreau, driven to the point, answered boldly and at +once, "It was a dispute between two brothers, my Lord; in regard to +which none but God and their own consciences can judge. You will +therefore pardon me if I keep that which is private to my private +bosom."</p> + +<p class="normal">Guise gazed at him for a long--a very long time, with eyes full of +deep feeling, and then replied, "By Heaven! you are one of the most +extraordinary young men I ever met with. I know the whole, Monsieur de +Logères; and the words there spoken let me into the secrets of your +bosom which I wished to know. I now understand how to deal with you; +and while I do my best to secure your happiness, trust to the Duke of +Guise to avoid, as far as possible, any thing that is painful to you +in the course. But go on; let me hear the rest."</p> + +<p class="normal">"If you know all, my Lord," said Charles of Montsoreau, a good deal +affected by the Duke's kindness, "will you not spare me the telling of +that which must be painful to me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I fear I must ask you to go on," replied the Duke. "What you have now +to tell me is the most important part of all to me at the present +moment, for by it must my conduct be regulated, in regard to the +measures for rescuing our poor Marie from the hands of that----." He +checked himself suddenly, and then added, "the King, in short. A +single word may cause a difference in our view of the matter; and +therefore I would fain hear you tell it, if you will do me that +favour."</p> + +<p class="normal">"All that I know, my Lord, I will tell," replied the Count; "but of my +own knowledge I have little to tell, for the principal part of my +information was derived from the boy with whom you have already +spoken. All then that I personally know is, that, having slept long +from great fatigue, I was roused by the boy in the morning; that he +told me my brother was about to depart; and that, on descending, I +found his report true. My brother was already on horseback, and his +troop in the act of setting out; but he was accompanied by a gentleman +whom I had never seen before, whose name is Colombel, and who, I found +afterwards, is an officer in the service of the King."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh yes," said the Duke of Guise; "I have heard him named; a person of +no great repute, but some cunning."</p> + +<p class="normal">"My conversation with my brother," continued the Count, "was not the +most agreeable. On his side it was all taunts; but the only part of +which it is needful to inform your Highness, was, that when I asked +tidings of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, he would afford me no +information, except that she was in safe hands. I am grieved, also, to +be compelled to say that he told me, if I did not join you before he +did, I should be long parted from you."</p> + +<p class="normal">"We have lost an ally," replied the Duke; "but one which, to say +sooth, I do not covet. If he be not treacherous, he is at best +unsteady; but I cannot help fearing, Charles of Montsoreau, that your +brother himself, apprehending that my regard for you might not suit +his purposes, has had some share in suffering Marie to fall into the +hands of Henry."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh no, my Lord, oh no!" exclaimed Charles of Montsoreau; "you do him +wrong, believe me. My Lord, a few words will explain to you the cause +of his conduct. He is possessed with a passion for Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, so strong, so vehement, so intense, as to have a portion of +madness in it,--a sufficient portion to make him cast away his former +nature altogether, to hate his brother, to abandon his friends, to +abjure all the thoughts and feelings of his youth, and to follow her +still where-ever she goes, seeking to obtain her by means which the +very blindness of his passion prevents him from seeing are those which +must insure his losing her."</p> + +<p class="normal">"This is the passion of a weak and unstable mind," said the Duke. +"Love, my young friend, is in itself a grand and ennobling thing, +leading us to do great actions for the esteem and approbation of her +we love. The love of a bright woman," he added, "the love of a bright +woman--I speak it with all due reverence," and he put his hand to his +hat, "is the next finest sensation, the next grand mover in human +actions, to the love of God. The object is undoubtedly inferior, but +the course is the same, namely, the striving to do high and excellent +things for the approbation of a being that we love and venerate. Alas +that it should be so! but in this world I fear the love of woman is +amongst us the strongest mover of the two: the other is so remote, so +high, so pure, that our dull senses strain their wings in reaching it. +The love of woman appeals to the earthly as well as to the heavenly +part of man's nature, and consequently is heard more easily. +Perhaps--and Heaven grant it!--that, as some of our fathers held, the +one love may lead us on to the other, and the perishable be but a step +to the immortal. However," he added, "such love as that which you say +possesses your brother, will certainly never lead him on to any thing +that is great, or high, or noble. Most certainly it will not lead him +to the hand of Marie de Clairvaut as long as Henry of Guise can draw a +sword. If he have not betrayed me, he has abandoned me; if he have not +shown himself a coward, he has shown himself a weak defender of those +intrusted to his charge; and under such circumstances, had he the +wealth of either India and the power of Cæsar, he should never wed +Marie de Clairvaut." He laid his hand upon the shoulder of Charles of +Montsoreau, and he said, "You have heard my words, good friend; those +words are irrevocable: and now knowing that your brother can never be +really your rival, act as you will. I would fain have your confidence, +Charles, but I will not wring it from you. This girl is beautiful and +sweet and fascinating; and if I judge right, you love her not less but +more nobly than your brother. Tell me, or tell me not as you will, but +we all feel pleased with confidence."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau, "how can I deny you my +confidence when you load me with such proofs of your goodness? I do +love Mademoiselle de Clairvaut as deeply, as intensely, as +passionately, as my brother,--more, more a thousand fold than he or +any body else, I believe, is capable of loving. I had some +opportunities of rendering her services, and on one of those occasions +I was betrayed into words and actions which I fancied must have made +her acquainted with all my feelings. It was after that I discovered, +my Lord, how madly my brother loved her: it was after that I +discovered that the pursuit of my love must bring contention and +destruction on my father's house. Had I believed that she loved me, +nothing should have made me yield her to any one; for I had the prior +claim, I had the prior right: but when I had reason to believe that +she had not marked, and did not comprehend all the signs of my +affection; when I felt that I could quit her without the appearance of +trifling with her regard, though not without the continued misery of +my own life, my determination was taken in a moment, and I determined +to make the sacrifice, be the consequences what they might. Such, my +Lord, is the simple truth; such is the only secret of all my actions."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke of Guise bent down his eyes upon the ground with a smile, in +the expression of which there was a degree of cynical bitterness. It +was somewhat like one of the smiles of the Abbé de Boisguerin; but the +Duke's words explained it at once, which the Abbé's never did.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I fear, my young friend," he said, "that the science of women's +hearts is a more difficult one than the science of war. You have +learnt the one, it would seem, by intuition; in the other you are yet +a novice. However, you shall pursue your own course, bearing with you +the remembrance that I swear by my own honour--"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh swear not, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau; "circumstances +may change; she may love him; her love may alter him, and lead him +back to noble things."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke smiled again. "What I have said," he answered, "is as good as +sworn. But have it your own way; I thank you for the confidence you +have reposed in me. And now, to show you how I can return it, I have a +task to put upon you, an adventure on which to send forth my new made +knight. I do not think that Henry either will or dare refuse to give +up to me my own relation and ward. The king and I are great friends, +God wot! But still I must demand her, and somebody must take a journey +to Paris for that purpose. To the capital, doubtless, they have +conveyed her; and I trust, my good Logères, that you will not think it +below your dignity and merit to seek and bring back a daughter of the +House of Guise."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau paused thoughtfully for a moment, ere he +replied. All the difficulties and dangers to which he might be +exposed, in acting against the views of the King of France, were to +him as nothing; but the difficulties and dangers which might arise +from his opposition to his own brother, were painful and fearful to +him to contemplate. He saw not, however, how he could refuse the task; +and it cannot be denied that love for Marie de Clairvaut had its share +also in making him accept it. He doubted not for a moment, that if she +were in the hands of the King, she was there against her own will; and +could he, he asked himself, could he even hesitate to aid in +delivering her from a situation of difficulty, danger, and distress? +The thought of aiding her, the thought of seeing her again, the +thought of hearing the sweet tones of that beloved voice, the thought +of once more soothing and supporting her, all had their share; the +very contemplation made his heart beat; and lifting his eyes, he found +those of the Duke of Guise fixed upon his countenance, reading all the +passing emotions, the shadows of which were brought across him by +those thoughts. The colour mounted slightly into his cheek as he +replied, "My Lord, I will do your bidding to the best of my ability. +When shall I march?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, you mistake," said the Duke, laughing; "you are not to go at the +head of your men, armed <i>cap-à-pie</i>, to deliver the damsel from the +giant's castle; but in the quality of my envoy to Henry; first of all +demanding, quietly and gently, where the Lady is, and then requiring +him to deliver her into your hands, for the purpose of escorting her +to me, where-ever I may be. You shall have full powers for the latter +purpose; but you must keep them concealed till such time as you have +discovered, either from the King's own lips--though no sincerity +dwells upon them--or by your own private inquiries and investigations, +where this poor girl is. Then you may produce to the King your powers +from me, and to herself I will give you a letter, requesting her to +follow your directions in all things. Now, you must show yourself as +great a diplomatist as a soldier, for I can assure you that you will +have to deal with as artful and as wily a man as any now living in +Europe."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I will do my best, my Lord; and to enable me to deal with them before +all their plans are prepared, I had better set out at break of day +to-morrow, with as many men as your Highness thinks fit should +accompany me."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke mused for a moment or two; "No," he said, "no; I must not let +you go, Logères, without providing for your safety. You have risked +your life sufficiently for me and mine already. You go into new +scenes, with which you are unacquainted; into dangers, with which you +may find it more difficult to cope than any that you have hitherto met +with. I cannot then suffer you to depart without such passports and +safeguards as may diminish those dangers as far as possible."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, I fear not, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau, "the King +and your Highness are not at war. I have done nothing to offend, +and--"</p> + +<p class="normal">"It cannot be, it cannot be," replied the Duke. "You must go back with +me to Soissons. I will send a messenger from this place to demand the +necessary passports for you. No great time will be lost, for a common +courier can pass where you or I would be stopped. Then," he continued, +"as to the men that you should take with you, I should say, the fewer +the better. Mark me," he continued, with a smile, "there are secret +springs in all things; and I will give you letters to people in Paris, +which will put at your disposal five hundred men on the notice of half +an hour. Ay, more, should you require them. But use not these letters +except in the last necessity, for they might hurry on events which I +would rather see advance slowly till they were forced upon me, than do +aught to bring them forward myself. No; you shall go back with me to +Soissons, guarding me with your band; and I doubt not, our messenger +from Paris will not be many hours after us. Now leave me, and to rest, +good Logères, and send in the servant, whom you will find half way +down the stairs."</p> + +<p class="normal">The young Count withdrew without another word, and he found that while +the conversation between himself and the Duke had been going on, a man +had been stationed, both above and below the door of the apartment, as +if to insure that nobody approached to listen. Such were the sad +precautions necessary in those days.</p> + +<p class="normal">Early on the following morning the whole party mounted their horses, +the wounded men of Logères were left under the care and attendance of +the good townsmen of Montigny, and the young Count riding with the +party of the Duke of Guise, proceeded on the road to Soissons. No +adventure occurred to disturb their progress; and, as so constantly +happens in the midst of scenes of danger, pain, and difficulty, almost +every one of the whole party endeavoured to compensate for the +frequent endurance of peril and pain by filling up the intervals with +light laughter and unthinking gaiety. The Duke of Guise himself was +not the least cheerful of the party, though occasionally the cloud of +thought would settle again upon his brow, and a pause of deep +meditation would interrupt the jest or the sally. It was late at night +when they arrived at Soissons, and the Duke, after supping with the +Cardinal de Bourbon, retired to rest, without conversing with any of +his party. It was about eight o'clock on the following morning, and +while, by the dull grey light of a cloudy spring day, Charles of +Montsoreau was dressing himself, with the aid of one of his servants, +that the door opened without any previous announcement, and the Duke +of Guise, clad in a dressing-gown of crimson velvet trimmed with +miniver, entered the room, bearing in his hand a packet of sealed +letters, and one open one. A page followed him with something wrapped +up in a skin of leather, which he placed upon one of the stools, and +instantly retired.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Send away your man, Count," said the Duke, seating himself; "resume +your dressing-gown, and kindly give me your full attention for +half an hour. You will be so good," he continued, turning to the man +who was quitting the chamber, "as to take your stand on the first +landing-place below this door. You will tell any body whom you see +coming up to pass by the other staircase; any one you may see coming +down, you will direct to pass by this door quickly."</p> + +<p class="normal">There was a stern command in the eye of the Duke of Guise which had a +strong effect upon those it rested on; and the man to whom he now +spoke made his exit from the room, stumbling over twenty things in his +haste to obey. As soon as he was gone, the Duke turned to his young +friend, and continued, "Here is the King's safeguard under his own +hand, and the necessary passports for yourself and two attendants. +Here is your letter of credit to him in my name, requiring him to give +you every sort of information which he may be possessed of regarding +the subjects which you will mention to him; and here is a third +letter giving you full power to demand at his hands the person of +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, for the purpose of escorting her and +placing her under my protection. This, again, is to Mary herself, +bidding her follow your counsels and direction in every thing; and +these others are to certain citizens of Paris, whose names you will +find written thereon. If you will take my advice, you will again take +with you the boy Ignati, and one stout man-at-arms, unarmed, however, +except in such a manner as the dangers of the road require. You +understand, I think, clearly, all that I wish."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I believe, my Lord, I do," replied the Count. "But how am I to insure +safety for Mademoiselle de Clairvaut on the road, without an adequate +force?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Write to me but one word," replied the Duke of Guise, "as soon as she +is delivered into your hands, and I will send you with all speed +whatever forces I can spare. But I have one or two things to +communicate to you, which it is necessary for you to know, both for +your own security and the success of your mission. The principal part +of my niece's lands lie in the neighbourhood of Chateauneuf, between +Dreux and Mortagne in Normandy. It is not at all unlikely, that, if +driven to remove her from your sight, Henry may be tempted to send her +thither, well knowing that it is what I have always opposed, and that +I preferred rather that she should dwell even in Languedoc than be in +that neighbourhood. For this I had a reason; and that reason is the +near relationship in which her father stood to the most daring and the +most dangerous man in France. One of the first of those whom you will +see near the person of the King, the man who governs and rules him to +his own infamy and destruction, in whose hands the minions are but +tools and Henry an instrument, who, more than any one else, has tended +to change a gracious prince, a skilful general, and a brave man, into +an effeminate and vicious king, is René de Villequier, Baron of +Clairvaut. He was first cousin to Marie de Clairvaut's father, and he +is consequently her nearest male relation out of the family of Guise. +He has, indeed, sometimes hinted at a right to share in the +guardianship of his cousin's daughter. But such things a Guise permits +not. However, with this claim upon the disposal of her hand, Henry +may, perhaps, hesitate to yield her, unless with the consent of +Villequier. With him, then, you may be called upon to deal; but +Villequier, I think, knows the hand of a Guise too well to call down a +blow from it unnecessarily. However, he is as daring as he is artful, +and impunity in crime has rendered him perfectly careless of +committing it. He is Governor of Paris, one of the King's ministers, a +Knight of the Holy Ghost. Now hear what he has done to merit all this. +More than one assassin broken on the wheel has avowed himself the +instrument of Villequier, sent to administer poison to those he did +not love. Complaisant in every thing to his King, he sought to +sacrifice to him the honour of his wife: but she differed from him in +her tastes; and, on the eighteenth of last September, in broad +daylight, in the midst of an effeminate court, he murdered her with +his own hand at her dressing-table. Nor was this all: there was a +girl--a young sweet girl--the natural daughter of a noble house, who +was holding before the unhappy lady a mirror to arrange her dress when +the fatal blow was struck. The fiend's taste for blood was roused. One +victim was not enough, and he murdered the wretched girl by the side +of her dead mistress. This was done in open day, was never disowned, +was known to every one, and was rewarded by the order of the Holy +Ghost--an insult to God, to France, and to humanity.<a name="div3Ref_01" href="#div3_01"><sup>[1]</sup></a><br> However, as +with this man you may have to deal, I have to give you two cautions. +Never drink wine with him, or eat food at his table; never go into his +presence without wearing under your other dress the bosom friend which +I have brought you there;" and he took from the leathern skin in which +it was wrapped, a shirt of mail, made of rings linked together, so +fine that it seemed the lightest stroke would have broken it, and yet +so strong, that the best tempered poinard, driven by the most powerful +hand, could not have pierced it. "Have also in your bosom," continued +the Duke of Guise, "a small pistol; and if the villain attempts to lay +his hand upon you, kill him like a dog. This is the only way to deal +with René de Villequier."</p> + +<p class="normal">The young Count smiled: "And is it needful my Lord Duke," he asked, +"to take all these precautions in the courtly world of Paris?--Do you +yourself take them, my Lord?--I fear not sufficiently."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh! with regard to myself," replied the Duke, it is different. "I am +so marked out and noted, they dare not do any thing against me. They +would raise up a thousand vengeful hands against them in a moment, and +they know that, too well to run such a risk. Neither Henry nor +Villequier would hold their lives by an hour's tenure after Guise was +dead. But you must take these precautions, my young friend. And now I +have nothing more to say, except that, whatever you do to withdraw +Marie de Clairvaut from the hands into which she has fallen, I will +justify. If any ill befall you, I will avenge you as my brother; and +if you deliver her from those whom she hates and abhors, she shall, +give you any testimony of her gratitude that she pleases, without a +man in France saying you nay."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, my Lord, it is not for that I go!" exclaimed Charles of +Montsoreau, with the blood rushing up again into his cheek. "It is +not; surely you believe--"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Hush! hush!" replied the Duke. "I have fallen into the foolish error +of saying too much, my good young friend. But now, fare you well. Make +your arrangements as speedily as you can; mount your horse, and onward +to Paris, while I apply myself to matters which may well occupy every +minute and every thought."</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_03" href="#div1Ref_03">CHAP. III.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">It was about nine o'clock at night, in the spring of the year 1588, +that Charles of Montsoreau, with two companions, his faithful Gondrin +and the little page, presented himself at the gate of Paris which +opened upon the Soissons road. A surly arquebusier with a steel cap on +his head, his gun upon his shoulder, and the rest thereof in his hand, +was the first person that he encountered at the bridge over the fosse. +Some other soldiers were sitting before the guardhouse; and the +wicket-gate of the city itself was open, with an armed head protruded +through, talking to a country girl with a basket on her arm, who had +just passed out of the gate, none the better probably for her visit to +the city.</p> + +<p class="normal">The arquebusier planted himself immediately in the way of the young +cavalier and his followers, and seemed prepared to stop them, though +on the young Count applying to him for admission, he replied in a +surly tone, "I have nothing to do with it. Ask the lieutenant at the +gate."</p> + +<p class="normal">To him, in the next place, then, Charles of Montsoreau applied; but +though his tone was somewhat more civil than that of the soldier, he +made a great many difficulties, examining the young nobleman all over, +and looking as if he thought him a very suspicious personage. The +Count after a certain time grew impatient, and asked, "You do not +mean, I suppose, to refuse the passport of the King?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"No," replied the other grinning. "We won't refuse the passport of the +King, or the King's passport; but in order that the passport may be +verified, it were as well, young gentleman, that you come to the gates +by day. You can sleep in the faubourg for one night I take it."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Certainly not without great inconvenience to myself," replied the +Count, "and more inconvenience to the affairs of the Duke of Guise."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The Duke of Guise!" said the man starting. "Your tongue has not the +twang of Lorraine."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But nevertheless," replied the Count, "the business I come upon is +that of the Duke of Guise, which you would have seen if you had read +the passport and safe-conduct. Does it not direct therein, to give +room and free passage, safeguard, and protection to one gentleman of +noble birth and two attendants, coming and going hither and thither in +all parts of the realm of France, on the especial business of our true +and well-beloved cousin, Henry, Duke of Guise? and is there not +written in the Duke's own hand underneath, 'Given to our faithful +friend and counsellor, Charles of Montsoreau, Count of Logères, for +the purposes above written, by me, Henry of Guise?'"</p> + +<p class="normal">The man held the paper for a moment to a lantern that hung up against +the heavy stonework of the arch, and then exclaimed in a loud voice, +"Throw open the gates there, bring the keys. Monseigneur, I beg you a +thousand pardons for detaining you a minute. If I had but seen the +writing of the Duke of Guise the doors would have been opened +instantly."</p> + +<p class="normal">As rapidly as possible the heavy gates, which had remained immoveable +at the order of the King, swang back at the name of the Guise, and one +of the attendants and the captain of the night running by the side of +the Count's horse to prevent all obstruction, caused the second gate +to be opened as rapidly, and the Count entered the capital city of his +native country for the first time in his life.</p> + +<p class="normal">The streets were dark and gloomy, narrow and high; and as one rode +along them looking up from time to time towards the sky, the small +golden stars were seen twinkling above the deep walls of the houses, +as if beheld from the bottom of a well. Charles of Montsoreau had not +chosen to ask his way at the gate, and though utterly unacquainted +with the great city in which he now plunged, he rode on, trusting to +find some shop still open where he might inquire his way without the +chance of being deceived. Every booth and shop was then shut, however; +and for a very long way up the street which he had first entered, he +met with not a single living creature to whom he could apply for +direction. At length, however, that street ended abruptly in another +turning to the left, and a sudden glare of light burst upon his eyes, +proceeding from a building about a hundred yards farther on, which +seemed to be on fire.</p> + +<p class="normal">There was no bustle, however, or indication of any thing unusual in +the street; and Charles of Montsoreau riding on, found that the blaze +proceeded from a dozen or more of flambeaus planted in a sort of +wooden barricade<a name="div3Ref_02" href="#div3_02"><sup>[2]</sup></a> before a large mansion, which fell back some yards +from the general façade of the street, while a fat porter clothed in +manifold colours, with a broad shoulder-belt and a sword by his side, +walked to and fro in the light, trimming the torches with stately +dignity. The young Count then remembered having heard of the custom of +thus illuminating the barriers, which were before all the principal +mansions in Paris during the first part of every night; and riding up +towards the porter, he demanded whose hotel it was, and begged to be +directed to one of the best inns in the neighbourhood.</p> + +<p class="normal">The man gazed at him for a moment with the evident purpose of looking +upon him as a bumpkin; but the porters of that day were required to be +extremely discriminating, and the air and appearance of the young +Count were not to be mistaken, and bowing low he replied, "I see you +are a stranger, sir. This is the house of Monsieur d'Aumont. As to the +best inn, inns are always but poor places; but I have heard a good +account of the White House in the next street, at the sign of the +Crown of France. If you go on quite to the end of this street and then +turn to your right, you will come into another street as large and +longer, at the very end of which, just looking down to the Pont Neuf, +you will see a large white house with a gateway and the crown hanging +over it. I have heard that every thing is good there, and the host +civil; but he will make you pay for what you have."</p> + +<p class="normal">"That is but just," replied the young Count; and giving the porter +thanks for his information, he rode on and took up his abode at the +sign of the Crown of France.</p> + +<p class="normal">The aspect of the inn was very different from that of an auberge in +the country; for, though the court-yard into which Charles of +Montsoreau rode was littered with straw, and a large and splendid +stable appeared behind, it was not now grooms and stable-boys that +appeared on the first notice of a traveller's approach, but cooks and +scullions and turnspits; while the master himself with a snow-white +cap upon his head, a jacket of white cloth, and a white apron turned +up sufficiently to show his black breeches and stockings with red +clocks, appeared more like what he really was, the head of the +kitchen, than the master of the house.</p> + +<p class="normal">He looked a little suspiciously, at first, at the young stranger +arriving with only two attendants, and with no other baggage than a +small valise upon each horse, and an additional upon that of Ignati, +to render the boy's weight equal to that of his fellow travellers. But +the host was accustomed to deal with many kinds of men; and like the +porter, after examining the Count for a moment, seeing some gold +embroidery, but not much, upon his riding-dress, gilded spurs over his +large boots of untanned leather, and a sword, the hilt and sheath of +which were of no slight value, he also made a lowly reverence, and +conducted him to one of the best apartments in his house. It consisted +of three rooms, each entering into the other with a small cabinet +beyond the chief bed-room; and the arrangements which the Count made +at once--placing Gondrin's bed in the antechamber, and having the +page's truckle-bed removed from his own bed-side to occupy the cabinet +beyond--gave the host of the Crown of France a still greater idea of +his importance.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau did not fail to examine the face of the +aubergiste, and to remark his proceedings with as much accuracy. The +man's countenance was intelligent, his eyes quick and piercing, but +withal there was an air of straightforward frankness, tempered by +civility and habitual politeness, which was prepossessing; and as the +young Count knew that he might have occasion to make use of him in +various ways during his stay in Paris, he resolved to try him with +those things which were the most immediately necessary, and which at +the same time were of the least importance.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Stop a minute, my good host," he said, as the man was about to +withdraw to order fires to be lighted and suppers to be cooked. "There +are some things which press for attention, and in which I must have +your assistance."</p> + +<p class="normal">"This youngster speaks with a tone of authority," thought the +aubergiste; but he bowed low and said nothing, whilst the young Count +went on, "What is your name, my good friend?" demanded Charles of +Montsoreau.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I am called Gamin la Chaise," replied the aubergiste with a smile.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Well then, Master la Chaise, as you see," he continued, "I have come +hither to Paris on some business which required a certain degree of +despatch, and have ventured with few attendants and little baggage. As +however the business on which I did come will call me into scenes +where some greater degree of splendour is necessary than perhaps +either suits my taste or my general convenience, I must before I go +forth to-morrow morning, have my train increased by at least six +attendants, who are always to be found in Paris ready fashioned I +know; and therefore I must beseech you to find them for me in proper +time, having them equipped in my proper colours and livery, according +as the same shall be described to you by my good friend Gondrin here. +This is the first service you must do me, my good host."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Sir," replied the landlord, "the six lackeys shall be found and +equipped in less time than would roast a woodcock. They are as plenty +as sparrows or house-rats, and are caught in a moment."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Yes, but my good host," answered the Count, "there is one great +difficulty which you will understand in a moment. Amongst the six, I +want you to find me one honest man if it be possible."</p> + +<p class="normal">The landlord raised his shoulders above his ears, stuck out his two +hands horizontally from his sides, and assumed an appearance of +despair at the unheard of proposition of the Count, which had nearly +brought a smile into the young nobleman's countenance. "That indeed, +sir," he said, "is another affair; and I believe you might just as +well ask me to catch you a wild roe in the garden of the Louvre, as to +find you the thing that you demand. Nevertheless, labour and +perseverance conquer all difficulties: and now I think of it, there is +a youth who may answer your purpose; he knows Paris well too; but, +strange to say, by some unaccountable fit of obstinacy, he would not +tell a lie the other day to the Duke of Epernon in order to pass an +item of the intendant's accounts, which would have come in for a good +round sum every month if he would but have sworn that he used five +quarts of milk every week to whiten the leather of his master's boots. +He would not swear to this, and therefore the intendant discharged +him, as he was a hired servant."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Let me have him; let me have him," cried the Count. "I will only ask +him to tell the truth, and hope he may not find that so difficult."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Count then proceeded to speak about horses, and the host readily +undertook, finding that money was abundant, to procure all the +horse-dealers in Paris with their best steeds, before nine o'clock on +the following day. The demeanour of the young nobleman, it must be +confessed, puzzled the good aubergiste a good deal; and on going down +to his own abode, he acknowledged to his wife, what he seldom +acknowledged to any one, that he could not make his guest out at all.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I should think," he said, "from the plenty of money, and the +expensive way in which he seems inclined to deal, that he was some +wild stripling from the provinces, the son of a rich president or +advocate lately dead, who came hither to call himself Count, and spend +his patrimony in haste. But then, again, in some things he is as +shrewd as an old hawk, and can jest withal about rogues and honest +men, while he keeps his own secrets close, and lets no one ask him a +question."</p> + +<p class="normal">On the following morning, at an early hour, the six attendants whom he +had required were brought before him in array, exhibiting, with one +exception, as sweet a congregation of roguish faces as the great +capital of roguery ever yet produced. The countenance of the lad who +had been discharged from the service of the Duke of Epernon pleased +the young Count much, and without waiting till he was farther +equipped, he put Gondrin under his charge for the purpose of notifying +at the palace of the Louvre that he had arrived in the capital, +bearing a letter from the Duke of Guise to the King, and of begging to +have an hour named for its delivery. He found, however, with some +mortification--for his eager spirit and his anxiety brooked no +delay--that the King was at Vincennes; and his only consolation was +that the communication which he had sent to the palace, bearing the +fearful name of the Duke of Guise, was certain to be communicated to +the monarch as soon as possible. Some short time was expended in the +purchase of horses, and in making various additions to his own +apparel, well knowing the ostentatious splendour of the court he was +about to visit.</p> + +<p class="normal">We have indeed remarked that there was perhaps a touch of foppery in +his own nature, though it was but slight. Nevertheless, splendour of +appearance certainly pleased him, even while a natural good taste led +him to admire, and to seek in his own dress, all that was graceful and +harmonising, rather than that which was rich or brilliant.</p> + +<p class="normal">He was thus engaged, with several tradesmen around him, ordering the +materials for various suits of apparel, which a tailor standing by +engaged to produce in a miraculously short time, when the door of his +apartment was opened, and a somewhat fat pursy man in black was +admitted, entering with an air of importance, and receiving the lowly +salutations of the good citizens who were present. Charles of +Montsoreau gazed at him as a stranger; but the good man, with an air +of importance, and an affectation of courtly breeding, besought him to +finish what he was about, adding, that he had a word for his private +ear which he would communicate afterwards. The young Count, without +further ceremony, continued to give his orders, examining his new +visiter from time to time, and with no very great feelings of +satisfaction.</p> + +<p class="normal">The countenance was fat, reddish, and, upon the whole, stupid, with an +air of indecision about it which was very strongly marked, though +there was every now and then a certain drawing in of the fringeless +eyelids round the small black eyes, which gave the expression of +intense cunning to features otherwise dull and flat.</p> + +<p class="normal">When he had completely done with his mercers, and tailors, and +cloth-makers--who had occupied him some time, for he did not hurry +himself--Charles of Montsoreau dismissed them; and turning to his +visiter said, "Now, sir, may I have the happiness of knowing your +business with me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Sir," replied the other, rising and speaking in a low and +confidential tone, "my name is Nicolas Poulain. I am Lieutenant of the +Prévôt de l'Isle."</p> + +<p class="normal">He stopped short at this announcement; and the Count, after waiting a +moment for something more, replied somewhat angrily, "Well, sir, I am +very happy to hear it. I hope the office suits Nicolas Poulain, and +Nicolas Poulain suits the office."</p> + +<p class="normal">A slight redness came into the man's face, rendering it a shade deeper +than it ordinarily was; but finding it necessary to reply, as the +Count, without sitting down, remained looking him stedfastly in the +face, he answered, "I thought, sir,--indeed I took it for granted, +sir, that you might have some communication for me from the Duke of +Guise."</p> + +<p class="normal">"None whatever, sir," replied the young Count drily. "Have you any +thing to tell me, Monsieur Nicolas Poulain, on the part of his +Highness?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, sir, no," replied the other, attempting to assume an air of +spirit which did not become him. "If you have not seen him more lately +than I have, I am misinformed."</p> + +<p class="normal">"And pray, my good sir," demanded the Count, "who was it that took the +trouble of informing you of any thing regarding me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"That question is soon answered, sir," replied Nicolas Poulain, +"though you seem to make so much difficulty in regard to answering +mine. The person who informed me of your arrival was good Master +Chapelle Marteau, who saw you last night at the gates when you +entered."</p> + +<p class="normal">The name immediately struck the young Count as the same with one of +those written on the letters which the Duke of Guise had given him to +be used in case of need; but feeling how necessary it was to deal +carefully with any of the faction of the Sixteen, to which both +Chapelle Marteau and Nicolas Poulain belonged, he determined to say +not one word upon the subject of his mission to any one. Much less, +indeed, was he inclined to do so in the case of Nicolas Poulain, in +whose face nature had stamped deceit and roguery in such legible +characters, that the young Count, had he been forced to trust him with +any secret, would have felt sure that the whole would be betrayed +within an hour. All, then, that he replied to Master Nicolas Poulain +was, that though he knew well the personage he mentioned by name, he +had not the pleasure of his personal acquaintance.</p> + +<p class="normal">The answers were so short, the tone and manner so dry, that the worthy +citizen found it expedient to make his retreat; and taking a short and +unceremonious leave of one who had given him so cool a reception, he +left the Count's apartments, and descended the stairs. The moment he +was gone, some suspicion, which crossed the young cavalier's mind +suddenly, made him call the page, and bid him follow his late visiter +till he marked the house which Master Nicolas entered, taking care to +remember the way back.</p> + +<p class="normal">The boy set off without a word, and returned in less than half an +hour, informing the young Count that he had tracked Master Nicolas +Poulain into a large house, which, on inquiry, he found to be the +private dwelling of the Lord of Villequier.</p> + +<p class="normal">"The Duke is betrayed by some of these leaguers,--that is clear +enough!" thought the young Count. "I have heard that many of his best +enterprises have been frustrated by some unknown means. Who is there +on earth that one can trust?" And leaning his head upon his hand he +fell into deep thought, for to him the question of whom he could trust +was at that moment one, not only entirely new, but one of deep and +vital importance also. In his journey to Paris he had two great and +all-important objects before him. To find out his brother, and, if +possible, to persuade him to change a course of conduct which he felt +to be dishonourable to himself and to his house, was one of these +objects; and he doubted not that--if he could fully explain, and make +the Marquis comprehend, his own conduct and his purposes--if he could +show him that his only chance of obtaining the hand of Marie de +Clairvaut was by attaching himself to the House of Guise, and that he +had not a brother's rivalry to fear--Gaspar de Montsoreau might be +induced to return to the party he had quitted, and not finally to +commit himself to conduct so little to his own interest as that which +he was pursuing.</p> + +<p class="normal">The other object, however, was much more important even than that, to +the heart of Charles of Montsoreau; and the feelings which were +connected with it--as so often happens with the feelings which affect +every one in human life--were sadly at variance with other purposes. +That object was to discover and guide to the court of the Duke of +Guise, her whom he himself loved best on all the earth; to free her +from the hands of the base and dangerous people into whose power she +had fallen, and to leave her in security, if not in happiness.</p> + +<p class="normal">When he thought of seeing her again,--when he thought of passing days +with her on the journey, of being her guide, her protector, her +companion, the overpowering longing and thirst for such a joyful time +shook and agitated him, made his heart thrill and his brain reel; and, +bending down his face upon his hands, he gave himself up for a long +time to whirling dreams of happiness. But then again he asked himself +if, after such hours, he could ever quit her; if--following the firm +purpose with which he had left Montsoreau--he could resist all +temptation to seek her love further, and after plunging into the +contentions of the day could dedicate his sword and his life, as he +had intended, to warfare against the infidels in the order of St. +John? There was a great struggle in his mind when he asked himself the +question--a great and terrible struggle; but at length he answered it +in the affirmative. "Yes," he said; "yes, I can do so!" But there was +a condition attached to that decision. "I can do so," he said, "if I +find that there is a chance of her wedding him; if I find that, in +reality and truth, the first bright hopes I entertained were indeed +fallacious."</p> + +<p class="normal">To say the truth, doubts had come over his mind as to whether he had +construed Marie de Clairvaut's conduct rightly. Those doubts had been +instilled into his imagination by the words of the Duke of Guise. +Fancy lingered round them: shall we say that Hope, too, played +with them? If she did so, it was against his will; for he was in +that sad and painful situation where hope, reproved by the highest +feelings of the heart, dare scarcely point to the objects of desire. +Terrible--terrible is that situation where Virtue, or Honour, or +Generosity bind down imagination, silence even hope, and shut against +us the gates of that paradise we see, but must not enter. These, +indeed, are the angels with the flaming swords.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau would not suffer himself to hope any thing that +might make his brother's misery; but yet fancy would conjure up bright +dreams; and knowing and feeling that if those dreams were realised, a +complete change must come over his actions and his conduct, he saw +that it would be needful to use guarded language to his brother,--or +rather to use only the guard of perfect frankness. He resolved, then, +to tell him fully his purposes, but to tell him at the same time the +conditions under which those circumstances were to be executed.</p> + +<p class="normal">As he pondered, however, and thought over the changed demeanour of his +brother, over the fiery impetuosity and impatience of his whole temper +and conduct, he remembered that it might be with difficulty that he +could obtain a hearing for a sufficient length of time to explain +himself fully, and he consequently determined to write clearly and +explicitly, so that there might be no error or mistake whatever, and +that his conduct might remain clear and undoubted; and sitting down at +once, he did as he proposed, that he might have the letter ready to +send or to deliver as soon as he discovered where his brother was.</p> + +<p class="normal">The epistle was short, but it was distinct. He referred boldly and +directly to his conversation with the Abbé de Boisguerin; he explained +his conduct since; and he told his decided and unchangeable purpose of +seeking in no way the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, unless he had +reason to believe that the deep attachment which he felt and +acknowledged towards her were already returned. He ended by exhorting +his brother to do that which his pledges and professions to the Duke +of Guise had bound him to do, to guide back Mademoiselle de Clairvaut +himself to the protection of her uncle, and to avert the necessity of +his seeking her and conducting her to Soissons.</p> + +<p class="normal">In thus letting his thoughts flow on in collateral channels from +subject to subject, he had deviated from the original object of his +contemplations, which was, the method to be pursued for instituting +private inquiries throughout the city, in regard to the arrival, both +of his brother and Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. Unacquainted with any +persons in Paris, he knew not how to set on foot the inquiry; and his +mind had just reverted to the subject, which appeared more and more +embarrassing each time he thought of it, when he was informed, with an +air of great importance, by the host, that Monsieur Chapelle Marteau +demanded humbly to have the honour of paying him his respects.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Count ordered him instantly to be ushered in; and, during the +brief moment that intervened before he appeared, considered hastily, +whether he should employ this personage in any way in making the +inquiries that were necessary. He knew that he was highly esteemed by +the Duke of Guise; but yet it was evident that, by some of the members +of, or the followers of, the League in Paris, the Duke was himself +entirely deceived; and yet Charles of Montsoreau was more inclined to +trust this man's sincerity than that of the person who had left him +some short time before, inasmuch as the Duke had addressed one of the +private letters we have before mentioned to him, while he had never +named the other. The countenance and appearance of Chapelle Marteau +confirmed any prepossession in his favour. It was quick, and +intelligent, and frank, though somewhat stern; and he had moreover the +air and bearing of a man in the higher ranks of life, although he held +but an office which was then considered inferior, that of one of the +Masters in the Chamber of Accounts.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I come, sir," he said, as soon as the first civilities were over, "to +ask your pardon for some quickness on my part in refusing you +admittance at the gates last night. The fact is, that bad-intentioned +people have been endeavouring to introduce into the city of Paris, +under the King's name, a multitude of soldiery, in twos and threes, +for the purpose of overawing us in the pursuit of our rights and +liberties."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Say no more, say no more, Monsieur Chapelle," said the Count; "I +doubt not you had very good reasons for what you did."</p> + +<p class="normal">He then paused, leaving his companion to pursue the subject as he +might think fit; and the leaguer seemed somewhat embarrassed as to how +he should proceed, though his embarrassment showed itself in a +different manner from that of Master Nicolas Poulain. At length he +said, "I entertained some hope, sir, that you might bring me a +communication from the Duke of Guise, as, when I had the honour of +seeing him at Gonesse three days ago, he gave me the hope that he +would write to me ere long."</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, Monsieur Chapelle," replied the Count deliberately; "I have no +message for you. His Highness directed me indeed to apply to you in +case of need; and I know that he has the highest esteem for you, +believing you to be a zealous defender of our holy faith, and a man +well worthy of every consideration;--but I have no present message to +you from the Duke; and the case in which it may be necessary to apply +to you for assistance, according to his Highness's direction, has not +yet arrived."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Most delighted shall I be, my Lord<a name="div3Ref_03" href="#div3_03"><sup>[3]</sup></a> Count," replied the leaguer, +"to afford you any aid or assistance or council in my power, both on +account of his Highness the Duke of Guise and on your own. Might I ask +what is the case foreseen, in which you are to apply to me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">The Count smiled. "In case, Monsieur Chapelle," he said, "that I do +not succeed in objects which the Duke has entrusted to me by other +means, you shall know. At present, however, I have had no opportunity +of ascertaining what may be necessary to be done, finding that the +King is at Vincennes. In the mean time I am employing myself about +some personal business of my own, which I am afraid is likely to give +me trouble."</p> + +<p class="normal">He spoke quite calmly; but a look of intelligence came immediately +over the countenance of Chapelle Marteau, and he said, "Perhaps I +might be enabled to assist your Lordship. My knowledge of Paris, and +all that is transacted therein, is very extensive."</p> + +<p class="normal">"You are very kind," replied the Count, "and I take advantage of your +offer with the greatest pleasure. The matter is a very simple one. My +elder brother, the Marquis de Montsoreau, set out some time ago to +join the Duke of Guise, having under his charge and escort a young +lady, named Mademoiselle de Clairvaut."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Daughter of the Duke of Guise's niece," said Chapelle Marteau with +some emphasis.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I believe that is the relationship," answered the young nobleman. +"But, however, the facts are these: I have reason to believe that my +brother was interrupted in his journey by the attack of a party of +reiters, and was obliged in consequence to put himself and +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut under the protection of a body of the King's +troops coming to Paris. Now, my wish is, to ascertain whether he or +any of his party, either separately or together, are now in Paris, and +where they are to be found."</p> + +<p class="normal">The leaguer gazed in his face for a minute or two with an inquiring +look, and then replied, "I can tell you at once, my Lord, that no +considerable party whatever has entered the gates of Paris under the +protection of the King's troops for the last ten days, no party of +even ten in number having the ensigns of Valois having appeared during +that time. But the party you mention may have come in by themselves +without the King's troops; and I rather suspect that they have so +done. However, I will let you know the exact particulars within four +and twenty hours from this moment, and every other information that I +can by any means glean regarding the persons you speak of; for I very +well understand, my Lord, that there may be more intelligence required +about them than you choose to ask for at once."</p> + +<p class="normal">The young Count smiled again, but merely replied, "Any information +that you can obtain for me, Monsieur Chapelle, will be received by me +most gratefully; and in the mean time will you do me the honour of +partaking my poor dinner which is about to be served?"</p> + +<p class="normal">The leaguer, however, declined the high honour, alleging important +business as his excuse; and, after having dined, the young Count rode +out through the streets of Paris, endeavouring to make himself +somewhat familiar with them, and feeling all those sensations which +the sight of that great capital might well produce on one who had +never beheld it before. On those sensations, however, we must not +pause, as matters of more importance are before us. A couple of hours +after nightfall he received a note to the following effect:--</p> + +<p class="normal">"The Marquis de Montsoreau, with a body of horsemen, bearing no +badge or ensign, entered Paris yesterday at about four o'clock, and +lodged at the Fleur-de-lis. He is not there now, however, and is +supposed to have quitted Paris. Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is not known +to have entered the capital; but a carriage, containing ladies and +waiting-women, was escorted to Vincennes this morning by a body of +troops of Valois. The name of one of the ladies was ascertained to be +the Marquise de Saulny."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau received these tidings with a beating heart, and +sleep did not visit his eyelids till the clock of a neighbouring +church had struck five in the morning.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_04" href="#div1Ref_04">CHAP. IV.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">Dark heavy clouds hung over the world, and totally obscured the face +of the sky; the morning was chill, the air keen, and the eye of the +peasant was often turned up towards the leaden-looking masses of +vapour above his head, as if to inquire whether their stores would be +poured forth in lightning or in snow; and as Charles of Montsoreau +rode on through the park to the Donjon of Vincennes, he felt the +gloomy aspect of the whole scene more than he might have done at any +other time.</p> + +<p class="normal">There, before his eyes, with the whole face of nature harmonising well +with its dark and frowning aspect, rose the grey gigantic keep, which +the vanquished opponent of Edward III., the rash and half-insane +founder of the race of Valois, erected at an early period of his +melancholy reign. Story above story, the large quadrangular mass, with +its flanking towers, rose up till it seemed to touch the gloomy sky +above; but in those days it had at least the beauty of harmony, for no +one had added to the harsh and solemn features of the feudal +architecture the gewgaw ornaments of a later age. The gallery of Marie +de Medici was not built, and nothing was seen but the antique form of +the Donjon itself, with the mass of walls surrounding its base with +their flanking turrets, a pinnacle or two rising above--as if from +some low Gothic building within the walls--and the still dark fosse +surrounding the whole.</p> + +<p class="normal">We form but a faint idea to ourselves--a very very faint idea of the +manners and customs of feudal times; but still less, perhaps, can we +form any just idea of the every-day enormities, crimes, and vices, +that were committed at the period we now speak of, and of what it was +to live familiarly in the midst of such scenes, and to hear daily of +such occurrences. The mind of most men got hardened, callous, or +indifferent to acts of darkness and of shame, even if they did not +commit them themselves; and the world of Paris heard with scarcely an +emotion that this nobleman had been poisoned by another--that the hand +of the assassin had delivered one high lord of this troublesome friend +or that pertinacious enemy--that the husband had "drugged the posset" +for the wife, or the wife for the husband--or that persons obnoxiously +wise or virtuous disappeared within the walls of such places as +Vincennes, and passed suddenly with their good acts into that oblivion +which is the general recompense of all that is excellent upon earth. +No one noted such deeds; the sword of justice started from the +scabbard once or twice in a century, but that was all; and the world +laughed as merrily--the jest and the repartee went on--sport, love, +and folly revelled as gaily through the streets of Paris, as if it had +been a world of gentleness, and security, and peace.</p> + +<p class="normal">Though of course Charles of Montsoreau felt in some degree the spirit +of the day--though he thought it nothing at all extraordinary to be +attacked by reiters in his own château, or stopped by fifty or sixty +plunderers on the broad highway--though it seemed perfectly natural to +him that man should live as in a state of continual warfare, always on +his defence, yet the whole of his previous life having passed far from +the daily occurrence of still more revolting scenes, in spots where +calm nature and God's handiwork were still at hand to purify and heal +men's thoughts, he had very different feelings in regard to the events +and customs of the day from those which were generally entertained by +the people of the metropolis. Thus, when he gazed up at the gloomy +tower of Vincennes, and thought of the deeds which had been committed +within its walls, together with the crimes and follies that were daily +there enacted, a feeling of mingled horror and disgust took possession +of his bosom; and had he not been impelled by a sense of duty, he +would not have set his foot upon the threshold of those polluted +gates.</p> + +<p class="normal">The order to appear before the King at Vincennes had been communicated +to him early in the morning, and notice of his coming had been given +to the officers at the gates of the castle. He was punctual to a +moment at the appointed time, and was instantly led into the château, +and conducted up a long, darksome, winding stone staircase in one of +the towers. Everything took place almost in silence; few persons were +to be seen moving about in the building; and, while winding up those +stairs, nothing was heard but the footfalls of himself and the +attendant who conducted him.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau certainly felt neither awe nor fear as he thus +advanced, though some of the warnings of the Duke of Guise might cross +his mind at the moment; but at the end of what seemed to be the first +story, the attendant said, "Wait a moment;" and, pushing open a door, +entered a room to the right. There was another door beyond, but both +were left partly unclosed, and the previous silence was certainly no +longer to be complained of, for such a jabbering, and screaming, and +yelling, and howling, as was now heard, was probably never known in +the palace of a king, before or since.</p> + +<p class="normal">Human sounds they seemed certainly not to be, and yet words in various +languages were to be distinguished, so that conjecture was quite put +at fault, till after an absence of several minutes the attendant +returned, and, bidding the young nobleman follow him, led the way once +more into this den of noise and confusion.</p> + +<p class="normal">The scene that then burst upon the eyes of Charles of Montsoreau was +as curious as can well be conceived. Innumerable parrots, macaws, and +cockatoos were ranged on perches and in cages along the sides of a +large apartment, with intervals of monkeys and apes rattling their +chains, springing forward at every object near them, mouthing, +chattering, and writhing themselves into fantastic forms; six or seven +small beautiful dogs of a peculiar breed were running about on the +floor, snarling at one another, barking at the stranger, or teazing +the other animals in the same room with themselves; baskets filled +with litters of puppies were in every corner of the room; and several +men and women were engaged in tending the winged and quadruped +favourites of the King. Not only, however, were the regular attendants +present, but, as one of the known ways to Henry's regard, a great +number of other persons were always to be found busily engaged in +tending the monkeys, parrots, and dogs. Amongst the rest here present, +were no less than five dwarfs, four others being in actual attendance +upon the King. None were above three feet and a half in height, and +some were deformed and distorted in the most fearful manner, while one +was perfectly and beautifully formed, and seemed to hold the others in +great contempt. The voices of almost all of them, however, were +cracked and screaming; and it was the sounds of their tongues, mingled +with the yelping of the dogs, the chattering of the monkeys, and the +various words repeated in different languages by the loquacious birds +along the wall, which had made the Babel of sounds that reached the +ears of Charles of Montsoreau while he stood without.</p> + +<p class="normal">Passing through this room, with the envious eyes of the dwarfs staring +upon his fine figure, the young Count entered the chamber of the +pages--where, as if for the sake of contrast, a number of beautiful +youths were seen--and was thence led on into the royal apartments, in +which every thing was calm splendour and magnificence. Here and there +various officers of the royal household were found lounging away the +idle hours as they waited for the King's commands; and at length, in +an ante-room, the young Count was bade to wait again, while the +attendant once more notified his coming to the King. He was scarcely +detained a moment now, however; but, the door being opened, he was +ushered into the monarch's presence.</p> + +<p class="normal">Henry on the present occasion presented an aspect different from that +which the young Count had expected to behold. The Monarch had +recalled, for a moment or two, the princely and commanding air of his +youth, and received the young Count with dignity and grace. His person +was handsome, his figure fine, and his dress in the most exquisite +taste that it was possible to conceive. It was neither so effeminate +nor so overcharged with ornament as it sometimes was; and the black +velvet slashed and laced with gold, the toque with a single large +diamond on his head, the long snowy-white ostrich feather, and the +collar of one or two high orders round his neck, became him well, and +harmonised with the air of dignity he assumed.</p> + +<p class="normal">There were two or three gentlemen who stood around him more gaudily +dressed than himself, and amongst them was the Duke of Epernon, whom +Charles of Montsoreau remembered to have seen at his father's château +some years before. All, however, held back so as to allow the monarch +a full view of the young cavalier, as he advanced.</p> + +<p class="normal">"You are welcome to Vincennes, Monsieur de Logères," said the King. +"Our noble and princely cousin of Guise has notified to us that he has +sent you to Paris on business of importance; and, having given you +that praise which we are sure you must merit, has besought us to put +every sort of trust and confidence in you, and to listen to you as to +himself, while you speak with us upon the affairs which have brought +you hither. We beseech you, therefore, to inform us of that which he +has left dark, and tell us how we may pleasure our fair cousin, which +is always our first inclination to do--the good of our state and the +welfare of our subjects considered."</p> + +<p class="normal">"His Highness the Duke of Guise, Sire," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +not in the slightest degree abashed by the many eyes that were fixed +upon him, scrutinising his person and his dress in the most +unceremonious manner, "his Highness the Duke of Guise, Sire, has sent +me to your Majesty, to ask information regarding a young lady, his +near relation, who, he has reason to believe, was protected by a body +of your Majesty's troops in a situation of some difficulty, for which +protection the Duke is most grateful. She was then, he understood, +conducted to this your Majesty's castle of Vincennes, doubtless for +the purpose of affording her a safe asylum till you could restore her +to his Highness, who is her guardian."</p> + +<p class="normal">Henry turned with a sneering smile towards a dark but handsome man, +with a somewhat sinister expression of countenance, on his left hand, +saying, in an under tone, "Quick travelling, Villequier! to Soissons +and back to Paris in four and twenty hours, ha! Had the swallow ever +wings like rumour?"</p> + +<p class="normal">This was said affectedly aside, but quite loud enough for the young +nobleman to hear the whole. He, of course, made no reply, as the words +were not addressed to him; but waited, with his eyes bent down, +apparently in thoughtful meditation, till the King should give him his +answer.</p> + +<p class="normal">"You have given us, Monsieur le Comte de Logères," said the King, "but +a faint idea of this business; and, as unhappily the commanders of our +troops are but too little accustomed to afford us any very full +account of their proceedings, we are ignorant of the occasion on which +any one of them rendered this service to the young lady you mention."</p> + +<p class="normal">This affected unconsciousness, displayed absolutely in conjunction +with a scarcely concealed knowledge of the whole affair, Charles of +Montsoreau felt to be trifling and insulting: but he lost not his +reverence for the kingly authority; and he replied, with every +appearance of deference, "I had imagined, Sire, that the quick wings +of rumour must have carried the whole particulars to your Majesty, +otherwise I should have been more particular in my account. The +service was rendered to the young lady very lately, between Jouarre +and Gandelu. I am not absolutely aware of the name of the officer in +command of the troops at the time, but one gentleman present bore the +name of Colombel."</p> + +<p class="normal">"And pray what was the name of the young lady herself?" demanded the +King, with a sneer. "The Duke of Guise has many she relations, as we +sometimes find to our cost. It could not be our pretty, mild, and +virtuous friend, the Duchess of Montpensier, nor the delicate and +fair-favoured Mademoiselle de St. Beuve; for the one is staying in +Paris in disobedience to the orders of the King, and the other is +remaining there, waiting for the tender consolations of the Chevalier +d'Aumale."</p> + +<p class="normal">The young Count turned somewhat red, both at the coarseness and the +scornfulness of the King's reply. "The young lady," he answered, +however, still keeping the same tone, "is named Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, daughter of the late Count de Clairvaut."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Your first cousin, Villequier," said the King, turning to his +minister. "You should know something of this affair?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Not more than your Majesty," replied Villequier, bowing low, and +perceiving very clearly that Henry had maliciously wished to embarrass +him.</p> + +<p class="normal">The King smiled at the double-meaning answer, and then, turning to the +young Count, replied, "Well, sir, you have fulfilled your mission, and +may tell the Duke of Guise, our true and well-beloved cousin, that we +will cause immediate inquiry and investigation to be made into the +whole affair; and let him know the particulars as soon as we are +sufficiently well-informed to speak upon it with that accuracy which +becomes our character. You may retire."</p> + +<p class="normal">This was of course not the conclusion of the affair to which Charles +of Montsoreau was inclined to submit; and it was evident to him that +the King and his minions presumed upon his apparent youth and +inexperience. But there was a firm decision in his character which +they were not prepared for; and after pausing for a moment in thought, +during which time the King's brows began to bend angrily upon him, he +raised his eyes, looking Henry calmly and stedfastly in the face, and +replying, "Your Majesty must pardon me if I do not take instant +advantage of your permission to retire, as you have conceived a false +impression when you imagine that my mission is fulfilled."</p> + +<p class="normal">The King looked with an air of astonishment, first to Epernon and then +to Villequier: but the former turned away his head with a look of +dissatisfaction; while the latter bit his lip, let his hand fall upon +a jewelled dagger in his belt, and said nothing.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau, however, went on in the same calm but +determined tone. "His Highness the Duke of Guise," he said, "directed +me to inform your Majesty of the facts I have mentioned, and to beg in +general terms information regarding them; but in case the general +information that I obtained was not sufficiently accurate to enable me +to write to him distinctly that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is in this +place, or in that place, he further directed me humbly to request that +your Majesty would answer in plain terms the following plain +questions:--Is Mademoiselle de Clairvaut in the château of Vincennes? +Is she under the charge and protection of your Majesty? Does your +Majesty know where she is?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"By the Lord that lives," exclaimed Henry, "this Duke of Guise chooses +himself bold ambassadors to his King!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Do you dare, malapert boy," exclaimed Villequier, "with that bold +brow, to cross-question your sovereign?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I do dare, sir," answered Charles of Montsoreau, "to ask my +sovereign, in the name of the Duke of Guise, these plain questions, +which, as he is a just and noble monarch, he can neither find any +difficulty in answering, nor feel any anger in hearing."</p> + +<p class="normal">"And what if I refuse to answer, sir?" demanded the King. "What is to +be the consequence then? Is the doughty messenger charged to make a +declaration of war on the part of our obedient subject, the Duke of +Guise?"</p> + +<p class="normal">The young Count was not prepared for this question, and hesitated how +to answer it, though a full knowledge of how terrible the Duke of +Guise was to the weak and effeminate monarch he addressed, brought a +smile over his countenance, which had in reality more effect than any +words he could have spoken. After a pause, however, he replied,--"Oh +no, Sire. The Duke of Guise is, as you say, your Majesty's most +devoted and obedient subject; and never conceiving it possible that +you would refuse to answer his humble questions, he gave me no +instructions what to say in a case that he did not foresee. I can only +suppose," he added, with a low and reverent bow to the King, "that the +Duke will be obliged to come to Paris himself to make those inquiries +and investigations, concerning his young relation, in which I have not +been successful."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau could see, notwithstanding the paint, which +delicately furnished the King with a more stable complexion than his +own, that at the very thought of the Duke of Guise coming to Paris the +weak monarch turned deadly pale. The same signs also were visible to +Villequier, who whispered, "No fear, Sire; no fear; he will not come!"</p> + +<p class="normal">The King answered sharply, however, and sufficiently loud for the +young nobleman to hear, "We must give him no excuse, René! we must +give him no excuse! Monsieur de Logères," he continued, putting on a +more placable air than before, "we are glad to find that neither the +Duke of Guise nor his envoy presumes to threaten us; and in +consideration of the questions being put in a proper manner, we are +willing to answer them to the best of our abilities."</p> + +<p class="normal">Villequier, at these words, laid his hand gently upon the King's +cloak; but Henry twitched it away from his grasp with an air of +impatience, and continued, "I shall therefore answer you frankly and +freely, young gentleman; telling you that the Lady whom you are sent +to seek is in fact not at Vincennes; nor, to the best of our knowledge +and belief, in our good city of Paris; neither do we know or have any +correct information of where she may be found, though it is not by any +means to be denied that she has visited this our castle of Vincennes."</p> + +<p class="normal">The first part of the King's speech had considerably relieved the mind +of Villequier; but when he proceeded to make the somewhat unnecessary +admission, that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut had visited Vincennes, the +minister again attempted to interrupt the King, saying, "You know, +Sire, her pause at Vincennes was merely momentary, and absolutely +necessary for those passports and safeguards without which it might be +dangerous to travel, in the distracted state of the country."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Perfectly true," replied Henry: but the King's apprehension of the +Duke of Guise appearing in Paris was much stronger than his respect +for his minister's opinion; and he proceeded with what he had to say, +in spite of every sign or hint that could be given him.</p> + +<p class="normal">"You must know, Monsieur de Logères," he said, "that, as I before +observed, she did visit Vincennes for a brief space; but, there being +something embarrassing in the whole business, we were, to say the +truth--albeit not insensible to beauty--we were not at all sorry to +see her depart."</p> + +<p class="normal">Although Charles of Montsoreau judged rightly that the abode of +Vincennes, to the high and pure-minded girl whom he sought, could only +have been one of horror, he could not conceive any thing in her +situation which should have proved embarrassing to the King, and he +answered bluntly, "Then your Majesty of course has caused her to be +escorted in safety to the Duke of Guise, as the means of relieving +yourself from all embarrassment concerning her."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Not so, not so, Monsieur de Logères," replied the King. "Young +diplomatists and young greyhounds run fast and overleap the game. It +so happens that there are various claims regarding the wardship of +this young Lady. She has many relations, as near or nearer than the +Duke of Guise. The care and guidance of her, too, under the +authorisation of the Duke himself, has been claimed by a young +nobleman whom you may have heard of, called the Marquis of +Montsoreau;" and he fixed his eyes meaningly upon the young Count's +face. "All these circumstances rendered the matter embarrassing; and +as I was not called upon to decide the matter judicially; and the +Lady, if not quite of an age by law to judge for herself, being very +nearly so, I thought it far better to leave the whole business to her +own discretion, and let her take what course she thought fit, offering +her every assistance and protection in my power, which, however, she +declined. You may therefore assure the Duke of Guise, on my part, that +she is not at Vincennes, and that I am unacquainted with where she is +at this moment. I now think, therefore, that all your questions are +answered, and the business is at an end."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I fear I must intrude upon your Majesty still farther," replied the +young Count; "for besides the letter from the Duke of Guise, which I +have had the honour of delivering to your Majesty, he has also +furnished me with this document, giving me full power and authority to +inquire, seek for, and require, at the hands of any person in whose +power she may be, the young Lady whom he claims as his ward. He has +directed me to request your Majesty's approbation of the same, +expressed by your signature to that effect, giving me authority to +search for her in your name also, and to require the aid and +assistance of all your officers, civil and military, in executing the +said task."</p> + +<p class="normal">Henry looked both agitated and angry; and Villequier spoke for a +moment to Epernon behind the King's back.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Monsieur de Logères," exclaimed the latter, taking a step forward, +"this is too much. I can hardly suppose that his Highness the Duke of +Guise has authorised you to make such a demand."</p> + +<p class="normal">"My Lord Duke of Epernon," replied the Count, "were it not that I hold +in my hand the Duke's authority for that which I state, I would call +upon you to put your insinuation in plainer terms, that I might give +it the lie as plainly as I would do any other unjust accusation."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke turned very red; but he replied, "And you would be treated, +sir Count, as a petty boy of the low nobility of this realm deserves, +for using such language to one so much above yourself."</p> + +<p class="normal">"There is no one in France so much above myself, sir," replied the +Count, gazing on him sternly, and with a look of some contempt, "as to +dare to insult me with impunity; and though you be now High-admiral of +France, Colonel-general of Infantry, Governor of half the provinces of +this country, Duke, Peer, and hold many another rich and honourable +office besides, I tell you, John of Nogaret, that when the Baron de +Caumont dined at my father's table, he sat nearer the salt than +perhaps now may suit the proud Duke of Epernon to remember."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Silence!" exclaimed the King, rousing himself for a moment from his +effeminate apathy, while, for a brief space, an expression of power +and dignity came over his countenance, such as that which had +distinguished him while Duke of Anjou. "Silence, insolent boy! +Silence, Epernon! I forbid you, on pain of my utmost displeasure, to +take notice, even by a word, of what this young man has said. You were +yourself wrong to answer for the King in the King's presence. The Duke +of Guise shall have no just occasion to complain of us," he added, the +brightness which had come upon him gradually dying away like the false +promising gleam of sunshine which sometimes breaks for a moment +through a rainy autumnal day, and fades away again as soon, amidst the +dull grey clouds; "the Duke of Guise shall have no occasion to +complain of us. We will give this young man the authority which he has +so insolently demanded, to seek for Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, and +having found her--if she have not joined the Duke of Guise long +before--to escort her in safety to our cousin's care. But, Monsieur de +Logères, you show your ignorance of every custom of the court and +state, by supposing that the King of France can write down at the +bottom of the powers given you by the Duke of Guise his name in +confirmation of the same, like a steward at the bottom of a butcher's +bill. The authority which we give you must pass through the office of +our secretary of state, and it shall be drawn out and sent to you as +speedily as possible. I think that Monsieur de Villequier already +knows where to send this authority. You may now retire; and rest +assured that it shall reach you as soon as possible. At the same time +we pardon you for your conduct in this presence, which much needs +pardon, though it does not merit it."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau bowed low, and retired from the King's presence, +fully convinced that Henry was deceiving him; that he knew, or, at all +events, had every means of judging, where Marie de Clairvaut was; and +that he had not the slightest intention of sending him the +authorisation he had promised, unless absolutely driven to do so.</p> + +<p class="normal">The moment that the young Count had quitted the presence, the King +turned angrily to Villequier, exclaiming, "Are you mad, Villequier, to +risk bringing that fiery and ambitious pest upon us? 'Tis but four +days ago he was within ten miles of Paris!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Pshaw, Sire!" replied Villequier; "there is not the slightest chance +of his coming. Did I not tell you when he was at Gonesse that I would +find means to make him run like a frightened hare back again to +Soissons? I fear your Majesty has ruined all our plans by promising +this authority to that malapert youth, who doubtless already knows, or +easily divines, that he is deceived."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I have not deceived him," said the King: "I told him the girl was not +at Vincennes; nor is she. I told him that I did not know where she is +at this moment; nor do I; for she may be three miles on this side of +Meulan, or three miles on that, for aught I know. It depends upon the +quickness of the horses, and the state of the roads. I promised him +the authority to seek her; and he shall have it in good due form, if +he live long enough, and wait in Paris a sufficient time."</p> + +<p class="normal">"If he have it not within three days," replied Villequier, "be you +sure, Sire, that he will write to the Duke of Guise."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But, Villequier," said the King in a soft tone, "could you not find +means to prevent his making use of pen and ink to such bad purposes? +In short, friend René, it is altogether your affair. You seem to think +that the fact of this girl falling into our hands is quite the +discovery of a treasure which may fix on our side this young Marquis +of Montsoreau and the crafty Abbé that you talk of, and I don't know +how many more people besides. Now I told you from the beginning that +you should manage it all yourself: so look to it, good Villequier; +look to it."</p> + +<p class="normal">"He has let me manage it all myself, truly!" said Villequier, in a low +tone, "But I wish to know more precisely, your Majesty," he added +aloud, "what am I to do with this youth and the girl? Is he to have +the authorisation, or not? Am I, or am I not, to give her up when he +demands her?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Now, good faith," replied the King, "would not one think, Epernon, +that our well-beloved friend and minister here was a mere novice out +of a convent of young girls, a tender and scrupulous little thing, +thinking evil, in every stray look or soft word addressed to her. He +who has dealt with so many in his day, diplomatists and warriors and +statesmen, has not wit enough to deal with a raw boy, whom, doubtless, +our fair and crafty cousin of Guise has sent upon a fool's errand to +get him out of the way."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Certainly," replied the Duke of Epernon, "our wise friend Villequier +seems to be somewhat prudent and cautious this morning. The young lady +is in your hands, I think, Villequier; is she not? and you have sent +her off into Normandy, I think you told me, with an escort of fifty of +your archers. She goes there, doubtless, as his Majesty has said, with +her own will and consent, and by her own choice, for there is a soft +persuasiveness in fifty archers which it is very difficult for a +woman's heart to resist; and, doubtless, by the same cogent arguments, +you will induce her to marry whom you please. Come, tell us who it is +to be; the hand of a rich heiress to dispose of, may be made a +profitable thing, under such management as yours, Villequier."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I have not discovered the philosopher's stone, like you, Monsieur +d'Epernon," replied the other.</p> + +<p class="normal">The King laughed gaily, for Epernon's extraordinary cupidity was no +secret even to the monarch that fed it. But the Duke was proof to all +jest upon that score; and looking at Villequier with the same sort of +musing expression which he had before borne, he repeated his question, +saying, "Come, come, disinterested chevalier, tell us to whom do you +intend to give her?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Perhaps to my own nephew," replied the other. "What think you of +that, Monsieur le Duc?"</p> + +<p class="normal">The brow of Epernon grew clouded in a moment. "I think," he said, +"that you will not do it, for two reasons: in the first place, you +destine your nephew for your daughter Charlotte."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Not I," replied the Marquis; "I never dreamt of such a thing. She +shall wed higher than that, or not at all. But what is your second +reason, Monsieur d'Epernon?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Because you dare not," replied the Duc d'Epernon: and he added, +speaking in a low tone, "You dare not, Villequier, mingle your race +with that of Guise. The moment you do, your object will be clear, and +your ruin certain."</p> + +<p class="normal">"It is a curious thing, Sire," said Villequier, turning to the King +with a smile, "it is a curious thing to see how my good Lord of +Epernon grudges any little advantage to us mean men. However, to set +his Grace's mind at ease, I neither destine Mademoiselle de Clairvaut +for one nor for the other; but I think she may prove a wonderful good +bait for the wild young Marquis of Montsoreau. By the promise of her +hand, as far as my interest and influence is concerned, he will not +only be bound to your Majesty's cause on every occasion, but will +exert himself more zealously and potently for that, than any other +inducement could lead him to do. Even if he should fail in the +trial--for we must acknowledge that he shows himself somewhat unstable +in his purposes--he will, at all events, have so far committed himself +as to give your Majesty good cause for confiscating all his land, +cutting down all his timber, and seizing upon all his wealth. However, +I must think, in the first place, of how to deal with this brother of +his."</p> + +<p class="normal">"No very difficult task, I should judge," said the Duke of Epernon, +"for one so practised in the art of catching gudgeons as you, +Villequier."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I don't know that," answered Villequier; "I would fain detach that +youth, also, from the Guises. You see, most noble Duke, I am thinking +of the King's interest all the time, while you are thinking of your +own. However, I must find a way to manage him, for, as their wonderful +friend and tutor, this wise Abbé de Boisguerin, admitted to me last +night, there are three means all powerful in dealing with our +neighbours--love, interest, and ambition; and we might thus exemplify +it,--the King would do any thing for the first, the Duke of Epernon +any thing for the second, and his Highness of Guise any thing for the +third."</p> + +<p class="normal">"There are two other implements frequently used, which I wonder +Monsieur de Villequier did not add," said the Duke, "as I rather +expect he may have to use one or other of them on the present +occasion; and men say he is fully as skilful in using them as in +employing love, interest, or ambition, for his ends."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Pray what are those?" demanded Villequier, somewhat sharply.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Vicenza daggers," replied the Duke of Epernon, "and wine that splits +a Venice glass!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Come, come, Epernon," cried the King, "you and Villequier shall not +quarrel. Come away from him, come away from him, or you will be using +your daggers on each other presently:" and, throwing his arm +familiarly round his neck, he drew the Duke away.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_05" href="#div1Ref_05">CHAP. V.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau rode homeward in painful and anxious thought: he +had flattered himself vainly, before he had proceeded to Vincennes, +that the redoubted name of Henry of Guise would be found fully +sufficient immediately to cause the restoration of Marie de Clairvaut +to him, who had naturally a right to protect her. It less frequently +happens that youth fails to reckon upon the fiery contention it is +destined to meet with from adversaries, than that it miscalculates the +force of the dull and inert opposition which circumstances continually +offer to its eager course, throwing upon it a heavy, slow, continual +weight, which, like a clog upon a powerful horse, seems but a nothing +for the moment, but in the end checks its speed entirely. None knew +better than Henry III. that it is by casting small obstacles in the +way of impetuous youth, that we conquer and tame it sooner than by +opposing it; and such had been his purpose with Charles of Montsoreau.</p> + +<p class="normal">In his idle carelessness he cared but little what became of +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, or into whose hands she fell. He was +willing to countenance and assist the politic schemes of his favourite +Villequier; and cared not, even in the slightest degree, whether that +personage employed poison or the knife to rid himself of the young +Count of Logères, provided always that he himself had nothing to do +with it. The only part that he was inclined to act was to thwart the +Duke's young envoy by obstacles and long delays; and this he had +suffered to become so far evident to Charles of Montsoreau, that he +became angry and impatient at the very prospect before him. He +doubted, however, whether it would be right to send off a courier with +this intelligence immediately to the Duke of Guise, or to wait for two +or three days, in order to see whether the powers promised him were +effectually granted; and he was still pondering the matter, while +riding through the streets of Paris, when, in passing by a large and +splendid mansion in one of the principal streets, he caught a glimpse +of two figures disappearing through the arched portal of the building. +The faces of neither were visible to him; their figures only for a +moment, and that at a distance. But he felt that he could not be +mistaken--that all the thoughts and feelings and memories of youth +could not so suddenly, so magically, be called up by the sight of any +one but his brother,--and if so, that the other was the Abbé de +Boisguerin.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Whose is that house?" he exclaimed aloud, turning to his attendants.</p> + +<p class="normal">"That of Monsieur René de Villequier," replied the page instantly; +and, springing from his horse at the gate, the young Count knocked +eagerly for admission. The portals were instantly thrown open, and a +porter in crimson, with a broad belt fringed with gold, appeared in +answer to the summons.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I think," said the young Count, "that I saw this moment the Marquis +de Montsoreau and the Abbé de Boisguerin pass into this house."</p> + +<p class="normal">The porter looked dull, and shook his head, replying, "No, sir; nobody +has passed in here but two of my noble Lord's attendants--the old Abbé +Scargilas, and Master Nicolas Prevôt, who used formerly to keep the +Salle d'Armes, opposite the kennel at St. Germain."</p> + +<p class="normal">Although Charles of Montsoreau knew the existence and possibility of +such a thing as the lie circumstantial, yet the coolness and readiness +of the porter surprised him. "Pray," he said, after a moment's pause, +"is there any such person as either Monsieur de Montsoreau or the Abbé +de Boisguerin dwelling here at present?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"None, sir," replied the man. "There is no one here but the attendants +of my Lord, who is at present absent with the King."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau would have given a good deal to have searched +the house from top to bottom; but as it would not exactly do to storm +the dwelling of René de Villequier, he rode on, no less convinced than +ever that his brother was at that moment in the dwelling of the +minister.</p> + +<p class="normal">This conviction determined his conduct at once. That his brother was +in Paris, and in the hands of the most dangerous and intriguing man of +that day, he had no doubt; and it seemed to him also clear, that +schemes were going on and contriving, of which the obstacles and +delays thrown in his way might be, perhaps, a part. To what they +tended he could not, of course, tell directly; but he saw that the +only hope of frustrating them lay in exertion without the loss of a +moment, and he accordingly dispatched his faithful attendant Gondrin +to Soissons as soon as he reached the inn.</p> + +<p class="normal">We must follow, however, for a moment, the two persons whom the young +Count had seen enter the hotel of Villequier, and accompany them at +once into the chamber to which they proceeded after passing the +portal. It was a splendid cabinet, filled with every sort of rare and +costly furniture, which was displayed to the greater perfection by the +dark but rich tapestry that covered the walls. Another larger room +opened beyond, and through the door of that again, which was partly +open, a long suite of bed-rooms and other apartments were seen, with +different rich and glittering objects placed here and there along the +perspective, as if for the express purpose of catching the eye.</p> + +<p class="normal">Into one of the large arm-chairs which the cabinet contained, the +Marquis of Montsoreau threw himself as if familiar with the scene. +"Villequier is long," he said, speaking to the Abbé. "He promised to +have returned before this hour."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Impatience, Gaspar, impatience," replied the Abbé, "is the vice of +your disposition. How much have you lost already by impatience? Was it +not your impatience which hurried me forward to represent his own +situation and that of yourself, to your brother Charles, which drove +him directly to the Duke of Guise? Was it not your impatience which +made you speak words of love to Marie de Clairvaut before she was +prepared to hear them, drawing from her a cold and icy reply? Was it +not your impatience that made us leave behind at Provins all the tired +horses and one half of the men, rather than wait a single day to +enable them to come on with us; and did not that very fact put us +almost at the mercy of the reiters, and give your brother an +opportunity of showing his gallantry and skill at our expense?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"It is all true, my friend; it is all true," replied the Marquis. "But +in regard to my speaking those fiery words to Marie de Clairvaut, how +could I help that? Is it possible so to keep down the overflowing +thoughts of our bosom as to prevent their bursting forth when the +stone is taken off from the fountain, and when the feelings of the +heart gush out, not as from the spring of some ordinary river, but, +like the waters of Vaucluse, full, powerful, and abundant even at +their source."</p> + +<p class="normal">"It was that I wished you to guard against," replied the Abbé. "Had +you appeared less to seek, you would have been sought rather than +avoided. It may be true, Gaspar, what authors have said, that a woman, +like some animals of the chase, takes a pleasure in being pursued; but +depend upon it, if she do so, she puts forth all her speed to insure +herself against being caught. Unless you are very sure of your own +speed and strength, you had better steal quietly onward, lest you +frighten the deer. Had she heard much from my lips, and from those of +her good but weak friend Madame de Saulny, of your high qualities, and +of all those traits in your nature calculated to captivate and attract +such a being as herself, while you seemed indifferent and somewhat +cool withal, every thing--good that is in her nature would have joined +with every thing that is less good--the love of high qualities and of +manly daring would have combined with vanity and caprice to make her +seek you, excite your attention, and court your love."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I have never yet seen in her," said the young Marquis, "either vanity +or caprice; and besides, good friend, such things to me at least are +not matters of mere calculation. I act upon impulses that I cannot +resist. Mine are feelings, not reasonings: I follow where they lead +me, and even in the pursuit acquire intense pleasure that no reasoning +could give."</p> + +<p class="normal">"True," replied the Abbé, bending down his head and answering +thoughtfully. "There is a great difference between your age and mine, +Gaspar. You are at the age of passions, and at that period of their +sway when they defeat themselves by their own intensity. I had +thought, however, that my lessons might have taught you, my counsel +might have shown you, that with any great object in view it is +necessary to moderate even passion in the course, in order to succeed +in the end."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But there is joy in the course also," exclaimed Gaspar de Montsoreau. +"Think you, Abbé, that even if it were possible to win the woman we +love by another's voice, we could lose the joy of winning her for +ourselves--the great, the transcendant joy of struggling for her +affection, even though it were against her coldness, her indifference, +or her anger?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I think, Gaspar," replied the Abbé, "that if to a heart constituted +as yours is, there be added a mind of equal power, nothing--not even +the strongest self-denial--will be impossible for the object of +winning her you love. But I am not a good judge of such matters," he +continued with a slight smile curling his lip--a smile not altogether +without pride. "I am no judge of such matters. The profession which I +have chosen, and followed to a certain point, excludes them from my +consideration. All I wish to do in the present instance is to warn +you, Gaspar, against your own impetuosity in dealing with this +Villequier. Be warned against that man! be careful! Promise him +nothing; commit yourself absolutely to nothing, unless upon good and +sufficient proof that he too deals sincerely with you. He is not one +to be trusted, Gaspar, even in the slightest of things; and promise me +not to commit yourself with him in any respect whatsoever."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, fear not, fear not," replied the Marquis. "In this respect at +least, good friend, no passions hurry me on. Here I can deal calmly +and tranquilly, because, though the end is the same, I have nothing +but art to encounter, which may always be encountered by reason. When +I am with her, Abbé, it is the continual strife of passion that I have +to fear; at every word, at every action, I have to be upon my guard; +and reason, like a solitary sentinel upon the walls of a city attacked +on every side, opposes the foes in vain at one point, while they pour +in upon a thousand others."</p> + +<p class="normal">While he was yet speaking, a servant with a noiseless foot entered the +room, and in a low sweet tone informed the Marquis, that Monsieur de +Villequier had just returned from Vincennes, and desired earnestly to +speak with him, for a moment, <i>alone</i> in his own cabinet. The word +"alone" was pronounced more loud than any other, though the whole was +low and tuneful; for Villequier used to declare that he loved to have +servants with feet like cats and voices like nightingales.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé marked that word distinctly, and was too wise to make the +slightest attempt to accompany his former pupil. The Marquis, however, +did not remark it; and, perhaps a little fearful of his own firmness +and skill, asked his friend to accompany him. But the Abbé instantly +declined. "No, Gaspar," he said, "no; it were better that you should +see Monsieur Villequier alone. I will wait for you here;" and, turning +to the table, he took up an illuminated psalter, and examined the +miniatures with as close and careful an eye as if he had been deeply +interested in the labours of the artist.</p> + +<p class="normal">He saw not a line which had there been drawn; but after the Marquis +had followed the servant from the room he muttered to himself, "So, +Monsieur de Villequier, you think that I am a mean man, who may be +over-reached with impunity and ease? You know me not yet, but you +shall know me, and that soon." And laying down the psalter, he took up +another book of a character more suited to his mind at the moment, and +read calmly till his young friend returned, which was not for near an +hour.</p> + +<p class="normal">In the mean time the Marquis had proceeded to the cabinet of +Villequier, who, the moment he saw him, rose from the chair in which +he had been seated busily writing, and pressed him warmly by the hand.</p> + +<p class="normal">"My dear young friend," he said, "one learns to love the more those in +whose cause one suffers something; and, since I saw you, I have had to +fight your battle manfully."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed! and may I ask, my Lord, with whom?" demanded the young +Marquis.</p> + +<p class="normal">"With many," answered Villequier. "With the King,--with Epernon,-with +your own brother."</p> + +<p class="normal">"With my brother?" exclaimed Gaspar of Montsoreau, while the blood +rushed up in his face. "Does he dare to oppose me after all his loud +professions of disinterestedness and generosity? But where is he, my +Lord? Leave me to deal with him. Where does he dwell? Is he in Paris?"</p> + +<p class="normal">Villequier smiled, but so slightly, that it did not attract the eyes +of his companion. That smile, however, was but the announcement of a +sudden thought that had passed through his own mind.</p> + +<p class="normal">Shrewd politicians like himself, fertile in all resources, and +unscrupulous about any, feel a pride and pleasure in their own +abundance of expedients, which makes the conception of a new means to +their end as pleasant as the finding of a diamond. On the present +occasion the subtle courtier thought to himself with a smile, as he +saw the angry blood mount into the cheek of the young Marquis of +Montsoreau at the very mention of his brother's name,--"Here were a +ready means of ridding ourselves, were it needful, of one if not both +of these young rash-headed nobles, by setting them to cut each other's +throats."</p> + +<p class="normal">It suited not his plan however at the moment to follow out the idea, +and he consequently replied, "No, no, Monsieur de Montsoreau. I should +take no small care, seeing how justly offended you are with your +brother, to prevent your finding out his abode, as I know what +consequences would ensue. But in all probability, by this time, he has +gone back to the Duke of Guise, having with difficulty been +frustrated, for the King was much inclined to yield to his demands."</p> + +<p class="normal">"What did he demand?" exclaimed the Marquis vehemently. "What did he +dare to demand, after the professions he made to me at La Ferté?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"That matters not," answered Villequier. "Suffice it that his demands +were such as would have ruined all your hopes for ever."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But why should the King support his demands," said the Marquis, "when +well assured of how attached he is to the great head of the League +that tyrannises over him?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Hush, hush!" said Villequier. "The League only tyrannises so long as +the King chooses. Henry wields not the sword at present, but the sword +is still in his hands to strike when he thinks fit. But to answer your +question, my young friend. The King knows well, as you say, that your +brother is attached to the Duke of Guise: but you must remember at the +same time, Monsieur de Montsoreau, that as yet he is not fully assured +that you are attached to himself. Nay, hear me out, hear me out! The +King's arguments, I am bound to say, were not only specious but +reasonable. He had to consider, on the one hand, that the Duke of +Guise, with whom it is his strongest interest to keep fair, demands +this young lady as his ward, which, according to the laws of the land, +Henry has no right to refuse. Your brother, on the Duke's part, +threatens loudly; and what have I to oppose to a demand to which it +seems absolutely necessary in good policy that the King should yield? +Nothing; for, on the other hand, Henry affirms that he can be in no +degree sure of yourself; that your family for long have shown +attachment for the House of Guise; that you yourself were upon your +march to join the Duke, when this lady, falling into the hands of the +King's troops, induced you to abandon your purpose for the time; but +that the moment he favours your suit, or gives his consent to your +union with her, you may return to your former attachments, and +purchase the pardon and good will of the Duke of Guise by returning to +his faction."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I am incapable of such a thing!" exclaimed the Marquis vehemently: +but the recollection of his abandonment of the Duke's party came over +him with a glow of shame, and he remained for a moment or two without +making any farther reply, while Villequier was purposely silent also, +as if to let what he had said have its full effect. At length he +added:</p> + +<p class="normal">"I believe you are incapable of it, Monsieur de Montsoreau, and so I +assured the King. He, however, still urged upon me that I had no +proof, and that you had taken no positive engagement to serve his +Majesty. All the monarch's arguments were supported by Epernon, who, I +believe, wishes for the hand of the young lady for some of his own +relations, in order to arrange for himself such an alliance with the +House of Guise as may prove a safeguard to him in the hour of need." +And again Villequier smiled at his own art in turning back upon the +Duke of Epernon the suspicion which the Duke had expressed in regard +to himself.</p> + +<p class="normal">The warning of the Abbé de Boisguerin, however, at that moment rang in +the ears of Gaspar of Montsoreau, and he roused himself to deal with +Villequier not exactly as an adversary, but certainly less as a +friend.</p> + +<p class="normal">"In fact, Monsieur de Villequier," he said, "his Majesty wishes that I +should devote my sword and fortune to his service; and I am to +understand, through you, that he holds out to me the hope of obtaining +the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut in return. Now, it was not at +all my purpose to take any part in the strifes that are agitating the +country at this moment. I am neither Leaguer nor Huguenot, nor Zealot +nor Moderate; and, though most loyal, not what is called Royalist. I +was merely conducting Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, with a very small +force, not the tenth part of what I can bring into the field at a +week's notice, when the events took place which brought me to Paris. +Now, Monsieur, if the King does not rest satisfied with my expressions +of loyalty, and desires some express and public engagement to his +service, I see no earthly reason why I should rest satisfied with mere +vague hopes of obtaining the hand of the lady I love; and though, of +course, I cannot deal with his Majesty upon equal terms, yet I must +demand some full, perfect, and permanent assurance that I am not to be +disappointed in my hopes, before I draw my sword for one party or +another."</p> + +<p class="normal">Villequier gazed thoughtfully in his face for a moment or two, biting +his under lip, and saying internally, "The Abbé de Boisguerin--this +comes from him." His next thought was, "Shall I endeavour to pique +this stripling upon his honour, and generosity, and loyalty, and all +those fine words?" But he rejected the idea the moment after thinking. +"No; that would do better with his brother. When a man boldly leaps +over such things, it is insulting him to talk about them any more."</p> + +<p class="normal">And after a moment's farther thought, he replied, "It is all very +fair, Monsieur de Montsoreau, that you should have such assurances; +though, if we were not inclined to deal straightforwardly with you in +the matter, we might very very easily refuse every thing of the kind, +and leave you not in the most pleasant situation."</p> + +<p class="normal">"How so?" demanded the Marquis with some alarm. "How so?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Easily, my dear young friend," replied Villequier. "Thus: by +informing you that the King could give you no such assurance--which, +indeed, is nominally true, though not really--and by showing you, at +the same time, that as the young lady is in his Majesty's hands, and +he is determined not to give her up to the Duke of Guise or to any +body else, but some tried and faithful friend, the only means by which +you can possibly obtain her is by serving the King voluntarily, in the +most devoted manner. Suppose this did not suit you, what would be your +resource? If you go to the Duke of Guise, you find the ground occupied +before you by your brother, and the Duke accuses you of having +betrayed his young relation into the hands of the King--perhaps sends +you under a guard into Lorraine, and has you tried, and your head +struck off. Such things have happened before now, Monsieur de +Montsoreau. At all events, not the slightest chance exists of your +winning the fair heiress of Clairvaut from him. But, even if you did +gain his consent, she is still in the hands of the King, who would +certainly not give her up to one who had proved himself a determined +enemy."</p> + +<p class="normal">Gaspar of Montsoreau looked down, with somewhat of a frowning brow, +upon the ground. He saw, indeed, that the alternative was one that he +could not well adopt; and, from the showing of Villequier, he fancied +himself of less power and consequence in the matter than he really +was. He resolved, however, not to admit the fact if he could help it.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Suppose, Monsieur de Villequier," he said, "that the League were to +prevail, and to force his Majesty to concede all the articles of +Nancy, think you not that one thing exacted from him might well be, to +yield Mademoiselle de Clairvaut to her lawful guardian?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"It might," answered Villequier immediately. "But then I come in. The +question of guardianship has never been tried between the Duke and +myself. I stand as nearly related to her as he does; and I should +instantly bring the cause before the Parliament, demanding that the +young lady should remain in the hands of the King as suzerain till the +cause is decided, which might be this time ten years."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I did not know," said the young nobleman, "that the relationship was +so near, though I was aware that Clairvaut is the family name of +Villequier. However, sir, there is yet another alternative. Suppose I +were to keep the sword in the sheath, and retire once more to +Montsoreau."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why there, then," replied Villequier with a slight sneer, "you might +happily abide, watching the progress of events, till either the +royalist party or the League prevailed; and then, as chance or +accident might will it, see the hand of the fair Lady rewarding one of +the King's gallant defenders, or bestowed by the Duke of Guise upon +his brave and prudent partisan, the Count of Logères."</p> + +<p class="normal">He paused for a moment or two, to let all he said have its full +effect, and then added, in a familiar tone, "Come, come, Monsieur de +Montsoreau, see the matter in its true light. There is no possible +chance of your obtaining the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, except +by attaching yourself to the King's service, and defending the royal +cause with the utmost zeal. If you persist in doing so simply as a +voluntary act to be performed or remitted at pleasure, be you sure +that as you make the King depend upon your good will for your services +towards him, so will you be made to depend upon his good will, his +caprices if you like, for the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. If, +however, on the contrary, you frankly and generously determine to take +service with the King, and bind yourself irrevocably to his cause, I +do not scruple to promise you, under his hand, his full consent to +your union with Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. I will give you the same +consent under mine, assuming the title of her guardian. Your marriage +cannot, of course, take place till the great struggle that is now +impending is over. In a few months, nay, in a few weeks, the one party +or the other--who are now directing their efforts against each other, +instead of turning, as they ought, their united forces against the +common enemies of our religion--must have triumphed over its +adversary. I need not tell you which I feel, which I know, must be +successful; but your part will now be, to exert yourself to the +utmost, to traverse the country with all speed to Montsoreau, to raise +every soldier that you can, and to gather every crown that you can +collect, to join the King with all your forces, wherever he may be, +and, by your exertions, to render that result certain, which is, +indeed, scarcely doubtful even as it is; remembering that upon the +destruction of the Duke of Guise's party, and upon the overthrow of +his usurped and unreasonable power, depends not only the welfare of +your King and master, but the realisation of your best and sweetest +hopes."</p> + +<p class="normal">"You grant all that I demand, Monsieur de Villequier," replied Gaspar +of Montsoreau. "All I wish is the King's formal consent in writing, +and yours, to my marriage with Marie de Clairvaut, as the condition of +my absolute and public adhesion to the royal cause."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know," replied Villequier, "that I grant all you demand, and I was +prepared to do so from the first, only we were led into collateral +discussions as we went on. You will, of course, take an oath to the +King's service, and confirm it under your hand."</p> + +<p class="normal">"We will exchange the papers, Monsieur de Villequier," replied the +Marquis, thinking himself extremely cautious. "But now, pray tell me, +how ended the discussion with my brother?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"The only way that it could end," replied Villequier, "when all +parties were determined to evade his demand. The King, you may easily +suppose, was not inclined to give the young heiress of Clairvaut to +any of the partisans of an enemy. Epernon knew well that if the hand +of a Guise were upon her shoulder, the ring of a La Valette would +never pass upon her finger; and I, when last we met, had half given my +promise to you, and was, at all events, determined that the question +of wardship should be settled before I parted with her. The King, +therefore, evaded the demands of the young Count, though he was not a +little inclined to yield to them at one time, in order to pacify the +Duke of Guise. However, I took the brunt of the business upon myself, +and underwent the hot indignation of your brother, who thought to find +in me an Epernon, or a Montsoreau, who would measure swords with him +for an angry word."</p> + +<p class="normal">"They had better be skilful as well as brave," said the young Marquis +thoughtfully, "who measure swords with my brother Charles."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed!" said Villequier, "is he then so much a master of his +weapon?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"The most perfect I ever beheld--ay, more skilful now, than even our +friend the Abbé de Boisguerin; though I have heard that, some years +ago, when the Abbé was studying at Padua, he challenged the famous +Spanish sword-player, Bobéz, to display his skill with him in the +schools, in single combat, and hit him three times upon the heart +without Bobéz touching him once."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I remember, I remember!" cried Villequier. "The master broke the +buttons from the swords in anger, and the student ran him through the +body at the first pass, whereof he died within five minutes after in +the Deacon's chamber."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I never heard that he died," replied the Marquis with some surprise.</p> + +<p class="normal">"He did indeed, though," replied Villequier with a meditative air. +"And so this was the Abbé de Boisguerin. One would have thought the +army, rather than the church, would have called such a spirit to +itself."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know not," replied the young Marquis, "but in all things he is +equally skilful; and, doubtless, you know he has taken but the first +step towards entering the church, pausing as it were even on the +threshold."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Do you think," said Villequier, "that he is as skilful in conveying +intelligence as in other things?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"What do you mean, my Lord?" exclaimed his young companion.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Nay, I mean nothing," replied the politician, satisfied with having +sown the first seed of suspicion in the young nobleman's mind, +without, perhaps, any definite design, but simply for the universal +purpose of making men doubt and distrust each other, with a view of +ruling them more easily. "Nothing, except a mere question concerning +his skill. I have no latent meaning, I assure you."</p> + +<p class="normal">The brow of the Marquis grew clear again, and Villequier saw that he +believed the latter assertion more fully than he had intended. He let +the subject pass, however, and spoke of many other things, giving his +own account of various matters which had occurred during the Count de +Logères's audience of the King, and urging Gaspar de Montsoreau to set +off with all speed to raise his forces in his native province. Then +abruptly turning the conversation, he demanded, "You or the Abbé told +me, I think, that you suspected your brother of having communicated +your march to the reiters. Is it like his general character so to act? +I'm sure, if it be his custom to do such things, I would much rather +that he was upon the opposite party than our own."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Marquis bent down his head, and gazed sternly upon the ground for +two or three moments. He then answered, with a deep sigh, "No, +Monsieur de Villequier; no, it is not like Charles's character. He has +all his life been frank and free as the summer air, open, and +generous. I fear I did him wrong to suspect him. We are rivals where +no man admits of rivalry: but I must do him justice. If he have done +such a thing, his nature must be changed, changed indeed--changed, +perhaps, as much as my own."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I thought," replied Villequier, "that he seemed frank and +straightforward enough, bold and haughty as a lion; gave the King look +for look; bearded Epernon, and threatened to bring him to the field; +and spared not me myself, whom men don't for some reason love to +offend. But he did not seem a man likely to betray his friend, or +practise treachery upon his brother. It is a very strange thing, too," +he continued in an easier tone, "that Colombel and the other officers +of the King's troops at Château Thierry should have received news of +your coming a day before you did cross the Marne, together with the +information that the reiters might attack you near Gandelu. Was not +this strange?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Most strange," replied the Marquis, knitting his brows, and setting +his teeth hard. But Villequier, now seeing that he had said quite +enough, again turned the conversation; and after letting it subside +naturally to ordinary subjects, he told the young Marquis that he +would immediately write to the King, and obtain his signature to the +paper required, before bed-time. "It is late already," he said; "I +think even now I see a shade in the sky, so I must about my work +rapidly. But remember, Monsieur de Montsoreau, nine is my supper hour +exactly; and then, care and labour being past, we will sit down and +enjoy ourselves, though I fear the accommodation which I can offer you +in my poor dwelling must seem but rude in your eyes."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Marquis said all that such a speech required, and then withdrew.</p> + +<p class="normal">When he was gone, Villequier applied himself for some time to other +things; but when they were concluded, he rose from his chair, and +walked once or twice thoughtfully across the cabinet.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I had better," he said to himself at length, "I had better deal with +him at once, and then I can ascertain what are his demands, and how to +treat them."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus saying, he took up his bell and rang it, directing the servant +who appeared to see if he could find the Abbé de Boisguerin alone, in +which case he was to invite him to a conference. "He will be alone," +thought the wily courtier, "for I have sown seeds of those things +which will not suffer them to be long together."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé, however, was absent from the house, much to the surprise of +Villequier; and another hour had well nigh passed before he made his +appearance. The moment that he did so, he advanced towards Villequier +with his mild and graceful calmness, saying that he understood his +Lordship had sent for him. Villequier pressed his hand tenderly, and +with soft and courtly words assured him that, in sending for him, he +had only sought to enjoy the pleasure of his unrivalled conversation +for a few minutes before supper.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé replied exactly in the same tone; that he was profoundly +grieved to have lost even a moment of the society of one who +fascinated from the first, and sent away every one charmed and +delighted.</p> + +<p class="normal">A slight and bitter smile curled the lip of each as he ended his +speech, like a seal upon a treaty, the confirmation and mockery of a +falsehood.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé, however, added to his speech a few words more, saying that +he should have been back earlier, but that his conversation at the +White Penitent's had been so interesting that he could not withdraw +himself earlier from her Majesty the Queen-mother.</p> + +<p class="normal">Villequier started. "Are you acquainted with the Queen?" he said. +"What a surprising-being Catherine is!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"She is indeed," answered the Abbé. "My long sojourn at Florence some +years ago made me fully acquainted with every member of the House of +Medici, and I now bring you this letter on her part, Monsieur de +Villequier."</p> + +<p class="normal">Villequier took the paper that the Abbé handed to him, and read +apparently with some surprise. "Her Majesty," he said, "knows that I +am her devoted slave, but at the same time she cannot doubt, knowing +as she does so well your high qualities, that I will do every thing to +serve and assist you, and prevent all evil machinations against you."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, she doubts it not; she doubts it not," replied the Abbé. "She +doubts it not, Monsieur de Villequier, any more than I do; and has +written this note only in confirmation of your good intentions towards +me. However, there is one thing I wish you to do for me, Monsieur de +Villequier."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Name it, my dear friend," exclaimed the Marquis; "but give me an +opportunity of making myself happy in gratifying your wishes."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The fact is, Monsieur de Villequier," replied the Abbé, "that some +malicious person has been endeavouring to persuade the young Marquis +de Montsoreau, my friend, and formerly my pupil, that it was I who +intimated to the reiters the course we were pursuing to meet the Duke +of Guise, and who also intimated the facts to the King's troops at +Château Thierry, that they might have an opportunity of coming up to +rescue us and bring us hither--though they showed no great activity in +doing the first. Now, doubtless, the person who did this, if there +were any one, had the King's service solely in view, and deserved to +be highly rewarded, as he probably will be; but----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Doubtless," replied Villequier with a sneering smile. "But surely he +could not object to such honourable service being known."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Of course not," replied the Abbé; "nor that he had given intimation +of the facts to, and taken his measures with, her Majesty the +Queen-mother; by an order, under whose hand the troops at Château +Thierry acted, and at whose suggestion Monsieur de Montsoreau and +his friends threw themselves into the hands of Monsieur de +Villequier.--All this her Majesty declares he did; and he could not, +of course, object to any of these things being known, except as it is +contrary to good policy and to the wishes of the Queen-mother: and +more especially contrary to every wise purpose, if he be a person +possessed of much habitual influence with the young Marquis."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Monsieur de Boisguerin," said Villequier, seeming suddenly to break +away from the subject, but in truth following the scent as truly as +any well-trained hound, "the bishopric of Seez is at present vacant. I +know none who would fill it better than the Abbé de Boisguerin."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé drew himself up and waved his hand. "You mistake me entirely, +Monsieur de Villequier," he said. "I take no more vows. I have taken +too many already; and those, by God's grace and the good will of our +holy father the Pope, I intend to get rid of very speedily. I have +nothing to request of your Lordship at present. I know, see, and +understand your whole policy, and think you quite right in every +respect. The promises which you and the King are to give to Monsieur +de Montsoreau concerning the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut can of +course be broken, changed, or modified in a moment at any future +time."</p> + +<p class="normal">"We have no intention of breaking them," replied Villequier. "We are +acting in good faith, I can assure you."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Doubtless," replied the Abbé, "doubtless: but they can be broken?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Of course," replied Villequier; "of course any thing on earth can be +broken."</p> + +<p class="normal">"That is sufficient," replied the Abbé. "It is quite enough, Monsieur +de Villequier: I only desire to know, whether you and the King +consider it as a final arrangement, that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is +to marry the young Lord of Montsoreau, or whether the matter is not +now as much unsettled and within your own power and grasp as ever."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why," replied Villequier thoughtfully, "it is, as I dare say you well +know, Monsieur l'Abbé, a very difficult thing indeed to devise any +sort of black lines, which, written down upon sheep skin, will prove +sufficiently strong to bind the actions of kings, princes, or common +men, at a future period. But it seems to me, Monsieur l'Abbé, that the +time is come when we had better be frank with each other! What is it +that you aim at? You seem not displeased to think the arrangement +doubtful or contingent; and yet I, who am not accustomed to guess very +wrongly in such matters, have entertained no doubtful suspicion that +you prompted the demand for a definite and conclusive bargain."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I did," replied the Abbé. "When you asked to see him alone, I was +very well assured that, though a game of policy skilfully played may +occasionally afford sport to Monsieur de Villequier, you were quite as +well pleased in the present business to deal with a young and +inexperienced head as with an old and a worldly one. He sought my +opinion and advice, and, as I uniformly do when it is sought, I gave +it him sincerely, though it was against my own views and purposes. +Now, Monsieur de Villequier, I see hovering round your lips a +question, which, in whatever form of words you place it, whatever +Proteus form it may assume, will have this for its substance and +object; namely, What are the plans and purposes of the Abbé de +Boisguerin? Now, my plans and purposes are these,--remember, I do not +say my objects; the object of every man in life is one, though we all +set out upon different roads to reach it. My purpose is to serve his +Majesty and the Queen-mother far more than I have hitherto been able +to do. What I have done is a trifle; but if I detach from the party of +the League, separate for ever from the Duke of Guise, and bring over +to the royal cause Charles of Montsoreau as well as his brother, I +shall confer no trifling service, for I can now inform you, Monsieur +de Villequier, that, besides the great estates of Logères, he is lord +of all the possessions lately held by the old Count de Morly, who +amassed much treasure during the avaricious part of age, and died +little more than a week ago, leaving this young Lord the heir of all +his wealth. I have received the intelligence this very morning; so +that, what between his riches, his skill, and his courage, he is worth +any two, excepting Epernon perhaps, of the King's court."</p> + +<p class="normal">"If you do what you say, Monsieur de Boisguerin," replied the Marquis +in a low, deep, sweet-toned voice, "you may command any thing you +please in France, bishoprics, abbeys----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"If it rained bishoprics," replied the Abbé, "I would not wear a +mitre. I do not pretend to say, Monsieur de Villequier, that I am more +disinterested than my neighbours; that I have not great rewards in +view, and objects of importance--to me, if not to others. But these +objects are not quite fixed or determined yet, and I am not one of +those men, Monsieur de Villequier, who hesitate to render the services +first from a fear of losing the reward afterwards. I know how to make +my claims heard when the time comes for demanding; and in the present +instance, although I cannot distinctly promise to bring Charles of +Montsoreau absolutely and positively over to the King's cause, yet I +am sure of being able both to detach him from the Duke of Guise and +separate him from the faction of the League. I think, indeed, that all +three can be done: but nothing can be done unless the promise given to +his brother be made contingent. The one loves her as vehemently as the +other; and I, who know how to deal with him, can change his whole +views in an hour, or at least in a few days."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed!" said Villequier. "He is now in Paris; the trial could be +speedily made."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know it--" replied the Abbé, seeing the Marquis fix his eyes upon +him eagerly, thinking, perhaps, 'he has promised more than he could +perform.'</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know it, and that is the precise reason why I have hurried on this +matter, and urged it to the present point. No time is to be lost, or I +see storms approaching, Monsieur de Villequier, that I think escape +your eyes."</p> + +<p class="normal">"What do you intend to do?" demanded Villequier; "and what means do +you require to do it?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"My purposes I have already told you," replied the Abbé. "The means I +require--to come to the point at once--consist of a document under +your own hand, making over to me, as far as your relationship to +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut goes, the right of disposing of her hand in +marriage to whomsoever I may think fit: that is to say, the voice for, +or the voice against, any particular candidate for her hand, when +given by me, is to be held as if given by yourself."</p> + +<p class="normal">"This is a great thing that you demand, Monsieur de Boisguerin," +replied Villequier, gazing in his face with no inconsiderable +surprise; "and I see not how I can give such a paper at the very same +time that I give the one which I have promised to the Marquis of +Montsoreau."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Nothing, I fear, can be done without it," replied the Abbé; "but I +think it may be done without risk or exposure of any kind, for I in +return can bind myself not to employ that paper for nine months, by +which time all will be complete; and in both the documents you can +speak vaguely of other promises and engagements, and can declare your +great object in giving me that paper to be, the final settlement of +difficult claims, by a person in whom you have full confidence."</p> + +<p class="normal">Villequier looked in his face with a meaning and somewhat sarcastic +smile: then turned to the note which the Queen-mother, Catharine de +Medici, had sent him; read it over again as if carelessly, but marking +every word as he did so; and then said, with somewhat of a sigh, +"Well, Monsieur de Boisguerin, pray draw up on that paper what you +think would be required."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé took up the pen and ink, and wrote rapidly for a moment or +two; while Villequier looked over his shoulder, fingering the hilt of +his dagger as he did so, in a manner which might have made the periods +of any man but the Abbé de Boisguerin, who knew as he did his +companion's habits and views, less rounded and eloquent than they +usually were. The Abbé, however, wrote on without the slightest sign +of apprehension, and at length Villequier exclaimed, "That would tie +my hands sufficiently tight, Monsieur de Boisguerin."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Not quite, my Lord," replied the other. "I never make a covenant +without a penalty; and what I am now going to add provides that, in +case of your failing to confirm my decision, or attempting in any way +to rescind this paper and the power hereby given to me, you forfeit to +my use and benefit one hundred thousand golden crowns, to be sued for +from you in any lawful court of this kingdom."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Nay, nay, nay!" cried Villequier, now absolutely laughing. "This is +going too far, Monsieur de Boisguerin."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Faith, not a whit, my Lord," replied the Abbé. "I take care when men +make me promises, that they are not such as can be trifled with, at +least if I am to act upon them."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why, you do not suppose----" exclaimed Villequier.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I suppose nothing, my Lord," interrupted the Abbé, "but that you are +a statesman and a courtier, and must in your day have seen more than +one promise broken."</p> + +<p class="normal">"By some millions," replied Villequier. "I told you to speak frankly, +Monsieur de Boisguerin, and you have done so with a vengeance. I must +have my turn, too, and tell you that neither to you nor any other man +on earth will I give such a promise, without in the first place seeing +a probability of the object for which it is given being accomplished, +and, in fact, some steps taken towards the accomplishment of that +object; and, in the next place, without having a distinct notion of +the means by which it is to effect its end. That is a beautiful ring +of yours," continued the statesman, suddenly breaking away from the +subject as if to announce that what he had just said was final, but +perhaps in reality to consider what was to be the next step. "That is +a beautiful ring of yours, Monsieur de Boisguerin, and of some very +peculiar stone it seems; a large turquoise semi-transparent."</p> + +<p class="normal">"It is an antidote against all poisons," answered the Abbé coolly, +"whether they be eaten in the savoury ragout, drunk in the racy cup, +smelt in the odour of a sweet flower, or inhaled in the balmy air of +some well-prepared apartment. My dear friends will not find me so +tender a lamb as Jeanne d'Albret."</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, I should think not," replied Villequier with a laugh, and still +holding off from the original subject of conversation. "I should think +not, if I may judge by some of your attendants, Monsieur de +Boisguerin, for there is one of them at least, an Italian, whom I +passed in the court but now, who looks much more like the follower of +a wolf than of a lamb. He was dressed somewhat in the guise of a +wandering minstrel, with a good strong dagger, which I dare say is +serviceable in time of need."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I have not the slightest doubt of it," replied the Abbé de Boisguerin +with the most imperturbable coolness, "though I have not had occasion +to make use of him much in that way yet. But the man's a treasure, +Monsieur de Villequier; and as to his garb the fact is, that I have +not had time yet to have it changed and made more becoming. You shall +see in a few days, Monsieur de Villequier, what a change can be +effected by razors, soap, cold water, and good clothing. He's a +complete treasure, I can assure you, and well worth any pains."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But," said Villequier, "if you have had him so short a time as not to +be able to clothe him yet, how do you know all these magnificent +qualities?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"It is a singular business enough," answered the Abbé. "I knew him +long ago in Italy, where he was exercising various professions: but he +had skill enough almost to cheat me, which, of course, made me judge +highly of his abilities. One day, not long ago, he presented himself +at the Château de Montsoreau, where it seems he had been upon some +vagabond excursion a week or a fortnight before. He had on the first +occasion seen and recognised me, and he now came back, having spent +all the money he had gained by selling a young Italian pipe-player to +my good cousin Charles, and being consequently in not the best +provided state. He was in hopes that I would take him into my service, +which, from ancient recollection of his character, I was very willing +to do; dismissing, however, without much ceremony, another man and a +low Italian woman whom he had brought with him. They seemed very +willing to go, it is true, and he to part with them; and my good +friend Orbi has already shown himself on more than one occasion fully +as serviceable as I had expected he would prove. My former knowledge +of him gives me means of binding him to me by very strong ties; and I +will acknowledge that never was there man to all appearance so well +calculated to remove a troublesome friend or a pertinacious enemy."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Doubtless, doubtless," replied Villequier; "though he seems not to be +particularly strong in frame."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But he is active," answered the Abbé, "and full of skill, and +thought, and ingenuity. But to return to what we were saying +concerning the paper, Monsieur de Villequier, which we have left +somewhat too long," added the Abbé, thinking this sort of farce had +been carried quite far enough. "Every objection that you have raised +can be overthrown at once. I ask this promise, not for my own sake, +but to satisfy this youth Charles of Montsoreau. He will trust you as +soon as the fox will the tiger; but he will trust to me implicitly, if +he believes that I have the power to aid him in obtaining her he +loves. Thus you see at once the means by which this promise is to work +to the ends that we propose. Then, as to seeing clearly what the +effect will be, I will show it to you in the very course of this +night. Read that letter, written by the young Count of Logères to his +brother, no later than yesterday evening! You see," the Abbé +continued, after Villequier had read, "he renounces all claim +whatsoever to the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, and this in +favour of his brother. The letter was brought hither not two hours +ago. Now, ere two hours more be over, you shall yourself see the whole +feelings of this young man changed, and the pursuit renewed as eagerly +as ever. If it be so, what say you? Will you go forward in the way I +propose?--Yea or nay, Monsieur de Villequier? I trifle not, nor am +trifled with."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I will then go forward, beyond all doubt," replied the Marquis.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé thereupon took up the pen, wrote five lines on a sheet of +paper, sealed them with some of the yellow wax which lay ready, +addressed the note to Charles of Montsoreau, and placing it in the +hands of Villequier, bade him to send it by a page, with orders to +require an answer. The page seemed winged with the wind, and in a +marvellous short time he returned, bearing a note from the young Count +of Logères, containing these few words:--</p> + +<p class="normal">"My renunciation was entirely conditional. If it be as you say, +nothing on earth shall induce me to yield the hand of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut to any man. The time that you allow me for writing does not +permit me to say more, but come to me as early as possible to-morrow, +and let all things be explained; for a state of doubt and suspicion +was always to me worse than the knowledge of real evil or real wrong."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé gave it to Villequier, and the Minister only replied by +signing and sealing the paper which the Abbé had drawn up.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Now, quick! Monsieur l'Abbé," said the Minister. "Go for a few +minutes to your own apartments, and then join us at supper, which I +hear is already served, as if we had not met during the evening. You +will not need your ring, I can assure you."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé bowed low and retired in silence; but in his heart he said, +"And this, the fool Henry holds to be a great politician."</p> + +<p class="normal">No knave can be a great politician; but every knave thinks himself so. +The mistake they make is between wisdom and cunning. The knave prides +himself on deceiving others, the wise man on not deceiving himself.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_06" href="#div1Ref_06">CHAP. VI.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">When the Abbé de Boisguerin on the following morning entered the +presence of Charles of Montsoreau, his mind was prepared for every +thing he was to say and do, for every thing he was to assert or +to imply. But there was one thing for which his mind was not +prepared--all shrewd, keen, politic, and experienced as it was.</p> + +<p class="normal">There are points in the deep study of human nature which those who +would use that mighty science for selfish purposes almost always +overlook. Amongst these are the changes, both sudden and progressive, +which take place in themselves and in others, and the changes in +relative situations which they produce. In this respect it was that +the Abbé de Boisguerin, thoughtful and calculating as he was, had not +prepared himself for the meeting with Charles of Montsoreau. The time +was short since they had parted. Not above six weeks had elapsed, if +so much; and the Abbé had come ready to deal with a youth of keen and +penetrating mind, of quick perceptions and extensive powers; of all +whose feelings and thoughts he fancied that he knew the scope and +quality; whose mind he believed that he had gauged and tested as if it +were some material substance. But he knew not at all, what an effect +the space of six weeks may have when spent in communication with great +minds, and in dealing with great events; and the moment he entered the +room he saw a change which he had never dreamt of--a change which +through the mind affected the body, the countenance, and the +demeanour.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau, in short, had left him a youth high-spirited, +feeling, intelligent, graceful,--he stood before him a man, calm, +thoughtful, grave, dignified. There were even lines of care already +upon his brow, which gave it a degree of sternness not natural to it; +and the whole look and aspect of his former pupil was so powerfully +intellectual, that the Abbé felt he must be more cautious and careful +than he had prepared to be; that his words, his thoughts, and his +looks would not alone be tested by old affection, nor even by the +simple powers of an undoubting mind, but would be tried by experience +likewise, and tried moreover with that degree of suspicion which is +more active within us when we first learn the painful lessons taught +by human deceit, than it is when we learn fully our own powers of +separating truth from falsehood.</p> + +<p class="normal">He saw that it would be necessary to be more cautious than he had +proposed to be, and that, consequently, he must change much that he +had intended to say and do. The very caution affected his manner, and +his alteration of purposes caused occasional hesitation. Charles of +Montsoreau, who remembered his whole character and demeanour during +many years, found, without seeking it, a touchstone in the past by +which to try the present, and the conclusion in his own heart was, +"This man is not true."</p> + +<p class="normal">The explanation given by the Abbé of all that had occurred on their +route did not satisfy his hearer. He told him that he had remained +with Mademoiselle de Clairvaut and the carriage till the reiters had +passed, and then had caused the horses to be turned into a bye-road, +in the hope of escaping any returning parties: they had thus +accidentally met with the King's troops, whose offered protection, of +course, they could not refuse. But he touched vaguely and lightly upon +the mission of Colombel to the young Marquis de Montsoreau; and the +Count de Logères did not press him upon the subject, for he felt +sufficiently upon his guard, and had a repugnance openly to convict +one whom he had loved of falseness and treachery.</p> + +<p class="normal">He turned then to the note which he had received on the preceding +evening.</p> + +<p class="normal">"You tell me now," he said, "Abbé, that you have some reason to +believe that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, as I at first supposed, has +seen my affection, and did not intend to discourage it. What are those +reasons?"</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé stated vaguely that some words, dropped by Madame de Saulny, +had produced that belief in his mind.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau mused, and made no answer. The time had been +when he would have replied at once, and have discussed the question +fully with his former preceptor; but now he held counsel with his own +heart in his own bosom, and said, "This man has some object in telling +me this. Her own words were sufficiently conclusive, that she did not +see, that she did not remark, the signs of affection which I had +fancied undoubted."</p> + +<p class="normal">He still maintained silence, however, towards the Abbé, in regard to +his own views, his own purposes, and his own feelings. Nor could the +other, though he used all his skill, draw from him the slightest +indication of what he intended to do, except that he waited in Paris +for the arrangement of some affairs, which were not yet concluded, +with the King. He in turn, however, questioned the Abbé much +concerning his brother, expressing not only a wish but a determination +to see him.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I am happy," he said, "that my letter reached him; for--by whom or +for what reason instructed to falsify the truth, I do not know--the +porter of Monsieur de Villequier denied the fact of your being in the +house. As nothing could shake my own belief that it was Gaspar and +yourself I had seen, and as both Gondrin and the page confirmed my +opinion, I sent the letter at all risks: and now, good Abbé, if you +love Gaspar and myself as you used to do, contrive that we may meet +again to-morrow, in order that all these clouds may be cleared away +from between us, and that we may feel once more as brothers ought to +feel towards each other."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Abbé promised to do as the young Count desired, beseeching him, +however, not to press his brother to an interview too suddenly, and +assuring him that he would use every effort.</p> + +<p class="normal">The still more important subject of what had become of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut remained to be discussed; and Charles of Montsoreau, though +resolved to make the inquiry, approached it with distaste and with +caution, from a feeling that the Abbé would not deal truly with him, +and would only endeavour, in the course of any conversation upon that +point, to discover what were his secret intentions, even while he +concealed from him the true circumstances.</p> + +<p class="normal">It was as he expected. The Abbé told him that, in some degree under +the care, and in some degree under the guard, of the King's troops, +the whole party had been brought to the neighbourhood of Paris, where +a messenger from the monarch had conveyed to himself and the young +Marquis an invitation to take up their abode at the house of +Villequier, while Mademoiselle de Clairvaut was conveyed to Vincennes. +They had done all that was possible, he said, to prevent such a +separation; but the King's commands were peremptory; and he had since +learnt, or at least had reason to believe, that the young lady had +been sent in the direction of Beauvais, to the care of some distant +relations.</p> + +<p class="normal">The young Count smiled, and said nothing; and the Abbé then, with an +air of grave sincerity, proceeded to ask him what had best be done +under such circumstances. He replied that he could give no advice; and +many a vain effort was again made to discover what were his purposes +in regard to Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. Finding that no indirect means +succeeded, the Abbé, trusting to their former familiarity, asked the +question directly, "What do you intend to do in this business, +Charles."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed, my dear Abbé," replied the young Count, "it is difficult to +tell you. I have no definite plan of action at present, and must be +guided by circumstances as they arise."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus ended their interview; and it formed a strange contrast to that +between the Abbé and Villequier,--showing how simple honesty may often +baffle cunning which has succeeded against astuteness like itself. The +following day passed without any communication reaching the young +Count, either from the Abbé or from his brother, from the King or the +Duke of Guise; and expectation of receiving tidings from some one +caused him to remain at home during the greater part of the day.</p> + +<p class="normal">On the succeeding morning, however, he determined to proceed to the +house of Villequier, and to demand peremptorily the fulfilment of the +promise which the King had made. Ere he set out, however, he received +a note in the hand of the Abbé de Boisguerin, informing him briefly +that his brother, having determined to return to Montsoreau, was upon +the very point of setting out. He, the Abbé, was to accompany him for +two days' march upon the road, but would return to Paris in four or +five days without fail.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau read the note with a faint and melancholy smile, +and again said, "This man is not true!"</p> + +<p class="normal">He rode at once, however, to the hotel of Villequier, but found that +the minister had once more gone to Vincennes. He inquired for the +Marquis of Montsoreau of the same porter who had denied the fact of +his being there. The porter, not at all discomposed, replied that the +Marquis and the Abbé de Boisguerin, with their train, had set out +fully two hours before for Montl'hery; which, being confirmed upon +farther inquiry by an Italian confectioner on the opposite side of the +street, was believed by the young Count, who returned home with a +heart but ill at ease.</p> + +<p class="normal">Another day was passed in gloomy and impatient expectation; but at +night Gondrin reappeared from Soissons, bringing with him a brief note +from the Duke of Guise:--</p> + +<p class="normal">"Your interview," it said, "was such as might be expected; your +conduct all that it should have been; your view of the result right. +They are endeavouring to trifle both with you and me; but we must show +them that this cannot be done. I send off a courier at once to +Villequier, requiring that the King's authorisation shall be +immediately given to you. If it reach you not before to-morrow night, +I pray you set off at once with the passports you possess for +Chateauneuf; for I have information scarcely to be doubted, that our +poor Marie has been conveyed thither. Show her the letter which I gave +you, requiring her to follow your directions in every thing. Endeavour +to bring her at once, with what people you can collect upon her lands, +across the country towards Rheims, avoiding Paris. If any one stops +you, or attempts either to delay your progress or dispute your +passage, show them my letter of authority, as well as the passports +that you already possess; and if they farther molest or delay you, +they shall not be forgotten, be they great or small, when they come to +reckon with your friend, Henry of Guise."</p> + +<p class="normal">In a postscript was written at the bottom--"In going, avoid Dreux and +Montfort, for the plague is raging there. If there be any force +stationed at Chateauneuf to prevent the removal of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, only ascertain distinctly the fact of her presence in the +château, and come back to rejoin me with all speed."</p> + +<p class="normal">The tidings brought by Gondrin showed Charles of Montsoreau that great +events of some kind were in preparation. Various bodies of troops +attached to the House of Lorraine were moving here and there in +Champaign and the Ardennes; daily conferences were held between the +Duke of Guise, the Cardinal of Bourbon, the Cardinal of Guise, and a +number of other influential noblemen; the propriety of deposing the +King was said to be openly discussed at Soissons, and ridicule and +hatred were unsparingly busy with the names of Epernon, Villequier, +and others. Couriers, totally independent of those which were sent +upon the business that brought the young Count to Paris, were almost +hourly passing between the capital and Soissons; and it was daily +whispered in the latter city, that experienced officers and small +bodies of troops were daily gliding into the capital from the army +which the Duke had led to victory on so many previous occasions.</p> + +<p class="normal">Early on the following morning, Charles of Montsoreau again proceeded +to the Hotel de Villequier, in order that nothing might be wanting on +his part. But the reply once more was, that the minister was absent; +and the day passed over without any tidings from either the King or +his favourite. As he passed through various parts of the city, +however, the young Count remarked many things that somewhat surprised +him. He had hitherto ridden amongst the people quite unnoticed, but +now many persons whom he met bowed low to him, and those seemingly of +the most respectable classes of citizens. On two or three occasions +the burgher guard saluted him as he passed; and in one place, where +several people were collected together, there was a cry of "Long live +the Duke of Guise!"</p> + +<p class="normal">All these indications of some approaching event of importance at any +other moment might have given him an inclination to remain in Paris: +but he had other interests more deeply at heart; and having waited +till the last moment to make sure that the King's authorisation was +still delayed, he prepared to set out that very night, taking with him +only the number of persons specified in the passports which he had +brought from Soissons.</p> + +<p class="normal">In a brief and hurried note which he wrote to Chapelle Marteau, he +informed him that he was about to absent himself from Paris for a +short time on business of importance; and begged him, as it was his +intention to pass out of the city by the Faubourg St. Germain that +very night, to facilitate his so doing as quietly as possible. That +his absence might remain for some time concealed from those who might +obstruct his proceedings, he retained his apartments at the inn, and +the servants he had hired, paying the whole for some time in advance, +and directing that if any inquiries were made, the reply should be, +that he was only absent for a few days.</p> + +<p class="normal">When all was prepared he set out, and at the gates found his friend of +the Seize, with another personage, who seemed to consider himself of +great importance. No words, however, were spoken, no passports were +demanded, the two Leaguers bowed lowly to the Count, the gates opened +as if of themselves, and, issuing forth, the young Count rode on upon +the way, anxious to place as great a distance between Paris and +himself ere the next morning as possible.</p> + +<p class="normal">It was a soft calm night in April, the sky was unclouded and filled +with stars, the dew thick upon the grass, and the air balmy; and the +young nobleman pursued his way with a mind filled with thoughts which, +though certainly in part melancholy, were still tinged with the soft +light of hope. His horses were strong and fresh, and just in the grey +of the morning, on the following day, he reached the small town of +Rambouillet.</p> + +<p class="normal">The signs and indications of the disturbed and anxious state of +society in France were visible in the little town as the young Count +gazed from the door of the inn, after seeing that his horses were well +taken care of. There were anxious faces and eyes regarding the +stranger with the expression of doubt, and perhaps suspicion; there +were little knots gathered together and talking gloomily at the +corners of different streets; the whistle of the light-hearted peasant +was unheard; and the cart or the flock was driven forth in silence.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Count's horses required rest; none were to be procured with which +he could pursue his journey, and he determined to take what repose he +could get ere he proceeded on his way. Casting himself down then upon +a bed, he closed his eyes and sought to sleep: but suddenly something +like a wild cry sounded from the other side of the street, and +springing up he looked out of the window. He could almost have touched +the opposite house, so narrow was the way, and he saw completely into +a room thereof through the window that faced his own.</p> + +<p class="normal">There was a woman in it of about the middle age, kneeling by the +bedside of a youth who seemed just dead; and on looking down a little +below he saw a man, dressed in a black serge robe, standing on a +ladder, and marking the front of the building with a large white +cross. On the impulse of the moment, Charles of Montsoreau ran down +stairs, and approached the door of the house, intending to enter. But +he was stopped at the door by two of the guards of the city. "Do you +not see the mark of the plague?" they said. "You must not go in; or, +if you go in, you must not come out again."</p> + +<p class="normal">With a sorrowful heart, Charles of Montsoreau turned back into the +inn, but he found no sleep, and the image of the woman clasping her +dead son still haunted him in waking visions.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_07" href="#div1Ref_07">CHAP. VII.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">It was about nine o'clock at night, and the moon, rising later than +the night before, had not yet gone down, as Charles of Montsoreau +passed through the wide forest that then surrounded Chateauneuf en +Thimerais. It was a beautiful moonlight scene, affording to the eye +many various and pleasant objects. The greater part of the forest, +indeed, consisted of old trees far apart from each other, and only +surrounded by brushwood in patches here and there. Occasionally, +indeed, deeper and thicker parts of the forest presented themselves, +where the axe had not been plied so unsparingly; but the ground was +hilly and broken, and the road ascended and descended continually, +showing every change of the forest ground. There were manifold streams +too in that part of the country, and small gushing fountains, while a +chapel or two, here and there raised by the pious inhabitants of the +neighbourhood, broke the desolate appearance of the wood by showing +sweet traces of human hope or gratitude. The heart, however, of +Charles of Montsoreau enjoyed not that scene as it might at any other +time, for many dark and painful reports had reached him of the state +of the country in that district, and he looked anxiously forward to +his arrival at the little village of Morvillette seated in the midst +of the forest, to hear further tidings of Chateauneuf and its +neighbourhood. A party of soldiers he had already heard had passed +along some days before, escorting a carriage, and it was understood +their destination was Chateauneuf; but the people of Tremblay, where +he received this intelligence, shook the head doubtingly, and added, +that the traveller would hear more at Morvillette, and could there get +a guide to the château, which was two miles from the town.</p> + +<p class="normal">At length, lying in a hollow of the woodland, the moonlight showed him +a group of dark cottages; but no friendly light appeared in the +windows; and as he rode on amongst the houses, there was a sort of +awful stillness about the place, which seemed to indicate that it was +not slumber that kept the tongues of the peasantry silent. There were +no dogs in the streets; there was no smoke curling up from any of the +chimneys; all was still, and many of the doors stood wide open in the +night air, exhibiting nothing but solitude within.</p> + +<p class="normal">"There must be somebody in the place," cried Gondrin, springing from +his horse and approaching one of the cottages, the door of which was +shut.</p> + +<p class="normal">Without knocking, the man threw open the door at once, and went in as +far as the bridle of his horse would let him; but he came out again +immediately, and his master could see that his face was pale and its +expression horrified.</p> + +<p class="normal">"A man and a woman," he said in a low voice, "both dead! the one in +the bed and the other on the floor, and both of them looking as blue +as a cloud."</p> + +<p class="normal">The boy Ignati pressed up his horse to hear; and the Count said, "In +all probability there may be things still more horrible before us. I +shall go on, Gondrin; I must go on: but there is no need for either +yourself or the page to do so. You had better both go back. Make the +best of your way to Soissons, there tell the Duke what you have seen, +and assure him that I will do my best to fulfil his wishes if I live."</p> + +<p class="normal">"My Lord," said the boy, "I might quit you for a kind and noble master +when danger was not about you, but I will only quit you now with +life."</p> + +<p class="normal">"And so say I," replied Gondrin in a somewhat reassured but still +anxious tone. "But let us ride on, my Lord, and get out of this +horrible place. We shall find no one here to show us the way."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I believe I can find it myself," replied the Count. "We turn to the +left as soon as we have passed the village. Come on!"</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus saying, he somewhat quickened his pace and rode away, the moon +now declining towards her setting, throwing longer shadows, and giving +more uncertain light. Anxiously did the young Count gaze from the brow +of every rise, hoping to see the form of the château rising upon the +eminence before him. Several times he disappointed himself by fancying +that he saw it when it was not there, so that, when at length he +beheld a single faint point of light, like the spark of a firefly +amongst the distant branches, he could scarcely believe that it +afforded any true indication of that which he sought.</p> + +<p class="normal">Riding on, however, he again and again caught sight of it, till at +length the forms of the building grew more clear and defined, and +after about half a mile more he rode up the gentle slope that +conducted towards the château.</p> + +<p class="normal">It was situated in the midst of a wild game park, not unlike that of +Vincennes, only that the ground was more irregular. The building, +however, was very different: it had been erected by that Count de +Clairvaut who had been sent ambassador in the reign of Henry II. to +the Republic of Venice. He had formed his ideas of beauty in +architecture under another sky, and, but that it was somewhat larger +and heavier, it might have been supposed that the building had been +transported by some Geni from the banks of the Brenta. There was a +strong old castellated gate, however, in the walls of the park, which +had belonged to some former building. But the heavy iron gates were +wide open, and the voice of no porter responded to the call of the +young Count and his companions.</p> + +<p class="normal">Still, however, he saw a light in the windows of the château, and he +eagerly rode on along the path which conducted to the principal gates +of the building. Here there was a wide flight of marble stairs, which +had been brought ready polished at an immense expense from Italy, +yellow and green with the damp, but still altogether of a different +hue and consistence from the ordinary stone of the place. From those +steps the wide forest scene beyond was fully displayed to the eye, the +château being built very near the highest point of the acclivity, and +the whole ground towards Dreux, Maintenon, and Chartres lying below, +with the forest itself sweeping down the edge of that chain of high +hills which separates the southern parts of Normandy from the northern +parts and Maine.</p> + +<p class="normal">The moon at that moment was just sinking beyond the trees on the left, +and poured over the woods and plains below a flood of silver light, +caught and reflected here and there by some open stream or wide piece +of water, and, shining full upon the front of the marble building, +which, with its pillars, its capitals, and its cornices, its wide +doors and spreading porticoes, looked like the spectre of some bright +enchanted palace from another land.</p> + +<p class="normal">The large doors that opened upon the terrace were ajar; and Charles of +Montsoreau, leaving his horse with the page, mounted the steps and +knocked hard with the haft of his dagger. A long melancholy echo was +all the sound that was returned. He knocked again, there was no +answer; and then pushing open the door, he entered the wide marble +hall. The moonlight was pouring through the tall windows, but all was +solitary; and putting his foot upon the first step of the staircase, +he was beginning to ascend. At that moment, he thought he heard a +distant sound as of an opening door; and a ray of light, streaming +down some long corridor at the top of the broad staircase, crossed the +balustrade and chequered the iron work with a different hue from the +moonlight. He now called loudly, asking if there was any one in the +building.</p> + +<p class="normal">In a moment after, there were steps heard coming along towards the +staircase, and a voice replied, "There is death and pestilence in the +house. If you come for plunder, take it quickly; if you come by +accident, fly as fast as you may, for every breath is tainted."</p> + +<p class="normal">The tones of that voice were not to be mistaken, even before Charles +of Montsoreau beheld the speaker; but, ere the last words were spoken, +Marie de Clairvaut herself was at the top of the staircase, bearing a +small lamp in her hand, and Charles of Montsoreau eagerly sprang up +the steps.</p> + +<p class="normal">The lamp flashed upon the form and features which she had not at first +seen, and with a loud cry she darted forward to meet him.</p> + +<p class="normal">The next moment, however, nearly dropping the lamp, she rushed back, +exclaiming, "Come not near, Charles! Dear, dear Charles, come not +near! These hands, not twelve hours ago, have closed the eyes of the +dead. The plague most likely is upon me now!"</p> + +<p class="normal">But before she could add more, the arms of Charles of Montsoreau were +round her.</p> + +<p class="normal">"You have called me dear," he said, "and what privilege can be dearer +than sharing your fate, whatever it may be? Dear, dear, dear Marie! +oh, say those words again, and make me happy!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"But I fear for you, Charles," she said; "I fear for you. All are +either dead or have fled and left me, and I shall see you die +too,--you, you die also by the very touch, by the very breath, of one +to whom you have restored life."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I fear not, Marie," answered Charles; "I fear not; and that is the +safest guard. Certainly you shall not see me fly and leave you; and I +fear not, either, that you will see death overtake me. But oh, if even +it did, how sweet would death itself be, watched by that dear face, +wept by those beloved eyes!"</p> + +<p class="normal">Marie bent down her head, and said nothing; but she strove no more +against the arm that was cast round her; her hand remained in his, and +the colour rose warmly into her cheek, which had before been deadly +pale.</p> + +<p class="normal">"If," she said at length, after a long pause, during which he had +continued to gaze earnestly, fondly, sadly upon her,--"If it were not +that I feared for you, your presence would indeed be a comfort and a +consolation to me: not that I fear for myself," she added; "I know not +why, but I have never feared. It has seemed to me as if there were no +danger to myself--as if I should certainly escape. But oh, how +terrible it would be to see you struck by the pestilence also!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Say no more, dear Marie; say no more," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +feeling and knowing by every word that she was his own. "I fear not; I +have no fear; and even if I had, love would trample it under foot in a +moment. I would not leave you in such an hour, not if by descending +that short flight of steps I could save myself from death: unless +indeed you told me to go, and that you loved me not."</p> + +<p class="normal">The tears sprang into Marie de Clairvaut's eyes. "I must not tell such +a falsehood," she cried, clasping her hands together, "in an hour like +this. I never told you so; indeed I never did, though Madame de +Saulny, poor Madame de Saulny, with her dying lips assured me that you +thought so."</p> + +<p class="normal">"There have been many errors, dear Marie," replied Charles of +Montsoreau, "which have pained both your heart and mine, I fear. But +now, my beloved, I must call in those that are with me, for we have +travelled far and ridden hard."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, call them not in!" said Marie de Clairvaut, "for they will be +frightened when they see the state of the house, and catch the +pestilence and die! Bid them lead their horses to the stables, and +sleep there. Perhaps they may find some one still living there, for +this evening at sunset I saw my father's old groom still wandering +about as usual; but you must go yourself to tell them, Charles, for I +do not believe that there is any one in the house but you and I. The +stables lie away to the left. I will wait here for you till you come +back. Go through the great doors," she said, as he descended, "and go +not into the rooms either to the right or left, for there is death in +all of them."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau descended with a rapid step, and in a few words +gave his directions to the servants. He then returned, and taking +Marie de Clairvaut's hand in his, he pressed his lips warmly upon it, +and gazed tenderly upon her as she led him along through a wide +corridor to the room in which she had been sitting.</p> + +<p class="normal">It formed a strange contrast,--the aspect of that room, with the +desolate knowledge that all was death and solitude through the rest of +the house. Beautiful pictures, rich ornaments, fine tapestry, gave it +an air of life and cheerfulness, which seemed strange to the feelings +of Charles of Montsoreau. But an illuminated book of prayer that lay +upon the table told how Marie de Clairvaut's thoughts had been +employed; and Charles of Montsoreau paused, and, lifting his thoughts +to Heaven, prayed earnestly, fervently, that that bright and beautiful +and beloved being might still be protected by the hand of the Almighty +in every scene of peril and danger which might yet await her.</p> + +<p class="normal">She sat down on the chair in which she had been reading with a look of +melancholy thoughtfulness, and Charles of Montsoreau sat down beside +her, and there was a long silent pause, for the hearts of both were +too full of agitating feelings for words to be plentiful at first. The +moment and the circumstances, indeed, took from love all shame and +hesitation. Death and deprivation and desolation gave affection a +brighter, a holier light,--it was like some eternal flame burning upon +the altar of a ruined temple.</p> + +<p class="normal">Marie de Clairvaut felt that at that moment she could speak things +that at any other time she would have sunk into the earth to say; she +felt that--with the exception of their trust in God--his love for her +and hers for him formed the grand consolation of the moment, the +healing balm, the great support of that hour of peril and of terror. +She looked at him and he at her, and they mutually thought that a few +hours perhaps might see them there, dying or dead by each other's +side, with love for the only comfort of their passing hour--with the +voice of death pronouncing their eternal union, and the grave their +bridal bed.</p> + +<p class="normal">They thus thought, and it may seem strange to say, but--prepared as +their minds were for leaving the life of this earth behind them--such +a death to them appeared sweet; and neither feared it, but looked +forward upon the grim enemy of human life, not with the stern defying +frown of the martyr, not with the fierce and angry daring of the +warrior, but with the calm sweet smile of resignation to the will of +Heaven, and hopes beyond the tomb.</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus they remained silent, or with but few words, for some time; and +Charles of Montsoreau felt that he was beloved. Indeed, there was not +a word, there was not a look, that did not tell him so: and yet he +longed to hear more; he longed that those words should be spoken which +would confirm, by the living voice of her he loved, the assurance of +his happiness. Gradually he won her from conversing of the present to +speak of the past; and she gently reproached him for leaving her at +Montsoreau so suddenly as he had done.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Marie," he said, with that frankness which had always characterised +him, "let me tell you all; and then see if I did right or wrong. If I +did wrong, you shall blame me still, and I will grieve and make any +atonement in my power; but if I only mistook, and did not act wrong +intentionally, you shall forgive me, and tell me that you love me."</p> + +<p class="normal">Marie de Clairvaut gazed in his face, and asked, "And do you doubt it +now, Charles?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, no!" he cried, "oh, no! I ought not to doubt it, for Marie de +Clairvaut could not speak such words as she has spoken without +loving." And gently bending down his head over her, he pressed a kiss +upon that dear fair brow. "Marie," he said, "it is our fate to meet in +strange scenes. The last time that I kissed that brow, the last time +that I held you to my heart, was when I thought you dead, and lost to +me for ever."</p> + +<p class="normal">"And when I woke up," replied Marie de Clairvaut, "and was not only +grateful to God and to you for having saved me, but happy in its being +you that did save me, and happy," she added, slightly dropping her +eyes, "in the signs of deep affection which I saw."</p> + +<p class="normal">"And yet," he exclaimed, "and yet, when my stay or my departure hung +upon a single word from your lips, you gave me to understand that you +had not received those signs of affection as signs of affection; that +you looked upon them but as the natural effect of my witnessing your +restoration to life, when I thought you dead."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, Charles!" exclaimed Marie de Clairvaut, with a slight smile, +"could you not pardon and understand such small hypocrisy as that? Did +you not know that woman's heart is shy, and seeks many a hiding-place, +even from the pursuit of one it loves?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I never loved but you, Marie," replied the Count, "and I am sadly +ignorant, I fear, of woman's heart. Nevertheless, upon those few words +and that moment depended my fate."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I knew not that," cried Marie de Clairvaut, eagerly; "I knew not +that, or, upon my honour, I would have been more sincere: but what was +it, Charles, made you take so sudden a resolution? what was it made +you leave me, without a reply, in the hands of those who have striven +constantly ever since to make me believe that you cared not for me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I will tell you all," replied her lover; and, pouring forth in +eloquent words all the passion of his heart towards her, he told her +how his love had grown upon him, how it had increased each hour; and +making that the main subject of his tale, he told but as adjuncts to +it the pain which his brother's conduct had inflicted upon him, and +all the signs of rivalry which he had remarked. He then spoke of his +conversation with the Abbé de Boisguerin on their way to visit the +Count de Morly; and he told how agonised were all his feelings--how +terrible was the struggle in his heart,--and what was the resolution +that he took, to ascertain whether her affections were really gained, +and by the result to shape his conduct. He next spoke of his +conversation with her immediately preceding his departure, and of the +words which had led him to believe that she was unconscious of his +love, and did not return it.</p> + +<p class="normal">As she listened, the tears rose in her eyes, and, laying her soft fair +hand on his, she said, "Forgive me, Charles! oh, forgive me! but do +believe that there is not another woman on all the earth who would not +have done the same."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Alas! dear Marie," he replied, "in such knowledge you have but a +child to deal with."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, be so ever, Charles!" she cried, clasping her hands and looking +up in his face. "There may be women who would love you less for being +so; but I trust and hope that you will never love any one but Marie de +Clairvaut, and she will value your love all the more for its being, +and having ever been, entirely her own. But you were speaking of the +Abbé de Boisguerin, Charles--you have told me of his conversation with +you--I saw, when I was at Montsoreau, that you loved and esteemed +him."--She paused, and hesitated. "I fear," she added, "that what I +must speak, that what I ought to tell you, may pain and grieve you:--I +doubt that man, Charles--I more than doubt him."</p> + +<p class="normal">"And so do I, Marie," replied her lover with a melancholy shake of the +head; "and so do I doubt him much. Indeed, as you say, I more than +doubt him, for I know and feel that he is not true."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Alas! Charles," she replied, "I fear that in that very first +conversation with you he meditated treachery towards you. I fear much, +very much, that his design and purpose even then was to separate us."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Perhaps it might be so, Marie," replied her lover: "though he has +never shown any strong preference, I have often thought he loves +Gaspar better than he does me."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But it was no love of your brother, Charles," she said; "it was no +love of your brother moved him then; for if your brother trusted him, +he betrayed him too. Now hear me, Charles, and let me, as quickly as +possible, tell a tale that makes my cheek burn, for it must be told. +After you were gone, I avoided your brother's presence as far as might +be. I was never with him for a moment alone if I could help it, for I +could not but see feelings that were never to be returned. Although +there was something from the first in the Abbé de Boisguerin that I +loved not, though I could not tell why--something in his eye that made +me shrink into myself with a kind of fear,--I now courted him to be +with me, in order to avoid the persecution of love for which I could +not feel even grateful. At first he seemed inclined to give your +brother opportunities; and I believe, I firmly believe, that he did so +because he knew that those opportunities would but serve to confirm +the coldness of my feelings towards him. When he saw that I sought him +to be with us, he seemed to yield, and was now with me often almost +alone, when there was none but one or two of my women in the further +end of the room. He timed his visits well; and, for a space, well did +he choose his conversation too. It was such as he knew must please my +ear. He told me of other lands, and of princely scenes beyond the +Alps, the beauties of nature, the miracles of art, the graceful but +dangerous race of the Medici, the treasures, the unrivalled treasures +of Florence and of Rome. I learned to forget the prejudices--I had +first taken towards him, and he saw that I listened well pleased, and +then he ventured to speak of you and of your brother. But oh, Charles, +he spoke not as a friend to either. He blamed not, indeed; he even +somewhat praised; but he undervalued all and every thing. There was +not a word of censure, but there was every now and then a light sneer +in the tone, a scornful turn of the lip, and curl of the nostril. It +pleased me not, and seeing it, he wisely dropped such themes. He spoke +of you no more; but he spoke of himself and of his own history. He +told me that his was the more ancient branch of your own family, but +that reverses and misfortunes had overtaken it; and that, careless of +wealth or station, and any of the bubbles which the world's grown +children follow, he had made no effort to raise his own branch from +the ground to which it had fallen. But he said, however, that if he +had had an object, a great and powerful object, he felt within himself +those capabilities of mind which might raise him over some of the +highest heads in the land: and none could hear his voice, and see the +keen astuteness of his eye, without believing that what he said was +true. And then again he spoke of the objects, the few, the only +objects, which could induce a man of great and expansive intellect to +mingle in the strife and turmoil of the world; and the chief of those +objects, Charles, was woman's love. He was a churchman, Charles, and +had taken vows which should have frozen such words upon his lips. I +was silent, and I think turned pale, and he instantly changed the +conversation to other things, speaking eloquently and nobly upon great +and fine feelings, as I have seen one of the modellers in wax cast on +the rough harsh form that he intended to give, and then soften it down +with fine and delicate touches, so as to leave it smooth and pleasant +to the eye. At length we set out to join my uncle; and your brother +now had opportunities of paining me greatly by the open and the +rash display of feelings that grieved and hurt me. He took means +too to find moments to speak with me alone, which I must not dwell +upon--means which were unworthy of one of your race, Charles. He tried +to deceive me into such interviews by every sort of petty art; and if +the Abbé de Boisguerin came to my relief, alas! it was but now to +inflict upon me worse persecution. He dared to speak to me, Charles, +words that none had ever dared to speak before--words that I must not +repeat, that I must not even think of here, so near the holy calmness +of the dead. These words were not, indeed, addressed to me directly; +but they were used to figure forth what were the passions which an +ardent and fiery heart might feel. They were intended evidently to let +me know of what he himself was capable: though they breathed of love, +there was somewhat of menace in them likewise. The very sound of his +voice, the very glare of his eyes, now became terrible to me: but he +seemed to consider that I was more in his power now than I had been at +Montsoreau; and I need not tell you that to me the journey was a +terrible one. To end it all, Charles--as I take it for granted that +you know some part of what has taken place, even by seeing you here +this night--I feel sure that it was by his machinations that I was +betrayed into the hands of the King, whom I have all my life been +taught to abhor, and by him given up to the power of a relation, from +whom I have been sheltered by all my better friends as from the most +venomous of serpents."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau had heard all in deep silence, without +interrupting her once. He gazed indeed, from time to time, upon her +fair face, watching with love and admiration the bright but transient +expressions that came across it: but he listened with full attention +and deep thought; and when she had done, he replied, "What you have +told me, dear Marie, indignant as it well may make me, was most +necessary for me to hear, and is most satisfactory, for it explains +all that I did not before comprehend or understand. His machinations, +however, dear Marie, I now trust are at an end. What may be between +Villequier and him I do not know; but I trust, dear Marie, I trust in +that God who never does fail them that trust in him, that I come to +bring you deliverance and to lead you to happiness. It would be long +and tedious to tell you, beloved, all that has happened to me since I +left you at Montsoreau. Suffice it that I have seen the Duke of Guise; +that I have spent the greater part of the time with him; that I have +been able, Marie, to serve him--he says, to save his life; and that to +me he has entrusted the charge of seeking you and bringing you to join +him at Soissons, in despite of any one that may oppose us."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, joy, joy!" cried Marie de Clairvaut. "When can we set out?" And +she rose from her seat as if she hoped their departure might take +place that minute. Charles of Montsoreau drew her gently to his heart, +and, gazing into her deep tender eyes, he asked, "Will your joy be +less, dear Marie, if you know that you go to be at once the bride of +Charles of Montsoreau, with the full consent of your princely +guardian, given by one who is well worthy to give, to one who is +scarcely worthy to receive, such a jewel as yourself?"</p> + +<p class="normal">Marie de Clairvaut hid her face upon his bosom, murmuring, in a +scarcely audible tone, "Can you ask me, Charles?--But oh, let us speed +away quickly; for though I, who have been here now several days, and +have seen nothing but death and desolation round me ever since I came, +have become accustomed to the scene, and doubtless to the air also, +yet I fear for every moment that you remain here."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I still fear not, dear Marie," replied Charles of Montsoreau. +"Nevertheless, most glad am I to bear you away to happier scenes; and +as soon as the horses have taken some rest, we will set out. And now, +dear girl," he added, "I will send you from me. You need some repose, +Marie; you need some tranquillity. Leave me then, dear girl, and try +to sleep till the hour of our departure, while I will watch here for +you, and call you before break of day."</p> + +<p class="normal">"If you watch, Charles," replied Marie, "I will watch with you, for I +need not repose. This morning, after closing the eyes of poor Madame +de Saulny, and weeping long and bitterly over her and the poor girl +who was the only one that chose to remain with me, exhausted with +watching, anxiety, and grief, I fell asleep, and slept long. Before +that, I had felt so weary and so heated, that I almost fancied--though +without fearing it--that the plague might be coming upon me; but I +woke refreshed and comforted just as the sun was going down, and I +felt, as it were, a hope and expectation that some change would soon +come over my fate. But you need at least refreshment, Charles. In the +next room remains my last untasted meal--the last that the poor +frightened beings who abandoned me, set before their mistress +yesterday. I fear not to take you there, Charles, for no one has died +in this part of the house."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau followed her, and persuaded her also to take +some light refreshment; and there they sat through the live-long +night, speaking kind words from time to time, and watching each +other's countenances with hope strong at the hearts of both, though +somewhat chequered by fears, each for the other.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_08" href="#div1Ref_08">CHAP. VIII.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">By the time that the first grey streak chequered the dark expanse of +the eastern sky, the horses of Charles of Montsoreau, with three +others, were standing on the terrace at the foot of the marble +steps. The page and Gondrin were there, and also the old groom, a +white-headed man of some sixty years of age, who had booted and +spurred himself, and buckled on a sword, declaring that he would +accompany his young mistress, if it were but to lead the sumpter horse +which carried her baggage. A moment after, Marie herself appeared, and +Charles of Montsoreau placed her on the beast that had been prepared +for her, while the old groom kissed her hand, saying, "I am glad to +see you well, dear lady. But fear not; none of your race and none of +mine ever died of the plague either, though I have seen it pass by +this place twice before now, and I remember eleven corpses lying on +those steps at once."</p> + +<p class="normal">"There are six within those chambers now," replied Marie, shaking her +head mournfully. "But I fear not, good Robin,--for myself at least. +But you had better lead the way towards Chalet, for the Count tells me +that Morvillette is deserted."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, I will lead you safely, Lady," replied the old man; "and though +very likely they may keep us out of many a house on account of where +we come from, there is my daughter's cottage where they will take us +in, for they do not fear the plague there."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus saying, he mounted his horse, and rode on before, through the +forest roads, while the lady and her lover followed side by side. As +they went on circling round the highest parts of the hills, the grey +streaks gradually turned into crimson; the dim objects became more +defined in the twilight of morning; a few far distant clouds at the +edge of the sky, tossed into fantastic shapes, began to glow like the +burning masses of a furnace; the crimson floated like the waves of a +sea up towards the zenith; the fiery red next became mingled with +bright streaks of gold; the forest world, just budding into light +green, was seen below with its multitude of hills and dales, and rocks +and streams; the air blew warm and sweet, and full of all the balm of +spring; and a thousand birds burst forth on every tree, and carolled +joyous hymns to the dawning day.</p> + +<p class="normal">Never broke there a brighter morning upon earth; never rose the sun in +greater splendour; never was the air more balmy, or the voices of the +birds more sweet. It seemed as if all were destined to afford to those +two lovers the strongest, the strangest, the brightest contrast to the +dark dull night of anxiety and emotion which they had passed within +the palace they had just left behind them. It seemed to both as an +image of the dawn of immortality after the tomb--anxiety, sorrow, +danger, death, left behind, and brightness and splendour spread out +before.</p> + +<p class="normal">Each instinctively drew in the rein as the sun's golden edge was +raised above the horizon; each gazed in the countenance of the other, +as if to see that no trace of the pestilence was there; and each held +out the hand to grasp that of the being most loved on earth, and then +they raised their eyes to Heaven in thankfulness and joy.</p> + +<p class="normal">The old man led them on with scarcely a pause towards Chalet; but +about a mile from that place he turned to a little hamlet near, where, +in a good farm-house inhabited by his daughter and her husband, they +found their first resting-place. They were gladly received and +heartily welcomed, without the slightest appearance of fear, though +the circumstances of their flight were known. The farmer and the +farmer's wife set before them the best of all they had, the children +served them at the table, and the good woman of the house brought +forth a large flask of plague water, and made them drink abundantly, +assuring them that it was a sovereign antidote that was never known to +fail. They then assigned a room to each, and though it was still +daylight they gladly retired to rest. Charles of Montsoreau, though +much fatigued, slept not for near an hour, but the house was all kept +quiet and still, and, with his thoughts full of her he loved, he +fancied and trusted that she was sleeping calmly near him, and in an +earnest prayer to Heaven he called down blessings on her slumber. At +length sleep visited his own eyes, and he rose refreshed and well. +Some fears, some anxieties still remained in his bosom till he again +saw the countenance of Marie de Clairvaut. When he did see it, +however, fears on her account vanished altogether, for the paleness +which had overspread her face the night before had been banished by +repose, and the soft warm glow of health was once more upon her cheek. +He saw the same anxious look of inquiry upon her countenance; and oh! +surely there is something not only sweet and endearing, but elevating +also, in the knowledge of such mutual thoughts and cares for each +other; something that draws forth even from scenes of pain and peril a +joy tender and pure and high for those who love well and truly!</p> + +<p class="normal">"Fear not, dear Marie," he said; "fear not; for I feel well, and you +too look well, so that I trust the danger is over."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Pray God it be!" said Marie de Clairvaut. "But now, when you will, +Charles, I am ready to go on; we may soon reach Maintenon."</p> + +<p class="normal">"We must avoid the road by Maintenon," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +"for that would bring us on the lands of the grasping Duke of Epernon, +and we could not run a greater risk. Chartres itself is doubtful; but +we must take our way thither, and act according to circumstances. +However, dear Marie, our next journey must be long and fatiguing: +would it not be better for you to stay here to-night, and take as much +repose as you can obtain before you go on?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh no," replied Marie de Clairvaut; "I am well and strong now, and +eager to get forward out of all danger. The bright moon will soon be +rising, the sun has not yet set, and we may have five or six hours of +calm light to pursue our way."</p> + +<p class="normal">Her wishes were followed; and they were soon once more upon their way +towards the fair old town of Chartres. Their former journey had passed +greatly in thought, for deep emotions lay fresh upon their hearts, and +burthened them: but now they spoke long and frequently upon every part +of their mutual situation. The history of every event that had +happened to either, since they had parted at Montsoreau, was told and +dwelt upon with all its details: and while the love of Charles of +Montsoreau for his fair companion certainly did not diminish, every +word that fell from his lips, every act that she heard him relate, and +the manner of relating it also, increased in her bosom that love which +she had at first perceived with shame, but in which she now began to +take a pride as well as a joy.</p> + +<p class="normal">Nor, indeed, did his conduct and demeanour to herself in the +circumstances which surrounded them--circumstances of some difficulty +and delicacy--change one bright feeling of her heart towards him. +There was very much of that tenderness in his nature, that soft, that +gentle kindness, which, when joined with courage and strength, is more +powerful on the affections of woman than, perhaps, any other quality; +and her feelings were changed and rendered more devoted by being +dependent upon him for every thing--protection, and consolation, and +support, and affection, and all those little cares and kindnesses +which their mutual situation enabled him to show.</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus they journeyed on for several hours, and at length reached the +town of Chartres, having agreed to pass for brother and sister, as the +safest means of escaping observation. It was about eleven o'clock at +night when they reached the inn, but they were received with all +kindness and hospitality, such as innkeepers ever show to those who +seem capable of paying for good treatment. No questions were asked, +supper was set before them, and the night passed over again in ease +and comfort. Every hour, indeed, that went by without displaying any +sign of illness was in itself a joy; and there was a stillness and a +quietness about the old town of Chartres which seemed to quiet all +fears of annoyance or interruption.</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau was early up, and was waiting for the appearance +of Marie de Clairvaut, when the landlord of the inn appeared to inform +him that a horse-litter, which he had ordered to be ready for his +inspection, had been brought into the court-yard, and was waiting for +him to see. At that moment, however, there was a flourish of trumpets +in the street; and, looking forth from the window, the young Count saw +a considerable band of mounted soldiers, drawn up, as if about to +proceed on their march.</p> + +<p class="normal">"My sister," he said, turning to the host, "has not yet risen, and she +must see the litter, too, as it is for her convenience. But who are +these gallant gentlemen before the house, and whither are they going?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why, you might know them, sir, by their plumes and their scarfs," +replied the host. "They are a body of the light horse of the guard of +the Queen-mother. They are easily distinguished, I ween."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Ay, but I am a rustic from the provinces," replied the young +nobleman: "but they seem gallant-looking soldiers."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The Captain was making manifold inquiries about you and the young +lady who arrived last night," replied the landlord, "for he has come +with orders to seek and bring back to Paris some young lady and +gentleman that have made their escape lately with eight or nine +attendants. But when I told him that you were going to Paris, not +coming from it, and that you had only three servants with you, and the +young lady was your sister, he said it was not the same, and is now +going on. But I must go, lest he should ask for me."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Well, well," answered the young Count with an air of indifference. "I +will be down presently to see the litter; let it wait."</p> + +<p class="normal">He watched, however, with some anxiety the departure of the body of +light horse, for though he did not feel by any means sure that it was +himself whom they sought, he did not feel at all secure till the last +faint note of their trumpets was heard, as they issued forth from one +of the further gates of Chartres. As soon as Marie de Clairvaut +appeared, he purchased the litter without much hesitation, and +determined to proceed with all speed towards Dourdan and Corbeil.</p> + +<p class="normal">The host of the inn would have fain had them stay some time longer, +for the young Count had paid so readily for the litter, that he judged +some gold might be further extracted from his purse. He asked him, +therefore, whether there was nothing in the good town of Chartres to +excite his curiosity, and was beginning a long list of marvels; but +Charles of Montsoreau cut him short, saying, as he looked up at the +sign covered with fleurs-de-lis, "No, no, my good host. I have much +business on my hands in which his Majesty is not a little concerned, +and therefore I must lose no time."</p> + +<p class="normal">The host nodded his head, looked wise, and suffered the Count and his +party to depart without further opposition.</p> + +<p class="normal">As it was not a part of their plan to follow the high road more than +they were actually obliged to do, soon after leaving Chartres they +took a path to the left, which they were informed would lead them by +Gellardon to Bonnelle, through the fields and woods. Before they had +gone a league, however, the noise of dogs and horses, and the shouts, +as it seemed, of huntsmen, were heard at no great distance; and +turning towards Gondrin the young Count asked, "What can they be +hunting at this time of year?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"The wolf, my Lord, the wolf," replied the man. "They hunt wolves at +all times."</p> + +<p class="normal">Scarcely had he spoken, when a loud yell of the dogs was heard; and +nodding his head sagaciously, as if he had seen the whole proceeding +with his mind's eye, Gondrin added, "They have killed him;" which was +confirmed by a number of joyous morts on the horns of the huntsmen.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Let us proceed as fast as possible," said Charles of Montsoreau; "we +know not who those huntsmen may be:" and he was urging the driver of +the litter to hurry on his horses rapidly, when the whole road before +them was suddenly filled with a gay party of cavaliers, splendidly +dressed and accoutred, and coming direct towards them. There was +nothing now to be done but to pass on quietly if possible; and, taking +no apparent notice, but bending his head and speaking into the litter, +without even seeing of whom the other party was composed, Charles of +Montsoreau was riding on, when a loud voice was heard exclaiming "Halt +there! halt! A word with you if you please, young sir;" and, looking +up, he saw the Duke of Epernon.</p> + +<p class="normal">Without suffering the slightest surprise to appear upon his +countenance, or the slightest apprehension, Charles of Montsoreau +turned his head, demanding calmly, "Well, my Lord, what is your +pleasure with me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"My pleasure is," replied the Duke, "that you instantly turn your +horse's head and go back to Epernon with me."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I am extremely sorry, my Lord," replied the Count, "that it is quite +impossible for me to do what you propose, as I am upon urgent business +for the Duke of Guise, and bear the King's passport and safe-conduct, +which I presume your Lordship will not despise."</p> + +<p class="normal">"You may bear the King's passport, sir," said the Duke, "but you +certainly do not bear his authorisation to carry away from his power +the young lady who I suppose is in that litter. As to the Duke of +Guise, your authority from him is very much doubted also."</p> + +<p class="normal">"That doubt is easily removed, my Lord," replied the Count, seeing +clearly that he would be forced to yield, but fully resolved not to do +so till he had tried every means to avoid it. "That doubt is easily +removed, my Lord. Allow me to show you the authority given me by the +Duke under his own hand, which I think even the Duke of Epernon must +respect."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke took the paper which he tendered him, and then saying, "I +will show you how I respect it," he tore it into a thousand pieces, +and cast it beneath his horse's feet, while a laugh ran through the +men that attended him. "Turn your horse's head," he continued, +"without more ado, or I will have your arms tied behind your back, and +the horse led."</p> + +<p class="normal">"My Lord," replied the young Count, "I must obey, for I have no means +of resisting; but let me remind you, that the Duke of Epernon was +always considered, even before what he is now, a gallant gentleman and +a man of good feeling, who would not insult those who were too weak to +oppose him, and who did their duty honourably as far as it was +possible for them to do it."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Your civility now, sir," replied the Duke, "like your rash folly a +week or two ago, is too contemptible to make any change in the Duke of +Epernon. That foolish party of light horse," he continued, speaking to +one of his attendants, "must have suffered this malapert youth and his +fair charge to have passed it. Turn the litter round there; take care +that none of them escape."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The boy has made off already," replied one of the men. "Shall I +gallop after him, my Lord? He may tell the Duke of Guise."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Let him!" answered Epernon. "Go not one of you; but bring the rest of +them along hither."</p> + +<p class="normal">Without giving any intimation of his intent, Charles of Montsoreau +turned his horse suddenly back to the side of the litter, and drew the +curtain back, saying to Marie de Clairvaut, who sat pale and anxious +within it, "You hear what has happened; there is no power of +resistance, for they are ten to one: but the boy has escaped, and will +give the Duke notice of where you are. In the mean time it is one +comfort, that now you are in the hands of one who is, at all events, a +man of honour and a gentleman in feeling."</p> + +<p class="normal">What he said was intended to give comfort and consolation to Marie de +Clairvaut; but it reached the ear of the Duke of Epernon likewise. "I +must suffer no farther conversation," he said in a gentler tone than +he had before used. "You will understand, Monsieur de Logères, that I +have authority for what I do; and that I arrest you out of no personal +vengeance, but because the order has been already given to that +effect."</p> + +<p class="normal">"My Lord," replied the young Count, "I care very little for my own +arrest, as I know that I can but be detained a short time: but I +confess I am most anxious for the young lady placed under my especial +charge by the Duke of Guise, as I have shown your Lordship by the +paper you have torn. If she is to remain in your Lordship's charge, I +shall be more satisfied; but if she is to be given up to Monsieur de +Villequier, the consequences will indeed be painful to all. You are +perhaps not aware, my Lord, that he sent her to a place where the +plague was raging at the time, where six persons of her household died +of it, and the rest fled, leaving her utterly alone."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke seemed moved, and after remaining silent for a minute, he +replied, "I did not know it; the man who would murder his wife, would +make no great scruple of killing his cousin, I suppose. However, sir, +set your mind at ease: though I cannot promise that she shall remain +with the Duchess of Epernon, she shall not be given up to Villequier +either by myself or by any body in whose hands I may place her. Is +that assurance sufficient for you?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Perfectly, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau. "The Duke of +Epernon's promise is as good as the bond of other men."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Well, follow me, then," replied the Duke, and, riding on alone, he +left the young Count in the hands of his attendants.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_09" href="#div1Ref_09">CHAP. IX.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">It was in one of the saloons of the old Cardinal de Bourbon, in the +town of Soissons, that Henry Duke of Guise, princely in his habit, +princely in his aspect, with his foot raised upon a footstool of +crimson and gold, a high plumed Spanish hat upon his head, manifold +parchments before him, and a pen in his hand, sat alone on a day in +the month of April with his eyes fixed upon a door at the other end of +the room, as if waiting for the entrance of some one.</p> + +<p class="normal">The next moment the door was thrown wide open, and, preceded by two +servants announcing him to the Duke, appeared a small and not very +striking personage plainly habited in black velvet. The moment the +Duke saw him, he rose, and for an instant uncovered his head, then +covering himself again he advanced to meet him, and took him by the +hand, saying "Monsieur de Bellievre, I am delighted to see you. The +King could not have chosen any one more gratifying to myself to +receive: in the first place, because I know that I shall hear nothing +but truth from the lips of Monsieur de Bellievre; and, in the next +place, because I am sure no one will bear more exactly to his Majesty +any reply I may have to make to the message with which I understand +you are charged."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The confidence which your Highness expresses in me," replied +Bellievre, as the Duke led him towards the table, and made him seat +himself beside him, "does great honour to so humble an individual as +myself. Nevertheless, I must deliver the King's message, my Lord, +precisely as it was given to me; and should there be any thing in it +disagreeable to your Highness, I trust that you will excuse the +bearer, and consider the matter dispassionately."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Proceed, proceed," replied the Duke; "as in duty bound I shall +receive his Majesty's communication with all deference and humility."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Well, then," replied Bellievre, "I am charged by his Majesty to +assure your Highness that his personal esteem and respect for you is +very great; and that he has never, in any degree, given ear to the +injurious reports which persons inimical to your Highness have been +industrious in circulating to your disadvantage."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Your pardon, Monsieur de Bellievre, for one moment," said the Duke, +interrupting him. "To what injurious reports does his Majesty allude? +I am ignorant that any one has dared to circulate injurious reports of +me; and if such be the case, it is high time that I should proceed to +the capital to confront and shame my accusers."</p> + +<p class="normal">As this was not at all the point to which the King's envoy wished to +bring the Duke, he looked not a little embarrassed what to reply. He +answered, however, after a moment's pause, "It would, indeed, be +requisite for you to do so, my Lord, if I did not bear you the King's +most positive assurance that he gives no ear to such reports. But to +proceed: his Majesty has bid me strongly express his full conviction +of your attachment, fidelity, and affection, but has commanded me to +add that, having heard it reported your intention is immediately to +present yourself in Paris, he is unwillingly obliged, by state reasons +of the utmost importance, to request that you would forbear the +execution of that purpose."</p> + +<p class="normal">It was not without some hesitation and apparent emotion that Bellievre +spoke; but the Duke heard him with perfect calmness, though with a +slight contraction of the brow.</p> + +<p class="normal">"The report," he answered, "of my intention of visiting Paris is +perfectly correct, Monsieur de Bellievre; nor can I, indeed, refrain +from executing that purpose, with all due deference to his Majesty, +for many reasons, amongst which those that you yourself give me of +injurious rumours being rife in the capital regarding me, are not the +least cogent. Thus, unless the King intends to signify by you, +Monsieur de Bellievre, that he positively prohibits my coming into +Paris--which, of course, he would not do--I see not how I can avoid +doing simple justice to myself by returning to my own dwelling in the +capital of this country."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I grieve to say, your Highness," replied Bellievre, seeing that the +worst must be told, "I grieve to say, that while the King has charged +me to assure you of his regard and his confidence in you, he none the +less instructed me to make the prohibition on his part absolute and +distinct."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke of Guise started up with his brow knit and his eyes flashing. +"Is this the reward," he exclaimed, "of all the services I have +rendered the state? Is this the recompense for having shed my blood so +often in defence of France? to be dishonoured in the eyes of all the +people, by being banished from the metropolis, to be excluded from the +companionship of all my friends, to be cut off from transacting my own +private affairs, to be talked of and pointed at as the exiled Duke of +Guise, and to have the boys singing in the streets the woeful ditty of +my sufferings and a King's ingratitude?" And as he spoke, the Duke +took two or three rapid strides up and down the room.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed, indeed, your Highness," cried Bellievre, "you take it up too +warmly. The King is far from ungrateful, but most thankful for your +high services; but it is for the good of the state that you love, for +the safety and security of the people of the capital who are in a +tumultuous and highly excitable state, that he wishes you to refrain +from coming----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"That he sends me a message dishonouring to myself and to my House," +replied the Duke. "That he marks me out from the rest of the nobles of +the land, by a prohibition which I may venture to say is unjust and +unmerited. I must take some days to think of this, Monsieur de +Bellievre; nor can I in any way promise not to visit Paris. Were it +but to protect, support, and guide my friends and relations, I ought +to go; were it but on account of the church for which I am ready to +shed my blood if it be necessary, persecuted, reviled, assailed as +that holy church is; were it but for my attendants and supporters, who +are attacked, abused, and ill-treated in the streets and public ways."</p> + +<p class="normal">"As for the church, your Highness," replied Bellievre, "none is more +sincerely attached to it than the King and the King's advisers. It +will stand long, my Lord, depend upon it, without any further +assistance than that which you have already so ably given it. Your +relations, my Lord, and household," he said, "are not and cannot be +ill-treated."</p> + +<p class="normal">"How?" exclaimed the Duke. "Is not my dear sister Margaret even now, +as it were, proscribed by the King and his court? Is not every thing +done to drive her from Paris? Have not her servants been struck by +those of Villequier in the open streets?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know," replied Bellievre, "that a month or two ago Madame de +Montpensier was subject to some little annoyance, but as soon as it +came to the King's ears he had it instantly remedied, and only wished +her to quit Paris for her own security."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The House of Guise, sir, have always been secure in the capital of +France," replied the Duke; "and I trust always will be."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Nothing has occurred since I trust, my Lord," continued Bellievre. +"The King is most anxious that you should have satisfaction in every +thing, and will give you the strongest assurances that your family, +your household, and your friends, shall be in every respect well +treated and protected, as indeed he has always wished them to be."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke threw himself down in his chair and rang the bell that stood +upon the table violently. "Ho! without there!" he exclaimed. "Bring in +that page that arrived hither a night or two ago, when I was absent at +Jamets."</p> + +<p class="normal">The attendant who had appeared retired, and the Duke sat silent, +gazing with a frown at the papers on the table. "May I ask your +Highness," said Bellievre, not knowing what interpretation to put upon +this conduct, "May I ask your Highness whether I am to conceive my +audience at an end?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, Monsieur de Bellievre, no," replied the Duke in a milder tone; +"for <i>you</i> I have a high respect and esteem, and will listen to you +upon this subject longer than I would to most men. I wish you to hear +and to know how the friends of the Duke of Guise are treated, what +protection and favour is shown to them at the court of France. Perhaps +you will hear some things that are new to you--perhaps they may be new +to the King too," he added, a slight sneer curling his haughty lip. +"But be that as it may, Monsieur de Bellievre, I think I can show you +good cause why the Duke of Guise should be no longer absent from +Paris. Come hither, boy," he added, as the page Ignati entered the +room, "Come hither, boy, and answer my questions. Thou art both witty +and honest, but give me plain straightforward replies. Stand at my +knee and answer, so that this gentleman may hear."</p> + +<p class="normal">The boy advanced, and did as the Duke bade him, turning his face +towards Bellievre, with his left hand to the Duke.</p> + +<p class="normal">"You went to Paris," said Guise, "with my friend the young Count of +Logères; did you not? Were you aware of the cause of his going?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"He went, I understood your Highness," replied the boy, "to seek a +young lady, a relation of your own, who had been carried to Paris by a +body of the King's troops while on her way to join your Highness."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Can you tell what was Monsieur de Logères' success?" said the Duke.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know he saw the King," replied the boy, "and heard that he had been +promised a letter to all the governors and commanders in different +places to aid him in seeking for the young Lady, and bringing her back +to your Highness. I heard also that it was for this paper he waited +from day to day in Paris, but that it never came."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I beg your Highness's pardon," said Bellievre interrupting the boy, +"but you will remark that this is all hearsay. He does not seem to +speak at all from his own knowledge."</p> + +<p class="normal">"That will come after," answered the Duke somewhat sharply. "Go on, +Ignati. What do you know more?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"What I have said," replied the boy, "is more than hearsay, my Lord, +for while we staid in Paris the good Count bade us always be ready at +a moment's notice to set out, for he could not tell when the letter +from Monsieur de Villequier would arrive. It never came, however, and +one night the Count having, as I understood, gained information of +where Mademoiselle de Clairvaut was, set out with his man Gondrin and +myself to seek her. We found that she had been brought by a body of +the King's troops to a château or a palace, for it looked more like a +palace than a château, called Morvillette, I believe near Chateauneuf, +where the plague was then raging, when the King's soldiers left her. +By the time we arrived the plague had reached the château, six or +seven people were dead, and all the rest had fled, leaving the young +lady with nobody in the palace, and none but one old groom in the +stables."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke's eye fixed sternly upon the countenance of Bellievre, and he +muttered between his teeth, "This is the doing, Monsieur de Bellievre, +of my excellent good friend, the King of France. Go on, boy; go on! +Proceed. What happened next?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"The lady was most joyous of her deliverance," continued the boy, "and +eager to come to your Highness; and we set out the next morning before +day-break, and reached Chartres, where the Count bought a litter for +her greater convenience. At a short distance from Chartres, however, +we were met by the Duke of Epernon and his train wolf-hunting, and the +Duke immediately stopped us, and insisted upon the Count going back +with him to Epernon. The Count produced the King's passports, but the +Duke said that there were doubts of his being authorised by you."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Did he not show him my own letter?" exclaimed the Duke. "Did he not +show him the authority I gave him under my own hand?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"He did, my Lord; he did," replied the boy; "but the Duke of Epernon +said he would show in what respect he held your Highness's letter, and +tearing it in several pieces he threw it down under his horse's feet."</p> + +<p class="normal">Bellievre continued to look down upon the ground with a brow which +certainly displayed but little satisfaction. The Duke of Guise, +however, though he had been frowning the moment before, now only +smiled as the boy related the incident of the letter; the smile was +somewhat contemptuous, indeed; but he said merely, "Go on, boy. What +happened next?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Nay, my Lord," replied the boy, "what happened to them I know not, +for seeing that the Duke held them prisoners, and was taking them back +to Epernon, I made my escape as fast as I well could, and came hither +to tell you into whose hands the young lady and Monsieur de Logères +had fallen."</p> + +<p class="normal">"You did quite right, boy," said the Duke; "and now you may retire. +You hear, Monsieur de Bellievre," he continued, "with what kindness, +protection, support, and generosity the King treats the friends of the +Duke of Guise! First he casts my poor niece's child into the hands of +Villequier, something worse than those of the hangman of Paris, and +then between them they send her into the midst of the pestilence; then +comes Monsieur d'Epernon to confirm all, arrests my friend bearing the +King's own passports and safeguard, seizes upon my own relation and +ward, and carries them both I know not whither."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Perhaps your Highness," said Bellievre, "the Duke of Epernon might +have motives that we do not know. At all events the King----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Fie, Monsieur de Bellievre, fie!" exclaimed the Duke vehemently. "I +will tell you what! It is time the Duke of Guise were in Paris, if but +to deliver the King from such Dukes of Epernon who abuse his +authority, disgrace his name, absorb his favours, ruin the state, +overthrow the church, and dare do acts that make men blush for shame. +France will no longer suffer him, sir; France will no longer suffer +him! If I free not the King from him and such as he is, the people +will rise up and commit some foul attempt upon the royal authority. +What," he continued, with fierce scorn, "What, though he be Baron of +Caumont, Duke of Epernon, raised out of his place to sit near the +princes of the blood, Governor of Metz and Normandy, of the +Boulonnais, and Aunis, of Touraine, Saintonge, and Angoumois, +Colonel-general of Infantry, and Governor of Anjou, a Knight of the +order of the Holy Ghost! he shall find this simple steel sword of +Henry of Guise sufficiently sharp to cut his parchments into pieces, +and send him back a beggar to the class he sprung from."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke spoke so rapidly, that to interrupt him was impossible; and +so angrily, that Bellievre, overawed, remained silent for a moment or +two after he had done, while the Prince bent his eyes down upon the +table, and played with the golden tassels of his sword-knot, as if +half ashamed of the vehemence he had displayed.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I did not come here, your Highness," he said, "either as the envoy or +the advocate of the Duke of Epernon. You must well know that there is +no great love between us; and I doubt not, when your Highness comes to +call him to account for his deeds, that justice will be found entirely +on your side. But I came on the part of the King; and I beseech you to +consider, my good Lord, what may be the consequences of pressing even +any severe charges against the Duke of Epernon at this moment, when +his Majesty is contending with the heretics on the one side, and is +somewhat troubled by an unruly people on the other."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Is he indeed contending with any body or any thing, Bellievre?" +demanded the Duke. "Is he indeed contending against the Bearnois? Is +he contending against the indolence of his own nature, or rather +against the indolence into which corrupt favourites have cast him? Is +he contending against the iniquities of Villequier, or the exactions +of Epernon? Is he contending against any thing less contemptible than +a spaniel puppy or an unteachable parrot? My love and attachment to +the King and his crown, Bellievre, are greater than yours; and, as my +final reply, I beg you humbly to inform his Majesty on my part, that +if I do not promptly and entirely obey him in this matter of not +coming to Paris, it is solely because I am compelled to do as I do, +for the good of the church, for the safety of the state, for the +security of my own relations and friends, and even for the benefit of +his Majesty himself. This is my final reply."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Yet one word, my Lord," replied Bellievre. "At all events, if your +determination to visit the capital be taken, will you not at least, at +my earnest prayer, delay your journey till I myself can return to +Paris, and obtaining more ample explanations of the King's purposes, +come back to you and confer with you farther on the subject."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I see not, Monsieur de Bellievre," said the Duke of Guise, "what good +could be obtained by such delay. I do not at all mean to say that you +would take advantage of my confidence to prepare any evil measures +against me; but others might do so: and besides, my honour calls me +not to leave my friends in peril for a moment, even though I called +upon my head the enmity of a whole host in stepping forward to rescue +them."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I pledge you my honour, my Lord," replied Bellievre, "that if you +will consent to delay, no measures shall be taken against you; and I +will do the very best I can to induce the King to make any atonement +in his power to your friends. As to this young Count of Logères, I +never heard of him before to-day, and know not what has been done with +him at all; and in regard to Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, she is +doubtless in the hands of Villequier, who, I understand, claims the +guardianship."</p> + +<p class="normal">"To which he has less right," replied the Duke angrily, "than that +footstool; and if he contends with me, I will spurn him as I do it;" +and he suited the gesture to the word. "But still I see not," +continued the Duke, "what is to be gained by this delay to either +party."</p> + +<p class="normal">"This, my good Lord," replied Bellievre. "I am well aware that his +Majesty the King has sent me here without sufficient powers to make +you just and definite proposals. This I believe to have been entirely +from the haste in which I came away, there being no time for thought. +But if you permit me to return with assurance that you will wait but a +few days, I feel convinced that I shall come back to you with offers +so abundant, so satisfactory, and so well secured, that your Lordship +will change your resolution."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke mused for a moment or two. "Well, Monsieur de Bellievre," he +said at length, "though I entertain no such hopes as you do, I must +yield something to my loyalty, and to my real desire of obeying the +King; although, perhaps, my duty to my country and to the church might +well lead me to more prompt proceedings. I will, therefore, delay my +journey for a day or two; but you must use all speed, and I must have +no trifling. You know all my just grievances: those must be remedied, +the church must be secured; and for the quiet and the satisfaction of +the people who abhor and detest him, as well as for the relief of the +nobles who have long been shut out from all favour by that unworthy +minion, this John of Nogaret, this Duke of Epernon, must be banished +from the court and councils of the King, and stripped of the places +and dignities which he has won from the weak condescension of the +Monarch. You understand me, Monsieur de Bellievre," he said in a +sterner tone, seeing that Bellievre looked somewhat dismayed at the +extent of his demands. "Undertake not the mission if you think that +you cannot succeed in it; but let me on my way without more +opposition."</p> + +<p class="normal">"My Lord, I will do my best to succeed," replied Bellievre; "and trust +that I shall do so. How many days will your Highness give me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Nay, nay," replied the Duke; "that I cannot tell, Monsieur de +Bellievre. Suffice it, I will delay as long as my honour permits me; +and you on your part lose not an hour in making the necessary +arrangements, and bringing the King's reply."</p> + +<p class="normal">As he spoke the Duke rose to terminate the conference; and then added, +"I fear, Monsieur de Bellievre, as I am expecting every moment my +brother, the Cardinal de Guise, and his Eminence of Bourbon, to confer +with me upon matters of importance, I cannot do the honours of the +house to you as I could wish; but Pericard, my secretary and friend, +will attend upon you, and insure that you have every sort of +refreshment. I will send for him this moment." And so doing, he placed +Bellievre in the hands of his secretary, and turned once more to other +business.</p> + +<p class="normal">The King's envoy sped back to Paris, scarcely giving himself time to +take necessary refreshment; but on his arrival in the capital he first +found a difficulty even in seeing the Monarch; and when he did see +him, found him once more plunged in that state of luxurious and +effeminate indolence from which he was only roused by occasional fits +of excitement, which sometimes enabled him to resume the monarch and +the man, but more frequently carried him into the wildest and most +frantic excesses of debauchery.</p> + +<p class="normal">Henry would scarcely listen to the business of Bellievre even when he +granted him an audience on the following morning. He asked many a +question about his cousin of Guise, about his health, about his +appearance, about his dress itself; whether his shoes were pointed or +square, and how far the haut-de-chausses came down above his knees. +Bellievre was impatient, and pressed the King with some fire; but +Henry only laughed, and tickled the ears of a monkey that sat upon the +arm of his chair with a parrot's feather. The animal mouthed and +chattered at the King, and strove to snatch the feather out of his +hands; and Henry, stroking it down the head, called it "Mon Duc de +Guise."</p> + +<p class="normal">Bellievre bowed low, and moved towards the door. "Come back to-morrow, +Bellievre; come back to-morrow," said the King; "Villequier will be +here then. You see at present how importantly I am occupied with my +fair cousin of Guise here;" and he pulled the monkey's whiskers as he +spoke. "Villequier has told me all about it," he added. "He says the +Duke will not come, and so says my mother; and if they both say the +same thing who never agreed upon any point before, it must be true, +Bellievre, you know."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I trust it may, Sire," replied Bellievre dryly, and quitted the room +with anger and indignation at his heart. Before he had crossed the +anteroom, he heard a loud laugh ringing like that of a fool from the +lips of the Monarch; and although it was doubtless occasioned by some +new gambol of the monkey, it did not serve to diminish the bitter +feelings which were in the diplomatist's bosom.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_10" href="#div1Ref_10">CHAP. X.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">In a small, dark, oaken cabinet with one window high up and barred, a +lamp hanging from the ceiling, a table with books and a musical +instrument, several chairs, and a silver bell, Charles of Montsoreau +was seated several days after the period at which we last left him. A +bedroom well furnished in every respect was beyond; the least sound of +the silver bell produced immediate attendance; nothing was refused him +that he demanded; nothing was wanting to his comfort except liberty +and the sound of some other human being's voice. Yet, strange to say, +although he knew that he was in the city of Paris, he knew nothing +more of the position of the building in which he was placed. He had +been brought into the capital at night, had been conducted through a +number of narrow and tortuous streets, and had at length been led +through a deep archway and several large courts, to the place in which +he was now confined.</p> + +<p class="normal">It may seem perhaps that such a state of imprisonment did not offer +much to complain of; and yet it had bent his spirit and bowed down his +heart. The want of all knowledge of what was passing around him, the +absence of every one that he loved, the loss of liberty, the perfect +silence, joined with anxiety for one who was dearer to him than +himself, wore him day by day, and took from him the power of enjoying +any of those things which were provided for his convenience or +amusement.</p> + +<p class="normal">The servant who attended upon him never opened his lips, he obeyed any +orders that were given to him, he brought any thing that was demanded; +but he replied to no questions, he made no observations, he afforded +no information even by a look. Every bolt and bar that was on the +outside of the door was invariably drawn behind him, and the high +window in either room could only be so far reached even by standing on +the table or one of the chairs, as to enable the young nobleman to +open or shut it at pleasure, so to admit the free air from without.</p> + +<p class="normal">Such had been the condition of Charles of Montsoreau, as we have said, +for many days; but he had not yet become reconciled in any degree to +his fate, though he strove, as far as possible, to while away the +moments in any way that was permitted, either by books or music. But +it was with impatience and disgust that he did so, and the lute was +taken up and laid down, the book read and cast away, without remaining +in his hands for the space of five minutes.</p> + +<p class="normal">The sun shone bright through the high window, and traced a moving spot +of golden light upon the dark oak of the opposite wainscot; the air of +spring came sweet and pleasantly through, and gave him back the +thoughts and dreams of liberty; a wild plant rooted in the stonework +of the building without, cast its light feathery shadow on the wall +where the sun shone, and the hum and roar of distant multitudes, +pursuing their busy course in the thronged thoroughfares of the city, +brought him his only tidings from the hurried and struggling scene of +human life.</p> + +<p class="normal">He took a pleasure in watching the leaves of the little plant as, +waved about by the wind, they played against the bars of the window, +and he was thus occupied on the day we have mentioned, when suddenly +something crossed the light for a moment, as if some small bird had +flown by; but at the same instant a roll of paper fell at his feet, +and taking it up, he recognised the well-known writing of the Duke of +Guise.</p> + +<p class="normal">"You have suffered for my sake," the paper said, "and I hastened to +deliver you. The day of the Epernons is over; your place of +imprisonment is known. Be not dispirited, therefore, for relief is at +hand."</p> + +<p class="normal">It cannot be told how great was the relief which this note itself +brought to the mind of the young Count, not alone by the promise that +it held out, but by the very feeling that it gave him of not being +utterly forgotten, of being not entirely alone and desolate. He read +it over two or three times, and then hearing one of the bolts of the +door undrawn, he concealed it hastily lest the attendant should see +it.</p> + +<p class="normal">Another bolt was immediately afterwards pulled back, and then the door +was unlocked, though far more slowly than usual. It seemed to the +young Count that an unaccustomed hand was busy with the fastenings, +and a faint hope of speedy deliverance shot across his mind.</p> + +<p class="normal">The next instant, however, the door was opened, and though it +certainly was not the usual attendant who appeared, no face presented +itself that was known to Charles of Montsoreau. The figure was that of +a woman, tall, stately, and dressed in garments of deep black, fitting +tightly round the shoulders and the waist, and flowing away in ample +folds below. Her hair was entirely covered by black silk and lace, but +her face was seen, and that face was one which instantly drew all +attention to itself.</p> + +<p class="normal">It was not indeed the beauty which attracted, though there were great +remains of beauty too, but it was the face not only of an old woman, +but of one who had been somewhat a spendthrift of youth's charms. +There was, however, a keen fire in the eyes, a strong determination on +the brow, an expansion of the nostril, which gave the idea of quick +and eager feelings, and a degree of sternness about the whole line of +the features, which would have made the whole countenance commanding, +but harsh and severe, had it not been for a light and playful smile +that gleamed across the whole, like some of the bright and sudden rays +of light that from to time we see run across the bosom of deep still +shady waters.</p> + +<p class="normal">There was a degree of mockery in that smile, too; and yet it spoke +affections and feelings which as strangely blended with the general +character of that woman's life, as the smile itself did with the +general expression of her countenance. The hands were beautiful and +delicately small, and the figure good, with but few signs of age about +it.</p> + +<p class="normal">The young Count gazed upon her with some surprise as she entered, but +instantly rose from the seat in which he had been sitting while +reading the Duke of Guise's note; and the lady, with a graceful +inclination of the head, closed the door, advanced and seated herself, +examining the young Count from head to foot with a look of calm +consideration, which he very well understood implied the habitual +exercise of authority and power.</p> + +<p class="normal">After thus gazing at him for a moment or two, she said, "Monsieur le +Comte de Logères, do you know me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"If you mean, madam," he replied, "to ask me if I recognise your +person, I believe I do; but if you would ask absolutely whether I know +you, I must say, no."</p> + +<p class="normal">One of those light smiles passed quick across her countenance, and she +said in a low voice, as if speaking to herself, "Who ever did know +me?" She then added, "Who then do you suppose I am?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I conclude, madam," replied the young Count, "that I stand in the +presence of her Majesty the Queen-mother."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Such is the case," replied the Queen, "and I have come to visit you, +Monsieur de Logères, with views and purposes which, were I to tell +them to any person at my son's court, would hardly be believed."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Queen paused, as if waiting for an answer; and the young Count +replied, "I trust, madam, that if I am detained here by the +directions, and in the power of your Majesty, that you have come to +give me liberty, which would, I suppose," he added with somewhat of a +smile, "be rather marvellous to the courtiers of the King."</p> + +<p class="normal">Catharine de Medici smiled also, but at the same time shook her head. +"I fear I must not give you liberty," she said, "for I have promised +not: but I have come with no bad intent towards you. I knew your +mother, Monsieur de Logères, and a virtuous and beautiful woman she +was. God help us! it shows that I am growing old, my praising any +woman for her virtue. However, she was what I have said, and as unlike +myself as possible. Perhaps that was the reason that I liked her, for +we like not things that are too near ourselves. However, I have come +hither to see her son, and to do him a pleasure. You play upon the +lute?" she continued. "Come, 'tis a long time since I have heard the +lute well played. Take up the instrument, and add your voice to it."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Alas, madam," replied the young Count, "I am but in an ill mood for +music. If I sang you a melancholy lay it would find such stirring +harmonies in my own heart, that I fear I should drown the song in +tears; and if I sang you a gay one, it would be all discord. I would +much rather open that door which you have left unlocked behind you, +and go out."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Queen did not stir in the slightest degree, but gazed upon him +attentively with a look of compassion, answering, "Alas! poor bird, +you would find that your cage has a double door. But come, do as I bid +you; sit down there, take up the lute and sing. Let your song be +neither gay nor sad! Let it be a song of love. I doubt not that such a +youth as you are, will easily find a love ditty in your heart, though +the present inspiration be no better than an old woman. Come, Monsieur +de Logères, come: sit down and sing. I am a judge of music, I can tell +you."</p> + +<p class="normal">With a faint smile the Count did as she bade him; and taking up the +lute, he ran his fingers over the chords, thought for a moment or two, +and recollecting nothing better suited to the moment, he sang an +Italian song of love, in which sometime before he had ventured to +shadow forth to Marie de Clairvaut, when she was at Montsoreau, the +first feelings of affection that were growing up in his heart. The +Queen sat by in the mean time, listening attentively, with her head a +little bent forward, and her hand marking the cadences on her knee.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Beautifully sung, Monsieur de Logères," she said at length when he +ended. "Beautifully sung, and as well accompanied. You do not know how +much pleasure you have given.--Now, let us talk of other things. Are +you sincere, man?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I trust so, madam," replied the Count. "I believe I have never borne +any other character."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Who taught you to play so well on the lute?" demanded the Queen +abruptly.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I have had no great instruction, madam," answered the Count somewhat +surprised. "I taught myself a little in my boyhood. But afterwards my +preceptor, the Abbé de Boisguerin, was my chief instructor. He had +learned well in Italy."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Did he teach you sincerity too?" demanded the Queen with a keen look; +"and did he learn that in Italy?"</p> + +<p class="normal">The Count was not a little surprised to find Catherine's questions +touch so immediately upon the late discoveries he had made of the +character of the Abbé de Boisguerin, and he replied with some +bitterness, "He could but teach me, madam, that which he possessed +himself. I trust that to my nature and my blood I owe whatever +sincerity may be in me. I learned it from none but from God and my own +heart."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Then you know him," said the Queen, reaching the point at once; "that +is sufficient at present on that subject. I know him too. He came to +the court of France several years ago, with letters from my fair +cousin the Cardinal; but he brought with him nothing that I wanted at +that time. He had a wily head, a handsome person, manifold +accomplishments, great learning, and services for the highest bidder. +We had too many such things at the court already, so I thought that +the sooner he was out of it the better, and looked cold upon him till +he went. He understood the matter well, and did not return till he +brought something in his hand to barter for favour. However, Monsieur +de Logères, to turn to other matters; I do believe you may be sincere +after all. I shall discover in a minute, however. Will you answer me a +question or two concerning the Duke of Guise?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"It depends entirely upon what they are, madam," replied the Count at +once.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Then you will not answer me every question, even if it were to gain +your liberty."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Certainly not, madam," replied the Count.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Then the Duke has been speaking ill of me," said Catherine at once, +"otherwise you would not be so fearful."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Not so, indeed," replied the Count, eagerly. "The Duke never, in my +presence, uttered a word against your Majesty."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Then will you tell me, as a man of honour," demanded the Queen, +"exactly, word for word what you have ever heard the Duke say of me?"</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau paused and thought for a moment, and then +answered, "I may promise you to do so in safety, madam, for I never +heard the Duke speak of you but twice, and then it was in high +praise."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed!" she replied. "But still I believe you, for Villequier has +been assuring me of the contrary, and, of course, what he says must be +false. He cannot help himself, poor man. Now, tell me what the Duke +said, Monsieur de Logères. Perhaps I may be able to repay you some +time."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I seek for no bribe, your Majesty," replied the Count smiling; "and, +indeed, the honour and the pleasure of this visit----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Nay, nay! You a courtier, young gentleman!" exclaimed the Queen, +shaking her finger at him. "Another such word as that, and you will +make me doubt the whole tale."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The speech would not have been so courtier-like, madam, if it had +been ended," replied the Count. "I was going to have said, that the +honour and pleasure of this visit, after not having heard for many +days, many weeks I believe, the sound of a human voice, or seen any +other face but that of one attendant, is full repayment for the little +that I have to tell. However, madam, to gratify you with regard to +the Duke, the first time that I ever heard him mention you was in the +city of Rheims, where a number of persons were collected together, and +many violent opinions were expressed, with which I will not offend +your ears; your past life was spoken of by some of the gentlemen +present----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Pass over that, pass over that! I understand!" replied the Queen with +a sarcastic smile; "I understand. But those things are not worth +speaking of. What of the present, Monsieur de Logères? What of the +present?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why, some one expressed an opinion, madam," the Count continued, +"that in order to retain a great share of power, you did every thing +you could to keep his Majesty in the lethargic and indolent state in +which I grieve to say he appears to the great mass of his subjects."</p> + +<p class="normal">"What said the Duke?" demanded the Queen. "What said the Duke? surely +he knows me better."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why, madam," replied the Count, "his eye brightened and his colour +rose, and he replied indignantly that it could not be so. 'Oh no,' he +said, 'happy had it been for France if, instead of divided power, the +Queen-mother had possessed the whole power. It is by petty minds +mingling their leven with their great designs that ruin has come upon +the land. She has had to deal with great men, great events, and great +difficulties, and she was equal to deal with, if not to bow them all +down before her, had she but been permitted to deal with them +unshackled.'"<a name="div3Ref_04" href="#div3_04"><sup>[4]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed!" exclaimed the Queen; "did he say so?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"He did, madam, upon my honour," replied the Count.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know not whether he was right or wrong," rejoined the Queen +thoughtfully; "for though perhaps, Monsieur de Logères, I possessed +in some things the powers of a man--say, if you will, greater powers +than most men--yet, alas! in others, I had all the weaknesses of a +woman--perhaps I should say, to balance other qualities, more +weaknesses than most women. But he must have said more. The answer was +not pertinent to the remark, and Henry of Guise is not a man either in +speech or action ever to forget his object."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Nor did he in this instance," replied the Count; "but he said that, +wearied out with seeing your best and greatest schemes frustrated by +the weakness of others, you now contented yourself with warding off +evils as far as possible from your son and from the state; that it was +evident that such was your policy; and that, like Miron, the King's +physician, unable from external circumstances to effect a cure, you +treated the diseases of the times with a course of palliatives; that, +as the greatest of all evils, you knew and saw the apathy of his +Majesty, and did all that you could to rouse him, but that the +poisonous counsels of Villequier, the soft indolence of his own +nature, and the enfeebling society of Epernon and others, resisted all +that you could do, and thwarted you here likewise."</p> + +<p class="normal">"He spoke wisely, and he spoke truly," replied the Queen; "and I will +tell you, Monsieur de Logères, though Henry of Guise and I can never +love each other much, yet I felt sure that he knew me too well to say +all those things of me that have been reported by his enemies. I am +satisfied with what I have heard, Count, and shall ask no further +questions. But you have given me pleasure, and I will do my best to +serve you. Once more, let us speak of other things. Have you all that +you desire and want here?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, madam," replied the young Count. "I want many things--liberty, +the familiar voices of my friends, the sight of those I love. Every +thing that the body wants I have; and you or some of your attendants +have supplied me with books and music; but it is in such a situation +as this, your Majesty, that one learns that the heart requires food as +well as the body or the mind."</p> + +<p class="normal">"The heart!" replied Catharine de Medici thoughtfully. "I once knew +what the heart was, and I have not quite forgotten it yet. Did you +mark my words after you had sung, Monsieur de Logères?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"You were pleased to praise my poor singing much more than it +deserved, madam," replied the young Count.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Something more than that, my good youth," replied the Queen. "I told +you that it had given more pleasure than you knew of. I might have +added, that it gave pleasure to more than you knew of, for there was +another ear could hear it besides mine."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Indeed!" exclaimed the Count gazing eagerly in the Queen's face; "and +pray who might that be?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"One that loves you," replied Catharine de Medici. "One that loves +you very well, Monsieur de Logères." And rising from her chair she put +her hand to her brow, as if in deep thought. "Well," she said at +length; "something must be risked, and I will risk something for +that purpose. The time is not far distant, Monsieur de Logères--I +see it clearly--when by some means you will be set at liberty; but, +notwithstanding that, it may be long before you find such a thing even +as an hour's happiness. You are a frank and generous man, I believe; +you will not take advantage of an act of kindness to behave +ungenerously. I go away from you for a moment or two, and leave that +door open behind me, trusting to your honour."</p> + +<p class="normal">She waited for no reply, but quitted the room; and Charles of +Montsoreau stood gazing upon the door, doubtful of what was her +meaning, and how he was to act. Some of her words might be interpreted +as a hint to escape; but others had directly a contrary tendency, and +a moment after he heard her unlock and pass another door, and close +but not lock it behind her.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_11" href="#div1Ref_11">CHAP. XI.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">"What is her meaning?" demanded Charles of Montsoreau, as he gazed +earnestly upon the door; and as he thus thought his heart beat +vehemently, for there was a hope in it which he would not suffer his +reason to rest upon for a moment, so improbable did it seem, and so +fearful would be disappointment. "What is her meaning?" And he still +asked himself the question, as one minute flew by after another, and +to his impatience it seemed long ere she returned.</p> + +<p class="normal">But a few minutes elapsed, however, in reality, ere there were steps +heard coming back, and in another minute Catharine de Medici again +appeared, saying, "For one hour, remember! For one hour only!"</p> + +<p class="normal">There was somebody behind her, and the brightest hope that Charles of +Montsoreau had dared to entertain was fully realised.</p> + +<p class="normal">The Queen had drawn Marie de Clairvaut forward; and passing out again, +she closed the door, leaving her alone with her lover. If his heart +had wanted any confirmation of the deep, earnest, overpowering +affection which she entertained towards him, it might have been found +in the manner in which--apparently without the power even to move +forward, trembling, gasping for breath--she stood before him on so +suddenly seeing him again, without having been forewarned, after long +and painful and anxious absence. As he had himself acknowledged, he +was ignorant in the heart of woman; but love had been a mighty +instructor, and he now needed no explanation of the agitation that he +beheld.</p> + +<p class="normal">Starting instantly forward, he threw his arms around her; and it was +then, held to his bosom, pressed to his heart, that all Marie de +Clairvaut's love and tenderness burst forth. Gentle, timid, modest in +her own nature as she was, love and joy triumphed over all. The agony +of mind she had been made to suffer, was greater than even he could +fancy, and the relief of that moment swept away all other thoughts: +the tears, the happy but agitated tears, flowed rapidly from her eyes; +but her lips sought his cheek from time to time, her arms clasped +tenderly round him, and as soon as she could speak, she said, "Oh +Charles, Charles, do I see you again? Am I, am I held in your arms +once more; the only one that I have ever loved in life, my saviour, my +protector, my defender. For days, for weeks, I have not known whether +you were living or dead. They had the cruelty, they had the barbarity +not even to let me know whether you had or had not escaped the plague. +They have kept me in utter ignorance of where you were, of all and of +every thing concerning you." And again she kissed his cheek, though +even while she did so, under the overpowering emotions of her heart, +the blush of shame came up into her own: and then she hid her eyes +upon his bosom, and wept once more in agitation but in happiness.</p> + +<p class="normal">"As they have acted to you, dearest Marie," he replied, "as they have +acted to you, so they have acted to me. The day they separated me from +you at Epernon, was the last day that I have spoken with any living +creature up to this morning. No answers have been returned to my +questions; not a word of intelligence could I obtain concerning your +fate; and oh, dear, dear Marie, you would feel, you would know how +terrible has been that state to me, if you could tell how ardently, +how deeply, how passionately I love you." And his lips met hers, and +sealed the assurance there.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know it, I know it all, Charles," replied Marie. "I know it by what +I have felt; I know it by what I feel myself, for I believe, I do +believe, from my very heart, that if it be possible for two people to +feel exactly alike, we so feel."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But tell me, dear Marie, tell me," exclaimed her lover, "tell me +where you have been. Have they treated you kindly? Does the Duke of +Guise know where you are?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Alas, no, Charles!" replied Marie de Clairvaut; "he does not, I +grieve to say. Well treated indeed I may say that I have been, for all +that could contribute to my mere comfort has been done for me. Nothing +that I could desire or wish for, Charles, has been ungiven, and I have +ever had the society of the good sisters in the neighbouring convent. +But the society that I love has of course been denied me; and no news, +no tidings of any kind have reached me. I have lived in short with +numbers of people surrounding me, as if I were not in the world at +all, and the moment that I asked a question, a deep silence fell upon +every one, and I could obtain no reply."</p> + +<p class="normal">"This is strange indeed," said Charles, "very strange. However, we +must be grateful that our treatment has been kind indeed in some +respects."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, and most grateful," replied Marie de Clairvaut, "for these bright +moments of happiness. Do you not think, Charles, do you not think, +that perhaps the Queen may kindly grant us such interviews again?"</p> + +<p class="normal">Who is there that does not know how lovers while away the time? Who is +there that has not known how short is a lover's hour? But with Charles +of Montsoreau and Marie de Clairvaut that hour seemed shorter than it +otherwise would have done; for it was not alone the endearing caress, +the words, the acknowledgments, the hopes of love, but they had a +thousand things in the past to tell each other; they had cares and +fears, and plans and purposes for the future, to communicate.</p> + +<p class="normal">Even had not all shyness, all timidity been done away before, that was +not a moment in which Marie de Clairvaut could have affected aught +towards her lover; so that what between tidings of the past and +thoughts of the future, and the dear dalliance of that spendthrift of +invaluable moments, love, an envious clock in some church-tower hard +by, had marked the arrival of the last quarter of an hour they were to +remain together, ere one tenth part of what they had to think of or to +say was either thought or said. The sound startled them, and it became +a choice whether they should give up the brief remaining space to +serious thoughts of the future, or whether they should yield it all to +love. Who is it with such a choice before him that ever hesitated +long?</p> + +<p class="normal">The space allotted for their interview had drawn near its close, and +the very scantiness of the period that remained was causing them to +spend it in regrets that it was not longer, when suddenly the general +sounds which came from the streets became louder and more loud, as if +some door or gate had been opened which admitted the noise more +distinctly. Both Marie de Clairvaut and her lover listened, and almost +at the same instant loud cries were heard of "The Duke of Guise! The +Duke of Guise! Long live the Duke of Guise! Long live the great pillar +of the Catholic church! Long live the House of Lorraine!" And this was +followed by the noise and trampling of horses, as if entering into a +court below.</p> + +<p class="normal">Marie and her lover gazed in each other's faces, but she it was that +first spoke the joyful hopes that were in the heart of both.</p> + +<p class="normal">"He has come to deliver us!" she cried. "Oh Charles, he has come to +deliver us! Hear how gladly the people shout his well-loved name! +Surely they will not deceive him, and tell him we are not here."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh no, dear Marie," replied her lover; "he has certain information, +depend upon it, and will not be easily deceived. He has already +discovered my abode, dear Marie; and this letter was thrown through +the window this morning, though I myself know not where we are--that +is to say, I am well aware that we are now in Paris, but I know not in +what part of the city."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, that I discovered from one of the nuns," replied Marie. "We are +at the house of the Black Penitents, in the Rue St. Denis. I remember +the outside of it well; a large dark building with only two windows to +the street. Do you not remember it? You must have seen it in passing."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I am not so well acquainted with the city as you are, dear Marie," +replied Charles of Montsoreau; "but, depend upon it, where they have +confined me is not in the house of the Black Penitents. It would be a +violation of the rules of the order which could not be."</p> + +<p class="normal">"It communicates with their dwelling," replied Marie de Clairvaut; "of +that at least I am certain; for the Queen, when she brought me hither, +took me not into the open air. She led me indeed through numerous +passages, one of which, some ten or twelve yards in length, was nearly +dark, for it had no windows, and was only lighted by the door left +open behind us. I was then placed in a little room while the Queen +went on, and a short time after I heard a voice, that made my heart +beat strangely, begin to sing a song that you once sung at Montsoreau; +and when I was thinking of you Charles, and all that you had done for +me--how you had first saved me from the reiters, and then rescued me +from the deep stream, and had then come to seek me and deliver me in +the midst of death and pestilence--I was thinking of all these things, +when Catherine came back, and without telling me what was her +intention, led me hither."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Hark!" cried Charles of Montsoreau. "They shout again. I wonder that +we have heard no farther tidings."</p> + +<p class="normal">And they both sat and listened for some minutes, but no indication of +any farther event took place, and they gradually resumed their +conversation, beginning in a low tone, as if afraid of losing a sound +from without. Marie de Clairvaut had already told her lover how she +had remained at Epernon for a day or two under the protection of the +wife of the Duke, and had been thence brought by her to Paris and +placed in the convent at a late hour of the evening; but as the time +wore away, and their hopes of liberation did not seem about to be +realized, she recurred to the subject of her arrival, saying, "There +is one thing which makes me almost fear they will deceive him, +Charles. I forgot to tell you, that as we paused before this building +on the night that I was brought hither, while the gates were being +opened by the portress, a horseman rode up to the side of the carriage +and gazed in. There were torches on the other side held by the +servants round the gate, and though I could not see that horseman as +well as he could see me, yet I feel almost sure that it was the face +of the Abbé de Boisguerin I beheld."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I know he was to return to Paris," said Charles of Montsoreau, "after +accompanying my brother some part of the way back to the château. But +fear not him, dear Marie; he has no power or influence here."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Oh, but I fear far more wile and intrigue," cried Marie de Clairvaut, +"than I do power and influence, Charles. Power is like a lion, bold +and open; but when once satisfied, injures little; but art is like a +serpent that stings us, without cause, when we least expect it. But +hark!" she continued again. "They are once more shouting loudly."</p> + +<p class="normal">Charles of Montsoreau listened also, and the cries, repeated again and +again, of "Long live the Duke of Guise! Long live the House of +Lorraine! Long live the good Queen Catherine!<a name="div3Ref_05" href="#div3_05"><sup>[5]</sup></a> Life to the Queen! +Life to the Queen!" were heard mingled with thundering huzzas and +acclamations. The heart of the young Count sank, for he judged that +the Duke had gone forth again amongst the people, and had either +forgotten his fate altogether in more important affairs, or had been +deceived by false information regarding himself and Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut.</p> + +<p class="normal">The cries, which were at first loud and distinct, gradually sunk, +till first the words could no longer be distinguished; then the +acclamations became more and more faint, till the whole died away into +a distant murmur, rising and falling like the sound of the sea beating +upon a stormy shore. The young Count gazed in the countenance of Marie +de Clairvaut, and saw therein written even more despairing feelings +than were in his own heart.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Fear not, dear Marie," he said pressing her to his bosom. "Fear not; +the Duke must know that I am here by this letter: nor is he one to be +easily deceived. Depend upon it he will find means to deliver us ere +long."</p> + +<p class="normal">Marie de Clairvaut shook her head with a deep sigh and with her eyes +filled with tears. But she had not time to reply, for steps were heard +in the passage, and the moment after the door of the room was opened.</p> + +<p class="normal">It was no longer, however, the figure of Catherine de Medici that +presented itself, but the homely person and somewhat unmeaning face of +a good lady, dressed in the habit of a prioress. Behind her, again, +was a lay-sister, and beside them both the attendant who was +accustomed to wait upon the young Count. The good lady who first +appeared looked round the scene that the opening door disclosed to her +with evident marks of curiosity and surprise; and, indeed, the whole +expression of her countenance left little doubt that she had never +been in that place before.</p> + +<p class="normal">After giving up a minute to her curiosity, however, she turned to +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, saying, "I have been sent by the Queen, +madam, to conduct you back to your apartments."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Let me first ask one question," replied Marie de Clairvaut. "Has not +the Duke of Guise been here?"</p> + +<p class="normal">The nun answered not a word.</p> + +<p class="normal">"We need no assurance of it, dear Marie," said Charles of Montsoreau, +hoping to drive the Prioress to some answer. "We know that he has, and +must have been deceived in regard to your state and mine."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Prioress was still silent; and Marie de Clairvaut, after waiting +for a moment, added, "If he have been deceived, Charles, woe to those +who have deceived him. He is not a man to pass over lightly such +conduct as has been shown to me already."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Madam," said the Prioress, "I have been sent by the Queen to show you +to your apartments."</p> + +<p class="normal">It was vain to resist or to linger. Marie de Clairvaut gave her hand +to her lover, and they gazed in each other's faces for a moment with a +long and anxious glance, not knowing when they might meet again. +Charles of Montsoreau could not resist; and notwithstanding the +presence of nun, prioress, and attendant, he drew the fair creature +whose hand he held in his gently to his bosom, and pressed a parting +kiss upon her lips.</p> + +<p class="normal">Marie turned away with her eyes full of tears, and leaving her hand in +his till the last moment, she slowly approached the door. She turned +for one other look ere she departed, and then, dashing the tears from +her eyes, passed rapidly out. The door closed behind her, and Charles +of Montsoreau alone, and almost without hope, buried his face in his +hands, and gave himself up to think over the sweet moments of the +past.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_12" href="#div1Ref_12">CHAP. XII.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">It was on the morning of Monday, the 9th of May, 1588, at about half +past eleven o'clock, that a party, consisting of sixteen horsemen, of +whom eight were gentlemen and the rest grooms, appeared at the gates +of Paris. But though each of those eight persons who led the cavalcade +were strong and powerful men, in the prime of life, highly educated, +and generally distinguished in appearance, yet there was one on whom +all eyes rested wherever he passed, and rested with that degree of +wonder and admiration which might be well called forth by the union of +the most perfect graces of person, with the appearance of the greatest +vigour and activity, and with a dignity and beauty of expression which +breathed not only from the countenance, but from the whole person, and +shone out in every movement, as well as in every look.</p> + +<p class="normal">The gates of the city were at this time open, and though a certain +number of guards were hanging about the buildings on either hand, yet +no questions were asked of any one who came in or went out of the +city. The moment, however, that the party we have mentioned appeared, +and he who was at its head paused for a moment on the inside of the +gate and gazed round, as if looking for some one that he expected to +see there, one of the bystanders whispered eagerly to the other, "It +is the Duke! It is the Duke of Guise!"</p> + +<p class="normal">All hats were off in a moment; all voices cried, "The Duke! The Duke!" +A loud acclamation ran round the gate, and the people from the small +houses in the neighbourhood poured forth at the sound, rending the air +with their acclamations, and pressing forward round his horse with +such eagerness that it was scarcely possible for him to pass along his +way. Some kissed his hand, some threw themselves upon their knees +before him, some satisfied themselves by merely touching his cloak, as +if it had saintly virtue in it, and still the cry ran on of "The Duke +of Guise! The Duke of Guise! Long live the Duke of Guise!" while every +door-way and alley and court-yard poured forth its multitudes, till +the people seemed literally to crush each other in the streets, and +all Paris echoed with the thundering acclamations.</p> + +<p class="normal">After that momentary pause at the gates, the Duke of Guise rode on, +uncovering his splendid head, and bowing lowly to the people as he +went. His face had been flushed by exercise when he arrived, but now +the deep excitement of such a reception had taken the colour from his +cheek; he was somewhat pale, and his lip quivered with intense +feeling. But there was a fire in his eye which seemed to speak that +his heart was conscious of great purposes, and ready to fulfil its +high emprise; and there was a degree of stern determination on that +lordly brow, which spoke also the knowledge but the contempt of +danger, and the resolution of meeting peril and overcoming resistance.</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus passing on amidst the people, and bowing as he went to their +repeated cheers, the Duke of Guise reached the convent of the Black +Penitents, where for the time the Queen-mother had taken up her abode. +The gates of the outer court into which men were suffered to enter +were thrown open to admit him; and signifying to such of the crowd as +were nearest to the gate that they had better not follow him into the +court, the Duke of Guise rode in with his attendants, and the gates +were again closed. The servants and the gentlemen who accompanied him +remained beside their horses in the court, while he alone entered the +parlour of the convent to speak with the Queen-mother.</p> + +<p class="normal">She did not detain him an instant, but came in with a countenance on +which much alarm was painted, either by nature or by art. The Duke at +once advanced to meet her, and bending low his towering head, he +kissed the hand which she held out to him.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Alas! my Lord of Guise," she said, "I must not so far falsify the +truth as to say that I am glad to see you. Glad, most glad should I +have been to see you, any where but here. But, alas! I fear you have +come at great peril to yourself, good cousin! You know not how angry +the minds of men are; you know not how much hostility reigns against +you in the breasts of many of the highest of the land; you have not +bethought you, that on every step to the throne there stands an +enemy----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Who shall fall before me, madam," replied the Duke of Guise.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Till you have reached the throne itself, fair cousin?" said the +Queen-mother.</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, madam, no," answered the Duke of Guise eagerly. "I thought your +Majesty had known me better. I have always believed that you were one +of those who felt and understood that I never dreamt of wronging my +master and my king, or of snatching, as you now hinted, the crown from +its lawful possessor."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I <i>have</i> felt it, and I <i>have</i> understood it, cousin of Guise," +replied Catharine de Medici. "But, alas! my Lord, I know how ambition +grows upon the heart. It begins with an acorn, Guise, but it ends with +an oak. Those that watch it, the very soil that bears it, perceive not +its increase; and yet it soon overshadows all things, and root it out +who can!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Madam," answered the Duke of Guise, boldly, "to follow the figure +that you have used, the axe soon reduces the oak; and may the axe be +used on me, and ease me of earth's ambition for ever, if any such +designs as have been attributed to me exist within my bosom! You see, +madam, I meet you boldly, look to ultimate consequences of ambitious +designs, and fear not the result. It is such accusations that I come +to repel, and it is those who have propagated them, and instilled them +both into the mind of his Majesty, and, as it would appear, your own, +that I come to punish. Trusting that, humble though I be, your Majesty +was the best friend I had at the court of France, I have ridden +straight hither, without even stopping at my own abode, to beseech you +to accompany me to the presence of the King."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I do believe, cousin of Guise, that I am your best friend at the +court of France," replied the Princess. "In fact, I may say, I know +that none there loves you but myself. Nor must you think that I accuse +you of actual ambition, or believe the rumours that have been +circulated against you. I merely wish to warn you of the growth of +such things in your own bosom."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Dear madam," replied the Duke, "had I been ambitious, what might I +not have become? Here am I simply the Duke of Guise; a poor officer, +commanding part of the King's troops, and contributing no small part +of my own to swell his forces; with scarcely a place, a post, a +government, an emolument, or a revenue, except what I derive from my +own estates. Am I the most ambitious man in France? Am I so ambitious +as he who adds, to the government of Metz, the government of Normandy, +and piles upon that Touraine, Anjou, Saintonge, the Angoumois, seizes +upon the office of High-admiral, creates himself Colonel-general of +the Infantry? This, lady, is the ambitious man; but of him you seem to +entertain no fear."</p> + +<p class="normal">"There are two ambitions, my Lord Duke," replied the Queen: "the +ambition which grasps at power, and the ambition which snatches at +wealth: the moment that ambition mingles itself with avarice, the +grovelling passion, chained in its own sordid bonds, is no longer to +be feared. It is where the object is power; where there is a mind to +conceive the means, and a heart to dare all the risks, that there is +indeed occasion for apprehension and for precaution. Still, my Lord, I +believe you; still I believe that the hand of Guise will never be +raised to pull down the bonnet of Valois. You may strip the minion +Epernon of the golden plumes with which he has decked his mid-air +wings, for aught I care or think of; you may cast down the dark and +plotting Villequier, and sweep the court of apes and parrots, fools +and villains, and the whole tribe of natural and human beasts, without +my saying one word to oppose you, or without my dreaming for a moment +that you aim at higher things; you may even soar higher still, and +like your great father become at once the guide and the defender of +the state, and still I will not fear you. But Guise," she added in a +softer tone, "I must and will still fear <i>for</i> you; and though I will +go with you to the King if you continue to demand it, yet I tell you, +and I warn you, that every step you take is perilous, and that I +cannot be your safeguard nor your surety for a moment!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Madam, I must fulfil my fate," replied the Duke of Guise looking up. +"I came here to justify myself; I came here to deliver and to support +my friends; I came here to secure honour and safety to the Catholic +Church; and did I know that the daggers of a hundred assassins would +be in my bosom at the first step I took beyond those gates, I would go +forth as resolutely as I came hither."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Then I must send to announce your coming to the King," said the +Queen. "Of course I cannot take you to the Louvre unannounced."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus saying she quitted the room for a moment, and the Duke remained +behind with his arms crossed upon his bosom in deep thought. She +returned in a moment, however, saying that she had sent one of her +gentlemen upon the errand, and the next minute as the gates were +opened for some one to go out, long and reiterated shouts of "A Guise! +A Guise! Long live the Guise!" were heard echoing round the building. +Catharine de Medici smiled and looked at the Duke. "How often have I +heard," she said, "those same light Parisian tongues exclaim the name +of different princes! I remember well, Guise, when first I came from +my fair native land, how the glad multitude shouted on my way; how all +the streets were strewed with flowers; and how, if I had believed the +words I heard, I should have fancied that not a man in all the land +but would have died to serve me; and yet, not long after, I have heard +execrations murmured in the throats of the dull multitude while I +passed by, and the name of Diana of Poitiers echoed through the +streets. Then have I not heard the names of a Francis and a Henry +shouted far and wide? and after Jarnac and Moncontour, the heavens +were scarcely high enough to hold the sounds of his name who now sits +upon the throne of France. To-day it is Guise they call upon!--Who +shall it be to-morrow? And then another and another still shall come, +the object of an hour's love changed into hatred in a moment."</p> + +<p class="normal">"It is too true, madam," replied the Duke. "Popularity is the most +fleeting, the most vacillating--if you will, the most contemptible--of +all those means and opportunities which Heaven gives us to be made use +of for great ends. But nevertheless, madam, we must so make use of +them all; and as this same popularity is one of the briefest of the +whole, so must we be the more ready, the more prompt, the more decided +in taking advantage of the short hour of brightness. I may be wrong in +thinking," he continued after the pause of a moment or two, "I may be +wrong in thinking that my well-being and that of the state and church +of this realm are intimately bound up together. It may be, and +probably is, a delusion of human vanity. Nevertheless, such being my +opinion, none can say that I am wrong in taking advantage of the +moment of my popularity to do the best that I can both for the church +and for the state. Such, I assure you, madam, is my object; and if I +benefit myself at all in these transactions, it can be, and shall be, +but collaterally; while in the mean time I incur perils which I know +and yet fear not."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus went on the conversation between the Queen and the Duke of Guise +for nearly half an hour, at the end of which time the gentleman who +had been dispatched to the King returned, bearing his Majesty's reply, +which was, that since his mother desired it, she might bring the Duke +of Guise to his presence, and Catherine prepared immediately to set +out. Her chair was brought round; and after speaking a few words with +the superior of the convent, she placed herself in the vehicle, the +Duke of Guise walking by her side. The gentlemen who had come with him +gave their horses to the grooms, and followed on foot; and several +servants and attendants ran on before to clear the way through the +people.</p> + +<p class="normal">The moment the gates were opened, a spectacle struck the eyes of the +Queen and the Duke, such as no city in the world perhaps, except +Paris, could produce. In the short period which had elapsed since the +Duke's arrival, the news had spread from one end of the capital to the +other, and the whole of its multitudes were poured out into the +streets or lining the windows, or crowning the house-tops. With a +rapidity scarcely to be conceived, scaffoldings had been raised in +that short space of time in different parts of the streets, to enable +the multitude to see the Duke better as he passed<a name="div3Ref_06" href="#div3_06"><sup>[6]</sup></a>; in many places, +velvets and rich tapestries were hung out upon the fronts of the +houses, as if some solemn procession of the church were taking place; +the ladies of the higher classes at the windows, or on their +scaffolds, were generally without the masks which they usually wore in +the streets; and again, when the gates of the convent opened, and the +Queen and the Duke issued forth, the air seemed actually rent with the +acclamations of the people, and a long line of waving hats and +handkerchiefs was seen all the way up the Rue St. Denis.</p> + +<p class="normal">The same gratulations as before met the Duke on every side as he +passed along; the populace seemed absolutely inclined to worship him, +and many threw themselves upon their knees as he passed. He looked +round upon the dense mass of people, upon the crowded houses, upon the +waving hands; he heard from every tongue a welcome, at every step a +gratulation, and it was impossible for the heart of man not to feel at +that moment a pride and a confidence fit to bear him strongly on his +perilous way.</p> + +<p class="normal">All the way down the Rue St. Denis, and through every other street +that he passed, the same scene presented itself, the same acclamations +followed him, so that the shouts thundered in the ear of the King as +he sat in the Louvre.</p> + +<p class="normal">At length the Queen and those who accompanied her approached the +palace; and in the open space before it, which was at that time railed +off, was drawn up a long double line of guards, forming a lane through +which it was necessary to pass to the gates. The well-known Crillon, +celebrated for his determination and bravery, was at their head; and +the Duke of Guise, obliged to pause in order to suffer the chair of +the Queen-mother to pass on first, bowed to the commander, whom he +knew and respected.</p> + +<p class="normal">Crillon scarcely returned his salutation, but looked frowning along +the double row of his soldiery. The people, close by the railings, +watched every movement, and a murmur of something like apprehension +for their favourite ran through them as they watched these signs. But +not a moment's pause marked the slightest hesitation in the Duke of +Guise. With his head raised and his eyes flashing, he drew forward the +hilt of his unconquered sword ready for his hand, and holding the +scabbard in his left, strode after the chair of the Queen till the +gates of the Louvre closed upon him and his train.</p> + +<p class="normal">A number of officers and gentlemen were waiting in the vestibule to +receive the Queen-mother, who however gave her hand to the Duke of +Guise to assist her from her chair. On him they gazed with eyes of +wonder and of scrutiny, as if they would fain have discovered what +feelings were in the heart of one so hated and dreaded by the King, at +a moment when he stood with closed doors within a building filled with +his enemies, and surrounded by soldiers ready to massacre him at a +word. But the fire which the menacing look of Crillon had brought into +the eyes of the Duke had now passed away, and all was calm dignity and +easy though grave self-possession. The eye wandered not round the +hall; the lip, though not compressed, was firm and motionless, except +when he smiled in saluting some of those around whom he knew, or in +speaking a few words to the Queen-mother, whose dress had become +somewhat entangled with a mantle of sables which she had worn in the +chair.</p> + +<p class="normal">As soon as it was detached, one of the officers of the household said, +bowing low, "His Majesty has commanded me, Madam, to conduct you and +his Highness of Guise to the chamber of her Majesty the Queen, where +he waits your coming." And he led the way up the stairs of the Louvre +to the somewhat extraordinary audience chamber which the King had +selected.</p> + +<p class="normal">Henry, when the party entered, was sitting near the side of the bed, +surrounded by several of his officers, one of whom, Alphonzo d'Ornano +by name, whispered something over the King's shoulder with his eyes +fixed upon the Duke of Guise.</p> + +<p class="normal">The words, which were, "Do you hold him for your friend or your +enemy?" were spoken in such a tone as almost to reach the Duke +himself. The King did not reply, but looked up at the Duke with a +frown that was quite sufficient.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Speak but the word," said Ornano in a lower tone, "speak but the +word, and his head shall be at your feet in a minute."</p> + +<p class="normal">The King measured Ornano and the Duke of Guise with his eyes, then +shook his head with somewhat of a scornful smile; and then, looking up +to the Duke, who had by this time come near him, he said in a dull +heavy tone, "What brings you here, my cousin?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"My Lord," replied the Duke, "I have found it absolutely necessary to +present myself before your Majesty, in order to repel numerous +calumnies."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Stay, cousin of Guise," said the King; and turning to Bellievre, who +stood amongst the persons behind him, he demanded abruptly, "Did you +not tell me that he would not come to Paris?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"My Lord Duke," exclaimed Bellievre, not replying directly to the +King's question, but addressing the Duke, "did not your Highness +assure me that you would delay your journey till I returned?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Yes, Monsieur de Bellievre," replied the Duke. "But you did not +return."</p> + +<p class="normal">"But I wrote you two letters, your Highness," replied Bellievre, +"reiterating his Majesty's commands for you not to come to Paris."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Those letters," replied the Duke of Guise, with a bitter smile, "like +some other letters which have been written to me upon important +occasions, have, from some cause, failed to reach my hands. +Nevertheless, Sire, believe me when I tell you, that my object in +coming is solely to prove to your Majesty that I am not guilty either +of the crimes or the designs which base and grasping men have laid to +my charge. Believe me, that after my devotion to God and our holy +religion, there is no one whom I am so anxious to serve zealously and +devotedly as your Majesty. This you will find ever, Sire, if you will +but give me the opportunity of rendering you any service."</p> + +<p class="normal">The King was about to reply, but the Queen-mother, who had advanced +and stood by his side, touched his arm saying, "You have not yet +spoken to me, my son." And the King turning towards her, she added +something in a low voice. The King replied in the same tone; and the +Duke of Guise, passing through the midst of the frowning faces ranged +around the royal seat, approached the Queen-consort, the mild and +unhappy Louisa, and addressed a few words to her of reverence and +respect which were gratifying to her ear. He then turned once more to +the King, who seemed to have heard what Catharine de Medici had +to say, and having given his reply, sat in moody silence. The +Queen-mother stood by with some degree of apprehension in her +countenance, as if feeling very doubtful still how the affair would +terminate. The brows of the courtiers were gloomy and undecided, and +the few followers of the Duke of Guise ranged at some distance from +the spot to which he had now advanced, kept their eyes fixed either on +him or on those surrounding the King, as if, at the least menacing +movement, they were ready to start forward in defence of their leader.</p> + +<p class="normal">The only one that was perfectly calm was Guise himself; but he, +retreading his steps till he stood opposite the King, again addressed +the Monarch saying, "I hope, Sire, that you will give me a full +opportunity of justifying myself."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Your conduct, cousin of Guise," replied the King, "must best justify +you for the past; and I shall judge by the event, of your intentions +for the future."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Let it be so," replied the Duke, "and such being the case, I will +humbly take my leave of your Majesty, wishing you, from my heart, +health and happiness."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus saying he once more bowed low, and retired from the presence of +the King, followed by the gentlemen who had accompanied him. Not an +individual of the palace stirred a step to conduct him on his way, +though his rank, his services, his genius, and his vast renown, +rendered the piece of neglect they showed disgraceful to themselves +rather than injurious to him. He was accompanied from the gates of the +Louvre, however, and followed to the Hôtel de Guise, by an infinite +number of people, who ceased not for one moment to make the streets +ring with their acclamations.</p> + +<p class="normal">Nor were these by any means composed entirely of the lowest classes of +the people, the least respectable, or the least well-informed. On the +contrary, it must, alas! be said, that the great majority of all that +was good, upright, and noble in the city hailed his coming loudly as a +security and a safeguard.</p> + +<p class="normal">A number, an immense number, of the inferior nobility of the realm +were mingled with the crowd that followed him, or joined the acclaim +from the windows. The robes of the law were seen continually in the +dense multitude, and almost all the courts had there numbers of their +principal members; while the municipal officers of the city, with the +exception of two or three, were there in a mass, accompanied by a +large body of the most opulent and respectable merchants.</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus followed, the Duke of Guise proceeded to his hotel on foot as he +came, speaking from time to time with those who pressed near him with +that peculiar grace which won all hearts, and smiling with the +far-famed smile of his race, which was said never to fall upon any man +without making him feel as if he stood in the sunshine.</p> + +<p class="normal">Already collected on the steps of the Hôtel de Guise, at the news that +he was returning from the Louvre, was a group of the brightest, the +bravest, the most talented, and the most beautiful of the French +nobility,--Madame de Montpensier, Mademoiselle de St. Beuve, the +Chevalier d'Aumale, Brissac, and a thousand others. The servants and +attendants of his household in gorgeous dresses kept back the crowd +with courteous words and kindly gestures; and when he reached the +steps that led to the high doorway of the porter's lodge, on the right +of the porte cochère, he ascended a little way amongst his gratulating +friends, and then turned and bowed repeatedly to the people, pointing +out here and there some of the most popular of the citizens and +magistrates, and whispering a word to the nearest attendant, who +instantly made his way through the crowd to the spot where the +personage designated stood, and in his master's name requested that he +would come in and take some refreshment.</p> + +<p class="normal">When this was over, he again bowed and retired; and while the +multitude separated, he walked on into his lordly halls with a number +of persons clinging round him, whom he had not seen for months--for +months which to him had been full of activity, thought, care, and +peril, and to them of anxiety for the head of their race.</p> + +<p class="normal">As he passed along, however, to a chamber where the dinner which had +been prepared for him had remained untouched for many an hour, his eye +fell upon a boy dressed in the habit of one of his own pages; and +taking suddenly a step forward, he called the boy apart into a window, +demanding eagerly, "Well, have you found your master?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I have, your Highness," replied the boy, "and have found means to +give him the letter?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"What!" exclaimed the Duke, "outwitted Villequier, and Pisani, and +all! The wit of a page against that of a politician for a thousand +crowns!"</p> + +<p class="normal">"I dressed myself as a girl, your Highness," replied the boy, "and got +into the convent, and then through a gate into what is called the +rector's court, where Doctor Botholph and the Curé live, and where men +are admitted, and women not shut out when they like to go in; and I +got talking to the old verger of the church by the side, and he called +me a pretty little fool, and said he dared to say I would soon be +among the penitents within there; and with that I got him to tell me +every thing, and the whole story of the young Count being brought +there at night, and shut up in what are called the rector's +apartments."</p> + +<p class="normal">As he spoke, one or two of the higher class of those whom the Duke had +selected from the crowd below, and who felt themselves privileged to +present themselves in his private apartments, entered the hall, and +instantly caught his eye.</p> + +<p class="normal">"I cannot speak with you more at present, Ignati," he said, "nor, +perhaps, during the whole day, for there is business of life and death +before me; but come to me while I am rising to-morrow, and only tell +me in the mean time where our poor Logères is, for I know not what +convent you mean."</p> + +<p class="normal">"He is in the rector's court," replied the boy, "close by the convent +of the Black Penitents, in the Rue St. Denis."</p> + +<p class="normal">"By my faith!" exclaimed the Duke in no slight surprise, "I have been +there this very day myself, and there the Queen-mother has made her +abode for the last ten days. She must be deceiving me; and yet, +perhaps, the mighty matters that occupied her mind when I saw her +might have made her forget all other things. However, Logères shall +not be long so fettered. Come to me to-morrow, Ignati; come to me +to-morrow, as I am rising; and in the mean time, if you can find some +means of giving the Count intimation that he is not forgotten, it were +all the better."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I will try, my Lord," replied the boy. And the Duke hurried on to +welcome his new guests, making them sit down at table with him, and +covering them with every sort of honour and distinction.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h2><a name="div1_13" href="#div1Ref_13">CHAP. XIII.</a></h2> +<br> + +<p class="normal">In our dealings with each other there is nothing which we so much +miscalculate as the ever varying value of time, and indeed it is but +too natural to look upon it as it seems to us, and not as it seems to +others. The slow idler on whose head it hangs heavy, holds the man of +business by the button, and remorselessly robs him on the king's +highway of a thing ten times more valuable than the purse that would +hang him if he took it. The man of action and of business whose days +seem but moments, forgets in his dealing with the long expecting +applicant, and the weary petitioner, that to them each moment is far +longer than his day.</p> + +<p class="normal">The hours, not one minute of which were unfilled to the Duke of Guise, +passed slowly over the head of Charles of Montsoreau, and it seemed as +if the brief gleam of happiness which had come across his path had but +tended to make the long solitary moments seem longer and more dreary; +in fact, to give full and painful effect to solitude and want of +liberty, and yet he would not have lost that gleam for all the world.</p> + +<p class="normal">He thought of it, he dwelt upon it, he called to mind each and every +particular; and, though it was crossed, as the memory of all such +brief meetings are, with the recollection of a thousand things which +he could have wished to have said, but which he had forgotten, and +also by many a speculation of a painful kind concerning the visit of +the Duke of Guise to the very place in which he was confined, without +the slightest effort being made for his liberation, yet it was a +consolation and a happiness and a joy to him--one of those blessings +which have been stamped by the past with the irrevocable seal of +enjoyment, which are our own, the unalienable jewels of our fate, held +for ever in the treasury of memory.</p> + +<p class="normal">Nothing occurred through the rest of the day to call his attention, or +to rouse his feelings. He heard the distant murmur, and the shouts of +the people from time to time; but the gates were now shut, and the +sounds dull, and all passed on evenly till darkness shut up the world. +In the mean time he knew--as if to make his state of imprisonment and +inactivity more intolerable--that busy actions were taking place +without, that his own fate was deciding by the hands of others, that +his happiness and that of Marie de Clairvaut formed but a small matter +in the great bulk of political affairs which were then being weighed +between the two angry parties in the capital, and might be tossed into +this scale or that, as accident, or convenience, or policy might +direct.</p> + +<p class="normal">Though he retired to rest as usual, he slept not, and ever and anon +when a sort of half slumber fell upon his eyes he started up, thinking +he heard some sound, a distant shout of the people, the tolling of a +bell, or the roll of some far off drum. Nothing however occurred, and +the night passed over as the day.</p> + +<p class="normal">In the grey of the morning, however, just when the slow creaking of a +gate, or the noise of footsteps here and there breaking the previous +stillness, told that the world was beginning to awake, a few sweet +notes suddenly met his ear like those of a musical instrument, and in +a moment after he heard the same air which the boy Ignati had played +with such exquisite skill just before he freed him from his Italian +masters.</p> + +<p class="normal">"A blessing be upon that boy," he cried, as he instantly recognised +not only the sounds but the touch. "He has come to tell me that I am +not forgotten."</p> + +<p class="normal">Suddenly, however, before the air was half concluded, the music +stopped, and voices were heard speaking, but not so loud that the +words could be distinguished. It seemed to the young Count, and seemed +truly, that some one had sent the boy away; but though he heard no +more, those very sounds had given him hope and comfort.</p> + +<p class="normal">Driven away by the old verger, who had now discovered the trick which +had been put upon him the day before, the boy returned with all speed +to the Hôtel de Guise, and, according to the Duke's order, presented +himself in his chamber at the hour of his rising. But the Duke was +already surrounded with people, all eager to speak with him on +different affairs, and his brow was evidently dark and clouded by some +news that he had just heard.</p> + +<p class="normal">"Send round," he was saying as the boy entered, "Send round speedily +to all the inns, and let those who are known for their fidelity be +informed that the doors of this hotel will never be shut against any +of those who have come to Paris for my service, or for that of the +church, as long as there is a chamber vacant within. And you, my good +Lords," he continued, turning to some of the gentlemen who surrounded +him, "I must call upon your hospitality, also, to provide lodging for +these poor friends of ours, whom this new and iniquitous proceeding of +the court is likely to drive from Paris. But stay, Bussi," he +continued, and his eye fell upon the page as he spoke; "you say you +saw the Prévôt des Marchands but a minute ago in the Rue d'Anvoye +seeking out the lodgers in the inns, and ordering them to quit Paris +immediately. Hasten down after him quickly, and tell him from Henry of +Guise that there is a very dangerous prisoner and a zealous servant of +the church lodged in the Rue St. Denis; that he had better drive him +forth also; and that, if he wants direction to the place where he +sojourns, one of my pages shall lead him thither. You may add, +moreover, that if he do not drive him forth, I will bring him forth +before the world be a day older."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke of Guise then took the pen from the ink which was standing +before him, and, though not yet half-dressed, wrote hastily the few +following words to the Queen-mother:--</p> +<br> + +<p style="text-indent:10%">"<span class="sc">Madam</span>,</p> + +<p class="normal">"I am informed, on authority which I cannot doubt, that my friend, the +young Count de Logères, is at present in your hands, kept under +restraint in the Rue St. Denis, after having been arrested in the +execution of business with which I charged him, while bearing a +passport from the King. I beseech you to set him immediately at +liberty, and also at once to order that my niece and ward, +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, be brought to the Hôtel de Guise without an +hour's delay. Let me protest to your Majesty that you have not a more +faithful and devoted servant than</p> + +<p class="right">"<span class="sc">Henry of Guise</span>."</p> +<br> + +<p class="normal">"I will not send this by you, Ignati," said the Duke; "they would +laugh at a boy. Here, Mestroit, bear this to the Queen-mother. +Say I cast myself at her feet; and bring me back an answer without +delay.--Why, how now, St. Paul!" he continued, turning to a gentleman +who had just entered. "Your brow is as dark as a thunder-cloud. What +has happened now? Shall we be obliged to make our hotel our fortress, +and defend it to the last, like gallant men?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Not so, my Lord," replied the Count of St. Paul; "not near so bad as +that: but still these are times that make men look thoughtful; and, +depend upon it, the King, aided by his minions and the Politics<a name="div3Ref_07" href="#div3_07"><sup>[7]</sup></a>, is +seeking to inclose your Highness, as it were in a net."</p> + +<p class="normal">"We will break through, St. Paul! We will break through!" replied the +Duke with a smile. "But what are your tidings?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why, that orders have been sent to the Swiss to come up from Corbeil, +as well as those from Meulan and Château Thierry; also the companies +of French guards from every quarter in the neighbourhood are called +for, and I myself saw come in, by the Faubourg St. Germain, a body of +two hundred horse, which, upon inquiry, I found to be a new levy from +some place in the South, led by a young Marquis of Montsoreau, whose +name I never heard of before."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Whenever you hear it again, St. Paul," replied the Duke sternly, +"couple with it the word 'Traitor!' and you will do him justice. But +what force is it said they are bringing into Paris? What stay you for, +Mestroit?" he continued, seeing that the gentleman to whom he had +given the letter had not taken his departure. "What stay you for? I +would have had you there now. Go with all speed! There are horses +enough saddled in the court. I would give a thousand crowns that +letter should be in the Queen's hand before this youth's coming is +known to her. It may save us much trouble hereafter. Fail not to bring +me an answer quick. Now, St. Paul, how many men say you on your best +judgment are they bringing into Paris?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why, your Highness," replied the Count, "some say ten thousand; but, +to judge more moderately from what I hear, the moment your Highness's +arrival in Paris was known, orders were sent for the march of full +seven thousand men."</p> + +<p class="normal">"We must be very formidable creatures, Brissac," cried the Duke, "that +my coming with seven of you should need seven thousand men to meet us. +On my soul, they will make me think myself a giant. I always thought I +was a tall man--some six foot three, I believe--but, by Heavens! I +must be a Gargantua, indeed, to need seven thousand men to hold me. +Seven thousand men!" he added thoughtfully: "he has not got them, St. +Paul. There are not five thousand within fifty miles of Paris, unless +Epernon and Villequier have contrived to raise more of such +Montsoreaus against us. However, we must have eyes in all quarters. +Send out parties to watch the coming of the troops and give us their +numbers. Let some one speak to the inferior officers of the French +guards, and remind them that the Duke of Guise and the Holy League are +only striving for the maintenance of the true faith, and for the +overthrow of those minions who have swallowed up all the honours and +favours of the crown. It were well also, Brissac, that a good watch +was kept upon the proceedings in the city. I can trust, methinks, to +The Sixteen to do all that is necessary in their different quarters, +and to make full reports of all that takes place; but still a military +eye were as well here and there, from time to time, Brissac, and I +will trust that to you."</p> + +<p class="normal">The rest of the morning passed in the same incessant activity with +which it had begun; tidings were constantly brought in from all parts +of the town and the country round concerning every movement on the +part of the court; and the hotel of the Duc de Guise was literally +besieged by his followers and partisans. Train after train of noblemen +and officers, of lawyers and citizens, followed each other during the +whole day, each bringing him information, or claiming audience on some +account. Nor were the clergy less numerous; for scarce a parish in the +capital but sent forth, in the course of that day, its train of +priests and monks to congratulate him on his arrival, or to beseech +him to hold up the tottering church of France with a strong hand.</p> + +<p class="normal">At the same time, the order which had been given by the King in the +morning, for every stranger not domiciled in Paris to quit it within +six hours, and the proceedings of the Prévôt des Marchands to execute +that order had--by driving out of the inns and taverns the multitudes +of the Duke's partisans who had followed him in scattered bodies into +Paris--now filled the Hôtel de Guise with all those of the higher +classes who were thus expelled. The houses of other members of the +faction received the rest. But the stables of the hotel were all +filled to the doors; the great court itself could scarcely be crossed, +on account of the number of horses; and more than once the street +became impassable from the multitude of carriages, chairs, horses, and +attendants, who were waiting while their masters conferred with the +Duke.</p> + +<p class="normal">It was near mid-day when the gentleman who had been dispatched to +Catharine de Medici again presented himself; and the Duke demanded, +somewhat impatiently, what had detained him so long.</p> + +<p class="normal">"It was the Queen-mother, your Highness," replied Mestroit. "More than +an hour passed before I could obtain an audience; and when I was +admitted to present your Highness's letter, I found Monsieur de +Villequier with her."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Did she show the letter to that son of Satan?" demanded the Duke.</p> + +<p class="normal">"No, sir," replied the other; "on the contrary, she seemed not to wish +that he should see it, for she kept it tight in her hand after she had +read it, and told me to wait a moment, that she would give me an +answer directly."</p> + +<p class="normal">"I would sooner unriddle the enigma of the sphynx," said the Duke, +"than I would say from what motive any one of that woman's acts +proceed; and yet she has a great mind, and a heart not altogether so +vicious as it seems. What happened then, Mestroit?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Why, my Lord, Villequier seemed anxious to know what the letter +contained, and I saw his head a little raised, and his eyes turned +quietly towards it while she was reading, as I have seen a cat regard +a mouse-hole towards which she was stealing upon tiptoes; and he +lingered long, and seem inclined to stay. The Queen, however, begged +him not to forget the orders she had given, but to execute them +instantly; and then he went away. When he was gone, the Queen again +read your Highness's letter, and replied at first, 'The Duke asks what +is not in my power. Tell my noble cousin of Guise that he has been +misinformed; that I hold none of his friends in my power--' Then, +after a moment, she bade me wait, and she would see what persuasion +would do?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"She must not think to deceive me!" replied the Duke of Guise. "But +what more?"</p> + +<p class="normal">"She went away," replied the gentleman, "and was absent for full two +hours, leaving me there alone, with nothing to amuse me but the pages +and serving women that came and looked at me from time to time as at a +tiger in a cage. At length she came back, and bade me tell your +Highness these exact words: 'My cousin has been misinformed. I have +none of his people in my hands, or in my power. The Count of Logères, +however, shall be set free before eight and forty hours are over. He +may be set free to-morrow; but by leaving him for a few hours more +where he is, I trust to accomplish for the Duke that which he demands +concerning his ward, although I have no power whatever in the matter."</p> + +<p class="normal">"There is nothing upon earth," said the Duke thoughtfully, "so +convenient as to have the reality without the name of power. We have +the pleasure without the reproach! Catharine de Medici has not the +power!--Who then has?--I may have the power also, it is true, to right +myself and those who attach themselves to me; and in this instance I +will use it. But still it were better to wait the time she states; for +I know her fair Majesty well, and she never yields any thing without a +delay, to make what she grants seem more important:--and yet, the day +after to-morrow--the day after to-morrow--who shall say what may be, +ere the day after to-morrow comes? This head may be lowly in the dust +ere then."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Or circled with the crown of France," said the Count de St. Paul.</p> + +<p class="normal">"God forbid!" exclaimed the Duke earnestly. If I thought that it would +ever produce a scheme to wrest the sceptre from the line that +rightfully holds it, I would bear it to-morrow to the foot of the +throne, myself, as my own accuser. No, no! bad kings may die or be +deposed: but there is still some one on whose brow the crown descends +by right. And let him have it.</p> + +<p class="normal">"The Cardinal of Bourbon, your Highness," said an attendant entering, +"has just arrived from Soissons. His Eminence is upon the stairs coming +up."</p> + +<p class="normal">A smile played over the lips of most of the persons present at such an +announcement at that moment, for every one well knew that it was to +the old Cardinal de Bourbon that the party of the League looked, as +the successor to the crown on the death of Henry III., to the +exclusion of the direct line of Navarre, held to be incapable of +succeeding on account of religion. The Duke, however, advanced +immediately with open arms to meet the Cardinal, and many hours were +passed in long conferences between them and the principal officers and +supporters of the League.</p> + +<p class="normal">At the end of that time, however, towards seven o'clock, a message was +brought into the room where they were in consultation, from Monsieur +de Sainctyon, a well-known adherent of the League, begging earnestly +to speak with the Duke upon matters of deep importance. On the Duke +going out, he found the worthy Leaguer in a state of great excitement +and agitation.</p> + +<p class="normal">"My Lord," he said, as soon as Guise appeared in the room where he had +been left alone, "I fear that they are busily labouring, at the +palace, for the destruction of your Highness and of the Holy League."</p> + +<p class="normal">"How so, Monsieur de Sainctyon?" demanded the Duke, who entertained +doubts, it seems, of the Leaguer's sincerity, which were never wholly +removed. "Some of my friends have just returned from the palace, who +tell me that all is as still and quite as the inside of a vault."</p> + +<p class="normal">"They told your Highness also, I hope," said the Leaguer, "that they +had trebled the guard, both Swiss and French."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Yes, I was informed of that," replied the Duke. "But that shows fear, +not daring, Monsieur de Sainctyon."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Perhaps so, my Lord," replied Sainctyon, who was one of the échevins, +or sheriffs of the town; "but perhaps not. However, what I have now to +tell, shows more daring than fear. We were summoned this afternoon at +five o'clock to the Hôtel de Ville, where we found not only Pereuse, +the Prévôt, and Le Comte, who is worse than a Politic, and half a +Huguenot, but the Marquis d'O----"</p> + +<p class="normal">"Who is worse," said the Duke of Guise, "than minion, or Politic, or +Huguenot, or reiter, equally foul in his debaucheries and his +peculations; equally impudent in his vices and his follies; fit +son-in-law of Villequier; well-chosen master of the wardrobe to the +King of France! Who was there besides, Monsieur de Sainctyon? Some +expedient infamy was of course to be committed, otherwise d'O---- +would not have been there."</p> + +<p class="normal">"There were a number of captains and colonels of the different +quarters," replied Sainctyon, well pleased to see that the Duke now +felt the importance of his intelligence, "and the Prévôt and Le Comte +began to speak what seemed to me at first simple nonsense, in a +confused way, saying, that it was necessary to keep guard in a very +different manner in Paris from that which we were accustomed to use, +for that your coming had excited the minds of the people, and that +there was hourly danger of a revolt, and that it would be better for +all the captains to meet with their companies together in some +particular place, in order to see to the matter. But I replied, that +nothing could be more dangerous than that which was proposed, for that +the companies of armed citizens would be much better as usual, each in +its separate quarter, taking care of that quarter, rather than meeting +altogether in one large body of armed men, which was likely to cause a +tumult immediately. A number of the other colonels cried out the same +thing; but then Monsieur d'O---- cut us all short, saying, 'Give me +none of your reasons, gentlemen. What the Prévôt has stated to you is +the will of the King, and he <i>must</i> be obeyed. The place of your +meeting is the Cemetery of the Innocents, and there you are all +expected to be with your companies at nine o'clock this evening.' Now, +my Lord, I have come to your Highness, by the authority of all the +other colonels in whom we can trust, for counsel and direction in this +business, assuring you that we have heard it is the intention of the +Court to pick out from amongst us thus assembled six or seven of your +most zealous friends and supporters, and execute them early to-morrow +in the Place de Grève."</p> + +<p class="normal">The Duke paused and thought for a moment ere he replied; but he then +said, "I thank you most sincerely, Monsieur de Sainctyon, for the +intelligence you have brought me. You are mistaken, however, with +regard to what are the intentions of the Court, as you will see in one +moment. The large body of men in arms which you will have with you +when all assembled together, trebles the number of any force in Paris, +so that the least attempt to do you wrong at that moment would be a +signal for the overthrow of the monarchy. On the contrary, Monsieur de +Sainctyon, I believe the thus calling you together in one place has +solely for its object to remove you from the quarters where your +presence would be useful in opposition to the iniquitous proceedings +of your enemies. To arrest somebody--perhaps myself--is doubtless the +object of these persons; and if you would follow my advice, the course +you pursue would be this,--to meet as you have been ordered by the +King, having first communicated all the facts to the persons under +your command whom you can trust. Some one will come to bring you +farther orders, depend upon it; find out what those orders are, and +let them instantly be communicated to me; but on no account or +consideration suffer yourselves to be kept together in one place. On +the contrary, as soon as you have discovered as far as possible what +the designs of your enemies are, lead your companies to their +different quarters, or wherever you may think best to station them. If +you want any farther assistance, send hither; and I will dispatch +experienced officers to take counsel with you as to what is to be +done. I hope your opinion coincides with mine, Monsieur de Sainctyon."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Your words always carry conviction with them, my Lord," replied the +sheriff; "and I will instantly proceed to obey you."</p> + +<p class="normal">Thus saying he took his leave, and quitted the Duke, hastening with +the rest of the officers of the city to arm himself cap-a-pie, and +present himself with the burgher guard in the Cemetery of the +Innocents at the appointed hour. When that hour arrived, every thing +through the rest of the city was dark and silent, and but little light +shone from the dim lanterns round the Cemetery upon the dark masses of +armed men that now surrounded it. The officers commanding them looked +in each other's faces, as if expecting that some one amongst them had +orders in regard to what they were farther to do, but for several +minutes no one announced himself as empowered to direct them, and they +had even proposed to separate, when the sheriff Le Comte arrived on +horseback at great haste from the side of the Louvre. Having called +the colonels of the quarters together he said, "The King, having been +informed that this night an enterprise is to be undertaken against his +authority by his enemies, trusts entirely to his citizens of Paris for +the defence of the capital, and consequently commands you, in order to +have a strong point of resistance, to occupy this Cemetery, of which I +have here the keys, till to-morrow morning. All the gates will be shut +except one wicket, and in a very short time the Marquis de Beauvais +Nangis, an experienced officer, will be sent down by the King to +command you."<a name="div3Ref_08" href="#div3_08"><sup>[8]</sup></a></p> + +<p class="normal">A murmur ran through the officers and through the men, who, as Le +Comte spoke loud, heard every word that passed; but an old captain of +one of the quarters burst forth, a moment after, exclaiming, "What, +shut myself up there, as if in a prison? They must think me mad! Not +I, indeed, for any of them! I have nothing to do with you, Monsieur le +Comte, nor with any of you, except with the inhabitants of my own +quarter, and there I shall go directly. Those may go and shut +themselves up with you that like. Come, my men; march! Who gave +Beauvais Nangis a right to command me, I should like to know? Not the +citizens of Paris, I'm sure: so those may obey him that like him." And +putting himself at the head of his men, he marched out, followed by +almost all the other companies except one or two, who suffered +themselves to be persuaded to enter into the Cemetery, where they were +locked up by Le Compte, to await whatever fate might befall them.</p> + +<p class="normal">In the mean time the other officers of the burgher guard held a +consultation together, and determined, instead of proceeding +immediately to their different quarters to occupy the principal points +of the city, where they fancied that attempts might be made upon the +life or liberty of the chiefs of the League. The avenues to the Hôtel +de Guise were strongly guarded, the Rue St. Denis was patrolled by a +large party, two companies occupied the Rue St. Honoré, and the +utility of these precautions was strongly demonstrated ere they had +been long taken.</p> + +<p class="normal">Before midnight the sound of horses was heard by the two companies in +the Rue St. Honoré, and in a moment after appeared the Marquis +d'O----, with as many horse arquebusiers as could be spared from the +palace. The citizens stood to their arms and barred the way, and +d'O----, never very famous for his courage, demanded, in evident +trepidation and surprise, what they did there, when they had been +ordered to be in the Cemetery of the Innocents?</p> + +<p class="normal">"We came here to do our duty to our fellow-citizens," replied the same +old captain who had spoken before, "and to guard our houses and our +property, for which purpose we are enrolled."</p> + +<p class="normal">"Well, well, you are right," replied the Marquis, evidently confounded +and undecided; and turning his horse's rein he rode back by the same +way he came, showing evidently that he had been bound upon some +attempt which had been frustrated.</p> + +<p class="normal">About the same time the party in the Rue St. Denis had been drawn +towards the further end by the noise of horses and the light of +torches; and on advancing they found a number of men on horseback, and +a vacant carriage, with two lights before it, just halting at the +Convent of the Black Penitents. The good citizens, however, were in an +active and interfering mood, and they determined to inquire into an +occurrence which otherwise would have passed over without the +slightest notice. The horsemen, however, did not wait for many +questions; but, evidently as much surprised and embarrassed as the +Marquis d'O----, turned their horses' heads, and made the best of +their way out of the street.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>FOOTNOTES</h3> +<br> +<p class="hang1"><a name="div3_01" href="#div3Ref_01">Footnote 1</a>: All these charges were but too true.</p> +<br> +<p class="hang1"><a name="div3_02" href="#div3Ref_02">Footnote 2</a>: One or two of these houses with barriers were still +existing in Paris not many years ago.</p> +<br> +<p class="hang1"><a name="div3_03" href="#div3Ref_03">Footnote 3</a>: The word Monseigneur, my Lord, which in the days of Louis +XIV. had become restricted to a very few high dignitaries, or only +given to other noblemen by their own servants and tenantry, was in the +reign of Henry III. commonly used to all high noblemen, and we find +constantly titles addressed <i>A mon tres illustre et tres honoré +Seigneur le Marquis</i>; or, <i>A l'illustre Seigneur, Monseigneur le Comte +de</i> ----.</p> +<br> +<p class="hang1"><a name="div3_04" href="#div3Ref_04">Footnote 4</a>: Such was undoubtedly the expressed opinion of the Duke of +Guise.</p> +<br> +<p class="hang1"><a name="div3_05" href="#div3Ref_05">Footnote 5</a>: The progress of the Duke of Guise and the Queen-mother, +from the convent of the Penitents to the Louvre, was in triumph. "Il y +en avoit," says Auvigny, "qui se mettoient à genoux devant lui, +d'autres lui baisoient les mains; quelques uns se trouvèrent trop +heureux de pouvoir en passant toucher son habit," A farther account of +this famous event is given a few pages farther on.</p> +<br> +<p class="hang1"><a name="div3_06" href="#div3Ref_06">Footnote 6</a>: This fact is recorded in every account of the proceedings +of that day.</p> +<br> +<p class="hang1"><a name="div3_07" href="#div3Ref_07">Footnote 7</a>: That party was so called which affected to hold the +balance between the Court and the League, without giving countenance +to the Huguenots.</p> +<br> +<p class="hang1"><a name="div3_08" href="#div3Ref_08">Footnote 8</a>: This most absurd and impudent proposal would scarcely be +credited, were it not to be found in the <i>Histoire très veritable, +&c</i>., written by Sainctyon himself, and published by Michel Jouin in +the very year 1588.</p> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h3>END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.</h3> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h5>London:<br> +Printed by A. Spottiswoode,<br> +New-Street-Square.</h5> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<br> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3), by +G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY OF GUISE; (VOL. II OF 3) *** + +***** This file should be named 39412-h.htm or 39412-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/4/1/39412/ + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the +Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions 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 + + +Title: Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3) + or, The States of Blois + +Author: G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +Release Date: April 9, 2012 [EBook #39412] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY OF GUISE; (VOL. II OF 3) *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the +Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) + + + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + 1. Page scan source: + http://archive.org/details/henryofguiseorst02jame + (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) + + + + + + + HENRY OF GUISE; + + OR, + + THE STATES OF BLOIS. + + VOL. II. + + + + + + + London: + Printed by A. Spottiswoode, + New-Street-Square + + + + + + + HENRY OF GUISE + + + + OR, + + + + THE STATES OF BLOIS. + + + + + BY + + + + G. P. R. JAMES, ESQ. + + AUTHOR OF + + "THE ROBBER," "THE GENTLEMAN OF THE OLD SCHOOL," + ETC. ETC. ETC. + + + + + IN THREE VOLUMES. + + VOL. II. + + + + + LONDON: + + PRINTED FOR + LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, & LONGMANS, + PATERNOSTER-ROW. + + 1839. + + + + + + + HENRY OF GUISE; + + OR, + + THE STATES OF BLOIS. + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + +All was bustle round the door of the little inn of Montigny; twenty or +thirty horses employed the hands and attention of as many grooms and +stable-boys; and while they put their heads together, and talked over +the perfections or imperfections of the beasts they held, sixty or +seventy respectable citizens, the great cloth merchant, and the +wholesale dealer in millstones, the cure of the little town, the +bailiff of the high-justiciary, the ironmonger, the grocer, and the +butcher, stood in knots on the outside, discussing more important +particulars than the appearance of the horses. The sign of the inn was +the _Croix de Lorraine_, and the name of the Duke of Guise was +frequently heard mingling in the conversation of the people round the +door. + +"A great pity," cries one, "that his Highness does not stay here the +night." + +"Some say that the King's troops are pursuing him," replied another. + +"Sure enough he came at full speed," said a third; "but I heard his +people talk about the reiters." + +"Oh, we would protect him against the reiters," cried one of the bold +citizens of Montigny. + +"Well," said another, "if he be likely to bring the reiters upon us, I +think his Highness very wise to go. How could we defend an open town? +and he has not twenty men behind him." + +"I will tell you something, my masters," said another, with an air of +importance, and a low bow:--"When my boy was over towards Montreuil +to-night, he heard a report of the reiters having been defeated near +Gandelu." + +"Oh, nonsense!" replied the courageous burgher; "who should defeat +them if the Duke was not there?" + +"But hark!" cried another, "I hear trumpets, as I live. Now, if these +should be the King's troops we will defend the Duke at the peril of +our lives. But let us look out and see." + +"Come up to my windows," cried one. + +"Go up the tower of the church," said the cure. + +But another remarked that the sounds did not come from the side of +Paris; and, in a minute or two after, a well-dressed citizen like +themselves rode gaily in amongst them, jumped from his horse, threw up +his cap in the air, and exclaimed, "Long life to the Duke of Guise! +The reiters have been cut to pieces!" + +"What is that you say, young man?" exclaimed a voice from one of the +windows of the inn above; and looking up, the citizen saw a young and +gay-looking man sitting in the open casement, and leaning out with his +arm round the iron bar that ran up the centre. + +"I said, my Lord," replied the man, "that the reiters have been cut to +pieces, and I saw the troops that defeated them bring in the wounded +and prisoners last night into La Ferte." + +"Ventre bleu! This is news indeed," cried the other; and instantly +turning, he quitted the window and advanced into the room. + +While this conversation had been going on without, a quick conference +had been going on between the personages whose horses were held +without. The chamber in which they were assembled was an upstairs' +room, with two beds in two several corners, and a table in the midst +covered with a clean white table-cloth, and ornamented in the centre +with a mustard-pot, a salt-seller, and a small bottle of vinegar, +while four or five spoons were ranged around. + +At the side of the table appeared the Duke of Guise, dining with as +good an appetite off a large piece of unsalted boiled beef, as off any +of the fine stews and salmis of his cook Maitre Lanecque. Five or six +other gentlemen were around, diligently employed in the same +occupation; and one who had finished two bowls of soup at a place +where they had previously stopped, now declaring that he had no +appetite, had taken his seat in the window. The servants of the Duke +and of his companions were at dinner below, and the landlord himself +was excluded from the room, that dining and consultation might go on +at the same time. + +"It is most unfortunate," said the Duke of Guise, as soon as he had +seated himself at the table, "it is most unfortunate that this youth +has not kept his word with me. Our horses and men are both fatigued to +death; and yet, after what happened the other day at Mareuil, it would +be madness to remain here all night with only twenty horsemen." + +"You have got timid, fair cousin," replied one of the gentlemen +present. "We shall have you wrapping yourself up in a velvet gown, and +setting up a conferrie, in imitation of our excellent, noble, and +manly king." + +The Duke w as habitually rash enough to be justified in laughing at +the charge, and he replied, "It is on your account, my pretty cousin, +that I fear the most. You know what the reiters have sworn to do with +you, if they catch you." + +"It is most unfortunate indeed," said an older and a graver man; "most +unfortunate, that this Count de Logeres should have deceived you. It +might have been better, perhaps, to trust to some more tried and +experienced friend." + +"Oh, you do him wrong, Laval; you do him wrong," replied the Duke. "It +is neither want of faith or good will, I can be sworn. Some accident, +such as may happen to any of us, has detained him. I am very anxious +about him, and somewhat reproach myself for having made him march with +only half his numbers. Had his whole band been with him, he might have +made head against the reiters, if he met with them. But now he has +less than half their reputed number. Nevertheless," he continued, "his +absence is, as you say, most unfortunate; for--with these Germans on +our left, and the movements of Henry's Swiss upon our right--they +might catch us as the Gascons do wild ducks, in the net, through the +meshes of which we have been foolish enough to thrust our own heads. I +pray thee, Brissac, go down to mine host of the house, and gather +together some of the notable men of the place, to see if we cannot by +any means purchase horses to carry us on. Who are you speaking to, +Aumale?" he continued, raising his voice, and addressing the youth who +sat in the window. + +"Good news, good news!" cried the young man springing down, and coming +forward into the room. "The reiters have been cut to pieces near +Gandelu. There is a fellow below who has seen the victorious troops, +and the wounded and the prisoners." + +"My young falcon for a thousand crowns!" cried the Duke of Guise. "If +that be the case, we shall soon hear more of him. Hark! are not those +trumpets? Yet go out, Brissac; go out. We must not suffer ourselves to +be surprised whatever we do. Aumale, have the horses ready. If they +should prove the Swiss, we must march out at the one gate while they +march in at the other." + +But at that moment Brissac, who had run down at a word, and was by +this time in the street, held up his hand to one of the others who was +looking out of the window, exclaiming, "Crosses of Lorraine, crosses +of Lorraine! A gallant body of some fifty spears; but all crosses of +Lorraine.--Ay, and I can see the arms of Montsoreau and Logeres! All +is right, tell the Duke; all is right!" And thus saying he advanced +along the street to meet the troops that were approaching. + +The Duke of Guise, who had risen from the table, seated himself again +quietly, drew a deep breath as a man relieved from some embarrassment, +and filling the glass that stood beside him, half full of the good +small wine of Beaugency, rested his head upon his hand, and remained +in thought for several minutes. + +While he remained in this meditative mood the sounds of the trumpets +became louder and louder; the trampling of horses' feet were heard +before the inn, and then was given, in a loud tone, the order to halt. +Several of the companions of the Duke had gone down stairs to witness +the arrival of the troops, and in a minute or two after, feet were +heard coming up, and the Duke turned his head to welcome the young +Count on his arrival. He was somewhat surprised, however, to see an +old white-headed man, who had doffed his steel cap to enter the Duke's +presence, come in between Brissac and Laval, and make him a low +inclination of the head. + +"Who are you, my good friend?" demanded the Duke. "And where is the +young Count of Logeres?" + +"I know not, your Highness," replied the other. "I am the Count's +seneschal, and expected to find him here. He set off four days ago +with one half of his men, commanding me to join him at Montigny with +the rest, as soon as their arms arrived from Rhetel. They came sooner +than we expected, so I followed him the day after." + +"Then is it to you, my worthy old friend," said the Duke, "that the +country is obliged for the defeat of this band of marauders?" + +"No, your Highness," replied the old man bluntly. "I have not had the +good fortune to meet with any thing to defeat, though, indeed, we +heard of something of the kind this morning as we passed by +Grisolles." + +"I hope the news is true," said the Duke; "I have heard of many a +victory in my day, where it turned out that the victors were +vanquished; and I hear that these reiters numbered from a hundred to a +hundred and fifty men. How many had your Lord with him, good +seneschal?" + +"He had fifty-one men at arms," replied the old soldier, "besides some +lackeys and a page; and some men leading horses with the baggage he +could not do without." + +"I shall not be easy till I hear more of him," said the Duke, walking +up and down the room. "However, your coming, good seneschal, will +enable us to make good this place against any force that may be +brought against it. Quick, send me up the aubergiste. We must despatch +some one to bring us in intelligence: and now, good seneschal, rest +and refresh your horses, get your men some food, and have every thing +ready to put foot in stirrup again at a moment's notice; for if we +find that your Lord has fallen into the hands of these reiters, we +must mount to deliver him. Let their numbers be what they may, Henry +of Guise cannot make up his mind to leave a noble friend in the hands +of the foemen." + +"We are all ready this minute, my Lord," replied the old seneschal. +"There is not a man of Logeres who is not ready to ride forty miles, +and fight two reiters this very night in defence of his Lord." + +"The old cock's not behind the young one," said the Chevalier d'Aumale +to Brissac. But the Duke of Guise overruled the zealous eagerness of +the old soldier; and as soon as the aubergiste appeared, directed him +to send off a boy in the direction of Montreuil and La Ferte, in order +to gain intelligence of the movements of the Count de Logeres, and to +ascertain whether the report of the defeat of the reiters was correct +or not. His own horses he ordered now to be unsaddled, and casting off +his corselet, gave himself up to repose for the evening. + +During the next hour, or hour and a half, manifold were the reports +which reached the town concerning the conflict which had taken place +between the Count of Logeres and the reiters on the preceding evening. +All sorts of stories were told: every peasant that brought in a basket +of apples had his own version of the affair; and the accounts were the +most opposite, as well as the most various. The Duke of Guise, +however, was too much accustomed to sifting the various rumours of the +day, not to be able to glean some true information from the midst of +these conflicting statements. It seemed clear to him that the reiters +had been defeated, and without having any very certain cause for his +belief, he felt convinced that Charles of Montsoreau was already upon +his way towards Montigny. + +"Come," he added, after expressing these opinions to the Chevalier +d'Aumale, "we must at least give our young champion a good meal on his +arrival. See to it, Brissac; see to it. You, who are a connoisseur in +such things, deal with our worthy landlord of the Cross, and see if he +cannot procure something for supper more dainty than he gave us for +dinner." + +"The poor man was taken by surprise," replied Brissac; "but since he +heard that you were to remain here, there has been such a cackling and +screaming in the court-yard, and such a riot in the dovecote, that I +doubt not all the luxuries of Montigny will be poured forth this night +upon the table." + +In less than an hour after this order was given, the arrival of fresh +horses was heard; and Laval, who went to the window, announced, that +as well as he could see through the increasing darkness, for it was +now night, this new party consisted only of five or six persons. In a +few minutes, however, the door was thrown open by the aubergiste, and +Charles of Montsoreau himself appeared, dusty with the march, and with +but few traces of triumph or satisfaction on his countenance. + +"What, my young hero!" cried the Duke, rising and taking him by the +hand; "you look as gloomy as if you had suffered a defeat, rather than +gained a victory. Are the tidings which we have heard not true then, +or are they exaggerated? If you have even brought off your forces safe +from the reiters, that is a great thing, so overmatched as you were." + +"It is not that, your Highness," replied Charles of Montsoreau: "the +numbers were not very disproportionate, but the reiters have certainly +suffered a complete rout, and I do not think that they will ever meet +in a body again. They lost a good many men on the field, and I fear +the peasantry have murdered all the wounded." + +"So much the better," cried the Chevalier d'Aumale; "so much the +better. One could have done nothing with them but hang them." + +"I fear then," said the Duke of Guise, addressing the Count, "I fear +then that your own loss has been severe by the gloominess of your +countenance, Logeres." + +"There are a good many severely wounded, sir," replied the Count; "but +very few killed. This, however, is not the cause of my vexation, which +I must explain to your Highness alone. I have, however, to apologise +to you for not being here last night, as I fully intended. I did not +go to seek the reiters, but fell in with them accidentally, and after +the skirmish I was forced to turn towards La Ferte instead of coming +here, in order to get surgeons to my wounded men. I find, however, +sir," he continued, "that my good old seneschal has made more speed +than his master, and has arrived here with his band before me. I must +go and take order for the comfort of my people, and prepare lodging +for the rest who are coming up, for I rode on at all speed as soon as +I met with the messenger whom you had sent out to seek me. After that +I will return and crave a few minutes' audience of your Grace alone." + +"Come back to supper, dear friend," replied the Duke; "we must let our +gay friends now sup with us; but then we will drive them to their +beds, and hold solitary council together, and be not long Logeres, for +you need both refreshment and repose." + +When the young Count returned to the apartments of the Duke, after he +had seen the rest of his troop arrive, and had taken every measure to +secure the comfort of the men under his command, he found that Prince +standing in one of the deep windows speaking in a low tone with the +page Ignati, while his own officers were gathered together in the +window on the other side. + +The Duke instantly took him by the hand as he approached, and said in +a low but kindly tone, "You see I have been questioning the spy I set +upon you, Logeres, and he has let me into a number of your secrets; +but you must not be angry with him on that account, for Henry of Guise +will not abuse the trust. Come, let us sit down to table, and we will +afterwards find an opportunity of talking over all these affairs. You +have acted nobly and gallantly, my young friend, and have served your +country while you benefited me. For your brother's conduct you are not +responsible: but I think this morning's events, if the boy speaks +correctly, must bar your tongue from speaking his praises for the +future." + +"Indeed, my Lord," exclaimed the young Count, "my brother may----" + +"Hush! hush!" cried the Duke. "There is nothing sits so ill upon the +lips of a noble-hearted man as an excuse for bad actions, either in +himself or others. It is false generosity, Charles of Montsoreau, to +say the least of it. But let us to table. Come, Aumale. See! our good +Aubergiste looks reproachfully at you for letting his fragrant ragouts +grow cold. Come, we will to meat, gentlemen. Sit down, sit down, We +will have no ceremony here at the Cross of Lorraine." + +Thus saying, the Duke seated himself at table, and the rest took their +places around. The supper proved better than had been expected, and +wine and good appetites supplied the place of all deficiencies. The +Chevalier d'Aumale indeed had every now and then a light jest at some +of the various dishes: he declared that a certain capon had blunted +his dagger, and asked Charles of Montsoreau whether it was not tougher +than a veteran reiter. He declared that a matelote d'anguille which +was placed before him, had a strong flavour of a hedge; but added, +that as his own appetite was viperous, he must get through it as best +he might. He was not without a profane jest either, upon a dish of +pigeons; but though he addressed the greater part of these gaily to +the young Count de Logeres, he could hardly wring a smile from one who +in former days would have laughed with the best, but whose heart was +now anxiously occupied with many a bitter feeling. + +Charles of Montsoreau was eager, too, that the meal should be over, +for he longed for that private communication with the Duke which +weighed upon his mind in anticipation. He felt that it would be +difficult to exculpate his brother; and yet, in pursuance of his own +high resolutions, he longed to do so: and then again he eagerly hoped +that the powerful prince beside whom he sat would find some means of +delivering Marie de Clairvaut from the hands into which she had +fallen; and yet he feared, from all he heard and saw, that that +deliverance might be difficult and remote. + +Thus the banquet passed somewhat cheerlessly to him; and it was not +very much enlivened by a little incident which happened towards the +close of supper, when the landlord, who had come into the room +followed by a man dressed in the garb of a surgeon, whispered +something in the Duke's ear which called his attention immediately. + +"How many did you say?" demanded the Duke. + +"Only two at present, your Highness," replied the surgeon; "but three +more sinking, I think." + +"All in the same house?" said the Duke. + +"No, my Lord, in different houses," replied the man; "but near the +same spot." + +"The only thing to be done," replied the Duke, "is to draw a barrier +across the end of that street, and mark the houses with a white +cross." + +"What is the matter, your Highness?" said Laval, from the other end of +the table. + +"Oh, nothing," replied the Duke of Guise, "only a few cases of the +plague; and because it was very bad last autumn at Morfontaine, the +people here have got into a fright." + +The Duke of Guise concluded his supper as lightly and gaily as if +nothing had happened, for his mind had become so accustomed to deal +with and to contemplate things of great moment, that they made not +that impression upon him which they do upon those whose course is laid +in a smoother and evener path. + +Charles of Montsoreau, however, could not feel in the same way. "War +and pestilence!" he thought, "bloodshed and death! These are the +common every-day ideas of men in this unhappy country, now. Perhaps +famine may be added some day soon, and yet there will be light +laughter, and merriment, and jest. Well, let it be so. Why should we +cast away enjoyment because it can but be small? Life is at best but +made up of chequered visions: let us enjoy the bright ones while we +may, and make the dark ones short if we can." + +While he thus thought, the Duke of Guise whispered a word or two to +the Count of Brissac, and that gentleman nodded to Laval. Shortly +after, both rose; and, with an air of affected unwillingness, the +Chevalier d'Aumale followed their example. The two or three other +gentlemen who had partaken of the meal, but who either from inferior +situation or natural taciturnity had mingled but little in the +conversation, left the table at the same time, and accompanied the +others out of the room, so that the Duke of Guise and the young Count +were left alone. + + + + + CHAP. II. + + +The weak-minded and the vulgar are cowed by the aspect of high +station; the humble in mind, and the moderate in talent, are subdued +by high genius, and bend lowly to the majesty of mind; the powerful, +the firm, and the elevated spring up to meet their like, and with them +there is nothing earthly that can overawe but a consciousness of evil +in themselves, or a sensation of abasement for those they love. + +Such was the case with Charles of Montsoreau, who undoubtedly was a +man of high and powerful mind. He was in his first youth, it is true; +he had no great or intimate knowledge of the world, except that +knowledge of the world which, in a few rare instances, comes as it +were by intuition. He had been bred up from his youth in love and +admiration for the princes of the House of Lorraine, and especially of +Henry, Duke of Guise; and yet, when he had met him for the first time, +and recognised him at once in the inn at Mareuil, he felt no +diffidence--no alarm. Nor had this confidence in himself any thing +whatsoever to do with conceit: he thought not of himself for a moment; +he thought only of the Duke of Guise and his situation, and impulse +guided by habit did the rest. Seeing that the Duke had assumed an +inferior character, he treated him accordingly; and acting as nature +dictated to him, he acted right. + +Neither, at Rheims, when the Duke appeared surrounded by pomp and +splendour, did the young nobleman feel differently. He paid every +tribute of external reverence to the Prince's station and high renown; +but he conferred with him upon equal terms, feeling that if in mind he +was not absolutely equal to that great leader, he was competent to +appreciate his character, and was not inferior to him in elevation of +thought and purpose. + +But now, how changed were all his feelings, when, sitting by one whom +he venerated and respected--more than perhaps was deserved--he had to +discuss with him the painful subject of a brother's errors, and +torture imagination to find excuses which judgment would not ratify! +He sat humiliated, and pained, and hesitating: he knew not what to +say, and he felt that any thing he could say was vain. + +For a few minutes after the rest of the party quitted the room, the +Duke of Guise remained silent, sometimes gazing down, as was his +habit, upon his clasped hands, sometimes raising his eyes for a single +moment to the countenance of his young companion. He seemed to feel +for him, indeed; and when he did speak, led the conversation to the +subject gradually and delicately. + +"Well, my dear Count," he said, "let us speak of this affair of the +reiters. You made me as many excuses but now, for defeating our +enemies, as if you had let them defeat you. Such gallant actions are +easily pardoned, Logeres; and if you but proceed to commit many such +faults, Henry of Navarre and Henry of Guise had both need look to +their renown. There was a third Henry once," he continued, half +closing his eyes, and speaking with a sigh, as he thought of Henry +III. and fair promises of his youth; "there was a third Henry once, +who might perhaps have borne the meed of fame away from us both: but +that light has gone out in the socket, and left nothing but an +unsavory smell behind. However, there was no excuse needed, good +friend, for cutting to pieces double your own number of German +marauders." + +"My excuse was not for that," replied the Count, calmly, "but your +Highness directed me to go no farther than Montigny, and I went to La +Ferte, on account of the wounded men." + +"That is easily excused too," said the Duke. "But now give me your own +account of the affair. The boy told me the story but imperfectly. How +fell you in with the reiters at first?" + +Charles of Montsoreau did as the Prince required, giving a full and +minute, but modest, account of all that had taken place. But when he +spoke of retreating up the river to the spot where the banks were +deeper, and the stream more profound, Guise caught him by the hand, +exclaiming eagerly, "Did you know that the banks were steeper? Did you +see that they would guard your flank?" + +"That was my object, my Lord," replied the young Count, somewhat +surprised. "I noticed the nature of the ground as we charged them at +first." + +"Kneel down!" cried the Duke; "kneel down! Would to God that I were a +Bayard for thy sake!--In the name of God, St. Michael and St. George, +I dub thee knight;" and drawing his sword he struck him on the collar +with the blade, adding with a smile, in which melancholy was blended +with gaiety, "Perchance this may be the last chivalrous knighthood +conferred in France. Indeed, as matters go, I think it will be: but if +it should, I can but say that it never was won more nobly." + +The young Count rose with sparkling eyes. The memory of the chivalrous +ages was not yet obliterated by dust and lichens; the fire of a more +enthusiastic epoch was not yet quite extinct; and he felt as if what +had passed gave him greater strength to go through what was to come. + +The Duke, however, relaxing soon into his former manner, made him a +sign to proceed; and Charles of Montsoreau went on to detail the +complete defeat and dispersion of the different bodies of reiters. He +then began to hesitate again: but Guise was determined to hear all, +and said, "But your brother; where did you find your brother? Be frank +with me, Logeres." + +Thus pressed, the young Count went on to say, that he did not again +meet with his brother till he found him in the market-place at La +Ferte. "My brother," he continued, "having been driven by the party +that pursued him beyond the carriage, and judging that I was coming up +with a superior force, imagined that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut and her +attendants had fallen under my protection: but finding that such was +not the case, he mounted his horse again, and proceeded to seek for +her during the greater part of the night, while I did the same in +another direction." + +He was then hurrying on as fast as possible to speak of the following +morning, but the Duke interrupted him, demanding, "There was a sharp +dispute in the market-place, I think; was there not, Monsieur de +Logeres? Pray let me hear the particulars." + +But Charles of Montsoreau, driven to the point, answered boldly and at +once, "It was a dispute between two brothers, my Lord; in regard to +which none but God and their own consciences can judge. You will +therefore pardon me if I keep that which is private to my private +bosom." + +Guise gazed at him for a long--a very long time, with eyes full of +deep feeling, and then replied, "By Heaven! you are one of the most +extraordinary young men I ever met with. I know the whole, Monsieur de +Logeres; and the words there spoken let me into the secrets of your +bosom which I wished to know. I now understand how to deal with you; +and while I do my best to secure your happiness, trust to the Duke of +Guise to avoid, as far as possible, any thing that is painful to you +in the course. But go on; let me hear the rest." + +"If you know all, my Lord," said Charles of Montsoreau, a good deal +affected by the Duke's kindness, "will you not spare me the telling of +that which must be painful to me?" + +"I fear I must ask you to go on," replied the Duke. "What you have now +to tell me is the most important part of all to me at the present +moment, for by it must my conduct be regulated, in regard to the +measures for rescuing our poor Marie from the hands of that----." He +checked himself suddenly, and then added, "the King, in short. A +single word may cause a difference in our view of the matter; and +therefore I would fain hear you tell it, if you will do me that +favour." + +"All that I know, my Lord, I will tell," replied the Count; "but of my +own knowledge I have little to tell, for the principal part of my +information was derived from the boy with whom you have already +spoken. All then that I personally know is, that, having slept long +from great fatigue, I was roused by the boy in the morning; that he +told me my brother was about to depart; and that, on descending, I +found his report true. My brother was already on horseback, and his +troop in the act of setting out; but he was accompanied by a gentleman +whom I had never seen before, whose name is Colombel, and who, I found +afterwards, is an officer in the service of the King." + +"Oh yes," said the Duke of Guise; "I have heard him named; a person of +no great repute, but some cunning." + +"My conversation with my brother," continued the Count, "was not the +most agreeable. On his side it was all taunts; but the only part of +which it is needful to inform your Highness, was, that when I asked +tidings of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, he would afford me no +information, except that she was in safe hands. I am grieved, also, to +be compelled to say that he told me, if I did not join you before he +did, I should be long parted from you." + +"We have lost an ally," replied the Duke; "but one which, to say +sooth, I do not covet. If he be not treacherous, he is at best +unsteady; but I cannot help fearing, Charles of Montsoreau, that your +brother himself, apprehending that my regard for you might not suit +his purposes, has had some share in suffering Marie to fall into the +hands of Henry." + +"Oh no, my Lord, oh no!" exclaimed Charles of Montsoreau; "you do him +wrong, believe me. My Lord, a few words will explain to you the cause +of his conduct. He is possessed with a passion for Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, so strong, so vehement, so intense, as to have a portion of +madness in it,--a sufficient portion to make him cast away his former +nature altogether, to hate his brother, to abandon his friends, to +abjure all the thoughts and feelings of his youth, and to follow her +still where-ever she goes, seeking to obtain her by means which the +very blindness of his passion prevents him from seeing are those which +must insure his losing her." + +"This is the passion of a weak and unstable mind," said the Duke. +"Love, my young friend, is in itself a grand and ennobling thing, +leading us to do great actions for the esteem and approbation of her +we love. The love of a bright woman," he added, "the love of a bright +woman--I speak it with all due reverence," and he put his hand to his +hat, "is the next finest sensation, the next grand mover in human +actions, to the love of God. The object is undoubtedly inferior, but +the course is the same, namely, the striving to do high and excellent +things for the approbation of a being that we love and venerate. Alas +that it should be so! but in this world I fear the love of woman is +amongst us the strongest mover of the two: the other is so remote, so +high, so pure, that our dull senses strain their wings in reaching it. +The love of woman appeals to the earthly as well as to the heavenly +part of man's nature, and consequently is heard more easily. +Perhaps--and Heaven grant it!--that, as some of our fathers held, the +one love may lead us on to the other, and the perishable be but a step +to the immortal. However," he added, "such love as that which you say +possesses your brother, will certainly never lead him on to any thing +that is great, or high, or noble. Most certainly it will not lead him +to the hand of Marie de Clairvaut as long as Henry of Guise can draw a +sword. If he have not betrayed me, he has abandoned me; if he have not +shown himself a coward, he has shown himself a weak defender of those +intrusted to his charge; and under such circumstances, had he the +wealth of either India and the power of Caesar, he should never wed +Marie de Clairvaut." He laid his hand upon the shoulder of Charles of +Montsoreau, and he said, "You have heard my words, good friend; those +words are irrevocable: and now knowing that your brother can never be +really your rival, act as you will. I would fain have your confidence, +Charles, but I will not wring it from you. This girl is beautiful and +sweet and fascinating; and if I judge right, you love her not less but +more nobly than your brother. Tell me, or tell me not as you will, but +we all feel pleased with confidence." + +"Oh, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau, "how can I deny you my +confidence when you load me with such proofs of your goodness? I do +love Mademoiselle de Clairvaut as deeply, as intensely, as +passionately, as my brother,--more, more a thousand fold than he or +any body else, I believe, is capable of loving. I had some +opportunities of rendering her services, and on one of those occasions +I was betrayed into words and actions which I fancied must have made +her acquainted with all my feelings. It was after that I discovered, +my Lord, how madly my brother loved her: it was after that I +discovered that the pursuit of my love must bring contention and +destruction on my father's house. Had I believed that she loved me, +nothing should have made me yield her to any one; for I had the prior +claim, I had the prior right: but when I had reason to believe that +she had not marked, and did not comprehend all the signs of my +affection; when I felt that I could quit her without the appearance of +trifling with her regard, though not without the continued misery of +my own life, my determination was taken in a moment, and I determined +to make the sacrifice, be the consequences what they might. Such, my +Lord, is the simple truth; such is the only secret of all my actions." + +The Duke of Guise bent down his eyes upon the ground with a smile, in +the expression of which there was a degree of cynical bitterness. It +was somewhat like one of the smiles of the Abbe de Boisguerin; but the +Duke's words explained it at once, which the Abbe's never did. + +"I fear, my young friend," he said, "that the science of women's +hearts is a more difficult one than the science of war. You have +learnt the one, it would seem, by intuition; in the other you are yet +a novice. However, you shall pursue your own course, bearing with you +the remembrance that I swear by my own honour--" + +"Oh swear not, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau; "circumstances +may change; she may love him; her love may alter him, and lead him +back to noble things." + +The Duke smiled again. "What I have said," he answered, "is as good as +sworn. But have it your own way; I thank you for the confidence you +have reposed in me. And now, to show you how I can return it, I have a +task to put upon you, an adventure on which to send forth my new made +knight. I do not think that Henry either will or dare refuse to give +up to me my own relation and ward. The king and I are great friends, +God wot! But still I must demand her, and somebody must take a journey +to Paris for that purpose. To the capital, doubtless, they have +conveyed her; and I trust, my good Logeres, that you will not think it +below your dignity and merit to seek and bring back a daughter of the +House of Guise." + +Charles of Montsoreau paused thoughtfully for a moment, ere he +replied. All the difficulties and dangers to which he might be +exposed, in acting against the views of the King of France, were to +him as nothing; but the difficulties and dangers which might arise +from his opposition to his own brother, were painful and fearful to +him to contemplate. He saw not, however, how he could refuse the task; +and it cannot be denied that love for Marie de Clairvaut had its share +also in making him accept it. He doubted not for a moment, that if she +were in the hands of the King, she was there against her own will; and +could he, he asked himself, could he even hesitate to aid in +delivering her from a situation of difficulty, danger, and distress? +The thought of aiding her, the thought of seeing her again, the +thought of hearing the sweet tones of that beloved voice, the thought +of once more soothing and supporting her, all had their share; the +very contemplation made his heart beat; and lifting his eyes, he found +those of the Duke of Guise fixed upon his countenance, reading all the +passing emotions, the shadows of which were brought across him by +those thoughts. The colour mounted slightly into his cheek as he +replied, "My Lord, I will do your bidding to the best of my ability. +When shall I march?" + +"Oh, you mistake," said the Duke, laughing; "you are not to go at the +head of your men, armed _cap-a-pie_, to deliver the damsel from the +giant's castle; but in the quality of my envoy to Henry; first of all +demanding, quietly and gently, where the Lady is, and then requiring +him to deliver her into your hands, for the purpose of escorting her +to me, where-ever I may be. You shall have full powers for the latter +purpose; but you must keep them concealed till such time as you have +discovered, either from the King's own lips--though no sincerity +dwells upon them--or by your own private inquiries and investigations, +where this poor girl is. Then you may produce to the King your powers +from me, and to herself I will give you a letter, requesting her to +follow your directions in all things. Now, you must show yourself as +great a diplomatist as a soldier, for I can assure you that you will +have to deal with as artful and as wily a man as any now living in +Europe." + +"I will do my best, my Lord; and to enable me to deal with them before +all their plans are prepared, I had better set out at break of day +to-morrow, with as many men as your Highness thinks fit should +accompany me." + +The Duke mused for a moment or two; "No," he said, "no; I must not let +you go, Logeres, without providing for your safety. You have risked +your life sufficiently for me and mine already. You go into new +scenes, with which you are unacquainted; into dangers, with which you +may find it more difficult to cope than any that you have hitherto met +with. I cannot then suffer you to depart without such passports and +safeguards as may diminish those dangers as far as possible." + +"Oh, I fear not, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau, "the King +and your Highness are not at war. I have done nothing to offend, +and--" + +"It cannot be, it cannot be," replied the Duke. "You must go back with +me to Soissons. I will send a messenger from this place to demand the +necessary passports for you. No great time will be lost, for a common +courier can pass where you or I would be stopped. Then," he continued, +"as to the men that you should take with you, I should say, the fewer +the better. Mark me," he continued, with a smile, "there are secret +springs in all things; and I will give you letters to people in Paris, +which will put at your disposal five hundred men on the notice of half +an hour. Ay, more, should you require them. But use not these letters +except in the last necessity, for they might hurry on events which I +would rather see advance slowly till they were forced upon me, than do +aught to bring them forward myself. No; you shall go back with me to +Soissons, guarding me with your band; and I doubt not, our messenger +from Paris will not be many hours after us. Now leave me, and to rest, +good Logeres, and send in the servant, whom you will find half way +down the stairs." + +The young Count withdrew without another word, and he found that while +the conversation between himself and the Duke had been going on, a man +had been stationed, both above and below the door of the apartment, as +if to insure that nobody approached to listen. Such were the sad +precautions necessary in those days. + +Early on the following morning the whole party mounted their horses, +the wounded men of Logeres were left under the care and attendance of +the good townsmen of Montigny, and the young Count riding with the +party of the Duke of Guise, proceeded on the road to Soissons. No +adventure occurred to disturb their progress; and, as so constantly +happens in the midst of scenes of danger, pain, and difficulty, almost +every one of the whole party endeavoured to compensate for the +frequent endurance of peril and pain by filling up the intervals with +light laughter and unthinking gaiety. The Duke of Guise himself was +not the least cheerful of the party, though occasionally the cloud of +thought would settle again upon his brow, and a pause of deep +meditation would interrupt the jest or the sally. It was late at night +when they arrived at Soissons, and the Duke, after supping with the +Cardinal de Bourbon, retired to rest, without conversing with any of +his party. It was about eight o'clock on the following morning, and +while, by the dull grey light of a cloudy spring day, Charles of +Montsoreau was dressing himself, with the aid of one of his servants, +that the door opened without any previous announcement, and the Duke +of Guise, clad in a dressing-gown of crimson velvet trimmed with +miniver, entered the room, bearing in his hand a packet of sealed +letters, and one open one. A page followed him with something wrapped +up in a skin of leather, which he placed upon one of the stools, and +instantly retired. + +"Send away your man, Count," said the Duke, seating himself; "resume +your dressing-gown, and kindly give me your full attention for +half an hour. You will be so good," he continued, turning to the man +who was quitting the chamber, "as to take your stand on the first +landing-place below this door. You will tell any body whom you see +coming up to pass by the other staircase; any one you may see coming +down, you will direct to pass by this door quickly." + +There was a stern command in the eye of the Duke of Guise which had a +strong effect upon those it rested on; and the man to whom he now +spoke made his exit from the room, stumbling over twenty things in his +haste to obey. As soon as he was gone, the Duke turned to his young +friend, and continued, "Here is the King's safeguard under his own +hand, and the necessary passports for yourself and two attendants. +Here is your letter of credit to him in my name, requiring him to give +you every sort of information which he may be possessed of regarding +the subjects which you will mention to him; and here is a third +letter giving you full power to demand at his hands the person of +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, for the purpose of escorting her and +placing her under my protection. This, again, is to Mary herself, +bidding her follow your counsels and direction in every thing; and +these others are to certain citizens of Paris, whose names you will +find written thereon. If you will take my advice, you will again take +with you the boy Ignati, and one stout man-at-arms, unarmed, however, +except in such a manner as the dangers of the road require. You +understand, I think, clearly, all that I wish." + +"I believe, my Lord, I do," replied the Count. "But how am I to insure +safety for Mademoiselle de Clairvaut on the road, without an adequate +force?" + +"Write to me but one word," replied the Duke of Guise, "as soon as she +is delivered into your hands, and I will send you with all speed +whatever forces I can spare. But I have one or two things to +communicate to you, which it is necessary for you to know, both for +your own security and the success of your mission. The principal part +of my niece's lands lie in the neighbourhood of Chateauneuf, between +Dreux and Mortagne in Normandy. It is not at all unlikely, that, if +driven to remove her from your sight, Henry may be tempted to send her +thither, well knowing that it is what I have always opposed, and that +I preferred rather that she should dwell even in Languedoc than be in +that neighbourhood. For this I had a reason; and that reason is the +near relationship in which her father stood to the most daring and the +most dangerous man in France. One of the first of those whom you will +see near the person of the King, the man who governs and rules him to +his own infamy and destruction, in whose hands the minions are but +tools and Henry an instrument, who, more than any one else, has tended +to change a gracious prince, a skilful general, and a brave man, into +an effeminate and vicious king, is Rene de Villequier, Baron of +Clairvaut. He was first cousin to Marie de Clairvaut's father, and he +is consequently her nearest male relation out of the family of Guise. +He has, indeed, sometimes hinted at a right to share in the +guardianship of his cousin's daughter. But such things a Guise permits +not. However, with this claim upon the disposal of her hand, Henry +may, perhaps, hesitate to yield her, unless with the consent of +Villequier. With him, then, you may be called upon to deal; but +Villequier, I think, knows the hand of a Guise too well to call down a +blow from it unnecessarily. However, he is as daring as he is artful, +and impunity in crime has rendered him perfectly careless of +committing it. He is Governor of Paris, one of the King's ministers, a +Knight of the Holy Ghost. Now hear what he has done to merit all this. +More than one assassin broken on the wheel has avowed himself the +instrument of Villequier, sent to administer poison to those he did +not love. Complaisant in every thing to his King, he sought to +sacrifice to him the honour of his wife: but she differed from him in +her tastes; and, on the eighteenth of last September, in broad +daylight, in the midst of an effeminate court, he murdered her with +his own hand at her dressing-table. Nor was this all: there was a +girl--a young sweet girl--the natural daughter of a noble house, who +was holding before the unhappy lady a mirror to arrange her dress when +the fatal blow was struck. The fiend's taste for blood was roused. One +victim was not enough, and he murdered the wretched girl by the side +of her dead mistress. This was done in open day, was never disowned, +was known to every one, and was rewarded by the order of the Holy +Ghost--an insult to God, to France, and to humanity.[1] However, as +with this man you may have to deal, I have to give you two cautions. +Never drink wine with him, or eat food at his table; never go into his +presence without wearing under your other dress the bosom friend which +I have brought you there;" and he took from the leathern skin in which +it was wrapped, a shirt of mail, made of rings linked together, so +fine that it seemed the lightest stroke would have broken it, and yet +so strong, that the best tempered poinard, driven by the most powerful +hand, could not have pierced it. "Have also in your bosom," continued +the Duke of Guise, "a small pistol; and if the villain attempts to lay +his hand upon you, kill him like a dog. This is the only way to deal +with Rene de Villequier." + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 1: All these charges were but too true.] + +--------------------- + + +The young Count smiled: "And is it needful my Lord Duke," he asked, +"to take all these precautions in the courtly world of Paris?--Do you +yourself take them, my Lord?--I fear not sufficiently." + +"Oh! with regard to myself," replied the Duke, it is different. "I am +so marked out and noted, they dare not do any thing against me. They +would raise up a thousand vengeful hands against them in a moment, and +they know that, too well to run such a risk. Neither Henry nor +Villequier would hold their lives by an hour's tenure after Guise was +dead. But you must take these precautions, my young friend. And now I +have nothing more to say, except that, whatever you do to withdraw +Marie de Clairvaut from the hands into which she has fallen, I will +justify. If any ill befall you, I will avenge you as my brother; and +if you deliver her from those whom she hates and abhors, she shall, +give you any testimony of her gratitude that she pleases, without a +man in France saying you nay." + +"Oh, my Lord, it is not for that I go!" exclaimed Charles of +Montsoreau, with the blood rushing up again into his cheek. "It is +not; surely you believe--" + +"Hush! hush!" replied the Duke. "I have fallen into the foolish error +of saying too much, my good young friend. But now, fare you well. Make +your arrangements as speedily as you can; mount your horse, and onward +to Paris, while I apply myself to matters which may well occupy every +minute and every thought." + + + + + CHAP. III. + + +It was about nine o'clock at night, in the spring of the year 1588, +that Charles of Montsoreau, with two companions, his faithful Gondrin +and the little page, presented himself at the gate of Paris which +opened upon the Soissons road. A surly arquebusier with a steel cap on +his head, his gun upon his shoulder, and the rest thereof in his hand, +was the first person that he encountered at the bridge over the fosse. +Some other soldiers were sitting before the guardhouse; and the +wicket-gate of the city itself was open, with an armed head protruded +through, talking to a country girl with a basket on her arm, who had +just passed out of the gate, none the better probably for her visit to +the city. + +The arquebusier planted himself immediately in the way of the young +cavalier and his followers, and seemed prepared to stop them, though +on the young Count applying to him for admission, he replied in a +surly tone, "I have nothing to do with it. Ask the lieutenant at the +gate." + +To him, in the next place, then, Charles of Montsoreau applied; but +though his tone was somewhat more civil than that of the soldier, he +made a great many difficulties, examining the young nobleman all over, +and looking as if he thought him a very suspicious personage. The +Count after a certain time grew impatient, and asked, "You do not +mean, I suppose, to refuse the passport of the King?" + +"No," replied the other grinning. "We won't refuse the passport of the +King, or the King's passport; but in order that the passport may be +verified, it were as well, young gentleman, that you come to the gates +by day. You can sleep in the faubourg for one night I take it." + +"Certainly not without great inconvenience to myself," replied the +Count, "and more inconvenience to the affairs of the Duke of Guise." + +"The Duke of Guise!" said the man starting. "Your tongue has not the +twang of Lorraine." + +"But nevertheless," replied the Count, "the business I come upon is +that of the Duke of Guise, which you would have seen if you had read +the passport and safe-conduct. Does it not direct therein, to give +room and free passage, safeguard, and protection to one gentleman of +noble birth and two attendants, coming and going hither and thither in +all parts of the realm of France, on the especial business of our true +and well-beloved cousin, Henry, Duke of Guise? and is there not +written in the Duke's own hand underneath, 'Given to our faithful +friend and counsellor, Charles of Montsoreau, Count of Logeres, for +the purposes above written, by me, Henry of Guise?'" + +The man held the paper for a moment to a lantern that hung up against +the heavy stonework of the arch, and then exclaimed in a loud voice, +"Throw open the gates there, bring the keys. Monseigneur, I beg you a +thousand pardons for detaining you a minute. If I had but seen the +writing of the Duke of Guise the doors would have been opened +instantly." + +As rapidly as possible the heavy gates, which had remained immoveable +at the order of the King, swang back at the name of the Guise, and one +of the attendants and the captain of the night running by the side of +the Count's horse to prevent all obstruction, caused the second gate +to be opened as rapidly, and the Count entered the capital city of his +native country for the first time in his life. + +The streets were dark and gloomy, narrow and high; and as one rode +along them looking up from time to time towards the sky, the small +golden stars were seen twinkling above the deep walls of the houses, +as if beheld from the bottom of a well. Charles of Montsoreau had not +chosen to ask his way at the gate, and though utterly unacquainted +with the great city in which he now plunged, he rode on, trusting to +find some shop still open where he might inquire his way without the +chance of being deceived. Every booth and shop was then shut, however; +and for a very long way up the street which he had first entered, he +met with not a single living creature to whom he could apply for +direction. At length, however, that street ended abruptly in another +turning to the left, and a sudden glare of light burst upon his eyes, +proceeding from a building about a hundred yards farther on, which +seemed to be on fire. + +There was no bustle, however, or indication of any thing unusual in +the street; and Charles of Montsoreau riding on, found that the blaze +proceeded from a dozen or more of flambeaus planted in a sort of +wooden barricade[2] before a large mansion, which fell back some yards +from the general facade of the street, while a fat porter clothed in +manifold colours, with a broad shoulder-belt and a sword by his side, +walked to and fro in the light, trimming the torches with stately +dignity. The young Count then remembered having heard of the custom of +thus illuminating the barriers, which were before all the principal +mansions in Paris during the first part of every night; and riding up +towards the porter, he demanded whose hotel it was, and begged to be +directed to one of the best inns in the neighbourhood. + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 2: One or two of these houses with barriers were still +existing in Paris not many years ago.] + +--------------------- + + +The man gazed at him for a moment with the evident purpose of looking +upon him as a bumpkin; but the porters of that day were required to be +extremely discriminating, and the air and appearance of the young +Count were not to be mistaken, and bowing low he replied, "I see you +are a stranger, sir. This is the house of Monsieur d'Aumont. As to the +best inn, inns are always but poor places; but I have heard a good +account of the White House in the next street, at the sign of the +Crown of France. If you go on quite to the end of this street and then +turn to your right, you will come into another street as large and +longer, at the very end of which, just looking down to the Pont Neuf, +you will see a large white house with a gateway and the crown hanging +over it. I have heard that every thing is good there, and the host +civil; but he will make you pay for what you have." + +"That is but just," replied the young Count; and giving the porter +thanks for his information, he rode on and took up his abode at the +sign of the Crown of France. + +The aspect of the inn was very different from that of an auberge in +the country; for, though the court-yard into which Charles of +Montsoreau rode was littered with straw, and a large and splendid +stable appeared behind, it was not now grooms and stable-boys that +appeared on the first notice of a traveller's approach, but cooks and +scullions and turnspits; while the master himself with a snow-white +cap upon his head, a jacket of white cloth, and a white apron turned +up sufficiently to show his black breeches and stockings with red +clocks, appeared more like what he really was, the head of the +kitchen, than the master of the house. + +He looked a little suspiciously, at first, at the young stranger +arriving with only two attendants, and with no other baggage than a +small valise upon each horse, and an additional upon that of Ignati, +to render the boy's weight equal to that of his fellow travellers. But +the host was accustomed to deal with many kinds of men; and like the +porter, after examining the Count for a moment, seeing some gold +embroidery, but not much, upon his riding-dress, gilded spurs over his +large boots of untanned leather, and a sword, the hilt and sheath of +which were of no slight value, he also made a lowly reverence, and +conducted him to one of the best apartments in his house. It consisted +of three rooms, each entering into the other with a small cabinet +beyond the chief bed-room; and the arrangements which the Count made +at once--placing Gondrin's bed in the antechamber, and having the +page's truckle-bed removed from his own bed-side to occupy the cabinet +beyond--gave the host of the Crown of France a still greater idea of +his importance. + +Charles of Montsoreau did not fail to examine the face of the +aubergiste, and to remark his proceedings with as much accuracy. The +man's countenance was intelligent, his eyes quick and piercing, but +withal there was an air of straightforward frankness, tempered by +civility and habitual politeness, which was prepossessing; and as the +young Count knew that he might have occasion to make use of him in +various ways during his stay in Paris, he resolved to try him with +those things which were the most immediately necessary, and which at +the same time were of the least importance. + +"Stop a minute, my good host," he said, as the man was about to +withdraw to order fires to be lighted and suppers to be cooked. "There +are some things which press for attention, and in which I must have +your assistance." + +"This youngster speaks with a tone of authority," thought the +aubergiste; but he bowed low and said nothing, whilst the young Count +went on, "What is your name, my good friend?" demanded Charles of +Montsoreau. + +"I am called Gamin la Chaise," replied the aubergiste with a smile. + +"Well then, Master la Chaise, as you see," he continued, "I have come +hither to Paris on some business which required a certain degree of +despatch, and have ventured with few attendants and little baggage. As +however the business on which I did come will call me into scenes +where some greater degree of splendour is necessary than perhaps +either suits my taste or my general convenience, I must before I go +forth to-morrow morning, have my train increased by at least six +attendants, who are always to be found in Paris ready fashioned I +know; and therefore I must beseech you to find them for me in proper +time, having them equipped in my proper colours and livery, according +as the same shall be described to you by my good friend Gondrin here. +This is the first service you must do me, my good host." + +"Sir," replied the landlord, "the six lackeys shall be found and +equipped in less time than would roast a woodcock. They are as plenty +as sparrows or house-rats, and are caught in a moment." + +"Yes, but my good host," answered the Count, "there is one great +difficulty which you will understand in a moment. Amongst the six, I +want you to find me one honest man if it be possible." + +The landlord raised his shoulders above his ears, stuck out his two +hands horizontally from his sides, and assumed an appearance of +despair at the unheard of proposition of the Count, which had nearly +brought a smile into the young nobleman's countenance. "That indeed, +sir," he said, "is another affair; and I believe you might just as +well ask me to catch you a wild roe in the garden of the Louvre, as to +find you the thing that you demand. Nevertheless, labour and +perseverance conquer all difficulties: and now I think of it, there is +a youth who may answer your purpose; he knows Paris well too; but, +strange to say, by some unaccountable fit of obstinacy, he would not +tell a lie the other day to the Duke of Epernon in order to pass an +item of the intendant's accounts, which would have come in for a good +round sum every month if he would but have sworn that he used five +quarts of milk every week to whiten the leather of his master's boots. +He would not swear to this, and therefore the intendant discharged +him, as he was a hired servant." + +"Let me have him; let me have him," cried the Count. "I will only ask +him to tell the truth, and hope he may not find that so difficult." + +The Count then proceeded to speak about horses, and the host readily +undertook, finding that money was abundant, to procure all the +horse-dealers in Paris with their best steeds, before nine o'clock on +the following day. The demeanour of the young nobleman, it must be +confessed, puzzled the good aubergiste a good deal; and on going down +to his own abode, he acknowledged to his wife, what he seldom +acknowledged to any one, that he could not make his guest out at all. + +"I should think," he said, "from the plenty of money, and the +expensive way in which he seems inclined to deal, that he was some +wild stripling from the provinces, the son of a rich president or +advocate lately dead, who came hither to call himself Count, and spend +his patrimony in haste. But then, again, in some things he is as +shrewd as an old hawk, and can jest withal about rogues and honest +men, while he keeps his own secrets close, and lets no one ask him a +question." + +On the following morning, at an early hour, the six attendants whom he +had required were brought before him in array, exhibiting, with one +exception, as sweet a congregation of roguish faces as the great +capital of roguery ever yet produced. The countenance of the lad who +had been discharged from the service of the Duke of Epernon pleased +the young Count much, and without waiting till he was farther +equipped, he put Gondrin under his charge for the purpose of notifying +at the palace of the Louvre that he had arrived in the capital, +bearing a letter from the Duke of Guise to the King, and of begging to +have an hour named for its delivery. He found, however, with some +mortification--for his eager spirit and his anxiety brooked no +delay--that the King was at Vincennes; and his only consolation was +that the communication which he had sent to the palace, bearing the +fearful name of the Duke of Guise, was certain to be communicated to +the monarch as soon as possible. Some short time was expended in the +purchase of horses, and in making various additions to his own +apparel, well knowing the ostentatious splendour of the court he was +about to visit. + +We have indeed remarked that there was perhaps a touch of foppery in +his own nature, though it was but slight. Nevertheless, splendour of +appearance certainly pleased him, even while a natural good taste led +him to admire, and to seek in his own dress, all that was graceful and +harmonising, rather than that which was rich or brilliant. + +He was thus engaged, with several tradesmen around him, ordering the +materials for various suits of apparel, which a tailor standing by +engaged to produce in a miraculously short time, when the door of his +apartment was opened, and a somewhat fat pursy man in black was +admitted, entering with an air of importance, and receiving the lowly +salutations of the good citizens who were present. Charles of +Montsoreau gazed at him as a stranger; but the good man, with an air +of importance, and an affectation of courtly breeding, besought him to +finish what he was about, adding, that he had a word for his private +ear which he would communicate afterwards. The young Count, without +further ceremony, continued to give his orders, examining his new +visiter from time to time, and with no very great feelings of +satisfaction. + +The countenance was fat, reddish, and, upon the whole, stupid, with an +air of indecision about it which was very strongly marked, though +there was every now and then a certain drawing in of the fringeless +eyelids round the small black eyes, which gave the expression of +intense cunning to features otherwise dull and flat. + +When he had completely done with his mercers, and tailors, and +cloth-makers--who had occupied him some time, for he did not hurry +himself--Charles of Montsoreau dismissed them; and turning to his +visiter said, "Now, sir, may I have the happiness of knowing your +business with me?" + +"Sir," replied the other, rising and speaking in a low and +confidential tone, "my name is Nicolas Poulain. I am Lieutenant of the +Prevot de l'Isle." + +He stopped short at this announcement; and the Count, after waiting a +moment for something more, replied somewhat angrily, "Well, sir, I am +very happy to hear it. I hope the office suits Nicolas Poulain, and +Nicolas Poulain suits the office." + +A slight redness came into the man's face, rendering it a shade deeper +than it ordinarily was; but finding it necessary to reply, as the +Count, without sitting down, remained looking him stedfastly in the +face, he answered, "I thought, sir,--indeed I took it for granted, +sir, that you might have some communication for me from the Duke of +Guise." + +"None whatever, sir," replied the young Count drily. "Have you any +thing to tell me, Monsieur Nicolas Poulain, on the part of his +Highness?" + +"No, sir, no," replied the other, attempting to assume an air of +spirit which did not become him. "If you have not seen him more lately +than I have, I am misinformed." + +"And pray, my good sir," demanded the Count, "who was it that took the +trouble of informing you of any thing regarding me?" + +"That question is soon answered, sir," replied Nicolas Poulain, +"though you seem to make so much difficulty in regard to answering +mine. The person who informed me of your arrival was good Master +Chapelle Marteau, who saw you last night at the gates when you +entered." + +The name immediately struck the young Count as the same with one of +those written on the letters which the Duke of Guise had given him to +be used in case of need; but feeling how necessary it was to deal +carefully with any of the faction of the Sixteen, to which both +Chapelle Marteau and Nicolas Poulain belonged, he determined to say +not one word upon the subject of his mission to any one. Much less, +indeed, was he inclined to do so in the case of Nicolas Poulain, in +whose face nature had stamped deceit and roguery in such legible +characters, that the young Count, had he been forced to trust him with +any secret, would have felt sure that the whole would be betrayed +within an hour. All, then, that he replied to Master Nicolas Poulain +was, that though he knew well the personage he mentioned by name, he +had not the pleasure of his personal acquaintance. + +The answers were so short, the tone and manner so dry, that the worthy +citizen found it expedient to make his retreat; and taking a short and +unceremonious leave of one who had given him so cool a reception, he +left the Count's apartments, and descended the stairs. The moment he +was gone, some suspicion, which crossed the young cavalier's mind +suddenly, made him call the page, and bid him follow his late visiter +till he marked the house which Master Nicolas entered, taking care to +remember the way back. + +The boy set off without a word, and returned in less than half an +hour, informing the young Count that he had tracked Master Nicolas +Poulain into a large house, which, on inquiry, he found to be the +private dwelling of the Lord of Villequier. + +"The Duke is betrayed by some of these leaguers,--that is clear +enough!" thought the young Count. "I have heard that many of his best +enterprises have been frustrated by some unknown means. Who is there +on earth that one can trust?" And leaning his head upon his hand he +fell into deep thought, for to him the question of whom he could trust +was at that moment one, not only entirely new, but one of deep and +vital importance also. In his journey to Paris he had two great and +all-important objects before him. To find out his brother, and, if +possible, to persuade him to change a course of conduct which he felt +to be dishonourable to himself and to his house, was one of these +objects; and he doubted not that--if he could fully explain, and make +the Marquis comprehend, his own conduct and his purposes--if he could +show him that his only chance of obtaining the hand of Marie de +Clairvaut was by attaching himself to the House of Guise, and that he +had not a brother's rivalry to fear--Gaspar de Montsoreau might be +induced to return to the party he had quitted, and not finally to +commit himself to conduct so little to his own interest as that which +he was pursuing. + +The other object, however, was much more important even than that, to +the heart of Charles of Montsoreau; and the feelings which were +connected with it--as so often happens with the feelings which affect +every one in human life--were sadly at variance with other purposes. +That object was to discover and guide to the court of the Duke of +Guise, her whom he himself loved best on all the earth; to free her +from the hands of the base and dangerous people into whose power she +had fallen, and to leave her in security, if not in happiness. + +When he thought of seeing her again,--when he thought of passing days +with her on the journey, of being her guide, her protector, her +companion, the overpowering longing and thirst for such a joyful time +shook and agitated him, made his heart thrill and his brain reel; and, +bending down his face upon his hands, he gave himself up for a long +time to whirling dreams of happiness. But then again he asked himself +if, after such hours, he could ever quit her; if--following the firm +purpose with which he had left Montsoreau--he could resist all +temptation to seek her love further, and after plunging into the +contentions of the day could dedicate his sword and his life, as he +had intended, to warfare against the infidels in the order of St. +John? There was a great struggle in his mind when he asked himself the +question--a great and terrible struggle; but at length he answered it +in the affirmative. "Yes," he said; "yes, I can do so!" But there was +a condition attached to that decision. "I can do so," he said, "if I +find that there is a chance of her wedding him; if I find that, in +reality and truth, the first bright hopes I entertained were indeed +fallacious." + +To say the truth, doubts had come over his mind as to whether he had +construed Marie de Clairvaut's conduct rightly. Those doubts had been +instilled into his imagination by the words of the Duke of Guise. +Fancy lingered round them: shall we say that Hope, too, played +with them? If she did so, it was against his will; for he was in +that sad and painful situation where hope, reproved by the highest +feelings of the heart, dare scarcely point to the objects of desire. +Terrible--terrible is that situation where Virtue, or Honour, or +Generosity bind down imagination, silence even hope, and shut against +us the gates of that paradise we see, but must not enter. These, +indeed, are the angels with the flaming swords. + +Charles of Montsoreau would not suffer himself to hope any thing that +might make his brother's misery; but yet fancy would conjure up bright +dreams; and knowing and feeling that if those dreams were realised, a +complete change must come over his actions and his conduct, he saw +that it would be needful to use guarded language to his brother,--or +rather to use only the guard of perfect frankness. He resolved, then, +to tell him fully his purposes, but to tell him at the same time the +conditions under which those circumstances were to be executed. + +As he pondered, however, and thought over the changed demeanour of his +brother, over the fiery impetuosity and impatience of his whole temper +and conduct, he remembered that it might be with difficulty that he +could obtain a hearing for a sufficient length of time to explain +himself fully, and he consequently determined to write clearly and +explicitly, so that there might be no error or mistake whatever, and +that his conduct might remain clear and undoubted; and sitting down at +once, he did as he proposed, that he might have the letter ready to +send or to deliver as soon as he discovered where his brother was. + +The epistle was short, but it was distinct. He referred boldly and +directly to his conversation with the Abbe de Boisguerin; he explained +his conduct since; and he told his decided and unchangeable purpose of +seeking in no way the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, unless he had +reason to believe that the deep attachment which he felt and +acknowledged towards her were already returned. He ended by exhorting +his brother to do that which his pledges and professions to the Duke +of Guise had bound him to do, to guide back Mademoiselle de Clairvaut +himself to the protection of her uncle, and to avert the necessity of +his seeking her and conducting her to Soissons. + +In thus letting his thoughts flow on in collateral channels from +subject to subject, he had deviated from the original object of his +contemplations, which was, the method to be pursued for instituting +private inquiries throughout the city, in regard to the arrival, both +of his brother and Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. Unacquainted with any +persons in Paris, he knew not how to set on foot the inquiry; and his +mind had just reverted to the subject, which appeared more and more +embarrassing each time he thought of it, when he was informed, with an +air of great importance, by the host, that Monsieur Chapelle Marteau +demanded humbly to have the honour of paying him his respects. + +The Count ordered him instantly to be ushered in; and, during the +brief moment that intervened before he appeared, considered hastily, +whether he should employ this personage in any way in making the +inquiries that were necessary. He knew that he was highly esteemed by +the Duke of Guise; but yet it was evident that, by some of the members +of, or the followers of, the League in Paris, the Duke was himself +entirely deceived; and yet Charles of Montsoreau was more inclined to +trust this man's sincerity than that of the person who had left him +some short time before, inasmuch as the Duke had addressed one of the +private letters we have before mentioned to him, while he had never +named the other. The countenance and appearance of Chapelle Marteau +confirmed any prepossession in his favour. It was quick, and +intelligent, and frank, though somewhat stern; and he had moreover the +air and bearing of a man in the higher ranks of life, although he held +but an office which was then considered inferior, that of one of the +Masters in the Chamber of Accounts. + +"I come, sir," he said, as soon as the first civilities were over, "to +ask your pardon for some quickness on my part in refusing you +admittance at the gates last night. The fact is, that bad-intentioned +people have been endeavouring to introduce into the city of Paris, +under the King's name, a multitude of soldiery, in twos and threes, +for the purpose of overawing us in the pursuit of our rights and +liberties." + +"Say no more, say no more, Monsieur Chapelle," said the Count; "I +doubt not you had very good reasons for what you did." + +He then paused, leaving his companion to pursue the subject as he +might think fit; and the leaguer seemed somewhat embarrassed as to how +he should proceed, though his embarrassment showed itself in a +different manner from that of Master Nicolas Poulain. At length he +said, "I entertained some hope, sir, that you might bring me a +communication from the Duke of Guise, as, when I had the honour of +seeing him at Gonesse three days ago, he gave me the hope that he +would write to me ere long." + +"No, Monsieur Chapelle," replied the Count deliberately; "I have no +message for you. His Highness directed me indeed to apply to you in +case of need; and I know that he has the highest esteem for you, +believing you to be a zealous defender of our holy faith, and a man +well worthy of every consideration;--but I have no present message to +you from the Duke; and the case in which it may be necessary to apply +to you for assistance, according to his Highness's direction, has not +yet arrived." + +"Most delighted shall I be, my Lord[3] Count," replied the leaguer, +"to afford you any aid or assistance or council in my power, both on +account of his Highness the Duke of Guise and on your own. Might I ask +what is the case foreseen, in which you are to apply to me?" + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 3: The word Monseigneur, my Lord, which in the days of Louis +XIV. had become restricted to a very few high dignitaries, or only +given to other noblemen by their own servants and tenantry, was in the +reign of Henry III. commonly used to all high noblemen, and we find +constantly titles addressed _A mon tres illustre et tres honore +Seigneur le Marquis_; or, _A l'illustre Seigneur, Monseigneur le Comte +de_ ----.] + +--------------------- + + +The Count smiled. "In case, Monsieur Chapelle," he said, "that I do +not succeed in objects which the Duke has entrusted to me by other +means, you shall know. At present, however, I have had no opportunity +of ascertaining what may be necessary to be done, finding that the +King is at Vincennes. In the mean time I am employing myself about +some personal business of my own, which I am afraid is likely to give +me trouble." + +He spoke quite calmly; but a look of intelligence came immediately +over the countenance of Chapelle Marteau, and he said, "Perhaps I +might be enabled to assist your Lordship. My knowledge of Paris, and +all that is transacted therein, is very extensive." + +"You are very kind," replied the Count, "and I take advantage of your +offer with the greatest pleasure. The matter is a very simple one. My +elder brother, the Marquis de Montsoreau, set out some time ago to +join the Duke of Guise, having under his charge and escort a young +lady, named Mademoiselle de Clairvaut." + +"Daughter of the Duke of Guise's niece," said Chapelle Marteau with +some emphasis. + +"I believe that is the relationship," answered the young nobleman. +"But, however, the facts are these: I have reason to believe that my +brother was interrupted in his journey by the attack of a party of +reiters, and was obliged in consequence to put himself and +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut under the protection of a body of the King's +troops coming to Paris. Now, my wish is, to ascertain whether he or +any of his party, either separately or together, are now in Paris, and +where they are to be found." + +The leaguer gazed in his face for a minute or two with an inquiring +look, and then replied, "I can tell you at once, my Lord, that no +considerable party whatever has entered the gates of Paris under the +protection of the King's troops for the last ten days, no party of +even ten in number having the ensigns of Valois having appeared during +that time. But the party you mention may have come in by themselves +without the King's troops; and I rather suspect that they have so +done. However, I will let you know the exact particulars within four +and twenty hours from this moment, and every other information that I +can by any means glean regarding the persons you speak of; for I very +well understand, my Lord, that there may be more intelligence required +about them than you choose to ask for at once." + +The young Count smiled again, but merely replied, "Any information +that you can obtain for me, Monsieur Chapelle, will be received by me +most gratefully; and in the mean time will you do me the honour of +partaking my poor dinner which is about to be served?" + +The leaguer, however, declined the high honour, alleging important +business as his excuse; and, after having dined, the young Count rode +out through the streets of Paris, endeavouring to make himself +somewhat familiar with them, and feeling all those sensations which +the sight of that great capital might well produce on one who had +never beheld it before. On those sensations, however, we must not +pause, as matters of more importance are before us. A couple of hours +after nightfall he received a note to the following effect:-- + +"The Marquis de Montsoreau, with a body of horsemen, bearing no +badge or ensign, entered Paris yesterday at about four o'clock, and +lodged at the Fleur-de-lis. He is not there now, however, and is +supposed to have quitted Paris. Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is not known +to have entered the capital; but a carriage, containing ladies and +waiting-women, was escorted to Vincennes this morning by a body of +troops of Valois. The name of one of the ladies was ascertained to be +the Marquise de Saulny." + +Charles of Montsoreau received these tidings with a beating heart, and +sleep did not visit his eyelids till the clock of a neighbouring +church had struck five in the morning. + + + + + CHAP. IV. + + +Dark heavy clouds hung over the world, and totally obscured the face +of the sky; the morning was chill, the air keen, and the eye of the +peasant was often turned up towards the leaden-looking masses of +vapour above his head, as if to inquire whether their stores would be +poured forth in lightning or in snow; and as Charles of Montsoreau +rode on through the park to the Donjon of Vincennes, he felt the +gloomy aspect of the whole scene more than he might have done at any +other time. + +There, before his eyes, with the whole face of nature harmonising well +with its dark and frowning aspect, rose the grey gigantic keep, which +the vanquished opponent of Edward III., the rash and half-insane +founder of the race of Valois, erected at an early period of his +melancholy reign. Story above story, the large quadrangular mass, with +its flanking towers, rose up till it seemed to touch the gloomy sky +above; but in those days it had at least the beauty of harmony, for no +one had added to the harsh and solemn features of the feudal +architecture the gewgaw ornaments of a later age. The gallery of Marie +de Medici was not built, and nothing was seen but the antique form of +the Donjon itself, with the mass of walls surrounding its base with +their flanking turrets, a pinnacle or two rising above--as if from +some low Gothic building within the walls--and the still dark fosse +surrounding the whole. + +We form but a faint idea to ourselves--a very very faint idea of the +manners and customs of feudal times; but still less, perhaps, can we +form any just idea of the every-day enormities, crimes, and vices, +that were committed at the period we now speak of, and of what it was +to live familiarly in the midst of such scenes, and to hear daily of +such occurrences. The mind of most men got hardened, callous, or +indifferent to acts of darkness and of shame, even if they did not +commit them themselves; and the world of Paris heard with scarcely an +emotion that this nobleman had been poisoned by another--that the hand +of the assassin had delivered one high lord of this troublesome friend +or that pertinacious enemy--that the husband had "drugged the posset" +for the wife, or the wife for the husband--or that persons obnoxiously +wise or virtuous disappeared within the walls of such places as +Vincennes, and passed suddenly with their good acts into that oblivion +which is the general recompense of all that is excellent upon earth. +No one noted such deeds; the sword of justice started from the +scabbard once or twice in a century, but that was all; and the world +laughed as merrily--the jest and the repartee went on--sport, love, +and folly revelled as gaily through the streets of Paris, as if it had +been a world of gentleness, and security, and peace. + +Though of course Charles of Montsoreau felt in some degree the spirit +of the day--though he thought it nothing at all extraordinary to be +attacked by reiters in his own chateau, or stopped by fifty or sixty +plunderers on the broad highway--though it seemed perfectly natural to +him that man should live as in a state of continual warfare, always on +his defence, yet the whole of his previous life having passed far from +the daily occurrence of still more revolting scenes, in spots where +calm nature and God's handiwork were still at hand to purify and heal +men's thoughts, he had very different feelings in regard to the events +and customs of the day from those which were generally entertained by +the people of the metropolis. Thus, when he gazed up at the gloomy +tower of Vincennes, and thought of the deeds which had been committed +within its walls, together with the crimes and follies that were daily +there enacted, a feeling of mingled horror and disgust took possession +of his bosom; and had he not been impelled by a sense of duty, he +would not have set his foot upon the threshold of those polluted +gates. + +The order to appear before the King at Vincennes had been communicated +to him early in the morning, and notice of his coming had been given +to the officers at the gates of the castle. He was punctual to a +moment at the appointed time, and was instantly led into the chateau, +and conducted up a long, darksome, winding stone staircase in one of +the towers. Everything took place almost in silence; few persons were +to be seen moving about in the building; and, while winding up those +stairs, nothing was heard but the footfalls of himself and the +attendant who conducted him. + +Charles of Montsoreau certainly felt neither awe nor fear as he thus +advanced, though some of the warnings of the Duke of Guise might cross +his mind at the moment; but at the end of what seemed to be the first +story, the attendant said, "Wait a moment;" and, pushing open a door, +entered a room to the right. There was another door beyond, but both +were left partly unclosed, and the previous silence was certainly no +longer to be complained of, for such a jabbering, and screaming, and +yelling, and howling, as was now heard, was probably never known in +the palace of a king, before or since. + +Human sounds they seemed certainly not to be, and yet words in various +languages were to be distinguished, so that conjecture was quite put +at fault, till after an absence of several minutes the attendant +returned, and, bidding the young nobleman follow him, led the way once +more into this den of noise and confusion. + +The scene that then burst upon the eyes of Charles of Montsoreau was +as curious as can well be conceived. Innumerable parrots, macaws, and +cockatoos were ranged on perches and in cages along the sides of a +large apartment, with intervals of monkeys and apes rattling their +chains, springing forward at every object near them, mouthing, +chattering, and writhing themselves into fantastic forms; six or seven +small beautiful dogs of a peculiar breed were running about on the +floor, snarling at one another, barking at the stranger, or teazing +the other animals in the same room with themselves; baskets filled +with litters of puppies were in every corner of the room; and several +men and women were engaged in tending the winged and quadruped +favourites of the King. Not only, however, were the regular attendants +present, but, as one of the known ways to Henry's regard, a great +number of other persons were always to be found busily engaged in +tending the monkeys, parrots, and dogs. Amongst the rest here present, +were no less than five dwarfs, four others being in actual attendance +upon the King. None were above three feet and a half in height, and +some were deformed and distorted in the most fearful manner, while one +was perfectly and beautifully formed, and seemed to hold the others in +great contempt. The voices of almost all of them, however, were +cracked and screaming; and it was the sounds of their tongues, mingled +with the yelping of the dogs, the chattering of the monkeys, and the +various words repeated in different languages by the loquacious birds +along the wall, which had made the Babel of sounds that reached the +ears of Charles of Montsoreau while he stood without. + +Passing through this room, with the envious eyes of the dwarfs staring +upon his fine figure, the young Count entered the chamber of the +pages--where, as if for the sake of contrast, a number of beautiful +youths were seen--and was thence led on into the royal apartments, in +which every thing was calm splendour and magnificence. Here and there +various officers of the royal household were found lounging away the +idle hours as they waited for the King's commands; and at length, in +an ante-room, the young Count was bade to wait again, while the +attendant once more notified his coming to the King. He was scarcely +detained a moment now, however; but, the door being opened, he was +ushered into the monarch's presence. + +Henry on the present occasion presented an aspect different from that +which the young Count had expected to behold. The Monarch had +recalled, for a moment or two, the princely and commanding air of his +youth, and received the young Count with dignity and grace. His person +was handsome, his figure fine, and his dress in the most exquisite +taste that it was possible to conceive. It was neither so effeminate +nor so overcharged with ornament as it sometimes was; and the black +velvet slashed and laced with gold, the toque with a single large +diamond on his head, the long snowy-white ostrich feather, and the +collar of one or two high orders round his neck, became him well, and +harmonised with the air of dignity he assumed. + +There were two or three gentlemen who stood around him more gaudily +dressed than himself, and amongst them was the Duke of Epernon, whom +Charles of Montsoreau remembered to have seen at his father's chateau +some years before. All, however, held back so as to allow the monarch +a full view of the young cavalier, as he advanced. + +"You are welcome to Vincennes, Monsieur de Logeres," said the King. +"Our noble and princely cousin of Guise has notified to us that he has +sent you to Paris on business of importance; and, having given you +that praise which we are sure you must merit, has besought us to put +every sort of trust and confidence in you, and to listen to you as to +himself, while you speak with us upon the affairs which have brought +you hither. We beseech you, therefore, to inform us of that which he +has left dark, and tell us how we may pleasure our fair cousin, which +is always our first inclination to do--the good of our state and the +welfare of our subjects considered." + +"His Highness the Duke of Guise, Sire," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +not in the slightest degree abashed by the many eyes that were fixed +upon him, scrutinising his person and his dress in the most +unceremonious manner, "his Highness the Duke of Guise, Sire, has sent +me to your Majesty, to ask information regarding a young lady, his +near relation, who, he has reason to believe, was protected by a body +of your Majesty's troops in a situation of some difficulty, for which +protection the Duke is most grateful. She was then, he understood, +conducted to this your Majesty's castle of Vincennes, doubtless for +the purpose of affording her a safe asylum till you could restore her +to his Highness, who is her guardian." + +Henry turned with a sneering smile towards a dark but handsome man, +with a somewhat sinister expression of countenance, on his left hand, +saying, in an under tone, "Quick travelling, Villequier! to Soissons +and back to Paris in four and twenty hours, ha! Had the swallow ever +wings like rumour?" + +This was said affectedly aside, but quite loud enough for the young +nobleman to hear the whole. He, of course, made no reply, as the words +were not addressed to him; but waited, with his eyes bent down, +apparently in thoughtful meditation, till the King should give him his +answer. + +"You have given us, Monsieur le Comte de Logeres," said the King, "but +a faint idea of this business; and, as unhappily the commanders of our +troops are but too little accustomed to afford us any very full +account of their proceedings, we are ignorant of the occasion on which +any one of them rendered this service to the young lady you mention." + +This affected unconsciousness, displayed absolutely in conjunction +with a scarcely concealed knowledge of the whole affair, Charles of +Montsoreau felt to be trifling and insulting: but he lost not his +reverence for the kingly authority; and he replied, with every +appearance of deference, "I had imagined, Sire, that the quick wings +of rumour must have carried the whole particulars to your Majesty, +otherwise I should have been more particular in my account. The +service was rendered to the young lady very lately, between Jouarre +and Gandelu. I am not absolutely aware of the name of the officer in +command of the troops at the time, but one gentleman present bore the +name of Colombel." + +"And pray what was the name of the young lady herself?" demanded the +King, with a sneer. "The Duke of Guise has many she relations, as we +sometimes find to our cost. It could not be our pretty, mild, and +virtuous friend, the Duchess of Montpensier, nor the delicate and +fair-favoured Mademoiselle de St. Beuve; for the one is staying in +Paris in disobedience to the orders of the King, and the other is +remaining there, waiting for the tender consolations of the Chevalier +d'Aumale." + +The young Count turned somewhat red, both at the coarseness and the +scornfulness of the King's reply. "The young lady," he answered, +however, still keeping the same tone, "is named Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, daughter of the late Count de Clairvaut." + +"Your first cousin, Villequier," said the King, turning to his +minister. "You should know something of this affair?" + +"Not more than your Majesty," replied Villequier, bowing low, and +perceiving very clearly that Henry had maliciously wished to embarrass +him. + +The King smiled at the double-meaning answer, and then, turning to the +young Count, replied, "Well, sir, you have fulfilled your mission, and +may tell the Duke of Guise, our true and well-beloved cousin, that we +will cause immediate inquiry and investigation to be made into the +whole affair; and let him know the particulars as soon as we are +sufficiently well-informed to speak upon it with that accuracy which +becomes our character. You may retire." + +This was of course not the conclusion of the affair to which Charles +of Montsoreau was inclined to submit; and it was evident to him that +the King and his minions presumed upon his apparent youth and +inexperience. But there was a firm decision in his character which +they were not prepared for; and after pausing for a moment in thought, +during which time the King's brows began to bend angrily upon him, he +raised his eyes, looking Henry calmly and stedfastly in the face, and +replying, "Your Majesty must pardon me if I do not take instant +advantage of your permission to retire, as you have conceived a false +impression when you imagine that my mission is fulfilled." + +The King looked with an air of astonishment, first to Epernon and then +to Villequier: but the former turned away his head with a look of +dissatisfaction; while the latter bit his lip, let his hand fall upon +a jewelled dagger in his belt, and said nothing. + +Charles of Montsoreau, however, went on in the same calm but +determined tone. "His Highness the Duke of Guise," he said, "directed +me to inform your Majesty of the facts I have mentioned, and to beg in +general terms information regarding them; but in case the general +information that I obtained was not sufficiently accurate to enable me +to write to him distinctly that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is in this +place, or in that place, he further directed me humbly to request that +your Majesty would answer in plain terms the following plain +questions:--Is Mademoiselle de Clairvaut in the chateau of Vincennes? +Is she under the charge and protection of your Majesty? Does your +Majesty know where she is?" + +"By the Lord that lives," exclaimed Henry, "this Duke of Guise chooses +himself bold ambassadors to his King!" + +"Do you dare, malapert boy," exclaimed Villequier, "with that bold +brow, to cross-question your sovereign?" + +"I do dare, sir," answered Charles of Montsoreau, "to ask my +sovereign, in the name of the Duke of Guise, these plain questions, +which, as he is a just and noble monarch, he can neither find any +difficulty in answering, nor feel any anger in hearing." + +"And what if I refuse to answer, sir?" demanded the King. "What is to +be the consequence then? Is the doughty messenger charged to make a +declaration of war on the part of our obedient subject, the Duke of +Guise?" + +The young Count was not prepared for this question, and hesitated how +to answer it, though a full knowledge of how terrible the Duke of +Guise was to the weak and effeminate monarch he addressed, brought a +smile over his countenance, which had in reality more effect than any +words he could have spoken. After a pause, however, he replied,--"Oh +no, Sire. The Duke of Guise is, as you say, your Majesty's most +devoted and obedient subject; and never conceiving it possible that +you would refuse to answer his humble questions, he gave me no +instructions what to say in a case that he did not foresee. I can only +suppose," he added, with a low and reverent bow to the King, "that the +Duke will be obliged to come to Paris himself to make those inquiries +and investigations, concerning his young relation, in which I have not +been successful." + +Charles of Montsoreau could see, notwithstanding the paint, which +delicately furnished the King with a more stable complexion than his +own, that at the very thought of the Duke of Guise coming to Paris the +weak monarch turned deadly pale. The same signs also were visible to +Villequier, who whispered, "No fear, Sire; no fear; he will not come!" + +The King answered sharply, however, and sufficiently loud for the +young nobleman to hear, "We must give him no excuse, Rene! we must +give him no excuse! Monsieur de Logeres," he continued, putting on a +more placable air than before, "we are glad to find that neither the +Duke of Guise nor his envoy presumes to threaten us; and in +consideration of the questions being put in a proper manner, we are +willing to answer them to the best of our abilities." + +Villequier, at these words, laid his hand gently upon the King's +cloak; but Henry twitched it away from his grasp with an air of +impatience, and continued, "I shall therefore answer you frankly and +freely, young gentleman; telling you that the Lady whom you are sent +to seek is in fact not at Vincennes; nor, to the best of our knowledge +and belief, in our good city of Paris; neither do we know or have any +correct information of where she may be found, though it is not by any +means to be denied that she has visited this our castle of Vincennes." + +The first part of the King's speech had considerably relieved the mind +of Villequier; but when he proceeded to make the somewhat unnecessary +admission, that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut had visited Vincennes, the +minister again attempted to interrupt the King, saying, "You know, +Sire, her pause at Vincennes was merely momentary, and absolutely +necessary for those passports and safeguards without which it might be +dangerous to travel, in the distracted state of the country." + +"Perfectly true," replied Henry: but the King's apprehension of the +Duke of Guise appearing in Paris was much stronger than his respect +for his minister's opinion; and he proceeded with what he had to say, +in spite of every sign or hint that could be given him. + +"You must know, Monsieur de Logeres," he said, "that, as I before +observed, she did visit Vincennes for a brief space; but, there being +something embarrassing in the whole business, we were, to say the +truth--albeit not insensible to beauty--we were not at all sorry to +see her depart." + +Although Charles of Montsoreau judged rightly that the abode of +Vincennes, to the high and pure-minded girl whom he sought, could only +have been one of horror, he could not conceive any thing in her +situation which should have proved embarrassing to the King, and he +answered bluntly, "Then your Majesty of course has caused her to be +escorted in safety to the Duke of Guise, as the means of relieving +yourself from all embarrassment concerning her." + +"Not so, not so, Monsieur de Logeres," replied the King. "Young +diplomatists and young greyhounds run fast and overleap the game. It +so happens that there are various claims regarding the wardship of +this young Lady. She has many relations, as near or nearer than the +Duke of Guise. The care and guidance of her, too, under the +authorisation of the Duke himself, has been claimed by a young +nobleman whom you may have heard of, called the Marquis of +Montsoreau;" and he fixed his eyes meaningly upon the young Count's +face. "All these circumstances rendered the matter embarrassing; and +as I was not called upon to decide the matter judicially; and the +Lady, if not quite of an age by law to judge for herself, being very +nearly so, I thought it far better to leave the whole business to her +own discretion, and let her take what course she thought fit, offering +her every assistance and protection in my power, which, however, she +declined. You may therefore assure the Duke of Guise, on my part, that +she is not at Vincennes, and that I am unacquainted with where she is +at this moment. I now think, therefore, that all your questions are +answered, and the business is at an end." + +"I fear I must intrude upon your Majesty still farther," replied the +young Count; "for besides the letter from the Duke of Guise, which I +have had the honour of delivering to your Majesty, he has also +furnished me with this document, giving me full power and authority to +inquire, seek for, and require, at the hands of any person in whose +power she may be, the young Lady whom he claims as his ward. He has +directed me to request your Majesty's approbation of the same, +expressed by your signature to that effect, giving me authority to +search for her in your name also, and to require the aid and +assistance of all your officers, civil and military, in executing the +said task." + +Henry looked both agitated and angry; and Villequier spoke for a +moment to Epernon behind the King's back. + +"Monsieur de Logeres," exclaimed the latter, taking a step forward, +"this is too much. I can hardly suppose that his Highness the Duke of +Guise has authorised you to make such a demand." + +"My Lord Duke of Epernon," replied the Count, "were it not that I hold +in my hand the Duke's authority for that which I state, I would call +upon you to put your insinuation in plainer terms, that I might give +it the lie as plainly as I would do any other unjust accusation." + +The Duke turned very red; but he replied, "And you would be treated, +sir Count, as a petty boy of the low nobility of this realm deserves, +for using such language to one so much above yourself." + +"There is no one in France so much above myself, sir," replied the +Count, gazing on him sternly, and with a look of some contempt, "as to +dare to insult me with impunity; and though you be now High-admiral of +France, Colonel-general of Infantry, Governor of half the provinces of +this country, Duke, Peer, and hold many another rich and honourable +office besides, I tell you, John of Nogaret, that when the Baron de +Caumont dined at my father's table, he sat nearer the salt than +perhaps now may suit the proud Duke of Epernon to remember." + +"Silence!" exclaimed the King, rousing himself for a moment from his +effeminate apathy, while, for a brief space, an expression of power +and dignity came over his countenance, such as that which had +distinguished him while Duke of Anjou. "Silence, insolent boy! +Silence, Epernon! I forbid you, on pain of my utmost displeasure, to +take notice, even by a word, of what this young man has said. You were +yourself wrong to answer for the King in the King's presence. The Duke +of Guise shall have no just occasion to complain of us," he added, the +brightness which had come upon him gradually dying away like the false +promising gleam of sunshine which sometimes breaks for a moment +through a rainy autumnal day, and fades away again as soon, amidst the +dull grey clouds; "the Duke of Guise shall have no occasion to +complain of us. We will give this young man the authority which he has +so insolently demanded, to seek for Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, and +having found her--if she have not joined the Duke of Guise long +before--to escort her in safety to our cousin's care. But, Monsieur de +Logeres, you show your ignorance of every custom of the court and +state, by supposing that the King of France can write down at the +bottom of the powers given you by the Duke of Guise his name in +confirmation of the same, like a steward at the bottom of a butcher's +bill. The authority which we give you must pass through the office of +our secretary of state, and it shall be drawn out and sent to you as +speedily as possible. I think that Monsieur de Villequier already +knows where to send this authority. You may now retire; and rest +assured that it shall reach you as soon as possible. At the same time +we pardon you for your conduct in this presence, which much needs +pardon, though it does not merit it." + +Charles of Montsoreau bowed low, and retired from the King's presence, +fully convinced that Henry was deceiving him; that he knew, or, at all +events, had every means of judging, where Marie de Clairvaut was; and +that he had not the slightest intention of sending him the +authorisation he had promised, unless absolutely driven to do so. + +The moment that the young Count had quitted the presence, the King +turned angrily to Villequier, exclaiming, "Are you mad, Villequier, to +risk bringing that fiery and ambitious pest upon us? 'Tis but four +days ago he was within ten miles of Paris!" + +"Pshaw, Sire!" replied Villequier; "there is not the slightest chance +of his coming. Did I not tell you when he was at Gonesse that I would +find means to make him run like a frightened hare back again to +Soissons? I fear your Majesty has ruined all our plans by promising +this authority to that malapert youth, who doubtless already knows, or +easily divines, that he is deceived." + +"I have not deceived him," said the King: "I told him the girl was not +at Vincennes; nor is she. I told him that I did not know where she is +at this moment; nor do I; for she may be three miles on this side of +Meulan, or three miles on that, for aught I know. It depends upon the +quickness of the horses, and the state of the roads. I promised him +the authority to seek her; and he shall have it in good due form, if +he live long enough, and wait in Paris a sufficient time." + +"If he have it not within three days," replied Villequier, "be you +sure, Sire, that he will write to the Duke of Guise." + +"But, Villequier," said the King in a soft tone, "could you not find +means to prevent his making use of pen and ink to such bad purposes? +In short, friend Rene, it is altogether your affair. You seem to think +that the fact of this girl falling into our hands is quite the +discovery of a treasure which may fix on our side this young Marquis +of Montsoreau and the crafty Abbe that you talk of, and I don't know +how many more people besides. Now I told you from the beginning that +you should manage it all yourself: so look to it, good Villequier; +look to it." + +"He has let me manage it all myself, truly!" said Villequier, in a low +tone, "But I wish to know more precisely, your Majesty," he added +aloud, "what am I to do with this youth and the girl? Is he to have +the authorisation, or not? Am I, or am I not, to give her up when he +demands her?" + +"Now, good faith," replied the King, "would not one think, Epernon, +that our well-beloved friend and minister here was a mere novice out +of a convent of young girls, a tender and scrupulous little thing, +thinking evil, in every stray look or soft word addressed to her. He +who has dealt with so many in his day, diplomatists and warriors and +statesmen, has not wit enough to deal with a raw boy, whom, doubtless, +our fair and crafty cousin of Guise has sent upon a fool's errand to +get him out of the way." + +"Certainly," replied the Duke of Epernon, "our wise friend Villequier +seems to be somewhat prudent and cautious this morning. The young lady +is in your hands, I think, Villequier; is she not? and you have sent +her off into Normandy, I think you told me, with an escort of fifty of +your archers. She goes there, doubtless, as his Majesty has said, with +her own will and consent, and by her own choice, for there is a soft +persuasiveness in fifty archers which it is very difficult for a +woman's heart to resist; and, doubtless, by the same cogent arguments, +you will induce her to marry whom you please. Come, tell us who it is +to be; the hand of a rich heiress to dispose of, may be made a +profitable thing, under such management as yours, Villequier." + +"I have not discovered the philosopher's stone, like you, Monsieur +d'Epernon," replied the other. + +The King laughed gaily, for Epernon's extraordinary cupidity was no +secret even to the monarch that fed it. But the Duke was proof to all +jest upon that score; and looking at Villequier with the same sort of +musing expression which he had before borne, he repeated his question, +saying, "Come, come, disinterested chevalier, tell us to whom do you +intend to give her?" + +"Perhaps to my own nephew," replied the other. "What think you of +that, Monsieur le Duc?" + +The brow of Epernon grew clouded in a moment. "I think," he said, +"that you will not do it, for two reasons: in the first place, you +destine your nephew for your daughter Charlotte." + +"Not I," replied the Marquis; "I never dreamt of such a thing. She +shall wed higher than that, or not at all. But what is your second +reason, Monsieur d'Epernon?" + +"Because you dare not," replied the Duc d'Epernon: and he added, +speaking in a low tone, "You dare not, Villequier, mingle your race +with that of Guise. The moment you do, your object will be clear, and +your ruin certain." + +"It is a curious thing, Sire," said Villequier, turning to the King +with a smile, "it is a curious thing to see how my good Lord of +Epernon grudges any little advantage to us mean men. However, to set +his Grace's mind at ease, I neither destine Mademoiselle de Clairvaut +for one nor for the other; but I think she may prove a wonderful good +bait for the wild young Marquis of Montsoreau. By the promise of her +hand, as far as my interest and influence is concerned, he will not +only be bound to your Majesty's cause on every occasion, but will +exert himself more zealously and potently for that, than any other +inducement could lead him to do. Even if he should fail in the +trial--for we must acknowledge that he shows himself somewhat unstable +in his purposes--he will, at all events, have so far committed himself +as to give your Majesty good cause for confiscating all his land, +cutting down all his timber, and seizing upon all his wealth. However, +I must think, in the first place, of how to deal with this brother of +his." + +"No very difficult task, I should judge," said the Duke of Epernon, +"for one so practised in the art of catching gudgeons as you, +Villequier." + +"I don't know that," answered Villequier; "I would fain detach that +youth, also, from the Guises. You see, most noble Duke, I am thinking +of the King's interest all the time, while you are thinking of your +own. However, I must find a way to manage him, for, as their wonderful +friend and tutor, this wise Abbe de Boisguerin, admitted to me last +night, there are three means all powerful in dealing with our +neighbours--love, interest, and ambition; and we might thus exemplify +it,--the King would do any thing for the first, the Duke of Epernon +any thing for the second, and his Highness of Guise any thing for the +third." + +"There are two other implements frequently used, which I wonder +Monsieur de Villequier did not add," said the Duke, "as I rather +expect he may have to use one or other of them on the present +occasion; and men say he is fully as skilful in using them as in +employing love, interest, or ambition, for his ends." + +"Pray what are those?" demanded Villequier, somewhat sharply. + +"Vicenza daggers," replied the Duke of Epernon, "and wine that splits +a Venice glass!" + +"Come, come, Epernon," cried the King, "you and Villequier shall not +quarrel. Come away from him, come away from him, or you will be using +your daggers on each other presently:" and, throwing his arm +familiarly round his neck, he drew the Duke away. + + + + + CHAP. V. + + +Charles of Montsoreau rode homeward in painful and anxious thought: he +had flattered himself vainly, before he had proceeded to Vincennes, +that the redoubted name of Henry of Guise would be found fully +sufficient immediately to cause the restoration of Marie de Clairvaut +to him, who had naturally a right to protect her. It less frequently +happens that youth fails to reckon upon the fiery contention it is +destined to meet with from adversaries, than that it miscalculates the +force of the dull and inert opposition which circumstances continually +offer to its eager course, throwing upon it a heavy, slow, continual +weight, which, like a clog upon a powerful horse, seems but a nothing +for the moment, but in the end checks its speed entirely. None knew +better than Henry III. that it is by casting small obstacles in the +way of impetuous youth, that we conquer and tame it sooner than by +opposing it; and such had been his purpose with Charles of Montsoreau. + +In his idle carelessness he cared but little what became of +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, or into whose hands she fell. He was +willing to countenance and assist the politic schemes of his favourite +Villequier; and cared not, even in the slightest degree, whether that +personage employed poison or the knife to rid himself of the young +Count of Logeres, provided always that he himself had nothing to do +with it. The only part that he was inclined to act was to thwart the +Duke's young envoy by obstacles and long delays; and this he had +suffered to become so far evident to Charles of Montsoreau, that he +became angry and impatient at the very prospect before him. He +doubted, however, whether it would be right to send off a courier with +this intelligence immediately to the Duke of Guise, or to wait for two +or three days, in order to see whether the powers promised him were +effectually granted; and he was still pondering the matter, while +riding through the streets of Paris, when, in passing by a large and +splendid mansion in one of the principal streets, he caught a glimpse +of two figures disappearing through the arched portal of the building. +The faces of neither were visible to him; their figures only for a +moment, and that at a distance. But he felt that he could not be +mistaken--that all the thoughts and feelings and memories of youth +could not so suddenly, so magically, be called up by the sight of any +one but his brother,--and if so, that the other was the Abbe de +Boisguerin. + +"Whose is that house?" he exclaimed aloud, turning to his attendants. + +"That of Monsieur Rene de Villequier," replied the page instantly; +and, springing from his horse at the gate, the young Count knocked +eagerly for admission. The portals were instantly thrown open, and a +porter in crimson, with a broad belt fringed with gold, appeared in +answer to the summons. + +"I think," said the young Count, "that I saw this moment the Marquis +de Montsoreau and the Abbe de Boisguerin pass into this house." + +The porter looked dull, and shook his head, replying, "No, sir; nobody +has passed in here but two of my noble Lord's attendants--the old Abbe +Scargilas, and Master Nicolas Prevot, who used formerly to keep the +Salle d'Armes, opposite the kennel at St. Germain." + +Although Charles of Montsoreau knew the existence and possibility of +such a thing as the lie circumstantial, yet the coolness and readiness +of the porter surprised him. "Pray," he said, after a moment's pause, +"is there any such person as either Monsieur de Montsoreau or the Abbe +de Boisguerin dwelling here at present?" + +"None, sir," replied the man. "There is no one here but the attendants +of my Lord, who is at present absent with the King." + +Charles of Montsoreau would have given a good deal to have searched +the house from top to bottom; but as it would not exactly do to storm +the dwelling of Rene de Villequier, he rode on, no less convinced than +ever that his brother was at that moment in the dwelling of the +minister. + +This conviction determined his conduct at once. That his brother was +in Paris, and in the hands of the most dangerous and intriguing man of +that day, he had no doubt; and it seemed to him also clear, that +schemes were going on and contriving, of which the obstacles and +delays thrown in his way might be, perhaps, a part. To what they +tended he could not, of course, tell directly; but he saw that the +only hope of frustrating them lay in exertion without the loss of a +moment, and he accordingly dispatched his faithful attendant Gondrin +to Soissons as soon as he reached the inn. + +We must follow, however, for a moment, the two persons whom the young +Count had seen enter the hotel of Villequier, and accompany them at +once into the chamber to which they proceeded after passing the +portal. It was a splendid cabinet, filled with every sort of rare and +costly furniture, which was displayed to the greater perfection by the +dark but rich tapestry that covered the walls. Another larger room +opened beyond, and through the door of that again, which was partly +open, a long suite of bed-rooms and other apartments were seen, with +different rich and glittering objects placed here and there along the +perspective, as if for the express purpose of catching the eye. + +Into one of the large arm-chairs which the cabinet contained, the +Marquis of Montsoreau threw himself as if familiar with the scene. +"Villequier is long," he said, speaking to the Abbe. "He promised to +have returned before this hour." + +"Impatience, Gaspar, impatience," replied the Abbe, "is the vice of +your disposition. How much have you lost already by impatience? Was it +not your impatience which hurried me forward to represent his own +situation and that of yourself, to your brother Charles, which drove +him directly to the Duke of Guise? Was it not your impatience which +made you speak words of love to Marie de Clairvaut before she was +prepared to hear them, drawing from her a cold and icy reply? Was it +not your impatience that made us leave behind at Provins all the tired +horses and one half of the men, rather than wait a single day to +enable them to come on with us; and did not that very fact put us +almost at the mercy of the reiters, and give your brother an +opportunity of showing his gallantry and skill at our expense?" + +"It is all true, my friend; it is all true," replied the Marquis. "But +in regard to my speaking those fiery words to Marie de Clairvaut, how +could I help that? Is it possible so to keep down the overflowing +thoughts of our bosom as to prevent their bursting forth when the +stone is taken off from the fountain, and when the feelings of the +heart gush out, not as from the spring of some ordinary river, but, +like the waters of Vaucluse, full, powerful, and abundant even at +their source." + +"It was that I wished you to guard against," replied the Abbe. "Had +you appeared less to seek, you would have been sought rather than +avoided. It may be true, Gaspar, what authors have said, that a woman, +like some animals of the chase, takes a pleasure in being pursued; but +depend upon it, if she do so, she puts forth all her speed to insure +herself against being caught. Unless you are very sure of your own +speed and strength, you had better steal quietly onward, lest you +frighten the deer. Had she heard much from my lips, and from those of +her good but weak friend Madame de Saulny, of your high qualities, and +of all those traits in your nature calculated to captivate and attract +such a being as herself, while you seemed indifferent and somewhat +cool withal, every thing--good that is in her nature would have joined +with every thing that is less good--the love of high qualities and of +manly daring would have combined with vanity and caprice to make her +seek you, excite your attention, and court your love." + +"I have never yet seen in her," said the young Marquis, "either vanity +or caprice; and besides, good friend, such things to me at least are +not matters of mere calculation. I act upon impulses that I cannot +resist. Mine are feelings, not reasonings: I follow where they lead +me, and even in the pursuit acquire intense pleasure that no reasoning +could give." + +"True," replied the Abbe, bending down his head and answering +thoughtfully. "There is a great difference between your age and mine, +Gaspar. You are at the age of passions, and at that period of their +sway when they defeat themselves by their own intensity. I had +thought, however, that my lessons might have taught you, my counsel +might have shown you, that with any great object in view it is +necessary to moderate even passion in the course, in order to succeed +in the end." + +"But there is joy in the course also," exclaimed Gaspar de Montsoreau. +"Think you, Abbe, that even if it were possible to win the woman we +love by another's voice, we could lose the joy of winning her for +ourselves--the great, the transcendant joy of struggling for her +affection, even though it were against her coldness, her indifference, +or her anger?" + +"I think, Gaspar," replied the Abbe, "that if to a heart constituted +as yours is, there be added a mind of equal power, nothing--not even +the strongest self-denial--will be impossible for the object of +winning her you love. But I am not a good judge of such matters," he +continued with a slight smile curling his lip--a smile not altogether +without pride. "I am no judge of such matters. The profession which I +have chosen, and followed to a certain point, excludes them from my +consideration. All I wish to do in the present instance is to warn +you, Gaspar, against your own impetuosity in dealing with this +Villequier. Be warned against that man! be careful! Promise him +nothing; commit yourself absolutely to nothing, unless upon good and +sufficient proof that he too deals sincerely with you. He is not one +to be trusted, Gaspar, even in the slightest of things; and promise me +not to commit yourself with him in any respect whatsoever." + +"Oh, fear not, fear not," replied the Marquis. "In this respect at +least, good friend, no passions hurry me on. Here I can deal calmly +and tranquilly, because, though the end is the same, I have nothing +but art to encounter, which may always be encountered by reason. When +I am with her, Abbe, it is the continual strife of passion that I have +to fear; at every word, at every action, I have to be upon my guard; +and reason, like a solitary sentinel upon the walls of a city attacked +on every side, opposes the foes in vain at one point, while they pour +in upon a thousand others." + +While he was yet speaking, a servant with a noiseless foot entered the +room, and in a low sweet tone informed the Marquis, that Monsieur de +Villequier had just returned from Vincennes, and desired earnestly to +speak with him, for a moment, _alone_ in his own cabinet. The word +"alone" was pronounced more loud than any other, though the whole was +low and tuneful; for Villequier used to declare that he loved to have +servants with feet like cats and voices like nightingales. + +The Abbe marked that word distinctly, and was too wise to make the +slightest attempt to accompany his former pupil. The Marquis, however, +did not remark it; and, perhaps a little fearful of his own firmness +and skill, asked his friend to accompany him. But the Abbe instantly +declined. "No, Gaspar," he said, "no; it were better that you should +see Monsieur Villequier alone. I will wait for you here;" and, turning +to the table, he took up an illuminated psalter, and examined the +miniatures with as close and careful an eye as if he had been deeply +interested in the labours of the artist. + +He saw not a line which had there been drawn; but after the Marquis +had followed the servant from the room he muttered to himself, "So, +Monsieur de Villequier, you think that I am a mean man, who may be +over-reached with impunity and ease? You know me not yet, but you +shall know me, and that soon." And laying down the psalter, he took up +another book of a character more suited to his mind at the moment, and +read calmly till his young friend returned, which was not for near an +hour. + +In the mean time the Marquis had proceeded to the cabinet of +Villequier, who, the moment he saw him, rose from the chair in which +he had been seated busily writing, and pressed him warmly by the hand. + +"My dear young friend," he said, "one learns to love the more those in +whose cause one suffers something; and, since I saw you, I have had to +fight your battle manfully." + +"Indeed! and may I ask, my Lord, with whom?" demanded the young +Marquis. + +"With many," answered Villequier. "With the King,--with Epernon,-with +your own brother." + +"With my brother?" exclaimed Gaspar of Montsoreau, while the blood +rushed up in his face. "Does he dare to oppose me after all his loud +professions of disinterestedness and generosity? But where is he, my +Lord? Leave me to deal with him. Where does he dwell? Is he in Paris?" + +Villequier smiled, but so slightly, that it did not attract the eyes +of his companion. That smile, however, was but the announcement of a +sudden thought that had passed through his own mind. + +Shrewd politicians like himself, fertile in all resources, and +unscrupulous about any, feel a pride and pleasure in their own +abundance of expedients, which makes the conception of a new means to +their end as pleasant as the finding of a diamond. On the present +occasion the subtle courtier thought to himself with a smile, as he +saw the angry blood mount into the cheek of the young Marquis of +Montsoreau at the very mention of his brother's name,--"Here were a +ready means of ridding ourselves, were it needful, of one if not both +of these young rash-headed nobles, by setting them to cut each other's +throats." + +It suited not his plan however at the moment to follow out the idea, +and he consequently replied, "No, no, Monsieur de Montsoreau. I should +take no small care, seeing how justly offended you are with your +brother, to prevent your finding out his abode, as I know what +consequences would ensue. But in all probability, by this time, he has +gone back to the Duke of Guise, having with difficulty been +frustrated, for the King was much inclined to yield to his demands." + +"What did he demand?" exclaimed the Marquis vehemently. "What did he +dare to demand, after the professions he made to me at La Ferte?" + +"That matters not," answered Villequier. "Suffice it that his demands +were such as would have ruined all your hopes for ever." + +"But why should the King support his demands," said the Marquis, "when +well assured of how attached he is to the great head of the League +that tyrannises over him?" + +"Hush, hush!" said Villequier. "The League only tyrannises so long as +the King chooses. Henry wields not the sword at present, but the sword +is still in his hands to strike when he thinks fit. But to answer your +question, my young friend. The King knows well, as you say, that your +brother is attached to the Duke of Guise: but you must remember at the +same time, Monsieur de Montsoreau, that as yet he is not fully assured +that you are attached to himself. Nay, hear me out, hear me out! The +King's arguments, I am bound to say, were not only specious but +reasonable. He had to consider, on the one hand, that the Duke of +Guise, with whom it is his strongest interest to keep fair, demands +this young lady as his ward, which, according to the laws of the land, +Henry has no right to refuse. Your brother, on the Duke's part, +threatens loudly; and what have I to oppose to a demand to which it +seems absolutely necessary in good policy that the King should yield? +Nothing; for, on the other hand, Henry affirms that he can be in no +degree sure of yourself; that your family for long have shown +attachment for the House of Guise; that you yourself were upon your +march to join the Duke, when this lady, falling into the hands of the +King's troops, induced you to abandon your purpose for the time; but +that the moment he favours your suit, or gives his consent to your +union with her, you may return to your former attachments, and +purchase the pardon and good will of the Duke of Guise by returning to +his faction." + +"I am incapable of such a thing!" exclaimed the Marquis vehemently: +but the recollection of his abandonment of the Duke's party came over +him with a glow of shame, and he remained for a moment or two without +making any farther reply, while Villequier was purposely silent also, +as if to let what he had said have its full effect. At length he +added: + +"I believe you are incapable of it, Monsieur de Montsoreau, and so I +assured the King. He, however, still urged upon me that I had no +proof, and that you had taken no positive engagement to serve his +Majesty. All the monarch's arguments were supported by Epernon, who, I +believe, wishes for the hand of the young lady for some of his own +relations, in order to arrange for himself such an alliance with the +House of Guise as may prove a safeguard to him in the hour of need." +And again Villequier smiled at his own art in turning back upon the +Duke of Epernon the suspicion which the Duke had expressed in regard +to himself. + +The warning of the Abbe de Boisguerin, however, at that moment rang in +the ears of Gaspar of Montsoreau, and he roused himself to deal with +Villequier not exactly as an adversary, but certainly less as a +friend. + +"In fact, Monsieur de Villequier," he said, "his Majesty wishes that I +should devote my sword and fortune to his service; and I am to +understand, through you, that he holds out to me the hope of obtaining +the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut in return. Now, it was not at +all my purpose to take any part in the strifes that are agitating the +country at this moment. I am neither Leaguer nor Huguenot, nor Zealot +nor Moderate; and, though most loyal, not what is called Royalist. I +was merely conducting Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, with a very small +force, not the tenth part of what I can bring into the field at a +week's notice, when the events took place which brought me to Paris. +Now, Monsieur, if the King does not rest satisfied with my expressions +of loyalty, and desires some express and public engagement to his +service, I see no earthly reason why I should rest satisfied with mere +vague hopes of obtaining the hand of the lady I love; and though, of +course, I cannot deal with his Majesty upon equal terms, yet I must +demand some full, perfect, and permanent assurance that I am not to be +disappointed in my hopes, before I draw my sword for one party or +another." + +Villequier gazed thoughtfully in his face for a moment or two, biting +his under lip, and saying internally, "The Abbe de Boisguerin--this +comes from him." His next thought was, "Shall I endeavour to pique +this stripling upon his honour, and generosity, and loyalty, and all +those fine words?" But he rejected the idea the moment after thinking. +"No; that would do better with his brother. When a man boldly leaps +over such things, it is insulting him to talk about them any more." + +And after a moment's farther thought, he replied, "It is all very +fair, Monsieur de Montsoreau, that you should have such assurances; +though, if we were not inclined to deal straightforwardly with you in +the matter, we might very very easily refuse every thing of the kind, +and leave you not in the most pleasant situation." + +"How so?" demanded the Marquis with some alarm. "How so?" + +"Easily, my dear young friend," replied Villequier. "Thus: by +informing you that the King could give you no such assurance--which, +indeed, is nominally true, though not really--and by showing you, at +the same time, that as the young lady is in his Majesty's hands, and +he is determined not to give her up to the Duke of Guise or to any +body else, but some tried and faithful friend, the only means by which +you can possibly obtain her is by serving the King voluntarily, in the +most devoted manner. Suppose this did not suit you, what would be your +resource? If you go to the Duke of Guise, you find the ground occupied +before you by your brother, and the Duke accuses you of having +betrayed his young relation into the hands of the King--perhaps sends +you under a guard into Lorraine, and has you tried, and your head +struck off. Such things have happened before now, Monsieur de +Montsoreau. At all events, not the slightest chance exists of your +winning the fair heiress of Clairvaut from him. But, even if you did +gain his consent, she is still in the hands of the King, who would +certainly not give her up to one who had proved himself a determined +enemy." + +Gaspar of Montsoreau looked down, with somewhat of a frowning brow, +upon the ground. He saw, indeed, that the alternative was one that he +could not well adopt; and, from the showing of Villequier, he fancied +himself of less power and consequence in the matter than he really +was. He resolved, however, not to admit the fact if he could help it. + +"Suppose, Monsieur de Villequier," he said, "that the League were to +prevail, and to force his Majesty to concede all the articles of +Nancy, think you not that one thing exacted from him might well be, to +yield Mademoiselle de Clairvaut to her lawful guardian?" + +"It might," answered Villequier immediately. "But then I come in. The +question of guardianship has never been tried between the Duke and +myself. I stand as nearly related to her as he does; and I should +instantly bring the cause before the Parliament, demanding that the +young lady should remain in the hands of the King as suzerain till the +cause is decided, which might be this time ten years." + +"I did not know," said the young nobleman, "that the relationship was +so near, though I was aware that Clairvaut is the family name of +Villequier. However, sir, there is yet another alternative. Suppose I +were to keep the sword in the sheath, and retire once more to +Montsoreau." + +"Why there, then," replied Villequier with a slight sneer, "you might +happily abide, watching the progress of events, till either the +royalist party or the League prevailed; and then, as chance or +accident might will it, see the hand of the fair Lady rewarding one of +the King's gallant defenders, or bestowed by the Duke of Guise upon +his brave and prudent partisan, the Count of Logeres." + +He paused for a moment or two, to let all he said have its full +effect, and then added, in a familiar tone, "Come, come, Monsieur de +Montsoreau, see the matter in its true light. There is no possible +chance of your obtaining the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, except +by attaching yourself to the King's service, and defending the royal +cause with the utmost zeal. If you persist in doing so simply as a +voluntary act to be performed or remitted at pleasure, be you sure +that as you make the King depend upon your good will for your services +towards him, so will you be made to depend upon his good will, his +caprices if you like, for the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. If, +however, on the contrary, you frankly and generously determine to take +service with the King, and bind yourself irrevocably to his cause, I +do not scruple to promise you, under his hand, his full consent to +your union with Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. I will give you the same +consent under mine, assuming the title of her guardian. Your marriage +cannot, of course, take place till the great struggle that is now +impending is over. In a few months, nay, in a few weeks, the one party +or the other--who are now directing their efforts against each other, +instead of turning, as they ought, their united forces against the +common enemies of our religion--must have triumphed over its +adversary. I need not tell you which I feel, which I know, must be +successful; but your part will now be, to exert yourself to the +utmost, to traverse the country with all speed to Montsoreau, to raise +every soldier that you can, and to gather every crown that you can +collect, to join the King with all your forces, wherever he may be, +and, by your exertions, to render that result certain, which is, +indeed, scarcely doubtful even as it is; remembering that upon the +destruction of the Duke of Guise's party, and upon the overthrow of +his usurped and unreasonable power, depends not only the welfare of +your King and master, but the realisation of your best and sweetest +hopes." + +"You grant all that I demand, Monsieur de Villequier," replied Gaspar +of Montsoreau. "All I wish is the King's formal consent in writing, +and yours, to my marriage with Marie de Clairvaut, as the condition of +my absolute and public adhesion to the royal cause." + +"I know," replied Villequier, "that I grant all you demand, and I was +prepared to do so from the first, only we were led into collateral +discussions as we went on. You will, of course, take an oath to the +King's service, and confirm it under your hand." + +"We will exchange the papers, Monsieur de Villequier," replied the +Marquis, thinking himself extremely cautious. "But now, pray tell me, +how ended the discussion with my brother?" + +"The only way that it could end," replied Villequier, "when all +parties were determined to evade his demand. The King, you may easily +suppose, was not inclined to give the young heiress of Clairvaut to +any of the partisans of an enemy. Epernon knew well that if the hand +of a Guise were upon her shoulder, the ring of a La Valette would +never pass upon her finger; and I, when last we met, had half given my +promise to you, and was, at all events, determined that the question +of wardship should be settled before I parted with her. The King, +therefore, evaded the demands of the young Count, though he was not a +little inclined to yield to them at one time, in order to pacify the +Duke of Guise. However, I took the brunt of the business upon myself, +and underwent the hot indignation of your brother, who thought to find +in me an Epernon, or a Montsoreau, who would measure swords with him +for an angry word." + +"They had better be skilful as well as brave," said the young Marquis +thoughtfully, "who measure swords with my brother Charles." + +"Indeed!" said Villequier, "is he then so much a master of his +weapon?" + +"The most perfect I ever beheld--ay, more skilful now, than even our +friend the Abbe de Boisguerin; though I have heard that, some years +ago, when the Abbe was studying at Padua, he challenged the famous +Spanish sword-player, Bobez, to display his skill with him in the +schools, in single combat, and hit him three times upon the heart +without Bobez touching him once." + +"I remember, I remember!" cried Villequier. "The master broke the +buttons from the swords in anger, and the student ran him through the +body at the first pass, whereof he died within five minutes after in +the Deacon's chamber." + +"I never heard that he died," replied the Marquis with some surprise. + +"He did indeed, though," replied Villequier with a meditative air. +"And so this was the Abbe de Boisguerin. One would have thought the +army, rather than the church, would have called such a spirit to +itself." + +"I know not," replied the young Marquis, "but in all things he is +equally skilful; and, doubtless, you know he has taken but the first +step towards entering the church, pausing as it were even on the +threshold." + +"Do you think," said Villequier, "that he is as skilful in conveying +intelligence as in other things?" + +"What do you mean, my Lord?" exclaimed his young companion. + +"Nay, I mean nothing," replied the politician, satisfied with having +sown the first seed of suspicion in the young nobleman's mind, +without, perhaps, any definite design, but simply for the universal +purpose of making men doubt and distrust each other, with a view of +ruling them more easily. "Nothing, except a mere question concerning +his skill. I have no latent meaning, I assure you." + +The brow of the Marquis grew clear again, and Villequier saw that he +believed the latter assertion more fully than he had intended. He let +the subject pass, however, and spoke of many other things, giving his +own account of various matters which had occurred during the Count de +Logeres's audience of the King, and urging Gaspar de Montsoreau to set +off with all speed to raise his forces in his native province. Then +abruptly turning the conversation, he demanded, "You or the Abbe told +me, I think, that you suspected your brother of having communicated +your march to the reiters. Is it like his general character so to act? +I'm sure, if it be his custom to do such things, I would much rather +that he was upon the opposite party than our own." + +The Marquis bent down his head, and gazed sternly upon the ground for +two or three moments. He then answered, with a deep sigh, "No, +Monsieur de Villequier; no, it is not like Charles's character. He has +all his life been frank and free as the summer air, open, and +generous. I fear I did him wrong to suspect him. We are rivals where +no man admits of rivalry: but I must do him justice. If he have done +such a thing, his nature must be changed, changed indeed--changed, +perhaps, as much as my own." + +"I thought," replied Villequier, "that he seemed frank and +straightforward enough, bold and haughty as a lion; gave the King look +for look; bearded Epernon, and threatened to bring him to the field; +and spared not me myself, whom men don't for some reason love to +offend. But he did not seem a man likely to betray his friend, or +practise treachery upon his brother. It is a very strange thing, too," +he continued in an easier tone, "that Colombel and the other officers +of the King's troops at Chateau Thierry should have received news of +your coming a day before you did cross the Marne, together with the +information that the reiters might attack you near Gandelu. Was not +this strange?" + +"Most strange," replied the Marquis, knitting his brows, and setting +his teeth hard. But Villequier, now seeing that he had said quite +enough, again turned the conversation; and after letting it subside +naturally to ordinary subjects, he told the young Marquis that he +would immediately write to the King, and obtain his signature to the +paper required, before bed-time. "It is late already," he said; "I +think even now I see a shade in the sky, so I must about my work +rapidly. But remember, Monsieur de Montsoreau, nine is my supper hour +exactly; and then, care and labour being past, we will sit down and +enjoy ourselves, though I fear the accommodation which I can offer you +in my poor dwelling must seem but rude in your eyes." + +The Marquis said all that such a speech required, and then withdrew. + +When he was gone, Villequier applied himself for some time to other +things; but when they were concluded, he rose from his chair, and +walked once or twice thoughtfully across the cabinet. + +"I had better," he said to himself at length, "I had better deal with +him at once, and then I can ascertain what are his demands, and how to +treat them." + +Thus saying, he took up his bell and rang it, directing the servant +who appeared to see if he could find the Abbe de Boisguerin alone, in +which case he was to invite him to a conference. "He will be alone," +thought the wily courtier, "for I have sown seeds of those things +which will not suffer them to be long together." + +The Abbe, however, was absent from the house, much to the surprise of +Villequier; and another hour had well nigh passed before he made his +appearance. The moment that he did so, he advanced towards Villequier +with his mild and graceful calmness, saying that he understood his +Lordship had sent for him. Villequier pressed his hand tenderly, and +with soft and courtly words assured him that, in sending for him, he +had only sought to enjoy the pleasure of his unrivalled conversation +for a few minutes before supper. + +The Abbe replied exactly in the same tone; that he was profoundly +grieved to have lost even a moment of the society of one who +fascinated from the first, and sent away every one charmed and +delighted. + +A slight and bitter smile curled the lip of each as he ended his +speech, like a seal upon a treaty, the confirmation and mockery of a +falsehood. + +The Abbe, however, added to his speech a few words more, saying that +he should have been back earlier, but that his conversation at the +White Penitent's had been so interesting that he could not withdraw +himself earlier from her Majesty the Queen-mother. + +Villequier started. "Are you acquainted with the Queen?" he said. +"What a surprising-being Catherine is!" + +"She is indeed," answered the Abbe. "My long sojourn at Florence some +years ago made me fully acquainted with every member of the House of +Medici, and I now bring you this letter on her part, Monsieur de +Villequier." + +Villequier took the paper that the Abbe handed to him, and read +apparently with some surprise. "Her Majesty," he said, "knows that I +am her devoted slave, but at the same time she cannot doubt, knowing +as she does so well your high qualities, that I will do every thing to +serve and assist you, and prevent all evil machinations against you." + +"Oh, she doubts it not; she doubts it not," replied the Abbe. "She +doubts it not, Monsieur de Villequier, any more than I do; and has +written this note only in confirmation of your good intentions towards +me. However, there is one thing I wish you to do for me, Monsieur de +Villequier." + +"Name it, my dear friend," exclaimed the Marquis; "but give me an +opportunity of making myself happy in gratifying your wishes." + +"The fact is, Monsieur de Villequier," replied the Abbe, "that some +malicious person has been endeavouring to persuade the young Marquis +de Montsoreau, my friend, and formerly my pupil, that it was I who +intimated to the reiters the course we were pursuing to meet the Duke +of Guise, and who also intimated the facts to the King's troops at +Chateau Thierry, that they might have an opportunity of coming up to +rescue us and bring us hither--though they showed no great activity in +doing the first. Now, doubtless, the person who did this, if there +were any one, had the King's service solely in view, and deserved to +be highly rewarded, as he probably will be; but----" + +"Doubtless," replied Villequier with a sneering smile. "But surely he +could not object to such honourable service being known." + +"Of course not," replied the Abbe; "nor that he had given intimation +of the facts to, and taken his measures with, her Majesty the +Queen-mother; by an order, under whose hand the troops at Chateau +Thierry acted, and at whose suggestion Monsieur de Montsoreau and +his friends threw themselves into the hands of Monsieur de +Villequier.--All this her Majesty declares he did; and he could not, +of course, object to any of these things being known, except as it is +contrary to good policy and to the wishes of the Queen-mother: and +more especially contrary to every wise purpose, if he be a person +possessed of much habitual influence with the young Marquis." + +"Monsieur de Boisguerin," said Villequier, seeming suddenly to break +away from the subject, but in truth following the scent as truly as +any well-trained hound, "the bishopric of Seez is at present vacant. I +know none who would fill it better than the Abbe de Boisguerin." + +The Abbe drew himself up and waved his hand. "You mistake me entirely, +Monsieur de Villequier," he said. "I take no more vows. I have taken +too many already; and those, by God's grace and the good will of our +holy father the Pope, I intend to get rid of very speedily. I have +nothing to request of your Lordship at present. I know, see, and +understand your whole policy, and think you quite right in every +respect. The promises which you and the King are to give to Monsieur +de Montsoreau concerning the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut can of +course be broken, changed, or modified in a moment at any future +time." + +"We have no intention of breaking them," replied Villequier. "We are +acting in good faith, I can assure you." + +"Doubtless," replied the Abbe, "doubtless: but they can be broken?" + +"Of course," replied Villequier; "of course any thing on earth can be +broken." + +"That is sufficient," replied the Abbe. "It is quite enough, Monsieur +de Villequier: I only desire to know, whether you and the King +consider it as a final arrangement, that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut is +to marry the young Lord of Montsoreau, or whether the matter is not +now as much unsettled and within your own power and grasp as ever." + +"Why," replied Villequier thoughtfully, "it is, as I dare say you well +know, Monsieur l'Abbe, a very difficult thing indeed to devise any +sort of black lines, which, written down upon sheep skin, will prove +sufficiently strong to bind the actions of kings, princes, or common +men, at a future period. But it seems to me, Monsieur l'Abbe, that the +time is come when we had better be frank with each other! What is it +that you aim at? You seem not displeased to think the arrangement +doubtful or contingent; and yet I, who am not accustomed to guess very +wrongly in such matters, have entertained no doubtful suspicion that +you prompted the demand for a definite and conclusive bargain." + +"I did," replied the Abbe. "When you asked to see him alone, I was +very well assured that, though a game of policy skilfully played may +occasionally afford sport to Monsieur de Villequier, you were quite as +well pleased in the present business to deal with a young and +inexperienced head as with an old and a worldly one. He sought my +opinion and advice, and, as I uniformly do when it is sought, I gave +it him sincerely, though it was against my own views and purposes. +Now, Monsieur de Villequier, I see hovering round your lips a +question, which, in whatever form of words you place it, whatever +Proteus form it may assume, will have this for its substance and +object; namely, What are the plans and purposes of the Abbe de +Boisguerin? Now, my plans and purposes are these,--remember, I do not +say my objects; the object of every man in life is one, though we all +set out upon different roads to reach it. My purpose is to serve his +Majesty and the Queen-mother far more than I have hitherto been able +to do. What I have done is a trifle; but if I detach from the party of +the League, separate for ever from the Duke of Guise, and bring over +to the royal cause Charles of Montsoreau as well as his brother, I +shall confer no trifling service, for I can now inform you, Monsieur +de Villequier, that, besides the great estates of Logeres, he is lord +of all the possessions lately held by the old Count de Morly, who +amassed much treasure during the avaricious part of age, and died +little more than a week ago, leaving this young Lord the heir of all +his wealth. I have received the intelligence this very morning; so +that, what between his riches, his skill, and his courage, he is worth +any two, excepting Epernon perhaps, of the King's court." + +"If you do what you say, Monsieur de Boisguerin," replied the Marquis +in a low, deep, sweet-toned voice, "you may command any thing you +please in France, bishoprics, abbeys----" + +"If it rained bishoprics," replied the Abbe, "I would not wear a +mitre. I do not pretend to say, Monsieur de Villequier, that I am more +disinterested than my neighbours; that I have not great rewards in +view, and objects of importance--to me, if not to others. But these +objects are not quite fixed or determined yet, and I am not one of +those men, Monsieur de Villequier, who hesitate to render the services +first from a fear of losing the reward afterwards. I know how to make +my claims heard when the time comes for demanding; and in the present +instance, although I cannot distinctly promise to bring Charles of +Montsoreau absolutely and positively over to the King's cause, yet I +am sure of being able both to detach him from the Duke of Guise and +separate him from the faction of the League. I think, indeed, that all +three can be done: but nothing can be done unless the promise given to +his brother be made contingent. The one loves her as vehemently as the +other; and I, who know how to deal with him, can change his whole +views in an hour, or at least in a few days." + +"Indeed!" said Villequier. "He is now in Paris; the trial could be +speedily made." + +"I know it--" replied the Abbe, seeing the Marquis fix his eyes upon +him eagerly, thinking, perhaps, 'he has promised more than he could +perform.' + +"I know it, and that is the precise reason why I have hurried on this +matter, and urged it to the present point. No time is to be lost, or I +see storms approaching, Monsieur de Villequier, that I think escape +your eyes." + +"What do you intend to do?" demanded Villequier; "and what means do +you require to do it?" + +"My purposes I have already told you," replied the Abbe. "The means I +require--to come to the point at once--consist of a document under +your own hand, making over to me, as far as your relationship to +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut goes, the right of disposing of her hand in +marriage to whomsoever I may think fit: that is to say, the voice for, +or the voice against, any particular candidate for her hand, when +given by me, is to be held as if given by yourself." + +"This is a great thing that you demand, Monsieur de Boisguerin," +replied Villequier, gazing in his face with no inconsiderable +surprise; "and I see not how I can give such a paper at the very same +time that I give the one which I have promised to the Marquis of +Montsoreau." + +"Nothing, I fear, can be done without it," replied the Abbe; "but I +think it may be done without risk or exposure of any kind, for I in +return can bind myself not to employ that paper for nine months, by +which time all will be complete; and in both the documents you can +speak vaguely of other promises and engagements, and can declare your +great object in giving me that paper to be, the final settlement of +difficult claims, by a person in whom you have full confidence." + +Villequier looked in his face with a meaning and somewhat sarcastic +smile: then turned to the note which the Queen-mother, Catharine de +Medici, had sent him; read it over again as if carelessly, but marking +every word as he did so; and then said, with somewhat of a sigh, +"Well, Monsieur de Boisguerin, pray draw up on that paper what you +think would be required." + +The Abbe took up the pen and ink, and wrote rapidly for a moment or +two; while Villequier looked over his shoulder, fingering the hilt of +his dagger as he did so, in a manner which might have made the periods +of any man but the Abbe de Boisguerin, who knew as he did his +companion's habits and views, less rounded and eloquent than they +usually were. The Abbe, however, wrote on without the slightest sign +of apprehension, and at length Villequier exclaimed, "That would tie +my hands sufficiently tight, Monsieur de Boisguerin." + +"Not quite, my Lord," replied the other. "I never make a covenant +without a penalty; and what I am now going to add provides that, in +case of your failing to confirm my decision, or attempting in any way +to rescind this paper and the power hereby given to me, you forfeit to +my use and benefit one hundred thousand golden crowns, to be sued for +from you in any lawful court of this kingdom." + +"Nay, nay, nay!" cried Villequier, now absolutely laughing. "This is +going too far, Monsieur de Boisguerin." + +"Faith, not a whit, my Lord," replied the Abbe. "I take care when men +make me promises, that they are not such as can be trifled with, at +least if I am to act upon them." + +"Why, you do not suppose----" exclaimed Villequier. + +"I suppose nothing, my Lord," interrupted the Abbe, "but that you are +a statesman and a courtier, and must in your day have seen more than +one promise broken." + +"By some millions," replied Villequier. "I told you to speak frankly, +Monsieur de Boisguerin, and you have done so with a vengeance. I must +have my turn, too, and tell you that neither to you nor any other man +on earth will I give such a promise, without in the first place seeing +a probability of the object for which it is given being accomplished, +and, in fact, some steps taken towards the accomplishment of that +object; and, in the next place, without having a distinct notion of +the means by which it is to effect its end. That is a beautiful ring +of yours," continued the statesman, suddenly breaking away from the +subject as if to announce that what he had just said was final, but +perhaps in reality to consider what was to be the next step. "That is +a beautiful ring of yours, Monsieur de Boisguerin, and of some very +peculiar stone it seems; a large turquoise semi-transparent." + +"It is an antidote against all poisons," answered the Abbe coolly, +"whether they be eaten in the savoury ragout, drunk in the racy cup, +smelt in the odour of a sweet flower, or inhaled in the balmy air of +some well-prepared apartment. My dear friends will not find me so +tender a lamb as Jeanne d'Albret." + +"No, I should think not," replied Villequier with a laugh, and still +holding off from the original subject of conversation. "I should think +not, if I may judge by some of your attendants, Monsieur de +Boisguerin, for there is one of them at least, an Italian, whom I +passed in the court but now, who looks much more like the follower of +a wolf than of a lamb. He was dressed somewhat in the guise of a +wandering minstrel, with a good strong dagger, which I dare say is +serviceable in time of need." + +"I have not the slightest doubt of it," replied the Abbe de Boisguerin +with the most imperturbable coolness, "though I have not had occasion +to make use of him much in that way yet. But the man's a treasure, +Monsieur de Villequier; and as to his garb the fact is, that I have +not had time yet to have it changed and made more becoming. You shall +see in a few days, Monsieur de Villequier, what a change can be +effected by razors, soap, cold water, and good clothing. He's a +complete treasure, I can assure you, and well worth any pains." + +"But," said Villequier, "if you have had him so short a time as not to +be able to clothe him yet, how do you know all these magnificent +qualities?" + +"It is a singular business enough," answered the Abbe. "I knew him +long ago in Italy, where he was exercising various professions: but he +had skill enough almost to cheat me, which, of course, made me judge +highly of his abilities. One day, not long ago, he presented himself +at the Chateau de Montsoreau, where it seems he had been upon some +vagabond excursion a week or a fortnight before. He had on the first +occasion seen and recognised me, and he now came back, having spent +all the money he had gained by selling a young Italian pipe-player to +my good cousin Charles, and being consequently in not the best +provided state. He was in hopes that I would take him into my service, +which, from ancient recollection of his character, I was very willing +to do; dismissing, however, without much ceremony, another man and a +low Italian woman whom he had brought with him. They seemed very +willing to go, it is true, and he to part with them; and my good +friend Orbi has already shown himself on more than one occasion fully +as serviceable as I had expected he would prove. My former knowledge +of him gives me means of binding him to me by very strong ties; and I +will acknowledge that never was there man to all appearance so well +calculated to remove a troublesome friend or a pertinacious enemy." + +"Doubtless, doubtless," replied Villequier; "though he seems not to be +particularly strong in frame." + +"But he is active," answered the Abbe, "and full of skill, and +thought, and ingenuity. But to return to what we were saying +concerning the paper, Monsieur de Villequier, which we have left +somewhat too long," added the Abbe, thinking this sort of farce had +been carried quite far enough. "Every objection that you have raised +can be overthrown at once. I ask this promise, not for my own sake, +but to satisfy this youth Charles of Montsoreau. He will trust you as +soon as the fox will the tiger; but he will trust to me implicitly, if +he believes that I have the power to aid him in obtaining her he +loves. Thus you see at once the means by which this promise is to work +to the ends that we propose. Then, as to seeing clearly what the +effect will be, I will show it to you in the very course of this +night. Read that letter, written by the young Count of Logeres to his +brother, no later than yesterday evening! You see," the Abbe +continued, after Villequier had read, "he renounces all claim +whatsoever to the hand of Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, and this in +favour of his brother. The letter was brought hither not two hours +ago. Now, ere two hours more be over, you shall yourself see the whole +feelings of this young man changed, and the pursuit renewed as eagerly +as ever. If it be so, what say you? Will you go forward in the way I +propose?--Yea or nay, Monsieur de Villequier? I trifle not, nor am +trifled with." + +"I will then go forward, beyond all doubt," replied the Marquis. + +The Abbe thereupon took up the pen, wrote five lines on a sheet of +paper, sealed them with some of the yellow wax which lay ready, +addressed the note to Charles of Montsoreau, and placing it in the +hands of Villequier, bade him to send it by a page, with orders to +require an answer. The page seemed winged with the wind, and in a +marvellous short time he returned, bearing a note from the young Count +of Logeres, containing these few words:-- + +"My renunciation was entirely conditional. If it be as you say, +nothing on earth shall induce me to yield the hand of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut to any man. The time that you allow me for writing does not +permit me to say more, but come to me as early as possible to-morrow, +and let all things be explained; for a state of doubt and suspicion +was always to me worse than the knowledge of real evil or real wrong." + +The Abbe gave it to Villequier, and the Minister only replied by +signing and sealing the paper which the Abbe had drawn up. + +"Now, quick! Monsieur l'Abbe," said the Minister. "Go for a few +minutes to your own apartments, and then join us at supper, which I +hear is already served, as if we had not met during the evening. You +will not need your ring, I can assure you." + +The Abbe bowed low and retired in silence; but in his heart he said, +"And this, the fool Henry holds to be a great politician." + +No knave can be a great politician; but every knave thinks himself so. +The mistake they make is between wisdom and cunning. The knave prides +himself on deceiving others, the wise man on not deceiving himself. + + + + + CHAP. VI. + + +When the Abbe de Boisguerin on the following morning entered the +presence of Charles of Montsoreau, his mind was prepared for every +thing he was to say and do, for every thing he was to assert or +to imply. But there was one thing for which his mind was not +prepared--all shrewd, keen, politic, and experienced as it was. + +There are points in the deep study of human nature which those who +would use that mighty science for selfish purposes almost always +overlook. Amongst these are the changes, both sudden and progressive, +which take place in themselves and in others, and the changes in +relative situations which they produce. In this respect it was that +the Abbe de Boisguerin, thoughtful and calculating as he was, had not +prepared himself for the meeting with Charles of Montsoreau. The time +was short since they had parted. Not above six weeks had elapsed, if +so much; and the Abbe had come ready to deal with a youth of keen and +penetrating mind, of quick perceptions and extensive powers; of all +whose feelings and thoughts he fancied that he knew the scope and +quality; whose mind he believed that he had gauged and tested as if it +were some material substance. But he knew not at all, what an effect +the space of six weeks may have when spent in communication with great +minds, and in dealing with great events; and the moment he entered the +room he saw a change which he had never dreamt of--a change which +through the mind affected the body, the countenance, and the +demeanour. + +Charles of Montsoreau, in short, had left him a youth high-spirited, +feeling, intelligent, graceful,--he stood before him a man, calm, +thoughtful, grave, dignified. There were even lines of care already +upon his brow, which gave it a degree of sternness not natural to it; +and the whole look and aspect of his former pupil was so powerfully +intellectual, that the Abbe felt he must be more cautious and careful +than he had prepared to be; that his words, his thoughts, and his +looks would not alone be tested by old affection, nor even by the +simple powers of an undoubting mind, but would be tried by experience +likewise, and tried moreover with that degree of suspicion which is +more active within us when we first learn the painful lessons taught +by human deceit, than it is when we learn fully our own powers of +separating truth from falsehood. + +He saw that it would be necessary to be more cautious than he had +proposed to be, and that, consequently, he must change much that he +had intended to say and do. The very caution affected his manner, and +his alteration of purposes caused occasional hesitation. Charles of +Montsoreau, who remembered his whole character and demeanour during +many years, found, without seeking it, a touchstone in the past by +which to try the present, and the conclusion in his own heart was, +"This man is not true." + +The explanation given by the Abbe of all that had occurred on their +route did not satisfy his hearer. He told him that he had remained +with Mademoiselle de Clairvaut and the carriage till the reiters had +passed, and then had caused the horses to be turned into a bye-road, +in the hope of escaping any returning parties: they had thus +accidentally met with the King's troops, whose offered protection, of +course, they could not refuse. But he touched vaguely and lightly upon +the mission of Colombel to the young Marquis de Montsoreau; and the +Count de Logeres did not press him upon the subject, for he felt +sufficiently upon his guard, and had a repugnance openly to convict +one whom he had loved of falseness and treachery. + +He turned then to the note which he had received on the preceding +evening. + +"You tell me now," he said, "Abbe, that you have some reason to +believe that Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, as I at first supposed, has +seen my affection, and did not intend to discourage it. What are those +reasons?" + +The Abbe stated vaguely that some words, dropped by Madame de Saulny, +had produced that belief in his mind. + +Charles of Montsoreau mused, and made no answer. The time had been +when he would have replied at once, and have discussed the question +fully with his former preceptor; but now he held counsel with his own +heart in his own bosom, and said, "This man has some object in telling +me this. Her own words were sufficiently conclusive, that she did not +see, that she did not remark, the signs of affection which I had +fancied undoubted." + +He still maintained silence, however, towards the Abbe, in regard to +his own views, his own purposes, and his own feelings. Nor could the +other, though he used all his skill, draw from him the slightest +indication of what he intended to do, except that he waited in Paris +for the arrangement of some affairs, which were not yet concluded, +with the King. He in turn, however, questioned the Abbe much +concerning his brother, expressing not only a wish but a determination +to see him. + +"I am happy," he said, "that my letter reached him; for--by whom or +for what reason instructed to falsify the truth, I do not know--the +porter of Monsieur de Villequier denied the fact of your being in the +house. As nothing could shake my own belief that it was Gaspar and +yourself I had seen, and as both Gondrin and the page confirmed my +opinion, I sent the letter at all risks: and now, good Abbe, if you +love Gaspar and myself as you used to do, contrive that we may meet +again to-morrow, in order that all these clouds may be cleared away +from between us, and that we may feel once more as brothers ought to +feel towards each other." + +The Abbe promised to do as the young Count desired, beseeching him, +however, not to press his brother to an interview too suddenly, and +assuring him that he would use every effort. + +The still more important subject of what had become of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut remained to be discussed; and Charles of Montsoreau, though +resolved to make the inquiry, approached it with distaste and with +caution, from a feeling that the Abbe would not deal truly with him, +and would only endeavour, in the course of any conversation upon that +point, to discover what were his secret intentions, even while he +concealed from him the true circumstances. + +It was as he expected. The Abbe told him that, in some degree under +the care, and in some degree under the guard, of the King's troops, +the whole party had been brought to the neighbourhood of Paris, where +a messenger from the monarch had conveyed to himself and the young +Marquis an invitation to take up their abode at the house of +Villequier, while Mademoiselle de Clairvaut was conveyed to Vincennes. +They had done all that was possible, he said, to prevent such a +separation; but the King's commands were peremptory; and he had since +learnt, or at least had reason to believe, that the young lady had +been sent in the direction of Beauvais, to the care of some distant +relations. + +The young Count smiled, and said nothing; and the Abbe then, with an +air of grave sincerity, proceeded to ask him what had best be done +under such circumstances. He replied that he could give no advice; and +many a vain effort was again made to discover what were his purposes +in regard to Mademoiselle de Clairvaut. Finding that no indirect means +succeeded, the Abbe, trusting to their former familiarity, asked the +question directly, "What do you intend to do in this business, +Charles." + +"Indeed, my dear Abbe," replied the young Count, "it is difficult to +tell you. I have no definite plan of action at present, and must be +guided by circumstances as they arise." + +Thus ended their interview; and it formed a strange contrast to that +between the Abbe and Villequier,--showing how simple honesty may often +baffle cunning which has succeeded against astuteness like itself. The +following day passed without any communication reaching the young +Count, either from the Abbe or from his brother, from the King or the +Duke of Guise; and expectation of receiving tidings from some one +caused him to remain at home during the greater part of the day. + +On the succeeding morning, however, he determined to proceed to the +house of Villequier, and to demand peremptorily the fulfilment of the +promise which the King had made. Ere he set out, however, he received +a note in the hand of the Abbe de Boisguerin, informing him briefly +that his brother, having determined to return to Montsoreau, was upon +the very point of setting out. He, the Abbe, was to accompany him for +two days' march upon the road, but would return to Paris in four or +five days without fail. + +Charles of Montsoreau read the note with a faint and melancholy smile, +and again said, "This man is not true!" + +He rode at once, however, to the hotel of Villequier, but found that +the minister had once more gone to Vincennes. He inquired for the +Marquis of Montsoreau of the same porter who had denied the fact of +his being there. The porter, not at all discomposed, replied that the +Marquis and the Abbe de Boisguerin, with their train, had set out +fully two hours before for Montl'hery; which, being confirmed upon +farther inquiry by an Italian confectioner on the opposite side of the +street, was believed by the young Count, who returned home with a +heart but ill at ease. + +Another day was passed in gloomy and impatient expectation; but at +night Gondrin reappeared from Soissons, bringing with him a brief note +from the Duke of Guise:-- + +"Your interview," it said, "was such as might be expected; your +conduct all that it should have been; your view of the result right. +They are endeavouring to trifle both with you and me; but we must show +them that this cannot be done. I send off a courier at once to +Villequier, requiring that the King's authorisation shall be +immediately given to you. If it reach you not before to-morrow night, +I pray you set off at once with the passports you possess for +Chateauneuf; for I have information scarcely to be doubted, that our +poor Marie has been conveyed thither. Show her the letter which I gave +you, requiring her to follow your directions in every thing. Endeavour +to bring her at once, with what people you can collect upon her lands, +across the country towards Rheims, avoiding Paris. If any one stops +you, or attempts either to delay your progress or dispute your +passage, show them my letter of authority, as well as the passports +that you already possess; and if they farther molest or delay you, +they shall not be forgotten, be they great or small, when they come to +reckon with your friend, Henry of Guise." + +In a postscript was written at the bottom--"In going, avoid Dreux and +Montfort, for the plague is raging there. If there be any force +stationed at Chateauneuf to prevent the removal of Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut, only ascertain distinctly the fact of her presence in the +chateau, and come back to rejoin me with all speed." + +The tidings brought by Gondrin showed Charles of Montsoreau that great +events of some kind were in preparation. Various bodies of troops +attached to the House of Lorraine were moving here and there in +Champaign and the Ardennes; daily conferences were held between the +Duke of Guise, the Cardinal of Bourbon, the Cardinal of Guise, and a +number of other influential noblemen; the propriety of deposing the +King was said to be openly discussed at Soissons, and ridicule and +hatred were unsparingly busy with the names of Epernon, Villequier, +and others. Couriers, totally independent of those which were sent +upon the business that brought the young Count to Paris, were almost +hourly passing between the capital and Soissons; and it was daily +whispered in the latter city, that experienced officers and small +bodies of troops were daily gliding into the capital from the army +which the Duke had led to victory on so many previous occasions. + +Early on the following morning, Charles of Montsoreau again proceeded +to the Hotel de Villequier, in order that nothing might be wanting on +his part. But the reply once more was, that the minister was absent; +and the day passed over without any tidings from either the King or +his favourite. As he passed through various parts of the city, +however, the young Count remarked many things that somewhat surprised +him. He had hitherto ridden amongst the people quite unnoticed, but +now many persons whom he met bowed low to him, and those seemingly of +the most respectable classes of citizens. On two or three occasions +the burgher guard saluted him as he passed; and in one place, where +several people were collected together, there was a cry of "Long live +the Duke of Guise!" + +All these indications of some approaching event of importance at any +other moment might have given him an inclination to remain in Paris: +but he had other interests more deeply at heart; and having waited +till the last moment to make sure that the King's authorisation was +still delayed, he prepared to set out that very night, taking with him +only the number of persons specified in the passports which he had +brought from Soissons. + +In a brief and hurried note which he wrote to Chapelle Marteau, he +informed him that he was about to absent himself from Paris for a +short time on business of importance; and begged him, as it was his +intention to pass out of the city by the Faubourg St. Germain that +very night, to facilitate his so doing as quietly as possible. That +his absence might remain for some time concealed from those who might +obstruct his proceedings, he retained his apartments at the inn, and +the servants he had hired, paying the whole for some time in advance, +and directing that if any inquiries were made, the reply should be, +that he was only absent for a few days. + +When all was prepared he set out, and at the gates found his friend of +the Seize, with another personage, who seemed to consider himself of +great importance. No words, however, were spoken, no passports were +demanded, the two Leaguers bowed lowly to the Count, the gates opened +as if of themselves, and, issuing forth, the young Count rode on upon +the way, anxious to place as great a distance between Paris and +himself ere the next morning as possible. + +It was a soft calm night in April, the sky was unclouded and filled +with stars, the dew thick upon the grass, and the air balmy; and the +young nobleman pursued his way with a mind filled with thoughts which, +though certainly in part melancholy, were still tinged with the soft +light of hope. His horses were strong and fresh, and just in the grey +of the morning, on the following day, he reached the small town of +Rambouillet. + +The signs and indications of the disturbed and anxious state of +society in France were visible in the little town as the young Count +gazed from the door of the inn, after seeing that his horses were well +taken care of. There were anxious faces and eyes regarding the +stranger with the expression of doubt, and perhaps suspicion; there +were little knots gathered together and talking gloomily at the +corners of different streets; the whistle of the light-hearted peasant +was unheard; and the cart or the flock was driven forth in silence. + +The Count's horses required rest; none were to be procured with which +he could pursue his journey, and he determined to take what repose he +could get ere he proceeded on his way. Casting himself down then upon +a bed, he closed his eyes and sought to sleep: but suddenly something +like a wild cry sounded from the other side of the street, and +springing up he looked out of the window. He could almost have touched +the opposite house, so narrow was the way, and he saw completely into +a room thereof through the window that faced his own. + +There was a woman in it of about the middle age, kneeling by the +bedside of a youth who seemed just dead; and on looking down a little +below he saw a man, dressed in a black serge robe, standing on a +ladder, and marking the front of the building with a large white +cross. On the impulse of the moment, Charles of Montsoreau ran down +stairs, and approached the door of the house, intending to enter. But +he was stopped at the door by two of the guards of the city. "Do you +not see the mark of the plague?" they said. "You must not go in; or, +if you go in, you must not come out again." + +With a sorrowful heart, Charles of Montsoreau turned back into the +inn, but he found no sleep, and the image of the woman clasping her +dead son still haunted him in waking visions. + + + + + CHAP. VII. + + +It was about nine o'clock at night, and the moon, rising later than +the night before, had not yet gone down, as Charles of Montsoreau +passed through the wide forest that then surrounded Chateauneuf en +Thimerais. It was a beautiful moonlight scene, affording to the eye +many various and pleasant objects. The greater part of the forest, +indeed, consisted of old trees far apart from each other, and only +surrounded by brushwood in patches here and there. Occasionally, +indeed, deeper and thicker parts of the forest presented themselves, +where the axe had not been plied so unsparingly; but the ground was +hilly and broken, and the road ascended and descended continually, +showing every change of the forest ground. There were manifold streams +too in that part of the country, and small gushing fountains, while a +chapel or two, here and there raised by the pious inhabitants of the +neighbourhood, broke the desolate appearance of the wood by showing +sweet traces of human hope or gratitude. The heart, however, of +Charles of Montsoreau enjoyed not that scene as it might at any other +time, for many dark and painful reports had reached him of the state +of the country in that district, and he looked anxiously forward to +his arrival at the little village of Morvillette seated in the midst +of the forest, to hear further tidings of Chateauneuf and its +neighbourhood. A party of soldiers he had already heard had passed +along some days before, escorting a carriage, and it was understood +their destination was Chateauneuf; but the people of Tremblay, where +he received this intelligence, shook the head doubtingly, and added, +that the traveller would hear more at Morvillette, and could there get +a guide to the chateau, which was two miles from the town. + +At length, lying in a hollow of the woodland, the moonlight showed him +a group of dark cottages; but no friendly light appeared in the +windows; and as he rode on amongst the houses, there was a sort of +awful stillness about the place, which seemed to indicate that it was +not slumber that kept the tongues of the peasantry silent. There were +no dogs in the streets; there was no smoke curling up from any of the +chimneys; all was still, and many of the doors stood wide open in the +night air, exhibiting nothing but solitude within. + +"There must be somebody in the place," cried Gondrin, springing from +his horse and approaching one of the cottages, the door of which was +shut. + +Without knocking, the man threw open the door at once, and went in as +far as the bridle of his horse would let him; but he came out again +immediately, and his master could see that his face was pale and its +expression horrified. + +"A man and a woman," he said in a low voice, "both dead! the one in +the bed and the other on the floor, and both of them looking as blue +as a cloud." + +The boy Ignati pressed up his horse to hear; and the Count said, "In +all probability there may be things still more horrible before us. I +shall go on, Gondrin; I must go on: but there is no need for either +yourself or the page to do so. You had better both go back. Make the +best of your way to Soissons, there tell the Duke what you have seen, +and assure him that I will do my best to fulfil his wishes if I live." + +"My Lord," said the boy, "I might quit you for a kind and noble master +when danger was not about you, but I will only quit you now with +life." + +"And so say I," replied Gondrin in a somewhat reassured but still +anxious tone. "But let us ride on, my Lord, and get out of this +horrible place. We shall find no one here to show us the way." + +"I believe I can find it myself," replied the Count. "We turn to the +left as soon as we have passed the village. Come on!" + +Thus saying, he somewhat quickened his pace and rode away, the moon +now declining towards her setting, throwing longer shadows, and giving +more uncertain light. Anxiously did the young Count gaze from the brow +of every rise, hoping to see the form of the chateau rising upon the +eminence before him. Several times he disappointed himself by fancying +that he saw it when it was not there, so that, when at length he +beheld a single faint point of light, like the spark of a firefly +amongst the distant branches, he could scarcely believe that it +afforded any true indication of that which he sought. + +Riding on, however, he again and again caught sight of it, till at +length the forms of the building grew more clear and defined, and +after about half a mile more he rode up the gentle slope that +conducted towards the chateau. + +It was situated in the midst of a wild game park, not unlike that of +Vincennes, only that the ground was more irregular. The building, +however, was very different: it had been erected by that Count de +Clairvaut who had been sent ambassador in the reign of Henry II. to +the Republic of Venice. He had formed his ideas of beauty in +architecture under another sky, and, but that it was somewhat larger +and heavier, it might have been supposed that the building had been +transported by some Geni from the banks of the Brenta. There was a +strong old castellated gate, however, in the walls of the park, which +had belonged to some former building. But the heavy iron gates were +wide open, and the voice of no porter responded to the call of the +young Count and his companions. + +Still, however, he saw a light in the windows of the chateau, and he +eagerly rode on along the path which conducted to the principal gates +of the building. Here there was a wide flight of marble stairs, which +had been brought ready polished at an immense expense from Italy, +yellow and green with the damp, but still altogether of a different +hue and consistence from the ordinary stone of the place. From those +steps the wide forest scene beyond was fully displayed to the eye, the +chateau being built very near the highest point of the acclivity, and +the whole ground towards Dreux, Maintenon, and Chartres lying below, +with the forest itself sweeping down the edge of that chain of high +hills which separates the southern parts of Normandy from the northern +parts and Maine. + +The moon at that moment was just sinking beyond the trees on the left, +and poured over the woods and plains below a flood of silver light, +caught and reflected here and there by some open stream or wide piece +of water, and, shining full upon the front of the marble building, +which, with its pillars, its capitals, and its cornices, its wide +doors and spreading porticoes, looked like the spectre of some bright +enchanted palace from another land. + +The large doors that opened upon the terrace were ajar; and Charles of +Montsoreau, leaving his horse with the page, mounted the steps and +knocked hard with the haft of his dagger. A long melancholy echo was +all the sound that was returned. He knocked again, there was no +answer; and then pushing open the door, he entered the wide marble +hall. The moonlight was pouring through the tall windows, but all was +solitary; and putting his foot upon the first step of the staircase, +he was beginning to ascend. At that moment, he thought he heard a +distant sound as of an opening door; and a ray of light, streaming +down some long corridor at the top of the broad staircase, crossed the +balustrade and chequered the iron work with a different hue from the +moonlight. He now called loudly, asking if there was any one in the +building. + +In a moment after, there were steps heard coming along towards the +staircase, and a voice replied, "There is death and pestilence in the +house. If you come for plunder, take it quickly; if you come by +accident, fly as fast as you may, for every breath is tainted." + +The tones of that voice were not to be mistaken, even before Charles +of Montsoreau beheld the speaker; but, ere the last words were spoken, +Marie de Clairvaut herself was at the top of the staircase, bearing a +small lamp in her hand, and Charles of Montsoreau eagerly sprang up +the steps. + +The lamp flashed upon the form and features which she had not at first +seen, and with a loud cry she darted forward to meet him. + +The next moment, however, nearly dropping the lamp, she rushed back, +exclaiming, "Come not near, Charles! Dear, dear Charles, come not +near! These hands, not twelve hours ago, have closed the eyes of the +dead. The plague most likely is upon me now!" + +But before she could add more, the arms of Charles of Montsoreau were +round her. + +"You have called me dear," he said, "and what privilege can be dearer +than sharing your fate, whatever it may be? Dear, dear, dear Marie! +oh, say those words again, and make me happy!" + +"But I fear for you, Charles," she said; "I fear for you. All are +either dead or have fled and left me, and I shall see you die +too,--you, you die also by the very touch, by the very breath, of one +to whom you have restored life." + +"I fear not, Marie," answered Charles; "I fear not; and that is the +safest guard. Certainly you shall not see me fly and leave you; and I +fear not, either, that you will see death overtake me. But oh, if even +it did, how sweet would death itself be, watched by that dear face, +wept by those beloved eyes!" + +Marie bent down her head, and said nothing; but she strove no more +against the arm that was cast round her; her hand remained in his, and +the colour rose warmly into her cheek, which had before been deadly +pale. + +"If," she said at length, after a long pause, during which he had +continued to gaze earnestly, fondly, sadly upon her,--"If it were not +that I feared for you, your presence would indeed be a comfort and a +consolation to me: not that I fear for myself," she added; "I know not +why, but I have never feared. It has seemed to me as if there were no +danger to myself--as if I should certainly escape. But oh, how +terrible it would be to see you struck by the pestilence also!" + +"Say no more, dear Marie; say no more," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +feeling and knowing by every word that she was his own. "I fear not; I +have no fear; and even if I had, love would trample it under foot in a +moment. I would not leave you in such an hour, not if by descending +that short flight of steps I could save myself from death: unless +indeed you told me to go, and that you loved me not." + +The tears sprang into Marie de Clairvaut's eyes. "I must not tell such +a falsehood," she cried, clasping her hands together, "in an hour like +this. I never told you so; indeed I never did, though Madame de +Saulny, poor Madame de Saulny, with her dying lips assured me that you +thought so." + +"There have been many errors, dear Marie," replied Charles of +Montsoreau, "which have pained both your heart and mine, I fear. But +now, my beloved, I must call in those that are with me, for we have +travelled far and ridden hard." + +"Oh, call them not in!" said Marie de Clairvaut, "for they will be +frightened when they see the state of the house, and catch the +pestilence and die! Bid them lead their horses to the stables, and +sleep there. Perhaps they may find some one still living there, for +this evening at sunset I saw my father's old groom still wandering +about as usual; but you must go yourself to tell them, Charles, for I +do not believe that there is any one in the house but you and I. The +stables lie away to the left. I will wait here for you till you come +back. Go through the great doors," she said, as he descended, "and go +not into the rooms either to the right or left, for there is death in +all of them." + +Charles of Montsoreau descended with a rapid step, and in a few words +gave his directions to the servants. He then returned, and taking +Marie de Clairvaut's hand in his, he pressed his lips warmly upon it, +and gazed tenderly upon her as she led him along through a wide +corridor to the room in which she had been sitting. + +It formed a strange contrast,--the aspect of that room, with the +desolate knowledge that all was death and solitude through the rest of +the house. Beautiful pictures, rich ornaments, fine tapestry, gave it +an air of life and cheerfulness, which seemed strange to the feelings +of Charles of Montsoreau. But an illuminated book of prayer that lay +upon the table told how Marie de Clairvaut's thoughts had been +employed; and Charles of Montsoreau paused, and, lifting his thoughts +to Heaven, prayed earnestly, fervently, that that bright and beautiful +and beloved being might still be protected by the hand of the Almighty +in every scene of peril and danger which might yet await her. + +She sat down on the chair in which she had been reading with a look of +melancholy thoughtfulness, and Charles of Montsoreau sat down beside +her, and there was a long silent pause, for the hearts of both were +too full of agitating feelings for words to be plentiful at first. The +moment and the circumstances, indeed, took from love all shame and +hesitation. Death and deprivation and desolation gave affection a +brighter, a holier light,--it was like some eternal flame burning upon +the altar of a ruined temple. + +Marie de Clairvaut felt that at that moment she could speak things +that at any other time she would have sunk into the earth to say; she +felt that--with the exception of their trust in God--his love for her +and hers for him formed the grand consolation of the moment, the +healing balm, the great support of that hour of peril and of terror. +She looked at him and he at her, and they mutually thought that a few +hours perhaps might see them there, dying or dead by each other's +side, with love for the only comfort of their passing hour--with the +voice of death pronouncing their eternal union, and the grave their +bridal bed. + +They thus thought, and it may seem strange to say, but--prepared as +their minds were for leaving the life of this earth behind them--such +a death to them appeared sweet; and neither feared it, but looked +forward upon the grim enemy of human life, not with the stern defying +frown of the martyr, not with the fierce and angry daring of the +warrior, but with the calm sweet smile of resignation to the will of +Heaven, and hopes beyond the tomb. + +Thus they remained silent, or with but few words, for some time; and +Charles of Montsoreau felt that he was beloved. Indeed, there was not +a word, there was not a look, that did not tell him so: and yet he +longed to hear more; he longed that those words should be spoken which +would confirm, by the living voice of her he loved, the assurance of +his happiness. Gradually he won her from conversing of the present to +speak of the past; and she gently reproached him for leaving her at +Montsoreau so suddenly as he had done. + +"Marie," he said, with that frankness which had always characterised +him, "let me tell you all; and then see if I did right or wrong. If I +did wrong, you shall blame me still, and I will grieve and make any +atonement in my power; but if I only mistook, and did not act wrong +intentionally, you shall forgive me, and tell me that you love me." + +Marie de Clairvaut gazed in his face, and asked, "And do you doubt it +now, Charles?" + +"Oh, no!" he cried, "oh, no! I ought not to doubt it, for Marie de +Clairvaut could not speak such words as she has spoken without +loving." And gently bending down his head over her, he pressed a kiss +upon that dear fair brow. "Marie," he said, "it is our fate to meet in +strange scenes. The last time that I kissed that brow, the last time +that I held you to my heart, was when I thought you dead, and lost to +me for ever." + +"And when I woke up," replied Marie de Clairvaut, "and was not only +grateful to God and to you for having saved me, but happy in its being +you that did save me, and happy," she added, slightly dropping her +eyes, "in the signs of deep affection which I saw." + +"And yet," he exclaimed, "and yet, when my stay or my departure hung +upon a single word from your lips, you gave me to understand that you +had not received those signs of affection as signs of affection; that +you looked upon them but as the natural effect of my witnessing your +restoration to life, when I thought you dead." + +"Oh, Charles!" exclaimed Marie de Clairvaut, with a slight smile, +"could you not pardon and understand such small hypocrisy as that? Did +you not know that woman's heart is shy, and seeks many a hiding-place, +even from the pursuit of one it loves?" + +"I never loved but you, Marie," replied the Count, "and I am sadly +ignorant, I fear, of woman's heart. Nevertheless, upon those few words +and that moment depended my fate." + +"I knew not that," cried Marie de Clairvaut, eagerly; "I knew not +that, or, upon my honour, I would have been more sincere: but what was +it, Charles, made you take so sudden a resolution? what was it made +you leave me, without a reply, in the hands of those who have striven +constantly ever since to make me believe that you cared not for me?" + +"I will tell you all," replied her lover; and, pouring forth in +eloquent words all the passion of his heart towards her, he told her +how his love had grown upon him, how it had increased each hour; and +making that the main subject of his tale, he told but as adjuncts to +it the pain which his brother's conduct had inflicted upon him, and +all the signs of rivalry which he had remarked. He then spoke of his +conversation with the Abbe de Boisguerin on their way to visit the +Count de Morly; and he told how agonised were all his feelings--how +terrible was the struggle in his heart,--and what was the resolution +that he took, to ascertain whether her affections were really gained, +and by the result to shape his conduct. He next spoke of his +conversation with her immediately preceding his departure, and of the +words which had led him to believe that she was unconscious of his +love, and did not return it. + +As she listened, the tears rose in her eyes, and, laying her soft fair +hand on his, she said, "Forgive me, Charles! oh, forgive me! but do +believe that there is not another woman on all the earth who would not +have done the same." + +"Alas! dear Marie," he replied, "in such knowledge you have but a +child to deal with." + +"Oh, be so ever, Charles!" she cried, clasping her hands and looking +up in his face. "There may be women who would love you less for being +so; but I trust and hope that you will never love any one but Marie de +Clairvaut, and she will value your love all the more for its being, +and having ever been, entirely her own. But you were speaking of the +Abbe de Boisguerin, Charles--you have told me of his conversation with +you--I saw, when I was at Montsoreau, that you loved and esteemed +him."--She paused, and hesitated. "I fear," she added, "that what I +must speak, that what I ought to tell you, may pain and grieve you:--I +doubt that man, Charles--I more than doubt him." + +"And so do I, Marie," replied her lover with a melancholy shake of the +head; "and so do I doubt him much. Indeed, as you say, I more than +doubt him, for I know and feel that he is not true." + +"Alas! Charles," she replied, "I fear that in that very first +conversation with you he meditated treachery towards you. I fear much, +very much, that his design and purpose even then was to separate us." + +"Perhaps it might be so, Marie," replied her lover: "though he has +never shown any strong preference, I have often thought he loves +Gaspar better than he does me." + +"But it was no love of your brother, Charles," she said; "it was no +love of your brother moved him then; for if your brother trusted him, +he betrayed him too. Now hear me, Charles, and let me, as quickly as +possible, tell a tale that makes my cheek burn, for it must be told. +After you were gone, I avoided your brother's presence as far as might +be. I was never with him for a moment alone if I could help it, for I +could not but see feelings that were never to be returned. Although +there was something from the first in the Abbe de Boisguerin that I +loved not, though I could not tell why--something in his eye that made +me shrink into myself with a kind of fear,--I now courted him to be +with me, in order to avoid the persecution of love for which I could +not feel even grateful. At first he seemed inclined to give your +brother opportunities; and I believe, I firmly believe, that he did so +because he knew that those opportunities would but serve to confirm +the coldness of my feelings towards him. When he saw that I sought him +to be with us, he seemed to yield, and was now with me often almost +alone, when there was none but one or two of my women in the further +end of the room. He timed his visits well; and, for a space, well did +he choose his conversation too. It was such as he knew must please my +ear. He told me of other lands, and of princely scenes beyond the +Alps, the beauties of nature, the miracles of art, the graceful but +dangerous race of the Medici, the treasures, the unrivalled treasures +of Florence and of Rome. I learned to forget the prejudices--I had +first taken towards him, and he saw that I listened well pleased, and +then he ventured to speak of you and of your brother. But oh, Charles, +he spoke not as a friend to either. He blamed not, indeed; he even +somewhat praised; but he undervalued all and every thing. There was +not a word of censure, but there was every now and then a light sneer +in the tone, a scornful turn of the lip, and curl of the nostril. It +pleased me not, and seeing it, he wisely dropped such themes. He spoke +of you no more; but he spoke of himself and of his own history. He +told me that his was the more ancient branch of your own family, but +that reverses and misfortunes had overtaken it; and that, careless of +wealth or station, and any of the bubbles which the world's grown +children follow, he had made no effort to raise his own branch from +the ground to which it had fallen. But he said, however, that if he +had had an object, a great and powerful object, he felt within himself +those capabilities of mind which might raise him over some of the +highest heads in the land: and none could hear his voice, and see the +keen astuteness of his eye, without believing that what he said was +true. And then again he spoke of the objects, the few, the only +objects, which could induce a man of great and expansive intellect to +mingle in the strife and turmoil of the world; and the chief of those +objects, Charles, was woman's love. He was a churchman, Charles, and +had taken vows which should have frozen such words upon his lips. I +was silent, and I think turned pale, and he instantly changed the +conversation to other things, speaking eloquently and nobly upon great +and fine feelings, as I have seen one of the modellers in wax cast on +the rough harsh form that he intended to give, and then soften it down +with fine and delicate touches, so as to leave it smooth and pleasant +to the eye. At length we set out to join my uncle; and your brother +now had opportunities of paining me greatly by the open and the +rash display of feelings that grieved and hurt me. He took means +too to find moments to speak with me alone, which I must not dwell +upon--means which were unworthy of one of your race, Charles. He tried +to deceive me into such interviews by every sort of petty art; and if +the Abbe de Boisguerin came to my relief, alas! it was but now to +inflict upon me worse persecution. He dared to speak to me, Charles, +words that none had ever dared to speak before--words that I must not +repeat, that I must not even think of here, so near the holy calmness +of the dead. These words were not, indeed, addressed to me directly; +but they were used to figure forth what were the passions which an +ardent and fiery heart might feel. They were intended evidently to let +me know of what he himself was capable: though they breathed of love, +there was somewhat of menace in them likewise. The very sound of his +voice, the very glare of his eyes, now became terrible to me: but he +seemed to consider that I was more in his power now than I had been at +Montsoreau; and I need not tell you that to me the journey was a +terrible one. To end it all, Charles--as I take it for granted that +you know some part of what has taken place, even by seeing you here +this night--I feel sure that it was by his machinations that I was +betrayed into the hands of the King, whom I have all my life been +taught to abhor, and by him given up to the power of a relation, from +whom I have been sheltered by all my better friends as from the most +venomous of serpents." + +Charles of Montsoreau had heard all in deep silence, without +interrupting her once. He gazed indeed, from time to time, upon her +fair face, watching with love and admiration the bright but transient +expressions that came across it: but he listened with full attention +and deep thought; and when she had done, he replied, "What you have +told me, dear Marie, indignant as it well may make me, was most +necessary for me to hear, and is most satisfactory, for it explains +all that I did not before comprehend or understand. His machinations, +however, dear Marie, I now trust are at an end. What may be between +Villequier and him I do not know; but I trust, dear Marie, I trust in +that God who never does fail them that trust in him, that I come to +bring you deliverance and to lead you to happiness. It would be long +and tedious to tell you, beloved, all that has happened to me since I +left you at Montsoreau. Suffice it that I have seen the Duke of Guise; +that I have spent the greater part of the time with him; that I have +been able, Marie, to serve him--he says, to save his life; and that to +me he has entrusted the charge of seeking you and bringing you to join +him at Soissons, in despite of any one that may oppose us." + +"Oh, joy, joy!" cried Marie de Clairvaut. "When can we set out?" And +she rose from her seat as if she hoped their departure might take +place that minute. Charles of Montsoreau drew her gently to his heart, +and, gazing into her deep tender eyes, he asked, "Will your joy be +less, dear Marie, if you know that you go to be at once the bride of +Charles of Montsoreau, with the full consent of your princely +guardian, given by one who is well worthy to give, to one who is +scarcely worthy to receive, such a jewel as yourself?" + +Marie de Clairvaut hid her face upon his bosom, murmuring, in a +scarcely audible tone, "Can you ask me, Charles?--But oh, let us speed +away quickly; for though I, who have been here now several days, and +have seen nothing but death and desolation round me ever since I came, +have become accustomed to the scene, and doubtless to the air also, +yet I fear for every moment that you remain here." + +"I still fear not, dear Marie," replied Charles of Montsoreau. +"Nevertheless, most glad am I to bear you away to happier scenes; and +as soon as the horses have taken some rest, we will set out. And now, +dear girl," he added, "I will send you from me. You need some repose, +Marie; you need some tranquillity. Leave me then, dear girl, and try +to sleep till the hour of our departure, while I will watch here for +you, and call you before break of day." + +"If you watch, Charles," replied Marie, "I will watch with you, for I +need not repose. This morning, after closing the eyes of poor Madame +de Saulny, and weeping long and bitterly over her and the poor girl +who was the only one that chose to remain with me, exhausted with +watching, anxiety, and grief, I fell asleep, and slept long. Before +that, I had felt so weary and so heated, that I almost fancied--though +without fearing it--that the plague might be coming upon me; but I +woke refreshed and comforted just as the sun was going down, and I +felt, as it were, a hope and expectation that some change would soon +come over my fate. But you need at least refreshment, Charles. In the +next room remains my last untasted meal--the last that the poor +frightened beings who abandoned me, set before their mistress +yesterday. I fear not to take you there, Charles, for no one has died +in this part of the house." + +Charles of Montsoreau followed her, and persuaded her also to take +some light refreshment; and there they sat through the live-long +night, speaking kind words from time to time, and watching each +other's countenances with hope strong at the hearts of both, though +somewhat chequered by fears, each for the other. + + + + + CHAP. VIII. + + +By the time that the first grey streak chequered the dark expanse of +the eastern sky, the horses of Charles of Montsoreau, with three +others, were standing on the terrace at the foot of the marble +steps. The page and Gondrin were there, and also the old groom, a +white-headed man of some sixty years of age, who had booted and +spurred himself, and buckled on a sword, declaring that he would +accompany his young mistress, if it were but to lead the sumpter horse +which carried her baggage. A moment after, Marie herself appeared, and +Charles of Montsoreau placed her on the beast that had been prepared +for her, while the old groom kissed her hand, saying, "I am glad to +see you well, dear lady. But fear not; none of your race and none of +mine ever died of the plague either, though I have seen it pass by +this place twice before now, and I remember eleven corpses lying on +those steps at once." + +"There are six within those chambers now," replied Marie, shaking her +head mournfully. "But I fear not, good Robin,--for myself at least. +But you had better lead the way towards Chalet, for the Count tells me +that Morvillette is deserted." + +"Oh, I will lead you safely, Lady," replied the old man; "and though +very likely they may keep us out of many a house on account of where +we come from, there is my daughter's cottage where they will take us +in, for they do not fear the plague there." + +Thus saying, he mounted his horse, and rode on before, through the +forest roads, while the lady and her lover followed side by side. As +they went on circling round the highest parts of the hills, the grey +streaks gradually turned into crimson; the dim objects became more +defined in the twilight of morning; a few far distant clouds at the +edge of the sky, tossed into fantastic shapes, began to glow like the +burning masses of a furnace; the crimson floated like the waves of a +sea up towards the zenith; the fiery red next became mingled with +bright streaks of gold; the forest world, just budding into light +green, was seen below with its multitude of hills and dales, and rocks +and streams; the air blew warm and sweet, and full of all the balm of +spring; and a thousand birds burst forth on every tree, and carolled +joyous hymns to the dawning day. + +Never broke there a brighter morning upon earth; never rose the sun in +greater splendour; never was the air more balmy, or the voices of the +birds more sweet. It seemed as if all were destined to afford to those +two lovers the strongest, the strangest, the brightest contrast to the +dark dull night of anxiety and emotion which they had passed within +the palace they had just left behind them. It seemed to both as an +image of the dawn of immortality after the tomb--anxiety, sorrow, +danger, death, left behind, and brightness and splendour spread out +before. + +Each instinctively drew in the rein as the sun's golden edge was +raised above the horizon; each gazed in the countenance of the other, +as if to see that no trace of the pestilence was there; and each held +out the hand to grasp that of the being most loved on earth, and then +they raised their eyes to Heaven in thankfulness and joy. + +The old man led them on with scarcely a pause towards Chalet; but +about a mile from that place he turned to a little hamlet near, where, +in a good farm-house inhabited by his daughter and her husband, they +found their first resting-place. They were gladly received and +heartily welcomed, without the slightest appearance of fear, though +the circumstances of their flight were known. The farmer and the +farmer's wife set before them the best of all they had, the children +served them at the table, and the good woman of the house brought +forth a large flask of plague water, and made them drink abundantly, +assuring them that it was a sovereign antidote that was never known to +fail. They then assigned a room to each, and though it was still +daylight they gladly retired to rest. Charles of Montsoreau, though +much fatigued, slept not for near an hour, but the house was all kept +quiet and still, and, with his thoughts full of her he loved, he +fancied and trusted that she was sleeping calmly near him, and in an +earnest prayer to Heaven he called down blessings on her slumber. At +length sleep visited his own eyes, and he rose refreshed and well. +Some fears, some anxieties still remained in his bosom till he again +saw the countenance of Marie de Clairvaut. When he did see it, +however, fears on her account vanished altogether, for the paleness +which had overspread her face the night before had been banished by +repose, and the soft warm glow of health was once more upon her cheek. +He saw the same anxious look of inquiry upon her countenance; and oh! +surely there is something not only sweet and endearing, but elevating +also, in the knowledge of such mutual thoughts and cares for each +other; something that draws forth even from scenes of pain and peril a +joy tender and pure and high for those who love well and truly! + +"Fear not, dear Marie," he said; "fear not; for I feel well, and you +too look well, so that I trust the danger is over." + +"Pray God it be!" said Marie de Clairvaut. "But now, when you will, +Charles, I am ready to go on; we may soon reach Maintenon." + +"We must avoid the road by Maintenon," replied Charles of Montsoreau, +"for that would bring us on the lands of the grasping Duke of Epernon, +and we could not run a greater risk. Chartres itself is doubtful; but +we must take our way thither, and act according to circumstances. +However, dear Marie, our next journey must be long and fatiguing: +would it not be better for you to stay here to-night, and take as much +repose as you can obtain before you go on?" + +"Oh no," replied Marie de Clairvaut; "I am well and strong now, and +eager to get forward out of all danger. The bright moon will soon be +rising, the sun has not yet set, and we may have five or six hours of +calm light to pursue our way." + +Her wishes were followed; and they were soon once more upon their way +towards the fair old town of Chartres. Their former journey had passed +greatly in thought, for deep emotions lay fresh upon their hearts, and +burthened them: but now they spoke long and frequently upon every part +of their mutual situation. The history of every event that had +happened to either, since they had parted at Montsoreau, was told and +dwelt upon with all its details: and while the love of Charles of +Montsoreau for his fair companion certainly did not diminish, every +word that fell from his lips, every act that she heard him relate, and +the manner of relating it also, increased in her bosom that love which +she had at first perceived with shame, but in which she now began to +take a pride as well as a joy. + +Nor, indeed, did his conduct and demeanour to herself in the +circumstances which surrounded them--circumstances of some difficulty +and delicacy--change one bright feeling of her heart towards him. +There was very much of that tenderness in his nature, that soft, that +gentle kindness, which, when joined with courage and strength, is more +powerful on the affections of woman than, perhaps, any other quality; +and her feelings were changed and rendered more devoted by being +dependent upon him for every thing--protection, and consolation, and +support, and affection, and all those little cares and kindnesses +which their mutual situation enabled him to show. + +Thus they journeyed on for several hours, and at length reached the +town of Chartres, having agreed to pass for brother and sister, as the +safest means of escaping observation. It was about eleven o'clock at +night when they reached the inn, but they were received with all +kindness and hospitality, such as innkeepers ever show to those who +seem capable of paying for good treatment. No questions were asked, +supper was set before them, and the night passed over again in ease +and comfort. Every hour, indeed, that went by without displaying any +sign of illness was in itself a joy; and there was a stillness and a +quietness about the old town of Chartres which seemed to quiet all +fears of annoyance or interruption. + +Charles of Montsoreau was early up, and was waiting for the appearance +of Marie de Clairvaut, when the landlord of the inn appeared to inform +him that a horse-litter, which he had ordered to be ready for his +inspection, had been brought into the court-yard, and was waiting for +him to see. At that moment, however, there was a flourish of trumpets +in the street; and, looking forth from the window, the young Count saw +a considerable band of mounted soldiers, drawn up, as if about to +proceed on their march. + +"My sister," he said, turning to the host, "has not yet risen, and she +must see the litter, too, as it is for her convenience. But who are +these gallant gentlemen before the house, and whither are they going?" + +"Why, you might know them, sir, by their plumes and their scarfs," +replied the host. "They are a body of the light horse of the guard of +the Queen-mother. They are easily distinguished, I ween." + +"Ay, but I am a rustic from the provinces," replied the young +nobleman: "but they seem gallant-looking soldiers." + +"The Captain was making manifold inquiries about you and the young +lady who arrived last night," replied the landlord, "for he has come +with orders to seek and bring back to Paris some young lady and +gentleman that have made their escape lately with eight or nine +attendants. But when I told him that you were going to Paris, not +coming from it, and that you had only three servants with you, and the +young lady was your sister, he said it was not the same, and is now +going on. But I must go, lest he should ask for me." + +"Well, well," answered the young Count with an air of indifference. "I +will be down presently to see the litter; let it wait." + +He watched, however, with some anxiety the departure of the body of +light horse, for though he did not feel by any means sure that it was +himself whom they sought, he did not feel at all secure till the last +faint note of their trumpets was heard, as they issued forth from one +of the further gates of Chartres. As soon as Marie de Clairvaut +appeared, he purchased the litter without much hesitation, and +determined to proceed with all speed towards Dourdan and Corbeil. + +The host of the inn would have fain had them stay some time longer, +for the young Count had paid so readily for the litter, that he judged +some gold might be further extracted from his purse. He asked him, +therefore, whether there was nothing in the good town of Chartres to +excite his curiosity, and was beginning a long list of marvels; but +Charles of Montsoreau cut him short, saying, as he looked up at the +sign covered with fleurs-de-lis, "No, no, my good host. I have much +business on my hands in which his Majesty is not a little concerned, +and therefore I must lose no time." + +The host nodded his head, looked wise, and suffered the Count and his +party to depart without further opposition. + +As it was not a part of their plan to follow the high road more than +they were actually obliged to do, soon after leaving Chartres they +took a path to the left, which they were informed would lead them by +Gellardon to Bonnelle, through the fields and woods. Before they had +gone a league, however, the noise of dogs and horses, and the shouts, +as it seemed, of huntsmen, were heard at no great distance; and +turning towards Gondrin the young Count asked, "What can they be +hunting at this time of year?" + +"The wolf, my Lord, the wolf," replied the man. "They hunt wolves at +all times." + +Scarcely had he spoken, when a loud yell of the dogs was heard; and +nodding his head sagaciously, as if he had seen the whole proceeding +with his mind's eye, Gondrin added, "They have killed him;" which was +confirmed by a number of joyous morts on the horns of the huntsmen. + +"Let us proceed as fast as possible," said Charles of Montsoreau; "we +know not who those huntsmen may be:" and he was urging the driver of +the litter to hurry on his horses rapidly, when the whole road before +them was suddenly filled with a gay party of cavaliers, splendidly +dressed and accoutred, and coming direct towards them. There was +nothing now to be done but to pass on quietly if possible; and, taking +no apparent notice, but bending his head and speaking into the litter, +without even seeing of whom the other party was composed, Charles of +Montsoreau was riding on, when a loud voice was heard exclaiming "Halt +there! halt! A word with you if you please, young sir;" and, looking +up, he saw the Duke of Epernon. + +Without suffering the slightest surprise to appear upon his +countenance, or the slightest apprehension, Charles of Montsoreau +turned his head, demanding calmly, "Well, my Lord, what is your +pleasure with me?" + +"My pleasure is," replied the Duke, "that you instantly turn your +horse's head and go back to Epernon with me." + +"I am extremely sorry, my Lord," replied the Count, "that it is quite +impossible for me to do what you propose, as I am upon urgent business +for the Duke of Guise, and bear the King's passport and safe-conduct, +which I presume your Lordship will not despise." + +"You may bear the King's passport, sir," said the Duke, "but you +certainly do not bear his authorisation to carry away from his power +the young lady who I suppose is in that litter. As to the Duke of +Guise, your authority from him is very much doubted also." + +"That doubt is easily removed, my Lord," replied the Count, seeing +clearly that he would be forced to yield, but fully resolved not to do +so till he had tried every means to avoid it. "That doubt is easily +removed, my Lord. Allow me to show you the authority given me by the +Duke under his own hand, which I think even the Duke of Epernon must +respect." + +The Duke took the paper which he tendered him, and then saying, "I +will show you how I respect it," he tore it into a thousand pieces, +and cast it beneath his horse's feet, while a laugh ran through the +men that attended him. "Turn your horse's head," he continued, +"without more ado, or I will have your arms tied behind your back, and +the horse led." + +"My Lord," replied the young Count, "I must obey, for I have no means +of resisting; but let me remind you, that the Duke of Epernon was +always considered, even before what he is now, a gallant gentleman and +a man of good feeling, who would not insult those who were too weak to +oppose him, and who did their duty honourably as far as it was +possible for them to do it." + +"Your civility now, sir," replied the Duke, "like your rash folly a +week or two ago, is too contemptible to make any change in the Duke of +Epernon. That foolish party of light horse," he continued, speaking to +one of his attendants, "must have suffered this malapert youth and his +fair charge to have passed it. Turn the litter round there; take care +that none of them escape." + +"The boy has made off already," replied one of the men. "Shall I +gallop after him, my Lord? He may tell the Duke of Guise." + +"Let him!" answered Epernon. "Go not one of you; but bring the rest of +them along hither." + +Without giving any intimation of his intent, Charles of Montsoreau +turned his horse suddenly back to the side of the litter, and drew the +curtain back, saying to Marie de Clairvaut, who sat pale and anxious +within it, "You hear what has happened; there is no power of +resistance, for they are ten to one: but the boy has escaped, and will +give the Duke notice of where you are. In the mean time it is one +comfort, that now you are in the hands of one who is, at all events, a +man of honour and a gentleman in feeling." + +What he said was intended to give comfort and consolation to Marie de +Clairvaut; but it reached the ear of the Duke of Epernon likewise. "I +must suffer no farther conversation," he said in a gentler tone than +he had before used. "You will understand, Monsieur de Logeres, that I +have authority for what I do; and that I arrest you out of no personal +vengeance, but because the order has been already given to that +effect." + +"My Lord," replied the young Count, "I care very little for my own +arrest, as I know that I can but be detained a short time: but I +confess I am most anxious for the young lady placed under my especial +charge by the Duke of Guise, as I have shown your Lordship by the +paper you have torn. If she is to remain in your Lordship's charge, I +shall be more satisfied; but if she is to be given up to Monsieur de +Villequier, the consequences will indeed be painful to all. You are +perhaps not aware, my Lord, that he sent her to a place where the +plague was raging at the time, where six persons of her household died +of it, and the rest fled, leaving her utterly alone." + +The Duke seemed moved, and after remaining silent for a minute, he +replied, "I did not know it; the man who would murder his wife, would +make no great scruple of killing his cousin, I suppose. However, sir, +set your mind at ease: though I cannot promise that she shall remain +with the Duchess of Epernon, she shall not be given up to Villequier +either by myself or by any body in whose hands I may place her. Is +that assurance sufficient for you?" + +"Perfectly, my Lord," replied Charles of Montsoreau. "The Duke of +Epernon's promise is as good as the bond of other men." + +"Well, follow me, then," replied the Duke, and, riding on alone, he +left the young Count in the hands of his attendants. + + + + + CHAP. IX. + + +It was in one of the saloons of the old Cardinal de Bourbon, in the +town of Soissons, that Henry Duke of Guise, princely in his habit, +princely in his aspect, with his foot raised upon a footstool of +crimson and gold, a high plumed Spanish hat upon his head, manifold +parchments before him, and a pen in his hand, sat alone on a day in +the month of April with his eyes fixed upon a door at the other end of +the room, as if waiting for the entrance of some one. + +The next moment the door was thrown wide open, and, preceded by two +servants announcing him to the Duke, appeared a small and not very +striking personage plainly habited in black velvet. The moment the +Duke saw him, he rose, and for an instant uncovered his head, then +covering himself again he advanced to meet him, and took him by the +hand, saying "Monsieur de Bellievre, I am delighted to see you. The +King could not have chosen any one more gratifying to myself to +receive: in the first place, because I know that I shall hear nothing +but truth from the lips of Monsieur de Bellievre; and, in the next +place, because I am sure no one will bear more exactly to his Majesty +any reply I may have to make to the message with which I understand +you are charged." + +"The confidence which your Highness expresses in me," replied +Bellievre, as the Duke led him towards the table, and made him seat +himself beside him, "does great honour to so humble an individual as +myself. Nevertheless, I must deliver the King's message, my Lord, +precisely as it was given to me; and should there be any thing in it +disagreeable to your Highness, I trust that you will excuse the +bearer, and consider the matter dispassionately." + +"Proceed, proceed," replied the Duke; "as in duty bound I shall +receive his Majesty's communication with all deference and humility." + +"Well, then," replied Bellievre, "I am charged by his Majesty to +assure your Highness that his personal esteem and respect for you is +very great; and that he has never, in any degree, given ear to the +injurious reports which persons inimical to your Highness have been +industrious in circulating to your disadvantage." + +"Your pardon, Monsieur de Bellievre, for one moment," said the Duke, +interrupting him. "To what injurious reports does his Majesty allude? +I am ignorant that any one has dared to circulate injurious reports of +me; and if such be the case, it is high time that I should proceed to +the capital to confront and shame my accusers." + +As this was not at all the point to which the King's envoy wished to +bring the Duke, he looked not a little embarrassed what to reply. He +answered, however, after a moment's pause, "It would, indeed, be +requisite for you to do so, my Lord, if I did not bear you the King's +most positive assurance that he gives no ear to such reports. But to +proceed: his Majesty has bid me strongly express his full conviction +of your attachment, fidelity, and affection, but has commanded me to +add that, having heard it reported your intention is immediately to +present yourself in Paris, he is unwillingly obliged, by state reasons +of the utmost importance, to request that you would forbear the +execution of that purpose." + +It was not without some hesitation and apparent emotion that Bellievre +spoke; but the Duke heard him with perfect calmness, though with a +slight contraction of the brow. + +"The report," he answered, "of my intention of visiting Paris is +perfectly correct, Monsieur de Bellievre; nor can I, indeed, refrain +from executing that purpose, with all due deference to his Majesty, +for many reasons, amongst which those that you yourself give me of +injurious rumours being rife in the capital regarding me, are not the +least cogent. Thus, unless the King intends to signify by you, +Monsieur de Bellievre, that he positively prohibits my coming into +Paris--which, of course, he would not do--I see not how I can avoid +doing simple justice to myself by returning to my own dwelling in the +capital of this country." + +"I grieve to say, your Highness," replied Bellievre, seeing that the +worst must be told, "I grieve to say, that while the King has charged +me to assure you of his regard and his confidence in you, he none the +less instructed me to make the prohibition on his part absolute and +distinct." + +The Duke of Guise started up with his brow knit and his eyes flashing. +"Is this the reward," he exclaimed, "of all the services I have +rendered the state? Is this the recompense for having shed my blood so +often in defence of France? to be dishonoured in the eyes of all the +people, by being banished from the metropolis, to be excluded from the +companionship of all my friends, to be cut off from transacting my own +private affairs, to be talked of and pointed at as the exiled Duke of +Guise, and to have the boys singing in the streets the woeful ditty of +my sufferings and a King's ingratitude?" And as he spoke, the Duke +took two or three rapid strides up and down the room. + +"Indeed, indeed, your Highness," cried Bellievre, "you take it up too +warmly. The King is far from ungrateful, but most thankful for your +high services; but it is for the good of the state that you love, for +the safety and security of the people of the capital who are in a +tumultuous and highly excitable state, that he wishes you to refrain +from coming----" + +"That he sends me a message dishonouring to myself and to my House," +replied the Duke. "That he marks me out from the rest of the nobles of +the land, by a prohibition which I may venture to say is unjust and +unmerited. I must take some days to think of this, Monsieur de +Bellievre; nor can I in any way promise not to visit Paris. Were it +but to protect, support, and guide my friends and relations, I ought +to go; were it but on account of the church for which I am ready to +shed my blood if it be necessary, persecuted, reviled, assailed as +that holy church is; were it but for my attendants and supporters, who +are attacked, abused, and ill-treated in the streets and public ways." + +"As for the church, your Highness," replied Bellievre, "none is more +sincerely attached to it than the King and the King's advisers. It +will stand long, my Lord, depend upon it, without any further +assistance than that which you have already so ably given it. Your +relations, my Lord, and household," he said, "are not and cannot be +ill-treated." + +"How?" exclaimed the Duke. "Is not my dear sister Margaret even now, +as it were, proscribed by the King and his court? Is not every thing +done to drive her from Paris? Have not her servants been struck by +those of Villequier in the open streets?" + +"I know," replied Bellievre, "that a month or two ago Madame de +Montpensier was subject to some little annoyance, but as soon as it +came to the King's ears he had it instantly remedied, and only wished +her to quit Paris for her own security." + +"The House of Guise, sir, have always been secure in the capital of +France," replied the Duke; "and I trust always will be." + +"Nothing has occurred since I trust, my Lord," continued Bellievre. +"The King is most anxious that you should have satisfaction in every +thing, and will give you the strongest assurances that your family, +your household, and your friends, shall be in every respect well +treated and protected, as indeed he has always wished them to be." + +The Duke threw himself down in his chair and rang the bell that stood +upon the table violently. "Ho! without there!" he exclaimed. "Bring in +that page that arrived hither a night or two ago, when I was absent at +Jamets." + +The attendant who had appeared retired, and the Duke sat silent, +gazing with a frown at the papers on the table. "May I ask your +Highness," said Bellievre, not knowing what interpretation to put upon +this conduct, "May I ask your Highness whether I am to conceive my +audience at an end?" + +"No, Monsieur de Bellievre, no," replied the Duke in a milder tone; +"for _you_ I have a high respect and esteem, and will listen to you +upon this subject longer than I would to most men. I wish you to hear +and to know how the friends of the Duke of Guise are treated, what +protection and favour is shown to them at the court of France. Perhaps +you will hear some things that are new to you--perhaps they may be new +to the King too," he added, a slight sneer curling his haughty lip. +"But be that as it may, Monsieur de Bellievre, I think I can show you +good cause why the Duke of Guise should be no longer absent from +Paris. Come hither, boy," he added, as the page Ignati entered the +room, "Come hither, boy, and answer my questions. Thou art both witty +and honest, but give me plain straightforward replies. Stand at my +knee and answer, so that this gentleman may hear." + +The boy advanced, and did as the Duke bade him, turning his face +towards Bellievre, with his left hand to the Duke. + +"You went to Paris," said Guise, "with my friend the young Count of +Logeres; did you not? Were you aware of the cause of his going?" + +"He went, I understood your Highness," replied the boy, "to seek a +young lady, a relation of your own, who had been carried to Paris by a +body of the King's troops while on her way to join your Highness." + +"Can you tell what was Monsieur de Logeres' success?" said the Duke. + +"I know he saw the King," replied the boy, "and heard that he had been +promised a letter to all the governors and commanders in different +places to aid him in seeking for the young Lady, and bringing her back +to your Highness. I heard also that it was for this paper he waited +from day to day in Paris, but that it never came." + +"I beg your Highness's pardon," said Bellievre interrupting the boy, +"but you will remark that this is all hearsay. He does not seem to +speak at all from his own knowledge." + +"That will come after," answered the Duke somewhat sharply. "Go on, +Ignati. What do you know more?" + +"What I have said," replied the boy, "is more than hearsay, my Lord, +for while we staid in Paris the good Count bade us always be ready at +a moment's notice to set out, for he could not tell when the letter +from Monsieur de Villequier would arrive. It never came, however, and +one night the Count having, as I understood, gained information of +where Mademoiselle de Clairvaut was, set out with his man Gondrin and +myself to seek her. We found that she had been brought by a body of +the King's troops to a chateau or a palace, for it looked more like a +palace than a chateau, called Morvillette, I believe near Chateauneuf, +where the plague was then raging, when the King's soldiers left her. +By the time we arrived the plague had reached the chateau, six or +seven people were dead, and all the rest had fled, leaving the young +lady with nobody in the palace, and none but one old groom in the +stables." + +The Duke's eye fixed sternly upon the countenance of Bellievre, and he +muttered between his teeth, "This is the doing, Monsieur de Bellievre, +of my excellent good friend, the King of France. Go on, boy; go on! +Proceed. What happened next?" + +"The lady was most joyous of her deliverance," continued the boy, "and +eager to come to your Highness; and we set out the next morning before +day-break, and reached Chartres, where the Count bought a litter for +her greater convenience. At a short distance from Chartres, however, +we were met by the Duke of Epernon and his train wolf-hunting, and the +Duke immediately stopped us, and insisted upon the Count going back +with him to Epernon. The Count produced the King's passports, but the +Duke said that there were doubts of his being authorised by you." + +"Did he not show him my own letter?" exclaimed the Duke. "Did he not +show him the authority I gave him under my own hand?" + +"He did, my Lord; he did," replied the boy; "but the Duke of Epernon +said he would show in what respect he held your Highness's letter, and +tearing it in several pieces he threw it down under his horse's feet." + +Bellievre continued to look down upon the ground with a brow which +certainly displayed but little satisfaction. The Duke of Guise, +however, though he had been frowning the moment before, now only +smiled as the boy related the incident of the letter; the smile was +somewhat contemptuous, indeed; but he said merely, "Go on, boy. What +happened next?" + +"Nay, my Lord," replied the boy, "what happened to them I know not, +for seeing that the Duke held them prisoners, and was taking them back +to Epernon, I made my escape as fast as I well could, and came hither +to tell you into whose hands the young lady and Monsieur de Logeres +had fallen." + +"You did quite right, boy," said the Duke; "and now you may retire. +You hear, Monsieur de Bellievre," he continued, "with what kindness, +protection, support, and generosity the King treats the friends of the +Duke of Guise! First he casts my poor niece's child into the hands of +Villequier, something worse than those of the hangman of Paris, and +then between them they send her into the midst of the pestilence; then +comes Monsieur d'Epernon to confirm all, arrests my friend bearing the +King's own passports and safeguard, seizes upon my own relation and +ward, and carries them both I know not whither." + +"Perhaps your Highness," said Bellievre, "the Duke of Epernon might +have motives that we do not know. At all events the King----" + +"Fie, Monsieur de Bellievre, fie!" exclaimed the Duke vehemently. "I +will tell you what! It is time the Duke of Guise were in Paris, if but +to deliver the King from such Dukes of Epernon who abuse his +authority, disgrace his name, absorb his favours, ruin the state, +overthrow the church, and dare do acts that make men blush for shame. +France will no longer suffer him, sir; France will no longer suffer +him! If I free not the King from him and such as he is, the people +will rise up and commit some foul attempt upon the royal authority. +What," he continued, with fierce scorn, "What, though he be Baron of +Caumont, Duke of Epernon, raised out of his place to sit near the +princes of the blood, Governor of Metz and Normandy, of the +Boulonnais, and Aunis, of Touraine, Saintonge, and Angoumois, +Colonel-general of Infantry, and Governor of Anjou, a Knight of the +order of the Holy Ghost! he shall find this simple steel sword of +Henry of Guise sufficiently sharp to cut his parchments into pieces, +and send him back a beggar to the class he sprung from." + +The Duke spoke so rapidly, that to interrupt him was impossible; and +so angrily, that Bellievre, overawed, remained silent for a moment or +two after he had done, while the Prince bent his eyes down upon the +table, and played with the golden tassels of his sword-knot, as if +half ashamed of the vehemence he had displayed. + +"I did not come here, your Highness," he said, "either as the envoy or +the advocate of the Duke of Epernon. You must well know that there is +no great love between us; and I doubt not, when your Highness comes to +call him to account for his deeds, that justice will be found entirely +on your side. But I came on the part of the King; and I beseech you to +consider, my good Lord, what may be the consequences of pressing even +any severe charges against the Duke of Epernon at this moment, when +his Majesty is contending with the heretics on the one side, and is +somewhat troubled by an unruly people on the other." + +"Is he indeed contending with any body or any thing, Bellievre?" +demanded the Duke. "Is he indeed contending against the Bearnois? Is +he contending against the indolence of his own nature, or rather +against the indolence into which corrupt favourites have cast him? Is +he contending against the iniquities of Villequier, or the exactions +of Epernon? Is he contending against any thing less contemptible than +a spaniel puppy or an unteachable parrot? My love and attachment to +the King and his crown, Bellievre, are greater than yours; and, as my +final reply, I beg you humbly to inform his Majesty on my part, that +if I do not promptly and entirely obey him in this matter of not +coming to Paris, it is solely because I am compelled to do as I do, +for the good of the church, for the safety of the state, for the +security of my own relations and friends, and even for the benefit of +his Majesty himself. This is my final reply." + +"Yet one word, my Lord," replied Bellievre. "At all events, if your +determination to visit the capital be taken, will you not at least, at +my earnest prayer, delay your journey till I myself can return to +Paris, and obtaining more ample explanations of the King's purposes, +come back to you and confer with you farther on the subject." + +"I see not, Monsieur de Bellievre," said the Duke of Guise, "what good +could be obtained by such delay. I do not at all mean to say that you +would take advantage of my confidence to prepare any evil measures +against me; but others might do so: and besides, my honour calls me +not to leave my friends in peril for a moment, even though I called +upon my head the enmity of a whole host in stepping forward to rescue +them." + +"I pledge you my honour, my Lord," replied Bellievre, "that if you +will consent to delay, no measures shall be taken against you; and I +will do the very best I can to induce the King to make any atonement +in his power to your friends. As to this young Count of Logeres, I +never heard of him before to-day, and know not what has been done with +him at all; and in regard to Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, she is +doubtless in the hands of Villequier, who, I understand, claims the +guardianship." + +"To which he has less right," replied the Duke angrily, "than that +footstool; and if he contends with me, I will spurn him as I do it;" +and he suited the gesture to the word. "But still I see not," +continued the Duke, "what is to be gained by this delay to either +party." + +"This, my good Lord," replied Bellievre. "I am well aware that his +Majesty the King has sent me here without sufficient powers to make +you just and definite proposals. This I believe to have been entirely +from the haste in which I came away, there being no time for thought. +But if you permit me to return with assurance that you will wait but a +few days, I feel convinced that I shall come back to you with offers +so abundant, so satisfactory, and so well secured, that your Lordship +will change your resolution." + +The Duke mused for a moment or two. "Well, Monsieur de Bellievre," he +said at length, "though I entertain no such hopes as you do, I must +yield something to my loyalty, and to my real desire of obeying the +King; although, perhaps, my duty to my country and to the church might +well lead me to more prompt proceedings. I will, therefore, delay my +journey for a day or two; but you must use all speed, and I must have +no trifling. You know all my just grievances: those must be remedied, +the church must be secured; and for the quiet and the satisfaction of +the people who abhor and detest him, as well as for the relief of the +nobles who have long been shut out from all favour by that unworthy +minion, this John of Nogaret, this Duke of Epernon, must be banished +from the court and councils of the King, and stripped of the places +and dignities which he has won from the weak condescension of the +Monarch. You understand me, Monsieur de Bellievre," he said in a +sterner tone, seeing that Bellievre looked somewhat dismayed at the +extent of his demands. "Undertake not the mission if you think that +you cannot succeed in it; but let me on my way without more +opposition." + +"My Lord, I will do my best to succeed," replied Bellievre; "and trust +that I shall do so. How many days will your Highness give me?" + +"Nay, nay," replied the Duke; "that I cannot tell, Monsieur de +Bellievre. Suffice it, I will delay as long as my honour permits me; +and you on your part lose not an hour in making the necessary +arrangements, and bringing the King's reply." + +As he spoke the Duke rose to terminate the conference; and then added, +"I fear, Monsieur de Bellievre, as I am expecting every moment my +brother, the Cardinal de Guise, and his Eminence of Bourbon, to confer +with me upon matters of importance, I cannot do the honours of the +house to you as I could wish; but Pericard, my secretary and friend, +will attend upon you, and insure that you have every sort of +refreshment. I will send for him this moment." And so doing, he placed +Bellievre in the hands of his secretary, and turned once more to other +business. + +The King's envoy sped back to Paris, scarcely giving himself time to +take necessary refreshment; but on his arrival in the capital he first +found a difficulty even in seeing the Monarch; and when he did see +him, found him once more plunged in that state of luxurious and +effeminate indolence from which he was only roused by occasional fits +of excitement, which sometimes enabled him to resume the monarch and +the man, but more frequently carried him into the wildest and most +frantic excesses of debauchery. + +Henry would scarcely listen to the business of Bellievre even when he +granted him an audience on the following morning. He asked many a +question about his cousin of Guise, about his health, about his +appearance, about his dress itself; whether his shoes were pointed or +square, and how far the haut-de-chausses came down above his knees. +Bellievre was impatient, and pressed the King with some fire; but +Henry only laughed, and tickled the ears of a monkey that sat upon the +arm of his chair with a parrot's feather. The animal mouthed and +chattered at the King, and strove to snatch the feather out of his +hands; and Henry, stroking it down the head, called it "Mon Duc de +Guise." + +Bellievre bowed low, and moved towards the door. "Come back to-morrow, +Bellievre; come back to-morrow," said the King; "Villequier will be +here then. You see at present how importantly I am occupied with my +fair cousin of Guise here;" and he pulled the monkey's whiskers as he +spoke. "Villequier has told me all about it," he added. "He says the +Duke will not come, and so says my mother; and if they both say the +same thing who never agreed upon any point before, it must be true, +Bellievre, you know." + +"I trust it may, Sire," replied Bellievre dryly, and quitted the room +with anger and indignation at his heart. Before he had crossed the +anteroom, he heard a loud laugh ringing like that of a fool from the +lips of the Monarch; and although it was doubtless occasioned by some +new gambol of the monkey, it did not serve to diminish the bitter +feelings which were in the diplomatist's bosom. + + + + + CHAP. X. + + +In a small, dark, oaken cabinet with one window high up and barred, a +lamp hanging from the ceiling, a table with books and a musical +instrument, several chairs, and a silver bell, Charles of Montsoreau +was seated several days after the period at which we last left him. A +bedroom well furnished in every respect was beyond; the least sound of +the silver bell produced immediate attendance; nothing was refused him +that he demanded; nothing was wanting to his comfort except liberty +and the sound of some other human being's voice. Yet, strange to say, +although he knew that he was in the city of Paris, he knew nothing +more of the position of the building in which he was placed. He had +been brought into the capital at night, had been conducted through a +number of narrow and tortuous streets, and had at length been led +through a deep archway and several large courts, to the place in which +he was now confined. + +It may seem perhaps that such a state of imprisonment did not offer +much to complain of; and yet it had bent his spirit and bowed down his +heart. The want of all knowledge of what was passing around him, the +absence of every one that he loved, the loss of liberty, the perfect +silence, joined with anxiety for one who was dearer to him than +himself, wore him day by day, and took from him the power of enjoying +any of those things which were provided for his convenience or +amusement. + +The servant who attended upon him never opened his lips, he obeyed any +orders that were given to him, he brought any thing that was demanded; +but he replied to no questions, he made no observations, he afforded +no information even by a look. Every bolt and bar that was on the +outside of the door was invariably drawn behind him, and the high +window in either room could only be so far reached even by standing on +the table or one of the chairs, as to enable the young nobleman to +open or shut it at pleasure, so to admit the free air from without. + +Such had been the condition of Charles of Montsoreau, as we have said, +for many days; but he had not yet become reconciled in any degree to +his fate, though he strove, as far as possible, to while away the +moments in any way that was permitted, either by books or music. But +it was with impatience and disgust that he did so, and the lute was +taken up and laid down, the book read and cast away, without remaining +in his hands for the space of five minutes. + +The sun shone bright through the high window, and traced a moving spot +of golden light upon the dark oak of the opposite wainscot; the air of +spring came sweet and pleasantly through, and gave him back the +thoughts and dreams of liberty; a wild plant rooted in the stonework +of the building without, cast its light feathery shadow on the wall +where the sun shone, and the hum and roar of distant multitudes, +pursuing their busy course in the thronged thoroughfares of the city, +brought him his only tidings from the hurried and struggling scene of +human life. + +He took a pleasure in watching the leaves of the little plant as, +waved about by the wind, they played against the bars of the window, +and he was thus occupied on the day we have mentioned, when suddenly +something crossed the light for a moment, as if some small bird had +flown by; but at the same instant a roll of paper fell at his feet, +and taking it up, he recognised the well-known writing of the Duke of +Guise. + +"You have suffered for my sake," the paper said, "and I hastened to +deliver you. The day of the Epernons is over; your place of +imprisonment is known. Be not dispirited, therefore, for relief is at +hand." + +It cannot be told how great was the relief which this note itself +brought to the mind of the young Count, not alone by the promise that +it held out, but by the very feeling that it gave him of not being +utterly forgotten, of being not entirely alone and desolate. He read +it over two or three times, and then hearing one of the bolts of the +door undrawn, he concealed it hastily lest the attendant should see +it. + +Another bolt was immediately afterwards pulled back, and then the door +was unlocked, though far more slowly than usual. It seemed to the +young Count that an unaccustomed hand was busy with the fastenings, +and a faint hope of speedy deliverance shot across his mind. + +The next instant, however, the door was opened, and though it +certainly was not the usual attendant who appeared, no face presented +itself that was known to Charles of Montsoreau. The figure was that of +a woman, tall, stately, and dressed in garments of deep black, fitting +tightly round the shoulders and the waist, and flowing away in ample +folds below. Her hair was entirely covered by black silk and lace, but +her face was seen, and that face was one which instantly drew all +attention to itself. + +It was not indeed the beauty which attracted, though there were great +remains of beauty too, but it was the face not only of an old woman, +but of one who had been somewhat a spendthrift of youth's charms. +There was, however, a keen fire in the eyes, a strong determination on +the brow, an expansion of the nostril, which gave the idea of quick +and eager feelings, and a degree of sternness about the whole line of +the features, which would have made the whole countenance commanding, +but harsh and severe, had it not been for a light and playful smile +that gleamed across the whole, like some of the bright and sudden rays +of light that from to time we see run across the bosom of deep still +shady waters. + +There was a degree of mockery in that smile, too; and yet it spoke +affections and feelings which as strangely blended with the general +character of that woman's life, as the smile itself did with the +general expression of her countenance. The hands were beautiful and +delicately small, and the figure good, with but few signs of age about +it. + +The young Count gazed upon her with some surprise as she entered, but +instantly rose from the seat in which he had been sitting while +reading the Duke of Guise's note; and the lady, with a graceful +inclination of the head, closed the door, advanced and seated herself, +examining the young Count from head to foot with a look of calm +consideration, which he very well understood implied the habitual +exercise of authority and power. + +After thus gazing at him for a moment or two, she said, "Monsieur le +Comte de Logeres, do you know me?" + +"If you mean, madam," he replied, "to ask me if I recognise your +person, I believe I do; but if you would ask absolutely whether I know +you, I must say, no." + +One of those light smiles passed quick across her countenance, and she +said in a low voice, as if speaking to herself, "Who ever did know +me?" She then added, "Who then do you suppose I am?" + +"I conclude, madam," replied the young Count, "that I stand in the +presence of her Majesty the Queen-mother." + +"Such is the case," replied the Queen, "and I have come to visit you, +Monsieur de Logeres, with views and purposes which, were I to tell +them to any person at my son's court, would hardly be believed." + +The Queen paused, as if waiting for an answer; and the young Count +replied, "I trust, madam, that if I am detained here by the +directions, and in the power of your Majesty, that you have come to +give me liberty, which would, I suppose," he added with somewhat of a +smile, "be rather marvellous to the courtiers of the King." + +Catharine de Medici smiled also, but at the same time shook her head. +"I fear I must not give you liberty," she said, "for I have promised +not: but I have come with no bad intent towards you. I knew your +mother, Monsieur de Logeres, and a virtuous and beautiful woman she +was. God help us! it shows that I am growing old, my praising any +woman for her virtue. However, she was what I have said, and as unlike +myself as possible. Perhaps that was the reason that I liked her, for +we like not things that are too near ourselves. However, I have come +hither to see her son, and to do him a pleasure. You play upon the +lute?" she continued. "Come, 'tis a long time since I have heard the +lute well played. Take up the instrument, and add your voice to it." + +"Alas, madam," replied the young Count, "I am but in an ill mood for +music. If I sang you a melancholy lay it would find such stirring +harmonies in my own heart, that I fear I should drown the song in +tears; and if I sang you a gay one, it would be all discord. I would +much rather open that door which you have left unlocked behind you, +and go out." + +The Queen did not stir in the slightest degree, but gazed upon him +attentively with a look of compassion, answering, "Alas! poor bird, +you would find that your cage has a double door. But come, do as I bid +you; sit down there, take up the lute and sing. Let your song be +neither gay nor sad! Let it be a song of love. I doubt not that such a +youth as you are, will easily find a love ditty in your heart, though +the present inspiration be no better than an old woman. Come, Monsieur +de Logeres, come: sit down and sing. I am a judge of music, I can tell +you." + +With a faint smile the Count did as she bade him; and taking up the +lute, he ran his fingers over the chords, thought for a moment or two, +and recollecting nothing better suited to the moment, he sang an +Italian song of love, in which sometime before he had ventured to +shadow forth to Marie de Clairvaut, when she was at Montsoreau, the +first feelings of affection that were growing up in his heart. The +Queen sat by in the mean time, listening attentively, with her head a +little bent forward, and her hand marking the cadences on her knee. + +"Beautifully sung, Monsieur de Logeres," she said at length when he +ended. "Beautifully sung, and as well accompanied. You do not know how +much pleasure you have given.--Now, let us talk of other things. Are +you sincere, man?" + +"I trust so, madam," replied the Count. "I believe I have never borne +any other character." + +"Who taught you to play so well on the lute?" demanded the Queen +abruptly. + +"I have had no great instruction, madam," answered the Count somewhat +surprised. "I taught myself a little in my boyhood. But afterwards my +preceptor, the Abbe de Boisguerin, was my chief instructor. He had +learned well in Italy." + +"Did he teach you sincerity too?" demanded the Queen with a keen look; +"and did he learn that in Italy?" + +The Count was not a little surprised to find Catherine's questions +touch so immediately upon the late discoveries he had made of the +character of the Abbe de Boisguerin, and he replied with some +bitterness, "He could but teach me, madam, that which he possessed +himself. I trust that to my nature and my blood I owe whatever +sincerity may be in me. I learned it from none but from God and my own +heart." + +"Then you know him," said the Queen, reaching the point at once; "that +is sufficient at present on that subject. I know him too. He came to +the court of France several years ago, with letters from my fair +cousin the Cardinal; but he brought with him nothing that I wanted at +that time. He had a wily head, a handsome person, manifold +accomplishments, great learning, and services for the highest bidder. +We had too many such things at the court already, so I thought that +the sooner he was out of it the better, and looked cold upon him till +he went. He understood the matter well, and did not return till he +brought something in his hand to barter for favour. However, Monsieur +de Logeres, to turn to other matters; I do believe you may be sincere +after all. I shall discover in a minute, however. Will you answer me a +question or two concerning the Duke of Guise?" + +"It depends entirely upon what they are, madam," replied the Count at +once. + +"Then you will not answer me every question, even if it were to gain +your liberty." + +"Certainly not, madam," replied the Count. + +"Then the Duke has been speaking ill of me," said Catherine at once, +"otherwise you would not be so fearful." + +"Not so, indeed," replied the Count, eagerly. "The Duke never, in my +presence, uttered a word against your Majesty." + +"Then will you tell me, as a man of honour," demanded the Queen, +"exactly, word for word what you have ever heard the Duke say of me?" + +Charles of Montsoreau paused and thought for a moment, and then +answered, "I may promise you to do so in safety, madam, for I never +heard the Duke speak of you but twice, and then it was in high +praise." + +"Indeed!" she replied. "But still I believe you, for Villequier has +been assuring me of the contrary, and, of course, what he says must be +false. He cannot help himself, poor man. Now, tell me what the Duke +said, Monsieur de Logeres. Perhaps I may be able to repay you some +time." + +"I seek for no bribe, your Majesty," replied the Count smiling; "and, +indeed, the honour and the pleasure of this visit----" + +"Nay, nay! You a courtier, young gentleman!" exclaimed the Queen, +shaking her finger at him. "Another such word as that, and you will +make me doubt the whole tale." + +"The speech would not have been so courtier-like, madam, if it had +been ended," replied the Count. "I was going to have said, that the +honour and pleasure of this visit, after not having heard for many +days, many weeks I believe, the sound of a human voice, or seen any +other face but that of one attendant, is full repayment for the little +that I have to tell. However, madam, to gratify you with regard to +the Duke, the first time that I ever heard him mention you was in the +city of Rheims, where a number of persons were collected together, and +many violent opinions were expressed, with which I will not offend +your ears; your past life was spoken of by some of the gentlemen +present----" + +"Pass over that, pass over that! I understand!" replied the Queen with +a sarcastic smile; "I understand. But those things are not worth +speaking of. What of the present, Monsieur de Logeres? What of the +present?" + +"Why, some one expressed an opinion, madam," the Count continued, +"that in order to retain a great share of power, you did every thing +you could to keep his Majesty in the lethargic and indolent state in +which I grieve to say he appears to the great mass of his subjects." + +"What said the Duke?" demanded the Queen. "What said the Duke? surely +he knows me better." + +"Why, madam," replied the Count, "his eye brightened and his colour +rose, and he replied indignantly that it could not be so. 'Oh no,' he +said, 'happy had it been for France if, instead of divided power, the +Queen-mother had possessed the whole power. It is by petty minds +mingling their leven with their great designs that ruin has come upon +the land. She has had to deal with great men, great events, and great +difficulties, and she was equal to deal with, if not to bow them all +down before her, had she but been permitted to deal with them +unshackled.'"[4] + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 4: Such was undoubtedly the expressed opinion of the Duke of +Guise.] + +--------------------- + + +"Indeed!" exclaimed the Queen; "did he say so?" + +"He did, madam, upon my honour," replied the Count. + +"I know not whether he was right or wrong," rejoined the Queen +thoughtfully; "for though perhaps, Monsieur de Logeres, I possessed +in some things the powers of a man--say, if you will, greater powers +than most men--yet, alas! in others, I had all the weaknesses of a +woman--perhaps I should say, to balance other qualities, more +weaknesses than most women. But he must have said more. The answer was +not pertinent to the remark, and Henry of Guise is not a man either in +speech or action ever to forget his object." + +"Nor did he in this instance," replied the Count; "but he said that, +wearied out with seeing your best and greatest schemes frustrated by +the weakness of others, you now contented yourself with warding off +evils as far as possible from your son and from the state; that it was +evident that such was your policy; and that, like Miron, the King's +physician, unable from external circumstances to effect a cure, you +treated the diseases of the times with a course of palliatives; that, +as the greatest of all evils, you knew and saw the apathy of his +Majesty, and did all that you could to rouse him, but that the +poisonous counsels of Villequier, the soft indolence of his own +nature, and the enfeebling society of Epernon and others, resisted all +that you could do, and thwarted you here likewise." + +"He spoke wisely, and he spoke truly," replied the Queen; "and I will +tell you, Monsieur de Logeres, though Henry of Guise and I can never +love each other much, yet I felt sure that he knew me too well to say +all those things of me that have been reported by his enemies. I am +satisfied with what I have heard, Count, and shall ask no further +questions. But you have given me pleasure, and I will do my best to +serve you. Once more, let us speak of other things. Have you all that +you desire and want here?" + +"No, madam," replied the young Count. "I want many things--liberty, +the familiar voices of my friends, the sight of those I love. Every +thing that the body wants I have; and you or some of your attendants +have supplied me with books and music; but it is in such a situation +as this, your Majesty, that one learns that the heart requires food as +well as the body or the mind." + +"The heart!" replied Catharine de Medici thoughtfully. "I once knew +what the heart was, and I have not quite forgotten it yet. Did you +mark my words after you had sung, Monsieur de Logeres?" + +"You were pleased to praise my poor singing much more than it +deserved, madam," replied the young Count. + +"Something more than that, my good youth," replied the Queen. "I told +you that it had given more pleasure than you knew of. I might have +added, that it gave pleasure to more than you knew of, for there was +another ear could hear it besides mine." + +"Indeed!" exclaimed the Count gazing eagerly in the Queen's face; "and +pray who might that be?" + +"One that loves you," replied Catharine de Medici. "One that loves +you very well, Monsieur de Logeres." And rising from her chair she put +her hand to her brow, as if in deep thought. "Well," she said at +length; "something must be risked, and I will risk something for +that purpose. The time is not far distant, Monsieur de Logeres--I +see it clearly--when by some means you will be set at liberty; but, +notwithstanding that, it may be long before you find such a thing even +as an hour's happiness. You are a frank and generous man, I believe; +you will not take advantage of an act of kindness to behave +ungenerously. I go away from you for a moment or two, and leave that +door open behind me, trusting to your honour." + +She waited for no reply, but quitted the room; and Charles of +Montsoreau stood gazing upon the door, doubtful of what was her +meaning, and how he was to act. Some of her words might be interpreted +as a hint to escape; but others had directly a contrary tendency, and +a moment after he heard her unlock and pass another door, and close +but not lock it behind her. + + + + + CHAP. XI. + + +"What is her meaning?" demanded Charles of Montsoreau, as he gazed +earnestly upon the door; and as he thus thought his heart beat +vehemently, for there was a hope in it which he would not suffer his +reason to rest upon for a moment, so improbable did it seem, and so +fearful would be disappointment. "What is her meaning?" And he still +asked himself the question, as one minute flew by after another, and +to his impatience it seemed long ere she returned. + +But a few minutes elapsed, however, in reality, ere there were steps +heard coming back, and in another minute Catharine de Medici again +appeared, saying, "For one hour, remember! For one hour only!" + +There was somebody behind her, and the brightest hope that Charles of +Montsoreau had dared to entertain was fully realised. + +The Queen had drawn Marie de Clairvaut forward; and passing out again, +she closed the door, leaving her alone with her lover. If his heart +had wanted any confirmation of the deep, earnest, overpowering +affection which she entertained towards him, it might have been found +in the manner in which--apparently without the power even to move +forward, trembling, gasping for breath--she stood before him on so +suddenly seeing him again, without having been forewarned, after long +and painful and anxious absence. As he had himself acknowledged, he +was ignorant in the heart of woman; but love had been a mighty +instructor, and he now needed no explanation of the agitation that he +beheld. + +Starting instantly forward, he threw his arms around her; and it was +then, held to his bosom, pressed to his heart, that all Marie de +Clairvaut's love and tenderness burst forth. Gentle, timid, modest in +her own nature as she was, love and joy triumphed over all. The agony +of mind she had been made to suffer, was greater than even he could +fancy, and the relief of that moment swept away all other thoughts: +the tears, the happy but agitated tears, flowed rapidly from her eyes; +but her lips sought his cheek from time to time, her arms clasped +tenderly round him, and as soon as she could speak, she said, "Oh +Charles, Charles, do I see you again? Am I, am I held in your arms +once more; the only one that I have ever loved in life, my saviour, my +protector, my defender. For days, for weeks, I have not known whether +you were living or dead. They had the cruelty, they had the barbarity +not even to let me know whether you had or had not escaped the plague. +They have kept me in utter ignorance of where you were, of all and of +every thing concerning you." And again she kissed his cheek, though +even while she did so, under the overpowering emotions of her heart, +the blush of shame came up into her own: and then she hid her eyes +upon his bosom, and wept once more in agitation but in happiness. + +"As they have acted to you, dearest Marie," he replied, "as they have +acted to you, so they have acted to me. The day they separated me from +you at Epernon, was the last day that I have spoken with any living +creature up to this morning. No answers have been returned to my +questions; not a word of intelligence could I obtain concerning your +fate; and oh, dear, dear Marie, you would feel, you would know how +terrible has been that state to me, if you could tell how ardently, +how deeply, how passionately I love you." And his lips met hers, and +sealed the assurance there. + +"I know it, I know it all, Charles," replied Marie. "I know it by what +I have felt; I know it by what I feel myself, for I believe, I do +believe, from my very heart, that if it be possible for two people to +feel exactly alike, we so feel." + +"But tell me, dear Marie, tell me," exclaimed her lover, "tell me +where you have been. Have they treated you kindly? Does the Duke of +Guise know where you are?" + +"Alas, no, Charles!" replied Marie de Clairvaut; "he does not, I +grieve to say. Well treated indeed I may say that I have been, for all +that could contribute to my mere comfort has been done for me. Nothing +that I could desire or wish for, Charles, has been ungiven, and I have +ever had the society of the good sisters in the neighbouring convent. +But the society that I love has of course been denied me; and no news, +no tidings of any kind have reached me. I have lived in short with +numbers of people surrounding me, as if I were not in the world at +all, and the moment that I asked a question, a deep silence fell upon +every one, and I could obtain no reply." + +"This is strange indeed," said Charles, "very strange. However, we +must be grateful that our treatment has been kind indeed in some +respects." + +"Oh, and most grateful," replied Marie de Clairvaut, "for these bright +moments of happiness. Do you not think, Charles, do you not think, +that perhaps the Queen may kindly grant us such interviews again?" + +Who is there that does not know how lovers while away the time? Who is +there that has not known how short is a lover's hour? But with Charles +of Montsoreau and Marie de Clairvaut that hour seemed shorter than it +otherwise would have done; for it was not alone the endearing caress, +the words, the acknowledgments, the hopes of love, but they had a +thousand things in the past to tell each other; they had cares and +fears, and plans and purposes for the future, to communicate. + +Even had not all shyness, all timidity been done away before, that was +not a moment in which Marie de Clairvaut could have affected aught +towards her lover; so that what between tidings of the past and +thoughts of the future, and the dear dalliance of that spendthrift of +invaluable moments, love, an envious clock in some church-tower hard +by, had marked the arrival of the last quarter of an hour they were to +remain together, ere one tenth part of what they had to think of or to +say was either thought or said. The sound startled them, and it became +a choice whether they should give up the brief remaining space to +serious thoughts of the future, or whether they should yield it all to +love. Who is it with such a choice before him that ever hesitated +long? + +The space allotted for their interview had drawn near its close, and +the very scantiness of the period that remained was causing them to +spend it in regrets that it was not longer, when suddenly the general +sounds which came from the streets became louder and more loud, as if +some door or gate had been opened which admitted the noise more +distinctly. Both Marie de Clairvaut and her lover listened, and almost +at the same instant loud cries were heard of "The Duke of Guise! The +Duke of Guise! Long live the Duke of Guise! Long live the great pillar +of the Catholic church! Long live the House of Lorraine!" And this was +followed by the noise and trampling of horses, as if entering into a +court below. + +Marie and her lover gazed in each other's faces, but she it was that +first spoke the joyful hopes that were in the heart of both. + +"He has come to deliver us!" she cried. "Oh Charles, he has come to +deliver us! Hear how gladly the people shout his well-loved name! +Surely they will not deceive him, and tell him we are not here." + +"Oh no, dear Marie," replied her lover; "he has certain information, +depend upon it, and will not be easily deceived. He has already +discovered my abode, dear Marie; and this letter was thrown through +the window this morning, though I myself know not where we are--that +is to say, I am well aware that we are now in Paris, but I know not in +what part of the city." + +"Oh, that I discovered from one of the nuns," replied Marie. "We are +at the house of the Black Penitents, in the Rue St. Denis. I remember +the outside of it well; a large dark building with only two windows to +the street. Do you not remember it? You must have seen it in passing." + +"I am not so well acquainted with the city as you are, dear Marie," +replied Charles of Montsoreau; "but, depend upon it, where they have +confined me is not in the house of the Black Penitents. It would be a +violation of the rules of the order which could not be." + +"It communicates with their dwelling," replied Marie de Clairvaut; "of +that at least I am certain; for the Queen, when she brought me hither, +took me not into the open air. She led me indeed through numerous +passages, one of which, some ten or twelve yards in length, was nearly +dark, for it had no windows, and was only lighted by the door left +open behind us. I was then placed in a little room while the Queen +went on, and a short time after I heard a voice, that made my heart +beat strangely, begin to sing a song that you once sung at Montsoreau; +and when I was thinking of you Charles, and all that you had done for +me--how you had first saved me from the reiters, and then rescued me +from the deep stream, and had then come to seek me and deliver me in +the midst of death and pestilence--I was thinking of all these things, +when Catherine came back, and without telling me what was her +intention, led me hither." + +"Hark!" cried Charles of Montsoreau. "They shout again. I wonder that +we have heard no farther tidings." + +And they both sat and listened for some minutes, but no indication of +any farther event took place, and they gradually resumed their +conversation, beginning in a low tone, as if afraid of losing a sound +from without. Marie de Clairvaut had already told her lover how she +had remained at Epernon for a day or two under the protection of the +wife of the Duke, and had been thence brought by her to Paris and +placed in the convent at a late hour of the evening; but as the time +wore away, and their hopes of liberation did not seem about to be +realized, she recurred to the subject of her arrival, saying, "There +is one thing which makes me almost fear they will deceive him, +Charles. I forgot to tell you, that as we paused before this building +on the night that I was brought hither, while the gates were being +opened by the portress, a horseman rode up to the side of the carriage +and gazed in. There were torches on the other side held by the +servants round the gate, and though I could not see that horseman as +well as he could see me, yet I feel almost sure that it was the face +of the Abbe de Boisguerin I beheld." + +"I know he was to return to Paris," said Charles of Montsoreau, "after +accompanying my brother some part of the way back to the chateau. But +fear not him, dear Marie; he has no power or influence here." + +"Oh, but I fear far more wile and intrigue," cried Marie de Clairvaut, +"than I do power and influence, Charles. Power is like a lion, bold +and open; but when once satisfied, injures little; but art is like a +serpent that stings us, without cause, when we least expect it. But +hark!" she continued again. "They are once more shouting loudly." + +Charles of Montsoreau listened also, and the cries, repeated again and +again, of "Long live the Duke of Guise! Long live the House of +Lorraine! Long live the good Queen Catherine![5] Life to the Queen! +Life to the Queen!" were heard mingled with thundering huzzas and +acclamations. The heart of the young Count sank, for he judged that +the Duke had gone forth again amongst the people, and had either +forgotten his fate altogether in more important affairs, or had been +deceived by false information regarding himself and Mademoiselle de +Clairvaut. + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 5: The progress of the Duke of Guise and the Queen-mother, +from the convent of the Penitents to the Louvre, was in triumph. "Il y +en avoit," says Auvigny, "qui se mettoient a genoux devant lui, +d'autres lui baisoient les mains; quelques uns se trouverent trop +heureux de pouvoir en passant toucher son habit," A farther account of +this famous event is given a few pages farther on.] + +--------------------- + + +The cries, which were at first loud and distinct, gradually sunk, +till first the words could no longer be distinguished; then the +acclamations became more and more faint, till the whole died away into +a distant murmur, rising and falling like the sound of the sea beating +upon a stormy shore. The young Count gazed in the countenance of Marie +de Clairvaut, and saw therein written even more despairing feelings +than were in his own heart. + +"Fear not, dear Marie," he said pressing her to his bosom. "Fear not; +the Duke must know that I am here by this letter: nor is he one to be +easily deceived. Depend upon it he will find means to deliver us ere +long." + +Marie de Clairvaut shook her head with a deep sigh and with her eyes +filled with tears. But she had not time to reply, for steps were heard +in the passage, and the moment after the door of the room was opened. + +It was no longer, however, the figure of Catherine de Medici that +presented itself, but the homely person and somewhat unmeaning face of +a good lady, dressed in the habit of a prioress. Behind her, again, +was a lay-sister, and beside them both the attendant who was +accustomed to wait upon the young Count. The good lady who first +appeared looked round the scene that the opening door disclosed to her +with evident marks of curiosity and surprise; and, indeed, the whole +expression of her countenance left little doubt that she had never +been in that place before. + +After giving up a minute to her curiosity, however, she turned to +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, saying, "I have been sent by the Queen, +madam, to conduct you back to your apartments." + +"Let me first ask one question," replied Marie de Clairvaut. "Has not +the Duke of Guise been here?" + +The nun answered not a word. + +"We need no assurance of it, dear Marie," said Charles of Montsoreau, +hoping to drive the Prioress to some answer. "We know that he has, and +must have been deceived in regard to your state and mine." + +The Prioress was still silent; and Marie de Clairvaut, after waiting +for a moment, added, "If he have been deceived, Charles, woe to those +who have deceived him. He is not a man to pass over lightly such +conduct as has been shown to me already." + +"Madam," said the Prioress, "I have been sent by the Queen to show you +to your apartments." + +It was vain to resist or to linger. Marie de Clairvaut gave her hand +to her lover, and they gazed in each other's faces for a moment with a +long and anxious glance, not knowing when they might meet again. +Charles of Montsoreau could not resist; and notwithstanding the +presence of nun, prioress, and attendant, he drew the fair creature +whose hand he held in his gently to his bosom, and pressed a parting +kiss upon her lips. + +Marie turned away with her eyes full of tears, and leaving her hand in +his till the last moment, she slowly approached the door. She turned +for one other look ere she departed, and then, dashing the tears from +her eyes, passed rapidly out. The door closed behind her, and Charles +of Montsoreau alone, and almost without hope, buried his face in his +hands, and gave himself up to think over the sweet moments of the +past. + + + + + CHAP. XII. + + +It was on the morning of Monday, the 9th of May, 1588, at about half +past eleven o'clock, that a party, consisting of sixteen horsemen, of +whom eight were gentlemen and the rest grooms, appeared at the gates +of Paris. But though each of those eight persons who led the cavalcade +were strong and powerful men, in the prime of life, highly educated, +and generally distinguished in appearance, yet there was one on whom +all eyes rested wherever he passed, and rested with that degree of +wonder and admiration which might be well called forth by the union of +the most perfect graces of person, with the appearance of the greatest +vigour and activity, and with a dignity and beauty of expression which +breathed not only from the countenance, but from the whole person, and +shone out in every movement, as well as in every look. + +The gates of the city were at this time open, and though a certain +number of guards were hanging about the buildings on either hand, yet +no questions were asked of any one who came in or went out of the +city. The moment, however, that the party we have mentioned appeared, +and he who was at its head paused for a moment on the inside of the +gate and gazed round, as if looking for some one that he expected to +see there, one of the bystanders whispered eagerly to the other, "It +is the Duke! It is the Duke of Guise!" + +All hats were off in a moment; all voices cried, "The Duke! The Duke!" +A loud acclamation ran round the gate, and the people from the small +houses in the neighbourhood poured forth at the sound, rending the air +with their acclamations, and pressing forward round his horse with +such eagerness that it was scarcely possible for him to pass along his +way. Some kissed his hand, some threw themselves upon their knees +before him, some satisfied themselves by merely touching his cloak, as +if it had saintly virtue in it, and still the cry ran on of "The Duke +of Guise! The Duke of Guise! Long live the Duke of Guise!" while every +door-way and alley and court-yard poured forth its multitudes, till +the people seemed literally to crush each other in the streets, and +all Paris echoed with the thundering acclamations. + +After that momentary pause at the gates, the Duke of Guise rode on, +uncovering his splendid head, and bowing lowly to the people as he +went. His face had been flushed by exercise when he arrived, but now +the deep excitement of such a reception had taken the colour from his +cheek; he was somewhat pale, and his lip quivered with intense +feeling. But there was a fire in his eye which seemed to speak that +his heart was conscious of great purposes, and ready to fulfil its +high emprise; and there was a degree of stern determination on that +lordly brow, which spoke also the knowledge but the contempt of +danger, and the resolution of meeting peril and overcoming resistance. + +Thus passing on amidst the people, and bowing as he went to their +repeated cheers, the Duke of Guise reached the convent of the Black +Penitents, where for the time the Queen-mother had taken up her abode. +The gates of the outer court into which men were suffered to enter +were thrown open to admit him; and signifying to such of the crowd as +were nearest to the gate that they had better not follow him into the +court, the Duke of Guise rode in with his attendants, and the gates +were again closed. The servants and the gentlemen who accompanied him +remained beside their horses in the court, while he alone entered the +parlour of the convent to speak with the Queen-mother. + +She did not detain him an instant, but came in with a countenance on +which much alarm was painted, either by nature or by art. The Duke at +once advanced to meet her, and bending low his towering head, he +kissed the hand which she held out to him. + +"Alas! my Lord of Guise," she said, "I must not so far falsify the +truth as to say that I am glad to see you. Glad, most glad should I +have been to see you, any where but here. But, alas! I fear you have +come at great peril to yourself, good cousin! You know not how angry +the minds of men are; you know not how much hostility reigns against +you in the breasts of many of the highest of the land; you have not +bethought you, that on every step to the throne there stands an +enemy----" + +"Who shall fall before me, madam," replied the Duke of Guise. + +"Till you have reached the throne itself, fair cousin?" said the +Queen-mother. + +"No, madam, no," answered the Duke of Guise eagerly. "I thought your +Majesty had known me better. I have always believed that you were one +of those who felt and understood that I never dreamt of wronging my +master and my king, or of snatching, as you now hinted, the crown from +its lawful possessor." + +"I _have_ felt it, and I _have_ understood it, cousin of Guise," +replied Catharine de Medici. "But, alas! my Lord, I know how ambition +grows upon the heart. It begins with an acorn, Guise, but it ends with +an oak. Those that watch it, the very soil that bears it, perceive not +its increase; and yet it soon overshadows all things, and root it out +who can!" + +"Madam," answered the Duke of Guise, boldly, "to follow the figure +that you have used, the axe soon reduces the oak; and may the axe be +used on me, and ease me of earth's ambition for ever, if any such +designs as have been attributed to me exist within my bosom! You see, +madam, I meet you boldly, look to ultimate consequences of ambitious +designs, and fear not the result. It is such accusations that I come +to repel, and it is those who have propagated them, and instilled them +both into the mind of his Majesty, and, as it would appear, your own, +that I come to punish. Trusting that, humble though I be, your Majesty +was the best friend I had at the court of France, I have ridden +straight hither, without even stopping at my own abode, to beseech you +to accompany me to the presence of the King." + +"I do believe, cousin of Guise, that I am your best friend at the +court of France," replied the Princess. "In fact, I may say, I know +that none there loves you but myself. Nor must you think that I accuse +you of actual ambition, or believe the rumours that have been +circulated against you. I merely wish to warn you of the growth of +such things in your own bosom." + +"Dear madam," replied the Duke, "had I been ambitious, what might I +not have become? Here am I simply the Duke of Guise; a poor officer, +commanding part of the King's troops, and contributing no small part +of my own to swell his forces; with scarcely a place, a post, a +government, an emolument, or a revenue, except what I derive from my +own estates. Am I the most ambitious man in France? Am I so ambitious +as he who adds, to the government of Metz, the government of Normandy, +and piles upon that Touraine, Anjou, Saintonge, the Angoumois, seizes +upon the office of High-admiral, creates himself Colonel-general of +the Infantry? This, lady, is the ambitious man; but of him you seem to +entertain no fear." + +"There are two ambitions, my Lord Duke," replied the Queen: "the +ambition which grasps at power, and the ambition which snatches at +wealth: the moment that ambition mingles itself with avarice, the +grovelling passion, chained in its own sordid bonds, is no longer to +be feared. It is where the object is power; where there is a mind to +conceive the means, and a heart to dare all the risks, that there is +indeed occasion for apprehension and for precaution. Still, my Lord, I +believe you; still I believe that the hand of Guise will never be +raised to pull down the bonnet of Valois. You may strip the minion +Epernon of the golden plumes with which he has decked his mid-air +wings, for aught I care or think of; you may cast down the dark and +plotting Villequier, and sweep the court of apes and parrots, fools +and villains, and the whole tribe of natural and human beasts, without +my saying one word to oppose you, or without my dreaming for a moment +that you aim at higher things; you may even soar higher still, and +like your great father become at once the guide and the defender of +the state, and still I will not fear you. But Guise," she added in a +softer tone, "I must and will still fear _for_ you; and though I will +go with you to the King if you continue to demand it, yet I tell you, +and I warn you, that every step you take is perilous, and that I +cannot be your safeguard nor your surety for a moment!" + +"Madam, I must fulfil my fate," replied the Duke of Guise looking up. +"I came here to justify myself; I came here to deliver and to support +my friends; I came here to secure honour and safety to the Catholic +Church; and did I know that the daggers of a hundred assassins would +be in my bosom at the first step I took beyond those gates, I would go +forth as resolutely as I came hither." + +"Then I must send to announce your coming to the King," said the +Queen. "Of course I cannot take you to the Louvre unannounced." + +Thus saying she quitted the room for a moment, and the Duke remained +behind with his arms crossed upon his bosom in deep thought. She +returned in a moment, however, saying that she had sent one of her +gentlemen upon the errand, and the next minute as the gates were +opened for some one to go out, long and reiterated shouts of "A Guise! +A Guise! Long live the Guise!" were heard echoing round the building. +Catharine de Medici smiled and looked at the Duke. "How often have I +heard," she said, "those same light Parisian tongues exclaim the name +of different princes! I remember well, Guise, when first I came from +my fair native land, how the glad multitude shouted on my way; how all +the streets were strewed with flowers; and how, if I had believed the +words I heard, I should have fancied that not a man in all the land +but would have died to serve me; and yet, not long after, I have heard +execrations murmured in the throats of the dull multitude while I +passed by, and the name of Diana of Poitiers echoed through the +streets. Then have I not heard the names of a Francis and a Henry +shouted far and wide? and after Jarnac and Moncontour, the heavens +were scarcely high enough to hold the sounds of his name who now sits +upon the throne of France. To-day it is Guise they call upon!--Who +shall it be to-morrow? And then another and another still shall come, +the object of an hour's love changed into hatred in a moment." + +"It is too true, madam," replied the Duke. "Popularity is the most +fleeting, the most vacillating--if you will, the most contemptible--of +all those means and opportunities which Heaven gives us to be made use +of for great ends. But nevertheless, madam, we must so make use of +them all; and as this same popularity is one of the briefest of the +whole, so must we be the more ready, the more prompt, the more decided +in taking advantage of the short hour of brightness. I may be wrong in +thinking," he continued after the pause of a moment or two, "I may be +wrong in thinking that my well-being and that of the state and church +of this realm are intimately bound up together. It may be, and +probably is, a delusion of human vanity. Nevertheless, such being my +opinion, none can say that I am wrong in taking advantage of the +moment of my popularity to do the best that I can both for the church +and for the state. Such, I assure you, madam, is my object; and if I +benefit myself at all in these transactions, it can be, and shall be, +but collaterally; while in the mean time I incur perils which I know +and yet fear not." + +Thus went on the conversation between the Queen and the Duke of Guise +for nearly half an hour, at the end of which time the gentleman who +had been dispatched to the King returned, bearing his Majesty's reply, +which was, that since his mother desired it, she might bring the Duke +of Guise to his presence, and Catherine prepared immediately to set +out. Her chair was brought round; and after speaking a few words with +the superior of the convent, she placed herself in the vehicle, the +Duke of Guise walking by her side. The gentlemen who had come with him +gave their horses to the grooms, and followed on foot; and several +servants and attendants ran on before to clear the way through the +people. + +The moment the gates were opened, a spectacle struck the eyes of the +Queen and the Duke, such as no city in the world perhaps, except +Paris, could produce. In the short period which had elapsed since the +Duke's arrival, the news had spread from one end of the capital to the +other, and the whole of its multitudes were poured out into the +streets or lining the windows, or crowning the house-tops. With a +rapidity scarcely to be conceived, scaffoldings had been raised in +that short space of time in different parts of the streets, to enable +the multitude to see the Duke better as he passed[6]; in many places, +velvets and rich tapestries were hung out upon the fronts of the +houses, as if some solemn procession of the church were taking place; +the ladies of the higher classes at the windows, or on their +scaffolds, were generally without the masks which they usually wore in +the streets; and again, when the gates of the convent opened, and the +Queen and the Duke issued forth, the air seemed actually rent with the +acclamations of the people, and a long line of waving hats and +handkerchiefs was seen all the way up the Rue St. Denis. + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 6: This fact is recorded in every account of the proceedings +of that day.] + +--------------------- + + +The same gratulations as before met the Duke on every side as he +passed along; the populace seemed absolutely inclined to worship him, +and many threw themselves upon their knees as he passed. He looked +round upon the dense mass of people, upon the crowded houses, upon the +waving hands; he heard from every tongue a welcome, at every step a +gratulation, and it was impossible for the heart of man not to feel at +that moment a pride and a confidence fit to bear him strongly on his +perilous way. + +All the way down the Rue St. Denis, and through every other street +that he passed, the same scene presented itself, the same acclamations +followed him, so that the shouts thundered in the ear of the King as +he sat in the Louvre. + +At length the Queen and those who accompanied her approached the +palace; and in the open space before it, which was at that time railed +off, was drawn up a long double line of guards, forming a lane through +which it was necessary to pass to the gates. The well-known Crillon, +celebrated for his determination and bravery, was at their head; and +the Duke of Guise, obliged to pause in order to suffer the chair of +the Queen-mother to pass on first, bowed to the commander, whom he +knew and respected. + +Crillon scarcely returned his salutation, but looked frowning along +the double row of his soldiery. The people, close by the railings, +watched every movement, and a murmur of something like apprehension +for their favourite ran through them as they watched these signs. But +not a moment's pause marked the slightest hesitation in the Duke of +Guise. With his head raised and his eyes flashing, he drew forward the +hilt of his unconquered sword ready for his hand, and holding the +scabbard in his left, strode after the chair of the Queen till the +gates of the Louvre closed upon him and his train. + +A number of officers and gentlemen were waiting in the vestibule to +receive the Queen-mother, who however gave her hand to the Duke of +Guise to assist her from her chair. On him they gazed with eyes of +wonder and of scrutiny, as if they would fain have discovered what +feelings were in the heart of one so hated and dreaded by the King, at +a moment when he stood with closed doors within a building filled with +his enemies, and surrounded by soldiers ready to massacre him at a +word. But the fire which the menacing look of Crillon had brought into +the eyes of the Duke had now passed away, and all was calm dignity and +easy though grave self-possession. The eye wandered not round the +hall; the lip, though not compressed, was firm and motionless, except +when he smiled in saluting some of those around whom he knew, or in +speaking a few words to the Queen-mother, whose dress had become +somewhat entangled with a mantle of sables which she had worn in the +chair. + +As soon as it was detached, one of the officers of the household said, +bowing low, "His Majesty has commanded me, Madam, to conduct you and +his Highness of Guise to the chamber of her Majesty the Queen, where +he waits your coming." And he led the way up the stairs of the Louvre +to the somewhat extraordinary audience chamber which the King had +selected. + +Henry, when the party entered, was sitting near the side of the bed, +surrounded by several of his officers, one of whom, Alphonzo d'Ornano +by name, whispered something over the King's shoulder with his eyes +fixed upon the Duke of Guise. + +The words, which were, "Do you hold him for your friend or your +enemy?" were spoken in such a tone as almost to reach the Duke +himself. The King did not reply, but looked up at the Duke with a +frown that was quite sufficient. + +"Speak but the word," said Ornano in a lower tone, "speak but the +word, and his head shall be at your feet in a minute." + +The King measured Ornano and the Duke of Guise with his eyes, then +shook his head with somewhat of a scornful smile; and then, looking up +to the Duke, who had by this time come near him, he said in a dull +heavy tone, "What brings you here, my cousin?" + +"My Lord," replied the Duke, "I have found it absolutely necessary to +present myself before your Majesty, in order to repel numerous +calumnies." + +"Stay, cousin of Guise," said the King; and turning to Bellievre, who +stood amongst the persons behind him, he demanded abruptly, "Did you +not tell me that he would not come to Paris?" + +"My Lord Duke," exclaimed Bellievre, not replying directly to the +King's question, but addressing the Duke, "did not your Highness +assure me that you would delay your journey till I returned?" + +"Yes, Monsieur de Bellievre," replied the Duke. "But you did not +return." + +"But I wrote you two letters, your Highness," replied Bellievre, +"reiterating his Majesty's commands for you not to come to Paris." + +"Those letters," replied the Duke of Guise, with a bitter smile, "like +some other letters which have been written to me upon important +occasions, have, from some cause, failed to reach my hands. +Nevertheless, Sire, believe me when I tell you, that my object in +coming is solely to prove to your Majesty that I am not guilty either +of the crimes or the designs which base and grasping men have laid to +my charge. Believe me, that after my devotion to God and our holy +religion, there is no one whom I am so anxious to serve zealously and +devotedly as your Majesty. This you will find ever, Sire, if you will +but give me the opportunity of rendering you any service." + +The King was about to reply, but the Queen-mother, who had advanced +and stood by his side, touched his arm saying, "You have not yet +spoken to me, my son." And the King turning towards her, she added +something in a low voice. The King replied in the same tone; and the +Duke of Guise, passing through the midst of the frowning faces ranged +around the royal seat, approached the Queen-consort, the mild and +unhappy Louisa, and addressed a few words to her of reverence and +respect which were gratifying to her ear. He then turned once more to +the King, who seemed to have heard what Catharine de Medici had +to say, and having given his reply, sat in moody silence. The +Queen-mother stood by with some degree of apprehension in her +countenance, as if feeling very doubtful still how the affair would +terminate. The brows of the courtiers were gloomy and undecided, and +the few followers of the Duke of Guise ranged at some distance from +the spot to which he had now advanced, kept their eyes fixed either on +him or on those surrounding the King, as if, at the least menacing +movement, they were ready to start forward in defence of their leader. + +The only one that was perfectly calm was Guise himself; but he, +retreading his steps till he stood opposite the King, again addressed +the Monarch saying, "I hope, Sire, that you will give me a full +opportunity of justifying myself." + +"Your conduct, cousin of Guise," replied the King, "must best justify +you for the past; and I shall judge by the event, of your intentions +for the future." + +"Let it be so," replied the Duke, "and such being the case, I will +humbly take my leave of your Majesty, wishing you, from my heart, +health and happiness." + +Thus saying he once more bowed low, and retired from the presence of +the King, followed by the gentlemen who had accompanied him. Not an +individual of the palace stirred a step to conduct him on his way, +though his rank, his services, his genius, and his vast renown, +rendered the piece of neglect they showed disgraceful to themselves +rather than injurious to him. He was accompanied from the gates of the +Louvre, however, and followed to the Hotel de Guise, by an infinite +number of people, who ceased not for one moment to make the streets +ring with their acclamations. + +Nor were these by any means composed entirely of the lowest classes of +the people, the least respectable, or the least well-informed. On the +contrary, it must, alas! be said, that the great majority of all that +was good, upright, and noble in the city hailed his coming loudly as a +security and a safeguard. + +A number, an immense number, of the inferior nobility of the realm +were mingled with the crowd that followed him, or joined the acclaim +from the windows. The robes of the law were seen continually in the +dense multitude, and almost all the courts had there numbers of their +principal members; while the municipal officers of the city, with the +exception of two or three, were there in a mass, accompanied by a +large body of the most opulent and respectable merchants. + +Thus followed, the Duke of Guise proceeded to his hotel on foot as he +came, speaking from time to time with those who pressed near him with +that peculiar grace which won all hearts, and smiling with the +far-famed smile of his race, which was said never to fall upon any man +without making him feel as if he stood in the sunshine. + +Already collected on the steps of the Hotel de Guise, at the news that +he was returning from the Louvre, was a group of the brightest, the +bravest, the most talented, and the most beautiful of the French +nobility,--Madame de Montpensier, Mademoiselle de St. Beuve, the +Chevalier d'Aumale, Brissac, and a thousand others. The servants and +attendants of his household in gorgeous dresses kept back the crowd +with courteous words and kindly gestures; and when he reached the +steps that led to the high doorway of the porter's lodge, on the right +of the porte cochere, he ascended a little way amongst his gratulating +friends, and then turned and bowed repeatedly to the people, pointing +out here and there some of the most popular of the citizens and +magistrates, and whispering a word to the nearest attendant, who +instantly made his way through the crowd to the spot where the +personage designated stood, and in his master's name requested that he +would come in and take some refreshment. + +When this was over, he again bowed and retired; and while the +multitude separated, he walked on into his lordly halls with a number +of persons clinging round him, whom he had not seen for months--for +months which to him had been full of activity, thought, care, and +peril, and to them of anxiety for the head of their race. + +As he passed along, however, to a chamber where the dinner which had +been prepared for him had remained untouched for many an hour, his eye +fell upon a boy dressed in the habit of one of his own pages; and +taking suddenly a step forward, he called the boy apart into a window, +demanding eagerly, "Well, have you found your master?" + +"I have, your Highness," replied the boy, "and have found means to +give him the letter?" + +"What!" exclaimed the Duke, "outwitted Villequier, and Pisani, and +all! The wit of a page against that of a politician for a thousand +crowns!" + +"I dressed myself as a girl, your Highness," replied the boy, "and got +into the convent, and then through a gate into what is called the +rector's court, where Doctor Botholph and the Cure live, and where men +are admitted, and women not shut out when they like to go in; and I +got talking to the old verger of the church by the side, and he called +me a pretty little fool, and said he dared to say I would soon be +among the penitents within there; and with that I got him to tell me +every thing, and the whole story of the young Count being brought +there at night, and shut up in what are called the rector's +apartments." + +As he spoke, one or two of the higher class of those whom the Duke had +selected from the crowd below, and who felt themselves privileged to +present themselves in his private apartments, entered the hall, and +instantly caught his eye. + +"I cannot speak with you more at present, Ignati," he said, "nor, +perhaps, during the whole day, for there is business of life and death +before me; but come to me while I am rising to-morrow, and only tell +me in the mean time where our poor Logeres is, for I know not what +convent you mean." + +"He is in the rector's court," replied the boy, "close by the convent +of the Black Penitents, in the Rue St. Denis." + +"By my faith!" exclaimed the Duke in no slight surprise, "I have been +there this very day myself, and there the Queen-mother has made her +abode for the last ten days. She must be deceiving me; and yet, +perhaps, the mighty matters that occupied her mind when I saw her +might have made her forget all other things. However, Logeres shall +not be long so fettered. Come to me to-morrow, Ignati; come to me +to-morrow, as I am rising; and in the mean time, if you can find some +means of giving the Count intimation that he is not forgotten, it were +all the better." + +"I will try, my Lord," replied the boy. And the Duke hurried on to +welcome his new guests, making them sit down at table with him, and +covering them with every sort of honour and distinction. + + + + + CHAP. XIII. + + +In our dealings with each other there is nothing which we so much +miscalculate as the ever varying value of time, and indeed it is but +too natural to look upon it as it seems to us, and not as it seems to +others. The slow idler on whose head it hangs heavy, holds the man of +business by the button, and remorselessly robs him on the king's +highway of a thing ten times more valuable than the purse that would +hang him if he took it. The man of action and of business whose days +seem but moments, forgets in his dealing with the long expecting +applicant, and the weary petitioner, that to them each moment is far +longer than his day. + +The hours, not one minute of which were unfilled to the Duke of Guise, +passed slowly over the head of Charles of Montsoreau, and it seemed as +if the brief gleam of happiness which had come across his path had but +tended to make the long solitary moments seem longer and more dreary; +in fact, to give full and painful effect to solitude and want of +liberty, and yet he would not have lost that gleam for all the world. + +He thought of it, he dwelt upon it, he called to mind each and every +particular; and, though it was crossed, as the memory of all such +brief meetings are, with the recollection of a thousand things which +he could have wished to have said, but which he had forgotten, and +also by many a speculation of a painful kind concerning the visit of +the Duke of Guise to the very place in which he was confined, without +the slightest effort being made for his liberation, yet it was a +consolation and a happiness and a joy to him--one of those blessings +which have been stamped by the past with the irrevocable seal of +enjoyment, which are our own, the unalienable jewels of our fate, held +for ever in the treasury of memory. + +Nothing occurred through the rest of the day to call his attention, or +to rouse his feelings. He heard the distant murmur, and the shouts of +the people from time to time; but the gates were now shut, and the +sounds dull, and all passed on evenly till darkness shut up the world. +In the mean time he knew--as if to make his state of imprisonment and +inactivity more intolerable--that busy actions were taking place +without, that his own fate was deciding by the hands of others, that +his happiness and that of Marie de Clairvaut formed but a small matter +in the great bulk of political affairs which were then being weighed +between the two angry parties in the capital, and might be tossed into +this scale or that, as accident, or convenience, or policy might +direct. + +Though he retired to rest as usual, he slept not, and ever and anon +when a sort of half slumber fell upon his eyes he started up, thinking +he heard some sound, a distant shout of the people, the tolling of a +bell, or the roll of some far off drum. Nothing however occurred, and +the night passed over as the day. + +In the grey of the morning, however, just when the slow creaking of a +gate, or the noise of footsteps here and there breaking the previous +stillness, told that the world was beginning to awake, a few sweet +notes suddenly met his ear like those of a musical instrument, and in +a moment after he heard the same air which the boy Ignati had played +with such exquisite skill just before he freed him from his Italian +masters. + +"A blessing be upon that boy," he cried, as he instantly recognised +not only the sounds but the touch. "He has come to tell me that I am +not forgotten." + +Suddenly, however, before the air was half concluded, the music +stopped, and voices were heard speaking, but not so loud that the +words could be distinguished. It seemed to the young Count, and seemed +truly, that some one had sent the boy away; but though he heard no +more, those very sounds had given him hope and comfort. + +Driven away by the old verger, who had now discovered the trick which +had been put upon him the day before, the boy returned with all speed +to the Hotel de Guise, and, according to the Duke's order, presented +himself in his chamber at the hour of his rising. But the Duke was +already surrounded with people, all eager to speak with him on +different affairs, and his brow was evidently dark and clouded by some +news that he had just heard. + +"Send round," he was saying as the boy entered, "Send round speedily +to all the inns, and let those who are known for their fidelity be +informed that the doors of this hotel will never be shut against any +of those who have come to Paris for my service, or for that of the +church, as long as there is a chamber vacant within. And you, my good +Lords," he continued, turning to some of the gentlemen who surrounded +him, "I must call upon your hospitality, also, to provide lodging for +these poor friends of ours, whom this new and iniquitous proceeding of +the court is likely to drive from Paris. But stay, Bussi," he +continued, and his eye fell upon the page as he spoke; "you say you +saw the Prevot des Marchands but a minute ago in the Rue d'Anvoye +seeking out the lodgers in the inns, and ordering them to quit Paris +immediately. Hasten down after him quickly, and tell him from Henry of +Guise that there is a very dangerous prisoner and a zealous servant of +the church lodged in the Rue St. Denis; that he had better drive him +forth also; and that, if he wants direction to the place where he +sojourns, one of my pages shall lead him thither. You may add, +moreover, that if he do not drive him forth, I will bring him forth +before the world be a day older." + +The Duke of Guise then took the pen from the ink which was standing +before him, and, though not yet half-dressed, wrote hastily the few +following words to the Queen-mother:-- + + +"Madam, + +"I am informed, on authority which I cannot doubt, that my friend, the +young Count de Logeres, is at present in your hands, kept under +restraint in the Rue St. Denis, after having been arrested in the +execution of business with which I charged him, while bearing a +passport from the King. I beseech you to set him immediately at +liberty, and also at once to order that my niece and ward, +Mademoiselle de Clairvaut, be brought to the Hotel de Guise without an +hour's delay. Let me protest to your Majesty that you have not a more +faithful and devoted servant than + + "Henry of Guise." + + +"I will not send this by you, Ignati," said the Duke; "they would +laugh at a boy. Here, Mestroit, bear this to the Queen-mother. +Say I cast myself at her feet; and bring me back an answer without +delay.--Why, how now, St. Paul!" he continued, turning to a gentleman +who had just entered. "Your brow is as dark as a thunder-cloud. What +has happened now? Shall we be obliged to make our hotel our fortress, +and defend it to the last, like gallant men?" + +"Not so, my Lord," replied the Count of St. Paul; "not near so bad as +that: but still these are times that make men look thoughtful; and, +depend upon it, the King, aided by his minions and the Politics[7], is +seeking to inclose your Highness, as it were in a net." + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 7: That party was so called which affected to hold the +balance between the Court and the League, without giving countenance +to the Huguenots.] + +--------------------- + + +"We will break through, St. Paul! We will break through!" replied the +Duke with a smile. "But what are your tidings?" + +"Why, that orders have been sent to the Swiss to come up from Corbeil, +as well as those from Meulan and Chateau Thierry; also the companies +of French guards from every quarter in the neighbourhood are called +for, and I myself saw come in, by the Faubourg St. Germain, a body of +two hundred horse, which, upon inquiry, I found to be a new levy from +some place in the South, led by a young Marquis of Montsoreau, whose +name I never heard of before." + +"Whenever you hear it again, St. Paul," replied the Duke sternly, +"couple with it the word 'Traitor!' and you will do him justice. But +what force is it said they are bringing into Paris? What stay you for, +Mestroit?" he continued, seeing that the gentleman to whom he had +given the letter had not taken his departure. "What stay you for? I +would have had you there now. Go with all speed! There are horses +enough saddled in the court. I would give a thousand crowns that +letter should be in the Queen's hand before this youth's coming is +known to her. It may save us much trouble hereafter. Fail not to bring +me an answer quick. Now, St. Paul, how many men say you on your best +judgment are they bringing into Paris?" + +"Why, your Highness," replied the Count, "some say ten thousand; but, +to judge more moderately from what I hear, the moment your Highness's +arrival in Paris was known, orders were sent for the march of full +seven thousand men." + +"We must be very formidable creatures, Brissac," cried the Duke, "that +my coming with seven of you should need seven thousand men to meet us. +On my soul, they will make me think myself a giant. I always thought I +was a tall man--some six foot three, I believe--but, by Heavens! I +must be a Gargantua, indeed, to need seven thousand men to hold me. +Seven thousand men!" he added thoughtfully: "he has not got them, St. +Paul. There are not five thousand within fifty miles of Paris, unless +Epernon and Villequier have contrived to raise more of such +Montsoreaus against us. However, we must have eyes in all quarters. +Send out parties to watch the coming of the troops and give us their +numbers. Let some one speak to the inferior officers of the French +guards, and remind them that the Duke of Guise and the Holy League are +only striving for the maintenance of the true faith, and for the +overthrow of those minions who have swallowed up all the honours and +favours of the crown. It were well also, Brissac, that a good watch +was kept upon the proceedings in the city. I can trust, methinks, to +The Sixteen to do all that is necessary in their different quarters, +and to make full reports of all that takes place; but still a military +eye were as well here and there, from time to time, Brissac, and I +will trust that to you." + +The rest of the morning passed in the same incessant activity with +which it had begun; tidings were constantly brought in from all parts +of the town and the country round concerning every movement on the +part of the court; and the hotel of the Duc de Guise was literally +besieged by his followers and partisans. Train after train of noblemen +and officers, of lawyers and citizens, followed each other during the +whole day, each bringing him information, or claiming audience on some +account. Nor were the clergy less numerous; for scarce a parish in the +capital but sent forth, in the course of that day, its train of +priests and monks to congratulate him on his arrival, or to beseech +him to hold up the tottering church of France with a strong hand. + +At the same time, the order which had been given by the King in the +morning, for every stranger not domiciled in Paris to quit it within +six hours, and the proceedings of the Prevot des Marchands to execute +that order had--by driving out of the inns and taverns the multitudes +of the Duke's partisans who had followed him in scattered bodies into +Paris--now filled the Hotel de Guise with all those of the higher +classes who were thus expelled. The houses of other members of the +faction received the rest. But the stables of the hotel were all +filled to the doors; the great court itself could scarcely be crossed, +on account of the number of horses; and more than once the street +became impassable from the multitude of carriages, chairs, horses, and +attendants, who were waiting while their masters conferred with the +Duke. + +It was near mid-day when the gentleman who had been dispatched to +Catharine de Medici again presented himself; and the Duke demanded, +somewhat impatiently, what had detained him so long. + +"It was the Queen-mother, your Highness," replied Mestroit. "More than +an hour passed before I could obtain an audience; and when I was +admitted to present your Highness's letter, I found Monsieur de +Villequier with her." + +"Did she show the letter to that son of Satan?" demanded the Duke. + +"No, sir," replied the other; "on the contrary, she seemed not to wish +that he should see it, for she kept it tight in her hand after she had +read it, and told me to wait a moment, that she would give me an +answer directly." + +"I would sooner unriddle the enigma of the sphynx," said the Duke, +"than I would say from what motive any one of that woman's acts +proceed; and yet she has a great mind, and a heart not altogether so +vicious as it seems. What happened then, Mestroit?" + +"Why, my Lord, Villequier seemed anxious to know what the letter +contained, and I saw his head a little raised, and his eyes turned +quietly towards it while she was reading, as I have seen a cat regard +a mouse-hole towards which she was stealing upon tiptoes; and he +lingered long, and seem inclined to stay. The Queen, however, begged +him not to forget the orders she had given, but to execute them +instantly; and then he went away. When he was gone, the Queen again +read your Highness's letter, and replied at first, 'The Duke asks what +is not in my power. Tell my noble cousin of Guise that he has been +misinformed; that I hold none of his friends in my power--' Then, +after a moment, she bade me wait, and she would see what persuasion +would do?" + +"She must not think to deceive me!" replied the Duke of Guise. "But +what more?" + +"She went away," replied the gentleman, "and was absent for full two +hours, leaving me there alone, with nothing to amuse me but the pages +and serving women that came and looked at me from time to time as at a +tiger in a cage. At length she came back, and bade me tell your +Highness these exact words: 'My cousin has been misinformed. I have +none of his people in my hands, or in my power. The Count of Logeres, +however, shall be set free before eight and forty hours are over. He +may be set free to-morrow; but by leaving him for a few hours more +where he is, I trust to accomplish for the Duke that which he demands +concerning his ward, although I have no power whatever in the matter." + +"There is nothing upon earth," said the Duke thoughtfully, "so +convenient as to have the reality without the name of power. We have +the pleasure without the reproach! Catharine de Medici has not the +power!--Who then has?--I may have the power also, it is true, to right +myself and those who attach themselves to me; and in this instance I +will use it. But still it were better to wait the time she states; for +I know her fair Majesty well, and she never yields any thing without a +delay, to make what she grants seem more important:--and yet, the day +after to-morrow--the day after to-morrow--who shall say what may be, +ere the day after to-morrow comes? This head may be lowly in the dust +ere then." + +"Or circled with the crown of France," said the Count de St. Paul. + +"God forbid!" exclaimed the Duke earnestly. If I thought that it would +ever produce a scheme to wrest the sceptre from the line that +rightfully holds it, I would bear it to-morrow to the foot of the +throne, myself, as my own accuser. No, no! bad kings may die or be +deposed: but there is still some one on whose brow the crown descends +by right. And let him have it. + +"The Cardinal of Bourbon, your Highness," said an attendant entering, +"has just arrived from Soissons. His Eminence is upon the stairs coming +up." + +A smile played over the lips of most of the persons present at such an +announcement at that moment, for every one well knew that it was to +the old Cardinal de Bourbon that the party of the League looked, as +the successor to the crown on the death of Henry III., to the +exclusion of the direct line of Navarre, held to be incapable of +succeeding on account of religion. The Duke, however, advanced +immediately with open arms to meet the Cardinal, and many hours were +passed in long conferences between them and the principal officers and +supporters of the League. + +At the end of that time, however, towards seven o'clock, a message was +brought into the room where they were in consultation, from Monsieur +de Sainctyon, a well-known adherent of the League, begging earnestly +to speak with the Duke upon matters of deep importance. On the Duke +going out, he found the worthy Leaguer in a state of great excitement +and agitation. + +"My Lord," he said, as soon as Guise appeared in the room where he had +been left alone, "I fear that they are busily labouring, at the +palace, for the destruction of your Highness and of the Holy League." + +"How so, Monsieur de Sainctyon?" demanded the Duke, who entertained +doubts, it seems, of the Leaguer's sincerity, which were never wholly +removed. "Some of my friends have just returned from the palace, who +tell me that all is as still and quite as the inside of a vault." + +"They told your Highness also, I hope," said the Leaguer, "that they +had trebled the guard, both Swiss and French." + +"Yes, I was informed of that," replied the Duke. "But that shows fear, +not daring, Monsieur de Sainctyon." + +"Perhaps so, my Lord," replied Sainctyon, who was one of the echevins, +or sheriffs of the town; "but perhaps not. However, what I have now to +tell, shows more daring than fear. We were summoned this afternoon at +five o'clock to the Hotel de Ville, where we found not only Pereuse, +the Prevot, and Le Comte, who is worse than a Politic, and half a +Huguenot, but the Marquis d'O----" + +"Who is worse," said the Duke of Guise, "than minion, or Politic, or +Huguenot, or reiter, equally foul in his debaucheries and his +peculations; equally impudent in his vices and his follies; fit +son-in-law of Villequier; well-chosen master of the wardrobe to the +King of France! Who was there besides, Monsieur de Sainctyon? Some +expedient infamy was of course to be committed, otherwise d'O---- +would not have been there." + +"There were a number of captains and colonels of the different +quarters," replied Sainctyon, well pleased to see that the Duke now +felt the importance of his intelligence, "and the Prevot and Le Comte +began to speak what seemed to me at first simple nonsense, in a +confused way, saying, that it was necessary to keep guard in a very +different manner in Paris from that which we were accustomed to use, +for that your coming had excited the minds of the people, and that +there was hourly danger of a revolt, and that it would be better for +all the captains to meet with their companies together in some +particular place, in order to see to the matter. But I replied, that +nothing could be more dangerous than that which was proposed, for that +the companies of armed citizens would be much better as usual, each in +its separate quarter, taking care of that quarter, rather than meeting +altogether in one large body of armed men, which was likely to cause a +tumult immediately. A number of the other colonels cried out the same +thing; but then Monsieur d'O---- cut us all short, saying, 'Give me +none of your reasons, gentlemen. What the Prevot has stated to you is +the will of the King, and he _must_ be obeyed. The place of your +meeting is the Cemetery of the Innocents, and there you are all +expected to be with your companies at nine o'clock this evening.' Now, +my Lord, I have come to your Highness, by the authority of all the +other colonels in whom we can trust, for counsel and direction in this +business, assuring you that we have heard it is the intention of the +Court to pick out from amongst us thus assembled six or seven of your +most zealous friends and supporters, and execute them early to-morrow +in the Place de Greve." + +The Duke paused and thought for a moment ere he replied; but he then +said, "I thank you most sincerely, Monsieur de Sainctyon, for the +intelligence you have brought me. You are mistaken, however, with +regard to what are the intentions of the Court, as you will see in one +moment. The large body of men in arms which you will have with you +when all assembled together, trebles the number of any force in Paris, +so that the least attempt to do you wrong at that moment would be a +signal for the overthrow of the monarchy. On the contrary, Monsieur de +Sainctyon, I believe the thus calling you together in one place has +solely for its object to remove you from the quarters where your +presence would be useful in opposition to the iniquitous proceedings +of your enemies. To arrest somebody--perhaps myself--is doubtless the +object of these persons; and if you would follow my advice, the course +you pursue would be this,--to meet as you have been ordered by the +King, having first communicated all the facts to the persons under +your command whom you can trust. Some one will come to bring you +farther orders, depend upon it; find out what those orders are, and +let them instantly be communicated to me; but on no account or +consideration suffer yourselves to be kept together in one place. On +the contrary, as soon as you have discovered as far as possible what +the designs of your enemies are, lead your companies to their +different quarters, or wherever you may think best to station them. If +you want any farther assistance, send hither; and I will dispatch +experienced officers to take counsel with you as to what is to be +done. I hope your opinion coincides with mine, Monsieur de Sainctyon." + +"Your words always carry conviction with them, my Lord," replied the +sheriff; "and I will instantly proceed to obey you." + +Thus saying he took his leave, and quitted the Duke, hastening with +the rest of the officers of the city to arm himself cap-a-pie, and +present himself with the burgher guard in the Cemetery of the +Innocents at the appointed hour. When that hour arrived, every thing +through the rest of the city was dark and silent, and but little light +shone from the dim lanterns round the Cemetery upon the dark masses of +armed men that now surrounded it. The officers commanding them looked +in each other's faces, as if expecting that some one amongst them had +orders in regard to what they were farther to do, but for several +minutes no one announced himself as empowered to direct them, and they +had even proposed to separate, when the sheriff Le Comte arrived on +horseback at great haste from the side of the Louvre. Having called +the colonels of the quarters together he said, "The King, having been +informed that this night an enterprise is to be undertaken against his +authority by his enemies, trusts entirely to his citizens of Paris for +the defence of the capital, and consequently commands you, in order to +have a strong point of resistance, to occupy this Cemetery, of which I +have here the keys, till to-morrow morning. All the gates will be shut +except one wicket, and in a very short time the Marquis de Beauvais +Nangis, an experienced officer, will be sent down by the King to +command you."[8] + + +--------------------- + +[Footnote 8: This most absurd and impudent proposal would scarcely be +credited, were it not to be found in the _Histoire tres veritable, +&c_., written by Sainctyon himself, and published by Michel Jouin in +the very year 1588.] + +--------------------- + + +A murmur ran through the officers and through the men, who, as Le +Comte spoke loud, heard every word that passed; but an old captain of +one of the quarters burst forth, a moment after, exclaiming, "What, +shut myself up there, as if in a prison? They must think me mad! Not +I, indeed, for any of them! I have nothing to do with you, Monsieur le +Comte, nor with any of you, except with the inhabitants of my own +quarter, and there I shall go directly. Those may go and shut +themselves up with you that like. Come, my men; march! Who gave +Beauvais Nangis a right to command me, I should like to know? Not the +citizens of Paris, I'm sure: so those may obey him that like him." And +putting himself at the head of his men, he marched out, followed by +almost all the other companies except one or two, who suffered +themselves to be persuaded to enter into the Cemetery, where they were +locked up by Le Compte, to await whatever fate might befall them. + +In the mean time the other officers of the burgher guard held a +consultation together, and determined, instead of proceeding +immediately to their different quarters to occupy the principal points +of the city, where they fancied that attempts might be made upon the +life or liberty of the chiefs of the League. The avenues to the Hotel +de Guise were strongly guarded, the Rue St. Denis was patrolled by a +large party, two companies occupied the Rue St. Honore, and the +utility of these precautions was strongly demonstrated ere they had +been long taken. + +Before midnight the sound of horses was heard by the two companies in +the Rue St. Honore, and in a moment after appeared the Marquis +d'O----, with as many horse arquebusiers as could be spared from the +palace. The citizens stood to their arms and barred the way, and +d'O----, never very famous for his courage, demanded, in evident +trepidation and surprise, what they did there, when they had been +ordered to be in the Cemetery of the Innocents? + +"We came here to do our duty to our fellow-citizens," replied the same +old captain who had spoken before, "and to guard our houses and our +property, for which purpose we are enrolled." + +"Well, well, you are right," replied the Marquis, evidently confounded +and undecided; and turning his horse's rein he rode back by the same +way he came, showing evidently that he had been bound upon some +attempt which had been frustrated. + +About the same time the party in the Rue St. Denis had been drawn +towards the further end by the noise of horses and the light of +torches; and on advancing they found a number of men on horseback, and +a vacant carriage, with two lights before it, just halting at the +Convent of the Black Penitents. The good citizens, however, were in an +active and interfering mood, and they determined to inquire into an +occurrence which otherwise would have passed over without the +slightest notice. The horsemen, however, did not wait for many +questions; but, evidently as much surprised and embarrassed as the +Marquis d'O----, turned their horses' heads, and made the best of +their way out of the street. + + + + END OF THE SECOND VOLUME. + + + + + + London: + Printed by A. Spottiswoode, + New-Street-Square. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3), by +G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HENRY OF GUISE; (VOL. 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