Cinq Mars -- Volume 3

the fable, wearied with the continual attacks of the gnat, earnestly desires a mightier enemy and real danger. Cinq-Mars found himself in

education had taught him concerning the lives of illustrious men, in order to compare it with his present situation; oppressed by his regrets, his dreams, predictions, fancies, and all that imaginary world in which he had live

; and consumption was already threatening him, when happily he arrived at the camp of Perpignan, and happily also had the opportunity of accepting the proposition of the Abbe de Gondi-fo

et out alone for the Spanish bastion, the place of rendezvous. He was the first arrival, and found that a small plot of turf, hidden among the works of the besieged place, had been well chosen by the little Abbe for his homicidal purposes; for besides the probability that no one would have suspected officers of

geous lines of attack, and redoubts against the accessible point; but not a single soldier was stationed there. All the forces seemed directed upon the north of Perpignan, upon the most difficult side, against a brick fort called the Castillet, which surmounted the gate of Notre-Dame. He discovered that a piece of ground, apparently marshy, but in reality very solid, led up to the ver

on the one side, the vedettes and advanced posts were at a distance, and on the other, the sentinels were few and ill supported. A young Spaniard, carrying a long gun, with its rest su

to take the bastion by yourself on horseba

, and supported upon it the barrel of his gun in order to take aim, when a grave a

ks are made, merely to have the pleasure of killing a boy not worth your match? It was in this very place that Charl

shoulder, the rest at his side, and

completed. He knew, too, that a tacit convention between the two armies prohibited marksmen from firing upon the sentinels; each party would have regarded it as assassination. The soldier who had thus prepared to attack Cinq-Mars must have been ignorant of this understanding. Young D'Effiat, therefore, made no visible movement; and when the sentinel had resumed his walk upon the r

d at the moment of immolating a rascal who is not

! Yes, it is indeed you; I recognize you, although you are very pale. Have you been ill, my dear

will relate to you all the causes of my neglect. I can speak of them, but I was

ew that there could be no real coldness betwe

tears which so seldom flow in one's life, but with which it seems, neverth

these few words, Gondi had been pu

elay. Let our first thought be to have done with our good friends who will soon arrive. We are in a fine position, with

is seconds, who were chosen from his own friends rather than from among the partisans of the Cardinal,

t our men, and to take the field; for there is tal

very glad to become yours, for I have not forgotten the Marechal de Bassompierre and t

an of the world; toward the Marechal, those of a captain of the guard; here, those of a gentle

id the Abbe, who was

sat nearest the ramparts, upon which two Spanish officers and a score of soldiers stood, as in a balcony, to witness this duel of six persons-a spectacle common enough to th

out coming in contact, in the middle of the arena; at that instant, six pi

o be seen. Cinq-Mars, looking about for them anxiously, perceived the Abbe's horse, which, caracoling and curvetting, was dragging after him the future cardinal, whose foot was caught in the stirrup, and who was swearing as if he had never studied anything but the language of the camp. His nose and hands were stained and bloody with his fall and with

no great harm has come to you, f

stol in the face of that giant I had to lean forward and rise in my st

s his horse swimming in the ditch with its master, whos

Hark! there is the cannon-shot, the signal for the attack. I did not expect it would have been given s

not return, here are these Spaniards, who are running to arms, an

Montresor, who is uselessly occupied in searching for the body

as you," said Montresor, bitterly, limping from his fal

nobly toward me. My pistol went off too soon, and his was at my very cheek-I feel the coldness of it now-but he

a ball has just whistled past my ear. The attack has begun on

vered with smoke. The bastion before them as yet was unassailed, and its guards s

, "for the smoke has cleared from the plain, and I see mass

walls, "there is a very decided part which we could take, an im

s; "but we are but five against at least thirt

e than hanged down here, as we shall be if we are found, for De Launay mus

" said Montresor, "h

It seemed to be their intention to halt on the very ground on which were our embarrassed duellists, for hardly had the first caval

illes. "I recognize them by their black cockades. I see also many of the light-

d troops, and found that this conjecture was right. But instead of the consternation which one might expect in such a

horse runs better than mine; I suppose y

the sooner rallied that you arriv

st be mad, to make four hundred of

nament; it looks like a weeping willow. If

oseph, who meddles in everything, was mistaken in telling us to charge, upon the part of the Cardinal.

oung men, at the same time formi

white head, had all the fire of youth in his eyes, "that if you we

all the men-at-arms,

o execute what you have promised. I am only a volunteer; but an instant ago these g

t first examine t

hich they were speaking struck in the head

nd to the assault!" cried the two noble

lead you, if you please. Guide us, Monsieur volunteer, for the

lves into the morass, wherein, to their great astonishment and to that of the Spaniards, who had counted too much upon its depth, the horses were in the water only up to their hams; and in spite of a discharge of grape- shot from the two largest pieces, all reached pe

old Coislin; "forward with pistol

nd threw themselves in

Henri, and had received him in his arms when his horse fell. He helped him to rise, restored to him his sword, whi

culous amid all this skirmish, in my

advancing, "here's the Abbe

semen, was shouting, at the top of his voice: "Three duels

cut and thrust a

ere no match for the French officers, and not one

he red companies, and all the young noblemen, with swords in their right hands and pistols in their left, dashing, pushing, and doing each other by their eagerness as much

ey left them to look about the fort, without even disarming them, and began to examine their conque

ed in his brown cloak, wat

ve met with any such before in France. If Louis XIII has an entire a

they must be some poor adventurers, who have

icer; "I will try to persuade

et. He had the pink-and-white complexion of a young girl; his delicate hand held an embroidered handkerchief, with which he wiped his

anything beyond singing a romance, reclined upon a couch. But, filled with the suggestion of Ambrosio, he thought that he m

you restore me to liberty, that

the gentle expression of his age, and

e Coislin, who will, I doubt not, grant your r

else, and will make me wait a year. I will give yo

ard a ringing box on the ear. The latter, without hesitating, drew a long poniard from his breast, and, seizing the arm of the Frenchman, thought to plunge it easily into his heart; but, nimbl

des, running from all directions; "there a

armed the ho

do with this lu

ve him for my valet-dech

tlemen, we don't know how to hang. Let us send him to that

an the march of his own accord, followed by Ambrosio, to join the battalion

him the circuit of the bastion, and found to their vexation that it was completely separated from the city, and that they could not follow up their advantage. The

ice with us, gentlemen; we

they fought a

remained for an instant whispering and asking his name;

our fathers used to say, the best doer of the day. He is a volu

o not let him be a Cardinalist; he is too good a fello

Entraigues, approaching Cinq-Mars, "for I have been his page. Rather

, and a soldier announced that the King and the Cardinal were traversing the lines to examine the results of the day. He made all the horses pass through the brea