Cinq Mars -- Volume 3

wounded in the affair, having lost his own at the foot of the rampart. As the two companies were marching out,

ey find, as if it were their own; and then, as the proverb says, 'What falls in the ditch is for the soldier.' They might also have taken the four hundred gold crowns that Monsieur le Marquis, be it said without reproach, forgot to take out of the holsters. And the pistols! Oh, what pistol

column was long enough filing out to give him time to pay scrupulous attention to

s; but I sprained my arm slightly in lifting Monsieur de Thou,

said Cinq-Mars. "That is not thy busin

the life of the poor black horse down there in the trench? Ah, how I loved him!-a horse that gained three races in his time-a time too short for those who loved him as I loved him! He never would take his corn but from his dear Grandchamp; and then he would caress me with his head. The en

ates the infantry? It is the horse! It certainly is not the man, who, once seated, is little more than a bundle of hay. Who is it that performs the fine deeds that men admire? The horse. There are times when his master, who a moment before would rather have been far away, finds himself victorious and rewarded for his horse's valor, while the poor beast gets nothing but blows. Who is it gains the prize in the race? The hor

chief, a strap, or what you will. I feel

It may be some ball; howeve

end of mine,

stens! Lead must no

is

d in praise of the horse, when he was forced, as well as Cinq-Mars, to hear a warm and clamorous dispute among some Swiss soldiers who had rema

tand the subject of the colloquy; but he knew nothing of German, and could not comprehend the dispute. Grandchamp, who, still holding

ere; for your red comrades did not take the trouble to tell them. One of the Swiss says that it's the of

at does

that they han

the soldiers, attempting to walk;

my horse, G

you forget

nd, and then m

themselves; for the officer, with the sang-froid of his nation, had himself passed the running noose of a rope around his own neck, and, without being told, had ascended a small ladder placed agains

e would take them to his tent; that he was a captain in the guards, and would be responsible for them. The German, ever exact in discipline, made no reply; the only re

ow what you do here? Who

me what becomes of you afterward. All I propose now is to prevent an act whic

detest. Well, I consent to come down; but I shall hate you as much as ever, for you are a Frenchman. Nor do I thank you, for you only discharge a debt you owe me, since it

ll," said Cinq-M

he mien they wore toward him; and the rudeness of

nsieur," said Grandchamp

inly have left him on h

Monsieur's prisoners-a

y luck, I shall be v

the King. He meditated on his way what it could be that the Prince desired to say to him. A ray of hope presented to his mind the figure of Marie de Mantua in the distance; and for a

hou, who, anxious at his remaining behind, had sou

ayed long; I feared for you. Whom have you here? What

sellor, whose anxiety, more than the battle its

n end. But in what base compliances, what sacrifices of himself, what compositions with his conscience, what degradation of his own thought, may not a courtier be involved! Ah, De Thou, my dear De Thou! I am not made for the court; I feel it, though I have seen it but for a moment. There is in my temperament a certain savageness, which education has polished only on the surface. At a distance, I thought myself adapte

hurls the lightning. Heaven grant that that lightning may never strike you! You will probably be present in those councils which regulate the destiny of nations; you will see, you will perchance originate, those caprices whence are born sanguinary wars, conquests, and treati

speak of; but this Cardinal, this man to whom I must be under obligat

ector, no doubt,"

hip! I hate his whole being, even his very name; he sp

u will ruin yourself if you reveal your sen

to the King himself, if he interrogate me, even should it cost me my head. I have at last seen this King, who has been described to me as so weak; I have see

ware of this warmth of heart, which often draws you by sudden and dangerous mo

d, neither the one nor the other of you know me; you do not know how wea

us?" exclaimed De Thou

his hands, abandoning the reins

age obtained possession of you at twenty, H

esent, for I see only by means of it, a

aused tears of admiration and envy to flow from our eyes; when, raising ourselves to the ideal of the highest virtue, we wished that those illustrious sorrows, those sublime misfortunes, which create great men, might in the future co

ith his face in his hands. After an instant of silence he removed them, and allowed his eyes to be seen, fu

I can not confide even to you. I despise, as much as you, the ambition which will seem to possess me. All the world will believe in it; but what do I care for the

by heaven that I believe you bl

eart, and then perceived that they had ar

still hot, was agitated only by the rare passage of breezes from the Mediterranean; and all sounds had ceased upon the earth. The fatigued army reposed beneath their tents, the line of which was marked by the fires, and the besieged city seemed oppressed by the same s

had gathered about the Cardinal, who, at twenty paces from the King, was seated upon a little hillock of turf, fashioned into a seat by the soldiers. There he wiped his pale forehead, fatigued with the cares of the day and with the unaccustomed weight of a suit of armor; he bade adieu, in a few hurried but always attentive and polite words, to those who came to sa

, young man, to speak

arp voice. "One can not

to announce to him his intention to quit the army and to raise the siege of Perpignan, he was torn between the desire of speaking to the Cardinal and the fear lest his anger might be weakened. The minister, upon his part, dared not be the first to speak, being uncertain as to the thoughts which occupied his master, and fearing to choose his tim

Cinq-Mars?" said the

oach; I am wa

from the King desired to set foot to earth; but hardly had

ve that I am wounded;" and the bl

o sustain him. Richelieu seized this opportunit

of the King," said he. "You see ver

s me. Let him be carried into my tent, and let my doctors attend him. If his wound is not serious, he shall come with me to Paris, for the siege is suspended, Monsieur l

y into his tent, preceded by his pages

e Duc de Richelieu, motionless and stupefied, still regarded the spot where this scene had pa

s former master. For an instant he regretted having given himself to him, and fancied that his star was waning; but, reflecting that he was hate

eur, you are chickenh

himself, with the aid of Laubardemont, he made him enter his tent, as a schoolma

he wishes of his two parasites, and the