第20章

"Youaretakinghimaway，whither？"

"ToBelle—Isle，atfirst。？Thatisanimpregnableplaceofrefuge。？Then，I

havethesea，andavesseltopassoverintoEngland，whereIhavemanyrelations。"

"You？

inEngland？"

"Yes，orelseinSpain，whereIhavestillmore。"

"But，ourexcellentPorthos！youruinhim，forthekingwillconfiscateallhisproperty。"

"Allisprovidedfor。？Iknowhow，whenonceinSpain，toreconcilemyselfwithLouisXIV。，andrestorePorthostofavor。"

"Youhavecredit，seemingly，Aramis！"saidAthos，withadiscreetair。

"Much;

andattheserviceofmyfriends。"

Thesewordswereaccompaniedbyawarmpressureofthehand。

"Thankyou，"repliedthecomte。

"Andwhileweareonthishead，"saidAramis，"youalsoareamalcontent;

youalso，Raoul，havegriefstolaytotheking。？Followourexample;passoverintoBelle—Isle。？Thenweshallsee，Iguaranteeuponmyhonor，thatinamonththerewillbewarbetweenFranceandSpainonthesubjectofthissonofLouisXIII。，whoisanInfantelikewise，andwhomFrancedetainsinhumanly。？Now，asLouisXIV。

wouldhavenoinclinationforawaronthatsubject，Iwillanswerforanarrangement，theresultofwhichmustbringgreatnesstoPorthosandtome，andaduchyinFrancetoyou，whoarealreadyagrandeeofSpain。？Willyoujoinus？"

"No;

formypartIpreferhavingsomethingtoreproachthekingwith;itisapridenaturaltomyracetopretendtoasuperiorityoverroyalraces。？Doingwhatyoupropose，Ishouldbecometheobligedoftheking;Ishouldcertainlybethegaineronthatground，butI

shouldbealoserinmyconscience。—No，thankyou！"

"Thengivemetwothings，Athos，—yourabsolution。"

"Oh！？Igiveityouifyoureallywishedtoavengetheweakandoppressedagainsttheoppressor。"

"Thatissufficientforme，"saidAramis，witha？blushwhichwaslostintheobscurityofthenight。？"Andnow，givemeyourtwobesthorsestogainthesecondpost，asIhavebeenrefusedanyunderthepretextoftheDucdeBeaufortbeingtravelinginthiscountry。"

"Youshallhavethetwobesthorses，Aramis;andagainIrecommendpoorPorthosstronglytoyourcare。"

"Oh！？Ihavenofearonthatscore。？Onewordmore:doyouthinkIammaneuveringforhimasIought？"

"Theevilbeingcommitted，yes;forthekingwouldnotpardonhim，andyouhave，whatevermaybesaid，alwaysasupporterinM。Fouquet，whowillnotabandonyou，hebeinghimselfcompromised，notwithstandinghisheroicaction。"

"Youareright。？Andthatiswhy，insteadofgainingtheseaatonce，whichwouldproclaimmyfearandguilt，thatiswhyI

remainuponFrenchground。？ButBelle—IslewillbeformewhatevergroundIwishittobe，English，Spanish，orRoman;allwilldepend，withme，onthestandardIshallthinkpropertounfurl。"

"Howso？"

"ItwasIwhofortifiedBelle—Isle;and，solongasIdefendit，nobodycantakeBelle—Islefromme。？Andthen，asyouhavesaidjustnow，M。Fouquetisthere。？Belle—IslewillnotbeattackedwithoutthesignatureofM。

Fouquet。"

"Thatistrue。？Nevertheless，beprudent。？Thekingisbothcunningandstrong。"？Aramissmiled。

"I

againrecommendPorthostoyou，"repeatedthecount，withasortofcoldpersistence。

"Whateverbecomesofme，count，"repliedAramis，inthesametone，"ourbrotherPorthoswillfareasIdo—orbetter。"

AthosbowedwhilstpressingthehandofAramis，andturnedtoembracePorthoswithemotion。

"I

wasbornlucky，wasInot？"murmuredthelatter，transportedwithhappiness，ashefoldedhiscloakroundhim。

"Come，mydearfriend，"saidAramis。

Raoulhadgoneouttogiveordersforthesaddlingofthehorses。？Thegroupwasalreadydivided。？Athossawhistwofriendsonthepointofdeparture，andsomethinglikeamistpassedbeforehiseyesandweigheduponhisheart。

"Itisstrange，"thoughthe，"whencecomestheinclinationIfeeltoembracePorthosoncemore？"？AtthatmomentPorthosturnedround，andhecametowardshisoldfriendwithopenarms。？Thislastendearmentwastenderasinyouth，asintimeswhenheartswerewarm—lifehappy。？AndthenPorthosmountedhishorse。？AramiscamebackoncemoretothrowhisarmsroundtheneckofAthos。？Thelatterwatchedthemalongthehigh—road，elongatedbytheshade，intheirwhitecloaks。？Likephantomstheyseemedtoenlargeontheirdeparturefromtheearth，anditwasnotinthemist，butinthedeclivityofthegroundthattheydisappeared。？Attheendoftheperspective，bothseemedtohavegivenaspringwiththeirfeet，whichmadethemvanishasifevaporatedintocloud—land。

ThenAthos，withaveryheavyheart，returnedtowardsthehouse，sayingtoBragelonne，"Raoul，Idon抰knowwhatitisthathasjusttoldmethatI

haveseenthosetwoforthelasttime。"

"Itdoesnotastonishme，monsieur，thatyoushouldhavesuchathought，"

repliedtheyoungman，"forIhaveatthismomentthesame，andthinkalsothatIshallneverseeMessieursduVallonandd\'Herblayagain。"

"Oh！

you，"repliedthecount，"youspeaklikeamanrenderedsadbyadifferentcause;youseeeverythinginblack;youareyoung，andifyouchancenevertoseethoseoldfriendsagain，itwillbecausetheynolongerexistintheworldinwhichyouhaveyetmanyyearstopass。？ButI—"

Raoulshookhisheadsadly，andleanedupontheshoulderofthecount，withouteitherofthemfindinganotherwordintheirhearts，whichwerereadytooverflow。

Allatonceanoiseofhorsesandvoices，fromtheextremityoftheroadtoBlois，attractedtheirattentionthatway。？Flambeaux—bearersshooktheirtorchesmerrilyamongthetreesoftheirroute，andturnedround，fromtimetotime，toavoiddistancingthehorsemenwhofollowedthem。？Theseflames，thisnoise，thisdustofadozenrichlycaparisonedhorses，formedastrangecontrastinthemiddleofthenightwiththemelancholyandalmostfunerealdisappearanceofthetwoshadowsofAramisandPorthos。？Athoswenttowardsthehouse;buthehadhardlyreachedtheparterre，whentheentrancegateappearedinablaze;alltheflambeauxstoppedandappearedtoenflametheroad。？Acrywasheardof"M。leDucdeBeaufort"—andAthossprangtowardsthedoorofhishouse。？Butthedukehadalreadyalightedfromhishorse，andwaslookingaroundhim。

"I

amhere，monseigneur，"saidAthos。

"Ah！

goodevening，dearcount，"saidtheprince，withthatfrankcordialitywhichwonhimsomanyhearts。？"Isittoolateforafriend？"

"Ah！

mydearprince，comein！"saidthecount。

And，M。deBeaufortleaningonthearmofAthos，theyenteredthehouse，followedbyRaoul，whowalkedrespectfullyandmodestlyamongtheofficersoftheprince，withseveralofwhomhewasacquainted。

ChapterXXVII:

MonsieurdeBeaufort。

TheprinceturnedroundatthemomentwhenRaoul，inordertoleavehimalonewithAthos，wasshuttingthedoor，andpreparingtogowiththeotherofficersintoanadjoiningapartment。

"IsthattheyoungmanIhaveheardM。lePrincespeaksohighlyof？"askedM。

deBeaufort。

"Itis，monseigneur。"

"Heisquitethesoldier;lethimstay，count，wecannotsparehim。"

"Remain，Raoul，sincemonseigneurpermitsit，"saidAthos。

"Mafoi！heistallandhandsome！"

continuedtheduke。？"Willyougivehimtome，monseigneur，ifIaskhimofyou？"

"HowamItounderstandyou，monseigneur？"saidAthos。

"Why，Icalluponyoutobidyoufarewell。"

"Farewell！"

"Yes，ingoodtruth。？HaveyounoideaofwhatIamabouttobecome？"

"Why，Isuppose，whatyouhavealwaysbeen，monseigneur，—avaliantprince，andanexcellentgentleman。"

"I

amgoingtobecomeanAfricanprince，—aBedouingentleman。？ThekingissendingmetomakeconquestsamongtheArabs。"

"Whatisthisyoutellme，monseigneur？"

"Strange，isitnot？？I，theParisianparessence，Iwhohavereignedinthefaubourgs，andhavebeencalledKingoftheHalles，—IamgoingtopassfromthePlaceMauberttotheminaretsofGigelli;fromaFrondeurIambecominganadventurer！"

"Oh，monseigneur，ifyoudidnotyourselftellmethat—"

"Itwouldnotbecredible，wouldit？？Believeme，nevertheless，andwehavebuttobideachotherfarewell。？Thisiswhatcomesofgettingintofavoragain。"

"Intofavor？"

"Yes。？Yousmile。？Ah，mydearcount，doyouknowwhyIhaveacceptedthisenterprise，canyouguess？"

"Becauseyourhighnesslovesgloryabove—everything。"

"Oh！

no;thereisnogloryinfiringmusketsatsavages。？Iseenogloryinthat，formypart，anditismoreprobablethatIshalltheremeetwithsomethingelse。？ButIhavewished，andstillwishearnestly，mydearcount，thatmylifeshouldhavethatlastfacet，afterallthewhimsicalexhibitionsIhaveseenmyselfmakeduringfiftyyears。？For，inshort，youmustadmitthatitissufficientlystrangetobebornthegrandsonofaking，tohavemadewaragainstkings，tohavebeenreckonedamongthepowersoftheage，tohavemaintainedmyrank，tofeelHenryIV。withinme，tobegreatadmiralofFrance—andthentogoandgetkilledatGigelli，amongallthoseTurks，Saracens，andMoors。"

"Monseigneur，youharpwithstrangepersistenceonthattheme，"saidAthos，inanagitatedvoice。？"Howcanyousupposethatsobrilliantadestinywillbeextinguishedinthatremoteandmiserablescene？"

"Andcanyoubelieve，uprightandsimpleasyouare，thatifIgointoAfricaforthisridiculousmotive，Iwillnotendeavortocomeoutofitwithoutridicule？？ShallInotgivetheworldcausetospeakofme？？Andtobespokenof，nowadays，whenthereareMonsieurlePrince，M。deTurenne，andmanyothers，mycontemporaries，I，admiralofFrance，grandsonofHenryIV。，kingofParis，haveIanythingleftbuttogetmyselfkilled？？Cordieu！？Iwillbetalkedof，Itellyou;Ishallbekilledwhetherornot;ifnothere，somewhereelse。"

"Why，monseigneur，thisismereexaggeration;andhithertoyouhaveshownnothingexaggeratedsaveinbravery。"

"Peste！mydearfriend，thereisbraveryinfacingscurvy，dysentery，locusts，poisonedarrows，asmyancestorSt。Louisdid。？Doyouknowthosefellowsstillusepoisonedarrows？？Andthen，youknowmeofold，Ifancy，andyouknowthatwhenIoncemakeupmymindtoathing，I

performitingrimearnest。"

"Yes，youmadeupyourmindtoescapefromVincennes。"

"Ay，butyouaidedmeinthat，mymaster;and，？

propos，Iturnthiswayandthat，withoutseeingmyoldfriend，M。

Vaugrimaud。？Howishe？"

"M。

Vaugrimaudisstillyourhighness\'smostrespectfulservant，"saidAthos，smiling。

"I

haveahundredpistoleshereforhim，whichIbringasalegacy。？Mywillismade，count。"

"Ah！

monseigneur！monseigneur！"

"AndyoumayunderstandthatifGrimaud\'snameweretoappearinmywill—

"？Thedukebegantolaugh;thenaddressingRaoul，who，fromthecommencementofthisconversation，hadsunkintoaprofoundreverie，"Youngman，"saidhe，"IknowthereistobefoundhereacertainDeVouvraywine，andIbelieve—"？Raoullefttheroomprecipitatelytoorderthewine。？InthemeantimeM。deBeauforttookthehandofAthos。

"Whatdoyoumeantodowithhim？"askedhe。

"Nothingatpresent，monseigneur。"

"Ah！

yes，Iknow;sincethepassionofthekingforLaValli鑢e。"

"Yes，monseigneur。"

"Thatisalltrue，then，isit？？IthinkI

knowher，thatlittleLaValli鑢e。？Sheisnotparticularlyhandsome，ifIrememberright？"

"No，monseigneur，"saidAthos。

"Doyouknowwhomsheremindsmeof？"

"Doessheremindyourhighnessofanyone？"

"Sheremindsmeofaveryagreeablegirl，whosemotherlivedintheHalles。"

"Ah！

ah！"saidAthos，smiling。

"Oh！

thegoodoldtimes，"addedM。deBeaufort。？"Yes，LaValli鑢eremindsmeofthatgirl。"

"Whohadason，hadshenot？"

Transcriber\'snote:ItispossiblethattheprecedingconversationisanobscureallegoricalallusiontotheFronde，orperhapsanintimationthattheDucwasthefatherofMordaunt，fromTwentyYearsAfter，butadefiniteinterpretationstilleludesmodernscholars。—

JB

"Ibelieveshehad，"repliedtheduke，withcarelessna飗et？andacomplaisantforgetfulness，ofwhichnowordscouldtranslatethetoneandthevocalexpression。？"Now，hereispoorRaoul，whoisyourson，Ibelieve。"

"Yes，heismyson，monseigneur。"

"Andthepoorladhasbeencutoutbytheking，andhefrets。"

"Stillbetter，monseigneur，heabstains。"

"Youaregoingtolettheboyrustinidleness;itisamistake。？Come，givehimtome。"

"Mywishistokeephimathome，monseigneur。？Ihavenolongeranythingintheworldbuthim，andaslongashelikestoremain—"

"Well，well，"repliedtheduke。？"I

could，nevertheless，havesoonputmatterstorightsagain。？Iassureyou，Ithinkhehasinhimthestuffofwhichmar閏halsofFrancearemade;Ihaveseenmorethanoneproducedfromlesslikelyroughmaterial。"

"Thatisverypossible，monseigneur;butitisthekingwhomakesmar閏halsofFrance，andRaoulwillneveracceptanythingoftheking。"

Raoulinterruptedthisconversationbyhisreturn。？HeprecededGrimaud，whosestillsteadyhandscarriedtheplateauwithoneglassandabottleoftheduke\'sfavoritewine。？Onseeinghisoldprot間？，thedukeutteredanexclamationofpleasure。

"Grimaud！？Goodevening，Grimaud！"saidhe;

"howgoesit？"

Theservantbowedprofoundly，asmuchgratifiedashisnobleinterlocutor。

"Twooldfriends！"saidtheduke，shakinghonestGrimaud\'sshoulderafteravigorousfashion;whichwasfollowedbyanotherstillmoreprofoundanddelightedbowfromGrimaud。

"Butwhatisthis，count，onlyoneglass？"

"I

shouldnotthinkofdrinkingwithyourhighness，unlessyourhighnesspermittedme，"repliedAthos，withnoblehumility。

"Cordieu！youwererighttobringonlyoneglass，wewillbothdrinkoutofit，liketwobrothersinarms。？Begin，count。"

"Domethehonor，"saidAthos，gentlyputtingbacktheglass。

"Youareacharmingfriend，"repliedtheDucdeBeaufort，whodrank，andpassedthegoblettohiscompanion。？"Butthatisnotall，"continuedhe，"Iamstillthirsty，andIwishtodohonortothishandsomeyoungmanwhostandshere。？Icarrygoodluckwithme，vicomte，"saidhetoRaoul;

"wishforsomethingwhiledrinkingoutofmyglass，andmaytheblackplaguegrabmeifwhatyouwishdoesnotcometopass！"？HeheldthegoblettoRaoul，whohastilymoistenedhislips，andrepliedwiththesamepromptitude:

"I

havewishedforsomething，monseigneur。"？Hiseyessparkledwithagloomyfire，andthebloodmountedtohischeeks;

heterrifiedAthos，ifonlywithhissmile。

"Andwhathaveyouwishedfor？"repliedtheduke，sinkingbackintohisfauteuil，whilstwithonehandhereturnedthebottletoGrimaud，andwiththeothergavehimapurse。

"Willyoupromiseme，monseigneur，tograntmewhatIwishfor？"

"Pardieu！？Thatisagreedupon。"

"I

wished，monsieurleduc，togowithyoutoGigelli。"

Athosbecamepale，andwasunabletoconcealhisagitation。？Thedukelookedathisfriend，asifdesiroustoassisthimtoparrythisunexpectedblow。

"Thatisdifficult，mydearvicomte，verydifficult，"addedhe，inalowertoneofvoice。

"Pardonme，monseigneur，Ihavebeenindiscreet，"repliedRaoul，inafirmvoice;

"butasyouyourselfinvitedmetowish—"

"Towishtoleaveme？"saidAthos。

"Oh！

monsieur—canyouimagine—"

"Well，mordieu！"criedtheduke，"theyoungvicomteisright！？Whatcanhedohere？？Hewillgomoldywithgrief。"

Raoulblushed，andtheexcitableprincecontinued:"Warisadistraction:wegaineverythingbyit;wecanonlyloseonethingbyit—life—thensomuchtheworse！"

"Thatistosay，memory，"saidRaoul，eagerly;"andthatistosay，somuchthebetter！"

HerepentedofhavingspokensowarmlywhenhesawAthosriseandopenthewindow;whichwas，doubtless，toconcealhisemotion。？Raoulsprangtowardsthecomte，butthelatterhadalreadyovercomehisemotion，andturnedtothelightswithasereneandimpassiblecountenance。？"Well，come，"saidtheduke，"letussee！？Shallhego，orshallhenot？？Ifhegoes，comte，heshallbemyaide—de—camp，myson。"

"Monseigneur！"

criedRaoul，bendinghisknee。

"Monseigneur！"

criedAthos，takingthehandoftheduke;"Raoulshalldojustashelikes。"

"Oh！no，monsieur，justasyoulike，"interruptedtheyoungman。

"Parlacorbleu！"saidtheprinceinhisturn，"itisneitherthecomtenorthevicomtethatshallhavehisway，itisI。？Iwilltakehimaway。？Themarineoffersasuperbfortune，myfriend。"

Raoulsmiledagainsosadly，thatthistimeAthosfelthisheartpenetratedbyit，andrepliedtohimbyaseverelook。？Raoulcomprehendeditall;herecoveredhiscalmness，andwassoguarded，thatnotanotherwordescapedhim。？Thedukeatlengthrose，onobservingtheadvancedhour，andsaid，withanimation，"I

amingreathaste，butifIamtoldIhavelosttimeintalkingwithafriend，IwillreplyIhavegained—onthebalance—amostexcellentrecruit。"

"Pardonme，monsieurleduc，"interruptedRaoul，"donottellthekingso，foritisnotthekingIwishtoserve。"

"Eh！myfriend，whom，then，willyouserve？？Thetimesarepastwhenyoumighthavesaid，\'IbelongtoM。deBeaufort。\'？No，nowadays，weallbelongtotheking，greatorsmall。？Therefore，ifyouserveonboardmyvessels，therecanbenothingequivocalaboutit，mydearvicomte;

itwillbethekingyouwillserve。"

AthoswaitedwithakindofimpatientjoyforthereplyabouttobemadetothisembarrassingquestionbyRaoul，theintractableenemyoftheking，hisrival。？Thefatherhopedthattheobstaclewouldovercomethedesire。？HewasthankfultoM。deBeaufort，whoselightnessorgenerousreflectionhadthrownanimpedimentinthewayofthedepartureofason，nowhisonlyjoy。？ButRaoul，stillfirmandtranquil，replied:

"Monsieurleduc，theobjectionyoumakeIhavealreadyconsideredinmymind。？Iwillserveonboardyourvessels，becauseyoudomethehonortotakemewithyou;butIshallthereserveamorepowerfulmasterthantheking:IshallserveGod！"

"God！howso？"saidthedukeandAthostogether。

"Myintentionistomakeprofession，andbecomeaknightofMalta，"addedBragelonne，lettingfall，onebyone，wordsmoreicythanthedropswhichfallfromthebaretreesafterthetempestsofwinter。

Transcriber\'snote:ThedictatesofsuchaservicewouldrequireRaoultospendtherestofhislifeoutsideofFrance，henceAthos\'sandGrimaud\'sextremereactions。—JB

UnderthisblowAthosstaggeredandtheprincehimselfwasmoved。？Grimaudutteredaheavygroan，andletfallthebottle，whichwasbrokenwithoutanybodypayingattention。？M。deBeaufortlookedtheyoungmanintheface，andreadplainly，thoughhiseyeswerecastdown，thefireofresolutionbeforewhicheverythingmustgiveway。？AstoAthos，hewastoowellacquaintedwiththattender，butinflexiblesoul;hecouldnothopetomakeitdeviatefromthefatalroadithadjustchosen。？Hecouldonlypressthehandthedukeheldouttohim。？"Comte，IshallsetoffintwodaysforToulon，"saidM。deBeaufort。？"WillyoumeetmeatParis，inorderthatImayknowyourdetermination？"

"Iwillhavethehonorofthankingyouthere，monprince，forallyourkindness，"repliedthecomte。

"Andbesuretobringthevicomtewithyou，whetherhefollowsmeordoesnotfollowme，"addedtheduke;"hehasmyword，andIonlyaskyours。"

Havingthrownalittlebalmuponthewoundofthepaternalheart，hepulledtheearofGrimaud，whoseeyessparkledmorethanusual，andregainedhisescortintheparterre。？Thehorses，restedandrefreshed，setoffwithspiritthroughthelovelynight，andsoonplacedaconsiderabledistancebetweentheirmasterandthech鈚eau。

AthosandBragelonnewereagainfacetoface。？Eleveno\'clockwasstriking。？Thefatherandsonpreservedaprofoundsilencetowardseachother，whereanintelligentobserverwouldhaveexpectedcriesandtears。？Butthesetwomenwereofsuchanaturethatallemotionfollowingtheirfinalresolutionsplungeditselfsodeepintotheirheartsthatitwaslostforever。？Theypassed，then，silentlyandalmostbreathlessly，thehourthatprecededmidnight。？Theclock，bystriking，alonepointedouttothemhowmanyminuteshadlastedthepainfuljourneymadebytheirsoulsintheimmensityoftheirremembrancesofthepastandfearofthefuture。？Athosrosefirst，saying，"itislate，then？？Tillto—morrow。"

Raoulrose，andinhisturnembracedhisfather。？Thelatterheldhimclaspedtohisbreast，andsaid，inatremulousvoice，"Intwodays，youwillhaveleftme，myson—leftmeforever，Raoul！"

"Monsieur，"

repliedtheyoungman，"Ihadformedadetermination，thatofpiercingmyheartwithmysword;butyouwouldhavethoughtthatcowardly。？Ihaverenouncedthatdetermination，andthereforewemustpart。"

"Youleavemedesolatebygoing，Raoul。"