下载辰思小说免费APP
"Thedeuce！"criedLoret;"whatadangerousthing！？Onewouldgomadwithit！"
"Thedeuce！thedeuce！"repeatedLaFontaine;"whatcanIdo？"
"I
havediscoveredtheway，"saidMoli鑢e，whohadenteredjustatthispointoftheconversation。
"Whatway？"
"Writethemfirstandburnthemafterwards。"
"Howsimple！？Well，Ishouldneverhavediscoveredthat。？WhatamindthatdevilofaMoli鑢ehas！"saidLaFontaine。？Then，strikinghisforehead，"Oh，thouwiltneverbeaughtbutanass，JeanLaFontaine！"headded。
"Whatareyousayingthere，myfriend？"brokeinMoli鑢e，approachingthepoet，whoseasidehehadheard。
"I
sayIshallneverbeaughtbutanass，"answeredLaFontaine，withaheavysighandswimmingeyes。？"Yes，myfriend，"headded，withincreasinggrief，"itseemsthatIrhymeinaslovenlymanner。"
"Oh，\'tiswrongtosayso。"
"Nay，Iamapoorcreature！"
"Whosaidso？"
"Parbleu！\'twasP閘isson;didyounot，P閘isson？"
P閘isson，againabsorbedinhiswork，tookgoodcarenottoanswer。
"ButifP閘issonsaidyouwereso，"criedMoli鑢e，"P閘issonhasseriouslyoffendedyou。"
"Doyouthinkso？"
"Ah！？Iadviseyou，asyouareagentleman，nottoleaveaninsultlikethatunpunished。"
"What！"exclaimedLaFontaine。
"Didyoueverfight？"
"Onceonly，withalieutenantinthelighthorse。"
"Whatwronghadhedoneyou？"
"Itseemsheranawaywithmywife。"
"Ah，ah！"saidMoli鑢e，becomingslightlypale;butas，atLaFontaine\'sdeclaration，theothershadturnedround，Moli鑢ekeptuponhislipstherallyingsmilewhichhadsonearlydiedaway，andcontinuingtomakeLaFontainespeak—
"Andwhatwastheresultoftheduel？"
"Theresultwas，thatonthegroundmyopponentdisarmedme，andthenmadeanapology，promisingneveragaintosetfootinmyhouse。"
"Andyouconsideredyourselfsatisfied？"saidMoli鑢e。
"Notatall！onthecontrary，Ipickedupmysword。？\'Ibegyourpardon，monsieur，\'Isaid，\'Ihavenotfoughtyoubecauseyouweremywife\'sfriend，butbecauseIwastoldIoughttofight。？So，asIhaveneverknownanypeacesavesinceyoumadeheracquaintance，domethepleasuretocontinueyourvisitsasheretofore，ormorbleu！letussettoagain。\'？Andso，"continuedLaFontaine，"hewascompelledtoresumehisfriendshipwithmadame，andI
continuetobethehappiestofhusbands。"
Allburstoutlaughing。？Moli鑢ealonepassedhishandacrosshiseyes。？Why？？Perhapstowipeawayatear，perhapstosmotherasigh。？Alas！
weknowthatMoli鑢ewasamoralist，buthewasnotaphilosopher。？"\'Tisallone，"hesaid，returningtothetopicoftheconversation，"P閘issonhasinsultedyou。"
"Ah，truly！？Ihadalreadyforgottenit。"
"AndIamgoingtochallengehimonyourbehalf。"
"Well，youcandoso，ifyouthinkitindispensable。"
"I
dothinkitindispensable，andIamgoingto—"
"Stay，"
exclaimedLaFontaine，"Iwantyouradvice。"
"Uponwhat？thisinsult？"
"No;
tellmereallynowwhetherlumi鑢edoesnotrhymewithorni鑢e。"
"I
shouldmakethemrhyme。"
"Ah！？Iknewyouwould。"
"AndIhavemadeahundredthousandsuchrhymesinmytime。"
"A
hundredthousand！"criedLaFontaine。？"Fourtimesasmanyas\'LaPucelle，\'whichM。Chaplainismeditating。？Isitalsoonthissubject，too，thatyouhavecomposedahundredthousandverses？"
"Listentome，youeternallyabsent—mindedcreature，"saidMoli鑢e。
"Itiscertain，"continuedLaFontaine，"thatl間ume，forinstance，rhymeswithposthume。"
"Intheplural，aboveall。"
"Yes，aboveallintheplural，seeingthatthenitrhymesnotwiththreeletters，butwithfour;asorni鑢edoeswithlumi鑢e。"
"Butgivemeorni鑢esandlumi鑢esintheplural，mydearP閘isson，"saidLaFontaine，clappinghishandontheshoulderofhisfriend，whoseinsulthehadquiteforgotten，"andtheywillrhyme。"
"Hem！"
coughedP閘isson。
"Moli鑢esaysso，andMoli鑢eisajudgeofsuchthings;hedeclareshehashimselfmadeahundredthousandverses。"
"Come，"
saidMoli鑢e，laughing，"heisoffnow。"
"Itislikerivage，whichrhymesadmirablywithherbage。？Iwouldtakemyoathofit。"
"But—"saidMoli鑢e。
"I
tellyouallthis，"continuedLaFontaine，"becauseyouarepreparingadivertissementforVaux，areyounot？"
"Yes，the\'F鈉heux。\'"
"Ah，yes，the\'F鈉heux;\'yes，Irecollect。？Well，Iwasthinkingaprologuewouldadmirablysuityourdivertissement。"
"Doubtlessitwouldsuitcapitally。"
"Ah！
youareofmyopinion？"
"Somuchso，thatIhaveaskedyoutowritethisveryprologue。"
"Youaskedmetowriteit？"
"Yes，you，andonyourrefusalbeggedyoutoaskP閘isson，whoisengageduponitatthismoment。"
"Ah！
thatiswhatP閘issonisdoing，then？？I\'faith，mydearMoli鑢e，youareindeedoftenright。"
"When？"
"Whenyoucallmeabsent—minded。？Itisamonstrousdefect;Iwillcuremyselfofit，anddoyourprologueforyou。"
"ButinasmuchasP閘issonisaboutit！—"
"Ah，true，miserablerascalthatIam！？LoretwasindeedrightinsayingIwasapoorcreature。"
"ItwasnotLoretwhosaidso，myfriend。"
"Well，then，whoeversaidso，\'tisthesametome！？Andsoyourdivertissementiscalledthe\'F鈉heux？\'？Well，canyoumakeheureuxrhymewithf鈉heux？"
"Ifobliged，yes。"
"Andevenwithcapriceux。"
"Oh，no，no。"
"Itwouldbehazardous，andyetwhyso？"
"Thereistoogreatadifferenceinthecadences。"
"I
wasfancying，"saidLaFontaine，leavingMoli鑢eforLoret—"Iwasfancying—"
"Whatwereyoufancying？"saidLoret，inthemiddleofasentence。？"Makehaste。"
"Youarewritingtheprologuetothe\'F鈉heux，\'areyounot？"
"No！mordieu！itisP閘isson。"
"Ah，P閘isson，"criedLaFontaine，goingovertohim，"Iwasfancying，"hecontinued，"thatthenymphofVaux—"
"Ah，beautiful！"criedLoret。？"ThenymphofVaux！thankyou，LaFontaine;youhavejustgivenmethetwoconcludingversesofmypaper。"
"Well，ifyoucanrhymesowell，LaFontaine，"saidP閘isson，"tellmenowinwhatwayyouwouldbeginmyprologue？"
"I
shouldsay，forinstance，\'Oh！nymph，who—\'？After\'who\'Ishouldplaceaverbinthesecondpersonsingularofthepresentindicative;andshouldgoonthus:\'thisgrotprofound。\'"
"Buttheverb，theverb？"askedP閘isson。
"Toadmirethegreatestkingofallkingsround，"continuedLaFontaine。
"Buttheverb，theverb，"obstinatelyinsistedP閘isson。？"Thissecondpersonsingularofthepresentindicative？"
"Well，then;quittest:
"Oh，nymph，whoquittestnowthisgrotprofound，Toadmirethegreatestkingofallkingsround。"
"Youwouldnotput\'whoquittest，\'wouldyou？"
"Whynot？"
"\'Quittest，\'
after\'youwho\'？"
"Ah！
mydearfellow，"exclaimedLaFontaine，"youareashockingpedant！"
"Withoutcounting，"saidMoli鑢e，"thatthesecondverse，\'kingofallkingsround，\'isveryweak，mydearLaFontaine。"
"ThenyouseeclearlyIamnothingbutapoorcreature，—ashuffler，asyousaid。"
"I
neversaidso。"
"Then，asLoretsaid。"
"AnditwasnotLoreteither;itwasP閘isson。"
"Well，P閘issonwasrightahundredtimesover。？Butwhatannoysmemorethananything，mydearMoli鑢e，is，thatIfearweshallnothaveourEpicureandresses。"
"Youexpectedyours，then，forthef阾e？"
"Yes，forthef阾e，andthenforafterthef阾e。？Myhousekeepertoldmethatmyownisratherfaded。"
"Diable！yourhousekeeperisright;
rathermorethanfaded。"
"Ah，yousee，"resumedLaFontaine，"thefactis，Ileftitonthefloorinmyroom，andmycat—"
"Well，yourcat—"
"Shemadehernestuponit，whichhasratherchangeditscolor。"
Moli鑢eburstoutlaughing;P閘issonandLoretfollowedhisexample。？Atthisjuncture，thebishopofVannesappeared，witharollofplansandparchmentsunderhisarm。？Asiftheangelofdeathhadchilledallgayandsprightlyfancies—asifthatwanformhadscaredawaytheGracestowhomXenocratessacrificed—silenceimmediatelyreignedthroughthestudy，andeveryoneresumedhisself—possessionandhispen。？Aramisdistributedthenotesofinvitation，andthankedtheminthenameofM。Fouquet。？"Thesuperintendent，"hesaid，"beingkepttohisroombybusiness，couldnotcomeandseethem，butbeggedthemtosendhimsomeofthefruitsoftheirday\'swork，toenablehimtoforgetthefatigueofhislaborinthenight。"
Atthesewords，allsettleddowntowork。？LaFontaineplacedhimselfatatable，andsethisrapidpenanendlessdanceacrossthesmoothwhitevellum;P閘issonmadeafaircopyofhisprologue;Moli鑢econtributedfiftyfreshverses，withwhichhisvisittoPercerinhadinspiredhim;Loret，anarticleonthemarvelousf阾eshepredicted;andAramis，ladenwithhisbootylikethekingofthebees，thatgreatblackdrone，deckedwithpurpleandgold，re—enteredhisapartment，silentandbusy。？Butbeforedeparting，"Remember，gentlemen，"
saidhe，"weleaveto—morrowevening。"
"Inthatcase，Imustgivenoticeathome，"saidMoli鑢e。
"Yes;
poorMoli鑢e！"saidLoret，smiling;"heloveshishome。"
"\'Heloves，\'yes，"repliedMoli鑢e，withhissad，sweetsmile。？"\'Heloves，\'thatdoesnotmean，theylovehim。"
"Asforme，"saidLaFontaine，"theylovemeatCh鈚eauThierry，Iamverysure。"
Aramisherere—enteredafterabriefdisappearance。
"Willanyonegowithme？"heasked。？"IamgoingbyParis，afterhavingpassedaquarterofanhourwithM。Fouquet。？Ioffermycarriage。"
"Good，"
saidMoli鑢e，"Iacceptit。？Iaminahurry。"
"I
shalldinehere，"saidLoret。？"M。deGourvillehaspromisedmesomecraw—fish。"
"Hehaspromisedmesomewhitings。？Findarhymeforthat，LaFontaine。"
Aramiswentoutlaughing，asonlyhecouldlaugh，andMoli鑢efollowedhim。？Theywereatthebottomofthestairs，whenLaFontaineopenedthedoor，andshoutedout:
"Hehaspromisedussomewhitings，Inreturnfortheseourwritings。"
TheshoutsoflaughterreachedtheearsofFouquetatthemomentAramisopenedthedoorofthestudy。？AstoMoli鑢e，hehadundertakentoorderthehorses，whileAramiswenttoexchangeapartingwordwiththesuperintendent。？"Oh，howtheyarelaughingthere！"
saidFouquet，withasigh。
"Doyounotlaugh，monseigneur？"
"I
laughnolongernow，M。d\'Herblay。？Thef阾eisapproaching;moneyisdeparting。"
"HaveInottoldyouthatwasmybusiness？"
"Yes，youpromisedmemillions。"
"Youshallhavethemthedayaftertheking\'sentr閑intoVaux。"
FouquetlookedcloselyatAramis，andpassedthebackofhisicyhandacrosshismoistenedbrow。？Aramisperceivedthatthesuperintendenteitherdoubtedhim，orfelthewaspowerlesstoobtainthemoney。？HowcouldFouquetsupposethatapoorbishop，ex—abb？ex—musketeer，couldfindany？
"Whydoubtme？"saidAramis。？Fouquetsmiledandshookhishead。
"Manoflittlefaith！"addedthebishop。
"MydearM。d\'Herblay，"answeredFouquet，"ifIfall—"
"Well;
ifyou\'fall\'？"
"I
shall，atleast，fallfromsuchaheight，thatIshallshattermyselfinfalling。"？Thengivinghimselfashake，asthoughtoescapefromhimself，"Whencecameyou，"saidhe，"myfriend？"
"FromParis—fromPercerin。"
"AndwhathaveyoubeendoingatPercerin\'s，forIsupposeyouattachnogreatimportancetoourpoets\'dresses？"
"No;
Iwenttoprepareasurprise。"
"Surprise？"
"Yes;
whichyouaregoingtogivetotheking。"
"Andwillitcostmuch？"
"Oh！
ahundredpistolesyouwillgiveLebrun。"
"A
painting？—Ah！allthebetter！？Andwhatisthispaintingtorepresent？"
"I
willtellyou;thenatthesametime，whateveryoumaysayorthinkofit，I
wenttoseethedressesforourpoets。"
"Bah！
andtheywillberichandelegant？"
"Splendid！？Therewillbefewgreatmonseigneurswithsogood。？Peoplewillseethedifferencethereisbetweenthecourtiersofwealthandthoseoffriendship。"
"Evergenerousandgrateful，dearprelate。"
"Inyourschool。"
Fouquetgraspedhishand。？"Andwhereareyougoing？"hesaid。
"IamofftoParis，whenyoushallhavegivenacertainletter。"
"Forwhom？"
"M。deLyonne。"
"AndwhatdoyouwantwithLyonne？"
"Iwishtomakehimsignalettredecachet。"
"\'Lettredecachet！\'？DoyoudesiretoputsomebodyintheBastile？"
"Onthecontrary—toletsomebodyout。"
"Andwho？"
"A
poordevil—ayouth，aladwhohasbeenBastiledthesetenyears，fortwoLatinverseshemadeagainsttheJesuits。"
"\'TwoLatinverses！\'and，for\'twoLatinverses，\'themiserablebeinghasbeeninprisonfortenyears！"
"Yes！"
"Andhascommittednoothercrime？"
"Beyondthis，heisasinnocentasyouorI。"
"Onyourword？"
"Onmyhonor！"
"Andhisnameis—"
"Seldon。"
"Yes。—Butitistoobad。？Youknewthis，andyounevertoldme！"
"\'Twasonlyyesterdayhismotherappliedtome，monseigneur。"
"Andthewomanispoor！"
"Inthedeepestmisery。"
"Heaven，"
saidFouquet，"sometimesbearswithsuchinjusticeonearth，thatIhardlywondertherearewretcheswhodoubtofitsexistence。？Stay，M。d\'Herblay。"？AndFouquet，takingapen，wroteafewrapidlinestohiscolleagueLyonne。？Aramistooktheletterandmadereadytogo。
"Wait，"
saidFouquet。？Heopenedhisdrawer，andtookouttengovernmentnoteswhichwerethere，eachforathousandfrancs。？"Stay，"hesaid;"setthesonatliberty，andgivethistothemother;but，aboveall，donottellher—
"
"What，monseigneur？"
"ThatsheistenthousandlivresricherthanI。？ShewouldsayIambutapoorsuperintendent！？Go！andIpraythatGodwillblessthosewhoaremindfulofhispoor！"
"SoalsodoIpray，"repliedAramis，kissingFouquet\'shand。
Andhewentoutquickly，carryingofftheletterforLyonneandthenotesforSeldon\'smother，andtakingupMoli鑢e，whowasbeginningtolosepatience。
ChapterVII:
AnotherSupperattheBastile。
Seveno\'clocksoundedfromthegreatclockoftheBastile，thatfamousclock，which，likealltheaccessoriesofthestateprison，theveryuseofwhichisatorture，recalledtotheprisoners\'mindsthedestinationofeveryhouroftheirpunishment。？Thetime—pieceoftheBastile，adornedwithfigures，likemostoftheclocksoftheperiod，representedSt。Peterinbonds。？Itwasthesupperhouroftheunfortunatecaptives。？Thedoors，gratingontheirenormoushinges，openedforthepassageofthebasketsandtraysofprovisions，theabundanceandthedelicacyofwhich，asM。deBaisemeauxhashimselftaughtus，wasregulatedbytheconditioninlifeoftheprisoner。？WeunderstandonthisheadthetheoriesofM。deBaisemeaux，sovereigndispenserofgastronomicdelicacies，headcookoftheroyalfortress，whosetrays，full—laden，wereascendingthesteepstaircases，carryingsomeconsolationtotheprisonersintheshapeofhonestlyfilledbottlesofgoodvintages。？ThissamehourwasthatofM。legouverneur\'ssupperalso。？Hehadaguestto—day，andthespitturnedmoreheavilythanusual。？Roastpartridges，flankedwithquailsandflankingalardedleveret;boiledfowls;hams，friedandsprinkledwithwhitewine，cardonsofGuipuzcoaandlabisque閏revisses:these，togetherwithsoupsandhorsd\'渦vres，constitutedthegovernor\'sbilloffare。？Baisemeaux，seatedattable，wasrubbinghishandsandlookingatthebishopofVannes，who，bootedlikeacavalier，dressedingrayandswordatside，kepttalkingofhishungerandtestifyingtheliveliestimpatience。？M。deBaisemeauxdeMontlezunwasnotaccustomedtotheunbendingmovementsofhisgreatnessmylordofVannes，andthiseveningAramis，becomingsprightly，volunteeredconfidenceonconfidence。？Theprelatehadagainalittletouchofthemusketeerabouthim。？Thebishopjusttrenchedonthebordersonlyoflicenseinhisstyleofconversation。？AsforM。deBaisemeaux，withthefacilityofvulgarpeople，hegavehimselfupentirelyuponthispointofhisguest\'sfreedom。？"Monsieur，"saidhe，"forindeedto—nightIdarenotcallyoumonseigneur。"
"Bynomeans，"saidAramis;"callmemonsieur;Iambooted。"
"Doyouknow，monsieur，ofwhomyouremindmethisevening？"
"No！
faith，"saidAramis，takinguphisglass;"butIhopeIremindyouofacapitalguest。"
"Youremindmeoftwo，monsieur。？Fran鏾is，shutthewindow;thewindmayannoyhisgreatness。"
"Andlethimgo，"addedAramis。？"Thesupperiscompletelyserved，andweshalleatitverywellwithoutwaiters。？Ilikeexceedinglytobet阾e—？t阾ewhenIamwithafriend。"？Baisemeauxbowedrespectfully。
"I
likeexceedingly，"continuedAramis，"tohelpmyself。"
"Retire，Fran鏾is，"criedBaisemeaux。？"I
wassayingthatyourgreatnessputsmeinmindoftwopersons;oneveryillustrious，thelatecardinal，thegreatCardinaldelaRochelle，whoworebootslikeyou。"
"Indeed，"
saidAramis;"andtheother？"
"Theotherwasacertainmusketeer，veryhandsome，verybrave，veryadventurous，veryfortunate，who，frombeingabb？turnedmusketeer，andfrommusketeerturnedabb"t;？Aramiscondescendedtosmile。？"Fromabb？;
continuedBaisemeaux，encouragedbyAramis\'ssmile—";fromabb？bishop—
andfrombishop"t;
"Ah！
staythere，Ibeg，"exclaimedAramis。
"I
havejustsaid，monsieur，thatyougavemetheideaofacardinal。"
"Enough，dearM。Baisemeaux。？Asyousaid，Ihaveonthebootsofacavalier，butIdonotintend，forallthat，toembroilmyselfwiththechurchthisevening。"
"Butyouhavewickedintentions，nevertheless，monseigneur。"
"Oh，yes，wicked，Iown，aseverythingmundaneis。"
"Youtraversethetownandthestreetsindisguise？"
"Indisguise，asyousay。"
"Andyoustillmakeuseofyoursword？"
"Yes，Ishouldthinkso;butonlywhenIamcompelled。？DomethepleasuretosummonFran鏾is。"
"Haveyounowinethere？"
"\'Tisnotforwine，butbecauseitishothere，andthewindowisshut。"
"I
shutthewindowsatsupper—timesoasnottohearthesoundsorthearrivalofcouriers。"
"Ah，yes。？Youhearthemwhenthewindowisopen？"
"Buttoowell，andthatdisturbsme。？Youunderstand？"
