Cinq Mars -- Volume 3

of the surgeons of the court. A spent ball, easily extracted, had been the only cause of his accident. He was allowed to travel and all was ready. The invalid had rec

d to have distinguished. The habitual coldness of the Prince toward all who surrounded him having caused those wh

elf tasted one of those moments of calm and hope, which so refresh the soul as well as the body. His free hand secretly pressed the gold cross that hung next to his heart, the beloved donor of which he was so soon to behold. Outwa

ry, in order to put in action those golden dreams of your early years. The thought is a vast one, and worthy of you! I admire you; I bow before you. To approach the monarch with the chivalrous devotion of our fathers, with a heart full of candor, and prepared for any sacrifice; to receive the confidences of his soul; to pour into his those of his subjects; to soften the, sorrows of the King by telling him the confidence his people have in him; to cure the wounds of th

s race; that in striking them he affects the whole nation; and that, should he destroy them, his own race will suffer, that it will stand alone exposed to the blast of time and events, as an old oak trembling and exposed to the wind of the plain, when the forest which surrounded and supported it has been destroyed. Yes!" cried De Thou, growing animated, "this aim is a fine and noble one. Go on in your course with a resolute step; e

rain from a sudden blush; and he turned his head on his pillow to

Henri? You do not a

a deep sigh and

by these ideas which I thoug

ked more calmly at

ons with the axe of the executioner, the firm belief that virtue may be as skilful as crime,-these are my gods as much as yours. But when you see a man kneeling in a church, do you ask him what saint or what angel protects him and receives his prayer? What matters it to you, provided that he pray at the foot of the altars that you adore-provided that, if called upon, he fall a martyr at the foot of those 'altars? When our forefathers journeyed with naked feet toward the Holy Sepulchre, with pilgrims' staves in their

slightly blushed,

ingle God and heaven in our discourse. It is not well; and draw the coverings over your shoulder, for the night is cold. I

ss you see, and by the Holy Mary, to die rather than renounce the plan that you first trace

"now sleep; if you do not stop, I will

Mars, who was still awake. He made a sign to Grandchamp to put the lamp out of sight of the invalid; but th

s consolatory book, for, open it where you will, you will always see, on the one hand, man in the only condition that suits his weakness-prayer, and the uncertainty as to his destiny-and, on the

You know the old superstition of our country-when the mass-book is opened with a sword, the first page on the left contains the

s you will. Here is your sword;

vanced his tawny face and his gray hair to the foot of the bed to listen. His master read, s

the city of Milan

said to them, 'Bow do

, looking at their faces, which

of Protais, cried, looking to heav

the Son of man smiling u

lood, I fear I shall sh

our

ais answered hi

uld perish after thee, for I am older, a

s and people ground

struck them, their heads fel

blessed Saint Ambroise found the ashes of th

at his friend when he had fini

e! but we should n

own over him. "Remember the lines we formerly so frequently quoted, 'Justum et tenacem Propositi viruna'; these iron w

an with those of Heaven; and let us b

ose eyes had filled with tears,

h it, old soldier? Thou w

in a nasal tone, at th

mes to visit you," answered the faithful servant, pointing to Joseph, who

he, then!" mur

opportunely," said

ith a glance at De Thou. "What can bring you here, Father,

as many resources in his mind for getting out of the difficulty, he fancied that they had discovered the object of his visit, and felt tha

rs you have made; he desires to have information concerning them as soon as possible. I am to see and que

they ordered into the tent the two priso

other, concealing his form under a brown cloak, and his gloomy features, which had something ambiguous i

y straw and my sleep? Is it

r," sai

man with the long beard? I d

rdium to make the stranger understand th

id, "what dos

your name and

I have the air of a Spaniard, but perhaps am not o

myself, I have heard his voice somewhere. This man speaks French withou

ant; immovable in his ignorance, ingenious in his superstition, he needs only a religious book and a tyrannical master; he obeys the law of the pyre; he commands by that of the poniard. At night he falls

s head is shaved, and he covers it with a black handkerchief in the form of a turban; he passes the whole day lying or standing under a burning sun, without motion, without utterance, smoking a pipe that intoxicates him. Is this a Turk or a Spaniard? Are you satisfied, gentlemen? Truly, it would seem so; you

all! kill them all!'-should you all laugh, gentlemen? No, not all! This gentleman here, for instance, would bite his lips and his beard. Oh! it is true he might answer that he did wisely, and that they were wrong to interrupt his unsullied prayer. But if I adde

s wares, and in so loud a voice that Joseph was quite confounded. He

who should have been hanged t

eigning to notice him a

nd whispere

. I might ere this have taken it; but I would not do s

I shall be very glad;" and he told his people to retire

s, except the abashed Joseph and the Spaniard. The latter, taking off his hat, showed a Fre

tune at play, and because I have robbed them and killed them. I have been two years in Spain in order to kill more Frenchmen; but now I hate Spain still more. No one will know the reason why. Adieu! I must live henceforth without a nation; all

ith the swiftness of a deer, despite various musket-shots. Joseph took advantage of the disorder to slip away, stammering a few words of politeness, and left the two friends laughing at his adventure and his disappointment, as two s

as to take the greatest possible revenge, when he met Laubardemont dragging the young mad-

e poniard in the wound of his friend's hea

" he added. "I advise you to shut up your niece and ha

eplied with a

smuggler in the Pyrenees at Oleron. He can do what he pleases with her-make her a

lity. Every glimmer of reason was extinguished in her; one word a

! the judge!" she mur

horses which were led up by two servants. Laubardemont mounted another, an

ph. "Execute your business well in Paris

ou!" answered the ot

ra and

killed his father no

igh-road to those l

y reveren

y venerab

aloud, but in

obe! During thy absence I shal

Finish shedding that portion of thy blood that is in others' veins. That sh

ITOR'S B

the saddest

rs the mien they

ere are things which