Cinq Mars, v1

well! and

ever fare

D B

alled the garden of France-that spot where, amid verdant plain

ell with your beloved. On its right bank one sees valleys dotted with white houses surrounded by woods, hills yellow with vines or white with the blossoms of the cherry-tree, walls covered with honeysuckles, rose- gar

y, whitened with the dust from the road. If you climb a hillside covered with vines, a light column of smoke shows you that there is a chimney at your feet; for the very rock is inhabited, and families of vine-dressers breathe in its caverns, sheltered at night by the kindly earth which they laboriously cultivate during the day. The good people of Touraine are as simple as their life, gentle as the air they bre

ll of the shore, it frames the broad summit with its lofty walls and its enormous towers; high slate steeples increase their loftiness, and give to the building that conventual air, that religious form of all our old chateaux, which casts an aspect of gravity over the landscape of most of our provinces. Black and tufted trees surround this ancient mansion, resembling from afar the plumes that encircled the hat

of the Marechal d'Effiat (who had been dead six months) had taken again to his travelling-boots, which he had sworn to abandon forever. This brave fellow, named Grandchamp, had followed the chief of the family everywhere in the wars, and in his financial work; he had been his equerry in the former, and his secretary in the latter. He had recently returned from Germany, to inform the mother and the children of the death of the Marechal, whose last sighs he had heard at Luzzelstein. He was one of those faithful servants who are become too rare in France; who suffer with the misfortunes of the family, and rejoice with their joys; who approve of early marriages, that

by eight o'clock this evening. And you, gentlemen, Italians, have you warned your young Princess? I wager that she is gone to read with her l

Santa Maria! what a shame to travel to-day! to depart on a Friday, the thirteenth of the month, and the day of Saint Gervais and of Saint-Protais-the day of two martyrs! I have been tellin

oss the large dining-room, and disappeared down a corrido

arm to a handsome old man, magnificently dressed, whom she placed upon her left hand. She seated herself in a large gilded arm-chair at the middle of one side of the table, which was oblong in form. Another seat, rather more ornamented, was at her right, but it remained empty. The young Marquis d'Effiat, seated in front of his mother, was to assist her in doing the honors of the table. He was not more than twenty years old, and his countenance was insi

lone. This custom was preserved in many families in France up to the Revolution of 1789; some still practise it, but more in the provinces than in Paris, and not without s

. She saw therefore with satisfaction that the person who was seated at her left, having at the beginning engrossed the conversation, without having been requested by any one to talk, persisted with an imperturbable coolness in engrossing it to the end of the dinner. This was the old Marechal de Bassompierre; he had preserved with his white locks an air of youth and vivacity curious to see. His noble and polished manners showed a certain

what he thought of the way in which the Cardinal treated the daught

ge spoken by the new court, and that in its turn does not comprehend ours. But what do I say? We speak no language in this sad country, for all the world is silent before the Cardinal; thi

mistress of the house by reminding her of the recent death of her husband and in speaking thus of the minister, his friend. But it was in vain, for Bassompierre, pleased with the sign of half-approval, emptied at one draught a great goblet o

sieur le Cardinal-Duc observes in a corner three or four of our tall figures, who never quitted the side of the late King, he feels that he is unable to move those statues of iron, and that to do it would require the

departure?" said the Italian. "I know of no pla

eople the trouble of looking for me; and that if I knew when he wished to send me, I would go myself without being taken. He was as kind as I ex

members the affection which the King, his father, had toward you. It appears to me that he always accorded to you all that you desired for your frie

; and I swear that, with my consent at least, none of my family shall ever fail in their duties toward the King of France. Although the Besteins are foreigners and Lorrains, a shake of the hand from Henri IV gained us

knots, ribbons, and tags which covered his dress, and for the black cordon of the Order of St. Micha

at our own pleasure, for God has caused us to be born as much lords of our lands as the King is of his. When I came to France, I came at my ease, accompanied by my gentlemen and

de Cinq-Mars (a name taken from an estate of his family). His dress and his short cloak were black; a collar of lace fell from his neck halfway down his breast; his stout, small, and v

"are your horses ready? A

r, with the ceremonious respect of the times; and passing behind her, he salut

natural friends: nobles of great family, his peers, who visited him to show their devotion and their friendship, lost their money with him, and accompanied him in his pleasure parties, but never received anything from him, except permission to bring their vassals with them, to break their heads in his service. The

that you were not obliged to do that. We have all heard of your splendid dress

wn locked-up crown. It is also certain that ambition could not then attack all classes, since such expenses could come only from rich hands, and since gold comes only from mines. Those great houses, which are being so furiously assailed, were not ambitious, and frequently, desiring no employment from the Government, maintained their places at c

ed M. de Launay, who perhaps intended to anger him, "this independence has

the legitimate sovereign. Arms were taken against a faction, and not against the sovereign authority; and, this destroyed, everything went on again in the old way. But what have you done in crushing us? You have crushed the arm of the throne, and have not put anything in its place. Yes, I no longer doubt that the Cardinal-Duke will wholly accomplish his design; the great nobility will leave and lose their lands, and, ceasing to be great proprietors, they will cease to be a great power. The court

n will ever see that time. I no longer perceive your cheerful disposition, now that you talk like a po

ull splendor, and colored the sands of the Loire, the trees, and the lawns with gold and emerald. The sky was azure, the waves were of a transp

soon you wall no longer please my eyes. This heart is already burned by a deep passion; and the mention of the interests of men s

, and fearing to exhibit a childish regret at leav

h I shall take to Perpignan, and also of

let; he will give you useful advice about the court. He is on very good terms with the Duc de Bouillon

embowelled then than at a tourney, as I was. But we were at peace; and I was compelled to go and shoot the Turks with the Rosworm of the Hungarians, in order that I might not afflict my family by my idleness. For the rest, may his Majesty receive you as kindly as his father received me! It is true that the King is good and brave; but they have unfortunately taught

s if to force himself to attend to his discourse, asked

rankly, 'I came with no intention of enlisting myself in your service, but only to pass some time at your court, and afterward at that of Spain; but you have charmed me so much that, instead of going farther, if you desire my service, I will devote myself to you till death.' Then he em

at one another, could not help smiling to think that at present the Princesse de Conde was far f

he lapse of a few years can throw the same ridicule upon a costume and upon love? Happy is he who

thoughts, and wishing that the good Marechal should read no

, however, he found it necessary to assume that tone at the be

his lively pleasantries to me, and the Duke said to him, 'You are, in my opinion, one of the most agreeable men in the world, and destiny ordained us for each other. For, had you been but an ordinary man, I should have taken you into my service at whatever price; but since heaven

urn; his elder brother did the honors of the table with the same calm. Puy-Laurens observed the mistress of the house with attention; he was devoted to the Duc d'Orleans, and feared the Cardinal. As for the Marechale, she had an anxious and afflicted air. Careless words had often recalled the death of her husband or the departure of her son; and, oftener still, she had feared lest Bassompierre should compromise himself. She had touched him many times, glancing at the same time toward M. de Launay, of whom she knew little,

de Gonzaga caused the company to rise. She was small, but very well made, and although her eyes and hair were black, her complexion was as dazzling as

aid, placing the Duchess beside her; "fortunately, you remain

ead and her eyes, in order that no one m

me the place of a mother;" and a glance thrown at Cinq-

ence of the old court, his wars in Turkey, the tournaments, and the avarice of the new court; but, to his great regret, no one made any reply, and the company were about to leave the table, when, as t

ttlehorses are saddled and bridled. Come,

cour, adie

filles et

dy pour que

plaisans p

bal, adie

ure, adie

, Hautboi

guerre nou

the Marechal made all the gues

ere only seventeen years old; he will return to us covered wi

nly two steps, and sank into another chair. Her sons and her daughter and the young Duchess gather

en at table; and you, my dear Duchess, were the cause of it. But it is very wrong of me to show so much weakness before hi

der tears," she raised herself,

ee you on horse

cing his elder brother, pressing the hand of the Marechal, and kissing the forehead of his young sister almost simultaneously, he went forth, and w

p. That is a good sign," s

e young Princess, retir

matter?" sa

's horse stumbled under the gateway; but he soon

said the Marquise, upon r

her by being sile

evening the supper was silen

in her first quarter, indistinctly lighted; the sky was charged with thick clouds, and all things disposed the mind to melancholy. Although Bassompierre had nothing of the dreamer in his character, the tone which the conversation had taken at dinner returned to his memory, and he reconsidered his life, the sad changes which the new reign had wrought in it,

tched for some time all the lights of the chateau, which were successively extinguished, after winding among the windows of the staircases and rambling about the courtyards and the stables. Then, leaning back in

ng ambitious Austria; come, inconstant chevalier, speak to me of the lightness of thy love, and of the fidelity of thine inconstancy; come, heroic soldier, complain to me ag

arge medallion, and he was effacing them with respectful kisses

ch increased when he saw M. de Launay, who, hat in hand,

ll you that the King has commanded me to arrest you. A carriage awaits

edallion in his right hand, and the sword in the ot

hat of which I was thinking; in the name of the great Hen

urt and found all the doors opened by horse-guards, who had terrified the people of the chateau in the name of the King, and commanded silence. The carriage was ready, and departed rapidly, followed by many horses.

hat the road was too narrow to allow the, horses to pass to either the right or the left of the carriage-a great advantage for the aggressors, since the musketeers could n

, Monsieur

u madcap, Henri, who a

him alone; he

e musketeers to cease, Bassomp

ught you were at Tours, or even farther, if you had done your

ll not betray me, for that delightful edifice is the very Temple of Discretion. Yet had you thought fit," he continued, aloud, "I should have released you from these gentlemen in the wood

serve your ardor for his service, though I thank you with all my

al, that he is deeply afflicted at the step he has found it necessary to take, and that it is solely from an apprehension that Monsieur l

earty laugh. "You see, my friend, how we young men are

gainst his will;" and, reentering the wood as the carriage dashed off at full speed, he proceeded

so near the wall that he could rest his foot upon an abutment, he stood up, and raised the blind of a wind

owers and the roof formed one dark mass, which stood out in indistinct relief against the sky, hardly less dark; no light shone throughout the chateau, wherein all

t voice was he

u, Monsieur

l house, without entering it, without bidding one more adieu to his mother? Who el

nd when they have advanced beyond childhood, they are ceded like a town, and must not even weep. Since I have known you, what have I not done to bring my future life within the reach of happiness, in removing it far from a throne? For two years I have struggled in vain, at once against my evil fortune, that separates me from you, and against you, who estrange me from the duty I owe to my family. I have sought to spread a belief that I was dead; I have almost lon

d, forget all, Marie?

hesi

ur happy days together, our long evenings, even our walks by the lake and through the wood; but keep the future ever in mind

orever?" s

r life and f

extending his hand to

name you bear, that you shall be mine,

r. Love him above all, next to her who will sacrifice all for you, who will await you amid suffering and sorrow. Take this little gold cross and wear it upon your heart; it has often been wet

h. Did you hear no

n. Do you hear

but some bird of n

ar us, I am sure. But

and the

ill invoke thee as a guardian angel. Love has infused the burning poison of ambition into my soul, and fo

rget no

ever be

aimed Marie,

e still more,"

ved voice, and the window was slowly drawn down, t

he rein; and the whole party was soon near the city of Tours, which the bells of St. Gatien had announced from afar. To the disappointment of old Grandchamp, Cinq-Ma